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Many students consider The Deerfield Food Committee notoriously ineffective in improving the food at DA. Within the past year, however, the DAFC has managed to make changes that the community has greeted enthusiastically. Currently, the committee is working on having panckes in the Greer on Sunday afternoons, avocados in the Koch, Greek tart frozen yogurt and falafel in the Greer, and better Dining Hall burgers. Along with these ideas-in-progress, the DAFC has already made several changes this year. They have brought “naughty cereal,” like Captain Crunch and Lucky Charms, to some Sunday brunches, Greer iced chais to the Koch, strawberry to-go cups and avocados to the Greer, and waffles and bacon back to breakfast. The process of approving proposals can be difficult. “Making everyone happy and having such a tight food schedule are two huge factors in the challenges we face; you have to give something up to make room for something new,” explained Head of Food Committee Katherine Goguen ’16. Director of Food Services Mr. Michael McCarthy and Assitant Director, Brad Woodward lead the team of students and communicate directly with the kitchen and cafés. Mr. McCarthy noted that in recent years, “Students are notably more knowledgeable about food.” He also explained that DAFC and the dining hall “strive to achieve a balance between… traditional DA foods, like chicken pot pie and apple crisp, while introducing new menu items such as the Greek chicken and pumpkin cake.” Food Committee members continue to stress the importance of student feedback, which helps improve the overall dining experience at Deerfield.

A lot of strong young talent joined Deerfield’s Alpine Ski Team this winter. Head Ski Coach William Chaffee has been coaching Alpine Ski at DA since 2013 and feels that this year’s team has “a bunch of outstanding skiers on both boys and girls teams.” Leading alongside Coach Chaffee are Math Teacher Mr. Marc Dancer and the team’s senior captains: Nicole Piispanen, Hunter Quigg, and Jean-Pierre Torras. At the Class A Championships last season, the girls finished in fifth place, while the boys finished in first. The boys team hopes to repeat that first place victory, and the girls intend to score even higher. With their goals set high and a lot of old and new energy on the team, the only thing missing is snow. El Nino this winter has made for fluctuating temperatures and uncharacteristic weather patterns. Fortunately, the team has managed to not be slowed down by the lack of snow. When asked about the challenges of not having enough snow, Piispanen remained optimistic and remarked that the team has “actually been coping with it pretty well” because they “only need one trail to be open, which is the race trail, and Berkshire East Mountain Resort always makes sure to keep its conditions pretty good.” Located in the town of Charlemont, Berkshire East Mountain Resort, the team’s practice mountain, has one of the best snowmaking facilities in New England, allowing the ski team to train consistently. And even though Deerfield’s Alpine Ski Team has to share the slope, Piispanen said that the team “is used to splitting the trail with the other teams, so it hasn’t really been any more crowded this year than in the past.” The skiers train from 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Coach Chaffee explained, “I meet the team there, so I’m able to set training courses prior to the team’s arrival, so our on-snow time is efficiently used.” At Berkshire East Mountain Resort, the skiers start their practice with a slip run to navigate the course, locate the gates, and make sure the snow is smooth. For the remainder of practice, each member of the team does multiple runs down the slopes, receiving feedback from the coaches at the end of each run. The coaches’ assessments help to ensure that everyone is on target for meeting his or her goals by the end of the season. Comprised of recreational and nationally ranked athletes, the team varies in depth. Regardless, “We have a really great time when we ski together and want to make the best of it,” said FJ Marsh ’19, who joined the team this winter. It appears that the team is well on its way to meeting its goals this season. Coach Chaffee shared, “I’m most impressed with how all the athletes of both genders have come together as a team, supporting each other and helping each other have fun and get faster.”

With the start of the new year, three students—Celia Hurvitt ’17, Caleb Friends ’16, and Lucas Galperín ’16—returned to campus after spending the fall semester away from DA. Hurvitt spent four months at the Maine Coast Semester at Chewonki, in Wiscasset, Maine. She lived in a cabin with seven other girls from schools around the country. She began each day at 6:30 a.m. with routine farm chores before breakfast. Her daily academic schedule was similar to that at DA, except for the frequent half-days, when students either went on science and research-based field trips or participated in the work program, helping with campus upkeep and farm chores. “The 42 of us, [students and faculty,] ran the campus,” Hurvitt said. “There was no maintenance staff—we were the maintenance staff.” The structure of the program contributed to a team atmosphere on campus. She appreciated the sense of unity on the Chewonki campus, where common social divisions at DA, like age and gender, did not exist. She added that since most of the teachers were young, “there weren’t the same kind of divisions” as at DA. Hurvitt valued her time in Maine as a way to learn “skills not taught at Deerfield.” She had the opportunity to cut solar panels, live in a cabin, do farm chores, and grow her own food. “I drank milk that I milked from a cow on the farm, “she said. “It’s cool being connected to your food like that.” Her most significant experience was a two-day solo trip to the coast of the ocean. “I realized how much time I don’t spend alone,” she said. “It was overwhelming at first; I didn’t want to do it.” But once she settled in, she began to appreciate being alone. “I realized it gave me [time] for the things I never get to do—I went swimming, [read, and] painted watercolors.” Hurvitt also said her experience at Chewonki encouraged her to “seek out more conversations with people and realize what a good conversation is.” Without a phone, and with computer access only for schoolwork in class, Hurvitt’s life at Chewonki was “very simple.” After four months “unplugged,” Hurvitt said she and her new friends at Chewonki “almost didn’t want [their phones] back,” when it came time to leave. “It was cool that everyone had made a really active choice to be there; we weren’t distracted by outside things, so we all connected much more.” While Hurvitt remained close to home, Caleb Friends ’16 and Lucas Galperin ’16 traveled abroad for the semester. Friends and Galperin participated in the SYA China Semester program, making Beijing their home for four months. They both lived with host families and attended classes at Beijing Normal University’s Second Affiliated Upper Middle School. Galperin said he had a “great relationship” with his host family and loved cooking with his host mom. Friends agreed: “My [host] dad was trying to learn English, so it was cool to be able to help him.” Both boys enjoyed the big city atmosphere and ease of travel. Galperin explained, “there was always stuff to do and places to explore.” For lunch, all the SYA students were free to wander the city and explore local restaurants. Friends and Galperin often enjoyed noodles and dumplings for lunch, although Galperin said, “Sometimes I kind of missed sit-down meals.” The SYA students studied together on one floor of a middle school, and Friends noted the setup was slightly “isolating” since it limited the SYA student’s interactions with the local teenagers. However, both boys enjoyed their classes. Galperin explained that he spent two to three periods a day studying Chinese. He added, “It was obvious that from day one the Chinese classes were [emphasized]…the Chinese instruction was very high quality.” On the weekends, Friends and Galperin had the opportunity to explore silk markets, attend soccer games, and “hang out with the locals at an internet café.” Friends found one trip to the Shan Xi province in Northern China for a week particularly interesting, because “not a lot of tourists travel to Shan Xi; it was cool being the only Americans.” While grateful for their experience in China, both were ready to return to the U.S. and life at DA. “It’s nice coming to back Deerfield and appreciating it more,” Galperin said. “There are so many things we take for granted here.”

This winter, students do not need to travel far to gain a new international perspective. Arianna Sanchez, a junior from Lima, Peru, recently arrived at the Deerfield campus for a month-long exchange facilitated by the Round Square program. Ms. Anna Steim, English Teacher and member of the Global Studies Committee, explained, “Many of the schools with which Deerfield has an exchange relationship are Round Square schools: King’s Academy in Jordan, Schule Schloss Salem in Germany, the Doon School in India, and Markham College in Peru.” She describes Round Square as “a network of schools from around the world that share a belief in six IDEALS: Internationalism,lDemocracy, Environmentalism,XXAdventure, Leadership, and Service.” Sanchez was inspired to come to Deerfield after hosting two exchange students from the U.S. and U.K. and meeting two Deerfield students who worked on service projects sponsored by her school, Markham College. She is excited to be in the U.S., where she wants to attend college, and she even gave up a month of her summer for the frigid Deerfield winter. Sanchez isn’t hesitant to admit that “the weather is cold compared to Peru.” Despite the cold air outside, Sanchez has enjoyed her first two weeks at DA. Compared to her past educational experiences, she said, “Here, you feel a bigger sense of community because you live with these people.” Sanchez has enjoyed getting to know her peers, “especially the girls on the hall,” and also loves sit-down meals when she has the opportunity to interact with students from different grade levels. Outside of classes, Sanchez participates in community service for her co-curricular activity. She explained that her school in Peru placed a strong emphasis on service. “We go to poor areas in Peru,” she said, “where we build houses for [citizens] and teach children basic English and Spanish.” Sanchez was shocked to learn that this part of Massachusetts is “one of the poorest areas” in the state. Here in the U.S., “the schools have computers and smart boards,” she said. “But in Peru, we had to build the school. It had one classroom and we had to build [it],” she explained. In addition to service, Sanchez loves music and especially enjoys Mr. Van Eps’s ‘Composition: Songwriting’ class, which she described as “very different and interesting,” since the music classes she has taken previously “were more focused on theory.” Sanchez recommended that all DA students apply for Round Square. “They shouldn’t be scared of change!” she said.

After last spring’s disciplinary rule changes regarding drugs and alcohol, Dean of Students Amie Creagh has put forth increased efforts to make the internal decision processes of the Disciplinary Committee (DC) more accessible and transparent to the community by organizing information sessions each term. At a recent DC information session, Ms. Creagh covered how a DC committee hearing works and gave a general review of disciplinary decisions from this academic year in hopes of elucidating the facts associated with each case and generating more student trust of the DC. The DC committee is comprised of the Dean of Students, Ms. Creagh, who chairs the committee and presents the case, a Class Dean, three students, and two faculty members. The committee convenes when students are suspected of violating a major school rule. The students have the option of selecting community members to serve as their advocate during the hearing. After the Committee has established the facts of the case by speaking with the student and anyone else involved, the students and advocates leave the hearing. After evaluating the evidence, the Committee decides by majority vote whether a major school rule has been broken. If a school rule is found to be broken, possible responses include probation, suspension, enrollment review, and expulsion. It is important to note that the Dean of Students only votes in the case of a tie, which, according to Ms. Creagh, has rarely occurred in DC hearings. At the information session, Ms. Creagh summarized the cases that occurred from September 2015 to December 2015, including only a brief description of the events and the responses in order to protect student privacy. As Ms. Creagh’s presentation at the meeting drew to a close, students asked questions about why Ms. Creagh had decided to implement these sessions. Ms. Creagh responded that she “wanted to be seen as trusting in students” and “as being fair and not hiding things from kids.” She continued that she “cares about students and feels like they are mature enough to have a candid conversation about all the very complicated factors that go into crafting a response for a student when he or she makes mistakes.” She emphasized that the purpose of the DC is to not simply “punish” students for a particular mistake, but to allow them to think through their actions and learn from their mistakes. “I think mistakes are wonderful things,” she said, “If you respond to them correctly [and] if you have good guidance and support.” Understanding that there were rumors and confusion about the disciplinary process, Ms. Creagh asserted that her goal was to let “every Deerfield kid have the opportunity to get as much information as possible about the DC workings” as well as “to dispel and demystify some rumors that lead to students feeling that it’s unfair, rigged, and not representative of school values.” She hopes “to see greater fact ripple through community than the fiction that has permeated after most other hearings.” She closed the session by asking the students about what they thought and said she hopes to “keep at this” and is “wide open to guidance and advice about how best to equip students with facts, so that when they make judgments about how DC works, it’s at least based on reality.”

Have you ever wanted to start your own business? To pursue a passion, market it, and pocket a profit? There are many Deerfield students who would love to do just that. And we’ve all heard the age-old spiel about how intelligent and motivated Deerfield students can be. The issue is not with capability, but rather with permission. Here at the Academy, there are rules against students making a profit off of their peers. While a spokesman from the administration noted that the school supports students raising funds that promote a common good, students are not allowed to pursue personal profit. Here at , we see a serious issue with this rule. Deerfield prides itself on being an academic institution that gives its students the opportunity to explore their passions. The option of taking a sixth academic course, the wide variety of spring electives offered to seniors, the independent study program, the ability to petition for a co-curricular exemption, and the array of extracurricular clubs and activities offered here at Deerfield are all proof of that. Why, then, does Deerfield not support students eager to turn their passions into profit? This January, Deerfield hosted an event called Pathways, where eight alumni shared their stories with upperclassmen students. Two of these alumni were entrepreneurs who spoke very fondly of their experience in founding and running their own businesses. board sees a lack of consistency in the fact that the school brought in these entrepreneurs to share their stories with us, yet discourages us from pursuing similar ambitions while at school. We here at are calling for a change in this policy. We believe that Deerfield students should be allowed to follow their passions in any way they wish. If this means pursuing a personal profit, then props to them.

When you were little, did you ever have friends your mom made you hang out with, even though you didn’t want to? Then those friends kept showing up, and you were confused and sick of them. Soon enough, those friends were around so much that you got used to them. Finally, those friends were always with you and never left, and you almost began to enjoy having them around. Until last year, this was my relationship with my mental illness. My depression took root in the beginning of my middle school years and will be with me for the rest of my life. Although I was mostly a happy child, I suffered bouts of deep sadness that felt like a heavy boulder on my chest. These bouts would come and go, but they did not outwardly affect me until I was a new sophomore at Deerfield. We all know that some people find winter at Deerfield lonely, dark, and long. I began isolating myself in my room, pulling away from my relationships, and giving up on schoolwork. During the last few weeks of spring term, my sadness surrounded me constantly. But that summer after my sophomore year, my friend depression rarely came around anymore, and I was thankful for her absence. Two weeks before my junior year began, however, my friend came back and planned to stay. My sense of well-being was already compromised, and I totally lost it after someone I knew and loved broke serious sexual boundaries with me. I did the worst thing a victim can do, and I pretended it hadn’t happened. This all became too much, and I attempted to take my own life. I returned to school for the fall of my junior year, but I realized that I could not handle the stresses Deerfield presented. I went to treatment for my depression and returned to the valley for my senior year. Coming back from medical leave was definitely not what I expected. I saw a stark contrast between my treatment facility—a place full of aware and accepting people—and my experience at Deerfield. Although my friends were extremely supportive, they seemed to be the only ones who knew what had been going on in my life for the past year. Dr. Josh Relin, Director of Counseling at Deerfield, has explained to me that federal laws designed to protect patient privacy constrain what information can be shared in workplaces and schools. “There is a strong firewall between what happens in the Health Center and the other adults in the community due to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act),” he said. “This law determines how health information can and cannot be shared.” HIPAA was designed to protect patient privacy, yet in my experience, it left me feeling very much alone. I didn’t care that students thought that I had left because of an eating disorder, or that I had been bullied, but it concerned me that my teachers and advisors didn’t know what I had been going through. Even though it was helpful for me to discuss my struggles with all of those important people in my life, it was still uncomfortable, and it was hard for me to take the initiative. In the future, I hope that the Health Center reaches out to students before they return from medical leave in order to discuss how the school can make their adjustment back to Deerfield less difficult. If they had reached out to me, I would have let them know that I wanted my circumstances shared with my teachers and advisors before I returned to campus; this would have made my transition back a lot easier. Deerfield is one of the top educational institutions in the country, yet no one seems to know how to talk about mental illness. People talk about cancer freely; why is it so difficult to discuss the effects of depression, bi-polar, anxiety, or schizophrenic disorders? Just because the illness may not be outwardly visible doesn’t mean the person suffering from it isn’t struggling. I have experienced a lot of stigma surrounding mental health on Deerfield’s campus. As students, we have the power to end that immediately. Stigma places blame on the person suffering from the illness and makes them ashamed to talk openly about what they’re going through. Teachers and students on our campus can do their best to be more aware when discussing mental health issues. If someone says they’re feeling depressed, a good way to respond would be, “What are some other things you’re feeling? What do you think has brought this on?” If you don’t feel comfortable saying either of those, say, “I don’t understand what you’re going through, but I am here for support.” Too often, people speak before they think, and that can damage the trust in a relationship. If someone confides in you, try not to say, “It’s all in your mind,” or “lighten up,” or, my personal favorite, “Happiness is a choice.” No, it’s really not. When I’m in a really bad place, I  do my best to surround myself with positive people and upbeat music, but too often it feels as if I’m drowning in my own thoughts, while everyone else seems to be breathing comfortably. Many people are suffering, but because many people feel uncomfortable talking about it, no one is aware of the sufferers. This leaves people feeling even more alone. Since I spoke about this issue at school meeting, I have had countless people approach me, telling me that they, too, are struggling and would love to be more open about it. I am calling all members of the Deerfield community to come forward and talk freely about mental health issues. We are all either struggling or know someone who is battling an illness; let’s come together to make our community more inclusive and comfortable.

Dear Reader, Our lead story for this issue focuses on sexual assault cases involving students and teachers at DA that occurred several years ago. I feel the utmost grief and sympathy for the victims in these cases, and I offer my sincere hope that they can find a way to heal. Incidents of sexual abuse are traumatic and tragic, yet a school like DA can also be a place of wonderful relationships between students and teachers. Appropriately close student-teacher relationships can impact a student in countless positive ways, and I hope that learning about incidents such as those that occurred at DA in the 1980s do not deter students from seeking out adults in the community in whom they can find a friend. It’s worth noting the political, social, and most of all, moral perspectives that some of my teachers here, such as Ms. Friends and Mr. Henry, have taught me, whether that be in or outside of the classroom setting. From Ms. Friends, I’ve learned patience, confidence, and forgiveness. From Mr. Henry, compassion, concern for others, and resilience. I urge you, reader, to seek out relationships like these, because I believe they are a crucial part of the Deerfield experience. I know that a few teachers here at DA have pushed me to question my views and to think hard about what I support and what I stand for; for that, I am immeasurably grateful. Despite how lucky I feel to have had such influential teachers, it is important that we keep those who have had difficult experiences with their teachers, either here or elsewhere, in our thoughts and prayers. All the best, Bella Hutchins

The 2015 Pan American Maccabi Games, also known as “the Jewish Olympics,” were held in Santiago, Chile this winter from December 26th to January 4th. Deerfield swimmer Madisen Siegel ‘17 competed for the Unites States. “I first found out about Maccabi games online in early September. The applications were due soon and they told us whether we qualified or not in November,” said Siegel. Siegal spoke about the simplicity and uniform qualifications for joining the team, saying, “Because everyone’s official swim times are online, we didn’t have an actual tryout. The coach could compare our times via USA swimming and chose people that way.” During those 10 days, over 3,000 athletes from 19 countries competed in 18 events. Siegel represented Team USA in the youth swimming division. Out of the 11 events Siegel swam in, she received six medals. She earned gold medals in the 200m Freestyle Relay, the 200m Medley Relay, and the 400m Medley Relay. She also won bronze medals in the 100m Butterfly, the 50m Backstroke, and the 100m Backstroke. These achievements helped Team USA finish the games with more medals than any other country, followed closely by Chile. Although these athletes competed against each other, the competition unified them through their shared religion. All attendees were self-identified Jews, and all denominations were represented. Siegel noted, “Despite the language barrier, Hebrew united us all.” A Friday Shabbat Service was held during the competition. At Which all 3,000 athletes, in addition to coaches and other staff members, gathered to pray together. Also, 12 of the 19 countries were South American, so Siegel explained that it was “interesting to see Jews from an area of the world that is predominantly Catholic.” At the Opening Ceremonies, all of the athletes came together to celebrate their athleticism and Judaism. Athletes swapped apparel to remember the moment. “The USA apparel was really popular. Everyone wanted some of it,” Siegel remembered. She traded for a jacket from Costa Rica, a swim cap from Brazil, and a hat from Israel. For the last four days of the trip, all of the athletes took part in a service project to benefit the surrounding community in Chile. Team USA packaged food and other supplies for underprivileged families in the city of Santiago to try to counter the lack of welfare services from the government.

Labels­—of nearly any kind—make me squicky. (That’s a word, right?) I’ve never liked being asked to name a favorite color, food, number, etc., and I’ve never responded consistently to the question of how I identify on the LGBTQ spectrum; I don’t even use the terms “wife” or “partner” confidently, and I’ve been married for 10 years. I would assume this aversion relates directly to my having been raised by parents who strongly identify as religious fundamentalists—born-again Christians, specifically—and to my having rejected that rigidity at a young age. My own fractured view of our church started in middle school. Our parish became a political one: protesting abortion clinics, hosting members of the Christian Coalition who preached about the abomination that was adding protections for LGBT peoples (no “Q” then) to the state’s hate crime bill and adopting a simplistic definition of “right” and “wrong” (despite the fact that our congregation was made up of fallible adults). Even as I designed my own moral compass, I assumed the answers had to be more complicated. I came out-ish in high school. I was quiet and unsure and had a difficult time finding my place in my public high school’s closed social groups. Though I joined teams and participated in after-school activities, I hadn’t found my niche, my weekend friends. And then I met Lauren. She was outgoing and confident, had an entrenched group of quirky friends, and seemed to like me enough to continue asking me to be a part of that group. Soon, we developed feelings for one another. Before I had a chance to figure out who I was or what we were (and whether or not it was disingenuous to remain an “ally” in my school’s GSA), my brother outed me to my parents. There was a dramatic sit-down at the kitchen table, my parents repeating over and over again that they loved me but that they couldn’t support my choices. They wouldn’t let me get up from the table until I agreed that I knew I was going to hell. To be worn down—by your own parents, no less—and agree to a fate you don’t yourself believe…I wish that experience on no one. That period of time was awful: I was criticized for the clothes I wore, interrogated about where I was going and who I was seeing (with the assumption that every friend was a new love interest), and bullied about my choice of prospective colleges; when I excitedly applied to Smith, my father said, “You know that’s a lesbian school, right?” While my parents didn’t forbid my relationship with Lauren, they made it difficult for it to continue. But then something … snapped. I started to see my parents as fearful people, individuals who were limited but doing their best. They came to their fundamentalism together to find order and clarity in a disordered world, both carrying complicated traumas from their pasts into their present. It was a belief system that worked for them, but it wasn’t for me. Whether or not they knew it, the best gift my parents gave me was that of a wide community: I had handfuls of wonderful adults in my life—grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends’ parents, teachers and mentors—from whom I could observe and distill down my own definitions of morality. I developed a world view that was much grayer than that of my parents’ black and white perspective. Since high school, I have learned to parent my parents, to be consistent and fair, to be selectively vulnerable, to teach them how to treat an adult daughter. When I got engaged a decade ago, it was important to me to call them and give them the opportunity to join the celebration—they chose not to, but I felt rooted in the belief that my happiness wasn’t dependent on their support. When they didn’t attend my wedding, I cut off communication; when they reached out to reestablish contact two years later, I set clear boundaries of what this new chapter would look like and how they were to treat my wife, Kristen. They’ve made mistakes, and I’ve made corrections that they’ve accepted and adopted. My parents have decided that it’s more important to have me in their lives than not to, and vice versa. I’ve built a strong community of support among a chosen family of friends and neighbors, coworkers and acquaintances, people who validate my relationship and reflect my values. I’ve found a place for my parents within that community (and rely on plenty of friends for advice and solace when things go wrong). My parents have learned that I respect their value system, and they’ve demonstrated respect for mine. It’s a work in progress, but not a reality I could have predicted when I was that 17 year old sitting at the kitchen table nearly 20 years ago. Now, as Kristen and I look to expand our family, I wonder how receptive my parents will be to their grandchildren. I hold some small hope that they’ll be supportive, along with some realism/cynicism that they won’t. Regardless, I know that our children will be nurtured by our community: a loving group of aunts and uncles—and “aunts” and “uncles”—friends and teachers and at least one set of gleeful grandparents. Even if they opt out, I will carry forward the lesson of community that, intentionally or not, my parents instilled in me years ago. That can be the gift they give to their grandchildren.

Head of School Dr. Margarita Curtis recently returned from her first trip to India. Young alumnus, Rahul Mehra ’03, who lives and works in Mumbai, helped facilitate the visit, as Dr. Curtis hopes to establish relationships with Indian secondary schools and publicize the full Deerfield scholarship available to one Indian student. This competitive scholarship was made possible by alumnus Reza Ali ’87 and will be awarded to a student on the basis of a student’s academic standards and contributions to co-curricular programs. Dr. Curtis met with the heads of some of Mumbai and Delhi’s premier schools, visited with top administrators of the recently founded Ashoka University in Delhi, and attended the XVII Global Connections Seminar hosted by Daly College, a secondary school in Indore. “It is my hope that my face-to-face interactions and discussions with distinguished Indian educators, as well as the availability of this scholarship, will allow us to gain a stronger presence in the country, which is the second most populous nation in the world, and the largest democracy,” Dr. Curtis said. She noted that currently, DA receives “few applications from India. For historical reasons, Indian students apply almost exclusively to boarding schools in the UK.” Ms. Pamela Safford, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, elaborated, “Because this is a new initiative, in the current year we are both promoting this opportunity within schools as well as developing a process by which we will ultimately identify, assess and select scholarship candidates. Dr. Curtis’s trip is well-timed, therefore, as we expect that she will have learned a lot about the ‘appetite’ for such an opportunity, as well as, perhaps, about possible future candidates.” Dr. Curtis participated in the Indian Global Connections Seminar from January 12-19, a conference she has also attended in Thailand, South Africa, and Colombia, where she focused on “Peace Education within Faith Diversity.” The seminar encourages school leaders worldwide to develop global consciousness and to promote international cooperation in their schools. Dr. Curtis is following the lead of Eric Widmer, her predecessor, who played a major role in the establishment of the organization and attended some of the earlier seminars. In the past, Dr. Curtis has visited several Asian countries, including Korea and China, where she travels annually in order to speak with alumni and to raise funds. Reflecting on what made he trip to India unique, Dr. Curtis noted, “The most striking feature, as I have traveled through the South and the North, including a week-long train trip through the state of Rajasthan, is the enormous cultural, religious and linguistic diversity of the country—22 official languages and more than a thousand dialects are spoken in India, so English is the Lingua Franca of the country,” she said. “As you drive through different cities, it is not unusual to see a mosque next to a Hindu temple or a Christian church, and everyone I spoke with, from cab drivers, museum guides to educators took pride in this diversity.” In addition to her week long trip through the country, Dr. Curtis visited the house where Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in 1947, a trip she described as especially meaningful. “Gandhi’s principle of nonviolence and peaceful resistance—powerful instruments in the struggle for social justice, and the liberation of India from British rule—reminded me of the impact of this philosophy on another world leader, Dr. King,” she said.

During her freshman year at Summit  High School in Bend, Oregon, Kyle Fox ’16 began taking art classes and joined the school’s dance team. Since then, both art and dance have become incredibly important aspects of her life. “I always do one of those things when I’m stressed out or sad or angry. They’re good outlets for me,” she said. This year, Fox is taking Topics: Post AP Studio Art with Mr. Dickinson. She occasionally struggles, she explained,  because she is quite the perfectionist with her projects. “I’m very tedious with art. It takes me forever to finish stuff because I never think it’s done,” she said. Art is “a bit more disciplined” than dance, according to Fox. She said, “Mr. D has pushed a lot out of me that I didn’t think I was capable of.” As for dance, Fox recently choreographed a hip-hop routine for the winter showcase to the songs “Slow Motion” by Trey Songz and “What Do You Mean” by Justin Bieber. The dancers in her piece range from complete beginners to advanced dancers. Coco Spagna ’16 said, “The first day of rehearsal, Kyle really put in perspective how everyone has to start somewhere, and that even though I was a beginner in an intermediate piece, it didn’t mean I couldn’t dance.” Nhyira Asante ’16 commented on working with Fox, “It’s really fun. We laugh and joke around a lot in rehearsal but Kyle is really good at getting us to pay attention when we need to.” Fox wants the dancers to embrace the fun side of being on stage by learning how to express themselves through the choreography. Asante said, “there’s a lot of room for everyone to incorporate their individual style into the moves which is amazing.” Hip-hop is Fox’s main style of dance. As a new junior last year, she took dance as a co-curricular but decided not to continue with it, because “the dance program forces you to take all the styles.” She explained further, “I was taking jazz and ballet, and I really just couldn’t do it.” Fox enjoys hip-hop the most, because “it’s very freeing.” Fox plans to continue dancing and doing art forever, but she does not see either having a role in her professional future. She said,  “Dance is something that I would never want to turn into a stress inducing job. I love it too much as a stress reliever.” up becoming, she will always have dance and art to turn to.