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After pursuing a career in law, Jamie Bucci, a new member of Deerfield Academy’s faculty, decided to switch her career track and go into college advising. Ms. Bucci graduated from Duke University with a major in psychology and a certificate in education, then continued on to Harvard Law School, where she began her five-year involvement in law. At Harvard, Ms. Bucci also gained experience advising local high school students in the college admissions process. After working at the law firm Ropes & Gray, and serving as an assistant vice-president at Massachusetts Mutual, Bucci decided to change her path, dropping her career as a lawyer and relocating herself and her family to Deerfield Academy to work with teenagers once again. Bucci said, “Since I wasn’t sure what to do [after graduating from Duke] and I was afraid of not having a plan, I applied to law school. It really wasn’t a particularly thoughtful decision – more of a cautionary tale.” Bucci intended to switch to child advocacy law after working at a big firm for a few more years. However, after realizing how difficult it would be to make the switch, she decided to dedicate much of her time to volunteering in the local community. She helped high school kids at legal education clinics, ran mock trials with middle-schoolers, and helped out with college advising at a program nearby. Recognizing how much she enjoyed working with kids, Bucci said she would often think, “This is crazy! I know what I want to do, why am I still a lawyer?” As she struggled to decide whether or not to continue her career in law, Bucci became a mother, which ultimately pushed her to make the switch. “Once I became a mom, I realized I wanted to set an example for my son to show him he shouldn’t be limited by fear, and that he should seek his best life, not the path of least resistance. So I started looking for jobs in education,” said Bucci. A coach for girls thirds soccer in the fall and junior varsity lacrosse in the spring, and an advisor and associate on Poc I, Ms. Bucci has had to make many adjustments since her arrival at DA. She expressed enthusiasm about these changes, saying, “I love my Monday nights in Poc chatting with the girls about their weeks. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know my sit-down table groups. And coaching has been a great experience…. My advisees are bright and thoughtful, and I love talking with them about their hopes and their goals.” As Ms. Bucci continues to adjust to her new life at Deerfield, she has formed relationships with both teachers and students on campus. Fellow college advisor Beth Bishop acknowledged the hours Ms. Bucc put into preparing for her new job this past summer: “I admire Mrs. Bucci’s decision to leave a successful law career to work at Deerfield, and I expect that she will find helping students navigate the college admission process more personally rewarding than the law.” Students have been appreciating Ms. Bucci’s interest in them. Serena Ainslie ‘16 said, “She’s very caring—she genuinely wants to hear how your day was.” Added Lilah Lutes ’14, “It’s so clear to me that she cares about everything I have to say.” Though this life change has been dramatic, Ms. Bucci spoke fondly of her experiences so far. “I can’t imagine a better group of kids to work with,” she said. “I am also really lucky in that I have really wonderful, dedicated, smart, funny colleagues in the College Advising Office…Now I wake up excited to go to work every day!”

Hailey Nuthals ’14 competes in a sport that some consider to be merely a leisurely summertime activity: waterskiing. Her talent can be easily overlooked because the sport is not offered as a co-curricular at Deerfield, but she and her team have been competitively ranked in statewide competitions over the past couple of years. At age 10, Nuthals learned to water-ski from her father at her grandparents’ house on Big Hills Lake in Wild Rose, Wisconsin. She immediately took to the sport. “I’ve always loved water sports and have been able to swim since before I can remember,” she said. Nuthals’ love for the thrill of waterskiing soon led her to develop unusual ability in the sport and also led into the realm of serious competition. “Most people see [waterskiing] as an excuse to be on beaches and in the sun all summer,” said Nuthals, “but we practice during the off-season on sand pits and watch videos of the professionals in between classes. It’s a passion like any other sport; it just involves a different skill set.” Nuthals’ team has been large enough to enter into Division II and III state competitions in Wisconsin for the last two summers, when they have placed 7th out of 14, and 4th out of 9, respectively. In these team skiing events, the teams put together, choreographed and costumed acts that included pyramids, jumps, footing, slalom, swiveling and even wakeboarding. Slalom involves turning tightly around widely-spaced buoys,

With three Disciplinary Committee (DC) cases in the course of four weeks this fall, there has been much controversy over changes in current policy as well as discussion on developments that could improve the current system. A tangible change has been made to the “scope of jurisdiction” clause: this clarifies students’ responsibilities on and off campus. Dean of Students Amie Creagh said, “The scope and jurisdiction was revised from last year, because we had someone point out to us that if all the rules applied to students on and off campus, then that would mean they would have to be in dress code, and that whenever they are at home and a friend comes over who is of the opposite gender then they would have to leave a light on and keep a trash can in the door.” Ms. Creagh continued to say that it’s not the minor rules that are supposed to be upheld, but rather the hope that students will represent Deerfield in the best way possible. “It was basically putting a finer point on our expectations for kids, and being pretty philosophical in the way we expect them to conduct themselves when they are off campus,” she explained. In response to the new rules, Kristen Veiga, a DC faculty member, said, “In terms of kids being held accountable off campus, I think the 630 students that attend Deerfield are wonderful kids. But they are also really lucky to be here because we have a ton of applicants every year, and I think it’s a fair expectation for students to behave according to our rule-book on and off campus.” In addition to refining exactly where to draw the line on disciplinary action, another issue is how to encourage good decisions after bad ones have been made and how to foster a community where forthrightness and honesty are central to every student’s moral compass. Ms. Creagh said, “If we acknowledge that high school is a place where mistakes are made, you’re trying to figure out who you are and where your boundaries are—if those tensions are just naturally a part of high school—[we need to focus on] how we encourage kids to learn something from their mistakes. And after a bad decision, how we can show the way towards good decision-making.” A few weeks ago, John Jackson ’14 and Oli Merison ’14 presented to the disciplinary committee their considerations regarding disciplinary action, and whether or not honesty and sincerity should be considered when determining punishments. Jackson commented, “In the Deerfield rulebook the following is written: ‘At Deerfield we value honesty above all.’ If Deerfield truly values honesty, why don’t we consider honesty outside of a disciplinary case?” Jackson raises the issue that by not adding any incentive the school is essentially condoning dishonesty and fostering a culture of lying. Jackson continued, “Since the DC committee doesn’t consider honesty outside of a DC hearing, students believe that it is all right to lie and deceive prior to the hearing, because their punishment would be the same either way. There is something blatantly wrong with this policy. There should be some sort of incentive for kids to be honest and come forward.” Jackson and Merison imply that honesty should be more fully promoted throughout school life, particularly before DC hearings. They also raise the concerns that students’ intentions may be susceptible to change. Jackson explained, “Deerfield students range from 14 to 19 years old. Most of us are still adolescents. Our decision-making skills are skills aren’t fully developed. With an incentive, the school can help students make the right decision and be honest.” English teacher Michael Schloat feels that honesty should be expected without any need for stimulus. Mr. Schloat said, “Honesty in all matters should be a foundational expectation of all members of the Deerfield community, not an option someone may choose to help mitigate his or her punishment.” Mr. Schloat expanded on his opinion by saying, “Consider this analogy: we don’t hand out ‘Citizenship Points’ to students who come to class on time or adhere to the dress code. Rather, we assign ‘Accountability Points’ to those who fail to meet this expectation. The reward for those who meet expectations is a sense of mutual respect and shared ownership of the common enterprise of our academic pursuits together.” Tyler O’Neill ’14, a senior on the Disciplinary Committee, agreed with Jackson and Merison but also maintained the concern that honesty not be incentivized, but rather be an expectation. O’Neill stated, “I believe that a student’s honesty, leading up to the hearing, should be portrayed in the punishment. At the same time, the motive of coming forward should not be to receive a lesser punishment, but because it is morally right. I would like to see variability in the punishments of DCs with a lesser punishment given to students who come forward and are honest from the beginning.”

Dear Margo, Rita, and Curtis, I’m really into Snapchat, but lately I feel like I’ve been sending way more than I’ve been receiving. Am I doing something wrong? If I am, what more should I know about the world of Snapchat? Dear Reader, Snapchat: the final frontier of communication—your best friend and your worst foe epitomized by a tiny yellow ghost icon. It’s a beast that must be tamed, a fair lady whose proverbial hand must be won. Based on the question, it sounds like your score is lingering below the thousands. A 2350 may be good enough for the SAT, but isn’t nearly sufficient for the unforgiving world of Snapchat. Consider us your Snapchat tutors (trust us, your money is better spent here). Snapchat 101 . The cardinal rule of Snapchat: never “go” from below. If you take one thing from this article, let it be that. Feel free to ignore our advice, but you’ll have no one to blame but yourself when you’re looking at a double chin, cabbage-patch-kid face with no neck and an HD view of any and all “imperfections.” Now that we’ve covered the dangers of the “go below,” let’s move on to lighting. If you’ve ever taken a break from Sadie’s to powder your nose and wipe the cesspool of sweat and other “unidentified fluids” off your body (none of which are your own), and are surprised to find you are not quite the foxy Bumblebee you imagined yourself to be, there’s a reason. It’s not you (probably), it’s the lighting. Snapchat 102 . Let’s discuss “best friends.” If a sibling is on your best friends list, this needs to be addressed. If a parent is on your best friends list, delete your Snapchat immediately and deny that it ever existed. Snapchat 103 . Additionals. There is but one difference between you and Michelangelo: the Sistine chapel will be viewed for centuries to come; your snapchat, on the other hand, will be gone in a matter of seconds. We are sure if Michelangelo had known his creation would be destroyed in 10 short moments, he would have had no reservations about pushing the envelope; therefore, neither should you. You want to turn your friend’s face into a banana? Do it. Feel like garnishing your selfie with a handlebar mustache and a soul patch? The more absurd the better. Lastly, we don’t know who told you otherwise, but cat whiskers were never cool and should be avoided at all costs. Ah, the text box. You may not have 1000 words, but remember, brevity is the soul of wit—as is originality. Newsflash: you were not the first to take a double-chin picture and caption it “I’m preeetty.” And, unfortunately, you will not be the last. And so, young grasshopper, we are sure that with this wisdom you will be basking in the glory of your Snapchat fame. To good health and a few embarrassing screenshots. Sincerely, Margo, Rita, and Curtis

The word “parietal” derives from the Latin word “paries,” which literally translates as a “wall.” This makes sense, because the only thing parietals accomplish is the creation of a wall dividing the two genders. Developing a normal and healthy friendship with a member of the opposite sex is constrained by the rules implemented by the administration to prevent inappropriate relationships. The idea that the administration has the power to completely ban all intimate behavior between high schoolers on campus is unrealistic. It is inconsistent for the administration to expect adult-like behavior in the classroom and not return the same trust for behavior behind closed doors with friends and significant others. The teachers at Deerfield also show inconsistency regarding the rules. Which room to get parietals in is almost always decided by which teacher is considered the most lenient and least likely to check. Regardless of who the teacher checking you in is, you always feel like you are suspected of doing something wrong. Last spring, I had a test in a class that my friend (male) was helping me study for. As it was close to curfew, and walking to the library would give us only a few minutes to work before turning around, we decided to get study parietals. When checking in, we were aggressively warned by the faculty resident that we would be checked on. The entire time we were working at the desk in my friend’s room, during which time we were checked on more than once, I couldn’t help but feel like I was doing something wrong. I got much less out of studying given the hostile environment created by the teacher on duty. I hope that someday the administration will see that such restricted parietals do more harm than good, that we will be given the respect that we have earned and be trusted to make good decisions on our own, not decisions that the administration makes for us.

In early October, Deerfield alumnus and parent Mr. Rob Hale ’84 and his wife Karen pledged $25 million to the school’s financial aid, the largest donation ever to this program. According to Pam Safford, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid, this donation is not only important to the school now, but also will be instrumental for years to come. “The bigger an endowment you have, the more you are ensured that you will always have a good school, and will be able to offer important programs,” she said. “The beauty of Mr. Hale’s gift is that he is helping to ensure that financial aid will always be available for kids at Deerfield Academy.” Dr. Curtis praised the donation with great enthusiasm, saying it will help “by bringing talented, motivated, curious, engaged young people to the campus, and that means when we are looking at applications, we are going to try and choose the very best people, not only the ones that have the financial ability to cover the expenses. It is really about merit.” Mr. Hale, who has helped an average of five to eight students each year with their tuition since 2001, said he was inspired to make this donation based on two factors. “When I went here, it helped shape the rest of my life in a very positive way,” he said. “Deerfield developed the confidence for me that didn’t exist before I got here and that I don’t know would have existed had I not come here. [Secondly]… we do believe that Deerfield has world-class faculty, world-class facilities… but the only thing that it lacks, at times, is diversity. If we can bring more diversity to Deerfield and hope that some of those kids develop the same kind of confidence, then that is the best of both worlds.”

On January 25, 2011, the world watched as Egyptians demanded the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in Tahrir Square. On June 30, 2012, the first democratically elected Egyptian head of state, Mohamed Morsi, was sworn into office. As Morsi granted himself sweeping political powers and no longer seemed to be a symbol of democracy, the people again demanded change. A month after the one-year anniversary of Morsi’s swearing- in, the military staged a military coup and established an interim government. New presidential elections will take place in 2014, but until then, the internal turmoil in Egypt will continue. Sam Khalifa ’14 has seen firsthand much of the change that has swept across Egypt. Now he offers the Deerfield community his reflections on the last three turbulent years in Egyptian history, and on where Egypt is headed from here. Scroll: What was your reaction to President Mubarak’s being forced down? SK: When we threw down President Mubarak, we thought it was all over, that this would never happen again, that the next president would see what happened to Mubarak and learn from his mistakes. Which is why we were surprised by President Morsi’s actions. He imposed his views on the people and tried to change things too quickly. He stopped the Constitution and cancelled the Supreme Court. Our electricity would go out two, three times a day, even at school. We had a gas problem because Morsi was giving gas to Hamas [Palestinian Islamic organization] to support them. He was taking resources away from his people to support Hamas. What Egypt needs right now. I believe Sisi is trying to push Egypt towards a democratic state. Scroll: What do you think about President Obama’s foreign policy towards Egypt? SK: President Obama has stopped the military aid he has been giving (around $1.3 billion a year) to Egypt. I believe this is because Obama was offended that Morsi was forced to step down—Morsi was technically a democratically elected president. But the fact is that the American government does not understand what is happening in Egypt, because what is happening in Egypt could never happen here. Americans cannot see how a democratically elected president could be forced to step down, and I understand their confusion. The events going on— it’s pretty crazy, and hard to understand. But again, Egypt is a nation where you cannot apply the same standards as you do in America. We currently lack things that Americans consider to be basic facts of life, like separation of church and state. Egypt and America are two different worlds. Scroll: How can Sisi be glorified when he has been using force—such as tear gas—against his own people? SK: What you have to understand is that the situation is completely different from the one in Syria, where Assad is using chemical weapons against his own people. Sisi used tear gas after Morsi was forced to step down, when members of the Muslim Brotherhood were rioting on the streets, burning churches and governmental buildings, killing Christians…What they were doing was terrorism. When this is happening, it’s natural that force be used. When one side does not keep the rules, the norms start breaking down. Scroll: What do you think about the role of religion in Egyptian politics? About the imposition of Shariah law in the Constitution? SK: Well, part of the reason why people hated Morsi was that, before Morsi, religion had never governed Egypt. Morsi was the first president to impose his religious views on the Egyptian population. I’m completely against religion becoming mixed in politics. You need separation of church and state. And Morsi was trying to make Egypt more like Saudi Arabia, where it’s mixed. Scroll: What has your personal experience been? SK: I originally lived in Tahrir Square, unfortunately. My first ugly personal experience was in 2011, on the 15th of January, during the first protest demanding that Mubarak step down. After the first revolution, we had to move, because our house was taken; it exploded, and there were bullet holes in my laptop, all over the door. Everyone around us was affected. Now I live an hour and a half away from Tahrir Square. It’s a different area from Tahrir Square; there is not much happening in my current neighborhood— there are many foreigners living there. Scroll: What do you see in Egypt’s future? SK: I don’t see Egypt settling down anytime soon. Change will take many, many years. There will be elections in 2014, and a new president will come, but we have no idea what’s going to happen. The problem now is that whenever people don’t like something, they go into the streets and protest. Throwing down Morsi, although necessary, has set a dangerous precedent. Scroll: In your opinion, was the military entitled to take control of Egypt for six months after Mubarak stepped down? SK: It is true that it is not the military’s role to govern. But at that moment, it was a necessary evil. It was a transitional period of time. Scroll: Do you think it was fair that people forced Morsi to step down, although he was democratically elected? SK: This is a hard question to answer. First of all, when Morsi was elected, he won by a very, very narrow margin. The Muslim Brotherhood bought Egyptian voters. Morsi would go to poor neighborhoods and give them food and oil—basically bribed them. And the truth is that it’s hard to talk about “fairness” when a revolution is taking place. At the time of Morsi’s election, there was no democracy established, because there was no constitution. There was no basis to say what was legal, what was not. My definition of democracy is that politicians should be transparent. But even today, we do not know where the Muslim Brotherhood is getting its funding from. Also, this summer, there were more than 14 million in the streets calling for Morsi to step down. This couldn’t happen in any other country. I think that Morsi’s being forced down was a democratic change. Scroll: What do you think about Sisi, the current head of the Egyptian military? Is there a fear he might take political control of Egypt? SK: Sisi is a hero in Egypt. His picture is everywhere. There are songs written in his honor, and movies are being made about him. What is important is that Sisi has no political ambition whatsoever. He promised this in one of his speeches. He doesn’t want to be President. He is just

A participant in the 2013 Junior Olympics in Orange County, California, and an aspiring Division I athlete, Conor Sullivan ’15 has contributed significantly to the Deerfield varsity water polo team’s success. He made the varsity squad as a freshman, the same squad that went on to win the 2011 New England Championships. In the championship game against Exeter, Conor scored two goals, and Deerfield brought home the gold, winning 10-9. Conor started playing water polo at the Eaglebrook School when he was 12. “I didn’t have a fall sport at the time, and my dad said if I played soccer he wouldn’t come to any of my games,” said Conor, “so I decided to give water polo a shot.” Ever since, he has been regularly attending water polo camps, including the ones at Harvard and Brown. During his ninth-grade year at Eaglebrook, in his final game against Deerfield, Conor scored 10 goals against Deerfield’s JV team, and Eaglebrook emerged victorious, winning 12–10. “It was the only time in my four years at Eaglebrook that we had won against Deerfield,” said Conor. At the end of the season, Conor had scored 68 goals in the 8-game season, shattering the previous record of around 45 goals. “In a typical game, I would expect Conor to score several goals, make key defensive plays and lighten the mood with funny and inspirational comments,” said Charlie Ughetta ’15. In the fall season of 2012, Conor scored an impressive 67 goals. Recently he has played for an 18-and-under summer club team in Greenwich, Connecticut, and his team qualified for the 2013 Junior Olympics, finishing 11th in a division of 54 teams. Sullivan’s teammates recall a particularly amazing goal he had against Choate. His body was facing up, almost parallel to the surface of the water, when a wet pass landed near his feet. He couldn’t move his upper body and reach the ball with his hands. The goalie swam out to retrieve the floating ball, but a moment before he could grasp it, Sullivan kicked the ball over his own head and into the back of Choate’s goal. “It was unlike anything I had ever seen,” said Quinn Smith ’14, the team’s captain. “He’s one of our biggest and most talented water polo players. His position (the hole) is essential to our success as a team,” said Smith. Though Sullivan is one of the team’s top goal-scorers, coach Mark Scandling also mentioned his role as a team player. “Conor doesn’t only make great shots; he makes great passes,” said Mr. Scandling. Conor said that, as always, the season’s objective is to make it to the championship game. “We need to all have the same reason to get into the pool every day,“ he said. “Not for personal stats, but because you know that every guy jumping into that pool needs you to accomplish the one goal we all share: winning that last game.”

Dress code has been a point of dispute for countless years, so much so that it’s becoming a trite conversation. It is time for a fresh new voice. Enter Garam. First of all, the dress code, which was intended to prevent the sexualization of girls, actually achieves the opposite. It stigmatizes female body parts as if they are something to be ashamed of, rather than something to celebrate. Our modern culture preaches that all girls’ bodies are beautiful. If they are so beautiful, why not dress to emphasize them? A strict dress code like ours can quickly morph into slut-shaming, ironically in a world in which society is increasingly in agreement that girls should not be condemned for having obvious assets. In my opinion, emphasizing “appropriateness” as a female virtue is sexist. If you criticize the girl for wearing a short skirt and distracting those around her, you should equally criticize the boys who are looking. And oftentimes, it is the case that the boys are not looking. Furthermore, if the honest-to-God purpose of the dress code is to make girls cover up, it does not even achieve this end successfully. The application of dress code is inconsistent (male teachers will often hesitate to point out the otherwise obvious), and the dress code in itself leaves leeway for the truly “inappropriate” aspects of female dress while it slaps down freedom of expression in others. Do I have a solution? Heck no. Dress code is a complicated issue—it often engenders conversation about gender roles, as well as conversation about socioeconomic differences and how they are manifested in school culture. I’m just saying that the implicit message of the dress code, as well as its irregular application, sends some dubious messages to an already confused female student body.

1. It is completely legal to tackle someone by the hair. Also, if someone’s hair touches the ground he is considered down. 2. A team can kick multiple field goals on a single drive, as long as the other team does not acquire possession. 3. If the ball is hiked through the quarterback’s legs, it is a false start on the center, not a fumble. This is only in effect if a quarterback does not touch the ball. 4. Immediately following the fair catch, a team may choose to take a fair kick. This is when they may attempt a field goal, for 3 points, without pressure from opposing teams. 5. If a team does not send the appropriate number of players to the toss, a team may automatically lose the coin toss and be penalized for delay of game. 6. A team may be awarded a second chance on an onside kick. This happens if an onside kick fails to go the full 10 yards and goes out of bounds without being touched. In this case the team is awarded a 5-yard penalty and a re-kick. 7. A team may be penalized for playing leapfrog. During the kick-off, if opposing teammates jump over each other in order to catch or block the ball, they are given a 15-yard penalty. 8. A team may accidentally disqualify its top two quarterbacks from playing if the third-string quarterback enters the game anytime before the end of the third quarter. 9. A team can win an overtime game by nine points. This is a relatively new rule, that in an overtime game each team is guaranteed possession of the ball if the other team only scores a field goal. This means a team can score a field goal (3 points) and then, when the opposing team obtains the ball, intercept a pass and score a touchdown. By intercepting the ball and scoring a touchdown, the team seals the victory and wins overtime with a grand total of 9 points. 10. A player can be credited with a passing touchdown and a receiving touchdown on the same play. This happens if the quarterback passes the ball laterally to a player who then passes it back to him. Source: http://wlogblog.wordpress. com/2011/02/03/15-strange-things-that-can-technically-happen-in-football/

While universities primarily prioritize academic aptitude, sports are also an important aspect of college admissions. Athletic liaisons, admissions officers who work with recruited athletes, play a significant role in the placement process. Interested coaches will often pursue players early in their high school careers, eager to bolster teams. How do recruited athletes’ application experiences differ from the admissions process for other candidates? College advisor Beth Bishop said recruited athletes are “tremendously advantaged.” Schools come to them, she said: these seniors don’t have to cope with undue concern stress through most of their twelfth grade, often committing before or during senior fall. She acknowledges, however, that those who commit early to college do not escape the stress-filled application process endured by all students. On the contrary, they follow a different, but equally demanding process, as they are pressured to demonstrate both skill and responsibility by reaching out to schools, attending showcases and team camps, and playing their best in front of visiting coaches. Also, athletes often have to sacrifice their top-choice school or disregard college preferences when recruited. Bishop added, “Many Deerfield students aspire to be recruited athletes, but ultimately don’t find [college] coaches willing to support them.” Finally, injury can “change everything,” Bishop said regretfully, meaning that driven athletes may have to abandon top-level sports in college and not receive the benefits of early recruitment. “Without a coach’s support, injured athletes can lose their spot at a college,” Bishop added. Devinne Cullinane ‘14, a tri-varsity captain for cross-country, hockey, and track, recently recruited by Cornell University for running, recounted her road to college confirmation. In her individual sports, only one coach watched her race; others primarily relied on running times, which are posted online. For hockey, however, Cullinane has done a lot of showcase tournaments so coaches could see her play. She admitted, “It does get pretty stressful when you see those clipboards in the stands or you think about the fact that the coach at your number-one school is watching to see how you perform. It is up to the individual to put all that aside and have the mental stamina to treat it as you would any other race or game.” Cullinane said that colleges did not focus on her extracurricular activities and other roles at Deerfield, although she is a student council member, peer tutor and proctor. Instead, the “early reads” primarily factored her grade-point average and SAT scores, in addition to her running times and performance on the ice. Bishop underscored this practice, saying colleges expect a certain academic standard and SAT performance from recruited athletes, but do not place emphasis on participation in clubs and other student-led groups. Both Cullinane and Bishop mentioned another prominent difference between athletes’ and other students’ application processes: the diminished role of college advisors. Bishop said, “A recruited athlete’s process often starts before college counseling. They come to us with their college decisions made, so we only help them with writing the application, not decision-making about schools.” Cullinane reinforced this point, thanking her cross-country and track coach (and uncle), Dr. Dennis Cullinane, for “contacting coaches and advocating for [her] as a student-athlete.”

Behind the scenes of each theater production, the tech crew works to design and create the set of every show from the ground up. Over the course of each term, under the supervision of Theater Technical Director Paul Yager, the crew meets each day to decide what the set should look like and how to execute their plan. They work each week on planning and building, and then in the days leading up to the show, they pull everything together, including costumes, lighting and sound. Andrew Bishop ’14 has worked on the tech crew every term since he came to Deerfield. “I started doing tech in seventh grade at Williston Northhampton School,” he said. “I’ve kept participating because it’s fun to see something you make go from being just individual parts to the finished product of the set. By the end of the term, you actually have a tangible thing that you made, and it looks awesome.” Another core member of the crew is Hailey Nuthals ’14, who joined the team at the beginning of last year as stage manager for The Laramie Project. “It was fascinating for me to see how theater was put together,” she said. “Seeing the final product, and knowing I was a key piece in that was a feeling similar to what I get from band, but cooler.” After working as a stage manager, Nuthals now hopes to have a career in the music business. “[Stage managing] was what made me want to do managing as a career and [gave me the idea] that I could do it with music, because music is my one true love. When you have that commitment, everything is so much more amazing. And you’re so proud of the product. It’s the best feeling,” she said. Victoria Castellano-Wood ’16, who is in the tech crew for the first time this term, shares similar feelings to Nuthals’. “I like the behind-the-scenes aspect,” Castellano-Wood said. “But I also like seeing how everything is made to create a production, and all the steps that go into that process. Destiné James ’16 is also new to tech this term, and along with Nuthals, is practicing skills for a future career. “I want to be a director when I’m older, as I like working behind the scenes and having one-on-one interaction with the actors,” she said. Bishop has also learned to value the benefits of creating a show with the tech team. “There’s a lot of creative thinking involved and problem-solving when you’re building the set. That sort of mindset is really valuable,” he said. However, Bishop feels that many people do not recognize the effort that is put into productions and that the creative work is not only the work of actors, but the entire team behind the scenes. “People don’t really appreciate tech,” Bishop said. “They always ask, ‘What’s that?’ People don’t know about it, and they don’t give it the credit it deserves. At Deerfield there’s respect for people who do sports, and not people who do theater, and I think that’s completely ridiculous.” Nuthals compared the relationship between actors and tech to that of a car and its engine: “When you’re driving a car, what you notice is the sound of the engine and the comfort of the seats, but you forget all the little parts that are making those things happen. You can’t have a play without tech. It’s really cool to be a part of that, because then you are the play just as much as the actors, but people don’t see it. I love being the bridge between the two of them.”