Humans of St. Marks — The St. Marker

By Karry Kim’25

“There are so many complex aspects of this war that you can only understand if you have a deep understanding of the history between Ukraine and Russia. Yet, sometimes people try to speak about the war even though they do not understand the historical context, which makes me feel frustrated at times”

— Veronika Kitsul ‘22

Thump thump thump.

“A reading from the wisdom of …”

These sounds lead our St. Markers to some of the most intriguing stories of their peers.

Aside from the crunchy, mouth-watering egg sandwiches served for breakfast on Tuesday and Friday mornings, chapel talks serve as the highlights of the days for St. Markers.

Chapel talk is a tradition started more than ten years ago by Reverend Talcott. Seniors volunteer to deliver a short speech during the morning chapel talk about a topic of their choice with three to four people of the speaker’s choice to read quotes important to them. Given the diversity of our community, chapel talks often provide the community with a variety of life lessons. To all the seniors who have spoken this year, thank you for your words of wisdom and your long-lasting lessons. This article will recap one of the most memorable chapel talks given this year by Veronika Kitsul ‘22.

On April 13th, 2022, Veronika spoke about the importance of always being on the lookout for more information and constantly questioning our surroundings. She told her personal story of being surrounded in Russian culture despite her Ukrainian childhood. It was not until recently when she started to question the prevalence of Russian culture in Ukraine. She realized that her experience was a form of “Russification”, a cultural assimilation of non-Russians which led them to give up their traditions and roots in favor of the Russian language and culture. Along with her personal narrative, Veronika’s performance of the Ukrainian National anthem deepened St. Markers’ understanding of the heartbreaking circumstances in Ukraine.

I had a chance to briefly talk with Veronika about her chapel talk and her involvement in the activism for peace in Ukraine.

Although Veronika was inquisitive and liked to question her surroundings, she remained unaware of the Russian culture’s weight in her life until she started having conversations with her Ukrainian friends and noticing them changing their language from Russian to Ukrainian with the start of the current war. She realized that the Russian language had been a large part of the “Russification” of Ukraine, dating back to hundreds of years ago. In 1804, the Russian empire banned all Ukrainian-language schools. Ever since then, Russia had been continuously suppressing the use of Ukrainian, the first language of 67% of the Ukrainian population, going as far as shooting a person if they spoke publicly in Ukrainian. Russian was considered a more “cool” or “professional” language, resulting in its widespread use in pop culture and business communication. However, in response to the recent war, a movement in Ukraine encourages Russian-speaking Ukrainians to change their languages as a form of resistance to Russian attacks. Unfortunately, the process is difficult for Veronika and her friends as Russification has been deeply-embedded in Ukrainian society and in their daily lives.

There are about 1700 Ukrainian international students in the United States, and as a whole, they have been leading rallies supporting peace in Ukraine. Veronika is part of the Ukrainian Global Scholars Organization where she connects with many other Ukrainian international students in the US. Together, they have researched organizations to make donations for Ukraine, utilized social media to raise awareness, and organized rallies to protest for Ukrainian people’s rights. Some of her friends from the organization have even managed fundraisers and reaveled to Ukraine to deliver necessities to the people in need.

Although we cannot carry out these large projects individually, doing small deeds such as staying educated on this issue can help make change. In her chapel talk, Veronika talks about the importance of understanding the full historical and cultural context of the war instead of just looking at the current events. Although this task seems like an easy task to accomplish, since there are so many news sources, along with various Russian propaganda, it is often very difficult to learn and stay up to date with the war,. She suggests a few credible news sources, The Kyiv Independent and The Kyiv Post. Make sure to check out these websites for up-to-date, credible information on the Ukrainian war.

She also wants people to understand the gravity of the situation, as the war has not only threatened the physical safety of Ukrainians in regions of conflict, but has also caused a large food crisis that could affect the whole world. She says, “Even if you’re not being bombed, all Ukrainians are at risk because there’s no food to eat. However, I still often see memes on the internet that try to romanticize the Soviet Union. It makes me feel as though people don’t understand how serious this problem is. They can probably watch news about Ukraine and go on with their normal lives, but that’s not the case for me and many others”.

I would like to conclude this article by expressing my gratitude towards Veronika for sharing her personal stories with St. Mark’s. Her chapel talk has motivated people to further educate themselves about current events in Ukraine, and have even changed the way many people view the ongoing war.

By Jimmy Liu ‘24 and David Zhou ‘24

Remote learning put all of us into an awkward spot, but some more so than others.

After 15 long and gruesome months of remote learning, the school’s full opening meant that St. Mark’s students could finally return to campus. However, the remote freshmen last year, although already sophomores, would arrive at an unfamiliar campus full of questions - occasionally joining the ranks of lost freshmen asking for directions when they should have been the ones guiding them. Were they excited for the upcoming school year? Anxious to meet their classmates that they have only seen as multi-colored pixels on computer screens? Or saddened about the real freshman St. Mark’s experience that they have missed? Do they prefer the monotonous but easy lifestyle of remote learning at the safety of their homes to the challenging but rewarding life at St. Mark’s?

Last year’s start was not nearly as good as right now.

Last year St. Mark’s did not start off with a bang. All that we could recall was watching a few orientations that taught us a thing or two about canvas and the ever-so-confusing schedule.

Yolanda Zhou, who was remote as a freshman last year, responded: “Fitting into a new school while experiencing social isolation is not the most pleasant thing in the world, plus I had to stare at a screen all the time.”

However, this year was different. School started as fabulously as it could. The new orientation gave all the St. Marker’s a little push on the back as if saying:” Go meet some people!” Despite all the fun, a small group of sophomores found themselves in the midst of a collection of troubles that only first-year students were supposed to have.

“For the first couple of days, I was pretty lost. I couldn’t find my classrooms or the place for my athletic practices,” said Coco Chen, another remote freshman last year.

However, she added that last year was enjoyable, and throughout the year, countless faculty, students, and fellow classmates helped her overcome the many difficulties she had. Despite all the fun, as an international student, she felt troubled by the schedule, and it always led to her sleeping later than she usually would. Fortunately, this all changed for the better when she arrived at St. Mark’s this year.

For some, being at home is more productive; For others, the opposite.

Everyone at St. Mark’s can confirm that last year was comparatively easier than normal boarding school life. Classes started at 8 pm but most afternoons were free of class. All the classes lasted 40 minutes, and all that we did to get to class was click on the zoom link and stare at our screen (hopefully displaying class content)

Many students reported that finishing homework last year was very unproductive due to distraction and procrastination. Homework could take up to six hours to complete, even though the workload was relatively light.

On the other hand, some students reported that the comfort at home had aided their productivity.

Peer pressure was low, but the anxiety was high.

One of our interviewees, Avery Leonard, said that she felt left out of the St. Mark’s community last year and did not have many opportunities to socialize with her classmates.

When prompted to answer if she felt sad that her first year at St. Mark’s was spent remotely, she said, “ Yes and no, like the reason that I am remote is to protect my mom’s health. But now that I am here, I love being here and being with my friends.”

She also added that she preferred the shorter blocks last year more than the 80 min blocks this year, and she found it easier to concentrate when the classes were shorter.

“My mood and sleeping schedule was really messed up the entire year. I felt really tired and bored of staying at home. It was… quite a pain. ” responded Yolanda.

She stated that last year was the first time in her life that she realized how essential social interaction was and how mental health was a real issue. The decline of mental health also became a part of the ongoing global health crisis. Anxiety was one of the main issues that haunted the remote first-year students.

Do I belong at the school if I am remote? Do I procrastinate more because of remote learning? These are just a few questions that one might have thought of last year as a remote freshman, the inability to share these thoughts caused them to pile up unnecessarily.

Remote learning had its memorable values too.

Despite all of the difficulties that we have faced, all of us held onto the hope for a brighter future. Everyone had something positive to say about the freedom, the comfort, and the positive impacts that remote learning has brought to St. Mark’s.

Both the teachers and students tried their best to help others and to create a better environment for everyone.

The flexibility of remote learning allowed us extra time. Many took this opportunity to develop their hobbies. Eric Zhang was glad that he got to play at least one hour of basketball every day. He could play even more during the weekends.

Yolanda also developed a fascinating hobby last year as a remote student. She said that she had never watched Formula one racings before last year. However, her interest in it grew more and more throughout the previous year until it became one of her favorite hobbies. Right now, she runs the Formula One’s fan club at St. Mark’s.

Another benefit that we might have gained from staying at home was an unprecedented amount of connections with family, whether it’s brothers, sisters, parents, or grandparents. As boarding students, we usually have the least amount of time to spend with our parents. On the most extreme end, international students normally would not have been able to see parents for the entirety of the school year.

When asked to pick one between last year’s remote learning and this year’s regular school, we received mixed answers. Some of us preferred remote learning for the comfort and freedom that it offered. On the other hand, others are happy that we got to be on campus again.

Conclusion

For those of us who prefer normal school life, we are thankful that last year was over. The rays of sunshine softly light the front circle of St. Mark’s as the school is back together again, this time leaving no one behind. St. Mark’s is once again full of lively people, the once empty hallways now fill with the blare of conversation and occasional laughter, and the silent dormitories once again welcoming their new residents.

We all have to admit that COVID 19 changed our St. Mark’s experience forever. Maybe it was about a year and a half away from all of your favorite teachers, coaches, and friends, or maybe it took away the freshman experience that you never had. What memory comes to mind when you recall remote learning from last year?

We are excited about the St. Mark’s experience ahead of us.

Special thanks to Coco Chen, Avery Leonard, Eric Zhang, and Yolanda Zhou, who gave us time to participate in our interview and provided much information.