Author: Milton Magazine

This year, students participated in The Defamation Experience, an interactive theatrical performance and discussion centered on a fictional courtroom drama involving a civil defamation case. Using the context of a legal trial, the cast navigated issues including race, class, gender and religion, culminating in deliberation and a decision in which students participated as jurors. The post-show discussion, led by a facilitator, provided an opportunity to talk about issues of identity, inclusion, justice and our connection as...

“You get nothing out of being cruel to yourself, and you gain everything by being kind,” Ginny Barrett ’20 says. “It’s a really hard lesson to learn, but once you’re there, it can be transformative. It starts as simply as looking in the mirror and saying, ‘I look good today.’” This is the message that Ginny and Laura Bailey ’19 hope members take away from the student club Body+ which they cofounded this year: Self-confidence comes from accepting and loving the person you are today. The girls are not just close friends; they’re cousins, and from this lifelong bond they’ve guided each other through the various insecurities that arise in adolescence. Ginny struggled with her confidence in middle school and found it hard to discuss with others. She felt invalidated when people responded to her concerns with “Stop it, you’re beautiful.” “Obviously, when people do that, they’re trying to give you a good message and make you feel better, but they’re not really listening,” Ginny says. “Body image comes from so many outside factors pushing on you, whether it’s society, media, family or friends, which makes it harder to talk about, because you never know whether a response is going to boost you up or push you down. I wanted to create a safe environment for people to share their experiences and really listen to others, and realize they’re...

A single issue—examined across academic disciplines in classrooms around Greater Boston—is the launching point for the Humanities Workshop, founded by English department faculty members Alisa Braithwaite and Lisa Baker. Beginning this fall, Milton students, along with students at four other public and private schools, will focus on questions about economic inequality in their humanities classes, culminating in a May exhibition at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Boston. The Humanities Workshop will follow a single social issue throughout an entire academic year, studying it through literature, history, language, philosophy and the arts. The idea sprang from “a desire to reassert the humanities in the age of STEM [science, technology, engineering and math education],” says Alisa. The inaugural theme is especially relevant to the nearly 1,000 students participating in this pilot year, because Boston was named in 2016 by the Brookings Institution as the city with the highest income inequality in the United States. “We very deliberately chose this theme because everyone can participate, because everyone is part of this conversation,” Lisa says. Alisa and Lisa have been developing the program for several years. They learned of the Humanities Action Lab, a consortium of colleges and universities that examine pressing social issues through the lens of the humanities, and connected with that program’s director to discuss scaling it to the high school level. Last June, they met with other high...

Starting off with a win against Lawrence Academy, the 28-member girls’ cross country team finished the season about even in wins vs. losses and came in sixth in the ISL championships. Ellie Mraz ’21 was a standout this season, undefeated in all but one of her races. She was named a Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic Athlete, a Boston Herald All-Scholastic and a Boston Globe All-Star for the 2018–2019 season. Ellie says the highlight of her day is practicing after school with both the girls’ and boys’ teams. “There is a great group of new freshmen on both teams, and it is amazing to see everyone get stronger as the weeks go by,” says Ellie. “The girls’ captains are doing a great job and bring so much fun and energy to the team. I used to get extremely nervous before races, but this year I have made it my goal to stay calm and to just enjoy the sport. Running is challenging physically and also mentally.” Coach Scott Huntoon has coached the girls’ team since 2002 and says this year’s team was a young one, so he is looking forward to the next couple of years to see what they can...