the westminster news
Published by the students of Westminster School
By Chip Genung ’25We are less than two months into 2024, and there have already been many developments with the 2024 election and its primaries. In the Democratic Primaries, Biden is dominating as expected, but that is not the interesting primary race. The Republican primary, on the other hand, is shaping up to be a very interesting race. Super Tuesday, the day in March on which most states have their primaries, is quickly approaching, and currently, Donald Trump maintains a strong lead over Ambassador Nikki Haley. Less than a month ago Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race, leaving Haley as the only major contender against Trump for the nomination.
The Iowa Caucus awarded 20 delegates to Trump and eight to Haley; the New Hampshire primary awarded 13 to Trump and 9 to Haley. New Hampshire was much closer than Iowa but still is by no means enough for a path to victory for Haley. Nevada, the most recent primary, did things differently from the rest of the states. They were required to hold a primary, but since the state GOP had chosen to hold a caucus, none of the primary votes would be used to determine delegate allocation. Due to this, Trump opted out from running in the primary while Haley decided to stay, which meant that Haley was on the primary ballot, while Trump would be on the caucus ballot. But despite not having Trump on the primary ballot, Haley still lost, gaining only 30 percent of the vote, while the “none of these candidates” option won over 60 percent of the vote. Though a meaningless blow, it is not great PR for her campaign. Still, what is most likely her last chance to prove that she should be the nominee is in her home state of South Carolina, where 50 delegates will be allocated on Feb. 24. Though possible, it is an extremely narrow path to victory, with Nikki Haley polling almost 30 points behind Trump. However, South Carolina hosts an open primary, meaning that, regardless of what party a voter belongs to, they can vote in either the Republican or the Democratic primary. This means that right-leaning Democrats and Independents could vote in the Republican primary and, due to her moderate policies, would most likely cast their ballot for Haley. With just a few weeks until Super Tuesday, this primary season may be finishing before it even really starts, unless Nikki Haley can win in her home state to gain the momentum she needs to continue.
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By Cassie Goundrey ’24 Jackson Rink: the beloved barn that is home to our five hockey teams and so much more. As a member of one of these hockey teams, I spend a significant amount of time in Jackson Rink during the winter season; however, I was there just as frequently in the fall because it’s also home to our field hockey locker room. So, I have logged many hours in the rink over my four years at Westy, and I’m not alone in my love for this space: Lucy Wainwright ’25 proudly boasts that “Jackson Rink is the prettiest barn in all of New England.” So, what is it that makes Jackson Rink so unique?
The beauty of “The Jack” lies in the charm of the wood beams arching over the ice. There’s something about the rustic appeal of the raw wood that gives The Jack character; perhaps there’s a bit of grit to it. For me, my favorite part about Jackson Rink is the way the sun shines through the large windows and reflects on the ice during an early afternoon practice. There’s a tranquility to the natural light; some might even say grace. There’s also a familiar smell that’s a mix of fresh-cut ice and towering wood that welcomes you when you enter; however, the hallway to the locker rooms frequently does not have as pleasant a smell; all I will say is that it’s a smell better off not described. Some might be surprised to learn that these quintessential architectural elements that make The Jack are actually only additions. That’s right, Jackson Rink used to be an outdoor rink in its earlier days. This might explain why it’s a bit of a tight squeeze walking by the bleachers. So the fun phrase “Pack The Jack” is both a metaphor for coming down to support the hockey teams and a reality. Thus, the “Packing of The Jack” can show just how close-knit our school community can be. Although The Jack’s architecture is unique among its more modern peers, this is not the only aspect that draws so many people to it. However cliché it might sound, Jackson Rink is special because of the memories many Martlets have made and will carry with them for the rest of their lives: it’s the beauty in the big games and loud crowds, the late-night practices, and the tomfoolery in the locker rooms that makes it a place where people always return. By Jilian Mihailovich ’25 Your parents probably say it all the time, “Why don’t you pick up a book and read?” Or maybe, it was a New Year’s resolution you haven't quite gotten to yet. Either way, reading reduces stress by 68%, is clinically proven to make you smarter, and keeps your brain more effective as you get older. If you ask me, it's something to consider.
Last year, I embarked on a journey to try to read over 30 books. Here are some of my favorites: “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt - This is probably my favorite book from the whole year. If you love “The Dead Poets Society,” the book “Bunny” or “The Goldfinch,” I strongly recommend it. It follows a group of prestigious college students who are involved in a murder, but you’re not quite sure how. It’s full of twists, but can definitely be dense. “Normal People” by Sally Rooney - I’m normally not a huge fan of romance books, but this one hooked me. Sally Rooney is known for her beautiful and real writing, and that’s evident throughout this story. The character development is really my favorite thing about this book, but if you are new to reading and want a bit of a “beach read,” this is for you. “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafón - A pleasant surprise. Set in 1945 Europe, it follows a young man on a journey to find the author of a book he read when he was 12, and he unravels various mysteries and plot lines about Barcelona along the way. Definitely a page-turner. One of my favorites! “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson - Calling all nature lovers! This memoir is full of laughs as you follow two men “Thru-hiking” the Appalachian Trail. They start off incredibly unprepared and out of shape but soon learn to adjust to trail life. “The Maid” by Nita Prose - I’m a sucker for a classic “whodunit.” If you're an Agatha Christie fan, love the movie Knives Out, or enjoy a good game of Clue, you're going to love this. It's a relatively new book and a page-turner. It follows the 25-year-old protagonist, Molly, whom you can’t help but sympathize with as she navigates her way through a murder investigation at the exclusive and opulent hotel where she works. By Camilla Norton ’25This past month, students were fortunate enough to have a Wednesday morning off from school to relax and reset. This new tradition, known as mindfulness day, is one that provides students with a much-needed break during what is arguably the most academically challenging term on Williams Hill. Personally, my wellness day was spent practicing yoga with Mr. Doucette and joyously singing karaoke with my friends on the WCC stage. Although this day of rest and relaxation was very beneficial at the moment, the next day I found that I was once again immersed in classes, homework and time-consuming extracurriculars. The contrast between the mindfulness day and a regular day at school made me realize the lack of mindfulness and mental health awareness I practice and consider throughout my school days.
Winter Term at Westminster is hard for everyone, but prioritizing your mental health and emotional well-being is crucial to making the most of your time on the Hill. So, this past month, I’ve been trying to engage myself in more mindfulness-oriented activities that allow me to balance school and stress. Some activities that have helped me manage both aspects of life on the hill are as follows: involving myself in clubs, making time for activities that interest me, and making sure that I stay engaged and actively participating in the community. It always feels good to be a part of something bigger than a solitary activity, since it allows you to spend time with others and collaborate on ideas. There’s no correct way to practice mindfulness, but it is crucial to ensuring a memorable and enjoyable winter at Westminster. Although school can’t be canceled every week to make time for a day of relaxing activities, it’s up to you to make time for the things that you enjoy doing and bring you happiness. By Alexandria Goodman ’25On Nov. 18, 2011, Minecraft was fully released to the general public. It has generated massive success with nearly 140 million monthly active players and selling over 300 million copies, making it the bestselling video game in history. In Minecraft, players can play in a three-dimensional world with infinite terrain. They can build houses, craft tools, and, of course, mine ores. The game has multiple modes: survival mode, creator mode, spectator mode, adventure mode, and hardcore mode. During the pandemic, Minecraft saw an uptick in popularity, with famous YouTubers like Dream, TommyInnit, and Quackity dedicating their entire channels to playing the game. Our very campus has a group of students with their own Minecraft server. The admin of the server, Wills Erda ’24, created this hub because he wanted to “create a way for students to take a break from the busy lives of Westminster.” This server has a transportation system in the Nether, a hell-like dimension in the game, housing complexes, and even a monster farm, where players can increase their XP level. I think the game's popularity is due to its inherently relaxing nature.
While people can choose challenging game modes, most choose to play in an easy or another low-stakes game mode. Most decide to collect farm animals and build structures instead of fighting monsters or killing the Ender Dragon. On YouTube, the search “Minecraft builds” will give you an almost infinite number of Minecraft houses, each with its own flair. Some people chose to build simple houses, while others might take on a more extensive build, like the Hogwarts campus; however, there are Minecrafters who challenge themselves by playing on difficult levels. These players want to beat the game, some even going as far as to speedrun the game. In specific online communities, people compete to see who can beat the game the fastest. I spoke to Kimi Weng ’24 about his Minecraft playing style, and he said the following: “For me, I get as many resources as possible, max out all my tools and armor, and then beat the game.” In the shared server, Kimi built an XP farm and has been donating ore and other resources to other players that need help. As a Minecrafter, I can confidently say that it is back in style. For the last month, I have been working on multiple game projects and collecting resources to beat the Ender Dragon. If you aren’t on the Minecraft train, I suggest you hop on. By Charlotte Covill ’25Over this past long weekend, the best rivalry in college sports competed once again. On Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, the University of North Carolina’s Tar Heels and Duke University’s Blue Devils met for their 262nd game as rivals in Chapel Hill’s Dean E. Smith Center. Fans from both schools piled into the arena at 8:30 a.m. as the game was selected for ESPN’s college game day. Signs from students read phrases such as: “We have Michael Jordan and you guys have…Grayson Allen???” “Even Jay Williams wishes he went to UNC” and “Filipowski eats corn the long way.” Petty phrases such as these are nothing new as this rivalry runs deep and has only been heightened since UNC beat Duke’s Coach K in his last game in the 2022 NCAA Final Four.
As Saturday’s game began, the crowd was roaring. Duke started with the ball as UNC’s star forward Armando Bacot couldn't reach the ball over Duke’s Kyle Filipowski. The first half was exhilarating as the pace of play was kept at a sweeping speed, with Duke calling a timeout with seven minutes left as players fought to keep the energy they were sweating out on the court. UNC was up 24-22. As the game continued, UNC showed the crowd why they are ranked No. 1 in the ACC, and Duke tried to keep up with the Tar Heels’s defense. The first half ended with a score of 45-35 with the Tar Heels holding the lead on their home court. The second half starts, UNC has possession, Bacot puts up a layup and the game goes to the other half of the court. The intensity of the rivalry is felt throughout Chapel Hill as the fan section hollers “GO HEELS,” and as the ESPN broadcast catches their chants, occasionally breaking the sound barrier from the fans’ volume. The game continues and Duke puts up a fight until they accept a 9-point loss with a final score of 84-93. Tar Heels fans went crazy and rushed Franklin Street per tradition. The rivalry runs even deeper as Duke fans take an L back to Durham. The Duke-UNC rivalry with its traditions and aggressions is a rivalry for the ages and is considered the best rivalry in college sports. By Kimi Weng ’24If you have been on this planet for a decent amount of time, you may have noticed that human beings are social animals, and we interact with each other almost all the time: at home, at school, in the office, and even on the street. The high level of social interactions between humans makes us feel a sense of belonging, and we often start referring to ourselves as a group, just like how the word “we” is used in this paragraph.
Although it is important to maintain our personal characters and beliefs, being a part of a bigger group, like the school that we are all currently in, is inevitable in one’s life. Yet, humans’ ability to collaborate is unarguably one of the most important reasons why we are thriving on this planet now. Uncle Ben once said, “with great power comes great responsibility,” and when we cooperate for a uniform goal, we produce great power, but it also requires group responsibility, commonly known as collective responsibility. Collective responsibility is often employed among a community-based institution, one of which is a boarding school. Boarding schools have a unique environment in which almost all of their members, students and faculty, share the same space for educational purposes. Since boarding schools have their own rules and regulations, they are often considered to be somewhat “secluded” from the rest of the world. The sense of community and belonging becomes essential since these institutions are relatively small in size, and their members spend the majority of their time with each other. Thus, collective responsibility becomes an important method to create a welcoming and inclusive environment, while also guiding students’ behaviors. Individuals will tend to be more disciplined and more empathetic about the people around them when everyone is responsible for each other in the community. These virtues of caring and responsibility will help them succeed as they step into the larger society. However, there are drawbacks to the application of collective responsibility. In addition to the punishment an individual might face when violating regulations, there will likely be other consequences that apply to a larger group of individuals, or even the entire community. In some cases, when the individual who violates the regulation is not identified, consequences could be evenly distributed among all of the members of the community. This leads to a controversial topic: is it fair for innocent people to bear the consequences of the guilty ones? Institutions that adopt the idea of collective responsibility could be interpreted as miniature independent countries because they usually have their own systems and regulations. Even under the national law, individuals violate them. So it can be inferred that the same applies to these institutions, and that there will be individuals who violate the rules. In the larger world, innocent people around the convicted ones seldom experience the consequences. Thus, should a group be punished for what an individual has done? Or is there a way for an institution to build a warm community without the implementation of collective responsibility? When and to what extent do we need to apply collective responsibility? These are the questions to be answered as people continue to develop institutions that emphasize community. By Trent Jones ’25 Ms. Diaz is a cornerstone of the language department and one of the most vital figures in Westminster's greater community.
Originally, Ms. Diaz was raised in the Bronx, a particularly different environment than what we experience here. Ms. Diaz said that “It’s in the city and it’s really loud and busy.” She continued, saying that “there wasn’t a real sense of community, and you didn’t know your neighbors. You don’t really talk to your neighbors. It wasn’t that village feel like we have here where everyone is helping you be the best version of yourself.” Ms. Diaz’s view of Westminster is the polar opposite of her explanation of the Bronx. When asked about her favorite part of Westminster, Ms. Diaz said, “Definitely the closeness. The fact that we are all so holistically involved with each other –– whether it be in class, in the dorm or in sports. I interact with almost every student every day and I love that. It's not something where I only know my students that I teach, I know everyone.” Ms. Diaz continued saying, “I also love living in the dorm. It’s actually my favorite part of teaching here.” She explained that living in a dorm gives her yet another environment where she can have a real impact on students she doesn’t interact within a classroom setting. When asked who her biggest influence on her was, Ms. Diaz was quick to respond with, “My mom.” She followed by saying, “just knowing her story and seeing how she grew up and how she was able to overcome so many things in her life was inspiring. She came from Puerto Rico when she was 12 years old and she didn’t know any English. Quite impressively, she was simply thrown into the traditional public school system in New York City and just had to figure out her path forward, and press forward she did! She graduated from high school second in her class. Remarkably, she has three master’s degrees.” Ms. Diaz explained that, although her mother was dealt a difficult situation, moving to a new country in which she didn’t even speak the language, she was still able to progress and perform at a high level through determination. When asked about what influenced her to become a teacher, Ms. Diaz responded quickly, mentioning again her mother. Ms. Diaz continued saying, “My mom is a teacher. We are a family of teachers. I’m a teacher and my younger sister is a teacher. We are all very much involved with kids in education.” Thankfully for Westminster, Ms. Diaz continued the family occupation here. We are incredibly grateful. When asked what her favorite part of being a teacher was, Ms. Diaz said, “Seeing the growth of a student, meeting a student in September and seeing where they are at the start and then progressing to May and noticing how significantly that student has developed, and not just academically, but overall… It's just something that I've always loved to be a part of.” And, finally, to close, Ms. Diaz gave one final piece of advice to Westy students, asking us to “Be your authentic self. A lot of times students will adjust and adapt their personalities to what they feel is most acceptable here. That’s not the most important thing. I think the most important thing is not to be what you think everyone wants you to be. It’s really about being genuinely happy, and you can't do that if you're not yourself.” By Finn Seeley ’25 For many of us, winter is our favorite season because it allows us to get out in the snow and go skiing. Even if you don’t ski, you probably have a sense of how thrilling and fun it can be. But did you know that skiing actually has several health benefits too? An article published in “Ski Basics” Jan. 6, 2023 states that downhill skiing has been shown to have beneficial effects on cardiovascular and metabolic health, mental health, and muscle and joint mobility.
Research by Josef Niebauer published in the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine demonstrated that the benefits of downhill skiing include improving glucose metabolism, insulin resistance and body composition. It also decreases blood pressure, lipids, and heart rate while improving cell health. Increased levels of energy exertion while skiing augments each of these benefits. Its positive effects on arterial stiffness also decrease the risk of heart problems and Alzheimer’s disease. Skiing also has known psychological benefits. It increases adrenaline and endorphins which are chemicals that make us feel better. Skiing outdoors can also create a sense of happiness and well-being. Another health benefit associated with skiing is improved muscle strength and joint flexibility. It is a weight-bearing exercise that strengthens your bones and can counteract osteoporosis. It even helps core stabilization, which can improve posture and digestion. The sport naturally keeps you squatting, which strengthens your glutes, quads and hamstrings. Harvard Medical School states that a person weighing 185 pounds burns 252 calories downhill skiing for 30 minutes, so it can also help with weight management. Skiing regularly can keep your heart, body and mind healthy. It is a great way to enjoy the outdoors. If you get a chance to go to a mountain this winter, have a great time, and get healthier on the slopes. By Jilian Mihailovich ’25 The big plan was put into action last month! We would officially return to our 9 a.m. start on Tuesdays and Fridays. Initially, campus jumped for joy as visions of extended beauty sleep and more time in the morning popped into our heads; however, now that it is February, the only visions popping into my head are faculty members whose sleep schedules have worsened, and the desperate rush trying to make the quick transition from the last class to the afternoon program. I, for one, am a big fan of the 2:25 p.m. conclusion to the academic day we used to have before this system was established. This early start provided ample opportunity to complete your homework while the information was still clear in your brain, socialize after a particularly rigorous day or, better yet, take a revitalizing nap. And to be completely transparent, what are the extra 40 minutes of sleep really going to get you? Exactly how beneficial could that small increment of time really be?
Personally, I have yet to notice a drastic change in mine, or anyone's behavior subsequent to these 40 minutes. I do, however, notice a distinct difference in the fall when I have less homework for study hall as it has all been completed during that afternoon forty-minute time period. Furthermore, a crucial part of our community has been hit especially hard. Our teachers' weekly meetings have been shifted to these mornings, meaning that the people educating us are probably even more exhausted than we are. While I think that this is an incredibly thoughtful gesture from the administration, who are keeping students' mental health in mind, I have found through speaking with peers that they do not enjoy these as much as they anticipated. As far as I'm concerned, this is just another reason to look forward to the transition to the spring term. |