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Shortly after the ISIS attacks on Paris, messages of hope and prayers for peace flooded all platforms of social media. The story of a massacre in Kenya, however, also appeared among the multitude of updates about the Paris attacks. “Man, what’s happening with the world right now?” queried one Facebook user, sharing a link to a BBC article detailing the Kenyan attacks. “147 dead in terrorist attack on Kenya college,” tweeted another, “Hate consumes and destroys.” When this heavily shared article began trending on social media, attentive readers pointed out that the event had not in fact occurred in November of 2015. In actuality, the Garissa University attacks had transpired seven months prior, in April. The attacks, orchestrated by the jihadist terrorist group Al-Shabaab, a branch of Al-Qaeda, commenced at 5:30 am on April 2nd. During their 15-hour siege, four militants armed with explosive vests and AK-47s held more than 700 students hostage. Those who identified as Muslims were freed, while Christians were persecuted and murdered for their faith. “They were Christian students having a fellowship,” explained Robert Muni ’16, a DA post graduate from Kenya. “So they shot and killed all of them. [They] had students jumping through the windows to the outside of the resident’s halls [in order to escape].” Approximately 500 students were able to escape, of which 79 were injured. By the time the Kenyan Defense Forces had successfully repelled the militants, 147 people lay dead in the halls of Garissa University. The members of Al-Shabaab, who are stationed in Somalia, have harbored ill feelings towards the Kenyan government since 2011, when Kenyan troops entered Somalia in an attempt to undermine Al-Shabaab power and influence. The intrusions have been largely disastrous, catalyzing more attacks and kidnappings by the jihadistMterrorist group. “They threatened to attack more schools,” recounted Muni. “They said they were going to attack a national secondary high school. And my [former] school, the Starehe Boys’ School, is a national secondary high school. I was terrified, so terrified. I had very scary thoughts that something could happen to our school because it’s very open [to the public].” When asked about the lack of comprehensive coverage and knowledge in the western world about the Garissa University attacks, Muni maintained that “it’s about which country has more to lose. That’s the sense. Kenya is just an African country — so just put it on the news for one day, and that’s it.” “It makes me upset,” expressed Muni, “Because, you know, every life matters, regardless of whatever economic background someone is from, or what country he or she is from. Countering globalism is a global mandate. Currently we have attacks in West Africa; I haven’t seen much coverage about that. It’s the same problem. It’s still terrorism. There’s no different definition of terrorism across continents.” Jessica Contrera of conjectured that “people are more likely to care about the tragedies they feel close to, and more likely to show their concern if everyone else is doing the same. Comparing levels of outrage in response to tragic news is nothing new.” Therein lies the problem of social media and its power over traditional media, Contrera asserts. Stories about tragedies will only circulate if they hit close to home, whether that’s geographic, socioeconomic, political, or religious. The Garissa University attacks only earned the empathy of readers as an offshoot of the Paris attacks. “We need to take time before [personally] redefining the events that have taken place through some distorted [lens] like politics or business,” Muni said. “We need to really take time to consider what has happened to the families and friends of these people.”

Over the past decade, prep schools have noticed a shift from athletes playing two or three sports a year to highly competitive athletes honing their skills in one sport. Sports exemptions are becoming increasingly popular every year, because specialization is on the rise. In order to be the best at a sport, athletes are beginning to focus on solely improving in their “main sport.” Many schools are conflicted about whether sports exemptions should be permitted on campus or if a subsequent decrease in athletics participation as a whole is damaging to the school. Deerfield is at a point where it permits students to take exemptions to improve their skills in a particular sport if these athletes compete in two terms of a team sport. However, ten years ago exemptions were far more uncommon than they are today. As Assistant Athletic Director and Assistant Admissions Officer Drew Philie ’09 said, “Exemptions are a product of how things are with athletes at this point. Kids are starting to do them at younger and younger ages.” Playing multiple sports as a competitive athlete can have advantages and disadvantages, and exemptions also come with their own set of pros and cons on a high school campus. This fall, Kathryn Grennon ’17 took an exemption for lacrosse. She described her daily routine as going to the gym most days to work on cardio and weight training, then joining other lacrosse exemption players on the turf to work on shooting. This opportunity allowed players to get in shape and set goals to improve before the spring season. Grennon said, “Shooting with other dedicated and talented lacrosse players this fall has helped me improve my own skills by learning from them.” However, Grennon also noted, “I missed competing on a team and meeting new people the way I usually would during a fall sport.” Nate Chong ’17, one of several varsity rowers who will take an exemption this winter, said, “We’ve already started practicing Monday through Friday by working out, running stairs, and erging.” He and five other crew exemption athletes are looking forward to improving their skills this winter. Specifically, Chong said, “We plan to improve our times on the erg throughout this winter.” This is especially important to them, because they will be able to track exactly how many seconds they’ve improved from the beginning of the winter term to the end. Although he looks forward to focusing on improving his times and getting in shape for the spring, he added “I, unfortunately, will be sacrificing the exhilaration of playing a sport competitively this winter.” A few common exemptions at Deerfield this year are crew, track, ice hockey, and lacrosse, as athletes seek to thoroughly prepare for their seasons. With that in mind, there are also other ways to improve in a particular sport while not officially receiving an exemption, such as managing a team or Special Exercise. When Mr. Philie attended Deerfield from 2006-2009, students rarely sought exemptions. He noted, “More often than not, kids played two or three sports every year.” Since exemptions can have both positive and negative impacts on an athletic program, they have only become popular in recent years, perhaps due to the stress of starting specialization much earlier on in life. Philie stated that he does not think exemptions should be encouraged on campus. “I think as an athlete you learn something from being on a team, by meeting different kids, and playing for different coaches. In exemptions, an athlete isn’t actually competing. Yes, you lift and run, but you don’t actually get that competitive aspect in sports.”

Meet the athlete of the issue – Winslow Robinson ’16, a post-graduate from Tallahassee, Florida, who identifies himself as a high-level football player but is also a very skilled wrestler. Robinson is already an AAU All American wrestler, a two time state qualifier, and among the top eight wrestlers in Florida. Varsity Wrestling Coach Mr. Mark Scandling commented, “Winslow will add physical and mental toughness to our young squad. He understands the demands of competing at a high level in dual meets and tournaments.” Robinson was an All-Area Champion each year during his high school wrestling career and was the first person to achieve this accomplishment. However, wrestling was not his first sport. Robinson has been playing football since he was six years old. “It was my first love,” he said. He began wrestling as a freshman when his football coaches recommended the sport to him because of his strength and athleticism. In past wrestling seasons, Robinson has dieted to drop his weight and become stronger in comparison to other members of his weight class. By maintaining a strict diet of egg whites for breakfast, yogurt for lunch, and fish (with no salt) for dinner, he lost 30 pounds during last year’s season. He remembers feeling “really irritable and more tired throughout the day” but he was still successful on the mat. After his season concluded, Robinson quickly gained back the lost weight. However, he does not plan to do this again this year. Coach Scandling agreed, commenting, “As much as possible, we try to ask the wrestlers to compete at weight classes near their natural weights. The days of serious weight loss are behind us.” Robinson’s goals for the season are to place in the New England tournament and even make it to Nationals. He is most excited to “get a chance to wrestle in other states and against other kids.” The biggest challenge Robinson faces during wrestling season is “making sure he is in good enough shape to last as long as he has to on the mat.” Coach Scandling confirmed that Robinson “will likely be able compete for a title in the Class A and New England Tournaments.” He explained, “The National Preps will offer an opportunity to test himself against some highly regarded wrestlers from around the country.” Wrestling has one home match this year, on January 9th, and Robinson believes that he “wrestles his best when he has fans watching.”

This fall, the Co-curricular Committee granted 32 students exemptions from participating in sports, dance, theater, community service, or yearbook. Twenty-one of those students had art exemptions, while 11 pursued other passions. After completing his own film during the exemption, Dane Scott ’16 stated, “There’s no disadvantage to pursuing what you love and are passionate about.” He added, “Getting exemptions allows you to do something that’s completely ‘you.’…I’ve grown so much as an artist because I use my time in the same way I’d use it outside of school, or in life.” Coco Spagna ’16 and Derek Alvarez ’17 completed photography exemptions. Spagna compiled photos of athletic leaders in the Deerfield community, while Alvarez created analog prints of summer expeditions around America. Spagna explained, “Having a photography exemption was a great way to de-stress my senior fall.” However, she also noted that she found herself increasingly lonely on afternoons. “On Wednesdays and Saturdays, if I didn’t go [to games], I would hardly see anyone in the dorm,” she said. Alvarez’s exemption allowed him to take on a time-consuming project, since it takes about eight hours to make a single quality print. He said, “For me, the hardest part was not having the collaboration of a team sport. At first, I thought working alone would allow me to focus, but I got really bored some days.” Lucy Beimfohr ’17, who worked on a watercolor landscape, nude sketches, a photography collage, and a self-portrait, explained, “You aren’t getting assigned projects, and you aren’t being graded, which is really liberating.” However, she acknowledged, “At times, I found it difficult to motivate myself without deadlines,” because “It’s really tempting to just procrastinate without a lot of direction.” Several other students worked outside of the arts. Alex Kaminsky ’17 and Kent Yamamoto ’16 had robotics exemptions. Kaminsky, with the help of Markus Feng ’17, worked on programming a robot for a spring competition, because he “was more passionate about robotics than any fall sport the school offered.” Kaminsky does not see “any disadvantage to having an exemption… other than that it limits the number of interactions you might have with your peers.” Yamamoto used his time after school to further prepare for the robotics season and plan, with Mr. Bakker, the meetings for the night. “I told myself that because this is my last year participating in DA robotics – and since I created the original team four years ago – I wanted to put in 150% and win everything this year,” Yamamoto said. Lucas Tupinamba ’16 used his exemption to expand Deerfield Foods, a student-run hunger relief non-profit. Over the summer, he worked with students at Middlebury College and Deerfield alumni Conor Kennedy ’14 and Gordon Xiang ’15, and earned federal non-profit status for the organization in October. This fall, Tupinamba began to work on the state papers so that Deerfield Foods can become involved with SNAP, the government’s food stamp program. He also invested time in social media platforms, accounting, and the introduction of new marketing strategies. Tupinamba was drawn to this exemption by its positive impact: “We help real families with a serious issue that afflicts millions of Americans,” Tupinamba said. “When 14% of Americans are food insecure, and I can do something to help change that, I’d personally take that over sports any day.” Tupinamba added, “I believe that there are many ways to make a positive impact in any community. Perhaps by playing sports and hosting sporting events student-athletes’ performances binds the student body together and harnesses our Deerfield school spirit. Others focus on the arts, broadening our creative horizons and stimulate thought. Personally, out of all the possible opportunities for positive impact here at Deerfield, Deerfield Foods has been the most rewarding.”

At Deerfield, community service has become something of a “must have” for college applications. However, after thinking about community service projects undertaken by Deerfield students, I have come to wonder whether the Common App has affected students’ intentions, essentially defeating the purpose of community service. I worry that we are blinding ourselves to the point where we are less concerned about making a lasting impact and more concerned about finding inspiration for a college essay. In our pursuit of obtaining “impressive” community service, perhaps we fail to tend to the specific needs of the people with whom we work, essentially doing the community a “disservice.” The ultimate myth regarding community service is that in order to make a lasting impact, one must develop a project that includes a thousand dollar airfare and manual labor. Although traveling to Ghana with a group of prep school students to build a water pump sounds awfully impressive, it isn’t actually the most pragmatic way to help the community. In fact, it is an extremely unconventional use of time and money. By allowing the local citizens in Ghana to build the water pump themselves, that same group of students could have omitted airfare costs, donated the money saved to a community in need, and provided job opportunities for the Ghanaian locals, who often suffer from unemployment. As students, many of us have come to believe that our greatest contributions to a community in need will stem from our hammer skills or our ability to withstand the hot sun, when, rather, they will stem from our most valuable attribute: our education. At Deerfield we are taught language, economics, business, math, and science — subjects to which a large percentage of the world, especially the Third World, has little or no access. We have to recognize that in many cases we can make a greater and more effective impact from our dorm room. Why are we spending $890 on a round-trip ticket to Guatemala to teach children English for a week, when we could use the money to provide them with computers that would allow us to virtually teach them English for six months? Some argue that traveling in person to the communities we are helping is crucial, because it enables students to witness the product of their work, therefore heightening their sense of gratification that one “must receive” in turn for community service. They also argue that witnessing community service inspires students to further help the community in question, even after the project has been finalized.  I would argue that the purpose of community service is not to give you a sense of fulfillment or satisfaction. Also, if community service is done successfully, you should get that sense of reward regardless of where you are when you’re helping. Ultimately, I’ve come to realize that a lot of community service today caters more to the needs of and is more beneficial to the volunteer than the target. Although certain trips and endeavors may be humbling and instill a great change in Deerfield students, they may not be the most effective way to instill change in the lives of those who need it most. I think it is crucial and healthy that everyone, especially coming from a community like Deerfield, feels the humbling experience of witnessing poverty firsthand. Nonetheless, witnessing poverty doesn’t have to include an expensive airfare, and I believe that the Common App’s implied service requirement has skewed the intentions and impact of community service. To conclude, I would like readers to understand that, in writing this article, I by no means wanted to bash against past community service projects, because I believe that they have made an impact. I also think it is commendable that we take time to help, regardless of our intentions. My objective in writing this article is solely to shed further light on the prospect of modifying future projects, so that they can benefit communities in need more fully, and for us as students to come to terms — honestly — with why we are doing service. Maybe if we do, we will make even greater contributions to the world in which we live.

On November 13th, Paris, France was made victim to a devastating number of attacks that left more than 120 innocent civilians dead and a nation stricken with grief. The Islamic state, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has publicly claimed responsibility for the deadly acts of terrorism. The worst European terrorist attack in over eleven years, three ISIS units launched catastrophic attacks on six separate locations in Paris. The ambush shooting at the Bataclan Concert Hall, when three terrorists arrived with assault rifles and opened fire, resulted in close to 90 fatalities. In the Stade de France, at least three people were killed as a result of the explosions caused by suicide bombers. In addition, there were several fatal shootings around a variety of restaurants, bars, and cafes in the tenth and eleventh districts of Paris. Within minutes of one another, 15 victims were left dead as gunmen attacked an area outside of Paris restaurant Le Petit Cambodge, and other attackers killed up to five people outside of Cafe Bonne Piere. Shortly after, attackers launched a final mass shooting on a restaurant called La Bella Equipe — the cause of 19 more deaths. “It was very surreal to be in Paris at that time,” said alum Michael Beit ’15, who has been in the city on a gap year. On the 13th, he and another Deerfield graduate, Binger Shanguan ’15, had been having dinner at a tiny Italian restaurant. It was late, and they were the last ones there. The chef came out and asked where they lived, warning them that they might have a hard time getting home that night. After checking the news on their phones, the two soon found out why. Beit noted that “the news reported a lot of things incorrectly” during the mounting hysteria and confusion of that night. Subways were closed, there were no taxis—everyone walked home through the darkness in the City of Light. “Everything happened in a very French part of the city, while the Parisians were doing exactly what regular Parisians do on a weekend: drinking, socializing. That definitely scared a lot of people. It was quite literally an attack on their regular way of life,” Beit said. “It’s scary, because I could have very easily made an earlier dinner reservation, finished early, and gone to one of the local brasseries.” Following November 13th, the world has reacted with support. International tributes and respects have been paid to those affected by the attacks. Tendayi Peyton ’17, a student on SYA France, described the candles, flowers, and drawings arrayed around the French Parliament as “both devastating and beautiful.” Further evidence of strength throughout France is apparent in less tangible ways. Despite the presence of grief and shock, Peyton noted the remarkable normality with which the French have carried on: “They live their lives as they were. They are not afraid.” Yet effects of the tragedy exist in other forms. Francoise Ellis, a Deerfield French teacher on sabbatical in France, commented on the decrease in tourism: “Hotels, restaurants, stores, and other sectors of the economic life of the country have really been touched.” There are questions among the citizens of France that Ellis predicts “will come out to play in the important regional elections in the coming weeks.” As it has done for many global issues, social media has played a role in bringing attention and awareness to the attacks on Paris. In this day and age, the Internet and popular websites such as Facebook and Twitter can be powerful vehicles for showing support, sharing news, and provoking discussion. A French citizen named Antoine Leiris, who lost his wife in the shooting of Bataclan, posted a video directed at the terrorists who took her life. Staring at the camera, he defiantly said, “You want me to be afraid, to cast a mistrustful eye on my fellow citizens, to sacrifice my freedom for security. You have lost.” Sevrin Sarachek ’17, who has family ties to France, discussed the importance of how we use our words during times like these, insisting how “you have to mention specifically ISIS [as the perpetrators], instead of blaming one religion for these tragedies—because than you’re just creating destructive islamophobia.” The Deerfield community promotes ongoing discussion and students are encouraged to approach the challenging questions that present themselves each day, from smaller scale issues on campus to significant events in the world. Sarachek added how crucial it is for us to be informed in order to “form knowledgeable opinions” about these situations, and Mr. Van Eps, a Deerfield music teacher who’d been performing in France this past month, additionally cited raising awareness in our community as absolutely critical. “To address issues without censorship is the first tool in helping students effectively understand and pursue major worldwide causes and concerns,” he said.

Petrus’s Letter To the Students of Choate, I apologize for the offensive comments made by members of our community. Choate/Deerfield Day is not supposed to be about insults and ignorance, but rather sportsmanship and spirit. I am personally embarrassed that our school was represented by behavior that is not indicative of our character. Although this letter will not solve the larger problem of people thinking it is acceptable to make such demeaning remarks, I hope that it will allow us to start working on this issue together. Once again, I apologize to anyone who was offended by what happened over the weekend, and if you would like to discuss this further, please email me at cpetrus@deerfield.edu. Best, Claire Petrus Chair of the Student Council at Deerfield Academy Every fall, Deerfield students dedicate a full week to showing their school pride in anticipation of Choate Day. Battle cries echo throughout the dining hall; banners are hung from dorms and buildings; and students dress in spirited clothing. This year, on Choate Day, some chants turned negative and extreme.  Choate students yelled “Daddy’s money,” while Deerfield fans said that Choate volleyball players were wearing “spanx” and told them to eat more salads. Students from both schools insulted the opposing side. The Monday after Choate Day, a sophomore girl from Choate posted a Facebook status about some of the offensive comments she had heard. She stated that Choate students value themselves based on virtues such as intelligence, integrity, kindness, athletic and artistic talent, while Deerfield students appraise their self-worth based on superficial things such as clothing, appearances, money, and their campus. Some members of the Deerfield community who read the post were frustrated by her apparent disregard for Choate’s rudeness on Choate Day and because she ignored Deerfield’s perspective while making claims about students she has never met. However, others took the comment into consideration and felt badly about Deerfield’s actions. Claire Petrus ’16 felt that Choate deserved an apology out of common courtesy. “I was personally upset, because our school didn’t look very good, and we weren’t at our best,” she said.  She felt a personal obligation to send an apology letter to the Choate community. “You just send an apology letter to be polite,” she explained. “I felt really passionately that something should be said. The other people who knew about [the status] didn’t really seem to have an opinion, or they didn’t really want to do anything productive with it.” After meeting with Ms. Creagh and Dr. Curtis to discuss the matter, Petrus sent the letter to Choate’s Dean of Students. In the letter, she expressed how embarrassed she was by the behavior of Deerfield students and alumni and apologized to anyone who had been offended on that Saturday. The Choate Dean of Students responded and said that he would read Petrus’s letter to the Choate community at their first winter school meeting and use it to “provide some context that acknowledges the real possibility/likelihood that there are Choate fans that should be better behaved, that the vast majority of the Deerfield community served as wonderful hosts.” Some students at Deerfield disagreed with Petrus’s decision to send an apology. Although she intended for the letter to represent only her own opinion, some peers pointed out that the way in which she wrote the letter, and that she signed it as “Chair of the Student Council at Deerfield Academy,” suggested that it represented the whole student body’s opinion. Saorise Kennedy Hill ’16 stated, “I think Claire’s use of the word ‘our’ in her letter was used inappropriately, because it’s speaking about the Deerfield student body’s opinion, as opposed to her personal opinion. Also, I think it would have been best if she had checked with more students at Deerfield, because this letter is not representative of what the majority of us think.” Alex Platt ’17 disagreed. “I can understand that some students were angry because they thought she was speaking on their behalf without their permission, but I also think that it shouldn’t matter, because we should all be mature enough to have wanted to send that letter.” Additionally, Platt added, “She signed it with her own name, and I think it was clear that it was on her own behalf.” Although Petrus knew she would get some pushback from students, she wanted to send the letter out of what she felt was a personal responsibility. “The point was not to justify what Choate did, but just to say that we weren’t at our best on Saturday. Some people were being really rude, and we apologize for that.”

Recent events on college campuses and around the country have sparked many conversations about the state of race relations in America. While I’m happy those conversations are taking place, it’s unfortunate that the people who would benefit the most from these conversations—those who are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with the subject of racial tension—often choose not to participate. When I ask them why, I get the same answer time and time again, either explicitly or implicitly: “It doesn’t matter to me.” The truth is that the events at the University of Missouri, Yale, and other academic institutions are very relevant to Deerfield’s status as a predominantly white school. To dismiss the issues those schools face as something that can only happen there and not here is irresponsible and keeps Deerfield from growing and improving. This isn’t to say that Deerfield hasn’t come a long way in addressing issues of diversity and race on campus, especially in the last few years. The number of faculty of color has expanded greatly, and Greer Chats (started last year by alumni Tarek Deida ’15 and Matt Morrow ’15) and the Deerfield Student Forum (a Facebook group started last year by Nicky Conzelman ’16) have given students strong platforms to share their ideas. As successful as these platforms are, however, the notion that their simple existence eliminates the campus’ struggle with issues of race bothers me a lot. Too often we have incidents where students dress in bandanas and sweatpants as “gangsters,” posing with captions like “The Real Housewives of Detroit,” and failing to see the problem this creates. Too often I’ve overheard white students saying “nigga,” when they think I’m not around, or telling me it’s racist that they can’t say it in the first place. Too often I’ve heard “you should come to my dance piece. It’s so ghetto.” And while I’ve made an effort to have conversations about these things, the sad truth is that most students at Deerfield don’t seem to care. They’re not offended, so what’s the problem? Do I think that these students are bad people? Absolutely not. I believe that, like all Deerfield students, they have the best intentions in mind. But that’s the thing about discrimination: these days, it comes less from an ideological perspective like the KKK or the Nazis, but more from ignorance. At Deerfield, the idea that everyone is the same, that we’re all uniform and equal, is a comforting thought, but it also acts as a barrier to truly understanding one another. A senior at Yale put it very well when talking about the recent protests on the campus: “[The protests are] about a mismatch between the Yale we find in admissions brochures and the Yale we experience every day.”  The Deerfield I saw in the brochures and fell in love with was a school that gave people the opportunity to be the best version of themselves. Deerfield is supposed to challenge our preconceived notions and change us for the better. Frankly, I haven’t seen people embrace the challenge that comes with understanding those who are different from them, but instead have seen them choosing to assimilate into Deerfield’s homogenized culture. This inability to face difference can build up and quickly lead to issues like those seen at Yale and Mizzou, where tensions have peaked, because people didn’t listen to others before it was too late. So this is an open invitation to all — go to  l the meeting of a group you wouldn’t normally go to, even if you disagree with the group’s purpose or mission. See what kind of things they talk about at the JSA or in the Indian Student Alliance, or stop by the Feminism Club. Or, if you can’t make it to a meeting, go sit next to someone you’d otherwise never talk to. Face the unknown, the unexpected, the uncomfortable, and reap the benefits of that challenge. Listen to your peers, and choose to learn about things you may not know. Give back to Deerfield by making the most of what it has to offer, because making Deerfield a better place matters to everyone.

Having played field hockey for four years in Kenya, post graduate Robert Muni ’16 decided to keep pursuing his love for the sport by playing on the girls varsity field hockey team this past fall. Although Muni originally signed up to play soccer, he felt an increasing yearning to play field hockey, especially after seeing Deerfield’s turf. Muni recounted a conversation with defender Emily Yue ’16, who “jokingly asked [him] to come down to practice,” so he “decided to go check it out.” After talking to coaches McVaugh and McDonald, Muni joined daily practices. Even though Kenya placed a great emphasis on sports such as track & field and cross country, Muni’s previous school had a strong field hockey program with a boys team that played in national championships. Upon joining the Deerfield team, Muni changed position. Back in Kenya, he solely played forward, but at DA, he mostly played defense. “My former coach believed in specializing in your area. I had played forward for all of my four years of experience, so when I was positioned to be in defense, I had to learn to adjust and be better in things such as communicating with the goalkeeper,” Muni said. Another difference was the change in the level of aggressiveness while playing at DA. Muni explained that field hockey at home was “pretty rough and very dangerous.” In his league in Kenya, the rules focused more on the safety of the players. “I like it much better here, because back at home, I would have to keep looking out for myself, instead of focusing on playing well,” Muni said. Despite all the differences, Muni thoroughly enjoyed his time on the team. He was shocked that it did not feel strange for him to play as a male on a girls team and was especially happy about the tight-knit relationships everyone had with each other. “I love the closeness of the team. Everyone has each other’s backs, and I can’t say the same about my team back home. It actually felt fun to play field hockey; it wasn’t only about the competition,” Robert said. Maia Taylor ’16 added that Muni “brought a new spark to the field. He is so goal hungry that it made us want to defend harder and run faster.” After being used to having boys and girls field hockey teams back home, Muni reflected that there should be both teams here at Deerfield as well. “I was shocked when I was looking at the website over the summer to see that there is only a girls team here at DA. They should create a boys field hockey team in the future.”

Last spring, the Deerfield Academy Board of Trustees elected two new members: Diana Newton and Mark McInerney ’81. Mrs. Newton and Mr. McInerney arrived on campus in October for their first meeting but are by no means strangers to Deerfield community. Mrs. Newton’s father ’48, brother ’87, husband ’80, and daughter Hadley ’12, are all graduates of Deerfield. An alumni himself, Mr. McInerney sent his three children to Deerfield for ten consecutive years. His youngest son, Finlay, is a member of the class of 2016. Since the Board only meets on-campus every October and April, few students know about its members and initiatives. In the same way that Deerfield students follow the handbook, the Board of Trustees obeys its Bylaws & Charter. For example, section 9A of the Bylaws states, “The Board shall consist of no more than thirty Trustees, a majority of whom shall be alumni/ae.” Because many Trustees are either alumni or Deerfield parents, they know which school traditions they would like to preserve, such as sit-down meals, class dress, and school meetings, as well as how Deerfield can, according to Mrs. Newton, embrace “the technological innovation and changes that can transform the classroom in the 21 st century.” Looking forward, Mrs. Newton hopes that she can “be instrumental in helping Deerfield walk the fine line between maintaining DA’s special recipe of community and character, while keeping up with the dynamism of the 21 st century.” Over the years, especially since the return to coeducation 25 years ago, the Board of Trustees has transformed into a diverse group of individuals of different ages, races, and genders. Dr. Margarita Curtis, Deerfield’s Head of School, believes “the Board is able to engage in serious, generative discussions” because of the different perspectives each member brings to conversation. This year, Dr. Curtis pointed out, is a critical time of change for the Deerfield Board of Trustees. In a period of three years, the terms of six Trustee members will have ended. By next April, the final pair of new Trustees will be elected. The Trustees are the “cultural and financial stewards of the school,” Dr. Curtis explained. “They operate at the strategic level, rather than at the tactical level. For example, their job is to hire the Head of School, and then the Head of School is in charge of management.” In other words, the Board is responsible for governing the school and providing the guardrails for Dr. Curtis and her team. When members cannot resolve a specific issue, the Board allocates a special focus committee called an Ad-Hoc committee to propose a solution. Board Members are also divided into several other committees covering aspects of life at DA. When new Trustees are elected toithe Board, they usually join three to four committees. Mrs. Newton requested to be on the committee for Academic Affairs, the committee for Admission, Financial Aid and College Advising, the committee for Student Life, as well as an Ad-Hoc committee for Inclusion. Mr. McInerney requested to be on the committee for Admission, Financial Aid and College Advising, the committee for Buildings and Grounds, and the committee for Student Life. Mr. McInerney is aware of the challenges students face. He chose to be on the Student Life committee because he feels he can “give meaningful feedback to the community.” He explained that “the Board meets with all of Dr. Curtis’s senior staff during Trustee meetings to get a sense for all aspects of student life at Deerfield.” However, Mr. McInerney added, he “would like to see the Board have the opportunity to spend more time with students in the classroom, at sit-down meals, and elsewhere on campus so we can see and hear firsthand what students are thinking.” The Board will always be concerned with the future and how it can differentiate Deerfield from the other top secondary schools. Generally, the Board plans numerous projects at once, but some key current initiatives include the new Field House and Ice Rink and working on making Deerfield a more inclusive community. Students can contact Dr. Curtis and her administration if they would like to know more about the immediate steps that will be taken. Mrs. Newton and Mr. McInerney have led successful careers and are looking forward to drawing from their experiences when governing Deerfield. Mrs. Newton is a Senior Fellow at the John G. Tower Center for Political Studies at Southern Methodist University. She is also an adjunct professor who teaches National Security Policy in the Political Science Department. Mr. McInerney is a member of GCA Savvian’s Executive Committee and Co-Head of Investment Banking. As a member of the Board of Directors of GCA Savvian, he has over 29 years of experience in the investment banking industry. Before arriving to campus in October,  Mrs. Newton said, she reread

Freedom of speech at Deerfield has been a controversial topic since I arrived here in 2012. Stories of teachers and students criticizing my peers for speaking their minds have become commonplace. However, I didn’t realize the extent to which some members of the Deerfield community restrict speech until this fall. In the previous issue of , I shared some of my observations on the negative effects of the Freshmen Village with Ballard Brown, so that he could include them in his “anti-village” article. Considering that the paper also published a “pro-village” article, I thought it was important to point out that, while The Village has been successful in many ways, there are aspects of it that can be improved. After the article was published, all hell broke loose. Faculty members and students alike told me that I was close-minded and was not trying to see the positives of the Village. People told Ballard that he clearly didn’t understand Deerfield culture. No one asked to have a conversation with Ballard or me about why we feel the way we do. No one who spoke to us tried to understand our opinions. We wanted to shed light on areas of weakness with the hope of improving our school and home; in response, we found disrespect. My frustration with the response from the community did not come from people disagreeing with me. I would have been glad to elaborate on my experiences that led to my opinions about The Village or to hear about others’ experiences, both those similar to and different from mine. Unfortunately, my experience following the article’s appearance in led me to conclude that Deerfield can be a stifling place when it comes to freedom of expression. In my four years here, I’ve found that there are a few people who are very vocal about their opinions. I respect that. At the same time, I’ve found that many of these people are also so set in their ways that they aren’t willing to listen to opposing views. If they do, they condemn the other person for disagreeing and disregard his or her opinion. This attitude leads community members who aren’t as confident about their beliefs to fear expression, stripping them of opportunities to develop their opinions and practice thoughtful conversation and debate. I’ve personally experienced a peer attacking me when I tried to discuss the presidential candidates at a sit-down meal. A teacher with apparently liberal political views told a friend that she should stop watching a more conservative news source she referenced in a class discussion. My opinions about Deerfield life have been met with insolence from members of the administration. I am not upset that people disagree with my beliefs. I think we learn most from those whose beliefs are different from our own. I am troubled that our value statement calls for “respect, honesty, and concern for others,” yet often we do not respect each other’s beliefs. We owe it to each other to listen to others’ opinions, ask clarifying questions about why someone believes what he or she does, and then offer one’s own opinion without regarding the other as invalid. This kind of disagreement promotes open-mindedness. It allows us to see the other side of an argument and question our own beliefs without feeling disrespected. I am concerned about the effect Deerfield’s culture of silence will have on students once they graduate. Deerfield is home to some of the brightest young minds in the world. In the classroom, on the field, on the stage, and in the studio, we excel. Yet too many of us are either disrespectful or afraid and unprepared when it comes to discussing topics like the presidential elections, ISIS, and climate change. I have no doubt that we are intelligent young people who are capable of solving many of the issues gracing the headlines today. But in addition to equipping us with the academic tools we need to face these issues, Deerfield should teach us to stay well informed and develop and express opinions with confidence, respect, and open-mindedness. We owe it to each other to accept diversity of thought and to understand that people will still disagree with us, even when we share our side of an argument. We constantly contemplate how we can break the notorious “Deerfield bubble.” When we create an environment where people feel safe speaking freely about their opinions, the bubble will pop.

Countries all over the world are accepting Syrian refugees forced to flee from their war-torn homes. Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan have collectively taken more than 3.6 million displaced Syrians. As refugees seek homes and safety, even Western Massachusetts is seeing an influx of immigrants. The state of Massachusetts has already admitted 72 Syrians, and the number will most likely continue to grow as President Obama pledged to admit 10,000 Syrians into the country. However, after the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, the governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, opposes the idea of welcoming refugees into Mass achusetts. He stated, ‘‘The safety and security of the people of the commonwealth of Massachusetts is my highest priority. I’m always going to be willing to at least hear what the federal government has to say. As a public official, that’s my job. Hearing what they have to say does not mean saying yes.’’ However, for the Syrians who have already arrived, The Center for New Americans, a community-based education and resource service for immigrants and refugees in Western Massachusetts, could be instrumental. The Center helps refugees from all over the world find homes and jobs. There are locations in Greenfield, Turners Falls, Amherst, Northampton, and Springfield. According to the website, the mission of the Center for New Americans is to “provide under-served immigrant, refugee and migrant communities of Massachusetts Pioneer Valley with education and resources to learn English, become involved community members and obtain tools necessary to maintain economic independence and stability.” The Center is a community-based, non-profit organization for adult refugees and their families. Laurie Millman, Interim Director of The Center in Northampton explained, “We help immigrants to integrate into our community by teaching English, providing technology instruction, offering education and career advising, and citizenship and immigration assistance.” The Center helps about 450 people each year, although the number fluctuates. Refugees and immigrants come from over 50 countries and Laurie explained, “In any one class, we might have students from Cape Verde, Morocco, China, Thailand, Cambodia, Ghana, Ecuador…” Alhough The Center does work with some Syrians, Palestinians, and Iraqis, and has even helped some Iraqis obtain citizenships, Laurie noted that “The Center for New Americans is not a refugee resettlement agency.” She added, “We educate people once they are re-settled.” While The Center is not, according to Millman, a “first responder” for refugees when they first arrive, the Ascentria Care Alliance, based in Worcester, acts as a “first responder” to refugees arriving in the United States. Its mission, according to its website, is to “strengthen communities by empowering people to respond to life’s challenges.” The Syrian refugee crisis has also rippled into the Deerfield community. Ms. Moushabeck, who keeps in touch with her Middle Eastern family and friends through the internet, described seeing the updates in Syria as “very depressing, especially when you learn that most of them do not have adequate shelter,  blankets, or clothes, let alone medicine or food.” She explained that in our own community, “sometimes it is hard to see the abundance around me and not feel some guilt for not doing enough. But I have donated clothes and participated in fundraisers like the Soup For Syria cookbook, the proceeds of which go to the UNHCR that provides food relief for the Syrian refugees.” Deerfield students at can help The Center for New Americans by making financial donations. According to the Center’s website,  “$104 dollars buys books and materials for two students, $260 dollars provides citizenship assistance for two students, $780 supports six students through employment counseling and $1040 provides English classes with support for six months.” The Center is community-based, so any type of support is encouraged.