December 2015 -- Silver Chips Print

Montgomery Blair High School SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND

A public forum for student expression since 1937

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COURTESY OF MARIA HARRIS

Adoption C3 December 17, 2015

Winner of the 2015 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker

VOL 78 NO 3

No Child Left Behind replacement signed

A winter wonderland

By Alexandra Marquez

CALEB BAUMAN

ICE SKATING Although the weather has been unseasonably warm lately, Silver Spring residents participate in winter activities like ice skating at Veteran’s Plaza.

Sweeping changes to county policies Quarterly assessments to replace final exams

By Daliah Barg, Dawson Do, Sarah Hutter, and Cole Sebastian On Nov. 10, the Board of Education finalized changes to Policy IKA, “Grading and Reporting,” eliminating traditional semester final exams and replacing them with cumulative quarterly assessments.

This is just one of the many revisions the Board has implemented within the last few months, in addition to placing Chromebooks in many classrooms.

According to Board member Jill Ortman-Fouse, a quarterly assessment could take the form of a test or another type of cumulative assessment. “An assessment could also be a research project or it could be a paper. In one course, there could be a multiple choice and essay assessment. In another course, it could be a research project, in another, it could be a paper,” said Ortman-Fouse.

The Board has not yet decided on how the quarterly assessments will be weighted in finalized semester grades. While the Board of Education already finalized most of this policy, it will not be fully implemented until the 2016-2017 school year.

According to Erick Lang, the Associate Superintendent of Curriculum and Instructional Programs, next school year, 30 onlevel core courses and their honors

counterparts will start implementing quarterly assessments. No decision has been made as to whether honors classes will receive a different version of the assessments than on-level classes, according to Lang.

This will leave over 600 noncore classes, including elective and AP-level courses, without the county quarterly assessment.

Teachers of those classes can choose to create their own cumulative assessments. Those grades will not be weighted as quarterly assessments, but rather included as in the regular marking period grade. After the initial year of implementation of quarterly assessments, decisions will be made about whether to expand them to

the non-core courses.

Mitigating the testing burden The revision to Policy IKA is meant to alleviate the amount of testing for students, which has increased significantly with the addition of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments.

“I think that we, parents and students and teachers alike, went back this year and said there is a lot of testing, especially with the PARCC exam,” Student Member of the Board (SMOB) Eric Guerci said. “We’re reducing the testing

see BOARD page A3

CALEB BAUMAN

LEARNING WITH TECHNOLOGY Teachers use Chromebooks in several classes, but the Board has withheld further distribution.

President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law on Dec. 10 after it passed in the Senate and House of Representatives with bipartisan support. It replaced the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001.

The law aims to uphold the core values of the NCLB to ensure that all disadvantaged students receive the resources they need to graduate and establish a successful college or career path. However, the new act has key differences that move away from the national standardization of education and allows states to allocate their own funds for students who fall behind.

This measure allows states to focus on the lowestperforming schools. The act advises states to develop their own US AT standards for stuOD AY dent performance and abolishes national standards. The ESSA also maintains annual assessments to evaluate students’ performance and improvement, but expels other unnecessary standardized testing.

Under the ESSA, states have the discretion to adjust their education standards towards appropriate goals for their students.

However, according to William Reinhard, Media Relations director at the Maryland Department of Education, Maryland changed their education standards in 2012 to align with those of the Common Core Standards Initiative and does not plan to change them again following the signing of the ESSA. Gboyinde Onijala, a spokesperson for MCPS, supported Reinhard’s statement and said that the county has not heard about how the ESSA will affect MCPS. Sophomore Julia Weckstein supports the shift to statewide education standards, but she said she fears some states will fall behind.

“It can probably be more personalized to what certain states and certain students DO ON WS need,” she said. “But DA also, having a national standard can be good because it pushes states to push students up to a certain level so all kids will have a good education and have the option to go to college.”

When faith and family split

By Maris Medina

more personal and meaningful.

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

For Katie, a senior, the 40-minute ride to Sri Siva Vishnu Temple feels like forever. After her family arrives, they spend anywhere from 30 minutes to multiple hours praying or receiving prayers through an archana, a small ceremony performed by a priest in front of a large statue of a Hindu deity.

Although visiting the temple has been routine since Katie was a child, these practices never made sense to her. At Sri Siva Vishnu, she often questions the seemingly excessive praying. “I even tell my mom sometimes, ‘Why do we go all the way there when we could do it at home?’” Katie says.

Along with a handful of other Blazers and an increasing number of today’s millennials, Katie has diverged from her parents’ religious beliefs into one she feels is

A different faith

For many individuals, religion is a tradition that is passed down through generations and cultivated through regular mass services, celebrations, and daily practices.

But sometimes, religion fails to click somewhere along the line.

Katie has never shared her parents’ beliefs. “My mom is very Hindu. She believes in Hinduism and does all the stuff [for that religion] and goes to the temple regularly. [But] I kind of never really believed in religion for as long as I could remember,” she says.

However, Katie’s lack of connection to Hinduism does not restrain her from celebrating Hindu holidays like Diwali and Nevarapti.

“I would say that I [am] culturally Hindu,” she says. “I’m really non-religious, [but] I do want to keep that Hindu aspect where I

see RELIGION page C1

insidechips Outdoor education Connecting with nature could make learning more fun.

COURTESY OF JOSEPHINE YU

NEWS A2

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OP/ED B1

JULIAN BROWN

FEATURES C1

Winter dessert

Los animadores

Tom Brown

A food-focused look into the area’s holiday flair.

Blair logra su meta al ganar campeonato de animadores.

The Super Bowl champion and Blair alum discusses his athletic career.

D2

ENTERTAINMENT D1

COURTESTY OF WILL COOK

E1

CHIPS CLIPS D6

COURTESY OF DONALD DE ALWIS

F2

LA ESQUINA LATINA E1

SPORTS F1

A2 News

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December 17, 2015

Student clubs collaborate to host voter registration drive

The Student Government Association and Young Democrats Club organize drive

By Grady Jakobsberg The Student Government Association (SGA) combined efforts with the Young Democrats Club to host a voter registration drive from Monday, Dec. 7 to Friday, Dec. 11.

The Montgomery County Board of Elections (MCBE) also held a voter registration drive outside the Student Activity Center on Nov. 18 and 19 in order to register students to vote and serve as election judges in the upcoming election.

According to the Young Democrats Club sponsor Allison Russell, both the Young Democrats and the SGA were planning to run drives, but because Young Democrats only has 10 regular members and has had trouble staffing tables in the past, they decided to combine their efforts with the SGA. “When we started the process we found out that SGA is running one as well, they have run one off and on depending on their personnel,” Russell explained. “So we [combined] our efforts in one joint voter registration drive to register as many students as possible.”

According to Russell, the drive was part of a countywide initiative to get schools to affirm the importance of voting. Other schools have held drives as well between Nov. 30 and Dec. 23. In a memorandum sent to all the MCPS high school principals, the county required that at least three students from each school be picked as voter registrars and attend a training.

Members of both the clubs staffed the table after going through two, one hour training sessions. The training, according

and get involved,” Russell said.

Registered junior Yonatan Araya commented that it is important for students to get registered so that they can vote and have a say in the elections. “Elections affect students a lot and you should always be involved with something that affects you,” Araya said.

Russell hopes that the drive has instilled similar motivation for young voters like the Takoma Park elections did when the city lowered the voting age to 16. According to Governing Magazine, 44 percent of registered 16 and 17 year olds voted in 2013 Takoma Park elections compared to 11 percent of registered adults who voted. “If you look at the Takoma Park elections they have had enormous success with CALEB BAUMAN young voters in the PROMOTE THE VOTE Young Democrats member Jonah Thompson registers voters. past, and I think that we want to out to get registered and then they purpose of the drive was to edu- bring that type of engagement to take the forms and will then end cate students on the voting process the entire Silver Spring, Takoma and how they can get involved. Park community,” she said. up submitting them,” Klein said.

Since the drive was partly run According to Russell, in the “The goal is not just to make sure past two years, the SGA and as many students register as possi- by Young Democrats, there was Young Democrats Club have not ble, but it’s also to make sure they some concern that liberal bias registered any voters because are aware of where their voting could be a problem among the they lacked the personnel to run precinct is, that they know when club members running the stand. a drive. This year Russell expects election dates are, just making that Mary Yilma, a senior member of them to surpass their numbers first step to be motivated to vote the club, did not think it was an to SGA sponsor Christopher Klein, was mostly common sense that made sure the students acted according to legal protocol and understood their duties. “They talk to students who are interested and answer questions, they hand out the forms that need to get filled

from previous years. “We only registered 86 voters in the [2012/13 school year], so I think we want to probably target around 125-150,” she said. However this year they registered 35 voters.

In addition to registering as many students as possible, the

issue as the members were forbidden from showing predisposition at the drive. “We keep it strictly mutual, just encouraging students to vote rather than vote for a specific party,” Yilma said.

The drive run by the MCBE was focused on registering students as well as hiring them as election judges. Dr. Gilberto Zelaya, an MCBE official, said that 17-yearold students can earn up to $180 or 25 SSL hours serving as an election judge. Election judges work at voting stations on election day making sure everything runs smoothly.

“Election judges welcome the voters, check in the voters and make sure all the equipment is working,” Zelaya said.

For Zelaya, the goal of the drive was to get as many young people involved as possible, whether they are going to vote or become election judges. “Getting students registered injects a lot of young blood into the process,” Zelaya explained.

These registration drives raise some confusion as to who is old enough to vote in which elections.

According to Russell, in the state of Maryland teenagers can register and vote in the primary election in April as long as they are going to be 18 by the general election on Nov. 8, 2016, but it is different in Takoma Park city elections. “In local Takoma Park elections you can be 16 years old to vote and to register,” Russell said.

Yilma and Russell reported that all students needed to register was either the last 4 digits of their social security number or their driver’s license or permit.

Google Expeditions promotes new educational virtual reality

Representatives from Google present students with innovative learning tools

cannot afford to travel can [use Google Expeditions],” she said.

Google Expeditions in Representatives from Google visited Blair on Nov. 31 and Dec. still in the early stages of produc1 to showcase the new Google tion, but it is being marketed to Expeditions program that utilizes educators as an alternative to trathe innovative Google Cardboard ditional classroom technologies. virtual reality technology to con- Christina Dorset, a contractor for nect students in the classroom to Google, said that Expeditions prothe outside world. Social studies vides a new and exciting way for teacher Morgan Rich’s application students to learn. “The Google to their program prompted the Cardboard is for… anything, but the Expeditions is more toward visit.

The representatives brought the education side,” she said. “The sets of the Google Expeditions main thing they were looking for is technology, which features a phone an alternative to just a PowerPoint inside of cardboard lenses, to show or a video, another mental stimulastudents and teachers how virtual tion.”

She also explained that the reality works and to promote the usage of new innovations in the technology is helpful for students classroom. They operated out of who cannot afford to go on exotic the media center for two days, and field trips. “The second aspect of teachers brought their classes to it is actually for virtual field trips. the library to view three dimen- We were at a school and a Spansional images of places around the ish teacher was taking her kids to Peru the next year, but there are a world.

Most students were entertained, lot of kids who are financially unand junior Pedraam Faridjoo said able to take those field trips,” Dorhe enjoyed seeing images of Peru, set said. She added that the new Africa, Jordan, and a Chinese na- enhancements to Expeditions will tional park from a new point of make virtual field trips even more view. “It was really interesting to accurate. “It’s nice that we have see the world from a different per- this opportunity to make it so real. spective, especially in places that And the technology, since it’s adthe average person wouldn’t go vancing more over the next couple to.” Junior Fatoumata Sy appreci- of months, it will be even more reated the chance to see places stu- alistic.”

Rich applied for the Expedidents may never be able to visit, like the Great Wall of China and tions program after reading about the tallest building in Dubai. “It’s it in an article from The New York cool because some people who Times. “I saw it on The New York Times and I clicked it and it was like ‘ApThis story is accompaply for them to come nied by a video by BNC. to your school,’” she To see the video, scan the said. Rich knew her code to the left with a QR students would be intrigued by the opreader app, or use the portunity to experiURL below. ence virtual reality. “I WWW.VIMEO.COM/SILVERCHIPS/CARDBOARD

By Alexandra Marquez

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

PEERING INTO ANOTHER WORLD Google Expeditions virtual reality presentations show students Google Cardboard, a fascinating tool that allows students to look around as if they are in a different place. thought it looked really cool. Anytime I see something that the kids will be very interested in, I’m all about it,” she said.

Rich said that the group aspect of Expeditions and the relation to the curriculum also prompted her to apply. “I had already heard of virtual reality stuff, and then I saw that…it would be related to the whole lesson plan and I thought the kids would be really interested by it.”

Rich applied for the program in October and heard back from Expeditions in mid- November. She was in contact with them for about two weeks to negotiate the logistics and plan their visit.

Expeditions is not available for

purchase yet, but the program is expected to be fully released in the spring of next year with improvements based on the feedback of the participating schools. Dorset asked each of the classes she worked with about what more needs to be included in the complete version of Expeditions. “I was asking each class, ‘Is there a place you haven’t seen that you want to go to? Would you like to see the technology do anything particularly different?’

We do feedback at the end of every day and I write down notes of different places people want to see that we don’t have yet.”

Rich said that she and other teachers were asked to provide suggestions based on their experi-

ence through a survey. “They were asking me and all of the teachers that participated what kind of topics we would like to see that are related to lesson plans and objectives,” she said.

Sy was excited to hear about the possibility of using the technology in the classroom. “That would be tough, like every once in awhile,” she said. Faridjoo also saw the benefits of using the technology, especially in social studies classes.

“It would actually help connect you more to what you’re learning about in class,” he said. “Especially in history and geography classes where you spend a lot of time hearing names and stuff but not actually seeing what they are.”

December 17, 2015

News A3

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Board of Education implements significant revisions to county policies

Final exams and additional Chromebook rollout are among policies affected from BOARD page A1 burden, I think, significantly.”

Although the PARCC exams are a major testing event during the school year, the county does not have the discretion to adjust them. “Unfortunately, PARCC tests are state and federally mandated so we don’t have a choice but to take them,” Ortman-Fouse said. The Board has paid close attention to how the new quarterly assessments will coexist with the PARCC. “As long as we are taking [the PARCC], we want to make sure that we are not duplicating the testing that is being addressed with the PARCC,” OrtmanFouse said.

In developing this new policy, the Board’s goal was to focus on administering more meaningful assessments to prepare students for college. “We need to prepare our students for all types of assessments, not just the multiple choice and essay,” OrtmanFouse said. “Other types of assessments that [students] are going to need to be prepared for in college are papers and research projects.”

A major concern for the Board was the stress students might experience from taking multiple tests in a short period of time.

“We definitely don’t want the last week of the quarter to be like exam week,” OrtmanFouse said. Unlike the current exam week, the new form of cumulative assessments will be administered across a longer period of time. “Teachers will have a selected amount of time to give the assessments and the teacher teams will determine when and how long those are for the different courses,” Ortman-Fouse said.

Board updates MCPS policies

“Teachers feel like, ‘Wait a minute. We gave you this input. We recognize we’re not always going to get what we want, but we don’t even see in the decision that you heard what we had to say,’” Lloyd said.

Lloyd believes that the disregard for teachers’ input will discourage them from participating in polls in the future. “A lot of teachers go, ‘Well then, why do I want to participate in any poll or survey the next time because what does it matter? No one’s listening to me anyway,’” he said.

According to English Department Head Vickie Adamson, English classes are currently taking similar quarterly assessments in the first and third marking periods. However, Adamson is concerned that if the Board were to only create one assessment for each course, like the current English assessments, it will be unfair for on-level students. “We only have one quarter assessment that both

“The average score [for Honors classes] was a B+, whereas the average on-level score was a D.”

CALEB BAUMAN

ONLINE CLASSROOMS Chromebooks were given to English 10, Algebra, and social studies classes last year. Plans to distribute more Chromebooks next year were cancelled. mented at other schools as well. “It’s about measuring how can we [get data] that we can specifically target student interventions with,” Guerci said. According to Guerci, the Board also hopes the new quarterly assessments will be embedded in the regular classroom process, therefore not disturbing classroom instruction as much as final exams. “Testing is less of an event now,” Guerci said.

Halting the Chromebook rollout

- Vickie Adamson Honors and on-level students take,” Adamson said. “The average score [for Honors classes] was a B+, whereas the average onlevel score was a D. If I’m only giving one assessment and they all have to be weighed the same, is that a penalty for the on-level students who have to take the same test?”

According to “MCPS Policies and Regulations: Start to Finish,” the official policyand regulation-making procedure of the Developing quarterly assessments Board, consists of a series of edits based on feedback. The Board does not have an offiAccording to Guerci, the county quartercial procedure for revising policies. According to a drafted timeline of the revisions pro- ly assessments will be created by Montgomcess for Policy IKA, the revision removing ery County central offices as well as schoolfinal exams was set to go through the complete policymaking procedure starting on July 30.

When revising Policy IKA, the Board used the same official procedure that is in place for creating new policies.

First, the Board Policy Management Committee MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION or the designated responsible office (RO) identifies the need based teacher teams, in order to ensure that for a policy. This must happen before the the assessments are properly aligned to the Department of Policies, Records, and Re- curriculum. “For each course, a team of teachers will work with central offices to porting (DPRR) can draft the policy.

Before voting on the final decision for the create exams,” Guerci said. He added that IKA revision, the Board asked for teacher, feedback from teachers, students, and parstudent and parent feedback on the propos- ents brought the Board to their decision that al. According to a Board survey regarding teachers should have input on the new tests.

By placing the new assessments at the the policy, over 90 percent of teacher respondents were against the elimination of final end of each quarter, the Board intends for teachers to give feedback to students while exams.

According to Montgomery County Edu- they are still taking those classes. “These excation Association (MCEA) union president ams will be given back to the staff and stuChristopher Lloyd, many teachers feel that dents so you can see what you did wrong their feedback was ignored by the Board. and the teacher can see what learning gaps there were so information can be retaught,” Ortman-Fouse said.

According to the MCPS website, the Board is taking time to “evaluate the feedback” before deciding how students’ semester grades will be calculated under the revised policy.

Because all assessments will be developed centrally, the Board will be able to collect data on these tests, allowing the county to adjust curricula in response to trends in scores. “We are going to be collecting the data [from the assessments] to help us make sure the curriculum is solid,” OrtmanFouse said.

According to Guerci, the Board hopes that this new assessment policy will help the county identify effective strategies at specific MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION DAWSON DO schools that can then be imple-

The revision to Policy IKA is not the only major change the Board has implemented within the past few months. The Chromebook program that was set to continue this year has been cut off as of June, according to an MCPS press release. The Chromebooks were originally implemented to provide schools computers to take the PARCC assessments.

MCPS has cancelled plans for the Chromebook rollout that was supposed to continue at the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year, leaving grades two, four and seven, as well as high school English classes that were promised Chromebooks without the technology.

The county cites a budget crisis as the reason for cutting the $3 million that was supposed to be allocated towards the purchase of more Chromebooks in the 2016 operating budget. “Right now we’re in sort of budgetary nowhere. We don’t know if there’s [going to] be further rollout,” said social studies department head Mary Thornton. As of Nov. 16, the Board requested a $1.73 billion six-year Capital Improvements Program

“All of the decisions to get the Chromebooks in the first place were made from the wrong motivation, [to provide computers for the PARCC, a test] which literally no teacher supports.”

- Keith Anderson

which includes “an additional $17 million, above the approved CIP, in the Technology Modernization project to fund new technology purchases, [and] continue the Chromebook rollout plan over the next six years,”

according to an MCPS press release.

About 40,000 new Chromebooks came into Montgomery County schools for the 2014-2015 school year as a result of the school board’s efforts to bring 100,000 new electronic devices into schools by 2018 at the cost of $15 million dollars.

Funding for the program was spread between the 2015 Operating Budget, the sixyear Capital Improvements Program, and the Federal Education Rate (E-Rate) program, according to MCPS. The first stage of this technology initiative involved distributing Chromebooks to the third, fifth, and sixth grades, along with high school social studies classes. Social studies classes received the first round of Chromebooks because that department was the quickest to write a proposal for the new technology, according to Thornton.

English 10 and Algebra classes received the Chromebooks because PARCC tests are administered in those subjects, and having Chromebooks in those classes during the school year allows students to practice computer literacy in preparation for the PARCC examinations, according to English Department Head Vickie Adamson. The PARCC test must be taken via computers.

Despite widespread teacher resistance to the new tests, the Chromebooks will continue to be used for this purpose come testing season in the spring. “All of the decisions to get the Chromebooks in the first placewere made from the wrong motivation [to provide DAWSON DO computers for the PARCC, a test] which literally no teacher supports,” said Keith Anderson, English teacher and MCEA union Representative According to Adamson, teachers in the department who were promised the Chromebooks for the start of this school year feel as if they have been shorthanded. “We had been gearing up and we had been promised this technology, and teachers are already switching things to Google and trying to use Google Classroom,” said Adamson.

The county has already rewritten curricula in response to the new technology, but without the promised Chromebooks they cannot follow through, according to Thornton. “All of the major curricula have been rewritten to go with this technology, and now our STEM folk are sitting there with the old laptops – they don’t have the Chromebooks,” she said.

If MCPS does not complete its plan for the next wave of Chromebooks to be sent to schools, Blair’s Chromebook carts will have to be shifted around between classes during the upcoming school year, according to Anderson. This means that teachers cannot count on having the Chromebooks in their classrooms if they did not book the Chromebooks in advance.

The widespread availability of the Chromebooks allows for more improvisation and spontaneity as a teacher, according to Anderson. “It means that you can improvise a lot more as a teacher,” he said. “If I suddenly decide that this class, in this moment, really needs to see or read this article... instead of having to photocopy all of those things and having to plan that beforehand I can simply say, ‘Take out the Chromebooks.”

A4 News Newsbriefs Ceramics teachers organize Empty Bowls campaign Students, staff, and alumni created ceramic bowls in December to raise money for the Manna Food Center as part of Blair’s first Empty Bowls program. The Empty Bowls Project is an international grassroots movement to raise awareness and funds in the fight to end hunger. Communities across the world participate by supporting local food-related charities. The participants in the event at Blair are involved in creating, glazing, and firing ceramic bowls.

According to ceramics teacher Amanda Wall, the ongoing event is open to all members of the Blair community. “Right now we are in the bowl making stage,” she said. “Anyone who wants to help out is welcome.”

The bowls will be sold at a fundraiser in March and attendees will buy a bowl and use it to eat a meal at the event. The proceeds from the fundraiser will be donated to Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg to support the fight against hunger in Montgomery County.

Takoma Park City Council accepts Syrian refugees On Nov. 30, the City Council of Takoma Park passed the Welcoming Syrian Refugees Resolution in one of its first votes since being elected to office. The decision reflected the community’s willingness to accept refugees who have been approved to enter the country. Councilmember Rizzy Qureshi introduced the Resolution to reaffirm the city’s “commitment to remain a place of sanctuary and a safe haven for refugees from around the world.”

According to Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart, the city wanted to add its voice to oppose the incendiary language of politicians who have openly rejected admitting refugees. “It’s poisonous to our community to have this type of rhetoric,” Stewart said. “I think it’s important for other leaders to stand up and to reaffirm… that we are welcoming not only to Syrian refugees but to immigrants from all parts of the world.”

Science National Honors Society hosts Hour of Code The Science National Honors Society (SNHS) organized an Hour of Code event on Dec. 10, 11 and 14.

Members of the club led one-hour computer science tutorials in classrooms to expand participation in computer science to students who have never been exposed to coding. Hour of Code, created by nonprofit Code.org, aims to “increase participation by women and underrepresented students of color.”

According to SNHS president Ramya Durvasula, teachers requested an SNHS member to teach the coding tutorials to their classes. “There are a lot of students who just haven’t been exposed to [computer science] because they haven’t taken any programming classes,” Durvasula said. “Mostly we advertised it to the science and math departments, and we asked the language teachers because there’s a lot more underrepresented groups in the language and ESOL departments.”

Over 200 students participated in the event and learned the applications of computer science and basic concepts of coding through online tutorials.

Newsbriefs compiled by Alice Park

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December 17, 2015

Students host weeklong dialogue on race Discussion focuses on exposing racial injustices

By Julian Bregstone and Alice Park Students attended a forum organized by members of Kevin Shindel’s ninth period CAP Research Methods class to discuss topics relating to race and racism during the week of Nov. 16. The dialogue was held in response to recent protests at college campuses over race relations, but discussed racism in the Blair community and around the world.

According to Shindel, students in his CAP and National, State, and Local Government (NSL) classes wanted to facilitate discussion between people of different backgrounds. “Looking around the room, we recognized an extreme lack of diversity among us,” Shindel said. “We thought we needed to open up the discussion.”

Sophomore Marta Kebede, a student in Shindel’s NSL class, said the forum aimed to raise awareness of racial issues that have not been addressed sufficiently. “I really want people [to become] aware of the racism in this school, anything... from stereotypes to cultural appropriation,” she explained.

Around 80 students attended the first two days of the forum.

Shindel emphasized the importance of building relationships with new students throughout the week. “Social change comes out of social relations, and that’s really the only way social change starts.

When people have social ties, they don’t want to see the people they are tied to treated unjustly,” he said.

Students led discussions in small groups on issues including cultural appropriation, stereotypes of minorities, activism

through social media, the Black Lives Matter movement, diversity of Blair Theatre, and the use of violence to create change.

On Nov. 18, Tiffany Flowers, an activist in the Black Lives Matter movement, visited to share her experience in Ferguson, Missouri. She travelled to Ferguson to help protesters and to document the events following Michael Brown’s death.

forum on Thursday, Nov. 19. Student representatives from City at Peace, a local non-profit organization, led a diversity workshop for students in a separate room. Bishop and seniors Amanda Feinberg and Neida Mbuia-Joao directed a “stand and declare” where students stood when they heard a statement that applied to them.

According to Feinberg, the ac-

COURTESY OF SARAH FILLMAN

GUEST SPEAKER Tiffany Flowers, a Black Lives Matter activist, shares her experience covering protests in Ferguson, Missouri.

Flowers displayed tweets from the planning behind the trip and discussed her experiences in Ferguson. After her presentation, students had the opportunity to ask questions and stay after the end of ninth period to speak with her.

For sophomore Iyanu Bishop, Flowers’ visit was the highlight of the forum. “That was amazing. It just opened my eyes even more,” she said.

Over 100 students attended the

tivity allowed students to share their experiences with oppression.

“The statements were designed to show… how racism is taught and how it affects people,” she said.

The remaining students at the forum on Nov. 19 split into groups of six or seven and had open discussions on racial issues.

The discussions were student-led and covered similar topics from the first two days of the forum.

The dialogue culminated with a

party in the media center on Nov. 20.

The discussion intended to provide everyone in the school with the opportunity to gain insights from others’ views. “It was particularly important to me that everyone who showed up benefit from the experience,” Shindel said. “I didn’t want it to be some self-serving thing to bring outside perspectives to a homogeneous class so that the class would learn and understand more.”

Senior Claudia Allou believed the forum drew a diverse group of students to share their opinions.

“I honestly thought it was going to be a lot of CAP students, but I was impressed by the turnout of the rest of the school,” she said.

Sophomore Jennifer Garcia appreciated that students of different backgrounds came to voice their thoughts, rather than just white students describing racism. “Even though there [were] mostly white people, there was a lot more diversity coming in,” Garcia said. “That was really nice because a lot of people were thinking that this was just going to be a bunch of white people ‘whitesplaining’ everything.”

According to Allou, a group of students plan on creating a club to continue the discussion of racial issues. “Our goal is just to make sure that the conversation doesn’t stop after one week,” Allou said.

Bishop hopes that opening the conversation on racism will push students to build more social diversity. “People self-segregating [is] a huge issue. I just feel like already at Blair, there’s a lot of liberal people, so… we need to challenge ourselves to actually make a change,” Bishop said.

Physical education classes face overcrowding

Large class sizes cause concerns for safety and quality

By Aditi Shetty Physical education (P.E.) classes have been experiencing overcrowding in the past few years due to budget cuts and staff reallocation. The rising number of students in each P.E. section raised concerns about class quality and safety.

According to P.E. resource teacher Robert McMahon, an optimal P.E. class size would be around 32 or 33 students, but classes this year commonly contain between 34 and 37. The largest P.E. class this semester contains 40 students.

P.E. classes have been facing overcrowding for several years now, according to McMahon. “It’s not really one year from another, it’s the last several years,” he said.“It’s just an influx of students at Blair; it’s getting more and more crowded.”

McMahon said that part of the reason for overflowing P.E. classes is that gym classes are the easiest place to put students who begin school late in the semester. “There’s not a lot of leeway as to where kids can go when they come in in the middle of the year… Common sense [says that] if there’s no desk for a kid, you can’t put a kid in a classroom.

However, there are no desks… in P.E., so oftentimes the kids that come in the middle of the year get put in these classes,” he said.

Administrator Peter Ostrander agreed that P.E. is the best place to put latecomers. “If they’re coming in late in the semester, the counselor needs to make a choice,” he said. “Is it easier for them to catch up in a foreign lan-

guage class, which they haven’t can find ways to work around If you have 32 in one class, why even started yet, or in P.E.?” Ac- the large class size. “We have should… we have [more than] 32 cording to Ostrander, P.E. usu- some really good P.E. teachers,” just because we don’t have chairs?” ally seemed the simplest answer. he said. “They are supervisHowever, McMahon and OsA big problem with large class ing their classes very well, and trander both believed that the sizes, McMalarge class sizes hon said, is that are not easily teachers strugrectified. Over gle to involve the past several all the students. years, MCPS Difficulties arise slashed teachin allowing all ing positions students to parin order to acticipate in the commodate physical activibudget cuts, ties of the class, Ostrander said. but can also According manifest itself to Ostrander, in in other activi2010, the counties. The Comty increased the mon Core curmaximum class riculum states size from 28 to that teachers 29 students for CADENCE PEARSON should aim to English classes engage students FULL TO THE BRIM Emanuel Charles’ ninth period P.E. class, and from 32 to in reading and one of Blair’s severely overcrowded P.E. classes, has 40 students.

33 students in writing, includother classes, ing in elective classes like P.E., when that’s done, the safety is- but other changes have also ima task which is complicated by sues that are caused by having pacted student to teacher ratios. large class sizes. “The kids don’t more students aren’t as extreme.” “Last year the county formula for get as much benefit [and] activFreshman Nina Kalegi said that how staffing was given to schools ity time,” McMahon said. “We her P.E. Soccer class was crowded, was changed a little bit,” Osdon’t get to do as much stuff as but problems only arose on rainy trander said. “In that change we we might be able to do to try to days when the class was forced saw less staffing per student than implement new Common Core les- inside. “It’s too overcrowded, we may have seen in years past.” sons, to get more P.E. literature.” so we waste a lot of time tryIn June, the Board of EducaMcMahon also mentioned ing to figure out how we’re go- tion approved a budget which will safety as a possible concern, but ing to play in the small gym. eliminate more than 380 staff posiadded that the gyms are gener- That’s really difficult,” she said. tions for the 2016-2017 school year, ally big enough to accommoMcMahon understood the rea- meaning that the issue of large class date larger numbers of students. sons behind placing more students sizes is unlikely to resolve itself.

“We’re not really as bad as it in P.E. classes, but would like to see In the meantime, there recould be this semester,” he said. the numbers drop. “We’re just like mains little that the P.E. depart“But I think people are more everyone else,” McMahon said. ment can do. “We’re just chartworried about next semester.” “We’d like to have the same amount ing the numbers and trying to Ostrander said that teachers of students [as other classes do]. learn from it,” McMahon said.

News A5

silverchips

December 17, 2015

New school policies met with mixed reactions

Staff and students respond to hat, charger, after-school rules hats rule, said he now supports the reasoning for allowing students to wear hats in school following the instatement of the policy. “If I could go back over the 15 years of my career and give back all the time that I spent getting kids to take off their hats instead of just thanking them

hat at school just to defy the rules,” Austin said.

Another policy that has met varied reactions is the cell phone charging policy. Johnson sent out an email on Oct. 26 to notify the staff that students are not allowed to charge their cell phones in class-

to ensure that your property is not being tampered with or being deStaff and students have voiced stroyed,” Cauley said. both approval and disdain for the Teachers understand the reasonnew hat policy, the new cell phone ing behind this policy, but also can policy, and the Oct. 26 reminder see why students may disagree. “If that a staff member must accomyour phone is on low battery and pany students during after school there’s an outlet just sitting there it activities. seems pretty mean to be like, On Nov. 10, Principal Renay ‘No, you can’t charge your Johnson informed the school phone’. But I am somewhat of her decision to allow stusympathetic with the policy dents to wear hats in the buildbecause for whatever reason ing. The new policy allows all people just leave their things students to wear hats in school behind and they just forget,” without teachers confiscating math teacher William Rose them. Hoodies are still not alsaid. lowed.

Johnson also reminded Johnson decided the hat staff of the after school activpolicy after multiple students ity policy that states students approached her about the rule, must be supervised by anand after she talked to teachers other staff member during an at Blair and other high school after school activity. principals about their hat poliThe after school activity cies. “We have an Instructional policy was created to ensure Leadership Team, which is all that students would be accomthe administrators, and the panied by an adult at all times department chair from every and would not create any disdepartment. So it’s about 30 ruptions to staff members. “I of us. And the poll went out was getting complaints from CALEB BAUMAN to them, asking, you know, the evening building services ‘Should we keep the hat rule SAY HELLO TO HATS Seniors Ben Alsberg and Marcus Hayes proud- staff. They’d say, ‘Oh there’s in place?’ The majority said, ly wear their hats in style thanks to the recent change in the hat policy. a whole bunch of kids under ‘No, it’s no big deal.’ A few the stairwell down by the P.E. said, ‘Yes, keep the hat policy.’ Then for coming to school, even with a rooms in order to prevent the theft office.’ or ‘There’s a whole bunch of I surveyed high school principals,” hat, I could have used that time in a of unattended electronic devices. kids on the third floor and they’re Johnson said. much more productive way,” Cau- “Kids are charging their phones, not accompanied and they’re makMany students have voiced sup- ley said. they get busy, they forget, they go to ing a mess,’” Johnson said. port for the new hat policy and view Teachers that sponsor after However, there are still some the next class. But then their teacher it as a victory. “I don’t know about people who are hesitant about the also floats to another classroom on school activities such as clubs unother people but when I got really change. French teacher Lucie Aus- another floor. But the phone is left, derstand the reasoning behind this into [the hat policy] ... it didn’t look tin allows her students to wear hats and it gets lost or stolen,” Johnson policy, but also run into difficulty like it was going to change. It feels in compliance with the school pol- said. abiding by it. “The policy with the really good to change something icy, but still believes that students According to Cauley, the policy Green Club provides a significant that I thought was wrong,” sopho- should not wear hats indoors. “I was also created to address the challenge because ... there’s fremore Lucas Gilkeson, an active pe- think boys should know that it’s possible distraction that charging quently different groups of students titioner on Blair’s hat policy, said. common practice to uncover your phones can provide. “When the moving throughout the school and Some teachers were hesitant to head when you enter a building, phone is unattended it provides an I’m working with the leadership respond about whether they are en- so I don’t necessarily like seeing opportunity for something to hap- in that club to better abide by the forcing these new policies. people with hats on indoors, but I pen to the phone, and if you don’t policies, but it’s a significant chalAssistant Principal Dirk Cauley, think in some ways it has solved have an apparatus to protect it then lenge,” Peter Cirincione, faculty coa longtime proponent for the no- the problem of people wearing a you will be distracted as a student sponsor of the Green Club, said.

By Brianna Forté

Bowers proposes 2017 budget after years of underfunding

By Cole Sebastian Interim Superintendent Larry Bowers submitted a $2.45 billion recommended budget for the Fiscal Year (FY) of 2017 to the Board of Education on Dec. 8, $135 million higher than the FY 2016 Operating Budget. The recommendation comes after a significant decrease in funding from the county since the Great Recession of 2007-2009 despite a large increase in local county tax revenue.

In the official Operating Budget, Bowers proposed a 5.8 percent increase compared to the operating budget of FY 2016. The budget specifies that $103 million of the increase is meant to adjust for increasing costs of pre-existing services as a result of increased enrollment, promised improvements, rising operation costs, and strategic enhancements. $24 million of the increase is meant to pay off one-time funding used by the Montgomery County Council to fund the FY 2016 Operating Budget. $7.9 million of the increase is meant to pay for a share of the teacher pension fund that has shifted from the state to the county in the past few years.

Bowers said that it is time for the budget to reflect MCPS’s needs under the current economic situation. “We cannot continue to operate at the funding levels we have received during the past eight years following the economic downturn experienced starting in 2008,” Bowers said in his proposal.

Since 2009, the county local tax revenue has increased by $681 million while the local funding for MCPS has decreased by $6 million, according to a newsletter from

the Montgomery County Educa- crease in the cost of health insur- tory of working together on cost tion Association (MCEA). In other ance nationwide because of a hep- containment on how to design words, there has been a 10 percent atitis C treatment that was released incentives into our health plan decrease in local funding for MCPS this year. The treatment has cost to hold down costs, but there’s a and an 8 percent increase in local MCPS millions of dollars in health qualitative difference between cost tax revenue, adjusting for inflation. insurance payments. Instead of containment and cost shifting,” Along with an increase in en- using the budget to pay for the he said. “If you’re simply saying, rollment of 19,000 students since higher rates, the teachers have to rather than the school system pay2009, this has caused a 19.5 percent pay for the additional costs. “It’s ing so much of the premium, the decrease in the amount of money simply a way of shifting costs from teachers have to pay more, you’re the county spends per student, the school system on to employees not doing anything to control the according to data released by the and it’s certainly made it harder escalating cost.”

MCEA. for both teachers and supporting According to Lloyd, MCPS emThe budget is ultimately de- services staff as they’re expected ployees gave up cost of living bencided by the county council, based to pay a larger and larger share of efits, as a result of the low budget, on the recommended budget their health insurance costs,” Israel and saved the county $89 million. proposed by the superintendent. said.

Lloyd also said that the allocated MCEA union president ChristoIsrael does not think that the budget for the English for Speakpher Lloyd said that with the $681 school system is dividing costs ers of Other Languages (ESOL) million increase in local revenue properly. “The teachers’ union and department has not kept with the the county council should be able the school system have a long his- rapidly growing ESOL population. to allocate more money to the school system. “We believe Local funding per student has decreased by that… [the county] could afford to actually fund schools more since 2009, adjusting for inflation. and, in addition, other county services more and that has not happened in a way that we would expect,” he said.

As a result of the decreased funding from the county council and increased health insurance Local per Local per rates nationwide, employees will have to pay a larger share student student of their health insurance. Acspending spending cording to Tom Israel, executive of $12,470 of $10,044 director of the MCEA, teachers adjusting for inflation. will have to pay a four percent larger share of their insurance premium as of this coming January. This change is meant to accommodate the recent increase in health insurance rates of four to seven percent in most medical plan premiums and the 25 Fiscal Year Fiscal Year percent increase in prescription drug coverage.

COLE SEBASTIAN There has been a recent in- MONTGOMERY COUNTY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

19.5%

2009

2016

Newsbriefs Springbrook athletes sue MCPS for chemical burns Montgomery County Public Schools are facing two lawsuits filed by five students after an accident in September 2014 in which a Springbrook custodian accidentally sprayed the cleaning solution Virex II 256 on the varsity football team uniforms. As many as 40 teenagers on the team suffered from chemical burns, according to local news station WJLA DC. According to The Washington Post, the disinfectant, which is used as a cleaning solution for floors and walls, warns that it is harmful to skin.

Attorney Bruce Plaxen, representing the football players seeking monetary compensation, called the case one of “colossal stupidity.”

The burns left many of the players with pink colored flesh and some extensive chemical burns, according to WJLA DC .

According to WJLA, graduated Springbrook football player Jordan Gillespie alleged that the chemical burns most likely cost him an athletic football scholarship to college.

The two lawsuits are seeking over $75,000 in damages.

High levels of radon in some MCPS schools

A recent radon report from MCPS showed that 28 of 202 MCPS schools have reported elevated radon levels, according to NBC Washington. Local radio station WTOP-FM reported that these elevated levels of radon were discovered in 2012.

Radon is a colorless and odorless gas that, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is a cancer causing agent.

The EPA recommends taking action if indoor levels of radon reach 4 picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L) or higher.

Springbrook High School radon levels of 9.8PCi/L. According to the EPA, radon enters buildings by holes and cracks in infrastructure through the breakdown of uranium found in most soils.

In December of 2015, MCPS released an official list on their website of 26 schools to be retested for elevated radon levels. Action to correct these radon levels will be taken based on the results of the second findings.

In their official statement, the county stated that the elevated radon levels “do not present an immediate safety hazard to students and staff.” MCPS will be working with the EPA to develop and implement a radon monitoring program in schools.

Blair clubs lead letter drive for Syrian Refugees

The French Honor Society, the Global Culture Club, the French Youth Ambassadors, and the Muslim Student Association are organizing a letter drive to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan to call for the admittance of Syrian refugees.

Senior Margaret Brown, president of the French Honor Society, hopes students can become more actively involved in the refugee crisis by participating in the letter drive.

The initiative will be held for a few days during both lunches before winter break along Blair Boulevard. Blazers will also have the opportunity to sign a petition to Governor Hogan, urging him to reconsider his Nov. 17 statement that requested that the U.S. government cease settling Syrian refugees in Maryland.

Newsbriefs compiled by Georgina Burros

B1 Opinions

silverchips

Montgomery Blair High School 51 University Boulevard East Silver Spring, MD 20901 Phone: (301) 649-2864 Winner of the 2015 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Winner of the 2015 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Crown

Editors-in-Chief: Eleanor Harris and Amanda Wessel Managing News Editors: Reva Kreeger and Anna O’Driscoll Managing Op/Ed Editors: Winne Luo and Maris Medina Managing Features Editors: Camille Kirsch and Emma Soler Managing Entertainment Editors: Mariam Jiffar and Luisa McGarvey Managing Sports Editors: Sam Butler and Camille Estrin Ombudsman: Camille Kirsch Newsbriefs Editor: Daliah Barg Executive Business Director: Maddie Boyer Business Staff: Gerrit Antonisse Marianne Benyamin Elizabeth Cove Rudi Elien Joe Estrin Anna Hukill Joe Maher Susanna Maisto Anna Reachmack Adina Rombro Christine Wan Ariel Zhang Page Editors: Julian Brown Georgina Burros Dawson Do Joshua Fernandes Brianna Forté Sarah Hutter Grady Jakobsberg Alexandra Marquez Christian Mussenden Alice Park Niki Patel Teague Sauter Cole Sebastian Aditi Shetty La Esquina Latina Editors-in-Chief: Camila Fernández Mario Menéndez Gisell Ramírez La Esquina Latina Writers: Emily Barrero Karla Blancio Alisson Fortis Carlos Fuentes Ilcia Hernandez Odalis Llerena Andrés Pérez Managing Photo Editor: Chimey Sonam Photographers: Caleb Bauman Ben Doggett Chaminda Hangilipola Siddhartha Harmalkar Cadence Pearson Griffin Reilly Brennan Winer Managing Art Editors: Candia Gu and Victoria Tsai Artists: Edgar Blanco Kendall Delile Lindsay Harris Nazea Khan Kevin León-Matute Odalis Llerena Shivani Mattikalli Alexandra Mendivil Meghna Sambathkumar Rosemary Solomon Nahom Tedla Angel Wen Puzzle Editor: Julian Bregstone Copy Editors: Ari Goldbloom-Helzner and Ethan Holland La Esquina Latina Advisor: Dianette Coombs Advisor: Jeremy Stelzner

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Unsigned editorials represent the views of the editorial board and are not necessarily those of the school. Signed letters to the editor are encouraged.

Submit your letter to Jeremy Stelzner’s mailbox in the main office, to room 158 or to silver.chips. print@gmail.com. Concerns about Silver Chips’ content should be directed to the Ombudsman, the public’s representative to the paper, at silver.chips. ombudsman@gmail.com. Letters may be edited for space and clarity.

silverchips

December 17, 2015

Minor cheating is still a major problem

A closer look at secondary cheating and its consequences

By Emma Soler An opinion

Look around at lunch and you will likely see academic dishonesty everywhere. At one table, a freshman whispers the topic of an upcoming test essay to his friend. Turn around, and a senior furiously copies math worksheet answers from a glowing photo on her phone. When I visited the SAC looking for students to interview for this article, one boy went as far as to (loudly) tell me, “If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying!” He followed up his outburst by elaborating—“Everyone cheats. One hundred percent.”

Yet, when students are asked if they consider actions such as copying homework and spreading test topics to be forms of cheating, they might say no. Students must take into account the ethical issues with minor cheating, as this practice is dishonest, impedes learning, and leads to peer pressure.

Dr. Teresa Fishman, Director of the International Center for Academic Integrity, said that many students that cheat fail to see the error of their ways. “They often don’t consider the consequences of those actions, or think they are ‘serious’ violations,” she said.

Sophomore Alexandra Happy said that she does not consider copying homework to be academically dishonest and is unsure if telling a friend about quiz topics constitutes cheating. According to junior Sean Tan, many Blazers cheat out of laziness. “We

don’t like to think of ourselves as cheaters, but a lot of us do [cheat] because it’s easier than putting the work in,” he said.

Even if students do not consider them to be cheating, copying homework, passing down lab notebooks, and spreading test topics are all. in fact, forms of dishonesty. The University of Maryland Honor Council defines cheating as, “fraud, deceit, or dishonesty in...an attempt to gain an unfair advantage.” By this description, academic dishonesty can range from a seemingly innocuous text from a friend explaining a surprise in-class essay prompt to the circulation of photos of a test to an entire class. One of these should not be viewed as more harmful than the other.

A survey by former Rutgers University professor Dennis McCabe states that approximately 95 percent of high school students have, at one point, chosen to engage in some form of academic dishonesty. According to social studies teacher Morgan Rich, cheating at Blair is a normality rather than an exception. “It’s become part of the culture, the school culture,” she said.

Beyond its ethical implications, minor cheating also hurts students themselves by impeding learning. Homework, if assigned with

purpose, is meant to help students practice new skills and prepare for assessments. It makes sense that students that complete homework are more likely to understand topics from class than their peers who copy it.

So, even if a student does not get caught for minor academic dishonesty, he or she will still suffer the consequences from it—whether that is a worse test or quiz grade or a weaker understand of the material. Teach-

MEGHNA SAM

ers might be offended by cheating, but in the end, it is the student that cheats who will be hurt the most.

Cheating can also damage personal relationships. Often, for a student to get homework answers or test topics, they need a friend to supply the necessary information—and that friend might not be so ecstatic about handing over his or her hard-earned work.

Because of the casual culture that surrounds cheating, a student who is asked for his or her work or a test’s topics is expected to comply. If not, he or she will likely face a barrage of questions, such as, “Why not? I would give it to you. What’s wrong with you?”

Thus, an overused and dreaded catch phrase—peer pressure—arises. To avoid social suicide, damaged relationships, and overall awkwardness, the student will begrudgingly open his or her backpack, slide out a folder, and relinquish last night’s two-hour long Calculus practice problems—even though the student does not want to hand over his or her academic integrity.

According to Fishman, students may cast a blind eye towards the moral implications of their cheating because they are more concerned with their social status. “Students in high school and junior high school often want to be accepted by their peers much more than they want to adhere to academic integrity standards, and they might not initially see that sharing homework actually hurts their friends, the reputation of their school, and their own integrity,” she said.

All of this is not to dictate each individual person’s choices, but the decision to cheat should be accompanied by a thought process.

A walk in the woods for our screen-obsessed teens Reintroducing outdoor education at the high school level

By Grady Jakobsberg An opinion During the outdoor education field trip, MCPS sixth graders retire to the woods for a threeday excursion of learning, socializing, and having fun. It is a fond memory for high schoolers and a point of excitement for rising middle schoolers. So why can’t high schoolers have the same experience?

Like sixth graders, it is common for freshmen to come into their new school without many friends, needing an opportunity to bond with their classmates.

Through outdoor education, high schoolers could connect with their peers, experience the environments that they are learning about in their science classes, or benefit from simply being outside.

One option could be to bring the entire ninth grade and have them engage in similar bonding activities that incoming sixth graders do to make friends, like capture the flag or a camp fire. Often, students attend different high schools than their friends from middle school and it may initially be tough to find a new friend group. The outdoor education program for middle schoolers aims to bridge this social transition; a similar program can be carried over to high school.

Brian Shilling, an outdoor education teacher at the Lathrop E. Smith Environmental Education Center in Rockville, says that socializing with other students is a prominent part of the program.

“Part of the experience is the education and the other part of

the program is team-building and social skills, learning to work with, eat with, [and] sleep with other students (this sounds very sexual),” he explains.

An outdoor environmental education program for high schoolers is also a great way to get kids outside. We have gradually transformed

into an indoor society; running around outside was once the go-to past time of children everywhere, but now we get home from school and immediately switch on the TV. Our society’s lack of outdoor time is not just something that tech-shaming hipsters are claiming. According to the National Wilderness Federation, each day the average American child spends as few as 30 minutes in unstructured outdoor play and more than seven hours in front of an electronic screen. This is half as much time as kids spent outside 20 years ago according to a study by the University of Michigan. By bringing high schoolers on a funfilled nature experience, outdoor education would reintroduce the value of the outdoors.

Outdoor time also comes with plenty of legitimate health benefits. According to CRC Health, a treatment organization for a number of disorders, direct and extended contact with nature can have positive psychological and physical effects. “Benefits include stress reduction, a sense of coherence and belonging, improved self-confidence and self-discipline, and a broader sense of community,” the organization wrote on their website. These are the types of improvements that school administrators and teachers hope for.

The main concern for high school outdoor education is simply the logistics of organizing such a huge endeavor. Especially at Blair, where the freshman class VICTORIA TSAI size is close to 1,000, organizing the entire grade on a three-day trip would be incredibly hard, not to mention getting MCPS approval.

To Shilling, the only solution to such a problem would be to break the class up. “[Bring kids in] smaller groups, not the entire ninth grade on the trip, just a few classes, and also people that are really interested in going on the trip,” Shilling explained.

Taking students who are currently enrolled in certain science classes would still allow them to meet new people, while also experiencing the subjects they are learning about in class. For example, students taking biology could attempt to find and study the different types of organisms in the ecosystem around them. The true value of outdoor education would be revealed with its connection between the program and the in-class content.

Lastly, according to the National Wilderness Federation, schools with outdoor education programs statistically do better on standardized tests. Our standardized test-crazed county should be able to realize that outdoor education for high schoolers is healthy and educationally worth the cost.

soapbox Do you think we should have outdoor education in high school?

“I hated that experience and left the first night.

I guess that it could be something students can take a vote on.”

- Sebastian Evangelista, freshman “We should have outdoor education in high school because for every middle schooler it was the highlight of their year. It was all everybody talked about.”

- Krystine White, junior

Opinions B2

silverchips

December 17, 2015

Should parents agree to monitor teenage drinking parties?

YES:

SID HARMALKAR

Niki Patel

NO:

Supervision encourages safety and moderation.

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), 4,700 people per year are killed due to teen alcohol usage. 4,700 people. This staggering number could come from these minors not having a safe ride home, getting alcohol poisoning from drinking too much, too fast, or just not knowing when enough is enough. Regardless of the specific situation, a good portion of these 4,700 deaths could have been prevented if parents supervised the underage drinking of teenagers at parties.

We’ve all heard this debate before in some form, but have any of us really understood it? I was brought up under the strict idea that underage drinking is one of the most awful things a person can do. It is illegal and bad for your health, and I was constantly told I should not do it. But the fact of the matter is that regardless of what adults say, teenagers will partake in underage drinking if they want to.

An article published by Professor Ruth C. Engs at Indiana University stated that prohibiting alcohol usage by underage teenagers only increased their desire for it. “Drinking by these youth is seen as an enticing ‘forbidden fruit,’ a ‘badge of rebellion against authority’... Prohibition did not work then and prohibition for young people under the age of 21 is not working now.” It is true: underage drinking is inevitable.

Teens everywhere drink, even teens here at Blair—and that is reality. The least adults could do is recognize this behavior and supervise it to make it safer.

According to Health Research Funding (HRF), many states, including Maryland, allow teenagers under the age of 21 to legally consume alcohol as long as the teen has parental permission and is on his or her parent’s property. These laws exist because they are believed to make the underage drinking of teenagers safer. Giving teenagers the opportunity to experiment with alcohol use in a safe environment can help prevent dangerous situations from occurring in the future.

When teenagers are educated by their parents on how to drink responsibly, alcohol loses the effect of being a “forbidden fruit.” Many European countries actually allow teenagers to drink before they turn 21. According to Engs’ article, “[In] groups such as Italians, Greeks, Chinese and Jews…Alcohol is neither seen as a poison or a magic potent, there is little or no social pressure to drink…young people learn at home from their parents and from other adults how to handle alcohol in a responsible manner.”

As a result of this, drunk driving accidents will become less common because teens will know how to handle the substances they are consuming; their parents will have taught them how to drink respon-

sibly as opposed to trying to scare them away from alcohol’s potential dangers.

According to MADD, car crashes are the leading cause of death among teens.

Most of these accidents involve an underage, impaired driver. In addition, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that an average of 16,375 teenagers ages 12-19 die in the United States every year; motor vehicle fatality is the leading cause with over one-third of all teen deaths per year.

Adult supervision of underage drinking could easily prevent hundreds of drunk driving accidents. For example, if a teenager is drunk and tries to drive home by him or herself, a parent would be able to stop him or her. Parents could help provide safer methods of transportation for all the teenagers that had been

drinking. Whether it is through calling Uber and cab drivers or driving the teenagers home themselves, parent supervision of teenage drinking parties would decrease the number of fatalities and accidents caused by drunk driving. Drunk driving is not the root of the irresponsibility that sometimes comes along with teenagers drinking. If it was, the driving age would be 21, not the drinking age. Teenagers can be irresponsible while drinking because they are unsupervised and cannot be stopped from making bad decisions, like drunk driving. If parents supervise teenage drinking parties, they can make sure that impaired teenagers do not get into cars and drive away.

Now of course I am not advocating for teenagers to go behind their parents’ backs and drink and then blame the repercussions of the decisions they made while inebriated on their parents for failing to supervise them. What I am saying is this: underage drinking is inevitable.

And as a community, parents and teenagers need to work together to minimize the damage that can be done as a result of it.

It is illegal for a good reason.

The car was going at least 65 in a 35 mph zone when it launched into the air.

The vehicle slammed into two trees and a fence. And in the backseat, two teenagers, recent Wootton graduates, died on impact. “We felt invincible,” a surviving passenger would later tell police.

Before the crash, the four students were leaving a party where teens were playing beer pong and drinking vodka, according to a police report obtained by the Washington Post. The host’s father, Kenneth Saltzman, was allegedly at home. Yet, a sober adult was not enough to prevent the tragedy. This story illustrates

not just the danSHIVANI MATTIKALLI gers of underage drinking, but the unnecessary risks that come with a party hosted or monitored by parents.

Underage drinking is dangerous by all measures, but also difficult to entirely eradicate. Adolescent brains are not fully developed until the early twenties and numerous studies have shown that binge drinking at a young age adversely affects memory and spatial reasoning skills. Still, about 11 percent of all alcohol in the U.S. is consumed by underage drinkers.

The idea of parent-hosted drinking parties is that the adults can ensure safety. But, Saltzman was at home during the party that preceded the fatal crash.

Reportedly, he even joked with a teenager bringing beer into the house and asked the kid if one of the 30-packs was for him.

Of course, Saltzman cannot be held entirely at fault for the deaths of the teenage boys. Getting in a car with an intoxicated driver is never an intelligent idea. But, his story shows that parties with parents around are not necessarily any safer than

SID HARMALKAR

Aditi Shetty their unsupervised alternatives.

Really, the whole idea that parents being at a party will encourage moderation is misguided. Many cite Europe as having a culture which has succeeded in teaching alcohol prudence to young people by providing it in a family setting. However, a plethora of recent research has shown that this “European drinking model” is not as effective as it seems.

For example, according to a study by the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs, teenagers in many European countries are more likely to binge drink than those in the United States. The study found that in half of European countries surveyed, between one-fifth and onethird of students reported binge drinking in the past 30 days, even though European teens are supposedly taught moderation at a young age. In the United States, slightly more than one-fifth of teenagers reported binge drinking, a lower rate than in about half of European countries polled.

Furthermore, a recent study by a team of Dutch scientists found that the more teens drink at home, the more they will drink elsewhere. Another study at Pennsylvania State University found that the more accepting parents are of drinking in high school, the more likely their children are to engage in “risky drinking behaviors” in college.

Both studies agree that the best way for a parent to combat underage drinking is to disapprove of it all together. Monitoring underage drinking parties, then, is certainly not the way to encourage alcohol safety in adolescents.

Parents should monitor and work to limit alcohol consumption in their children.

But condoning and normalizing underage drinking by being present at drinking parties is illegal and morally questionable.

Many states, including Maryland, allow parents to provide alcohol to their children in a private residence. This does not, under any circumstance, extend to furnishing alcohol to the children of others. Illicitly providing alcohol to someone else’s child, especially in light of the negative effects of drinking on adolescents, is unethical. And even though Kenneth Saltzman did not technically serve the alcohol at his daughter’s party, his tale is a precautionary one.

He is now the center of a massive controversy surrounding a parent’s responsibility to intervene in unsafe situations.

Underage alcohol use is endemic and difficult to treat, but research has shown again and again that a parent should not condone it. If there is a short or easy solution to the problem, parent-hosted parties are not it. The Wootton crash serves as a tragic warning of what really happens when parents monitor alcohol parties. In the end, the kids are not alright.

voicebox “No, teens should not be drinking at all.”

“Yes, because they are kids and otherwise will do crazy stuff.”

“No, parents won’t be able to handle teenage drinking parties.”

“Yes, so that people don’t drink and drive and do dumb stuff.”

BRENNAN WINER

Wilson Saguban Junior

Diane Dao Sophomore

Kathryn Mussenden Freshman

Matthew Michel Junior

Daniela Zelaya Senior

“Yes, parents should monitor parties so that people do not overdose on alcohol or drugs. ”

B3 Opinions

silverchips

December 17, 2015

Denying refugees means denying American values Governor Hogan’s stance is based in prejudice and xenophobia

By Sarah Hutter An opinion In light of the recent terrorist attacks on Paris, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan asked the federal government not to allow any more Syrian refugees into our state, citing them a “threat to public safety.” In a post on his Facebook page, Hogan stated, “Following the terrorist attacks on Paris just four days ago, and after careful consideration, I am now requesting that federal authorities cease any additional settlements of refugees from Syria in Maryland until the U.S. government can provide appropriate assurances that refugees from Syria pose no threat to public safety.”

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 6.5 million refugees are internally displaced within Syria, over 3 million have fled to neighboring countries such as Turkey and Lebanon, and almost 150,000 refugees have declared asylum in the European Union.

These refugees, who are fleeing the civil war in their home country, are in immediate need of a safe place to settle. By denying them entrance into Maryland, Hogan’s act violates core American values and is an example of

hypocrisy and xenophobia.

According to The Washington Post, nearly two-dozen other Republican governors, including New Jersey governor Chris Christie, have previously taken similar

positions as Hogan. Although Hogan and others have taken this position supposedly to fend off terrorist attacks, denying entrance

the entire Syrian population, as well as the religion of Islam, are responsible for the isolated acts of a few people. There is no defense for this kind of racism and prejudice. Syrian refugees are not fleeing their home country because they want to spread violence; they are fleeing because of the violence and danger they face in Syria.

Hogan’s reasoning is not only ridiculous but also hypocritical.

The United States is a country of immigrants, starting with the Pilgrims in the 1600s (who, by the way, were refugees). As Hogan’s statement was issued just before the Thanksgiving holiday, his intolerance really hit home.

Denying entrance to refugees has also been proven to be a bad idea in the past. According to political news blog Thinkprogress. org, during World War II, the United States would not allow over 900 Jewish refugees into the country MAR HKU BAT MEGHNA SAM because President Roosevelt was afraid that some of the refugees might be Nazi spies.

Ultimately, 254 of them died in the Holocaust, deaths which could have been prevented had they been granted asylum here. identified so far We should learn from our past is a Syrian national. By mistakes, not repeat them. Hogan denying refugees entrance into is using the same reasoning many Maryland, Hogan suggests that to an entire people based on the actions of a few extremists is xenophobic and racist.

The argument that Syrian refugees are more likely to be terrorists shows an intense prejudice toward an entire race of people. In fact, according to The Washington Post, not a single one of the Paris attackers

Americans used in 1939, claiming that the potential danger posed by a few justifies keeping everyone out.

Instead, we should mirror the tolerance and compassion shown by the French, who have opened their doors to those in need even after suffering horrendous terrorist attacks. According to The Washington Post, France has declared that it will accept over 30,000 Syrian refugees over the next two years. French President Francois Hollande stated that it was the country’s “humanitarian duty” to open its borders to refugees. The United States has an equal duty to protect those fleeing war and violence, and to show them compassion.

As Blair students, we understand how our school thrives on diversity and our openness toward other cultures. We cannot support the ignorant attitude of our own governor.

By writing letters and educating ourselves about Syria and the refugee crisis, we can protest Hogan’s actions and show our support for those who are displaced. We cannot allow our governor to take such a prejudiced stance against human beings in need without speaking up for what is right.

Gov. Hogan can be contacted at 410-974-3901 or 100 State Circle Annapolis, Maryland, 21401-1925.

Readers can also donate to refugees at www.unrefugees.org/donate.

Deconstructing the racist tirade of the grammar police

Slang is constantly invalidated, but sounding white should not be mandatory

By Mariam Jiffar An opinion Early in November, when I tweeted about the protests against racism at the University of Missouri (also known as “Mizzou”), I wasn’t surprised that some people disagreed with me. However, I was surprised when multiple adult, white strangers argued with me for hours over my use of the word “ain’t.” I was appalled as they called me uneducated, stupid, and even claimed I wouldn’t be able to find a job.

For using the word “ain’t.” On Twitter.

While it’s shocking that grown men would pick fights over something so silly, it’s not at all uncommon. I have seen countless people online try to get an important point across about racism or sexism but struggle with people who are caught up with exactly how they say it. Grammar should not be used as a weapon to oppress marginalized groups – it should be a tool we use to make ourselves understood.

First of all, the bashing of slang in informal arguments online is downright confusing. Social media platforms aren’t conducive to spell-checked, five paragraph essays – especially Twitter, where you have to make your message under 140 characters.

I believe that the purpose of spelling and grammar rules is to clearly convey ideas. If you understand someone well enough to nitpick their delivery, you are missing the point. Correcting someone’s grammar or word choice in the midst of a debate only serves to derail the conversation to fixate on that party’s supposed lack of sophistication and therefore, somehow, lack of a

valid argument.

What difference does it make if Yale student protesters have a sign that says “We out here” as opposed to “We’re out here” (a real complaint I saw on Twitter)? White America cannot have it both ways: if you want to use slang to make your “dank memes” funnier, you can’t turn around and scold black people when they say, “Racism ain’t right.”

Racial minorities never even had an opportunity to participate in the formalization of English.

Men in Great Britain started making English dictionaries in the 1500’s; African Americans in the U.S. were enslaved at that point.

And, over 300 years later, there were still laws against literacy for slaves. They weren’t legally allowed to know what was in dictionaries, let alone contribute to them. It’s unfair to hold everyone to the same set of grammar rules when the creators of those rules were so lacking in racial representation.

Even though slaves were denied formal education, they still developed a structured way to communicate: African American Vernacular English (AAVE).

It has undergone evolution since the times of slavery – like any other dialect – and is still commonly spoken today. Some regard it as a bastardization of standard English, but many professional linguists would disagree. It has a grammar all its own.

In his article “African American Vernacular English Is Not Standard English with Mistakes” (fitting, I know) linguist professor Geoffrey Pullum writes, “[AAVE] has a degree of regularity and stability attributable to a set of rules of grammar and pronun-

ciation, as with any language.”

Call it whatever you want: AAVE, ebonics, Black English Vernacular – it is a legitimate way to speak, and it deserves respect.

So, what does this mean for school instruction? Can students throw formality to the wind when writing papers, simply stating, “The Scarlet Letter: It was lit” ?

I don’t think that teachers should stop teaching dictionarystandard English.

High school serves as preparation for both higher education and the work force, and depending on your ethnicity, it might not pay to stick to your roots.

Research fellows from the National Bureau of Economic Research responded to help-wanted ads in Chicago and Boston newspapers with fake resumes, half of which had common African American names while

the other half had common white names. The white names got 50 percent more callbacks. It’s not exactly the same thing as slang, but sounding black ostensibly does not help a prospective employee’s application.

Learning

IA

OR

T VIC

AI

TS

how to sound white seems like a painful necessity to move

up in society. However, we should not trivialize other forms of English by saying there is a right way to speak and a wrong way – there is a profitable way and an unprofitable way. Students of color deserve affirmation from their teachers that the way they talk is valid. Furthermore, all students need to learn not to judge one another based on white linguistic ideals. Then maybe when those students grow up to be managers or CEOs, they won’t turn down an applicant on that basis. Maybe they will better understand how they could be missing out on the smartest employee they would ever have.

There should be much more appreciation for the complexity and validity of dialects that aren’t standard English. The “standard” was created and upheld by white people who refused to teach minorities their rules and then mocked them when they took language into their own hands. It is up to us to show both older generations and future ones that there ain’t nothing wrong with the way we speak at all.

Opinions B4

silverchips

December 17, 2015

Letter or percentage grading: Choosing the lesser of two evils

Why letter grading earns an A while percentage grading fails students

By Christian Mussenden An opinion We all know that thrill you get when you just barely get the grade you wanted in a class – when you are finally bumped up to a B or even that coveted 89.5 percent.

Despite all the work that was needed and the stress of balancing your time and effort for your other classes, you have succeeded. With letter grading, this feeling is common for many students.

Our current letter grading policy is beneficial for students trying to navigate our school system which puts more emphasis on grades, graduation rates, and college acceptances more than education. Percent grading, a system that is currently implemented by numerous school districts nationwide, involves showing your exact percentage on your transcript rather than A, B, C, D, or E. Letter grading allows for students to focus their attention on all of school rather than attaining a certain percentage for one class. The percentage grading system causes more work and stress for students.

We currently operate under a flawed system where grades are more important than learning.

Students now care so much more about the grade on their report card than the actual content they are absorbing. For students in this system, letter grades give a privilege: the benefit of the doubt. With the letter grading system, a student with an 89.6 percent is classified as performing at the same level as someone with a 95.6 percent. Not only does this leeway give students some much needed stress alleviation, but it also gives

students the ability to be flexible when dealing with their grades in other classes.

Take, for example, a student who has two tests to study for in one night: one in math and one in English. He can get a C on the math test and it will not drop him below the minimum for the letter grade he now holds. If he is positive that he can earn a C on the math test with minimal studying, then he has the freedom to spend the majority of his night studying for his upcoming English test.

With the percentage grading system, however, he would feel pressured to earn a high grade on both tests in order to sustain a high percentage in both his math and English classes. This pressure could cause him to spend his night studying for both tests, which could lead to minimal studying for one test or spend the whole night studying for both. Both options would cause him to drastically cut into his sleep schedule.

A 2014 survey conducted by the University of Phoenix found that an average high school student has 3.5 hours of homework every night, adding up to 17.5 hours a week. The percentage grading system would certainly cause an uptick in that number as students will stress over every single assignment, taking away time for many things that are vital to the high school experience like extracurricular activities and spending time with friends.

It would also damage teenagers’ health, with the increase in stress and a decrease in sleep. If every student coveted the highest percentage possible, then the percentage grading system would

inevitably cause more work, which is the last thing this generation of students needs.

Our generation of teenagers is incredibly stressed out. In 2014, the American Psychological Association surveyed 1,018 teens and found that 31 percent felt overwhelmed due to stress. Who can blame us? College costs are at an unprecedented high, not to mention the litany of problems that come with being a growing teenager. With all that taken into account, imagine if your parents, guardians, or prospective colleges pressured you to get a 95 percent in every class? Could you imagine the workload and stress that would come from that?

Letter grading causes more academic competition among students, making them have to distinguish themselves in different ways. If every student who has an 89.6 and above is thought of as being an A student, it motivates students to separate themselves from their peers in other ways such as sports, clubs, and community service. Furthermore, these activities can help students find something they are passionate about outside of school. Percentage grading would mean that students would stop participating in these activities because it would

likely drive them to spend more time working towards the highest percentage possible instead.

The letter grading system is not perfect. It has problems such as arbitrary guidelines that determine semester grades. While the percentage grading system does allow for a better assessment of a

student’s progress in a course, the negatives of the percent grading system such as increased work and stress load greatly outweigh the negatives of the letter grading system. We should hope that MCPS does not plan to move toward percentage grading and away from letter grading anytime soon.

MCPS Grading Policy A

89.5% - 100%

B 79.5% - 89.4% C

69.5% - 79.4%

D 59.5% - 69.4% E

0% - 59.4%

ALEXANDRA MARQUEZ

B5 Opinion

silverchips

THEN: 1969

December 17, 2015

My Blair: Personal Column Rethinking education

By Emma Cross Guest writer

COURTESY OF SILVER CHIPS ARCHIVES

BLAZER BALLERS Brothers Alvin (30) and Stewart Carter (32) reach for the rebound against two members of the High Point basketball team in the opening game of the 1969 junior varsity season.

& NOW: 2015

GRIFFIN REILLY

CONTESTED SHOT In a boys’ varsity basketball game, senior Jordan Cobb goes up for a jump shot against three Walter Johnson defenders.

When MCPS recently announced the end of final exams after this school year, most students were excited that they won’t have to take their dreaded twohour exams anymore.

But amidst this excitement, students failed to consider that maybe the reason MCPS took away final exams is not for the wellbeing of its students, but for the wellbeing of its reputation as a highly ranked public education system.

Over 70 percent of MCPS students failed the Algebra 1 exam in 2015, according to the Washington Post. Failure rates are increasing in the core classes.

There are multiple ways of fixing this issue, but taking away exams is not one of them.

Taking away these exams is essentially a way for MCPS to hide its failures. The large population of students failing these exams are not at fault. MCPS is at fault for not providing adequate teaching to prepare students for the exams.

It’s not like there isn’t a lot of work. As I get older, I seem to be inundated with more and more work. But what are the results of the stress fiesta that high school has become? The outcome is remarkably underwhelming.

I can compare this with my elementary school education, which all took place in Glasgow, Scotland, where I lived until I was 12. Glasgow is the biggest city in Scotland and has a very highly ranked public school system. I don’t ever remember being stressed in my Scottish school -- I probably got homework once a month, if that.

If you forgot to bring your homework to school, or simply didn’t do it, the teacher would give you a stern look and tell you to bring it the next day, but this had no real consequence. School was not remotely challenging. Yes, that was sixth grade -- but I have visited since, and all my friends tell of me a very different life than what I experience today in the United States.

Obviously my life changed a lot when I moved, but nothing could have prepared me

for the brutal workload of MCPS. Even in my first days of seventh grade, I had never in my life been expected to do so much work in one night, and as the years passed, my existence snowballed into a life that consisted of school, homework, and sleep -- or lack thereof.

However, the result of all this work is baffling. The problem with having a “successful” school system such as MCPS is that students are expected to do completely unreasonable amounts of work that seem to have very little positive repercussions. MCPS teaches its students like robots, and it seems to the students that all the school system cares about is how well we perform on tests so it can keep its reputation. The system doesn’t appear to care about our wellbeing or the quality of the teaching.

The fact is that MCPS and other highly ranked public school systems have become absorbed in the destination, but CHIMEY SONAM not the journey itself of education. They are so fixated on rankings and test scores, but I think they care about these rankings for all the wrong reasons.

These school systems need to learn that they are making life a living hell for their students. To get into a good college, students are expected to take honors, AP classes, extracurriculars, and help their community. After the typical four hours of homework every night and expectations added on, students don’t have time to live, much less enjoy a normal family and social life. For not only my own sanity but that of my peers also, I think that not just MCPS, but other public education systems across the country need to start thinking about the journey the students are taking rather than the destination that is educational reputation.

Want to submit a personal column? Email it to silver.chips.print@gmail.com The Editorial Board will read through all submissions and determine a selection.

Up and Coming December 24-January 1

January 15, 19-21

Winter Break

Semester Exams

January 18 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

January 25

Professional Day

Student & Teacher Awards & Honors Senior Amy Li won one silver medal and two bronze medals at the World Wushu Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The cheerleading team won first place as well as the Spirit Award in Division II at the MCPS Cheer Competition on Nov. 14.

Members of the National Art Honors Society had their artwork displayed at the Russel Rotunda in the Senate Building Nov. 30 - Dec. 4.

Boys’ varsity soccer won the Regional Championships and competed in the State Semifinals.

Four music students were accepted into the MCPS Jr. Honors Band, four students were accepted into the MCPS Sr. Honors Band and Jazz Band, five students were accepted into the MCPS Sr. All County Orchestra, seven students were accepted into the All State Junior Band and Orchestra, 16 students were accepted into the All State Senior Band and Orchestra, and one student was accepted into the All National Band.

Senior Angel Wen won the regional American Chemical Society poem competition.

Senior Jesse Griff-McMahon was selected for First Team All-Met in soccer. Senior William McMillian was selected for Second Team All-Met in soccer.

Editorials B6

silverchips

December 17, 2015

Not funny, not okay: Stop throwing around “terrorist”

We must stand against those who bully Muslim students for their faith When Principal Renay Johnson’s voice crackled to life over the school loudspeakers on Wednesday, Dec. 9, many Blazers were surprised. At a school as famously diverse as Blair, could it really be true that Muslim students were being bullied for their faith, called things like “terrorist” and “un-American”?

Unfortunately, Principal Johnson’s statements were absolutely true. In the wake of ISIS attacks in Paris and a mass shooting in San Bernardino apparently motivated by Islamic extremist ideology, Muslim students at our school and across the nation are reporting increased bullying.

On Dec. 3, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch told a Muslim group that she has seen “an incredibly disturbing rise in antiMuslim rhetoric” recently, and Council on American Islamic Relations spokesperson Ibrahim Hooper told Al Jazeera, “I don’t have a figure on number of [anti-Muslim] attacks, but it’s unprecedented.”

While the details of the incident Johnson spoke of have not been released, Muslim Blazers told Chips that they have experienced Islamophobic bullying. “[A Blair student] said that America was going to trade me to ISIS to stop the war,” said sophomore Mohsan Hussain.

We commend Principal Johnson’s prompt response to the bullying incidents as a first step toward school-wide awareness. However, intolerance remains a problem at Blair. Junior Suad Mohamud said that she witnessed insensitivity from Blair students even after Johnson spoke about the need for increased tolerance. According to Mohamud, several boys in her class began pretending that they were Muslim victims of bullying in order to mock Johnson’s statements. “I felt they had hate for my beliefs, and it made me sad because it’s those ideas that ended up creating a society

where people don’t accept us,” Mohamud said.

Blazers must realize that anti-Muslim intolerance is a problem in our own community, not one limited to people like Donald Trump. Mohamud says she experienced blatant Islamophobia just blocks from Blair.

“A week ago, I went into Starbucks with a couple of friends, and as I was on my way back to school a little boy came up to me, and he asked me, ‘Why are you hurting America?’” Mohamud said. “And then his mother approached and told him to stay away from me, and to not talk to me.”

Statements like these, which equate all Muslims with terrorists, are absurd. Terrorists may claim that their actions are justified

by Islam, but their ideology is in direct opposition to what most Muslims believe about their faith. “In our holy book it says that killing is the worst sin,” sophomore Zeeshan Hussain said. “All the stuff [terrorists] do is just sin. It makes no sense.”

To condemn an entire religion and its believers based off of the actions of a few does not make any sense either.

Blair prides itself on being a tolerant and diverse community, but we cannot claim to be accepting while Muslim students continue to face harassment and discrimination.

All students have the right to feel safe and accepted by their community, regardless of religion.

Creating a welcoming environment will require work. It is not enough simply to show tolerance; we must also actively embrace our Muslim peers and speak out when we witness discrimination—even in the form of seemingly benign jokes. No matter the tone, calling a student a terrorist or other charged slurs is never acceptable.

Blazers and Blair community members must stand united against Islamophobia. As Ms. Johnson said, that is the true Blair way.

VICTORIA TSAI

Do you have any feedback or see any mistakes? Let us know.

E-mail the editors at silver.chips.print@gmail.com

Thanks to Silver Chips Online and Blair Network Communications for collaborating on this issue. See pages A2 and F1 for their work.

See your name in shining lights—or, more accurately, newsprint Answering your questions about reader input and community submissions

By Camille Kirsch This cycle, we have received many questions from readers about the best way to get their views into the paper. Since there seems to be confusion on what kind of reader input we publish and how we accept it, I thought I would take the opportunity to clarify our submissions policies. Here is a guide to what to do to get your unique message heard.

If you want to discuss a topic the paper has not covered: Submit a Personal Column! Personal Columns are generally 500 to 700 words and stem from your own life experience. They can be humorous, serious, or anywhere in between—past columns have covered topics such as being transgender at Blair, the dysfunction of the school parking lot, and reactions to policy changes. Please note that Personal Columns cannot be anonymous and that we cannot guarantee all submitted columns will be published. To submit your work, save the column as a Word document and send it by email to ombudsmansilverchips@gmail.com.

If you want to react to a Chips article or

policy: Submit a Letter to the Editors! We welcome letters that constructively criticize or praise our reporting. We have run letters from readers reacting to coverage on scoliosis treatment, Physical Education, crisis pregnancy centers, and so much more. If you have something to say about something we’ve said, this is your chance.

Letters to the Editor should be short; we typically look for pieces around 100 to 400 words, although we have occasionally published longer letters.

To submit your work, save your letter as a Word document and send it to both ombudsman. silverchips@ gmail.com and silver. chips.print@ gmail.com.

If you GRIFFIN REILLY want to advertise a club or event: The best thing to do would be to purchase an advertisement in Silver Chips for as little as $25. Our Business Staff can work with you to develop an effective ad and to help you determine which price and size works best for your organization.

Send an email to silverchips.business@ gmail.com to get in touch with them.

We also cover many significant events put on by Blair community organizations.

Ombudsman Camille Kirsch

If you believe that an activity or event that your organization sponsors is newsworthy and should be covered in a full-length article, you can contact us at silver.chips.print@ gmail.com with the details of the event, its date, and why it should be in the paper.

If you want your views to run alongside an article: One article in every section of the paper has a Soapbox, which features student answers to a question related to the article’s topic. For an example of a Soapbox, turn to page B1, where you can read student answers to the question, “Do you think we should have outdoor education in high schools?”

In the weeks leading up to the paper’s publication, Editors-in-Chief Eleanor Harris and Amanda Wessel will post the Soapbox questions on Twitter and share them with Blair English teachers. You can respond to these questions through your English class or by tweeting your response to @Silver_ Chips, the paper’s Twitter account.

If you want your artwork published: Each cycle, Chips spotlights a Blair artist’s work in our Blazer Box, which runs on page D6. It features drawings, paintings, and comics. To submit your work to Blazer Box, pick up a form from the envelope outside room 158 and fill the provided box with your original artwork, then place the completed form back in the submission envelope. We will contact you if your work is selected for Blazer Box. These categories encompass most of the student feedback that we run in the paper.

Unfortunately, if your submission does not fit into any of these categories, we may not be able to publish it. There are some things that Silver Chips generally does not include in the paper. For example, we typically do not publish lengthy or anonymous contributions, and we look for sound argumentation and logical cohesion in publishable student submissions. We will not print obscene pieces or those that advocate illegal activity. We are also unable to publish creative writing. Consider contacting Silver Quill, Blair’s literary arts magazine, with your poetry and fiction.

Here at Chips, we prize every piece of feedback community members send in. We consider each submission carefully when deciding whether or not to publish it, and even unpublished letters often have a big impact on our policies. If we had enough space to publish every piece we received, we would certainly do so. We regret that we are unable to print every community submission.

But don’t be discouraged! If you submit a well-thought-out piece that follows the guidelines I’ve outlined above, your contribution will most likely be published. Silver Chips is a public forum for student expression, and as such, we make every effort to showcase Blazer views. You, too, could see your name in print.

Comments or concerns?

Email the Ombudsman at ombudsmansilverchips@gmail.com

Corrections On page A1, the photo of a food truck was misattributed to Cadence Pearson. It was taken by Caleb Bauman.

In the C2 article “Going beyond the Student Service Learning requirement,” the organization Little Friends for Peace was misprinted as Little Sons for Peace.

The A5 newsbrief “MoCo narrows down superintendent selection” reported incorrect information about the superintendent search. The Montgomery County mentioned referred to Montgomery County, Virginia.

B7 ADs

silverchips

December 17, 2015

December 17, 2015

Features C1

silverchips

Take me to church? For some teenagers, the answer is no Students cultivate religious beliefs that are different than their parents’ from RELIGION page A1

tion attempts to reconcile all religious beliefs, encouraging people to seek their own spiritual path. A Unitarian Universalist church welcomes individuals from all religions to worship without a formal creed, or a specific set of beliefs. Andrea

church lacked. “The Lutheran religion isn’t that much different from Catholicism,” Coté says. “[But] the feel that I get from my church now is that it’s more about service to the community rather than anything else. It’s about getting the most from your

“My parents kind of gave me the choice whether to do that or not and I chose not to, even though my sister and my brother had,” Coté says. “I didn’t feel like that was the right way for me.” Ultimately, his parents felt that he was old enough to make the decision.

When Cruz told his mother Christianity did not play as significant a role in his life as it did in hers, she supported his decision. “She said that ‘It’s all right, as long as you know what you’re doing...and what you’re getting into,’” he says.

Xu, on the other hand, meets parental disapproval as he continues to attend church service every Sunday.

“They’re like, ‘You could be working instead of going to church. It’s not going to help you,’” Xu explains. “[But] their opinions are not going to help me in the long run.”

celebrate all the holidays, because it’s so culturally tied to India.”

Senior Gabriel Coté grew up in the Catholic faith, and like Katie, has never felt a personal connection to his religion. Financial matters within the Catholic Church often bothered him.

“The Catholic faith is so based around money and I didn’t like that aspect of it,” Coté says. “We would invite people into our church to bring money into our community.”

Unlike Katie and Coté, senior Lytton Xu is more religious than either of his parents. He says that his Christian faith is strengthened through his grandmother. “[My parents] are too busy to be religious. They work a lot so I don’t think they have the chance to go to church,” Xu explains. “I go with my brother and I’m religious because of my grandma. My grandma got me into religion.”

Marco Cruz, a freshman, and Grace Gretschel, a sophomore, are both less religious than their parents. Cruz grew up attending Catholic mass services with his mother as a result of her devout Catholic upbringing. “[My mom’s] parents, too, were religious and strict. They always took my mom to church and she believed in God. She was Christian so she wanted me COURTESY OF LYTTON XU to do it,” he says.

Gretschel’s religious upbring- TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITY Senior Lytton Xu appreciates the comfort of the social network ing was also fostered by her family’s his church provides. Here, Xu attends a church trip to a pumpkin patch as a middle schooler.

Catholicism. “[My parents] grew up as Catholics,” Gretschel recalls. “[As I grew up,] they always took me to church every Sunday. On religious holidays they [also] did that.”

Finding one’s own path

Amanda Aakes, the coordinator for a youth Episcopalian program called Faith on Fire, affirms the importance of questioning religion. “I think it’s a good thing to question religion…I don’t think we are ever called to follow blindly,” Aakes says. “We can’t grow in our faith unless we question it or test it and really come to a better understanding of it.”

Coté emphasizes the importance of being able to independently choose one’s religion. “A lot of times people don’t really find religion on their own.

They’re mostly introduced to it and then they follow it,” he says. “I’ve always been a person to question my beliefs…If religion can help people do good things, then why not? Why not Changing times do it? Why not support that?”

For today’s teenagers, youth Cruz and Gretschel are among groups are a good way to find meanthe growing number of young people ing within one’s faith, according to who are unaffiliated with any religion.

St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church youth According to Pew Research Center, director Brian Werth. “We really need more and more millennials identify to provide a positive environment for as atheists or agnostics, or simply inour students to feel free to be a part of dicate that their religion is “nothing in the Church. A lot of people have negaparticular.” In one survey, the Center tive feelings towards the Church and found that “Fully one-in-four memthey may not feel like it’s their home,” bers of the Millennial generation...are Werth says. “The idea is to make unaffiliated with any particular faith.” [church] a home.”

Pew Research Center attributes As an active member of his church’s this growing number of less devout youth group, Xu appreciates the sense youth to increasing acceptance of hoof hospitality within his [church’s mosexuality and belief in evolution as name](?). “Being in church and having “the best explanation of human life.” a group of people that are welcomGretschel indicates that these stances ing and also just good people to be contribute to her withdrawal from Caaround, I feel like that’s what keeps BEN DOGGETT BEN DOGGETT tholicism. me locked into my faith,” he says.

A DIFFERENT PATH Senior Gabriel Coté was UNAFFILIATED Sophomore Grace Gretschel “Catholics are very pro-life and Similarly, Coté suggests that comI have a more liberal view on abor- raised Catholic but converted to Lutheranism. says that she now identifies as an atheist. munity is a significant part of his faith. tion [as well as on] gay marriage,” “You can really love the faith but if Gretschel says. “I didn’t really feel like Spencer-Linzie, the Interim Director of religion and then giving back to the com- the people around you aren’t doing it for [Catholic beliefs] were important to me as Religious Education at the Unitarian Uni- munity.” you, it’s not going to all come together,” he versalist Congregation of Rockville, notes a person.” says. As a Lutheran Christian, he is encourUnlike mother, unlike daughter Similarly, Katie disagrees with the an- the importance of finding a congregation aged to share his religion with others.“[The cient Hindu tradition of arranged marriage. in which one feels welcomed.

Lutheran faith is] more like a sharing,” he “If you’re in a place where you don’t feel Because Hinduism plays an essential says. “Share but don’t force.”

“The whole thing with arranged marriage, where marriage isn’t entirely a thing about comfortable, you need to find a place that is role in her mother’s life, Katie keeps her Katie, despite nagging from her parents love rather than it is about family...I don’t comfortable for you,” Spencer-Linzie says. beliefs a secret. “I like to front that I am to go to temple and celebrate holidays, says really want that,” she says. Since her par- “We have a lot of people in our congrega- Hindu. I don’t really want to make her sad she understands her parents’ desire that ents have immigrated to the United States, tion who are gay or lesbian…or transgen- because I know that she does believe in she follow Hinduism. “People are like, ‘ParKatie’s mother has relaxed her views on ar- der and they feel really welcomed [where- that religion,” Katie explains. “She wants ents shouldn’t force their religion on their ranged marriage and will allow Katie to se- as those] people wouldn’t necessarily feel the best for me and I guess the best for me children,’ but like it’s not really them forcwould be to have faith in God, at least that’s ing something on a child. Rather, [they’re] lect her future husband. “I guess now that welcomed in other churches.”

Coté, after leaving the Catholic Church, what she thinks.” she’s growing with me and learning more trying to introduce something that they Coté decided to withdraw from the believe is best for them,” she explains. “If about what goes on in the United States,” was introduced to the Lutheran faith by Katie explains. “[It’s more] about [finding] a friend. He discovered that there was an Catholic Church when it was time to re- you really do believe in a God, and you’re emphasis on community service at his new ceive Confirmation, a ceremony that Cath- praying to a God, then [wouldn’t] you think somebody good that she approves of.”

The Unitarian Universalist Congrega- church—an aspect he believes his Catholic olic teenagers undergo around age 13. your child should do that too?”

CANDIA GU

C2 Features

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December 17, 2015

Meet the MCPS P.E. teacher running the MocoSnow twitter

Alex Tsironis gives insight on snow predictions and social media

By Georgina Burros As a former MCPS student, Alex Tsironis knows the anticipation of waking up bright and early to a snow day. Now, Tsironis, a Montgomery County physical education teacher at the Blair Ewing Center, anticipates the possibility of a snow day or two-hour delay and quickly flips through his most trusted weather apps, a local meteorologist’s predictions, and his MCPS connections, who are already surveying county roads. After all of this, Tsironis, the owner of the MoCoSnow Twitter account, tweets a weather and school

cancellation prediction out to his 7,500+ followers.

Beginnings of MoCoSnow

Tsironis wasn’t an overnight success; MoCoSnow had a humble beginning. “Initially it was a bulletin board in one of my classrooms that I had in my health class, and anytime there was snow I would show my prediction on the bulletin board, and kids would tell their friends, [and] they were like, ‘You should make a website!’ so I made a website.” he says.

After much encouragement from his students, Tsironis launched his Twitter account, @MCPSsnow, roughly three years ago.

However, MoCoSnow didn’t really take off among MCPS students until last winter.

The account gained more than 6,000 new followers after his tweets spread quickly among MCPS students.

Tsironis is best known for his consistently accurate snow predictions. His success in garnering such a huge following--one that includes high school principals, parents, and even the MCPS Chief Operating Officer, wasn’t due to his predictions alone.

In creating MoCoSnow, Tsironis aimed to present the most specific forecast possible ahead of many news channels and official county announcements.

“I created MoCoSnow so that students and parents [would] have a place to go to see the latest and most CALEB BAUMAN simplified weather forecast SNOW MAN As MoCo Snow, Tsironis has a 96 per- for Montgomery County, cent accuracy rate for his school closing predictions. MD,” Tsironis writes on his

website. “I compile forecasts from different computer models, television stations, and websites to put together what I feel would be the most accurate forecast.” Tsironis tweets about MCPS happenings and his opinions as well as about the weather.

For students, there is always a desire to be constantly informed on the latest weather updates. “Everyone wants to know...if we’re going to have school the next day or if there’s going to be a delay or anything like that,” says Tsironis, “…the easiest way to [spread predictions about that] is social media. One person tweets something out, then someone retweets it, and they tell someone about it,” says Tsironis. “People love talking about it, people love guessing, people love…kind of arguing with me, you know; it’s fun.”

Pencil predictions Given the possibility of even an inch of snow, Tsironis studies past MCPS weather decisions in similar situations. “I compare [weather conditions]...if we have freezing snow that falls that midnight, what did we do last year when the same thing happened?” says Tsironis. His online blog is updated with a five-point pencil system, ranging from one pencil (we are definitely having school tomorrow) to five (bring out the pajamas and Netflix because there is an absolute chance of a snow day).

However, Tsironis’ predictions can never be 100 percent accurate because school schedules, delays, and snow days are in the hands of the MCPS officials who ultimately make the final decision. “Just because I tell people that there will be no school doesn’t mean ‘don’t do your homework…or stay up late,’” says Tsironis. “It’s just a prediction.”

Tsironis says that, over the last five years, his predictions have been 96 percent accurate.

Student appreciation For junior Prim Phoolsombat, being able to see the reactions of students and the humorous and unofficial nature of the account

COURTESY OF ALEX TSIRONIS

SNOW-READY Alex Tsironis has been running MoCo Snow’s Twitter since 2011. makes it more enjoyable. “I find it interesting to see his predictions, just so I can get my hopes up or down…rather than relying on it as a really accurate sort of measurement.

Mostly I rely on it just to see the funny responses, and just to see the culture that comes with it,” says Phoolsombat.

What started in the back of Tsironis’ classroom has transformed into online orders of ‘MoCoSnow’ t-shirts and sweaters as well as thousands of Twitter followers. While many MCPS students don’t know the man behind MoCoSnow, for Tsironis, his success is a huge accomplishment. “I love talking to people. Every time I tweet something, if it’s right before a storm, we’ll have hundreds of people reply, and it’s fun to hear what people think” he says.

Junior Chris Isaac is one of those students interacting with MoCoSnow, and for him, it is all about the personality behind the tweets.

“I like the fact that if you ask…a question,” says Isaac, “[Tsironis will] reply to you and answer with an honest answer.”

BLISS program gives a whole new meaning to the word “buddy” New initiative aims to connect high-achieving language students with ESOL peers

teacher, and I didn’t make a lot of friends in elementary school. Once I got out of ESOL, I Room 172 is almost silent. There is a sense started making more friends and I realized a of anxiousness and excitement as students lot of the ESOL students here are very isolated look around for their buddies. Junior Juliana from the Blair community, and I wanted to do Lu-Yang and sophomore Tanjum Chowdsomething to better integrate them.” hury sit down next to each other, meeting Eventually, Sint dropped out of the opfor the first time. The two start off eration, but Lewis and Nguyen by making small talk and are soon kept developing their program. exchanging their various likes and At the end of last year, Lewis and dislikes with ease.

Nguyen decided to merge the ESOL Lu-Yang and Chowdhury, two language-tutoring program with students that hail from completely BLISS Buddies, which incorporated different Blair social groups, are many of Lewis’ and Nguyen’s ideas, forming a relationship incredibly including matching up pairs based quickly. Soon after meeting, they on language. This way, students like discover a common affection for the Lu-Yang and Chowdhury are able to animated action movie “Big Hero 6”; develop a relationship that’s more a few minutes later, they are chatting than just a “tutor-tutee” one. comfortably.

Lu-Yang and Chowdhury are Lu-Yang and Chowdhury are part getting more and more comfortof a new program within Blair Leadable. Chowdhury shows Lu-Yang ers Interning for Student Success pictures of her family on her phone, (BLISS). BLISS Buddies matches a describing each relative’s personalstudent in the English for Speakers ity and mannerisms. Eventually, of Other Languages (ESOL) program the buddies are asked to set goals with an English-speaking Blazer to on what they want to do outside bring together students who would of school with their new friend in not normally meet. order to further develop their rela BLISS Buddies was first proposed tionship. This pair only needs a few three years ago, when then-Blair stuminutes to decide what they want dents Annaleigh Baremore and Elia to do together. “We both really like Tzoukermann—now graduates— action movies so we decided we were participating in the BLISS are going to make one together.” tutoring program, a student-led Chowdhury says. initiative in which high-performing The meeting is over, but Chowstudents help peers with academics. dhury and Lu-Yang have made GRIFFIN REILLY Baremore and Tzoukermann enpositive impressions on each other. joyed working with ESOL students, FAST FRIENDS Junior Juliana Lu-Yang and sophomore Tanjum Chowdhury write down their common in- “[Tanjum’s] a really sweet girl. She’s so they began to collaborate with terests during the first BLISS Buddies meeting of the year to form strong bonds with fellow BLISS tutors. really enthusiastic when it comes Cindy Spoon, an ESOL teacher, to to meeting new people, and we do create a program that would integrate ESOL created with BLISS Buddies for a project in emphasizing social interaction and support. have a decent number of common interests,” students into the Blair community. their CAP Junior Seminar class. The project, This idea had personal roots, especially Lu-Yang says. Chowdhury feels the same way.

“We came up with this idea of matching called the “start-up” project, is an assignment for Nguyen. “In elementary school I was “[Juliana] is really nice!” she says.

ESOL students with high-achieving students that aims to get students out of the classroom an ESOL student myself, and I felt very Lu-Yang and Chowdhury are going to atso that the two groups would interact a little and into the community to make a change. isolated,” Nguyen said. “I was taken to a tempt to become friends over the school year, bit more,” says Spoon. “The ESOL students “The purpose of the start-up project is to different room, I was taught by a different and that’s what BLISS Buddies is all about.

By Christian Mussenden

could practice their English, and hopefully have a student that could guide them more into activities at Blair,” she says.

The program was still in its infancy when current seniors Olivia Lewis, Tuyet Nguyen, and Julia Sint came up with an idea similar to what Baremore and Tzoukermann had

get students to actually do something rather than just study something,” says CAP Junior Seminar teacher Kevin Shindel.

Lewis, Nguyen, and Sint proposed a program that would match ESOL students with students fluent in English who were learning the ESOL students’ native language,

silverchips

December 17, 2015

Features C3

Adoptive families are connected by choice, not blood

Questions of origin and belonging complicate adolescent identity

By Aditi Shetty She was the youngest of 10 kids, born to poor parents in Guatemala. When she was only a couple months old, she came down with a deadly fever. That could have been the end of her life, as she lived in a country with an infant mortality rate more than five times that of the United States. But then Maria Harris was adopted.

Of the 135,000 children adopted in the United States each year, about 26 percent were born outside of the country, like Harris, now a Blair sophomore.

Adoptions, including many international ones, can save lives by placing children into safe and loving families. Yet, despite its positive impact, adoption leads to a unique emotional situation which can cause strain on the children and families involved.

Blood relations

younger sister’s biological father.

Byrd and his sisters moved frequently when they were younger. They eventually settled with a friend of their father whom they call “Mom.” Although the family was established by the time Byrd was in elementary school, he says that the situation did not settle down for a while. “[My sisters and I] fought a lot as children, probably up till seventh grade for me. That was when we stabilized as a family,” he says. However, once things settled down, the adoption has not been a point of conflict in his life. “It hasn’t affected me at all,” he says.

Harris, however, has some lingering questions about her adoption. She knows that her adoptive mother and birth mother had met before Harris was born, but she does not know how the women met. She

when adopted children and their parents are of different races, the adoptive parents tend to have a considerable amount of influence over the child’s cultural perceptions. “Their identity depends on how that adopted family has respected and honored their origin or their race to make them still feel connected,” she says.

Singer agrees that connection to roots is critical. “Teens are dealing with identity, and how do you form your identity if you don’t have a strong connection to a very huge piece of who you are?” she asks.

Zwerdling has had some exposure to Chinese culture. Zwerdling’s adoptive parents are Jewish, so she had a bat mitzvah at 13. However, in a unique cultural twist, the party took place in a Chinese restaurant.

She also attended Chinese school until fifth grade.

“Back then, it was nice to go to my orphanage. It was kind of emotional, but it didn’t hold a ton of meaning.” She also feels drawn to China’s culture, which is quite different from her own.

also wonders if her birth parents left her anything to remember them by besides the photograph.

Zwerdling knows more about her past than most adopted children do. Her parents provided her with some information about her life in China, which was enough to draw a vague picture of the situation surrounding her birth parents. “It was pretty clear that [my birth mother] didn’t want to put me up for adoption, because I was put in the orphanage and then taken out and then put back into the orphanage,” Zwerdling says.

She speculates that her birth parents put her up for adoption due to China’s recently changed one-child policy. “Boys are [considered] the favorable child to have if you can only have one,” she says. In fact, more than 90 percent of the 70,000 Chinese children adopted internationally since 1991 have been girls.

On the other hand, Harris feels disconnected from her Guatemalan origins, and struggles to engage herself with the language. “I find it hard to learn Spanish. My [adoptive] mom does speak Spanish... But I find it hard to learn Spanish because I don’t know my background very well, so… I get very personal about it,” she says.

Zwerdling visited her former orphanage in Changzhou in 2010. The experience was enjoyable, but also quite foreign. “[China] is really polluted, and I didn’t feel completely safe because you can’t drink tap water,” she says. “But it was nice.”

What struck Zwerdling the most about the orphanage was the number of disabled children. “All the older kids are generally disabled,” she says. “[The orphanages] want to help these kids, but generally they put forth the ones that seem most appealing.”

Because she was only 10 when she visited, Zwerdling feels that the trip did not hold as much meaning as it would now. “I think it would be more interesting to go back because I’m more mature now,” she says.

Not easy, but worth it

While they acknowledge these challenges, Bartz, Harris, and Zwerdling are overwhelmingly thankful for the opportunities their adoptions have provided for them.

“If I was still in China,” Bartz says, “I wouldn’t be here playing soccer, doing all the really cool stuff [I do]. In China, it’s a lot poorer and I’m guessing my mom was really poor, so I probably have a much better life here.”

Zwerdling thinks that in light of her interrupted history at the orphanage, it seems like her birth mother did not want to give her up, but something made her do it anyway. “I think that if I hadn’t been given up I’d probably have to stay hidden,” she says.

“I don’t think my parents would resent me, but they’d probably much rather have a boy, so I’d probably be working all the time.”

Harris, who was mortally sick as an infant, credits adoption with giving her another shot at life. “I don’t think I would’ve been alive if I hadn’t been adopted,” she says.

One race, another culture

Zwerdling was raised Jewish by her parents, but she does not feel a strong connection with her adoptive faith. “I never religiously felt very Jewish. My family wanted me to have a bat mitzvah, so I did it, and I’m in confirmation now, but none of it really agrees with me,” she says. “If I marry someone who wants to raise the children Jewish, I’ll go with it, but my personal preference is no religion.”

Children adopted internationally can feel a disconnect between their physical features and their cultural identity, as Harris says she does. “I consider myself Hispanic, but at the same time, I consider myself white because I was brought up in a white family,” says Harris.

“Race-wise, [I’m] Asian, definitely, but culturally probably more white,” says Zwerdling. “There are lots of… parts of Asian culture that I have nothing to do with, but racewise Asian is always first.”

Zwerdling admits feeling like she must COURTESY OF MARIA HARRIS COURTESY OF A.J. BARTZ adhere to Asian stereoFAMILY PHOTO Sophomore Maria Harris (left), ad- A JOYFUL RIDE Freshman A.J. Bartz (shown here at types simply because opted at nine months old from Guatemala, poses age nine) was adopted at 11 months from an orphan- of where she was born. with her adoptive parents and her younger sister. age in China. He says he is thankful for his adoptive family. “I do kind of feel like I need to do well in school… Not that I really want to fulfill the Asian stereotype, but I kind of feel like it’s something I’m supposed to do,” she says.

Singer, the adoption therapist, says that this racial and cultural difference can cause adopted kids to feel like they do not fit in.

“Trying to be accepted by their racial peer group can present challenges,” Singer says. “If they’ve been raised by a Caucasian family, sometimes their peers don’t see them as legitimately of their race, and they can sort of feel betwixt and between in terms of that sense of that belonging.” Singer believes that adopted families COURTESY OF ORIANA ZWERDLING COURTESY OF ORIANA ZWERDLING CADENCE PEARSON can work to help their GROWING UP Sophomore Oriana Zwerdling was adopted as a nineteen-month-old from an orphanage in children manage that China. Zwerdling maintains connections to her Chinese heritage, while simultaneously embracing her Jewish upbringing. feeling.

All Harris has left of her biological parents is an old photograph. In it, her birth mother stands inside her house, holding baby Harris in her arms. Harris was nine months old when she was adopted and has never returned to Guatemala.

She says that, at some point, she would like to meet her birth parents. Freshman A.J. Bartz, adopted at 11 months from an orphanage in China, feels the same way. “[Meeting my parents would] be awesome,” says Bartz. “I was given up at two days old, so I don’t know anything about them.”

Ellen Singer, a therapist who specializes in adoption at the Center for Adoption Support and Education, says she often sees reactions like Bartz’s.

“For some teens, being able to connect with birth families means the world to them, because if you’re trying to figure out who you are, and you’re doing that with a lack of information, that can be very difficult,” she says.

She adds that meeting birth parents can answer many questions that trouble adopted kids. For example, Harris wonders what the rest of her relatives are like. Bartz would like to meet his birth parents to understand why he looks the way he does.

Sophomore Oriana Zwerdling was adopted at 19 months from China, and is more cautious about a potential reunion. “It might be cool, but… I don’t know if it’s all that worth it,” she says. “A lot of the time for both the parents and the kid, it’s emotionally distressing… It’s extremely upsetting for some people.”

Singer says that this is another common view. “It also can be completely overwhelming, and it depends on what you find,” she says. “If… what you find out is information that is difficult to process… [it] can be very painful and very difficult for a teen to figure out, ‘What does that mean to me?’”

Questions and answers

Making sense of his adoption has never been a problem for senior Abdul Byrd, who was adopted when he was four years old.

Byrd has two half-sisters, both with the same mother as him but different fathers.

Byrd and his sisters were adopted by his

Connected to their roots According to counselor Charlain Bailey,

G

Features C4/C5

silverchips

December 17, 2015

THE

Hundreds of students visit the media center every day, doing homework, printing out papers, and enjoying quiet study time.

It is a comfortable space for students to complete whatever work they did not finish the night before. For some of the library’s most frequent visitors, it also provides the only computer access they have all day. Most of the media center’s patrons do not concern themselves with getting all of their work done at school because they know they can always finish on their computer at home. But some Blair students do not have the luxury to work at home, and life without a computer is a harsh reality. story by

Alexandra Marquez

photography by Ben Doggett design by Maris Medina and Emma Soler

ROWING DIVIDE Students without computers struggle to keep up academically

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

Homework is schoolwork With nowhere else to go, students without computers at home spend much of their free time at libraries or using their small smartphone screens to type long essays and complete research projects.

Junior Salvador Alfaro lived without a computer during his freshman year and says he found it difficult to finish all of his work in his 45-minute lunch period. “Either I went during lunch to get things done every day, or I would stay every day after school to do my work,” Alfaro says. “Sometimes, it wasn’t enough time, so I wasn’t able to finish my projects properly.

My grades were really affected by that.”

Dylan, a senior who has lived without a computer since sixth grade, says he often does his in the media center as well. “It’s a large amount of work that, either you need to research, or you need to do something online for those classes. Unfortunately, I can’t. I have to go to the library before school starts,” he says.

Dylan tries to type homework on his smartphone sometimes, but he finds it difficult to edit documents and fulfill some of his teacher’s policies. “I think [the app] is called Google Drive. I do work on that and just type it and try to print it over here,” Dylan says. “Editing things would be the hardest [homework to do on my smartphone]. Searching things up is not that hard, but editing for sure. And if people want double spacing, I don’t know how to control that.”

Blair counselor Alphonso Burwell says that most students who do not have computers use the library, like Alfaro did and Dylan does, as well as whatever technology they can get to. “What I find a lot of students doing is using their smartphones as far as computer access, but most of my students will go to the library or stay after school,” he says.

Burwell notes that most of these students are limited in what they can do during their lunch period.

“They’re being rushed to do stuff. If they only have access here, that only gives them like an hour to do work,” he says.

Alfaro says that long-term or in-depth projects were

difficult to manage because these assignments required the most time commitment. “Projects that you would have to present [were the hardest to complete] because you need a lot of time to think about what you’re going to say, prepare yourself, find information, and then write and type it,” he says.

An uneven path to success With limited time to do their work, students without computers can fall behind their peers. This technological inequality affects not only the amount of time students have to complete work, but also their grades and ability to graduate. The Institute for the Study of Labor found that teenagers who do not have computers at home are six to eight percent less likely to graduate high school than those who do.

Alfaro says that if he had not gotten a home computer, his grades and his internal drive would have suffered. “If I didn’t have a computer now, it would really affect me because now I really care about school; I want to graduate, I want to go to college and get a career. If I didn’t have a computer, it would affect me and bring my grades down,” he says.

Like Alfaro, Burwell acknowledges that students who live without a computer at home can be emotionally affected by their technological disadvantage. “It’s hard for [students] to be successful if they don’t have access to computers whenever they want to. Once you start seeing your grades lowered and you’re not doing as well simply because you don’t have access to a computer, it definitely affects you,” he says.

A social stigma The U.S. Census Bureau states that in 2013, 83.8 percent of U.S. households owned a computer. The primary reason other households do not own one is because they cannot afford one.

It was similar financial difficulties that prevented Alfaro from purchasing a computer. He says that at the beginning of high school, he felt he could manage without one. After a few months of school, he realized how important a computer was to complete his work, but his family could not afford to purchase this necessary technology. “We could’ve bought one, but I didn’t want to buy one because I thought I didn’t need it,” he says. “Then, afterwards, my family started having some small economic problems, so when I needed it, we couldn’t buy it.”

Dylan’s family cannot purchase a computer for the same reason Alfaro was unable to: economic instabili-

ty. Also, his wireless network is often unreliable. “We couldn’t really afford [a computer] and whenever we do, either our internet is cut off or there’s something wrong with the computer,” Dylan states.

The Census Bureau also found that minority families and families with a low socioeconomic status were more likely to only own mobile devices and not desktop or laptop computers. Because of this correlation, some students are embarrassed to tell their teachers, counselors, and administrators that they do not own computers. Alfaro says he felt uncomfortable letting staff know that he didn’t have access to a computer at home.

“It just felt weird to tell [my teachers and counselor] that I didn’t have a computer,” Alfaro says. He also notes that, because owning a computer is expected, students fear being treated differently if they admit to their situation.

“Nowadays, a lot of people are like, ‘How do you not afford a computer?’ or something like that; ‘You shouldn’t be in school,’ or, ‘Go do something else with your life,’” he says. Alfaro suggests that people should recognize that students may be in a tough situation.

“It’s rare that a poor person can become someone successful when they don’t have the same tools to work with as other people who could afford them,” he says.

Dylan does tell some of his teachers about his lack of a computer. “Most of my teachers that I work closely with know I don’t have a computer at home. The other ones, they don’t know,” he says. “They just give me options of, basically, going after school here, or going to a library.”

A failure to help Dylan feels the gap widening between him and his peers as he is able to complete less and less work at home. He believes MCPS should prioritize placing computers in every student’s home. “I feel like they should really focus on giving these kids opportunities to get any sort of technology in their household; at least get something to type on,” he says. “All we’re going to do is more advanced technology and even in classrooms, it started with the Promethean board, and then the Chromebooks.”

In 2012, the MCPS Office of the Chief Technology Officer introduced the Strategic Technology Plan to integrate more digital devices, including Chromebooks and Android tablets, into the classroom. The rollout was intended to occur from fiscal year 2014 through fiscal year 2016. The plan does not include specific measures to help students without computers at home.

Counselor Susanne Bray believes MCPS neglects

to realize how many students they can leave behind when instituting new technology policies. “I do think that people up in Rockville and wherever tend to forget about the kids that can’t afford this technology,” she says. “It’s great that we’ve got it in the schools, but there is an overwhelming assumption that all students have equal access and they don’t.”

Outside resources

To provide their students home computers, counselors and administrators look to organizations in the Blair community that aim to fill this technology gap.

Every Monday night, the Marvin Methodist Church across the street from Blair hosts one of these programs.

There, a rotating group of five or six Montgomery County residents operate the MacRecycleClinic. The program refurbishes donated and discarded Macintosh computers and provides them to students. David Ottalini, a public relations professional for the University of Maryland, has volunteered for the clinic for 32 years. He explains that the group accepts donations from people in the community as well as through the county’s recycling center, connecting community members with affordable technology.

“Bottom line is, we wanted to help people,” Ottalini says. “Both of my sons went to Blair and I was the PTA co-president, so I was an active volunteer in MCPS. It was a natural [fit], once we secured this space...Blair’s across the street. We’ve also helped Wheaton; we’ve helped Einstein; we’ve helped other schools and we’re happy to help.”

The Clinic tries to cater specific computer donations to individual students’ wants and needs. Ottalini remembers a student who loved video editing and needed a computer with a tower, which can house bigger hard drives and more memory. “I had a student up in Gaithersburg who was heavily into editing videos. Of course, she needed a tower because the iMacs are fine for doing some things, but you really need something that has a lot of umph to it. [Towers have] a lot of memory and can take really big hard drives.”

According to Ottalini, the group is happy they can make a difference. “We’ve been here for a long time and we love working with students. We feel like we have a great relationship with Blair and the other schools and we hope we can keep that going,” he explains.

Ottalini says he is proud that the group supports students. “We’re empowering students to be successful and in some ways we’re even making the playing field a little more even,” he says. “Because of our small efforts here, a computer may be the difference between you getting into college or not.”

A HELPING HAND

To the left David Ottalini, Lorin Evans, and James Ritz deconstruct, refurbish, and donate used Apple computers as a part of the weekly MacRecycleClinic.

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December 17, 2015

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Hundreds of students visit the media center every day, doing homework, printing out papers, and enjoying quiet study time.

It is a comfortable space for students to complete whatever work they did not finish the night before. For some of the library’s most frequent visitors, it also provides the only computer access they have all day. Most of the media center’s patrons do not concern themselves with getting all of their work done at school because they know they can always finish on their computer at home. But some Blair students do not have the luxury to work at home, and life without a computer is a harsh reality. story by

Alexandra Marquez

photography by Ben Doggett design by Maris Medina and Emma Soler

ROWING DIVIDE Students without computers struggle to keep up academically

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

Homework is schoolwork With nowhere else to go, students without computers at home spend much of their free time at libraries or using their small smartphone screens to type long essays and complete research projects.

Junior Salvador Alfaro lived without a computer during his freshman year and says he found it difficult to finish all of his work in his 45-minute lunch period. “Either I went during lunch to get things done every day, or I would stay every day after school to do my work,” Alfaro says. “Sometimes, it wasn’t enough time, so I wasn’t able to finish my projects properly.

My grades were really affected by that.”

Dylan, a senior who has lived without a computer since sixth grade, says he often does his in the media center as well. “It’s a large amount of work that, either you need to research, or you need to do something online for those classes. Unfortunately, I can’t. I have to go to the library before school starts,” he says.

Dylan tries to type homework on his smartphone sometimes, but he finds it difficult to edit documents and fulfill some of his teacher’s policies. “I think [the app] is called Google Drive. I do work on that and just type it and try to print it over here,” Dylan says. “Editing things would be the hardest [homework to do on my smartphone]. Searching things up is not that hard, but editing for sure. And if people want double spacing, I don’t know how to control that.”

Blair counselor Alphonso Burwell says that most students who do not have computers use the library, like Alfaro did and Dylan does, as well as whatever technology they can get to. “What I find a lot of students doing is using their smartphones as far as computer access, but most of my students will go to the library or stay after school,” he says.

Burwell notes that most of these students are limited in what they can do during their lunch period.

“They’re being rushed to do stuff. If they only have access here, that only gives them like an hour to do work,” he says.

Alfaro says that long-term or in-depth projects were

difficult to manage because these assignments required the most time commitment. “Projects that you would have to present [were the hardest to complete] because you need a lot of time to think about what you’re going to say, prepare yourself, find information, and then write and type it,” he says.

An uneven path to success With limited time to do their work, students without computers can fall behind their peers. This technological inequality affects not only the amount of time students have to complete work, but also their grades and ability to graduate. The Institute for the Study of Labor found that teenagers who do not have computers at home are six to eight percent less likely to graduate high school than those who do.

Alfaro says that if he had not gotten a home computer, his grades and his internal drive would have suffered. “If I didn’t have a computer now, it would really affect me because now I really care about school; I want to graduate, I want to go to college and get a career. If I didn’t have a computer, it would affect me and bring my grades down,” he says.

Like Alfaro, Burwell acknowledges that students who live without a computer at home can be emotionally affected by their technological disadvantage. “It’s hard for [students] to be successful if they don’t have access to computers whenever they want to. Once you start seeing your grades lowered and you’re not doing as well simply because you don’t have access to a computer, it definitely affects you,” he says.

A social stigma The U.S. Census Bureau states that in 2013, 83.8 percent of U.S. households owned a computer. The primary reason other households do not own one is because they cannot afford one.

It was similar financial difficulties that prevented Alfaro from purchasing a computer. He says that at the beginning of high school, he felt he could manage without one. After a few months of school, he realized how important a computer was to complete his work, but his family could not afford to purchase this necessary technology. “We could’ve bought one, but I didn’t want to buy one because I thought I didn’t need it,” he says. “Then, afterwards, my family started having some small economic problems, so when I needed it, we couldn’t buy it.”

Dylan’s family cannot purchase a computer for the same reason Alfaro was unable to: economic instabili-

ty. Also, his wireless network is often unreliable. “We couldn’t really afford [a computer] and whenever we do, either our internet is cut off or there’s something wrong with the computer,” Dylan states.

The Census Bureau also found that minority families and families with a low socioeconomic status were more likely to only own mobile devices and not desktop or laptop computers. Because of this correlation, some students are embarrassed to tell their teachers, counselors, and administrators that they do not own computers. Alfaro says he felt uncomfortable letting staff know that he didn’t have access to a computer at home.

“It just felt weird to tell [my teachers and counselor] that I didn’t have a computer,” Alfaro says. He also notes that, because owning a computer is expected, students fear being treated differently if they admit to their situation.

“Nowadays, a lot of people are like, ‘How do you not afford a computer?’ or something like that; ‘You shouldn’t be in school,’ or, ‘Go do something else with your life,’” he says. Alfaro suggests that people should recognize that students may be in a tough situation.

“It’s rare that a poor person can become someone successful when they don’t have the same tools to work with as other people who could afford them,” he says.

Dylan does tell some of his teachers about his lack of a computer. “Most of my teachers that I work closely with know I don’t have a computer at home. The other ones, they don’t know,” he says. “They just give me options of, basically, going after school here, or going to a library.”

A failure to help Dylan feels the gap widening between him and his peers as he is able to complete less and less work at home. He believes MCPS should prioritize placing computers in every student’s home. “I feel like they should really focus on giving these kids opportunities to get any sort of technology in their household; at least get something to type on,” he says. “All we’re going to do is more advanced technology and even in classrooms, it started with the Promethean board, and then the Chromebooks.”

In 2012, the MCPS Office of the Chief Technology Officer introduced the Strategic Technology Plan to integrate more digital devices, including Chromebooks and Android tablets, into the classroom. The rollout was intended to occur from fiscal year 2014 through fiscal year 2016. The plan does not include specific measures to help students without computers at home.

Counselor Susanne Bray believes MCPS neglects

to realize how many students they can leave behind when instituting new technology policies. “I do think that people up in Rockville and wherever tend to forget about the kids that can’t afford this technology,” she says. “It’s great that we’ve got it in the schools, but there is an overwhelming assumption that all students have equal access and they don’t.”

Outside resources

To provide their students home computers, counselors and administrators look to organizations in the Blair community that aim to fill this technology gap.

Every Monday night, the Marvin Methodist Church across the street from Blair hosts one of these programs.

There, a rotating group of five or six Montgomery County residents operate the MacRecycleClinic. The program refurbishes donated and discarded Macintosh computers and provides them to students. David Ottalini, a public relations professional for the University of Maryland, has volunteered for the clinic for 32 years. He explains that the group accepts donations from people in the community as well as through the county’s recycling center, connecting community members with affordable technology.

“Bottom line is, we wanted to help people,” Ottalini says. “Both of my sons went to Blair and I was the PTA co-president, so I was an active volunteer in MCPS. It was a natural [fit], once we secured this space...Blair’s across the street. We’ve also helped Wheaton; we’ve helped Einstein; we’ve helped other schools and we’re happy to help.”

The Clinic tries to cater specific computer donations to individual students’ wants and needs. Ottalini remembers a student who loved video editing and needed a computer with a tower, which can house bigger hard drives and more memory. “I had a student up in Gaithersburg who was heavily into editing videos. Of course, she needed a tower because the iMacs are fine for doing some things, but you really need something that has a lot of umph to it. [Towers have] a lot of memory and can take really big hard drives.”

According to Ottalini, the group is happy they can make a difference. “We’ve been here for a long time and we love working with students. We feel like we have a great relationship with Blair and the other schools and we hope we can keep that going,” he explains.

Ottalini says he is proud that the group supports students. “We’re empowering students to be successful and in some ways we’re even making the playing field a little more even,” he says. “Because of our small efforts here, a computer may be the difference between you getting into college or not.”

A HELPING HAND

To the left David Ottalini, Lorin Evans, and James Ritz deconstruct, refurbish, and donate used Apple computers as a part of the weekly MacRecycleClinic.

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December 17, 2015

A risky solution to MCPS’s out-of-county policy

Students use family members’ in-county addresses to attend Blair

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

Ashely, a junior, pulls into her assigned parking spot and gets out of her car. The sun is just beginning to rise, but the area surrounding her is already abuzz with activity. Some students run towards the school, excited to catch up with friends, while others walk slowly, fearing the moment when they must enter the building and go to class.

Unlike these students, Ashely does not dread her school days; she appreciates them, because they are by no means guaranteed.

Ashely, like a small number of other students, lies about her address to attend Blair.

Claiming a false address is not the only way for out-of-county students to go to Blair.

MCPS policy allows out-of-county students to legally attend public schools in the county if they pay an annual tuition fee. According to MCPS Senior Communications Specialist Gboyinde Onijala, there are currently 33 students in the county system who pay $14,299 per year to attend MCPS schools. However, some have chosen a different way.

A simple lie Ashely lives in Prince George’s County (P.G. County), but according to MCPS records, she resides in Blair’s school district. “Right now, I live in P.G. County, but my fake address is by Eastern Middle School. My grandma used to live there,” says Ashely.

When Ashely was in elementary school, her mother and father decided to send her to a Montgomery County school. “The schools in Montgomery County are better. There’s more diversity and more opportunities to get a better education here than in [Prince George’s County],” Ashely says.

According to The Baltimore Sun, Montgomery County Public Schools spends an average of $15,480 per student per year, while Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) spends $14,813. And, according to Maryland State Department of Education records, MCPS seniors’ average SAT score was 1665

out of 2400, compared to 1195 in P.G. County.

Sarah, another Blair junior with a false address, lies for a slightly different purpose.

She resides in Montgomery County, but not in the district of her choosing. “I actually live near Northwood,” Sarah says. “My home school is Northwood… [But] I wanted to go to Blair because my brother, aunts, and dad went to Blair. So it was kind of like carrying on a tradition.”

Sarah used to live at the address she still claims, which is in the Blair school district, but she moved 10 years ago when her grandmother fell ill. “We used to live near Long Branch Library and my grandma lives there now. We’re with my other grandma now because she’s sick and we’re helping her out,” says Sarah.

tipped off when MCPS mail is returned to sender. “Most of the time it comes from getting the mail back…[but] I 33 out-of-county students pay had one [student] that I found out when a student came to a counselor and said a student asked him if he could use his address, and I said, ‘No, he in annual MCPS tuition. doesn’t live in the county.’ So sometimes we get our information from other students,” says Harvey.

These first clues are generally followed by an investigation, which requires MCPS spends an average of the student to bring in a legal document as a proofof-residence. “If the mail’s coming back, it doesn’t do me any good to send a letter to this address, so I’ll call the per student. kid in and ask him what’s going on. [The student] now must prove where he lives...

If they bought a house, they must bring in a property tax bill… If they moved to a new PGCPS spends an average of apartment complex; fine; just bring me your lease,” says Harvey.

These lies result in consequences if discovered. According to Harvey, Blazers per student. discovered to be lying about their addresses face immediate consequences. Out-ofcounty students must switch schools immediately, while in-county students would be transferred back to their BALTIMORE SUN/MARYLAND STATE DEPT OF EDUCATION CAMILLE KIRSCH home schools for the next semester. it never happened,” she says.

Ashely recalls one time in middle school Sarah, on the other hand, says it has been when her real address was almost discov- easy to keep the secret safe. “No one really ered. “The assistant principal started asking asks about the address ever,” she says. questions about if I really did live there and Despite the possibility of inquiries, Sarah asked to see paperwork. [My parents and I] and Ashely have adapted to their secretive just showed them some paperwork and they lifestyle. “I used to feel weird about it,” says tried to make it seem like they would stop by Ashely. “But now, I don’t know, I just feel like anytime to see if we were telling the truth, but it’s a normal thing that I have to do.”

$14,229

$17,617

The legal consequences Every Montgomery County school has a residence department which records and verifies the address of each student. Accord-

“I used to feel weird about it.

But now, I don’t know, I just feel like it’s a normal thing I have to do.”

$15,035

-Ashely, a junior ing to Assistant Principal Suzanne Harvey, the head of Blair’s residence department, students using false addresses are discovered in a variety of ways.

In most cases, the residence department is

Taking pop culture into their own hands—one fandom at a time Fan fiction allows writers to further explore the characters they know and love

By Cole Sebastian The vast universes of fiction created by movies, TV, books, comics, and video games can leave many fans with the never-ending question: “what if…?” Sophomores Jennifer Canales and Mahima Chowdhury answer that question themselves, by writing fanfiction to interact with their favorite characters.

Fanfiction, also known as fanfic, is a genre of storytelling in which writers use the characters or settings from alreadyexisting stories to create an original narrative. “You take a story that’s been created...and you just make it your own,” says Canales, who writes fanfiction based on a variety of anime, or Japanese animated productions. Junior Liza Hazelwood, an avid reader, describes fanfiction as observing existing characters and using that to come “up with a different situation to put [those] characters in.”

fanfiction, but it’s just not good because their characters aren’t like in the game or in the show or in whatever it is,” she says.

Fanfiction has given readers and writers stories that they find more personal and engaging than the root stories. “It’s just really

Character consistency Good fanfiction writers are able to use the same characters but in different situations. “The most important part of fanfic is exploring the characters, because with fanfic you don’t have to follow the plot, and it’s not really the point to try to do that,” says Hazelwood. “It’s more like trying to make all the characters still the same.”

According to Chowdhury, who mostly writes fanfiction based on the video game “Life is Strange”, the skill of a fanfiction writer lies in accurately translating the characters into a new story. “Some people write

interesting to read something that’s someone’s imagination of what has already happened,” says Hazelwood.

An engaging outlet Fanfiction has gained immense popularity. Fanfiction.net is ranked number 471 in the most popular websites in the US and the average visitor spends 25 minutes a day on the site, according to Alexa, a web analytics service.

Writers use fanfiction to immerse themselves in the fictional worlds that they love.

“When I write, I don’t think about anything else. I just forget the world exists and I just write,” says Chowdhury. “It’s kind of like an escape.” For Canales, fanfiction helps her feel “really relieved and calm. I can imagine what I’m writing, and I see the story coming to life.”

According to Hazelwood, writers often use fanfiction to take stories and characters places that big companies are too afraid to take them.

She says that fanfiction allows characters to escape the heteronormativity, or norm of only male-female relationships, of mainstream media. “It’s great because there’s not a lot of representation for LGBT people in TV shows, books, everything, because companies and people are afraid that people are not going to like it,” Hazelwood says.

The writing process

ROSEMARY SOLOMO

N

Members of the fanfic community say

there is often a much stronger connection between fanfiction writers and their readers than the normal writer-reader relationship.

Fanfiction websites, such as wattpad.com and fanfiction.net, put readers in direct contact with writers through forums and comment sections. “I know what [my readers] want to see and what they want to read, so I can base my stories on what they want and what I want and we communicate a lot,” Chowdhury says. “When people are commenting on my fanfiction, I take their feedback and I do stuff with the story and I edit it and I fix it. I just work all the time on my fanfiction.”

Chowdhury found this feedback to be especially rewarding after releasing a pivotal chapter of her multi-part “Life is Strange” fanfic series. Time-traveler Maxine and her friend Chloe finally confessed their love for each other after a long period of tension.

“Everyone cried,” she jokes. “[My] readers felt emotional because of that and I love evoking emotion,” she says.

Canales enjoys the control she has over her favorite stories by writing fanfiction.

“Once I watch something, if I don’t like how it’s going… I can rewrite it into something that’s more creative and more exciting and more dramatic instead of sad or depressing,” she says.

Hazelwood believes that fanfiction can be a great introduction to writing. “When you’re really just starting out with trying to figure out how to write it’s a lot easier to take someone else’s characters that you know very well and just experiment with it,” she says.

Paradoxically, that introductory baseline of pre-existing characters gives fanfiction writers a unique freedom with their work.

As Hazelwood says, “With fanfic, you can do anything.”

December 17, 2015

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December 17, 2015

The most meaningful presents from students’ pasts

Students reflect on their favorite gifts ahead of the holiday season

By Joshua Fernandes The weather is getting colder, which sadly means Blazers have to double (or triple) up on layers. More importantly, though, winter break is right around the corner! Better yet, we are right in the middle of the holiday season—Chanukah just ended, Christmas is next week, and Kwanzaa comes the day after. And what do kids love about these holidays more than anything else? Gifts! In honor of the upcoming celebrations, Blazers share some of the best gifts they have ever received.

the day before my birthday, and it was really special. Everybody watched me open it.”

DiPaul is humbled by the thoughtfulness her friends and family put into making the gift for her. “I was really honored that all my friends had helped to put into this gift, and it’s still pretty,” she says. “I still have it on

first Thanksgiving that I ever had was with a friend who lived on the other side of my block. I never had Thanksgiving with my family,” he says.

He met the family a few months before they invited him over for the holiday, and over the years, they have become close

Snacks to sports Food is always an important part of the holidays. While most people look forward to a big feast, junior Theresa Guirand has a particular snack she loves: Wheat Thins.

“I ask everybody to get me a box of Wheat Thins [for Christmas],” she says. “By the time Christmas comes, I have a lifetime supply.”

The tradition began when Guirand was in seventh grade and her mom bought her a box of Wheat Thins. “It was flavored, and I was like, ‘I want these all the time,’” she remembers. Now, she eagerly anticipates them every Christmas. “It’s great because Wheat Thins aren’t expensive,” Guirand says. “I know it’s guaranteed that people will get me my Wheat Thins.”

Now, Guirand looks forward to having the crackers each holiday season. “Wheat Thins aren’t a year-round kind of snack. I only crave them in the winter,” she says. “I know I have my life together if I have my Wheat Thins.”

Like Guirand, junior Kendall Douglas’s best gift was also a material thing, but he remembers a specific present rather than a tradition. When he was 7 years old, he received a Kobe Bryant All-Star Game jersey from his father.

Kobe Bryant was Douglas’s favorite player at the time, making the jersey top on Douglas’s wish list. “The Lakers were always my favorite team,” Douglas says.

“I played guard. [Kobe Bryant] was one of the best players in the league and he was a guard.”

Douglas still remembers how unexpected the gift was. “I really wanted it, but I didn’t think I would get it,” Douglas recounts. “It was really expensive.” He was overjoyed to see the jersey, and was in a state of excitement and surprise for the rest of the day.

Douglas still owns the jersey and has fond memories of opening it, but he has grown a bit since second grade. “I still have it,” he laughs, “but yeah, I can’t fit in it anymore.”

Gifts for life Every day when sophomore Lyla DiPaul looks at her bed, she is reminded of her favorite present. On her ninth birthday, her friends worked together to make her a meaningful gift. “It was a homemade quilt made of T-shirts my friends and family donated,” DiPaul says.

The family of one of DiPaul’s friends thought of making a quilt. “It was a very creative family,” she explains. “They really

“I felt that immediate connection, and I spent all my time with him. I just really loved it. It was a great present.

I loved my dog.”

- Kelton Gonzalez like making homemade gifts.”

Now, the quilt stands out for DiPaul as the most memorable gift she’s ever gotten to unwrap. “It was the first birthday gift I opened that year,” she says. “I got to open it

she was like, ‘Do you want to go on a trip with me somewhere?’ and then she gave me a few options,” Gonzalez says.

Gonzalez remembers her initial reaction to the invitation: “Oh my God, yes!” She accepted the offer happily, and they agreed on a trip to Europe. They traveled to the Netherlands and Belgium together in August.

What Gonzalez liked about the trip above anything else was getting to know her grandmother much better. “I never really spent that much time, just me and her,” Gonzalez explains. “I learned a lot about

“I got to have Thanksgiving and it became a regular tradition for us, even if it wasn’t with my family.”

-Aritra Roy her life. We got to bond.”

Sophomore Pierre Moglen also received the gift of an incredible trip this summer.

From a young age, Moglen has loved to cook. “For my eleventh birthday, I was in France with my family, and my grandma set it up for me to go and watch a shift at a restaurant,” he says. “It turned from a one-day thing into a two-week thing, and I actually worked there for three years after that.”

A year and a half ago, Moglen’s mother gave him a homemade certificate granting the opportunity to study at the culinary school of his choice. Given culinary school’s high cost, the certificate was a combined gift for Moglen’s eighth-grade graduation, two of his birthdays, and the following Christmas.

He cashed in the certificate this summer. “I found a culinary school in Chicago where I could actually be with the full-time students and stay in the dorms and be with all the actual chefs, so I was there for two full weeks, fully immersed,” he explains.

Moglen now has multiple job offers and believes that his dream of becoming a chef is closer to reality. “I really do think [cookCOURTESY OF PIERRE MOGLEN ing’s] what I’m going to end up doing: beCULINARY EXPERIENCE Sophomore Pierre Moglen donned his crisp chef whites ing a chef and owning a restaurant, hopeafter an intense summer of cooking at a prestigious culinary institute in Chicago. fully,” he says. “When you have a passion and you feel it inside, just go with it, and put everything into it.” my bed today.” friends, even though the children all attend Even though Moglen has not gotten any While DiPaul’s gift is quite unique, many different schools. “It started with Hallow- major gifts in the past year, he is extremely Blazers consider their pets the best gifts they een. I decided to go trick o’ treating with appreciative of his opportunity to study in have ever gotten. When junior Kelton Gon- them, and with Thanksgiving being around Chicago. “This gave me the experience and zalez was seven years old, he wanted noth- the corner, they invited me over,” Roy re- it gave me something to build off,” he says. ing more than a pet dog. counts. “Ever since then, it’s been a tradition “Those little things give you experiences For his seventh birthday, his parents gave that we spend Thanksgiving together.” rather than things.” him a beagle named Buster, but decided simRoy remembers his mixed feelings from ply giving it to him would not be enough. the first time he spent Thanksgiving with his “I’d been wanting a dog for a while, so my neighbors. “At first it felt very odd, spendparents decided to surprise me,” he says. ing a holiday with someone other than my “They put a stuffed dog in a box and after I family,” he explains. “But it felt amazing opened the stuffed dog, I thought, ‘Oh that’s that I got to have Thanksgiving…even if it cute,’ but then my parents actually brought wasn’t with my family.” a real dog out.”

This year marked the seventh ThanksGonzalez now finds his parents’ ruse both giving Roy spent with his neighbors, now amusing and thoughtful. “I was really sur- his close friends, and he looks forward prised and really excited,” he remembers. to celebrating many more.

“It was a great trick that they pulled on me “Any friendship that to surprise me with that, and I loved that lasts over seven years is dog.” more likely to last a Unfortunately, Buster has passed away, lifetime,” he says. but Gonzalez loved him from the day he met him. “I felt that immediate connection, and I The trip of a spent all my time with him,” Gonzalez says. lifetime “I just really loved it. It was a great present.

I loved my dog,” he says.

T h i s spring, A tradition to last forever s o p h o more Olivia It is the middle of winter now, but soph- G o n z a l e z ’ s omore Aritra Roy’s favorite gift involves g r a n d m o t h e r Thanksgiving. He had never celebrated asked if she Thanksgiving until he was 10 years old, wanted to go when he was invited to spend the evening on a vacation with his neighbors. This initial invitation over the sumstarted an annual tradition. Now, Roy sees mer. “She just SHIVANI MATTIKALLI that invitation as the best gift of his life. “The sent me an email and COURTESY OF LYLA DIPAUL

HOMEMADE HAPPINESS Sophomore Lyla DiPaul shows off a unique quilt made with t-shirts by all of her close friends and family members for her birthday.

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December 17, 2015

‘Tis the season to be jolly...and satisfy your sweet tooth

A merry look into the Silver Spring area’s best holiday desserts

By Julian Brown In first person Everywhere you look around this time of year, you see something related to the holiday season. Since November, there have been holiday songs on the radio, Christmas trees on our sweaters, and even the color red on our Starbucks lattes. But without a doubt, the best thing about the holidays is the food.

So I decided to go out and visit some of Silver Spring’s best cafes to find the tastiest holiday dessert.

Fenton Cafe The first coffee shop I visited was the Fenton Cafe. I had heard from my friends

that this was a cute, little coffee shop that served delicious crepes as well as the usual coffee and pastries.

Walking into the shop, the first thing I noticed was the cramped quarters. The tables and chairs were practically on top of each other; the tight path to the register was the only open space in the room. After navigating my way to the front, I looked up at the large menu board on the wall and was delighted to see the number of choices available. I counted a total of no less than 47 different sweet and savory crepes, as well as many interesting additions that could be added to any of them.

This being the first cafe of my journey, I was a bit hungry, so I ordered two crepes: the Apple Delight ($5.25) and the Chestnut Spread ($6.55). The crepes were brought out after just a couple of minutes. The arrangement on the plate was beautiful with the crepe folded into a triangle in the center and a dollop of whipped cream on either side.

I first tried the Apple Delight but found it strangely inconsistent. At some points, the crepe would be bland, but then I would get a spike of flavor that burned my mouth and left me with vague memories of 2012’s cinnamon challenge fad. The Chestnut Spread, on the other hand, was a true delight. The crepe had a warm, creamy, nutty filling that left me thinking of Christmas, and wanting more.

Rating: 7.5/10 Located at 8311 Fenton St. Zed’s Cafe

JULIAN BROWN

SUGAR & SPICE Fenton Cafe’s selection of 31 different sweet crepes make for great meals in the morning or after dinner.

Next, I moved on to Zed’s Cafe. This time, the first thing I noticed as I walked in was the noise—or rather, the lack of noise.

The cafe, whose front door, might I remind

you, is just 30 feet from Georgia Avenue, is almost dead silent. The only thing I heard was the calming music playing on the stereo and the murmur of conversation coming from the other customers. I was truly amazed, and I immediately felt relaxed.

I walked up to the register and peered through the glass casing that contained the cafe’s assorted sweets. As soon as I saw the red velvet cake, I knew I had to have it. So after paying the affordable price of $4.50, I reJULIAN BROWN ceived my cake and went QUIET & CALM Zed’s Cafe’s relaxing music and quiet to sit down.

The display I found conversation creates a tranquil, homey atmosphere. on my plate was just as beautiful as Fenton Cafe’s crepes. The cake that has taken over American cities. The cafe was surrounded by strawberries on one side was also extremely quiet due to its sideand whipped cream on the other, all topped street location.

As I stepped into line, I realized that this in swirls of chocolate sauce. The red velvet cake was a bit too sweet, but the creamy, cool was the first cafe I had been to in which I had icing did a wonderful job of balancing out to wait to order. Thankfully, the wait was only a few minutes, and soon I was ordering its flavor. a sweet and shiny sticky bun for only $2.35.

Unfortunately, the modern decorations also Rating: 9/10 came with a plain, modern way of ordering, Located at 83225 Georgia Ave. and my sticky bun was served in a simple plastic bowl -- no chocolate swirls or dollops Kaldi’s Social House of whipped cream. Despite the arrangement, The third and final cafe I visited was my sticky bun was delicious with hard, Kaldi’s Social House. In comparison to the crunchy, nutty outer layers that gave way to others, this coffee shop had a distinctly mod- a soft, chewy, and sweet center. ern interior, with brown, gray, and black furnishings and dark wood floors that went Rating: 7/10 along with the hipster-ish, shabby chic trend Located at 918 Silver Spring Ave.

A new Real Housewives series hones in on Montgomery County

Students react to Bravo’s latest installment of the reality TV show in Potomac

By Georgina Burros On Jan. 17, 2016, the world will meet the six dynamic ladies who have taken the Potomac social scene by storm. After the Real Housewives of Washington, D.C. (RHODC) tanked, BravoTV decided to refocus national attention by creating another Real Housewives franchise to document the drama of this group of successful and wealthy black women in this overwhelmingly white and impressively affluent area of Maryland’s elite.

and Boalch Darby all live outside of Potomac. Boalch Darby lives in Arlington, Virginia. According to the Washingtonian MOM magazine, Dixon resides in Silver Spring.

Bryant lives in, what BravoTV calls, the “Potomac Area.” Only Charisse Jackson Jordan and Huger actually reside in Potomac.

Some Blazers have concern that the show will not be popular to DMV residents

munity we are and probably make fun of us,” says freshman and Potomac native Arthi Thyagarajan.

Jack and Jill of America

When the show was announced, a frenzy erupted on social media. Sophomores Marley Majette and Olivia Amitay heard of the

Say hello to the Housewives On the cover of the Washington Post, six women stand tall in the series poster. With perfectly glossy hair, impeccably shaped eyebrows, and precisely tailored designer dresses, each will bring a specific role to the upcoming series.

In the trailer, Housewife Gizelle Bryant describes the black community in Potomac as, “extremely, extremely small.” The show’s group of women represents what senior Jimmy McMillian, a Potomac native, describes as the social circle of, “upper class black people…in the DMV.” Potomac, a short distance from the nation’s capital, is a small and wealthy community. According to Forbes, the median house price is just under $1.2 million. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 75.8 percent of people in Potomac are white, while 4.6 percent are black. Realtor.com lists Potomac’s average household net worth is $1,323,124 compared to the $484,469 average U.S. household worth. In the trailer, Housewife Karin Huger stresses the Potomac ideal: “New money is good, but old money is so much better.”

Changing the face of the series While fans of the Real Housewives series might expect housewives from the heart of Potomac, RHOP stars Bryant, Robyn Dixon

organization that is the core of the show.

The Post describes Jack and Jill as an “elite membership organization,” formed by a group of mothers in 1938 in Philadelphia to promote opportunity for black children. Jack and Jill has repeatedly come under fire by the media with accusations of elitism.

Each of the six Housewives are members of the Potomac chapter. “It’s funny because they’re all in Jack and Jill,” says McMillian, who is also a member of the Potomac chapter. “There’s a lot of ridiculousness involved that surrounds that whole entire organization, and…it’d be funny to see that exposed on TV and how other people view it.”

Following the filming of the show, the organization’s president, Tammy King, sent a warning letter to members of Jack and Jill stating that, “members are expected to act publicly in a way that reflects the high moral and ethical character of Jack and Jill mothers.” Judging from the trailer, it seems as though the Housewives got this letter too late.

Redefining standards

LINDSAY HARRIS

as Potomac is not considered a new and unique place to them. “I thought [the trailer] sucked,” said sophomore Betty Samuels. “I think it’s because it’s so close to home that it sucked so badly.” Another question that arises is whether the show will cast a negative light on Potomac for those who are not members of Maryland’s elite. Other students worry that the show will paint Potomac in a negative light as a significantly richer and more exclusive community than it actually is. “It’ll take advantage of how rich a com-

RHOP as it broke on Twitter after the release of the trailer. “The arguments you see in the [RHOP] trailer, oh, absolutely hilarious.

That’s exactly what’s going on [in real life],” says McMillian, a member of the RHOP social circle.

However, the social organization Jack and Jill of America was less than pleased to hear about The RHOP. According to the Washington Post, BravoTV intended to create a series entitled Potomac Ensemble, now RHOP, to “navigate the cattiness” of Jack and Jill, the

In a predominately white community, the focus on these women, many of whom are single mothers, will differ from any other Real Housewives show in the past. RHOP is the first all-black cast since the Real Housewives of Atlanta. Of course, with all the Real Housewives shows, “they’re looking for drama, and I think one place where you can find a lot of drama that people don’t know of... is upper class black people, especially in the DMV,” says McMillian.

Potomac is regarded as one of the wealthiest and generally unknown areas in the country. “Most women [in] this area have real jobs,” says senior Schuyler Cross, daughter of a friend of one of the Housewives. “They’re lawyers and doctors and congresswomen, so I can’t imagine them fighting and acting crazy.” One thing is for sure, these women will put Potomac on the map.

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Blazers of Note

December 17, 2015

That’s a rap: A look back on hip-hop in 2015 A simple guide to all of the best rap albums of the year

By Julian Bregstone

feel. However, there are a lot of extraneous tracks that take away from the final product such as “Surf” and “Like It Is.” Summertime ‘06 loses its initial excitement near the end of the record with sloppy hooks that leave things to be desired.

2015 has been quite a year in hip hop and will certainly be remembered. The rap game was shaken up and pushed to its limits with new sounds and ideas. Artists have dropped fresh debuts, incredible follow up albums, and long-awaited albums that will stay interesting for years. Other artists have have laid dormant this past year but will definitely command our attention in 2016.

Artists to watch in 2016

Important albums

COURTESY OF AMY LI

Amy Li SENIOR Senior Amy Li recently won one silver and two bronze medals at the World Wushu Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia. Li has been practicing wushu, a Chinese martial art, since she was a child. “I started learning wushu at the age of 8 at Chinese school.

The coach there recommended me to Omei Wushu Kung Fu center because I was okay, and I’ve been at Omei since,” Li says.

Her favorite part of the World championship was not just winning, but meeting and connecting with all the other athletes.

“There are a lot of lasting bonds that are made between athletes of different countries and backgrounds... I also loved seeing all the amazing athletes,” Li remarks. “Their wushu was simply inspiring.”

Li is happy that wushu is slowly becoming more and more popular throughout the U.S. “The International Wushu Federation is really trying to push wushu into the Olympics and I would really love to see it happen,” Li says.

By Niki Patel

Dr. Dre’s Compton is one of the bestproduced albums ever. In August, Dr. Dre finally officially released new music after 16 years and it is certainly not classic Dre. The beats have changed from a gritty but simple feel into a more wandering and spread out style. Also, his voice has changed over the years. The album stays current, but also reaches back into the past, drawing inspiration from the golden age of “gangsta rap.”

However, the features are what solidify this album. Dr. Dre was able to work with a wide variety of artists from Kendrick Lamar to Eminem to Snoop Dogg to Xzibit without making it sound unnatural. Compton has a lot of things going for it and despite a few too many R&B choruses that can get stale, it is a solid record.

On the other side of the country, an artist from Pittsburgh came of age. Mac Miller rose to fame in 2011 when he was still a teenager and dabbled in trashy pop-rap that touted his newly earned riches. After his initial surge, he lost some of his excitement and cheer, releasing more monotone and cold music the past couple of years.

GRIFFIN REILLY

The last place you would expect to see art is in a hospital, where sterile white walls are the norm. To decorate these blank walls, students like junior Roxanna Ulloa participate in the organization Youth Art for Healing (YAH) in an effort to bring works of art into hospitals to comfort and inspire patients.

Last year, Ulloa worked with senior Rosemary Solomon on a painting for YAH. The painting was finished at the end of March and hung at the MedStar Montgomery Medical Center along with 170 other student paintings. This December, Ulloa and Solomon’s painting was chosen along with 25 other paintings to be hung in the Russell Senate Office Building for a week.

Ulloa is currently working on two other paintings, on of which is for YAH. The other painting is for a contest at Johns Hopkins Hospital. “The topic is ‘conundrum’ and I’m doing something about my ADHD so it personally relates to me and how I have this internal struggle with medicine and ADHD,” says Ulloa.

The reason Ulloa loves art so much is because it gives her a form of expression that is accepted. “Art isn’t just a form of expressing yourself, it is a language. Everyone can interpret it in a different way so art can never really be wrong,” says Ulloa.

By Brianna Forté

On his most recent album, GO:OD AM, clever lyrics mixed with interesting instrumentals show that Mac Miller has matured musically. At 17 songs, the record is a little too long and the energy fades after the first half. However, throughout the album, there are plenty of melodic beats and confident verses that allow for easy listening.

Some rappers reveal little about their opinions and lives outside of rap. But not Vince Staples. He is never afraid to share his opinion on Twitter, sometimes creating conflict among his fans, but always backs up his claims with an eloquent manner and sharp wit. On his first full-length album, Summertime ‘06, his lyrics are super focused on his message.

Most of the instrumentals are full and fast with a deep dark bass and a rhythmical

New hat policy adds brand new aspect to fashion

Chips helps you figure out which hat to rock in the hallway

By Teague Sauter In first person

Roxanna Ulloa JUNIOR

INTERSCOPE, WARNER BROS, AND DEF JAM

NEW AND IMPROVED Several famous rappers release their latest albums to positive reviews from critics and fans alike.

One artist featured heavily on Compton was Anderson Paak, a new age West Coast rapper who has been releasing singles recently and is going to release his album, Malibu, in January. He has a very unique voice that is laid back and raspy. His lyrics are intriguing and his flow is effortless. Anderson Paak has found his sound and shows a lot of promise. He borrows sounds and vocal riffs from R&B and sometimes switches back and forth between pure R&B hooks and lighter rap. Paak shows his versatility on recent singles, “The Season / Carry Me” and “Am I Wrong.”

Pusha T has been in the game for decades, but he is about to reach new heights.

Starting on Dec. 18, he will start a full rollout of his recent work. It will start with a short film and prelude album, sharing the title, “Darkest Before Dawn.” Based on the title and clues from the trailer, the film is about his past business ventures on the streets of Virginia Beach.

The final piece of the puzzle is his full length album and true master project, King Push, which is going to be great. Pusha T’s verses are a perfect marriage of brutal honesty, amusing wordplay, and poignant references. He released a single in November titled Untouchable, and if it is any indication about how his album will sound, it’s going to be awesome.

Maybe you’re not even a baseball hat kind of person, though. Another question you might have is, “How do I know if a hat is right for me?” Well, according to a survey I just made up in my head, I can tell you that 97.8 percent of the human population can rock a hat in some fashion -- it’s all about

tuce flowing down from your head, the cloth baseball hat is the best for you. If you prefer to keep your hair short, though, a larger hat After years of telling students to remove with a flat brim may suit you better. the flashy caps that cover their heads, teachHonestly, one of the most important seers had to adjust their policies as Principal crets to being an effective hat wearer is to Renay Johnson ended hat prohibition in avoid flooding the market with your gloriNovember. Students ous hats. You don’t want to now have a whole overuse your hats by wearnew aspect of fashion ing them every day, since that they never had your headwear can quickly the chance to explore become stale. Keep in mind within the walls of that since we have odd and Blair. Now, all these even days, you will always new options of headhave a different audience to wear may be a little please. This means that it’s overwhelming, but okay to wear the same hat fear not: Silver Chips two days in a row because is here to tell you the most people didn’t see you rules of the hat game. wear it the day before.

The first question However, if it gets to day you might have is, three without a switch-up, “Hey Teague, I have you’re in trouble. You run this sweet baseball the risk of someone noticing hat that I want to that you wore the same hat wear to school, but two days ago. There is also there are just so many the occasional astute observangles to rock it at, er who points out that this is and I don’t know the third day in a row that CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA what looks best!” you’ve worn a hat, which Well, don’t worry MAD HATTERS Blazers enjoy their new found freedom by rocking a variety could be an absolute tragefaithful reader, be- of hats. Popular styles include baseball hats, beanies, and panda bear hats. dy. To be on the safe side, recause I have hat anmember to keep things fresh gles down to a science. The real question at finding the right one. If you were unlucky at all times. the heart of this debate is, “How chill is too enough to be born into that 2.2 percent, I’m So, there you have it Blazers, the rules to sorry; I would suggest you stop reading im- the game all laid out. Now even you can get chill?”

In other words, think about the situation: mediately so you don’t bum yourself out. out there and rock a fresh hat. Just don’t forThere are all types of different hats even get the number one rule: no fedoras. are you going to a party or are you going to the sit in school for eight hours? If your answer within cap is the latter, then I suggest going with the baseball brim facing forward with a slight upwards subgroup. You tilt, so as not to hide your beautiful face have your cloth from the world. Of course, school is a place c u r v e d - b r i m floppy to show off for your peers, but this style is caps, still slightly professional, as the backwards cloth curvedhat can sometimes give off a vibe that’s too brim caps, flex“I don’t like wearing hats, but I want hoodie equality. I casual. Save the backwards hat for the week- fit hats made like wearing hoodies. No discrimination against hoodies.” end and stick to the traditional method for of a more ath- Jeremy Abarca, sophomore letic material, those long days indoors.

I know your next complaint, too. “But snapbacks, flat and Teague, what if I want to wear my hat side- brims, “My favorite way to style my hat, or chapeau, in french, is more. ways like the rappers do?” I’m not going many by placing it intricitely on my head, or noggin.” to stop you from being yourself, but don’t For those of - Sophie Stringer, freshman blame me for any funny looks you might get you with a little extra letin the hallway.

soapbox

What is your favorite way to wear a hat?

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December 17, 2015

Self-expression and memories through ink that runs deep

Showcasing tattoos from stick and poke to professional pieces

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

Senior Isias Redman remembers sitting in a waiting room five years ago, twiddling his fingers and nervously looking around. Eventually, a man entered the room, put on his gloves, and started pressing a needle into Redman’s chest. After ten minutes, his arm started to go numb, and after an hour, the man was finished. The numbness had yet to subside, but Redman was already marveling at his red and swollen chest where he just got his first tattoo.

The word “tattoo” can invoke a wide spectrum of emotions depending on who you ask. Getting a tattoo can be seen as impulsive, rebellious, and ultimately regretful, or, on the opposite end, liberating and self-expressive. As it turns out, many Blazer tattoos have unique

over my body.”

Gabriel, a junior, did not need his parents’ permission when he first started getting tattoos in middle school. “In my situation, if I wanted tattoos, I would ask my brother and we would go get tattoos,” he says. Gabriel now has four tattoos on his left arm including a crown, a rose, and two stars.

Sometimes, Gabriel did not even need to leave his own home to get a new design. “It depends on how much I wanted to spend and how I felt. Whether I wanted to leave my apartment or have a tattoo artist come to me,” says Gabriel.

Tattoos are often expensive and usually require careful consideration before the final commitment, but they sometimes end up being unplanned. Clara, a freshman, has a tattoo that was done by her friend, who was an aspiring tattoo artist at the time. “My friend got a tattoo needle, and he was working on his [tattoo] license. He was like, ‘Oh, I’ll do it for you for free,’”

COURTESY OF SHARON SABI

bought all the stuff over Amazon.

She bought Indian ink, and this big box of tattoo needles,” Jenifer recalls. Jenifer and Sara were enthusiastic about the idea of getting a tattoo, despite the painful and time-consuming stick and poke process. “We took a flame and burned the tip of the needle to get rid of bacteria. You just dip [the needle] in the India ink and then you just poke through your skin,” Jenifer explains.

In the moment, Sara chose to have her friends tattoo a planet on her ankle while Jenifer wanted a simple design hidden behind her ear. “I was pretty drunk at this point, and I was like, ‘I’ll just get a circle because it will be simple and look cool,’” says Jenifer.

Beneath the surface

CALEB BAUMAN

PERMANENT MEMORIES Gabriel, a junior, has tattoos that remind him of his mission statement and his loved ones that he has lost. stories behind them.

Custom work Like Redman, some Blazers got their first tattoos at a very young age. After getting her first tattoo as a freshman, a small heart on her back, senior Sharon Sabi took a break before eventually getting almost her entire body covered. “I stopped for a while, then I started getting a lot after,” says Sabi. “I have a full sleeve, I have some on my back, and I have some on my chest. So basically, I have them all

says Clara, who didn’t put much thought into the asterisk that her friend etched onto her hip this past summer. “I was kind of drunk and he was like, ‘I can do straight lines right now,’ and I was like, ‘Okay, let’s do some straight lines.’”

Stick and poke Jenifer and Sara, both seniors, did not go to a parlor or even get their tattoos done by a tattoo artist. Instead, they chose to do a stick and poke tattoo by themselves during the summer. “Our friend

COURTESY OF SHARON SABI

TATTED UP Senior Sharon Sabi has a full tattoo sleeve as well as tattoos on her back, neck, and chest.

Tattoos often carry deeper meanings and represent something special. Senior Fred Hernandez has two tattoos, one with his little brother’s name and the other with his mother’s name, to remind him of his family. “My mother and my little brother are the only ones I’m really out here trying to succeed for so later on in life they can be good,” explains Hernandez. “[My brother’s] not here with me right now, he lives far away, but he’s still right here [on my arm].”

Similarly, many of Gabriel’s tattoos have special meanings and sentiments attached to them. “I got ‘FOE’ in a diamond on my heart.

That means ‘family over everything,’” Gabriel says. “I [also] got stars for my fallen brothers and a rose on my arm that’s a tribute to my grandmother.” Gabriel explains the main reason he gets tattoos is to remind him of his loved ones. “I can remember the ones I love the most through my body,” he says. “If you don’t have a place for the people you love, sometimes you just forget about them.”

Through his tattoos, Redman shows off his personal identity and

heritage. “I have the Nationals’ logo because in my family, everybody’s from Washington, D.C.,” says Redman. “I got one of the Nicaraguan flag triangle with two of my family’s last names, too.”

Tributes to family is a common theme among the tattoos of these Blazers. Senior Whitney Nguyen got a tattoo of a lotus flower on her arm during spring break as a way to carry on a tradition. “It’s a part of my family: my mom has it, my cousin has it, all my sisters are going to get it,” she says.

Covering up Some Blazers were wary of how their parents would feel after they got tattoos. Neither Jenifer nor Sara’s parents are aware of their hidden tattoos. “My parents once said, ‘If you get a tattoo, we are not paying for college,’” Jenifer recalls.

On the other hand, Hernandez’s mom was very accepting of his tattoo. “She was like, ‘If it has my name, it’s not gang-related or anything else, go ahead and get it,’” Hernandez says.

Not a single one of Redman’s many tattoos left him dissatisfied.

“I don’t regret them because they all have a meaning about something,” Redman explains.

None of these Blazers look back on their tattoos and regret their decisions, but some end up questioning their decisions under the influence. Despite being happy with how her tattoo turned out, Clara admits that getting a tattoo from her uncertified friend may not have been a smart decision.

“It was a bad idea,” says Clara. “I don’t regret it, but in hindsight, it was a little dumb.”

Jenifer thinks that getting a stick and poke tattoo is exciting, but the tattoo does not compare to the quality of a professional tattoo.

“It was a good experience and fun, but I’d get a real tattoo,” says Jenifer. “[My tattoo] looks like it was drawn on with a pen.”

remember, they are serious commitments. Sabi thinks everyone should consider having tattoos, but also cautions others to not be too impulsive. “I think everyone should at least have one tattoo,” insists Sabi. “But [tattoos] are very different from piercings, you can never take them off. They’re there forever, so there’s no way you can get rid of them unless you want to pay a lot of money.”

Back to the shop Many Blazers felt the urge to get a second tattoo after overcoming the anxiety and nervousness that comes with the first tattoo.

Clara looks to get another tattoo now that her friend received his tattoo license. “I want to get an arrow along my upper thigh. It’s like an arrow with dots and lines, like geometric,” she explains.

For some, the desire for more tattoos never stops. Gabriel, who already has several tattoos on his left arm, hopes to cover his entire arm with a sleeve and parts of his chest and back with tattoos. “My whole left half by next year should be tatted,” says Gabriel.

Even covering her entire arm was not enough for Sabi, who perhaps has more tattoos than anyone else at Blair. Sabi admits that she might have an obsession with tattoos. “I thought, ‘Oh I’ll be done after my sleeve,’ but then I got two more like two weeks ago,” Sabi laughs. “They’re just addictive...

You just want to get more and you just want to cover more of your body.”

Personal showcase

CALEB BAUMAN

CALEB BAUMAN

TRADITION Like her mother and cousins, senior Whitney Nguyen has a tattoo of a lotus flower.

D.I.Y. TATTOO Sara, a senior, gave herself a stick and poke tattoo of a planet on her ankle.

By showing off their tattoos, Blazers express themselves and set themselves apart. Sabi’s tattoos make her stand out and also help her open up and talk to others.

“It’s my way of talking to people and finding a way to connect with people who are into the type of stuff I’m into,” explains Sabi.

Gabriel believes that tattoos are not only a form of expression, but also a permanent reminder of something in your life. “If you think you’re going to forget [something], or you think it would look cool on you, just put it on you,” says Gabriel.

While tattoos help some people

CALEB BAUMAN

FAMILY Senior Fred Hernandez has the names of his mother and brother tattooed on his arm.

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December 17, 2015

Vacaciones

by Julian Bregstone

Across

45. Acronym for Exchange Credit

6. A gathering around a specific

46. Have a happy _______ ____!

12. Musical about struggling artists

50. Fake identity

13. Slang for tattoos

10. A stronghold

51. Art ___ art

24. A single enemy

14. Bring together

52. To gossip

26. Address for southern women

15. “__ __ the Next One,” Jay-Z

55. ____ of the Irish

27. The condition of something

16. The space inside a 2-D shape

57. Skill in making something by

28. Israeli small fwd. for the Kings

activity

18. Acronym for As Soon As Possible 19. Period of 40 days before Easter

61. To ____ its own

30. Cards of identification

62. ____ Andrews, FOX Sports

31. Raw fish snack

20. To get onto one’s knees

63. Small ‘hairs’ on cells

33. Starling _____, MLB outfielder

21. Sled dog command for go

64. Sound bounce

37. Central American country with

22. Large amounts of something

65. ____ 911! on Comedy Central

23. Predicted time of arrival

66. Squirrels’ favorite snack

39. Roald ____

25. Packages of paper

67. To look through obstructions

40. British word for young man

27. A party below the equator

68. A thick flat piece of material

41. Country west of Iran

31. The namesake of Houston, ___

69. Satisfies to the full

43. Spanish word for pool

34. Four NY crime fighting turtles

47. Edmonton ______

1. ____ Finn: a character created by

48. ______ and Hardy

2. An unidentified person

50. To despise a lot

38. Places to play coin operated

3. Ready to be eaten

52. Sound of a car horn

4. Goop used to fix cracked streets

53. A cord used to tie shoes

40. _____ __ party buses

5. Well being

54. A dull pain in one’s body

42. Queen headwear

6. On top of a Cappuccino

56. Door ____

43. Number of golf strokes typically

7. Made certain

58. A great amount

8. States of balance

59. What one cooks s’mores on

9. A formal mens black hat

60. Results from sun exposure

required for a certain hole 44. Field goal attempt in basketball

Sudoku: Hard

Sudoku: Easy

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Christmas Daydreaming

49. Plants with sword-like leaves

36. The luxury car section of Honda games

ANGEL WEN

no army

Down Mark Twain

35. Different or strange

Slapstick

32. _ ____ With a View

reporter

Houston

GUEST ARTIST ELIA MARTIN

29. To remove a cap

hand

17. Whole dried coconut meat

Blazer Box

10. Angel _____, Venezuela 11. Milk’s favorite cookie

Program

1. Unusually cruel

Shiver Season

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NAHOM TEDLA

KENDALL DELILLE

E1 Español

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17 de diciembre del 2015

La Esquina Latina

Silver Chips 17 de diciembre del 2015

Jóvenes latinas desafían los estereotipos sexistas

Los animadores de Blair logran su meta al ganar campeonato Por Alisson Fortis

Estudiantes comparten su pasión por el boxeo

Por Andrés Pérez Las actividades deportivas desde el comienzo han sido clasificadas como acciones meramente masculinas, sin embargo a lo largo del tiempo se han ido denotando cambios por parte del grupo femenino.

Un gran ejemplo de esto es nuestra escuela, en la cual un trío de chicas: Rachel Menjívar y Mónica Reyes de décimo grado y Madeline Tobar de noveno grado se inscribieron a una academia de boxeo a pesar de todas las personas que las atacaron con críticas para convencerlas de seguir la norma social.

Conocemos que en la sociedad en la cual el ser humano convive, las denominadas “eti- quetas de género” son bastante importantes para el reconocimiento de diferentes grupos y la misma adaptación a ellos.

Aun así podemos comprobar en el pleno siglo XXI, que todas aquellas etiquetas impuestas desde el inicio de la civilización, son sólo un reflejo de eso que nos apegaba más a nuestra etapa más primitiva.

Aquí es donde damos a paso a nuestras nuevas integrantes del colectivo femenino, nuevas mujeres que ya no sólo se quedan en casa a cuidar de los niños, sino que también se han integrado a nuevas actividades que fueron seleccionadas al principio como masculinas.

Aunque gracias a los mismos estereotipos, siempre terminamos teniendo una

Los deportes que no se han clasificados como difíciles o de gran esfuerzo físico, según el machismo, son automáticamente para mujeres.

De acuerdo a Madeline, ese tipo de mentalidad es lo que desanima al resto de mujeres de practicar deportes fuertes, ya que las hace creer que sus capacidades físicas no son

CALEB BAUMAN

comparables a las de un hombre. “Muchas chicas no quieren hacer deportes como el fútbol o el boxeo porque tienen miedo de lastimarse o creen que son demasiado débiles.”

Las mujeres que ignoran estas expectativas y se desafían a sí mismas, son las que rompen estos estereotipos y logran directamente sus objetivos tanto como atletas como pioneras en ir cambiando la mentalidad encasillada de la sociedad. Mónica Reyes por ejemplo, tuvo la suerte de que su familia la alentara a practicar boxeo.

“Mi hermano y mis primos me ayudaron a entrar a las clases con ellos. Al principio mi papá quería que hiciera karate, pero a mi mamá le gustó más el boxeo porque quería que me aprendiera a defender.”

Las chicas como ellas son las que inspiran a otras a enfrentarse a las expectativas sexistas de la sociedad y a romper esas barreras mentales que encasillan a las mujeres. Rachel dice que con su ejemplo, ha logrado inspirar a algunas de sus amigas.

“Las otras niñas se emocionan y me dicen que ellas también quieren entrar a las clases y quieren formar parte de nuestro grupo. El boxeo les permitirá pasar menos tiempo prestando atención a lo que las otras personas creen de ellas y más tiempo pensando en ellas mismas.”

También es importante considerar los beneficios que se obtienen de practicar deportes. Por un lado, Madeline dice que las clases de boxeo le ha enseñado más sobre sí misma. “Aprendí que soy más valiente de lo que creí y me volví una mujer más atrevida.”

Por otro lado también hay un efecto directo en el estilo de vida LINDSAY HARRIS de la mujer que se mantiene activa. clara clasificación entre los deportes “para Rachel cuenta que el boxeo ha cambiado almujeres” y los deportes “para hombres”. gunos de sus hábitos por unos más sanos desMadeline cuenta que al principio, su de que hace boxeo. “Ahora tomo decisiones madre se oponía a la idea de que ella hi- más saludables, como mejor y me preocupo ciera boxeo. “Cuando le dije a mi mamá más por mi salud en general.” Finalmente, que quería hacer boxeo, lo primero que me también es una cuestión de obtener habilidijo era que no porque me iban a golpear.” dades físicas y de autosuperación. Mónica Hoy en día, cada persona va evolucio- explica que el boxeo es una manera en la que nando poco a poco como le plazca, como ella y otras chicas demuestran sus capaciun ser único y auténtico, sin necesidad de dades. “Las mujeres somos fuertes, y sería rendirle cuentas a nadie. Rachel Menjívar bueno que otras chicas se unieran a deportes comenta que practica boxeo para mejorarse más intensos para demostrarle a los otros que como persona, no para complacer a nadie las mujeres no solo somos dulces y lindas.” más. “Yo empecé a hacer boxeo porque quiTodo el asunto desemboca en la idea que ero dejar de ser común, quiero hacer cosas el único límite real existe en nuestras mentes, que me gustan para sobresalir y hacer cosas ya que si la sociedad y las mujeres mismas se que nunca pensé que iba a hacer. Algunos liberaran de las barreras mentales que se les chicos me dicen que soy lesbiana por hacer han impuesto, cada quien se sentiría más libre deportes fuertes, pero yo no le tomo impor- de hacer lo que sea, sin preocuparse por los tancia porque lo hago por mí, no por ellos.” prejuicios y las críticas que puedan ocasionar.

CORTESIA DE WILL COOK

El gimnasio de Blair se tornó rojo el pasado sábado 14 de noviembre.

Se debía a todos los fanáticos que llegaron a apoyar el equipo de porristas de Montgomery Blair High School.

Durante la competencia de porristas de la segunda división en MCPS, el equipo de Blair ganó dos premios.

Los porristas tenían mucha competencia contra otras escuelas secundarias como Walter Johnson, Wheaton, Einstein, Blake y más. El equipo de Blair no solamente ganó el premio de “espíritu” por la duodécima vez, sino que también obtuvo primer lugar en la competencia de porristas de segunda división de MCPS del 2015-2016.

Jasmine Trejo, una porrista en el grado onceavo dijo, “cuando anunciaron que Blair había ganado, me sentí muy feliz. Lo más memorable fue cuando dijeron ‘Blair’ y todo el equipo se alegró.”

Trejo, que ha sido una porrista desde el décimo grado, cuenta que se sintió muy orgullosa de su equipo. “Yo creo que parte de la razón por la cual nosotros ganamos es porque tenemos una conexión especial.” Elabora dicien-

do, “en el tiempo que hemos estado en el equipo, nos hemos vuelto como una familia.

Todos trabajamos muy bien con cada uno.”

Fue una competencia muy intensa. En segundo lugar quedó el equipo de Walter Johnson y en tercer, el equipo de porristas vecino, Northwood.

Eso es exactamente lo que hizo nuestro equipo de porristas de Blair. Gracias a su empeño y determinación, lograron ganar el título de campeones de la segunda división en el condado de Montgomery. “Todos trabajamos tan fuerte durante las prácticas y cuando llegó el día de la competencia, hicimos lo mejor que pudimos,” continúa diciendo Trejo. “Queríamos ganar y creo que nuestra rutina enseña todo el esfuerzo que hicimos para llegar a donde estamos.”

En fin, fue un día muy especial, no solamente para los porristas, sino también para toda la escuela de Blair. Es la primera vez que el equipo ha ganado primer lugar en la competencia de la segunda división desde el 2007.

Los porristas hicieron un trabajo excelente y se merecen el título por el esfuerzo que pusieron. Esta ganancia sirve para enseñar que el esfuerzo arduo tiene buenos resultados. ¡Felicitaciones a los porristas de Blair!

LEAP, un programa de mentoría Abre las puertas a un mundo de posibilidades Por Karla Blanco Con el paso del tiempo, los estudiantes enfrentamos muchos retos académicos.

Al alcanzar la escuela superior, maduramos físacamente y emocionálmente.

Sin darnos cuenta, somos responsables por sobresalir académicamente obteniendo buenas calificaciones y a la misma vez tener una vida balanceada. En ocasiones, se hace un poco difícil lograr esto. Es agotador saber cuán ocupados estamos con los muchos deberes escolares, los quehaceres de la casa y los trabajos que algunos tienen. Muchos se ven agobiados por tantas responsabilidades.

En ocasiones, creemos que estamos solos. ¡No es cierto! Dos de nuestros maestros, la Sra. Coombs y el Dr. Fields, han sido designados como mentores principales del programa LEAP, Latinos Exceeding their Academic Potential (Latinos excediendo su potencial académico). El señor Currence es el administrador que supervisa este programa. Juntos, se han dado cuenta que con un poco de más apoyo, hay un grupo de estudiantes que pueden exceder su capacidad académica.

El enfoque de LEAP es en la mentoría de un grupo de estudiantes seleccionados a base de su record académico y asistencia escolar. LEAP ayuda específicamente a estudiantes identificados de noveno y décimo grado con el apoyo de mentores en los grados once y doce o en Montgomery College. La premisa es tener un mentor que pueda compartir sus experiencias en cómo ha sobresalido para lograr éxito académico y tener un efecto

motivador. El objetivo es que bajo la orientación de los mentores, los estudiantes del programa demuestren un cambio en sus actitudes hacia un mejoramiento escolar y establezcan prioridades que conllevan al éxito académico. Se espera que mediante la ayuda de compañeros, los estudiantes pierdan el temor y se den cuenta que si su mentor pudo superarse en sus clases, ellos también pueden. La meta primordial es que estos estudiantes logren superar retos académicos y cambien su perspectiva con respecto a lo que son capaces de lograr. El ayudar a crear una visión de logro que ayude a establecer hábitos de estudio que conlleven a poder exceder el rendimiento académico en cada clase es un reto en si mismo.

Algunos estudiantes en el programa han logrado superarse al punto de ser evidente la confianza que han desarrollado al poder derribar barreras que han tenido en el pasado. Al lograr esta superación, los estudiantes tienden a estar más atentos a sus calificaciones y no se satisfacen con lo mínimo para poder aprobar las clases. La motivación que estos estudiantes han desarrollado sirve de ejemplo para sus amistades que están en LEAP. A través del programa y sus intervenciones, se espera que el poder salir adelante académicamente dentro de un marco de motivación que sea contagioso para todos los participantes. Lo importante es no darse por vencido, seguir adelante y descubrir el potencial que muchas veces no se sabe que se tiene.

“Conoce el camino.

Demuestra el camino.

Anda el camino.”

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Anticipando las vacaciones de invierno con alegría Estudiantes de Blair celebran diferentes religiones en las vacaciones

Por Carlos Fuentes Es la temporada más maravillosa del año. Diciembre está aquí y es tiempo de reunirse con la familia para celebrar las vacaciones, costumbres culturales y religiosas.

Todos los estudiantes en Blair deben estar feliz y no importa de donde vengan o de qué religión sean porque este es el mes para terminar el año de la mejor manera posible.

Con la diversidad de Blair, hay muchas diferentes cosas que los estudiantes planean hacer durante las vacaciones.

Como ya establecido, las vacaciones son tiempo para reunirse con la familia.

Esto lo hace Isell Reyes, una estudiante del doceavo grado de familia salvadoreña, “Yo celebro la Navidad con mi familia por parte de mi madre, pero pocas veces con la familia de mi padre.” Pasar tiempo con la familia es probablemente el plan para la mayoría de los estudiantes de Blair, pero hay muchas otras posibilidades. Isell continua, “pero si podría, me gustaría pasar la Navidad con la familia de mi novio para acercarme más a ellos.” No es que reunirse con la familia sea una mala idea para las vacaciones, pero hay muchas otras cosas por hacer.

Por ejemplo, la Navidad es un tiempo muy importante para los cristianos y católicos.

Durante esta temporada, se celebra el nacimiento de Jesucristo, de acuerdo con algunas ideologías religiosas. Por esta razón, muchos van a la iglesia

como la estudiante de noveno grado, Leslie Alcántara. Leslie y su familia van a la iglesia todos los años el 23 de diciembre, “siempre nos reunimos el día antes de la Nochebuena para dar gracias por todo lo que hemos recibido durante el año. Después para el 24, otra vez nos vemos para celebrar la Navidad.” La religión es algo que junta a las personas y es por eso que es buena idea celebrar su religión durante este tiempo, además de ser una buena forma de reafirmar las creencias y valores.

El cristianismo no es la única religión que se celebra en las vacaciones en diciembre. El judaísmo tiene la celebración de Chanukah, donde se conmemora el momento en que los judíos en Europa se habían levantado contra sus opresores griegos en la revuelta Macabeo.

ALEXANDRA MENDIVIL

Durante Chanukah, la familia judía enciende una vela cada dia por 8 días y los hijos reciben un regalo cada día. Considerando que la mayoría de los hispanos son cristianos o católicos, encontrar a un judío hispano en Blair es como tratar de encontrar una aguja en una pila de paja, pero sí existen. Marcus Murphy Moreno es un estudiante de onceavo grado con un padre católico de México y una madre judía de los Estados Unidos. Con esta combinación de padres, Marcus celebra Chanukah y la Navidad.

“Mis padres están divorciados, entonces celebro Chanukah en la casa de mi madre y la Navidad en la casa de mi padre. Pero prefiero celebrar Chanukah porque a comparación de la Navidad, Chanukah se celebra por ocho días. Cada día recibimos un regalo y puedo pasar más tiempo con mi fami- lia.”

Marcus es un ejemplo de unos de los hispanos que celebra sus creencias durante las vacaciones en una manera distinta.

Por supuesto unos tienen una vida afuera de sus familias. Aparte de pasar tiempo con la familia, a unos les gusta celebrar las vacaciones con sus amigos. Una tendencia de los años recientes es juntar a muchas personas y hacer un evento llamado Santa

secreto. Para los que no saben sobre lo que es el Santa secreto, esta es una actividad donde todas las personas que participan reciben el nombre de otro de los participantes y tienen que comprarle un regalo para la Navidad mientras otra persona compra un regalo para él o ella pero nadie sabe quien tiene el nombre de quien. Una chica que va a participar en un Santa secreto es Yessie Portillo, una estudiante de onceavo grado de El Salvador. Ella dice que va a hacer un Santa secreto con sus amigas. Hacer algo como un Santa ALEXANDRA MENDIVIL secreto con un grupo o equipo afuera de la familia es una buena manera de construir amistades cercanas para tener una familia afuera de la familia y es como Yessie describe al grupo de POMS. Ella dice, “Las chicas de POMS son mi segunda familia, es por eso que disfruto del evento del Santa secreto.”

Las vacaciones de invierno es un tiempo para disfrutar y compartir con familia y amigos. No importa si celebras la Navidad o Chanukah, lo importante es tener una conexión especial con tu familia y hacer memorias. No hay que perder el tiempo, comparte con tus seres queridos en esta época tan importante y especial.

Países latinoamericanos luchan contra la corrupción La corrupción del gobierno afecta a ciudadanos permanentemente Por Ilcia Hernandez La vida en Latinoamérica puede ser muy difícil y diferente en comparación a la vida en los Estados Unidos. Esto puede ser porque los gobiernos en los países hispanohablantes suelen a funcionar de manera diferente y tienen otras normas. Sucede que han habido muchos países en Latinoamérica que han estado teniendo problemas con su gobierno.

En el 2011, Otto Pérez Molina fue elegido como presidente en Guatemala, con la meta de darle frente al crimen organizado con que se enfrentaba el país y las acciones fraudulentas de los funcionarios del gobierno. A principios de este año, la vicepresidenta, Roxana Baldetti, renunció porque se encontraba bajo investigación con respecto a un escándalo de corrupción.

A la funcionaria le congelaron sus cuentas bancarias y le prohibieron salir del país.

El resultado fue que Juan Carlos Monzón Rojas, secretario privado de Baldetti, junto a otros funcionarios incluyendo al presidente, llegaron a defraudar millones de dolares relacionados con la economía del país. Este grupo conocido como La Línea, cometió un crimen de fraude aduanero.

Monzón Rojas es un fugitivo y no se ha visto en Guatemala desde el principio del escándalo. La policía investigó y arrestó a mucha gente involucrada. El presidente Pérez Molina rechazó las alegaciones contra él pero los ciudadanos de Guatemala comenzaron a protestar. Tuvieron diferentes manifestaciones llamando a que Pérez Molina renunciara a su cargo. Muchas personas pobres salieron a protestar para representar a los ciudadanos que no estaban recibiendo los recursos necesarios del gobierno. Esto es lo que más enojó a la población porque Guatemala es un país de pocos recursos económicos y los funcionarios del gobierno estaban malgastando y robando el dinero

tualmente, Maldonado Aguirre está como presidente hasta el 14 de enero del 2016, cuando Jimmy Morales va tomar el lugar.

La primera dama, Nadine Heredia, fue investigada por actos de corrupción hechos por el ex asesor del presiCorrupción* dente OllanProporción de la población víctima de la corrupción en el 2014 (porcentaje) ta Humala y en Martín BeLatinoamérica launde LoBolivia ssio. InvesParaguay México Venezuela Perú tigaron a la primera 26.4 26.6 27.2 28.1 30.2 dama porque tenían dudas sobre el origen de los fondos Argentina Panamá Guatemala Honduras Ecuador que ella recibió cuando 20.7 26 23 B e l a u n - de 16.8 18.8 Lossio la contrató como asesoCosta Rica Nicaragua Colombia El Salvador Uruguay ra de empresas vinculadas, antes de 9.8 13.6 6.7 14.7 15.5 que Humala llegará a la *Según Transparency International: Chile “En términos generales colmo ”el abuso del poder para presidencia [el] beneficio privado.” La corrupción se puede calificar en el 2011. como grande, pequeña o política dependiendo en las L o s 5.3 cantidades de dinero perdidas y el sector donde occure.” investiTRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL REVA KREEGER gadores encontraron soborno y por ser parte de una asociación dinero venezolano para financiar al partido ilícita. También llevaron a la ex-vicepresi- de Humala. Esto fue en tiempos en la cual denta Baldetti quien fue igualmente acusa- Hugo Chávez estaba en poder. Aunque Beda de cargos ilícitos de corrupción. Fue la launde Lossio está en la cárcel después de primera vez que un presidente de Latino- ser extraditado por Bolivia, Heredia clama américa ha sido encarcelado por corrupción. que recibieron dinero para la campaña de Muchos especialistas dicen que los actos que una manera legal. A pesar de esto no se tomó el sistema judicial es algo que otros han encontrado suficientes pruebas para países en Latinoamérica deben seguir. Ac- encarcelar a Heredia en este momento, la destinado para el beneficio de los ciudadanos.

El miércoles 2 de septiembre del 2015, Pérez Molina presentó su carta de renuncia.

Tres días después del anuncio, Pérez Molina fue acusado en corte por corrupción,

situación es otro ejemplo del poder excesivo que tienen los fiscales en el gobierno.

Aproximadamente la mitad de la población venezolana es pobre y no tienen los recursos para muchas de sus necesidades.

El gobierno de Venezuela tiene un problema en manejando el dinero que supuestamente va a la gente que más lo necesita.

Este dinero se usa para pagar la comida y medicina. Una organización llamada Transparencia Venezuela, colaboró con un periodista para descubrir que habían 400 toneladas de medicina tiradas en una bodega y dejadas sin usar hasta que se expiraron.

Otro ejemplo de corrupción fue encubierta por una investigación sobre la importación de leche en polvo. La leche para los niños en la escuela fue llevada a Colombia ilegalmente con la aprobación de las autoridades de Venezuela y Colombia. En el 2005, la Corte Suprema, compró tierra por 78 millones de bolívares (más de un millón de dólares estadounidenses) para construir la ciudad judicial en Caracas. Pero hasta este dia, no se han visto planes ni construcción.

En todos estos casos, nadie se ha hecho responsable por los actos. Transparencia Venezuela trabaja para tratar de denunciar los actos de corrupción. El director executivo de la organización dice, “solo si las víctimas y los testigos denuncian [estos] actos de corrupción y de los individuos, existe la posibilidad de sanciones y que las cosas cambien para mejor en Venezuela.”

De acuerdo a él, la gente Venezolana tiene que tomar acción contra violaciones de los derechos humanos y contra la corrupción.

Muchos de los países en latinoamérica no tienen separación de poderes y eso puede resultar que un partido o gobierno tenga poder excesivo. Está en las manos de la población y los ciudadanos para demandar cambios en sus gobiernos para poder tener derechos básicos y vivir con los beneficios que sus gobiernos deben de proveerles.

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Nostalgia llena nuestros corazones en esta época navideña El estar lejos de nuestro país de origen durante las vacaciones es difícil Por Emily Barrero Se acerca la época navideña, época del año tan esperada por muchos para celebrar y compartir en familia. Uno de los momentos del año en que las casas se llenan de familiares desde los más grandes hasta los más pequeños. Muchos viajan desde dentro y fuera del país para estar juntos y compartir de estas festividades. Se hace evidente la felicidad y alegría que existe en convivir con la familia reunida después de un largo tiempo de no estar juntos. Es tiempo de regalar y disfrutar de deliciosa comida de la temporada. En fin, todo se trata de pasar un buen rato y compartir con los seres más queridos estos días festivos.

Los latinos no se quedan atrás en cuanto a estas celebraciones. A la hora de festejar, incorporamos elementos únicos y propios de la cultura nativa de nuestros países o de la herencia de nuestros padres ya que ellos quieren mantenerlas vivas. La comunidad hispana es una de las comunidades más diversas que se puede encontrar en los Estados Unidos. Por lo tanto, es importante destacar lo que los jóvenes latinos de Blair tienen que decir sobre estas festividades.

De todos los millones de hispanos que viven en los Estados Unidos, la gran mayoría celebra el Día de Acción de Gracias y la Navidad. Estas épocas son importantes y celebradas tanto por el significado religioso que tienen como el emocional. Entre los latinos, es una costumbre común cocinar mucha comida típica de sus países natales e invitar a toda la familia para compartir la cena.

Tampoco puede faltar la música y la fiesta que produce un ambiente lleno de armonía y felicidad. Estas celebraciones de Navidad usualmente empiezan el 24 de diciembre, durante la Nochebuena, donde se celebra hasta la medianoche para intercambiar regalos.

A pesar de todo esto, es necesario presentar el otro lado de la historia porque no

para todas las personas estos días son de alegría. Estas fechas pueden ser muy tristes debido a que no todas las familias hispanas tienen la oportunidad de estar juntas o de poder reunirse durante la víspera navideña.

¿Extraterreste o marciano?

Aparentemente somos de otro planeta Por Gisell Ramírez

VICTORIA TSAI

Los latinos se han establecido en los Estados Unidos como una de las minorías más grandes del país. Muchas personas no piensan de las implicaciones emocionales al referirse a inmigrantes indocumentados usando términos como alien e illegal alien. Estos términos al ser traducidos al español, significan ser extraterrestre, marciano, o meramente no pertenecer a este país y se consideran como referencias ofensivas y derogatorias.

Existe un proyecto de ley que no ha sido aprobado por Congreso, donde las palabras alien e illegal alien se eliminarían de las leyes al referirse a alguien que está en el país ilegalmente. Joaquín Castro, demócrata en el estado de Tejas, introdujo una nueva ley que se llama CHANGE, Correcting Hurtful and Alienating Names in Government Expression (Corrigiendo nombres ofensivos y alienantes en las expresiones gubernamentales). Castro dijo que los “Estados Unidos es una nación de inmigrantes, sin embargo, nuestro gobierno federal continúa utilizando términos que deshumanizan y condenan al ostracismo a los que están en nuestra sociedad pero nacieron en otro lugar.”

En el pasado, el Congreso a pasado legislaciones similares como el 21st Century Language Act (Acta del lenguaje del siglo XXI), en la cual la palabra lunatic (lunático)

fue eliminada. También existe Rosa’s Law (Ley de Rosa), la cual eliminó el término mental retardation (retraso mental). Por estas razones, la población latina tiene la esperanza de que el Congreso aprobará esta acta y estos términos serán eliminados.

La Liga de ciudadanos latinoamericanos unidos y el Foro de inmigración nacional, han ofrecido su apoyo para este proyecto de ley. El presidente de LULAC, Roger Rocha Jr., y el representante demócrata de Arizona, Rubén Gallego, apoyan esta acta.

Belén Sisa, quien vive en Gilbert, Arizona, llegó a los Estados Unidos desde Argentina hace 15 años y dice que si se elimina el lenguaje ofensivo, sería un gran paso.

Joaquin Castro ha indicado que “la eliminación del término alien de nuestras leyes federales es una muestra de respeto a nuestro patrimonio común y hacia los cientos de millones de descendientes de inmigrantes que llaman a Estados Unidos su hogar.”

Pasos pequeños como el cambio del término al dirigirse a los inmigrantes guiará este movimiento de igualdad hacia todos y la eliminación de calcificaciones en manera ofensiva. Es pues, que esta legislación es de gran importancia no solo para los inmigrantes, sino tambien para un futuro donde quien viva aquí sea tratado con respeto y dignidad.

Los alumnos de Blair también se enfrentan con esta difícil situación. Muchos de ellos emigraron a los Estados Unidos en busca de una mejor oportunidad de vida y se ven obligados a dejar a gran parte de su familia en sus países natales. Para algunos de estos jóvenes, estas fechas pueden representar más tristeza que alegría. En estas fechas, muchas de estas familias se encuentran separadas por fronteras, los costosos precios de los vuelos aéreos o un estatus migratorio que no les permite salir ni entrar al país. Esto hace la situación mucho más difícil. Son muchas las millas de distancia que separan a estos jóvenes de sus familias.

Muchos jóvenes de Blair viven en este país con una familia incompleta. No todos sus familiares se encuentran dentro del país, volviéndose imposible de reunir a la familia completa. Situaciones EDGAR BLANCO como estas opacan la alegría y positividad que estas épocas ofrecen. El no poder compartir estos días festivos con los seres más queridos hace que los jóvenes padezcan de nostalgia y hasta depresión porque extrañan las costumbres

que tenían. Lo que más extrañan son los miembros de su familia que dejaron atrás y con los que solían compartir estos días. “Yo me siento mal porque no podemos cele rar juntos al mismo tiempo. Por ejemplo, no puedo darle un abrazo a mi mamá.

Es muy triste porque no podemos estar todos juntos y porque sé que ellos no pueden venir a visitarme,” dice Yuvisa Santos.

“Por una parte estoy feliz por tener la oportunidad de celebrar con la familia que tengo acá. [Al mismo tiempo] me siento mal porque la parte de mi familia que está en Guatemala es con la que más conviví y celebré estas fiestas [pero ahora] no están aquí,” comenta Brian Díaz, estudiante del décimo grado. Es una alegría a medias porque, sí se puede celebrar con los familiares que se encuentran en los Estados Unidos, pero aún hacen falta los demás familiares que algunos estudiantes han dejado atrás al inmigrar a este país.

El cambio drástico de una cultura a la otra es una situación difícil para estos jóvenes inmigrantes que recientemente ingresaron al país. “La diferencia es mucha. Primeramente porque en este país te mantienes la mayor parte del tiempo encerrado y allá yo podía salir a visitar y disfrutar de los juegos pirotécnicos para Navidad,” añade Díaz.

Entre las costumbres y los cambios drásticos a los que estos jóvenes se enfrentan, está el convivir con personas nuevas, asistir a una escuela nueva y una cultura nueva e idioma. Estos factores contribuyen para que los jóvenes se depriman aún más. Esta es la triste realidad que los alumnos de Blair tienen que enfrentar cada año y la razón por la que algunos de ellos deciden no celebrarla. A pesar de que esta época está supuesta a simbolizar armonía y felicidad, no todas las familias pueden disfrutar de una Navidad con la familia completamente reunida.

El TeletónUSA cambiando vidas Por Odalis Llerena TeletónUSA es una fundación que ayuda a recaudar fondos para mejorar la salud de niños con incapacidades. El primer teletón empezó en Chile en 1978 por Mario Kreutzberger, conocido como Don Francisco. Otros países de Latinoamérica empezaron a hacer su propio teletón con su propio estilo y necesidad. La historia detrás del teletón empezó cuando Mario Kreutzberger estaba en camino a un hospital y se encontró con un niño atado afuera de su casa. ¿Por qué? Porque sufría de retraso mental y podría atacar a sus hermanos. Desde allí, Kreutzberger comenzó el legado de Teletón Chile que beneficiaría a millones de niños.

La primera donación fue entregada por una niña llamada Carmen Gloria de 90 pesos ($5.40 USD) y en total, el primer TeletónChile logró recaudar 3 millones de dólares estadounidenses en 27 horas. Teletón fue creado para ayudar a financiar los tratamientos médicos de niños incapacitados sin recursos económicos.

Cada teletón ha tenido mucho éxito y ha ayudado a personas con incapacidades en dife- rentes maneras.

El primer TeletónUSA tuvo lugar en diciembre de 2012. La programación fue en español en los Estados Unidos y logró recaudar un total de $8,150,625 en donaciones. Antes que el teletón estrenara en los Estados Unidos, muchas personas se preguntaban ¿Porqué se necesita un teletón en este país cuando es un país que

tiene los mejores programas de medicina del mundo? La razón por la cual se necesita el teletón en este país es porque los recursos médicos son muy costosos por el mismo hecho que son los mejores. El teletón de México, uno de los más grandes, ha logrado que cada niño en México tenga más tratamientos que un niño en los Estados Unidos.

Este fue uno de los motivos por los cuales teletón se creó en este país. Con las donaciones que el teletón obtuvo, construyeron un centro de rehabilitación en San Antonio, Tejas que ofrece servicio a niños desde que nacen ODALIS LLERENA hasta los 18 años de edad, sin importar que la familia no tenga suficientes recursos económicos para pagar.

Durante la programación del 4 de diciembre, llegaron muchos artistas y músicos que donaron al teletón.

También, hubieron historias y testimonios de pacientes o familias de cómo el teletón los ha ayudado y cambiado sus vidas al igual que a personas que lo necesitan urgentemente. El programa duró dos días con 30 horas y llegaron a recaudar $15,705,865, sobrepasando su meta del año pasado.

Todavía no es tarde para donar. Se puede donar por teléfono y correo o en la página teletónusa.org. No importa la cantidad que se done, ya sea pequeña o grande, se puede ayudar significativamente a muchos niños que no tienen los recursos necesarios.

December 17, 2015

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December 17, 2015

The unfortunate tales of two inept baller(ina)s

A varsity pom and basketball player switch sports for a day

By Niki Patel In first person Walking into a varsity girls’ basketball practice, the last thing I expected was to wake up the next morning with my wrists being the sorest part of my body. I know I didn’t really pass or catch the ball correctly, and I definitely wasn’t making amazing layups or jump shots. I was certain my soreness was due to my skill, or rather, the lack thereof. In retrospect, though, it was probably because of all of the high fives.

Every team has their own “thing.” Some do chants, others have dance circles, but the basketball team’s thing is high fives. Encouragement, support, and respect all wordlessly communicated through the smacking of one another’s palms all the way down the court-whether the free throws are made or not.

Expecting the worst I walked into practice expecting it to go terribly. I didn’t know what I was going to be

asked to do, how I was going to do it, or how I was going to avoid looking like a complete klutz. Besides, the last thing I wanted to do was upset anyone on the team by disrupting their practice with my lack of skill.

I missed every single one of my free throws. Every single one. And to be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure when we were even trying to make free throws, or jump shots, or layups. Either way, I do know that the basketball did not go into the hoop. Luckily for me, I was not bad enough for them to kick me out, although I probably came pretty close.

Call me Curry I struggled with just about everything: dribbling, passing, catching. Anything that required legitimate basketball skills or hand-eye coordination. But of my 50 different attempts at layups, I can proudly say I made about two or three, which is more than anyone expected, including me. But practice wasn’t as hard as I expected. Don’t get me wrong, it was still pretty rough, and incred-

ibly embarrassing, but not to the extent I feared it would be. I realized I could actually do some of the things asked of me—maybe not very well or 100 percent correctly—but I could still do them.

There were even a few things I even considered myself good at. Stretching and running laps were a breeze. The stamina and muscle I had built up from endless ballet classes and three years of being on the varsity poms team helped a lot, and I felt really good about myself for about the first ten minutes of practice. Unfortunately, the only other thing I seemed to be good at was getting hit in the face with the basketball. And I’m no expert, but even I know that’s definitely not supposed to happen.

Positivity is key Even though I caught the ball with my face more often than I caught it with my hands, all the players and coaches were genuinely supportive of me. The atmosphere was positive, encouraging and fun.

That is the one aspect of practice I recognized and felt familiar with. Both poms and basketball are sports where team dynamics and communication are key to success. Even though physically the sports require two different skillsets, mentally, it’s all the same.

I spent the last ten minutes of practice watching the players run drills for their scrimmage the next day. The players and coaches yelled over the sound of sneakers squeaking while the players raced down the court; they all worked together to improvise their plays to make sure the basketball made it into the hoop before the timer ran out.

As I stood on the sideline, I watched a prime example of teamwork unfold. Whether or not the girls actually made a basket at the end of each round, they all congratulated each other for trying their best and giving it their all. In the end, that’s what makes this team so successful. I’m so glad I got to witness their drive to be the best they can be—individually, and as a team—and their consistent support and encouragement of one another, all through a simple high five.

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

DRIBBLING QUEENS Junior Niki Patel tries out basketball for a day. Pictured at left, Patel dribbles with junior Elizabeth Cove, then, at right, waits to see if she will make a basket.

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Junior Eleanor Cook joins the varsity poms team in a test of her dancing ability. At left, Cook (third from left) stretches before practicing a routine.

By Eleanor Cook, Guest writer In first person It’s November, it’s getting colder, and I’m wearing the shortest shorts that I have worn in months. I’m in the locker room, but instead of putting on Nike elite socks and basketball shoes, I’m slipping on fresh no-show socks and checking that my hair looks good.

How do you even wear your hair when you dance?

Turning left out of the locker room instead of right toward the gym, I try to think back to the days when I did ballet; unfortunately, my memory of kindergarten is a bit hazy. All in all, I’m out of my element.

Tiny dancer I have played basketball since third grade and soccer since kindergarten, but my dancing experience ended in early elementary school – except, of course, rocking out to 60s pop when no one is looking. For one day, however, I agreed to practice with Blair’s varsity poms team.

When I walked into the dance room, we quickly got to work, warming up by running in a circle. Unfortunately, it was noth-

ing like sprinting up and down a basketball court. It was supposed to be graceful.

Eventually though, we started core work, and I was finally at home. I was glad to do some crunches, planks, and leg raises, and I grew hopeful about the rest of practice.

the team, but I was mostly just impressed by how easy the dancers made it look. And believe me, it is not easy. After we began, the team’s synchrony was impressive. Well, except for me at the back of the line moving three, or maybe more, steps behind.

Getting down to business

Dancing queens

But the respite was short, and soon we were back to dancing. Luckily, I had the team to guide me through it. Unluckily, I am perhaps the least flexible person alive. I am bad at deadlifting because I am physically incapable of reaching down to pick up the barbell without bending my legs. My own mother is more flexible than me.

Flexibility, however, is essential to dance.

From doing the splits to kicking above their heads, the girls surrounding me could do it all. Meanwhile, I had my legs extended as far as possible in a split that still left me a foot above the ground.

When we started to learn a new part of their routine, it was like someone had brought his or her younger sister along to an advanced calculus class. And no, that child was not a prodigy. I tried to learn some of the routine and do my best performing with

I’d like to think that I improved as we progressed through the dance. My crowning achievement during the practice, if I can say that there was one, was staying upright during an almost-successful pirouette, or spin on one foot for us amateurs.

I felt bad that I was disrupting practice, but at least I provided some comic relief. Not to mention, this practice taught me so much.

I improved my ability to laugh at myself, for example, which is essential to trying new things and something from which I often shy away.

One of the most unique things about the poms team is that they choreograph their own routines. I cannot imagine being responsible for inventing even one of our basketball plays, not to mention all of them. Poms is so much more than waving some sticks with flashy tassels at the end

— which, by the way, are incredibly fun to wave around.

Over the course of the practice, we went from some strengthening, to learning individual moves, to putting them together into a routine. While I was somewhat horrible at most of those skills, I had fun doing it.

The poms team was supportive and helped along the way.

This swap taught me some poms lingo, some dancing techniques, and most of all, how hard the poms team works. Dance is now one more thing I know I will never do again. But now when I see the poms team performing during the halftime at basketball games, I will appreciate their routine all the more.

This story is accompanied by a video

by BNC. To see the video, scan the code to the left with a QR reader app, or use the URL below.

WWW.VIMEO.COM/SILVERCHIPS/SWAP

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December 17, 2015

Two-time Super Bowl champion returns to roots

Q&A with former Green Bay Packers player Tom Brown

By Camille Estrin Tom Brown, 1962 second round draft pick for the Green Bay Packers and Blair alum, returned to Blair to present the Blazers with a golden football given to him by the National Football League.

On being a student athlete: I didn’t play tackle football until high school, but I got a [football] scholarship to University of Maryland. College is different because most kids are just as good as you are. You have to be dedicated to work hard and not get discouraged. You might be sitting on the bench as a freshman or a sophomore.

But it’s all in your court, how hard you want to work. Sports [are] a lot like life, you have ups and downs and you have to work hard to obtain your goal. Nothing is easy.

On playing baseball: [Growing up], my favorite sport was baseball. I played it every day in the summertime. When I was 15, I played on a really good team that traveled all over the east coast playing baseball. I really loved it; that was my first sport.

The Cuban Missile Crisis happened the same year [as I was drafted] and Fidel Castro would not let any of the Cuban baseball players who played here in America out of Cuba. The [Washington] Senators didn’t

CHIMEY SONAM

SHARING WISDOM Blair alumnus and former NFL player Tom Brown spoke to student athletes on Nov. 13 and gave advice on managing academics with athletics.

have a first baseman, so I was [their only option]. They were getting ready to send me to Pensacola, that’s where they had the minor league practice, [but they couldn’t anymore].

Guess who got me the job as starting first basemen for the Washington Senators in 1963? The President of the United States.

It’s a tradition that the Washington Senators always start the season a day early, so [the general manager] goes and presents President Kennedy his season pass. President Kennedy [said], “I will come to opening day if you start that boy from Maryland.” So I got to start opening day.

On playing in the NFL: Coach [Vince] Lombardi, the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, called me up and said, “Brown, we’re still interested in you playing football, but you can’t sit out another year. If you go back and play baseball and don’t play football, we’re not gonna be interested in you for the Green Bay Packers.”

This is where my Blair education came in. My Blair education told me that baseball starts in February and I would get paid in February. Football doesn’t start till July, so if I signed with football I don’t get paid until July. I said, “I’m gonna play baseball in February. By July 1, because that’s when football starts, I’ll make up my mind about if I want to play football.”

Come July 1, I called [Lombardi] up and said, “I’m ready to play football.” That’s how I got to football one year later. It was the greatest thing that ever happened to me, because the Green Bay Packers were winners and Lombardi was a great human being.

football forever, so find your niche.” First of all, I had to find out what the heck niche means. He said, “Do something that you like to do as your job.”

So for forty years I have been working with young boys and girls. I had a flag football program, a basketball program, and a baseball program for young boys and girls.

It was great because I gave them an introduction to the different sports. And everybody played, nobody sat on the bench.

On Coach Vince Lombardi’s influence:

Coach Lombardi was interested in you [even] after your playing days were over. He was interested in you as a person, and not many head coaches feel that way. He wasn’t a coach; he was a teacher of life.

Two or three times a week, I think about the experience I had. I try and use that in working with football and baseball with the kids.

On returning to Blair:

On life after the NFL:

This is the fiftieth anniversary of the Super Bowl. I was lucky enough to play in the first two Super Bowls. We won both of those games, so we won three consecutive gold championships in ’65, ’66 and ’67.

Because it’s the fiftieth anniversary of the Super Bowl, the National Football League started a program. Anybody that played in the Super Bowl, they will donate a gold football to their high school. That’s pretty neat, to go back and have a football presented to your school because you played in the Super Bowl.

I said I’d like to do that, so they sent a football. I’m here to present the gold football to Montgomery Blair.

For forty years, this was the best thing Coach Lombardi ever said: “You can’t play

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

MCPS needs to take a time-out before investing in turf fields County should check the safety of artificial turf before moving forward Specialist, these additions will be implemented over the next few years. “The Board has approved Bowers’ recommendation to The blistering summer sun hit senior install artificial turfs at the 19 high schools Miguel Lopez’s back as he slid across the that currently do not have turf fields,” Oniground, side tackling another soccer play- jala says.

In light of the health risks surrounding er before he could reach the ball. While he kept his opponent from scoring, the save artificial turf, the county must conduct a left Lopez with a painful burn from rubbing more thorough investigation into the impliagainst the searing turf field. Five years later, cations of turf before jumping to install more fields. the scar remains on Lopez’s left thigh.

Every time athletes step onto a turf field, Anyone who has stepped foot in Blazer Stadium knows that the turf infill, composed they risk exposing themselves to potentially of small bits of recycled rubber tires, gets ev- dangerous chemicals. In a September press erywhere—into shoes, socks, and even hair. release, Elliot Kaye, Chairman of the U.S. However, these rubber crumbs are not the Consumer Product Safety Commission, aconly nuisance of playing on turf fields; for knowledged his lack of confidence in the athletes who practice on these fields every safety of artificial turf due to the possible day, artificial grass increases the chance of carcinogens in the rubber infill. “I am deeply troubled by the uncertainty that consumers being injured and burned.

On Oct. 28, Interim Superintendent Larry experience when it comes to… potentially Bowers proposed funding additional artifi- being exposed to harmful chemicals in concial turf installations in his Capital Improve- sumer products,” he said.

Studies have also found a connection ment Program for 2017-2022, ignoring the current literature which suggests that turf between artificial turf and increased risk of is unsafe for users. According to Gboyinde injury. In 2012, Stanford University School of Onijala, an MCPS Senior Communications Medicine raised a concerning correlation between turf and knee injuries in college football players.

Knee injuries occur 40 percent more often when athletes play on artificial turf versus grass; these injuries mainly consist of tears to “I prefer to play sports on turf because if it rains, the anterior crucigrass gets muddy, slippery, and gross.” ate ligament (ACL), - Victoria Browning, freshman which can sideline an athlete for up to 12 months, and “I prefer grass because I hate when all those even crush a playlittle rubber things get in my shoes.” er’s career.

- Alex Sobey-Strick, freshman In addition, athletes are susceptible to turf burns when

By Alice Park An opinion

soapbox

Do you prefer to play sports on turf or grass fields?

the surface of a field reaches high temperaHowever, the report overlooked these tures. According to Thomas Serensits of the health concerns, dismissing them as being Penn State Sports Surface Research Center, too challenging for the county to study. “A surface temperatures can easily surpass 150 formal process would be required to identidegrees Fahrenheit during the summer. As a fy and examine all the human health risks,” result, athletes often suffer burns from slid- the report continues. “Such an analysis was ing against the hot surfaces of the fields. beyond the scope and capacity of the ArtifiLopez, who is co-captain of the boys’ cial Turf Staff Work Group.” In other words, varsity soccer team, says that turf burns are the county is incapable of analyzing health common among athletes. “It’s easier to get risks that would directly affect its students. burns on turf. On grass, you don’t get any The installation of turf fields comes at a burns,” he says.

In 2011, the Montgomery County Artificial Turf Staff Work Group released “A Review of Benefits and Issues Associated with Natural Grass and Artificial Turf Rectangular Stadium Fields,” discussing the risks surrounding synthetic turf.

The report, which acknowl- SOURCE: STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE CAMILLE ESTRIN edged the safety implications of turf, was a necessary high cost. William Beattie, Director of Sysfirst step toward investigating whether the tem-wide Athletics in MCPS, says that the county should implement more artificial price of installing one turf field can range turf fields. However, the report lacked both from $1.1 to $1.5 million, over half a milan environmental impact assessment and a lion dollars more than the cost of installing health impact assessment of turf and was far a grass field. The county cannot justify this from being enough research for such a sig- spending when its study of turf lacks a denificant project of installing turf fields at 19 finitive safety review. high schools.

The county should thoroughly assess The study did briefly mention the pos- turf fields to ensure that they are safe for sible health risks associated with turf, such users before spending millions on facilities. as chemical exposures, heat-related illness- Athletes deserve a reliable place to play and es, abrasions, and injuries. “The Staff Work compete, and the county must prioritize the Group identified some of the areas of poten- safety of its students and community members above all. tial human risks,” the report reads.

Knee injuries occur

40% more often when athletes play

on turf versus grass

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December 17, 2015

Varsity boys’ basketball loses on a buzzer beater Albert Einstein banks in the final shot to defeat Blazers 51-49

By Joshua Fernandes NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM, Dec. 8—In a close game, varsity boys’ basketball (3-1) lost to the Albert Einstein Titans (1-2) 51-49 after an unlucky buzzer beater to end the game.

Blair got off to a slow start, going down 0-8 in the first quarter.

With their first few possessions, the Blazers missed shots just to see Einstein sink a pair of threes and a pair of free throws. “We didn’t come out intense, with energy, and we missed a lot of shots we could have made,” said junior forward Julius Cobb.

Coach Damon Pigrom wasn’t too worried early on as he just saw it as a blip Blair could overcome.

“I don’t think they turned the ball over in that stretch,” said Pigrom.

“I thought we had good looks.”

None of those looks turned into points though, which seemed to be the trend of the night. From the field and the free throw line, Blair repeatedly missed shots throughout the game. “It was just a pattern that was consistent the whole game where we just missed shots we would normally make,” said Pigrom.

The Blazers began to warm up and brought the game back to within five at the end of the half.

While they still couldn’t score as much as they would have wanted, a combination of Blair’s strong defense and Einstein’s own shooting difficulties kept them in the game.

“My biggest concern is not with

our defense,” said Pigrom. “If I had to grade our defense I’d say C+, B-.”

After halftime, Blair came out with the strength and intensity they lacked in the first half, thanks to a few tweaks to their game.

“We made a couple adjustments,” said Pigrom. “The points that we scored were in transition so I think they came off of some steals and stuff like that.” Those changes led

the Blazers to their biggest lead of the game, 27-24.

The game was littered with fouls from both teams, especially the second half, which senior guard Tucker Nosal attributes as the reason for Einstein’s win. “We just allowed them to fight and keep themselves in the game with free throws,” said Nosal. “They made up for what they weren’t making on the court in open play

with their free throw shooters, so that’s what killed us.”

Einstein shot 92.3 percent from the line, while Blair only shot 68 percent. Einstein senior Caleb Lewsey made all seven of his free throws, making five in the fourth quarter to help Einstein to the win.

After seeing the devastating effect of Einstein’s free throw shooting, the Blazers plan on improving their own. “For the first two

COURTESY OF DEXTER MUELLER

BALL IS LIFE Senior captain Jared Williams dribbles down the court, searching for a nearby teammate to pass to. Blair’s boys’ varsity basketball team is 3-1 through their first four games.

games, some of us were struggling with free throws,” said Cobb. “I think [in] tomorrow’s [practice] we’re actually going to take free throws seriously, not joke around at all, and do what we got to do.”

Blair’s improvements in the second half led to an intense finale between the two teams. After falling to 30-37 in the fourth quarter, the Blazers rallied back. Senior guard Max Burke sunk a three to tie the game 37-37 halfway through the fourth.

With the game so close so late, both teams upped the pressure with better shooting and faster play. The pace of the game dramatically increased with cheers and ovations from both sides of supporters after every point for their team.

With 25 seconds left, Nosal tied the game 47-47 with a three from the corner. After a foul, Einstein made both free throws, restoring their lead to two points with 19.5 seconds remaining. Junior guard Demetri Cooper drove down the court for the Blazers, drawing a foul with 10.6 seconds left. Making both foul shots, he brought the game to 49-49.

With the game on the line, Blair sought to stop Einstein’s last possession, but Einstein junior Arnold Ebiketie’s bank shot buzzer beater from the top of the key gave Einstein their first win of the season. “We were trying to find our matchups,” said Nosal. “We were able to do it for the most part when it came down to it, but they made the final shot.”

Outside the lines: Helping student athletes, behind the scenes

A look at the many responsibilities of Blair’s athletic director of five years

By Brianna Forté Scheduling and attending meetings, going to sports events, helping out the athletes, organizing all the teams, hiring coaches, and more. For Athletic Director Rita Boule, it’s a never ending job, but a gratifying one.

From coaching to directing Boule started out coaching girls’ soccer and girls’ basketball at Plattsburgh High School in Plattsburgh, New York. After that, Boule taught, coached, and was assistant

athletic director at Kennedy High School for 17 years. With a vast coaching experience behind her, Boule was ready to move onto something else. “I wanted to do something else in athletics, but not coach anymore. So I wanted to take more of a leadership role in athletics, which is why the athletic director position seemed so appealing to me,” says Boule.This is the fifth year that Boule has been the athletic director at Blair.

Improving athletics Boule has made many changes

CALEB BAUMAN

WORKING HARD Rita Boule manages many aspects of Blair’s Athletics department, including event scheduling and fundraising.

to the athletic department such as implementing new baseline concussion testing, changing athletic awards ceremonies, and changing the way students are cleared to participate in a sport.

According to many coaches and players, the sports teams have also improved under Boule.

She has input on every coach that is hired and attracts new coaches to come to Blair. This year, Boule has brought on a new girls’ varsity basketball coach, Carlos Smith, and a new boys’ wrestling coach, Sam Bulagay.

Boule also played a role in hiring Andrew Fields as the football coach three years ago, who has been a major contributor to ‘new Blair football’ and the team’s success at making playoffs two years in a row. “You can say there’s an athletic Renaissance going on at Blair since Ms. Boule’s taken over. Our basketball teams have thrived, our football team’s been to their first two state playoffs, our soccer teams are doing really well, the volleyball team, I mean, everyone,” says football coach Andrew Fields.

Boule has also helped improve the athletic community at Blair. “I want one Blair program. I want ‘We Are Blair’ to be the sticking motto for this athletics program and show that everyone involved in this athletics program is one big family,” Boule says. Her passion and goal for a Big Blair is apparent among her co-workers. “She wants students to have success athletically, but also feel part of a larger Blair program,” says assistant athletic director James Mogge.

On top of her game Boule’s success is impressive, especially considering how many

different duties the athletic director has. “The nature of the job is that there are a hundred things to do every day. And so the idea that you can get above those hundred things and be able to get a big picture of what’s going on and be able to relate to other people is just an amazing quality that [Boule] has,” says Mogge.

First and foremost, Boule is in charge of supervising the athletics department, which includes dealing with the coaches, athletes, and parents, and also managing the budget. She is also responsible for working with the booster club to fundraise for Blair athletics, coordinating with the building services and administration about sporting events, taking care of paperwork, and managing games.

To manage all these different duties takes a lot of organization and Boule has got it down. “She’s very organized with what she does and she has a plan for everything. Whatever she’s doing, with pie sales or whatever she has to do for the athletic department she’s always on top of her stuff. So whenever we needed something she would always be able to get it and help us out,” says senior Brian Guzman, who is a kicker and punter on the football team.

Students appreciate Boule’s open door policy and come to her with any concerns and requests.

“If you have a question you go to Ms. Boule,” says junior Nkosi Williams, a member of the boys’ varsity basketball team. She has the answer for almost every question.”

insideSPORTS

NAZEA KHAN

Switching sports Two Blazers exchange sports to gain a new athletic perspective.

Building relationships Even with all these responsibilities, Boule still manages to form connections with Blair’s student athletes and be available to anyone who needs her. “She’s really good at communicating and she’s always super friendly. If you need anything she’ll help you right away and she’s just there for you,” says junior Madison Weachter, a member of the co-ed swim and dive team.

ANGEL WEN

Turf problems An inside look at the health issues caused by artificial turf.