Opinion

Benedict XVI officially resigned as pope on Thursday, February 28, 2013, marking the first time in nearly 600 years that a pontiff has retired. After his announcement on February 11 of his intention to resign at the end of the month, a conclave was quickly scheduled to elect a new pope in time for Easter Sunday on March 31.

The 1.2 billion Roman Catholics of the world welcomed Pope Francis, a former Argentine cardinal, on March 13, 2013. He is not only the first pope to take the name Francis, but also the first non-European pope of the modern era, the first from Latin America, and the first Jesuit pope.

Benedict, 85, explained his resignation with the statement: “My strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.”

Po…

Yes, I knew Mr. Hindle very well. I got to know him because he was the dorm master where most of my close friends lived, so I spent a lot of time on his hall. My friends and I thought he was great.

I used to go to Mr. Hindle for help on my math homework because he not only taught me the material, but made it interesting as well. He inspired me to pursue math and sciences in college.

As far as how the school is handling the situation, they are taking the appropriate actions. This is a tragic situation since Mr. Hindle was an inspiring teacher to so many students. However, these actions that have come to light must not be ignored, no matter how well respected Mr. Hindle was.

Deerfield is appropriately bringing this to the attention to students and alumni, regardless of the tra…

A typical conversation about secret societies:

“Man, it’s so cool that Alex is in the Geese.”

“What about geese?”

“The Geese. Come on, it’s only the most exclusive secret society on campus.”

“Uh-huh. And how do you know Alex is in it, if it’s so secret?”

“Well duh, everyone knows who’s in the Geese.”

“Doesn’t that make it more of a society, then? Like, without the ‘secret’ part?”

“…”

“Anyway, what do the Geese do?”

“Well, in the yearbook, they all take a picture making geese noises!”

“… And?”

“What?”

“Well, what else do they do?” This is the point in the conversation when your friend stares awkwardly to the side, wishing that you hadn’t realized that, really, secret societies don�…

I think that though secret societies exist on campus, they are not a vital part of the Deerfield community or lifestyle. However, I do believe they are a tradition for both guys and girls on campus. I find them to be sort of like the brotherhoods or sisterhoods in college, where only certain people make it, but it doesn’t really affect those not included.

Recently, the topic has come up more frequently, and only few have expressed contempt for these select societies because of their exclusivity. Nonetheless, I don’t find their “exclusivity” to be a problem solely because what they do has no effect on the community, if in fact they do anything at all. To call them exclusive is to call every college fraternity and sorority in the country exclusive.

In the beginning, I…

I wholeheartedly agree with the recent steps the administration has taken regarding Deerfield secret societies, because the school absolutely must take action.

Students can only hold so much influence over their peers. A room search is a good start, but how fruitful can that really be? Anything found in a room search can be denied as having to do with the Sevens or any other secret society. I feel that the school must take further initiative and use measures that are much harder to deny. I definitely do think that these groups are harmful. They promote social discrimination.

If everyone is fighting each other to become one of the “coolest” seven guys on campus, they are more willing to hurt one another. It leads to a lot of tension and anger. The worst part about it all…

On March 13, 2013, 1.2 billion Catholics sat in front of their televisions waiting for the papal conclave to declare the next leader of the Catholic church.

They all watched as the smoke billowing from the conclave changed from black to white, signifying that the Cardinals had finally elected a new pope.

Many Americans were surprised to find that the crowd favorite, Boston’s own Sean O’Malley, was not elected.

Notwithstanding American sentiments, Catholics around the world were delighted to see Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, elected to assume the name Pope Francis I. He is the first Pope of Latin American descent, and considering that 40% of all Catholics reside in Latin America, a Latin American Pope is long overdue. In any case, this is a momentous shift f…

What, in practice, defines the Deerfield boy?

Tradition at Deerfield from the outside might seem stupid or corny, but our traditions are what make Deerfield a community that students want to be a part of.

Tradition is not a constituent of this community that must be constantly pressed upon us, but rather something that should be observed moderately.

To all the people who for some reason seem to have a deep emotional connection with stereotype, I say, “So what?”