How To Make a Hugely Popular, yet Seemingly Pointless TV Series (with John Wilson)

The first episode of “How To With John Wilson” opens with a straight shot of a dumpster overflowing with trash. The camera, shaking slightly, stays on this frame for a moment too long, as the monotone voice of John Wilson begins an awkward and unsure introduction to his show. The viewing experience of the rest of this TV series is encompassed in the opening scene: uncomfortable, weird, and yet impossible to look away from.

Wilson’s show, streaming exclusively on HBO Max, has taken the country by storm, receiving a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and gaining a devoted following only weeks after it premiered in October of 2020. John Wilson, the 35-year old filmmaker whose face never appears in the show except through the occasional reflection in a window, is the humble writer, director, producer, and narrator of “How To”.

In viewing “How To”, it is easy to forget that the purpose of the show is to offer advice. Wilson provides a step-by-step guide on important life lessons, ranging from “How to Make Small Talk” and “How to Put up Scaffolding” to “How to Split the Check”. Through his many pauses and stammerings, Wilson seems unclear as to why he’s even at liberty to offer such advice, but his narrations are endearing and at times profound. 

“How To With John Wilson” does not offer viewers an escape from reality like most popular TV shows, which feature plots people can disappear into and use to forget about the outside world. Instead, “How To” is deeply rooted in reality, in the moments of life when most people are on autopilot: a man surreptitiously picking his nose while waiting for the subway, a woman trying to lure a pigeon into a plastic shopping bag, an inflatable giraffe sitting in the passenger seat of an empty car.

Through the never ending B-roll footage of New York City and its eclectic inhabitants, Wilson offers viewers insight into the world through his eyes. And though it is framed as a love letter to New York City, the dysfunctional and almost sociopathic depiction of New Yorkers seems more like a warning sign.

John Wilson is the little voice in the back of your head that wonders, “What would happen if I did everything that my parents told me not to do?” He talks to strangers, buys a rug off craigslist with a bloodstain from “stress related incidents”, and purchases the building he lives in from the elderly landlady downstairs despite the fact that it is literally crumbling before his eyes. He acts on the desires you didn’t even realize you had. And reminds you why your parents advised you against those desires in the first place.

At times, viewers fear for the safety and wellbeing of the narrator, who jumps at the chance to visit a “child predator catcher’s” house in Virginia after having a minutes-long conversation with him at Wrestlemania. Yet Wilson always emerges safe from these outrageous interactions with strangers, often having gained no answers to the question the episode posed.

The show itself feels like one long tangent, so much so that you forget where you started, or why you clicked on the episode in the first place. But rest assured that John Wilson will take you right back where you began, and leave you feeling like you know less about the subject of the episode than thirty minutes prior.

So why do people love “How To With John Wilson”? All of these reasons and more. It’s real. It’s raw. It’s gross. It’s awkward. And it’s a masterpiece.

Beyond The MPR: The Disconnect Between the Middle and Upper Schools

To many Athenians, the Middle School is simply the area past the gym where the loud kids on the bus go. Maybe they’ll see a few kids around the Main Hall who are too short to be freshmen, or have an eighth grade prodigy or two in their Algebra II or Spanish class. But to others, it’s full of nostalgic memories.

The Middle School and the Upper School are related on an administrative level, as they are two parts of one institution, but in the daily life of an Athenian, they’re notably disconnected, in terms of the campuses as well as students’ personalities.

“Middle schoolers tend to worry more about little things than high schoolers do,” Peter Bonfanti, Middle and Upper School math instructor, said. “For example, they might be really worried about whether they can put their graph above or below a certain line when it really doesn’t matter.”

Some of these more trivial differences may owe simply to the different ages of the students.

“High schoolers are much better at articulating when something isn’t the way they think it should be, like if your grading isn’t fair or they need more time for an assignment,” Bonfanti said.

However, Middle and Upper School students also have different experiences of Athenian education. Middle schoolers are involved in more experiential learning activities than high schoolers, partially because of the nature of the two educational levels.

According to Lauren Railey, Middle School Head, Assistant Head, and Acting Head of School, the Upper School may indeed start to see more experiential education. “Part of our strategic plan…[is that] we’re looking at the curriculum six through 12 to find ways that it can be more cohesive, include more CIS instruction, and also be more project-based and experiential in the Upper School” Railey said. “We’d like to have it be more unified, and…we are moving in that direction.”

The Middle and Upper School administrations are not nearly so distinct as in student and faculty ranks and are in almost constant communication.

“We have a leadership team,” Railey said. “That’s where we all meet and try to make big decisions…about policies and think about kids six-through-12.” This leadership team is called the Leadership Committee, formerly known as the Head’s Advisory Committee, and is concerned with the logistics of running a school. There is a separate committee that has more of an effect on Athenian life.

“We also have a Teaching and Learning Committee,” Railey continued. “That’s a six-through-12 committee that Meadow and I chair together…and [on it are] deans who are in charge of different aspects of teaching and learning. We talk a lot about the best ways to teach and how kids learn most effectively, and what that looks like in a middle school and in an upper school.”

The Upper School is intended, to an extent, to build on a Middle School education, although the existence of Upper School students who did not attend the Middle School limits this cohesion.

“We certainly try with skills like writing and math to have a sequence of skills [that] build on each other,” Railey said. “The connections are about general skills students will develop in terms of their academic performance.”

Some eighth graders, and occasionally seventh graders, also take language and/or math classes in the Upper School so that they can continue learning the subject at an advanced level. “The most noticeable thing about taking upper school classes is how disconnected it feels going between the middle school and upper school,” Cameron S. ’23, who took Chinese II and Algebra II Honors in eighth grade, said.

While the overarching vision for the two schools is connected, it is unlikely, according to Railey, that the students start to interact significantly more.“There are always ways for the students to interact in really positive ways,” Railey said. “But I’m not sure most high school students really want to interact a lot with middle school students.

The disconnect between middle schoolers and high schoolers is not insignificant, but varies depending on the student. “[I think] Upper schoolers who came from the Middle School seem to be more down on the middle schoolers because it reminds them of when they were kids,” Bonfanti said. “Upper schoolers who didn’t come up from the Middle School have much less of an opinion about the Middle School.”

Some Upper School students do, in fact, support more connections between the two. “Upper School students should be more involved in Middle School classes, presentations, and Focus Days, and Middle School students should have a larger degree of access to Upper School resources and teachers,” Jacob T. ’22, who took Spanish II in 8th grade, said in an email.

The existing interactions between middle and upper schoolers often end up being, if not positive, neutral and respectful. “As I’ve noticed with the Athenian community, outsiders are so well…integrated with the other students,” said Roark G. ’26, an eighth grader enrolled in French III Honors and Algebra II Honors. “I’ve been well accepted by my peers and teachers. Many think I am, in fact, a high school student.”

There is also the potential for larger-scale interactions, like all-school meetings, that could build a sense of community between the schools. 

“It’s sad we’ve missed Convocation for two years now,” Jacob T. said. “As an event that involves both schools, it puts the entire Athenian School and its students into perspective.”

While the Middle and Upper Schools will likely remain mostly separate, there may be even more avenues for connection, and those that exist can be truly valuable to students.

“I am so excited to join the high school community next year…[especially] because I have an idea of what my future will look like,” Roark G. said.

Which Subject Matter Matters?

Electives such as  Journalism, Yearbook, Debate, Entrepreneurship and Physical Education(PE) are listed on official Athenian schedules as being held during Conference and Collaboration(C&C) time. In theory, this isn’t a problem. A lot of students don’t have classes then, so it’s a good time for teachers to hold office hours and for students to do homework.

But when your teacher says that their only available times are during your PE class, you look at the schedule and wonder how on earth we got to this point. Half of the woodwinds leave midway through E-Band during the shortened end-of-day period on Monday in order to go to basketball practice. Band members can only hope that, despite conflicted schedules, maybe they’ll practice their parts on their own. Your C period teacher says on Friday that it’s the last class of the day, and you sigh and mutter that you have Journalism after this. By the time an administrator says that we sort of have a late start on Wednesday because the first class is E period, you barely even bother rolling your eyes, because everyone knows the arts don’t matter!

I’m well aware that there isn’t really anywhere else to put E Period besides Monday. I know office hours are important and that teachers being available at the end of the day is critical for a lot of students. I understand why the schedule is organized the way it is. It’s difficult, logistically, to fit seven full-length class periods into a five-day week, and even harder to afford extra time for Electives and PE, especially considering the classes for which we need to share spaces with the Middle School and the added complications of community meetings, advisory, C&C, and community service. But even within the constraints of our schedule, we can do better.

Maybe we shift Monday’s schedule up fifteen minutes and get rid of Wellness Time so E period can have as much class time as every other class. Maybe we hold more visual arts classes during E so it has a little more traction, or if we’re feeling really radical, just stop pushing all entry-level performing arts classes to their own period. We could pretty easily not list PE and Elective as official C&C times and instead ask teachers to name a couple class periods during which they will hold office hours. Perhaps we could shift Elective or PE up to directly after lunch on certain days, before the last lettered class period, so they aren’t quite so disproportionately affected by students leaving for sports. I don’t know exactly how feasible all of these changes are, but something needs to happen. It’s hard to ask my peers to respect these classes more when our schedule doesn’t.

Practical concerns aside, there’s a clear reason these classes are so often pushed to the side. Really, it all comes down to the eternal question: is Athenian a college prep school? To the extent that it is, E period, Elective, and PE really don’t matter as much as other classes. They aren’t classes like math or history—they’re effectively extracurriculars. But regardless of how much we are a college prep school, we’ll always be more than that. For as long as we keep talking about our pillars and our mission of developing the whole student (even if Gabe and I are the only people here who actually know what the Mandala is and what it means), we need to be treating all disciplines as equally worthwhile.

Satire: The Athenian Farm Plan

Athenian, I come to you as a fellow student outraged over the (seemingly never-ending) Meatless Monday controversy. Though there is strong support for Meatless Monday among groups like the Veggie Club, many others firmly oppose it and have called for either a Beefless Monday or a Complete Removal of Any Special Monday menu. Community Meeting proposals have been discussed, and arguments have been had via social media, but that all ends today.

Naturally, this proposal falls in line with Athenian’s cherished environmentalism Pillar and our devotion to clean energy, a reduction of waste, and education surrounding the gruesome nature of the meat industry. My conscience simply couldn’t stand to not uphold those values, and quite honestly, I’m certain the rest of this progressive community feels the same. 

With all of the aforementioned context in mind, I implore you all to open your hearts, and your minds, to what I’d endearingly like to call The Athenian Farm Plan. I find this name ideal, as it is easily transferable to the community meeting format, which I’m sure will yield a great outcry of student support and echoing calls for change. 

What exactly is The Athenian Farm Plan, though? This: Athenian will commit to installing a decently sized farm complex on campus, including barns, fields for grazing, and a state-of-the-art slaughterhouse. Suggestions for specific locations would be much appreciated, as student input, of course, is always key. Beyond usage in accordance with The Plan, this farm complex already affords myriad benefits, and opportunities for capitalization, to the school. 

A brief thought on those opportunities: It would be a new and unique feature of the school that surely would draw new students to apply and increase student retention during the Middle to Upper School transfer. Moreover, Athenian could exploit the addition in order to draw new types of students, especially those seeking to pursue unique career opportunities (but more on that in a bit).

Once this farm complex is installed, animals like  cows, pigs, and possibly chickens would be introduced. Upkeep of said farm complex would fall to the student body, which introduces another enticing indirect benefit; this new responsibility would give students more experiential learning opportunities, which Athenian clearly values, and prepare them for future careers as farmworkers, if they so desire to lead such a life. Animal husbandry, anyone? 

The actual execution of The Plan would begin on an appropriately deemed Monday in the coming months. Students of all grades would be excused from their first period classes (I’m aware that this could wreak a bit of havoc on the schedule, but honestly, it would give students a much-needed break from strenuous classwork and allow them to focus on their mental health, which Athenian has clearly articulated that it values) and they would come together at the newly installed farm complex. 

Once there, students would be handed a weapon of some type, perhaps a knife or axe (specifics can be left for later), though I do find machetes particularly enticing, and instructed to select an animal that is to their liking. That animal would then be slaughtered; I suggest going straight for the neck, as that seems the easiest way to go about it. That freshly harvested meat would then be whisked away to the kitchens and prepared for that Monday’s lunch, appeasing all parties involved: ‘Meatless Monday’ certainly wouldn’t be meatless anymore, but awareness would still be raised on the brutality of the meat industry. 

Moreover, it would give students the opportunity for more lunch personalization, through their selected animal, which would undoubtably ease some of the complaints about lack of lunch variety/options. After all, with knife (or machete!) in hand, the power is truly being handed back to the students. My only hope is that those appetites don’t go awry and a notably unliked member of the community is served up, though, democratization and empowerment always come with consequences, so who am I to condemn this? 

The Plan itself would also place increased emphasis on experiential learning, as previously mentioned, and it would certainly set Athenian apart in the world of Independent Learning Institutions. After all, where else are students educated in methods of slaughter and primed for successful careers as Meat Plant employees and serial-killers?

Athenian may even go on to matriculate students that follow in the footsteps of household icons such as Ted Bundy, Jeffery Dahmer, and Albert DeSalvo, all of whom successfully engaged in animal cruelty ‘crimes’ (in quotations because what is really so criminal about raising environmental awareness?) prior to their dedication to the art of mass murder. 

So, what do you say, fellow students? Will you join me on this crusade for a new, and improved, Athenian? Will you join me as I usher in a new era of environmentalism and community building? Will you pick up a knife, and lure young women into your Volkswagen, alongside me and choose to spearhead this change, this taking back of control? After all, what’s so bad about a bit of spilt blood? We don’t seem to have any qualms when it isn’t on our hands anyway.

What To Do with the Founding Fathers

Let’s talk about plastic. The substance is made from natural materials such as coal, cellulose and crude oil. Since its invention in 1907 by Leo Baekeland, synthetic plastics have been vital to the average American’s daily life. It is found in almost every product. However, the problem with plastic is that it destroys the environment. The fumes from the plastic cause global temperatures to rise, causing increasing natural disasters and rising sea levels. Large numbers of animals die when they eat the plastic that is polluted.  

Despite these facts, plastic consumption and production is still on the rise. It is something that has been ingrained in our culture, and it doesn’t seem like it will stop anytime soon. We are complicit in the climate crisis. Even those of us who advocate for sustainability and more environmental regulations have used plastic at some point in our lives, all of which contributes to the deterioration of our planet. When the generations that come after us realize what we did, they will have judgment. 

But is it really our fault? We were brought up in a culture that prizes consumerism. It is considered normal to throw away toxic plastics on a daily basis. Does that mean that everyone who has contributed to climate change (which is most people) is inherently evil? 

To believe so would be outrageous! We can’t forget all the good that people who have used plastic contributed to the world! Martin Luther King Jr. used plastic. Most presidents since 1900 have used plastic. Plastic is used in life-saving medical devices. The great people of our generation should be celebrated for the good that they contributed to the world. Not disgraced for the normalized evils of society, evils like plastic. 

The same is the case when it comes to our founding fathers. Over the last few years, people have become increasingly critical of our founding fathers. Statues have been removed and buildings and other dedicated spaces have been renamed. Why? Because those whose names were stripped from monuments owned slaves, a horrible crime that should be recognized and not overlooked. They also treated the indigenous people like they deserved nothing. They violated their rights and plundered their people. This seems like a good reason to stop celebrating them, right?

Although these acts are inexcusable, we must remember that slavery and indentured servitude were common practice on every continent by many nations over time. Military conquest was also the normalized way of empire expansion. In fact, military conquest was generally accepted until the end of World War II.

So is it fair that the likes of George Washington should be judged on the evils of slavery, which every other prominent civilization also practiced? I would argue no. Especially considering his amazing contributions to American society. 

The founding fathers laid the building blocks for the freedom that all Americans now enjoy. In the Declaration of Independence, it is written that “all men are created equal.” This principle is the foundation of modern-day American freedom. (However, this principle was definitely not applied equally at the time. Only the property owning white men had the rights laid out in the constitution.)

What makes the Constitution amazing, and the founding fathers by extension, is its ability to evolve. The founding fathers knew they didn’t have all the answers. They had the foresight to see that many of the practices of their time could be viewed as wrong. That is why the constitutional amendment process was added. So far, 17 amendments have been ratified since the original Bill of Rights. Some of which, have abolished slavery, and granted women the right to vote, to name a few. 

When speaking of the founding fathers, slavery and the horrible acts committed should not be left out of textbooks. We need to recognize that the societal conditions of the past were unacceptable. However, we cannot judge them based on the pretenses of modern morals. Instead, we must look past societal wrongs and focus on the individuals who strived to create a better world, those who rose past the sins of their time to create something greater than their surroundings. While the founding fathers fell short, their positive impact was above anyone of the time.  This is why we should never stop celebrating the founding fathers. 

Give Us the Placement Test! One International Student’s Call for Justice

I have always described myself as an academic, especially in mathematics and science, two of my favorite courses. When I was in Korean public school, I could not learn as much as I wanted since every student took the same curriculum. As a result, I invested most of my time attending a private academy, sometimes studying 16 hours a day. I gained most of my advanced knowledge in mathematics and science during this period, which has given me pride up to this day. 

After graduating from Korean middle school, I decided to study in the U.S. and got accepted to the Athenian School. For two reasons, I had a strong hope that I would finally be able to take any course I wanted as long as I was qualified and prepared. The U.S. is known for its meritocracy, as a place where people earn what they choose when they put in time and effort. Along those lines, I believed that the Athenian School would have more teachers and educational resources compared to those of public school, thus providing more opportunity for students to learn. 

However, when I was a freshman, I was placed in Geometry and Physics, which I had already taken in Korea. I suspended judgment since I understood that it is common for freshmen to take Geometry and Physics and that there is no way for Admissions to know the aptitude of students without a placement test. Moreover, as an international student, I understood how complicated the course placement might be because of a difference in Korean and U.S. report cards. For instance, my middle school transcript just shows as “mathematics” and “science,” not “algebra” or “biology.” So with patience I asked for a placement test in math and science to skip the materials I already know.

The answer from Athenian was that I coud only take the placement test for Algebra II  Honors, but not for Pre-Calculus, Advanced Physics, or Advanced Chemistry, since my transcript did not show those courses, and since the school provides placement tests only to students who had taken the courses. 

  As mentioned above, I learned most of the advanced materials of math and science from my private academy, which did not specifically show subject matter on the official transcript. Thus, with no placement test, I had no way to show the skills and knowledge I earned from investing three years of my middle school in subjects taught in high school at Athenian. 

At least my science classes had new skills for me to practice through experiments and lab reports. However, my math classes did not provide any new skills for me to learn. Since I wished to study new materials rather than reviewing the materials I already knew, I consistently contacted the Math department to find a way to get placed into a course where I could gain knowledge in both depth and breadth.

    Over the first semester of my Freshman year, I was able to prove my mathematical capabilities to the Math Department, and I asked to be moved to higher math courses since my goal was to take Multivariable Calculus in this school. However, their answer was that I would still be able to take Multivariable Calculus by doubling up in math in senior year, and taking Calculus BC along with it. In other words, they did not allow me to skip math courses. 

Since I have strong academic interests, I had been looking forward to other courses like advanced science, other math courses, and even art. Yet, because of high school’s four-year time constraint. I have to manage my timing well in order to take the classes I want to. Following the plan proposed by the math department has placed me in direct opposition to my goal.

I believe that a school must support students’ learning by placing them into courses in which they can best utilize their indivudal capacity. Athenian, for math and science, has provided me neither optimal course placement nor the opportunity to prove my capability. As a result, I did not make any progress in those two courses for two years, which were once my most proficient domains. I even lost some of my enthusiasm for math and science. 

My call to action is for Athenian to provide more equitable and accessible placement tests. Athenian should reform its course placement system so that students’ depth of understanding is closely and evaluated; it should provide the most suitable courses for each student; and it should encourage students’ learning. and fulfillment of dreams.

NFTs, and Three Other Fundamentally Worthless (Yet Wildly Successful) Products

Digital pixels, water, and rocks are everywhere, easily accessible and affordable for anybody to obtain. But what happens when the market decides that these items are worth something? As the demand for something inflates, so does its value, creating unbelievable market prices that may seem arbitrary to the item in question. By taking a look at some of the highest-grossing examples of these paradoxically prized products, we attempt to answer the age-old question: How are things worth the value that we’ve assigned to them?

NFTs

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), best recognized by their use in art, have recently taken the investment world by storm. Despite lacking tangible form, their outrageous price points (a collage of 5,000 artworks created over the past 13 years grossed over $69 million) have garnered the attention of worldwide media outlets. Thousands are flocking to online markets to purchase their own. 

An NFT functions as a unique, tradable collectible. Current formats that are popular include art, domain names, tweets, and original memes. The original doge meme, for example, sold for $4 million in June of 2021. The first tweet in internet history from Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter, sold as an NFT for $2.9 million. In its first few years of commerce, NFTs garnered over $174 million. 

But with visual images of these digital pixels so accessible on the internet, anyone can download or screenshot them for free, raising the question of why essentially worthless digital art sells for so much money. Coinbase co-founder, Fred Ehrsam was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that “[90% of NFTs produced, probably will have little to no value in three to five years.” Essentially, their value is dependent on their exclusivity. The rarer or more popular the image, the more sustained the demand, and the higher the price it can command. Put into simpler terms: it’s worth a lot because people have assigned it that arbitrary value.

Bottled Water

Water is everywhere, falling from the sky, flowing through our taps, and gushing in natural rivers and springs. Even in drought-ridden California, drinking water is an abundant resource. With water so readily available for most Americans, how has a $217.66 billion industry been created from bottling it? Companies like Nestle, Fiji, and Poland Springs gain profit margins of 50% to 200%, meaning that with a little extra filtering, they can turn tap water into billions of dollars. Dasani and Aquafina, with gross annual sales of $675 million and $872 million, respectively, source their bottled water from municipal taps, the exact same water that flows out of the tap in your kitchen or bathroom. 

The water itself is worth close to nothing, because anyone can simply find water for themselves, but the marketing, packaging, and consumer agreement to buy this product have given the (essentially free) water that you already have, a price. 

The $1 Million Homepage

Synonymous with the header of this section, The Million-Dollar Homepage was a website that garnered one million dollars. In 2005, 21-year old Alex Tew was a college student looking for a way to pay his college tuition. His solution? Selling one million pixels of ad space on his website (www.milliondollarhomepage.com) for $1 each in ten-by-ten pixel lots. Within five months he had done it: all one million pixels on the homepage had been sold and were occupied with an ad, meaning that around one million people thought that a single pixel was worth a dollar. 

The Pet Rock

The creator of this national fad, Gary Dahl, reached millionaire status in the 1970s by selling one million rocks for $4 apiece. What gave these solid gray stones that you pass by on the sidewalk every day the value of $4? Was it the googly eyes glued to it? The instruction manual it came with? Or perhaps, the little nestling of paper scraps that the rock is packaged with? 

All of these examples go to show that value is completely subjective to the consumer. Anyone could pick up a rock and stick on googly eyes, then sell the idea, but in the case of the Pet Rock, one million people happened to share the same sense of humor as Gary Dahl during the Christmas shopping season, allowing this simple rock to quickly gain traction. His marketing definitely played a role in its success. By advertising it as a gag gift, people were more likely to buy a $4 rock because it was about the humor of it, not as much the product itself.

Today, you can buy an original Pet Rock for around $40, ten times the original price. But Is a decorated rock really worth $40? Is tap water worth paying for? And are pixels worth millions? It’s for you to decide.

Tensions Escalate Between Russia and Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shocked the world. The Russians have many demands for the United States, such as a complete withdrawal of all North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO)   weapons from Eastern Europe and a guarantee that Ukraine will never be allowed into NATO. Experts agree these demands are not serious, with Russia aware that the U.S. is unlikely to agree to them. The intention behind this set of demands lies in Putin’s desire to re-establish Russia as a dominant player on the world stage. 

Where Putin goes  from here is anyone’s guess, but to truly understand what he wants from this conflict, it’s necessary to look at the last forty years of Russia’s relationship with the West.  In 1949, NATO was created to combat Soviet aggression in Europe. After the Soviet Union–Russia’s pact of communist countries–collapsed in 1991, the Warsaw pact dissolved as well. Ukraine, the historical heartland of Russia, separated and became an independent country. For Russia, this was humiliating.

This is the backdrop upon which Vladimir Putin rose to power, and he has made his views on Ukrainian sovereignty clear. Speaking with President George Bush in 2008, Putin stated, “Ukraine is not a country.”

Furthermore, Putin has made a point of negotiating solely with the United States and refusing to negotiate directly with Ukraine, signifying that he views Ukraine as a pawn of the West instead of a legitimate independent country.

Photo: Shutterstock

However, this true takeover of Ukraine has proven difficult to the extent that many modern Ukrainans and Russians see each other in a favorable light. Nicolas K. ‘23, a first-generation American student at Athenian whose family is originally from Russia, reiterated this belief. “There is a lot of respect between Russians and Ukranians. We view each other as brothers,” Nicolas said. “Because of that, I don’t think a lot of people would be that happy about an invasion, so it would be difficult for Putin to hold public support.” 

However, many point out that Putin doesn’t operate under the same code of ethics as other world leaders. Lea Hartog, a humanities teacher at Athenian, expressed this view. “Putin doesn’t have to answer to the will of the people,” Hartog said. “There is no accountability if he makes a mistake or does something wrong, which emboldens him to make riskier moves. That’s why I believe the U.S. has an obligation to protect Ukraine—because we have to show that democracy will be protected around the world.”

But there are limitations to what Putin has the power to do, and this full invasion of Ukraine may have terrible consequences for his country. If Putin continueshandhexpands his invasions, a serious military counter-offensive by the West could escalate to all-out war, one Russia would almost surely lose, and would result in vast amounts of casualties for both sides. Because of the inevitable loss of life in that situation, the West doesn’t want to see this play out—something Putin can use to his advantage. No matter  whathPutin chooses to do next, his actions will be crucial to the future of democracy and to Russia’s relationship with Western nations in the coming decades. His decisions will hinge upon the degree to which he is willing to sacrifice his own agenda. 

  Taking over Ukraine will have serious consequences for his country in the years to come, as would any additional invasions Putin might think to carry out, but he appears set on being the man who took Ukraine back for Russia.

Virus Variants: Something To Fear?

In March 2020, most Americans assumed that COVID-19 would sweep through the nation and be gone within the span of two weeks. In the summer of 2020, those week-long predictions stretched into months. Would the virus be gone by Christmas? By 2021, worried Americans were beginning to wonder: how many years until this would all be over? So, why hasn’t COVID-19 disappeared yet? What’s taking so long? While there are numerous reasons why COVID-19 remains prevalent in the United States, much of COVID-19’s longevity can be boiled down to one key biological principle: viruses are always changing. 

Sometimes, these changes are minute and don’t affect the virus’s overall transmission rates or virulence. Other times, however, these changes are so significant that they are labeled “virus variants,” the infection rates and lethality of which can deviate from the original virus. Therefore, any conversation about viruses that lacks mention of variants would be incomplete. Virus variants are essential to understanding viruses and why they stick around for so long.

“A variant is where the virus has one or more mutations in the genetic code,” Dr. Jeffrey Silvers, infectious disease specialist, said. “With the incredible number of people with COVID in the world, the number of mutations that are occurring is enormous.” 

Put differently, due to the far-reaching spread of COVID-19, the virus is rapidly mutating, resulting in a multitude of variants. A given variant might become more commonplace if its respective mutations enhance its capacity to survive, infect, or reproduce. Occasionally, scientists can forecast which mutations might become problematic for human health. “A variant of interest is defined as a group of mutations that are predicted to reduce our ability to diagnose or treat the virus and may have increased transmissibility and virulence,” said Dr. Silvers.

Of course, certain variants, such as those which have a greater ability to evade the immune system or disrupt normal bodily functions, can complicate the process of combatting the virus overall. This dilemma can be framed in terms of the current pandemic. “Because there are so many variants, whenever we manage to get through one variant, like Delta, sometimes we right away get another, like Omicron,” Marianne Sekany, registered nurse, said. “The scary thing is wondering whether, after Omicron, there’s going to be another variant.” 

This worry that is shared by many medical professionals truly underscores the gravity of the current pandemic. While society may be on the verge of overcoming the current variant, it’s impossible to know if another variant awaits in the future. Moreover, this rapid succession of new variants can make it difficult to develop effective vaccines that curb viral propagation. This is partly due to the fact that vaccines stimulate the creation of antibodies, which are meant to inhibit viruses by binding to a specific component of their structure (in the case of COVID-19, the antibody binds to a part of its spike proteins).

“Some mutations in viruses can alter their three-dimensional shape,” said Dr. Silvers. “Certain combinations of mutations that can be very successful (from the virus viewpoint) can occur. These mutated viruses are able to more effectively evade our immune system.” 

In other words, these antibodies that are produced as a result of the vaccines are trained to inhibit the virus according to its original shape. Since variants can have shapes that differ from the original virus, the antibodies induced by the vaccine are often rendered ineffective. Given that variants present numerous obstacles to virus containment, it’s essential that medical professionals prepare for new variants ahead of time.

“The best way to prepare for new variants is through modern science,” said Dr. Silvers. “Genomic sequencing of enormous numbers of specimens from around the world has enabled us to determine and follow mutations. There are definite patterns to which mutations are worrisome and likely to get passed on.”

But this preparation is no easy task, and the incessant onslaught of new COVID-19 strains has placed serious pressure on hospitals, exposing certain issues that had previously underlied the healthcare industry. 

“Burnout and medical staff illness have been highlighted by the pandemic,” said Sekany. “Taking care of very sick patients and operating hospitals at full capacity can be utterly exhausting… Not to mention, many nurses and medical professionals really feared for their health at the beginning [of the pandemic]—we didn’t know what we were dealing with.” 

In short, virus variants can wield great power, and are sometimes capable of being even more infectious or deadly than the original virus. Therefore, in the face of Omicron, COVD-19’s latest variant, it’s more important than ever to adhere to the guidelines set forth by medical professionals. 

“Wear a mask, get your vaccine and booster, maintain personal hygiene, and just be careful,” Sekany said.

Can Friendships Extend Beyond Boarders?

“I feel excluded from the day students, and I feel like they don’t want to talk to me because I’m an international student,” an Athenian junior boarding student said. This statement has been said not only once, but multiple times over the years. 

By contrast, a freshman day student expressed an opposing point of view. “I don’t have many chances to talk to the boarders,” they remarked. “First, I don’t really have any boarder friends. Second, I always think that they don’t really want to talk to day students.” This disparity in opinion is evidence that issues of inclusion and belonging are complicated ones. 

The question of how intentional (or unintentional) such exclusion might be was pointed out by a sophomore boarding student. “It feels like it’s more boarders staying together than not trying to interact with day students…when Main Hall is only open to boarders, boarders will tend to stay indoors and have lunch with boarders instead of going outside to mix.”

A 2020 alum, who was an international boarding student during their time at Athenian, agreed with this point of view.  “ I have to admit, it was quite difficult to jump into a new culture and environment and just branch out. Plus, a lot of the people in my grade went to middle school together, so there were already friend groups. Instead of trying to figure out how I could fit in…I found [myself] more connected with other international students who speak the same language as I do or share similar cultures.” 

A junior day student had deeper thoughts on self-isolation and the potential need for an adaptation period. “I think there’s an unstated division between day students and boarders. And that may be due to a language barrier or just different interests.”  

But not everybody has clear ideas on why this separation exists. “I honestly have a hard time figuring out why there’s a barrier,” another day student said. “My best guess is it’s a combination that boarders become friends in the dorm and feel comfortable with each other, and then day students don’t really go out of their way to get to know the boarders. And also I know there are pretty strict rules for living in the dorms, and, like, freshman year, when you get to know people, it might feel easier for day students to be friends with people who don’t have those restrictions.” 

       But could it be a simple misunderstanding to think that boarders don’t want to hang out with the day students? Maybe boarders tend to feel more comfortable talking to someone who shares the same cultural background as them. However, can anything be done to break this barrier?

“I don’t think there is a solution for this problem,”  a junior day student said. “We can’t force the day students to hang out with the boarders, as well as the other way round. I think the best we can do is to be nice to each other and treat the boarders like how we treat the day students.” 

A sophomore boarder agreed. “Honestly, I don’t know what we can do to break the barrier. It is hard for both boarders and day students. For me, I think it is fine that they don’t interact with each other as much. It’s their own decision who to hang out with.” 

While some international students may think that they’re being excluded, other international students may not really care about not talking to day students, since they already have their own friends in the boarding community. Day students may have similar ideas. 

Does this mean that day students will forever only be friends with the day students and the boarders will forever only be friends with the boarders? Hopefully one day this divide will be resolved. 

Student Life: Private vs. Public Schools

While public and private schools are clearly distinguishable from their price points, the precise differences in experience are sometimes difficult to pinpoint. Do students from both kinds of schools get the same opportunities? What are the pros and cons of attending public and private schools? Are private schools really “better”? 

“Public and private schools don’t provide the same opportunities,” said a sophomore who is currently attending a public school, Dublin High.  

As a common perception of private schools is that they are likely to be supported by high-income families, it is also common for public school students to perceive a disparity that they view as unjust.  However, some private school students refute the idea that private school opens more doors. 

“Yeah, we might have more interesting courses than public schools,” a junior at Athenian said. “But at the end of the day, colleges don’t compare us to them. So it doesn’t really matter.” 

These opposing viewpoints highlight an important distinction: some students only care about college admissions. Other students care about equal education. 

“Honestly, I don’t really care if there are pros or cons for both public and private schools,” said the same Athenian junior. As long as I get good grades in school and go to a good college, then my life is going to be fine.” 

A junior at Dougherty Valley cited social differences as another consideration. “I went to a public school because I wanted to go to a bigger high school with more people, which means more people to meet, and so you can experience more stuff,” they said. A sophomore from people, which means more people to meet, and so you can experience more stuff,” they said. A sophomore from Dublin High School agreed. “I would prefer going to a public school because they have better social networks, more freedom, individual thought, and less competition for colleges.”  

However, this is not always the case. Some private schools might have done a great job at balancing both maintaining a good social life and education for students. “I prefer private schools because they have smaller class sizes, so more attention on you, so better learning experience. Also, definitely more resources because we all pay. And the curriculum is much more flexible because we are not restricted by the government,” said a senior who’s studying at Bentley High School.

From the interviews, it is apparent that most of the public schoolers think that attending public schools can have a better social life, while the private schoolers think that attending private schools can have a better education.

What Can We Learn From Dyke Brown?

“It is not enough to be concerned with the scholarly excellence of our students alone. The values and purposes with which well-trained minds will be committed are of equal importance.” -Dyke Brown, the founder of Athenian.

Current students may only have a vague idea of what Athenian stands for. The school emphasizes ideals of experiential learning and the six Round Square Pillars. While all of these are valuable, none of them really continue the legacy of Dyke Brown. The Pillars represent six categories that the school believes are a good way to achieve its goal of “developing the full person”, but they are almost completely unrelated to the Mandala, Dyke Brown’s initial sketch for how the school should function. The details of Athenian’s original plans and are barely remembered today.

Dyke Brown

Dyke Brown sketched his initial ideas for the school in a model he called the Mandala. It was the founding document of the school, and while many people recognize its ideas as common sense now, it was seen as progressive at the time. It ingrained the ideas of experiential learning and developing the full person into the school’s psyche, but the document itself is barely discussed today. There is so much to Dyke Brown’s vision that much of Athenian has forgotten about.

The Mandala emphasized a multitude of areas that the school should focus on for its students. These goals were: bodily capability, rational capability, spiritual capability, understanding of nature, understanding of humanity, understanding of self and others, under-standing of society. Dyke

Brown defined “under-standing of society” as the study of power structures and freedom/authority, while “understanding of man” was seen as the knowledge of various cultures and traditions. 

The goals are grouped by capability and understanding. Capability is the ability to do something, and understanding is the development of our knowledge, which is tied to our being. Capability and understanding are related, and both help develop all aspects of a person. Dyke Brown had a revolutionary vision that is rarely emphasized today—to develop every single aspect of a student’s life. Rather than just teach students the academics and leave them to develop on their own everywhere else, Brown wanted to work on everything—which was eventually sterilized into modern Athenian’s goal of “developing the whole person”.

“The whole of what you do, 24 hours a day, is your curriculum,” Dyke Brown said at his 90th birthday party. To realize his idea of developing all aspects of life, Dyke Brown understood that the school would need to take up the student’s whole existence. Thus, Athenian was developed as a boarding school. However, being a boarding student today is probably different from what Dyke Brown imagined. Although it is freeing to not have a constant “curriculum” every second of the day, being a modern boarding student is more about the community and commute rather than being a way for the school to help the student learn in all aspects of life. 

Experiential learning was at the core of the founding ideas of the school. Even before official studies had been conducted on experiential learning, Dyke Brown knew that students would learn best if they were allowed to experience their curriculum rather than just being told about it. 

One thing that has been long forgotten is the emphasis Dyke Brown placed on the experiential learning benefits of field trips. In 1974, Dyke Brown wrote this list of the planned trips Athenian students would embark on in the next year: an excavation at Point Reyes searching for artifacts from the Sir Frances Drake expedition, a professional dig in Mexico studying pre-conquest Native American groups, a month living with Inuit people to experience a non-Western culture and study their environmental balance, a program in Washington where students interned in government offices, and a month where students lived at a Mexican clinic and helped the families there.

Although it’s probably unrealistic for the school to attempt to financially support that many trips ever again, it shows what Dyke Brown’s devotion to “experiential education” meant. He also had several ideas for classes that could even be applied to modern Athenian. Of course, it’s important to understand that these classes could have evolved past what he envisioned for them due to a variety of circumstances. But if it is now possible to hold these classes again, it could be an option worth considering.

In the 1970s, an “Urban Center” concept was introduced , wherein seniors could choose to live in a house in the middle of a city for part of the year. They spent their time doing unpaid internships in government agencies, organizations, political campaigns, and media companies. The students would read a variety of political science books about urban society in their free time. 

As Dyke Brown explained it: “The main goal was to provide a more realistic way of learning about the processes, problems and institutions of modern urban America. At the same time, the students were jointly responsible for food preparation and procurement, and the running of the house.” Though this idea may seem extremely ambitious, it seems like a relevant experience given a world in which cities and urban problems are growing in importance. 

Dyke Brown suggested two more good ideas: that the best way to have students learn foreign languages was to send them to households where only that language was spoken. Language immersion is now commonplace but was not at the time. He also wanted to show students in-person demonstrations of surgeries for medical biology. He also had many ideas about how building character could be done through manual labor, and thought that having students contribute to the maintenance of the school was a good way to incorporate this. Athenian students from earlier decades had a lot more on-campus duties, including dishwashing and gardening.

Dyke Brown was likely not correct about everything, and all founding ideas ultimately have to adapt to the times. Additionally, outside factors thwarted certain ideas and plans. For example, the school developed day student programs and expanded to include a middle school, which created curriculum and culture needs that Dyke Brown hadn’t outlined. Still, many of his unimplemented ideas could still be as relevant and important now as they were back when Athenian was founded. There are many things to be learned about modern day Athenian by looking into the past at Dyke Brown’s founding ideas and methods.

The Past, Present, and Future of Athenian’s Land

Very few students are aware of how much natural space Athenian has on its campus. The school’s land holdings total 75 acres, but central campus takes up only 23. The Tim Holm Trail and other trails that sit at high point on campus showcase the vast amount of undeveloped acreage. But what plans does Athenian have for its undeveloped land? 

The answer to Athenian’s future may lie in its past. This year’s convocation represented the first ever Land Acknowledgement Athenian issued since its founding. The school recognized that the land it occupies was once lived on by the Bay Miwok-speaking Tatcan tribe. As part of this acknowledgment, Athenian vowed to work towards correcting the injustices set in motion by colonists when they seized indigenous peoples’ land hundreds of years ago. However, there haven’t been any apparent changes that seem to serve this goal. 

Keith Powell, the school’s Chief Operating Officer, explained why development will not begin in the foreseeable future. “There’s lots of things in terms of wanting to think about the environment and thinking about water usage, noise, and lighting. All these things that the neighbors are concerned about,” Powell said, “And we usually have to go through an approval process that requires community input and community approval in order to build. When we did the project where we replaced the Main Hall, we probably reached the limit of the patience and support that people would have for us building more.”

While it is possible to push the boundaries set by the local community, Athenian would first have to consider the demand for changes that might utilize more of its land. Powell said that Athenian is satisfied with its current student population of ~540 and has capped class sizes for five years. It is safe to assume the school will not be needing to expand campus spaces any time soon. 

But the question still remains: what might the school eventually do with its land? It may seem like a natural solution to return the land to indigenous people, but Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice(DEIS), Sanjev deSilva, explains why this will probably not become a reality.

“I think it’s less about ‘give us our land back because it was taken from us’ and more about ‘where are we now in 2022, what has happened, and what can we do moving forward that will repair some of these relationships,’” deSilva said.

The Sogorea Te’ Land Trust is an organization led by people indigenous to this region that facilitates land return, cultural revitalization, and public education about indigenous traditions. While Sogorea Te’s website does profess its vision to be an organization that facilitates the return of Indigenous land to indigenous people, deSilva expresses that such a goal may be far in the future. 

“What they’re working on is more about education around the history and the legacy of the land and getting us to reimagine things,”deSilva said. “To reimagine the way we think about things like real estate, territory, things like this, ownership of land. Getting us to understand the different perspective that’s out there, and that’s the indigenous perspective.”

There are many ways to begin to right the injustices committed upon Indigenous people. Athenian is considering a seed bank program and an exchange program of sorts between indigenous tribes and Athenian students. Additionally, collaboration with Sogorea Te’ on an upcoming garden lab project seems like a likely possibility. 

Whitney Hofacker is the head of this initiative, which aims to build different agricultural projects around the campus for students to tend to and benefit from. Though no details have been decided, this could be a natural partnership–indigenous people could lead cultural revitalization via the opportunity to work on their ancestral lands; students could learn about indigenous culture and the products of the garden could flourish.

Another step that Athenian has recently considered is paying the Shuumi Land Tax. This is a voluntary donation that could be made to begin to repay for occupying stolen land. The Land Tax would go toward cultural revitalization for impacted groups and public education. But it seems that the best way to collaborate with Sogorea Te—to begin to correct the injustices of the past and improve the school’s relationship with them—could be through taking their guidance in cultivating and gardening Athenian’s vast amount of natural land. Theoretically, it could be a perfect relationship, allowing Athenian to retain the ‘green space’ so important to its mission and community while letting native tribes access land to perform traditional cultivation techniques that are so important to cultural revitalization. 

Corrina Gould, Co-Founder/Director of Sogorea Te’ Land Trust emphasized how important being able to interact with ancestral land is for native tribes: ​​“Sogorea Te’ Land Trust makes it possible for us to relearn our traditional methods of taking care of the land. We can begin bringing back some of our traditional foods, like acorns. With that comes ways of taking care of the land, such as prescribed burning. Burning also helps to bring back some of the native plants that were here before, so that we can bring back the basket weaving, we can bring back the medicines that were always here, we can begin to teach ourselves how it is that we are supposed to live on this land again.”

Even though Athenian has no plans to expand onto its undeveloped lands for the near future, that does not mean it cannot put the land to use in other ways–it could be used for the extremely important task of repairing the relationship between Athenian and indigenous tribes. 

Ask Athena: Athenian's Advice Column

Ask Athena is Athenian’s very own advice column that aims to help readers think through common challenges. Students may submit questions about all aspects of life, inside of school or out. The answers in this column are the opinions of Athenian’s patron goddess, Athena, and are not meant to serve as definitive solutions to the questions posed. Questions may be submitted at any time via pillar@athenian.org.

What should I do about a teacher that I do not have a very good relationship with? 

The first thing to consider is why. Do you show disinterest in class? Do you not complete homework assignments? Make sure your participation and your work show your commitment. Attending C&C is an excellent opportunity to show interest and improve your understanding of course material. Teachers tend not to prefer students who disrespect them or what they teach. But if the teacher is treating you in a way that feels unfair, the best course of action is talk directly to them. This may not resolve the problem but it will inform the teacher that the relationship needs attention. It’s usually in both of your best interests to make sure you have a good relationship. If you’re having a serious issue you can’t resolve one-on-one, talk to your advisor about what to do next.

What should I do when my opinion goes against what a majority of the school thinks? Is it worth it to say anything if people will judge me for having a different opinion?

Open discourse allows everyone involved to develop more educated ideas, and you have the opportunity to express ideas without being shunned. If the issue is important to you, and the opportunity arises to have an open conversation, share your ideas but also show respect. Just as you are smart, capable, educated and secure in what your life experiences have taught you, so is the other person. There is always room to learn and grow and engage in productive discourse. With that said, people’s minds are difficult to change. This has been proven time and time again by behavior heuristics such as confirmation bias. Be prepared for opposing points of view. If you want to stand by your opinion, think critically about whether your beliefs are driven by logical and coherent reasons. When you speak about your beliefs, aim to show a new perspective, even if you cannot convince them. Your goal should not be to have others suddenly agree with everything you say, but for them to respect your point of view. If you aren’t confident in your reasoning, don’t say anything. But if you think you can present your idea in a way that sheds new light, it is absolutely worth it to express your opinions. 

How can we not have terrible mental health while going to a school that is so difficult (and don’t give me self-care, go for a walk)?

DISCLAIMER: This is an advice column asked and answered by students. Responses should not be considered qualified medical advice. If you are having an issue with mental health, please lean on adult members of our community like our upper school counselor, Rose Stoloff, or please consult an outside mental health professional.

Mental health challenges can occur for many reasons. In some (not all) cases, finding strategies to proactively manage potentially stressful situations can be helpful. As an example, if some of your mental health struggles stem from a sense of feeling overwhelmed by the Athenian course load, you might consider rethinking how you manage your time.

Self-care may be a good way to manage stress that’s already set in, but it doesn’t necessarily solve the root causes of stress. Though workload management strategies might not be simple to think through and implement, making small changes in lifestyle and habits can make a big difference. 

Personally, I’ve found that the best way to improve my own mental health has been to manage my time well while doing homework. I do this by regulating myself into not getting distracted (watching YouTube, looking at social media, etc.), and not procrastinating. I find that the best way to finish homework is to get into a “zone” where I’m very productive and sustain this flow for as long as possible. If you try this, you can take breaks if you feel it will help your productivity, but I find breaks to be disruptive. As with all attempts to find life hacks, use trial and error and do what works for you. Hopefully, once you reduce feelings of overwhelm, you can also have time for activities that help you relax. 

College Application Season: A Stress Survival Guide

      College applications are quickly approaching for the class of 2023, and many juniors feel that preliminary college-app stress that we’ve all heard seniors complaining about. With their complaints of heavy workloads and high stress levels still fresh on our minds, many wonder how we can possibly survive this dreaded stage of highschool: college app season.

       With advice from Kimiko Sera-Tacorda, a former admissions officer, and Mark Van Warmerdam, an Athenian college counselor, we tackle the issues that past seniors have faced during the application process to learn from their experiences going forward. Here is a guide to lessening that burden and making the process easier on yourself.

How can my application reflect who I am?

Kimiko: Ask yourself: what do they want to hear from me? You’re not doing it for them, what do you have to say for yourself? 

How do I know which colleges are worth applying to?

Mark: A part of our conversation is, we get to know students and talk to them about their interests and their goals and aspirations. Compiling that with our information and the data that we have about colleges, [we] provide suggestions and help students broaden their search. There’s definitely a large amount of it that falls on the student to do the research and the exploration to see what works for them and what they’re interested in. We also do our best to keep a pulse on what’s happening in admissions to use that information to help students understand or estimate the likelihood of admissions.

What are colleges looking for? 

Kimiko: Depth  of involve-ment and a true passion will show up in your writing, and that is much more meaningful than a big laundry list of activities. I would extend that to be true for classes. They want you to absolutely push yourself to do your best, but that you’re doing something that interests you.

One senior brought up a concern about the difference between college essay style and the way students are taught how to write in school. How can students write good college essays?

Kimiko: We write reflections —that’s what they’re looking for, to be reflective. You do have more practice than you think. Reflect on college apps about what your passions are.

How can a non-humanities student approach college essays?

Kimiko: Everyone has to be a good writer and communicator. Colleges aren’t shifting their expectations based on your interests. There’s a sense of being sincere: that doesn’t mean that as a science person you can’t talk about your passions, your passions are just different. Tell a story, no matter if you consider yourself humanities or science. We are all human and we are all storytellers. 

In a senior survey, over a third of mentioned difficulties balancing school work and college apps. How would you suggest seniors find this balance?

Kimiko: Seniors should have most of the college applications done by the time school starts. Most of that work you can do over the summer when you have less stress and your brain is free to write well. When you’re trying to balance all the other due dates, it’s a lot harder.

Mark: We’re really trying to encourage students to begin early, so leading into senior year, a lot of the foundational work has been completed already. What tends to happen is that students don’t make spring a priority to make progress on the process because it’s not a it’s not an immediate deadline, and that’s when it becomes stressful in fall of senior year.

How can deadline-driven students keep on track? 

Kimiko: Use the resources you have—ask teachers for extensions, if you have to. Plan out the week before based on the Canvas agendas. If you care about it, you should plan for it.

Mark: We are providing, particularly through the Canvas now with target deadline dates for the different items to complete. And so sticking to that structure, and making a commitment to that, and building time to do that work into their schedule. A little bit of time every week will allow them to make a significant amount of progress that will benefit them down the road.

How would you suggest a student resolve differing wants and expectations with parents?

Mark: We encourage open communication both ways, between students and parents. A common way to do that is to set up a designated time to talk about the college process. This is about [the student’s] next steps and their college experience. In many cases, if the student can put forward a strong argument, and make a case for what they want, why they want it, and how they’re going to go about doing it, most parents are going to be receptive to that. We’re happy to be part of that conversation at the family meetings or additional meetings if it’s helpful to try and facilitate that communication in any way that we can.

What if there’s a lack of communication between the student and their college counselor? 

Mark: We’re sending out a lot of information. We do our best to be available, approachable, and accessible to students. I encourage them to reach out to us if they have any questions or if they have any needs that they feel aren’t being met.

What would you say to students who find the process especially arduous?

Mark: It depends a lot on how you approach it. There is a lot of work to do but if you plan and manage that in an effective way that can help minimize some of that stress around the workload. If students approach that in a realistic manner and if they’re open to a broader range of possibilities, that’s going to help them. Knowing that there are lots of great options out there can make it a much less stressful process.

If you had to give incoming applicants one piece of advice, what would it be? 

Mark: Start the process by being self reflective, and thinking about what’s important in their college experience. Continually ground themselves in that, and not in all the other noise that goes around the college process.

Kimiko: Plan and start early. As for essays, tell your story.