AndoverMagSpring2015

inspired. Before he stepped to the All-School Meetingmic, Linda Carter Griffith, current dean of CAMD andsoon-to-be assistant head of school for equity and inclusion,launched the day, reminding everyone of King’swell-known quote: “We must accept finite disappointment,but never lose infinite hope.”“If you remember anything from what I say thismorning, remember that,” said Griffith, who thenwelcomed former associate head of school Rebecca Sykesback to campus and to the Cochran Chapel podium.Sykes reflected on the recent tragedies involvingAfrican American men, including Trayvon Martin andMichael Brown, as well as on her 40 years as a blackwoman at PA. She then spoke with pride about beingable to welcome Gittens back to Andover for such amomentous occasion.Catch Me If You Can: IdentityPolitics and Performances inSocioeconomic “Passing”The 2002 film Catch Me If You Can isabout Frank Abnagale, a man whoimpersonated many people, includinga pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer.His ability to “pass” intrigued FadziGambiza ’16 and Ashley Scott ’16,who used the film as a jumping-offpoint for a workshop on socioeconomicand racial passing. Attendeesexamined the pressure to conform atAndover and the on- and off-campussignifiers of class—from languageand clothing to Snapchat stories.DramaLab PerformsOut of the BlueStudents took Out of the Blue frompage to stage in a powerful seriesof monologues focused on theirpeers’ struggles with issues ofidentity. One by one, actors sharedexamples of ignorance and exclusionon a stage set as a classroom.The DramaLab covered the book’sthemed chapters about gender,religion, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity,(dis)ability, class, and culture.Race Science: 19th- &20th-Century Justifications ofRacism and EugenicsA class on Darwin sparked an intriguingworkshop on the history of scientificallyjustified racism, led by CAMDScholar Carrie Ingerman ’15 and NikkyNavarrete ’15. They explored the evolutionof brain science and discussedhow it was manipulated to justify racialstereotyping, genetic purification(eugenics), and genocide. “I’m reallysurprised that people actually consideredthis science,” said Navarrete.“Societies not unlike ours did this.”•1865Richard T. Greener graduatesfrom Andover and goes on tobecome Harvard College’s firstAfrican American graduate.•1867| | | | Joseph Hardy NeesimaPA’s Committee on Endowments and ScholarshipsPA Principal Cecil Bancroft writes to trustees:of Japan becomesAndover’s first Asiangraduate.•1878states that the school must “maintain the policy,initiated by the founders, of never turning away adeserving boy because he could not pay.”•1885“We have almost no patronage from Methodist,Unitarian, and Universalist families. For the firsttime in 12 years we have a Jew.”Andover | Spring 201527