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The girls of the varsity squash program are looking stronger and more confident than they have ever been. As they contend in this season’s most competitive matches, with their eyes on a New England title, they face the challenge of defeating many of New England’s finest private school teams. The girls are looking to face them head on with enthusiasm and determination. After finishing the 2009 campaign second in New England, the team added promising new freshmen, Abby Ingrassia, Emily Jones, and Caroline Kjorlien. Each girl reflected on the difference between playing at home and playing here. “At home I played about two to three times a week and had fewer matches, but here we play every day and have more challenge matches. I feel like it’s a greater experience here at DA,” said Ingrassia. Kjorlien added, “Since Deerfield’s team is larger than the clinics at home, we practice with people who have diverse skills and weaknesses which helps us adapt to the unfamiliar styles of other schools.” A major goal for girls’ squash this year is to place into the top five at New England’s, which Deerfield is hosting in February. “We’re a young team,” said Hallie Dewey ’11, “but we’re really strong and in second place now right behind Greenwich Academy.” An even closer event in which the team will compete is Nationals, the high school tournament over Long Winter Weekend where they will be competing in the A division. “It’s hard to tell how we’ll place though,” said Seldy Gray ’11. “We’ll be playing schools from Pennsylvania that we haven’t played in our regular season,” Head Coach Karinne Heise said. “For this tournament [Nationals], we’ll do the absolute best that we can and shoot for the top.” In order to keep their edge that continually places them above their opponents, the girls use drills and games during each practice that emphasize strategic playing versus pure conditional training. “There are always certain strategies that we try to work on, mainly aggression and taking control of the court,” said Mrs. Heise. “Every day we practice different things to improve our playing skills like volleys, drop shots and serves,” said Jones. “Another thing that is unique to only a few schools including Deerfield is a 1-7 ladder ranking system for each player,” said team captain Lilly Havens ’10. This system is important because it helps the players each week challenge for a higher spot on the team. “The ladder doesn’t just keep us competitive, it helps us know where each one of us ranks from week to week so we play our matches at the level that we’re comfortable with,” Havens continued. This system also really helps to us to gain a new appreciation for the entire team versus just each individual player,” said Tori Dewey ’12. As Deerfield prepares for its biggest matches near the end of the winter, the varsity ten are also looking to the near future to defeat their regular-season rivals at Taft on February 17th. Mrs. Heise summed it up by saying, “They’re just a fun and talented group, and a pleasure to coach.”

On January 12, an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale struck Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. Devastating an already damaged infrastructure, the earthquake has cut off vital supply lines for disaster relief and medical supplies. According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the most affected area is Haiti’s West Province, with a population of 2.2 million. In 2008, Dr. Paul Farmer spoke to the Deerfield community about Partners in Health. Since 1987, PIH has made efforts to provide health care in Haiti by operating clinics in Port-Au-Prince as well as other Haitian cities. Dr. Farmer has emphasized the shortage of medical supplies available in Haiti, “ They don’t have electricity yet. They don’t have the supplies that they need. But there’s a lot of Haitian health professionals, doctors, nurses, aides who would like to, as he said, do right, but to do that you need the supplies. You have to have the basics. Gauze, plaster or other casts. You have to have the equipment that you need. Anesthesia, pain medications, antibiotics. And that’s what some of my medical colleagues are asking us for, supplies.” Things you can do to help: Donate money to one of the following organizations: Partners in Health . International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Doctors Without Borders UNICEF (You can also contribute a $5.00, one-time donation to UNICEF by texting GIVE to 1.800.4UNICEF begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1.800.4UNICEF end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1.800.4UNICEF end_of_the_skype_highlighting) Contact the White House and urge President Obama to act quickly to provide aid for earthquake victims. Spread the word via Facebook or Twitter and encourage others to donate

Five years ago, Lost debuted as only a television show about a group of people who survived a plane crash by taking refuge on an island. As the final season approaches, we look back over the years and see that it has become a national phenomenon. Upon coming to Deerfield, I was a bit surprised to find so many die-hard fans of the show, just like me. It probably doesn’t hurt that two alumni star in the show: Matthew Fox ’85 and Nestor Carbonell ’86 play Jack and Richard, respectively. Across America, many have become fanatics of the show because of its complex plot and witty references. All aspects of Lost are intertwined, from the characters’ back-stories to how things work on and off the island. I particularly like the show because of the clever references from characters named after philosophers to quotes from books and Greek mythology, and to Biblical stories. My favorite reference is the story of Desmond and Penelope, which is eerily similar to The Odyssey. Lost seems to be written more like a piece of literature than like a television series. Clearly, everything was planned from the beginning, making it such an interesting show. It keeps you thinking, and while some find it frustrating, many others find it intriguing that many mysteries have yet to be solved. For example, what do the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 really mean? The heated Lost discussions and predictions about the show are probably half the experience. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me feel when my predictions from Season One are correct. Get excited for Season Six, which premieres February 2nd on ABC, and enjoy the final season of Lost.

After a year’s “sabbatical”, the winter dance showcase is back this January 28th and 29th. The program will consist of seventeen pieces, most of which have been choreographed entirely by students. “I think what is most remarkable about the winter showcase is the fact that a bunch of high school students can generate, produce, and direct their own show; that type of thing does not usually happen until college,” the Director of Dance Department Jennifer Whitcomb praised. It definitely is remarkable, and it involves a lot of hard work from several different people. Creating a great show in a limited amount of time requires not only dancers but also choreographers, costume designers, and techies. The unusual thing about the production of the winter showcase is that students fill all of these positions. To better understand how the show comes to life, choreographer Daryl Cooley ’10 broke the process down into seven steps: “First, you need to decide the type of dance you want to create,” Cooley explained. “Once you have that figured out, you can start looking for the perfect music.” The next part is a tedious one. “Then you have to listen to the music about a hundred times and see what images come to mind.” Now it’s time to start making the “official” decisions for the piece. “After you’ve listened to the music, take those images and try to turn them into formations, so you can see how many dancers you want to include. Also, it’s good to start thinking about the actual steps and combinations for the piece,” Cooley continued. Then you have to cast dancers to be in your piece, or you can hold auditions. “This is a difficult choice because there are pluses and minuses to both options. If you ask the dancers directly, you know exactly who you are working with, and you can choreograph the piece around their abilities and talents. However, if you hold auditions, the dancers you want may not show up. Nevertheless, you know that those dancers who showed up are committed to your piece.” The next step is to choreograph the piece. “If I have a lot of dancers in the piece, I often use small objects, like pennies, to see how different formations would work with the music and the movement,” Cooley said. After choreographing some of the piece, you have to hold rehearsals and teach the steps to the dancers. Once the dancers know the choreography, you should run through the dance with the dancers, clean up the timing, and clarify the movement. This sixth step takes creativity, and a slight knowledge of lighting techniques. “Choosing the costumes and planning the lighting schemes are actually the hardest parts for me!” Cooley laughed. The last step falls to the responsibility of the audience. On Friday, Saturday, or on both days, sit back, relax, and enjoy the winter dance showcase!

Who is ITS? In ITS we provide a wide variety of technology support services on campus including hardware/software support, telephone/voicemail support, resetting passwords, providing you with network and internet access, and finding your files when they go missing. One of our goals at ITS is to make sure that you have a fully functional laptop for school use. All students are issued a Deerfield laptop when they start school at DA. This is the laptop for which we provide unlimited support and we will always make sure you can get your school work done on it. We’re friendly, we bleed green, we don’t bite and we encourage you to stop by. What does ITS do with your laptop? If your laptop is experiencing technical difficulties or it has a virus we will often reimage it. Reimaging means restoring your laptop to the way it was the day you received it from ITS. Reimaging is an excellent and effective way to clean up and improve the overall performance of your laptop. We save all your documents, pictures, desktop and favorites. One change this year is that we do not save your music, mostly because of the incredible length of time it takes and because of the increase in virus activity. Instead, we give you the option to first backup your music onto an external hard drive (available for purchase at the Hitchcock House). The only time we do not backup your data is if your hard drive is damaged beyond repair. We make every effort to save your data but sometimes even your Deerfield computer experts cannot perform miracles. Some hardware repairs can be done in-house; for example, a new keyboard, cd/dvd drive, hard drive or palm rest. Parts replacement on the MAC’s is more limited but we hope to expand that capability in the future. If the hardware problem is more serious, like it needs a motherboard replacement or it grew wings and flew off your desk and needs the screen replaced, we have to ship it out to be repaired. This process can take anywhere from 1-2 weeks. We won’t be upset with you if you dropped it, stepped on it or your brother ran it over with his car. We just want to know what really happened so it’s easier for us to fix and we can get it back to you faster. And remember you can always get a loaner laptop if your DA laptop needs repair. Why doesn’t ITS help with my personal machine? We have a required laptop purchase program here at Deerfield. Each student has a laptop (MAC or IBM) that was provided by Deerfield with a school “image” that includes all the necessary academic software. This method allows us to more accurately and efficiently service your laptop. With a uniform platform, we have images built and ready to restore to your laptop when you get a virus or your hard drive crashes. If each student came to us with a different model laptop to repair we wouldn’t have the images, drivers, software or support access to be able to service it. In addition, most of our software licenses do not include use for your personal machines and are strictly for Deerfield issued laptops. It’s important to remember that there are TWO technicians in ITS to provide hardware/software support for all 600+ of the student laptops and the faculty and staff machines. 2009 MAC Attack The MAC transition has been a learning process for us all. You asked and we listened but it’s going to take time to iron out the wrinkles and we in ITS need your support and patience. Our policy of not supporting non-standard machines is not new to this school year. All new students for the 2009-2010 school year received a MAC from Deerfield. This MAC is fully supported by ITS. We also gave returning students the option to purchase a MAC at a discounted price, as we had always done in the past with the IBM’s. This MAC was not meant to replace your existing IBM and consistent with our past practice, your personal purchase MAC has to be treated as “non-standard” because of licensing issues. However, we will provide very limited support including facilitating warranty repairs in the event of hardware failure due to normal wear and tear. Returning students are still expected to use their IBM laptop and we will continue to provide support for your IBM since the warranty is effective until you graduate. Although we cannot provide the same support on a non-standard laptop we do provide you with instructions posted on DAnet (under Library/IT, ITS Help Desk) for the most commonly asked questions including printing, setting up email clients, connecting to networked drives and installing academic software. These are all procedures that we have tested and verified. If you have problems beyond that with hardware or your operating system, we recommend you visit an Apple store. We are not currently certified Apple Technicians. If these problems are preventing you from doing your school work, then please use your Deerfield provided IBM. We’re here to HELP We have a ticketing system that keeps track of all the work we perform on your laptop. We’re happy to share that information with you—all you have to do is ask. Typically, we email you to let you know when your laptop is ready, if we had to ship it out for repair unexpectedly or to let you know what parts have been replaced, especially when you have a recurring problem. If you have a question or concern about your laptop, please ask. We’re not holding your laptop for ransom and we’re happy to clear up your fears of the unknown. Stop by the Help Desk and tell us how we are doing and what we can do to help you! Jodi Walsh,ITS Help Desk Coordinator

On the lower left-hand corner of page four of the November 11 issue of The Scroll, a box entitled “Why We’d Rather Be Here Than Choate” containing student quotes was printed. I realize now that it was inappropriate to publish these derogatory, pointed remarks, and I apologize to all those offended. Thank you to Mrs. LaScala and Mr. Merriam for writing letters and expressing your concern. I regret that the tone of the “Here and There” special issue, which included thoughtful reflections from alumni and current students, was tarnished by this small part of the edition. There is no excuse for this honest mistake; perhaps we were caught up in the excitement of Choate week and chaos of layout, but still it should have been noticed. The fact that no one on the editorial board who saw this box was alarmed by the animosity of the quotes speaks, however, to a larger issue. I hope we can use this to generate discussion about the nature of our rivalry with Choate. While friendly competition is healthy, we should question when it crosses the line. I encourage you to send The Scroll your opinions at scroll@deerfield.edu, and we appreciate the constructive criticism.

President Barrack Obama delivered a speech announcing plans to withdraw from Iraq by 2011 and send another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan on December 1. Some teachers assigned their students to watch the speech, but the majority of the school did not see it. Many weren’t even aware that this major discussion was occurring. Our hectic lives tempt us to disregard current events. This is compounded by a vacuum of political activity on the part of student organizations this fall. Where are our political clubs? While our daily routines go on as usual, the turmoil of the outside world continues. With important questions concerning health care, the recession, our involvement in two wars, and climate change on the table, it’s crucial that we remain informed of decisions that will affect us for the rest of our lives. Our campus political organizations may be lacking energy this year, but the responsibility of keeping ourselves up-to-date is in our own hands.

After its long period of dormancy, Deerfield welcomes back its Nordic ski team. Over the past few years, both students and faculty alike have expressed their interest in reintroducing cross-country skiing to the school. The foundation for a competitive team was created by students Miles Griffis ’11 and Ellie Parker ’11, when last year they took an interest in creating a winter cross-country skiing club for the school. This year head crew coach Ben Hamilton and Nori Welles-Gertz ’10 also took a serious interest in the sport, and the four of them collaborated to create the first Nordic ski team since 1989. For the Nordic skiing meets, students will gather from many different schools and race skate-ski style on groomed trails through the back country of New England. The typical trails for each race are anywhere from five to ten kilometers long and span across downhill, uphill, and flat terrain. The races will be set up like cross-country running races where the skiers will line up in rows on a six-foot wide track before the competition begins. The small group of students along with Mr. Hamilton wanted to create a team that combined a great opportunity for physical fitness with the enjoyment of competing outdoors. “I raced in high school, and just loved it. I was really surprised that Deerfield didn’t have a team yet,” said Mr. Hamilton. Three days a week, the team will practice at Northfield Mountain, on the lower level and surrounding areas that have cross-country skiing trails. The Nordic ski team from Northfield Mount Hermon has even invited Deerfield’s team to a few of their own practices so the skiers will get more time to develop their racing techniques. The team plans on competing with both public and private schools including Holderness, Gould, and Vermont Academy. “We’ll be racing about three or four times this season, and if we feel we’re ready towards the end, we plan on competing at New England’s,” said Griffis. “The levels of experience range from those with long-time exposure to cross-country skiing, like Christina Lund ’10, to novices who just want to try the sport for the exercise and the outdoor component,” said Parker. Skiers include athletes who are looking to prepare for their spring sports and those who want to try something new during the winter. “Although there’s a huge range of talent, the enthusiasm is exceptionally high,” said Welles-Gertz. For the time being, the Nordic ski team is registered as a recreational sport and will use this winter to get a feel for how the team works together. “We have no expectations. We just want to go out there, have a great time and we’ll see what happens,” said Mr. Hamilton.

Confusion surrounded the details regarding Deerfield’s Vespers Service. Although originally a required event for all students, it was quickly changed to an optional one. Vespers, planned for December 13 this year, is an annual event held at the First Church of Deerfield for the DA community. It features both religious and non-denominational musical performances and readings of poetry and prose. The seasonal service has been present at Deerfield for years. Dean of Spiritual and Ethical Life Jan Flaska organized this year’s event. This was the first year that a dean required attendance. According to Mr. Flaska, feedback from certain members of the community who attended the service last year was overwhelmingly positive. Many of them felt it was a shame attendance was not greater. In making the event mandatory, Mr. Flaska hoped to provide a time when all students could breathe, be still, and reflect together. “I don’t think we meet enough as a school. There is value in sitting with a community in silence.” The First Church felt, to Mr. Flaska, to be a more appropriate, and certainly a more intimate and beautiful location than the Large Auditorium. The service is not meant to be specific to any religion, but rather includes readings and music from as many religions as possible. “I wanted a moment for everybody,” said Mr. Flaska. Readings included a Chinese poem by Li Bai and a passage from the Old Testament. Head of School Margarita Curtis read the poem, “O Day of Peace” by Carl P. Daw, Jr. “Music and inspirational readings enhance our sense of community,” said Ms. Curtis. “They provide an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of our work and lives. I always encourage any event that invites us to share our thoughts and aspirations with one another.” The term “vespers” often refers to a Christian evening service. These religious overtones, along with the event being mandatory, made many members of the community uncomfortable. There was a greater response against the service being required this year than Mr. Flaska expected. Most of the responses were from faculty, he said. Among students, there was an overriding sense of confusion. “I thought it was odd that they were requiring something that seemed so religious,” said Isabel Kent ’12. Mr. Flaska understands people’s reactions to the combination of location, name, and required attendance. “In hindsight, I can see how that could put them in an uncomfortable position.” Even after the decision to make Vespers attendance optional, not everyone felt satisfied. “Deerfield Academy is a secular school and it is important that it remains so,” said English teacher Joel Thomas-Adams. “No matter how hard we try to give the semblance of accepting all denominations, it is impossible to ignore the Presbyterian-Christian structure,” he said. Mr. Thomas-Adams believes that the school should remove any explicit religious practice from its traditions, such as holding Baccalaureate at the First Church and saying prayers at various school events. Although he thinks it is important to study different religions, he feels that involving them within our community’s traditions “shows a lack of imagination.” He believes we should take traditions and reform them to fit the modern community to which we all belong. The location of the service does not bother French teacher Claudia Lyons. “I wouldn’t care if it were in a mosque or a synagogue, as long as we can appreciate the atmosphere of the season.” “Part of me is always concerned that we forget that students here may have had a religious upbringing,” she said. She feels that at Deerfield, expressions of body, art, and mind are encouraged, and we should therefore encourage the expression of the soul and inner essences as well. “We must remember to celebrate peoples’ spiritual lives,” said Ms. Lyons.

Academic Dean Peter Warsaw said the current test prep situation “presents a confusing landscape. What do scores mean when they are unevenly influenced by test preparation? And what if anything should secondary schools do to level the playing field?” Many families provide their children with an edge by paying for test prep or tutoring. The reliance on tutors and outside help for test preparation is becoming more and more common in the school community at Deerfield, resulting in discussions among Deerfield administrators to decide whether this issue is truly an example of social injustice and, if so, what would be the most appropriate solution. Both Head of College Advising Martha Lyman and Mr. Warsaw are aware that tutoring is happening on campus, whether the school wants it or not. The presence of unauthorized adult tutors on the Deerfield campus is actually more than just an internal ethical issue. Inviting unvetted strangers onto the campus and into Deerfield buildings violates Massachusetts state law. Mr. Warsaw noted that last year, Deerfield interviewed four vendors who proposed various solutions. The Academic Approach offered free online tutoring to all sophomores and juniors. This plan failed to gain traction with most faculty for logistical reasons, though Mr. Warsaw explained that the Academic Approach’s grammar program, designed to help students master grammar concepts using an online program designed by teachers, has been taken on by various English teachers on campus. English teacher Mark Scandling was one of the faculty members who chose to take part in the pilot program last year. “My students found the drills useful, and I have one section of sophomores who are using the service again this year,” Mr. Scandling noted. Mr. Scandling believes that extensive reading remains the best long-term way to ensure success on the verbal section of the SAT’s, and that all his colleagues in the English department incorporate vocabulary drills, grammar instruction and practice on timed essays which help prepare students for standardized tests. This year, the school is paying for online SAT tutoring through Academic Approach for twenty to twenty-five students as a pilot program. Deans and college advisors will evaluate these students’ results to determine the effectiveness of the program. Akilah Ffriend ’10 explained her perception of SAT tutoring, “I feel that tutoring is a form of social injustice, though I also believe that preparation is necessary for some students to receive the scores they want. A plan that offers free help to students would be a great opportunity.” Ms. Lyman believes that colleges usually know when students use tutors. “Admissions officers read your entire application and gauge whether or not all the pieces add up,” she said. “What is the fairest response to this situation?” asked Mr. Warsaw. There may not be just one solution, though Mr. Warsaw explained, “Embracing SAT prep seems to be the lesser of the evils.” He noted that Deerfield is not unique in facing this issue. “Almost every school is at this same place. SAT prep is here whether we want it or not. Now we must decide if we want to accept it,” he said.

On Monday evening of exam week, the Turtle Island Quartet came to play. As an Academy Event, it is expected that all students attend, whether or not they feel they can take the APs. But, sitting in the seventh row of the Large Auditorium at seven o’clock, I turned to look around at rows and rows of empty seats, not only in the senior section. Who was responsible for this lack of attendance? Students? Faculty? The sea of lonely, green seats in the Large Auditorium that night was a result of two basic factors: timing and lack of student interest. While timing can’t always be altered, student interest can. To prevent a repeat of this fall’s Academy Event in the future, there must be student representation on the Academy Event planning committee. At first glance, students who skipped are blamed for their absence at a required event. But can you blame students for skipping in order to study for tests and upcoming exams? Skipping a required Academy Event is four accountability points. I had one. That meant I had sixteen left before restrictions. So, should I have skipped? The answer: No. I contemplated not attending, but knew I was going to end up going. Deerfield is based on such an upstanding code of honor and respect that skipping an Academy Event—an occasion that comes only twice a year and requires an incredible amount planning and money—is something I simply couldn’t do. To all those who skipped, I understand the justifications, but I don’t think that they’re enough. But I need to back up. So, granted, I went. But did I completely consent to it? No. I was present but I was not paying full attention to the musicians. I was glancing at a review sheet in my hand as the mandolinist played. So, many students didn’t show up, and students like me who went didn’t give the musicians full respect. BUT—this is only half the equation. The other half? The Academy Event planning committee is an equal part of the problem. Last spring, the committee was choosing between the Turtle Island Quartet and an African singing group named Ladysmith Black Mambazo. There were no student representatives on the committee, but some students were asked their preference. All chose the African singers. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is an absolutely outstanding musical group. I have grown up listening to their CDs and have seen them on television performing with Paul Simon. They travel across the globe and are fantastic performers, and I would have gone to see them on an exam night. I don’t know how the final consensus was reached, but the committee chose the Quartet. I would confidently argue that far fewer students would have skipped Ladysmith Black Mambazo because they weren’t interested or wanted to study. I am aware that a lot of factors go into planning Academy Events, but shouldn’t student interest be one of the most important? Why, if one hundred percent of a surveyed class of students voted for group A, did the committee choose group B? As I sat in the uncomfortably empty auditorium, I thought how awed I would be if Ladysmith Black Mambazo was performing instead. There is musical value in the Turtle Island Quartet, but while many of us have seen violinists and cello players, native African singers are much more unusual. Well, that’s how I see it. I don’t think anyone had the right to skip, even if, like me, they weren’t particularly interested. At the same time, the planning committee should not have chosen group B without student input. There need to be representatives for the students who are expected to attend these events, particularly since so much effort is put into them.

A boy picked up a cigarette from the frosted dirt path and took a lighter out from his pocket. But he was the nicest kid. With one fluid motion, he lit the tip and inhaled before returning to the New Year’s party. This boy was one of my best friends in middle school. But like most at Deerfield, I lost touch with many of my friends over four years, and the boy with the lighter I only saw occasionally at parties on vacations. After the party, some parents said to stay away from that kid, “He’s headed in a bad direction.” Why do they say that? I trusted them and I was obedient, but can they put trust in me? I’m not “headed in a bad direction”—I can make good decisions. When someone falls away, do we chase after to catch them, or watch as they drift off? Do we assert some sort of conceived superiority by disassociation? For many of us, Deerfield is a tradition; for others, the logical step before college; but for many of us, Deerfield is an opportunity we wouldn’t have pictured even a few years before arriving on campus. And since we arrived, how many of us stayed in touch with those we left behind and how many of us became too isolated by the “Deerfield Bubble” to look back? To see our roots? Or even or understand a new situation without an air of superiority? It wasn’t until recently, when reading a group invitation on Facebook, that I became suddenly aware of the town I had left. A Google search turned up headlines like “Four Teens Arrested in Murder of Mont Vernon Woman.” Two of the four were from my town, Class of 2010; one was the boy with the lighter. I drove home to console my friends and family, but they were all away. I was lost in the center of town surrounded by people I didn’t know. There were two other boys, who drove the car to the Mont Vernon woman’s house at four in the morning. They were the ones with the machete and the knife. They murdered her and almost killed her daughter. The other two who never dealt a blow, the boy with the lighter and another, are only accused of robbery. The town’s so small, newspapers only covered the one story—I wish I could read paper copies. When the stories are published online, everyone’s comments are made public, and I’m afraid to read them. But the ignorant, hateful, and often threatening comments are taken down or “censored” moments after they are posted. YouTube has even disabled commenting on a number of videos where the boy with the lighter is singing in coffee houses. I imagine that he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and didn’t know what would happen. He must have been scared, waiting in the basement with cold feet on the cement when the woman died. “Four Facing Charges in Murder Waive Right to Hearings.” There will no longer be a trial for probable cause while he waits in jail on a bail equal to the cost of twelve years at boarding school. What should I have done? There were no signs; he smiled except when he didn’t, for the same reasons as everyone else. Who is to blame? Those of us who lost touch? Those of us who obeyed when others said to stay away? Life is a series of our small choices. The next time you’re in a foreign place, choose to participate and to understand. The next time you think of a childhood friend, wonder where he or she is; wonder where in your life’s series of choices you let your friend go.