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April 1st: NASA’s Artemis II Mission set off on a journey around the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 launched on December 17, 1972. Three American astronauts (Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch), along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, were selected for the mission on April 3, 2023 (NASA). April 6th: Artemis II broke the record for being the farthest human-carrying shuttle from the Earth at 252,756 miles (NASA). April 7th: A special election in Georgia’s Fourteenth Congressional District results in Clayton Fuller (Republican) beating out Shawn Harris (Democratic) by 11.8 points, a leftward shift of over 25 points compared to Marjorie Taylor Greene’s win in 2024. In addition, an officially ‘non-partisan’ judicial election in the swing-state of Wisconsin was held, and Democrat-aligned attorney and former State House member Chris Taylor was elected over Republican-aligned judge Maria Lazar. This election brought Democratic control of the Court to 5-2, and definitively so until at least 2030, based upon the number of elections with incumbents until then (NYT). April 8th: After U.S. President Trump threatened Iran that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” the two countries negotiated a two-week ceasefire meant to calm down tensions and bring about a peace treaty (NYT). April 10th: The Artemis II astronauts made it safely back home after landing in the Pacific Ocean. Afterward, The USS San Diego sailed the crew from the capsule back to the shore. April 11th: U.S. Vice President Vance traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan, to negotiate with Iranian leaders, the main goal being to coerce them to capitulate and remove all nuclear material (BBC). April 12th: The 2026 Hungarian Parliamentary Election was held, where Prime Minister Victor Orbán (FIDESZ-KDNP) lost to Péter Magyar (TISZA). The latter won a supermajority of mandates (141 out of 199) and knocked the former out of his 16-year prowess as head of state. The election was a grave choice for Hungarian citizens between allowing the survival of the pro-Russian, far-right, Euro-sceptic FIDESZ-KDNP party and the more moderate-right pro-European, anti-Russian TISZA party (NYT). April 12th: Vance left Pakistan without a peace deal after a 21-hour talk (PBS). April 13th: The U.S. Navy started a blockade of Iranian ports with ships attempting to travel through the Strait of Hormuz (WSJ).

From the top floor of the Main School Building, Associate Head of School for Student Life and Language Teacher Amie Creagh and Assistant Athletic Director and 10th Grade Class Dean Drew Philie answered the question, “What are the top three things stolen on campus?” “Bikes, Scooters, Food,” responded Mr. Philie. “Food, Scooters, Bikes,” said Ms. Creagh, rearranging the order of the short list. Stolen items on campus have been a longstanding issue, from unlabeled food to electric scooters suddenly going missing from charging ports. Many students have expressed their frustration with their belongings getting stolen on campus; in Layla Abdi ’28’s case, it was first her friend’s bike and then her own bike from the outskirts of Harold Smith. “The first instance, I was using my friend’s bike, and I’ve been using it for a couple days, but she didn’t have a lock on it, so I parked it discreetly behind my building so that no one would take it,” she explained. After finding out that the bike was stolen, she eventually found it broken outside of the Athletic Complex. “It’s not that bad this year because Shipping got moved to the Chen so we have security cameras,” said Mina Hata ’29, “but it might still happen from time to time.” At the Academy, community remains a central part of the culture, Ms. Creagh and Mr. Philie described—but stealing disrupts the core value of trust shared around campus. “I think that we have a pretty trusting community. I think if you look at this place in comparison to maybe other boarding schools and college campuses, this is a place where we know each other here,” Mr. Philie said. He added, “That said, I think we’re seeing that less and less, right? And so, we make it a big point to talk about these things at our school meetings, and on a daily basis, which I think are good reminders for our students as we share the same space and we’re part of something bigger than ourselves.” He brought up the point that Deerfield students are living in a shared environment, one that requires them to be conscious of their choices. As Ms. Creagh pointed out, “It’s when you’re thinking ‘this thing’ is more important to you than anybody else ... ‘I’m putting myself above everyone else at this moment.’” Today, she feels that the overall student culture overpowers instances of stealing. “Those rare moments of ‘self-first’ are kept at bay by the kids making thousands of decisions to create the culture we have now,” she said, adding, “I hope a kid who steals something recognizes that they are an outlier and that they feel somehow, like, ‘Wait a minute, this thing I’m doing here is not helping me build the culture I want to live in.’” The Student Life members emphasized the importance of students not just living in the culture they want but actively contributing to its creation.

THIJS WITTINK/DEERFIELD SCROLL On April 12, the Reed Gallery held the opening reception for Shuttered Light by Albert Yuk ’26. Composed of a collection of photographs, the exhibition invites viewers to consider the biases and authenticity of what the media chooses to portray. From the direction of the Concert Hall, the first photographs showcase a film set in Beijing, deliberately staged to simulate a real-life war scene. However, as viewers move through the gallery, the scenes behind the photographs shift toward documenting real wartime environments in Israel and Iran. By contrasting staged war scenes with real ones, Yuk uses the exhibition to convey the presence of media bias. “It was my intention to make that distinction confusing, because in the modern world, media kind of skews that portrayal, and it doesn't really portray these things accurately themselves,” said Yuk. The scope of Yuk’s photography extends beyond the exhibition itself and encompasses his travels to Israel, Iran, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and more. Starting in the winter of his sophomore year, Yuk began working for Liu Heung Shing, a Chinese photojournalist who won the 1992 Spot News Pulitzer Prize. During breaks from school, Yuk traveled to the Middle East, where he photographed from the front lines of active conflict zones. Despite his commitment to photography, Yuk’s artistic journey began under the influence of his eldest brother Alan, a sculptor and painter. “I feel like I got exposure to the arts at a very early age because of that,” said Yuk, who originally followed in his brother's footsteps and painted for 8 years. Yuk, however, expressed that he hated drawing and painting, describing them as “boring,” and instead chose to pursue photography, “a route that [he] liked” due to the movement and storytelling it allows. In his gallery, Yuk sought to capture the story of freedom and liberty in a photograph entitled “Intersection of Tradition and Modernity,” his personal favorite. The photograph depicts a man suspended in a crane, looming over the Freedom Tower in Iran. Constructed in 1971, the tower was built prior to the start of the Iranian Revolution in 1978. To Yuk, who believed that individuals had greater liberty before the revolution, “it’s just really interesting to see the Freedom Tower in a composition that is being caged with clouds in the background.” He further elaborated on the piece's symbolism, explaining that the scene represents “freedom and liberty being caged.” Although Yuk aimed to depict symbolic moments in his photographs, he also documented ordinary scenes from day-to-day life. Yuk referenced a photograph entitled “Warrior’s Respite,” which depicts a woman sitting outside a kitchen while a man cooks inside. “My mom said that this was her favorite piece,” he noted, “because she liked the fact that the man, instead of a woman, was cooking in the kitchen.” His mother’s interpretation aligned with Yuk’s intention when capturing the photo, which also aimed to convey the underrepresentation of women fighting in war. Though Yuk’s photographs engage with ideas of media bias, their selection and arrangement for the gallery were originally unplanned. “I definitely wouldn’t say that I took these photos for a gallery, but rather how I configured them in such a way that made sense for a gallery,” said Yuk when commenting on the construction process. Throughout the process of assembling Shuttered Light and Yuk’s time at Deerfield, Visual and Performing Arts teacher Tim Trelease has supported Yuk as one of his four-year students. From studying Intro to Photography and Filmmaking during his freshman year to serving as a teaching assistant for the AP Photography class, Yuk has worked with Mr. Trelease throughout the different phases of his artistic journey. Beyond teaching him technical skills, Mr. Trelease has also encouraged Yuk to experiment with filmmaking and other forms of photography that were previously new to him. Yuk’s experience studying photography at Deerfield, coupled with his experience living in Hong Kong and Shanghai, has made him increasingly aware of what he described as a veil of misinformation throughout the media. Through this assembled series, Yuk said in reflection, “I was trying to convey that veil and make people more aware of how present that veil can be.”

Consisting of 14 members, the Honors Chamber Music program is an advanced course that provides music students with a space to study and perform repertoire by renowned composers in small ensembles. Meeting as a regular class, day-to-day rehearsals center around the repertoire at hand. Members have the opportunity to practice in small ensembles with a rotating staff that includes Director of Music Thomas Bergeron and teachers from Deerfield’s professional music faculty. Outside rehearsals, students are encouraged to engage with other musical works and study various composers. Under such exposure, they can broaden their musical knowledge and engage with a variety of music genres. Three-year chamber student Julie Yan ’26 emphasized this quality, saying that “[She has] gotten the opportunity to engage with different types of music [she has] never played before and interact with musicians who play different instruments than [she does].” Students often experiment with different instrumentation ensembles ranging across music from different time periods. Having played in both a string and piano quartet as well as a cello and clarinet quintet, Yan has recently been rehearsing an octet by German composer Felix Mendelssohn, which has been one of her favorites. On the other hand, fellow chamber student and flutist Iris Zhu ’28 has been practicing in a trio, experimenting with more contemporary pieces centered on modern jazz. Given the variety of musical styles, members are consistently demonstrating their progress through performances for their peers. By giving and receiving feedback, they take the initiative to lead self-driven rehearsals in preparation for performances. “Students can take ownership of the music and take ownership over what they want to do,” Yan explained. “Throughout the piece, we stop and talk about how we feel, which makes me feel heard as a musician.” Since the program’s practices consist of three to four people, members express that they can truly bond with one another. This structure not only strengthens relationships among students but also contributes to their growth as musicians. When commenting on her favorite aspect of the program, Zhu said, “My favorite part about chamber music is how small the group is because I can work with other instruments and really delve into the music.” Reflecting upon her previous experience in an orchestra, Yan said that the chamber program in comparison feels “so much more special because the community is so tight-knit, which helps me understand the music better and grow as a collaborator and soloist.” In these small groups, the music instructors stress the importance of playing as a cohesive unit. Although the focus is on musical techniques and maintaining a dynamic balance with peers, students emphasize that Mr. Bergeron prioritizes connection with other musicians, which helps enliven the piece onstage. These connections extend beyond the music alone. Through bonding with classmates in the chamber program, rehearsals become something students look forward to. “Rehearsals end up being really fun. It is just a really fun time, and although it is a huge time commitment, rehearsals help me relax after a long day,” said Yan. At the end of each semester, students showcase the pieces they have been working on in a cumulative Chamber Music Showcase Concert in the Elizabeth Wachsman Concert Hall, open to the public. In addition to the three integrated performances throughout the year, the ensemble has traveled to New York City to perform a joint concert with the Advanced Vocal Ensemble and Band at Carnegie Hall. This May, chamber students have been invited to The Metropolitan Museum of Art to perform at a Deerfield fundraiser along with the Deerfield dance and vocal ensemble. Although members in the Honors Chamber Music program may not pursue music as their eventual career, they walk away from the experience having grown as both musicians and collaborators. “Whether or not I do chamber music in the future, chamber has taught me a lot about who I am as a musician,” reflected Zhu, who added that “[she is] inspired to practice music throughout [her] next two years at Deerfield.”

On Friday, April 10, Deerfield’s Vocal Ensemble Class took a two-hour drive to Boston, where they sang the National Anthem at TD Garden during the Boston Celtics game that night against the New Orleans Pelicans. With the game officially starting at 7:30 PM, the students departed immediately after Period Three in order to commute to the stadium, warm up, and shake out their nerves. The chaperones were Choral Director Michael Pfitzer, Piano Studio Director Yu-Mei Wei, Math Teacher Marc Dancer, Science Teacher Julia McClellan, and Dining Hall Purchasing Manager Roger Doiron. In addition, the ensemble was accompanied by Deerfield Alumna Vivian Wan ’25, who currently attends Tufts University. Planning for the event involved extensive preparation, with Rob Hale ’84, a part-owner of the Boston Celtics and Deerfield Graduate, helping to facilitate the occasion. Once official, Dr. Pfitzer received the Celtics’ information on the date, and Director of Athletics & Co-Curricular Program Bob Howe and other administrators supported the students attending the Celtics game. Dr. Pfitzer remarked, “It was a whole campus system of support that allowed us to do this and take advantage of the opportunity.” As planning continued, Dr. Pfitzer and the other vocal teachers worked throughout the year to perfect the Star-Spangled Banner, a ninety-second song. Though he mentioned how “a normal 90-second song might get very boring to rehearse over and over again,” Dr. Pfitzer maintained that “the students were very excited, and we could repeat it a number of times without it getting boring.” He also noted that “We had some people who were very experienced, and some people who had never sung in choir before, so I always liked to try to have experienced people sing with people who have less experience so students can learn from each other.” With the stadium’s capacity exceeding 19,000, the performance at TD Garden was a significant increase in scale for many singers, whose biggest audiences have been at Deerfield concerts. In addition, the lack of a mic or sound check while performing with a small military band heightened the students’ anxiety. During rehearsals, Dr. Pfitzer began each rendition by singing the opening of the anthem before the other students joined in, and the ensemble replicated this progression during their performance. “The students did a really nice job of paying attention and connecting with each other,” he said. “Some students told me they were feeling very nervous, but everyone was very focused and locked in.” During the game, the students purchased dinner from the concession stands and stayed for the entire game, returning in the wee hours of the morning. Though such an opportunity entails significant commitment and responsibility, class members remarked that they loved the experience and, despite being prohibited from taking photos on the court, still enjoyed spending long periods of time with the basketball players. In particular, Adriana Enriquez ’28 acknowledged her nervousness at the time, while still noting that “the actual performance was actually quite good,” and that “it was a nice thrill.” The video of the performance (though NBC Sports Boston has not shown the Anthem since 2021) will be sent to Dr. Pfitzer in due course for all Deerfield eyes and ears to watch and listen.

THIJS WITTINK/DEERFIELD SCROLL August 1914: Sir Ernest Shackleton departed Plymouth, England, for the frozen unknown of the Antarctic. April 2026: A shivering huddle of students at Deerfield Academy departed the Horse’s Head for the banks of the Riv. To the untrained eye, the historical significance of these two voyages is indistinguishable. The sole point of divergence? Shackleton’s me n were equipped with sturdy lifeboats, while we were left to navigate the sub-arctic abyss with nothing but a communal towel. Both expeditions sought to overcome insurmountable odds; both fought the encroaching frost; and both, presumably, had many wet socks. Yet, while historians tirelessly laud the “Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition” for its bravery, they consistently overlook the sheer grit required for a Deerfield student to traverse the frozen tundra of the Lower Fields. Shackleton famously sailed roughly 800 miles across the Southern Ocean; we traveled roughly 800 yards. But to a teenager emerging from four hours of sleep and a caffeine-induced haze, those distances are identical. The endurance required to survive a Friday dip at 7 am at Deerfield, known as “Shriv,” is, to many, unimaginable. This spring’s first Shriv was delayed two weeks due to river conditions, only heightening the anticipation for the first dip, which finally took place on April 10. Four-year veteran and Shriv Captain Cole Rorick ’26 noted that “The excitement was on another level, and everyone was exuding all the energy they’d been saving up.” The river, however, was not particularly sympathetic to the built-up enthusiasm. Shriv Captain Zander Auth ’26 reported that it clocked in at a brisk 41 degrees, colder than the air itself, due to what Jack Webb ‘27, a regular at the riverbanks, identified as “a lot of snow runoff.” Rorick described the experience as “electric,” right before announcing that he had lost sensation in his toes. He offered a philosophical defense of this ordeal, “The river is cold, but because the community is so rich, it seems warmer.” A heartwarming sentiment. Medically speaking, however, community is not a recognized treatment for hypothermia. Webb, meanwhile, processed the experience more poetically and poignantly: “The cold bit my toes and then bit my nose, but it wasn’t as bad because I ran in with my bros.” While most poets would have stopped there, he continued: “The cold made me feel awake. Waking up in the morning, it’s never fake. It’s so good to be back in the water for goodness sake, right after being on break.” For some, the river appears to be a source of inspiration. Newly selected Spring Shriv Captain Sophie Kamil ’26 concurred, noting that the adrenaline of a collective leap effectively “diminishes the cold,” which may also be called “collective delusion.” When asked whether the warmer air makes spring dips easier, Rorick said it made it “less painful to leave the river.” Webb, on the other hand, was less satisfied, explaining that the lack of a thermal shock “didn’t make [him] feel good about himself,” to which Kamil simply replied: “Oh. I felt pretty good about myself.” Some have more demanding responsibilities, like Shriv Captain Cece Cramer ’26, who is entrusted with the speaker. Explaining why senior-year Shrivs feel extra cold, Cramer said, “Having to carry the speaker in the cold months, the metal handle, my hands are freezing.” She takes the curation extremely seriously. “Every night before Shriv, I spend like half an hour in bed choosing the cue of songs.” There are, of course, costs to devote to this immense. Cramer described developing a cold allergy of uncertain origin during the fall of her sophomore year, which she suspects may have been caused by her weekly dips. For several months, following each Shriv, she went to the health center covered in hives. Eventually, it went away, but in the meantime, she had to “wear like three pairs of socks to Shriv and crocs or boots over top,” along with socks on her hands. And yet, Cramer insists that “it's definitely worth it.” When discussing student turnout, Rorick credited female participants with reshaping Shriv’s atmosphere, transforming what was once an all-boys tradition. “We’ve seen a decline in male attendance, and girls make it a very powerful place to be and a powerful thing to be a part of. The bigger the better; we have a lot more people because of all the girls showing up,” he explains. Every great exhibition has its adversaries. For Shackleton, it was the crushing ice. For Shriv, it was the Student Bulletin. The administration officially forbade entry into the glacial waters, but students, rebellious by nature, emerged from the depths regardless. The authorities arrived. “Security pulled up and I thought I was done for,” Rorick recalled, but fortunately, they “just walked away.” Whether this is an institutional endorsement or capitulation remains unclear. What is clear is that Shriv is thriving. As Webb eloquently yet not too logically put it: “The river’s cold, but the waters warm, and all the people make me wanna swarm.”

JOANNA CHANG/DEERFIELD SCROLL On Tuesday, May 6, 2025, the Deerfield Film Club listened to guest speaker Howard Gordon share life experiences and advice. Gordon’s involvement in the film industry includes work on The X Files, Homeland, and 24, the latter two for which he has received Emmy Awards. Gordon is the Deerfield Film Club’s first-ever guest of the inaugural year for the club. Harry Holtz ’26, a founding member of the club, described the goal as “the purpose to happen here was to see what it was truly like to be in the film industry. And given that he has a lot of experience in that field, it was really great to hear about his time.” Holtz also further elaborated on Gordon’s advice and said, “He gave us a few memorable pieces of advice. One, of course, is to stay humble, and the next is he referred to being like a cell in biology, where you let some things in, but also prevent other things from entering. So you have to be mindful of the advice you take. Obviously, take feedback, but don't, and this is a pretty big thing, don't completely change your film just based on what you predict the audience will see as or how the audience will react.” Humility was not the only component of Gordon’s advice, Harry said, “He also mentioned the the idea, kind of like thinking on your feet and being able to problem solve, and how you have to get to really be into problem solving, you know there are always gonna be things kind of going wrong, and so you got to make sure that you're actively trying to fix it” Gordon’s words will leave the group something to ponder as the year comes to an end. Holtz summarized Film Club’s journey, “filmmaking club, me and several other people have started it earlier this year, and it's been a really great way for students to express their filmmaking interests outside of a normal class or in film cocurricular. And over the course of the year, we've kind of been in groups, and we've each worked on various films.” These very films were showcased in this year’s Film Festival, Holtz commented, “Our film is a comedy about a student who was played by Tyler Christopher Long skipping class, and the moments that follow are both dramatic and hilarious, and the audience is kind of taking through A journey between Tyler and Mr. Perry, his class teacher, through a bunch of different events and funny places. And there's just a lot of interesting aspects, like warping time, it was a really fun project.” After Film Club’s debut on the big stage, Holtz ended by saying, “We hope to continue to build off of what we have right now and really encourage people to join the club, even if they have no experience in filmmaking or the arts. In fact, just so you know, people have the chance to, like I was saying earlier, experiment with filmmaking.”

When he was 15 years old, former Deer!eld Art Teacher David Dickinson planned to become a professional musician. Instead, he and his wife, former French Teacher Claudia Lyons, ended up founding the Koch Friday Concert at the beginning of an almost four-decades-long career at the Academy. Inspired by talk shows like David Letterman’s, Mr. Dickinson and Ms. Lyons brought in Josh Binswanger ’80, who worked in comedy at the time, to MC the event. The concert began as a once-a-year event but soon expanded into a twice-yearly tradition. Now, it’s held every term. After introducing the concert in 2004 and taking a brief sabbatical, Ms. Lyons and Mr. Dickinson came back to resume KFC three years later. “I had no clue there would be such a groundswell of interest from students,” Mr. Dickinson said, adding, “I guess it got out there that everyone is supportive, and you don’t have to be professional … everyone was applauding [the] people who just gave it a try.” As Spanish Teacher and KFC organizer Cheri Karbon described, the couple truly dedicated themselves to the Deer!eld community. “They married but never had kids, deciding the students of Deer!eld would be their kids,” she said. In addition to founding KFC, Ms. Lyons and Mr. Dickinson began the DeNunzio Disco. Mr. Dickinson remembered that students would come into his apartment in Mather to practice their performances for him before the concert. At the time, KFC would start at 7:30 p.m. and often last until nearly midnight, and the class deans would extend curfew hours. When the concert !rst started, the majority of performers were part of the Academy’s music program. “We would get singers and musicians … [but] little by little—this is the best thing about it—it started opening up. And little by little, the novices started showing up,” Mr. Dickinson said. In 2010, he and Ms. Lyons chose a small group of the top KFC performers to perform at a New York City dinner for Deer!eld trustees and donors. Today, KFC enters its 25th year. Ms. Karbon, who came to the Academy in 1999, said the concert has stayed quite true to the original vision of Ms. Lyons and Mr. Dickinson. She and student co-hosts Will Wichern ’27 and Reagan Warren ’27 have experienced firsthand the challenge the event demands; Warren joked that each concert takes "five tons of manpower and three hours of coordination each week.” The organization of this year’s concerts began last spring, as Ms. Karbon and the student hosts slotted the three concerts for 2025-2026 into the calendar. Yet despite the hours of planning poured into the event, the concert is always a little bit different. The team has learned to predict last-minute act changes, tech malfunctions, and other unpredictable disasters. “There’s just so much that can go wrong—and so much that will,” Warren admitted. The organizers, and especially the student MCs up on stage have know how to handle all sorts of issues—Ms. Karbon described the process as “knowing something’s going to not go as planned, counting on that. And then we have such a kind audience.” Now, the spirit behind the concert never fades, she said, and for her, this is one of the most special aspects. “Even if a group gets up and doesn’t do very well, the community is still going to support them,” she said. As Mr. Dickinson put it, KFC “never would have happened without students being willing to get up there and try,

Dear Reader, As 80-degree weather and river days return, Deerfield springs back to life from a dreary winter. The Scroll room is likewise bustling with energy; our writers and editors are working frantically to finish our April issue. It is the last issue in Volume C. The first hundred years are done. Let me address the elephant in the room. You are not reading this article in printed media. In an increasingly online world, we in the Scroll room also felt the pressure to move toward expanding new platforms to stay connected with today’s readers. Our website, podcasts, Youtube channel, and Instagram account also serve this function. We dedicate ourselves to being a newspaper that evolves with time. You might ask: why go online when Deerfield preaches face-to-face connections? The Academy emphasizes tradition in every sense of the word, so why change to an option that breaks with our values? The answer, I would argue, is that our website serves to complete the full Scroll experience, instead of taking away from any aspect. We will still have print issues once a month. Publishing online every two weeks allows us to expand the range of our articles. Every print issue requires days to trim down words to fit the page and layout in a computer software, and we are often limited in terms of article length and the number of articles that make up each issue. Associate Editors spend nights meticulously editing articles to make them more concise. Although we believe in our editors’ ability to maintain journalistic integrity, some information will inevitably be lost through this process. We hope to preserve the original voice of our student journalism through online issues. Another rather unfortunate reason, I think, that drove this decision is the decline in print journalism. In 2025, The New York Times gained 1.4 million online subscribers but continued the trend from previous years to lose its print readers. Other mainstream news sources reported similar trends. Audiences are more accustomed to consuming timely information online—we are working toward publishing rapid response articles that deliver news of campus events within a few days of them taking place. To serve shifting reader interest, we chose to follow other newspapers’ footsteps by more consistently publishing online, but with a Deerfield touch in the preservation of our journalistic standards, along with the continuance of our monthly paper issues. We seek to embody the Academy’s dedication to tradition while keeping up to date with trends beyond the bubble. I am quite optimistic about where the Scroll is going, despite the uncertainties the journalism industry faces. I think our online, prompt coverage of campus news will better connect families, alumni, and prospective students with Deerfield. The website is an accessible platform for anyone who wants a glance of campus life. Meanwhile, we also have new ways to connect students on campus. Recently, I have been discussing the idea of adding word games onto our website with Yong, one of our head website editors, and we agreed that these games could engage faculties and students alike. Be sure to visit the website and check out our Crossword. Through the website, the Scroll could function as more than just a communications piece with the external world. It also brings our community closer together, hence our original intentions as a school newspaper. I also ask you, the readers, to take a leap of faith. We have never done an issue completely online before, and we are still figuring out things as we go down this path. I ask you to trust us and continue reading, for readership motivates us to write. Please visit our website more and spread the word to your friends or family. Starting from this issue, we want to cultivate an online community of engaged readers. And that begins with you, reading. Yours in truth, Andrew Li

COURTESY OF DEERFIELD COMMUNICATIONS On March 28, Deerfield Academy gathered students, faculty, staff, and alumni for a commemoration dinner celebrating the newly renovated Brick Dining Hall. The dinner, which was held on a weekend night separate from the regular sit-down meal schedules, was a formal recognition of the dining hall’s new transformation. It began with remarks from key speakers, and ended with the long-lasting Deerfield tradition of singing the Evensong. For students, faculty, and alumni, this moment extended far beyond the meal: tradition, hope, and Deerfield spirit. Speakers at the dinner included: Head of School John Austin, President of Board of Trustees Leila Govi ’93, and Ambassador Woody Johnson, all of whom played a critical role in bringing the renovations of the Brick to life. Chief Financial Officer Matt Sheehy observed that these speakers shared a common line in their addresses: “Each of the speakers echo[ed] their commitment to sit-down meals in an era without in-person connection.” He emphasized the role of Deerfield in this endeavor, saying, “Deerfield continues to do an excellent job at this, through its current programs and new advancements like the dining hall.” The underlying message across each speech was their commitment to keeping human connections alive in an age increasingly defined by the lack of interpersonal exchanges. This evening also left a strong impression for students seated at their sit-downs: “When the speakers talked about what Deerfield meant to them years after their graduation, it made me appreciate the traditions of Deerfield and cherish every small moment of my time here,” said Gabby Kilroy ’29. Miriam Toshik, ’29 further expanded off of Kilroy’s idea when explaining: “The evening was structured to remember tradition and create new memories. Speakers reflected on their career at Deerfield but also expanded on how that impacted their current roles – it was a short moment but it inspired me to carry the Deerfield spirit further.” Head of Deerfield’s Advancement Office Chuck Ramsay ’88 spoke further on the importance of including a sit-down meal in the program for the Brick dedication. He said, “The tradition of sit down meals at Deerfield goes back to the early 20th Century. We could not think of a better way to celebrate our community and dedicate the Brick than to have it occur during a sit-down meal with students and faculty at Deerfield.” Mr. Ramsay emphasized the building process and outlayed the philanthropic donations supporting the project. “The project cost was 58 million dollars, and all of it was covered by gifts and pledges to Deerfield from generous donors.” He underscored why he orchestrated the dedication by “including starting the ringing of the chimes and the Deerfield Blessing, having student waiters, and finishing with the Evensong.” “We end many Deerfield alumni events with the singing of the Evensong – it is a cherished tradition,” he said. Ellora Devitre ’26 echoes the importance of tradition while emphasizing the benefits of recent changes as well. “Walking into the dining hall felt different,” said Devitre, “You could actually hear the person across from you – this might seem like a small change, but it makes a big difference in terms of how you connect with your table.” The Brick’s renovations were made according to concerns by the student and faculty bodies including the Brick’s acoustics. Mr. Sheehy spoke on this, saying that he and his team were able to “keep the familiarity and warmth of the dining hall,” while tackling infrastructural issues during the renovation. For many, the hope of this evening lingers as the Brick Dining Hall becomes more than a place to eat, but, underscoring Mr. Sheehy’s expectations: to “make friends and meet new people”.

THIJS WITTINK/DEERFIELD SCROLL Deerfield’s Student Life Office Senior Associate Kevin Kelly published his memoir Both Sides of the Line with the help of Bancroft Press in 2016. The book covers Mr. Kelly’s experience with Jack Clyde Dempsey, his high school football coach, who led the team to a championship season. While Dempsey acted as a mentor and leader for many high school students, including Mr. Kelly himself, his hidden identity as a mob enforcer forced him to flee the country, becoming one of America’s most wanted fugitives. Decades after graduation, Mr. Kelly came across a Boston Globe article featuring his Catholic high school, where he played under Dempsey. He remembered initially that his 1974 football team won their Catholic conference championship, the first time his school had ever won. Dempsey, a longtime role model and teacher, “preached God, family, and country.” At the same time, Mr. Kelly explained, Dempsey worked for a mob, ended up killing someone, and was mentioned on the TV show America’s Most Wanted—a strange and unnerving character tension. Mr. Kelly felt like the story was worth sharing with others and decided to write about it. Throughout the writing process, Mr. Kelly faced a big challenge: writing consistently. He shared, “For multiple years, I put the book down for a couple of months then picked it back up again, being inconsistent with the plan.” It was his publisher and close friend for the past ten years who advised him to “stop pretending to be a writer, [and] tell the story.” Mr. Kelly felt that this piece of advice “really opened the doors to continue the memoir after years of work piling up.” The book ended up taking him 18 years to write. Mr. Kelly had never seen himself as a writer, he said: “Writing has always been and continues to be my weakest area,” he explained. Through his experience of writing Both Sides of the Line, Mr. Kelly learned to put himself into the reader’s shoes by coming up with questions when developing the storyline. “Not being a writer,” he said, “I had to look at something and say to myself: Is this worthwhile? Is there anything of value here, and who would want to read this story?” During the process of crafting his book, Mr. Kelly found it “daunting at first,” but halfway through, he felt a burst of motivation. “I felt the runner's high kick in and felt driven to continue finishing the book,” he said. Back in Deerfield, he spoke about his book following its release. For one class period, Scroll Faculty Advisor English Teacher Justin Romick invited Mr. Kelly to speak in his Creative Non-Fiction Workshop, where Mr. Kelly shared a synopsis of his book. Julie Yan ’26, a student in Mr. Romick’s class shared her insight about the memoir: “The book is really compelling because it shows the dual perspective of the football coach. On one hand, the coach was a father figure to the team, changing the lives of so many young people, but on the other hand, he killed someone and was in the mafia,” she said. Yan emphasized how the book is not only a one-dimensional story, but it also explores the multifaceted identity of a person. As Mr. Kelly began to discover the other side of his football coach he had never seen, he decided to separate the coach’s admirable side from his criminal side. “I noted down the positive traits of being a role model, providing life lessons, and giving good coaching advice,” he said. As the main takeaway, Mr. Kelly noted how he hopes for readers to decide if Jack Clyde Dempsey was a hero or a villain by creating a book with an open-ended conclusion.

THIJS WITTINK/DEERFIELD SCROLL Ryan Bai ’26’s artistic career began in second grade, when, under his mother's encouragement, he first picked up a paintbrush and took up the canvas. However, what initially captured him was not only the art but also the material of oil paint. “I would scoop them up and just spread them all over my hands and face,” Bai recalled, noting in particular his enjoyment of the texture of paint, and the therapeutic quality it brought to him. “I think that’s why I fell in love with art,” he said, “because it’s something fun, that I can enjoy, that can help me relax.” At Deerfield, Bai continued to develop his passion for visual art, enrolling in AP Drawing and Painting and Honors Studio Art, participating in the Drawing and Painting co-curricular, and serving as the Editor-in-Chief of Albany Road, Deerfield’s Literary and Arts Magazine. He spoke on how the Academy’s programs enabled him to treat art as a persistent commitment, particularly referencing the “Sustained Investigation” portfolio in the AP Drawing and Painting course. “It’s an amazing program because no one knows what they’re going to end up with,” he said, “but as they explore and create pieces one by one, eventually they will understand what they will develop, their own style, and their own thinking from that process.” For Bai, this structure helped him to expand his vision beyond individual works and consider how different pieces can “make a whole argument” and “speak to each other.” Despite his appreciation for AP Drawing and Painting, Bai noted that his relationship with art had shifted as he moved into his senior year. “Tenth grade and eleventh grade, what I was thinking more about was how I could stretch what I do,” he said. “I always tried to do something I’d never done before, so I expanded on my vocabulary.” Now, in his senior spring, Bai said that he had returned to painting more for pleasure than for technical experimentation. Speaking on his current Honors Studio Art class, he explained that “the spring term is pretty much just free time, personal projects.” He is now focused less on creating “revolutionary” art and dedicates more of his time to painting to “make [himself] happy and make people around [him] happy.” Bai is currently working on a painting of his advisory, modeled after Da Vinci’s Last Supper, which he views as a way to exercise “the vocabulary that [he] currently [has].” Bai’s current perspective on art emerged in part from an earlier challenge, when he had to decide whether to pursue a specialized art school program or remain on a conventional academic path. After thorough consideration, he ultimately chose not to attend art school, a decision he momentarily regretted. Looking back, however, Bai explained that the choice helped him realize that art and academics did not have to be separate. “A great brain for the arts should also be a great brain for math and science,” he said, referencing moments when academics helped inform his art. In particular, he pointed to Altomorphism, a painting influenced by mathematical concepts, and to his recent sculpture, The Looook, inspired by the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre. For Bai, the sculpture stands out as his favorite piece for its reflexive yet humorous nature. “If I do an art of you, but you’re also looking at me, then are you also doing an art of me, or am I doing an art of you?” he asked. In Bai’s view, his passion for drawing never waned throughout his artistic career, as he continually sought out ways to continue painting. He recalled his time in middle school, when he pretended to sweep the floor in the art classrooms to listen to lectures. “The thing is, opportunities are all free if you’re just shameless enough,” he commented on the experience. At Deerfield, Bai received more direct support that allowed his passion to develop further. He credited Art Teachers Mercedes Taylor and Ellie Bicknell for “supporting me a lot along the journey…and guiding me along my entire Deerfield art career,” as well as former philosophy teacher Angel Abreu ’92, who influenced his thinking on the philosophy of art. Still, Bai stressed that guidance alone is not enough without commitment backed by enthusiasm. “I honestly think passion is the number one thing,” he said, referencing a motto he takes from his favorite artist, the Chinese oil painter Chen Danqing: “He said, ‘[censored]! I just love painting, you can’t stop me!’ and that’s the kind of spirit I bear in mind as I continue with art.” Though Bai said that he does not plan to pursue art professionally after Deerfield, he emphasized that painting will remain an important part of his “vision” and “mode of thinking”. Returning to the idea of enjoyment, Bai described art less as a profession, but rather, an ordinary yet meaningful part of his life. “For me, [creating art] is the same as playing video games,” he said. “It's the same as dancing around, the same as just eating food. It's pleasing to do, and that's why I do it.”