All blurbs have been written by the candidates themselves.
Sam Krevlin & Jack Upton
What if we told you that your next co-presidents could be sexier than Channing Tatum, as devoted to giving back to the community as Bill and Melinda Gates, and twerk better than Miley Cyrus? I guess you have found your future presidents: Sam & Jack. The first thing we want to mention is that we LOVE Fieldston. While that statement might sound cliché, we think that it is nonetheless important to say. Because Fieldston has had such a profound impact on our lives, we would hate to forfeit the opportunity to give back to the community that has provided us with so much over the past 13 years. Hence our slogan, “Sam and Jack Give Back.” Now, many of you might be wondering what makes us different from everyone else. The answer stems from the story of Sam’s brother, Adam. A couple of years ago, he transferred from Windward to Calhoun, where he was the only new student in the 8th grade. Scared about making new friends, and concerned about how others would perceive him, making it through each day was an accomplishment in and of itself for Adam. Therefore, creating a tightly-knit community is something that we hold dear to our hearts.
So how are we going to accomplish our mission? There are three steps to this process. One: develop a list of initiatives and programs that we would like to accomplish. Two: put them into place. Three: hold monthly discussions on our programs, and regularly revise them to make sure they meet the needs of the students.
Luckily, the first step has already been completed. We have a list of programs that we would like to implement. Over the past several weeks, we have been brainstorming and developing policies that will make academic, social, athletic, and artistic life better. Some of these programs include: Changing pep rallies — More school spirit, Making better use of the cafeteria, Snack with Sam and Jack: monthly discussions where we hear from you, Middle School to High school: easing the transition for everyone, The Annual Twerking assembly? Maybe not, but let’s change the traditional assembly format, Making the gym more accessible, and Art Initiative: Making our already beautiful hallways even more spectacular.
Sam Green & Ethan Hoffman
Ethan has taken great advantage of the many extracurriculars Fieldston has to offer. In the arts, Ethan has taken several visual courses while primarily devoting his time to film as both a screenwriting minor and film major during his sophomore year. Regarding community service, Ethan has been been a dedicated CSAB student, while also participating in the middle school mentorship program. As for change inside Fieldston, Ethan has also done his fair share. As a grade representative, he has been surrounded by the student-led change occurring in FSG senate, meaning that he has plenty of experience. In addition to these qualifications, Ethan sits on the Quality of Student Life Task Force, (a program which literally has a focus on benefiting the lives of students at Fieldston) where he has gained a better sense of how to bring positive change for the Fieldston.
Falling at 6’4”, Sam has the ability to be a huge voice in the athletic department at Fieldston. He has started on the football team since freshman year and has been playing tennis since then as well. This is vital, especially with the entrance of a new athletic director. Sam will be able to become acquainted with him/her as early as football preseason, which is a perfect time to make athletic requests. His ability to rapidly develop a relationship will do wonders for the growing athletic community at Fieldston. Sam is also a dedicated student who has been in intensive sciences and math since freshman year and this year is in Español Intensivo with other freshman, so he has the inside scoop on many of the underclassman problems. Also, having been in intensive math, Sam knows all about that pre-Ms. Birt test anxiety. Now that you’ve fallen in love with us individually, we hope that you’ll fall in love with us as a duo. And due to our backgrounds of differing experience, we effectively represent the many aspects that Fieldston encapsulates.
Paul Schorin & Dena Miller
Dena Miller was raised in the dark forests of New York City, where she learned vital survival skills such as taxi-taking and Central-Park-Navigation. She has, up to this point, won 1,000 Nobel Peace Prizes, 1,000 Pulitzer Prizes, and 1,000 Oscars, rounded up to the nearest thousand. In 2012, she was named the United States’ most feisty red-headed activisPaul Schorin was born in the Fire Swamps, where he learned to fight R.O.U.S. and to never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line. Those lessons are invaluable and he wishes to impart them to all Fieldston students. In 1921, he invented the television under the pseudonym Philip R. Television and the telescope under the pseudonym John Quincy Telescope. It was a very prosperous year.
In all seriousness, we are running as FSG Presidents because we believe that we will be able to make a difference in the lives of every Fieldston student. We know it’s a bit cliché, but we mean it. We are both industrious and intelligent candidates who are willing to go the extra mile in order to be the voice of the student body. And we mean the whole student body, not just the juniors and seniors. We mean every freshman who doesn’t believe that he or she can walk through the senior corridor, every sophomore who feels caught in limbo between under and upper classmanship, every junior who is struggling to find a voice, every senior who is both sad to leave and ready to go, and everyone else who belongs to the Fieldston student body, from the youngest child at Ethical to the oldest senior on the hill. After all, the impact that we will make will not just affect those who are reading this today, but also those who may look back at this election, at us as FSG presidents, and see a moment of true, meaningful change.
So when you vote next week and put down Dena Miller and Paul Schorin as your choice for the FSG Co-Presidency, know that you are electing an effective, dynamic, and creative duo of students who care about Fieldston and care about you. Keep being awesome.
Myles Cameron & Savannah Stern
Together, we believe that we are the candidates who best represent the Fieldston community as a whole. We are both extremely involved in many different areas of Fieldston life and consider ourselves to be leaders both in the classroom, and in our respective activities. If elected, we promise to push for changes that will help this school move forward in the right direction.
Myles is involved in the musical side of Fieldston, having been a part of the high school chorus and digital music for the past two years. He is a member of the Children’s Storefront Club, and will co-lead the club next year. Myles is also a member of the Fieldston Cross Country team and is a part of the committee planning for the 2014 Fieldston Special Olympics. I would describe Myles as extremely hardworking, but very approachable nonetheless. When I decided that I wanted to run for FSG freshman year, my mind immediately went to Myles. I couldn’t think of anyone better suited for the job. Myles is smart, talented, and hardworking. Simply put, he will always be there for you ;).
Savannah has been a member of the varsity basketball and softball teams since her freshman year at Fieldston. In addition, she is a member of CSAB, is a co-leader of the Love is Louder Club, and will be the executive of the Broadcast Journalism program next year. Savannah is an outspoken leader, which many of her peers, myself included, can attest to. A social butterfly, Savannah is very friendly and easy to talk to. Through the past few years I have come to know Savannah as not only a good friend, but also a good person. She is well spoken, a hard worker, and always someone that you can trust.
We know that we are a good team and we promise all of you that we will put 100% of our effort into this job. Most of all, we WILL represent you. Please feel free to approach either of us if you have any questions or ideas about our campaign for the upcoming election. Without giving away the specifics of our ideas just yet, we want you to know that we are confident that if elected, our plans will bring the community together, improve student life, and revamp some of Fieldston’s successful institutions.
Ben Kaeser & Ben Farhi
We have chosen to run for the FSG Presidency because of our commitment to raising the quality of life as Fieldston students. Introducing and lobbying for new initiatives, regardless of whether they are our own or the community’s, is a task we have never taken lightly. Throughout our Fieldston careers (beginning in Pre-K for Benjamin Kaeser and 4th grade for Benjamin Farhi), we have been active participants in the community and experienced the incredible privilege it is to be a student here. Nevertheless, we feel that for too long, only incremental changes have been made by previous presidents; we plan on reversing this trend from day one. For example, our biggest idea (already approved by the administration) will leave a legacy behind which will permanently change the dining, transportation and technological experience of students.
We believe that the Fieldston experience truly needs further enrichment to balance our burdensome academic expectations. In order to maintain our place as a leading school we must raise our standard of life, or else risk losing things that make Fieldston unique. The perspectives we as student leaders possess cannot be duplicated in other candidates. Benjamin F. has worked closely with members throughout the administration and faculty to create opportunity throughout the school. In order to start the Investment Club, Benjamin persuaded Ms. Danforth and the school’s CFO to entrust him with a $5,000 grant, which was matched again at the beginning of the year due to the Club’s success. In addition, Benjamin volunteers for Relay for Life, the History Center, and sits on the Auxiliary Services Board.
As a dedicated member of Students for Haitian Aid, Benjamin K. attended a service trip this past February to teach Haitian students English. Having swam and played soccer for the varsity teams while taking extra classes, Benjamin understands the difficulties one faces when balancing athletics and academics. Outside of school Benjamin volunteers at an animal shelter and conducts research at Columbia Medical Center with leading doctors and professors towards improving treatment of Diabetes and certain types of cancers. We believe that our prior experiences working with various members of the Fieldston community poises us for a seamless transition into office, so that we may swiftly implement change.
David Fishman & Lucas Philips
We are proud to announce our candidacy as 2015 FSG presidents. We are a dynamic duo — trustworthy, receptive, and ultimately here for you and your needs. We have been at Fieldston for a collective 16 years. We are close friends, and more importantly, partners. Fieldston is our home and we love it here. It really is a fantastic place, but it’s not perfect. We want to improve it, leaving what works alone.
Does your club need money? If elected, we will expand the current grants program to include Fieldston clubs. We are also looking to revamp clubs and make them a more serious activity at Fieldston. A newly organized clubs board will be responsible for allocating money on an as-needed basis and making sure club leaders keep their clubs meeting on a regular basis.
Want a fun way to raise some extra money for a good cause? We will pair high school students with middle school students, offering them academic expertise and friendship through tutoring sessions. Tutors will make $10/hour, and the money will be pooled together. At the end of the year all of the tutors will vote on what the money should be used for — a new ping-pong table, speakers on the quad, or even a pizza party.
Finally, we recognize that technology at Fieldston is a bit confusing. Printing is not great and our current website situation is flawed. If elected, we pledge to fix technology here. More printers, faster printers, and the ability to print from any of your devices (iPhone, iPad, Android, and computers) are all on the way — in fact, we’re already working on a solution. As of now we have email, Moodle, Google websites, and other websites all in different locations. If elected, we will work with the Technology Department to unify all of these services making it simpler for you to get your work done quickly.
Lucas is a club leader for Haitian Aid and David has worked closely with the Technology Department over the past few years. Each of our ideas have been pre-approved by the necessary people, and will become a reality with your vote.
These are just a few of our ideas, but ultimately we’re here for you. Have any questions or concerns? Lucas and I can often be found hanging out in the Junior corridor or on the quad. Please come and chat with us, we’re very approachable
