Search this site
2943 results found with an empty search
- Director of College Advising, Martha Lyman, Steps Up to New Job
For the past twenty-five years, Martha Lyman has been a pivotal part of Deerfield students’ college processes. This year, she will step down as Director of College Advising to work on a new project that will influence the community as a whole. Ms. Lyman will turn next to designing a summer school program with Head of School Margarita Curtis, just downstairs from her current office on the second floor of the Main School Building. They, along with a team including Dr. Hills, who will be pioneering this summer’s science institute, hope to open the program in the summer of 2015. Next year Ms. Lyman will spend her time researching and creating the summer program. “We want to design something that is distinctive and not just another summer school,” Ms. Lyman said. Ms. Lyman emphasizes that college is not the focus of her burgeoning program. “I hope that young people don’t feel pressed to organize their lives for the sole purpose of being admitted to college,” she explained. “The job for high school students is to develop themselves. The more developed you are as a person, the better college candidate you will be.” Ms. Lyman’s enthusiasm for individual exploration is mirrored in her work with her advisees. According to Vanessa Chu ‘13, “As an advisor, Ms. Lyman has always encouraged me to discover different academic and co- curricular interests, not only for the college process, but to explore my potential. I believe that she will be able to establish a very reputable program that can certainly motivate students to have a better understanding of themselves.” Deerfield students and recent graduates may find opportunities to be involved with this summer session. “There is every reason,” Ms. Lyman said, “to think that we might depend on our students to set the tone for the summer by being proctors, or mentors, or classroom aides. Our students are one of our biggest resources.” Knowing the college world and international programs, as well as traveling around the world and working with students on many fronts, will enable Ms. Lyman to create a successful summer school program at Deerfield.
- Letter from the Editor
Dear Reader, Some serious congratulations are in order. First to you, the brave soul who has made the choice of picking The Scroll up from the floor or following the link in your email instead of tossing it into a recycling bin or condemning it to the world of cyber trash. Foremost, however, kudos goes to last year’s board who marked a change in the winds of Deerfield journalism. The 2012- 13 Scroll Board dove deeply into issues that had been previously untouched and swept under the rug. I plan on continuing the outgoing editors’ tradition of courageous reporting, and I commend them for a year more than well done. It takes some serious guts to talk about the big issues on campus, let alone publish them in print for the whole community to see. As Deerfield changes with the times, we at The Scroll have to adapt as well, and that is what I hope you will see within this issue. We applaud the school for being so transparent and open about the events that have transpired in the last few weeks and months. We also want to know what the student body thinks. The heart of the paper doesn’t lie in the basement of the Classroom Building, but instead is kept alive by every student and faculty member on this campus. There is nothing that we want to stress more this year than the importance of hearing your opinions and ideas. This is a student-run newspaper, so let’s keep true to the name! Sincerely, Charlotte Allen Editor-in-Chief
- Kristy’s Legacy Lives On
Many of The Deerfield Scroll Volume LXXXVIII’s board editors started out as editorial associates in Volume LXXXVII, and we owe much of our confidence and knowledge to the previous board. Though the previous editors were extremely dedicated to and concentrated on their tasks, they were always patient and eager to hand their knowledge down to us. Whether it was putting in the small details like copy edits, or discussing current events in our monthly Opinion/Editorial meetings, the previous board inspired us with their enthusiasm and dedication. The skills and expertise we have witnessed under Editor-In-Chief Kristy Hong’s leadership have given us the resolve to add our own ideas and flair to The Scroll. Taking over the printing of The Scroll will no doubt prove challenging, but we are optimistic that the innovation of the previous Scroll board will inspire us to create a thought-provoking newspaper for the Deerfield community.
- Praise for Transparency
In dealing with the accusations that former teachers Peter Hindle and Bryce Lambert engaged in inappropriate acts with students during their tenures at Deerfield, the school exercised a policy of complete transparency. The Scroll appreciates the administration’s efforts to keep developments out in the open, first with a school- wide announcement and then again with a follow-up post on the Daily Bulletin. This was an effective way to reduce rumors and speculation that would have surfaced had the news been kept under wraps. Though there is no doubt that what happened was a tragedy, most current Deerfield students seem to be generally unaffected by the news. Because most of us never knew either teacher involved, it does not have much of an effect on our day-to-day lives. Our loyalty to Deerfield has not at all been shaken by what happened decades before we arrived, and we trust that Deerfield teachers already know the boundaries between what is appropriate behavior towards a student and what is not. We feel safe with our teachers and do not worry about a similar incident happening again. In addition, The Scroll supports the school’s decision to rescind various tributes that had been paid to the former teachers, notably the Hindle squash court, the Lambert fellowship and the Lambert fund. In a February interview with The Scroll , Dr. Curtis stated that she wanted to use this as a learning experience for training future faculty. We applaud her for this and are reassured by her.
- Supporting Same-Sex Marriage
In light of the recent Supreme Court cases on same-sex marriage, The Scroll would like to formally state our support of gay marriage. In the past, The Scroll has adopted a pro-gay-marriage bias, but we now believe that an official statement of support is necessary in the current climate. Arguments for and against gay marriage have been articulated not only by the media, but by the United States Supreme Court Justices, guardians of the Constitutional rights of American citizens. The Scroll feels that same-sex marriage has become an issue of civil rights; in fact, many parallels can be drawn between the movement for gay marriage now and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. We believe our generation takes tolerance and acceptance for granted. Many of us have grown up in homes and societies that unquestionably accept gay marriage; sadly, that is not the case for most of America. The Scroll recognizes how lucky we are to live in a community that supports the rights of all citizens, regardless of distinctions such as sexuality. It is difficult to imagine the kind of opposition to gay marriage that permeates societies around the country and around the world. We at Deerfield must always remember how fortunate we are to live in such an accepting community, and so. The Deerfield Scroll states its full support for gay marriage.
- Remembering Peter Workman
Peter Workman, Deerfield Class of 1956, died this past Sunday at age 74. After graduating from Yale University, Workman founded Workman Publishing in 1967. He created the Workman Grant, a community service grant that offers between $200 to $1,000 to Deerfield students to do service projects in their hometowns or through service programs. In addition, Workman’s family sponsors a school meeting about service every year at Deerfield, including this past fall, when Col. Jack Jacobs, a Congressional Medal of Honor winner, presented at a school meeting. Deerfield will greatly mourn the loss of Peter Workman, and we extend our sympathies to his loved ones and all who had the privilege of knowing him. * The Scroll has allowed contributers to remain anonymous because of the sensitive nature of the Hindle situation.
- Alumni Respond to Hindle Investigation
Yes, I knew Mr. Hindle very well. I got to know him because he was the dorm master where most of my close friends lived, so I spent a lot of time on his hall. My friends and I thought he was great. I used to go to Mr. Hindle for help on my math homework because he not only taught me the material, but made it interesting as well. He inspired me to pursue math and sciences in college. As far as how the school is handling the situation, they are taking the appropriate actions. This is a tragic situation since Mr. Hindle was an inspiring teacher to so many students. However, these actions that have come to light must not be ignored, no matter how well respected Mr. Hindle was. Deerfield is appropriately bringing this to the attention to students and alumni, regardless of the tragic nature of the situation. By a member of the Class of 1980* I graduated from DA in 1986. I knew Mr. Hindle mostly through soccer. I never had him as a teacher. He was well respected as a teacher and school leader; that being said, I was not surprised by the report. I also knew Mr. Lambert–he was my dorm master and very well regarded as an educator, but again, I was not surprised by the report with regard to his behavior. There was a lot of inappropriate behavior at the school during the years I was there. I am glad to see the school is addressing this issue, even after all these years. I think the school is doing the best they can and being as transparent as they can be. By a member of the class of 1986*
- Secret Societies: All Talk and No Action?
A typical conversation about secret societies: “Man, it’s so cool that Alex is in the Geese.” “What about geese?” “The Geese. Come on, it’s only the most exclusive secret society on campus.” “Uh-huh. And how do you know Alex is in it, if it’s so secret?” “Well duh, everyone knows who’s in the Geese.” “Doesn’t that make it more of a society, then? Like, without the ‘secret’ part?” “…” “Anyway, what do the Geese do?” “Well, in the yearbook, they all take a picture making geese noises!” “… And?” “What?” “Well, what else do they do?” This is the point in the conversation when your friend stares awkwardly to the side, wishing that you hadn’t realized that, really, secret societies don’t do anything. In fact, as you watch your friend search for different ways to emphasize the importance of “exclusivity” and “secrecy,” you start to realize that secret societies are pretty pointless. As I understand it, secret societies are elite clubs that pride themselves on choosing members of one race and socioeconomic class and supporting outdated Victorian ideals. Their initiation requirements, which change around every year, are generally juvenile and sexist. And no matter whom you ask, the importance of the secret society is always “its exclusiveness.” Some Deerfield grads have described secret societies as preparation for college fraternities and sororities. That sounds true enough, except that secret societies don’t have announced events, a house or participate in community service, or offer mentoring. Plus, the Deerfield secret societies definitely aren’t exactly something to put on your college application. So why even bother with secret societies? As far as I can tell, they only exist to give a small group of people an arbitrary reason to feel superior to the rest of the school. As a friend of mine concisely put it, “there are other ways to make lasting memories than being part of an exclusive group of people that really, in the end, mean nothing.”
- Defending Harmless Traditions
I think that though secret societies exist on campus, they are not a vital part of the Deerfield community or lifestyle. However, I do believe they are a tradition for both guys and girls on campus. I find them to be sort of like the brotherhoods or sisterhoods in college, where only certain people make it, but it doesn’t really affect those not included. Recently, the topic has come up more frequently, and only few have expressed contempt for these select societies because of their exclusivity. Nonetheless, I don’t find their “exclusivity” to be a problem solely because what they do has no effect on the community, if in fact they do anything at all. To call them exclusive is to call every college fraternity and sorority in the country exclusive. In the beginning, I can see why the administration would’ve been worried because the founding values of these societies are very troubling and extreme. But I think it is safe to say those values have evolved, and with the open-minded and kind-hearted people that can be found in the community today, I think we can all agree that these societies are no harm to the community and Deerfield culture. The administration’s newfound interest in breaking up these groups, I feel, is something of a waste of time. There are bigger issues to worry about. The administration is purposely targeting people who aren’t doing anything wrong–and to be quite honest are these groups even secret anymore? To the student body secret societies have become such a common topic of discussion that most have formed some idea of who’s in these groups and no one really cares. With little to no effect on the Deerfield community, these secret societies are harmless, and for this reason they should be left alone.
- The Elephant in the Room
I wholeheartedly agree with the recent steps the administration has taken regarding Deerfield secret societies, because the school absolutely must take action. Students can only hold so much influence over their peers. A room search is a good start, but how fruitful can that really be? Anything found in a room search can be denied as having to do with the Sevens or any other secret society. I feel that the school must take further initiative and use measures that are much harder to deny. I definitely do think that these groups are harmful. They promote social discrimination. If everyone is fighting each other to become one of the “coolest” seven guys on campus, they are more willing to hurt one another. It leads to a lot of tension and anger. The worst part about it all is that no one is willing to talk or do anything about it. Everyone agrees to a code of silence, which reinforces the idea that it is okay to treat people like they are nothing, provided it will raise your status a little bit. The things that are looked at as “cool” cannot usually be changed in the four years you attend Deerfield. Irrelevant facts, such as how much money your family has, do not reflect a high what a high school student does in four years, yet for some reason they are still taken into account. The clothes you wear and where you are from are taken into account, when what really matters is your actions towards others and your character.
- Cullinane Talks Catholicism at Deerfield
On March 13, 2013, 1.2 billion Catholics sat in front of their televisions waiting for the papal conclave to declare the next leader of the Catholic church. They all watched as the smoke billowing from the conclave changed from black to white, signifying that the Cardinals had finally elected a new pope. Many Americans were surprised to find that the crowd favorite, Boston’s own Sean O’Malley, was not elected. Notwithstanding American sentiments, Catholics around the world were delighted to see Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, elected to assume the name Pope Francis I. He is the first Pope of Latin American descent, and considering that 40% of all Catholics reside in Latin America, a Latin American Pope is long overdue. In any case, this is a momentous shift from the European Popes of late, such as Pope Benedict and Pope John Paul. On a separate note, Pope Francis’ approach to handling the current sex abuse scandals initially remained unclear. Many Catholics questioned how Pope Francis would address the scandals to the church and to the world. The majority of Catholics have been very pleased with the work Pope Francis has done so far. The tone he set from the moment he was elected has changed the Church’s outlook and how millions of Catholics and non-Catholics perceive it. His first address as Pope to the captivated crowd at the Vatican was one of humility and modesty. He first asked them to bless him before he gave them a blessing, and even his choice of all-white attire was humbling. While on missions in Buenos Aires, he always took public transportation and lived a simple life. He chose a life of humility and continues this life- long commitment at the Vatican, the richest city on Earth. He refuses to live in the opulent papal apartments, but rather in the guest house, and on one Holy Thursday, he washed the feet of women and non-Catholics, rather than have his priests do it for him. These small actions may appear meager, but the message they send to the world is an incredibly positive one for Pope Francis and the entire Church. Though the election of Pope Francis was surprising to most Americans, it was not that surprising to me. Since the sex abuse scandals were first uncovered in America in 2002, how would electing an American Pope help solve this sensitive issue? Wouldn’t it, on the contrary, cause more controversy? Whether the scandals happened in America or in Europe, the problem was the way the Church responded to them. Pope Benedict addressed the issues and sincerely apologized for the actions that were taken by the church members involved, but he never defrocked, or took ecclesiastical status away from, the perpetrators. Then on April 5, 2013, Pope Francis addressed the sex scandals for the first time. He not only talked about the issue, but also stated his intention to take action, possibly even defrocking those clergy members involved. In this 21st century society, if the Church wants to rebuild itself, it needs to rebuild support from its followers who have perhaps lost faith in the institution. Pope Francis needs to put his foot down and assert that the Church has zero tolerance for scandal. Non-Catholics and Catholics alike criticize the Church for the ongoing inappropriate behavior. This is understandable as it is a Church, and it is supposed to be led by God, who originally gave the apostle Peter control over his disciples. It is important to remember, however, that even though the Church is led by God, it is an institution ultimately led and followed by humans. It is easy for us all to understand that as humans, we make mistakes, but because the Catholic church is such an esteemed and media-covered establishment, we ridicule it for its mistakes. The Church isn’t the only prestigious foundation that has had trouble with scandals recently. Our very own Deerfield Academy has suffered the disease of sex abuse. Peter Hindle, an esteemed faculty member, has caused a lot of bad press for Deerfield, but, with that said, one scandal or one event does not define an institution. The fact that Hindle abused Deerfield students is disturbing, yes, but it doesn’t erase the fact that Deerfield is a prestigious preparatory school. In the same way, the fact that there is sexual abuse within the Catholic Church doesn’t mean that the Church is fully corrupt and not trustworthy. What separates these two situations is that when Deerfield found out about the abuse, Dr. Curtis removed Hindle’s name from all awards and grants. The problem with what the Church did is that it tried to cover up what happened, and it allowed the clergy involved to keep their positions. All institutions have crises, but it is how they respond to these crises that defines them. Pope Francis has yet to speak on the Church’s stance on topics such as gay marriage and stem cell research, but he has plenty of time to make his mark there as well. As far as I am concerned, I do not believe that the Church will make any change in its gay marriage stance, but the most important thing for the Church to focus on at the moment is addressing the scandals and leading by example. The Catholic Church is by no means obsolete and will find a foothold going forward in the twenty-first century.
- Invernizzi Tangos, O’Donnells Seek Renewal on Sabbatical
At the end of this year, Teachers Michael O’Donnell, Sonja O’Donnell, and Virginia Invernizzi will leave Deerfield and begin their sabbaticals. A sabbatical is usually a once-in-a- career opportunity, and these three teachers are ready to make the most of it. Mr. O’Donnell, chair of the Philosophy and Religious Studies Department, and Mrs. O’Donnell, who teaches English and coaches novice crew and Girls Varsity Swimming, submitted a 12-page proposal that outlined their extensive travel and learning plans for their sabbatical. “We have many countries on our list,” Mrs. O’Donnell said. “We will start in Europe, with a term at Oxford, but we will be ending up in Asia and possibly as far as New Zealand and Australia.” The purpose of their travels is more than just to visit the monuments. “We will be more than tourists in the places where we will go,” Mrs. O’Donnell explained. We will experience knowledge in context, explore, wonder, communicate and investigate similar opportunities for students in the future. I want to go global.” During their sabbatical, the O’Donnells plan to tackle big topics. “It’s a pretty intense and ambitious set of problems we want to investigate,” Mrs. O’Donnell said, “from the use of technology to the meaning and practice of true teaching and learning.” She added that they will be “investigating schooling itself” by taking classes and homeschooling their son, Julian. “What does it mean to be schooled in the 21st-centruy? What can happen outside the classroom that can bring deeper meaning to it?” are just some of the questions the O’Donnells hope to answer. Although the O’Donnells will be busy, Mrs. O’Donnell explained that renewal will be the most important part of their year away from Deerfield. “I think I’m really most excited about taking a big, deep breath,” Mrs. O’Donnell said. “ I want to learn how to slow down. I want to learn how to build in more reflection into my work, and into the students’ lives that I come into contact with.” Dr. Invernizzi, chair of the Language Department and Spanish teacher, shared Mrs. O’Donnell’s sentiment. “I think it’s renewal for the faculty members,” she explained. “It’s renewal in many different ways, academic and personal–-so that you come back a better teacher, and a more rested soul.” In addition to going to Italy and other countries in Europe, Dr. Invernizzi will go to Uruguay to work on tango. “I do teach a tango unit in my Spanish 6, and I just want to work on that tango unit and make it better and better.” Other focuses of her sabbatical will be technology, foreign language teaching and “seeing new places and learning new things.” Both O’Donnells and Dr. Invernizzi expressed their excitement to take time away from the pace of life at Deerfield, but they also agreed that they will miss the students and school that they are leaving behind. “Seeing the students every day, coming to class, teaching your classes is what I’ve been doing forever in my life, and I can’t really imagine a whole year without that,” Dr. Invernizzi said. Mrs. O’Donnell will “miss that contact with you all. There is a wonderful energy here and it keeps you young, it keeps you alive, it keeps you active, it keeps you fluid, it keeps you sharp.” These three teachers will be deeply missed, but their time away from Deerfield will benefit them and the school community greatly.
