CO-CREATING the UNIVERSE Baratunde Thurston ’95 on Comedy, Pain, and How to Make a Better World Through the Stories We Tell
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SIDWELL Contents FRIENDS MAGAZINE Spring 2021 Volume 92 Number 2 LEADERSHIP DEPARTMENTS Head of School 2 REFLECTIONS FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL SAVE THE DATE Bryan K. Garman 4 ON/OFF CAMPUS FOR Chief Communications Officer Two Upper School magazines are celebrated; the Lower School Hellen Hom-Diamond 48 Hours hosts a pan-Asian cooking experience; the equity, justice, and EDITORIAL community director position gets fully funded; the co-clerks for Scholars of the Parents Association answer five questions; and more. Editor-in-Chief Sacha Zimmerman 16 THE ARCHIVIST Art Director 04 A brief history of student journalism at Sidwell Friends. Alice Ashe 44 ALUMNI ACTION Meghan Leavitt Authors join the School for a “Conversation with Friends.” Senior Writers Natalie Champ 52 FRESH INK Kristen Page Anne Applebaum ’82; Diana Furchtgott-Roth ’75; Alumni Editors David Fubini ’72; Tony Rogers ’58. Emma O’Leary Anna Wyeth 54 CLASS NOTES Contributing Writers Alumni artists are on the scene. Loren Hardenbergh 79 WORDS WITH FRIENDS On April 22–23, the Sidwell Caleb Morris “Fresh Start” Digital Producers 18 Friends community will unite Anthony La Fleur 80 LAST LOOK Sarah Randall to empower students. “Art Imitates Art” CONNECT WITH SIDWELL FRIENDS Together, we can ensure that every student has the resources FEATURES @sidwellfriends they need to fully participate in the life of the School. 18 THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY @sidwellfriends @sidwellfriends Sidwell Friends alumni journalists balance ethical reporting and critical thinking as they discuss covering Sidwell Friends Magazine the extraordinary events of 2020, while, like all Americans, 3825 Wisconsin Avenue NW living through them. Washington, DC 20016 48 Hours APRIL 22–23, 2021 202-537-8444 28 28 CHALLENGE ACCEPTED LEARN MORE AT sidwell.edu/magazine The Auxiliary Programs team stares down the intricacies for Scholars and wonders of logistics, takes childcare and the campus 48HOURS.SIDWELL.EDU. [email protected] to the next level—and comes out on top. LIVES THAT SPEAK On the Cover NON-DISCRIMINATION AND TITLE IX Baratunde 36 CO-CREATING THE UNIVERSE Nondiscrimination Statement: Sidwell Friends School prohibits discrimination and harassment against any member of the School Thurston ’95. Baratunde Thurston ’95 on comedy, pain, and how community on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, sex, Photo by personal appearance, genetic information, economic background, political affiliation, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered to make a better world through the stories we tell. veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Director of Equity, Justice, and Community Natalie Randolph ’98 Erik Carter. has been designated to handle inquiries regarding discrimination and Title IX concerns, policies, and procedures. Her contact information is: 40 Office Mail: 3825 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington DC 20016 Email: [email protected] | Phone: (202) 537-8182 For assistance related to Title IX or other civil rights laws, please contact the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at [email protected] or 800-421-3481; TDD 800-877-8339. SPRING 2021 | SIDWELL FRIENDS MAGAZINE 1 REFLECTIONS FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL colleges and universities have become test optional, a decision they contain racial, gender, and class biases. In accordance with that dramatically increased their applications and curbed inter- our Strategic Plan, Sidwell Friends wants to welcome a wider est in other institutions, two-thirds of which reported enrollment community of talented and diverse students, and Frankie and her decreases in 2020/21. Colgate’s applications doubled, Harvard’s team continue to find new strategies for recruiting, assessing, soared by 42 percent, and Quaker-rooted Haverford and Swarth- and greeting families. She and her staff have built an engaging more saw double-digit gains. Yet, applications from first-gener- and effective online program for prospective families and have ation students, as well as Black and Latino teenagers, have fallen. especially focused on inviting current students and alumni to Many institutions have reduced staff, overspent financial aid bud- speak about how they have benefited from our program. There gets, and now face existential questions. are no better examples of wisdom, adaptability, and resiliency, qualities that define the School’s success. These developments have introduced more uncertainty into a process that had already been in flux. Our students have been Our persistent if imperfect commitment to accessibility and inclu- fortunate to rely on the leadership of Director of College Coun- sion infuses our Equity, Justice, and Community (EJC) Strategic seling Laurén Carter, who last year returned to the position after Action Plan, which too has grown out of our strategic objectives. a three-year hiatus. In short Under the leadership of EJC order, Laurén has reorganized Director Natalie Randolph ’98— the office, recruited three stel- whose position has been gen- lar full-time admissions profes- “Thanks to Sidwell for erously endowed by a former sionals to the staff, and signifi- parent, grandparent, and now cantly improved and expanded revamping the [college] trustee family—the EJC Strate- the program. She and her team gic Action Plan was built from have been especially skilled at program and finding honest conversations with stu- providing support and insight dents, young alumni, parents, during this recent turbulence. As someone with the perfect and faculty and staff; it provides a parent and three-time veteran a dynamic blueprint for how we of the college process shared, combination of grace and can reckon with the shortcom- Laurén, whom she described ings of our past and transform as “organized, smart, calm, expertise to lead it.” them into a hopeful future. Our strong, and available,” does “so recent partnership with Howard much to make things better.” In University, the establishment of particular, the counselors teach students that they need “to work the Señora Supervía Chair in Spanish Language and Latino Stud- hard, face reality,” and “dust off” when this arbitrary process does ies, and accelerated efforts to fund the Faculty Chair in African and not end the way they had hoped. African American Studies, represent important milestones in our work, as does our ongoing effort to assemble an outstanding fac- “As I limp away from the process,” the parent wrote, “I’m ulty and staff that look like the 54 percent of our population who reminded that it is a demon for those who seek control. It also are students of color. spawns panic and blame. Above all else, in the moment, it dis- Hellen Hom-Diamond solves perspective.” Laurén, she observed, simply wants the stu- Meanwhile, plans for the Center for Ethical Leadership, an all- The Light Ahead dents to “land well,” and in preparing for that landing, there is no School space that will be built in the new Upper School on the better advisor, no shrewder strategist, no stronger advocate, no Upton campus, are also taking shape. Exciting student programs A lot has changed in a year, but not our spirit. more grounded ethicist. “Thanks to Sidwell,” the parent wrote, in community engagement and justice-based courses—such as “for revamping the program and finding someone with the per- Natalie Randolph and Robbie Gross’s senior seminar, “Metropoli- BY BRYAN GARMAN fect combination of grace and expertise to lead it.” tan Policy and the DMV”—will combine to deepen the intellectual lives of our students and encourage them to practice Quaker values The pandemic has also shifted the admissions landscape at Sid- in School and out. n a cloudy February afternoon, I wandered across they had once mastered, rediscovering familiar lyrics, reconsti- well Friends. We have seen double-digit growth in our applicant campus, looking for light in a gray landscape. With tuting community, and forging beautiful harmonies. They were pool and are delighted to welcome our extraordinary new fami- The storms of the past year have darkened our days, but we have luck, I encountered the Upper School Chamber inspiring because, under the direction of Sarah Markovits, they lies to the Sidwell Friends community. We too waived standard- never stopped seeking the Light. As the clouds begin to clear, we Chorus rehearsing in front of the Kogod Arts Cen- found opportunity and joy in the imperfect. ized-testing requirements for this admissions season. In fact, hope that it shines more brightly on and from our students than ter. Worried that they may not be at their best, the under the thoughtful leadership of Director of Admissions and ever. With the commitment of our faculty and staff, the welcom- Ochoristers smiled sheepishly beneath their masks as they socially The pandemic has provided challenge and change, which have had Financial Aid Frankie Brown, we had been considering the pos- ing of new students, and the ongoing support of parents, alumni, distanced across the courtyard. Under less than ideal circum- major impacts on how our students experience learning. Moreover, sibility of discontinuing standardized testing altogether, both and our philanthropic partners, we are confident that we will see stances, they moved tentatively but determinedly through a piece it has profoundly altered the college process. The most selective because tests limit our understanding of candidates and because brighter days ahead. 2 SIDWELL FRIENDS MAGAZINE | SPRING 2021 SPRING 2021 | SIDWELL FRIENDS MAGAZINE 3 ON / OFF CAMPUS 4 SIDWELL FRIENDS MAGAZINE | SPRING 2021 SPRING 2021 | SIDWELL FRIENDS MAGAZINE 5 ON / OFF CAMPUS ON / OFF CAMPUS CULTURE CLUB Brain Stem A new award-wining student journal recognizes girls in science, technology, engineering, and math. When Layla Dawit ’22 and Georgetown Day School student Avani Ahuja qualified for the Mathcounts National competition one year, their team stood out—Dawit and Ahuja were members of the first all-female team to represent DC at this level of the competition.