Members of the school community reflect on their experiences with toxic masculinity in male athletics.
As Jack Shane ’19 frantically ran into baseball practice, he felt the judgmental gazes of his teammates upon him. Late from dropping off his girlfriend, he rushed to apologize, only to be met with taunts from his friends “That’s gay,” they said. For Shane, these words represented the normalization of homophobic slurs and the negative […]
Class of 2019 alumni founded an Instagram account named “blackathw” June 21 to highlight the experiences and injustices Black students and people of color face at the school. The account is one of many recently created to address racial inequality within private schools across Los Angeles, such as “blackatoakwood,” “blackatxroads” and “dear_marlborough.” The account’s founders, […]
In an email sent to students, parents, faculty and staff, President Rick Commons announced Friday that the administration met virtually with alumni who co-wrote two letters asking the school to take further steps to combat racial inequality and prejudice within the immediate community. Throughout the Zoom meeting, Commons said that he and other school leaders […]
In response to nationwide protests against racial injustice, alumni sent two letters to the administration this week asking the school to more directly address racism within the school community and play a greater part in the movement toward racial equality. Though both letters recognized the school’s attempts to establish a diverse and inclusive environment, they […]
175 Wolverine alumna and their children engaged in arts and crafts projects, games and a costume contest at the annual Alumni with Young Kids Halloween Party on Oct. 28, the second alumni event of the year hosted by the Harvard Westlake Student Alumni Association (HWSAA). “The kids are the best part of the event,” HWSAA […]
Jesse Chehak ’97 joined the art department, where he will teach three classes and advise AP Studio Art, succeeding former art teacher Kevin O’Malley. After graduating from Harvard-Westlake, Chehak taught art classes at institutions around the country and also worked as a freelance artist, winning several awards for his photos. As a teacher, Chehak said he […]
The upper school deans and HW Works administration announced that Career Day would be reintroduced for sophomores, following a four-year hiatus, at class meeting Feb. 7. Career Day grants students with the opportunity to meet with a specialist in their chosen field of interest and talk with them in order to gain a better idea […]
After first reading “Privilege and Pressure,” a 2013 article in the LA Times criticizing Harvard-Westlake’s intense environment Upper School Dean Sharon Cuseo said she prepared herself for an avalanche of verifying responses from alumni. Instead, much to her surprise, she said, she received the opposite: Alums quickly and willingly came to the defense of the […]
Breaking the Kickstarter record of most funded apps of all time on Tuesday, Gabe Wyner ’01 raised over $340,000 to fund his new language learning app “Fluent Forever.” The app, based on a book that he wrote in 2014, approaches language learning differently from other apps in terms of what and how the user learns, […]
Hannah Platt ’08 is the newest addition to the Advancement Team as the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations at the Middle School. For three years, Platt has been the Program and Outreach Director at Camp Ramah. There, she was in charge of the mental and physical safety of 350 staff members ages ranging from 17-72, […]