Skip to Main Content
The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School

The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle

James Hess, Executive Editor

All content by James Hess
Leaving The Cones Behind

Leaving The Cones Behind

Students and faculty discuss the impact of Security Guard Sanders Jackson on the school community in preparation for his retirement.
James Hess
May 26, 2023

Security Guard Sanders Jackson, known mononymously as “Jackson” by students and faculty, will retire after 36 years at the school. In his time at the Upper School, he became known for his booming voice,...

Cucumbers sit inside of a jar, which is one step of the fermentation process. Cucumbers are one of many items that the Pickling Club ferments,

A thanks to the school Pickling Club

James Hess, Assistant Opinion Editor
March 29, 2022

If you ever make a habit of wandering through the highest parts of the upper school campus, first around the library and then up the stairs to Feldman-Horn, you may encounter a peculiar sight. Peer into...

Photo from Getty Images

Standardized Dissatisfaction

James Hess, Assistant Opinion Editor
February 19, 2022

In the course of its nearly century-long history as the foremost standardized test for American high schoolers, the SAT has undergone major changes: in 1936, administrators split the exam into two...

Illustration Credit: Sydney Fener

Lavish Language

James Hess, Assistant Opinion Editor
January 20, 2022

In his famous 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language,” Eric Arthur Blair—better known by his pen name George Orwell— condemned the imprecision of modern English. He argued that vagueness...

Illustration Credit: Sydney Fener

Put the Merit in Meritocracy

James Hess, Assistant Opinion Editor
December 20, 2021

As a country defined today by social achievement and democratic values, meritocracy seems like an obvious ideal to strive for. A social structure that rewards people for their talents and efforts appears...

Thespians gather for a group photo after a performance of "J.B.".

Fall Play: ‘JB’

James Hess and Natasha Speiss
November 17, 2021

The upper school Performing Arts Department opened the fall play, “J.B.,” to audiences in Rugby Theater on Oct. 29, 30 and 31. The show marked the first large-scale in-person Performing...

Illustration Credit: Caroline Jacoby

Judging classics by their covers

James Hess, Assistant Opinion Editor
October 16, 2021

Despite their archaic grammar, complicated prose and out-of-date representation, classic novels continue to find themselves on our curriculum and bookshelves. We spend much of our English courses reading...

Dissecting the Drama of the D'Amelio  Show

Dissecting the Drama of the D’Amelio Show

James Hess
October 15, 2021

Starring the most viewed TikTokers in the world and their parents, season one of Hulu’s “The D’Amelio Show” is a mishmash of reality TV tropes and attempted lessons. It is half “Keeping Up with...

Lola Cortez '22 rides a galloping horse during her Junior Fellowship in Silver City, N.M., where she spent the summer studying the role of Chiricahua Apache women.

Junior Fellowship: Lola Cortez

James Hess
September 2, 2021

As a recipient of the Kutler Center Junior Fellowship Program, Lola Cortez '22 spent the summer studying the role of Chiricahua Apache women in Silver City, N.M. The project, inspired by Cortez’s...

Making up for lost time

James Hess, Assistant Opinion Editor
September 1, 2021

As a new ninth grader who came to the school without the friendships and memories usually forged in seventh and eighth grade, I’ve always perceived the upper school campus as a place to make up for lost...

2021 Student awards announced

James Hess
June 3, 2021

Valedictorian –– Katarina Cheng ’21    Salutatorian –– Navid Ghodsi ’21    Bishop’s medal and Veritas Award –– Chelsea Cho ’21, Jonathan Cosgrove ’21 and Felicity...

Departing Teacher: Michael Mori

James Hess
May 31, 2021

Math Teacher Michael Mori will retire after 46 years of teaching, 28 of which were spent at the Upper School. Mori began his career at the Los Angeles Unified School District, where he spent 18 years...

LAHSO hosts annual festival online

James Hess
May 14, 2021

The Latin American Hispanic Student Organization (LAHSO) hosted its third annual festival virtually May 7. Open to the entire school community, the event is usually held outdoors and includes song,...

Credit: Caroline Jacoby/Chronicle

Packing in hyperpartisan politics

James Hess
March 30, 2021

In his 2017 opening statement to Congress, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, a staunch Conservative appointed by former President Donald Trump, outlined the role of the Supreme Court. “If Judges were...

Load More Stories
Activate Search
The Student News Site of Harvard-Westlake School
James Hess