December 2022 — Silver Chips Print

A public forum for student expression since 1937 Montgomery Blair High School December 8, 2022 SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND

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A new path to music fame

By Sophie Yohannan Staff Writer

Chances are, many of the top songs on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart at any given time are— or were—trending on TikTok. The social media app with over one billion users has secured a controversial role in the music industry, now holding the power to jumpstart an artist’s career or further boost the popularity of an artist who is already successful.

On the consumer side, the app exposes users to an extensive variety of music, enabling them to branch out and discover new artists they would not have come across otherwise. However, TikTok’s influence on today’s music can also put pressure on artists to create songs with “viral” potential.

By Della Baer Staff Writer

The winter holidays are a time to take off from work and spend time with loved ones for many Americans. But for one essential sector, this time of year is no such novelty.

“As the story goes, if you’re a letter carrier in the [postal service], there [is] no enjoying the holidays around Thanksgiving to New

Year’s because of the high volume of mail,” Vada Preston, a national business agent with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), says in an interview with Silver Chips. Before moving to his current job in the union representing Region 13, which includes D.C, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, Preston was a United States Postal Service (USPS) letter carrier for 18 years.

USPS delivers more mail during the months surrounding

the winter holidays than any other time of year. In 2021, USPS accepted over 13 billion mailpieces and packages between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.

Throughout these chilly months, Preston explains that understaffing poses the greatest challenge. “The last two Christmas seasons… it’s becoming very common [for] letter carriers [to be] working six or seven days a week… [and] 12+ hours [a day].”

The staffing problem has

heightened the need for more career employees—postal workers who are afforded more long-term financial stability, benefits, and steadier work schedules than their non-career counterparts. “It’s easier to solicit people to want to be letter carriers if [they are offered career status],” NALC Pittsburgh Branch President Ted Lee explains in an interview with Silver Chips.

Phoebe Bridgers, Steve Lacy, Doja Cat, Mitski, Lana Del Rey, and Brent Faiyaz are just a few examples of artists whose success was driven further by TikTok. In early 2020, Doja Cat’s “Say So” went viral on the app after creator Haley Sharpe (@yodelinghaley) choreographed a dance to it. The “Say So” dance trend blew up and Doja Cat’s song soon reached hit status, landing spot No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and ascending to No. 1 after a remix with Nicki Minaj. While Doja Cat already had some popularity, especially after her nonsensical single “Mooo!,” the viral “Say So” dance marked a turning point in her career.

Postal workers deliver during the holiday season New direction for development

By Ava Bedaque News Columnist

On Oct. 25, the Montgomery County Council unanimously approved Thrive Montgomery 2050 (Thrive), a policy overhaul of the county’s General Plan for land use that prioritizes urbanization and increasing building density.

A General Plan is a set of broad guidelines which lays out certain goals for the county and makes general recommendations about how land should be developed in the future. Thrive replaces the

Wedges and Corridors General Plan, which was first adopted in 1964 and last updated in 1993, and which limited most development in the county to four corridors—designated areas following major roadways—and maintained low building density in all the surrounding areas.

Tanya Stern, Montgomery County’s Acting Planning Director, was an adviser for the creation of Thrive and believes a new General Plan was necessary to address land use now that the county is already largely developed. “[In the 1960s,] we had a lot of… farms that were redeveloped into new housing de-

Terrapin commitment

The University of Maryland introduces new financial aid for in-state, Pell-eligible students A3

velopments… We have very little space where that’s even possible anymore. In the meantime, we now have over a million residents in our county,” she told Silver Chips. “We needed to have a general plan that reflected the Montgomery County that we’re planning for now and that we will need to plan for in the future.”

Thrive’s recommendations to prevent sprawl by limiting new construction to already somewhat-developed areas are also meant to help protect the environment.

LA ESQUINA LATINA La Copa Mundial 2022

Los equipos y las comunidades se unen para participar y alzar la Copa. C1

CULTURE Yearly recap

As the end of December nears, read about our Culture columnist’s favorite books of 2022. E1

TikTok’s song-boosting powers reach beyond just the music and artists of today. When the Netflix show Stranger Things released its fourth season in May 2022 featuring Kate Bush’s 1985 hit classic “Running Up That Hill” on the soundtrack, TikTok sparked the song’s resurgence.

Queer athletes

LGBT Q athletes discuss their experiences in the Blair sports community. F1

PHOTO BY MAIA TURPEN

THANKSGIVING PARADE The annual Montgomery County Thanksgiving Parade took place in downtown Silver Spring on Nov. 19. Students from Silver Chips Print, Silver Chips Online, and the Blazer Pride Marching Band represented Blair in the lineup.

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Silver Chips is a public forum for student expression. Student editors make all content decisions. Editorials signed by the Editorial Board represent the views of the Editors-in-Chief, Managing Opinions Editors, and Ombudsman and are not necessarily those of the school or of all Silver Chips members. Letters to the editor are encouraged; submit them to silver.chips. print@gmail.com. Letters may be edited for space and clarity.

According to Eric Saul, the founder of the local firm Saul Architects and an outspoken proponent of Thrive, the plan’s recommendations for density will preserve green space and lessen residents’ dependence on cars.

“We have an [agricultural] reserve we [must] protect, and we have to make sure that we don’t have so many roads and so many cars on the road that we’re hurting the environment,” he said in an interview with Silver Chips.

“What I like about Thrive is that it’s looking forward to urbanizing certain areas of the county and [is] focused on high-density housing near Metro, so people can walk places more [and] they’re not reliant on a car.”

Aside from promoting walkability and environmental resilience, Thrive’s other major goal is to promote racial equity and economic growth. One of the main ways Thrive recommends meeting these goals is by expanding mixed-use zones. Municipalities are generally divided into different zones where different types of development are permitted, but only mixed-use zones allow for a variety of building types, such

as single-family and multi-family housing units and businesses, to all exist in the same space.

According to Saul, mixed-use zones use land more efficiently than other types of zones and allow for more building density. “We’re running out of land, so why have a one-story retail building when you can stack ten floors of apartments on top of it and occupy the same amount of land?” he said. “We can’t just continue to separate everything and take up all the land we have left.”

up some of our single-family zones to slightly denser housing,” he told Silver Chips.* Despite an increase in demand, there has been little residential construction in the past few years and no new multi-family rental buildings in Takoma Park since the 1970s.

However, County Executive Marc Elrich, who opposed Thrive’s passage, voiced concerns that relying on the addition of small multi-family units in previously single-family zones to increase housing capacity could actually increase prices, as Mont-

ed to the market, you wouldn’t have 50,000 households who can’t find housing,” he said. “You can’t debate [that] there’s not a market for housing. But, [developers] have no intention of building affordable housing when they can build expensive housing.”

According to Elrich, lowering housing prices must be done through specific policies not included in Thrive, like rent stabilization and affordable unit requirements. “[Thrive] doesn’t talk about changing requirements for how many affordable units devel -

Increasing housing density could also help drive down Takoma Park’s housing costs, according to Alex Freedman, the city’s Acting Planning and Community Development Manager. “Right now, Takoma Park is becoming increasingly less affordable to live in, so I would not be opposed to exploring what it means to open

gomery County law does not require buildings with fewer than 20 housing units to make units affordable. “If you go into a neighborhood and you build three units on a single-family lot, there are no Moderately-Priced Dwelling Unit requirements, so there’s no requirement for affordable housing,” he said in an interview with Silver Chips.

Elrich also believes that housing prices cannot be lowered by relying on typical supply-and-demand forces. “If housing respond-

opers have to provide,” he said. “It doesn’t talk about no net loss of housing [and] preventing developers from tearing down existing affordable units and replacing them with luxury apartments.”

Ultimately, Elrich fears that the passage of Thrive 2050 could be a distraction from other efforts to improve housing affordability.

“What I would ask people to do is to demand that [the county government] create policies that produce affordable housing now,” he said.

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UMD invests $20 million in need-based aid

By Sasha Vesensky Staff Writer

On Oct. 24, the University of Maryland (UMD) announced a new financial aid program, the Terrapin Commitment, to support students from Maryland eligible for Pell Grants, which the federal government offers to lower-income students. The program will begin providing aid for the 2022–2023 school year starting January 2023.

Dawit Lemma is the Director for the UMD Office of Student Financial Aid, and said that the university will invest up to $20 million annually—the largest single-year investment for need-based aid in UMD’s history—to help Maryland students with costs including tuition and housing. “It’s designed to reduce what we call the ‘unmet need’ of our in-state, Pell Grant-eligible, full-time enrolled undergraduate students,” Lemma said in an interview with Silver Chips. “It will cover a certain cost associated with attending the University of Maryland, College Park. These costs include [tuition] fees,

and food and housing allowances—what we call ‘direct cost’ to our students.”

Jennifer King Rice, UMD Senior Vice President and Provost, explained that if other sources of funding such as grants and financial aid programs do not fully cover a student’s fees, the Terrapin Commitment will cover 100 percent of their tuition and fees and 50 percent of their additional costs such as room and board.

“The Terrapin Commitment funding will cover in-state tuition and fees of all in-state, full-time, Pell-eligible students,” she said in an interview with Silver Chips. “After using scholarships, grants, and that estimated family contribution, and after covering tuition and fees… we’ll cover 50 percent of remaining unmet need.”

There are multiple ways students can be considered for the program. They can fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, or, if they are undocumented students— meaning they are ineligible to fill out the FAFSA form—they can fill out the Maryland State Financial

Aid Application.

According to Lemma, the program was put forward in previous years but did not become a realistic goal until recently due to lack of funding. “The idea always has been [there]... in the past. Our institutional financial aid budget… was not sufficient from the beginning,” he said. Lemma believes that the Terrapin Commitment is a necessary program due to an increasing gap between costs to students and aid provided by the university. “When our [tuition] fee rates, or the on-campus room and board rates [go] up, that institutional aid support hasn’t kept up with that increase.”

King Rice believes that the Terrapin Commitment will remove some financial stress from students and allow them to focus on academic opportunities. “If students don’t have to work a job or two jobs or three jobs, they can spend more time studying and they can dedicate more of their time to the other… learning experiences on our campus that they otherwise might miss,” she said.

While in-state students will benefit from the Terrapin Commitment program, out-of-state students will not. According to Lemma, the program prioritizes Maryland students due to financial constraints.

“We do provide merit scholarships for out-of-state students, but as a… public institution, our priority has always been providing that need-based financial aid support to our in-state students,” Lemma said. “If we [had] more funding… I absolutely would like to see the funding from need-based aid also getting provided to out-of-state eligible students.”

GRAPHIC BY SASHA VESENSKY

Blair College and Career Information Coordinator Jazmine Delos Reyes believes that the program will encourage students to pursue higher education. “I think

MINARICOTTI

[the Terrapin Commitment is] amazing,” she said. “It really closes the gap of having students being so hindered by applying to college because of how much [tuition] is… I think it will get students more excited that it is available for them.”

Delos Reyes predicts a growth in the number of students applying to the institution as a result of the initiative. “I am foreseeing a drastic increase of students applying to college… especially UMD,” she said.

King Rice is optimistic about the future of the program and expressed hope that additional funding from the state of Maryland will further expand financial aid for UMD students.

“This is… a really important first and significant step toward meeting the needs of our students,” she said. “We will continue to lobby the state to advocate for resources to support financial [aid] for our students. That’s a major priority for [UMD President Darryll Pines] and for me.”

First majority-women County Council elected

By Eliza Warren Staff Writer

On Nov. 8, six women were elected to the 11-member Montgomery County Council, marking the first time the council has ever been majority women. Marilyn Balcombe of District 2, Kristin Mink of District 5, and at-large representative Laurie-Anne Sayles replaced male incumbents. Meanwhile, Natali Fani-González of District 6 and Dawn Luedtke of District 7 both represent newly created districts, and Kate Stewart of District 4 was the only elected member to succeed another woman, Nancy Navarro. All six women are Democrats.

The incoming councilmembers worked through challenging campaigns prior to being elected. Balcombe believes that she would have faced fewer struggles on the campaign trail if she were a man.

“Every official who endorsed [a candidate] in my race endorsed me, and [yet] when I was raising money, I still had to convince people that I was a viable candidate,” she said in an interview with Silver Chips. “I just don’t think that would have happened if I had my [same resume] and was a male.”

Luedtke dealt with harassmen during her campaign. “I had one gentleman while I was out door knocking in Montgomery Village… who told me I shouldn’t dress the way I was dressed—which was in my campaign T-shirt and a skirt— because men can’t control their urges,” she recalled in an interview with Silver Chips.

Meanwhile, Mink felt that her gender and race put her safety at

risk. “[I] got a death threat fairly early on that was pretty graphic and included my children and my husband. I certainly think that [it was sent] because I’m a woman of color and doing politics,” she told Silver Chips.

Mink believes that the newly elected women will be able to bring a fresh perspective to county-wide policy decisions that directly affect women. “Having had lived experience under a particular identity certainly gives you more of an insight into what folks [in] that background go through,” she said. “I think that we will see more of a sense of urgency around certain issues that impact women more, and you’ll see us coming together to work on those things.”

As one of her priority agenda items focused on women, Balcombe plans to improve daycare standards in Montgomery County in order to allow women to return to jobs. “One of the [agenda priorities] that I would like to move on [for women] is early care and education. High quality daycare is really expensive, and if you’re making minimum wage, you can’t afford high quality daycare, [which means that] either [women] don’t work and are staying at home when they would like to be working, or their children are in substandard daycare situations,” she said.

Fani-González plans to increase transportation safety in order to protect women. “[Transportation safety] deals with women and girls. The low-wage workers who are using the buses more are women, so making sure that the streets are safe to walk and bike directly affects women. Having vibrant

communities where [women] can mobilize themselves and feel safe is important,” she explained.

Meanwhile, Luedtke named investigating the effect of the pandemic on women’s safety as one of her agenda priorities.

“We had a period of time [during the pandemic] where people really couldn’t file for protective orders or were stuck because houses were closed, and [I want to evaluate] how that’s affecting the services that we provide for women and children who are in those types of situations and need support,” she said.

Mink believes that the protection of housing rights, her top agenda priority, is an issue important for women, but also the county as a whole. “We see that... single income households are more likely to be a mother with children, and those are heavily impacted by the rise in rents,” she said. “Rent stabilization is an everyone issue, but it’s also a disproportionately women’s rights

issue.”

Blair junior Goldie Siff believes that the new Council will better represent the women in Montgomery County. “[The majority-women County Council] means that the decisions that the County Council makes will be more reflective upon the whole county now that there’s more women involved,” she said.

The councilmember-elects hope that their campaigns and agendas will pave the way for other women. FaniGonzález, a Venezuelan immigrant, also wants to increase representation in local government for other historically marginalized groups as well. “English is not my first language, and I think the fact that we have a significant number of students in Montgomery County who are ESOL students [means it is important for them] to see people like me move up the ladder,” she said.

Fani-González also had a message for all those interested in following in her footsteps. “It’s never too early to begin your journey in public service, and I hope that more people get involved,” she said.

Compiled by Parineeka Shrestha Staff Writer

Artemis I launch and program

On Nov. 16, NASA’s Artemis I launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after three scrubbed attempts as a first step in establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon. The rocket’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System launch vehicle will orbit around the Moon and return to Earth after 25 days, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 11. Artemis II, the next step in NASA’s mission, is scheduled for May 2024 and aims to bring humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972.

On Nov. 8, all five ballot measures on the Maryland electoral ballot were approved. Question one renamed the Courts of Appeals and Special Appeals in order to prevent confusion for law students, litigants, and Marylanders, and implemented gender-neutral language. Question two requires state legislators to live in the district they wish to represent for at least six months prior to an election or, if their district was created less than six months prior to the election, they must have lived in it for as long as it has existed. Question three increased the minimum amount at stake for a civil case to require a jury trial from $15,000 to $25,000. Question four added Article XX to the Maryland Constitution, which authorizes people above the age of 21 to use and possess marijuana. Question five requires Howard County’s circuit court judges to serve on the county’s Orphan’s Court to supervise the management of estates of those who have died.

Plane crash causes power outages

On Nov. 27, a Mooney M20J aircraft with two passengers on board crashed into transmission towers in Montgomery Village around 5:30 p.m. The plane’s passengers were safely let down around midnight of the same day. The crash caused homes, street lights, and traffic signals in Wheaton, Olney, Gaithersburg, and Silver Spring to lose power, and also cut off electricity at Shady Grove Metro Station. Due to the outages, MCPS closed schools and offices on Nov. 28 to assess buildings for safety and system readiness of heat, water, and network connectivity.

Respect for Marriage Act passed

On Nov. 29, the U.S. Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act to protect same-sex and interracial marriage in a 61-36 vote. The measure comes after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, as the possibility that the Supreme Court could reverse the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalizing same-sex marriage concerned lawmakers and marriage rights activists.

Review of Maryland’s ballot measures in the midterm election

ALLISON LIN

Compiled by Talia Egnal Staff Writer

COP27 conference

The 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), held in Sharm elSheikh, Egypt, concluded its twoweek session on Nov. 20. Though the conference was meant to end by Nov. 11, negotiations continued until the morning of Nov. 20 when a final 10-page summary document was released. The conference focused on the European energy crisis brought about by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which some hoped would push European countries to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

A record 45,000 people registered to attend the conference, though many left out of frustration over the lack of a commitment to reduce emissions. The conference, however, did produce a new “Loss and Damage” climate fund designed to support countries most affected by climate disasters such as Pakistan or Somalia.

Though these countries historically have had low emissions, they face billions of dollars in damages from climate change-related floods and droughts.

Brazil’s new president

On Oct. 30, former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected Brazil’s next president, defeating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. Under Bolsonaro’s administration, the Amazon rainforest experienced record high deforestation, shrinking around 17 percent. In contrast, Lula enacted policies that reduced deforestation rates in the Amazon by 80 percent during his first term as president from 2003-2011.

In his 2022 victory speech, the president-elect vowed to take action and enact restrictions on illegal mining and logging in his new term, saying that climate change protections would again be a priority under his administration. At the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference, he was greeted with hundreds of supporters chanting his name. During his speech, he declared, “Brazil is back.”

First death sentences of protests in Iran

On Nov. 13, Iran’s Revolutionary Court issued a death sentence to a protestor accused of arson and found guilty of an “enmity against God.” The conviction was the first death sentence to be handed down to a protester since nationwide demonstrations broke out on Sept. 16 after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained by Iran’s morality police. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 351 people have died in these protests, with 15,915 more detained. After the sentence was announced, false infographics spread on multiple social media platforms claiming that Iran was sentencing all 15,000 detained protestors to death, and some influential figures, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, shared these posts. Though the online claims that all of the detained protestors were being sentenced to death were false, Iranian authorities announced they are seeking the death penalty in 21 more cases.

Planning Board overhauled following scandals

By Raunak Banerjee Staff Writer

On Oct. 12, all five members of the Montgomery County Planning Board resigned after a series of scandals. Following the resignations, the Montgomery County Council appointed an interim board. This new board consists of Chair Jeff Zyontz and Vice Chair Amy Presley, as well as commissioners Cherri Branson, David Hill, and Roberto Piñero.

The Planning Board and its subsidiary Planning Department are considered two of Montgomery County’s most influential government organizations. With regard to infrastructure development, the Board budgets resources, sets guidelines for future plans in the county, and determines if certain projects are worth investing in. The Department, on the other hand, creates the plans and implements them within local communities based on the Board’s decisions. “[The Planning Board] is a critical institution for the development process within the county,” Chair Jeff Zyontz said.

However, planning operations paused and controversy began when an investigation found that former Chair Casey Anderson was maintaining a minibar with whiskey, gin, and other liquors in his office. Vice Chair Partap Verma and Commissioner Carol Rubin were also discovered to have violated the no alcohol policy in the office by consuming drinks from Anderson’s bar. As a result, all three Board members were reprimanded and had their pay docked.

The controversy further mounted after the Planning Board suddenly fired Gwen Wright, a nationally recognized Planning Board Director, on Oct. 7. Although the Board’s formal report did not provide a specific reason for the termination, Wright herself believed she was let go for publicly discussing the investigation and expressing support for Anderson. “I believe their main reason for dismissing me was that I supported Casey Anderson in a number of the difficulties that he’s recently been in,” Wright said in an interview with The Washington Post.

Emails between anonymous Board employees and County Council members were eventually leaked to the public. The correspondence detailed one Board worker’s observations, which alleged that Verma had not held Anderson accountable for keeping an

in-office bar.

The emails also suggested that Verma had leaked information confidential to the investigations and used intimidation tactics, including demeaning behavior and misrepresentation of employee complaints, in order to defame Anderson and become the new Chair of the Planning Board.

The emails also claimed that Verma had violated the Hatch Act, a federal law that restricts government employees from participating in political activities. In this case, Verma had solicited donations for County Council candidates.

While Anderson, Verma, and Rubin all accepted responsibility for violating the no alcohol policy, Verma denied the allegations regarding breaking ethics rules and Anderson denied using misogynistic language in the office, which he was also under investigation for.

The Montgomery County Council ultimately ruled that the previous board was unfit to manage the Department after concluding its investigations. “It was the totality of the controversies that kept mounting for several months now,” County Council President Gabe Albornoz said in an interview with The Washington Post.

Although there were no allegations against former Commissioners Gerald Cichy and Tina

Patterson, neither of whom were directly linked to the unprofessional behavior exhibited by Anderson, Verma, and Rubin, the Council still urged them to resign. If any of the members had elected to stay, they would have faced a hearing that decided the future of their term.

Shortly after the previous Board resigned, the Montgomery County Council began accepting applications for the Board positions and received 128 submissions by late October. Given the high number of applicants, the County Council has not yet decided on a permanent Board, despite its original plan to finalize the roster by the end of November. Instead, to prevent any further delay in planning work, the Council opted to continue with an interim Board, whose members will serve until a permanent Board is elected. Interim members will also have the opportunity to apply for extended or permanent terms.

Given the Board’s importance to the county, the Planning Department and newly appointed Board members made it a priority to get planning work back on track. “We haven’t missed a beat, I would say. We have to continue on because we know that, while what happened with the [previous] board is unfortunate... we have to

continue our work that we’re doing,” Montgomery County Planning Department Deputy Planning Director Robert Kronenberg said in an interview with Silver Chips.

One part of the work Kronenberg refers to is the Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan, which outlines renovations to major roads in the county, including University Boulevard, and includes initiatives to improve traffic safety, increase connectivity and ease of access to more areas, and make areas more economically sustainable. These include new bus rapid transit stops and more infrastructure that supports walking and biking. “[The Master Plan] is going to look at a broader vision and say, ‘We need safer connections. We need wider connections for pedestrians, strollers, bicycles. We need bike lanes,” Kronenberg said.

The Planning Board has begun holding public and virtual meetings on Thursday nights, at which all community members, including high school students, are encouraged to testify and provide input on plans put forward by the Board and Department. “We want [high school students] involved in the process,” Communications Chief Bridget Broullire said. “We try to make it as easy as possible for people to participate because we really care about young folks.”

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M-NCPPC WHEATON HEADQUARTERS The five-member Montgomery County Planning Board regularly meets here to approve and amend infrastructure plans for the county.

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Does the media attention on problematic figures incentivize problematic behavior?

NO YES

When the media focuses on

By Sachini Adikari Staff Writer AN OPINION

By Amen Lemiesa Staff Writer AN OPINION

PHOTO BY MARIN LEDERER

In February 2022, YouTube content creator and self-professed internet “troll” Trisha Paytas told Insider that she thrives on any attention she receives and admits to seeking it. “I just have this constant need for attention. Maybe that’s a bad thing, maybe not, but it’s how I thrive.”

Paytas has been in the public eye since 2007 when she first started her YouTube channel. Since then, she has posted racist skits taking on the persona of a Japanese character she created in 2012, mocked non-binary people by identifying as a chicken nugget in 2016, and even self-diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder and pretended to switch personalities on camera all over YouTube in 2020.

While her problematic tendencies have brought forth backlash, they have also given her a perpetual audience through media attention and the phenomenon of hate-watching—the act of watching people, things, or content we dislike to achieve gratification. When the media publicizes problematic figures, it promotes hate-watching, which brings figures like Paytas newfound attention and spikes in views that, in turn, incentivize other influencers to spread harmful ideas.

Like Paytas, British influencer Oli London faced public disapproval after undergoing multiple facial surgeries to appear Korean. He also announced in October that he would be de-transitioning back to living as a man after living as a genderfluid transgender woman for six months.

London tweeted about the de-transition on Oct. 14, explaining that he would now identify as a Korean man. “Grateful if everyone could respect my new pronouns-He/ Him KOR/EAN,” the influencer posted.

Northwood senior Xyruz Solomon, who identifies as non-binary, was disgusted by London’s pronoun and race mockery. “[He] went as far to say that [he was] transracial. That’s racist, transphobic, and just disgusting,” they said. While London received backlash, the attention only expanded his audience, as he was later invited onto Fox News to talk about his de-transitioning, exposing his problematic platform to even more people.

Ignoring controversial figures is easier said than done. When these influencers stand in front of a camera or start a Twitter rampage, many cannot resist grabbing a seat to the show. Much like a car crash, hateful behavior is impossible to look away from.

A 2021 project on hate-watching done by University of Louisiana at Lafayette Depart-

ment of Communication professors T. Phillip Madison and Kelsey Chauvin proposed that the appeal of hate-watching can be categorized into six themes: fear of missing out, feeling of moral superiority, addiction, guilty pleasure, social bonding experience, or simple emotional response.

A popular subject of hate-watching among the respondents in the study was none other than Paytas. One respondent described a downward social comparison between herself and Paytas by suggesting she feels superior to Paytas as she views Paytas’ life as entertainingly tragic. “I like to watch [Paytas] complain about things because that makes me feel better about my life,” she said.

As a result of the popularity of hate-watching, problematic figures are incentivized to continue the behavior that prompts such a reception. Andrew Tate, a former professional kickboxer turned master shock marketer, found online traction this past summer for his sexist and misogynistic statements.

His entire goal was to gain media attention, and that is exactly what he achieved.

Blair senior Sebastian Porras explained that Tate had a three step-plan to fame and fortune— step one was becoming as viral as possible.

“He wanted the people who were diehard actual fans of him [to] follow him across platforms to ones that had even less regulation so then he could farm their views,” Porras explained. Tate has even said that he was putting on a facade because of the reaction he would receive from the media and viewers. In an interview with LADbible, Tate claimed that he “was playing a comedic character.”

Thus, media attention meant to condemn hateful behavior instead helps those promoting problematic views broadcast their ideas to a far larger audience and captivate both their most fanatical supporters and their most vehement critics. For the public figures playing into hate-watching, the difference between the two types of viewers is irrelevant— both contribute to their online success, and they have media coverage to thank for it.

“All publicity is good publicity” is a phrase that controversial public figures often throw around. However, it inaccurately represents the consequences of such attention. Press coverage of problematic figures who make offensive remarks deters other influencers from spreading hateful messages by making them vulnerable to being canceled, dropped by business partners, and barred from accessing social media platforms. The media both informs the public and shapes attitudes. As such, when dozens of news outlets headline a controversial comment a prominent figure has made, the public will respond with negative backlash and criticism. This deters other figures from making similar statements because they would likely receive the same response.

Public backlash can come in many forms, including cancellation through “cancel culture” and financial repercussions for the offender, which in many cases are severe and deter other high-profile figures from imitating their behavior.

BY RAFFI CHARKOUDIAN-ROGERS

his business relationship with Adidas, costing him an estimated $1.5 billion.

American professional basketball player Kyrie Irving was on path to facing similar social consequences to Ye after posting an antisemitic documentary to his Instagram, but apologized after media coverage of his actions caused Nike, one of his sponsors, to cut ties with him. When another round of headlines highlighted his unwillingness to apologize for showcasing the antisemitic film, Irving was suspended by the Brooklyn Nets for five days from playing basketball, immediately eliciting an apology a few hours later.

On the whole, media coverage of Irving’s behavior effectively pressured him to realign himself with social standards if he wished to continue his successful career.

SOPHIA LI

Blair junior Luke Porter echoed this idea. “Being canceled is a real possibility… [Cancel culture] keeps celebrities in line and [prevents them from] saying racist things and getting away with them,” he said.

Dr. Shawn Parry-Giles, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Department of Communications, agreed that the media plays a valuable role in the public’s perception of problematic figures through its critique. She asserted that in instances of hate speech, “there is rapid condemnation [by the media], which definitely shapes public opinion.”

Ye, an American rapper formerly known as Kanye West, serves as an excellent example of both the social and financial consequences of disregarding norms. When he made a slew of antisemitic remarks in October, Ye faced a chorus of condemnation from a host of public figures ranging from California State Senator Scott Weiner to football player Aaron Donald, was temporarily restricted on popular social media platforms Instagram and Twitter, and lost

The risk of losing brand deals and career opportunities aren’t the only consequences at stake for problematic figures—so is the ability to communicate. Social media giants Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook all share zero-tolerance policies on hate speech regarding race and religion, with consequences including indefinite suspension. The policies set clear standards for all users regardless of social or financial background, which means public figures cannot make hateful comments without risking suspension from the platform.

The possibility of losing access to social media threatens public figures’ relevance and careers, as their audiences use mainstream apps and likely will not go out of their way to consume their content. A study published by Rutgers University proves the decline in viewership that influencers experience after being permanently banned from social media platforms, with influencers that were denied social media access seeing a 92 percent decrease in posts referencing them.

Press coverage of problematic figures is a delicate dance, but regardless, figures who hold positions of influence and make problematic statements will be subject to public criticism, risk losing business partners, damage their own careers, and be removed from social media platforms because of the media’s work.

a problematic figure, it gives said figure more of a platform to cause destruction.

Media attention on problematic figures discourages their behavior as it opens them up to public scrutiny.

“I think [problematic figures] are just going to continue their behaviors… regardless if they get attention.”

“If you’re giving them attention, it’s kind of what they want, and it’ll motivate them to keep doing what they’re doing.”

“Many people who have power over the media, say ‘any publicity is good publicity,’ and it adds to more publicity stunts to get whatever they can.”

PHOTO

MICAH WOODWARD junior

MARIN BARCLAY senior

ROSE KEPKA junior

“The online media cycle of trying to get the most clicks or likes, is increasing the chance of people wanting to highlight really controversial things.”

APs: absurdly priced

Expensive price tags deter students from taking AP tests

By Mandy Guo and Julia Lian Staff Writters

OPINION

Each year, over 2,000 students at Blair take at least one AP test. However, the high cost of APs—now over $100 each for the 2022–2023 school year—discourages many students, especially those from lower-income backgrounds, from taking these tests. Because of the economic disparity present in MCPS, the county should pay for AP tests in order to make them accessible to everyone.

Whitman is located. In 2018, Silver Spring had a median family income of $88,274—less than half that of Bethesda. As a result, students who live in Silver Spring are far less likely to be able to afford AP exams compared to students living in wealthier areas. With a nearly $3 billion operating budget, MCPS is more than capable of covering AP test costs and making exams accessible for all students.

For the 2022–2023 school year, CollegeBoard has priced AP tests at $97, a $1 increase from the previous year. However, MCPS adds on an extra three percent online service fee charge of approximately $4, bringing the price of a single AP test from $97 to $101. The county decided to charge every student this fee, despite the fact that only a small fraction of students utilize the online payment service.

the test,” senior Lillian Zhao said. Additionally, even students who are able to pay for their tests feel

discouraged from taking AP tests, leaving them disadvantaged if they choose to pursue higher education.

credits for 32 of the 38 AP tests, while Montgomery College accepts 35.

In 2021, MCPS students took a total of 31,750 AP tests, a 19 percent decrease from the number of tests taken in 2020. To pay for 31,750 AP tests, which cost $95 each at the time, MCPS would have had to pay just over $3 million.

At Blair, where 39 percent of students rely on free and reduced-price meals (FARMS), the AP testing rate is significantly lower than that of schools like Walt Whitman, which has a FARMS rate of just two percent. Although these schools are all part of MCPS, there are vast economic disparities between Silver Spring and affluent areas like Bethesda, where Walt

Blair AP Coordinator Leslie Blaha voiced her concern about the added service fee charge. “The county has decided everyone will pay this service fee... ask me how that’s fair. It’s not,” she said. “If you pay with cash or check, you’re not using the online service. Why are you paying the service fee?”

Although MCPS provides fee waivers for qualifying students, the added inconvenience still deters many students from taking the tests. Out of the over 960 eligible students at Blair this year, only around 300 received waivers. “If [the waiver process] was maybe too complicated… I might just not take

GRAPHIC BY MANDY GUO AND

that the high expenses are an added stressor and that continuous price increases are completely unnecessary and unfair. “I don’t know why they keep [raising the prices], because they’re still going to make money regardless. So you’d think with the pandemic and everything they [would] decrease the price, but it is what it is,” senior Nathan Hillman said.

As a result, many students are

Having an AP test score count toward a college credit is a prime way of avoiding the extreme prices of courses in college, where a single class can cost up to $11,650. However, with MCPS making it increasingly difficult for students to afford the AP tests, many students are robbed of the opportunity to earn college credits at a lower, more reasonable cost. For example, the University of Maryland accepts

Looking at MCPS’ $3 billion annual operating budget and its investment in new electric buses totaling upward of $168 million, some of the funds attributed to electric buses and other similar projects should be redirected to cover AP test costs. Although transitioning to a green fleet of buses is an important long-term goal, the high cost of APs is an urgent issue actively harming students that MCPS should prioritize. Additionally, covering fees for all AP tests taken would cost the equivalent of less than six buses—a drop in the bucket of the 326 buses MCPS ordered.

Furthermore, $3 million would fully cover all AP expenses, which is far from necessary; even setting aside some of the funds for electric buses would cover a large fraction of test costs. With a change like this, AP tests would become far more accessible to students and would also reduce future college course expenses. A small expense every year would be greatly beneficial for students in the long run.

Letters to the Editors Responses to Silver Chips’ October Cycle

in this country is unfounded.

Dear Editors,

I was excited to read the article “The inherent inequity in colorblind admissions” because it was a topic I wanted to learn more about. Your article gave me good information about colorblind admissions, but I think your article could have benefitted from adding specific experiences from students at universities where there are colorblind admissions.

I have a brother who goes to the University of Michigan, and he was just telling me about the lack of diversity at his school. He feels that the colorblind admissions have led to less enriching class discussions because the people having the discussions lack diversity in background and opinion. Additionally, he says that the Black Student Union put up posters to raise awareness about colorblind admissions and the low percentage of Black students at the school, but that the posters have been torn down, which he finds extremely concerning.

I think that hearing the impacts of a lack of diversity from students at universities with colorblind admission policies could lead to students who may oppose affirmative action understanding why colorblind admissions are not just bad for minority students, but also for themselves. This understanding could lead to more students opposing colorblind admissions, which is key to keeping affirmative action in place.

Dear Editor, In regards to the article “The inherent inequity in colorblind admissions,” the article misleads readers when it states “affirmative action is a necessary step towards a fair and equal society.” The article states affirmative action corrects decades of unequal opportunity against minorities like Black, Latino, and Native Americans; because of these unequal opportunities, these students don’t have financial advantages of white/asian students. This stereotypes these students as the only races that are poor.

As an Asian American, I know people who are white/ asian, who are qualified and financially unstable. However, they would be rejected from top schools because of their race, which I find unfair. It is also condescending to Black, Latino, and Native American students because it sends a message that affirmative action is the only way they’ll succeed. It is like saying people of color like Rosalind Brewer or Victor J. Glover are successful solely because of affirmative action; it demeans the hard work that they did in order to become the people they are today.

If no action is taken, then discrimination will get worse with admissions. The color of hair or eyes would not affect intelligence or ability to do a job, so skin color should not as well. Taking action towards a colorblind society judges people for who they are and their achievements, rather than the color of their skin.

Dear Sarah, Thank you for sharing your perspective on our lead editorial. We received many letters that share your opinion and would like to respond. When we referred to the privilege Asian Americans have, we are not referring only to financial privilege. In addition to having by far the highest median income of any race, Asian Americans are also far less likely to experience police brutality, more likely to live in integrated neighborhoods, and more likely to have a college degree than their Black, Hispanic, and Native American counterparts. The final statistic is particularly relevant to future generations’ success in attaining higher education, and can be attributed in large part to selective U.S. recruitment of highly-skilled Asian immigrants following the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act: according to a 2017 study, for example, 52.1 percent of Chinese immigrants in the U.S. have a college degree, compared to just 18.1 percent of their counterparts who remain in China and 34.2 percent of Americans as a whole.

While Asian Americans have historically faced and continue to face racial discrimination and xenophobia, particularly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, equating that experience to the pervasive systemic inequities that stem from centuries of enslavement, forced displacement, and malicious exploitation that other minority groups have faced

Further, attributing the success of Asian Americans in higher education solely to “hard work” peddles the harmful model minority myth that has been used for decades to misconstrue oppression faced by other minority groups as a consequence of their own inadequacies.

Thus, race gives necessary context to a student’s background that household income alone simply cannot provide. We support the use of a holistic college admissions process which takes into account not only race and ethnicity, but also socioeconomic status, gender identity, home situation, and all of the other nuances of each individual applicant.

Dear Editor, “Staying true to the street” encapsulated so many of the lessons I’ve learned outside and inside the classroom. I don’t have much criticism and would rather like to explain how much I valued this article or how “it hit home.” This article explains the thought behind the creators of Sesame Street and frankly all the shows on PBS kids many kids grew up on. I started to recall the shows I watched and the lessons I involuntarily learned. This theme accurately represents so much of my childhood and many others at our school and our country.

The first quarter has had plenty of learning opportunities. One of these is the privilege of going to a school filled with faces from so many backgrounds.

Most teams are filled by an overwhelming demographic based on where their school is from. I relived Saturday morning tuning into Sesame Street like many others who were on my teams and went to DCC schools. Being confused about how a person could move so many parts of Elmo all at the same time. Or why the cookie monster was so obsessed over cookies but never had milk. As a kid who didn’t learn English as my first language when I immigrated to America, I was fed up with ESOL classes and having to be constantly pulled out of class to spell out “though,” “through,” and other words that made no sense. Many international professions such as sports athletes and managers have expressed how being exposed to television in another language helped them learn to grasp the language.

This is one of the very few advantages that free children’s television aided me with, alongside math, reading, and social norms. I can’t imagine where I would be without learning those valuable skills. To think that I would never have realized this until I read the article in some sense saddens me, but I am glad that I did and am angered to think that these public services might be privatized for profit.

So I commend the editors/writer for producing this work, but call for a push for more work that “hits home” no matter if it’s culture, education, or food. This article showed me the power of localizing a story and I hope I too can craft an article that’s a home run.

COST COMPARISON Difference between the cost of MCPS covering all AP tests compared to the cost of the 326 electric buses MCPS has ordered so far.

JULIA LIAN

Greta Andelman FRESHMAN

Sarah Liang FRESHMAN

Rabira Dosho SOPHOMORE

Editorial Board RESPONSE TO SARAH LIANG

The county has decided everyone will pay this service fee... ask me how that’s fair. It’s not.

LESLIE BLAHA

Returning to the old normal

MCPS must reinstate rigorous standards for students

The EDITORIAL BOARD AN OPINION

In April 2020, MCPS replaced its traditional letter grading policy with a new Pass/Incomplete system for high schoolers. Teachers were also encouraged to “grade with grace” and take into account that students may be struggling with the transition to virtual learning. At the time, this was a perfectly reasonable recommendation. One in three high school students were experiencing mental health problems, and half of households with children reported difficulty meeting normal expenses. These grading changes were essential to lessening burdens on students during a stressful time. But for many students, things are no longer so dire.

Students have been learning in-person for over a year now, but MCPS still operates as if we are transitioning away from the pandemic. Teachers continue to be lenient and give “multiple opportunities for reassessment” at the behest of the county, and MCPS promotes the idea that it is “mindful of the extreme challenges students faced during the pandemic and will continue to face during the recovery period.”

But are we still in this recovery period? Adolescent depression rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels, falling to 15.08 percent— less than the 15.1 percent rate in 2018, which saw the last full year of school before the pandemic. While lowering this number should con-

tinue to be a priority, we have clearly moved past the depths of the COVID-19 mental health crisis, during which 44 percent of high school students experienced persistent sadness or hopelessness.

However, MCPS is still setting shockingly low expectations, giving students the option to take school less seriously, fully embrace procrastination, and still get good grades. The freedom to reassess assignments gives students the luxury of completing work whenever they feel like it, leaving teachers with piles of late work to grade at the end of each quarter. Not only is this unfair to teachers, it doesn’t adequately prepare students for college courses or the workplace. There are no grace policies or exam reassessments in higher education, nor will any boss allow employees leeway for deadlines. Giving students those options now won’t do them any favors in terms of work ethic.

Instead of offering so many opportunities for students to inflate their grades, Blair should focus on supporting students by getting them off devices and implementing interpersonal learning methods. Upon returning to in-person school last year, teachers clung to the styles and habits they had developed during the pandemic. Many continued using apps like Nearpod and Kami that were originally introduced as virtual placeholders for in-person learning. These online tools have replaced live discussions and activities, making class a place students

go to complete tasks rather than actively engage with subject matter. The best way to reignite participation and drive is by reimplementing interactive education.

In our classes, most graded assignments are submitted through the Canvas app. Relying so heavily on StudentVue for communication, grade information, and assignments further establishes the impersonal, online bond between a teacher and their students. Receiving electronic feedback solely through a computer also restricts students’ opportunities to discuss and understand the mistakes in their work.

Grading has become a transactional process; students are focused more on doing just enough for an A than fully grasping a concept. This lack of engagement is clear in classes: we’ve all seen a teacher standing at the front of the room repeating a question, practically pleading students to participate but with no raised hands or callouts in response.

By setting such low standards for student commitment, MCPS is cheating students out of an education they deserve and setting them up to fail in the real world. Instituting policies that make it impossible to fail is the easy way out, whereas returning to a rigorous learning environment will give students motivation to work hard and succeed.

Inspiring dedication and diligence begins with relationship building, which is why pre-pandem-

The price of free speech

How billionaire buyouts cost the people their voice

By Andre Parker Ombudsman

AN OPINION

Following investor and businessman Elon Musk’s closure of a $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter on Oct. 27, users of the social media app preemptively eulogized the platform with the hashtag #RIPTwitter amid speculation about its imminent collapse. Musk’s takeover of Twitter has been a saga of misinformation, company-wide upheaval, and bewilderingly juvenile tweets from the new CEO, highlighting the potential danger of allowing the ultra-rich to assert control over the digital sphere.

To generate more revenue from users, Musk implemented Twitter Blue, a paid subscription that allows users to purchase the blue checkmark that originally indicated an account had been verified as official. Users immediately took advantage of this cheap and easy way to convincingly impersonate celebrities, politicians, and brands.

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly’s stock fell by 4.5 percent when it was forced to clarify that it would not be

making its insulin free after a fake Eli Lilly account with a verification checkmark went viral with a tweet that read, “We are excited to announce insulin is free now.” Twitter has paused the subscription in response to the debacle.

Despite the fact that Musk conducted his takeover under the banner of free speech, reinstating the account of former president Donald Trump and expressing a desire to loosen content moderation, Musk has said himself that Twitter’s policies have not changed. In fact, Musk actually strengthened Twitter’s Trust and Safety team’s power to remove hate speech after advertisers like General Mills and Pfizer paused ad spending on the app in response to a spike in racist and antisemitic content that coincided with his acquisition.

Musk’s usurpation of Twitter draws an intriguing comparison with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ purchase of The Washington Post in 2013. Like Musk’s Twitter acquisition, Bezos’ ownership of The Washington Post raises questions about the conflict of interest with a billionaire businessman as chief of a public information source. With the vast scope of his financial interests, namely owning the secondlargest corporate spender in Washington, D.C., Bezos’ position as the paper’s owner seems incompatible with the independence expected in journalism.

Bezos’ Twitter dispute with President Biden in May, when Biden advocated for higher taxes on corporations to lower inflation, has cemented these concerns and raised questions as to whether The Post’s relatively negative coverage of Biden and his inflation policies might reflect Bezos’ own opinions. Whether intentional or not, the owner of a media source publicly sharing their opinions is bound to result in bias, because the employees who align themselves with the owner are more likely to rise in the ranks, while those who dissent are

more likely to be weeded out.

Twitter is one of the largest and most accessible forums for people around the world to connect online, often referred to as a global or digital “town square.” Data show that 48 percent of Twitter’s users rely on the app to receive news, the reliability of which has been damaged as a result of Musk’s initiatives.

Twitter also serves as a space for people to find community where they otherwise might not be able to. For a gay teenager in North Dakota, for example, logging into Twitter might be the only way they can connect with a broader community of people who share their experiences. Finally, the platform served as a crucial tool for circulating video documentation of police brutality and organizing demonstrations during the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020. The significance of Twitter in the way we perceive and interact with the world cannot be overstated, and we should be wary of jeopardizing it for one man’s personal and financial gain.

It’s concerning how easily a major platform for global dialogue and

BY HENRY REICHLE

To connect with Andre email him at scombud@gmail.com

dispersion of information can be influenced by money and ego. In the digital age, it’s vital to acknowledge the extensive impact that online platforms have on real-world politics and society. Do we want the virtual town square to be owned by an oligarch? “Twitter 2.0” may not seem like a big deal, and it may not be, but with no system in place to protect media institutions from commercial interests, what will be the next domino to fall?

ic grading and assignment policies should be reinstated to challenge students alongside a new emphasis on the connections with peers and teachers that students lost dur-

ing the pandemic. If MCPS makes commitment and participation the expectation and accommodation the exception, students will come to see it the same way.

ELIZA COOKE

PHOTO

It’s concerning how easily a major platform for global dialogue can be influenced by money and ego.

esquinalatina la

Dejándolo todo en el campo La Copa Mundial 2022

Por Estefany Benitez Gonzalez Editora-en-Jefe

El 20 de noviembre comenzó la Copa del Mundo de 2022. El primer partido fue Ecuador contra Qatar. Ha sido tradición que el anfitrión gane su primer juego, pero desafortunadamente Qatar perdió su primer partido, siendo esta la primera vez que un país anfitrión pierde el juego de inauguración. Dejando el marcador 2-0 con los dos goles hechos por Enner Valencia, Ecuador llevaba la motivación para acercarse a la copa. Desafortunadamente, el 29 de noviembre Ecuador fue descalificado, perdiendo contra Senegal. Con estos dos equipos empezando la Copa Mundial muchos en la comunidad y alrededor del mundo han estado al día con los partidos. Los programas de televisión como Fox Sports, Sling TV, Fubo TV y Telemundo en colaboración con Peacock, son algunos de los canales que traen la Copa Mundial a muchas familias y comunidades mundialmente. A través de estos programas, la comunidad miró a México contra Argentina, el cual era un partido muy esperado, terminando 2-0 con Argentina como el equipo victorioso. De acuerdo a la organización FIFA, “Argentina y México se enfrentaban en un crucial empate del Grupo C, la transmisión de Telemundo en los EE. UU. fue el partido de la fase de grupos de la Copa Mundial de la FIFA más visto en la historia en español en el país, y el segundo más grande de cualquier etapa”.

Negocios y eventos

Cuando empezó la Copa Mundial muchos negocios latinos en el área metropolitana comenzaron a salir con promociones y tener una diferencia en los negocios. El restaurante Don Pollo, un establecimiento de comida peruana localizado en Silver Spring, MD, avistó una diferencia en su negocio en este mes de noviembre. El asistente de manager, Edwin Montoya, nos cuenta que “se han movido bastante las órdenes online… las cuentas han bajado al menos 40%...Si, en este mes. No se si es por el ambiente navideño o por todo esto de la copa mundial, pero sí han bajado las ventas”.

También el restaurante Tacos A La Madre, localizado en College Park, MD, tenía una promoción de nachos birria a medio precio cada vez que México ganara un partido durante la Copa Mundial. Al mismo tiempo, no solo los restaurantes han tendido entretenimiento con la copa mundial; el centro comercial Westfield Wheaton organizó un evento gratuito por el inicio de la Copa Mundial el 19 de noviembre en el “Streetery” al

aire libre del centro comercial con la participación del ex jugador del D.C. United, Bill Hamid. Este evento tenía muchas actividades para los niños y para el resto de la comida con café y otros alimentos.

Estudiantes de Blair

Para algunos de los fanáticos del fútbol en Blair, los partidos a las 5 a. m. de la mañana serán difíciles de ver, pero Angel Arias, un estudiante en el duodécimo grado, dice que “en la escuela tengo la aplicación en mi teléfono y en casa veré [los partidos] en mi televisor”. Al mismo tiempo Angel añade que “No participo en fiestas de partido, prefiero quedarme en casa y ver

Blair enseña su pasión hacia el evento durante el tiempo del almuerzo en el auditorio, transmitiendo juegos en vivo de la Copa Mundial.

Qatar y sus controversias

Desafortunadamente, esta Copa Mundial también trajo controversias por puntos sobre la ubicación y cómo estar listo para este evento. Para empezar, el 2 de diciembre de 2010, se anunció que Qatar albergaría la Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2022. Por ser un país que no tenía estadios suficientes para albergar la Copa Mundial esto causó muchos inconvenientes en la organización del evento. Mr. Murley nos cuenta que “Hay tantos problemas con el abuso de cientos y cientos de trabajadores migrantes del Este de Asia que han muerto construyendo estadios que no tendrán un propósito tan pronto como termine esta copa del mundo. Me parece un desperdicio ridículo de humanidad y dinero”. Muchos están de acuerdo con el profesor Murley mundialmente. Sobre esta tragedia Hassan al-Thawadi, el secretario general del Comité Supremo de Entrega y Legado de Qatar, reporta al Británico Piers Morgan en Talk TV: “La estimación es de alrededor de 400, entre 400 y 500, no tengo el número exacto, eso se está discutiendo”.

Los favoritos contra los vulnerables

el partido. Como Angel, otro estudiante de Blair, Michael Guzman, que está en el onceavo grado, cuenta que “Planeo ver los partidos principalmente con mi familia, pero también con mi equipo de fútbol fuera de la escuela. Estoy planeando intentar ver todos los juegos si es posible”.

Planeo ver los partidos principalmente con mi familia, pero también con mi equipo de fútbol fuera de la escuela. Estoy planeando intentar ver todos los juegos si es posible.

Acá en Blair hemos visto a muchos maestros tener la copa mundial como un ruido de fondo para sus clases. Mr. Murley, maestro en Blair, comenta que “con qué frecuencia tenemos la oportunidad de ver eventos deportivos en vivo en noviembre durante el horario de clases, es un buen día para tener un ruido de fondo”. Los estudiantes, durante su tiempo independiente en la clase de la Sra. Pope, tuvieron la oportunidad de ver el partido. Al mismo tiempo,

Más controversia

El segundo punto que ha hecho esta Copa Mundial muy comentada son las políticas anti-LGBTQ de Qatar. Este tema se ha convertido en un punto de discusión en el torneo de la Copa del Mundo. Muchos de los equipos nacionales de Europa enfrentan castigos por usar brazaletes con el arcoíris “One Love”. La FIFA ha amenazado a sancionar severamente a los equipos que usen los brazaletes.

Por otro lado, Qatar ha impuesto una prohibición de consumo de alcohol en los estadios. A pesar de esta medida, muchos titulares dicen que Qatar es un país amistoso para la copa del mundo. Sin embargo, algunos pueden decir que el alcohol ha sido parte de la experiencia de la copa mundial. Finalmente, existe la controversia de la temporada del año en que se está jugando el torneo mundial. Típicamente, la copa mundial sucede entre los meses de junio y julio. Sin embargo, en la temporada de verano en Qatar el clima llega hasta 122 grados fahrenheit, por eso es que este año la Copa Mundial se lleva a cabo durante la temporada de noviembre y diciembre.

La Copa Mundial siempre ha tenido sus equipos categorizados como equipos favoritos por la cultura como Brasil, Argentina, Francia, España e Inglaterra. Pero en esta Copa Mundial los equipos favoritos aunque avanzaron durante la etapa de grupos, habían perdido contra equipos menos conocidos, como Argentina perdiendo 2 a 1 contra Arabia Saudita o Túnez ganando 1 a 0 contra Francia. Angel Arias nos cuenta sobre la predicción que tiene sobre el partido Brasil contra Serbia en la etapa de grupos “¡Sí! Siento que Brasil puede ganar, pero no quieres subestimar a Serbia porque Serbia tiene un buen equipo, realmente tienen buenos jugadores, probablemente puedan sorprender al mundo y posiblemente ganar a Brasil. Estoy emocionado por ese partido”. Con esta vista podemos decir que los equipos favoritos han sido visto a niveles más bajos que antes. Sin embargo, hay otras personas como Mr. Murley que se

Aunque la Copa Mundial y su final llega el 18 de diciembre con muchas predicciones, la comunidad de Blair y Silver Spring están emocionados y alegres a pesar de las múltiples controversias. De acu-

Siento que [el evento] une a la comunidad y une a las familias. Siento que todos los lugares son aptos para la Copa Mundial…pero en general no quita que puedas divertirte viendo; estoy emocionado de ver quién será el ganador.

erdo a Keysi Chicas, un estudiante en duodécimo dice que, “Siento que [el evento] une a la comunidad y une a las familias. Siento que todos los lugares son aptos para la Copa Mundial…pero en general no quita que puedas divertirte viendo; estoy emocionado de ver quién será el ganador”. El 2 de diciembre de 2022 termina la espera de saber todos los equipos que avanzan a los octavos de final. Francia vs. Polonia, Inglaterra vs. Senegal, Marruecos vs. España, Brasil vs. Corea del Sur, Estados Unidos vs. Holanda, Argentina vs. Australia, Japón vs. Croacia, y Portugal vs. Suiza.

van con el lado histórico “Espero que no acabe con los penaltis. Si la historia es un indicador de que Alemania tiene una oportunidad [ganar]”. Los equipos favoritos siguen a los octavos finales.

Lo que falta para la copa

La ronda de los octavos finales es el comienzo de lo que se llama juegos eliminatorios. Estos juegos establecen penales si los dos equipos al final del partido quedan empatados. Unas fechas a tener en cuenta para seguir con la Copa Mundial son octavos de final, del 3 de diciembre al 6 de diciembre; los cuartos de final, el 9 y 10 de diciembre; las semifinales, el 13 y 14 de diciembre; el play-off por el tercer puesto, el 17 de diciembre y por supuesto, la final el 18 de diciembre, que todos están esperando.

MICHAEL GUZMAN

FOTO POR MADELINE GOLD

SILVER SPRING La comunidad disfrutando del partido de Estados Unidos contra Inglaterra en el restaurante Zinnia.

FAFSA y MSFAA son esenciales para la ayuda financiera

Los requisitos para obtener ayuda economica

Por Kevin Vela Editor-en-Jefe

Para muchos estudiantes del doceavo grado, estas fechas pueden ser las más estresantes, al hacer búsquedas para universidades, aplicar para estas, mantener las notas de clases, e incluso trabajo. Los estudiantes tienen tantas cosas en las que estar atentos que puede que no sepan sobre la ayuda que pueden recibir, específicamente ayuda financiera. También están aquellos que simplemente no saben a donde ir o donde buscar información. Por suerte, Montgomery Blair les provee a los estudiantes constantemente información sobre las ayudas financieras que pueden recibir del país o del estado para la universidad.

El pasado 4 de noviembre, la Sra. De los Reyes, la Sra.Young y la Sra. Hiller, reunieron a los estudiantes de ESOL para proveerles información en español e inglés sobre las diferentes ayudas financieras que pueden recibir. Aquellos estudiantes que asistieron pudieron recibir horas de servicio comunitario, y saber sobre los requisitos para aplicar.

El FAFSA es la ayuda federal, esta es la que la mayoría de los estudiantes llenan. Está abierta a partir del primero de octubre, y es gratis para todos los estudiantes pero hay ciertos requisitos que tienen que cumplir. Se necesita demostrar necesidad financiera, ser un ciudadano o tener algún tipo de estatus legal en el país, tener seguro social, estar envuelto en algún tipo de estudio, y lo más importante, mantener un buen nivel en las clases. El FAFSA se cerrará el 30 de marzo del 2023, se le recomienda a los estudiantes que llenen la aplicación lo más an-

tes posible ya que si esperan hasta el 30 de marzo, recibirán menos dinero. Mientras se completa el formulario, se tienen que escribir las universidades en las que están interesados. Después de esta fecha ya no se podrá aplicar.

Hay ciertos estudiantes que tal vez no puedan calificar para FAFSA por ciertas razones. Para solucionar esto, algunos estados proveen ayuda financiera a los estudiantes que no son elegibles para el FAFSA puedan aplicar. La ayuda que da el estado de Maryland se llama Maryland State Financial Aid Application (MSFAA). Esta solicitud de ayuda financiera permite que los hijos calificados de inmigrantes indocumentados puedan aplicar. Les da la oportunidad para recibir dinero estatal y serán considerados para ciertos tipos de ayuda financieras. Para poder aplicar se necesitará hacer una cuenta de MDCAPS y se necesitará la declaración de impuestos de los padres del 2021 para el término 2022-2023.

Puede que algunos estudiantes también tengan miedo de aplicar para ciertas ayudas por la situación en la que están pero con el MS-

FAA ninguna información será compartida. Del mismo modo, no se necesita tener seguro social y la información únicamente será usada para ver la elegibilidad del estudiante. De acuerdo a los requisitos, solo se puede llenar una de las aplicaciones (FAFSA o MSFAA). A cualquier estudiante que no haya podido aplicar para el FAFSA se le anima a llenar este formulario, ya que también es gratis. Los estudiantes que son ciudadanos o no ciudadanos pero elegibles tienen que llenar el FAFSA, ya que también solo se puede aplicar para uno de las dos aplicaciones.

Siendo el doceavo grado el más crucial para todos los estudiantes de Blair, la búsqueda de oportunidades de ayuda financiera es igual de importante que las calificaciones y que saber a dónde irán al finalizar el año escolar.

Es una gran ayuda que la escuela pueda distribuirles la información a todos, especialmente para aquellos estudiantes que recién acaban de venir, y no saben que hay muchos recursos para cubrir sus gastos de estudio y que la comunidad de Blair está aquí para ayudarles.

YAHAIRA BARRERO

Un conte autant réel et profond qu’imaginé, Petite Maman, un film réalisé par Céline Sciamma, nous donne une perspective originale concernant les rêves et les arcanes de l’enfance.

Le film présente Nelly, jouée par Joséphine Sanz, une petite fille d’environ huit ans, qui aide à vider la maison familiale après la mort de sa grand-mère. Sa mère part tôt, à cause du chagrin extrême qu’elle endure, laissant Nelly et son père avec le reste des tâches ménagères.

Pendant qu’ils séjournent à la maison de sa grand-mère, Nelly rencontre une autre petite fille, Marion. On dirait des jumelles. Elles créent des liens très forts. En regardant le film, l’audience devient consciente de l’identité de la jeune fille, ce qui aide avec l’analyse de la relation entre mère et fille, applicable à la majorité des expériences. En même temps, Sciamma utilise les parallèles cinématographiques et narratifs pour montrer les similarités entre Marion et la mère de Nelly.

Avec une intrigue simple, les thèmes de la transmission et de la

famille se présentent à travers le symbolisme dans le film et l’interaction entre les personnages. Les personnages et l’histoire tendre offrent une exploration unique, mais universelle, de l’enfance, de la maternité et du deuil partagé.

À travers le film, Sciamma expose son style cinématographique simultanément unique, austère et minimaliste. On conclut qu’il y a plus de similarités entre les enfants et les adultes que de différences.

C’est un film sans trop de dialogue, mais qui dit plus qu’on saurait verbaliser. Les connexions intimes entre ceux qu’on aime sont purs, ils nous attachent les uns aux autres. Nelly pose des questions auxquelles les gens plus âgés n’ont pas les réponses. Elle démontre la possibilité aux yeux jeunes et la recherche de la gaieté et de l’espoir dans les coins les plus sombres de nos vies.

Gabrielle et Joséphine Sanz ne sont pas vos héroïnes typiques et elles mettent en œuvre leurs rôles avec grâce et talent. Un film méritant un regard et une histoire inoubliable, Petite Maman est une œuvre d’art merveilleuse. Filmé avec sobriété et délicatesse, le film nous démontre la puissance de Sciamma et nécessite d’être reconnu par tous, pas seulement les Français.

Par Eleanor Moose et Sedise Tiruneh Chroniqueur Invité & Chroniqueur Culturel

FOTO POR ESTEFANY BENITEZ GONZALEZ

Un día lleno de felicidad y alimentos

Por Anahí Sanchez-Sanchez Escritora

En la biblioteca, hay muchos libros que nos llenan de fantasías, nos transportan a lugares inimaginables sin necesidad de ir a ninguna parte, nos informan de eventos que han ocurrido a lo largo de la historia, o simplemente nos sirven para buscar algún tipo de ayuda. En esta ocasión, hablaré acerca de un libro que nos llevará a un lugar mágico, lleno de fantasía, mezclado con un poco de la realidad. Animales fantásticos y dónde encontrarlos, nos narra la aventura de Newt Scamander, un ex hufflepuff, expulsado de Hogwarts, que va a la ciudad de Nueva York en busca de nuevas aventuras, buscando bestias mágicas y documentando su existencia. Sin embargo, se tropezará con una aventura no prevista en su viaje.

Este libro es el guión original de la película, que salió hace un par de años y fue muy popular. J. K. Rowling, escritora de libros como Harry Potter, que han causado sensación en el mundo a través de los años, y además ha ganado varios premios por sus obras ficticias, hizo de esta obra un spinoff de la misma saga. Este libro fue publicado en el año 2001 y cuenta con alrededor de 256 páginas, que incluyen algunos agradecimientos, un glosario de términos cinematográficos, equipo técnico y artístico, además de una breve bibliografía de Rowling, el diseño del libro y la sinopsis.

Su portada, de color azul marino con detalles dorados y dibujos muy excéntricos, como una obra de arte muy fina, hace de este libro muy llamativo a la vista del lector, que podría quedar cautivado. Además, los dibujos que nos ofrecen las páginas, nos dan una idea sobre lo que trata de darnos a entender. Solo hay que tener un poco de imaginación y el texto fluirá de una manera que te podría atrapar, pensando en que es lo que podría pasar en el siguiente capítulo o escena.

Este libro se sitúa en la ciudad de Nueva York en los años 1920, casi 70 años antes de la existencia de Harry Potter, su ingreso a Hogwarts y toda la historia que conocemos. En el libro vemos, en cierto punto, el detrás de cámaras de todas las escenas. Recordemos que esto es el guión original de la película; poco a poco vamos conociendo las aventuras de Scamander y su paso a Nueva York, con un imprevisto poco común, pues una criatura traviesa le hará salirse de su trayecto. Mientras todo eso ocurre, criaturas mágicas van apareciendo en el tramo de la historia, y Scamander los cuida, los alimenta y protege con un solo fin: documentar su existencia y concienciar a sus otros compañeros magos.

Junto con su amigo Jacob, que lo conoce de una manera muy divertida, además de otros personajes que van apareciendo progresivamente, el cariño que Scamander le tiene a las criaturas, el desarrollo de los personajes, vamos aprendiendo un poco más de lo que nuestro protagonista nos trata de enseñar en el transcurso de su viaje.

Algo que me ha parecido muy interesante que hice en mi hora literaria, es que mientras estaba leyendo, veía la película y entendía mucho mejor la historia. Sinceramente, este experimento ha resultado en algo que no me imaginaba, aunque también lo esperaba en cierta manera: de un libro se guardan bastantes cosas.

En general, el libro me ha parecido muy cautivador, lo recomiendo bastante, si tu genero literario favorito es la fantasía y la mezcla de la realidad con lo ficticio , asegúrate de leer el libro, comprender lo que nos tratan de aleccionar, y aprender un poco más de las criaturas mágicas del mundo de Harry Potter.

Libro: Animales fantásticos y dónde encontrarlos: guión original de la película. Autora: J. K. Rowling

La experiencia del Día de Acción de Gracias de la comunidad

Por Axel Henrriquez y Christell Hurtado Escritores

El último jueves de noviembre se celebra el Día de acción de gracias, una fiesta de gran popularidad en Estados Unidos. Aunque sea una tradición que muchos celebran, para algunos estudiantes de Montgomery Blair esta es su primera experiencia con la celebración del Día de acción de gracias.

El Día de acción de gracias es una fiesta estadounidense, llamada Thanksgiving en inglés. Se celebra para conmemorar que los colonos ingleses, que llegaron a Nueva Inglaterra para tener libertad religiosa, necesitaban comida para sobrevivir y los nativos americanos les enseñaron a cosechar comida en la nueva región. Al final de la cosecha, los nativos y los colonos se unieron en forma de festejo y compartieron alimentos.

Hay muchas maneras de celebrar este día. De acuerdo a Taiki Hernandez, del onceavo grado, la forma típica de celebrar hoy día es, “Amigos y familia reunida en una casa, preparando pavo, puré de patata, gelatina de arándanos y tomando vino y bebidas, y cenando hasta las doce de la noche, ofrece la oportunidad de ponerse al día con la vida del otro y vincularse entre sí”.

En la comunidad latina del área, las preparaciones para esta celebración toman matices particulares. Un empleado de la tienda Megamart Supermercado, Denis Pinelo, dijo que, “los productos que más se venden para estas fechas en la parte de verduras son los tomates, ya que muchas de las personas lo ocupan para hacer las salsas para que le de su exquisito sabor a lo que es el pavo o el pollo”. Se puede ver la influencia de la cultura latinoamericana.

Tal como explica otro de los trabajadores de Megamart, Gregorio, “para la celebración del Día de acción de gracias hacen rifas en la tienda, lo cual consiste en canastas básicas que llevan los productos básicos referentes a

frijoles, azúcares, cereales entre otros”. Esto muestra que las tiendas hispanas promueven este feriado como si fuera algo propio de nuestra cultura.

Un cliente de Megamart, Ken Sanchez explicó que él “es de Nuevo México cerca de Colorado” y comentó que para celebrar el Thanksgiving, su familia no solamente hace el pavo y el puré de papas, sino que también un platillo que se llama chile caribe y otros platos como tamales, pasteles de fruta, calabaza, pan y chile verde, entre otras cosas. Esto tiene elementos de un Día de acción de gracias tradicional estadounidense pero al mismo tiempo tiene un toque his -

decido. Por eso, para celebrarlo, mi familia y yo hacemos una actividad que consiste en poner en una carta por lo que estamos agradecidos durante este año”.

Sin embargo, hay muchos estudiantes en Blair que nunca han experimentado la celebración del Día de acción de gracias. Para muchos estudiantes que han venido recientemente a Estados Unidos, esta fiesta es desconocida que no han celebrado nunca.Este año, dos estudiantes latinos de Blair que nunca habían celebrado este feriado pudieron hacerlo. Daniel Montecinos y Heber Rivera del noveno han tenido la oportunidad de celebrar el Día de acción de gracias con una familia estadounidense. Estos estudiantes fueron a la casa de Zoe Kaiser, estudiante del grado once, para vivir

referencia a las ideas de familia y salud. Para las personas que estaban ahí, la idea de reunirse con la familia es el aspecto más importante del día y esta idea se repitió muchas veces. Owen explicó

Porque ustedes querían venir. La mesa es grande. Es genial tener gente en acción de gracias.

MATT KAISER

que “Es una oportunidad para mí de volver y pasar un tiempo con mi familia”. Robin, por su parte, dijo que “Reunirse como familia, amigos o personas que te gustan o amas en general, pasar tiempo juntos y estar agradecido por las cosas que experimentas durante el año”. La abuela, Teresa contó que ella había celebrado este día durante toda su vida y que le gustaba más ahora.

Cuando terminaron de agradecer, ya era hora de comer. Había un pavo, salsa de arándanos, dos diferentes tipos de relleno, pastel de carne, puré de patatas y más de la comida tradicional. Después de eso comenzaron a hablar de fútbol, particularmente del partido entre Brasil y Serbia, que estaba pasando en ese momento. De ahí, el tema de conversación pasó a los equipos favoritos del mundial. Para Daniel fue Portugal y para Herber fue México.

pano con los platos tradicionales de nuestra cultura.

Para nuestros estudiantes de Blair es importante la celebración de Día de acción de gracias, ya que muchos de ellos la han celebrado toda su vida. Pero aun para aquellos que celebran este feriado desde siempre, agregarle elementos únicos de la cultura latina parece ser indispensable. Así nos demostró Hugo Roman, del grado once, quien comentó “hay algunos familiares que no les gusta el pavo pero para ellos hacen carne asada”.

Para Moises Lovo, del grado doce, “lo más importante es reunirse y pasar tiempo con la familia”. Continúa diciendo “normalmente cocinamos pollo, que va acompañado de arroz y las demás personas de la familia usualmente traen otro tipo de comida para compartir y poner en la mesa. Es sumamente importante el estar agra-

su primera celebración del Día de acción de gracias en los Estados Unidos.

Cuando se les preguntó a estos estudiantes qué les interesaba más de la idea de la celebración del Día de Acción de Gracias, Daniel dijo que “la idea de la camaradería”. Algo que ambos tienen en común es que esta es la primera vez que ellos van a participar en el Día de Acción de Gracias.

Cuando entraron, saludaron a la familia. Comenzaron a relacionarse y a hablar con personas que tenían curiosidad sobre cómo se sentían Daniel y Herber sobre su primer Día de acción de gracias. Después de eso se sentaron en la mesa grande. Las personas que compartieron la mesa fueron Daniel, Herber, el papá, la mamá, los abuelos, Owen, el hermano de Zoe, Robin un estudiante de otro país y una jueza de Rumania que vive en los Estados Unidos.

Todos necesitaban decir algunas cosas de las que ellos estaban agradecidos y muchos hicieron

Los comensales siguieron disfrutando de la excelente comida y la plática agradable por un largo rato. Para terminar, los invitados tenían deliciosas porciones de pastel para llevar. El padre de Zoe, Matt Kaiser, demostró la esencia de la celebración cuando explicó sus razones para recibir a Daniel y Herber, diciendo que la razón para recibirlos fue “Porque ustedes querían venir. La mesa es grande. Es genial tener gente en acción de gracias”.

Las actividades relacionadas con el Día de acción de gracias son disfrutar de la familia y demostrar agradecimiento. En el tiempo que Daniel y Herber pasaron en la cena con los Kaiser, muchas de las actividades estuvieron relacionadas con la idea principal de vincularse con los seres queridos.

Cuando todo ya había terminado, Herber dijo que la cena le había parecido “muy nice” y si le tuviera que dar una calificación, sería un diez. Para estos estudiantes, la experiencia del primer Día de acción de gracias fue tan especial como para aquellos colonos que lo celebraron por primera vez hace muchísimo tiempo atrás.

En las palabras de Daniel Montecinos, “nos sentimos fantástico el momento que pasamos con ellos.

A pesar de que no nos conocían, nos recibieron con una gran amabilidad y nos sentimos felices por eso”.

Ofrece la oportunidad de ponerse al día con la vida del otro y vincularse entre sí.

CINDIS HERNÁNDEZ-SANCHES

Mano en mano: el cuento de Talokan y Wakanda

Las culturas unidas en “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” en la pantalla grande

Por Kevin Vela Editor-en-Jefe

Advertencia de spoiler: este artículo contiene detalles exclusivos sobre la película Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Mientras que la industria del cine de Marvel sigue creciendo, cada vez hay más representación de la comunidad latinx en sus películas. La más reciente es la de Pantera Negra: Wakanda por Siempre en la que se puede ver a Tenoch Huerta como el villano principal, Namor. Esta nueva entrega es la secuela de la exitosa película de Pantera Negra, fue también un homenaje para Chadwick Boseman, quien falleció en agosto de 2020. Chadwick Boseman fue la primera persona que interpretó el papel de Pantera Negra en el MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) y era una persona querida por la comunidad.

Ya sea que seamos mestizos o indígenas, no importa demasiado.

Por supuesto, los pueblos indígenas tienen otra historia y tienen otras opresiones.

TENOCH HUERTA

En la reciente película de Pantera Negra: Wakanda por Siempre también hubo gran representación de la comunidad maya. El villano

de Namor en la película es de origen maya, quienes escaparon durante la llegada de los españoles a las Américas. Namor se hizo el rey de Atlantis, el cual fue cambiado por el nombre de Talokan. Durante un incidente fue a la superficie, en la cual descubrió cómo los conquistadores estaban esclavizando y torturando a los indígenas. Le llamaron Namor, que tiene el significado de “niño sin amor”, pero por su gente es conocido como KukUlkán, quien era el dios serpiente en la mitología maya. En la película se puede apreciar el conflicto entre dos culturas (Wakanda y Talokan) así como también con el conflicto con otros países. Ambos luchan para mantener a salvo a los ciudadanos de sus países, queriendo aprovechar y explotar los recursos que tienen. Wakanda ya es conocida por todo el mundo, por lo cual países como los Estados Unidos quieren vibranium, el cual es un metal muy vali-

oso. Talokan todavía se mantiene escondido, pero después de ver la violencia de los conquistadores y cómo sigue la injusticia incluso después de tantos años, quiere hacer una alianza con Wakanda para mantener a salvo el vibranium. Las acciones drásticas que toma Namor es lo que lleva a Shuri, la actual reina de Wakanda, a ir en contra de Namor. Tras la muerte del primer pantera negra, Shuri toma el papel como sucesora y batalla contra los ideales de Namor.

Pero Namor no fue el único personaje interpretado por un actor mexicano que toma el papel de villano principal en la película. También está Mabel Cadena, quien interpreta a Namora y es prima de Namor en la película. Su actuación fue magnífica como villana secundaria, impone un gran respeto y temor ya que era la que más apoyaba la idea de ir a guerra. Otro villano secundario fue Attuma, interpretado por

Alex Livinalli, siendo el primer venezolano en unirse al MCU. Attuma muestra una gran conexión y respeto hacia Namor como líder y fue un personaje muy dominante en las peleas que tuvieron contra Wakanda.

Pero creo que, en términos generales, las personas de piel morena se sienten más apegadas al personaje.

Con este papel, Tenoch Huerta pudo conseguir una de sus metas de traer más representación latinoamericana en la industria del cine, aunque todavía sigue batallando para que haya más igualdad entre todos. Durante una entrevista con Rolling Stone, el actor da su percepción sobre la situación, “ya sea que seamos mestizos o indígenas, no importa demasiado. Por supuesto, los pueblos indígenas tienen otra historia y tienen otras opresiones”. Tenoch Huerta busca que las personas de piel morena se sientan identificados con alguien, “Pero creo que, en términos generales, las personas de piel morena se sienten más apegadas al personaje”. Tal como explica Huerta, al usar las redes sociales se puede ver el impacto positivo que tuvo su personaje de Namor para las personas de piel morena, las cuales finalmente se sintieron representados por un personaje poderoso e importante que no solo es el personaje pero también la persona.

Blazer destacado

Por Samantha Frey y Leonardo Aranguibel Echenique Escritores

“He sido maestra en una manera u otra por toda mi carrera, que he tenido tres carreras”, refleja la Sra. Natalia Guerrido. Desde su crecimiento en el Bronx hasta sus viajes entre Hawaii y Puerto Rico, su vida ha sido una de enseñar a los demás. Como su madre no podía hablar inglés, la Sra. Guerrido tenía la responsabilidad de traducir las conversaciones entre las autoridades y su mamá, “con las aplicaciones o las conversaciones que tenía con las autoridades”. Menciona que es una cosa que muchos estudiantes hispanohablantes pueden relacionarse, ser una voz para los padres que no pueden hablar inglés. De acuerdo con la Sra. Guerrido, sus padres “no sufrían, pero le costó mucho estar en el mundo sin tener la habilidad de hablar inglés”.

Similar a su maestría, sus contribuciones en su comunidad han sido valores importantes desde su niñez. Como los tutores de BLISS que ayudan en las clases de Montgomery Blair, Guerrido fue inspirada por su maestro de historia

cuando era estudiante. Se toma su tiempo enseñando a estudiantes y aprendiendo las formas más efectivas de maestría, su maestro de historia mostraba una gran pasión al enseñar. Encontró su pasión por ayudar a las personas a aprender, y usaba sus habilidades de comunicación para su carrera.

Usaba su conocimiento de inglés para empezar su primer trabajo haciendo ventas de Telecomunicación, encargada de desarrollar los negocios de Sprint en los Estados Unidos y Puerto Rico. En la actualidad, la tecnología es algo que muchos saben cómo operar- sin embargo, los avances tecnológicos eran totalmente nuevos hace 25 o 30 años cuando Guerrido estaba introduciendo las novedades a sus clientes.

Por eso, ella “tenía que enseñar muchísimo a los clientes”. Durante este tiempo, la Sra. Guerrido descubrió su amor por las comunicaciones y la tecnología. En 1995, Guerrido presentó un programa que introducía nuevas tecnologías en el salón de clases, dándose cuenta así de que “mejorar la tecnología podría mejorar el aprendizaje”. Entre las clases específicas, implementaron tecnologías que los estudiantes podrían usar en sus vidas diarias.

En su transición al programa de ELD (antes llamado ESOL) en Montgomery Blair High School, combinó las experiencias importantes de su vida: el español en su niñez, la comunicación en su trabajo con Sprint, y la educación en su carrera como

maestra. Ahora trabaja con estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés, ayudando a lograr su idea fundamental de que “la educación es el camino a la libertad”, porque “le da muchos caminos para el futuro”.

por Zöe Kaiser Escritora

Matrimonio igualitario ya es legal en México

El 26 de octubre, el estado de Tamaulipas votó a favor de la legalización del matrimonio entre personas del mismo sexo en México. Este cambio importante es esencial al movimiento queer en la sociedad de México. Para estudiantes latinos en Montgomery Blair esta decisión puede ser una oportunidad para discutir sobre los derechos humanos. Mientras la mayoría de la sociedad está celebrando el cambio positivo, hay demasiados conflictos con ciertos grupos que se oponen a la legalización. La discriminación contra comunidades queer sigue siendo prevalente en México y esta decisión puede empezar el cambio de mentalidad en México y comunidades mexicanas en el mundo.

Competencia de baile latino de MCPS

El 21 de noviembre, la competencia anual de bailes latinos de las escuelas del condado de Montgomery ocurrió en el centro de música en Strathmore. After School Dance Club patrocinó la competición entre bailarines de distintas escuelas del condado. A pesar de que ningún grupo de Blair participó, había grupos de escuelas de la región sureste del condado, tales como Einstein y Northwood. La escuela más exitosa de todos los equipos fue Gaithersburg HS. La emoción positiva alrededor de la competición aumenta la misión de After School Dance Club, que tiene como objetivo el éxito emocional y físico para estudiantes latinos que quieran bailar.

Wes Moore ganó las elecciones para la gobernación

La educación es el camino a la libertad.

NATALIA GUERRIDO

Ahora, la Sra. Guerrido tiene un lugar cómodo en su trabajo con los estudiantes de Blair: este es su sexto año enseñando en el condado de Montgomery. “Aquí”, dice Guerrido, “los estudiantes aparecen y se quieren quedar [conmigo] durante el almuerzo”. Entre su carrera entera, Guerrido proporciona un espacio seguro para todos, creando una comunidad positiva para todos.

En la reciente carrera para gobernador del estado de Maryland, el candidato Wes Moore ganó con el 60% de los votos. Esta victoria para Moore es un triunfo para la diversidad, ya que Moore es el primer gobernador afrodescendiente y es, además, un hombre que vino de una familia de inmigrantes. Su historia de inmigración se siente personal para muchas comunidades en Maryland. En Montgomery Blair, hay muchos estudiantes que vienen de familias de inmigrantes o ellos mismos son inmigrantes. Por eso, se cree que la perspectiva diversa de Moore va a influenciar las políticas que impactan a millones de residentes en Maryland.

TENOCH HUERTA

FOTO POR KYARA ROMERO LIRA

KIMBERLY SOLIS

Compilado

SRA. NATALIA GUERRIDO La maestra de ELD en Montgomery Blair High School celebra su sexto año en MCPS.

‘I’m a friend

Maryland works to accomodate

On Oct. 18, the Partners in Abortion Care (PAC) clinic opened its doors in College Park for the first time. Unlike many others, this abortion clinic is women-owned, provides abortions at all trimesters, and receives patients from all over the world, including U.S. states where abortion is restricted or banned.

The clinic is operated by its two medical professional founders: Morgan Nuzzo, a certified midwife and nurse practitioner, and Dr. Diane Horvath (OB-/GYN). Both women, who have been providing abortions for years through other organizations, decided to open their own abortion clinic after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24. “It felt urgent for us to open, particularly in the wake of the Roe decision and the way that abortion access has just been really decimated in a lot of the country,” Horvath says.

Five months after the ruling, abortion is fully banned in 13 states, restricted after six weeks of pregnancy in one state, and limited after 15 to 20 weeks in four states, with exceptions varying by state. Rachel Sussman, Vice President of Strategy and Program at Planned Parenthood, explains how quickly the overturn shifted the national abortion healthcare scene. “Then you go to the decision happening over the summer, the Dobbs decision, where abortion was banned, and in a pretty short period of time you saw what was in many states not an easy

Maryland, a state where abortion remains legal and accessible. “We’re in a really deeply privileged position to be working in Maryland and living in Maryland. The support that we have here is pretty phenomenal.”

DIANE HORVATH

of their pregnancies can receive medication abortions, which range in cost from $200 to $500, but those further along into their pregnancies require surgical abortions. “For someone who’s seeking a later abortion, you may be looking at anywhere between about $5,000 to $15,000, but we have also seen costs at about $20,000 and above for later abortions,” Priya Hay-Chatterjee, Communications Director at BAF, says. Most insurance plans do not cover out-of-state abortions, and these costs are not affordable for a large portion of people in need

many abortion patients. To alleviate these obstacles, organizations across the U.S. have been raising money for people with financial need who are looking to terminate pregnancies.

Maryland activism

and a bad situation go to a dire situation.” Horvath believes she is fortunate to have been able to open her clinic in

As a result, Maryland has become a destination for out-of-state abortion seekers following the Supreme Court’s reversal of federal abortion protections. Many people living in abortion-restricting states now travel across state borders to receive legal pregnancy-terminating procedures in MD, which was home to 44 abortion-providing facilities, including 25 abortion clinics, as of 2017.

The cost of an abortion

A common barrier that people in need of an out-of-state abortion face is the cost—the journey of terminating a pregnancy across state lines is significantly more expensive than staying in-state. Abortion patients must search for a viable clinic, methods of transportation, financial aid, and childcare. Meanwhile, their pregnancy progresses, and care opportunities dwindle due to the scarcity of third-trimester abortion clinics.

Not only do service options diminish throughout this time, but the procedure price goes up as well.

Patients within the first 10 to 11 weeks

of the procedure—the Guttmacher Institute reports that 49 percent of U.S. abortion patients live below the federal poverty line.

In addition to the cost of procedure services, people seeking abortions also often need to find childcare. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 59 percent of abortions are obtained by women with children, creating an additional layer of financial burden.

Finding the economic means to travel to a different state for care is a persistent barrier for

For years, the Baltimore Abortion Fund (BFor years, the Baltimore Abortion Fund (BAF) has been providing financial support for both in-state and out-of-state abortion seekers. “About half of our clients are Marylanders and the other half are from out-of-state,” Hay-Chatterjee explains.

PAC is one of the seven clinics that BAF works closely with to ensure that patients are able to show up for their appointments. Not only does BAF provide abortion funding, but also transportation assistance, lodging, and transla-

It felt urgent for us to open, particularly in the wake of the Roe decision and the way that abortion access has just been really decimated in a lot of the country.

DIANE HORVATH

INSIDE THE CLINIC The sonogram room in the Partners in Abortion Care clinic where ultrasounds are performed as part of the consulting process.

COURTESY OF PARTNERS IN ABORTION CARE

We’ve spent a lot of time and energy and effort building community, and now this is like the community is coming back to make sure that patients get to where they need to be.

friend of Jane’

accomodate out-of-state abortion patients

tion and language aid. The non-profit organization’s volunteer base is a huge contributor to these resources being available and free.

BAF expects to receive about 3,000 requests for funding by the end of 2022, and will have been able to fund approximately half of those calls. In 2023, the year following the reversal of Roe v. Wade, BAF is expecting at least 3,000 to 4,000 calls from people seeking abortions and assistance in the form of funding, transportation and childcare.

National networks serving people in need

Before opening their doors to patients, Horvath and Nuzzo spent many years building connections in the reproductive health field. “I have a lot of contacts in both clinics in this area and this region, but also through my professional networks,” Horvath explains.

In the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson, these connections have become critical for abortion seekers. When doctors and nurses in more restrictive areas are forced to deny patients care, many will refer them to PAC. “We’ve spent a lot of time and energy and effort building community, and now this is like the community is coming back to make sure that patients get to where they need to be,” Horvath says.

Those unable to reach out for a clinic referral can use online networks instead. Two popular websites are abortionfinder. org and ineedana.com, which provide users with their nearest abortion provider after they enter their location, age, and date of last menstrual period. Some also provide additional information about different types of abortions and educate patients who have little prior knowledge and medical experience.

The experiences of MD providers and patients

The recent influx of patients from other states has demanded longer hours from doctors and nurses in Maryland, and many abortion providers are increasingly overbooked and underfunded. This additional burden has forced some clinics, including PAC, to turn people away.

cies, [but] anomalies were diagnosed really late into pregnancy,” Horvath says. “These people were really struggling and they were losing a baby. One woman said to me… ‘I have to go through basically a birth, and then I’m not going to take a baby home.’”

After each procedure, PAC care providers offer patients various ways to commemorate the loss of their pregnancy. The clinic has keepsakes, including knitted infant hats, small stones, plantable cards with flower seeds, and baby footprints that people can take home. Patients have the option to hold the remains of their fetuses after their abortions as a way of grieving.

Zoë Kaiser Art by Eliza Cooke Design by Sachini Adikari Della Baer

outcomes of receiving versus being denied an abortion. The study found that “women denied an abortion had almost 4 times greater odds of a household income below the federal poverty level and 3 times greater odds of being unemployed.”

Horvath and Nuzzo’s clinic, one of only a few offering all-trimester abortions, has been booked for appointments three weeks out since its opening in October. Despite working longer hours, the two founders are still unable to accommodate many of the patients they receive. “I don’t want to overload [staff], so sometimes we have to turn people away. It’s the worst part of this job. It is awful,” Horvath says.

In addition to the physical toll of their work, abortion providers also empathize with the emotional distress of their patients, who are usually in tough, heartbreaking situations. “[Working with abortion patients] just takes a lot of emotional toll on [doctors and nurses]. These patients are often really high need, [and] they’ve been through a lot,” Hovarth says.

Abortion patients can encounter a variety of emotions after their procedures. “Some people are really, really relieved… but I think it’s really important to remember that people can hold a lot of really complex feelings at one time,” Hovarth explains.

Although most abortions are undergone to end an unwanted pregnancy, many people also walk through PAC’s doors preparing to terminate fetuses due to prebirth conditions or health risks to the mother.

“We had two patients this week who had fetal anomalies that were very, very sad. They were very wanted pregnan -

By taking the time to respect the experience of each individual who enters their clinic, PAC caretakers aim to make the distressing abortion process a little bit easier. “There [are] some really tender things that are really vulnerable and hard, but also really rewarding. That helps us stay connected to the emotional weight of this work and why it’s so significant,” Horvath expresses.

That significance is not only a matter of emotional support, but also one of community rapport. Diana Phillip, an expert on reproductive law in Maryland, emphasizes the importance of a retribution-free choice for those who are pregnant, especially in a climate of restrictions. “People really need to concentrate on the social ramifications of what happens,” Phillip says. “You see people who are challenged by infertility and will move heaven and earth in order to get that baby, and people don’t understand that it works the other way. If you do not want to carry to term, you will move heaven and earth in order to end that pregnancy.”

Restricted abortion access can have long-lasting impacts on women’s health and success. In 2020, the University of California, San Francisco conducted The Turnaway Study, which tracked almost 1,000 women seeking abortions from clinics across the country over a five-year period to compare the

While Maryland attempts to accomodate the ongoing influx of out-of-state abortion patients, many find flaws with a system where certain states must compensate for the lack of abortion care in others. Sussman highlights how abortion access in the U.S. is currently inadequate. “There are people who are not going to be able to leave to travel to another state, and there’s simply not going to be enough care in all of these other states to absorb everyone who has the need,” she says.

While other states are doing everything they can to serve as many patients as they can… [they] will never be able to fully mediate the need that’s being created and the harm that’s being done by states continuing to ban abortion.

RACHEL SUSSMAN

Sussman emphasizes the instability of a healthcare situation without secure, nationwide abortion access. “There is no way that everybody who needs care is going to get care,” Sussman says. “While other states [like Maryland] are doing everything they can to serve as many patients as they can… [they] will never be able to fully mediate the need that’s being created and the harm that’s being done by states continuing to ban abortion.”

Working with abortion patients just takes a lot of emotional toll on [doctors and nurses].

These patients are often really high need, [and] they’ve been through a lot.

DIANE HORVATH

A new verse for Takoma Park

By Cate Sauri Staff Writer

On Nov. 17, dozens of people gather in the auditorium of the Takoma Park Community Center. An audience ranging from babies in strollers to friendly seniors greeting each other all find their seats, eager to engage in a night of poetry. Some have driven a long way—others live just a short walk from the center.

The free poetry reading, headlined “Words Have Power,” begins as Takoma Park Arts and Humanities Coordinator Brendan Smith takes the stage to introduce the city’s newly-appointed Poet Laureate, Taylor Johnson.

Johnson makes his way to the stage and introduces himself before reading “Psalm” by Kiki Petrosino. He speaks slowly, his voice deep and smooth, and stares down at the writing in front of him for most of the poem. During brief pauses or when he arrives at a particular phrase, his gaze meets the captivated audience.

Between the moving poem and the calm, buttery tone with which he recites it, Johnson has earned the room’s complete attention. “I love your voice!” Hazel Cherry, another poet at the event, says to him after he introduces her as the next speaker.

Cherry is not alone in recognizing Johnson, who has captured the attention of the literary world. He was selected as a Poet-In-Residence at New York City’s Guggenheim Museum and authored “Inheritance,” an award-winning poetry book discussing topics such as race, sexuality, and gender.

While Johnson is originally from Washington, D.C. and attended the Bullis School in Potomac, he has also spent time living in New Orleans and Paris. He moved back to Takoma Park in January when he saw that the city would be accepting applications for the Poet Laureate position. He decided to apply, believing he could handle the position’s community engagement and poetry advocacy responsibilities and provide a new perspective as a young person of color.

grow in 2022. “We were hoping to get a… wider range of voices in people who applied this year,” she says.

After receiving about 19 applications and reviewing the nine eligible candidates, the group interviewed three finalists. However, Johnson was the clear choice because of his experience and aspirations. “I think it was unanimous that Taylor’s body of work and his enthusiasm and ideas were really, really strong,” she says. “There were good candidates, but Taylor really stood out.”

The laureate position, served in three-year terms, was created with the purpose of advancing poetry and arts in the community. “[The] Takoma Park Poet Laureate… [promotes] public appreciation of poetry and literature, [supports] a creative community of local poets, and [encourages] people of all ages to write poetry,” according to Takoma Park’s website.

ers market and improve Takoma Park’s Spring for Poetry posters, which aim to bring poetry into the community by featuring poetry on colorful posters throughout the city. Johnson feels that they should be updated to showcase new voices.

O’Toole believes Johnson’s idea to revamp the Spring for Poetry signs will allow the project to showcase fresh perspectives in poetry. “Most of [the posters showcase] poets of a different generation,” she says. “I think Taylor

would love to update that to have a different set of voices out there on the streets.”

Johnson, still only 31, is still planning his future but appreciates what he has already accomplished. He is proud that he has been able to turn his love for poetry into a fulltime job. “I’ve committed fully to writing poetry and following it this way,” he says. “I think the greatest achievement is that I’ve been able to do that… that I’ve been able to maintain my living to support my work as a poet.”

Past Poet Laureates have lacked diversity in age and race. Johnson hopes to put an end to this pattern, but also continue to get to know locals. “I feel comfortable in my ability to make connections in the community, but also to bring poetry into this community in a new way,” Johnson says. “I know that all the Poet Laureates have [not only] been generations older than me, but also white.”

Kathleen O’Toole, who was Poet Laureate from 2018 to 2022, led the committee of poets tasked with selecting the new laureate. In 2018, when O’Toole was chosen, only two poets applied for the position, so she wanted to see both the number and diversity of applicants

O’Toole believes that selecting a young Black man to be Poet Laureate will help people of color and younger audiences engage with art and literature. “One of the ways to get very different participants here, in our live setting, is to invite the poets to bring their own community,” she says.

Johnson has a similar goal. As Poet Laureate, he seeks to connect with Takoma Park by creating space for a younger and more diverse poetry community. He also wants to appoint a youth poet laureate in an effort to engage younger writers. “My larger goal is to have a youth poet laureate who works alongside me,” he says.

Additionally, Johnson plans to make himself available at the farm-

A gift for the Girl Scouts

initiatives

By Kyla Smith Staff Writer

“What I hope is to empower women that are in girl scouting and the youth that [are] in girl scouting to know that what they’re doing in Girl Scouts matters,” Troop Leader for the Girl Scouts Council of the Nation’s Capital (GSCNC) Shana Fulcher says. “It’s a valid experience to take with [them] into other places and say, ‘I’m ready to lead based off of the things that I’ve done in Girl Scouts.’”

Fulcher has been a part of GSCNC, one of two Maryland Girl Scout Regional Councils that serve families across the DMV area, for the past decade. She did not have any intention of being a leader for the organization when she signed her daughter up for a local troop, but was assigned the role. “I went [to the] sort of matriarch of Girl Scouts in Takoma Park’s house. Her name is Jo Hoge and I thought I was going there to sign up my daughter for her troop and she’s like, ‘Oh no, you’re going to be the [troop] leader,’” Fulcher says.

In October, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott selected 29 regional councils across the nation, including GSCNC, to share an $84.5 million donation to the Girls Scouts of the USA (GSUSA). According to Forbes, the grant will expand Girl Scouts’ investment in members as well as “launch diversity initiatives; expand career-readiness, mental wellness and STEM programs; boost staff and volun-

teer training and upgrade facilities at Girl Scout camps, including accessibility improvements and ‘high adventure elements.’” GSCNC received $3.8 million from the donation.

GSCNC Director of Development Betsey Thurston explained in an email to Silver Chips that GSCNC CEO Lidia Soto-Harmon will decide how the money is spent over multiple years. “Our CEO, Lidia Soto-Harmon, will decide how our funding

by the donation. Blair senior and Girl Scout Delia Angulo Chen explained that her troop hasn’t seen big financial changes as a result of the donation. “I think the only thing that would change for us as an individual troop would be whole [council] wide things… Maybe they have more camping events or more bowling [events], but as an individual troop we don’t really see that.”

Fulcher explains that she hopes Scott donated to

Accessibility (DEIA) statement on Aug. 9 that encourages troop leaders to refer to the girl scouts as leaders and not “girls,” use capital G and capital S when referencing the Girl Scouts organization, and use gender neutral terms when addressing the members.

Fulcher believes that the individual troops within GSCNC are ahead of the Council when it comes to being inclusive. “We [were] excited that they did release

troop. “I think my troop has been inclusive. We’ve had [many queer] members… in my troop that all parents have been supportive of.”

Outside of working toward being inclusive and accessible, GSUSA aims to have scouts learn leadership skills and gain exposure to new activities like camping, which Scott’s donation will expand. Angulo Chen spoke on the applications she has found for the skills she learned as a scout. “I’m always very proud when I go camping now with my friends being like, ‘Oh, excuse me, Girl Scouts taught me how to start a fire.’”

will be used over multiple years based on feedback from her team. This fiscal year will be used for planning,” she wrote.

According to a statement from GSUSA on Oct. 18, Scott’s grant will aid in creating more equitable membership opportunities, which include diversity, equity, inclusion, and racial justice initiatives as well as efforts to break down accessibility barriers in troops.

Because they are financially independent, however, most of the individual troops within GSCNC will not be significantly impacted

GSCNC because of the council’s recent achievements, including phenomenal cookie sales in the last year, and not to ensure the council’s future funding. “When I think about why Mackenzie Scott might have donated money to GSCNC even though we are doing pretty well [financially], I hope it’s because of some of the things that we are doing well [and does not have] to do with financial security,” Fulcher says.

Before GSUSA received the donation, GCSNC released a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and

the DEIA statement, but we were already moving forward with stuff,” Fulcher explains.

“[For example], we have a trail blazing group… that we recently started in the Takoma Park—Silver Spring Girl Scouts— [which] is for teens who already belong to another troop but identify [as] LGBTQIA+ and are looking for a safe space where they can be with other Girl Scouts and where they can work on projects that celebrate who they are.”

Angulo Chen spoke on how this inclusivity is also shown in her own

Many scouts believe that their troops empower them to engage more readily with their communities, and hope that Scott’s donation will go toward helping students of all backgrounds have a chance to do the same. “[Girls Scouts] really has given me an opportunity to give back to my community… If I did not have Girl Scouts, I just wouldn’t be thinking [about] or have… that service aspect of my life so readily encouraged,” Angulo Chen says. “I hope Girl Scouts uses that [donated] money for more engagement from communities where they can’t always pay [membership] dues [to make] membership more widespread.”

COURTESY OF TAYLOR JOHNSON

POET LAUREATE Taylor Johnson, Poet-In-Residence at the Guggenheim Museum, is Takoma Park’s youngest poet laureate to date.

Multi-million dollar donation will sustain and expand scout

ALLISON LIN

I know that all the Poet Laureates have [not only] been generations older than me, but also white.

TAYLOR JOHNSON

The unsung heroes of the holidays USPS braces for peak package season

in 2011, but are still in operation across the nation.

Nationwide, many offices have begun to hire career-only with the goal of increasing employee retention and recruitment. “There’s at least 300 offices nationwide that are hiring directly to career status. Anytime they do that, it increases [staffing],” Lee says.

Preston notes that the challenging nature of letter carrier work also adds to the difficulty of the holiday season and contributes to staffing shortages. “Not only is the work hard, but [so are] the conditions, especially outside [when] you’re delivering mail in the rain, the snow, and the sleet,” he explains. “You can’t pull off on the side of the road to stop. You have to keep working.”

In addition to wintry conditions, letter carriers face the burden of operating the classic mail truck many associate with USPS—an archaic, outdated vehicle called the Grumman Long Life Vehicle (LLV) that USPS plans to replace next year. Preston drove the LLV during his career carrying mail before he began working fulltime for NALC. LLVs constructed in 1987, originally designed to last 24 years, were meant to retire

For the first time in 2023, next generation delivery vehicles will have cameras, heating and air conditioning, critical side door entry, and greater storage to accommodate larger package loads.

This legislation also required USPS to pre-fund $5.5-5.8 billion annually in healthcare benefits for future retirees. USPS made payments annually until they were no longer able to, and now owes the government over $35 billion in unpaid pre-funding.

VADA PRESTON

LLVs would have left service by their 2011 deadline had Congress not implemented the Postal Ac-

Preston explains that the financial drain of pre-funding was the root of USPS’ financial problems over the last 15 years. “[The mandate] made it look like the postal service was not making money or it was losing money and it wasn’t functioning right, but the majority of the loss in [its] budgets was related to the pre-funding mandate,” he says. NALC and the American Postal Workers Union (APWU)

achieve “financial sustainability and service excellence.” This plan includes specific preparations for a successful 2022 holiday season such as seasonal hiring, an additional 8.5 million square feet in processing facilities, and 1,900 additional trailers attached to delivery vehicles to support higher volumes of mail.

Mark Wahl, the USPS Communications Specialist for Maryland, explains the potential for improvement that

he says.

However, Lamont Brooks, the Clerk Division Director for APWU, worries that the plan will have unintended harmful impacts for employees and customers, as it reduces service standards. “The goal [of the 10-year plan] is to replace postal employees through automation… Our concern is [reducing employees] even if it means reducing service standards,” he says.

Despite the many hurdles that USPS faces, Preston maintains that being a letter carrier is one of the

countability and Enhancement Act in 2006, which reduced funding available to replace them.

worked heavily to eliminate the mandate, and their efforts were successful when it was officially repealed in April through the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022.

Among efforts to alleviate former burdens like pre-funding is “Delivering for America,” a 10-year plan that USPS crafted in 2021 to

the plan holds. “[With the 10-year plan] we’re prepared not only for this peak holiday season, we are prepared for the future and making more financial stability and organization for the Postal Service,”

most venerable careers at the forefront of the nation. “It really was an honor and a privilege…” he says. “You were basically considered part of the family in the neighborhood that you delivered in.”

Compiled by Parineeka Shrestha Staff Writer

Household spice may be harmful

By Tory Duncan December 1973

With the holiday season fast approaching, eggnog with grated nutmeg sprinkled on top is likely to be a popular drink, as usual. But, watch out! Nutmeg can have peculiar effects.

Now, don’t get all excited.

Now, never to touch eggnog again. That light dusting of nutmeg isn’t going to send the average eggnog drinker reeling. However, nutmeg can be dangerous in excessive quantities.

Dr. Richard Phillipson, Associate Director for Clinical Patient Care, National Institute on Drug Abuse, says, “In large amounts.

The common household spice nutmeg produces marked subjective changes. It is commonly used for this purpose by the inmates of prisons.

Taken orally, the equivalent of two grated nutmegs produces, after a period of several hours, leaden feelings in the arms and legs and a mental state that may include feelings of depersonalization and unreality.

Dr. Phillipson adds, “Agitation and apprehension are also common. Dry mouth, thirst, rapid heart rate, and red, flushed face are common and may mimic atropine

poisoning.

According to Dr. Phillipson, the average holiday eggnog drinker can drink all the eggnog he wants without disastrous effects. Only when used in large amounts can nutmeg be dangerous, he says.

Snow days

By Debbie Berson January 1968

Nobody likes crazy cold snow weather like this; it’s only appreciated if it’s snowing or hailing or sleeting or zapping enough to keep us out of school for the day.

Other than occasional blizzards we all detest this weather: we know too well about those bitter freezing moments spent shivering at the bus stop, waiting there until our fingers ache and stiffen and our faces are scraped rough by the winds.

Endless irritations and annoyances arise - there are clumsy boots to crank on and scarves that keep tumbling off, sidewalks all slippery, bare frozen trees and snow that clings to the ground forever, walks to trip on and finally shovel off.

But hey! What happened to the good old days when snow was the best thing that ever could happen, when every flake was amazing and new, and the cold air didn’t much matter?

I can remember lugging my old skates to a patch of ice down the street and lacing them on over

three thick pairs of worn woolen socks. I’d skate there with my friends for hours, until it was time for dinner or my brother came out and bugged me to come home.

On some days we’d drag our bob sleds (all cracked wood and peeling red paint) to the nearest steep hill. The hills glazed over with ice were the fastest and if one of the kids had a toboggan about eight of us would all pile on and crash right down, all screaming and laughing and falling off.

We could scoop up handfuls of snow and make forts that kept breaking apart and huge awkward snowmen that we named Melvin or (if we had enough Melvins for one winter) Maynard.

We would count the icicles dripping off my front porch, plant fresh footprints on smooth white lawns and draw our names in the ice with a stick.

We always ended up right before dinnertime by shoving a glob of snow down Rickey’s neck. He was the smallest kid in the neighborhood and couldn’t run quite as fast as the rest of us, so he usually went home in a sopping jacket.

Waking up on a morning to find snow making stains on the window used to be really exciting. It filled the day with promises of snowball battles and soaked mittens, of steaming hot chocolate that dribbled down the chin.

But no more.

Now when there’s snow I merely reach up to turn on the radio and listen for reports of which schools are closed.

And if school is open, I grimly tumble out of bed, bundle myself up in sweaters and stuff, then stagger reluctantly outside. And I’m usually grumbling about the “miserable” weather.

Christmas Formal, December 28, will the students or candidates learn of the results. At that time ex-Queen, Brenda Lee, will crown the winning girl. The other six candidates will compose the Queen’s court.

All of the girls are active in the service clubs and organizations of Blair. Pat’s is a familiar countenance in the Library Club.

Formal

Queen, Court Herald Yule Season

Uncredited December 1992

Competing against each other, but still good friends, are this years candidates for Christmas Queen.

Nancy Alkire, Karen Anderson, Nancy Darby, Sandy Dillard, Pat Fallon, Linda Harmon, and Nancy Norris were nominated by write-ins on a secret ballot by juniors and seniors on November 26.

The candidates will be presented to the student body at the Christmas Assembly. Friday morning in homerooms the students will elect their favorite.

Results to remain top secret

Not until the evening of the

The Lounge is practically Linda’s “second home.” She has perhaps contributed more to its existence than any other student as chairman of the Student Lounge Committee.

Nancy bemoans Elvis’ sideburns

Perhaps these girls are representative of the increasing number of high school students continuing on to college, as all of them plan to do so.

Regardless of their plans career-wise, they all intend to give marriage top billing. Sandy adds jokingly, “to a tall, dark, and handsome man.”

No article on a group of teenagers would be complete without their opinions on Elvis Presley. The girls all agree that they like his records, but don’t appreciate his style in person. Nancy even admits, “He’d be cute without those sideburns.”

You can’t pull off on the side of the road to stop. You have to keep working.

GRAPHIC COURTESY OF NORA PIERCE AND DYAN NGUYEN

By Eliana Finberg Culture Editor

Happy holidays! So far this year I’ve read 42 books, and these are some of my favorites.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larsson

This book took me a while to get interested in, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. The murder mystery element and the plot twists kept me in suspense the whole second half of the novel. But readers be warned: this book is graphic, and could be upsetting if not researched beforehand. This modern classic is best for adult readers who love mysteries.

Seven Days in June

Tia Williams

A second chance romance: two kids fell in love when they were in high school, but they were forced apart. Years later, they both became authors, writing their lost love into their books. They meet again, and try to piece together what happened so long ago. Despite being a new adult romance novel, Williams writes about love, grief, and human nature in a way that one would expect from a self-help book. This is a great book for any adult romance lover who is looking for more than surface level discussions of life.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous Ocean Vuong

This book is a memoir in the form of a letter written to the author’s mother. I don’t normally read memoirs, but this book immediately became one of my favorites from the year. Vuong shares his version of the immigrant experience as a queer Vietnamese poet and is so honest about his life and the lessons he’s learned. This is perfect for the reflective friend you’re never sure what to get.

If We Were Villains

M. L. Rio

Set at a boarding conservatory for elite actors where only seven students remain by senior year. After performing plays together for many years, the roles of hero and villain start to bleed into the characters’ off-stage lives. This young adult work can be best categorized as dark academia and will be best enjoyed by those who love Shakespeare.

The Inheritance Games

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

This mystery series is perfect for middle school readers. The fast-paced trilogy follows a homeless girl who randomly (or so she thinks) inherits a billionaire’s fortune. But everything is not as it seems, and she’s immediately thrown into a life of luxury and mystery. This young adult book is best for middle and high schoolers who love adventure, but can be enjoyed by all readers.

Daisy Jones & The Six

Taylor Jenkins Reid

This book is the epitome of the

ELIZA COOKE

‘70s: sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. Written in a unique interview format, the narrator works to unravel how Daisy Jones, an up-and-coming artist, and The Six, the most famous band at the time, got together, and ultimately why they decided never to play a show together again. Best for those who miss the rock-n-roll era, and those who enjoy stories told in interview form.

Commonwealth Ann Patchett

This book is purely fiction, but its beauty lies in how it could be about any family with secrets and problems. The way that Patchett writes time is unique, but it’s occasionally difficult to follow the different generations of family members and the overlapping of families. The book is a heartfelt depiction of family, and might also make you appreciate yours a bit more than before.

The Poppy War

R. F. Kuang

Set in a world loosely based off of East Asia during both the Opium Wars and World War II, “The Poppy War” combines fantasy and history to create a world similar and yet dissimilar to our own. The main character is not your typical hero, and this graphic story is not your typical fantasy book.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold Toshikazu Kawaguchi

The concept of magical realism, or magic taking place in our world, is not something I’ve read a lot of, but is the style that Kawaguchi uses to discuss topics such as death and loss in this story. This short novel, translated from Japanese, asks the reader a very important question: if you could go back in time, who would you want to meet? This novel is perfect for those who like books with lots of meaning yet a fiction story?

Six of Crows

Leigh Bardugo

Six people meet by fate and set out on an almost impossible quest: steal a scientist before he unleashes a drug that could wipe out most of the population. Throughout the novel, the characters who seemingly hate each other start to bond, creating their own “found family.” “Six of Crows” is a fast paced fantasy read for young (or old) readers who love adventure, magic, and heists.

Lovely War

Julie Berry

An odd combination you’ve probably never heard of: historical fiction and Greek mythology. The novel is told by Aphrodite, Ares, and Hephaestus, who intertwine their own lives with the lives of four people living during World War I. In this unique story, the gods and mortals learn that love conquers war. This novel is perfect for lovers of the gods and history.

TikTok tunes

How

social media app is reshaping the music industry

from TIKTOK page A1

Countless posts of fans raving about the catchy synth-pop track propelled its popularity and prompted remixes and covers on the app. TikTok’s ability to revive songs of the past became even more convincing when “Running Up That Hill” re-entered music charts for the first time since its initial release. The primary reason for TikTok’s impact with music is its popularity with young people. 42 percent of TikTok’s user base is under the age of 24: a demographic group of more active music listeners. “You’ve got tens of millions of younger people… who are listening to music on [social media] platforms every day at a rate that’s unprecedented,” Russ Crupnick, a professor at the NYU Music and Performing Arts Professions department, explains in an interview with Silver Chips.

It also helps that TikTok content revolves around music, as each video is accompanied by ei-

he saw a video using a Nujabes song that prompted him to check out his discography.

TikTok’s ability to send songs straight to the top of the charts has certainly not gone unnoticed. Many artists and record labels use these types of platforms to promote their music. Crupnick explains that labels have the expertise to help navigate social media and use it to their advantage to keep artists relevant and popular.

“If you’re better at reading music than you are at reading comments, your label can help you to really put the best foot forward on social,” he says.

This change in music marketing and promotion, although necessary, plays into the pitfalls of the TikTok music effect. Some new music created today appears to focus more on profit and social media virality potential rather than the music itself. This newly emerging genre of aptly-labeled “TikTok Music” seems more artificial and deliberately crafted to attract popularity, particularly on TikTok.

today to include elements like a short introduction, a memorable melody, and a vivid beat drop. “It’s got to be shorter, it’s got to be snappier, it’s got to bring you in,” Crupnick explains. “You need to catch somebody’s attention in the first five seconds.” A prime example of TikTok’s influence on the way music is made lies in 19-year-old Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license.” Rodrigo revealed in an interview with The New York Times that she deliberately included a subtle sound to serve as a cue before the beat drop, which would facilitate the filming of TikToks with the song. “I wanted people to

RUSS CRUPNICK

ther a song or a clip of someone speaking. Songs spark viral trends, creators post their musical talent, and users discuss up-and-coming artists and albums. The app’s own “Year on TikTok 2021 Music Report” states that “music is at the heart of the TikTok experience.”

Crupnick also describes how social media has fundamentally shifted the relationship between artists and fans. “[If] an artist did a radio interview, or was on the cover of Rolling Stone, or did a late night, or was on Oprah [in the past]… that was the extent to which we got to know our artists,” he points out. “[Social media has] made it so much easier for artists and fans to connect with one an other.”

These platforms have also giv en artists a new avenue to get their music out into the world and gain a following. Many more music creators start independently, gain popularity, and watch as record labels come to them. “For a lot of artists who aren’t A-list or B-list, it can potentially give them the op portunity to kind of percolate up,” Crupnick says.

The plethora of music content on TikTok opens up a world of discovery for the app’s users. One way or another, many find that the app has shaped their music taste. Junior Laila Burege shares that although she doesn’t typically listen to much reggae, the songs she has discovered on TikTok have influenced her taste. “Bob Marley is not [an] unpopular art ist, but there’s definitely some Bob Marley songs that I listen to because I see [them accompany] a TikTok,” Burege explains.

Senior NuAmen Audena, co-founder of Blair Album Club, found one of his top songs of the month in Hemlocke Springs’ track “girlfriend” through the app. “The [song’s] bridge went viral on TikTok and I’d never heard of [Hemlocke Springs] until I heard the bridge, and I was like, ‘Dang, this is good,’” Audena recalls. Similarly, TikTok pointed him to the genre-blending artist Nujabes, now one of Audena’s favorites, when

A prominent case of this is the song “abcdefu” by singer GAYLE, which blew up on the app in late 2021. Its status on TikTok made “abcdefu” a chart-topper and GAYLE more well known, but many complain that the song is a mere marketing ploy created with only money and social media popularity in mind. Audena agrees, contending that “abcdefu” grew popular for the wrong reasons. “It was clear that they made it for TikTok, and it went viral, so

NUAMEN AUDENA

make TikToks where they could transition into it,” Rodrigo explained.

TikTok’s tendency to dictate what’s big in the music industry has proven itself to be a double-edged sword. The app, along with social media platforms as a whole, has transformed the way viewers discover and consume music, and how artists grow from

it worked… [but] it just feels really weird when people are playing into TikTok purposefully.” Audena remarks that now, many artists consider TikTok at the inception of their songs rather than simply as a promotional tool. “They’re saying, ‘What music can I make that would go viral on Tiktok?’”

The answer: something catchier and more fast-paced. Social media has shaped a lot of new music

several thousand to several million monthly listeners. Serving the image of both a superficial platform churning out the same profit-driven songs as well as an endless landscape of earnest musicians waiting to be discovered, TikTok’s complicated relationship with music holds steady for now. Only time will tell how long this delicate balance will persist.

[Social media has] made it so much easier for artists and fans to connect with one another.

They’re saying, ‘What music can I make that would go viral on Tiktok?’

the

Hit & Myth

Photos by Jonathan Cumblidge

Top Chef Chips Style

Chips gets a taste of culinary competition with TikTok chef Milan Bhayana

By Julia Lian and Viveka Sinha Staff Writers

TikTok to Top Chef

In the bustling kitchen of his Bethesda home, TikTok chef and Top Chef competitor Milan Bhayana whips up an omelette, the dish that first inspired him to start cooking. “The first time I really liked cooking, I was probably six or seven. I watched a movie and this guy made a really good omelette, so I [wanted]... to make a really good omelette for two or three years,” Bhayana says in an interview with Silver Chips. In just a few hours, Silver Chips staff will be hard at work replicating his dish, fighting to be crowned “Chips Cooks Champ.”

Bhayana, a junior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase, gained traction on his sister’s TikTok account in 2020 after she posted a video of the Beef Wellington he made for Thanksgiving. Bhayana didn’t expect the sudden popularity. “I was honestly surprised. I didn’t think that many people could just watch me cook. I don’t even give recipes in my videos, it’s just me cooking,” he says. “But people like watching it, and I like making the videos, so it works well.”

into the competition and appears to have a plan in mind. On the other hand, Jackie Wang, a junior on Business Staff, seems unprepared. “I plan to make an omelette… with eggs,” she ventures.

doing in comparison to her competitors, Sophia replies, “I’m not looking at my competitors. [Keeping] my eyes on the prize. I’m pretty confident in my omelette-making skills.” Meanwhile, Jackie ponders food safety standards. “Do you need to wash spinach?” she asks.

When asked if she believes she is going to win, Jackie answers “no” without hesitation. “I’m not the greatest chef, [and] these two seem to know what they are talking about. I don’t know if I can match that. I do know how to make scrambled eggs,” she explains.

Junior staff writer Pari Shrestha, the final contestant, comments on the challenge of the competition, “We’re not talking scrambled eggs here. This is a whole different level.” Pari plans to include “lots of greens” in her omelette. “I’m not confident about my egg-cooking skills… but it’s not like I’m not confident because of the other contestants,” she remarks.

The contestants separate into their stations, and the cooking mania begins. Everyone grabs three eggs, cracks them open, and starts whisking. Pari grabs a huge fistful of spinach and dunks it into her egg mixture. “As I said, I love greens,” she says.

When asked how she feels she’s

As the cooking progresses, the three competitors pursue vastly different strategies. Jackie goes all in on her plating, abandoning the taste aspect of the rubric. “I’m trying to think of what to do for my presentation. I’m like Gordon Ramsay in a different body.” Suddenly, an idea strikes her. “I’ll put the egg in there!” she says, brandishing a bell pepper. “See, I need some points, because I’m not going [to get] the taste points.”

On the other hand, Sophia and Pari go for striking flavor profiles. “Being able to see the ingredients laid out beforehand, I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to do,” Sophia says as she stirs her spinach on the stove.

She seems very confident that she will be able to secure the win. “Some of my competitors’ knife skills look a little questionable,” she says, eyeing Pari as she chops bell peppers.

20 minutes in, Pari and Sophia have their omelettes on the stove, while Jackie is still experimenting with bell peppers. Upon completing her omelette ahead of her rivals, Sophia is feeling confident. “I’m feeling like I’m dominating right now,” she says.

Once all three contestants have their omelettes off the stove, it’s almost time for judging.

Judging

In order to determine who really deserves the title of “Chips Cooks Champ,” the omelettes were first taken next door to neighbor, chef, and great-grandmother Nisha Chopra. As a lover of spice, Chopra was a fan of Pari’s Gochujang sauce. “I like all of them, but I like hot food… so for me, [Pari’s] becomes number one,” she says.

Although Chopra loved the taste of Pari’s omelette, she adds that she likes all of the competitors’ presentations. “I love the presentation of all [of them], and that’s number one,” she says. “If it’s presented well, [people] will eat anything.”

The competitors then returned to the kitchen to receive opinions

from the Lian household parents. Mrs. Lian’s winner for taste was Sophia, with Pari coming second, and Jackie coming in last. “I mean this one is just a little bit too cheesy for me. Other than that it’s good,” she says about Pari’s omelette. As for the presentation of the omelettes, Jackie was her winner, while Sophia came in second. “[Jackie’s and Sophia’s] are more colorful… [and] I like bright color,” Mrs. Lian says, looking at Jackie’s vibrant dish full of orange and red peppers.

A year later in 2021, Bhayana and his mother received the opportunity to compete on Top Chef Family Style together. “I actually just put my email in my bio, and this guy emailed me [saying] ‘Hey, I’m casting for Top Chef’… A month later, I flew to LA for Top Chef,” Bhayana recalls. “It was a really cool experience.”

Bhayana and his mother made it to episode six of the show and even won a Quickfire Challenge. Reflecting on the experience, Bhayana encourages other young aspiring chefs to continue working toward their goals. “You [have] to take a lot of chances. You can do anything you set your mind to,” Bhayana says. “Work hard and seize opportunities that come to you.”

Chips Cooks

On Nov. 21, Silver Chips staffers gather at the Lian household kitchen to recreate Milan’s renowned omelette with their own twists. They were told beforehand that they would be scored on their omelette’s taste and presentation, as well as their creativity. Senior Features Editor Sophia Stein hints at her ambitious omelette plans. “I don’t want to reveal all my ingredients yet because I don’t want to give my competition any ideas, but I’m going to be making a classic in the Stein house with a twist,” Sophia says.

Sophia is quite confident going

“Originally, I was just going to have a regular boring old omelette like the other two, but halfway through, I decided to be creative. These are bell peppers with eggs in [there]. If you can’t tell, I love bell peppers because they are the only peppers I can handle. I think I will thrive in the creativity aspect, [and] the presentational aspect.”

“I wanted to spice it up a little bit, so in the middle, I have Mexican cheese, spinach, which I cooked before adding it in, and tomato. On the top, I [heated] another layer of cheese and tomato. I also have butter chicken dipping sauce [on the sides]. I think I’m going to get pretty high ratings across the board.”

“I wanted to pre-sauté the vegetables before putting them in, which is what I did. But [I wanted to] make it unique and distinct from others, so I just used a bunch of Gochujang. I feel like it would give it a unique and delicious taste. I [also] added a little sliver of Gochujang on the side. I love greens so I used a bunch of spinach… and green onions.”

Mr. Lian, on the other hand, had opinions more consistent with Chopra’s. He took his time with each omelette, pausing in between samplings with a contemplative look on his face. “I think I need coffee or something to clean my mouth,” he jokes.

After a minute of careful consideration, he decides that his winner for taste is Pari, with Sophia in second, and Jackie in last. “I like the cheese level [of Pari’s] because I like very cheesy stuff,” Mr. Lian says. However, like Mrs. Lian, he also ranked Pari’s last for presen tation. Although presentation came in second, he was sure to state that her’s was the most creative.

Chips Cooks Champ

To determine the final Chips Cooks Champ, each competitor’s rankings were given a point value. For each first place in taste, they received three points to their score, while second and third place for taste received two and one points respectively. For each first place in presentation, they received three points to their score, while second and third place for presentation received two and one points respectively. For ties, both competitors received one point. Jackie’s final score was 8 points, Pari’s final score was 10 points, and Sophia’s final score was 11 points. By a slim margin, Sophia was crowned the Champion of Chips Cooks.

2022 Blair Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees

The inaugural induction ceremony was held at Blair on Saturday, Dec. 3.

Blair Spanish Teacher Retires

Blair Sports Teams that Made Sports Playoffs

Cross Country, Field Hockey, Football, Golf, Boys’ Soccer, Girls’ Soccer

COURTESTY OF JULIA LIAN

I’m not looking at my competitors. [Keeping] my eyes on the prize.

SOPHIA STEIN

ELIZA COOKE

You can do anything you set your mind to. Work hard and seize opportunities that come to you.

MILAN BHAYANA

SOPHIA STEIN senior

JACKIE WANG

junior

PARI SHRESTHA junior

FINAL RESULTS Competitors display their omelette dishes.

Stay tuned for the video of the competition @silver.chips on Instagram!

Montgomery County Councilmember for a Day

Malaika Wande

Gale Shipp

By Sedise Tiruneh Culture Columnist/Senior Writer

The holiday season represents a time of abundance, gratitude, and togetherness across the world. Through a diverse range of cultures and communities, this atmosphere is manifested in the foods shared among families and friends during festivities. While some are creative homages to ancient folktales, others serve as the embodiment of well-wishes and optimism for the future. Holiday celebrations and their respective treats are a wonderful way to bring people together and immortalize rich and diverse traditions.

One function of holidays is to commemorate religious celebrations and their particular feasts.

For Chanukah, a popular Israeli pastry is sufganiyot: golden jelly donuts covered in

COURTESY OF

powdered sugar. The Middle Eastern delicacy presents a tantalizing blend of a crispy exterior and a light and airy interior, as well as a collision of tart and sweet flavors through the strawberry filling and sugary topping. Professional and home cooks alike prepare the dish by fermenting a simple, lightly sweetened dough which helps create a fluffy and decadent bite. Small balls of the spongy dough are subsequently fried in neutral oil and injected with a tart jelly; alternate versions can include savory fillings of meat, fish, or mushrooms. Traditional preparation of this delicacy uses a strawberry filling and a liberal dusting of confectioner’s sugar. While common in Israel, versions of the delicacy can be traced back to Jewish communities in 15th-century Germany. Earlier versions of the dish, consisting of a jam sandwich fried in oil, were seen as a delicacy due to the scarci-

ty of sugar and the skill required to make the fluffy confection. With the arrival of Jewish immigrants in Israel in the early 20th century came newfound popularity for the Chanukah treat.

Though its history spans centuries, the mythos of this fried dessert is linked with a Jewish folktale: when Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, God comforted them with a sweet treat— sufganiyot. Though there is not much biblical basis for the folktale, the pastry remains a staple of Chanukah celebrations.

tion and fresh flavors by baking the batter and incorporating additions such as red bean paste or brown

KATALINA LI KARIS TEBO

Spanning religious and geopolitical barriers, Lunar New Year celebrations take place in nations across Asia in January or February each year. In China, the holiday is commemorated with many dishes and desserts, one of which is nian gao, a sticky and sweet glutinous rice cake. The dish is prepared by making a smooth batter with a base of glutinous rice flour, sugar, coconut milk, and common leaveners, and is traditionally steamed and served plain. Contemporary techniques offer easier prepara-

sugar.

The dish is not only a pleasant addition to Lunar New Year feasts, but also symbolizes well wishes, luck, and prosperity for the New Year. The symbolism of the chewy treat is rooted in the linguistic anatomy of the dessert’s name: the Chinese characters for “nian” and “gao” share their pronunciations with the words for “year” and “tall,” respectively. This often leads to a clever translation that declares “year high,” promising higher income, growth, and success for those who make and share the delicacy.

Apart from the linguistics of the dish, the surrounding folklore paints a rich and mystical origin story. One Chinese folktale postulates that the confection was crafted as an offering for the Kitchen

God, the moral authority in domestic affairs and relationships in Chinese mythology. This appeasement sought to preserve family honor by sticking the god’s lips shut with the sticky sweet nature of the rice cake. Another legend dates to the discovery of the dessert during a military siege as starving citizens were advised to dig beneath the city wall to find food. To their fortune, the wall’s foundation was built with blocks of the glutinous rice cake.

Holiday celebrations and their respective foods bear great significance beyond just a means for sustenance. They tell the stories of cultural history and bring people together year after year. As families and communities reintroduce festive treats into their palates, the flavors and textures become forever associated with these seasons of well

wishes, togetherness, and commemoration, evoking the memories of our values, histories, and celebrations past.

Chips Clips

Potluck Party

COURTESTY OF JAY CHAO

Five friends stand in line at the entrance of a holiday potluck party. They have each brought an absurd white elephant gift—imagine receiving $120,404 in Monopoly cash! Using the following information, can you determine who brings which dish, as well as where they stand in line and what wackiness they have wrapped?

1 Daze stands as far away from the butterscotch-cranberry cookies as possible.

2 Hope stands right in front of the friend who brings grapefruit bubble tea. 3 Lee stands right behind Hal. 4 Pei stands somewhere behind the friend who brings oatmeal bath bombs. 5 The friend who brings a crate of empty easter eggs stands second in line.

6 The friend who brings a sausage platter is fourth in line. 7 The friend who brings a tiara brings a carbohydrate dish.

8 The friend who brings garlic-parmesan popcorn brings fuzzy socks for toddlers.

9 The friend who brings peppermint waffles has exactly one vowel in their name.

Feel free to contact puzzle editor Elina Lee at puzzleelina@gmail.com with the subject “Chips Clips December” with questions, comments, concerns, or any other feedback.

Musical Messages

Scan the QR codes to see the solutions to the Potluck Party, Sudoku, and Musical Messages puzzles.

Potluck Party Musical Messages

ELINA LEE

Sudoku

ELINA LEE

LUCIA WANG

the boulder, as toes can adjust and rotate on a small hold much better than a whole foot.

With this advice, I took on the first few paths, which served as a solid warmup. Then, I moved to the boulder’s primary route, a V1 called “Center face.” The hardest part was moving my left foot up to a hold because there were so few places to stand. Another added difficulty was that a large tree root stuck out and blocked an ideal path. Falling on it was a safety concern, and avoiding it made the climb harder. Ultimately, I decided to move on to another boulder.

That said, climbing is all about going back and trying again until one finally reaches the top. Josh told me about a time when he returned to the same route on four different occasions until he finally beat it—something normal even for

expert climbers like him. I’ll be going back to the climbing gym and Northwest Branch more and more, transitioning from a beginner to an intermediate climber and besting gravity on routes far harder than “Don’t fall right.”

By Zachary Williamson Sports Columnist

In most sports, the enemy’s the opponent. In a few, the enemy’s oneself. In rock climbing, the enemy’s gravity. If it weren’t for the pesky laws of physics, rock climbing would be easy peasy. But the sport’s difficulty is what makes it fun. There’s little more rewarding than trying the same climbing route over and over before finally surmounting it.

Last month I went bouldering—a type of rock climbing in which climbers don’t wear any ropes or harnesses, but also usually don’t ascend over 20 feet. It’s great for climbers of any skill level, especially those with a fear of heights.

The first time I went bouldering was at a rock climbing gym last month. A bunch of color-coded holds were arranged to form different routes that climbers could attempt. Each route is assigned a grade from V0 to V17, with V0 denoting the easiest climbs and V17

the most difficult.

I was able to do various V0s, but I couldn’t summit more than a V1. By the end, my arms felt like noodles, and the subsequent days brought on greater soreness than I’d ever felt before.

This past weekend, I made my way to Northwest Branch, up Colesville Road from Blair, which has some of the finest bouldering routes Maryland has to offer. With me was my friend Josh, who’s been climbing for nine years, works as a rock climbing coach, and is an expert climber. He served as my guide and coach for the outing.

I borrowed a pair of his rock climbing shoes, and was reassured to have his safety mats underneath me. The first boulder we encountered had multiple routes, ranging from V0 to V1. Hoping for some tips, I asked Josh what advice he usually gives to beginner climbers. He told me to focus more on putting my toes on the footholds rather than forcing my whole foot onto

Close by was a fascinating unmarked route that could be started in a seated position. Seated positions are generally more difficult because less of the one’s weight is going onto the boulder and more of one’s strength is required to get to a standing position.

Josh made it look like a piece of cake, but it was a completely different story when I gave it a go. I leapt to another hold, but couldn’t fully grab it and ended up on the mat. My fingers were scraped up as a result, but I thankfully didn’t incur any serious injuries. When I started a little bit higher up and from a standing position I was able to climb the boulder.

The final route we did was “Don’t fall right”—an accurate title because slipping to the right would result in a long, rocky fall into a river. Josh tackled it without breaking a sweat and then gave great advice about which holds to grab, but my limited height and climbing experience proved too difficult to overcome. After nearly ten grueling attempts, I threw in the towel.

Queer spaces in sports

Queer Blair athletes reflect on sexuality and sports

By Teddy Curtin Staff Writer

Where only first names appear, names have been changed to protect the identity of sources.

To some, a record in the 100-meter breaststroke, a personal best in the 50-yard dash, or the crack of a home run hit are unrelated to sexual identity. To others,

sexuality.

“Socially, there [was] a certain detachment from my teammates… because it felt like this label of sexuality had somehow created a barrier between our shared experiences, and the stuff we had in common somehow was less in common just due to my sexuality,” he explains. “In a lot of ways, it was really jarring entering really hyper masculine sports spaces and feeling as though I was like an alien in those spaces.”

worried about them thinking I was weird, but thinking I was not also a part of that [culture].”

room or even practice environment.” Donaldson says.

I was not so much worried about them thinking I was weird, but thinking I was not aslo a part of that [culture].

WILLIAM DONALDSON

the impact of sexuality on the high school sports experience perfectly represents the struggles and successes of queer youth.

William Donaldson, who graduated from Blair in 2019, was part of the Blair baseball program for four years and the basketball program for two. Donaldson came out as gay in middle school to his mother and peers and to his father on the way to basketball practice.

“I came out to my dad separately,” he says. “[It was] kind of a funny vibe coming out to your dad and then going to this very masculine energy scenario in a basketball practice setting, where I’m the only out gay person [or] queer person.”

Donaldson was often the only openly queer member of both the basketball and baseball teams during his time at Blair. Although he never felt overtly bullied, Donaldson felt a constant sense of isolation from his teammates due to his

Michael, a former Blair track and field athlete, relates to Donaldson’s experience. He describes sports as a place where he felt out of place among his teammates due to their different experiences in sexuality. “I didn’t really know how to interact in a way that felt natural. I probably was observing, but not participating too much,” he says.

“I was not so much

Michael and Donaldson did not feel they were directly discriminated against, but often experienced their teammates taking part in “locker room” talk or other practices that inadvertently made fun of their sexuality, often in front of them. For Donaldson and Michael, these comments and jokes supported a structure of heteronormativity that posed two difficult options: conform to an uncomfortable team culture or feel like an outsider.

“Having so few visible, out queer athletes at Blair made me feel a lot of pressure to conform. More so to the… masculine standards of a baseball locker

While high school sports can be a place where many male athletes feel they must conceal their sexuality to relate to teammates, many queer athletes in Blair girls’ sports feel that their teammates have provided support and community for their sexuality.

Female athletes on Blair crew have used the accepting community to find confidence in expressing their sexual identity. For athletes like Blair junior Hannah Hekhuis, a varsity rower who identifies as lesbian, crew was a space to connect with people like herself: athletes who also identify as queer.

“I came out during my experience [on Blair crew], and I think I came out to people partly because of crew,” Hekhuis explains. “Crew is a space where a lot of my friends are part of the queer community. And I just felt very comfortable with myself.”

The crew team at Blair assigns athletes to boats that are based on their orientation, regardless of their assigned gender at birth.

“We are [a] very inclusive [team]. Whatever you identify with, you can be in that boat,” Daphne Payne, a junior member of the crew team who identifies as asexual, says.

Team sports have also supported girls’ sports athletes at Blair in the development of their sexualities and provided communities for meeting others with similar identities.

Riley Fasteau, a junior softball player, says that the intersection between sports

Scan this QR code for a scholarship application for queer athletes.

and sexual identity serves as a group of people she can relate to inside of her sport. For her, softball created a “community within a community.” At tryouts for club teams or at recruiting events, Fasteau often uses her identity to connect with other players and teammates that she hasn’t met before.

“[My sexuality] can be a sort of anecdote when I’m at a tryout or a clinic. When I meet other players. I ask ‘Are you [queer]?… Me too.’ It’s bonding.”

Although girls’ sports are generally more accepting of different sexualities at Blair, they are still subjected to the expectations and stereotypes of masculinity within athletics.

“I feel like there is such a stereotype in women’s sports to be gay, and I feel like that kind of portrayed into masculinity because gay women and bisexual women are seen as more masculine,” Fasteau says. “It’s this idea that masculinity plays into sports, and with queer men its less common of a thing that people discuss because queer men are seen as less masculine than queer women.”

WHILE CLIMBING BOULDERS Zach scans the route to place his hands.

ALEXANDERLIU

PHOTOS BY HENRY REICHLE

By John Ernst Sports Editor

The NFL has entered a new age. The risk-all, score-big mentality has taken the game to a new level. Offense has trumped defense, teams chase points, and general managers spend big on offensive skill position players. In 2022, 21 out of the NFL’s 32 teams spent more money on offensive players than defensive players.

Offensive risk has also increased in the league. In 10 years, fourth down conversion attempts have nearly doubled. In 2011, teams attempted an average of 13.44 fourth down conversions a year. In 2021, they attempted an average of 27.48. Sure, the stakes are higher, but trust in the defense is lost, making for a boring game. Despite the commitment to offense, the high scoring games that the league prizes haven’t come.

Total scoring in the last decade has stayed almost exactly the same. Teams scored averages of 22.19 points per game and 22.98 points per game in 2011 and 2021 respectively. Other than shootouts like the Rams vs. Chiefs Monday Night Football clash in 2018 that yielded 105 points, or the Bills vs. Chiefs playoff showdown earlier in 2022 that resulted in 78 total points, high scoring games have been hard to come by in recent years, despite the increased risk and financial commitment teams place into their offenses.

Playcalling and the flow of games has also changed. Passing attempts take up 55 to 60 percent of offensive play calling, as the old style ground and pound game has been traded in for an “air raid” passing approach. Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry is one of the few running backs remaining in today’s NFL who exist mostly as a traditional run-upthe-middle back. Young running backs are expected to be able to catch the ball.

Christian McCaffrey, Austin Ekeler, and Alvin Kamara have all amassed nearly triple-digit receptions. Screen, sweeps, and pre-snap movement pioneered by young coaches like Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan have changed playcalling forever, involving every player in the passing game. There’s movement on the screen every play, and one has to wonder

SOPHIA LI

if it’s actually doing anything when a tight end slides a yard on a motion.

With the importance of downfield passing and receiver running backs increasing, quarterbacks have become more essential in an offense than ever. But they too are changing: this season, the emergence of a new age of quarterbacks has been more than evident. Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson, all of whom won the Super Bowl in the 2010s, have gone 5-6, 4-8, and 3-8 respectively, heralding a changing of the guard in NFL star QBs. As a Packers fan who grew up watching these players every Sunday, the new wave of talent has been hard to get used to, but also provided excitement to the game. Most new quarterbacks who have succeeded in today’s NFL are gunslingers who push the ball downfield with big arms, resulting in big plays and numerous highlights.

To find the top quarterbacks, just check the standings. In the AFC, the three teams with the best records—the Chiefs (9-2), Dolphins (8-3), and Bills (9-3)—all field gunslinger quarterbacks who have the arms to complete “big plays” (20+ yards) at a moment’s notice. Patrick Mahomes, Tua Tagovailoa, and Josh Allen, the teams’ respective quarterbacks, all rank in the top five when it comes to passing yards per game, averaging just over 300 yards per game, and passing yards per attempt, where they average 8.3 yards per attempt. Older quarterbacks like Brady and Rodgers record only 277.4 and 223.5 passing yards per game and 6.5 and 6.8 passing yards per attempt, respectively. These statistics tell the whole story—teams that push the ball downfield and connect on the deep routes are winning games and ushering in a new age of NFL before our eyes.

The new era means many things for fans. Not only has the NFL catered high-offense no-defense games to fans as showstopping entertainment, low-scoring, strong-defense games are being pushed out of the sport. As an avid fantasy football player, this is good news for me. But while some fans prefer the big plays and highlights, I miss the days when a five-yard run was a big deal and each team grinded for a first down. The high intensity of slower NFL games from my youth is nearly extinct, replaced by a new “exciting” and “fun” flavor of football. I guess we need to just sit back and enjoy the show.

From rink to court and back again

A look behind the scenes at Capital One Arena

By Caleb Plank and Eliza Warren Staff Writers

Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. hosts an estimated 220 events each year. By the end of 2022, it will have hosted 49 Washington Capitals games, 47 Washington Wizards games, 16 Georgetown Hoyas Men’s Basketball Team games, and concerts featuring musicians such as Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar. The arena’s incredible versatility requires an equal share of attention and hard work from the crews preparing the arena for the events year-round.

When sports seasons or events overlap, three different crews—the day crew, the overnight crew, and the event crew—work on the stadium. According to Larry Barkley, the Floor Manager at Capital One Arena who oversees the overnight crew, the arena is busy from October to May each year.

PHILIP WESTMORELAND

The overnight crew, also known as the changeover crew, works between dusk and dawn to transform the arena from court to court. “We have a lot of things going on [during the day],” Barkley explains. “[Changing the floor] takes up a large space, so we usually do [it] overnight so as not to inconvenience anyone else during the day.”

While games and concerts take place, the changeover crew goes home to sleep and the event crew takes over. Philip Westmoreland, an Event Operations Manager at Capital One Arena who oversees the event crew, explains that his team’s job is to ensure that the arena floor is kept clean at all times and that all necessary equipment is working and running smoothly. “If anything goes wrong during a basketball game, we get out there and fix it. If they break a basket, we’ll replace the basket,” he says. “We are support. Whatever [the teams or artists] need us to do, we help

them out.”

Westmoreland also discusses the challenges that come with being a member of the event crew. “If we ever [have] to replace a basket [during a game], just doing it in a timely fashion—because [the fans are] sitting there looking at you— can be a little nerve-racking,” he says.

Once an event ends, the changeover crew and the event crew work together to quickly set up for the next show. “[If there is a basketball game before a hockey game], all the crews get together [after the basketball game]. We drop the baskets [and] clear the floor,” Westmoreland explains. “Once the basketball court is [taken off], we start putting up the glass around [the rink and] putting in the rest of the dashers. Then, once the glass is up, we’ll take up the insulated flooring to uncover the ice.”

According to an article published in Washingtonian magazine, the arena floor consists of three layers. The top layer is the basketball court, which is made up of slabs of wood that fit together like a puzzle and can be put down and picked up piece by piece. Underneath it is a layer of insulated flooring that keeps the third layer, which is the ice, frozen at all times.

When the changeover crew leaves, the overnight crew typically has five to nine hours of floor transformation work ahead of them, depending on whether there is a hockey or a basketball game next. However, events will occasionally go long and disrupt the flow of the change. “Sometimes we have to wait for events that may [have] run into overtime,” Barkley says. “We

like to immediately get to work [so] sitting back and watching and waiting is probably the hardest part of the job.”

One reason that the transformations take almost all night is that the crew does the majority of its work by hand, despite the many tools and materials at their disposal. “Machinery-wise, we have about five forklifts that we use… to carry around different things such as the basketball floor or the hockey glass,” Barkley explains. “I’d say about 80 percent of everything that we [do]... we [do] hands-on.”

Along with the different flooring setup for each sport, hockey and basketball also have different seating arrangements. As basketball courts are smaller than hockey rinks, the overnight crew must arrange extra courtside seats for

basketball games. To make the changeover crew’s jobs easier, StageRight—a risers and event staging company—renovated Capital One Arena in 2019 to include a system called the Telematic 100DX², which is a set of dual risers that can be efficiently managed for both sports.

Working at Capital One Arena isn’t all floor transformations and cleaning though—it also comes with its own benefits and experiences.

Westmoreland is a zamboni driver during intermission at the Capitals games, and Barkley says he enjoys the opportunity to come across people he may have never met otherwise. “I get to meet everyone from around the world right next door,” he says. “[I get to meet] folks [I] may not have encountered in everyday life.”

I get to meet everyone from around the world right next door. [I get to meet] folks [I] may not have encountered in everyday life.

LARRY BARKLEY

We are support. Whatever [the teams or artists] need us to do, we help them out.

CAPITAL ONE ARENA The changeover team picking up the basketball court after a game.

COURTESY OF DAVID BONNAR

COURTESY OF DAVID BONNAR

Kicking off a controversial cup

By Dyan Nguyen and Nora Pierce Staff Writers

“There’s kind of nothing like it… it’s as close to something that connects us all as anything,” Blair social studies teacher and varsity girls’ soccer coach Robert Gibb says about the World Cup. This year’s tournament, which began on Nov. 20 and will end on Dec. 18, is being held amid widespread criticisms of host country Qatar and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).

Football, more commonly known as soccer in the U.S., is the most popular sport in the world, giving the World Cup a unique global spotlight. “I think [the tournament] has an extremely positive benefit on the world because [soccer is] really a language all [on] its own,” Blair junior Lukas Barbieri says.

In December 2010, FIFA announced that Qatar had won the bid for the 2022 World Cup, making it the first Middle Eastern country to host the tournament. During the subsequent 12 years, Qatar has built seven stadiums, an airport, new public transportation systems, and around 100 hotels in preparation for this year’s event.

The Qatari government and FIFA announced in January 2020 their commitment to “reducing and offsetting all carbon emissions related to the [tournament]”—a promise which, if honored, would make the 2022 event the first carbon-neutral World Cup. According to FIFA, the tournament will result in greenhouse gas emissions totaling 3.63 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent which will be offset through the purchase of carbon credits that fund sustainable development.

However, some independent researchers believe that FIFA is vastly underestimating the event’s carbon footprint. Carbon footprint calculation app Greenly projected that greenhouse gasses generated by the construction of new stadiums and fans flying to attend the World Cup will place the emissions total closer to six million metric tons.

In addition to their ef-

fect on the environment, the new stadiums required to host the World Cup—which saw three million fans attend in 2018—resulted in construction companies hiring over 30,000 foreign workers, according to the Qatari government. 1.7 million migrant workers make up 90% of the workforce in Qatar, which has a total population of 2.8 million.

Concerns about the treatment of migrant laborers, most of whom are from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and the Philippines, have brought up the issue of labor rights in Qatar. Human rights organization Amnesty International reported that migrant workers were provided inadequate accommodations, lied to about their salaries, and required to pay high fees to apply for their jobs in Qatar that left them in debt. Workers have also reported having their salaries withheld and being threatened by their employers when they brought up living condition concerns.

Many of these issues stem from Qatar’s “kafala” labor system, under which migrant workers are entirely dependent on their employers for their movement in and out of their host country, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation. While the nation promised to reform its labor policy in 2014, Amnesty International found in 2021 that many abusive old practices had resurfaced, such as employers using salaries and benefits as leverage to prevent workers from leaving their jobs.

Qatar’s high temperatures, which can rise to above 113 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, have also posed a risk for workers’ health and safety. In February 2021, The Guardian reported that at least 6,500 migrant workers in Qatar have died since the country won the bid to host the World Cup in 2010. While the Qatari government claimed that the number was misrepresented, as it would have included those whose work was unrelated to the World Cup or who died of natural causes, inconsistent official statistics make it difficult to confirm the exact number of workers who have died in construction for the World Cup.

Eleanor Moose, a Blair

senior and a member of Amnesty International USA’s Youth Collective, a leadership body of youth activists for the human rights organization, has been advocating for awareness surrounding human rights issues in Qatar. “We forget that even just streaming these [games] and buying those tickets will [profit] the Qatari government and Qatari organizations,” Moose says.

Qatar’s policy regarding the LGBTQ community has also been a source of contention. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and can result in up to three years in prison. Captains of European teams, including England, Germany, and Denmark, originally intended to wear the “OneLove” armband during their matches in solidarity with the LGBTQ community. However, FIFA announced on Nov. 21 that any player wearing the armband would receive a yellow card, causing players to drop the demonstration to avoid risking suspension from a match.

While some fans and players have denounced Qatar’s treatment of the LGBTQ community, others believe that the nation has the right to uphold its beliefs. “I think you can’t hate on a country for holding their values, whether they’re right or wrong in your eyes,” Blair senior Dagmawi Addis says. “It’s their country, their rules.”

The controversies surrounding this World Cup have been disheartening for many soccer fans, including Blair social studies teacher and JV boys’ soccer coach Douglas Jimenez. “My family… lives and breathes soccer… which is why it’s really disappointing [to] see an organization like FIFA that monetizes this and capitalizes on people’s passion for the sport.”

Despite the controversies, an estimated five billion fans, including many Blair students and teachers, will continue to follow the World Cup and support their country’s national team. “Some of the matches are during school, so I’ll definitely be watching during my classes,” Blair junior Gabe Marra-Perrault says.

For many fans, soccer is more than just a sport. “Soccer is a big part of my family and how I grew up,” Alegria Mar-

tins, a Blair sophomore who will be supporting the Portuguese national team during the World Cup, says. “We get all of our family over to one house to watch … It’s like a huge family reunion every game.”

Soccer transcends households and families. For the soccer community, the World Cup brings together fans from all over the world to bond over a single sport.

eration,” Jimenez says.

Local Silver Spring fans regularly gather at the 4 Corners Pub to watch World Cup matches. On Nov. 25, the bar area was crowded with both American and English fans eager to watch the highly anticipated U.S. vs. England match. The match pulled in a total of 15.3 million viewers, setting a record for the most watched men’s soccer

“I’ve met so many people from so many different countries and you’re talking soccer and arguing over who’s the best team,” Gibb, who has attended multiple World Cups, says. “It’s cool because all of these people are… all passionate about soccer and I’m passionate about soccer.”

Many fans who cannot travel the 6,900 miles from the DMV area to Qatar go to local bars and restaurants to watch the matches together. The D.C. Council passed legislation in September allowing Washington, D.C. bars to stay open 24 hours a day and serve alcohol between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. for the duration of the World Cup, accommodating early match kickoff times for American fans. “I want to [watch a game at a D.C. bar] at least once because it only happens once a gen -

match in U.S. television history. “It’s the best place in the neighborhood to watch soccer, relax, and have a good time,” 4 Corners Pub patron Gerald McCall says.

The World Cup attracts billions of viewers every four years; this year has been no different. On Nov. 26, 88,966 spectators attended the Mexico vs. Argentina match played in the second group stage, the largest attendance at a World Cup match in 28 years. Despite the controversies surrounding Qatar, many fans have chosen to continue to follow the tournament because of their passion for soccer. Moose compares watching this year’s World Cup to how many pop culture fans have to separate the art from the artist to continue enjoying their work. “[What] we have to do now with FIFA is separate the love of the game from the way it’s coming about,” she says.

PHOTO BY MADELINE GOLD

ABJINI CHATTO P A D H Y A Y

ABJINI CHATTOPADHYAY

WATCHING THE WORLD CUP Fans gather at The 4 Corners Pub to watch the USA vs. England match on Nov. 25.