October 2023 — Silver Chips Print

silverchips A public forum for student expression since 1937 Montgomery Blair High School

October 19, 2023

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VOL. 87 NO. 1

SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND

Bomb threats at Blair

By Doris Wang Staff Writer

On Oct. 16 at 1:29 p.m., Principal Renay Johnson made an announcement over the loudspeaker announcing a danger in the community and placing the school in a shelter in place. At 2:14 p.m, Assistant Principal Aaron Bernstein sent a message that dismissed all students at 2:30 p.m. Students with a ninth period were dismissed to the stadium and after school programs and clubs were canceled. In a letter to parents, Johnson confirmed that the reason for the shelter in place was an email containing a bomb threat. Blair was not the only school in the county to receive such threats on Oct. 16.

Three days before, at 5:30 a.m. on Oct. 13, Johnson received three emails also containing bomb threats. “I saw three messages [which] indicated that there were several bombs in the building … [they] said the bomb would detonate at 8:40,” she said. Johnson promptly contacted police, who immediately deployed units, before messaging staff and families. Police swept the Blazer stadium with police dogs before students were moved there. School buses were diverted to neighboring schools before bringing students to Blair, who were then directed to the stadium.

Many teachers helped to direct students as they arrived on campus. “I’ve taught for 16 years now, so this isn’t my first bomb threat … it’s just a matter of taking care of what you can control and moving forward,” Blair teacher Keith EnPHOTOS BY RAFFI CHARKOUDIAN-ROGERS, JAMIE LOZADA-MCBRIDE, and MAIA TURPEN riquez said.

OCT. 13 Blair students were evacuated to Blazer Stadium while police searched the building following a bomb threat to the school.

Investigation of Jim Funk, business administrator, dies at 63 crew club ends

By Rabira Dosho Staff Writer

James Funk, Blair’s Business Administrator of 17 years, died of a heart attack on July 7 at the age of 63. Blair staff found Funk unresponsive in his Blair office during summer work hours.

Office secretaries called 911 and attempted CPR. Shortly after, first responders arrived at Blair and attempted to resuscitate Funk before taking him to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Principal Johnson accompanied Funk until family members arrived.

“I followed the ambulance to the hospital so he could have someone there with him and I stayed with him until his wife arrived,” Johnson

said.

Throughout Johnson’s time working with Funk, she appreciated his dedication to Blair and its students. “He had the attitude of if that needed to be done and you needed me to do it, I’ll make sure it gets done,” Johnson said.

Through his efforts and determination, Funk played a key role in organizing school events such as prom and homecoming while also financially managing construction projects and new additions to the school.

In the weeks after Funk’s death, as teachers prepared for the upcoming school year, Assistant Principal Adriana Burgos-Ojeda stated that Funk’s death made the transition tougher. “An added layer to

his loss is that it was so tied to our school,” Burgos-Ojeda said, “So I think that’s been part of the impact on everybody.”

Funk was a member of the Pennsylvania State University football team and graduated in 1982 with a Business Management degree. His love for football carried on throughout his life and acted as a medium for discussions and connections with colleagues and students.

Funk was an integral part of the Blair community and will be missed by students and staff. “You definitely feel his absence,” Burgos-Ojeda said.

insidechips

NEWS

FEATURES

Audits of MCPS reveal a multitude of failures and economic losses. A4

Blair students trespass in search of abandond places in the area.

D3

News.......................................... A2 Opinions.................................... B1 La Esquina Latina................... C1 Features..................................... D1 Culture...................................... E1 Sports ....................................... F1

Audits

see FUNK MEMORIAL page D6

Urban Exploration

On Sept. 27, MCPS informed the parents of the Blair Crew Club that an investigation into allegations of unprofessional behavior within the club had concluded.

This was the second communication regarding the investigation into the club this year. It followed a letter Principal Renay Johnson sent out to all Blair parents on Aug. 24. In her first communication, Johnson wrote that there were allegations of misconduct on the team, and as a result, the team would no

longer have access to school facilities. “It has come to our attention that there are serious allegations regarding unprofessional behavior and actions of individuals associated with the Crew Club,” she wrote.

“In light of these allegations, we have made the correct decision to restrict the Blair Crew Club program from use of our school and campus, effective immediately.”

This meant that while the team could still hold practices, students could no longer be picked up by an MCPS bus in the Blair parking lot to travel to after school practice.

They would also be barred from holding workouts or practices on Blair grounds as they do during the winter season. see CREW page A3

CULTURE

SPORTS

By Auden Seigel and Sasha Vesensky Staff Writer & Features Editor

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

Independent bookstores

Local bookstores serve a diverse community in light of book bans.

E4

Women’s cleats Cleats like Nike Phantom Luna’s accomodate female athletes. F1

silverchips

A2 News October 19, 2023 NEWS BRIEFS Compiled by Abby Greenberg Staff Writer

MCPS pays settlement for Damascus sexual assault case MCPS will pay a $9.7 million settlement to four families of victims of a sexual assault that took place in the Damascus high school locker room in 2017 and 2018.

The settlement was announced in September. The families sued MCPS in 2020, claiming four different JV football players were sexually assaulted with broomsticks by other JV players, as part of a supposed team hazing ritual.

Criminal charges were filed against five of the team members on the basis of rape and attempted rape.

The families also sued former Damascus principal Casey Crouse, former football coaches Vincent Colbert and Eric Wallich, and former athletic director Joseph Doody. Allegedly, school and MCPS officials knew of the assaults for many years, but took no action.

MCPS continues to deny liability as part of the settlement.

COVID-19 spikes across the county

Blair cancels PSAT On Oct. 11, due to The College Board’s technical issues resulting in teachers’ inability to log in and students’ inability to access the testing platform, Bluebook, the digital PSAT test, was canceled at Blair. Blair’s testing block was intended to begin at 7:45 a.m. At 9:21 a.m.—in the middle of the block—Principal Renay Johnson sent out an email calling for the cancellation of the test. The traffic on Bluebook, used by the teachers and students, resulted in the platform shutting down. The College Board has resolved all issues with their web services provider. The rescheduled date at Blair is set for Oct. 24.

Maryland enforces new gun laws

On Oct. 13, Principal Renay Johnson sent a message to students and families informing them that Blair had received a bomb threat. Police searched the school and students were relocated outside of the building. The following Monday, on Oct. 16, Blair entered a shelter in place, following an email of another bomb threat to the school. These events are the latest in a series of threats targeting MCPS schools.

John F. Kennedy was sent into lockdown on Aug. 29—the second day of the new school year—after a bomb threat was reported. The lockdown was downgraded to a shelter-in-place which was then lifted when police determined the threat not valid. The following week, videos on social media showed a brawl between BethesdaChevy Chase and Walter Johnson students near the Bethesda Metro Station after a football game and an attack on a special needs student at Quince Orchard.

The ID card policy ... in my opinion, did not work well … because it was only enforceable in the place where it was least needed.

These incidents reflect an upward trend in violence in MCPS since the return to in-person schooling following the pandemic.

MCPS defines a serious or unusual incident as any incident that occurs on an MCPS site or in connection to a school-related activity.

This includes any event resulting in serious injury or death, bomb threats or explosive devices on campus, fire, requests for emergency medical assistance, property damage, malfunction of essential equipment, abuse, assault, hate, and weapons.

In the 2021-2022 school year, there were 1,267 reported serious incidents countywide, compared to 1,205 incidents in the 20182019 school year. The proportion of serious incidents that involved calling the police increased more than double from 20.9 percent pre-pandemic to 57.5 percent after the return to in-person learning. At Blair, police were called in for 29.3 percent of all serious incidents in 2018-2019 and 62.2 percent for the 2021-2022 school year, a more than 32 percent increase.

On the same day as the bomb threat at John F. Kennedy, Blair staff found part of a ghost gun— which are often sold online without a background check—in a student’s possession. According to Johnson, security found the piece of a firearm in the student’s backpack, which he had left in a classroom.

The sophomore was taken into police custody. Such events have not been confined to Montgomery County. An October Washington Post investigation found that the number of gun seizures on K-12 school campuses nationwide increased from 262 to 470 from the 2018-2019 to 2022-2023 school years, with five out of six seizures involving weapons brought by students.

MCPS Chief Safety Officer Pamela Wheeler-Taylor attrib-

GRAPHIC BY NORA PIERCE | DATA COURTESY OF MCPS

INCREASED SERIOUS INCIDENTS The percentage of serious incidents that involved calling police increased from 20.9 percent to 57.5 percent from the 2018-2019 school year to the 2021-2022 school year. in schools to a lack of socialization while students were isolated during the pandemic. “In terms of socialization … [kids] became more dependent on social media, more dependent on video games, more separated, more isolated from individuals,” she said in an interview with Silver Chips. “I really do believe that a behavioral health component has been diminished as a result of this pandemic and not being able to socialize.”

There have already been at least 34 reported fights across MCPS since July, despite new actions taken by the county to improve school safety. In an April letter to families, MCPS detailed new measures including increased security staffing, weekly safety meetings with security personnel, and more frequent and detailed communication during emergencies.

The letter also announced two new safety initiatives that MCPS is piloting this year, including a policy that requires students at select schools to wear identification badges. This policy, which is in effect at Richard Montgomery, Walter Johnson, Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Paint Branch, helps staff members quickly recognize students and identify any individuals who do not belong on campus. “​​ By ensuring that each student shows an ID, it gives a level of control [to security staff],” Wheeler-Taylor said. “It gives us and it gives administrators a better measure of what students are actually entering the building.”

Paint Branch junior Aleah Nash, said the policy makes her KIM feel safer. DAMI “Before, we had a problem with kids from other schools coming in … I’m all for it. I think it’s a lot safer than the alter-

native,” she said.

MCPS previously implemented the ID badge policy throughout all high schools in 1999. Kevin Moose, who began teaching at Blair in 1999, found that the policy was not effective in identifying students during passing periods and lunch, when it may be the most needed. “The ID card policy, as we did here at Blair, in my opinion, did not work well… because it was only enforceable in the place where it was least needed, in your classroom,” he said.

“There’s 3,000 kids coursing through the hallways, going outside. You can’t really tell who’s on the ID card. Kids would wear other people’s ID cards.”

Currently, all MCPS high schoolers are issued school ID badges, but are not required to wear them. However, new at Blair this year, staff members are required to wear their badges at all times and can use them to enter the building.

Looking forward, WheelerTaylor hopes to expand the pilot program to include all MCPS middle and high schools. “I would like to see it in all high schools just to begin with … particularly upon entry at the beginning of the day,” she said. “I think that [the] ID program is very, very instrumental in going a long way toward identifying everybody that’s inside of those buildings.”

As of April, the county assigned one permanent substitute security guard to all high schools to address increased staff absences. Additionally, they assigned security substitutes to any school with higher security absences and significant security needs.

In 2022, M C P S also hired 12 security assistant rovers—security staff available to support elementary and secondary schools

as needed.

To Wheeler-Taylor, connections between students, parents, and security staff are essential in preventing and addressing serious incidents. “We are well in touch with the school security personnel who are very, very familiar with the students inside of the school … That’s one of our visions, not only to just be a safety deterrent, but also to develop relationships,” she said. “A lot of times if that trust is there, developed, your kid is going to feel safe in seeking out that security personnel to be able to provide information on potential risks and things that are going on.”

Along with supplemental security staff, the school system has also reimplemented police presence in schools. For the 2021-2022 school year, MCPS removed School Resource Officers and replaced them with Community Engagement Officers (CEO) following conversations of racial inequity and school safety.

The original CEOs were not stationed or present on school campuses. Police officers returned to schools in the 2022-2023 school year under the CEO 2.0 model, which reinstated them inside the school building. Officers are assigned to a cluster of elementary, middle, and high schools and have direct communication with administrators.

When I was at Blair in the 1970s, we had [maybe] one security guard, part time ... But the world’s changed.

It’s a different place

KEVIN MOOSE

New Maryland gun laws went into effect on Oct. 1 to increase restrictions on gun holders. The state legislature passed the Concealed Carry-Restricted Areas Act, prohibiting the possession of guns in areas such as schools, colleges, and health care centers. The new gun licensing law, HB 824, updates the qualifications of issuance requiring the Secretary of State Police to revoke permits if the holder fails to meet requirements. New laws also increased fees and penalties for gun use without a permit and enforced more in-depth background checks for gun holders.

Jaelynn’s Law—passed in honor of Jaelynn Willey, a student who was killed by a classmate with their father’s gun—requires better security storage for guns in households where a minor has potential access to the gun.

By Chloe Pegg and Nora Pierce Staff Writer & Features Editor

KEVIN MOOSE

The Maryland Department of Health reported that COVID-19 cases in Montgomery County have multiplied by over six times between September and July. In Montgomery County, the daily average hospital admissions for COVID-19 was 20 patients on Sept.

30, which has increased since August 2023, when the daily average admission was nine patients. Hospital admissions in the county are predicted to increase by 27 percent in the next two weeks because of rising COVID-19 cases, as reported by the CDC. Despite the recent spikes in cases and hospitalizations, MCPS schools remain open and are operating normally.

MCPS responds to rise in serious incidents

As a Blair alumnus and now teacher, Moose has seen firsthand how school safety has changed.

“Security’s an issue, and it makes me kind of sad,” he said. “When I was at Blair in the 1970s, we had [maybe] one security guard, part time, and we weren’t having these discussions. But the world’s changed. It’s a different place.”

silverchips

October 19, 2023 News A3

Blair Crew Club moves forward after investigation from CREW page A1

It incited a lot of panic on the team.

For me personally, going back to school felt like a very unwelcoming environment.

On Sept. 1, two Blair security guards allegedly pulled Maitra out of class and brought her to a separate room. Maitra alleged that the security guards asked her to take out her cell phone and show them the club roster, which they then took photos of. The team roster on Maitra’s cell phone included the individual contact information of each student. “We use an app called TeamSnap to communicate for schedules and absences and stuff and we have a roster on there so I pulled that up and they asked to take pictures of everybody in that roster,” she said. “The [security guard] who was talking mostly

Compiled by Sohccem Ruphael Staff Writer

Mexico to elect first female president

DAPHNE PAYNE BLADENSBURG WATERFRONT PARK Blair Crew Club members carry a boat down to the water on Oct. 11. taken by surprise.

“What made me more uncomfortable was the fact that they couldn’t tell me why they wanted the information,” she said. “I was nervous and scared because at first they pulled me out of class and I walked out of the door and there were a bunch of security guards at the door, so that was scary. I thought I was in trouble.”

After the incident, Maitra told her coach and her parents what happened, and her parents informed the parent’s board.

Colin Silvers, a Blair Crew Club

LAND PRACTICE Athletes watch as their coach demonstrates on erg. was like ‘this conversation never coach who confirmed hearing of happened’ and he kept saying Maitra’s report, believed the way that several times throughout the that security handled the situation whole thing and … when I left they was inappropriate. “I don’t believe were like ‘this conversation never [she] should have been pulled out happened.’” of class at all,” he said. “I believe According to parts B and C of that was a mishandling of the situsection III in the MCPS policy on ation. I believe things should have search and seizure, any security gone over with a parent involved member planning to search a stu- and that the security should have dent, including that student’s cell been more approachable and a bit phone, must make an effort to more level headed during the sitinform the student before hand, uation.” and may only search a student if Payne was shocked by the inthere is reasonable belief that the cident. “We found out about it student in in possession of an ille- and we were outraged, like how gal item. is that allowed?” she said. “The Maitra said that when she was people that were aware of it were initially pulled from class, she was very concerned and frustrated that adults are allowed to do that to a student. If I had been in that position I would be very uncomfortable and scared.”

When asked by Silver Chips about pulling Maitra out of class, Johnson declined to comment.

“Sometimes I’m not privy to everyone that [security is] interviewing … I’m not always seeing all the layers,” she said. “[Security is] permitted to meet with students, interview students, ask students to write a statement. They are the first level of investigators, and then once they get the information they will share it with administration or with the principal.”

Janelle Ryan, the parent of another Blair Crew Club member PHOTOS BY NAILA ROMERO-ALSTON and Communications Chair on the IN THE BOATHOUSE Blair Crew Club athlete prepare for practice on parents’ board, submitted a Complaint from the Public to MCPS the Anacostia River on Oct. 11.

on Sept. 20, additionally requesting that a letter be sent to the Blair community informing them of the security incident.

“TeamSnap includes identifying information of rowers, their families, and coaches: names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and profile pictures. My family’s information was photographed in the search,” she wrote in an email to Silver Chips. On Oct. 11, Ryan received an email from Peter Moran, Associate Superintendent, informing her that her request for a letter to be sent to the Blair community was denied.

“My Complaint from the Public and the remedies requested were denied based on the fact that I am not the parent of the rower who was searched and because the incident was characterized as a personnel matter,” she wrote.

Ryan wrote that she was disappointed with this outcome.

On Sept. 28, the Blair Crew Club posted a public statement on their website and social media, informing the Blair community of the second letter that had been sent only to crew parents, saying that Blair Crew Club was no longer restricted from school facilities.

The statement added that the team also made an internal investigation into the allegations.

When there’s no concrete information that kind of opens it up for rumors and then people assume the worst and their minds go to crazy places.

GABRIELLA MAITRA

Johnson explained that she sent the letter in cooperation with county guidelines. “MCPS’ process is when there is a matter of serious nature … I need to notify the public ASAP,” she said. “If we believe there are actions that may be harmful to the student population, then we notify the community as soon as possible.”

Blair senior Daphne Payne, a captain of the Blair Crew Club, said that because the club did not receive sufficient warning or additional information, the team was harmed. “[Johnson] sent out this big email to [all of the] parents of the school. We were caught by surprise … We had no idea what this was about. It incited a lot of panic on the team. For me personally, going back to school felt like a very unwelcoming environment,” she said. “In [Johnson’s] email, she said her top priority was the health and safety of students, but that’s not being given to us, we don’t feel prioritized in our health or our safety.”

Olivia, a junior on the team, believed that the wording of the email was vague, leading to speculation and unwanted attention on the team. “[Johnson] might have addressed the allegations with more specification. I think that could’ve helped the team and not created such a spectacle,” she said.

Blair senior Crew Club member, Gabriella Maitra, also noted the letter’s impact on the team.

“When there’s no concrete information that kind of opens it up for rumors and then people assume the worst and their minds go to crazy places,” she said. Maitra said that since at least ten students quit the team following the letter, this caused difficulties for remaining members. “We’ve lost a lot of our solid members. So obviously that’s affecting [us] … In rowing it’s really hard to operate with a small team.

People have to be at practice every day because we don’t have people to sub in and that affects our performance at races,” she said.

After sending the email, two parents reached out to Johnson, who then spoke with them over the phone. After that, the full parents’ board requested a meeting with Johnson on Aug. 25, to discuss the situation. Johnson denied their request, saying that she could not comment on an open investigation. “I ask that you respect the privacy of the individuals who have made the reports and honor their confidentiality,” Johnson wrote in the email, obtained by Silver Chips.

On Aug. 28, Johnson met with two team captains including Payne. Payne said that Johnson did not offer any additional information during the meeting beyond what was in the initial letter, despite requests for it. “We asked

her questions to see if we could figure out anything else and she kind of dodged those and dismissed them and changed the subject, so we didn’t really learn anything new about it,” Payne said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS

“Although MCPS did not officially share these allegations with the board of Blair Crew, we conducted an internal investigation and are confident that our club maintains a safe, nurturing environment for our athletes,” the statement read. Johnson added that no charges had been released to her. “Because of privacy laws I am not privy to information as to if individuals were charged or not,” she said. The parents’ board stated that their investigation ended with no allegations being confirmed.

“The allegations we learned of were based on hearsay, the investigation is now closed, and Blair Crew has been cleared,” the board wrote in a statement to Silver Chips. “No illegal actions were reported to Blair Crew, and the board was not questioned during the investigation.”

In 2024, Mexico will elect the first woman to serve as president to lead office in the country’s history, as both final candidates are women. Senator Xóchitl Gálvez is running with the National Action Party, while Claudia Sheinbaum is the Morena party nominee. Current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is at the end of his six-year term and is thus required to leave office per Mexican law.

Gálvez served as mayor of the Miguel Hidalgo borough from 2015 to 2018 and has also been a member of the LXIV Legislature of the Mexican Congress since 2018. Sheinbaum has served as mayor of Mexico City since 2018 but will not complete her full sixyear term due to her presidential candidacy. The Mexican general election will take place on June 2, 2024.

Conflict in the Gaza strip On Oct. 7, Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas sent hundreds of its fighters into22 locations in Northern Israel, killing over 1,400 Israelis and wounding 3,500 more. At least 30 Americans were also killed. Hamas had 200250 hostages in Gaza, including at least 13 Americans. 5,000 rockets were also fired from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon into Israel.

The attack came on Simchat Torah, the last day of the Jewish high holidays, and the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Israel subsequently declared war on Gaza and has been launching airstrikes into Gaza since, injuring over 9,600 people and leaving over 2,600 dead. On Oct. 13, Israel issued a 24-hour notice for over a million civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate south ahead of a prepared ground invasion.

Israel has also cut off the majority of resources in Gaza—including electricity, food, fuel, and water— and is not allowing foreign nations to assist or donate. Hospitals in the coastal enclave are struggling to keep up with the wounded amidst the shortages of supplies.

Robert Fico wins Slovakian parliamentary election

Former Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico, who supports Russia, won Slovakia’s parliamentary election with the Smer party.

The Smer party won 22.9 percent of the vote, meaning Fico and his party will have 42 of 150 seats in Parliament.

Slovakia is a member of both NATO and the European Union, two major international organizations that provide military equipment to Ukraine and pursue sanctions on Russia. However, Fico and his party are against Slovakia providing military support to Ukraine and establishing sanctions on Russia. As a part of their platform for the new term, the Smer party has vowed not to pursue sanctions on Russia or provide military support to Ukraine.

A4 News October 19, 2023

Eyes in the sky

silverchips

MCPD seeks funding for drones as first responders program

By Evelyn Goldin and Tharaa Izuagie Staff Writers

[The drones will help] us evaluate the scene and circumstances before officers arrive.

DOUG MILLER

In late October, the Montgomery County Council will vote on the proposed Drones as First Responder pilot program, which would dispatch drones from Downtown Silver Spring, Wheaton, and White Oak rooftop launch sites to the scenes of emergencies when 911 calls are received.

Inspired by the Chula Vista Police Department’s drone system in California, the program is intended to improve decision-making, de-escalation, and police accountability.

Lieutenant Doug Miller of Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD), who serves as the Unmanned Aircraft System Program Manager, said that drones will arrive at the location of a 911 call before police officers and assist in informing police in their response to the emergency. “[The drones will help] us evaluate the scene and circumstances before officers arrive,” he said. “The more time we have, the more information we have …

[This] allows officers to slow things down and de-escalate situations.”

MCPD operates an existing drone program for damage assessment after storms, supporting fire rescue with thermal imaging to identify hot spots, aiding in search and rescue missions, locating missing persons, and contributing to tactical responses in Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) situations.

The DJI Matrice 300 drones, weigh approximately 20 pounds and fly at 200 to 400 feet in height, but lack facial recognition and audio recording capabilities. The drones reach speeds up to 51 miles per hour and have a 55-minute flight time. Earl Stoddard, Director of the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, said the cost of the pilot drone program will rely on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s $15.5 million reimbursement for COVID-19 expenses. “This $350,000 would come from the general fund but it would be supported by those emergency funds we’ve received back from the federal government,” he said.

Federal Homeland Security grant funds have subsidized the existing drone program through the Urban Area Security Initiative, a federal program that provides support for preparedness in appointed high-threat cities. However, Miller said the drones as first responder program will be supported by county funds. “At the end of the day, we

chose to have it be county-funded because we wanted there to be a council investment and council conversation related to that,” said Miller.

County Councilmember, Kate Stewart, explained that the program was not funded in the county’s spring budget due to insufficient community discussion. “[The program] was taken out of the budget and not funded because I and a number of other colleagues did not feel like we had engaged the public or had good dialogue, to actually understand what the program would be, and to garner public feedback on it,” she said.

Stewart added that community input was important, “The police department has gone back over the last few months, done a number of public meetings, done outreach to different community groups to garner their feedback. And I think that was a very important step before the council took it up,” she said.

The initial pilot proposal will allow MCPD to begin the program officially and review the effects on emergency responses. “Given other jurisdictions that have had similar types of programs, there appear to be some benefits in terms of response times, as well as potentially reducing interactions … between residents and the police,” Stewart said.

Blair junior Dove Dutky feels that the drones could contribute to faster response times. “In my experience with police response, it takes them anywhere from, five to 20

PHOTO COURTESY OF DOUG MILLER

THE DJI MATRICE 300 is the designated drone for the first responder program. minutes to get there and [if] there was a life or death situation, get the drone here [because] the drone is gonna get there before the police officer,” they said.

In addition to improved response times, transparency is a key objective of the program. MCPD is creating a website that will be regularly updated with drone flight data.

Additionally, the department plans to upload drone videos to be used as evidence in their secure server, and release them upon request through the Maryland Public Information Act. Matt Kaiser, a former assistant federal public defender, expects drone filming to discourage police misconduct, like body cameras have done in recent years. “I think it could have a deterrent effect on some of the worst police behavior,” he said.

Joanna Silver, a member of the Silver Spring Justice Coalition believes that the program will contribute to racial profiling and surveillance in specific communities. “[The program] will subject people who have already traditionally been subjected to over-surveillance and over-policing to even increased surveillance and policing based on the way [MCPD has] targeted the reach of the program,” she said.

Silver believes the program’s policy is broad, and citizens’ rights would be better protected if the regulations were developed or overseen by a third party. “Someone other than the Montgomery Police Department should be in charge of developing policies around drone use for our county, or that at least those policies should be subject to oversight by policymakers,” she said.

Blair confronts antisemitic incident

By Viveka Sinha and Doris Wang Opinions Editor & Staff Writer

On Oct. 12, Sligo Middle School Principal Peter Crable sent a letter to Sligo parents regarding an incident that involved “pro-Hitler” remarks from students during school hours. On that same day, MCPS Chief Safety Officer, Pamela Wheeler-Taylor, sent out a letter warning county residents of calls for a worldwide “day of rage” on Oct. 13 from a former leader of the terrorist group, Hamas. There has been a significant spike in hateful or biased incidents in MCPS over the past two years. In recent weeks, multiple troubling incidents occurred. On Sept. 22, Principal Renay Johnson sent out a letter to Blair parents about an “antisemitic salute” that occurred on school grounds. “We have and will continue to have zero tolerance for hate/ biased speech or gestures,” Johnson wrote in her letter.

“One of our students reported witnessing a distressing incident during our lunch period,” Johnson wrote. According to Johnson, other witnesses confirmed the student report. “The witnesses did corroborate what the person reported,” Johnson said. Although the Blair administration does not have footage of a salute occurring, they have an image of the alleged students involved standing on the track. “I want to be clear. We don’t have an image of a salute, but a group of students gathered on a track … It looks like a huddle,” Johnson said.

Following the student report, Johnson notified the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) of the incident.“It is a police matter,” Johnson said, “[It is] a hate crime. [For] hate and bias

crimes, we fill out a hate and bias reporting form for MCPS, but we also report hate crimes to the police.”

According to MCPD 3rd District Community Operations Supervisor Troy Brenner, in order to be a hate crime, an incident must actually be against the law. “To be properly classified as a hate crime, the underlying behavior must already be criminalized under state or federal law (such as vandalism, intimidation, arson or assault),” Brenner wrote in an email to Silver Chips. Thus, this incident was not a hate crime but a hate bias incident. However, Brenner explained that bias incidents can cause just as much harm. “A bias incident can be as frightening and demoralizing as a hate crime … such incidents, while likely to be upheld as constitutionally protected exercises of free speech, still serve to generate fear and anxiety in those targeted,” he wrote.

Rivkah Gold, a Jewish Blair senior, felt afraid after learning of the incident. “It promotes an atmosphere of fear and distrust. With the events throughout this year and past years, I have and I believe many Jews have experienced acts of direct antisemitism … It does not increase my feeling of safety at school to know events like this are happening,” she said.

Brenner explained that all biased incidents should be reported to MCPD to avoid escalation.

“People who engage in bias incidents may eventually escalate into criminal behavior. Thus, those who believe they have been victims of a bias incident or hate crime should call 911 as soon as possible and report the hate bias conduct,” he wrote. The investigation of the Blair incident is ongoing.

“Some students have information

[and] when the letter went out, they [shared] what they’ve seen or observed or heard, maybe in a classroom,” Johnson said. “A lot of teachers came forward and shared information as well.” After hearing

dent and the school’s reaction… I think they could have done more besides simply condemning the act and then moving on.” On the other hand, Gold feels that there was not much more that the administration

stated that many people were already scared by the “day of rage.”

“I definitely think that [the threat] is somewhat related to [the day of rage],” Krishnan said. “A lot of people I knew didn’t even want to

GRAPHIC BY AMEN LEMIESA | DATA COURTESY OF MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE

HATE AND BIAS INCIDENTS IN MARYLAND The total number of hate and bias incidents in the state has risen since 2014. further information, the Blair administration sent more information to help with police investigation. “[Police] will investigate as we give them more information,” Johnson said.

Jewish Blair senior Nathan Gehl feels that Blair administration’s response to the incident was inadequate. “The steps taken were good but were not sufficient,” he said.

“I would like more communication with students about the inci-

could have done. “There’s a fairly limited ability for the administration to prevent acts like this. The kids who are doing this don’t respect the administration … the fact that it is a frowned upon activity is going to motivate them,” she said.

On the “day of rage,” Blair received a bomb threat. Although the threat contained no specific antisemitic sentiments, it further propelled fear within the community. Blair junior Kripa Krishnan

come to school today because they were worried about what was going on.”

Awareness and communication are important tools in stopping the escalation of targeted hate. It is key to report any similar events as antisemitism incidents continue to occur in MCPS. If anyone has witnessed such events, please report them to Montgomery County’s Office of Human Rights at 240-7778450.

silverchips

A5 News October 19, 2023

MCPS loses millions Audits uncover failures across the county

MCPS got fined millions of dollars that we have to pay back because the state gives us money per student for their education.

ROXANNE FUS

Former MCPS Assistant Director of Transportation Charles Ewald was sentenced in September to five years in prison for embezzling over $324,000 in school system funds between 2016 and 2021.

An audit conducted in Sept. 2022 by the Maryland Department of Legislative Services revealed financial misconduct from the county Department of Transportation, including the fact that Ewald used his MCPS-issued credit card on $133,000 of policy-prohibited purchases. Ewald spent over $78,000 on office furniture and another $1,600 on personal purchases, such as a $1,498 Home Depot gift card and a $129 kayak car roof rack.

In June, Todd Watkins, Ewald’s former boss and Director of Transportation at the time, pled guilty to misconduct after he consistently failed to manage the use of purchasing cards, enabling Ewald’s crimes for five years. Watkins was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and three years of probation in late September.

MCPS conducts annual audits to gauge how the school system is operating and find areas of improvement. The state also conducts audits—like the one that uncovered Ewald’s financial crimes—of the school system regularly and more often as needed, particularly when problems arise. Audits are an official inspection of an individual or organization. Matthew Streett, the Assistant Director for the Compliance and Performance Audit Division within the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits, defined audits’ role. “I think the best analogy I have is that we’re there to kind of grade how the schools are operat-

ing,” Streett said.

The September audit also uncovered further financial misconduct. Specifically, it noted that MCPS continually lacked documentation that showed how companies were chosen to receive contracts for several major construction projects, including Tilden and Takoma Park middle schools.

Every MCPS construction project is required to start with contracting.

In MCPS, this is done through a contract awardment process, which is a competitive process where the county evaluates all the bids to determine the best fit, based on factors like technical expertise and price. MCPS could not provide proof to support their awardment process of five contract agreements that valued a total of $151.1 million. MCPS was unable to justify their awardment of such contracts because they were missing information about losing bidders, selection criteria, or how fees were negotiated or determined.

The audit also found that for eight projects valued at $190 million in total, MCPS violated state law by not publishing bids and awards on eMaryland Marketplace, the state’s procurement portal.

A procurement is the process an entity, like MCPS, takes to obtain goods and services from outside organizations. Maryland law requires all procurements over $50,000 to

be published and put up for competitive bidding.

Furthermore, the same audit showed that MCPS did not regularly assess liquidated damages on construction projects. During these construction projects, the county was meant to investigate and ensure that projects proceeded in accordance with logistics and funds discussed in the contract. If the company veers from the contract, it must pay the county liquidated damages for delays. The only way to stay on top of liquidated damages is through regular checks and inspections. In MCPS, these inspections were either not completed or not completed in accordance with MCPS procedures. For eight contracts from the 2019–2020 school year that required daily inspections, only 70 days were tested out of 459.

Streett noticed the missing inspections as well. “Making sure that the project is on track and that there’s no escalating cost and time that shouldn’t be happening—that’s why they do the inspections,” Streett said. “[MCPS was] not doing those inspections like they should.”

The audit report by Streett’s office in 2022 numbered the liquidated damages, which ranged as high as $5,000 per day, but because MCPS did not regularly check on these projects, the county was unable to collect $1.4 million in payments, per the audit’s calculations.

Jet Curran-Broda, a junior at Blair, is frustrated and feels that MCPS construction projects are not completed quickly. “I feel like they just put off all of these projects until it becomes an extremely hard problem to deal with,” Curran-Broda said.

Audits do not only measure financial systems. In January, the Maryland Office of the Inspector General for Education (OIGE) released an investigative audit that reviewed data regarding MCPS’

producing these “dummy” proteins far more efficiently. mRNA vaccines are also seeing promise in combating non-infectious diseases like cancer.

Physics

From the revolutionary principles behind the COVID-19 vaccine, to freeze frames of electrons, to crystals small enough to bridge the physical world into the quantum one, this year’s Nobel prizes in the sciences celebrated a variety of significant discoveries.

Physiology and Medicine Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman received the medicine prize for their landmark mRNA vaccine research which could drastically change immunology.

Traditional vaccines work by creating “dummy” proteins which are manufactured to be structurally identical to viral proteins. By injecting this “dummy” protein, the immune system is able to recognize the virus the next time it enters the body without experiencing the same effects of the real virus. Unlike traditional vaccines, the mRNA vaccine’s sole purpose is to give the body the ex-

act instructions on how to build its own “dummy” protein to train the immune system.

The idea behind the mRNA vaccine has been around for decades, however certain obstacles have barred its widespread usage. To successfully use this vaccine, it had to be modified so that the body wouldn’t immediately destroy the mRNA upon contact, and the injected mRNA would not elicit an inflammatory response.

Karikó and Weissman overcame both obstacles by making the injected mRNA readable to the human body, an effort that took 34 years. The main problem would lie in the uridine, a compound found in all mRNA chains. Karikó and Weissman effectively altered the uridine into “pseudouridine,” a chemically modified uridine, which essentially tricks the body into

attendance reporting process. The audit found that there were over 604 instances of ineligible students being included on MCPS’ enrollment counts for state aid across a five year span. As a result, the state misallocated over $4.4 million in funds to MCPS. The audits found that the errors of eligibility determination were due to school staff not always properly withdrawing chronically absent students or recording attendance. The number of annual discrepancies found in the county increased. There were 89 ineligible students enrolled in MCPS in the 2016-2017 school year and 158 students ineligible students enrolled in MCPS in the 2021-2022 school year. This caused MCPS to lose millions according to Roxanne Fus, the Attendance Secretary at

Blair. “MCPS got fined millions of dollars that we have to pay back because the state gives us money per student for their education and if we have students that aren’t attending, then we have to pay back that money,” Fus says. The OIGE report recommended MCPS implement county-wide initiatives to try to identify and fix issues found among audits. One of these initiatives is lowering the number of days a student can be absent before withdrawing them from the school system. Fus reflects on this change.

“So because the county did not withdraw students in a timely manner last year, instead of 15 days of non attendance … students have to be withdrawn within 10 days,” Fus says.

overtones by dividing the wavelength of UV light and layering many different waves over each other.

In 1987, L’Huillier discovered that infrared lasers transmitted through a non-reactive gas would allow for various overtones of ultraviolet light. The infrared light would interact with the electrons of the gas, which in turn would emit ultraviolet beams of varying wavelength.

The different ultraviolet waves interfered with each other, resulting in pulses of ultraviolet light lasting roughly an attosecond. With the help of Agostini and Krausz, the trio managed to refine and filter the pulses for more accurate study.

With the ability to study how electrons interact with certain materials, electronics will become more efficient, and it will become easier to identify compounds for medical diagnoses.

space, the dot will emit a red light with a wider wavelength. As the size decreases, so does the wavelength, so a very small dot will emit blue light.

In 1981, Ekimov was able to recreate the effects of these quantum dots by using colored glass saturated with various nanoparticles. Ekimov claimed this was

Chemistry AW ANG

By Raun Banerjee News Columnist

LUC I

ALLISON LIN

The physics prize was awarded to three scientists: Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, and Anne L’Huillier—the fifth woman to receive the Nobel Prize in physics. They received the prize for recreating one attosecond light pulses—a rapidly flashing laser beam—to study electron behavior and how it reacts with certain materials.

One attosecond is equivalent to a billionth of a bil- lionth of a second.

There are more attoseconds in a single second, than there have been seconds since the birth of the universe.

To achieve such an astronomically short pulse, the scientists utilized

GRAPHIC BY ELOISE CARTER | DATA COURTESY OF OIGE

Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus, and Alexei Ekimov received the chemistry prize for their work in creating quantum dots—tiny nanoparticles with broad optical applications.

All matter has properties dictated by its molecular structure and atoms.

Going a few layers further, these scientists made nanoparticles so small that quantum phenomena dictate their properties depending on their size alone.

The nanoparticles restrict the space that an electron has in the particle which in turn affects the wavelength of the incident light. When light hits a quantum dot with more

due to the varying sizes of the nanoparticles.

A few y e a r s later, Brus, unaware of Ekimov’s discovery, inadvertently proved Ekimov’s size theo r y by pointing out the increased surface area to volume ratio of smaller particles and how it affects the particles’ properties. In 1993, Bawendi was able to chemically synthesize the dots nearly perfectly using cadmium selenide thus paving the way for precise manufacturing.

These dots have applications in multiple fields including hi-res Quantum LED TVs and monitors with significantly more advanced color grading, KATE MCDONOUGH

By Eloise Carter and Keelin Pegg Staff Writers

imaging technology for doctors to map biological tissue, and even high end encrypted quantum communication.

A6 News October 19, 2023

silverchips

silverchips

BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD AN OPINION In August, The Washington Post published a story outlining, in detail, 12 years of sexual harassment by former Farquhar middle school Principal Joel Beidleman.

The Post obtained 39 interviews with current and former staff members who stated that Beidleman had harassed or bullied them. 25 of these sources reported their concerns to MCPS through official channels. Three days after the story’s release, the county hired Jackson Lewis, a private law firm, to investigate these allegations. The neglect MCPS exhibited in continuously promoting someone with a troubling history of misconduct for over a decade has had lasting consequences for students and staff members across the county.

The Silver Chips editorial board is disgusted by the failures on the part of the McKnight administration and the BOE to address these vulgar allegations against Beidleman. As students, we have all sat through innovation periods where we have learned of the importance of consent and reporting sexual harassment, but perhaps MCPS leadership does not understand that when someone does not want tea, you should not give them tea.

The Jackson Lewis report found “long-standing practices and processes in place that resulted in anonymous and informal complaints not being formally investigated.” When Beidleman faced formal complaints after calling a middle school student a “whore,” the claim was investigated—by his boss and close personal friend, then Director of School Support and Improvement Eric Minus, who allegedly laughed it off. The student, however, was granted a transfer after the Farquhar PTSA president filed a complaint with central office.

This transfer signals an acknowledgment of wrongdoing. By transferring a student and allowing Beidleman to stay, MCPS leadership grossly neglected their duties to protect their students and their

Do better. staff. In May 2022, nine more teachers met with their school union representative, Lindsay Barrett, fearing retaliation if an official report had their names on it. Barrett contacted the county’s Labor Relations department, who responded by stating that the county “has a sexual harassment policy that covers just such situations.” The email, obtained by Silver Chips, included such comments as: • “He looks at my chest all the time.”

• “Farquhar is a toxic environment in the building when he is involved, especially when he is in one of his moods.”

• “He has made a comment to one educator that how she can bend her back backward and related it to bedroom activities.”

• “He has engaged in sexual activity with staff in every building he has been in, including Farquhar.”

MCEA president, Jennifer Martin, stepped in to advocate

on behalf of her union members.

Martin sent emails to the BOE and the Superintendent’s Office, outlining once again the numerous complaints regarding Beidleman’s misconduct. The heavily redacted Jackson Lewis report, released last week, noted that the BOE and the Superintendent’s Office claim they never received any MCEA complaints or emails regarding Beidleman. “MCEA does not know why MCPS could not locate these emails during the Jackson Lewis investigation,” Martin wrote in an email to Silver Chips.

Even after years of informal complaints to district officials, after formal complaints to the county and union, after the MCEA president sent multiple emails to high-ranking MCPS officials, in June 2023 MCPS leadership unanimously approved Beidleman’s promotion to principal of Paint Branch High School and awarded him the $32,000 raise that came with it.

Protecting “rising stars,” like Beidleman, has long affected how

Editorial Cartoon

SOPHIA LI

October 19, 2023 Opinions B1 silverchips MCPS handles allegations of misconduct. At Blair just seven years ago, this culture of protectionism impacted the dismissal of Eric Walstein, who harrassed countless students during his 29 year career as a magnet teacher at Blair. In 2008, Walstein was featured in a Post article where he was described as “arguably the most highly regarded high school math teacher in the county.”

In November of 2011, Blair parent Anne LeVeque informed Principal Johnson about a multitude of reports from her daughter’s friends about Walstein’s inappropriate behavior at school, ranging from remarking on students bodies to demeaning the intelligence of female students. Johnson assured LeVeque that Walstein would retire at the end of the academic year, but Walstein did not retire until the spring of 2013. Following his retirement, Walstein remained a Blair substitute teacher until 2016.

In 2018, the county finally addressed the allegations after over 430 Blair alumni came forward to formally report Walstein’s misconduct. Then superintendent Jack Smith wrote in a letter to the county, “Since Mr. Walstein’s retirement, MCPS has made significant changes to policies and programming that have strengthened harassment prevention efforts, enhanced reporting protocols, and encouraged greater cultural competency.”

What good did Smith’s “significant changes to policies” and “strengthened harassment prevention efforts” do for Beidleman’s victims? How can we trust the county’s “enhanced reporting protocols” and “greater cultural competency” when it is news organizations like The Washington Post and Silver Chips who bear the responsibility of informing the public of such disturbing allegations.

It took the county 32 years, and Walstein’s retirement, to formally address allegations against him.

It took the county 12 years to act on allegations against Beidleman.

Who will be next, and how long must we wait for the county to do the right thing? Do better.

Who killed the American news industry?

By Talia Egnal Ombudsman AN OPINION

After 71 years, $17.2 billion, and unprecedented damage to American media and democracy, FOX News founder and longtime chairman Rupert Murdoch is stepping down. He made his debut in the international media game in 1952 after inheriting his knighted father’s Australian newspaper. In the decades since, his career has been marked by a ruthlessness, sleaze, and lack of integrity that grew to define his family and various businesses, which include 60% of all Australian newspapers, FOX News, The Sun, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Post.

“I can think of more important things than being loved by everybody,” Murdoch said in an interview with Forbes in 1989. This sentiment would be a thread throughout his career. He published pictures of topless 16-year olds in the 1960s, almost single-handedly destroyed the print-worker’s union in England in the 1980s, ran multiple papers with phone-taping and bribery scandals in the early 2000s, and transitioned to fanning election denials on broadcast news after the

Murdoch’s 1996 decision to position FOX News as CNN’s conservative rival would lead it down a rabbit hole of eventually becoming a platform for far-right conspiracy theories, as well as the highest-rated cable news broadcast. He brought his past of sensationalism and tabloid flashiness to both his newspapers and his networks to great commercial success, but at the expense of journalistic ethics. Mike Royko, a Pulitzer prize winning journalist who was at The Sun Times when Murdoch took over in 1984, best summarized Murdoch’s casual relationship with the truth. “No self-respecting fish would want to be wrapped in a Murdoch paper,” Royko wrote prior to quitting the paper in protest.

His career has been marked by a ruthlessness, sleaze, and lack of integrity that grew to define his family and various businesses.

Beyond just the conspiracy theorists, his networks had a his-

tory of giving a platform to sexual harassers, misogynists, racists, homophobes, and xenophobes, or all five in the case of Roger Ailes, the longtime CEO of FOX. Ailes, along with Bill O’Reilly, James Rosen, and Ed Henry were pushed out of the network in 2016 after a multitude of staffers came forward with allegations of sexual harassment. Murdoch paid Ailes $40 million in severance pay, with O’Reilly netting $25 million.

Murdoch’s business acumen, however, remains unparalleled.

FOX News has been the number one rated cable news channel for 30 weeks straight. Even after the ratings drop that ensued after Tucker Carlson was fired and the $787.5 million defamation settlement to Dominion Voting Systems, FOX maintained that streak with six of the top ten most watched cable shows. Despite a loss of nearly a million viewers a night from March to August, the FOX evening lineup drew 2.2 million viewers on average from 7 to 11 p.m.

Even Murdoch’s retirement announcement caused a media storm. The question of which of his six children by his four wives would inherit the title of chairman in-

PHOTO BY ANAGHA BHUVANAGIRI

To contact Talia email her at scombud@gmail.com spired the hit HBO series Succession. After decades of stockholder speculation, Murdoch passed over his daughters and left the empire to his eldest son and third oldest child, Lachlan Murdoch. Lachlan was recently implicated directly in the Dominion suit and was Tucker Carlson’s longtime champion.

He looks to be no better than his father.

Montgomery Blair High School 51 University Boulevard East Silver Spring, MD 20901 silverchips.business@gmail.com Winner of the 2019 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medal, the 2021 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Association Crown, the 2021 American Scholastic Press Association First Place with Special Merit, the 2022 Columbia Scholastic Association Silver Crown, and the 2022 American Scholastic Press Association First Place Award EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Della Baer Julia Lian DESIGN EDITORS Dyan Nguyen Nora Pierce Caleb Plank MANAGING NEWS EDITORS Ava Bedaque Teddy Curtin MANAGING OPINIONS EDITORS Mandy Guo Viveka Sinha MANAGING FEATURES EDITORS Nora Pierce Sasha Vesensky MANAGING CULTURE EDITORS Sela Colavito Sophie Yohannan MANAGING SPORTS EDITORS Dyan Nguyen Eliza Warren OMBUDSMAN Talia Egnal COLUMNISTS Raunak Banerjee Eliza Warren Sophie Yohannan ENGLISH SENIOR WRITERS Raunak Banerjee Amen Lemiesa Sohccem Ruphael Nikki Tjiputra ENGLISH STAFF WRITERS Greta Andelman Laila Andelman Naomi Andelman Eloise Carter Jay Clouse Ethan de Brauw Rabira Dosho Max Erlebacher Evelyn Goldin Abby Greenberg Tharaa Izuagie Zachary Karp Emily Kretschmer Carina Nicodemus Chloe Pegg Keelin Pegg Diego Santoro-Velez Auden Seigel Doris Wang Norah Wilson BUSINESS DIRECTORS Isabelle Mathiascheck Finnegan Oakes BUSINESS STAFF Rowan Boyce Ava Falcone Jackie Wang Edith Yang MANAGING ART EDITORS Dami Kim Sophia Li ARTISTS Rosalyn Fang Eric Le Mia Levings Allison Lin Kate McDonough Mina Ricotti Lucia Wang Chikara Yamagishi Jason Yu MANAGING PHOTO EDITORS Fiona Bondarev Raffi Charkoudian-Rogers Maia Turpen PHOTOGRAPHERS Anagha Bhuvanagiri Kenean Bizuwork Margot Buehler Ian Gleason Madeline Gold Rose Kepka Marin Lederer Jamie Lozada-McBride Maz Olson Naila Romero-Alston Dylan Warren SCPSPORTS EDITORS Caleb Plank Nikki Tjiputra MEDIA EDITORS Margot Buehler Madeline Gold PUZZLE EDITOR Madeline Gold OUTREACH COORDINATORS Anagha Bhuvanagiri ADVISERS Jeremy Stelzner

Silver Chips is a public forum for student expression. Student editors make all content decisions. Unsigned editorials represent the views of the editorial board and are not necessarily those of the school or of all Silver Chips members. Signed letters to the editor are encouraged; submit them to silver.chips.print@gmail.com.

Letters may be edited for space and clarity.

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B2 Opinions October 19, 2023

Should football keep the Friday night spot?

YES

Due to the popularity of the sport and sense of community, Friday night football has been a powerful high school culture for generations and it should remain.

Football keeping the Friday night spot unfairly prioritizes one sport over all others and all athletes should get a chance to play “under the lights.”

By Sohccem Ruphael Staff Writer

By Keelin Pegg Staff Writer

AN OPINION

AN OPINION

PHOTOS BY MARGOT BUEHLER

As students return to school in the fall, they must reestablish their routines, adjust their sleep schedules, and plan study hours.

Although students face stress readjusting to the school year, there’s a Friday night light at the end of the tunnel: the weekly football game. However, MCPS was forced to host some high school football games on Thursdays during this year’s fall season due to a lack of officials.

Not only are Friday night football games an economic engine, they are often considered the weekly community function for students, parents, teachers, and alumni. The county should work to uphold the longstanding tradition of Friday night football, rather than uproot it.

In recent years, the county has experienced a concerning shortage of officials to referee games, especially on Fridays, causing the change in football’s scheduling. Football games are meant to be officiated by six referees, but last season some games had only half that amount.

Rather than rescheduling football games, the county should instead focus on incentivizing and driving officials to continue working. “Every district has been doing official appreciation [gestures], and [making] it better for officials and really [watching] what the officials are receiving, from fans, coaches, and players,” Blair athletic director Rita Boule said. The week of Oct. 2, the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association celebrated Fall Officials Appreciation Week. Schools and athletic teams read the Officials Appreciation Week Public Address Announcement at competitions and used hashtags on social media to thank referees.

Displaying gratitude towards referees is just one way to motivate them to work more games as well as inspire people to apply and train to be an official. Offering other incentives, such as tickets to professional or collegiate athletic events, would certainly improve referee numbers.

Additionally, Friday night football games provide crucial income to cover future costs of events, to pay security, referees, and other event workers. Boule also explained that there are blatant differences in income between Thursday and Friday night games.

“Blair’s opening [Friday] game against Wheaton made triple the revenue compared to Blair’s Thursday game against Seneca Valley,” she said.

The difference in income also displays the fact that students and parents much prefer attending football games on Fridays. Blazer Rager, a spirit club at Blair, much prefers Friday night games because of the outgoing

NO

The lights are shining. Rows and rows of and busy atmosphere. “There’s a lot more attendance, the hype and excitement is un- spectators fill the stands. A cheer goes up. matched,” Blazer Rager member Cole Am- The music blares. This is Friday night lights, and there is no question who is playing: high aral said.

Logistically speaking, football players school football. This atmosphere, date, and recover mentally and physically best if they time has always been reserved for this one have the weekend ahead of them. Football is sport. But football should not be the ‘be-all arguably the most intense high school sport end-all’ of high school sports. It is time to and Thursday night games endangers play- share the spotlight and give other teams the ers’ rest, academic performance, and proper chance to shine in front of a packed stadium physical recovery. “It was really hard for me on a Friday night.

This year, due to the referee shortage and to function at school after the Seneca game, I was just really exhausted and sore,” Blair religious holidays, football has been relegated varsity football player Malachi Deveaux said. to play a few games on other weekdays. HowFriday night lights have been a tradition ever, the norm is that high school football is played evand weekery Friday. ly social M C P S occasion must infor generastead oftions. Blair ficially teacher, make the Daniel Friday C o l e , night spot compares alternate the enviweekly, alronment lowing the he expemajority rienced of sports over 20 have years ago FRIDAY NIGHT SOCCER Students attend a soccer game to equal acwith to- against Whitman decked out in neon on Oct. 6, 2023. cess to Friday’s. “It’s day nights. unique, This must our atmobe a counsphere is ty-wide really poscommititive and m e n t . students U n d e r are really this more involved,” equitable Cole, who system, coached football football would still for severhave Frial years at day nights, multiple but othM C P S PHOTOS BY RAFFI CHARKOUDIAN-ROGERS er sports schools until 2019, FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Students attend the first football w o u l d also be afsaid. Many game of the year against Wheaton on Sept. 1, 2023. forded the B l a i r teachers like Cole appreciate the tradition as same opportunity.

Many advocates argue that it’s a tradition it allows them to reminisce on attending footbecause the U.S. is known for its Friday night ball games when they were students.

Football games on Friday nights are not football. “There’s been movies, there’s been just average football games, they are part of books. You know, in every city in America, Blair culture. As it says in the shows, movies, there’s probably a Friday night high school and advertisements, America runs on Friday game,” Blair athletic director Rita Boule said.

While this is true, just because something night football. “The community needs our Fridays back,” Blazer Rager leader Silvan has always been done does not mean it is something that must continue. In 2023, the Unger said.

tradition of Friday night football should not outweigh common sense and equity. In the era after Title IX, the fact that we are still actively promoting one sport over all else is ludicrous. Reserving the Friday night spot for football only insinuates that it is better than other sports.

Friday nights are also inherently the best night to have games, simply because of the weekend. Junior Elroi Yigezu loves to attend Friday football games, in a large part because of the date. “I feel like it’s just a great way to end the week,” she said.

Furthermore, it is imperative to acknowledge gender equity and to give male and female athletes equal opportunities. However, under the current system, for sports besides football, it is simply the luck of the draw. For instance, this year Blair girls’ varsity soccer team will not get the opportunity to play on a Friday night. Under the current framework, all other fall sports schedules are dependent on football.

It is clear that having a Friday night game, no matter what sport, has an impact on the team’s support. Blair’s girls’ varsity soccer coach, Coach Gibb, noted that on the rare occasion the team has had a Friday night game in past years, they enjoyed bigger crowds and a more raucous atmosphere. “There were definitely more students—students who wouldn’t have otherwise come because it was a Friday night,” Gibb said.

Opponents may argue that football brings in the most revenue, but how can we conclude that other sports could not potentially do the same? Specifically, girls’ sports do not have the same history of support that male sports—especially football—have in the U.S. Without giving all sports equal access to opportunities, we will never know if they could bring in the same revenue and crowds.

Besides, public high school sports are not a professional league. Profit should never be a priority over equity and fairness.

While many students feel that football is the only sport that the student population wants to see, the main reason people feel this way is due to the fact that football’s spotlight is the norm. If other sports received this attention, many students would likely change their minds. It’s time for the county to let the Friday night lights shine on more than just football.

voicebox Photos by MARGOT BUEHLER & MAIA TURPEN

“It’s important that other sports get equal attention, but this season we’ve seen a big difference in support between football and other sports.”

“Most football fans won’t go to games on a weekday, people have homework and other responsibilities to handle.”

“I like having soccer games on Friday too. … It should alternate because I think I know a lot of people who like watching soccer more than football.”

“I think it should alternate.

That’s the fair way to do it. I just think other sports deserve a little bit of Friday night lights.”

BRENDAN WHITE Senior

BEREKET TMEDHEN Freshman

INDIA MICHAUD Senior

FRANCESCA BOLEN Junior

silverchips

October 19, 2023 Opinions B3

A problematic pipeline

MCPS needs to reevalute their elementary magnet programs AN OPINION

Furthermore, elementary magnet

Former teacher of the Highly Gifted Program at Pine Crest, Lesley Wagner, has worked in MCPS for 21 years. She started working at Charles Drew, then Pine Crest, and now works at Beverly Farms. At all positions she taught an accelerated curriculum, and also noticed separation between students. “[Magnet and non-magnet] kids basically stayed segregated … a lot of kids in the homeschool had already established friendships and there wasn’t a lot of interaction in the academic classes,” Wagner said.

Blair magnet junior Canaan Bogale attended the magnet program at Charles Drew and also noticed alienation between students.

“I wasn’t friends with a lot of the people outside of the magnet. Because I didn’t really know anyone, it was all just the magnet people with each other … I didn’t make an effort to mingle with any of them,” Bogale said.

Elena Silva is the Senior Director of PreK-12 Education at New Amer- i ca, a

think tank that focuses on public policy issues and researches student learning and assessment. Silva also went through MCPS and was a student at one of the first gifted programs offered at Forest Hills elementary school. Silva explained that elementary school is a critical time for a child’s growth. “[Elementary school] really matters for how kids’ brains are developing, but … [is] also affected by what kids are exposed to, and who kids are exposed to … If you’re in those programs, and … [are] not interacting with all the other kids, you’re missing out on a lot,” Silva said.

The classroom is where students learn about others who are different from them which develops empathy and a better understanding of the world. Elementary school magnet programs deprive students of this, especially at a developmentally critical age.

This deprivation is also partly due to the racial makeup of these programs. According to Bogale, in her program there were few Black students, and most programs follow suit. Magnet programs were created in the 1960s and 70s to bring more white students into majority-minority schools, and the makeup of the programs today still reflect that. Only 17% of the Magnet program at Blair is made up of Black or Hispanic students. In comparison, 73.3% of the MCPS Downcounty Consortium population is Black or Hispanic.

The new CES is aiming to include a more diverse mix of students, through the use of a lottery system and “locally normed test scores.” “The socioeconomic status of elementary schools is used to establish local norms for the Measures of Academic Progress Reading, a national standardized test. In establishing local norms, students in schools with similar FARMS rates are grouped together for comparison,” MCPS wrote in their CES Admissions Process Overview.

Regardless of these efforts, the program is still flawed. Though Wagner believes there are benefits of magnet programs, the racial inequity is a major fault. “A big issue with magnet programs is that they don’t seem to represent the

general population of MCPS. Until they can be more reflective of the community, they are thorny,” she wrote in a text message to Silver Chips.

competitive magnet high schools across the county.

Bogale shared her experience of staying up much later to finish assignments in her time at her el-

GRAPHIC BY CARINA NICODEMUS | DATA COURTESY OF MCPS

CENTERS FOR ENRICHED STUDIES (CES) About one in 20 fourth grade MCPS students were selected and participate in the CES programs in the 2021.

The Matthew effect in schooling

It is debated whether or not MCPS accurately tests for the presence of “gifted” ability. Silva believes the assessments unfairly benefit some students, while disadvantaging others. “I think it’s a mistake for MCPS to be assessing and evaluating children in second and third grade, and then allowing them to have opportunities to go to magnet school and others to not,” she said.

The Matthew effect is the pattern in which those who start with an advantage accumulate more advantage over time and those who begin with disadvantage become more disadvantaged over time.

This effect is prevalent in elementary magnet programs that separate kids from an early age and give a specialized education to one over the other. It sets a precedent for the future, with many elementary school magnet kids remaining on the “gifted” track and places “non-gifted” students at a disadvantage when applying to middle and high school magnets, which leads to less opportunity down the line.

Bogale noted the effect at Blair.

“Almost all the same people that went to Drew are in the magnet program here at Blair,” Bogale said.

One of the harmful effects of academic tracking Silva identified is the permanence of students’ designations. “Once you’re on [an academic track]—and that usually starts in early elementary school—you’re kind of stuck there,” Silva said. “[There’s an idea that] you should be identifying [students] early on as either low level or high level and then keeping them there, [but] that’s not good for either [group].”

Buckling and burning out under the pressure

Though elementary magnet programs can present opportunities for some students, they create an unwarranted amount of pressure. This stems from a large workload that can follow some students to high school, especially in

ementary school magnet than she did at her non-magnet middle school. “I was a lot more stressed.

I was always burnt out from trying to meet the levels of my classmates because they were already up there [academically],” Bogale recalled.

Elementary schoolers should not have to measure up to perfect academic standards. Though some students may rise to the challenge, others can not meet the expectations imposed by teachers, parents, and even themselves. Even those who do excel in elementary school can feel the effects of being overworked from a younger age later in their academic careers.

I was always burnt out from trying to meet the levels of my classmates because they were already up there [academically].

CANAAN BOGALE

Social separation

Once you’re on [an academic track]— and that usually starts in early elementary school— you’re kind of stuck there.

ELENA SILVA

At the tender age of 8, every third grader in MCPS undergoes an evaluation of their academic ability. Based on their results, the county divides students into two paths that ultimately impact the rest of their schooling. There is no better way to alienate students from their peers than to create a program where “gifted” students are given specialized education to lift them even higher academically, while the “non-gifted” students are left behind.

MCPS should revisit magnet programs in elementary school, as this separation promotes alienation between students, and the additional stress and expectations of these programs often leads to burnout in students as young as 9 and 10.

In addition, these programs create a track that aids some students in gaining access to programs later on, while disadvantaging others.

The formerly named “Highly Gifted” programs, now called Centers for Enriched Studies (CES), are magnet programs for 4th and 5th graders across MCPS. The change in name comes from an effort to label the curriculum, not the children, but the fact that these programs are the same at their core speaks volumes about the separation between students.

There are centers at nine schools: Barnsley, Chevy Chase, Clearspring, Cold Spring, Charles Drew, Fox Chapel, Mill Creek Towne, Oak View, and Pine Crest.

According to the program description, these programs aim to teach selected students an accelerated curriculum, and are “designed to meet the needs of gifted and motivated learners” in language arts, science, and social studies.

Before 2017, applications to these programs had to be initiated by a parent or guardian, and sometimes even included private evaluations from psychologists that their children were gifted. This caused many students whose families were unaware such a program existed to be excluded right away. Now, every third grader is considered for the program based on their Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) scores, grades, and reading level.

Through central review, if they demonstrate a “need for enriched … programming,” they are entered into a lottery to be selected for a spot at CES. However, the number of seats has not increased, meaning many students who qualify to participate in the program are still unable to.

programs alienate students from their peers by separating students by ostensible academic ability during a critical time to develop social skills and awareness.

Afie Fuller, a 2017 Pine Crest graduate and current Blair junior, recalled this separation during her time at Pine Crest. “There was a clear divide between social groups with the kids in the gifted program and the kids not in the gifted program. We would never really see each other unless it was at recess with everybody playing around, and nobody [between programs] knew each other,” Fuller said.

Fuller was not in the then Highly Gifted Program.

MIA LEVINGS

By Laila Andelman and Carina Nicodemus Staff Writers

According to Silva, early magnet programs are not the right approach to early education. “Mixed ability classes ultimately help the overall student population, because it certainly is helping those who need more support … and it’s not really getting in the way of the opportunities that others have,” Silva said.

MCPS took a step in the right direction by attempting to make CES more diverse and accessible, but rigorous magnet programs in elementary school, no matter which way you cut it, are flawed and can be harmful to students inside and outside the programs.

“We’re so overly focused on privileging early fast performance.

We just think societally, not just in schools, [that] it’s better if you can go faster, and if you can do more … but I’m not sure it measures your ability to really contribute to our world, which ultimately, is what we’re trying to do with our schools,” Silva said.

silverchips

B4 Opinions October 19, 2023

The distraction we can’t ignore

Part of the problem is that the MCPS policy is very broad and doesn’t provide enforcement power at all.

MORGAN PATEL

well received by most teachers. “I think it’s the consistency, because when kids see the bins … they already know we can ask them to put their phones in there, so compared to prior years, it’s at least consistent,” Jimenez said.

But the policy is still not in working condition as some teachers

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this year require that phones must be in backpacks, bins, or pouches during instructional time, a much more effective policy than in past years. “Part of the problem is that the MCPS policy is very broad and doesn’t provide enforcement power at all,” Blair human geography teacher Morgan Patel said. “That makes it hard when there’s a lot of different teachers that have different opinions on how this should be done.”

There may be debate over how to keep phones out of class, but there is no debate that change is necessary. “Research has made clear that there’s a lot of anxiety and emotional labor that is attached to social media in particular,” Blair assistant principal Rahman Culver said. “So a lot of students experience literal emotional distress over being attached [to their phones].”

Many students recognize these sorts of problems, but still struggle to regulate phone usage effectively.

Average types of phone use during instructional time in minutes

Yo ut ub e

I think it’s the consistency, because when kids see the bins … they already know we can ask them to put their phones in there, so compared to prior years, it’s at least consistent.

DOUGLAS JIMENEZ

Phones are a nuisance that continually erode students’ abilities to focus or benefit from instructional time. The recent change in policy

by Blair’s administrative staff may not solve the problem, but it is a crucial stance that empowers teachers to reclaim their classrooms from students’ excessive phone usage.

According to MCPS’ general policy, “Students may possess PMDs [Personal Mobile Devices] on MCPS property and at MCPS-sponsored activities; but may not turn them on until the end of the school day for independent use.” However, with limited enforcement mechanisms for this rule, the responsibility of implementation is left to individual schools and teachers.

Thus, Blair created its own policy. Prior to this year, the policy allowed teachers to decide for themselves how to best regulate phone usage in their classes. “Before, every teacher [had] their own rules and it [was] very difficult to enforce,” Blair social studies teacher Douglas Jimenez said. “[Administration] told us that they were trying to just be more consistent across the board.”

In previous years, these sorts of inconsistencies have been noted by students, including Blair junior Quinton Holley. “In the past, some teachers would say ‘don’t go on your phone,’ or [other teachers would say] ‘you can go on your

“This is why things exist on Amazon to buy like a phone jail, where you can literally lock it up because we all have this problem,” Patel said. “It’s only getting worse. Kids are getting phones earlier and earlier and we absolutely are addicted as a society.”

Blair’s method of phone management is crucially uniform across classes. With a uniform policy, students are no longer confused about what is expected of them.

While the policy places emphasis on being constant around the school, it does allow for a level of discretion in how teachers enforce it—they have the choice of backpacks, bins, and pouches which allows them to adapt it to their classes. “I use [bins] more as a threat. I just have them there and say, ‘If we [teachers] need to ask you to put them in there, then we’ll ask you to,’” Jimenez said.

Overall, the change has been

M ed ia

AN OPINION

phone to listen to music, as long as you stay on task’,” Holley said.

The new guidelines set by Blair

So ci al

By Ethan de Brauw Staff Writer

GRAPHIC

BY ETHAN DE BRAUW|DATA COURTESY OF COMMON SENSE Source: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/2023-csMEDIA

smartphone-research-report_final-for-web.pdf

are yet to enforce it fully. “When you have a policy and only a few teachers do it, there’s no point,” Blair French teacher Ndona Kanza said. “You come in one class and the teacher says no cellphones; you go to another class [and] it’s like, ‘Well, I can use my cell phone over there.’”

Some teachers do not enforce the policy as strictly because they believe it should not fall entirely on them to apply it. “I don’t want to spend all of my time as a teacher constantly telling you to put it away because I have better things that I can be doing to help you learn, like teaching,” Patel said. While it is a legitimate problem that the policy is only being enforced in a limited capacity, it still offers a baseline level of phone regulation far surpassing previous policies.

From pencils to pixels

Ultimately, the long term results of the change in phone policy are yet to be seen, but it is a beneficial first step that has the power to change the way phones are used at Blair. “I do think [the policy] could stay in that it gives teachers [a] choice. It’s more enforceable than what we had before,” Patel said.

“But I think we need to try it [for] a few years before we really know if it’s working.”

The new phone policy at Blair is specific. It is straightforward and uniform around the school. It grants teachers a measure of discretion in how they use it. It is enforceable. It is the best, most effective, all-around policy we have had at Blair in the past few years.

The pitfall of standardization in the transition to the Digital SAT

By Amen Lemiesa Senior Writer AN OPINION

GRAPHIC BY AMEN LEMIESA

MAJOR DIFFERENCES Between the Physical SAT and the Digital SAT.

the test duration from three hours to two hours and 14 minutes. It consists of two adaptive sections, including shorter reading passages.

Exam tools, such as a digital countdown timer and graphing calculator, were also integrated into the app. Scores are delivered as early as 14 days from the test date, and the Bluebook app offered fulllength adaptive practice SATs, allowing students to adapt their test preparation strategies.

However, despite the new streamlined processes, on Oct. 11, the College Board’s digital system failed. Blair, along with many high schools in MCPS and across the country, were impacted by these technical challenges, leading to the abrupt cancellation of the PSAT for all students who were taking the test in MCPS. Blair rescheduled the PSAT to Oct. 24.

Blair English teacher Michael Horne, who teaches a semester-long college test preparation class, viewed the switch to digital as a rational decision from the College Board. “I think it’s the next logical step. I think it’s better for test security. I think it’s got to be easier for [the college board] to administer, so it’s gotta be more efficient,” Horne said.

Yet, while preaching efficiency, the test lost its adaptability. The SAT was a stereotypical example of the ‘one size fits all’ approach by assessing students’ aptitude and college readiness through a standardized set of questions. This method, while convenient for mass evaluation, is inherently flawed. The digital form could have allowed for more tailored test versions, incorporating multimedia, interactive segments, and real-time feedback.

Instead of using technology to create a more adaptable assessment, the SAT’s shift to digital replicated the old format on a new platform.

Claudia Galindo, professor of

It’s not necessarily the tests or the grades, but there are many other ways in which we could measure the disposition of students to finish and be successful [in college].

CLAUDIA GALINDO

Starting in the spring of 2024, all high school students nationwide, regardless of accommodations, will take the full SAT Suite of Assessments digitally. At a glance, this transition towards the digital appeared promising. It seemed innovative, in sync with the modern educational milieu, and an opportunity for a long-overdue revamp of a system plagued with critiques.

From shortening the test’s length

by almost a third to implementing adaptive questions, the changes made for the digital SAT appeared likely to improve the testing experience for everyone involved. However, the reality was far from a step in the right direction. Alongside more than 80 percent of colleges and universities adopting a test-optional approach to admissions, the SAT, despite its new digital format, is losing its relevance.

Transitioning to this new era, the College Board unveiled modifications accompanying the digital SAT. The test’s administration through the Bluebook app reduced

education policy at the University of Maryland, agreed with the narrow perspective standardized testing, including the SAT, offers as the singular measure of a student’s potential in college “[The SAT] could be considered one indicator [of college readiness], but it is not necessarily the most important indicator,” Galindo said. “These standardized tests are either culturally biased or do not represent the type of knowledge that we want to have in our students.”

As it has grown increasingly more apparent that incorporating cultural awareness and adaptability into a standardized test is unlikely, the College Board continues to push the ‘one size fits all’ paradigm and cling to the long-standing norms of standardization, missing an opportunity to revolutionize standardized testing.

Understandably, Blair junior Noreni Mamosama, who would

have liked to see more diverse tests, noted the difficulty of creating test variations to suit individual needs.

“There could be different versions, but it’d be hard to be able … to make it specific to everyone,” she said. Noreni reiterated the practical challenges of designing varied tests, pointing to potential costs. “It’d be more efficient … because it’d take too long to make separate [tests] for … individual students without using too many resources,” she said.

As such, while ensuring cost efficiency, it is vital that in this new chapter of standardized testing, educators, policymakers, and testing organizations reevaluate what it means to measure aptitude and college readiness. The digital leap, as it stands, is more focused on streamlined operations than on serving the diverse student population.

The system must evolve beyond mere standardization, focusing on understanding individual learning dynamics, valuing the spectrum of diversity, and ensuring genuine fairness and representation.

Alternatives to measure students’ preparedness for higher education have already been put to use, as highlighted by Galindo, who emphasized students’ motivations and aspirations as strong indicators.

“It’s not necessarily the tests or the grades, but there are many other ways in which we could measure the disposition of students to finish and be successful [in college] …

We already use some [testing alternatives]; I love essays and [student] portfolios … but it’s very important that the student [feels] free to share their own stories and their own perspectives,” Galindo said.

la

esquinalatina Representando la comunidad latinx desde el 2003

El 19 de octubre de 2023

Voces unidas

Volumen 21 Número 1

Un evento para levantar nuestras voces Por Lukas Barbieri Escritor Una noche cuando las historias, culturas, y tradiciones de la comunidad latina pueden ser celebradas.

El 26 de octubre a las seis de la tarde, obras de baile, canto, poesía, y humor tendrán lugar en el auditorio de Blair. Esto es Voces Unidas, una culminación del Mes de la Herencia Hispana y todo el trabajo que los alumnos, exalumnos, y docentes hicieron en las últimas semanas. Pero sin los sacrificios que ellos han hecho, el evento no sería posible.

Durante las dos horas del evento, habrá alrededor de 15 actuaciones. Cada grupo ha tenido que ensayar por más de un mes para estar listos para el evento. Los estudiantes escogieron sus actos dependiendo de sus talentos y también cómo representan su herencia cultural.

Una obra de Voces Unidas, la cumbia, por ejemplo, es un baile que proviene de Colombia aunque también goza de gran popularidad en Centroamérica. Este número ofrece una oportunidad perfecta donde los alumnos con raíces colombianas o centroamericanas pueden participar y compartir en algo que les represente. No solo pueden expresar su cultura, sino también lo pueden disfrutar.

Genesys Galo, en el décimo grado

dijo “Lo hago por divertido… me gusta bailar también”. Además del baile, algunos estudiantes escogieron obras como la poesía para representar sus comunidades a través de la literatura.

Esta oportunidad de mostrar su cultura no viene sin costos. Génesis Valle, una ex-alumna de Blair, dedica mucho de su tiempo a dirigir el grupo de merengue, “Estamos haciendo prácticas durante los almuerzos y después de escuela los martes y jueves. Como tal vez máximo unas ocho horas [cada semana]”. La dedicación requerida para hacer todo ese trabajo encima de sus estudios en la universidad es enorme. Galo también adivinó que pasará unas 20 horas preparándose

para el rendimiento final. El año pasado no fue diferente para Galo, “Estoy sacrificando mi tiempo.

Como la última vez que perdí la fiesta de cumpleaños de mi primo”.

Los estudiantes lo hacen y sacrifican por una plétora de razones.

Charly Cáceres, un estudiante del grado doce en el grupo de baile guatemalteco, espera “Aprender nuevos bailes, practicar con amigos, y hacer amigos nuevos”.

Con la gran diversidad encontrada en Voces Unidas es posible conocer a gente nueva muy rápido. El ambiente es algo que no se puede encontrar afuera de Voces Unidas.

Valle dijo que la mejor parte de la experiencia es ver “cómo la gente se desarrolla, porque a veces

FOTOS POR DYLAN WARREN

BAILE GUATEMALTECO El grupo de baile gauetemalteco practicando durante su primer ensayo con Voces Unidas. entra en este, como muy reservado, muy callados y ya después de estar tanto en grupo, ya pierden la pena y se ven plática más”. La oportunidad de estar con compañeros que tienen tanto en común como lengua y experiencias compartidas les da la confianza para salir de su caparazón.

Otra razón por la que la gente se unen en Voces Unidas es a causa del aliciente de horas de servicio comunitario. Galo dijo que “Primero lo hice a causa de las horas que ofrecen, pero después, tenía la comunidad”. Los estudiantes vienen por las horas y quedan por la comunidad. Khadeja Ramos, otra bailadora de merengue en el grado

once, dijo que “Como el nombre, Voces Unidas, dice, los latinos se unen. Y es muy lindo ver cómo todos participamos para sacar nuestra, como los latinos, adelante en la escuela”.

Si quisieras obtener unas horas de servicio comunitario, ser parte de una comunidad tan linda, y actuar en un gran evento, es posible que el próximo año Voces Unidas sea perfecto para ti. Para representar su cultura y herencia los participantes se sacrificaron mucho, pero vale la pena. Para ver los frutos de su trabajo y unas obras impresionantes vengan a las seis de la tarde el jueves 26 de octubre al auditorio de Blair. Nos vemos allí.

Mantenganse firme en fila Por Axel Henrriquez y Rose Kepka Escritores El aumento nacional del ausentismo crónico ha tenido un gran efecto en MCPS. La definición de ausencia crónica es cuando un estudiante se ausenta por 10 por ciento del año o por lo menos 18 días en MCPS. Lynne Harris, miembro de la junta educativa y profesora jubilada, explica que la asistencia afecta mucho la calidad del aprendizaje. En el ciclo escolar de 2022-2023, el 35,79 por ciento de estudiantes en la escuela secundaria estuvieron crónicamente ausentes, mucho más alto que el 19,55 por ciento antes de COVID. Este problema afecta desproporcionadamente a estudiantes en el programa de FARMS y estudiantes afroamericanos e hispanos, que

tienen mayor probabilidad de estar crónicamente ausentes. En 2023, el 42,46 por ciento de estudiantes hispanos en FARMS eran ausentes crónicos, un porcentaje significativamente más alto que la población general. Hay muchas razones para esta desigualdad, incluyendo factores financieros y barreras lingüísticas.

Para responder a este problema, la Junta Educativa ha creado una nueva política de asistencia que intenta resolverlo todo. Esta política dice que los estudiantes serán dados de baja de la escuela si tienen 10 días de ausencias consecutivas.

El proceso de desinscripción incluye intervenciones con estudiantes y sus familias para entender el problema. Con esto se trata de encontrar soluciones para mejorar la asistencia del estudiante. ve a ASISTENCIA página C2

FOTOS POR MARGOT BUEHLER Y JAMIE LOZADO-MCBRIDE

PINTURA DE CARA Y TATUAJES Estudiantes celebran mes de la herencia hispana con tatuajes semipermanentes y pintura de cara en el Blair Boulevard durante almuerzo.

GRÁFICA POR AMEN LEMIESA

C2 La Esquina Latina el 19 de octubre de 2023

Cabezas arribas, pies derechos

silverchips

El condado ha creado una nueva política sobre la asistencia, ¿funcionará? de ASISTENCIA página C1

Cuando sólo aparecen nombres de pila, se han utilizado seudónimos para proteger la identidad de los estudiantes.

Quiero asegurar que comprenden claramente antes de que demos de baja a algún estudiante.

RENAY JOHNSON

FOTO POR IAN GLEASON

FIRMA SU LLEGADA Estudiante de Blair firmando su llegada tarde en la oficina principal.

A un estudiante hispano, Shaggy, sus padres lo sacaron de la escuela a principios de este año escolar. Shaggy explica que la razón era que él necesitaba trabajar para ayudar a su familia. Su camino para re-inscribirse en la escuela fue muy difícil, ya que su mamá necesitó tomar tiempo para ayudarle a inscribirse de vuelta y tuvieron que reunirse con la escuela para explicar lo que sucedió. Él dice, “Para ser honesto, me di cuenta de que me había equivocado”.

[Blair ofrece] una educación gratuita.

Deberías obtener la mayor cantidad posible cuando es gratis.

La Sra. Pastor es una guardia de seguridad hispana quien ha trabajado en Blair por 5 años y entró

Blazer Destacada

grama de transportación alternativa para estudiantes con horarios cortos. Otra opción sería extender recursos de consejería, PPWs, y trabajadores sociales.

Se sentía como si estuvieran sosteniendo mis clases sobre un acantilado.

La ausencia crónica continúa siendo un problema para Blair y MCPS. La postura de la administración es que la nueva política ayudará a los estudiantes y mejorará los números de ausencias. Sin embargo, es temprano en el año escolar y no se tienen los datos sobre el efecto real de esta política.

Solamente el tiempo mostrará la verdadera eficacia de esta política.

Por Dylan Warren Escritor

Participar con ellos en su tierra, y visitar sitios históricos en su tierra, fue lo que más que me ayudó a conectarme con ellos.

“Participar con ellos en su tierra, y visitar sitios históricos en su tierra, fue lo que más que me ayudó a conectarme con ellos”, comentó.

En Maryland, tuvo ocasión de conocer la rica comida de los hispanos de muy distintos orígenes.

A pesar de que ahora le encantan, hasta entonces nunca había comido pupusas, ni otros platos

salvadoreños, hondureños, o incluso peruanos. Sin embargo, cuando quiere recordar su tierra, hay un plato típico puertorriqueño que ocupa un lugar especial en su corazón. Se trata de las alcapurrias, una fritura que está hecha mayormente de yuca, yautía, achiote, y carne molida.

Como todo profesor de Blair, su función no es solamente enseñar su asignatura. Por supuesto, su objetivo es que los alumnos perfeccionen su español. Pero también quiere inculcar principios, particularmente a los estudiantes hispanos, que les ayuden a conseguir sus objetivos. Los anima a que luchen por lo que quieren, a que pregunten y pidan, y no ser retraídos o mantener una actitud pasiva como a veces pasa en nuestras culturas de origen.

“Aquí hay que pelear, de forma cordial y educada, pero pelear, por lo que uno quiere”. Dice que es lo que ella ha practicado siempre, siendo impetuosa y decidida.

Aunque no se considera invencible, asegura que nunca se da por vencida, diciendo, “Intento hasta el final conseguir lo que quiero”.

Mira, si algo aprendí de los estadounidenses, es que uno tiene que expresar las preocupaciones de una manera cordial y educada, por supuesto.

DORA GONZALEZ

ayudó no solo a que aprendiera de esas culturas sino a que se conectara con esas comunidades. Uno de los mejores recuerdos de su carrera es el de haber podido visitar El Salvador, Honduras, y Guatemala en 2005 con un grupo de estudiantes de Blair y Richard Montgomery.

DORA GONZALEZ

en Puerto Rico. Junto con su esposo se mudó a Iowa, donde vivió la experiencia que ella describe como “ser los raros del pueblo”. Sin embargo, siempre tuvo alguna conexión con la comunidad hispana gracias a que su esposo, trabajando en el ámbito de la salud, sirvió mayoritariamente a hispanos. Después se mudaron a Maryland, donde una amiga le habló de una posición Blair, y ahí empezó su tiempo como educadora, cumpliendo el viejo sueño de su niñez de ser maestra.

“Cuando estaba en Dora Gonzalez sexto grado, tuve que FOTO POR DYLAN WARREN ir a ayudar a la maestra de segundo grado y les contó En sus 28 años como profesora un cuento a los niños. Y cuando les en Blair, la señora González es una dice el cuento, me di cuenta que auténtica Blazer que ha dejado una yo me daba cuenta cuando otro ser gran huella en nuestra comunidad humano aprendía. Y eso a mí me hispana. Actualmente está a cargo fascinó. Entonces, en ese momendel curso de AP y Español para to, decidí ser maestra”.

Su pasión por ser maestra y la hispanohablantes nivel tres, pero diversidad dentro de la comunidad en todos estos años ha impartido hispana de Estados Unidos fue diversas clases de español.

Inició su formación profesional un gran aliciente para la señora estudiando pedagogía, una ciencia González. Conocer a estudiantes que se trata de la educación infantil, de diferentes partes del mundo

a la escuela estadounidense como inmigrante de Centroamérica. Ella explica sobre su experiencia con los estudiantes que no entienden cómo deben navegar el sistema que es muy similar a su propia experiencia de escuela. Pastor dice, “es importante que habrá alguien en la esquina de ellos que sepa el mismo idioma que les puede guíar”. Ayuda en su propio idioma y de personas con una comprensión de su cultura puede ser muy importante ayudar a los estudiantes inmigrantes. Algunos expertos de educación sugieren que soluciones alternativas, similar a la ayuda de guardias hipanos, son la mejor manera de tratar las ausencias crónicas. Soluciones como llamar a las familias en su idioma, que de acuerdo con la Sra Johnson Blair se va a implementar, también pueden ayudar.

La nueva política toma pasos para mejorar pero hay otros programas que también podrían ser implementados. Por ejemplo, un pro-

SOPHIA

Una estudiante de Blair, Sophia, tuvo una emergencia de salud mental durante el onceavo grado, en invierno y primavera de 2023.

Esto resultó en su admisión a una institución médica residencial.

Debido a su situación, ella faltó doce semanas de escuela en total.

Cuando quiso volver a la escuela después de su tratamiento, ella describe muchas dificultades con el proceso de readmisión. Dice que, “Se sentía como si estuvieran sosteniendo mis clases sobre un acantilado y diciéndome que tenía la culpa por no poder detenerlas”. Sus consejeros no podían ofrecerle mucha ayuda y el proceso dependía mucho de su propia iniciativa. Todo esto pasó durante el año pasado con la política anterior.

“Con la política nueva, la conversación cambiaría de necesitar ayuda para mantener mis notas y mantenerme al día con mis clases, a necesitar ayuda para permanecer en la escuela en absoluto”. Sophia habla inglés como primer idioma y tiene bastante ayuda de sus padres, quienes también hablan inglés.

Para un estudiante que no cuenta con el apoyo de su familia, que no habla inglés, o que enfrenta otros desafíos, este proceso podría ser más difícil de navegar.

ROXANNE FUS

Depende del personal de trabajadores para el pupilaje (PPWs por sus siglas en inglés) y los consejeros de la escuela llevar a cabo esta parte de la política. La Sra Johnson explica “esta es la razón por la que aprobé las bajas, porque quiero asegurar que hemos hablado con los parientes … y quiero asegurar que comprenden claramente antes de que demos de baja a algún estudiante”. Ella explicó que la escuela va a hacer un esfuerzo para contactar y llamar a familias en sus propios idiomas.

La administración de Blair espera que esta política reduzca la ausencia crónica y mejore la calidad educativa para los estudiantes. Sin embargo, esta política es nueva y hay una comprensión limitada de cómo será aplicada en diferentes escuelas. A menudo, las políticas se aplican de manera diferente en cada escuela, especialmente en escuelas grandes o en escuelas con recursos limitados. En Blair, con más de 3 mil estudiantes, los consejeros ya tenían serios retos para llevar a cabo su labor incluso antes de la nueva política.

Con este gran número de estudiantes, se hace mucho para el personal en Blair, pero allí es donde ellos obtienen ayuda de alguien. Ms. Fus, la secretaria de asistencia y la co-patrocinadora del duodécimo grado comenta, “me gustaría que volviéramos a algún tipo de política de pérdida de crédito. No es tanto que quiera ver a los estudiantes fracasar”, ella explica “Pero siento que antes [los estudiantes] tomaban a los profesores un poco más en serio”. Ella siente que la ausencia muestra una falta de respeto para los profesores. Añade que, “[Blair ofrece] una educación gratuita. Deberías obtener la mayor cantidad posible

cuando es gratis”.

Algunos estudiantes ya han tenido problemas con esta nueva política. Aunque algunos estudiantes faltan a sus clases simplemente porque no quieren asistir, hay otros que tienen justificaciones para sus ausencias. Estas justificaciones incluyen problemas de salud mental o la necesidad de trabajar y apoyar a su familia.

Aunque disfruta mucho enseñando en Blair, la señora González empieza a hacer planes para cuando se jubile. Puerto Rico siempre estará en su corazón, pero por encima de todo quiere disfrutar su tiempo con su familia. Por eso piensa que en su futuro próximo se irá a vivir a Nueva York para estar con su hija y tres nietos. Aun si no trabaja de profesora, seguirá enseñando a sus nietos con su cariño, porque la señora González, aunque se jubile, será siempre una maestra invencible.

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el 19 de octubre de 2023 La Esquina Latina C3

La realidad de la frontera mexicana Nuevas protestas sobre viejos problemas Por Naila Romero-Alston y Marta Vasquez Escritoras

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Por Maia Turpen Columnista

Ubicada en el lujoso abrazo de la Cordillera de los Andes, la cultura vibrante y la diversa geografía de Colombia forma un tapiz encantado que invita a la exploración. En el corazón de América del Sur, se encuentra con su rica diversidad geográfica, histórica y cultural.

La geografía de Colombia es variada y asombrosa. Desde las

trada de inmigrantes a los Estados Unidos, y otros que reconocen que los inmigrantes traen vitalidad, ganas y muchas cosas buenas a los Estados Unidos. Ahora mismo hay una situación bien grave en los estados como Venezuela, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, México”. Benach comenta que los gobiernos no

situación económica es muy baja, las oportunidades de tener una buena calidad de vida son muy bajas”. También hay una gran diferencia entre la frontera de México y Estados Unidos, de acuerdo con Alex. “Cuando estaba en el

Mercedes Vargas-Lugo elabora en la situación: “Se junta [la violencia alrededor de la frontera y los desaparecidos] un poco en este tema de que las mafias se están contro-

están solucionando este conflicto “los mexicanos y los americanos están respondiendo con la única cosa que han tratado, como: deportación, detención y poner personas en peligro. Es que estas personas están corriendo de tanta violencia, tanta pobreza, tanta inseguridad. Vale la pena, para cruzar la brecha, cruzar la frontera y esperar meses en Matamoros, Tijuana y zonas bien peligrosas y la única respuesta que tienen los gobiernos es deportación, amenazas, detención. ¿Cómo le puedes decir esto a una persona que ha venido desde Bolivia por toda Centroamérica? y pienso que ellos tienen miedo de una deportación’’. Ambos gobiernos tienen sistemas que no facilitan solucionar los casos de imigracion.

Benach explica, “Este es el estado normal y solo cambia a los lados.

Hay pocos cambios y siempre hacemos los mismos errores. Las mismas reacciones y nunca aprendimos nada. Y solo entre Biden, Trump, Obama y Bush, no hay cambios grandes, hay cambios pequeños a los lados”.

Alex Chuta, un estudiante del décimo año en Blair que emigró de Guatemala hace seis meses, comenta que, “Muchas personas de mi país están emigrando porque la

lado de la frontera de México, la cantidad de inmigrantes no era muy alta, pero cuando entré en el lado de USA la cantidad aumentó mucho más. Había mucha gente sentada esperando una respuesta desesperadamente”. También explica que muchos estudiantes de Blair emigran para tener una mejor educación de la que tendrían en su país “en Guatemala la economía es muy baja, y no importa que tanto trabajes, siempre vas a estar estancado en el mismo lugar porque el pago es muy bajo al igual que las oportunidades. Los políticos son muy corruptos, prometen cosas a la gente, pero nunca cumplen”.

Es importante saber que este es un conflicto que lleva décadas en el mismo lugar, no hay manera aparente de que esto pare, debido a la situación política y económica de muchos países de Latinoamérica y el mundo en general. De acuerdo a Ava Benach, la situación podría mejorar pero “a los gobiernos les hace falta imaginación. Les falta la intención. No son suficientemente valientes para tratar de hacer algo distinto a lo que se ha hecho por toda la historia”.

majestuosas montañas de los Andes que se extienden a lo largo del país, hasta la vasta región amazónica que abarca la parte sur, el país es un paraíso de biodiversidad.

La biodiversidad consiste en las especies de un ecosistema, las plantas y animales de la región. Cuando visité Bogotá con mí escuela hace unos años, me sorprendió cuán impresionante es la naturaleza y cuán cercana a las ciudades se encuentra. Tuve la oportunidad de ver minas de sal en Nemocón y el lago Guatavita.

Los lagos, ríos y selvas tropicales hacen de este país un refugio para una gran variedad de flora y fauna, convirtiéndolo en un lugar de interés para científicos y amantes de la naturaleza.

Colombia tiene una historia rica y compleja, con raíces que se remontan a los pueblos indígenas que habitaron la región mucho antes de la llegada de los europeos.

De acuerdo con el censo de 2018, la población indigena colombiana es alrededor de 1,905,617 personas que pertenecen a 115 grupos

diferentes. La cultura indígena floreció en diversas áreas del país, y la más conocida es la civilización de los muiscas, que se originó en la actual región de Boyacá. Estos grupos desarrollaron avanzadas técnicas agrícolas y sistemas de gobierno.

La cultura colombiana es un mosaico de influencias indígenas, africanas y europeas, lo que ha dado lugar a una rica diversidad de tradiciones culturales. Los colombianos son conocidos por su pasión por la música y el baile, con el vallenato, la cumbia y el currulao como géneros musicales emblemáticos. Además, el Carnaval de Barranquilla es una celebración espectacular que combina música, danza y desfiles brillantes.

La comida colombiana es una deliciosa mezcla de ingredientes frescos y sabores únicos. El país es conocido por sus empanadas, arepas y sancocho, platos tradicionales que reflejan la diversidad de su cultura culinaria. El queso, en sus numerosas variedades, es un acompañamiento común en la mayoría de las comidas colombianas.

Cuando visité, me sorprendió que cada mañana, era costumbre beber chocolate caliente con queso.

Colombia es el tercer productor más grande de café del mundo.

Más de medio millón de familias viven del cultivo. El comercio glob-

al de café es un negocio viscoso que se aprovecha de países de producción. Usualmente, el café se fabrica en plantaciones grandes, controladas por grandes compañías. Las cadenas de distribución complejas también significa que los productores nunca reciben suficientes beneficios de las ventas de sus productos. Estas condiciones afectan particularmente a los pequeños productores, que constituyen más del 95% de los caficultores en Colombia. Ha habido mucho esfuerzo para apoyar a los pequeños productores y ahora el gobierno de Colombia tiene una meta de tener un certificado de comercio en 2027.

Ojalá que hayan aprendido como Colombia cautiva con su geografía impresionante, su rica historia indígena, sus vibrantes tradiciones culturales y su deliciosa comida. Su diversidad geográfica, desde las montañas de los Andes hasta la exuberante selva amazónica, proporciona un entorno único para la vida y la exploración. La historia de los indígenas y su legado cultural aún influyen en la identidad de Colombia. Sus tradiciones culturales, música y danza reflejan la alegría y la pasión de su gente.

Además, la comida colombiana es una experiencia culinaria que no se puede perder. Colombia es un país

que rebosa de vida, cultura y belleza natural, e invita a los viajeros a explorar sus maravillas y a sumergirse en la riqueza de su patrimonio cultural. Es un lugar donde la diversidad es celebrada y su corazón late al ritmo de la música y la alegría de su gente.

Los mexicanos y los americanos están respondiendo con la única cosa que han tratado, como: deportación, detención y poner personas en peligro.

AVA BENACH

La frontera entre México y Estados Unidos ha sido un tema controvertido por los últimos años, especialmente durante la presidencia de Donald Trump. El 13 de agosto, mexicanos en Tijuana protestaron contra la nueva construcción de la frontera y en señal de protesta, instalaron un pedazo del muro de Berlín frente a la estructura. El muro de Berlín simboliza la importancia de derribar barreras y en su lugar construir puentes entre naciones, por eso, la decisión de poner este ladrillo frente a la frontera es significativo.

Antiguamente, el muro de Berlín separaba Alemania del Este y Alemania del Oeste de acuerdo con las divisiones políticas de los dos lugares. El Muro de Berlín se convirtió en una de las imágenes más icónicas de la Guerra Fría en Europa y su destrucción simboliza la importancia de unir lugares que históricamente han sido políticamente polarizados. Mercedes Vargas-Lugo, una reportera que se enfoca en Latinoamérica, comenta, “La situación de la frontera para un gobernador de los Estados Unidos es muy complicada porque tiene muchas implicaciones en las elecciones a nivel electoral”. Esto implica que cualquier decisión que Biden tome acerca de la frontera va a causar opiniones fuertes desde ambos lados políticos. Además de esto, ha habido un aumento reciente en la inmigración a los Estados Unidos debido a la violencia y conflictos políticos en países como Venezuela, México y Cuba.

En el principio de la presidencia de Joe Biden en 2020, él dijo como una orden ejecutiva, que iba a parar la construcción del muro entre México y los Estados Unidos. En la actualidad, los Estados Unidos ha empezado a reforzar más la pared.

Además de eso, muchos inmigrantes que llevan años en Estados Unidos pensaron que el presidente Biden crearía leyes para apoyar a los inmigrantes indocumentados queriendo legalizar su estadía o entrar a los Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, aún no hay noticias que beneficien a los inmigrantes indocumentados.

lando todas estas cosas diferentes y entonces tienes los desaparecidos mexicanos, pero empiezas a tener también estos migrantes que están en momentos de gran necesidad”.

Encima de los elevados números de personas que enfrentan violencia en otras áreas de México, este problema se pone aún peor cerca de la frontera cuando los migrantes están en situaciones desesperadas.

Vargas-Lugo continúa diciendo que, “Las mafias se aprovechan de esa necesidad… los tratan de extorsionar y de pedirles dinero. Y si no lo consiguen, pues muy tristemente los desaparecen y en un país como México, con un problema tan grande de desapariciones, pues no es que el gobierno tenga los recursos para buscar a todas estas personas, lo cual es terrible”.

Considerando que la situación de la gente tratando de cruzar la frontera les pone en un momento tan desesperado, es más fácil para que personas aprovechen de esto porque en ese momento muchos migrantes no tienen ninguna otra opción. Vargas-Lugo explica que, “por hoy, el crimen organizado, ya no sólo drogas… se meten en todo lo que hay dinero turbio. Y el movimiento de migrantes, pues es totalmente dinero turbio”. De hecho, una corresponsal de Vargas-Lugo estaba en la zona Darien, la selva entre Colombia y Panamá, que es similar a la situación de muchos migrantes buscando una vida mejor. Mientras que estaba allí, Vargas-Lugo explica que ella vio “cuatro mil personas cruzando por día… un gran grupo de ellos habían sido asaltados en el camino, como 500 de ellos asaltados y les habían quitado todo”. Muchos migrantes tienen que enfrentar situaciones injustas como esta, pero no tienen ninguna otra opción que seguir yendo. Vargas-Lugo elabora que, “todas estas personas con situaciones brutalmente complicadas y muchos de ellos sin dinero.

Pues, todos al final acaban en esa frontera entre México y Estados Unidos”.

Además de eso, Ava Benach, abogada de inmigracion en Washington DC, explica que entre los gobiernos de México y Estados Unidos “el conflicto sigue, como siempre han estado en que, hay personas que quieren parar la en-

Vargas-Lugo explica que, “Lo que ha hecho Biden, ha sido más bien reforzar zonas donde ya existía un muro. No ha hecho nada parecido a Trump y el show de ‘vamos a crear una pared completa’... es un tema muy politizado. Y al final, alguien como Biden que está buscando una reelección el año que viene tiene que jugar ese juego político”.

Con esto en mente, las acciones del presidente acerca de la frontera han sido muy seguras con el contexto de su reelección el próximo año. Pero, ¿cómo está afectando a los inmigrantes intentando entrar a los Estados Unidos?

De los 8.000 inmigrantes que ingresan a los Estados Unidos cada día a través de esta frontera, no todos vienen solamente de México. Vargas-Lugo explica que, “con este flujo de migrantes que vienen desde lugares tan lejanos como Bangladesh a lugares tan cercanos como el mismo México, donde todos estos migrantes se juntan en la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos, porque para todos ellos el lugar donde quieren llegar es los Estados Unidos”. En 2021, 95.692 migrantes que entraron a los Estados Unidos por esta frontera vinieron desde Ecuador. Debido a las situaciones de sumo riesgo que toma este viaje, miles de inmigrantes han desaparecido, dejando así a 2022 como el año de más inmigrantes desaparecidos con 22.575 casos en México de desaparecidos. Hasta ahora en 2023, los casos siguen incrementando en el lapso de enero a agosto.

CINDIS HERNÁNDEZ

la esquinalatina

LA ESQUINA LATINA EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Zoë Kaiser Giselle Zelaya LA ESQUINA LATINA WRITERS Lukas Barbieri Jaleih Cruz Bia da Silva Axel Henrriquez David Goulding Rose Kepka Jamie Lozada-McBride Naila Romero-Alston Maia Turpen Marta Vasquez Jason Youm MANAGING LA ESQUINA LATINA ART EDITOR Yahaira Barrero LA ESQUINA LATINA ARTISTS Margarita Contreras Amaya Maria Espinal Angela Martinez-Gonzalez Evie Orcutt Kimberly Solis Cindis Hernández LA ESQUINA LATINA ADVISER Maria Eugenia Tanos

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C4 La Esquina Latina el 19 de octubre de 2023

Copa mundial de rugby masculina Francia es el anfitrión de la décima edición de la Copa Mundial de Rugby masculina, en la que 20 naciones competirán por el trofeo Webb Ellis entre el 8 de septiembre y el 28 de octubre. Habrá tres países hispanohablantes compitiendo por esta copa: Uruguay, Argentina y, por primera vez, Chile. Ningún país hispanohablante ha ganado la copa mundial de rugby masculina, pero Argentina es un fuerte contendiente después de vencer a Nueva Zelanda, tres veces ganadores de la copa mundial, en agosto del año pasado.

Los Pumas han ganado cuatro de cinco partidos en este torneo y va ser difícil para Nueva Zelanda derrotarlos en semifinales.

Los migrantes de San Diego En San Diego, el departamento de Aduanas y protecciones fronterizas de los Estados Unidos ha sacado a miles de inmigrantes de los refugios a las calles porque estaban llenos. Los han dejado en estaciones de tránsito con avisos judiciales. De acuerdo a los grupos que ayudan a inmigrantes, los refugios están llenos a raíz de muchos motivos, por ejemplo, la reducción de los fondos gubernamentales, la práctica de la de enviar migrantes de Texas y Arizona para ser procesados ​​en San Diego, y un aumento en los cruces ilegales. Migrantes de varios países, incluyendo China, India, Brazil, Columbia y África occidental están siendo dejados en las calles en busca de una mejor vida.

El estigma hacia la marihuana en comunidades latinas es algo que tiene sus orígenes en el siglo veinte. Hoy, en 2023, el estado de Maryland ha legalizado la marihuana para usos medicinales y recreativos. Sin embargo, la legalización de esta droga ha sido un tema contencioso a través del mundo latinoamericano, especialmente en estados diferentes de los Estados Unidos. Aquí en Silver Spring y Blair, ¿qué piensa la comunidad latina sobre la legalización de marihuana?

La respuesta no es tan clara.

Hay algunos estudiantes que apoyan la legalización de marihuana, otros que se oponen a ella, y más que no tienen opiniones fuertes.

Eso tiene sentido, porque también hay argumentos sólidos en ambos lados del debate. Mucha experimentación ha descubierto que la marihuana, una droga extraída de las plantas de cannabis, puede aliviar el insomnio, disminuir la ansiedad y controlar el dolor en cantidades pequeñas.

Al mismo tiempo, hay riesgos con la legalización de esta droga. “[Marihuana] es una droga… y me da miedo que toda la gente sea adicta [a ella]”, dijo Kathy Ortez, una mujer hondureña de 21 años en la comunidad. Además, mucha gente asocia la marihuana con la esquizofrenia y otras enfermedades mentales, según un informe de los Institutos Nacionales de Salud (NIH por sus siglas en inglés).

Estas creencias están arraigadas en muchas culturas, incluyendo las de Latinoamérica.

En Latinoamérica, hay una diferencia en el apoyo público de la legalización entre países y comunidades. Hace cuarenta años, la imagen de la marihuana que surgió en América Latina y se difundió a la comunidad latina en los EE. UU. fue una de una “amenaza altamente destructiva”, según Andrés Mendíburo-Seguel, miembro de la facultad de psicología en la Universidad Andrés Bello de Santiago, Chile. La marihuana se asociaba con la adicción y el crimen, y el estigma negativo se desarrolló.

Sin embargo, al inicio del siglo, algunas personas empezaron a alejarse de las regulaciones estrictas.

En sus ojos, el tráfico de marihuana no pararía a pesar de las reglas, pero la legalización traería una atenuación del peligro y socavaría los mercados ilegales de drogas.

Una cantidad creciente de personas están de acuerdo con estas ideas en muchas partes de Latinoamérica. Por ejemplo, sólo el 7% de los mexicanos en 2008 estaban a favor de legalizar el cannabis por razones recreativas. En 2016, este número saltó al 57%. Costa Rica ha visto un fenómeno similar, con el 55% de las personas apoyando la legalización, según Mendíbero-Seguel.

Sin embargo, sólo el 49 por ciento de los adultos hispanos en los EE.UU. quieren la legalización recreativa, comparado con un 68 por ciento de adultos afroamericanos y un 60 por ciento de adultos blancos, según el Centro de Inves-

FOTO POR FIONA BONDAREV

TIENDA DE TABACO Una tienda en Silver Spring vende productos de marihuana en la comunidad. tigaciones Pew en 2022. Hay un número de factores que causa esta diferencia, muchos de ellos originados en Latinoamérica.

Como las estadísticas y tendencias a través de todo el país, los miembros de la comunidad latina en Silver Spring también tienen opiniones y puntos de vista variados. Ortez, quien se mudó a los Estados Unidos desde Honduras hace diez años, tiene una visión negativa sobre la legalización. Dijo en una entrevista que “muchos niños ahora son presionados por sus amigos para usar [marihuana] sin entender los impactos”. Otro estudiante de Blair que quiso permanecer anónimo dijo que la marihuana le recuerda a su “lugar de origen [donde] hay mucha violencia de pandillas y, por supuesto, mucha pobreza”.

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Milicianos palestinos del grupo armado Hamás lanzaron un ataque coordinado por sorpresa contra Israel. Los militantes palestinos han destruido partes de la frontera, creando una gran apertura. Asesinaron a cientos de soldados y civiles y tomaron a docenas de rehenes de regreso a Gaza.

Este es el peor ataque en años y el primer ministro israelí, Benjamín Netanyahu, declaró que su país está en guerra con Hamás. Israel prometió venganza y Netanyahu prometió una “poderosa venganza”. Hamás dijo que estaba preparado para todos los escenarios.

Por David Goulding y Jason Youm Escritores

ONZAL E

Ataque de Hamás a Israel

¿Cómo afecta la legalización de la marihuana a la comunidad latina de Blair?

A MAR TINEZ-G

Compilado por Jaleih Cruz Escritora

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NOTICIAS BREVES

Estigmas sobre la marihuana

Por otro lado, algunos estudiantes de la comunidad tienen puntos de vista más positivos. Un estudiante anónimo de la escuela secundaria Northwood HS, también en Silver Spring, piensa que, “si tienes la edad adecuada, o si no abusas, la [marihuana] … estaría perfectamente bien”. Además, otro estudiante de Blair tiene una perspectiva más amplia. Piensa que “la legalización … aumentaría el estereotipo de que los hispanos son traficantes de drogas para todo”.

Hay una variedad de opiniones entre los estudiantes, pero entre las generaciones mayores, como los padres de los estudiantes, generalmente existe una mayor oposición hacia la legalización. Según Ortez, que no está de acuerdo con la legalización, “[a mis padres] no les gusta en absoluto… tratan de evitar todas las drogas, especialmente la marihuana.” Los padres del estudiante salvadoreño de Blair “hablan de cómo los niños de la escuela secundaria tienen mucho acceso a [la marihuana]… y los aspectos negativos, como la adicción, la dependencia”.

Hay muchas razones para este comportamiento.

Según un trabajo de investigación de los Institutos Nacionales de la Salud por Franco Mascayano y otros, los países con un porcentaje muy grande de cristianos normalmente tienen reglas estrictas contra la marihuana, entre otras drogas. Las personas religiosas también son más propensas a abstenerse de consumir marihuana que las personas de otras religiones. Esto es porque las drogas generalmente son rechazadas en el cristianismo, y estos estigmas negativos se han quedado en las comunidades cristianas, especialmente en la gente mayor. La influencia de la religión también se observa en la comunidad hispana de Blair - el estudiante salvadoreño dijo que “en la vida religiosa … [la marihuana] es un pecado, como, literalmente, citan: Dios ve lo que estás haciendo”.

Además, ha habido más experimentación detallada sobre los efectos de la marihuana en el cuerpo empezando en los años 90. Hay resultados variados, pero muchos científicos, incluyendo los de NIH, aceptan que la marihua-

na no causa daños cerebrales ni cánceres. Sin embargo, muchos hogares hispanos más tradicionales son más familiares con los aspectos negativos de la marihuana.

Según Mendíburo-Seguel, muchas familias asocian la marihuana con el narcotráfico ilegal que ocurre en algunos países latinoamericanos.

El estudiante salvadoreño compartió una experiencia similar “mi familia… [ha] estado en riesgo de muerte, debido a pandilleros que ya les guardan algún tipo de resentimiento”.

Algunos estudiantes están divididos entre las ideas positivas de marihuana de sus amigos y las vistas más cerradas en casa. Ortez dijo que “no puedo mostrar ningún apoyo [de la marihuana]... porque sé que van a explicarme otra vez el peligro e inutilidad de drogas.” Por lo tanto, algunos se sienten incómodos expresando sus verdaderos sentimientos frente a los demás.

Tres meses después de la legalización de la marihuana en Maryland, su efecto en la comunidad de Blair no está claro todavía. Algunos estudiantes latinos apoyan el uso de marihuana, y otros no, pero generalmente sus padres no están de acuerdo. Esta diferencia ha aumentado la división entre la escuela y la casa para estos estudiantes. Y para los estudiantes más tradicionales que no están de acuerdo con la legalización, también hay un conflicto interno al sentir la presión social.

Sin embargo, lo importante es que ambos lados se respetan. Tal vez en unos años cuando la marihuana haya sido más normalizada en Maryland, la comunidad de Blair verá sus impactos positivos y negativos. Según Ortez, “unas de mis amigas usan [la marihuana] …

A veces no me gusta, pero las entiendo”. Este tipo de mentalidad abierta es importante para refutar los estigmas infundados, pero al mismo tiempo entender los riesgos que trae la marihuana.

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el 19 de octubre de 2023 La Esquina Latina C5

La copa mundial acabó pero la pelea continúa

Inequidades deportivas también se ven en Blair Por Bia Da Silva Escritora A través de los años, el fútbol femenino ha atraído una gran audiencia, tanto en el estadio mundial como en Blair, pero aún hay una brecha grande entre el fútbol femenino y masculino. Las dos copas mundiales tomaron lugar este año, batiendo récords inmensos.

Sin embargo, mucha gente ni tenía idea de que se estaba jugando la copa mundial femenina.

La copa mundial femenina 2023 alcanzó millones de personas nuevas. De acuerdo con FIFA, el tráfico de su sitio web en los primeros 15 días ya superó la totalidad del torneo en 2019. Las noticias de la copa femenina también batieron récords, siendo la cantidad de dinero puesta en ellas, las audiencias que han alcanzado, o el impacto que tuvieron. Artículos con titulares como, “Un anuncio viral francés muestra cómo el fútbol femenino puede ser tan emocionante como el masculino” y “Nike prepara el escenario para el nuevo orden mundial del fútbol en un anuncio para la Copa Mundial Femenina” se difundieron por Internet. Además, System 1, una corporación que clasifica los anuncios, clasificó los anuncios de la copa femenina mucho más altos que los anuncios de la copa masculina. Estas clasificaciones altas demuestran muchos ingresos y una audiencia amplia. Según las analíticas, ha habido un buen progreso en el fútbol femenino.

Con todas las noticias y récords batidos, sería probable que todos

habrán visto algo sobre la copa femenino y masculino no solo se casa este año”. Este año, el equipo mundial femenina, especialmente ven en el estadio mundial. Según de fútbol masculino tuvo 7 partidos los que siguen al fútbol. Según los blazers, también hay dispari- en casa, dos de los cuales fueron Rita Boule, la directora atlética de dades entre los anuncios y el trat- un viernes. En comparación con Montgomery Blair, los anuncios de amiento de la copa mundial femenina, “por lo los equipos general estaban vinculados a otra de Blair. De a cosa. No tenía publicidad propia y acuerdo “el normalmente formaba parte de un White, 10/17/23, 9:49 AM programa de televisión”. Por otro fútbol maslado, los anuncios de la copa mun- culino tiene dial masculina estaban en todas más presencia partes. Todo el tiempo. Años antes en las redes incluso de que comenzaran,” dijo sociales, en Boule. De acuerdo con una en- términos de cuesta de 252 estudiantes de Blair, cuánto pubotras 52.4% de estudiantes que siguen el lican fútbol vieron anuncios constantes p e r s o n a s sobre la copa masculina. En com- nuestras pubparación, sólo 4.8% de los estudi- licaciones y antes vieron anuncios constantes cuánto las veo en mi feed”. sobre10/17/23, la copa9:49 femenina.

AM El Principio de otoño - Crossword Labs Hay una diferencia clara en- Ambos equitienen tre el alcance de la publicidad en pos cuenta las copas, a pesar de las analíticas una positivas. La información en las re- de Instagram, des sociales sobre la copa mundial donde anunmasculina fue vista frecuentemente cian sus partidos de la semana, el equipo femenino, que tuvo55 juegos en casa, con solo 1 juego un sin mucha influencia del algorit- pero la diferencia entre el número 1 mo, en comparación con la copa de seguidores y el rango de audi- viernes, fuera de casa. Los 8partidos femenina, que se necesitaba estar encia de las cuenta masculina y fe- en casa versus los partidos fuera de casa afectan el número de perbuscando activamente información menina aún existe.

La cantidad de personas que sonas que asisten a un juego, dado al respecto. Brendan White, un 2 los equipos que es más fácil llegar a un partido jugador en Blair y seguidor del asisten a los partidos de fútbol dijo que “una vez que la de fútbol en Blair también varía, que está pasando en la propia es3 hay una copa mundial femenina comenzó pero el consenso es que el equipo cuela del equipo. También 11 a publicarse en las redes sociales masculino atrae una audiencia más ventaja a los partidos que pasan los grande de que el femenino.

Oscar viernes. Como es justo antes del fin fue durante las etapas eliminatorias cuando ya era bastante tarde”. Noriega, el capitán del equipo mas- de semana, los estudiantes pueden venir y apoyar Generalmente, los anuncios sobre 5 culino de Blair, especula que la dif6 7 a los equipos sin el la copa mundial femenina pasaron erencia entre audiencias es “porque estrés de tener que entregar alguna desapercibidos y muchos ni sabían tenemos partidos los viernes. Sien- tarea el día siguiente. Además de 8 la to que tenemos suerte de 9tenerlas eso, los estudiantes pueden queque estaba pasando la copa hasta aquí en comparación con las chicas darse fuera hasta más tarde porque mitad del torneo.

10 hay clases el día siguiente. AunLas inequidades entre el fútbol que tienen más partidos fuera de no

que la diferencia es relativamente pequeña, es una buena representación del patrón de inequidades entre el fútbol femenino y mascu-

El Prin

El Principio 1

2

El Principio de otoño

AM

KIMBERLY SOLIS

6 lino, tanto en el escenario mundial como en Blair.

El fútbol femenino 9ha alcanzado muchos logros, ya sea número de fans o igualdad salarial. Pero al1 observar la escala global y local del tema, vemos que aún hay disparidades entre el fútbol masculino y 4 femenino.

Aunque el problema aún existe, el primer paso para solucionarlo es tomar conciencia de lo que está pasando. Al hacer esto, podemos determinar con precisión qué pasos se deben tomar 12 para equilibrar los recursos y el tratamiento que reciben los equipos de fútbol femenino y masculino.

El Principio de otoño - Crossword Labs

11 El Principio de otoño

Across 6. Piden ____ cuando van a las casas

1

8. El _____ dice ¡Bu!

12

10. La araña teje su ____ 11. Halloween es el 31 de _____

2 3

12. El gato ____ sale en Halloween

4

Across

Down 1. Alguna gente pone la _____ para celebrar una persona que se haya muerto en Día de los Muertos

6. Piden 6 ____ cuando 7 van a las casas

5

8.9El _____ dice ¡Bu!

8

10. La araña teje su ____

2. Las ____ se caen de los árboles

10

11. Halloween es el 31 de _____

3. Los niños se visten en un ____

12. El gato ____ sale en Halloween

4. Se toma ____ de manzana en el otoño

11

NAILA ROMERIO-ALSTON

12

5. Se come ___ de muerto en el Día de los muertos 7. Ponen ____ anaranjadas enfrente de su puerta 9. El día de los ____ es el 1 de noviembre

EVIE ORCUTT

Across

____ cuando van a las casas

__ dice ¡Bu!

aña teje su ____

ween es el 31 de _____

to ____ sale en Halloween

https://crosswordlabs.com/view/el-principio-de-otono-2

Down 1. Alguna gente pone la _____ para celebrar una persona que se haya muerto en Día de los Muertos 2. Las ____ se caen de los árboles 3. Los niños se visten en un ____ 4. Se toma ____ de manzana en el otoño

https://crosswordlabs.com/view/el-principio-de-otono-2

5. Se come ___ de muerto en el Día de los muertos 7. Ponen ____ anaranjadas enfrente de su puerta LOZADA-MCBRIDE 9. El día de los ____ es el 1 de JAMIE noviembre

1/1

Soluciones

silverchips

October 19, 2023 Features D1/D2

Missing the mark

Story by Naomi Andelman and Sela Colavito Art by Dami Kim Design by Dyan Nguyen, Nora Pierce, and Caleb Plank

MCPS addresses chronic absenteeism with Attendance Action Plan Where only first names appear, names have been changed to protect the identities of the sources.

A

For many of the students that fit the description of chronically absent, the transition from online to in-person school was difficult.

“After COVID … going to in-person school feels like less of a requirement … Going back to in-person school six hours a day is kind of like a big step,” Mary says.

MCPS response

In light of rising absenteeism rates, MCPS released their Attendance Action Plan on Aug. 22, after multiple delays since its public announcement in March.

The new plan seeks to combat absen-

Student experience

Behind the empty seats, there are a multitude of reasons for absenteeism. Many adolescents are experiencing an onslaught of depression and anxiety, which can be nearly impossible to battle while maintaining attendance. “My sleeping schedule was so messed up and I was just so depressed … I didn’t want to go to school, so I just didn’t go for two weeks,” Mary recounts during a time in her sophomore year.

However, not all students are struggling with diagnosable health problems—many fall victim to a lack of motivation that is enabled by new MCPS

MCPS’ relaxed policies contribute to students’ laid back attitudes. “[MCPS’ actions are] basically showing that school isn’t important. And so [students are] like, ‘why bother?’” she says. “Adults, whether it be parents, teachers, staff, administrators, [need] to re-communicate to students how important being in school is.”

My sleeping schedule was so messed up and I was just so depressed … I didn’t want to go to school, so I just didn’t go for two weeks.

From the perspective of some students, skipping school has long been ingrained in student culture. “People have already been set in their ways. You know, there’s nothing you can do when people are in high school and they’re skipping.

That’s been a long time coming,” says Martin.

Mary agrees that despite efforts to incentivize and engage students, absenteeism in the student body will persist. “People are not able to motivate kids to go to school,” says Mary. “As much as you try to motivate these kids, a lot of them aren’t going to try.”

Efforts at Blair

GRAPHIC BY AMEN LEMIESA

will come to school.” The plan does not outline specific strategies for making classrooms more engaging to students.

On Sept. 12, Blair teachers were informed of an adjustment to attendance practices that allow students to show up to school for less than 40 minutes a day and still be marked as present for the full day. If a student arrives at any point for at least ten percent of class time, they will be marked present with an unexcused tardy.

However, MCPS’ ten percent rule differs from state regulation regarding what constitutes a full day of school. Mary Gable, the Assistant State Superintendent of the Maryland Board of Education, outlines how a student’s attendance is labeled by Maryland state law. “A student is reported present/attending for a full day if the student is in attendance for greater than half of the school day,” Gable writes in an email to Silver Chips.

Many feel that

policies like the ten percent rule and other lenient grading measures. This includes the 50 percent rule, which was implemented at Blair during the pandemic. The rule requires students to be given at least a 50 percent on missing or incomplete assignments, making it easier for students to pass a class with little effort.

For Blair senior Martin, lenient policies like this provide a reason to be absent. “Well, if I can get really good grades and not be there … Why should I go?” Martin says.

Mary feels that for a lot of students, absenteeism is simply the result of an apathetic attitude towards school. “It’s an increase in a disinterest in school … maybe they’ll do enough assignments online to pass later, but realistically they don’t care,” she explains.

Dawn Iannaco-Hahn, the parent of two MCPS students in middle school and high school, believes that

Prior to the release of the Attendance Action Plan, Blair administration had been attempting to combat attendance issues with a Student Well-Being team. Farzaneh Nabavian, Blair’s Parent Community Coordinator, explains that since returning from the pandemic, Blair staff members and she have been conducting meetings. “[MCPS] created this collaborative team, it’s called a [Student] Well-Being team,” she says. “It includes [a] part time Community Coordinator, pupil personnel workers, psychologists, the counselors, administrators … and the Wellness Center. So all of us together… sit down and discuss, and we take care of it as a whole.”

Nabavian urges Blair students to use the resources, including the meetings, available to them.

“Every staff [member] that I know that is working with the kids really does care … If there is an issue at home, there are a lot of people here that you can talk to,” she says.

Nabavian states that student absenteeism, although a tough issue to work through, can be solved. “Sometimes criticizing is easier, but solution finding is harder. But, there are solutions,” she says.

Taking accountability

When tackling the issue of attendance, many believe that student accountability is the solution, which is instituted from a stricter policy. Roxanne Fus, Blair’s attendance secretary, attributes chronic absenteeism in the county to MCPS’ decision to get rid of the Loss of Credit (LC) policy in 2010.

The policy took away students’ credit in a class if they received an unexcused

GRAPHIC BY SASHA VESENSKY | DATA COURTESY OF MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM VS. GRADUATION RATES Even as absenteeism rates rise, graduation rates remain consistent. absence for more than five classes per quarter. “I felt like [the LC policy] held kids responsible for … being in class, being on time,” she says. “Once that went away, we saw a build up of problems with students being tardy to class.”

My experience with MCPS is that they come up with these plans and say a lot of words that don’t really do anything at all.

DAWN IANNACO-HAHN

MARTIN

Well, if I can get really good grades and not be there … Why should I go?

counting students present for attending ten percent of a class period will continue to permit the increase in absenteeism. “I think [that] rule is stupid, because that’s encouraging … leaving in the middle of class … people are going to take advantage of that,” Mary says.

MARY

s the 7:45 a.m. bell rings, many high school classroom seats remain empty.

The school day continues, and absences and tardies accumulate as students leave Blair’s campus. MCPS, like thousands of school districts across the country, is now encountering emptier classrooms and plummeting attendance numbers.

One of these missing students is Blair junior Mary. Despite her parents’ efforts, Mary struggles to wake up in time for the first bell. By the time she does reach Blair, she has missed first period, if not more. “In my experience, school days start so early, especially for high schoolers … and it’s a lot, it’s really de-motivating,” Mary says.

Mary is considered a chronically absent student. As defined by the Maryland State Department of Education, a chronically absent student is one who misses ten percent or more days of school. At Blair and across the county, encountering students who fit this description is not uncommon. 42,863 MCPS students—27 percent of the student population—were chronically absent during the 2022-2023 school year, a sharp increase from 19.5 percent during the 2018-2019 school year. At the high school level specifically, 35.8 percent of MCPS students were chronically absent during the 2022-2023 school year.

Steven Neff, MCPS Director of Pupil Personnel and Attendance Services, acknowledges that the shift in chronic absenteeism was initiated by the COVID-19 pandemic. “I know that [absenteeism] increased greatly during the pandemic and it has not bounced back as much as we would have hoped,” Neff says in an interview with Silver Chips.

Blair teacher Kevin Shindel notes this shift at Blair as well.“[Absenteeism] was gradual, until COVID. And then I think after COVID, [attendance] really dropped,” Shindel says.

teeism through a variety of tactics. “This plan aims to address chronic absenteeism through a data-driven, collaborative, and multi-faceted approach. By implementing proactive and responsive strategies we aim to reduce barriers to school attendance, enabling students and families to attend school consistently,” the plan says. The plan also outlines efforts to conduct various meetings with students, including school based attendance meetings, Student Well Being team meetings, and Attendance Matters meetings.

Neff explains that MCPS is more focused on student encouragement, which they hope will in turn improve attendance. “The attendance plan emphasizes that it’s a partnership with families and the community,” Neff says. “We need to look at our system, our schools, and our classrooms, and try and make them as welcoming, and engaging, and as positive [an] environment as possible … We feel like if we do that, students

Shindel also believes that MCPS should bring back stricter policies, pointing out the natural relationship between students and school expectations. “When all you do is relax accountability and relax standards … this [rise in absenteeism] is going to happen,” he says.

Blair chemistry teacher Manana O’Donovan maintains that if the county increases their expectations, students will be held more accountable.

“If we keep standards high, students will rise, and that’s what we want to see. We should not be lowering standards … If the expectation is high, with love and a little nudge, [students will] get there,” she says.

Student accountability and fuller classrooms can not be achieved without an effective MCPS policy. However, many do not see the county’s current plan as a genuine solution: as attendance continues to drop, parents’ frustration rises. Iannaco-Hahn is critical of the county’s response, emphasizing the lack of initiative behind the new goals and policies. “My experience with MCPS is that they come up with these plans and say a lot of words that don’t really do anything at all,” she says.

As an attendance secretary interacting with students and working in administration, Fus has firsthand experience and valuable insight into chronic absenteeism at Blair and across the county. She reflects on the intentions behind the attendance policies. “In the long run, [these policies] [make] our attendance statistics look wonderful. If you look at our statistics for the county, we have great attendance,” Fus says. “But if you look in the classrooms, you can tell that’s not true.”

D3 Features Octobober 19, 2023

silverchips

A budding canna-business

By Auden Seigel Staff Writer

After the plant is trimmed, it can either be transformed into concentrates, topicals, edibles, or remain in the form of flower. To create these variations of cannabis products, the plant must undergo chemical procedures in a lab that extract the cannabinoids or chemical compounds. The procedure used to take the cannabinoids from the plant determines its new form.

The most common cannabinoids are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Their measurements are often listed to quantify the amount of cannabis in different products. Maryland also limits the amount of cannabis someone can possess at up to 750

milligrams of delta-9-THC—the most abundant form of THC. In addition to regulations on possession, Alsop explains that Maryland has strict ordinance on the companies that grow and process cannabis. “We had to make sure our facility was super clean,” he says. Processing teams must also follow state regulations when packaging products—packaging must be sealed in a way that would make tampering evident.

With the introduction of recreational cannabis to the market, the process of creating cannabis products has remained the same. Rather, changes have come within the business. Chris Burke, who helped launch Baltimore cannabis dispensary, Storehouse, in 2018 and remains Director of Operations today says the biggest effect of recreational legalization is the increase in business. “As soon as we opened

the doors for the adult-use market, the number of people coming and going each day doubled, if not more than that,” he says. Overall, Burke observed that the transition for his store was seamless. “All [the vendors and supply chains] were ready. They had ramped up their productions to be able to provide product for the market and give people what they’re asking for,” he says.

Jason Van Slyke, a 33-year-old who has been using cannabis since high school, notes that recreational legalization made buying cannabis less stigmatized. “It’s great because you’re not committing a crime anymore, so there’s no stigma surrounding it in my opinion,” he says. Van Slyke also notes that the transition has helped to bring many employees into the light. “Everybody seems happy to be working [at a dispensary] because this

CHIKARA YAMAGISHI

kind of cannabis subculture has been underground for so long,” he says. “Now for people to be out in the open and make a living off of something that they love is great.”

You’ve got the moms, the cops, the doctors, the lawyers, people who you wouldn’t really think would be using [cannabis].

JASON VAN SLYKE

As soon as we opened the doors for the adult-use market, the number of people coming and going each day doubled, if not more than that.

CHRIS BURKE

Every day that John Cashel Kennedy went to work at the cannabis dispensary, Herbafi, in Downtown Silver Spring, he knew what to expect. Customers received personalized service, as Kennedy held 30 to 40-minute long conversations with medical patients, differentiating flowers from vaporizers from tinctures and describing effects like pain relief and sleep improvement.

Kennedy’s routine remained the same until July 1, when everything changed for Herbafi and other dispensaries across Maryland.

Following a referendum on the 2022 state ballot, the state of Maryland legalized recreational cannabis for adults at least 21 years old, with 67 percent of Maryland residents voting in favor of legalization. “We went from 80 to 90 [customers] a day up to 800,” Kennedy says. According to the Maryland Cannabis Administration, sales totaled $21 million in the first week after recreational cannabis was legalized.

By the end of July, Maryland customers spent $87.4 million on recreational cannabis, more than twice the $42.7 million spent on medical cannabis in June.

Dispensaries are the face of the legal cannabis industry as they connect customers to products. With over 100 locations in Maryland, encountering one is common. However, the industry has more layers than meets the eye. Cannabis growers and processors are the driving force behind myriad products on the market.

Philip Alsop, who led a processing team for four years at Evermore Cannabis Company in Balti-

more, explains the stages the plant must undergo before it becomes a product. “We start with cuttings taken from mothers [huge cannabis plants]. Once those [cuttings] are strong enough, they get put into a production room,” he says.

After nine to 10 weeks, the cannabis cuttings go through their full life cycle and are fully grown. The cuttings are then taken to separate dry rooms, where they are hung for two to three additional weeks. “Once the plant is dried, if it’s deemed high enough quality to sell as flower, we’ll trim it,” Alsop explains.

Despite cannabis’ legalization, Kennedy acknowledges that there is still stigma surrounding the drug in Maryland. “All kinds of people, different jobs, different careers, you would expect to look down on cannabis,” he admits. But through Kennedy’s experience working at Herbafi, he believes that perspective has been proven wrong. Kennedy’s favorite part of the job is dealing with all walks of life. “You’ve got the moms, the cops, the doctors, the lawyers, people who you wouldn’t really think would be using [cannabis],” he says.

Though the legalization of recreational cannabis has already changed the industry in unprecedented ways, Alsop and Kennedy both see cannabis becoming more normalized in the future. “Look at what the alcohol industry looks like right now, and that’s what [the cannabis industry] is going to look PHOTO BY ANAGHA BHUVANAGIRI like in the future,” Alsop says. “The HERBAFI CANNABIS DISPENSARY Herbafi which formerly sold medi- more years that come, the more information goes out, the more the cal marijuana now sells recreational cannabis following its stigma drops,” Kennedy says. legaliszation.

Adventures in the abandoned the building, like squatters,” Blair senior Owen says. Bob adds that he regularly carries a hammer or another form of protection when going urban exploring. Many of the students also bring protection based on the spot’s reputation. “If I’m going to a crazy spot I might have a knife on me,” Owen says.

Exploring is not all that is going on inside abandoned spaces.

Ronit Eisenbach, a professor of architecture and the Director of the Creative Placemaking minor at the University of Maryland, adds that while she has created art in abandoned places, she always seeks the consent of the owner or community before creating in the space. “It can be dangerous … because one, you could be going to someone’s territory … and two, the abandoned space can also not be structurally safe. So … I’m always asking permission,” she says. Nonetheless, Eisenbach recognizes the draw abandoned buildings can have. “[I] understand the attraction, because the history of something is much more visible when it’s falling apart,” she says.

By Greta Andelman and Nikki Tjiputra Staff Writers

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

PHOTO BY FIONA BONDAREV

ST. ELIZABETH’S HOSPITAL An abandoned psychiatric hospital in Washington, D.C. Students often explore abandoned spots for adventure, history, and the social aspect, if not a combination of all three.

“There’s … [a] thrill to it—going into a place where you’re not really supposed to [be] … and doing that with friends, it’s [an] amazing experience,” Blair junior Hank says. Bob sees visiting abandoned buildings as looking through a window into a different time period. “[It’s like] I’m looking at [the former students’] past, frozen in

time, and that’s cool,” Bob says about exploring an abandoned school.

Urban exploration can be dangerous, so explorers take extra measures to stay safe. Blair senior Sherman brings a respirator to protect himself from asbestos and other toxic chemicals in the places he visits. However, there can be more to watch out for than just hazardous substances.

“There’s always the fear of asbestos but also [of] other people in

The history of something is much more visible when it’s falling apart.

RONIT EISENBACH

While heading down Washington, D.C.’s East Capitol Street, passersby will approach the vast and run-down Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (RFK). The facility hosted crowds as large as 65,454 for the Washington Football Team’s last game against the Dallas Cowboys in 1996, and concerts as prominent as The Beatles’ penultimate performance. Since the departure of the D.C. United soccer team in 2017, the stadium has been abandoned and remains in visible disarray. Though the exterior has chipping paint and rusty infrastructure, some students feel there is more to the stadium than meets the eye. These students often explore deserted or desolate locations in an activity known as urban exploration.

Urban exploration is the trend of exploring abandoned places and buildings such as old schools and hospitals. Popular among teenagers, the hobby requires researching vacated locations and trespassing on property.

To find buildings, students commonly trade spots and network with other urban explorers through online group chats. Blair junior Sid explains that she often finds buildings from mutual friends. “I have a lot of friends who know spots and they invite me along, but … you can find places [online] that recently permanently shut down,” she says.

Sid adds that abandoned spaces present an opportunity for self expression through art, commonly through painting personalized emblems on the walls known as graffiti tags. “They’re like personalized little tags that you can put to just show people that you’ve

been there,” she says. Eisenbach adds that the Creative Placemaking Minor channels that energy into something productive for the community. “[We] think about what stories aren’t told that ought to be told, and how we can make that abandoned space into something really beautiful for the neighborhood, if people want that,” she says.

However, most people going into abandoned buildings are not seeking permission first, and thus taking a risk. In Maryland, firsttime offenders can face up to 90 days of jail time for trespassing on private property. Sherman, who has been detained before, says the consequences for trespassing are usually not so extreme. “They can detain you and make your mommy or daddy come get you … and that’s [what] happened a bunch to me,” he says. Instead of surrendering to law enforcement, others have taken a different approach. “During the summer I ran so much from police and security guards that I lost [weight].

But I’ve never [gotten] caught,” Bob says.

When traversing abandoned areas, there is an unspoken rule among urban explorers to be respectful to buildings. A damaged or vandalized building could get shut down to all potential explorers. Hank emphasizes this point and urges urban explorers to be mindful when visiting abandoned properties, and to just enjoy the beauty of the buildings. “If you are gonna go out to urban explore make sure you’re respectful to the places,” he says. “There’s so much untold history there that you don’t need to read about …

You can actually go there and see it and make your own connections.”

October 19, 2023 Features D4

silverchips

Springing back

Downtown Silver Spring is revitalized following a long pandemic

By Max Erlebacher and Diego Santoro-Velez Staff Writers Smells of street food, bustling farmers market vendors, and lively chatter of moviegoers are characteristics of Downtown Silver Spring’s Veteran Plaza. Just months ago, however, the area was suffering from an increase in violence and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, but new legislation and an influx in businesses have aided in the city’s efforts to re-establish itself as a thriving, safe community.

Since the pandemic, violent crime spiked across Downtown Silver Spring and surrounding areas, rising over 30 percent between 2020 and 2022. “We have definitely experienced a spike in crime,” Stephanie Helsing, President and CEO of the Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce, says in an interview with Silver Chips. “The increase in crime … that is happening everywhere has really negatively impacted Silver Spring in particular.”

Such an increase in crime put pressure on the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD), which was already understaffed pre-pandemic. Consequently, individual police officers dealt with more calls, causing stress and delayed response times. “[The Silver Spring Police Department] is significantly short staffed like many

other police departments in the area,” Helsing says. “[Montgomery County has] made Silver Spring a particular focus, understanding that we have some additional challenges that … other parts of the county do not.”

Beyond crime, the pandemic put economic pressure on businesses in Downtown Silver Spring.

In 2020, 17 percent of restaurants in Montgomery County closed for a number of reasons. This included well-established downtown businesses like Sergio Resturante Italiano and Not Your Average Joe’s, which had been serving the community for 37 and 25 years respectively.

Even chains in Silver Spring like H&M were hurt by the pandemic lockdowns. “We were closed for a few months … It did affect the business quite a lot,” David Alarcon, manager at the Silver Spring H&M location, says. “We didn’t have a lot of customers coming in, [and] our sales were a little bit down.”

Responding to an increase in crime and economic hardship, the Montgomery County Council and community have taken new measures to ensure that Silver Spring is safe and secure both socially and economically. To curb rising crime levels, County Council legislators passed the Late Night Safety Bill on May 16, requiring local businesses that operate from midnight to 6 a.m. to submit a safety plan for police approval. As per the bill,

PHOTO BY MAZ OLSON

NEW SHOPS Uniqlo opened a new location in Downtown Silver Spring. some businesses may be asked to install security cameras and better lighting, hire trained security, and open up window spaces.

David Reed, Captain of the 3rd District police force explains the rationale for the bill. “We don’t have enough bodies to be everywhere, and we need help … [so] we formed a partnership. We … called this the Nighttime Business Owners Alliance,” Reed says in an interview with Silver Chips. “I began giving [businesses] pointers on … things that would help their businesses, like handheld metal detectors, dressing their security staff appropriately, training how to interact with law enforcement, [and] how to deescalate situations in clubs.”

The bill has yet to take full effect, but local businesses are already putting some of its provisions into place. “I do need to give a shout out to a number of the late night businesses that have really done their due diligence as far as making sure that they have enough security staff on their own premises,” Helsing says.

This sentiment is echoed among Silver Spring patrons who believe the increased number of security officers in the city have been effective in deterring crime. “I think [security guards] try to promote safety,” Blair junior Eric Stewart says. “If there’s someone right there, I feel like there’s less chance of a fight breakdown or anything.”

Others agree. “I guess [security guards] makes the areas safer, in a way,” Joaquin Contreras-Rushing, a Blair sophomore, says. “I’m sure it’s helping but I’m just not sure by how much.”

Another driving factor in Silver Spring’s rapid development is the arrival of popular retailers such as Nike and Uniqlo. Uniqlo specifically reports that since opening, they have experienced an increase in shoppers from the area. “[We get] a lot [of traffic] actually. Maybe 30 customers a day. It’s a new store. There’s more options than other stores,” Uniqlo cashier Jasmine Marsen says. Blair students believe these new businesses are targeted towards them. “I think it’s starting to become more oriented towards young people, like taking out … DSW to put in a Nike store,” Contreras-Rushing says.

From a period of fear and violence, Silver Spring has returned to the safe and popular urban community center it once was. “When we increase the number of people who come to Downtown Silver Spring, be that through opening new businesses, bringing in new restaurants and supporting them, opening new stores, whether they be large anchor stores like Uniqlo or Nike, or really independent, interesting realtors … the more it will positively impact people’s experience,” Helsing says.

Hollywood star returns to Blair

By Eloise Carter and Amen Lemiesa Staff Writer & Senior Writer

PHOTOS BY MARGOT BUHLER

lines of stuff,” Walter says.

After graduating from Blair, Walter attended Catholic University before breaking into the Hollywood scene. Starting off, Walter knew that she wanted to be a standup comedian. Passionate about reaching her dreams, Walter held on to her aspirations while being a mother to her 18-month-old. Wal-

ter’s career took off after one of her university friends pushed her to take the stage. “Within six months, I was on national shows like It’s Showtime at The Apollo and other TV shows like Caroline’s Comedy Hour. I was touring as a headliner within about a year and a half,” Walter says.

Take control of your destiny by making your own stuff...

Don’t wait for anybody to create your own art.

LISA ANN WALTER

Lisa Ann Walter may now shine under Hollywood’s spotlight, but it was the corridors of Blair where her star first began to glimmer.

Walter is a well known Hollywood personality widely recognized for her roles as Chessy in The Parent Trap (1998) and Melissa Schemmenti in the ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary released in 2021. In 2022, Abbott Elementary won an Emmy for outstanding casting in a comedy series. The Emmy was one of many other awards and nominations including a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. As a cast member, Walter is pleased with the show’s success. “I think winning the awards that Abbott has won and being part of that ensemble cast and knowing how integral I am to the success of that show makes me incredibly proud,” Walter says in an interview with Silver Chips.

In addition to her career as an actress, Walter has gained success as a comic, show-creator, author, and activist. After coming off a leg of her national comedy tour, she returned to Blair, her alma mater, on Sept. 18 to share her Hollywood wisdom. Walter spoke to a media center packed with students involved in Blair arts courses and

Blair was largely responsible in shaping Walter and helping her find her passions. Walter made the most out of her time at Blair as a student, participating in numerous activities including the thespians, the POMS team, choir, chorus, an art group, and the O’Debs—a girls service organization at Blair. “I was really active. I remember when the yearbook [lists what] you’re involved in, [for me] it was like four

Building off her initial success, Walter transitioned into a career in acting. “From [my comedy career], I got offered to create and star in TV shows. So I came to LA as a star of a TV show,” she explains.

Despite her accomplishments, Walter finds that in Hollywood nothing can be taken for granted.

“There’s still a battle once you get there. It’s like, do you get your script approved? Do you get your pilot approved? Do you actually get a slot to go on air? Does your show stay on the air or does it get canceled?” Walter recounts. Actors and actresses have to stay vigilant and continue to work hard no matter the success of their shows and movies. Even for Walter, there are not always guarantees of work or pay. “There’s never a time where

you relax … Still to this day, I never feel like ‘ah I’ve made it,’ because people see you on TV or in movies, and they think you’re a billionaire … It’s not the way the business is set up,” Walter says.

With hopes of reforming the film and television industry, Walter has spearheaded conversations as a member of the WGA and the Screen Actors Guild committees, which both work to provide foundational protections for the community, from safeguarding pay to protections against pending technology. Walter reached partial success on Sept. 27 when, after a 146day strike, Hollywood’s studios and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) reached a tentative threeyear deal. The five-day negotiation scrutinized groundbreaking provisions, including the use of

generative artificial intelligence in content creation. While this accord was long awaited for Walter, the actress’ fight is far from over.

Hollywood actors are still on strike to gain fair compensation amidst growing concerns surrounding job security. “For 40 years, they’ve gotten away with paying as little as possible and not raising what they pay.

And we’re saying you got to make it livable for us to do our job.” Walter says.

Despite her ongoing fight in Hollywood, Walter still hopes to inspire all students in the arts to make active efforts to create. “Take control of your destiny by making your own stuff,” she says. “Don’t wait for anybody to let you create art; create art all the time. If you’re a writer, write. If you’re an actor, get out there and do shows.”

ENGAGING WITH THE CROWD Walter speaks to Blair staff and students on Sept. 18.

silverchips

D5 Features October 19, 2023

“Learn to see patterns and teach yourself ” A conversation with Elaine Chao

By Doris Wang Staff Writer

Number one: we were hit with COVID and we kept the supply chain open, moving, and safe.

There were no shortages on grocery shelves and people were able to buy things safely. Secondly, I also promoted innovation. I encouraged the development of the transportation system of the future such as autonomous vehicles, drones, and commercial space.

They’re going to be the transportation systems of the future.

What were your experiences as a young immigrant in America?

Were you able to communicate well with your peers?

It was not easy … not only because I couldn’t speak English, but because I was very shy. I didn’t know how to express myself. So you learn. You grow older, and you learn. This is a country in which it is very important to learn to express yourself. Don’t be shy, say what you want to say. You have to learn to express yourself.

As an influential figure in politics, do you have any advice that you want to leave for women and minorities seeking to pursue careers in public service or business?

To become the leader you are now from the shy girl you once were, did you have to proactively take initiative to put yourself in uncomfortable situations?

Every single job I’ve had, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure that I could do the job, but I wanted to try. I always pushed the envelope in terms of challenging myself and I think that was very good. It came from my father, who always encouraged his daughters—six daughters—to explore our own potential, to look at the bigger world outside of our home, to always learn, to observe, and to listen.

Government is not about the applause, it’s not about the glamor. It’s really about contributing to your country.

ELAINE CHAO

The eldest of six children, Elaine Chao immigrated to the United States at age eight. Before Chao’s immigration, her father had traveled to the United States to study abroad. It would be three years before Chao’s family was reunited when Chao, her mother, and her siblings immigrated. The trip by cargo ship lasted 37 days, and Chao could not speak English when she entered the U.S. with her mother and siblings. As a shy, young girl in an unfamiliar place, Chao had no idea what kind of influence she would grow to have on the United States.

Chao received her citizenship at 19 and, after graduating business school, she began her professional journey with Citicorp in New York. She worked in banking and finance with financial institutions like the Bank of America prior to transitioning to public service, gaining valuable insights that would be relevant to later roles.

One of the most influential Asian American leaders, Secretary Elaine Chao has been an important figure in the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. In 2001, Chao became the first Asian American woman ever appointed to a U.S. President’s cabinet, where she served as the Secretary of Labor. In 2017, the Senate appointed Chao as Secretary of Transportation, a position she held for four years.

During Chao’s time as Secretary of Transportation, the government invested over $300 billion in infrastructure. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chao worked to keep transportation networks open and moving.

Beyond her work in the cabinet, Chao has held a number of other positions, including Director of the Peace Corps and Chair of the Federal Maritime Commission. She is also the CEO of United Way of America, a network of nonprofit fundraising affiliates focused primarily on workplace campaigns.

Chao currently serves as a member of the board of directors in multiple organizations including Kroger, the Smithsonian Institute Asian Pacific American Center; Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors and Global Advisory Committee. Chao recently wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post advocating for the establishment of a National Asian Pacific American Museum

in Washington, D.C. Silver Chips staff writer Doris Wang sat down to speak with Chao about her accomplishments and experiences.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ELAINE CHAO

ner, and I didn’t understand that you have to go from the outside in, that’s the easiest way. Then you just watch other people, don’t be the first one to pick up the utensil.

Look at some of these other people, see what they’re doing first, and then you follow so you learn.

translate them into the government mission at hand.

What advice would you give someone looking to go into public service?

It is a privilege to serve. I’m an

You’ve held various immigrant, I came [to the U.S.] high profile positions when I was eight years old. I am appreciative of the opportuin government and very nity to serve my country. Governbusiness. How did your ment is not about the applause, it’s background in bank- not about the glamor. It’s really and international about contributing yourself to your What’s an example of ing finance you country, that’s the proper attitude. a job that you think for publicprepare service? pushed you and made I think being in public service During your tenure you grow more as a means that you have to listen and as the US Secretary you have to try to understand a lot of Transportation, person?

Every single one of them. I went of different points of views. Havto college 450 miles away. We used ing a varied background, not just what were some key to have Chinese food every day and in government, is actually quite achievements and ininow I [was at] this school, there useful. Everything you do is going tiatives you took to were few Chinese people there. I to be useful to you. It’s how you improve the country’s have to eat with forks and knives—I thread them together to be useful transportation infradon’t know how to use forks and to you. Every kind of background structure that really knives. It was like a surgery tray is helpful in government. It’s how when you went in there for din- you take those experiences and stand out to you?

I think it’s very important that you be yourself and pursue what you love. If you love what you’re doing, there’s no fear. You just want to do it because it’s so interesting. In my career, there were lots of people who were very mean, but I didn’t let them affect me, because I loved what I was doing. I was learning about America, I was learning about the federal government. It was so exciting just to be doing every day what I was doing. The daily indignities didn’t really bother me. Also, I knew I had a bigger goal which was serving the country.

I was leading the Asian American community. I wish I didn’t think that way—it was too serious a burden to place on myself—but when I was advancing in my career, there were so few Asian Americans that I felt if I didn’t do a good job, I would cast a paw over the opportunities of other Asian Americans.

I think that was too serious and too heavy a burden for a young woman to carry … [but] that’s how I felt at the time.

Don’t be afraid, explore, and if you don’t have a mentor, it doesn’t matter. You can learn on your own, which is what my parents taught me. They said it was really important to learn on our own because when we first came here, nobody paid us any attention. Nobody listened to us … nobody mentored us. We weren’t important enough to be mentored. So how did we learn? We watched other people. We listened. If you watch enough and you listen enough, you learn to pick up things. You learn to see patterns, and that’s how you teach yourself.

silverpatrons silver patrons Diamond Platinum Gold

Mr. Eric W. and Dr. Jamie S. Padmore Susan Heavey - Kate Stewart Tim Earnst & Grace Manubay - Susan Euling - Stelzner Family - Pamela Sumner Coffey - Matt Kaiser - Jennie Guilfoyle & Mark Swartz - Diane Kelleher - Chris Moriarity

Silver

Stuart Guterman - Stefanie Weiss - Peter Colavito - Mitch Warren & Joanna Slaney - Mark Amaral - Marcela & Philip Bender - Katy & Bart Friedman - Katherine & Dan Hinckley - Paul B. Ellis - Joseph P. Cowall - Hester Baer & Ryan Long - Geoffrey Egnal - Emil Parker - Chenmuren Zhang - Amy Schwenkmeyer & Rolf Reichle

Bronze

Amy Cooke - Anne Pfitzer - Alison MacDonald - Cathy Feingold - Cathy Henderson - Claudia Deane - Corinne Nash Sauri - Elizabeth Keyes - Gary Anderson - Gary MacDonald - Hans Riemer - Jason & Jamie Fasteau - Jorge Munoz - Joseph Fanning - Katherine & Dan Hinckley - Kathy Cole - Kurt & Dot Kasik - Lorig Charkoudian Maria Vélez - Mckinley Jovanovic - Mica Bevington - Michael Newman - Nicholas Jovanovic - Nina Schwartz Pamela Winston

silverchips

October 19, 2023 Features D6

In memory of Jim Funk Following Jim Funk’s passing, the Silver Chips Editorial Board reached out to Blair staff to compile memories of Funk and his time at Blair.

In July, 2023, our School Business Administrator, Mr. Jim Funk, suddenly passed away. I wanted to express my condolences to the family, and also voice my personal experience with Jim.

A Friend When I first arrived at Montgomery Blair High School in 2013, Mr. Jim Funk and I instantly bonded. We enjoyed the same things, shared the same ideas, and constantly brainstormed ways to make MBHS an even greater learning experience for our kids. What bonded us most was the game of football. We both played college football, and so our conversations always centered around our experiences.

A Father Jim also has three sons, two of whom starred at Damascus High School – one currently playing in college, and one who is currently playing in the NFL. Naturally, our conversations revolved around their progress, hopes and dreams. As a football coach, I had the unique perspective of not only following their careers, but coaching against them during my time as football coach at Blair.

A Family Man But Jim was so much more than sports. He was a man who thrived on family values. As a father, he was a disciplinarian, a role model, and a mentor to his boys. As a husband, he was a devoted man who prioritized his life by one simple value: “Family First.”

Legacy of Leadership As a member of the Montgomery Blair High School Administrative Team (A-Team) and Instructional Leadership Team (ILT), Jim spent many years having an impactful influence on not only our school leaders, but our entire community. His impact reached far and wide, including our schoolwide adjustments for Covid, building repairs and maintenance, and even many of the field trips and fundraisers we have all been a part of.

Mr. Funk will always be remembered at Montgomery Blair as a school leader, a friend, and a belief that quality education is a priority. Currently, our school leaders are working on ways that Mr. Funk can be memorialized here on campus.

—Andrew Fields

I worked closely with Mr. Funk for 17 years. He and I worked very closely to ensure that Blair ran smoothly. He possessed a combination of wisdom and approachability. No matter the circumstance, he had an ability to maintain composure and ensure that we approached challenges with a clear mind. We always joked about our “work marriage”. Mr. Funk always shared football stories with me. He was so proud of all of his sons and their accomplishments.

I will miss our daily interactions and work friendship.

—Donna Franklin

Jim Funk was a man of few words, but immense charm — a friendly and consistent face when you entered Blair’s main office. Always happy to talk about last night’s game or his family’s latest adventures, he helped the building feel a little more warm and easygoing. With a boisterous laugh and a quaint drawl, he was never too busy to share a quick, disarming chat. Although he and I came from vastly different backgrounds, he never made me feel like anything less than a genuine colleague and fellow Blazer. He will be missed. ­—Rahman Culver

Mr. Funk was a steadying presence on campus and dedicated to our school. We would often talk on my way out of the building while Mr. Funk was still at his desk. He would respond to jokes about staying too long with his regular refrain: “Just living the dream, Lynch.” But usually Mr. Funk asked how about my well being. Sometimes conversations turned to his love of family. Mr. Funk beamed with pride for his son’s accomplishments in the NFL. He shared stories of his son adjusting to being a pro football player which brought hearty laughs. Mr. Funk’s son, Josh, who runs a successful physical therapy practice, wound up at an event I attended. Josh knew Blair well, knew how hard his dad worked, and talked about how much pride his dad had in Blair. In a recent TV news interview Mr. Funk and his wife talked about raising their sons with the ethic of doing things the right way. It was clear after meeting Josh that the apple had not fallen far from the tree. Mr. Funk’s steady work ethic and consistency was a fine example we were lucky to have. He will be missed.

—Peter Lynch Who was Sir. James Funk?

Sir. Funk was many faces to many a person. He was my political analyst. He often shared his extensive knowledge of my favorite music – country songs. He was always attentive and compliant to the numerous requests I presented to him, over multiple years. Several times, I asked for the yard stick that was needed for center strap measurement. He would chuckle and say, “ That will cost you.” But I never got any bill. Each year at the start of the tennis season, I would go to him with the report signifying the presence of cracks and undulating spots on the courts. Sir. Funk would stop what he was doing, and immediately put in the work order, to rectify my concerns. Several times, I went to him to ask for another classroom wall clock, to replace the malfunctioning one. His face would light up, and reveal a cascading smile on his face. With gentility in his voice, he would say, “Sure. I bet you will ask for the batteries as well.” I would get the new clock and batteries to boot, and walk out laughing. Many, many times, I went to him with behavioral issues that perplexed me. His monotonous comment would be, “They have no plan.” I would feel soothed, and my stress level would subside.

Sir. Funk was many a person in one body. That probably explains why he was able to take care of so many of us, with varying demands on a continuum, for so may years. The untimely plucking of his life from us, is unfathomPHOTOS COURTESY OF RENAY JOHNSON able. Thoughts of him though, will always warm my heart. May his soul rest in peace.

That is who Sir. James Funk was to me.

—David Ngbea Jim was my colleague here at Blair for many years. While I did not know him well, he was always a friendly face in the main office and helpful whenever I needed anything. He will be missed so much by so many of us. My heart goes out to his family and friends.

—Natalie Waltz

silverchips

E1 Culture October 19, 2023

A taste of Hispanic heritage From El Pollo Rico to your kitchen

By Laila Andelman and Tharaa Izuagie Staff Writers The aroma of ají panca hits us before we even set foot inside the restaurant, and the bass of lively Latin music thumps in our ears as we descend the stairs to the seating area. Nestled in the heart of Wheaton, El Pollo Rico serves more than delicious dishes—it is a flavorful fusion of Hispanic culture and a cornerstone of the Wheaton community. This Hispanic Heritage Month, Silver Chips writers Laila Andelman, Tharaa Izuagie, Axel Henrriquez, and photographer Madeline Gold set out to El Pollo Rico in pursuit of the famed Pollo a la Brasa, hoping to recreate its hearty flavors at home.

Stepping down closer to the kitchen, we are greeted by a tantalizing medley of scents—chicken roasting, empanadas crisping, and fryers sizzling, all making our mouths water. Along the walls, paintings depicting Peruvian culture adorn the space. Choosing from the appetizing options was a challenge but after much debate, we settled on a family meal featuring Pollo a la Brasa and a duo of sauces: ají amarillo and ají verde, along with sides of yuca, rice, papas fritas (french fries), and chicken empanadas.

Upon opening in 1988, El Pollo Rico was the first Peruvian charcoal-broiled rotisserie chicken

restaurant in the U.S. El Pollo Rico originated in Arlington, Virginia, with its first location in a strip mall, then expanded to Wheaton, Fairfax, and Woodbridge. The establishment has come a long way from its modest origins and now does much more than serve chicken.

To Marcie Calcagno, a frequent diner at El Pollo Rico, the restaurant has given her family more than delectable food. “When my kids were in elementary school and we needed sponsors for some of their activities … in the Silver Spring area, El Pollo Rico was always a sponsor for the schools, and for that I’m forever grateful,” she says.

Nestled in the heart of Wheaton, El Pollo Rico serves more than delicious dishes—it is a flavorful fusion of Hispanic culture and a cornerstone of the Wheaton community.

For Natalia Argoti, eating at El Pollo Rico with her family has always been a tradition. “[We] go to church … and then we all like to see each other later, and we have a meal together,” Argoti says. “That [is] the one time we’re all together— my parents, my grandma, our fam-

SPICY AND BLAND Silver Chips writers prepare the chicken to make Pollo a la Brasa.

ily, friends from the community.”

When trying the food, the chicken empanadas were flaky, warm, and utterly delightful. The blend of pastry and chicken, accentuated by a surprising hint of raisins, left our taste buds applauding. The yuca was thick and starchy but also crispy and bursting with unique yet delicious flavors. Rice and fries, while basic, were solid accompaniments—precisely what you would expect from comfort food. The crown jewel, Pollo a la Brasa, held its own. With its robust flavor, subtle chili kick, and piquant skin, it is a true Peruvian delight. The meal was so hearty that even divided among four people, we could not conquer it all.

Pollo a la Brasa was created by Roger Schuler, a Swiss expatriate living in Lima, Peru, who introduced the dish at his restaurant La Granja Azul in 1950. The dish is known as “blackened chicken” due to the dark, flavorful marinade used in its preparation. It is often associated with family gatherings and celebrations, symbolizing Peruvian culinary pride and identity.

María Pía Mecklenburg, a native Peruvian and frequent diner at El Pollo Rico, praises El Pollo Rico’s flavor and authenticity. “[The chicken] is definitely the closest that you’re gonna get to [tasting] it in Peru”.

To recreate our meal, we started with our sides, before moving on to the highlight of our meal: the chicken. Our papas fritas somehow turned out with a crunchy exterior and soggy interior. But, we redeemed ourselves with the yuca, which transported us right back to El Pollo Rico.

When asked about the secrets behind an authentic Pollo a la Brasa, Mecklenburg says that it is all in the seasoning. “All [of] the cumin [and] the pepper … will clump up at the top, so [chefs] actually move that inside of the chicken, like you would do [while] stuffing a turkey,” she says.

To most accurately replicate the flavor, we marinated the chicken in a bath of aromatic spices and peppers for nearly a day. We first tried cooking the chicken using a grill and a rotisserie rod, but ended up finishing it off in the oven.

PHOTOS BY MADELINE GOLD

A FLAVORFUL FUSION Silver Chips writers visit El Pollo Rico in Wheaton for a meal consisting of chicken, empanadas, yuca, rice, and fries.

The Pollo a la Brasa took a detour. Our chicken was spicy and bland simultaneously; the marinade coated the surface with zest, making the skin fiery, while the interior meat lacked flavor. But our chicken’s inconsistent seasoning was almost made up for by its stellar texture—tender and moist. The meat fell right off the bone.

To pair with the chicken, we prepared sauces using a food processor, which was surprisingly easy.

The ají amarillo had a vibrant tang, complemented by lime juice and pepper resulting in a little kick.

The ají verde was fresh, with the jalapeño and green onion coming through to pack a punch. Our sauces emerged as unsung heroes of flavor, revealing the power of homemade perfection. The sauces had a zing that even El Pollo Rico might envy. In the end, recreating a meal from El Pollo Rico was not just about replicating a cherished dish; it was a lesson in humility and appreciation for the culinary craftsmen at El Pollo Rico.

El Pollo Rico’s menu, a reflection of Peruvian traditions intertwined with the local community’s influence, shows the power of culinary diversity. At El Pollo Rico, alfajores, Argentinian cookies, and Mexican flan both find a home, a testament to the restaurant’s ability to adapt and cater to a diverse clientele.

Calcagno attests to the fact that El Pollo Rico has brought her family together. “I’ve introduced [El Pollo Rico] to my own family [including] my in-laws and parents, who are not always receptive to different cuisine, but it was a big hit with them,” she says.

Argoti and her family have also embraced the cuisine, even though they are Ecuadorian. “I have never heard of someone that doesn’t like [El Pollo Rico] ... I think people— regardless of culture—[have] always loved it,” Argoti says.

As we look back on Hispanic Heritage Month, El Pollo Rico serves as one example of the vibrant Hispanic community here in Silver Spring. Through their food, El Pollo Rico embodies the spirit of unity and cultural pride that makes Hispanic Heritage Month a time for celebration and reflection.

The establishment is a reminder of Peruvian history, and its lasting impact on the people it serves. It introduces customers to new flavors and cultures, and provides a space for gathering, even embracing some in the familiarity of its cuisine. “Food is a very important part of people’s cultures. So when you’re having your food, kind of like [at El Pollo Rico], you’re at home,” Mecklenburg says.

Los estudiantes de Silver Chips prueban el arte culinario peruano Por Axel Henrriquez Escritor Para el mes de la herencia hispana y latinoamericana, Silver Chips Print quiso dedicar un espacio para resaltar la comida hispana.

Laila Andelman, Tharaa Izuagie, Madeline Gold y yo intentamos reseñar y recrear un plato típico de Perú debido a su historia y popularidad en el área.

Llegamos al restaurante El Pollo Rico que está en 2517 University Blvd W, Wheaton-Glenmont y ordenamos el plato más popular: un pollo a la brasa con yuca, papas fritas y unas empanadas. En total todo costó $50. Con el dinero no solo pagamos por la comida sino también por el ambiente del restau-

rante. Durante mi tiempo allí, los sonidos de conversación, música, y reunión me envolvían, haciéndome sentir que estaba como en una cantina llena.

Cuando los clientes piden la comida, se quedan esperándola.

La mía solo tomó un tiempo breve para estar lista. Mientras comía, se podía sentir como cada sabor jugaba como si estuviera en un equipo con la salsa amarilla ayudando al sabor del pollo y la yuca o las papas divirtiéndose con el pollo.

Lo que más me gustó fue la forma como la yuca estaba crujiente y como el pollo estaba preparado.

Hablamos con unos de los empleados de la tienda y nos contaron el secreto para hacer el sabroso pollo.

“Primero marinamos el pollo

en la salsa secreta del restaurante que usa ajos, cebollas, especias y otras cosas. Después que el pollo está ahí por un día se pone en el horno por unos 45 minutos a una hora. Después se le da la comida al cliente y así es como vendemos el pollo”.

Hablando con los empleados, también explicaron que “Es conocido como un lugar donde uno puede obtener comida peruana tradicional, esto es por que estamos en una área hispana”. Esto explica la razón por la que “el 80-90% [de los clientes] son hispanos, con un gran parte siendo de Centroamérica como los países de El Salvador, Honduras, y Guatemala. El resto de las personas que compran aquí, muchos son afro-americanos”. Mi

experiencia con la comida fue un éxito y le doy un puntaje de 5/5.

Más tarde, intentamos recrear este platillo por nuestra cuenta y observar el resultado. Cuando comenzamos a preparar el pollo, primero lo marinamos por 24 horas en una salsa secreta que encontramos en Internet y también preparamos las salsas amarillas y verdes. Al día siguiente pusimos una cinta alrededor del pollo para sujetarlo y trabajamos en la preparación de la yuca y papas fritas.

Hubo muchos problemas con el asador, por ejemplo, la llama del fuego no era lo suficientemente alta, así que elegimos ponerlo en el horno. Mientras se resolvían los problemas con el asador, las yucas y papas fritas ya estaban y quedaron

deliciosas, más la yuca, aunque las papas estaban ahí también con su interior siendo muy suave.

Cuando el pollo ya estaba listo se miraba como pollo horneado más que como un pollo a la brasa, con su piel siendo muy blanda.

Pero al fin llegó la parte que estábamos esperando: el pollo estaba muy delicioso, con sus alas jugosas.

Nuestro pollo tenía un sabor muy diferente al del restaurante, fue muy delicioso, pero no fue lo mismo.

A nuestra réplica del pollo le doy un 4,2, con un puntaje tan alto porque yo ayudé a prepararlo. En conclusión, si tratas de recrear una receta de 1.950, asegúrate de entender que tal vez no será perfecta, pero eso está bien.

silverchips

October 19, 2023 Culture E2

Not just for kicks How changes in sneaker culture affect the Black community

The feel of smooth suede or cotton. The comfort of cushioned insoles. The look of various bright and muted colors. The smell of rubber, glue, and finishing sprays.

The confidence from compliments and eyes in the hallway. These are all experiences familiar to those involved in sneaker culture.

Last year, the global sneaker market value witnessed its largest annual increase of $13 billion.

The only time the sneaker market value dropped in the past 10 years was in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following 2022, as consumers transitioned out of the pandemic, the sneaker market value ascended pre-pandemic numbers.

Blair sophomore and sneaker enthusiast Abraham Friedman is one of many Americans who picked up sneaker collecting during the pandemic due to his increased free time. “I was just sitting on my bed. I had n o t h i n g to do without sports,” Friedman says.

With his newfound f r e e time, Friedman bought his first pair of Jordans, Jordan 6 DMPs, with money he received from his Bar Mitzvah.

Since then, Friedman has stuck with his newfound passion of hunting for esteemed and exclusive sneakers and has developed an appreciation for every pair. “Every single aspect about [the shoes], even the receipt, was nice. It just made me feel really good,” Friedman says.

Additionally, Ian Hammerstrom, a fellow sophomore and sneaker enthusiast explained the joy that comes with earning the ownership of a pair he’s been after. “I’m proud of myself for finding good deals and saving up the money … and it’s really nice when someone compliments your shoes that you found a good deal on,” Hammerstrom says.

Aside from the compelling feel of a new pair of sneakers and the style-searching process, the reselling market surrounding sneaker culture has drawn millions of new consumers, and offers a source of income for many individuals.

Reselling websites like GOAT, Depop, and StockX have been at the forefront of providing access to

the autonomy and power to engage in dressing in whatever way we feel appropriate,” Richard says. “And I think that for us, it’s probably one of the most liberating aspects of who we are as Black Americans in terms of how we define ourselves as to what we wear.”

Due to the large role that sneakers and streetwear fashion has in the Black community there is an added layer of self awareness Black people have on a day to day basis that may not be seen in other cultures. “Fashion is very important in terms of identity and who we are, that’s part of our decision making every day when we wake up, like what are we going to wear to present our identity to the world?” Richards says.

The significance of sneakers in the Black community has been threatened as the industry becomes more and more concentrated with newcomers H from other backgrounds G OU looking for a new hobby or ON D income source. Not only has it MC TE put increased pressure on Black A K individuals to attain sneakers and streetwear pieces, it’s made it harder to access and be used as a medium for expression.

As this issue develops, one possible solution as we look forward into the future concentrates o n p r o moting independent Black owned clothing brands. Fashion is heavily based on geographical location and varies from city to city.

Supporting such brands would focus on representing the local community through stuff that is considerstyles linked to the community and ably affordable or in the right price tackle the corporate sneaker world range is during a release date and that has exploited the Black comthat’s damn near impossible.”

Despite the fact that sneaker munity. “If we were able to uplift clothing/sneaker culture has expanded its bound- [independent aries in recent years it has always brands], and show that to the rest been significant for one group in of the nation, there would be other particular. For the Black communi- independent clothing lines that will ty, sneakers and streetwear fashion be created, entrepreneurs would have acted as a medium of liberation and expression in a racially start moving their clothing lines in oppressive society. Joseph Richard, their own city, [and] we could get a professor of African American away from the reliance on corpostudies and anthropology at the rate America,” Richards says.

University of Maryland explains this cultural significance. “We have

sneakers across the world.

Due to the recent changes in the sneaker resell market, Friedman takes advantage of resell cycles which sometimes allows him to come out with profit at the end of each cycle. “I buy a pair of shoes, I wear them for six months, and then sell them for the same or more than I bought them for,” Friedman says.

Although this method is convenient for some, the spontaneous shifts in popularity around certain sneakers and the exacerbated resale market can become incredibly exclusive and expensive. Abel Awoke, a Blair senior who has been involved in the sneaker community for the past eight years, agrees that it has become cutthroat. “Sneakers have doubled in price and affordability is basically non-existent,” Awoke says.

“The only way you can get

Congrats to Blair’s 41 National Merit Scholars

SOPHIA LI

By Sophie Yohannan Culture Columnist Fall rolls around, and like clockwork, the beloved—and often mocked—Pumpkin Spice Latte (also known as the PSL) makes its long-awaited return to Starbucks menus. Along with the PSL is a whole lineup of Starbucks’ seasonal fall drinks and pastries. The fall menu holds an annual spotlight now iconic enough that it almost initiates the turn of the seasons. This fall, the 20th anniversary of the PSL, I’ve decided to rank Starbucks’ array of fall beverages.

First up was the Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Latte. I had high expectations for this since I love a good iced chai. However, upon the first sip, I was assailed by a more-than-generous dose of sweetness. The amount of sugar in this drink completely washed out the already mild taste of Starbucks’ chai spices. Overall, the Pumpkin Chai gets a 4/10.

Luckily, the Iced Apple Crisp Oatmilk Shaken Espresso—quite a mouthful—made up for the weak start. I can’t say it tasted exactly like apples, but it had a fresh fall flavor with balanced sweetness and coffee taste.

Definite 8/10.

Up next was another pumpkin drink: the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew. I mixed the drink to even out the plain cold brew with the sweet Pumpkin Cream cold foam. As I started drinking, I realized that Starbucks’ Pumpkin flavor may not be for me, but the drink was still decent.

I was ready to give it a 6/10. I took a few more sips, then winced and gagged. As much as I wanted to love this iconically autumnal ingredient, the Pumpkin Cream was not agreeing with me. I had to set it aside and give it a 3/10.

I took advantage of Starbucks’ buy-one-get-one “ThursYays” and doubled up on the Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato to share with a friend. I prefer iced drinks, but the season does call for at least one hot beverage. And I’ll admit I was not ready to go back to pumpkin after my last traumatic taste test. Steaming and topped with a light layer of foam, this drink was a pleasant surprise. The aroma of apple waft-

Platinum Level Achievement from U.S Figure Skating

Recognized as nominee for the Brain Awarness Contest

Angela Wu

Derek Mu

ed up though the lid; notes of cinnamon, brown sugar, and oat were complemented by blonde espresso roast to make for a cozy fall coffee that warmed me right up. Not earth-shattering, but a strong 8/10.

I followed this up with the final apple drink on the roster: the Apple Crisp Oatmilk Frappuccino. Feeling middle school flashbacks when I saw the dome lid and whipped cream, I took a sip. The flavor grew on me, but as I was starting to enjoy it, the Frappuccino began melting. It was now a sugary, syrupy concentration of the original drink. I’d also noticed that every sip tasted slightly different, like an overpowering melange of flavors that should have been more subtle and evenly blended. The apple frap gets a 5/10.

Now left with only pumpkin drinks, it was time to face my fears. Taking a cautious sip of the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino, my worries initially receded. I can’t say I enjoyed it, but it was good enough—until it suffered the same fate as the last Frappuccino and liquified, losing its flavor balance. If you’re into the taste of an autumn-scented Yankee candle, this drink might be for you. Pumpkinccino also earns a 5/10 .

I had to leave the star of the show for last. There it was, the Pumpkin Spice Latte, in all its glory. In a very fall moment, I sat sipping the drink in my cardigan as the Starbucks played nothing but Ed Sheeran. The beverage surprised me with a tastefully moderated flavor and sweetness. Though pumpkin is not my thing, this drink is a great choice for those who do like the flavor. I’ll give the esteemed PSL a perfectly respectable 7/10, but personally, I wouldn’t order it again.

If there’s anything I learned from my journey, it’s that you should stay far away from Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam.

Instead, pumpkin lovers should opt for the classic PSL. For those who prefer pumpkin as a front porch decoration or pie filling, the drink that I crown winner of the fall menu is the Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato. This beverage truly channels the autumn season as the perfect jumpstart to a chilly morning.

ALLISON LIN

By Rabira Dosho Staff Writer

Blair Quizbowl takes 3rd place at the annual PHSAT at Princeton

silverchips

E3 Culture October 19, 2023

A vintage renaissance

By Zachary Karp Staff Writer

of music revenue. Despite this loss of relevance, records can still be found in households today, serving as a testament to their longevity.

For Neill, listening to vinyl can be a way to more intimately appreciate a song or artist. “I think when you get a record, it feels like you own the art, you get the whole sleeve with it, the album cover,” Neill explains. “It’s just cool … having all the [record] sleeves and looking at a collection, and [having] the artwork that you can touch.”

Johnson Lee, owner of Joe’s Record Paradise in Downtown Silver Spring, partially attributes increased attraction to physical music to greater variety. “One thing that turned a lot of young people … off of streaming

When Blair sophomore Pierce Neill received Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly, on vinyl for Christmas two years ago, he gently placed it onto the platter of the turntable he had also been gifted that day, raised the stylus, and watched the record begin to spin.

In a world of instant digital music services, traditional forms of physical music like vinyl are illequipped to maintain a firm grasp over the global music industry, allowing modernized alternatives such as Spotify and Apple Music to take hold over the trade with little competition. But many nominally obsolete forms of traditional media like records fail to fade away just yet; over-theear headphones remain in style even in the age of wireless earbuds like AirPods, and physical books—despite ongoing trends toward literary digitization—continue to outvalue eBook sales by wide margins.

To be held responsible for this unexpected resurgence in traditional media usage are a blend of enthusiasts, hobbyists, and conSO PH temporary entertainment IA trends.

LI services [is] they For all their entrenchment in could tell that they American music culture, vinyl reweren’t hearing everycords largely fell off in sales starting in the early 2000s as alterna- thing. The corporate model will try tive methods of listening to music and stuff certain music down your like digital downloads and audio throat 20 times a day, especially on streaming took over the lion’s share the radio—they’ll just play the same

things over and over,” Lee says.

“How many times can the industry … do those sorts of things before you just say, ‘You know what, I’m just going to turn around [and] look to see what’s already available’?”

For Blair junior Jillian Silver-Bigler, records are appealing because they offer the listener a new perspective on their music. “[With] some of my favorite albums that I’ve listened to on repeat on Spotify … [I’ll] buy the record and I’m listening to them again, closer, and there will be entire instruments, entire backing vocals that you just completely miss out on on Spotify.”

Silver-Bigler also describes her enjoyment of traditional media as an interest in both vinyl and a second medium: analog cameras, including Polaroids. “I got my first Polaroid camera in first grade—I loved that,” Silver-Bigler explains.

“I think there’s a whimsical aspect to it. You could explain to me how it works, but it’s still a mystery to me how that was created.”

Whereas cell phone cameras are at every advantage when it comes to efficiency, analog cameras—despite being many decades past their 20th century heyday—still r e m a i n industry leaders in producing meaningful photographs. Polaroids are just one form of analog cameras which are seeing a resurgence in popularity; Sophomore Eli Miller uses a Nikon FE film camera recreationally—an inherited pastime. “My sister and

PHOTO BY RAFFI CHARKOUDIAN-ROGERS

DOWNTOWN SILVER SPRING Joe’s Record Paradise has been open since 1974, and has stayed at its current location for seven years. my dad are all part of that whole situation with the film cameras, and every time we go on vacation, they bring their cameras,” Miller says.

“But last year I took photography and we used film cameras for a while, [so] I actually got to do this thing that I’ve been watching my family do forever, and now I do it on my own.”

Miller sends his undeveloped film to a developer in Orlando, Florida, for processing, a twomonth affair that can cost him $27 in film and shipping combined. “It takes so long to get your picture back that it gives [you] more meaning and you feel like, ‘This picture belongs to me,’” Miller says.

Kelly Crowder, who has taught photography classes at Blair for 15 years, notes that in practice, learning to use an analog camera can encourage mindfulness while taking photos. “If you have a roll

of film … that costs money. And so now you’re going to … choose more wisely what you take pictures of, as opposed to taking snaps all over the place,” Crowder explains.

“You’re going to think more about your composition and your lighting before you go ahead and use that one frame, because that one frame also costs some money for you … so not everything is instant gratification.”

Be it through,h the stylus of a turntable or the film ejection slot of a Polaroid camera, traditional media remains in use today because of the intimacy it develops with its user. While newer forms of media may steal the show when it comes to cost and ease of access, traditional media—vinyl and analog cameras chief among them—nonetheless retain their niche as not only a vintage item, but a catalyst that allows one to build up rapport with an album or photograph.

No more Eleanor

The Downtown Silver Spring restaurant is closed for business

By Naomi Andelman Staff Writer In the middle of the plant-lined, pedestrian-packed Silver Plaza of Downtown Silver Spring, there stands an empty property, its vacancy looming over the casual passerby. Four months ago, this restaurant’s turquoise and coral sign would have caught the eye. The local eatery occupied the massive 8,000 square foot space with two separate entrances, decorated with strung-up lights and bowling and arcade-themed pop art, consistent with the arcade games and bowling alleys inside. The food was solid in what it delivered: an elevated take on American bar food fused with different cuisines. Despite its 4.1 star rating on Google reviews and accessible location, The Eleanor closed in June.

A year and a half after the opening of The Eleanor D.C., the owners of the establishment decided to launch a second location in Downtown Silver Spring. The restaurant opened in February of 2020, taking a hiatus shortly thereafter due to COVID-19. The Silver Spring location then reopened in April 2021 before permanently closing this year. “After facing unprecedented challenges since opening just two weeks before the pandemic shutdown, we have decided to close our Silver Spring location,” a statement on The Eleanor’s website reads.

However, The Eleanor was not the only tenant of 931 Ellsworth Drive to have difficulties keeping their establishment open.

Before the building was occupied by The Eleanor, it held Lincoln’s Bar-B-Que and A.G. Kitchen. Lincoln’s Bar-B-Que opened in March 2017 before closing in

January 2018, giving the American barbeque and “crazy shakes” restaurant a run of less than a year.

A.G. Kitchen, an offshoot of the New York City restaurant of the same name, opened in June 2015 and closed in late 2016. With three restaurants forced to close in nine years, the property does not boast a good track record with its tenants.

The space is front and center on the plaza, making it hard to miss.

Michael Leon, the Senior Leasing Representative of Peterson Companies, the real estate company in charge of developing Downtown Silver Spring, notes that the property’s location is one aspect that distinguishes it. “The space is located right there on Silver Plaza, which is the central pedestrian area. It sees a very high volume of foot traffic, and just to have that many people be in your space and close by … is a unique quality that differentiates the space from others in the market,” Leon says in an interview with Silver Chips.

It is up for contention why The Eleanor and the restaurants before it were unlucky. A possible fault could be the upscale nature of these restaurants, compared to the quicker, more affordable dining options around it, such as Chickfil-A, BibiBop, and Cava.

Blair senior Belin Tamirat had plans to get a job at The Eleanor before it closed. Tamirat currently works at Miss Toya’s Creole House, which is next to The Eleanor’s previous property. Tamirat attributes the closing of the restaurant to its elevated atmosphere, “It’s not fit for Downtown. Downtown is usually somewhere to eat and then leave,” she says. “It was too high [end].”

Many successful restaurants in central Downtown Silver Spring

PHOTO BY MARIN LEDERER

BUILDING VACANT The Eleanor’s former property now sits empty on Silver Plaza. have one thing in common: they are chains. The Panera and Red Lobster have been open for nearly two decades, as have Potbelly and Chipotle. All of these establishments have locations throughout the country, something that The Eleanor, and the restaurants before it, cannot claim.

When asked about the success of Miss Toya’s, Tamirat points to its growing reputation. “There’s a lot of reviewers who come because they’ve heard about it … We have a lot of branches across the U.S., so it spreads around [and] we get a lot of customers,” Tamirat says.

Loyalty Books also occupied the space in November 2018 with its pop-up store before moving to

its current 823 Ellsworth Drive location down the road. Loyalty Books Co-owner Hannah Oliver Depp recounts their time in the property. “The space was honestly a little too large and sprawling … [our current location] is definitely more of a comfortable bookshop … feel,” Oliver Depp says. Oliver Depp also points out that running a small business in Downtown is more challenging due to the other big businesses around. “[In Downtown Silver Spring], we’re not really surrounded by other small businesses, so … [people seeking out small businesses] happens less,” Oliver Depp says.

The most successful eatery of the property in recent years was

Romano’s Macaroni Grill. The Italian food chain opened in February 2004 and closed in 2014.

Even with its 1.5 star Yelp rating, it stuck around for about a decade, possibly because of its recognizable name at the time.

Despite the space’s past, Leon is optimistic about the future of the property. “I think we’re gonna get a great tenant into that space,” he says. “It will be something that hopefully everyone can enjoy.”

Perhaps the business that opens next will finally break the curse of 931 Ellsworth Drive.

silverchips

Turning pages

October 19, 2023 Culture E4

A new chapter for independent bookstores

By Emily Kretschmer and Chloe Pegg Staff Writers By 9:30 a.m. on a Sunday in late September, People’s Book is crowded with children and their parents. Some sit in chairs and others stand, listening diligently to Ellen Mayer and her illustrator, Nicole Tadgell, read their picture book, Leaves to My Knees, while others wander through shelves of zines, cookbooks, and young adult fiction. This wonderland of books is exactly what People’s Book owner Megan Bormet dreamed of when she decided to turn a lifelong love of reading into a thriving Takoma Park bookstore.

People’s Book’s success reflects a positive new trend for independent bookstores. According to WordsRated, the number of bookstores in the U.S. went from 1,701 in 2021 to 2,506 in 2022, an increase of approximately 47 percent. This surge comes amidst the threat of online retailers, which, especially with the pandemic, forced many local bookstores to close their doors.

Tegan Tigani, the Board President of the American Booksellers Association (ABA), notes that the industry’s growth is in part due to the mental shift caused by the pandemic. “A lot more bookstores opened, kind of right after lockdown,” Tigani says in an interview with Silver Chips. “So many people were contained within their community, that they realized the value in things locally.”

This desire to buy locally is one reason behind the recent increase in book sales for independent

bookstores. A survey from the ABA reported 80 percent of respondents witnessing higher sales in 2021 than in 2020.

The boost in demand for independent bookstores has not only been crucial to booksellers, but also to the communities around them. “When people invest in local businesses like bookstores, that money goes back into the community,” Tigani says.

In addition, independent bookstores are able to promote diverse reads and much more individualized book curation than big corporations, creating a more personal, safe space for readers. “It’s a sense of building community and closeness and I don’t think that there’s anything like independent bookstores,” Chardai Powell, a booksell-

ROSALYN FANG

er for Loyalty Books in Downtown Silver Spring, says. “The curation of these books is very, very, very personal.”

As book bans become increasingly common in education, the role of independent bookstores in the exposure of diverse books is becoming pivotal. While MCPS has not experienced as much controversy over school-taught literature as other areas across the country, three families sued over curriculum-mandated LGBTQ story books in May. To Bormet, a former educator who also works for the education nonprofit Achievement Network, this was devastating. “I just feel empathy and human nature are at risk,” she says.

When it comes to book selection at People’s Book, Bormet aims to utilize the books and mirrors method, where kids not only see themselves in the books they’re reading, but also have the ability to put themselves in someone else’s shoes. She is fearful of how book banning affects this. “I feel like with these bans on books, … [the books and mirrors method] is in jeopardy,” Bormet says. “Our tagline … for People’s Book is ‘you belong.’

I think there’s a big difference between saying you belong and having people come in and seeing themselves reflected on the shelves.”

Heidi Ashton Yoon, the Children and Teens Community Outreach Coordinator at Politics and Prose, a DC bookstore, agrees.

“Everyone who comes into [a bookstore] needs to be able to see themselves in the cover, and kids who don’t look like the kids on the cover also need to read the books

PHOTO BY ROSE KEPKA

PEOPLE’S BOOK A mother reads to her child in a cozy nook surrounded by books. because they need to learn empathy about what other people’s lives are like,” Ashton Yoon says.

All three bookstores’ selections of books include diverse options such as Toni Morrison’s classic, The Bluest Eye, which tells the story of a young Black girl during the Great Depression, and Pride Puppy, a picture book about celebrating pride day. Books like these serve to represent a variety of audiences.

Mylo Garrin, an employee at People’s Book who identifies as nonbinary, has been personally impacted by witnessing diverse books being promoted. “I grew up with so few books about non-binary and queer identities, but to see them now all over the place, especially in our children’s section is really emotional for me,” Garrin says.

“For kids like me … you need to see [representation]. To have [being queer] restricted and basically

branded as wrong, can really do some damage.”

Bookstores uplift youth by offering and promoting diverse books that reflect a variety of readers. In August 2022, a judge in the Circuit Court for the City of Virginia Beach dismissed an attempt by petitions led by Republican lawmakers against Gender Queer and A Court of Mist and Fury, two books about LGBTQ experiences. The petitions sought to prohibit bookstores, including Barnes & Noble, from selling the books to minors.

Back at People’s Book, where Gender Queer is currently displayed in the front window, Mayer and Tadgell are wrapping up their reading. As the last lines are read, a mom walks to the register, her blond toddler crawling behind. A stack of diverse picture books rests in her arms, with Leaves to My Knees on top.

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silverchips

E5 Culture October 19, 2023

Chips Clips Word Ladders

DAMI KIM

October Solutions

Killer Sudoku

In each column and each row, each of the digits 1–9 appear once.

In each bolded 3-by-3 box, each of the digits 1–9 appear once.

In each cage (group of boxes shaded the same gray as their neighbors), the sum of the digits is the number in the upper lefthand corner of the cage. Digits cannot be repeated in cages.

Starting from the beginning word, change one letter at a time to reach the end word in the given number of spaces (or fewer, if you can!). Every line must contain a word of the same length as the beginning word, and every line must contain a valid English word.

Changing a letter involves switching one letter in a word to another only, not switching the positions of letters (eg. changing bed to bet or changing bed to bad).

MADELINE GOLD

Scan the QR code to the right to see the solutions to the October puzzles.

CHIKARA YAMAGISHI

At the Buzzer

MADELINE GOLD

Contact Puzzle Editor Madeline Gold at madeline.a.gold@gmail.com with the subject “Chips Clips October” with questions, comments, concerns, or any other feedback.

MADELINE GOLD

ACROSS DOWN 1 What a competitor does at the 1 One day on Mars US Open in Huntington Beach 2 Feminine “one” in French 6 Word preceeding a Spanish 3 Part of the body’s cage author’s name 4 Mustang makers 5 Someone with a noisy nose at night 9 Sound of disappointment 6 Popular oil-based cooking spray 12 Tear-jerker vegetable 13 Prepare a scale to measure weight 7 Mining yield 8 Images may be hi-___ or low-___ 14 Common poke ingredient 9 Highest mountain range in Poland 15 Akron’s most famous athlete 10 Shave, as a farm animal 18 A perfect gymnastics score 11 Shared name of two California 19 Some people have lucid ones sports teams 20 RuPaul’s specialty 13 Steamed cantina wrap 21 Hugo’s Les ___, for short 16 Homer’s neighbor 24 The Raven’s Poe 17 Car brand with a cat logo, briefly 26 Most commonly pierced body 20 Abandons part 21 WNBA legend Moore 27 Potential winner of an Oscar 22 How some like their coffee 29 Popular jeans brand 23 Sticker on an outgoing envelope 32 Full trip around the sun 25 Sets, to a gym goer 33 Allergy attack reverser 28 Camden Yards home team 35 Navy fleet commander 30 Pierce the Veil’s Fuentes 39 Beetles idolized in Egyptian 31 A variety of beer mythology 34 How an annoying person’s voice 42 Deeply consider might be described 44 President Ing-Wen of Taipei 36 Airport code in Nevada’s second 45 Donald Duck’s nephew largest city 46 Jamaican athlete who’s last name 37 Acronym for a secondary housing matches his sport unit on a residential lot 47 Where a player on 28 down’s 38 Skywalker sister team must reach to score 40 Lure or taunt 50 Adjust to circumstances 41 Cosecant reciprocal 53 4G wifi standard 43 Unwanted flash effect in a photo 54 Drinks on tap 46 Unrealistic paradise 55 Moral significance 47 Like a fraternity pledge 57 One half of a jagged pattern 48 Pizza topping, can be made into oil 58 Fantastical flying nanny 49 Fox of Jennifer’s Body 64 Peron of Argentina 51 A cells “nuggets” of energy 65 Many athletes have a signature 52 Vietnamese broth dish one of these 66 Like a bond between elements or 56 A leopard doesn’t change these 58 AOL rival a style of Greek column 59 Discovery, an ___! moment 67 A lion’s home 60 Go to waste 68 A singular player on DC’s 61 Mythological savior of Odysseus baseball team 62 Nada, in soccer terms 69 Ring-shaped coral reef 63 School, in text speak

silverchips

October 19, 2023 Culture E6

Corrections June 2023 Throughout the June issue there are many instances where the percent symbol (%) should be the word percent.

O RR AR

AB AIR

H YA

By Alayne Lopez Rodriguez and Noah Miatudila Guest Writers Savez-vous ce qu’on va célébrer au mois de novembre? Les profs de français à Blair savent certainement. Demandez à Madame Leyder, Madame Kanza, ou Madame Holmes et elles vous diront que la semaine du premier novembre est la semaine nationale du français.

Pendant cette semaine, des écoles autour du pays promeuvent l’apprentissage de la langue française et célèbrent les cultures de la francophonie. Tous les élèves de Blair, même si vous ne savez pas parler français, sont les bienvenus pour apprendre sur la francophonie avec plein d’activités. Alors préparezvous pour une semaine très chouette.

Initiée par l’Association américaine des professeurs de français (AATF), la semaine nationale du français est célébrée depuis 1999. Cet événement annuel a été créé pour promouvoir la langue

A1 française et les cultures francophones à travers les États-Unis, en soulignant l’importance de la diversité linguistique et les contributions historiques des cultures francophones du monde entier.

Washington, D.C. propose de nombreuses activités passionnantes qui célèbrent la francophonie. Immergez-vous dans le monde du cinéma avec des projections de films français classiques ou contemporains à l’Alliance Française.

Vous pouvez aussi participer à des concours médiatiques ou explorer l’art et l’histoire française à la Galerie Nationale. Si vous êtes gastronome, il y a plein de restaurants à Washington, D.C. qui vous serviront de plats français authentiques.

Mais, la fête ne se limite pas à la capitale. Ici à Blair, c’est une occasion de découvrir la beauté de la langue et la culture française, directement dans notre propre communauté. Pour les étudiants qui sont inscrits dans un cours de français, il y aura un jeu-questionnaire sur la francophonie. Et bien sûr, on ne peut pas oublier la

nourriture. Vous connaissez bien les baguettes, les croissants, les pains au chocolat, et cetera. Bien que ces choses soient tellement iconiques et délicieuses, la francophonie est un monde très divers. Alors pendant cette semaine, vous aurez la chance de goûter de la nourriture de plusieurs régions de la francophonie. En plus des pâtisseries françaises et du fromage, il y aura des friandises africaines.

Evidemment, on veut que vous vous amusiez pendant la semaine nationale du français, qui sera, pour rappel, du 1er au 8 novembre.

Mais aussi, on veut que vous reconnaissiez l’importance de l’apprentissage des langues différentes. En apprenant le français, par exemple, vous devenez plus informé de la diversité du monde francophone.

C’est la même chose pour tous les cours de langues à Blair. Apprendre une nouvelle langue n’est pas seulement un prérequis pour obtenir son diplôme, c’est une opportunité d’élargir votre connaissance du monde.

B2

In the story titled “MCPS faces ASL interpreter shortage:” paragraph doesn’t continue in the right order. “It’s like a slap in our face that we’re….” (next paragraph) “ant,’ she says.”

The quote should have said: “It’s like a slap in our face that we’re not valued [or] considered important.”

In the “Is the Common Core curriculum beneficial to education?” CON side: “Jeremy Abarno, former education teacher and current Educational Consultant” should be “Jeremy Abarno, former education teacher and current educational consultant.”

In the story titled, “Red light on traffic stops” the second paragraph is illegible due to a printing error.

D3

The correct text should say “Legislative Oversight (OLO) identifying racial inequities in traffic law enforcement, County Councilmember Will Jawando introduced legislation that would limit.”

D4

In the story titled, “Blair alumnus opens fitness center” “AsMiskiri explains,” should be changed to “As Miskiri explains.”

D5

Blazers of Note (Skyler Xue): “Washington D.C.,” should be “Washington, D.C.,”

from 6:30-9:00 PM

F1 Sports October 19, 2023

silverchips

By Eliza Warren Sports Editor

[Rugby will] have a really hard time ever dethroning or competing with the likes of basketball and football in the [United States].

JACK ISCARO

One never expects to find a fascination in watching large, sweaty men running around in tiny, blood covered shorts and weird hats while tossing a strange ball back and forth, but that is exactly what happened to me.

While on a trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland last April, I somehow found myself at a University College Dublin rugby match in the midst of the college grounds, and was shocked by how much I enjoyed it. The sport’s unique rules and obvious differences in culture compared to American sports drew me in immediately. By the end of the trip, I was hooked and was devastated to be heading back to the land of no rugby (also known as the United States).

Luckily for me, the 2023 Rugby World Cup began on Sept. 8, so I did not have to go long without

my rugby fix. However, as excited as I was to watch more rugby, I also began to notice the increasingly evident lack of interest in the sport among my fellow Americans.

My disappointment in this observation led me to look into why such a wonderful sport is so underrated in the U.S. To find out, I set out to talk with U.S. professional players and local rugby players in order to hear their perspectives.

According to Autumn Czaplicki, a member of the U.S. women’s na-

League Rugby (MLR)] and we have [Women’s Premier League Rugby (WPL)] but that’s not anywhere close to the [MLR’s] level.

That’s why a lot of the girls go overseas and play in the UK,” she says.

Yet another deterrer for rugby players in the United States are the sacrifices that must be made in order to make it to the professional level. Czaplicki, in order to continue her growth as a player after college, was forced to drive from Pennsylvania down to D.C. three days a week just to play for a competitive club and give herself the chance to play professionally one day. “There are so many [rugby players that don’t end up playing professionally] that are better than me [but] just don’t want to sacrifice everything,” Czaplicki says.

However, to my delight, many believe that rugby’s popularity is on the rise in the United States. Iscaro, who also plays for the MLR’s D.C. Glory, has already noticed an increase in fans at MLR games.

“When [the MLR] started, it was a bit more humble … but this past season, there were a couple o f

ROSALYN FANG says. times [where MLR Czaplicki also noted that fans] broke attendance records,” rugby is especially challenging for he says. “[We are] getting 10,000 female players because of the dif- to 11,000 people just for regular ferences in men’s and women’s games—not even championships— leagues. “[The men have [Major which is really exciting.”

With the MLR’s increasing popularity, Iscaro points out a potential effect of its growth in the amateur rugby world. “As the professional league grows in the U.S., there’s a lot more effort to build grassroots programs,” he says.

If you want to try something new or you [don’t] feel like you’ve found your sport, I definitely recommend rugby.

AWA KANTA

DAMI KIM

tional rugby union team, the USA Women’s Eagles, one of the main reasons for rugby’s low popularity is the lack of opportunities for children to play the sport. Czaplicki did not begin playing rugby until college due to challenges finding a team in high school. “I didn’t want to [play rugby] in high school because I didn’t want to quit the [other] sports I was doing. If I had played rugby, it would have been an hour and 15 minute drive every Tuesday and Thursday after my soccer practice or basketball practice,” she says.

Unfortunately, with children having such little opportunity to get into the sport young, it is not shocking that rugby lacks adult fans in comparison to the more traditional U.S. sports. “[Rugby will] have a really hard time ever dethroning or competing with the likes of basketball and football in the [United States] just because of how much of a tradition and hold they have on the American public,” Jack Iscaro, a rugby player for the U.S. men’s rugby union team, the USA Men’s Eagles,

Iscaro, many other rugby players, and fans (myself included) believe that the sport’s growth is well-deserved and that it has what it needs to continue to grow. “Rugby is a really good answer to a lot of the problems people have with sports in the states right now,” Iscaro says. “People complain about how stop-start a football game is or how long it goes. Rugby is a lot more free-flowing [and] there’s not as much stop and start.”

Iscaro also explains how, contrary to popular belief, rugby is not more dangerous than other sports. “I’ve played both football and rugby and I can say that, without the equipment, you ironically are forced to protect yourself a lot more,” he says.

Awa Kanta, Blair senior and rugby player, gave their own tribute to rugby. “I love my team, I love the community, and I love the game in general,” they say. “If you want to try something new or you [don’t] feel like you’ve found your sport, I definitely recommend rugby.”

Kanta could not have said it better. Tune into your next local rugby game and prepare to get hooked.

Uneven footing

How cleats designed for men cause ACL tears in women

By Emily Kretschmer and Norah Wilson Staff Writers

H

make them vulnerable to ACL tears. “Women tend to have wider hips because of birthing … so that already puts [womens’] knees at a more inward angle, which [makes a woman] a little bit more disadvantaged for ACL tears compared to a male,” he says. Wang also notes differences in hamstring strength. “[Men] typically have [slightly] stronger hamstrings, so that’ll also help … keep your ACL safe,” he says.

Additionally, the higher presence of estrogen in women contributes to female athletes’ vulnerability to torsional injuries. “If we look at the laxity of ligaments … baseline hormone levels will definitely affect how prone females are to injury,” Karolidis says.

From bone structure to joint laxity, numerous factors play into the

If you study males, it’s a lot easier to standardize things so a lot of research tends to shy away from female athletes.

EMILY KAROLIDIS

signed for men have too much traction for women, which is a significant cause of injuries in female athletes.

“Traction [in cleats] right now is

UG

JASON YU

NO

injuries among athletes, at least 100,000 ACL tears occur annually in the U.S., but women are disproportionately affected. “We see that the highest rate of ACL injuries across high school [sports] are consistently in female soccer, so it’s a huge problem,” a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Oregon, Emily Karolidis, says. Karolidis, who is working on her PhD in human physiology, was selected as a finalist for the Nike Footwear Research Award for her studies on the effect of cleats on torsional injuries in female athletes.

This increasing prevalence of

designed for males so [it creates] a lot of resistance for female athletes,” she says.

Blair senior and varsity soccer captain, Simone Hargrove, tore her ACL during a preseason scrimmage in her junior year. “I [made] a pivot. [There was] no contact and that’s when I tore my ACL, I didn’t even realize at first,” she says.

Hargrove, who is unsure of the cleats that she was wearing at the time, is still unable to play even after two surgeries.

70 percent of ACL tears occur not from contact, but from landing incorrectly, changing direction, or twisting quickly. “I’ve seen girls’ ACLs go out when no one touched [them],” Robert Gibb, Blair girls’ varsity soccer coach, says.

The high rates of ACL tears in female athletes are in major part due to anatomical and hormonal differences in women’s bodies. Wesley Wang, a physical therapist who specializes in ACL injury rehabilitation, explains the features of a female’s knee that DO MC

EMILY KAROLIDIS

We see that the highest rate of ACL injuries across high school [sports] are consistently in female soccer, so it’s a huge problem.

wearing the Phantom Lunas during this year’s soccer season. “I love the way they fit. It just feels very supportive and light, which hasn’t really been the same for wearing men’s cleats,” she says.

One of the biggest distinctions between cleats designed for men and cleats designed for women is the amount of traction, which is affected by the stud pattern and length.

Laura Youngson, a cofounder of IDA Sports, a soccer cleat brand exclusively for female athletes, explains the role traction plays. “Traction is the friction of an object against a surface. More traction means you stick into the surface …

The cleat/stud length, shape, and configuration [of the cleat] all affect the levels of traction,” Youngson writes in an email to Silver Chips.

Karolidis explains that cleats de-

TE KA

The Nike Phantom Luna soccer cleats, released in June, are one of few cleats specifically created for women available on the market. As women are 2.8 times more likely than men to tear their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while playing soccer, Nike’s new pair of cleats take a crucial step towards prioritizing women’s safety in sports.

One of the most common knee

ACL injuries is shedding light on the lack of research performed on female athletes in comparison to male athletes, due to hormonal inconsistencies that result from having a menstrual cycle. “If you study males, it’s a lot easier to standardize things so a lot of research tends to shy away from female athletes, because injury statistics vary based on where you are in your menstrual cycle,” Karolidis says.

The discrepancies in research have been detrimental for many female athletes, who may lack specialized injury prevention methods that differ from those used for male athletes.

Although sports brands have long had minimal innovation when it comes to cleats tailored specifically towards women, Nike’s Phantom Luna cleats are improving this inequality. The shoes are designed with the Nike Cyclone 360 Plate, which is a circular stud pattern, giving women better rot a tional traction while playing.

In addition, the cleats were designed with female athletes in mind, featuring a hightop that fits snug around the typically smaller female ankle.

Josie Gleason, Blair senior and varsity soccer captain, has been

need for female-specific cleats. Finally, sports brands are picking up on these differences.

Karolidis is excited about Nike taking initiative and designing cleats specifically made for women to prevent injuries. “[The Phantom Lunas are] a really great starting point because we’re looking at how fit can really be optimized for female athletes,” she says.

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October 19, 2023 Sports F2

Committing to the process

A look into the college recruitment process

By Diego Santoro-Velez and Nikki Tjiputra Staff Writers

them, they are costly, generally ranging from $100 to $300 each for a one to two day camp, depending on the sport. Blair senior and Macalester College soccer commit Eliza Palmer explains the specific cost for most women’s soccer Identification (ID) camps. “I’d say an average [camp] that I do is like a hundred bucks,” Palmer says.

For students without the sufficient financial resources to attend camps, it can be difficult to gain exposure to coaches. Similar to showcases, camps are a big time commitment for a family, with some camps being hours away or on weekdays, meaning recruits must miss school. Seiken emphasizes how much he traveled to camps during his recruiting process. “[During] my sophomore year, I traveled to probably 10 different

cial component of the recruiting process.

While camps offer coaches opportunities to see recruits in their gameday form and interact with

[college football camps] in a span of a summer … from [University of Virginia] kind of close by, to [College of the] Holy Cross, which is really far away,” Seiken explains.

A challenge that some recruits may face include injuries that can impact their recruitment chances.

Seiken tore his ACL and meniscus during his recruiting process. “[The Air Force football coach] wanted to offer me, [but] I just suffered a knee injury … So [they couldn’t] offer [me] right now because of that … It was just unfortunate,” he says.

Luckily for Seiken, The Air Force still gave him an offer, although for some athletes an injury can signal the end of their recruitment process and prove significant for their future collegiate sports career.

Another element of the recruiting process is the excruciatingly short window to receive offers.

With only a couple of years to be presented with a recruitment proposal, not getting one while others do can be agonizing, especially when peers

start out with certain advantages. “I played on a lot of those teams with private school kids who rack up offers,” Seiken says. “I saw all those kids on my teams getting tons of offers

and I just had nothing. And I was a junior going into my senior year. I was like, am I gonna even get any?”

I think there’s definitely a lot of ups and downs, and it’s … rough, but at the end of the day, it’s a good experience and it made me grow a lot personally.

ELIZA PALMER

“It’s kind of like a roller coaster with unexpected turns,” Blair senior Mikhail Seiken says about the college recruitment process. Seiken, who committed to the U.S. Air Force Academy for football in July, is among the seven percent of high school athletes who are recruited to play at the collegiate level. However, reaching that playing field is far from easy.

The college recruitment process includes the steps in which universities identify and analyze potential recruits to play for their school. To begin, a large group of students are chosen, and after months of communication and evaluation, the group shrinks in size until only a handful remain. About seven million students play high school sports, but in 2022, only 520,000 played in the three divisions of the ALLISON LIN National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Most athletes who want to play in college join a high-level club team or travel team for their sport. These are highly competitive teams that travel across the country to play in big tournaments or showcases.

Team fees can cost anywhere from

$1,000 to $8,000 per year, making the teams inaccessible to many families. Furthermore, teams often require players to purchase their own equipment and uniforms, as well as pay for plane tickets, gas, and hotels. Many of these teams play most weekends all over the country, meaning they are huge commitments for families as well, who have to travel every weekend to a tournament or showcase hours away. Blair senior and Salisbury University baseball commit Logan Stillerman highlights the amount of travel his club baseball team requires. “Travel [baseball] was like my second life,” Stillerman says. “I was traveling all the time, going up north to Philly and down south to South Carolina.”

Besides big showcases and tournaments, attending camps is a cru-

The recruitment process remains highly selective. If an athlete does not go down the recruitment path but still wants to play sports in college, they may opt for club or intramural sports—a less serious route for athletes looking to have fun and stay in shape after high school.

As for athletes who want to play a varsity sport in college, while the recruiting process can be stressful, it can also be a period of growth and opportunity. “I think there’s definitely a lot of ups and downs, and it’s … rough, but at the end of the day, it’s a good experience and it made me grow a lot personally,” Palmer says.

Friday night fights

MCPS cracks down on violence at football games

By Max Erlebacher and Carina Nicodemus Staff Writers

We’ve always had most of these policies in place.

[They’re] just good practices in managing games and events.

RITA BOULE

Following a violent altercation on Sept. 6 after a football game between Bethesda-Chevy Chase (B-CC) and Walter Johnson (WJ), MCPS limited spectators and altered game times for varsity football events. The B-CC and WJ altercation was not the first time that incidents after a football game led the county to change their rules.

After an incident at Gaithersburg in 2022, MCPS created their Fall Athletics Safety Plan with three tiers of restrictions and placed all varsity football games in tier one of their new plan. Under tier one, students from participating schools attending a football game had to present their student ID at the gate, were not allowed to bring backpacks or bags, and spectators from each competing school had to leave through separate exits.

The altercation between B-CC and WJ students led MCPS to increase their regulations by implementing certain tier two policies into games, such as limiting spectators to 75 percent capacity and altering game times to allow for more daylight to better monitor crowds.

Many of these rules now administered for the entire county have long been enforced at Blair’s home games. “We’ve always had most of these policies in place. [They’re] just good practices in managing games and events,” Blair Athletic Director Rita Boule said. “Our

community has been used to the no bags, and [spectators have] to get in the game before a certain time and can’t leave and come back.”

One new rule, even for Blair, is that spectators from non-competing schools are barred from attending games unless accompanied by an adult. The new rule helps police and security better identify students involved in potential future altercations. “I think [the policy is] more about identifying your own students that actually go to school, because even last year there were students that were not only at different high schools, but different middle schools that had altercations during football games,” Adrian Kelly, head of Blair security, said.

For some students, MCPS’ new security measures are seen as a beneficial measure to keep students safe and prevent fights in the future. “I think [the rules are] good,” Blair junior Ayn Doye said. “[We] definitely have a lot of competitive people and I know how that gets—fights can break out. It’s just easier to manage and control if

we have less people [there].”

Boule believes that the hours after the games are when support is needed most. “After the game, when kids decide they’re done watching and start leaving is [when] I [want] the most logistics and [plans],” she said. Currently, after Blair games, police presence is increased to help with exiting crowds, parking lot lights are turned on, Blair security and admin remain on watch in the parking lot, and the visiting team is walked out by the hosting school officials. “Everybody’s being vigilant and on their radios communicating … we’re trying to have everybody out there to make sure all the students are safe,” Kelly said.

However, some believe that MCPS’ response is not enough to address the issue. The B-CC PTSA sent a letter to the BOE and Superintendent Monifa McKnight stating that if the new policies had been in place during the time of the incident, the fight with WJ would still have occurred because it was not at a school event.

In the letter, obtained by Silver Chips, the B-CC PTSA claimed that the shift to tier two policies negatively impacted players. “[The policies] unfairly punish students not involved in the incident, and harms the athletic programs which are often a positive influence on students,” the letter stated.

Meg Weaver, a PTSA volunteer at B-CC, feels that MCPS is solving the wrong problem. “The focus needs to be not on restricting attendance at athletic events, but

PHOTO BY KENEAN BIZUWORK

STRONGER SECURITY Spectators go through security to attend Blair’s varsity football game against Quince Orchard. [instead] on solving the underlying problems of violence, student mental health, lack of outreach, and coordination within the broader community,” Weaver said.

In an MCPS and Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) joint statement, released on Sept. 6 after the B-CC and WJ altercation, MCPD announced that they will assign additional officers at popular student gathering areas after games. Still, Weaver believes that there are better possible solutions. “We have a wealth of parent resources that are just not being tapped. We have a lot of resources in our community and we’re not using them to the best effect,” she said.

Unfortunately, despite new policies, fights at football games are

still occurring. On Sept. 29, there was an on-field altercation between players at John F. Kennedy and Northwood, and in early October, MCPS took school specific actions addressing the violence. However, calls for action may prompt the issues to be readdressed and force MCPS to find other solutions to combat violence. “This is a longterm problem. It’s been ongoing.

Whatever solutions they’ve been implementing, aren’t solving it,” Weaver said. “We need to look to the broader community to bring in some other ideas about how to solve the problem.”

F3 Sports October 19, 2023

By Ethan de Brauw and Norah Wilson Staff Writers The Blair girls’ varsity volleyball team started the season off strong with a seven game winning streak.

However, the team has struggled recently, having lost four games straight since Sept. 28, but they remain motivated and determined.

Aria Shimanek, Blair senior and varsity volleyball captain, explained that despite losses, the team takes each game to learn and improve.

“We had a loss, but there were definitely some things, especially as the game went on, that we improved on and I think we [will] see that in our next game too,” she said.

Blair junior and outside hitter, Nicole Neal noted the team’s focuses that led to their impressive record. “We saw what our oppo-

silverchips

Set for success

nents were lacking or what they were weak at, and we kept using that to our advantage,” she said.

“Sometimes we’d lose the point just because of a miscommunication error, but we learned [from it] and then we ended up improving and winning.”

Deanna Earle, the Blair girls’ varsity volleyball coach, has also found success this season through her use of statistical analysis. She tracks the actions of each player throughout a game and uses it to give constructive criticism to her players. “[Statistical analysis is] the easiest way to give immediate feedback,” she said.

Earle tracks statistics by giving each player a clipboard following their actions throughout a game and using it to give her a better understanding of players’ strengths and weaknesses. “The varsity players all have a clipboard and each

PHOTOS BY JAMIE LOZADA-MCBRIDE

HUDDLE The team huddles together to discuss strategies before their senior night game. athletically and academically,” she said.

Boule believes that the success of the team shows the county that Blair Athletics focuses on every team. “We can’t talk about an athletics program and not mean all the teams. Our athletics program is all of the teams, so that’s what I’m most proud of. [The volleyball team’s success] really shows that [Blair’s] athletics program is strong,” Boule said.

Looking ahead to the playoffs, the team is expecting success despite the upcoming absence of their coach. Earle will be out during the playoffs due to maternity leave.

“I’m a little annoyed that we’re doing this phenomenally and [yet] I’m not going to get to see the end on Saturday, Nov. 19, for states,” Earle said.

The lack of their coach may cause a rough patch for the team during playoffs, but players are ready for it. “I think it might take a little bit to adjust to a different practice, [different] schedule and

drills,” Fedha said. “But I think at the end of the day, we’ll be okay.”

The team is preparing for her leave in other ways, including enlisting more coaches to make up for her absence. “[Earle] is incorporating the other coaches now too,” Nguyen said. “So we’ve seen a couple of different coaches at practice recently.”

We’re a really close team... We’re honestly friends on and off the court...

ARIA SHIMANEK

LIBERO Karen Cao defends in a match against Richard Montgomery High School.

clipboard is focusing on a different skill set … and it tells me [a player’s] effectiveness, ” Earle said.

Statistical analysis gives Earle an idea on a player’s influence in a game, but it does not provide all of the information needed to learn about her players. “We don’t take stats on who’s talking, how quickly you’re running into position, do you know where you’re supposed to be, so those are things that come from observing the game [and] watching film,” Earle said.

Players can use Earle’s rigorous statistical analysis to take a targeted approach to improving their playing. Junior setter, Manooyee Fedha is able to take mental notes that allow her to improve her sets and thus the team’s performance.

“Because I’m a setter, I look at the stats to see what hitters are doing the best and I can decide [who to set],” Fedha said.

Sophomore defensive specialist, Kacy Nguyen, finds the constant analysis stressful, but can appreciate the positive effects tracking statistics can have. “It makes it more stressful since every stat is [being tracked],” she said. “But I think it also helps you improve [and] see what you’re doing wrong.”

The volleyball team’s dynamic has helped them push through tough games and win others.

“We’re a really close team. What’s nice about our team this year is we’re honestly friends on and off the court … Even though we’re always having fun, we’re also keeping each other accountable, but not in a negative way,” Shimanek said.

Rita Boule, Blair athletics director, is proud of the effort and time the team puts into the sport and their education. “[The players are all] really pushing themselves both

The team is excited to continue their challenging schedule and keep up with their record. “I’m excited to see faster plays and I’m excited to just see my teammates be more successful and see how far our record can go for the end of the season,” Neal said.

Blair High School students and staff—

Work hard, play hard, and remember to

VOTE!

Best wishes

to everyone for a great 2023-24 school year!

www.lorigd20.com Working for

CLIMATE SOLUTIONS • REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS AFFORDABLE HOUSING • END TO GUN VIOLENCE EXCELLENT PUBLIC SCHOOLS Paid for by Friends of Lorig Charkoudian: Jill Feasley, Treasurer; Tebabu Assefa, Chair.

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October 19, 2023 Sports F4

Rehabilitating sports medicine MCPS implements athletic trainer program

By Evelyn Goldin and Doris Wang Staff Writers

RITA BOULE

[Since Perrine’s] here full time, she’s able to oversee all parts of the athletic training.

At Blair, the program will affect a substantial portion of the student

We have hundreds of athletes that participate in sports, so I see lots of them every day.

JENNIFER PERINNE

Over the summer, Blair implemented MCPS’ new sports medicine program by hiring athletic trainer Jennifer Perrine, who provides advice and support to student athletes. The program aims to assist student athletes with injury prevention, care, and rehabilitation.

The county-wide initiative, which was created in partnership with MedStar Health, provides a full-time sports trainer to every MCPS high school. Shawn Hendi, the Health and Safety Coordinator at MCPS’ Athletics Office, explained that the goal of the program is to ensure access to athletic support. “We had a sports medicine program throughout the county that was on a contractual basis,” Hendi said. “We had inconsistencies in hiring and retention …

The main driving factor [for the recent program] is to get consistency throughout the county, so that all 25 of the schools have sports medicine coverage for athletics.”

population, as over 1,000 Blair students participate in athletics over the course of the school year. “We have hundreds of athletes that participate in sports, so I see lots of them every day,” Perrine said. The introduction of Perrine’s full time position was a critical step, as athletic trainers have only served past time in previous years.

Along with consistently supporting student athletes, Blair Athletic Director Rita Boule believes the shift toward a full time athletic trainer will provide increased preparation and effectiveness. “It’s been great because our training room is [always] completely ready.

[We] have [a trainer] in there full time who’s paying attention to the actual facility so it’s [as] prepared as it can be,” Boule said. “[Since Perrine’s] here full time, she’s able to oversee all parts of the athletic training.”

Boule also explained the importance of the program for students’ academics and athletics. “[Injuries] can be significant, so we’re talking about getting kids not only back to the playing field, but back to the

classroom,” she said.

Since the program’s implementation, Perinne has been helping various student athletes with injuries. One such athlete is Blair senior Loic Koffi, a varsity football player who suffered a knee sprain this fall. “She gave me a list of physical exercises … [and referred] me to a doctor,” Koffi said. “[She] was able to refer me to get a specific type of knee brace that’s keeping me supported … [and gave me] tips to make sure I don’t get injured again.”

According to Perrine, a major aspect of her job is assisting with the injury rehabilitation process which requires support from all involved.

“It’s very collaborative between myself, the coaches, Ms. Rita Boule, the athlete, [and] the parents. We all want to support the athlete and make sure that they have what they need to get through the injury successfully,” she said.

Koffi added that beyond helping student athletes with injuries, Perinne also works to prevent injuries before they happen. “Before our season, she would always give us tips on how to protect ourselves, making sure we knew how to tape ourselves properly just in case she’s not there,” Koffi said. “[She taught us] basic stuff … [like] making sure we do the right types of stretching, icing, [and] elevating.”

Beyond injury prevention, athletic trainers are expected to address a variety of issues student athletes may experience. “Each one of the athletic trainers should be the face of help at their school for the

PHOTO BY MARGOT BUEHLER

ON THE SIDELINE Blair athletic trainer Jennifer Perrine stretches lineman Alejandro Mendez Sanchez. student athletes,” Hendi said. “A lot of people think of athletic trainers as the people on the sidelines with the fanny packs and things like that, but what many people don’t realize is [that they’re] a jack of all trades.”

Boule explained that she plans to enhance the sports medicine program in the future by increasing its focus on developing the overall well being of student athletes.

These plans would entail more strength and flexibility training, as well as a focus on overall physical development and mental health.

“So many things go into being a student athlete. Kids are busy, so we need to take care of their mental health and make sure we’re being healthy mentally as well as physi-

cally,” Boule said. “I’d love for the program to be more comprehensive with mental health.”

Boule hopes to work more with Perrine in order to achieve the program goals. “I’m looking forward to [Perinne] being part of the overall planning of the athletics program,” Boule said.

Perinne is also excited about her role in Blair athletics. “I really enjoy my job and I’m grateful that I have the skills needed to get the job done,” she said. “I think athletes are an amazing group of people who do fantastic things and end up being role models for our community, so just being a part of that is really my favorite thing.”

F5 Sports October 19, 2023

Blair’s latest racket

By Greta Andelman and Jay Clouse Staff Writers Pickleball, the latest nation-wide craze among high school students and senior citizens alike, has experienced more than a 158 percent increase in U.S. players in the past three years. MCPS, following the nation’s lead, has switched this fall season’s corollary sport from handball to pickleball for some schools.

Played as either singles or doubles, pickleball is a combination of many different racket sports. “It’s a combination of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong,” Charles Kines, a long range planner for the Montgomery County Department of Parks, explains.

Ease of play

Similar to other net sports, players stand on opposite sides of the court and hit the pickleball, a plastic ball filled with holes, back and forth across the net. However, players must be careful not to hit the ball from inside the “kitchen,” a non-volley zone that spans seven feet across both sides of the net.

Pickleball has expanded around

ball groups, feels that even equipment is not always required to play pickleball. “You [don’t] need anything except a paddle—and most of the time other people bring extra paddles—so if you just show up in tennis shoes with a good attitude, you can play,” Sanchez says.

While pickleball’s popularity has drastically increased in recent years, finding dedicated pickleball courts remains difficult for some players, who may instead turn to tennis courts. Modifications to courts can be made through chalking or taping down lines according to the dimensions of a pickleball court. The use of tennis courts, however, is not always accepted.

“Some tennis players … don’t like playing near pickleball because it breaks their concentration, they feel it’s sort of an annoying sound,” Kines says. Nonetheless, Kines maintains that the response to pickleball has mainly been positive, “The tennis community overall has embraced pickleball,” he says.

The sport’s resounding sound is one factor that determines whether a site is suitable for a new pickleball court. “The most important [factor] is distance from homes, be-

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Blazers play hard at pickleball practice.

Pickleball at Blair

My advantage as a coach is that I can pick up on [the strategy] quickly.

Ultimately coaching comes down to teaching [the students] the basics.

Losekamp, the former handball coach at Blair, now coaches the pickleball team. Losekamp, who has never played pickleball before the sea-

M A IN I TT CO RI

LOUIS HOELMAN

ON THE MOVE Coach Losekamp demonstrates hitting the ball. the country and at Blair for a multitude of reasons, including the cause pickleball is noisy, both the game’s allowance for social interac- sport and the social part,” Kines tion and its ease to pick up. Blair says. While there are many new net sports teacher Louis Hoelman courts in the county, there is still III notes the simplicity of the sport. a need for more. “The number of “It’s easier than badminton … ten- people playing has just exploded, nis, [and] table tennis. It’s probably and there’s still demand for [more] the easiest racket sport,” Hoelman courts, even though we have 90 courts now,” Kines says. says.

Pickleball is also accessible because beginners need little equip- The community Pickleball gained new attention ment. “You need a paddle that costs 40 bucks and three balls that during the COVID-19 pandemic. cost like nothing, and you can go According to Kines, the increasplay it for free anywhere,” Hoel- ing demand for pickleball courts began in 2016, but pickleball saw man says. a spike when people started playing the game outside during lockYou need a paddle downs. “People were looking for that costs 40 bucks places for socially distant outdoor activities, and pickleball was one and three balls that of the things that really took off,” cost like nothing, Kines says. Blair junior Mia Brown and you can go play explains that she played pickleball for exercise and social interaction it for free during the pandemic. “When we anywhere. couldn’t have any contact with anyone, it was a good outdoor activity Blair math teacher Beth San- to do with our family friends, so we chez, who is a part of four pickle- … played together to get out of the house,” she says.

Aside from accommodating a wide range of ages, pickleball also accommodates a wide range of skill levels, a reason why the corollary sport changed from handball to pickleball. “I coached handball here for about five years … [and] in my opinion, it became more about winning than it did about students in the corollary program. [Pickleball is] more for everybody,” Hoelman says.

Blair athletics director Rita Boule agrees that pickleball is better suited for the corollary program than handball. “It goes [back] to the purpose of … corollary sports … we can make accommodations and more kids have the opportunity to play,” Boule says.

This year, students can join the Blair varsity pickle-

ball team coached by Blair social studies teacher Nicholas Losekamp. Jessica Dao, a member of the team, is enthusiastic for Pickleball’s first season. “I’m just excited to see where the season takes us,” she says. The relationships players can develop while practicing is a big draw of playing on the team.

“No one judges you for how well you play, you’re just there to get to know people,” Dao says.

NICHOLAS LOSEKAMP

The social interaction pickleball fosters is one of many reasons for playing. “I like to be outside as much as possible … and I like to be active and social so [pickleball] is a way to do all of those things,” Sanchez says.

Pickleball is also appealing since it is easier to play than a similar racket sport, tennis. Blair freshman Bex Bantug started playing pickleball in middle school and adds that it is laid-back compared to tennis, which she has also played. “I think the tennis community can get toxic at some points, [but] the pickleball community is just for fun, and it’s funny to watch and be with your friends,” she says.

The wide range of players who participate in pickleball is another aspect that makes the sport unique, with over half of pickleball’s core players being over 55 years old. “I’ve seen kids as young as five and six pick up the sport … [and] I think the latest I’ve seen is someone in their mid to late 70s,” Bantug says. Sanchez adds that her pickleball groups include people of many ages. “The age range is from maybe 14 to almost 70 with over 40 people involved,” she says.

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PHOTOS BY JAMIE LOZADA-MCBRIDE

son, is confident in his strategic planning for the team. “My advantage as a coach is that I can pick up on [the strategy] quickly. Ultimately coaching comes down to teaching [the students] the basics.”

Losekamp is enthusiastic for the start of the season. “Overall, I’m just excited to try it out. I enjoyed handball a lot too, but I’ve really enjoyed getting to learn pickleball and then teaching it,” he says.

Additionally, Boule has high hopes for the pickleball team’s first season. “I’m hoping we can win the inaugural pickleball season here at Blair,” she says.

Not only is pickleball popular among the student body, but teachers have shown enthusiasm in pickleball coming to Blair as well.

Sanchez voices that there is a lot of curiosity around pickleball and that she would play in a Blair teacher group if there was one. “I play pickleball with teachers from two other schools and they have their own pickleball groups … I think we have a large enough staff here at Blair [and] there would be a lot of interest,” she says.

Hoelman shares the belief that pickleball coming to the school would be beneficial for students and staff alike. “[There] should be a pickleball club for teachers because it’s really fun, social, and just so chill and laid back,” he comments.

The Blair team’s first game was a close loss against Clarksburg on Oct. 12.