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New English teacher and Wilson Fellow Carrie Brown not only gives creative writing assignments to her senior creative writing students, she completes her own. Mrs. Brown, an acclaimed author who has written seven novels and a short story collection, will release her eighth published book, , this coming January. Mrs. Brown, a Connecticut native, loved English in her early school days and admitted, “I was a hopeless, embarrassingly bad math student.” After graduating from Brown University and beginning her search for a newspaper job, she steered clear of big metropolitan papers, attracted instead by smaller communities where people relied on the newspaper to be informative and helpful. While in college, Mrs. Brown interned at the Hartford Courant and worked for the Asian Wall Street Journal. When she met her husband, John Gregory Brown, the couple moved to Virginia, where Mr. Brown took a teaching position at Sweet Briar College, directing the Creative Writing program. Mrs. Brown’s early months at Sweet Briar without a job gave her time to write. Her career as a novelist really took off as she spent her days building characters and plots, publishing her first book the same year she graduated from the University of Virginia’s MFA program in Creative Writing. Eventually she joined her husband teaching at Sweet Briar and then moved on to Hollins University, where she served as the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Creative Writing. Now Mrs. Brown has moved her entire life to Deerfield. “Any time you enter a new community,” she said, “you’re asking new things of yourself.” Perhaps the most significant among these new things is learning how to adjust her teaching style. Moving from a higher education environment to the high school level at Deerfield has been an interesting transition for Mrs. Brown. She explained, “It has been a pedagogical, intellectual challenge.” Mrs. Brown’s newest novel, is based on the lives of the 19th century astronomer William Herschel and his sister Caroline, who served as her brother’s assistant and became an accomplished astronomer in her own right. Though many of Mrs. Brown’s books have taken as little as a couple of years to finish, Brown has spent much of her adult life writing The Stargazer’s Sister. “It became a twenty-year research project,” Mrs. Brown said. “It just wouldn’t let me go.” Mrs. Brown’s inspiration for the novel, she said, came from the radio astronomy program StarDate on National Public Radio. She was dropping her kids off at school one morning when she heard a short segment about William and Caroline Herschel. Mrs. Brown became “totally hooked.” The inspiration for the novel stemmed from the siblings’ relationship “and the work that [the sister] did at a time when women were largely not engaged in astronomy.” is unique not only in the sheer time it took to produce, but also in the amount of research required to write it, in particular the complex astronomy that Mrs. Brown needed to learn. Although Mrs. Brown admitted that while writing the novel, she experienced a constant cycle of a few months of hard work followed by long breaks as a result of frustration, she said, “I really don’t like giving up. I don’t like failing.” The novel will finally hit the shelves in January. Through Mrs. Brown hopes to convey “what it means to love someone, especially when that love is not always an easy love to give.” Mrs. Brown illustrates Caroline’s unlikely story—her trials and successes in the search for her own identity—as an example of how “to find our own place in the universe, a place from which we can look out at the world and see it with the truth and knowledge of our own gaze.”

Dear Reader, These past few weeks, we have witnessed incidents of tragedy around the globe, so staff and I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate space throughout this issue to honor those who have lost their lives, those who have lost their loved ones, and those who are facing oppression. By creating the “Voices Against Violence” spread on pages 4 and 5, my goal was to shed light on the fact that there are members within this community who have been affected by the tragedies of the past few weeks or months. Though was, of course, unable to cover all of the violence that has erupted as of late, I hope that this spread will urge you, reader, to seek to learn more about the issues that lay behind these tragedies and to have the difficult conversations about these issues with your peers and your teachers. This past Sunday afternoon, I participated in a Greer Chat about gun control and gun violence, which Serena Ainslie and I decided to co-host after the shooting in San Bernardino, California last week. I came out of the conversation understanding much more about the pro-gun argument than I had expected to. Once you become willing to step into a conversation that is outside of your comfort zone, you become willing to learn something new; you come to understand, or at least try to understand, somebody else’s beliefs and the reasons that they hold those beliefs. Therefore, reader, I hope you will recognize that through these times of struggle, there is opportunity. In the past month, I’ve learned so much about the root of the problems causing trending hashtags such as #BlackLivesMatter, #StopSelectiveMourning, and #PrayForParis. Social media is a powerful platform bringing together many different views, so as to make comprehension of these difficult problems more complete. I encourage you to take the time to look at the photos and read those long posts  from media-users about what they believe and why. I know I’m glad that I did. Reader, if you look around you, the people who make up this campus can act as another version of that platform. We’re lucky to attend a school filled with people so eager to learn. I urge you to partake in as many conversations as you can and to learn as much as you can. As we head into the coming months, keep your head up, be grateful, and be thoughtful. Cheers, Bella Hutchins Editor-In-Chief

In the winter, hockey season begins in the “Barn.” The Deerfield Academy ice hockey rink is full of traditions for both players and fans. Courtney Morgan ’16, one of the boys varsity hockey team captains, explained that playing in the barn is “special because we think about the people who have come before us and the people who are coming after us, too.” Morgan added, “A home game, where the barn is packed, and a lot of people are there, and it’s loud, I think it pumps you up more. I know 80’s night in the Barn was one of my best games last season because you know everyone is watching, so you just want to play well for your whole school.” Jenna Greenbaum ’17, a member of the girls varsity hockey team, shared a similar outlook saying, “It’s our house, our home. We want to protect it.” The Barn will be renovated within the next few years. Administrators expect that a renovated, more energy-efficient Barn, with a field house above it, will be ready by the fall of 2019. Greenbaum said of the renovation, “I think getting a new rink will be really nice because we’ll have new locker rooms, a new rink obviously… I think having a new facility will be really good for the program.” Morgan added, “I know [the new Barn] may look new and modern, but I think one thing that I want is to still have some old traditions.” 80’s Night, exciting for both fans and players, is something that many students, Morgan included, want to continue in the new Barn. However, many students also believe that certain aspects of the “Barn culture” need to be changed. Many students have voiced their discontent about the tradition that only senior boys are “allowed” in the top row of the stands and that girls are supposed to stand against the glass. Valentina Connell ’16 said, “I think it goes all the way back to it being an all boys school, and how seniority allowed you to get higher up on the stands. As girls came in, I think students didn’t want to disrupt that tradition of elevation or hierarchy.” Connell is among the many students unhappy with this tradition, and she is working with Philip Goss ’16 and this year’s Captain Deerfield, Charlie Carpenter ’16, to get rid of the gender divide. According to Connell, they hope to have “senior girls along with senior guys on the top row of the bleachers. This way, there is still some kind of hierarchy, due to your grade level, but at least everyone has a chance to get up to the top.” Another aspect of the culture that many students hope to see changed is the relative attendance at boys’ games versus girls’ games. Connell said, “Boys varsity hockey games always get hyped up, like whiteouts or 80’s night. Those themes garner a lot of support, and I feel like for girl’s games, we don’t have those sort of fan traditions in place.” Connell thinks Deerfield should implement traditions for girl’s games to draw more support for female players. Greenbaum said, “We do not get even close to as many fans as the boys do.” She added, “When people are there, you have a real drive to play, like you’re playing for the people,” but “we never really have that big of a crowd.” She hopes a new rink, and renewed effort to attract fans to girls’ games, will change the culture. As the rink gets renovated, fans and players alike hope that it will bring about a new Barn culture as well, a culture that still has all the glory and excellence that Deerfield hockey prides itself on, but also brings about a fairer, more equal experience for fans and players alike.

Every year, during the month of November, men all across the world put away their razors and grow their best mustaches in support of prostate cancer. The effort, coined “Movember,” has become an international phenomenon, aiming to raise both awareness and funds for the cause. According to the National Cancer Institute, prostate cancer is the third most common type of cancer, and 14% of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. This year, Tim Gerber ’17, Jack Wood ’17, and Jared Strauss ’17 spearheaded the month-long event within the Deerfield community. When the three boys showed interest in spreading awareness, Dean of Students Kevin Kelly immediately granted them permission to lead the project. Gerber, Wood, and Strauss also hoped to get the female population more involved. Although they acknowledged that women cannot be diagnosed with prostate cancer or grow mustaches to raise awareness, Wood explained, “We want to be more inclusive to both genders, to unite the school towards a worthy cause.” To achieve this objective, the juniors ensured both genders were addressed during sit-down announcements and via other messages. They also hoped to bring on a female representative to encourage girls to buy the gender-inclusive merchandise that will be for sale. This year, they decided to make T-shirts as well as bracelets to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer. All proceeds will go to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, “chosen specifically over the American Cancer Society, so that all profits made will go directly to the cause,” explained Gerber. Gerber, Wood, and Strauss decided to feature Timothy Wondoloski, known fondly as “Wondo,” from Shipping and Receiving on the T-shirt design. Gerber described Wondo as “an obvious choice” after “extensive conversation with him” and seeing pictures of his “legendary mustache.” The heads also tried to order and sell mustache products, like dyes and gels, to really take the event to the next level and motivate Deerfield’s male population. Wood recalled his “freshman year mustache role model,” alumnus Gil Roddy ’14, who said, “If you’re not using product, you’re not trying.” Overall, the group considered Movember a success and hope the momentum will carry into the rest of the year. They believe that Movember should not be limited to simply a month of dedicated efforts, but a year-long awareness and consciousness of prostate cancer and related diseases. By building on similar events, like “Saving by Shaving,” in which community members shaved their head to support the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Gerber, Wood, and Strauss plan to continue raising awareness about cancer through their Movember initiatives.

At a recent school meeting, the Deerfield community was astonished by what students in David Payne’s Advanced Architecture designed last spring — the model for a dorm to replace Johnson-Doubleday. This glimpse into what goes on in the Deerfield architecture classroom was informative. While dance and acting performances and studio artwork are often on display, the community knows relatively little about the architecture projects on campus. The architecture program at Deerfield has been around for about 50 years. Before Mr. Payne, Robert Moorhead taught architecture from 1976-2014 , and prior to him, Yuji Kishimoto taught it for five years. In fact, Kishimoto went on to teach at Clemson University, a school with one of the top architecture programs in the country, where Mr. Payne obtained his PhD. This past term, the Architectural Design students designed a New York City apartment where one half was their own dream apartment and the other half was for a family of four. The students created backgroud stories for those families and designed the apartments to best fit their needs, giving students “experience working with a hypothetical client,” Mr. Payne said. According to Mr. Payne, most students come into architecture classes with no previous experience. So, Mr. Payne believes that the most challenging aspect of his classes is that most students are so unfamiliar with it. “We all interact with buildings on a daily basis but most of the time, you don’t really pay attention,” he said. “Architecture is a glaring hole in most people’s common knowledge. We all know a little bit about Shakespeare, a little bit about biology, and a little bit about the civil war, but you ask somebody about architecture, and they just kind of blank.” Ellie Koschik ’17 has experienced the challenge first hand in Mr. Payne’s Architectual Design class and noted that “the hardest part is coming up with ideas.” She added that the class forces students to ask themselves, “‘What is the best way I can do this?’” rather than “‘What is a way I can do this?’” Because architecture is unfamiliar to so many students, Mr. Payne does not expect the majority of students to become architects in the future or master the skills of designing. Instead, he simply hopes for students to “discover a more acute awareness of the built environment” and to “have an architectural awareness and sensitivity that could help [them] at some other point in life.” Some students, however, do hope to pursue a career in architecture, such as Samantha Kuo ’16. She audited one of Mr. Payne’s classes her junior year, and it inspired her to spend six weeks at Cornell’s summer architecture school, one of the best in the country. Now, as a senior, she is taking Architectural Design with Mr. Payne. “Not a lot of people see this, but architecture affects everyone’s lives,” she said. “I just love the idea that you’re constructing the environment [of people’s] daily lives.” She added, “I like the fact that there’s no right or wrong. Few people realize that, like any art, architecture can be a way to express yourself.” Most students who take architecture classes at Deerfield do so because it is such a rare opportunity, especially in high school. “Unless you’ve sought it out,” Mr. Payne said, “you probably have had no exposure to architecture…. this is a unique offering at Deerfield just because it’s something that a lot of people have had a possible interest in but no opportunity to pursue it.”

Shortly after the ISIS attacks on Paris, messages of hope and prayers for peace flooded all platforms of social media. The story of a massacre in Kenya, however, also appeared among the multitude of updates about the Paris attacks. “Man, what’s happening with the world right now?” queried one Facebook user, sharing a link to a BBC article detailing the Kenyan attacks. “147 dead in terrorist attack on Kenya college,” tweeted another, “Hate consumes and destroys.” When this heavily shared article began trending on social media, attentive readers pointed out that the event had not in fact occurred in November of 2015. In actuality, the Garissa University attacks had transpired seven months prior, in April. The attacks, orchestrated by the jihadist terrorist group Al-Shabaab, a branch of Al-Qaeda, commenced at 5:30 am on April 2nd. During their 15-hour siege, four militants armed with explosive vests and AK-47s held more than 700 students hostage. Those who identified as Muslims were freed, while Christians were persecuted and murdered for their faith. “They were Christian students having a fellowship,” explained Robert Muni ’16, a DA post graduate from Kenya. “So they shot and killed all of them. [They] had students jumping through the windows to the outside of the resident’s halls [in order to escape].” Approximately 500 students were able to escape, of which 79 were injured. By the time the Kenyan Defense Forces had successfully repelled the militants, 147 people lay dead in the halls of Garissa University. The members of Al-Shabaab, who are stationed in Somalia, have harbored ill feelings towards the Kenyan government since 2011, when Kenyan troops entered Somalia in an attempt to undermine Al-Shabaab power and influence. The intrusions have been largely disastrous, catalyzing more attacks and kidnappings by the jihadistMterrorist group. “They threatened to attack more schools,” recounted Muni. “They said they were going to attack a national secondary high school. And my [former] school, the Starehe Boys’ School, is a national secondary high school. I was terrified, so terrified. I had very scary thoughts that something could happen to our school because it’s very open [to the public].” When asked about the lack of comprehensive coverage and knowledge in the western world about the Garissa University attacks, Muni maintained that “it’s about which country has more to lose. That’s the sense. Kenya is just an African country — so just put it on the news for one day, and that’s it.” “It makes me upset,” expressed Muni, “Because, you know, every life matters, regardless of whatever economic background someone is from, or what country he or she is from. Countering globalism is a global mandate. Currently we have attacks in West Africa; I haven’t seen much coverage about that. It’s the same problem. It’s still terrorism. There’s no different definition of terrorism across continents.” Jessica Contrera of conjectured that “people are more likely to care about the tragedies they feel close to, and more likely to show their concern if everyone else is doing the same. Comparing levels of outrage in response to tragic news is nothing new.” Therein lies the problem of social media and its power over traditional media, Contrera asserts. Stories about tragedies will only circulate if they hit close to home, whether that’s geographic, socioeconomic, political, or religious. The Garissa University attacks only earned the empathy of readers as an offshoot of the Paris attacks. “We need to take time before [personally] redefining the events that have taken place through some distorted [lens] like politics or business,” Muni said. “We need to really take time to consider what has happened to the families and friends of these people.”

Over the past decade, prep schools have noticed a shift from athletes playing two or three sports a year to highly competitive athletes honing their skills in one sport. Sports exemptions are becoming increasingly popular every year, because specialization is on the rise. In order to be the best at a sport, athletes are beginning to focus on solely improving in their “main sport.” Many schools are conflicted about whether sports exemptions should be permitted on campus or if a subsequent decrease in athletics participation as a whole is damaging to the school. Deerfield is at a point where it permits students to take exemptions to improve their skills in a particular sport if these athletes compete in two terms of a team sport. However, ten years ago exemptions were far more uncommon than they are today. As Assistant Athletic Director and Assistant Admissions Officer Drew Philie ’09 said, “Exemptions are a product of how things are with athletes at this point. Kids are starting to do them at younger and younger ages.” Playing multiple sports as a competitive athlete can have advantages and disadvantages, and exemptions also come with their own set of pros and cons on a high school campus. This fall, Kathryn Grennon ’17 took an exemption for lacrosse. She described her daily routine as going to the gym most days to work on cardio and weight training, then joining other lacrosse exemption players on the turf to work on shooting. This opportunity allowed players to get in shape and set goals to improve before the spring season. Grennon said, “Shooting with other dedicated and talented lacrosse players this fall has helped me improve my own skills by learning from them.” However, Grennon also noted, “I missed competing on a team and meeting new people the way I usually would during a fall sport.” Nate Chong ’17, one of several varsity rowers who will take an exemption this winter, said, “We’ve already started practicing Monday through Friday by working out, running stairs, and erging.” He and five other crew exemption athletes are looking forward to improving their skills this winter. Specifically, Chong said, “We plan to improve our times on the erg throughout this winter.” This is especially important to them, because they will be able to track exactly how many seconds they’ve improved from the beginning of the winter term to the end. Although he looks forward to focusing on improving his times and getting in shape for the spring, he added “I, unfortunately, will be sacrificing the exhilaration of playing a sport competitively this winter.” A few common exemptions at Deerfield this year are crew, track, ice hockey, and lacrosse, as athletes seek to thoroughly prepare for their seasons. With that in mind, there are also other ways to improve in a particular sport while not officially receiving an exemption, such as managing a team or Special Exercise. When Mr. Philie attended Deerfield from 2006-2009, students rarely sought exemptions. He noted, “More often than not, kids played two or three sports every year.” Since exemptions can have both positive and negative impacts on an athletic program, they have only become popular in recent years, perhaps due to the stress of starting specialization much earlier on in life. Philie stated that he does not think exemptions should be encouraged on campus. “I think as an athlete you learn something from being on a team, by meeting different kids, and playing for different coaches. In exemptions, an athlete isn’t actually competing. Yes, you lift and run, but you don’t actually get that competitive aspect in sports.”

Meet the athlete of the issue – Winslow Robinson ’16, a post-graduate from Tallahassee, Florida, who identifies himself as a high-level football player but is also a very skilled wrestler. Robinson is already an AAU All American wrestler, a two time state qualifier, and among the top eight wrestlers in Florida. Varsity Wrestling Coach Mr. Mark Scandling commented, “Winslow will add physical and mental toughness to our young squad. He understands the demands of competing at a high level in dual meets and tournaments.” Robinson was an All-Area Champion each year during his high school wrestling career and was the first person to achieve this accomplishment. However, wrestling was not his first sport. Robinson has been playing football since he was six years old. “It was my first love,” he said. He began wrestling as a freshman when his football coaches recommended the sport to him because of his strength and athleticism. In past wrestling seasons, Robinson has dieted to drop his weight and become stronger in comparison to other members of his weight class. By maintaining a strict diet of egg whites for breakfast, yogurt for lunch, and fish (with no salt) for dinner, he lost 30 pounds during last year’s season. He remembers feeling “really irritable and more tired throughout the day” but he was still successful on the mat. After his season concluded, Robinson quickly gained back the lost weight. However, he does not plan to do this again this year. Coach Scandling agreed, commenting, “As much as possible, we try to ask the wrestlers to compete at weight classes near their natural weights. The days of serious weight loss are behind us.” Robinson’s goals for the season are to place in the New England tournament and even make it to Nationals. He is most excited to “get a chance to wrestle in other states and against other kids.” The biggest challenge Robinson faces during wrestling season is “making sure he is in good enough shape to last as long as he has to on the mat.” Coach Scandling confirmed that Robinson “will likely be able compete for a title in the Class A and New England Tournaments.” He explained, “The National Preps will offer an opportunity to test himself against some highly regarded wrestlers from around the country.” Wrestling has one home match this year, on January 9th, and Robinson believes that he “wrestles his best when he has fans watching.”

This fall, the Co-curricular Committee granted 32 students exemptions from participating in sports, dance, theater, community service, or yearbook. Twenty-one of those students had art exemptions, while 11 pursued other passions. After completing his own film during the exemption, Dane Scott ’16 stated, “There’s no disadvantage to pursuing what you love and are passionate about.” He added, “Getting exemptions allows you to do something that’s completely ‘you.’…I’ve grown so much as an artist because I use my time in the same way I’d use it outside of school, or in life.” Coco Spagna ’16 and Derek Alvarez ’17 completed photography exemptions. Spagna compiled photos of athletic leaders in the Deerfield community, while Alvarez created analog prints of summer expeditions around America. Spagna explained, “Having a photography exemption was a great way to de-stress my senior fall.” However, she also noted that she found herself increasingly lonely on afternoons. “On Wednesdays and Saturdays, if I didn’t go [to games], I would hardly see anyone in the dorm,” she said. Alvarez’s exemption allowed him to take on a time-consuming project, since it takes about eight hours to make a single quality print. He said, “For me, the hardest part was not having the collaboration of a team sport. At first, I thought working alone would allow me to focus, but I got really bored some days.” Lucy Beimfohr ’17, who worked on a watercolor landscape, nude sketches, a photography collage, and a self-portrait, explained, “You aren’t getting assigned projects, and you aren’t being graded, which is really liberating.” However, she acknowledged, “At times, I found it difficult to motivate myself without deadlines,” because “It’s really tempting to just procrastinate without a lot of direction.” Several other students worked outside of the arts. Alex Kaminsky ’17 and Kent Yamamoto ’16 had robotics exemptions. Kaminsky, with the help of Markus Feng ’17, worked on programming a robot for a spring competition, because he “was more passionate about robotics than any fall sport the school offered.” Kaminsky does not see “any disadvantage to having an exemption… other than that it limits the number of interactions you might have with your peers.” Yamamoto used his time after school to further prepare for the robotics season and plan, with Mr. Bakker, the meetings for the night. “I told myself that because this is my last year participating in DA robotics – and since I created the original team four years ago – I wanted to put in 150% and win everything this year,” Yamamoto said. Lucas Tupinamba ’16 used his exemption to expand Deerfield Foods, a student-run hunger relief non-profit. Over the summer, he worked with students at Middlebury College and Deerfield alumni Conor Kennedy ’14 and Gordon Xiang ’15, and earned federal non-profit status for the organization in October. This fall, Tupinamba began to work on the state papers so that Deerfield Foods can become involved with SNAP, the government’s food stamp program. He also invested time in social media platforms, accounting, and the introduction of new marketing strategies. Tupinamba was drawn to this exemption by its positive impact: “We help real families with a serious issue that afflicts millions of Americans,” Tupinamba said. “When 14% of Americans are food insecure, and I can do something to help change that, I’d personally take that over sports any day.” Tupinamba added, “I believe that there are many ways to make a positive impact in any community. Perhaps by playing sports and hosting sporting events student-athletes’ performances binds the student body together and harnesses our Deerfield school spirit. Others focus on the arts, broadening our creative horizons and stimulate thought. Personally, out of all the possible opportunities for positive impact here at Deerfield, Deerfield Foods has been the most rewarding.”

At Deerfield, community service has become something of a “must have” for college applications. However, after thinking about community service projects undertaken by Deerfield students, I have come to wonder whether the Common App has affected students’ intentions, essentially defeating the purpose of community service. I worry that we are blinding ourselves to the point where we are less concerned about making a lasting impact and more concerned about finding inspiration for a college essay. In our pursuit of obtaining “impressive” community service, perhaps we fail to tend to the specific needs of the people with whom we work, essentially doing the community a “disservice.” The ultimate myth regarding community service is that in order to make a lasting impact, one must develop a project that includes a thousand dollar airfare and manual labor. Although traveling to Ghana with a group of prep school students to build a water pump sounds awfully impressive, it isn’t actually the most pragmatic way to help the community. In fact, it is an extremely unconventional use of time and money. By allowing the local citizens in Ghana to build the water pump themselves, that same group of students could have omitted airfare costs, donated the money saved to a community in need, and provided job opportunities for the Ghanaian locals, who often suffer from unemployment. As students, many of us have come to believe that our greatest contributions to a community in need will stem from our hammer skills or our ability to withstand the hot sun, when, rather, they will stem from our most valuable attribute: our education. At Deerfield we are taught language, economics, business, math, and science — subjects to which a large percentage of the world, especially the Third World, has little or no access. We have to recognize that in many cases we can make a greater and more effective impact from our dorm room. Why are we spending $890 on a round-trip ticket to Guatemala to teach children English for a week, when we could use the money to provide them with computers that would allow us to virtually teach them English for six months? Some argue that traveling in person to the communities we are helping is crucial, because it enables students to witness the product of their work, therefore heightening their sense of gratification that one “must receive” in turn for community service. They also argue that witnessing community service inspires students to further help the community in question, even after the project has been finalized.  I would argue that the purpose of community service is not to give you a sense of fulfillment or satisfaction. Also, if community service is done successfully, you should get that sense of reward regardless of where you are when you’re helping. Ultimately, I’ve come to realize that a lot of community service today caters more to the needs of and is more beneficial to the volunteer than the target. Although certain trips and endeavors may be humbling and instill a great change in Deerfield students, they may not be the most effective way to instill change in the lives of those who need it most. I think it is crucial and healthy that everyone, especially coming from a community like Deerfield, feels the humbling experience of witnessing poverty firsthand. Nonetheless, witnessing poverty doesn’t have to include an expensive airfare, and I believe that the Common App’s implied service requirement has skewed the intentions and impact of community service. To conclude, I would like readers to understand that, in writing this article, I by no means wanted to bash against past community service projects, because I believe that they have made an impact. I also think it is commendable that we take time to help, regardless of our intentions. My objective in writing this article is solely to shed further light on the prospect of modifying future projects, so that they can benefit communities in need more fully, and for us as students to come to terms — honestly — with why we are doing service. Maybe if we do, we will make even greater contributions to the world in which we live.

On November 13th, Paris, France was made victim to a devastating number of attacks that left more than 120 innocent civilians dead and a nation stricken with grief. The Islamic state, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has publicly claimed responsibility for the deadly acts of terrorism. The worst European terrorist attack in over eleven years, three ISIS units launched catastrophic attacks on six separate locations in Paris. The ambush shooting at the Bataclan Concert Hall, when three terrorists arrived with assault rifles and opened fire, resulted in close to 90 fatalities. In the Stade de France, at least three people were killed as a result of the explosions caused by suicide bombers. In addition, there were several fatal shootings around a variety of restaurants, bars, and cafes in the tenth and eleventh districts of Paris. Within minutes of one another, 15 victims were left dead as gunmen attacked an area outside of Paris restaurant Le Petit Cambodge, and other attackers killed up to five people outside of Cafe Bonne Piere. Shortly after, attackers launched a final mass shooting on a restaurant called La Bella Equipe — the cause of 19 more deaths. “It was very surreal to be in Paris at that time,” said alum Michael Beit ’15, who has been in the city on a gap year. On the 13th, he and another Deerfield graduate, Binger Shanguan ’15, had been having dinner at a tiny Italian restaurant. It was late, and they were the last ones there. The chef came out and asked where they lived, warning them that they might have a hard time getting home that night. After checking the news on their phones, the two soon found out why. Beit noted that “the news reported a lot of things incorrectly” during the mounting hysteria and confusion of that night. Subways were closed, there were no taxis—everyone walked home through the darkness in the City of Light. “Everything happened in a very French part of the city, while the Parisians were doing exactly what regular Parisians do on a weekend: drinking, socializing. That definitely scared a lot of people. It was quite literally an attack on their regular way of life,” Beit said. “It’s scary, because I could have very easily made an earlier dinner reservation, finished early, and gone to one of the local brasseries.” Following November 13th, the world has reacted with support. International tributes and respects have been paid to those affected by the attacks. Tendayi Peyton ’17, a student on SYA France, described the candles, flowers, and drawings arrayed around the French Parliament as “both devastating and beautiful.” Further evidence of strength throughout France is apparent in less tangible ways. Despite the presence of grief and shock, Peyton noted the remarkable normality with which the French have carried on: “They live their lives as they were. They are not afraid.” Yet effects of the tragedy exist in other forms. Francoise Ellis, a Deerfield French teacher on sabbatical in France, commented on the decrease in tourism: “Hotels, restaurants, stores, and other sectors of the economic life of the country have really been touched.” There are questions among the citizens of France that Ellis predicts “will come out to play in the important regional elections in the coming weeks.” As it has done for many global issues, social media has played a role in bringing attention and awareness to the attacks on Paris. In this day and age, the Internet and popular websites such as Facebook and Twitter can be powerful vehicles for showing support, sharing news, and provoking discussion. A French citizen named Antoine Leiris, who lost his wife in the shooting of Bataclan, posted a video directed at the terrorists who took her life. Staring at the camera, he defiantly said, “You want me to be afraid, to cast a mistrustful eye on my fellow citizens, to sacrifice my freedom for security. You have lost.” Sevrin Sarachek ’17, who has family ties to France, discussed the importance of how we use our words during times like these, insisting how “you have to mention specifically ISIS [as the perpetrators], instead of blaming one religion for these tragedies—because than you’re just creating destructive islamophobia.” The Deerfield community promotes ongoing discussion and students are encouraged to approach the challenging questions that present themselves each day, from smaller scale issues on campus to significant events in the world. Sarachek added how crucial it is for us to be informed in order to “form knowledgeable opinions” about these situations, and Mr. Van Eps, a Deerfield music teacher who’d been performing in France this past month, additionally cited raising awareness in our community as absolutely critical. “To address issues without censorship is the first tool in helping students effectively understand and pursue major worldwide causes and concerns,” he said.

Petrus’s Letter To the Students of Choate, I apologize for the offensive comments made by members of our community. Choate/Deerfield Day is not supposed to be about insults and ignorance, but rather sportsmanship and spirit. I am personally embarrassed that our school was represented by behavior that is not indicative of our character. Although this letter will not solve the larger problem of people thinking it is acceptable to make such demeaning remarks, I hope that it will allow us to start working on this issue together. Once again, I apologize to anyone who was offended by what happened over the weekend, and if you would like to discuss this further, please email me at cpetrus@deerfield.edu. Best, Claire Petrus Chair of the Student Council at Deerfield Academy Every fall, Deerfield students dedicate a full week to showing their school pride in anticipation of Choate Day. Battle cries echo throughout the dining hall; banners are hung from dorms and buildings; and students dress in spirited clothing. This year, on Choate Day, some chants turned negative and extreme.  Choate students yelled “Daddy’s money,” while Deerfield fans said that Choate volleyball players were wearing “spanx” and told them to eat more salads. Students from both schools insulted the opposing side. The Monday after Choate Day, a sophomore girl from Choate posted a Facebook status about some of the offensive comments she had heard. She stated that Choate students value themselves based on virtues such as intelligence, integrity, kindness, athletic and artistic talent, while Deerfield students appraise their self-worth based on superficial things such as clothing, appearances, money, and their campus. Some members of the Deerfield community who read the post were frustrated by her apparent disregard for Choate’s rudeness on Choate Day and because she ignored Deerfield’s perspective while making claims about students she has never met. However, others took the comment into consideration and felt badly about Deerfield’s actions. Claire Petrus ’16 felt that Choate deserved an apology out of common courtesy. “I was personally upset, because our school didn’t look very good, and we weren’t at our best,” she said.  She felt a personal obligation to send an apology letter to the Choate community. “You just send an apology letter to be polite,” she explained. “I felt really passionately that something should be said. The other people who knew about [the status] didn’t really seem to have an opinion, or they didn’t really want to do anything productive with it.” After meeting with Ms. Creagh and Dr. Curtis to discuss the matter, Petrus sent the letter to Choate’s Dean of Students. In the letter, she expressed how embarrassed she was by the behavior of Deerfield students and alumni and apologized to anyone who had been offended on that Saturday. The Choate Dean of Students responded and said that he would read Petrus’s letter to the Choate community at their first winter school meeting and use it to “provide some context that acknowledges the real possibility/likelihood that there are Choate fans that should be better behaved, that the vast majority of the Deerfield community served as wonderful hosts.” Some students at Deerfield disagreed with Petrus’s decision to send an apology. Although she intended for the letter to represent only her own opinion, some peers pointed out that the way in which she wrote the letter, and that she signed it as “Chair of the Student Council at Deerfield Academy,” suggested that it represented the whole student body’s opinion. Saorise Kennedy Hill ’16 stated, “I think Claire’s use of the word ‘our’ in her letter was used inappropriately, because it’s speaking about the Deerfield student body’s opinion, as opposed to her personal opinion. Also, I think it would have been best if she had checked with more students at Deerfield, because this letter is not representative of what the majority of us think.” Alex Platt ’17 disagreed. “I can understand that some students were angry because they thought she was speaking on their behalf without their permission, but I also think that it shouldn’t matter, because we should all be mature enough to have wanted to send that letter.” Additionally, Platt added, “She signed it with her own name, and I think it was clear that it was on her own behalf.” Although Petrus knew she would get some pushback from students, she wanted to send the letter out of what she felt was a personal responsibility. “The point was not to justify what Choate did, but just to say that we weren’t at our best on Saturday. Some people were being really rude, and we apologize for that.”