Details

Written by Emmeline Berridge

Category: The Goods

Published: 20 March 2018

(This article was written by SHS Student Emmeline Berridge)
Scarsdale High School, March 14th, 9:00 am: Hundreds of students stood up in the middle a lesson, walked out of their classrooms, and flooded toward the turf field like fish swimming against the current. Despite the sheer number of students in participation, the masses remained silent. As a student and participant, I felt an awe-inspiring feeling of pride for the support and strength of my classmates. Here we all were, enduring the frigid 20-degree morning as a class united in reverence and protest.

In the wake of the devastating mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida last month, Scarsdale students joined thousands of high school students across the country to participate in the National Walkout for Gun Control. A student government organized event, Scarsdale walkout was a both a memorial to commemorate the lives lost in the shooting and a political protest to address the pressing issue of gun reform in public schools. At 9:55 am students were invited to walk out of their classes and join a 17-minute memorial service, one minute for each life lost in the mass shooting. The 17 minutes were followed by a series of political speeches by Scarsdale students.

The memorial was somber, chilling, inspiring, and grief-stricken. After an introduction to the protest, 17 Scarsdale students read the biographies of the 17 people lost in the massacre. Each Scarsdale student presenter corresponded with the age and gender of the victim, creating a chilling appreciation for the life.

Unfortunately, our community had a distinct connection to the tragedy in Scott Beigel. Beigel was a geography teacher at Douglas who was shot protecting the lives of his students. He was also a division leader at Camp Starlight, a popular summer camp in Maine. Several Scarsdale students, who were close with Beigel from their summers at Starlight, spoke about Scott in admiration and heartache. Junior Chessy Greenwald shared her personal connection with Scott, providing a tangible sense of grief during the ceremony: “Scott Beigel touched me and each of my friends in his own way. His ability to tell a story or make the weirdest things seem cool are what made this so difficult. I, along with all of my friends, am stronger and a better person because of Scott.”

Scarsdale For Good Measure Acapella group closed the ceremony with a soulful rendition of “Lift Every Voice.” Though the crowd of students remained silent for the entirety of the memorial, a sentiment of camaraderie was ever present.

After the memorial, students were given the option to go back to their classes before a political debate ensued. Many students left, but the majority stayed to listen to the speeches. Several students said they “didn’t agree that the message of the memorial and the message of gun control were in the same conversation. ”

Personally, I felt that it was completely appropriate and respectful to divide the walkout into two parts. The division allowed students to honor the victims and show their support for the community, while also staying true to their own beliefs and morals. The political portions featured speeches from Senior Anna Rubin, who discussed her frustration with the current political institutions, citing alternative methods of gun control in other countries, and Sophomore Daniella Paz, who provided insight into the stigmatization of mental illness in situations such as Nicolas Cruz’s.

If this walkout has taught the Scarsdale community one thing, it should be that our students are strong. Our students are bright. Our students are willing to take action, in unity with our entire generation, to help incite change. Parkland, an affluent community filled with brilliant teenagers, is completely comparable to Scarsdale.

These events brought forth the fear that in reality, no one is immune to these tragedies. On February 15th, the day after the shooting, a fire alarm blared throughout the halls of Scarsdale High School. The ringing of the bell on this snowy morning sent a chill down my spine; it was eerily similar to the events in Florida the day before. I should not have been afraid for my life in a place that I am required to go each day. I should not have been afraid for my life in a place that teaches teenagers the benefits of peace and reconciliation. Like every other teenager post-Parkland, I have a sense of fear that only substantial change can erase.

Details

Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Category: The Goods

Published: 27 March 2018

Over 400 runners participated in races in Scarsdale organized by the Recreation Department on Sunday March 25. The races took place a week earlier than last year, and instead of spring weather, runners actually ran in the snow.

74 children participated in the fun run, 118 people ran the 15K and 202 ran the four mile race. The overall winner of the 15K race was Peter Brady with a time of 53:57 and the overall winner of the 4 mile race was Andrew Levy with a time of 23:13. The overall female winner of the 15K race was Rachel Levine Rilander with a time of 1:03:52 and the first female runner in the 4 mile race was Caroline Shannon with a time of 26:08.

The Recreation Department worked with the Scarsdale Police Department to close off roads and reroute traffic, with the Public Works Department to repair potholes to prevent injuries and SVAC to care for any who were injured.

We took a few photos of the runners warming up after they completed the course in the high school cafeteria.

(Pictured at left: Caroline Shannon and Andrew Levy)

Did you run? Please send your photos to scarsdalecomments@gmail.com to share below.

Elise Boucher placed second in the 4-mile runSteve Gruber (4th Place Men 60-69) and Liz Gruber (1st Place Women 60-69)The Dellacava Family - Nicole, second from right, placed 5th overall among females in the 4 mile run

Simone Wiener finished 4th (women's 40-49), Marcy Engel finished first (women's 50-59)

Pictured (left to right) Adam,Sydney,Rachel and Noah Rilander. Rachel was the first female runner in the 15K race.

 Team WeRun

Team WeRun

This year more than twenty members of Team WeRun participated in the 48th Scarsdale 15K & 4M Runs. The team performed well, with three age group first places and one age group third place.

First Place, 15K M40-49, Shangyuan Luo, 00:58:38
Third Place, 15K M30-39, Wengang Ji, 01:03:55
Fourth Place, 15K M30-39, Meiliang Wu, 01:04:57
First Place, 15K F30-39, XiaoJuan Hu, 01:07:00
First Place, 4M F40-49, Hongwei Zhou, 00:31:23

The team practices regularly along the beautiful Bronx River Parkway trail on Saturday mornings. For more information, please contact Lisa Tan at lisatan@yahoo.com.

WeRun Winners

Details

Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Category: The Goods

Published: 13 March 2018

The 2018 School Board Nominating Committee (SBNC) has completed its process of recruiting, vetting and selecting two nominees for the 2018 non-partisan slate for election to the Scarsdale Board of Education. There was a robust and highly talented candidate pool, from which the SBNC selected Woodrow (Woody) Crouch and Alison Singer. If elected during the school board election on May 15, 2018, Crouch and Singer will assume their roles as first term school board members effective July 1, 2018.

The SBNC is a non-partisan committee composed of 30 voting members (six from each of the five election districts corresponding with the elementary school districts) and four non-voting members. Over the course of Sunday meetings from January through March, this year's committee conducted extensive candidate outreach to encourage interested community members to apply, listened to applicant presentations, conducted detailed due diligence on all applicants, and considered potential candidates' qualifications. Pursuant to the SBNC Resolution, committee deliberations concerning candidates are confidential.

Through thoughtful discussion and consideration, and pursuant to the SBNC Resolution, the SBNC "judged and selected [candidates] solely on their qualifications to serve the community." This engaged and focused practice resulted in the nomination of two outstanding candidates, Crouch and Singer.

The SBNC congratulates the 2018 nominees and thanks all applicants who put themselves forward for candidacy. "I thank the entire SBNC, all applicants, and the Scarsdale community for their commitment to the Scarsdale School system and educational excellence," noted Liz Guggenheimer, 2018 SBNC Chair.

Commenting on her nomination, Singer said, "I'm very honored to have been nominated for school board by the SBNC. Both of my daughters benefited tremendously from their experiences as students in Scarsdale. I look forward to working with the other school board members, with administrators and with members of the community to keep our schools robust, healthy and safe learning environments."

Singer is Co-Founder and President of the Autism Science Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding innovative autism research and supporting the needs of people with autism. She has lived in the Quaker Ridge section of Scarsdale for 18 years with her husband Dan and daughters Jodie, 20 and Lauren, 18. She graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a B.A. in Economics and has an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Singer has been an active volunteer in Scarsdale. She served on the SBNC for three years, and then as Vice Chair of the SBNC Administrative Committee, Chair of the SBNC Administrative Committee and Chair of the SBNC Joint Committee. She also served on the BOE Committees on Special Education and Preschool Special Education, as well as on the search committee for the district's Director of Special Education and Student Services. She also served as Co-chair of Scarsdale CHILD for two terms.

Mr. Crouch has a BS from the US Merchant Marine Academy and a Master of Science Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of New York. He was a Vice President at the New York Power Authority in charge of engineering and construction where he oversaw complex and often contentious power plant construction projects in NYC. He also has a deep experience working with unions. Since retiring he has served as a Vice President at Skanska, AECOM and Noble Environmental Power. He founded and is CEO of DC Transmission Partners, LLC.

He has served in various Scarsdale organizations. He served on the Drake Edgewood Association as a member of the Board of Governors and as President, on the Scarsdale Neighborhood Association of Presidents as Chairman, chaired the Edgewood Athletic Association and coached girls and boys basketball, soccer and softball teams. He is a Committee Member of Boy Scouts Troop 2 and a Merit Badge Counselor. He was on the Board of Directors and Treasurer of IHM CCD program. Woody and his wife Mary managed the Edgewood Fair. He served on the United States Committee on Large Dams as chairman of the Construction Committee and later as President. He was a member of the Water Power Steering Committee. Woody served two terms as Chairman of the Sturge-Weber Foundation (SWF) and is now a Board member. The SWF helps families cope with this rare disease and supports research dedicated to find a cure. He and Mary have lived in Scarsdale over 40 years. They have two children and eight grandchildren. Five of the grandchildren are in Scarsdale Schools.

If elected, the two candidates will replace Arthur Rublin who will complete his first term in June and declined to run for a second term on the School Board and Pam Fuehrer who will complete one term on the School Board in June, 2018.

Please remember to vote on Tuesday, May 15, 2018 in the school board election, the same day as the 2018-2019 school budget vote. For more information on the SBNC, including the governing Resolution, please visit the SBNC website at www.scarsdalesbnc.com or contact the SBNC Chair.