April 2013 - Silver Chips Print

Montgomery Blair High School SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND

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A public forum for student expression since 1937

Winner of the 2012 National Pacemaker Award

VOL 75 NO 6

Immigration reform

Teens lobby for voting rights

Police officer subdues student with Taser

By Mallory Rappaport On April 8th, the Takoma Park City Council held a hearing on a proposed amendment to the city’s Charter that includes lowering the city’s voting age to 16. The Takoma Park City Council is considering amendments to voting and elections laws that would allow citizens aged 16 and above to vote in local elections. The proposal has passed the preliminary vote and it’s final vote will occur on May 13.

City Councilmember Tim Male introduced the proposal and said that roughly 40 to 50 people attended the hearing with a majority of them speaking in favor of lowering the voting age.

Senior Tommy Raskin, President of Blair’s Young Democrats Club, said that Male requested members of the club to attend and speak at the hearing to help sway opinion in favor of this proposal.

Among students who spoke was sophomore Leigh Cook. Cook claimed in her testimony that classes like AP NSL Government

see VOTING page 3

By Emma Rose Borzekowski

Civil Rights Division with the city of St. Paul to withdraw a housing discrimination case before it reached the Supreme Court.

Senator and committee chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) defended Perez, calling him a “visionary leader” with a “breadth of knowledge and practical skills.” Both he and Perez highlighted Perez’s history as a child of immigrants, and early years working in blue-collar jobs.

Perez was the former head of Maryland’s Labor Department and a longtime civil rights attorney.

He would be replacing Hilda Solis and, if confirmed, Perez would be the only Latino serving in Obama’s Cabinet. He started his political career in Montgomery County, serving as the only Latino on the County Council. Later, Perez served as

A student was subdued with a Taser and arrested on April 18, after punching a police officer near the end of fifth period.

The student, whose name is not being released to protect her identity as a minor, was caught skipping class by the courtyard. Security guard Tanesha Taylor stopped her and told her to return to class, said Principal Renay Johnson. The student then became combative and Taylor called for backup, said Johnson. Blair’s School Resource Officer, and MCPS police officer, Janelle Splaine, arrived and the student became increasingly agitated according to Johnson and numerous student eyewitnesses. The student punched Splaine in the face and kicked her numerous times.

Splaine responded by to shooting the student with a Taser and calling for reinforcements. Three other police officers arrived on scene, along with several of Blair’s security guards and administrators including security guard Maureen Walsh and Assistant Principal Dirk Cauley.

The student was held in handcuffs, as Walsh called an ambulance, which is standard procedure after a person is tased. The student, accompanied by Cauley, was taken to the hospital to have the Taser dart removed. She was released from the hospital later that day and has been charged for disturbing the peace and assaulting a police officer. She is suspended from school. Johnson refutes rumors that the student was smoking marijuana, saying that the police searched her and no illegal substances were found.

The event occurred at the edge of Blair’s courtyard as the student ran towards the SAC, according to several eyewitnesses, in front of many students who were eating lunch. Security guards and administrators cleared the area and kept students inside for the rest of lunch.

In an email sent out to the Blair listserv and posted on Edline, Johnson informed parents that a student had become increasingly belligerent and required police intervention. “A student became

see PEREZ page 3

see TASER page 4

SARAH WILSON

RALLY Blair students gather to protest for immigration reform outside the nation’s capitol.

Students attend reform rally CASA brings Blazers to immigration protest

By Michelle Chavez Blair students traveled together by bus to take part in the immigration reform rally on the Capitol on April 10. The transportation provided by CASA de Maryland allowed 80 Blair students and five teachers as well as 25 students and one other teacher from other Montgomery County schools to attend.

Blair’s teacher sponsor, Dia-

Youth voters

nette Coombs, said Paint Branch and Blake High Schools joined Blair after school on the day of the rally after showing interest in participating, and traveled with Blair on the three buses that departed from the main office area.

Students on the bus said CASA de Maryland was also facilitating transportation for people in the community by providing buses that departed from other locations like Langley Park.

Junior Daniela Velasquez joined the rally because she said she felt it was necessary to show her support. “I went to the rally because I am proud to represent my heritage in a positive way,” she said. “We were peacefully making a stand in what we believe in and deserve.”

CASA Youth Member Oscar Lemus, a bus captain for High Point High School and current Montgomery College student who is see RALLY page 3

Perez attends committee confirmation hearing Blair parent picked to head Labor Dept.

By Emma Rose Borzekowski

ELLIE MUSGRAVE

VOTE Juniors Kevin O’Connor and Paul Munger and freshman Camille Kirsh attend a council meeting to lower voting age.

NEWS 2

OP/ED 8

SOAPBOX 13

FEATURES 15

Thomas Perez, Obama’s Labor Secretary nominee and parent of junior Amalia Perez, had his Senate committee confirmation hearing April 18. The committee is scheduled to vote April 25, and if he receives committee approval, Perez will have a full Senate confirmation hearing.

At the hearing, Perez told the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee that he planned to approach the job with an open mind and a focus on jobs.

“Jobs, jobs, jobs,” he repeatedly emphasized, explaining how he would focus his Labor Dept.

Perez faced opposition from Republicans, who view him as too liberal. He was repeatedly questioned about a deal he made as head of the Justice Department’s

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Varsity Update

News Blair parent nominated to BNC and Silver Chips Online plan merger be US Secretary of Labor Video will be available through Silver Chips Online Thomas Perez currently undergoing congressional committee hearings for the federal government position from TOM PEREZ page 1 the head of the County Counciland made a failed bid for State Attorney. His daughter, Amalia Perez, is the junior vice president of Blair’s SGA. She is proud of her father, but wary of the opposition his nomination has brought. “First off, I’m obviously proud of him because I’ve seen how hard he works and how late he stays up... but I’m somewhat nervous about it be-

cause it’s such a controversial process,” she said. “He tells me not to read the comments online.”

Perez said that her father’s nomination has given her a more well-rounded view of politics.

“It’s weird to think that somewhere out there, people think such mean things about him, because they don’t know him. It made me realize that politicians I disagree with probably have a lot more to them,” she said.

COURTESY OF SLATE.COM

PEREZ Preisdent Barack Obama nominated junior Amalia Perez’s father, Thomas Perez, as Secretary of Labor. Perez is currently undergoing congressional committee hearings and his family is adjusting to life with their father recieving national attention. A vote on his nomination will take place April 25.

By Michelle Chavez

not all SCO stories will have complementing media. “Good video editing is inherently going to take Blair Network Communicamore time because you have to not tions (BNC) and Silver Chips only write the script for the video Online (SCO) began collaboratand write the storyboard for the ing on select content this year. video and find the interviews for BNC advisor Paris Bustillos said the video and go to the location, but the aim of having different methen you have to spend hours and hours editing,” he said.

Maisto said funding is another issue for BNC that prevents the organization from expanding.

“The money’s just not there and because we want to maintain the integrity just like Silver Chips, we can’t accept money from the school. We want to have our editorial freedom,” he said.

While BNC and SCO are working on establishing a more multimedia presence, Maisto said he feels that it may not be necessary to have video or audio with every story, especially breaking news because he said students are not checking for Blair updates as much as they are checking other organizations’ updates.

“People aren’t fans of the Blazers the way people are fans of the nationals or the Redskins or the Ravens or the Orioles,” he said.

LEAH HAMMOND SCO advisor Michelle Edwards said the idea of collaboMEDIA Seniors Eloise Goldsmith and Langston Taylor discuss rating on stories still shows the future of Blair’s online newspaper and Blair Network Comthat Blair is moving forward munications. The leadership of both outlets hope that video with journalism and technolcontent can be paired with online articles to provide a greater ogy. Taylor said that SCO and BNC are only going to contindepth of information. ue to expand on their relationdia complementing each other enough multimedia staff to do it. ship. “Next year, I think the goal is is to reflect a multi-platform This year, Danny Rosenberg and to have more BNC videos that corform of journalism.

Emma Howells have volunteered respond with features we write,” he “Not just at the school level, to do more video, and BNC has said.

Taylor added that this collabobut internationally, media is be- volunteered to do videos that coring consolidated into one deliv- respond with our stories,” he said. ration will also help students who ery format, which is the web. “We talked about a vision for next are interested in journalism get a It’s just the logical step,” he year. Both organizations want the feel for the professional journalism said. “The progression of not collaboration to happen. We’re just field. “It will be important for peohaving these two things sepa- working out the logistics so that it ple who want to pursue journalism in the real world to pick up those rate makes sense now. Media can become a reality.” is being presented on the web BNC Executive Director of Ra- multimedia skills, and working both in print and video and dio Adam Maisto said that, while with BNC would be a great opporaudio so it makes sense to col- collaboration will likely increase, tunity to do that.” laborate, so we’ve had a meeting or two discussing it.

SCO Editor-in-Chief Langston Taylor said both student organizations discussed plans at the meeting. “We’ve always had the capability to include videos on our site but have lacked a large

silverchips

April 25, 2013

News

MCPS photographer State requests federal funding for purple and retires after 46 years red metro lines

By Mallory Rappaport

every day,” said Mills.

MCPS’ only staff photographer, Despite the turnover, Mills William Mills, announced his plans doesn’t expect his departure be a to retire at the end of the 2012-2013 large issue for the school system’s school year after 46 years of work- photography needs. “There are a ing for the county. lot of people that take photographs According to John Marshall, like parents and teachers. The job supervisor of editorial graphics will just be dispersed among a vaand publishing services, Mills is a valuable part of documenting Montgomery County school life, however the position of full-time MCPS photographer will be cut so he will not be replaced. “Havpurple line 16.1 mi ing a full time photographer has been a huge benefit but it’s also red line a luxury. MCPS has seen a lot of 14.1 mi employment reductions the past couple of years and so it’s not uncommon when there’s a retirement, for us to take a look at the purple line position and evaluate whether $2.15 bil we need it,” said Marshall.

While 72-year-old Mills claims red line $2.57 bil he’s enjoyed working for the county he also feels his retirement is overdue. “It’s as if I’m at a party, but it’s getting a little late and the hosts are starting to get a riety of people,” claimed Mills. little tired,” said Mills.

Additionally, with the incredMills grew up in Maryland and ible advancements in todays camattended Bethesda-Chevy Chase era technology Mills claims it’s High School. Aside from going to becoming much easier and less school at BC-C, Mills also spent expensive for amateurs to acquire a lot of time on Blair’s campus . quality photography equipment.

Before his job at MCPS, Mills at- “Even your cellphone is remarktended the Rochester Institute of able quality,” said Mills.

Technology and majored in phoMarshall agreed stating that tography. He sees his retirement as though Mills’ work has been inbittersweet, and remarked that his credible, MCPS will have to adjust experience at MCPS has been noth- without his photography. “The ing but positive. “It’s been nice to central services of MCPS will have have a constant job where I’m with to learn to have less of that great my family and it’s been interesting resource available,” said Marshall.

By Katelin Montgomery The State of Maryland is looking to the federal government to help finance plans for Metro’s Purple Line subway system and Red Line

Transit System Length

Transit System Cost

transit system in Baltimore. Federal transportation officials are now taking the project more seriously because of Maryland’s increased level of financial backing, Anthony Brown told the Baltimore Business Journal.

The Red Line transit system— separate from the Glenmont to Shady Grove Red Line—would connect East and West Baltimore, spanning 14.1 miles, and the Purple Line would connect Bethesda to New Carrollton, a 16.1-mile rail.

The proposed cost of the Red Line is $2.57 billion, whereas the Purple Line’s is $2.15 billion.

The Federal Government agreed to fund half of the combined $4.72 billion proposal if the state pays for the other half. The state asked the Fed-

eral Transit Administration for $1.25 billion to fund the Red Line and another $1.1 billion to fund the Purple Line. However, the federal transportation officials need to be sure that the state can hold up its end of the deal and fund the other half of the projects, said Brown to the Baltimore Business Journal.

Brown explained that the state legislature has taken action over the past year to improve the chances of receiving federal funding. In 2013, the two percent increase in the gasoline tax should add $4.4 billion to the state for transportation costs over the following six years.

The General AssemZEKE WAPNER bly passed a publicprivate partnership bill that would encourage joint ventures on projects between both state and private companies.

Brown justified the increase in the gas tax in an interview with WTOP. “Any time you ask residents to pay more at the pumps, or more in taxes, it’s incumbent upon us to demonstrate what the benefits are. When we point to projects like the Purple Line that will enable us to increase mass [transit] ridership, get people off the road, spending more time being productive or at home, it’s certainly more acceptable that we’re asking them to pay more at the pumps,” he said.

The next step is a meeting with business leaders on May 15 to discuss funding for the Purple Line, Brown said to the Baltimore Business Journal. The forum is already over-booked with interested companies.

Construction is set to begin in 2015, and if the funding can be secured, the projects would be completed by 2020.

PHOTOGRAPHER Left: Bill Mills served as Montogomery County’s sole photographer for 46 years and has announced plans to retire at the end of this school year.

COURTESY OF THE GAZETTE

Puzzle Palooza accomadates increased interest Stein, Hammond, Schafer, Ostrander revise competition

By Emma Rose Borzekowski When David Stein, Peter Hammond, James Schafer, and Peter Ostrander started Puzzle Palooza in 2010, only 190 students, almost all in the magnet program, participated. Now, four years later, the competition has grown to almost 300 students from all over the school.

Puzzle Palooza is a four day competition in which teams of juniors and seniors, race to solve different types of original puzzles.

It takes place during HSA testing time.

“We looked for a way to engage the students who did not have alternative modes of transportation and were stuck in the building not really doing anything for three hours. We wanted to do something that was challenging and creative,” Schafer said.

Sharing a love of puzzles, Stein, Hammond, Schaefer and Ostrand-

er, who call themselves Puzzle Lords, created Puzzle Palooza.

The puzzles used in Puzzle Palooza are all original and written either by the Puzzle Lords, professional puzzle writers, or other Blair teachers. They are designed to require a variety of skills, so that no one person can solve all of them. “We try to spread out what we know about your puzzle solving abilities and we try to have equal teams,” said Stein.

Puzzle Palooza is popular among the Magnet program. “We have a captive audience with the Magnet students,” said Stein. “We teach them.”

The Puzzle Lords have made an effort to reach out to students outside the Magnet Program. But the Puzzle Lords believe that recent expansion has been mostly due to word of mouth. “We really rely on students having a good time and telling other students and their friends about it,” Shafer

said. About a third of the students participating this year will be from outside the Magnet.

However, many Blazers have still don’t know what Puzzle Palooza is. Senior Dixie Flores had never heard of it, though she thinks some of her friends might have. “I was never interested in it and it’s not something anyone tried to get me into,” she said.

While Flores remains apathetic about the upcoming Puzzle Palooza, Junior Clare Singer is very excited for this year’s competition.

“I’m not really sure what it’ll be like, but my team is going to win!” she said.

Although senior Thomas Gaddy enjoyed his Puzzle Palooza experience his junior year, he does not plan on participating again this year. “For four days we just did puzzles. I was on a pretty good team that actually was mostly CAP kids, and we ended up winning,”Gaddy said. “Since they’re pretty hard,

finishing one of them was a kind of big deal,” he said. Gaddy said the timing of puzzle Palooza – every morning during a week when he could be sleeping in – pushed him away from registering this year.

The Puzzle Lords pride themselves on creating difficult puzzles that lack clear direction and claimed that the hardest part of the puzzle is often figuring out what it is asking. “They are all really different and have lots of different layers. We don’t give you the puzzle, either, so the first step is discovering what it is you need to do,” Stein explained.

Though each year differs from the past, Puzzle Palooza hasn’t undergone any major changes.

This year, there will be 20 teams completing, the biggest turn out it has ever received, but aside from expansion, the basic format of the competition will stay the same.

And, as always, Stein eagerly added, “The prizes will be huge.”

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Newsbriefs

AFI loses sponsorship After 10 years of partnership, the American Film Institute is losing Discovery’s sponsorship of its film festival. The festival, formerly known as Silverdocs and now called AFI Docs is making many changes and expanding into DC. The festival will now include, in addition to documentary screenings at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, screenings in the National Portrait Gallery and National Museum of American History. It will have gala screenings in the Newseum, along with what the AFI is calling Institute Catalyst Sessions. Replacing the Silverdocs daily filmmaking panels, the Catalyst Sessions will use the films as a starting point for a more narrowly focused discussion between the filmmakers, politicians, nongovernment workers, and think tank members. The AFI Docs festival will also be two days shorted than Silverdocs was and will take place from June 19- June 23. The festival, first started in 2003 and has become a major stop on the documentary circuit. Audi will now sponsor it.

Rockville teen death A Rockville High School Student was found dead in her Army recruiter’s Germantown home on April 8. Police believe that Michelle Miller, 17, was shot by Adam Arndt, 31, who then killed himself. Police and family members suspect that the two were romantically involved. Miller likely met Staff Sgt. Arndt through the Army, as she was planning on doing basic training for the US Army Reserves this summer. Miller left her house around 9 pm on April 7th, claiming to being going to help a suicidal friend, according to her dad. Police found her around 8 am the next morning. The army is launching its own internal investigation on Arndt, who was married to another former Army recruit last June. His wife, Kaitlyn, 21, is currently serving in North Carolina.

Science fair Five local teens, including two Blair students, are traveling on an all-expenses paid trip to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona, from May 12-17. Senior Jinhie Skarda and Junior Neil Davey earned the trip for their entries in the Montgomery County Science Fair that took place at the Food and Drug Administration’s White Oak campus in Silver Spring in March. There, Skarda presented her project, “Astrophysics: Analysis of Jovian Decametric Emission Using the Long Wavelength Array Station 1.” Davey presented, along with his partner Katie Barufka from Langley High School in McLean, Va, “Microbiology: Deletion of Endonuclease G Disrupts Mitochondrial Homeostasis and Leads to Reduced Virulence in the Human Protozoan Parasite Leishmania Mexicana.” The Intel Science Fair is the world’s largest precollege science competition, with 1,500 high school students from 70 countries competing Newsbriefs compiled by Emma Rose Borzekowski

4 News Newsbriefs Transit center divides county council Montgomery County Councilwomen Valerie Ervin and Nancy Floreen are requesting a second independent analysis of the costs of repairing the Silver Spring Transit Center less than a month after a $2 million report was released detailing major problems with the structure. The transit center, a project begun in 2008,has long been plagued by construction problems and with the county council unanimously approving $7.5 million more in funding for the transit center on April 2, the total cost has been brought to $120 million.

Ervin feels that the county needs another opinion on the project before moving forward. Councilman Roger Berliner of Bethesda and George Leventhal of Takoma Park, meanwhile, feel that such a report would be superfluous and would only add more costs that the county could ill afford. A March 18 report by KCE Structural Engineers found “serious design and construction defects” with the transit center.

Runner from Rockville witnesses Boston bombing The explosions at the Boston Marathon April 16 startled the nation. Runners from all over the United States come to run in the marathon every year, but this year, two bombs went off at the finish line, injuring over 100 people and killing 2. Dan DiFonzo of Rockville and others from the Montgomery County Road Runners Club were in Boston and had just finished the marathon when the bombs went off. They were at a restaurant celebrating and they saw the panic going on outside. Two bombs went off around 2 P.M. and two other bombs were located and dismantled nearby. DiFonzo noted that cell phone users were having trouble due to the large burden on carriers with people calling to make sure the runners are safe.

Long Branch rattled by sector plan The Montgomery County Planning board is currently attempting to prevent a potential rise in rental rates in the Long Branch community. Many residents fear that the proposed purple line, which would run directly through the area, will cause the price of housing to go up. The Long Branch Sector Plan, which is currently being drafted, would displace many residents of Piney Branch Road, Flower Avenue and University Boulevard in order to accommodate the railroad.

This plan could potentially affect many Blair families. The Montgomery County Planning Board is considering necessary measures to preserve affordable housing in the area. One plan to rezone and increase mandated affordable housing is projected to maintain about 3/4 of the affordable housing in the area according to Melissa Williams, project manager of the Long Branch Sector Plan.

Newsbriefs compiled by Issac Jiffar

silverchips

April 25, 2013

Freshman arrested following security conflict

ran towards the SAC, according to and students have criticized the ment at the end of the day informseveral eyewitnesses, in front of letter for being vague and making ing students of a “serious incident” student became increasingly many students and expressing her dismay at the agitated according to Johnson and who were eatstudents’ reaction to the event, numerous student eyewitnesses. ing lunch. Sewhich she deemed disrespectful.

The student punched [Splaine] in curity guards “We had several students running the face and kicked her numerous and adminisup, taking pictures and laughing at times. Splaine responded by to trators cleared her. This showed no sensitivity, no shooting the student with a Taser the area and respect for the student in her situaand calling for reinforcements. kept students tion and I find that disrespectful,” Three other police officers arrived inside for the said Johnson. on scene, along with several of rest of lunch.

She also encourages security to Blair’s security guards and adminIn an email show respect towards the students istrators including security guard sent out to the they are dealing with. Johnson exMaureen Walsh and Assistant Blair listserv plained that she would never perPrincipal Dirk Cauley. and posted on sonally use a Taser on a student, The student was held in hand- Edline, Johnbut added that Splaine is a trained cuffs, as Walsh called an ambu- son informed police officer and more qualified lance, which is standard procedure parents that a to be making those decisions. “We after a person is tased. The student, student had welcome and support the police. accompanied by Cauley, was taken become inHowever, we want them to be senCOURTESY OF EVAN MORRIS to the hospital to have the Taser creasingly belsitive that we are working with dart removed. She was released ligerent and young people and unless there is SECURITY A freshman girl was tased after from the hospital later that day required police danger to themselves and others, and has been charged for disturb- intervention. resisting instructions from Blair’s resource no student should ever be tased,” ing the peace and assaulting a po- “A student counselor. She was released from the hospital she said. lice officer. She is suspended from became very after a few hours and suspended from school.

Many students were upset with school. Johnson refutes rumors that disruptive and the incident, claiming it was an the student was smoking marijua- defiant with overuse of force. “All we see is the na, saying that the police searched staff and required police interven- no mention of the fact that they girl, she’s walking past the corner her and no illegal substances were tion. The student assaulted our student was restrained through the coming toward the SAC and you found.

School Resource Officer and, sub- use of a Taser. “This does not men- see the police officer tasing her....I The event occurred at the edge sequently, had to be restrained by tion that the child was ‘tasered’ for don’t understand the need to tase of Blair’s courtyard as the student police,” she wrote. Many parents an extended period of time. Taser- her because there was a concrete ing is NOT ‘restraint.’” said par- ground and [the tasing] was reent Anne LeVeque on the listserve. ally long,” said sophomore Tigist Johnson explained that the report Tadessa.

Splaine has been working at was vague in order to protect the Blair since February, when the student’s privacy.

She also made an announce- school got its own police officer. that summer,” he said. from RALLY page 1 With help from the community, undocumented, said that he felt a friend of Gomes said he was able it is essential to pass a reform as to get a work permit, which exsoon as possible. “I felt like it was pired around the same time that necessary for my voice to be heard deferred action came into place, that we need a comprehensive im- giving him permission to stay.

While immigration reform does migration reform and we are tired of waiting. We need it now,” he not directly affect Velasquez, she said she recognizes the impact said.

CASA Youth Member Yves it will have on the people she Gomes, a bus captain for the Multi- knows.

“I have many family members cultural Center, is an undocumented immigrant who said he felt he that are so smart and willing to was taking a stand for many. “I dedicate, commit and overall posiwent to the rally to stand in soli- tively affect our society. I feel as if darity with my undocumented Congress views [immigration recommunity, who has long awaited form] as more so detrimental than immigration reform after decades beneficial,” she said.

While Gomes can stay in the of contributing to American society and the American economy,” country, he said he is still significantly limited to what he can do. he said.

“Immigration reform means Gomes said he came to the UnitELLIE MUSGRAVE ed States as a baby and his family being reunited with my loving sought political asylum for years. parents, who were deported four CITY COUNCIL City council members listen to teens lobby“My family was able to work in the and five years ago, and getting a ing on behalf of the Voting and Elections proposal.

United States legally for 12 years chance to visit my ailing grandbecause of our pending immigra- mother in India who, whenever tion case, but in 2006, it was finally we speak on the phone, tells me ‘I denied; I became undocumented,” won’t die until I see you one more time,’” he said. he said.

Blair Junior Karla Flores who Since then, Gomes said he has had to face numerous obstacles went to the march said she hopes as an undocumented immigrant. that legislation is passed despite He said he had to watch his par- the conflicts. “I come from a family ents get deported, take care of where my former undocumented his younger brother and watch grandparents were lucky enough his house get sold, among other to obtain citizenship. I’m hopstruggles through his high school ing that the rally results in a bill to come out of the Senate…which graduation.

“It was tough when I gradu- will provide a path to citizenship from VOTING page 1 After attending the hearing, ated high school in the top 5% of for undocumented immigrants.”

Raskin commented on the generamy 2010 graduating class in all of Congress is continuing to work on adequately inform students of tional gap he noticed between difMaryland, got accepted into col- a reform. the political system and prepare fering opinions. “In my experience CASA de Maryland Youth Or- them for the responsibility of vot- everyone who opposed [a younger leges with scholarship offers, but had to turn it all down because I ganizer Rommel Sandino declined ing. “By allowing young people voting age] was over the age 45,” was to be deported at the end of comment. to vote, we’re cultivating political said Raskin.

According to a recent Gazette arefficacy from a young age,” Cook ticle, adults opposed to the amendsaid to the city council.

Though the proposal only af- ment like resident Catherine Tunis fects Takoma Park residents, Silver mostly argued that 16-year-olds Spring resident and freshman Max were not yet mature enough to Foley Keen also spoke at the hear- handle the power and responsibiliing. “I think it’s important because ty of voting. “Everyone who wants if [the proposal] passes in Takoma power is going to ask for it, [but] it’ll be more likely to spread to oth- that doesn’t mean they are ready to handle it,” said Tunis to a Gazette er places,” said Keen.

Other attendees of the hearing reporter.

Male explained that regardless included freshman Amanda Wessel. Wessel explained that she had of age, he feels teenagers who are attended the hearing after being engaged in politics deserve the coaxed by a friend but left con- right to participate. “Adults and vinced by the speakers. For her, teenagers alike, people who are the most convincing argument was interested and paying attention that voting at a young age encour- will go out and vote and I respect aged political participation. “After the view of anyone who is willing MICHELLE CHAVEZ you vote once you’re more likely to to take the time to do that,” said Male. do it again,” explained Wessel.

IMMIGRATION Blazers rallied to keep familes together.

from TASER page 1

Students rally for reform

Lowered voting age considered in TKPK

Voting age may change in TKPK

April 25, 2013

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April 25, 2013

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Specials 7

Celebrating 75 years of Silver Chips Print Alumni reflect on paper’s legacy of keeping Blair informed

By Alanna Natanson You could call it, “eau de newsprint.”

The first whiff is old paper—as in 1937 old. The odor has fermented like wine, grown stronger on the chipping yellow sheets.

The ink, fading slightly after 75 years, is still legible on the page where it proudly proclaims “525 students now at Blair.”

There’s palpable optimism in the 1945 issue, carefree fun in 1952, defiance in 1968.

By 2013, there’s all three and more, baked into 32 pages of newsprint and color.

Silver Chips is now celebrating its 75th year of capturing what it means to be a Blazer. Silver Chips informs, entertains, questions. Silver Chips reporters examine events going on both 10,000 miles away and down the block, but they always look for that Blair angle, according to John Mathwin, Silver Chips’s sponsor from 1978 to 2005. “We only did a story,” he notes, “when it touched Blair.”

Attendance Secretary Roxanne Fus had announced the World Trade Center attack.

The school was terrified, remembers Elizabeth Green, the editor-in-chief in 2001.

She was not considering the newspaper.

“I was not thinking as a journalist,” says Green. “I was thinking as a human being.”

Soon, however, Green realized the paper needed to cover reactions at Blair. “I remember feeling a responsibility to record the events of the day,” Green notes.

Samantha Henig, a staff writer in 2001, agrees that she felt a reporter’s responsibility. “I felt like there was nothing I could really do,” says Henig, “So I remember being glad that I could be productive, that I could focus my confusion.”

In writing an article about reactions to 9/11 at Blair, says Green, it was easy to find

However, students would have to accept that the world was changing—and they would have to act. “But, though our loss of innocence comes early in life,” the editorial says, “we must fight not to allow this change to cripple us.”

In black and white Levin had to get the margins right.

He wanted Martin Luther King’s photograph in the center of the page, the place of honor for the fallen hero. “And over it we had in big oversized font the words, ‘Why We Can’t Wait’,” Levin recalls.

Levin labored over every word of the lead editorial, he remembers, because he wanted to encapsulate the nation’s mood.

“If it was race, civil rights and Vietnam,” he

Silver Chips and silver guns The biggest anti-Vietnam War incident at Blair, says Solomon, started with three words: “Napalm a dog?”

In 1968, Blair student Steve Malakoff passed around fliers suggesting a time and place for students to gather and napalm a dog. Solomon covered the story for the paper. “The student had no intention of burning a dog,” he notes. The administration and the student body, adds Levin, went berserk. “The leaflets were torn down from telephone polls. There were complaints from many animal rights groups.”

Malakoff was looking for that exact response, says Solomon. “Many students who couldn’t stand the idea that a dog would be burned were totally supportive of the U.S. bombing human beings in Vietnam,” he scoffs. “And that was the point.”

Reactions to the war were mixed at Blair, says Solomon. “There were a lot of students against Vietnam; there were a lot who were pro-war.”

So when Solomon sat down to write the story, Silver Chips faculty advisor Dorothy Settle approached him with a warning. “Don’t make this article sympathetic towards [Malakoff],” Settle said.

That contradicted Solomon’s own opinions. “I was very sympathetic to the point he was trying to make, but the story was not particularly sympathetic.”

More than 20 years earlier, when the U.S. entered World War II, Blair had done its part for the war effort. “Boys enrolled in Coach Bridge’s gym class are now conducting a campaign not only to help Blair, but to help their country,” says a Silver Chips from April 1942, pages worn thin. “Paper in all forms is being collected by boys for national defense.”

But supporting the war, Silver Chips indicates, was not always tedious nor patriotic. Sometimes, it was downright flirtatious. A 1942 article declared, “Blairites are going ‘all out for victory’ in a [dance] devised to afford recreation and pleasure for one hundred sailors. No Blair boys will be permitted.”

When the towers fell From the Beltway behind Blair, as a 2001 article says, students could see smoke.

What they didn’t know on that sunny Tuesday in September was that the Pentagon was burning. Ten minutes earlier,

1945 Blair takes part in World War II fundraising

SILVER CHIPS PRINT ARCHIVES

MAKING HISTORY The January 1941 issue of Silver Chips Print reveals Blair’s official team name, the ‘Blazers’, in its front page story. interviews. “People at Blair decorated their clothes with patriotic signals,” she says, remembering outfits of red, white and blue.

“They were inviting a conversation.”

A decade later, the raw shock and horror still emanate from every headline of the September 2001 issue. Under the headline “Students speak out about September 11,” five-inch letters spell out student reactions.

“I truly felt safe here until the tragedy,” said Kelly Lightfoot.

“I want to tell the president to not only bring [the terrorists] to justice, but also to put them down, make them get down on their knees,” says Makara Suan.

“I wish that God had taken me instead of the thousands of innocent people,” says Meenakshi Moerahoe.

“Hatred, not bin Laden, is the true root of terrorism,” says Han Hu. But Silver Chips, says Henig, also covered how Muslims at Blair were feeling.

“Most Muslim students were willing to talk,” she notes. “They were nervous that there’d be discrimination, but they had no trouble with Blair students.”

When Green wrote that issue’s lead editorial, she knew the students at Blair were changing. “What had marked our generation up to that point was incredible prosperity,” she says. Even the new Blair was an emblem of that prosperity. “As students, we were in this new school building that was gigantic and glimmering.”

Those same students now wore red, white and blue for their country and honored a student who lost her father in the tragedy. The tragedy marked a shift. “Sept 11, 2001 meant a loss of collective innocence,” the lead editorial says.

says, his voice slightly grave, “you wanted to say it the way you meant it.”

Ironically, Blair was not as diverse as Dr. King would have hoped. Despite 14 years of integration, 4.1 percent of Blair’s population was Black, according to a report from the Maryland Department of Education.

Because the population was small and because of academic tracking, minority students generally didn’t sign up for Silver Chips. “The people who were talking and writing, the editors of the newspaper, were overwhelmingly white,” Levin notes.

So in 1970, Silver Chips gained a competitor. Solemn Brothers and Sisters, produced by an English class, was written for, by and about Blair’s African-American student body. “To us, the white man rules at Blair.” the lead editorial of the first issues proclaims. “We have no say here.”

The racial tension was more evident that year, says Solomon, who heard racist comments at the school. “There were some who tended to be more cavalier, flippant and more callous.” He pauses, “the racism, the tension was implicit at the school.”

Silver Chips covered Solemn Brothers and Sisters’ progress, including when Junior Assemblyman Frank Piece’s efforts to prevent Solemn Brothers from using school materials. Solemn Brothers survived the bill, although the school later censored the paper because it featured “obscene material,” a Silver Chips article quotes the Blair principal, Paschal Emma.

Solemn Brothers wasn’t Blair’s only racial conflict that year. The school also held a Black Christmas pageant just before the holiday break that ended in fighting and police intervention. “A cast member was

1961 Chips reports the U.S. 2001 Chips reports on the anti-Communism efforts terrorist attacks of Sept. 11

tripped by a White student,” the December 19 paper reports, “angering the actors.”

Since the 1970s, Blair has only gotten more diverse. To ensure that every group at Blair was represented, notes Mathwin, he instituted a policy during his time where reporters logged the race and ethnicity of their sources for a story. “It encouraged reporters to get out and talk to people they didn’t know,” he says.

Peeking in the shadows Despite the drama of the Cold War, McCarthyism and the approach of the Korean War, Chips had other concerns in 1954: “The student body agreed almost unanimously that affections are being displayed too freely,” says a 1954 lead editorial.

The paper, says 1952 editor-in-chief Barbara Dodd Hillerman Lieske, reflected the “Blairites” carefree world. “We focused on what the school was doing, what events were happening at the school. We featured interesting students,” she says. “Today, students are far more exposed through media to world events.”

Racial tensions and the U.S. role in Vietnam War covered Silver Chip’s pages in the 1960s and early 1970s. But by 1978, the year Mathwin took over, the paper had hit a rut. “That first issue [of 1978], we had a whole page,” he groans, “a whole page on drinking pee.”

The next year, race replaced pee as a lead story. Doug Cress, the 1980 editor-inchief, remembers a front-page article—“an essay really”—about being black at Blair.

“The administration was worried about what kind of dialogue it would spark,” he says, “But it was written so well that all you could do is say ‘Wow. Why is no one else talking about this?’”

Other stories, the kinds of stories no one else would cover, followed. “We discovered that the school system’s asbestos inspection of the building was faulty,” says Mathwin, “There was asbestos at Blair.”

“I covered racism against Asian-Americans,” says Green.

“The superintendent came out with a racist comment,” says Mathwin, “and the Washington Post quoted us.” ”Gang fights,” Green adds. “Study drugs. Gay students coming out.” Green pauses, “I later realized most high school students don’t have articles like that.”

Silver Chips even influenced the principal’s policies, says Gainous. In 2006, the paper published a story about students having sex in the building after school.

“So we changed the security shift. We had security in the building after school, patrolling the back hallways,” laughs Gainous.

Silver Chips was valuable, adds Gainous, because they didn’t just cover Madonna or the sports teams. “In addition to doing stories that interested students, Silver Chips did substantial work.”

It helped, Mathwin says, that Blair had students from around the world and newsworthy events each day. “Blair is an incredibly rich field for journalism,” he notes.

Silver Chips has witnessed drama in the halls and dealt with drama of its own.

In times of crisis, the paper turned from covering school events to covering Blair’s role in the outside world. When the occasion arose, Silver Chips reporters didn’t give up until they searched every corner, looked for the story within the story, the issue behind the issue. After all, it’s in the motto: Nullae rationales—no excuses.

And you can still smell it on the pages.

2008 Keeping up with the election of Barack Obama

SILVER CHIPS PRINT ARCHIVES

silverchips Montgomery Blair High School 51 University Boulevard East Silver Spring, MD 20901 Phone: (301) 649-2864 2012 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Finalist Winner of the 2009 and 2010 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Crown Editors-in-Chief: Emma Bergman and Sarah Wilson Managing Features Editors: Ruth Aitken and Hannah Weintraub Managing News Editors: Michelle Chavez and Katelin Montgomery Managing Sports Editor: Josh Schmidt Managing Op/Eds Editor: Puck Bregstone Managing Entertainment Editor: Peter McNally Production Manager: Puck Bregstone Managing Design Editor: Hannah Weintraub Outreach Coordinator: Katelin Montgomery Ombudsman: Ruth Aitken Distribution Supervisor: Peter McNally Fact Checks Supervisor: Ruth Aitken Extras Editor: Sabrina Bradford Newsbriefs Editor: Josh Schmidt Public Relations Director: Michelle Chavez Executive Business Director: Adrian Craig Executive Communications Director, Executive Advertising Director: Nick Seidell Executive Fundraising Manager, Executive Communications Director: Mac Keller Business Staff: Jared Collina Aniya Wood-Reynolds Alexandra Fascione-Hutchins Page Editors: Daniel Alger Desiree Aleibar Emma Rose Borzekowski Sabrina Bradford Langston Cotman Kyle Desiderio Maya Habash Isaac Jiffar Jenna Kanner Cindy Monge Evan Morris Alanna Natanson Paris Parker-Loan Mallory Rappaport Dillon Sebastian Kenyetta Whitfield Spanish Page Adviser: Dora Gonzales Spanish Page Editor: Kelly Ventura Claudia Quinonez Spanish Page Writers: Rolando Alvarenga Jannet Encinas Yessica Somoza Editorial Cartoonist: Julia Bates Managing Photo Editors: Leah Hammond Clare Lefebure Photographers: Leila Bartholet Ellie Musgrave Zeke Wapner Managing Arts Editors: Julia Bates XiXi Chen Artists: Katrina Golladay Tatyana Gubin Maggie McClain Eva Shen Puzzle Editors: Devin Rutan Michael Morganstein Copy Editors: Paul B. Ellis Claudia Gowen Rebecca Naimon Professional Technical Adviser: Peter Hammond Advisor: Joseph Fanning Silver Chips is a public forum for student expression. Student editors make all content decisions. Unsigned editorials represent the views of the editorial board and are not necessarily those of the school. Signed letters to the editor are encouraged. Submit your letter to Joseph Fanning’s mailbox in the main office, to room 158 or to silver.chips.print@ gmail.com. Concerns about Silver Chips’ content should be directed to the Ombudsman, the public’s representative to the paper, at silver.chips.ombudsman@gmail.com.

Letters may be edited for space and clarity.

Silver Chips

April 25, 2013

Opinions

8

Headed on a long march to nowhere At DC rallies, voices are raised but protests fall flat

By Dillon Sebastian An opinion Every so often thousands of people gather in our nation’s capitol to walk and yell. Protesting has been pivotal in American history. But perhaps our methods have not adapted to the changing ways of the modern age. For many hopeful activists their participation in a controversial issue has boiled down to spending a day shouting at a building full of people who cannot hear you or just don’t care.

More than fifty years ago, this walking and yelling had a much different feeling to it. Men and women would march in peaceful unison, dressed in their Sunday best, sending an impression of great maturity and posture, yet still full of passion. While the enthusiasm still exists today, the ways activists go about spreading their voices has escalated into a chaotic assembly of mildly interested constituents who only stand out in the cold because they feel the need to involve themselves in the government.

Posters depicting a desperate immigrant or a melting earth cover the metropolitan area in an attempt to gain support for important causes that surround our government. Around almost every corner there is poster: March for this!

March for that! With all the protests going on around our capital, the over saturation of protests force them to lose the impact they have

on the people and the politicians.

Years ago, marches made a statement. All the way back to the civil rights era and as recent as thirteen years ago, protesters in Washington were heard loud and

release published in 2010. Attendance was so surprisingly high and influential, spreading to other cities in the country, that the march warranted an anniversary. However, during that time there was barely any wide spread use of the Internet, cell phones, texting and Instagram. Now about a decade later, everyone over the age of four is an expert social network user. News can travel much faster over wires than windpipes.

We should use technology more to our advantage, making use of social media by contacting politicians, ZEKE WAPNER signing online PROTEST Clean energy enthusiasts rally in petitions. With DC to protest the Keystone XL Pipeline. this alternative, having munclear. In 2000, supporters of gun dane marches may not be worth it. control gathered in Washington, DC And if all goes well, the protestto participate in the Million Mom ers wont stop in their tracks and March. “Painstakingly constructed think their job as activists is done. through word of mouth, basement All too often, enthusiastic constituphone banks and Kinko’s copies by ents believe that their time as an a ragtag band of volunteers with advocate ends once they reach their almost no organizing experience, home after a march. A select few the crowd stunningly exceeded may follow up on the improvement expectations,” according to a press of a policy but many ‘activists’ be-

lieve once they’ve stood in a group and chanted several cheers, their job to help pass or repeal a bill is finished, according to Griffin Tucker, a member of the TED community. Unfortunately, parading around is not going to do the job. Petitioners and other actions are always effective and in demand. A march combined with an active push for reform in the form of volunteering may have an impact on the way we change our policy in the government.

The first consideration when making executive decisions is money. With reform comes a budget, to act on a policy the government needs cash. The government does not have endless amounts of money and would have to raise taxes or make budget cuts in order to enact certain policies. Unfortunately, marching down a street is not going raise the money. While many people do not have the income to donate money to a cause they believe in, any contribution in helpful.

“Contributions may be made either to affect the election outcome or to obtain influence over legislative decision-making,” according to David Austen-Smith, a professor of Political Economy. A dollar could have as much of an impact on a campaign as a three hour march in the cold.

Gathering thousands of people, and sometimes millions, definitely can get a crowd going, but whether it effectively helps change policy may still be up in the air.

Self-segregation contradicts Blair’s diversity

By Kenyetta Whitfield An opinion The SAC, a place that not only services as a cafeteria but as an entire world of culture in and of itself, is full of different people, different face and different groups. Between the laughs of a small group of freshmen to a group speaking only Spanish, the SAC is definitely a place full of diversity. Yet the SAC’s diverse structure also reveals a blemish in Blair’s social structure, since for as many diverse groups as there are at Blair, there are just as many groups that are racially segregated.

For many Blazers, this is a normal day at school. At Blair, students self-segregate, gravitating toward people like themselves not only in interests, but also in racial backgrounds. This de facto segregation, clear to anyone who spends even five minutes in the SAC at lunch, seems extremely uncharacteristic considering the school’s vast amount of diversity for which students and staff pride themselves.

When prospective students take a look around their soon-to-be school, both parents and students are taken aback by the visible diversity within Blair. With three thousand students, there are social groups for all kinds of kids, and students are sure to find someone they can relate to. According to Montgomery County Schools at a Glance, Blair has a population of 23.4 percent white students, 26.2 percent black students, 16.7 percent Asian and 29.9 percent Hispanic students. Blair’s self-segregation is in no way a problem with lack of diversity. More likely it is the result of a lack of racial discussion between parents and their children.

According to a 2009 Newsweek article by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, children do not have conversations about race with their parents because race continues to be a taboo subject among Americans.

Without these conversations about race, students immediately adopt the behavior they see around them.

If students watch television shows with people of one race, such as the show Girls, which has been criticized for having no minority characters, then students begin to see that as normal. The same thing happens with each of their day-to-day interactions. Students see white students only interacting with white students and black students doing the same, which can then evolve into other types of segregation.

The lack of early this childhood conversation is a problem that, looking around Blair Boulevard, appears to be plaguing students at Blair. The Montgomery County area, especially the Down county Consortium (DCC), has gained a reputation for being an open and diverse place where students intermingle. This belief may discourage parents from speaking to their kids about race, and feeling there is no real problem to discuss.

Parents need to speak to their children about issues of race and diversity before television can step in to tell kids what a normal lunch table looks like. The Newsweek article also stated that black children are likely to self-segregate as well, for fear of being discriminated against.

These emotions could be precluded by parents being more proactive about the subject of race when their

students are young. If black parents spoke to their children about some of the adversities they will face, as well as the joys of experiencing diverse communities, some of these problems could be avoided.

The same goes for white parents, who must speak to their children about embracing different cultures.

Blair is home to two prominent academic programs: the Communications Arts Program (CAP) and the Magnet program. While the programs aim to serve students who are gifted in specific areas of study, they also can contribute to the polarization of racial groups.

dents all over the DCC and MCPS should not just be made aware of these programs, but should also be encouraged to apply personally by their teachers and administrators. Breaking down the barrier between CAP and Magnet students could be one significant factor to stopping Blazer ’s segregation.

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) is another contributing factor to Blair ’s selfsegregation. ESOL students at Blair may fall victim to self-segregation due to the lack of exposure they have to non-ESOL students. While classes such as Physical Education or Tech allow ESOL students to be with other students, ESOL students often remain separate from their non-ESOL peers even when given the chance to interact. Students may feel ostracized because of their different backgrounds, which can cause prejudices from other students due to stigmas and misunderstanding.

Walking through the SAC, the laughter of several groups of white and Asian Magnet students counter the voices of black students who gather along the windows of the library. Large groups of white CAP students giggle while multiple colorful groups of students speak a plethora of languages in the ESOL hallway. Diversity at Blair is everywhere and there is no way to escape it, but without true selfintegration, Blair is just a seemingly diverse school full of strangers.

“Blair’s self-segregation is in no way a problem with lack of diversity. More likely it is the result of a lack of racial discussion between parents and their children.”

CAP, which is known around Blair for its largely white population, and the Magnet, with its large population of white and Asian students, are classic examples of self-segregation being unintentionally enabled by school systems.

The programs themselves are not the sole reason self-segregation exists at Blair, but in order to diversify exclusive programs, students at all county schools must be aware that these programs exist. Rather than tracking and contacting students who are primarily from the Eastern Middle School Magnet or the Takoma Park Magnet program, stu-

silverchips

April 25, 2013

Opinions 9

Search for the Boston bombers leads to racial profiling False accusations feed media frenzy during the aftermath of the Mass. tragedy

By Evan Morris and Paris Parker-Loan An opinion Almost instantly after the news broke that a bomb had detonated at the finish line of the Boston marathon, killing three people and injuring an estimated 264, a media frenzy mobilized. Some of the first eyewitness reports stated that a “Saudi national” seen running from the scene of the bombings was a prime suspect; soon after, the FBI interrogated people recovering at the hospital, including a man that fit that description. After numerous witnesses named him as a victim and not a perpetrator, however, the FBI announced that there were no persons of interest and turned its eyes elsewhere in search of the bomber. Evidently, the media did not get the message.

On Thursday, Apr. 18, three days after the bombing, the New York Post plastered the photos of two different men of Arab descent on their front page. Their faces were preceded by the incriminating headline ‘BAG MEN: Feds seek these two pictured at Boston Marathon.’ What the New York Post’s 500,000-odd readers did not know was that the two men, one only 17 years old, had never been officially identified as suspects and were not being pursued by the FBI. All they had going against them was the color of their skin and an American populace eager to blame someone.

Salah Barhoun, a Massachusetts high school track athlete who ran in the marathon, has described how he felt when he saw his own face on the New York Post’s front page as “the worst feeling that I can possibly feel.” Barhoun, a Muslim American of Moroccan descent, is not the only person who has suffered from the misinformation reported in the news: racists have orchestrated horrible revenge attacks against innocent Muslims and banded together to vandalize the proposed site of a

racy in the race to break the story. is awful in its own right, but the Since September 11, 2001, national mosque in Boston.

It is appalling that an uninvolved situation’s basis in racial profiling security precautions have reflected This is the kind of nightmarish 17-year-old and all the other falsely is even worse. the nation’s fear of foreigners reality that makes us want to take and subjected nona step back and ask: how did whites to extended we get here?

TSA patdowns at The paper trail leads to a airports, random startling answer. The New traffic stops--twice York Post picked up the photo more than their that started it all from Reddit, w h i t e c o u n t e ra social news website whose parts, according users created a thread called to the U.S. Depart“Find the Boston bombers” and ment of Labor ’s crowdsourced in order to idenBureau of Justice tify suspects from photos of the Statistics--and crowds of spectators. Though other instances of the intents of the website and racial profiling. its users may have started off While persecution in the right place, their attempts following a crime to find someone to blame for is to be expected, the senseless tragedy ended in this preemptive the perpetuation of misinforstrike is bordering mation. Someone following on racist. the Boston story followed the It is understandtrend and created their own: able for a nation that Sunil Tripathi, a Brown to want to reach University student who has closure and serve been missing for a month, had justice as soon as been identified as a suspect on possible following police radio airways. Audio a tragedy such as playback of the conversations the Boston bombreveals that Tripathi, like the ings. But in our other implicated innocents, had search for finalnever been linked to the crime. ity, we must all A CBS cameraman tweeted be conscious that the missing youth’s name and news sources and called him a suspect. Masses their consumers of Twitter users started to wield the power rally against him, trending his to perpetuate the name and even calling for his accurate informaexecution. CNN’s John King tion. When word soon picked up the story and of mouth becomes informed viewers that a law words in print, enforcement official had told each writer, edihim that the FBI was looking COURTESY OF NEW YORK POST tor and source infor “a dark-skinned male.”

BOSTON First responders rush to the scene of the Boston Marathon bomb- volved in a story It wasn’t long before the federal officers on the case released ing. Based on hearsay and false information, reports made rush accusations enters a new realm of accountability. photos of the light-skinned towards some innocent bystanders.

Especially in moTsarnaev brothers as the official ments of panic, suspects later that day. accused individuals have to fear False accusations do more than readers need to be able to trust news What is arguably most alarming for their safety after major news hurt the accused. They cement our outlets to report the most accurate about the media coverage of the outlets linked them to the crime, shameful tendency of jumping to stories and not just rumors and asBoston bombings is the willingness whether explicitly or implicitly. conclusions and pinning the blame sumptions founded in prejudice. of well-respected news sources That these assumptions ran as facts on anyone who fits the profile. to compromise ethics and accu-

Wait! What’s this month’s cause again?

Despite intentions, awareness months do more harm than good

By Desiree Aleibar An opinion Student One: Hey! Did you hear? April is Volunteer month!

Student Two: Yeah! It’s also National Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Autism Awareness Month, National Diabetes Month, National Poetry Month, Mathematics Awareness Month... Uh. Whoops. I forgot the rest.

But no worries, I’ve got my chart.

Student One: Oh gee! I sure do love awareness months! Especially when there are 35 in one month!

Student Two: Me too!

The likelihood of this conversation happening: Never.

April is home to Arab-American Heritage Month, Keep America Beautiful Month, Stress Awareness Month and many more.

But regardless of what month it is, one thing is clear: awareness months are pointless.

Many argue that awareness months strive to give recognition to past events and current struggles that people are facing, as well as give light to topics that aren’t discussed everyday. However, striving to do something and succeeding at doing something are very different things.

Awareness months are a form of passiveaggressive logrolling. They are more passive than your mother telling you that singing is one of your “developing” talents. And yes, they are even more passive than a text from your girlfriend that reads: I’m fine.

Furthermore, awareness months are only as good as the name they are given. They imply that one should maybe go out and cel-

ebrate Dance Appreciation Month and hint that maybe it would be a good idea to read up on Birth Defects in January. Just because December is Political Correctness Awareness Month, that does not mean that people will take action and advocate for political correctness. Unless you are directly involved in an organization or has a personal connection to the issue or topic at hand, it is unlikely that they will do anything to commemorate these months. Just because one is aware of a topic, that doesn’t mean they care enough to do something about it.

Aside from being passive aggressive, there are too many awareness topics jammed into one month that it becomes overwhelming. Instead of taking the time to focus on all the topics stuffed into the month, people get frustrated and overwhelmed by the amount of topics at hand. In turn, they don’t feel the need to address any awareness issues because the abundance of topics month after month devalues the importance of commemorating.

Awareness months do not leave a long lasting impression on the general public. A month is too short of a time to effectively educate and have a lasting impact. In addition, they turn 30 days of awareness into widespread, all around the clock progress.

No matter how many pictures are Martin Luther King Jr are colored in or how many assemblies are attended, its likely that individuals, especially younger individuals, will forget about all of the different activities and assembly’s they attended. Why? Because come next month, they’ll be coloring in pictures of different historical figures and

attending assemblies about different issues and topics (If they even choose to address these months!)

So, what’s the solution to all of this passive aggressive, overwhelming, untimely hooplah?

Organizations need to come up with appealing and effective ways to draw attention to their cause for more than just a month.

A good example is The Keep A Breast Foundation (KAB),which is a leading youthfocused, global, nonprofit breast cancer organization whose mission is to eradicate breast cancer for future generations.

They provide support programs for young people impacted by cancer and educate people about prevention, early detection, and cancer-causing toxins in our everyday environment. One of their leading programs is I Love Boobies!, which is well known for selling multi-colored bracelets with the phrase “I love boobies!” on them.

T h e s e bracelets were specifically designed to remove the shame associated with breasts KATRINA GOLLADAY and breast health among

y o u n g people, ultimately encouraging breast cancer dialogue.

This is genius.

Not only do they love breasts, but they made bracelets to say so. By doing this, they are able to give a large group of people a stylish tangible object that daily serves to remind people of a larger issue that plagues the lives of millions. These bracelets are sold year round and not just during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

True compassion and activism does not manifest itself through monthly, passive commemoration. Until more organizations begin to come up with more effective ways to engage the youth, and convert temporary awareness into protracted action we will continue to passively be reminded that February is Black History Month or that September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, only to mentally put aside these issues when the next month comes along.

silverchips

10 Opinions

April 25, 2013

Should a technology credit be required for graduation? pro/con

JULIA BATES

YES

Danny Alger We’ve all been there—you’re sitting in your Intro to Engineering or Foundations of Technology class when the teacher says, “glue together six wooden cubes.” If your class is like most in Montgomery County, pained groans will follow. MCPS requires all students to earn a technology credit to graduate. Unlike other mandatory credits such as fine arts or physical education which can be fulfilled by a whole list of course options, only two courses give the necessary technology credit.

This policy would severely limit students learning options, but there isn’t really much learning going on anyway. Both classes deal with engineering and technology topics which can be very complicated, interesting and practical. But funneling every student in the county into two courses forces curriculum designers to simplify the subject matter to accommodate the requirement that every student must pass. The end result: an avalanche of busywork. Most educators would shudder at the idea of Calculus and Trigonometry being the only classes offered for a mandatory math credit. Not every student is interested in, or willing to put forth

NO

Sabrina Bradford A student spends weeks of classes crafting a bridge out of toothpicks or months using a computer to mindlessly build a model train.

Sound familiar? If so, you have probably been in this student’s place, taking one of the mundane Technology and Design courses required for graduation.

These courses, Foundation of Technology and Introduction to Engineering and Design, are infamous among students for being a waste of space and time in their daily schedule.

With all of the elective and academy courses that Blair offers, many of which are relevant to students’ career interests and future plans, these tech classes are indeed a waste of space and time.

Simply put, the graduation requirement for technology education should be taken away.

When the many students are not interested in taking the courses and would rather be taking other career-oriented classes or getting a job or internship, they should not be forced to make space for a course not relevant to their future goals.

the effort to understand those subjects, but if everyone must pass the class to graduate, the class will have to adapt to the students. Since a subject can only be made so much easier to understand and there are a finite number of amazing teachers, learning would have to be substituted for busywork, as has happened with the tech classes.

Many in favor of abolishing the credit requirement altogether don’t understand that the pointlessness comes from the clumsy curriculum of the two classes offering it and that technology education doesn’t have to be that way. There is a plethora of important skills that students could learn in a reformed tech-education system, such as how to sotter wires, change tires, use basic tools and fix computers to name a few. In addition, having to learn the software program, Autodesk Inventor, in Intro to Engineering, teaches students not only how to build things, but also how to learn a new software program, which is very useful in any professional field. Skills like these, unlike most learned in school, are useful in everyday life. If the tech requirement was abolished, the majority of students wouldn’t take those classes. While expanding the number of classes that offer the credit would remedy the busywork, it wouldn’t completely remedy disinterest.

The only way to end the busywork, while ensuring that students get some technology

related experience in high school, is to increase the number of classes that offer a tech credit.

This means the school system must either create new classes, or change existing classes to offer the credit. The former is doubtful due to the school systems tight budget, but allowing existing classes to give this credit is very feasible.

Blair’s video and photography classes teach students to use microphones, operate cameras, hook up all sorts of cables from XLR to mini, set up lighting and even edit video and audio. Some visual art classes deal with the same three-dimensional drawing concepts including proportion, dimension and shading that Intro to Engineering does. Students who do stage crew for Blair’s plays learn how to build entire sets and models with wood and power tools just like students in Foundations of Technology do on a much smaller scale.

Just as students at private schools are often able to receive gym credits for sports team participation, students participating in technology related activities could receive credit without being cheated out of a well-rounded education. It would free up Intro to Engineering and Foundations of Technology so that students who were actually interested in the subject could learn it in depth, while giving the other students more interesting, engaging ways to learn technology skills during their time in high school.

The school system must either create new classes, or change existing classes to offer the credit.

Academy course offerings within Blair are meant to guide students and prepare them for their futures, both in and beyond college, by letting them pursue their interests in courses that can help them decide upon a career path.

Those who are not interested in technology are wasting their energy and brainpower on a course not relevant to their interests.

This contributes to the unenthusiastic and bored classroom setting so common in tech courses.

For those students interested in pursuing careers in technology, these courses are also prerequisites to more advanced levels of technology and engineering. The courses should not be removed from the curriculum because interested students should still have access to them, allowing them access to the more advanced courses after taking the basic levels that are currently a graduation requirement.

By eliminating them as a requirement, however, the county would ensure that the only students enrolled in the classes are those truly interested in the subject matter. With the credit requirement in place, these interested students are paired with disengaged ones, taking away from a solid learning environment that should be provided for every student in every classroom.

Simple technology usage is a basic requirement for most jobs in an increasingly technology-oriented world, yet the basic levels of technology classes offered at Blair do not offer much in the way of education to students.

Students are forced to summarize printouts of

standards of technology and create 3D shapes on a computer, activities that will not help them prepare for careers outside of technology fields.

Many school systems outside of Maryland do not require a technology credit for graduation, and students from those states continue on to be successful businessmen, doctors, lawyers, or teachers. They survive well in college and in the outside world without having to take a basic technology course in high school. Learning how to build model bridges is not relevant technology education even to those interested in tech careers.

This group of interested students’ passion should be tapped into with more engaging, higher level courses that will truly teach them foundations of technology.

Granted, not every required high school course is enjoyable to everyone, but most of those courses eventually will come in handy and are good preparation for students in college and in the outside world.

With technology courses, most of the information that can be gleaned from them is relevant only to those who are interested in pursuing a technology-related field. For the others, the information holds little weight in their minds. As a nonessential course that could just as easily be offered as an elective, technology should be removed as a graduation requirement in order to free up space in the schedules of students with non-technology related plans for their future.

When students would rather be taking career-oriented classes they should not be forced to make space for tech courses that are not relevant to their future goals.

voicebox

Brian Griffin Senior Tech is absolutely, extremely informal and Supercalifragilisticexpialidociously boring. It takes too much of our time.

Erica Adarkwa Junior

I agree with the requirement, but I don’t agree with the implementation.

Bobby Pfefferly Freshman I think they should because now there’s a lot of modern technology that I feel we should be educated on first before we graduate from high school.

Ray Chalas Junior Yeah. Because everything now is about technology.

Hector Barrera Senior I think yes, because I think that now a days technology is evolving and we need to be conscious of the many technological advances.

Opinions 11

silverchips

April 25, 2013

THEN:1989

My Blair: Personal column

Being transgender at Blair

By Evan Morris

SILVERLOGUE ARCHIVES

REVIEW SESSION A science teacher tutors a student during academic support at the old Blair on Wayne Ave.

& NOW:2013

At the end of freshman year, I came out as transgender. Suddenly, everyone had questions. Apparently, they thought it was now completely appropriate to interrogate me about my entire life. I was no longer allowed privacy.

They asked if my parents cried when I told them. They asked what was in my pants. They asked how I could be a boy.

They laughed at my reply; I am a boy.

I became their walking, talking dictionary, a practical poster boy for whatever “transgender” meant. I was an incredibly convenient replacement for a simple Google search. They couldn’t take the time to look it up, of course; they had lives to live. And clearly, I lived to explain my identity over and over again.

If I refused to answer a particularly offensive inquiry, somehow they were the victims. They were just “curious” and it was “harmless, really.” I shouldn’t be upset; I should be grateful that they cared. They wanted to be educated, they said. Never mind that they didn’t bother to learn the basics. Remembering my name and pronouns was just too difficult.

They insisted

seemed to be going in the right direction.

Then the questions started and I realized how little people knew about me and about my identity. I spent the next year answering every question, so eager for people to understand that I was willing to ignore the invasiveness of their questions.

I found myself exhausted, wishing that I could hand out a memo on being transgender to everyone whose queries never seemed to end.

In order to earn their validation, I was told to cater to the stereotypes that made them comfortable. I was expected to meet their definition of a man, so they could justify their acceptance of my identity. I must be a completely straight jock with misogynistic tendencies. I couldn’t like anything girls liked and all shades of pink were out of the question. Then, maybe, they would call me a man.

I refused, and I will continue to refuse until an outdated generalization of gender is not their expectation. I will not be some hyper-masculine distortion of myself because society screwed up when making the gender binary. Contrary to popular belief, I can be transgender and also queer. I can be a feminist and still be a man. I will not reject my past because my future is not what they thought it would be.

After years of fielding their foolish demands, I know that

JULIA BATES

MIMI SIM

CHEM HELP Becky Miller helps sophomore Molly Beckett go over a review packet for an upcoming Chemistry test.

Student & Teacher Awards & Honors Seniors Lisha Yuan, Audrey Shi and Tatanya Gubin and juniors Alex Bourzutshky and Alan Du along with their sponsor David Stein were selected as one of Moody’s Mega Math Challenge’s top six teams in the nation. The team will compete for scholarships ranging upwards of $20,000 on the weekend of April 26-28.

Junior Isabel Hendrix-Jenkins won second place and a $10,000 college scholarship in the 2012 Junior Achievement Essay Competition for her essay on how the US can tackle its income disparity.

Seniors Mimi Verdonk and Leah Ham-

Up and Coming

mond won first and second respectively from the U.S. Department of Agriculture through their 2013 MLK Jr. essay competition. Verdonk won a paid internship with the department for this summer.

Blair’s It’s Academic team, consisting of seniors Thomas Gaddy, Ian Ozeroff and Adam Kadir have advanced to the semifinals level of the regional competition.

Then and Now and Student Awards & Honors were compiled by Josh Schmidt and Emma Rose Borzekowski.

April 26: Into the Woods

that they cared, that they were on my side. Apparently that didn’t amount to any respect.

It wasn’t always their fault, not completely. Many of them really did mean to be supportive, but no one taught them how. They grew up learning that it’s okay to be different, as long as “different” didn’t mean LGBT. The lucky ones knew that they didn’t have to be straight to be loved, that there was no one right way to be happy. But no one ever mentioned what it meant to be transgender, let alone to say that it was okay.

No one told me either. For most of my life, the phrase “gender identity” was not even part of my vocabulary. I went through elementary school knowing that I was not quite the same as the other girls, but I had no idea why. It wasn’t because I liked sports so much or because I hated playing house. Though those were true, it was more; my mind worked differently.

It never occurred to me that I could actually be a boy inside, even as I did my best to be like them. I cut my own hair, hoping to fit in at recess. I was still left out; nothing I did was good enough. I couldn’t change my body. All I liked were my shoulders, broad from years of swimming, but they weren’t enough to make me feel at home in my skin. I hid my discomfort behind baggy clothes. Middle school taught me that that just meant I was weird.

I learned the word “transgender” in freshman year. It took me months to accept that the definition fit me because, for years, I had been told that I was overreacting. I wasn’t different; everyone felt that way. I eventually spoke up; I was proud to be different. In the few minutes after first coming out as transgender, things finally

May 18: Prom

May 6: APs LEILA BARTHOLET

this obliviousness is not being resolved.

Though their education is neither my job nor my responsibility, no one else is stepping up to help. Not even the supposedly comprehensive health curriculum of MCPS correctly defines “transgender.” Sadly, it’s still the best of what is widely taught. The media spreads stereotypes, misinformation, and exaggeration in their limited coverage of transgender issues. The only time transgender women are covered is when they are beaten or killed. Chaz Bono, hardly a fair representative of an entire identity, defines the media’s coverage of transgender men. Genderqueer people, those who do not identify as a man or a woman, are not even acknowledged publicly.

Because of this, people end up fighting over issues they do not begin to understand. “Transgender” is not the same as “transvestite.” There is not a minimum or maximum age cutoff for coming out.

Transgender people are not required to get surgery or to be on hormones. Transgender people do not want to trick anyone; they want to be accepted for their identities. Transgender people will use public restrooms; the debate is whether or not to protect them equally there. Gender neutral bathrooms are rare but good, however, keeping transgender people in an “other” category should not be the ideal.

Furthermore, transgender people in most places can still be fired, denied housing, or kicked out of public establishments solely because of their identity.

There is no excuse for this discrimination and general ignorance. The transgender identity is more than an unfortunate disorder. We will not continue to be neglected. We deserve the same human rights that are granted to the majority of the population. We will only reach that point if people are educated in compassion and understanding. Respect should not be too mucgh to ask.

ZEKE WAPNER

ZEKE WAPNER

12 Editorials

silverchips

April 25, 2013

Maintaining our reliability

By Ruth Aitken Slander and shoddily reported hearsay are best left to the ten-cent celebrity gossip magazines stacked along grocery store checkouts. We’ve all seen them— the publications whose aim is ostensibly to trash reputations, while attracting the interest of a gawking public.

It is not the place of any legitimate news outlet, and especially not the place of a high school newspaper, to prioritize reader attraction over ethical journalism.

Recently, the unexpected and extended leave of a Blair teacher prompted whispers that echoed throughout Blair Boulevard.

The teacher’s leave of absence is a private matter, the details of which were not disclosed to students. As some Blazers theorized and debated amongst themselves, they sought to gather the facts from Silver Chips.

However, the aim of Silver Chips is far removed from that of tabloids; the paper does not seek to undermine reputations or to destroy careers. Unlike celebrity gossip columns peppered with the word “allegedly” and vague references to “inside sources,” Silver Chips will never construct entire stories from the basis of rumors.

It is crucial, especially for a high school newspaper, to uphold standards of journal-

istic integrity in relation to reporting delicate personal matters. The slightest shred of “alleged” information can be repeated and spread until it is equated with fact. Reputations can crumble because of reporting with little substantiated material.

Allegedly, high school is a whirlwind of rumors and drama; Silver Chips’s teen audience is especially susceptible to exaggerating mistruth.

It would be irresponsible, therefore, for the newspaper to chronicle the recent ordeal. At a time when few conclusive details are available to students, it would be difficult to compile a trustworthy story.

In most cases, Silver Chips strives to delve into any ongoing topic on Blair’s campus. We aim to inform our audience with complete coverage and to investigate noteworthy instances. In order to establish a reputation of LEAH HAMMOND legitimacy, we endeavor to cover relevant news regardless of a controversy factor.

Because of the uncertain and discreet nature of this particular scenario, however, we chose to postpone any coverage. Professional matters should be handled confidentially until details are released to a public.

In the event that the conflict is resolved and specifics become available to a greater audience, Silver Chips may revisit the decision not to write about the firing. For now, we will adhere to our judgment and refrain from possible defamation.

Ombudsman Ruth Aitken

Letters to the Editor: 75 years of correspondence For the Past 75 years, Silver Chips has been dedicated to hearing community feedback. Below, we’ve included some of our favorite Letters to the Editor in years past.

To voice your opinions, send letters to the editor to silver.chips.print@gmail.com 1941

Compiled by Emma Rose Borzekowski

1966 1975

EVA SHEN

Gaining empathy from tragedy As news of the Boston Marathon bombings surged onto press wires April 15, the nation paused in solemn mourning for the victims and rallied for the capture of the perpetrators. Headlines proclaimed news of the shocking tragedy, and the nation followed closely as a citywide manhunt ensued for the pair of brothers responsible for the attack. Meanwhile, sitting in our desks 400 miles away, Blair students, born just before the turn of the century, were similarly struck by the harrowing news. But beneath that sadness, Generation X might have felt something else-- something that felt curiously like a lack of surprise.

For those of us born within weeks of the 1999 Columbine school shooting or within days of the April 1995 Oklahoma City bombings, mass acts of terror have regrettably come to seem common. In the years right at the dawn of our generation’s awareness of the world around us, we saw the twin towers crumple and overheard snippets of the nightly news declaring a “war on terror.” When the oldest of current Blair students were only in second grade, the pair of “Beltway snipers” terrorized our own neighborhoods in a deluge of senseless homicides. Parents kept their children home from school. We learned to practice “Code Blue” and “Code Red” emergency drills in the event that the scenarios that raced through our nightmares actualized themselves in the school hallways.

As children, we were indoctrinated with the message that America must fight to defend itself against terrorism around the same time that we memorized the Pledge of Allegiance. In geography class, cities become synonymous with the awful acts that transpired there: Tucson, Aurora, Newtown.

It’s impossible for us in our relative youth to say whether reports of national terrorism have increased in our lifetime or whether the 24-hour news cycle simply places them more at the forefront of our awareness. It’s true that as we compulsively refresh our browsers at the prospect of breaking developments in the Boston tragedy, we desensitize ourselves to the cataclysmic tragedy of the bombing. But the children of the digital age grew up in the shade cast by the looming threat of terrorism; have recurrent acts of mass violence already disillusioned us?

Based on the trajectory of mass acts of violence in the United States, it is difficult to envision an end to domestic terrorism. As we graduated from elementary to middle to high school, we slowly gained a greater awareness of the impact that terrorism has on the world into which we’ve matured. When we were children, we formed our conceptions of the world based on what was happening around us; our minds

unquestioningly threaded tragic memories into the fabric of our total understanding.

What distinguishes us from generations past is that terrorism on American soil has shaped us. So let us distinguish ourselves from generations past and become the first responders, the helpers, the people who will rush to provide whatever emergency assistance we can in the event of violent strikes. Perhaps we can be the people to recognize the reality of terrorism’s damage as we mobilize healing efforts. Because of our recognition of terrorism’s presence, let us initiate healing and humanity, compassion and immediate response for victims.

Let our foremost objective be to care for and remember the victims, not to delve into the perpetrator’s twisted psyche.

After last week’s bombings at the Boston Marathon, for instance, Bostonians flocked to local centers to donate blood for those injured in the blasts. Amid the darkness of horrific moments, there are those who are ready on cue to volunteer their efforts. It may be idealized to hope for a populace conditioned to respond to tragedy with empathy instead of stupefaction, but perhaps our heightened familiarity with incidents of terrorism will allow us to become more aware of violent acts abroad, as well.

After hours of following the reports and developments of the Boston incident, fewer Americans took note of the reports sweeping the internet of a second tragic bombing which occurred the same day. A US plane dropped a bomb on a wedding in a mountainous region of Afghanistan killing at least 30 of the people in attendance. Articles and images were circulated on Facebook and other social media outlets as some decried our nation’s tendency to ignore this type of violence in the Middle East, considering it to be par for the course rather than a tragedy in league with our own.

It’s impossible to deny that Americans give greater gravity to acts of terror perpetrated against our nation while civilian deaths and terror abroad rush by on the news every night- if they’re covered at all.

Yet in the wake of these sudden strangely simultaneous acts of violence against the innocent, we are given an opportunity. We are given the opportunity to hold, for however briefly, a genuine feeling of empathy for people around the world whose own suffering we so easily disassociate from, accepting it subconsciously as the norm for others in the middle east especially, to experience perpetual fear of violence. Just as our generation can use our difficult relationship with terrorism and violence to learn to be the heroes each other need, we also have a responsibility to the world to extend our empathy to all the innocents forced daily to live in fear.

April 25, 2013

silverchips

Chips Pics:

Soapbox 13

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Follow @Silver_Chips on twitter and respond to any of our #soapbox questions in full sentences. If your response is creative, intelligent or interesting your tweet could be picked for the next issue’s Soap Box! We will credit you with your full name, your grade and your twitter handle.

Chips Index: LEAH HAMMOND

COURTESY OF CHRIS WELLS

COURTESY OF NIGHTSTORM

#PuzzlePalooza

#Natitude

#teenclub

Are you participating in Puzzlepalooza this year?

see page 3

“I am participating in Puzzlepalooza this year because I don’t have an HSA and I think it’s going to be lots of fun.” -junior Rebecca Hamilton-Levi

595 Blazers are currently enrolled in a basic technology course The Orioles have had 5 winning seasons in the past 20 years, the Nationals have had 1 winning season as the Nationals Silver Chips Print spends approximately 84 during late days

hours a year compiling the paper

About 40 percent of Blazers have been affected by gun violence

288 Blazers are participating in Puzzle Palooza this year

Caren Holmes @Curnholmes

57.2 percent do not know what Tastee Diner is

“Yes, I am in the magnet program.” -junior Alec Fields

As of the 2010 census, 18,755 people reside in Langley Park There are 93,000 acres of unused land in Montgomery County

Should we have awareness months?

see page 9

“Awareness months only have purposes if there are meaningful events for lots of people to take part in throughout.” -junior Paul B. Ellis @PrezPBE “Yes, because it helps spread awareness to various topics. It’s good because more people can get involved in the issues at hand.” -freshman Lucas Burtnick “Yes, it’s fun to have spirit days in honor of awareness months, like Pink Out.” -junior Emma Roberts-Vaurio

Is gun regulation a good idea?

Chips Index compiled by Sabrina Bradford with assistance from Naomi Weintraub, Dylan Ahunhodjaev, William Zhu, Leslie Chen, Blue Kehler, Alanni Fuji, Elizabeth Pham, Joel Weisburger, and Sam Popper

Would you ever go to a teen club?

see page 22

“No, I don’t want to see people my age being ratchet. I can simply go to school for that.” -junior Andrea Bravo “This summer I’m going to H20 in Ocean City. It seems like a lot of fun because you can be social and dance a lot.” -junior Fiona Lachman

see page 15

“Yes, gun regulation is a great idea. There is no other way to truly decrease the amount of shootings and gun violence.” -junior Emanuel Ceron @itsmannyy laws.” -senior Walter Marcos “Yes, because it will help keep control over who has weapons and who doesn’t.”

-sophomore Kenny Johnson “No, because guns symbolize freedom in America. If you take away guns, it takes away power from the people. People are allowed to retain their freedom by keeping their guns.” -junior David Ma

“No, because it’s not a real club, it’s kind of lame.” -sophomore Jordan Johnson

Will the Nationals and Orioles have another great season this year?

see page 32

limitless Stephen Strasburg and hungry Bryce Harper. The Orioles have the ability to win but in a stronger division their week rotation and injuries will hurt their chances.” -junior Neil Dalal @NeilDalal96 “The Nationals aren’t going to be good as they were last year, the Orioles will be decent.” -sophomore Aaron Clingman

14 ADs

silverchips

April 25, 2013

Silver Chips

April 25, 2013

Features Staring down the barrel

EVA SHEN

Reflecting on the local victims of a national gun violence epidemic Barbour, Ph.D., has been a school psychologist in Montgomery County for 25 years.

Barbour, who currently works at Blair and Highland View Elementary School, has witnessed the immediate response following an incident of gun violence. Barbour says she counseled students after the Nov. 1, 2008 shooting death of Blair freshman Tai Lam and calls the community’s response as one of outrage. “Students were really angry because [the shooting] seemed so senseless,” she says. Barbour says that this reaction is typical of those left behind following any tragedy. “Anger is really the biggest thing you see right afterwards,” she says.

“Anger at the person who did it, anger at themselves for not knowing.”

Barbour’s ultimate goal while counseling grieving survivors, she says, is to identify students’ emotions help them understand their feelings. “At that point, you have to acknowledge the fact that you’re angry. You have to recognize that things do happen that you don’t have any control of,” she says.

Close friends of Siobhan Lee, who was shot and killed by an acquaintance on Jan. 25 in Northwest D.C., are still recovering from her death and decline to comment. “I’m just not ready. That was my best friend,” says one senior.

By Paris Parker-Loan

Google ‘gun violence’ and you will be bombarded with almost 70 million news stories from the past 24 hours alone. On such hot-topic issues as firearms legislation, people can find themselves lost in a blur of national news updates on the latest policies and proposals.

Some of the headlines hit closer to home: ‘Takoma Park teen slain by man she met online, police say.’

‘Silver Spring Teenager Fatally Shot on Md. Bus.’ ‘Md. high school student, Army staff sergeant are found dead.’

In the wake of gun-related tragedies like those involving Blair students Siobhan Nicole Lee (‘12) in January 2013, Tai Lam (‘12) in November 2008 and Rockville High School senior Michelle Miller on April 7, school communities have rallied together to seek solace. Families, friends and even strangers have channeled remorse for the community’s losses with prayer posters on Blair Boulevard, candlelight vigils in Downtown Silver Spring, widely-attended memorial services and hours of county-sponsored counseling.

Nationally, gun control proposals have been quashed Elongated by the Senateexposure -most recently, the expanded While the background immediate reaccheck proposal tion to a tragedy that was reis often a flurry jected in a 54-46 of emotion, action vote on April 17-Blair security and commiseraand returned to tion, Barbour says assistant the legislators who she has seen commuproposed them, all to nities of clients become decide whether and how desensitized to tragedy over much to restrict gun ownertime. “In the moment, people get ship in the United States. Last year, really upset and want to get active, but then CNN reported that there were over 310 it kind of weans off and people forget about million non-military firearms in the country. it,” she says.

When one of these guns affects the friends Security Assistant Maureen Walsh knows and families of MCPS students, the tragedy firsthand the effects of frequently seeing can touch innumerable lives. violence. Before she took a job patrolling

“I can’t even count how many children I’ve seen die by firearms.”

- Maureen Walsh

Coping as a community Howard University-graduate Dr. Brenda

18

the Blair hallways during lunch, Walsh wore a different uniform. For 32 years, she worked as a police officer for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C.

In her time there, especially for the decade she spent working out of Southeast, Walsh says she encountered and investigated over 1500 homicides. And, according to the FBI, 67.7 percent of the nation’s murders in 2011 were committed using firearms. “Most of the murders involved young people,” Walsh adds. “I can’t even count how many children I’ve seen die by firearms.”

Like Barbour, Walsh is the mother of teenagers and says that she had to learn how to distance herself from the tragedies because of her first job as a mother. “I wouldn’t be able to do my job if I couldn’t depersonalize,” she says. “One victim looked just like my youngest son.”

Walsh says that, despite her sensitivity training, she still struggled to control her emotions after Lee died. “Siobhan was really just a special person. [At her funeral] there was just this overwhelming feeling of loss and sadness,” she says.

Finding light English Department chair and teacher Vickie Adamson never taught Lee, but she recalls a few memorable encounters between the two. Adamson says she twice called security to discipline Lee during her years at Blair, but her final memory of the

15

teacher in Los Angeles, she says she found that gun-related tragedies were not uncommon. “It seemed like every Monday the principal would come on the P.A. and ask for a moment of silence for a student who had been shot over the weekend.” she says.

The incidents, Adamson recalls, sometimes even occurred on school property. “One year a gang came on campus and essentially executed a student,” she says.

Because of her experiences in the inner city and her interactions with the young lives that Blair has lost, Adamson says she takes a strong stance in favor of gun control.

“I think it’s tragic that rampant gun violence is just a plague to our community. It’s an epidemic,” she says. “I think we need stricter gun control laws. I don’t believe people have the right to determine whether someone lives or dies.”

Adamson credits these experiences for teaching her a lesson about the value of life, especially when the threat of violence is always present. “There’s a possibility that innocent people might get taken out, and not because of the way they chose to live their life,” she says. “So you have to live your life in the way you find purpose.” As such, following the gun-related tragedies that have affected the Blair community, Adamson says that she has tried to take the op-

PUCK BREGSTONE

Blair grad is a pleasant conversation with her at Lee’s workplace at the Giant in Blair Park. “I told her, ‘I’m just really proud to see how you’re functioning and doing your job, you just have a really positive aura,’” Adamson recalls. “She just seemed to have a different kind of energy.” Because of the change in Lee’s attitude that Adamson observed, she says the news of Lee’s death has had an even greater impact on her. “It’s doubly tragic because I saw a transformation in her. It marked what seemed to be a new beginning for her that was cut short,” she says.

Adamson, who grew up in South Central Los Angeles and taught in the L.A. school system for seven years, says she has had plenty of experiences that have helped her form a strong opinion on gun control. In South Los Angeles in 2009, firearms caused 833 deaths and 74% of all homicides, according to ‘Mortality in Los Angeles County 2009’, a publication of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

While Adamson was in college, she says she often overheard gunshots coming from the home of her mother’s neighbor, who was involved in drug dealing. “One night my car got shot,” says Adamson.

Once she became a

insidefeatures “This quaint little place at the intersection of home and comfort is certainly a paradise to all those who come here”

pg 16-17

portunity to educate her students through anecdotes and lessons. “My students know me for storytelling,” she says. “We always have to find teachable moments.”

Walsh says she echoes this sentiment, especially because of the tragedies she witnessed while on the police force. “[This job] is really cathartic because I’m working with live kids. I always tell them, ‘Life doesn’t happen like it does in the movies and books. We can’t predict when tragedies are going to happen,” she says.

Walsh stresses that, following tragic incidents such as the recent ones in Montgomery County, it is important to remember that the perpetrators are the ones at fault.

“It’s very common to blame a victim, but in a perfect world we should be able to do things we want to do without expecting to be murdered,” she says. “Ultimately, we have to hold people responsible for the violent things that they do.”

EVA

N

SHE

19

silverchips

April 25, 2013

Features 16/17

ALWAYS TASTEE Left: The classic diner counter greets patrons with a juke box and a place to sit. Center: Tastee patrons share lunch. Right: Tastee’s glass display cases full of cakes and fruit are a diner staple.

evening at the opera with two dollar eggs because it only makes sense. “Its open 24 hours and we are dressed appropriately,” said Seth Adam Meinero.

The arrival of the opera couple signifies the coming of the last-stop-of-the-night stragglers. “Friday night drunks come in, order one thing, expect the other, fall off their stools,” says Tony, a diner regular. While this particular Saturday night passed calmly, the regulars and staff are used to some wild suburban Maryland nights.

Some adult couples enter with quiet reserve. They are drunk but dignified. “We came tonight because I’m really drunk and wanted greasy food,” says Laura of Silver Spring with the solemnity of someone much more sober. But the over-21 crowd isn’t the only group who enjoys the very normal sized “Giant Waffle” at all hours of the day and night. Twenty years ago, Murphy of Silver Spring would regularly prop his three-year-old son up on a stool at the counter at 3:00 AM. Others, far from home and family dinners, working strange hours or preferring the lonesome hours of the diner at dusk, settle into a booth and watch the horse races on the ancient, mounted TVs. Darryl Matthews, a weekly fixture, arrives alone at 10:15 PM. “I can hide out, no one will find me here... If it was ever closed for a day I wouldn’t know what to do.” He believes that the diner is a sanctuary to many a lone hungry wanderer desperate for an uncomfortable wooden bench and a milkshake. “Senior citizens, retirees come here alone to sit and have a quiet meal. People don’t expect to come here to make friends,” says Matthews.

24 hours at the Tastee Diner

By Isaac Jiffar Additional ’round-the-clock reporting by Silver Chips Staff Photos by Clare Lefebure

I

n the middle of Silver Spring, at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Cameron Street exists a portal into another world, a dining establishment unique among dining establishments. There’s no clever gimmick, no mariachi band with fake, peeling mustaches singing “Feliz Navidad” in July. In fact, in all measurable respects the Tastee Diner is remarkably average.

“Tastees,” as the place is lovingly called by many a patron, is your classic cheap diner. The floors are a little dirty, the décor a little cheesy, and as far as the food, well, you get what you pay for. With the hope of uncovering the diner’s secret--what keeps so many people coming back for more--Silver Chips spent a full 24 hours at this human crossroads of old men, rowdy children and the occasional drunk teenager.

“Its a Maryland thing” Our staff arrives at 9:00 AM to a diner filled with the sounds of change clinking and dishes clanging. The diner’s special something is indistinguishable, but it seems that the employees’ shirts say it best: “It’s a Maryland thing.” What else could possibly unite the senseless mix of Tastees patrons but the charms of the Old Line State? Two men call out to each other over the commotion of coffee cups and sizzling bacon: “Bernie how are you?” “Good morning, good morning Joe!” A few tables down, a customer calls over a waiter. “Claudia! Let me introduce you to my brother in law!”

The diner is nothing if not consistent. At breakfast, noon, dinner time and midnight, friendly customers shout over one another, pancakes and eggs are potent and the Keno Ball never stops rolling.

Near the diner’s front entrance a sign reads, “there will be a $5.00 charge for whining,” and from all outward appearances, the Tastees crew follows this mantra. According to waiter Danny Tesfa, the money isn’t great and the tips are inconsistent, but the staff really does care about each other. “I hate my job, but I love my co-workers” says waiter Marcel Hall, quoting another server. “I really do care for the people I work with, this crazy bunch of people, they really are like family,” Hall says. The staff’s unity is matched by their dedication to Tastees. In the blizzard of 2010, 8 cooks and 10 servers came out to keep the restaurant open so they wouldn’t let down their customers.

Last stop of the night A man in a tuxedo and a woman in a gown are drinking coffee by the window and listening to Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.” It’s 11:00 PM and they decided to pair their

Early morning dreamer At night, Tastees gets interesting characters outside of the stereotype of the late night drunken drifter, wandering aimlessly into the only place open at this hour. One patron in particular sharply contradicts this image with his drive and ambition.

Around 3:30 AM a man sitting in the last booth of the center row of seats, back facing the window, timidly orders two eggs over easy with a side of wheat toast. Smiling bashfully, Linus Chapman clasps his hands together and begins to explain his life philosophy. “I try to make myself well known,” says Chapman, a goal he has been working towards since high school. He claims he has won the North American Academic Award two years in a row while attending Simon Tilden High School in New York. He goes over his impressive list of awards while still maintaining an air of modesty. But Chapman in no way feels that he has reached his peak yet. He dreams of breaking free from the confines of his current accounting job and branching out into the realm of creative writing. He yearns to craft himself into a 21st century Pushkin or Tolstoy, but for now he keeps his passion for writing to himself. He has not lost sight of his dream though.

He envisions his perfect life culminating in a nobel prize, the ultimate “making yourself known” award.

If Chapman’s dream comes true, at least Tastees will be able to brag that they knew him when he was just a small town accountant living in a lonely world, with a calculator and a dream.

An escape from reality Perhaps the most outwardly noticeable attribute about the Tastee Diner is the stuck-in-the-1970s vibe that surrounds the place. “I like the retro feel, it truly feels like a neighborhood diner,” says Mary Ann, a morning customer who declined to give her last name.

The Tastee Diner doesn’t belong in this millennium. The old Superbowl photos on the walls, Frank Sinatra’s smooth, bluesy voice wafting through the air in the early afternoon, the wait-staff jabbering with the customers

about life. All of these things make the Tastee Diner a pleasant oddity; a place where you can break out your parachute pants, slip on your legwarmers, and just get away from a hectic 21st century lifestyle for a morning.

If you really want to take a trip through time, you can toss a couple of quarters in one of Tastees jukeboxes and get a treat from any era. From Willie Nelson’s nasally whine to Gnarls Barkley’s soulful screaming, anything you want, they got.

And the Tastees soundtrack is really a metaphor for the restaurant itself. The hodgepodge of artists and musical styles mirrors the all-inclusive nature of the Tastees community. The upbeat, rebellious tunes of Marley represent the lively drunk teenagers who “stick it to the man” by choosing Tastees over fast food giants like McDonald’s led by bigwig corporate billionaires. Meanwhile, Sinatra’s suave, soothing sound represents the older, calmer generation of patrons who come here in the quiet, early morning hours to relax for a little bit and let the warmth of the diner melt their troubles away.

The good doc, a middle-aged, white man who sits alone eating his steak and eggs at 7:00 A.M., is a part of the second group.

The good doc, who practiced medicine for 25 years at a local hospital’s trauma center is retired now, but he says his patients are still the reason he chooses anonymity. “It’s not healthy,” he says, pointing an accusatory finger towards his plate of steak and eggs. “I tell my patients, ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ But I like to be sinful. I sin early in the morning when nobody can see me,” he admits.

But for this Good Doc, the Tastee Diner is more than just a place to sin. The main reason he eats here, he says, is because of the employees. “The staff have become my friends. Friends are very important because they’re God’s way of apologizing for your relatives,” jokes the Doc. He says the calm, comfortable atmosphere of the Diner is a stark contrast to his former job at a shock trauma center. “If you [come to] see me, you’ve got 9 gunshots in your head,” says the Doc. “This is a safe place. Nobody bothers anybody here.”

The diner got him through the hard times and the stress

of his line of work. “The average life for a shock trauma doctor is 15 years. I did 25, I beat the odds,” he says. “Now I gotta come here to get a steak and eggs for therapy. It’s better than a rum and coke.”

A wanderer’s paradise In the early morning, Phil Collins waxes philosophically about the troubling lack of compassion in today’s society, (“Another Day in Paradise”). Upon reflection, it’s not inconceivable that Collin’s song was written about the Tastee Diner. This quaint little place at the intersection of home and comfort is certainly a paradise to all those who come here for the friendly staff, quality service, and warm atmosphere. But Tastee’s means even more than that to some. To the good doc, its a safe haven where he can get some quiet time to eat his steak and eggs and forget about his worldly troubles. To the servers, it’s family. To others it is just the only place open at 4:00 A.M. Whatever the reason, people drift in from out of state or just down the street; 5 year-olds, aging retirees, accountants with their head in the clouds, all drawn to this wanderer’s paradise.

Well, you know what they say: all roads lead to Tastees.

silverchips

April 25, 2013

Features 16/17

ALWAYS TASTEE Left: The classic diner counter greets patrons with a juke box and a place to sit. Center: Tastee patrons share lunch. Right: Tastee’s glass display cases full of cakes and fruit are a diner staple.

evening at the opera with two dollar eggs because it only makes sense. “Its open 24 hours and we are dressed appropriately,” said Seth Adam Meinero.

The arrival of the opera couple signifies the coming of the last-stop-of-the-night stragglers. “Friday night drunks come in, order one thing, expect the other, fall off their stools,” says Tony, a diner regular. While this particular Saturday night passed calmly, the regulars and staff are used to some wild suburban Maryland nights.

Some adult couples enter with quiet reserve. They are drunk but dignified. “We came tonight because I’m really drunk and wanted greasy food,” says Laura of Silver Spring with the solemnity of someone much more sober. But the over-21 crowd isn’t the only group who enjoys the very normal sized “Giant Waffle” at all hours of the day and night. Twenty years ago, Murphy of Silver Spring would regularly prop his three-year-old son up on a stool at the counter at 3:00 AM. Others, far from home and family dinners, working strange hours or preferring the lonesome hours of the diner at dusk, settle into a booth and watch the horse races on the ancient, mounted TVs. Darryl Matthews, a weekly fixture, arrives alone at 10:15 PM. “I can hide out, no one will find me here... If it was ever closed for a day I wouldn’t know what to do.” He believes that the diner is a sanctuary to many a lone hungry wanderer desperate for an uncomfortable wooden bench and a milkshake. “Senior citizens, retirees come here alone to sit and have a quiet meal. People don’t expect to come here to make friends,” says Matthews.

24 hours at the Tastee Diner

By Isaac Jiffar Additional ’round-the-clock reporting by Silver Chips Staff Photos by Clare Lefebure

I

n the middle of Silver Spring, at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Cameron Street exists a portal into another world, a dining establishment unique among dining establishments. There’s no clever gimmick, no mariachi band with fake, peeling mustaches singing “Feliz Navidad” in July. In fact, in all measurable respects the Tastee Diner is remarkably average.

“Tastees,” as the place is lovingly called by many a patron, is your classic cheap diner. The floors are a little dirty, the décor a little cheesy, and as far as the food, well, you get what you pay for. With the hope of uncovering the diner’s secret--what keeps so many people coming back for more--Silver Chips spent a full 24 hours at this human crossroads of old men, rowdy children and the occasional drunk teenager.

“Its a Maryland thing” Our staff arrives at 9:00 AM to a diner filled with the sounds of change clinking and dishes clanging. The diner’s special something is indistinguishable, but it seems that the employees’ shirts say it best: “It’s a Maryland thing.” What else could possibly unite the senseless mix of Tastees patrons but the charms of the Old Line State? Two men call out to each other over the commotion of coffee cups and sizzling bacon: “Bernie how are you?” “Good morning, good morning Joe!” A few tables down, a customer calls over a waiter. “Claudia! Let me introduce you to my brother in law!”

The diner is nothing if not consistent. At breakfast, noon, dinner time and midnight, friendly customers shout over one another, pancakes and eggs are potent and the Keno Ball never stops rolling.

Near the diner’s front entrance a sign reads, “there will be a $5.00 charge for whining,” and from all outward appearances, the Tastees crew follows this mantra. According to waiter Danny Tesfa, the money isn’t great and the tips are inconsistent, but the staff really does care about each other. “I hate my job, but I love my co-workers” says waiter Marcel Hall, quoting another server. “I really do care for the people I work with, this crazy bunch of people, they really are like family,” Hall says. The staff’s unity is matched by their dedication to Tastees. In the blizzard of 2010, 8 cooks and 10 servers came out to keep the restaurant open so they wouldn’t let down their customers.

Last stop of the night A man in a tuxedo and a woman in a gown are drinking coffee by the window and listening to Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.” It’s 11:00 PM and they decided to pair their

Early morning dreamer At night, Tastees gets interesting characters outside of the stereotype of the late night drunken drifter, wandering aimlessly into the only place open at this hour. One patron in particular sharply contradicts this image with his drive and ambition.

Around 3:30 AM a man sitting in the last booth of the center row of seats, back facing the window, timidly orders two eggs over easy with a side of wheat toast. Smiling bashfully, Linus Chapman clasps his hands together and begins to explain his life philosophy. “I try to make myself well known,” says Chapman, a goal he has been working towards since high school. He claims he has won the North American Academic Award two years in a row while attending Simon Tilden High School in New York. He goes over his impressive list of awards while still maintaining an air of modesty. But Chapman in no way feels that he has reached his peak yet. He dreams of breaking free from the confines of his current accounting job and branching out into the realm of creative writing. He yearns to craft himself into a 21st century Pushkin or Tolstoy, but for now he keeps his passion for writing to himself. He has not lost sight of his dream though.

He envisions his perfect life culminating in a nobel prize, the ultimate “making yourself known” award.

If Chapman’s dream comes true, at least Tastees will be able to brag that they knew him when he was just a small town accountant living in a lonely world, with a calculator and a dream.

An escape from reality Perhaps the most outwardly noticeable attribute about the Tastee Diner is the stuck-in-the-1970s vibe that surrounds the place. “I like the retro feel, it truly feels like a neighborhood diner,” says Mary Ann, a morning customer who declined to give her last name.

The Tastee Diner doesn’t belong in this millennium. The old Superbowl photos on the walls, Frank Sinatra’s smooth, bluesy voice wafting through the air in the early afternoon, the wait-staff jabbering with the customers

about life. All of these things make the Tastee Diner a pleasant oddity; a place where you can break out your parachute pants, slip on your legwarmers, and just get away from a hectic 21st century lifestyle for a morning.

If you really want to take a trip through time, you can toss a couple of quarters in one of Tastees jukeboxes and get a treat from any era. From Willie Nelson’s nasally whine to Gnarls Barkley’s soulful screaming, anything you want, they got.

And the Tastees soundtrack is really a metaphor for the restaurant itself. The hodgepodge of artists and musical styles mirrors the all-inclusive nature of the Tastees community. The upbeat, rebellious tunes of Marley represent the lively drunk teenagers who “stick it to the man” by choosing Tastees over fast food giants like McDonald’s led by bigwig corporate billionaires. Meanwhile, Sinatra’s suave, soothing sound represents the older, calmer generation of patrons who come here in the quiet, early morning hours to relax for a little bit and let the warmth of the diner melt their troubles away.

The good doc, a middle-aged, white man who sits alone eating his steak and eggs at 7:00 A.M., is a part of the second group.

The good doc, who practiced medicine for 25 years at a local hospital’s trauma center is retired now, but he says his patients are still the reason he chooses anonymity. “It’s not healthy,” he says, pointing an accusatory finger towards his plate of steak and eggs. “I tell my patients, ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ But I like to be sinful. I sin early in the morning when nobody can see me,” he admits.

But for this Good Doc, the Tastee Diner is more than just a place to sin. The main reason he eats here, he says, is because of the employees. “The staff have become my friends. Friends are very important because they’re God’s way of apologizing for your relatives,” jokes the Doc. He says the calm, comfortable atmosphere of the Diner is a stark contrast to his former job at a shock trauma center. “If you [come to] see me, you’ve got 9 gunshots in your head,” says the Doc. “This is a safe place. Nobody bothers anybody here.”

The diner got him through the hard times and the stress

of his line of work. “The average life for a shock trauma doctor is 15 years. I did 25, I beat the odds,” he says. “Now I gotta come here to get a steak and eggs for therapy. It’s better than a rum and coke.”

A wanderer’s paradise In the early morning, Phil Collins waxes philosophically about the troubling lack of compassion in today’s society, (“Another Day in Paradise”). Upon reflection, it’s not inconceivable that Collin’s song was written about the Tastee Diner. This quaint little place at the intersection of home and comfort is certainly a paradise to all those who come here for the friendly staff, quality service, and warm atmosphere. But Tastee’s means even more than that to some. To the good doc, its a safe haven where he can get some quiet time to eat his steak and eggs and forget about his worldly troubles. To the servers, it’s family. To others it is just the only place open at 4:00 A.M. Whatever the reason, people drift in from out of state or just down the street; 5 year-olds, aging retirees, accountants with their head in the clouds, all drawn to this wanderer’s paradise.

Well, you know what they say: all roads lead to Tastees.

18 Features

April 25, 2013

silverchips

Greener Pastures Educational farms try to preserve the importance of nature

By Jenna Kanner Just 15 miles from the White House and the hustle and bustle of Downtown D.C. sits upper Montgomery County’s best kept secret–Nick Maravell’s 20 acre farm. For more than 30 years, Maravell’s farm has been nestled near the heart of the Potomac.

The land is surrounded on every side by houses, helping to maintain the farm’s organic standards.

But on March 15, 2013, Maravell and his family lost all ways of sowing the land after Montgomery County, which owns the lease, locked the last gate with access to the farm.

Not only is 20 acres of organic farm being lost, but Maravell’s daughter’s portion of the farm, the Brickyard Educational Farm, is dying out just after its first year of living.

Trapped Big box stores and highways enclose the suburban communities of Maryland, making shopping a prime recreational activity.

The millennial generation has gained the reputation of being trapped in their gaming world, fighting off evil next to a bag of chips and a tall glass of bubbling soda.

According to the New York Times, this stereotype holds truth as kids 8-18 years old spend more than 7.5 hours a day with an electronic device.

The exaggerated use of electronics also provides reason for the obesity epidemic as children are constantly exposed to commercials for processed food, according to The Future of Children.

Sophia Marvell, Maravell’s daughter, wanted to change that. After attending school in Athol, Massachusetts at the Farm School, she decided to come back to the farm where she grew up. In January 2012, Sophia started the Brickyard Educational Farm, a place for students to come learn about the environment and the importance of agriculture.

Maravell felt that not only did the community need the farm, but the environment needed it as well. “I founded the farm because of grassroots community effort calling for use of organic soil that is located on school board land into an educational center. It seemed like a natural fit and compromise to both preserve the land and use it for the benefit of MCPS students,” she says.

The program has reached children of many different ages, from elementary students to high school students. Field trips to the farm are targeted towards elementary students because of curriculum. “Kids need to be exposed to agriculture because it is necessary that they know where food comes from because of land ethic. As a result, when they grow up they will be conscious and aware of what they are eating, know about localized food economy and heath and nutrition,” she says.

Diabetes and obesity are also urgent problems according to Maravell. “Exposing young people to healthy food may be a way to combat those diseases,” she says.

ART BY EVA SHEN

GRAPHIC BY KYLE DESIDERIO

COURTESY OF DIRTMAG.COM

COURTESY OF DIRTMAG.COM

FARMING The potential site of Brickyard Educational Farm, which ran its pilot season this past summer (above), is a 20 acre plot of Potomac farmland (top right). Sophia Maravell (right), who heads the project, is currently in the process of securing the land’s lease from the County.

Hands-on learning A yellow school bus pulls into a wooded neighborhood, minutes later a class of kids hop off of the bus and run to the open pastures. When their teacher gives them the go-ahead, they gather into small groups

always feel so useful and important, and they learn so much about gardening, food production and organic farming, which is so important as we try to avoid taking our students to visit farms that are not organic,” he says.

But the farm does not only serve elementary school kids. Maravell has visited Blair and other high schools to have in class field trips and discuss agriculture and the environment. She estimates that the Brickyard Educational Farm has reached over 600 students at the farm site and close to 1,500 kids in schools.

“The kids love it! They always feel so useful and important, and they learn so much about gardening, food production and organic farming.”

-Tim Schwartz teacher

at different plots of the small educational farm. Worms writhe around in plastic bins as kids grab them with their wriggling fingers. Clumps of brown dirt are stuck under their fingernails and their pants are stained with grass.

The field trips usually consist of several different activities in a station rotation.

First, kids may mill around at the composting station as they sift through a worm-culturing bin. Through the next station, they learn about vegetables in the farm’s garden, either planting, transporting, harvesting or weeding tomatoes or various other vegetables.

Next would be the chicken station. Kids learn that chickens are not just for meat and eggs. “We talk about rotating chickens as animals in a farm and as a good source nitrogen-fertilizer manure,” she says. “Students get to grind the chicken feed with a hand crank grinder.”

After the stations, students eat brownbag lunch, with added organic snacks provided by the farm. The field trip closes with a reflection on the time spent at the farm and a sing-along if it is age appropriate.

Tim Schwartz, a teacher at a Montesorri school in McLean, has seen the impact of the farm on his students. “The kids love it! They

Lobbying For Change

But the county has other plans for the use of the land that both Nick’s Farm and the Brickyard Educational Farm occupy that is the property of the county. And just this year, the lease that Nick Maravell had on the land ran out, leaving the farm locked and fertile organic soil wasting away.

The last gate to the farm was locked on March 15. What used to be green land with plentiful crops is now a bleak field with yellowed corn husks scattered across the field. The educational farm, previously scattered with running kids is now covered with white plastic tarps, protecting the soil while Montgomery County decides the future of the land.

According to the campaign Save this Soil that supports the Brickyard Educational Farm, weeds will immediately begin to grow, in three months take over the cover crop, a crop grown for the protection of the soil. Growth from foreign weeds will make it hard for Maravell to ever start up the educational farm again.

Montgomery County has 13 plots of land set aside for future schools, the Maravell’s land being one site. The school board does not have current plans for a school within the six-year Capital Improvements Program, but may turn it into a middle school in the future that would help to relieve overcrowding near Churchill. Previously, the land was going to be turned into soccer fields but County Executive Ike Leggett

COURTESY OF DIRTMAG.COM

recently decided to pull the plug on this proposal.

Maravell has been fighting to save the land along with the Save this Soil campaign and other non-profit organizations. “I don’t think Montgomery County was ever opposed to [the Brickyard Educational Farm] and maybe it was not a profit thing either.

MSI was only going to be paying 15,000.

Currently we pay 13,000 so I’m not really sure why they decided to lease it to them,” says Maravell. “The educational farm sprouted up after the fact and seeing how successful our pilot season was I am very optimistic.”

Maravell and the different campaigns continue to fight. The farm hopes to follow the process of which the school board opens the land for proposals by working on a business plan so they have a solid proposal when it is done. Currently, the Brickyard Educational Farm continues to be a presence inside of schools with in class presentations.

Schwartz hopes that the farm will continue to exist. “There are other farms in the D.C. metropolitan area that we can and do visit, but none offer what Brickyard does, a true-to-life, practical, genuine experience in what it means to plant, care for and grow your own food!” he says.

Maravell and her family hope that if they get the land back, the Brickyard Educational Farm will expand to reach students and prospective farmers of all ages.

“My family’s vision is that Nick’s Farm will cease to exist and the Brickyard Farm would use the land.”

SOURCE: SAVETHISSOIL.COM

19 Features

silverchips

April 25, 2012

HBCUs offer a sense of community for black students

By Cindy Monge The girls gather in two lines of three as they shout “Sankofa!” Their hands clap and their bodies sway from left to right flowing to the rhythm of the beats. This is how Sankofa cast members prepare to represent African culture and history during the International Night event.

Although Blair is known for its diversity, some Blazers express feelings of exclusion from the ethnic embrace. For that reason, Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) have become options for many seniors that are looking to adapt to a home-like community, where they can experience diversity within their own African-American cultures, As well as take the advantage of the scholarship programs and financial aid these institutions offer them.

Comforting Many students choose to attend HBCUs for the comforting atmosphere and the sense of belonging they give them. Senior Lucie Djomeni applied to University of Maryland Eastern Shore college. She comments that she was captivated by the campus experience when she visited in the fall. “ I am going to Eastern Shore...because when I toured it, I connected with it. It felt like home,” she says.

During her visit, Lucie was able to investigate all the school had to offer and decided that Eastern Shore would be the ideal place for her.

“The people were nice, the campus is beautiful, and [there’s a] va-ELLIE MUSGRAVE riety of activities and groups,” she says.

Malaisa Seilenga, a senior at Blair, shares the same opinion. He expresses that he has adapted to Blair’s multi-racial community, but feels that it would be easier for him to find a place within a black college commu-

nity. “I’m really used to hanging out with a diverse group of people, but I think that it would be easier to fit in, if I went to an HBC,” says Seilenga.

Senior Rachel Darko, has been accepted to Howard University and she is strongly considering attending. Darko expresses her satisfaction for Howard’s comforting atmosphere. “The sense of community and family at these schools definitely attracted me… the environment there and at other HBCUs is very nurturing,” Rachel says. She comments that, in a university like Howard, she would be able to grow as a person from the interaction with the faculty members and new peers. “College is a time where you not only learn book knowledge, but also grow as a person.” Darko says. “I want to make friends for life,” she expresses.

Darko says that her counselor recommended HBCUs to her, and the offerings seemed beneficial to her. “My counselor really brought [HBCUs] to my attention.

She said they could offer me a lot of money so I thought I’d give them a shot,” she says.

Affordable and lucrative Seilenga applied to Morehouse College, where he was accepted. He feels that this school would be an excellent opportunity for him since he would receive a full tuition scholarship. “If you’d like to fit in easier at a college, and if you want to pay as little as possible, then you should consider it,” he says.

Financial reassurance and the academic courses are aspects to consider.

Darko adds that Howard would be beneficial not just for the home-like ambiance, but the scholarship programs they offer. “They are often generous with merit scholarships, which is a plus, too,” comments Darko.

Most black colleges offer extensive scholarships and financial aid, making schools more affordable. “My key reason for going to Eastern Shore is tuition... the school is not that expensive and they are offering me a lot of money,” said Djomeni.

Phalia West, the Career Center coordinator, works with Blazers and provides them with the necessary tools to choose the best colleges to fit their needs. She comments that the main reason for students to attend a HBC is the affordability these schools offer. “Affordable tuition, and SAT and GPA requirements are more forgiving,” she says.

West explains that job opportunities and job connections are present in HBCUs. She comments that large companies seeking to diversify their staffers, often times turning to black colleges for recruitment. “When big companies are looking for diversity, they’re coming to HBCUs, and that’s good for students,” Mrs. West comments.

Darko agrees that this is a good quality of HBCUs, manifesting in the wide-range of academic opportunities and job opportunities these institutions have for the students to take advantage of. Darko believes that Howard University will provide her with the academic challenges she needs to graduate. “After college… or med school, I know the Howard alumni will actively help me and others find jobs” she says.

diverse as Blair, but they’re still diverse in their own way,” she explains.

For Lucie attending a black college like Eastern Shore gives her the opportunity to learn more about her African culture. “By attending an HBCU, my experience will definitely be enhanced in the sense that I will have a better understanding and appreciation of African-Americans, “Lucie affirms.

Darko is strongly appealed to attend Howard, and is still pondering her final decision. She comments that Howard would be convenient and would complement all her needs. “They’re giving me a scholarship, and it’s close to home,” Darko says. She adds that Howard has many qualities that make it appealing to attend. “I really liked the sense of community there and I know that I’d still get challenged academically,” Rachel says.

“I feel like I’d be happy there.”

Uniquely Diverse Rachel feels privileged by the diversity to which Blair has exposed her, which is why being in a diversified atmosphere is important to her.

“I always worried about [diversity].

At Blair, I’ve been lucky to interact with all sorts of people, but HBCUs are still predominantly black,” she adds.

Although HBCUs are predominantly black, Darko comments that the transition from Blair to an HBCU should not be shocking, since other ethnic groups also attend these colleges. “HBCUs may not be as racially

ZEKE WAPNER

HBCU Rachel Darko, left, and Lucie Djomeni, above, were accepted to Howard University in DC and University of Maryland Eastern Shore, respectively, and are considering attending in the fall.

Country in profile: From the Middle East to Maryland

By Maya Habash Sophomore Abdallah Ibrahim walks down the hallway with his friends, phone in hand, backpack on shoulder. But Ibrahim walks through the hallways with something that the average American teenager doesn’t have: a background of refuge along with which comes a background of heartbreak and hope. He lived the first eight years of his life in Iraq and the next ten in Egypt.

Ibrahim moved to the States six months ago, and since his move, he feels as though his whole life has essentially been turned upside down. “It’s like when you drink a cup of tea and it’s really hot and then you drink cold water; you’re going to feel some change,” Ibrahim says. And even though it has taken some getting used to, Ibrahim believes adjusting to the change was worth it.

A justified move As a non-religious Sunni Muslim, moving to the US allowed Ibrahim and his family to escape the religious shackles of the Iraqi and Egyptian cultures. “My best friend of eight years was Shiite. I was Sunni. But we don’t care, we are like brothers,” says Ibrahim.

“But others care and say things like ‘why is your best friend not Sunni?’” Ibrahim and his family were also criticized for not respecting the culture and religion of Islam as his mother and older sister

have never worn hijabs. “People were telling us we were worthless,” he says. In America, he says, he feels no hatred or discrimination towards him due to his religious views.

In addition to freedom of religion, Ibrahim has found that the US provides him with a better education. Ibrahim studied in Iraq for five years of elementary school and then moved from Iraq to Egypt to escape violence and war. In Egypt, he finished his elementary school education, which went up to sixth grade, and then continued through middle school. Although he enjoyed his time with his friends, he found that his academic experience in middle school was not ideal.

“Teachers are bad. They use sticks to beat the students,” he says. After middle school, Ibrahim did not attend high school in Egypt because it wasn’t worth the cost. “It was so expensive and the education is bad and you need to pay money for the teachers to let you pass the exams—illegally,” Ibrahim explains.

Instead of attending high school, Ibrahim began working at the age of 15.

Giving back Ibrahim began working at the St. Andrews Refugee Service in Cairo.

The service has two separate offices, the Resettlement Legal Aid Project (RLAP), and the psycho-social office. RLAP is an organization that helps qualified refugees present themselves to the United Na-

tions High Commissioner for Ref- ments, paint, draw, and—Ibrahim’s says Ibrahim. But America is beauugees (UNHCR), the International favorite—play soccer. Ever since tiful as well, he says. He believes Organization for Migration (IOM) childhood, Ibrahim has had a pas- there are better opportunities and and national immigration agencies sion for both playing and watching more freedom. If he does decide for permanent relocation outside the sport. His passion inspired him to visit one of his home countries, of Egypt. According to the RLAP to put a soccer team together for he wants to go as an americanized website, RLAP “assists all refugees the refugees he worked with. He Arab. “This is home for me now,” he says. Here in without Maryland, like in regard to Egypt, he enjoys religion, hanging out with race, nahis friends and tionality, or playing sports. In gender… a couple of weeks, We do not Ibrahim will start make imworking within migration the health departor resettlement of the Interment decinational Rescue sions; we Committee (IRC), help refuan organization gees unthat provides derstand shelter, medical their opNEW YORK TIMES/MIGRATION INFORMATION SOURCE MAYA HABASH care and safety tions and NEW TO THE AREA Abdallah Ibrahim spent the first eight to refugees of the navigate the pro- years of his living in Iraq and the next ten in Egypt. Now he is world.

Having already c e d u re s . ” happy living in Maryland. lived in three difHere, Ibrahim was an office assistant man- says it helps them forget about the ferent countries throughout his ager and says he was humbled by painful lives they live. “We were adolescent years, Ibrahim has unthe perspective he gained. “I was doing the best that we could to dergone experiences that one often accumulates over a lifetime, if ever. a refugee, but I always feel that make them feel good,” he says.

He believes that from the challengthere are people who need help es he has faced, he has gained the more than I do. When I sat in my “This is my home now” mentality that we need to help each office listening to the people tell me their stories, I feel like my story Ibrahim plans to graduate high other to succeed and move foris nothing compared to theirs,” he school and become a flight engi- ward. He believes that prejudice, explains. neer. Though he has no intention of hatred, war and violence are all In addition to working with returning to Egypt or Iraq, he does things that bring us down. “They RLAP, Ibrahim volunteered at the miss both countries. “It’s the coun- are things that put our society at psycho-social department and try I was comfortable with. I lived the bottom and we are never going worked with refugee children ages in Cairo, so I miss the Pyramids, the to reach the top if we keep moving six to 12. They would play instru- beach, the weather, my friends,” this way,” he says.

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April 25, 2013

Seeing the profile, not the full face Prejudiced assumptions based on race still a local presence

By Ruth Aitken “Come towards the car!”

“Get the [expletive] over here right now!”

“Stop the attitude, before you’re on the ground and cuffed!” Takoma Park police officers shouted, according to a statement

by D.C. resident Jonathan Jones, who was stopped as he was entering the Takoma Park Metro station on January 16.

It was not yet noon when Jones left his house on North Capitol Street and began to make his way toward the Takoma Park Metro station. The sky was a peerless blue but the day was chilly. While Jones walked, he glanced southward for the sight of an approaching F1 Metrobus to shelter him from the weather. As he rounded the corner onto Eastern Avenue, Jones noticed the first police car slow as it passed. As Jones wrote in a statement detailing the incident, the driver ducked his head to glare at Jones, who first disregarded the officer’s “hard” stare.

Several streets later, the officer pulled his car alongside Jones once more, and fixed him in the same intense stare. Jones says he was unnerved as he continued onward, now nearly at his destination. The driver swerved in front of Jones and parked the vehicle, as two additional police vehicles arrived on the scene. The officers gathered around Jones, as did an accumulating crowd of witnesses.

Jones’s statement claims that the officers demanded that he put his hands up and approach the vehicle. The “offenses”: purportedly being observed glancing into parked cars, being “overly observant” and “aware of surroundings” as he looked for a bus.

Jones says that the officers misconstrued Jones’s caution as he navigated his sometimes dangerous neighborhood, and suspects the officers targeted Jones based on his ethnic appearance. “I believe racial profiling was at the heart of this matter,” he writes.

Though anti-discrimination laws and equality campaigns abound, many say that interracial tensions and prejudice persist.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), “racial profiling continues to be a prevalent and egregious form of discrimination in the United States.” Racial profiling, or the systematic consideration of one’s race as a factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement or as a basis for judg-

ment of character, continues to spark controversy. The phenomenon is one that some Blazers say they recognize all too easily, both outside the SAC doors and in Blair’s classrooms.

got so Hispanic from eating too many pupusas,” he says. “But once people start making fun of a person[‘s race], they might slowly start to do it using worse words.”

Black and white Boulevard When prejudice is more than play

Security guards loom; a cashier eyes a cusThe regular teacher is absent and kids mill tomer of color more closely; a police officer about the classroom chatting. Melate Ber- makes a point to follow a group of minorhanu is sitting quietly at her desk, she says, ity teens. Blazer Ayana Brooks says that she one of the few students not acting “wild”. constantly feels victimized by these biases The substitute, approaching Berhanu, makes when she enters an establishment, which a racially charged comment that sends the discourages her patronage. “Once, I was the only minority in senior reeling in a store and the ownsurprise. “The sub ers circled around me came up to me and like five times. After said, ‘Is this how two minutes I got so kids in Africa bebothered by it that I have?’ My first left,” she says. “They thought was ‘Whoa, lost business because that was uncalled I was upset.” for,’” Berhanu says.

Junior Kevin MarbSophomore Jessiley says that he’s seen ca Grover says that a close friend of his be she is also familiar specifically targeted. with people making “When I walk into the assumptions about senior CVS, the cashiers look her heritage based Melate Berhanu at me like I’m going on her physicality. to steal something.

The self-described But a friend of mine New Jersey native says that peers often approach her speak- walked in, and just because he has dreads, ing rapidfire Spanish and interrogating her they stared at him even more,” Marbley about her ethnicity. “People always just as- says. The experience is such a familiar one sume that I’m Dominican just because of that Marbley has become desensitized to the how I look,” Grover says. “I get really aggra- special attention. “I don’t pay them any atvated by it, and then it’s even more frustrat- tention anymore; I’m used to people doing ing when they start asking where I’m from that to me.”

“I’m used to [being racially profiled],” and where my parents are from.”

Senior Justin Kung says that prejudiced senior Yamiley Nelson agrees. “I know that attitudes can permeate even the most ev- I shouldn’t be, but the racism I sometimes eryday exchanges. As a guard for Blair var- see impacts me.” According to Nelson, racial sity basketball, Kung says that he repeatedly profiling can continue from Four Corners hears jokes that compare him to Yao Ming, onto the Boulevard. Once as she and some the basketball star of Asian descent. Turk- friends were returning to the Blair campus at ish Blazer Hakan Berk sighs in exasperation the end of the day, security guards stopped as he recalls the tired joke about his ethnic the group and questioned them. “There identification. “No, I don’t eat more turkey were other students who were just walking in who were Caucasian,” Nelson recalls. because I’m Turkish,” he says.

Though such remarks about racial atti- “Even though the other kids [walking into tudes based on race may seem innocuous at school] should have been getting in trouble first, sophomore Manuel Fuentes says that it like us, [the security guards] weren’t saying can soon become racial slurs. “I saw a kid get anything to them.”

Within his first year at Blair, freshman made fun of because [the others] said that he Benjamin Felber says, he has similarly witnessed apparent biases in security enforcement. “I’ve noticed,” Felber says, scanning DIVERSITY Sophomore Hakan Berk (below), the cafeteria, “that the security guards are far more harsh to students who aren’t white or senior Khaled Nurhussien (center) and senior Asian.” A friend sitting to his right gestures Melate Berhanu (right) say that they have toward a corner of the SAC, where a security faced some form of racial profiling. guard is currently standing at a table of minority students.

Security team leader Kathleen Greene in-

“The sub came up to me and said, ‘Is this how kids in Africa behave?’ My first thought was ‘Whoa, that was uncalled for.’”

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sists that such accusations, especially those based on anecdotal evidence, are entirely unfounded. “We try to stop everyone returning from off campus. It doesn’t matter their race, gender, or what they look like.”

“Would you have guessed?”

To senior Khaled Nurhussien, racial profiling seems more like something from a black-and-white sitcom than a current issue. “It’s a little bit funny,” senior Khaled Nurhussien says, “[Racial profiling]’s like something you’d see in a book or a movie or on TV, because you don’t think that these things still happen in real life. You think those stereotypes are in the past, but people just can’t let them go.”

Nurhussien jokes about the many racial stereotypes that perpetuate themselves even around the school hallways. “If you’re Asian, you’re probably in the Magnet or in all AP classes, especially depending on how short you are,” he says sarcastically. “When you see a black kid, it’s like ‘Oh God, please don’t steal my shoes.’ And white kids probably all ride horses or something.” These stereotypes, Nurhussien says, enable racial profiling and assumptions. “See, I ride horses, too, but would you have guessed that by looking at me?”

Nurhussien says that racial profiling originates in the system. “Montgomery County itself is kind of self-segregated,” he says, mapping the regions in the air according to ethnic breakdown. “How to get rid of that?” he muses, “That’s a hard question, because Montgomery County is rigid. Change is hard. We’ve had systems that have worked so well for so long that we’re resistant to change.”

Grover says that the end of racial profiling will accompany a greater willingness to open discussion. “There’s tension that comes from people making assumptions instead of asking questions or having a conversation about race or bothering to get to know the person first,” she says.

Nurhussien, meanwhile, says that total tolerance will stem from the classrooms, then spread to the streets. “People make friends in their classes, and I think there’s a lot of separation [among varying classes].

Whoever you’re learning with, those are the people you’ll be hanging out with. We need greater integration, to switch up the classrooms. That’s what makes the difference.”

April 25, 2013

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April 25, 2013

Attempting to take Saturday night by storm Teen dance clubs provide high schoolers with an undoubtedly unique evening

By Hannah Weintraub The website for NightStorm Party, the self-proclaimed “hottest touring teen dance club,” screams out this generous invitation to anyone who visits its homepage. Like that boisterous kid in the movies who hands out fliers for the next biggest party (does that ever actually happen in real life?), NightStorm Party’s website automatically plays an audio recording of the most excited person in the world inviting you to his earth shattering event. When the event hawker asks for a translation to his invitation? Of course, “Harlem Shake” begins to play.

This is the charm that only a teen dance club can provide.

Teen dance clubs, all ages dance clubs and under 21 dance clubs have sat at the periphery of high school weekend plans for as long as 90’s TV shows have been our generation’s go-to small talk—in other words forever.

It was only a matter of time before my friends and I decided that we too must venture into the teen club’s lair of mind-numbing top 40 hits and seizure-inducing strobe lights. Few teens are brave enough to commit a Friday night to it. But, for those of us who let our usual common sense and sanity fall to the wayside, a youth dance club is waiting to give us the night of our lives.

COURTESY OF NIGTHSTORM PARTY

COURTESY OF ANDREW BIRD

TEEN CLUBS Top Left: Teenagers party at a NightStorm event. Bottom Left: The Black Cat’s basement is home to many teen nights. Top Right: A concert at the Black Cat draws a large crowd.

Where’s the party at?

Normally, I’m not the sort of person to spend my weekends “hitting the clubs.” Yet, somehow I found myself on a Saturday night ogling the glittering shirt on my friend’s bedroom floor and declaring how perfect it was for the night’s event—the Black Cat’s all ages Disco in the Dark.

Before my disco experience, the only other time I had been dancing was at a public waltz class with a dozen seasoned waltzing retirees. Needless to say, I was a mere cadet when it came to conquering the battle of the discotheque.

So what had made my friends and I decide that all ages dancing sounded like fun?

Boredom mostly. After weekends of driving around, watching Desperate Housewives and “just chillin’” we all agreed that our age-old routine needed to be shaken up a bit. And, with that in mind, we turned to the most unsettling thing we knew: a silver ball rotating wildly and music that our parents danced to years ago.

You’re never alone at the disco Shockingly, we are not the only teenagers hoping to fix our weekend boredom with questionable nightlife options. Mike Checkalski, the founder of NightStorm Party, began his business 23 years ago at the age of 19 with the hopes of bringing excitement to the dreary lives of teenagers. Even with this admirable goal, many people still look down on Checkalski’s venture. “People don’t think it’s a good idea,” he says of his business. But Checkalski believes his party service gives students an outlet for fun and entertainment that others are unwilling to provide. “If you pull everything from high schoolers, what’s left?” he explains.

What fills the void, Checkalski says, are drug-and-alcohol-fueled parties. “At schools that have [stopped having dances], students just have their own dances off school property,” he explains. Checkalski’s dances are substance-free and, like most teen clubs, partiers must go through a rigorous security check before they are allowed inside. “People have to go through more security at my clubs than they do

COURTESY OF BLACK CAT

at school,” says Checkalski.

But what sets NightStorm parties apart from even the Project X’s of the DMV is the sheer magnitude and over the top zeal of the events. “We’ve had as many as a couple hundred to 2,300 [partiers],” Checkalski explains. Each show comes complete with an Emcee, a DJ, light displays, CO2 guns and —of course— confetti cannons.

When sophomore Aaron Clingman went to an all-ages Go-go in DC, the atmosphere was equally extreme. “It’s like a concert and party put together,” he explains. “There were bands playing, people dancing too.

[Expletive] gets pretty wild.”

Back at Disco in the Dark, we were still waiting for that wildness to kick in. After a 30 minute wait for the bus, a 20 minute ride down 16th street and then a ten minute walk to the venue itself, our anticipation for a crazy night had been replaced with sheer weariness.

“Are we there yet?” one of my friends asked. And then, suddenly we were.

I wish that I could compare finding our Disco Haven to stumbling across a castle in the middle of a forest, but alas, this was no Disney story. Located on 14th Street, the Black Cat pays homage to its name with its looming dark exterior and catty bouncer.

“It’s all ages, right?” we nervously asked.

He gave us a blank stare suggesting that we better move inside before we embarrass ourselves further. And then, just like that, we were in.

Dance like everybody’s watching I scanned the room and looked for the disco ball. Nowhere to be found. The electropopping beats of outdated music? Couldn’t be heard. Instead, the room was dark and crowded with 20-somethings hovering around the bar. They laughed raucously in their square glasses and plaid shirts. It did not seem as if they were dressed to disco.

The monstrous X’s on our hands indicating that we were under 21 marked us as unwanted. We all took in the scene—no disco, no teens, no confetti cannons, just judgment—and raced to find refuge in the bathroom.

Perhaps our first flaw was going to a straight club.

Senior and 18-year-old Ellie Torres swears by the kindness she finds in local gay clubs.

“When you go to gay clubs people don’t judge you. If you go to straight clubs, people judge you by the way you look and the way you dance,” she says. “They look at you all up and down. You know they’re judging you.”

Still, Checkalski claims that his teen parties possess a unifying power that can only be rivaled by the might of the cheesy sitcom.

“People can’t believe that you can get 700 kids from different schools, different races and they get along,” he explains. “They’re surprised. Not many things can do that.” So maybe what we needed was just more teens.

You know what they say; 17-year-olds are the nicest people on earth.

Ah-ah-ah-ah staying alive We emerged from the bathroom, ready to track down the elusive disco dancing. We had sacrificed to get to this point and we weren’t giving up without a dance.

We walked to the end of the room and found a small, black door with a flimsy sign attached to it, “DISCO IN THE DARK. 5 DOLLARS.” It was going to be such a good party that it didn’t really need much eye-catching advertising, right?

We paid the tattooed man who was collecting money and he opened the door. Now, let me remind you, this is not a Disney story. Miracles don’t happen. Magic isn’t real. So I’ll ease the suspense. Awaiting us wasn’t the raging party of our lives. Instead, it was a sparse collection of college grads ironically dancing with moves that would make your parents look cool. Hanging from the ceiling was the dreary disco ball that we had fought so hard to find.

“THIS IS FUN!” we shouted over the rumble of 21st century disco. We were lying of course. But we all knew that would be the only way to enjoy a Disco in the Dark.

At least I can find solace in the fact that I am not alone in having a subpar all-ages club experience. Clingman’s Go-go party did not inspire him to return. “That [expletive] is too ratchet for me,” he says. Torres advises that underage partiers just stay home. “You should just wait till you’re 18 to go to clubs,” she says.

After half-heartedly jiving for about 20 minutes, we finally had to admit that the middle-school-like dance just wasn’t doing it for us. None of us are good enough actors to maintain that charade for very long. So we hopped into a cab, leaving behind the Black Cat and our hope that Disco in the Dark would be the answer to our monotonous routine.

Luckily, there’s always next weekend.

JULIA BATES

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April 25, 2013

A NEW DAY FOR HIPPIE TOWN

By Dillon Sebastian

Takoma Park, Maryland gets teased for being full of liberal activists who are usually found wearing hippie pants and Tevas. For the past few decades, stores like Magic Carpet, Now&Then and S&A Beads have fed into that Takoma Park stereotype; catering to the DC suburb and it’s desire for organic and locally made, eco-friendly products. Recently, while still maintaining that strong sense of community between the stores and their customers, the Old Takoma Business Association (OTBA) has helped in bringing new, thriving businesses to the Takoma DC area. Whether the new stores were established a year ago or a week ago, business for these shops has already took off, thanks to the welcoming and endearing community of Takoma Park.

Dolci Gelati

Trohv Ben Homola, the owner of the home and gifts store Trohv, knew it was risk establishing a store in Takoma DC. But in January of 2011, Homola decided that the risk was worth taking. He saw potential in the small suburb and received enough support from the OTBA to make the move. After searching all throughout DC, he decided on Old Town Takoma, “Takoma Park had the best combination of an ideal lifestyle and family friend

LEILA BARTHOLET

community,” he says. Homola served as the tipping point to a new Takoma. “I was the

initial pioneer of the new Takoma DC and I hope to have been influential part of the next [business] decisions,” Homola says. In 2014, Busboys and Poets, a place to eat, work, browse through books and join in conversation, will come to the empty lot at the corner of Carroll and Maple Ave in Takoma Park.

Takoma Park will also welcome a new restaurant in 2014—established by restaurateur Jeff Black—where the old Video Americain and Summer Delights stood.

While there is certainly a new sophisticated feel developing in the area, Homola believes that Takoma DC will not become another fancy pants Bethesda town. “There is a real authenticity to the community that exists in Takoma Park and it is not looking to be fancy,” Homola assures. The new restaurants will, however, make Takoma Park a legitimate destination for residents in Silver Spring, DC and other neighboring towns.

“The Takoma community is changing, the active community is skewing towards younger people and more interesting shops are coming in,” Homola says.

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Just down the street lies a small gelato shop, which opened in early April and now caters to an array of customers from Takoma Park and it’s neighbors. Already located in a number of places in the DC area such as Whole Foods and Nationals Park, the Takoma location is the company’s first storefront. And in the past two weeks has already proven to be a success. After many Takoma Parkians were upset about the close down of the ice cream shop, Summer Delights in the heart of Old Takoma, the town was very excited to welcome a new place to get a cold summer treat.

The new shop is exactly what Takoma Park needs. “I think the area’s going to completely change,” Gianluigi Dellaccio, owner of Dolci Gelati told the Gazette. The gelato shop is the first step closer to a new Takoma Park.

The small suburban town is in for a huge shift in dining and snacking.

LEILA BARTHOLET

Rolls on Rolls Regular nights in Takoma Park don’t offer much dining besides the well-known Mark’s kitchen and the new Takoma Bistro. However, Friday nights offer a whole new array of options, starting right outside of Trohv. Every Friday night a gathering of food trucks reside on the corner of Carroll and Maple, including the healthy Indian cuisine, Rolls on Rolls. Rachan Malhotra, the owner of the truck, attends a number of sites throughout the week but believes his Takoma stop is unique. “Takoma is different from the lunchtime DC crowd. It is a tight knit community with lots of families,” says Malhotra.

Takoma is a perfect destination for Malhotra because of the shared interest in healthy food. “Takoma is also health-conscious, which gels with my truck’s theme—healthy Indian foods,” Malhotra says. Malhotra also admires the friendly nature of Takoma Park.

“When customers here show up at the truck, they stay for a few minutes and talk. It makes me feel good about coming here,” he says.

Malhotra, who is also a founder of Alive Juices, an ultra-nutritious, organic juice, is a Takoma resident who is excited about the new establishments. “Consumers need choice in dining, and Busboys brings that along with a hip vibe,” he says. Rolls on Rolls is located outside of Trohv on Fridays from 5pm-8pm.

24 Entertainment

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Cherry Blossoms

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Aside from Rock Creek Forest and the envious coloration seen on the faces of Wizards fans as they watch the NBA playoffs, green is at a premium in the District of Columbia. From March 20 to April 14, however, D.C. provides flora enthusiasts with a celebration they can “fauna” over. On April 13, the National Cherry Blossom Festival culminated in in a festive parade in the afternoon and blazing fireworks over the tidal basin that could be heard all the way in Takoma Park. This beloved festival commemorates the Japanese cherry trees gifted by Tokyo City Mayor Yukio Ozaki to the nation’s capitol in 1912. For the past 101 years, springtime in D.C has become synonymous with the ethereal cherry blossom petals that fill the trees and coat the grounds around the tidal basin. Despite a late bloom, the Cherry Blossom Festival ran in full swing this year from March 20th to April 14th. Since 1935, tourists flocked to the nations capitol in their Hawaiian print shirts and fanny packs ready to experience the singular National Cherry Blossom Festival. This is not some boring festival where denizens stroll around a man made body of water and watch flowers fall from trees. The festival is crammed with fun and family friendly activities including a Youth Art Contest and a kite festival on the National Mall. Dazzling pink cherry blossom lights lit up the sides of recognizable D.C landmarks, including the Newseum, Hard Rock Cafe and Ronald Reagan National Airport. Though the festival is officially over, the celebration continues on throughout the remainder of the summer. There are some remaining cherry blossoms still in bloom and the Freer and Sackler Galleries are holding exhibits honoring Japanese art up until August 11th. Held in areas all around D.C., from Adams Morgan to Pennsylvania Avenue, this festival ties the D.C. community together and marks the beginning of joyous spring season in a festive way.

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Spring Breakers It’s easy to see why people are furious about Harmony Korine’s sexed-up, booze-fueled, gun-toting cinematic fever dream Spring Breakers. Or is it? While many have objected to the copious amounts of sex, drugs and violence in Korine’s latest work of line-crossing experimentation, the problem here seems to be concentration, not content. An action film with endless flying bullets? Blockbuster. A parade of lustful bikini-clad partying? Woohoo! Free spirits taking massive bong-rips and fighting the man? Classic. But combine stunning doses of each of these things into one movie, and suddenly it’s all intolerable.

At face-value, Spring Breaker’s thin and ludacris plot is an audience’s nightmare. But as satire, the weak story is a vehicle for a poignant message. In creating such a sickening cocktail of vulgarity, Korine seems to be saying “Isn’t this what you guys like?” This question is directed towards a culture which scarfs up 24, Cheech and Chong, Call of Duty and American Pie, but can’t take it when Vanessa Hudgens holds an automatic weapon. The films dubious and unclear narrative makes and breaks the film, and while some may see the lack of straightforward poignancy as a fault, it can be equally seen as the source of its merit.

If reading into movies is just a pain or you are simply unconvinced of the movie’s integrity, Spring Breakers is still worth a gander. Benoît Debie’s cinematography is a visual roller coaster of warm technicolored chaos. James Franco gives what is definitively the strangest performance of his career as the drug-dealing rapper, Alien. Finally, if all of this is still not enough, Gucci Mane takes up his second role in a motion picture (no joke, his first movie was a “hip-hop musical” called Confessions of a Thug) as James Franco’s arch nemesis.

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You all remember that fateful 2004 day when children flooded from the schoolhouse for recess, only to find that your playground had been invaded. But this wasn’t a cool invasion, like the ones you and your friends had imagined where Zoltar the Squid Emperor of Umbuquato granted you and your pals superpowers for helping him fix his spaceship. No, your jungle gym had been taken over by bugs, cicadas to be exact, which any eight year old boy knows are the only things on the earth grosser than girls. Like a kitten experiencing its first ball of yarn, you and your posse approached the insects cautiously. Eventually a few of you would work up the courage to gingerly pat the cicada’s wing. A few brave souls popped the cicadas into their mouths, because as eight year olds that just seemed like the right thing to do. We all soon realized that Cicadas were a blast! Children set their chalk aside to instead frolic through grass, chasing the little devils as they zig zagged through the air. And just when you were beginning to become acclimated with the cicada, just when the little frightened child worked up the courage to come out from behind the tree and join in a game of How-many-cicadas-can-I-put-down-the-back-of-your-shirt-withoutyou-noticing, the little buggers were gone. Our parents told us not to fret and that they would be back in 17 years. Well now, bless our lucky stars, they are back only 9 years later. Sometime in the next couple of weeks, the bugs will begin emerging from the ground and quickly make a quiet night’s sleep nearly impossible with their 90 decibel chirping. And just how many cicadas should we expect? Some experts are calling for as many as a billion cicadas per square mile. That’s like taking the entire population of China, shrinking them down and putting wings on them, or taking all the jellybeans Reagan consumed during his presidency, and cramming them all into the space of one neighborhood. For those of you who are less enthusiastic about giant bugs, there is no need to worry. These creatures don’t bite and die within four to six weeks. But when they are gone, we will surely miss these marvels of nature.

The 20/20 Experience Justin Timberlake, our favorite Renaissance man, has concocted yet another musical polyglot of jazzy sensuality and electronic soul. The album is a much welcomed follow up to the pop tour de force FutureSex/LoveSounds, which brought us irresistable tracks like “Sexy Back” and “What Goes Around...Comes Around.” But Unlike it’s much-praised predecessor, 20/20’s vision is clouded with inconsistency.

“Pusher Love Girl” is a promising beginning to the album. Just when you think you understand the the soulful groove, JT puts the song into another gear,and the song turns into a laughably lustful and electronically spiked breakdown. But from here on, the track proves to be one of Timberlake’s few explorations of dynamism on the album. A full 20 minutes (and only three songs) into the album, Strawberry Bubblegum begins. Frustratingly mellow and brutally long, the song makes you pine for the old days of tenacious lyrics laid down on a thumping Timbaland beat. In fact, even the days of NSync would be a step up from some of 20/20’s exhausting drudgery.

JT does deliver a few catchy gems. The radio hit single, “Suit and Tie” may suffer from OPS (Overplayed Syndrome), but JT’s back to basics approach is admirable, even though Jay-Z’s lazy rhymes are not. On Mirrors and Ocean Floors, he also delivers satisfyingly Timberlake heartache and soul. But ultimately, the 20/20 Experience suffers relentless repetitiveness and tiring length. Tracks weigh in at Pink Floyd-worthy proportions, with a minimum track length of about five minutes and a maximum of around eight. It is more than clear that JT’s heart is in it, but it is hard for the listeners to follow.

The back and forth between satisfyingly classic JT and self indulgent monotony is enough to give you whiplash. What JT provides is certainly an experience, but not necessarily a great one.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CINEFANTASTIQUE, FORBES.COM, ARAVAN.COM

DESIREE ALEIBAR

Chips Clips 25

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April 25, 2013

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Across 1.flower pollenator 8.metropolis 10. boot-shaped country 11. talking horse 12. unit of sweat 13. street in French 14. large (abbr.)

15. tidy 18. Common Era (abbr.)

19. snow-day toy 21. ___ of loyalty 22. consumed 23. marathon 26. Old English (abbr.)

27. collateral _____ 30. not dry 31. amount (abbr.)

32. Oscars 35. former princess 36. “and” in Latin 37. money machine 39. frozen raindrop 42. ___ my lips

44. high/low cards 45. Sweet Home ____ (abbr.)

46. old TV show 47. ___ You Like It 48.___ and robbers (s.)

50. intravenous 51. tax collector 52. 1991 Hussein target 54. previously owned 56. black gold 57. pig sound 58. BNC’s Double ____ (abbr.)

60. dangerous pesticide 61. Democrat (abbr.)

63. exists 64. not the ocean 65. Silverlogue

Down 1. DOB 2. Utah (abbr.)

3. college basketball finals 4. azure 5. soap ingredient 6. Heroine of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast 7. living on the ___ 8. long boat 9. a thought 12. college degree (abbr.)

April Solutions

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16. ____bomb 17. symbol for an angle 19. ___cell research 20. sketch 22. depends on #1 down 24. astonish 25. first aid maneuver 28. air conditioner (abbr.)

29. goodbye in Barcelona 30. statistics 31. * 33. mellow ___ 34. truth or ___ 38. lavender, pink 39. healed cut 40. teachers 41. “we’re not in ___ anymore” (abbr.)

43. down (abbr.)

46. again prefix 49. Asian bears 51. American ____ 52. child 53. ancient burial place 54. United Nations (abbr.)

55. 100-yard ____ 56. not even 59. teacher’s aid (abbr.)

62. trauma room drama

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La Esquina Latina

Silver Chips 25 de abril del 2013

Las adversidades no evitan la superación: Alejandro Pérez Díaz

¡Cuéntanos!

Un recordatorio de que sólo nos derrumbamos si lo permitimos Por Aldrin Guevara y Kelly Ventura

Uno de los retos principales que tuvo que confrontar Alejandro, al igual que a otros muchos inmigrantes, fue el no Un aspecto que diferencia a hablar fluidamente el idioma inglés.

Blair de muchas otras comunidades Por sus limitacione con el inglés, fue escolares es la diversidad que los retrasado un año escolar. Esto le causó estudiantes traen al ambiente. Los enojo y mucha frustración, pues lo mismos constituyentes de la comuestaban haciendo repetir las mismas nidad hispána son conscientes de clases que ya había tomado y pasado que en solo nuestra población hay con buenas calificaciones en España. bastante diversidad, pues todos Afortunadamente, logró enlos países hispanohablantes se contrar muchas maneras de seguir diferencian en cultura. Esto misadelante y aprender rápido el idimo se comprueba con Alejandro oma entre ellas - a través de la música.

Pérez Díaz, estudiante de onceavo Alejandro tuvo el deseo de aprender grado quien es de descendena tocar la guitarra y al haber escuchado cia cubana, española y alemana. que Blair ofrece una clase de guitarra, Alejandro nos dice; “Después sin pensarlo dos veces se registró para de haber conocido tantas culpoder tomarla. Debido a su aislación, turas, lo poco que he cogido Alejandro tenía tiempo para dedicarse de cada una de ellas lo he concien por ciento a aprender a tocar la vertido en mi propia armonía de guitarra. Finalmente, después de lo tal manera que define mi ser”. que no fue mucho tiempo, aprendió a Alejandro vivió en Cuba hasta tocar maravillosamente. Consecuensus 4 años de edad cuando un día temente, empezó a asistir al club de su madre le dijo que se irían a vivir EN PERFIL Alejandro Pérez DíazEstudiante en onceavo grado. guitarra donde hizo muchas amistaa España con sus tíos. Su mamá, la des a través de la música. “La música Sra. Díaz, quería perseguir oportufue realmente la manera por la cual nidades que en ese entonces, Cuba lo que es el sistema educacional en los Estados empecé a cultivar amistades, ya que es no le ofrecía. Además de eso, ella no quería Unidos. Afortunadamente la universidad es un lenguaje universal”, dice Alejandro. que Alejandro estudiara en Cuba debido al naFinalmente, Alejandro aprendió hablar gratis pero solo si logras pasar con excelentes cionalismo que les inculcan a los niños desde calificaciones un examen difícil de admisión. inglés y logró asimilarse a la vida ameripequeños. Con 4 años él no entendía mucho Pero antes de poder llegar a esa etapa de su cana. Ahora es un estudiante con un de lo que pasaba pero si de algo estaba seguro, educación en la cual tendría que someterse promedio de 4.0, es miembro de la Socieera de que muchas cosas iban a cambiar. al proceso de aplicación para asistir a una dad Honoraria de Música, miembro de Lamentablemente al poco tiempo de vivir universidad en España, la vida le presentó la Sociedad Nacional Honorífica, el conen España tuvieron una mala experiencia. otra sorpresa. Su madre le dijo que se irían certino de la clase de guitarra avanzada El abandono de su padre les afectó mucho, de España a vivir a los Estados Unidos. y el vicepresidente del Club de guitarra. pero después de todo eso su madre mostránA pesar de los obstáculos, Alejandro se Tuvo la misma sensación que ya había tenidole mucho valor, siguió adelante. Mientras do antes cuando se mudó de Cuba a España. mantuvo fuerte durante todas las adversiAlejandro fue creciendo comenzó a disfrutar Sin embargo, esta vez el cambio de España dades que la vida le presentó y eso es lo que mucho de la cultura española especialmente a Estados Unidos fue mucho más diferente. realmente lo hace una inspiración. Alejandro la grandiosa gastronomía, en la cual su plato En esta ocasión ya él estaba en otra etapa de nos deja con el siguiente pensamiento mofavorito es la fabada asturiana. La música su vida y con el tiempo había establecido un tivador el cual le ayudó a luchar durante y muchas tradiciones como el flamenco y sentido de hogar en España. Ahora, Estados todos estos años “Lo difícil toma su tiempo, Semana Santa. Una de las otras experiencias Unidos sería un reto completamente nuevo. lo imposible, solo tarda un poco mas”. que tuvo en España fue el asistir a un sistema educacional muy rígido y difícil comparado a

Un orgullo hispano en forma de Papa Argentino Por Janett Encinas y Rolando Alvarenga Los católicos ya tienen nuevo Papa, el pasado trece de marzo se anunció al nuevo Papa “Habemus papam” (Tenemos Papa). El cual sustituirá a Benedicto XVI. El cardenal argentino Jorge Mario Bergoglio se convirtió en el Papa Francisco I. Es el primer latinoamericano de la historia en ocupar la Catedral de San Pedro.

A través de los siglos hemos visto a Papa tras Papa clamar esta posición tan sagrada en el catolicismo, pero ¿cuántos entre nosotros realmente sabemos el proceso por el cual uno se convierte en tal figura? El proceso para convertirse en Papa conlleva muchas responsabilidades como: ser la cabeza de la iglesia católica y el pastor de miles de ovejas en el planeta.

Puede sonar fácil, pero, en realidad hay un requisito no oficial en el cual los cardenales de la iglesia católica escogen al Papa.

En teoría, los cardenales pueden elegir a cualquier católico para convertirse en Papa pero ellos prefieren elegir a uno de sus propios miembros cardenales, de esta manera el requisito no oficial es ser un cardenal. La última vez en que una persona que no fue cardenal se convirtió en Papa fue hace más de 600 años. Si quieres convertirte en el próximo Papa, tienes que ascender en la escalera de la religión.

Como sacerdote Para ser un sacerdote se necesita ser un hombre dispuesto a no casarse y permanecer en celibato por el resto de su existencia.

Además, se debe tener un título universitario en Teología o materias religiosas.

Con los requisitos cumplidos y un pequeño tiempo trabajando para la iglesia tú puedes ser un sacerdote. Francisco I es un Papa con una sólida formación académica. Es titulado en Ingeniería Química y licenciado en Filo-

sofía. A los 21 años ingreso al seminario como novicio Jesuita. Una década después, en 1969, Jorge Mario Bergoglio fue ordenado como sacerdote a la edad de 33 años.

Como obispo y cardenal

¿Qué opinas del baile de graduación?

“Pienso que es un evento importante, ya que es la última oportunidad que tenemos los seniors de colaborar juntos”

~ Selvin Argueta Doceavo Grado

“El baile de graduación es para disfrutar un poquito de todos los logros del año escolar.”

~ Eva Bobadilla Doceavo Grado

conservadurismo doctrinal y su compromiso con la justicia social. Optó por promover el diálogo y acercarse a los distintos colectivos sociales, fuesen o no católicos; así como por reforzar la tarea pastoral en las parroquias, aumentando la presencia de sacerdotes en las villas (barrios marginales). Esto hizo que fuese conocido como «el obispo de los pobres».

Elecciones para elegir al nuevo Papa

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Para ser un obispo se necesita ser un sacerdote por al menos 5 años, tener un doctorado en teología y tener 35 años de edad. Además, se necesita ser nominado y elegido por los obispos de la comunidad. Cuando son dominados para esta posición, un reporte llega al vaticano con los nombres de los postulantes, este tiene que ser revisado y aprobado por el congreso de obispos , después, le envían un reporte al Papa el cual puede ser aceptado o rechazado.

Después de la rigurosa y larga elección del obispo, se necesita ser un cardenal para poder aspirar a ser el siguiente Papa. Para ser un cardenal, las labores de obispo tienen que ser reconocidas por el Papa actual y solo él puede nominar y elegir a un cardenal. Si la ambición y obras del obispo son reconocidas él puede convertirse en uno. Como arzobispo y cardenal, Francisco fue conocido por su humildad,

Cuando el Papa muere o resigna su posición, es tiempo de elegir uno nuevo sucesor. El 97% de las veces el Papa siempre muere. Sólo un 3% de los Papas que han existido, han resignado su posición. Se necesita más de una mayoría de 2/3 para que uno de los cardenales pueda ser escogido como el próximo representante de la Iglesia. El proceso de votación puede durar de 2 semanas hasta 3 años.

Después de que un Papa es elegido por los cardenales, el tiene que cambiar su nombre y llevar uno nuevo para ser conocido por los demás de los fieles Católicos. Después de haber convencido a los cardenales, el Papa que es elegido debe cambiar su nombre y elegir el que él quiera pero es una tradición tomar el nombre de alguno de los Papas anteriores.

Durante el cónclave de 2005 fue uno de los cardenales más votados, rivalizando con Benedicto XVI. Corrió el rumor de que pidió que no votaran por él, con lo que declinó el papado.

El proceso es muy largo, complicado y toma muchos años. Muchos latinoamericanos se sienten orgullosos que uno de los suyos haya logrado alcanzar este puesto.

Milena Castillo de onceavo grado comenta, “Mi familia no es muy religiosa que digamos, pero siendo de Argentina que es un país de mucho orgullo por sus logros, también gozamos de este“.

“Pienso que el evento es una locura. Muchos van a hacer cosas no necesarias para una fi-­ esta”

~Andre Bustillo Doceavo Grado

El programa “InDesign” utilizado para realizar el periódico de la escuela, está diseñado para la lengua Inglesa. Con tal propósito, Silver Chips ofrece disculpas por cualquier error gramatical que tengan las páginas de La Esquina Latina después de haber sido intensamente editadas.

Gracias.

silverchips

25 de abril de 2013

La Esquina Latina 27

Baile de graduación, temido por los gastos Existen opciones que alivian el bolsillo

Por Hector Barrera, Karen Tituana, Marisela Tobar y Cindy Monge El Baile de Graduación. Al solo mencionar la palabra brinda alegría y alivio porque se sabe que los cuatro años de escuela secundaria están a punto de terminar.

Para muchos, la decisión más difícil es de averiguar cómo vestirse. Antes de nada, tenemos que tocar el tema del costo de ir y de cómo esto puede resultar en problemas mucho más difíciles que escoger un par de zapatos.

Típicamente, el costo de ir a una fiesta como esta, incluye (para una estudiante) el vestido, pelo y maquillaje, el precio de la limosina, los zapatos, el costo de la entrada, y usualmente una cena con amigos antes o después del día tan especial para los estudiantes.

Todo esto conlleva un costo de alrededor de 500 a 600 dólares.

Para un joven, el costo es más barato, dependiendo del precio del traje que el chico decida comprar o alquilar. En Montgomery Blair High School, la entrada cuesta 55 dólares.

Muchas veces, el costo de la entrada es muy caro para los estudiantes y deciden no ir. Juan Castillo, dice que el precio de ir al tan esperado baile no es tanto per que “a muchos estudiantes de Blair se les hace difícil pagar esa cantidad”.

Teniendo esto en mente, Samantha Huntress-Reeve dice que “ es el baile que celebra todo lo que un estudiante hizo en la escuela secundaria y por eso creo que todo, incluyendo el costo, vale la pena”.

Samantha nota que “es para que los estudiantes pasen un buen rato. Si se logra ese objetivo, vale la pena el dinero que se paga”.

chicas buscan salir de la manera tradicional de comprar vestidos.

Según ella ahora se busca exclusividad por presión social de estar a la moda. “Ir a una cadena nacional, como Macy’s o Nordstrom y comprar un vestido como otras 18 chicas no es una opción para mí”, también comenta que sea desea “expresar nuestra individualidad”

Como ahorrar dinero Para tener una experiencia inolvidable sin estreses, ni frustraciones es importante crear un presupuesto de todos los gastos a hacer. Después haz un listado de todo lo

Gastos y mas gastos Las familias de estos chicos están gastando un promedio entre $ 1,000 y $ 2,000 en el baile de graduación este año. Según una encuesta de las revistas de TeenPROM y USA Today. La mayor parte del dinero es invertido en el vestido y el esmoquin.

El paseo en la limosina, las visitas al salón de belleza y la compra de zapatos nuevos y joyas también están contribuyendo cada vez más a la factura de este rito de transición de la escuela secundaria hacia la universidad.

El gasto ha sido impulsado a niveles nunca antes vistos ya que los adolescentes se ven influenciados por todo, desde las celebridades de los “programas reales” y a la prevalencia de los medios sociales.

Por esa razón, para los adolescentes que han crecido compartiendo su vida en Facebook y otras plataformas de medios sociales, las apariencias se han vuelto aún más importantes.

Fuentes de estilo e inspiración han evolucionado con un mayor acceso a la información a través de los blogs de moda y otros sitios de web que ponen el énfasis en la individualidad. “Hay un sentido general de la gente que quiere ser diferenciada”, dice Andrea Morales, estudiante del onceavo grado.

Morales nos comenta que hoy en día las

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que necesitas, como tu atuendo, la limosina, la fiesta, etc. Busca en el internet maneras de comparar tu atuendo en tiendas con promociones o en liquidación.

Muchos buscan la exclusividad de los vestidos, tomando esto en cuenta que si buscan en las páginas de internet adecuadas pueden encontrar vestidos únicos a precios maravillosos y hasta pueden ir al sastre y diseñar el traje de sus sueños.

La Sra. West, quien es la coordinadora del Career Center, también es la fundadora del Career Center Boutique. Ella empezó con esta idea hace dos años.

Esta fue fundada con la idea de minimizar el gasto de los estudiantes del doceavo grado.

“En el ultimo año, los estudiantes tienen muchos gastos, y el baile de promoción es uno de ellos. Todos deberían tener la oportunidad de participar de un momento tan memorable.”

Dice la Sra. West.

Ella también comenta que algunos de los estudiantes no tienen la posibilidad de asistir al baile, por la dificultad financiera. “Así que la mitad de los problemas es el vestido, traje,

United States International Trade Commissioners, dona vestidos y trajes para los estudiantes.

La popularidad de la boutique ha crecido ya que cada año más estudiantes toman un vistazo a la boutique y se llevan algo. “El primer año tuvimos 13 estudiantes.

El año pasado tuvimos 17 alumnos que asistieron a la boutique,” añade la Sra. West.

El beneficio que obtienen los estudiantes es muy grande ya que pueden utilizar los trajes para un evento en Blair o en algún otro lugar.

Ellos también pueden usar las vestimentas formales para distintas ocasiones. “Si tú tienes otra fiesta de graduación a la que tienes que asistir, nosotros podemos darle un traje extra a los estudiantes.” expresa Mrs. West.

El costo del atuendo a lucir no es la única inversión.

Nathaly Nieto, una estudiante del duodécimo grado comenta que la dificultad económica la limita a la hora de hacer gastos para asistir al baile de graduación.

No solamente es por su vestido, aparte de eso ella COURTESY OF SILVERCHIPSONLINE.COM también planea invertir en su boleto al igual que en su transporte. “En realidad no estoy demasiado preocupada por mi transportación porque mi mamá se ha encargado de eso, pero sí me preocupa el costo de mi vestido. Todo es demasiado caro. Todo incluyendo los boletos,” dice Nieto.

Es evidente que el CCB provee un beneficio a muchos estudiantes que por limitaciones económicas dudan si irán al prom. “He escuchado sobre el boutique del Career Center, y pienso que es fantástico porque ninguna chica debe ser negada a la oportunidad de asistir al baile porque no tienen la manera de comprar un vestido.” comparte Nieto.

No hay duda que el baile de graduación estará lleno de estudiantes disfrutando de un buen momento con sus amistades y compañeros. Hay muchos que no imaginaron llegar a participar de esta gran fiesta de fin de año.

La excusa de lucir un traje, no significa que tengas que cambiar tu cabello o forma de ser. Simplemente, ten en mente que el color de tu vestido o esmoquin coordine con la COURTESY OF GOOGLE.COM de tu pareja, y, por supuesto, los académicos”, dice ella. Muchos jóvenes lo que llevaras debajo. que han asistido a CCB, piensan que es El baile es un momento en el que celebras una idea magnífica. “Me siento bendecida todas las cosas que has aprendido y todos porque no tenía vestido”, dice Djomeni. los bonitos recuerdos que has conseguido.

El Career Center Boutique es una gran El baile de promoción es tu despedida de la oportunidad que ayuda a muchos de los escuela secundaria hacia una vida univerestudiantes a ahorrar dinero. Según la Sra. sitaria.

West, cada año la compañía llamada The

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Sports

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“[Ricci is] one of the most outstanding students I might ever come across. You really couldn’t ask for more, except for maybe a couple more inches of height,” Klein jokes.

-Page 30

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A look back on leveling the playing field A retrospective on Blair’s journey to integrating and diversifying athletics

By Desiree Aleibar In the 1950s and 1960s, Blair had traditional cheerleaders and majorettes who cheered on the sidelines and performed during halftime at the boys’ basketball and football games. The capital ‘B’s sewn onto their white wool sweaters glinted under the stadium lights as the girls skipped around excitedly, celebrating Blazer victory. Their white ruffled socks moved swiftly above their brown saddled shoes, complementing their pleated skirts and red hair bows.

Some girls cheered because they wanted to. Some because they had no other options.

At the time, the rifle team was the only interscholastic and competitive sport offered to girls at Blair. Girls who wished to participate in sports could sign up for intramurals. Those who participated in these intramural sports were awarded letters similar to those given to varsity male athletes. In the late 1960s, the more popular intramural sports like softball became sanctioned school teams, but were never considered to be varsity or worthy of receiving the privileges that varsity boys’ athletes received.

Then came June 23, 1972.

The document read: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

When Congress passed this legislation, also known as Title IX, Blair, under federal law, was required to permit girls to participate in competitive sports. That same day, some girls traded their red pleated skirts for softball bats, soccer cleats and competitive swimwear.

New girls sports teams were formed at Blair, including girls’ tennis, which went undefeated that same year.

Often, the new girls’ teams like basketball, track and field, gymnastics, and swimming struggled to find coaches, as the girls’ had less county funding.

Luckily, in 1972, when Blair math teacher Milton Roth was asked by former Athletic Director Nelson Colbert to coach Blair’s swim team despite having no experience, he did so with no hesitation. “I had no experience in swimming yet. I didn’t see a problem in coaching the team,” he said. “I was more lucky than anything because we had skillful and experienced athletes.” The first-year swim team came fourth in the state championship that year.

Not only was it difficult to find coaches, but girls’ teams were given less funding than the boys’ teams, sometimes making it impossible for them to compete.

Regardless of previous setbacks, Blair, as well as the rest of the nation, has come a long way with regards to gender equality in sports.

The year before Title IX was enacted, there were approximately 330,000 women in America playing high school and college sports; today, there are more than 3,373,000.

Athletic Director Rita Boule believes that although Title IX was not specifically passed so that women could participate in interscholastic athletics, women have come a long way in sports since its passage. She expressed that, “ There’s no question that there is more gender equity in sports than there was in 1972.”

Since 1972 there is no doubt that Blair athletic department has continued to grow stronger despite gender boundaries. In 1996, Silver Chips reported that, as more and more male athletes were encouraged to concentrate on one sport, female athletes emerged as multisport athletes. That same year, basketball player Peppi Brown was named The Washington Post’s first All-Met and given an honorable mention from the Women’s Basketball Association’s All-American Team. In 2004, female Blair athletes continued to set high standards for themselves, as competitors like Alyssa Isong was noted in a Silver Chips article as, “taking her leadership role seriously as she sets the bar by example.”

Then there’s 2012, in which seniors Johanna Lopez, Myla Sapp, Gabrielle Smith, Adrienne Jackson, Morgan Chase and Olivia Nono dominated girls Varsity Basketball.

Regardless of past obstacles, one thing is clear: girls just want to have fun… and play sports.

Interracial sports Johnny Klippstein (‘45) was a Major League Baseball Player who pitched for the Chicago Cubs, won a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1958 and was the first Blazer to ever turn pro in a sport. Tom Brown (‘58), the defensive back for the Green Bay Packers in the NFL and the first baseman for the Washington Senators in Major League Baseball, was a Blair graduate. Jose Bauza (‘76) as a sophomore led Blair soccer team to its only state championship and is the only Blazer to be named high school All-American in soccer.

He was given an honorable mention in college when he played for UVA. Dominique Dawes (‘94) was a gymnast, Olympic gold medalist, two-time Olympic bronze medalist, member of the US National team and former Blair student.

The list could go on and on.

Over the years, Blair has proven that it is truly capable of producing stellar athletes. Whether they be white, black, Hispanic, Asian, purple, blue or green, Blair is known

for sprouting a racially diverse group of competitive athletes that go on to have successful careers in college and professional sports.

But this was not always the case.

Prior to the late 1950s, whites and nonwhites were restricted from going to school with one another and participating in high school sports together because Blair had segregation policies no different than the majority of schools in the US at the time.

The inclusion of blacks in high school sports began during the 1955-1956 school year after the Supreme Court in the case of Brown vs. Board of Education, deemed segregation in school systems as unconstitutional. Such a decision caused polarized attitudes in the Silver Spring area as black schools pushed for desegregation while numerous white parents signed petitions urging for the county to inhibit integration.

Meanwhile, demographics at Blair continued to change. According to the Maryland State Department of education, in 1962 Blair had 29 black students out of 2759 students, more students than Bethesda Chevy-Chase, Walter Johnson, Wheaton and Northwood. In 1969, the black population was 4.1 percent, and it rose again in 1974 to a 18.3 percent population.

Blair Principal Pascal Emma even deemed the racial climate at Blair in a 1976 Silver Chips article as being “calm and friendly.” Blair graduate Henry Moore (‘69) in a (year) Silver Chips publication agreed that in the 1960s and 1970s, the team got along well. He stated that, “We had one of the best basketball teams because it was mixed. The team played well together.” By 1979, Blair sports were stronger than ever.

The basketball team was no exception, winning two state titles in four years.

“There were years when it was impossible to go to a Varsity Boys’ basketball game, because there was nowhere to sit!” said Roth.

To this day, despite social and political hurdles of the past, Blair’s athletic program has proven to be one of the best in the county. In an issue of “Golden Chips”, a feature production of the Blair Alumni Association and Silver Chips, Blair alumni Joe Parks (’69) expressed that the opportunity for blacks partake in sports allowed for a clearer view of life. He emphasized that, “Even though there was alienation and misunderstanding, overall, my experience at Blair taught me that it was okay to trust white people.”

PLAYING IN THE PAST Above: Boys’ Basketball wins States in ‘79, as covered by Silver Chips. Below: the sports header during the football season in 1972.

30 Sports

silverchips

April 25, 2013

Athlete in profile: Ricci Huang, boys’ volleyball Veteran leadership on the team helps boys’ volleyball strive for greatness

By Josh Schmidt Volleyball may not be the most glamorous of sports. There aren’t any televised professional leagues and most of the American public only watches the sport every year during the Summer Olympics. Yet Blair consistently has one of the best boys’ volleyball teams in Montgomery County. After graduating three-time captain Andy Zhang one of Montgomery County’s best volleyball players in 2012, Blair barely missed a beat in continuing their quest for three straight county championships. This feat could easily be attributed to the notable talents of senior Ricci Huang.

From the start Huang, who plays outside hitter for the Blair squad, has been playing volleyball since he was ten. After watching his parents play in adult leagues and his brother play on the Blair team before graduating two years ago, Huang feels it was only natural to join the Blair team beginning in his freshman year anc continue every year since.

Having played for much longer than many of his Blair teammates has really helped Huang in his opinion. “I think it’s pretty important to be an experienced player and help out coach,� Huang says.

With the ability to assist coaches with running drills and practices, Ricci has been a signiďŹ cant force behind the success of the team in recent history. Coach Chris Klein says that when he is running late at times, he’ll go to the gym and often the boys have already begun practice and drrills under Huang’s guidance.

His experience with the sport and grasp of the intricacies of volleyball is a key part of Huang’s game as he has a mental advantage over almost every opponent on Blair’s schedule. Also having played on a top tier club team in the County, he knows many of Blair’s opponents and can give his team-

mates tips on how to beat them.

Multi-dimensional Ricci’s experience of having played competitive volleyball for the past seven years comes into play when the team needs to rally from a deďŹ cit or make an adjustment.

Huang believes that his experience gives him grace under pressue—it helps to ensure that his teammates don’t panic, as he remains collected and focused in challenging situations. Klein agrees, calling Huang’s presence “calming�.

Coach Klein, who has coached Huang for all four of his year at Blair, believes that while Huang has a great mental skill set, he’s also good MIMI SIM physically. “Ricci has a great mental game... His HUANG Senior Ricci Huang is a key part physical game is just as of the volleyball team’s recent success. good as his mental one,�

Klein said.

Both Klein and Huang comfortable running it because he knows he believe that Ricci’s best skill physically is his can trust Huang. ability to pass the ball and set up his teammates in the best position to get points. Klein One of the best believes that with Huang on the oor, he can rely on a good attack coming out of the posThis is one of Ricci’s responsibilities session. “He gives us better attacks. If Ricci among many. Not only does Ricci play on is there, we attack,â€? Klein says. the Blair volleyball team, but he plays at the In fact Klein has implemented an “un- best club team in the DC Metropolitan area orthodoxâ€? oense that almost no other in which he plays libero, meaning that he’s a Montgomery County high school team runs. defensive specialist. Despite having coached The oense relies on two players in the back for many years at Blair, Klein is still able to while most other schools have three or four appreciate Huang’s remarkable skill. that they rely on. Klein says that he feels “He’s one of the top six players in Mont-

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MIMI SIM

gomery County. And I’d take him every time,� Klein says. Huang, who plans on playing club volleyball at University of Maryland next year where he will be able to continue his competitive volleyball playing for at least four more years at a high enough level to balance fun and competitivenss..

Klein has nothing but praise for Huang as he also believes that his personal qualities make Ricci an incredible person o the court. “[Ricci is] one of the most outstanding students I might ever come across. You really couldn’t ask for more, except for maybe a couple more inches of height,â€? Klein jokes.

silverchips

April 25, 2013

Sports 31

Spring sports teams: 2013 season update

Blazers take to the field for another big season

By Sabrina Bradford and Kyle Desiderio Records are current as of Apr. 23.

B

OYS’ BASEBALL (6-3) is off to an unusually good start this season with a tightly knit, enthusiastic team and good communication both on and off the field.

This year’s captains, junior Neil Gahart and seniors Lowell Ensel and Adam Lott are a big presence in leading the team in the right direction Lott says that the team’s focus and cohesiveness this year will help them with their goal of winning the division title. “We’re more of a team and play together a lot better. There are no superstars; we’re all equals,” he says. “People aren’t showing up to practice and just going through the motions.”

Lott also attributes the team’s focus during practice to the dedication of Head Coach Eric Zolkiewicz.

“Our coach is good with getting us back on track when we fool around in practice,” Lott says. The varsity baseball team is making forward strides this year with the team’s hard work and drive to win.

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IRLS’ LACROSSE (6-2) is looking to build on last year’s successful season and, guided by this year’s captains seniors Caren Holmes and Allison Whitney, at one point rose to the rank of tenth in the state. The team this year is strong and committed, playing well together as a unit so far. Coach Michael Horne has high hopes for the Lady Blazers and aims to develop the team to their full potential.

“It’s clear that this is important to them and they’ve been working hard during the season and also during the preseason,” he says.

“It’s an incredibly capable team, and the sky’s the limit to how far we can go.”

The team benefits from a strong group of seniors who provide great leadership. The team’s defense is also playing well as a whole, and the team is aiming to compete and contend for the division championship this year after winning it last year. As Horne continues to look down the road for future seasons, he looks to build the entire lacrosse program, not just the varsity team. “I’ll be working with [JV Coach Christine] Denny to build the program, not just the individual teams…success in high school sports is developing athletics as a whole,” he says.

The girls’ varsity lacrosse team is looking forward to a potentially great playoff run, building from their 9-5 record and a trip to the third round of the playoffs last year.

will help them win the division title. “Every day I can see them improving and coming together as a team,” he says. Brown sees the youth and inexperience on the team as an advantage for future seasons. “A young team is great for long-term plans. The [varsity skills] implemented this year will carry on into next year,” he says.

Brown hopes that as the team improves and develops, the program will become noticeably more competitive in the area and attract prehigh school lacrosse players who will help build and advance the program in the future.

T

RACK AND FIELD (GIRLS 4-0, BOYS 1-2) had a breakout season last year with the girls’ team finishing the season 5-0 and the boys’ 2-3 . Building off of that success, the team hopes to send more runners to states and move up to Division III. Junior Captain Morgana D’Ottavi feels that the main focus for the team is to use the success last year to push the team harder and “keep improving.”

D’Ottavi feels that the team this year has become very close through practice and off-season training. “We all come to practice every day and give it everything we have but we also have a lot of fun,” she says. D’Ottavi also credits coach Mike Lockard for constantly helping the team improve and win. She believes that with many fewer meets compared to other sports, the team has to use every meet as a way to improve.

“After you race its important to think about what went well and what could have been done better,” D’Ottavi says.

“Lockard helps us realize our individual strengths and weaknesses and gets us to work on them at practices and have them in mind the next time we step on the track for our race.”

With talent such as grade Gwladys Fotso, grade Darshan Patel, grade Nobel Girmay and grade Deborah Olawun on both boys’ and girls’ track, the team has a high chance to meet and even surpass their success in the previous season.

county championships. The team has started off their seasons uncharacteristically slow, losing their season-opener the last two seasons to rival Wooton, but head coach Christophe Klein believes that it was a vital part in the teams’ success. “Losing the first game [last year] really lit a fire under us,” he said.

Unlike the 2012 season, however, the team lost their second game to another strong team; Richard Montgomery. Despite the loss, however, Klein is very confident that his team will be able to bounce back, especially with the uneven level of competition. “The rest of the teams I’m confident we can beat,” he affirmed The team took a big hit this year, though, losing two-time player of the year Andy Zhang. But the team has been able to adapt, splitting the position Zhang filled into two players. New additions such as Julian Smith-Jones will help compensate the loss of Zheng, coach Klein said Despite losing Zheng, Klein has complete trust in his team. “I trust all 12 players,” he stated, “any one player can make a huge difference.” With the rest of the season ahead, despite a slow start, Klein is still looking towards another county championship.

The team took a big hit this year, though, losing two-time player of the year Andy Zhang. But the team has been able to adapt, splitting the position Zhang filled into two players. “New addition Julian Smith-Jones and Gabriel(?) Rocetti will split [Zheng’s] position,” coach Klein said.

Despite losing Zheng, Klein has complete trust in his team. “I trust all 12 players,” he stated, “any one player can make a huge difference.” With the rest of the season ahead, despite a slow start, Klein is still looking towards another county championship.

S

OFTBALL (9-3) had a fantastic season last year, though it was marred by missed opportunities. The team finished the regular season with a fantastic 15-2 record and a number one playoff seed, but after a first round playoff bye, the Blazers lost to fellow powerhouse Northwest.

This year, the team has already had early success, demolishing Wooton in its season opener 17-7. Head Coach Louis Hoelman believes that the team’s success can be attributed to the strong work ethic players’ displayed in the offseason. “Everyone worked hard in the offseason participating in clinics and additional teams, so we’re really prepared,” Hoelman said. “Everyone also has a really good feel for their swing as a result.”

Even though nine of his 15 players are underclassman, Hoelman is confident in the depth of his roster. “We’re a solid 1-15 team regardless of age,” Hoelman stated.

Even with Blair’s consistent talent, the team is still very young and inexperience could be a weakness.

Despite the team’s early wins, Hoelman warns his team to avoid the mistakes of the 2012 squad. “We need to make sure

we’re peaking at the right time and getting better every game,” he said. “We want to enter the playoffs with confidence.”

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OYS’ VOLLYBALL (6-2), the two-time defending county champion team, has proven itself to be one of the best and looks to end this season with a three-peat in the ELLIE MUSGRAVE

ELLIE MUSGRAVE

ATHLETES Top: Junior Shannon Healy moves in to check an opposing Blake player. Middle left: Junior Annie Pietanza follows through as she pitches to a Magruder opponent, helping Blair continue their stellar start to the season. Middle right: Junior co-captain and star player Neil Gahart strides through as he throws a fastball Bottom: Senior co-captain Joshua Blockstein makes an impressive save.

B

OYS’ LACROSSE (4-4) is young and expecting a developmental season, but they are expected to improve and come together as a team and be contenders later on in their season. The team’s dedication to lacrosse has improved since last year, which will help the program grow long-term. The offense this season has good shooting, passing and catching skills that will make them a challenge to defend for opposing teams. The defense is also composed of strong athletes that can quickly learn and implement strategies.

Coach Christopher Brown is pleased with the improving cohesiveness of the team and hopes it

ISABEL HENDRIX-JENKINS

COURTESY OF MARLENE NEWMAN

sports CHIPS

April 25, 2013

silverchips.mbhs.edu/section/sports.php

Boys’ lacrosse holds back strong Kennedy offense

On senior night, the Blazers cinch the game in the last ten minutes

By Sam Lewando

seniors came out in full force against Ken- son and Nick Seidell kept constant pressure This shutout continued until the third quarter, nedy. Blockstein had an impressive game, on the Kennedy goal, playing with intensity. despite the Cavaliers’ strong offensive efforts.

BLAZER STADIUM, April 19-only letting in two shots and making close to Senior captain Justin Kung has been one of The Blazers continued scoring all the way into 20 saves. Senior Michel Devynck played an the most dynamic and exciting players this the fourth quarter, steadily improving their The Blazers (4-4) beat the Kennedy communication and movement as the game aggressive and active game, supporting the season, playing against the Cavaliers with Cavaliers (1-7) handedly on their Senior progressed. offense the entire time. Seniors Trevor Gib- powerful energy, that led to several assists.

Night, 9-2. Despite having a rough start, The game was a harder Blair picked up the pace throughout the fought battle than Blair game, scoring a third of their goals in the had initially anticipated. final ten minutes.

“We knew Kennedy was a Junior Nick Porter cradles around a hit weaker team than those that on his way to one of his three goals. we’ve been playing, but because of that we lowered our intensity,” senior captain Joshua Blockstein said.

“Once we realized this, we picked it up and focused in.” This initial lack of intensity meant the Blazers had trouble holding onto the ball, despite keeping it near Kennedy’s goal for nearly the entire game.

Seniors Justin Kung and Trevor Gibson pass the EMMA HOWELLS ball up fiegld.

The victory LACROSS Junior Nick Porter cradles around was special for a hit on his way to one of three goals. the Blazers beELLIE MUSGRAVE cause it celebratCOACH’S LAST STAND John MacDonald, Blair’s baseball coach from 1983-2011, tips his cap Blair took an early lead with a goal ed the team’s graduating at the baseball team as he retires his number 7 jersey. “Coach Mac,” who was also on the Blair from junior Nate Goodin, and continued seniors. Although Blair is a baseball team from 1978-1980, coached the baseball team to 175 wins. to maintain this lead the rest of the game. relatively young team, the

King of the Dugout

Getting into the Nattitude and flying high with the Orioles

By Josh Schmidt This baseball season, our home teams have a chance of making it big. Really big.

By Kyle Desiderio The grass is freshly cut, the tarp is off of the infield and the hunger for wins is mixed in the air with pine tar. It’s baseball season.

While some might knock the sport for its boring, slow-paced play, remember that our baseball teams are the only solid area sports teams around.

The Caps have had a lackluster season, the Redskins live and die

by RGIII (and we all know about his knee), and the Wizards were really bad for most of the season.

Already, with Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish one out away from a perfect game in the second day of the season, it’s gearing up to be a great year for baseball.

Even better, with last year’s breakout performances by both the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals both teams have a bright future as they try to exceed the new precedent they set for themselves last Spring.

Washington Nationals Any Washington fan regards the past year with mixed feelings. It was a monster year for the team, with young stars such as Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg consistently displaying their sheer raw talent.

Conversely, it was a season of missed opportunities— on three separate occasions, Nats closer Drew Storen was one strike away from putting a game away against the St. Louis Cardinals and advancing into the Championship Series of the playoffs before even-

tually blowing the save.

This year their roster remains relatively unchanged, and even better, one year more experienced following the growth that comes from suffering the intensity of a playoff series.

The whole t e a m shines because it has no weakness.

In fact, they have a strong player at essentially every position.

W h i l e Storen did blow an important save, he still played a vital role in the team’s relief. Regardless, this off-season, the team picked up Soriano who, on the New York Yankees, was able to beautifully cover for the injured Mariano Rivera, racking up 42 saves in the process, albeit is having a shaky start early in the season.

What puts the Nationals ahead of most, though, is the team’s depth at each position is what will keep the team winning games. All five of the Nats’ starting pitchers boast a sub-four career earned run average and all could be aces at almost any organization. This pitching hands-down is the best in the league and every player has the ability to come through in the clutch. Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond, Bryce Harper and new addition Denard Span are all players

who can hit well in any given situation. Every player goes through slumps, and when that happens it is up to the rest of the team to come together and compensate for it. Opening Day is a perfect example of this as the Nats’ only two runs came off solo shots by Bryce Harper. Combined with lights-out pitching by Strasburg, the Nats were able to pull out a win even when their offense wasn’t at its best.

Does this mean the Nats are a shoo-in to win the World Series? Of course not. The baseball season is long and arduous and a lot can happen in its marathon 162-game season. There are still other great teams such as the Tigers and Braves who are also fighting for a championship.

However, it is safe to say that there is KATRINA GOLLADAY no other team better equipped and more poised to win the World Series than the Nats.

Baltimore Orioles The Orioles were a shocker last year for many baseball fans last year as they snuck into the playoffs with their stellar record in extra inning games and small-ball mentality. This year they look to surprise again with another great chance of success but also the po-

tential for notable failure.

The AL East is the most unstable it has ever been. Once behemoths, both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have fallen considerably lower in the baseball consciousness due to old age and mismanagement.

The Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays are favorites, but both teams’ mediocre performance early on shows the unpredictability of the division. While unlikely, both the Red Socks and Yankees could produce seasons akin to their prime a few years ago if old veterans step up.

The Blue Jays have a shaky bullpen and the Rays don’t have the most reliable starters after David Price.

Baltimore never excelled at any one facet of the game last year; they were just really reliable when it counted. They won an incredible 16 straight extra-inning games and were 74-0 when leading after seven innings in the regular season.

A substantial amount of the credit goes to the bullpen that proved it could eat up innings when necessary but acknowledgement should also be given to clutch hitting and solid fielding.

That said, the Orioles’ main weakness lies in its hitting. If catcher Matt Weiters and third baseman Manny Machado are able to provide some pop at the plate then the O’s can definitely surprise again. Chris Davis has already posted more than 20 RBIs less than a month into the season. Don’t be shocked if they are able to sneak into the playoffs again with a Wild Card or even a divisional win.

Who knows? Maybe we’ll even see a Nats/O’s World Series.

insideSPORTS In spring sports news See page 31

Blair spring sports are finally underway, see how they’re doing!

Huang’s a spiking star See page 29

On the volleyball court, Ricci Huang leads the varsity team to excellence with his extensive knowledge of the game.