April 2012 - Silver Chips Print

Course offerings change

In good spirits

Class lineup for coming year decided

By Zoërose Waldrop On March 19, teachers and department heads convened to make final decisions on course offerings and course cuts for next year. Based on current enrollment numbers, Blair will introduce new courses including Philosophy, World Drumming, Ceramics 4, Digital Art 2, Fashion Drawing and Design, and Algebra 2 Double Period, and will drop Latin American History, ESOL Piano, Advanced Software Applications and Financial Management.

The process of planning the courses to run the following year occurs each

year and relies on student enrollment. For a course to be offered, at least twenty students must mark it on their schedules, though some more specific courses catered to smaller demographics require fewer students by nature. Resource Counselor Marcia Johnson plays a large role in the organization of schedules and course selection and knows the effort that the less-popular courses must make to survive. “Courses with traditionally low enrollment have to advertise and promote interest,” said Johnson.

According to Johnson, the

see CLASSES page 8 ELLIE MUSGRAVE

Blair hosts prom dress drive This is the second year that Blair has hosted the drive, and West has plans to host it in fu-

By Maureen Lei

Senior Claire Ettinger (left) and freshman Molly Beckett (right) show their Blair pride on Pajama and Superhero days, respectively, during Spirit Week.

ture years. “I think every senior should have the opportunity to have their Cinderella moment at prom. Next year I plan to start the drive before spring break,” she said.

Senior Class Advisor Claudette Smith praised the program for relieving financial pressure.

“Every year there are students who just don’t have the means to go... so I think it’s a great opportunity for kids who can only afford the ticket,” she said.

Blazers have the opportunity to choose prom clothing, free of charge, from a donated collection in the Career Center between April 10 and May 11.

Career Center Coordinator Phalia West encouraged Blazers to select pieces during lunch and after school. The selection has about 350 dresses, as well as an array of suits, ties, shoes and accessories.

Several local companies and members of the Blair community donated the clothes, according to West. Principal ReLEAH MUSKIN-PIERRET nay Johnson also made a public request for donations on a local A free selection of prom attire is available in the Career Center. radio station.

The Career Center is still accepting donations of clothing and clothing racks.

High visibility

Math raps engage students

By Srividya Murthy On March 14, in honor of Pi Day, Superintendent Joshua Starr tweeted a link to math teacher Jacob Scott’s music video “Triangle Experts,” raising the number of views of the video to nearly 7,000.

Scott has gained countywide acclaim for pioneering a new genre of music: math rapping.

Since 2010 when he began as a first-time rapper, Scott has been writing lyrics, performing raps and filming footage for his math videos. In each video, Scott re-

views math topics with which his students are struggling. His motivation for creating these videos came as he was designing posters to demonstrate how 2 Pi wraps around the unit circle. The 2 Pi wrap inspired him to write a math “wrap” about the concept, commencing his rapping career under the YouTube channel name 2 Pi productions.

Scott has produced four math videos so far, and says that the raps appeal to students because

see MATH RAP page 8

Bronies gallop through Blair ‘My Little Pony’ garners teen fans

By Sarah Wilson

TOLU OMOKEHINDE

Activist group Invisible Children, in conjunction with Students for Global Responsibility, came to Blair on Tuesday to get students involved in ending the use of child soldiers in Uganda. T-shirts were on sale to support the campaign.

“My mom thought it was a drug thing at first,” says sophomore Max Poole. “She thought it was all just strippers and drugs.”

Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy would be shocked.

Actually, it’s “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,” a children’s show set in Ponyville, home to Earth ponies, Pegasus ponies, and unicorns that have fancy parties in towers, talk to other sentient animals, and eat grass, all while learning lessons about friendship. With names like Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack, these little ponies have captivated a nationwide audience of 18-35 year old “bronies,” including a small community of fans at Blair.

“My Little Pony” premiered in October of 2010, and by the second season, herds of bronies had assembled a fandom. “Bronies” is the term for fans of the show ranging in age from 14 to

adult.

While the show was targeted toward elementary school age children, the show aimed to also appeal to the parents watching along with their kids.

Memes based around the show, along with threads, jokes, and art about the show’s plots and characters first arose and spread on the user-generated content sharing site 4chan. Word of the show spread through the Internet and the pony magic spawned websites where fans could contribute pony fanfiction. “My Little Pony” fans now meet at annual pony gatherings across the country to watch new episodes and argue about whether Pumpkin Cake or Pound Cake is the cuter foal.

For Blair fans, however, it is the peaceful and enchanting nature of both the show and the fandom community that make “My Little Pony” a horse of a different color.

see BRONIES page 28

insideCHIPS The youth vote: Columnist Claire Koenig argues for expanded SMOB voting rights see page 4

OP/ED 2

SOAPBOX 7

NEWS 8

Beautiful Blair: Horticulture club breaks ground on new gardening project see page 9

FEATURES 15

Different take: A Ugandan Blazer talks about Kony 2012 and his move to America see page 18

ENTERTAINMENT 25 CHIPS CLIPS 21

In memoriam: Blazers react to death of junior Simon Miranda see page 10

LA ESQUINA LATINA 22 SPORTS 29

2 EDITORIALS

silverCHIPS

April 26, 2012

Arizona oversteps its boundaries For the past two years, Arizona’s draconian immigration law has made it nearly impossible for immigrants; both documented and undocumented, to live in the state. The statute, S.B. 1070, gives law enforcement officials sweeping power to detain anyone they merely suspect could be in the country illegally.

This law stops just short of codifying racial profiling, and the Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments about the law yesterday, should condemn the law in order to send the message that states do not have the right to bypass federal laws, especially when doing so would tread dangerously close to permitting blatant discrimination.

While the potential for racial profiling is the most obviously reprehensible aspect of the law, the heart of the law’s controversy lies in its constitutionality. The constitution explicitly grants all power related to immigration, border patrol and foreign policy as it relates to immigration to the federal government. While states are allowed to work with the federal government on these issues, Arizona misuses its power by cracking down on illegal immigration in a manner that is beyond the scope of what is considered permissible by the federal government.

Under S.B. 1070, police officers in Arizona have the power to check the immigration status of anyone they have vague “reasonable suspicion” to believe may be in the country illegally, while no federal law allows for such broad power to be vested to law enforcement officials. Similarly, the law makes failure to carry immigration papers a misdemeanor and makes it a state crime for any illegal immigrant to apply for a job, but the federal government has no such provisions.

While it is not unreasonable for a state to be allowed some control in crafting immigration policy, practice has shown that the decrees of the federal government trump the policies of a state.

Similarly concerning is Arizona’s powerful goal of “attrition through enforcement.” The doctrine is simple: with a law like S.B. 1070 in place, Arizona has the power to force illegal immigrants out of their state in droves. This pipeline of detainment to deportation falls out of line with Arizona’s real power because “attrition through enforcement” falls under the category of foreign policy, a realm that belongs only to the federal government. It is not the right of a single state to decide what populations must leave the country, and the constitution delegates such power to Congress. This distribution of power as it relates to foreign policy is recognized around the world.

In fact, the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the United States on this issue.

If the Supreme Court rightfully overturns the law, its actions will set a strong and appropriate precedent for the future of immigration law in America. Arizona is not the only state the would be affected if the bill were overturned — similarly stringent “copycat bills” have been enacted in Utah, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana and South Carolina, and dozens of other states have considered such legislation. The slow spread of Arizona’s radical ideas is dangerous, for when more states consider strong anti-immigration provisions, the country runs the risk of spreading racial profiling and unjust local police work.

A ruling for the United States in United States v. Arizona would effectively nullify not only Arizona’s law, but also all copycat laws.

Any similar bills in other states would be tabled, which would prevent millions of people living in this country, many of them legally, from being treated as automatic suspects.

silverCHIPS Montgomery Blair High School 51 University Boulevard East Silver Spring, MD 20901 Phone: (301) 649-2864 http://silverchips.mbhs.edu Winner of the 2009 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Award Winner of the 2009 and 2010 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Crown Silver Chips is a public forum for student expression. Student editors make all content decisions.

Unsigned editorials represent the views of the editorial board and are not necessarily those of the school. Signed letters to the editor are encouraged. Submit your letter to Joseph Fanning’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.

Editors-in-Chief....................................................................................... Claire Boston, Sebastian Medina-Tayac Managing Features Editors...................................................Stella Bartholet, NoahGrace Bauman, Eliza Wapner Managing News Editors...........................................................................................Maureen Lei, Srividya Murthy Managing Opinions and Editorials Editors................................................................Claire Koenig, Maggie Shi Managing Entertainment Editors.............................................................................Helen Bowers, Simrin Gupta Managing Sports Editor........................................................................................................................Claire Sleigh Production Manager............................................................................................................NoahGrace Bauman Managing Design Editor....................................................................................................................Stella Bartholet Design Team.................................NoahGrace Bauman, Maureen Lei, Maggie Shi, Claire Sleigh, Eliza Wapner Public Relations Director............................................................................................................ Simrin Gupta Outreach Coordinator...........................................................................................................................Eliza Wapner Distribution Supervisor.......................................................................................................................Claire Koenig Newsbriefs Editor..................................................................................................................................Josh Schmidt Fact-Check Supervisor....................................................................................................................Srividya Murthy Extras Editor.............................................................................................................................Katelin Montgomery Executive Business Director.................................................................................................Ann Marie Huisentruit Executive Communications Director...........................................................................................................Jane Lee Executive Advertising Director.......................................................................................................Sarah Marsteler Executive Fundraising Manager......................................................................................................Chunwoo Baik Business Staff............................................................................................................Adrian Craig, Nicholas Seidell Page Editors.............................................Ruth Aitken, Emma Bergman, Puck Bregstone, Michelle Chavez .......................................................................Peter McNally, Katelin Montgomery, Katie Pohlman, Josh Schmidt, ............................................................................................Zoërose Waldrop, Hannah Weintraub, Sarah Wilson Copy Editors..........................................................................................................Paul B. Ellis, Rebecca Naimon Spanish Page Adviser....................................................................................................Dora N. Santiago-González Spanish Page Editor.........................................................................................................Kelly Ventura Spanish Page Writers...........................................Hector Barrera, Janett Encinas, Diana Ferreira, Anilu Martinez, ...................................................................................................Yessica Somoza, Claudia Quinonez, Heydi Urbina Editorial Board.....................Claire Boston, Claire Koenig, Sebastian Medina-Tayac, Maggie Shi, Claire Sleigh Editorial Cartoonist...................................................................................................................................Julia Bates Managing Photo Editor...........................................................................................................Tolu Omokehinde Photographers............................................................................. Leah Hammond, Enoch Hsiao, Clare Lefebure ..................................................................................................................Ellie Musgrave, Leah Muskin-Pierret Managing Art Editors..............................................................................................Nathan Gamson, Doyung Lee Artists.............................................................................................................Julia Bates, Xixi Chen, Tatyana Gubin Sports Writers.......................................................................Ruth Aitken, Peter McNally, Katelin Montgomery, ..............................................................................................................Janvi Raichura, Josh Schmidt, Claire Sleigh Professional Technical Adviser......................................................................................................Peter Hammond Adviser.............................................................................................................................................Joseph Fanning

Tailoring content to our readers Silver Chips changes stance on college coverage

By Claire Sleigh If you flip through an issue of Silver Chips from the past couple years, you’ll find one topic suspiciously missing: what Blazers do once they graduate Blair.

It’s a funny subject to be missing in a high school paper, because as high school students, we are constantly challenged to consider what lies in our future. We will make a variety of different decisions about our lives after high school-- we may choose to attend a two or four year college or take a job straight out of school. While these considerations vary from person to person and are frequently stratified among groups, the question of what to do in the future is important for all Blazers.

For years, the editorial staff at Silver Chips has considered stories about college to be taboo, reasoning that not everyone goes to college and that underclassmen would be too far removed from the college process to be particularly interested in the subject. We try to write stories that appeal to everyone, but not everyone continues on to higher education.

But with more and more people going to college, and degrees becoming increasingly necessary for high paying careers, it’s time to reevaluate the assumption that college coverage has no place in Chips. Seventy-four percent of last year’s senior class went on to attend either two year or four-year colleges.

As Ombudsman, I visited several English classes in the past couple of weeks to get student input on the college question.

The results were different than

Ombudsman Claire Sleigh expected, with a high percentage of underclassmen asking for more college information.

With this in mind, the Silver Chips editors have been more active about putting college information in the paper. This issue, we featured two stories about college, the first a review of schools in Maryland and the second tailored specifically to athletes who are considering recruiting.

The significance of these two

stories is that they take a subject that is of importance to many high school students, and give it a narrow scope. In this way, we can continue our college coverage in future editions and will be able to cover the topic from different angles in each issue, thereby serving more of our readers.

It is important that Silver Chips continues to talk about a variety of post-high school activities because we still have the same worry that our editors did in the past: not everyone goes to college, and not everyone goes to the same type of college. We strive to embrace Blair’s diversity when we include stories in the newspaper, which we can maintain through a conscientious effort to be balanced. Including an opinion piece on Harvard vs. Yale would be ridiculous, not to mention rude.

Our goal is to talk about college carefully and to include a mix of stories from issue to issue.

That being said, our aim is not to become the Career Center. They are far better placed to answer most any question when it comes to college and career opportunities.

However, what we can do is provide concise advice about specific issues, drawn from real sources and research. It isn’t that college will be the main focus of every issue; rather, stories about college will no longer be considered taboo.

Email the Ombudsman at silver.chips. ombudsman@gmail.com with comments, questions or suggestions.

Blair Bench Project needs your support To the editors: With 2,800 teenagers crammed in one school, “hanging out” around campus is inevitable, even positive — but it’s demeaning for students to have to sit on curbs, sidewalks or the ground when with friends or waiting for a ride. For parents like me driving up to find their student sitting on a parking lot curb at night, it feels like an accident waiting to happen. For staff and visitors, it’s a cold, anonymous reception. We need to retool.

The Blair Bench Project proposes that we buy and install about twelve benches to be positioned around the three main entrances to the school, and has set up a fund to purchase these benches.

We need donations from everyone in the Blair

community — from parents, students, teachers, departments, sports teams, clubs, bands, Magnet programs, graduating classes, alumni and local businesses (listen up McDonald’s and Chipotle!) to reach our goal. You can donate to the fund or donate an entire bench and have it personalized.

Check out the PTSA web site (ptsa.mbhs.edu) to see how to donate and for more information on the benches.

So far, the PTSA has stepped up to buy the first bench and two more groups are readying their donations. Join the Blair community in making a lasting gift. Please donate today. Thank you.

— Wynn Witthans, parent and chair of the Blair Bench Project

silverCHIPS

PRO/CON 3

April 26, 2012

Can Internet campaigns that stress awareness over action ever replace traditional activism?

Puck Bregstone

YES:

NO:

The Internet has the power to foster global movements that can be as successful as traditional protests.

Without a traditional driving force, Internet activism will at best speed up the time it takes to make change.

In January, hundreds of websites held temporary blackouts to protest two bills created to limit pirated content. These bills were called SOPA and PIPA, and were stripped of popular and legislative support due to the persistent and powerful protests of millions of Internet users. Despite the bills being backed by the entire United States entertainment industry, millions of individuals on the Internet were able to make dramatic change on Capitol Hill.

Major Internet Corporations like Mozilla and Google posted information on their home pages about the bills’ potential harm, which quickly rallied the Internet behind the cause.

Internet users and Internet-based companies brought their full force to bear, and in under a week, brought a fairly obscure debate between techies and multi-billion dollar corporations into the public discourse. The tremendous power the Internet was able to wield left the traditional media outlets astounded as they scrambled to jump on the bandwagon. Some denigrate this phenomenon as “slacktivism,” but these tactics have been proven to be successful.

Today’s highly publicized Internet activism is proving just as effective as traditional activism. Internet activism can reach a larger audience faster and keep a constant channel of communication open for organizers and supporters. These advantages will lead Internet protests to replace traditional activism as the trend grows.

Creating an unprecedented global is the defining aspect of the Internet. When Egyptians lost tolerance for their corrupt government, they took to Twitter and Facebook and gained a worldwide audience in hours. Activism on the Internet reaches an unparalleled audience, explains Michael Jones, the Deputy Campaign Director of Change.org: “Internet activism has allowed people to amplify their stories and campaigns to heights that people 10 or 20 years ago could not dream of.”

When more people are concerned with global issues, more citizens are actively involved in democracy. To decry an easier form of activism because of its convenience is selfish. Why should the select few with the time and money to march on the White House naysay other forms of participation?

Traditional forms of activism tend to center around one event. After a massive protest in Washington, D. C. or a megaconcert in New York comes to an end, this is often forgotten. Without the web, there are

very few ways to keep in touch with all of the supporters, and a movement quickly dwindles. But add an online movement, and there is a constant line of communication open for organizers to relay information about the campaign’s upcoming activities to supporters.

On March 5, Invisible Children, an organization that raises awareness and makes documentaries about child soldiers in Uganda, released a half-hour video on YouTube and Vimeo documenting its actions and promoting its upcoming initiative called Kony 2012. The video went viral quickly.

On Facebook, entire news feeds became dedicated to Kony 2012, with millions of users changing their profile pictures and liking statuses.

Almost as soon as the movement gained popularity, the campaign began experiencing backlash from all directions. Critics dubbed its activism “slacktivism” and criticized Invisible Children’s methods. While some of the organization’s practices are questionable, its goal was to raise awareness about Kony and Invisible Children, and it has clearly succeeded. By simply posting a video online, Invisible Children has made Kony a household name in a matter of weeks. To have massive media coverage stem from so little is a testament to the Internet’s power to sway public discourse.

Many critics of Internet activism accuse it of being too easy and appealing to pop culture impulses, but these are not negative traits. There are few historical precedents for something being popular, easy and effective. We have reached too high a level of cynicism if critics can write off a movement just because it has become popular. It is time for activists to begin to adopt and truly appreciate the influence that the Internet holds as an activism medium.

In a span of weeks in 2009, over 27,000 people joined a Facebook group to stop the dismantlement of Stork Fountain in Copenhagen –but the document ordering the strike-down of the fountain was never found. Over 27,000 people were led to believe in a fake cause. The creator of the group is not to blame, however.

The group was an experiment. Over 27,000 people did not bother to look into the issue before joining the group, joining in an attempt to show care for whatever seemed to be, even remotely, an issue. And it happens to almost everyone. Seeing the same topic in Twitter updates and as Facebook statuses draws people onto the bandwagon of a form of activism that consists of retweeting, liking PUCK BREGSTONE and sharing. Soon, everyone seems to know about whatever issue is out there.

Even though Internet use has catalyzed the speed at which people learn about major issues, Internet activism on its own is not reliable, and traditional forms of activism still serve as the driving force for the purpose of activism, which is not only to inform, but also to promote change.

Imagine the typical congressman whose job it is to be aware of the major issues that concern the public. The typical congressman looks online to see which issues are important on the Internet. However, the opinions shared on the Internet are not the determining factor for which issues will receive the most attention in Congress.

Internet activism can only spread the word and, at best, move people to talk to members of Congress. It will not put a face on the supporters – in fact, it depersonalizes them. Congressmen want to see people take one more step to show interest by making phone calls or lobbying. Junior Elizabeth Lakew did just that.

Lakew had made an event page on Facebook for a community conference about

Michelle Chavez

bigotry toward Muslim Americans that took place last summer. The page attracted about 100 people from the community, but it was not what motivated influential people like State Senator Jamie Raskin to go to the event. Lakew and other organizers personally contacted elected officials and explained the purpose of their event. Unlike Internet activism, these forms of traditional activism put a face on the activist. Personal requests show that people like Lakew care about an issue more than those who simply support a cause by clicking a mouse.

Lakew’s personal contact of significant decision makers brought not only their presence at the event but also their signatures on a resolution to support the purpose of the event.

While there are people like Lakew who use the Internet to direct others to a larger, more effective cause, the majority of Internet users’ motives behind Internet use as activism are much simpler. When the Kony 2012 video went viral, the movement was tweeted about, liked, shared and made into many people’s profile picture. Sophomore Simeon Kakpovi was one of many Blair students who originally showed support for the online movement. He, like many, saw Kony 2012 as a major movement at first and felt that participating would contribute to an event that would make history textbooks. “I felt sort of empowered sharing the video at first since I knew it would definitely gain popularity very fast,” he says.

This is the typical reaction to movements like Kony 2012. People who typically do not participate in other forms of activism use Internet activism to feel like they are part of something important without needing to do anything more than click a mouse. This, however, can lead to unintended support from followers who got on the bandwagon without subjecting an issue to scrutiny. Kakpovi later learned about credibility flaws in the Kony movement and changed his mind about his support. There are millions who feel the same way as Kakpovi, but the amount of likes still remains as a false indicator of support. Congressmen know that those who care enough will continue to use traditional forms of activism because it is the driving force for decision makers to make real change.

Just as there is an interaction that causes a reaction, there is a catalyst that facilitates it. Traditional forms of activism can effect change, and the Internet facilitates these results. The catalyst, however, cannot act alone.

voiceBOX

-senior Hannah Buchek

“Getting a group together shows more of a face, but with the Internet, it’s only names.”

“The Internet is so widespread and fast, it’s easy to get your messages across.”

“It cannot replace traditional forms but it can supplement them.”

-junior Marvely Molina

-senior Edwin Salvador

“The Internet can enhance your cause but traditional activism is still needed.”

-sophomore Henock Yilma

“You can turn the Internet off, but you can’t turn a group of people off.”

-freshman Francis Gerard

4 OPINION

silverCHIPS

April 26, 2012

Breaking down bullies

By Maggie Shi An opinion Everyone loves a good political soundbite. While most are just shallow solutions layered over extremely complex issues, they are effective swaying the masses.

Who doesn’t like to hear “I will never raise taxes” or “I will support the young, the old, the poor, the sick, etc.”? These days, a similar shallow promise has cropped up in the political arena: “I will punish bullies and give victims the justice they deserve.”

Maryland’s First Lady Katie O’Malley recently made this promise on her blog, after attending an advance screening of the documentary “The Bully Project,” which has sparked controversy because of its raw depiction of high school bullying. She called for Marylanders to take a “Stop Bullying, Speak Up” pledge and expressed Maryland’s commitment to improving bullying reporting systems and anti-bullying legislation.

O’Malley is certainly correct in the grand scheme: bullying isn’t going to go away on its own, and states should always be looking for ways to fight it. Current anti-bullying legislation fights bullying by focusing on punishment and reporting.

Although this type of legislation may be an easy crowd-pleaser, these initiatives target only the end product of harassment. To truly fight bullying, Maryland needs a comprehensive strategy that takes into account all of the complex issues that contribute to bullying.

On the surface, punishment-focused legislation seems very useful: it clearly defines bullying, clarifies ways to report bullying and brings justice to victims. Maryland has a particularly extensive anti-bullying policy which is rated “A++” by Bully Police, a

watchdog group.

However, the legislation is still faulty in that it reduces bullying situations down to the typical victim-perpetrator dynamic that’s common in TV sitcoms, but rare in real life. The reporting system asks for information identifying a si-ngle “victim” and a single “bully,” assuming that conflicts are between just two people.

It isn’t always easy to decipher which person plays which role. Now with social networks entangled into the alreadymessy social structure of high school, rarely does anyone come

DOYUNG LEE

out of a bullying scenario completely blameless. According to the Josephson Institute’s Center for Youth Ethics, of the 47 percent of students who said they had been bullied before, 50 percent also identified as being bullies once themselves, creating a gray area of “bullyvictims.” The black-andwhite reporting system places all the blame on one individual, while another escapes punishment unscathed.

Punishmentbased antibullying legislation doesn’t address this gray area

at all. It takes more than just a few laws to determine who is truly at fault and to deliver justice.

This entire process could even be rendered unnecessary if schools quell the temptation to bully to begin with. While the threat of harsher punishments may help deter some bullies, it might be helpful to try a more positive strategy: bullying prevention.

Constructive bullying prevention needs to encompass more than just “awareness campaigns.” Raising bullying awareness isn’t like raising awareness for a littleknown disease. Instead, bullying can be prevented by building a curriculum which caters to the mental health of both victims and bullies. According to a study in British Medical Journal, one quarter of female bullies are depressed and cite having low self-esteem and unhappy home lives.

An evaluation by the University of Washington found that individuals involved in bullying situation, including bullies, victims and bully-victims, tested poorly in measures of social competence, self-awareness and emotion regulation.

To prevent bullying, states should develop a positive curriculum which teaches students how to cope with such mental and social difficulties. States can also train staff to identify mental health red flags to pinpoint and help students at risk of becoming bullies.

Sadly, bullying is an education quagmire which will probably never be resolved, but its effects can be reduced if the fight against bullying expands beyond just cranking up punishments and prodding students to “speak up.” Instead of supplying empty rhetoric and ramping up old tactics, state politicians should promise students something of substance.

Stand up for the students' voices official member of the board, his rights have yet to be fully realized.

Members of the Montgomery This week every student in County Education Association the county will have sat down to and the National Youth Assowatch the agonizing thirty-minute ciation drafted a state bill that Student Member of the Board would finally put an end to the (SMOB) “Meet the Candidates” restrictions on SMOB voting. This video, complete with pretenwould allow current SMOB Alan tiously scripted student quesXie to vote on previously withheld tions and bad latin introductory issues such as the budget, collecmusic. Some students will mock tive bargaining, redistricting and the pettier questions or enjoy the negative personnel assessments. time spent not listening to their But despite the valiant efforts teachers — most will probably fall of students and state legislators asleep. But perhaps the SMOB alike, the bill was tabled on April election process demands a little 1 for the fourth year running.

The SMOB is the means for the entire MCPS student body to enact long-lasting, broad-ranged, deep-seated Welcome to the Art Corner — a space where Silver Chips artists share their perspective on change — our the issues of the day, or simply show off a piece of art they have been working on. only means. We have ways to alter policies within our classes, our schools, our communities, but in order to effect change throughout the county we need an advocate in the BOE. By letting this bill fail again we have failed to make it clear to the Maryland General Assembly that we deserve the right to be heard, and that our SMOB has the right to speak for us. As we are the only people making use of our own XIXI CHEN education and the

By Claire Koenig An opinion

more of the typical MCPS student’s attention.

For 35 years, Montgomery County students have elected a SMOB to represent the student perspective and to give the MCPS student body a voice during important discussions and decisions. In many ways the SMOB is considered a fully functioning participant in MCPS Board of Education (BOE) matters — he attends meetings, collaborates in discussion and votes on some issues within the county. But the fact remains that although the SMOB has been recognized as an

Art Corner

NOAHGRACE BAUMAN

school system is intended to serve our needs, we need to establish that we should have a say in our education and our futures.

Adult members of the MCPS BOE are chosen in the same way that local politicians are; through elections in which every registered voter over the age of 18 is allowed and encouraged to drop a ballot in the box. By this standard, every citizen of Montgomery County, be that parents, teachers, neighbors, college students, crazy cat ladies, have a say in the decisions the BOE reaches on important issues — except for the young people most directly impacted by these decisions.

Without full SMOB voting rights, people who have never even had children enrolled in MCPS have more influence than we do regarding how our schools are funded or how our district lines are drawn. It is a misrepresentation of democracy to allow the students to elect a representative, and then to prevent that representative from exercising his full potential.

But the SMOB’s job is not just to speak for the students; it is to speak as a student. It is to use his background as an MCPS student

to make informed decisions about the issues at hand — even if such a decision goes against popular student opinion.

If the BOE is concerned that the SMOB will make immature choices on important issues, they have to remember that by electing the SMOB the students trust him not to always take our side, but to consider all sides the same way that the adult board members are expected to do.

We trust the SMOB to be better informed than we are and to speak in our interest, and we trust the BOE to listen to the SMOB’s judgments as our own. This is the way our representative democracy works. By disregarding that system the BOE is ignoring a crucial voice in crucial issues, one that they should ensure is recognized for the better of the student body.

And despite the Maryland General Assembly’s reluctance to admit it, our SMOB is more than qualified to handle the responsibility of extended voting rights.

You don’t need to pay taxes to understand finance. You don’t need to have been to college to assess questions of educational morality.

You don’t need to be over 18 to be competent.

silverCHIPS

OPINION 5

April 26, 2012

cheating ourselves

By Leah Muskin-Pierret An opinion

Teenager Samuel Eshaghoff would perform what he called a life-saving service for a mere $2,500. His clients were wealthy slackers, and his service raised their SAT scores without a second of labor – he simply took the test for them. After years of impersonations, he was finally caught, but not before sixteen undeserving students made their way to prestigious universities.

On 60 Minutes, in response to the challenge that his clients may have robbed deserving students of their acceptance, he callously retorted, “I don’t care for a complaint like that.” It’s a pity for one industry that Eshaghoff has been shoved behind bars already: he might have seen future success on Wall Street.

There is a pervasive culture of cheating that runs from high stakes testing to the financial sector to the halls of Congress, and all the shady places in between. Teachers can’t clean up our nation’s ethics singlehandedly, but by ramping up vigilance and punishments for cheating, they could restore an ounce of integrity to future generations.

It all starts with a tiny lie: cheaters are only hurting themselves. You’d be hard pressed to miss the memo throughout the entirety of your high school career. Teachers often parrot that recycled knowledge,

but unfortunately the paradigm hardly ever holds true. Cheating harms those in the right by artificially improving the work of the cheater. The cheating myth is only held afloat by an assumption of delayed but inevitable justice – the belief that one day, the cheater’s luck will run out, and they’ll end up where they deserve, whether it be high school detention or white collar prison. In the real world, the system is designed to bring ruin to cheaters, but too often the cheaters ruin

the system, and escape unscathed themselves. Cheating scandals rock the news daily, though they often come with the more serious baggage of the real world.

Instead of just ruining the curve, real world cheaters have the power to sell short honest peers and cripple democracy.

Not every high school plagiarizer will end up a fraud, but punishing a plagiarizer early can only help prevent future transgressions. High stakes testing is taking this seriously; the SAT cleaned up its act, with ID photos, cross checked by school counselors who know the student, now required on an admissions ticket. But far more widespread is the chronic phenomenon of everyday school cheating, like copying test answers and homework. A study of 40,000 high school students by the non-profit Josephson Institute of Ethics found

that more than half of all teenagers admit to having cheated on a test in the past year, and a third have done it more than twice. Studies by the American Psychological Association point towards apathy or denial as the internal justification for academic dishonesty. It’s a hypothesis that most students see verified every day

at school, as students shamelessly copy homework and divulge test questions and answers, justifying it with apathy towards ethics, or denying the ethical implications in the first place. Schools intend to teach academics and instill a positive work ethic in students, but cheating can hinder both.

The scope of the issue becomes magnified upon revisiting life after school.

Cheating in high school may be an indication of bad business practices years down the road. A Josephson Institute of Ethics study found that high school cheaters were several times more likely to lie to customers or inflate an insurance claim relative to their academically honest peers. The data is all patchwork, but this research suggests a productive hypothesis: nothing negative can come from a serious effort to stop cheating where it becomes an ingrained habit, in high school. The two greatest goals of any punishment should be justice for the victim and reform for the criminal. That principle begs to be applied to high school cheaters. That teacher who calls up the colleges of the exam cheater, or who makes students redo an essay for a single plagiarized line, or who gives the straight A student the C they deserved for copying every homework assignment probably appears a Grinch to students.

However, their tactics not only ensure justice for the honest students in the classroom, they also might give cheaters a reason XIXI CHEN to reform their habits before the stakes are raised.

In the real world, plagiarism, fraud, and corruption can rightfully land a person behind bars, and schools downplaying the severity of the high school equivalent are only denying students that crucial lesson.

By handing out zeroes to cheaters instead of giving pity, teachers can help save students from themselves.

College Board testing limits still allow students to succeed Cap on AP exams offered at reduced costs will not knock disadvantaged students off track

By Katie Pohlman An opinion Opponents may say that the new College Board policy is limiting and discriminating against students who have parents that cannot come up with $87 for them to take one AP exam. That the policy is taking away the chance for low-income students who are already disadvantaged to compete academically with other students who can pay for as many AP exams as they want. But it is not.

The new policy is not refusing low-income students any opportunity to receive college credit in high school. This new policy may be a cutback, but it is not an elimination.

Congress’s 2012 budget decreased funds for the College Board and its Advanced Placement Test Fee and Incentive Program from last year’s $43 million to $26.95 million. To compensate for these reductions, the organization is putting more money into the program to replace some of the lost federal funding to help low-income students continue to take exams. But the College Board is still forced to change its policy, which previously allowed lowincome students to take as many tests as they wanted for $15 each.

Those students are now limited to three AP tests at that cost and will now pay a still-reduced $53 for each test after the third.

Instead of attacking the College Board for its seemingly sudden reduction in support for students, the organization should be applauded for its efforts to continue the program. In an era where budget cuts are commonplace, it is going against the flow and putting extra funding toward students who need it most.

Despite its efforts, the College Board expects the funding cutback to decrease the number of low-income students taking AP exams next year to 337,000, which is 29,000 fewer than it

had predicted would register with the old policy in place, says College Readiness Communications Director Deborah Davis. Yet there is no reason for this decrease in test takers since the College Board is still allowing

Although this new policy seems to put low-income students at a disadvantage in getting college credit, the three test limit is reasonable. There is no disadvantage in taking only three AP courses a year, if they are chosen wisely. By the end of junior year, when students normally take the most APs, they already have a road map of what they want to pursue in college. Even though students may have to give up the more enjoyable AP courses to take the more strategic ones, this new policy will help students spend their money wisely and not end up

them to take up to three AP exams every year, which is above the average number of exams taken per student nationwide.

TATYANA GUBIN

paying for and spending time studying for a potentially useless test. For example, the exams most accepted by colleges are AP Calculus AB and BC. At Blair, 35 students are taking the Calculus AB class and only 22 students are taking the BC section. On the other hand, 275 students are currently taking AP World History and 62 students are taking AP Comparative Government, two tests that very few colleges accept credit for.

According to the College Board, 81 percent of students registered to take exams last year took one or two while only 19 percent took three or more. This new policy still allows lowincome students to take more tests than the majority of students take on the same budget; without this policy, they could have been completely shut off from the possibility of taking any AP exams at the higher price of $87 each.

Even at Blair, the average number of exams students have signed up to take this year so far is 2.35 per student, and the average for students with fee waivers is two. Looking at the limit in a strictly academic sense, students should accept it and use it to its full advantage. Instead of eliminating the number of waived AP exams, reducing it to three still allows low-income students to compete nationally against others who are enrolled in AP courses.

6 ADS

April 26, 2012

silverCHIPS

silverCHIPS

SOAPBOX

April 26, 2011

Blazers speak out What is your favorite elective class? Why?

7

What are your plans after high school?

see story, page 8 “My favorite elective is my concert orchestra class because ever since I was little I’ve enjoyed music.”

-freshman Eli Parry-Giles

ART BY NATHAN GAMSON

see story, page 20

“My favorite elective class is child development because it shows me how to interact with kids. It gives me new insight on children.”

-sophomore Hunter Jordan

“I plan on going to college to study business and restaurant management. After that I want to go to culinary school to get a degree in pastry studies. I plan to open my own independent bakery and coffeehouse.”

-junior Allison Goodman

“My favorite elective class is weight training, because it gets you hella swole!”

-freshman Eyal Li

“Hopefully go to college, but I am considering joining the Israeli army if I don’t get into somewhere I like.”

-sophomore Mattan Berner-Kadish

“My favorite elective class is ceramics because it’s fun and it relaxes you.”

-sophomore Brenda Escobar-Morales

“I plan to take a gap year to travel. I want to spend time learning outside of a school institution through experience and observation. I hope this time out of school will free my mind, allow me to relax, and give me a sense of direction in terms of where I want to go in life.”

-junior Jordana Rubenstein-Edberg

What TV shows did you like to watch when you were little? Why? see story, page 28 “When I was little, one of my favorite shows was Cat Dog. The loveable, two-headed anthropomorphic creature would get in much trouble from Dog’s rambunctiousness, while Cat tried to fix the problems. Obviously this was a show meant to teach tolerance and responsibility.”

-junior Phillip Cai

“My plan after high school is to join the military. I haven’t made up my mind on which branch, but I’ll have it pave my way through college.”

-junior Jon Thompson

“The Flintstones.”

-principal Renay Johnson @blairprincipal “I did not like cartoons as a kid. I watched nature shows on Discovery and everything on the Food Network. The only exception was Arthur, which was an awesome cartoon.”

-junior Siena Kemp “I liked to watch the Powerpuff girls because I never had any sisters, so I always imagined I was the one with the long hair, the red one.”

-sophomore Cindy Monge

Do you think money has corrupted the athletic world? Why? see story, page 30 “Yes I think money has corrupted the athletic world, mainly in professional leagues. Sports are now driven by how much athletes are paid. Seasons can be stopped purely over a few million (which is nothing to them), then yes it is fair to say money has corrupted athletics.”

-junior Scott Boyd

Do you think that the cost of AP exams is too high? see story, page 5 “No, their cost is not too high. The price is cheaper than enrolling in the corresponding college course. The cost is worth earning college credit in high school.”

-junior Walter Tan “No because it’s a whole college course that you won’t need to retake in college, if you do well of course.”

-freshman Lul Mohamud

“No, I think money is a motivator because if you’re not the best at what you love you won’t get paid. If you are the best you can be happy and get paid in stacks!”

-sophomore Evany Martinez

“$87 for an exam that isn’t well written is a ripoff.

APs have a monopoly because IBs aren’t offered at Blair. They should just stop paying their executives millions.”

-junior Thomas McHale

“Money has corrupted the athletic world, the player doesn’t play because they love the game anymore, they play for money. Look at the NBA, they barely even try, no one plays defense at all.”

-freshman Matthew Kickenson

chipsINDEX

72 46 5 35

Minimum number of hours a convicted minor will spend in juvenile detention Number of banners currently displayed inside the Nelson H. Kobren Memorial Gymnasium Average number of classes each Blair teacher teaches Number of years MCPS has held SMOB elections

232 790 24601 107

Number of seniors who currently have an abbreviated schedule Average price in dollars of rent for teens who live by themselves “Les Miserables” lead’s Jean Valjean’s prison number Number of elective courses offered at Blair

Chips Index compiled by Katelin Montgomery with additional reporting by Sabrina Bradford, Emanuel Ceron-Rohena, Caroline Gabriel, Carina Hernandez and Angelina Yu.

Quote of the Issue

“ ” You don’t realize how much you need someone until you have to do it on your own. junior Lauren

see HOME ALONE, centerspread

8 NEWS

silverCHIPS

April 26, 2012

Scott’s music videos gain acclaim Course offerings change from MATH RAP page 1

they convey information in a concise and entertaining way. “When the students appreciate the quadratic formula they will always be equipped to solve quadratic equations,” he says as an example.

Scott laughs as he says that even his three-year-old daughter can recite the lyrics for his raps.

Scott also frequently references his videos in his classes. “It helps me with instructing students— it brings a new dimension to class.” Senior Jasleen Kaur, who participated in one of the videos, describes that the videos offer students an alternative way of learning. “People enjoy listening to music. Some people who don’t like listening to the lecture can listen to the video,” she says.

Sophomore Minu-Tshyeto Bidzimou, who recited lines in three of Scott’s videos, says that the raps leave him with something he will remember past the next test and even after high school. “It will be one of the few things I’ll be confident in for the rest of my life,” he says. “I’ve heard it so many times.

It will be hard to forget it.”

For his efforts with ESOL students and for his math raps, Scott was awarded the NAACP Excellence in Education Teacher of the Year Award in 2011. In the same year, Scott was featured on the front page of The Gazette, on local television stations, as well as on billboards throughout the D.C. metropolitan area. “Last year was just like a dream,” Scott says. “I’d be going out and people would be asking for autographs.”

2 PI PRODUCTIONS / YOUTUBE

In his popular music video, math teacher Jake Scott wears

Scott wants to continue producing math raps and already has a few ideas in mind for the future.

“I got a firm foot in the rap game.

I’m being established as a math rapper,” he says proudly. While Scott is excited about his achievements, he wants to take his success beyond the classroom; he hopes to market his math videos, T-shirts and posters to help fund the ESOL summer program he founded at Blair.

Scott says that many ESOL students struggle when they move to Blair math classes because most other countries don’t itemize their math curricula into different levels, like Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II. Instead, most students in other countries come in to Blair with the course name “Math,” leading them to be placed in classes far below their level. Scott recalls a former student who entered Blair as a senior, but dropped out because he had to begin with freshmen math. “That was so discouraging to me,” Scott says. “He was one of my top students.”

After this experience, Scott created an ESOL summer program in which ESOL students can take classes during the summer and be on the right level during school.

This summer, the program will be held for its fourth year and support around 110 students, an increase from the 30 students who participated last year.

Scott says that he is continuing to produce math videos and wants to use the proceeds to further support the ESOL department at Blair. “Sometimes, they are a voiceless group in the school. I want to be a voice for them,” Scott says.

Classes fail to meet enrollment

options,” said Johnson.

Philosophy, one of the new process of proposing new courses courses offered next year, has is time-consuming. “The head of been in the county catalogue for the department must propose the years though never at Blair. The course to the county in October course will be taught by current and November the year before,” social studies teachers Kevin she said.

Moose and Kevin ShinAfter being prodel. The class was posed, many first proposed by classes do not Shindel severreach enrollal years ago, ment quoand he has tas and continare not ued to offered propose for years it periat a time, odically w h i l e e v e r others since. meet enThis rollment y e a r , q u o t a s M o o s e every year, proposed “The courses the course that tend to run, and said that usually run,” said the timing lined MAUREEN LEI Johnson. up for the philosophy Though enrollment is impor- course this year with the amount tant, course offerings are also of student interest. “There’s a affected by core classes and re- new principal, and the timing quirements. “The courses with was just right and now 100 kids the highest enrollment are often signed up.” those for which students have To get students interested and requirements that they need to reach the twenty-student goal, fill such as tech classes and gym. Moose and Shindel distributed The enrollment numbers for En- flyers to entice students to sign gineering and Design are in the up and mentioned the course hundreds,” said Johnson. to all of their current students.

For Johnson, the downside to Moose is excited for the course the enrollment disparity between and highly recommends students electives and required courses is to take it. “I think it is something the reduction in course options everyone should study in their for students. “It’s important that see CLASSES page 9 students have a variety of class

from CLASSES page 1

silverCHIPS

Horticulture club starts gardening The club is also installing a bench in the new landscape in Blair’s Horticulture club broke partnership with the Blair Bench ground on the school’s new water project, a PTA initiative aimed conservation landscape on April at installing more benches and creating more seating areas on the Blair campus. “The conservation landscape project raises awareness for the Blair Bench Project too,” said Greer.

Eventually, Greer said, the Horticulture club would like to expand the landscape around the building toward the Colesville lot. The club will finish mulching the walking path and planting on Saturday, April 28. Students who would like to volunteer and help with the planting will receive Student Service Learning hours.

Blair’s conservation LEAH HAMMOND landscape, located outStudents ready soil for the installa- side the main entrance, tion of a conservation landscape. replaces existing nonnative vegetation with 14 with the cooperation of parents numerous plant species indigenous to Silver Spring, such as and student volunteers.

A conservation landscape, golden rod herb and winterberry. similar to a diverse and carefully- “The native plants will hopefully planned garden, uses indigenous attract native insects, improving flowers, trees and bushes to soak the ecology of the area. We want up excess rain water run off, pre- to keep everything sustainable,” venting polluted water from flow- said Horticulture club sponsor Christopher Brown. ing into waterways.

The landscape’s water-leeching Over 25 students and ten adults participated in the land- soil collects water run-off from the scape planting and preparation roof and surrounding area, reefforts last Saturday. The club cre- ducing water waste and hydratated the landscape with help from ing the ground more deeply, said a $5,000 grant from Montgomery Greer. Greater water retention will County’s Department of Environ- increase the fertility of the landmental Protection (MCDEP) in ac- scape’s soil, and accommodate cordance with its efforts to reduce more vegetation, said Brown.

“It will look beautiful,” Greer water pollution in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. “The money cov- said.

To help, talk to Mr.. Brown in ered all of our costs,” said the president of the Horticulture club room 332 or join Horticulture club every Thursday from 2:10 to 3:00.

Dylan Greer.

By Hannah Weintraub and Ruth Aitken

Puzzlepalooza expanded

A year after the expiration of Nick’s Farm’s lease to the MCPS-owned land it sits on, the County Council is still debating a bill that will decide whether the lease is renewed. If the lease is renewed, Nick’s Farm will be allowed to stay and use the land to farm organic crops; but if the lease is not renewed, Nick’s Farm will be converted into two soccer fields.

Last year, County Executive Isiah Leggett asked the Board of Education (BOE) to turn over the lease and hand the land over to Montgomery Soccer Incorporated (MSI) so they could build two new soccer fields.

Nick’s Farm, located in Potomac, is owned by Nick Maravell, who has farmed and supplied neighboring farms with organic seeds for 30 years. If the BOE fails to renew the lease, Nick’s farm will be shut down and two new soccer fields will be built.

Along with providing seeds, Nick’s Farm has also served as a learning opportunity for local elementary school students. In an effort to keep this opportunity, the surrounding Potomac neighborhoods and community organizations such as Save Nick’s Farm and Brickyard Coalition are taking action to stop this change.

Opponents to the soccer fields are also concerned about possible pollution and traffic that the neighborhood infrastructure would not be able to support.

Science teacher Elizabeth Levien is a strong advocate for the preservation of Nick’s Farm and has joined the fight to stop Leggett’s plan. “If you understand anything about basic science at all, then you know that

9

‘Puzzle Lords’ incorporate farm trip into event With the early notice, the Puzzle Lords took the change in schedule as an opportunity to integrate new challenges into the competition.

“We’re going to be taking advantage of the fact that we’ll be in an outside location,” said Ostrander.

Stein also expressed his excitement for the fourth day. “It will be

and aids available to them — but in an outside location, there is the added difficulty that participants Puzzlepalooza, an annual may have differing levels of Interfour-day puzzle competition connet connectivity, like 3G or wi-fi. ducted by magnet teachers, will The change also forces the Puzzle be facing scheduling changes this Lords to adapt the structures of year due to the elimination of the the puzzles themselves. In years Government High School Assesspast, all puzzles were provided on ment (HSA). For the past two the first day years, Puzzlepalof the comooza took place petition, during the HSA to be comtest week, and was pleted and open to all seniors evaluated and juniors who by the last had already taken day. Howtheir math and ever this English HSAs. year, some With the withpuzzles drawal of the Govwill both ernment HSA, the start and traditional fourend at the day scheduling for field trip.

Puzzlepalooza has M a n y been disrupted. aspects of This year, a field the event trip to Bohrer Park will continat Summit Hall in ue as they Gaithersburg will have in take place from years past.

11:30 a.m. to 6:30 For exp.m. on the fourth ample, this day of the compeyear’s comtition. petition In response to also has an the major schedoverarchuling change, the ing theme. teachers who run “Each year Puzzlepalooza, has its own referred to as the theme, last “Puzzle Lords” year’s was during the comELLIE MUSGRAVE ‘The Year of petition — Peter the WaterOstrander, David In Puzzlepalooza, which magnet teachers organize annuBear’ and Stein, Peter Ham- ally, students solve puzzles during HSA week. this one has mond and James Schafer — had to revise the sched- even more awesome because we’ll a kind of election theme,” said Ostrander. ule. “We knew about it early on, have a field trip,” he said.

One of the many challenges The Puzzle Lords are not disso we were able to plan for it early the Puzzle Lords face is control- couraged by the changes in schedon,” said Hammond.

Though the location for the ling the fair distribution of cer- uling. Stein is confident that this field trip was recently revealed tain tools or aids, such as phones year’s event will be at least as fun to competitors, the Puzzle Lords with Internet access. In the past, as the previous years’ events. “Evdeclined to reveal any specific de- competitors have been allowed ery year is more awesome than the and encouraged to utilize all tools year before,” he said. tails about the event.

By Zoërose Waldrop

Community fights for farm

By Katie Pohlman

NEWS

April 26, 2012

a farm like this can’t just exist anywhere,” she said.

Levien said that in order for a farm like Nick’s to be deemed organic the soil must be completely free of the pesticides and additives that other farmers in the country use to grow their crops. Nick’s Farm has unique, organic soil conditions for seed production in this sense.

Levien has tried to get several student organizations, such as Students for Global Responsibility and the Green club, to get involved in the cause.

She has spoken to many students about the issue to raise awareness, and invited Maravell’s daughter to speak to Horticulture and AP Environmental Science classes about organic farming.

Along with protecting access to organic products, the organizations are concerned about the way Leggett went about getting the BOE to end Maravell’s lease.

The County Council was unaware and not in agreement of this action and is now supporting Expedited Bill 11-12, which would require Council approval on transfers of county property. This bill would stop similar incidents from occurring.

Levien said that this issue is a good opportunity for students who want to be involved in a change to take action. “I think anyone interested in making sure we have a transparent and democratic government would be interested [in this issue]. Anyone interested in protecting people from the potentially devastating effects of GMO products would be as well,” Levien said. GMO farm products are altered at the genetic level to give them special biological qualities.

Counselors handle changes in class enrollment from CLASSES page 8 lives,” said Moose.

Another new course being offered next year is Algebra 2 Double Period. According to math resource teacher Shelley Sherman, because of certain math credit requirements.

The class will be offered as an aid for students who need more time for the subject.

“It is required that by the end of eleventh grade students must have received a C or higher in the Algebra 2 course, so it was proposed as an opportunity for students who struggle with the material to have more time and achieve this goal more easily,” she said.

Class scheduling for the following year is a detailed process, which relies on student, teacher and period schedules and can often be affected by students with abbreviated schedules.

Counselor LaSchell Wilson estimates that around one third of the senior class follows an abbreviated schedule. Along with that practice, some seniors sign up for a full year of courses and once they have heard back from colleges they drop the second semester of classes. As a result, classes that appeared to have enough students to run at the beginning of the year

no longer have that same number.

For Wilson, abbreviated schedules may be best for students with a job or internship but otherwise are inadvisable.

“There are the Edison program and so many classes that students can take advantage of while the classes are free.”

Teachers must also become involved because if their course does not get enough numbers, partly as a result of students taking abbreviated schedules, the classes they teach may not run.

According to Johnson, teachers do not agree with abbreviated schedules unless they have a valid reason. “Most teachers would prefer students to take additional courses,” she said.

Otherwise when seniors decide on abbreviated schedules many classes are thrown off as a result. “The timing of classes is very crucial, if a class is during a less desirable block, it may not run purely because core classes run at the same time or students would rather have an abbreviated schedule,” said Wilson.

Wilson believes abbreviated schedules to come with negative effects and warns seniors to think about their decision.

“Students need to be very cautious when looking at abbreviated schedules in relation to colleges. Colleges may not view it as a positive choice,” she said.

10NEWS

silverCHIPS

April 26, 2012

Blair community reacts to death of Simon Miranda Memorial service held for Blazer who died while studying abroad “Although feelings of anger, hurt, guilt, or sadness are natural…none of us can assume responsibility beJunior Simon Miranda died on cause the ultimate decision was March 30 while studying abroad not ours to make,” she wrote. in Brazil. He was 16.

Blair administration hung a On April 10, the first day stupaper banner at the bottom of dents returned from spring break, the main staircase to give Blazers Principal Renay Johnson made a a place to offer their condolences school-wide announcement in- and express their thoughts on his forming Blazers that Miranda had life and death. Junior Evan Kahn, one of Miranda’s closest friends, made a Google Doc to create a space for friends to share their feelings. “As soon as I found out he died, I went and started this page where people could write and pay their last respects to him,” he said.

On April 7, Miranda’s family held a memorial service at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center.

Johnson and social studies teacher Lansing Freeman were in attendance, along with many of Miranda’s family and friends. A video of the service is available on YouTube.

Freeman, one of Miranda’s former teachers, delivered a speech at the memorial service in which he Junior Simon Miranda was recalled Miranda’s intellecremembered by his friends as a tual curiosity and enthusitalented musician and computer asm. “Simon was interested in the world around him; programmer. that’s what made him such taken his own life. A letter with an interesting person and valuable additional information was sent student to have in the classroom,” home with students that day. In he said. the letter, Johnson addressed reMiranda was bilingual and actions students may have had. enjoyed travel, calling himself a

By Sebastian Medina-Tayac, Claire Boston and Maureen Lei

Blair’s administration hung a memorial banner on the main staircase to allow Blazers to leave condolences and write messages about Miranda’s life. Miranda died on March 30.

“Brazil enthusiast” in one of his many blogs.

He was engaged at Blair as a member of Silver Chips Online’s tech staff, working on maintaining and improving the website. In addition, Miranda participated in Blair’s Youth & Government club, where he served as a House Delegate.

In his obituary in the Washington Post, Miranda’s family identified him as “a world traveler and engaged citizen.” Outside of his extracurriculars at Blair, he vol-

Council evaluates dropout prevention spending of at-risk students but have significant gaps when it comes to providing access to The Montgomery County Office of Legcareer and occupational training. islative Oversight (OLO) released a report Bonner-Tompkins said that after April on county-funded alternative programs for 30, the Board of Education (BOE) will presstudents at risk of dropping out. The study ent a revision for these programs. “At that was sponsored by the County time it will be clear where they Council to evaluate the sucwill go with career technicess of these programs cal education,” she said.

Since this is the first in preparing at-risk students for college study to examine and the workthese programs force. and their effecThe study tiveness, Bonner-Tompkins compiled data believes that from fourteen the data dropout precollected vention and will help recovery the county programs in expand opMontgomportunities ery County, available for which served at-risk stumore than dents.

14,000 stuAccording dents at a cost to counselor of $28 billion in Marcia Johnson, 2011. “The Counaround ten Blair cil wanted to get students decide to a perspective on the pursue each of the availprograms and the dollars able dropout recovery prothat are being allocated,” MAUREEN LEI said OLO’s senior legislative anagrams per year. Johnson said that if lyst Elaine Bonner-Tompkins. a student expresses an interest in dropping Dropout prevention programs like High out, is above the legal dropout age of 16 School Plus and summer school allow stuand has parental consent, counselors will dents to make up credits and stay on track guide the student and parents in choosing to remain in high school, while dropout the most fitting program for that student.

However, Johnson said that counseling recovery programs like Gateway to College at Montgomery College offer preparatries to retain students who wish to drop tion for General Educational Development out by meeting with them on an individ(GED) and other options for earning a high ual basis to help them with their grades. school diploma.

“Counselors and administrators work with Bonner-Tompkins said that many of students to help them and to provide supthese programs have addressed the needs port if their grades are falling,” she said.

By Srividya Murthy

unteered at the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, and was a talented violinist who played for the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestras of the Americas for Social Inclusion.

On the morning of the announcement, two county psychologists and one pupil personnel worker were available through the counseling office to students who needed help coping with the loss.

Resource Counselor Marcia Johnson said that most students did not need these resources because

those close to Miranda had heard about his death before spring break, and had already had time to grieve. Students still seeking emotional support should speak to their guidance counselors, said Deeny.

A PTA meeting was held last Tuesday for parents to discuss how the Blair community would go about supporting the Miranda family in its time of loss.

News of Miranda’s death was first made public on Facebook on March 31.

Blair staff continues AP push

By Michelle Chavez Blair is holding its first Advanced Placement (AP) boot camp this year with a grant from the Montgomery County Education Foundation.

Media Specialist Andrea Lamphier worked with the social studies department to organize the boot camp for two Saturday sessions and two after-school sessions.

The grant was specifically designated for AP World History exam preparation. Letters inviting students to participate in the review sessions were sent home to students who received a C or lower as a quarter or exam grade in an AP or honors class. The boot camp’s focus is on AP World History as well as study and note-taking skills.

The grant helped contribute to the removal of a fee that Blair would have had to pay to the Interagency Coordinating Board for using the building outside of school hours, Lamphier said. This grant not only pays for use of the space, but also pays teachers who would have otherwise contributed their time without any compensation.

Staff at Blair have also put more emphasis on the online test-prep database Testing & Education Reference Center. According to Lamphier, the Testing & Education Reference Center contains a collection of practice tests and online textbooks for numerous AP subjects as well as other major tests that students are likely to take to get into graduate school. Blair has purchased a

subscription to the website for three years now, but many students perceived the website to be new this year because Lamphier made an extra effort to visit AP classes to teach students about the database.

The database was a worthwhile purchase, according to Lamphier.

The $1295 the database costs each year is approximately $1.44 per student taking one or more AP exams this year, and $1.42 per student last year, as opposed to the $15 that each student might pay per exam book.

Assistant Principal Alicia NOAHGRACE BAUMAN Deeny, who is in charge of APs, is new to Blair this year and has worked with Resource Counselor Marcia Johnson to send notices to students who did not register for AP exams for the classes they are currently taking. This effort was part of Blair’s goal to increase the number of students who take AP exams.

This year, registration was slower than in past years and Johnson said she decided to send the notices sooner than usual to emphasize the importance of signing up for exams. While there are fewer students taking exams this year than last, the average number of exams each student is taking has grown.

In addition to the online database, Lamphier is working to provide additional support for students through Access Science, a company that offers online practice quizzes for AP science classes. Lamphier is also planning on working with the social studies department again to try to receive another grant for students next year.

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April 26, 2012

NEWS 11

Board finalizes MCPS budget Recommendation approved unanimously

By Katelin Montgomery

Since FY2009, the county has reduced its budget by more than $430 million. To cope The MCPS Board of Education (BOE) with the budget in years past, class sizes has approved the $2.128 billion operating have increased, employees have agreed to budget recommendation for fiscal year forego cost-of-living and step increases, (FY) 2013. This request is a two percent in- more than 1,300 positions have been eliminated, and there have been hiring freezes crease from last year’s budget.

This is the lowest requested budget in- and expenditure restrictions.

However, in this year’s budget request, crease in 12 years, and it is the first time no further cuts have been made so that the budget recommendation has met the state’s maintenance of far. BOE President Shirley effort (MOE) provision in Brandman explained that three years. the goal of the request Meeting MOE is to stop lowering means that MCPS the budget.

“This year must spend the was a ‘hold the same amount line’ budget, of money per and that was student. Philvery critical lip Kauffin trying to man (D- Atstop having Large), chair re d u c t i o n s . of the Board This budget of Education tried very (BOE)’s Fiscal hard to avoid Management any further reCommittee said ductions to the the recession is classroom,” she the reason that the said.

BOE did not request Kauffman said that an increase above that the budget also allows required by MOE. KATELIN MONTGOMERY for cost-of-living increases The additional $41.4 milfor teachers for the first time in three lion from the county will be allocated to accommodate growth in enrollment, in- years.

“The teachers should be getting some creased employee benefits and insurance costs, inflation, material and other expens- sort of a raise next year,” he said.

Since the increase is minimal, Brandman es, and employee salaries and compensasaid that officials must make the most of tion.

There has been substantial student what they have.

“The superintendent is working with growth, and next year MCPS expects the student population to grow by another 2500 his staff during this transition year to look students. They project that the amount of at how we spend the dollars we have and per pupil funding will remain the same as make sure we are using them as efficiently as possible,” she said. that of last year — $9759.

12 ADS

April 26, 2012

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April 26, 2012

SPECIALS 13

Vocal director Jenni McGinnis works on polishing songs with cast members before on-stage rehearsals begin.

When the cast is comfortable with the music and the crew builds the set foundations, rehearsals move into the auditorium to bring separate elements together under the direction of Kelly O’Connor (above) and pit orchestra conductor Adam Stevens (left).

For “Les Miserables,” the stage crew’s largest project was a twopart, rotating barricade that they push on in the second act. They used two staircases and a motley collection of old wooden furniture to create the desired drab effect.

As opening night approaches, the cast starts to practice blocking and running scenes on stage. These rehearsals focus more on fine-tuning the details.

Eight weeks of hard work finally culminate into the final production, which spans five fast-paced performances over two weekends. When the lights go down and the pit strikes up, the audience is thrown into a tour de force of nineteenth century France as Blazers take the stage to depict Victor Hugo’s classic tale of the human struggle for love, revolution and redemption.

14 NEWSBRIEFS

NEWSBRIEFS

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April 26, 2012

Navigating the Boulevard

Metro called to lower fares After learning of $16 million in savings from a fixed budget, Transit First coalition is calling on the Metro to cancel proposed fare increases. The Transit First coalition represents Metro riders and labor, environmental and community groups. With the lookout for the Metro getting brighter according to many reports, Metro riders hope that the significant increases in fare that have been agreed upon will be repealed. The fares were meant to go up to $6 and $4 for peak and non-peak hours respectively during the fiscal YEAR

School board race close The race for a seat representing District Two on the MontgomERY #OUNTY "OARD OF %DUCATION IS ONE THAT HAS BEEN DEEMED hTOO CLOSE TO CALLv BY LOCAL ANALYSTS )N THE LEAD IS FORMER 'AITHERS BURG PRINCIPAL &RED %VANS WHO CAPTURED PERCENT OF THE VOTE

OR AROUND )N SECOND IS 2EBECCA 3MONDROWSKI A FORMER LEGISLATIVE AIDE WITH VOTES BUT LESS THAN VOTES AWAY IS *EANNE %LLINPORT A PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONSULTANT 4HE TWO TOP VOTE GET ters in each race will advance to the general election on NovemBER MEANING THAT %VANS AND 3MONDROWSKI ARE SET TO ADVANCE at this point. While these results may indicative of what will end up holding true, not all votes have been counted. According to THE -ONTGOMERY #OUNTY "OARD OF %LECTIONS THERE ARE STILL MORE THAN ABSENTEE BALLOTS AND OVER PROVISIONAL BALLOTS TO BE COUNTED /NE RACE FOR THE "OARD OF %DUCATION THAT ISN T CLOSE IS FOR the at-large bid. Incumbent Phil Kauffman currently has a lead of around 40 percent over his second place competitor. This year’s SCHOOL BOARD PRIMARY HAD A RECORD LOW TURNOUT OF PERCENT OF registered voters

TOLU OMOKEHINDE

Sophomore Saphir Vilmar gives a teacher directions during the MCPS elementary school teacher job fair, which was held at Blair on April 17.

Ride On buses may be hazards The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation into the cause of several bus engine fires that have occurred on Montgomery County Ride On buses in the past few years. The agency seeks to determine whether or not there is a manufacturing problem in the buses that has caused these fires.

The theory of the administration is that the fires may have been started when the parking brake is used while the buses were moving. According to the county drivers’ union there have been six bus fires in the past three years. The drivers’ union has also filed a grievance with the state in which they demand that these defective buses must be removed from the fleet. Part of the grievance with the state is a claim that the county has not formally reported these issues with the state and that there is a discrepancy between the county’s claim of fires and the state’s claim of fires. Ride On also believes that Navistar, Inc., the manufacturers of Ride On buses, may also be to blame.

County Council reconsiders ambulance fee #OUNTY %XECUTIVE )SIAH ,EGGETT IS ASKING THE #OUNTY #OUNCIL TO RECONSIDER THE AMBULANCE FEE ,EGGETT PLANS TO USE THE MONEY MADE from the ambulance fee to help balance education costs that have been recently shifted from the state to the council. The maintenance OF EFFORT -/% BILL REQUIRES THE COUNTY TO SPEND THE SAME AMOUNT on education from year to year, meaning that the county must find A RESOURCE TO SUPPLY IT ,EGGETT BELIEVES THAT THE AMBULANCE FEE CAN BE USED TO MEET -/% FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR ,EGGETT SUBMITTED A BILL TO THE COUNCIL 4HURSDAY EVENING THAT WOULD REQUIRE REIMBURSE MENT FOR USE OF %MERGENCY -EDICAL 3ERVICE VEHICLES ,EGGETT HAD previously recommended the ambulance fee in 2010, but it failed TO GO ANYWHERE IN THE COUNCIL 7HILE MANY AGREE WITH ,EGGETT THAT this is a way to balance out the budget, others believe that passING THE BILLS WOULD TAKE AWAY CITIZENS RIGHTS BY LIMITING %-3 US AGE ,EGGETT IS NOW TRYING TO PASS THIS LAW BY GOING STRAIGHT TO THE County Council instead of taking the more circuitous route taken in 2010.

Takoma Park gets sidewalk upgrades Administrators in the city of Takoma Park have outlined the addition of three full-time positions and the funding of $2.6 million in street and sidewalk upgrades in the upcoming budget. The city is able to add these amenities after having a projected 12 percent increase in revenues this past fiscal year. The proposed budget BY #ITY -ANAGER "ARBARA -ATTHEWS WOULD SPEND MILLION AND TAKE IN MILLION 4HE EXTRA WOULD GO INTO THE city reserve. The three new positions would be a city management assistant, a special projects coordinator working for the Department of Public works and a police communications coordinator.

The sidewalk project would be in part accomplished by a $666,000 grant from the State Highway Administration. This grant would HELP GET THE &LOWER !VENUE 'REEN 3TREET 0ROJECT THAT HAS BEEN PRO POSED FOR l SCAL YEAR 4HE STATE HOPES THESE GRANTS WILL ALLOW cities to build safer street and sidewalks for pedestrians and those with disabilities. Part of Matthews’ budget also includes of two additional speed cameras on Carroll Avenue, which could provide around $770,000 in profit.

Newsbriefs compiled by Josh Schmidt with additional reporting by 4HE 'AZETTE 4HE 7ASHINGTON 0OST and The Silver Spring Patch.

XIXI CHEN AND JOSH SCHMIDT

HONORS s 3ENIOR %LI 3CHWADRON WAS ONE OF WINNERS IN the “Quill and Scroll� International Writing and Photo Contest for his sports article “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar visits Blair�. s 3ENIORS +IERNAN #OLBY AND "ECCA %DERER EARNED an honorable mention in C-SPAN’s 2012 Student Cam competition. s 3ENIORS .INA ,U *AMES 3HEPHERDSON 3RIVIDYA

-URPHY 3HERMAN ,EUNG %VAN (ORNE :IYAO 7ANG !NDREW :HANG -AUREEN ,EI 0RUSSE +AK povi and freshman Shubham Chattopadhyay all won awards at the 2012 Montgomery County Science Fair. s "LAIR HAD STUDENTS WIN 'OLD 3UMMA #UM ,AUDE THE HIGHEST HONOR ON THE .ATIONAL ,ATIN %XAM HELD ON !PRIL 4HE .ATIONAL ,ATIN %XAM IS AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEST FOR ,ATIN STUDENTS

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FEATURES

April 26, 2012

15

Freedom under lock and key Blazers look back on their time spent in juvenile detention

By Eliza Wapner Names have been changed to protect identity of sources.

For most people, turning 18 is a milestone.

One birthday allows scores of new privileges — the legal rights to sign contracts and the chance to buy once contraband items like lotto tickets. But the one thing being 18 doesn’t guarantee is a lighter prison sentence.

Deborah St. Jean, the Director of the Juvenile Protection Division of the Maryland Office of Public Defenders says that juvenile detention centers are designed to teach offenders responsibility and keep them out of

prison in the future. “If you don’t address the issue, they will continue to commit crimes and will end up in the Division of Corrections where beds are more expensive and sentences are longer,” she explains.

For underage Blazers who face criminal charges, being under eighteen changes the way the justice system looks.

Being a minor often guarantees shorter, more forgiving sentences, which may be completed at centers designated for juveniles that are separated from adult facilities. But getting arrested isn’t a one-size-fitsall scenario, and a number of factors are at play in determining a sentence. Punishments can vary widely based on the type of crime and the circumstances of the incident, but no matter what type of altercation landed them in detention, by being forced to call these places home Blazers have been able to reflect on their actions and learn a variety of lessons.

When, Kevin, a junior, was arrested in February, his prior record led to a judge sentencing him to a month in a juvenile detention center.

He had been previously charged with conspiracy of theft and unauthorized use of a vehicle, so when the police caught him smoking marijuana with his brother in the staircase of his apartment building, the judge was not willing to give him another chance. She deemed Kevin a “trouble to the community” and detained him.

Transitions As soon as the judge made her decision, Kevin was immediately

taken into custody. He asked the judge if he could hug his mother goodbye, but the judge denied his request. Kevin spent the next three hours in a holding cell, where the possessions he had on him were confiscated and he was provided with only the bare necessities. He was given a shirt, shoes, pants, underwear, a toothbrush and soap. After hours of waiting and various procedures ranging from a blood draw to survey questionnaires, Kevin was finally taken to the Alfred D. Noyes juvenile detention center in Rockville, Maryland where he would spend the next month of his life.

Darren, a senior, was also arrested for possession of marijuana, though unlike Kevin, at the time of his arrest, he was still in middle school. The marijuana actually belonged to his drug dealer friend, but the police didn’t care.

Darren was forced to go to family court where the judge decided he would get to choose his sentence.

He could pay a fine and do community service, stay in a juvenile detention center for two months or attend a federal camp in West Virginia for one month.

He picked the camp.

The camp was strict, and was far more similar to a boot camp than a traditional summer camp.

During the day, the campers would be taken off-site to perform community service like picking up garbage along a highway or would do work like building repair at the camp. The camp also held MAGGIE SHI mandatory group therapy sessions and required school attendance as well.

Compared to Darren, Kevin spent his month sentence in a far different environment.

For the next month, he was forced to adhere to a strict schedule. He woke up daily at 5:40 a.m. and did morning chores like cleaning

and sweeping. Breakfast was at eight, lunch at twelve and dinner at five.

He would wash up every night by seven and spend the rest of the night on lookdown.

On Thursday, he was permitted to talk on the phone to his family for ten minutes.

Throughout the week, good behavior was rewarded on a points system that would allow detainees to cash in points for items like deodorant and lotion.

On the outside Day says that the ten minutes a week he was allowed to talk to his family was never enough time. “Every time I got on the phone, there was nothing good on the other end,” he said. While he was in the detention center, his family was forced to face the repercussions of his actions. His house was raided by the police, who were searching for more drugs.

The police didn’t find any drugs belonging to Kevin, but his brother wasn’t so lucky and was slammed with another possession charge.

Amidst a stressful home life, Kevin felt like detention was a sanctuary. He learned how to play dominoes and spades and made many friends. He also had time to think about his life. “I had enough time to think in there about all the wrong I did and what I’m going to do when I get out,” he says.

Josh, a sophomore, also found his time in detention to be a productive time to reflect.

ELIZA WAPNER

He spent a week in a jail cell after being caught trespassing with friends in an abandoned construction zone, and found that his time in jail, allowed him to reflect on his actions. After talking to the Chief of Police who reprehended him for what he had done, Josh realized he merely followed his friends without thinking, and came to the conclusion that he would act differently if he were ever again faced with a similar situation. “You have the power to say no. The only reason why people do bad stuff and drugs is the fear of saying no,” says Josh.

A long way home

Kevin found that the hardest part of his arrest wasn’t his time in detention. Instead, he found his release and eventual return to school to be much more difficult. For the first two weeks after leaving Noyes, Kevin was placed on house arrest. He wasn’t allowed in the hallways of his apartment building because that was where he was caught, which he found to be a major inconvenience because only his hallway had Internet service. Even after completing his house arrest, Kevin had to wear an ankle monitor, which he described as bulky and painful, to school While Noyes offered basic classes like English, biology and math, Kevin says he had plenty of makeup work when he returned to Blair and generally found the classes offered at Noyes to be subpar. “The teachers didn’t know how to teach,” he says. “They just let us talk the whole class.” St. Jean says that most of the time there are ten-year-olds who can be stuck with 17-year-olds in the same classroom. Thus the teacher often just hands out packets of information.

A month of this teaching left Kevin behind when he got back to Blair, but since he has been doing better and his grades have improved.

Kevin says that his time in detention helped him create goals for when he got out. He plans to get a job and continue to do well in school so he won’t have to sell weed or borrow from his mother to have spending money. While Darren says he now knows not to associate with drug dealers, he is unsure if he left camp learning what he was supposed to learn.

“I’ve learned how to avoid the law instead of not to break it anymore,” TATYANA GUBIN he says.

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April 26, 2012

Full House

By Emma Bergman

I

n one house, there are three sisters, two brothers, two parents, one grandmother, one aunt, one uncle and one cousin. Although it may seem like the beginning of some dreaded word problem, a step in the home of senior Anibal Pozas is a step into the lives of eleven individuals.

Pozas lives not only with his immediate family but also with a complex network of extended family. He says that although his household gets hectic, having a big family is worth it for the food and, of course, the people.

Pozas’s situation is not unique to him alone. According to Pew Research, sixteen percent of Americans were living in multigenerational homes in 2008, and that number continues to increase.

Family from afar Senior Alice Mukora emigrated from Kenya when she was two years old, and now she and her family house other relatives as they arrive from their home country. She says that by providing a place for immigrating family members to live, she can create a temporary foundation for them to build new lives in the US. Pozas also lives with immigrant family members, but in his household, the arrangement is permanent. Pozas’s relatives come from Peru, and many can’t speak English fluently. They depend on Pozas and his family to provide a home where they can speak Spanish as well as English.

Chief of Aging and Disability Services with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Jay Kenney, says that students in multi-generational homes play a significant role in helping relatives adjust to life in another country. “Students can help the older generation stay tuned with the younger generation and their music and their culture and all kinds of stuff by exposing them

Pozas says that in a family of eleven, simple activities can quickly become complex.

“There’s just a lot of people in the house.

Usually we run into each other a lot, going to bathrooms, taking a shower, all that stuff,” he says.

Sophomore Calley Mayer-Marks currently lives with two brothers, her mother, and a live-in nanny named Jerry Parnecio. Considering her history of living with eight people at one time, for Mayer-Marks five makes for a relatively small household.

The Mayer-Marks family met Parnecio when they were living in Jerusalem. The Filipino full-time babysitter has since stayed with them for the past fifteen years. When the family moved back to the United States, Parnecio came with them. Several years later, a friend of Parnecio’s named Dave Garcia joined the Mayer-Marks household when he began to face struggles in his own home.

Mayer-Marks says she has met many new people by having such a large family. “Because we know Jerry and Dave I know a lot of people in the Filipino community around Maryland I wouldn’t really get to know otherwise,” she says.

Fam·i·ly [fam-uh-lee], noun When Sophomore Ruby Hamilton looks in the dictionary, she is hard pressed to find an entry for “family” that matches her definition of the word. Since she moved in with her grandparents, her definition has vastly expanded. “I’ve made everyone my immediate family,” she says. “They’re all my adopted immediate family.”

Hamilton lives in her grandparents’ home with her mother and three siblings—a seven-person family. “It’s really fun because I get to hear a bunch of stories about when my grandparents were young,” she says.

Mayer-Marks’s definition has changed as well. “Dave started staying with us when he was a sophomore and now he’s graduating college, so he’s just like a

By Hannah Weintraub

W

to that,” he says. Most importantly, students can help by understanding the emotional difficulties that older adults moving from their country of origin often face.

Mukora says that she serves as the prime example of an American teenager for some who stay with her, and works hard to perpetuate positive feelings about the US. “I feel like maybe I’m their first glimpse outside of television of American kids, and how an American upbringing is versus their upbringing,” she says.

Seven, eight, eleven toothbrushes

HOME ALONE

COURTESY OF CALLEY MAYER-MARKS

Sophomore Calley Mayer-Marks’s family once had eight people under one roof. brother,” she says.

Unlike Hamilton and Mayer-Marks, Mukora’s relatives stay for only months at a time.

Mukora can rattle off countless family members who have lived in her home, but can’t always trace their direct relation to her. The bulk of her family still lives in Kenya, and she says that having relatives stay with her makes her feel more connected to that family.

“I think it makes me see family as a stronger unit. Even though this woman living with me isn’t my cousin or some sort of immediate connection I still would let her stay with me because that’s my family and they matter to me regardless of that,” she says.

Mukora hasn’t always felt this way. When she was young, she felt limited by her large family, and it was the little things that made a difference day to day. “I knew that other people were eating so I couldn’t eat all the peanut butter,” she says. “It felt like having more parents.”

A family support system Mayer-Marks’ uncle Bart recently passed away after living with the family for years.

Bart had Down’s Syndrome and was developing signs of Alzheimer’s Disease near the end of his life. Mayer-Marks says that her levels of responsibility skyrocketed when her uncle developed more problems. Bart would take the bus every day to work at CHI centers, which offer jobs to people with Down’s Syndrome. “It was just things like getting him off the bus and taking him home and making sure that he didn’t have any problems getting into bed or getting changed,” she says.

The family reached new levels of closeness in helping Bart. “Everyone worked together to help him out,” Mayer-Marks says.

Mukora too has been changed by her large household, and has grown closer to her sister in the process. “Before we didn’t want to hang out because we’re five years apart,” she says.

“But now that people come in and out we’ll rely on each other as sisters.” For these Blazers, having a “full house” isn’t just a quirk; it’s a full table every night, an ample supply of beds and a whole lot of toothbrushes.

hen Jorge, a senior, opens the door to his Silver Spring condo, he does not announce that he is home. Rather than a smiling parent asking about his whereabouts, only silence greets Jorge. Dishes in the sink, piles of laundry and an unmade bed remain untouched while Jorge is at school. The stillness of the condo goes undisturbed by parents, siblings or pets because Jorge lives alone.

Jorge has been living in his own condo for a year and five months. While living alone, Jorge is able to avoid the parental nagging and rule setting that is the bane of most teenagers’ high school years, but he is simultaneously forced to mature and adopt newfound, adult responsibilities. Now, his weekends are filled with work rather than friends, and, while other Blazers worry about the next day’s test, Jorge must worry about the next month’s rent.

In Maryland it is not illegal for minors to live on their own. However, if schools or government officials discover a minor living alone, they will generally investigate the situation, which could result in the teen’s removal from his or her home, says Maryland Juvenile lawyer, Pat Howard. Teens usually do not report living alone for fear of these possible legal repercussions. However, Joel Milgram, former professors of educational psychology at University of Cincinnati, estimates that three to four students live on their own at every high school. For these teens, the reality of independent living is much more riddled in loneliness and responsibility than many expect.

Moving Out In the first chilly days of the New Year, a fight between Janet, a junior, and her sister quickly escalated from a petty battle of insults to a shower of punches. Fending herself from impending physical blows, Janet grabbed the phone and dialed 9-1-1.

Flashing sirens lit up Janet’s yard while uniformed officers banged on the front door.

Janet, who saw herself as the victim in the situation, was devastated when suddenly her mother sided with her sister in the dispute.

“I didn’t want someone who would blame me and not take my side,” Janet explains, “That’s when I knew I was done.” After years of fighting with her mother, this final betrayal affirmed her family’s estrangement and sent Janet packing up and moving in with her best friend.

Lauren, a junior, spent six months living in the cramped basement of her sister’s motherin-law’s Florida home. Before her move from Silver Spring, Lauren kept getting herself into one risky situation after another. Her mother grew tired of constantly bailing her daugh-

ter out, and, finally, she gave her daughter a last warning. Lauren disregarded the threat.

Three months into the school year, her mother sent her to live in the humidity-drenched isolation of Florida.

Milgram says that many teens move out after being faced with parental ultimatums; they must follow house rules or leave. Like Jorge, who decided to leave after fighting with his parents over the streams of friends coming over at all hours, for some, the lure of independence outweighs the comfort of familial support and they pack their bags and head out on their own.

The struggle “Loneliness,” Lauren says, “was the biggest challenge.”

Living nearly one thousand miles away in Florida, the only people Lauren knew were her sister and brother-in-law. Her sister would lend an ear for the occasional chat but these conversations were infrequent. Soon, Lauren began to miss even the smallest displays of her mother’s support. “You don’t realize how much you need someone until you have to do it on your own,” she says.

While struggling with her isolation, Lauren cloaked her independence in secrecy.

Like most autonomous minors, Lauren did not tell her school or teachers that she was living by herself. “In order for me to enroll they couldn’t know that,” she says. Fear of the law pushed Lauren and the other selfsupporting Blazers further from the refuge of possible adult and government support and into the challenging realm of self-sufficiency.

In order for minors to live alone without the risk of possible government meddling, the court must legally emancipate them, meaning they become an adult under the eyes of the law, says Howard. In Maryland, according to the People’s Law Liberty of Maryland (PLLM), the only way for a youth to become emancipated is by entering the military or marrying. For teens who aren’t tying the knot or enlisting, a court can issue an order of emancipation, which grants a minor independence from his or her family but does not give the teen full adult rights, says Howard. However, gaining an emancipation order is rare and, rather than getting caught up in the arduous tangle of law and legislation, many teens bypass the courts and live alone without state recognition.

None of the teens interviewed went through the long process of becoming legally emancipated and instead felt forced to hide their challenges. Although they kept their struggles quiet, most felt like it was for the best. “If I had told a teacher I would’ve felt like I would’ve been babied, which I shouldn’t have

been,” says Lauren, “I was kicked out for a reason.”

Coming home Now with a baby on the way, Jorge has accepted that he will probably never again live with the support of his immediate family. Jorge stays in touch with his parents and sisters, though they are still resentful of his move. To make up for his parents’ iciness, his grandmother cooks him meals, his aunt helps with the rent and his uncle employs him at his business. Despite the support, Jorge just barely gets by. “Everything goes to the apartment and not yourself,” Jorge explains. “You see how your parents struggle.”

While Jorge has begun to create a new life for himself outside of his parent’s home, Janet and Lauren returned to their families and began to readjust to life at home. After six months away from home, Lauren’s mother asked her to come back. “She started missing me,” says Lauren. “She didn’t want me to be gone for so long.”

Ultimately, what brought Janet home was what she had been trying to run away from initially: her mother. Like Lauren, Janet’s mother “caved in” and began missing her daughter and pushing for her to return. Janet moved back after living with her friend for three and a half weeks. Janet’s friends supported her during her move but still nothing could replace her mother. “It’s hard because even when your family and you are not doing well, you still need a mom figure,” says Janet.

“Friends can’t take the place of your mom.”

Even after returning and erasing the legal risks of living on their own, Lauren and Janet are still reluctant to tell people about their experience away from home. Many friends have noticed the effects of Janet, Lauren and Jorge’s independent living, yet few know the true reason for the Blazer’s recent maturity and empathy. A locked door still hides the source INFO COURTESY OF JOEL MILGRAM, LIVING WAGE CALCULATOR, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU AND PEOPLE’S LAW LIBRARY OF MD

INFO COURTESY OF SHARON GRAHAM NIEDERHAUS, THE HUFFINGTON POST AND THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

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CENTERSPREAD

Photos by Tolu OMOkehinde Graphics by Stella Bartholet and Maureen Lei

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April 26, 2012

Full House

By Emma Bergman

I

n one house, there are three sisters, two brothers, two parents, one grandmother, one aunt, one uncle and one cousin. Although it may seem like the beginning of some dreaded word problem, a step in the home of senior Anibal Pozas is a step into the lives of eleven individuals.

Pozas lives not only with his immediate family but also with a complex network of extended family. He says that although his household gets hectic, having a big family is worth it for the food and, of course, the people.

Pozas’s situation is not unique to him alone. According to Pew Research, sixteen percent of Americans were living in multigenerational homes in 2008, and that number continues to increase.

Family from afar Senior Alice Mukora emigrated from Kenya when she was two years old, and now she and her family house other relatives as they arrive from their home country. She says that by providing a place for immigrating family members to live, she can create a temporary foundation for them to build new lives in the US. Pozas also lives with immigrant family members, but in his household, the arrangement is permanent. Pozas’s relatives come from Peru, and many can’t speak English fluently. They depend on Pozas and his family to provide a home where they can speak Spanish as well as English.

Chief of Aging and Disability Services with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Jay Kenney, says that students in multi-generational homes play a significant role in helping relatives adjust to life in another country. “Students can help the older generation stay tuned with the younger generation and their music and their culture and all kinds of stuff by exposing them

Pozas says that in a family of eleven, simple activities can quickly become complex.

“There’s just a lot of people in the house.

Usually we run into each other a lot, going to bathrooms, taking a shower, all that stuff,” he says.

Sophomore Calley Mayer-Marks currently lives with two brothers, her mother, and a live-in nanny named Jerry Parnecio. Considering her history of living with eight people at one time, for Mayer-Marks five makes for a relatively small household.

The Mayer-Marks family met Parnecio when they were living in Jerusalem. The Filipino full-time babysitter has since stayed with them for the past fifteen years. When the family moved back to the United States, Parnecio came with them. Several years later, a friend of Parnecio’s named Dave Garcia joined the Mayer-Marks household when he began to face struggles in his own home.

Mayer-Marks says she has met many new people by having such a large family. “Because we know Jerry and Dave I know a lot of people in the Filipino community around Maryland I wouldn’t really get to know otherwise,” she says.

Fam·i·ly [fam-uh-lee], noun When Sophomore Ruby Hamilton looks in the dictionary, she is hard pressed to find an entry for “family” that matches her definition of the word. Since she moved in with her grandparents, her definition has vastly expanded. “I’ve made everyone my immediate family,” she says. “They’re all my adopted immediate family.”

Hamilton lives in her grandparents’ home with her mother and three siblings—a seven-person family. “It’s really fun because I get to hear a bunch of stories about when my grandparents were young,” she says.

Mayer-Marks’s definition has changed as well. “Dave started staying with us when he was a sophomore and now he’s graduating college, so he’s just like a

By Hannah Weintraub

W

to that,” he says. Most importantly, students can help by understanding the emotional difficulties that older adults moving from their country of origin often face.

Mukora says that she serves as the prime example of an American teenager for some who stay with her, and works hard to perpetuate positive feelings about the US. “I feel like maybe I’m their first glimpse outside of television of American kids, and how an American upbringing is versus their upbringing,” she says.

Seven, eight, eleven toothbrushes

HOME ALONE

COURTESY OF CALLEY MAYER-MARKS

Sophomore Calley Mayer-Marks’s family once had eight people under one roof. brother,” she says.

Unlike Hamilton and Mayer-Marks, Mukora’s relatives stay for only months at a time.

Mukora can rattle off countless family members who have lived in her home, but can’t always trace their direct relation to her. The bulk of her family still lives in Kenya, and she says that having relatives stay with her makes her feel more connected to that family.

“I think it makes me see family as a stronger unit. Even though this woman living with me isn’t my cousin or some sort of immediate connection I still would let her stay with me because that’s my family and they matter to me regardless of that,” she says.

Mukora hasn’t always felt this way. When she was young, she felt limited by her large family, and it was the little things that made a difference day to day. “I knew that other people were eating so I couldn’t eat all the peanut butter,” she says. “It felt like having more parents.”

A family support system Mayer-Marks’ uncle Bart recently passed away after living with the family for years.

Bart had Down’s Syndrome and was developing signs of Alzheimer’s Disease near the end of his life. Mayer-Marks says that her levels of responsibility skyrocketed when her uncle developed more problems. Bart would take the bus every day to work at CHI centers, which offer jobs to people with Down’s Syndrome. “It was just things like getting him off the bus and taking him home and making sure that he didn’t have any problems getting into bed or getting changed,” she says.

The family reached new levels of closeness in helping Bart. “Everyone worked together to help him out,” Mayer-Marks says.

Mukora too has been changed by her large household, and has grown closer to her sister in the process. “Before we didn’t want to hang out because we’re five years apart,” she says.

“But now that people come in and out we’ll rely on each other as sisters.” For these Blazers, having a “full house” isn’t just a quirk; it’s a full table every night, an ample supply of beds and a whole lot of toothbrushes.

hen Jorge, a senior, opens the door to his Silver Spring condo, he does not announce that he is home. Rather than a smiling parent asking about his whereabouts, only silence greets Jorge. Dishes in the sink, piles of laundry and an unmade bed remain untouched while Jorge is at school. The stillness of the condo goes undisturbed by parents, siblings or pets because Jorge lives alone.

Jorge has been living in his own condo for a year and five months. While living alone, Jorge is able to avoid the parental nagging and rule setting that is the bane of most teenagers’ high school years, but he is simultaneously forced to mature and adopt newfound, adult responsibilities. Now, his weekends are filled with work rather than friends, and, while other Blazers worry about the next day’s test, Jorge must worry about the next month’s rent.

In Maryland it is not illegal for minors to live on their own. However, if schools or government officials discover a minor living alone, they will generally investigate the situation, which could result in the teen’s removal from his or her home, says Maryland Juvenile lawyer, Pat Howard. Teens usually do not report living alone for fear of these possible legal repercussions. However, Joel Milgram, former professors of educational psychology at University of Cincinnati, estimates that three to four students live on their own at every high school. For these teens, the reality of independent living is much more riddled in loneliness and responsibility than many expect.

Moving Out In the first chilly days of the New Year, a fight between Janet, a junior, and her sister quickly escalated from a petty battle of insults to a shower of punches. Fending herself from impending physical blows, Janet grabbed the phone and dialed 9-1-1.

Flashing sirens lit up Janet’s yard while uniformed officers banged on the front door.

Janet, who saw herself as the victim in the situation, was devastated when suddenly her mother sided with her sister in the dispute.

“I didn’t want someone who would blame me and not take my side,” Janet explains, “That’s when I knew I was done.” After years of fighting with her mother, this final betrayal affirmed her family’s estrangement and sent Janet packing up and moving in with her best friend.

Lauren, a junior, spent six months living in the cramped basement of her sister’s motherin-law’s Florida home. Before her move from Silver Spring, Lauren kept getting herself into one risky situation after another. Her mother grew tired of constantly bailing her daugh-

ter out, and, finally, she gave her daughter a last warning. Lauren disregarded the threat.

Three months into the school year, her mother sent her to live in the humidity-drenched isolation of Florida.

Milgram says that many teens move out after being faced with parental ultimatums; they must follow house rules or leave. Like Jorge, who decided to leave after fighting with his parents over the streams of friends coming over at all hours, for some, the lure of independence outweighs the comfort of familial support and they pack their bags and head out on their own.

The struggle “Loneliness,” Lauren says, “was the biggest challenge.”

Living nearly one thousand miles away in Florida, the only people Lauren knew were her sister and brother-in-law. Her sister would lend an ear for the occasional chat but these conversations were infrequent. Soon, Lauren began to miss even the smallest displays of her mother’s support. “You don’t realize how much you need someone until you have to do it on your own,” she says.

While struggling with her isolation, Lauren cloaked her independence in secrecy.

Like most autonomous minors, Lauren did not tell her school or teachers that she was living by herself. “In order for me to enroll they couldn’t know that,” she says. Fear of the law pushed Lauren and the other selfsupporting Blazers further from the refuge of possible adult and government support and into the challenging realm of self-sufficiency.

In order for minors to live alone without the risk of possible government meddling, the court must legally emancipate them, meaning they become an adult under the eyes of the law, says Howard. In Maryland, according to the People’s Law Liberty of Maryland (PLLM), the only way for a youth to become emancipated is by entering the military or marrying. For teens who aren’t tying the knot or enlisting, a court can issue an order of emancipation, which grants a minor independence from his or her family but does not give the teen full adult rights, says Howard. However, gaining an emancipation order is rare and, rather than getting caught up in the arduous tangle of law and legislation, many teens bypass the courts and live alone without state recognition.

None of the teens interviewed went through the long process of becoming legally emancipated and instead felt forced to hide their challenges. Although they kept their struggles quiet, most felt like it was for the best. “If I had told a teacher I would’ve felt like I would’ve been babied, which I shouldn’t have

been,” says Lauren, “I was kicked out for a reason.”

Coming home Now with a baby on the way, Jorge has accepted that he will probably never again live with the support of his immediate family. Jorge stays in touch with his parents and sisters, though they are still resentful of his move. To make up for his parents’ iciness, his grandmother cooks him meals, his aunt helps with the rent and his uncle employs him at his business. Despite the support, Jorge just barely gets by. “Everything goes to the apartment and not yourself,” Jorge explains. “You see how your parents struggle.”

While Jorge has begun to create a new life for himself outside of his parent’s home, Janet and Lauren returned to their families and began to readjust to life at home. After six months away from home, Lauren’s mother asked her to come back. “She started missing me,” says Lauren. “She didn’t want me to be gone for so long.”

Ultimately, what brought Janet home was what she had been trying to run away from initially: her mother. Like Lauren, Janet’s mother “caved in” and began missing her daughter and pushing for her to return. Janet moved back after living with her friend for three and a half weeks. Janet’s friends supported her during her move but still nothing could replace her mother. “It’s hard because even when your family and you are not doing well, you still need a mom figure,” says Janet.

“Friends can’t take the place of your mom.”

Even after returning and erasing the legal risks of living on their own, Lauren and Janet are still reluctant to tell people about their experience away from home. Many friends have noticed the effects of Janet, Lauren and Jorge’s independent living, yet few know the true reason for the Blazer’s recent maturity and empathy. A locked door still hides the source INFO COURTESY OF JOEL MILGRAM, LIVING WAGE CALCULATOR, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU AND PEOPLE’S LAW LIBRARY OF MD

INFO COURTESY OF SHARON GRAHAM NIEDERHAUS, THE HUFFINGTON POST AND THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

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CENTERSPREAD

Photos by Tolu OMOkehinde Graphics by Stella Bartholet and Maureen Lei

18

FEATURES

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April 26, 2012

Country in Profile: Uganda A viral video draws international attention to home country of freshman Kalanzi Kajubi

By Ruth Aitken

which consisted entirely of kidnapped child soldiers. Under Kony, a humanitarian crisis that resulted in government hostility within the nation and the abduction of over 20,000 Ugandan children emerged, according to the Congressional Research Service.

In 2006, however, the Uganda People’s Defense Force drove Kony and the LRA out of Uganda. According to the Washington Post, Uganda’s current Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi says the LRA has dwindled to an estimated few hundred soldiers. As Kony’s presence in Uganda receded, some tough political tensions relaxed as well. In 2006, Ugandans voted in the nation’s first free multi-party elections in nearly TOLU OMOKEHINDE thirty years.

Invisible Children’s “Kony 2012” viral video made Uganda the focus of an international Internet advocacy campaign, aimed to raise awareness of the atrocities of warlord Joseph Kony, and ignited a nationwide controversy in the process. Though the video has turned millions of viewers into amateur activists, Ugandan freshman Kalanzi Kajubi says that he does not subscribe to the Kony 2012 hype.

Though the Invisible Children video is now infamous, Kajubi says that it is misleading.

“The problem is not as central to Uganda anymore,” he says.

“Kony left the country in 2006, and is now in Central Africa, where I feel his work is much more prevalent. I’m not sure why the focus is on Uganda, and I don’t know what the campaign has actually accomplished so far.”

Kajubi says that Uganda is Kajubi lived in Kampala, Moving home currently in a period of recu- Uganda, until he was ten. peration. He says that Kony priWhen Kajubi was four years old, he marily targeted northern Uganda, which is far removed from Kajubi’s native Kampala. moved from his birthplace in southern However, Kajubi says that during his years in Uganda to the United States, where unfaUganda he was fearful that Kony’s influence miliar surroundings, a strange language and would reach his family in the south. “Now, a foreign culture confronted him. After one in the north, there is a return to normalcy,” year in America, Kajubi decided to return to he says. “And now that Kony is gone, that the place he felt was his home — Kampala, fear of his advance toward southern Uganda Uganda. From the ages of five to ten, Kajubi is gone for me, too. Now, there’s more of a lived there with his grandparents.

At age ten, Kajubi moved back to the sense of safety.”

United States. Though he says he disliked America during his first move, frequent A dark history visits to his parents prepared him for his fiIn 1986, Kony emerged as a cult leader in nal move to the United States. “I got to see Uganda. He then proceeded to amass a force American culture before I was a part of it,” called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Kajubi says.

It had always been Kajubi’s parents’ plan for him to move back to the United States.

“The move wasn’t an issue of us wanting to leave Uganda. My parents just thought that there were more opportunities here,” he says.

The American experience The most pronounced difference between Uganda and the United States, Kajubi says, is the income gap. “In America, while there is a huge gap between the upper and lower classes, it’s even more so in Uganda,” he says. Kajubi says that during his childhood in Kampala, his interests were different. “Because America is considered a developed country, we take things for granted here that I didn’t have in Uganda. We didn’t have television or Internet,” he says. “I used to play outside with my friends and read books, but people here didn’t share those interests.”

K a j u b i credits the ease of his move to the United States to the strength and support of the Ugandan communities in America.

“My community in Uganda was very close,” Kajubi says, “And I’ve found a INFORMATION COURTESY OF REDDIT.COM

reminder of that in Ugandan groups here.”

He says that local chapters of Ugandan organizations have helped him retain his culture while adapting to life in the United States.

“It’s great to attend events where people have the same background as you, speak the same language, listen to the same music and share the same culture.”

Kajubi says that in the United States, he has had the opportunity to expand his cultural awareness. “In Uganda, my friend circle wasn’t very diverse as it has become here,” he says. The United States’ emphasis on multinationality, Kajubi says, made him feel readily accepted into American culture.

“I think one of the most important things about the United States is that it’s a melting pot — it encourages cultures to come to the U.S. and create this amazing diversity,” he says. “I feel very welcomed, and I like that.”

STELLA BARTHOLET

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FEATURES 19

April 26, 2012

Blair students bridge the generational gap

Blazers employed at Riderwood retirement community learn valuable life lessons

By Stella Bartholet At an ordinary restaurant, food servers master dealing with impatient customers, cleaning up spills and working quickly. Senior Rubie Ansong, on the other hand, has learned about death and the importance of living life to its fullest in her time on the job.

Ansong works at a restaurant within Riderwood, a senior living community in Silver Spring. All of its diners are Riderwood residents, whose maturity contrasts with the youthful attitudes of the high school workers.

Riderwood purposefully creates this age difference between the customers and food servers to give its senior citizens a chance to interact with teenagers in the community.

According to Executive Chef Victor Cirrincione, the residents enjoy the youthful energy in the restaurant and the chance to bond with students.

Blazers who work at Riderwood also benefit from the relationships they form with the senior citizens there. Elderly residents give helpful advice based on their long and varied experiences — advice that Blazers apply to their daily lives.

Words from the wise Job openings and a scholarship opportunity originally drew Ansong and other Blazers to Riderwood, but they later realized the job has much more to it. Ansong finds interacting with the residents to be an enjoyable part of her job. “They give good advice,” she says. “That’s one thing that I love.”

Ansong used to have a customer, now

passed away, who always told her about the importance of living life spontaneously. “He said ‘Don’t take life for granted. Live it. If it feels right to you, do it,’” she says. The statement has stuck with her since.

Junior Fridien Nana-Tchoukoua became close to and helped a resident because of their common language. When he first met her, she had trouble explaining her many allergies in English, and Nana-Tchoukoua was able to speak with her in their first language, French. Since then, they always wave to each other and hold discussions in French.

“We have developed a sort of strong relationship,” he says.

According to Cirrincione, students and residents are able to interact outside of the restaurant as well.

Riderw o o d raises college scholarship money to give to highschools t u d e n t workers. But in order to receive the m o n e y, NATHAN GAMSON students have to apply with a recommendation from a resident. The scholarship program applications provide an opportunity for students and residents to spend time together and get to know each other.

Senior Kenyon Fitzpatrick believes that

Riderwood’s strategy to bring together the young and the old is effective in creating friendships. “Ultimately, the retired people appreciate the young,” he says. “They teach [us] a lot of life lessons. It’s connecting from one generation to another. They like to see us growing up.”

A tough crowd to please

that learning to be calm and patient will be a useful skill later on in life. “A big thing that I have learned is to interact with all kinds of people,” says Fitzpatrick. “It teaches you to be a flexible character and person. It will help with a future career.”

Nana-Tchoukoua believes that working for senior citizens has helped to improve his generosity. “I definitely learned that you

Riderwood servers say that while working with senior citizens is a rewarding experience, it can also be a struggle.

Customers are often demanding and tend to have many dietary restrictions.

Such inconveniences have taught junior Ebitimeiere Ogobri patience and how to graciously interact with people. She says she has learned to harness her frustration with customers and to treat them kindly.

When Ogobri first began working at Riderwood, her service COURTESY OF ERICKSON LIVING was slow. It took about Riderwood retirement home employs high school a month and a half to students to forge bonds between teens and elders. get the hang of serving food, bussing and taking orders in a quick and efficient manner. don’t always have to expect something,” he She had impatient customers file complaints says. “Help that person without expecting and leave before their food arrived without something in return. Do it knowing you did notifying her. it for a good cause.”

Fitzpatrick has dealt with similarly diffiWhether students learn from listening cult customers. One woman accused him of to the seniors’ advice or dealing with some throwing away her dentures, even though residents’ impatience, these Blazers all agree he was not even working the night she lost that Riderwood has taught them lasting lesthem. She insisted that he owed her $5,000. sons. Interacting with senior citizens adds While it can be inconvenient to deal with meaning to their jobs, making work about some impolite customers, Blazers believe more than just a paycheck.

20 FEATURES

silverCHIPS

April 26, 2012

COLLEGE PROFILES Blair alumni discuss their experiences at Maryland state schools Interviews by NoahGrace Bauman Rachel Nicholson, Blair class of ‘09

Alex ContrErAs, Blair Class of ‘11

Silver Chips: What is your favorite thing about UMCP?

Silver Chips: What is your f a v o r i t e thing about UMBC?

AC: Probably the social atmosphere here. A lot of the special programs have you living together in the same residence halls as others in your program, and you get to know these people really well since you live with them and have class with them etc.

RN: My favorite thing about UMBC on a small scale is my sorority Phi Mu. It has opened me up to different leadership and job opportunities and changed my life in amazing ways that I never would have imagined. On a larger scale my favorite part of UMBC is the academic attitude. It’s nice to be part of a school where everyone knows how to have a good time but at the same time cares about their school work and has their priorities straight.

SC: What is your least favorite thing?

AC: The diner and the dorms are a bit lacking. Not a whole lot of variety in the food the diner serves, and the dorms are mini jail-cells.

SC: Why did you decide to go to UMCP?

AC: I went to UMD because of free tuition and the fact that I didn’t get in anywhere else because the only other school I applied to was MIT, I didn’t get in.

SC: In what activities are you involved?

AC: Don’t know if this counts as on-campus, but I’m on the cycling team, which sucks up 12-15 hours a week and weekends. Between that and being a triplemajor in math, electrical engineering and computer science, it doesn’t leave me a whole lot of time to get involved.

SC: What would you change about your school?

RN: I would change the reputation that UMBC has with high school students and other college students. UMBC is usually portrayed as a boring and generally unfun campus but it is totally the opposite! There are so many different types of people that attend UMBC so there are always fun things going on both through the school and separate. I guarantee that anyone attending UMBC can find people with the same interests as theirs.

SC: How was the transition between Blair and UMCP?

AC: I got really lucky and ended up with an awesome roommate, and for the most part everyone is incredibly friendly and open-minded, out to meet new people.

With regards to school work, it wasn’t that bad, either.

It’s a little more challenging in that teachers don’t hold your hand anymore, they couldn’t care less if you don’t do your work, but the magnet classes I took at Blair were actually really good preparation for what I’m taking now at UMD

Jonathan AIKEN, Blair cLass of ‘11 Silver Chips: What is your favorite part of Salisbury?

J: It is a nice change of scene from Montgomery County, and the sports facilities here are really nice.

SC: What school?

would

you

change

about your

J: I wish it was more diverse.

SC: Why did you decide to go to Salisbury?

A: I decided to go to Salisbury because it was not too far from home, good sports teams, and great education.

SC: What activities are you involved in on campus?

Emma Kaufman, Blair Class of ‘11

Silver Chips: What is your favorite part of St. Mary’s?

EK: My favorite part of St. Mary’s is the unapologetic quirkiness of the campus. There are so many crazy traditions that I love, like ponding people on their birthdays, MardiGreens and the NattyBoh hunt.

SC: What would you change about St. Mary’s?

EK: If I could

change one thing about my school, it would be to have a better local music/theater scene.

St. M a r y ’ s county is essentially a haphazard cluster of strip malls and chain restaurants, and making for an artistic environment that isn’t ideal.

SC: Why did you pick St. Mary’s?

EK:

The incredibly welcoming campus and the beautiful scenery were .huge contributing factors. St. Mary’s is located right on the St. Mary’s river, and the whole campus blooms in the spring in the most beautiful way.

SC: How was the transition from Blair to St. Mary’s?

EK: I was so readily accepted into the school’s theater community. I ended up making some of my best friends by being in the show. My orientation week was a unique one. The power-outage effects of Hurricane Irene resulted in a 24 hour lockdown in which I bonded with a huge number of people in complete darkness.

Then, there was the crazy mold fiasco that required 200 students to be evacuated from their rooms into hotel rooms, housing common rooms and boats. Needless to say...having amazing people there for me has really helped.

SC: Why did you pick UMBC?

RN: I honestly decided to go to UMBC on a whim. I ended up being very lucky and fell in love with it.

J: I played football last semester, I also mentor.

SC: In what are you planning on majoring?

J: I plan on majoring in business management.

SC: What was the transition from Blair to Salisbury like?

A: The transition from Blair to Salisbury was pretty natural. It was difficult at first getting used to the work load but other than that no real problems.

Ana Hall-Defoor, Blair Class of ‘11

Silver Chips: What is your favorite thing about Towson?

A: I made a lot of really good friends, and I am really close with my roommates. Which is great even when school is hard. I didn’t really know that many people who were going to Towson so I was really nervous about coming here, but I really hit it off with my roommates.

SC: What is your Towson?

A: Sometimes ple I had to get them in but they a part of it,

least favorite thing about

Towson is a little unorganized. For examin my immunization records, and I turned never called me to tell me I was missing so that took me forever to figure out. I am always trying to find out due dates for different things. The communication lines between students and staff should be more open.

SC: What activities are you involved in?

A: Next semester I will join the national broadcast society, which is for people who are looking to do broadcast journalism.

SC: How was your transition from Blair to Towson?

A: I had a really smooth transition.

I didn’t know a lot of people coming here, but one of my roommates had a lot of friends from high school that ended up coming here, which was a gateway to a lot of people. It almost still feels like high school. Also I’ve always been pretty independent so that made it easy for me.

silverCHIPS

CHIPS CLIPS 21

April 26, 2012

Water Water Everywhere...

by Katelin Montgomery

Something in the air

Across 1. You need two of these atoms to make a water molecule 4. The sound of slopping water, Splish ______ 9.Adventure Quest, for short 10. Sound of dropping an object 12. Flowering vine native to Japan 15. Body of water smaller than a lake 17. Announce an intention to harm 18. The popular crowd is the ___ crowd 20. Taking in small mouthfuls of water, plural 23.Shrimp-like marine crustaceans, often deep fried and served as an appetizer 24. Drink lots of ______ when you’re sick 28. Long strips of water that feed into ocean 31. Natural pool of water, there are Great ones up north 32. International Negligence, abbr.

33. Type of Carp found in fresh water rivers 34. Domesticated feline that enjoys chasing mice 36. Object Orientated, for short 38. The main character in “Make way for Ducklings” is the Mother ____

40. This sea surrounds the south pole 43. Immediately, right away, no delay 46. Water in its solid form at 32 degrees Fahrenheit 47. Mix of white and black produces this color 48. Water spurting outdoor decoration.

Down 1. How bunnies move from place to place 2. Small drip of water, a rain ______ 3. Long, snake-like animal that live in the water, it is sometimes electric 5. Verb form of lazy 6. Band that sings the song “Barbie Girl” 7. You can’t touch boiling water because it’s too _____ 8. Teaching Knowledge Test, for short 11. Tidal _____, in front of capitol building 13. Noise of confusion or of surprise 14. What you do to quench your thirst 16. Type of water used in scientific experimentation.

19. _____s Fargo, a popular bank in Maryland 21. Gardeners need a ______ thumb to grow plants 22. An affirmative answer is Spanish or Italian 24. Salmon ______ in the Yemen, movie with Ewan McGregor

and Emily Blunt 25. A ship that has been damaged or sunk is _______ed 27. Jumbo ______ is a common oxymoron 29. ______ Water, flavored water drink from the Glaceau company 30. Not showing feeling, unemotional 37. Cranberry Juice from _______ spray 39. United Kingdom, for short 42. Technological Institute, for short 44. This ____ that, but you can’t have both 45. Covered in water

DOYUNG LEE

March Solutions

S U D O K U JULIA BATES

My boyfriend and I

Johnson’s arcade time

COURTESY OF WWW.WEBSUDOKU.COM

by Julia Bates

by Xixi Chen

22

LA ESQUINA LATINA

26 de abril del 2012

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La educación abre las puertas a un futuro mejor Por Janet Encinas Opinión

Trasfondo La educación es un factor muy importante en la vida de cada ser humano ya que de ella depende como interactuamos con la sociedad. Todo ser humano nace con un cerebro absorbente como el de una esponja.

Desde pequeños este está constantemente en un proceso de educación, absorbiendo toda la información que recibe como cuando interactuamos con otros.

En los Estados Unidos y en la mayoría de los países Latinoamericanos los estudiantes asisten a la escuela desde el Prekínder hasta el doceavo grado, un trascurso escolar que dura aproximadamente unos 14 años. Pero en los últimos años el porcentaje de estudiantes que logran graduarse de las escuelas secundarias en los Estados Unidos ha ido disminuyendo. Cada año aproximadamente 1,3 millones de estudiantes de las 7,000 escuelas públicas a nivel nacional no logran a graduarse de la escuela secundaria a tiempo. Solo el 69 por ciento de los estudiantes obtienen sus diplomas de la escuela secundaria a nivel nacional. Entre estos estudiantes solo el 54 por ciento son afroamericanos y el 56 por ciento son hispanos, en comparación con el 77 por ciento de los estudiantes blancos y 81 por ciento de los asiáticos americanos.

Blazers Dentro de poco el año escolar llegará a su fin, para algunos de nuestros estudiantes, esto les llena de alegría pero a otros no. El 25 de mayo del 2012 es el último día de clases para todos los estudiantes del grado doce en nuestra escuela de Montgomery Blair. Si-

guiendo así con el gran día de su graduación ella estar a unos días de graduarse le da que se llevará a cabo el 12 de junio del 2012 alegría pero a la vez miedo a comenzar una en Constitution Hall, Washington DC. Estar nueva etapa en su vida. Con respecto a sus a pocos días de graduarse los estudiantes del planes futuros, Reyes nos comentó, “Voy doceavo grado tienen una mezcla de emo- a continuar mis estudios en Montgomery ciones. Dejarán el ambiente donde crecieron College y en un futuro espero a llegar a ser académicamente durante los últimos cuatro una Terapeuta Física”. años de su transcurso escolar. Se puede decir De la misma manera que Reyes, Castillo que la secundaria es como una montaña no se siente preparada para graduarse. rusa. Durante estos cuatro años, su vida es- Pero con una sonrisa en su rostro nos colar esto cargada de alegrías y emociones. dijo que aunque hubiese tomado clases Muchachos que académicamente más rígidas, llegaron como niestos cuatro años en la escuela ños hace cuatro secundaria fueron los mejores años salen como de su vida. Castillo también adultos. nos comentó sobre sus planes Dudveris futuros, “Mis metas son ir a la Reyes, Tania universidad y sacar mi maeCastillo y Lilian stría en lectura para niños de Leiva son tres escuela elemental”. Añadió estudiantes de también que está muy agradedoceavo grado cida con la maestra de lectura compartieron Ms. Hiller porque ella fue su con nosotros las inspiración para tomar la deexperiencias que cisión de estudiar para ser una tuvieron durante maestra de lectura. “Ms. Hiller sus cuatro años es una de las pocas personas en la secundaria que yo admiro porque ella me y cómo se sienten ha ayudado en todo y me sigue ahora que ya ayudando hasta el momento. están a punto Cuando yo estaba en su clase de graduarse. ella me ayudaba a completar Reyes nos cotareas y trabajos de mis clases.

Las seniors Lilian Leiva, mentó que ella Tania Castillo y Dudveris Ahora ella es la que me está ha cambiado ayudando a llenar aplicaciones Reyes. mucho desde para becas, la inscripción que entró a la escuela secundaria porque para la universidad y también me ayuda antes ella era muy amigable con todos, escribiendo cartas de recomendación.” nos pero al paso de los años supo diferenciar dijo Castillo con una sonrisa. El consejo que entre amigos y conocidos. Añadió también ella les daría a los estudiantes es que, “que que ha madurado mucho pero aún no está valoren su educación en estos momentos lista para ser tan independiente como se para que cuando lleguen a ser ‘seniors’ no espera de una persona adulta. Así que para tengan tanto estrés. También porque tener FOTOS POR ANILU MARTINEZ

una educación les ayudará a abrir puertas en situaciones futuras”.

De la misma manera Leiva nos comentó que ahora que está apunto de graduarse, siente que por fin llegó el día donde todos sus esfuerzos de estos cuatro años serán reconocidos. “Estos cuatro años en la escuela secundaria han sido estupendos, llenos de oportunidades y experiencias únicas que marcaron mi vida en todos los sentidos.

No tengo un maestro en especial, porque cada uno de ellos me ayudaron en lo que pudieron y gracias a ellos es que aprendí muchas cosas”. También nos platicó sobre sus planes futuros, que incluye el llegar a ser una gran Psicóloga. Leiva añadió que en Blair obtuvo muchos beneficios, sobre todo en el aprendizaje de otro idioma totalmente diferente a su primer idioma. Se despidió dándoles un consejo a los estudiantes “ Mi único consejo sería que aprovechen la oportunidad de seguir aprendiendo y que luchen contra todos los retos que encuentren en su camino, porque al final cosechamos lo que sembramos. Si seguimos con nuestros asuntos académicos al pie de la letra, tendremos más de qué beneficiarnos.”

Al igual que estas tres adolescentes luchadoras con muchos sueños por delante, en nuestra escuela de Montgomery Blair hay muchos más estudiantes que están ansiosos de graduarse. Pero no todos tendrán la oportunidad de ir a la universidad, por muchas razones entre ellas como la de no tener dinero, apoyo familiar o piensan que solo sería una pérdida de tiempo. Pero a la vez hay otros que aunque no vayan a la universidad tienen planes de asistir a escuelas técnicas donde podrán obtener un permiso de trabajo. Aunque algunos decidan correr mientras otros caminan lentamente a su meta, todos tenemos un plan definido.

Padres latinos: ¿ausencia o presencia? tal propósito, la página contiene noticias e información de MCPS para poder involucrar la comunidad hispana. Starr agrega, “La verdad es que hay una brecha de ren-

lograr un cambio”.

Los resultados de una encuesta hecha acá en Blair no pudieron concurrir de mejor Desde muy pequeños dependemos de manera. Al ser preguntados si piensan que nuestros padres para muchas cosas y el involues así que ellos se convierten en nuescramiento tros guías durante los primeros años de de sus panuestras vidas. Gracias a ellos es que dres en sus damos nuestros primeros pasos. Son de vidas acaellos las manos de las cuales nos agardémicas les ramos para cruzar las calles y es detrás ayudaría de ellos que nos escondemos cuando tea ser mememos. Son ellos quienes nos enseñan jores estunuestros valores morales y la disciplina. diantes, Son nuestros padres los que siempre esel 70% de tán allí y de quienes no nos queremos los estudesprender el primer día de clases. Pero diantes una vez nos desprendemos, nuestras hispanopropias manos definen nuestra vida , hablantes incluyendo nuestra ruta académica. contestaron En marzo de este año, el suque sí. Muperintendente de MCPS, Joshua Starr chos de tomó la iniciativa de crear una página los estudiTwitter en español para el condado de antes coMontgomery (MCPS). “El número mentaron de hispanohablantes en esta área MCPS creó una página en español en la red social de twitter en marzo que sus ha incrementado drásticamente a de esté año, para comunicarse con la comunidad hispanohablante. p a p á s través de los años y esta innovación siempre es una forma de comunicarnos con esperan la población latina. También es muy imdimiento entre los estudiantes hispanos y ver buenas calificaciones. Esto demuestra portante que proveamos servicios de ESOL caucásicos, pero el involucramiento parenque los padres latinos no es que no tengan a nuestros estudiantes hispanohablantes tal como estudiantil es una clave elemental nada que ver en la vida académica de sus así como integrar e informar a sus familias en reducir esta brecha y esto es exactamente hijos, como comprobó la Sra. Bohorquez, en sus lenguas nativas” nos dijo Starr. Con en lo que nos queremos enfocar para poder Directora del Progama de ESOL, “Blair es

Por Kelly Ventura

FOTOS POR MONTGOMERYSCHOOLSMD.ORG

una escuela que siempre trata de asegurar el acercamiento a las familias hispanas, especialmente a aquellas familias con estudiantes en el programa de ESOL. Siempre hay reuniones informativas que se llevan a cabo para el provecho de los padres, pero muchas veces el conflicto se ve en que no asisten porque tienen que trabajar.”

A raíz de esta situación, muchos de los padres no transmiten la emoción o las ganas a sus hijos para que continúen estudiando de manera eficaz. Así mismo muchas veces por sus horarios limitados de compartir con sus hijos, no ttienen el tiempo para corregir o enforzar comportamientos con respecto a obligaciones escolares cuando estos se están iniciando en su vida académica. Las encuestas sugieren que existe cierta apatía con respecto a la educación de parte de los jóvenes entre el grupo estudiantil hispano ya sea por no entender el idioma muy bien para aquellos que llegaron al país de mayor, o por simple pereza.

Es cierto que los estudiantes de colegio ya no son niños pequeños que requieren gran cuidado de sus padres, pero el apoyo adecuado siempre es un gran beneficio. La esperanza surge en que los padres busquen el balance entre sus trabajos y vida académica de sus hijos. Sin embargo, el mayor interés se concentra en los estudiantes quienes a través de esfuerzos y decisiones acertadas pueden lograr el éxito profesional que todos merecen tener en este país.

Nota informativa:

Nota informativa:

El programa “InDesign” utilizado para realizar el periódico

El programa “InDesign” utilizado para realizar el periódico

de la escuela, está diseñado para la lengua inglesa. Con tal

de la escuela, está diseñado para la lengua inglesa. Con tal

propósito, Silver Chips ofrece disculpas por cualquier error

propósito, Silver Chips ofrece disculpas por cualquier error

gramatical que tengan las páginas de La Esquina Latina

gramatical que tengan las páginas de La Esquina Latina

después de haber sido intensamente editadas.

Gracias.

Escritores de la página de español: (Arriba, izquierda a derecha) Anilu Martinez, Janett Encinas, Heydi Mora, (Abajo, izquierda a derecha) Claudia Quinonez, Yessica Somoza, Kelly Ventura, y Hector Barrera.

después de haber sido intensamente editadas.

Gracias.

silverCHIPS

LA ESQUINA LATINA

26 de abril del 2012

23

La educación de los jóvenes latinos en los E.E. U.U. Por Claudia Quiñonez En los Estados Unidos la población Latina es uno de los grupos más jóvenes y crecientes; los estudios recientes muestran que en el año 2026 aproximadamente el 70% de todos los estudiantes matriculados en el sistema escolar K-12 en los Estados Unidos serán de origen latino y caucásico. Entre estos números también se aproxima que el 40% de este grupo será de descendencia mexicana. Sin embargo, al ser el grupo que aumenta rápidamente, a la vez es el grupo que muestra mayor deserción escolar.

Actualmente una de las pre-ocupaciones más grandes de las organizaciones que apoyan a las co-munidades latinas es la de la formación académica de los jóvenes (hombres y mujeres), considerando que el grado de estudio es muy importante en el estilo de vida social y cultural del individuo.

Este hecho no se da en la gran mayoría de la población latina, donde la sobrevivencia hace que el trabajo sea más importante que el estudio.

En un artículo anterior se enfocó el tema de las “causas de deserción de las mujeres latinas en las escuelas”, cabe destacar que este fenómeno se da también en los hombres latinos y no so-lamente en inmigrantes sino también en los jóvenes que nacieron en este país.

Una de las causas para emanciparse tempranamente de la familia, es porque el joven se deja influenciar por el en-torno de amigos y consideran que el estudio es una pérdida de tiempo. Toman la decisión de abandonar la escuela y trabaja. En muchos casos ayudan a sus padres o buscan trabajo en una factoría u otros lugares. Otra causa de deserción escolar es la formación de una familia con otro adolescente debido al embarazo o por la pobreza del hogar los estudiantes se ven obligados a abandonar la escuela para poder ayudar económicamente a su entorno familiar y satisfacer sus propias necesidades.

Los latinos y la familia Uno de los valores culturales más importantes y duraderos entre los latinos en los Estados Unidos es la unidad en el núcleo familiar. Esto consiste en la fuerte identificación y apego a la familia inmediata y extendida que se manifiesta por fuertes sentimientos de lealtad, responsabilidad y solidaridad. Tal lealtad y obligación suele ir acompañada de un fuerte deseo de proporcionar apoyo financiero y emocional hacia sus familiares en sus países de origen, cualidades que perduran a través de las generaciones. Esto significa que los hombres y mujeres latinos están más propensos a unirse a la fuerza trabajadora después de graduarse de la escuela secundaria, en lugar de ir a la universidad y conseguir un diploma universitario.

Estatus migratorio Muchos estudiantes que desean continuar con sus estudios no lo hacen porque carecen de los documentos necesarios que exigen las instituciones de educación superior. Es por eso que actualmente se está luchando ante el congreso para conseguir el llamado Dream Act ( Acta del Enueño), que permitiría a todos los jóvenes que desean

seguir estudiando poder hacerlo libremente sin ningún impedimento, pagando la misma cantidad que pagan los ciudadanos en el estado que residen.

Aprendizaje del idioma El lenguaje es una barrera muy grande por la que atraviesan la mayoría de los estudiantes latinos que inmigran a E.E.U.U., ya que el español es su lengua materna. Lo mismo pasa con los niños hispanos nacidos en este país, puesto que los padres mayormente les hablan en español en el hogar y cuando llegan a la escuela no entienden el idioma ingles y se aíslan, compartiendo el tiempo con otros estudiantes en su misma situación. Toma alrededor de dos años con una inmersión total ( lidiando solamente con la cultura, lenguaje y personas que hablan el idioma) aprender el inglés básico.

Generalmente a los latinos les toma más tiempo, ya que la mayor parte del tiempo están inmersos en el núcleo familiar y se resisten de cierta manera al cambio. Desean seguir manteniendo sus costumbres y tradiciones que son muy importantes para ellos. Es muy cierto que es bueno mantener las raíces y nunca olvidarnos quienes somos y de dónde venimos, pero también es importante y productivo adecuarse y aprender a asimilarse en una nueva cultura y en especial el nuevo idioma del país en el cual residimos. Si el estudiante no tiene suficiente capacidad y manejo del idioma le es di-fícil comunicarse con otros individuos y muchas veces se les cierran muy buenas oportunidades que se les ofrecen a estudiantes latinos que quieran continuar con su educación una vez graduados del colegio. Ejemplo de ellos es la ayuda financiera del gobierno y otras becas para poder recibir una educación avanzada. Debido a esto es que en muchos casos los estudiantes no desean ir a la universidad, no solo porque su capacidad de hablar el idioma es mínima, pero también les impide poder tomar ventaja de los recursos ofrecidos antes de inscribirse a una universidad.

Examenes del SAT/ACT Muchos estudiantes no saben qué pasos deben tomar para poder inscribirse en una universidad; uno de los más importantes es tomar uno de los dos exámenes de colocación. Estos dos exámenes analizan y estudian cuan preparado está un estudiante para poder ingresar a la universidad y cuán exitoso podrá ser en su vida universitaria. El examen evalúa a los estudiantes en matemáticas (con o sin uso de calculadoras), lenguaje (lengua inglesa) historia y lectura de compresión. Cualquier estudiante entre los grados décimo y duodécimo puede tomar el examen. Después, la nota adquirida será mandada a las universidades que el estudiante esté aplicando junto a su GPA (promedio de calificaciones). Mientras más altos sean los números en ambos, el estudiante tendrá mejor oportunidad para que la escuela de su preferencia le acepte en su institución.

Querer es poder Muchas veces los estudiantes se desaniman y deciden no asistir a la universidad o a ningún instituto por falta de dinero,

documentos que definan su estatus migratorio, falta de apoyo en sus hogares y muchos otros factores. Sin embargo existen personas que han decidido triunfar a pesar de esas mismas dificultades. Su determinación de salir adelante y probar que todo es posible cuando existen los ideales y metas en la vida son lo que ayudan a esas personas a triunfar.

Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa Inmigrante mexicano que llegó al país cuando tenía 19 años, cruzando la frontera

está becado por el Montgomery College.

Programa de becas

Anteriormene, se señaló que muchos de los estudiantes no asisten a la universidad por falta de recursos. Por esa razón es que existen diferentes tipos de ayuda para para todos aquellos que desean triunfar. Una alternativa para los estudiantes latinos que desean seguir estudiando son las becas. Las becas son aportes monetarios que se conceden a aquellos estudiantes que no cuentan con suficientes recursos económicos para poder llevar a cabo sus estudios y que se han destacado en los años de estudio en la secundaria obteniendo buenos grados. Existen muchas becas que solo son para estudiantes latinos, aquí se muestran algunas.

Primero en mi familia

Esta beca fue desarrollada en asociación con el Hispanic College Fund. Esta beca es ofrecida a estudiantes latinos que son los primeros en su familia en asistir a la universidad y tienen necesidades financieras.

El programa está abierto a los hispanos que son ciudadanos estadounidenses o residentes permanentes matriculados como estudiantes a tiempo completo en universidades acreditadas. Los estudiantes deben tener un promedio de calificaciones mínimo de 3.0. Las becas tienen un valor entre $ 500 a $5,000 CORTESÍA DE DELTA UNIVERSIDAD

Dr.Quinonez-Hinojosa en una plantación. de Méjico. Este joven, de familia humilde, vivía en la pobreza y deseaba salir adelante.

En este país llegó a trabajar en campos agrícolas, recogiendo frutas y vegetales, durmiendo en carpas y arrancando hierbas. Le dijeron que él se iba a quedar haciendo el mismo trabajo por el resto de su vida, pero un día decidió probar y mostrar a todas esas personas que estaban equivocadas. Decidió asistir al colegio comunitario durante las noches para aprender inglés, mientras que tenía dos trabajos. Después de aprender inglés fue becado a la Universidad de California, donde estudió medicina y se especializó en Neurología. Actualmente es el encargado del Programa de tumores cerebrales en la Universidad Johns Hopkins en Maryland.

Alan Marroquín Se gradúo de nuestra escuela con honores el año 2011. (Premio del li-derazgo).

Llegó al país hace 4 años cuando tenía 18 años, junto a su hermana. Cuando llegó se matriculó en la escuela secundaria, aprendió inglés en un año y medio sin tener ningún co-nocimiento del idioma previamente. Él comentó, “En un principio me fue muy difícil ya que tuve que acostumbrarme a la cultura y a hacer nuevas amistades”, en un momento el pensó en desertar de la escuela, ya que la educación no le hacía ningún sentido. Alan es un partidario del ACTA del ENSUEÑO de MARYLAND, trabaja junto a Casa de Maryland en diferentes actividades en apoyo a los latinos y actualmente

Premio herencia hispana

Esta beca es para estudiantes que cursan el tercer año de la escuela secundaria y que son de origen Latino (al menos uno de los padres). Para aplicar a esta beca, los solicitantes deben graduarse en la primavera del 2013 y tienen planeando inscribirse en la universidad para el 2013-2014. Los solicitantes deben tener un GPA mínimo de 3.0, ser ciudadano estadounidense o residente permanente. Las categorías que respalda esta beca son servicios comunitarios, educación, ingeniería, matemáticas, salud y ciencias.

Conclusión

Todo lo que en la vida se propone, se puede cumplir. Hay que mirar el presente y el futuro con una actitud positiva. Siempre habrá una piedra en el camino, pero esto no tiene que ser necesariamente un impedimento que defina el futuro de los jóvenes latinos.

La última palabra es de e-llos. Todo en la vida es posible, los ejemplos incluidos demuestrtan que vale la pena soñar y que con esfuerzo y perseverancia las metas pueden ser alcanzadas.

¿Y tú, qué PIENSAS?

¿Cuáles son tus sueños para el futuro?

“Mi sueño es superarme y crecer profesionalmente . ” Eva Bobadilla, Onceavo grado

“Mi sueño es asistir a la universidad.”

Juan Iraheta, Doceavo grado

“Mi sueño es obtener mi título en ingieneria en computación” Jonathan Martinez, Onceavo grado

24 ADS

April 26, 2012

silverCHIPS

silverCHIPS

April 26, 2012

ENTERTAINMENT 25

Tavern seeks sea legs Pirate-themed pub floats along in the wake of mutiny

By Peter McNally Tucked away at a small table in the back of the room, a large bearded man sips out of a cannon-sized mug. Besides the delicate wire-framed glasses he wears over his eye patch, his costume is period perfect, complete with leather boots and an impressive tri-cornered hat.

He looks over patrons who have flocked back to the Piratz Tavern to witness the restaurant’s efforts to stay afloat.

The Piratz Tavern has been a culinary novelty of Downtown Silver Spring since 2007. For years, the tavern has made a name for itself with its pirate themed food, drink, and atmosphere, complete with grog and a bosom-flouting waitstaff. Recently, the tavern has been at the brunt of a publicity hurricane over the bar’s rejected transformation into a trendy downtown lunch spot, and subsequent rejection of the this new look. In February, Piratz Tavern became the latest project of the Spike TV show Bar Rescue, where a specialized team of nightlife gurus commandeer failing bars in an attempt to reinvent them into lucrative social hubs.

DOYUNG LEE After weeks of renovation paid for by the show, the Piratz Tavern was turned into a hip and professional business lunch spot called the The Corporate Bar and Grill.

Then came the mutiny. Droves of devoted pirate fans were outraged by the change and pretty soon, the corporate décor was torn down and the pirate employees began

to show up to work in their usual high seas regalia. However, the bar’s transition back to its to rum-soaked yo-hoing days appears to be as smooth and about as subtle as the ‘z’ in “piratz”.

In an attempt to dim the glaring fluorescent panel lights, a remnant of the tavern’s corporate days, each light has been draped with a different pirate flag . The walls, which were once festooned with every type of nautical chachki, are now lined only with rusting candle fixtures and the occasional ship rigging or sword.

Instead of grumbling noises of pub debauchery, the room is dominated by loud clangs and the faint moan of pop radio coming from the kitchen Like the decor, the employees are also spars. One waitress, in full pirate wench garb, serves the entire dining room while a crew of what seem to be employees lounge at a table, chatting and preparing for the dinner rush that has already begun.

The attitude of the wait staff, like the concept of the restaurant itself, is also a bit of an acquired taste. Although the bawdy quips and jeers of the pirate crew can be entertaining, it can feel awkward, as if diners are caught in the middle of the employees’ private pretend play. With attitudes fluctuating between flustered and surly, it can feel as though the employees are pirates first, waiters second.

For all its briny blunders, the tavern does manage to produce some satisfactory grub.

The salmagundi, a traditional hodgepodge stew of meats and vegetables, is dark brown, savory and soothing. It can be ordered in

a regular bowl or, for the true swashbuckler, in a massive stew trough.

The jerk pork sandwich is also a simple pleaser, with an aromatic spiced pork hugged by a hearty roll. Served with a side of the tavern’s signature thick cut “scimitar” fries, it’s hard to go wrong with this hearty meal.

On an otherwise rugged menu, the high seas salad was uninspired.

Although the avocado, shrimp and mixed greens were fresh and COURTESY OF JUSTUPTHEPIKE.COM well prepared, the salad as a whole did not seem fully conceptualized and was a little out of place in an otherwise rugged menu.

The overall dining experience at the Piratz Tavern is uneasy.

The food is fine, but the tavern lacks the desired timber-shivering gusto that one would expect from a pirate pub.

It is evident that the tavern has heart, but its lack of bold and confident pirate energy makes it hard to fully enjoy the maritime shenanigans. The tavern it needs to adopt more COURTESY OF EXPRESSNIGHTOUT.COM pirate-energy and less pirate-hospitality if it Corporate Bar & Grill was comandeered by Piratz wants to put the wind who returned to restore their Bar to its former pirate fashion. back in its sails.

26 ADS

April 26, 2012

silverCHIPS

silverCHIPS

April 26, 2012

ENTERTAINMENT

27

By Helen Bowers and Puck Bregstone Photos by Tolu Omokehinde Hard Times Café If you’re looking to avoid a crowded, rowdy atmosphere, then the Hard Times Café can offer a simple but solid small-town diner atmosphere.

With locations everywhere from Rockville to Waldorf, it’s generally accessible to Blair students, and the prices make it a great choice for those on a budget. The Bethesda location offers a fun atmosphere that’s not overwhelming. Waiters are lively and joking even past 11:30 p.m., and there’s bound to be a few people embarrassing themselves at the bar whether they’re yelling at their favorite sports team or trying to talk up the girl in the corner, they’re pretty amusing and good for a joke.

The only downside to the Hard Times Café is that there’s generally only one thing on the menu: chili.

But that’s not to say there’s only one chili on the menu. The options for chili far exceeds just spicy, medium or mild; you can order your serving over spaghetti, fries, onion rings, burgers or hotdogs.

And there are some options that lie outside the bean stew, including a selection of entrees, sandwiches and salads. Hard Times is open until 10 p.m on weeknights and 12 a.m on weekends.

The Hard Times Café offers delicious dishes in a friendly, peaceful atmosphere.

Fire Station One

The Lotus Café cooks up some of the best Vietnamese cuisine in Silver Spring.

The Lotus Café In terms of Vietnamese fare the Lotus Café, located near Jackie’s is the best Downtown Silver Spring has to offer. Make sure to get at least one order of both the spring rolls and the summer rolls.

The spring rolls are a fried roll filled with yummy veggies and the summer rolls are a mix of delectable shrimp and sprouts rolled in a strip of rice paper. Both come with a hearty serving of peanut sauce but if you bring a few friends you will find yourself asking for extra. For entrees, the half-burnt noodles, are delightful, but don’t be deterred by the name. Since it is a pho restaurant, the pho, traditional Vietnamese soup, is excellent. The pho chin nam is filled with beef and soothing warm broth topped with white, crunchy bean sprouts. Finally, there are the juicy vermicelli rice noodles with grilled chicken. This type of salad is filled with lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, radish, bean sprouts covered in peanuts and scallions. This dish comes with Vietnamese fish sauce, a golden elixir that gives life to a number of dishes. This sweet and sour mixture is usually decorated with garlic, lime and chili, and tastes great poured over the vermicelli noodles. The Lotus Café is open until 10 p.m.

Jeremy Gruber began his career as a volunteer firefighter at Fire Station One in Downtown Silver Spring. Almost 25 years, later he now owns the establishment, only instead of trucks, hoses and fire suits, the building is now filled with tables, guests and sizzling hot food. The interior is a mix between a nightclub, a fire station and a restaurant.

Neon lights are projected on the walls and live music plays on weekends. The atmosphere is loud and noisy, bustling with vigor and excitement.

And the ambiance isn’t the only thing crackling with energy; the food’s spicy flavors add a spark to the dishes. The menu has a range of dishes from smoldering sandwiches to pyromaniac pizzas, and even if you can’t tolerate too much heat, there are plenty of milder options as well. But where Fire Station One truly excels is in their side dishes. The potato chips are homemade batches of glory, and the fiery French fries are unsurpassed by Silver Spring’s other offerings. Fire Station One is open until 12 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and until 11 p.m Monday through Thursday.

Once a functioning fire station, Fire House One is now a top quality restaurant with spicy ingredients to fire up your meal.

Addis Ababa

This cute little restaurant offers a wide selection of top quality Persian snack food at some of the lowest prices in town.

Moby Dick’s If you end up in Downtown Silver Spring late at night and you are hungry, your first instinct may lead you to Chipotle, but if you can conquer your impulses, Moby Dick, a friendly little Persian restaurant next door, might be a better option.

This self-service restaurant is known for its kabob and fluffy fresh pita bread baked in a traditional clay oven. This pita bread is nothing like the store bought breed. This bread is more like Naan — with just the right amount of seasonings, it is light, warm and cooked for the perfect amount of time so it is slightly crunchy but not burnt. The pita bread comes with must-o-kheyar, a yogurt sauce mixed with diced cucumber and herbs. For a main dish it would be a sin not to order the kabob-e-joojeh.

This magnificent dish consists of a heaping plate of steamed rice covered in saffron and butter, and lined with seven to nine chunks of boneless chicken breast marinated in butter and seasonings. Moby Dick’s is open until 10 from Monday to Thursday and open until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Step into the doors of Addis Ababa Ethiopian restaurant and you’re in for much more than a bite to eat. Traditional artwork lines the walls and culturally customary woven baskets sit on the tables. They have a range of dishes that cater to a variety of tastes. Your meal is served on a huge, circular piece of Injera, spongy bread from Ethiopia.

Clusters of meat and vegetable dishes are clumped in circular patterns around the bread, waiting to be scooped up and devoured. Quite literally, scooped.

In keeping with the cultural experience, forks and knives are not set on your table. Instead, you have several more roles of injera with which you pinch up a bit of food and transport the delicious bundle to your mouth. Addis Ababa also offers a great place to come with friends. They have different menus for parties of multiple people, where you can choose a few different dishes that all appear on the same plate of injera. Addis Ababa is open until 1 a.m Sunday through Thursday and until 2 a.m on Friday and Saturday.

COURTESY OF TPSSVOICE.COM

Ethiopian meals at Addis Ababa are eaten with injera instead of forks.

This delicious late night establishment serves up some of the creamiest, most delicious Irish fare in Silver Spring.

McGinty’s This small Irish pub may be exactly what you want late at night. Fast service coupled with plenty of creamy and buttery pleasure foods makes this “pub” an extremely good choice for Irish fare. The appetizers at McGinty’s are really the best thing on the menu as they are usually superb, cheap and quick. The Irish Boxty, a scallion and potato cake smothered with butter, cheese and sour cream, is excellent to start. The creamy bacon onion tart is something between a white pizza and a quiche and definitely worth trying out. If this is just not enough food, the caesar salad is large enough for several to share and is covered in crunchy croutons and fantastically large Parmesan chips. The fish and chips is also a staple of pub dining and is definitely worth a try at McGinty’s. These beer battered slices of fish come with a mass of french fries and taste great covered in lemon and vinegar.

The fish and chips comes with crispy french fries.

McGinty’s stays open until 1:30 a.m.

28 ENTERTAINMENT

silverCHIPS

April 26, 2012

Fandom Is Magic

Art by Julia Bates

The 'My Little Pony' fan universe is a horse of a different color from Bronies page 1 Enchanting Equestria “Two regal sisters ruled together and created harmony for all the land,” tells the narrator during the series premiere. “The eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn. The younger brought out the moon to begin the night.” Beginning with the history of Princesses Celestia and Luna, the series achieves depth through its incorporation of pony folklore. The Lord of the Rings-style backstory revealed throughout the series includes prophecies of the return of the Night Mare, the story of Discord the dragon’s reign of chaos, and horrifying recollections of breed segregation.

The unusual complexity of the children’s show and the enchanting details of the universe makes it compelling for senior James Syverson. “People watch it because it has a great universe and the characters work well together. It has such as awesome alternate universe.

It’s a place you can spend a lot of time thinking about how it works,” says Syverson. Sophomore Liam Leuter agrees with Syverson, “Honestly, it just takes my mind off things,” he says. “I like that it’s a good,

light-hearted show.”

The bright and artistic castles and characters and the cheery spirit are part of what makes the show so attractive to teenagers whose daily high school experiences may not be so simple, delightful and filled with musical numbers. “I like that because it’s a kid show the problem all wraps up by the end of every episode and it always ends happily,” says junior Fen Kemp.

Foal Fandom The fandom can only be described by the telling the story of one dear, beloved Derpy Hooves. The lovable Hooves began as a mistake. “There’s this one character that had an animation mistake so that her eyes were pointing in different directions, and the fans loved her and made a lot of art about her so they put her in the show later,” says Syverson. Part of what the Internet community enjoys about the show is its role in the series’ development. “One of the greatest things is that the creators of the show have a great relationship with the community, like they drop inside jokes into it for us,” says Syverson.

The community embraced Derpy for her differences despite outcry from those of-

fended by the character and its rather controversial name.

Across the country, bronies herd together with friends and fellow fans for conventions and gatherings to hang out and discuss pony happenings. “Unlike other fandoms, no one will say, like, ‘I won’t talk to you if like a certain character is your favorite,’” says Kemp.

In fact, other fans will do better than not talk to you for liking Apple Jack. They might go so far as to love you anyway. “There’s this whole theme in the fandom of love and tolerance. We want to be the nicest fandom in history and be the most accepting of people,” says Syverson. “We will love and tolerate the [expletive] out of you,” adds Kemp.

Syverson now has friends in high places in the pony world. “My friend organized the D.C. brony meet-ups and I’m the person that got him into it. I try to go to as many as I can,” says Syverson.

He has attended two of the major New York brony meet-ups where fans can meet the show’s creators and voice actors, listen to “My Little Pony” bands perform original music and buy fan-crafted and Hasbro “My Little Pony” products.

Kemp appreciates the art of the show and Hasbro’s merchandise. She buys $2 plastic toys and paints them to represent the more

obscure background ponies to share and show off at the meet ups.

Many of the Blair fans also enjoy sharing the show with their families and younger siblings. Syverson’s parents are bronies as well and Poole memorized the theme song to impress his younger sister.

Sophomore fan India Sanders enjoys the show with her dad. “Me and my dad cry when it’s over, it’s the way we have bonding time,” she says.

Underneath the fandom, art, friendship and morals that surround the franchise, at its core fans enjoy the show because it’s good TV. “It knows it’s a goofy show and that’s why it’s clever,” says Poole. Syverson enjoys it for the humor and Kemp for the musical numbers.

As for people who reject the show without trying it, the fans believe they’re missing out. “You just don’t know magic. Get some real friends and come talk to me,” says Sanders.

silverCHIPS

SPORTS 29

April 26, 2012

Spring Sports Update

Art by Julia Bates

By Ruth Aitken and Peter McNally

Baseball Varsity boys’ baseball (3-5) has struggled to improve their team of 12 new players. According to coach Eric Zolkiewicz, the veteran senior players have had to pull together in order to keep the ball club going. “They know they’ve got to step up,” says Zolkiewicz.

The team has been able to continue to cooperatively improve as a whole, but has struggled with several technical difficulties.

“We’re playing well as a team, but we need to play a little smarter at times,” says Zolkiewicz. Despite some losses, including their most

Softball

recent ten run loss to Magruder, the team’s morale remains unfettered.

“Even when we struggle, we want to keep working and striving to win,” says senior co-captain Richard Griner.

Even with seven new players and three starting freshman, the reigning regional champion team (9-1) looks good to repeat last year ’s knockout season. So far this season, the team has been dominant on the field.

Of the nine games they have played, seven were won in complete blowouts.

“Last year was the best season in Blair history, we won the regionals and went to states,” says head coach Louis Hoelman. “This

year we’re a younger team but we’re playing every bit as well as past years,” he says.

The team’s perfect record was tarnished in a loss to Sherwood, their longtime rivals. Despite a final score of 8-3, the team left excited by what they considered their first challenging game of the season and ready to, hopefully, face the warriors again in the playoffs.

The team has done well under the leadership of captains Samantha Schweickhardt, Rebecca Arbacher and Molly Nicholson. “They have been doing a great job leading the team and helping the team bond,” says Holeman. The team hopes to one up last year’s success. “One of our main goals is to go back to states and win finals,” says Nicholson.

Boys’ Volleyball

Boys’ Tennis The boys’ tennis team has racked up important wins so far this season against Northwest and Richard Montgomery, to a winning record of 5-2. Though the team has lost two starting seniors since last year, senior captain Robert Chen says that the team is practicing hard to improve teamwork. “Our team is definitely weaker than last year,” he says. “But we’re shaping up.” According to Coach David Ngbea, the seven incoming freshmen are quick learners, which will make up for their lack of varsity experience.

Ngbea says that he would like to see more fight in his players in upcoming matches. “We’ve got six more Division

TOLU OMOKEHINDE

I teams to tackle, and the team needs to prove to me that they want to win,” he says. Chen says that the matches this year have generally been close. “It’s usually going to come down to the third and fourth courts,” he said.

Coach Ngbea says that if the team continues to do well, they will stay in Division I. “If we can win three to four Division I matches, we’re in good shape,” Ngbea says. The team faces Einstein on April 30 in the last divisional match of the season before the playoffs.

Boys’ volleyball (7-1) is off to a great start and is looking forward to an energetic and successful season. They recently continued their seven game winning streak, trouncing Poolesville in three straight sets. The team graduated a few major players last year, and has worked hard to regroup. “We lost three seniors, and one of them was a starter. It’s had a large impact. We had to practice a lot harder to fill that hole,” says team junior captain Ricci Huang.

Looking forward to some challenging games, the Blazers hope to repeat last season’s success as county and state champions. “Our goal is to win the whole thing,” says Huang. The team’s hard work is reflected in their

Boys’ Lacrosse

Girls’ Lacrosse

The varsity boys’ lacrosse team (3-4) has been working hard, but has faced some major challenges this season. Their most recent game, against the well-ranked Sherwood. ended the team’s three game winning streak.

Senior Matt Whitney says that the team is able to hold it together in the face of defeat. “We stay positive and motivated after a tough loss,” he says.

If everything goes well, they will be able to break 500.

This year, the team has worked hard to develop their new rookie offensive, a serious investment in the future. “We have a really young attack,” says Coach Christopher Brown. “I think over the next two years they’re going to be a really great attack.”

The girls’ varsity lacrosse team has fought their way to a 5-3 record with an important combination of skill and strategy.

Coach Michael Horne says that he is optimistic about this year’s team, especially after a strong start to the season. “We are very excited about our potential,” he says.

Horne said that the team’s captains contribute to the effortless team dynamic. “We’ve got great senior leadership,” he says. “Our captains are awesome.”

The varsity team also has thirteen first-year varsity players, which senior captain Julia Lewando says has contributed as well to the team dynamic this season. “Even though

TOLU OMOKEHINDE

ENOCH HSIAO

exciting gameplay. “They are absolutely lighting up. The whole team is really exciting to watch,” says Klein.

“If you haven’t see a volleyball match, this is the year to come out and spend a Friday night,” he says.

we have a lot of new players, they’ve stepped up and quickly taken to the varsity level of play,” says Lewando.

Horne says that this year, senior goalkeeper Molly Flannigan and junior Allison Whitney have been “nice additions” to the team.

The team, Horne says, is not discouraged by their occasional losses.

“I think that we’ll be competitive throughout the season,” he says.

“Hopefully we’ll come out on the right side of the scoreboard at the end of the day.”

statBOX Girls’ Lacrosse

Record: 5-3 Captains: Rachel Smith and Julia Lewando Player to Watch: Lisa Bianchini

Boys’ Lacrosse

Record: 3-4 Captains: Sean Riley and Eric Colbert Player to Watch: Zac Scarano

Softball

Record: 8-1 Captains: Samantha

Schweickhardt, Rebecca Arbacher and Molly Nicholson

Player to Watch: Annie Pietanza

Baseball

Record: 3-6 Captains: Tucker Canary, Richard Griner and Neil Gahart Player to Watch: Neil Gahart

Boys’ Volleyball

Record: 7-1 Captains: Ricci Huang, Andy Zhang and William Cai Player to Watch: Austin Liou

Boys’ Tennis

Record: 5-2 Captain: Robert Chen Player to Watch: Daniel Chen

30 SPORTS

silverCHIPS

April 26, 2012

College sports scandals hurt all Institutions lose sight of what really matters

By Josh Schmidt An opinion

Student-athletes are called that because they are meant to have a dual role: they must balance time on the field with time in their classes. As the name implies, they are meant to be both students and athletes. But of late, these students and their institutions have all but abandoned the student part of their athletes’ lives.

One cannot help but feel ashamed when watching the news lately and seeing the number of sports scandals that have happened recently. These scandals don’t just affect the players or teams involved; the impact of the scandals spreads much wider.

Fans are hurt, cities are disappointed, colleges are shamed and whole leagues must repair their images because a handful of people decided to break the rules.

The recent streak of scandals has stretched across professional leagues, but has also sadly impacted college athletics. When college sports teams are involved in scandals the whole image of a university’s reputation is damaged and the students lose track of the education that really matters in the long run. Colleges were established not to win championships, but instead to educate our nation’s youth — a goal that many schools seem to have sadly left behind.

The football teams at Ohio State and University of Miami have been in hot water recently for players receiving illegal benefits.

And, of course, there’s the wellknown Penn State scandal where the school officials and coaches failed to adequately report their former colleague who had sexually assaulted young boys on campus. Even before these recent events, the University of Michigan basketball team landed in trouble for providing its “Fab Five” with improper benefits.

In the college football world, the Penn State scandal was more than a sports scandal; the situation was one that affected all families across the United States. Former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky reportedly molested children numerous times, both on and off-campus.

Before he began to molest them, Sandusky had acted as a father figure to many of these kids.

From this, families learned that they could no longer trust those closest to them. The impact reverberated across not only the sports world but also across the country.

The failure of colleagues such as coach Joe Paterno to follow up his initial report to the higherups was shameful for all in the Penn State program and community. Paterno decided to ignore Sandusky as he truly was and to instead focus on Sandusky as a coach. The effort made by the school’s administrators to hide the truth smeared its image, which caused them to lose committed recruits to their football program.

The mark Paterno and the whole administration left on Penn State’s previously pristine image will not be washed away for many

years. The impact this scandal had on Penn State was felt by everyone, even those who aren’t college football fans. This scandal hurt a diverse range of people across the country and had an enormous impact on the program.

The scandals in both the Ohio State and University of Miami programs in which players received many benefits, has scarred both programs. The situation in Miami where potential recruits were at times provided with prostitutes from athletic boosters, has been looked down upon by all, and this disappointment in the program transfers to the institution itself.

Fans of college football were all horrified by the news of Miami athletes being provided prostitutes and disappointed with the Ohio State athletes selling their memorabilia for free tattoos. Both of these programs are among the most prestigious in all of college football, and now their reputations have been tarnished for the foreseeable future.

The Michigan basketball scandal involved many of the team’s stars getting improper benefits from team boosters and receiving gifts that were bought with laundered money. In punishment, the Wolverines had to vacate two final four appearances in addition to the loss of scholarships and the institution of postseason play restrictions.

While the punishment for Michigan was harsh, as they did deserve to retain the two final four appearances, it sent the message

across college athletics that breaking of the rules was not allowed.

In the case of college sports scandals, the impact of the public’s perception of the college or university changes dramatically. In professional sports, there is no academic institution to be disappointed in. This major difference greatly impairs colleges that are involved in these horrifying scandals.

All of the aforementioned scandals shook not only the athletic teams, but also the universities.

Every university in the world is established with one goal: to educate their students and prepare them for their future. When these scandals occur, they put blemishes on the universities’ images, not only impairing their athletics, but also their educational reputation.

Sports cannot get in the way of education. Education prepares students for a future. While a sports career lasts until an athlete is 35, or maybe 40, an education lasts a lifetime.

TATYANA GUBIN

silverCHIPS

April 26, 2012

SPORTS 31

Tips and tricks for navigating recruitment A guide for athletes moving up to the next level

By Claire Sleigh Sports in college operate on a whole different level: the competition is more intense, the training hours are longer and the pressure is much higher. But getting there can be the hardest part.

For those high school athletes who are thinking about taking their skills to the next level, mixing the recruiting process with the already overly complicated college admissions process can be daunting. But by building a relationship with coaches at prospective schools, athletes can boost their chances of getting into their top choices and snag athletic scholarships.

Every year when March Madness rolls around, the country becomes reacquainted with the topperforming Division I basketball schools.

But for someone who isn’t ready for that level of competition, there exist choices outside of these 64 schools that have strong sports programs. There are Division I programs that are less rigorous than the big powerhouses, and also many Division III schools to choose from. Very few schools compete in Division II, which is an intermediary between the two main divisions.

The main differences between the divisions are the overall competitiveness of the programs and the hours per week that athletes are allowed to practice.

Many smaller and liberal arts colleges

are in Division III because they put greater emphasis on academics and draw from a smaller student body. Student athletes must consider the balance they want to strike between studying and practicing.

While the division differences are fairly straightforward, be sure to talk to coaches at specific schools about the overall importance of athletics because it can vary within divisions.

Only D I and D II schools are allowed to offer athletic scholarships, which can be an important factor in making the college decision.

In order to engage in the recruiting process or play a sport in college, every athlete must meet the basic requirements laid out by Clearinghouse, an organization that works with the NCAA to verify that all those who participate in college sports are academically eligible by a set of national standards. Luckily for us Marylanders, the graduation requirements in our state are so strict that they satisfy the Clearinghouse requirements.

Beyond that, coaches must look for an academic track record that will fit well into their school’s standards. While athletics may be enough to get prospective students accepted despite slightly lower grades or SAT scores, athletics can only compensate so far when it comes to selective schools.

The most important thing is to get noticed by schools and coaches.

Arguably, the most important part of the process is to get noticed by schools and coaches. Getting a coach’s attention can

be straightforward in some cases (if you’re really good, they’ll come looking for you), but in the majority of cases, you have to do all the work.

By junior year, you should have a rough list of schools that you are interested in, and should reach out to the coaches at these schools. Let them know who you are and why they should want you as part of their athletic program. This means sending emails, and making phone calls and visits — don’t be afraid to reach out to coaches; they get it all the time.

Most coaches will want some kind of statistics on you, both on the athletic side and on the academic side. Sports that are less number-based require athletes to submit videos of their performance. In addition, many athletic programs have recruiting forms that they ask prospective athletes to fill out — completing these forms is an easy way to get the process moving.

Talk to your current coach about college goals, and see if they have any advice. They will be instrumental throughout the process (i.e. writing recommendations), so the sooner you clue them in, the better.

There are also club and intramural sports at most colleges, which can give athletes who want to balance multiple extracurricular activities more options.

And, if the recruiting process isn’t for you, there is always the option of trying out and walking on to the team freshman year.

But if you know that athletics are in your future, consider recruiting. The process can help you streamline your college choices, give you an edge on admission at selective schools and provide that last bit of money to make the college of your dreams affordable.

NOAHGRACE BAUMAN

sportsCHIPS

April 26, 2012 silverchips.mbhs.edu/section/sports.php

Blazers demolish Cavaliers in near shutout

insideSPORTS

Blair overwhelms Kennedy on offense, renews focus on defense

Spring sports update

By Josh Schmidt

See page 29

said Horne. “We need to concentrate on stopping the ball in our upcoming games. ” Horne believes that body position is key to The Blair girls’ varsity lacrosse team (5defense. “Body positioning is paramount on 3) trounced the Kennedy cavaliers (0-8) by defense,” Horne said. a score of 18-1. The Lady Blazers took hold Flannagan agrees that there are always of the game from the beginning and never ways to work harder and become better on relinquished the lead. offense. “With our shot Blair first got on the board selection we didn’t fake when senior co-captain Rachel and didn’t expect the Smith scored within a couple goalie to move and stop minutes of the start. A few the ball,” said Flannagan. minutes later, junior Caren HolCoach Horne bemes scored. Holmes promptly lieves that if the Blazers scored again as she won the faprepare adequately for ceoff and immediately sprinted these upcoming harder down the center of the field and games, they will be able scored to begin a stretch of three to hang tough with some straight goals, earning her a traof the best teams in the ditional hat trick. county. “It’s a key of The Blazers were led by knowing who we have Smith who had five goals in adand how we’ll play them dition to two assist and Holmes and then work on that. who also scored five goals. But Springbrook has a tough the girls also had additional defensive zone and Whitsupport from senior co-captain man’s a tough run and Julia Lewando and junior Allishoot, more traditional CLARE LEFEBURE son Whitney who each had two team,” said Horne. goals. The lead was already 10-0 Juniors Caren Holmes and Zoe McCarthy were both key players Holmes believes that at half time and was extended to in the Blazers gaining a quick lead and never relenting. the team will continue to 12-0 before Kennedy ended the grow as their experience shut out. builds. “We’ve got big games coming up she moved the ball . Junior Zoe McCarthy At times the Blazers dominated the game also chipped in with three assists. and we’ve got room to grow. We’re a young to such an extent that the Blair defenders team, but they’re stepping up and helping Despite thoroughly dominating Kenhad ample time to chat with each other and nedy, Coach Michael Horne believes that out,” said Holmes. the Cavalier attack. The lone Kennedy goal the defense still has room for improvement.

But Horne believes that there is one main came on a funny bounce that ricocheted off “We needed to have better body position,” thing will help the team throughout the rest of the season. “I’m liking the teams aggression a lot lately,” said a chuckling Horne.

BLAZER STADIUM, April 23 —

of senior Molly Flannagan’s goalie stick and dribbled into the net.

Junior Lisa Bianchini, who also contributed a couple goals, helped the team out greatly with her hustle and speed. Bianchini won multiple ground balls earned solely with her speed and was able to evade defenders as

Boys’ volleyball blasts Poolesville Blazers destroy Falcons in three straight sets

By Janvi Raichura NELSON H. KOBREN GYMNASIUM, April 21 —

point. Blair was unable to take a significant lead as they had in the previous two sets.

Combined with missed service returns and inaccurate serving, the Blazers fell behind 6-7. This losing streak continued until the score was 11-12. Zhang brought energy and fire back into the team with a well-timed kill, tying the score up at 12-12. They progressed quickly, leaving Poolesville in the dust and finishing the set with a final score of 25-17.

Head coach Chris Liang was extremely pleased with a variety of players in the game.

“We have people from the bench stepping up and [doing] what they needed to do,” he said. Zhang was pleased with Blair’s passing. “We passed pretty well, especially in the beginning, which allowed us to run our offense,” he said.

Looking back on the game, Zhang believes that weak service in the third set was a contributing factor to the competitive score. “At the end we missed too many serves, which allowed the score to get too close but we cut down on those errors and just came back,’’ he said. Huang echoed that statement. “Our main problem has been serves and so we’ve been working on that in practice,” he said.

Looking forward to the Blazers upcoming games against Magruder and Richard Montgomery, Huang is confident that the Blazers can win. “Monday [against Magruder] I’m definitely feeling the win. RM will be a little harder, but if we’re on top of our game, I’m confident we can take it,” he said.

The boys’ varsity volleyball team (7-1) won its fifth home game against the Poolesville Falcons (4-4) with final scores of 25-16, 25-11 and 25-17. Despite struggling with their service during the last two sets, the Blazers were able to defeat Poolesville with their aggressive and clever playing.

Although the Falcons were more skilled than the majority of teams the Blazers have previously played, junior co-captain Ricci Huang was confident that they could win.

“It’s not going to be as easy as our other games, but I believe we’re still superior,” he said.

From the start, Blair prepared itself for a solid win. Senior cocaptain Andy Zhang was instrumental to the team’s victory, leading the team with 10 aces and 14 kills. The Blazers were able to easily close out the first set, 25-16.

The Blazers proved to be just as dominating in the second set, instantaneously pulling ahead with a score of 11-3. Although the Blazers had some trouble with their service halfway through the second set, Poolesville echoed this trouble, allowing the Blazers to close out the second set 25-11.

ELLIE MUSGRAVE The third set beSenior Andy Zhang racked gan with Poolesville winning the opening up points with 14 kills.

The varsity boys volleyball team will play their final home game against Churchill at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, April 27.

A look at six of Blair’s spring sports teams, including the near-perfect softball and boys’ volleyball.

The inside scoop See page 31 Think college-level sports are in your future?

Columnist Claire Sleigh shares some hints about the college recruitment process.

The varsity girls’ lacrosse team will play its next home game against Einstein at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 3.

Whitman crushes boys’ tennis, 6-1 Blazers suffer disheartening defeat to Vikings

By Katelin Montgomery BLAZER TENNIS COURTS, April 17 —

hitting deeper into the court, so it forced him to be more defensive,” he said.

First doubles players, Barrera and sophomore Arvind Kannan, lost the first set but narrowly won the second set 7-6. Despite a rally in the third set, the pair ended up losing 6-3. Barrera was disappointed in his loss. “We feel awful; I think we should have had this one,” he said.

Head coach David Ngbea believes that the team was mentally prepared for this match, but were unable to execute at crucial moments. “I’ve seen more fight, which is good, but there are too many mistakes,” he said. “Volleys and serves have been problematic since the start of the season.”

The Whitman Vikings (6-1) beat the boys’ tennis team (5-2) with a final score of 6-1. The team went into the match expecting it to be difficult, but kept their spirits high despite the grim chances.

Both the first and second singles players, juniors Daniel Chen and Daniel Barg, had an especially tough time playing their opponents and lost their matches.

Barg blames his loss on his difficulty with serves and returns. “I lost simply because [my opponent] had better serves and returns than I did, which made it difficult to The varsity boys’ tennis team will play its next be aggressive during points,” he said.

Chen described his opponent as a very home match against Wheaton at 3:30 p.m. on strong player. “He is higher ranked and Tuesday, Apr. 24. hits the ball a lot harder than I do,” he said.

Chen and Barg hold the two highest spots on the team, which means that they face the number one and two players every match.

Junior Hector Barrera appreciates the tough spot Chen is put in because he always has to face the toughest opponents from the opposing squad. “Daniel Chen has the hardest spot because if there’s one really good player on that team, he’s going to get that person,” he said.

Freshman James Liao, fourth singles player, came through with the only win of the day with a score of 6-2 and 6-3. Liao believes his precision shots contribELLIE MUSGRAVE uted to his win. “I feel like I was positioning the ball really well Junior Daniel Barg struggled in his singles with my ground stroke and I was match and eventually lost.