The ReMarker (Sept. 2023)

Familiar

Back in Territory

For more than 50 years, Marksmen have experienced the rite of passage before Upper School — the Pecos Wilderness trip.

Because of unavoidable circumstances like a global pandemic then widespread fires, the trip was canceled twice in the last three years, leaving school officials with the challenge of getting this important tradition back on track.

After months of planning, the rising sophomores and juniors finally made the trek over the summer and took part in this unforgettable school tradition with their classmates.

Pecos coverage:

Page 16 - Junior Matthew Hofmann documents his Pecos experience.

Page 17 - A closer look at the saga to geeting Pecos up and running again.

The ReMarker is going online Today is the launch of smremarker.com, the journalism program’s newest publication. The award-winning school newspaper will expand its reach with more content than ever.

For more infornation on the website’s debut, see the column by Digital Editor Ben Adams on Page 2.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER Sophomore Ethan Wang overlooks the trails of the Pecos (top). Juniors, despite going two years later than expected, enjoy a break after a summit (middle). Junior Mateu Parker (bottom) heats one of many classic Pecos recipes.

PHOTOS / COURTESY DAVE CARDEN

Real time sports news and score updates Podcasts and video coverage

Stories that can only be found online

Our digital coverage will include: and so much more.

website

New ReMarker website aims to increase reach

Ben Adams ReMarker Online, Editor

Upon stepping into the journalism suite, it is evident that each person on the ReMarker staff truly cares. This isn’t a class we take to fill a credit. This isn’t an activity we join just to look good for college applications. We work on this publication because it’s our responsibility to spread news to the community.

The staff certainly has fun, but when it’s time to work, there is a unique professionalism that emerges from this group of teenage boys. From pitch day to interviews to final submission, we go the extra mile to ensure a quality publication every time.

We would be unable to do this without our community. There aren’t many schools where the administration trust teens to cover controversial topics with little oversight. That’s why students rush to open the newspaper on seven Fridays throughout the school year and truly appreciate the work their peers have done.

Thanks to this community, the ReMarker has covered topics ranging from consent to LGBTQ+ rights to abortion. The publication has won countless national awards, including a record 20 consecutive CSPA Gold Crowns and 14 NSPA Pacemakers.

As impressive as this publication has been, it’s time to look ahead to the future.

As the world changes, we must change, too. While there is nothing like flipping through a print newspaper, and there is always a place for it, we are bringing a new dimension to our journalism program: a website. Our mission is to allow our audience — both on campus and across the globe — to consume information in real time.

On smremarker.com, we will provide more insight into student life through podcasts with important figures and debates between students, video content from documentaries covering historic moments to sideline interviews and further insight from guest speakers.

We can make a Winter 2020 SPC documentary better than any 30 for 30. We can interview Lucas Blumenthal moments after he catches a game-winning touchdown. We can stream videos of legendary rap battles.

With our print newspaper, we can only release stories once a month. Often, this results in late coverage of events around campus—or no coverage at all. Now, we will refresh the site several times a week with latest coverage of everything on campus.

In addition to these weekly web-exclusive stories, every story featured in the ReMarker print newspaper will also be accessible on the website. The website will also present scores, schedules and highlights from every varsity sports team on campus as well as direct access to the Focal Point podcast.

With the website, our community is able to access information more easily than ever. Parents, you no longer need to wait until your son brings the ReMarker home. Just visit the website. Alumni, wondering how things are going back at 10600? Add smremarker.com to your bookmarks.

After planning and designing this website since I was named the founding digital editor in March, I am incredibly eager to finally click “publish” and launch this platform to further connect this community.

Welcome to the new era of the ReMarker

Bulletin IN BRIEF

Clearing the shelves

How HB900 will impact libraries across Texas

Bringing back the Spurs

The return of a storied school tradition

05 Lights out in North Texas

Communities continue to deal with extreme weather power outages

19 The value of service

Staff members Stipanovic and Moore reflect on their military careers.

More than a paper?

A closer look into the Honor Code and how it is viewed

09 Down under with Mr. Smith

Science teacher talks about Great Barrier Reef exploration experience.

23 Stop comparing us to them

Nolan Marcus discusses the comparisons between St. Mark’s and Hockaday.

12 Learning while teaching

Should educators pursue advanced degrees while teaching careers?

25 Successful summer

Multiple junior athletes acheived great athletic feats over the break.

FINE ARTS BOARD The Fine Arts Board, led by seniors Winston Miller and Griffin Goodno, hosted the first coffeehouse of the school year on Sept. 16. The theme was “Space Cowboy.” The group is working on getting more events approved this year, including a jazz and rock concert and additional collaborations with Hockaday. More information can be found on the board’s Instagram: @sm_fineartsboard.

COMMUNITY SERVICE BOARD This year, the school will continue to utilize three five-hour deadlines for separating the required 15 community service hours. The first dead-

line is Oct. 9. The Community Service Board, chaired by seniors Ethan Bosita, James Sutherland and junior Andrew Xuan, will be hosting the annual Food Drive from Oct. 2 to Oct. 16. The first Austin Street Dinner of the school year will be hosted at the shelter on Oct. 5.

FUN DAY This year’s Fun Day, with the theme of “Let the Games Begin!”, will be hosted by Hockaday on Friday, Sept. 29 from 4 to 7 p.m. Older students from both schools will serve as volunteers. Attendees will be students in preschool through sixth grade, and activities will include bounce houses,

zip lines, dunk tanks featurning faculty and staff and desserts such as Dippin’ Dots and Argentinian gelato.

FIRST LEGO LEAGUE The First Lego League (FLL) program, a lego robotics competition designed for kids, will return to compete again this year. Last year, FLL Team 57522 - RoboRoar was victorious at the state championship. Currently, the students are going through a training phase before forming five to six teams for the season starts. FLL Director Stewart Mayer and co-head Dan Lipin are leading the students in preparation the for the upcoming season.

FALL SEASON CAPTAINS The beginning of the school year marks the first season in the Lions athletic year. Every year, each team comes together to select captains. This year, the Lions football team will be led by offensive captain Jimmy Francis and defensive captain Nolan Marcus. Cross Country has chosen Raja Mehendale, Parker Steinbrueck and Asa McCaleb. The volleyball team selected Graham Estess and Kevin Lu, while the water polo team has chosen Caleb Maddox and Ethan Gao. Finally, the captains of the fencing team are Ethan Bosita and Thomas Whitehurst.

Dallas driving disasters

This city is reputable for its bad drivers. When students start driving here, they have to adapt to the dangerous roads and avoid becoming another statistic in the city’s long list of traffic accidents.

By Arjun Poi and Hilton Sampson

As the traffic light flashed green, senior Sharang Vyas lurched forward.

Accelerating onto the toll road access ramp, he felt his anxiety begin to resurface. With only a short runway of an entrance lane, Vyas, still gaining speed, turned on his blinker and prepared to merge into the right lane of the highway.

Seeing a vehicle approaching in his rearview mirror, Vyas replayed the accident in his mind.

Please don’t hit me. Please don’t hit me. Please don’t hit me.

Vyas knew he had more than enough space to merge, yet he couldn’t shake the image of the crash. The flat tire. The speeding car rapidly approaching. Knowing there was nothing he could do to get out of the way.

Reality set back in, and with only seconds to spare, Vyas steered his vehicle into the adjacent lane, and this time, the car behind him did not speed into his rear bumper.

But his trip on the highway had just begun, and he would not feel totally at ease until he completed the long journey home to Southlake.

For Vyas, typical driving maneuvers have become increasingly more worrisome after two car accidents in the city.

He isn’t the only one concerned with driving conditions here.

Forbes reported that Dallas has become one of the most dangerous cities to drive in across the entire nation, second only to Atlanta by a narrow margin.

With continued strain on infrastructure and an increase in reckless driving, it may get worse for Dallas drivers. According to Allstate’s best drivers report, Dallas drivers are 46 percent more likely to get in a crash than the average U.S. driver, and based on a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA), driving deaths in Dallas increased by 49 percent from 2010 to 2019.

Vyas is no stranger to this statistic.

His first car accident took place when a speeding vehicle rear-ended him on the highway. Vyas, who had a flat tire, was traveling in the right lane of the freeway with his hazard lights on towards the closest exit when the vehicle crashed into him.

Having moved to the metroplex from Oakland, Calif., Vyas has seen a noticeable change in

Five Minutes With

Marcus Master Teacher Bruce Westrate

driving behavior.

“The drivers here are definitely a lot more aggressive,” Vyas said. “There is a lot of tailgating on the freeway, and there are people swerving lanes all the time. A lot of trucks and fancy sports cars go really, really fast. I’m late for a class so many times in the morning because there’s just a massive accident that blocks the entire freeway.”

Vyas partially attributes reckless driving in Dallas to the spread-out nature of North Texas.

“It’s so much bigger here,” Vyas said. “There are more open roads and speeding. In California, the roads in the Bay Area are always congested, and it’s not as easy to go fast. People are a lot more careful there. Police are also a lot more active there than here, especially with speeding.”

Dallas Police Officer Michael Ullah agrees with Vyas in that speeding has become far too commonplace in Dallas, comparing the Dallas North Tollway to the autobahn.

“I think there might be this notion out there that it’s harder to get a ticket in Dallas,” Ullah said. “Maybe people drive a little more reckless here versus Plano or Frisco where you see officers running more radar or doing more speed control.”

SEE DALLAS PAGE 7

“The thing about history is that we keep making more of it, so I’m a voracious reader to keep up and learn more so I have more to offer to the boys.”

“With several different interpretations of history, there is always purposefully deceptive history out there, so in my class, I try to prepare the boys to learn the truth and think for themselves. I’m not driven by an agenda, I’m driven by truth.”

TRAFFIC ON PRESTON

As Marksmen start coming into school on a Thursday morning, students and other passing drivers cause heavy traffic.

“I wrote a novel last year that was reviewed by my publisher and edited last summer. [The novel] will be reissued in a few weeks and is called “Altar of Ashes.” I also like spending a lot of time working on a writing project relating to the Bengal Famine in India of 1942. It’s what I’ve been and always will enjoy doing.”

PHOTO / AKUL MITTAL

The battle between book vendors, Texas

A new Texas bill, HB900, is threatening the relationship booksellers have with public school libraries.

By Arjun Poi and Kevin Ho

For a long time, small book vendors kept themselves busy by mostly selling works of literature and working with school libraries.

But that all changed when Texas House Bill 900 (HB900) took effect Sept. 1, requiring book vendors to rate every book they sell to Texas public school libraries based on sexual references and depictions.

And that’s not all.

Not only do book vendors need to go through all the books they will sell, but they are also required to retroactively provide an exhaustive list of every book they have ever sold that might qualify for a rating.

“If we had to read every book, it would be very difficult for a small business, which most independent bookstores are, with very small margins,” Children’s and YA Book Buyer at local bookstore Interabang Books Lisa Plummer said. “It would be a huge burden business-wise.”

At Interabang Books, complying with the retroactive clause would be near impossible: the company does not record its sales, calling into question HB900’s practicality.

Plummer believes HB900’s regulations are too subjective to make decisions with such heavy consequences.

“One person’s rating is not everyone’s rating,” Plummer said. “I see no reason in banning anything from anyone’s view. I think that we can trust teachers, parents and students to make up their own minds about how they feel about reading a certain book.”

Director of Libraries and Information Services Tinsley Silcox spent four years earning an undergraduate degree and two years in graduate school studying how to be an information specialist, or a librarian.

Having spent the majority of his career teaching students how to think critically, Silcox said that he and other trained liter-

ature professionals are more qualified to make decisions than those without experience and understanding of the content.

Richard Bailey, the education liaison at Interabang Books, agrees.

“This strange law suggests the state of Texas needs to protect students from educators and book vendors,” Bailey said.

Bailey sees that this legislation places individuals who have not studied literature on a higher pedestal than professionals.

“THE POWER IN THE RATING LAW LIES IN THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD RATHER HAVE BOOKS DISAPPEAR FROM SCHOOLS THAN TAKE THE TIME TO READ WHAT THEIR CHILDREN ARE READING. ” —Richard Bailey

“It allows a clear way for people without direct experience with a book to have it removed from classrooms based upon suspicion or bias,” Bailey said. “The power in the rating law lies with people who would rather have books disappear from schools than take the time to read what their children are reading.”

By restricting access to forms of literature, Silcox believes that the building blocks of open-mindedness and social engagement are at risk of toppling over.

“We have to challenge readers to embrace and nurture their thoughts so that they can have personal growth,” Silcox said. “The other thing that is lost when we don’t allow critical thinking is civil discourse. You and I may disagree vehemently about a topic, but I will guarantee you that I will listen to your point of view, reflect on it, and tell you what my point of view is.”

must rate their material as either sexually relevant or sexually explicit.

Sexually relevant rated books require students to receive parental consent before checking an item out of a library. Sexually explicit, and the book cannot be sold to school libraries. But due to the intervention of federal judge Alan D. Albright the day before being put into effect, the bill has been temporarily blocked, leaving its consequences still to come.

If the law is passed, book vendors and small businesses will find themselves in a difficult situation. Not only will companies have to make the book rating decisions, but they also find themselves confronted by a surging wave of demands, posing potential challenges in their operations.

HB900 is only directed at public schools in Texas; since St. Mark’s does not receive funding from the government, it will not be affected by HB900 or any other similar laws.

In fact, many previously challenged or banned books like The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, and Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison, have been incorporated into the Upper School English curriculum as core texts.

According to PEN America, a non-profit organization aimed at defending literature, The House on Mango Street was banned in parts of Frisco ISD and the School District of Manatee County in Florida.

DIVERSE BOOKS IN THE CLASSROOM

At its core, the bill is supposed to protect younger children and adolescents from potentially inappropriate books not suitable for their ages. But many question the implementation used to enforce the bill.

“The law is purposefully vague and puts unnecessary burdens on professionals who encourage a rich variety of quality literature in Texas schools,” Bailey said.

HB900 regulates the “appropriateness” of books and restricts those who can check certain books out by using a standardized rating system: vendors

But despite the controversy, Senior Master Teacher and ninth grade English Instructor Scott Gonzalez still considers The House on Mango Street, a book about a young Latina girl living in an underprivileged section of Chicago, a book that provides invaluable insight into the world around us.

“The more that we understand the human experience, aside from our own personal experiences, the more understanding, empathetic, and more of a citizen that we will be,” Gonzalez said.

Like Silcox, Gonzalez believes that books allow students to develop critical thinking skills, giving students experiences that they likely never would experience in their lives.

“If we keep children away from the realities of others, then we’re doing them and those other individuals a disservice,” said Gonzalez. “It’s very much like community service. When we ask you to do community service, you are being exposed to different cultures and different socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. And the more you learn to understand where they’re coming from, the better you will be when you encounter them in the public arena.”

CONTROVERSIAL CURRICULUM Several challenged books like the ones above have made their way into the school’s English curriculum.

Senior Master Teacher Scott Gonzalez teaches The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros to his freshman students. The American Library Association listed House on Mango Street as a “Frequently Challenged Book with Diverse Content.”

Tinsley Silcox Director of Libraries and Information Services

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION / NOAH CATHEY

PHOTO / JAKE DeBOEVER

When the lights go out

By Will Clifford, Christopher Guffey and Andrew Ye

When extreme weather hits Dallas, homeless shelters like the Austin Street Center step up and take on more responsibilities. Last year, during Winter Storm Uri, the shelter helped people in need across the city. The icy roads and collapsed power grid made connecting with vulnerable members of the community difficult. The conditions caused volunteers to be trapped inside their homes without power, resulting in the shelter becoming severely understaffed during one of the greatest weather disasters the city has faced.

In an attempt to bring in volunteers, Austin Street CEO Daniel Roby used his personal vehicle to shuttle volunteers from around the city to the center. He also used his car as a makeshift ambulance to help injured people get to hospitals.

“This guy drags himself in from the bus stop to the front door,” Roby said. “He was moaning and groaning the entire time, and we didn’t know what was wrong with him. Since it was next to impossible to call an ambulance during that time, we loaded him up in my car and drove him about two hours to the hospital. We found out after talking to the hospital that if we had not taken him to get care, he would not have made it through the night.”

Since Austin Street Center is located in an area with deteriorating infrastructure, the shelter made investments to prevent it from losing power, plumbing or air conditioning.

“We expanded our new shelter to about 60,000 square feet and opened up over 100 new beds. We also built a very large generator for the purpose of keeping the power on since a lot of blackouts happen in the area,” Roby said.

As this summer’s heatwaves caused record-breaking temperatures, state-wide power outages became more frequent. A northern Plano community endured extensive brownouts and blackouts, causing junior Akul Mittal to go without lights, internet or air conditioning for over two weeks.

“It was a pretty big struggle to do things like study since there was no power, since I couldn’t charge my laptop or anything,” Mittal said. “During the day, I’d spend as much time as I could at my friend’s house in another neighborhood so I could do my work, and my parents just went to work longer.”

Once the sun went down, the only source of light vanished.

“It did feel creepy at times, especially since there was no way to turn on the lights to check if there was something wrong with your house,” Mittal said. “I felt like I was being taken away from the comfort of my home. I had to use flashlights to do everything or even to go anywhere.”

The outages not only resulted in difficulty for Mittal’s family but also provided an opportunity for his community to bond with one another. Mittal would frequently see his neighbors helping each other throughout the blackouts.

“The houses that had power invited other houses to stay with them for the day to make sure that the other families weren’t suffering from the heat,” Mittal said. “If any one of the other houses didn’t have running water, we would invite them over to come use our shower. It was a cool experience and kind of gave me an opportunity to bond with people through the shared struggle.”

As more people move to Texas, Director of Environmental Studies Dan Northcut ‘81 believes the electrical infrastructure will continue to struggle.

“Politicians keep saying that Texas is open for business,” Northcut said. “They want more and more people to come because they can make money off them. They

power.

expect Texas to be a powerhouse, but the state hasn’t kept up with the infrastructure to deal with all these people coming to Texas.”

Skeptical about the improvements made to the power grid since the last extreme temperatures, Northcut isn’t sure what to expect this winter.

“The funding for infrastructure just gets smaller and smaller and smaller, and we pay the price with blackouts,” Northcut said. “If you want to live in a safe, decent society, you have to pay the price of paying more attention. If we began to have blackouts again, it wouldn’t surprise me at all.”

Even though Mittal made it through the summer, there is no telling how many more outages are to come, especially with the forecasted temperatures for this winter reaching critically low levels.

“We started buying more external heaters, blankets, and snow gear for tires on the chance the power does go out this winter,” Mittal said. “I hope I do not have to worry about another roadblock getting in the way of living my day-to-day life like it did this summer.”

Senior publishes book about endangered languages

By Doan Nguyen

O ver this past summer, senior Sohum Sukhatankar wrote and published a new book titled Exploring Endangered Languages. During a nine-day trip to northeast India, Sukhatankar came across many tribes speaking languages that he had no knowledge of before.

Slowly getting replaced by languages like Assamese and Hindi, these tribal languages were dying out.

“When I started taking Latin in seventh grade, it struck me; Latin is more than 2000 years old, and we’re able to learn so much about Roman culture and history through just the language,” Sukhatankar said.

Fueled by his curiosity of these endangered languages, he started to interview members of the tribes, the professors studying them and went to tribal heritage museums. During the end of his junior year, he self-published an 80-page report. Instantly, there was support for the book.

“When I talked to the members of the tribes, it struck me how much they appreciated my actions,” Sukhatankar said. “Some of them would give me dictionaries of the language or other tokens of appreciation.”

Exploring Endangered Languages also opened windows of opportunity for him. He used the book to help him get an online internship at Living Tongues, an endangered language company, where he edited dic-

tionaries of other endangered Indian languages.

Sukhatankar’s book is just the beginning of his interest.

“Once I’m in college, I plan to major in linguistics,” Sukhatankar said. “As far as the actual impact the book has had on me, I’d say I definitely want to do more meaningful work with it in the future.”

Friends and family members made sure to congratulate Sukhatankar for his success and dedication in this field of work at such a young age.

“One of the people I interviewed made a Facebook post,” Sukhatankar said. “It’s cool to see how much it meant to both my friends and the people I interviewed.”

Recent power grid failures created causing concern that the city is not prepared for the upcoming winter. Austin Street CEO Daniel Roby discusses the consequences that come with losing

DARKNESS

Junior Akul Mittal studies in the dark, waiting for his power to be turned back on. His only source of light: a flashlight.

BLACKOUT This map shows the power outages across the metroplex during a storm at 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 14.

PHOTO / AKUL MITTAL

PHOTO / COURTESY ONCOR OUTAGE SERVICES

Language proficiency: a dying art

Schools across the country have been cutting their foreign language programs, citing budget deficits and student disinterest, leaving thousands of students without the opportunity to study language and culture.

By Hilton Sampson and Kayden Zhong

Faced with a budget deficit nearing $75 million, West Virginia University made a list of sweeping changes to its curriculum. Among them is a proposal to eliminate the foreign language department.

For decades, schools have promoted the importance of having a language department—to encourage students to study other cultures, to give them an advantage in a competitive job market or simply to allow them to tackle a challenging curriculum.

According to the Wall Street Journal, as the university’s enrollment has declined, spending has not, forcing institutions to downsize or eliminate their foreign language curriculum entirely.

As a result, colleges have been forced to adopt smaller class sizes, leading to over 650 college language programs being removed over a prior three-year period, according to the Modern Language Association.

Beginning in the fifth grade, Marksmen choose from Spanish, Chinese or Latin. Gene and Alice Oltrogge Master Teaching Chair and Chinese instructor Janet Lin said the three languages offered at the school are both practical and effective.

“We don’t have that large of a student body, so I think we offer three very different languages that can represent that,” Lin said.

According to Language Department Chair Zach Erwin ‘96, the language options have changed over time.

“When I was a student at St. Mark’s in [the] 1990s, we still had French, German and Japanese classes,” Erwin said. “But gradually, interest in those languag-

es waned... whereas interest in Spanish and Chinese grew. Meanwhile, our Latin enrollments have remained pretty steady for quite a long time.”

In spite of the few offerings, Lin believes that the language department brings diverse cultural events to all students beyond the language they’re studying. Events like the Lunar New Year Celebration and International Week allow students to experience cultures that they might not be exposed to otherwise.

For Zach Gilstrap ‘18, who studied Chinese at St. Mark’s for six years and continued his language study

“LANGUAGES SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT ARE FUN TO LEARN FOR THE SAKE OF LEARNING.

at Yale, one of the most memorable aspects of his time learning Chinese came through a study-abroad program the summer before his freshman year of high school when he and his classmates traveled to China for three weeks.

“That was my first time outside of the country,” Gilstrap said. “It was a huge culture shock just being in a different country.”

Staying in Beijing and Xi’an, Gilstrap saw Chinese culture from a different perspective, learning day-today cultural differences while interacting with his host family and taking classes at a local middle school.

Erwin was also able to travel abroad as a student, going to Spain on the summer before his senior year.

“When I was in graduate school, I lived in Madrid for a semester and worked for the Duke study abroad

program there,” Erwin said. “I’ve also spent several summers in Galicia in northwestern Spain. Most recently, I delivered a presentation at the annual conference of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, which was held in Salamanca, Spain, in July.”

Blake Daugherty ‘18, also a six-year Chinese student at 10600, went on to major in Chinese at Dartmouth and has been successful at pursuing real-world business opportunities as a result of his studies.

“Chinese directly helped me get internships while in college, one at the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of China and one at a Shanghai-based investment bank,” said Daugherty. “Both required me to spend time networking within these respective communities until I found a place willing to have me for a term.”

To Daugherty, studying Chinese was never solely about the professional advantages that it provided.

“A sustainable motive for learning a language should primarily be out of a desire for your own benefit,” Daugherty said. “Languages should be something that are fun to learn for the sake of learning.”

Gilstrap thinks that people who don’t have the opportunity to study another language at all are missing out on the chance to learn how to better interact with other people from around the world.

Lin worries West Virginia’s proposal may influence other schools to follow suit, leaving even more students unable to continue language studies.

“It’s a very bad moment,” Lin said. “It is not just the students who want to learn a second language who are at a disadvantage. I think the whole school is limited in what they can be exposed to in culture and language.”

Hockaday overhauls day schedule to promote well-being

By Weston Chance

Students’ days are dictated by their schedule, and this year, the Hockaday School hopes theirs will allow students to have a good day every day. After 20 years with the same schedule, Hockaday made a change, altering the number of class periods and means of rotation.

“On our previous schedule, for example, in Upper School, students had four class periods a day on a sixday rotation,” Hockaday’s Eugene McDermott Head of School, Dr. Laura Leathers said. “This year, they have three classes a day on a seven-day rotation, and each

class is slightly longer at 100 minutes.”

The main goal of this change is to promote students’ well-being, helping them to thrive in the classroom.

“We hope this reduces the stress on students and allows teachers to go deeper into their subject area during each class period,” Leathers said.

To create this new schedule, Hockaday worked with a management company, as well as working with students and faculty to create an ideal system.

“This project included several significant pieces including data gathering, interviews, surveys and campus visits,” Leathers said.

But improving student performance in class was

not the sole objective; Hockaday also hopes the news schedule will increase student opportunities outside of the classroom.

“We wanted to adopt divisional schedules that allow us to expand our interdisciplinary and interdivisional work and create opportunities for all-school community time,” Leathers said. “We are excited to modify our daily schedules to allow us to advance some of the goals we’ve identified as a school.”

Similar to the schedule change at 10600 Preston several years ago, Hockaday hopes to free up time for students to engage in their community through clubs, sports, and other extracurriculars.

PHOTO / JAKE DeBOEVER

” Blake Daugherty

IN THE CLASSROOM Spanish instructor Dr. Katherine Anson teaches a grammar lesson. Anson is one of 14 teachers in the Upper School Language Department.

Dallas ranked one of worst cities for drivers

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

But such prevalent speeding in Dallas is putting drivers at greater risk, and, according to Ullah, is the largest contributing factor to car crashes in the city.

As the vice-president of Kinley Horn, a engineering consulting firm, Tom Grant oversees the designing of intersections for cars, transit, bikes and pedestrians.

Grant confirms that the problem of speeding in the city is real. But according to Grant, work is being done to decrease speeding by configuring road designs to discourage drivers from traveling at high speeds.

“If there are a lot of trees or cars parked on the street, that makes you feel like, ‘I better go slow just to make sure I’m being safe’ versus some roads like Preston, where it feels natural that you should be going 60 miles per hour, even though there’s a speed limit of 45 or 35,” Grant said. “Road design is something that’s changing a bit to try to help change people’s driving patterns.”

Grant believes that as cars get safer and faster and drivers become more dependent on their car’s technology, pedestrians are put at higher risks than they have been in years past. Due to the lack of pedestrian infrastructure in Dallas, this problem is amplified.

“Electric vehicles weigh more than [gasoline] cars, and they can go faster, which is a problem for people, especially new drivers,” Grant said. “We can go from

“IT USED TO BE A VERY RARE THING TO SEE SOMEONE DRIVING ON THEIR PHONE, AND NOW IT’S ALMOST NORMAL. THAT’S CORRELATED TO MORE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS AND JUST BAD DRIVING IN GENERAL.” Michael

Ullah

zero to 60 mph in just a couple of seconds whereas before, it would have taken ten seconds. You tap the gas and you’ve got more power than you’re used to, so even though these cars have safety features on, pedestrians and other cars that don’t have those safety features are at risk if people aren’t paying attention.”

The City of Dallas has labeled several streets, such as Royal Lane, as “High Injury Corridors” where more pedestrians or bikes are more likely to get hit.

“There’s a lack of good pedestrian and bicycle facilities,” Grant said. “So if there’s not a good sidewalk or bike lane, that’s one of the concerns, and so the city is trying to improve safety for the vulnerable users which are primarily the pedestrians and bicyclists.”

distracted driving has become a major problem throughout the country over the last decade. The NHTSA reports that texting while driving is six times more dangerous than driving drunk.

During his 14 years at the department, Ullah has seen Dallas driving worsen as the usage of smartphones has become more rampant in the car.

“It used to be a very rare thing to see someone driving on their phone,” Ullah said, “and now it’s almost normal. That’s correlated to more traffic accidents and just bad driving in general.”

Drivers ed instructor Tony William, who works for Dallas Driving School, believes teen drivers are the most susceptible to distracted driving.

“Many times, young drivers are too busy texting or listening to music, and then they get into an accident,” William said.

In fact, according to NJM insurance, teen drivers are three times more likely to get in an accident compared to drivers aged 20 and above. But William thinks he has an answer.

“My solution, and I tell people every day in fact, is that you need to observe your situation,” William said. “When you’re driving, look at both corners. Even if you have the right of way, you still want to check. You can always be more observant and attentive.”

William says that at Dallas Driving School, about half of his students do an online parent-taught program as opposed to going to an in-person driving school. William feels attending a driving school is superior to other programs as students are forced to pay more attention.

Vyas, who completed an online parent-taught driver’s ed course, thinks his father prepared him well to take on Dallas roads.

But Vyas sees how the online learning portion of the course, where he learned more technical details

and rules of driving, can be ineffective when students easily breeze through the lessons and pass the sections tests without actually learning any information.

Vyas thinks this factor may leave new drivers at a greater disadvantage, taking on driving in Dallas without a sound foundation of how to navigate a vehicle.

“You have to be more careful when you’re learning how to drive here.” Vyas said. “If everyone is careful, it becomes less dangerous, so an emphasis on that while learning how to drive will make it better.”

For Ullah, it all comes down to controlling two factors: managing speed, and staying off your phone. Driving at or below the speed limit and holding off on that one text or phone call keeps yourself and every other driver on the road a little bit safer. By keeping these two rules in mind, young drivers can learn how to best navigate the dangerous landscape of Dallas driving.

Alum’s new book includes life lessons and business advice

Ken Hersh ‘81 breaks down some of the most important parts of his life and career in his new book. The book, written in a conversational style, includes anecdotes and lessons from his time as a student, his successes in business and even his biggest failures. The following is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of his book.

KEN: Luck certainly plays a role in life. But I think you put yourself in the position to have luck. That is the key. When I tell my story to people, I don’t say I was a born leader or risk taker. It’s more that I put myself in situations where the rewards outweighed the risks. What was the downside of going to Morgan Stanley? It was a brand-name firm. My resume was not going backward by doing it, and I was young. I could still go to business school or do something else if it didn’t work out. I was excited about the unknown of going to New York City and trying something new. It did not really dawn on me that I could fall on my face. Maybe my naivete was a blessing. I feel the same way about making investments: If you have your downside protected, you can really let the upside run. It is a way of managing risk, and your life, by putting yourself in places with opportunity.

STEVE: When you gave the 2017 commencement address at St. Mark’s, your old high school, you used the shrimp dinner story to illustrate a point.

KEN: Yes. The title of the speech was “Be Uncomfortable.” That’s one of the lessons I’ve learned and now try to share with others. As a kid from a middle-class Jewish family from Dallas, I was definitely uncomfortable heading to a blue-blood firm like Morgan Stanley in New York City. I felt even more uncomfort-

able when they immediately placed me in their energy group. They figured that since I was from Texas, I must know energy. But my mother and stepfather were both economics professors. I didn’t know the difference between natural gas and gasoline. So there I was, a Jewish liberal arts major in a finance job at a, shall we say, WASP-y firm, focused on an industry I knew nothing about. Completely uncomfortable. On my first day, a fellow analyst sat me down in front of a computer with a spreadsheet program and said, “Use this spreadsheet and create a debt-amortization table.” Having missed the training program, I recall saying to him, “What is a spreadsheet?” and “What is a debt amortization table?” He must’ve thought I was a total idiot. I don’t recall feeling like one. But I do recall realizing that I had better get caught up. And fast!

STEVE: And the lesson?

KEN: I really believe that if you aren’t completely uncomfortable on your first day on the job, you’re probably in the wrong job. It is important to experience the full learning curve, from the disorienting start to the accelerated learning phase through to the satisfying feeling of mastery. I told the kids at St. Mark’s, “Put yourself out, set a high hurdle, back up, run, and then clear it. Let the fog of the future excite you.”

PHOTO / COURTESY HENRY ESTES

Find Ken Hersh’s newest book, “The Fastest Tortoise: Winning in Industries I Knew Nothing About — A Life Spent Figuring It Out”, online and at book stores near you. The memoir, published in a Q&A format co-authored by Steve Fiffer, was released on March 23. This is Hersh’s first book.

TOTALED Junior Henry Estes was involved in a car accident near campus last March. On-campus security helped Estes sort out the details after the accident.

Perspectives across borders: A summer in Tapei

A Texas Teaching Odyssey

New Doc Nelson Alumni Teaching Chair and planetarium director Michael Lane shares his journey from California to Texas and his aspirations for the school.

By Oliver Peck and Winston Lin

When Michael Lane left The College Preparatory School in Oakland, Calif., he was looking for an adventure. Having grown up in Bakersfield, Lane was a California native who had been there his whole life, even attending college at UC Berkeley. After receiving the opportunity to take over as the new Doc Nelson Alumni Teaching Chair, teaching both physics and chemistry, he decided to come to Texas.

“I felt a little bit like a hobbit,” Lane said. “Hobbits are very conservative, and they never go on adventures. And I thought, ‘before I get too old, I need to have an adventure. I’m going to just pack up and go to Texas and have fun.’”

And so far, things are going well.

After gaining an interest in chemistry during his junior year of highschool, Lane majored in chemical engineering at UC Berkeley before switching to chemistry

after two years. He then stayed there for his doctorate in nuclear chemistry, where he specialized in spontaneous fission of heavy elements, publishing numerous journals based on his studies and contributing to various research books. However, after graduating and spending a year doing research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Lane realized he missed the constant human interaction of a classroom environment.

“I just went into teaching not expecting to be a teacher very long, then get back into research, but it became sort of addicting,” Lane said. “And before I knew it, I was a permanent teacher.”

Lane uses his extensive knowledge and experience to guide his students in the classroom.

“I really enjoy being in front of the classroom and imparting knowledge to people,” Lane said. “I want them to leave the class being smarter than me. I want them to learn material, even if it’s not science.”

Vikram Singh Head Writer

You don’t truly value something until you spend time without it.

This summer, I learned that firsthand. I spent a total of seven weeks this summer in Taiwan studying Mandarin. I went as a part of a study abroad program organized by the U.S. State Department, called NSLI-Y. What truly stuck with me from this experience, was the culture of Taiwan. Initially— in accordance with the old saying I mentioned earlier— I began to think of everything I had back at home that I didn’t have with me in Taiwan.

Strangely enough, as time went on, I began to see things I had in Taiwan that I was going to miss when I went back home.

I felt both overwhelmed and impressed by the richness of the culture, and hospitable nature of the people, being interested in their views on certain topics, but also impressed by their openness to new perspectives. I felt conflicted. Sometimes you need to step out and widen your perspective. There are certain things I love about the U.S. that can’t be found anywhere else. At the same time, my appreciation for the cultures and people of Taiwan can’t be put into words.

One day, as I sat down to order a bowl of dumplings and beef noodles, a man approached me. My waiter quickly introduced himself as the owner of the restaurant and told me his name was Li Yuan. After he took my order of a full pot of dumplings, We began discussing differences and similarities between our countries. He asked one question that stuck to me.

“Why in the U.S. is climate change regarded as a political issue and not a general issue?”

This question stuck to me for a few reasons, mainly the fact that it revealed their opinions on climate change. But, in explaining to him why in the U.S, due to certain things like political beliefs as well as economics and industries like the automotive and oil industries, he was incredibly understanding.

“Many foreigners, especially Americans, think that we have a sort of dislike for you and your people. That’s simply not true. We just want to understand. Not argue,” Li Yuan said to me.

These words will forever stay with me. If people would simply agree or disagree with others’ ideas without knowing what shaped their beliefs and their circumstances, this world would advance at a slower rate. Disagreement without understanding is ignorance, but disagreeing with understanding is civil. Agreeing without understanding is blind, and agreeing with understanding is advancement.

PHOTO / WINSTON LIN

SURROUNDED Lane gazes up at the school quad from inside the planetarium.

Beneath The Blue Horizon

Through a professional development grant from the school, middle school science instructor Zach Smith recounts the best experiences from his three week excursion to the Great Barrier Reef .

By Oliver Peck

Zach Smith studied glaciers in Antarctica, skied across icefields in Alaska and climbed high above the clouds to summit Mount Kilimanjaro. But now, the Middle School science instructor descended into the endless depths below him, searching for the vibrant coral gardens teeming with ocean life beneath the crystal-clear waters of the Pacific.

He was scuba diving in a coral atoll in the Great Barrier Reef – a ring-shaped coral reef formed from an eroded volcano to create an extremely deep shelf, dropping thousands of feet down to the bottom of the ocean.

“We went past the continental shelf out to the coral atoll which was an entire eight-hour overnight trip by boat,” Smith said. “In a regular reef, you dive and look down 50 feet to see the bottom – here, it’s 5,000, 6,000, 7,000 feet, so you never see the bottom.”

An experienced diver, Smith lived in the town of Cairns and aboard boats for three weeks this summer conducting his research. He wanted to find out how the Great Barrier Reef compared to reefs in the Caribbean, where he used to run coral diving programs for teachers.

“When people conceive of it, they think of one reef, but the Great Barrier Reef is probably 10,000 reefs,” Smith said. “And even though I knew it, and I’d seen it on maps, to actually go to a reef and have to drive on a boat to another reef, you sort of fully experience it.”

In addition to visiting the mesmerizing coral reefs, Smith had a unique encounter with a group of migrating Minke whales.

“I’d never encountered whales as an underwater diver,” Smith said. “And so we had an encounter for two, three hours, and it was pretty incredible. They were gigantic, probably eight meters long, and only a couple of meters away. And not only are they big, but they’re really curious.”

Although this vast natural wonder is filled with beauty and marine life, the reef has its problems. With the substantial amount of tourists that come to visit the Great Barrier Reef every year, protecting the reef is the top priority. Smith wanted to see how Australia manages the reef to maintain its condition and shield it from the effects of human activity.

“Like the Amazon is the lungs of the climate for the planet, the Great Barrier Reef is incredibly important for the marine habitat and ecology of the entire South Pacific,” Smith said. “You can’t let everybody out there all the time. They’ll just go and destroy it. They’ll stand on it. So I wanted to see how they limited the boats and where they went, and that was really interesting.”

By limiting the access of tourists to certain areas of the reef, Australia preserves the majority of its condition. Divers like Smith, however, can access those untouched parts to explore the reef in its entirety.

“When most people go to the Grand Canyon, they only go to the South Rim,” Smith said. “Then they stay there for 20 minutes and go 'wow, that’s really cool.' And then they go away. But there’s this giant Grand Canyon. So it gets preserved because you’ve limited access to a certain region. This is the same thing that Australia has done.”

Diving with other experienced divers, Smith and his colleagues were able to compare their previous ex-

Drought, heat causes dilemma on Quad

By William Kozoman

When school started, the Quad was extremely wet — the dirt had turned into a slushy mud, and puddles were gathering in several areas. Despite this, there hadn’t been any rain since mid-July. So, what was the catch? Counterintuitively, the heat and dryness plays a major role in actually causing the water build-up as St. Mark’s tries to preserve the look of its campus.

“Anywhere would have the same trouble when you’ve got a lot of people on the grass, but you want it to look nice,” AP Environmental Science teacher Dan Northcut ’81 said. “It’s almost impossible to have both, and when the conditions get really bad, like this last month when it was so hot, it’s just even more impossible to have it nice and playable.”

The National Weather Service recorded no

able rainfall between July 17 and Sept. 2, which encompassed the first two weeks of school and the prior month. This 48-day dry spell marks the eighth-longest in the DFW area’s history. Despite it being a record, it’s not unusual anymore. In fact, an even longer 67-day dry streak occurred last year.

“The trends are going to get worse because of climate change,” Northcut said. “Our top 20 hottest years on record are all since 2000.”

This extreme heat impedes the soil's ability to absorb water, leaving puddles on the surface from irrigation. That said, the best window to water the Quad are at night or in the early morning.

“Dallas’ water department has water restrictions in place,” Director of the Physical Plant Mark Webb said. “When watering takes place we cycle and soak. This will contribute to puddling in areas that are low.”

periences with what they saw in Australia.

“I can go back 20 years ago when I dove in one of the reefs off the Virgin Islands, and it was unbelievable,” Smith said. “If I go back to the same reef today, it’ll be completely different and probably not as healthy. Some of it is direct contact with people who touch it, step on it, break it, or take stuff home – however, a lot of it is temperature change and marine pollution.”

Although well-preserved, the Great Barrier Reef is no exception to this sad reality.

“Even though the Great Barrier Reef has seen less divers at some of the locations, it’s still deteriorated because of the temperature changes,” Smith said. “And this last year has been horrible. It’s been so much warmer that a lot of reefs have become bleached all over the planet.”

Though his findings won’t be published as research, Smith will utilize his research in his teachings.

“My experience on the Great Barrier Reef will be included when I teach my oceanography section this year,” Smith said. “In the book that I wrote on climate, I will add another chapter about oceans’ effect on the climate based on my new experience.”

Trips like Smith’s scuba diving expedition in the Great Barrier Reef expand our understanding of oceanography and the profound impact of climate change on our planet’s precious ecosystems, serving as a poignant reminder of the delicate balance between human exploration and environmental conservation. It is a testament to the beauty of our natural world, but also the urgent need to protect it, not only for the sake of adventurers like Smith, but for future generations to witness.

As St. Mark’s deals with issues of heat and drought with respect to campus grounds, the school also has to consider its use of water as it becomes increasingly scarce and expensive.

To address the problem, the school is currently upgrading the irrigation system campus-wide, but there is still room for improvement.

“One thing I would love to see the school do is rainwater harvesting, which we could do because we’ve got the right roofs for it,” Northcut said.

Rainwater harvesting would make St. Mark’s less dependent on outside sources, although it may ultimately be limited by restrictions enacted by the city.

Weather and climate increasingly affect our campus, as illustrated by the Quad dilemma, making it a priority that the school stays ready to tackle these issues in the future.

PHOTOS / COURTESY ZACH SMITH

UNDER THE SEA

Representing the school in Australia, Smith photographed his discoveries and plans to use his research in his teaching.

Students benefit from world travel

By Vikram Singh and William Kozoman

From traveling to different universities for research programs to venturing across the globe for study-abroad programs, Marksmen participate in exchange programs that broaden their horizons and expand their cultural understanding about the world around them.

One of those was junior Maddox Canham, who went abroad as part of a community service program to help the environment.

“The main reason I went abroad was that I wanted to do conservation work,” Canham said. “And what better place to go than the Galapagos, which is known for its great biodiversity?”

Although students from the school typically participate in these different programs abroad in order to gain a certain skill in relation to their area of interest, they often end up coming to appreciate the opportunities they have been given and get a wider perspective by seeing different countries and cultures.

“I stayed with a host family who knew no English, and it was great for me to practice my Spanish as well and to immerse myself in Ecuadorian culture and daily life,” Canham said. “My experience also helped me realize how lucky I am as a person. I am very fortunate to have such a wonderful family, house and school that support me.”

In addition to better understanding the world around them, Marksmen who travel abroad often find ways to give back to the community they be-

come part of in places abroad.

“While there, I taught English to children at an afterschool program for a week, and did conservation work the second week,” Canham said. “Both were very enjoyable, but the most fun was probably working with the Galapagos tortoises.”

Students also partake in many study-abroad programs in order to further increase their fluency level in a language. Aadi Khasgiwala ’23 decided to take a gap year this year and spend the year in Taiwan, taking classes at Tamkang University.

“Ms. Lin was an incredible teacher over my years at St. Mark’s. Her classes and their information on Taiwan really appealed to me when thinking about applying for a gap year program,” Khasgiwala said. “I feel like applying for a scholarship to go abroad for a whole year before college wasn’t an experience I was going to get the chance to do again.”

Students acknowledge that putting themselves out in a new place with different cultures can always have its challenges. These challenges, which although at first seem daunting, are something Marksmen know will only make themselves better and more understanding.

“Learning Chinese with complete immersion in the language and culture was the main appeal to me. Also, being a 12-year Marksman, I thought it was time for me to somewhat self-impose a ‘culture shock’ to push me outside my comfort zone,” said Khasgiwala. “I’ll be living withthree other roommates, out of which two of them only speak Chinese. It’s an experience like no other in terms

Science teacher Lane to take over planetarium duties

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

In addition to teaching in the classroom, Lane is the new director of the planetarium. Lane will be responsible for delivering astronomy lessons to students, developing new shows, discovering creative learning opportunities, helping other teachers use the planetarium in their instruction and hosting special events for the community.

“The planetarium has software to help students study not just astronomy, but earth science, environmental science, anatomy… even social science and history, so the director will be an important resource for teachers across campus,” Stephen M. Seay ‘68 Science Department Chair Fletcher Carron said. Carron was also excited by Lane’s natural desire to

teach and immediate dedication to the community.

“In just five weeks with the students, he’s already having a big impact on their experience,” Carron said.

As important as his classroom instruction is, Lane is also focused on his interactions with students in the community.

“I’m a real people person, so I have a lot of fun with students, and I’m really looking forward to meeting all the students here,” Lane said.

After first visiting the school, Lane was also intrigued by the school’s pride and ethical mission.

“There’s a lot of focus on helping the students to grow ethically, and to be good people,” Lane said.

Outside of the classroom, Lane stays fit by playing sports, working out and running. He is an avid film enthusiast, and he also loves music, though he wishes he

of expanding my world view and of course, my language skills.”

Khasgiwala is participating in the National Security Language Initiative for Youth Program, set up and organized by the U.S. State Department, though he will not be the first Marksman to take part in this program; in fact, he’s following in the footsteps of a previous one.

“[Max Palys ’21] did the exact same academic year program at Tamkang University that I am doing,” said Khasgiwala. “Max was fantastic at conveying the efficacy of the program and how much it had helped him grow in Chinese and also

“APPLYING FOR A SCHOLARSHIP TO GO ABROAD FOR A WHOLE YEAR BEFORE COLLEGE WASN’T AN EXPERIENCE I WAS GOING TO GET THE CHANCE TO DO AGAIN.”

as a person. He definitely inspired my decision and was a helpful resource to consult as a fellow Marksman.”

As study-abroad programs in general become more and more popular among Marksmen, students are beginning to realize the value in traveling to other countries, stepping out of their comfort zone and reaching out to communities in need.

“I truly can only walk away with things to gain,” said Khasgiwala. “I have nothing to lose, and so much potential to grow.”

could play himself.

“People think of a science teacher that just goes home and likes to watch science documentaries,” Lane said. “I’ll do that occasionally, but that’s not my hobby. I don’t just get out audiobooks for science and listen to that. So some kids joke about that. They’ll see me going for a jog with my earbuds in and say, ‘are you listening to a science lecture?’ No, I listen to music.”

On the Web

For more info on all of the new faculty this year, visit smremarker.com.

Lane is a multifaceted educator with boundless enthusiasm, dedicated to enriching the lives of others. The school has found not just a teacher, but a guide, an explorer and a source of inspiration for faculty and students alike.

Aadi Khasgiwala

PHOTO / COURTESY MADDOX CANHAM

HARD AT WORK Junior Maddox Canham (in red) working in an effort to help the Galapagos giant tortoises.

As Marksmen begin to expand their horizons and make an impact on different communities, students are increasingly looking for international oppurtunities to make a difference beyond 10600 Preston.

Burning the midnight oil in the biology lab

The arrival of summer vacation brings with it plenty of time for students to pursue jobs, internships, or passion projects. We sat down with two seniors to discuss how they spent their time researching in the laboratory.

By Joseph Sun and Doan Nyugen

Life-saving vaccines and medications don’t just appear out of thin air. Behind each lies thousands of research hours and millions of dollars.

In recent years, the United States has led global research and development expenditure, boasting an annual budget that reaches hundreds of billions of dollars. This massive investment has played an instrumental role in shaping various fields and advancing scientific knowledge and innovation on a global scale.

While entering this field of research and academia holds promise and intrigue for scientists, many view it as a less attractive career path, primarily because of its low financial compensation and demanding workload.

But certain students who understood these sacrifices still decided to temporarily join the industry over the summer, experiencing firsthand lab research and preparing themselves for a potential career.

Senior Ethan Gao interned over the summer at the University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW). Gao has always shown interest in the sciences, but other career paths, such as the military, were also in the running. Gao needed to explore his choices.

“I wanted to see whether that life would be a good fit for me,” Gao said. “I had always been close to research through my father’s profession, and I wanted to try a smaller version of his lifestyle to see if I wanted to pursue it in the future.”

In a matter of days, Gao went from interacting with fellow classmates and teachers to post-doctoral

students, undergraduates and professors, from basic chemistry assignments and working a 9-5 job in a fully-operating lab.

“It’s a lot more freedom than high school,” Gao said. “Your professor isn’t going to just tell you what to do. There’s no more ‘study this, and study that’; you’re trying to produce new results.”

Due to water polo and a military summer camp, Gao missed out on one of the most vital and interesting parts of a 3-month-long internship: research.

“YOUR PROFESSOR ISN’T GOING TO JUST TELL YOU WHAT TO DO. THERE’S NO MORE STUDY THIS, AND STUDY THAT; YOU’RE TRYING TO PRODUCE NEW RESULTS.“ Ethan

Gao

“I’m still grateful to have the lab experience,” Gao said. “But I never really got any research of my own. I wish I could have gotten that part of the experience.”

Gao is still torn between career choices, but the internship allowed him to better understand a potential path.

“I might do medicine later, after the military,” Gao said. “I don’t know if the military is my number one anymore.”

Similarly, senior Alex Pan also pursued his interest in research this past summer, something he’s spent years preparing for.

“In Middle School, I did math team competitions,

and I was always the best at the science section,” Pan said. “So, I studied that part more. It snowballed into wanting to learn more about it and do practical things.”

Pan’s passion for science eventually led him to a lab opportunity at UTSW, where he continues to do research despite the end of his official internship two summers ago.

“I don’t think I’ve missed a day since July,” Pan said. “I have a lot of role models, who have been here for years, doing 14 hours a day in the lab, and I’ve noticed that all the people in my lab seem like they’re always here. I think it’s just seeing these people around here that keeps me coming back.”

Throughout his summer at the internship, Pan memorized many lab techniques and conducted various experiments, applying new methods and sharpening familiar ones. But more often than not, he failed.

“I think the most important thing I learned was about how to plan and try to avoid failure,” Pan said. “When something fails, or when something you try to avoid happens, you need to learn how to plan better for next time. By seeing where the experiment failed, I could then know I should avoid some of these conditions in the next experiment so that there’s a higher likelihood it succeeds.”

While both Pan and Gao treasured their time over the summer, lab work may still not be for anyone.

“If you don’t like lab research, or if you’ve done school labs and just hated it, maybe try something else over the summer,” Gao said. “But, if you’re into science, and you want to pursue a deeper research into it, this is a great opportunity to do that.”

New FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team blazes trails for the school

By Andrew Ye

A new route has appeared on campus for students interested in engineering to prove themselves and even compete in global competitions in the coming years.

Seniors Vivek Patel and Arav Rawat have started a new robotics team to compete in the First Tech Challenge (FTC) — a highly competitive event with more than 82,000 participants.

Patel and Rawat, each from world-class FTC teams, experienced the rewarding atmosphere firsthand and wanted to bring that feeling to the school, where any Marksman could participate.

“Our plan is to build up the engineering program, as

we already have the First Lego League (FLL) teams,” Patel said. “Not only could we establish a strong team this year, but we could also establish a system for future Marksmen who want to participate.”

The leaders are looking forward to the team’s first competition in October, and are currently educating newer members in the subject.

“Currently we have 10 members locked in and ready to go,” Patel said. “We have them come in after school as much as they can so we can teach them basic skills such as building, programming, and especially talking with other existing teams to gain a stronger foothold of what they are participating in.”

The team’s budget is an issue, as most FTC teams have an initial investment of around $5,000, with

competitive teams budgets’ reaching up to $20,000.

“It’s going to be really tough since we aren’t allowed to get monetary sponsorships from any companies under our school’s policy,” Rawat said. “We’ll have to figure things out as we move along through the season. We did get a $1,000 grant, but right now we are just trying to spend as little as possible.”

Despite these challenges, the FTC team remains determined in accomplishing their goals.

“It’s about bringing access to the school, and being able to easily teach younger students about engineering and manufacturing,” Patel said. “We have a new science building and a new Makerspace with amazing machinery; we should bring as many students in to use it to its fullest potential.”

PHOTOS / COURTESY ALEX PAN

MICROSCOPY Senior Alex Pan prepares cell cultures (left), analyzes stains on his experiments (top right) and looks at cells under a microscope (bottom right).

Another degree of education

The data is clear: in recent years the number of students pursuing secondary education has begun to decline. However, St. Mark’s faculty continue consistently pursuing graduate degrees. We sat down with members of the faculty holding a doctorate to better understand their motivation for swimming aganst the tide.

By Oliver Peck, Joseph Sun and Christian Warner

There’s a certain level of prestige that comes with the title of Doctor.

It commands a certain level of respect from peers, elders, and younger people alike. To some, it is inspiring. To others, intimidating.

But, it’s expensive, time-consuming and, to some, not helpful in advancing one’s career. Graduate school, especially in the modern era, is viewed by some as a luxury of the past and ultimately unnecessary.

According to The New York Times Magazine, from 2009 to 2016, around 70 percent of highschool students enrolled in college. Recently, that number dropped to 62 percent, and the downward trend is still continuing.

A majority of young Americans have now voiced that college is not crucial, and that a high school degree is sufficient for financial stability. Promised with an early and decent wage, many high school graduates choose to join the workforce rather than attend college.

But for those who choose to pursue a higher education, shouldn’t they gain more financial independence?

According to The New York Times, since 1980, the wealth gap between a college and a high school graduate has dwindled significantly. This trend also follows post graduate students, with most industries offering little to no compensation. Moreover, the additional burden of student loans and lack of significant income suggest a student will most likely owe over $50,000 after graduating.

According to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, the median salary of doctoral graduates is $90,000 and $55,000 in the humanities.

Despite this, almost all teachers at the school hold a graduate degree, and some say they plan on continuing their academic career. English instructor Dr. GayMarie Vaughan obtained her doctorate degree in liberal studies this past summer at the Southern Methodist University.

“I think it’s always been a bucket list item for me, and I thought about it several times along the way in my life,” Vaughan said, “I thought it’d be a good idea to

fulfill it [as] something that would make me a better person.”

Vaughan’s choice to take another four years of advanced and rigorous studies brought her new perspectives and expertise in certain topics.

“I wanted to look deeper into ethics and human rights to ultimately become more aware of the ways I could champion things that would obviously help the world,” Vaughan said.

Associate Director of the Leadership and Ethics Program and Master Teaching Chair Dr. Martin Stegemoeller emphasizes learning for the purpose of seeking knowledge rather than simply getting an ‘A’ grade or, in this case, a more decorated degree. These same ideals applied to his decision to continue his studies.

“I had no real interest in getting the degree itself,” Stegemoeller said. “I just wanted to keep studying philosophy because it was good for me. I was interested in it and my course of study was also in literature which I was fascinated by at the time. I got offered a really, really good fellowship that just let me do all that work and get paid for it. I just got the degree along the way.”

The doctorate title is commonly known to denote an expertise in a particular field; Stegemoeller believes that specifically in the humanities this may not hold true. This falsehood factors into students’ decisions to complete a doctoral degree for, in Stegemoeller’s opinion, the wrong reason.

“I actually think this is a huge problem with the way the PhD is structured in the humanities,” Stegemoeller said. “There’s lots of kids who go through the higher education system and come out with a prestigious degree and virtually nothing to say. It might look good to an employer, but then what do you know about the world, or yourself or life?”

Even in the pursuit of knowledge, Stegemoeller believes his students may find reading books more valuable and worthwhile

CAPTION

Graduating is exciting, but teachers must decide if it’s worth the time (left).

Dr. GayMarie Vaughan displays her PhD in liberal studies, which she recently received from Southern Methodist University (below).

than the intense four year doctoral program.

“The students who have pursued PhDs that I think I’m partially responsible for are not particularly happy kids,” Stegemoeller said. “I would instead urge my students to learn to love to read and think -- then they could do all this stuff for free.” Alternatively, English teacher Dr. Lauren Brozovich believes that a PhD is crucial for students who want to learn at advanced levels.

“Doing something at a high level can help you do it at a lower level,” Brozovich said. “If you have depth of knowledge, you’re just not concerned about the types of questions you’re going to get asked. “I may not know the answer to something the same way my colleagues may not know the answer, but I know how to quickly get an answer. Additionally, if your level of mastery is more shallow, you can kind of feel that you could be nervous about questions.”

Brozovich received her PhD in English literature focusing on 20th century American literature, lyric poetry of the 21st and 20th centuries, and ecocriticism. At her graduate school, the curriculum offered pedagogy courses for students aspiring to enter the teaching profession.

“The senior professor teaching that course comes and observes the teaching fellow’s teaching and gives critical advice on how to get better,” Brozovich said. “And so a PhD is a great opportunity to learn how to teach. Having done research, it helps students build on ideas from scholars.”

Despite the benefits of doctorate studies, some like Stegemoeller claim it unnecessary. The demanding time, money and energy commitment may be too much for those with alternate goals.

“[Getting a degree] is like saying, ‘I’m gonna run a six minute mile,’ instead of, ‘I’m gonna go get fit,’” Stegemoeller said. “There’s nothing magical about it, but the whole structure of it forces you to do stuff that would be hard to do otherwise.”

GRAPHIC / JOSH GOFORTH

Martin Stegemoeller Associate Director of the Leadership and Ethics Program

Lauren Brozovich English Instructor

PHOTO / MATTHEW FREEMAN

New seniors meet buddies

The seniors were able to meet with and get to know their new first, second, and third grade buddies, continuing a longstanding tradition at the school which connects the Lower and Upper Schools.

GUIDING THE YOUTH

COMMENTARY

The value of a real-life hero—and the struggle of becoming one

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Ferris Bueller’s insightful words played on my mind as I warmed up for our Lion Pride Night football game against John Cooper. Looking around is not something I usually do, instead tending to keep focused. That night, though, I decided to soak up the atmosphere as much as possible. After all, I only had a couple more Friday Night Lights remaining.

start to witness the athletic feats of my senior buddy, Chris Roach.

To say Chris was my hero would be an understatement. As I witnessed every play he made on the gridiron, every point he scored on the basketball court, him being a brick wall in the lacrosse goal as he helped the team win a state championship, his legend only grew in my mind.

We share a love of baseball cards and broccoli, and he may be the best Simon player I’ve ever seen; I can’t wait to hang out with him again. But I didn’t just learn about Francis during this Community Time sabbatical, I learned something about myself too.

Grayson Redmond

Managing Editor

As my eyes scanned the stadium while the alma mater played before kickoff, they settled upon a group of Lower Schoolers, who were decked out in their blue and gold next to a pile of snacks.

Twelve years ago, that was little Grayson Redmond, eagerly waiting for the game to

This is probably what made me so nervous last week, as I acrobatically traversed the unusually muddy quad on my way to the Lower School to meet my own buddy, Francis. I realized I had absolutely no idea how I could live up to the massive standards Chris had set.

Now, I couldn’t tell you what he thought of me, but I thought Francis was a pretty cool guy.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always appreciate Chris more than I bet he knows for all he did for my first-grade self, but I think it’s time to leave him in the past, if only for a few months.

From here on out, instead of measuring my success in terms of how I stack up to Chris, I’ll measure it in the width of Francis’ smiles. Maybe one day 12 years from now, he’ll look around like I did and reflect on the good times we had together. I may never know for sure if he does so or not, but he’ll know.

Seniors Zack Goforth (top left), Baker Long (top right), Bennett Alger (bottom left) and Thomas Whitehurst (bottom right) entertain their little buddies.

DEEP IN THOUGHT Senior Bennett Applbaum and his buddy work on a writing assigment. The seniors and their buddies often work on these kinds of exercises together to strengthen their bond.

PHOTOS / COURTESY DAVE CARDEN

Bridging

By Dawson Yao and Linyang Lee

He always had a way out.

Patton Taylor ‘11 was never forced to step in the pool and start swimming laps every afternoon of the week. He could have slept past his alarm and skipped the cold morning swims and lifts. He didn’t need to go to 12 practices a week.

And even after high school, he didn’t need to continue to spend over 20 hours a week pushing through painful swim sets as a water polo player at the United States Naval Academy. He could have dropped out of the sport to help ease the stress of being at the academy. He could have taken the shortcuts.

But he didn’t.

During his time here, former Water Polo coach Mihai Oprea had instilled hard work too deep within him. During his time at the Naval Academy, his college water polo coach had told him that the harder you work, the luckier you get. And always, his parents had told and taught him to never be satisfied.

Everyone faces temptation. Athletes have the choice to not push hard enough on a set. Students have the choice to procrastinate on their essays and studies. Friends have the choice to cheat and ask for the hardest problems on the test.

And sometimes, the pressure and stress of school mounts, and students fall into a vicious cycle.

But with tenets like integrity and honor, the School expects every Marksman to hold off from this temptation. To commit to what it means to be here. To resist this vicious cycle.

Because each student has made a vow: a written pledge to uphold the values that the school defines itself by.

But some get stuck in the cycle. Some are introduced to it. And some just never try to get out.

The Code

At the beginning of every year, each Marksman vows to commit to the values the school holds by signing the honor code.

“The Honor Code was designed to routinely underscore the values and expectations of the school and what it means to be a part of the community,” Eugene McDermott Headmaster David Dini said. “The whole reason to have an honor code is to provide a set of standards that we can hold each other accountable to.”

For Associate Headmaster John Ashton, there’s an expectation placed on every member at school to understand the principle and act accordingly

versity who studies the philosophy of honesty and has written several books on the topic, feels that the effectiveness of honor codes depends on the degree the honor code is embedded in the school’s culture, rather than its mere existence.

Furthermore, he believes that the honor code, by itself, is not enough to curb cheating and instill the virtue of honesty in students.

One experiment that Miller cites asked participants to flip a coin 10 times. The participants were told that they would receive a dollar for every heads they reported that they flipped, and on average, participants reported that they received 6.31 heads, well above the expected value, indicating that there was some cheating. Some participants were explicitly reminded not to cheat before they started flipping, and the average number of heads they reported was 6.22 heads, which was lower than the other participants. Yet, it suggests that cheating still occurred.

“What we’re talking about here is moving the needle,” said Miller, who is also the Project Director of the Honesty Project, which funds philosophy of honesty projects. “We’re not talking about eliminating the problem.”

As a professor himself, Miller utilizes such moral reminders to minimize cheating. Before his tests, he reads the honor code aloud with his students before tests so that the honor code remains fresh in student’s minds.

Role Models

For junior Andrew Xuan, the honor code is part of his everyday life. As part of the requirements to move up the ranks in the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), he was ordered to memorize, recite and live by the honor code. And now, as a flight commander in the Dallas Composite Squadron, he teaches others to do the same.

“You have the ability to inspire because you don’t know where cadets are coming from,” Xuan said. “They can be in terrible situations at home. For them, it could be an escape from home, and what you do there can literally change their lives. Taking that obligation seriously is just one of the things that we always keep in mind.”

When Xuan first joined CAP, he saw this obligation firsthand from his first sergeant. Since CAP is cadet-run, his first sergeant and those in other leadership positions are in the same age group as him and others they lead or have led, serving as role models everyday. Xuan’s first sergeant showed him what a leader can do to motivate a group of people. Even just by maintaining a forceful and energetic demeanor, Xuan saw the squadron’s demeanor change.

Likewise, english instructor Dr. GayMarie Vaughan started using the same moral reminders in her class last year, having her students write out the honor code before vocabulary quizzes. Vaughan believes that even if students hastily write “honor code” on their papers and quickly jump into the multiple choice section, it still helps students think about what it means to be a Marksman.

“We’re teaching boys how to live,” Vaughan said. “And if we want ethical leaders and good men, we have to keep those reminders at the front while they’re forming. Removing temptations is something that you do your whole life, and temptations are everywhere. We know the areas where we’re most tempted to stumble or to violate our own sense of ethics, and like I say in class, you have to build your own

One quasi-experiment yielded near identical results, showing that having role models amongst one’s peers, like in CAP or at school, can be much more effective than having historical role models. The experiment split 107 eighth graders into two different Moral Education classes that met for three hours a week. In one of the classes, a teacher led the students to evaluate and praise some of the exemplary behaviors, like charity work, of someone close to them, with a focus on a few virtues per class. In the other class, students, instead, evaluated and praised the exemplary behaviors of historical figures.

Afterwards, researchers found that those who had role models amongst their peers were far more likely to engage in volunteer work as opposed to those who had historical role models. Furthermore, in the group that had role models amongst their peers, there was an uptick in the student’s engagement in voluntary service before and after the Moral Education class.

Yet, to truly have a role model that spurs action, Miller believes that admiration is not enough.

“We admire all kinds of things that don't change our lives,” Miller said. “ Admiration, though, leads to inspiration, which psychologists call elevation. That means emotionally wanting to become more like the other person with respect to what I admire about them. This emotional response can, in turn, lead to better behavior.”

To get students to have better behavior and embrace the school’s values, Miller believes that the most important thing is for teachers and administrators to embody the values themselves.

“Before you do anything formal, before you do any classroom instruction, it better be the case that these values are being exhibited and demonstrated in the lives of the leaders of the school so that they can become role models of the very things that they’re trying to impart to the students,” Miller said. “It’s more powerful to see it lived out in someone you respect than it is maybe to have a discussion group, a computer game, or a worksheet.”

And even in the most intense environments, seeing role models in action leads to people following in their lead. Considered one of the toughest physical training regiments in the world, Basic

“IT’S MORE POWERFUL TO SEE THE SCHOOL’S VALUES LIVED OUT IN SOMEONE YOU RESPECT THAN IT IS MAYBE TO HAVE A DISCUSSION GROUP, A COMPUTER GAME, OR A WORKSHEET.” Dr. Christian B. Miller

Dr. Christian B. Miller

A. C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest

PHOTO / WINSTON LIN

TOUGH CHOICES Marksmen are often faced with situations that challenge their integrity.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION / JOSH GOFORTH

character gap

Underwater Demolition/SEALs Training is a yearlong course designed to break, rebuild, and harden men into one of the most elite fighting forces in the world. Every year, of the near 1,000 aspiring Navy SEALS, all of whom are top tier athletes, only about 250 men graduate with a trident.

But though it may seem like the people who pass the course do it themselves — out of sheer passion and pure will — that premonition couldn’t be fur ther from the truth. In reality, their success, too, depends on the people around them.

It’s the inherent swooping feeling when a fellow soldier down is let down that really carries them through training.

Drill sergeants don’t instill discipline. The brothers do that.

“Peer mentors are some of the most effective mentors, because they’re your friends. Those are the people who can really motivate you to behave a certain way,” a Navy SEAL, who spoke under an onymity, said.

According to him, the idea of a brother in the military is the same as a fellow student. Just like how soldiers in the military withstand challenges

“IF YOU CONSISTENTLY TRY TO DO THE RIGHT THING, YOU CREATE STRONG, REPEATABLE HABITS. AND THEN, THE CHOICES BECOME EASY. I DON’T HAVE AN HONOR CODE CARD THAT I PULL OUT TO READ EVERY TIME I’M FACED WITH A CHOICE. ” PJ Taylor

together, students struggle together and lift each other up.

As a plebe at the Naval Academy, Taylor saw this done every single day. In the pool, he saw the up perclassmen never take a set off. Out of the pool, he saw midshipmen that would offer free tutoring hours once or twice a week to help other midship men get through the school academically. And through his leadership classes, he learned about the historical figures like Admiral James Stock dale, who had once been at the Naval Academy.

“It’s a leadership laboratory, and you either sink or swim,” Taylor said. “You either get on the train — adhering to the traditions, working hard, learning how to lead — or you don’t.”

Punishment

And for those who don’t adhere to the traditions, the consequences can be severe. After two years at the academy, all midshipmen commit to two more years at the academy and five years of service to pay for their education. If expelled from the acad emy, The Baltimore Sun estimates that the student would be on the hook for around $186,000 to pay for the cost of their education.

“There were definitely times where I’ve walked into a test and knew that I could have cheated, but I just punted on those tests and did poorly instead,” Taylor said. “There are always ways to recover from doing poorly on a test, like showing the teacher that you actually care and doing better on the next one.”

At the Naval Academy, everyone knows when someone receives an honor offense. If a midship man is put on restriction as a result of this hon or offense, they’re forced to walk tours at 5 a.m., marching around in a square with a rifle for an hour.

“As you get more senior at the Naval Academy, you realize that the consequences for doing some thing stupid could result in expulsion, and it could be a big deal,” Taylor said. “Versus, maybe I can survive even if I don't do that well in this one task.”

PJ Taylor '11 Former Naval Officer

MORAL COMPASS In our uber competitive world, the values of Marksmen are tested every day. It is these decisions they make that will define their Path to Manhood.

COMMENTARY

I had never camped under the stars. I’d never backpacked. I really hadn’t done much hiking, and definitely not for a week away from home. I had never crawled deep in caves or known how to tie a taut line hitch knot.

My Pecos experience was full of firsts.

Firsts and opportunities.

The opportunity to bond with my classmates. Another opportunity to talk with the guy I rarely caught up with. Another opportunity to bond with a former teacher.

The opportunity to immerse myself in the wild like that had never presented itself. While uncomfortable at times, the experience was memorable, not just because of what I expected, but also the many twists and turns of my trip.

Day 1. On Monday Aug. 31 at 5:30 a.m, my alarm went off. After a brief loading phase and roll call, the Class of 2025 loaded on to three buses at 7:15 a.m and departed for Pecos, New Mexico.

I don’t think I’ve been that bored before. We played a game of finding signs in alphabetical order. That bored.

After completing the grueling 11-hour trip, we clambered out of the bus 6,400 feet higher than we were when we left. My ears took a bit to pop.

Food was the important thing on my mind when we arrived. The menu for night one: burrito mix and pasta. Day one of the highest fiber diet I had ever been on.

After my first camp made meal of the trip, I sat with friends and played cards until it was time to go to bed.

Day 2 began very early. I crawled out of my semi-

wet sleeping bag at around 6:30 a.m., quickly discovering that dew accumulates on the tent roof over night and every shake would drop water on us and our gear.

Also, my sleeping bad stuck out of the end of the tent. Wet feet are really annoying.

On day two—our acclimatization day—all of the groups stayed nearby for our first full day in the wilderness. Some groups broke off to go on short day hikes. Others walked down a path to refill waters at a nearby creek. My group worked on learning the basics of shelter building and knot tying. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.

In the afternoon, a large part of the grade played a massive wiffle ball game, one of my highlights from the trip even though I’m terrible at it.

That night, I had meal number two and sat with friends playing cards again. The day seemed incredibly long, but after a full day, I fell asleep hoping to not wake up with my feet damp again.

Day 3 was laid back for my group. The last group to get shuttled to the trailhead to begin hiking, we had a leisurely breakfast and slowly packed our stuff, making sure we were ready to go. We were even allowed to sleep until 7:30.

After waiting until 11 a.m. or so, our group finally got shuttled and our first day of hiking began. We hiked for about two and a half miles before crossing over a creek to set up camp in a meadow. This time, my group paid special attention to making sure our feet would have enough room so they wouldn’t get soaked.

After setting up, my tentmates – Henry Sun and Jack Frary – walked with me and our group nurse back to the creek to practice water-hiking and water-crossings before returning to camp to relax, play cards, and do our summer reading. After a good pasta dinner and gas stove smores, which honestly was easier than using a firepit, we fell asleep.

Day 4 began on a high note—our tent setup was the best it had been all trip. I wasn’t wet.

However, we also had to hike around five miles and gain about 1,000 feet in elevation that day.

A third of the way into the trip, our group passed two large caves, and we got to explore one of them during a break. It was really cool, but I don’t think I’ll be doing deep caving anytime soon. Caving is pretty cramped.

After completing the grueling final leg of the hike, we made our way to our final campsite where we set up shop and had a great dinner, ready to solo the next and final day of our trip. As we were about to fall asleep, Jack, Henry and I sat outside staring at stars unlike anything I had seen before.

Day 5 began with anticipation. I was ready to get my solo started as if starting earlier would get it done earlier. We got up early and had a solid breakfast. We sat around the stoves as Mr. Mead began to tell us what our solo would entail.

However, he actually informed us that we couldn’t solo where we were. Instead, we had to hike another three miles before soloing.

Bruh.

The decision was understandable—we were surrounded by deadfall and there were not enough spots for the ten of us. So we packed our solo gear, leaving everything else behind, and then hiked all morning. After completing the hike, we broke into our solo spots and our leaders said goodbye.

I spent the first 30 minutes or so getting my shelter ready. Then I sat down. And looked around. And realized how boring it was. I sat there, drawing and writing in my journal for what felt like forever. Then I

spent time watching ants on a log in front of me. Then I just laid back looking at the sky. I napped a bit. But then I heard a rustle. I looked up, and there was Mr. Mead. At first, I thought it was just a regular check. Instead, he walked directly up to me, smiling while saying, “What if I told you your solo was over.”

I was shocked.

I was happy because I could talk with someone again, but quite saddened by the fact that I couldn’t have a complete solo experience. Instead, I had to hike back that night to return to our camp site.

After hiking three miles back, we had a pizzadilla dinner and then settled in for the night. My group had mixed feelings about the day. Some were excited. Many, disappointed.

However, that night, all ten of us sat in a flat area, staring at the stars for one last time before going to bed the final time in the Pecos.

Day 6. We began our hike back to basecamp, walking the same trail we had traveled up. Around 4 p.m, our group piled into basecamp, unloaded our group gear, and then climbed onto the buses.

At Frankie’s, our class discussed the highs and lows of the trip before climbing back on the bus for the ride home. Through the night we traveled, watching three movies, and barely sleeping at all.

On Day 7 at 5:30 a.m., I was back at St. Mark’s. I got in Jack’s car, and he took me home. At 6, I was finally home. I was exhausted. I have never taken a better shower.

So, looking back on my experience, what do I think? I think of the may firsts I experienced. I think of the countless memories of bonding with my classmates. I think of the warmth of the burritos at Frankie’s.

But I also think of the disappointment of not having a complete solo, something that I had been really looking forward to. Or of the limited number of places we could explore because of the length of the trip.

My Pecos was different from what most Marksmen would experience. My honest opinion is influenced by this. It wasn’t what I expected, and it had its positives and negatives.

But at the end of the day, while my trip was different, it was another opportunity to take the same trails as Marksmen before me, even if for shorter, and another opportunity to take new steps for the Marksmen that will follow after me, even if they will have a completely different experience.

PHOTOS / COURTESY MATTHEW HOFMANN

PHOTO / COURTESY MATTHEW HOFMANN

DIGGING DEEP Jack, Henry, and I exploring one of the caves on Day 4.

LOST IN THE WILD My Pecos included amazing landscapes (top), base camp wiffle ball games (middle), and meals under the stars with lifelong friends (bottom).

Two years late, lots of hype, and tons of beans.

Matthew Hofmann Life Editor

New format, same tradition

After two years of replanning and reorganizing, the Pecos experience returned for Upper School Marksmen—but in a totally new format.

By Matthew Hofmann, Grayson Redmond and Christian Warner

The Pecos trip has been a connecting experience more than 50 classes of Marksmen have participated in.

A graduation requirement.

A rite of passage into the Upper School.

And to many alums, a hallmark of their school careers.

But, “lightning struck twice.”

Due to issues pertaining to COVID, the Class of 2025’s trip was delayed. Intense wildfires canceled their class’s makeup trip, as well as postponing the Class of 2026’s excursion.

Finally, after these delays, the trip returned in a new format— a two-part, two-class experience to make up for lost time.

The seemingly new concept of a two-trip summer was designed to encapsulate the core values of the Pecos experience while also providing the school with the opportunity to catch up on two lost years of trips. However, this system has been deployed before, but for an entirely different reason.

According to Associate Headmaster John Ashton, in the 1980s, even with considerably smaller class sizes, two trips were required as fewer adult chaperones were willing to carve out time from their summers to accompany the boys. Additionally, the school was unable to move the entire class of around 80 kids to the Pecos Wilderness, roughly 550 miles from home, as they had not yet begun to charter large buses.

Along with drawing from this model, this trip included new logistics involving hotels, new gear and new personnel.

“[The School] felt it was really important that anyone doing two trips was able to have two days and two nights of rest,” Ashton said. “The solution was to put them all into hotels in Santa Fe. They were able to go out to dinner, do some laundry, and just reboot.”

This rest provided those faculty members time to contact their families and sleep in beds before returning to the wilderness.

The school has continuously introduced new safety equipment and personnel in order to better ensure student safety. This year’s additions included a Starlink satellite connection, as well as new Garmin satellite messaging phones that were used by group leaders for check-in. Additionally, new professional wilderness

medics traveled with groups and stayed at base camp.

The added safety and communication ability has come a long way since the last time there were two trips in one summer, a reality that Director of Physical and Experiential Education Mark Sullivan has witnessed firsthand.

“Back then, when your group left the drop-off point, you were completely on your own,” Sullivan said. “We had no communication with each other. We had shadow groups, but we didn’t have a base camp. We didn’t have communications. We didn’t have radios or SAT phones or GPS devices or anything like that. We also didn’t have medics with us.”

Historically, the trip didn’t include an acclimatization day, a recent addition to the Pecos schedule.

“Something we really started pushing a few years ago was taking time to acclimate—giving guys a chance to get used to the elevation,” Ashton said. “In the past, we drove overnight from 500 feet above sea level in Dallas to 7,500-7,800 feet at base camp, only to hike another 800-1,200 feet up to a campsite. Now, we rent group sites, and everyone is able to go there, have dinner, get a good night’s sleep and wake up the next day to a full day of day hikes and moving around. We found being active at a high elevation without going any higher was a shift we saw benefits from.”

Another unexpected challenge lay in a straightforward part of the trip: putting on the packs and hitting the trail, as last year’s historic wildfires limited the number of accessible routes.

“Having three nights on the trails instead of the usual five changed our routes from loops to out-and-back style camping, which worked out for us,” Sullivan said. “Until we got boots on the ground, we didn’t really know what had been affected by the fires and what hadn’t been. Had we had the longer trip and wanted to go deeper into the wilderness, we would have had significant issues because some of our usual routes go into burn area that wasn’t safe to camp in.”

Despite these differences between the traditional and two-part trips, the core values the school hopes the excursion will instill in students have stayed the same, as well as the transcendent experiences and traditions of Pecos.

Inscribed on the Path to Manhood statue, courage and leadership are two of the most important virtues the school celebrates. Among the many notable events

on Pecos, the solo, a time-honored tradition in which students must spend a full 24-hour period on their own in the wilderness, tests these disciplines like no other.

“When my solo first began, I was definitely anxious,” sophomore Benjamin Standefer said. “I had to quickly plan everything out: how I would build my shelter, what to do to keep myself entertained and how I would get viable sleep for the night. But as time went on and I was just sitting in nature all alone with my thoughts, I became a little more thoughtful. I started thinking about what really mattered in life and focusing on being grateful for the [luxuries] of day-to-day life, something I didn’t have on the Solo.” This most recent trip accomplished everything the school had hoped — giving the Classes of 2025 and 2026 a chance to complete the time-honored tradition while growing as men. The students experienced the solo. The students got to hike the trails previous Marksmen had walked before them. And the students got to enjoy warm burritos at Frankie’s, a Pecos-area restaurant, following the trip. For future classes, the trip will return to normal after one more year of the two-class travel.

“We’ve got one more catch-up trip,” Ashton said. “The first part will be for the current ninth graders, and the second will be for the rising ninth graders. That’s what those classes can look forward to next year, but it is my hope that we return to the previous model soon.”

For more Pecos coverage, visit smremarker.com.

PHOTO / WINSTON LIN

PHOTO / COURTESY DAVE CARDEN CROSSING THE BRIDGE Students begin their hiking, leaving the last public campground.

Mark Sullivan Director of Physical & Experiential Education

John Ashton Associate Headmaster

LIGHTSHOW The setting sun illuminates the clouds with a crimson glow—one of many breathtaking scenes of Pecos.

A new life, half a world away

Freshman Tex Davison navigates life in a new country while adjusting to the demands of entering high school, joining a new school and playing new sports.

By Akash Manickam and Rohan Kakkar

To freshman Tex Davison, football practice seems like something out of a movie. The cracks and pops of plastic pads penetrate the muggy morning air. The grunts and yells ring out across the field as players collide with one another. Drenched in sweat, the athletes line up against each other for one final play. It’s the first day of varsity training camp, but it’s also Davison’s first taste of America.

At the age of 14, Davison has lived in various cities in Australia, Thailand and Malaysia. After originally planning to live in Houston, his family changed their plans when he was accepted into the school. Davison now has to deal with the difficulty of living in a new city as well as adjusting to a new high school.

“I really like St. Mark’s,” Davison said. “I like the sports. It’s so much better than my old school. We also have new sports to me. Football is an alien sport. Like I’ve never seen it, heard it, or played it before, so I have to learn a whole new sport and I’m enjoying it.”

Despite the violence of football, Davison was excited to put his pads on for the first time during training camp in August. He enjoys the “grit and grind” culture of the sport, and he was excited to play a game he had only seen on television.

“I wanted a new experience,” Davison said. “I saw some of Odell Beckham Jr.’s highlights and I just wanted to try a new sport and see how it goes. And I don’t regret my decision at all ... I was a little worried because I’m a wide receiver, so if I catch the ball, everybody’s gonna try to hit me.”

Cultural navigation in Dallas has been an amusing experience for Davison, who says the differences between Australian and American English are big enough to cause some small misunderstandings.

“We were playing volleyball in PE and I told my teammates to just belt the ball, which just means to throw the ball, and they didn’t understand,” Davison said. “And I was talking to Coach Guiler about JV football and I said, ‘We absolutely flogged them,’ and he had

no idea what I was saying.”

The heat has disrupted these football practices early in the season, forcing student-athletes to wake up far earlier than normal. This adds stress on an already challenging schedule, but Davison is ready for the arduous task.

“I’m used to waking up early,” Davison said. “Back in Australia I trained for basketball before and after school every day, so I don’t mind waking up early. My schedule is a little bit packed right now because I’ve got drawing and PE on top of my schedule.”

For any new student, living up to the school’s rigorous standards is a challenging task.

“There’s definitely a lot of work,” Davison said. “It’s the second week and I already have a lot of homework.

“FOOTBALL IS AN ALIEN SPORT. I HAD NEVER SEEN IT, HEARD IT, OR PLAYED IT BEFORE.”

Tex Davison

I think the academics are really good though.”

When he is not completing schoolwork, Davison also spends time getting shots up in the gym during any free time he can find on his busy schedule.

“My goal is to be a division one basketball player,” Davison said. “I’ve only played for like a year and a half, but I work harder than my competition. I always knew the big colleges like Duke and USC, and my goal is to get into a college like that”

Even though the year is just beginning, Davison already has lofty goals for his first year at 10600 Preston Road.

“My goal is to get all As and Bs,” he said. “I think that’s a reasonable standard for me. I also want to make the JV basketball team, and I want to score one touchdown by the end of the football season.”

Davison has quickly adjusted to life in Dallas and has become an active and social member of the school’s community.

“Everyone’s been really kind and welcoming,” Davison said. “I feel like I can just talk to anyone freely. I’ve got a good group of mates.”

“I’m such a child. I need to get balls from my car to play with during class.”

“I like fishing, grandpa!”

Martin

“As a person who’s never really been outside, I struggled mentally and physically.”

Matthew Liu

“I haven’t made any tackles or catches yet this season.”

Harry Flaherty Varsity Football Head Coach and History Instructor

“Did you pray today? Did you pray today? Because if you didn’t...”

Mason Briscoe Senior

PHOTO / SEBASTIAN GONZALEZ

Raja Mehendale Senior

Sophomore

Cory

Varsity Soccer Head Coach and Math Instructor

A WHOLE NEW WORLD A natural basketball player, Davison has learned a lot about America and St. Mark’s through playing football.

Faculty members draw from military experience to lead

Veterans Andre Stipanovic and Scott Moore among faculty who bring armed forces background to roles on campus.

By Matthew Hofmann and Akash Manickam

Atenured professor. A veteran. An Assistant Scoutmaster. A Pecos leader. The new Latin Teacher.

Many words can be used to describe Dr. Andre Stipanovic, one of the many new hires for this year.

With broad experiences and an immense passion for teaching, Stipanovic recently left The Hockaday School as a beloved individual, to move onto something new.

After 23 years of teaching at Hockaday, Stipanovic was looking for a clean slate and a new routine.

One of the most important factors in his decision to join the school was the Wilderness Program, an outlet for Stipanovic’s love of the outdoors – a love he has continually developed from a young age.

Stipanovic began his love for the outdoors when he first enrolled in Cub Scouts as a young boy, remaining in the program for a few years. However, in his hometown Morristown, New Jersey, Cub Scouts was all that was offered, so Stipanovic put his involvement on hold.

When his son began his own scouting journey between 2008 and 2009, Stipanovic quickly resumed his participation in the program, first as a Den Leader, then Cub Master, and now, an Assistant Scoutmaster.

His role now includes helping young Scouts with merit badges and different field skills, as well as Advisor patrol by acting as a mentor to a small group of boys. He also serves as an Eagle Scout advisor, helping scouts work on their Eagle Scout projects.

An active member of the community for 15 years now, Stipanovic has not only enjoyed countless memories with his son but has also learned valuable lessons that transfer to teaching.

“A lot of what [Scout Advisors] do translates into what we do here,” Stipanovic said. “Working with boys on projects, or advising and helping them if they need it. The best part is when you don't have to guide them. That's the goal. And I see that happening here, which is awesome.”

Another crucial experience in Stipanovic’s teaching was his time in the Army. Serving for two years in a time of “relative peace,” he feels like his service provided him with the perfect opportunity to hone in on what he really loved.

A first-generation citizen of European parents, Stipanovic’s first focus was STEM. But one day during English class at Morristown High School, an Army recruiter walked in and asked to speak with him.

Intrigued by what a career in the armed forces might entail, Stipanovic decided to join, enrolling in the College of Engineering on a partial scholarship and committing to two years of mandatory service – a sacrifice he was willing to make. In his eyes, he was being paid to go to focus on what he wanted to study.

But it was the lessons he learned that were the

greatest benefits of his time in the Army.

It really helped me become independent, which is one of the things I really wanted to do,” Stipanovic said. “It also gave me a chance to really reflect and figure out what it is I really enjoyed.”

For him, that ended up being comparative literature – the topic he received his doctorate on. From there, he went on to begin his teaching career, now joining the school’s faculty.

And within that faculty, Stipanovic joins a small contingent of instructors who have served in the armed forces, many of whom are also extremely active in the Wilderness Program. One of these community members is Scott Moore, the school's Associate Director of Communications and an active member in the United States Army’s reserves. Since he arrived on campus, Moore has been welcomed by faculty members who have shared his experience.

“There's an understanding between people in the military, especially people who have deployed overseas in combat which you can relate to and understand really quickly,” Moore said. “I would compare it to meeting somebody who's not from St. Mark's as opposed to an alum from St. Mark's. When you meet somebody from St. Mark's who has gone through the same things, you have a quick connection. Same thing with the military. If a new person came on campus with a military background, especially if they've been deployed, I'd probably be able to connect with them pretty easily.”

Though his time in combat is over, the lessons Moore learned through the military still apply to his life, the most important of which is a perspective on life only achieved through brushes with death.

“It can't get any worse than it did when I was overseas,” Moore said. “So if something seems horrible here, it can feel really rough and tough and you think, ‘How am I gonna get through this?’ But having gone through combat, when I have those things happen to me here, when a deadline is missed or we weren't able to go out and cover a story the way we want it to, the world's not going to end and no one's dying. We'll get it

done when we get it done as best as we can.”

Despite his recent arrival on campus, Stipanovic has already seen the similarities between the school's traditions and his previous lines of work.

“Something I realized during the Pecos trip was that I've done quite a few solos during my time in the army,” Stipanovic said. “I’ve gone through that experience, and realized how much potential we have in ourselves to rely on until we're kind of put in that situation.”

For Stipanovic, this mindset was a crucial deciding factor for why he chose the school. To be surrounded by those who push themselves to their limits daily was a must-have.

His mindset: he will guide you, and help you, but at a certain point, you have to realize that whatever the situation, and however difficult or extreme it may seem, it is always in reach.

“That's what happened to me a lot in the army,” Stipanovic said. “They push you to the point where you are saying there's no way we can do that. But all of a sudden, you get through it. That's really the lesson. Latin is great, but that's the lesson I want to be part of here.”

Counseling office undergoes major overhaul, opens wellness center

By Andrew Ye

Students stressing over their next test or a significant workload can find more help this year. The counseling department made changes to their office, a new study room with snacks, aesthetic changes to optimize stress recovery, and a new system.

“This is the first year we’ve been doing this for academic support,” Upper School Counselor Mary Bonsu said, “We know that some students who are receiving accommodations, for example, for extended time, may have learning styles and learning patterns, and that extended time is not the only help that they need to succeed. They

may need help with organizational skills and time management and all these other things, and because we haven’t been able to provide that in house we’ve often referred students out to an educational coach, or an executive function coach or an educational specialist outside of our school.”

With the newly hired Academic and Wellness Specialist Eliza Rosenbloom the counseling department created a new system for academic support.

“We wanted to do a focus group on athletes, for example, who are having a hard time balancing academics and sports and they’re needing to find ways to hack their learning style or fix their schedules to maximize time for study-

ing and doing their homework,” Bonsu said. “There’s such a variety of new things that students can utilize our services for this year. All you have to do is ask Eliza Rosenbloom for a meeting, and tell her what the subject that you need help with and go from there.”

As this academic assistance program is still developing, it may be difficult to help the entire school, especially during exam season.

“Currently, we have one or two people for the entire school support,” Bonsu said. “We are aware that some time down the road we may need for more, but so far, when students students would come to see Mrs. Pechersky for help, she was kind of doing that for

the whole school. Now we have Rosenbloom helping.”

As the program matures through the years, academic support programs are projected to be more readily available to the student body.

“Our goal is to eventually become a health and wellness division, working hand in hand with the school nurses, and getting a lot more people ready to help our boys out,” Bonsu said. “We might even get involved in some of the kids’ interests in AP Psychology, but right now, hopefully the snacks are enough to convince the students to check our office out.”

COMBAT MODE Moore still utilizes lessons learned in Afghanistan in his everyday life.

PHOTO / COURTESY SCOTT MOORE

PHOTO / DILAN KOGANTI

VIRTUE ET HONORE In his first year here, the Latin teacher uses his military background in his teaching.

Jobs keep Marksmen busy over summer

By Vikram Singh and Kevin Ho

Summer break. A time for the beach, a time for vacations – a time for everything but work. Even when Marksmen do take up side jobs, these are usually leisurely activities they enjoy spending time doing, complementing their lax summer days rather than taking over their daily routine. Working as a cashier. A lifeguard. A referee. But rather than following suit in the typical teenage summer, some Marksmen have dedicated significant portions of their break to labor-intensive work. While it may not fit the definition of an ordinary summer, it is something that provides them with unique opportunities.

For junior Asher Babilla, his summer was not spent taking peoples’ orders at Chick-fil-A or listening to the noises of kids splashing around in the pool from a lifeguard post. Instead, he walked straight into his dad’s sports equipment warehouse.

The previously carefree days of lounging around the house? Gone. Replaced by hours of rigorous labor. Waking up at noon? Nonexistent — working for multiple weeks took away many blissful mornings that most Marksmen got to relish. His summer schedule was characterized by a truly demanding time commitment, one that continued throughout the weekdays at a relentless pace.

“I woke up at 4 in the morning,” Babilla said. “The hours I worked were 5 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Friday was 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. because from Monday through Thursday, I was working a nine-and-a-half hour shift. On Friday, there were no breaks, so it’s four hours straight. Basically, I worked a 40-hour week.”

The job came with its surprises, as the seemingly infinite long work days consisted of tasks that Babilla did not expect. Contrary to his initial thoughts, he spent a considerable amount of time transforming the warehouse into an oasis of spotless floors and shining aisles.

“A surprising thing on the job was cleaning the warehouse,” Babilla said. “You don’t even see dust on the floor. It was super clean because if there wasn’t a truck to unload, there were about five or six guys cleaning the warehouse, which was something that I really didn’t expect. But the hardest part of the job, which is what we did for pretty much most of the time, was unloading the 18-wheelers, putting the packages on pallets, and then moving the pallets to where they needed to be.”

But even though the hard labor served as the most prominent aspect of Babilla’s new routine, the completely unfamiliar warehouse atmosphere paved the way for more challenges when interacting with the

other workers there.

“A lot of the guys there didn’t speak English,” Babilla said. “There was a guy from Mexico, Venezuela and Nigeria, so the communication was different. For some of the guys, the only words they knew were: “Morning,” “break” and “food.” Our communication was basically just hand gestures. But some people said words in Spanish that I slowly started to understand what they were talking about.”

In addition to language barriers that required Babilla to adapt, what made his warehouse experience truly

“And that same guy later that week says, ‘So after high school do you plan on coming back here and working?’ I always thought that college had never been a doubt in my mind, but to this guy, college wasn’t even a thought to him. He couldn’t see someone going to college after high school.”

By being immersed in an environment so different from that of the school, Babilla recognizes the sheer amount of privileges that the school’s community offers.

“Everyone tells us how lucky we are,” Babilla said. “I always thought about it but I never really understood it.”

In retrospect of his time working in his dad’s warehouse over the summer, Babilla believes students should attempt to reach for job opportunities beyond the confines of their everyday communities and safe havens.

remarkable was the multitude of diverse perspectives that surfaced, allowing him to contemplate his outlooks on his school life and future while giving him a sense of what reality may be for many people in the world.

“The second week I’m there, one of the guys goes, ‘Hey, why are you working here? Are you trying to pay for your books?’ They thought I was a random high schooler who couldn’t afford his books,” Babilla said.

“[Working in a warehouse] is manual labor,” Babilla said. “Anybody can do it, and it doesn’t matter who you are, which is such a different concept that St. Mark’s doesn’t really teach. And if you’re looking for summer jobs, don’t count anything out. If you told me I should go work in a warehouse, I would ask, ‘Why would I work in a warehouse when I could go work at Torchy’s but make five dollars less?’ Any job experience is job experience, and getting out of your comfort zone to do something that you have never done before can really change your perspective on things.”

Official and student-run accounts keep community informed

By Ronit Kongara

Used by many students, parents and alumni, the school’s social media accounts are vital for many to get information about the school events and daily happenings on campus. But the accounts also serve as windows into the school, broadcasting its community and its people to the rest of the internet.

These outlets such as the school’s Instagram account, @smtexas1906, the Super Fan Men, @superfanmen and the Facebook account, @smtexas, all must be able to provide the information the community needs while also maintaining the school’s image.

This responsibility falls on the people running the accounts. For the official school accounts, the Communications Department, led by Ray Westbrook, handles all of the posting and maintenance of the pages. The @ Superfanmen account is currently run by seniors Alex Bar-

rett, CJ Ness and Mitchell Galardi.

In order to keep the community educated about current events, the Communications Department posts about all important events on the official school Instagram page, including those that are more focused on individuals rather than the school itself. On top of that, the account often posts about many daily life events that occur around the school. But in order to maintain the image of the school online, they must be mindful of what they post.

“We want to represent the best of St. Mark’s,” Westbrook said, “so we’re very careful about what we put online and on social media.”

Similar to the official accounts, the @superfanmen account is tasked with keeping the St. Mark’s community updated on current events, but its main focus is school athletics. The account maintains countdowns for the different sports seasons and posting schedules for the students and community members to see. The account is passed down through the different graduating classes, each one adding their own unique spin to the tradition. This year, Barrett, Ness,and Galardi are trying to maintain a constant stream of information on all of the school’s sports, but they are also adding on their own ideas.

“We just want to build off of what was built,” Ness said, “and to try and make it better.”

All of the accounts aim to continue to keep the community informed, and make sure to serve as proper representatives of the school while doing so.

Many upperclassmen, like junior Asher Babilla, spent their summer working in various jobs. Babilla’s experience, however, was not the typical summer job.

PHOTO / COURTESY ASHER BABILLA

“EVERYONE TELLS US HOW LUCKY WE ARE. I ALWAYS THOUGHT ABOUT IT BUT I NEVER REALLY UNDERSTOOD IT. ” - Asher Babilla

SHELVES Babilla spent his summer working in this BSN warehouse. LION PRIDE Often seen wearing paint, the trio are the leaders for school spirit at 10600.

New music releases hit the mark

Im a music industry that is evolving more than ever, we have seen artists, both new and old, release some highly anticipated albums. From chart-breaking country albums, to Billboard-topping pop albums, and a hip-hop album that has been anticipated for half a decade, these are three of the hottest albums out right now.

By Vikram Singh

Travis Scott UTOPIA Zach Bryan SELF-TITLED

Travis Scott’s UTOPIA album spans a total of 19 tracks and runs for just under an hour and 15 minutes. This project breaks Travis' five year hiatus after the critically-acclaimed and award-wining ASTROWORLD. Fans had been sitting on the edge of their seats in anticipation since Scott teased the ablum on Instagram in July of 2020; therefore, the anticipation for this album was akin to the likes of Eternal Atake by Lil Uzi Vert or Whole Lotta Red by PlayboiCarti.

The most prominent reason for this was the incident that happened at one of his concerts titled “ASTROFEST,” in which the that formed in front of the stagemosh pit became uncontrollably large. Crowd control was handled so poorly by Travis Scott and his security that ten people tragically lost their lives. This album and its backing production are eerily reminiscent of his debut studio album Rodeo, known for a psychedelic-trap sound with hit songs such as 90210, Antidote, and 3500. The dark production immerses the listener in what feels like a moving abyss. And as each track progresses, you fall further into the namesake “utopia,” the world which Travis Scott seemingly molds as his own throughout the progression of the album.

With production from the industry’s most established producers, such as Mike Dean and Metro Boomin, the album not only feels complete but also has a distinct theme that progresses as the listener moves down the track list.

The album contains a star-studded cast of features, including the likes of SZA, Drake, Playboi Carti, and many more. In traditional Travis Scott fashion, the feature list remains hidden for the first few days of the release.Highlights on the album include tracks like FE!N, which features both Sheck Wes and PlayboiCarti, the latter of which being an incredibly unexpected yet exciting artist to hear on the project.

My favorite track on the album, though, is undoubtedly track 16, LOVE. This track features a groovier vibe and feels like it’s almost paying homage to Kanye West and Kid Cudi. For Travis Scott gave the real, authentic fans what they wanted: a new album, but with the old, gritty, and dark sound that brought him to fame. I recommend this album to any listener with ears.

Olivia Rodrigo GUTS

Over Olivia Rodrigo’s newest studio album GUTS mainly concerns themes of love and heartbreak, a set of topics for which she has become extremely well-known. However, she manages to accomplish this task with a fair amount of variety between tracks both in different cadences, vocal ranges, production, and arrangement. The album runs for a modest 12 tracks, including three lead singles. With a length of just under forty minutes, she does a great job of maintaining a fair amount of content within her tracks without delivering a mundane project. This is something many pop artists struggle with, especially when different songs throughout the album seem to have very similar content.

Moreover, the tracks transition well from to the other, making the album feel complete, which can be difficult with a smaller number of tracks. This album does, however, not standout within her discography when put up against her previous studio ao0lbum, SOUR. Some tracks feel like tracks she has released before, while others even sound like tracks released by other artists within the same genre.

Although the album is in fact very good, I wouldn’t call it unique within her discography or within the genre. Rodrigo largely stays within the confines of previously made albums, rarely pushing boundaries within the songs. My favorite track off the album is the lead single “Vampire,” as it contains an incredibly catchy and up-beat tempo as well as dynamic production that gives the song incredible replay value. It’s the kind of song people will be listening to for a long time.

Along with the production changing throughout the song, Rodrigo does a great job of following the movement of the instrumental, especially in the second half of the song where she switches her delivery and cadence, displaying her incredible vocal range.

If you’re looking for a pop album that is not a heavy listen, has incredible replay value, and concerns the topics of love and heartbreak, this is a great pick. On the contrary, I see almost nothing separating this album from othere artist's work in an alrady oversaturated genre. If you are looking for a flawless, unique album and a break from the norm in the genre, this is certainly not the choice.

Zach Bryan’s new self-titled album is truly an authentic piece of music that is unique to him and is a standout in his discography. The album runs for 16 tracks with a length of 54 minutes, making the album nice in length without feeling too long to the point where it gets repetitive. This album is now Zach Bryan’s fifth studio album and has been released at an incrediblycompetitive time in the country genre as other artists like Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen are putting up very impressive numbers on the billboard charts. Although this album is classified as a country album, it does not sound like the typical country album you would hear from other artists like Morgan Wallen.

It also does not sound like a more poppy version of country, which is what many artists have been doing recently. The fact that this album is self-titled is truly a testament to how Zach Bryan made this album his own. With many songs on this album that sound like a blend between slow country and R&B, the album feels unique to him.

On a note of production, Zach Bryan’s unique voice and solid vocal range take up most of the song but are still very well complimented by the tamer instrumentals.

Another point of interest on this album concerns the interesting vocal mix that cuts through the tracks and makes his voice take center stage for nearly every song. Although most of the instrumentals throughout the album sound more like the traditional country sound, his voice, cadence, delivery, and material throughout the songs is slightly different than what we are used to hearing from country artists in today’s industry.

Outside of Bryan’s contributions to this album, all the features do a fantastic job on the album, with contributions form The Lumineers, Sierra Ferell, The War and Treaty, and the in my opinion the best feature comes from Grammy award winning country singer, Kacey Musgraves. My personal favorite song on the album, Tourniquet, features a loud and somewhat harsh grand piano playing high notes, contrasted by the strumming of an acoustic guitar. If you’re looking to hear one of the artists at the forefront of the modern country sound but with their own personal twist and authentic style, look no further than this album.

Tradition: a standing testament to legacy — for better or for worse

The night is dark, but the lights are bright. The calm highpitched intonation of the choir danced in contrast to the dark tones of the congregation before blending into a pleasant harmony. Proud parents watched with teary eyes as the departing seniors processed between the gathered faculty. A sense of finality and accomplishment hung in the air along with a tinge of melancholy. As Baccalaureate drew to a close, Marksmen could be seen embracing one another and putting the capstone on their career with a tradition nearly as old as the school itself.

The value of positive traditions is readily apparent; they foster a sense of both school identity and brotherhood. By taking part in Baccalaureate, Marksmen join an expansive assortment of alumni, who are all joined together by the same tradition. Some traditions, such as the Pecos Wilderness trip, have their roots in the past more than 50 years ago, while others such as the draping of the senior shirts across the school sign, are much more recent. These traditions serve as tangible expressions of the legacies left by those who came before us, and these traditions, as much as any athletic honor or scholastic award, are what we are remembered by.

The last day of senior year is imbued with bittersweet sentiments, all the excitement and anticipation of new opportunities conflicting with the somberness of parting ways with friends and family. It is a day for festivities, yet also a moment for contemplation, as one reflects upon the years gone by. The practice of “frocketing,” or the action of ripping the front pockets off underclassmen's shirts, is a direct affront

to the significance of the day and serves as a stain upon a departing class’ legacy. The last afternoon seniors have as students is not spent in a civil manner through chatting with old friends and teachers, but rather filled with the screams of younger students as they are chased and assualted by the, supposedly, most mature students on campus.

Frocketing is inherently opposed to what a tradition should be, a reflection of the lasting legacy students have on the school. Frocketing itself is a recent phenomenon, first occurring around the same time as the annual hanging of the shirts, but despite originating at a similar time these traditions could not be more diametrally opposed. Whereas the act of frocketing is a flimsy excuse to harass younger students, the hanging of the shirts is the passing of a figurative torch of responsibility, allowing younger generations to take over the stewardship of the school. The hanging of the shirts is a symbolic gesture that outwardly signifies the passing down of responsibility and tradition, and it encapsulates the spirit of continuity that underpins our school’s character.

It’s understandable that students find the practice fun; mirroring a game of tag, many underclassmen seem delighted in receiving attention from seniors on their last day of school. But while the practice may be enjoyable for some, it is also detrimental to the civility that underpins the school’s culture. Seniors are supposed to serve as role models for the rest of the school, a symbol of maturity and growth. However, on arguably their most significant school day, they are seen treating the Quad as a football field — chasing, tackling, and tearing pockets off

other students. This behavior undermines the symbolic role they are supposed to fulfill.

The solution is quite simple—we need to reflect. As Marksmen, the legacy we leave behind is how we will be remembered; names and awards are hardly remembered after a number of years, but traditions remain, and they stand as the living testament to the collective impact of countless Marksmen who came before us. The legacies of each generation of students blend into each other and shape the traditions that define both the culture of our school and what it means to be a Marksman.

We face a crossroads. Along one road lies the path taken to reach today: the path of generations of Marksmen choosing to leave a positive legacy and with it positive traditions. They have given us countless traditions — the Christmas celebration, baccalaureate, even something as unassuming as McDonald’s Week. It is time to follow the path set before us, put an end to this ridiculous practice and leave a meaningful legacy to be remembered by.

Marksmen have addressed these issues in the past, such as when the annual senior prank becoming overly destructive. After a particularly disastrous prank resulted in significant property damage, the practice was reformed, transforming it for the better— they made the decision to reroute the destruction. The Class of 2024 needs to follow this example, and reform the act of frocketing into a less destructive, but equally fun tradition. The legacy we leave will consist of the traditions we started, so it's time to stop assaulting each other and change frocketing into a better experience for all.

Student Newspaper of St. Mark’s School of Texas

10600 Preston Road Dallas, Texas 75230 214-346-8000

EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor-in-Chief

Zack Goforth

Managing Editors

Nolan Marcus

Grayson Redmond

Digital Editor Ben Adams

Editorial Director

Aaron Augustine

Focus Editors

Linyang Lee

Dawson Yao

Design Director

Noah Cathey

Photo Editor

Zachary Bashour

SECTION EDITORS

Issues

Arjun Poi

Hilton Sampson

Academics

Oliver Peck

Joseph Sun

Life

Matthew Hofmann

Akash Manickam

Sports

Lawrence Gardner

Neil Yepuri

Assistant Digital Editor Will Clifford

Head Writers

Vikram Singh

Eric Yi

Staff

Tejas Allada, Weston Chance, Joshua Goforth, Chris Guffey, Kevin Ho, Michael Jimenez, Rohan Kakkar, Ronit Kongara, William Kozoman, Winston Lin, Doan Nguyen, Christian Warner, Andrew Ye, Kayden Zhong

Adviser

Jenny Dial Creech

Headmaster David Dini

Audience

The ReMarker is intended for the students, faculty, staff and alumni community of St. Mark’s School of Texas. Press run is 4,000 copies, with more than 2,600 of those mailed out to alumni, courtesy of the school’s offices of External Affairs, Development and Alumni divisions.

Opinions and Editorials

Editorials represent the views of the Editorial Board and are not necessarily those of the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty or staff. All personal opinion columns, bylined with the writer’s name and photo, represent the views of that writer only and not necessarily those of the ReMarker, Board of Trustees, administration, faculty or staff.

Online www.smremarker.com Instagram @remarkernewspaper

Reader Involvement

The ReMarker encourages reader input through guest columns and story ideas. Contact the appropriate editor for suggestions.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the editor are welcome and encouraged. They must be typed, signed and not exceed 300 words. Submissions are not accepted.

Membership

The ReMarker maintains membership in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, New York City, NY; National Scholastic Press Association, Minneapolis, MN; and the Interscholastic League Press Conference, Austin.

TRADITION Juniors (above) sit atop a mountian during the Pecos Wilderness tradition. The Class of 2023 (below) poses after hanging up their blue school shirts, a symbolic gesture representing the beginning of a new chapter of their lives.

PHOTOS / COURTESY DAVE CARDEN

Pro vs. Con: the dress code

The dress code: enforce the little things well

Against tyranny: dress code moderation

Aaron Augustine Editorial Director

The dress code standards are currently in a good place, not too strict and not too light. The goal behind the standards themselves is a noble one. By maintaining a uniform requirement, every student at the school is on an equal playing field; everyone will be judged by their abilities and talents, not by the clothes they can afford. The dress code is very successful in this pursuit, as a walk around campus will find several students who appear to have just rolled out of bed, suggesting that judgment based on appearance is nearly nonexistent around campus. When compared with the near fashion show found on other campuses, the lack of clothing options is a blessing in disguise.

The uniform code itself could be significantly harsher. For instance, students in other all-boys private schools around Dallas are forced to conform to much stricter codes consisting of sports jackets and blazers. When compared to other standards, our customary belt and shirt seem very lenient.

Some students would complain about the seemingly-draconian subjection we are subjected to; the teachers who ask you to, horrifyingly, tuck your shirt in. Middle schoolers being forced to learn how to pay attention to details is one of the best lessons they could learn.

In addition to the standard reasons given for a dress code, the school takes it one step further. By giving seniors both a nontraditional blue shirt and a unique senior shirt, the school gives seniors a special status, which signals to younger students with a problem who they can get help from.

The dress code standards in their current form are incredibly healthy both for the school’s social life and for the sense of shared camaraderie and brotherhood within the student body itself.

COMMENTARY

Thomas

The school may be better off without its uniforms. Sure, they provide a sense of unity for the student body. Yes, the blue shirts of the graduating class take on a special meaning as they are passed down to the rising seniors. And, of course, I know that having to wear the same uniform every day saves me so much time in the morning that I would have otherwise spent deliberating what to wear. However, we all need to consider the hidden implications of having a dress code as rigid as ours.

Look no further than the tradition of graduating seniors ripping the front pockets off of underclassmen. The practice has gained greater disapproval in recent years due to cases of entire shirts being ripped in twain, yet this kind of tradition would be unheard of at any public institution. In fact, "The Frocketing" takes place because of our dress code, simple as that. When we adhere to such specifics as buying four or five copies of the same white shirt and gray shorts from a select few retailers, many of us end up with school uniforms that serve no other purpose outside of school.

Ask any senior if he would ever wear his uniform after graduating, and you will find that he already donated it to future Marksmen. Regardless of whether the clothes are successfully donated, our school uniform — for better or for worse — maintains an exclusive connection to our time at St. Mark's. Were our school to have more lax rules for its dress code, the uniforms would likely be treated with less disdain by students eager to don clothes more suitable for going out in public.

Doing away with uniforms entirely would create too much trouble, yet gradually decreasing the quantity of pedantic requirements for the dress code may make Marksmen proud to wear their uniforms beyond our school.

Report Card

Parking lot

While the parking situation has gotten better, the dust from the gravel makes cars dirty.

Assemblies

We want to see some new ideas in assemblies, not just repeats of last year's.

Sport Attendance

Sport attendance, especially at away games, is at a high. Keep it up!

St. Mark's and Hockaday: similar, but ultimately separate

I go to ST. MARK’S.

You know the one — the all-boys school, dedicated to educating its students in all fields of academia, and more importantly, teaching its students about how to be good men.

Like many all-boys schools, St. Mark’s has a sister school — Hockaday. St. Mark’s and Hockaday support each other and go to each other’s events, but they are two separate schools.

Nolan Marcus Managing Editor

I constantly hear students in the St. Mark’s community talk about Hockaday. Whether it’s that Hockaday is easier, or they don’t go to school that much or we are can-

celing each other, I feel like every other week I hear something that doesn’t need to be talked about. For example, when Hockaday students had issues with the theme for the Cistercian football game, too many Marksmen involved themselves or gave attention to a situation that was out of our control. Instead of getting mixed up in something that doesn’t concern us, we should have taken a moment to think about whether the Hockadaisies had merit to their claim, and then rationally think about an appropriate response.

(Ultimately I feel that the Superfanmen made the right decision by

supporting Hawaii and turned the situation into a positive).

I appreciate having a standard to compare ourselves to and another school to relate to and find friends in. But what St. Mark’s chooses to do can be completely different than what Hockaday does — and that is just fine.

I, too, have a sister. She is a bit younger than me, and we have grown up together. We lived in the same house, shared the same family traditions and hung out with each other. But we were, and still are, completely independent from one another. She goes to a school in Connecticut, and I go to school in

Texas. She likes hockey, and I like football. She is interested in STEM, but I’m interested in the Humanities.

We are similar, but we are not the same. What she does is her business, just like what I do is mine.

Whenever we have a disagreement, we take a few moments to cool off, talk about why we disagree and then work together to find a solution. If she does something that bothers me, I’ll tell her about it, but if she doesn’t want to listen to me, she doesn’t have to. It goes the same when I do something she doesn’t like — we are both our own people.

DRESSED OUT The standard school uniform consists of an plain white oxford along with plain gray shorts, a belt and white socks. Seniors are allowed to wear special blue shirts.

Whitehurst Guest Columnist

ON THE ROAD, AGAIN With its move to the ACC, SMU will be playing in games all across the country. Pictured are the current ACC teams ranked within the NCAA's top 25, plus SMU and Stanford, who are both set to join the conference in 2024.

Conference realignment affects travel

Many college programs have joined new conferences, sometimes far away from the universities, for monetary reasons. However, these changes may have an unforseen effect on the teams and players without a say.

By Neil Yepuri and Eric Yi

There’s a certain image associated with athletes getting off of a plane.

Covered head to toe in designer gear and expensive headphones, sunglasses and all.

Athletic travel is glorified and depicted as an elite form of transportation and entertainmentbe it through buses, planes or the occasional limo.

But, that’s not the reality for most athletes, especially those at the collegiate level. For every large school with massive funding, there are so many more with limited means to get their teams around the country to compete.

“When I was at Northwestern we had four flights a year, and normally we used those in the preseason because when it's February, you gotta go someplace warm to play baseball,” athletic trainer Natalie Bumpas said.

This issue, unfortunately, will only continue to grow because of the recent trend of schools switching conferences in order to take part in lucrative marketing and TV deals. These changes could end up creating or widening a gap between smaller and larger schools.

“I think there’s already a barrier, and I think that gap is only going to grow,” varsity basketball head coach Greg Guiler said. “If you have a bunch of donors in your school, that drives you to make that leap [to a stronger conference].”

And even though conference realignment takes

COMMENTARY

a toll on student-athletes, money talks. Schools have a lot to gain by swinging for the fences in a new conference.

“There are all of these people that are going to want to advertise on their network because the game is going to feature Oregon and Washington and USC and UCLA,” Bumpas said. “They're going to get their network on all the cable systems, and they're gonna get money from advertising. It's all about money.”

Knobel Hunt ‘21, who is a defender on the SMU soccer team, will be joining the Atlantic Coastal Conference (ACC) with his team for the 2024-25 season — a move that will demand much more out of the school in terms of travel.

“It’ll be interesting joining the ACC because we’ll be playing both East and West Coast schools,” Hunt said. “But, we’ll be going into the premier soccer conference. We’ll be challenged every week and we won’t be able to get away with playing a mid-tier team with a mid-tier performance.”

The No. 11 ranked Mustangs also hold a unique status as one of just two Division 1 soccer programs in the state — a predicament that required the team to travel often for competition before switching conferences was even discussed.

“The majority of our competition [currently] comes from the ACC already, the AAC, which we're in, and what was known previously as the PAC 12,” Hunt said. “Those were the ‘Power Three’ for soccer. So with our non-conference games, we could be playing anyone from anywhere in the country.”

Additionally, SMU players are granted access to an athletic advisor, on top of their normal academic one, to further aid them in terms of managing their workload.

And, Guiler believes that schools will provide further academic measures for their student-athletes as they increase their distances of travel.

“Colleges have gotten so advanced in providing study capabilities on planes and buses, as well as providing tutors, that I don’t think it’s going to change the current state of academics too drastically,” he said.

SMU also spends around three days in a city when they fly out, using the time spent away from school to prepare for and recuperate from games. This results in an increased pressure on time management, which Hunt has handled well.

“Traveling is a part of college sports,” Hunt said. “Coming from a St. Mark's background, I've learned time management so efficiently that I've had no problems at SMU being able to work ahead and schedule.”

As a result of this balance, Hunt has uncovered valuable takeaways from a busy soccer schedule and extracurriculars on top of his courseload as a finance and sports management double major.

“I think the lessons you learn as a student-athlete or a Marksman are,” Hunt said, “that you have to be effective with your time; that when you have something to get done, you do it fully and completely; and you work ahead so that you can create free time and opportunities.”

A senior's unexpected journey to the football field

I walked into the equipment hallway to get sized for my helmet when Coach Turner saw me and stopped.

He put his screwdriver down and questioned, “You playing football?”

I responded with “yes sir.” He seemed shocked that I was joining the team.

The same reaction came when I told Doc, Jenny and Shandera. Family members and friends were confused. I imagine my schoolmates were surprised as they walked up to Hunt Stadium and saw my poster, fourth from the left, wearing No. 5.

Noah Cathey Design Director

Frankly, it shocks me as well.

Putting on my jersey. Running out of the tunnel. You could say I’m out of place.

But I know I belong.

English 9 taught me to give my time to two communities: those you have something to offer to and those that have something to offer you. Football falls into the latter category. Coach Flaherty might argue that I, like every player, am a valuable member of the team, and there is some truth to that. But my athletic prowess is not best suited to the gridiron. The football team does not need me.

That is what makes playing football as a senior all the more special.

Joining football as a senior has picked up in recent years. Some will have the chance to impact the team on the field. Others, like me, play for different reasons.

It might have been the encouragement from my advisory with all of its members playing

football or jealousy that my younger brother Caleb played football here before me. It might have been a number of things.

But it was the longing for another community at this school that brought me to football.

Football is touchdowns and hit sticks. It’s coverages and audibles. It’s eye black and bicep bands. At St. Mark’s, it’s all of that and more.

It’s filling up Angela’s every Saturday.

It’s asking my best friend to help me put on my pads for the 12th day in a row knowing I do the same for him.

It’s strapping up that blue helmet knowing I’m going to give 120% regardless of circumstance.

People ask me “Noah, why football?”

That’s why.

Season of champions

Over the summer at the Track and Field Junior Olympics, Junior Mateu Parker earned the coveted title of allAmerican for the second time in the decathlon.

This impressive accomplishment did not come without sacrifice. The training required was strenuous, but Parker was determined every step of the way.

“We trained everyday except Sundays for around three hours,” Parker said. “ I had to hydrate constantly and keep a steady diet.”

The intense daily training consisted of two to three events: sprinting intervals for the 100 and 400 meter, and distance intervals for the 1500 meter.

Along with an intense training schedule, Parker relied on varsity track coach John Turek’s expertise to give him a competitive edge.

“[Coach] Turek plays a vital role in my training,” Parker said. “He creates a training schedule for the whole month, which includes enough rest and time to practice for each event. He also travels to meets with me and offers his knowledge.”

Toward the beginning of the summer, Parker identified his weak points and worked hard to turn them into strengths.

“When I first started, my performance on the first day was always better than my second day,” Parker said. “Our goal was to make the difference between the two days more consistent.”

Parker’s extensive preparation on the track contributed greatly to his success, but his competitive mindset played an equally important role in earning him his title.

“An important aspect of the decathlon is not allowing one bad event to affect the rest of your performances,” Parker said. “I had a bad long jump at the Junior Olympics, but I was able to put it behind me and score personal records in other events to make up for the loss and become an all-American.”

Heading into his junior season, Parker hopes to continue his success on the track and understands that his work is not finished.

“I want to become all-SPC and lead our team,” Parker said. “And, if I can, I’d also like to compete in college.”

Turek travels to Germany for Thorpe Cup

By Christian Warner

Varsity track and field coach John Turek traveled to Marburg, Germany this past summer for the annual Thorpe Cup – a decathlon and heptathlon competition between the United States and Germany. Both countries alternate hosting: one year in the United States, the next in Germany.

Originally, the Thorpe Cup was a decathlon with seven men from both countries excluding women. In 2005, Turek was elected the committee chairman for the women’s heptathlon, the female equivalent. At a dinner with Claus Merik, decathlon coach for the

This summer, junior athletes, Maddox Canham and Charlie Gordy made a name for themselves at the USA Volleyball Beach Championship in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Lions duo emerged successful, placing top 10 in the nation for Beach volleyball duos. Their thorough preparation combined with great chemistry allowed them to compete effectively on the national stage.

Although the Lions found success on the sand, Canham and Gordy’s volleyball journey started five years ago on the court.

“I started off playing indoor and eventually started playing beach,” Canham said. “I enjoy it more than regular volleyball because you get a lot more touches, and I think it’s more fun in general.”

After two years of competing in recreational beach volleyball, Canham and Gordy decided to put their skills to the test and sign up for their first tournament.

“The summer between our freshman and sophomore year we traveled to the same tournament,” Canham said. “We took the competition less seriously, but still wanted to do well. We were really there to understand what it was like, get a feel for it, and have fun.”

The experience opened their eyes to the possibility of a prominent future in beach volleyball, as they secured a ranking in the 20’s without proper preparation or mindset.

“When the tournament ended Maddox and I both believed we could do very well the next year, but we knew we needed a lot more preparation,” Gordy said. “We joined a beach club and practiced two times a week. Throughout the entirety of the year we practiced with an intense mindset. We wanted to win.”

Although a top 10 national finish was exciting for the duo, Gordy and Canham hope to replicate and better their results for future beach volleyball tournaments.

“In the future, we’re going to do a lot more tournaments outside of Dallas,” Gordy said. “We only did three travel tournaments before that. This year, we plan to use a new coach. We are going to train hard, and come back better next year.”

German national team, Turek brought up the idea of adding a women’s event.

“We really need to include women in this to be fair, and after a lot of deliberation, [Merik] agreed with me,” Turek said. “So in 2006 we added a women’s [heptathlon].”

Turek’s passion for track and field has led him on a path from a common enthusiast to a renowned figure and board member of the United States governing body, USA Track & Field.

He has worked with the national team 14 times; in 2005 Turek coached the Thorpe Cup team as the assistant, 2006 and 2015 as the head women’s coach and 2019 as the head coach. As the private coach, his role on the national team was the facilitator for the athletes and their coaches; whereas for the school, he works closely with each athlete.

“This past season, some of the men and women brought their private coaches with them,” Turek said. “ In those scenarios, I’m not going to usurp their private coach who’s coached them everyday all year long.”

In past years, the cup had been hosted at the University of Oregon and the Olympic Training Center. Ever since he was involved in designing the school’s facilities, Turek had always dreamed of hosting the Thorpe Cup – it was “one of the things on [his] bucket list.” This past year, he finally had the opportunity to organize the competition to take place at the school.

“It’s very unique for an educational institution like [St. Mark’s] to host an international meet [because] it’s usually held at a university or big time sports complex,” Turek said. “I’ve always wanted to host the Thorpe Cup because I love it and have a passion for decathlon and heptathlon.”

Throughout the summer, when most were taking a break, the relentless dedication of Mateu Parker, Charlie Gordy and Maddox Canham stood out as they competed on the national stage, ultimately becoming champions.

NATIONAL DUO Juniors Charlie Gordy and Maddox Canham pose at the USA Volleyball Championship, after a top 10 national finish.

All-American Junior Mateu parker showcases his medal after becoming a two time All-American at the Junior Olympics.

PHOTO / COURTESY MATEU PARKER

By Lawrence Gardner and Tejas Allada

By Lawrence Gardner and Tejas Allada

PHOTO / COURTESY CHARLIE GORDY

John Turek Varsity Track and Field Head Coach

Famous fabrics

Carlton Dixon’s suit designs are world-renowned, and his company, Reveal Suits, has created garment s for many important organizations. However, starting a business was not always the plan. Dixon explains how a simple idea turned into one of the most succesful suit businesses in the world.

By Lawrence Gardner

He’s received calls from the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, Hockey Hall of Fame, PGA Tour of America Hall of Fame and over 80 colleges. His work is world- renowned, yet his name is unrecognizable. He keeps to himself, working intently out of his remote office, located across the freeway from where he was raised. In his mailbox sit hundreds of emails all requesting the same thing: a suit.

Carlton Dixon, former St. Mark’s student and the owner of Reveal Suits, has taken his company nationwide and worked with many big name brands and companies; however, this was not always the plan. In 2015, Dixon had an entirely different career working as an athletic director. That same year, while talking with a friend about the draft, he had a life-changing realization.

“The athletes were starting to get very creative with their suits and adding designs on the inside of them,” Dixon said. “One thing many of them paid tribute to was their alma mater. I saw it again the following year and it kind of just clicked with me. This could be an actual garment.”

With nothing but an idea and a strong work ethic, Dixon set out on his journey to create Reveal Suits.

“I really was self taught,” Dixon said. “I taught myself about fabrics, fashion and suits. Not only how to

make them, but what they were made of. I was also aware there was a trademark and licensing component as well and had to figure out the process. That was the most strenuous piece in the development of the company.”

A year later, Dixon had finalized his licensing with the NCAA, and what had once been a simple idea had now become reality.

Next, Dixon was able to approach individual schools, such as the University of Texas.

“I started asking some of these coaches, just outright, if they would mind purchasing these suits for their boys or young ladies as well,” Dixon said. “I was able to get connected to the right people and our first two purchases were Baylor football and Florida State football.”

Learning to fit an individual was one thing, but an entire team was a very different experience. For Dixon, this was the last piece to the puzzle.

“Once we got that down, it was off to the races,” Dixon said. “As we grew, we were able to attract the attention of many different schools and professionals as well.”

Although Dixon and Reveal Suits had already achieved considerable success, one phone call in particular propelled the company to new heights.

“When I looked down at my office line and saw who was calling, I couldn’t believe it,” Dixon said. “It was

New math instructor brings bowling expertise

By Michael Jimenez

Ken Howell is not only an outstandig Algebra II instructor, but he also brings with him loads of knowledge about a sport that is not so popular at St. Mark’s.

Not only was Howell a math teacher at his previous school, Jesuit, he was also the school’s bowling coach.

“When the bowling coach at Jesuit left, they were in search of a new coach,” Howell said. “I loved coaching, so they asked me to do it and I said sure.”

While a lot of coaches dedicate their lives to sports, Howell wasn’t bowling very long before he started coaching. His journey to success began with a friend.

“I didn’t start bowling until about two years before

coaching. I started doing some league bowling with a friend of mine who coached at Jesuit,” Howell said.

Before his pursuit in bowling, Howell actually spent his coaching days in lacrosse. At the time of his appointment to head coach Howell had quit coaching lacrosse and felt the urge to get back into the game.

“I wasn’t coaching anything at the time and felt like I needed to get back into it,” Howell said. Once I started doing it, the joy of coaching came back.”

When the team team began the season, Jesuit changed from a club team to a varsity sport. The sudden change lost Howell several athletes, but he managed to persevere and lead his team towards success.

“We took a team of 15 to five just because they

the Basketball Hall of Fame, and for them to say that they had noticed us and wanted to discuss us becoming their provider was surreal.”

While Dixon was overjoyed to be entrusted with such an important national event, he knew this call was just the beginning of the work ahead of him.

“It wasn’t time for me to throw a parade because I felt like we made it,” Dixon said. “It’s still a business and I have to lead. One slip up on a stage like that could ruin you.”

Dixon and his team tirelessly worked to create the best product possible. Their impressive work with the NBA opened up doors to multiple other professional leagues as well.

“Shortly after, we were able to partner with the NFL,” Dixon said. “We also created partnerships with both the Pro Soccer and Pro Hockey hall of fame. The PGA of America established a partnership with us as well, and I believe it all came from the platform that the Basketball Hall of Fame placed us on.”

While Dixon is grateful for the level of success his company has achieved, he finds his true joy in giving back to others.

“The Hall of Fame stuff and pictures with athletes is all fine and dandy,” Dixon said, “But if you’re not having some type of impact on a community, perhaps one that needs a helping hand, your business is not reaching its fullest potential.”

didn’t want to commit,” Howell said. “That team of five made it to regionals,” Howell said.

Even with success at Jesuit, Howell chose to change schools to impact students both young and old.

“I came to St. Mark’s because I’m a teacher first, and now I can go to a school where I can influence students longer than four years,” Howell said.

In the future, Howell hopes to get into coaching the Lions. He’s open to working with the lacrosse team or to potentially bring bowling to the community.

“I’ll working with the lacrosse program sometime in the future, but I would definitely be open to doing something with bowling here at St. Marks in the future,” Howell said.

DUAL THREAT Dixon displays two of his intricate college suit designs, one for SMU and one for Baylor.

PHOTO / WINSTON LIN

Tradition restored — the Spurs are here to stay.

The Spurs are a hallmark of St. Mark's Game Day tradition. Along with the Lion's Walk, the cheerleaders and the band, they help to make football games memorable. And, after a one-year hiatus due to sponsorship issues, the program is back.

By Neil Yepuri and Eric Yi

TOUCHDOWN,

LIONS! - the announcer’s exuberant voice rings out across the field.

The bleachers, filled with fans jumping with excitement and singing out with joy.

The away fans, silenced by the dagger.

The band, blasting away on their instruments in a hearty touchdown song.

But something’s missing.

The guys running on the track in crisp, clean Texan glory.

Their paces down the sideline, their massive flags spelling out LIONS, their iconic cowboy hats, boots and jeans.

Though silent, everything about them displays school spirit and pride.

In 2022, the Spurs left the sidelines for the first time in years.

And now, they’re back. And this time, they’re here to stay. At least, that’s what new Spurs sponsor Michele Santosuosso has planned for.

“I changed [the program] a little bit — now it’s open to all sophomores, juniors and seniors with the hope that it stays alive,” Santosuosso said. “Also, there’s 10 of them, where there’s normally five or six, which I think is awesome.”

Additionally, the Spurs will show up at games for multiple sports this year — deviating from the traditional football-only schedule that they were on before.

“I want [the Spurs] to be a year-round thing, and not just a football thing,” Santosuosso said. “They’ll go to soccer games, they’ll go to lacrosse games, they’ll show up at a volleyball game. It’s almost part of the student council or Superfanmen — show up and support your friends.”

The program had ceased to exist last year after the former sponsor could no longer run it due to other responsibilities. So, the burden fell on Santosuosso and the administration to revive the tradition.

“We had talked about it last year, and it was never really organized,” Santosuosso said. “So in the spring, I met with [Head of Upper School John] Ashton and expressed interest in bringing them back and pulling them under the student council.”

The announcement of the program’s return was met with jubilation.

“At the end of last year, there was this aura in the air about the Spurs coming back that got everyone super excited,” senior Spur Jordan Feldman said. “Everyone was really hyped to see them come back. I’d see them

in my sophomore year and I’d think ‘God, that would be so cool’.”

While Feldman’s interest was sparked more recently, fellow senior Ryland Ellis has been interested in the program for much longer – ever since he was a Lower School Marksman. “As a little kid in first grade, I’d always see games with the Spurs,” Ellis said. “It’s always been something I wanted to be a part of.”

Ellis was also encouraged to join the program by one of his close friends and classmates, which he says adds to the experience and excitement of being a Spur.

“My friend [senior] Zack Goforth mostly coerced me into doing it with him, because he said it was a good way to get energy back into school spirit,” Ellis said. “When you do something like this with close friends, you get to have a lot more fun with it.”

For Ellis, contributing to the community is a recurrent theme in his high school career – so joining the Spurs felt like a natural fit rather than a burden on his senior year.

“I’m doing Spurs and student council this year, and I did McDonald’s Week last year,” Ellis said. “Just pick a way to give back to the school that’s important to you. None of those things really felt like jobs to me – they were just things I wanted to do to help make the school a better place.”

Similarly, Feldman found a lack of school pride to be one of the main reasons he joined the program, citing his desire to return some support to the sports teams.

“I didn’t have a large sense of spirit for the school, and I didn’t contribute a lot to that side of school life,” Feldman said. “I really wanted to give back to the people who’ve been so supportive to the sports guys, and I wanted to be one of those people who’s always there, supporting them side by side.”

Even though being a Spur is a time commitment with practices and early pre-game preparation, Feldman doesn’t see it as a burden.

“I’ll be at sports games anyways, so why not be one of the loudest people there?” Feldman said. “I consider myself an extrovert, so I love having the opportunity to be out there, be loud and support my team and waive those flags.”

For Feldman, becoming a Spur and leading school pride at games was his way to leave a lasting legacy. He encourages all Marksmen to find what makes the school special for them and support that.

“Take it on,” Feldman said. “Continue the legacy, and make it louder and prouder. For someone who might not know their place, I’d say continue to find that place because there is a corner for everyone in St. Mark’s, no matter what they want to do.”

RUNNING RIOT The Spurs take off on the track as the team celebrates a touchdown against Cistercian in the Lions' first home football game. The Lions would end up taking the win in this matchup by a resounding score of 36-3.

PHOTO / WINSTON LIN

Jordan Feldman Senior Ryland Ellis Senior

Zack Goforth Senior Hudson Brown Senior

Michael McKool Sophomore

Nate Wilson Senior

Zach Olyan Senior Clark Cooper Senior

William Clarke Senior Tyler Tang Senior

Lions slay Dragons with community present

On Sept. 1, the football team defeated John Cooper, 15-8. The game, which was called early due to lightning in the area, took place on Lion Pride Night, an event designed to bring the community together for football, food and fun.

BIG AND BRIGHT Before the opening kickoff, the Lions stand honoring the three flags to the south of Norma and Lamar Hunt Family stadium.

FROM START TO FINISH 1 - The team walks out of the locker room getting ready to go into the tunnel. 2 - Despite being on the field for the majority of the game, the Lions defense prepares to make one last stand to secure the victory. 3 - Junior receiver Mateu Parker fights through the tackle of a John Cooper defender reaching for the first down. 4 - Senior defensive back Mason Briscoe (21) and quarterback Jimmy Francis (12) lead the lions onto the field.

PHOTO / WINSTON LIN

PHOTO / ZACHARY BASHOUR

PHOTO / ZACHARY BASHOUR

PHOTO / WINSTON LIN

PHOTO / WINSTON LIN