In April 1937, Helen Webb Harris of Washington, D.C. founded the Wake-Robin Golf Club to create a space for Black women within their heavily segregated sport. Today, Wake-Robin remains a D.C. non-profit and the
oldest registered African-American women’s golf club.
Many of Wake-Robin’s founders were married to members of D.C.’s all-Black and all-male golf club The Royals and sought out their own space for golf while their spouses played. “They felt that they were golf widows, and they wanted to play,” former Wake-Robin Pres-
ident Kimberly Robinson says. But for Wake-Robin’s 12 charter members, creating the club was not an easy feat. There was no golf course where Black women could play, so the women lobbied the U.S. Department of the Interior to create a course. D.C.’s Langston Golf Course was the result of the founders’ efforts. “[Langston] was a landfill before the city decided to turn it into a golf course for Blacks,” current Wake-Robin President Debbie Tyner says.
The women’s actions represented a historic achievement against the racial and gender segregation within golf during the 1930s. “It’s really a civil rights story for women… [and] underrepresented minorities,” Wake-Robin membership director Clarissa Dudley says.
Although the founders were successful in creating Langston, their accomplishment did not offer any defense against perpetual discrimination. “When [Wake-Robin] did play at Langston, the men kind of snubbed their nose at them because this was really a male-dominated sport, so ‘what business did women have on the course’ was their attitude,” Tyner says.
Nearly 90 years after Wake-Robin’s founding, diversity at the professional level of golf remains minimal, as just nine percent of golf professionals are black and only eight percent are women. Jor-
dan Smith leads diversity, equity, and inclusion impact storytelling efforts for the PGA Tour. “From the outside looking in, [golf is] still seen as a sport for middle-aged white men, plain and simple. And that’s really what we’re working on changing,” Smith says.
Smith works to expand golf resources for Historically Black Colleges and Universities through PGA sponsor donations, highlight minorities within the golf business via social media, and support programs for young people involved in golf. The PGA tour places importance on working to support young golfers, as barriers to golf often start at the beginning stages. “[For] kids [who] come from low-income areas, it’s hard [to] play golf, if… they just don’t have the funds to do it,” Smith says.
Dudley adds that many young children do not view golf as a space they are welcome in due to its perceived high expenses. “It’s a sport of kings and queens—everyone has heard that before—and because of that… you’ve got young kids right now who don’t even believe it’s a sport that is for them,” she says.
Both the PGA Tour and Wake-Robin work with First Tee, an international nonprofit youth development organization that introduces young people to golf.
see GOLF page F4
Retroactively changing the language in children’s books takes away from the author’s work and normalizes censorship. E1
By Dyan Nguyen and Parineeka Shrestha Staff WritersWar has commenced. Two infantries advance steadily, meticulously navigating the battlefield. Both sides’ cavalries break the first lines of defense in attempts to take control of the center of the bloodshed while the siege towers take their place for far-ranged attacks. In a myriad of tactical pins and gambits, the only way to emerge victorious is leaving the king with no way to escape. But this battle is not real—nor is it only a game. Since the pandemic, the 1,500-year-old game of military strategy of chess has seen an exponential rise in popularity—and Silver Chips staffers learned what all the fuss is about through an amateur tournament.
Chess has always been popular, but over the past two years, it has grown like never before. From Grandmaster to beginners, chess is played at every skill level, which makes it an enjoyable and easy game to pick up. Chess. com players attribute the game’s immense recent success to three main factors: the COVID-19 pandemic, Twitch events, and Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit.”
see CHESS page E4
Montgomery Blair High School
51 University Boulevard East
Silver Spring, MD 20901
(301) 649 - 2864
Winner of the 2015 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker, the 2019 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medal, and the 2021 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Crown
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
Estefany Benitez Gonzalez
Christy Li
Sean Li Kevin Vela
LA ESQUINA LATINA
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
Estefany Benitez Gonzalez
Kevin Vela
MANAGING NEWS EDITORS
Elina Lee
Milan Tenn
MANAGING OPINIONS EDITORS
Ingrid Holmquist
Rosie Orzulak
MANAGING FEATURES EDITORS
Annie Gao
Sophia Stein
MANAGING CULTURE EDITORS
Eliana Finberg
Ella Schrebler
MANAGING SPORTS EDITORS
William Ashford
John Ernst
OMBUDSMAN
Andre Parker
DESIGN EDITORS
Haley Carter
Annie Gao
Lucía Santoro-Vélez
COLUMNISTS
Ava Bedaque
John Ernst
Eliana Finberg
Sedise Tiruneh
Zachary Williamson
ENGLISH SENIOR WRITERS
Ava Bedaque
Haley Carter
Ila Raso
Lucia Santoro-Vélez
Sedise Tiruneh
ENGLISH STAFF WRITERS
Sachini Adikari
Della Baer
Raunak Banarjee
Sela Colavito
Teddy Curtin
Talia Egnal
Mandy Guo
Zoe Kaiser
Amen Lemiesa
Julia Lian
Dyan Nguyen
Nora Pierce
Caleb Plank
Cate Sauri
Parineeka Shrestha
Viveka Sinha
Sasha Vesensky
Eliza Warren
Sophie Yohannan
LA ESQUINA LATINA WRITERS
Samantha Frey
Axel Henrriquez
Christell Hurtado
Anahí Sanchez-Sanchez
Jason Youm
Giselle Zelaya
BUSINESS EXECUTIVES
Isabelle Mathiascheck
Finnegan Oakes
BUSINESS STAFF
Rowan Boyce
Chloe Ciabotti
Yifei Lin
Theo McFadden
Jackie Wang
Edith Yang
Theodore Yuan
MANAGING ART EDITORS
Eliza Cooke
Karis Tebo
ARTISTS
Yahaira Barrero
Abjini Chattopadhyay
Yeison Cotom
Cindis Hernández
Dami Kim
Eric Le
Mia Levings
Sophia Li
Alexander Liu
Allison Lin
Mina Ricotti
Kimberly Solis
Lucia Wang
MANAGING PHOTO EDITORS
Raffi Charkoudian-Rogers
Henry Reichle
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Anagha Bhuvanagiri
Fiona Bondarev
Margot Buehler
Jonathan Cumblidge
Sammy Gallun
Madeline Gold
Marin Lederer
Maia Turpen
Dylan Warren
MEDIA EDITOR
Iris Montgomery
PUZZLE EDITOR
Elina Lee
LA ESQUINA LATINA ADVISER
Maria Eugenia Tanos
ADVISERS
Maria Eugenia Tanos
Jeremy Stelzner
Silver Chips is a public forum for student expression. Student editors make all content decisions. Editorials signed by the Editorial Board represent the views of the Editors-in-Chief, Managing Opinions Editors, and Ombudsman and are not necessarily those of the school or of all Silver Chips members. Letters to the editor are encouraged; submit them to silver.chips. print@gmail.com. Letters may be edited for space and clarity.
Since the beginning of the 2022–2023 school year, Silver Spring International Middle School (SSIMS) has seen a rise in trespassers, violence, and drug use, in addition to previous concerns about infrastructure and local construction. Parents, students, and staff have repeatedly expressed concerns about SSIMS security and infrastructure to the BOE through testimonies and email campaigns.
The current SSIMS building used to be home to Blair, but in 1998, the county decided to move Blair into a new building and transition both SSIMS and Sligo Creek Elementary School into the space. This resulted in the division of the building to fit the needs of both an elementary and middle school. AtLarge member of the Montgomery County Board of Education Lynne Harris believes this decision ended up limiting accessibility and making it a challenge for students to move around. “[The school] was not built to serve the sheer volume of students that are there,” she said.
As a school that was built in 1939 and sees thousands of students every year, the layout of the SSIMS building itself has started to face challenges. “The hallways are too narrow. There’s a bunch of choke points in the hallways, the doorways in the staircases are too narrow, and that all leads to safety issues,” sixth grade teacher Gretchen Winch said.
Sixth-grade student Maggie Carey often experiences difficulties navigating the layout of the school. “There are some [staircases] that lead to the third floor from the first floor. But when you have a class on the third floor, [and] you need to get down to the second floor, you’re not allowed to go down [the staircase] that has access to the second floor, you are only allowed to
go [all the way] down, then back up to the second floor.”
SSIMS’s population has also impacted student behavior inside the classroom. “[Overcrowding] is very difficult for teachers. Students have gotten away with literally smoking in class [and] vaping in class,” Kelsey said. “The only reason is because there’s too many students for one teacher to pay attention to everyone.”
In some cases, overfilled classes go beyond the capacity of classrooms themselves. “One of my colleagues last year taught a class of 29 students in a room where only 28 desks would fit. If all students were present, somebody would have to stand for class,” Winch wrote in a follow-up email to Silver Chips.
In addition to overcrowding issues, students have expressed concerns about the persistent lack of safety in the school’s separated gymnasium and track. The physical education facilities outside of SSIMS are officially meant for students and staff; however, many in the community use them as well. “The fields and the track that we use are public,” Gray said. “We do see strangers, people, adults on the track when we’re having gym [class].”
If somebody tried to build this school building today, it would be illegal. And yet people are still having to use it.
SSIMS’ assignment of just two security guards to serve its 1,250 students and 132 staff members has also exacerbated the school’s safety shortfalls, according to SSIMS seventh-grader Eve Gray. “We have two security assistance for 1,200 students. That is nowhere near enough people to
protect our school and to give it security. We don’t have enough security to cover all of the exits,” Gray said.
Potential intruders or gun violence have repeatedly threatened the school, according to sixthgrade student Favienne Kelsey. “We’ve had multiple gun threats. We have had a break-in into our school twice due to faulty locks,” Kelsey said.
Furthermore, the SSIMS building itself has been a health concern for some students and staff. Winch experiences health difficulties at work as a result of the building’s poor air quality and other safety issues. She submitted testimonies to the BOE and encouraged their students to do the same. “I actually thought that I had some sort of allergy to some environmental substances [at SSIMS], and I got allergy tested and the doctor told me, ‘No, you just work in a building with really bad air quality,’” Winch explained.
Students have also noticed environmental hazards throughout the school day. “We have asbestos in our ceilings, mold in our ceilings, [and] leaks,” Kelsey said. Additionally, Winch describes high temperatures that have affected their classroom at SSIMS. “The temperatures become unsafe in the summer on the third floor. I literally got heat exhaustion working in my classroom [because] it was 94 degrees.”
Many of SSIMS’ security issues have been attributed to the age of the school, according to Winch. “If somebody tried to build this school building today, it would be illegal. And yet people are still having to use it.”
On top of the concerns about air quality, overcrowding, and security coverage reported from within the SSIMS building, the school has also been dealing with challenges right outside its doors.
Along the front of the school on Wayne Avenue, the construction of the Purple Line has been underway for nearly six years. After a brief halt of the project in 2020, a new company Maryland Transit Solutions (MTS) took over in 2021 and resumed construction.
A site full of large construction vehicles and materials now lines the school’s property, causing parts of the street and sidewalk to be blocked off by construction zones.
The renewal of this project also came with impacts on the school and community. The leading issue was communication between the BOE and MTS about the original rite of entry agreement that laid out all of the scheduling and safety precautions. “A new firm came in
didn’t have that [experience
and] wanted to jump in and just get started,” Seth Adams, Director of MCPS’ Department of Facilities Management, said. “That’s where we’ve been working with them to hit the brakes and make sure we revisit all the things that we talked about previously.”
Harris also believes that reestablishing a plan for safety and successful construction is key to alleviating SSIMS’ Purple Line safety issue. “Get all the relevant players together and just come up with a solution that’s gonna make this site safer, a little more attractive, and won’t delay [construction],” she said.
Adams and the BOE hope that a safer environment would be the outcome of a new construction site agreement. “That would include all pedestrian flow, what supports would be in place for crossing guards, [and] bicycle access,” Adams said.
We have asbestos in our ceilings, mold in our ceilings, [and] leaks.
To further combat the SSIMS’ accessibility issues, MCPS has also approved a new gym that will begin construction this summer. “A big part of this project is to create circulation at the front of the building.” Adams said. “So the first step is to start building the gym. As part of that gym, you’re going to have everything from science labs to new stairwells to security provisions.”
The implementation of these new plans will help SSIMS start a process that will modernize and catch up to other schools in the county, according to Adams. “I feel confident [that] we can create and transform that building into [a] 21st century school environment,” he said.
However, the lack of county movement toward a large-scale renovation at SSIMS stands in contrast to the resources allocated to schools like B-CC. “[B-CC] received a $42 million addition in 2018 for the capacity of 400 extra students. Our school opened with around 800 [extra students, and] we have since increased our capacity by 400. We have lost space during that time,” Winch said. “We are overcrowded, overutilized. And yet every single time they say we really need a new school building, they say it’s too expensive. But it’s not too expensive when Bethesda asks.”
In May 2010, MCPS abolished its longstanding loss of credit policy, which dictated that a student with five unexcused absences or 15 unexcused tardies for a semester class could be denied credit for that class. Following the initial shut down of MCPS in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Board of Education (BOE) decision again reworked the policy to categorize unexcused absences as disciplinary infractions. Post pandemic, however, some teachers and faculty have floated the idea of bringing back the original loss of credit policy to stymie rising rates of absenteeism.
With the removal of the loss of credit policy in 2010, absenteeism in the forms of “truancy, cutting school, or leaving school grounds” is instead punishable with, at the minimum, administrative detention and, at the maximum, a pupil personnel referral. Referred students will be subject to pupil personnel workers who work on a case-by-case basis with students’ administrators, parents, counselors, and teachers to “assist in determining resources, strategies, interventions, and recommended placements for students who are not experiencing success in school.”
Michael Burnell expressed strong support for the reinstatement of the original policy but in a modified format that reasonably encourages students to come to class.
“[The loss of credit policy] should be reinstated,” he said. “[MCPS has] ineffectually turned the high school experience into essentially a college campus… where [students] can kind of come and go as they please.”
When asked if any modifications should be made to the policy, Burnell suggested extending the previous five unexcused absences to 10, which allows for more extenuating student circumstances. “I think you could extend [the prior five unexcused absences] to maybe ten… Five [is] way too tight of a circumstance, but I think that in today’s society, [10] kind of works itself out,” he said.
ideal,” she said. “[Making] sure we have [the ability to show up] in place and making sure [that] students are accountable for the work in the classroom [is important].”
There have long been voices across MCPS advocating against the loss of credit policy. In early May 2010, the Loss of Credit Project Team, which is composed of MCPS teachers, administrators, and students, began evaluating the loss of credit policy and its effectiveness. The BOE initiated this evaluation following questions surrounding the policy’s inconsistencies and apparent racial disparities.
the availability of parents to write excused-absence notes for the student. While some parents can write a note to give an excused absence to their student, others may not have this ability, oftentimes causing more Black and hispanic students to lose class credit rather than white students.
Compiled by Viveka Sinha Staff WriterChinese President Xi Jinping commenced a three-day trip to Russia on March 20, his first visit to the nation since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The trip aimed to strengthen economic and political ties between the two countries.
Xi’s first visit was Moscow, where he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed the war in Ukraine. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stated that the Chinese proposition is to urge peace and promote talks between Ukraine and Russia. The Kremlin confirmed the two countries will discuss further development of comprehensive partnership relations and strategic cooperation between Russia and China.
When eliminating the original policy, the BOE also put the onus on individual schools to bolster student attendance, determine appropriate consequences, and mediate solutions, as summarized in the corresponding meeting transcript from 2010: “Each high school will establish a formal process to promote student attendance. This process will be designed to monitor data, provide targeted interventions, and develop incentives.”
After teaching through both the loss of credit policy and the current revised attendance policy, Blair world studies teacher
Junior Krish Wahi echoes Burnell’s concerns that the five unexcused absences may be too unforgiving and that the policy does not directly solve issues with absenteeism. “I think 10 or 15 is probably a better cut-off than five. Five is a small number and probably should be used as a warning instead,” Wahi stated. “Especially at Blair, we have odd-even days, and it’s like missing ten classes… could be like 20 [days of instruction].”
However, interim principal
Tracy Pettis-Jones supports the reinstatement of the policy with its previous limit of five unexcused absences, which she says will encourage timeliness, a skill Jones believes is necessary for student success both now and after graduating. “I just think a reinstatement of [the previous policy] would be
During the spring of 2008, for instance, 19.2 percent of Hispanic students and 16.4 percent of Black students lost credit, while only 4.1 percent of white students lost class credit. Through systemic racial inequity in trans-
Regardless, regular absences from school can make students feel less a part of their class while making it difficult for them to participate in class activities and interactions with teachers and peers, according to a February 2022 study from the University of Strathclyde in the U.K. Pettis-Jones echoed this idea, highlighting the long-term impact of absenteeism. “The discourse that you would have with your classmates when you’re not there, you miss all that,” she said. “Those are just skills and opportunities that will benefit students when they go to post-secondary plans, whether it’s a college, the world of work, you have to work with other people, have dialogue, and be able to work in groups.”
Following Xi’s visit to Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly reached out to meet with the Chinese president via phone call; however, no details on the meeting have been confirmed. Zelenskyy hopes to include China in future peace discussions.
Australia is reestablishing a ban on the sale of alcohol to Aboriginal peoples in an attempt to tackle the sharp spike in Aboriginal crime caused by alcohol abuse. The ban previously expired in July 2022 due to a lack of support for its renewal, and alcohol has since flowed through the territory.
portation access, familial support, and socio-economic status, white students often have greater support ensuring no class credit is lost. A common disparity rests in language complications and
Teachers and administrators at Blair, including Pettis-Jones, have anecdotally reported an increase in absences following the COVID-19 pandemic, and as Wahi explains, the pandemic did play a role in making classroom attendance feel unnecessary to students. “Unexcused absences are probably a growing problem after COVID. [Absences] have probably increased because a lot of people have gotten into the mindset that ‘whatever I’m doing at school I can probably just do at home on our computer.’”
The restrictions prohibit anyone who lives in Aboriginal towns from buying takeaway alcohol. Critics argue that this ban would be discriminatory and would not solve underlying issues causing alcohol abuse in Aboriginal communities, such as poverty, lack of opportunities, and social inequality. However, Donna Ah Chee, the chief executive of the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, argued that this ban will fulfill its purpose for the time being while still emphasizing the long-term, institutional discrimination and cyclic poverty faced by Aboriginals.
On March 7, two out of four Americans kidnapped by armed men in Matamoros, a city in Tamaulipas, Mexico, were found dead.
According to Tamaulipas Governor Américo Villarreal, a Mexican cartel likely mistook them for Haitian drug smugglers. The two surviving Americans are now under FBI care and have returned safely to the U.S., although one of them had been shot in the leg.
Villarreal said the group was found in a wooden shack, where they were being guarded by a man who was later detained. He added that their captors had moved them around repeatedly, including to a medical clinic at one point, to try to create confusion and avoid rescue efforts.
The group of four friends had traveled from South Carolina to undergo a medical procedure across the border. Mexican authorities will examine the two killed before the bodies are turned over to the U.S. government.
[MCPS has] ineffectually turned the high school experience into essentially a college campus… where [students] can kind of come and go as they please.MICHAEL BURNELL DATA COURTESY OF THE WARRIOR ONLINE | GRAPHIC BY AMEN LEMIESA AND ILA RASO
[Making] sure we have [the ability to show up] in place and making sure [that] students are accountable for the work in the classroom [is important].TRACY PETTIS-JONES
By Sachini Adikari Staff Writer
Maryland Secretary of State Susan Lee has been serving in state government since 2002, when she was elected into the Maryland House of Delegates to represent District 16, which covers the southern end of Montgomery County. She was the first Asian American elected to the Maryland State Senate and the first Asian American woman elected to the Maryland House of Delegates.
In January 2023, Lee was appointed to her current office by Gov. Wes Moore. She is a Montgomery County native and Winston Churchill alum. Lee spoke with Silver Chips to reflect on her historic career in Maryland public office.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Probably being in the legislature and being able to pass really profound landmark bills that impact a lot of people for the better and to improve and enhance and empower them, to uplift them, particularly women, children and families and individuals from vulnerable communities. Also, getting appointed by Governor Wes Moore to be Secretary of State, so being able to hopefully elevate Maryland as a global leader in both the political sector and economic sector
The Secretary of State is basically like Maryland’s ambassador to the world, but also to other
in all kinds of fields, not just goods and services. My priorities are also increasing that exchange in the area of life sciences, cybersecurity, bioscience, nanobiotechnology, emerging technologies, and, in addition to higher education and other types of fields, bringing our rural communities closer [to] benefit Maryland and also those countries too in mutual cooperation.
Well, I understand a lot of issues that are confronting Maryland. I’m in tune with the district that I not only represented but also the world. The district I was representing, District 16, was in Montgomery County, but also [I encountered] issues [on the] international sphere, things that affect new communities like people of color, women, immigrants, and vulnerable communities. I think I have a little bit of international understanding too. Coupled with that background and all the experience that I’ve had with my desire to be in public service, I think it’s a good combination that makes me equipped to be able to do an excellent job in this particular position.
Also, I think having experience [certainly] helps. I was a legislator. I was an attorney in the private and public sector. I also was very active in the community. I was one of the co-founders of the coalition of Asian Pacific American Democrats of Maryland. It’s the largest Asian American Pacific Islander Democratic organization statewide. It was so important that at
our issues and understand our community’s challenges, so this wasn’t only candidates that were AAPI. We wanted them to understand our community’s challenges and work with us as partners to be good legislators that are sensitive to our community by passing laws that help uplift and empower our communities.
How does being the first Asian American woman appointed Secretary of State affect your work now and the role in general?
Well, I hope that boys and girls that look like me or are of color or from immigrant backgrounds feel that they can be Secretary of State one day too or be elected to office as a member of the House of Delegates or as a member of the Senate. It’s important that we take control of our own destiny, but also that our kids and future generations understand our contributions to building America too. Because very often we have been marginalized in history. Our contributions have never been mentioned enough, and that needs to change because people of color,
isolated. I don’t want any kid to go through that. I think it’s important that we all work to give back to our community so we can make this kind of a better world for future generations.
Well, right now we’re trying to make sure that we increase more international partnership and exchange between those that we had Sister State relationships with. My office and the Maryland National Guard [met] with the ambassador of Estonia and the Minister of the Defense of Estonia and his team. My team and I partnered with the Maryland National Guard because they share some issues dealing with cybersecurity and defense because Estonia is in a region now where they have to watch over their shoulder because Ukraine and Russia are nearby. We have a 30-year relationship with Estonia.
And also weeks before, I met with representatives from nine embassies from Asia. And that showed us that they are very interested in doing business with Maryland. We also met with a delegation from Ireland, and we’ve met with the ambassador of Mexico and his team and also the ambassador from Sierra Leone. Since my appointment, we’ve hit the ground running even though I just started in January of this year. I just want to elevate the Secretary of State’s office and be that global leader in international trade investment and science and technology. I want Maryland to be the epicenter of those types of fields in the world and be regarded as such.
The Biden administration approved crude oil company ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project on March 13, giving it permission to drill in Alaska’s Northern Slope. The controversial decision saw some Republicans and labor unions favor the project’s approval, while many Democrats and climate activists such as the Sierra Club sought to prevent it due to climate risks, as the project is set to produce an additional 263 million tons of greenhouse gases.
The Willow Project’s approval contradicts Biden’s campaign promises to prevent new drilling of oil and gas and to take action against the climate crisis. The Biden administration argued that failure to approve the project would leave them vulnerable to lawsuits, but some environmental advocates are skeptical about the legitimacy of the claim as multiple organizations have sued the administration over the approval.
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a regional bank known for supporting technology startups, collapsed on March 10. The failure came after a period of low-interest rates during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when the bank bought billions of dollars in U.S. Treasury bonds. Interest rates rose more quickly than anticipated in early 2022, and on March 8, the bank sold $21 billion in treasury bonds, losing $2 billion in the process. By March 9, SVB clients expressed concern on social media about the security of their money and subsequently withdrew billions, sparking the bank’s collapse.
Typically, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures $250,000 per account when banks fail, but the Biden administration made an exception due to systemic risk and promised to fully insure all SVB deposits. The cost will be covered by fees all banks pay to the Deposit Insurance Fund for insurance coverage, meaning the expanded insurance comes without cost to taxpayers.
The Maryland State Department of Education released the 2022 Maryland School Report Card on March 9. It is the first report card released since 2019 and will serve as a new starting point for student growth and progress.
states in the United States. And so I deal with things like, for instance, in our international division, [the] Sister States Program. And what we do is we partner with other countries who have states that have mutual interests and benefits to both Maryland and those countries. And what we do is we try to increase things like international trade, investment development exchange, and partnerships, and
the time that communities of color, particularly the Asian American Pacific Islander community, empower itself [and] be taken seriously rather than ignored. So for that organization, we channeled all our resources in the community, engaged in things like voter education and voter registration, getting involved in state, local, and federal races to advance and support candidates that could advance
immigrants, and everybody from all backgrounds, they all help build America. Everyone’s contributions should be recognized. For a kid like me when I grew up in Montgomery County, there were not too many people that looked like me. So I had nothing really to identify with. And often I was bullied and marginalized. And when you don’t have anyone to look up to or identify with, you’re kind of
Just do it. Whether you run for office yourself or you’re appointed to a top government position, or if you just want to do public service, or you want to work in a non-profit organization, or if you just want to be a teacher, lawyer, doctor, or a social worker and volunteer in the community, just do it. Do whatever you can to make this a better world. You can make contributions in different ways, but always be engaged in your community and all the issues around you so that you can be an active participant and not a passive spectator in this world and so you can change the world for the better. When you give it your best shot, something good will happen. I’m pretty sure of it.
The report card rated schools on a five-star scale and ranked each school based on five indicators: Academic Achievement, Graduation Rate, Progress in Achieving English Language Proficiency, Readiness for Post-Secondary Success, and School Quality and Student Success. More than 75 percent of schools received three or more stars in 2022. 63 percent of schools maintained their ratings from the 2019 report, while over 25 percent received lower scores. Blair earned 63.2 points out of 100 possible points, 1.7 points higher than in 2019, and maintained a four-star rating. Blair’s percentile rank is 66, which is considered high by the Maryland State Department of Education but is lower than its previous ranking of 52.
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The MCPS Board of Education tentatively adopted a $3.2 billion operating budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 on Feb. 23. This marks a growth of $296,012,046, or 10.1 percent from the FY 2023 budget, accounting for increased investments in transportation, English learning, and compensatory education.
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The budget for all salaries grew to $2.2 billion, up $190 million from FY 2023. Superintendent Monifa McKnight will earn $320,000— the fourth highest salary of all Maryland superintendents. The maximum salary earned by an educator in Montgomery County is $169,949.
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The MCPS teacher pay scale increments every year, with the starting and maximum salaries determined by the teacher’s level of education. The salary for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree maxes out at $71,526 compared to $111,205 for a teacher with a master’s degree.
On April 19, MCPS middle and high school students voted for the 46th Student Member of the Board (SMOB). The two finalists were Richard Montgomery junior Sami Saeed and Springbrook junior Yoseph Zerihun. At the Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association’s nominating convention on Feb. 15, student delegates from around the county voted for the final two.
Voting was held through an online ballot during the school day, and Blair students were given time during innovation period to vote.
Saeed is currently the Student Government Association (SGA) President at Richard Montgomery, where he represents over 2,400 students. He is a part of current SMOB Arvin Kim’s Advisory Cabinet and aids Kim in exploring student concerns and planning potential policy goals. Saeed is also an intern for Board of Education
At-Large member Lynne Harris and is a member of the Montgomery County Commission of Youth and Children, which is a volunteer group composed of 27 youth, parents, and child-serving professionals.
Once we put [qualifications] on people and say ‘if you’re not a part of [student government] organizations, you can’t be SMOB,’ we’re losing a lot of student voices.
According to Saeed, the commission has made him a more active community member. “[The commision has] taught me to work with the county and see county regulations and work with not only youth commissioners but even adult commissioners,” he said in an interview with Silver Chips.
Zerihun is currently a language coordinator for Springbrook’s SGA, where he aims to ensure equity for all SGA-related events at Springbrook. “I’ve [taken] a step away from the executive positions [in SGA] and [focused more on] ensuring the equity of everything that SGA does,” he said in an interview with Silver Chips. He is a member of the Springbrook debate and mock trial teams and plays both golf and baseball at Springbrook. During his years at Redland Middle School, Zerihun served as a student ambassador in the SGA and was a liaison for the Montgomery County Junior Council, the county-wide middle school student government association.
When asked if a SMOB should have prior involvement in student government, the two candidates expressed different opinions. Saeed said that a SMOB should have experience in order to be an efficient one. “[A SMOB’s] goal is not
to create policy, but to oversee it… [With experience,] you have more time to create change rather than learn how to create change,” he said.
On the other hand, Zerihun believes that looking for multi-
Zerihun highlights the lack of mental health resources for students in the county, using his school Springbrook as an example. He hopes to be able to create a countywide mental health plan that implements a regimen similar
that student-to-SMOB communication is vital. When asked how they would garner this communication, both said that they would bring back the monthly SMOB Minute, where the SMOB shares what they have accomplished each month.
Both finalists claimed that they would prioritize addressing drug-related issues as SMOB.
epidemic] and to really devote their weeks, months to just finding the issues, finding the problems, and finding the solutions that are new and creative that can ensure the safety of MCPS schools,” he said.
tudes of experience in student government results in a pool of candidates unrepresentative of the county. “There shouldn’t be qualifications,” he said. Once we put [qualifications] on people and say ‘if you’re not a part of [student government] organizations, you can’t be SMOB,’ we’re losing a lot of student voices,” he said.
Saeed has ten focuses that he groups into essential and innovative policies. His five essentials are mental health, school safety, the opportunity gap, environmental advocacy, and student representation, while his five innovative policies include information access, workload relief, curriculum reform, infrastructure renovations, and transportation equity.
Saeed’s priority goals are homework-free weekends, wellness days, and varied school lunches, which is something he has already worked for at his high school. “Right now, I’m doing a student taste-testing event at [Richard Montgomery HS]... I want students to be able to eat diverse types of school lunches—vegan, halal, kosher—and really enjoy meals.”
He also hopes to open student government to downcounty and Northeast Consortium students. “I want to take advocacy from something that belongs to a small group of students to something that anyone can do, anyone can participate in… my goal is to not speak for the Downcounty Consortium and Northeast Consortium, but [to] give them the opportunities to speak for themselves.”
to the 2020–2021 virtual school year, where Wednesdays served as check-in days. “[At Springbrook,] we have these [Wellness] Wednesdays [that] remain inconsistent… [During these days,] half the period is dedicated to just community building… and the other half is meant for relearning and reteach-
Saeed plans to expand access to resources such as social workers and rehabilitation programs to MCPS students and emphasizes that students with substance abuse problems should not be worried about suffering consequences, but rather treating the mental health issue that is substance abuse.
“[When it comes to school safety] I’m always focused on really implementing more restorative justice… [Substance abuse] is a mental health issue, not a disciplinary issue… so when students are using drugs, let’s give them opportunities to go to a rehabilitation center or
According to Patricia Kapunan, MCPS Medical Officer, MCPS already works with experts and local government authorities. “The Office of the School System Medical Officer is working closely with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services and other community partners within the Montgomery Goes Purple initiative to develop community-wide efforts in prevention, harm reduction, and treatment,” she wrote in a December 2022 message to the county.
My goal is to not speak for the Downcounty Consortium and Northeast Consortium, but [to] give them the opportunities to speak for themselves.
Zerihun also mentioned the county’s efforts to make Narcan, a nasal spray used to treat narcotic overdoses, available in schools and hopes to expand access, citing an instance when Narcan was not readily available. “We don’t have [Narcan] on all three levels of [Springbrook High School],” he said. “Equal distribution [of Narcan] amongst all levels… [is necessary] to ensure that you can just run quickly, get it, and use it right away if necessary.”
ing with one-on-one time with teachers,” Zerihun said.
Additionally, like previous SMOBs, Zerihun hopes to address the opportunity gap for ESOL students and students with disabilities by creating a more inclusive learning environment. Zerihun said that conversations with students in ESOL programs have shown him a separation in school culture between ESOL students and non-ESOL students. “I’ve been in contact with many students [who] don’t speak English, and they’ve been in the ESOL program for seven, eight, nine years,” he said. “With ESOL, I [want to] promote a full inclusion curriculum in which [students will be] immersed with the English language.”
Both Saeed and Zerihun believe
speak with social workers and talk to that student, not get them in trouble because that is the wrong approach.”
Saeed also believed that MCPS should more rigorously survey students in order to gauge the severity of the drug use issue more accurately. “All students should be required to fill out a [anonymous] survey about how often they use drugs, where, and when. [Survey data] will be reported back to the Board of Education… [and] they could see the statistics about how bad the problem is.”
Zerihun plans to combat the opioid epidemic by instituting a professional task force that will work toward identifying the problems and creating new solutions. “I want professionals to evaluate [the
Saeed said he understands the privilege he has had when it comes to student government and hopes to end the disparities DCC and NEC students face. Saeed’s goal is to utilize the opportunities he has as a Richard Montgomery student to make the county more equitable for students in the downcounty and Northeastern Consortiums. He explained that he is currently working on establishing student member quotas to prevent over-representation in MCR. “By putting limits, you’ll ensure that you’re not getting 20 to 30 students from Richard Montgomery and two from Einstein,” he said.
Zerihun describes a “pipeline” from which SMOB candidates pass through Richard Montgomery and Montgomery County Regional SGA, arguing that the concentration of candidates from “feeder organizations” must stop to diversify the pool of SMOB candidates. “It is really a big issue where seven out of the nine SMOB finalists have been from Richard Montgomery,” he said. “Pipelines like these need to be ended to ensure that each year our SMOB has a new diverse perspective that they bring to the table.”
On April 19 at 5:30 p.m., MCPS announced that Sami Saeed was elected as the 46th SMOB serving for the 2023–2024 school year.
From ‘90s dial-ups to the modern World Wide Web, the internet has undergone a drastic transformation over the past three decades. While online platforms have evolved with it, the 26-word law that first nurtured them has yet to do the same.
In February, the Supreme Court heard arguments on the high-profile Gonzalez v. Google case, which targets Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996— a law designed shortly after the commercialization of the internet to protect online companies from being held legally liable for content posted by their users. The family of Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old American student killed during a 2015 ISIS attack in Paris, claimed that the content recommended by YouTube’s algorithms promoted terrorism that ultimately took their daughter’s life. Their case rightfully argued that courts should not interpret Section 230 to include the protection of companies when their algorithms recommend extremist content to their users.
The role of the Supreme Court is to interpret the Communications Decency Act as Congress originally intended it to be understood. However, Section 230 far predates the algorithms that exist online today, so Congress could not have intended to protect technology that was not yet in existence. The portion of the bill currently on trial does not explicitly mention algorithms, which have become far more complex in the past two decades, and only states that, “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”
The sentence does not mention recommendations or promotion of certain online content, and, therefore, the law cannot protect such actions by internet companies.
Furthermore, Section 230 only protects internet companies from being held legally accountable for content uploaded by third parties, but the act of collecting data to promote or recommend content is a choice by the companies that goes beyond the protection of the law. “What Google did isn’t covered by Section 230 immunity because they’re acting as a data collector… to categorize different individuals into groups,” Jolina Cuaresma, Senior Counsel for Privacy and Technology Policy for Common Sense Media, said. “Then they push out content to the particular user based on the algorithms.”
Removing Section 230 protections for content-recommending algorithms would thus incentivize media companies to monitor extremism in content posted to their platforms, ultimately making the internet a
safer place for users. “When [companies are] on the hook for liability, it puts pressure on profits, which then puts pressure on your shareholder value. When you hold them accountable, the interests are aligned, users and shareholders all want the same thing.” Cuaresma said. “Right now, there’s a divergence—executives are focused on stock price without worrying about the harms that may be happening on the consumer side.”
Even beyond the legal weaknesses of Google’s case, it is not acceptable to allow internet companies to post content that encourages terrorism and extremism without facing consequences. According to a study conducted by the Counter Extremism Project in 2021, 71 percent of extremist videos flagged on YouTube were recommended by YouTube’s own content recommendation algorithms. Given this harmful status quo, the Supreme Court must take ac- tion to reign in online
When a newspaper or magazine reports factually erroneous information, it can be sued for libel, but the newsstand selling the publication cannot. The same protections for non-publishers should exist in the online world, where social media platforms house the writing, photos, and videos of billions of third-party internet users.
“In the offline world, there is a distinction between the legal liability that publishers of information face and the legal liability that distributors of information face,” HWG LLP law firm partner Adrienne Fowler said in an interview with Silver Chips. “We are going to essentially make it clear to the courts that they should be treating online service providers… like the newsstand operators and not like the magazine publishers.” Fowler represents a group of Amici who are former U.S. national security officials in the Supreme Court case Gonzalez v. Google.
people to give help even when they’re not legally obligated to do so in exchange for providing assistance to be immunized from civil liability,” University of Miami Professor of Law and President and Legislative and Tax Director of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) Dr. Mary Anne Franks said in an interview with Silver Chips. Franks wrote the amicus brief on behalf of the CCRI and legal scholars in support of the plaintiff.
Today, the challenge to the law brought by Gonzalez v. Google threatens the modern internet. YouTube as we know it does not exist without algorithms that decide which videos to place on a user’s home page or suggest which to play next. The same goes for most widely-used social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. If online service providers were no longer protected by Section 230, they would be opened up to lawsuits and would likely choose to eliminate recommendation algorithms altogether to avoid legal fees and lengthy civil cases.
Recommendation algorithms and platforms’ decisions regarding how to display content are essential to the function of the platforms themselves. “The only way for this type of online service to operate is [by] presenting subsequent [content] much in the way that a new stand operator is ordering which magazines go at the front of his or her stand and which ones go at the back,” Fowler says.
Platforms that cannot arrange content using recommendations are ineffective at connecting communities of users across the world.
platforms’ dissemination of dangerous posts.
A ruling in favor of Google in this case would not provide any motivation for internet compa- nies to stop promoting extreme or harmful content. Although such algorithms may seem harmless to users, recommending posts they find amusing, the same online architecture that is used to push these postings can be used to promote much more dangerous content.
“[Media companies] track what we search for and, and show us more because they think that’s what we want. And that keeps us on the site because we keep browsing and we keep looking,” Steve Freeman, Vice President of Civil Rights at the Anti-Defamation League, said. “But if you take that into the world of hate and extremism, it just shows potential, it radicalizes, it foments that sort of hate and it just stirs it up and makes it much worse.”
The ongoing case considers whether Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects interactive online platforms when they implement algorithms that recommend harmful content provided by third-party users. Gonzalez petitioned the Supreme Court to review the reach of Section 230 after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling that the law protects algorithmic recommendations.
Since 1996, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has protected internet platforms from being treated as the publishers or speakers of content posted by third party users. Section 230(c)(1) protects companies from being liable for such content, while Section 230(c)(2), known as the “Good Samaritan” provision, allows platforms to moderate content without having to fear lawsuits.
The “Good Samaritan” gives internet platforms greater incentives to seek out and remove content that promotes harmful messaging or inappropriate behavior. “[The purpose of Section 230] is to encourage
For the past 27 years, recommendation algorithms have facilitated the development of online communities and movements, including Black Lives Matter and the Arab Spring. Section 230 shields platforms from liability for the content contributed by users, therefore limiting incentives for strict moderation. As stated in the amicus brief filed in support of Google by the American Civil Liberties Union and Daphne Keller, Director of the Program on Platform Regulation at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center, “The internet has democratized speech, creating a forum for public self-expression and connecting billions of speakers and listeners who never could have found each other before.” Algorithmic recommendations both allow users to learn about those who are different from them and find communities of like-minded people.
The Supreme Court should leave the right to decide what and how to moderate their platforms and algorithms to internet platforms themselves. Protecting online service providers from lawsuits concerning their algorithms supports the foundational goal of the legislation–to promote a positive environment and discourage harmful content.
“If
“Internet companies… can ban certain things… If they don’t take any action, it makes it seems like they promote [harmful content].”
“I feel like the people should be held accountable instead of the algorithm because it’s not really the algorithm’s fault.”
Internet platforms must be held legally accountable to ensure safety and prevent extremism, terrorism, and polarization online.
Protecting internet platforms from legal liability is essential to the modern internet and the existence of forums for free expression.PHOTOS BY MAIA TURPEN
“It’s the individual’s responsibility to be more aware of what they’re posting online. The app is just a space for freedom of speech.”
SOPHIE BUTLER sophomore OLIVER SOLOMON junior
you’re clicking a bunch of stuff about terrorism or ISIS… it’s not Youtube’s fault, it’s the individual who’s choosing to watch that [harmful content].”
Educational tracking has been implemented across the United States in elementary, middle, and high schools since the 1930s. Tracking is a soft policy—one used in schools but not explicitly enshrined in law—wherein many of America’s schools split students into three educational paths depending on their academic performance: below-level, on-level, and above-level or honors-level. The tracks students are placed on from a young age can determine the rest of their lives, impacting their education, career, and life opportunities down the road. Schools should be detracked when students are still young, before their tracks define a student’s future.
In the 1900s, race-based tracking was a common practice used to maintain racial segregation in schools. In the U.S., the idea of splitting students into different education levels was first introduced in the South during Reconstruction, when academic programs were primarily decided by Northern white philanthropists, Southern lawmakers, and some prominent Black figures. Their influence was crucial to which curriculums and education programs were allowed to thrive, and their donations dictated which schools would remain open.
Today, tracking still largely follows socioeconomic, and thus racial, lines—socioeconomically disadvantaged students tend to be placed into lower tracks, while their wealthier counterparts, who can afford extracurricular tutoring and preparation, are placed into higher tracks and largely continue down that path for the rest of their educational careers.
In fact, the difference between higher-level and lower-level classes has even created a disparity in
By Julia Lian Staff Writer AN OPINIONIn 1926, Henry Ford invented the five-day work week that has been used for nearly a century in the U.S. This work week was created after labor activists spent decades protesting the excruciating 14-hour days enforced by many employers. Now, there is growing conversation about a new and improved version: the four-day work week.
While the nation’s economy and society continue growing rapidly, the work week has not budged for over 95 years. 70 percent of U.S. workers believe the five-day work week is outdated and that they could complete their work in less time than provided. As a result, workplaces have begun modifying their schedules—a third of all organizations now offer a compressed four-day work week of a full 40 hours, and 15 percent offer the new four-day, 32-hour work week. The U.S. should implement the new and improved 32-hour work week, as it has shown to have extensive benefits that include increased productivity and returns, higher satisfaction among employees, and a generally better quality of life.
In 2018, Andrew Barnes, the founder of Perpetual Guardian, an estate planning business, organized a four-day week trial at his company and found that the schedule im-
the demographic makeup of classrooms. According to data collected in 2014 by the U.S. Department of Education, even though Black and Latinx students made up 37 percent of the American high school demographic, they account for only 27 percent of students enrolled in at least one AP course. This gap is the modern incarnation of tracking’s original purpose: to keep students separated on the basis of race or socioeconomic status.
Tracking’s supposed benefits include being able to group students with others of similar academic levels. Additionally, its proponents argue that it helps account for differing academic needs: some students aren’t stimulated by on-level education and benefit from more rigorous and challenging content, while other students may require a slower pace of learning in order to not fall behind. The divide in academic level supposedly makes it possible for teachers to better cater to students’ needs.
However, although tracking allows for more individualized teaching, it sets students placed into above-level and honors-level tracks from a young age up for success while leaving their peers on lower tracks behind. When students graduate high school, for instance, college admission departments may perceive honor students as a better fit because they can handle more challenging coursework.
The largest problem with tracking is its rigidity. Tracks are decided for students at a young age based on their performances and are almost impossible to adjust afterward for most students.
This is problematic, as students’ academic skills don’t stay the same
as they progress through elementary, middle, and high school. “As [students] grow, they change, and as they change, you don’t want them to be stuck somewhere [when] they really should be somewhere else,” Blair Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator Dr. Celita Lewis-Davis explains.
Furthermore, students face not only the rigidity of the tracking system itself, but also a social divide among students when they move tracks. Blair English teacher Adam Clay recounts how foreign he felt when he jumped tracks junior year
people have been together forever, right? And I just jumped in like an intruder.”
To address these issues, Blair has implemented All-In Honors classes, which combine all students from below-level, on-level, and honors-level classes into one honors class. According to Lewis-Davis, Wheaton, Northwest, and other MCPS schools have implemented similar All-In Honors initiatives. At Blair, this system is currently in place for core classes in ninth and tenth grade, and is a first step at attempting to detrack.
where these students can learn beside one another,” Culver says. “A properly trained and well-qualified educator [can adapt]… to meet the diverse needs of the people in that room.”
However, as Clay’s experience suggests, detracking in high school can be difficult for students to adapt to, as students tend to cluster with the people they are familiar with through many mutual classes. This, in addition to the pandemic, has dampened student interaction and participation. “I’m definitely seeing [that] classroom discussions are less robust than they were before the pandemic, and [I can’t] pinpoint whether it’s All-In Honors or whether it’s the pandemic… [It’s probably] a combination of both,” Clay says.
Thus, the divides tracking creates would be far easier to fix if detracking efforts began earlier. “The idea is [that] the sooner we start organizing our learning spaces in a way that supports that type of learning, the better acclimated students will be when they enter into those types of experiences later in [their] educational career,” Culver says.
of high school to join a class of students who had been classmates for years. “I really liked English, and I wanted to get into it. It was a big ordeal to move into [the honors class], and I felt like a total outsider,” he explains. “These
Assistant Principal Rahman Culver believes that detracking can help students of all skillsets learn from each other. “[Detracking] simply says we don’t need to split [students] apart to meet their needs. We can create experiences in the same space
proved productivity, lowered stress levels, and benefited work-life balance among employees. Because of its success, Barnes and his business partner Charlotte Lockhart co-founded the 4 Day Week Global organization, which supports and guides companies interested in trying a four-day work week format.
in the U.S., Australia, Iceland, and more. Results of such trials have shown improvements in employee life and job satisfaction, lower levels of stress, anxiety, and burnout, better physical and mental health, and more.
If students were able to start experiencing broader ranges of content rigor and interact with more of their peers at a younger age, the transition from on-level or below-level classes to honors-level classes would be much easier to make, and might not exist at all, leading to a more unified and equitable education for all.
Alex Pang, Global Programs and Development Manager at 4 Day Week Global, explained the mission behind the organization— to “create” more time for people.
“If you move to a four-day week, that means that you are winning back 50 days every year. In other words, 10 working weeks [per year], and every five years, that’s 50 weeks or another year of your life,” he said in an interview with Silver Chips.
The four-day work week has gained traction in the past few years, with the world’s largest pilot launching in the U.K. in 2022. Since then, 4 Day Week Global has empowered companies all over the world to trial this new shortened week, including companies
Juliet Schor, a professor at Boston College and the lead researcher for the four-day work week trials, believes the four-day work week is an important step to minimizing the high burdens on employees. “We haven’t had a change in the statutory work week since 1940, so that’s 80 years ago. I think it’s definitely time to give workers a break— what we’re seeing is very high levels of stress, burnout, and overwork among employees… and a shorter work week is a really powerful way of addressing that,” she said. Similarly, Wen Fan, Associate Professor of Sociology at Boston College, noted that the trials saw extremely positive results as well as satisfied companies. “The four-day work week reduced the people’s sense of work or burnouts, perceived time in adequacy, their life satisfaction, job satisfaction, mental health, physical health. Everything related to wellbeing seems to have improved over time, which is really great given that we are only looking at a six-month trial,” Fan said. Because the four-day work week dramatically shortens work hours, many argue that there will not be sufficient time to complete work and stress levels will increase
as a result. Contrary to this belief, however, the four-day work week has drastically increased productivity as well as returns for nearly all companies that have tried it so far. Furthermore, the four-day week reduces stress by allowing people more opportunities to take on new hobbies or spend more quality time with friends and family.
Pang explained that all the companies that have tried the new week have experienced improvements among their companies as well as their employees’ lives in general. “No company that sticks with a four-day week sees a decline in revenues or profitability or levels of customer service,” he said. “When you look at companies that have been doing this for several years, you find that people talk about being able to start families while also maintaining demanding careers and being able to do both in ways that they find satisfying and fulfilling.”
Recently, many states have begun proposing bills
and legislation in favor of the 32hour week. California Congressman Mark Takano and Maryland State Delegate Vaughn Stewart are among many politicians supporting the four-day work week movement. Stewart was a leading supporter of the bill in Maryland before it was withdrawn in March 2023.
The U.S. should continue working to implement this bill in order to work towards a more modern and efficient work schedule. Pang shared his anticipation for the future of the four-day week.
“It is promising that we have seen legislation proposed in several U.S. states, including Maryland, as well as at the federal level with Representative Mark Takano and his proposal to change the standard U.S. working week from 40 hours to 32,” he said.
“I am optimistic that in the next few years we are going to see serious exper-
If you move to a four-day work week, that means you are winning back 50 days every year.
ALEX PANG
estrogen and progesterone during menstruation can cause elevated anxiety and stress. The hormone changes during menstrual cycles
leave for the working class), points out how common many of these issues are. “I think it’s acknowledging the reality of some people’s
employees needed time off and felt like they could not ask for it. A built-in policy will take the pressure off the employee of approach
The Spanish government passed the first paid menstrual leave law in Europe on Feb. 16 allowing people who menstruate to take three to five days off of work with a doctor’s note if they are experiencing dis abling period symptoms that pre vent them from performing their job properly and comfortably.
A handful of laws allowing paid menstrual leave have been implemented across the world in nations like the Soviet Union, Ja pan, Indonesia, and South Korea. The majority of countries have not considered it, but now is the time. The U.S. should allow people with menstrual cycles three to five days of paid “menstrual leave” each month if they are experiencing pe riod symptoms that negatively af fect their ability to work.
Menstruation symptoms can be incredibly painful and detrimental to the well being of those who expe rience them. This law would treat disabling periods like any other ill ness, which is justified given that 52 percent of respondents in a 2016 BBC survey reported that period pain affected their ability to work. Such symptoms simply cannot be solved with a simple Ibuprofen or Tylenol on the job.
In addition to physical pain from abdominal cramps, migraines, and other symptoms, the impacts of menstruation can be mental as well. A study conducted by the National Library of Medicine found that lowered levels of
of women who experienced period pain affecting their ability to work had told their boss period pain was responsible. Dawn Huckelbridge, Director of Paid Leave for All (a national collaboration of organizations campaigning for fair paid
interview with Silver Chips. According to the BBC survey, only roughly 17 percent of women whose work is affected by their pain took a sick day as a result. This statistic indicates that many
ageable pain. Period pain is not considered a medical problem in America, and the lack of legislation surrounding this issue continues to affect the physical well being and careers of menstruating people.
They are expected to endure the intense process their bodies are carrying out, while fulfilling professional duties, which can be physically intensive, time-consuming, or mentally stressful.
Existing paid sick leave policies are completely insufficient to address the needs of menstruating individuals; they barely cover general illnesses, let alone leave room for people to take days off for monthly occurrences. Natividad Martín García, an Equity Delegate on the San Juan City Council in Seville, Spain, talks about the true motivation behind the new law. “[It] is not just a struggle for equality…it is to find a way of life more equal and [ensure] that we all have the same opportunities,” she said in an interview with Silver Chips. It’s time for the workplace to accommodate people’s bodies, not the other way around.
[Menstruation is] something that should be acknowledged and not be considered shameful or stigmatized or secret.
In 2008, the Great Recession led to a sharp decline in humanities graduates and a corresponding increase in STEM degrees. The cause is simple: economic crises push people to seek financial security, which is more often associated with STEM fields. Historically, downward trends in the economy often lead to a decline in students seeking liberal arts degrees. In the stagflation of the 1970s, for example, the pursuit of humanities degrees plummeted, but eventually grew when the economy did. This time, however, student interest in liberal arts may never recover.
While there was a dip in humanities majors due to the pandemic, the economy has slowly begun to grow since 2021. However, instead of working to foster engagement in liberal arts majors, colleges and universities have taken a different approach: cutting the programs altogether.
At least 20 institutions across the country have taken steps to cut humanities programs or faculty positions, with one of the most notable being Marymount University. The Marymount administra-
tion’s proposal to cut 10 degrees and programs, including theology and English, has sparked uproar from both students and professors, and rightfully so. Universities’ utter disregard for the importance of a humanities-focused education is a dangerous and irresponsible attitude that will leave many graduates unequipped with vital skills.
Receiving a broad education in the liberal arts may not be the choice for everyone, but it is an incredibly valuable tool. Students exposed to the humanities generally display greater openness to ideas, increased understanding of others, and lower exhaustion compared to those undergoing a more rigid education.
Those well-versed in the liberal arts also learn unique capabilities that are essential for our world to function. English majors practice critical thinking, psychology majors develop empathy, and history majors are able to make important connections between the past and the present to excel in problem-solving. It is essential that colleges and universities acknowledge the value of such skills and continue to invest in programs that offer students these learning opportunities.
The decline of humanities ma-
jors is also a cyclical phenomenon—students’ decreased interest in the liberal arts leads colleges to cut those programs which, in turn, pushes students away from the humanities and into science and mathematics. While students should always pursue their true interests, the valid concern remains that many are choosing STEM fields in the hopes of a more financially-stable future. It is worrisome that some students believe success can only be achieved in STEM fields and even more alarming that colleges are and making this belief a reality.
likely to guarantee high-paying job offers after graduation, liberal arts majors generally surpass them after a few decades.
According to the New York Times, 40-year-old male STEM graduates make an average annual salary of $124,458 while their humanities counterparts make $131,154. A large reason for this is that in their careers, liberal arts majors often migrate into leadership positions that require more nuanced communication and problem-solving skills. Abilities like these are timeless, while knowledge in STEM can quickly become obsolete as industries constantly adapt to new technology and information.
financial reasons is often unsustainable; many students face a tough reality check while pursuing these majors, resulting in roughly 40 percent of students planning engineering and science majors ending up switching to other subjects or failing to get any degree.
According to the Pew Research Center, 71 percent of Americans believe that jobs in STEM have higher salaries than those in other fields. The notion that STEM jobs will always be more lucrative is a concerning misconception. While many STEM fields such as engineering and computer science are
By the time that many in the STEM field amass the experience needed to gain leadership, their skillset is no longer applicable to the field. There are always new developments that are difficult to catch up with, explaining why over half of STEM graduates no longer have jobs in the industry once they reach age 40.
Often, the STEM field is not all it is dreamt up to be. The competitive environment ignites anxiety, depression, and overwhelming stress for people who go into the field just for money instead of passion. Solely choosing STEM for
None of this is to say that the humanities are inherently better than the STEM field in any way. They are just different. Each educational focus can be the correct choice for a student, which is why students should always have that choice. When colleges and universities take away the option to study humanities, they are denying students the option to pursue their passions. Some students may be misguided in making the choice to pursue STEM, but schools enforce those beliefs by simply removing liberal arts majors as if those degrees are not valuable or useful in the real world. With new knowledge and discoveries constantly emerging, the scope of education should be expanding, not narrowing. Students deserve the option to study what interests them, and colleges should be making that choice for them.
The question of whether to admit the District of Columbia to the Union as a state has been one of the most contentious issues in Congress for decades. The debate was reignited in early March after the D.C. Council proposed a controversial new criminal code, the first overhaul of the code since 1901. The alarm around the new code has been great enough for Congress to leverage its constitutional oversight over the special district’s laws and block a D.C. bill for the first time in more than 30 years.
After the D.C. Council passed the bill, House Republicans, backed by 31 Democrats, successfully passed a resolution to block the code. On March 8, the Senate voted to block the bill, and President Biden later signed the resolution, decisively striking down the D.C. Council’s new criminal code against the will of the people of the District.
The fight for D.C. statehood is a moral fight for the principles of democracy on which the United States was built, namely a fight against taxation without representation, as the District notes on its license plate slogan. Part of the reason that so little progress has been made in the campaign for D.C. statehood is the apathy and lack of awareness about the issue
from people who don’t live in the District. To achieve equal representation and full citizenship rights for Washingtonians, the conversation around statehood needs to be democratized—driven by the beliefs of the public rather than the partisan interests of Republican congresspeople from states hundreds
first place. The people of D.C. not only deserve representation and self-government, they pay a higher price for it with their tax dollars than people in 22 states who get a voice in Congress.
Were D.C. a state, it would have the highest Black population of any state in the Union and would be the only plurality-Black state in the country with a 46% Black population. The lack of representation of roughly half of D.C.’s populace in Congress is a symptom of America’s widespread oppression of Black people and stems from intentional racist disenfranchisement.
derrepresents POC: each state has equal seats, thus giving one person in a small state greater representa tion than one in a large state when the largest and densest states (e.g. California, Florida, New York, etc.) are some of the most diverse.
Therefore, the Senate gives the average Black American 75 percent of the representation of the average white American, and the average Hispanic American only has 55 per cent of the representation of a white person. Admitting the District. as a state would be a step toward correct ing this flagrant inequality.
or thousands of miles away.
First of all, despite D.C. residents paying more in federal income taxes than the residents of 22 other states and more per-capita income tax than any state in the Union, they have no power in Congress to decide where those tax dollars go. D.C. residents aren’t represented in the Senate, and D.C. House Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton can’t vote on legislation, leaving D.C.’s three electoral votes for the presidency its only material national representation. This taxation without real representation echoes the injustice of second-class citizenship that motivated the American Revolution and the creation of the United States in the
In the 1950s, when home-rule legislation was passed by the Senate but blocked in the House by Southern segregationists, racism was at the core of the objections. According to The Washington Post, “One member of Congress reported that more than a dozen people told him ‘in private and not in confidence that they are opposed to this bill because of their fear it would give the Negro domination over the District of Columbia.’”
The arguments against D.C. statehood are still rooted in racism today—Republicans are staunchly anti-statehood because, as Trump explicitly admitted, D.C. gaining statehood would mean two more dependably Democratic seats in the Senate and a voting Democrat representative, which matters more than ensuring democracy for Black people. The Senate already overrepresents white people and un-
Further, D.C. has the financial resources to be self-sufficient, a population greater than those of Vermont and Wyoming, and already takes on responsibilities of a state without any of the rights and privileges. The District is the only capital of a representative democracy whose residents have no representation in the national legislature, and Americans today have a duty to right this historic injustice.
The people should be in control of the dialogue around D.C. statehood, and public pressure for representation and home rule would give the statehood campaign the momentum it needs to move forward. I implore you to take advantage of your Congressional representation and contact your Senators and Representative(s)—if you live in Maryland, that’s Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen in the Senate, and you can use the attached QR code to find your House Represen-
To connect with Andre email him at scombud@gmail.com
tative. Let them know your reasons for supporting D.C. statehood and the importance of taking action on this issue, and urge them to support the D.C. Admission Act and statehood for Washington, D.C.
Those well-versed in the liberal arts also learn unique capabilities that are essential for our world to function.
The District is the only capital of a representative democracy whose residents have no representation in the national legislature.
tudiante Emily M., que participó en Latinx Leaders Association (Baile). Ella dijo que encontró todo muy bonito. Ella explicó que, “Todos los grupos que pasaron estaban muy preparados para hacerlo. Habían practicado mucho, estaban muy coordinados y las personas estaban apoyando bastante. Estaba gritando en el comedor y había bastante apoyo, todo muy bien”.
El espectácwulo no hubiera sido igual sin la ayuda de la audiencia, que estuvo aplaudiendo y vitoreando durante todo el espectáculo. Alguien que fue parte de la audiencia fue Isaiah Jordan, quien dijo sobre el evento que, “Las actuaciones eran geniales. Estuvieron muy bien y las transiciones entre ellos fueron agradables y suaves. Como si fuera entrar, actuar, salir el próximo y no hubo períodos de transición incómodos, ni nada. Fue una especie de constante oleada de diversión y espectáculo. Así que diría, diría que hicieron muy bien las actuaciones”.
ional; para que todos compartan y expresen sus culturas”. Abdul piensa que la Noche Internacional es uno de los eventos más importantes que se deben de tener, especialmente en un lugar tan diverso, “Creciendo en Maryland, puedes ver la gran diversidad que no hay en otros lugares. La Noche Internacional representa esa diversidad que hay en Maryland”. A pesar del gran trabajo que se hizo todavía cree que hay cosas por mejorar al distribuir la comida “Lo que necesitamos hacer es designar líneas, los brazaletes no sirvieron de mucho y tenemos que crear un sistema para hacer grupos. Los participantes y padres tienen que ir antes que los estudiantes en general”.
Por Kevin Vela Editor-en-JefeEl pasado 16 de marzo fue un día inolvidable para las personas que participaron y también aquellas que estuvieron presentes de una forma u otra en la Noche Internacional de Montgomery Blair. El festival contó con estudiantes bailando, cantando y más, desde lo profundo de su corazón a la audiencia. Así como también fue una muestra de la cultura y diversidad que se puede encontrar en Blair.
La Noche Internacional es un evento en el que los estudiantes tienen la libertad de mostrar su cultura mediante actuaciones de baile, canto, coros o incluso poemas. Este evento inició a las 5:30 pm. Al llegar, la audiencia recibía una pulsera para conseguir comida, la cual constaba con una gran variedad de diferentes culturas. Los grupos y personas que participaron en la Noche Internacional fueron, en orden de aparición, Latinx Leaders Association (Baile), Aanya Garg and Nekasha Low, Kpop Dance Club, Ach’sah Gubena, Voces Unidad, Tovy Udomtanasub, Bollywood Dance Club, Latinx Leaders Association (Canto), Kyara Romero Lira, Voces Unidas (Batchata), Uziel Gonzalez, Show Choir, Blazer Steppers, Blair Dance Crew, Bantu Dancers, y We The East.
Timbit Tibebu, del grado 11, fue una de las líderes encargadas de organizar el evento. Ella contó lo que significa la noche internacional para ella, “significa que ellos tienen la oportunidad de mostrar su cultura, enseñar quienes son y mostrar la parte única de ellos… creo que especialmente con Blair, tenemos una gran variedad de diferentes personas, es muy diverso. Entonces teniendo a todas estas culturas, comunidades, religiones para hablar y celebrar es muy bueno”. Siendo una de las personas principales de que todo saliera bien, Tibebu dijo del evento que, “Creo que fue mejor que el año pasado, hubo mucha más organización, todavía van a ver
cosas que pasan, especialmente en un evento grande… tuvimos a más participantes esta vez también y recibir cumplidos de persona diciendo que estuvo bien hecho”. A pesar de que todo fue bien, Timbit tiene una visión para seguir mejorando “Estamos pensando en cambiar las pulseras que usamos para distribuir la comida, estamos pensando en usar estampillas pero todavía no estamos seguros ya que las personas se estaban cambiando las pulseras para conseguir comida”. Algo que le gustaría mirar más es “el próximo año podríamos ser mucho más estrictos con los artistas, solo para que todos podamos tener todo listo antes de la fecha límite para que no tengamos artistas que nos den música en el último minuto o cambien algo a último minuto en el que realmente no podemos ayudar. Entonces, si pudiéramos ser más estrictos con los artistas el próximo año, eso sería útil”. Timbit está agradecida por la ayuda que recibió de Zoe, Ernest, Nina, Abdul, Lee, Moosay, y Leila, pues sin ellos el evento no hubiera sido logrado.
Las razones por las que Bintou Sangare, del grado once, participó en el Kpop Dance club y en el Blazer Steppers es porque “bueno, me ha encantado bailar desde que era una niña y estaba en los dos equipos de baile y ambos querían hacer la Noche Internacional, así que estaba muy emocionado y me inscribí”. So-
bre lo que le gustaría cambiar, dijo que, “Entonces en la primera parte del club de K-pop, el baile que estábamos haciendo, se suponía que éramos feroces, pero yo estaba tan emocionada que estaba sonriendo, todo el tiempo y estaba muy emocionada y como, obviamente, eso es bueno, pero al mismo tiempo no representa necesariamente lo que quería representar en ese baile. Así que estaba un poco decepcionada cuando vi el video después, pero no de todo, salió bastante bien”. Sangare explicó que “la Noche Internacional es realmente importante porque me dio la oportunidad para compartir algo que amo que era parte de dos culturas diferentes y compartirlo con el mundo.
El momento de la comida fue una de las mejores partes del evento, ya que había una gran variedad de todos lados. Abdul El-Aliou, un estudiante del doceavo grado y encargado de todo lo que se relacionaba a comida durante este evento, cuenta su ideas para llevar a cabo esto, “Nosotros queríamos tener una gran variedad de comidas y culturas de diferentes continentes. No nos centramos mucho en qué países, era más en conseguir algo de cada continente”. Fue una de sus partes favoritas del evento, una gran cantidad de diferentes culturas se unieron para comer y compartir, “Fue un gran momento para todos, el unirse en diferentes culturas. Había cientos de personas para mirar y apreciar esas culturas, ese es el punto de la noche internac-
Es una muy buena noche y crea que mucha gente la disfruta porque puede ver a toda su familia y amigos
La Noche de Internacional es un evento que tiene lugar en Blair cada año y se espera que se lleve a cabo nuevamente el próximo año.
En las palabras de Timbit “es una muy buena noche y creo que mucha gente la disfruta porque puede ver a toda su familia y amigos y es una forma muy agradable de conectarse y comunicarse entre sí.
Así que creo que cualquiera que nunca haya estado en la Noche Internacional, debería venir al menos una vez. Gracias.” La Noche Internacional es una tradición anual en Blair y ocurre en abril, así que, el año próximo, asegúrese de estar al tanto ese mes para no perdérsela.
Así que fue muy importante para mí”.
Cuando los miembros de la familia y amigos están ahí para apoyarlos, es algo que a uno le gusta mucho y esto es cierto para la es-
Lo que comenzó como una semana, con el tiempo se ha convertido en un mes de celebración para reconocer los logros de las mujeres y sus extraordinarias contribuciones a la sociedad.
El Mes de la Historia de la Mujer comenzó en 1978 en Santa Rosa, California, cuando el grupo de trabajo de educación de la comisión del condado de Sonoma sobre el estatus de la mujer planeó una celebración de la “Semana de la Historia de la Mujer” para coincidir con el Día Internacional de la Mujer. En 1987, el Congreso de Estados Unidos designó el mes de marzo como el “Mes de la Historia de la Mujer”.
En Montgomery Blair, esta celebración se puede ver en eventos como discusiones en la biblioteca sobre desafíos que las mujeres enfrentan. Adicionalmente, los estudiantes pueden participar en un concurso de libros gratis sobre las mujeres en la biblioteca para celebrar el mes. Los estudiantes y la facultad pueden informarse durante el mes a través de estas actividades.
Durante este mes, es importante enfatizar la importancia de la representación de experiencias diferentes. La administradora de décimo grado en Blair, Sra. Adriana Burgos, habla sobre su experiencia como administradora y la importancia de la representación femenina para ella durante su carrera, “La falta de representación ha sido difícil. Son pocas las personas con las que tengo experiencias similares a las mías”, ella
explica, “ Para mí estar en este rol, es importante representar mi comunidad y mis estudiantes”.
Burgos continúa, “Soy una mujer latina gay, y para mi es importante representar ese aspecto de quien soy también. Ayudar a los estudiantes que acaban de llegar a los Estados Unidos, para ver cómo es ser gay en los Estados Unidos”. Burgos explica cuáles han sido algunos obstáculos durante su carrera siendo una mujer latina en el ambiente de trabajo, “Pienso que la gente, me subestiman, y eso es algo en que trabajo constantemente”.
Chelly Montano, un estudiante de undécimo grado, habla sobre su perspectiva como una fémina género queer y las presiones que vienen con eso, “Tenía mucha presión de mis padres de actuar en una manera, como más mujer, pero yo nunca he sido muy mujer”, elle dice, “Yo aprendí de que no hay ninguna manera en que tengo que actuar solo porque soy lógicamente mujer. No necesito actuar como una mujer”.
Montano continúa, “Creo que el mes de las mujeres es bien importante porque tenemos
que informarnos de todo lo que ha pasado con el movimiento”, elle explique, “Ha habido mucho progreso, hay más igualdad en el trabajo, en la sociedad, ya las mujeres no tienen esa falta de respeto. Las mujeres tienen más valor”.
La falta de representación ha sido difícil. Son pocas las personas con las que tengo experiencias similares a las mías.
Como condado, MCPS celebra a través de eventos que se enfocan en la comunidad. La miembro del Consejo Laurie-Anne Sayles organizó un evento del Mes de la Historia de la Mujer que tuvo lugar el sábado 11 de marzo en el teatro AFI en Silver Spring. Este evento se llevó a cabo con el
propósito de reunir a las mujeres del condado para reconocer los sacrificios y el avance de la mujer. Además de eso, la comisión de mujeres del condado de Montgomery, las Bibliotecas del Condado de Montgomery y los Amigos de la Biblioteca, están llevando a cabo su Sexto Concurso Anual de Poder de las Niñas. Los residentes del condado, de edad 5 o más, pueden entregar un cuento, poema, dibujo o entrada en el medio de su elección.
La reflexión sobre los avances y la representación también tiene su puesto en los meses de herencia.
La directora de Richard Montgomery High School, Alicia Deeny, explica que es, “Increíble ver a tantas jóvenes, en una población tan y tan grande de representación de juventud latina que es tan y tan diferente de la representación que yo tuve de niña en Montgomery County… Entonces, veo ese grupo tan y tan grande que viene como una ola, que viene por detrás, y
yo veo en el futuro mucha más representación en cualquier posición, posiciones de liderazgo”.
La estudiante Sarita Baron del grado 11, dice que, “Pasamos de básicamente hace un siglo de haber ganado el derecho al voto a ingresar a la fuerza laboral y luego obtener educación superior, tratando de luchar por el respeto en nuestras carreras. Y creo que hemos logrado algunos de esos objetivos, todavía estamos trabajando hacia algunos de esos objetivos, pero definitivamente ha mejorado mucho”.
En la escala nacional, los Estados Unidos reconoce este mes a través de exhibiciones en el Museo Nacional de las Mujeres, o discusiones en la Biblioteca del Congreso sobre la historia de las mujeres en los Estados Unidos. Aparte de eso, hay documentales informativos sobre el progreso que las mujeres han logrado en canales de streaming, tales como Reversing Roe en Netflix, o This Changes Everything en Netflix. Individualmente, la gente puede tomar el tiempo de educarse a través de recursos como estos documentales, o participar en actividades qué existen en la comunidad como las discusiones en Blair. La importancia de escuchar a las diferentes experiencias y aprender más sobre los desafíos que otras personas enfrentan es un aspecto significativo del mes de las mujeres.
Emprender actividades dentro y fuera de la escuela conlleva mucho entusiasmo, carisma, responsabilidad e interés, ya que hay mucho en que enfocarse. Es un proceso largo para poder cumplir una meta en el futuro.
En Montgomery Blair hay un ejemplo a seguir en la comunidad hispanohablante, una estudiante llamada Skye Sibrian, que está en el doceavo grado. Alrededor de los años, Skye ha contribuido a la comunidad mediante diferentes tipos de actividades de arte, liderazgo, hasta apoyar a la comunidad de Blair con producción de noticias, cámaras, edición y obras teatrales. Incluso ha participado en cantos y bailes como actividades extracurriculares. Hace dos años, ella empezó a trabajar en el departamento de BNC (Blair Network Commu-
Por Christell Hurtado Escritora
nication) las noticias en español, ya que primeramente sólo eran en inglés. Ella dice, “mi inspiración para hacer el programa en español en BNC fue porque yo vi que muchos niños no comprenden el idioma cuando lo hacíamos en inglés y ahí dicen mucha información crítica para involucrarse en la escuela e involucrarse en la comunidad y yo vi que no podían hacer eso porque no tenían la posibilidad de comprender el lenguaje completamente y ese fue mi impulso, para que todos pudieran comprender”.
Para todos, siempre hay personas que influyen en la vida personal. Para Skye es su familia, y explica que su mayor influencia es “Mi mamá, porque ella era una reportera, y periodista, hacía anuncios en español, en inglés, bilingües y ella me inspiró a que yo podía hacer lo mismo porque me encantaba verla en la televisión cuando ella estaba haciendo cosas así”.
Desde temprana edad le apa-
sionaba el poder ser partícipe de actuaciones, baile y cantos en la iglesia y en la academia City Dance Conservatory. Skye explica, “yo hago todo tipo de bailes, como por ejemplo bailes tradicionales, contemporáneo, moderno, ballet, hip hop y jazz”. En su vida como estudiante, planea seguir en el camino de las artes en la universidad, “Sí, sí. Yo apliqué para la universidad, para baile y también para comunicaciones, periodismo, a las universidades de George Mason University, NYU, Marymount Manhattan, George Washington, entre otras”.
A pesar de las dificultades que se le han presentado, ella siempre ha estado dispuesta a seguir adelante y perseguir su sueño. Según cuenta, una de las mayores dificultades que ha sufrido fue que “me lastimé el tobillo y no podía caminar, bailar ni hacer nada por nueve meses, y yo me deprimí porque pensé que ya nunca iba a poder bailar, que es lo
que siempre he querido hacer toda mi vida y ahí me di cuenta que las artes son mi todo”. Sin embargo, su familia siempre estuvo presente dando apoyo emocional. Como ella dice, ”Ellos siempre estaban ahí, ayudándome, motivándome, dándome ideas en como puedo mejorarme en las artes y mejorar día con día”.
A pesar del proceso que estaba viviendo durante ese tiempo de obstáculos en su carrera, nunca perdió la esperanza en poder mejorarse a sí misma, “Personalmente, me veo como una bailarina, pero también haciendo películas y actuando en Broadway.”
Skye motiva a todos los estudiantes a que no se rindan y que sigan sus sueños. Ella dice,“Por eso le digo a todas las personas que quieran involucrarse en las artes, Que no se rindan y que el camino es largo, pero si pones todo tu esfuerzo y esmero, lo puedes lograr”.
El Estudiante Miembro de la Junta Escolar (SMOB por sus siglas en inglés) es la persona que representa la voz de los estudiantes en el condado. Cada año hay una carrera y elección para elegir al estudiante que tomará esa posición para el próximo año escolar.
Aunque muchos estudiantes piensan que la candidatura comenzó en enero, realmente comienza en el momento que el estudiante decide representar el cuerpo estudiantil del condado de Montgomery.
El 15 de febrero de 2023, los dos estudiantes de onceavo grado,Yoseph Zerihun de la escuela secundaria Springbrook y Sami Saeed de Richard Montgomery, llegaron a la recta final de las elecciones para convertirse en el SMOB número 46.
“El mayor impacto que puedo traer es traer la representación del NEC, el DCC y representar a las escuelas subrepresentadas en su conjunto”
entrevistas, videos, y visitas a todas las escuelas secundarias del condado, ellos han trabajado para ganar el voto de los estudiantes. Ambos han usado las redes sociales para mantener a los votantes informados y actualizados sobre los diferentes eventos a los que asisten, las escuelas que visitan y los problemas que pretenden abordar si son elegidos come el SMOB. Sami Saeed, con 6.052 seguidores en Instagram, utiliza las redes sociales para dar a conocer sus planes para proteger el medio ambiente y mostrar las escuelas que ha visitado. Al mismo tiempo, Sami Saeed ha tomado la ruta de establecer una página web también para compartir su campaña.
Aunque Yoseph Zerihun empezó a usar las redes sociales después del 15 de febrero, ha tenido éxito, acumulando 3.295 seguidores en Instagram.
YOSEPH ZERIHUN
El 15 de febrero, todos los candidatos recibieron a los delegados de cada escuela local de Montgomery con un mensaje para explicar más sobre ellos en la puerta del edificio de la escuela secundaria Watkins Mill. Había aproximadamente 13 o 14 delegados representando a sus respectivas escuelas secundarias. El número de delegados depende de la población de cada escuela. Montgomery Blair tiene 16 delegados debido a nuestra población. Los candidatos oficiales en esta etapa eran 12. Al final del día, después de dos rondas de votación entre delegados, se anunció que dos candidatos, Yoseph Zerihun y Sami Saeed, llegaron a la siguiente fase. Yoseph Zerihun y Sami Saeed fueron nominados para la final y empezaron con sus respectivas campañas. Ellos han utilizado varias formas de compartir sus ideas y posturas en diferentes temas con los estudiantes. Desde el uso de las redes sociales, sitio web,
Ambos candidatos visitaron Montgomery Blair el 12 de Abril e interactuaron con los estudiantes durante el almuerzo. “He hablado con estudiantes de Blair y muchas cosas son simplemente ... de acuerdo con lo que he estado diciendo... Ya sabes, abordar la brecha de oportunidades para todos los estudiantes ... no solo, ya sabes, con estudiantes de habla inglesa, sino también trabajando con estudiantes de ESOL, y personalmente eso realmente llega a casa”.
A lo largo de sus campañas, Sami y Yoseph han compartido los diversos objetivos y políticas que abordarán durante sus mandatos como SMOB. Ambos han mencionado la representación como uno de sus enfoques. En una conversación con Yoseph, él explicó que, “El mayor impacto que puedo traer es traer la representación del NEC, el DCC y representar a las escuelas subrepresentadas en su conjunto ... Demasiadas veces ha habido tantos estudiantes de MCPS que han estado subrepresentados y que realmente se han sentido sin voz ... Entiendo los sentimientos de falta de voz y un sentimiento como, ya sabes, no puedes hacer cambios. Y quiero asegurarme de que ningún estudiante vuelva a sentir eso”. No se pudo realizar una entrevista con Sami, pero de acuerdo a su sitio web, algunas de sus metas son asegurarse de que el MCR (Montgomery County Regional SGA) sea más representativo de todas las escuelas en el condado, usar encuestas para incluir las voces de
una variedad de estudiantes y organizar más eventos en las escuelas del DCC. Yoseph y Sami tienen diferentes enfoques sobre cómo van a manejar las cosas si son elegidos SMOB. Yoseph explicó que, “Una cosa que realmente quiero hacer es traer de vuelta el minuto SMOB. Con el minuto SMOB, voy a estar comunicando lo que
[Quiero] abordar la brecha de oportunidades para todos los estudiantes... no solo, ya sabes, con estudiantes de habla inglesa, sino también trabajando con estudiantes de ESOL.
estoy haciendo en la Junta de Educación y por supuesto, como se ve con Hana O’Looney, quiero tener, ya sabes, muchos idiomas mostrados en los subtítulos también”.
YOSEPH ZERIHUN
La elección tuvo lugar el 19 de abril desde las 7:30 de la mañana hasta las 3:30 de la tarde. Para que todo funcionara bien, Montgomery Blair High School tuvo estudiantes de la Asociación del Gobierno Estudiantil (SGA) como jueces de elección. Hubo jueces de elección a lo largo de Blair dispuestos a asistir a los estudiantes que tuvieran problemas para votar.
A las 5:39 de la tarde aproximadamente, fue compartido por las Escuelas del Condado de Montgomery que el candidato Mr. Sami Saeed fue elegido como el SMOB número 46, con el 70 por ciento de votos a su favor. Los estudiantes han hablado en las urnas y ahora todos van a poder ver lo que Sami Saeed va a hacer en su nuevo cargo.
El 26 de marzo, Cuba estableció elecciones para más de 400 legisladores en el gobierno, incluyendo el presidente, el jefe del gobierno, y miembros de la asamblea. Los resultados toman unos días, pero se espera que la mayoría de las posiciones, como el presidente, permanezca igual. Según el país, 75,92% de la población elegible fue a las urnas, y aunque parece un número elevado de gente, este número es diez por ciento menos de las elecciones de 2018, cuando 85,65% de la población elegible votó. Una causa del descenso es el esfuerzo de las organizaciones antigubernamentales, que han intentado evitar que la gente vote. Cuba, un país socialista con solo un partido político, el partido comunista de Cuba, mantiene elecciones cada cinco años. Sin embargo, debido a su sistema del gobierno, estas elecciones no son, presuntamente, democráticas ni justas. De hecho, todos los candidatos son del mismo partido político, sin oposición. Para empeorar las cosas, el gobierno conduce todas las elecciones, y no permite a extranjeros observar el proceso. Muchos protestantes afirmaron que las elecciones no tuvieron ningún punto con el gobierno comunista, y entonces, decidieron abstenerse de votar.
Un fuerte terremoto de magnitud 6,8 chocó la parte sur de Ecuador el 18 de marzo. Causó muchos daños en las provincias de Guayas, El Oro, y Azuay, con casas viejas, escuelas, y aún un depósito de agua destruido. El terremoto cobró la vida de 18 personas, pero cientos de personas están heridas, y otras están perdidas. Los residentes del área están familiarizados con los terremotos, por lo que las réplicas fueron una preocupación para muchos. Además de impactar el país de Ecuador, Perú también recibió daños. El presidente ecuatoriano, Guillermo Lasso, lamentó y expresó su solidaridad con las familias de los fallecidos en un tuit. Los esfuerzos de recuperación son más difíciles porque la compañía de petróleo nacional, Petroecuador, evacuó y terminó toda su producción a causa del temblor durante unas horas. Afortunadamente, el gobierno está proveyendo apoyo para las víctimas.
Rauw Alejandro y Rosalía se comprometieron
Rauw Alejandro y Rosalía anunciaron su plan de matrimonio. Alejandro, un cantante puertorriqueño, y Rosalía, una cantante española, habían mantenido un romance durante tres años antes del anuncio. En el 24 de marzo, los dos lanzaron un EP conjunto que se llama “RR.” Este EP contiene tres canciones que hicieron juntos - “Beso”, “Vampiros”, y “Promesa”. Publicaron un video musical para “Beso”, que muestra eventos felices que han tenido juntos. Durante los primeros dos días, los tres videos ya habían recibido cincuenta millones de vistas. Las tres canciones expresan temas de confianza, una relación irrompible, y obviamente, amor. Muchos críticos dieron aplauso al EP, porque es una mezcla apropiada de dos cantantes muy famosos y muestra las vidas sociales de personas que toda la gente conoce. Las canciones también son famosas entre los usuarios de TikTok, y han sido escuchadas miles de veces. Con el éxito del RR, los fans de Alejandro y Rosalía esperarán para su matrimonio y tendrán sus canciones en repetición.
¿Alguna vez has pensado sobre los costos de Prom? ¿Qué requiere este baile? Un vestido, un saco, maquillaje, accesorios, adornos para el cabello, transportación, los boletos. Todos estos costos se suman y hacen que el evento sea muy caro. Además, cada uno de los costos ha aumentado rápidamente con el tiempo. Los vestidos que los padres de estos estudiantes usaron valen una fracción del costo de los vestidos que se venden ahora. No tiene sentido que una experiencia tan fundamental de la preparatoria
ones, y la joyería que planea comprar para el baile, Lina dice, “mis padres me van a dar 100 los dos… mis hermanas mayores, ellos pagaron por sus propios vestidos y todo. Entonces yo también voy hacer eso. Pero mis padres, mi mamá y mi papá, me están dando 100 en total, es bastante”. Estos efectos económicos no están limitados a las mujeres, también hay un costo tremendo para los hombres. Otro estudiante de doceavo, Jose Villafuerte, comparte su experiencia acerca de esto, “Pienso gastar entre unos 150 o 200 dólares, ya que los trajes son caros”, Jose explica, “tengo la posibilidad de comprar su traje ya que trabajo… pienso comprar
no es el único en Blair para ayudar con los costos de Prom. En el tiempo más cercano al baile va a haber un Prom Freebie, organizado en asociación con La Esquina Amable (Kindness Corner en inglés), que se espera sea asistido por todos los estudiantes de Blair, no solo las mujeres. Más información sobre el evento se dará a conocer más adelante. De esta manera, los estudiantes que perdieron el primer evento todavía tendrán la oportunidad de conseguir las piezas que necesitan para el baile. La administradora de La Esquina Amable, la Sra. Nabavian, trabaja con el mismo objetivo que la organización de Girls’ Night Out. Ella explica que, “Lo que La Esquina Amable hace es proveer lo que podemos a los estudiantes y a sus familias.”
sea tan cara que separe a los estudiantes que pueden gastar tanto dinero en estas cosas y los que no. Algunos estudiantes de Blair analizan cómo estos costos les están afectando a ellos. Una estudiante del grado doce que está planeando ir al Prom, Lina Romero-Fabian, presenta su experiencia acerca de los costos que requiere este baile. Hablando sobre cómo va a pagar por el vestido, los tac-
zapatos nuevos y algún otro accesorios como un botón para el saco”. Entonces, ¿qué está haciendo Blair para ayudar con estos costos? El sábado 25 de marzo hubo un evento organizado por Girls’ Night Out, específicamente por Shawn Yancy, en la biblioteca, donde chicas en los grados once y doce tuvieron la oportunidad de conseguir un vestido de prom y otros accesorios gratis. Este evento
Para la Sra. Nabavian, asegurar que todos los estudiantes tienen equidad es muy importante y que “todos tienen las necesidades básicas con el fin de ser lo mejor”. Las oportunidades que trae La Esquina Amable, eventos como el Prom Freebie, y cómo Girls’ Night Out son para todos los estudiantes. No importa su estado socioeconómico, género, o etnia. Ellos aseguran que sea inclusivo para que todos los estudiantes puedan disfrutar su experiencia en Blair y para que no tengan que estresarse con problemas financieros. Además de los costos que requiere vestirse para el baile de promoción, los estudiantes tienen que pagar por su entrada. Comparado con otras escuelas, donde el costo está entre 120 a 180 dólares por boleto, las entradas de Blair cuestan 65 dólares, explica Lina. Añade que “Creo que ahí sí hicieron un buen trabajo en lograr que no sea demasiado caro… pero creo que los otros programas también ayudan bastante.” La Sra. Fuss, la persona a cargo de los boletos de prom, explica que aunque no hay una programa para ayudar con los
financiamientos de los boletos de prom, el PTSA ha trabajado muy duro para mantener el precio de 65 dólares. Incluso cuando otros costos, como los de la comida, el lugar del evento, y otros aspectos del baile han aumentado. La escuela ha tomado muchos pasos para asegurar que los estudiantes tengan todas las oportunidades posibles para mejorar la experiencia de Prom. Es un proceso muy caro y agotador, por lo cual todo lo que se pueda hacer para que todos los estudiantes de Blair participen de este evento, ayuda mucho.
Las mascotas han sido parte de la familia desde hace mucho tiempo. En la antigüedad eran símbolo de clase social distinguida, los usaban para combate, espionaje, o simplemente como una decoración. A lo largo de los tiempos, los animales han sido domesticados para un sin fin de tareas. Sin embargo, como siempre, ellos crecen, envejecen y a veces sus propios humanos los terminan abandonando. Hay personas que a veces no tienen compasión, los dejan en la calle a su suerte, sin comida, agua o techo. Allí es donde los héroes sin capa les dan una nueva vida, un descanso de su arduo trabajo, los dejan ser quien son, y les dan una razón para vivir.
Hace unos días, visité un refugio de animales con Sammi, también escritora del periódico en español, y ambas hemos visto a los seres más tiernos del mundo, animales tan adorables, suavecitos y sobre todo, esperando un hogar para ser felices.
El refugio de animales Humane Rescue Alliance alberga animales que han sido rescatados de varios incidentes. Allí se encargan de cuidar a los animalitos rescatados mientras esperan que alguna persona de buen corazón, y dispuesto a cuidarlos, los adopte. Hay varios tipos de animales: perros, gatos, conejos, cuyos (también conocidos como conejillos de Indias), etc. Todos son atendidos atendiendo a sus respectivas formas de cuidado, vacunación y dándoles todo lo necesario.
En ese refugio conocí a Ginger, un conejillo de Indias (cuy) que es super encantador, color
naranja, con ojos rojos, muy adorable. Además, había un gallo con el nombre de Roo Roo, quien nos recibió con un divertido canto matinal. Al principio estaba durmiendo, pero cuando empezó la jornada, estaba super alegre. Honestamente, no pudimos ver a los perros por una cuestión de salud, pero me pude divertir con los gatos, ronroneando y acariciándolos desde la rendija, pues no podíamos sacarlos y abrazarlos. Fue algo lindo.
Las
La Señora Coombs, maestra de español en Montgomery Blair, tiene dos adorables perros que ha adoptado de un refugio y la experiencia con ambos es muy agradable. Ella dice que, “Hoy día se deben adoptar mascotas porque tengo dos mascotas: Benji y Blaze; dan una cantidad bárbara de amor que también lo podría dar un animal que tú compras… ¿Por qué comprar un perro? ¿por tener un perro de raza? Estos perros dan mucho amor”.
Debbie Duel, la trabajadora a cargo del refugio, nos comparte un poco del proceso de adopción de un lomito, “Pienso que lo más importante es que la gente haga su investigación antes de adoptar. Adoptar no es como comprar unos zapatos en una tienda.
Tienes que ver el sexo del animal, el peso del animal, la energia del animal. Si eres alguien que corre ocho kilómetros cada día y quieres un perro activo, eso es fantástico, pero si tienes una vida más sedentaria, probablemente quieres escoger un perro que se va a adaptar a tu estilo de vida”.
De acuerdo con Duel, es imprescindible informarse e investigar el proceso y la disponibilidad de animales antes de acudir al refugio. Si te interesa adoptar, puedes ir a las redes sociales de los refugios y mirar los animales disponibles. “Después, visitar el refugio, encontrarse con el animal, enamorarse del animal, y hablar con nuestro equipo de adopciones”, explica Duel. “Nuestro equipo de adopciones típicamente habla con los adoptantes sobre la historia del animal, si requieren más atención médica, para que no tengan sorpresas”.
Duel explica que Humane Rescue Alliance asesora a los adoptadores sobre el proceso de adiestramiento y responde cualquier duda que puedan tener. “El proceso de adopción empieza antes de que las personas lleguen al refugio, y no tiene que terminar cuando salen de nuestro edificio con su animal. Se pueden quedar en contacto con nosotros, y esperamos que usen nuestras clases de entrenamiento para perros”, nos dice. Para la Sra. Coombs, el proceso de adopción fue muy fácil y no tenían que pasar por el proceso de papeleos o vacunación “Pusimos una solicitud y nos entrevistaron por teléfono y fue facilísimo… adoptamos los perros vacunados, con chip para identificación y fue un proceso super facil”.
En fin, esa visita fue una experiencia muy interesante, y el saber que hay personas que se preocupan por ese tipo de cosas es bastante reconfortante, y se les agradece, pues hay muchas personas que consideran eso como una pérdida de tiempo, y no debería ser así. Como explica la Sra. Coombs, “las necesidades de estos perros son tantas. De no tener, no haber tenido un hogar”.
¿Cómo usaron sus vacaciones de primavera los estudiantes de Blair? Las escuelas del condado de Montgomery tuvieron el descanso primaveral desde el 31 de marzo hasta el 10 de abril, once días sin escuela. Algunos disfrutaron el tiempo fuera de la escuela, otros se relajaron, y otros usaron las vacaciones para trabajar más. Muchos estudiantes, como Philipos Hailemariam del grado 11, usaron este tiempo para mirar la tele y películas para descansar fuera de su vida escolar. Sin embargo, Philipos explica que él hubiera querido “buscar un trabajo, para tener más dinero para el tiempo de verano”. No todos los estudiantes de Blair hicieron lo mismo. Por ejemplo, Taiki Hernandez, un estudiante del grado 11, pasó sus vacaciones viajando al “estado de Washington, para ver a unos amigos y acampar con ellos en un parque nacional de Washington”. Cuando las actividades de Taiki se comparan con las de Philipos se puede mirar que a pesar de que las actividades son diferentes, ambas sirvieron para relajarse al final. Sin embargo, eso solo es parte de la población de estudiantes de Blair. Otros estudiantes de Blair hicieron otras actividades, tal como Ashley Palacios, del grado
11. Durante las vacaciones, Ashley leyó unos libros y dibujó. Con la finalización del bimestre, tuvo más tiempo para ejercer ambas actividades. Sin embargo, si hubiera podido, ella habría ido a Washington D.C. para mirar las flores de cerezo con unos amigos. Para algunos estudiantes de Blair, las vacaciones de primavera
HORIZONTAL
presentan una oportunidad para trabajar y ganar dinero. Andrew Li, del grado 10, trabajó en una tienda de burbujas durante las vacaciones. Cuando no estaba trabajando, estudió para los exámenes de AP y jugó voleibol y video- juegos con sus amigos. Él se sintió relativamente feliz por su descanso, pero deseó que no tener que estudiar para los exámenes. Jonathan Lemus, de doceavo grado, explicó que “ lo que hice fue ayudar a mis padres en el trabajo”. Jonathan explicó que la razón principal que lo motivó a trabajar fue, “Porque quería ayudar a mis papás, para que ellos no se cansaran mucho”. Sin embargo,si él pudiera hacer otra cosa, querría salir a pasear a Washington para ver los cerezos.
Algunos estudiantes querían hacer otras cosas, pero no pudieron cambiar sus planes. Por ejemplo, Juan Manuel, estudiante de Blair, pasó las vacaciones de primavera en la escuela tomando algunas clases necesarias para graduarse. Si él pudiera hacer otra cosas, le habría gustado jugar un deporte, como fútbol, durante las vacaciones, pero no tuvo el tiempo para hacerlo.
Es claro que las vacaciones de los estudiantes fueron diversas y diferentes: Algunos estudiantes fueron a la escuela para poder mejorar sus vidas, mientras otros se relajaron con la ayuda de la tecnología, y otros viajaron en avión a destinos lejanos e interesantes. Si bien algunos estudiantes incurrieron en gastos, otros se quedaron en casa sin gastar casi nada y algunos incluso pudieron trabajar y ganar dinero. Sin embargo, la parte más importante de las vacaciones no es la cantidad de dinero que los estudiantes gastaron o ganaron, sino las experiencias interesantes que pasaron.
2 el deporte jugado con los pies, llamado otro nombre en inglés
3 el animal pequeño que repre senta la celebración de Pascua
6 puedes oír el canto de estos animales en las árboles
7 un mes lluvioso en Maryland
9 las flores de ____ florecen en Washington DC
10 el color del cielo sin nubes
VERTICAL
1 lugar donde las personas plantan las flores y vegetales
2 las rosas, los tulipanes, y las azaleas son ejemplos de
4 el color del sol en un día brillante
5 la estación después del invierno
8 las hojas de los árboles y la pasto son de color
ya llegó…
necesidades de estos perros son tantas. De no tener, no haber tenido un hogar.DIANETTE COOMBS YAHAIRA BARRERO
Over 200 people huddle on the front lawn of Walt Whitman on a chilly December night. Though their candles, floating through the night sky, could have been part of Chanukah celebrations, they served another purpose that night—students and community members were standing vigil to protest a rise in antisemitic rhetoric, including swastika graffiti and hateful speech, throughout Montgomery County. This particular Whitman vigil was in response to antisemitic graffiti on the school’s sign, reading “JEWS NOT WELCOME.”
Two months later, MCPS reported that nine antisemitic acts had occurred in three school days between Feb. 17 and Feb. 22: multiple swastikas were engraved into desks in middle and high schools across the county, among other incidents.
Another such incident occurred on the Whitman debate team. While on a club trip, two senior members of the team allegedly made comments about luring Jews to an island with challah—a traditional Jewish braided bread—and burning them at the stake.
Though the two were suspended from debate for a month, they did not miss any competitions and have retained their leadership roles. They never offered a public apology.
Jewish Whitman junior Eleanor Aronin does not believe the punishment school officials handed to the debate students was sufficient.
“Jewish kids do realize that was only a temporary suspension, and now they’re going to have to be partnering and working with these kids that just said these horrible things about their community,” Aronin says.
As the Director of Education Programs and Services at the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, Sara Winkelman has been working for over four years with students in Virginia, D.C., and Montgomery County. She hears more and
number of students have told me that they are afraid to go to school, or parents have told me their kids are afraid to go to school,” Winkelman says.
After the debate team incident, Whitman principal Robert Dodd and county specialists implemented restorative justice circles—student meetings designed for conflict resolution that are guided by county-employed restorative justice experts. Though Montgomery County employs nine specialists this school year—triple last year’s count—parents and students have been questioning the effectiveness of restorative justice circles, as the process often requires the victims and perpetrators to share responsibility, which can be particularly harmful with incidents of hate bias.
Blair Jewish Culture Club sponsor Marc Grossman raises several concerns with its implementation in MCPS. “I suspect there are significant issues with the way we administer restorative justice,” Grossman says. “The person who speaks first should not have to be the victim—the person who speaks first should be the victimizer, and that first thing they say should be an apology. And if there’s no apology there, that meeting should not be happening.”
County officials, however, are limited in alternatives to restorative justice. Constitutional expert Peter Smith, a professor at George Washington University Law School, explains that punishing students for any speech, even hate speech, can be deemed unconstitutional.
“The [Supreme] Court has never said that hate speech is an unprotected category [under the First Amendment], and that’s in large part because hate speech tends to involve expressions of opinion,” Smith, who also worked for the Department of Justice where a number of his cases went up to the Supreme Court, says. “We’re
tomorrow?”
Whitman suspended restorative justice circles for the debate team incident after students complained they were not permitted to correct inaccuracies in other students’ statements or bring up issues that did not follow the specific set of questions their restorative justice specialist had written out. All 210 MCPS schools are now formally reviewing whether the current restorative justice approach is effective inside MCPS.
colleges, as well as person-on-person assaults and vandalism, have all increased in recent years. In fact, the annual numbers of such incidents in the U.S. have reached an all time high since the ADL began tracking them in 1979.
Celebrities, athletes, and politicians have promoted antisemitic tropes and sentiments, bringing harmful ideologies into mainstream consciousness. One example of this is Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, who recently shared numerous antisemitic statements on social me -
Winkelman believes the issues are broader than the county. “I know that restorative justice isn’t just an MCPS thing. It’s a Maryland state thing if you look it up. I have seen restorative justice done effectively. I have more recently heard of three or four incidents of circles that were done very poorly, not just at Whitman,” Winkelman says. “Whitman owned up to their disaster. I’m not sure other schools are owning up to the problems that [poorly executed restorative justice] causes.”
School administrators sent an email that debate team members must attend all restorative justice sessions. Administrators made lifting the debate team suspension contingent on the circles. After they stopped, however, the students returned to the debate team, as well as their other extracurricular activities.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reports that nationwide belief
A number of students have told me that they are afraid to go to school, or parents have told me their kids are afraid to go to school.
SARA WINKELMAN
dia, including tweets declaring “death con 3 on Jewish people” and posting a symbol of a swastika inside a Star of David. Ye also declared on a radio show hosted by far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones that “we got to stop dissing the Nazis all of the time,” remarking, “I see good things about Hitler.”
Though public backlash widely condemned Ye’s statements and cost Ye his estimated $1.5 billion Yeezy contract with Adidas, his words have influenced many. Winkelman believes that major celebrities set an example for the general public, and can normalize antisemitic behavior. “I think that a lot of big, prominent people are making anti semitic state -
ments like Kanye West, like Kyrie [Irving]... [and] there’s a lot of copycat going on. So people that might not have felt like that was socially acceptable to say five years ago now feel like they have license to do things that are antisemitic,” she says.
The ADL has documented 30 antisemitic incidents that directly reference Ye’s rhetoric. The organization has also noted an increase in antisemitic social media content and the surge of a “Ye is right” movement.
The influence of Ye’s outbursts hit close to home as well; the Whitman debate students referenced Kanye’s music during their diatribe. In Gaithersburg, a Jewish man was assaulted by a group of young men in a Giant grocery store, and court documents allege the assaulters shouted, “Yeah, do it for Kanye.”
At Blair, Grossman points out that Jewish students have been approached by other students making agitational Ye-related comments towards them.
“There are students going up to Jewish students, saying things like, ‘I like Kanye, what do you think about that?’ It’s just aggressive,” Grossman explains. “It’s super rude and mean-spirited.”
Antisemitism is not exclusive to the far-right end of the political spectrum; it can take many forms, from both sides of the aisle. Though antisemitism may be more subtle on the left, it can leave Jewish students feeling unwelcome and harassed in leftist spaces, particularly when it comes to discussions of Israel. In 2021, the D.C. chapter of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led, left-leaning climate activism group, refused to march with three Jewish organizations due to their support of Israel. Sunrise later apologized for their actions.
“A lot of students who are not Jewish will say, in a very accusatory way, ‘What do you think about Israel?
You’re Jewish, what do you think?’” Grossman says. “I think probably most Jewish students do feel some connection. But… a lot of them are
Story by Talia Egnal and Sophie Yohannan Art by Eliza Cooke Design by Caleb Plank and Haley CarterIn their 2022 report, the ADL wrote that “several left-wing candidates have adopted the idea that Israel and Zionists inordinately and nefariously influence or even control the government or media through the leveraging of funds. These ideas play into long standing antisemitic tropes about Jewish lust for money and control over public affairs.”
The organization went on to name several prominent left-wing politicians. One listed politician, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” suggesting Jewish people control the government’s decisions through money. Omar was later subject to a rare house resolution condemning her speech.
cial media sites such as Twitter can be ideal places for hateful groups to meet and share posts, which often contain misinformation. Social media algorithms also expose new viewers to antisemitic content and have been accused of radicalizing site users.
One 2020 TikTok trend was the #holocaustchallenge, wherein users would pretend to dress in concentration camp garb. In a recent Haifa University study into TikTok, there was a 41 percent increase in antisemitic postings, 912 percent increase in comments, and 1375 percent increase in antisemitic usernames between the period of February to May 2020 and the same period in 2021. To address misinformation on social media, MCPS is implementing new policies in schools. Aronin thinks such education is essential to combat antisemitism. “I think Whitman just needs to start really cracking down on education,” Aronin says. “[The girls who made those comments] just don’t know the full story and how bad [antisemitism] really is.
Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib shared false information alleging Israelis had kidnapped and killed a seven-year-old, when the child had in fact drowned. Tlaib’s tweets were denounced by the ADL as blood libel—a millennia old conspiracy that Jews murder children to ritually use their blood. Historically, false rumors of this nature swept through countries whenever a child was found dead, and the ensuing panic spawned massacres that left hundreds of Jewish people dead over the centuries.
Winkelman does not believe there is one clear solution to combat antisemitism. “I want to have a magic wand and just be able to [wave it] and have [antisemitism] all disappear, but I don’t,” Winkelman says. However, she believes the ongoing development of educational policies can help mitigate the issue. “I know that MCPS’s whole office is increasing some of their education around antisemitism and Judaism. So they’re going to add a curriculum for middle school around antisemitism… that will be
People that might not have felt like that was socially acceptable to say five years ago now feel like they have license to do things that areSARA WINKELMAN
The DC Jazz Festival (DC JazzFest) was an idea started on a paper napkin in 2004 by Grammy award-winning producer Charles Fishman. Fishman realized that there were no major jazz festivals in D.C. and decided to change that. “So he walked and talked to several stakeholders in D.C., and in 2004, a nonprofit was born,” DC JazzFest CEO Sunny Sumter says. “Fast forward [to] right before the pandemic… we’re at over 175 concerts over 10 days in more than 40 venues in all eight wards of the nation’s capital.”
In the early twentieth century, jazz was born in New Orleans out of the Black American experience. Evolving from slave songs and spirituals, it gave many a new chance at musical expression. Aditya Das is a Blair senior who plays piano in the Blair jazz band. “[Jazz] was a very big form for Black people to express themselves through music and express [their] voice,” he says. “It gave them a voice that they didn’t otherwise have in society at the time, and I think that that’s still continuing.”
D.C.-based jaz group
Greater U Street Jazz
Collective’s name pays homage to the voices of those who migrated out of the south during Jim Crow and birthed neighborhoods like U Street in D.C. and other similar cities.
“The U Streets and all the other cities in the Great Migration gave birth to some of the greatest intellectual, artistic, [and] scientific geniuses the world [has] known, and that’s the greater U Street neighborhood we’re talking about,” bassist for the Collective Thomas View says. “We may use music to celebrate it, but it’s not about mimicking Broadway or something like that. It’s about a statement of a people who came here with nothing and made something out of nothing, and it may be one [of the] greatest success stories in the history of human beings on planet Earth in my opinion.”
Jazz has a rich, deep history in American culture and has connected people across many communities. “Jazz invites everybody to the table,” Sumter says. “If you go and you’re listening to jazz musicians all around the world, you see they’re all colors, all ages, all genders, and they perform all kinds of jazz music.” Jazz is about supporting other artists
and building community, something which continued even when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down live performances.
During the pandemic, Michael Philips, music director of Jazz Kitchen Productions and co-host of the Takoma Park radio show “In the Jazz Kitchen,” helped conduct over 200 outdoor concerts that provided a space for people to see live performances during a time when many people felt the strain of being cut off from community experiences. “You don’t realize until you see some live performance, how bad it’s been, being deprived of that,” Philips says.
The outdoor performances were hosted in private yards, and a small fee was charged to provide an income for the performers. “For some of them, it was a financial lifeline,” he says. “So… the hosts pay a fee, and then guests… that came knew in advance that they would be expected to provide tips… and they were very generous.”
These performances were not only important to the artists and musicians on stage, but also the audience members experiencing their music. “People were very emotional about it,” Philips says. “Some people cried at the beauty and just the life-affirming feeling of art being performed on a beautiful day, in the sun, with the trees, and the birds; [they] hadn’t had that for months… and so it resulted in a real emotional outpouring for some of them.”
Like Jazz Kitchen Productions, DC JazzFest also hosted shows during the pandemic but provided them virtually. “We did a great job of going virtual, and we were able to get 200,000 people [who] attended virtually because people had nothing to do in 2020. A lot of them tuned into Jazzfest. So that was really beautiful. That was a wonderful way that we could still do the music,” Sumter says.
come see the show, or you can watch it from the comfort of your living room. But we’re not doing that as a jazz institution,” she says. “As a performing arts presenter, we believe that people need a live experience; we believe in the experience [happening] in person.”
For jazz collective pianist Pete Frassrand, performing live again has brought satisfaction not only to himself but also his audience, strengthening the idea that music has the power to unite. “There’s this feeling of joy being able to perform together in a space live with others; I think audiences have been more receptive, and maybe we all appreciate what we’ve been missing for the last couple of years,” Frassrand says.
Diamond Mr. Eric W. and Dr. Jamie S. Padmore
Platinum
Gold
Silver Bronze
Kate Stewart - Susan Heavey
In the last year, live jazz performances have been returning. Sumter believes in the importance of having live performances for the festival instead of continuing streaming performances. “Live streaming [has] never been better and a lot of people in the arts are offering streaming options—you can
While the genre continues to evolve, jazz artists still have the job of honoring ancestors and the musicians who came before them. As performances continue in the future, View acknowledges the driving forces for musicians like himself. “[There is a] responsibility to the people who didn’t make it... to enjoy life that we have and to make music and to share it enthusiastically, and authentically.”
Chris Moriarity - Diane Kelleher - Jennie Guilfoyle and Mark Swartz - Pamela Sumner Coffey - Stenzler FamilySusan Euling - Tim Ernst and Grace Manubay - Timothy Ernst
Chenmuren Zhang - Emil Parker - Geoffrey Egnal - Joseph P Kowal - Katherine and Dan Hinckley - Katy and Bart Friedman - Marcela and Philip Bender - Mark Amaral - Mitch Warren & Joanna Slaney - Peter Colavito - Stefanie Weiss - Stuart Guterman
Amy Cooke - Anne Pfitzer - Alison MacDonald - Cathy Feingold - Cathy Henderson - Claudia Deane - Corinne
Nash Sauri - Elizabeth Keyes - Gary Anderson - Gary MacDonald - Hans Riemer - Jason & Jamie Fasteau - Jorge
Munoz - Katherine & Dan Hinckley - Kathy Cole - Kurt and Dot Kasik - Lorig Charkoudian - Maria VélezMckinley Jovanovic - Mica Bevington - Michael Newman - Nicholas Jovanovic - Nina Schwartz - Pamela Winston - Reemberto Rodriguez - Rex Robison - Ron and Connie Hanson - Sarah Hanson - Tami Spire - The Holmquist Family - Marina Deane-Gonzalez
People need a live experience; we believe in the experience [happening] in person.SUNNY SUMTER ABJINI CHATTOPADHYAY
Where only first names appear, names have been changed to protect the identities of the sources.
At 791 Wharf Street in Southwest Washington, D.C., Del Mar Restaurant has erected several “luxe” tents that diners can enjoy for $75 per person. Similar outdoor tented dining has started popping up throughout the District’s northwest at higher end restaurants like Bresco and Fiola.
Meanwhile, only blocks away at the intersection of the NoMa underpass and McPherson Square, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s encampment pilot program has been bulldozing tents—not those rented by restaurateurs, but permanent communities established by the city’s homeless population.
The Coordinated Assistance and Resources for Encampments (CARE) pilot program, which Bowser announced in August 2021, seeks to provide substance use services, case management, and housing opportunities to individuals living in D.C.’s homeless encampments. The program also strives to clean up the encampments and disperse individuals living in tents or other non-official dwellings on federal land.
During the pandemic, concerns for the health and safety of National Park Service workers cleaning up encampments and interacting with homeless communities temporarily halted encampment removals. On Dec. 21, 2021, the D.C. Council voted against a bill that would prolong the two year hiatus of clearing encampments.
As such, the National Park Service (NPS) resumed clearing in August 2021, stating that it would only
clear encampments if they posed a serious and immediate risk to the health and safety of the public or individuals living inside of the encampment. As of March, NPS has closed five encampments, and D.C. has closed nine. The NPS’ goal is to close all encampments on D.C. federal land by the end of 2023.
The CARE initiative states that its mission is to improve the safety and quality of life of those living in encampments. However, Kelly Andreae, Executive Director of Georgetown Ministry Center, which provides toiletries, showers, meals, and social aid to the homeless, explains that CARE does not fulfill its promises of improving security for homeless individuals. “[CARE] doesn’t accomplish any of the stated objectives of the encampment clearing. It doesn’t make anyone safer,” she says.
explains. “With the McPherson square clearing, there was an overdose death, which was one of the [stated] reasons… for clearing the encampment. But if you are looking at harm reduction techniques to reduce overdose, you know that isolating folks and pushing them away from their communities of support actually increases overdose deaths.”
Besides providing support, homeless communities that are created in encampments can make their residents feel safer. Anne Marie Cuccia, a journalist for the homelessness advocacy newspaper Street Sense Media, says that homeless individuals, particularly women, feel safer in encampment communities.
“Knowing, I think, especially for women, [that] there are other people around… their friends and people that they are close to… [helps]. It is an incredibly vulnerable position to be living outside on the street, and so I think having more people around, for some people, makes them feel safer,” Cuccia says.
Andreae also believes that by clearing encampments, the program disperses communities that provide support for the homeless, which complicates the jobs of service providers.
“[Encampment closures] wreck communities, [so] of course it makes it harder for any of these organizations like Georgetown Ministry Center to engage with folks and puts them at higher risk,” Andreae
Even in inclement weather, some homeless people will refuse government provided housing to stay in their encampments with their community. Maurice has been living in a shelter in D.C. for five weeks. Before that, he lived in Chicago, where he experienced many homeless communities who would stay outside even during the Chicago winter as encampments are where many homeless people feel safest.
“Chicago, where it gets extremely cold outside, [has] encampments, and [social workers] come to them and say, ‘Look, we’re going to put you all in nice hotels,’ and the people in these tent cities [are] like, ‘No, this is our place, we don’t want to leave,’” Maurice explains.
Aside from the community cre-
ated in encampments, some homeless people choose to live in these spaces because of certain restrictions enforced in shelters. Many shelters do not allow pets and animals, prompting those with dogs to stay outside. Shelters are also mostly divided by sexual orientation, eliminating the option for people to live with a significant other or family member.
In addition to these restrictions, Qaadir El-Amin, who was formerly homeless and is a current advocate for the homeless, says unhygienic conditions, threats, and violence are reasons why people may refuse living inside of a shelter.
When El-Amin was staying at a shelter, he also reports having money stolen from him. “I used to have a change bucket in Virginia, and people gave me change and I put it in the change bucket. People [would] come in my room trying to take the little change.”
Given that the CARE program does not guarantee housing after displacement and that shelters are a difficult or impossible option for some, Andreae explains that
D.C.’s homeless population is now left with very little choice regarding where and how they live. “As the encampments are being cleared… there isn’t a solution for those individuals that are being cleared. They’re just getting displaced,” she says.
The community provided within encampments reassures the residents that they are real people who deserve to be surrounded by a community. For many, displacements can send the exact opposite message.
Amanda, a government employee who works with youth advocacy and close to homeless youth, says the displacement of homeless people often serves to further dehumanize those individuals. “I think what’s saddening is that in this process [of displacement], folks just kind of lose that whole perception that of ‘Hey, these are people that are just trying to be people; they’re just trying to be loved,’” she says. “For whatever reason someone is living in a tent, that should not matter; that should not deescalate the value of a human.”
It is an incredibly vulnerable position to be living outside on the street, and so I think having more people around, for some people, makes them feel safer.
MARIE CUCCIA
The Oompa Loompas seem to have taken one step forward and two steps back in new editions of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Several of Roald Dahl’s classic stories, including “Matilda” and “James and the Giant Peach,” have been retroactively edited in a recent push for inclusivity in children’s books. The Oompa Loompas are no longer “small men” but “small people.” Augustus Gloop will no longer be described as “fat,” but rather “enormous,” and Mrs. Twit of “The Twits” “beastly” rather than “ugly and beastly.”
While these edits may be intended to make the stories more appealing to a contemporary audience, they serve only as a distraction from Dahl’s more problematic rhetoric and societal views while threatening the free expression and art of authors. Young readers, parents, and educators should focus instead on reading critically and providing context for the time period in which the books were written.
On Feb. 17, The Telegraph reported that Puffin Books, Dahl’s publisher, was making changes to his stories to remove offensive language and make them more appealing to modern audiences. The changes were made in collaboration with Inclusive Minds, an organization that works with authors and publishers to improve inclusivity in children’s literature.
For instance, in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” Gloop is the first to be lost from the tour of
Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory when he falls into the chocolate river and is sucked up a pipe. Wonka and Gloop’s parents warn him against reaching to consume the flowing chocolate, but “Augustus was deaf to everything except the call of his enormous stomach.” For some readers, what they first saw as harmless they see as problematic upon reflection. “You just see a kid falling in [the chocolate river] and you laugh [when you’re younger], but when you’re a little bit older… you just look at things a little bit differently,” Blair senior Nina Hans said.
It is important to understand Dahl’s stories within the historical context of the time period and the author, because Dahl was openly prejudiced and intolerant. In his own words in an interview with The Independent in 1990, “I’m certainly anti-Israel, and I’ve become anti-Semitic.” While Dahl’s comments are abhorrent, censorship of his stories is not the solution.
Reading Dahl’s books presents an opportunity for teachers to educate their students both on his history as well as the greater history of prejudice and discrimination in our world. “Even if you change [Dahl’s books], it doesn’t take away the fact of who he is and who he was and what he thought,” freshman Ellie Fulmer said.
an organization that works to protect the freedom to write as a form of expression, found 2,532 instances of school book bans between July 2021 and June 2022, impacting 1,648 unique book titles. 41
someone else comes into power, even if you think that it’s a noble impulse to take out some of this language or to try to make it more inclusive, you can see how that power could be misused in other ways,” she said in an interview with Silver Chips. Imagine the impact that the power of censorship can have if local, state, and national legislatures use it to remove diverse storylines from children’s books.
No longer do parents have to explain to their children why some people wear wigs while reading “The Witches,”—the book does it for them by including a new line along with the description of the witches being bald beneath their wigs: “There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.” Lines like these clash with Dahl’s original style and take the reader outside of the magical world he has created. “In a lot of cases… [editing books] takes away from the art that the author made,” freshman Liahana Kingcull said.
“I think if you’re an educator and you’re reading [one of Dahl’s books] to a class… you should probably read the original version just to [inform the class on] who the author actually was and what he thought about certain topics.”
Dahl’s history cannot be erased. It is the responsibility of readers to understand the context in which they were written or to choose books by other authors that better align with their values.
In addition to taking away from his storytelling, the edits to Dahl’s books may have implications for the future of free expression as book bans become increasingly frequent in schools. PEN America,
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percent of impacted titles featured LGBTQ themes or prominent LGBTQ characters, and 40 percent featured prominent characters of color. Dahl’s books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide, and modifications to his books open the floodgates for edits of even more children’s books.
According to Sam LaFrance, the program coordinator on the free expression and education team at PEN America, Puffin Books’ edits to Dahl’s stories set a precedent for the future censorship of literature. “Once you open that door and
LaFrance also highlights the mental and financial toll that possibility of censorship can have on artists. “That environment [of censorship] is definitely exhausting and scary, and can lead some authors to not only lose income, but [lost] stature or lose confidence in the art that they’re creating,” she said.
In the end, the choice of whether to read the edited or classic versions of Dahl’s books has been left to readers and parents. After a range of public backlash, on Feb. 24, Puffin Books announced that they would publish The Roald Dahl Classic Collection alongside the rewritten books, leaving the choice of which version to read up to readers and parents. However, whichever book they choose, Dahl’s offensive history cannot be ignored, and will not be erased by edits to his treasured children’s books. Retroactively editing books only detracts from an author’s craft and threatens the future of free expression.
In a lot of cases… [editing books] takes away from the art that the author made.LIAHANA KINGCULL ALLISION LIN
Children collect colorful eggs with the Easter Bunny at Takoma-Piney Branch Local Park.
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As the COVID-19 pandemic shut down everything and most of the world was confined in their homes, many took the time to find new hobbies and something to do to occupy their minds while stuck at home. People started to realize that chess was an accessible and intellectually stimulating game that could be played either over the board or behind a computer screen.
The most popular way to play chess online is through Chess. com. Before March 2020, Chess. com had around 30 million members. That number increased to about 57 million over the span of one year. As of now, Chess.com membership totals to 130 million, with over 5 million active daily users. The best players right now, like Grandmasters Hikaru Nakamaru and Magnus Carlsen, can be found streaming casual gameplay on Chess.com through Twitch, a popular live streaming service. In June 2020, Chess.com officiated the crossover between the two platforms by hosting the chess tournament PogChamps on their account on Twitch, with Nakamura and Woman FIDE Master and fellow streamer Alexandra Botez from BotezLive commentating.
Around the same time lockdown kicked off, “The Queen’s Gambit” aired its first season in October 2020. According to Forbes, The Queen’s Gambit was the second most popular Netflix series in 2020. The well known series tells the story of a orphaned chess prodigy Beth Harmon that deals with addiction while trying to be the world’s best chess player. After the show’s release, classic board sales increased 87 percent and chess books sales increased 603 percent.
eight chess players had little to no chess knowledge before the training period and were randomly seeded into a bracket to begin the games.
The tournament’s opener took place on March 23, a match over the board between junior staff writer Dyan Nguyen and senior Editorin-chief Sean Li. Before the match started, Dyan felt very unprepared and was dreading going up against
On Chess.com, the openings from both sides were solid. Without the players knowing it, they opened into the Vienna Game which naturally transposed into a variation of the King’s Gambit, which are very common opening tactics. Mistakes started early in the game with weak defense moves, like when Estefany moved the pawns in front of her king away, which left the king undefended.
Both sides developed all of their pieces to active squares which finished the opening stage of the match. The middlegame was rocky with missed opportunities to get up in material from both sides, but eventually Christy was able to capture Estefany’s queen, giving her a nine point advantage. In the endgame, Christy cut off Estefany’s king with her rook and finally secured a checkmate with the queen.
Estefany leaves the tournament gracefully and with a newfound appreciation for the game. “ I like the feeling of what the game comes with… You want to win, but you also [want to feel like you applied yourself],” she says.
interesting experience… It has reinvigorated my love for playing chess because now I wanna learn more [and] become a higher level player now,” she says.
Due to technological difficulties and misaligning schedules, senior writer Sachini Adikari was not able to play junior staff writer Pari Shrestha, leading to Sachini’s forfeit. Pari continued on in the tournament.
onto the offensive, eventually winning against Lucia on time.
The last two standing players, Christy Li and Pari Shrestha, played the final Silver Chess tournament match over the board in the courtyard on March 29. Playing with white, Christy felt she had an
From March 23–29, eight Silver Chips staffers gathered to compete against each other in chess games online and in person. Two weeks in advance, each staffer was paired with a student coach from one of the two chess clubs at Blair. The
Sean. Unlike Dyan, Sean was positive that he could win the game based on Dyan’s lack of confidence. Sean’s superior experience and knowledge of chess allowed him to get an easy advantage over Dyan during the game. Despite offensive dominance beginning from the early game, Sean’s amateurism shone through missed checkmates. Dyan consistently hung her pieces, or left them undefended, overlooking Sean’s attacks. The game persisted until Dyan lost all of her pieces sending the match into an endgame. Sean’s massive material advantage allowed him to easily checkmate Dyan, knocking her out
The third and final game of the first round was between senior Design Lead Lucía Santoro-Vélez and senior Culture Columnist Syd Tiruneh. Before the match, Lucía and Syd both had contrasting views on how the game would go. Lucía felt she lacked chess skills compared to Syd. “I was not feeling very good. I am not a good chess player, and so I was not confident in my abilities at all,” she remarks.
For Syd, a background in chess through playing at school bolstered her confidence. “I was feeling pretty okay honestly… I had experience playing chess in school and for other clubs and social things, so I felt kind of prepared going into it, so I wasn’t super nervous,” she says, despite only having one training session with her coach.
On Chess.com, Syd on black used a defense she calls the “Italian Stallion”, more formally known as Alekhine’s Defense. Lucia’s responses are based on pure instinct rather than planning ahead. “Throughout the game, I really was just looking at the next move,” she recalls.
Despite not being the final championship winner deciding game, the semi-finals match between the Li’s, also known as the EICs, was a highly anticipated game. The match started with wellbalanced play from both sides. But as Christy started to get more comfortable, she began attacking Sean’s pieces. Sean was blinded by Christy’s attacks, allowing her to control the tempo and dominate the game. Even though Christy had a significant material advantage, an end game blunder concluded the match in a stalemate. However, both players agreed on Christy moving onto the final round, acknowledging she had played a better game.
advantage as she practiced with the London System, a white side opener. “I feel like starting with white and having a plan makes me a little bit more calm… and I think the London is generally solid because it’s good for development,” Li says.
At the beginning of the match, both participants were laser focused and determined to win the game and the tournament. However, Pari soon lost confidence when she blundered a pawn in her opening as she had not been used to playing chess over the board as opposed to online.
of the first round.
The following matchup was between senior Editors-in-Chief Estefany Benitez Gonzalez and Christy Li. Even though Estefany admitted to only getting one coaching session in, she was able to understand the fundamentals of the first moves.
“For your first two moves, instead of defending your king… just move into the middle,” she says.
Both players understood that taking control of the center is an important asset to a win, but both failed to strongly maintain it. In the second half of the game, Lucia took the offensive and captured most of Syd’s pieces, leaving Syd with only her king and three pawns remaining. In the last moves of the game, Lucia stalemated by taking two pawns and rendering the last pawn useless with no squares left to go. By the duo’s wishes to not play another game against each other, they agreed that Lucia should advance in the tournament due to her obvious material advantage at the end of the game.
Syd hopes to play more chess in the future after competing in the Silver Chess Tournament. “I’ve never played in a super competitive way… so, that was definitely a new,
The second match was between semi-finalists Lucia and Pari. Exacerbated by her last match, Lucia was certain that she would take the win against Pari. “I’m feeling great. My opponent does not seem too confident,” she remarked. Meanwhile, Pari was feeling overly anxious over the set up of the tournament rather than playing against Lucia.
On Chess.com Pari on white plays the King’s Pawn Opening in order to gain control of the center of the board. As Pari played, she recognized that Lucia did not have as much of a concrete opening compared to her, which also rectifies her center control. Early into the game, Lucia blunders her queen, the strongest and most versatile piece, due to a technical error. “There was a little circle around a piece and I was just like, ‘oh, I’ll just click on that and see what happens,’ and it moved my queen into a place where it was just immediately gonna get taken… that was a little upsetting,” she says. For the rest of the game, Pari moves
In a final effort, Pari tried to take the offensive, but failed to keep her pieces protected and ended up with just a king and a couple of pawns to make it through the endgame. Each move leading up to checkmate took a long analysis by Christy. After finally figuring out the optimal position to checkmate Pari, she did so with just three seconds left on the clock!
Despite the wins, losses, complications, and difficulties, the tournament was an enjoyable and challenging learning experience for all who participated. “I feel like at the beginning, chess was kind of like this black box because [I just knew the different pieces and how they moved]. But then after training and playing games, I feel like I started to get a little bit comfortable,” Li says. “I would say I’m definitely proud of my improvement, but I still have… a long way to go.”
The Silver Chess team would like to give a shout-out to the volunteer coaches Peter Kogen, Henry Viechnicki, Tyler Le, Zach Williamson, Andie Allison, Alexei Kaloshin, Sameer Mehta, and Sophia Van Praagh for training the tournament competitors.
I like the feeling of what the game comes with… You want to win, but you also [want to feel like you applied yourself].ESTEFANY BENITEZ GONZALEZ
From hair-oiling to Gua sha to facial rice masks, it seems that a new wellness or beauty trend crops up every week. It turns out, however, that many of these “trends” are not exactly new—countless mainstream self-care practices today actually have Asian origins that date back hundreds or thousands of years. As they make their way into modern Western culture, the newfound popularity of ancient Asian traditions in today’s beauty and wellness culture has elicited mixed feelings of both delight at the long-overdue acceptance of Asian self-care practices and unease with how these customs have been co-opted.
tentions in favor of more superficial ideals. “A lot of Asian beauty is surrounding [emotional health], over your physical appearance. People are deeming, for example, the Gua sha to be a fake Botox in a way. And that can be very damaging,” Cha says.
dent yet again with Goop and similar companies—the brand sells a $30 rubber ball meant for support and massage, $50 balance blocks, and a $1,000 heated yoga mat.
DAMI KIMShe also notes the growing commodification of these traditions. “When these products are pushed out on TikTok, a lot of people see it as a way to gain profit as well… a lot of companies are coming out with products that aren’t original,” she explains. One such company is actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand Goop. The Goop website offers various beauty and self-care products, including a gua sha, labeled as a “facial sculptor” and a “facial roller.”
Hair oiling and the spice turmeric are two more elements of South Asian culture that have become popularized in the U.S. Indian hair-oiling involves massaging any of a variety of oils, such as castor or coconut oil, into one’s hair for strengthening, conditioning, and growth-promoting benefits. “I used to put oil in my hair. It’s really good for strengthening and making your hair healthy and shiny,” junior Anannya Trehan says.
By Eliana Finberg Culture EditorBlair junior Rihalya Sivakumar is optimistic toward this new appreciation of Asian cultures. “It’s good that people are integrating different parts of our culture into their lives… and it makes me happy when I see things that I’ve grown up with represented, whether in media or on other people’s [social media],” she says.
The sight of Sivakumar’s own cultural routines being embraced brings up memories of a time when they were instead ridiculed. “We used to get bullied or made fun of for this kind of stuff,” Sivakumar recalls. “I just think it’s kind of interesting to see how things have evolved.”
One notable Asian practice on the rise in the West is gua sha, a face sculpting technique aimed at rejuvenating the skin and reducing puffiness with the use of a flat, indented polished stone typically made of jade or rose quartz. This traditional Chinese method of stimulating blood flow by scraping a tool across one’s face and body was originally used in cases of heat exhaustion, muscle pain, or illness, and was more commonly performed with whatever was available—a spoon, a coin, or one’s hand. Additionally, this practice focused less on external, appearance-related benefits, and more on the mindbody connection, working to improve mindfulness and internal well-being.
In an interview with Silver Chips, TikTok content creator Marianne Cha (@mariii_chaa), who gained popularity on the platform for her Korean skincare videos, explains that the modern take on traditional Asian self-care overlooks the original deeper in-
“When people are profiting off of other people’s culture, that’s where it becomes a problem [of not] giving credit to where it is [due],” Cha explains. “Even though it might not seem like that big of a deal, it does stem back into the past for Chinese people.”
The gua sha method is not the only Asian wellness practice whose Westernized modern form lacks the depth of its origins. Yoga, which has been popular in the U.S. for several decades, has evolved into a commodified practice centered around fitness and trendiness that often features a preoccupation with material accessories.
The Western embodiment of yoga strays away from the practice’s ancient Indian roots, which are more complex and based in reflection, selflove, and daily routine. “It’s [no longer]
mindfulness and self-release, and it’s gone to just spending money on yoga mats and your equipment and stuff, and it’s all becoming consumerized,” Sivakumar explains. “It’s all about what you have, when in reality, the ancient Indian practice is not about that.”
Such consumerization is evi-
As for turmeric, the ginger-related plant has been featured in face masks and soaps, as well as smoothies and other foods as a dietary supplement. “It’s good for your skin [and] it opens up your pores,” Trehan explains. “I’ve been doing it [since] before it became a trend. And my mom has been doing it, my grandma, everybody.”
A similar practice from East Asian culture is the application of rice water for one’s hair and skin. “I’ve used the rice water mask; every time I make rice at home, I would just save the rice water and then it would make my skin feel really nice,” senior Charleen Dai explains.
Korean skincare is also a notable Asian influence on the Western world. Many toners, serums, and moisturizers, as well as the widely used pimple patch, are results of Korean innovation dating back decades or centuries. Taking care of oneself, particularly one’s skin, is a priority in South Korean culture for many, and with unique, natural ingredients, high efficacy, and a wide range of products, Korean skincare has become quite appealing and a routine staple for many non-Asian Americans.
Many in the Asian community appreciate that their culture is now being embraced in many new ways, and feel that sharing culture is a positive thing—as long as people respect the original purpose and roots of a practice and give credit where it is due. “There’s a very fine line between cultural appreciation and appropriation,” Cha says. Sivakumar emphasizes the importance of this balance, explaining that “you should always be a bit educated on where [the beauty trend] comes from, what the proper practices are, and culturally, what it means.”
A Deloitte study found that women read more than men, and men are much more likely to read books written by other men. That means that female authors have a readership that is predominantly female. Even if the books men are reading have main female characters, they’re not written by women, and the female experience continues to only be read about by women. It’s important to read books written by women, so as Women’s History Month comes to a close, here are some recommendations of books written by women, about women.
Similar to “The Imitation Game,” a film about Alan Turing, “The Rose Code” by Kate Quinn follows three girls who work at Bletchley Park during World War II. Though they come from different backgrounds, Orla, Beth, and Mab become friends quickly as they try and navigate the secrecy they are all sworn to. Despite being torn apart by the war, their loyalty to their country reunites them several years later, and they save the world from Russian spies.
While that part of the book is fictitious, the descriptions of the war and the code breaking work that the workers at Bletchley Park accomplished are based on historical events. The book details the large number of women who worked as cryptanalysts, translators, and messengers, which, in real life, was about 75 percent of the workers there. And even in the midst of war, it highlights many moments that feel like part of the female experience: getting ready to go dancing, gossipping in the back room, and standing up to those in charge.
When I was younger, I was fascinated with Greek mythology, and constantly read the stories of Hercules, Odysseus, and the gods. Many years later, I picked up “Circe” by Madeline Miller, which offered those same myths from a different perspective. Circe, a minor witch who was deemed unattractive and unwanted as a child, is exiled to a small island after revealing that she practices witchcraft.
She lives a lonely and isolated life, with her only company being the god Hermes and the occasional sailor.
However, once they realize that she is on an island alone with no one to protect her, many sailors take advantage of her, which was never included in any of the traditional myths that I read. Miller’s novel, told in flowery prose, offers a unique perspective on single women at the time and their value, and tells a story of female empowerment and thought in a time of repression.
When people ask me about a book that made me think the most, my first response is always “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The novel follows Evelyn as she goes through her life and career in Hollywood in the 1960s, stopping to detail the seven husbands she has along the way. Despite all of the choices that Evelyn made throughout her life, she lived without any regrets, and continued to be a powerful character for those in the book and the outside world alike.
And so, whether it’s books about women or by women, about women from long ago or in the future, I encourage you to read and support women authors and characters this Women’s History Month.
Although none of her marriages last, the complex connections between characters each bring a new meaning to the word “relationship.” The intricacies of each one, along with how they’re all tied together at the end, capture an essence of humanity and femininity that isn’t present in many of the other books I’ve read.
And so, whether it’s books about women or by women, about women from long ago or in the future, I encourage you to read and support women authors and characters this Women’s History Month.
The first thing you see when you enter the Rubell Museum is a gymnasium-sized gallery, massive paintings, and sculptural pieces hanging from the walls. Through the glass double doors across the room, visitors face three levels of varied contemporary artwork. D.C.’s first contemporary art museum brings a wide array of artists and styles.
The museum is a private collection owned by the Rubell family—Don, Mera, and their children. They began collecting art in the 1960’s through their connections to Studio 54, a club frequented by artists, which had been opened by Don’s brother, Steve Rubell. Then, in the 1990s, they opened their first museum in Miami, Florida, and then a new location in D.C. in fall 2022.
Caitlin Berry, the director of the Rubell Museum’s D.C. location since its opening, explained why they chose Southwest D.C. for the collection. “We believe that contemporary art and artists play a pivotal role in encouraging dialogue and contributing to the national conversation, making D.C. a fitting environment to showcase the Rubell’s collection,” she writes in an email to Silver Chips. “Southwest D.C. offered a meaningful opportunity to make the museum integral to the life of the neighborhood, as opposed to [being confined to] a more specialized district like the mall.”
The Rubell building was built in 1906 as the Cardozo Elementary School, and then in 1927 it became the Elizabeth G. Randall Junior High School, a historically Black public school. Now, it hosts the Rubell Museum. Berry writes that the museum makes an effort to
connect to the building’s history as a place of education.
“The museum preserves the school’s original layout, with former classrooms and teacher’s offices transformed into gallery spaces,” Berry states. “This unique setting underscores the role of artists as teachers, and we are excited that the historic building once again provides a resource for a new generation.”
This unique setting underscores the role of artists as teachers.
Visitors from all over the DMV come to see the art exhibited in the Rubell Museum. Maryland resident Katherine Staden says that the museum is a welcome change in D.C. “Some of [it] is pretty provocative [art] that you wouldn’t necessarily see [in] other places, so I’m glad to have the opportunity to see it here,” Staden says. “It’s a nice alternative to a Smithsonian, [which] we’re very lucky [is] free, but [which] we’ve all been to.”
As D.C.’s first contemporary art museum, Rubell also provides opportunities for today’s artists to showcase their work in the nation’s capital, which has always had a rich art scene. Christopher Myers visited D.C. from New York with his family to see his own work exhibited. He says that he is friends with many of the other artists, and in this unique position, he can see how many of the works reflect each other.
“All of this work is part of a larger conversation, and that’s exciting to me,” Myers says. “You can see
how [artists] are having conversations with each other.” His piece, “Earth,” is a large quilt that hangs to the right of the initial doors on the first floor, and it looks at protests and struggles during a period when COVID-19 and racial violence were both extremely prevalent.
The museum also makes an effort to showcase the work of D.C. artists as well. “We are also committed to spotlighting the work of local artists—currently on view are a series of paintings by D.C. artist Sylvia Snowden.” Five paintings from Snowden’s “Shell; Glimpses” are on display. The paintings are about Snowden’s daughter and highlight ideas of strength and femininity with thick and colorful layers of acrylic.
Another artist featured in the museum is Keith Haring. The Rubells discovered him when he was still struggling for recognition, and some of his work is also displayed in Miami. His D.C. exhibit is called “What’s Going On” and consists of 20 artworks by Haring in a classroom of their own, titled “Untitled (Against All Odds).” When a visitor enters the room, they will hear music by Marvin Gaye—whose music inspired the exhibit—playing in the background while they browse the art. Haring dedicated the works to Steve Rubell, who passed away from AIDS in 1989. Haring later passed away from AIDS-related complications.
As the Rubell Museum gains prominence among the D.C. museums for showcasing well-established contemporary artists like Haring, more people will learn about it and come to see it. Staden had only heard of Rubell a short time before she decided to buy tickets for her mother’s birthday in February.
“It was a museum we hadn’t
ence, the family-owned Colombian restaurant opened its doors in the midst of the pandemic. Despite its quiet beginnings, however, Nadas has made a name for itself in the Lower Manhattan food scene, gar nering a reputation for dedication to authentic Colombian flavors and recipes.
Enveloped in the sounds and smells of New York City, streets and alleyways glow with the warm lights and ambience of the evening dining fare. Crowded around candle-lit tables are couples, families, and friends celebrating anniversaries, traditions, and milestones. The “City That Never Sleeps” is a foodie’s paradise and offers no shortage of cultures and cuisines to explore.
NYC upholds its reputation for being one of the world’s most di verse collections of nationalities, languages, and ethnic diversity in the high concentration of cultures representing numerous communi ties from China, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and more. The source of these constantly shifting demo graphics is the city’s perpetually evolving patterns of immigration.
Compared to 17th and 18th century waves of migration, which created more isolated ethnic dis
tricts such as Chinatown and Little Italy among others, the diversity of modern-day New York City has flourished into a potpourri of identities. The last 50 years have brought a blurring of these cultural lines and integrated a wide range of languages and backgrounds into smaller spaces where a single street can reach a world of flavors and history.
Tucked in between the sparkling storefronts of Greenwich Avenue in Manhattan is Nadas.
Its menu features traditional empana das like carne, pollo, and chorizo con queso, which offer slow-braised and generously seasoned fillings enrobed in a crispy corn wrapper. Nevertheless, Nadas does not constrain itself to stay stagnant in tradition and tries experimental flavors combinations with dessert empanadas that include blueberry goat cheese and guava and cheese—sweet and rich alternatives to the classic smoky and savory flavors of Colombian cuisine.
Beyond its unique piquancy, Nadas shows off its creativity in its signature rainbow-colored wrappers. The aesthetically pleasing and “Instagrammable” branding has helped make this small family chain gain recognition while also adding a fresh and innovative twist to a food that has been passed down for genera-
A short walk down Greenwich and 6th Avenue invites pedestrians into the aromas of the heart of the West Village. Situated near Washington Square Park is Spicy Moon, a quirky Szechuan eatery with tropical themed decor and a vibrant ambiance to match. Chef Nick Wang
gone to before [and that] we hadn’t heard of. So, we decided to try this one out,” she says. “I like the size; I feel like you can really get through it, not be overwhelmed, and take your time.”
Berry maintains that while Rubell has no plans for expansion, she hopes to see contemporary art in D.C. continue to grow. “We are
founded the restaurant in 2019 to
son, its one-of-a-kind charm and atmosphere shot it into success.
Despite initial difficulties adapting traditional Szechuan recipes, which typically include ingredients like pork and beef tongue, Spicy Moon has created a menu full of fan favorites. Upon being seated, the restaurant offers patrons a choice of tantalizing appetizers called “small bites” that provide a rous ing window into the Szechuan flavor palate. One popular small bite is the vegeta ble wontons in chili oil, a flavorful starter featuring traditional Chinese dumplings stuffed with a richly seasoned mélange of mushrooms, spinach, and garlic.
A generous dousing of Spicy Moon’s smoky and piquant homemade chili oil accompanies the dish. This starter is best paired with the Dan Dan Noodles, a spicy noodle dish with an aromatic sauce seasoned with the smoky and nutty flavor profile of traditional Szech-
thrilled to join the diverse cultural landscape that D.C. has to offer, and look forward to being part of its continued evolution,” she says.
“The arts community here is flourishing, with new galleries opening and collaborations happening across organizations, and I’m excited to see what’s next for the contemporary arts scene in D.C.”
uan peppercorns.
Another popular entree is the Vegetable Ramen, a Szechuan take on the classic staple of Eastern Asian cuisine. The tenderly cooked noodles are immersed in a rich and flavorful broth with the spice and sting of chili oil and rice vinegar cutting through fragrant notes of sesame and pepper. This faithful yet innovative recreation of the distinct flavors and recipes of the Szechuan palate is the reason why restaurants like Spicy Moon have gained success and a cult following in the New York City restaurant scene.
Across the board, urban areas present culinary microcosms, offering a dense and rich concentration of cultures and cuisines from around the world. New York City is a prime example of this—within a single block, the aromas of fares from Columbian to Chinese envelop passersby. Thanks to ever evolving demographics, authentic and fusion restaurants are abundant and easily accessible in all corners of the city. Residents and tourists alike are able to stamp their gastronomical passports and walk into worlds of culinary gems.
Two Silver Chips staffers, varsity girls’ lacrosse team member Ella and the varsity girls’ tennis team member Julia, swap sports for a day!
My only experience with lacrosse was as part of my middle school’s spring lacrosse team four years ago. I haven’t touched a lacrosse stick since, and even in middle school, I was quite the amateur. Going into the swap, Ella and I kept our practice plans under wraps, so all I’m expecting—and hoping—is to not get hit with the ball.
Despite playing tennis for many years, I personally think my handeye coordination could use a lot of work. The big racket head typically makes it easier for me to get away with hitting the ball even when I am not in the right position. However, as soon as I use the stick again— which has a significantly smaller head than my racket—I have no doubt that I will be missing many catches today.
Though lacrosse relies heavily on catching and throwing, my hand-eye coordination skills are abominable. Virtually all of my past tennis experience—which is limited to middle school gym classes and random afternoons after school— has been me swinging and missing.
The only real information Julia told me about tennis was that “it was easier to pick up than lacrosse,” which, considering my past experiences, was not entirely encouraging. Watching players hit perfectly timed balls as we approached the courts only increased my anxieties.
To my great relief, Julia left the tennis balls at home, and I got a few minutes to mentally prepare while she ran to grab them. After a shortlived relaxing talk with our photographer Fiona, I begrudgingly began my end of the swap.
As I walked up to the field, I tried to recall what few lacrosse skills I had picked up in seventh grade. Unfortunately, all I really remembered were the post practice snacks and games. Nevertheless, I was excited to try the sport again and just curious as to whether I had retained any muscle memory from my middle school years.
The field was muddy and uneven—probably my fault for pick-
ing a random neighborhood field for this swap. When Ella arrived, she brought out a few balls and we got ready to pass. Inside, I sighed a breath of relief knowing I wouldn’t be running a long warm up. Luckily, my right hand catching and passing was what I considered semi-decent. To my surprise, I was able to catch a slight majority of the balls she passed gently toward me, but my technique wasn’t great.
After worrying extensively about the practice, I breathed a sigh of relief when Julia took it rather easy on me and started with the very basics. She began by showing me the different grips tennis players use for different hits, which I didn’t even know existed. I couldn’t precisely remember the nuanced differences between them, but I nodded and followed Julia’s lead anyway.
To my surprise, we didn’t really do a warmup, and instead began the practice with learning different hits. I was grateful for the lesson—I didn’t have to hit balls back and forth from the get-go like I expected. Alas, my joy was short lived, because the teaching ends quickly, and the real practice begins.
practice I was familiar with: picking up all the loose balls! I was again bested by Julia, who collected them with ease using her novel ball bag, ball stand, and ball collecting contraption. Can’t win them all I suppose.
Although I most definitely lost the skills I had in middle school, trying lacrosse again was exciting and almost nostalgic. I learned various different techniques and practice drills and even got to hammer some balls across the field. Since tennis is not as much of a team sport as lacrosse is, I would love to join Ella’s team for a day to get a taste of the team spirit that tennis can sometimes lack.
ing—a few times a year at most—to improve my coordination and technique!
Though most of my experience was embarrassment and apologies for my performance, I had fun learning! I found the noise of balls hitting Julia’s racquet extremely satisfying and would love to continue practicing until I am able to make even one hit that sounds the same.
Ella demonstrated the motions of passing and catching, and I immediately saw huge differences in our abilities to catch. Even when I passed a bad ball, Ella was able to reach up and smoothly let the ball into her stick’s net, while I was dropping the balls she tossed ever so gently right to my stick. After right hand passing, Ella suggested we try some left hand passes. She threw one more ball to my right side, and I knew that would be the last ball I would be able to catch until we switched back to the right side.
After embarrassing myself and not catching a single ball on the left side, I was relieved to hear Ella suggest we try another drill. This time, we stood close together and passed quickly between our sticks. We even tried doing this while running, which was admittedly quite a bit harder; I definitely will not be catching balls while running during a game anytime soon.
Finally, Ella demonstrated a few techniques used on the field to pass the defenders. Although I probably won’t ever find myself on the field against a defender, it was interesting to watch her precise footing and stick movement. When I gave my attempts, my footing was not as precise and smooth, and I had to stop and reset quite a few times.
Thankfully, the passing was coming to an end, and I wouldn’t have to awkwardly run after any more balls. To end off, Ella demonstrated shooting, and we shot some balls across the field, which was surprisingly fun and almost therapeutic. I channeled my embarrassment and lack of coordination into my final shots, leaving them on the field as we made our way to the tennis courts.
Julia carefully demonstrated how to react to different hits—the technique of jumping and turning the body combined immediately confused me. The swings were easy enough to get down, but only before the ball was added.
I noticed immediately how weak my arms were in comparison to Julia’s. Every hit felt like I was just barely holding on to the racquet and certainly not hitting the ball with any intensity. While all of Julia’s demonstrative hits made a beautiful, springy “thwack,” arcing effortlessly over the net and into the opposing boxes, all of my hits sounded heavy and made a weak cracking noise before rolling lamely into my side of the net.
My respect for lacrosse players definitely increased, as I now understand the difficulty of maneuvering the stick as well as all the different strategies that are used on the field. While I would prefer not to pass left-handed ever again, I would love to continue practic-
After feeling the weakness in my arm and shoulder muscles, I have a much greater appreciation for tennis. I always thought the majority of the game was about quick reaction time, but now I also see how much strength is required. While I may not be the next greatest member of the tennis team—or a member at all—I might consider upping my tennis playing from three random afternoons per year to four, or even five!
The most humbling part of the practice by far, though, was learning the serve. I probably tossed up 10 balls and hit none of them. There’s nothing quite like swinging your racquet blindly over your head, only to be met with nothing but air as the ball falls at your feet.
Embarrassed, I quickly pick up more balls and try again, only to achieve the same results. Julia kindly explained the motions again, offering pointers with great patience. After one more weak hit that, surprisingly, barely cleared the net, Julia suggested we end on a positive note. I was wonderfully relieved. Then came the only part of
There’s nothing quite like swinging your racquet blindly over your head, only to be met with nothing but air as the ball falls at your feet.
I channeled my embarrassment and lack of coordination into my final shots, leaving them on the field as we made our way to the tennis courts.
Wheaton’s wrestling season came to an abrupt end a day before the Feb. 28 wrestling competition at Blair after Wheaton head coach Justin Ellis allowed a non-Wheaton student to pose as a Wheaton wrestler. While using an “ineligible student athlete” is a violation of county enforced athletics rules and should warrant punishment for Ellis, ripping a whole season away from the hands of all Wheaton wrestlers students is not only excessive but extremely unfair to the students who had their dreams of competing in the state championship crushed so suddenly.
It is puzzling why the students are being punished despite having no involvement nor any say in the situation. “I mean, even if some of us were aware, there wasn’t much we could do because we can’t control [Ellis’] actions nor anybody else’s,” Wheaton wrestler Josh Saintilma said in an interview with Silver Chips.
Wheaton principal Joshua H. Munsey appealed the decision to the MPSSAA Appeals Committee on Feb. 13, but after a hearing, the association upheld the decision. Two days later, Munsey appealed again. This time, he did so directly to the state superintendent of schools, Mohammed Choudhury, who rejected the appeal and included a list of grievances that referenced the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR).
the student, or the coach. Only violations from the entirety of the school team can warrant the cancellation of the entire season, yet despite this situation being a violation by only the coach, the MPSSAA did not rule as such.
In late January, MCPS received information regarding an ineligible student athlete competing for Wheaton. After an investigation, MCPS promptly fired Ellis, and the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) also deemed Wheaton ineligible for championship honors at the current dual meet and individual postseasons, thus ending the team’s wrestling season.
The ineligible wrestler in question was a student from the local Jewish Day School (JDS), which is not part of MCPS. After another Wheaton wrestler was released from the roster earlier in the year, Ellis decided to take the JDS student under his wing and have him pose as the wrestler who left.
As an active member of the Wheaton Wrestling Alliance, Wheaton’s intramural wrestling program, Ellis was fully aware that he was violating rules, but he did not expect that the county would react so excessively. “I take full responsibility for this. But [MCPS] should not have come down on the kids like they did,” he said in an interview with MoCo 360. “I understand if they want to forfeit a match or two, but cutting off their entire season is completely out of line.”
COMAR is the official state-approved document that determines how Maryland’s government should function; Section 13a corresponds with the Maryland Board of Education. Regulation 13a.06.03.02, which regards eligibility for interscholastic athletics, states, “Students shall be officially registered and attending the member MPSSAA school they are authorized to attend under regulations of the local school system. They may represent only the school in which they are registered and at which it is anticipated they will complete their graduation requirements.”
While Ellis clearly violated this regulation, the punishment from the MPSSAA
In his email response to Munsey, Choudhury asserted that the students were well aware of the ineligible student athlete, and explained that their “inaction” needed to be punished as a school eligibility violation. However, Choudhury also contradicts himself in the same email, acknowledging that the students did not violate any rules themselves, as he writes, “While student-athletes are not responsible for the coach’s actions, they are nonetheless responsible for their own actions or inactions...” This is extremely unfair to the students, as Choudhury is interpreting inaction as a violation of a “rule” which does not even exist in the very document he references.
By John Ernst Sports Editor
Cherry blossoms are blooming, allergies are back, and the temperature has bounced from 70 degrees to 30 degrees in just two days. It must be spring in D.C. Spring here in the DMV brings lots of new hope of warm weather and summer, but for Nationals fans like myself, springtime and opening day is a harsh reminder of six upcoming months of suffering.
The 2023 baseball season is upon us, and as I wrote in my 2022 postseason column, the sport could not be more full of hope.
The 2022 season showed that all underdogs have a chance, and that any team or player can surprise us.
their first full seasons. Grayson Rodriguez, a righty and Orioles No. 2 overall prospect, is also ranked No. 7 overall, and was called up in early April to make his debut.
Many of the Orioles’ challenges toward the end of last year were symptomatic of a lack of veteran talent with playoff experience.
New signees include righty Kyle Gibson, who will toe the bump on opening day, and second baseman Adam Frazier, who looks to bounce back following a lackluster 2022 season after securing All-Star honors in 2021.
It is also important to keep in mind that reporting Ellis would have been a huge risk for the student wrestlers, as many had worked with Ellis for years and would have wrestled under him for years to come. If a student were to take “action,” that relationship between them and Ellis would have effectively disappeared, and there was no guarantee from MCPS that the students would be protected in case the coach was not fired. Because of these stakes, the students’ inaction was justified and therefore should not be punished.
As the result of MPSSAA’s egregious overreach, the Knights’ wrestling season was unjustly ended. Even Blair students began protesting the cancellation with the “Where’s Wheaton” movement.
Just last month, the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was a massive win for the sport, and the ending with Shohei Ohtani striking out Mike Trout couldn’t have been more poetic. The final between Japan and the U.S.—in which Japan triumphed to win its third WBC title—saw 42.4 percent of households in Japan watching live, despite it taking place on Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. in Japan.
This kind of momentum is what we needed heading into the new season—momentum that should kick the season in the right direction. Hope is alive for many teams, and although the perennial franchises will likely make a big push this year, one of the more ambitious teams is the local Baltimore Orioles, who are expected to build on last year’s winning season.
Meanwhile in D.C., there is considerably less hope. Patrick Corbin gets the ball for game one (oh boy) and the Nationals’ impressive spring training stats are the only thing fueling any potential. We knew this was coming.
After the 2019 offseason and the sale of Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, and Juan Soto, a rebuild was inevitable. The Nats are simply in the worst part of it.
did not fit the crime. According to Regulation 13a.06.03.05, which addresses penalties for failure to adhere to MPSSAA rules, all offenses are committed by one of three entities: the school team,
Not only did this situation undermine the school’s reputation, it damaged the morale of the students who worked hard all throughout the year for a chance to compete for their school and bond with teammates.
“Everybody was angry,” Saintilma said. “Because we just want to know what we [as students] actually did [to deserve this punishment].”
The Orioles have been basement dwellers for a good part of the last decade, having only won one American League East title in the past 25 years in 2014, but things are looking up for the franchise. After years of farming talent into the minor leagues, the team now has both sophomore catcher Adley Rutschman and infielder and MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect Gunnar Henderson aiming to headline this year’s lineup in
Josiah Gray, Keibert Ruiz, and CJ Abrams are the highlights of the new team, and a potential talent in MacKenzie Gore could also make an impact. Slow progression is the name of the game. This team will not play well enough to have any All-Stars, and it’s unlikely the statistics will reflect exceptional play. If Josiah Gray has a 4+ ERA but an improving K/9, call it a win. The small wins and improvements will be essential this season.
Both the O’s and Nats will look to build off of last year, in different ways, but baseball is back in an exciting way that will undoubtedly provide us with highlights and surprises as it does every year.
SOPHIA LI
I understand if they want to forfeit a match or two, but cutting off their entire season is completely out of line.
JUSTIN ELLIS
Everybody was angry because we just want to know what we [as students] actually did [to deserve this punishment].JOSH SAINTILMA
I’m exhausted. I’ve done so much participating for you guys (y’all work me to the bone) and my noodle-limbs need a break. But what can I do, if not participate? Oh, I have an idea. Hmmm. Yes. That’s a great idea.
Alright, everyone. I’ve decided. I’m going to become a coach.
Hold on. There aren’t many sports for which I’d consider myself coach-worthy. I’ve coached tennis and soccer to five- through eight-year-olds in the past, but can confidently say I don’t want to relive those experiences (eight-yearolds can be really mean!). I should pick something I can coach to better listeners.
How about chess? I play for Blair’s chess team, winners of the Metro Area Chess League (don’t ask—it’s a hip, underground thing you’re too nerdy for), and I’ve got around a 1450 ELO (a rating of chess strength that puts me in the top 4 percent of Chess.com users).
But who to coach? Totally conveniently and not at all pre-planned, Silver Chips is hosting a beginner chess tournament that works really well with my column (read more about it on page E4)! Because the tournament participants need coaching, many of my chess club friends and I can be coaches. The Silver Chess writers have assigned me to coach Christy, one of Silver Chips’ wonderful EICs. Here’s how the experience went:
Before our first training session, I suggested Christy check out some specific tutorials videos on Chess. com. At our first session a few days later, I was astonished when she not only understood the content from the videos, but could also
erything I taught her she seemed to pick up on right away. My whole lesson plan was basically trash within the first ten minutes—a good problem to have, but a problem nevertheless. If I was going to be a good coach, I would need to have more exhaustive lesson plans.
Early into this training phase of the tournament, Silver Chips took a field trip to New York City for a journalism conference. This provided a couple key opportunities for me as a coach. Firstly, two of my roommates, Christy and our other wonderful EIC, Sean, were competitors in the tournament, so I had plenty of time to play chess with them. Over the first two evenings, we played hours of chess against one another.
Both of them were, unlike me when I was learning, incredibly patient. Common chess advice is to play long games as a beginner, because you get to spend significantly more time thinking about the positions on the board and learning from them. Christy and Sean are also older than I was when I started learning and picked up on patterns much faster than I had. They’re also total geniuses, which helps too.
When playing them, I would often ask them what was going through their minds. This would let me better understand their thought processes and give applicable advice. After giving advice, I would always ask, “is this advice helpful?” While some coaches may frown on the lack of self-confidence this question demonstrates, I think it’s a useful technique to improve my coaching. It may not work well with children, but I’m confident Christy and Sean are mature enough to know what works well for them and help me guide them toward their improvement.
It brings me both pride and
ed me on the second night. During this particular game, Sean made up for his limited experience by patiently thinking through each one of his moves. In contrast, I made my moves too quickly, lost focus, and took risks, which went in his favor. I resigned after blundering my queen. If he could beat me, he certainly had the chops to win the beginner chess tournament. Even though I was coaching Sean as well, Christy was my official student, and we’d have to train hard for her to beat Sean in the tournament.
Another great part about being in the Big Apple was that we got to scout the city for worthy chess competitors. Due to a busy schedule, this was only possible on the final day. Instead of attending seminars at the journalism conference, we skipped out in favor of visiting Union Square Park, one of the primary locations for chess hustlers.
It was fascinating to get to experience the “hidden in plain sight” New York staple that is chess hustling. These guys were sitting at the exact same spots as they had when they were featured in chess YouTubers’ videos, and they were wearing the same hoodies and playing with the same boards. The consistency about it all was so cool!
Christy and I found a scenic place in the park to do our next chess lesson. We went over the London system, other openings, common middlegame strategies, and started a practice game.
Sensing a golden opportunity, I suggested Christy ask a hustler to give her a chess lesson. She did, and the hustler graciously gave her one. He covered a lot of ground quickly. At first, he was teaching her stuff she already knew, but then he moved into uncharted territory, going over tons of openings in addition to other, more general advice. It was a great conclusion to the trip and the preparation phase of the tournament.
When we got back from New York, the Silver Chess tournament started. I got to witness my wonderful pupils demonstrate the results of their train ing. Both Christy and Sean won their first matches soundly, but that brought them to the most intense match of their lives thus-far,
where they’d play each other in the semi-finals. As they were scheduling the match themselves, I had no clue when they’d be playing.
When I tuned into Chess.com at 11:30 p.m. on a Monday night (I have a problem), I found out they were playing their game. Because Christy was my official student and Sean had another coach anyway, I was naturally rooting for Christy. She assumed a winning position and… stalemated (a chess term for tied). Oops, I forgot to go over that with her.
No matter, she and Sean would just do another game to decide the result. Thirty minutes later… stalemate again. Two wonderfully winning positions for her. Two draws. She and Sean mutually agreed that she would take the win. It was 12:30 a.m., and they rightfully wanted to go to sleep. In fact, I wrote at the
time, “My poor students have spent an hour playing chess with two stalemates to show for it.”
Well. Woohoo! My primary student won! After a lesson on stalemates when we got to class in the morning, it was onto the finals for her.
I wasn’t there to see the final game in person, but when she messaged me saying, “I won the tournament!!” I got the pride of having trained a winner, and I reflected on the absolute joy that was working with two amazing chess students who may one day achieve even greater chess heights than a high school class tournament.
I may have not improved as an athlete, but I certainly have as a coach—getting to better understand the troubles that come with teaching a skill to others.
At age 11, Blair senior Ruby Borzekowski started her career in the world of diving, where she is now a rising star. Although many people conflate diving and swimming into a single sport, diving is a distinct exercise in which competitors perform acrobatic maneuvers off of a diving board in pursuit of the perfect 10 grade. “When I say that I dive… [people say] ‘Oh, yeah, you’re [a] swimmer.’ But it’s just not the same,” Borzekowski explains.
As a member of both Blair’s Swim and Dive Team and Montgomery Dive Team, a club team, Borzekowski’s entire schedule revolves around dive, and she often has to prioritize the sport over her schoolwork. “[I have to] wake up pretty early because we have morning [practice] before school. [I] practice after
school from 3:00 to 6:30, and then after that we have another recovery. Then I go home and I don’t do schoolwork. I just go to bed,” Borzekowski says.
As with many sports teams, Borzekowski’s dive team experienced many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We [had to change] our name. We lost the contract to our pool,” Borzekowski recalls. “We were diving in Virginia for a while with [a] random team.”
After the pandemic, the team returned to its old pool, driving many of the divers to appreciate the sport more. The experience motivated Borzekowski to train harder in order to eventually dive collegiately. “It gave me so much more motivation, because I didn’t realize how much I took the sport for granted in the past, and this made me realize that I didn’t have that much longer to get where I wanted, which was diving in college. So I just
By Viveka Sinha Staff Writerworked a lot harder after,” she says.
Despite the intensive schedule and pandemic setbacks, Borzekowski’s passion for the sport propelled her to eventually sign with a Division 1 school for diving. She will attend the University of Virginia (UVA) next year and pursue her dream of competing at the collegiate level. “I’ve started to realize that as scary as [diving is], I really enjoy the feeling of it. So I don’t want to stop after high school,” she says.
The experience of recruitment, however, was very stressful for the young diver. “It was the worst part of diving. There’s so many standstill points during the recruiting process where… there are no updates… so you [don’t] know what’s going on.”
Before receiving her offer from UVA, Borzekowksi was in correspondence with the diving team at the University of California, Los
Angeles (UCLA). “Over the summer, I thought I committed to UCLA. [But] that fell through, and so I was kind of at a loss for what to do and what the next steps were,” she recounts.
Fortunately, UVA reached out to Borzekowski soon after and she quickly committed. “[The] coach at UVA reached out and we had a couple of calls and [it] felt so comfortable [and] he offered me a spot,” she says. “I didn’t want to wait for a toss up with UCLA, so I chose UVA and I was really happy about it.”
To athletes going through similar stressful experiences, Borzekowski assures that everyone will end up where they want to be. “The advice I really didn’t want to hear last year was ‘you’ll end up where you’re meant to be.’ But it actually is true. With help and putting in the work, you’ll end up where you want to go.”
PHOTOS BY JONATHAN CUMBLIDGEFrom the depths of the pool to the heights of academic success, Blair senior Oliver Jackson strives for excellence in all pillars of his life. As one of the captains of the Blair Swim & Dive team, Jackson has swim training for over 20 hours each week. Yet, he still manages to balance his rigorous swimming schedule with his academics and other extracurricular activities. “I definitely have to schedule around my homework and my other activities, [and] if I want to hang out with friends, I have to plan that in advance,” he says. “And obviously, I have to balance out all these different things because I still have academics which are a big priority.”
Even with a demanding schedule that requires over three hours of training per day, Jackson finds joy in swimming. “Even though the sport is pretty difficult, I enjoy the challenge and [everything] that it provides,” he explains.
Jackson’s passion for swimming has led him to pursue it at the collegiate level. “I know that I’m not gonna go to the Olympics after I’m done with college, but I knew that I just wasn’t done yet and that I’m super excited to continue swimming in college,” he shares.
After carefully considering his collegiate swimming options, Jackson ultimately decided to commit to Hamilton College, a Division III school in Clinton, New York. “I just thought I’m going to be more of a threat at the lower level,” he
said. “I could go D1 and sit on the bench or… I could go to a D3 [and] maybe break some records [and] get swim time as a freshman.”
A rigorous academic program was also a driving factor that pushed Jackson to choose Hamilton. “[I can] then really focus on the academic components and more of [what] happens after I graduate college,” he explains. Overall, the atmosphere at Hamilton convinced Jackson that this was his school.
“The coach was consistently super kind [and] I already felt like I was part of the team when I went on visits. It was a super great experience and I knew it was the place for me.”
Initially, Jackson felt pressure to consistently perform at a high level in order to impress college coaches, but he ultimately realized it was
more important to allow himself to relax and appreciate the journey. “At first, it was really stressful and I… would honestly be more focused on dropping times for the colleges rather than my personal goal to improve. [But] once I started taking it less seriously, it became more fun and I was enjoying the process,” he said.
As Jackson prepares for his college swimming career, he offers advice to those who may be considering a similar path. “Don’t try to go fast for coaches—do it for yourself, and that’s when the doors start to open,” he advises. “If you have the passion for [swimming], it doesn’t matter if you’re fast or slow, you will get [an] offer [and] you’re going to do perfect.”
“We were founded to serve young people from marginalized communities initially,” Program Coordinator and Registrar of First Tee’s D.C. chapter Dolly Davis says.
In 2011, Wake-Robin became a nonprofit dedicated to providing scholarships to junior members solicited through their partnership with First Tee. “We have an annual golf tournament to raise money for scholarships for minority females who are high school students looking to go to college and take something in Golf Management or something related,” Tyner says.
tricts and three days of state tournaments. During the 2022 season, Blair made it to the third day of states because of a rule that allows co-ed teams to have a ten point bonus to their overall team score if there is a girl on the team.
The rule was created in an effort to improve diversity within county golf. “We wanted a greater representation [of girls] at the state level,” Cliff Elgin, the County Sports Director for golf, says.
MCPS Golf is split into three divisions. Blair golf coach Louis Hoelman III explains the difference in demographics among the divisions. “The top division are the W schools, and those teams are not very diverse; it’s kids who went to country clubs. The lowest division is the most diverse, and they’re labeled probably the least experienced golfers and probably have the least opportunity to get better,” Hoelman says. Blair is in the middle division.
During Blair’s 2022–2023 golf season, junior Angela Shen was the sole female player on the co-ed team of ten. Shen, who took her first golf lesson in fifth grade with First Tee, notes the importance of encouraging girls to play. “I think if you mostly encouraged boys, you would miss a lot of the talent pool or potential,” Shen says.
MCPS golf has weekly county tournaments that progress to dis-
During the 2022 season, there were 50 girls playing in MCPS Golf, more than any other school district in Maryland. There were 240 students in MCPS Golf in total. Hoelman aims to have a more gender diverse team in the 2023 season.
“A goal of mine being a second year coach is to get way more girls involved in golf,” he says.
From her own experience outside of MCPS Golf, Shen observes a lack of diversity on local courses.
“When playing in public golf courses… it’s like mostly old white men,” Shen says.
Despite this image of golf, many Black women are breaking barri-
ers professionally. Oneda Castillo became the third Black woman to achieve Class A status as a Ladies Professional Golf Association teaching and club professional in 2003. Similar to many founders of Wake-Robin, Castillo first found golf through her husband at age 30.
“I look at it as a pivotal day for me in my life. There was Oneda before golf, and that day began the chapter of Oneda in golf,” Castillo says in an interview with Silver Chips. Castillo faced multiple instances of discrimination early on in her career, including one incident while
taking a golf lesson with a male teacher. “I couldn’t find someone like me to give me lessons. I had to go take lessons from guys… [Once, my teacher] stopped and said, ‘I don’t know why you’re trying so hard. You’re never going to be a professional,’” Castillo says.
Today, Castillo is part of multiple initiatives to encourage young girls to become involved with golf. She has served as the Director of Golf for the Women in Golf Foundation for 25 years in addition to her work as a global LPGA golf instructor.
Through their ongoing junior membership program, Wake-Robin also continues to fight for greater representation in golf. “I think representation matters, and we need to make sure that we get more and more of it everywhere, starting much earlier on in kids’ lives,” Dudley says.
For Dudley, encouraging this representation and being part of Wake-Robin is a way of making history. “I like to always think about us as standing on the shoulders of giants,” she says. “I feel like I’m a part of a civil rights movement.”
TYNER
I think if you mostly encouraged boys, you would miss a lot of the talent pool and potential.
ANEGLA SHEN
After a season full of upsets and electric crowds, the No. 7 ranked University of Maryland (UMD) Women’s Basketball team was prepared to prove itself in the March Madness Tournament.
Ranked No. 17 during the pre-season, the players did not let anyone put a ceiling on their potential. “We were breaking those prior judgements and proving people wrong,” Co-captain, graduate student, and shooting guard Abby Meyers says.
Going into the season with only three returning players, the team was on a mission to connect internally in order to reach its full potential. “We’re a really new team this year,” Meyers says. “We have nine new players, from different transfers to freshmen, so the hardest task was trying to get us to mesh well together, help grow our com-
munication, [and] be on the same page.”
The players not only spent time together on the court, but also made sure to foster relationships outside of basketball as well. The foundation of the team’s successful season was rooted in its chemistry.
“I think we’re really connected and it’s more than a team for us; it’s more a family and a sisterhood,” freshman point guard Gia Cooke says.
As the players bonded, their ability to string together big wins against top programs like the University of Connecticut and the University of Iowa, ranked No. 6 and No. 4 in the preseason, respectively, started to draw in more national recognition. “We were just going on a good streak, and the most exciting [part] was when we really found our identity as a team collectively,” Cooke says.
The women’s basketball program at UMD had not missed the March Madness tournament in 13 seasons and was ready to continue its streak this year. Along with their chemistry, an overall vision to win
a national championship drove them all year long. “Everyone has really bought into the goals of this program, the values, and the mission that we’ve set for ourselves [and] that the coaches have set,” Meyers explains. “I think that’s what has made this team so special this year—the sfelflessness and overall the focus on teamwork and sacrifice for the bigger picture has really helped us go a long way this season.”
Although the women’s basketball team at UMD outranked the men’s, the fan support each received was not proportional. The men’s team got an average of 13,000–14,000 fans a night regardless of the day of the week, whereas the women’s team did not get close to that number even on weekends.
“Most games of [the men’s team] this season were sold out, and only a few of ours were [even though we were] top 25 the whole year and going up each game and beating Power Five teams. It kind of sucks because we are winning, [and] we’re putting it on for Maryland,” Cooke comments.
This trend is not limited to College Park—Meyers had a similar experience during her time at Princeton when she won Ivy League Player of the Year. “I would say that the ratio [at Princeton] would be the same as [in] Maryland, from men’s fans to women’s fans,” she says.
in playoffs,” Blair sophomore and varsity basketball player Abby Greenberg says.
Meyers believes that the issue of unequal fan support does not come from a lack of media coverage or marketing, but a broader stigma surrounding women’s sports. “I think the marketing for both women’s and men’s games is top-notch. [Media posts promoting both teams are] nearly the same,” Meyers explains. “[Fans] get to choose what game they want to go to and all Maryland can do is publicize the event and put it out there, which is what they’re doing. But at the end of the day, it’s the choice of the spectator.”
Nicky Wolcott, Sports Editor for The Diamondback, UMD’s independent student newspaper, emphasizes that the paper is inclusive of all sports at the university and ensures that every team receives equal coverage. “I feel like [we] and everyone else [do] a really good job of covering both [basketball] teams pretty equally,” Wolcott explains. “That’s something we really [value].”
These recognition and support disparities reach all the way down to the highschool level. “The boys still got all the reposts, all the attention, even though the girls won way more games and went further
After falling short to Iowa in the semi-finals of the Big Ten tournament, the players reflected on their performance to learn from their loss and succeed going forward through better training. “I think we just gotta buy into every single detail, offense, defense, passing, rebounding, every small detail that we missed during the [Big Ten Tournament],” Cooke says. “I think that our practices are going to either break or make us. I think it’s really helping right now from the last practices we’ve done, and I think it’s gonna show when we get
to the [NCAA] tournament.” Meyers was also thankful for the team’s experiences during the Big Ten Tournament, as she believed it would prepare them for their ultimate goal of winning the national championship. “The atmosphere, the environment, the level of play, [and] the talent that was on that floor—it’s another great lesson that we’re gonna take with us once we go into the real deal, which is the NCAA tournament,” Meyers says.
With those lessons in mind, the players displayed their improvements through the first three rounds of March Madness. Win-
ning by an average of 21 points per game, they defeated College of the Holy Cross 93-61, the University of Arizona 77-64, and the University of Notre Dame 76-59.
After a dominant streak, UMD Women’s Basketball was knocked out of March Madness in the Elite Eight by the South Carolina Gamecocks on March 28, losing 86-75. They ended the season placing third overall in the Big Ten conference. But despite the loss, the team’s powerful performance has inspired younger female athletes, including those at Blair. “It’s encouraging seeing a successful women’s sports team so close to us and knowing that they’re helping break gender stereotypes in
Greenberg says.
sports,”By Dyan Nguyen and Caleb Plank Staff Writers MARYLAND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Co-captain, graduate student, and shooting guard Abby Meyers breaks through the defense and takes a shot at practice. PHOTOS BY MADELINE GOLD
I think we’re really connected and it’s more than a team for us; it’s more a family and a sisterhood.
GIA COOKE
