December 2024 - Silver Chips Print

silverchips

A public forum for student expression since 1937

December 11, 2024

Montgomery Blair High School

SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND

Apple Ballot picks prevail

By TOMAS MONTICELLI

On Nov. 5, all three candidates on the Montgomery County Education Association’s (MCEA) “Apple Ballot”—a paper handout distributed by MCEA that listed endorsed candidates—won their respective elections for seats on the Board. The Apple Ballot endorsed Natalie Zimmerman (District 2), Laura Stewart (District 4), and Rita Montoya (District At-large), who were up against incumbents Lynne Harris, Shebra Evans, and Rebecca Smondrowski, respectively.

According to MCEA President David Stein, the union decided against endorsing the incumbents due to the state of MCPS leadership. “The school district has been through really bad times in the last few years and the incumbent school board members were presiding over a lot of mess,” Stein said. “We just felt like we needed to turn the page, that we need new blood in the school board so we could really chart out a new path.”

Boys’ soccer wins States

players],” he said.

By ADANNA AKAMIGBO and RAE FOSTER

Rita Montoya, the winner of the at large election, agreed with Stein. “I think that the Montgomery County Public Schools system is still a really great system, but we seem to have gotten off track,” she said. “I just wanna make sure that I can help support Dr. Taylor … [and] I know how it is as a parent so I just want to try to serve the community as best I can, to help get our schools to come back on track.”

With the new Board members, MCEA hopes to elevate the voices of all teachers within MCPS. “I think that the school board needs to do a much better job of listening to classroom teachers and other educators in the buildings because they’re closest to the work, they see what the needs of their students are and they need to be listened to,” Stein said. “Particularly in the last several years, we have really felt like the people at the top of the school district, school board, and top-level administration really haven’t been listening to us.” District 4 winner Laura Stewart also recognized the Board’s failure to address MCEA concerns. “I think the union just felt like they weren’t being heard … their concerns weren’t being taken very seriously. I believe that was one of the

On Nov. 15 at Loyola University’s Ridley Athletic Complex, the Blair boys’ soccer team defeated Richard Montgomery 1-0 to win the 4A Maryland State Championship for the first time since 1975. Moments before the Blazers stepped onto the pitch, pressure was at an all-time high. “We felt confident in our team, but we were extremely nervous—there was a lot to play for,” Head Coach Allie Coyle said. Blair junior defender Jorge Mejia described the game’s importance. “It [was] probably the biggest game for most of us [soccer

The crowd exploded when sophomore Julian Reyes scored in the first half after a perfectly placed cross in the box. Reyes described the play leading up to the goal. “Yoan [Pinsonneault] hit it to Caleb Elazar, and he crossed it to [Lyon “Chito” Alvarez], then Chito crossed it to the box, and I was there … It was just amazing to score the last goal,” he said. Even though Blair held the lead, it was important for the players to stay focused until the final whistle. Senior goalkeeper Caleb Johnson explained that the team knew it would be a competitive game, so they had to give it their all. “Everyone did a really good job staying focused and

not getting ahead of themselves, knowing that we still had to play a full game, and it was not going to be handed to us,” he said. Blair successfully kept possession and was strong on defense, shutting out Richard Montgomery. “Next thing I knew the whistle blew and they’re all storming the field and it’s like, there’s no way we did it,” Coyle said.

With the championship win, Coyle became the first female coach to win a Maryland State Championship for boys’ soccer. Despite the accomplishment, Coyle wanted to focus on the success of her players. “It’s taking away the spotlight from all the hard work that my team did, and they’re the ones who truly deserve the spotlight,” she said. When Coyle took over as head coach two years ago, she brought energy and new ideas. Blair Athletic Director Rita Boule appreciated Coyle’s hard work and the support she brought to Blair soccer. “She brought a great deal of stability to the program just by being a continual presence … she made the program very efficient [and] well run,” Boule explained. In a profession dominated by men, Coyle set an example for other women to follow and look up to. However, winning States only

CULTURE Chips Tries Chips plays pub trivia around Silver Spring. E4

HOLIDAYS ON THE HILL Every year, a different tree is selected to appear on the U.S. Capitol building’s lawn. This year’s tree comes from Alaska’s National Forests.

PHOTO BY RAFFI DIAMOND-BERMAN

PHOTO BY JONATHAN PETER BELLING see SOCCER page

NEWS BRIEFS

Compiled by SENAYA ASFAW

Senate race,

Gen Z contradicts polls

Youth voters shift toward Trump

By SATCHEL JELEN

term limits results

reproductive choice amendment, and county

On Nov. 5, 2024, Angela Alsobrooks became Maryland’s first Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate. Alsobrooks won with almost 55 percent of the vote, compared to her opponent, Republican Larry Hogan, who received 43 percent. On the ballots, voters supported a Maryland constitutional amendment to protect reproductive rights, with over 74 percent in favor of it. The amendment will protect the right to reproductive freedom in Maryland. Voters also approved reducing the Montgomery County Executive’s term limits, shifting from the current three four-year term limit to two. Montgomery County joined neighboring Howard County and Prince George’s County with its support for two four-year terms.

County Council elects new president and vice president.

On Dec. 3, the Montgomery County Council elected Councilmember Kate Stewart as council president and Councilmember Will Jawando as vice president. Stewart previously served as the vice president and will continue to act as a chair for the Government Operations, Fiscal Policy, and Audit Committees. In her previous roles, Stewart has promoted fiscal responsibility for county departments and increased access to healthcare for the LGBTQ community. Jawando has previously served in the council as the Education & Culture Committee chair, where he advocated for equal access to education and increased funding for school construction. This term, they plan to address pressing issues such as affordable housing, economic recovery, and a new national administration.

Increased local police presence heading into the holiday season

This holiday season, Silver Spring’s police force has planned to ramp up police presence due to a 25 percent increase in retail theft since last year. The police mobilization effort is focused on retail districts, such as malls and shopping centers, to ensure safety as the holiday rush approaches. The police department’s crime summary from Nov. 17 to Nov. 23 reported seven commercial burglaries within the Silver Spring district. In response, the police department used strategies such as placing officers in plain clothing in downtown areas to monitor illegal activity. Besides the additional police presence, there are plans to use additional resources such as drones and license plate readers to double down on theft. This move aligns with practices taken by officials nationwide to address an influx of customers during the holiday season.

Throughout the 2024 presidential election cycle, polls consistently underestimated Donald Trump’s electoral strength, especially among youth voters. Although more detailed analyses are forthcoming, exit polls have shown a shift towards Donald Trump in almost every demographic group, including youth voters. An AP VoteCast poll of 120,000 registered voters captured an 11 percent shift towards Donald Trump in youth voters aged 18 to 29. A comparison of ABC News exit polls from 2020 and 2024 showed a seven percent shift.

Polls prior to Election Day were unable to fully recognize this trend. Kamala Harris was predicted to win by almost every major pollster. Youth voters in particular were expected to overwhelmingly support Harris, in some cases by more than 20 percentage points, though this prediction never materialized.

The recent history of political polling

Michael Bailey, a professor of American Government and Data Science at Georgetown University, explained that errors like the ones in 2024 have occurred in multiple recent election cycles. “It happened in 2016 … then it happened again in 2020,” he said. According to an ABC News/538 analysis of statistical error in state presidential election polls from 2000 to 2024, this year had the lowest average statistical error at 2.94 points. Polls in 2016 and 2020, both years where Trump also ran for president, had 4.69 and 4.73 points respectively. However, even with this lower overall error, Bailey explained, the polls in 2024 were still inaccurate. “I do think it’s very fair to say that polls missed something important in 2024,” he said.

Polls tracking youth voters faced similar issues. Although most polls were able to accurately predict that Harris would lead Trump with youth voters, their predicted margins of victory were widely off. Bailey inferred that this is a broader symptom of public polls trying to accurately represent specific demographic groups. “As you move into those groups that are harder to get at, [it is] all the more important that we have a tool to understand them,” he said. “And I think the tools right now are struggling.”

According to a Sept. 8 New York Times/Siena poll of registered voters nationwide, 47 percent of youth supported Harris, while 46 percent supported Trump. But in a Pew Research Center poll around that same time,

Harris was recorded as having the support of 63 percent of youth voters, and Trump 34 percent. Even the Harvard Youth Poll, a well-regarded poll sampling 18 to 29 year olds across the country, put Harris at 56 percent support with youth voters and Trump at 32 percent. In the end, none of these polls were correct. Kamala Harris won 51 percent of the youth vote, while Donald Trump won 47 percent.

Problems with public polling

Public polling has a large propensity for error, as was evident in the 2024 presidential election. There may have been bias embedded in the questions asked or in how the results were weighted. Polls may have also failed to reach certain demographics, and some may not have responded to political polls at all. Michael Hanmer, a Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, explained that the refusal to respond, known as non-response bias, may have played a significant role in the relative error of 2024 polls. “Response rates are really terrible, and response rates among certain populations are even worse,” Hanmer said.

These certain populations often include supporters of Donald Trump, which can make getting accurate polls of Trump-aligned voters difficult. Hanmer emphasized that the issue of non-response bias represented a broader trend. “It’s just challenging to get Trump supporters to take surveys from the media or academic outlets, because they generally don’t trust either of those institutions in society,” he said. “It’s not this ‘shy Trump’ phenomenon. It’s this ‘I’m not going to answer the phone when the news media or some aca-

demics call me.’”

As you move into those groups that are harder to get at, [it is] all the more important that we have a tool to understand them... and I think the tools right now are struggling.

In general, young people may also be harder for pollsters to reach. Youth voters, Hanmer explained, tend to speak over the phone less and thus are less likely to answer phone surveys. An alternative to polls conducted over the phone known as probability-based sampling utilizes online surveys and panels to reach younger voters through their most active medium—the internet. However, Hanmer noted that even this is not always sufficient in achieving a representative sample of youth voters.

“Those sorts of approaches have their own challenges as well, trying to keep people on the panels and engaged,” he said.

Another potential issue for public polls is predicting which respondents will actually turn out to vote. For reference, in the 2020 general election, there were around 168 million registered voters, but there were only around 158 million ballots cast. In response to this, many pollsters have developed their own turnout prediction models, which attempt to predict who will actually follow through and vote, to increase the accuracy of their poll. “The various organizations that are doing polls [all] have a different approach to defining who’s a likely voter, and it’s not clear whether any of them are close to accurate,” Hanmer said. This was an issue when it came to polling accuracy. “If you don’t have [the standard prediction model] right, then everything after that is going to be problematic, even if you have a really good sample,” Hanmer said. Despite these weaknesses, Hanmer emphasized that polling itself is not fundamentally broken, though he acknowledged the public’s perception of it may very well be.

‘The change candidate’ Ultimately, understanding the polls comes down to understanding the voters. According to a

Tufts CIRCLE analysis of youth voting trends, the economy and jobs were the most important issues to younger voters this election cycle. Thomas Jackson, the membership director for the Montgomery County Young Democrats, argued that these issues may have been a driving force behind Harris’s weaker youth support. “It’s not very popular for people to have to spend more money at the gas pump and at the grocery store,” Jackson said. Jackie Sackstein, chairman of the Maryland Young Republicans, agreed. “Especially people who are in college or recently out of college, or have young families,” Sackstein said. “Their biggest concern is being able to fill up their cars with gas, to afford groceries, to afford the necessities they need for life.” Still, Sackstein does not attribute Trump’s victory solely to the economy. She also cited an increased social media presence that allowed Trump to better connect with youth voters. “He found a way to reach the younger generation in a way that I don’t think he’s done in the previous two times he ran,” Sackstein said. Overall, Sackstein said that Trump was able to tap into a broader desire for change on the part of voters. “[Trump] was the change candidate,” she said.

Looking Back, Moving Forward

November, during general election years, tends to be a time of political reflection—this year was no different. In the lull that tends to follow the general election, pollsters and politicos alike will look back on a busy year. For Democrats, Jackson predicts reflecting on this election will be a chance for the party to correct a decadesin-the-making fallout with younger voters. “[This] trend of disaffected young people or young people who are highly dissatisfied … will continue and only get worse if we don’t have that internal reflection and actually change course,” he said.

On the other hand, Republicans like Sackstein believed this election will be a time of celebration and hope for the future. “We’re all elated,” she said. As for public polling, Hanmer was unconvinced that anything major would change. “I think it’s going to be more of the same,” he said. But Bailey disagreed with Hanmer’s prediction about polling. “There will be change [in public polling] going forward,” Bailey said. “It may not be perfect. But, in a democracy, we need to understand what people are thinking.”

MICHAEL BAILEY

MAKING A STATEMENT AT THE POLLS Voters shifted toward Trump in almost every demographic group in the 2024 election.

PHOTO BY MAZ OLSON

Teachers navigate election aftermath

By LYDIA PASS

Following the 2024 election, people across the country are preparing for change in their day-today lives. With the potential for many changes within the education system, MCPS educators have been tasked with supporting both students facing discomfort, and their own uncertainty.

After Election Day, teachers and students alike woke up and had to re-adjust to everyday life amidst a plethora of emotions. Many teachers felt distraught at the prospect of going back to school immediately after the election; according to Blair Administration, 25 teachers were absent the day after the election. “I feel like I’ve been trying to pretend everything is fine,” Kathryn Medland, an English teacher at Takoma Park Middle School, said. “[It might not] be the right response, but that’s what I have to offer the world right now.”

Presidential elections never fail to bring an abundance of discourse, challenging educators with the task of moderating conversation with not only their colleagues, but also students. On Nov. 11, in a Blair staff meeting and a presentation sent out to educators, teach-

ers were directed to a section titled “Political Speech,” which advised teachers to refrain from discussing their politics following the election. The announcement reminded teachers that, “they do not have the same First Amendment free speech rights as others may have in their private lives,” and that, “engaging in expressive activities in the context of their official duties,” could result in condemnation by the school or county, because their voices represent the school and district of which they are employed.

Prior to the election, MCPS sent guidelines and regulations for staff speech and expression to principals to relay to faculty. Acting Blair Principal Kevin Yates provided staff with these documents, as well as resources on the topics of dealing with political discussions and general support for teachers regarding the election. Teachers at Blair shared a multitude of interpretations of the policies and guidelines presented to them. Darya Smith, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion coordinator at Blair, explained that policies regarding discussions of politics with students are rooted in the advisement of neutrality. “If [the

election] was brought up in class, there can be an open conversation … Students are allowed to have conversations, and we can have students engage in those conversations openly. We want to create a safe space, but we are not allowed to say what our position is,” she said.

According to James Schafer, a physics teacher and Blair representative for the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), the guidelines were put in place to promote a sense of open-mindedness for students to have discussions, while making sure teachers do not create an environment that may become unsafe or provoking. Schafer believes that neutrality is a necessary stance to have as a teacher, whose role is to educate with facts, not opinions. “I think it’s really important that we understand that teachers have a position of power,” he said. “We have to be really careful about how we wield that power … when our job is to educate.”

While all teachers are faced with students interested in the election, social studies teachers throughout Blair have been tasked with organizing productive political conversation with students in a way that supports their education. Government teachers have an exemption from some of the guidelines regarding political discussion; while it is advised that their personal

come to Blair for one of our staff meetings just to make sure that everyone was informed on the different resources that are being offered,” Schafer explained. “There are a number of resources available for teachers if they have social emotional needs.”

If [the election] was brought up in class, there can be an open conversation … Students are allowed to have conversations, and we can have students engage in those conversations openly. We want to create a safe space, but we are not allowed to say what our position is.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS

Compiled by LUCY HOLLAND

Election unrest in Southern Africa Presidential elections in Namibia and Mozambique were both met with backlash. In Mozambique, protests have continued following the Oct. 9 election, amid accusations of voter fraud and election interference. The election result kept the ruling party, Frelimo, in power. Protests that began in the capital city Maputo and smaller communities around Mozambique were met with military force. Election complications extended to Namibia, where voting concluded on Nov. 30. After technical difficulties extended the ballot counting process, results were finalized on Dec. 3, when Namibia officially elected its first female president. Opposition parties refused to accept the results on the basis of election fraud, undermining the historic win.

COP29 outcomes

Smith described her efforts—as well as the efforts of the school and the district—to provide such support for teachers. “I pulled together a very detailed plan for the guidelines based on some policies that MCPS provided,” she said, referring to the support systems for teachers. “Self-care for teachers, … emotional wellness, counseling, resources, connections with the other programs that we have here in the building, and just making sure that it was something consistent for [election] week.”

opinions remain neutral to students, they are allowed to create open conversations that lead to educational discussions pertaining to their respective subjects.

Peter Cirincirone, Blair NSL and comparative government teacher, explains that mature conversation is necessary between both students and teachers when it comes to politics, especially during election season. “The facts are not always neutral in politics … [but] it’s important to talk about issues that affect our students and possible outcomes, and particularly to understand what happened and to engage students in trying to understand why it happened,” he said.

Smith explained that like students, teachers need support too. “A lot of teachers have come and said that they’re not okay … and that they’re concerned about education and the state of education,” Smith said.

Resources for staff counseling and guidelines explaining how to manage election stress with productive teaching have been distributed both countyand school-wide to staff and educators. “We had a [union] representative

Cirincione recalled this assistance, and its importance during election season. “Our administration has made clear that the counseling office is making itself more available for students and teachers, and our department has also given teachers messages affirming that we are supported,” he said.

Smith shared this sentiment, emphasizing that union members and representatives are working to give teachers active support systems at a consistent and dependable rate. “Currently, I have a restorative practice guide that goes out every week to the staff, where we’re trying to make sure we include different ways to talk to students and engage with and aid them, and making sure that there’s wellness wrapped in for themselves as well,” she said. “My intention is to continue that every week, making sure that I’m sharing different things.”

MCEA member Jody Gil was confident that there will be continuous plans set in place to support teachers regardless of potential changes in the educational system.

“We have a strategic plan that we started writing this summer with goals … what’s coming is still up in the air, but we know something’s coming,” she said. “I trust in our [union] leaders that they’re making plans.”

As the United States grapples with the presidential election, Montgomery County support systems will continue to be put in place for both teachers and students, regardless of where they stand politically.

The twenty-ninth Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention (COP29)—an annual conference where nations gather to discuss and address climate goals—formally concluded talks in Azerbaijan on Nov. 24. Dubbed the ‘climate finance COP,’ roughly two dozen countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., pledged to collectively fund $300 billion annually to the fight against climate change, but this fell short of the $1.3 trillion dollars per year that many developing countries requested. Climate experts argued that this monetary pledge is insufficient for developing nations to achieve any form of climate progression or recovery. At the meetings themselves, many nations outwardly expressed their criticism for the lack of funding on the part of developed countries. In response to their disappointment with the pledged amount of money, diplomats from small island nations as well as some African countries walked out of a conference-related meeting with host country Azerbaijan.

South Korean president declares martial law, survives impeachment vote

On Dec. 3, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law for the first time in 50 years. In a surprise TV broadcast, Yoon announced that his decree was made to protect South Koreans from North Korean influences and to protect South Korean constitutional order. This decision sparked backlash as protesters gathered outside of the parliament building to demonstrate their discontent, pointing out that this governmental overstep is reminiscent of authoritarian times. The South Korean parliament rushed to strike down this decision, and voted unanimously to block the decree. Following the vote, Yoon agreed to lift martial law and withdraw troops from the streets. Following these events, citizens and lawmakers called for Yoon to step down. The Democratic Party, along with five smaller parties, submitted a bill to impeach Yoon, which lawmakers voted on last Saturday. However, their attempt failed to gain enough support in parliament.

DARYA SMITH

A blossom of generosity

National Cherry Blossom Festival gifts Blair six cherry blossom trees

By NEHA NARAYAN

On Nov. 21, the National Cherry Blossom Festival (NCBF) and its longtime sponsor, All Nippon Airways (ANA), celebrated the donation of six cherry blossom trees to Blair that were planted on the outskirts of the school campus. This donation marked a unique opportunity for students to connect with Japanese culture and the broader international community, promoting greater cultural understanding and environmental appreciation.

The partnership between ANA and the NCBF has continued for nine years. Every year, ANA do-

nates trees to various schools and communities around the DMV. Diana Mayhew, president and CEO of the NCBF, shared the greater significance of the partnership. “ANA’s sponsorship helps us to spread the celebration of spring and its cultural significance,” Mayhew said. “The goal is to make the cherry blossoms more than just a D.C. landmark [and] to connect people across generations and locations.”

Along with two high schools from Virginia and Howard University in D.C., the NCBF and ANA settled on donating to a high school in Montgomery County.

“This year, Montgomery Blair was chosen for this incredible honor,” Yoko Zoll, the Japanese teacher at Blair who played a key role in bringing the initiative to the school, said. Zoll, who has taught Japanese for 17 years and has advocated for Japanese cultural exchange, explained that Blair’s longstanding involvement in Japan-related activities made it an ideal recipient.

“Our students excel annually in competitions like Japan Bowl, a national level language competition, and I’ve worked hard to make sure our students are engaged with Japanese culture in meaningful ways like this,” she said.

I’ve worked hard to make sure our students are engaged with Japanese culture in meaningful ways like this.

Students, faculty, and guests gathered to witness the tree planting along with several cultural performances and speeches throughout the ceremony. Blair junior and Japanese student Liahana King Cull was involved in organizing and participated in the event. “The ceremony was a fun way to show our

diversity,” King Cull said. “The trees will remind students of our connection to Japanese culture, and I hope it inspires more people to learn about it and maybe even take Japanese classes at school.”

The tree seedlings were carefully selected with the help of local organization Casey Trees, and were planted in areas with fertile soil that will allow them to thrive. In exchange, the school has committed to taking care of them and educating students about the importance and symbolism of the trees. “In Japan, cherry blossoms represent luck and the nature of life, and they hold a very special place in many people’s hearts,” Zoll said. “These trees will make our campus more beautiful, and will also remind us of our connection to Japanese traditions.” The trees serve as a means for students to learn more about foreign cultures and relations.

“The cherry blossoms symbolize a gift of friendship from Japan and it’s important for young people to learn about that connection,” Mayhew said.

Students and teachers alike were moved by the ceremony’s sense of unity and cultural exchange. Zoll, who has led many trips to Japan for Blair students, was particularly proud to see a diverse array of student groups come together to honor the planting and greet guests from the partnership organizations.

The cherry blossoms symbolize a gift of friendship from Japan and it’s important for young people to learn about that connection.

For Mayhew, the ceremony was a powerful reminder of the Cherry Blossom Festival’s enduring legacy. “It’s amazing to think that the original gift of cherry trees from Japan over 112 years ago has led to this global celebration,” she said.

“Blair’s community has warmly embraced that spirit, and we’re proud to be a part of it.” As the six cherry blossom trees take root on Blair’s campus, they will continue to symbolize both the beauty of nature and the lasting bonds between cultures—a living tribute to friendship, cultural appreciation, and international connections.

“We like to get many different student groups involved, and we are proud of it,” she said. “From the music to the arts and journalism [programs], the whole school came together to celebrate this gift.”

MCPS error loses $39.3 million for Woodward renovation

By TOMAS MONTICELLI and CASEY PENDERGAST

On Oct. 21, MCPS released Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s recommended Fiscal Year 2026 Capital Budget, which noted the loss of $39.3 million in state aid initially anticipated to go to the ongoing construction of Charles W. Woodward High School.

The loss resulted from a miscalculation in the amount of state aid MCPS was eligible for to fund the project. “There were different levels of eligibility for the different phases [of construction], and the state wanted us to apply as one whole project instead of in phases; and that is when we ran into the issue of the state aid eligibility … [because] certain requirements weren’t met,” MCPS Capital Budget and Projects Manager DJ Connelly said.

Woodward’s construction began in September 2021 and is set to reopen by September 2027. The project is currently expected to cost the school district over $180 million in total. Given the unexpected

shifting money from other projects [but] we won’t know until the upcoming months.”

If the county can’t come up with the local funding, then we’re gonna have to think about other ways of getting that money.

Connelly further clarified that this issue was not necessarily new, though the scale of its effect was much larger than prior situations.

“We always go in assuming a certain amount of state aid eligibility,” he said. “It doesn’t always come to fruition, but this one was a little different because … this is the first one where we’ve done big phases. We really haven’t had any projects to my knowledge like this, and this is more or less the first time that we didn’t receive as much.”

In MCPS’ Oct. 23 statement on

In an effort to compensate for the error, Superintendent Taylor has worked alongside the BOE, Montgomery County Council, Interagency Commission (IAC), and Maryland Stadium Authority to determine if MCPS is eligible to receive any additional local and state government funds. As a current solution, MCPS has proposed pulling funding from other district projects to compensate for its state aid losses.

According to Superintendent Taylor’s recommendation letter to the board, if necessary, MCPS will recoup the lost funds by transferring money from other constructions in the district, including $7 million from the Building Modifications for Program Improvements project, $5 million from the William Tyler Page ES addition project, $3.4 million from the Westbrook ES addition project, $1.3 million from the Takoma Park MS addition project, and $1 million from the Parkland MS addition project.

The uncertain outcome of the situation has raised concerns among students and parents awaiting completed construction, especially while Northwood students are still at Woodward as a holding facility. Northwood PTSA Vice President Laura Nichols expressed the community’s frustration with repeated delays and vague funding plans. “When you think about the morale of the community walking into a building that doesn’t look finished … we’re definitely feeling the impact of that on our community right now,” Nichols said. “It was clear that there was a mistake made and that the school district was taking responsibility for it, which I appreciate.” However, Nichols believed the error reflected inade-

quate oversight within the county.

“This kind of error on a project of this scale seems fairly inexcusable to me,” she said.

Connelly cited “a lack of communication from prior leadership” as a possible reason for the funding error. “[The lack of] working collaboratively … with all offices to make sure that everyone’s on the same page; I think that was what maybe spawned some of this issue,” he said. “Collaborating and communicating more effectively will help deter something like this from happening again.”

Though many feel that MCPS has lacked effective communication with county residents, Woodward families, students, and staff hope that the leadership turnover this school year will bring about necessary change to address the challenges they have faced. “I’m optimistic that the new superintendent is interested in providing a more equitable experience for the community at Northwood, but I’m not sure that I see the school district responding in an efficient enough manner to actually remedy

some of the stuff the students have had to deal with,” Nichols said.

This kind of error on a project of this scale seems fairly inexcusable to me.

With Superintendent Taylor and other new leadership in central office, MCPS has solidified their aim to improve communication throughout the county, in order to prevent an error like this from occurring again. The county is currently making efforts to communicate with constituents about plans potential methods to recoup the lost funds through BOE meeting recordings and public announcement updates. “This is going to be a school system of transparency and oversight, and if there [are] issues that come up for further projects, we’re going to face them and confront them,” Connelly said.

LAURA NICHOLS

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT Diana Mayhew, Yoko Zoll, Kevin Yates, and Toshio Nomura at the Blair cherry tree ceremony.

PHOTO BY RAFFI DIAMOND-BERMAN

YOKO ZOLL

DIANA MAYHEW GRAPHIC BY EMILY KRETSCHMER

Montgomery County’s attainable housing initiative sparks debate

By ZACHARY KARP and JESSICA ZHANG

From September to October 2024, local residents and advocates spoke out both for and against the Attainable Housing Strategies initiative in a total of six listening sessions held by the Montgomery County Council. A sum of 1,639 people registered both in-person and virtually to attend the sessions, and residents also submitted almost 1,400 comments and over 400 written correspondences to the County Council regarding the plan.

The Attainable Housing Strategies initiative, which began in 2021, sought to diversify housing types in Montgomery County to address its ongoing housing shortage. After the Montgomery County Planning Department presented the project to the Montgomery County Planning Board— which are both under The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission— the Planning Board worked from July 2021 to June 2024 to produce a report for recommendations on attainable housing. The June 13 final report recommended the county increase the supply of “Missing Middle” housing, which the Planning Board defined as buildings with multiple housing units that are similar in size, structure, and construction to single-family homes. This category includes duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, and apartment buildings with fewer than 20 housing units.

The County Council Planning, Housing, and Parks Committee reported that across all six listening sessions, 92 of residents’ comments indicated support for the initiative, as opposed to 202 comments that expressed opposition.

The report concluded that residents’ top three themes in support of the initiative were that it promoted housing attainability, increased diversity, and supported aging in place—residents’ ability to comfortably and independently live in their homes even as they age. Of the negative comments, residents’ top three concerns included the county having insufficient infrastructure and resources to support urban

development, the plan’s inability to “address housing affordability challenges,” and the possible loss of neighborhood character.

The Planning Board’s analysis highlighted the importance of addressing the lack of attainable housing. According to American Community Survey data, between 2005 and 2022, Montgomery County lost 26,000 middle-income residents: individuals earning $83,250 to $138,749, or three to five times the poverty level. These residents moved to other counties to find more affordable homes. “We don’t have enough [housing] supply, [and] it drives up the price … the only people who can afford to have single-family homes are people that

that in 2022, middle-income residents made up only 18 percent of the county, as compared to low and high-income residents, who constituted 30 and 52 percent of the county population, respectively. According to Dan Reed, the regional policy director for D.C. advocacy nonprofit Greater Greater Washington, the loss of middle-income Montgomery County residents weakens the productivity of the local community. “We’re talking about teachers and firefighters and police officers—the people who help make this county function. Not only do they … have important jobs, but they also have significant contributions to the tax base,” Reed said. “We cannot have

make a lot of money,” Planning Board Chair Artie Harris said. “Because middle-income families can’t afford homes in our county, they’re moving to other counties like Frederick [and] Prince George’s County.”

The same analysis revealed

a sustainable economy or society if we only have very poor people and very rich people … increasingly, that is where Montgomery County is going.”

In recent years, many other areas across the country have proposed attainable housing as a solu-

tion to the housing affordability crisis. In Portland, Oregon, these efforts proved successful. The Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability founded the city’s Resident Infill Project, which expanded the types of housing available in residential neighborhoods.

The price of smaller homes decreased by an average of $117,000 after a year of the plan’s implementation. Arlington County, Virginia, passed similar housing reforms in 2023, but an Arlington County Circuit Court judge placed the plan on hold in September 2024. The Arlington County Board has voted to appeal the ruling, which halted ongoing implementation of the plan.

Because middleincome families can’t afford homes in our county, they’re moving to other counties like Frederick [and] Prince George’s County.

Community feedback

Carrie Kisicki, the Montgomery County Advocacy Manager for the Coalition for Smarter Growth and a Montgomery County resident, believes that the initiative is important to the community because it allows more residents to afford housing in the county. “We are

seeing that housing is getting more expensive over time, which makes it harder for people to live here,” Kisicki said. “One of the tools that we can use to address [this] is building more housing.”

We are seeing that housing is getting more expensive over time, which makes it harder for people to live here.

However, some residents believe that the Planning Board’s recommendations might not accomplish their goal. Paul Guinessy, a resident who lives in Silver Spring along the affected area, believed that the current plan would still be too expensive for residents in need of attainable housing. “Every developer I’ve spoken to says that they’re going to be building luxury housing, and that’s … [going to] cost close to $1,000,000 or more,” Guinessy said. “So I think it’s a little bit disingenuous.”

However, advocates say that the focus of the initiative is not to reduce costs. Former Takoma Park Councilmember Seth Grimes argued that the primary goal is to create more diverse housing options for residents. “The goal is not to decrease the cost of existing housing necessarily. That could be an offshoot of this strategy,” Grimes said. “The goal is to create new housing that is affordable, attainable [for] residents and would-be residents of Montgomery County, and I believe we’ll do that.” County Executive Marc Elrich has expressed his discontent with the initiative and believes that it would not help achieve the Planning Board’s intention. “There’s a major disconnect between what the planning department says and what the planning department knows that they actually need,” Elrich stated in a video released on Nov. 22.

Future steps

Though the Planning Board has sent its recommendations to the Montgomery County Council for review, there is no timeline for implementation yet. “[County Councilmembers] first have to start the process by putting a [draft zoning text amendment] out there for the Planning Board initially, and then for their residents, to comment [on],” Harris said. “[The implementation is] nothing imminent because nothing has been put out there from the Council.”

The Montgomery Council Council may also modify the recommendations based on the feedback from the recent listening sessions. “[The Council] may say, ‘We only want duplexes’… and see how that goes,” Harris said. “Will they go as big as we did? Maybe not. They’re conscientiously listening to people in the county to get their thoughts on this policy, and [then they’ll] go from there.”

DOWNTOWN SILVER SPRING The Planning Board’s recommendations could allow for higher-density residential zoning like

townhouses to be built in more areas.

PHOTOS BY RAFFI DIAMOND-BERMAN

GRAPHIC BY JESSICA ZHANG | DATA COURTESY OF AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY

CARRIE KISICKI

ARTIE HARRIS

Union’s endorsements oust incumbents in Board election

from BALLOT page A1

turning points [when] they decided to support new people,” she said.

Kelly O’Connor, Blair English teacher and MCEA member who volunteered to hand out apple ballots, credited the candidates’ success to their union endorsement. “If you’ve got kids in the Montgomery County Public Schools system, you’re probably going to want to know who the teachers are backing up,” she said.

Stewart shared a similar stance.

“This time I think [the apple ballots] were obviously really important,” she said. “A lot of the after effects [of COVID-19] fell to teachers in the classroom who are dealing with a lot of different circumstances. There’s more mental health issues, more absenteeism … so a lot of people look at [the teachers] and say, ‘How can we help?’”

O’Connor also depended on the endorsements for her vote. “I tend to rely on the Apple Ballot myself. I’m not a huge follower of the minutiae of who’s being elected, so I am grateful that someone’s done the leg work for me,” she said.

We just felt like we needed to turn the page, that we need new blood in the school board so we could really chart out a new path.

However, Montoya did not fully accredit her success to the MCEA endorsement. “I personally believe

that it’s really hard for anyone to say that this one endorsement … led to the results this year. That being said, I think endorsements help. I think that it helps to get the word out … [and] that is certainly a positive thing,” she said.

Montoya noted that her victory may have also been a result of the other endorsements she received and the recent failures within MCPS. “I actually received a variety of other endorsements … I think there’s also a lot of different factors in this race that may have contributed to the results. We see a lot of negative things coming out of the school system and in the media and so I think you have to control for that,” she said.

Montoya emphasized the importance of endorsements in educating and encouraging people to vote in school board elections.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people still don’t know too much about Board

of Education races and so when they come to the polls, they’re not really sure what to do, or maybe they’re not going to vote at all,” she said. “At least 100,000 people who voted for president didn’t go all the way down the ballot and vote for the Board of Education.”

Endorsements from the MCEA have a track record of success. Over the last four elections, six of the eight candidates endorsed by the MCEA won in their Board elections. “Generally our candidates do really well, and the reason is that voters trust educators, and so when they come to the polls and they’re not sure about who to vote for school board, they are really happy to get the recommendations from the teachers … because we know what’s going on in the schools,” Stein said.

County to install detectors for vehicle noise

By JAY CLOUSE and ERIC YANG

On Oct. 15, the Montgomery County Council approved the pilot implementation of monitoring systems to ticket modified cars with excessive noise. These devices, called noise cameras, will monitor traffic noise and record passing cars that exceed 80 decibels. Offenders will receive a warning for their first offense and a fine of up to $75 on subsequent offenses.

While the location of these noise cameras has not been disclosed, three will be placed in and around Montgomery County. “At this time we don’t know [the cameras’ location]. That is something that is being evaluated by the [Montgomery County] Police Department,” Kate Stewart, councilmember of District 4 and council president, said.

While this program is not in service yet, it is set to start at the beginning of 2025 and end in June 2026, unless the general assembly chooses to extend the date of the program further. When the noise cameras are installed, proper signage will be placed to notify drivers of the noise cameras’ presence.

Councilmembers Stewart and Natali Fani-Gonzalez pushed for this bill to lower excessive noise pollution in neighborhoods by targeting vehicles that have illegally modified mufflers and engines. “When [excessive noise] disrupts people’s sleep and interrupts their lives, [it] can really have some very nega-

tive health impacts,” Stewart said. “Looking at the negative health impacts and the complaints that we were receiving from constituents … I was talking to residents about their concerns and the impact these modified mufflers [had]. I started looking around [and] found that there were [noise cameras] across the United States.”

Working closely with the Maryland State Legislature, the county is deciding where the noise cameras will be placed and how people will be notified of them. It is unclear whether or not these noise cameras will be placed on state roads, due to the

fact that they have different noise requirements than county roads. It is also unclear whether or not they will be placed on residential roadways or larger roadways.

In the past couple of years, noise cameras have begun to appear in some cities, including Knoxville, Tennessee and Manhattan, New York. Since the noise cameras were implemented, New York City resident Trisha Dalton has not noticed much difference in noise level compared to before. “I haven’t noticed anything changing like the

city becoming quieter per se,” Dalton said.

I hope it does not penalize people who have cars that are loud because of disrepair because of financial stress.

Some people in Montgomery County are upset at the amount of noise they hear from cars at night.

“It’s been a few instances [of] … illegal events that [occur on] Georgia and Colesville where they were doing doughnuts in the middle of the street at one in the morning,” Montgomery County resident Paul Guinnessy said.

Another concern for these noise monitoring devices is that they may cause inequity. Blair physics teacher Evan Porch wondered what would happen to drivers who had loud cars because they could not afford repairs. “I hope it does not penalize people who have cars that are loud because of disrepair because of financial stress,” Porch said. “Somebody’s car might be extra loud because of a maintenance issue, something that they can’t afford to deal with, and now they’re getting tickets on top of that.”

Porch questioned if noise cameras are the best way to solve the

issue of excessive noise from modified engines and mufflers. “Law enforcement would be better. Cops see somebody going driving an excessively loud vehicle and deal with it directly. That’s probably more effective. Plus there’s a little bit of a human involvement in terms of the judgment as to whether or not this person is being disruptive,” Porch said. “Instant feedback is always more effective than delayed.”

With these devices, Stewart wants to ensure the hearing health of residents is improved, while also making sure that no one is unfairly punished. County police are currently searching for suitable locations for these cameras to be placed and are planning to provide plenty of notice to people in the surrounding areas. “It’s important we really think about how we use technology in our communities, and [make] sure that we’re doing it in a way that no one community or group of people is being targeted,” Stewart said.

Councilmembers Stewart and Fani-Gonzalez, and others are interested in seeing how this technology can impact the lives of people in Montgomery County for the better in the future. “This was really a response from hearing from residents from across the county about an issue that was impacting their lives, their health, and their enjoyment of our community. I’m glad that the state provided us with the enabling legislation so we could try this pilot program.” Stewart said.

ROSALYN FANG

DAVID STEIN

VICTORIAREGACHUELO

EVAN PORCH

December 11, 2024

Trump elected President: now what?

By CARMELLA BEACH AN OPINION

A felon convicted of 34 criminal charges, accused rapist, and insurrectionist was elected 47th President of the United States. Emotions are running high, and fear-ridden rhetoric is flying around. “More than 50 percent of the country voted for [Donald Trump,] who is hellbent on trying to take my rights away … on trying to take the rights away from so many others … it’s a terrifying prospect,” Blair senior Lily Scheckner, president of Blair Young Democrats Club, said. Now, more than ever, it’s critical to not lose hope—we must find strength in community.

When reflecting on Trump’s victory, psychotherapist Constance Rojas Macy’s advice was to practice something she referred to as radical acceptance. “Grieving for what has been lost, but accepting it fully 100 percent, can free you of that difficult spot … free you to start doing what’s in your control,” she explained. She encouraged selfcare but warned against slipping into hopeless idleness. “We don’t know what the future holds. I think it’s to everyone’s benefit to have the awareness of what’s happening around us [rather than] allowing fear to take over and becoming disempowered as a result,” Macy said.

In the immediate aftermath of the election, many were afraid for the future of reproductive healthcare. In the 24 hours after the election was called, Aid Access, a non-profit organization that pro-

vides medical abortion services by mail, reported receiving 10,000 requests for abortion pills. An amount roughly 17 times more than the 600 the organization typically gets in a day.

Maryland State Delegate Lorig Charkoudian shed light on the disappointing reality that this election has brought forth, “Many people voted for someone who is going to make the system work for them even less. And that is the heartbreak,” she said. “Many people feel like this confirmed their worst fears, their worst understanding of just how misogynistic and sexist and racist this country is.”

For some, the fear was deeply personal. “[What is] being said about immigration and how that’s gonna be handled … really scares me because we all directly know someone that’s going to be affected by that,” Blair social studies teacher Morgan Patel said.

Moreover, the election results appeared to harm the mental health of LGBTQ people across the country. The Trevor Project, a non-profit that provides crisis intervention services to LGBTQ youth, experienced a 5,200 percent increase in outreach needing support in direct response to the election results.

But all hope isn’t lost—the fight does not end here. Now, more than ever is the time to get involved in local politics, educate yourself, listen to others, self advocate, and invest in your community. Blair junior Fiona Nellis, president of the Blair chapter of Amnesty Interna-

The painful truth

tional, suggested joining student advocacy groups. “Amnesty is a really good opportunity if you’re interested in advocacy and social justice to get your voice out,” Nellis said.

Many people feel like this confirmed their worst fears, their worst understanding of just how misogynistic and sexist and racist this country is.

Aaron Horowitz, a senior at

Edmund Burke in Washington, D.C. and Student Member of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee, observed a noticeable increase in attendance at committee meetings following the election results. “The meeting after the election, we saw many many people in the audience … many members of the public decided to show up and attend the meeting to show their concerns and their ideas for the party, and that was very encouraging for me [to see],” he said. Horowitz encourages those feeling astray about what to do next to engage in activism. “I would encourage people who have concerns to work and do what they can [to improve] some of those concerns on a local level … find an organi-

zation with a political message you support and get involved, and find candidates you support and get involved with their campaigns,” he said.

With 80 percent of U.S. adults believing that America is deeply divided, it is crucial for the nation to unite. Though there is no clear resolution, we can attempt to reconcile through active listening— not simply letting the words flow in one ear and out the other or clinging to preconceived opinions, but having peaceful conversations with the purpose of understanding people’s unique circumstances that have formed their opinions. “I know there are a variety of reasons, whether [they] are economic or social, that people [voted for Trump].

Democrats have no one to blame but themselves

By JUSTIN ROSENTOVER AN OPINION

Losing can be the best thing to ever happen to a politician. Abraham Lincoln lost his Senate race before becoming president. Franklin Roosevelt lost a vice presidential campaign a decade before his presidency. Bill Clinton failed to win reelection as governor of Arkan

They shouldn’t blame the Electoral College. Donald Trump won the popular vote in addition to the electoral one. What soothed Democrats’ anger in 2016 is no longer applicable. In fact, the Electoral College likely benefited Democrats more in this election, since Trump picked up significant votes in states like New York that did not have an effect on his Electoral College win.

They shouldn’t blame the money. Harris vastly outspent Trump in this election. The Harris-Biden campaign raised $997.2 million compared to Trump’s $388 million between January 2023 and Oct. 16, 2024. While there is still ongoing speculation in left-leaning media like the Washington Post about how much money Elon Musk gave to the Trump campaign, it is clear that money was not decisive in the election. “Had the Harris campaign won, it would have been a clear case for money, funding, and [the] effective campaign that powered victory,” Naval Academy Professor of Political Science Brendan Doherty said. “The fact that the Trump campaign itself was outspent substantially raises questions about [the efficacy of money].”

I want to hear those opinions because it’s going to help us better understand what we need to do for the midterms … how we can turn this back around for the country,” Scheckner said. Do not give up hope. It is important to remember that although the results can seem catastrophic, heart-breaking, and even fatal, we cannot give up the work that many have fought so hard to achieve. There is still so much to come.

“There’s the potential for great damage that will take time to repair, but the truth is that the future hasn’t been written yet. We are still able to be part of writing that future,” Charkoudian affirmed.

portant campaign signs reading “Harris-Walz 2024: Obviously.” The implication that over half of voters are simply incapable of using common sense is counterproductive. This non-inclusive attitude will only lead to further defeat. It is the same attitude of arrogance that led Democrats to declare that the economy was fine and to ignore the immigration crisis until it suited them.

The fact that the Trump campaign itself was outspent substantially raises questions about [the efficacy of money].

They shouldn’t just blame racism or sexism among voters. Some Democratic strategists are not only alluding to these factors—they are explicitly attributing Trump’s victory to them on national news. Ultimately, though, Democrats will not win future elections by calling voters bigots, and they will not win them by saying the voters are simply misinformed, either. Doing so is simply not productive for winning votes.

Then there is the worst argument of all: that Trump voters are all stupid. This sentiment is less prevalent among well-known commentators who know better, but it still crops up in instances like Joe Biden’s comment about Trump voters being “garbage” or self-im-

Democrats scapegoat these issues because it is easier than the truth: Democratic policies were unpopular. People in the U.S., like others around the globe, are frustrated with the incumbent politicians and want them out. Aside from abortion rights, the Democratic Party lacked broadly appealing policy platforms. They had nothing to say that was encouraging to people regarding the economy. Instead, they continued to wield cultural issues like LGBTQ rights as a weapon, despite the fact that no one who was not already voting Harris prioritizes the issue—not because they are bigots, but because

they are more focused on the price of milk at the grocery store. A Blueprint poll found that “Kamala Harris is focused more on cultural issues like transgender issues rather than helping the middle class” was a top reason why undecided voters went for Trump.

Democrats will almost certainly win seats in the midterms. “There is a saying that the true symbol of the United States is not the bald eagle, but it’s the pendulum,” Doherty said. “Nothing is guaranteed, but in only two midterm elections since the Roosevelt administration has the President’s party not lost seats in the house in the midterm election.” Since the Republicans only won a five-vote margin in the House, it would be difficult for them to lose seats in 2026 and still maintain control. This, however, will not resolve the Democrats’ problem.

The Democratic Party has to get their house in order before 2028. Every student currently at Blair will be able to vote that year, and most of them will lean Democratic (75 percent of Montgomery County voted for Kamala Harris). It is in the best interest of these future voters to learn from the mistakes of the current Democratic Party. They should stop lecturing the public, move away from culture wars, and confront the uncomfortable truth: if they do not change, the party into which they are coming of age will keep losing.

DISCUSSION Students gather to share their political beliefs in the Young Democratic Socialists of Blair club, following the election.

PHOTO BY RAE FOSTER

LORIG

CHARKOUDIAN

Montgomery Blair High School

51 University Boulevard East Silver Spring, MD 20901 silver.chips.print@gmail.com

2024 NSPA Pacemaker Finalist, 2024 American Scholastic Press Association Most Outstanding High School Newspaper, the 2024 American Scholastic Press Association First Place with Special Merit, the 2024 National Scholastic Press Association First Class with Three Marks of Distinction, the 2024 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medal winner, and the National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker 100.

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Carina Nicodemus

Auden Seigel

DESIGN EDITORS

Naomi Andelman

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NEWS EDITORS

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Max Erlebacher

OPINIONS EDITORS

Evelyn Goldin

Doris Wang

FEATURES EDITORS

Laila Andelman

Chloe Pegg

CULTURE EDITORS

Greta Andelman

Tharaa Izuagie

SPORTS EDITORS

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Norah Wilson

OMBUDSMAN

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COLUMNIST

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SENIOR WRITERS

Jay Clouse

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Diego Santoro-Velez

STAFF WRITERS

Adanna Akamigbo

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Carmella Beach

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Mackenzie Lyons

Tomas Monticelli

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Ruth Wajda-Gotwals

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Eric Yang

Jessica Zhang

BUSINESS DIRECTORS

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Edith Yang

BUSINESS STAFF

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ART EDITORS

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ARTISTS

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HEADER ART

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Money talks, don’t shout at the wrong people

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

For the first time in 50 years, the Washington Post did not endorse a U.S. presidential candidate, announcing the decision 11 days before the election. Jeff Bezos, who acquired the Post in 2013, was responsible for the non-endorsement , which eroded the already waning trust many had in his leadership. While subscribers have every right to be frustrated with the Post and Bezos, canceling subscriptions to voice one’s grievances is not the solution. Such actions only exacerbate the challenges faced by journalism, both in the DMV and nationwide. Canceling subscriptions further endangers the financial stability and survival of the institutions readers rely on to hold those in power accountable.

Post subscribers are rightfully calling foul on the choice to not endorse a candidate. The Post Editorial Board had already drafted an endorsement of Kamala Harris when they were told not to publish it. Bezos’ choice not to endorse a candidate was a serious blunder; the ability of a newspaper owner to make such consequential decisions based on self-serving motives reflects poorly on the paper’s supposed independence.

Bezos claims his choice was an effort to maintain the credibility of the paper at a time when trust in journalists is at an all-time low.

“Our profession is now the least trusted of all. Something we are doing is clearly not working,” he wrote in his Oct. 28 Post opinion, defending his position. However, Bezos’ financial interests make his claim hard to believe. His aerospace company Blue Origin has a multi-billion dollar contract with NASA that could be influenced by the election outcome. Additionally, the non-endorsement could help ensure that Bezos’ companies are not targeted by the former president. The day the Post made its announcement, the chief executive of Blue Origin met with now President-elect Donald Trump.

In response to the non-endorsement, a reported quarter of a million people—10 percent of the Post’s subscriber base—canceled their subscriptions. It is understandable for readers to be upset with the Post and look for an outlet to express their discontent, but canceling a subscription is not the best

option. The worst-kept secret in the media is that the news industry is struggling; financials and subscriber bases have been declining since the mid-2000s, resulting in the loss of countless publications. One-third of all newspapers are projected to disappear by the end of 2024, a signal of how desperate conditions are. Publications are stopping print production, distribution networks are weakening, and further job cuts are projected in newsrooms across the country.

Students today, including members of this editorial board, must think twice about pursuing journalism because job opportunities in the industry are scarce. In 2005, there were 71,000 newspaper journalists employed nationwide, according to the Pew Research Center. In 2020, the number dropped to 31,000.

Due to these financial pressures, the Post has cut back on many of its services over the years.

In 2015, The Gazette—a Postowned newspaper that served communities across Maryland, including Silver Spring and Takoma Park—was shut down after more than 50 years of publication. In

2022, the weekly Post Sunday magazine was also eliminated in order to cut costs. Earlier this year, the Post was forced to lay off over 200 staff members. Even before the loss of 250,000 subscribers, it was projected to lose $77 million this year.

The reduction of the Post’s newsroom will only be amplified by the loss of subscriptions, while Bezos and his enterprise will continue to profit without significant repercussions. Amazon is valued at an astonishing $2.3 trillion, dwarfing the $4.9 billion valuation of the Post. Bezos can afford to absorb financial losses on his investment in the paper without affecting his vast wealth or the operations of his empire. Readers canceling their subscriptions may feel justified, but the real harm will fall on the reporters and the communities they inform rather than Bezos, whose fortune will remain predominantly untouched.

If you still feel upset with the Post, it is essential to engage with other news outlets around the DMV instead. The role of the press is to uphold truth and transparency, particularly in the face of political pressure. Readers must not detach even further from local journalism to show their grievances. Support of local publications like Source of the Spring and Montgomery County Media helps sustain reliable journalism and ensures trustworthy news remains accessible to all.

The Onion buys Infowars, brings justice

By ETHAN DE BRAUW Ombudsman

It started as a drizzle on Nov. 5. A light chill in the air, unwelcome results coming out of Georgia and North Carolina. Then came the downpour–Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Arizona all turned toward Donald Trump, sending him back to the White House. The election was only the start. Questionable cabinet picks, including Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and Pete Hegseth poured out of the Trump transition team. The floodgates had opened, and the Democrats were struggling to keep their heads

above water.

Then, for a day, the sun came out. On Nov. 14, it was announced that The Onion had bought Alex Jones’ Infowars out of bankruptcy. In a six month news cycle filled with supreme court challenges, down ticket losses, and worsening global conflicts, there was one day where the sun was able to break through the clouds and justice found her way.

Infowars had been a scourge of the internet for Democrats since its founding in 1999. Alex Jones has used the Infowars platform he created to promote far right conspiracies, claiming that numerous mass shootings were government conspiracies to take away guns, the Sept. 11 attacks were an inside job, and the Boston Marathon bombings of 2013 were an inside job. One case in particular stands out as particularly sinister and cruel. For years, Jones defamed the victims’ families of the Sandy Hook massacre, calling them paid “crisis actors” in a false flag operation. It was an awful thing to do to families grieving the loss of their children in a school shooting. Jones knew it wasn’t a hoax, but he said it was anyway. He knew better than to believe his nonsense, and has admitted as much. His audience did not, and the Sandy Hook families were accosted by threats as a result. The daughter of the principal murdered in the Sandy Hook massacre testified that she had been sent threats of rape to her home. Other fami-

lies testified about enduring in-person harassment, online abuse, and death threats.

In 2018, the Sandy Hook families sued Jones for defamation in Texas and Connecticut, with the Connecticut plaintiffs alleging that “The Jones defendants concoct elaborate and false paranoia-tinged conspiracy theories because it moves product and they make money.” The first steps in a dark situation had been taken towards a brighter future.

In the fall of 2021, juries ordered Jones to pay $1.5 billion in default judgments for defaming victims of the massacre. Jones was then forced to liquidate his assets, leading the Sandy Hook families to work with The Onion to enable their purchase of the Infowars brand and their product line. Jones spewed a series of despicable lies about victims of a mass shooting, and he got what he deserved for it; total loss of his brand and platform, a brand at its height bringing in $165 million over three years through supplements and prepper gear. True to his character, Jones immediately declared the sale “sheer nonsense,” and claimed to be the victim of a grand plot to censor him. He was right about one thing; The Onion’s bid of $1.75 million was technically lower than that of losing bidder First United American Companies who offered $3.5 million. But because the Connecticut plaintiffs chose to forfeit funds

to amplify The Onion’s bid, the bid maximized value for all debtors. As usual, Jones missed all of the nuance, choosing instead to shout about all of the people against him.

Jones spewed a series of despicable lies about victims of a mass shooting, and he got what he deserved for it; total loss of his brand and platform.

Jones is trying to appeal the case, but Onion CEO Ben Collins is still confident that they will be able to buy Infowars. In a post on the social media network Blue Sky, Collins posted “We expected all of this, obviously. Buying [Infowars] was always going to be fun later on, but annoying right away. The fun part is still to come.”

The next four years might be cold and dark. It’s entirely plausible that we are heading for depressing times, which is why it is so important to revel in even small victories when the tides turn towards justice. Let’s enjoy this one. No one likes a liar regardless of political affiliation, and this loss represents an instance of karmic justice for one of the worst liars out there. So let’s bask in a good moment, at least until Trump announces his next cabinet pick.

Editorial Cartoon

ALLISON LIN

Should MCPS bring back final exams?

MCPS’s mission, as stated on their website, is “to ensure every student has the academic, creative problem solving, and social emotional skills to be successful in college, career and community, regardless of his or her background.” There is not much to argue with here—it is polished and uncontroversial, as most mission statements tend to be. The issue, then, is the disconnect between what MCPS has promised in this statement and what students have actually received. Students in MCPS are not being adequately prepared for college and careers, and have not been since 2015, when the Board of Education (BOE) voted to end midterm and final exams.

According to the current MCPS Strategic Plan, 65.4 percent of the 2024 graduating class enrolled in post-secondary school in the year after graduation. This fell short of the BOE’s target for 2024: 74.1 percent. For current MCPS BOE member Brenda Wolff, this is a symptom of a broader issue. “I’m not convinced we are preparing our students for college and for the real world,” she said. “In college, you’re going to have a final exam.” Take the top ten colleges in the U.S. by number of applications—all of them have midterm and final exams.

College & Career Information Coordinator Jazmine Delos Reyes agreed. “In college, final exams are a big part of your grade,” she said. “You have to learn how to take those exams well.” In MCPS, about 60 percent of public high school graduates that stay instate for college go to Montgomery College. The University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County are also popular choices. All three administer midterm and final exams. Yet MCPS still refuses to do so.

For Annie Goldman, a junior at the University of Missouri and a Blair alumnus, not taking finals in high school left her unprepared for college. “I never experienced that kind of stress before: just having a week of projects to complete [and] studying [for] exams all at different times,” she said. “That was really difficult. I had to teach myself.” Goldman’s struggle is not unique. According to College and Career Readiness (CCR) data from MCPS, only 79 percent of graduating seniors met Maryland CCR standards for English Language Arts and math. For John Howard, a teacher in the CAP Program at Blair, final exams once offered a chance to correct this underpreparedness. “It looks [and] it feels just like you’re doing it in college,” he said, referring to the old final exam system. “Without it now, how do you prep students?”

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The removal of final exams was misguided and overlooked their value in preparing students for college.

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Of course, some students may not intend on pursuing post-secondary education. Still, such exams are important. Studying for a midterm or final, Wolff explained, can teach students valuable life skills. “It’s not just the test,” she said. “You’re building study skills, test taking skills, [and] writing skills.”

Currently, AP classes are the closest alternative to final exams. With multiple unit exams throughout the year and an optional summative exam at the end of the year, APs more closely resemble college curricula as final exams once did. The benefits of this similarity are clear. Students enrolled in APs have higher GPAs in college, and taking AP classes has been shown to improve a student’s chances of

Final exams are ineffective measures of student learning, and their reimplementation would be inequitable for many MCPS students.

BY ELORA DERBYSHIRE AN OPINION

It is the end of the school year and 25 percent of students’ second semester grades—earned through months of classwork, projects, and tests—hinge on one last assignment: the dreaded final exam. This was the reality for MCPS students before the Board of Education (BOE) unanimously decided that the benefits of finals fail to outweigh the loss of instructional time, and abolished these exams after the 2015-2016 school year.

This instructional time was sorely needed. In 2015, the second-to-last year of finals, 74 percent of high school students failed the Algebra I exam and over 50 percent failed the Algebra 2, Bridge to Algebra 2, and Geometry exams. These low pass rates reflected a failure on the

graduating college in four years. But not all students take APs, and thus do not benefit from the increased testing.

It is time all students are given this chance. For Howard, it is common sense. “They should bring some type of final exam or final assessment back,” he said. Wolff agreed. “We need to better prepare students for what to expect in the real world,” she said. The BOE must reconsider its removal of final exams for the sake of its students. Since 2016, most students have been forced to reckon with a lack of preparation for college. It is now up to the BOE to change that.

“There should be final assessments of some sort for a course. It can be a presen- tation, it can be a project, it can be an exam. But I don’t think it should be limited in what you should do.”

county’s part to equip students with the necessary knowledge—not a lack of effort by students. Jill Ortman-Fouse, a 20142018 member of the BOE, explained that the transition to quarterly assessments was intended to give students more opportunity to learn course material. “Being able to review how you did on those [quarterly] assessments and re-teach concepts where you needed to spend more time on them was … more useful than finals, where you don’t have the opportunity to learn from the assessment,” she said.

Final exams are neither effective at measuring learning nor at helping students retain course content from the year. The

“I feel like the stress of final exams is worse than doing it in the end. Final exams aren’t going to be the biggest predictor of what you are good at.”

cumulative fatigue of exam week paired with the high-stress environment in the exam room negatively impacts students’ performances, making scores unrepresentative of their true ability. Fatigue can cause students’ accuracy to decrease by an estimated 10 to 15 percent for each passing day of a final exam week. “A lot of students … don’t really do well under pressure in tests because we’re stressed out, and our results can be affected by that stress,” Blair sophomore Saba Berhe said. Additionally, the tight spacing of exams encourages cramming, a strategy that may be effective in the short-term but undermines long-term learning, defeating the very purpose of finals.

Final exams place an unnecessary toll on students’ mental health. In 2023, 49 percent of American high school students reported feeling greatly stressed every day, with anxiety accounting for around 16 percent of absences for reasons other than physical illness. Ortman-Fouse noted that student mental health was a major topic of discussion during her time on the BOE. “All [the data that we had] pointed to the fact that we had a mental health crisis,” she said. “Students and parents both have expressed that testing in general was a big source of stress.”

Moreover, reinstating finals would likely amplify existing inequities in MCPS. The county’s four “W schools”—Thomas S. Wootton, Walter Johnson, Walt Whitman, and Winston Churchill—have FARMS rates between five and 17 percent compared to MCPS’ average of 43 percent. In 2021, “W school” students achieved pass rates of 75 to 83 percent on AP exams compared with only 30 percent at John F. Kennedy, clearly showcasing regional disparities. If finals are reinstated, the county could see a similar pattern: schools with more resources would be able to better prepare their students, and students at underfunded schools would suffer. “A disadvantage [of MCPS] being so big [is] that it’s very difficult for the people at the top to pay attention to what’s happening on the ground when so many kids’ experiences at so many different schools are so different,” Ortman-Fouse said. “And you can’t have one-size-fits-all for that many kids.”

To maintain a commitment to student college and career preparedness, MCPS must measure student progress in a way that allows for reassessment and maximizes each student’s opportunity to learn. Standardized countywide final exams would only diminish instructional time and deepen disparities within MCPS. Reinstating finals would be a step backward, penalizing students rather than preparing them for the future.

“I believe that they are a useful way of testing students’ knowledge on what the teachers taught them through- out the year.”

“I do not think they should be brought back, because it stresses a lot of students out and I don’t really think it’s necessary.”

PHOTOS BY KENEAN BIZUWORK

LUCIA WANG

When clubs become clutter

By ZACHARY KARP and KIYA TIRUNEH AN OPINION

Blair freshman Mia Escobar participates in so many clubs that she has lost count of the exact number. Like Escobar, many other students at Blair find themselves overscheduled and overworked with extracurriculars.

Instead of focusing on quantity, students should prioritize their interests when investing time in activities.

The true value of extracurriculars— leadership positions, accomplishments, development, and passion— is more meaningful than a long list of activities that may look good on paper but ultimately has little value.

According to Blair College & Career Information Coordinator Jazmine Delos Reyes, students are increasingly overloading their schedules with clubs, rather than being selective with the activities they choose to take part in. “Many students now use extracurriculars to beef up their application, but the main purpose of extracurriculars is for you to figure out what you like and don’t like,” she said.

This trend poses significant challenges.

Blair junior Anuva Maloo recalled that her participation in several in-school and out-of-school activities over the past year took a toll on her mental health and led her to fall behind in schoolwork. “[In] sophomore year especially, I was struggling with keeping up with my workload in sports, [which] were a big part of my life,” Maloo said. “[Knowing] I would [have to] sacrifice so many different things for my organizations really did affect me.”

Being overcommitted

absorbs much of a student’s time outside of school. A 2024 study by the University of Georgia concluded that enrichment activities like homework, tutoring, and extracurriculars incurred opportunity costs: lost time that could be spent on other activities like recreation, hanging out with friends, or sleeping.

During her sophomore year, Blair senior Nigisti Asmerom lost countless hours of sleep, prioritizing other activities. “It was always something every day, every afternoon,” Asmerom said. “There’d be times where I’d have to stay up super late [and] pull an all-nighter.”

All this lost sleep can have negative effects on one’s mental health. Blair junior Sarah Liang remembered that as an underclassman, she often felt stressed by the myriad activities she was enrolled in. “I couldn’t keep up with all the updates and different events and … a lot of crucial bonding time,” she said. “I would miss meetings a lot too since I had to go to something else. It caused me stress.” For Liang, the stress eventually outweighed the benefits of participating in so many activities, leading her to rethink her participation in different involvements.

The mental health effects of stress at school often prove severe. In 2019, a report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine classified youths in “high-achieving schools” as an “at-risk” group for behavioral and mental health issues—the same classification as children living in poverty and foster care, children

It’s a problem. Period.

whose families recently immigrated to the United States, and children with parents serving time in prison.

The constant buildup of extracurricular work and overlapping scholastic activities overloaded Asmerom. “I was doing all these clubs and doing all this work, and [sophomore year] was the hardest year of CAP for me,” she said. “There’d be a lot of times where I’d be stressed cause some things would overlap.”

It was always something every day, every afternoon,. There’d be times where I’d have to stay up super late [and] pull an all-nighter.

Liang has now devoted herself to a smaller range of activities— those that she feels truly passionate about—and she recommended that anyone in her previous position should do the same. “It gets tiring when you go to a club every week [but] don’t want to be there at all … so instead of ten clubs, I do five now,” she said. “It’s a lot more stress-free.”

Though one should limit themselves to a few meaningful activities, those choices do not necessarily have to be restricted to a single subject. According to Delos-Reyes, participating in a variety of diverse

Menstrual product distribution at Blair is flawed

By KEELIN PEGG and RUTH WAJDA-GOTWALS AN OPINION

Eleanor Olson’s morning should not have gone like this. It was ten minutes before school started, and the junior desperately needed a menstrual product. Assuming that the menstrual product dispensers located in every girls’ bathroom in the school would be filled, she hurried to the nearest one.

But Olson had been hoodwinked. The menstrual product dispensers were not filled. In fact, since their installation in 2021, they have spent the majority of their time broken or empty. “I went to the bathroom, and I stood there for a minute waving my hand over the touch sensor on the menstrual product dispenser,” Olson recalled. “I just felt really stupid.”

In 2021, the Maryland General Assembly passed HB0205, which mandated that menstrual hygiene products be provided free of charge through dispensers in all public schools. In response, MCPS pledged to equip every school with at least one dispenser by October 2025. But this plan has fallen short of expectations, neglecting the well-being of students in the process.

Blair secretaries Carrie Addison and Ashley Madrid-Rivas are in charge of stocking girls’ bathrooms with period products. However, as many of the dispensers experienced electrical issues last spring and early this fall, the machines were nonfunctional, forcing the Secretaries to improvise an unfavorable system of distribution: filling small plastic bins with period products. This was not a perfect solution. Addison remembers seeing stu-

dents take handfuls of pads right after she had stocked them, and the bins—which Addison bought with her own money—were frequently stolen.

Addison began stocking the bathrooms on the second and third floor about a year ago after former Blair Principal Renay Johnson asked her to assume the responsibility. Another staff member had been in charge before, but they had only volunteered to keep one bathroom on each floor stocked, which significantly hindered accessibility. “I felt that wasn’t right, because then everybody has to come to one restroom. If your class is at the other end of the building, that’s going to make the student late for class,” Addison said, noting that some teachers might not excuse that tardiness.

When Addison spoke to Silver Chips several weeks ago, the menstrual product dispensers had not yet been fixed. “They’ve been down for a year,” Addison said. She added that although she brought up the issue to building services right away, they had still not yet been fixed.

Building Service Manager Alain Perron handled the lengthy process of fixing the dispensers, just recently. This was complicated because the contractors who installed the dispensers did not show building services how to operate them, and the electrical problems were out of Perron’s wheelhouse. “I have had to reach out to MCPS electricians to help troubleshoot the operations. We have been able to address most of the dispensers … to a point where they are operating,” Perron wrote in an email to Silver Chips.

Currently, all of the menstrual dispensers in the school are func-

tional, with the exception of two: one located in the 250s hallway, and one near the auditorium—one of the most heavily trafficked bathrooms in the building. However, Madrid-Rivas and Addison only stock them once a week due to their busy work schedule. The dispensers only have space for at most 12 pads, and the space for tampons is unusable, as the school doesn’t order them.

I only figured out that you were supposed to ask the nurse because I guessed.

Finding period products at Blair has remained a difficult and uncertain experience for many students, exacerbated by the lack of information about what to do or where to go if a student needs a menstrual product. Students are forced to navigate this system on their own, putting the pressure on them to figure out what to do if the baskets and dispensers are empty. “I only figured out that you were supposed to ask the nurse because I guessed,” Blair junior Ve Mather said.

Blair does not publicize its system of distributing period products to its student body. Students received no information about why or how long the menstrual dispensers were broken and no news of when they were fixed. If students are not communicated with, the system is not helping anyone. There remains much stigma surrounding periods, and the lack of transparency and guidance

activities can improve students’ college resumes. “[It] shows well-roundedness: that you’re not just pursuing something that checks off a box, but you’re also doing something that fulfills you and makes you enjoy high school,” she said. Still, students should exercise caution to avoid overworking themselves.

Blanketly choosing activities for the prestige on one’s resume can leave a student dispassionate and unmotivated. Blair senior Michael Cieza recalled experiencing this effect in his activities. “I find whenever I’m not inspired … by whatever project I’m in, I tend to do less work, care less about it, and eventually fall off of it,” Cieza said. “Finding things that you love and enjoy will get you motivated to do those things.”

Blair is the largest school in Maryland, so its students have the most opportunity to explore new paths and try different activities by joining their school’s diverse extracurriculars. By finding a healthy balance of educational and extracurricular commitments, students can reach an equilibrium that facilitates both their academic success and mental health, allowing them to thrive in the areas that matter most.

about what to do adds stress to students’ experiences. “I wouldn’t be mad if the school didn’t provide prod ucts, but if they provide it and they don’t make that information ac cessible at all, then why have the prod ucts?” Mather argued. Between dysfunction al dispensers and an under supply of products, many Blair students have been left feeling doubtful of the school’s menstrual product system. One impacted student, sophomore Clara Faulk, has never seen menstrual product dispensers filled at Blair. “We were so excited when they first got introduced, but they were never full,” she said.

Junior Rosalind Merrill agreed, stressing her disappointment that the products have been unreliable and hard to acquire. “I thought that it was going to be a good thing for reducing period anxiety and stress,”

We were so excited when they first got introduced, but they were never full.

Merrill said.

Three years later, Merrill’s initial hope was squashed, as she

found herself frantically searching for a pad before her physics test. Merrill ventured through three bathrooms on multiple floors before she finally found one—the last pad in the bin. The pads’ aggravating inaccessibility made Merrill late for her test. The lack of communication with students about how to acquire products concerns teachers, too. Sarah Fillman, a Blair English teacher, worries that not every student knows where the nurse is or whether they have products available. “I don’t know if that information is consistently communicated to students,” she said.

While efforts to provide menstrual products to students are a good start, more needs to be done to ensure students can quickly and easily access them at school. “School is a public service,” Fillman noted. “If you are a menstruating human, part of our job is to provide you with the resources that you need.”

NIGISTI ASMEROM

CLARA FAULK

KATE McDONOUGH

VE MATHER

LUCIA WANG

esquinalatina la

Representando

Una tacita llena de tradiciones Iluminando el corazón con nuestras festividades

El chocolate no es solo una deliciosa bebida, es un símbolo que representa cuando las festividades comienzan a tomar forma en el hogar latinoamericano y el frío trae consigo momentos de unión y celebración. El chocolate es parte de las festividades, especialmente la Navidad, Día de Muertos o fiestas patronales. Cada familia tiene tradiciones únicas, pero al sentarse en la mesa estas diferencias se olvidan al tomar una tacita de chocolate y comer un plato de comida hecha en casa. La música y las danzas muestran el valor de nuestra identidad.

Durante el fin de año, las familias hispanas celebran muchas festividades, como la Navidad, Día de muertos y muchas más. Es importante mencionar tradiciones no tan conocidas entre la cultura latinoamericana. La religión judía, por ejemplo, es celebrada por algunos grupos en Latinoamérica. La mayoría de sus costumbres valoran a la familia y sus tradiciones fortalecen los lazos familiares y crean recuerdos imborrables.

Es esencial recordar que la familia no siempre está definida por lazos de sangre. A menudo, amigos cercanos y personas queridas se integran como parte fundamental de estas celebraciones. Esto demuestra que el verdadero significado de la familia radica en el amor, el apoyo incondicional y la conexión emocional que compartimos más allá de cualquier vínculo biológico.

A pesar de las diferencias culturales, hay elementos comunes, como la comida, que juegan un papel central en las celebraciones. Desde platos tradicionales hasta postres típicos, la comida es un lenguaje universal que trasciende fronteras. La comunidad judía en Latinoamérica celebra semanalmente su cena de Shabat, que es reconocido como un día de descanso y para pasarla en familia.

Desde el principio del proceso hasta el final, la comunidad de Blair menciona que todos tienen un trabajo asignado para la preparación de estas cenas y nunca falta un platillo hecho con mucho amor. Hay muchos platillos que forman parte de una cena celebratoria. A diferencia del pavo, el ave más comúnmente consumida en los Estados Unidos, en muchos de los países hispanohablantes se elabora un tipo de guiso que requiere el uso de pollo. En El Salvador, uno de los platos más emblemáticos son los panes de pollo. Este platillo consiste en un pan francés relleno con pollo desmenuzado, acompañado con ensalada. En México se preparan tamales calientes y hechos al vapor de varios sabores. En Honduras se prepara el pollo con tajadas, donde se fríe la carne y se acompaña con vegetales y muchas salsas.

En Perú, la proteína principal es el cuy, plato tradicional del país que se come durante celebraciones importantes y es reconocido como una delicadeza. Al final, en casi todos estos países las variaciones del uso del pollo son algo que permiten una conexión entre las varias tradiciones y guisos de Latinoamérica. “En Navidad hacemos panetón y cuy, también comidas con pollo, pavo, y picarones”, comparte Elizabeth Hernández, estudiante peruana de Blair. Otro elemento común es el uso de pirotecnia. Los fuegos artificiales iluminan el cielo simbolizando la alegría y la esperanza de un nuevo comienzo. En muchos países centroamericanos estas explosiones de colores se pueden ver durante la Navidad, el Año Nuevo, Día de Lempira en Honduras, o en cualquier fecha importante. Para muchos, estas luces brillantes son unos de sus recuerdos preferidos y memorables, que en un tiempo dejaron a estos chicos atónitos al observar las explosiones de colores.

“Normalmente en las calles se pone un muñeco de fuegos artifi-

ciales y lo queman, que significa que todo lo viejo se queme allá, y comienza un año nuevo”, explica Luís Sarria, un miembro de Blair con raíces nicaragüenses.

La comida reúne a las familias, sus sabores ricos son irresistibles ante cualquier obstáculo o diferencia. Un platillo reconocido en varios de estos países latinos, ¿qué será? Aunque cada país tiene sus propias interpretaciones de esta comida universal, todos los países los conocen como los tamales, una comida simple y deliciosa. En países como El Salvador, hay tamales dulces llamados tamales de elote que son comidos con crema. Si sigues al norte te encontrarás con unos tamales mexicanos. Aún ahí hay diferencias entre los tamales. En la península de Yucatán los tamales son preparados con espelón y envueltos en hoja de plátano. En Guatemala podrás encontrar variaciones de tamales hechos con hoja de Mashan, una hoja mayormente usada en esta región.

Ante las diferencias de las hojas que son usadas para cocinar estos tamales, hay que acordarse desde que el momento de empezar a amasar la masa, cocer la carne, limpiar las hojas y comenzar los tamales que en cualquier país latinoamericano esto es un símbolo de colaboración y es un encuentro donde las familias y amigos juntos se reúnen y al final se sienten a comer en unos tamales ricos con una taza calentita de chocolate. La nostalgia es un sentimiento donde se evocan los maravillosos momentos de toda la vida. Para quienes viven lejos de su tierra natal, la nostalgia se intensifica durante las festividades de fin de año. Se extraña la libertad de celebrar a lo grande, en un ambiente donde cada rincón está impregnado de tradición y cultura. Las calles iluminadas, los mercados llenos de productos típicos y el bullicio de la gente preparando todo para la celebración son recuerdos imborrables.

“Iniciamos con la pirotecnia desde el primero de diciembre hasta el treinta y uno de diciembre…nosotros lo celebramos en grande”, dijo Allison Hernandez, estudiante de Blair con ascendencia hondureña.

La falta de acceso a ingredientes auténticos que evocan sabores de la infancia es una fuente de añoranza. Sin embargo, esta carencia impulsa la creatividad, llevando a muchos a buscar alternativas que mantienen viva la esencia de sus tradiciones.

“Un año necesitábamos más tomates para la salsa de los tamales pero casi iban a ser las doce y el Megamart estaba cerrado, pero unas cajeras me dejaron entrar con mi tío…éramos los únicos ahí pero nos ayudaron mucho y salieron ricos los tamales”, dice Génesis Chacón al hablar de su experiencia al intentar de hacer tamales de México en Maryland.

Además de la falta de ingredientes uno se encuentra con la barrera de no encontrar una comunidad al recién llegar a un país extraño. Pero con el tiempo muchos han podido crear su comunidad y buscar una familia con quién pasar esos días especiales. Aunque sean los compañeros de trabajo o los miembros de una iglesia, todos buscan a alguien con quien celebrar.

“Me gusta más celebrar en El Salvador porque te sientes como más unidos entre la familia y tengo más con quien celebrar ahi, ademas mi abuela hace la comida mejor…pero aún celebro aquí en familia y a veces con amigos”, dice Nohelyn Carranza al hablar de la comunidad con quien celebra sus tradiciones.

La tecnología ha ayudado a cerrar estas dificultades de conservar las tradiciones. A través de un aparato, miles de personas pueden seguir unidas a través de una plataforma digital.

“Ha ayudado mucho la tecnología, ya que es muy difícil venir a un país que uno no conoce, donde no tienes familia, no tienes

a nadie, y lo único que piensas es como desearía estar otra vez en mi país disfrutando con mi familia”, explica Allison Hernandez.

Ha ayudado mucho la tecnología, ya que es muy difícil venir a un país que uno no conoce, donde no tienes familia, no tienes a nadie, y lo único que piensas es como desearía estar otra vez en mi país disfrutando con mi familia.

A pesar de estas dificultades, la nostalgia tiene un lado positivo. Es un puente emocional que nos conecta con nuestro pasado y fortalece nuestra identidad cultural. Estas mezclas de cultura permiten que la comunidad de Maryland sea tan diversa como lo es.

“Para el Día de muertos no es solo la comida, ni el chocolate, ni el pan. La parte más grande es celebrar a los que han pasado y recordar nuestro pasado, pues para no olvidarlos, eso es muy importante” explica Inuk Fraizer Rayas estudiante de noveno grado de Blair. Lo mismo se podría decir con todas las tradiciones de nuestras costumbres.

Lo más importante es que nunca olvidemos que nuestra cultura, nuestra familia y las tradiciones son los pilares que nos unen tanto en la mesa como en la vida cotidiana. Y si llega el día donde extrañen estas celebraciones, solo cierren sus ojos y saboreen un chocolate caliente en familia.

Por CAMILA CHI y CINDIS HERNÁNDEZ

ALLISON HERNANDEZ

CINDIS HERNÁNDEZ

Compilado por PRIYA TAPIA-PEREIRA

Competencia de Baile Latino de MCPS

Cientos de estudiantes bailarines se reunieron en el centro musical de Strathmore el pasado 25 de noviembre para participar en la competencia anual de After School Dance Fund, también conocida como Baila4Life. La primera competencia del programa de baile latino en MCPS ocurrió en 1999 en la escuela secundaria Seneca Valley. Desde 2010, la fundación sin fines de lucro Baila4Life ha organizado la competencia de baile latino para los estudiantes de escuela secundaria de MCPS. Al inicio, las escuelas de Albert Einstein, Gaithersburg, Northwest, Quince Orchard, Clarksburg, Seneca Valley y Watkins Mill participaron en la competencia. Desde entonces, el programa se ha expandido a más escuelas secundarias en el condado, como Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Rockville, Walter Johnson y Paint Branch. En respuesta a las nuevas escuelas, Baila4Life decidió dividir su competencia en dos divisiones. La primera división está dedicada a las primeras escuelas que participaron y la segunda división está dedicada a las nuevas escuelas. La competencia de las escuelas en la primera división tomó lugar el 25 de noviembre y la competencia entre las escuelas en la segunda división tomará lugar el próximo año.

Asesinato de UnitedHealthcare CEO

El director ejecutivo de UnitedHealthcare, la compañía más grande de seguros de salúd en Estados Unidos, fue asesinado a tiros el pasado miércoles 4 de diciembre. Brian Thompson asumió el rol ejecutivo de UnitedHealthcare en 2021; Thompson iba de camino a la conferencia anual de inversores de UnitedHealthCare, ubicada en el Hotel Hilton de Manhattan, Nueva York. El sospechoso fue visto caminando en el área del Hotel Hilton precediendo el ataque. Caminando solo, el sospechoso disparó a Thompson afuera del hotel en Nueva York y escapó en bicicleta. Los investigadores siguen en búsqueda del sospechoso y el programa New York Crime Stoppers ha ofrecido una recompensa de 10.000 dólares por información de la persona responsable.

Ley Marcial fue declarada en Corea del Sur

El presidente de Corea del Sur, Yoon Suk-yeol declaró un estado de ley marcial de emergencia el pasado martes, 3 de diciembre. Siguiendo su decisión, las fuerzas armadas de Corea entraron en las calles de Seúl, donde se encontraron con las protestas de ciudadanos. Después de horas, Yoon revocó la ley debido a una moción urgente de la asamblea nacional; recibieron 190 votos a favor de remover la ley y ninguno en contra. Desde el incidente, el ministro de Defensa, Kim Yong-hyun, renunció y fue arrestado bajo traición por su papel en la implementación de la ley. Prosiguiendo la investigación de la ley marcial, el Ministro de justicia impuso una prohibición de viaje al presidente Yoon Suk-yeol.

Latinos en el campo de la ciencia

Historias de científicos latinos exitosos

Por MANOOYEE FEDHAA

A pesar de ser el 20% de la población estadounidense, los latinos representan solo el 9% en carreras de ingeniería y ciencias. Esta disparidad se debe a una combinación de barreras socioeconómicas, acceso limitado a recursos educativos y la falta de modelos a seguir en estas industrias. Sin embargo, existen latinos extraordinarios que han desafiado estas dificultades y han logrado una carrera exitosa en los campos de ciencia, tecnología, ingeniería y matemáticas, conocido como STEM por sus siglas en inglés, demostrando que, con determinación, apoyo y oportunidades, es posible sobresalir en estos campos. Sus logros sirven de inspiración para las futuras generaciones de latinos que buscan desarrollarse en el mundo de la ciencia y la tecnología. El Centro de Investigación Pew descubrió que muchos latinos no se sentían bienvenidos en las profesiones científicas por sus compañeros de trabajo. Debido a la falta de latinos con altos niveles de éxito en los campos STEM, es más probable que sean percibidos como menos capacitados.

La mayoría de los estudiantes universitarios latinos son de primera generación y, por lo tanto, no tienen muchos modelos a seguir. Si hubiera más representación en el campo, habría más latinos siguiendo estas carreras.

La gente no entiende que es posible hacerlo, que no se necesita ser un genio para poder hacerlo, que se necesita simplemente dedicación, tener acceso a ciertos tipos de infraestructura, nada más.

“La gente no entiende que es posible hacerlo, que no se necesita ser un genio para poder hacerlo, que se necesita simplemente dedicación, tener acceso a ciertos tipos de infraestructura, nada más”, dijo el Dr. Igor Vivanco, un biólogo peruano excepcional con una destacada carrera en la investigación del cáncer y el desarrollo de tratamientos innovadores. El Dr. Vivanco obtuvo su título en biología molecular en UC Berkeley y su doctorado en UCLA, especializándose en farmacología aplicada al cáncer.

Durante su carrera, ha trabajado en instituciones prestigiosas como el Centro Oncológico Memorial Sloan Ketteringen en Nueva York, donde investigó tratamientos para tumores cerebrales agresivos como el glioblastoma. Desde 2014, ha liderado investigaciones en el Reino Unido, primero en el Instituto de Investigación del Cáncer y ahora en King ‘s College de Londres, enfocándose en terapias personalizadas basadas en análisis genéticos avanzados. Su trabajo podría mejorar la vida de los pacientes de todo el mundo y avanzar rápidamente en la medici-

na moderna.

“La otra cosa es que lamentablemente la se llama la gente existe mucho más gente de bajos recursos dentro de las comunidades latinas comparado con la gente de menos recursos en otras comunidades,” explicó Dr.Vivanco.

El Dr. Vivanco señaló que uno de los principales obstáculos para que más latinos ingresen en campos STEM es la falta de exposición a estas carreras dentro de sus comunidades. Los factores socioeconómicos juegan un papel fundamental, ya que muchas familias latinas viven en áreas con escuelas poco financiadas, lo que limita el acceso a la educación y los recursos necesarios para seguir estos caminos.

Es muy importante que las oportunidades sean equitativamente accesibles a todos los estudiantes, independientemente de su origen. Si los niños no ven a personas que se parezcan a ellos en carreras de STEM, pueden desmotivarse, lo que les impide creer que pueden lograrlo en primer lugar. La representación y los modelos a seguir son fundamentales para derribar estas barreras e inspirar a la próxima generación de científicos latinos.

Otro desafío es que aunque la presencia de mujeres en las universidades es mayor que la de hombres hoy en día, el porcentaje de mujeres en los trabajos de STEM sigue siendo superado en número por los hombres. “En UMBC, la mitad eran mujeres, entonces no me sentía sola”, dijo la ingeniera Sylvia Rivera, “pero cuando empecé a trabajar, tal vez había sólo dos mujeres en mi grupo.” Rivera obtuvo su licenciatura en Ingeniería Química en la Universidad de Maryland, en el condado de Baltimore. Ha trabajado para los Centros Navales de Guerra de Su-

perficie desde 2008, comenzando su carrera en la división de Indian Head haciendo fabricación. Regresó a la escuela y obtuvo su maestría en negocios y ahora trabaja como jefa de ingeniería en la División de Carderock.

“Lo que era más difícil es ser mujer,” declaró Rivera, porque es difícil encontrar mujeres en su carrera.

Según el Banco Mundial, las mujeres que estudian el campo de STEM tienen menos probabilidades de ingresar a la fuerza laboral y más probabilidades de abandonar sus carreras antes que los hombres. La razón podría ser la falta de igualdad de género y la discriminación en las brechas salariales. Aún si una mujer latina o negra entra en la fuerza de trabajo STEM, gana un 14% menos que las mujeres blancas y un 55% menos de lo que ganan los hombres asiáticos. Estas desigualdades pueden desanimar a muchas mujeres latinas a seguir estas carreras. Aunque todavía existen grandes disparidades, la diversidad afortunadamente ha aumentado en los últimos años. “Antes teníamos solamente líderes masculinos y ahora estamos contratando a muchas ingenieras”, explicó la ingeniera Wendy Evans. Evans creció en Maryland y asistió a la escuela secundaria de Wheaton antes de estudiar ingeniería mecánica en la Universidad de Cornell. Ahora trabaja en la NASA en Washington DC, donde supervisa las operaciones de las dos redes de comunicación críticas. Su experiencia refleja cómo el cambio hacia una mayor inclusión está impactando las instituciones emblemáticas como la NASA, donde mujeres ingenieras están dejando una marca significativa en áreas de alta responsabilidad y avance tecnológico.

Este progreso no solo se observa en la NASA, sino también en la comunidad latina en general. Según la Fundación Nacional de Ciencias, los latinos han logrado avances importantes, incluyendo triplicar la cantidad de títulos en STEM otorgados de 2011 a 2020.

Antes teníamos solamente líderes masculinos y ahora estamos contratando a muchas ingenieras.

Para fomentar un entorno más inclusivo en STEM, es esencial cultivar una cultura que valore y promueva la diversidad. Esto requiere esfuerzos para apoyar a los estudiantes y profesionales latinos, desde la creación de redes de mentoría hasta la implementación de políticas laborales que reconozcan y celebren diferentes perspectivas. También es importante inspirar a las próximas generaciones mediante historias de éxito y ejemplos tangibles que les permitan imaginar éxito en estas carreras. Un cambio cultural que priorice la colaboración y la equidad puede fortalecer las oportunidades para los latinos. La clave está trabajando juntos para derribar barreras y construir puentes hacia un campo STEM más diverso e innovador.

WENDY

Espada de doble filo

Por TOM SPARSHOTT y JASSARY RUIZ

Para los estudiantes de la escuela secundaria, la graduación puede ser algo emocionante pero también preocupante. ¿Pero qué pasa cuando cambia su fecha de graduación? La noción de graduarse más temprano puede ser difícil para estudiantes que no saben qué quieren hacer, o si no se sienten preparados para salir de la escuela. A pesar de eso, puede ser útil para estudiantes que quieren trabajar o ayudar a sus familias. Hay varios requisitos específicos del condado Montgomery y el estado de Maryland para que los estudiantes puedan graduarse. De acuerdo a la página de información de aplicabilidad de créditos del condado, para aceptar créditos de otras escuelas, los estudiantes tienen que enviar créditos para que sean evaluados por una agencia independiente para ser aceptados como crédito en el condado. Las agencias revisan los créditos de escuelas previas para decidir su valor en comparación con las clases del

condado. Si los créditos están de acuerdo con clases del condado, el crédito puede ser aceptado para la graduación.

A partir del verano de 2024, el condado Montgomery cambió las regulaciones acerca de la convalidación de créditos. El sistema actual acepta más clases que los estudiantes han cursado en sus países. Aunque el cambio al principio del año escolar trajo algunos problemas para estudiantes y administradores, ahora los estudiantes pueden recibir crédito por el trabajo que hicieron en sus escuelas previas. La Sra. Tess Hiller, jefa de departamento de ELD en Blair, favorece el nuevo proceso porque asegura que los estudiantes reciben créditos por las clases que ya han completado.

“Es un cambio dramático”, explica la Sra. Hiller, “de un número muy limitado de créditos aceptados a una cantidad muy grande de créditos aceptados”.

Ahora, por el cambio en el sistema, los estudiantes recién llegados de otros países no tienen que tomar clases que ya han pasado en escuelas previas. Además de recibir más créditos, los estudiantes que llegan al condado pueden mantenerse en el mismo grado escolar que en sus países de origen cuando llegan a la escuela. Además, se ha cambiado el número de créditos para estudiantes que ya estaban matriculados en la escuela que no recibieron la cantidad adecuada. Debido al aumento en la cantidad de créditos aceptados, ahora los estudiantes pueden graduarse más temprano de la fecha prevista

al llegar a una escuela en Estados Unidos y ahora pueden graduarse a tiempo.

Es bueno que los estudiantes reciban créditos por las clases que han tomado, pero por otro lado, realmente les dificulta que los estudiantes aprendan inglés SRA. BLOCK

“Es un cambio en el plan de cuatro años”, dice la Sra. Hiller al respecto, “yo no diría que es graduación temprana, el cambio está poniéndolos de nuevo en su propio camino para la graduación”.

Los estudiantes que han recibido todos los créditos necesarios para la graduación tienen la opción para graduarse temprano, incluso si los créditos provienen de escuelas anteriores. De igual manera, estudiantes recién llegados de otros países traen créditos que los ayuda a no atrasarse en muchas clases validando sus notas. En ocasiones puede ser de gran ventaja tener la opción de graduarse más temprano que la fecha que recibieron cuando se matricularon en las escuelas del condado. A pesar de eso, este sistema presenta desventajas para estudiantes recién llegados de otro país y desconocen cómo clasificar para una universidad, buscar becas o programas que los ayuden

Inmigrando hacia la derecha

Algunas razones por las que los latinos votaron por Trump

Por NATE VIECHNICKI y EMANUEL MORALES

El voto latino es uno de los bloques más importantes y dinámicos en los Estados Unidos y su papel en las elecciones del 2024 impactó la política de los Estados Unidos de gran manera debido al aumento de apoyo hacia el presidente electo Donald Trump. Este año, el apoyo que recibió Trump del electorado latino fue de un 43%, un 8% más alto que en las elecciones de 2020, que fue del 35%, según PBS. El apoyo que recibió Trump de la población latina en su reelección ha generado una variedad de reacciones, marcando un cambio significativo en la dinámica de la política de Estados Unidos. Además, el porcentaje de latinos que votaron por el candidato democrático ha bajado cada año desde que se inauguró el presidente Barack Obama en 2008. Según CNN, Obama obtuvo el 71% de votos latinos, seguido por Clinton con el 66%, Biden ganó 65%, y en 2024, Harris con 51%. Como el electorado incluye 30 millones de latinos, apelar a este grupo demográfico es una de las estrategias claves en las elecciones recientes.

Las cuestiones políticas más importantes en las elecciones para los latinos estadounidenses fueron la economía, la asistencia médica y la inmigracion, según un estudio conducido por el Centro de Investigación de Pew. Más de la mitad de los votantes latinos indicó que la inflacion, el aborto y la inmigracion fueron factores “muy importantes” para las elecciones presidentales de 2024.

Los planes económicos que lanzó la campaña de Trump en 2024 fueron la razón por la cual una

gran mayoría de votantes latinos le dieron su apoyo a Trump en 2024, según CNN. Este cambio desde el 2020 representa una preocupación creciente por el público latino. “Los argumentos [de latinos que apoyan a Trump] tienden a estar basados en la economía, o en la idea de que el partido demócrata es socialista y que en Latinoamérica hay bastantes problemas con el socialismo y el comunismo”, explica María Lino Calla, una abogada de inmigración que trabaja en el tribunal del cuarto circuito en el DMV. Con su pericia, Calla aconseja a las familias que son mayormente latinas en cómo evitar problemas con la ley. Calla todavía está sorprendida por la cantidad de apoyo latino por Trump este año ya que ha escuchado muchas preocupaciones de miembros de familia ser deportados, pero que sí ha visto a latinos e inmigrantes que aprueban la postura política del presidente electo contra la inmigración. “Muchos [de mis clientes] dicen pues, ‘yo no soy criminal, pero si hay otros criminales que son inmigrantes, ellos deben ser deportados’”, dijo Calla.

La salud también afectó a las elecciones presidenciales con respecto al bloque latino. Específicamente, el aborto fue uno de los asuntos más importantes para la campaña de Harris y además ciudadanos de Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nueva York y Nevada votaron para legalizar y proteger el derecho al aborto en noviembre. Un 62% de los latinos apoyaron la legalización del aborto, un aumento desde solo un tercio hace 20 años, según NPR. Este cambio se debe en parte al decrecimiento del catolicismo, que

prohíbe el aborto, en comunidades latinas. El Periódico de Wall Street dice que el porcentaje de latinos estadounidenses católicos ha caído un 24% desde 2010. A pesar de la religión, en 2024 el público latino todavía está dividido respecto al aborto. La campaña de Trump se enfocó en cumplir la decisión de Roe v. Wade, dándole poder a los estados individuales, pero el presidente electo ha dicho que no firmaría una prohibición federal del aborto. Las opiniones de Trump representan el 40% de los latinos que son antiaborto.

Lo más que se puede hacer las personas sin documentación es que ellos se informen de sus derechos básicos, que es quedarse callado.

María Altamirano es una abogada latina que trabaja en Maryland. Otra opinión común en la comunidad latina, según ella, es discrepar con el concepto de libertad condicional para inmigrantes indocumentados. Actualmente en la mayor parte de los Estados Unidos, no hay una manera de obtener la ciudadanía como inmigrante indocumentado. “Lo más que se puede hacer las personas sin documentación es que ellos se informen de sus derechos básicos, que es quedarse callado”, dijo Altamirano. Según Brookings, más de un cuarto de latinos estadounidenses

económicamente para ir a la universidad después de su graduación e incluso elegir una carrera que les guste y beneficie. Aunque hay varias ventajas para el cambio de los datos de graduación, también hay preocupación. “Hay estudiantes que vienen sin hablar inglés e intentan aprender inglés en un año y graduarse con un diploma, ¿y ahora qué pasa?” dice la Sra. Block, profesora de ELD en Blair, “no puedes aplicar a la universidad si no hablas inglés, así que estás en la misma situación que alguien sin un diploma de la escuela secundaria”.

La Sra. Block añade que, “Es bueno que los estudiantes reciban créditos por las clases que han tomado, pero por otro lado, realmente les dificulta que los estudiantes aprendan inglés”. Por otro lado, hay estudiantes que llegan sin saber nada de inglés y aprenden mucho en un año. Poder obtener créditos por su trabajo y graduarse les da la oportunidad para trabajar durante horas regulares, además de proveer el logro de un diploma de escuela secundaria.

“Estoy lista para graduarme temprano para cumplir mis metas”, explica Marcela, una estudiante de 16 años, quien quiere graduarse para ayudar a su familia. Para los estudiantes de la escuela secundaria, pensar en la vida después de la graduación puede ser algo emocionante pero también preocupante. Por eso, adelantar la fecha de graduación es una decisión que tiene puntos favorables y también desafíos.

no apoyan las oportunidades federales para que inmigrantes indocumentados obtengan la ciudadanía. Altamirano dice que hay un sentimiento contra los inmigrantes indocumentados entre el público latino por haber llegado ilegalmente.

Aunque el apoyo de casi la mitad de los latinos parezca formar una nueva base electoral para el presidente electo, también causa preocupaciones sobre las políticas que puedan surgir de su nueva administración. Roberto Tapia es un chileno-americano y es el dueño de Roda Movements, un estudio de danza y ejercicio en el condado Montgomery. Su opinión es que la población latina fue víctima de propaganda del partido republicano. “El apoyo latino por Trump aumentó, creo, debido a que la campaña de Trump hizo mejor marketing”, dijo Tapia.

Para los latinos de Maryland, un estado que es santuario para inmigrantes indocumentados, la

elección de Trump y del partido republicano representa un cambio creciente en las opiniones de los latinos de todo el país. Altamirano cree que “lo más difícil de oír es que hay que creerle a [Trump] y aceptar que estamos entrando en tiempos muy duros y muy peligrosos para el indocumentado y para el inmigrante”. Los latinos representan un cambio creciente en la política estadounidense; su apoyo ayudó a Trump a ganar la presidencia por segunda vez, pero aún existe desacuerdo, no son un monolito. La comunidad latina experimenta la misma forma de polarización que otros grupos, dividiéndose igualmente entre las diferentes alas políticas en asuntos diversos. Altamirano dijo que “lo único que podemos hacer es nada más armarnos con información y prepararnos juntos”.

MARÍA ALTAMIRANO

EZRA LEWIS

SOPHIA BENITEZ

Recursos locales para recién llegados

Venir a un país nuevo es un gran desafío. La cultura, la gente, el idioma, el clima—todos estos son cambios a los que uno tiene que adaptarse. Tener una comunidad estable que brinde apoyo a sus miembros puede ayudar mucho, pero muchos no saben cómo encontrarla. Afortunadamente, el área metropolitana de Washington D.C. tiene muchas organizaciones que proveen beneficios y ayuda a personas recién llegadas.

Los estudiantes nuevos en el área encuentran muchísimos desafíos. Según la señora Lía Contreras, una de las consejeras en Blair, los estudiantes recién llegados a Estados Unidos con quienes trabaja tienen que superar las barreras del lenguaje, la cultura y los hábitos nuevos, además de todos las nuevas responsabilidades que tienen que asumir en los EE. UU. Algunos llegaron durante la pandemia, cuando era más difícil encontrar gente y organizaciones que pudieran darles un sentido de comunidad.

Les recomendaría, lo primero, que trabajen, pero [lo] más principal es estudiar.

Un ejemplo es la señora Faye Nabavian, la Coordinadora comunitaria de padres en Blair, que coordina el Kindness Corner, también conocido como la Esquina amable, una colecta y distribución escolar de comida, ropa, y productos de higiene. La Sra. Nabavian dijo que “no deberías tener que [estar]

Hay algunas cosas que los recién llegados pueden hacer para mejorar su situación. Un estudiante en Blair, Nívea Cruz, quien ha estado en los EE.UU. por tres años y medio, dijo para sus compañeros que “les recomendaría, lo primero, que trabajen, pero [lo] más principal es estudiar.” Cruz dijo que encontró la mayoría de su comunidad en la escuela. El apoyo de estudiantes que llegaron antes, sumado a los maestros y consejeros que están en Blair para guiar, no puede ser pasado por alto.

documentado para obtener ayuda de la escuela. Si no tienes comida para comer en casa y no tienes una almohada para poner tu cabeza y no tienes una sábana para dormir, ¿cómo puedo esperar que [vayas] a escuela y empieces a trabajar?” Ella muestra la costumbre de la escuela para ayudar con la transición de un país a otro país. La señora Sandie Chen, una de las bibliotecarias, cree que “cuando llegas a un país nuevo, la cosa más importante es conectar a una comunidad y conocer gente en su área [que] hable su idioma … Hay recursos de la comunidad que pueden ayudar, como una congregación con bancos de comida o con clases de inglés”. También mencionó que “una gran parte es saber dónde puede buscar y encontrar los recursos de ayuda”. Las bibliotecas locales, como la biblioteca de Silver Spring y la de Long Branch, coordinan eventos para que los niños lean y pasen tiempo adentro en calma. También ofrecen clases de inglés para adultos y jóvenes y computadores que puede usar para estudiar y aprender cómo usarlos. Todos los recursos en las bibliotecas son gratis.

Cuando llegas a un país nuevo, la cosa más importante es conectar a una comunidad y conocer gente en su área [que] hable su idioma.

SANDIE CHEN

La consejera Contreras tiene un grupo de recién llegados que se apoyan mutuamente con el peso de los cambios. Su grupo se llama Newcomers y conecta a los estudiantes con recursos que ayudan con la salud emocional—como Bridge to Wellness del YMCA y la señora Callahan, quien es bilingüe—y con necesidades físicas—como KIND e Interfaith. En su sitio electrónico, Nabavian tiene una lista de las organizaciones de apoyo en el área. Para aquellos estudiantes que cuentan con recursos, hay mucho que pueden hacer para ayudar a los recién llegados. En la escuela, Nabavian puede usar su ayuda para organizar la despensa del Kindness Corner. Además, la Esquina am-

Delicias que causan sonrisas

Por EZRA LEWIS Por EMMY HENRRIQUEZ

El famoso pan dulce de la querida Latinoamérica ha existido desde los años 1500, traído a nuestro continente por los europeos, que sembraron las raíces para que surgiera esta delicia de postre. Maryland está expuesto a todos estos panes deliciosos ya que cuenta con varias panaderías latinas que se encuentran por todos lados. Iberoamérica ha desarrollado varios tipos de panes. Algunos de los más famosos son la concha y las roscas de reyes. Las roscas son especialmente populares durante el día festivo de los Reyes Magos en México y otros lugares del mundo hispanohablante, que se celebra el 6 de enero. Estas roscas ovaladas contienen un muñeco escondido en su interior. En algunos lugares se dice que si te sale el niño, tienes que invitar a los demás a unos tamales.

Love & Flour es la nueva versión de las deliciosas panaderías en el área de Silver Spring. Cada día

preparan sus panes dulces frescos por la mañana, creados con mucho amor. Se podría decir que es un lugar perfecto para su cafecito y sus chismes. No solo tiene su típico pan con café sino que también hay papas locas, batidos, pasteles, hamburguesas y mucho más. Con solo entrar a la panadería, se siente un olor increíble en el aire del pan recién horneado. Esta panadería es un buen ejemplo de la tradición latina, tiene una decoración sencilla, con un versículo de la biblia para bendecir el hogar en la pared. Además, si necesitan un arreglo de flores para un cumpleaños, una graduación, o cualquier ocasión, especialmente si quiere regalarle algo a un enamorado, la panadería vende unos ramo buchones para tu persona especial.

El nombre fue inspirado por la adoración que la dueña tiene para la cocina. No solo ella tiene una gran pasión por la cocina, sino también sus empleadas. Ashley Lux, del grado once de Blair, trabaja en Love & Flour. “A mi me gustan

mucho las lenguas, tostadas, y las conchas porque crecí comiéndolas con café y chocolate” dijo Ashley.

A mi me gustan mucho las lenguas, tostadas, y las conchas porque crecí comiéndolas con café y chocolate.

Desde niños muchos de nosotros tomamos chocolate abuelita y aprendimos qué rico es el pan con el chocolate y cuando crecimos la cafeína nos ayudó mucho más para estar atentos por largo tiempo. No solo por dejar de ser niños nuestra adicción al pan se ha interrumpido y podemos seguir comiendo una delicia de pan dulce.

La panadería mexicana y guatemalteca Mi Pueblito, con cuatro

locales en Maryland,es muy reconocida por sus famosos tamales mexicanos que son para morirse. Con solo una mordida te sentirás como si estuvieras en el cielo con una bendición de tamales rojos y verdes.

Tortas, mataniños, tamales, atoles, pasteles y mucho más son vendidos en esta panadería. Cuando primero entras, te llega el delicioso olor de todo el pan fresco alrededor de cada parte del sitio. Ves todos los dul ces latinos que te re cuerdan de unas me morias que son tan alejadas, pero esta panadería te ayuda a traer estas memorias más cerca a nuestros corazones y ayuda con nuestras memorias de hace mucho tiempo atrás. Un mataniño, como en el país de uno, es una me moria que Kaylin Quinín estudiante de Blair no po dría olvidar. “Me encantan

able acepta donaciones, especialmente ropa de invierno durante los meses de invierno. Para todos los desafíos, hay una solución. En Blair y en la comunidad del condado de Montgomery, hay organizaciones, maestras, y voluntarios que quieren ayudar. Hay opciones para cuidado de salud para jóvenes, comida, ropa y salud mental. Toda esta ayuda está disponible en la comunidad.

No deberías tener que [estar] documentado para obtener ayuda de la escuela.

Si su familia necesita recursos, tales como ropa de abrigo o comida, por favor visite el sitio web de Kindness Corner para obtener ayuda: blairpcc.weebly.com.

ASHLEY LUX ZELAZNOG-ZENITRAMANILEGNA

estos panes, son iguales a los que mi abuela hacía en El Salvador. Mi pueblito es donde voy a estar todos los fines de semana”. Viviendo en un Estado como Maryland, tienes varias oportunidades a tu alrededor para ir a bastantes panaderías latinas. Con el nuevo año que llega pronto, toma esta oportunidad de guardar la información de estos lugares para tener el pastel listo para cualquier

EDITORES-EN-JEFE

Kyara Romero Lira

Jason Youm

ESCRITORES

Mario Ben Arias

Camila Chi

Manooyee Fedhaa

Emmy Nicole Henrriquez

Cindis Hernández

Ezra Lewis

Jonatan Loayes

Emanuel Morales

Sheily Raymundo

Jassary Ruiz

Priya Tapia-Pereira

Nate Viechnicki

EDITORES DE ARTE

Maria Espinal

Kim Solis

ARTISTAS

Sophia Benitez

Manooyee Fedhaa

Cindis Hernandez

Ezra Lewis

Angela Martinez-Gonzalez

Michelle Nee

ASESORA

Maria Eugenia Tanos

LA ESQUINA LATINA

FAYE

Lingüística con Lázaro

Por NATE VIECHNIKI

Cada día en el bulevard de Blair, se pueden oír conversaciones en diferentes idiomas como el español, el inglés e incluso un idioma que solo lo hablan unas 500 mil personas en Centroamérica: el Mam. El Mam es un idioma de la familia maya que se habla en el suroeste de Guatemala y los estados mexicanos de Campeche y Chiapas. Blair cuenta con una población importante de inmigrantes guatemaltecos, muchos de los cuales hablan español como segundo idioma. Cada comunidad maya habla su propia lengua precolombina, de las cuales Guatemala alberga 22. Los colonizadores españoles y el gobierno guatemalteco cometieron atrocidades contra los pueblos mayas, pero a pesar de la discriminación, muchos estudiantes de acendencia maya de Blair siguen hablando su idioma comunitario, vivo y vital. La riqueza lingüística del Mam se oculta una historia de resistencia ante siglos de discriminación hacia los pueblos mayas. Para los hablantes de Mam, su lengua no es solo un medio de comunicación, sino también un símbolo de identidad cultural y resistencia frente a las adversidades. El idioma Mam, como otros idiomas indígenas de las Américas, ha sido históricamente marginado. Durante el periodo colonial, los colonizadores españoles vieron al Mam, junto a otros idiomas latinoamericanos, como inferior y forzaron la adopción del español y asimilación a la cultura europea. Más tarde, los gobiernos guatemaltecos continuaron políticas de

asimilación que intentaban eliminar las lenguas indígenas. Además, durante el conflicto armado interno en Guatemala (1960-1996), los pueblos mayas fueron víctimas de genocidio, debido en parte a la discriminización contra su identidad lingüística y cultural.

Para mí, ser maya es sentir que estamos vivos y que no estamos extintos.

La colonización y las políticas de Guatemala no solo afectaron a generaciones pasadas. Incluso hoy, los hablantes de Mam y otros idiomas mayas enfrentan estigmatización en Guatemala y en la diáspora. Según Selvin Vail, un estudiante de Blair recién llegado de Guatemala y hablante de Mam, “las personas ladinas excluyen a los mayas… no nos invitan a actividades solo por ser mayas”. “Entonces yo creo que todavía existe el racismo a los mayas en este tiempo y más en mi país también”, agregó Vail.

A pesar de la historia del colonialismo y racismo contra los mayas, el Mam tiene un gran número de aspectos lingüísticos interesantes y únicos. Fonéticamente, el Mam no es parecido al español ni al inglés, por su fonología y gramática típica a la familia maya, pero distinto a la indoeuropea. Es decir, el alfabeto Mam contiene sonidos y letras que no aparecen en ningún

idioma europeo. Por ejemplo, los sonidos explosivos son comunes en el Mam, y se denotan con un apóstrofo. Estos sonidos se producen al mover la glotis hacia abajo, creando un sonido de estallido. “Mam es super-mega-hiper diferente [al español] porque español tiene sólo 27 alfabetos y Mam tiene 32, le suma 5 más entonces”, notó Vail. “Y tiene una pronunciación bastante diferente”, añadió. El Mam tiene un vínculo profundo con la naturaleza y la cultura maya. Las historias y tradiciones orales del Mam demuestran una forma de entender al mundo distinta a la cultura dominante. “Los mayas tienen poemas e historias muy profundas que te llegan a tocar el corazón”, dijo Vail. “Para nosotros los mayas la tierra es nuestra madre, es la cosa más importante que nos da la vida y por eso nosotros adoramos bastante la tierra”. Para los estudiantes mayas de Blair, el desafío de adaptarse

a un entorno trilingüe es grande. Muchos llegan hablando solo Mam y deben aprender español e inglés al mismo tiempo para integrarse al sistema del condado Montgomery y a la sociedad estadounidense en general. Sin embargo, los hablantes de Mam en Blair continúan hablando, incluso en el Club Maya. El club se reúne a la hora de almuerzo cada dos viernes para conversar en su idioma y compartir con quien

quiera aprender. Debra Adler es una maestra de ELD en Blair, y fundó Club Maya el año pasado junto con Carlos Landau, otro maestro de ELD. Como ella tenía muchos estudiantes mayas, quería ayudarles a encontrar oportunidades para usar su idioma nativo. “Tenemos una gran población de estudiantes mayas, estudiantes de Guatemala”, dijo Adler. “Y muchos de ellos tienen antecedentes culturales diferentes y un idioma diferente, y tengo curiosidad por mis estudiantes”.

El idioma Mam es una parte integral de la cultura y la identidad maya. Sentirse conectados a los ancestros por hablar el mismo lenguaje, y a la cultura maya que se ha intentado destruir es algo muy importante para la población maya de Blair. “Para mí, ser maya es sentir que estamos vivos y que no estamos extintos”, dijo Vail. “Y yo estoy orgulloso de ser maya porque maya fueron las primeras personas en estar en Centroamérica antes de que llegara la invasión de los españoles. Y pues, que todavía existan los mayas, entonces yo estoy orgulloso de ser maya y hablar uno de sus idiomas.”

¡Los Yates hablan español!

Las ventajas de comunicarse en dos idiomas en el trabajo

Por EMMY HENRIQUEZ y EZRA LEWIS

El señor Kevin Yates, el nuevo director de Blair, utiliza el español para comunicarse mejor con los estudiantes que provienen de países hispanohablantes. Esta habilidad no solo mejora la comunicación de información importante que reciben los alumnos, sino también fortalece la conexión del director con la comunidad. Tener un director que habla español especialmente beneficia a la comunidad latina de Blair, porque de los más de 3.000 alumnos en Blair, el 36.9% son hispanos.

Ser bilingüe no solo significa poder conectar en un nivel básico, sino también comunicarse con gente que necesita ayuda. Estas habilidades son muy útiles, especialmente para un director, así que el Señor Yates ha estado mostrando un liderazgo fuerte e inclusivo desde el primer día.

Es importante que los estudiantes escuchen a una persona, una maestra, que puede hablar en el idioma de ellos. KEVIN YATES

“Cuando era niño me gustaba la música latina y había una estación, cuando era un niño, de música latina”, dijo el director Yates. “Es importante que los estudiantes es-

cuchen a una persona, una maestra, que puede hablar en el idioma de ellos y que puede hablar con los padres que no hablan inglés”.

El Sr. Yates está usando las mismas técnicas que ha heredado de la querida principal anterior, la Sra. Johnson, quien se jubiló en junio de este año. “Había preguntas que quería hacer, pero por lo del idioma, entonces era algo difícil de preguntar”, dijo Génesis Contreras, estudiante de décimo grado en Blair. Ella dijo lo mismo sobre sus maestros y que fue “difícil comunicarse” por no poder hablar el mismo idioma.

Los padres y familiares de alumnos de Blair también se ven afectados por los maestros y líderes que no hablan español. Varios padres de estudiantes en Blair no tienen una manera de comunicarse con los maestros de sus hijos. Es

importante hablar con maestros para informarse sobre cómo va su estudiante en la escuela y cómo se sienten. Esperanzadamente, esta nueva ayuda del director va a mejorar las experiencias educativas de todos en Blair y sus familias también.

Pero algunos no están completamente felices con los cambios. La señora Jody Gil, una de las 3 Representantes Elegidas de la Facultad (EFR) ha recibido un informe anónimo sobre los anuncios siendo solo en inglés y español. El informe decía que solamente deberíamos ponerlo en inglés porque ahora la información no está traducida ha francés, árabe, amárico u otros idiomas que hablan algunos estudiantes en Blair. “Siendo una profesora de lenguaje, yo creo que es importante que tengamos nuestros anuncios en por lo menos dos idio-

mas”, dijo la señora Gil. Gil recuerda que, “La mayoría de nuestros estudiantes nuevos son de países hispanohablantes y siempre ha sido así. Un cuarto de nuestra escuela son de origen latino o hispano”. Por esta razón es importante tener los anuncios en español, para poder comunicarse mejor con los estudiantes. Los Yates no olvidaron la influencia de ser bilingüe cuando estaban criando sus hijos, “Cuando tuvimos niños, tratamos de hablar español en la casa”, dijo el señor Yates. El mejor tiempo para aprender un idioma nuevo es en los años de la infancia, cuando el cerebro apenas se está desarrollando. De acuerdo a un estudio del Instituto Nacional de Salud, los estudiantes de inmersión que aprenden cuando tienen un promedio de 2, 5, y 8 años no hablan significativamente diferente que los habladores nativos, pero los que estudian más tarde tienen un acento y problemas gramaticales.

Poder comunicarse en español ha ayudado bastante a sus hijos, especialmente con sus trabajos profesionales. En lugares de profesión como en algunos hospitales, no siempre hay gente que hable español para poder traducir a los pacientes que no entienden el inglés. El señor Yates describió la experiencia bilingüe de su familia con orgullo. Kira, la hija de los Yates, usa el español frecuentemente para poder comunicarse con sus pacientes. En un lugar de estrés y tristeza, el idioma nativo puede calmar y asegurar que todo va a estar bien. De acuerdo con el director, su hijo, Jimmy Yates, estudió inge-

niería en España y usó su gramática del idioma para aprender su oficio. Él tuvo la oportunidad de estudiar el español en un país hispanohablante.

Él ayuda mucho a las personas que no saben cómo hablar en inglés.

El área del DMV es muy diversa, con culturas de todas partes del mundo, especialmente en la comunidad latina. En los próximos años, uno de cada cuatro estadounidenses aproximadamente será latino, según las proyecciones de la oficina del censo de EE. UU. Sabiendo que este es el caso, aprender idiomas puede mejorar la comprensión de las personas en nuestro país. El señor Yates está abriendo nuevas puertas para Blair. “Él ayuda mucho a las personas que no saben cómo hablar en inglés”, dijo Jenny Reyes Bermudez, una junior de Blair. El Sr. Yates ha empezado una nueva era de la dirección de Blair y su capacidad de hablar español y coherencia para ayudar a todos los estudiantes seguramente estimulará la escuela en los años venideros.

JENNY REYES BERMUDEZ

FOTO POR ZACHARY CARTER

Reporting across the globe

How students around the world run their newspapers

In an era where local journalism is on the decline and smaller newspapers are being absorbed by larger publications, school newspapers are becoming more essential to their communities. In the U.S., the First Amendment protects freedom of expression, ensuring that journalists can report on any topic. For students, however, this protection varies based on state laws, and is not necessarily guaranteed. In Maryland, Silver Chips is protected from censorship by the New Voices Maryland Act, which extends the freedoms of speech and press for Maryland high school students. Silver Chips is unique from other publications in the country because it is independent from the school and is not subject to any restrictions made by administration.

Over oceans, across continents, and around the world, student journalists work tirelessly each day to bring news to their schools and broader communities. Each organization faces different challenges, has different laws that both protect and restrict them, and structure themselves in unique ways. Silver Chips reached out to schools in countries across the globe to learn how their publications

The Lisgarwrite

At Lisgar Collegiate Institute, writers on the school publication—the Lisgarwrite, which releases both online and in print—prepare stories on a bi-monthly basis. Their stories fall under three main categories: sports, news, and literature—where students can post poems and short stories. Co-Editor-in-Chief Amber Nawfal has been working with the publication since last year, and the Lisgarwrite itself has been around since the school’s founding in 1843. Each cycle has a theme—most recently, Halloween and back-to-school. One of Nawfal’s highlights from the most recent cycle was a feature of the senior music night, because it was written from the perspective of a musician.

Though freedom of expression is protected in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Charter permits the government to censor speech to a reasonable extent. Before they can send their stories to publish, writers for the Lisgarwrite must send them to a censorship board composed of school administration, which reviews their stories and censors anything they do not approve of. However, this does not pose much of a problem to the student journalists. “One aspect to consider is that we don’t necessarily have many students writing very political articles,” Nawfal explains. “It’s not that kind of paper.”

The Lisgarwrite boasts a staff of roughly 15 writers. In order to ensure that enough stories are written for each section, they are looking to appoint section heads this year. “We are trying to incorporate more commit ment to [our paper] by creating section heads, a position that I’m pretty sure existed in the past, but at some point kind of fizzled out,” Nawfal says. Another of Nawfal’s goals is to incorporate more usage of their online platform, which is currently an archive of all articles dating back to 2016. Through these changes, Nawfal hopes to strengthen the Lisgarwrite and ensure that future Lisgar students enjoy the long-standing legacy of the publication.

In the capital city of Japan, 40 student journalists write articles for Hanabi, the newspaper at the American School in Japan (ASIJ). With five sections that cover a broad range of topics, Hanabi covers anything from the effectiveness of Duolingo to global politics and tensions.

Story by Art by Design by and Keelin Pegg

In China, a country known for its censorship laws and heavy restrictions on journalism, student journalists must be cautious when considering stories to cover. Writers for The Lion’s Crest—the online newspaper at King George V School, an international school in Hong Kong—must keep these restrictions in mind when writing. “If we’re talking about gender issues, we talk about it in a more general sense, and [don’t] really laser focus on what the government has done wrong or has done right,” Co-Editor-in-Chief Andrea Yip explains. Yip oversees a staff of about 27 people, including multimedia personnel, interviewers, graphic designers, and writers. Their story content falls under three main categories: education, which includes stories about current events and social issues; entertainment, such as book and movie reviews; and “Around KG-V,” which includes details about school events. New stories are put on the website each month using a rotating cycle of writers, and readers can find stories on everything from ‘Miserable Books to Make you Cry’ to a guide of the top shaved ice desserts in Hong Kong.

Students can join by signing up at the club fair and can remain on staff as long as they regularly publish articles. Writers are divided into two groups that alternate publication every month. Instead of assigning stories, Editor-in-Chief Lily Stone-Bourgeois likes to guide writers through their ideas. “I will never tell them exactly what to write,” Stone-Bourgeois elaborates. “It’s completely up to them, and they’ll talk to me about it and [I]

Founded in 2019, The Lion’s Crest used to be printed physically, but following COVID-19, it moved completely online. Yip explains that this switch to online was helpful in simplifying their distribution process, eliminating the need to communicate with teachers about where they could put their papers. Moving forward, The Lion’s Crest plans to remain online, informing their community through their website.

Located in Mumbai, India, the small but dedicated writing staff of Ascend International School’s newspaper, The Ascent, uses the power of the press to drive change. Earlier this year, the publication wrote a story criticizing their schools’ implementation of a new dress code. After the piece was published in their newsletter, the principal asked them to take down the article because it reflected poorly on the school. Despite that, he allowed writers at the publication to assist in adjusting the regulations surrounding the dress code. “The school was pretty responsive in that they let us, as the Newspaper Club, rework the dress code,” Pritha Nag, editor-in-chief of the publication, explains.

In the past, Nag wrote an anonymous article arguing that there was a lack of student representation at the school. In response, the principal came to the publication and said that he would start a student council in the following year. “It’s really cool that teachers read it, the principal reads it, parents read it, and they acknowledge, ‘Okay, yeah, this is gonna be changed,’” Nag says. “It’s been very cool, because the council has done a lot.” The Ascent writes about events at school, such as their Holi celebration and annual Sports Day, both of which are big events that require quick turnaround times for reporting on. Their audience looks forward to roughly six print publications per year—though Nag says she is hoping that they can publish eight editions this year, which is also her last with the publication. Through The Ascent, Nag has developed a love for journalism and discovered her passion for photography; she hopes to expand on these interests in college. “[Thinking] about leaving [the paper] always makes me very emotional and upset because I have a lot of attachment to it,” Nag says. A part of the paper since its second year, Nag has seen The Ascent grow, becoming one of the largest clubs at Ascend International School. When she graduates and passes down control of The Ascent to her deputy, Nag hopes that it will continue to expand to better fit the needs of a growing school

The interviews in this section were originally conducted in Mandarin and were translated into English.

Nestled in the heart of Taipei’s old city center, Chien Kuo Senior High School for Boys is home to the independent student magazine, CK Potpourri. Staff size varies between seven and twelve people year-toyear. The publication explores complex social issues, both locally and internationally. Like Silver Chips, independence from the school gives the magazine more freedom than other school publications. “Before, [when we were] more like a school magazine, the school would … hope that we write about things they’re satisfied with, [such as] helping with campus publicity,” writer Liangfu Huang says, “[Now] we can pick our own topics we want to express, [including] women’s rights, politics ... we can [write about] things that maybe adults don’t want us to touch on.”

Independence from the school also gives staff the challenge of funding the magazine themselves. “The disadvantage [is that] our funds are a little tighter than before,” Editor-in-Chief William Su says. The magazine gets funding from three primary sources: sales, crowdfunding, and local government grants. “The Taipei City Education Bureau provides subsidies for each school’s publication club,” Su explains. “If the

The Quirky Quibbler

Stockholm, Sweden

4,130 miles

In its decade-long existence, The Quirky Quibbler—the online and print publication of Stockholm International School (SIS)—has undergone various changes. They have altered their logo, transitioned from mostly illustrations to more news-based material, and, most notably, have begun to include video broadcasts on their website. “Those have been doing quite well because they’re a little bit more like news segments,” Editor Emry Porter explains. Founded roughly ten years ago by two students, The Quirky Quibbler was created to fulfill the ‘creativity’ section of CAS—creativity, activity, service—which students at IB schools must complete in order to receive their diplomas. Since then, generations of SIS students have assumed the role, continuing to produce stories for their school community to read. Their story topics range from features on famous Swedish artists’ art installations found near the school, to Editor-in-Chief Gioia Sglavo’s personal favorite—movie reviews and recommendations. SIS students can access stories by going to their website, but can also expect a printed edition of a selection of stories from the website a few times a year.

One of the four parts of the Swedish constitution is freedom of the press, which is enjoyed by the 20-orso staff at The Quirky Quibbler. The only issues they run into are when they have photos of people who do not want to be published. “We’ve had to come up with ways of finding photographs that don’t include a lot of people,” Porter explains. Since each story they post on the website must be accompanied with a picture, this poses a challenge, but it is one that the staff at The Quirky Quibbler are able to overcome in order to keep their audience informed.

FEATURES

December 11, 2024

‘Inclusion is everything’ Blair puts on Relaxed Performance for fall play

By ADANNA AKAMIGBO and SAHANA PARIKH

In the Blair auditorium, audience members shared laughs at comedic outbursts from cast members during the fall play. Theater is known for bringing people together and helping people to better understand the world and each other.

For neurodivergent individuals, experiencing this joy is not always possible, as some cannot adhere to standard theater etiquette rules such as not making noise and staying seated for the entire duration of a show. On Nov. 16, Blair Theater hosted a relaxed performance of “Leave It To Psmith” with accommodations for people with disabilities and families with children so they felt more comfortable coming to see the show.

“Leave It To Psmith” is originally a novel by P.G. Wodehouse which Blair adapted into a play.

“It’s a fun story with a lot of different characters,” play director Kelly O’Connor says. “[We] took the novel and two Wodehouse short stories and sort of braided them together.” “Leave It To Psmith” was performed in black box style. “The audience is on the stage — it’s a very intimate experience,” Sangita Rao Leonard, longtime Blair Theater parent and Boosters member, explains.

The concept of a relaxed performance was brought up last year by a Blair Theater family. Two of the three daughters in the family are autistic, one of whom had never

been able to watch a Blair performance. “She had never been able to see her sisters perform in anything … because she’s unable to be quiet enough or stay in her seat and wasn’t able to adhere to normal expectations,” Rao Leonard explains. “[A relaxed performance] expands the benefits of theater to everybody and … the sheer joy of it.”

Melanie Carlos, the executive director of Xminds — an organization based in Kensington that helps autistic students—commends Blair’s efforts to include everyone. “It made a huge impact on this one family, but there are many, many more families and stories like that,” Carlos says.

Blair Theater boosters got the framework from a professional theater company. “[The Royal Shakespeare Company] gave a great explanation of all the different components that could go into a relaxed performance to make it accessible,” Rao Leonard says. Rao Leonard’s son, Blair senior Navek Leonard, played Baxter, the antagonist in the play. He has volunteered with organizations for people with disabilities in the past and was tasked with putting this idea into action.

Leonard conducted backstage tours before the play for audience members. People were able to meet cast members and see what goes on behind the scenes. “They can meet some of the actors beforehand and realize that the villains are not really villains,” Rao Leonard says.

Leonard created a QR code

They’re back! Pandas return to D.C.

By AINSLIE CURRAN-NG’ASI and MACKENZIE LYONS

As the National Zoo prepares for the return of the pandas after over a year, the excitement can be felt throughout the area. Two new fuzzy black-and-white faces, Bao Li and Qing Bao, are eagerly awaited by visitors and staff alike. The zoo’s gift shop features a collection of clothes dedicated to the pandas, and signs announcing their return are present across the Asia Trail, which is where their exhibit will open in January 2025.

Despite the cold weather, DMV residents are preparing to visit the exhibit as soon as possible. Virginia resident Angela Smith is one of those people. She visits the zoo frequently with her five-year-old daughter, and both of them are excited for the pandas to come back. “For us, one of the benefits of living in Virginia is that we can come here a lot. Both of us really like animals and this is a good activity to

do on a day off,” Smith explains.

Until their departure back to China in November 2023, both D.C. residents and diplomats appreciated the presence of the adorable animals at the National Zoo. For the past 50 years, the National Zoo’s pandas have represented diplomacy between China and the United States, attracting tourists from all over the country.

Several pandas have been sent to the National Zoo from China ever since First Lady Patricia Nixon mentioned her love for the species to Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. In 1972, he sent pandas to the National Zoo as a sign of goodwill. But Barbara Bodine, Georgetown professor of diplomacy, disagrees with the common description of the pandas as “gifts” from the Chinese government. “The pandas—all pandas everywhere—are on loan. They’re not gifts. Sometimes, they are referred to as “gifts” from the Chinese government, [but] they’re not. They’re a loan from China,” Bodine says.

for the digital visual story so audience members knew exactly what to expect in advance. It included an overview of the show, pictures of the main characters, and trigger warnings before violent or alarming scenes and loud noises. There was also a “chill out room.” Audience members were able to leave at any point during the show and go to this quiet space. Rao Leonard explained the purpose of easy-access seating. “People could sit on the edges and … be able to leave quickly if they wanted to,” she says. The audience was warned of the use of smoke machines and alarming sounds using the visual story.

Leonard instructed cast members to perform as normal. “The biggest thing that I had to do was just educate the rest of the cast about what was going to happen,” Leonard says. “Everybody’s just super willing to participate and super welcoming.”

The relaxed etiquette reduces parents’ worry about their kids, which increases the likelihood of families being able to enjoy the play. “Kids will often just call out things,” Kelly O’Connor explains. She told actors to not only expect the unexpected but to see it as a good thing. “You embrace the spontaneity of something unexpected happening,”

Blair’s relaxed performances give people who are neurodivergent and children the opportunity to be included and feel comfortable when coming to see the production. “People who want to be

able to take their children and family members out to public events, without these performances, they wouldn’t be able to do that,” Carlos says. To encourage other schools to follow suit, Leonard created a relaxed performance guide to send to theater programs across the county. “I sent [the guide] around to all of the MCPS theater departments, and we got some positive responses that they might try to incorporate that into their shows,” he says, stressing optimism for the future of inclusive theater. “And of course, [the guide] is also for making sure

The pandas remained at the zoo until 2023, when they were sent back to China. The mutual agreement between the United States and China that kept the pandas at the National Zoo had dissolved, in part due to conflicts between the two nations. Bodine thinks that the media attention surrounding the pandas was far too dramatic. “It was hyperbolic, and really got badly out of hand,”she says. Bodine, who made a viral YouTube video talking about the departure of the pandas, feels that politicizing the pandas is the wrong way to go.

“They’re pandas. They have nothing to do with the Chinese Communist Party. My guess is that there are people who don’t particularly like what China does geopolitically

and are more than delighted to take their children to the zoo to look at oversized plush toys,” she explains.

“Let’s not politicize them, let’s just accept them for what they are.”

The diplomatic connection that the pandas symbolize between the United States and China is not the only one of its type. The program that sends pandas to the United States sends them to zoos all over the world, in cities like Berlin, Moscow, and Mexico City. “It’s part of a breeding program where they basically farm out young pandas to zoos around the world to help in the curating and conservation of pandas,” Bodine explains.

With under 2,000 pandas still living in the wild, and another 600 living in zoos and breeding centers

that [relaxed performances] continue at Blair after I graduate.”

Because of the relaxed performances, Margo Pendergast was able to go see both the 2024 spring musical and this fall play. The relaxed showing allowed her to see her sister perform and she shares the same value of inclusivity that Blair does. “Inclusion is everything,” Pendergast typed. Blair Theater successfully accommodated as many people as possible, which positively impacted people and families. “It doesn’t really matter what the play is, welcome everybody,” O’Connor expressed.

across the globe, pandas are considered endangered. Human activities, such as agriculture and deforestation, have destroyed much of the bamboo forests in China, which serve as their primary habitat. Since panda diets rely heavily on bamboo, they are more vulnerable to changes in their environment, which are only getting worse with climate change. These disruptions in the pandas’ bamboo supply can cause issues with their health.

In addition to habitat loss, pandas have very low reproductive rates, making it difficult for the panda population to remain steady. Female pandas are only fertile a few days each year and usually only give birth to one cub every two years. There have been many efforts to get the pandas to reproduce, but only six pandas born at the National Zoo have survived more than a few days. Most recently, Tai Shan, the first panda born in D.C, was born in July 2005, Bao Bao in August 2013, followed by Bei Bei in August 2015, and Xiao Qi Ji in August 2020. Although Tai Shan and Bei Bei were named by zoo staff and government officials from the United States and China, Xiao Qi Ji and Bao Bao were named after a public vote held by the zoo.

The future of giant pandas, not just in the United States, but throughout the world, is uncertain. Factors like climate change and habitat availability will seriously impact the species in the coming years. Animal lovers like Smith and her daughter are trying to take advantage of an opportunity that might not be present within the next 50 years. “They’re super

cuddly animals,” Smith says. “Who wouldn’t want to come see them?”

cute,

MID SCENE Actor Jamie Lozada-McBride in Blair Theatre’s “Leave it to Psmith”

GRAPHIC BY MACKENZIE LYONS | DATA COURTSEY OF VHINA STATE FORESTRY ADMINISTRATION PANDA CENSUS

PHOTO BY KENEAN BIZUWORK

Election soapbox 2024

By ABIGAIL GREENBERG and DORIS WANG

Blair students share their feelings on the presidental election

soapbox

After hearing the results of the election, what are your thoughts?

All photos by Kenean

Bizuwork and Raffi Diamond-Berman

“The election [outcome] is very bad. Both my parents work in [the government], my mom works at the EPA and my dad works at NOAA. So both of them are going to lose their jobs basically, which really stinks.”

NATE ACHE senior

“I was upset because I wanted to see like a first woman president, but specifically [as the] first black woman president as class president, I really wanted to see somebody to lead the country and to be somebody that looks like me.”

LIYA MEHARI senior

“I was surprised by how decisively Trump won— he won all 7 swing states.”

COOPER LI

junior

soapbox

What factors do you think played a role in the results of the election?

“[Kamala Harris] didn’t go for the young. She, like Biden, started leaning more Republican, and Republicans are always gonna vote Republican so there’s no Democrats that are gonna come out on the edge of policy. I mean, she lost every single swing state.”

CALVIN SMITH-RAMANI sophomore

“Maybe like more people [were worried] about groceries and gas [costs]? That was probably my biggest concern.”

CHRISTIAN LUNA freshman

“I think they always end up underestimating Trump supporters, and that’s probably what happened this year.”

DAVID WANG sophomore

“I wasn’t surprised at all. I lowkey knew that Trump was going to win because ‘Make America Great Again,’ it’s just a strong, like American patriotic cult.”

ABIGAIL LEGESSE sophomore

“I think there was a lot of party line voting where it was like, ‘Oh, well, we don’t want to vote for her’ or ‘We don’t want to vote for a Democrat. So we’re going to vote for the Republican candidate.’ Whether or not they did agree with Trump’s policies.”

MADELYN EVJEN sophomore

soapbox

How do you think the results of the election will affect you and other Blair students?

“I mean, it could completely change what we’re taught in schools and how we’re taught.”

VEE DIYMAN sophomore

“I have some impact because my dad lives in China and it’s going to be difficult to meet up with him in the future’ if Trump gets everything he wants.”

THOMAS YAO

sophomore

“I think the results will affect me personally because my mom is an immigrant from Africa and people are saying that Donald Trump is going to send them back to their country.”

NICOLE RENWICK sophomore

“I feel like we are kind of in a bubble here in Maryland. Even though Kamala Harris lost the election, we still have Democrats hold[ing] every position of power in Maryland.”

JONAH CHEN junior

Chips chats with Richard Chisolm Inside the life of a freelance filmmaker

By RAE FOSTER and RUTH WAJDA-GOTWALS

On Dec. 2, filmmaker Richard Chisolm visited Blair to share some wisdom with students in global issues teacher P. Sean Bramble’s class. Based in Baltimore, Chisolm has been a freelance cinematographer for around 40 years, and notably was as a camera operator on the series “The Wire.” Additionally, he has worked on TV series like “Hopkins 24/7” on ABC, “Anatomy of a ‘Homicide: Life on the Street’” on PBS, and “America’s Endangered Species: Don’t Say Goodbye,” on National Geographic Channel, which won an Emmy Award in 1998. Chisolm also wrote a book titled “Documentary Vision: Notes from Behind the Camera,” which includes a series of essays that emphasize important parts of nonfiction filmmaking. Chisolm is most versed in documentary-making, but he has worked on many short projects as a camera operator or assistant.

What is your favorite part of your job?

I like traveling a lot. But I also like engaging with all different kinds of people in the world and making relationships in the moment while filming, because you have to build trust and support quickly before you film somebody in their real life. I find that to be really fun and engaging. I get to interact with the whole gamut of humanity.

What inspires you and your creativity?

There are technical, creative things about what I do with lighting and camera and lenses and stuff, but that becomes second nature. [It’s] like the camera stops existing, and then it’s just interacting with real people and deciding where to film next.

How do your personal beliefs and values work themselves into your films?

I’ve realized what I work on matters because I have to have my own conscience. I think everybody who works in media should have a line in the sand where they won’t do this or that based on their beliefs. And ultimately, with documentaries, there’s a feeling of purpose like, these films we’re making are not just for entertainment. They might be entertaining in quality, but documentaries usually have a purpose and a message or an inspiration for an audience beyond entertainment. It’s kind of like a mission. When you’re a documentary filmmaker, you feel like you’re on a mission that is wholesome and

good and you’re doing something in the world with your life.

You have been in the industry throughout a lot of change—how have you had to adapt?

So in the 40 years that I’ve been an adult working in film, the cameras have changed dramatically. They’ve become cheaper and less complicated. Sometimes more complicated, but they’ve become more accessible. So I became less important as a freelancer, because everybody has cameras now, but at the same time, having somebody with experience and wisdom about how to relate to people, how to get them to open up in front of the camera [is still important].

What is the hardest part of your work?

A lot of times the problems are just compensating for weaknesses in the production line of what’s going on. And in documentaries, there can be problems with the content itself, whether [getting the shot] is dangerous or challenging. You have to be more improvisational. You have to really think on your feet and try to get the best shot you can under the circumstances. But, I kind of like that. [The other hard thing] is living as a freelancer [with an unpredictable wage]. It’s very dynamic, and most people hate that.

What role do you think filmmaking plays in activism?

Documentaries are part of what we would call journalism, news, or information. They’re all big, vague words, but they all glue together. And documentaries are a hugely important, in depth part of that category of communication. And so to me, it’s a no brainer that it’s really important. That’s why I like working on films like that—whether it’s about economics, politics, the law, social issues, immigration, gun control—all those kinds of things. Documentary filmmakers are spending lots of calories making [these important films], but if people don’t watch documentaries, and they’re not well educated, they can live in a world where they don’t know what they’re missing.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter your industry?

It’s important to look in the mirror and decide what you care about. Try to follow—I don’t want to say your passion, because I think that’s a hackneyed idea that doesn’t work with everybody—but try for your path of least resistance. [A balance of] your interests and then

the world’s opportunities.

Which of your films is your favorite? Why?

That’s so hard. I would say the two different major documentary series I did at Johns Hopkins Hospital with ABC. [That kind of filmmaking where we recorded patients] can’t be done anymore. And they were incredibly big projects for me in my career, and I was very engaged in them. I thought it was

great. And then this National Geographic project about endangered species that I got an Emmy for. [I was drawn to working on these films] because I get a lot of energy from being around people who are really committed to their mission in life and are making a difference in the world.

What is something you would still like to do in your career?

I ask myself that question lately a lot. I’m very happy, and I’m kind of on this plateau. I don’t have as many strong urges I had when I was younger to do a film about X, Y or Z. But there are certain kinds of projects that I would like to work on, but where I don’t want to be the main director. I want to collaborate with people!

Protecting the polls

Behind the effort to end voter disenfranchisement

By MACKENZIE LYONS and NEHA NARAYAN

“We had a woman at our polling place spreading misinformation about the Maryland abortion amendment,” Siri Laney, a Blair junior and election judge for Montgomery County, recalls a difficult instance of voter intimidation this past Election Day. “She started telling people that voting for the amendment would lead to drastic consequences like ‘taking away your kids’ or ‘transgender surgeries,’” Laney says.

She started telling people that voting for the amendment would lead to drastic consequences like ‘taking away your kids’ or ‘transgender surgeries.

Laney and her fellow election judges acted quickly to intervene.

“We asked her if she needed help casting her ballot, and when she didn’t respond, we escorted her out of the polling station,” she explains. “It was uncomfortable, but the

job was to ensure nobody was intimidated or negatively influenced when they were casting their votes.”

As Americans headed to the polls in early November, ensuring that every vote was fairly counted became more important than ever. Amid growing concerns about voter suppression, disenfranchisement, and election security, student volunteers, election judges like Laney, and major organizations like Election Protection played a crucial role in defending the rights of voters.

Election Protection is a nationwide coalition that helps protect the voting rights of all citizens. Founded by Common Cause, a nonpartisan company promoting governmental reforms, the program deploys volunteers and legal experts to polling locations across the country.

As the largest nonpartisan voter protection program in the United States, Election Protection’s goal is simple: to ensure that no eligible voter is turned away, discriminated against, or confused by the voting process. Volunteers act as a buffer between voters and the challenges they may face, from navigating complex voting rules to dealing with accessibility issues. These issues included voter check-in delays, software malfunctioning of the ballot marking devices, and voter intimidation in the form of bomb threats to multiple polling locations.

Joanne Antoine, head of the Maryland chapter of Common Cause, stresses the importance of assisting all eligible voters and re-

maining nonpartisan. “I spent a great deal of time reminding volunteers that we’re there to ensure every voter, regardless of political affiliation, [is] able to vote,” Antoine says.

Across the country, laws have been passed that restrict voting access, particularly affecting marginalized communities. Voter ID laws, purges of voter rolls, and polling station accessibility issues are just a few of the tactics that have historically been used to suppress voter participation. “Election Protection addresses all these issues,” Amy Wasserstrom, a Montgomery County resident and volunteer with Election Protection who worked during the 2024 election, says.

Election Protection volunteers— who range from lawyers and poll monitors to everyday citizens—are trained to respond quickly to issues like language barriers and technical difficulties with voting equipment like ballot marking devices. Vol unteers also monitor polling places for potential harassment or intim idation, such as when misinfor mation is spread or when groups attempt to intimidate voters. “I’m there as a resource to make sure the voting process goes smoothly,” Wasserstrom says.

In crucial swing states like Geor gia, Michigan, and Arizona, Elec tion Protection ramped up their ef forts to ensure that no eligible voter was turned away. In many of these battleground states, voters faced barriers that are rarely seen in elec tions in Maryland. “People who are eligible to vote spend their entire

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day sometimes waiting in line until they’ve been turned away, and so forth. Voters, who we know have registered to actually vote, show up and are finding [out] that they’re not on the rolls … thankfully, those things don’t really happen in Maryland,” Antoine adds.

I’m there as a resource to make sure the voting process goes smoothly.

Maryland’s implementation of same-day voter registration, which was incredibly helpful,” Laney says. “It allowed many people who weren’t registered to vote almost right away and not have to wait a long time.” For organizations like Election Protection, their work does not end on Election Day. “I think the post-election period is just as crucial,” Wasserstrom notes. “We continue to monitor and make sure there are no issues with vote counting or other procedures. It’s a continuous commitment to protect voter rights.”

Looking ahead to the 2026 midterm and the 2028 general election, Election Protection plans to build on its success, especially in

“The hope is that people don’t give up hope with democracy and that they still keep on showing up and keep on fighting for their own

HERE FOR HOLIDAYSTHE

DUPONT CIRCLE HOLIDAY MARKET See right down.

SILVER SPRING THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE See top left and bottom left.

L U R

December 11, 2024

The more the merrier

New D.C. holiday market spreads the cheer

By PRIYA TAPIA-PEREIRA and KIYA TIRUNEH

Hundreds of shoppers bustle through the market walkways each hour, smelling cinnamon and pine trees in the air. Lanes are crowded with booths, each selling their niche holiday goods, enticing passersby to step into the stalls. With stringed lights and holiday music playing from surrounding speakers, the entire market embodies the festive spirit that settles in during this time of year. This year, the Dupont Circle Market in D.C. launched, attracting thousands of DMV residents. However, just 10 minutes down the street, they compete with the longstanding DowntownDC Market in Gallery Place.

After a two-decade partnership, the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID), a nonprofit that co-manages the market, ended its longstanding relationship with Diverse Markets Management, the original company that operated the market. Michael Berman, the president of Diverse Markets Management, responded to the split by launching a new market: the Dupont Circle Market. “My company created the Holiday Market 20 years ago and we’ve been doing it downtown for all that time in a partnership with another organization [DowntownDC BID].” Berman says, “The other organization wanted to do something different, so we took our concept and brought it to Dupont and [DowntownDC BID] is doing another market down there in a different way.”

While the DowntownDC Market and the Dupont Circle Market sit only two miles apart, they have distinctive environments and draw different crowds. Berman found that the people attending the DowntownDC Market are mainly tourists or are interested in the events of fered, rath

er than the vendors. “[Dupont] is a different neighborhood. Downtown, we had more space to do more things, but not enough people lived there, it was just more

tourists or people coming for the games and the concerts,” Berman says. “[The Dupont Circle Market] is all about the community and the neighborhood … so it’s a better mix.” The zip code for the

[The Dupont Circle Market] is all about the community and the neighborhood … so it’s a better mix.

Dupont Circle Market includes 28,525 households, 42 percent of which are families. On the other hand, the DowntownDC Market is in a more commercial area, close to the White House. This change in neighborhood demographics is appreciated by various Dupont Circle Market exhibitors.

Sonda Allen, a veteran exhibitor and goldsmith behind Turtles Webb jewelry, left the DowntownDC Market to join the Dupont Circle Market this year. “This [market] in Dupont Circle has an intense community vibe for the holiday market, unlike the downtown one, because there was sort

of no community downtown,” Allen says. “The community was the office buildings and the people who worked in them … but it’s not the same as people who have been somewhere for 30 years.”

A&J Photography has vended at markets in the D.C. area since 2001; every year they sell at the DowntownDC Holiday Market. This year they established their booth at the Dupont Circle Market. Vincent Decina, who ran the market booth during Thanksgiving break, explains the support their long-standing business receives from loyal patrons. “They’re there every weekend; have been since like the nineties. They’ve built up a really solid clientele … and just kind of built it into a legacy for sure.” Decina says.

There’s a lot of people. It’s a lot of vendors that we know. So, it’s like one big family.

For other vendors, the holiday

market in Dupont gives them a chance to contribute their culture to the market community. Alessandra Minaya, first-time exhibitor at the Dupont Circle Market, creates handmade leather products that allow her to share her culture. “What I bring to the community is the culture of leather—leather handmade product[s] made by an artist that is not from here, that is from Peru. I want everybody to have quality products,” Minaya says. Her sentiments reflect that of many other vendors who chose to support the new holiday market in Dupont.

Alejandro Buxton, a vendor who previously sold at the DowntownDC Market, says that the Dupont Circle Market has a tightknit community. “There’s a lot of people. It’s a lot of vendors that we know. So, it’s like one big family,” he says.

Blair senior ÁnhTâm Pham attended the Dupont Circle Market, and praises its festive, community-centered atmosphere. “It was just like a central place where everybody came together and you could really see that everybody was getting ready for the holidays and buying things for the loved ones,” Pham said.

MICHAEL BERMAN

‘Tis the season for all

Christmas hype leaves other holdiays in the dark

By SENAYA ASFAW

AN OPINION

Colorful festive lights adorn homes as families sit warm inside, hoping for winter snow. The holidays are a time of joy and celebration for all, but come with an all too familiar pattern. The unmistakable reds and greens shine so brightly that they often cast a shadow over other holidays, leaving those who celebrate differently feeling sidelined in a season meant for everyone.

Christmas has long held the spotlight during the holiday season, and even in the most diverse communities, other holidays are repeatedly overshadowed. According to the Public Religion Research Institute, Montgomery County is the most religiously diverse county in America, yet many still feel there is a dominating presence of Christmas-related decorations and festivities.

Blair junior Allegra Unger, the outreach manager of Blair’s Jewish Culture Club, recalls feeling unusual when she was younger. “Growing up, I was Jewish. I never celebrated Christmas, and most of my friends did,” she said. “I think they thought it was a little weird that I didn’t.”

Unlike Christmas, most holidays do not receive a dedicated week off of school—some do not even receive a day. Inayah Juber, a junior at Blair, recalls the challenges of celebrating Eid al-Fitr—which marks the end of Ramadan—without proper recognition of her hol-

iday by the school system. “When I was younger, there wasn’t an MCPS recognized off-day for Eid. I would have to write in sick instead of just having the day off. I think it was so unfair in comparison to other people’s holidays that would just automatically get off,” Juber said.

Some school districts including MCPS have taken steps toward inclusivity in response to such concerns. In 2014, MCPS removed specific holiday names from the school calendar, replacing them with generic terms like “winter break” and “spring break.” Though this move meant avoiding favoring one holiday over others, community members argued that erasing holiday names didn’t address the deeper issue of unequal holiday recognition.

I think it was so unfair in comparison to other people’s holidays that would just automatically get off [school].

This controversy raises questions about how best to balance inclusivity while not diminishing the joy people find in Christmas. Blair junior Aanya Garg explains the educational benefits of including lesser-known religious holidays in the school curricula. “I feel like if everybody [was] equally treated

and everyone [got] days off on their holidays, then there’s no reason to have any controversy in the first place. I think it would be a good idea to educate people on other people’s traditions,” Garg said.

However, concerns about the holiday season are not only made by students, but are common among community members regarding the curated Christmas culture in the county. Kate Chance, the faith liaison and outreach manager for Montgomery County, expresses that while some community members appreciate the Christmas spirit and festivities, others feel it is overemphasized. “Some people that might not be Christians still like seeing the Christmas displays because of the lights … but then others feel like, ‘Why is this one religious holiday being so promoted?’” Chance said.

BY

MAZ OLSON

to movies and music mainly featuring Santa and his elves—reinforcing its dominance in American culture and pushing other religious holidays into the background.

While it began as a Christian holiday, Christmas evolved into one of the most commercially profitable seasons in the U.S. The National Retail Foundation reports that U.S. holiday sales surpassed $964.4 billion in 2023 and suspects this season to reach an all-time high, with an average spending of $902 per person. The current gift-giving culture is rooted in Christmas tradition, enticing customers to splurge in stores. The booming holiday market has created a strategy for businesses to capitalize on Christmas by promoting themed products, such as clothes and cookies. In turn, the Christmas centrality expands outside of stores

Box office blues

The decline of movie theaters

By LILA GROSKO and LYDIA PASS

The fluorescent lights dim and the curtains slowly sway open as the aroma of buttery popcorn fills the theater at the first rumble of a preview. Suddenly, the room goes pitch black, and audiences eagerly wait for the film to begin. Going to the movies is often a break from reality—an opportunity to be transported anywhere and everywhere. It’s been a cherished tradition for people of all ages for decades. Where did the magic go?

In recent years, as audiences face high ticket prices and easy access to instant streaming, movie theater attendance has steadily de-

clined. According to Wolf Street, a website that covers economic, business, and financial issues, only 852 million movie tickets were sold in 2023: a staggering 46 percent drop from its peak in 2002, when 1.85 billion tickets were sold.

“Streaming [makes it] easy [to] sit on your couch, boot up Netflix or Amazon Prime, and watch something,” AFI Silver Theater Associate Film Programmer Javier Chavez explains. That convenience also comes at a lower cost. In general, adult movie tickets range from $10 to $20, making a night out with the family, including concessions, often excessively pricey. It can be difficult to justify this price, especially since streaming services like Netflix and Hulu charge this

amount per month all while giving you unlimited access to hundreds of movies.

Lucy Bolduc, who now works for the Upstate Films theater in Rhinebeck, New York, explains that streaming is often not only cheaper but also much more convenient for movie watchers—especially when streaming and theater release dates coincide. “Some movies, when they come out in the theater, [they] also come out on streaming. So if people don’t want to pay to go [to the theater] … they can just sit on their couch and pay $3 to rent [it],” Bolduc says.

The COVID-19 pandemic only deepened the challenges theaters face. “Because [people are] used to the routine of streaming and be-

I feel like if everybody [was] equally treated and everyone [got] days off on their holidays, then there’s no reason to have any controversy in the first place.

Chance’s interactions with religious individuals across the county have allowed her to understand how some residents are irritated with local establishments. “The

frustration with the holidays often goes [toward] businesses too, where businesses will have Christmas decorations, but not decorations for other religious communities or religious celebrations,” Chance said.

Creating a culturally and religiously accepting environment where no one feels outcasted begins at a very early age, and for most at school. Teachers should emphasize the importance of learning about other cultures and traditions, in order to build more unified communities.

The current joy brought by Christmas should not be taken away from the holiday season, but rather, more religions should be incorporated in these festivities. By doing so, the holiday season can become a time of togetherness, where the spirit of joy and kindness reaches everyone, regardless of their beliefs.

ing with friends and families, they stick to it,” Elvis Waterman, Silver Spring Regal Majestic’s general manager, explains. Bolduc agrees, recalling near-empty theaters during her trips to the movies. “I’ve seen it firsthand—the drop in movie theatergoers since COVID-19. Pretty much every time I’ve been to a theater … it’s just me and a few other people, unless it’s an opening night,” she says.

While major premieres like Barbie and Oppenheimer drew massive crowds, collectively earning $235 million domestically during their opening weekend, packed theaters have become a rarity. Highly anticipated movies can rack up a couple full houses, but generally, the majority of releases see emptier theaters and quieter premieres. “The ‘Barbenheimer’ [popularity] was probably because it was a fad, and people wanted to go and see these two [movies] at the same time,” Waterman says.

“That was a promotion that really worked, but I think it’s a one-off; I think it can’t be duplicated.”

Chavez believes that the AFI, along with many other small theater companies, has the potential for greater appeal than its big-industry counterparts because of the types of films it shows and the opportunity for viewers to experience singular events that cannot be replicated in at-home streaming.

“For Halloween, we had a 50th anniversary screening of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,”” Chavez says. “Then we had the local horror host Count Gordovall here to present [the movie], and he did a bunch of fun games with the audience beforehand … you can’t do that at home.”

As the appeal of going to the movies has shifted, theaters have had to shift too in order to remain

relevant and in business. Many theaters have adapted new marketing techniques in order to frame a visit to the theaters as more of an experience—something that can not be replicated at home. “Studios and the theaters had it easier in the past because there was nowhere else to watch [movies],” Danielle LaFortune, vice president and co-head of TV streaming at marketing agency Big Pic Entertainment, explains.

“So they have to work harder in terms of marketing, making sure people know that the film is out [and] making sure they’re hitting an audience. I think there is definitely a place [for movie theaters in today’s entertainment industry]. People love going to the movies.”

“I think that the studios and the theaters had it easier in the past because there was nowhere else to watch [these movies]”

While streaming and COVID-19 have created new challenges for theaters, they have not replaced the unique appeal of the movie-going experience. The theaters offer a rare escape—a chance to unplug from everyday responsibilities and fully immerse yourself in a film.

“Especially in today’s world, I know when I go to the movie theater and you go into that room and the lights go out and the phone’s off … it’s just me and that story unfolding, and it is magical,” LaFortune says.

PHOTO

EVA DAMMANN

TWINKLING LIGHTS Many local businesses adorn their storefronts with Christmas wreaths and trees for the holidays.

AANYA GARG

INAYAH JUBER

America’s patriotic predicament

Reclaiming patriotism in a polarized nation

By ELORA DERBYSHIRE and CASEY PENDERGAST AN OPINION

“Make America Great Again,” first coined by Ronald Reagan in his 1980 presidential campaign and later adopted by Donald Trump, has become one of the most recognizable rallying cries of the Republican Party. The slogan evokes a sense of pride in the country’s past while pushing back against progressive calls for change. This retrospective vision of patriotism has been intentionally crafted by conservatives to ostracize liberals from American identity.

Since the late 20th century, patriotism has become increasingly synonymous with conservative ideology. According to a YouGov poll, 34 percent of adult U.S. citizens surveyed used the word “patriotic” to describe the Republican Party, whereas only 19 percent used it to describe the Democratic Party. For Jackie Sackstein, chair of the Maryland Young Republicans, this discrepancy is the result of Democrats’ criticism of American society. “We are so blessed to live in a country where our freedoms are valued, where we have rights that so many other countries don’t have,” Sackstein says. “The people on the left are constantly insulting this country and saying what a horrible place it is.”

The perception that the Democratic Party hesitates to find pride in its country dates back decades. In 1988, when Republican candidate George H. W. Bush labeled Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis as a proponent of “pastel patriotism” for vetoing a bill requiring students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, he reinforced the misconception that Democrats are too detached or elitist to love their country. Similarly, during the Iraq War, Republicans invoked the Vietnam-era slogan “love it

ocratic criticism of U.S. military actions as unpatriotic. Historical moves like this, while effective for their purpose, sowed the seeds of present-day polarization, making patriotism inseparable from rightwing ideology.

The portrayal of Democrats being against traditional patriotic ideals is propelled by figures like President-elect Donald Trump, who referred to Democrats as “the enemy from within” in an October interview with Fox News. Much of this framing stems from how each party approaches America’s foundations. Conservatives often emphasize a narrow interpretation of the Constitution, valuing it as an unchanging document crafted by the Founding Fathers. In contrast, many liberals view it as a “living document” that must evolve to address modern challenges.

Conservatives often link constitutional originalism to pride in America and its history, while progressive amendments to policy are branded as anti-American, deepening the ideological divide between parties. This framing also has consequences beyond rhetoric. Republicans’ steadfast claim to patriotism as a facet of their doctrine has made Democrats wary of even referring to themselves as patriots. Blair NSL Government teacher Sean Gabaree recalls an incident where one of his students brought an American flag to a celebration of President Biden’s 2020 victory in Takoma Park. The student was told that they could not bring the flag by someone else at the rally because some people in attendance thought the student was a conservative “pushing buttons.”

“I thought in that case it was pretty politicizing. People were hesitant to [fly the flag],” Gabaree says. This hesitance frustrates some Americans who feel that Democrats have ceded patriotism to Republicans. Peter Loge, the director of the School of Media and Pub-

patriotism from its association with the right. “The Democrats let Republicans say that they’re patriots, and somehow Democrats aren’t,” he says.

Loge believes that patriotism does not have to align with conservative ideology. Instead, he sees it as an opportunity to focus on what America aspires to be. “A lot of liberals think America is fairly flawed, and it’s just a matter of time before we give up,” Loge says. “I disagree with that … I think the way we [make progress] is by saying, ‘You know what America is? America is a place of equal opportunity.’”

People say that if you harp on how the United States is flawed, [then] that’s not loyalty. There’s a framing side of this that politicians use that’s very deliberate.

Criticism of American society in the name of progress must no longer be misinterpreted as a lack of loyalty to the country. Gabaree acknowledges that many believe Americans are expected to “love your country, right or wrong” to be patriots. “People say that if you harp on how the United States is flawed, [then] that’s not loyalty,” Gabaree says. “There’s a framing side of this that politicians use that’s very deliberate.”

If both the left and the right accept patriotism as a hallmark of the Republican Party, the nation will face a future where only Republicans are recognized as true, loyal Americans. To reduce the rise of polarization, patriotism must be redefined as a shared commitment to improving the nation, rather than blind support of the country’s actions throughout its nuanced history. This devotion to American advancement must extend across partisan lines and involve open communication between people of different backgrounds for the state of the nation to improve. “We talked our country into existence,” Loge says. “We talked our democracy into existence. And our democracy will thrive to the extent that we continue to talk to each other about [patriotism] and

SANTAS

By EMILY KRETSCHMER

For this December cycle, I decided to explore members of the Claus family to learn their stories and favorite elements of the Christmas season.

The first Claus I spoke with was Santa Rick, the dean and instructor of the Northern Lights Santa Academy—the largest Santa school in the Southeast U.S. Santa Rick clarified what I had long been confused by: why does the Santa at the mall look different from the Santa at the Christmas tree farm? He told me that just like I have a family, there is a huge Claus family with many Santas. I finally have my answer: Christmas is a huge family business! His love for his family and profession shows just how much being a Claus is a lifestyle. He and his family members promote the joy and jolliness of Santa, whether on the job or not.

Since Santa Rick had to get back to teaching his nephews how to be better Santas, he referred me to his brother Santa Mark, who lives and breathes Santa Claus year-round. “I’m usually dressed in some kind of red or in a Santa character 365 days a year. My house is decorated year-round, we don’t take the decorations down, we just add to them,” Santa Mark tells me.

woman in a nursing home. For years, she barely spoke, but when Santa Tony arrived, this changed. “We went [to the nursing home] and we were taking pictures and bringing gifts for the occupants in the building. We sat down, and then she came over and she said ‘Santa! Santa! Santa! Santa Claus!’ And everybody was freaking out because she [normally] wouldn’t do anything, she never really talked,” Santa Tony explains. “She started talking about this and that and she started opening up … I said, ‘Would you do me a favor? Can you dance with me?’ We were just trying to check her mobility and she got up; she said, ‘Let’s dance, Santa.’” The staff members were shocked since she rarely even got out of bed. But Santa Tony didn’t just dance with her, he continued speaking to her, learning what others had spent years trying to get out of the woman. “I said, ‘Tell me about your childhood’ … and then she started naming her family members,” he explains. With the new information, staff members were able to arrange for her to meet with her brother, who she had not seen in 15 years.

“You have to portray yourself as Santa. That way, people know me and know my kindness, my generosity, but also know my habits. You’re not gonna find me sitting in a bar, you’re not gonna find me drunk on the side of the road, you’re not gonna find me being pulled over by the police for doing something outrageous.”

One of Santa Mark’s traditions to spread these values is to hand out coins. “One side of the coin says ‘Believe,’ and the other side says you met Santa Claus and you made the nice list,” he says. He gave a few out while on a whale-watching trip in Cape Cod. Later in the year, while relaxing at the beach without his Santa suit, a little girl recognized him. “Here I am on vacation down at Rehoboth Beach sitting on the boardwalk, and this little girl comes up to me,” Santa Mark says. “She pulls on my shirt and she says, ‘Excuse me Santa.’ And I said, ‘How’d you know I was Santa?’ And she said, ‘You gave me this coin in Cape Cod,’ and she pulled the coin I had given her. That’s just rewarding in itself.”

Another Claus I spoke with, Santa Tony, had a similarly impactful experience with an older

To be the best Santa possible, many Clauses attend and even teach at Santa schools around the country. “We started teaching in 2022, and there are a lot of different classes that are available to teach Christmas performers how to do their job because there are people who want to get into this business and they don’t know how to do it,” Santa Bryan, who created the charitable Santa for Hire MD organization, tells me. In addition to teaching at Santa schools, he donates all of his earnings from Santa events to the foundation.

Although Santa schools are not well known, the love that members of the Claus family spread is. “Santa is universal. At HireSanta. com, we really are just perpetuating that sort of image of Santa [by] bringing families and communities together. Regardless of religion, people love Santa,” Mitchell Allen, founder of HireSanta.com, which helps connect Santas with those interested in booking one for an event, says. This companionship and compassion permeate through every aspect of a Claus’ life. “It’s been a jolly good time,” Santa Mark tells me. “It’s been a blessing in so many words that I can’t tell you how much it means to me. [Being Santa] has probably kept me alive.”

LUCIA WANG

SEAN GABAREE

LUCA ESSER

Chips’ Trivial Pursuit

By LAILA ANDELMAN and JUSTIN ROSENTOVER

Music plays, families laugh, and beer glasses fizz in celebration as the charm of trivia night comes alive. At local pubs, this weekly tradition brings together friends and strangers alike, combining fun, challenge, and a touch of rivalry. This fall, we visited three different pubs under the name “Chips tries chips” to check out their trivia.

The 4 Corners Pub

Lesson Learned: Go big or go home (with no gift card)

The Team: Justin, Laila, Eloise, Greta, Naomi, and Yongle Place: Fourth

Wednesdays @ 7:30 p.m. 10111 Sutherland Rd

Located just across from Blair, the 4 Corners Pub buzzes with energy on trivia nights hosted by Cap City Trivia. When we visited in early November, the place was so packed we barely snagged a table.

Fueled by mozzarella sticks and pizza, we started strong before falling behind after the second round. Every question was paired with a musical clue, which ranged from helpful to perplexing. A question about tiramisu was accompanied with “She’s a Lady,” a nod to ladyfingers, while “The Cop Song” from “Urinetown” hinted at copper for a quesmollusk blood. Fred Fletcher-Jackson, the trivia host, shared that creating the playlist is the most personalized part of hosting. “All of the hosts make their own music playlist … that’s the one totally customizable part of the game experience,”

We rallied during the halftime game where we matched iconic movie couples like Rose and Jack from “Titanic” and Eliza Doolittle and Professor Higgins from “My Fair Lady.” Our shining moment came when we were the only team to correctly name Rita Ora as Tyra Banks’ replacement on “America’s Next Top Model,” proving why a team with diverse interests excels at trivia.

For the final questions, we could wager points depending on our confidence in our answers. While we correctly identified Jules Verne as the namesake of a yacht circumnavigation trophy and “Variety” as the magazine founded by Sime Silverman, we did not bet boldly enough on the latter and landed in fourth place.

Despite the crowded scene and our near loss, the 4 Corners Pub is a thriving location for trivia. “It’s the one part of my week that’s totally stress-free and just fun,” Fletcher-Jackson, who has been hosting for two-and-a-half years, says. The same was true for us players—it was a blast to play.

Quarry House Tavern

Sundays @ 7 p.m. 8401 Georgia Ave Lesson Learned: Go with your gut

The Team: Justin, Laila, Chloe Place: Fourth

Walking into Quarry House Tavern, it was immediately clear we were the odd ones out. What started as a speakeasy evolved into a Vietnam veteran biker bar, then a nerdy-hipster spot, and is now a local hangout crowd. We appeared to be the only people under the age of 21 until we made our way to the back room, where a pair of iPad kids revealed themselves (although they never noticed us).

Its underground space, adorned with Christmas lights, exudes dive bar charm, and the menu features elevated pub food. We tried the QH Burger, tots, and a cinnamon pretzel, all of which were delicious. Out of all the trivia games we played, this was by far the hardest, though having a team of only three people may have contributed to its difficulty. The game included 70 questions, with two picture rounds and one “Name that Tune” segment. We did well in the early rounds, especially a written section on women in history. We even managed to scrape by on the first picture round, identifying celebrities in their military uniforms—who knew Adam Driver was a Marine! But our lack of mobster knowledge was our down fall in a picture round on movie gangsters.

After our mobster flop, we bounced back with a fifth written round and were feeling optimistic. That was until the fi nal “Name that Tune” segment.

Stained Glass Pub

Lesson Learned: Not all trivia is created equal

The Team: Justin, Laila, Greta, Naomi Place: Unknown

Thursdays @ 8 p.m. 12510 Layhill Rd

We did okay, but knew our efforts were not enough to catapult us into the lead. Alas, we ended again in the dreaded fourth place, but this time we were a half-point behind third. If we had gone with our gut and said Ella Fitzgerald was the singer for “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” we would have tied for a podium spot.

Later, we learned that the Tavern’s questions were a last-minute effort, as the usual host sadly passed away a month-and-a-half before our visit. Quarry House has always run its trivia, and it plans to keep it that way.

“I don’t want to just hire a company … I would rather not do it than have one of those kinds of things,” Patrick Young, the stand-in host at Quarry House, says. Young stepped in, mishmashing past rounds with current event questions to create the game that night. Despite improvising the trivia, Quarry House still managed to produce a fun and enjoyable set, and we cannot wait to see what Young puts together after his usual eight-hour trivia writing sessions.

Nestled between Glenmont Station and a laundromat, Stained Glass Pub hosts trivia nights led by “Twist and Freezer”—a duo that’s been running the event for years. Twist is the apparent frontman, while Freezer is the stoic type who silently grades answers in the corner. The pub itself is quirky, with colorful tiling, mirrors we constantly confused for windows, and a plaque reserving a table for a Blair pizza club that we can only guess no longer exists. Our game, with a trusty team of four, was pretty mediocre. All the questions incorporated November in some way, although the connection was puzzling at times. We ended round one with a perfect score, but that was due to the questions be ing quite easy (i.e. “Who gave the Gettysburg Address?”).

Round two tripped us up with photo IDs of celebrities born in November—who is

Our takeaways

Though “Chips tries chips” never placed in the top three, playing the trivia was well worth it. We were most successful when our team had a diverse array of interests, so bring along your friends when playing at any of these establishments, even if they are not “trivia people.” Try some trivia, and let the chips fall where they may.

Dennis Miller? We recovered nicely in the next round, where they played two songs from 1987 and 2022, and we had to guess the artist. This was more suited to our age demographic, and we got every single one. The final round mirrored the first but upped the difficulty. We were asked to name the year of the first Thanksgiving, which we correctly answered as 1621, despite other teams claiming it was impossible to answer. The pacing felt sluggish, and much of the audience consisted of regulars who frequently bantered with Twist. In the end, only the top

TRIVIA NIGHT Regulars and Chippers enjoy playing at the 4 Corners Pub.

PHOTOS BY KENEAN BIZUWORK AND CHIPS TRIES CHIPS

Chips Clips

Cryptic Anagrams

Across:

1: Compressions to “Stayin Alive”

4: Carlos Santana on the guitar

6: __ __ kind

7: Betrayer of Chelsea

8: Who died in the fifth book?

Down:

1: IPad kids and music enthusiasts

2: The worst Chris

3: Kendrick’s least favorite condiment

4: Defenders of liberty (allegedly)

5: Nadal’s backhand for short

Try to make as many combinations as possible with the letters provided. There are more possible combinations than there are spaces provided.

Holiday Foods

Down:

1: Atlantic or Pacific

2: Tennis star Michael

3: Comedian Notaro

4: Language suffix 5: “___ the season...”

6: Rope: Fr.

7: Musical Artist, performer of “Dancing with the Moon”

8: Yearbook sect.

9: ___ kwon do

10: First man

11: Appraise 12: Sketched

13: ___-pong 14: Trendy berry

19: Traditional Christmas gift

22: Santa’s helper

23: Family mem.

24: Oz creator’s family

25: Pop

28: Toothpaste type

29: ___ gobi (Indian potato dish)

69: Almost certainly will, after “is”

30: Faux pas

31: “Hey, you!”

32: Electrically versatile

33: Dumbbell exercise

34: Actor Morales

36: Old Persian coin

39: Personal ad abbr.

43: JFK successor

45: It’s also known as vasopressin: Abbr.

46: Letter before omega

51: Dangerous bacteria

52: Charlotte ___

53: Genetic copy

54: Varieties

55: Give off

56: iPod model

57: Give ___ on the shoulder

58: Rind

59: Beige

63: That guy

64: Siesta

65: Presidential nickname

66: Doze (off)

67: Yank

Contact Puzzle Editor Ethan de Brauw at silverchipsclips@gmail.com with the subject “Chips Clips October” with questions, comments, concerns, or any other feedback.

December Solutions

ETHAN DE BRAUW

JOSEPHINE BRUNN LAKE

JONAH CHOPRA-KHAN

DANEEL KUTSENKO

came after a well-played season. Coyle designed practices to focus on strengthening the team’s skills and improvement areas. Mejia described their practices as low-intensity and more skill-based. “A lot of technical, on the ball stuff, and then towards the end, we work a lot on the things that we’re not doing well,” he said. Coyle also ensured practices were not too stressful for the team to avoid injuries. “We didn’t do a ton of intensity at practice just because we wanted to keep

December 11, 2024

Championship win marks first in 50 years

it light and keep ourselves fresh and not get anyone hurt. Just a lot of tactics and making sure we were solid in our shape,” Johnson said.

Looking back on the season, Blair started off strong with two wins against Magruder and Sherwood but lost to a skilled Wheaton team for their third game. Their second loss was a crushing 4-1 defeat to Whitman. The team knew they would face Whitman again during their playoff run, which motivated them to work harder than ever. “We knew that Whitman’s score [against us] during the regular season didn’t show what our team truly [was],” Coyle said.

After Blair’s final regular season win over Richard Montgomery, they headed into the playoffs with a 7-3-2 record. After Blair defeated High Point 3-1 in a high-stakes game, they advanced to the Regional Final against Northwestern on Oct. 29. The game was evenly matched, and regulation time ended with a tied score. Neither team could find the back of the net in the first overtime, sending the game into double overtime. The game was called when captain Owen Boots scored a penalty kick, making the score 2-1.

The Blazers continued their dominant play against Broadneck in the State Quarterfinals, with a 4-2 win. Then in the State Semifinals, Blair faced Whitman, who they prepared heavily for all season. “We knew if we came out of that game, we were winning it all,” Coyle said. “That week leading into Whitman, it was non-stop. Every single person was focused at practice, and it was ‘How can we make sure nothing gets through?’ You can’t lose if they don’t score.” After a defensive masterclass and key

goals from Boots, Alvarez, and Elazar, Blair defeated Whitman 3-1, which qualified the team for the 4A State Championship.

Everyone did a really good job staying focused and not getting ahead of themselves, knowing that we still had to play a full game.

Two years ago, Blair fell short in the State Semifinals, and reaching the State Championship has been a vision of Coyle’s ever since. Reyes’ older brother was part of the 2022 team, and this year’s win created a full-circle moment. “He was proud of me,” Reyes said. “He called me

Blair 2024 Fall Varsity Sport Records

right after the game, and he told me how proud he was.”

All of the hours of conditioning, watching film, and using every minute of the season to improve started in August and paid off with a championship title in November. Coyle hopes the players will remember this season in the years to come. “In hindsight, I just hope the players realize the experience and took in as much of it as they could. Because it truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she said. Johnson felt the victory was the perfect ending to his high school career. “It’s really special. Especially in my senior year, it’s a nice way to go out,” he said.

Even though the team will lose many key players as seniors graduate, Coyle has a goal for next year. “The bar has been set,” she stated. “It’s not just winning [once, but] can we do it back-to-back? ... We’ll see.”

PHOTOS BY JONATHAN PETER BELLING FULL EFFORT Senior Quinn Kelly avoids Richard Montgomery defender.

PLAYING TOGETHER The Blazers circle up before the championship game begins.

One for all, all for one How different sports build team spirit

By LILA GROSKO and DIEGO SANTORO-VELEZ

One of the most coveted aspects of high school is joining a sport. From bocce to football, Blair has no shortage of options for prospective athletes, which leads to many factors to consider when deciding which sport to choose. One factor that rises to the top of many students’ lists is team culture, as students search for the community that will make them feel most welcome and valued. But what makes an inviting team culture, and how does culture work in individual sports like golf or cross-country?

In individual sports like cross-country and swimming, success is often measured by personal achievements. Runners and swimmers are scored on their times in every race. The goal is to achieve the fastest time or a personal record. The other element is the team score, which is typically based on the placements of a school’s fastest athletes.

Blair junior and swimmer Grace Rawlins described how this team structure can create an inherently positive team dynamic, as athletes in individual sports are not competing against one another for playing time. “I play another sport, softball, and it can feel really bad … if you’re doing really bad at practice and you know your coach isn’t gonna put you in the next game,” Rawlins said. “[But for] swimming, it’s so much better competition wise, because I

am only focusing on myself.”

Building a positive team dynamic can be especially difficult in individual sports where athletes are not always practicing together. In order to create a positive culture, the Blair swim and dive team makes an effort to spend time together outside of swim practice. “We do a lot of team building activities with Blair swim; it’s something we really try to emphasize, especially because we are not doing practices at school,” Blair swim and dive captain Zoë Gondi explained. “After practices, we have breakfasts, and that is a really fun way to get to know the team, and then every year, we have pasta parties, and that is the first initial getting-to-know-you [for] the whole team.”

Even in the pursuit of personal records and achievements, athletes in individual sports often find that the team dynamic can be just as supportive and motivating as it is in team sports. “Running is probably the most supportive atmosphere I’ve been involved in,” Blair cross-country coach Anna Bosse said.

In traditional team sports like basketball or field hockey, athletes rely heavily on their teammates during games. Whether it’s for the perfect pass for an easy lay-up or a defender’s crucial block preventing a basket, each player is an important part of the team and their success—when one person wins, everyone wins. This helps create a positive environment where the team values every athlete’s contri-

Drawing the line

bution, no matter how big or small.

After practices, we have breakfasts, and that is a really fun way to get to know the team, and then every year, we have pasta parties, and that is the first initial getting-toknow-you [for] the whole team.

Senior Blair boys’ basketball player Bennett Webb explained how forming bonds with team mates contributes to improved performance on the court.

“You can always just trust your teammate is going to be there for you, which helps … not only the team [perform better,] but also yourself.”

Collaboration is key to success in team sports. Athletes are not only motivated by the desire to win, but also to make their teammates proud. Teams can build a sense of trust between players by plan ning bonding activities. Webb described the bas ketball team’s emphasis on bonding outside of practice

What should constitute a sport?

By YONGLE XIN AN OPINION

Heart pounding, adrenaline pumping, sweat flowing down their face, the athlete presses forward. But there is no ball being passed or goal being scored; the player is holding the “W” key on their keyboard and snapping their mouse onto the enemy with a flick of the wrist. Though they look different from a typical athlete, they share a defining feeling of pressure and triumph. They share similar challenges, rewards, and structure. Why then, are they often treated so differently?

A sport, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill [...] one regulated by set rules or customs in which an individual or team competes against another or others.” The phrase “physical exertion” would disqualify activities like chess and esports, but it would also leave out widely accepted sports like golf and darts. Is there really more physical exertion required to throw a dart than to move a chess piece?

Still, words are not defined by dictionaries or databases; they are defined by the way we use them. In the case of the word ‘sport,’ it can be defined more accurately using three qualifications: skill, competition, and limited opportunity. Skill and competition are easy to define—skill refers to expertise or an ability to perform tasks, while competition refers to a contest between at least two parties with a scoring system. The third element, limited opportunity, is harder to define. It refers to a constraint on the number

of attempts players have to complete a task. For example, soccer players only get one try for each shot on the goal. Meanwhile, artists in a month-long painting competition would have ample opportunity to restart after making a mistake, disqualifying it as a sport.

This three-part definition can be seen in many activities, ranging from common sports to the most niche. For example, in football, a lot of skill is required to throw a Hail Mary pass or kick a 40-yard field goal. The second criterion— competition—is also obvious with teams going head to head in each game with clear scoring. There is limited opportunity with each play being final, making each missed catch or botched tackle irreversible.

Activities that fit the definition also include esports—computer-based games like “League of Legends” or “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege.” They have the same demands as any other sport. “It does require skill and determination and hard work and I think that’s what makes a sport,” Ole Olson, captain of the Elon University Siege team, said. In the same way that any average person wouldn’t last a minute in an NFL game, they would face the same fate in a match of professional Siege. There is also competition in Siege, with two teams of five playing in a best of five rounds system. As for the third criterion, rounds last just a few minutes at most, with each encounter and action being final. In Siege, if the player loses a gunfight and dies in a round, they can’t just hit rewind and try again. The team has to adapt to the situation.

Another example of a true sport is auto racing. It involves driving

and games. “It is all about getting to know your teammates outside of basketball … During Thanksgiving break, we had a friendsgiving event where the team all came and just hung out. We brought food; it was a fun time and we hung out for a few hours,” Webb said.

Other factors, such as the attitude of athletes and coaches, play a major role in team culture. Desmond Dunham, a nationally acclaimed track and cross-country coach and author, described his coaching philosophy when building positive team culture. “My philosophy is that winning is a byproduct. Rarely do we talk about winning. We talk about training for one another, being committed

another,” Dunham said. “Those key ingredients end up [giving] you the best opportunity for your team to perform at its best.” Blair senior and golf captain Teddy McDonough believes cultivating positive relationships between athletes is especially important for addressing a common challenge faced by golfers: nerves. McDonough and his teammates combat this problem through lighthearted practices where players can forge real relationships. “Personal connection is super important for me as a captain,” McDonough said. “[It’s] getting to know the players so they don’t feel like they have to play well or prove themselves to us [and] making sure everybody is happy to be there, because if you’re happy to be there,

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vehicles through circuits or tracks to see who finishes first. The sport definition still holds. It takes skill to race a car well; when braking for a turn, drivers must be incredibly precise to prevent a lock-up—where tires lose traction and slide without rotating. “A little bit too much pressure on that pedal can cause the rear brakes to lock up and then send you around,” Dominic Mandile, driver in the Sports Car Club of America’s Spec Miata series, said.

Every driver is ready to capitalize on any misjudgments since any mistake can cost valuable time, affecting finishing places. “Mistakes don’t tend to crop up all that often. And so basically when the door opens even slightly, you need to be there to take advantage,” Mandile said.

Some traditional athletes argue that broadening the sport title would diminish its importance and disrespect those who traditionally held the distinction. “I think it kind of does take away something from what we do,” Samuel Smith-Ackerly, Blair swimmer and lacrosse player, said. While this is a fair concern, players like Ole Olson still deserve recognition for mastering their craft.

It does require skill and determination and hard work and I think that’s what makes a sport.

Why does the sport label matter? It should not, but it does. Many shun non-traditional sports because they don’t see them as worthy.

These attitudes can keep people from learning about or getting into activities that they might find enjoyable. The more sports under the umbrella, the more non-traditional sports can get the attention they deserve and are able to do what they do best: create joy. Olson would certainly be worse off without his love for Siege. “It’s awesome, man. I love it,” he said. Mandile is also certain that joy he gets from racing is the reason he knows it is a sport. “Doing it because it’s something that you enjoy is the biggest part of what makes racing as much a sport as anything else,” Mandile said.

OLE OLSON

LUCIA WANG

JOSEPHINE BRUNN LAKE

A daily deficit

Athletes struggle to balance sports and nutrition

By CARMELLA BEACH and PRIYA TAPIA-PEREIRA

A pounding alarm goes off at 4 a.m., and Blair junior Lindsay Young rushes out of bed to make her 5 a.m. swim practice with nothing but last night’s dinner and half a cheese stick fueling her body. At lunch, she works on her chemistry homework, leaving only enough time to eat a granola bar. Young’s second swim practice starts right after school, which leaves no time to stop and eat a meal. After practice, she rushes to her job where she teaches kids to swim. Finally, at a late 8:30 p.m., Young gets home and eats her first meal of the day: dinner.

Young’s struggle in managing a busy schedule and eating extends beyond high school athletes. A 2022 study by Creative Commons on food insecurity among DI athletes found 45 percent of athletes stated that dining room hours conflicted with practice times and 22 percent of DI athletes said dining room hours conflicted with competition schedules.“A lot of the practice times [can] conflict with meals … that’s hard because you have to go to school all day, you have homework, you have to eat, and then you have to play,” Georgetown University Director of Sports Nutrition Patrice Amore said.

resulting in poor eating habits for athletes, sports that require their competitors to maintain a certain weight or physique can also be problematic. Blair senior and ballerina-turned girls’ wrestling captain Charlotte Goldberg reflected on her former dance teacher’s problematic approach to eating, often conveying a message

that dancers needed a slim figure. “We did have teachers that would tell us they could see our lunches—which was not great,” she said.

However, now in wrestling, she has gained a different perspective.

Evelyn Hoskins, a Blair senior on Poms, explained her difficulty with finding time to properly fuel her body before performances.

“On football game days, I’m here from 7:30 in the morning to at least nine o’clock at night, so it’s hard to find time to sit down and eat a good meal in between the chaos of everything,” she said.

Aside from scheduling conflicts

“Not eating during a cut is actually one of the worst [things] you can do and it makes it harder,” she explained. “[My eating habits have] honestly gotten a lot better since I started wrestling because I started focusing more on fueling my body and making sure that I’m getting everything that I need to be successful.”

Wrestling requires its athletes to maintain a certain weight, as the weight classes ensure fair competition. Yet, with guidance from the

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Blair wrestling coaches, the athletes are able to sustain a healthy relationship with food. Blair wrestling junior Westin Flores observed the way weight and eating is talked about on the wrestling team. “If you need to cut weight or gain weight, you can go talk to any of the coaches, and they’ll tell you exactly what you need to do and how to do it safely so that you’re not putting yourself in danger,” he said.

Athletes like Blake senior swimmer Andrea Dworak, who is committed to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Swim and Dive team, take the “food is fuel” mindset seriously.

Dworak is a self-proclaimed foodie and emphasized the importance of fueling her body rather than restricting it.

“Food is fuel and that’s really something that I try to live by and not obsess over how much I eat,” she said.

However, Dworak pointed out that she has also had her own struggles regarding body image and food. “Especially in the sport of swimming, when you’re in a bathing suit around people all the time, you can feel very exposed,” she said.

It is common for female athletes to struggle when it comes to finding the balance between building muscle for their sport, while also trying to not become too “bulky.”

According to a study by the National Institute of Health, “among 846 female athletes representing 67 different sports, 25 percent reported restrictive eating and 18 percent reported eating disorders.”

Dworak described how women tend to be disadvantaged when it comes to getting properly fueled for their sport.

“Especially for women, our bodies are changing in so many different ways at different times,” she said. “I wish there were more re-

sources for women specifically on [a] diet and [for] how to fuel yourself properly that are in line with our hormones. I think a lot of nutrition advice out there is designed for men.”

On football game days, I’m here from 7:30 in the morning to at least nine o’clock at night, so it’s hard to find time to sit down and eat a good meal in between the chaos of everything.

The National Eating Disorders Association claims that coaches are a key part in fostering training environments that support both athletic performance and emotionally rewarding experiences. Though uplifting environments are encour-

aged, some coaches neglect positive eating habits. Blair junior Noa Heirtzler said her club field hockey coaches encouraged negative eating habits. “[At tournaments], in between games, [our coach] doesn’t want us eating. [The tournaments can have] early games and then there could be four hours between a game and [the coaches just] don’t want us eating,” Heirtzler said. While Heirtzler’s coaches advise their athletes to not eat prior to games, Amore suggested athletes fuel up before games to maximize performance and energy. His advice is reflective of the push for better eating habits among athletes— above all, health is paramount. “One piece of advice all coaches should give their athletes would be very basic and it would be [to] eat healthy. Three meals a day. Don’t skip breakfast, eat all your meals, drink water throughout the day,” Amore said.

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ART BY JESSICA HSIEH

Bout time A spotlight on roller derby

By SAHANA PARIKH and JESSICA ZHANG

Fun, upbeat music plays over speakers and a shining disco ball hangs from the ceiling, casting patches of flashing light onto the track. Twenty-four-year-old Julian Wallace, also known as “Ruth Break-Her Shins-Berg,” laces up her roller skates and straps on her knee pads as she prepares for practice with her team, DC Roller Derby. She puts in her mouth guard before joining her teammates on the floor. Her coach, “Fury,” whistles for them to start skating around the track. Wallace swiftly weaves through a wall of players while maintaining her balance.

History of roller derby

Roller derby began in 1935 as a new form of entertainment, consisting of two teams of five skaters, each trying to lap the other team. It is now enjoyed by many players and spectators around the world.

Many players started roller skating as a pastime with friends. Elizabeth Glenn, a Blair science teacher and roller derby player, found her passion for skating during her youth. “Back in the 80s, roller skating was kind of a thing; people would go to the roller rink, so we got weirdly good at it. And I just … did it all the time,” Glenn said. Glenn and Wallace, alongside many others who enjoyed skating as a pastime, transitioned to derby for competition.

Roller derby faced a general decline, but then reappeared in the 2000s when it was modified to be played on a flat track. Leagues were established in cities and the sport eventually regained its popu larity. Founded in 2004, the Wom en’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is a non-profit organiza tion that establishes the rules of flat track roller derby across the world, aiming to promote the sport. In

in simple terms. The goal of the game—called “a bout”—is to score the most points. However, strategy is key when trying to score. A bout is structured into 30-minute halves. Each half consists of jams—or rounds. A jam can last up to two minutes, but can also be ended if the lead jammer taps their fists on their hips while ahead or if there is a bad injury. Each team has one jammer

and defense, which is a really cool, unique thing that you don’t see in a lot of sports,” Ward said On the other hand, roller derby is similar to other sports in the sense that it is a nickname. The names are usually made by taking the skater’s name and creating a spin on the words, oftentimes with a pun. Glenn, whose nickname is Biz from Elizabeth, created the skater name “Bizerker.” She explained how most people choose their skater names.

“Everyone has a name … it’s usually something menacing or dangerous,” Glenn said. Ryan, whose roller derby name is “mathMADix”, described the nicknames as a way to separate roller derby from everyday life. “It’s like this is my persona when I’m playing this sport … it’s not always who I am,

is inspiring to her. “It was really amazing to find roller derby because it was just all these incredible women who were really good at skating,” Collier said. Wallace developed true friendships through her time on the track. “I’ve met some of my closest friends through derby and had a chance to make adult friends,” Wallace said.

It’s a very empowering feeling and it makes you feel very strong at the end of the day.

Local community

There are various roller derby leagues scattered throughout the area. The adult league in Montgomery County is called Free State Roller Derby. They have two travel teams: the Black Eyed Suzies and Rock Villains. Other well-known leagues in the area include DC Roller Derby, Patuxent Roller Derby, and NOVA Roller Derby. Many of these teams play each other in themed bouts, with one team hosting another at their home rink. Most roller derby teams are nonprofit organizations, so leagues often depend on volunteers to work as coaches, referees, scorekeepers, and penalty box timers. Ward described the community that was built from the sport. “Everybody has a role. Everybody’s working

together. We’re doing something together and there’s no singling anybody out or isolating anybody Roller derby is open to everyone and with the number of leagues in the area, it is easy to find a team and learn to play. “I hope that more people can get into the sport because … it’s not appreciat-

PHOTOS BY DANEEL KUTSENKO

ROOKIE RUMBLE Team rookies from DC Roller Derby and The World face off.

KRYSTAL COLLIER