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As a new sophomore in the Greer, I was left wondering whether I’d been dropped into some kind of sick social experiment. I’d been briefed, of course, on the basic terminology: Leaving The Greer, Clapping People Out, The Senior Table. I’d been instructed not to leave with anyone, duh, because I was new and everyone would think I was a “slut.” That particular golden nugget of advice didn’t turn out to matter in the slightest, though; I interacted with so few guys that night (and for the rest of sophomore year) that I started to wonder whether I’d made some unforgivable prep school fashion faux pas, or if maybe brunettes were considered demons on the east coast (there was an awful lot of blonde). This was my awkward and confusing introduction to Deerfield’s infamous Gender Divide. Given the amount of kvetching we do about Deerfield’s culture, it seems strange that no one has sat down and thoroughly analyzed our social abnormalities. My objective in doing this isn’t to assign blame or burn any teachers at the stake. I’m also not trying to suggest that the gender divide is solely the fault of faculty and girls; I just haven’t experienced firsthand the thoughts that boys express about girls behind closed doors. Because I’m not a part of that culture, I don’t feel qualified to write about it. I just want to use my thoughts and experiences as a Deerfield girl to try to take a chip out of the enigmatic barrier that separates the sexes. This task began as a protest against a completely inappropriate comment made to me by a faculty member. I’d heard some pretty outrageous stories of “slut-shaming” (shaming girls for keeping male company of any kind) by adults from my female classmates and I’d weathered several unpleasant run-ins of my own with Security. But receiving this treatment from a member of the faculty was the last straw. It was a dark and stormy night on the Deerfield tundra. Boy X and I passed through the Athletic Center to avoid the subfreezing temperatures outside. My phone started protesting as soon as we walked out of the Greer. “……????” inquired one text. “Um, what?” prodded another. Luckily, we were able to check into parietals without running into any more of my friends in the dorm, managing to avoid further scrutiny. “Uhhh…Shel?” someone asked through the door. “Who is that? Who’s in there with you? There’s a shoe in the door! Hello? Who’s there?” We made it out of parietals still undetected. When I returned to sign in for curfew, no one besides the faculty member on duty and my concerned, interrupting neighbor knew I’d gotten parietals that night. One of the texters yelled across the common room, “Are you guys together?” Heads swiveled and eyes focused on me, studying, sizing up. “No,” I told my shoelaces. The faculty member looked up from his clipboard, smirking. “Just for the night,” he announced to the entire room, igniting a wave of laughter. In the moment, I was too shocked to conjure up any kind of reaction. Later, I fumed alone in my room, exposed and humiliated by a faculty member whom I barely knew. I replayed the encounter over and over in my head. I felt powerless to confront him, but I had to do something. So I reached out to the senior girls, asking for their stories. One night, Melanie Graciani and two of her friends decided to hang out in group parietals. When they arrived at the boys’ dorm, however, they were thrown for a loop. “The teacher on duty had the nerve to ask, ‘Who does she belong to, exactly?’” Melanie recounts. “Why do I have to belong to someone? We asked for group parietals for a reason. Not everyone who gets parietals is in a relationship or hooking up.” Melanie felt degraded and humiliated (and rightfully so). A teacher, an adult who is supposed to help students like Melanie learn, grow and feel empowered, implied that her company was only good for one reason: hooking up with one of the boys. He referred to Melanie as a possession and didn’t even address her directly. This interaction turned a fun, casual night of friends hanging out into a distinctly unpleasant experience. But, like me, Melanie didn’t feel as if confronting the teacher was an option. “I just brushed it off,” she explained. “I figured he was joking. But the joke made me uncomfortable, and my friends too.” This fear of confrontation is a thread that runs through all the stories I’ve received from the girls in my class. A member of the faculty is, by definition, in a position of power over a student, especially if the student happens to be in that teacher’s class. When it is also taken into account that this is an older, professional adult talking to a teenager, that power is amplified. The result is that when a faculty member “slut-shames” a student, that student feels unable to address him or her directly about it. As a result, the adult faces no repercussions. In all likelihood, said faculty member probably never even realizes the effect that his or her words had on the student. A common complaint among the girls I spoke to was that school rules and the personal beliefs of individual faculty members make it extremely difficult to have normal, healthy relationships at Deerfield. Parietals are considered not a right but a privilege, one that can be adjusted or revoked at any time and for any reason. “Some teachers find cuddling too intimate,” said Madi Lyford, who has noticed in her own relationships that time spent with a significant other off campus is far more enjoyable than time oncampus. “I have a friend who was told to leave parietals because she and her boyfriend were cuddling when a teacher walked in. Their hands were even visible!” How are guys and girls supposed to interact normally when something as harmless as cuddling is hypersexualized? No one seems to have a problem with students cuddling with dogs or friends of the same sex. Yet if a teacher finds a girl cuddling with a guy, she is liable to be kicked out of the dorm for her scandalous antics. It’s no wonder we have a gender divide; Melanie, Madi’s friend and I all faced shame and humiliation for attempting to carry on normal friendships and relationships with members of the opposite sex. I don’t believe that any faculty member would deliberately objectify a girl. However, I think that it’s important for any teachers reading this to remember that adults at Deerfield wield a tremendous amount of power and influence over students. As the saying goes, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Students will likely not feel comfortable letting teachers know when they’ve overstepped, so it’s up to teachers to be aware of the impact of their comments. A more insidious source of “slut-shaming” and, by extension, the gender divide, is the self-imposed female social hierarchy at Deerfield. A Deerfield girl’s value among other girls is too often determined not by who she is but by how she’s perceived by boys. She is frequently judged by her peers based on superficial traits such as her looks, clothes, socioeconomic status, and the (often resulting) level of interest boys take in her. Essentially, she’s evaluated as the sum of the guys she’s hooked up with. “For us, any hookup can improve or worsen our reputation,” one veteran of the system sums it up. Because of this phenomenon, many girls only give their attention to boys who they consider to be level with or above them socially, which contributes to our gender divide by decimating potential boy-girl friendships and creating resentment between the sexes. It’s this cultural quirk that causes guys to perceive certain girls as thinking they’re better than everyone else. In reality, I think the girls who are most unwilling to interact with boys they consider “uncool” are actually the ones that are most insecure and therefore most desperately seek the admiration of other girls. And what about the girls who don’t get with guys? When we base so much of each other’s social value on the opinions of boys, these girls are “othered.” A brilliant, creative and talented senior girl shared with me, “People talk about how Susie has hooked up with X, Y, and Z over the last three months, while Betty sits there and wonders if anyone will EVER want to hook up with her, which makes her feel insignificant, not pretty, lonely, etc.” Are girls really marginalizing each other because they don’t hook up? And then calling each other sluts if they hook up with too many people? And in using sex to determine social status, we also push some girls to the other extreme of hooking up for attention. To some, it’s better to be notorious than a nobody. And then there’s the player vs. slut predicament. “When a guy gets with a lot of girls, he’s often congratulated or praised,” Amelia Sawyers observed. “But a double standard occurs when girls are called sluts for getting with a lot of guys.” And males aren’t even the primary culprits; we females viciously perpetuate this double standard. Why do we hold our female classmates to a stricter standard than we expect from the boys? Here’s my theory as to the psychology behind this: as a group, girls feel enormous pressure to adhere to social rules. When one girl breaks away and chooses to entirely disregard that pressure, she is dangerous to the group as a whole. We feel the need to gossip about her and shun her because if her behavior goes unpunished, our world will be turned upside down. Imagine a world in which girls encourage each other to openly pursue whomever they want, whenever they want, simply because that’s what they want. Suddenly, all the years you spent being perfect are rendered completely pointless. That stellar reputation you built was a waste of time. That sweet and slightly nerdy guy from class? You know, the one you never talked to because, even though you harbored a secret thing for him, he wasn’t cool enough for you to be associated with? Yeah, now you realize that you missed out on getting to know someone really great for no reason at all. Because in this strange hypothetical world, girls don’t tear each other apart for the choices they make in their private lives. Yes, ladies, our cage is safe. It’s familiar. We’ve spent our lives exploring it and memorizing it, and maybe sometimes nudging at the bars. And after living inside of it for as long as we have, freedom looks pretty scary. But when it comes down to it, we are our own imprisoners. No one person has the power to transform a culture overnight: no matter the choices you make today, tomorrow will still hold a couple of bigots. But each of us has the ability to take control of our own actions. Each of us can improve the position of girls at Deerfield and take a stab at the gender divide by simply deciding not to value each other based on the boys we let near us. Instead of viewing boys as social capital, we can choose to see them as people. After all, Sweet Nerdy Guy has a dad who played catch with him and a mom who packed his Spiderman lunchbox. I’m sure they would argue that their life’s work deserves to be seen as the multidimensional human being that he is.

The Charlie Hebdo cartoon that was posted in the Dining Hall recently and the talk around campus has affected me on a personal level, and I know that it has also affected other Muslim students at Deerfield. It’s one thing for Charlie Hebdo to publish a cartoon, which arose out of ignorance and hit at the very core of religious belief. But it is another thing for my own school to flaunt the same cartoon in the lobby of the Dining Hall. Everyone knows that the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in the cartoon is offensive to Muslims but not everyone may know why. The Prophet himself prohibited any portrayal of himself or of God because Islam was revealed at a time when there was wide spread practice of idolatry. In Islam, the notion of God or other sacred figures like Prophet Muhammad is beyond any depiction. So soon after we applauded Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—a man who exercised his freedom of speech to promote the rights and protections of other human beings, peacefully—we defended Charlie Hebdo’s use of the same freedom to incite hate. Let me be clear—I do not condone the acts of the terrorists. In fact, to me they are not Muslims: they are terrorists and that is all. These are severely deranged and cruel people who seek political gain and power through violence, and there are over a billion people who are living proof that that is not what it means to be a Muslim. So how can we defend people for exercising a right when it is detrimental to the beliefs and values of an entire religion—one that, in my perspective, does not even include the “Islamist” extremists, who are the only ones deserving of this humiliation? While I believe strongly in the freedom of speech, I also believe it must be balanced with responsibility and a social conscience. As Mr. Flaska asserted at a sit-down lunch, “At Deerfield Academy. . . every single day we deny ourselves the rights to which we are entitled simply out of consideration for others in this community.” And he indicated, the fact that we do not say whatever we want, whenever we want, is what makes Deerfield such a great community. Deerfield students are encouraged to build strong moral character through thoughtfulness, tolerance and respect. I think that the majority of students here understand that with freedom of speech comes responsibility. Just because we have the right to say things about and to others does not make it right to say those things. In 2006, sacrilegious Danish cartoons were published that had a very similar effect on the global Muslim community as the Charlie Hebdo cartoons did. In a speech addressing this issue, the Aga Khan explained, “Perhaps. . .it is ignorance which has allowed so many participants in this discussion to confuse liberty with license–implying that the sheer absence of restraint on human impulse can constitute a sufficient moral framework. This is not to say that governments should censor offensive speech. Nor does the answer lie in violent words or violent actions. But I am suggesting that freedom of expression is an incomplete value unless it is used honorably, and that the obligations of citizenship in any society should include a commitment to informed and responsible expression.”

At School Meeting a few weeks ago, the Deerfield community heard Tomás Milmo ’15 perform “Magic,” an original song from his upcoming album. Milmo started playing classical piano at age six. He had a teacher for as long as he lived in Mexico, but when he moved to Vail at age 13, he went further with his music. “When I moved to Vail, I didn’t have a teacher anymore, but I had a piano, and a lot of free time. So I started to compose,” Milmo said. But before coming to Deerfield, he felt a lot of his music was incomplete: “I never really had anything tangible, like a finished song—it was always just ideas, melodies that I thought of.” Then he met performing arts teacher John Van Eps. As a new junior, Milmo took Mr. Van Eps’s class, Fundamentals of Music Theory. Milmo started to show Mr. Van Eps his work, and the latter took an interest. Mr. Van Eps was key in Milmo’s development as a musician. Mr. Van Eps helped set him up with a producer, and this summer, Milmo spent three weeks in New York City working with a production team. The first thing the team did was to bring a guitar player into the studio. He and Milmo sat together, and Milmo explained what he wanted him to do for each song. Then they went through the same process with a drummer, some string players and background singers. Milmo explained, “I got a chance to make decisions. I told the musicians what I wanted, and they did it.” Milmo got a chance to record the vocals during the final days of the process. A vocal coach was brought in, and they spent hours recording different parts of each song. Then a technician synthesized the best vocals with the recorded instrumentals. “And then the best part was at the end,” Milmo said, “when everything was in, and I would just sit at the microphone and try to come up with little ad libs or voice licks that would sound good.” Milmo recorded a total of five original songs: “Magic,” “Your Song,” “Polli,” “Gimme Love” and “I Won’t Stop,” all of which are on his SoundCloud . When asked why he loves music, Milmo reflected, “I think I love music because it’s a getaway. Not necessarily from people, but for the mind. It’s meditative.” Milmo hopes to pursue music over the course of his life. This coming summer, he’s going to record another five songs with his production team, and next year he will continue to work on his music as a student at New York University.

Recently, Kento Yamamoto ‘16 has been exploring a new art form known as Rubik’s Cube art. These modern pieces entail twisting Rubik’s Cubes into elaborate works of art. Yamamoto currently has one of his projects displayed in the Hess Center. The mosaic features Frank Boyden, Deerfield’s most famous headmaster. Describing this distinctive piece, Yamamoto said, “I decided to choose Boyden, because I wanted people who saw the piece at Deerfield to remember how important it is to cherish your time here, since it goes by so quickly.” Yamamoto has always been fascinated by Rubik’s Cubes; therefore, when required to make a project inspired by an Asian art form using a modern medium for his Asia in World History class freshman year, he decided to produce a Rubik’s Cube mosaic. He purchased his Rubik’s Cubes from Rubik’s Official website, where he signed a form stating that he was an official Rubik’s Artist. As of now, Yamamoto has designed eight of pieces. His inspiration for “Rubik’s Cubism” is the famous Pete Fecteau, who created an MLK tribute mural that used to hold the Guinness World Record. Having Skyped with Fecteau twice, Yamamoto exclaimed, “He’s been a great mentor for me.” Since Yamamoto’s first mosaic, he has come a long way. He recently made a deal with a music school, which asked him to create a mosaic of a famous musician. After much thought, he decided upon Beethoven. As this is his first commissioned work, he is very excited. The Beethoven piece is the first of a four—part Rubik’s Cube series on people who have changed the world, including Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Barak Obama. “I want to continue making pieces on people that have made an impact on the world,” explained Yamamoto, Yamamoto has recently finished editing his website, colorubiks.com , which includes photos of his unique artwork. He encourages everyone to check it out.

At times, Deerfield Academy may feel like a bubble, isolated from the rest of the world and all of today’s current events. Due to our tight-knit community and rural location, Deerfield students may occasionally forget to check the news, or not realize the gravity of a certain event when too wrapped up in a research paper or Deerfield gossip. But some current events affect our small community. For example, the fatal shootings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner hit many students personally as they watched our country struggle with racial tensions. More recently, the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in Paris, France, sparked controversy. Following the attack, several students posted a series of Charlie Hebdo posters on the Amnesty Board and around the Main School Building. One poster read in French, “All is forgiven” with a cartoon figure of Muhammad crying holding a sign saying “Je suis Charlie.” The conflict lies mainly with the depiction of Muhammad: the prophet with a provocatively-shaped head and a tear down his cheek. Some people became infuriated, believing the poster mocked the Islamic religion, the terrorists being radical Muslims. Should these types of images be displayed in a close community like Deerfield Academy? Is it morally permissible for offensive yet important messages to be on exhibition for all people to see? These types of questions floated around our community as people reacted differently to these posters. English teacher Joel Thomas Adams said, “I think this incident brought out the best and worst in our community. There are a lot of people who fear controversy and confrontation, and there are also people who are eager to engage in issues even when it is hard. This issue was never about a cartoon. This issue was about religious fanatics who murdered people for drawing cartoons.” He continued, “Putting up a poster is not an endorsement of Charlie Hebdo or the content of Charlie Hebdo. It is a defiant response to this murder, and it is in solidarity with its victims. It was a defiant image that we will not be silenced. One of the great sacred values of democratic society is to speak your mind, but of course that means we are all going to be offended sometimes, since we all have different opinions.​“ He believes that situations like the poster incident are key to a purposeful education. According to Thomas-Adams, as Deerfield students, we should experience conflict and controversy to develop a stronger understanding of the world and our future. Our world is not perfect. We live in a place full of criticism and free speech. Obstructing certain images only undermines our experiences as well-rounded students; instead, we should embrace these images as learning tools. In retrospect, Dean of Spiritual and Ethical Life Jan Flaska said, “The magazine covers were provocative; they were intended to be. Out of context, they’re quite shocking to people who don’t understand what kind of emotion those images of the prophet Muhammad cause for people of the Muslim faith.” At lunch, Flaska reminded the community, “Don’t forget how frequently we put the concerns of others ahead of the freedoms to which we are entitled.” He continued, “Deerfield provides us a lot and we give up a lot to be here. There are freedoms provided by Deerfield Academy, and it is up to us to affirm those freedoms. It is not about the self, but about the community. Often, we must align with giving up some of our freedoms for the benefit of the community. We are not forced to be here. We chose to be part of the community’s values, to be ahead of the needs of the individual. And because we chose that, we serve as an obligation to act with respect to others.” According to Flaska, we should not spark hate, only respectful conversation. Although both Thomas-Adams and Flaska differed on point of view, they agreed on one point: we need to find more time for discussion about current events. Following the controversial Charlie Hebdo incident, many members of our community have expressed interest in making change, and putting more emphasis on current events. For example, Martin Luther King Day was a success; the committee held workshops and discussions to bring the community together. In the future, we may see change in our school dynamic—as long as our community keeps working for it.

Rumors frequently pervade Deerfield’s campus. Isolated from the outside world, students become preoccupied with each other’s business. Yes, gossip is a natural phenomenon, as people are eager to share stories. Recently, however, speculation and drama have undermined relationships and community spirit. One Friday evening, a hypothetical couple X and Y exits the Greer together. “Oh my God! Did you hear who X got with?” a witness asks a friend the next day. That friend asks another, “Did you know X got parietals with Y? They’re together now.” Suddenly, an uncomfortable X faces a barrage of questions and preconceived judgments. She and Y did not even kiss, but almost the entire school asks about their alleged hookup. Evidently, Deerfield students jump to often-injurious conclusions. While The Scroll recognizes the appeal of rumors as a conversation-starter, we encourage students to verify stories and evaluate consequences before spreading them. Many resort to gossip to create drama for drama’s sake. Often bored, we capitalize on others’ shortcomings to feel good about ourselves and provoke discussion. Sometimes chatting about other people makes us feel connected. In actuality, however, we damage a close community by targeting others. Let’s support each other with sincere, empathetic conversation.

A study produced by the Athletic Administration is providing important information about the high-profile, mainstream varsity sports among 10 chosen prep schools. In particular, it emphasizes how certain varsity teams might be supported to meet the increased competition among prep schools. The boys and girls teams studied include soccer, football, field hockey, ice hockey, basketball and lacrosse. According to the study, Deerfield, St. Paul’s, and Lawrenceville are the top three schools with the most head varsity coaches who teach, with eight of the ten coaches being part-time teachers. While Deerfield is starting to slip in terms of competitive performance, Athletic Director Charles “Chip” Davis emphasizes the importance of the education of young people, particularly that all sports, irrespective of level, should be a positive learning experience for both the player and the coach: the Deerfield mission. Mr. Davis explained, “Deerfield has always subscribed to the triple-threat model. The first skill set being sought after when hiring faculty members is the teaching or administrative skill; second, coaching; and third, whether the person can play a residential role, full-time or as an associate.” It is notable that Deerfield is very successful in sports not included in the study, like water polo, skiing, golf, and crew which don’t use outside coaching. At the head coaching level, the only teams with outside coaches at Deerfield are diving, skiing and baseball. Justin Xiang ’16, a varsity swimmer, pointed out, “While many students think of Deerfield teams as [always having] the teacher-coach model, I think outside trainers can be useful for a team’s performance. There is no harm in having extra experience.” Varsity hockey player Andrew Hadley ’16 responded, “I won’t say I have less respect for outside trainers, but they don’t seem as connected and involved in the program. A coach who also teaches here would care more about each individual player on a level more than just the person’s athletic abilities and more than just the overall record.” Mr. Davis explains that records are not wholly the result of faculty coaching experience. Records depend on time coaches can give, as well as Deerfield’s ability to attract talented student athletes. Correspondingly, success rates are natural outcomes based on applicants and the student body at the time. However, the study also indicated that many of the successful seasons various schools enjoyed invovled the help of outside coaches. “Other schools are perhaps more inclined to hire coaches strategically, either as outside specialists, or as a ‘first threat,’” Mr. Davis said. “DA pursues this strategy very infrequently.” Despite other schools’ statistics, the Athletic Department is choosing not to depend fully on outside coaches. While other schools that do prioritize sports experience good seasons, the Athletic Department believes that there are limits in trying to improve many sports at once. Based on a well-rounded student and faculty body, the Deerfield mission tries to balance the competitive edge in sports with the Deerfield triple-threat tradition.

Recently, I posted the Charlie Hebdo cover as part of an Amnesty International campaign, in solidarity with the victims of the massacre. At Deerfield, the cover stirred controversy among some in the student body, raising the question of the relationship between free speech and individual feelings of community members who found the image offensive. Charlie Hebdo is a satirical magazine, and its jokes can make us wince and shake our heads in equal measure to the truths they expose. Its cartoons often go beyond typical satire and contain elements of blasphemy or humor of the lowest common denominator. In fact, even the staunchest supporters of freedom of speech can sometimes be offended by their images. Yet freedom of speech is at its most valuable precisely when it protects minority views (especially when those views are offensive). This is because, in protecting uncomfortable speech, freedom of speech serves as a pillar of democracy, protecting the voice of minorities as well as the voices of the unsanctioned or unpopular. It is not an accident that at some point, much of the Western literary canon has been on a banned book list somewhere. One thing that elevates all literary masterpieces is their authenticity, and in that authenticity there comes a willingness to offend. In secular Western democracies, and among leading educational institutions, the tension between freedom of speech and community can be palpable. Yet we must remember, freedom to speak one’s mind is only limited by personal views and willingness, not by public command. This leads us to the most pertinent question of the expression of personal views and a willingness to express them: as members of a close community, should we restrict our right to speech in recognition of the sensitivity of members of the community? The answer is two-fold. A social tax accompanies whatever action or speech we decide to engage in. Therefore, we must act with an understanding of the precedents we set through either accepting overt external censorship or our own self-censorship. If we are to restrict the posting of potentially incendiary material, where are the lines in the sand? If a person who follows vegan beliefs, and is very much part of that movement, is deeply offended anytime someone cuts into meat, what do we do to assuage their discomfort with the majority? If a person who follows atheist beliefs, and is very much part of that movement, is deeply offended anytime someone marches to religious dogma, or expresses a view based on what they consider to be superstition, what do we do to avoid offending their sensibilities? It is easy to see, when we substitute other religious and personal ideologies for the words “vegan” or “atheist,” that we begin down a dangerous road. Whose “feelings” are to be “respected” and whose not? If we begin to discuss this, we may end with oppression from the majority. It is through sharing the Charlie Hebdo image that we have started a dialogue. If we engage in self-censorship we lose the opportunity to ask ourselves essential questions as well as the opportunity to engage in what is a global discussion. Our community has been enriched by the range of reactions to the image. Most importantly, empathy and respect cannot be taught or learned in the absence of free speech, because then there are neither opportunities to see why empathy and respect are necessary nor opprotunities to learn how to act in real life with empathy and respect.

We have a practicing Aikido ni dan , which translates to second-degree black belt, on campus—Dr. Dennis Cullinane. Aikido is a type of Japanese martial art. “I love Aikido because of its philosophy, raw power, and beauty. In Aikido we try to bring the world into harmony,” Dr. Cullinane described. Dr. Cullinane’s first brush with the martial art occurred in graduate school. He reminisced, “My first real sensei was a tiny little Japanese woman who was amazing and could take on five attackers at a time. That was 23 years ago. I have studied with a number of senseis since then, including a direct student of the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba.” While practicing, Dr. Cullinane has broken parts of his ribs twice. When asked if these injuries occurred during a competition, he replied, “We don’t compete. We do real-life scenarios with bare hands, knives, swords, or sticks. It can be very kinetic.” Perhaps hinting at how he sustained his injuries, Dr. Cullinane enthusiastically shared that his favorite attacks and techniques are “being attacked by a sword or baseball bat, or having multiple attackers.” Addressing his use of weapons in Aikido, Dr. Cullinane said, “I have a katana , or Japanese sword, and lots of wooden weapons, like bokkens (wooden swords), tantos (wooden knives), and the jo, which is a shaft-like weapon about the length of a broomstick. I’ve been in one bar fight in my life and used Aikido then, but with bare hands.” As a form of physical martial art, Aikido is idiosyncratic. Dr. Cullinane explained, “Aikido emphasizes no offensive techniques, but uses the attackers’ energy and momentum against them by redirecting their attack to a harmonious conclusion—usually meaning the attacker is on the ground and pinned with a joint lock.” When asked about the possibility of Aikido spreading on campus among students, Dr. Cullinane responded, “I would love for it to be! If people are interested, I’m on-board giving lessons. The great thing about Aikido is that you don’t have to be big and strong. You can be tiny like my old sensei and yet still very effective.” Even if the art does not take hold on campus, we can learn from Aikido in a more abstract sense. Dr. Cullinane concluded, “[Aikido] can be extended into our daily lives by welcoming and harmonizing with the energy of the universe, rather than fighting against it.”

By chance, Terry Goguen came across a question that got him thinking: If you could create an app, what would it be? Now, after a successful term at Middlebury participating in MiddEntrepeneurs, Terry teamed up with his younger sister, Katherine Goguen ’16. The pair have begun programming an app, JoyRide. Intended to promote safe driving, the app locks one’s phone and offers a reward system for not using it, encouraging users to stop texting and driving and hopefully saving lives. Katherine Goguen explained, “A couple towns over from mine, there were two separate occasions when a 17 year-old and a 18 year-old lost their lives due to texting. For me it seems like such a relevant issue, and I want to be part of a movement to help solve it.” MiddEntrepreneurs enabled the pair to realize this desire. The course, which Terry took during his junior year, is student-taught and intended as a platform for young entrepreneurs to start their own business or non-profit organization. At the end of the month, students pitch their ideas to about ten venture capitalists and investors. The app targets teenagers and young adults, however, texting and driving is a problem that spans all ages. JoyRide will lock the driver’s screen for the time period they choose and reward the participants for each mile they drive phone-free. This way, drivers have a positive incentive to not look at their phone, a critical aspect that distinguishes JoyRide from similar apps available. Others will simply lock phones or even notify drivers’ parents. However, JoyRide is free and through encouraging rewards will, hopefully, encourage healthy habits. To increase incentive, the Goguens want to get businesses on board, who will pledge to give coupons or some reward for users. For example, after driving phone-free for a certain distance, one could potentially earn a free coffee or get a coupon. Currently, the sibling duo is in the process of raising money and spreading awareness. Terry says they have created a website which includes the mission statement and a video to “gauge people’s interest, so I can go to a company and say this many people signed up and would be interested in it when I launch the app.” Katherine explained, “Something [Terry and I] both agreed upon was not asking my family for funding, because we wanted to do it on our own.” Terry is meeting with various businesses to gain support and is even planning on meeting with senators and state legislatures from Vermont to discuss funding. Terry explains, “It costs $15,000 to come up with the app [design] plus other fees, so I’m hoping by the summer we will be able to pay the developer.” Katherine added, “Even if the app only saved one life, I would feel like it had done its purpose. [It] is about creating healthy habits for drivers and incentivizing safe driving.” Katherine went on to say, “We want people to be involved, and we are looking for anyone who will tell us their story or support us… it will only be as successful as how many people know about it so spreading the word is key.” You can read about the app and get an idea of what it will look like online at www.joyrideapp.io .

Throughout the nation, various social media outlets influence the way people communicate with each other. Deerfield is no exception. As members of a close-knit community, Deerfield students are obliged to ask the question: How do increased social media outlets affect the ways we connect with and treat each other? In many ways, social media allows students to stay in touch with each other throughout the day and stay connected. However, such effortless accessibility can be harmful when used without discretion. Yik Yak, an app which allows users in a certain geographic location to anonymously post comments on an open forum, came to Deerfield last spring. After some people exchanged hurtful comments on the app, the Administration discouraged its use and later shut it down. Blake O’Neal ’15 noted, “Oftentimes, the effects of social media at Deerfield can be negative because kids really don’t know what to put [up] and where to put it, or that anything they communicate with their friends could very likely haunt them later.” The ability to post anything without identification allowed students the opportunity to hide behind a screen and avoid responsibility for their words. “The difference between communication on Facebook and Yik Yak is not the forum,” said Samantha Chai ’15, “but being accountable for what we say. We saw how quickly the anonymous Deerfield Compliments became inappropriate on Facebook, yet we can question each other and voice our opinions respectfully on our class pages.” However, there are also positive outlets on campus, including the Deerfield Student Forum Facebook Page, which has accumulated 487 student members since its formation in early January. The page serves as an open discussion board that addresses issues on campus and allows students to speak casually with one another about topics ranging from fan buses for athletic contests to the controversy of the recent drug searches using dogs in dormitories. The team’s mission statement reads, “To bring the Deerfield Academy community together through positive discussion of school issues and current events, as well as to provide a logistical platform for those interested in addressing the student body at large.” Jared Armes ’15 and Nicky Conzelman ‘16 founded the Deerfield Student Forum. “So far,” Armes commented, “I think it has been going well, but we would really love to see more student input. We’ve had a few great posts that have generated meaningful conversation, but the more posts the better.” Molly Murphy ’15 said, “I think that integrating social media into culture-based discussions is good. It makes it easier for students to participate, because they don’t need to take time out of their day to go to a 45-minute Greer chat. I think that projecting them over social media weakens the statements, however, because nothing can simulate the courage that a face-to-face iteration of your opinion in front of your community members takes.” In addition, Deerfield’s literary magazine, Albany Road, recently created an Instagram account that features student work and recently held a competition for the best photography submission of those who posted Instagrams with the handle @albanyroad.

New Teaching Fellow Katie Speed is not only teaching acting, but also directing the spring production. “As soon as I was finished touring Deerfield, I knew I could see myself working here,” reflected Ms. Speed. “While interacting with the students, I noticed immediately how kind and helpful they were. It was nice to see students so eager to learn and loving [of] their school.” In addition to teaching an Acting II class and fulfilling her duties as a dorm resident, Ms. Speed is also working toward University of Pennsylvania’s Master’s of Science in Teaching. She also has an M.A. in Applied Theater and a bachelor’s in Theater Education with an Acting Concentration from Emerson College. The idea of applied theater is based on performing drama in a non-theater setting. Her applied theater program focused mostly on education and working with communities on the “fringes of society,” including inmates in prisons and people with mental disabilities. “The thing that is so great about theater,” said Speed, “is the power it has to help people work through things. Giving them a voice and a chance to express themselves in a way that is safe and controlled is something that they don’t normally get to do.” Last year, she worked at Wellesley High School and directed the freshman-sophomore production called Museum, an ensemble show in which all of the actors play many different characters. Ms. Speed is also performing in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, which moves through the cycle of adult life in terms of dating, falling in love, marriage, and possibly divorce and death. (Show dates: February 13-March 1) In addition, she may work on Radio Show with one of her old classmates from Emerson College. Speed would play the female protagonist, a resident physicist at MIT working on a time machine that accidentally takes her back in time onto a German war ship. When questioned on her next project, the spring term show, Ms. Speed said, “Generally we like to use the spring term to have a larger cast and have students play multiple roles. It’s an interesting opportunity in theater to be able to transform yourself so distinctly on stage without completely changing the way you look. I’m very excited to direct. Teaching all these kids who can’t wait to show what they’ve done is an amazing opportunity.”