The U.S. Should Not Join the International Criminal Court (ICC)
By Isabelle (Minjae) Kim, III Form
The U.S. Should Not Join the International Criminal Court (ICC) (winner of the Ely Speech Prize–description at bottom of the article)
For centuries, humans have suffered from the dictatorship of the most tyrant leaders in the world. Since then, the international community decided that they should do something. And that ‘something’ turned out to be the ratification of the Rome Statute on July 17, 1998, bringing the International Criminal Court into effect on July 1, 2002. The ICC has gained a favorable reputation by many people, as its main goal is to promote universal justice through prosecuting those who are alleged criminals of human rights. However, the ICC is veiled with an image of peace and security,
preventing people from looking into the flaws that exist within the Court. Regardless of its mission for a good-cause, I strongly believe that the United States should not join the ICC, because the ICC violates national sovereignty and leaves the nation vulnerable to the decisions made by politically motivated ICC judges and prosecutors. (more…)
Read the Pilot Episode of a New TV Series: COLLISION
By Lindsey Pfirrman, Aileen Aebischer, Sean Bellefeuille, Alex von Campe, Julie Geng, Jack Gorman, Max Hinkely, Maddie Torgerson, Kristin Smith, and Drew Ladner, VI Form
COLLISION is a ten-episode television drama written in Getting LOST II: The Writers’ Room during the Spring Semester.
LOGLINE: After a fatal car crash, two families struggle as their new overlapping lives are pieced together and torn apart.
Official Collision Pilot Episode Script–Click Here
(Want to read more episodes or comment? Send an email to mrcamp@stmarksschool.org)
Getting LOST II: The TV Writers’ Room studies how the hit tv show LOST was made. We examine the process that any network goes through to establish and produce a tv show, with specific emphasis on ABC’s development of LOST. We then follow a similar process. As a class, we form a “Writers’ Room,” in which all of the students collaborate on brainstorming ideas and writing episodes for a full premiere season of a show of the class’ design. Mimicking a writing staff for any television series, all students are involved in formulating the plots and ideas for the show. Each episode is then co-written by two members of the Writers’ Room, utilizing the scriptwriting software “Final Draft.” (more…)
The Creativity of Throwing on the Wheel in Ceramics
By Eliza Wyckoff, V Form
The Creativity of Throwing on the Wheel in Ceramics
I was always intrigued by the different mediums of art. I loved painting and tried my best at drawing, even though that was a real struggle. When looking over the art electives the summer before my first year at St. Mark’s, I thought Studio would be a fun class to take, but, after I saw Ceramics, I changed my mind. I have always loved to work with my hands, especially if I am able to create something unique and beautiful in its own way. I had no idea what I was really signing up for; the only experience I had with throwing on a wheel was an afterschool club when I was in 8th grade. After my first class with Ms. Belt, I was slightly intimidated, but more curious about the skills and techniques you needed to use in order to throw good pots and bowls. Being able to go down to the ceramics room and work became an escape from homework and the stress of classes for me. I learned about the whole process that goes into throwing: recycling clay, flipping it so it dries out evenly, wedging it to blend the clay and get rid of air bubbles, and finally getting it on a wheel. (more…)
Schooling, Inquiry, and the Promise of the “St. Mark’s Saturdays” Program
By Nat Waters, Associate Dean of Academics
Schooling, Inquiry, and the Promise of the “St. Mark’s Saturdays” Program
One of the more transformative developments in my teaching practice in recent years has been the addition in each of my courses of essential questions — formulations that, in the words of Understanding by Design author Grant Wiggins, inspire, “deep thought, lively discussion, sustained inquiry, and new understanding as well as more questions.”
In that same spirit, I’d like to offer an essential question for this LEO piece on the exciting new developments in the St. Mark’s Saturdays program. Begin by thinking of your own high school experience, whether that is as immediate as May 2015, or farther removed than you would care to admit, even in close company:
“Which of the many academic lessons that comprise your high school experience are most memorable, most enduring, and most valuable to life and work in the ‘real world’?” (more…)
Female Value: Dead in the Ashes of McCarthy’s The Road
By Marissa Huggins, V Form
Female Value: Dead in the Ashes of McCarthy’s The Road
In a post-apocalyptic world, the way of survival is quite literally “every man for himself.” The few humans that survive the apocalypse are forced back to their primitive states of being and live in constant fear of death. Some survivors, known as “the bad guys,” change their perception of human life and become morally limitless with their methods of survival. The “bad guys” either kill or capture people, depending on the perceived threat or benefit. Thus, the post-apocalyptic world’s culture is one where everyone’s purpose is to sustain his or her own life. Unlike most of the survivors in McCarthy’s The Road, the father and son have a co-dependent relationship that often promotes their survival. While the father may have been upset that his wife killed herself, his wife was wise to end her life and escape her life of imprisonment. (more…)
The Right to Death and The Death with Dignity Act
By Liz Swain, VI Form
The Right to Death and The Death with Dignity Act
Ethics and the law have clashed numerous times in history. What one believes is right and justifiable may not be so under federal law. Laws against physician assisted death have been heavily debated for with conflicting viewpoints. Physician assisted death occurs when a doctor prescribes a patient the necessary medication and dosage that would be lethal. The patient typically has a terminal illness and instead of slowly and painfully dying, the patient can choose to end his/her life in a peaceful and chosen way. Laws only permit physician-assisted death to be legal in five states: Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana, and New Mexico.[1] The Death with Dignity Act, allowing physician assisted death, should be ratified in all 50 states to allow someone to die on his/her own terms. (more…)
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