Lohkoah Payne ‘24 (center) gives a haircut to Noah Leddel ’23 as Sachiel Ming ’24 looks on (Photo provided).

Northwood has a very entrepreneurial atmosphere, with students creating businesses to solve problems many face. One problem students have is finding a place to get their hair cut or styled. This is especially challenging for minority students who struggle to find suitable places to have their hair worked on in Lake Placid.
Luckily, two students are helping the community. Lohkoah Payne ‘24 is building a small barbering business, and Amanda Iva-Nelson ‘23 has become the hairstylist of choice for many Black students.

“I started cutting hair over the summer, but my craft really started to bloom this school year,” Paye said. “I started cutting to save money; then it turned into a way to help my peers and friends and strengthen the community bond in Northwood. Due to the location of Northwood, my business has attracted a lot of people who could not find a place to get their hair managed.”

Nelson also wanted to help her community. “I started when a student asked me to do their hair, and I thought, ‘Why not?’ So I did it, and the student loved their hair. They told other people, and more people came. This was when I realized that I could make a business out of it.”

Paye’s and Nelson’s services fill a void in the larger Lake Placid community. “Another reason [for my business] is there are not many people of color in Lake Placid, so I thought about doing this business to help myself earn money but also to help the wider community,” Nelson added.

“When working on a customer, I use my own products and combs, allowing the customer not to worry,” Nelson said. “I usually charge $15-$20, depending on the person and what they want.”

Jace Donawa ’25 is one of Paye’s satisfied customers. “Koah cut people’s hair for free, which I am so grateful for. He just started cutting this year, but I can already see the improvement in each cut. Personally, I think Koah cuts hair to a good standard. I will definitely go again.”

On Halloween week, Northwood will have its annual Spooky Spirit Week, which allows Northwood students to express themselves in a scary comedic fashion. Students have the opportunity to escape the dress code and instead wear Halloween-themed outfits.

Each day of the week will have a different theme starting with a generic Halloween costume theme. The following day becomes more exciting moving to the new “Adam Sandler Day.” Participants will get to wear extremely baggy clothes just like Sandler. This is a new addition to Spooky Spirit week that students love.

Head’s Council Member Turner Jackson ‘23 is enthusiastic about Adam Sandler Day. “I cannot wait for it. I have some clothes in the locker that I cannot wait to pull out. You will have to wait and see on Tuesday what I wear. I do not want to hype it up too much, but everyone will be amazed,” Jackson enthused.

After the exciting Adam Sandler Day, there will be a “Dress as the Elders Day” which will be interesting to see what students and faculty bring to the table. A perfect way to finish off the week is “Twin Day.” The idea behind Twin Day was to allow students to collaborate with their friends and be creative.

Enthusiasm for Spooky Spirit Week has waned in recent years; however, this year the Head’s Council is dedicated to publicizing the event. “We want a strong community that participates in school activities,” said Head’s Council member Abby Sinclair ’23. “This year we are really determined to make this event more successful. The Heads Council has been working hard to ensure the success of this event by meeting several times a week,” Sinclair said. “They have decided to make theme outfits more accessible for students so more students can take part in the event,” she added. It is important for students to not feel self-conscious when dressing up and instead take the opportunity to be creative and enjoy themselves.

On Monday, after an amusing school day, there will be a party held at the indoor turf led by special guest D.J. Crisp. Jackson said “D.J. Crisp is making a guest appearance. He has appeared at several smaller parties, but this will be his breakout event. I cannot wait to have him work the Halloween party.”

Study hall is canceled on Monday, which will enhance the popularity of the party. Despite the cancelation of study hall, students should still be cautious of their schoolwork and should make sure they stay on top of their work.

The Spooky Spirit Week this year will be epic. Northwood encourages all students to take part in the events hosted because this is a perfect opportunity to express yourself. Students who decide not to take part in the event must wear dress code attire. The week will be a superb week at Northwood, so make sure you attend the party on Monday, and you maintain an optimistic mindset all week.

Junior Happi ’23 and Abigail Sinclair ’23 (Photo: Mr. John Spear).

Recently, two Northwood experienced an unsettling event in which they were treated with incivility. The students were heading to a faculty home on the edge of campus, and while they were on their way, a vehicle drove past them on Northwood Road, took a U-turn, came back, and a yelled racist slur. The New York State Police have an active investigation into the incident that includes the acquisition of nearby security camera footage in the hopes of identifying the perpetrators.

News of the incident, which occurred on October 1, was shared with the Northwood community on October 4 in the form of a message from Mr. Kelvin Martinez, Northwood’s Dean of Multicultural Affairs and Mr. John Spear, Assistant Head for School Life.

Martinez has been supporting the students, who are Black. “There’s still such a massive lack of awareness and empathy for people who are different, who look different, sound different,” Martinez said. “It shocked students, especially those from underrepresented communities, creating a sense of tension and insecurity,” Martinez added. “Because it happened right at our doorstep. You want to walk out of campus feeling that you belong to at least the immediate community, and for the otherwise to happen, it almost feels like a part of your humanity is being chipped away,” Martinez said.

“It was sad, but sadly not completely shocking.” That is Abby Sinclair’s perspective. Sinclair is the president of the Multicultural Students’ Club (MSC). “Based on some things that I’ve seen within our own community and the Lake Placid area, I would say that sometimes, being a person of color, I have seen weird looks and uncomfortable atmosphere when coming into town,” Sinclair said. She would have liked the school to talk about the incident more openly. “It’s kind of sad to see the lack of talking that has been done about it within our own classes and community—enough wasn’t done in trying to support people of color. This should have been an opportunity to bring the community closer together, but rather it’s done nothing, essentially,” she added.

“Unfortunately, it’s something that a lot of people have to deal with,” said Mr. Riffle, Northwood’s Director of Admissions. “It’s a very small percentage, I believe, of our makeup that are like that or are ignorant in that way. In my opinion, it affected those two individuals personally and had a community-wide effect because it brings to the forefront that it’s still out there and it’s sad,” Riffle added. Riffle expressed both concern and admiration for the students involved. “It’s sad that people have to deal with it. I just feel really bad for those kids, but at the same time, I know that they’re strong. If that had happened to me at their age, I don’t know if I would have handled it as well as they did.”

“I was shocked,” Junior Happi ‘23, Vice President of the MSC, said. “This was my first time hearing of a racial incident in Lake Placid since I’ve been here. If I was in that situation, I wouldn’t have known what to do, and more awareness towards what to do in that situation needs to be built in the community, at Northwood and Lake Placid. There needs to be more awareness about racial discrimination in Lake Placid, and it should be taken more seriously. These cases don’t often happen, but we need to be prepared for when it does,” he added.