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As the dining hall creates its menu on a three-week rotation with an occasional variation, the meals and beverages can start to seem repetitive after a while. For this reason, students have come up with special combinations of dining hall staples to create a more diverse dining experience. Here are a number of  recipes and tips to spice up your meals and beverages in the Dining Hall.  Drink Tips: Cranberry Soda: A staple and quite simple drink found in the Deerfield dining hall. All you have to do is mix sparkling water with cranberry juice for an acidic and bubbly beverage.  Thinner Chocolate Milk: a chocolate milk lover’s dream. Mix chocolate milk with normal milk in the dining hall to create a lighter chocolate milk that is easier to drink with heavy meals.  Apple Tea: Want a refreshing sweet tea with a hint of fruit? Try apple tea! Mix ¾ of a glass of apple juice with ¼ unsweetened tea for this refreshing beverage.  Citrus Soda: Mix ½ a glass of Citrus Peach Cocktail with ½ a glass of sparkling water for a refreshing, fruity drink that is sure to quench your thirst on a hot day.  Peanut Butter Banana Toast: Toast a piece of bread and spread a nice layer of peanut butter on top, then cover the bread with sliced banana for a filling breakfast treat. If you want a sweeter taste, consider drizzling honey on top! Avo Bagel: For a great breakfast or snack, mash avocados in a bowl with any other toppings of your choice to add to your toasted bagel.  Sandwich Tips:  1. Salt your tomatoes: Adding a pinch of salt to your tomatoes will highlight their sweetness, giving you a much more flavorful sandwich.  2. Sriracha Mayonnaise: mix sriracha and mayonnaise for a fantastic spicy sandwich sauce or fries dip.  3. Packing Sandwiches: If you want to pack a sandwich for a snack later in the day, fold two napkins around the sandwich of your making to store for a later time.  4. Tajin on Fruit: Next time you see mangoes or pineapple at the dining hall, adding a pinch of tajin seasoning to the fruit will amplify its sweetness.  Remember that all of these tips and tricks are tools that you can use to spice up your next trip to the dining hall. Feel free to experiment with new recipes and adjust any of the ones previously mentioned to your liking. Food is imperative to your success at Deerfield; remember to eat well to sustain your busy life at Deerfield Academy!

Deerfield can be a difficult place to navigate at times; from classes and homework to schemes and social life, here is some of my advice on questions that you  have submitted to our Instagram Q&A box!  Dear Annabelle, what should I do if I’m posted on DA schemes? This can go one of many ways. If you are posted with someone that you are not with, and do not want to be with, it’s typically best to DM the account and ask them to take the post or story down. If they do not respond within 24 hours, then it’s probably time to hire a lawyer and begin lawsuit procedures. If you are posted with someone whom you are scheming, this can work in your favor and be an opportunity to start talking. Maybe snap them and mention the feature, and begin a conversation from there. If you are posted with someone you are with, then congratulations on the soft launch! Now you are out in public as an item, and you can avoid any awkward whispering and conversations questioning your relationship. Dear Annabelle, I feel like I’m not buying in enough. How do I bleed green? Bleeding green and buying in are essential to being part of the DA community. First of all, wear more green. Green jeans and sweaters are simply not enough. I’m a big fan of green morph suits or green tuxedos, both of which are available on Amazon. Then you can wear your new green attire to games, pep rallies, and performances. Show up to support your friends and peers, shouting the Deerfield cheers even in the middle of the orchestra performances. Changing your diet can help as well. Try eating only green food, or eating all your meals from the Koch or the Greer. If you keep this up for long enough, your skin will develop a subtle green undertone that pairs well with all green attire.  Dear Annabelle, how do I avoid being featured on Bananacam? As a banana eater myself, I’m always on the lookout for phones and cameras pointed my way. To be cautious, I typically confiscate the phones of those around me so I can enjoy my fruit in peace. To be completely safe, I would avoid eating bananas all together, or quietly sneak into the dining hall in the early morning or late at night when few others are around to snap a photo. Maybe even bring them back to your room, whatever floats your boat. Dear Annabelle, how do I get Bubseymemes to approve my follow request? Only the chillest of the chill are accepted to view the godly memes created by Bubsey, whose identity is a safely guarded secret that will be taken to the grave. Try sending the request multiple times to try and catch the mysterious owner’s attention. This is a common practice of many freshmen trying to integrate themselves more into the community. Or befriend some upperclassmen and casually ask them about the account and how to get accepted. Word might just travel back to Bubsey if you’re lucky. Then you can happily scroll through videos of upperclassmen in context that no one really understands except for those featured. I would also recommend looking up Bubshememes, a female-run account on the up-and-up.

Kind, poised, driven, compassionate, and humble are some of the words many use to describe Varsity Field Hockey captain Sage Piekarski ’23. Hailing from Concord, Massachusetts, Piekarski’s athletic origins lie in ice hockey, a sport tantamount to a family tradition in her household. However, upon attending a field hockey clinic with a friend in the 7th grade, she “picked up a field hockey stick and never looked back.” She remarked, “It was all I was doing 24/7, and it’s become my passion over time.” This passion is emulated by Piekarski’s biggest field hockey role model, the University of North Carolina’s Erin Matson: “Every time she’s on the field, she’s all over the place. You know she’s giving 100% because she never stops working from the start of the game until the end.”  Despite only being a member of the Varsity Field Hockey team for two seasons after entering Deerfield as a new junior, Piekarski has quickly made a resounding impact on the team’s success and culture. As a new junior, Piekarski accounted for 21 goals and 13 assists, leading the team in points from her center forward position. Her remarkable play earned her a Top 100 spot in Max Field Hockey’s 2023 national player rankings. Teammate Caitlyn Lodge ’24 praised Piekarski’s technical abilities, such as her speed and her shot, but also the penchant Piekarski has “to lead by example.” Additionally, teammate Lilly Oliver ’26, regarded Piekarski as “inspiring” since “she leads the team through kindness” She added, “I’m grateful that I’ve gotten to play with her this year.”  Piekarski’s prioritization of kindness has been paramount in the way she’s tried to cultivate a collaborative and close-knit team culture: “One of the values for our team this year was to create a team culture where everyone felt they as though they were valued and knew how much they were being valued, no matter what their role was because each role is just as important as any other one.”  The seeds of such a team culture were planted last year during Deerfield’s game against. Taft, which Piekarski cited as her favorite memory with the team: “Taft last year was a super strong team, and we were definitely the underdog coming into that game, but we [were also so strong] and we had great captains that really led us through, and it was the first game that we really played as a team, and every person played their hardest, and we ended up winning [2-1].”  One of these captains was Maddy Zavalick ’22, who currently plays field hockey for Yale University. Piekarski regards Zavalick as one of her most inspiring teammates throughout her career, stating, “Maddy was a great captain, but more so than [that], she was a great person and she really embodied that in how she led.” The aspect of the game that Piekarski appreciates the most is that “there are no superstars in field hockey. I think in other sports it can be very individual, but in field hockey there’s no one person that’s doing it all.” Piekarski will continue her field hockey career at Harvard University (Division 1) next year, a fitting match seeing as she is able to solve a Rubix cube in under two minutes (a pastime she partakes in before games). Piekarski, who committed in June of 2021, has always wanted to attend Harvard. She said, “It’s just a place where I really felt at home when I visited; it’s a great coaching staff, it’s a great group of people, and I’m really honored that they saw something in me.” Piekarski’s ultimate goal at the collegiate level is to win a National Championship, but she also aims to leave a positive impact on her future teammates and community, similar to what she has done in the Valley over the last two years. Piekarski has been successful in imparting her passion for the sport and positive attitude onto others, but especially those junior to her. Head Field Hockey Coach, Kristen McVaugh, stated Piekarski is “one of the most skilled field hockey players that has ever come through [Deerfield’s] program,” as well as “a terrific role model and leader for our younger players.” Coach McVaugh believes that Piekarski’s success in the sport results from the time and effort she puts into practicing and playing. However, the anecdote that embodies Piekarski’s character, not only as a field hockey player, but also as a person, is one from a USA field hockey camp—Piekarski recalled, “I had this one coach, and at the end of the camp she wrote me a letter that said, ‘[Your] talent as a field hockey player will take [you] far, but [your] heart as a human will take [you] way farther,’ and that’s the most special thing that anyone has ever told me.”  Whether one knows Piekarski on the field, in the classroom, or her everyday involvement in the Deerfield community, the positive energy and kindness that emits from her is unmissable and inspiring. Her outstanding character, coupled with her remarkable talent as an athlete, merits her a much deserved recognition as the Athlete of the Issue.

The Deerfield Triathlon was an ongoing tradition run by Dean of Spiritual and Ethical Life Jan Flaska up until 2017. However, Ocean Feng ’24 and Theo Lewis ’24 sought out to revive this annual event as a means of creating a stronger school community through connecting the Doors with the outdoors. The community collectively engaged in this school event with over 120 students and faculty participating. From the Meat Club making bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches, to the many student photographers scattered around campus, Deerfield pulled off a ansuccessful triathlon despite the four year hiatus. The Deerfield Triathlon — “a race to celebrate nature” — is a multisport endurance race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running. Deerfield offered two course variations. The Green Course was the longer version with 800 yards of swimming, 9.6 miles of biking, and 3.2 miles of running. The White Course consisted of 200 yards of swimming, 3.2 miles of biking, and 1.9 miles of running. Both of these courses circled the Big Loop and cut through campus filled with many fans cheering on the participants. Athletes could compete in either the group category, where each group member would compete in one of swimming, cycling, and running, or the individual category.   Lewis’ goal for this event was to  “celebrate nature and bring people outside.” Elle Stearns ’23, winner of the group category in the White course, exemplified this mantra. Stearns said, “I love where I live, and the triathlon was a great opportunity for athletes and non-athletes to come together as one and show thanks to nature.”  Besides the celebration of nature in this event, the support from the community altogether was a big highlight. “Organizing this function was so easy and made me realize how much our faculty is willing to help out, even on a Sunday morning,” shared Feng.  Rachel Mark ’23, the winner of the individual category on the Green Course, remarked that her favorite part of the event was the volunteers because of their motivation and support for the participants and the community altogether: “So many people were involved, and everyone was cheering for each other. Everyone took a portion of their day to be outside, which was a big thing.” Stearns added, “It put a smile on everybody’s faces!”  The revival of Deerfield’s annual triathlon allowed students to appreciate a valley filled with determined peers who are driven to bring the community closer.

Stone Anderson ’23 exemplifies what an outstanding Deerfield student-athlete should be: he is hard-working, humble, and always puts his teammates before himself. As a three-year starter on the Varsity Football team and in his fourth year at Deerfield, Anderson has left his mark both on and off the football field. Anderson considers the football team to be like a “family” that is “set on one goal” and sees a bright future ahead: “The football team has a lot of great young guys…We’re gonna have a really great program in the coming years.” Both on and off the football field, he leads by example through his work ethic, contributions to the team, and interactions with others. His hard work, exemplary attitude, and dedication have not gone unnoticed, and he has recently committed to play Division 1 football as a kicker at the University of Michigan ­­— one of the best football programs in the country.  Anderson’s introduction to football came relatively late, as he started playing football his sophomore year. Before trying out the sport, Anderson specialized in lacrosse. He switched to football from water polo halfway through the fall because he “wanted to see what it was like.”  Anderson also credits Varsity Football Coach Brian Barbato as one of the most impactful mentors in his career who “just saw something [in him] that nobody else saw.” Anderson says Mr. Barbato was there “every step of the way.” For Anderson, the hardest part of starting football so late was having to “catch up to the point everyone else [was], where all the other kids were playing since middle school.” Anderson offered some advice to athletes who, much like him, are also starting their sport late: “Work as hard as you can, and if you like it, just keep going with it.” He said, “I did it because I enjoy it. So just have fun in the process.” Not only has Anderson had a significant impact on the Deerfield football team as a player, but he has also been an incredible teammate. One of Anderson’s teammates and a fellow kicker, Nick Gold ’25, says “he’s just more of a team player than anything.” Gold added, “he’s constantly looking out for the guys, even when there [are] low times on the field, but honestly, to me, he’s just my brother.” Gold also appreciates the mentor role that Anderson has played in helping him improve his kicking skills, emphasizing that “when I’m struggling on the field, he helps correct my every step, my footwork, and he’s always there when I need help.”  Regarding the current football season, Anderson said, “At some points in our season it hasn’t been going well, but overall, I think we just keep improving as a team every week.” In terms of teammates who have had a big impact on his growth as both a player and person, Anderson emphasized that he doesn’t “want to leave anyone out because everyone has had a big impact.” However, Anderson added, “kind of from a day one standpoint, Christian Reavis ’23.” Anderson explained, “He’s always been there. He’s always been motivating me about getting the work and just keeps working hard and he’s such a dedicated kid on the team and such a great leader, that he kind of just pushes everyone around him to be better.” Stone’s immense contribution, not only through his exceptional skill and dedication but also his comradery and positive impact on the team, will be greatly missed by everyone at Deerfield Football and beyond. As he gets ready to head off to Michigan next fall, Anderson currently plans to major in business at the Ross School of Business and shared he is “really excited to have the opportunity to keep playing at the next level on a bigger stage.”

Along with Violet the ghost’s corporeal appearances on Historic Deerfields’ Halloween tour, something spooky has been brewing in the Acting Lab…The true story of the Radium Girls! Based on real events, Kate Moores’ Radium Girls follows Grace Fryer and her friends as they fight their former employers in the U.S. Radium Corporation to acknowledge the detrimental effects working with radium had on their health.  What started as a few girls with bleeding jaws from Orange, New Jersey soon turned into a nationwide issue. Although it is never made explicitly clear in the abbreviated version Deerfield performed, the girls’ persistence led to several national reform bills, including the development of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This was largely due to the publicity they gained through working with their local chapter of the National Consumers league, an organization founded in 1899 dedicated to amplifying the voices of customers and employees, especially those with poor working conditions or few rights. This struggle is particularly personal to Lillian Regal  ’24, whose great-grandmother worked with radium dials in a similar plant in Ottawa, Illinois.  Regal believes one of the most powerful themes throughout Radium Girls is the arrogance of the scientific community. She points to when Harriet Roeder, played by Anneke Wittink ’25, justifies her fathers’ actions, saying, “Nobody knew about that stuff back then.  Science just wasn’t as advanced, the way it is now,” then proceeds to smoke a cigarette. Regal acknowledges the humor of the scene, but also addresses the hypocrisy of it, saying that, “as someone who wants to go into science, the play is reminding us to stay humble … some of the things we hold most true can be wrong.” While this play deals with heavy themes such as workers’ rights, arrogance, sexism, and death, not all is somber in the rehearsal room. Gavin Mariani ’23 plays the in-denial antagonist of the production, managing and eventually taking over the U.S. Radium Corporations’ branch in North Jersey.  Mariani’s character acts as the main opposition to Grace Fryer, played by Lily Pierce ’25, a conflict representing the battle between big businesses and small communities. However,  Mariani more enjoys developing the conflict between Roeder and his spouse as the company’s declining public image pulls their family apart. Put less delicately, his favorite part of rehearsal is “yelling at Ainslie,” who plays Roeder’s spouse.  Other cast members testify to the unique closeness of the ensemble.  Pierce adds that, “It’s truly an ensemble piece, we have a really large cast for this show, and getting to do ensemble work and character work is such a fun time.” Visual & Performing Arts Chair Catriona Hynds, the play’s director, concedes this was significant to her selection of Radium Girls for this terms’ production. According to Mrs. Hynds, the “Fall show traditionally is a show that [she is] looking to incorporate as many actors as possible…to include new students as well as as many students that are already in the program as possible.”   Other considerations included trying to find a show that “met casting needs, allowed for juicy roles for already pretty established actors,” as well as something “spooky because it’s around Halloween.” Mrs. Hynds “thinks the fall is always time for a drama.” One particularly exciting element for the costuming team was the time period of Radium Girls. Costume Designer Karen St. Pierre says this production was an undertaking that required “lot of research, whether through my fashion library or through the internet.” She added, “It was difficult because I wasn’t looking for what was in style but wanted to know: what did real people wear?”   Radium Girls uses between fifty and sixty costumes, not including wigs for several characters including Grace, Kathryn, Harriet, and several other characters.  Costuming for a show is an art within itself as St. Pierre reminds us, the clothes someone wears show their character arc and important plot points in itself. She elaborated, saying that “the story isn’t just Roader or any other individual character, the factory itself is a character.” Pierre exemplifies this by using green as a physical manifestation of Radium and the effects it had on the girls and the people in their lives. She states, “Irene is the first to die so she’s not dressed in green from head to toe, but the center brooch in her costume is a green butterfly.  The butterfly is symbolic of both change and radium. The women pioneered change; they helped create OSHA.”   The characters’ clothing and the background lighting incorporates more and more green over the course of the play to show how the issue becomes larger and larger with time. Mrs. Hynds concludes that it’s a “rich tradition of going to see shows here, it gets a whole new class of ninth graders exposed to theater. Half of the cast are new faces, including our own Captain Deerfield, Peter Shea ’23, who has taken a term away from football to fulfill one of his dreams, which was being in a theater production.” If the magical result of this term’s theater production enchanted you, consider giving acting or tech a try! Mrs. Hynds and the theater department’s staple participants are excited to welcome you to the community. Who knows? As Mrs. Hynds speculates, “Maybe you too could be in the next production.”

Art student Bob Zhang ’23 has been able to exhibit his passion for art and architecture through his current showcase in the Reed Art Gallery. The exhibition is on display until December 2 and is heavily based on the intersections of visual art and architecture. Zhang is passionate about architecture, especially within art, because “the architecture isn’t complete without people.” He explained, “You have to have people that interact with each piece of architecture to give it life, and it’s an art form that considers its client…And I think that part of it is really interesting because it can have a lasting impact on [the artists].”  In order to pursue and improve his skills as an artist, Zhang has been working in the Oogie Art Studio in New York City. Although he has been working there since winter of his freshman year, due to COVID, he has only started going back regularly since Thanksgiving of 2021. He has returned to the studio during most of his holiday breaks to work on his art portfolio, and most of the artwork that he has exhibited in the gallery was created in that studio.  Architecture Teacher David Payne has had Zhang as a student in his classes since his sophomore year and identified one of his strengths as an artist to be “his drive.” Mr. Payne said, “[Zhang] could take this model here and work on it for the rest of his life, you know, continuing to improve it. I think that’s what really separates him: the desire to keep working and keep making things better, rather than just settling and saying, ‘okay, I’m done.’” However, Zhang’s journey with architecture has not always been a smooth one. One of his pieces, Correspondence, is a collection of letters and exchanges Zhang had with his father and his initial reluctance to support his passion for architecture. In recent times he has become more accepting and is in support of his passion. Although pursuing a career in architecture may be difficult, Zhang stated, “I think it has its merits where you go into this field that requires you to go learn a lot of other stuff.” He continued, “It’s almost like taking architecture itself and also getting a full range of education, so that even if I don’t become an architect, I have a lot of other opportunities built in.” When asked why he decided to create this exhibition, Zhang states that he was inspired by classmate Lily Lin’s ’23 own student artist exhibition. He then reached out to Visual & Performing Arts Teacher Tim Trelease about his interest. It has taken months to accumulate his pieces and put together the actual displays. There were many factors that went into planning the exhibition, but specifically, Mr. Trelease mentioned that “palette was also something that we really had fun thinking about.” He said, “we were able to kind of calibrate those [colors] together and just create a really nice flow for the viewer.”  Although time spent varies from piece to piece, Zhang noted that Recuperation (featured in the picture on the right) took him an upwards of three weeks over the summer, while working for an average of eight hours a day. Each piece of the work, no matter how small, required precision and care, and initially, Zhang said that he even drew out each individual brick of the wall by hand before cutting them out one by one.  Creating Recuperation, not only required ample time and skill, but Zhang also drew on experiences from his personal life in the process. Zhang believes that his experience living both in China and New York was necessary for him to create this piece. Although at first glance the work may resemble The Great Wall of China, Zhang mentioned that it was also inspired by Highland Park in Chelsea, New York City, the overgrown train track that was converted to a park.  Zhang noted that “they kept a lot of the overgrown sections to incorporate a part of the natural beauty of the train track.” He said, “I took this idea and recognized it in China, specifically the North of Beijing. Many people think of the Great Wall as a touristy place, but the Great Wall itself is so long that there’s sections of it that are left to overgrown and to decay. I thought it’d be interesting to apply that to Highland Park and create a mountain retreat type [building] up there, which is really interesting.” On top of his showcase being a mix of art and architecture centered around his experiences, Zhang wanted it to be an exploration of both concrete evidence and abstract ideas. This led to some trouble because most of his ideas such as the scenery in his paintings or the walls in his structures were tangible. However, he was able to create a piece called Time, an abstract blue translucent sculpture. Zhang elaborated, “[Although] the actual execution of the piece itself was pretty quick, the thought process itself took the same amount of time as actually creating the piece. After many sketches and a bout of artist’s block, Zhang was able to reset by taking some time off and switching his focus to a different project. Additionally, his teacher from the studio was able to assist him by showing him some of her works from college. Zhang holds Time close to his heart because of the variety of interpretations that it allows its viewers. There was a moment when he was photographing his sculpture that Zhang changed the orientation of the figure, thus impacting the interpretations of the piece by different audiences. Zhang concludes that, “By making that abstraction, it allowed me to explore the idea that different people think differently, and I think that that is something that ‘concrete art’ is not able to do.”

After speaking briefly at school meeting at the end of October to recieve the 2022 Heritage Award, the President of Denison University Adam Weinberg ’83 has already captivated the interest of many students and faculty. Dr. Weinberg had a busy schedule, as he managed to partake in a campus tour, speak at school meeting, and attend “Politics and the Science of Memory,” taught by History & Social Science Teacher John Leistler, all in half a  day. After the school day ended, he attended lunch with several Advancement Ambassadors then promptly flew back to Ohio to continue his role at Denison University. The Office of Advancement stated, “The Heritage Award was initiated…to recognize a Deerfield alumnus/a whose professional and personal achievements represent a special contribution to the betterment of society — someone whose life exemplifies the Academy’s motto, ‘Be Worthy of Your Heritage.’” Dr. Weinberg became the 20th President of Denison University in 2013 and before working at Denison, he worked as the CEO of World Learning, an NGO leading educational programs in more than 70 countries. He attributes his desire to work globally in education and issues of human justice to Deerfield. Dr. Weinberg expressed, “I had opportunities because of Deerfield to shape the world around me.”  Furthermore, Dr. Weinberg credited his career’s success to the skills and values he learned at Deerfield. He said, “As I got older, all the academic and intellectual tools that I started to develop at Deerfield became hugely important … You learn to work hard, you learn to manage lots of activities, [and] you learn to live effectively with a wide range of peers.” Dr. Weinberg concluded that the writing and communication skills he strengthened at Deerfield were the most important, as they became immensely valuable to his professional career. Though Dr. Weinberg noted that the current generation of Deerfield students would graduate into a vastly different world than he did, he recognized the Deerfield experience as a commonality. Dr. Weinberg commented on the influential nature of the Deerfield experience and its capability to shape students into better people. He said, “I came through Deerfield, recognizing that you have a commitment to community … to be a good person, to be kind and empathetic towards others, to be the kind of person who leans into social issues. You become the kind of creative and forward-looking problem solver who is always trying to make things better.” Dr. Weinberg further reasoned that this commitment to community fostered his desire to pursue a career in education. In addition to the skills he gained at Deerfield, Dr. Weinberg remarked that the modern employment landscape will value additional skills as well. In particular, he identified the ability to work with data, have intellectual humility, and communicate effectively as the three most important skills for the future because they would serve as a foundation for further growth. Dr. Weinberg was impressed with the positive changes he saw at Deerfield when he returned. He particularly praised the current generation of Deerfield students for their ability to reconcile differences of opinion. He noted, “It was great to be back on campus and to feel the energy. The generation of Deerfield students now is obviously a group of smart, empathetic people who will make their mark on the world.”  Though Dr. Weinberg enjoyed his time at Deerfield, he had advice for his younger self. He reflected, “I wish I’d stayed in better touch with more of my Deerfield friends more consistently … [and] I probably would have pushed myself harder to try totally new things that were outside my comfort zone.” Regardless, Dr. Weinberg said that if he were given the chance, he would love to relive his time at Deerfield to once again experience a tight-knit community. He remarked, “I cherish my years at Deerfield and will always be grateful to the teachers and others at Deerfield.” Dr. Weinberg was surprised by how much he valued the connections with Deerfield classmates and acknowledged the significance of having spent an influential period of life together and the deep bonds that developed from their shared experiences.  To conclude, Dr. Weinberg gave a final piece of advice to Deerfield students. As a Deerfield alumnus, he recognized the expectation to have one’s life planned out so early. However, Dr. Weinberg acknowledged that many things he wound up doing were not things he thought he would do if given another chance. He summed up these thoughts in a simple phrase: “Enjoy today, and make decisions for today and tomorrow.”

The annual Greer Chair award is presented to the faculty member whose tireless efforts “immeasurably enriches the minds and hearts of students.” The distinction for the 2021-22 academic year was awarded to Jan Flaska, who serves as the Dean of Spiritual and Ethical Life and teaches in the Philosophy and Religious Studies Department. Mr. Flaska was nominated for this award by students who praised his dedication, empathy, and light-hearted nature both in and out of the classroom. Before joining the Deerfield community in 2005, Mr. Flaska worked in the admissions office at the Dexter Southfield School, in addition to teaching English, Science, and French. While teaching there, he pursued his Master’s of Divinity (MDiv) at Boston University and served as a hockey and lacrosse referee in the Boston area.  Now finishing his seventeenth year at Deerfield, Mr. Flaska expressed his appreciation and gratitude, repeatedly stressing just how lucky he is to “wake up everyday looking forward to [his] responsibilities.” He added, “To be talking about purpose, meaning, faith, moral queries, spirituality, international and national politics, and the like, with students is a gift.”  Oscar Chen ’24, one of his previous students, recalled that Mr. Flaska had “always [shown] a genuine interest in his students, and had provided [him] with a sense of belonging.” He praised him further, saying, “On Zoom, I had often felt distant and disconnected. Mr. Flaska, even online, was one of the few teachers who were truly willing to get to know me better.” Constantly driven by his love for learning, Mr. Flaska emphasized that he is as much of a student as a teacher: “Every class I teach, every week and term I teach, I learn.” He explained, “The students are willing to take risks, to offer opinions, to speak, and I am the beneficiary.” Mr. Flaska explained that the inspiration behind his work was the chaplain at Canterbury School, where he held his first teaching job after college, saying,“I valued conversations with [the chaplain] and observed his influence on others primarily because of the many ways that he reached students … through informal conversations, through bus rides, through chapel talk. The classroom occupies a small, [yet] important, portion of our responsibilities, but all of the quiet, casual moments and settings matter [too].”  In accordance with the Greer Chair description, Mr. Flaska has “exhibited exemplary enthusiasm and understanding in his academic and co-curricular work with students, but has also served as a role model for students to emulate in their daily lives.”  Reflecting on his role at Deerfield, Mr. Flaska said, “We are all co-creators of culture in any community in which we are a member.” He added, “Our contribution is never insignificant or absent … Embrace that responsibility.”

On September 16, 2022, Mahsa Amini (age 22), died three days after her arrest by Iran’s morality police on grounds of hijab law violation. The circumstances of Amini’s death have since ignited worldwide protests calling for women’s justice and an end to the current regime under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As argued by Russian Historian at New York University Anna O’Donnell, Iranian women’s protests are uniquely centered on women’s freedom and led by women. Girls as young as 15 have become involved in the movement, tearing up images of the Supreme Leader and removing their head scarfs, proclaiming, “Don’t let fear in, we stand united.” Women globally have also been cutting off long locks of hair as acts of defiance against the Iranian government.  According to the New York Times, Sussan Tahmasebi, a veteran Iranian women’s rights activist, claimed that Iranian women have long resisted conformity to the state’s hijab law, which requires women to fully cover their hair and wear loose-fitted clothing. She added, “now [the world has seen] the emergence of a younger generation that really care[s] about their bodily rights, and the hijab is probably the most visible infringement on their bodily rights.”  In Isfahan, Iran, three young women hung a banner over a highway bridge, featuring a painting of a woman with long black hair, warning, “One of us will be next.” Yasi (age 20) similarly highlighted her fear under the Iranian regime, sharing, “I keep thinking Mahsa could be me; it could be my friends, my cousins…You don’t know what they will do to you.” A women’s rights activist, Golshan (age 28) added, “We want to be heard…We don’t have one leader. The beauty and strength of our movement is that every single one of us here is a leader.” Demonstrations across Iran highlight anger towards not only women’s oppression, but also over an economy suffering from corruption, food shortages, and U.S.-led sanctions. In response, Iranian authorities have restricted cell phone, internet, and digital platform (Instagram, WhatsApp) access and have been resorting to physical force. UN Women issued a statement expressing support for the counter-revolution in Iran, highlighting Iranian women’s demand to “exercise their bodily autonomy, including their choice of dress” and women’s desire to hold government officials accountable for failure to acknowledge their inherent human rights as outlined in the UN Charter.  U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, encouraged individuals to educate themselves regarding the crisis in Iran: “We really do have to educate ourselves about what is happening in the world, so we can advocate for these brave women … Our voices are important for Iranian women to hear, so they know they have the support of the world.”  U.S based organizations supporting Iranian women include the Iranian American Women Foundation, United for Iran, and the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. To learn more about Iranian Women’s fight, visit the UN website, BBC News, New York Times, and the New Yorker.

Within Deerfield’s daily class schedule, sit-down lunches are allotted the 35 minute time slot from 12:40 pm – 1:15 pm. However, students have reflected that sit-down lunches have recently been picking up the pace. For example, Halloween’s sit-down lunch ended at about 1:07 pm. Every day, The numerous working parts of sit-down lunches, including first waiting, second waiting, birthday cheers, and announcements, eat up into the 35 minute time slot, often causing second waiters to rush. Consequently, food and plates are taken off the tables quicker leading to shorter eating times for all. Katie Bruno ’24, a second waiter, ate for six minutes at Halloween sit-down lunch. Her first waiter arrived at 12:46 pm and she began the process of second waiting at 12:52 pm. Announcements began at roughly 1:05 pm with three birthday cheers beforehand. In order to complete her second waiting duties, she said, “I typically eat a small plate and sometimes do not finish.” She starts second waiting once she sees other people getting up and said, “I feel like I’m way behind if I see Mr. Kelly at the podium while I’m still clearing.” Lila King ’24, a first waiter, shared that her second waiter began clearing food at 12:50 pm, only ten minutes after she moved through the line and distributed the meal. The Scroll sampled 60 students and on average over the week of October 31 to November 6. Regardless of whether they had a waiting assignment or not, students ate for an average of about 10 minutes and 30 seconds. Another second waiter, Ava Lennon ’24 noted how she thought the pace has increased throughout the school year saying, “I understand we have a certain schedule to stay on but I don’t think it’s particularly healthy to be eating in such a rushed manner, especially if you have the thought of when you need to second wait hovering in your mind.” She observed that she sometimes ends up having five to ten minutes waiting for her post sit-down class to start but also said that “students want to get to class early and nobody wants to risk getting to class late.” Nutritional Education and Therapy & Outreach Coordinator Karyn Mancari gave her insight on the length of sit-downs saying, “Ideally, the eating part of a meal should be at least 30 minutes” and she added that with the other aspects to sit-down, “a 45 minute allotment would be preferable if possible.” The body takes about 20 to 30 minutes to recognize “fullness cues so it would give students more time to decide if they need more food,” said Ms. Mancari. While announcements, especially on game days, can add up, King said, “Sometimes individual announcements can be a little long but club announcements and reminders can be helpful, especially since we don’t have our phones during the school day, and I remember details in the announcement better than emails.” According to Student Life Associate Kevin Kelly, during announcements, all students should be seated at their table, meaning that second waiters cannot be up and waiting. If second waiters do not finish their before announcements, they must wait until everyone is dismissed while still making it to their next class period. However, second waiting is not always taken on by a single person, often whole tables pitch in. According to Mr. Kelly, “The tables that do function where everybody has some hand in helping out are the most efficient. Kids will chip in and someone will grab the glasses or somebody will say, ‘Hey, I’ll go up and grab dessert.’”  Every student is assigned to be a waiter twice within the school year. Many students who are not first or second waiters during a rotation recognize that the job of the second waiter can be made easier by stacking plates, bringing dessert to and from the table, or putting the cups and water back. Hasini Pundla ’24 said she often helps out with grabbing dessert and bringing back the cups “because it’s not a demanding task and it helps the waiters out a little bit while they’re dealing with the other chaotic trips to the kitchen,” she said. Pundla said she believes that while sit-downs and being a student waiter can be difficult and overwhelming, “we meet new people who are so willing to help each other out.” She emphasized, “When a table pitches in to help with second waiting, they exemplify empathy and generosity especially since we do not need to help but we all know how hard it can be in that position.”

The hourly chiming of the Main School Building is a relic of Deerfield’s past and a trademark of its present. But what is the story behind the iconic bell? One of the first references to the bell is in a Scroll article mentioning the raising of the bell  in 1931. Since 1931, it has continued  to ring every hour (albeit one minute and 20 seconds late). After its first appearance in 1931, it has gone through various changes that have made it what it is today. But how is it rung, what is its history, and what does it look like inside? In 1929, Dickinson Hall was torn to the ground by students in order to make room for the current Main School Building. Archival footage published by the Academy shows students pulling a rope that tore down the old brick building. In 1931, the present day Main School Building was constructed. Once construction was finished, classes were suspended so students could view the new bell being hoisted into place. The bell, designed by Meneely Bell Foundries — a bell company that was later dissolved in 1954 — was a gift by two of the Meneely brothers in honor of the Boydens. It was struck in time with an electric clock, and it weighed eight-hundred pounds and had a predecessor of around two-hundred pounds. A later Scroll article from 1961 stated that the bell was mechanically run by Deerfield resident Charles Huntington Smith and his two cats, and people joked that Deerfield ran on “Smith Standard” time. Since the first bell was installed, it has gone through various changes.  For example, the clock malfunctioned during Choate Weekend 1963, and was fixed shortly after. It was repaired a second time in 1991 using funds from the Memorial Fund for JJ Stokes. Stokes, a tri-sport athlete and band member from Gary, Indiana, drowned in the Deerfield river his senior year. His classmates refurbished the bell and another clock in front of the Main School Building in his honor. Since then, the bell has remained a constant part of the Deerfield community, signaling each hour spent in the Valley.