Communication Office

Sixty-five million people around the world are displaced from their homes and on the move—the largest number of migrants in human history, humanitarian Cate Brown told students. They are refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced or stateless people who have uprooted their lives or been forced from home because of political oppression, violence, resource scarcity, and economic struggle, among other reasons.

The statistics around migration are overwhelming, Ms. Brown explained, and reflect the enormity of a crisis affecting every continent on earth, but they can distract from the human impact of migration. The average displacement time for a migrant is 17 years, and more than half of the world’s migrants are children.

JB Pritzker, Class of 1982 and the 43rd governor of the state of Illinois, will serve as Graduation day speaker on June 7, 2019.

“JB Pritzker is an extraordinarily generous spirit who has made an immeasurable difference in the lives of countless people throughout his community and beyond,” said Head of School Todd Bland. “Humble despite his huge influence, he is intelligent, relatable, and a kind-hearted leader—qualities to which we should all aspire. I am delighted to welcome him back to campus.”

Mixing punchy rhetoric and timely topics of conversation, comedian Negin Farsad showed students how she uses humor to explore ethnic, racial and religious stereotypes. An Iranian-American Muslim who grew up in Palm Springs, California, and whose teachers couldn’t pronounce her name, Ms. Farsad weaves personal stories with quick-witted humor to highlight the absurdity of stereotypes—why it’s important to reexamine iconic terms and images that perpetuate them.

Even with difficult topics such as Israel and Palestine, Ms. Farsad says, “We shouldn’t skirt around these issues and not talk about them. Don’t be afraid; it’s important to get into the issue.”

“The most difficult part is always the beginning,” novelist Kamila Shamsie told Milton students. “You have to create a whole world out of nothing.”

Ms. Shamsie, this semester’s Bingham Visiting Reader, read passages from her 2017 novel, Home Fire, and spoke with students about her process when she writes fiction. Once the world of a novel is established, making connections between the characters that advance the plot becomes a “fun technical challenge,” she explained.

The Jazz Band will make its 12th tour of South Africa this spring break, continuing a Milton tradition that began in 1992, band director and music faculty member Bob Sinicrope says.

“Each trip has a personality of its own,” Bob says. “A lot of it has to do with the students and adults, and a lot of it has to do with the itinerary. We’re going to visit some of the same places, but every time we go, we see something new. South Africa in 2019 is a much different place compared with 1992.”