This fall, the Pingry community welcomed Mrs. Uma Aviles to the Upper School faculty as the Upper School Academic Dean and co-instructor of Peer Leadership. She is also serving as a Form III advisor.
Mrs. Aviles attended Bryn Mawr College, where she majored in economics and minored in education. She then received a Master’s Degree with a focus on technology, innovation, and education from Harvard Graduate School of Education. Prior to joining the Pingry School, Mrs. Aviles worked at the Trinity School in New York City as the Director of Student Activities and the Dean of the classes of 2017 and 2021.
After graduating from The Peddie School, where she had a tremendously positive experience with the adults on campus, Mrs. Aviles joined the Trinity School not only because she “enjoyed being part of a school community,” but also because she “loved working with high school students.” Eventually, she decided to join the Pingry community because of commute distances and the fact that her daughter enrolled in the Lower School two years ago. Inspired to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of students, Mrs. Aviles joined and became an integral part of the Upper School.
As for her current experience at Pingry, Mrs. Aviles said, “I have truly felt welcomed and I especially enjoy the school’s energy and the care that community members all show to one another.” Looking forward to settling in, she hopes to “get to know as many students as possible.”
In her free time, Mrs. Aviles likes to hike, do yoga, and read fiction. Additionally, she has two children and loves to spend time with her family.
This year’s freshman retreat, held on Thursday, September 3, kicked off an unprecedented school year. Instead of visiting Bryn Mawr Mountain Retreat as originally planned, this year’s retreat was held at Pingry to respect coronavirus guidelines. Although masks and shields brought an unusual element to the retreat, the goal of the day remained the same: provide freshmen an opportunity to interact with their classmates, as well as their peer leaders, before the official start of the school year.
Leading up to the retreat, this year’s 36 peer leaders met to prepare during a retreat of their own. They participated in bonding activities, found out who their co-leader was, and created various icebreaker activities for the freshman. Typically, the freshman retreat is planned by Bryn Mawr; however, this year, the activities were left to the peer leaders. As a group, they brainstormed ideas such as “icebreaker UNO” and Jeopardy.
With all that preparation, Thursday kicked off with a quick coronavirus safety briefing by Mr. Graham Touhey and an introduction to the peer leaders. Then, each peer group, consisting of about eight freshmen and two seniors, went off to get to know each other. Each group did their own activities, from charades and kickball to Jenga and “Shark Tank.”
The day did bring many new challenges, as this was the largest number of students on campus since March. Peer leader Zara Jacob (VI) described these difficulties: “There were quite a few bumps and some moments where the last thing I wanted to do was talk with my mask on, but I still got to meet my freshmen in-person. I got to know them on a level you just can’t through a screen.”
Like many others, Jacob was able to make the most of the day, even though it was different than anticipated. Her favorite activity was the peer leader hunt: each peer group and one of their leaders used clues to find the other leaders hidden throughout the building and campus. “When I was with my peer group, we were all just walking together, listening to music, and talking,” Jacob recalled.
Throughout the day, the peer groups also competed in a TikTok challenge. These videos had to reflect how they hoped to be defined as a group; at the end of the retreat, all the TikToks were viewed in Hauser and voted on. Ultimately, this challenge allowed the groups to explore their creativity and work together.
While this year’s retreat still allowed freshmen an opportunity to get to know each other, the traditional overnight retreat was missed by all. Ms. Lorian Morales, one of the peer leadership advisors that helped plan the retreat, acknowledged those disappointments: “Having that time away together, whether it’s on the bus, walking the trails, sharing meals, or hanging out in the cabins, allows students the opportunity to interact at their own pace in a relaxed environment.”
However, the retreat’s unusual elements brought many positives as well, as the Pingry community finally came back together. “Watching the day unfold put me at ease. Students were back on campus, making new friends, reconnecting with old friends, and just enjoying each other’s company,” Ms. Morales said.
This past May, with the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, Noah Bergam (VI), Kristin Osika (V), Eva Schiller (VI), and myself formed an organization called Care-Full to distribute PPE to underserved communities around New Jersey. With the new health and economic challenges brought on by the pandemic, we knew many in our local communities would be struggling financially and might not have access to masks, gloves, and hand sanitizers, and this problem would only be exacerbated in the next months. Rather than sitting back and watching, we took action, creating a plan to supply these necessities to the community.
We decided to create care packages consisting of a 30 mL bottle of hand sanitizer, three individually wrapped face masks, a pair of disposable gloves, and an originally designed pamphlet on how to stay safe during the pandemic. We all drew upon our various unique skill sets and connections to accomplish this task. Noah and Eva used their publishing experience to create advertising materials, Kristin reached out to various organizations for deliveries and donations, and I organized assembly sessions at Pingry to collect PPE and make our care packages. Our combined teamwork over the course of the summer allowed us to make and donate over 1,900 care packages, while raising almost $3,500 toward the creation of more packages.
Our care packages were gladly received by many in our local community. We donated to a variety of charity organizations, such as the Interfaith Food Pantry, NourishNJ, the Visiting Nurses Association of NJ, Market Street Mission, and various other nursing homes and churches across New Jersey. Helping the community through Care-Full has been especially rewarding for the team.
As America reopens, PPE is mandatory in most public settings; those without a mask are barred from entry to stores and small businesses. Those who lack access to PPE face limited entry into these public spaces, and thus necessities such as groceries might be difficult to come by. Additionally, going to work or buying food can be stressful for those who lack proper protection against COVID-19. By providing PPE in these care packages, they ensure that everyone – no matter their socioeconomic status, risk factors, or age – can visit public locations and go outside without difficulty or fear.
To continue these vital efforts and sustain their ability to provide PPE, Care-Full needs the help of everyone in the community. The Care-Full team is currently researching ways to raise awareness in order to create and distribute more care packages. Anyone can make a monetary donation by clicking the link on their website at care-full.org, or clicking the links on our Instagram (@we_are_carefull) pages. We can also be reached via email at 2020.carefull@gmail.com. All donations go directly to the making of care packages: just $2 can supply a care package to someone in need!
The Pingry Credit Union is a student-founded and student-run club that aims to increase and promote financial wellness throughout the Pingry community. As Club President Jason Lefkort (VI) describes, “financial wellness” has different meanings for different people – faculty, staff, and parents may interpret it as financial health, while students may define it as “greater financial independence”.
The original team members hoped to meet these varied needs through a “standalone credit union.” However, upon realizing that this was infeasible, the Pingry Credit Union decided to partner with Affinity Federal Credit Union to offer its services to the community. This would allow them to cater to the Pingry community in its entirety.
In a few weeks, the Pingry Credit Union will officially launch its services and go live with their signup webpage, providing the community an opportunity to register for an account and engage with the Credit Union’s services.
When a Pingry community member makes a credit union account, he or she will receive a variety of the benefits that come with a typical credit union. Where banks primarily try to profit off of customers, a credit union works for the individual by redistributing profits to its members. Other benefits include lower loan rates and higher savings rates. The student-led Pingry Credit Union team is also offering specialized merchandise, discounts to local businesses, raffles for amazing products, and even more!
As for the team’s main goals for this school year, Lefkort said spreading “greater awareness throughout the Pingry community is a priority.” The team hopes to have more people understand what the Pingry Credit Union is and what it has to offer. They also aim to expand financial wellness, and ultimately, have it play a “significant role in the Pingry experience.”
During COVID-19, the Pingry Credit Union was forced to reshape its future plans. The official launch would have directly involved people on the Pingry campus with a launch party, but that was infeasible for this year. Discount cards also posed a challenge at first, as the standard process of contacting local businesses could no longer be followed, but the team was able to pivot and successfully connect with businesses remotely.
Furthermore, in past years the group’s partnership with Affinity Federal Credit Union has provided Pingry students with internship opportunities that did not require a separate application process. This was also halted during the pandemic; however, the Pingry Credit Union hopes to begin offering internships again in the near future.
Led by Lefkort, Co-Vice Presidents Julian Lee (VI) and Justin Li (VI), and faculty advisor Mr. David Rushforth, the Pingry Credit Union is looking forward to a successful launch this year, and hopes to see a rapid increase in financial wellness within the Pingry community.
Following the burgeoning civil rights movement over the past several months, seniors Monica Chan (VI) and Luc Francis (VI) are carrying the momentum into the Pingry community with a new student-based group. The Pingry Allyship Collective (PAC) has outlined a specific and defined goal: to better the community in all aspects of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) through collaborative education. “PAC will act as the missing liaison between the administration and the current student-led DEI groups and programs,” Chan said.
While the creation of the club cannot be attributed to any individual event, the ideas behind the club largely arose in response to the tragic murder of George Floyd. Shortly after news of the event was made public, “the leaders of the Asian Student Union (ASU) reached out to all the student leaders saying that [they] should come together to have a meeting and an open dialogue about these issues,” Francis said, “And so we just came together one day as a group—really at that point, we were just friends, leaders within the community—talking and having an open dialogue . . . but eventually, we realized that the action we all felt we needed to take could be answered with the Pingry Allyship Collective.”
The PAC welcomes any students who are interested in learning more about DEI issues in our community, drawing awareness to those issues, and brainstorming solutions. With its group-based education, students can learn about a diverse array of topics in a safe and welcoming environment through the various projects available. These projects encompass all topics relating to DEI, ranging from advisory activities to Pingry publications, in hopes of educating members of the specific project and the greater Pingry community. For instance, junior Isabella Briones (V) has begun work on PAC’s first project: to create a “glossary of terms about DEI that are specific to Pingry, such as defining the differences between an affinity group or student union.” “We can publish that to be accessible to the wider community,” explained Chan, “I’m really excited about our first project which will be presented during our first meeting.” At each of these meetings, students can either join existing projects such as Briones’s or form their own, all under the guidance and support of the PAC leadership team. This team is comprised of roughly 25 student leaders of affinity groups, student unions, student government, diversity groups, and more. Their role is to oversee project assignments, production, and serve as a helping hand to anyone who needs it. As the meetings progress, the PAC hopes to provide a comprehensive list of projects that can meet anyone’s specific interests. While the projects aim to address specific issues extensively, as part of broader discussions about DEI, “the goal of the projects isn’t to grill people,” Francis said, “The main goal of PAC is to make DEI available for as many people as possible and make it commonplace. We’re all Pingry students and we all understand that we have a lot of work to do—we have homework, clubs, sports— so the project structure of our group basically allows people to pick what projects they’re interested in and are willing to commit to.”
PAC was created with the intention of making the opportunity to contribute to DEI accessible to the Pingry community. The leaders have worked for months to provide avenues through which students can create tangible change. Too often community service is regarded as a requirement rather than a responsibility; by engaging the student body with meaningful DEI initiatives, PAC hopes to create lasting change and foster a culture of community-based learning and improvement. Everyone, regardless of previous involvement in DEI, is greatly encouraged to participate. If interested, please contact mchan2021@pingry.org or lfrancis2021@pingry.org for more information!
During quarantine, many used their time to learn a new skill, spend time with their families, binge watch Netflix shows, cook, play video games, take a class online, or catch up on reading. Across the country, millions of Americans also seized this opportunity to incorporate exercise into their daily routines. However, due to lockdown and social distancing guidelines, gyms were shut down for around six months. People had to improvise by building gyms at home. Dumbbells, kettlebells, weights, treadmills, Peloton bikes, gym machines, bars, and all sorts of fitness equipment were sold out across major retailers and back-ordered for months as Americans flocked to buy any gym equipment they could get their hands on. For those who did not have thousands of dollars to drop on crafting elaborate gyms, spending time outdoors was a free and refreshing alternative.
Families went on daily strolls down the block or on bike rides through the neighborhood. These short jogs and walks helped people incorporate some structure into their lives and avoid the monotony of quarantined life. On YouTube and Instagram, free, at-home, no-equipment workout challenges from fitness influencers such as Chloe Ting, Pamela Reif, and Blogilates promised transformations such as “losing inches off your waist”, or “gaining abs in two weeks”. Those who participated were encouraged to post their progress on TikTok and Instagram as inspiration for others to follow and join.
Even though COVID-19 has entirely altered daily lives, the resilience that Americans have shown in their determination to stay fit is admirable. No matter the method of exercise, they can proudly say that they lived and survived to tell the tale of being in a global pandemic.
The boys’ soccer team has started the season off strong, winning two of their first three matches this year. Ranked sixth in the state, Big Blue looks to have yet another impressive season. Their main goals are to finish the season undefeated and cement their position as a top-five ranked team. The team also seeks revenge against Gill St. Bernard’s this postseason after suffering a 2-1 loss to the Knights on October 7. Fueled by a fiery and determined mindset, their motto this year is “humble and hungry.”
The team currently has a 7-1 record and looks to build upon their early success. On Saturday, October 10, Pingry defeated fifth-ranked Hunterdon Central 3-2 with a last-minute overtime goal by Daniel Ittycheria (V). This win brought a moment of déjà vu, as last year, Pingry also defeated Hunterdon Central in overtime, but with a successful penalty kick instead.
“We all showed grit in overtime against Hunterdon and couldn’t be more excited to see what else this team shows,” Daniel Ittycheria said. “Devan Lalla (V) deserves more credit than me for the game-winning goal because he was able to beat the keeper and win the header for me to tap the ball in the goal easily.”
The boys look to continue their success this season at their next game against Watchung Hills on October 14.
Coming off of a season filled with unexpected obstacles last year, the Boys’ Cross Country Team has hit the ground running regardless. Led by captains Henry Wood (VI) and Sahdev Patel (VI), with the support of coaches Mr. Matt Horesta and Mr. Tim Lear ‘92, the team is looking for key victories at some of their toughest invitationals.
With five new freshmen entering the team this year, Wood is excited that the “new people show promise,” as the team is the “strongest we’ve had in a long time.” Mr. Horesta added that the freshmen “will hopefully fit nicely with the solid group we had last year, who are now sophomores.” When asked about the team’s season thus far, Mr. Horesta said the “season is off to a great start;” he is eager to see the team’s successes this year. Finally, he notes that after “looking at time trials and workouts, the team is ready to match some of the best Pingry teams we’ve ever had.”
Amid the confusion and uncertainty that has consumed high school sports, the Pingry girls’ tennis team is unfazed. With a perfect record of 10-0-0, the team is cruising through its matches, looking to cling on for an undefeated season.
Leading the team is captain Caeley Feeney (VI), who is staying positive despite the compromises the team has had to make. Naturally, news of the team’s limited 12-match season disappointed the team, particularly with the cancellation of many larger tournaments including Counties or Preps. “I feel like our team is so strong this year and we could have gone really far,” Feeney said. Nonetheless, she and the team are grateful for their chance to play at all and are making the best of their remaining practices.
If anything, “quarantine and remote learning has made me appreciate the season so much more. I will not take any matches for granted,” Feeney promised. As the team approaches the latter half of its matches, Pingry girls’ tennis is looking ahead to a promising second half of their season.
The boys’ varsity football team has started the season off very strong despite the challenges they have faced due to COVID-19 and a significantly shortened preseason. This year’s Big Blue Football team has an incredibly talented and physical lineup with a lot of size up front.
Captain Thomas Robertozzi (VI) hopes to keep the momentum going. He is determined to pick up from where he left off last year after returning from an offseason injury.
“As a captain of the football team, my biggest role is to make sure we all stay together and support each other … Since freshman year, I have always wanted to have a winning football season, but injuries have gotten in our way throughout these last two years. This year though, I feel the season is going to be a lot different than the others and that we are going to leave Pingry Football on a high note.”
Robertozzi is also quite fond of Coach Christopher Shilts and wants to have a “tremendous year for him because he has always been one of my biggest supporters and by my side.” Already turning his word into action, he was nominated for his performance against Newark Academy where he rushed for 147 yards and three touchdowns.
The team has already shown many strides and looks to finish the season with a winning record for the first time in recent years. They are in search of their third consecutive win against MKA this Saturday, October 17.
Some time back, I wrote a commentary regarding AP-designation courses at Pingry, and how Pingry ought to consider phasing them out. Given the events of the past few weeks, I would like to update that message: I feel that it is now imprudent for Pingry to offer AP Courses, and I hope that this transition occurs as soon as possible.
This might seem like a bit of a dramatic change––I admit that perhaps my last commentary was less vicious towards the College Board. However, the coronavirus has exposed some of the concerns that before, we could only hypothesize about. Our current situation demonstrates that the College Board is ineffective, unnecessary, and has been abusing its monopolistic status over testing.
Colleges and universities have begun showing the same attitudes towards the College Board’s standardized test products. Almost every school will be test-optional for the upcoming admissions season, if they were not already. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced in March that it would refuse to consider SAT Subject Tests outright for future admissions seasons as well. As colleges emphasize “holistic admissions” and considering “the whole person,” it’s clear that traditional exam-based metrics are being relegated to first-round screening of applicants rather than acting as deciding factors.
I agree wholeheartedly with those decisions. I have forgotten much of the material that I crammed for my AP World History exam last year; meanwhile, the information that I learned in Pingry’s World History 9 and 10 classes still stays with me. I have no appreciation for AP exams other than the fact that colleges take them as proof of introductory-level course completion. In fact, I feel animosity towards the College Board for their insistence that the exams demonstrate understanding rather than memorization; I have found that their exams are based around limited interpretations and memorized facts, despite their pretensions.
The coronavirus has only demonstrated how embarrassingly pointless College Board’s exams, particularly the APs, have become. The shortened 45-minute exams include a maximum of two questions, with many exams only having one single essay question. In addition, not only do this year’s exam exclude large chunks of material due to their truncated nature, but the College Board has axed the final few units from the accompanying AP Courses. Classes that strictly follow those courses learn less and still demonstrate only a fraction of that knowledge on the exam.
The College Board insists that they have worked with colleges to consider these new AP Exams as course credit, but I am extremely doubtful of that. Take the AP Physics Mechanics exam: why should any college consider a two-question exam that covers probably half of the learned units, not to mention the complete removal of orbital and simple harmonic motion, as equivalent to a full year of introductory physics? In any case, the normal AP Courses are not at the level of rigor as a college course––how could a truncated version carry any semblance of the same value? The College Board refuses to answer these questions properly or honestly.
Moreover, the College Board has done a less-than-satisfactory job of administering the online exams. Countless students––including many at Pingry––have watched their exams refuse to submit through the AP testing system. Beyond that, the College Board sent out a broken makeup test link; after outrage online, they fixed it, but didn’t bother to update anyone or even apologize. Meanwhile, they’ve been posting tone-deaf Tweets about catching cheaters, while upstanding students are left to wait several weeks just to learn whether they’re eligible for the makeup exam. And, despite the fact that the exam is a quarter of the length that it was before, College Board is charging full price ($94) and will take longer to grade the exams than normal.
All of this stems from the fact that College Board’s AP is essentially unchallenged in the market for class-based, subject-specific standardized tests. Its only competitor is the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Most schools offer either one or the other; few offer both, meaning that most students don’t have a choice as to which advanced courses they can take. Their quasi-monopoly over such schools has allowed them to offer lower-quality products while remaining unchallenged, as it’s very difficult for a school to suddenly switch from AP to IB. While the IB program has cancelled their exams, the AP system forged ahead in their revolutionary product of mismanagement and terrible user experience.
As a final note, Pingry doesn’t benefit from boasting about the number of AP courses or exams it offers. Pingry’s curriculum highly restricts when and which AP Courses students can take. For example, all students must take the Biology-Chemistry sequence in the first two years, while other schools (including public schools) allow students to take AP Chemistry or AP Biology much earlier. Pingry doesn’t offer AP World History, AP Environmental Science, AP Human Geography, AP Research, or AP Seminar courses; for the latter two, I can’t recall a single Pingry student who has taken those exams. Thus, since Pingry already does not fully conform to the AP program, we should be able to do away with AP Courses with few qualms. If teachers can design curricula that have real-world value, rather than dedicate time to an increasingly obsolete test, all members of the community will benefit. The AP Exams can be offered as independent signups for those students who wish to take them.
The College Board has nothing to lose by remaining aloof and ignorant of students’ and teachers’ frustrations. I hope that Pingry can join other independent schools in abandoning the AP for good.
In late May, the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minnesota policemen triggered a mass movement across the nation (and eventually the world) in support of Black Lives Matter.
The Record previously detailed some of the earlier impacts that this multifaceted movement has had on the Pingry community. Pingry’s leadership has affirmed its support of Black Lives Matter and of minority students. Furthermore, Pingry students have taken action by petitioning, protesting, and consistently spreading awareness.
The focus on our nation’s problems has also thrown issues surrounding race and identity within the Pingry community into sharp relief. To this end, an anonymous account known as Black at Pingry (@blackatpingry) was created. Modeled after similar accounts at other private preparatory schools (including Dalton, Lawrenceville, Exeter, Andover, Choate, and Newark Academy, among many others), this Instagram account provided an outlet for Black students to anonymously expose some of the discrimination and issues they’ve face. Within several days, the platform began highlighting instances of racism and unfairness towards other people of color, and has since expanded to include all minorities (religious and racial).
The first post on the account appeared on June 11, 2020, a week after Pingry’s Finals Week concluded. Posts are added regularly; as of June 27, just over two weeks after the first post, there are 80 explanations, descriptions, and expressions of frustration. The account has 1,776 followers, and it has achieved widespread recognition among Pingry students, parents and alumni on Instagram.
We at The Record encourage readers to view the extent to which both ignorance and prejudice has penetrated the Pingry community by viewing the posts on the @blackatpingry page. Incidents include use of the n-word both inside and outside of class by teachers and students; ignorance about non-European civilizations, cultures, and history; various microaggressions, including unsavory remarks about wealth, intelligence, and cleanliness; and taunting behaviors based on cruel stereotypes of racial and religious groups. These pervade through speech and action (in some cases, inaction is the most poignant) and demonstrate that Pingry’s commitment to true diversity and inclusion has not fully succeeded in correcting some of the troubling behaviors.
Regarding the account, one student said: “@blackatpingry opened my eyes to a side of Pingry that, before, I only vaguely knew from second-hand information. It was jarring to learn the specifics, but I think it’s precisely the kind of wake-up call that our community needs.”
In response to these powerful posts, the school released a brief letter from Head of School Mr. Matt Levinson. Some students expressed disappointment that it had taken so long for the Pingry administration to respond to the emotional strength required to tell the stories on the @blackatpingry page. Once again, we encourage readers to view the full statement on Pingry’s social media channels (Instagram: @thepingryschool). Mr. Levinson exhorted the community to read the @blackatpingry page, and said that “unless and until we are willing to acknowledge these experiences, take responsibility for our past and present, and commit to the work of creating a better Pingry for our students of color, the stories of pain will never end.” Mr. Levinson ended his message by expressing a school commitment to active anti-racism and an effort to decrease the burden on the backs of students of color at Pingry, especially Black students.
After this public commitment, Mr. Levinson sent out an email to the Pingry community on June 24 to announce two events, both called “BECAUSE WE CARE.” The first, on Thursday, June 25, was for students who identified as Black; the second, on Friday, June 26, was for the caregivers of those students. These discussions were intended to foster “ongoing, honest, and open dialogue” and begin a continuous conversation about diversity and inclusion. On June 26, Mr. Levinson released an action plan for treating the ills of discrimination and racism in the Pingry community, and explained that incoming Director of Diversity and Inclusion Mr. Gilberto Olvera would be the point person for these initiatives. The plan calls for an anti-racism task force, engagement of the school community, a more inclusive and multicultural curriculum, faculty and staff training, better human resource management, and a progress check.
The Pingry community will anxiously await the administration’s more concrete actions on such issues, and some members have expressed concern over certain directives. According to one student of color, “I find it concerning that Mr. Levinson makes diversity sound like it only includes one perspective, the general ‘people of color.’ Within people of color, there are so many nuanced interactions that Mr. Levinson has made quite clear he is unaware of, and has no interest in learning about, given the exclusive wording of his emails.”
Another student of color voiced a different opinion on the decisions: “It’s a little bit disappointing, but expected given previous actions, that Mr. Levinson only chose to address racism directed towards [black members] as opposed to the racism which affects various other groups at Pingry. At the same time, I understand his position of leadership is a very difficult one to be in, and no matter how he responds, it is inevitable that people will pick out the flaws in his response based on their own perspectives and interests. Nonetheless, the detail that he provides in his email reflects a promising and focused commitment to anti-racism, and I hope we can see these plans manifest into measurable change.”
The @blackatpingry Instagram account has had an outsized impact in bringing to greater light the issues that people of color and minorities face at Pingry. The Pingry community ought to look forward to an equitable future for all; we will see how administrative and community decisions work towards such a future.
By Noah Bergam (V), Justin Li (V), and Aneesh Karuppur (V)
June 18, 2020
On the evening of June 11, the Pingry community received an email from Head of School Matt Levinson and the Board of Trustees confirming that Mr. Jake Ross was fired from The Pingry School. A few hours earlier, an apology email which Mr. Ross had sent to the baseball team earlier in the week began to circulate around the student body, and gained more public visibility as a result of an email from Alexandra Weber ‘20 sent to juniors and seniors; in her email, Weber stated that Mr. Ross had been barred by “the administration” from sending his apology to the whole school. The next day, a group of students, backed by over 600 petition signatures, sent an email to the Board of Trustees asking them to reinstate Mr. Ross.
Here is how we interpret the situation, according to the content and rhetoric of the Board’s June 11 termination letter, Mr. Ross’ apology letter, and the students’ June 12 letter to the Board.
On the week of June 8, an Instagram account operated by Pingry parents known as “_bigbluebaseball_” posted a picture of Mr Ross and the seniors on the boys’ baseball team, holding a banner that read “Everything Matters.” Some Pingry students thought the timing of this banner was in bad taste, since it resembled the slogan “All Lives Matter,” which is used as a protest against the Black Lives Matter movement.
If the June 11 letter from the Board answered one thing directly, it was that Mr. Ross was not fired for the Instagram post itself. Rather, he was fired for disrespectful conduct towards “school administrators,” including Mr. Levinson, when they attempted to “engage the community in dialogue” about the post and its impact.
Why was Mr. Ross disrespectful? Rather than providing any direct insight into the context of his frustration, or affirming the confidentiality of such context, the June 11 letter expounds on the idea that the conduct was part of a longer pattern of bad behavior: “This is also not the first instance in which he has demonstrated poor judgment and disrespect. We have learned there have been other instances that have resulted in a demotion of leadership responsibilities.” These words attack Ross’ character in past, possibly unrelated incidents rather than shedding light on the moment that actually caused him to get fired.
Moreover, the vocabulary describing Mr. Ross in this email is much harsher than that used to describe Mr. Graig Peterson in the August 27, 2019 email which announced Peterson’s firing in the wake of his use of “extensive, non-school-related electronic communication with several Upper School students.” In the August 27 email, written by Mr. Levinson and Upper School Director Ms. Chatterji, the only directly negative word used to describe Peterson’s behavior was “inappropriate,” whereas the June 11 email condemns Ross’ behavior with phrases such “unprofessional and inappropriate,” “unacceptable and antithetical to our values,” and “poor judgment and disrespect.” The June 12 petition letter pointed out the “usually strong terms used to characterize this incident,” going so far as to say that “the Dean Ross you described is not the Dean Ross we all know and love.”
The June 11 letter props up the school’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, treating Ross’ termination as a stepping stone towards that goal. The letter begins by quoting Mr. Levinson (or, as the letter colloquially refers to him, “Matt”) about his determination to uphold Pingry’s “inclusivity, honor, respect, and civic engagement” and ends with actions the school will take towards making a more inclusive educational environment. The aforementioned, overtly negative depiction of Ross, bookended by positive descriptions of the inclusive mission of the Board and Mr. Levinson in particular, implies that Mr. Ross personally stood in the way of this mission, and moreover that his termination contributed to the school’s goals of diversity and inclusion: “This letter and the actions below are only the first step.”
In his apology letter, Ross takes on a very different style from the Board; while the June 11 letter is self-promoting and, with 29 authors, profoundly impersonal, Ross’ letter establishes a voice that acknowledges mistakes and commits to personal change: “I clearly missed this one, but I will learn. I will be better.” Ross’ language is perhaps not as professional and self-assured as the Board’s (“The emotional rage and hurt I feel each time I think about what it must be like to be a black person in America, is not something I can convey in an email”) yet it embodies his open, relatable style as a leader, which the June 12 petition letter from students defends as a quality that allowed him, as a dean, to contribute to diversity and inclusion at Pingry with “sensitivity, dignity, and swiftness.”
The June 12 petition letter takes a sharp stance against the rhetoric of the June 11 message, stating that the “vagueness of the statements in the letter we received has also done little to assuage our concerns about the handling of this incident.” It implies that the June 11 email increased the very “deepening polarity” it pointed out and may have broken the Honor Code principle of “confidentiality in disciplinary proceedings” considering how it “so readily and publicly humiliate[d] a colleague.” Ultimately, the letter makes a bold request to the Board: “rectify your mistake by reinstating him.”
As of June 19, The Board of Trustees and Mr. Levinson have yet to respond.
We do not know much about the situation surrounding Mr. Ross’ misconduct: neither its severity nor its source. What we do know is that, between the language that the Board and Mr. Levinson used to describe Ross, and the language used by students and Ross himself, we have two very different pictures of the former dean––one depicting a disrespectful figure who stood in the way of diversity and inclusion, and the other depicting a crucial part of the Pingry community who actively supported the endeavour.
The first night my dad came home from treating COVID-19 patients at Newark Beth-Israel Hospital, I asked him what the situation looked like.
His immediate response: “No one knows anything.”
Ground zero, according to him, was a welter of confusion. In the midst of a growing influx of cases and a narrowing supply of masks and ventilators, it made sense: no one working there had seen or been prepared for this kind of situation before.
The situation at the hospital has since improved, but confusion has continued to sweep the entire population as we realize the power of our quarantine, and the fact that, if we break it, we risk restarting a vicious battle on the front lines.
We have a long road ahead of us, and we’re all looking forward to the day when we can walk away from this pandemic. But when will that day be? How do we reach it? And how do we make sure this never happens again?
These are the core questions I seek to address in this investigation.
Beating COVID-19
To truly put down the virus at this point, we have to reach a status called herd immunity.
Herd immunity occurs when a significant majority of the population (about 70%) have been exposed to the virus, developed antibodies, and reached a point where they are no longer contagious. This creates a situation where those who cannot survive the virus (i.e. the immunocompromised) are surrounded by a “herd” who can act as a buffer from outbreaks. Life can then go on as normal.
Herd immunity can either happen naturally or artificially (i.e. through a vaccine). According to the WHO, “there is not enough evidence” to suggest that surviving COVID-19 will naturally grant long-lasting immunity. But even with that assumption, the death rates we have seen so far suggest that it might take well into 2021 and over half a million American deaths before we reach that point, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
And then there is a vaccine––a scalable treatment that can give someone a “dumbed down” version of the virus and allow their immune system to develop the necessary antibodies to protect themselves. If we develop a vaccine, it can accelerate us to herd immunity with much more certainty than the natural route.
If.
The vaccine time-table we have been hearing from government officials, like Dr. Anthony Fauci, is 12 to 18 months, which would have us waiting through mid-2021 … but there’s no guarantee that we will remotely follow this timeline, or that we will even be able to develop one. And if we do, we will have to develop a much stronger global supply chain to satisfy an exceptional demand.
In any case, we have a long road ahead of us. But that doesn’t mean we won’t progress. Reopening the economy can happen in steps; Governor Murphy has outlined a six-part plan that includes gradual reopening of specific businesses, as well as significant expansion of contact tracing and testing.
Beating Future Outbreaks
The position we find ourselves in reflects what I like to call the Fundamental Theorem of Public Health: the fact that ad hoc treatment is a more expensive and more painful alternative to prevention.
Keyword is prevention. How do we prevent a virus from wreaking this kind of havoc in the years to come?
To get answers, I talked to my sister Scarlett Bergam, a candidate for a Master’s Degree in Public Health with a concentration in Global Infectious Disease at Brown University.
One of the main things she stressed was quicker action. When asked what contributed most to the situation at hand, Scarlett pointed to a lack of testing and the ramifications thereafter. “While this was not completely in our control, it led to many people infecting others without knowing. To combat the inevitability of not knowing who was infected, we should have shut down our economy much sooner.“
It’s important to understand that testing alone is not enough––those who test positive need to immediately be isolated from the general population, as well as those who they came into contact with in the meantime. Hence, contact tracing: a tool that, if used on a wide enough scale, can turn a virus’ growth rate upside down.
According to Scarlett, “This would be incredibly efficient if people consented to it. However, ethically, there is always a fear of giving up one’s data.” She acknowledged the fact that most contact tracing would probably have to include GPS information, and that tracking of people’s locations could discourage signups (mandatory contact tracing, of course, would invoke some hefty constitutional issues).
However, she expressed some faith that a partnership between local government and the private tech industry could maximize both the effectiveness and the appeal of contact tracing. (Additionally, I found in my own research some clever methods of contact tracing that wouldn’t impede privacy.)
In terms of what we need to do to make these systems a reality, Bergam stated that “policy definitely has the biggest impact—new laws and funding allocation have the power to save mass amounts of lives, much more efficiently than any one doctor can.” Ultimately, making these kinds of long-term investments can save a lot of money and life down the line, and if there’s one good thing that COVID-19 has given us, it’s the amount of incentive we now have to follow through.
Conclusions
It’s incredibly scary to not know when life will go back to normal.
We can rest assured that one day it will. But in order to reach that day, we need solutions, widespread cooperation, and, perhaps most importantly, knowledge. “No one knows anything” is a scary prospect in the hospital but also in the general population––we need to understand the science and the policy surrounding this pandemic. We cannot afford to fall for misinformation, political understatements, or the illusion of blissful ignorance.
We are living in a time of historical proportions, with historical mistakes that will be studied for decades and centuries to come.
So let’s be clear on our situation, and the solutions at hand. Let’s face this world head on and come back to our changed world, not defeated by this present suffering, but empowered by the future in our hands.
As the growth rate of the coronavirus begins to flatline, Americans grow tired of a virus that has ravaged this nation for far longer – the racially charged murder of innocent black Americans, including Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, by a systematically flawed criminal justice system.
Since George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25, thousands have taken to the streets across the country in frustration. These protests have called for murder charges against the policemen who killed Floyd, as well as concrete legislative reform to end these homicides. The former request was fulfilled on June 3, when the Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced a second-degree murder charge (upgraded from third-degree) for Derek Chauvin, who asphyxiated Floyd by kneeling on his neck for over 8 minutes, as well as aiding and abetting charges for the three former policemen who allowed Chauvin to do so. In terms of broader reforms, protesters are calling for divestment from police forces, an end to the Qualified Immunity (which make it extremely difficult for officers to be found guilty), and a ban on choke and knee holds.
Within the Pingry community, many students and alumni have joined in on the activism. Most have been helping spread awareness on allyship and petitions via social media, while others took part in peaceful protests in their communities.
The protests across the country are evidence of a desire and pressing need for change. While most of these protests have remained peaceful, some have turned violent, with police provoking protesters and protesters taking part in arson and vandalism. In the case of the former, it is disturbingly unclear how police are being disciplined for their brutality, especially against peaceful demonstrators. In the case of the latter, there has been confusion over who has been inciting the violence, and debate surrounding the acceptable limits to what protesters should do. Some cite the destruction of private property alone as reason enough to condemn the rioting, while others see the rioting as a tantamount reaction to decades of oppression and police violence.
Pingry’s Discourse
In the wake of the Floyd shooting, Student Body President Nolan Baynes wanted to see allyship and action from the school’s administration, so on May 28 he emailed Pingry’s top administrators, including Headmaster Matt Levinson, asking Pingry to speak up.
After some back and forth, including further student emails which pressed the school to take more direct action, administrators set up a community-wide Zoom meeting on June 3 to initiate more dialogue about the issue.
During the meeting, which was attended by over 300 students and faculty, participants had an opportunity to voice their opinions and frustrations in hopes of improving Pingry’s future responses and actions against racial injustice. Students were able to offer suggestions to the faculty and the administration, while teachers reflected on “action steps” they could take to better facilitate discussion around race in their classroom and beyond.
On Friday, June 5, the Pingry Allyship Collective (a newly formed coalition of all the affinity groups, student unions, SDLC, and CASE) sent a letter to administrators requesting more transparency between students and faculty involved in diversity and inclusion (inset at bottom left).
Words from a Pingry Protester
Giles Burnett (IV), who took part in peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Somerset, NJ, on May 31, provided a statement on why he chose to protest:
I’ll tell you what my mom told me. ‘Watch your tone around strangers, don’t wear your hoodie in public, never question or talk back to an officer, turn down your music in the car, don’t bike/drive through that neighborhood, you better be home before dark, take your hands out your pocket, walk with a purpose and don’t linger, you don’t get any second chances in this world.’ Or, I can tell you what America told me. ‘Cross the street or clutch your purse when you see me, follow me in the store, slow your car down when you see me, slow down your cop car when you see me, ask me if I’m lost or in the wrong store, ask me where I got that $20 from, ask me if I play football or basketball, ask me if you can say the n-word.’ That is my everyday life, I march so my black brothers and sisters don’t have to answer those questions. I march so innocent black men and women aren’t killed in the streets. I march to fight the systemic racism that plagues our country. This past week has been one of the most painful and exhausting weeks of my life. I’ve cried, reflected, laughed and everything in between. I’ve been able to channel these emotions into action and change. However, there is no change with only 14% of the nation speaking up. We need allies and we need unity. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Stay safe.
The Record’s Statement
We wholly condemn the police brutality present in this country, as well as the silence that has allowed it to viciously persist. As a publication, we stand for improvements in Pingry’s discourse surrounding race relations. We encourage writers of all identities to tackle these difficult subjects, and we are open to civil discussions around the presence of racial injustices in our School, our nation, and our world.
Hi Everybody,
I am sure you have seen on the news and through social media that the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd have resulted in mass outrage throughout the country. This is not the first time this will happen, and I doubt it will be the last. Many members of our Pingry community have felt the need to advocate upon social media discussing possible protests, sending out petitions, and even speaking their own emotions. As a school, during times of crisis, this definitively being one of them, we have been able to address issues that are affecting students head-on. To be direct, in the fall, when commenting upon the suicide of nearby students, the administration was very prompt to address the matter, and all hands were focused upon it. It is odd that even with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, I was the only person upon campus to speak out formally. There seems to be some lack of adult input in these situations, and it’s isolating to the students whom it affects daily. From my perspective, the daily micro-aggressions and events at this school go silenced and unnoticed, especially from the administration As a middle school student, I would feel as though I was alone fighting a fight that would never be resolved, and here we are in 2020 dealing with the same issue. Except now, I’m a senior with a legitimate position in our school. As a Student Body President, an active advocate in our community, and most importantly, a Black boy, I’m asking you to speak out on it. Show solidarity with the people who have been affected by systemic racism for over 400 years who attend your school. If you don’t, I, along with other students in your building, will continue to fight the fight that has yet to be resolved in this country. As adults, you have a platform just like I do, and I hope you find a way to advocate for people who look like me and not just turn a blind eye and become shocked when the next murder occurs. Black tears fall upon deaf white ears.
Sincerely,
Nolan Baynes II
May 28 Letter from Nolan Baynes II (V) to Pingry Administrators
We are proud to be Pingrians; we wish to discuss diversity-related issues in Pingry because we want this community to become a better, more inclusive place. We started diversity work in Pingry because we either were displeased with the lack of representation in our school or believed that the existing representation is both superficial and trivialized by the students and the staff. However, the goal of PAC is not to point fingers or merely complain about the past wrongs we have observed. Instead, we wish to progress in collaboration with the administration and contribute to the commendable endeavors of our school. In order to do this, however, certain methods of communication and action must be reformed; one of our main concerns is the lack of collaboration and/or transparency between faculty leaders who make diversity-related decisions and the students who feel the result of these decisions (or lack thereof). As a result, we hope that the administration takes our ideas and perspectives seriously.
Excerpt of June 5 Letter from Pingry Allyship Collective to Pingry Administrators
