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Each issue, mathematics teacher Sean Keller reviews a board game found in the Boyden Library. Check out his reviews and then head on over to the gaming section to play for yourself. “I’ll trade you three sheep for one ore, one lumber, and two grain.” Just as Henry Ford launched an invasion of massed-produced automobiles into the American middle-class market, and the Beatles launched the invasion of British music onto the stateside scene, the board game The Settlers of Catan launched its own US invasion in 1995. Before that year, the board game market in the US had been dominated by games featuring dice rolling, attacking one’s opponents, and/or utilizing luck as a strong factor in determining the winner. Examples of this “American-style” board game would include Monopoly, The Game of Life, and Risk. German-style games, or “Euro games,” instead focus on strategic play rather than luck, indirect player interaction rather than face-to-face conflict, and an end-game goal of attaining the most money, fame, or “victory points.” The Settlers of Catan was the first Euro game to be widely distributed in the USA. It has sold tens of millions of copies, and has been published in thirty languages. Is this Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) award winner for you? Ages: 10 and up. Time: About 90 minutes. Players: 2-4, but much better with 3 or 4. Simplified game play summary: 1. The island of Catan comprises 19 hexagonal terrain tiles. Each player places his two initial settlements and roads on nodes and sides of the hexagonal tiles. 2. On a player’s turn, she a). rolls two standard dice, the sum of which determines which terrain tiles generate the game’s resources: bricks (from hills), wool (from pastures), ore (from mountains), grain (from fields), and lumber (from forests). b). offers trade deals to other players as she attempts to gain the resources which she is lacking. c). can spend her resources to build new roads, settlements, and cities, or purchase Development Cards which provide attractive building options or even Victory Points. There are bonuses for the player with the longest road or the largest army of knights. 3. Watch out for the robber, who steals resources and can stifle a terrain’s production. 4. The first player to reach 10 Victory Points wins. For me, the allure of The Settlers of Catan follows from its adaptability and flexibility. There are many different strategies one can employ, and thus many meaningful decisions to be made on almost every turn. Should you: expand your road system and then build settlements, or vice versa? quickly upgrade your settlements into cities, or wait? strive to produce a variety of resources, or specialize? settle remote coastal regions, which may be located on the fringes of the action, but enjoy favorable trade rates with the bank? try to box in your opponents as they attempt to expand their influence? spend resources on Development Cards? A player might start by focusing on a particular strategy, and then need to change once or twice during the game. Despite simple rules, players possess the freedom to adapt their tactics. I see this as a huge plus. Nobody likes to idly spectate while other players labor over their next moves. Fortunately, in Settlers there is little/no “down time” in the game. Even when it is not your turn, you will be watching what choices your opponents are employing, as well as negotiating potential trades. There is both consistent and considerable player interaction woven into the fabric of the game play. Third, because the initial game set-up, dice rolls, and building decisions are never the same, Settlers can be played dozens of times without the game becoming boring. Each game is a completely new experience. Lastly, the success of Settlers has spawned no less than ten English-language expansions and scenarios. Vast options exist for those who yearn for heightened complexity and subtlety in their Settlers game. There is even a version of Settlers based on a Star Trek theme! It would be hard to overstate the impact Settlers has had on the modern world of board gaming. In the words of Wired Magazine: “Settlers manages to be effortlessly fun, intuitively enjoyable, and still intellectually rewarding, a combination that’s changing the American idea of what a board game can be.” The Boyden Library offers three-day loans for Settlers of Catan, and the many other top-notch board games in their collection. If you need assistance with playing The Settlers of Catan, first check out some of the excellent video tutorials on youtube.com. If you still have questions, I would be delighted to help. Happy gaming!

“Poetry wasn’t my first choice,” said Andy Stallings, this year’s Wilson Fellow and new English teacher at Deerfield, whose book of poetry, To the Heart of the World, was published this fall. Stallings, who previously taught at Tulane University, was a musician learning to write lyrics when he took his first poetry class. “It turned out, after that point,” Mr. Stallings said, “I never wrote a song, and I don’t know why, but I just fell in love with poetry.” Stallings’ book, to be published by Rescue Press—his dream press—consists of 19 poems, characterized by short lines but substantial length: the longest poem spans 35 pages. “I’ve been writing manuscripts of poetry for a decade or more,” Stallings said. “And this is the first one that I feel really proud of and happy with, like I did what I meant to do.” While his usual process has started with a line or a few words that sounded good together, and went on naturally from there, the poems in this book were “not ordinary” for him. “Their origin,” he said, “is sort of an attempt to write poems that are more than just poems to people; I wanted to write poems, [to a relationship] that existed between me and another person, or me and another group of people.” To illustrate what inspired these poems, Stallings used the analogy of a poem being “a gesture, like greeting somebody or giving a handshake to somebody that I wanted to know more about.” Stallings explained, “These were more of a concerted effort to first shake someone’s hand, and then from there, each one was an attempt to say something that I felt was important to say to a person. If a poem is like a handshake, then my poems before had not been handshakes; they had been some kind of hiding behind words. These ones feel like I’m being myself.” Stallings, who teaches sophomore English and a senior creative writing workshop, has much insight to bring to the classroom from his love of poetry. While it may have started as “not his first choice,” poetry ended up being “the best way for me to say things, and it remains that way.” “Now,” he concluded, “poetry is everything for me.”

As athletic trainers, Kate Bergeron and Robert Graves have never had to deal with a catastrophic case during their time at Deerfield. But should such a situation occur, both are well prepared. “In order to become an athletic trainer,” Ms. Bergeron said, “you must go through four years of undergraduate study at an accredited school with National Athletic Trainers Association Board of Certification (NATABOC).” She added, “You must also pass a certification exam and be licensed in most states to practice athletic training.” Ms. Bergeron emphasized that, unlike what many students may believe, the trainers aren’t here for just three hours a day and do a lot more for athletes than tape weak joints and ice sore muscles. “The trainers are here most of the day. We see a number of athletes and dancers during their free periods,” she said. “We’re also required to be out on fields whenever there are games. A trainer must be present at all football games because it has the most contact of all sports. From there, I usually head to boys soccer, then field hockey and volleyball.” Compared to the number of injured athletes, the number of training staff is relatively small. Three athletic trainers work with dozens of student-athletes every day. “It’s impressive to see how patient the trainers are.” said Yasmine Deswandhy ’16. “To work with so many athletes a day must be overwhelming sometimes. Yet the trainers are so understanding and work with me whenever I’m there.” “Because we have so few trainers, it’s a matter of multi-tasking,” Mr. Graves explained. “Sometimes we could be working with two or three students together. But most athletes know what to do when they come here after one or two times.” Surrounded by a mass of student athletes every day, the trainers treat short-term injuries as well as oversee rehabilitation for long-term injuries. “The process that goes into treating sports-related injuries at Deerfield depends on the injury,” Ms. Bergeron said. “Many chronic injuries are treated with rest and ice to control pain and inflammation. From there, we move on to strengthening the body parts and different types of functional exercises and cross-training to slowly return athletes to their sport.” According to Ms. Bergeron, any acute injury, such as a fracture or ligament tear would be treated similarly to a chronic injury with rest and ice at first. From there, the trainers have a protocol set in place for different body parts and go through specific exercises before allowing the athlete to return to practice. Trainers tend to be most busy during the fall term, when many student-athletes come back from the summer after overtraining or undertraining. “Fall’s the busiest season for the trainers because all the sports are practicing at the same time,” Mr. Graves said. “Many kids come back from the summer not properly trained to play sports again. Student-athletes may not be as ready to play in their fall sports as they are for their winter sports.” Many Deerfield athletes have been feeling an increasing need for the trainers. “I really appreciate the fact that the trainer’s number one concern is to make sure that I’m not injuring myself any further,” said Deswandhy. “They give me a personalized routine to make sure I’m taking the right steps to get me back into sports.” Zahra Rawji ’15 affirmed that having access to a trainer on campus is a huge privilege: “Back at my old school, there weren’t many opportunities to talk to a physiotherapists. Having a trainer on site to check in with whenever [we need to] is very helpful during my sports seasons.”

In the fall of 1974, Norman Therien—now better known as Norm—walked into the Athletic Department office for the first time. At 19, he was the youngest person to ever hold the job; since then, he has played an active and irreplaceable role at Deerfield Academy. These days, from the minute Norm walks into the office until the last green-and-gray is turned in, his job is packed with challenges. His tasks range from relentless loads of laundry to organizing visiting locker rooms, to eagerly waiting for the return and results of away games. “I wish everyone could love their job as much as I love mine,” Norm said proudly. Reminiscing about his 40 years at Deerfield, Norm said, “I have to say, no matter how challenging my days are, I never feel burdened or like I hate my job. Even when I feel sick, just coming here, doing my job, and seeing the students every day—it in an odd way heals me.” When asked about his most special memories at DA, Norm cited the students definitively. “It’s not just the famous alums,” he said, “some of which I am very good friends with—like King Abdullah II of Jordan, who I saw recently at his class reunion—but any student who is having a rough day or did poorly in class. I have to be there to listen, I have to be open and assume that parental role.” Norm added, “I love all the students, and I especially love it when alums come visit me.” Over his time here, Norm has seen and lived through multiple Deerfield generations. And he believes that, besides the physical renovations and new facilities, the most significant change for the athletic department has been the ability for athletes to receive an exemption for their specific sport. Norm recounted a time when all post-graduates would be tri-varsity athletes and there was even a fourths football team. “I understand [that] times have changed,” commented Norm, “and athletes do not want to get injured—but I really believe Deerfield athletics would prosper even more without athletic exemptions.” Few other faculty and staff members can hope to rival Norm’s influence and relationships with students. Courtney Morgan ’16 stated, “Norm is more than just an employee, he is the godfather to all male athletes.” Similarly, varsity boys water polo co-captain Hugo Marsans ‘15 described Norm as “everyone’s biggest fan,” and “a friend who cares about you and every student regardless of anything else.” William Morgan ’17 said simply, “Norm always has a cheerful face and inspires true Deerfield Spirit within all of us.” Marsans proclaims to all students who haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting Norm, “At first it might feel odd to have someone so interested in your personal life, but once you get to know him you will miss every day you don’t see him.” As of now, Norm has no plans to celebrate his fortieth year, but he has been asked by the class of 1980 to attend a dinner in the squash courts. The celebration is primarily focused on the undefeated varsity football season of 1979—but “no sports celebration is complete without one of my special talks,” Norm laughed. “I feel so honored to be invited after all these years,” he said, his happiness apparent. “It’s gone by so fast—40 years feel like a blink of an eye… but I feel like we have done a pretty fantastic job,” concluded Norm.

At this year’s opening School Meeting, Taro Jones ’16 received a rousing standing ovation for his solo dance performance. Jones, a new junior from Kingston, Jamaica, and a member of the advanced dance ensemble, has excited the community with his talent. Jones started dancing at age three. He was a hyperactive child, and his parents noticed that he loved to move to music. “They wanted to teach me coordination,” explained Jones, “so I could channel my energy better.” Wolmer’s Prepatory School in Kingston had a troupe that practiced a variety of dance styles, including gospel, folk, modern and pop. After seeing the troupe, Jones’ parents decided that it would be perfect for him, and he ended up staying with Wolmer’s Dance Troupe for 13 years. Jones has caught the attention of many members of our community in that he is one of the few advanced male dancers that Deerfield has seen in the 25 years of its dance program. “This is not a new thing having boys in the dance program.[But this year] we are lucky to have two boys that are trained male dancers,” said Performing Arts chair Jennifer Whitcomb. She also added, “The program is not so different, but Taro and Ossie [Heard ‘18] allow for a range of possibilities.” Jones is no stranger to being one of the only boys in the room. There were always more girls than boys in his dance troupe in Kingston. “When I first began,” he said, “I think there were about five boys, and then it dwindled down to just me and all the girls.” But this reality does not faze Jones. For him, it has always been all about the dancing. “Music always spoke to me personally,” he said. “If I wasn’t moving, I needed to be singing, and if I wasn’t singing, I wanted to be moving. There was always that kind of resonance,” he recalled. Jones first heard about Deerfield from Jeffrey Armes, associate dean of Admission. Mr. Armes was attending a school fair in Kingston, where he met Jones. After bringing him to Ms. Whitcomb’s attention, she and Jones began to correspond. “I could see he was someone who we wanted to have in our dance program at Deerfield,” said Ms. Whitcomb. When asked about what working with Jones has been like thus far, Ms. Whitcomb replied, “He gives his entire self to whatever he’s performing. He’s also wonderfully unassuming and modest about his abilities, and in my opinion, that’s as important as his dancing.” The solo piece that Jones performed at School Meeting was a piece from his most recent recital. It took about two months for Jones to bring the piece to the level at which he performed it for the Deerfield community. Jones also danced in “Boomerang,” choreographed by Sami Habel ’16. Jones confessed, “Honestly, I learned that in about two days, and it was a struggle. It was a fun struggle, but a struggle all the same.” Jones described the intense process of learning a new routine as “a challenge, physically and mentally, but that’s another reason I enjoy it.” And then he affirmed something many dancers have been saying for years: “Dance is a sport, whether people agree or not.”

This fall, Deerfield’s theater program will be performing Blood Wedding. a play that Theater Director Catriona Hynds, described as “hot in almost every way you can think of.” Federico García Lorca, a Spanish poet and playwright, was inspired to write Blood Wedding after reading a newspaper article about a wedding that ended in tragedy. When choosing the fall production, Ms. Hynds had a few key objectives in mind. She wanted a play that would allow the theater program to collaborate with other departments, as well as a production that would require a larger cast, allowing for more student involvement. In all, there are 24 Deerfield students and six community children in the production. Assistant Director Austin Parenteau ’15, two music directors, John Xu ’18 and Alice Sardarian ’17, and two members of the technical crew, Yanni Tsandilas ’16 and Chi Kyu Lee ’16, are also asumming reponsibility in the production. Because the play was written by a Spanish playwright, collaboration with the Spanish department has been instrumental in better understanding the culture. In the process, Mrs. Hynds learned that “a lot of the students who have taken Spanish [at Deerfield] have read the play, so they will be excited to see the play come alive.” The cast includes a combination of new faces as well as seasoned veterans. A lead character in the play, Will Darling ’15, described Blood Wedding as both “riveting and extremely passionate.” Austin Parenteau ’15 has had a great experience as assistant director. “It’s very neat to see the entire process of the show coming together brick by brick,” he said, “rather than only having the perspective of one or two scenes as an actor.” Impressed by Lorca as a playwright—even comparing him to the great Greek writers, as well as Shakespeare himself—Parenteau added, “Every word [of the script] has a hidden meaning, and it has been a colossal and enjoyable endeavor to piece out every nuance of such a text.” “It’s also a pretty dramatic play,” Ms. Hynds added. She emphasized that “people are in love with the wrong people”: it is this unresolved desire that “leads to some intense actions in the end.” But when pressed for more details, Ms. Hynds responded by saying that she didn’t want to give too much away. Will Darling ’15 concluded, “The play is hot from the very beginning and there’s never a dull moment.”

On September 19, after a yearlong construction effort, Deerfield students, faculty and benefactors gathered in the Hess Auditorium for the Hess Center dedication. Upon seeing the Von Auersperg Art Gallery, Elizabeth Wachsman Concert Hall and the conspicuous Hess plaque in the building’s lobby many expressed concern: by changing the commemorative Memorial Building title, does Deerfield neglect alumni who sacrificed their lives during World War II? In addition, by identifying the Koch and Hess Centers as such, Deerfield strays from a long-standing tradition of refusing to name communal spaces. The Main School Building, along with the Dining Hall and athletic complex all have titles that reflect the buildings’ purposes, not their funders. Liam Gong ’16 expressed this unease: “If we really wanted to express gratitude to Mr. Hess, Deerfield should’ve only renamed the auditorium. When the school renames buildings regularly, after [periodic] renovations, each title has much less value. They are no longer permanent dedications, but leases, billboards. [This case] is especially bad, because we’ve changed a name honoring World War II soldiers.” Former Chair of Deerfield’s Board of Trustees, Philip Greer ‘53, responded to this concern: “We changed the name to honor the Hess family for their generosity. The family wanted to thank Deerfield for all it has done for [them]. They chose to support the arts, and their gift made the center a reality. Today’s building is greatly expanded from the original Memorial Building, a different building decades later. We have continued to honor the alumni who died in World War II with the memorial flagpole and a plaque at one entrance to the center.” “The primary purpose of the Hess family in funding the renovation of the arts center was to thank and honor the school, and the spirit, values, and traditions for which it stands,” Head of School Margarita Curtis added. “When [the Hess Family] returned to campus for the dedication, they were surprised to see the two signs above both entrances to the auditorium, and asked that they be removed. They also feel strongly about relocating the plaque honoring our WWII alumni who gave their lives for their country, back to its original, more prominent place in the building.” Mr. Greer reaffirmed that the school will carry out the Hess family’s wishes, “Both [signs] will be removed. Also, the original plaque will be moved to a more prominent location.” Former Theater Director John Reese expressed his opinion: “I actually had a negative reaction to the name change when I first heard about it. However, upon reflection I’m sure the decision was given thoughtful consideration by the administration and Mr. Hess. I’m comfortable with the change as long as the individual spaces, old and new, are acknowledged by some visible symbol that signifies the donor. I think it would be good form if the school would perhaps create a marble plaque with the names of the sixty-one fallen former students who gave the ultimate sacrifice.” Maaja Roos, Director of Music, appreciates the Hess family’s generous contribution. “It’s a thrill to be in an environment that replicates a conservatory of the arts,” she commented, “and when you treat young musicians like artists, minor miracles occur.” Austin Parenteau ’15, an avid actor who participates in numerous Deerfield productions, added, “The center has me feeling like a kid on Christmas morning.” By and large, Deerfield has embraced the Hess Center’s magnificence and potential. Though some continue to question its name change, Parenteau acknowledged, “With or without a commemorative construct, everyone will remember Deerfield alumni who served during WWII. I would have liked the name to remain as a [tribute], but memory lives in people, not plaster.”

Dear Reader, I grew up in the Metro-New York area, about 45 minutes from the city. I remember the moment in September of 2001 that our nation came under attack. I was playing with Legos in my pre-K classroom when I overheard talk of the incident among a group of teachers huddled in the corner. Given my close proximity to the city, I watched the events of 9/11 play out right in front of me. Friends’ parents worked in the World Trade Center. I could see the billowing smoke from our local beach. But my memory of that time is not defined by the events of September 11. Rather, I remember it for the way our region—­and nation—came together in the days following. This past September 11, I listened on the Internet to the September 12 archives from the WHTZ-NYC morning show. The hosts connected callers in need of food and rides with complete strangers on other lines. They spoke of the tranquil streets, free of loud honks. Pedestrians greeted one another. Americans had put aside their egos and come together in support. I feel so incredibly lucky to attend Deerfield: a community where it is the norm for members to treat one another with genuine kindness, dignity and respect. It becomes apparent the second you step onto campus that Deerfield students will go above and beyond to assist another student or a complete stranger. Whether it be a smile from a passerby on Albany Road or an offer to help clear dishes in the dining hall, there is an atmosphere of compassion and selflessness on campus. Today television news programs and internet headlines are dominated by talk of violence, inequality, racial tension and instances of police brutality. However, that sense of unity and empathy that pulled our country through the latter half of 2001 has faded. There is little doubt in my mind that there are hard times ahead of us. I hope that our country can come together again—to put egos aside and look out for one another. Here at Deerfield, we’ve tried not to let those values slip. So when we leave Deerfield and go out into other communities, we must bring these values with us. Let us steep ourselves in this heritage and stay worthy of it. Best, Henry Cobbs Editor-in-Chief

Last year in China, at the end of winter when it was still bitterly cold, I sat in a crowded Starbucks sipping on a green tea latte and answered the question, “So what’s your story?” What the person who posed this question really wanted to know was not my life story, but rather my “coming-out” story. My sophomore year I “came out” on Coming-Out Day, which previously resembled something between a purge and a confession, neither of which seemed very appealing to me. Looking back, I see that the difficult questions don’t have to do with why I came out, or whether I regret coming out, but how I would go about telling my story—and what I would include. I often tell my coming-out stories with the victories: my first coming-out, the time I came out to my mother, the time a friend stood up for me. But these are only partial truths. In reality, my story comprises both victories and losses. Now I seek to tell my story in its whole truth. I realize that approaching it any other way only diminishes it. So what has it been like to come out at Deerfield? Deerfield prides itself on the quality of its community life, and I won’t deny that this community has its benefits. I question, though, if we are really as inclusive a community as we say we are. The elements that shape the true feel of a community are not found in the viewbooks or School Meetings, but in those “in-between” moments: those times when we are not obligated to be certain versions of ourselves. One of my experiences as a proctor has given clarity to the exclusive nature of Deerfield’s community. At the beginning of the year, I made my proctees take down explicit posters of scantily clad women, which of course was met with complaints. I responded, “What if I had a poster of two naked men making out in the rain?” Of course, my challenge made them uncomfortable. Even though my proctees’ posters don’t necessarily make me uncomfortable (this is my seventh year living in a boys dormitory), I asked myself why we have never questioned this double standard. Posters are hardly the only double standard, however. What would happen if Deerfield had an openly gay couple? What if I held my boyfriend’s hand in public? What if I did that on Parents Weekend? What if parents approached me and told me they had small children and my actions were inappropriate? Would a straight couple ever be told the same thing? The scariest part about this scenario is that it is hardly hypothetical; I know, I have an 11-year-old brother. I spend an unjustifiable amount of energy checking to make sure I don’t make others uncomfortable. This is less out of choice, however, than a sense of obligation. As a proctor, I am expected to organize Sadies dates for my hall, and I am faced with the same old issue. What if I didn’t do things the heteronormative way? What if I set up a proctee with a guy? Of course, I would never actually do that. I am already hesitant about bringing a guy to my senior prom. Even in settings where we should be discussing issues of sexuality, we do not even begin to ask the difficult questions, and we need to. The issues that occupy my mind may not be relevant to everybody. But our community’s blatant refusal to address them head-on most certainly is. Lastly, health classes at Deerfield seem to be aimed at educating heterosexuals. The class does not discuss health issues of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community; all example couples are heterosexual, and at no point is gender and sexuality discussed (not lectured) as an abstract concept. Not to mention that the movie shown in class—Farewell the Tranquil Mind—provides a trite narrative of a gay student who doesn’t identify with the stereotypes of LGBT people, as a white football jock. The film’s treatment of the challenges of being LGBT at Deerfield feels inorganic and is of far too narrow a scope to encompass the experience of most LGBT students. It succeeds only in alienating those students who do fit within the stereotype but are still struggling. Why is health class so incredibly narrowly focused? Why are all dances boy-girl? Why do we have a shamefully small number of LGBT students? Why am I writing this piece? Because we have not asked enough of the hard questions. Coming out is, in its most basic form, an expression of the truth. But once Coming-Out Day has passed, all of us must continue to ask the hard questions—so that we create the kind of truthfulness this community desperately needs.

We enthusiastically applaud the new School Meetings in the Hess Auditorium. It is clear that considerable time and thought have gone into improving these weekly assemblies. After all-time low attendance last year, partly due to the location in the West Gym, the new Hess Center provides a space that is comfortable and just the right size. However, that is not the only change. The content of School Meeting has been adjusted, and has redefined our purpose in meeting as a community. As opposed to last year, when students would dread what tedious announcement would drag on or repeat the same idea heard the week before, we have, so far, had consistently interesting and engaging content. Paulina Sengeridis ‘15 performed an amazing solo, Nate Steele ’17 gave a virtuosic Bach piece, and Sean Yu ‘18 played some beautiful piano pieces. Additionally, Deerfield Talks by Matt Morrow ‘15 and Ken Park ‘15 have piqued student interest in the passions of their peers, while the video from Emily Yue ‘16 and Xander Li ‘17 poignantly captured the spirit of Deerfield. It is clear to anyone at School Meeting these days that those very same school cheers that were subdued last year are now much more enthusiastic. Not only is there more interesting content, there is less repetition from meeting to meeting. We at The Scroll thank the administration and student participants for creating this time and space in which we can all come together as a community and connect in meaningful ways. We believe that our responsibility as a student body is to respect the effort that is going into School Meeting this year and approach it with our full attendance and complete attention. We are excited to see where these meetings will take us as a community in the future.

The only word I can use to describe my return to Deerfield is weird. I know this is a very lackluster adjective, but that is the word that usually comes up when people ask about my return. I feel I do not know anyone, the school has an entirely different vibe from what I remember, and I am trying to reintegrate myself into a world that has changed dramatically since my last time on campus over 15 months ago. Many people know I spent last year in Spain. Saying that I loved my year is a complete understatement. I loved and adored—actually fell in love with and obsessed over—my time in Spain. My experience there was the best friend and family member I never knew I was missing. It was the best decision I have made so far in my short life. It was a year of new experiences, new adventures and new people—the best people and the most amazing teachers. Even the worst moments I had in Spain were light-years more emotionally gripping and passionate than the best moments of the two years I had at Deerfield before I left. This is to say that I have never really had an absolutely amazing moment at Deerfield. I have had great times with great people in a great place, but nothing has stood out. Deerfield is very much Deerfield, and the days can be so plainly routine and ordinary. I have loved the friends and the family I made at Deerfield, but I have yet to know if I have loved Deerfield. The people have changed my life and the teachers have made it bearable, but the institution as a whole is another issue itself. It is a difficult place to be, and that was a big part of why I so confidently said yes to SYA Spain. So coming back to Deerfield has been difficult. It is isolating and can feel very cold. But every day brings something different. I am so thankful to be a proctor and have these great girls that make every day an amazing one. I am like a freshman, but worse. The freshmen come to Deerfield knowing nothing. They enter free of judgment of themselves and each other. They just want to make friends and make the most of the amazing opportunities they have in this “amazing” school. They can be whoever they care to be and have the blessing of a clean slate when they arrive. In my case, I have come to find my main “friend group” has just graduated, and I don’t know more than two-thirds of the school. Everyone in my grade has finally settled down and shed the skin of self-consciousness that trailed them during their earlier years and fallen into set friend groups. Because I have been here for two years already, I am expected to fall back into my old place when everyone has changed and grown. It seems like Deerfield cannot see that I have changed and evolved too, that I am very different as well. I don’t spend every moment of every day comparing Deerfield to Spain, because that would not help me as I try to make the most of this year and meet all the wonderful new faces and reconnect with old ones. Nevertheless, my experience in Spain last year has highlighted all the aspects of Deerfield that I had grown resigned to before. Deerfield can be a suffocating bubble that twists and warps those who are contained within. I felt freedom when I was in Spain: it was liberating to be treated as an adult and expected to act as an adult. We were give real liberty and responsibilities at which Deerfield’s administration would undoubtedly gasp. There was a growth as a result of my time in Spain that Deerfield yearns to cultivate. But seeing the two in contrast has shown me how DA fails in its goals. The variety of people that surrounded me in Spain compared to that of Deerfield is probably the biggest difference. The kids at SYA were some of the most intelligent, precocious, witty, funny, open-minded and genuine people I have ever met. They thought and believed things in a completely non-fabricated way, unlike the students here at DA. My SYA class was so interested in the world and travel and exploration, and they brought a diversity that DA can’t replicate. There were bisexual girls and gay boys, multiple black and Hispanic kids and other kids from other backgrounds—such as a girl who spoke three other languages besides Spanish. They never tried to be anything for anyone else, and because of that we all could truly be ourselves. They were accepting: we were a family. The conversations I had with them were not like the forced, artificial conversations I continuously find myself in during a day at Deerfield. If you said “hi” to another person, they always responded and genuinely meant it. Nobody thought me weird for reaching out and throwing out a “hello” as I passed. I was never brushed to the side because the others thought they were better because of their socioeconomic class, skin color, ethnicity, intelligence level or any other factor. I felt respected and appreciated in Spain, at school, in my host family and when I was walking down the street because people there did not see the world in the same stereotypes. One of the many things I will cherish from last year is that I went to a school in a place where the color of my skin, what my family does, my gender and where I come from did not inhibit me. In Spain, our disparities were not dividers and inhibitors, but rather things that brought us all together. Our differences enriched us in a way Deerfield tries to simulate. Deerfield, however, has haphazardly thrown together ethnicities and cultures in hope of a creating the image of a “diverse” campus. Deerfield always emphasizes that we have a diverse campus with a diverse group of students from all over the world who come together on a progressive and broad-minded campus. But after last year, I can say that Deerfield has all the diversity statistics, but these do not come together to create a truly diverse community in the way Deerfield claims. The diversity and learning from my time last year are things that Deerfield has not been able to provide. But I can see Deerfield has made greater efforts this year. We currently enjoy a visually more diverse student body than before. Visuals are not enough, however. There is still a lot more work to be done.

Liam Holowesko, a freshman from Nassau, Bahamas, is an avid cyclist, ranked number one in the Bahamas. Holowesko won the individual time trial in the Bahamas Pro-Cycling National Championships this summer and placed second in the Bahamas National Championships road race. In addition, Holowesko is the number-one cyclist among 13 and 14-year-olds in the United States and is seeded in the top forty for 18-and-under. He won the U.S. National Championships time trial for his age group. Every Wednesday, Holowesko goes on a two-hour ride, covering about 45 miles. “The hills here are such good training. It’s completely flat in the Bahamas,” he remarked. Deerfield’s climate, which differs from the one Holowesko is accustomed to, allows him to try new training methods. “This winter I will do another form of cycling called cyclo-cross,” he said, “[in] which [the bike] can go through snow and cross-country trails.” Holowesko is excited to join the cycling team in the spring. One day he hopes to race in the Tour de France. Improv Club participants recognized freshman Abby Lupi’s talent as soon as she stepped onstage. Lupi, from New Jersey, has acted in a number of student-run projects, independent films and Off-Broadway productions in New York. One recent movie, “I Am Alive,” won Best Short Film at the Boston International Film Festival. Lupi plans to participate in Deerfield’s winter show, as Mrs. Hynds “got me excited about the program on Revisit Day.” Lupi looks forward to “taking on another character completely different from [myself] and expressing every emotion.” Both Jim Carrey and Tom Hanks inspire her work. Lupi also admires Walt Whitman, Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe, for she is also an accomplished poet. She won a silver medal in the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition and aspires to earn gold at the contest. Lupi also runs cross-country, figure-skates and does taekwondo. She reserves time for academic endeavors, however, and has already grown fond of Deerfield. She “loves trying new things and being diverse in [my] interests.”