Search this site

COURTESY OF DEERFIELD COMMUNICATIONS Vocal ensemble members, chamber musicians and dancers performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on the evening of May 13, in an event kickstarting the Academy’s new “Be Worthy” fundraising campaign. The campaign—with a goal of 500 million dollars, which would set a fundraising record for the Academy—has raised 340 million so far, Head of School John Austin announced at the event. Interim Director of the Arts and Choral Director Mike Pfitzer first asked his Vocal Ensemble class about who was interested in attending the event a few months prior. According to Ella Waag ’26, a singer in Vocal Ensemble, the trip was in high demand, and all of the seniors in the class decided to attend. The group had started working on their piece, a traditional Zimbabwe miner’s song, Shosholoza, in the fall, coming back to it to practice with the Met-sized group. At first, the plan was to perform two pieces, starting with a softer song that “fit [their] skillset more” Waag said. But after Dr. Pfitzer and Director of Music Thomas Bergeron met with the planning and coordinating company, Empire Entertainment, the group decided to stick to one high-energy, upbeat number for the night. According to Mr. Bergeron, the purpose of the performances was not to provide a far-reaching overview of the arts departments—a model they’d followed at previous external showcases, such as the trip to Carnegie Hall last spring. More broadly, Dr. Pfitzer said that the event was extensively planned “to cater to the audience experience, at all levels,” not to demonstrate the Academy’s high-level mastery of a specific discipline. The group of eight string players who performed during the main-course had planned, at first, to perform front-and-center, rather than as background music. When Mr. Bergeron first told the musicians about the change before the event, they still wanted to play. A few musicians expressed reluctance about playing only in the background. “For some of us, the octet was the only thing we played, and it’s not the best feeling playing when the entire crowd’s milling around talking to each other,” said chamber musician and Associate Editor for the Deerfield Scroll Naomi Kim ’28, but she did add that the performance was more relaxing and low-stakes. For Mr. Bergeron and Dr. Pfitzer, they felt that the event was good practice for the students to have an experience as artists tailoring their art to an audience. The two of them, Mr. Bergeron said, spent their lives learning “not only how to do what [they] do well but to think about the audience experience.” Dr. Pfitzer described the event as a series of small and specific moments in the schedule. On Empire Entertainment’s website, the company, an event production agency based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Tokyo, states, “We produce moments that matter.” When the music department received instruction from Empire to find “upbeat, lively music for cocktail hour,” they thought that the Other Doors, the Academy’s all-school meeting band, would be the best fit. A few months before the event, the dance department also began planning their portion of the night. Costume Designer Karen St. Pierre found out in March that the dancers would need seven entirely handmade costumes, after Director of Dance Heather Holohan-Guarnieri shared a choreography video with her as inspiration for the dancers’ costumes. After spring break, the two gathered to plan the performance—everthing from costumes, makeup and choreography to transport and logistics. At first, the team had a material concern and worried about static during the bus ride. And, Ms. Karen said, she had to think about the flips and tricks, constructing costumes with the dancers’ individual movements in mind. Each handmade costume was also stylistically personalized, modeled after traditional Grecian styles. “Each kid was their own classic tableau state,” she said. The octet opened the dinner portion of the evening, and four of the eight chamber musicians accompanied the dancers during their piece—which they’d also performed together at the Spring Chamber Music Showcase the weekend before—later in the programming. The group of instrumentalists, singers and dancers returned just after two in the morning.

COURTESY OF LONG RIVER PRODUCE MARKET Long River Produce Market is a local farmstand in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, with a strong commitment to selling produce sourced from within a 200-mile radius, with much of their produce sourced from Atlas Farm. They also run a community fund program within the market, where all customers who need it have access to a set amount of money to buy from the store, all donated from customers and local organizations. They maintain relationships with several community organizations where they directly donate produce to local kitchens, and have been working on a farm-to-school program in Deerfield and surrounding towns. Emphasizing their commitment to access to food, Hickey noted, “We have a 50% off section of day-old things that are like getting a little ugly but are totally fine to eat, and we have bulk ordering prices where you can get deals for ordering a little bit more.” The South Deerfield farmstand formerly known as Atlas Farm Store changed its name to the Long River Produce Market, after Atlas Farm owner Gideon Porth opted out of signing the Apartheid-Free Communities Pledge, a nationwide coalition opposing “Israeli apartheid and occupation.” Current owner of Long River Produce Market, Kelly Hickey, bought the farmstand from Porth in 2021. Hickey called the sale “an attempt to get the farm focused only on growing,” and to allow the store to run as a wholesale venue and market. Before purchasing the farmstand, she worked as a manager under Porth. Last summer, Hickey and the farmstand signed the Apartheid-Free Communities Pledge, which, according to the Apartheid Free website, states that those who sign “join others in working to end all support to Israel’s Apartheid regime, settler colonialism, and military occupation.” The Pledge is convened by the American Friends Committee and several groups. The organization considers the war in Gaza to be “apartheid,” which is defined in international law as “inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons,” as deemed by the 1973 International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid. As of May 5, 2026, the pledge has 1187 signers, including businesses, artists and municipalities across the world. The pledge has caused controversy around activist groups against antisemitism, such as the Combat Antisemitism Movement, who sent a letter to the municipality of Brampton in Ontario, claiming that the pledge “will cause real harm to Jewish residents of Brampton” and that “the council has chosen symbolism over responsibility and division over leadership”. According to café manager Molly Merrett, Long River found out about the pledge “from some other organizations ... and through being an activist with this cause.” She noted that the pledge’s “anti-apartheid” statement felt “really very important to [her].” As a pledge organizer, Merrett also spoke about how she tried to get other businesses in Western Massachusetts to sign the pledge. “I thought it would make sense to ask my workplace to sign the pledge as well,” she said, adding, “We’re a values-driven business … and that drives a lot of the choices that we make as a store.” “It felt like something that was important for us to do to show solidarity with our Palestinian neighbors,” Hickey said. “We wouldn’t be dropping products from the shelf because everything we carry is local anyway.” Porth, in response to being approached with the pledge, noted that he wasn’t comfortable signing Atlas Farm’s name. “I’d be the first to criticize Israel and the Netanyahu government and the war in Gaza, but there’s fault on the other side as well, and I couldn’t get on board with it,” he said. When Hickey found out this fall that the farm wasn’t aligned with signing the agreement, she decided, after a series of conversations with Porth, to change their stand’s name. According to Porth, Hickey had made an agreement before the initial shift to working independently in 2021 to change the farmstand’s name to avoid customer confusion around the ownership. For Porth, he felt that since he and Hickey were operating separately, it made more sense for them to operate under different names. He said that, until recently, Hickey never followed through in renaming the stand. Since signing the Apartheid-Free agreement, Long River, according to Hickey, hasn’t experienced any staff changes, and the responses have been relatively mixed. A few customers, Hickey said, have chosen to shop elsewhere—but some, she said, felt they aligned with Long River’s decision and recently began shopping at the farmstand for the first time. She said she “can think of three people who said, ‘I don’t agree with this,’” but also that “there are many more people who had maybe never heard of us who were really appreciative of taking a stand.” On the other side, Jewish Rabbi Benjamin Weinar, in an opinion piece for the Greenfield Recorder, wrote, “It’s hurtful that this store, a place that meant so much to me and my family, and others in my community, is being turned into yet another polarizing and hyper-politicized arena.” Porth noted that “despite [their] difference of opinions about the topic, there wasn’t any real bad blood,” and their “working relationship hasn’t really changed.” Currently, Atlas Farm and Long River Produce Market maintain the same working relationship and contract, now under different names.

HEIDI LIANG/DEERFIELD SCROLL On any given fall Wednesday, Science Teacher and Varsity Football Coach Jeffrey Crosby will spend more time with his football team in one afternoon than he does with his Honors Chemistry 2: Research class in an entire academic week. Both Varsity Football and Chemistry Research are meant to be the highest level of a team or a class that a student can be a part of at Deerfield. Yet, because of Deerfield’s curriculum and schedule, the football team will receive significantly more time with Dr. Crosby, who holds a PhD in molecular biology, than his chemistry students ever will. This pattern reveals a fundamental problem with how Deerfield approaches science. Unlike an English or history essay, science cannot happen in an isolated dorm room late at night. It requires access to laboratories, equipment, and mentors—all resources that Deerfield has, but doesn’t use. Deerfield's graduation requirements offer a starting point. While 28 terms worth of humanities classes are necessary to graduate, only 15 terms of math and science classes are required. Even if students routinely exceed those minimum requirements, the contrast emphasizes Deerfield’s preference for the humanities. The electives that seniors can take tell a similar story. While seniors can choose from over 18 history electives and 22 different English classes, students only receive 13 different choices of science electives and essentially a set progression for math classes. The problem isn’t necessarily that Deerfield overemphasizes the humanities, but that Deerfield does not provide the resources necessary to its students to fully pursue STEM, despite having the resources to do so. Yet the numbers only tell one part of the story. A student interested in historical or literary research at Deerfield can do so at any time, even in the comfort of their own rooms. The only requirements are a computer with an email account and internet access to JSTOR. Student-run initiatives that are sponsored and funded by the school show similar patterns. Clubs like the Scroll, Speech and Debate, Model United Nations, and Albany Road receive thousands per club in separate funding, making publishing and sending competitive teams around the world possible. The debate team has been able to send a delegation to the World Championships each year on the school’s dime, and the school has allowed students to miss more than a week of classes for the opportunity. Meanwhile, the MUN team has attended Harvard MUN and Yale MUN—the two most prestigious tournaments in the entire country—for at least all four years I’ve attended Deerfield. At both an individual and institutional level, we are given the opportunity and resources to succeed in the humanities at Deerfield. There are no similar opportunities in STEM. Original science research, now important in an increasingly competitive college admission scene, requires a laboratory with adult supervision, equipment, and often a faculty mentor. At Deerfield, that currently looks like taking one of the four research classes offered to seniors and the occasional junior. Even then, these classes do not produce original research but function more as a supervised familiarization with lab protocol. Worse, these classes meet for at most four hours a week—significantly less time than any cocurricular team would spend playing an away game on Wednesday, and a pitiful amount compared to the time necessary to conduct proper scientific research. The research background of competitive STEM applicants that our similarly well-funded peer schools have simply cannot be attained within the Deerfield curriculum. There's a reason that Deerfield, despite being in Massachusetts, sends far more students to Yale than it does to MIT. The cocurricular schedule exacerbates this issue. Although it is possible to receive a cocurricular exemption to pursue science research, doing so requires finding a faculty mentor, who is usually coaching a sport during that time. As a result, the precious hours in which lab work could be happening overlap with the very hours that every qualified science teacher on campus would be on the athletic field. In order to find time, Science Teacher Dr. Jenn Pousont goes out of her way to open the lab for Honors Biology 2 Research students before 1st and 4th period, during the 15 minutes before lunch, flex time, and even during school meetings, so that her students can have time to work on their projects. Outside of the curriculum, opportunities are similarly sparse. Student-run STEM clubs only receive the standard $300 budget every other club receives, far from enough to pursue any serious research. Moreover, with the exception of the American Mathematics Competition (AMC) and the Physics Olympiad (F=MA), the Science Department has stopped sponsoring olympiad science, the other alternative to research, even when students offered to find proctors themselves. Compared to our peer schools, we are sorely lacking in these opportunities. In the past five years, Deerfield has had, to my knowledge, four students in total qualify to either the USA Math Olympiad (USAMO) and the semifinal rounds of the USA Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO), or the USA Biology Olympiad (USABO). In 2024 alone, Andover and Exeter had four and five medalists, respectively, in the USAMO. While this could be because Deerfield has fewer STEM-oriented students compared to the humanities, that in itself is a self-fulfilling prophecy: students with a stronger STEM skill set who are accepted to Deerfield have less of an incentive to come to a school with a comparatively weak science and math program. There is no way that a dedicated science student can pursue their ambitions at Deerfield the same way that a dedicated humanities student can, whether that be inside or outside the curriculum. The problem with Deerfield STEM isn’t that the school doesn’t have laboratories, equipment, or extremely overqualified faculty. Students just cannot utilize them. Deerfield’s academic administration is at the root of the problem. Educational institutions, especially their curricula, reflect the vision of the people who lead them. Deerfield’s current academic leadership has been shaped far more by the humanities than the natural or formal sciences. Head of School Dr. John Austin holds a PhD in English and comparative literature and previously taught English. Outgoing Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Anne Bruder holds a PhD in English Language and Literature. Dean of Studies Ms. Lydia Hemphill is a Latin teacher. Incoming Assistant Head of School for Academic Affairs, Mr. Brian Hamilton, chaired the history department. While the previous Dean of Academics, Dr. Ivory Hills, held a PhD in Organic Chemistry, Dr. Hills has since left Deerfield in 2024 to become the Head of School at St. Marks. This isn’t meant to criticize the capacity of any single individual or the Academic Affairs department. However, it is meant to demonstrate that when major decision-makers for the academic curriculum share the same humanities background, the curriculum they create may not capture the full needs of advanced science. The solution to Deerfield’s science deficit is straightforward. It looks like granting more science teachers exemptions from coaching duties to allow students easier access to the lab during cocurricular time. It looks like allowing students to pursue Olympiad science, just as Speech and Debate or MUN, is supported. It looks like implementing a program like Choate’s Science Research Program, where students are paired with university professors and can pursue serious science research projects for the entirety of their junior summer. A sanctioned summer program could allow students to continue participating in cocurricular activities while also being given access to the lab. As much as it pains me to admit, Choate’s current science curriculum and program give its students vastly more opportunities like the SRP than Deerfield’s. Deerfield describes in its mission statement that it aims to prepare students for a rapidly changing world. The administration recognizes the importance of science and technology in the future, enough to host the most recent Deerfield Forum on gene editing. Yet, despite that, it fails to grant the science students researching CRISPR gene editing technology in Honors Chemistry 2 more time with their mentor in a week than the football team does.

YONG DING/DEERFIELD SCROLL The Community Values Council (CVC) as described by the Student Handbook 2025-2026 is “responsible for upholding the Academy’s values, standards, and Major School Rules. Though it can occasionally serve a fact-finding function, it is not designed to be a court of law or a judicial mechanism. Rather, a meeting with the CVC is an educational process meant to help students understand the rules.” The council includes two sections–academic and student life–and is composed of seven members: a co-chair Dean of Studies Lydia Hemphill (for academic infractions) or Dean of Students Sam Bicknell (for student life infractions), three student members, and three adults (class dean and two faculty members). These seven members each have one vote. The CVC-ed student may choose to exclude one student member from the selection pool. For the meeting, the advisor and optional advocate (Deerfield student or adult) of the CVC-ed student will also be present. These two members will not vote. The CVC holds a strict, organized, and standard process for each case. If work comes into concern, the teacher is expected to bring the case to the department chair. If they believe there’s an issue, a meeting will be scheduled to first meet with the student who, then, with their advisor, meets with the CVC co-chair. According to the result of the meeting, the co-chair will decide if the case merits CVC action. Ms. Hemphill said, “Many students, it’s hard for them to come up with the whole truth right off the bat. But there's a window that is expected, within which a student should be willing to own up to what they've done.” Specifically, with the rise in AI-related breaches in recent years, the co-heads have more frequently exercised their authority to issue letters of reminder or warnings without a CVC meeting. Ms. Hemphill explained, “It was bringing together 10, 12 people in an afternoon or an evening, for sometimes what ended up being a 15 minute CVC. So we stepped a little bit back from that this year … it doesn’t change the outcome.” She continued to explain the trend in AI cases saying, “There tend to be more at the end of terms when there are projects due, and so, it’s been fairly steady. … it’s a tough environment for students to be making decisions about the integrity of their work given the technological temptations that now exist. And we totally get it.” When a meeting is needed, Executive Assistant to the Student Life Office Peg Scarborough or Administrative Assistant to the Academic Affairs Office Hannah White sends a BCC email calling for panel availability without naming the case or the CVC-ed student. The council then selects from the available pool. The CVC-ed student will first share a written reflection and then answer a series of questions from the council members. The advisors and the advocate will then speak on the CVC-ed student’s behalf on their character. Following, the CVC-ed student and the advocate will leave the room, while the advisor stays for a final discussion. “The council discusses whether or not they believe a Major School Rule was broken. Depending on that response, there’s a discussion and decision about what the appropriate response should be. Then, we sit down with the student afterwards to share the response and make plans for a Growth and Learning Plan or other next steps,” Mr. Bicknell said. Previously, the two council sections operated separately as the Academic Honor Council (AHC) for academic infractions and the Disciplinary Council (DC) for student life infractions. In the summer of 2023, the Student Life Office led the decision to merge the two councils. Mr. Bicknell explained that, “by having one Community Values Council, we could cover all the potential missteps that students make with one name.” Additionally, the council introduced the Growth and Learning Plan. When a Major School Rule is broken, Mr. Bicknell explained that the student "authors a Growth and Learning Plan which will have some goals, either specific to the infraction or just more generally, …with the support of their advisor and the grade Dean. They will meet periodically with the grade Dean, and at the end of that plan, it's kind of a celebration to appreciate all the growth that they’ve experienced.” The council has also modified how to balance open-communication and transparency with community confidentiality. Previously, cases that held CVC meetings and the result would be shared during All-School meetings without any naming. However, to support student reflection and in consideration of student comfortability, this practice is no longer in place. “I think there are two ways of thinking. I do think it is useful for students to understand what’s happening, because rumors start in the absence of concrete information. On the other hand, people felt like there was too much chatter and speculation around when there were announcements about CVCs,” Ms. Hemphill explained. The council emphasized the importance of confidentiality. “I lead with belief in the committee that they will honor confidentiality. I would be really upset if I felt that the committee members were not maintaining confidentiality. And I haven't heard anything about any transgressions from the committee,” Ms. Hemphill said, adding that she treated students on the committee as if they were peers. Student members support this. Two-year student member Sophie Simonds ’26 explained how “a lot of the meeting times are well hidden throughout the day in a classroom in the MSB. In the fall, in the spring, it’ll be after sit-down, or, in the winter, it would often be 3 p.m. and I think some students are very public about the fact that they’ve gotten a CVC.” Being on the council has provided opportunities for members to grow. English Teacher Andy Stallings reflected how his experience has helped him better evaluate rules. “It was surprising to me to be named because I was pretty new to the school when that happened. … And at first it was sort of a jarring thing. …What I did was pay close attention to how they [co-heads] thought about things, because they’d had a lot of experience,” he said. From the student perspective, being on the council gave an opportunity to interact more deeply with faculty members. Simonds noted, “that’s the moment where I feel most equal and on the same level as both my peers and the faculty. So having discussions with faculty that feel very open and where we have the same amount of power, same amount of vote is really helpful to my building relationships with those faculty.” Being on the CVC since 2012 and chairing since 2020, Ms. Hemphill reflected on her personal growth. “I mean, I'm not saying I love this part of my job, but you know, in my whole life, I’ve cared very much about, consistency, fairness, respecting the rules, but also knowing that there are moments to think ‘Are there mitigating circumstances that might make us make a different decision?’ I’ve gotten better at thinking about this in more complex ways as I’ve matured, so I feel proud of the process,” she said. Faculty and rising juniors and seniors apply to join the council during the spring term. Faculty belong to both sections while students belong to only one section, according to their preference on the application. Training sessions are then held for adequate preparation. “The most knowledge you can get is just from sitting in on a meeting. …you just kind of learn from your peers, and you learn from your peers’ behavior, and for the most part, the meetings are very respectful, and you’re asking a lot of insightful questions,” Simonds said. Simonds encouraged rising juniors and seniors to take the opportunity and apply. “There’s sometimes this idea or this reputation that, ‘Oh, you’re the [Non-Athletic Regular Person], you’re opting on these people or reporting on them,’” she said. But she rejects this, saying “I’ve been friends with people I’ve had meetings with, and that hasn’t really impacted our relationship at all.” The modifications to the CVC have improved the system to better benefit the Deerfield community. “In the last 10 to 15 years, we’ve gone from a system that I think was somewhat black and white…to a place where I think we really recognize the complexities of the adolescent experience and being at a high school and boarding school in this day and age,” Mr. Bicknell concluded.

Outgoing Editor-in-Chief Careless Whisper - George Michael (John Liu) Outgoing Managing Editor 12 to 12 - sombr (Joanna Chang) Outgoing Managing Editor Let Down - Radiohead (John Woo) Outgoing Digital Managing Editor The Thrill - Wiz Khalifa & Empire Of The Sun (Karen Park) Outgoing News Page Editor Dreams - Fleetwood Mac (Melody Zhao) Outgoing Buzz Page Editor Everlong - Foo Fighters (John Comite) Outgoing Arts Page Editor Georgia - Vance Joy (Josie Kalish) Outgoing Sports Page Editor River - Leon Bridges (Evelyn Kunde) Outgoing Photographer Editor Bazooka - Miami XO (Albert Yuk)

JONATHAN XU/DEERFIELD SCROLL Q: What’s something that not everyone may know about you? A: I was born in Carthage, Tunisia. Q: What’s your favorite book to teach–and why? A: I like to teach The Great Gatsby because I hope people find out that it's not what they think it is. But then, I also really love to teach this play that's called Disgraced because it's a lot of fun to read aloud. Q: Who is your favorite author–and why? A: I love Virginia Woolf. She writes the most amazing sentences. Q: How do you spend your free time? A: I hang out with my family, go on walks, take pictures, and like to garden. Q: What do you love most about coaching Girls’ JV Field Hockey? A: I love the energy of the team, and I love being outside in the fall. Q: What do you enjoy most about teaching? A: I love that our seminar table is a crossroads of the world, and I love that I'm learning every day. Q: If you weren’t an English teacher, what would you be doing? A: I would be a radio journalist. Q: What place have you always wanted to explore? A: I would love to go to India. I’ve never been. Q: What’s your favorite word in the English language? A: The word that popped into my mind is “serendipitous.”

NICANOR WILLIAMS/DEERFIELD SCROLL Spring has arrived at Deerfield, and so has the hacky sack trend, becoming a common sight across campus. Whether it is on the quad in the afternoon, during study hall in the dorms, or even during community time between classes, hacky sack is everywhere. Some fear that DA sports teams are becoming too obsessed with the art of “sacking”, speculating that some teams will transition into a group of full-time sackers and part-time athletes. Of course, only the greatest athletes can “sack” at a high level. Hacky sack is an activity where people gather in a circle and pass a small, filled bag of sand without letting it hit the ground. Despite seeming casual or easy, “sack does not have a fixed shape and absorbs impact instead of bouncing, valuing contact, rhythm, and skills over strength,” Arhan Baharani ’29 explained. “It is not a casual or arbitrary activity,” he continued. Etiquettes and rules are valued, and participants are expected to oblige. “First and foremost, no self-serve is the most important one, meaning you shouldn’t drop the bag for yourself to start the round,” said Baharani. In addition, like soccer, arms and hands are not allowed to be used throughout the game. “Hoarding” is, too, not preferable; instead, people are encouraged to pass along to keep the match flowing. Like any other sports teams at Deerfield, DA hacky sack, going by the alias Big Green Sacks, is also competitive and has gained significant recognition. In April, The Sack Network ranked Big Green Sacks No. 1 across all the schools in the nation based on factors such as popularity, comments, views on posts, reputation, and DMs to the account. Meanwhile, it is also important to note that its rival, Choate Rosemary Hall, came up short, ranking 10th. But why and how did it become so popular? Julius Rauhs ’28 explained, “I think what makes sack stand out from other popular summer games like spike ball or football is the fact that its culture is all about inclusion. In a sack circle, everyone is welcomed regardless of [their] skill level. The famous slogan: ‘spread sack not hate’ does a great job at representing this.” Indeed, students gather in groups and enjoy casual yet intense games where skill and fun are equally valued.

COURTESY TO DEERFIELD COMMUNICATIONS In the Brick, revolution stirs. Hordes of angry first and second waiters protest around the dining hall. Our insiders report that waiters have grown tired of exploitative working conditions in which they are constantly late for class, and no understanding is given. Many teachers and students are asking the same question: why now? The simmering dissent of the waiters has been unleashed thanks to the Liberal Arts education that Deerfield supplies. APUSH students have found themselves indoctrinated with dangerous and revolutionary tendencies. Perhaps they should focus more on the AP than their silly protest. Of course, there exists another group of revolutionaries: Euro students. Having recently studied Marx and Engels, they believe it is time for a change, demanding that the ruling class be overtaken by the students. On Tuesday night, the two revolutionary groups joined forces, drafting their list of demands: The Declaration of the Waiters When in the course of dining hall events, one group of students is forced to set tables, fetch food, refill water, and arrive late to class, it becomes necessary to declare rebellion. We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all waiters are created tired, that they are endowed by Deerfield with certain unalienable duties, and that among these are plates, pitchers, and the pursuit of missing forks. The history of the dining hall is a history of repeated injuries. It has made first waiters carry impossible trays. It has made second waiters scrape mystery food from abandoned plates. It has allowed seated students to ask, “Can you get one more thing?” after the waiter has finally sat down. We, therefore, declare that waiters are free and independent students. Waiters of the Brick, unite. You have nothing to lose but your lunch block. The revolution ended once a new rotation was announced.

The Deerfield Forum was created in 2021, and this year’s Munk Debates were hosted by the Academy for its fifth Deerfield Forum event on April 21, 2026. The Forum’s goal has always been launching annual events to promote scholarly and civic engagement on a school-wide scale, mirroring the 2016 Deerfield Vision of encouraging “diverse perspectives.” From discussing diversity to gene editing, the Forum continues to change, improve, and attempt new topics. The idea of creating the Forum was conceived by History and Social Science Teacher Joe Lyons, who proposed to the Head of School John Austin the idea of frequently featuring speakers and bringing discussions of urgent, contemporary issues to campus. History and Social Science Department Chair and Teacher Brian Hamilton said, “Dr. Austin was especially excited about the opportunity to present to and engage students on these questions. Also, to present them with varied opinions on matters to show a breadth of thinking, both from political and disciplinary professional perspectives.” Mr. Hamilton said, “Mr. Lyons's idea, I think, was lower profile and more frequent. And it quickly morphed into a high profile once a year event.” Mr. Lyon’s proposal was approved and put into action by senior leaders, Dr. Austin and former Dean of Faculty Ivory D. Hills. Together, the Head of School Office and Academic Affairs Office put every plan together into the accomplishment of five forums up until now. The annual preparation process for each event takes months of preplanning. Mr. Hamilton said, “In the past few years, because of the importance of a long planning horizon on an event like this at a school as busy as ours is to do a lot of the planning in the beginning of the summer.” Drafting begins from the end of a previous school year and lasts until the start of next year’s spring. Within almost a year, the team aimed to engage the student body effectively. They considered different ways to execute the event, bearing the same intention of bringing different voices of contemporary interest to campus. Dr. Austin said, “That was kind of the goal. Under that idea, we played with a lot of different formats.” In addition to time spent on shaping the forum’s format, care was devoted to choosing a topic that aligns with student interest and emphasizes an important public matter. Dr. Austin said, “One of the real challenges is getting the topic.” This year, the team explored 20 to 25 different debate propositions before making a final decision on the forum’s topic. “We were trying to choose something accessible to students, excite interest, and result in authentic reason debate and conversation.” The first forum examined the concept of “diversity” and reflected the 2016 Strategic Plan for Inclusion—stated in part: “Diverse perspectives fuel creative and innovative thinking and build empathy and consideration.” The second forum shifted its focus and presented the student body with the topic of Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Being Human, inviting professional speakers of the field. Stuart Russell and Melanie Mitchell came on campus to express their views on the budding technology of generative AI. While sparking meaningful discussion among the student body, the forum also inspired many students to delve even deeper into the topic itself. Marco Feng ’26 said, “I remember because of that forum, I did a two year long project on my own thinking and reading about the philosophical limits of AI.” Now, he’s working on a directed studies project on how AI affects society and its usage in humanities research. To further accomplish the goal of facilitating student engagement and stressing “diversity,” the Academy found a good match and partner for its fifth forum—The Munk Debates. “Dr. Austin has long been a fan of the program and really sees it working toward the same goals that he has for young people and building their skills at appreciating intellectual diversity and making discerning judgments based on reasoned argument,” Mr. Hamilton said. To boost similar conversations around campus, the Forum team devised ideas each year to involve student discussion about the topic for a longer time. For instance, this year, the Forum and Mr. Hamilton set up cards about the debate on sitdown tables, prompting students to naturally fall into relevant talks. As a student in a growing community, one is encouraged to convey curiosity about opposing views and present day matters like a good debate moderator does, according to Dr. Austin. Conversation is a huge part of this. To get these conversations started, Dr. Austin said, “Just don't be shy. Ask the questions that you have. Every good conversation has good questions.”

THIJS WITTINK/DEERFIELD SCROLL On April 24th, in the Elizabeth Wachsman Concert Hall, the Deerfield Music Program showcased its year-end performance: The Spring Concert - A Celestial Journey. From Gustav Holst’s The Planets, Op. 32, to excerpts from the Star Wars film scores, students delivered a wide range of celestial-themed music. The concert showcased a range of musical genres performed by the Deerfield Orchestra, Concert Band, and Jazz Band, spanning 13 pieces. Most notably, it featured both senior concerto winners, Lynn Sung '26 and Janis Zempare ’26, alongside Brandon Smith ’26 and Kwasi Oten Adu-Gyamfi ’26, in their student-coordinated piece entitled Sophisticated Lady. For Music Director Thomas Bergeron, the inspiration for this year's spring concert stems from his desire to explore the major works of Gustav Holst’s The Planets and John Williams’s Star Wars soundtrack. “They’re both, in my mind, two of the greatest works composed for an orchestra,” he explained. Crediting John Williams’s movie scores as a main inspiration as to why he decided to pursue music, Mr. Bergeron further said that, “initially there was no agenda, I just wanted the orchestra to have the experience of playing these amazing orchestral works that happen to be themed on the topic of space.” Naturally, once the orchestra programming was decided, other ensemble directors continued to embrace the celestial theme and selected complementary pieces inspired by “space, the planets, or the music of the spheres.” Coincidentally, the concert’s timing further enhanced its celestial theme amid heightened news coverage of space exploration. Occurring just one week after the completion of the Artemis II mission, the concert coincided with the renewed interest in human space travel. “In fact, the concert’s promotional poster image was a photo from Artemis of the Earth as viewed from the moon that one of the astronauts took on the spaceship,” commented Mr. Bergeron. At the same time, global conflicts and ongoing space exploration in the weeks leading up to the concert were unintentionally reflected in the music. “It was a very strange time to read the news because there’s this horrifying war going on on Earth, while, at the same time, humans are being launched into space to explore the outer reaches of the universe,” explained Mr. Bergeron. By playing music from Star Wars, a saga about war set in space, the music captured this juxtaposition of “the majesty of space travel and adventure, but also the strong theme of war and conflict.” When reflecting on his experience playing in the concert, music student Jason Ko ’27, who played in all three ensembles, noted that the celestial theme was ever prominent in the Deerfield Orchestra’s performance of Gustav Holst’s The Planets. Composed as a seven-movement orchestral suite, each movement draws inspiration from the planets’ astrological interpretation by associating each with its corresponding Roman deity. “For Mars, the God of War, there were a lot of 5/4 time signatures which had this powerful marching beat,” explained Ko when reflecting on the deific and “out of this world” quality of the pieces in The Planets. “However, for Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, there is this 'godlike' tone and feeling that the audiences are being lifted out of their seats with the fast-paced rhythm and use of wind instruments.” Among the variety of repertoire played, fellow music student, Iris Zhu ’28, stated that the piece she was most excited to play was Jupiter from Holst’s The Planets. “There were many sections that felt very grand because the orchestra was playing as one, and to me, that was very powerful to listen to,” stated Zhu. Adding to the performances from the Jazz Band and Orchestra, the Concert Band complemented the program with the pieces Shepherd’s Hey, Earth Song, and Saturn, which all centered around similar celestial aspects. Apart from Deerfield’s musical ensembles, the concert also featured student-led performances, giving them the opportunity to exercise their artistic freedom and experiment with a range of musical compositions. In their senior appearance, Smith and Adu-Gyamfi collaborated to arrange their senior piece, Sophisticated Lady. The original composition is a renowned 1932 jazz standard composed by Duke Ellington, who was inspired “by the school teachers who taught in the winter and traveled in the summer, crediting the melody to contributions from his orchestra members,” explained Ko. Despite the concert’s celestial theme, Sophisticated Lady is characterized as a romantic piece unrelated to the other celestial repertoire. “It is distinguished by its slow and lyrical melodies,” said Ko. “It represents a bittersweet and melancholic tone that is supposed to capture a feeling of nostalgia.” Behind the scenes, however, the production and preparation process required immense logistical coordination and dedication from everyone involved. From aligning schedules to sharing practice spaces, “most people don’t realize the amount of coordination happening behind the scenes,” noted Mr. Bergeron. “Designing a program that feels cohesive as a concert, even with many different ensembles performing, is always a challenge.” Yet, the result was a concert that stands as a testament to the music program’s growth over the year. “My freshman year, I did a lot of performances by myself because there weren’t a lot of musicians to play with me,” said Sung. “But now we perform in a lot of school events as a chamber group, or even with acapella groups.” Ko shares Sung’s sentiment, saying, “These opportunities showcase all that Deerfield provides for their musicians, which has strengthened my musical skills but also shows how the program grew over the year.” Reflecting on his final orchestra concert after his nine years at Deerfield, Mr. Bergeron notes the incredible growth of the music program from a relatively small one into one capable of playing professional-level repertoire. “When I got here, there was barely an orchestra,” he reflected. “At that time, the orchestra would never have been able to play the music of John Williams or Gustav Holst.” For both teachers and students involved, this concert showcases the result of what happens when you “really devote yourself to your craft,” noted Mr. Bergeron. “It’s been great to see student interest in the orchestra and student commitment to working on difficult music really grow here so that we can put on concerts like this one.”

THIJS WITTINK/DEERFIELD SCROLL Ella Waag ‘26 started dancing at a young age under the influence of her sister and the popularity of dancing back in her hometown, Hong Kong. “I started doing it, and I really loved it,” she said. “I loved performing, I loved being on stage, and that's kind of where my passion for dance grew.” In addition to the performing arts, Waag has an interest in singing, which dates back to her time in her kindergarten choir. At Deerfield, Waag pursued her artistic passions in greater depth and breadth. In addition to being part of the Deerfield Vocal Ensemble class and the DA chorus, she also formed her own band with her friends and joined acapella groups such as the Rhapso-D’s, Deerfield’s the all-female acapella group. “I found a lot more passion for singing at Deerfield,” Waag claimed. “In Rhapso-D’s, we do more pop, with my band I do folk music, and in choir we do choral music.” Exposure to multiple genres allowed her to explore her interests while receiving technical advice from the voice coaches at Deerfield. While Waag has danced and sung concurrently for most of her life, she noted that the two rarely overlap. “The only real overlap I’ve done with singing and dancing is the musical, which I did this winter,” she said. “That was really fun. It was cool to have both of those combined.” Outside the musical, Waag completely separates the two; she explains it is because “the styles I sing [are]very different than my dancing because I feel like I don't really sing much hip-hop.” Waag credits her former hip-hop teacher Stephine Shumway as a significant role model in Deerfield. “I had a lot of energy, but I didn’t know what to do with it,” she recalled. “She taught me how to really use that energy and control it.” Waag also recalled the challenges of adjusting to a new environment, describing it as being “a small fish in a big pond.” To her, Shumway’s encouragement made her someone she not only “looked up to…as a dancer, but as someone who believed in [her] throughout like the whole process.” The biggest challenge in Waag’s artistic career was Shumway’s departure. Without a hip-hop teacher, the program had to rely on student choreography and student-run pieces. Waag noted that “we don't have a hip-hop teacher, so I'm definitely [doing] less hip-hop than I have in the past, which has kind of been a challenge.” This pushed her to seek more opportunities independently and adapt her approach to the arts to maintain her involvement. Waag cited singing at a Celtics game as being among her most memorable artistic highlights. “[It’s] definitely going to be one of the biggest audiences I perform for,” she said. For dance, Waag noted that they have fewer opportunities to travel and perform, but her first Fall Family Weekend showcase at Deerfield was an especially memorable moment. “I remember coming back to the Crow and all my friends were congratulating me, and it's the first time they had ever seen me dance.” Now in her senior spring, Waag remains active on stage as she prepares to graduate. In the last three weeks of her time at Deerfield, Waag will perform her senior pieces in both the choir and dance showcases, as well as a final KFC performance with her band. Beyond Deerfield, Waag plans to continue pursuing her passions at Wake Forest University. “They have a good acappella group there, an all-girls one that I'm trying to join,” she said. “And I'm definitely going to find a way to do hip-hop…there's a bunch of different ways I can do it.” Reflecting on her experiences, Waag encourages authenticity and vulnerability. “Just be your authentic self in both areas. I think both are like very vulnerable moments,” she said. “If you just show your authentic self, then you're able to open yourself up to people.” In addition, she hopes that the Deerfield community can continue to be a “supportive system”, reminding Deerfield students to “always bring the energy, giving people support, because the love that you show to other people, you'll get in return.”

NICANOR WILLIAMS/DEERFIELD SCROLL Deerfield Academy’s spring play production, Dog Eat Dog, will premiere on Tuesday, May 19, in the Black Box Theater, with the closing show on Saturday, May 23. First performed in March of 1983, playwright Mary Gallagher’s dark comedy Dog Eat Dog is set in a future American depression in which wealthy suburbanites are forced to rapidly change their lifestyles and confront questions of morality, desperation, and change. Deerfield Theater began working on the play at the beginning of the spring term with director Vincent Rougeau, an English and Philosophy Teacher who also acts as an instructor for the Theater co-curricular. This production marks his first time directing a play, as well as his final one at the Academy before he begins law school in the upcoming school year. Dog Eat Dog doesn’t have a single recording on the internet, with little reference materials. Besides a short New York Times article reviewing the Hartford Stage Company’s premiere version in 1983, there is no evidence of other stage companies putting on the show, let alone mentions in catalogs or magazines. Mr. Rougeau described his approach to the production as “artistic liberty,” noting that “it’s both frightening and freeing” to direct. This play is not Mr. Rougeau’s first project at the helm, as he has previously assisted in directing The Play That Goes Wrong and Alice by Heart. Nevertheless, “[Directing Dog Eat Dog is] liberating because there is no reference point,” Rougeau explained. “What we’re kind of doing is the raw, textual work that an original Broadway cast might do, where they’re reading a text for the first time, interpreting it, and trying things for the first time and seeing how it works.” Given this lack of source material, Mr. Rougeau emphasized the numerous directorial possibilities he could take. He said that after a while, “we got to the freedom part, where I felt as if there was no one right way things could be done.” Describing specific scenes, he noted how “we’re going to try it another way, and because [the play’s] not set in stone, we get to make these choices and play with it in a cool and creative way.” When asked about the play’s most pivotal moments, Mr. Rougeau cited the end of Act One and the finale. He described Dog Eat Dog as a moral play, saying it “asked a lot of questions and held up a mirror.” In particular, Mr. Rougeau stated that these two instances are “really when those questions are asked and sometimes Gallagher provides an answer, sometimes a question.” He explained that these questions often concern moral ambiguity and the validity of others. To keep the storyline relevant, Mr. Rougeau attempted to “shape [the play] to reflect more current values and more current experiences.” The narrative of the play centers on 11 cast members, specifically the passions, events, and emotions of a couple, Al and Marina Foley, played by Tyler Long ’26 and E.C. Tate ’28. Meanwhile, the secondary characters, their neighbors in the play, Charlie and Colleen Flynn, are played by Jack Nielen ’28 and Julia Pantano ’29. The two sets of husbands and wives live in grand houses, now dilapidated, with some abandoned and empty. Mell Gussow, the writer of the New York Times article, observed that “in a once luxurious neighborhood, as one character observes, ‘abandoned houses are leaning into the wind.’” Alongside the newfound poorer conditions, the homeless rake the streets, and food is scarce to come by; adults eat cookies and drink milk while munching on canned beets, canned tuna, and excessive amounts of tofu. Despite its thought-provoking moments, Gallagher employs various details and running gags to heighten the play’s comedic elements. When asked about these easter eggs, Mr. Rougeau said that “if we do [them] correctly, a lot of the humor should feel close to home, as it’s following a family who's facing a financial crisis for the first time in their life, and a lot of the mannerisms also become the source of humor and intention.” One such joke is reflected in the production’s set design, which as Theatre Technical Director Rick Mauran stated, is the first all-cardboard and cheapest set in Deerfield Theater's history. The comedic aspect of the play is also emphasized in its costumes, with Costume Designer Karen St. Pierre creating outfits with accentuated features such as ruffles and sharp colors. For instance, the main couple of the play were forced to wear curtains out of destitution. Regarding the play’s technical aspects, the lighting for the Black Box Theater for this production is managed by Cam Bloch ’28. He will direct the lights eastward, with the set facing west. This leaves just under 120 eastward-facing seats for the audience, with more than enough room to sit on the floor, if needed. The backdrop has multiple levels and even has a working gas bulb hanging from the ceiling walkway. Mr. Mauran also mentioned that “[the gas bulb] was the most difficult part to create because it is generated with real electricity, and connecting it through wires from the above-walkway was quite challenging.” Though the cast and crew have spent hundreds of hours on the show, Mr. Rougeau commented how “it’s a little stressful, though I’ve sort of geared up to it. I had a vision to share with people, and [the play] felt like a natural extension of that. I’ve grown a lot, and with that, the kids too.”