May 2023 — Silver Chips Print

By Sasha Vesensky Staff Writer

Dress forms sit around the room, half-clothed. Fabric samples and magazine cuttings are strewn about, accompanied by scissors and glue. Upbeat music plays in the background as students work on their mood boards—boards where people glue pieces of inspiration for a design—and draw out plans for outfits, chattering among themselves and bouncing ideas off each other. This is just a regular day in the Fashion Illustration class.

By Zachary Williamson Sports Columnist

Come one, come all! Ladies and gentlemen, do I have the event for you! He’s a jack of few trades, master of none. I present to you… me! (This is where you applaud, by the way.)

Welcome to what may perchance be my daringest danger yet. For the main act tonight, I’ll be soaring the skies, finessing the fine line, toeing the tightrope, walking the wafer-thin whatever. I’ll be slacklining!

Slacklining is a sport where one balances on, walks along, or does tricks with an elastic band-gizmo

By Nora Pierce and Cate Sauri Staff Writers

Amid a shortage of police officers in the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) and rising crime rates, the Montgomery County Council passed legislation that would require businesses open late at night to operate within safety plans as approved by the MCPD.

On May 16, the Council passed Bill 14-23, “Police – Late Night

gadget contraption whatchamacallit. It’s much like a tightrope, except the band is flat instead of curved, and doesn’t come with the long bar that tightrope walkers use to balance. The sport’s popular among eight-year-old children and thirty-year-old men alike. In preparation for my golden years, I’ll be learning the technique now. When the slackline arrived in the mail, I was eager to burn rubber. Having a thirst for danger and to not go far from my house at night, I set it up on my front walk. Below my feet to one side was the comfort of the concrete, on the...

Sewing All on the line County Council passes safety bill

Business Safety Plan” with a 9-2 vote. The law will require businesses, including bars and clubs, that operate between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. that sell alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis products to submit late night business safety plans to be approved by MCPD. Businesses operating between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m. that have been the subject of two or more law enforcement calls regarding “serious incidents” in the past 12 months will also be required to submit safety plans. “Serious incidents” will be determined by MCPD’s regulations.

All late night businesses are required by law to include an emergency evacuation plan, 24hour contact information for the business owner or manager, free-opening exterior bathroom doors if there are bathroom stalls, an acknowledgement that the business has received late night safety training from the county, and an acknowledgement of the law in their safety plans. Security personnel and training, exterior lighting, security cameras with 24hour monitoring and recording, all free-opening bathroom doors,

and clearing all exterior windows so that the interior is visible from the outside may also be required.

The legislation is a collaborative effort between MCPD, local businesses, and the Council in response to a rise in late night crime and complaints from residents living near bars and nightclubs. In Downtown Silver Spring, late night violent crime increased from 59 to 80 yearly incidents between 2017 and 2022. “I knew in order for us to alleviate the problems...

DOWNTOWN SILVER SPRING CHALK FEST On Saturday, April 29th, community members gathered to decorate Ellsworth Drive with chalk murals during the first annual Chalk Fest organized by Washington D.C. mural company Chalk Riot.

PHOTO BY RAFFI CHARKOUDIAN-ROGERS

COURTESY OF AMY WILLIAMSON

COURTESY OF MELODY MATHEWS

Montgomery Blair High School

51 University Boulevard East Silver Spring, MD 20901

(301) 649 - 2864

Winner of the 2015 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker, the 2019 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medal, and the 2021 Columbia Scholastic Press

Association Crown

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Estefany Benitez Gonzalez

Christy Li

Sean Li Kevin Vela

LA ESQUINA LATINA

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Estefany Benitez Gonzalez

Kevin Vela

MANAGING NEWS EDITORS

Elina Lee

Milan Tenn

MANAGING OPINIONS EDITORS

Ingrid Holmquist

Rosie Orzulak

MANAGING FEATURES EDITORS

Annie Gao

Sophia Stein

MANAGING CULTURE EDITORS

Eliana Finberg

Ella Schrebler

MANAGING SPORTS EDITORS

William Ashford

John Ernst

OMBUDSMAN

Andre Parker

DESIGN EDITORS

Haley Carter

Annie Gao

Lucía Santoro-Vélez

COLUMNISTS

Ava Bedaque

John Ernst

Eliana Finberg

Sedise Tiruneh

Zachary Williamson

ENGLISH SENIOR WRITERS

Ava Bedaque

Haley Carter

Ila Raso

Lucia Santoro-Vélez

Sedise Tiruneh

ENGLISH STAFF WRITERS

Sachini Adikari

Della Baer

Raunak Banarjee

Sela Colavito

Teddy Curtin

Talia Egnal

Mandy Guo

Zoe Kaiser

Amen Lemiesa

Julia Lian

Dyan Nguyen

Nora Pierce

Caleb Plank

Cate Sauri

Parineeka Shrestha

Viveka Sinha

Sasha Vesensky

Eliza Warren

Sophie Yohannan

LA ESQUINA LATINA WRITERS

Samantha Frey

Axel Henrriquez

Christell Hurtado

Anahí Sanchez-Sanchez

Jason Youm

Giselle Zelaya

BUSINESS EXECUTIVES

Isabelle Mathiascheck

Finnegan Oakes

BUSINESS STAFF

Rowan Boyce

Chloe Ciabotti

Yifei Lin

Theo McFadden

Jackie Wang

Edith Yang

Theodore Yuan

MANAGING ART EDITORS

Eliza Cooke

Karis Tebo

ARTISTS

Yahaira Barrero

Abjini Chattopadhyay

Yeison Cotom

Cindis Hernández

Dami Kim

Eric Le

Mia Levings

Sophia Li

Alexander Liu

Allison Lin

Mina Ricotti

Kimberly Solis

Lucia Wang

MANAGING PHOTO EDITORS

Raffi Charkoudian-Rogers

Henry Reichle PHOTOGRAPHERS

Anagha Bhuvanagiri

Fiona Bondarev

Margot Buehler

Jonathan Cumblidge

Sammy Gallun

Madeline Gold

Marin Lederer

Maia Turpen

Dylan Warren

MEDIA EDITOR

Iris Montgomery

PUZZLE EDITOR

Elina Lee

LA ESQUINA LATINA ADVISER

Maria Eugenia Tanos

ADVISERS

Maria Eugenia Tanos

Jeremy Stelzner

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

Highlights from the 2023 MD General Assembly

By Sachini Adikari

Zoë Kaiser Staff Writers

and

The 445th session of the Maryland General Assembly passed 810 bills, of which Gov. Wes Moore approved 794. The newly passed legislation addressed abortion rights, the taxation and licensing of marijuana, expanding Medicaid to cover gender affirming services, accelerating the implementation of the new statewide minimum wage, among other policies. The session officially adjourned on April 10 after a 90-day period.

State Sen. Will Smith (D) believes that the historic diversity of Maryland’s sitting government allowed for more legislation representative of the state’s constituency to pass. “[The 445th session] was altogether different than sessions before, because [this is] the first time we have an African-American governor. We have an African-American Attorney General for the first time. We have the first woman elected to a statewide constitutional office,” Smith said.

Abortion rights

Following the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision, which ruled that abortion is not a constitutional right, state lawmakers passed an amendment to enshrine the right to an abortion into the Maryland Constitution. The bill will be on the ballot for voters in 2024 and will be approved if voted for by a simple majority.

Along with the amendment, three additional pieces of legislation—House Bill (HB) 937, 970, and 1005—made up the reproductive rights package. State Sen. Ariana Kelly (D), who sponsored the legislation package, explained that HB 937, the Abortion Care Access Act, would prevent other states from prosecuting patients coming to Maryland for abortion services.

[The Abortion Care Access Act] would prevent civil penalties, criminal penalties, or administrative penalties as a result of providing healthcare that’s legal in the state of Maryland.

“[This] piece of legislation would prevent other states from sort of reaching their arm into our state… and prosecute our doctors or prosecute patients who were coming into Maryland to receive care,” Kelly said. “[This] would prevent civil penalties, criminal penalties, or administrative penalties as a result of providing healthcare that’s legal in the state of Maryland.”

HB 1005, the Contraceptive Equity Act, aims to create more reproductive resources for college

students. “[We passed] a bill that came to us from a student… [who] went to her college health center to look for some reproductive [health care] help—I think she was looking for different options regarding birth control… The only thing they could do is give out condoms, so she actually came to Sen. Ariana Kelly, and said, ‘shouldn’t some services be provided on campus,’” Del. Bonnie Cullison (D) said.

Kelly explained that the bill would require universities to plan for providing reproductive health services. “It requires all of the public universities in Maryland to

ing that we did for medical marijuana,” Cullison said. “We’re trying to protect consumers as much as we can… We want to make sure that we are holding… the growers, the processors, the retailers accountable in the development of [marijuana].”

Kelly explained that the legislation that established the industry and its rules will only become more comprehensive in the coming years. “[The bill] was very large and complicated, and I expect we’re gonna see over the next few years more and more legislation to refine it.” Kelly said.

care to transitioning youth, the Trans Health Equity Act allows puberty blockers to be prescribed, along with other forms of treatment. “[The treatment] needs to begin as early as [transitioning] begins to manifest itself, and our bill now will allow that in the case of puberty blockers, which have been used for half a century, safely,” Cullison said.

Equitable health care can make the process of transitioning more accessible and less emotionally strenuous, according to Cullison. “[Transitioning] is an incredibly

develop a reproductive health services plan so that students have not just 24-hour access to any over-thecounter contraception, including emergency contraception, but also access to all reproductive healthcare, including referrals for abortion care,” she said.

Recreational marijuana use

Senate Bill (SB) 516 defining marijuana licensing and taxation since its legalization established Maryland’s approach to the market for cannabis. “Our legislation ensures that people [from] marginalized communities have economic access, that people [who] have been hamstrung by the criminal justice system have [a chance] to get their records expunged, and [that] we make sure that [marijuana] is accessible.” Smith explained.

The bill also established the sales tax imposed on cannabis products. Cullison explained that taxes would be higher for these products based on the logic that they are luxury items not necessary to everyday life. “The regular sales tax in Maryland is six percent. But for alcohol, it’s nine percent, and for marijuana, it’ll be nine percent as well. These are clearly luxury items, you don’t need alcohol or marijuana, you do it simply for pleasure,” Cullison explained.

The state will have the same standard for protecting recreational marijuana consumers as they do for medical marijuana. “[Maryland is] going to have the same kinds of standards of monitoring and licens-

Gender-affirming care

SB 460, The Trans Health Equity Act, will require the Maryland Medical Assistance Pprogram to provide accessible gender-affirming care starting January 2024. A key part of this move towards trans-inclusive health care is the non-discriminatory approach, ensuring that the treatment be assessed according to criteria consistent with current clinical standards.

Maryland lawmakers were inclined to pass progressive legislation because of the belief that gender-affirming care is as important as any other type of health care, according to Smith. “Whether you are non-binary, or a part of the LGBT community, or trans… we just kind of accept and understand that everyone [should have] access to the health care that they need,” Smith explained.

All we did was level that healthcare [playing] field for those who are gender non-conforming [or transitioning].

The bill ensures that care is available to anyone who is on the Maryland Medical Assistance program. In order to provide health

For decades, Silver Chips has published the future plans of all graduating Blair seniors. Please let us know what your plans are so we can include you in our June 2023 senior issue, which will be handed out at graduation!

intense and complicated psychological process that folks have to go through in order to self actualize,” she explained. “All we did was level that healthcare [playing] field for those who are gender non-conforming [or transitioning].”

Minimum wage

The current minimum wage in Maryland is $13.25 for an employer with 15 or more employees, and $12.80 for fewer than 15 employees. The Fair Wage Act of 2023 speeds up the increase of minimum wage in Maryland to $15 per hour, with the federal minimum wage sitting at $7.25 per hour. This minimum, regardless of employment size, will be effective starting Jan. 1, 2024 rather than 2025 as previously scheduled.

Kelly clarified that while Montgomery County was on track in increasing the minimum wage, this wasn’t the case for the entirety of the state. “Speeding up increasing the minimum wage is incredibly important across the state of Maryland,” Kelly said. “We were already on track to do that [in Montgomery County], but across the state, that wasn’t the case.”

Smith believes that the Fair Wage Act was a step towards liveable minimum wages. “As [policymakers,] we need to find that balance between ensuring that businesses can thrive and that workers can thrive. And, frankly, $15 an hour is a step forward, but it’s not enough,” Smith said.

GRAPHIC BY SACHINI ADIKARI

ARIANA KELLY

Nighttime business safety proposal faces criticism

it needed to be a partnership between the police and the business owners,” Captain David Reed, assistant commander of the Silver Spring police station, said in an interview with Silver Chips.

President and CEO of the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce Stephanie Helsing praised the bill for its community approach to public safety. “The bill allows [the police] to be there in a productive way, working with the business owners, creating a relationship with the business owners that is positive, that is safety first,” Helsing said in an interview with Silver Chips. “That is showing that they care about not only the establishment, but the patrons of the late night businesses, rather than just responding to incidents, which definitely has a negative tone.”

Downtown Silver Spring residents expressed their concerns for safety in the area in letters to the Council both in support and in opposition to the legislation. “Since [we moved here in 2015], we have come to feel as though we are living in a war zone, with frequent deadly shootings, and stabbings, and, stray bullets ENTERING

OUR BUILDING,” residents of Lofts24, a condominium complex on Fenton Street, Tom and Tracey Nagle wrote in a letter to county officials. “This proposed bill falls short in addressing concerns previously raised by area residents.”

However, Silver Spring Justice Coalition (SSJC) Co-Chair Robert Veiga expressed doubt regarding the severity of crime during the late night hours defined in the bill. “We had heard there were problems [with] violent crime, but that wasn’t late night, that was like 8 p.m. to midnight,” Veiga said in an interview with Silver Chips. An analysis of Montgomery County’s crime database from 2017 to 2022 found that the majority of violent crime occurred during the early night—from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. “Actually, I never read that there was a problem with late night safety until we saw the bill,” Veiga said.

The legislation also addresses a shortage of police officers, as MCPD, along with other local police departments, has been struggling to hire and retain officers. According to a February 2023 MCPD briefing, there were 129 sworn vacancies at the end of 2022 compared to 46 in 2021, with the turnover rate—the percentage of employees who left the department during a given time period—increasing from about 7 percent to about 12 percent. “If the Department cannot improve

hiring and retention rates, it faces a staffing shortage of up to 229 positions by the end of calendar [year] 2025,” the report stated.

Bill 14-23 has the additional goal of promoting local economic activity across the county. “Passing this bill now gives a framework for [late night] establishments to not only be open, but to flourish and actually have the safety of themselves as well as the safety of patrons at the forefront,” Helsing said. “The hope is that we could continue to have a thriving and vibrant late night economy in Montgomery County without people feeling unsafe.”

The Public Safety Committee recommended expediting the legislative process in the public interest. The law requires MCPD to submit proposed regulations to the Council within 180 days of the law being passed and each late night business to submit their safety plan 90 days after the approved regulations are published.

Councilmember Dawn Luedtke brought up the timeline during the May 16 legislative session and emphasized that, even with the accelerated passing, it may not address a rise in crime over the coming summer. “The way [the law] is written, even if it is passed today as emergency legislation […] It’s not gonna be done in June,” she said. “Summer always brings an increase in criminal issues.”

The bill was originally proposed on Feb. 28, sponsored by Council President Evan Glass, at the request of County Executive Marc Elrich. The proposed draft required businesses operating between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. in priority areas, including Downtown Silver Spring, to develop safety plans. The original legislation received strong opposition from local businesses and social justice groups. This led to amendments in the final version of the bill that shifted the definition of “late night businesses,” expanded the requirement countywide, established a grant program to fund businesses’ safety improvements, and established a process for businesses to appeal when MCPD disapproves of safety plans. “The way

House Tavern, said it could cost her business up to $50,000 to hire security personnel. The Council addressed this concern by including a grant program to offset the costs of implementing required or recommended safety measures in the final bill. Grants will be prioritized for late night businesses, who are required by the law to submit safety plans, over those who voluntarily submit plans.

While some have criticized the bill for placing the cost of increased security on businesses, Reed sees the safety measures as an overall beneficial investment. “[If] you spend a little bit to get a nice location, a nice bar, a nice atmosphere, security personnel, where everybody feels safe, don’t you think that the amount of patrons that [are] gonna come into your bar is gonna quadruple?” he said. “The money you spend now is gonna be worth it down the road.”

Local activist groups were concerned that the bill gave too much power to MCPD and targeted marginalized communities. “The police department [will have the authority to] approve these plans. If they didn’t like the plan, the business wouldn’t be allowed to open after midnight,” Veiga said. “This [power that affects business owners] is beyond the role of police authority.”

Silver Spring, rather than Downtown Bethesda. “This bill reflects a lack of imagination in advancing positive multicultural/multiethnic growth that has attracted businesses that are not ‘traditional’ in the mindset of some.” The Council amended the bill to expand its requirements countywide, removing “priority areas” from criteria for having to submit a safety plan.

While the bill was largely supported by the council, Councilmembers Will Jawando and Andrew Friedson voted against the bill.

Jawando did not support the bill because he believed it was not equitable as it applied only to specific businesses, many of which are owned by people of color. “The only businesses that would be covered by [the 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. period] are immigrant and Black and brown-owned businesses, primarily,” he said during a legislative session. “It would be saying the violence problem is [their] problem and it’s not.”

Friedson opposed the bill due to its expansion to the entire county rather than the priority areas in the initial draft of the legislation.

Compiled by Julia Lian Staff Writer

Biden approves the Willow project

The Biden administration approved crude oil company ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project on March 13, giving it permission to drill in Alaska’s Northern Slope. The controversial decision saw some Republicans and labor unions favor the project’s approval, while many Democrats and climate activists such as the Sierra Club sought to prevent it due to climate risks, as the project is set to produce an additional 263 million tons of greenhouse gases.

The Willow Project’s approval contradicts Biden’s campaign promises to prevent new drilling of oil and gas and to take action against the climate crisis. The Biden administration argued that failure to approve the project would leave them vulnerable to lawsuits, but some environmental advocates are skeptical about the legitimacy of the claim as multiple organizations have sued the administration over the approval.

Silicon Valley Bank fails

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a regional bank known for supporting technology startups, collapsed on March 10. The failure came after a period of low-interest rates during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when the bank bought billions of dollars in U.S. treasury bonds. Interest rates rose more quickly than anticipated in early 2022, and on March 8, the bank sold $21 billion in treasury bonds, losing $2 billion in the process. By March 9, SVB clients expressed concern on social media about the security of their money and subsequently withdrew billions, sparking the bank’s collapse.

Typically, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures $250,000 per account when banks fail, but the Biden administration made an exception due to systemic risk and promised to fully insure all SVB deposits. The cost will be covered by fees all banks pay to the Deposit Insurance Fund for insurance coverage, meaning the expanded insurance comes without cost to taxpayers.

MD State Board of Education

releases school

report cards

The Maryland State Department of Education released the 2022 Maryland School Report Card on March 9. It is the first report card released since 2019 and will serve as a new starting point for student growth and progress.

that [the bill] was written when it came to the County Council from the executive, it was not viable,” Helsing said.

Rather than having to deploy more officers to high-priority areas, Bill 14-23 requires private businesses to take action to protect public safety. Business owners opposed the original version of the bill because of the potential cost of the safety plans. In an interview with MoCo360, Jackie Greenbaum, co-owner of the Quarry

In response to the SSJC’s testimony to the Council in March, where they criticized the lack of “due process” included in the bill, councilmembers, along with the Public Safety Committee, suggested an amendment that allows businesses to appeal disapprovals of their late night safety plans to the Board of Appeals.

The previously proposed version of the Late Night Safety Plan bill received widespread criticism for targeting “priority areas.” In his testimony to the Council, Veiga explained how the bill would disproportionately impact late night business owners and patrons of color in areas like Downtown

“I am very concerned about—after months of engagement, specifically working together with local businesses—expanding it into parts of the county with businesses that haven’t been engaged at all,” he said in the same session.

SSJC and other stakeholders continue to oppose the Late Night Business Safety Plan law for its approach to public safety in the county. “While the Council made important improvements to the bill, in its final form the bill still creates an unnecessary and coercive approach to public safety that disproportionately targets and will harm Black and immigrant-owned businesses and their already overpoliced customers,” Veiga wrote in an email to Silver Chips.

The report card rated schools on a five-star scale and ranked each school based on five indicators: Academic Achievement, Graduation Rate, Progress in Achieving English Language Proficiency, Readiness for Post-Secondary Success, and School Quality and Student Success. More than 75 percent of schools received three or more stars in 2022. 63 percent of schools maintained their ratings from the 2019 report, while over 25 percent received lower scores.

Blair earned 63.2 points out of 100 possible points, 1.7 points higher than in 2019, and maintained a four-star rating. Blair’s percentile rank is 66, which is considered high by the Maryland State Department of Education but is lower than its previous ranking of 52.

GRAPHIC BY AMEN LEMIESA

LATE NIGHT BUSINESS SAFETY PLAN The bill will require late night businesses to submit safety plans to MCPD.

MIA LEVINGS

Compiled by Mandy Guo Staff Writer

Serbia mass shootings

On May 3, a 13-year-old boy shot and killed eight students and a school security guard at Vladislav Ribnikar primary school in Belgrade. Another six students—four boys and two girls—and a teacher were wounded; one of the wounded girls later died due to serious head injuries. A day later, on May 4, a 21-year-old man in a moving car fired at and killed eight people, injuring an additional 14 just past midnight. The two back-to-back mass shootings spurred Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to propose reforms. His suggestions included lowering the age for criminal liability from 14 to 12, conducting an audit on firing licenses, and introducing restrictions to limit access to shooting ranges. A general amnesty also opened for gun owners to turn in illicit firearms and other weapons that will last until June 8. Officials stated that about 13,500 weapons were turned in as of May 15.

War in Sudan

On April 15, fighting began between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan’s capital city, Khartoum. The conflict originated from a power struggle between Sudan’s military leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Until recently, both men worked together to topple Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. However, tensions between both factions emerged during negotiations to integrate the RSF into the country’s military and progressed into fighting not long after. Foreign countries like the U.S. and Russia negotiated with the SAF and RSF, and a 72-hour ceasefire was agreed upon starting at midnight on April 24. While the truce held in some places, sporadic shooting and relocation of troops were also reported. The warring factions agreed to a longer seven-day ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia that will begin on May 22, but it is unclear how Fattah al-Burhan and Dagalo will proceed, as fighting continues.

Flooding in Rwanda

Since May 3, flooding in Rwanda has killed more than 130 people, destroyed nearly 6,000 homes, and triggered landslides throughout the hilly nation. The floods also caused six deaths in its neighboring country of Uganda. Rwanda’s flood-prone terrain has previously contributed to the deaths of around 80 people in 2020 and 265 people in 2019 following extreme rains that led to floods and landslides.

As climate change progresses, Africa has experienced an increase in severe weather fluctuations—in April, East Africa experienced its worst drought in 40 years while Rwanda faced its extreme rainfall soon after. The rain now regularly affects Rwanda’s agricultural harvest, eroding millions of tons of soil annually and destroying thousands of tons of crops.

Absenteeism on the rise

14 percent of Blair seniors missed over 100 school days

By Raunak Banerjee Staff Writer

The MCPS Board of Education is releasing a “comprehensive absenteeism plan” spearheaded by board member Karla Silvestre to address the record number of absences in the county during the 2022-2023 school year. The plan will be designed to discourage students from skipping their classes and hold them accountable, but also prevent future cases of absenteeism by addressing possible causes of truancy.

For the past four academic years, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) has recorded a statewide drop in attendance. According to the most recent 2022 report, current high school attendance sits at 89 percent, while the number of chronically absent students—those who miss more than 10 percent of total school days—rose by 4.1 percent from 18.3 to 22.4 percent from 2020 to 2021.

According to the Maryland State Department of Education’s 2022 Maryland School Report Card, Blair’s chronic absenteeism rate is 33.7 percent; within the Downcounty Consortium, Blair is third in repeat truancy and surpassed only by Northwood and John F. Kennedy, which have rates of 39 and 49.4 percent respectively. Additionally, Silver Chips has independently confirmed through an anonymous source that around 9.3 percent of all Blair students— roughly 300 students in total—have been absent for more than 100 out of the 182 school days this school year. More than eight percent of freshmen and sophomores, six

percent of juniors, and 14 percent of seniors are among the 300.

The Board believes the recent hike in truancy is partially a result of mental health issues worsened by prolonged isolation during the COVID pandemic. As such, the Board hopes to find new ways to disincentivize students from leaving campus and skipping class but also remove the stigma of compulsory attendance being a punishment. “Unfortunately, COVID has [broadly] exacerbated mental health issues with students, [not just at Blair], and MCPS [did] not want to use attendance as a punitive measure [when quarantine lifted],” Assistant Principal Joseph Fanning said. “[The county is] trying to take into consideration the trauma and the stress that people have gone through associated with COVID like, social, emotional, [financial, loss], etc., so I think that [the Board members] were trying to acknowledge that and incentivise people to come back and make it a soft landing.”

legislative analysts Elaine Bonner-Tompkins and Leslie Rubin published a 116-page document titled “Truancy in Montgomery County” that details methods for mitigating truancy but also outlines various causes of absenteeism worth investigating such as gang involvement, lack of personal safety in the school, etc. 2010 was also the year the Board of Education eliminated the loss of credit policy, which dictated that students could lose credit for a class if they accumulated more than five unexcused absences or 15 unexcused tardies in that class.

23 hospitalizations within the first 45 days of 2023 compared to just five during the same timeframe in 2022. In an interview with MoCo 360, Fani-Gonzalez says that truancy is “becoming overwhelming” and “really getting out of hand.”

By now, the Board has attempted to curb truancy for more than a decade. In March 2010, county

Given the recent influx of drug overdoses among MCPS students, many of which involve the deadly opioid fentanyl, attendance has been a concern for parents, pushing the Board and the Montgomery County Council to make addressing absenteeism a priority. Councilmember Natali FaniGonzález expressed her concern with truancy following a family forum on student fentanyl overdoses, which reached as high as

The newly revised legislation mandates the installation of surveillance cameras in popular student hotspots around the high school campuses. For example, one such popular place for students of John F. Kennedy High School is the shopping center and McDonalds at Glenmont. Through partnership with the 4th District of the Montgomery County Police Department, MCPS will begin implementing security cameras throughout the complex. While the original plan was intended to be released in late March, the board has not since made a public update. Blair is also set to implement its own plan to curb absenteeism, but no details have been released.

Unfortunately, COVID has [broadly] exacerbated mental health issues with students, [not just at Blair], and MCPS [did] not want to use attendance as a punitive measure [when quarantine lifted].

JOSEPH FANNING

Is restorative justice an effective disciplinary method in MCPS schools?

Restorative justice is an approach to student, criminal, and behavioral accountability in schools, courtrooms and the workplace. With schools in Montgomery County seeing an uptick in fights, and the county as a whole suspending Black students at over twice their rate of enrollment, accountability and progress towards mediation and communication are needed. With the right implementation and investment, restorative justice has the potential to address all of these issues in MCPS schools, and elsewhere.

As a tool for conflict resolution, restorative justice is fundamentally conducive to more equitable results, as it involves all parties within its conversational circles. “Lets say [someone] acts up in the classroom yelling, and screaming,” Christopher Page, Executive Director of the Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County, said. “People say, ‘you’re not punishing the person enough in the classroom.’ I think what they misunderstand is in those instances, he’s harmed everyone in the classroom. And so everyone in the classroom needs to be a part of a circle that addresses the issue, and that person can hear from everyone in the classroom.”

Restorative methods also prevent students from being at the sole mercy of potentially biased third parties in conflict situations. “Restorative justice very clearly comes from an anti-racist, anti-bias lens. And I think folks lose sight of that, when they talk about the politics debating its efficacy,” Blair acting Assistant Principal and former Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator Rahman Culver said. “Restorative justice has always been intended to be a more equitable way to intervene for students who disproportionately come from communities that are on the receiving end of inequity.”

Restorative practices are not a get-outof-jail-free card, but rather a more productive consequence than punitive measures. “Folks have mischaracterized restorative justice, saying it’s basically about having kids talk through their feelings, or it’s about them being able to get off easy. Engaging with emotion [is] part of the process. But to suggest that this sort of justice somehow provides no consequences for students is a mischaracterization,” Culver says.

Beyond conflict resolution between victim and perpetrator, restorative practices can look like mediations between neigh-

voicebox

By Zoë Kaiser Staff Writer AN OPINION

bors, friends, colleagues, peers, or whole group discussions about a traumatic shared experience among the community. Intentional and regular communication beyond just perpetrator-victim situations helps forge interpersonal bonds and teach students empathy and how to see perspectives on both sides of issues.

Counties like Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) in California and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) in Illinois have done exactly that and seen suspensions drop more than twofold in the case of the latter. However, restorative justice cannot succeed without the proper investment in staff mem bers who understand how and when to apply it.

OUSD, a county with less than half as many high schools as MCPS, spends $2.5 million annually on restorative justice coordinators, far more than MCPS’ $750,000 allotment in 2021.

Indeed, the community benefits that restorative justice offers are more sorely needed now than ever. “I think counselors and schools are [already] trying to do as much as they can. Schools are educating, teaching, dealing with social issues, dealing with trauma. [Often], things don’t get dealt with as effectively because of time,” Page said. As such, a more complete investment into restorative practices would relieve MCPS’ overloaded counselors by having restorative experts take on some of their student care responsibilities.

As restorative justice continues to be implemented in schools, it’s important to remember where restorative justice came from and its basis in compassion, effective communication, and an open mind. “Once we start [implementing restorative practices] and keep doing it, everybody can go into this mindset everywhere, not just in school, but also in practices in the world,” Page said. “It could change our point of view.”

By Theodora Curtin Staff Writer AN OPINION

Restorative justice was supposed to remedy the “school to prison pipeline,” a system which shoves primarily students of color through a revolving door from suspension to incarceration, by decreasing rates of suspension that disproportionately affect minority students in the county. But its improper implementation has instead allowed students who commit acts of hate speech to skirt appropriate punishment and failed to remedy rising suspension rates among marginalized students.

Since 2019, MCPS has seen a 47.4 percent increase in the implementation of restorative justice practices, well exceeding its goal of 20 percent for the 2021–2022 school year. MCPS schools were also responsible for most of a nearly 100 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in Maryland from 2021 to 2022.

When the county addressed such incidents with restorative justice instead of conventional punitive action, the victims of the hate crimes perpetrated did not see any justice restored.

Rachel Barould is a freshman at Whitman and a Jewish member of the Whitman debate team. She was one of the targets of two Whitman debate students who allegedly made a “Jewish hit-list” and used antisemitic hate speech.

When she took part in the punishment of these two students, they were given what she believed was an inordinately superficial sentence: a restorative circle with the students they made threats against, during which they read a printed out apology that Barould alleges was written by their lawyer.

By letting the offenders open the circle with their own retelling of what happened, they were put in a place of power to resolve the issue in the way they saw fit, further harming the students who were affected by their hate speech.

“Allowing the offenders to open up the circle with a lie really harms the experience from the beginning, because we knew that it wasn’t founded on actually resolving what really happened. It was founded on resolving their version of what happened,” Barould

said in an interview with Silver Chips Print.

Further, Barould claims that the victims present were not allowed to speak on the incident, or how it harmed them. “We [victims]... and people more familiar with the incident weren’t allowed to speak about what they thought happened and how what actually happened impacted them,” she said.

While some students are unjustly afforded a restorative justice option for instances of hate speech—when reconciliation is the sole responsibility of the perpetrator and not also the victim—others lack the option when it could actually be beneficial.

For students who commit much less threatening acts compared to hate speech or hate acts, such as vaping in the bathroom or skipping class, “restorative justice” is just that: restoring the same old justice system that gives the most privileged of society a way to never atone. Olive Alipit and many others who have faced In School Suspension (ISS) at Blair never had the choice to pursue a “restorative practice.”

“I would say people just don’t even get the option. I mean, I’ve seen people just literally get picked up out of the hallways and put in the security office… they just tell you what to do. And you listen, and then you have whatever consequences for your actions.”

Given that the county now suspends an increasing number of Black and Hispanic students for “Disrespect, Disruption, Insubordination” that exceeds the goal it set out in its 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, it is no surprise that MCPS received a “failing grade” on its restorative justice from the Maryland State Department of Education despite pushing for its increased use in schools. The State Department reported that only 3.4 percent of restorative justice in MCPS is “significantly effective.”

Thus, while restorative justice serves minority communities, and contributes to a fair, just, and equal academic system in theory, it can and has been implemented unequally. While some students immediately face suspension for vaping and skipping class, others who commit acts of hate speech take part in restorative circles where they are put in a place of power over their victims. In this way, restorative justice can restore the wrong justice: a justice system that lets the most privileged of society escape punishment and those less fortunate suffocate in it.

Restorative justice can offer genuine long term accountability and mediation for students, staff, and teachers in MCPS through proper implementation.

Improper implementation of restorative justice fails to address and perpetuates inequality in the justice system and unequally harms marginalized students.

PHOTO BY MAIA TURPEN

All photos by Raffi Charkoudian-Rogers

“A conversation is really good and important for understanding why something was wrong. But I feel like it’s not a good deterrent.”

EVAN WILSON senior

sophomore

“In practice, I just don’t see [restorative justice] being properly implemented in ways that would be beneficial.”

“I think that in some cases it’s useful. However, the way that schools have been doing it and introducing restorative justice just hasn’t been very effective.”

ZURI SMITH freshman

“In Blair specifically, [I think it’s effective] because what’s most important thing is… having them hear about what they did.”

NAHOM TSEGAYE senior

PHOTO BY RAFFI CHARKOUDIAN-ROGERS

ELIZA COOKE

The U.S. needs better labor practices and education

By Josue Perez Cruz Guest Writer AN OPINION

The United States, home of prosperity, riches and dreams, has become a nightmare place for people living in poverty and immigrants. Exploitation at workplaces, unfair treatments, and long work shifts are the daily bread. This problem deprives children and people in poverty from being educated and achieving academic goals. The authorities in charge need to do more, and the more affected minorities have to seek alternatives to ensure better labor practices and education for children.

federal laws have been passed aiming for protection, safety and the enforcement of rights. But nothing that has been done has completely banned such practices. This is evidenced by the long work shifts per day, seven days a week, many of the times with no lunch breaks, that immigrant children endure. Also, the risks to suffer body amputations when handling hazardous machinery are prevalent in these jobs. Additionally, the illegal recruitment of underage workers to perform adult tasks, which typically are poorly paid jobs, harm their health and safety.

or even better yet, eliminated. According to an article published by The New York Times newspaper, a study by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Hanna Dreier found that most of the workers who are victims of abuse and exploitation are largely immigrants from Latin America countries. In fact, the creation of decent work opportunities for everyone in their own country would reduce the gap of people emigrating to another country.

affordable field for everyone. Educated people can easily differentiate between right and wrong. Thus, education helps to reduce unfair and illegal labor practices while increasing the chances to get a fulfilling job, likely to be better paying. It is equally important for the economic growth of countries and helps decrease poverty rates. There is no doubt that education is necessary to have a progressive society, therefore it is important that it not remains just as a written law, but as a real action.

The government is not doing enough to stop unfair and illegal labor practices, and the factories and companies do not care about workers’ well-being. For many years,

These practices are definitely proof of the violation of workers rights and show the urgent need for a change. The radical solution to this current problem starts upon childhood, as well as the country of origin of immigrants. Such solutions are reduced to being educated and the legal enforcement of federal laws. The leaders of the countries where immigrants are coming from need to create labor opportunities for every citizen within the country, according to the individuals’ academic label and without excluding those with a low degree or no education. Thus, the rate of migration would be reduced

Education by itself is the norm to end poverty and abuse in society. In order to achieve those goals, it is necessary to ensure and enforce education as any other civil right. Countries in Latin America and around the world should make education a more accessible and

The government holds the power for change to happen, but in the first instance the government needs to improve the efficiency of its Labor Departments and other organizations whose mission is to find and punish child labor violations. In the same way, society has the chance to make these objectives more attainable. It is not a secret that family plays an important role in the route children are taking. It becomes a matter of consciousness to not to lay on children an adults’ load or responsibility that might result in an overwhelming obstacle at early age. It is better to be focused on what will lead them to succeed in life: “Education”. It is clear the need for action

against these common issues happening at the present time. The government needs to work harder to achieve such changes, and society needs to understand that collective behavior is a crucial tool to tackle critical issues within it. In a nation full of poverty and with not educated people, enforcement of laws can not make progress. That’s why it has to become a collective responsibility between the government and society, to provide citizens with more work opportunities, education and the certainty of the strict enforcement of government’s policies. Together, all forms of crime brought to light will be addressed.

The radical solution to this current problem starts upon childhood, as well as the country of origin of immigrants.

Education by itself is the norm to end poverty and abuse in society. In order to achieve those goals, it is necessary to ensure and enforce education as any other civil right.

PHOTO BY NAILA ROMERO-ALSTON

Journalists uphold freedom of the press amid rising risks

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD AN OPINION

On May 3, the world celebrated the 30th annual World Press Freedom Day. Declared by the National Press Assembly in 1993, the day acknowledges the important work that journalists do to promote democracy and civil liberties as well as the danger they face in doing so.

The media has always played a key role in exposing human rights violations and abuses of power. From The New York Times breaking the Pentagon Papers to The Boston Globe’s exposé on abuse in the Catholic Church, the public has long relied on journalists to shine a light on troubling information. Without the press, we would be naive to so many of the injustices occurring in the world. That is why it is essential that we do more to protect the people who risk their lives to tell the stories of the voiceless.

When Russia invaded Ukraine

last winter, journalists flocked to the conflict zone in an effort to bring the most recent information about the war to the world. Since then, at least 15 journalists have been killed by Russian forces, often for their coverage of the invasion. Recently, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich made headlines after he was detained by Russian authorities and accused of spying on the government.

While information regarding Gershkovich’s arrest is still developing, there is little to no evidence of espionage. International relations experts speculate that he was used as an example to warn Western countries against reporting on Russia’s activities. Gershkovich’s coverage had been calling attention to Russia’s economic crisis, a sore subject when the country’s top brass is still trying to rack up popular support for the war in Ukraine. The Russian government allegedly targeted him in order to intimidate other journalists who were inves-

tigating the state of affairs in their country. All credible sources say that the detainment was less about Gershkovich and more about issuing a threat to Western countries. Gershkovich is now imprisoned in Russia and being used as a pawn in a geopolitical game that Russia will never tire of playing. Since Vladimir Putin took office in 2000, the Russian government has been accused of a string of murders, mostly of leaders’ political opponents and journalists who criticized the ruling regime. Those in power have developed a pattern of violence against human beings in a disturbing attempt to prevent the public from turning against them.

When Gershkovich told the Russian people the truth about the country’s wartime financial situation, he was arrested and silenced. For authorities to detain someone who is trying to discover the truth is both disturbing and unethical. It not only harms the person targeted, but also the society, which is

deprived of valuable information. The Russian public has the right to know about their country’s economy, and the blatant violation of that right by their government is a heinous act that should not be accepted.

In another high-profile tragedy earlier this month, French journalist Arman Soldin was killed in Ukraine after being hit by rocket fire on the frontlines. The French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office has opened a war crimes investigation into his death, the circumstances of which are still unclear. Whether or not he was directly targeted or killed by accident, Soldin’s death still calls attention to the risks that journalists, especially international correspondents, face daily.

The value of journalism is immense and irreplaceable. There is no other job that can offer unbiased and groundbreaking information about current events, and the bravery that correspondents have to

enter warzones like that of Ukraine is completely unmatched. Journalists not only use their own right to free speech, but they uphold that right for everyone else. They make sure that human rights abuses are known to the public and, in doing so, ensure that governments cannot abuse their power or keep secrets from their people.

Any institution that repeatedly targets journalists, the very people whose job it is to inform the public, suggests that it has something to hide. Such behavior should immediately set off alarm bells in the minds of citizens who too often see their governments go to extreme measures to keep them in the dark. And when war casts such a looming cloud over the world, journalists are a beacon of light that promises to keep people safe and informed. Protecting our journalists is protecting ourselves, our rights, and our freedom.

ELIZA COOKE

Desigualdad médica

La verdad no contada de no tener acceso médico

chas personas desisten de obtener un seguro médica”, Salazar explica.

Los servicios de salud e igualdad de acceso a una atención médica de calidad tienen considerables efectos positivos en la salud tanto para un individuo como para el público. El rol de los servicios de salud es una parte imprescindible de la vida cotidiana de todas las personas, ayudándoles a mantenerse saludables y en buen estado físico. Para muchos de los inmigrantes en los Estados Unidos, es complicado poder acceder a ayudas médicas, ya que algunos, ya sea por su estado legal o financiero, no pueden recurrir a un seguro médico que les aporte los beneficios necesarios para ellos y sus familias.

Alejandro Salazar, un inmigrante y miembro de la comunidad dice, “tengo seguro médico, pero, una parte es pagada y la otra parte es por medio de Maryland Health connection”. Para los inmigrantes que vienen a los Estados Unidos, el acceso a la salud a menudo se hace complicado a causa de bajos recursos económicos para consultas.

Para cualquier inmigrante ganando un salario mínimo se hace casi imposible el poder pagar un seguro médico

“Considero que el seguro médico en Estados Unidos es sumamente caro, para cualquier inmigrante ganando un salario mínimo se hace casi imposible el poder pagar un seguro médico, por eso mu-

La Clínica del pueblo, una clínica que existe en Hyattsville, DC, y otras localidades en Maryland, trata de combatir la falta de conexión entre servicios de salud y la comunidad hispana en esta área.

Manuel Diaz-Ramirez, el director de Acción Comunitaria en Salud para la clínica del pueblo localizada en DC, dice,“una de las principales barreras que la comunidad [latina] ha presentado y sigue presentando, es la historia de trauma y violencia que ha tenido la comunidad latina inmigrante en sus países de origen con el sistema público de salud”.

Diaz-Ramirez expande acerca a la tema de la desconfianza, “genera una falta de confianza, de seguridad, de que no tengo derecho a acudir a ese servicio comunitario de salud,” el explica, “Entonces, otra barrera también, y por supuesto, otras barreras más relacionadas al nivel de pobreza y de sobreexplotación de los trabajadores inmigrantes, donde los horarios de trabajo no les permiten ir a una cita médica, donde no tienen protección de salud y se enferman, y donde pierden horas de trabajo, y no [pueden] trabajar”.

Además de ofrecer servicios de salud física, la Clínica del pueblo ofrece recursos para víctimas de violación y oportunidades para crear comunidad entre gente LGBT a través de grupos de apoyo y personal bilingüe. El énfasis en la comunicación fuerte con la comunidad hispana, como una clínica de salud, puede ser un puente a mayor confianza y apoyo entre esa relación, de acuerdo con Diaz-Ramirez, “muchas comunidades confían más en la medicina tradicional, la falta de acceso, [existe a causa de], la desconfianza [y otros factores], porque no es un sistema cercano a la comunidad”.

Margarita Ruiz, miembro de la

comunidad, comenta acerca de su experiencia con una amiga en relación a las consultas médicas, “Ella tuvo un dolor fuerte en su estómago por la enfermedad de la vesícula y fue al hospital”. Ruiz dice, “ella no contaba con un seguro médico y fue un poco difícil para que la atendieran, pero al final el hospital la atendió y pudo obtener el servicio que ella necesitaba”. Para todas las personas, el chequeo personal de la salud para ver que todo esté bien es esencial, pero para los inmigrantes o las personas que no tienen seguro médico la falta de acceso a servicios es un problema. Margarita Ruiz se ha visto afectada. Ella cuenta, “he sido afectada ya que no hay una eficacia de atención en el momento que realmente las personas lo necesitan, porque los trámites se hacen más largos y es un proceso complicado”.

El Alianza es un seguro para las poblaciones menos favorecidas, las poblaciones más excluidas, las poblaciones más pobres.

Algunas clínicas ayudan a personas inmigrantes para poder tener un mejor apoyo para las personas. Arely Sanchez, un miembro de la comunidad, comenta que hay una variedad de clínicas que ayudan a los inmigrantes. Ella dice “Una de las instituciones que ayudan a las personas inmigrantes con servicios de salud son, CCI-TAYA, ubicada en Silver Spring, que cuenta con precios accesibles de (25%,30%,

50%) y los requisitos para poder calificar para ellos son tener una semana en adelante de vivir en los Estados Unidos y presentar una carta de algún empleador o una colilla de cheques para obtener el descuento más accesibles y cobertura para toda la familia”.

No obtener un seguro médico siendo inmigrantes trae muchas complicaciones, ya que al ir a un hospital sale mucho dinero. En los Estados Unidos, como en otros países, la salud es cara. Alejandro Salazar explica, “Tengo un amigo que el hijo lo tuvieron que hospitalizar de emergencia porque padecía de apéndice y ellos tuvieron que pagar alrededor de $30.000”. Esta falta de servicio ha afectado a muchas personas inmigrantes ya que no obtienen los recursos necesarios para la salud.

Díaz-Ramirez da un poco más información acerca de una fundación qué se llama El Alianza para ofrecer la perspectiva combatiendo la falta de acceso a servicios de salud. “El Alianza es un seguro para las poblaciones menos favorecidas, las poblaciones más excluidas, las poblaciones más pobres, incluyendo poblaciones inmigrantes que no cuentan con documentos adecuados para trabajar, entonces,” Díaz-Ramirez comenta. La falta de acceso a servicios médicos, ya sea por la situación legal o por factores económicos, es algo que afecta a muchos inmigrantes en los Estados Unidos. La situación legal es un factor clave, ya que mediante a eso se pueden realizar diferentes tipos de trámites y documentaciones en este país y afecta mucho a los inmigrantes.

Dibujando una escuela nueva

Por Axel Henrriquez Escritor

Cuando uno va caminando por los pasillos de Montgomery Blair, se puede ver que algunos pasillos están explotando con colores y diseños variados que fueron hechos por sus compañeros. Los que pintaron algunos de estos murales son miembros del club de murales.

Un estudiante que pasa mucho tiempo en los pasillos de Blair es Taiki Hernandez, quien dice, “Creo que son muy bonitos y hacen que los pasillos sean mucho más agradables, también muchos de ellos sugieren de qué se trata el área, como el pasillo de arte y esas cosas”. Agrega también, “creo que se necesitan más dibujos en, como, la esquina o como el fondo de la escuela, también algunos en el patio”.

El club de murales se fundó “hace 10 años, por los murales que ves en la pared, por lo menos en el tercer piso. Ahí es donde la señora Hard y yo comenzamos”, cuenta la profesora Roark. El club se reúne

cada miércoles en el salón 344 durante el almuerzo. Allí hablan de los murales y otras cosas, como la escuela.

Kindra Jones, miembro del club, tiene el rol de hacer bosquejos. Completa el borrador en papel y después enseña eso a la persona que pidió el arte. Después, pone el contorno en la pared y finalmente es el turno de las personas que ponen los colores.

“Gran parte de nuestro vínculo ha sido por organizar eventos y todos tratamos de ayudar a nuestra manera. Así que es como si todos fuéramos capaces de ser creativos, incluso si no todos nosotros somos muy buenos para dibujar o muy buenos en las redes sociales y esas cosas”, explica Kindra.

Recientemente, el club comenzó a trabajar con lugares no asociados con Blair y fueron contactados por una taberna para pintar, pero el trabajo ha sido demorado. “Así que la taberna nos pidió que hiciéramos un mural. Paramos porque no tienen el dinero. Quie-

ro decir que colocar un mural es una hazaña costosa, incluso en la pared de la escuela. Cuesta un par de cientos de dólares. Además, querían hacerlo con Northwood, entonces significa que tengo que coordinar con Northwood, lo cual significa más tiempo y esfuerzo para mí” dice la profesora Roark.

Con todo esto, todavía hay algunos problemas. El problema principal es que el club pierde a muchos estudiantes durante el ciclo de pintura. La razón por la que la profesora Roark piensa que esto sucede, es porque, “quieren poner un mural ahora mismo, toma tiempo. Se necesita compromiso de

los estudiantes. Tienen que ver el dibujo. Tienes que volver al dibujo y asegurarte de que esté bien, tenemos que obtener la aprobación de la directora. Así que tenemos que asegurarnos de que lo vea, y luego, cuando lo apruebe, podemos empezar a pintar”. Otro problema es que “También tenemos que recaudar fondos para el dinero. No tenemos fondos”, explica Roark. El club está tratando de resolver uno de estos problemas solicitando subvenciones para obtener más dinero. El otro problema, un tema más profundo, obliga al club a buscar un mayor compromiso de los estudiantes.

A pesar de los desafíos, durante la última década el club de murales ha comenzado a cambiar, poco a poco, el aspecto de Blair y están convirtiendo sus pasillos en lugares llenos de colores. El estudiante Alejandro Amaya del grado 10 dice, “se mira muy bonito y espero que los estudiantes estén muy orgullosos de su trabajo”.

Por Zoë Kaiser y Christell Hurtado Escritoras

CORTESÍA DE LA CLINICA DEL PUEBLO

ALEJANDRO SALAZAR

MANUEL DIAZ-RAMIREZ

FOTO POR ANAGHA BHUVANAGIRI

LCDP 15th STREET La Clínica del Pueblo localizada en Washington D.C.

BLAIR Mural localizado cerca del pasillo 210.

By Anahi Sanchez-Sanchez Escritora

Dolor de cuerpo, manchas de sangre en la ropa y en la cama, cambios emocionales, a veces irritación; chica, ¿te suena familiar? Pues sí, estoy hablando de la menstruación. La menstruación

YAHAIRA BARRERO

es básicamente un flujo de sangre en las partes íntimas de una chica que dependiendo del desarrollo del cuerpo, comienza entre los 11 y los 14 años. Muchas chicas prefieren no hablar de eso, o prefieren esconderlo por temor o vergüenza a lo que digan las personas. Sin embargo, hay muchas otras mentes que sugieren que la menstruación

es algo normal, es un proceso biológico por el cual todas pasan tarde o temprano y es algo que en mi opinión, debería ser incluso hablado en clase, con total libertad y seriedad, ya que tratar de esconderlo baja la autoestima. Incluso hay religiones o mitos que ven eso como un “pecado” o “traen cosas malas”, asociándolo con las fases lunares, con la fertilidad, con un montón de cosas que no tienen absolutamente nada que ver.

Seguramente les ha pasado que necesitan cambiarse durante la clase, o en el trabajo (¿Por qué no?) y al tratar de ir al baño, nos sentimos como en una carrera contra el tiempo: tal vez sientes que no vas a llegar antes de que te ensucies más, o algo un poco más cercano a la realidad: Esconder la toalla higiénica o tampón para que nadie note eso (te sientes como un ninja que necesita cuidar algo a toda costa). Todos esos hábitos surgen por el mismo problema, por el mismo

tabú de que la regla es algo malo y que debería ser escondido. Otro tema bastante arraigado es la poca educación o charla en casa con la familia sobre el tema. Muchas chicas tienen miedo de hablar

Muchas familias suelen hablar poco o evitan eso, ya que a veces no saben como explicar el tema, o no saben cómo sentarse y hablar sin sentir incomodidad.

sobre la menstruación, ya que al ser algo físico, temen lo que vayan a decir los padres, o simplemente es la vergüenza; los padres y madres de familia también juegan un rol importante en este tópico, ya que de ellos depende cuán informada está la niña, o cuán normal es eso para ellos. Muchas familias suelen hablar poco o evitan eso, ya que a

Destacando la falta de diversidad deportiva

By Naila Romero-Alston Escritora

Cuando miras las fotos de los equipos de Blair, ¿ves la misma diversidad que ves en los pasillos de la escuela? Cuando piensas sobre los deportes de primavera, ¿visualizas equipos diversos? Considerando que Blair es una escuela muy diversa, ¿por qué esa diversidad no se refleja en los deportes de la escuela?

Esto no quiere decir que todos los equipos en la escuela no son diversos, pero si solamente un equipo no es, se tiene que analizar por qué y cómo cambiarlo. Por lo tanto, es importante entender de dónde proviene esta falta de diversidad. Después de identificar la raíz del problema, se puede trabajar juntos para eliminarlo.

En general, especialmente en un deporte como lacrosse… Los padres generalmente pagan mucho dinero para entrenadores y facilidades privadas en lugar de los recursos que muchas escuelas públicas no tienen.

Hay muchos factores que entran en juego cuando se analiza la causa de esta falta de diversidad, pero el factor más influencial es el costo de estos deportes. Gran parte de los deportes de primavera, como tenis y lacrosse, son muy caros para empezar a jugar y especialmente para mejorar como jugador. Un jugador del equipo de Lacrosse en Blair, Van Cao (11), cuenta sobre su experiencia en el deporte de lacrosse. En relación al costo, Van dice que “En general, especialmente en un deporte como lacrosse… Los padres generalmente pagan mucho dinero para entrenadores

y facilidades privadas en lugar de los recursos que muchas escuelas públicas no tienen”. Esta es la realidad para muchos deportes, pero específicamente para el deporte de lacrosse. Van explica que “es un deporte chico, entonces un equi-

Otro efecto tremendo en la diversidad de los deportes es el acceso al deporte desde una edad temprana. En el deporte de lacrosse, Van explica que, “no hay mucha exposición [al deporte].

antes de llegar a la preparatoria. El condado de Montgomery ya tiene programas para los estudiantes de las escuelas secundarias que intentan combatir este desafío. Aunque es bueno que existan estos programas, todavía se pueden mejorar. La sra. Boule, directora de atletismo en Blair explica que, “Nuestros programas de la escuela secundaria no son excelentes… Nunca quiero que desaparezcan, sino que me gustaría que crezcan e incorporen más deportes donde no vemos la diversidad”. Además, considerando la gran

veces no saben como explicar el tema, o no saben cómo sentarse y hablar sin sentir incomodidad.

El género opuesto también influye en esto, ya que suelen hacer bromas bastante pesadas, generando incomodidad y hasta a veces repulsión por la menstruación, cuando claramente eso limita la libertad de expresión femenina, incrementando las ganas de ocultarlo y querer desaparecer de la faz de la tierra. A la larga, realmente espero que este tema no sea un tabú que siga con el paso del tiempo y que tomemos conciencia y respeto hacia la menstruación.

po, en primer lugar, es caro… Hay precios más caros porque las personas que pagan para jugar son personas ricas, entonces ellos pueden permitirse cobrar más comparado a básquetbol, donde todos están jugando el deporte”. Margaret Nkafu, una jugadora en el equipo de tenis de Blair, comparte este sentimiento. Ella explica que en el tenis similarmente hay beneficios para los jugadores que pueden gastar más dinero en equipos y materiales. Cuando se le preguntó cómo se siente sobre no jugar en un club, aunque muchos jugadores sí juegan en esos equipos, Margaret dijo que “yo definitivamente siento como que estoy perdiendo la oportunidad de aprender cosas valiosas del deporte”.

Lacrosse está creciendo en popularidad, pero cuando yo era niño no había mucha exposición a los equipos de lacrosse”. La introducción de los deportes más temprano ayuda a que los jugadores tengan la oportunidad de conocer el deporte

suma de dinero que requieren estos deportes y cómo eso afecta la accesibilidad, es importante que la escuela ayude con los costos. La sra. Boule explica que, “si una familia está teniendo problemas para pagar por algo, nosotros ayudamos

con esos costos… o yo preguntaría a los boosters para una donación que cubriría los costos para esa familia”. De una forma u otra, la escuela se asegura que los costos de jugar el deporte no sean un problema para la familia.

Yo definitivamente siento como que estoy perdiendo la oportunidad de aprender cosas valiosas del deporte.

Después de encontrar la causa de la falta de diversidad, se tiene que reconocer los efectos que tiene en los jugadores del equipo y en los que pierdan la oportunidad de ser parte del equipo. Desde la perspectiva de un jugador en el equipo de lacrosse de Blair, Van dice, “esa narración del lacrosse como solo un deporte blanco y rico, definitivamente disuadirá a la gente que quiere unirse a un equipo”.

Eso sigue siendo un problema para muchos estudiantes que estarían interesados en empezar un deporte en Blair, pero no lo hacen por el ambiente del equipo y percibir una falta de comunidad entre el equipo.

Durante las últimas décadas hubo muchos cambios y desafíos en la diversidad de los deportes.

Aquí, caminando por los pasillos de Blair, se puede ver una escuela muy diversa, mientras que en los deportes es algo diferente. Por otra parte, hay algunos deportes específicamente los de primavera, que, a causa de diferentes razones, no reflejan esa diversidad, ya sea por una falta de accesibilidad al deporte, el costo del deporte, o por la falta de diversidad que ya hay en el equipo. El trabajo de crear una comunidad de deportes en la que toda la gente pueda jugar es algo que Blair necesita trabajar para poder alcanzar.

FOTOS POR NAILA ROMERO-ALSTON BLAIR El equipo, masculino de lacrosse de Blair reunidos durante un partido.

NOTICIAS BREVES

Compilado por Maia Turpen Escritora

El virus del dengue transmitido a través de mosquitos

Una especie de mosquito conocido como Aedes aegipti, que lleva un virus llamado dengue, ha reavivado una epidemia en América del Sur. De acuerdo con el Centro de Control y Prevención de las enfermedades (CDC por sus siglas en inglés), 400 millones de personas se infectan con dengue cada año, aproximadamente 100 millones se enferman y otros 40,000 mueren. El dengue ha empeorado en Suramérica por el cambio climático, problemas sanitarios y económicos. Seis países cuentan por más del 75% de todos los casos en la región: Venezuela, Brasil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Honduras y México. Una vacuna ya está disponible en Estados Unidos pero Brasil recién aprobó la primera vacuna en Suramérica.

Crisis económica en Argentina

La economía Argentina sufre la inflación más alta de los últimos 30 años. El Banco Central de Argentina elevó su tasa de interés de referencia en seis puntos hasta el 97%. Bancos por todas partes del mundo están peleando para controlar la inflación, pero es un problema enorme en Argentina, donde la tasa de inflación anual superó el 100% el mes pasado. El gobierno está actuando demasiado tarde y muchos creen que el problema no se solucionará pronto. El presidente Fernández anunció el mes pasado que no se presentará para la reelección en los comicios que se llevarán a cabo en octubre. Se considera probable que su oponente, Massa, consiga el éxito como resultado de su plan de lucha contra la inflación.

Desantis prohibió fondos para universidades públicas en Florida

Ron DeSantis, gobernador de Florida, firmó un proyecto de ley para bloquear los fondos federales y estatales para programas que apoyan la diversidad, la equidad y la inclusión en las universidades públicas de Florida. DeSantis ha anunciado su candidatura a la presidencia por el partido republicano para 2024 contra Donald Trump. DeSantis y otros conservadores sostienen desde hace tiempo que la teoría crítica de la raza y los programas de diversidad, equidad e inclusión son racialmente divisivos y discriminatorios. Muchos estudiantes han tomado las calles alegando que la ley es injusta. Las escuelas públicas en Florida sufren con menos recursos económicos y tendrán dificultades para atraer estudiantes diversos en el futuro.

Cómo los estudiantes de Blair pueden aliviar la preocupación académica

Por Jason Youm Escritor

Los exámenes y pruebas son noticias terribles para muchos estudiantes de Blair. Desde una prueba de la clase de geometría hasta un examen de AP sobre la historia universal, los exámenes provocan imágenes de noches largas con poco sueño y mucho estrés.

El problema principal es la gran cantidad de tarea. Según Dakota Pippins, un estudiante del décimo grado, su tarea “dura cuatro horas [cada día]... y más antes de los exámenes”. Admitió en una entrevista que es un perfeccionista, pero todavía las tareas “[le] dan estrés a veces”, especialmente en las clases difíciles, como matemáticas. A Dakota tampoco le gustan los contrastes impredecibles entre sus diferentes clases. Explicó que, “en la clase de inglés, no he tenido ningún examen durante todo el año… pero en otras clases… [los] maestros asignan muchas [tareas] cada semana”.

Aden Jeral, un estudiante del undécimo grado, tiene una perspectiva similar. Además de diferencias de tarea entre profesores diferentes, mencionó en una entrevista que “hay semanas de casi ninguna, y de repente, hay tantísima tarea la próxima semana que no la puedo completar”. Espera que los maestros de clases diferentes “se comuniquen más para dar tarea en una manera más pareja”.

Otro problema que señaló Jer-

al es el apoyo de los profesores. “Generalmente, [los profesores] me ayudan a prepararme bien para las pruebas”, dijo Jeral. Sin embargo,“hay unos que crean exámenes mucho más difíciles que el material” y eso le causa estrés. Por ejemplo, está tomando dos

colar. Según Dalilah González, una consejera escolar de Blair, “muchos estudiantes se preocupan por una mala nota… o piensan que no están listos para un examen”. Entonces, aconsejó en una entrevista que los alumnos “empiecen un horario de estudiar para

que luchan con exámenes y notas. “Nosotros [los consejeros] siempre estamos disponibles… Además, a la Sra. Callaghan, nuestra trabajadora social, le gusta [ponerse en contacto] con los estudiantes en inglés y español.” Si uno no se siente cómodo hablar con su consejero en persona, González recomendó “ver videos de YouTube útiles y buscar terapia en línea”. Sin embargo, enfatizó que “la relación entre profesor y estudiante es crucial… si crees que no estás [listo] para un examen, habla con el profesor. Nunca sabes si el profesor te excusará por esa clase”.

Y si te estás estresando durante el examen, aconseja que uno “respire profundamente y aguante el respiro por cincuenta, veinte segundos”. González afirmó que este método “siempre le ayuda mucho… y es útil en todas [las] circunstancias, incluyendo durante pruebas, después del trauma, y antes de un momento importante”.

clases de AP este año, y describió que es cierto especialmente en estas clases. Al mismo tiempo, algunos de sus profesores no responden a sus correos electrónicos a menudo y tienen las horas de oficina solo una o dos veces cada semana. Es muy importante aliviar el agobio de las pruebas para tener un buen rendimiento es -

planear antes de una prueba… y se queden con el plan”. Además, González siente que estudiar en grupos “es un método maravilloso para entender el material, porque diferentes personas lo entienden en maneras diferentes, y puedes compartir estas ideas [variadas] en un grupo”. González mencionó unos recursos para los estudiantes

Finalmente, González recomienda que uno mire el panorama general. “Toda la gente se estresa por los exámenes y las clases. Es una forma de vida, pero lo importante es saber cómo controlar el estrés”. Jeral está de acuerdo con esta declaración. “La escuela tiene que priorizar… la salud mental, la creatividad, y la socialización”, dice Jeral. “Son más importantes que los exámenes”.

Mantenerse fresco durante un verano soleado

Las bebidas favoritas de la comunidad hispanohablante de Blair

Por Samantha Frey Escritora

El sabor de una bebida fría en un día soleado es uno de los sentidos más refrescantes del mundo. “A mi me gusta lo caliente… es mi parte favorita del verano”, dice Génesis Valle, estudiante de Blair. Aunque estés planeado ir a la playa como Carlos y Sebastián, estudiantes de Montgomery Blair, o salir afuera como Génesis y Evan, estudiantes de Blair también, por un fresco para el calor, muchos disfrutan las bebidas hispanas. Con el verano que está acercándose rápidamente, las bebidas cumplen un rol importante en

la cultura hispanohablante. Mediante una investigación de las bebidas favoritas de los estudiantes de Blair, se puede ver la gran variedad de bebidas en la comunidad.

Con orígenes africanos, españoles y mexicanos, la horchata es una de las bebidas más celebradas y es reconocida como “una de las bebidas más solicitadas en verano”. La horchata es de color casi blanco y se parece mucho a la leche. Llena de azúcar y especias como la canela, “a mi me gusta la horchata,” dice Génesis Valle,

“porque es fragante y dulce”. Para recomendaciones, “La Casita es mi lugar favorito para comprar la horchata”, dice Evan. Se puede encontrar la horchata en Silver Spring en los restaurantes mexicanos y salvadoreños como La Casita, Irene’s Pupusería y Cielo Rojo. “Las horchatas latinoamericanas son en realidad una interpretación de una bebida mucho más antigua (la original, del mismo nombre) oriunda de Valencia, España, que no se prepara con granos o nueces sino con unos tubérculos locales llamados chufas”. El agua de tamarindo se prepara con la fruta de tamarindo, proveniente de un árbol tropical. Para prepararlo, se tiene que pelar los tamarindos y sacar las semillas de sus cáscaras. Después, hay que hervir los tamarindos en agua con azúcar hasta que estén suaves, y sacar las semillas para terminar el agua. Para enfriarlo, mucha gente lo guarda en la refrigeradora. El tamarindo fue nombrado “el ingrediente para las bebidas muy mexicanas”, con el sabor “representando a México a nivel internacional”. Esta bebida mantiene un balance entre agrio y dulce, y trae bastantes beneficios para el organismo.

El fresco de marañón es una bebida tradicional típica de El Salvador y Honduras. Destaca por su forma única, ya que se compone del pseudofruto y la nuez, y es

conocida como una fruta buena para la salud. Conocida como la fruta de la memoria, fortalece el cerebro con su alto contenido de vitaminas y taninos. “Es refrescante”, dice Sebastián Guzmán. Si bien la horchata se puede llegar a confundir con leche, el agua de jamaica es única en su color: una mezcla entre rojo y morado. El color viene de la flor de jamaica, una flor de origen africano llamada Hibiscus. Con su sabor refrescante como una mezcla de flor y fruta, el agua de jamaica es algo que “nunca puede faltar en fiestas mexicanas”.

Dentro de la escuela de Montgomery Blair, se puede encontrar una variedad de culturas, personalidades, y opiniones, incluyendo sus bebidas favoritas. Si te interesa aprender más o tratar de preparar una de estas bebidas, escanea el código QR para encontrar las recetas.

CINDIS HERNÁNDEZ-SANCHES

YEISON COTOM

Un evento para planear el futuro

Por Giselle Zelaya Escritora

Cada año, a medida que los estudiantes de doceavo grado se preparan para la graduación, los estudiantes del grado 11 comienzan a prepararse para la temporada de solicitud universitaria. A medida que empieza esta época del año, los estudiantes tienen que evaluar qué tipo de universidad sería la mejor opción para ellos. Desde los resultados de los exámenes, hasta el tamaño de la escuela, el precio e incluso la ubicación, los estudiantes tienen muchos factores a considerar. Solo en los EE.UU. hay casi 4.000 colegios de estudio superior y universidades, además de las escuelas fuera del país. Con todo esto, los estudiantes tienen una inmensa cantidad de opciones y oportunidades, por lo que el proceso puede ser bastante estresante.

Una buena manera para comenzar después de averiguar las características que tendría una escuela ideal, es buscar escuelas que cumplan con esas categorías y crear una lista. Las ferias universitarias pueden ser un recurso valioso para aprender sobre nuevas escuelas y obtener información sobre escue-

las que podrían no estar disponibles en línea.

Recibí mucha información de los representantes sobre qué clase de estudiantes son más felices en las escuelas o cómo sería seguir mi carrera profesional en sus escuelas que no creo que hubiera podido obtener en su sitio web.

El pasado miércoles 19 de abril, los estudiantes del onceavo grado del condado de Montgomery asis tieron a la Feria Nacional de Uni versidades de NACAC. Esta feria universitaria nacional está destina da a permitir a los estudiantes re unir información de una variedad de universidades y hablar con los representantes de cada escuela uni versitaria.

La feria tuvo representantes de más de 275 Universidades de todo

el país y los estudiantes tuvieron una hora para explorar todas las escuelas en el lugar. Las escuelas presentes incluyeron la Universidad de Maryland, la Universidad Howard y la Universidad Northeastern, entre otras. El edificio rugió con los sonidos bulliciosos de cientos de estudiantes de secundaria que buscaban las escuelas en su lista

Crucigraduación

obtener en su sitio web”, explicó Woldeab, “Sentí que la estructura de la excursión estaba muy organizada. Fue muy fácil para mí ir de un lugar a otro y también fue muy fácil para mí encontrar otras universidades en las que podría estar interesado en el camino para visitar las universidades que planeaba

visitar”.

Después de registrarse para la feria, los estudiantes recibieron un código de barras que los representantes pudieron escanear. Ese código proporcionaba información sobre el estudiante y lo agregaba a la lista de correo electrónico de la escuela para recibir actualizaciones e información.

Los representantes de la escuela también repartieron una variedad de volantes informativos para que los estudiantes se los llevaran a casa y los revisaran. Esto creó una forma eficiente para que los estudiantes dieran su información a los representantes y se mantuvieran actualizados con las escuelas que les interesaban. La Feria Nacional de Universidades de NACAC permitió a los estudiantes aprender más sobre las universidades que les interesan, descubrir nuevas universidades y conectarse con representantes de admisiones.

Respuestas

Across

3. Esperando para sus diplomas, los estudiantes forman un ______

7. Este evento marca el fin de su carrera en escuela secundaria

8. ¿Cuáles son tus planes? ¿Vas a trabajar? ¿Asistir a la universidad?

9. El mes en que los estudiantes terminan sus estudios

11. Una bebida (mencionada en este ciclo) con canela, azúcar y arroz

13. Otoño, Invierno, Primavera y...

15. Durante el verano, tienes que _____ para ganar dinero

Down

1. Debería _______ sus logros después de graduarse

2. El sombrero específico para graduacion

4. Tienes que estudiar para tener éxito en el

5. Cada estudiante que se gradúa recibe este certificado

6. Algunos estudiantes tienen planes para asistir a este centro de educación continuada

10. La fiesta de graduación, designada para los seniors

12. El vestido tradicional que llevan las graduandos

14. Donde los maestros enseñan y los estudiantes aprenden

YAHAIRA BARRERO

SOFIA WOLDEAB

Creado por Samantha Frey Arte por Kimberly Solis

More than a statistic

Following CDC report of increased violence against teen girls, Blair

Trigger Warning: This article contains descriptions of sexual abuse.

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

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data from the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), a biennial national survey of high schoolers, its findings left many parents, educators, and even CDC employees shocked.

One out of every ten girls reported that they were raped.

One in five reported experiencing sexual violence in the past year.

Within hours, The Washington Post had published an article titled “Teen girls ‘engulfed’ in violence and trauma, CDC finds” to report the survey’s results.

The YRBSS, which aims to accurately collect data on the mental, physical, and sexual health of American teenagers, found a drastic rise in suicide, sexual violence, and self harm rates among adolescent girls.

“Almost all of the measures of violence, and across all of the measures of poor mental health and suicidal thoughts and behaviors, girls were doing worse than boys and LGBTQ+ students were doing worse than heterosexual students. We saw that really consistently and that alarmed us a lot,” Kathleen Ethier, the Director of the Division of Adolescent and School Health at the CDC, says in an interview with Silver Chips.

However, one group looked at this data with little surprise. No one needed to tell teen girls about the trauma they had been experiencing.

“There’s always going to be someone around you, even a few relationships away, who has been sexually assaulted,” Anna, a junior at Blair who was sexually abused as a child, says. “That’s just how I’ve grown up looking at people, so it’s not surprising at all to see that one in five people have been sexually assaulted or abused.”

While the CDC can provide data, numbers alone do not tell the full story of the trauma that teen girls across the country experience.

Sexual assault within relationships of teenage girls

One question in the YRBSS specifically references sexual abuse and violence inside of relationships, the

most common form of sexual abuse. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), the majority of women and girls know their perpetrator prior to their rape or sexual assault.

When Mira was 15 and in her sophomore year at Blair, she entered a relationship with a 19-year-old man. At first, she engaged in sexual intercourse consensually, but as the relationship progressed, her abuser became more controlling and physically and verbally abusive toward Mira when she tried to say no.

“If I didn’t want to do [a sexual act] or if I just wanted to lay down and sleep or watch a movie, it would either be stuff like grabbing my wrists or my hair or pinning me down… There would be times he would punch my stomach but in areas that you wouldn’t normally be able to see, so for a while I wouldn’t be able to wear crop tops,” Mira says.

On social media, Mira learned that she was not the only victim. Other girls were being abused by the same man and had shared their experiences on Instagram, posting screenshots of abusive messages. They faced victim blaming from the perpetrator’s friends.

“His friends would say that we were dumb teenage girls looking for attention, and that the whole reason we were coming out to talk about these things [was] because we wanted attention. Then they would bring in different statistics that guys would get thrown in jail for false accusations,” Mira says.

this upon yourself,’” she says.

Over the course of the five-month relationship, Mira estimates she was raped 15 times. To Mira’s knowledge, the man never faced legal ramifications of any kind despite the allegations against him. Mira does not plan to report what happened to her. “I feel like as time goes by… it’s too late, and it might not be too late, but I just don’t want to get into that whole situation again,” she says.

Time has a major impact on the credibility of accusations and the likelihood of a victim receiving justice for abuse. However, the passing of time is sometimes the only way for people to recognize abuse, especially when the victim experienced the abuse at a young age. In cases of sexual assault to young children, the probability of the perpetrator being someone they know is much higher, and in these instances, it is likely that they are a family member.

The impact of culture and family on sexual abuse

Anna was sexually abused by a male family member from the ages of five to 10 until her family moved away from him for unrelated reasons. She did not tell anyone about her abuse while it was happening because her perpetrator had been grooming her. “The thing with grooming is that… it makes you think that you’re doing something that is completely normal when it’s not, and I think that also plays a part in why people don’t speak up,” Anna says.

In light of these accounts, multiple people reposted photos of the man, his full name, and his age online, encouraging viewers to avoid him. However, Mira remained a quiet observer and never reported her assaults in any way, as her perpetrator warned her against doing so. He said that no one would believe her if she reported it and that he had proof against her claims.

Mira also decided against a formal report due to fears of her parents’ reaction. “I was mostly scared of my parents because I felt like I couldn’t talk to them… They would make it seem like it’s my fault [by asking], ‘why did you get tricked, why were you with him in the first place, why were you with a guy,’ like, ‘you brought

When she first reported her abuse, Anna told a doctor who then alerted Child Protective Services (CPS) as per Maryland law. After CPS questioned Anna, the police department became involved and opened up the possibility of pressing charges against her abuser. However, the legal process isn’t seamless, and there was a lack of legal information available to Anna and her parents, who are non-English speaking.

“It’s hard to navigate through all those legal words and websites that say things that may be hard to comprehend… so if [the system is] left with parents who have never really needed to understand and a child who doesn’t understand, what are [they] supposed to do other than provide resources, and that’s not what we got,” she says.

Ultimately Anna and her parents decided not to follow through with prosecution, but Anna feels it may have given her closure if they had. “I’m going to assume if they had gone through with [prosecution] and won… I think it would provide a sense of closure for me. Even if he doesn’t apologize or anything like that, it still would have been a finite conclusion to something that now will be just like long lasting for me,” she says. “I’ll most likely just never close that chapter of my life.”

Anna continues to see her perpetrator at family gatherings and worries for her younger cousins who also remain in contact with him.

Abuse in a high school setting

The lasting impacts of sexual violence can also be amplified when it happens within a small social or academic circle, such as Blair’s academies and programs. Blair’s Magnet program, for example, contains 429 students, making up just 13 percent of Blair’s population. Due to this small size, Magnet students share many of their classes with other students in the program, and certain Magnet electives only meet during one class period.

This environment can create unique challenges for victims of sexual assault with perpetrators also in the same academic setting. Blair and Magnet alumna Anika Seth created the app “Stronger Student” to provide resources to MCPS students seeking to report sexual violence. For Seth, who personally experienced sexual violence while at Blair, learning and socializing in such a tight-knit group of students made it difficult to limit contact with her abuser. “I think that some of these things [regarding sexual violence among classmates] do get intensified at a place like Blair where you have this really insular microcosmic community, like Magnet, or like CAP, where it’s really impossible to avoid the person that harmed you,” Seth says.

DATA COURTESY OF THE CDC, GRAPHIC BY ANNIE GAO

YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY A 10-year trend by sex reveals that the percentage of female U.S. high school students who had ever been forced to have sex increased from 2011-2021, and a four-year trend by sex reveals that the percentage of female U.S. high school students who have experienced sexual violence by anyone during the past year has increased from 2017 to 2021.

For Blair senior and Magnet student Jenn, these circumstances were prominent. During the first semester of her senior year, Jenn had four classes with the boy who sexually assaulted her. During her junior year, Jenn was in a relationship with her perpetrator—another Magnet student—when he forced her into sexual intercourse multiple times. Being in such close proximity with the perpetrator by virtue of their shared classes disrupted Jenn’s social and academic life.

“One of the classes [I shared with my perpetrator]

There’s always going to be someone around you, even a few relationships away, who has been sexually assaulted.

Blair students share their stories

was with one of my favorite teachers, and I just didn’t enjoy the class anymore. I would go home and I would just hope that he transfers to a different school or something horrible happens to him, so I don’t have to see him ever again,” she says. “That’s a type of frustration and anger that I truly never experienced before.”

Jenn believes that a culture that avoids discussions around sexual harassment and violence will only enable that kind of behavior. “[Magnet students] kind of live in their own world that isn’t really affected by big issues, like racism, misogyny… because they don’t think that it affects them and for a lot of students it doesn’t,” Jenn says. “Because nobody talks about these things, it encourages sexual harassment on like a casual level that I really don’t think is acceptable anywhere outside of the Magnet.”

ported a drastic rise in sexual violence against teenage girls since the YRBSS first began surveying students in 1991, this trend is skewed by inconsistent data collection over the past thirty years.

Story by Della Baer and Theodora Curtin Art by Eliza Cooke and Mina Ricotti Design by Annie Gao

The first question collecting data about sexual violence was added to the survey in 1999. The question asked about forced sexual intercourse, and nothing else.

Glenn, who believes she may have taken the 1991 survey, reflects on how sexual assault was not a topic as widely discussed as it is today as reflected by the questions, or lack there of, in the survey.

“I graduated high school in ‘96, so I probably took that 1991 survey. I don’t really remember what the specific questions were, but I think that’s reflective of the time and the sense that like, you just didn’t talk about [sexual violence], it was just a fact of life,” Glenn says.

“One out of every 10 high school girls that you know, at least one of them has been raped. What this new data tells us is that it’s probably more than that.” Ethier says.

In the years since the YRBSS broadened its questions and definitions around sexual violence, the survey yielded increased rates of reported sexual violence. However, the most shocking result of the 2021 YRBSS report is not the staggering numbers, but how those numbers cannot fully articulate the severity of the issue.

Laura’s experience was also intensified by the academic setting of the Magnet. During her junior year, Laura faced repeated harassment from a fellow Magnet student. The harassment ranged from comments about her appearance to physical assault. At one point, the boy slapped Laura at an extracurricular activity.

“There’s kind of this track of classes that you take [in the Magnet], so if you decide to focus on the same subject as another person it’s difficult to avoid people that you don’t want to interact with,” Laura says. “A lot of times, electives are only offered in one period, so even if you bring this [issue] up to administration, there’s not much they can do to help you,” she says.

Laura also notes that the social culture in the Mag net contributes to reporting. During her freshman year, Laura was harassed over social media by two different boys, also in the Magnet, who made sexual comments towards her. Despite offers from her par ents to help her formally report it, Laura declined in fear of social repercussions.

“I felt like if I reported it I would kind of lose that good standing I had within these new friends that I kind of made in the Magnet so I begged [my parents] not to tell anybody, or tell the teachers about that,” Laura says.

Shifting culture

The culture of a family and high school envi ronments are integral and often unalterable parts of the life of a teenage girl, making their impact on sexual assault influential. For Jenn, Laura, Anna, Mira, and all the teenage girls who marked “yes” on the CDC’s survey, these factors have both barred them from reporting and receiving justice as well as perpetuated their abuse.

These components of their lives do not, however, offer an explanation to the drastic increase in sexual abuse displayed by the YRBSS, as they have all been a prominent part of the life of a teenage girl for decades.

Elizabeth Glenn has been a teacher for 20 years, and been at Blair for 15. She has worked with genera tions of teenage girls. She remembers a story her sister told her, where the grades of teenage students were allegedly decided based on how they dressed.

“On test day, if you were a cute girl and wore a short skirt, you made an A on the calculus test, no matter how you did… I remember hearing rumors about that teacher.” Her memories of her own adolescence and her experiences as a teacher lead her to question whether sexual assault rates are actually increasing, or if people are becoming more open to identify and dis cuss such experiences.

Dr. Rafiah Prince is a supervisory therapist of Trauma Services at the Victim Assistance and Sexual Assault Program (VASAP). While she has seen rising rates of sexual assault through her work, she also ac knowledges that part of this rise could be attributed to an increased openness around discussing sexual assault and avenues for reporting.

“Our program has been here for over 40 years. We’ve been helping thousands and thousands of survivors for a very long time. So this is not a new issue to our culture in our society. The more atten tion we draw to it… I think it just gives more oppor tunities for people to get help,” Prince says.

While prominent news organizations have re

The 2013 survey expanded the inquiries on sexual violence, specifying a range of forced sexual acts in its question. In 2017, the survey was expanded to include three questions regarding sexual violence. This newest version asks about any forced sexual act, in the past twelve months, at any time and by anyone.

Despite the increased reporting in recent years, Ethier believes that the results still do not capture the

There are a variety of scenarios which may make a victim feel unsafe in reporting a sexual crime. Anonymous surveys like the YRBSS are critical in gauging data on these issues in order to address them. However, as Ethier states, the YRBSS is not conclusive—it is clear that there are many sexual crimes still flying under the radar.

Ila Raso contributed to reporting.

I would go home and I would just hope that he transfers to a different school or something horrible happens to him, so I don’t have to see him ever again.

The poetry and praise of open mics

By Kyla Smith Staff Writer

When poet Sunny Ray was a freshman in college, he participated in his first open mic. Although the mistakes in his recital were apparent, the audience still clapped, much to his surprise. “I went… and I was nervous, and the paper was trembling, and I was sweating profusely, and I stumbled… I messed up all over again, and when I was done, people applauded like I didn’t stumble and mess up through the whole piece.”

The origins of the open mic date back to the 1930s with the anti-colonial cultural and political movement Negritude. During the time of the Harlem Renaissance, the Negritude movement also acted as a literary movement. The first open mic is said to have taken place at a tea shop called the Clamart Salon in Paris, owned by French writer and Negritude creator Paulette Nardal and her sisters. The shop acted as a place where poets and authors would share their work.

Almost 100 years later, places like the Clamart Salon still thrive, and open mics are more prominent than ever. Busboys and Poets, a bookstore, restaurant, and DMV staple, hosts open mics weekly at its nine locations in the DMV, providing poets with a platform to express

their minds.

Open mic curator, poet, and author Madea Bailey, known professionally as Datruthdapoet, or-

mess up and try again. Bailey says that the number one rule in open mic is “love” and has the audience repeat that mantra at the start of each event.

“I’m trying to sow in love; I want people to know that I care about them, I want people to know that this is a safe space, and [that] this is not a place

alone because people were agreeing and snapping and clapping for me. The audience members feel that they’re not alone because [the poets] are saying the words that they don’t have the guts or the wherewithal to say,” Taylor says.

Despite the open mic’s positive foundations, however, it can be difficult for newcomers to break into the activity’s social circles. “I feel as though [open mic] communities could be a bit cliquish and there could be situations where they are, even though their intentions may not be this, but they may not be welcoming spaces to as much diver-

archy of performers. “I think you can go to an open mic and be completely unentertained the whole time, then you could go to another open mic where you’re absolutely entertained the whole time. I think that there needs to be a hierarchy,” Ray says. “I, [for instance], look to just be amongst the people and be in a space where people need to express themselves, separated from some places where someone actually wants to see excellence.”

ganized her first open mic, called “Raw Poetry,” at 18. Since then, she has coordinated many similar events to help people share their experiences and unite with others doing the same. “We have [power] in the open mic, we have that therapy, that need for escape, that place of understanding where you get to hear your story, even if you’re not telling it, and knowing that someone else understands,” Bailey says.

Open mics give people of all skill levels the ability to share and express themselves. Unlike slam poetry, there is no competition, making it easier for beginners to

of competition,” she says. “This is not a place where you have to feel intimidated… there’s so much that comes from that… it’s more than just [the] art that I see that comes from it.”

For 19-year-old poet A’niya Taylor, this space has provided her a chance to feel validated and give those in the audience an opportunity to relate with speakers and one another. “When I started writing, I felt like I wasn’t

sity as they think,” Ray says.

Although the lack of competition and emphasis on skill level may draw more people to open mics, Ray believes that there should be a skill level-based hier-

In any case, Taylor believes that building community in open mic spaces should be a priority, regardless of event format. “I think both things are important, that you build community and lock arms with people around you, because everyone needs somebody, and so I hope that my work is to keep pushing that. That idea that we can all meet each other because it takes a village to raise any type of community, not just a child.”

AALEAD at Blair and beyond

Asian American youth organize to promote AAPI Heritage Month

By Viveka Sinha Staff Writer

As the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community continues to face issues of discrimination and marginalization in the

thriving communities.” Through its after school programs, mentorship projects, and cultural awareness initiatives, AALEAD works toward its mission of establishing a more connected and supported AAPI student community.

AALEAD was founded as a community for Vietnamese immigrants and grew to serve the wider Asian American community.

“[AALEAD] was founded back in the 90s by Vietnamese refugees for Vietnamese refugees, but then it expanded its activities and started including people from other Asian countries,” AALEAD Maryland Programs Specialist Anastasiya Karimova says. Today, AALEAD serves students in the Washington, metropolitan area, northern

Virginia, and Montgomery County, Maryland.

According to Karimova, many of AALEAD’s young members feel an inordinate amount of pressure to succeed from those around them. “There is [often] external pressure, such as bias or bullying [targeting Asian American students]. But sometimes, our students also share that they have this internal pressure within their families because expectations can be very high,” Karimova says.

AALEAD is dedicated to providing Asian American participants with the resources they need to deal with stress and achieve their goals despite these challenges. “When it comes to this internal pressure, we try to give our youth tools to navigate it, how to advocate for themselves, how to manage stress. For example, we currently have this amazing self care journey workshop,” Karimova explains.

AALEAD’s after school programs serve as a safe environment where AAPI students can take advantage of the organization’s mentorship, tutoring, and college preparation services. “We connect the youth to a mentor [and] we try to find members who have similar interests. For example, if someone is interested in sports and is considering getting into college through sports achievements, we can find a mentor who walked a similar path,” Karimova says. Leslie Blaha, the sponsor of Blair’s AALEAD chapter, explains that the club runs a variety of programs to connect AAPI students. “AALEAD has really good access to programs that a school would not normally set up,

like community cleanups, mental health workshops, [and] field trips [such as] ice skating… and museums,” Blaha explains.

The impact of AALEAD’s work is evident in the experiences of the students the organization serves.

Blair freshman Jason Yu explains that AALEAD has brought him closer to his AAPI peers at Blair.

“AALEAD allowed me to get in touch with a community that is

really heartwarming that people remember us fondly and they still want to participate and stay in touch,” Karimova shares.

For AAPI Heritage Month in May, Blair AALEAD is focusing on Asian American identities while also relieving stress amidst exam season. “This month, we will definitely talk about AAPI identities more during our after school program. But besides the fact that it’s AAPI month, which is very important for us, it’s also the exam [season], so a lot of [students] are stressed, and we will just do our best to support them and to celebrate their success and to do fun things as much as possible this month,” Karimova explains.

ethnically more like me, [and] it allows everyone to share their experiences,” Yu says. For Blair junior Jessica Dao, AALEAD has been a space to develop her leadership skills. “I have learned a lot from my mentors and the program and from other students [about] how to be [a] leader,” Dao says.

AALEAD has not only helped current AAPI participants, but also achieved an impact across generations of Asian Americans.

“We have multiple generations of AALEAD-ers. For example… we had [an] event at UMD earlier in the spring called Terrapinoy Day… and a bunch of former AALEADers showed up who now study at UMD [and] wanted to meet our youth [and] stay connected. It’s

Yu encourages those interested in getting involved in AALEAD to join the club by completing the form below. “I would highly recommend it, as it is very inclusive and you can learn a lot about Asian American history.”

To sign up for the 2022-2023 AALEAD MD Youth Program, scan the following QR code.

AALEAD allowed me to get in touch with a community that is ethnically more like me, [and] it allows everyone to share their experiences.

PHOTOS BY RAFFI CHARKOUDIAN-ROGERS

ON STAGE An open mic held at Busboys and Poets in Columbia, Maryland.

LUCIA WANG

Watergate journalist returns to Blair

A conversation with Carl Bernstein

By Della Baer and Sophie Yohannan Staff Writers

When Blair alumnus Carl Bernstein graduated from high school in 1961—against all odds—he never anticipated that he would one day help uncover one of the biggest political scandals in American history.

As a teenager, Bernstein was no stranger to truancy, dismal report cards, drag racing on Colesville Road, and even juvenile court. In his senior year at Blair, he was informed that his failing grade in chemistry would hold him back from graduating, but Blair’s principal at the time, eager to see Bernstein out, had his grade bumped up.

While Bernstein didn’t find passion in school, he did in his job as copyboy for daily D.C. newspaper

The Washington Star. With his unique proficiency in typing—and persistent phone calls to the Star’s production editor—16-year-old Bernstein found work running errands and helping with production for the paper. Upon his first visit to the Star, Bernstein found himself mesmerized by the air of urgency, purpose, and commotion in the newsroom. As he took in the clacking of typewriters, the shouting of reporters, and the rumbling of the presses, Bernstein knew he wanted to be a journalist.

The death and decline of local print newspapers, both dailies and weeklies—it’s a profound loss.

After graduating from Blair, Bernstein attended the University of Maryland but dropped out to pursue a full-time career in journalism. He worked as a staff writer for the Daily Journal of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and eventually joined The Washington Post in 1966. In the summer of 1972, 28-year-old Bernstein found himself, along with colleague Bob Woodward, writing a piece that began as a burglary story but unraveled into the infamous Watergate scandal. The investigation, which won Woodward, Bernstein, and the Post the Pulitzer Prize, followed the covert involvement of the Nixon administration in a break-in at the Democratic Na-

tional Committee headquarters at the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, D.C. The Post’s investigation contributed heavily to Nixon’s resignation in 1974.

Though prestigious awards, big-league journalism, and a full feature Watergate film are a far cry from his unruly high school days in suburban Silver Spring, Bernstein holds his time at Blair close to his heart and regards it as formative to his life and career. On March 30, Bernstein visited Blair for a discussion with journalism students on how journalism has changed over the decades and what it means to find and write about the truth. Bernstein also spoke of his own memories of Blair and the Silver Spring area. Afterward, Silver Chips journalists spoke with Bernstein backstage.

What do you remember about Silver Chips back in the day when you were on staff and what did you write about when you were writing?

I’m not sure I ever wrote a story for Silver Chips. I may have, I think I did, but I don’t remember what it was or what they were. I think in “Chasing History” I say I might have written three stories, but I was demoted and made the circulation and exchange manager because I didn’t produce and I wasn’t really around. [The] circulation and exchange manager was, well, one, responsible for getting the papers in the hallway, but also [Silver Chips] exchanged papers with the other schools in the county and so I had to do that. But I don’t think I did a lot of reporting for Silver Chips. I took a [journalism ]class in the tenth grade and I think I learned who, what, when, where, why, from that.

The Silver Spring Gazette closed in 2015, meaning that there is no local print paper in this area anymore. What is the importance of having a local print paper?

The death and decline of local print newspapers, both dailies and weeklies—it’s a profound loss. The newspapers have been the glue

through our history that have held cities and communities together as a basic source of information. [The loss] didn’t start with the internet; actually, it started as big chains of newspapers like Gannett came into cities all across the country, bought up locally owned newspapers… and turned [them] into advertising vehicles without any really good reporting for financial purposes… And then the internet made the final blows. It’s an irretrievable loss. How it’s going to be compensated for I don’t know—I’m not sure there is compensation I think everybody in this business ought to take a look at The Texas Tribune… they have come up with an economic model starting with philanthropy… I think the future for nonprofit journalism is a really bright one [and much of] the greatest investigative reporting going on in the world today is through non-profits. You young people ought to… get involved and start looking for people who might fund this thing.

What newspapers are you personally subscribed to, and are they online or in print?

I read very little in print—maybe once a week I’ll read the New York Times Sunday edition, and I think I want to go back to reading the print edition because I miss the enjoyment of it. But in terms of what I am [always] looking at [every] day I’m looking at The New York times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal.

You talked about how you barely graduated high school and didn’t graduate college, so what do you think is the value of real life experience versus education when it comes to being a successful journalist?

I don’t think there has to be a “versus.” They can be equally valuable. One thing that I’ve started saying in speeches is that I think that there’s absolutely a necessity for great news institutions, serious news institutions in this country, to start hiring dropouts and people without college degrees… If you read any number of publications, you can feel the absence of people

with, say, working class experience. It’s a horrible thing. I think that the charge of elitism often thrown around by the right wing in describing journalistic institutions has got some real merit. There’s an oversaturation in our newsrooms of people who are “highly educated,” particularly from the “elite” colleges. I think we need to change the makeup of our institutional look to reflect who we are as a people, and it hasn’t happened yet.

The consequences of printing false information have changed drastically in the past decade or so. How do you teach young journalists to value credibility in reporting?

Let’s look at the first part of your statement, that the consequences have changed. I would say if you went to Germany before World War II, I’m not sure the consequences have changed. When systems of information become corrupted by misinformation, disinformation, [and] propaganda, the kind of thing you’re describing can and does happen, so I don’t think there’s anything new about this. I’m not sure you can teach young journalists to value credibility—I think they’re going to come to it by their own intelligence, by an environment in which they live in, in exchange with their friends and families, by the process of living and evaluating. I’m not a big one on directing, ‘Journalists should know this, that, and the other thing.’

PHOTO BY MARGOT BUEHLER WATERGATE JOURNALIST CARL BERNSTEIN The Blair alum flips through an edition of Silver Chips.

CARL BERNSTEIN PHOTOS BY RAFFI CHARKOUDIAN-ROGERS

Out of the woods and into the spotlight Inside Blair’s spring musical

By Sachini Adikari and Cate Sauri Staff Writers

Backstage, adrenaline is pumping. The opening night of “Into the Woods”—Blair’s spring musical—has just come to an end. As members of the cast and crew walk through the art hallway doors, they are greeted with cheers from family and friends. After months of rehearsals and hard work, the students feel the excitement and triumph that comes from a successful night on stage.

The original musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine features several characters from the Brothers Grimm’s stories as they unite on an unexpected and magical journey through the enchanted forest. The Blair theater department last performed the production in 2013. Since then, separate casts, a Red Cast and a White Cast, have been established to allow more students the opportunity to participate in the show. Still, there are limited roles in the production, which led to the addition of cameos throughout the show, such as Robinhood and the Three Little Pigs, to create more opportunities for the ensemble.

Musical specifics

While the fall play took place in a smaller, more secluded space known as a black box, the production of “Into the Woods” performs for the entire auditorium. Freshman Lilia Lash, a Red Cast member who plays Milky White, a cow that is traded for five magic beans, explains how different production for the musical is from that of the play. “I would say the fall play was a more intimate kind of environment and there was more control vision for how specifically [the directors] wanted the show to go, but I feel with this show there’s a lot more of a ‘go for it’ kind of vibe,” she says. “There’s definitely a lot more responsibility and freedom.”

Many Blazers explained that they were able to make the characters their own. Senior Uziel Gonzalez, who plays the Wolf for the Red Cast, believes that the role is perfect for him. “The Wolf is a really good character for me. He’s a sweet wolf, but he’s sometimes [misunderstood],” he explains.

Rehearsals

Blazer thespians have been rehearsing for “Into the Woods” since February, a week after parts were revealed. Three days before opening night, members of the cast expressed how behind the show was. Neither cast had gotten through a full run-through and the sets were incomplete.

Senior Habib Kamara, who has been a part of Blair theater since his freshman year, explained that while they were a bit set back, both casts had put in a lot of time into perfecting the show for opening night. “We’ve put in a lot of extra work. We’ve been in rehearsal till like nine o’clock. We’re all tired… but we’re more than on track,” he says. “All the things we have to fix are tiny little bumps and bruises that happen with every single musical you do, but then again, the audience never knows what we have to fix.”

Even outside of scheduled rehearsal time, many cast members worked together to rehearse ahead of opening night. “A lot of the leads in my cast decided to stay for four or five hours and rehearse on our own,” junior Kieran Allen-Hadley, who performs in the White Cast as the Baker, says.

All the things we have to fix are tiny little bumps and bruises that happen with every single musical you do, but then again, the audience never knows what we have to fix.

Sophomore Navek Leonard, who plays Cinderella’s prince for the White Cast, believes that the show will go on no matter what. “In every show you’re in, it always feels like you’re about to be terribly behind, [but] it all comes together in the end,” Leonard says.

And come together it did. Even with towers unfinished and wigs untamed, everything went as planned—aside from one actor dropping another as he ran off

stage, which only made the scene more entertaining—and the show ended with a standing ovation from the audience.

Costume

The mastermind behind the show’s intricate wardrobe is none other than English teacher and Theater Director Kelly O’Connor herself. “Mrs. O’Connor just has some incredible costumes [sitting] in her garage. It’s shocking,” Leonard says. “Every show, she just says, ‘oh, I have a bin full of this very obscure thing’ that she randomly wants to use… She just has the entire closet of costumes indexed in her head.”

O’Connor explains that she has been making costumes for as long as she can remember, personally sewing up some of the costumes for “Into the Woods.” “I made… 80 percent of [the costumes],” she says. “The purple witch dress—that was me being bored and [in] lockdown. I was looking at this bolt of purple taffeta and I wanted to make something that’s not just masks.”

The pit

Beyond the cast and crew, there are 26 additional student talents who make up the pit orchestra, playing musical instruments to ac-

company actors.

Orchestra teacher and “Into the Woods” Music Director Katherine Smolen is new to Blair theater and was drawn to the production by her love for musicals. “When I came to Blair, I was very enthusiastic to be part of the show,” she says. “The opportunity presented [itself] to be the music director.”

Smolen previously worked on musical productions at a middle school and has been impressed by the maturity of the Blair students. “It’s really a joy to see high schoolers who have some genuine life experience [be] able to put that into the craft,” she says.

Smolen believes experiencing playing in a pit orchestra provides student musicians the opportunity to learn from and contribute to a complex live production. “It’s really rewarding for the pit to be able to feel like they’re musically contributing to something. There is not a show without music and we get to be that talent for them,” she explains.

Despite a seemingly effortless performance by the musicians, it is not an easy task to play alongside a live cast. “It’s definitely a challenge syncing up with actors, especially when you’re not watching the stage,” junior and double bass player Milo Simon says. “But we have our wonderful conductor Ms. Smolen and we watch her. I would trust her with my life in the pit.”

Theater’s lasting impact

Leonard explains that a bittersweet tradition for closing night is senior moments. “All the seniors are in a circle and they go around and say one of their favorite memories from all the shows they’ve been in,” he says. “That [tradition] is really sweet.”

Senior Skye Sibrian, who took on the role of Witch in the White Cast, became involved with theater at Blair in the sixth grade when her older sister, a freshman at the time, began acting. Although some prefer rehearsals or tech week—when lights, costume, and sound are incorporated into the production— Sibrian will miss auditions most.

“The adrenaline for auditions is like you’re so scared, but you’re excited about getting your role… It’s fun for me,” she says.

Sophomore John Ayala, who

plays Rapunzel’s prince for the Red Cast, explains that Blair theater has made him the person he is today and that there is space for anyone wanting to be involved. “Blair Theater has managed to make me feel more confident… People should do Blair Theater because it could help them get out of their shell and they might have hidden potential that [they] might not know about,” he says.

It’s really a joy to see high schoolers who have some genuine life experience [be] able to put that into the craft.

Blair Theater is not only a creative outlet, but also a pathway into new relationships for student participants like senior Habib Kamara. “I’ve met some of my closest friends through theater and I’ve gotten to meet so many friends and it’s even the reason I started wrestling, all the memories and all the people that I’ve met, I will forever cherish, even after high school,” he says.

Tragically, on closing night for the White cast, Carlos Castro-Gomez, the actor who plays Jack, lost his father. Please consider donating to Carlos and his family by scanning the QR code below.

PHOTOS BY ROSE KEPKA

INTO THE WOODS Students perfom a scene from Blair’s spring musical production of Into the Woods.

HABIB KAMARA

Photos by Fiona Bondarev and Rose Kepka

Time is running out for TikTok

By Talia Egnal Staff Writer AN OPINION

With 150 million American users, TikTok’s users make up nearly half of the US population. The popular app, however, has been singled out over other social media platforms with more users, worse data privacy concerns, and that pose more of a threat to national security. The only thing unique about TikTok is its Chinese ownership during a time when high China-U.S. tensions make the app an easy target for political points.

A new bill in Montana, if signed by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte, would make any downloads of the app illegal within the state’s boundaries. Violations would carry a fine of $10,000 for any app store that allows the download. The lawmakers in support of the bill cited concerns about data theft and Chinese surveillance—in 2017, the same year TikTok was released overseas, a Chinese law passed that requires companies in China to share data relevant to national security with the Chinese government. Since then, rumors have swirled that TikTok’s Chinese parent company, Bytedance, shares the personal data it collects, despite a dearth of evidence that any such data has been shared.

I feel like they’re using a TikTok ban… to mask general hate against China and further create the narrative of China as a threat to the U.S.

The Montana bill is only the latest in a series of anti-TikTok policies from all levels of government—federal, state, and local. Though it seems pretty

easy to work around right now by simply crossing state lines or even just downloading a VPN, a national ban could be more consequential. Congress has already passed a 2022 bill prohibiting the app on government-issued devices in the executive branch—thankfully, it spared the Congresspeople’s own TikTok accounts. 24 states have also banned the app from their government-issued computers.

Even more concerning is the language in a recent Senate bill proposed by Democratic Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, which would give the federal government the power to “identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, investigate, and mitigate transactions involving [information and communications technology] products and services in which any foreign adversary (such as China) has any interest.”

Interest is a very broad standard that could range from stock-holding to foreign offices, the powers granted to the federal government are extensive and invasive, and defining China, our largest international trading partner, as a foreign adversary seems inflammatory and unwise. As The Washington Post opinion writer Fareed Zakaria put it, the bill is a “frightening, Orwellian law.” The American Civil Liberties Union condemned the recent moves to ban the app due to “profound implications for our constitutional right to free speech,” as stated in a press release on March 7.

Blair freshman Lilia Lash

silverpatrons

Diamond

believes that these rumors are based more on current U.S.-China relations than fact.

“I feel like they’re using a TikTok ban… to mask general hate against China and further create the narrative of China as a threat to the U.S.,” Lash said. “TikTok is not gonna give [the Chinese government] anything they don’t already have or that they couldn’t already access, so really it’s just restricting young people’s freedom of speech.”

ing some Chinese ones, since 2011—six years before TikTok was even released. A study by PCloud, a cloud storage firm, also found that Instagram collected 79 percent of its users’ personal data, which it sells to the highest bidder, oftentimes in China. Though invasive data collection is a cause for concern, U.S. users’ data has been handed to Chinese companies for decades. Why should TikTok be singled out from the rest? The same is also true of the issue of national security. Facebook was instrumental in organizing the Jan. 6 insurrection—internal documents found misinformation reports rising to 40,000 an hour on the day of the insurrection from an average of 10,000 a day, marking an actual, tangible threat to national security.

4chan, another social media platform that is known for hateful servers and forums, has faced no congressional hearings. Instagram and Snapchat have been proven to be devastating for teenagers’ mental health.

rather than American, billionaires. The ownership and management of the company was brought to national scrutiny during the Congressional hearings with the CEO of TikTok,

Tiktok allows so many people to share their opinions and express themselves… I think there’s a lot of positive things to view [on the app].

As there is no evidence TikTok has ever shared its data with the Chinese government, the only concerns are based around conjecture that it could in the future. Collecting users’ data is not unique to TikTok, however, and neither is storing such information in China. In 2018, The New York Times reported that Facebook had been selling its users’ data to over 150 different companies, includ-

TikTok is no more of a source of hate, misinformation, and poor body-image than the rest of the major social media companies. On the contrary, junior Anna Lopez finds TikTok to be a largely gainful experience. “Tiktok allows so many people to share their opinions and express themselves… I think there’s a lot of positive things to view [on the app],” Lopez said.

The only aspect that sets TikTok apart from the crowd is that its owners are Chinese,

Shou Zi Chew. During Chew’s trial, and despite his Singaporean heritage, Congresspeople grilled him on any connections to China: he was asked if the company handed over data to the Chinese government (“We have not been asked for such data… nor would we [provide it] if asked.”), if Bytedance spied on American citizens (“No.”), and if TikTok can connect to a home wifi system (“Only if the user turns on the wifi.”). His so-called “evasive” answers to the oftentimes inane questioning prompted a viral response on social media platforms, one that somewhat overshadowed the new updates that Chew was trying to testify about: Project Texas.

The $1.5 billion operation would move all U.S. users’ data to American servers operated by Oracle, an American company based in Austin, Texas. TikTok has already moved most of their users’ data to domestic servers in response to the unjustly intense scrutiny from Congress—a precaution no other social media company has had to take.

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Mr. Eric W. and Dr. Jamie S. Padmore

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Blazers foray into fashion

“A lot of my students are really into the idea of fashion [and] looking at fashion, but they have no idea how to make or draw, so they’re coming to discover that side,” Sarah Breeden, who has been teaching the class for five years, says.

Students start the year by learning seven different types of stitches for hand sewing. They then learn how to print designs on fabric, as well as how to make patterns, draw figures, upcycle, mood board, sew with a sewing machine, and create their own fashion company.

“I remind [students] that there’s so many different parts to the fash ion industry. They could be designing the patterns online… or they could be phys ically printing on fabric. There’s pattern makers, who physically make pat terns for garments, and then they’re sent to the seamstresses who put it all together,” Breeden says. “And then [there are] peo ple who are interested in helping people dress, or the social media aspect… [students] don’t have to be good at all of them. They can just pick one.”

One student in the Fashion Illustration class is senior Melody Mathews, who has been sewing since she was around 9 years old. Fashion design and sewing have always been meaningful to her queer identity.

Mathews is considering pursuing historical costume design, as her work, including the prom dress she designed and sewed for herself this year, is largely inspired by historical clothing.

“I really love theater, and I really love the over-the-top-ness huge fan of historical fashion,” she says. “So I would love to do costume design for period dramas. I really love 1870’s [fashion], but I’m [also] a big fan of rococo [fashion].”

Sewing can not only have personal significance; it can also be useful for improving mental health and focus. Sarah Forman, a teacher at Blair, spends her free time upcycling curtains, tablecloths, and other fabrics to make new outfits. Sewing has been beneficial to her mental health.

“I have ADHD and usually have three or four different thoughts [at once] and many things going on,” she says. “But when I’m sewing, there’s something about it that’s very meditative and mindful. All of that noise goes away and I don’t even need to listen to music,” she says. Forman has also found a welcoming sewing community on the internet and connected with people all over the world.

products online, creating a source of income for the incarcerated.

Despite its rich history and welcoming community, some men still feel stigmatized for enjoying the craft. Clive Bruder founded the Boys Sew Too movement on social media in order to encourage other men to pick up stitching and to put aside the myth that sewing is a feminine craft.

Breeden also makes an effort in her class to promote inclusivity by emphasizing the importance of sewing for many different body types. “This year [I] made sure we always had male model bodies to work from… [I] also demonstrated how to draw both [body types] on [their] own, so [the students] could choose,” she says. “I’ve also made sure to subscribe to Esquire [magazine] so we have more male figures… and then I do want to add magazines that have more male-identifying figures. So, [I’m] trying to bring it all in.”

The practical effects of sewing skills become clear when people begin designing and making their own clothing. Blair senior Sylvia Vallina began taking sewing seriously in June 2022 in order to create a cosplay outfit for an event. Since then, she has created her own Halloween costume, modified clothes, and, like Mathews, sewn her own dress for prom.

“My style is a little weird—I was like ‘what if I get a pattern from 1950?’ And then I did,” Vallina says. “I just don’t like the [modern] style of solid color blocks of [fabric because they] could be so much more interesting.”

By Eliana Finberg Culture Editor

In a comprehensive online document, Pen America, an organization that works to defend the freedom of expression through the advancement of literature, compiled every book that was banned in each school district across the United States over the course of the 2021–2022 school year. There were 2,532 entries.

The state with the most bans was Texas, with over 800 entries spanning across 22 counties. Other states with a high number of entries include Pennsylvania with over 450 and Florida with over 550. Some of the entries were pending bans, and the rest were banned in libraries, classrooms, or both. After looking at the list, I perused Blair’s library catalog and checked out some books.

The first is “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood. The novel, which many consider a modern classic, follows Offred as she details her life living as a handmaid in the dystopian Republic of Gilead, where she is expected to be a surrogate for the household she is assigned. As many women are no longer able to become pregnant in this futuristic world, Gilead’s theocratic government strips fertile women of their identities, their ability to read, and the children they had had before the regime started for the purpose of state-sanctioned forced reproduction.

COOKE

as, Georgia, and Idaho for various reasons, including profanity, overly sexual tones, and the inclusion of LGBTQ protagonists. And though Atwood says in the 2017 foreword of her book that it isn’t intended to be anti-Christian, several school districts have cited that as reason for taking the book off their shelves. The irony in censoring a book warning against censorship is, of course, quite strong.

Banning books prevents students from learning these messages when it’s more important now than ever that they’re heard.

Written by Sherman Alexie, a Spokane-Coeur d’Alene-Native American novelist, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” is an autobiography of his childhood and struggles with grief, alcoholism, and racism. It’s been banned a total of 14 times: six in districts in Florida, and 10 other times across eight states, mainly for its use of profanity, sexual references, and being “anti-Christian.”

“Ever since I was little, I would draw the clothes that I wished that I could wear or the girls that I wished I could be and live vicariously through my drawings. Being able to create feminine clothing that fits my body and is made for me has been really great,” she says. “I’ve [also] always felt like I might not love myself, or how I look, or my body, but I can always say that I love what I’m wearing, and that gives me that boost of confidence.”

Similarly, sewing helped disabled veterans cope with PTSD and trauma in the wake of World War I. The Disabled Soldiers’ Embroidery Industry was founded in 1917 for disabled veterans to come together, share experiences, and sew. It helped break down some of the stigmas surrounding men sewing and ran until 1955.

Today, sewing continues to bring a fresh start in life for some people. Fine Cell Work is a U.K. rehabilitation program that provides work opportunities to prisoners in order to provide an opportunity for a fresh start. It trains them in crafts such as sewing and embroidery and then sells their

For her prom dress, she found a pattern online, researched fabrics, put together the pattern, and made a mock-up—a practice round where the fitting is tested. She then cut out the pieces and added in extra darts—places where the fabric is brought in to be more form-fitting. Finally, she sewed all the pieces together.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the popularity of handcrafts rose due to the prolonged period of isolation, and as quarantine falls further and further from memory, crafts like sewing may fall with it. But for now, Blair’s stitchers remain, and the fashion illustration class continues to grow.

The irony in censoring a book warning against censorship is, of course, quite strong.

Though it was published in 1985, Atwood’s book remains painfully relevant today. In a piece for The Atlantic, Atwood writes, “My novel is also an exploration of the theoretical question ‘What kind of a totalitarianism might the United States become?’ I suggest we’re beginning to see the real-life answer to that query.” The book oozes with warnings of impending dystopia in the United States, with directions for exactly how this society starts. As the Offred describes in vivid detail, outlawing abortions, burning books, and using religious teachings as explanations for government laws are the first signs.

The book has been banned in school counties in Virginia, Tex-

Though the book does include consistent profanity, the author’s raw descriptions of how a high school student copes with the world around him include important lessons about maintaining friendships, overcoming grief, and being the odd one out in a new environment.

Other notable banned books worth reading are “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”, “The Kite Runner,” “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” and “Looking for Alaska,” among many others.

Each author writes their work with intention and a message to their readers about the world around them, and censoring what they have to say simply because it doesn’t align with certain values is outrageous. Banning books prevents students from learning these messages when it’s more important now than ever that they’re heard.

ELIZA

COURTESY OF SYLVIA VALLINA

SOPHIA LI

By Sedise Tiruneh Culture Columnist

From the snow-capped mountains of Kyoto to the steam-filled room of tea houses across the world, groups of friends and families gather around piping cups of matcha. The viridescent drink has captured the hearts and palettes of tea-fans across Japan and the world. Reaching across continents and cultures, the drink has reached a cult-like audience and taken on new forms and popularity.

Matcha is produced by harvesting and drying the leaves of the camellia sinensis plant, before pulverizing them into a fine powder. Though the history of the tea originates in the Tang Dynasty in seventh century China, the exchange of goods brought the drink across the Sea of Japan. It gained popularity with Japanese Buddhists and quickly became a part of meditation rituals for the Zen state it induced in consumers.

This calm alertness, known now to be the product of the drink’s powerful combination of caffeine and L-theanine, made matcha popu-

COURTESY OF KATALINALI

lar among Buddhist monks and, more recently, 21st century teens and millennials.

The conventional preparation of matcha begins with the emulsification of a teaspoon of the powder in hot water. By using a traditional chashaku—a bamboo measuring spoon—while whisking the mixture with a chasen—a bamboo whisk— consumers can remain faithful to the ceremonial style of concocting the drink. Matcha is split into two main categories—ceremonial-grade and culinary-grade. Ceremonial-grade matcha is the highest quality grade and is known for its early harvest and richer flavors and colors. As a result, it is also typically more expensive, leading many to opt for culinary-grade matcha, which is more versatile and mild. In both of these forms, the earthy and nutty flavors of matcha shine through.

As the preparation and consumption of matcha becomes more modernized and mainstream, the variety of matcha-inspired treats continues to expand, with local dessert shops like Kyoto Matcha pioneering this inter-

section of traditional ingredients and innovative presentation. After opening their flagship location in Rockville in 2019, the chain has since grown to several other stores around the Montgomery County area.

True to its name, Kyoto Matcha offers a menu full of matcha drinks, desserts and snacks made with both high-grade ceremonial matcha. Beyond just the purest form of the matcha drink, it also offers the increasingly popular matcha latte. This combination of the vegetal and rich nuttinees with the smooth creaminess of milk creates a lightly sweet and flavorful concoction that is growing in popularity in coffee shops across the U.S. In a more complex combination, the matcha lemonade opts instead for the acidic flavors of sweet lemon juice. The melange of these two complimentary beverages creates a refreshing and tangy summer treat. Beyond just a collection of matcha-themed drinks, Kyoto Matcha also offers a wide variety of desserts and

pastries, one of the most wellknown being the Matcha Crepe Layer Cake, a green tea-inspired version of the French mille crêpe or “thousand layers” cake. This light confection, traditionally served cold, consists of thin layers of matcha-flavored crepe suffused with a whipped matcha frosting that creates a tantalizing, but fresh dessert. Another adaptation of a traditional pastry is the matcha tiramisu. Rather than soaking the classic ladyfingers base in espresso, the cakey biscuits are dipped in a sweet matcha concoction and layered with an airy matcha mascarpone cream. Completing this feat of Japanese and Italian confectionary fusion, the traditional cocoa powder topping is replaced with a generous dusting of ceremonial-grade matcha powder.

Kyoto does so much more than just adapt classic desserts—it also consistently experiments with new creative takes on matcha. A glowing example of this is the Matcha Milk Cap Cake. Despite being called a “cake,” this confection breaks many conventions, offering a mildly savory and spongy matcha-flavored cake. Adorning this treat is a thin icing and a sweet paste made from azuki red beans. This unique dessert, along with the rest of Kyoto’s prolific menu, has exploded matcha’s popularity and mainstream presence.

Though offering consumers many health benefits and creative treats, the explosion of matcha’s popularity in the Western palate is tethered to an unfortunate history of cultural appropriation and gentrification. Despite the original function of matcha as part of Japanese tea ceremonies, its presence in American culture has suffered the all-too-well known consequences of translating trends: aftereffects of cultural appropriation that alter

foreign cuisines to be more “approachable” to a Westernized appetite. One example of this trend is “latte mix” matcha powder—an overly sweetened and diluted version of the green tea drink that degrades the quality of matcha. The preparation of the drink has also been more streamlined with the use of blenders and shakers. Increasingly, this new style of matcha’s consumption strays from the intent and flavors of the original. Consumers can mitigate the risk of culinary gentrification by taking steps to educate themselves on the traditional role of matcha in Japanese society. As conversations about cultural reverence emerge in the American consciousness, the goal of enjoying and consuming matcha comes with the responsibility of respect.

Chips Clips

A-Maze-ing Line

Scan the QR codes to see solutions to the Cryptic Crossword, Word Search, and Sudoku Puzzles.

Cryptic

Crosswords

Me

Cryptic Crosswords

Word Searches

And I

ELINA LEE

Scan the QR code to learn what a cryptic crossword is and tips and tricks for solving them.

ACROSS

1 Clothing retail education stared

4 Confused alien puzzlewriter

5 Seeking attention within trainee dynamics

DOWN

1 A sin diminishes to negligible envy

2 A sin first puts regret in drab existence

3 Journal flips second and third lactose

Myself

ACROSS

1 Life fluid outside Blazer mood

4 Flavor of jumbled epics

5 Rotate sleek garlics

DOWN

1 To free around a final hopeless herb

2 Topping hides the fool I ventured becoming

3 Doctor earth and space sciences a gown

Contact Puzzle Editor Elina Lee at puzzleelina@gmail.com with the subject “Chips Clips May” with questions, comments, concerns, or any other feedback.

Jigsaw Sudoku

In each column, each of the digits 1–9 appear once. In each row, each of the digits 1–9 appear once. In each bolded, outlined region, each of the digits 1–9 appear once.

ELINA LEE

ELINA LEE

Stars of the pool, track, and mat

Three Blair athletes earn winter All-Met honors

By Amen Lemiesa and Caleb Plank Staff Writers

At the conclusion of every high school sports season, The Washington Post awards the All-Met distinction to the top athletes in their respective sports. Athletes earn the honor of a selection to either the first team, second team, or honorable mention to recognize their outstanding performance during the season. This school year, The Post awarded three Blazers All-Met recognition.

Misha Kojanov

For sophomore Misha Kojanov, what started as a pastime around the pool became a 15-hour-a-week commitment. Splitting his time between the Blair Swim and Dive Team and the Nation’s Capital Swim Club, Kojanav has dedicated himself to competitive swimming. This hard work has paid off—in just his second year of high school swimming, The Washington Post named Kojanov as an honorable mention for the 2022–2023 Winter All-Met boys’ swimming team.

Although this honor was not on Kojanov’s radar going into the season, he feels a sense of accomplishment from receiving the recognition for his performance. “At first I had no idea what [the All-Met

distinction] was. Then I read about it and I realized that it’s pretty cool, especially seeing what other swimmers were [honored] in the same category as me,” Kojanov says.

To compete at his current skill level, Kojanov is constantly working to adjust his stroke and improve every aspect of his swimming.

“Even though most of [my] practice is doing yards and repetitive moves, [and] building endurance to be able to do more in a short amount of time, a lot of it is more the small things, little techniques for me specifically,” Kojanov explains.

The work and the time commitment Kojanov gives to swimming does not come without its fair share of challenges. His rigorous schedule of practice and school can sometimes be difficult to balance. During Blair Swim and Dive season in the winter, he adds one 5 a.m. practice to his already packed schedule.

An All-Met honorable mention is just the start for Kojanov—he has his sights set on winning states and other championship meets. “[Winning metros], that would be fun, and it would be hard, but that’s something I do want,” Kojanov said.

As he looks forward to his junior season Kojanov knows that the work to reach his goals starts now. “My biggest area of improvement is [always in] the summer… I’ll go into [next season] more physically

and mentally ready.”

Micah McKenzie

Senior Micah McKenzie has grown up around the sport of track due to his father’s position as a track coach at Georgetown University. This past season, McKenzie earned a captain role on the Blair Track & Field team as well as an honorable mention on The Washington Post 2022-23 Winter AllMet team for boys’ indoor track.

Entering his senior winter indoor track season, McKenzie was coming back from an injury that sidelined him last year, leading him to place his health as his number one priority.

Even so, McKenzie exceeded all of his own expectations for the season. “I went [on] to win everything I competed in—it was actually a historic season. I couldn’t have seen it coming. I got the All-Met honorable mention as well. I don’t think I’ve heard of any of my former teammates [getting one]… I didn’t [even] know [it] existed,” McKenzie says. “It was new to me and it was very appreciated.”

McKenzie is using his successful season to grow and better himself as a runner. “[The season] taught me that nerves are nothing really.

It’s just a little feeling you get before a race or competition or practice, and it goes away as soon as you get in your element,” McKenzie says.

“I think focus was one of the big

points of indoor track that made me run and perform as well as I could.”

As McKenzie looks to start college in the fall, he plans to continue running at Georgetown University. Despite his extensive resume of success in the sport, he feels as though his career is just getting started. “[I want to] keep running well, and stay[ing] healthy.” McKenzie explains. “[I’ve only reached the] tip of the iceberg right now— college is really where it opens up for me.”

Nelson Manzoeto

After just three years of competition, senior Nelson Manzoeto has racked up a decorated list of awards and honors in wrestling and earned a spot as an honorable mention on The Washington Post’s 2022-23 Winter All-Met teams for boys’ wrestling.

Though only having heard about the All-Met awards a few weeks ago, Manzoeto was pleasantly surprised by the honorable mention after a hard-fought season which included the MCPS County Champion, Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) 3A/4A North Region Champion, and MPSSAA 3A/4A State Finalist titles. Manzoeto also hit significant milestones this past season, such as earning his 100th career victory, making

him the fourth wrestler in all of Blair’s history to do so, scoring the most falls or two-shoulder pins in MCPS, and concluding the season with an MCPS MVP award.

Both the Blair team’s and Manzoeto’s success were due in part to the rigorous winter wrestling season schedule, which consisted of daily practices lasting from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. The pre-season workouts included strength training on Mondays, followed by drills, sparring on the mats for the rest of the week, as well as occasional weekend practices, totaling about 14 hours a week on top of frequent matches.

The long hours spent on exercises such as sparring and lifting resulted in minor injuries that caused the primary challenge for Manzoeto this season, thus making coming back quickly from such injuries, namely common sprains and bruises, a goal for future years. “I think that my recovery time [from injuries] is something I need to work on,” Manzoeto says. “I need to be ready.”

With the school year wrapping up for Manzoeto, he plans to continue wrestling in college as a Division 1 athlete at Morgan State University, citing his passion for the sport. “I really just enjoy wrestling and want to continue [to wrestle] next year.”

NCAA Women’s March Madness furthers gender equality movement

By Sela Colavito Staff Writer AN OPINION

The annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) March Madness tournament showcases the best men’s and women’s basketball and creates memorable highlights on the sport’s biggest stage. This year, despite massive upsets rocking the men’s bracket, the women’s tournament stole the show. The women’s final, played between Iowa Hawkeyes and Louisiana State University Tigers, averaged 9.92 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most watched women’s college basketball game in history. The viewership was over double of the 2021 final’s 4 million average viewers, reflecting the dramatic increase in attention toward women’s teams not only in basketball, but across professional athletics.

During this year’s Women’s March Madness, Caitlin Clark, a 21-year-old point guard for the Iowa Hawkeyes played a major role in the sudden spike in view-

ership and interest in women’s basketball. Her explosive performances in the Elite Eight and Final Four, the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the tournament, respectively, saw her score 41 points in both games, drawing the attention of many mass media sports companies and fans worldwide.

Clark garnered the attention of a prodigy and an impressive list of awards, including the Wooden Award and the 2023 U.S. Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year. As one of the best players in college basketball, she has drawn more viewers to the women’s games, showing fans that female players can be just as skilled and exciting to watch as men.

Much of the importance in increasing fan viewership lies in the income that teams bring home from televising rights. According to the Mercury News, men’s college basketball has a monetary system set up with a Basketball Performance Fund (BPF) that sees schools receive substantial payouts from their contracts with broadcasting networks, regardless of their performance. At the 2021 Pac-12

tournament, men’s teams collected over $38 million in total, while the women’s teams were paid nothing. BPF has never been implemented for women’s teams, even though it would be incredibly financially beneficial. A report from the NCAA estimated that the Pac-12 women’s tournament will be worth between “$81 and $112 million annually beginning in 2025,” which is well over double the $34 million contract the NCAA currently has with women’s college basketball. Viewership numbers are up, sponsorships and ad inventory are selling out, and women’s college basketball is becoming high-demand. If the same BPF system was utilized in the next women’s Pac-12 tournament, women’s teams would draw in millions. However, it’s not just basketball. Over the past few years, women’s teams in many other sports have finally been seeing higher viewership, and with it a surge in monetary valuation and investments. In 2022, the U.S. Women’s Open Golf Championship announced that it would raise its prize pool to $10 million, which is almost double

of that of the previous year. The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and television network CBS Sports also made an agreement to raise minimum salaries by 216 percent after the 2021 NWSL title game broadcasted on CBS brought in a 216 percent increase in viewership over the same game in 2019.

team was playing on every screen.

Perhaps the most drastic and well-known leap in gender equality was achieved by the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. During the 2019 women’s FIFA World Cup, over one billion total viewers tuned in, and it seemed like the women’s

In February 2022, the U.S. Women’s National Team reached an agreement with the U.S. Soccer’s Board of Directors that included equal pay with the men’s team and a $24 million payout to the women’s team players. These advancements are not coincidences. Many powerhouse sports in the U.S. are beginning to close the gap in resources, salary, and respect between their mens’ and womens’ teams. Women’s teams have been putting in hours of practice and displaying their skills to crowds disrespectfully disproportionate to those of men’s leagues, and fans are finally beginning to notice. University of Maryland Assistant Director of Marketing Strategy & Fan Experience Tori Gray sees this as a sign of a cultural shift. “I definitely think we’re in the era where women’s sports are beginning to see more TV time, more viewership numbers in person and on streaming services,” she says. “We continue to generate that fan interest at younger ages, and people begin to become lifelong fans of that sport.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF MICAH MCKENZIE

PHOTO COURTESY OF MISHA KOJANOV

PHOTO COURTESY OF NELSON MANZOETO

I definitely think we’re in the era where women’s sports are beginning to see more TV time, more viewership numbers in person and on streaming services.

other side—a set of stairs leading to a career-ending crash.

The task for the first night was simple: balance on the band for one minute.

I started by learning to walk the line. While it could stretch up to 60 feet, I only had room on my walkway for seven. I put two chairs next to me for support and started to gap the bridge. My first challenge took some trials to complete, but was soon behind me.

Next, I set a timer and began to balance, aiming to stand for a single minute. Five seconds. Dang. This could be a long night (that’s foreshadowing, folks). 15. Nice!

Two. Two. Nine. 30! Three. Four. Five. Four. Two. Ugh. I was starting to feel like a broken record. For every instance resembling success there were five instances of failure. The line would constantly wobble under my feet, throw me off-balance, and I’d be flailing my arms like a drunk bird within seconds. After an hour and nearly 70 attempts, I gave the post supporting the slackline a knuckle sandwich and stormed inside.

I sat down and took a breather (every good slacker needs a break). Even while sitting, my feet would wiggle as if they were fighting for safe ground. Feet, get a grip, I thought (no, I didn’t. That clever remark was added in post). After a little while, I climbed back up onto the slackline, started the timer, and lasted one second. Dagnabit! Okay. I’ll give it another go. Three seconds. Holy cow. 33. Oh, wow! I could get used to that!

And it turns out I did, because the next one was 33 as well. I still had my errors—I lasted five seconds on the next attempt—but being refreshed gave me newfound focus. I lasted an average of 7.67 seconds longer after the break. That might not seem significant, but it most definitely was. I was hitting at least 20 seconds more often than not. I even reached 47 at one point.

Then, I got an audience. My brother opened the front door after my hundredth attempt, saw the pain in my eyes, and chuckled at me. I’ll show him, I, again, didn’t think. I got up on the slackline with all the dignity I could muster and lasted a whopping 62 seconds. For those who aren’t math-inclined, that’s more than a minute!

The line would constantly wobble under my feet, throw me off-balance, and I’d be flailing my arms like a drunk bird within seconds.

My balance officially mastered, I could put on my big-showman pants and get to the real deal—the show-stopping, mind-whopping, body-hopping stuff.

For the show’s main act, I’d be venturing to cross a nearly 30foot gap. I assumed it would be

quite the breeze, considering how quickly I nailed the six-foot one. Maybe half an hour at most, I thought. Too bad I’m a tightrope walker/showman, and not a fortune teller.

This time, the line was shakier than before, because it had to span a much longer distance. I hooked it across two trees, one of which had a branch I could hold onto to get my balance. The branch was in an awkward position that made me turn my body rightward from the get-go. This made it harder to properly balance throughout the majority of my attempts, but I only discovered this fact much later.

In the beginning, I could barely get the six feet I’d done before.

doing that again. Completely disregarding my body’s complaints, I got back up and started once more.

40 minutes after the fall and with no further accomplishments other than kicking and cursing out the line on particularly close attempts, my phone died. Without my flashlight, I became enveloped in the darkness I had been feeling for a long time.

Attempt after attempt all ended the same way. Whether I made it a quarter or half the distance, I’d be thrown off.

The problem was, I hadn’t been doing the challenge for the joy of the finish line for a while. I was doing it to give myself permission to quit. But that’s pretty dumb. While there’s absolutely merit in sticking with something one dislikes until overcoming it, there’s also merit in quitting when something loses its joy. I couldn’t come up with any compelling justification to continue and was elated to announce my retirement from slacklining. I was nearly ready to take my participation tro -

By John Ernst Sports Editor

On humid summer nights at Blair, the usually busy parking lot and school will be relatively empty, but just down past the courtyard and turf field, the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts are playing under the lights of the baseball stadium. The Thunderbolts, or T-Bolts as they are more commonly known, are a staple in the local community, allowing fans access to baseball just a short drive away. The T-Bolts participate in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (CRCBL), a summer wood-bat league that has eight teams located across the DMV that field players from all over the country and world.

Players mostly come from NCAA-affiliated schools, but occasionally junior college (JUCO) and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) athletes also compete. The T-Bolts mostly recruit players from the Mid-Atlantic, with many coming from Maryland and Pennsylvania, who play D1 baseball, along with a few D2 and D3 players as well. The team has also recruited talent from East Asian countries such as Taiwan and South Korea before.

2016 T-Bolt Kuan-Wei Chen went on to play in the Taiwanese professional league and competed for Taiwan, formally known as Chinese Taipei, in the World Baseball Classic in 2023. Last season, the T-Bolts fielded Taegeuk Kim, a righty who hails from South Korea.

The CRCBL is one of many wood-bat summer leagues across the U.S. and is considered among the best along with the Cape Cod League and Northwoods League.

SOPHIA LI

Many players are motivated by their coaches to play and build experience with wooden bats before aiming for an MLB draft. Some of the top alums from the CRCBL include the Ty France (Seattle Mariners), Hunter Renfroe (Los Angeles Angels), and Brandon Lowe (Tampa Bay Rays).

During the season, some of the more historic teams in the league like the T-Bolts and their rival Bethesda Big Train host week-long summer camps for youth baseball players in the area. Recruiting players to act as counselors, the camps play a crucial role in youth engagement at the ballpark. The T-Bolts have also developed partnerships with local restaurants and businesses to sponsor the team, furthering their community involvement.

By the time I had mastered that distance, nightfall was upon me. I took out my phone, which was already low on battery, and used its flashlight to guide me along the line.

Attempt after attempt all ended the same way. Whether I made it a quarter or half the distance, I’d be thrown off.

Had slacklining been remotely enjoyable, I wouldn’t have minded the endless failure nearly as much. But the fact of the matter was that slacklining just sucked. Whenever the line quivered, I would get this primal fear of falling to my death or an earthquake or something. Whenever I landed, I would have to restart the challenge all over again.

Speaking of falling, on one go I tripped when one foot hit the other halfway along the line. I hit the ground on my shoulder and collar bone and heard a faint crack, as if my body was warning me against

phy and go home. There was just one more thing I had to do. To get photos for this story, I needed to give the sport a few minutes more of my attention. I went out—in daylight, this time— and prepared for a few more minutes of agony. I hopped on the band and realized something— slacklining was much easier in the sun. After fifteen minutes, I crossed the stupid gap. Not only that, but the sport was a lot more fun this time—not “enjoyable,” per se, but definitely less excruciating. Because I was already comfortable with quitting, the lack of pressure to get to the end made it a lot easier to actually do so. My head was clearer, and even though I still didn’t like falling repeatedly, the mistakes weren’t preventing me from getting my goal—last time it was to finish, this time it was just to try. So if you ever want to walk across a tight band two feet above the ground, consider lowering your expectations.

With the hometown Nationals struggling this year, exciting baseball featuring the game’s next stars is right down the road. The T-Bolts play at Blair two to four times a week during the months of June and July. As they finish compiling their roster, they’ll debut their 2023 team on June 4 against the Big Train. Hot dogs, lemonade, and summer ball. What could be better than that?

Silver Chips Sports

2016 T-Bolt Kuan-Wei Chen went on to play in the Taiwanese professional league and competed for Taiwan, formally known as Chinese Taipei, in the World Baseball Classic in 2023.

WOODSIDE FOREST Zach attempts to cross his slackline while maintaining balance.

COURTESY OF AMY WILLIAMSON

By Julia Lian and Dyan Nguyen Staff Writers

Baseball (10-8)

The baseball team started the season with a bang, beating Bethesda-Chevy Chase Barons, 13-5. They went on to defeat top teams such as the Thomas S. Wootton Patriots and recently walked off the Richard Montgomery Rockets with help from a combined no-hitter. The baseball team concluded their regular season with a record of 10-8. The team’s cohesiveness is a key aspect of their success. “We all connect really well. We know everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, so we’re able to help each other out in any which way possible,” junior captain Logan Stillerman says. “I would say we’re very close. We try to plan team outings every once in a while, like after games we’ll go get food as a team whether we win or lose.”

Softball (11-7)

The softball team slid into the season with an almost entirely new roster that included a large number of underclassmen. The young team had tough losses against Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Clarksburg, starting off the season 0-2. Despite the difficult defeats, the team turned the season around, beating Thomas S. Wootton 6-5 and finished their regular season 11-7. “It was a really good team win because we came back [from a big deficit]. That’s what started our energy,” senior captain Lydia Noyes says. Since the beginning of the season, they have built a closer bond and strengthened their chemistry. “We had to really work to get to know each other first and I think we’ve done a really good job of that. We meshed really well. We started the year 0-2, so we had to learn from our mistakes quickly and we bounced back,” Noyes says.

Co-ed Softball (7-0)

The co-ed softball team struggled to fill their rosters during the start of the season, but were able to create a successful season with an undefeated record of 3-0. Junior and co-ed softball player of three years Jessica Dao explains that their initial struggle to fill their roster was due to the graduation of many previous players.

“I think this year we have a lot of fresh blood because a lot of our old players graduated,” she says. “We didn’t have a team for the first week and we were supposed to have rosters in the first week… but [in the end] we still got enough players to join the team.” The team finished the season undefeated with a 7-0 record after defeating Sherwood in the division 1 championship game.

Boys’ Lacrosse (6-6)

The boys’ lacrosse team defeated Northwood 18-5 in the first game of the season, followed by a tough loss against rival Sherwood.

“I definitely think Northwood [was a good game]... We started off really good. [We lost to] Sherwood, but I think we still played really well,” senior captain Boston Stofa remarks. Learning to work with their new coach was also a challenge for the team at the beginning of the season. “We have a new coach and so we’re sorting things out, but it’s definitely been a fun year,” Stofa says. “We’re [also] a young team this year. We don’t have a lot of seniors and so I think we’re still learning.” The boys’ lacrosse team closed out their season 6-6.

Girls’ Lacrosse (10-2)

Girls’ lacrosse scooped the season off with a 13-4 win against

Spring sports roundup

Northwood. This win was especially rewarding to the team because they had lost by one goal the previous year. “This year we came out with a lot of energy wanting to win, and we started off rocky, but after the first 10 or 15 minutes we really played our best,” senior captain Ella Wenger says. Despite having a large number of new players, the team’s chemistry

by a disheartening but close loss against Bethesda-Chevy Chase.

“We played our hardest, and [BCC] is a top three team. We came so close to tying them every single set of the game. That shows our determination for this sport and how much better we’ve gotten,” junior captain Khely Amenti says. The co-ed team was hit with three tough games right at the start of the sea-

a 5-0 record after winning a tight fiveset match against Wheaton, whom they lost to in five sets the year before. Junior captain Michael Wang believes the increased motivation and efforts of the team leading up to the game helped tip the outcome in Blair’s favor. “I think everyone really wanted to win that game,” he says.

“I remember the practice before, we were getting a little bit worried, strug-

more fun,” senior captain Rachael Young says. Each year, the gymnastics team continues to expand, and Young encourages more people to join. “I wish gymnastics was a more prevalent sport. Everyone can do it, and it’s a great way of exercising. We have a lot of girls who play fall sports, and they come hang [out] and work out,” Young says.

Girls’ Track

Girls’ track showcased their hard work and skills at the Trojan Invitationals at Gaithersburg on Apr. 22. “The girls performed the best they have this season in the Trojan meet. We got points in almost every event we competed in,” junior captain Mireya King says. The team earned three top ten finishes with senior Alexa Avila finishing first in the 3200-meter event and ninth in the 1600-meter event and sophomore Zawadi Spadacini placing fifth in the 100-meter dash final. The Blazers also found success on the field, with King placing second in the long jump and fourth in the high jump and sophomore Abigail Faith Mokosso also placing fourth in the long jump. The team hopes to end the season on a high note at state, regional, and national meets coming up in late May and June.

Boys’ Track

For the first time in program history, the boys’ track team qualified to run at the Penn Relays, one of the biggest national meets of the season hosted at the University of Pennsylvania. Penn Relays is the oldest and largest annual track and field competition in the United States. “It was really busy, but an amazing experience. It was unlike [anything] I’ve ever experienced, stepping into the stadium, having the crowd around you, [and] seeing some of the top high schools, colleges, and professional runners of all time,” junior Cole Amaral says. The team of Jaylen Aboyme, Quentin Braithwaite, Alexander Risso, and Gibril Klemm placed sixth in their heat in the 4x4 event.

Girls’ Tennis (6-6)

The girls’ tennis team smashed the start of the season, taking a 7-0 win against both Sherwood and Northwood. However, after beginning their divisional matches against other Division One schools, the girls struggled against the stronger teams, losing six matches in a row with a final record of 6-6. Freshman and No. 1 singles player Jessica Zhang believes the team needs to work even harder to defeat the strong schools in their division.

“I think this year we have great teamwork and we love supporting each other,” she says. “In terms of [improving], I think we need to be more serious about our team since we’re in Division One, we’re going against all the good schools, so we have to work hard together.”

Boys’ Tennis (9-3)

and cohesion were stronger than in prior seasons, which helped them succeed. “Our chemistry this year compared to last year is way better. We just work well together as a team,” Wenger explains. “I think especially [on] defense, we have a lot of newer players on defense and we’ve found a way to connect with each other and work together to be like a strong unit.”

Co-ed Volleyball (6-5)

The co-ed volleyball team set the season off strong with a 3-0 win against Paint Branch, followed

son, but they remained optimistic about their success. “[In the] beginning [of the] season we played all the hardest teams and each and every single game we’ve done so amazing… We’re way better than last year and we’re gonna go farther this year than ever,” Amenti says. They ended their season with a winning record of 6-5.

Boys’ Volleyball (13-0)

The undefeated boys’ volleyball team boasts an impressive 13-0 record and are now preparing for playoffs. Recently, they advanced to

gling with some pretty basic drills, but when it came down to the game, everyone stepped up.”

Gymnastics

The gymnastics team rolled into the season with two impressive wins against James Hubert Blake and Walter Johnson. Even though this year’s team was filled with many beginners, the team still found success at meets. “We’ve actually been doing pretty well. With more girls doing it, we can score more… Everyone cheers each other on and it makes [competing] so much

The boys’ tennis team took the start of the season by storm, winning 28 straight matches in their first four games. During the divisional matches season, they faced tougher teams, winning three out of six of their matches and losing to Walt Whitman, Winston Churchill, and Thomas S. Wootton. They ended the regular season with a 9-3 record. Senior captain River Chen credits the team’s successes to their strong freshman players. “I think a big factor is… seven out of 10 [starters] are freshmen on the team and they’re also pretty consistent, so I feel like we’ll win even more next year,” he says. Freshman Tyler He recently won the county championship for boys’ third singles, and the team is preparing for regionals.

PHOTO BY MARGOT BUEHLER

PHOTO BY MAIA TURPEN

PHOTO BY MARGOT BUEHLER