March 2016 -- Silver Chips Print

Montgomery Blair High School SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND

A public forum for student expression since 1937

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CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

Lunch bunch D1 March 10, 2016

Winner of the 2015 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker

VOL 78 NO 5

Bus and student’s car collide in parking lot

Spring tryouts

By Sarah Hutter

GRIFFIN REILLY

HEADS UP Junior Nolan Bay snags a fly ball on the first day of baseball tryouts.

Board chooses new superintendent

By Julian Brown The Montgomery County Board of Education selected current state interim superintendent Jack R. Smith as the next county superintendent on Feb. 4. Smith will have to go through contract negotiations and be approved by the State Board of Education (BOE) before he can take office on July 1.

The selection concluded a yearlong search for MCPS’s next superintendent, which began last January with the early termination

of Joshua Starr’s contract. The BOE then appointed Larry Bowers as the interim superintendent and enlisted the help of Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA), a private contracting firm, to conduct a search for the next superintendent.

Over the course of the year, the BOE and HYA considered multiple candidates before landing on Smith.

Smith is currently the interim state superintendent for Maryland, standing in for Lillian Lowery who became the CEO and president of

A student driver’s vehicle and a school bus collided in the Blair parking lot on Friday, March 4, at approximately 7:35 a.m., resulting in minor injuries to students and damage to the vehicles. Three students went to the emergency room as an added precaution.

According to security team leader Kathy Greene, the student driver’s front bumper scraped the driver’s side of the bus. Although the damage was minimal, the student’s car was towed. “It needed to be towed because the passenger front tire was damaged, and the bumper was damaged so it was unsafe to drive,” Greene said.

The damage to the bus was even less, but county procedure dictated that the incident had to be reported to the police. “We called the Montgomery County police, they took a report,” Greene said. “No one was charged.” Because a county bus was involved, the county bus su-

pervisor was required to come to the scene, and the bus driver was required to take a drug test.

According to school nurse Debbie Bitonti, the health room assessed every student who was on the bus for injuries and then notified each student’s parents.

“We probably saw 25 or 30 kids that had slight injuries and just a few that went to the [emergency room],” Bitonti said. According to Bitonti, the students’ injuries were minor. “It was mostly just slight headaches and slight neck pain,” she said. Three students were taken to the emergency room as a precautionary measure. “I think they were just complaining of more symptoms,” she said.

Katie Sims, a senior who was riding the bus at the time of the accident, said that while she did not experience any major symptoms, she did have some shoulder pain.

“I had a slight pain in my right

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FutureReady Columbus last September. Smith’s current position includes working with the State Board of Education to manage education policy, funding, and operation issues for all 24 school systems.

He also worked as a teacher, vice principal, and principal in Washington state and as a middle and high school principal in Japan.

Throughout his life and his working experiences, Smith said

see SUPERINTENDENT page A2

After snow days, quarter dates changed

By Camille Estrin and Luisa McGarvey Due to the snow days at the beginning of the marking period, the end of the third marking period will be pushed back from March 24 to April 8. The fourth marking period will begin on April 11.

Because of the new schedule, report cards from the third marking period will now be distributed on April 22, according to a memo provided to secondary school prin-

cipals by Chief Technology Officer Sherwin A. Collette.

According to Assistant Principal Suzanne Harvey, this change would have been more helpful had it come earlier. “It would’ve had more of a positive impact if teachers had known at the beginning of the quarter that this was going to happen. At this point teachers have already adjusted their plans and have geared up for the quarter being over before break,” she said.

MARIS MEDINA

Dating culture Teenagers should embrace traditional dating.

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

NEWS A2

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OP/ED B1

GRIFFIN REILLY

FEATURES C1

Math teacher Tung Pham is grateful for the extended quarter.

“I think it’s great. It gives me more time so I don’t need to cram things in,” Pham said. “It is allowing me to give one more test this quarter and giving students more time to prepare for it.”

Since the quarter will now end after spring break, students will likely have more homework over the break. “I’m a bit annoyed because I’d prefer having a stress free and homework free spring break,” junior Emma Jin said.

Senior Hunter Jones said she feels that pushing the quarter back will add to students’ stress. “It’s just like winter break when our exams are after the break so then... you don’t get to enjoy your break, you’re just stressing about doing well and getting good grades, and finishing your homework,” Jones said.

Since this change will not affect the end of the fourth marking period, school will still end June 17.

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CADENCE PEARSON

CAR CRASH Three students were taken to the emergency room after a student driver collided with a school bus.

Interpreting new responsibilities

By Dawson Do When she was 11, freshman Doucelvie Mizingou immigrated to the U.S. with her father. As a middle school student, she had to take on responsibilities that many students would not have to shoulder until long after high school.

Every month, Mizingou endured hours of paperwork. She paid phone and house bills. And she did taxes—all because her father did not speak English.

It was not until her mother came to the U.S. that Mizingou was relieved of her adult responsibilities. Mizingou’s mother is

able to speak English well enough to take care of bills. Still, Mizingou’s struggles were not over, as she could not go to her parents for any academic support. She, like many other Blair students, has had to deal with the complications of having one or two parents who do not speak English.

A verbal barrier

The very first hurdle for students who lack English-speaking parents is learning English. Many of these students take English

see PARENTS page C1

Teacher mentors

La autosegregación

Basketball playoffs

Teachers counsel students outside the classroom.

Los estudiantes de Blair se separan en grupos étnicos.

Boys’ basketball fell to Whitman in the third round of the playoffs.

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ENTERTAINMENT D1

CALEB BAUMAN

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CHIPS CLIPS D6

GRIFFIN REILLY

LA ESQUINA LATINA E1

F3 SPORTS F1

News A2

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March 10, 2016

Administration releases end-of-year testing schedule PARCC testing, APs, HSAs, and senior exams will take place in May

By Alice Park and Aditi Shetty Blair administration released the end-of-year testing schedule on Friday, March 4. The schedule includes The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exams, High School Assessments (HSAs), Advanced Placement (AP) tests, and final exams.

In a large change from last year’s schedule, the Algebra 1 and English 10 PARCC tests will be administered in one testing window beginning May 9. The Algebra II PARCC test will no longer be offered.

In addition, students will take the PARCC exam in two long sections, a more condensed format than last year, and testing will not be administered during regular classes.

From May 9 to May 13, Blair will follow a special bell schedule for the first section of PARCC testing. Each period will have an extended 126 minute block in addition to shorter classes during the rest of the week.

AP testing will also occur during this period, which will cause schedule conflicts for approximately 260 test-takers. According to administrator and testing coordinator William Currence, students who have a PARCC and AP test scheduled for the same time should take the AP test and make up the PARCC at a later date.

According to Currence, feedback from last year prompted the administration to ensure that classes meet regularly. “On an

odd day, you will see all of your odd teachers. One of the classes will be a little shorter… but at least you get to see them and turn in homework and get your next assignment,” Currence said.

Students will return to a normal bell schedule on May 16, and senior exams will be given from May 16 to 20. PARCC testing will

also be administered on the mornings of May 19 and 20. Students who are not enrolled in Algebra 1 and English 10 will report to school for fifth period after this testing window. On the mornings of May 23 and 24, National, State, and Local Government and Biology HSA’s will be given.

According to a press release

from PARCC on May 21, 2015, states which administered the PARCC last year voted to shorten the test this year, taking school district and teacher feedback into account. “The PARCC governing board voted to reduce the testing time for students by about 90 minutes overall… [and] consolidate the two testing windows in math-

ALICE PARK

ematics and English language arts/literacy into one,” the press release read.

Another major change to the testing schedule this year was that students who take a PARCC or HSA exam will not take final exams in the corresponding classes, similar to students in AP classes.

In a letter to the community, Principal Renay Johnson said students will complete an end-of-semester project instead.

According to English teacher Sarah Fillman, the PARCC implementation was time-consuming last year, and some students did not take the test seriously because the scores were not used as a graduation requirement. “It was awful, really disruptive, and took too much time,” she said. “Whatever data was collected was [not] a good indication of what students are capable of.”

Currence believes the new testing schedule will benefit students and teachers, as it is less disruptive to instructional time before AP testing, which begins May 2. “[PARCC testing] is not going to interfere with preparation for AP testing as much because the tests are simultaneous, whereas last year there was that crazy schedule for two and a half weeks leading up to APs,” he said.

Science teacher Leslie Blaha, a member of the testing committee that helped devise the schedule, said the new testing window is an improvement from last year. “It’s the best that we could do with the situation that we have,” she said.

“It’s way less disruptive.”

Board of Education selects Jack Smith as next superintendent Smith, current state interim superintendent, will take office July 1 after approval can and understanding all of that [will help me as superintendent],” said Smith. that he has learned to love the sysSince Smith was recently aptems of educational organization. pointed, he explained that he has “Whether you have the budgetnot yet had time to familiarize ing system, the financial system, himself with issues that are prevaor the instructional system… lent in Montgomery County. it’s how all the systems come toHe does, however, have plans gether,” Smith told Silver Chips. to do this in the coming months.

“It’s that understanding of going “The first thing that I have to do from that individual to the collecis just sit down with all the high tive and then knowing how all the school principals and say, ‘Okay.

Are there policies that are barriers to students successfully completing high school?’” said Smith.

“Then you have to look at the policy and say, ‘Is this good?’”

One of the issues Smith is familiar with already is whether the Student Member of the Board (SMOB) should be allowed to vote on budget policy.

Smith said COURTESY OF MILKEN FAMILY FOUNDATION he views NEW SUPERINTENDENT Jack Smith presents teacher Angela Malone the Milken the SMOB Educator award on Feb. 17 at Oxen Hill Middle School in Fort Washington, MD. as another

from SUPERINTENDENT page A1

different systems work together.

In education, the goal is to make those systems enhance, encourage, and support learning.”

Smith also recognizes how important it is for the school system to be based around the education and life of each student. “At the end of the day you [the student] are our only product. You’re the only thing we create. It’s your opportunity to learn everything you

board member and feels that he or as an administrator. “We were she should be allowed to vote on looking for somebody who has the budget. experience as a superintendent, “The student member of the preferably somebody who had board is one-eighth of the board, also been a teacher,” Durso said. just like every other member is “[Smith] has been a principal. [He] one-eighth,” Smith said. “I can’t has knowledge of instruction, imagine a studata, testing, dent member and an abilof the board ity to work wouldn’t be with others, able to think take on comlogically and plex chalreasonably lenges, and about the inunderstand formation that the budget.” they hear, that D u r s o they read, that re c o g n i z e d they’re proSmith’s emvided and then phasis on respond to that learning and information in a his practirational way.” cal nature as Smith also important — Jack Smith recognizes how attributes important the for a supercommunication intendent. between a su“The fact perintendent and the community that [Smith] has a strong interest is to the success of the school sys- in what goes on in the classroom tem. is a positive,” Durso said. “We According to Smith, the super- just found him to be very down to intendent has a duty to be a role earth and capable of handling our model and to always be available school system.” to speak and to listen to adminisPrincipal Renay Johnson was trators, teachers, parents, and stu- impressed that Smith visited Blair dents. “I have to be willing to go in person on Feb. 17. “I was very into any part of the community, impressed that he actually visinto any school, no matter how ited Blair…I had a nice converfrustrated people are and listen sion with him about [the school],” to them and talk with them and Johnson said. “I also like that he be straightforward and honest... right now is the interim state suabout what I think and what I perintendent. If you are good know,” Smith said. enough for the state then you are Current BOE president Michael definitely good enough for MontDurso sees Smith as an ideal can- gomery County…My first impresdidate for the position due to his sion of him is that he will do a experience both as a teacher and great job here.”

“At the end of the day you [the student] are our only product.

You’re the only thing we create.”

March 10, 2016

News A3

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Media center event highlights African-American literature Read-in includes book displays, student exhibits, and a Q&A

By Daliah Barg Teachers and students held an African-American read-in with over 1,000 participants to celebrate black literature, culture, and history on March 3 during periods three through seven. The event was organized by Andrea Lamphier, the media specialist; Kenneth Smith, a social studies teacher; and Smith’s African American Studies class.

The read-in was part of the National African-American Read-In (NAARI), a nationwide collaboration in which schools all over the country host read-ins. The NAARI was organized by the National Council of Teachers of English.

Books about different aspects of black culture were displayed on tables throughout the library, accompanied by exhibits created by students from the AfricanAmerican Studies class, according to Smith. “They set up exhibits dealing with different aspects of African-American culture, and it’s completely their creative intelligence – what they felt students would like to learn about AfricanAmerican culture and history,” he said. Exhibits included the topics of black music, fashion, hairstyles, presence in the media, history, and culture. Students also created two Kahoot computer quizzes about black history and culture.

Senior Lela Gaye helped run the black music exhibit. “We pretty much wanted to talk about several genres of black music but also be able to say how it influences black

culture,” she said.

Her group’s exhibit included a video, books about black music, and posters about the origins of gospel music as well the appropriation of black music. “We made a video and it just had a bunch of music videos from different artists, like Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy performance, Beyonce’s Superbowl performance, this song called “I Am Not my Hair”

by India Arie, and then there was a video from Killer Mike – he’s a rapper from Run the Jewels…He talked about how a lot of times people just think that rap and hip hop music is a very negative aspect of black culture, but it started from a positive place,” Gaye explained. “We really just wanted to highlight African-American music in the best way possible.”

The event also included a talk and Q&A with Blair counselor Daryl Howard. He is the author of Complex People, a nonfiction book which contains a set of essays about different elements of African-American culture, focusing on inequality and the social constructs of race and gender. “I just wanted to share first and foremost how important it is for students to put their ideas out into the world and allow people to discuss them and analyze them and critique them, because there’s value in people’s voices,” said Howard.

Howard briefly touched on the main ideas in his writing during his talk, including the overlooked experience of being a minority in America. “The second thing that

I wanted to share was a couple etc., through literature,” she said.

Howard stressed that, for stuHoward said that the read-in dent exhibitors in Smith’s class, of the basic topics in the book, primarily the ones that deal with was not only a valuable event the event was exemplary of a racial and gender inequality and because of the subject matter, but model educational experience. highlighting the nuances of how also because of the educational ex- “What Mr. Smith did is what eduwe see mainstream America but perience for student exhibitors. “I cation is supposed to look like, we don’t always consider the mi- certainly think it’s important not meaning that you say ‘this is our nority experience within that mainstream narrative,” said Howard. “So I just used a couple of examples from the book to make those distinctions.”

The event’s significance was felt by both the student and teacher organizers.

“I think the importance is that Black History Month is only one small month, and it’s such a big part of American culture.

I think this entire exhibit is just one way we can make it bigger than just GRIFFIN REILLY one month and CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS Blair counselor Dr. Daryl Howard spoke try to expand on the little we know about his book, “Complex People,” at the read-in attended by over 1000, about black his- discussing some of his main points about racial and gender inequality. tory,” Gaye said.

Lamphier stressed the significance of look- only to recognize African-Ameri- goal, this is the framework, these ing back on black history. “I think can culture, but to have students are the time constraints, this is the importance of the event is kind of put themselves in the your project, this is how I’m going highlighting traditions of African- position where they have to then to evaluate you – go into it.’ And American authors and uncovering share information with [others],” that’s what they did,” Howard African-American history, culture, he said. said.

Parent-teacher committee attempts to change graduation venue

Increasing class sizes will outgrow DAR Constitution Hall in D.C.

By Brianna Forté The graduation committee formed by Principal Renay Johnson in June of 2015 is working to raise money in order to change the graduation venue to the Xfinity

emony in future years if the venue remains the same.

“The class of 2017, our current juniors and next year’s senior class, is close to 700, and so we were looking at three tickets per family,” Johnson said.

est high schools, Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring in particular, to hold graduation ceremonies at a bigger venue, such as the 18,000-seat Xfinity Center on the University of Maryland campus.”

Once the funding is approved, the county will negotiate a price with Xfinity Center.

“We have heard that it could cost $25,000$30,000 but we don’t know for s u r e , ” R o n d a Kent, Blair and PTSA committee JOSH FERNANDEZ chair, said.

The graduation committee is currently waiting to see if the county executive and Montgomery County Council will approve the proposed budget, and have been participating in a letter writing campaign to the County Council.

Parents of the graduation committee believe that graduation is an important event for the students and that Blair’s ceremony should be held in a venue big enough to hold all the students and guests. “I think graduation day is a very important celebration for all the seniors that have worked 12 years to get to that point of graduating high school and while seniors have worked hard on their own they’ve had many people to support them along the way,” Kent said.

Graduation at Constitution Hall Class of 2016 619 students

Class of 2019 887 students

4 tickets per student

2 tickets per student

Center on the University of Maryland campus. The current graduation venue for all Montgomery County schools is the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., which Blair will soon outgrow.

Although there are 3,702 seats at Blair’s current graduation venue, students, staff, central office guests, chorus, and band all have to be accounted for. The remaining seats are then divided among the students for their guests.

Because Blair is one of the biggest schools in the county, with the graduating class of 2016 consisting of 619 students, each student is limited to four tickets. With the current freshmen class consisting of 887 students, families will likely get fewer tickets to the cer-

Parents and teachers from the graduation committee, including teacher and PTSA Vice President Samir Paul testified to the Board of Education about Blair’s issue with the graduation venue on Jan. 14. “Mr. Paul testified about the great problem Montgomery Blair has for graduating too many kids and it’s such a great problem and he asked the Board of Education to find us a large graduation venue,” Johnson said. The Montgomery County Board of Education took these opinions into account when proposing the new budget.

The Montgomery County BOE proposed $2.45 billion for the overall county schools’ spending budget. According to Bethesda Magazine, this proposed budget “would also provide $113,000 for some of the school system’s larg-

With each student limited to four tickets, they are sometimes forced to exclude family members or beg other students for extra tickets. “Although DAR constitution hall is a nice venue it really can’t accommodate the large, and ever-growing Blair population, and graduates should not have to decide which grandparent or which sibling to invite to graduation,” senior and Student Government Association President Tsion Bizuayehu said.

Kent also pointed out that there are a large number of students who may be the first in their families to graduate from high school.

These students may have family coming in from all over the world and will be limited by the ticket allowances. “For some students they’re the first ones ever to graduate from a United States high school so I get requests for 26

tickets and I laugh,” Johnson said.

Once the county executive and County Council decide on the school’s funding, the Graduation Venue Fundraising Committee will know how much money they need to fundraise for the class of 2017.

Starting in March, the committee will host a video contest sponsored by the PTSA and Alumni Association in which students can make a 90-second-long video around the theme: “Celebrate Graduation”. The winning videos will be used to support a future fundraising effort for a larger Blair graduation venue, and the students who create the winning videos will also receive cash prizes.

Besides the video contest, the graduation committee has received support and donations from the Blair PTSA and the Blair Alumni Association.

COURTESY OF KATIE

COURTESY OF KATIE SEBASTIAN

CROWDED GRADUATES The class of 2015 graduated at DAR Constitution Hall in D.C. last May.

A4 News Newsbriefs SGA moves forward with annual Mental Health Awareness week The Student Government Association (SGA) plans to hold its annual Mental Health Awareness Week from Monday, March 14 through Friday, March 18 to raise awareness for mental health issues and treatment.

Junior Caitlin Little, a member of SGA, said that the event is a unique one. “We think it’s a really important event because it spreads awareness about mental health and we don’t really have anything else like it in the school,” she said.

The SGA expects to host a wide array of different activities and events related to mental health over the week. They will host guest speakers, run an open mic, and manage a table on Blair Boulevard during lunch that will have games and questions regarding mental health.

Music students perform in TV competition Two Blair students participated in “The Opportunity,” a TV event, on Feb. 27 at the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)/ WPGC studio in Washington D.C. “The Opportunity” is a music competition in which some of the top high school singers in the D.C. metropolitan area compete.

Junior Andre Colon and senior Ryan Frey took part in the event.

Colon said that the competition helped give him a closer look into the music industry. “I learned a lot about the music industry just by being around all these different directors and producers,” he said.

The winners of the competition will receive a cash prize along with an independent record deal and the production of a four song Extended Play (EP). Other prizes they will receive include a local TV performance; an opening performance for a major artist, radio time, and exposure to highly regarded musical producers and directors.

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Law group claims Google tracks student information

California nonprofit seeks federal action against Google

By Cole Sebastian

improve the services we provide,” he said.

When Chrome Sync is disabled and a student is logged into their Google account, Google can track

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Google’s privacy practices. The EFF alleges that Google is recording student information and browsing data of students who are using accounts provided through the Google for Education program.

Google for Education is a project of Google Inc. that provides Chromebooks to schools nationwide, including Blair, and promotes the use of Google Apps for Education (GAFE) including Google Classroom, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and more.

According to the Student Privacy Pledge, which Google signed earlier this year, any data collected through school accounts will be used for “authorized educational purposes only.” The EFF claims that Google is using student data for commercial purposes without parental permission.

In a Google for EduELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION cation blog posted on Dec. 2, 2015, JonathanRochelle, director of Google Apps for everything that the student does Education, responded to the EFF’s within Google services, regardless complaint. “Students’ personal of the device or browser. When data in these Core Services [Gmail, Chrome Sync is enabled and a stuCalendar, Classroom, Drive, Docs, dent is logged into Chrome Sync, Sheets, Slides, Contacts, Groups, Google can track everything that Vault and Hangouts] is only used the student does on Chrome, reto provide the services them- gardless of the device.

The Google Privacy Policy selves,” he wrote.

The Chrome Sync function al- states that Google does not share lows any Google user to sign into personal information with people the Chrome browser itself with outside of Google unless the actheir Google account. This allows count is managed by a domain the user to keep browser data con- administrator. Blair and other sistent throughout a user’s devices MCPS student accounts are manwhen using Chrome. Chrome aged by the school system. Under Sync is automatically enabled on this circumstance, the Google Pri-

Newsbriefs compiled by Christian Mussenden

to the Chief Technology Officer Stephen Dolney.

The EFF claims that Google has violated three main clauses of the Student Privacy Pledge, which

when a student navigates outside of GAFE they are no longer using the web as students and therefore the Student Privacy Pledge does not apply. “We are saying that that is ridiculous, because… students are using the same login credentials, so Google was able to get your personal information to create these login credentials by saying these login credentials are for educational purposes,” Cope said.

The EFF claims that the FTC has grounds to take action against Google because of Google’s alleged disobedience in regards to the Student Privacy Pledge. “Any time a company makes a public promise that COLE SEBASTIAN they’re doing one thing, but, in fact, practice reveals that they’re doing something else, that can be considered an unfair and deceptive trade practice or business practice, giving the FTC jurisdiction to take legal action against the company,” Cope said.

According to the EFF complaint, these administrative setting can allegedly override changes made by students to their own account settings.

Is Google tracking your information?

State senator proposes bill to push back school start times to after Labor Day On March 3, a Maryland state senate committee heard Bill 767 which proposes that Maryland school systems start after Labor Day to increase tax revenue from tourism, beginning in the 2016-2017 school year.

Senator James Mathias Jr., who sponsored the bill, said in a WTOP article that this bill would give families more opportunities to travel around the state. “Children and students should be able to travel with [their] families,” he said. In 2015, Maryland made over two billion dollars in tax revenue from visitor spending.

The bill proposal was among others regarding education policy which were also heard by the state senate committee.

March 10, 2016

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

CLASSROOM CHROMEBOOKS Students use Chromebooks and Google accounts in a social studies class. every Chromebook provided to the schools. “When Chrome Sync is enabled, Google collects and stores on its servers users’ entire browsing history (not just while users are browsing within Googleowned or operated sites…), bookmarks, installed extensions, and passwords, among other things,” the EFF complaint read.

According to Rochelle, Chrome Sync data is only used to customize an individual’s Chrome experience or, with identifying information removed, stored to improve Chrome features. “Our systems compile data aggregated from millions of users of Chrome Sync and, after completely removing information about individual users, we use this data to holistically

vacy Policy states, “Your domain administrator and resellers who provide user support to your organization will have access to your Google Account information (including your email and other data).”

Each system of student accounts and Chromebooks has an administrator who can change student settings. The system administrator of the Chromebooks and student accounts has control over many aspects of how and when student data is shared. The system administrator for the MCPS chromebook network is the MCPS Office of the Chief Technology Officer. Network settings and performance are overseen by IT system engineers, according to Assistant

Google signed in January 2015.

The Student Privacy Pledge is a legal agreement signed by over 200 technology and education companies that is designed to protect student privacy regarding the collection, maintenance, and use of student personal information.

In the first clause, the pledge states that signatories will “not collect, maintain, use or share student personal information beyond that needed for authorized educational/school purposes, or as authorized by the parent/student.” Second, the pledge states that signatories will “not build a personal profile of a student other than for supporting authorized educational/school purposes or as authorized by the parent/student.” Third, the pledge states that signatories will “not knowingly retain student personal information beyond the time period required to support the authorized educational/school purposes, or as authorized by the parent/student.”

The EFF claims that Google is continuing to track students in many situations outside of Google Apps for Education (GAFE). “Once you navigate outside of GAFE, we allege and we understand that Google basically is treating you guys [students] as regular commercial adult users, and is tracking you guys and using that data for commercial purposes, without your consent and without your parents’ consent,” Sophia Cope, EFF staff attorney and co-writer of the FTC complaint, said.

The EFF also claims that the Google accounts are being presented as educational accounts but Google is treating student accounts as regular commercial accounts once a student navigates outside of GAFE. “Google was able to get your personal information to create your online login credentials, by saying that those credentials are for educational purposes, to be used within the Google apps for education suite, but, once you...go to Google’s general audience websites, like YouTube or whatever, then Google is tracking you and using your data to make money off of you without your parents’ permission,” Cope said.

Google’s justification is that

Parking lot accident from CRASH page A1 shoulder from when I braced my hand to withstand the impact of the halt,” she said. Sims said she was sent to the nurse along with the other bus riders after the accident, but just as a routine check.

According to Sims, the accident didn’t feel major from inside the bus, either. “It honestly just felt like a car trying to come to a fast stop,” she said. “It was a big shock though.”

According to Bitonti, school administration and security were very involved with the incident to make sure that everyone was safe. “All the administrators came down,” she said. “It ran pretty smooth.” Sims agreed that the administration handled the incident well. “They kept the situation and us students calm and were very thorough in making sure we let our parents know what happened,” Sim said.

Principal Renay Johnson released a letter to parents notifying them of the accident and encouraged them to contact her with any concerns.

According to Greene, the collision was not very serious as both vehicles were driving slowly. “It was just driver error today,” she said. “I guess [the student] didn’t see the bus.” Greene said that the parking lot, while crowded at times, is safe for students and buses to navigate. “The lot is very safe the way it is,” Greene said. “This had nothing to do with the new traffic pattern.”

News A5

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March 10, 2016

Course added to precede Spanish for Spanish Speakers Spanish Cultural Literacy will help develop missing language skills

By Dawson Do The world languages department plans to implement a new course, Spanish Language Cultural Literacy (SLCL), next year for students who are not ready for the current Spanish for Spanish Speakers (SSS) courses. Spanish language teachers Dianette Coombs and Dora Santiago-Gonzalez wrote the curriculum in hopes that the class would prepare students for the higher level Spanish courses as well as develop a foundation for English learning.

According to Santiago-Gonzalez, the class will provide students with a foundation for Spanish which should make learning a second language, in most cases English, easier. “A person that dominates their native language has a much easier time learning a second language,” she said.

Currently, native Spanishspeaking students who have not completed their Spanish education are put into Spanish for Spanish Speakers 1. According to SantiagoGonzalez, the students that will benefit the most from the new class will be heritage learners, people who developed Spanish skills solely by speaking at home, and students with interrupted Spanish education.

“In level 1, we have a variety of students. From the ones that need to learn missing skills for whatever reason, not necessarily interrupted education, to the heritage learners, who may have been born in the states but their first language is Spanish,” Santiago-Gonzalez said.

“Then we have the third group, students who have interrupted education. Those students are not served properly. Those students struggle

and have a difficult time for many reasons but it’s the only place we can really put them.”

According to Santiago-Gonzalez, the curriculum for SLCL includes the development of writ-

lier years, but the need became obvious recently when they noticed the large amount of students enrolling in classes late into the semester.

“I’ve received about 10 more students [than I started with],” Santi-

CALEB BAUMAN

STUDYING HARD Students practice their writing, language skills and vocabulary in a Spanish for Spanish Speakers I class. ing and speaking skills, which the students will need in the future for all languages they study. The new course will emphasize basic skills that students are expected to have mastered by the time they enter SSS1. “The main difference between [SLCL and SSS 1] in my opinion and experience is the pace in which the courses will be taught,” Gonzalez says.

SLCL also includes cultural activities that will integrate Spanish speakers from different countries.

Coombs and Santiago-Gonzalez have tried to push the class in ear-

ago-Gonzalez said. “Not all schools need the course, but our population needs it.”

The Multidisciplinary Educational, Training, and Support (METS) program currently provides education for students who have interrupted English education. According to Santiago-Gonzales, students currently in the METS program will qualify for and benefit from SLCL. METS teacher Leah Marcus agreed that the new class would help some students develop academic skills that they can use to

improve their English. “[SLCL] will help them fill in those gaps in their first language so they can transfer those skills to learning English,” she said.

Coombs and Santiago-Gonzalez hope that the class at Blair will be taught by one of the two of them because they both have experience with other SSS courses. Middle schools and other high schools are also planning on piloting the course next year.

According to Santiago-Gonzalez, there is a sense of urgency that comes with providing older students with formal literacy education. “Students who get to this country at 17, 18, or 19 years old have very few chances at graduating. We need to provide them with most skills in case they drop out, or move back to their country,” Santiago-Gonzales said.

Sophomore Jorge Amaya, who is currently in SSS 1, developed Spanish skills by speaking with his family but never had a formal Spanish education before high school. Amaya is a heritage learner who said he would have benefitted from a class preparing him for SSS 1. “Taking a pre-Spanish class would help you get to know the language better than coming into a regular Spanish class not knowing much and having to learn from there. Knowing the fundamentals will help you do well in [SSS],” he said.

Santiago-Gonzalez anticipates more heritage learners enrolling in the class because the course will help those students further develop language skills. “[Heritage learners] might speak but they probably have been learning auditory instead of formally, so they might speak the language but still have difficulties,” she said.

Governor Hogan launches new scholarship program Initiative rewards high school students who graduate one year early

By Alice Park Governor Larry Hogan created the Maryland Early Graduation Scholarship Program, which offers a one-time scholarship of up to $6,000 to students who complete high school in three years or fewer.

He launched the program through an executive order signed on Jan. 27.

The scholarship program, administered by the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC), will be offered to students enrolled full-time in public high school.

Students must graduate in three years or less and plan on pursuing higher education in Maryland in order to qualify for the program, according to Hannah Marr, deputy press secretary for the governor’s office. “Eligible students will be Maryland residents… [who] will have secured acceptance to an approved postsecondary educational institution within six months of graduating high school,” she said.

Hogan hopes the scholarship will motivate students to graduate early by providing a financial incentive. “By encouraging highachieving students to complete high school a year early, the state can reallocate what would have been spent on a student’s last year of public high school, and help with the first year of college instead,” Hogan said in a press release on Jan. 27.

According to Phyllis Reese, director of public relations at the

MHEC, the Maryland Early Graduation Scholarship Program aims to make college more affordable for families. “We have some talented students who finish high school early, and we don’t want to penalize them in their pursuit of higher education,” she said.

ty can earn their diploma in under four years by attending summer school or taking High School Plus or online classes. Counselor Kirk Simms said that few students graduate early, and those who take an accelerated track through high school usually do so for family or personal issues. “If we have a student that’s on the fast

RK E PA

ALIC

The number of early graduates who will receive a scholarship has not yet been decided as the MHEC is currently fine-tuning details of the program. “The legislature has not finalized the budget just yet,” Reese said. “We will be ready around the fall of 2016. At that time, we will publicize the procedure to follow to enjoy the scholarship.”

A small number of students would be eligible for financial aid under the initiative. The Maryland State Data Center reports that approximately 254,000 students were enrolled in public high schools in Maryland in 2014. Last year, 1,065 students across Maryland graduated early.

Students in Montgomery Coun-

track, administration can approve a student taking High School Plus to excel,” he said. “It’s maybe one or two students.”

Board of Education Member Christopher Barclay said he is critical of Hogan’s scholarship aimed at higher achieving students who may not need financial assistance. “I think [this] is more of an accounting trick than it is a real investment in young people’s education,” he said.

Barclay added that he believes the state should prioritize the needs of all students without access to higher education. “We have several hundred thousands of high needs students who can’t afford to pay their way through college,” he said. “The priority should be to put resources into communities where we have young people that… can’t afford to go to college.”

Student Member of the Board of Education Eric Guerci also believes Hogan should prioritize

raising graduation rates across the state before focusing on accelerated students. “If all of our students are graduating on time, then I think it’s time for this discussion on graduating early,” he explained.

Guerci said that students in Montgomery County seeking a more rigorous experience can take advantage of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes instead of graduating early.

“There are plenty of opportunities for students who are ready to graduate, who might have the credits ready, to continue to be challenged in a high school environment,” he said.

Hogan has recently introduced three other initiatives to reform public education in Maryland.

These programs include the Maryland Education Tax Credit, a tax deduction for individuals and organizations that make donations to schools, the Pathways in Technology Early College High School (PTECH), which blends high school, college, and work experience into a six-year integrated education, and Maryland SmartBuy, a program that would allow graduates to finance student loans when obtaining a home mortgage.

“When combined, [the programs] will help deliver better K-12 education outcomes for thousands of students while also making postsecondary education more affordable for high school students and recent college graduates,” Marr said.

Hogan introduced these proposals on Jan. 27, and the Maryland General Assembly will vote to enact the programs in the 2016 Legislative Session.

Newsbriefs Career Center offers free prom attire

The Career Center will open its annual Blair Prom Boutique on March 17, 18, 21, and 22 to provide free prom dresses and tuxedos for students. College and Career Coordinator Phalia West has organized the event for six years to offer students an alternative to expensive prom attire. “It is an opportunity for juniors and seniors who can’t afford or chose not to spend money for a prom dress,” she said.

The dresses and tuxedos are donated by community members and sponsors, and students may keep the clothes after the dance. In addition to offering tuxedos, the Career Center will give discounts on rentals from Men’s Warehouse and schedule appointments with the Wider Circle, a local nonprofit organization aimed at fighting poverty, for other tuxedo options.

On Feb. 24, students modeled dresses and tuxedos from the Prom Boutique during an assembly for seniors. Administrators organized the fashion show to entertain the senior class while other students received Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) scores.

Radon found in Blair classroom

A high level of radon was detected in an editing suite in room 100 a few weeks ago. TV Production teacher George Mayo, who teaches in the room, said the radon was found in an enclosed suite where students edit videos. “The radon is in… a five foot by five foot room,” he said. “Radon wasn’t detected anywhere else besides that one room.”

The threshold for radon levels in MCPS is 4 pCi/L. According to Mayo, the editing suite is locked, and students are using other editing suites as they wait for the radon to be removed. “As of right now, the room is closed and no one is using it,” he said.

Building Services manager Yakubu Agbonseloho said the MCPS Central Office is responsible for removing the radon.

Clubs hold Computer Science Day

The Science National Honor Society (SNHS), Computer Team, Cybersecurity Club, and Smartphone Programming Club organized Computer Science Day on Feb. 26 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the media center and Magnet classrooms. Approximately 180 students from Blair, Takoma Park Middle School, Eastern Middle School, and other local middle schools attended the event.

Senior Ramya Durvasula, who is the president of SNHS, said that the groups organized Computer Science Day to meet student demand to learn more about computer science. “A lot of people wanted to learn how to code but didn’t know where or how to start,” she said.

The event began with a presentation by a guest speaker, Dr. Jandelyn Plane, from the University of Maryland. Afterwards, students split into two groups: novice and advanced programmers. Members of SNHS led Hour of Code and Java lessons in the media center for students new to programming, while members of Blair’s computer clubs taught sessions on algorithms, smartphone programming, and cybersecurity for more experienced students.

Newsbriefs compiled by Alice Park

B1 Opinions

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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

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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.

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March 10, 2016

Mainstreamed ESOL students get lost in translation Teachers must ensure every student is comfortable in the classroom

By Maris Medina An opinion For most of us, high school has become a monotonous routine: pay attention in class, go to academic support, complete homework, take tests, and repeat. But for the approximately 400 Blair students enrolled in the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program, this routine gets a little more complex.

On top of their academics, they also have to master English and acclimate to the American school system. Teachers of “mainstream” classes in which ESOL students are eventually integrated must help students feel comfortable to advocate for themselves.

For the majority of their schooling, students are immersed in the ESOL curriculum exclusively with other ESOL students based on their English proficiency level.

Vocabulary-rich non-ESOL classes like math and science can bring about “a little shell-shock,” according to Leslie Blaha, who teaches ESOL Biology. She affirms, “They have spent their entire high school and maybe even middle school career with ESOL supports and suddenly they’re in this class with nothing.”

Although the classes are more or less centered around the same topics, ESOL classrooms provide additional support. “The subject [matter in ESOL and mainstream classes] is the same. [But] teachers give you more care in ESOL classes,” sophomore Tanjum Chowdhury says. As ESOL students, MCPS policy allows them accommodations like extended time and read-aloud’s “during non-ESOL instruction and when taking non-ESOL content area assessments.”

Because they have yet to fully master English, ESOL students need different methods of teaching in order to understand what is being taught. In the classroom, this means rubrics that include step-by-step criteria and more visual accompaniments to lessons.

For even the ESOL 4 or 5 students proficient enough in English to take these mainstream classes, getting overly caught up with

accessible as accommodations for those with disabilities, making it difficult for mainstream teachers to approach ESOL students who receive such accommodations.

An inviting classroom, however, encourages students to speak up when they need assistance.

More training is needed for mainstream teachers who teach high-level ESOL students and program graduates. More profession-

GRIFFIN REILLY

DEDICATED ESOL teacher Brenna Matthews works on creating a friendly and encouraging learning environment for her students. difficult terminology is common. “Most other students who have grown up learning what the word ‘process’ means just have to learn that natural selection is an example of a process,” Blaha stresses. “The ESOL students get stuck on the word ‘process’ and they don’t even care what natural selection is.”

A friendlier atmosphere also encourages self-advocacy. Advanced Placement (AP) Human Geography and AP Psychology teacher Morgan Rich points out that individual accommodations for ESOL students are not as easily

al development inspires increased empathy, understanding, and engaging instruction.

Blaha remembers the best ESOL training she received was one in which she was instructed in Farsi, a language she did not understand. “I was like, ‘That’s what these kids feel like.’ When I’m speaking to them in English and they just got to this country, they have no clue what I’m talking about. I put myself into that situation and remember how completely lost I felt,” Blaha says.

“That’s how I picture what they feel like and I try to make [my

class] as welcoming and open as possible.”

Teachers can also help ESOL students feel more comfortable by organizing group projects that combine ESOL and non-ESOL students. According to an article found in the journal Future of Children, published by Princeton University, cooperative learning provides a safe and effective way for students to learn. This approach emphasizes groups of mixed-abilities, so that students can assist each other.

Cooperative learning strikes a balance between keeping students comfortable and exposing them to new types of people. Sophomore Alazar Wolde stresses the importance of having a classmate to relate to: “If I’m learning with all white people or people that were born here, it’s hard to communicate with them. If you have a friend who speaks the same language as you, you can understand,” Wolde explains.

Teachers should also instill measures to ensure quality education for mainstreamed ESOL students. For instance, they can encourage the use of bilingual dictionaries and Google Translate, resources both Chowdhury and Wolde have found helpful in their mainstream classes. Teachers can also request more multilingual student aides as additional support in the classroom.

While a small, tight-knit community of learners is necessary when placed into such a new environment, one thing is certain: ESOL students are also Blair students. The sooner they feel more integrated into the bigger community through supportive mainstream classes, the closer they are to attaining their academic goals and dreams.

Dodging a social divide: Why do we not talk about class in class?

Socioeconomic status is an important issue to discuss in the open

By Marty Jiffar An opinion As times are changing, students and teachers alike are becoming more willing to discuss how social imbalances affect what we learn and how it is presented. I have noticed social consciousness in the classroom steadily improving even within the short period of my time at Blair. Students now have more discussions about how science textbooks disproportionately focus on men, and many recognize that our history textbooks favor the history of white people.

There is one source of inequality that I have not talked about much at all with my peers, though: socioeconomic status.

Everyone knows that it is awkward to discuss income, and that is part of why people do not do it enough. However, refusing to talk about money is not fair to students as it affects all of our lives so intimately and consistently. Everything from the clothes we wear to the lunches we eat to the neighborhoods we live in represents class, and this reality cannot be ignored.

There are many misconceptions about economic class that teachers ought to clear up. The first of which, I believe, is that our economic system is meritocratic – the idea that you get what you earn, anything is attainable through persistent work, and those who are poor must not be trying hard enough. This idea is firmly rooted in the “American Dream,” which is deeply flawed – not simply because of how race

and gender hold students back, but also because of how much money limits them, too. It does not do students any favors to believe that anything is possible without knowing just how much their social class can help or hurt them from the start.

Dr. Sean Reardon, a Stanford Professor of Poverty and Inequality in Education, defines the income achievement gap as “the average achievement difference between a child from a family at the 90th percentile of the family income distribution and a child from a family at the 10th percentile.” The New York Times explains that the ninetieth percentile in 2008 was an income of around $160,000 per year while the tenth percentile was $17,500 per year. According to Reardon’s 2011 paper, “The Widening Academic Achievement Gap Between the Rich and the Poor,” the income achievement gap in standardized reading test scores was found to be over 1.2 standard deviations.

The significance of this number might not be immediately apparent, but Reardon writes that one standard deviation corresponds to “roughly 3 to 6 years of learning in middle or high school.”

This confirms what many of us casually suspect with grim, hard evidence: less affluent students are, overwhelmingly, performing worse in school. Furthermore, this gap “is now nearly twice as large as the black-white achievement gap.” Fifty years ago, it was flipped: the “black-white achieve-

ment gap” was around twice as large.

Despite research like this, only the racial achievement gap is discussed. Once in a while, students might have a conversation in passing about how it is harder to succeed if your parents are out

ANGEL WEN

working, or how it is easier to focus on school if you do not have to worry about money. However, it is not discussed or even acknowledged to the same extent in the classroom, mainly because of how aggressively it has been branded as taboo.

Test scores in high school are far from the only thing that income has an effect on. Almost every facet of our lives and identities are limited or freed by the sizes of our paychecks, including what students pursue in higher education. An article in the Atlantic, “Rich Kids Study English,” discusses just that – how the highest median household incomes correlate with English, History, and Performing Arts majors while the lowest ones correlate with

majors like Education and Law Enforcement, or two-year degrees.

Cornell sociologist Kim Weeden told the Atlantic, “‘It’s … consistent with the claim that kids from higher-earning families can afford to choose less vocational... majors, because they have more of a buffer against the risk of un- or under-employment.’” The issues that stem from income inequality are not simply things that our parents have to worry about – they are deeply relevant to our own lives as high school students.

And one step to combatting these issues that would not cost any money at all would be talking about it.

Obviously, it is not necessary for teachers to abruptly start asking students how their parents’ income affects their lives. However, more resource-conscious comments could easily be integrated into lessons of any subject. Income is only embarrassing to talk about if we condone the narrative that wealth inequality is the fault of individuals who are suffering, when really it is a problem that has been generational, worldwide, and just about as uncontrollable as race and gender.

Making it acceptable to discuss economic class in a serious way at school would be no easy task. It is far easier, I’m sure, for us all to joke about being broke and only open up to a few close friends about how we are faring financially and how it is affecting us.

However, in the long run, it would be well worth it for everyone to broaden their perspective outside of their own tax bracket.

Opinions B2

silverchips

March 10, 2016

Should women be required to register for the Selective Service?

YES:

BRENNAN WINER

Georgina Burros

NO:

The military is not a safe environment for women.

We want equal opportunity for all.

Christian Mussenden

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter made history in December 2015 by lifting all restrictions preventing women from serving in combat. According to Cable News Network (CNN), women comprise 14.5 percent of active-duty forces yet are still not required to register for the Selective Service (SS). The SS draft serves as an unlikely insurance policy that would begin recruiting eligible males deemed fit to serve for training within 193 days should a crisis arise. Including women in the SS would recognize their contributions to the military in a country that promotes equality of opportunity for all.

In 1940, the first military draft was signed into law by President Roosevelt 10 days after being passed through Congress as the Selective Training and Service Act, continuing throughout war and peacetime until 1973. The act’s primary purpose was to fill combat replacements during a time of war in the United States.

In 1981, the Supreme Court ruled in Rostker v. Goldberg that instituting a male-only military draft does not violate the Constitution. Existing SS law requires that all males register for the SS within 30 days of their eighteenth birthday. Now that women are able to serve in combat positions, there is no reason to exclude them from this process.

The problem we face with women not being deemed “eligible” to register for the SS is the fact that there are simply no legal barriers to justify this constraint. The legal grounds prohibiting women from the military are no longer existent, as the 1981 U.S. Supreme Court ruling has since been overturned.

During the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2001 until 2014, many female service members joined combat operations despite the ban being still in place. They served in a Special Operations combat program called the Cultural Support Team (CST) in Afghanistan.

Since American men were culturally prohibited from interacting with local women, the American women filled this specific and necessary role. The distinct line between defined combat and noncombat roles became blurred in this situation, yet despite the restrictions, women maintained the crucial part of this operation.

Unlike men, who received the recognition of serving in combat special operations, women were integrated into combat despite restraints, maintaining an ambiguous state regarding their official role in combat operations when they deserved the respect of being officially involved in combat regardless of any blurred lines.

Those wars demonstrated the importance of women in combat and last year, the Department of Defense opened these positions to women. Despite being banned from combat, many women joined Special Operations troops in the field in Afghanistan in 2010. At this point, there is no legal

backing for excluding women from the SS; especially with the growing importance women have held in combat operations over the last few years.

Recognizing female contributions to the military is especially important as their roles evolve and as the institution changes. While sexual assault and harassment remain a grave problem, a 2015 study conducted by the Pentagon found that the percentage of military personnel who stated that they were victims of sexual assault dropped by 27 percent over the past two years.

As the influence of women grows in the military, the stigma that women are not as accepted into military culture or as physically or mentally capable as men will begin to decrease. Women in the military are beginning to see military culture evolve as an their role continues to expand. “I think the culture is in the infancy stages of change. I see glass ceilings being broken from the first female Army Surgeon General to now the first black female Army Surgeon General, the first women rangers and other options that had only been held by males in the past,” says Colonel Michelle Munroe, a senior officer and clinician at the Uniformed Services University. Regularizing the involvement of women through SS registration will continue to expand the role of women in the military.

Denying women their duty to register for the draft represents an antiquated and outdated military institution, even as the current military becomes more equitable. According to CNN, the Navy as well as the Marine Corps have even begun to revise job titles to make them more gender neutral as women gain increasing significance in bureaucratic roles.

Due to the current draft, in the case of a military crisis, the burden falls solely on men. The solution is simple. Women must be included within the draft in order to uphold the morals of a country that claims all genders are equal. Women are equally capable of being drafted and defending their country.

Over the years, the barriers women have faced to defend their country have been overwhelming. It is time to push Congress to pass legislation ensure equality for American women. Equal registration for the Selective Service is a powerful and patriotic step in the fight for gender equality.

In a perfect world, no argument could support withholding women from a new military draft. Women would be able to serve in our nation’s military alongside men and perform vital jobs in both combat and the reserves, not having to fear the frightening possibility of sexual assault from their male colleagues.

As we all know, this is not a perfect world. If Congress were to reestablish a draft, it would be ill-advised to allow women to be drafted as well as men.

Besides the fact that women do not have the physical capabilities that are required for combat, the military has proven to be a toxic environment for women due to the persistent issue of sexual harassment and assault.

If the draft were to be re-instated, it

would be to fill combat roles for the nation’s military, mainly in the ground forces.

In combat, tasks like carrying heavy weaponry or wounded soldiers and marching 10-15 miles a day while carrying military equipment ROSEMARY SOLOMON require a physical skillset that most women do not possess. The completion of tasks like these could be the difference between life and death. Women could become fighter pilots or work on ships en masse where their physical capabilities do not pose as much of a threat to the safety of others, but those jobs are never in-demand as much as infantry is. It would be unnecessary to put women into the military where their safety has been all but ignored.

Since the 1991 Tailhook scandal, when more than 100 U.S. Navy and Marine Corps officers sexually assaulted over 80 women during a four-day conference held in Las Vegas, the U.S. military’s problem with sexual assault has been well-publicized. Unfortunately, it remains a problem to this day. A 2014 survey of 170,000 military personnel conducted by the Department of Defense and Rand

voicebox “Nobody should be forced to, men or women.”

BRENNAN WINER

Dustin Mons Sophomore

BRENNAN WINER

BRENNAN WINER

Aerin Rost-Nasshan Freshman

“They have children to take care of and they’re not as strong as men.”

“Girls might have the same plans, but we don’t give them a chance.”

“If men have to do it, then women have to do it.”

BRENNAN WINER

Carlos Salgado-Aquino Sophomore

Corporation found that around 20,000 servicemen and women had experienced one unwanted incident of sexual contact in just the year of 2014, while another study conducted by the Department of Defense in 2008 revealed that a staggering one out of every three women in the military is raped.

The military’s policy on preventing incidents of sexual assault and convicting its instigators, however, is nothing short of disgusting. One of the main reasons the problem has gone unsolved is because the military’s attempt to prevent sexual assault has been alarmingly relaxed. The military’s efforts to prevent sexual assault have mostly focused on encouraging male service members to avoid taking advantage of drunk women instead of fixing the systematic problem itself.

For example, the military has created posters titled “Ask Her When She’s Sober” that makes the CDC’s recent public service announcement regarding advocating alcohol abstinence for women not using birth control seem almost logical. They have also created a video game where a player is put in a bar setting and must choose whether to stop certain warning behaviors that are common in many rape cases. If the player fails, the game ends with a female private being raped. Although these methods of prevention may seem fine at face value, it is unacceptable that the military has only produced mere posters and video games to combat sexual assault instead of attempting to recognize and solve the systematic problem.

The problem has gone unsolved for so long because the military’s system for convicting criminals of sexual assault makes it difficult for them to face justice. If a soldier in the military is raped or sexually assaulted, the victim reports the incident and a case is filed. The case is then reviewed by the victim’s commanding officer. If he or she for any reason thinks that the case should not be pursued any further, then the case is dropped immediately--resulting in no consequences for the criminal.

Experiencing sexual assault is traumatizing, but the aftermath is often long-lasting and just as cruel. Victims often develop serious mental issues after being assaulted: depression, shame, terror, a tendency to irrationally blame themselves, trust issues, helplessness, fear, flashbacks, nightmares, and drug and/or alcohol dependency. By reinstating the draft, the military would inadvertently place women in a situation where here is a high chance sexual assault.

If this were a perfect world, then women and men would have equal opportunity for participation everywhere. However, the U.S. draft is a last resort, and including women would only unnecessarily endanger many outside of the inherent risk present from being on the battlefield. Until both the battlefront and the barracks are suitable environments for women, the policy should remain as is.

BRENNAN WINER

Nakaila Jackson Freshman

“Yeah, I mean it’s another aspect of equality.

They should be included with it too.”

CALEB BAUMAN

Sophia Abbad Junior

B3 Opinions

March 10, 2016

silverchips

The revolution will not be monetized: Stop selling social justice

‘Heartwarming’ ads are a corporate attempt to cash in on your rights

By Camille Kirsch An opinion

Have you seen the ad? You know the one. It shows a cute biracial kid and her mixed-race family eating Cheerios. Or maybe it shows a gay couple competing to do the better Darth Vader impression as they feed their son Campbell’s Star Wars soup. Or maybe it shows women learning, with the help of Dove soap’s staged intervention, that they are beautiful and strong. Whatever the details of the ad, these companies are joining the push for social justice and equality. #Heartwarming, am I right?

Wrong. It is far from cute when corporations appropriate social justice narratives for profit. Human rights are important because they are just and fair, not because they are a “trendy” way to win customer sympathy and sell products. But these same corporations running pro-equality ads have often ignored—or worse, participated in—the same injustices they now claim to be against.

Take Dove, for example. The beauty is known for its ad campaigns with feminist and antiracist messages. But its parent company continues to sell skinlightening products, which profit off of the internalized racism of customers who want to look more “white.” It continues to participate in the “pink tax,” a phenomenon where similar products cost

more when marketed to women than to men. And despite its supposed feminism, the top three leaders of Dove’s parent company are all male.

Even if Dove were to fix these problems, the brand’s profitability is based on exploiting the beauty standards that lead women to spend a great deal of money and time on products men just are not

expected to use. That is a fundamentally sexist business model.

For corporations like Dove, social justice ads are a win-win phenomenon. The companies win sympathy and money from pro-equality customers without having to change any of the profitable, discriminatory practices that happen behind the scenes.

Suddenly, Dove is a “feminist company” because of a few ads

showing women embracing their “real beauty.”

These ad campaigns are completely disingenuous. A real corporate commitment to social justice might involve paying women and minorities the same wages as white men, making sure lower-level employees earn a living wage, and attacking oppressive beauty standards, among

other things. But all of those are difficult and expensive things to do. It is much easier to hire a marketing company to whip up some feel-good ads than it is to make substantive social change.

Some may argue that getting out the social justice message is important enough to overlook the hypocrisies of corporate advertisers. But there is something inherently wrong about subjecting hu-

man rights to capitalism. Rights are right because they are right.

They should not be “in” or “out” depending on market forces.

When corporations use social justice to sell their products or improve their image, though, that is exactly what happens. According to Gallup’s Marriage Trends Survey, 87

percent of Americans approve of interracial marriage, and 60 percent approve of samesex marriage.

Oddly enough, you see many attractive biracial kids and wholesome gay couples KENDALL DELILLE in the current iteration of the heartwarming ad.

You do not see many transgender women of color, who make up 72 percent of hate-crime murder victims according to the National Coalition of AntiViolence Programs. You do not see many Syrian Muslim refugees, who are dying by the thousands.

Perhaps that is because 66 percent of Americans tell Bloomberg that we should ban them from our country. Or perhaps it is because

starving refugees do not sell soap.

Corporations are fair-weather friends. Your favorite cause may be en vogue with advertisers right now, but the second it stops being consistently popular, those “proequality” companies will forget they ever said a feminist or antiracist word. Just as corporations espouse messages of equality without changing their own discriminatory practices, they speak out for the most popular causes rather than the most moral ones.

Look, I am not immune to the feel-good factor of these ads. My heart melts a little when I see that Cheerios ad where two men talk about how their love felt so big, they thought it would be selfish not to share it with a child. I smile when I see Target commercials featuring boys playing with dolls and girls racing toy trucks.

But that warm and fuzzy feeling fades when I realize that what I have just seen is a company appropriating social justice messages for profit. So I refuse to share Dove’s #likeagirl content or buy in to the idea that Target— which once charged nearly twice as much for a pink “girls” scooter as for an identical “boys” scooter, according to the Washington Post—is a feminist company.

If corporations are going to sell social justice, they need to commit to making meaningful change, even at the expense of their own bottom lines. Because my rights are not for sale.

Get out of the DMs: Dating should not occur exclusively online It is time to halt the unnecessary shift from traditional to digital dating

By Alexandra Marquez An opinion

fulfillment of the classic romantic dream is becoming rarer and rarer.

It is up to the daters to take “going steady” off of their mobile devices and into the real world.

Each year, thousands more Americans gain access to the Internet and unlock a new realm of opportunities to meet people.

Even with the new, tempting world of social media and dating apps, people need to remember relationships are still meant to be lived offline.

According to the Pew Research

Center, 10 percent of singles aged 18-24 have tried online dating and 22 percent of singles aged 25-34 Everyone is familiar with have tried their hand at meeting the classic romantic fantasy: girl a partner online. Of those who meets boy, boy asks her on a date, try online dating, one-third have they hang out three times and never gone on a real life date with decide to “go steady.” But it seems someone they have met online, like the fantasy has evolved: girl and only five percent of Amerisees boy’s Instagram profile and cans that are married or in a comhits “DM,” they text for three full mitted relationship say they met days of “LMAO”s and “ily2”s, their significant other online. Low and finally make it “Twitter bio ofsuccess rates like these should be ficial.” Our culture is experiencing enough to prompt teen and adult a demise in dating culture, and the daters to put down the phones and open their eyes and hearts to meeting someone in person. Online dating may seem convenient, but a future longlasting partner is more likely to walk by on the street than like a tweet.

As adult singles gravitate to unreliable online dating methods, teens approaching adulthood have shifted their preference to digital dating as well. By doing so, teen daters are losing the experience of making face-toface contact with their significant others when they interact exclusively online and not in person. High school students are at a CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA critical point in REAL-WORLD ROMANCE Freshman Alya Fawal and senior Carlos Trejos enjoy an their emotional afternoon of interpersonal connection and communication away from the digital world. development

where they must solidify key life skills they will use for the rest of their lives. A lack of interpersonal communication will only hinder this development.

Clearly, as more daters gain access to easy ways of meeting others, they choose to try new, quick ways of meeting people that do not ensure success, rather than sticking to old-fashioned, slower methods that last more often. The classic secondary school daydream is more likely to include arms slyly draped around shoulders at the movie theater than initials and an emoji heart in an Instagram bio. If online relationships that rarely include face-toface dates are not proven to last, singles should recognize the need to return to traditional forms of dating that have garnered success for generations.

The 2015 Pew Research Center study “Teen Voices: Dating in the Digital Age” found that 72 percent of teen couples primarily communicate over text, compared to only 21 percent who primarily communicate in person. Similarly, before they even begin dating, 50 percent of teens show romantic interest in someone by friending them on Facebook or on another social network. Forty-seven percent show interest by liking, commenting, or interacting in some other form over social media.

A loss of face-to-face communication means a loss of verbal cues and emotions behind spoken words, which are essential to the success of any healthy relationship. Learning methods of reallife, interpersonal communication prepares students and teens for healthy relationships in the future, on and off the romantic playing field.

Besides complicating communication through the course of a relationship, the Internet also makes it harder for teens to

move on from a relationship after it ends. The same Pew Research Center study reports that 43 percent of teen daters have untagged or deleted photos of themselves with their ex on social media, and 27 percent of teens say other peers’ social media interactions with their significant others are cause for jealousy and envy. One high school girl consulted in the study even added that consistent notifications of girls’ exes’ whereabouts caused them distress. “I guess you’re constantly reminded of that other person, like through seeing them on social media and seeing them with other people doing things without you, which can be hurtful,” she said.

Another teen girl referenced a trend of hating on exes on social media post breakup. “I see some girls post pictures of the boy they just broke up with and [writing] a whole paragraph just like roasting them,” she explained, “Just like telling him all the bad things he did.” Exposing open wounds online is detrimental to teens. It forces them to relive breakups and prevents them from moving on.

Breakups are upsetting enough, even without the constant reminder of what an ex is doing every day. By eliminating the unnecessary additive of social media love and hate to the course and end of a relationship, teens will get over breakups faster and quickly adjust to life without a significant other.

Although social media and other new forms of technology seem to make dating much easier, they should not be relied on for all communication in a relationship.

Now is the time for these young individuals to take the initiative and push their relationships to find points of human interaction and ensure that they are prepared for their adult lives, romantic and otherwise.

Opinions B4

silverchips

March 10, 2016

Teachers should let students develop their own opinions

Classrooms work best when teachers are impartial mediators of student discussion

By Cole Sebastian An opinion Polarized media, misleading claims from public figures, and the liberal environment of the Blair community can make it difficult for students to develop their own well-informed opinions.

Teachers often play a large role in how students are informed about current events and in turn play a large role in how students form their personal beliefs. With this responsibility, teachers need to be

mindful of how the thoughts and opinions that they share influence the ideas of their students.

A teacher’s role should always be to teach the facts and never to indoctrinate specific opinions.

Facts are meant to be taught and opinions should be formed through teachers motivating their students to think critically about issues. While students should always be encouraged to have opinions, they should never be encouraged by teachers to have a certain view over another. When

teachers emphasize certain opinions, they are playing a large role in sheltering students and making them more close-minded.

Whenever new sources of controversy arise, it is always best to start by showing the pure facts of what happened. Each time that a video emerged of police brutality against blacks, sociology teacher Kenneth Smith says that he “just showed the video… and let them begin talking. Then we start throwing out some of the back story and why that happened.”

Students should be encouraged to share and discuss their ideas amongst themselves. “I think in times… when they’re passionate, I’m just there to be a referee to moderate and let them work through their thoughts, their ideas, their feelings,” says Smith.

In a class discussion environment, the teacher’s role should be to challenge students’ ideas and provoke intelligent thought. “I understand we’re in a liberal bubble here and it’s important to have those different perspectives,” says Smith.

“Sometimes I’ll try to take one perspective or two, whatever perspectives there are, to engage them and get them talking.”

Teachers must allow every student LINDSAY HARRIS

voice to be heard with the same merit and consideration. Paula McAvoy, author of The Political Classroom: Evidence and Ethics in Democratic Education, expressed this idea in an interview with National Public Radio (NPR).

“What’s most important is that teachers create a culture of fairness in the classroom,” McAvoy says. “That means being fair and reasonable to all the competing views that are in the classroom and that are being represented in the public.”

The most damaging situation during a class discussion is when the whole class is in agreement with the teacher. When a student only hears their opinion echoed back to them, it creates narcissism instead of critical thinking. In cases when the whole class concurs on a certain issue, the teacher should put their personal opinion aside and take the opposite stance of the class. This will force students to think deeply about their stance instead of just jumping to conclusions.

For a lecture class that does not involve class discussion, it is essential that teachers are aware of their own biases and remove them from the classroom. When a teacher is trying to move through information but shares their own opinion, there is no room for students to disagree or think deeply into the subject. Many students will take those opinions with the same level of unquestioning truth as the rest of the course material.

Teacher’s should either remove their opinions completely or allow students to discuss and challenge them.

That being said, teachers do

not have to disconnect themselves from who they are as people by being completely faceless conveyers of facts. In certain situations, if a teacher is personally or emotionally connected to a topic and feels that they could not be comfortable without sharing their own experiences, they should not have to hide themselves from their students. Smith says that he sometimes feels the need to share his personal experiences. He presents those experiences to his students “from the perspective that this is my experience. It doesn’t mean it’s right for you, I’m not asking you to buy into it, but this is my experience,” he says.

In those situations, the students’ ability to feel comfortable sharing their own opinions and experiences should still be the top priority. Teachers should never, under any circumstances, create hostility towards certain viewpoints. At the heart of this issue is the students’ free expression. “If you share your opinion in a way that students feel threatened and it shuts them down, and they feel they can’t express themselves and be themselves, then it becomes dangerous and ineffective,” says Smith.

Students should be able to come to whatever opinion they would naturally come to and teachers should facilitate an environment in which students must defend and strengthen those opinions. When teachers serve as the impartial motivators of the student marketplace of ideas, a safe and intellectually challenging environment can be created in which well-conceived student ideas can flourish.

B5 Opinion

THEN: 1956

silverchips

March 10, 2016

My Blair: Personal Column Wrestling with Arthritis

By Ryan Handel Guest writer

COURTESY OF SILVER CHIPS ARCHIVES

STUDENTS SERVING STUDENTS School store attendants Rick Mackenzie and Regina Weiss patiently wait for customer Nancy Norris to make a decision on what item she wants.

& NOW: 2016

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

DAY AT THE SHOP Seniors Musie Asfaha, Nickson Minja, Sam Gezahegn, and Brandon Royal (left to right) serve customers at the school store.

Boom! The referee slaps the mat and blows the whistle. I walk to the center of the mat, shake my opponent’s hand, and get my hand raised.

To anyone who watches wrestling or is a wrestler themselves, this is a familiar scene. Some people even start to take it for granted.

For me, every victory I earn holds a special meaning.

Back in middle school, years before I would ever get my hand raised in a varsity match, I was not someone you would associate with any sport, let alone the one that many consider to be the toughest in the world.

In seventh grade I was diagnosed with a disease called rheumatoid arthritis, which caused me constant pain in all my joints and drastically lowered my metabolism and ability to exercise.

As freshman year approached, I was not expected to do anything athletically by my friends, my family, even myself. After all, I was just a short, chubby kid and I suffered from a crippling disease.

However, in the summer leading up to ninth grade, I made a commitment to myself that would change my life forever. I was going to become a wrestler.

I started to exercise each day with fierce determination. I slowly tapered off the calories that I ate as I worked off the weight I had gained. Any time I was tired, or in pain, I used it as my motivation to work harder.

Even with winter sports season fast approaching, I never let up. Still, the intensity of my at-home treadmill and light weight workouts would not even compare to the

challenge I was about to face.

The first wrestling practice left me dripping in sweat and so sore I could barely walk. I wanted to quit so badly that day.

But I wouldn’t let all of my hard work go to waste.

I powered through practice after practice, each more grueling than the next. I started the season on junior varsity, and picked up a victory in my first match. Next, I took a spot on varsity in place of an injured wrestler. While I took a loss in this second match, it was going to take more than that to get me back down.

As the season progressed, although I took losses, several times I experienced that scene in which my hand got raised.

With each match, win or loss, I considered what I had been through and where I had started.

BEN DOGGETT The following offseason I worked hard so that I could have a successful sophomore season that would be spent entirely on varsity. So far, I have fought my way to a solid winning record.

The story that I shared should be taken as evidence that anything is possible. I don’t let arthritis define me; don’t let your limits define you.

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 March 20 Swingin’ Sounds for Senior Citizens

March 23

March 24 - April 1 Spring Break

April 8

AP Registration final deadline Third marking period ends

Student & Teacher Awards & Honors Sophomores Will Ederer, Charlie Gryder, and Ben Miller were selected as finalists for C-Span’s StudentCam contest for their documentary on America’s transportation infrastructure.

Computer science teacher and 2006 Blair graduate Samir Paul was the recipient of the Marian Greenblatt Rising Star Teacher Award.

Senior Ariel Goldbloom-Helzner was named one of Bethesda Magazine’s Top Teens of 2016.

Juniors Jefferey Ge, Simin Li, Alex Ma, and Caleb Robelle are regional finalists in the 2016 ExploraVision competition for their paper on biobatteries.

Juniors Ethan Chen, Maya Chudamani, Rohan Dalvi, Urjita Das, Raymond Guo, Nick Healey, Shivani Mattikalli, Alex Miao, Meghna Sambathkumar, and Lawrence Zhao placed as one of the Top 16 debate teams worldwide in the International Public Policy competition.

Junior Ronee Goldman won the English Speaking Union Washington D.C. Branch Shakespeare Competition. She will go on to represent the D.C. metropolitan region at the national level in New York City.

Sophomores Sophia Falvey, Caherine Horowitz, and Junior Willa Murphy won trophies at the All-County Forensics Awards Night.

Editorials B6

silverchips

March 10, 2016

The MD New Voices Act

Protecting student expression

Imagine an America without a free press.

In this America, corrupt officials could fire journalists who reported their lawbreaking.

Unpopular views could be forcibly suppressed. Writers would censor themselves in anticipation of the government censorship to come.

Sound scary? It should. It should also sound familiar—because for student journalists, this unfree America is our daily reality.

In 1988, the Supreme Court ruled in Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier that school officials could censor student publications as long as the censorship was based on a “legitimate pedagogical concern.” As Justice Byron White wrote in the majority decision, under Hazelwood, government-operated schools can suppress student speech “even though the government could not censor similar speech outside the school.”

School districts have used Hazelwood to keep students from speaking out about teenage pregnancy, divorce, contraception, homosexuality, abortion, and even the Hazelwood decision itself. At nearby Wilson High School in D.C., student journalists faced prior review in August from their principal, who said the case permitted her to institute a policy of previewing the student publication before it was printed and posted online.

These instances, and many others, are why we at Silver Chips strongly support the Maryland New Voices Act (Senate Bill 764), a piece of legislation introduced by State Senator Jamie Raskin which would protect Maryland student journalists from censorship and prior restraint. Under current law, schools can suppress student journalism so long as administrators can come up with a plausible reason that a piece conflicts with school values. The New Voices Act would end this culture of casual censorship by returning Maryland

to the standard set by Supreme Court case Tinker vs. Des Moines. In Tinker, the Court ruled that student speech must “present a clear and present danger” or be libelous or obscene if it is to be censored.

Raskin, an advocate for student rights and author of the book “We the Students: Supreme Court Cases for and about Students,” believes that free speech is an integral part of teaching student journalists to be critical, responsible, and civically engaged. “If we don’t give students real free speech in a public school context, they will go and post stuff on the Internet where there are no advisors and so no opportunity for real learning and investigation,” he told Chips. “We need a new generation of journalists to ferret out public and private corruption.”

A free student press serves a vital role in American society. At our own school, Silver Chips has been able to surive and thrive in large part because of an understanding with the Blair administration that our paper will never be censored. Censorship, we all agree, is incompatible with Blair values.

Silver Chips could not report some of our most important, effective, and popular stories if we had to fear censorship. If school officials had decided that our article investigating school security made them look bad, they could have prevented Blair students and staff from understanding the March trespassing incident. They might have suppressed our feature on Adderall abuse, thus allowing this dangerous behavior to remain in the shadows. They might even have censored pieces that criticized PARCC testing at Blair or questioned the conduct of the Montgomery County Board of Education.

Such censorship would completely undermine Silver Chips’ ability to serve the school community. Fortunately, Chips has

VICTORIA TSAI

a long history of student press freedom.

But other school papers have not been so lucky—and since administrations change, we have no way to ensure that Silver Chips will remain protected from future censorship.

That is what the New Voices Act promises: a future in which neither Silver Chips nor any other student publication need fear the heavy hand of censorship.

A future of freedom and democracy. A future which students across Maryland sorely need.

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

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

Shining a ‘Spotlight’ on the importance of investigative journalism The “Best Picture” is a win for newspapers and reporters worldwide

By Camille Kirsch On Sunday, Feb. 28, journalism won.

The Oscar could have gone to a sheer feat of acting endurance. It could have recognized a high-minded film that doubled as an ethical treatise. It could have rewarded an action film that transcended the boundaries of its genre.

Instead, the Oscar went to Spotlight.

And the journalism world was rocked to the core.

Newspaper writing is not a glamorous job. It involves khakis and coffee and battered notebooks. It requires staying up for late nights in front of a computer keyboard.

There are no exciting action shots in journalism, no CGI bears to hold the viewer’s attention. But if you can look past the surface mundanity of writing, there is so much in journalism that is deeply and truly important to see.

In giving Spotlight the Oscar, the Academy affirmed that importance. It is hard

to overstate the symbolic impact of their action. In this age of declining funding and respect for investigative journalism, 34 million Americans watching the Oscars saw the Boston Globe Spotlight team praised as heroes, as inspirational figures, and as guardians of the public.

For a moment, journalism truly was glamorous again.

In an interview with media coverage organization Poynter, Spotlight reporter Walter V. Robinson called the movie a reminder “of the importance of in-depth journalism of all sorts against long and lengthening odds.... a reminder to the public that if the press doesn’t hold powerful individuals GRIFFIN REILLY accountable, no one else will.”

Because it celebrates the power of the written word, Spotlight is both an inspiration and an affirmation for journalists.

This fall, all of Silver Chips’ writing staff went to see Spotlight together. I cried, watching that movie. And I am not the only one. All of us came out of the theater inspired and invigorated. Spotlight validated our belief that as journalists, we can help

Ombudsman Camille Kirsch

people. We can expose wrongdoing. We can—if we work long and hard—change the world.

It is easy to forget journalism’s potential or lose faith in its transformative power.

After all, he public’s confidence in news media has dropped nearly 30 percentage points since its peak in 1979. But words make a difference.

Journalism has brought down presidents. Journalism has exposed corporations.

Journalism has ended wars. And yes—journalism has prevented child abuse.

It is true that most of what we write here at Silver Chips is not explosive or groundbreaking. The day-to-day business of a newspaper is sometimes a slog. But I believe in journalism. That is why I am here, why I am writing this. I believe that when student journalists share the stories of students called “stupid” or relay the truth about teens driving high or expose the sexual harassment that is so pervasive at

homecoming, we are making a difference.

We are changing our world.

Student journalists take small steps and write about everyday things. But when you need us, we are here. We are a voice for teenagers and we are a voice for teachers. We are watching. We are listening. And in the end, our small stories add up to something big.

This is my chance to shine a “spotlight” on journalism. But with or without the lights and the glamour, good journalism is always there.

Comments or concerns?

Email the Ombudsman at ombudsmansilverchips@gmail.com

Corrections: February 2016 In the F3 article “Silver Chips takes an inside look at the indoor season,” the only returning runner who competed in states last year was misidentified. The athlete was senior Susanna Maisto.

Francisco Leventhal’s name on A3 was mispelled as “Francisco Levanthal”.

The cell phone drawing on page C2 should have been credited to Candia Gu. The drawing on D1 should have been credited to Shivani Mattikalli.

The actors of color drawing on D3 should have been credited to Lindsay Harris.

Alexandra Mendivil’s credit on the Valentine’s Day drawing on D3 was misstated as “Alexandra Villa”.

Alexandra Mendivil’s credit on the F1 drawing was misspelled as “Alex Mendivill”.

B7 ADs

March 10, 2016

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Features C1

silverchips

March 10, 2016

Overcoming the language barrier between home and school

Students become self-reliant when English is not the primary language at home from PARENTS page A1 for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in school and supplement their English education through conversations with friends or through watching TV. Senior Dennis Hua attributes his English fluency to watching cartoons. By the time he started school, he was proficient enough to understand his coursework. “I watched SpongeBob and stuff on Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney,” Hua says. Watching TV helped Hua become familiar with conversations and pronunciation. “It helped me learn phrases. If someone asked me questions, I would know how to respond to it,” Hua says.

For sophomore Israel Ordoez, who came to the U.S. only two years ago, studying English is especially hard despite getting help from his ESOL classes. “My parents don’t speak English, so I can’t practice my English in my house,” Ordoez says. “I can only practice it here at school.”

Outside of school, Ordoez has to take it upon himself to become proficient in English. “I have to [be independent] because they can’t help me. I have to do [my homework] by myself,” he says. “And that makes it difficult for me to learn English.”

The language barrier between parent and teacher often separates parents from their child’s education. Hua’s parents played a minimal role in his education all throughout his life. “My parents never went to parent-teacher conferences. All they needed to do was look at my report card to see if it was good or bad,” Hua says.

Junior Kenia Villatoro had to live her entire academic life on her own starting from preschool. Because neither of her parents were proficient in English, Villatoro had to find help with schoolwork elsewhere. “No one helped me do my homework at home,” Villatoro says.

“I entered homework clubs at school and they would help me.”

She also spent additional time with her teachers in order to make sure she didn’t fall behind. “I stayed after school and they would describe the lessons more thoroughly,”Villatoro says.

Counselors can also play an important role for students whose parents aren’t fluent English speakers. Guidance counselor Charlain Bailey says that being a counselor for these students is about being able to give adult support that other teenagers can get from their parents. “Students don’t always fully understand something and they go to an adult,” Bailey says.

“So, it’s about being able to give that adult

support that most kids can get from their parents at home.”

Bridging the gap Of all their responsibilities, translating is the most time-consuming for students whose parents aren’t proficient English speakers. Villatoro’s parents rely on her to write their checks for them. She also devotes about an hour each day after school to helping her parents communicate with their employers. “Once [my dad] comes home from work, I talk to his managers and tell my dad what he’d have to do the next day. Same with my mom,” Villatoro says.

Having to accompany parents on errands and day-to-day tasks can be difficult, according to sophomore Eucaris Mendez.

Mendez finds translating tedious because she has to follow her mother every time she goes to the supermarket and nail salon. “It takes up about 50 percent of my free time. Sometimes I want to go out with my friends, but I can’t because I have to go out with her,” Mendez says. “She needs the help.”

Junior Isaac Flores assumes the same responsibilities for his mother about three days a week.

“When my mom goes to the doctor, or when she goes to the store and she needs something she doesn’t know how to say, I go and translate for her,” Flores explains.

In his freshman year,

Flores enrolled in ESOL 1, where he learned the basics of English. Flores says he understands his mother’s difficulties, so he doesn’t mind dedicating a large chunk of time to assisting her. “It doesn’t annoy me because I wish I had help when I didn’t know English,” Flores says.

Students also have to interpret letters and mail that their parents receive. Because his parents aren’t proficient Englishspeakers, Hua has to communicate to the court that they may not be able to fulfill their jury responsibilities. “If they’re summoned for jury duty, I have to write a letter explaining that my parents won’t understand anything,” Hua says.

Students can also help their parents in the long term by teaching them English.

For the past two years, freshman Bladimil Valdez and his two brothers have been helping their parents become more fluent in English so that they can be comfortable in their daily lives. “Every day, we sit in the living room and we practice how to speak English and teach them how to read,” Valdez says.

In addition to making their parents’ daily lives easier, students also must act as a bridge between their

ALEXANDRA MENDIVIL

soapbox Do your parents speak English? If not, how has that affected your life during high school?

“My parents don’t speak much English. Because of this, sometimes I have to miss school so I can translate for them at a doctor’s appointment.”

— Daniela Zelaya, senior

“My family does not speak English at home so when I try to communicate with them in broken Vietnamese, my English and memory gets worse.”

— Cyndi Nguyen, sophomore

parents and their own education. Valdez accompanied his father to teacher conferences so that his parents could understand how well he was doing in school. Valdez remembers awkwardly sitting next to them, translating as if they weren’t talking about him. “I don’t feel good being in front of my dad and the teacher,” Valdez says. “It doesn’t feel right.”

First in the family Many students whose par-

ents speak limited English become firstgeneration college students. Villatoro says that her parents’ lack of a college education limits their understanding of important college-related letters and application forms. It also stops them from providing Villatoro with wisdom about post-secondary education. “I have no idea what to do or where to go or how college actually feels,” Villatoro says.

Throughout the college application process, Hua could not rely on his parents to help him look for schools or fill out their own forms. “I couldn’t really ask them for help on [college applications]. I had to do everything myself, except for social security number, I had to ask my parents for that,” Hua says.

Senior Hafsa Abdulkadir also had to go through the college application process without her parents’ help. She says she talked to her counselor and frequently visited the Career Center in order to find the right colleges. She also sought help from her friends and teachers, who edited and looked over her essays. “It’s hard because [my parents] can’t help with essays,” Abdulkadir says. “I felt overwhelmed, but I coped with that by talking with other

people and I wasn’t afraid to ask for help.”

However, some students are able to find help through their community and with support from their counselors. Although her parents are not able to assist her in applying for college, junior Kebron Tefera finds guidance through a church program and through the Achieving College Excellence and Success (ACES) program.

ACES, a collaboration between MCPS, Montgomery College, and the Universities at Shady Grove, focuses on supporting students who come from underrepresented backgrounds and who are first-generation college students. Through ACES, Tefera receives test preparation, tutoring, and assistance with applications. “Those places help me apply to colleges and scholarships, as well as construct my resume,”Tefera says.

Tefera also receives in-school help that prepares her for college.

“My counselor made me sign up for Khan Academy and take College Test Prep,”Tefera says.

According to Bailey, counselors must take it upon themselves to help these students whose parents cannot. “Parents who can’t speak English are not always tuned in to [college preparations]. When information goes out via TV, phone call, letter, or website, the parent is unable to help the student catch those details,” Bailey explains. “It becomes really important for counselors to support students whose parents don’t know English. For example, I make sure they remember to sign up for the PSAT because their parent may miss that flyer.”

Bailey finds that students who lack English-speaking parents are sometimes more independent. She says that those students have learned to take initiative in their own lives. “If your parents speak English, there may be another person that is catching what you missed. A student whose parents don’t speak English does not have that other person at home to support them,” Bailey says. “A student like that is working harder and a lot of the time, they are more mature.

Because it is all up to them.”

C2 Features

silverchips

March 10, 2016

Crafting a unique path to a well-rounded education

Blazers nurture their creativity at the Einstein Visual Arts Center

By Grady Jakobsberg Every morning, junior Isabel Emsfeld goes to one high school for her first class, only to leave a half hour early to come to Blair for the rest of the day. After being dropped off, she finds a place in the hallway to sit and wait for the bell. Various teachers give her questioning looks as they pass by, asking her why she is not in first period.

The daily commute, the stress of being a part-time student at each school, and the weird schedule are all things that Emsfeld, along with two other Blair students, has to juggle. It is all necessary in order to receive the benefits of attending Blair while simultaneously attending the Visual Arts Center (VAC)

program at Albert Einstein.

The artist’s haven The Visual Arts Center is a program at Albert Einstein targeted towards students all over the county who are artistically gifted and want to purse their talents. According to Jane Walsh, one of two VAC teachers, the program is designed to help students prepare a college portfolio of artwork. During the first two years of the program, the curriculum centers on developing students’ art skills, while the last two years are centered on students shaping their own artistic preferences and voice.

“We want to grow the imagination of our kids,” Walsh explains. “We start with the

foundational structure and then we begin to discover more what the kids are talented at.”

Over the course of their time in the VAC, students figure out their strengths and what they like to do. Blair sophomore Josie BraneWright said that after mostly observational art such as drawings and paintings of real life her freshman year and abstract art her sophomore year, she discovered her preference for painting and drawing observationally.

Emsfeld, on the other hand, has developed her own, more specific concentration. “Right now I am taking photos of my friends and doing collage paintings of distortion of the human face and body,” she says.

According to Walsh, the first year of the VAC program is focused on observational art from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, which teaches students artistic conventions. Sophomore year, by contrast, focuses on teaching kids how to break these rules. Walsh explains this shift from traditional to modern. “If you can draw an apple, you can dress it in a tuxedo and marry it off to a potato on planet Venus,” she says.

‘Travelers’

COURTESY OF GABBY HEMMER

STATE OF THE ART Junior Nick Yonkos grins excitedly as he enjoys an artful afternoon at Einstein’s Visual Arts Center. Yonkos and others split their schedule between Blair and Einstein to practice art.

Scheduling can be complicated for Blair students who are cross-scheduled between schools, otherwise known as “travelers.” Emsfeld says that because she has to leave her Visual Arts class early, she misses a lot. “I am always really behind everyone in the class,” Emsfeld says.

Emsfeld liked Blair better as a school but still wanted to experience the VAC, so she decided to do both. “I like Blair, and a lot of my friends go here. Einstein is

very small and I wanted a bigger school,” Emsfeld says. She pauses, then admits, “Blair is just better than Einstein.”

For the travelers, identifying with or fitting in with one school or another can be difficult.

Brane-Wright describes the whole situation as “super weird,” but says she still feels at home in both schools. “[Einstein students] are really accepting,” Brane-Wright says. “It’s not like a group of travelers and then the Einstein kids.

We are all sort of mixed together.”

Impact of the VAC Most students attend the VAC because they like art and want to expand their skill set. “I did [art] all through middle school and stuff and I wanted to see where I could go with it,” Brane-Wright says.

Both Brane-Wright and Emsfeld plan on using the skills they have learned in the VAC in their careers, but they doubt that they will focus on art. “I probably won’t just become an artist, but hopefully I can find a career where it combines art into something else,” Brane-Wright explains. Blair junior traveler Nick Yonkos wants to use his VAC skills for a more specific career. “I want to design cars or something. Actually not something, that is exactly what I want to do,” he says.

The VAC has also touched the teachers who work there. Walsh and teacher Mygenet Harris guide all the classes in the program.

Walsh has been working in MCPS for around two decades, but says her time at the VAC has been the most impactful part of her teaching career. “For both [Harris and me], this commitment to the VAC means that we are surrounded by young artists and it inspires us,” Walsh says. “It inspired me to go back [to school], so I now have two degrees from Maryland Institute College of Art.” What sticks with Brane-Wright and Emsfeld the most are the friends they have made through the VAC. “It is definitely a community, which is really nice, and even though I am only there for a very small amount of time each day, I feel like I know everybody,” Brane-Wright says, smiling.

Student governing on a higher level: Advocating for the county Young voices have the chance to be heard on more issues through MCR

By Georgina Burros Junior and Montgomery Country Regional (MCR) Student Government Association President Prim Phoolsombat enters a stuffy high school auditorium that is packed with students in every row. Richard Montgomery junior and MCR President David Edimo approaches the onstage podium and grabs a gavel. Conversation comes to a halt as the agenda papers are shuffled around the room.

Edimo bangs the gavel on the podium. The sound echoes through the auditorium, and the students dive into a series of parliamentary procedures as they begin a Montgomery Country Region Student Government Association meeting.

MCR is a county-wide high school student government organization. Students participating in this county level student government balance their daily responsibilities while voting on policies and programs in order to enact change for all students in Montgomery County.

The roots of MCR MCR was first formed in 1958 after the Central Region of Maryland Association of Student Councils (MASC) split up. It is currently supervised by Advisor Katie Rossini and an executive board of 30 SGA students selected from across the county.

Montgomery County Junior Council (MCJC) allows students from county middle schools to participate in the MCR process.

Monthly MCR “general assemblies” are open to all MCPS students as in-school field trips.

Each year, students from around the county run to be the Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB) in an election monitored by MCR. SMOB candidates are chosen through a nominating convention held by MCR. According to sophomore and Deputy in the MCR Communication Relations department Alix Swann, there are voting peri-

ods during the nominating convention to select the two final SMOB candidates.

On Feb. 22, Richard Montgomery sopho-

the best way for students to create change. To illustrate, Phoolsombat cites MCR’s advocacy in response to criticism about the county’s inability to accommodate mental health issues. “Stress is becoming basically an epidemic for students,” says Phoolsombat. “So, last year, for this particular issue, MCR hosted a PSA video contest… about mental illness and raising BEN DOGGETT awareness for MCR Junior Prim Phoolsombat, president of the Montgomery Coun- that.” Phoolty Regional (MCR) Student Government Association, speaks at an sombat says MCR MCR General Assembly on Tuesday, March 8 in the Blair auditorium. that will continue to work on more Alexander Abrosimov and Bethesda- mental health issues during the upcoming Chevy Chase junior and current SMOB Eric year.

Guerci were chosen as candidates for the 2016 Board members Edimo and Phoolsombat SMOB election. Blair sophomore Olivia Gon- are also planning to host a TED talk event at zalez also ran in the preliminary campaign. Richard Montgomery, which will be the first Guerci swept the floor with an overwhelming such event at an MCPS school. Students will majority of 191 of 307 total votes. be able to publicly speak about their experiThe nominating convention gives students ences with and opinions about mental health. a chance to put their opinion to a vote. “SeeIn addition, MCR began a pilot grant proing the candidates in person and being able gram using funds accumulated from savto directly ask them questions gave me a new ings. Schools will be able to apply to receive perspective that I appreciated,” says sopho- financial aid for struggling clubs. “[Schools] more Nora Olagbaju. can apply every cycle of our grant program, and then we will give them...a certain amount Upcoming projects of money and we will give the funds that we think is appropriate to their level of need,” Prim Phoolsombat believes the council is says Phoolsombat. “We also consider loca-

tion, because obviously there are some areas of the county that lack financial resources in comparison to the others.”

Improving outreach According to Swann, an executive board member, MCR is struggling with its outreach.

In order to include the voices of all students, MCR is working to gain representatives from more schools, but spreading awareness is difficult. “Right now we have participation on the executive board from a select few schools that are involved, mostly Richard Montgomery, Blair, and schools like Clarksburg and Whitman. There’s a couple of schools that don’t have any [representatives],” says Swann. “We’ve been doing school visits, like Google hangouts, with them, so that we can get them more involved.”

Phoolsombat, who has been an active participant in MCR since sixth grade, has been one of the strongest forces behind the implemented MCR programs. “I heard an announcement on the very first day, so I was really charged up and proactive, because this was my big step,” says Phoolsombat.

After dedicating her middle school years to general assemblies, she became MCJC President in eighth grade. For Phoolsombat, MCR is a way to give back to an education system that has given her the opportunity to share her voice. “I’m an immigrant, my parents are also immigrants. We come from Thailand. That’s a major, major reason why I value my education so much,” she says. “My family had to work hard, like all other immigrants. And so I feel like I’m indebted to MCPS and to the education system because it’s given me so much of what I am today,” says Phoolsombat.

In addition to their county-wide focus, MCR is a close knit community. “We’re friends with each other,” says Phoolsombat.

“Even though we run in elections against each other... it’s a community that I’m very grateful to be a part of.”

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March 10, 2016

Finding something divine in how the stars align

Students turn to astrology for life predictions, insight, and wisdom

By Alice Park As the school day progresses and students move from class to class, few think of the planets orbiting the sun millions of miles away. If they argue with an unpleasant classmate or receive unexpected news, most Blazers move on without a second thought about how faraway planets and stars may be affecting their everyday encounters.

When junior Maia Pramuk does not get along with someone, however, she is often left with numerous questions instead of feelings of frustration or disappointment. With a few basic details, she can identify the person’s astrological birth chart and account for multiple personality traits, including why the person may be incompatible with her. For Pramuk and other Blazers who believe in astrology, the movements and positions of celestial bodies in outer space offer a unique insight into how life plays out here on Earth.

From skepticism to obsession

Horoscopes and predictions abound online and in magazines, but not all readers are hooked on the mystery of astrology immediately.

Pramuk was unsure about the accuracy of astrology before being introduced to it by a friend. “I was skeptical but… you’ll read [your horoscope] and you’re like, ‘This sounds like me.’ And then it got more and more accurate and I started to dabble in other people’s horoscopes too,” Pramuk says.

A post online piqued sophomore Axelle Dia’s interest in astrology. She grew fascinated by horoscopes after delving further into the topic. “I was on Tumblr and I saw one of those silly little posts like ‘the signs as dogs,’” she remembers. “Then my friend showed me how to do a birth chart.

The stuff was really accurate... so I started researching more of it, and I just got really into it.”

The most popular form of astrology involves reading horoscopes that correspond to an astrological sign, which depends on the day of one’s birth. Dia checks her horoscope often to gain insight on the day ahead.

“Horoscopes usually say what to look out for [or] if something might happen to you in your future. I’ll keep on the lookout for that type of thing,” she says.

Dia recalls one instance where her horoscope predicted a positive outcome to a particularly stressful situation at home. “My mom almost lost her job, and it was really scary,” she says. “[But] I was panicking for no reason because everything worked out, and that’s what my horoscope said.”

While Dia reads her horoscope before starting the day, senior Neida Mbuia Joao typically checks hers before sleeping to reflect on what the prediction said and how SHIVANI MATTIKALLI

her day actually went. “I actually read my horoscope from yesterday at the end of the day… and I was like, ‘This is exactly what happened to me, to the T,’” she says.

Some students also use zodiac signs and birth charts to find ways to connect and resolve conflicts with others. According to Pramuk, people tend to relate better to those whose signs are complementary to theirs. “When I do find myself very compatible with someone and I look up their birth chart, it’s because we’re very opposite,” she says. “Your opposite sign is someone you’re compatible with.”

Lynn Koiner, an astrologer based in Silver Spring, agrees that birth charts are useful in learning how others communicate and behave. “[They] can help you understand people,” she says. Koiner has worked as a full-time astrologer since 1969 and analyzes psychological patterns in horoscopes to guide clients with specific diseases.

Unwavering beliefs Astrology has not been scientifically proven, and some remain skeptical of vague horoscopes that appeal to a broad audience.

Sophomore Aviah Krupnick enjoys checking horoscopes, but she believes people tend to relate to general personality descriptions, a phenomenon called the Forer effect. “[Horoscopes are] like a product of the Forer effect where they say a bunch of vague stuff about you, and you connect with it,” she says.

Freshman Rohit Harapanhalli also does not believe in the logic behind astrology,

SHIVANI MATTIKALLI

although his parents occasionally use it for guidance. “My parents sometimes follow… a half and half between Indian astrology and American astrology,” he says.

In Indian astrology, Harapanhalli’s name corresponds to characteristics like extroversion and confidence, both traits that he identifies with. However, his parents also encourage him to act according to other traits of his sign, such as being studious and hardworking.

While he does not object to his parents’ well-intentioned suggestions, Harapanhalli believes that people can direct the course of their lives regardless of astrology. “I believe that it’s in the control of the person for how they want their future to turn out… not how the planets orient,” he says.

Joao, however, is steadfast in her faith of horoscopes and birth charts. “It’s not like I’m worshipping astrology gods,” she says.

“I’ve found myself through it, and I’ve seen myself in it… Just because I think it’s accurate doesn’t mean that I’m stupid.”

For Dia, the countless times when astrological predictions have been correct keep her willing to continue checking her horoscope. “I like seeing the coincidences and the accuracy,” she says. “It’s not always 100 percent accurate, but it’s something to look forward to.”

Become your own designer: Bringing knitting back in style

Q&A with Carina Donoso, entrepreneur and founder of The Third Piece

By Daliah Barg Carina Donoso is the co-founder of luxury knitwear company The Third Piece, which sells knitwear and also aims to inspire others to create. Customers can buy patterns and yarn from the company’s website to knit their own pieces.

The company’s name is inspired by Donoso’s style philosophy, “Never leave home without three pieces,” meaning that adding an accessory completes an outfit. Products made by The Third Piece have been worn by celebrities, including model Gisele Bündchen, and featured in publications such as People magazine and the Boston Herald.

Q: What does your company do?

Carina Donso: We handknit luxury pieces which are either made by us or made by you. What we do is we create innovative designs and manufacture our own merino wool.

People can either buy our products or they can actually make them themselves.

It should inspire women - yes, you can go into a luxury store and buy one of our hats for $100, or you can buy the yarn and pattern and knit it yourself. So we really disclose all of the secret ingredients behind what we do, because we really want to inspire people to show them that they can do it themselves.

Our company philoso-

phy is that we’re connecting creativity and want people to feel inspired to create.

I think there’s not as much of that going on anymore because everyone is embracing technology – it’s time to disconnect. So whether you’re disconnecting by shopping one of our pieces, or you’re disconnecting by knitting one of our pieces, you’re doing something besides being on your phone and texting all the time. You’re connecting in some other way.

Q: What led you to start The Third Piece?

CD: I really wanted to do something creative and I felt that there was a void in the marketplace for hand-knit accessories in luxury retail. I really wanted to focus on creating jobs, especially jobs for women, and it was kind of a great opportunity for that point in my life. My business partner and I just thought that it would be, you know, an experience.

Q: How did you manage to get your company up and running in a tough fashion market?

COURTESY OF CARINA DONOSO

CD: We started in 2012 and it’s been a journey ever since.

You just have to really work hard and not give up. As you start your own business you’re going to go through ups and downs, and things that you think are going to work at the beginning

end up not working at all. It’s really just about overcoming these obstacles, having a business is not easy.

You also have to be different and you have to be aggressive, especially in this market. That was one of the things that we really, really worked on. We never gave up and we’re still trying every day, so I think that’s a big part of what we do.

Q: How does it feel to walk into a store and see your products on sale?

CD: It’s amazing. It’s the best feeling ever.

I think I get more excited when I see people wearing our products. If I’m walking down the street and I see someone wearing our hat, or one of our scarfs or one of our sweaters, I think that’s the most gratifying.

For me, it’s not just about my design; it’s about the women that went into making all of these pieces, which I think is really important.

Q: How do high-end companies with expensive products connect to the general market?

CD: Instead of just having our products available at one of these high end luxury stores we made it so that our customers can make it themselves.

When higher end stores go after younger customers, they’re using social media like Snapchat and Instagram to help get a younger audience, a younger audience which might not necessarily be able to afford them. That is why The Third Piece tries to encourage women to start knitting so that they can actually create their own Third

Piece rather than buy it.

Q: Recently, there has been a movement where knitting is coming back in among younger crowds. Why do you think that is happening?

CD: I’m so happy that younger people are knitting, and I think it has to do with a couple of things.

One, I think that the millennial generation wants to be able to understand how things are made, and COURTESY OF CARINA DONOSO I think that’s really empowering.

I think that being able to give them the option-- we’ll either make it for you or you can make it yourself -- it’s very important to be able to offer to any age group, but especially to this younger age group.

And I think that millennials are also really focused on doing things that aren’t as day-to-day traditional.

Q: What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs who wish to start a company?

CD: My advice would be to really think about what you want to do. Whether you want to sell a product, or if you want to start a restaurant, depending on what your vision is on starting up your own business – really be the expert in that.

If you’re going to invent something, you should know everything there is to know about that.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

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March 10, 2016

A modern perspective on traditional South Asian arranged marriage

y grandfather, Jayakar, was orphaned at age eight. He was left with nearly nothing—he was just a poor boy living in a village in south India. Fortunately, his grandmother was still alive and she raised him. A maternal uncle paid for his clothes and schooling.

When my grandfather was a teenager, it became clear that he was a talented student, and his uncle cut him a deal. His uncle’s eldest daughter was only a couple of years younger than Jayakar, so they came to an agreement: if Jayakar married this girl, his uncle would pay for him to go to medical school. It was a dream come true.

Jayakar married his first cousin several years later, and they built a happy life together. Their match was arranged when they were teenagers, but they will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary next May. My grandparents and most of my aunts and uncles had arranged marriages back in India. Such matches are common there. According to ABC News, up to 90 percent of marriages in India are arranged, compared to around 60 percent worldwide. As my family gradually immigrated to America, some of my relatives born here got arranged marriages too. Others did not.

I have grown up surrounded by two cultures: one which believes strongly in the power of love to determine life partners, and one which emphasizes parental guidance and practicality above all. In the end, I will be free to choose a spouse, if and when I want one, but this is not true for all young South Asian-Americans.

Like religion, language, and cuisine, arranged marriage is an important aspect of heritage that South Asian immigrant families bring to their new communities in the United States. However, some find that American cultural values can mix in, creating complex belief systems for first- and second-generation teenagers, myself included.

An age-old practice An arranged marriage is one which is set up by the families of the couple, in which the bride and groom usually have very little influence.

The practice has roots in the earliest human unions, according to marriage historian and author Stephanie Coontz. In the past it was used by families to make business contacts or to maneuver for a higher standing in society. “For thousands of years, marriage was about making these connections between in-laws, between the parental systems, rather than the interests of the children involved,” Coontz says.

However, this definition may slowly be changing. Junior Maya Chudamani’s parents were living in America when their marriage was arranged. They received a list of potential candidates, pre-approved by their parents, and were allowed to call and meet possible matches before settling on one. The lists contained basic biographical information such as education, career goals, and siblings. “My mom already knew that all the guys on the list would be proper matches,” Chudamani says.

“She called and talked to a few of them and ended up meeting them.

My dad was the fifth.”

According to Coontz, arranged marriage patterns are common in some immigrant groups, but often slowly disappear, like they have in my family, as post-immigration generations are born and raised in America. “Certain immigrant populations bring that value system with them. It continues for a couple generations and tends to die out,” she says.

On the other hand, Coontz says that arranged marriages can take different forms in modern immigrant communities. She mentions young Indians she knows who have turned to their parents for help in finding a partner, but still have the last say. “It’s not arranged in the old-fashioned sense [where] it was the parents who had the veto power,” she says.

Evolving conceptions of marriage Fizza Jamal graduated from Blair in 2015 and entered into an arranged marriage a few months later. Her case illustrates just how much the practice has changed in the course of a few generations. “It’s not like arranged marriage is only my parents’ choice,” says Jamal. “I have a say in it too.”

However, Jamal says that love marriages—those which are not arranged—are increasing in popularity in her home country of Pakistan. “As time is progressing arranged marriages aren’t really a big deal or big concern. Even in my culture people have expanded their minds … A lot of love marriages are taking place without it being an issue,” she says.

According to Coontz, the practice of arranged marriage largely died out in Western

“[Arranged marriage is] basically like Tinder or speed dating… [but] there are no bad guys.”

marriage would be committing before properly knowing one’s partner.

“You don’t know the person at all,” says Mishra, whose parents only met a couple of times before getting married. “It’s like me trusting a stranger with my money. If I give them money to just hold [onto it] for me, [I] don’t know for certain that they can do that.”

Kumar’s parents knew each other just four months before tying the knot. His hard and fast rule is he must know the girl for “at least a year.”

Chudamani agrees that she needs at least a year of knowing a potential partner before marriage, but she still sees many merits in the other aspects of arranged marriage.

“If I couldn’t find someone by 25, I would consider it, because my parents know me as well as I do,” she says. “My parents do all the hard work of figuring out if they’re financially stable or whatever. It’s basically like Tinder or speed dating… [but] there are no bad guys.”

Jamal cites the convenience of the practice as a major benefit. “I don’t have to go [through] the hardship and heartbreaks of finding ‘love,’” she says.

Chudamani reflects Jamal’s precautious sentiment, saying that this type of match helps the children. “[In an arranged marriage], the parents are trying to help their kids find someone before [the kids] have to do it themselves and go through all the problems with heartbreak and finding the wrong person,” she says.

What keeps a marriage afloat

cultures around the late 18th century, due partially to social revolution and the ideas of the Enlightenment. This shift primarily affected Europe and the US, but other cultures have begun to experience it as well.

Freshman Saket Mishra, whose family members have almost all had arranged marriages in India, says that Western influence is becoming increasingly important there too. “A lot of Indians are going into love marriage now,” he says. “I think as Western civilization is influencing the Eastern hemisphere, they’re starting to learn from it.”

Cultures in limbo

From a cultural perspective, arranged marriage fits with more traditional societies where family and collective belonging are highly valued. Junior Abhishikt Kumar, whose parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles have had arranged marriages, believes that a familial mindset prepares people for long-lasting marriages. “[In an arranged marriage,] you promise in front of the whole community that you are with that person,” he says. “Slowly you learn how to live life with a stranger who becomes your life partner.”

In India, arranged marriages also tend to place emphasis on practical qualities like financial situation and in some cases, caste, or social rank. “In our culture if you [love] the person who is not in your caste, they will not let you marry them,” says Kumar.

Coontz says that this idea of marrying within your bounds is not unique to arranged marriages. “In the real world it’s always a little messy, you know?” she says. “People who think they’re marrying for love very often have a love checklist that’s based on class and racial considerations as well.”

What role does love play?

According to Coontz, for thousands of years, most people thought love was nice if it blossomed after marriage, but was a silly ideal to base a union on. “In traditional Indian societies, falling in love before marriage was considered an antisocial act,” she says. “It was considered a parental disobedience in Western European societies and a very foolish reason to get married.”

For Chudamani, love is not a necessity for a marriage. “My mom says there is no such thing as romantic love. I don’t know how I feel about that, so if it happens, it happens... But I guess there has to be some spark or chemistry,” she says.

However, it is important to note that arranged marriages are not necessarily devoid of love. “My parents do love each other even though it was an arranged marriage,” Mishra says. “It’s still possible to love that person even though you don’t know them yet. It’s just going to be strange because your parents hooked you up.”

Merits of a traditional system Will the children of immigrants and those who immigrate to America as kids continue the practice of arranged marriage? The answer is a resounding maybe.

Chudamani, Mishra, and Kumar agree that the biggest downside of an arranged

Aditi Shetty

Shivani Mattikalli

There are many examples of arranged marriage gone wrong, but not nearly as many as one might think. Chudamani, who says that most of her extended family has had arranged marriages, can only think of one such case, a match in which her aunt’s husband became abusive. Freshman Soumith Gadila recalls the arranged marriage of his uncle, which went fine until the families of the bride and groom began to clash.

Mishra has an aunt who married at 18, but soon felt restless with her new husband.

“She wanted to do something, not just be a housewife,” he says. “But because she got married to someone who lived in a village… they didn’t allow her to get a job. She ran away and she lived in a hotel for a long time.”

In her case, the arranged marriage felt like a burden. “[She] didn’t really regard her husband as a husband. It was just like, ‘He’s someone that I’m stuck with,’” says Mishra.

Chudamani, Gadila, and Mishra agree that the vast majority of arranged marriages they see are successful. Coontz, the marriage historian, says that while arranged marriages can be much more stable than love marriages, they are not all necessarily happy.

“Often when you have a culture that accepts arranged marriages or enforces arranged marriages, they may be stable but people may not be happy,” she says. “On the other hand… in cultures where the young people accept this idea it can be a very satisfying relationship.”

Coontz adds that around the time love marriages came into preeminence in the West,

“It’s still possible to love that person even though you don’t know them yet.”

marriage became less common and divorce rates skyrocketed. “[Love marriage] certainly is destabilizing in that way,” she says.

For Jamal, arranged marriage was convenient and worked out well for her, but that does not mean it is the best way to find a partner. “I don’t think there is such [a] thing as love marriage being better or arranged marriage being better. It all comes down to who your life partner is and what he has to offer and how he treats you,” she says. “I think it’s all about your luck.”

Jamal has believed in the potential of arranged marriages from the start and regrets nothing. “I am very, very happy with my marriage,” she says. “I honestly think it’s [the] best thing that has happened to me. I can’t thank my parents enough for picking him out for me.”

Maris Medina & Emma Soler

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silverchips

March 10, 2016

A modern perspective on traditional South Asian arranged marriage

y grandfather, Jayakar, was orphaned at age eight. He was left with nearly nothing—he was just a poor boy living in a village in south India. Fortunately, his grandmother was still alive and she raised him. A maternal uncle paid for his clothes and schooling.

When my grandfather was a teenager, it became clear that he was a talented student, and his uncle cut him a deal. His uncle’s eldest daughter was only a couple of years younger than Jayakar, so they came to an agreement: if Jayakar married this girl, his uncle would pay for him to go to medical school. It was a dream come true.

Jayakar married his first cousin several years later, and they built a happy life together. Their match was arranged when they were teenagers, but they will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary next May. My grandparents and most of my aunts and uncles had arranged marriages back in India. Such matches are common there. According to ABC News, up to 90 percent of marriages in India are arranged, compared to around 60 percent worldwide. As my family gradually immigrated to America, some of my relatives born here got arranged marriages too. Others did not.

I have grown up surrounded by two cultures: one which believes strongly in the power of love to determine life partners, and one which emphasizes parental guidance and practicality above all. In the end, I will be free to choose a spouse, if and when I want one, but this is not true for all young South Asian-Americans.

Like religion, language, and cuisine, arranged marriage is an important aspect of heritage that South Asian immigrant families bring to their new communities in the United States. However, some find that American cultural values can mix in, creating complex belief systems for first- and second-generation teenagers, myself included.

An age-old practice An arranged marriage is one which is set up by the families of the couple, in which the bride and groom usually have very little influence.

The practice has roots in the earliest human unions, according to marriage historian and author Stephanie Coontz. In the past it was used by families to make business contacts or to maneuver for a higher standing in society. “For thousands of years, marriage was about making these connections between in-laws, between the parental systems, rather than the interests of the children involved,” Coontz says.

However, this definition may slowly be changing. Junior Maya Chudamani’s parents were living in America when their marriage was arranged. They received a list of potential candidates, pre-approved by their parents, and were allowed to call and meet possible matches before settling on one. The lists contained basic biographical information such as education, career goals, and siblings. “My mom already knew that all the guys on the list would be proper matches,” Chudamani says.

“She called and talked to a few of them and ended up meeting them.

My dad was the fifth.”

According to Coontz, arranged marriage patterns are common in some immigrant groups, but often slowly disappear, like they have in my family, as post-immigration generations are born and raised in America. “Certain immigrant populations bring that value system with them. It continues for a couple generations and tends to die out,” she says.

On the other hand, Coontz says that arranged marriages can take different forms in modern immigrant communities. She mentions young Indians she knows who have turned to their parents for help in finding a partner, but still have the last say. “It’s not arranged in the old-fashioned sense [where] it was the parents who had the veto power,” she says.

Evolving conceptions of marriage Fizza Jamal graduated from Blair in 2015 and entered into an arranged marriage a few months later. Her case illustrates just how much the practice has changed in the course of a few generations. “It’s not like arranged marriage is only my parents’ choice,” says Jamal. “I have a say in it too.”

However, Jamal says that love marriages—those which are not arranged—are increasing in popularity in her home country of Pakistan. “As time is progressing arranged marriages aren’t really a big deal or big concern. Even in my culture people have expanded their minds … A lot of love marriages are taking place without it being an issue,” she says.

According to Coontz, the practice of arranged marriage largely died out in Western

“[Arranged marriage is] basically like Tinder or speed dating… [but] there are no bad guys.”

marriage would be committing before properly knowing one’s partner.

“You don’t know the person at all,” says Mishra, whose parents only met a couple of times before getting married. “It’s like me trusting a stranger with my money. If I give them money to just hold [onto it] for me, [I] don’t know for certain that they can do that.”

Kumar’s parents knew each other just four months before tying the knot. His hard and fast rule is he must know the girl for “at least a year.”

Chudamani agrees that she needs at least a year of knowing a potential partner before marriage, but she still sees many merits in the other aspects of arranged marriage.

“If I couldn’t find someone by 25, I would consider it, because my parents know me as well as I do,” she says. “My parents do all the hard work of figuring out if they’re financially stable or whatever. It’s basically like Tinder or speed dating… [but] there are no bad guys.”

Jamal cites the convenience of the practice as a major benefit. “I don’t have to go [through] the hardship and heartbreaks of finding ‘love,’” she says.

Chudamani reflects Jamal’s precautious sentiment, saying that this type of match helps the children. “[In an arranged marriage], the parents are trying to help their kids find someone before [the kids] have to do it themselves and go through all the problems with heartbreak and finding the wrong person,” she says.

What keeps a marriage afloat

cultures around the late 18th century, due partially to social revolution and the ideas of the Enlightenment. This shift primarily affected Europe and the US, but other cultures have begun to experience it as well.

Freshman Saket Mishra, whose family members have almost all had arranged marriages in India, says that Western influence is becoming increasingly important there too. “A lot of Indians are going into love marriage now,” he says. “I think as Western civilization is influencing the Eastern hemisphere, they’re starting to learn from it.”

Cultures in limbo

From a cultural perspective, arranged marriage fits with more traditional societies where family and collective belonging are highly valued. Junior Abhishikt Kumar, whose parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles have had arranged marriages, believes that a familial mindset prepares people for long-lasting marriages. “[In an arranged marriage,] you promise in front of the whole community that you are with that person,” he says. “Slowly you learn how to live life with a stranger who becomes your life partner.”

In India, arranged marriages also tend to place emphasis on practical qualities like financial situation and in some cases, caste, or social rank. “In our culture if you [love] the person who is not in your caste, they will not let you marry them,” says Kumar.

Coontz says that this idea of marrying within your bounds is not unique to arranged marriages. “In the real world it’s always a little messy, you know?” she says. “People who think they’re marrying for love very often have a love checklist that’s based on class and racial considerations as well.”

What role does love play?

According to Coontz, for thousands of years, most people thought love was nice if it blossomed after marriage, but was a silly ideal to base a union on. “In traditional Indian societies, falling in love before marriage was considered an antisocial act,” she says. “It was considered a parental disobedience in Western European societies and a very foolish reason to get married.”

For Chudamani, love is not a necessity for a marriage. “My mom says there is no such thing as romantic love. I don’t know how I feel about that, so if it happens, it happens... But I guess there has to be some spark or chemistry,” she says.

However, it is important to note that arranged marriages are not necessarily devoid of love. “My parents do love each other even though it was an arranged marriage,” Mishra says. “It’s still possible to love that person even though you don’t know them yet. It’s just going to be strange because your parents hooked you up.”

Merits of a traditional system Will the children of immigrants and those who immigrate to America as kids continue the practice of arranged marriage? The answer is a resounding maybe.

Chudamani, Mishra, and Kumar agree that the biggest downside of an arranged

Aditi Shetty

Shivani Mattikalli

There are many examples of arranged marriage gone wrong, but not nearly as many as one might think. Chudamani, who says that most of her extended family has had arranged marriages, can only think of one such case, a match in which her aunt’s husband became abusive. Freshman Soumith Gadila recalls the arranged marriage of his uncle, which went fine until the families of the bride and groom began to clash.

Mishra has an aunt who married at 18, but soon felt restless with her new husband.

“She wanted to do something, not just be a housewife,” he says. “But because she got married to someone who lived in a village… they didn’t allow her to get a job. She ran away and she lived in a hotel for a long time.”

In her case, the arranged marriage felt like a burden. “[She] didn’t really regard her husband as a husband. It was just like, ‘He’s someone that I’m stuck with,’” says Mishra.

Chudamani, Gadila, and Mishra agree that the vast majority of arranged marriages they see are successful. Coontz, the marriage historian, says that while arranged marriages can be much more stable than love marriages, they are not all necessarily happy.

“Often when you have a culture that accepts arranged marriages or enforces arranged marriages, they may be stable but people may not be happy,” she says. “On the other hand… in cultures where the young people accept this idea it can be a very satisfying relationship.”

Coontz adds that around the time love marriages came into preeminence in the West,

“It’s still possible to love that person even though you don’t know them yet.”

marriage became less common and divorce rates skyrocketed. “[Love marriage] certainly is destabilizing in that way,” she says.

For Jamal, arranged marriage was convenient and worked out well for her, but that does not mean it is the best way to find a partner. “I don’t think there is such [a] thing as love marriage being better or arranged marriage being better. It all comes down to who your life partner is and what he has to offer and how he treats you,” she says. “I think it’s all about your luck.”

Jamal has believed in the potential of arranged marriages from the start and regrets nothing. “I am very, very happy with my marriage,” she says. “I honestly think it’s [the] best thing that has happened to me. I can’t thank my parents enough for picking him out for me.”

Maris Medina & Emma Soler

C6 Features

silverchips

March 10, 2016

Teaching lessons that extend beyond the curriculum

Formally or casually, teachers mentor students throughout high school

By Julian Bregstone and Joshua Fernandes Senior Ange Ngatchou bursts through the door of social studies teacher Maima Barclay’s classroom. “Hi, Mommy!” she exclaims, rushing over to hug Barclay. “What has it been, four days?” asks Barclay.

Even though the two are not actually family, and first met during Ngatchou’s sophomore year, they have become extremely close.

Ngatchou was drawn to Barclay’s honest, fun personality, and Barclay felt compelled to help Ngatchou focus on school and overcome the problems that she was facing. Now, they visit at least every week.

Like many teachers, Barclay volunteers her time and effort into helping her students succeed in high school. Some teachers choose to mentor students formally, while others choose a more informal style. Both ways, students reap the benefits of a positive teacher relationship, improving their academic and personal spheres.

reading teacher Theresa Hiller, who all had experience mentoring students informally, worked together to organize and improve their various styles.

Smith recalls seeing mentoring pairs fail when teachers were assigned to students. To avoid these artificial relationships, Triumph has students choose a mentor rather than assigning one to a student. “What we decided to do was allow the students to find an adult in the building that they like,” Smith explains.

“Those relationships work a lot better because there’s already that bond, that affectionate bond that’s present.”

Sophomore Jason Chavez joined Triumph in his freshman year, and he believes his successful mentor relationship with Smith comes from its natural formation. “When I first met him, I was like, ‘He seems like a cool guy

actually something and that I could become someone with his help.”

After attending the meetings and talking to his mentor, Chavez decided he wanted to go to Thomas Edison for part of the day in order to pursue his interest of computer engineering and network operations. He says that Smith played a role in motivating him to set his own goal. “Mr. Smith supported me in that and he’s happy that I found out what I want to do,” Chavez states.

One-on-one connections Unlike the teachers behind Triumph and Teen Choice Leadership Club, English teacher Adam Clay chooses to mentor outside a formal program. He instead helps his students and keeps up his relationships with former

counselor began to develop. A decade later they still keep in touch to check in on how they are doing.

Ramaswamy’s interactions with her counselor and teacher are now focused on what she is up to. “I think they want to make sure that I become successful because we had a real strong connection and they actually care about me,” she says.

While it is difficult for them to meet in person, Ramaswamy and Bain make a point of catching up around their birthdays. “We have the same birthday so sometimes around that year we go and eat ice cream together,” Ramaswamy says.

One memory from fourth grade sticks out in Ramaswamy’s memory as particularly touching. “I remember one time where I got really sick and then when I came back to school the whole classroom was filled with cards for me, like, ‘get better soon,’” she recalls. “I was really touched that my teachers had put that together.”

Community in the classroom

Learning from mentoring

In addition to informally mentoring students like Ngatchou, Barclay decided to begin her own mentoring group, Teen Choice Leadership Club, this past October. Having informally mentored students since she started working at Blair more than a decade ago, Barclay decided to organize her mentoring this year.

She aims to help female students overcome in-school and out-of-school problems, such as arguments with family and conflicts

Mentoring programs often have ambitious goals spanning many areas of a student’s life, but Hiller says that even if academic goals are not met, she will be happy if her students can find a lasting trust and community through the Triumph program. “You know how it takes a village to raise a child?” she says. “A big part of it is to build a village for these students because you can’t really do that

“If I hadn’t met Ms. Barclay, I’d probably be suspended or expelled. She gets my life straight.”

— Ange

GRIFFIN REILLY

PATH TO SUCCESS English teacher David Goldberg helps members of the Triumph program during lunchtime meetings in social studies teacher Kenneth Smith’s room.

Ngatchou

“It’s so important that every student, every student, feels that they have adults in the building that they can go to and that they trust.”

—

between students. Often, she will talk to students, their families, and their counselors individually about these issues, but she also leads group meetings where these students can talk together about current events. “Every Wednesday lunchtime we meet here. We have discussions about issues that may be relevant to you or your age group,” Barclay says.

Ngatchou believes that these meetings really help her and other young women learn about the world and see from other perspectives. “The more we talk about in these meetings, we realize that there’s a lot of things we didn’t know and by talking together, we improve together,” Ngatchou explains.

Barclay says her youthful attitude allows her to connect with students more easily.

“I am a child at heart. I stayed a teenager,” Barclay explains. “I think I understand the minds of young people because for me, those were my most difficult times growing up.”

Senior Chancelle Yatti is another student who has been mentored by Barclay after having her as a teacher. Yatti met Barclay through the High School Plus after-school program, and the pair has been close ever since. “I’m a senior. I’m trying to graduate. I will ask her what do you do to get a job, what do you do to get a scholarship, she will go through it and help me out,” Yatti says.

Above all, Yatti appreciates Barclay for her openness. Yatti believes her relationship with Barclay grew from Barclay’s acceptance. “It doesn’t matter who you are, or what color you are, she will just take you as a sister,” Yatti explains, “and give you good advice because she was already there and doesn’t want you to make the same mistakes.”

Triumphing over the odds One of Blair’s formal mentoring groups is the Triumph program. The Triumph mentoring program came together two years ago when social studies teacher Kenneth Smith, English teacher David Goldberg and

GRIFFIN REILLY

TLC IN TCLC Social studies teacher Maima Barclay organizes meetings every Wednesday during lunch for her new mentoring program, Teen Choice Leadership Club. and I want him [as a mentor],’” says Chavez.

The program’s main focus is helping students develop trust and creating a community in school that they can be a part of.

“On paper, we want to increase eligibility.

We have them set goals every quarter and check-in on them to maintain and improve their grades,” Hiller says. “It’s so important that every student, every student, feels that they have adults in the building that they can go to and that they trust.”

Another facet of Triumph is group meetings where all the students come together with Smith, Goldberg, and Hiller. They discuss current events, group rules, and even their own personal experiences. “We generally have some kind of topic that is interesting and relevant and current and they tend to have lots to say because you don’t typically have time to talk about things that are on your mind in most of your classes,” Hiller explains.

What Chavez finds the most rewarding from Triumph, however, is the motivation and help he receives from Smith and his other mentors. “He cares about me a lot,” Chavez explains. “I need to make him proud that I am

students as much as he can. “The best part of the job is keeping those connections going,” Clay explains.

Junior Karla Ramirez had Clay for freshman English, and he helped her raise her grades and motivated her to do well in school.

“He pushed me to the point where I was putting my all into my work,” Ramirez says, “so he motivated me a lot to get good grades and meet my fullest potential.”

This year, Clay has helped Ramirez work toward her goal of interning at a hospital over the upcoming summer. “He actually pointed me to a website and I started looking for summer internships online,” she explains.

Even though Clay often helps students like Ramirez, he does not like to think of himself as a mentor, instead reserving that for organized and formalized programs. “I hesitate to use that word. Other teachers have full-blown programs,” Clay says. “I don’t want to take any credit for what they’ve done.”

In fourth grade, Sangita Ramaswamy was in the middle of chemotherapy to treat her leukemia. Her relationship with her teacher, Jessica Bain, and her elementary school

Theresa Hiller

yourself. Those who are most in need of a village are least likely to build their own.”

According to Chavez, Hiller and Smith built a community around him to achieve their common goal. During freshman year, all of his friends attended Northwood, and he was not close to anyone at Blair. He planned on transferring to Northwood to meet up with his friends, but decided to stay here after Smith discussed the issue with him.

“I’m glad I stayed here,” Chavez says. “It’s a better school… being here just gives me a better vibe, and with them here, it makes me want to stay even more.” The combination of Chavez’s motivation and the support he received from Triumph helped put him on the right track.

For Ramaswamy, there was a two-way learning relationship between her and her teacher. It was a new experience for Bain but together they worked through a difficult period and have stayed in touch ever since. “I think it’s important that we taught each other because they taught me in the classroom and I taught them how to cope with a student with disabilities.”

Barclay also agrees that while grades and academic success are always important, she puts much more value on decision-making and community-building. She believes that if she can help a student focus their life and grades, everything else will come together later. “It’s not just about making sure these students pass and do well in school, it’s also trying to meet the needs of human beings, of children who may not have these types of opportunities at home where there isn’t an adult who may actually give a better world view of decisions they are making now,” she explains.

Ngatchou has experienced Barclay’s assistance first-hand and agrees that Barclay’s help has really helped her decision-making.

“If I hadn’t met Ms. Barclay, I’d probably be suspended or expelled,” Ngatchou says. “She gets my life straight, to be honest.”

March 10, 2016

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silverchips

March 10, 2016

Food for thought: A trip to school lunch central Behind the scenes at MCPS’ primary food processing facility

By Alexandra Marquez and Grady Jakobsberg In first person “School lunch is nasty,” sophomore Alia Rice told us, and this is the general consensus about Blair’s cafeteria food. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Student Activity Center (SAC), hundreds of students pick at the unappealing food on their tray. For years, students have complained about the food quality, quantity, and variety but few know about the source and production of what they eat every day. Silver Chips had the opportunity to explore the MCPS food processing facility in Gaithersburg firsthand and witness the production of meals for the whole MCPS student body.

When we arrived, we were met by Marla Caplon, Director of Food and Nutrition Services, Thomas Davey, Central Processing Facility Warehouse Specialist, and Mary Ann Gabriel, Food Services Supervisor. After sitting with them for a few minutes to discuss food sources, regulations, and processes, we were given a sample of new meals coming soon to schools across the county. Then, we were permitted a tour of the facilities.

24,000 meals per day In an interview across a long conference table, Caplon told us about the facility and its role in food production for the county.

She informed us that the year-old facility is where most meals for MCPS are cooked,

measured, and some meals are packaged.

An industrial-sized can opener and a giant vat for rinsing produce are only two of the numerous machines that are used in preparation of ingredients. At the time of our tour, a number of workers equipped with hair nets and gloves were bent over an “I Love Lucy”-style assembly line preparing grilled cheese and french fries.

In the next room, called the “Cook and Chill” room, food like soup or mac and cheese is cooked in giant pots, bagged in gallon bags, and put into a chiller until it is ready to be moved into the warehouse for shipping. Chilling the food allows it to stay fresh through the shipping process. We watched the swirling of the taco meat in the pot as it was mixed by flipper-like beaters. Further down the line, a worker would shoot meat into a bag while the other would use a machine to seal it and put it into the cold, tumbling water of the chiller.

We visited other sections of the facility, including another production room and dishwashing room, but our final stop was at the warehouse. The rows of food looked like a Home Depot, but giant stacks of juice bottles and bags of chips replaced construction supplies. Frankly, the place looked very industrial. However it became clearer as the tour progressed that, contrary to what we had thought, keeping the food fresh is what the warehouse is all about. “Everything is flowing in and then back out, so that there is a logical path for efficiency,” Davey told us.

Gabriel and Caplon emphasized that although they have to focus on meeting national nutritional standards, the flavor and appeal of the food is of the utmost importance. Caplon described a recent incident where she and Gabriel were alarmed by reports of dry taco shells in enchilada meals at schools. Gabriel worked hard to fix the problem and ensured that once the meals were reheated in school kitchens, the taco shells would stay tasty. “When you come through the cafeteria, you don’t want to see a dried out enchilada,” Caplon recounted. “So, Ms. Gabriel has worked on creating a product that, with sauce over the top, will keep that product moist.”

Freshness is of great concern to employees at the food processing facility as well. To prevent a delay in the delivery of dairy products and bread, they are shipped directly to schools, instead of being processed through the central facility first.

When we were exploring the warehouse, Davey explained to us that all produce received in the course of one day is sent out to schools the next day. He and other employees hope that this system prevents bruised and rotten bananas, apples, pears, and perishable goods from ending up in the hands of students.

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

A WEEKDAY BUFFET The facility creates new recipes (above) and stores food for shipping to schools (below).

Lost in translation

A taste of the future

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

WHAT’S COOKING? Employees of MCPS’s Department of Food and Nutrition work to assemble elementary school lunches of grilled cheese and fries into sealed plastic containers. packaged, and shipped out. Essentially, all cafeteria-produced breakfast and lunch food, with the exception of bread and milk, comes through this new, hidden-away facility in the middle of rural Gaithersburg.

The food is sourced from a variety of places due to the bidding process that is used by the Department of Food and Nutrition to choose meal products. When the county is looking for a new food product, they release the specifications of what they are looking for. Then, Caplon and other administrators study the applications of different products and choose one that best fits their needs.

Once at the facility, the food is packaged for shipping to the 203 schools in the county. Some food, such as the taco meat, sauces, salad dressings, and soups are produced in the building. Whatever it is, most of the products begin in the ingredient control room. Here, ingredients are weighed and

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/CAFETERIA

Produce comes in one day and is sent out to schools the next.

Eight to 10 trucks run loads of food from the warehouse to schools across the county.

The food is reheated and served in the cafeteria lines that the students of Blair are so familiar with.

Switching it up Food variety is just as important to those who make the food as it is to those who eat it. Caplon expressed multiple times how hard Gabriel, Food Services Supervisor, works to develop recipes that are appetizing to students and fit the U.S. Department of Agriculture school lunch requirements.

When we sat down with the three officials, Caplon described the recent development of a new recipe that Gabriel tried and eventually perfected. “Ms. Gabriel has just recently worked on an enchilada, and before an item actually goes into a school cafeteria, it’s tried among students, it’s tried over and over again here, but [it also has to] meet those nutritional guidelines,” she told us. The nutritional guidelines she refers to include whole grain requirements, sodium limits, and minimum meat or meat alternate specifications.

As part of our unique experience, a taste test of the food was arranged. We were able to try a number of new recipes that Gabriel and other employees were in the process of testing out. These included a creamy spinach dip, spicy buffalo cheese crunchers, and a beef enchilada. The spread prepared for us was impressive; everything was laid out elegantly for us to fill our plates.

As we expected, the food was significantly better than what we had eaten from Blair’s lunch line. The spinach dip was warm and comforting; a complementary combination of cottage cheese and spinach made it the tastiest option we had. The buffalo cheese crunchers were similar to breaded mozzarella sticks but with buffalo sauce down the middle. The cheesy taste was masked by the surprisingly spicy habanero flavored sauce, but overall the crunchers made for a yummy snack. Finally, offering a sizable amount of beef wrapped in a corn tortilla smothered in taco sauce and melted cheese, the enchilada was piping hot and is a good sized portion for elementary school students who will be receiving the meal.

The meal was delicious, but it did not seem to be truly representative of the lunch food at school. Most students grudgingly accept the meals served, while others pile into the a la carte or self-serve line for a couple cartons of fries. By the end of our taste test, we were just wondering one thing: where does the quality go? Something happens that makes the delicious food from the facility lose its appeal in its trip to the cafeteria.

Despite the immense thought and energy that goes into creating appetizing meals for students, there seems to be a disconnect between the efforts of these employees and the perceptions of students. Of course, the food probably seemed more appetizing to us straight out of the oven as opposed to reheated in Blair’s kitchen, but the quality of the ingredients and recipes should not be entirely lost in the 24 hour chill, transport, and reheat process.

The employees generally believe that the food they produce is hearty and tasty, however most students feel differently. “Some of the things are okay, but other things are very questionable,” says sophomore Rose Marsh.

“Most of the food they give us is cold… In all, it’s not good,” adds sophomore Greyson Gilmer-Hack.

Caplon, Gabriel, and Davey made it clear to us that they appreciate and genuinely listen to feedback from students and educators.

It seemed to us like most menu accommodations for vegetarians, vegans, and gluten free students sprouted from contact between students and food services. If students want to change their daily meals or discuss different school food options, they just have to reach out to the county’s food services division and show interest in working together.

Other schools have gained gluten free and vegetarian options by requesting meal varieties, and Blair students can do the same.

If you have any questions or concerns about the health and quality of school lunches, please email Lisa_F_Jenkins@mcpsmd.org

soapbox What do you think of Blair’s school lunch?

“I think there should be more choices for vegan students besides basic things like PB&J sandwiches or fries. Food like tofu should be served so students won’t have to go out of their way to make their own lunches everyday.”

- Anisah Mansaray, junior “I think the options at school lunch are ok but could have a little improvement like better snacks and fresher food.”

- Aisha Gueye, freshman

Entertainment D2

silverchips

March 10, 2016

Binge-worthy reads: Literary works by television personalities

Chips reviews celebrity authors from Aziz Ansari to Shonda Rhimes

By Aditi Shetty At this point in the quarter, the assignments are piling up, tests are fast approaching, and deadlines are looming. Many students looking for a momentary escape turn to the lure of Netflix and Hulu for some great shows. However, if you need to get away from the relentless glare of your computer screen, then you are in luck, for many of your favorite TV personalities have written witty, clever books to brighten your day with a bit of humor. To help make reading feel like a fun hobby instead of a burden, Silver Chips reviewed some of these quick books by TV’s hottest stars.

Yes Please (2014) by Amy Poehler Where you have seen her: “Saturday Night Live” and “Parks and Recreation” The book is a collection of essays, largely unrelated, ranging in topic from body image to childbirth to waitressing. My favorite part is the ample life advice, some in the essays and some in the form of colorful, two-page block quotes which separate the different pieces. (Personal favorite: “Figure out what you want. Say it loud. Then shut up.”)

The essays are split up into three sections, which are themselves fantastic life lessons: “Say Whatever You Want,” “Do Whatever You Like,” and “Be Whoever You Are.” The book was an easy, fun read, but it did get slow at times–especially when Poehler began listing names of people she worked with and loved, at the expense of the excitement of the story.

This book feels like you can read it as an angtsy teenager, lost young adult, or rapidly maturing 20-something and still find some humor or inspiration to take away.

I give Yes Please an 7/10: it was peculiar and downright slow on occasion, but it mostly felt real, raw, and straight from the heart.

Choose Your Own Autobiography (2014) by Neil Patrick Harris Where you have seen him: “How I Met Your Mother” This book is formatted like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book, where the reader takes on the role of Harris and makes life decisions for him. The first time I read it I made carefully calculated choices and got all the way to the happy ending: Harris’s current life.

The next time, I died in an unfortunate magic trick involving venomous snakes and sulfuric acid.

Parts of the book were funny, interesting, and more-or-less true to the author’s real life experiences.

Unfortunately, I found that some of the jokes in the book fell short because delivery is complicated when the lines are not spoken. Some of the clearly made-up parts intended to be funny but were so strange that they turned me off (I am not sure why Harris chose to describe his sulfuric acid death in such detail), and other parts were so full of 90’s references that I was left confused instead of entertained.

I would give this book a 6/10 for trying a little too hard to be funny and only succeeding in some places.

Year of Yes (2015) by Shonda Rhimes Where you have seen her: Creator, executive producer, and head writer of “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy” This book has been massively popular, and for good reason. It is a great mix of humor, advice, and memoir, but it has one common theme: it describes Rhimes’s journey through a year of saying ‘yes’ to all opportunities that came her way and how that transformed her life. Although some of the topics in the book apply better to an older crowd (she talks a lot about balancing work and a family, for instance), the big lesson of taking advantage of opportunities that come your way is important for teenagers and young adults, too.

The book is extremely well-written, as can be expected from the writer of four award-winning TV shows. It had a lot of personality and was highly entertaining, if not totally applicable to high schoolers. I would give it an 8/10.

CROWN ARCHETYPE

SIMON & SCHUSTER

HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS

PENGUIN PUBLISHING GROUP

READ ALL ABOUT IT Silver Chips offers an inside look at some of the hottest reads this season from various TV celebrity authors including Choose Your Own Autobiography, A Year of Yes, Yes Please, and Modern Romance.

Modern Romance (2015) by Aziz Ansari Where you have seen him: “Master of None” and “Parks and Recreation” Modern Romance is not your run-of-the-mill cheesy memoir.

With sociologist Eric Klinenburg, actor and comedian Aziz Ansari actually did a sociological investigation on the state of modern relationships across the world (because a girl ignored a few of his texts and he started to wonder how technology impacts our relationships!). He compiled the results in this part comedic skit, part touching memoir, part research report.

Ansari traveled around the world to examine the role technology plays in romantic relationships. (For Chips’ take on this topic, see B3). He relates anecdotes from (and sometimes screenshots from the phones of) people from Brazil to Japan.

If you are a fan of Ansari’s Netflix series, Master of None, then this book is sure to please. Some of the personal anecdotes Ansari includes sound a lot like scenes and plot lines from the show. The book is very thoughtful but not solely focused on Ansari’s own experiences. If sociology and cultural trends are interesting to you and you like your information delivered with some zesty humor, Modern Romance is definitely the book for you. Overall, I’d give it a 9/10.

Get sock-ed into spring with these foot fashion do’s and don’ts

By Teague Sauter Humor It has been a long cold winter, which means one very important foot accessory has not gotten its time in the sun. That’s right: socks. For the last several months they have been covered by fuzzy boots and long jeans. But fear not, sock lovers, as spring is finally upon us and it is once again time to flex your sock game.

Now, you may have been able to sneak by with mediocre sock game for the last several months but the hiatus is over and it’s time to get back on the ball. Unless you plan on wearing long pants from now until the end of the school year, chances are you will have to showcase your socks at least once. On the off-chance that you’ve forgotten the rules of the sock game among the 30 inches of snow and single-degree mornings, fear not as I will be happy to refresh your memory.

Keep in mind that you only have to worry about your socks if it’s warm enough to wear shorts; otherwise, you can scrape by with any old pair of non-matching, Value Village socks.

If you make the bold choice to bare your ankles for the world to see, the first question you must ask yourself is whether you’d like to rock some low, medium, or high socks. In most cases, your average highschooler will be able to get by on a regular pair of lowcut socks and a fresh pair of shoes.

However, if you want to make more of a statement, midcalfs are likely your best bet.

Midcalfs get out there and say, “Hey world, I play sports, but I’m chill at the same time.”

Whether you actually play a sport is irrelevant; the point is people will think you do and automatically think better of you.

High socks include anything that extends past midcalfs and cuts off at or before the knee. These should generally be reserved for special occasions and are more acceptable when actually playing sports. First of all, these will lead to hot and sweaty feet, which can generate a whole new category of issues.

being called out for wearing plain socks is one of the worst things an individual can experience in high school. Even one day of plain-sock-wearing can lead to you being labeled as a boring-sock-wearer, likely one of the top 10 worst insults a teenager can receive. Honestly, if you’ve fallen into the rut

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

SICK SOCKS Blair students get ready for warmer weather by rolling up their pants and showing off their unique and fashionable socks.

Also people may begin to question why you are shielding your legs from public view. I would be one of them. What are you hiding?

The next question that comes to mind is what color should you go with? Now, it goes without saying that your socks need something to separate them from just being a boring solid color. The embarrassment of

of being a boring-sock-wearer, you might as well drop out because there’s no coming back from that.

How you decide to spice it up is up to you. It can be simple or complicated, as long as something gives your socks even a slight edge. For many “athletes,” a Nike symbol on their white midcalfs makes their socks

good to go. Nothing beats a pair of white Nike midcalfs — nothing. They go with pretty much any pair of shoes and are both cheap and easy to buy.

However, the one exception is Sperrys.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT wear socks with Sperrys. They say every tool has a purpose, but the world forgot about one. There is no use for a tool who wears socks with Sperrys, none.

Since that has been cleared up, we can move on to varieties of colored socks. Black socks are acceptable, just as long as you don’t wear them too often: once or twice a week at most. Black Nike midcalfs are good for achieving that early 90s Fab Five look.

But, wear them too often and people may begin to suspect that they are the only socks in your repertoire.

Graphic socks are another item that can really elevate your wardrobe. They can be expensive, but they will definitely separate you from the pack. These special socks can range anywhere from Nike Elites to socks with Homer Simpson eating a donut. These socks are special and should be saved for when you really, really want to flex.

If your game has been lacking freshness for a few days, pull out those Patrick Star socks in the back of your drawer that you’ve been saving for a rainy day. However, like black midcalfs, beware of wearing them too often lest you be labeled a “try hard” — another one of the ten worst insults a teenager can receive.

So, there you have it: the rules of the game all laid out, folded up, and ready for your sock drawer.

Now, go out there and have the best spring of your life.

D3 Entertainment

silverchips

March 10, 2016

Beyond the contract: Kesha’s abuse continues

Blazers of Note

Abuse provides valid grounds for contract termination

By Sarah Hutter An opinion

Rourke Smith JUNIOR

BEN DOGGETT

For most high schoolers, their greatest accomplishment is usually something like volunteering at an organization, meeting Beyoncé, or getting accepted into a prestigious college. While all of these are impressive, junior Rourke Smith can say that he saved someone’s life.

Last summer, Smith went with a couple of his buddies to the beach and arrived late in the afternoon. While they were in the middle of swimming, the lifeguards left.

Smith and his friends got pulled out by a riptide and could not stand in the water anymore. One of his friends could not swim well and started to shout for help.

Training that Smith received in seventh grade from his Boy Scout lifesaving merit badge kicked in, as he kept his friend afloat. “It was like five or 10 minutes before someone on the beach... got the lifeguards who pulled us [to] shore,” says Smith.

The Boy Scouts of America awarded Smith with the Honor Medal for his actions. The Honor Medal is a prestigious medal awarded to young scouts who have demonstrated heroism and skill in saving or attempting to save someone’s life while risking their own.

By Brianna Forté

Imagine that a young, aspiring artist suffers sexual, physical, verbal, and emotional abuse for years at the hands of a man 14 years her senior. Terrible, right? Now imagine that the same young woman is forced to work with this man every day if she wants to continue her career.

Stuck in this situation is Kesha Sebert (better known as Ke$ha or Kesha), the pop star who gained popularity in 2009 from hit songs such as “Tik Tok” and “Your Love is My Drug.” Kesha signed a contract with producer Dr. Luke (whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald) in 2005, which prohibits her from recording with any label other than Dr. Luke’s, Kemosabe Records, until she records six albums for the label. Two of these albums, “Animal” and “Warrior”, have already been finished and released. According to Rolling Stone, Kesha has claimed that Dr. Luke began making sexual advances toward her when she was only 18, and has since drugged her, sexually assaulted her, and subjected her to verbal and physical abuse.

In February, Kesha asked a New York judge to release her from her contract, allowing her to make music outside of her contract with Kemosabe Records and its owner, Sony Music, without the requirement to work with her abuser. According to Vanity Fair, Kesha’s legal team argued that “Kesha’s career would face ‘irreparable harm’ if she could not record independently,” especially since the careers of pop stars like Kesha are usually short-lived.

Some might argue that Kesha has a responsibility to uphold the contract she signed in 2005, but that is not the case here.

Dr. Luke completely took advantage of a woman who not only placed her trust in him, but is contractually obligated to work with him on four more albums, or not produce music at all. Dr. Luke can argue that Kesha is trying to violate the terms of her

ANGEL WEN

contract, but that is of little consequence considering how much he violated her.

On Feb. 19, Justice Shirley Kornreich denied Kesha’s appeal to be released from her contract, forcing Kesha to choose between professional success and personal safety.

Kesha cannot currently record music with any other producer or independently unless she fulfills the terms of her contract, and it is cruel and unacceptable to expect her to continue working with her abuser.

Dr. Luke is depriving Kesha of her livelihood and her happiness by keeping her legally confined. Kesha is an artist, someone whose passion it is to make music, and her abuser should not be allowed to stand between her and her passion. According to Entertainment Weekly, Kesha said she’s “dying to put out music,” adding, “I’m like dying, literally.”

Even though the judge ruled against Kesha in court, Kesha should be able to legally terminate her contract. According to Lexology.com, an online collection of legal articles, grounds for terminating contracts include a breach of an essential term (for example, someone is not paid the amount that a contract stipulated), or a breach of a

non-essential term, if it is serious enough.

According to the legal site, a non-essential breach would have to be a “breach which ‘substantially deprives the innocent party of the benefit of the contract.’” Judge Kornreich should have recognized that Dr. Luke is depriving Kesha of the benefit of the contract: having to work under the thumb of her abuser outweighs any profit or publicity she could gain from the arrangement.

Not only is Dr. Luke the reason Kesha cannot safely make music, but the extent of his alleged abuse is incredibly serious.

When Kesha signed her contract with him, she was barely an adult and hardly experienced in the music industry. Dr. Luke acted as her mentor; he was a much older, much more experienced artist who had the power to make Kesha famous. She had to put a lot of trust into him, since they were working together so closely. To take advantage of that kind of relationship with a young person is heinous, and now Dr. Luke is using his power to deliver to Kesha an impossible ultimatum: work with him, or don’t work at all.

So what’s next for Kesha? According to Bustle, Sony has offered to let her work with a different producer, but her lawyer insisted it was an “illusory promise.” Kesha is also suing Dr. Luke for allegedly drugging and raping her, but it is very possible that Kesha’s music career is over for good because of the court’s unfortunate verdict.

Even though a judge mandated that there was not enough cause to release Kesha from her contract, moral standards dictate otherwise. Abuse of any kind, especially sexual abuse, is a valid reason to terminate a contract and should override any legal, contractual obligations the victim may have.

The legal system does not have a great track record when it comes to protecting abused women, and this is just the latest incident in a long history of injustice. By upholding Kesha’s contract, the court has used the law to protect her abuser, which is a dangerous precedent to set and a devastating blow for victims of abuse everywhere.

Lights, cameras, and Girl Scout Cookie sales

A full recap of the 2016 Academy Awards Ceremony

By Niki Patel An opinion

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

Courtney Wyche FRESHMAN Contacted by six Division I colleges, freshman Courtney Wyche had a tough decision to make. At each school, she was offered a full ride scholarship to play softball. “My name’s gotten out there, and all these other schools came to see me play in tournaments and practices and have reached out and made the offers,” says Wyche. With many options to consider, Wyche recently verbally committed to the University of Maryland.

Wyche began playing softball at the age of nine after her grandfather took her to a softball game at the University of Maryland. “I found that once I started playing softball all the motions came naturally. I was able to learn and pick up on the mechanics and all aspects of softball,” says Wyche.

Around age 11, Wyche started to teach herself how to pitch. Her fast pitches, now clocked in around 67 miles per hour, are far above the average speed of high school softball players. “Every time I get up there to pitch whether it’s at Blair or at my travel team, I’m just looking to continue to better myself and to reach my goal which is to win a college world series at the University of Maryland,” says Wyche.

By Brianna Forté

As a person who could not care less about red carpets and movie stars, sitting down to watch “The Oscars” on Feb. 28 was not exactly something I looked forward to. Sure, I have seen the memes about Leonardo DiCaprio’s lack of an award, but that is about it. The only nominated films I recognized were “Inside Out” and “Star Wars”, and I only actually saw the former. However, even despite my lack of initial knowledge about the movies, the eighty-eighth Academy Awards Ceremony definitely proved to be one worth watching.

I would just like to start out by saying, Chris Rock, you are legendary. The show began with a montage of movie clips from all the nominated films, and after it ended, he emerged and opened his segment very bluntly: “Man, I counted at least 15 black people on that montage. I’m here at the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the White People’s Choice Awards.”

He could not have opened the show in a better way. Over the past few years, people have started calling out The Oscars for being a whitewashed awards show, making #OscarsSoWhite trend on twitter. It is the twenty-first century for crying out loud -the fact that not a single person of color was even nominated to win an award this year is a problem, and I applaud Chris Rock for addressing it.

The Academy claims to be fixing this issue by creating a Minority Outreach Program, but naming Stacey Dash as the director does not seem like the first step to equal representation. This past October, Dash uploaded a blog post to a website called Patheos, titled, “Why Black History Month is Ridiculous and Why [Black Entertainment Television] BET Should Not Exist.” She received quite a bit of backlash for this, especially when she vocalized these sentiments in an inter-

view on Fox News; nevertheless, she stood behind her claims. The Weeknd’s facial expression, as he covered his mouth and chuckled in shock after Dash’s words onstage, was a pretty accurate representation of how many people felt when her new position was announced.

Moving on from Chris Rock (for now), the actual awards and acceptance speeches were very moving -- and educational, for me at least. I didn’t even know “Mad Max: Fury Road” was a film that existed until I turned on the TV, and almost every other name that was pulled out of an envelope seemed to say that “Mad Max” had won again. I thought “Star Wars” was the biggest film release of the year -- what happened to all the awards for that movie?

On top of that, almost every single acceptance speech given was ridiculously long. I’m sure the producers of the show tell the nominees how much time they have to thank people if they win so the show doesn’t run too long. The producers even began running credits of who all the winners would like to thank at the bottom of the screen this year, but it was a hopeless cause. Time and time again, people continued to drone on and on, even after the orchestra started playing again, and the show did not end until around midnight.

As tired as I was by the time the last few awards were being announced, there were a few things that made the show worth watching until the end. It was not the cookie sales or Chris Rock’s jokes about Kevin Hart, but the social issues that were addressed throughout the show.

Joe Biden and Lady Gaga both showed up to take a stand about sexual assault and advocate against rape victim blaming. You did not have to be in Hollywood to hear Lady Gaga perform “Til it Happens to You” live to feel the raw emotion. I wanted to get off my couch and give her a standing ovation along with everyone who was actually there.

CANDIA GU Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith dedicated their Oscar for Best Original Song, “Writing on the Wall,” to the LGBT community, and when Leonardo Dicaprio finally won his very first Oscar, he used his acceptance speech to speak about the importance of addressing climate change and working to save our planet.

So, if you want insightful critique of the actual movies and actors who won awards, I may not be of much use. However, I can tell you that, despite the lack of diversity in the show’s nominations, those who spoke and performed at the eighty-eighth Academy Awards saved the night by addressing some of the most pressing issues we face in society today.

silverchips

March 10, 2016

Entertainment D4

The vast arena of local live entertainment options

An overview of some of the most popular live music venues in our area

By Alexandra Marquez Kendrick Lamar, Fall Out Boy, and One Direction are just a few of the huge variety of artists Blazers enjoy listening to. A popular hobby among students is not only listening to these artists, but also watching their live shows. Attending concerts brings students closer to their favorite songs and artists and takes them farther away from the stress of deadlines and tests. The D.C. area is lucky to be home to a slew of wonderful venues for artists and students to enjoy a night together, and many students take advantage of their convenient locations close to home.

The Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD The Fillmore is a great venue for budding artists and huge stars alike. Located just two miles down the road from Blair itself, The Fillmore allows Blazers to enjoy fun-filled performances from the likes of Fetty Wap, Bryson Tiller, and Never Shout Never. Part of its appeal is the general audience seating that ensures low ticket prices and great views on a first-come, first-serve basis. It also happens to be located blocks away from the urban hub of Downtown Silver Spring, where students often flock to grab a quick Chick-fil-A

concert she ever attended and how The Fillmore lived up to her hopes. “This isn’t even a band I knew about; it’s like a K-Pop group and they were touring the US, so it was my first time going to a concert,” she says. “I had a lot of expectations for it and it met my expectations. It was really fun.”

9:30 Club, Washington, D.C. Although it lacks a convenient location near Blair like The Fillmore, the 9:30 Club has many other charms that draw students in for impressive shows. The venue features smaller bands and performers that have yet to grace the top of the charts, but its unique location, floor and balcony setup, and acoustic sound give it a totally different, intimate atmosphere. It gives the place a cozy vibe and allows 9:30 Club to feature artists of all types. Based just outside of central D.C., the cozy venue stands in an up-and-coming urban neighborhood just blocks away from Howard University’s main campus.

Junior Lily Montgomery, who has seen DJ Borgeous and the bands Broods and The Districts at the 9:30 Club, says what appeals to her most is the venue’s small floor. “You can get close to the stage,” she says. “All of the shows I’ve seen there, I’ve been able to get to

CALEB BAUMAN

STRIPPED DOWN Echostage found a home in Washington, D.C. in 2012 and is recognized as one of the city’s best EDM concert spots.

EDM events.

Since its foundation in 2012, Echostage has evolved to be the center of all things EDM in Washington D.C. The creation of the space has allowed the owners to welcome world renowned electronic artists like Tiesto and Calvin Harris to the D.C. music scene.

General Manager Matthew Cronin explains that the main attraction for Echostage’s site was its large size and open indoor space. “The location was chosen in the Northeast Washington, D.C. area because it’s a warehouse without a lot of columns inside of it,” he says. “When they built the stage, they knew everyone would be able to have a direct line of sight to the artist.”

Cronin believes that in addition to creating a convenient space, the building itself gives the venue a unique, rustic vibe that contributes to audiences’ exciteCALEB BAUMAN ment. “The fact COMMUNITY MUSIC The Electric Maid doubles as a concert venue and “community living room.” that it’s located Residents of Takoma Park are welcome to come in whenever they please and enjoy spending time together. in an old warehouse district and in a warehouse lends it its own feel; it has a sandwich or do a bit of shopping. the third or fourth row, so that’s nice.”

Junior Kevin Cooley saw the punk band Senior Claudia Allou enjoyed perfor- very down to earth, underground feel to it,” Falling in Reverse at The Fillmore in Novem- mances from St. Lucia, Halsey, Daughter, he points out. “It makes [Echostage] a little ber and enjoyed the atmosphere and ameni- and others at the 9:30 Club and appreciates more edgy than if it was all gleaming, brand ties of the venue. “I like the environment, how accommodating the staff can be to those new aluminum, so I think it has a very cool and it’s dark in there,” he says, “There’s a who show up early. “They’re nice about peo- energy and vibe that people feed off of.”

Junior Raquel Pastor, who attended rapdownstairs lounge where you can go and eat ple who come early because there’s a bar in and it’s just comfortable to be in.” the basement, so if you come early enough, per Kid Cudi’s concert at Echostage, says Freshmen Camden Roberts and Sophia they’ll let you come down to the bar, sit, and that she noticed the huge space as soon as she walked in. “When I entered, it was so big Maguire enjoyed a show by indie rock group grab a drink and stuff like that,” she reveals.

The Front Bottoms at The Fillmore, also in Like Montgomery, Allou also appreci- and the lights were so bright and beautiful. It November, and thought that the guards were ates venue floor and how accessible the front was really pretty,” she remembers.

Cronin loves working at Echostage not better than in places they have attended row can be. “The space itself has really big previously. “The security was really good ceilings and if you get there early you’re up only because of its unique space and locaactually; I’ve been to venues where the secu- against the barrier, so you’re really close to tion but also because of the spirit each crowd delivers. “Every show has its own different rity was really bad and didn’t do anything,” [the artist],” she says. nuances [and each] crowd has their own Maguire remembers. Roberts agrees that the vibe and energy,” he explains. “The majority staff was active and responsive. “They were Echostage, Washington, D.C. of our shows tend to be super high energy really quick to pull out anybody who was having problems in the crowd.”

Often recognized for its location and and dancing, a lot of jumping around, a lot of Junior Zenab Abubakari recalls the first roomy show space, Echostage is also known cheering. Then you have some shows that are for its wild DJs a little bit quieter -- more swaying.” and epic raves.

Electric Maid, Takoma Park, MD The venue was founded by AnLocated in the heart of Takoma Park, tonis Karagounis and Pete across the street from the Takoma metro staKalamoutsos, tion, the Electric Maid is a community center “My favorite local concert venue is the 9:30 two University that doubles as a part-time concert venue. It Club in DC. I’ve been there plenty of times of Maryland is known for hosting folk groups, traveling and they always bring my favorite artists.” students with a bands, and student bands from around the passion for par- area.

— Bethel Amanuel, senior The Electric Maid was founded in 2001 ties and electronic dance and is run by the Friends of Old Takoma “My favorite local concert venue is The Fillmore music (EDM) (FOOT), a group that began with a handful of because I’ve seen most of my favorite artists there. who began young advocates striving to save their local It is close by and even though the security can be their careers pharmacy from extinction. “It got started as rude, it is a great way to meet new people.” planning par- a student activist project and it was a combities and weekly nation of people from the anti-globalization — Kimberlie Phung, sophomore movement and Takoma Park residents who

soapbox

What is your favorite concert venue?

were involved in a local development battle,” recalls Electric Maid Facilities Manager and co-founder Brian Robinson.

Their original plan was to use their space as somewhere for Takoma Park residents to stop by and enjoy some coffee and time with friends. “We wanted to have what’s called a ‘community living room,’” Robinson explains. “The idea...is that our community has a hangout space that’s run as a free drop in space for residents that helps to promote the community ideals.”

After hosting various speakers, activists, and community meetings, FOOT decided to begin booking concerts in their space. “Early on it was mostly straight-edge punk bands,” Robinson says. “The band Homage to Catalonia played their last show here and that was the very first show we ever had at the Maid.”

Afterwards, FOOT dabbled in hosting folk groups and house concerts at the Electric Maid. Joel Pomerantz, Secretary of the Board of Directors of FOOT, recalls, “We didn’t even have a stage, we had pallets.”

Since then, the Electric Maid has shifted to booking more folk groups than any other genre, but they host many student artists as well. Sophomore Charlie Flack and his punk

CALEB BAUMAN

ARTS, MUSIC, COMMUNITY An employee writes the Electric Maid’s motto on a chalkboard outside the venue.

band Bust Off have performed at the Electric Maid three times and love the venue’s atmosphere. “[It is] very high energy [and] usually the crowds are pretty big,” he says. “It’s a cool space, it’s very small and the stage isn’t too high up, so you can get really close to the audience.”

The venue’s location is also appealing and allows Bust Off accessibility to a wide range of audiences. “[The Electric Maid] is right by the Metro which makes it easy to bring people from D.C. and Silver Spring,” Flack expresses.

Flack and the rest of his bandmates love performing at the Electric Maid. “If you’re a performer and you’re looking for shows in the area, definitely go there,” Flack declares.

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March 10, 2016

Chips Clips D6

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March 10, 2016

Luck of the Irish

by Julian Bregstone

Across

52. Bryan Mills

15. _____ _______’_ Day

1. Four wheel vehicle

55. An accompanying note

21. Acronym for Electronic Design

4. Animal foot

59. Having wings

7. These fasten things together

60. To smear oil on someone

23. Nasir Jones

13. One hundredth of a krona

61. Mongol leader

25. Used to refer to a female

14. Long periods of time

64. ___ Movie

26. Snake-like scary fishes

16. To seal again

65. A person who plays the snare

28. Previously cared for kids on a

Automation

field trip

drum

17. A false statement 18. Plural version of serum

66. Tasty mineral

30. Tear something

19. Portion of an object

67. Youngen

31. Not trustworthy

20. A mini island

68. St. Paddy’s day walking party

32. Self-confidence (plural)

22. Light off the visible spectrum

69. Golf ball stabilizer

33. 40 days where Christians give

24. A requirement

70. Acronym for Express Mail

34. Fine dirt particles in the air

Service

25. Has two reps per state

35. Wasington Wizards’ forward

27. Prestigous seals on a letter Down

29. Evil without remorse

1. _____ Farrell

41. The way something occurs

36. Assistance

2. To stand up

45. Fleure-de-___

37. Door axle

3. An event to select a person for

48. Ewan McGregor

4. Animal that is annoying

51. A Latin cave

42. Kitchen attire

5. 2nd person of be

53. Starring Mr. T

43. Small staircase in front of an

6. Violent conflict between two

54. Rewards won from a quest

7. A boat

56. ____ Kendrick

46. Abbreviation for established

8. Little person with gold

57. Lion noise

47. Metric ton

9. The largest continent

58. Look at command in Spanish

48. Used to signify order

10. The person who is seeing

59. Pre-betting

50. Disease spread through animal

11. Running speed

62. Headwear

12. Vehicle without wheels

63. Warm fermented beer

Uncomfortable Bus Positions

Sudoku: Hard

Sudoku: Easy

WWW.WEBSUDOKU.COM

SUBMIT YOUR ART OUTSIDE ROOM 158

CANDIA GU

55. Metal plate with a lock

parties

44. Sap from Myroxylon tree

bite

Final Stretch

49. Whole group

office again

40. Uncle ___ wants YOU

apartment building

GUEST ARTIST GARRET KERN

39. Pro and ___

34. A circular mark

38. City on the Mohawk River, NY

Blazer Box

something up

Taco Dilemma

WWW.WEBSUDOKU.COM

CANDIA GU

MARRISA HE

E1 Spanish

silverchips

10 de marzo del 2016

La Esquina Latina

Silver Chips 10 de marzo del 2016

Falta de diversidad causa controversia en los Oscares

Comunidad hispana reconocida por los Grammys y no por los Oscares Por Emily Barrero y Odalis Llerena Este año, los premios Oscares enfrentaron problemas con la diversidad en las nominaciones.

Este año no hubo ningún actor afroamericano en las candidaturas, causando que las redes sociales se llenaran con etiquetas como #Oscarestanblancos y #Oscaressiguensiendoblanco. Varios actores como Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith y Spike Lee no les gustó la falta de diversidad y tomaron la iniciativa en las redes sociales como Twitter para expresar su disgusto y decisión de no asistir al evento. Estos premios Oscares reflejan a los Estados Unidos, lo cual afecta la imagen de la diversidad mundial terriblemente.

A través de los años, no han habido suficiente latinos, asiáticos e indígenas en los Oscares.

El único latino que fue nominado este año y el año anterior fue Alejandro Inarritu, en la categoría de mejor director. La falta de diversidad causó atención mundial negativa hacia los premios prestigios. Los Oscares son conocidos por su prestigio en el cine mundial. A pesar de eso, no han logrado tener personas nominadas de diferente culturas por dos años, y solamente personas americanas y europeas son las nominadas. Actores, actrices y el público de raza minoría siente que los Oscares están despreciando su talento, que hace ver a los premios injustos.

A la mayoría de los actores les gustó que este problema se hiciera controversial para demostrar la injusticia presente en los premios.

Este problema ha estado presente a través de los años, no solo estos dos años pasados. Las personas quieren que se haga un cambio en la academia finalmente.

El Presidente Barack Obama dio su opi-nión sobre este tema. Él dijo que la industria debería de buscar ta- lento para proveerle la oportunidad a todos. Continuó diciendo de que este debate es un ejemplo claro que la pregunta importante, ¿estamos seguros de que todo el mundo está recibiendo una oportunidad justa?

Muchos han tomado la controversia como racismo.

El 22 de enero, los Oscares informó que para el año 2020, habrá más diversidad en los miembros de la academia. También se espera que para el 2020 haya más mujeres y minorías en las nominaciones. Aparte de que la academia va a cambiar sus reglas, también se espera que la industria de cine se esfuerce a ser más diverso y crear oportunidades de talento a una variedad de personas. La diversidad se trata de distintas edades, géneros, razas, orígenes, y puntos de vista. Oscares anunció el proyecto A2020, que es un plan de cinco años donde la academia tratará de mejorar la diversidad de sus

propios trabajadores y al mismo tiempo traer nuevas voces a la organización. Se espera que la academia sea más justa en representando a la industria de entretenimiento.

En la última entrega de los premios Oscares, un total de 4 latinos ganó. Por segunda vez, el mexicano, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, ganó como mejor director por la película, The Revenant.

También, Emmanuel Lubezki por tercera vez ganó el premio de mejor cinematografía en la película, The Revenant.

Los chilenos Gabriel Osorio y Pato Escala ganaron en la categoría de mejor cortometraje de animación por Historia de Oso. ODALIS LLERENA Jonas Rivera ganó el premio de mejor animación por Insideout.

Finalmente, el anfitrión, Chris Rock, no dejó la controversia del tema de la falta de diversidad durante la ceremonia. Tomó cada oportunidad que tuvo para mencionar esta falta. Lo supo hacer de manera humorística porque mientras expresaba este problema, a la misma vez hacía al público reír. Se espera que con esta controversia, Oscares y la industria del cine tenga más diversidad y le ofrezca las mismas oportunidades a personas sin importar su raza ni género.

Reconocimientos diversos El premio Grammy es uno de los mayores reconocimientos en el mundo de la discografía. Estos premios se han presentado anualmente desde 1957 por la Academia de Grabación Norteamericana, una institución prestigiosa que se constituye por los representantes de las compañías disqueras más famosas de los Estados Unidos. Su objetivo principal es premiar a los artistas que más se destacan en la industria musical. Es un galardón que muchos quisieran obtener. Este premio existe desde que la industria cinematográfica de Hollywood hiciera un reconocimiento a los cantantes con sus nombres en las estrellas del camino de la fama. No fue hasta el 1959 que se hizo la entrega del Grammy latino.

El proceso es largo y todo empieza con la postulación. De los que son nominados, solo son cinco que logran convertirse en nominados después de la votación de todos los directores.

Logran nominar 5 para cada una de las 105 categorías registradas.

The Recording Academy, como se le conoce en inglés, fue fundada hace 52 años y se enfoca en producto que fue lanzado en los Estados Unidos y todos sus miembros habitan en los Estados Unidos.

La Academia Latina reconoce grabaciones lanzadas en cualquier lugar del mundo que estén grabadas en español o portugués.

Además, la membresía de la Academia del Grammy Latino abarca

más de 30 países incluyendo casi ta de diversidad de razas es más cimiento que merecen. Los Ostoda latinoamérica. que evidente en esta premiación cares deben de dejar de aislar a El equivalente en la industria que solo tiene seis actores latino- personas de diferentes culturas del cine puede ser un premio Os- americanos entre los miles que se para poder ser justos al momento car. La diferencia con los premios encuentran nominados entre las de reconocer una labor artistica.

Oscares y los premios Grammys diferentes categorías de los preEn fin, los premios Grammys es que hay más participación latinoamericana en los premios Grammys. Los latinos tienen su propia entrega de premios con sus propias ca11% Personas 16% Personas 6% Personas tegorías.

La de color de color de color gran mayoría son españoles o 94% Blancos 84% Blancos 89% Blancos puertorriqueños y no hay mucha representación de otros países de Latinoamérica.

El tema se puede debatir y Actrices galardeonados Actores galardeonados Votantes de la Academia es evidente que los oscares no son tan diversos como otros premios del campo de enMARIO MENÉNDEZ AND ODALIS LLERENA tretenimiento. CORTESÍA DE LA ACADEMIA OSCAR La mayoría de nominados y ganadores son blan- mios Oscares. por otro lado defienden la divercos o de descendencia europea.

Es muy obvio el favoritismo sidad cultural al ofrecer a miles La comunidad hispana también de los miembros de este club ex- de artistas talentosos la oportunise ha visto afectada por este pro- clusivo que aparenta representar dad de sobresalir y al reconocer blema. La gran mayoría de actores una elite de actores. La pregunta su esfuerzo. El establecimiento hispanos hacen papeles menores que se debería debatir es, ¿Hay de este premio para la comunio nunca llegan a tener el recono- miedo al cambio y la renovación dad latina es importante para las cimiento por su actuación. Es de por parte de los Oscares. Esto personas que han roto fronteras, carácter injusto el que estos ac- es lo que impide a muchos acto- artistas cuyos éxitos se escuchan tores no se les reconozca. La fal- res talentosos recibir el recono- por todo el mundo.

¿Cuán diversa ha sido la Academia de las Artes Cinematográficas y las Ciencias?

Jóse Ferrer (1951) ha sido el único latino galardonado como mejor protagonista en un papel principal en los 88 años de esta academia.

Diversidad evidente en las Barbies Cambios reflejan las chicas del siglo XXI Por Odalis Llerena La muñeca Barbie, que es muy conocida, tiene una imagen nueva, ¡Barbie Fashionista!

Barbie ya no será la muñeca tradicional que hemos visto dura nte nuestra niñez. La nueva colección de Barbies ahora incluye Barbies pequeñas, altas y de cuerpos con curvas. Aparte de eso, hay diferentes tipos de

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color de piel y texturas de cabello.

Las Barbies incluyen: 4 tipos de cuerpos, 7 tipos de tonos de piel, 22 tipos de color de ojos, 24 estilos de cabello, e incontables accesorios y ropa de estilos a la moda.

Desde hace mucho tiempo se ha visto la necesidad de cambiar la imagen de esta muñeca para que sea más diversa. Se espera que las niñas se relacionen más con Barbies y que desarrollen una nueva visión en como realmente son las mujeres de hoy en día.

Esto se puede ver como un movimiento donde se promueve un nivel de aceptación positiva. Mejora la autoestima de niñas que no se consideran “bonitas” porque no encajan con el “look” de una Barbie con un físico considerado muchas veces como irreal. Se está viviendo en una época donde muchos niños y jóvenes tratan de ser aceptados sin importar cómo son por dentro. Es importante recordar que la belleza está en la inteligencia, y no en lo físico. Las muñecas reflejan cambios en el siglo XXI de los Estados Unidos que Mattel llamó Project Dawn.

Todo empezó cuando varios críticos empezaron a decir que la imagen de Barbie no era realística.

El diseñador Nickolay Lamm creó Lammily doll, donde detalla como una Barbie se viera en realidad. El creador tomó las proporciones corporales típicas de mujeres de

19 años y usó eso para construir el cuerpo de la muñeca.

Lamm hizo esto para enseñar que la belleza no se define por las medidas de cuerpo, sino por cuán seguro uno se siente de sí mismo. Esto le llamó mucha la atención a compradores y a otros diseñadores a tener muñecas como Lammily doll.

La vicepresidenta de Mattel, Evelyn Mazzocco dijo que, “estas nuevas muñecas (son) más un reflejo de lo que las niñas del mundo ven a su alrededor. La variedad en el tipo de cuerpo, tonos de piel y estilo permite a las niñas poder encontrar una muñeca que les habla.” La sociedad pone mucha presión hacia cómo las personas deberían de verse. El hecho de que las Barbies ya no serán como lo suelen ser normalmente es un paso hacia poder aceptar a personas de distintas apariencias.

La diversidad en esta colección logra poner énfasis en la belleza que se encuentra en todas las personas, sin excluir a nadie.

Se espera que cada niña pueda identificarse con una Barbie ya que ahora son más diversas. Por el momento, las muñecas solo pueden ser compradas atravez de la página Barbie.com y saldrán a la venta en las tiendas en marzo de este año.

10 de marzo del 2016

Español E2

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Creencias definen nuestra cultura, historia y herencia

Las supersticiones juegan un papel valioso en la sociedad hispana

Por Andrés Pérez ¿Alguna vez te has preguntado por qué algunas personas cruzan los dedos durante los exámenes o por qué cargan amCANDIA GU ule- tos de la suerte? Estas acciones y otros tipos de costumbres tienen su origen en las supersticiones. En sí, el término superstición cubre una amplia gama de aspectos, pero todos tienen algo en común: la creencia en que ciertos rituales son capaces de manipular la suerte de un individuo.

Algunas personas, como el estudiante salvadoreño de décimo grado, Kevin Sandoval, le atribuyen el efecto de estos rituales a una coincidencia existencial. “Aunque la respeto, la creencia en las supersticiones es pura coincidencia en mi opinión. Solo son cosas que pasan en el momento preciso y que la gente toma como actos del destino.”

En contraste, hay quienes que como el salvadoreño, Yoni Orellana del décimo grado, creen que las supersticiones son ciertas. “Son creencias que hay que mantener vivas, ya que al pasarlas de generación a generación mantienen su importancia. Son cosas que pasan. No hay que buscarles el sentido sino que aceptarlas.” Sea cual sea el resultado de llevar a cabo, las supersticiones son una parte clave de la cultura hispanohablante.

Estas creencias que en su mayoría, tienen origen religioso, moldean la moral de nuestra sociedad. Al mismo tiempo contribuyen a crear una diversidad de creencias que caracteriza al mundo hispano.

Usualmente, las supersticiones y rituales que forman parte de ellas son heredadas de generación a generación, aunque en el proceso pasan por cambios para poder adaptarse a cada período histórico.

Las supersticiones son parte de un sistema de creencias heredadas. Estas crean

lazos profundos entre miembros de una comunidad o familia, creando una similaridad que los conecta y los hace sentir que forman parte de una unidad social. Una superstición que es muy común incluso fuera de la cultura hispana es la de los gatos negros. Se cree que si un gato negro se cruza en tu camino es de mala suerte, ya que por creencias religiosas son considerados como seres negativos. Esta superstición tiene sus raíces en la religión católica. En la Edad Media, la iglesia católica creía que los gatos negros eran brujos que tomaban la forma de gatos para pasar desapercibidos. Esto era motivo por lo cual los gatos negros eran cazados y quemados en hogueras en rituales de purificación espiritual.

Los motivos por las cuales las supersticiones se adoptan pueden ser por conexiones culturales o creencias a un nivel más individual. Aunque el motivo no importa, es necesario reconocer la importancia que su papel tiene en nuestra sociedad de hoy en día. Gracias a los avances tecnológicos y la constante evolución de las diferentes ideologías que existen, muchas personas han per-

dido el interés o han dejado de creer en las supersticiones.

Generalmente, los encargados de mantenerlas vivas en las comunidades son los ancianos. Tienden a transmitirlas a sus nietos para darles la oportunidad de conocer un poco de su fondo cultural y familiar.

El estudiante salvadoreño de décimo grado, José Rivera, recuerda cómo su abuelo practicaba algunos rituales para protegerse de la mala suerte. Él cree deben ser apreciados por su naturaleza educativa. “Mi abuelo decía que antes de salir a caminar al monte por la noche, uno tenía que ponerse la ropa interior al revés para espantar a los malos espíritus. Yo creo que que este tipo de creencias es necesario mantenerlas ya que las personas las transmiten por experiencia. Ellos tratan de enseñar una lección con lo que ellos aprendieron en el pasado.”

Esta práctica mantiene aspectos pasados vivos de la cultura latina. A pesar de que dichas tradiciones no sean adoptadas de nuevo, el hecho

MEGHNA SAMBATHKUMAR

de que sean reconocidas como parte de nuestra historia les da valor histórico.

Glenda Hernández de onceavo grado dice que no cree en las supersticiones, pero valora su importancia cultural. “Mis abuelos creen en supersticiones. Una de ellas es que supuestamente a los bebés hay que ponerles una pulsera especial para evitar que les hagan un ‘mal de ojo.’

Mis padres nunca me enseñaron cosas así, pero creo que es bueno mantenerlas para mantener viva nuestra cultura.”

Las supersticiones también evolucionan para adaptarse a la época. Un buen ejemplo de esto son las cadenas de correo electrónico amenazantes que se tienden a enviar, con la intención de causar controversia y miedo a aquellos que la reciben.

Generalmente, estas cadenas incluyen un mensaje que advierte al lector que si no la comparte con sus contactos, algo malo le va a suceder.

La parte moral está en que cuando todas las supersticiones convergen y se vuelven una sola, todas lidian con la batalla entre el bien y el mal. Esta batalla entre el bien y el mal es el génesis de otras costumbres, ya que se crean más rituales que balanceen el efecto negativo de las supersticiones.

Entre las comunidades latinas es muy común ver a curanderos o chamanes que ofrecen servicios de purificación espiritual. Entre estos servicios, usualmente se ofrecen rituales específicos para revertir la mala suerte que pueda haber sido causada por alguna superstición.

Sea cual sea el motivo de estas creencias, estas representan más que una opinión. Envuelven partes de nuestra cultura en pocas palabras. Lo clave es reconocer su importancia no solo en lo espiritual, sino también en lo histórico para poder apreciar nuestra cultura desde una perspectiva enriquecida.

El virus Zika causa motivo de alarma a nivel mundial Madres afectadas se preocupan por posible deformación en recién nacidos Por Karla Blanco El virus Zika causa una enfermedad mortal para los fetos que se ha descubierto recientemente, poniendo a todo el mundo en alerta roja. Las noticias han estado llenas sobre casos alrededor del mundo, pero ahora se habla de la epidemia en los Estados Unidos. Los medios de comunicación nos informan cómo casos de este virus están afectando a cientos de personas mundialmente. La picada de un mosquito Aedes portador del virus podría ser mortal si no es tratada a tiempo. Al contraer este virus, una persona experimentará síntomas como: gripe crónica, fiebre, erupciones en la piel, conjuntivitis, dolor muscular y articular, y dolor de cabeza. Generalmente estos síntomas son notables durante la primera semana de contraer el virus. Por esta razón, es importante consultar a un doctor si estos síntomas se presentan lo más pronto posible ya que al esperar, el virus podría esparcirse más.

Este virus fue descubierto inicialmente en el país de Uganda, cuando animales, especialmente los monos, estaban siendo monitoreados a través de una red de vigilancia de la fiebre amarilla selvática. Después descubrieron que este virus podría ser transmitido a humanos en 1952. Brotes de Zika se han registrado en África, las Américas, Asia y el Pacífico.

A pesar de que este virus se ha des-

cubierto años atrás, el virus Zika inició su asalto sobre Latinoamérica en los últimos meses. Aproximadamente más de un millón de casos se han reportado en el país más grande de america del sur; Brazil. Este virus es tan espantoso que hasta se han reportado que hay más de 4 mil casos en donde el virus Zika pudiera haber causado que los recién nacidos nazcan con una deformación de la cabeza llamado Microcefalia.

A causa de esto, muchos países le han sugerido a mujeres que dejen de tener hijos mientras este virus se contiene. La postura más extrema de uno de los países afectados es El Salvador. El viceministro de salud, E- duardo Espinoza, instó a las mujeres a no quedar embarazada antes de 2018. La razón por este hecho es porque quieren hacer todo

ODALIS LLERENA

lo posible por evitar que este virus brote. Una solución a esto sería que las mujeres se eviten

quedar embarazadas. La condición llamada Microcefalia puede tener consecuencias como: convulsiones, incapacidades intelectuales, dificultad de comer, hablar, caminar, oír y ver, de acuerdo al Centro para el control y prevención de enfermedades.

Muchas personas que defienden el derecho de que una mujer decida qué hacer con su cuerpo están en desacuerdo. Estas personas creen que las mujeres no deben ser limitadas a quedar embarazadas. Personas con opiniones diferentes dicen que no se trata de decirle a las mujeres qué hacer con su cuerpo, sino de prevenir que los recién nacidos sufran con incapacidades durante la trayectoria de su vida. Últimamente se ha descubierto el primer caso del virus Zika en los Estados Unidos.

Brian Foy, un joven quien estuvo estudiando el mosquito en África en 2008, descubrió que se estaba enfermando. Al regresar a su esposa en Colorado, este virus se transmitió sexualmente. Él sintió algunos síntomas como dolor de cuerpo y debilidad. Hay expertos que han dicho que los hombres se deben preocupar más por el virus Zika.

Para dar más detalles, los testículos de los hombres tienen immunologia privilegiada, dando a sentir que el sistema inmune no ataca fuertemente. Esto hace que el virus viva dentro del semen del

ALEX MENDIVIL

hombre por un tiempo indefinido.

Muchos están esperando ansiosamente la gran Copa Mundial de fútbol. No solo hay alegría, sino que también hay peligro aunque muchos no lo sepan. Los jugadores de equipos pudieran estar expuestos a otros jugadores y equipos que han estado en países donde el virus ya se ha extendido. Aunque todavía faltan 2 años más para que la copa comience, ¿porqué hay que alarmarse ahora? La respuesta es porque en este momento ya se están iniciando los preparativos para la Copa Mundial del 2018. Desde ahora los equipos de jugadores tienen que decidir si están dispuestos a ir a otro país y competir con otros, arriesgándolo todo.

Este país tiene doctores, biólogos y otros expertos que juntos pueden crear una vacuna contra este virus. Las personas tienen que hacer el esfuerzo de no ir a países que están siendo afectados gravemente por este virus. Es importante estar informado sobre este virus para poder hacer todo lo posible por evitarlo.

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10 de marzo del 2016

DACA y DAPA: Oportunidad de estatus legal provisional

Programas benefician a inmigrantes que cumplen con los requisitos Por Alison Fortis Los programas DACA y DAPA fueron creados específicamente para autorizar el establecimiento de padres e hijos que han llegado al país sin autorización o conocimiento del gobierno estadounidense. Los dos programas fueron establecidos por el Presidente Obama durante su segundo término, entre 2012 y 2014.

DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, en español, Acción diferida para jóvenes que llegaron durante la niñez a este país, fue creada por el presidente el 15 de junio del 2012. El propósito del programa es darle el beneficio de inmigración limitada a individuos que están en el proceso o que están a punto de deportación.

También se les da beneficio a los que nunca han estado en el proceso de deportación. El tener el estatus de DACA no significa residencia permanente o la ciudadanía, ya que puede ser revocado en cualquier momento.

Como cualquier programa del gobierno, hay requisitos para calificar para el estatus de DACA. El primero es que un individuo tiene que haber emigrado a al país mientras tenía menos de 16 años. Por esta razón, la edad máxima que uno puede tener para calificar para este programa es 31 años porque el individuo debe haber vivido en el país continuamente por más de 5 años, empezando desde el 2007. Otros requisitos son: el no haber sido condenado por un delito grave o menor significativo, no tener más de tres faltas de cualquier tipo, y no ser un riesgo para la seguridad pública y nacional. Aparte de eso, el individuo tiene que estar en la escuela secundaria o haberse graduado de una, o haber obtenido un GED, General Educational Development Test. Esto es un diploma que uno recibe si no quiso o pudo graduarse de la

escuela secundaria. También, la persona solicitando tiene que haber estado residiendo en los Estados Unidos el 15 de junio del 2012.

Varios documentos deben ser suministrados

información sobre el programa DACA está disponible en la página web de Immigration Equality y en la página del gobierno, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

CORTESÍA DE CASA DE MARYLAND

PROTESTA Activistas se reunen frente a la Corte Suprema de Justicia en Washington D.C. para exigir al gobierno los programas DACA y DAPA. con la solicitud cómo evidencia del tiempo que el solicitante ha estado en el país para poder ser considerado. Aparte de estos documentos, hay que pagar una cuota de $465.

Si el solicitante no puede pagar, el programa puede proveer una exención. Esto puede que se deba a que el solicitante tenga una deuda debido a deudas médicas, tenga una incapacidad, está en el sistema de orfanato, o tenga un ingreso que sea 150% bajo el nivel de pobreza. Es importante saber que existe un riesgo al solicitar DACA. Si la solicitud es negada porque el solicitante no cumple con los requisitos, hay posibilidad que puedan ser colocados en procedimientos de expulsión. Más

En noviembre del 2014, el Presidente Obama anunció que dentro de seis meses empezaría el nuevo programa llamado DAPA, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, en español es Acción diferida para los padres de hijos ciudadanos o residentes permanentes. Esto permite a los padres quedarse en el país sin el temor de ser deportados. El estatus de DAPA solo le da beneficios te- mporeros a los padres y no garantiza residencia permanente ni ciudadanía porque también puede ser revocado fácilmente.

DAPA también tiene varios requisitos para calificar. El individuo tiene que haber

estado viviendo en los Estados Unidos empezando desde el primero de enero del 2010 sin ningún tipo de estatus legal. Otros requisitos incluyen no haber sido condenado por un delito grave o menor significativo, tener tres o más delitos menores, representar una amenaza para la seguridad nacional, ni tener orden de deportación. También tienen que haber estado en el país el 14 de noviembre de 2014. Lo más importante es que la persona que está solicitando para recibir ayuda de este programa debe tener un hijo, de cualquier edad, que tiene un estatus legal de residencia o ciudadanía.

La página web United States Citizenship and Immigration Services también ofrece más información sobre el programa de DAPA. Aunque el estatus sea temporero, estos programas también le dan al individuo la oportunidad de trabajar legalmente cuando soliciten para la licencia de trabajo. Al ser aceptado en uno de los dos, el individuo gana un estatus de residencia legal en el país sin temor a ser deportados. Este estatus puede ser revocado en cualquier momento si el individuo comete un tipo de crimen u ofensa.

DACA y DAPA no están aceptando solicitudes porque hay varios estados, cómo Tejas, que están opuestos. La razón por la cual están en contra de estos programas es que no solamente violan las leyes federales, sino también la Constitución estadounidense. Las personas en contra de DACA y DAPA dicen que, “viola la Constitución de los Estados Unidos y la ley federal, elude la voluntad del pueblo estadounidense y afrenta a las familias y personas que siguen la leyes para migrar legalmente.”

Es de gran importancia hacer un énfasis en que el ser aceptado a unos de estos dos programas trae beneficios, pero a la misma vez, trae un riesgo si la solicitud es negada o el estatus revocado.

Autosegregación en Blair Universidades prestigio¿Cómo se mira tu grupo de amigos? sas reducen sus costos pensada. Cuenta que, “si uno entrara a un cuarto lleno de personas que uno no conoce, Blair es una de las escuelas más diversas uno se sentaría con el que comparte su etniy grandes del condado, con estudiantes cidad o cultura.”

Estudiantes que de diferentes culturas y etnicidades. En vienen de su país natal y no conocen a nadie Blair, la autosegregación es evidente. La en Blair, van en busca de sentarse con otros essegregación entre estudiantes no ocurre tudiantes quienes tal vez se sienten perdidos. porque la escuela o el gobierno de estado Es obvio que la auto segregación es prevalente trata a ningún esespecialtudiante de manemente en los ra diferente. Los inmigrantes. estudiantes por sí Pero, si se mismos se dividen conoce el y se juntan con problema, personas que com¿cuál es la parten su misma solución? etnicidad. Esto es La eslo que se llama autudiante tosegregación. La afroameriautosegregación cana Salees la separación matu Made individuos por kajang del grupo de etnicionceavo dad, religión, o grado dice CALEB BAUMAN cultura. La preALMUERZO Estudiantes tienden a segregarse que la realigunta es, ¿porqué dad es difípasa esto? ellos mismos en diferentes grupos etnicos. cil. “Es la La autoseresponsabigregación se malidad de los nifiesta en su mayoría entre estudiantes estudiantes expandir su círculo de amigos inmigrantes nuevos al país. El estudiante porque la escuela no puede forzar que todos Kevin Barboza, sentado en una mesa de seamos amigos porque eso nunca va a pasar.” solo hispanos, comenta, “Creo que hay Esta autosegregación es una construcción segregación entre los hispanos y los otros social hecha por los estudiantes quienes no estudiantes en Blair por la barrera del ise sienten cómodos estando con otras persodioma y las dife- rencias entre culturas.” nas que vienen de culturas y etnias Los estudiantes hispanos que acadiferentes. La respuesta es que en realidad ban de llegar a los Estados Unidos se no hay nada que la escuela o los estudiantes sienten más cómodos estando con espueden hacer para que todos los estudiantes tudiantes en su misma situación, y es se sientan cómodos con todos los estudiantes. por eso que escogen sentarse juntos.

El problema de la auto segregación Una estudiante etiopiana del onceavo se puede resolver pero los estudiantes grado, Selam Tsegaye, da su perspectitienen que integrarse a otros círculos y va con una situación hipotética muy bien mezclarse con todo tipo de etnicidades.

Por Carlos Fuentes

Por Ilcia Hernández La educación superior pone a muchos estudiantes y familias en deuda incluso antes de que lleguen a la universidad.

Muchas familias no tienen los recursos económicos para enviar a sus hijos a la universidad, especialmente si no recaudan ayuda financiera a través de becas y otros programas de ayuda financiera.

Este es un problema por la cual el Presidente Obama ha tratado de abogar.

El Presiden te Obama ha hecho muchos esfuerzos para que estudiantes de clase baja y media puedan alcanzar la educación post-secundaria. Uno de los cambios hechos por el Presidente Obama tiene que ver con el Pell Grant, en la cual los estudiantes quienes califican reciben dinero del gobierno federal. Comenzando en el año escolar del 2014-2015, Obama aumentó el premio máximo de la beca Pell Grant a $5,730. También extendió el número de estudiantes que califican para recibir la beca por un 50 por ciento cada año.

El presidente de los Estados Unidos ha puesto mucho énfasis en tratar de reducir el costo universitario para los estudiantes que se esfuerzan por su educación. En su discurso del Estado de la Unión, el presidente indicó que el gobierno federal, los estados y especialmente las universidades, tienen que trabajar juntos para proveer la oportunidad de una educación superior económicamente razonable.

En su plan, el presidente de los Estados Unidos propone recompensar a las universidades que mantienen sus costos de admisión razonables.

La Universidad prestigiosa de Stanford, también considera una Ivy League, es una de las entidades de educación

post-secundaria que ha tomado la iniciativa de reducir los costos de admisión. Esta universidad es conocida por ser una de las mejores instituciones de investigación y enseñanza en el mundo. De los 16,000 estudiantes que solicitaron en el 2014, sólo el cinco por ciento fueron aceptados.

La matrícula anual de Stanford es aproximadamente $46,000, con los costos adi cionales de alojamiento y comida el costo anual llega a ser aproximadamente $60,000. Con eso dicho, Stanford anunció recientemente que la matrícula será gratis para los estudiantes con familias que ganan menos de $125,000 en un año. Adicionalmente, el alojamiento y comida será gratis para los estudiantes cuyas familias hacen menos de $65,000 anualmente.

El propósito de esta iniciativa es que los estudiantes que son aceptados a universidades prestigiosas, no rechacen la oportunidad de matricularse por su situación económica. Al igual que Stanford, muchas universidades consideradas Ivy League como, Princeton, Harvard y Yale, ofrecen colegiatura gratis para estudiantes de la clase baja y media.

Stanford y la universidad de St. John’s promueven la diversidad en sus escuelas porque trae muchos beneficios para la población estudiantil. Con más diversidad, los estudiantes pueden familiarizarse con diferentes culturas y expandir su conocimiento. Las diferentes culturas también pueden expandir las perspectivas de la sociedad de los estudiantes.

Ir a la universidad puede ser una realidad para muchos estudiantes hispanos.

Hay muchos recursos en los Estados Unidos con las cuales se puede pagar una educación post-secundaria. En fín, todo depende de cuánto un estudiante se esfuerza para alcanzar sus metas y solictar para programas que los benefician--.

March 10, 2016

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F1 Sports

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March 10, 2016

Chances are your parents will ignore this garbage Students speak out on acceptable and unacceptable trash-talking

By Christian Mussenden There are times during competition when the heat of the moment gets to the players, and prompts them to say things they would not dare say outside of it. “You’re nothing!”

“You’re a piece of sh*t!” “I bet you can’t, boy!” These are all variations of common phrases an athlete can hear while playing.

Most of the time when people get up in their opponent’s faces, it is just seen as annoying and puts the trash-talker in a bad light, which is why more often than not trash-talking is perceived as an unfortunate byproduct of competition. While that may or may not be true, there are instances where trash-talking is more than just a product of anger and competitiveness. Sometimes engaging the opponent verbally is necessary and beneficial for a variety of reasons, such as shutting an annoying adversary up and getting opponents off their mental game.

Often times throughout a season, a player will encounter an opponent who will

start saying things that can make the player sacrifice their own composure; sometimes the best way to combat this is to fight fire with fire.

Junior lacrosse player Joshua Agu was playing in a lacrosse game last year against Springbrook when one of Springbrook’s players started talking to Agu. He decided he needed to stop it by upping his game and talking a little trash of his own. “One of their attack men was talking serious trash and it was annoying me so I started beating him on the field and talking more trash back,” Agu said. “After I started talking back, he ended up getting really mad, and didn’t say anything for the rest of the game.”

Agu’s methods were necessary in putting a stop to what was occurring during his game, and his story shows that sometimes a player has to shut the opponent up with more than just their play. Trash-talking can be rude, scathing, and just plain obnoxious, but some players know that trash-talking can be a very effective way to get their op-

soapbox Have you ever trash-talked or been trash-talked during a sports game? Do you think this behavior is acceptable?

“No, it’s not acceptable because we have to have sportsmanship, but somtimes you got to do what you got to do.”

— Tierra Lawrence, freshman “[Trash-talking] is very acceptable. The adrenaline from playing kicks in and it is all in the heat of the moment. No one really means what they are saying.”

— Hari Patel, senior

ponent off their games.

It has been well documented that the mental side of competition is a fairly large part of sports. It is just as, if not more, important than the physical side of the game.

Some athletes realize this and decide that they should try to compete and destroy their opponent mentally, rather than focusing solely on out-performing them physically.

A recent example of this was National Football League (NFL) cornerback Richard Sherman’s tirade against San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree in a 2014 playoff game. Sherman, who was, and still is, one of the premier cornerbacks and trash-talkers in the NFL, was covering Crabtree, the 49ers’ best receiver in a playoff game between the 49ers and Sherman’s Seattle Seahawks. Sherman and Crabtree spent the whole game exchanging words up until the last play, where Sherman tipped a pass in the end zone intended for Crabtree that ended up being intercepted and thus granted the Seahawks a victory.

Sherman had dominated Crabtree the whole g a m e .

Crabtree was held to only four receptions for 40 yards, none of which came when Sherman was covering him and the final play was a further representation of Sherman’s outstanding performance against him. After the game, Sherman went to shake Crabtree’s hand and Crabtree’s anger boiled over and aggressively pushed Sherman away. Sherman later said

in a highly passionate interview with FOX Sports sideline reporter Erin Andrews after the game that he was, “The best corner in the game! When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree that’s the result you’re going to get!”

Sherman’s combination of talent and trash talk led to Crabtree’s lackluster showing in that game, and Sherman’s trashtalking show against Crabtree is one of the most

influential and prime examples of how trash-talking can negatively affect an opponent in the history of sports.

Trash-talking may not MEGHNA SAMBATHKUMAR be the most glorious topic in sports, but it is nonetheless an inevitable part of competition. Trash-talking can be seen as unnecessary and ill-spirited but as shown above, there are multiple scenarios an athlete could encounter where trashtalking is a strategic thing to do. All in all, trash talking is annoying, yet it is a necessary part of sports that can be tolerated only under certain circumstances.

Maryland men’s basketball finishes an up-and-down year No. 18 Terrapins turn their attention from season to the NCAA Tournament

By Julian Brown On March 13, the Selection Committee will announce its choices for the 2016 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament. The University of Maryland (UMD) (24-7) is currently ranked 18th in the country and will be hoping for a strong showing in the Big Ten Tournament to earn them a four seed in the famous competition. Unfortunately for Terps fans, Maryland’s less than optimal record against other ranked teams will likely get them the fifth seed in the tournament and an early exit in the Round of 32.

Maryland started this season with more excitement and publicity than it had in years. It was their second year in the Big Ten, they were coming off a Round of 32 run into the NCAA Tournament, and they locked up their star player, Melo Trimble, for one more year. The UMD scouting staff also managed to recruit five-star center Diamond Stone, as well as senior Rasheed Sulaimon, a transfer from Duke and junior Robert Carter Jr., a transfer from Georgia Tech.

Maryland began the season with a quick six game win streak featuring wins against Georgetown and Illinois State, living up to the preseason hype. Unfortunately for the Terrapins, their seventh game was against the up and coming North Carolina Tar Heels, who had just gotten their star point guard, senior Marcus Paige, back from injury. The Terps would go on to lose 89-81, but did not relinquish their belief in their season.

The Terrapins bounced back after their first loss with another nine consecutive wins to move to 15-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten. Maryland would then hit another stumbling block in the form of the Michi-

gan Wolverines. Maryland lost this game in heartbreaking fashion with Sulaimon’s buzzer beater attempt bouncing harmlessly off the rim and leaving the score at 70-67.

The Maryland Terrapins once again did not lose hope, and went on to win two consecutive home games against Ohio State and Northwestern, beating the two with a combined score of 162-121. Maryland’s run was then stopped by No. 10 Michigan State.

Maryland looked flat

and weak in this primetime match-up and was easily overpowered

by Michigan State’s big, strong centers who grabbed a whopping 17 offensive rebounds compared to Maryland’s three.

Maryland’s next game against Iowa at home was a make or break game for them; losing to yet another strong team would surely push them out of the AP rankings’ top 10. The Terrapins showed up, however, and went on to win the game 74-68, with Sulaimon scoring a game-high 23 points.

“Everybody that cares about Maryland basketball was in a panic, but we weren’t. We

didn’t overreact. You could tell our guys were really ready to compete,” said Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon in a press conference after the game.

The Terps went on to win their next five games, but were stopped in a shocking 70-57 loss to Wisconsin. This loss not only ended Maryland’s five-game winning streak but also a 27-game home winning streak. Maryland had still not recovered from this devastating blow five days later when it lost to the Minnesota Golden Gophers 68-63, this time snapping a 10 game winning streak of wins after loses.

The next two games of the Terrapins’ season could be seen as representative of the whole year. Maryland started off with a relatively comfortable home win against the Michigan Wolverines, but then failed to up a fight against a ranked opponent away from home.

This time the opponent was No. 20 Purdue, who boasted a 21-7 record and had not lost at home once this season. Though Melo Trimble and Diamond Stone were able to score 19 and 18 points respectively, Maryland was unable to come back from a horrific start that saw them trail by as much as 24-8 in the first half. The game ended 83-79 for the Boilermakers as Maryland’s last stitch rally fell short.

TIFFANY MAO Going into the last two games of the season, the Maryland Terrapins needed as many victories as they could get in order to stop their fall in the rankings and ensure a high seeding come tournament time. The first game showed promise as the Terrapins would face off with a struggling Illinois side in College Park. Illinois had a record of 13-16 going into the match-up with only two of those wins coming away from home. This game was also Maryland’s senior night, an event which included the pregame honoring of seniors Jake Layman,

Rasheed Sulaimon, Varun Ram and Trevor Anzmann and only added to the already rocking environment in the XFINITY Center.

Maryland started the game strong and never looked back as they hammered the Fighting Illini 81-51, without ever trailing. “I’m really happy for our team, really happy for our seniors,” Turgeon said, after the game. “We feel like we can play with anybody.”

The Terps’ last game of the regular season would generate a lot of excitement around the Maryland basketball community, as the team was coming of their home thrashing of Illinois and looking to keep their momentum going into the postseason against the No. 12 Indiana Hoosiers. The Terrapins got off to a great start by going eight points up in the first half before allowing the Indiana to even the score at 18 apiece. The Hoosier then went on a 23-10 run to finish the half at 41-28 and effectively end the game for the Terps. The final score was 80-62 for Indiana.

Looking back at the season, the Maryland Terrapins and their fans can be a little disappointed with the team’s lack of ability against other ranked teams and on the road.

Perhaps Maryland’s biggest flaw this season has been their rebounding. The Terps averaged five more rebounds than their opponent in their wins, compared to an average of five fewer rebounds than their opponent in losses. Maryland’s most impressive stat in the season is by far their home record of 16-1.

Besides the one loss on Feb. 13 to Wisconsin, the XFINITY Center has been something of a fortress for the Terrapins, who were ranked fifth in the nation for attendance this year.

Unfortunately, none of the NCAA Tournament games will be played in College Park, a disheartening fact for a team with a 4-5 away record. Last year, the Terps followed a similar pattern going an impressive 24-7 overall but with a 3-7 record away from home. Those Terrapins were seeded as a No. 4, but ended up getting knocked out in a disappointing loss in the Round of 32 by the No. 5 West Virginia Mountaineers. This unfortunate trend suggests that this year’s Maryland team will get a five seed this year and exit the tournament once again in the Round of 32.

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March 10, 2016

Sports F2

Smells like team spirit: When the fun continues off the field From parties to paper plates, traditions bring student-athletes together

By Brianna Forté and Sarah Hutter Blazers are fierce competitors, whether on the field, on the court or in the water, but sometimes it is necessary to relieve the tension with fun bonding activities and team traditions. Many sports teams adopt traditions that make their seasons even more meaningful for student athletes.

Fun, food, and team bonding Many traditions and rituals are unique to each team. Both the girls’ basketball and boys’ soccer teams have dinners before their games provided by the athletes’ parents.

“For each home and away game we all stay

and bond. “It is just a nice way to hang out with your teammates and just talk and chill and like have a good time,” she reflects.

The team has meals together often. According to Gaye, the team will have a pasta party at the beginning of the season and a banquet to celebrate at the end of the season.

While the banquet gives athletes a chance to reflect on the completed season, the pasta party is more of an initiation for freshmen on the team.

According to Gaye, the party is a potluck hosted by a member of the team. Every year the athletes play a name game that for some can be a real challenge. “Everyone has to go around and say [the name of] each person that went before [them], and if you

erings involve scavenger hunts and friendly pranks. “We do late night scavenger hunts around town, and then at like 3 a.m. we decorate Coach [Louis] Hoelman’s yard with a theme,” says Devereux. “It’s kind of like vandalism or pranking, but nicer.” At the end of the season, the team also has a barbecue at Coach Hoelman’s house.

Some team traditions are a little more intricate. According to Geist, the poms squad holds a Secret Santa-style gift exchange around the holidays. “We call it ‘Secret Pom,’” says Geist.

According to Geist, team members will post their class schedules on the team’s Facebook group, and the gift exchange occurs during first period. The girls’ softball

Building a strong team

Team traditions help team members bond with each other and play well together. According to junior Ponce DeLeon, a football player, the team spends three days each year participating in a football camp at Shepherd University. “It’s a bonding activity,” says DeLeon. “[It] makes you feel better, makes me feel more comfortable around [teammates].”

DeLeon credits the team’s unity to his coach, Andrew Fields, who plans activities for the team, like a yearly trip to the movies.

“Once [Coach Fields] came he started building traditions to make us feel better, make us believe in ourselves,” says DeLeon, adding that since Fields’ arrival, the team has made

COURTESY OF MICHAEL AITKEN

COURTESY OF NIKI PATEL

ALL DECKED OUT Seniors Anna Hukill, Lela Gaye and Emma Cohen (from left to right) of the swim and dive team pose for a photo dressed in theme wear.

DECORATION SQUAD Members of the varsity poms team decorate the fence near Blazer Stadium with red plastic cups in a show of team spirit.

GRIFFIN REILLY

TEAM DABBING Members of the varsity football team pose for a fun nighttime photo at Blazer Stadium to show off their Blair spirit and pride. in school in our coach’s classroom and do study hall, watch game film, talk, and eat until we have to leave for that game,” says Austin Kokkinakis, a junior on the boys’ soccer team. According to Kokkinakis, this ritual not only helps the boys get ready for games, but also is a good chance for team bonding. “[The tradition] lets us prepare mentally and really brings us together as a team because we’re together for two to three hours after school on game days,” says Kokkinakis. “Our season was definitely more successful due to our team chemistry and that was because of all the time we spent together.”

Food is also a bonding experience for the swim and dive team. According to senior Lela Gaye, a member of the swim and dive team, the swimmers go out to lunch the Saturday after every meet. “Wherever the pool is, the captains will decide where we are going to get lunch,” says Gaye. At swim meets everyone is busy cheering and trying to get to their events on time, so the lunches after the meets provide time for the team to relax

can’t remember one person’s name you have to get up and spell your name with your butt in front of everyone,” says Gaye.

“It’s nerve-wracking especially for freshmen because you don’t know anyone, and who wants to shake their butt in front of strangers?” While the game can be difficult for freshmen, it’s no big deal for the more seasoned athletes on the team. “Our team is pretty big so learning all those names in thirty seconds is pretty scary,” says Gaye. “But once you are a senior you are not as worried.”

Sleepovers and hijinks Other teams also hold parties and get-togethers. According to sophomore Gilda Geist, a member of the varsity poms squad, the team enjoys going out to eat after their last competition, as well as having team sleepovers.

The girls’ softball team also holds team sleepovers. According to senior Mildred Devereux, who has played on varsity girls’ softball since her freshman year, these gath-

COURTESY OF MILDRED DEVEREUX

PARTY ON The 2015 varsity girls’ softball team gets together for one of their traditional sleepovers to have fun and bond as a group. team also honors a tradition involving gifts.

“The seniors decorate the team room and bring everyone gifts before the first game,” says Devereux.

While some traditions are unique to specific teams, there are other rituals that are observed by most teams at Blair. “We do senior night, but most teams do that,” says Geist.

According to Gaye, many teams also make paper plate awards for their players at the end of the season. “You buy paper plates and make an award for each person. Each paper plate is a different award for that person,” says Gaye.

The paper plate awards are handed out at the team banquet and usually state a defining feature about each person on the team.

“Last year, I got DJ Lela because I made a playlist for the dive team,” says Gaye. “You just write on each plate and make a design or something for each person on the team.”

The paper plate awards give the team an opportunity to reflect on their growth and bonds they formed over the season.

it to the playoffs twice.

Devereux agrees that traditions help the team bond and affect their playing on the field. “Softball is known for being one of the closest teams at Blair,” says Devereux. “We definitely play more as a team because we are closer.” Geist says that members of the poms squad are “actually friends” with each other, and this makes it easier to give and accept feedback. “I think people actually liking each other makes it easier to dance and practice with each other,” she says.

As well as being beneficial for the team as a whole, traditions are also a way to bring more excitement and fun to the season. “It’s a way for us to be connected and have some togetherness if we have these traditions, and it’s also just a lot of fun to do these things,” says Gaye. The swim and dive team, girls’ soccer team, and girls’ field hockey team all dress up in theme wear before their meets and games, which is a fun and goofy way to show their team spirit and get pumped. “It never gets old to dress up for a meet or go out to lunch,” says Gaye.

F3 Sports

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March 10, 2016

Blazers fall to Whitman Vikings 51-66 in sectional finals

Boys’ varsity basketball ends postseason after third playoff round

By Dawson Do WALT WHITMAN, March 2— Fighting an uphill battle, boys’ varsity basketball (11-9) lost to the Walt Whitman Vikings (13-9) 51-66 after trailing the entire game.

Starting with a lost tipoff, Blair could not find its offensive footing in the first quarter. A strong zone defense from Whitman left Blair in an offensive drought, with Blair falling behind 2-8 at the start of the first quarter. After strong offensive plays from junior forward Julius Cobb and senior guard Jared Williams, Blair ended the first quarter down 9-14.

With quick offensive plays, Whitman was able to gain momentum and continue with strong offense. “They came out, they made their early shots, and I think their confidence just grew. It was kind of like a snowball effect,” Coach Damon Pigrom said.

Going into the game, Pigrom was ready for Whitman’s offense, but as the game went on, Whitman was able to pull ahead with accurate field goals. “They did everything we expected. We played them before, we watched film on them. I felt like we went in prepared strategically,” Pigrom said.

“They just made more shots.”

Williams started off the second quarter with a three pointer, igniting Blair’s offense and keeping the game close at 12-18. However, Blair’s man defense could not stop the Vikings’ strong perimeter play, allowing Whitman senior guard Shaq Diboti-Lobe to sink back-to-

back threes. Williams was able to answer back with his own three pointer followed by a quick layup.

In the second quarter, Whitman’s offense traded three-pointers with Williams, who ended the first half with 19 points, 15 of which were three pointers. Despite the strong offensive showing from Williams, Whitman was able to pull ahead, taking full advantage of their possessions and missing fewer shots.

Blair was unable to capitalize on Whitman’s missed shots, allowing them to grab offensive rebounds. “They didn’t miss much and when they did miss, we didn’t do a good job cleaning up their misses,” Pigrom said. At half-time, Blair was trailing Whitman 27-35.

To start off the third quarter, Williams was able to sink another three pointer and junior guard Demetri Cooper was able to put up two consecutive threes afterwards.

However, Cooper would go on to have only six points for the entire game. “I think we played well, but we came out a little flat on the defensive end,” Cooper said. “They just came out hot and they made shots tonight. It was hard to beat them.”

Senior forward Jordan Cobb was able to supplement Blair’s offense with two field goals which resulted in the third quarter ending 40-51.

Blair’s fourth quarter was slow overall, with the offense only putting up 11 points. Blair’s defense began to shift towards face guarding Whitman guard Diboti-Lobe,

double- or triple-teaming him each possession, but their efforts could not stop Whitman’s quick and efficient offense. “Once they got moving, they caught steam and kept moving. I was hoping at some point they would cool off but it just never really happened,” Pigrom said.

Blair was unable to close the

gap by the end of the game even though junior guard Kendall Douglas scored seven points and hit five of five from the free throw line during the fourth quarter.

Other than Williams, Blair’s senior captains were unable to keep up with Whitman’s offense—guards Max Burke and Tucker Nosal only contributed two points each the

entire game.

Despite the loss, Pigrom was not disappointed in his team’s play. “I think we played well,” Pigrom said. “I don’t know of many teams that could beat [Whitman] tonight. Offensively, they were just lights out.” The game ended with a score of 51-66, ending Blair’s postseason.

GRIFFIN REILLY

PERIMETER PLAY Senior captain Jared Williams, wearing number 0, led the offense scoring 14 of Blair’s 18 points in the second quarter. Williams finished the game with six three pointers and a total of 22 points.

Playing for a new set of colors: Students find success by switching sides Athletes score better playing opportunities after transferring to new schools

By Joshua Fernandes Junior Daniel Morales Dono dreamt of being a star quarterback for his high school football team.

At Blair, though, a combination of injuries and bad luck sidelined him from reaching this dream.

Now, he is primed to start for Paint Branch next season after transferring on Feb. 17.

Morales Dono is one of many student athletes who transfer during high school. Some do so for more playing time, like him, while others are unhappy at their schools or simply move out of the area. Many Blair sports teams have new students playing in their line-ups and others have lost players to competing schools.

For these players, learning how to play in a new team and a new system can be as important, and difficult, as getting used to their new school.

knew juniors Demetri Cooper and Julius Cobb and senior Jordan Cobb before transferring to Blair, and they introduced him to the rest of his teammates. “They welcomed me with open arms,” Larkins says.

“We just immediately clicked.”

Unlike Larkins, Morales Dono’s transfer was primarily to play for his new school, Paint Branch. Due to a posterior cruciate ligament tear, he was unable to play for Blair the entire fall season, and knew he might not be able to force his way

Paint Branch, I have a way better chance to start.”

Taking the risk Often, the hardest part of playing for a new school is transferring itself. Larkins remembers the tedious paperwork and numerous visits to county buildings leading up to his transfer to public school.

“It wasn’t a long process,” he says, “but it was a lot of work.” Even after all the paperwork, however,

good decision,” he says. “I’m a lot happier here and it’s a much better fit for me.”

Junior Chris Butler also transferred to Blair, coming from John F. Kennedy after his freshman year.

Playing varsity football, he was eager to come to Blair and found the team welcoming. “The Blair family accepted me with open arms,” Butler says.

Morales Dono also thinks his transfer led him to a much better fit. Recently, he moved near Paint Branch, but initially chose to stay at Blair to avoid transitioning to a new school. After his newfound football opportunity, though, he decided that switching schools makes sense on every level. “I’m trying to make my own path and trying to look forward to starting at some other school and being better and actually getting a scholarship instead of staying here,” he explains.

insideSPORTS Terps prepare for March Madness see page F1

A look back at Maryland’s up-and-down season lead by promising new recruits.

New team, new perspective

One of Butler’s favorite experiences playing for Blair is when he can play against his old teamFor many student athmates from Kennedy. Still close lete transfers, deciding to to many of the Kennedy players, leave their high schools is he maintains that there are no not a difficult decision. Juharsh feelings about his transfer. nior Chris Larkins plays on GRIFFIN REILLY “It’s like playing backyard footBlair’s varsity boys’ basketball team after transferring GETTING OPEN Junior Chris Butler, right, transferred from Kennedy af- ball with your neighborhood from Georgetown Prepa- ter his freshman year. He plays wide receiver for the varsity football team. friends,” he says.

Since joining the basketball ratory School this year. into the starting quarterback po- Larkins knew very little about his team, Larkins has found Blair basHe made his decision to transfer sition next season. After the Paint new school. “I had a couple friends ketball’s atmosphere very different because of his generally negative Branch football coaching staff in- who told me a couple things about from Georgetown Prep’s. For him, experience attending a private formed him that he had a good Blair, but for the most part, I didn’t the team feels like a family, where school. “I didn’t like the whole prichance of starting next season if really know anything,” he ex- they all can support each other vate school vibe. People weren’t as he transferred, he seized his op- plains. and play for the school. “There’s down-to-earth as they are in public portunity for more playing time. “I Now, with a semester at Blair a brotherhood with the basketschool,” he remembers. want colleges to look at me and I completed, Larkins is glad he de- ball team that I really didn’t get at Larkins first felt this modest also want to play,” Morales Dono cided to leave Georgetown Prep Georgetown Prep,” Larkins says. perspective when he met his new explains. “I feel that if I move to for Blair. “I just think I made a “I think we’re a much closer unit.” basketball teammates. He already Leaving the home team

Just like Larkins, Morales Dono has been very happy with his transfer, though he recommends transferring only as an extreme option to dissatisfied student athletes. “I don’t suggest that you transfer,” he explains, “but at the same time, put work in it, and if you think transferring is the solution, just take it.”

NAZEA KHAN

Athletes share team traditions see page F2

From sleepovers to pasta parties, players participate in rituals to bond.

VICTORIA TSAI