The need for a more transparent administration
Adam Frommer, Staff Writer
January 17, 2020
Gossip runs rampant in Anatevka, the Shtetl in which Fiddler on the Roof (the musical) takes place. In the hilarious and show-stopping number “The Rumor,” Yente, the town gossip, brings gut-wrenching news to the village. She sings to Rifka: “Well, I just heard that Perchik’s been arrested, in...
Using religion to further the climate conversation
Margalit Patry-Martin
January 17, 2020
As reports on the acceleration and risks of human-caused climate change are multiplying, and activism and awareness are increasing, American activists continue to be frustrated by unmoving climate denialism in white religious Christian communities. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2015, only...
Fighting the growth of anti-Semitism in America
Roey Nornberg and Zach Brooks
January 10, 2020
On Saturday, December 28th, a masked man invaded the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg, where around 100 Hasidic Jews were gathered to celebrate Hannukah. Immediately upon entering, the man, wielding a large machete, stabbed five innocent guests, including Josef Neumann, who suffered a knife through his...
Why I play sports
Maurice Campbell, Contributing Writer
December 20, 2019
Ever since I took my first steps as a little boy, my parents signed me up for every sport imaginable. This was probably either because they wanted to have free time for themselves as I was pretty annoying or because they wanted me to “stay out of trouble,” whatever that means. I have tried probably...
Addressing pervasive sexism in debate
Alexa Mark, Annabelle Xing, and Emily Shi
December 13, 2019
Alexa: From the time I joined the debate team in middle school until the end of ninth grade, I was completely unaware of the sexism present in debate. My first partner was (and every partner since has been) female. Within the first month of joining the debate team, two successful female debate partners...
Candy cravings: addressing candy in the cafeteria
Mikail Akbar
December 13, 2019
Every time I entered the cafeteria last year, I saw a wide variety of options. Grilled chicken and hamburgers to my left, an assortment of drinks to my right. I took two steps forward and found fried foods, entree meals, and pasta, and I debated what should fill my stomach for the noon meal. However,...
Using privilege for service: reflections on 9th grade service learning day
Louise Kim
December 6, 2019
The day before my 9th grade Service Learning Day trip to the Ittleson Center on Nov. 14, 2019, I was filled with excitement as I thought back on my experiences with service learning in the Middle Division, including trips to the Mercy Center Carnival and New York Common Pantry. I wondered if my experience...
Bilingual benefits: Why you shouldn’t drop language
Amman Kejela
November 25, 2019
“I know what class I’m dropping!” That is the ubiquitous phrase that greeted me at the end of my junior year. Since students must take a class in each major subject for at least three years, senior year presents the first opportunity that many of us have to abandon a subject entirely. I’m not...
Vignettes of My Seeds Experience
Ermee Choudhury
November 25, 2019
6/28/19 (Second day of camp) Tense moment between a few girls in my bunk today. After meeting one another and uttering the words “Israel” and “Palestine” they quickly turned away to continue organizing their clothes, abruptly ending the conversation. The bunk was silent, even before lights out. 6/30/19 Today...
Exerpts of my Seeds of Peace journal reflecting on my American Identity
Jacob Shaw
November 25, 2019
6/26 I’m meeting the other kids (the people I’ll be eating, sleeping, and breathing next to for the next three weeks) tomorrow. Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians, Egyptians, Indians, Pakistanis—and I’m American. [...] I might be one of the first Americans they’ve ever met. The United States’...
Approaching Diolague: How my experience with Seeds of Peace shapes how I approach conflict
November 25, 2019
In my years at Horace Mann, I always thought that the way we approach conflict was productive Whether it be in the classroom or in our extracurriculars, we look at facts, analyze them, and come to a clear, indisputable conclusion. We tackle logic and statistics and reasoning, but in doing so, we lose...
What STEPS means to me
Jessica Thomas
November 25, 2019
At Horace Mann, only about 5% of students identify as black. As one of the few, I wanted to use my experiences to help younger students. STEPS (Students Together Empowering People of Color Successfully), is a mentor program in which younger students of color are paired with high school mentors, who help...
