February 2011 - Silver Chips Print

Dream Act proposed BNC launches new online aspect

By Biruk Bekele

By Philipa Friedman

Maryland Senators Victor Ramirez and Richard S. Madeleno introduced a bill last month dubbed the “Maryland Dream Act” that would grant undocumented Maryland college students the right to in-state tuition.

At the same time, Judicial Watch, a government watchdog group, filed a lawsuit against Montgomery College accusing the community college of granting in-county tuition rates to students graduating from Montgomery County high schools regardless of their immigration status or residence.

According to Adam Fogel, chief of staff for Senator Madaleno, the debate is a matter of fairness.

Maryland Dream Act supporters argue that the state should not hinder young illegal students who did

Blair Network Communications (BNC), Blair’s media production organization, has made a number of changes since the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year, including the introduction of a new online aspect and the addition of “That’s All, Folks,” a radio show hosted by sophomore Adam Maisto. “The Internet is the main thing I changed,” said BNC’s faculty advisor Paris Bustillos. “I really thought it should be a bigger part of BNC.” According to BNC’s Internet Executive senior Colin Wiencek, BNC launched its new website, BNCmedia.org, in November.

The new website receives approximately 1,000 individual hits each month, with a total of approximately 3,000 hits, which means

COURTESY OF MASONCONTRACTORS.ORG

Montgomery College was sued recently for its tuition policy. not choose to come to this nation from going to college. “We don’t think that people have to pay for

see DREAM page 9

that the average visitor views three pages on the site before logging off, Wiencek said.

The greatest number of hits on any individual section of the website is reportedly on the page which displays InfoFlow each day, according to Maisto. The

InfoFlow page is linked directly to Blair’s main website, and typically parents visit the site to check up on important events happening within the school, he said.

Due to low viewership, the

see BNC page 8

A work of art

School system battles tough budget

By Maureen Lei MCPS Superintendent Jerry Weast recommended a $2.16 billion operating budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 on Dec. 15. The budget is $60 million more than the FY 2011 budget.

Last month, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett (D) announced that the county will not fund MCPS at Maintenance of Effort (MOE) levels, state mandates that require each school district to spend at least the same amount of money

per student as it did the previous FY. In response to Leggett’s announcement, Weast released a list of potential budget cuts, including teaching, administrative and security positions on Jan. 28. According to BOE member Phil Kauffman, the cuts are not definitive. “We may not adopt the cuts on that list,” he said.

According to Patrick Lacefield, spokesman for Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett (D), it is too early in the budget process to know how much money the county govern-

ment will ultimately give to MCPS. According to Student Member of the Board of Education (BOE) Alan Xie, MCPS will face difficulty if it applies for an MOE waiver because of a promise it made when it obtained a waiver for FY 2011. “Last year when we didn’t meet [MOE] we got a waiver and said we wouldn’t turn back again and reapply,” he said.

Under the current law, MCPS will have to meet MOE based

see BUDGET page 9

TOLU OMOKEHINDE

A group led by freshman Aanchal Johri performs a traditional Indian dance at Magnet Arts Night.

Following nature’s course

New rink glides into DTSS

Semester schools provide alternative

By Jenny Sholar

EVAN HORNE

After several years of construction, the Downtown Silver Spring ice rink opened on Dec. 19, providing a new attraction for all ages.

Blair is many things, but wild it is not. Its wilderness is limited to the swamp behind the athletic fields and Blair Boulevard between fifth and sixth periods. So for junior Connor Siegel, spending last semester on two-squaremile campus abutting a national forest and encompassing eight different lakes was quite a change.

The first semester of this school year, Siegel attended Conserve School, one of many “semester schools” nationwide. These programs, which last for roughly four months and typically cater to high school sophomores and juniors, allow students to step out of the box of the traditional education system and learn in a different way, according to Patrick McGettigan, an admissions officer at CityTERM, a semester school near New York City. For students looking for a change of pace, semester schools supplement the typical high school education through a

combination of hands-on learning and tight-knit communities.

A different kind of school At Blair, typical units in physical education classes include sports like volleyball, football and tennis. In his P.E. class last semester, Siegel went rock climbing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and mountain biking; he learned how to build a survival shelter in the wilderness and tested lakes for water quality. These lessons tied in with Conserve’s overall mission: to promote environmental stewardship.

Most semester schools’ curriculams focus on hands-on learning in the school’s surroundings. Conserve’s wooded campus in northern Wisconsin was an ideal setting for a school founded on environmental principles.

At the Ocean Classroom Foundation’s (OCF) Discovery High School, based

see SEMESTER page 13

insideCHIPS Class on snow day?: Humor columnist Jewel Galbraith argues against online school on snow days. see page 5

OP/ED 2

SOAPBOX 7

NEWS 8

Busy buses: Ride-On buses to provide real-time arrival information online. see page 11

FEATURES 15

Going medieval: Blazers leap into the excitment of fantasy with Dagorhir battle games. see page 19

Quick picks: Take a break from textbooks and relax with these four fun reads. see page 27

ENTERTAINMENT 24 CHIPS CLIPS 28 LA ESQUINA LATINA 29 SPORTS 30

2 EDITORIALS

silverCHIPS

February 9, 2011

National tragedy teaches local lessons On Jan. 8, our nation was struck by violent, devastating tragedy. A young man entered a supermarket in Tucson, Ariz., where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was speaking to her constituents, and he opened fire on those gathered. The suspected shooter, Jared Loughner, shot at least 18 people, including Ms. Giffords, killing six.

In light of this terrible crime, many are re-examining the country’s political atmosphere, questioning whether the recent emphasis on fiery rhetoric and harsh criticism is to blame.

It is true that the tone in the political sphere has escalated in intensity and vitriol in recent months. Abrasive language and exaggeration are more common among politicians and pundits, but all of the blame should not and cannot fall on the current political culture.

Fault also lies in the twisted behaviors of this one unstable man, who might have felt prompted to act in any political climate.

Even despite the unsettling animosity evident among politicians today, a time of such heavy grief is an inappropriate instance to point fingers — on either side of the aisle. It is wrong to blame the actions of an entire party or ideology for such a crime. And it is wrong to take advantage of this tragedy to spew the same vicious language we condemn others for using. But this is a time to evaluate the state of our nation, and even our school, and to try to learn from this tragic situation in order to prevent anything similar from happpening in the future.

Blazers often think of Blair as a haven for people of all viewpoints, a community that tolerates and welcomes all opinions. While Blair is accepting in terms of characteristics like race, ethnicity and sexual orientation, this degree of tolerance does not always carry over to political views. Most students in this area hold fairly liberal ideologies and identify as Democrats, but this is certainly not true of everyone.

Students who are openly conservative are few and far between and often do not discuss politics because they know they are part of a small minority. Conservative ideologies regularly come under fire at Blair, but attacking the beliefs of some of our students is a poor representation of the open-minded school we claim to be. Our nation’s level of political conflict certainly does not exist at Blair, but in order to promote tolerance we need to be cautious not to hyperbolize our own beliefs or the degree to which we presumably accept those of others.

But living up to our self-proclaimed reputation is not the only reason we must be open to conflicting opinions. Schools aim to prepare students for life as adults in the “real world,” where viewpoints are not so homogenous. The American people are liberals, conservatives and moderates, all with varying morals, beliefs and values. While there may be pockets of people who hold the same political beliefs as the majority of Blazers, they do not represent the diversity of beliefs of the entire nation. For the rest of our lives, we will have to tolerate and cooperate with people very different from ourselves, so now is the time to make an effort to respect and appreciate all differing perspectives.

President Obama’s speech at the University of Arizona memorializing this tragedy was a powerful, moving tribute to both the heroes and the victims of the shooting. He spoke of a nine-year-old-girl who was killed that day and the perspective she had on the world — one of hope for the future and a sound trust in democracy. He urged the nation to make this vision a reality and to create a society that lives up to our children’s expectations. Blair students are those children. We have high expectations for our nation — and for our school. If we want to live and learn in a truly open, accepting environment, change must start with us.

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 groyce26@gmail.com. Letters may be edited for space and clarity.

Editors-in-Chief.....................................................................................................Laura Anthony, Sarah Schwartz Managing News Editors..........................................................................................Biruk Bekele, Philipa Friedman Managing Features Editors........................................................................................Jewel Galbraith, Jenny Sholar Managing Opinions and Editorials Editors....................................................................Larisa Antonisse, Eli Okun Managing Entertainment Editors.............................................................................Jialin Quinlan, Natalie Rutsch Managing Sports Editor..........................................................................................................................Gardi Royce Production Manager.......................................................................................................................Larisa Antonisse Managing Design Editor........................................................................................................................Jenny Sholar Design Team..............................................................................Philipa Friedman, Jewel Galbraith, Natalie Rutsch Managing Photo Editors.............................................................Nick Grossman, Andrew Kirwan, Noah Mason Art Editors...................................................................................................Sam Elkind, Eric Gabriel Public Relations Director...................................................................................................................Jewel Galbraith Outreach Coordinator..........................................................................................................................Jialin Quinlan Distribution Supervisor.....................................................................................................................Natalie Rutsch Newsbriefs Editor..................................................................................................Maureen Lei Fact-Check Supervisor.................................................................................................................................Eli Okun Extras Editor...............................................................................................................................Claire Boston Executive Business Director.........................................................................................................Lizzy Raskulinecz Executive Communications Director...................................................................................................Aarti Kolluri Executive Advertising Director..............................................................................................................Quinn Shen Business Staff.......................................Chunwoo Baik, Ann Marie Huisentruit, Jane Lee, Sarah Marsteller Page Editors.............................................................Stella Bartholet, NoahGrace Bauman, Claire Boston, ...................................................................................................Helen Bowers, Simrin Gupta, Claire Koenig, .................................................................................Maureen Lei, Sebi Medina-Tayac, Srividya Murthy, ............................................................................................................Maggie Shi, Claire Sleigh, Eliza Wapner Spanish Page Advisers..........................................................Mariángeles Cuadrado-Corrales, Dora González Spanish Page Writers.........................................................Tania Borrego, Alan Marroquin, Kelly Ventura Editorial Board..................................Laura Anthony, Larisa Antonisse, Eli Okun, Gardi Royce, Sarah Schwartz Editorial Cartoonist......................................................................................................................Sam Elkind Photographers...........................................................................Nick Grossman, Evan Horne, Andrew Kirwan, ..........................................................................Noah Mason, Leah Muskin-Pierret, Tolu Omokehinde Artists.......................................................Doyung Lee, Sam Elkind, Eric Gabriel, Nathan Gamson Sports Writers.............................................................. NoahGrace Bauman, Jialin Quinlan, ...........................................................................................................Gardi Royce, Claire Sleigh Professional Technical Advisers................................................Peter Hammond, Brian McLaughlin Adviser...............................................................................................................................................Joseph Fanning

Struggling to maintain Chips’ diversity Chips needs to work on representing all Blair students

By Gardi Royce In a school that boasts one of the most diverse student populations in the area, it’s always tough as a newspaper to know what will provoke readers’ attention. With so many different cultures, races and traditions, it’s always a challenge to write stories that attract everyone.

We strain to come up with ideas that you as students can relate to, but it’s increasingly difficult to represent Blair when our own staff is not an balanced representation of the student body.

With fewer people electing to take journalism, the pool of students eligible for Silver Chips is shrinking.

The Communication Arts Program (CAP), which requires students to take journalism, serves as one feeder into Silver Chips, with 19 members of our 23-person writing staff in CAP. While this is by no means the program’s fault, it leads to a lack of diversity as its members filter into Silver Chips.

While this problem remains, we need to strive to make Silver Chips more representative of Blair as a whole. The Ombudsman reaches out to students by contacting English teachers and taking surveys. This year these surveys have proved invaluable, as we have gathered great responses and views, influencing our stories and ideas.

Another way we have begun to restructure our paper is by making our Spanish page a more prominent aspect of the paper. With Latino students comprising over 27 percent of Blair, it’s crucial that we reach out to those who may speak both English and Spanish.

Our last cycle featured Spanish on our centerspread, the newspaper’s main feature.

This type of change and adapta-

Ombudsman Gardi Royce tion is something that is absolutely critical if we are to remain a professional and respected high school newspaper. However, introducing more Spanish-language stories alone cannot bring the necessary racial and cultural diversity to our paper.

We can’t and shouldn’t force black and Latino students to take journalism to boost our diversity or employ some sort of affirmative action, but instead we need to take on the problem and plan for the future.

The fundamental problem is that there are simply not enough journalism classes to offer our editors a wide pool of applicants.

As Gandhi once famously said,

Web Exclusives Check Silver Chips Online (http://sco.mbhs.edu) for constantly updated news, features and entertainment — and make sure to be on the lookout for these upcoming stories: s

Winter TV Preview: A couch potato’s rom-com dream

s

Continuing corollary sports

s

The skinny on MTV’s newest phenomenon “Skins”

“Be the change you wish to see.”

This is perfectly applicable to this situation, because if we want more applications, we need to progressively motivate more students to sign up for journalism so that there are more classes.

Already the Editors-in-Chief for next year have begun planning and thinking about ways to make Silver Chips more representative of our diverse Blazer community. They will establish Spanish page writers as permanent members of our staff, instead of writing only one page a cycle. By canvassing more, they will try to reach as much of “big Blair” as possible.

With each national award we win, it becomes much more evident that if we are to be considered as one of the premier high school newspapers, we need to hold ourselves to that high standard.

This includes making sure we are a true representation of our school and not just a selective sliver of students.

However, the solution does not fall solely upon our staff. We need English teachers to encourage their good writers to take journalism and pursue an interest in writing. If teachers support our writers, they will instill in them a confidence in writing that could promote an interest in journalism and Silver Chips.

In an ever-growing world, it’s important that Silver Chips evolve with the changes in order to truly embody and uphold our motto of defending and representing the Blair community.

Corrections The article “The List” (p. 23, Dec. 16) spelled author Stieg Larsson’s name incorrectly.

The article “BOE elects new president” (p. 11, Dec. 16) spelled Shirley Brandman’s name incorrectly.

silverCHIPS

PRO/CON 3

February 9, 2011

Should Blair freshmen be permitted to take Advanced Placement classes?

Maggie Shi

YES:

NO:

Freshmen should be able to get an edge on college readiness.

Freshman year is too early for college-level courses.

There are a few common hurdles that stand between most high school students and the seemingly distant concept of college. The list can be nerve-wracking: the grade point average, the PSAT, the SAT, the ACT, college applications and the Advanced Placement (AP) tests and classes.

While most of these hurdles come up only in our last two years of high school, AP tests and classes are on our minds for the entire span of our four years. Blair should give freshmen the opportunity to take AP classes — in our standardized test-driven educational system, students need these tests and classes to get ahead.

Blair has a reputation for catering to the specific needs of the diverse student body, despite being the largest school in Montgomery County. It is able to offer classes at different levels for students who learn at different paces, so freshmen who are capable of managing AP-level material should also have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Blair already houses enough freshmen who want to take these courses, according to social studies resource teacher Jill Selman. “We definitely have kids who are capable, and there’s a demand from the students and the parents,” she said.

This demand may be the result of seeing other schools in the county give their freshmen the opportunity. Sixteen Montgomery County high schools currently offer AP U.S. History or AP National, State and Local (NSL) Government classes to their freshmen, including all the Downcounty Consortium schools but Blair. Unique as our school is, this is an issue on which Blair should consider following the status quo.

It is disheartening but true that our current educational system is focused mainly on data: test scores, GPAs, number of tests taken. In a December press release, MCPS boasted about the “record-setting” number of AP exams taken by their students. It seems that the only way to get ahead is to have the right numbers or statistics. And because a school’s goal is to help its students get ahead, it has to help them attain these numbers — numbers like AP scores.

Take the AP Scholar Awards, for example, which are distinctions awarded by the company in charge of the AP program: College Board. They are given to students who have scored well on a certain number of AP exams. Receiving one of these awards can make a student stand out in the college admissions process, but completing all of the rigourous coursework involved is no walk in the park. Receiving the award of “AP Scholar with Distinction” requires

scores of three or higher on at least five AP exams.

If a Blair student wanted the opportunity to note this award on a college application, it would require over half of his or her classes in 10th and 11th grade to be AP classes.

Taking one AP class may be difficult during freshman year, but juggling AP workloads in addition to the other stresses of sophomore and junior year is much more challenging.

Letting freshmen focus on doing well in one AP class would take away some of the pressure in the following years.

Granted, there should be some limits to which APs freshmen can take. Freshman year should still be a period of acclimatization and adjustment, not frenzied test-taking. Students should only be allowed to take one AP subject, and it shouldn’t be too demanding.

According to Selman, many schools that offer AP classes to freshmen only offer NSL Government. This is because it is considered less rigorous as it is less detail-oriented and more focused on concepts than other social studies subjects like AP U.S. History.

The truth is, the current number-focused system doesn’t take into account how well a class is taught or how in-depth the material is. When reports come out in July, all that matters are the scores.

Dismaying as it is, this is the system under which all high schools operate. For now, rather than resisting and restricting freshmen from taking APs, Blair needs to be flexible and work with the system, making the path to college success a smoother ride.

The idea of taking college-level courses while still in high school is appealing to many — and for a good reason. Advanced Placement (AP) courses expose students to mature expectations and learning experiences, while also giving high schoolers a chance to earn college credit, an attractive concept given high tuition costs. But college-level classes require a large time commitment, a significant base of knowledge and the ability to think conceptually, skills which many freshmen lack.

Fresh out of middle school and thrown into a more challenging and competitive environment, most freshmen are mentally and LARISA ANTONISSE emotionally unprepared for AP courses. It is up to Blair administration to refrain from offering these courses to freshmen, despite what other schools in the area may do. By exposing freshmen to college-level classes, school systems not only would compromise the value of the classes themselves but would also put unnecessary stress on students at too young an age.

Freshman year should be a time to grow as an individual and adjust to the rigors of high school. The transition from middle to high school is significant both academically and socially, and students need time to make this transition without being bogged down by APs. Students develop skills that are necessary for success in AP classes throughout high school — skills which students lack at the beginning of freshmen year. This is not to say that select freshmen cannot succeed in AP classes; it is a question of what will be compromised in the process. It is unfair to put the burden of an AP class on freshmen at the cost of all the

Claire Sleigh potential stress. Ninth grade students entering freshman year may also be unaware of the rigor of AP classes — they may just hear that APs are offered and feel pressure to sign up for the highest level available.

Courses which would be appropriate and enriching when taken at the proper time become unnecessary academic pressures.

In an attempt to make these courses more manageable for freshmen, the rigor of the APs could be comprised. It is improbable that ninth-graders taking an AP course would do the same quality or amount of work as a junior or senior enrolled in the same AP, let alone a college student. It then becomes inevitable that AP classes for freshmen would be watered down in order to prepare students for the AP exam, according to AP U.S. History teacher George Vlasits. This would leave freshmen with an incomplete grasp of confusing yet highly important concepts.

Offering AP classes would not only harm the individual students taking them but would also have an adverse effect on the school in general by intensifying the achievement gap and causing tracking to occur a year earlier. In the current system, freshmen have a choice between regular or honors U.S. Government. By providing a third choice — such as AP U.S. in which only a select group of students will participate — the administration will only be splitting the school apart more.

Those students who enter AP classes as freshmen will then be put on a higher track than their peers in regular classes. Tracking occurs when students are put into a specific “track” or level of courses that they then follow through their education.

The motivation of schools for offering APs to freshman is also questionable. One explanation is the desire to do better on the Challenge Index, a ranking of high schools developed by Washington Post education reporter Jay Mathews that is based on the number of APs taken and passed. By offering APs to a wider base of students, schools are practically guaranteed to score higher and outrank their competitions. The Blair administration may be feeling pressure from other schools in the area who are offering the classes as well as from parents, but needs to act in the best interest of the students.

Scoring higher on the Jay Mathews factor should be no motivation for the Blair administration, nor should pressure from parents. The school’s primary goal should be learning — which can be done in AP classes — but only if students are ready.

Freshmen do not fit this ballot.

voiceBOX “No. They’re new to high school. They don’t have enough experience.”

“Yes, because they want to get their education and college credit instead of taking meaningless classes.”

-senior Charles Ruffin

-junior Helena Logbo

“If they’re ready for it, why not? The more AP classes you take, the better it looks for colleges. ”

“Yes. Freshmen who can handle the challenge of AP classes should have the opportunity to take them.”

-freshman Aleksander Sankar

-sophomore Claire Baylor

“Not really.

Otherwise they will take on too much work and end up regretting it later.”

-freshman Liam Lewter

silverCHIPS 4 For students, an iPad a day keeps the textbooks at bay OP/ED

February 9, 2011

New developments should encourage teachers to incorporate technology into the classroom

By Simrin Gupta An opinion Few students remember the last time they hauled out a dictionary to look up a word. Even fewer remember an instance when they had a question that Google couldn’t answer. Gone are the days when the 20-pound textbook was the best resource. Thanks to the emerging technology of e-readers and tablets, anyone can be privy to a plethora of information with just the click of a button or the tap of a screen. Teachers across the nation have finally begun to capitalize on that concept within their classrooms, integrating technology into their lesson plans. It’s high time that MCPS do the same.

School systems are realizing that e-readers and tablets are the technology that will usher in a new era for education. Tablets are designed to help students engage with subjects better by using technology they’re already familiar with. The software also presents concepts in multi-media formats so students can take in information in different ways. The device allows users to surf the web, run simultaneous applications, read books and create professionallooking presentations. The infamous iPad isn’t the only grade-A gizmo out there, though. Samsung’s Galaxy tablet, the Eee Pad, the Kno tablet and the Motorola

Xoom are all worthy competitors with roughly the same features.

All of these models have Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screens that display colorful graphics, videos, games and other multifunctional devices that enhance a student’s learning experience.

High schools and universities nationwide have adopted the iPad as a teaching tool. New York City public school students have already benefited — the school system ordered more than 2,000 iPads, costing the board about $1.3 million. But tablets are just as popular in Maryland as they are in other states — MCPS’ neighbors, the University of Maryland (UMD) system, recently handed out 60 iPads to students enrolled in the Digital Culture and Creativity program as part of the university’s Mobility Initiative, a pilot program analyzing the effects of mobile technology on the student education experience. The results of the program indicated that tablets enhance the classroom learning experience while helping students manage their time.

The iPads also allow students to quickly access announcements, documents and discussion boards, which had a profound impact on student participation.

College students aren’t the only ones reaping the benefits of this new technology, though. Junior Cindy Kang, who brings her iPad to classes at Blair, has found

that the device has improved her educational experience.

Kang said that the best App for student-use is called Notebook. She uses it daily to take notes and make charts, graphs and visuals. “The iPad is really capable of doing anything,” she said. Kang thinks the iPad’s multi-dimensional aspect helps her gain a fuller understanding of any given topic.

Similar to tablets, e-readers have caught educators’ attention as well. Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Sony’s e-reader all INFORMATION COURTESY OF APPCONSUMER.COM have the capability to display digital books, periodicals and MCPS’ annual budget. Though textbooks using e-ink technology. it may not seem like a significant Tablet companies like Apple and percentage, two percent transAmazon have already teamed up lates into thousands of dollars with textbook publishers to create that could be better spent on instructional programs that allow other aspects of school system students to listen to text as they improvement. If school systems read, make notes, highlight text, started phasing out paper textlook up words and bookmark books for their electronic equivapages. The Apple App store lents, the change would signifialone gives students access to cantly reduce school expenses. over 10,000 e-textbooks through The other major benefit of a third-party company called e-textbooks is that they can be CourseSmart. These devices updated more quickly and easily completely eliminate the need for than printed texts, without the traditional textbooks in schools. need for re-printing — a process E-readers not only provide a that that would certainly appease more interactive learning experithose outraged about the historience, they are also a less expensive cal errors in Virginia’s textbooks. alternative to textbooks. TextMCPS should consider embracbooks and other instructional sup- ing the digital textbook revoluplies account for two percent of tion that would lighten back-

LARISA ANTONISSE

packs everywhere, particularly for the environmental benefit of paper conservation.

At a time when school districts nationwide are struggling to stay within their budgets, spending money on tablets or e-readers may seem like an extravagance.

In reality, introducing these tools could be a fruitful investment for schools and students alike. In the past, Montgomery County has never been one to forgo the latest in educational technology, Promethean boards being a prime example. As every generation becomes more tech-savvy, making the switch to digital textbooks and embracing new educational software will finally ensure that students and teachers are on the same page.

Changing education standards without lowering the bar Maryland’s requirements for teacher education are set too high for realistic results

By Claire Koenig An opinion One of the greatest educators of all time is a high school dropout. Temple University awarded him his bachelor’s degree based on “life experience” after he had started working toward his master’s degree, and his PhD dissertation was titled “An Integration of the Visual Media via ‘Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids’ Into the Elementary School Curriculum.”

Although Bill Cosby was not the best of students, his educational programs inspired thousands of inner-city students across America to break societal stereotypes and live confidently. Of course, most degrees in education aren’t acquired by flunking out of the tenth grade three times and writing theses about cartoons, but the diploma wasn’t what made Cosby an effective teacher. It was his personality, his humor and his passion for teaching. These qualities are what distinguish the great teachers from the good ones, and they cannot be learned from a college course.

Maryland is one of a dwindling number of states to maintain the require-

ment that new teachers must obtain a master’s degree in education or complete a Maryland Approved Alternative Preparation Program (MAAPP) within ten years of achieving a teaching license, or they are let go from their teaching positions. But as is obvious in Dr. Cosby’s success, higher education does not guarantee higher-quality teachers. Master’s degrees are luxuries that many people cannot afford, and Maryland shouldn’t turn away potential teachers just because they are unwilling to take on additional student loans for a degree that many education experts say is unhelpful in classroom situations.

As more students apply, undergraduate college tuition skyrockets and student loans loom overhead. The view from graduation day for potential teachers is already daunting: Some face student loans of over $120,000, which they are expected to combat with a beginning teaching salary of only about $37,000.

The income will increase

with time, just as the loans will lessen, but it still makes for a rather under-stuffed financial cushion. And Maryland requires that potential teachers drive themselves further into debt in order to learn the methodology of a profession that they have studied before and have been practicing for a number of years.

Some schools offer to pay desirable teachers’ way through their education, giving potential teachers a scholarship so that they will come teach for the school. But schools need thousands of taxpayer dollars to put a single teacher through a master’s program, which is money under-financed schools could spend on new classroom materials or facilities. If the master’s requirement were annulled, then schools that are cutting arts funding or slashing supplementary academic classes could bring these programs back into focus.

As it is, this money spent on supplying additional teacher education is being wasted. There is little evidence to suggest that higher degrees make better educators, and even education experts say that most teacher education master’s programs are not sufficiently preparing teachers. A 2009 study conducted in Baltimore County by the National Council of Teacher Quality found that there was no correlation between teachers with higher degrees and students with higher test scores.

No wonder, as Katherine Merseth, director of teacher education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, told The New York Times at an event in Washington, D.C., in March, that only about 100 of the 1,300 graduate schools of education were doing a competent job; the others “could be shut down tomorrow.” And if that’s not enough, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued a press release in 2009 that said that teacher education programs in America are doing “a mediocre job” of preparing students for the 21st century, and that they required immediate reform.

Teachers are exciting when they are excited about their course material. Learning can be contagious when teachers want to learn more and then give the information to their students, but this drive for knowledge can’t be taught at a university. Education degrees give teachers the methods to clearly convey material to ensure that students have the basics required in their subject to pass, which is incredibly important. But an education degree does not give teachers the advanced knowledge of their specific subject material or the enthusiasm necessary to be engaging educators.

An advanced degree doesn’t make a bad teacher, but it can distance a teacher from his or her craft. If too much time is spent speculating about how students learn instead of getting them to learn, the MCPS school system will be left with educators too far removed from their students to teach them much of anything.

SAM ELKIND

silverCHIPS

When snow sticks, lessons don’t School versus sledding is an easy choice to make

By Jewel Galbraith Humor If American boards of education are known for anything, it’s their winning ideas. Maryland alone has come up with countless dazzling concepts in recent years: yearly MSA testing, mandatory tornado drills and of course Edline, alerting our parents to our every academic failure since 2006.

But this year, our nation’s school boards have outdone themselves.

Eight inches of snow forecast for tomorrow morning? Well, set your alarms for 6 a.m., kids, because it’s time for online school on a snow day.

Okay, okay, put down your torches and pitchforks. I didn’t mean to scare you. Online snow day school days, or “e-days,” don’t exist in Montgomery County yet. They started out in the Mississinawa Valley School District in good old western Ohio, where some schools are piloting

OP/ED 5

February 9, 2011

an e-day program this year. But we’re not safe yet — news reports say that the policy is also being considered in (cue Jaws music)…

Virginia. The very same Virginia with which we share a border.

Granted, they may only be considering the program in far-off Washington County, but the threat is real. The e-days cometh.

Fortunately, this approaching horror is still in a somewhat vague stage of planning. The basic idea of the e-day policy is to have students access online lessons in the form of podcasts and other media on days when school is closed due to weather. That way, the students don’t lose instructional time, and the school board doesn’t have to extend the school year into the summer if the allotted snow days get used up.

Everyone say it with me: Ha, ha. Good one, Ohio. Most of the students I know have to be woken up by military force and threatened with loss of credit (well, in previous years they did) just to make it to school on a regular day.

But don’t worry, Mississinawa County, I’m sure that if you tell your students not to come in to school

and let them stay home while they watch big flakes of snow fall outside their windows, they’ll listen to your podcasts on cell mitosis.

Definitely.

Sorry, that may have been a bit hostile. But e-days would truly create a lot of extra work for both students and staff. Teachers would have to deal with making extra online lesson plans, grading snow day assignments and sifting through thousands of excuses from students claiming that their computers were run over by snowplows, not to mention all the students who don’t have Internet access at home. And as much as teachers do enjoy navigating Edline and responding to frantic emails, the jury is still out on whether those activities are necessarily a perfect replacement for sledding, snowman-making and generally, pure joy.

Because here’s the thing: Snow days in Montgomery County are a big deal. They start out with the painful suspense of checking Weather Channel forecasts and refreshing the MCPS web site until Firefox crashes, and they end in bliss — you thought you would be in class, but instead, you’re outside wearing nylon pants while your friends stuff snowballs down the back of your sweatshirt.

For us, snow days are much more than a simple romp in the park. They’re miracles sent down by a higher snowday power. So it follows that anything that would prevent a snow day (e-days, I’m looking at you here) would be unadulterated evil.

Essentially, the e-day policy is directly opposed to all that is ERIC GABRIEL

The Art Corner Welcome to the Art Corner — a space where Silver Chips artists share their perspective on the issues of the day, or simply entertain with a little bit of good-natured humor.

SAM JACOBSON AND SAM ELKIND

good in the world. In most cases, that kind of depravity is not the makings of a successful program.

Not in Montgomery County, at least. It’s a little-known fact, but Montgomery County is Maryland’s fun county. We don’t have an LC policy. We do have the ever-hoppin’ Downtown Silver Spring. We like our assessments formative, our Promethean boards calibrated and our snow days frequent. So when the snow falls, we shut down — that’s just our style.

Ohio schoolteachers and officials believe that e-days will become commonplace in the next few years. All over the country, they think, students will stay in on snowy days, looking up the

quadratic formula and crying into their hot chocolate. If you need a new fear to replace the worry of imminent world takeover by Voldemort, here it is.

But MoCo, I have faith. I can see it now — there’s half an inch of snow on the ground, the roads are slushy and salty, and Maryland teenagers are holed up inside with the day off school. Montgomery County students are playing Call of Duty and Robot Unicorn Attack, our jubilant Facebook statuses full of jealous comments from our unlucky out-of-county friends. Our heaters are on full blast, our brains are certainly not at work, and all is right with the world.

Plugging national security leaks WikiLeaks requires greater regulation

By Larisa Antonisse An opinion During their childhood days of playing games like capture-the-flag or touch football in the neighborhood park, most kids learn to work as a team to reach a common goal. But despite the enormity of the organized U.S. foreign policy effort, it seems that the country still needs to learn a basic rule of competition that any third-grader could tell you: Don’t reveal your team’s strategy to the opponent.

In recent months, WikiLeaks, an online media organization that publishes submissions of private, classified or secret news documents from anonymous sources, has released over 91,000 secret U.S. military reports on the war in Afghanistan to the public. Also in its enormous library of sensitive material are about 400,000 documents relating to the war in Iraq and hundreds of State Department cables (mostly private discussions with foreign governments and opposition leaders).

Transparency in government and military is important to some extent, but WikiLeaks’ indifference to the damage its actions cause is taking the concept too far.

By publishing these documents on their web site — only after alerting newspapers like The New York Times and The Guardian to their upcoming disclosure and thus encouraging their widespread circulation — WikiLeaks has publicly intruded on necessary private military and government communication.

Some of the documents are also posted out of context, which could lead the public to form inaccurate judgments about U.S. foreign relations. More regulation of

WikiLeaks is needed to ensure that public access to information does not undermine military efforts or endanger citizens.

The online posting of these documents means that they are available for anyone to see, including the U.S.’s most threatening enemies, like the Taliban. According to an October 2010 news article by the American Forces Press Service, U.S. intelligence reports and Taliban public statements indicate that enemy groups have been searching the documents on Afghanistan, looking for American “operational vulnerabilities.”

Clearly, the U.S. will be at a severe disadvantage in future wars or foreign policy action if enemies have access to its strategy.

Aside from the leaks’ threats to military tactics, they have imposed unnecessary danger on participants in the war. A December 2010 report by the Congressional Research Service explained that U.S. officials have predicted that the information released in the leaks could lead to the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and Afghan citizens who have aided the U.S. In its defense, the theory behind WikiLeaks is solid in that it allows the public to play a necessary role in the prevention of corruption or cover-ups. The organization touts Daniel Ellsberg’s release of the Pentagon Papers as an example of the disclosure of controversial war material proving an effective check on government action — which is true. Condemning all anonymous releases would definitely be a mistake, but so too would be failing to impose any restrictions on media organizations’ conduct.

WikiLeaks claims on its web site that it is self-imposing adequate restrictions through its “harm minimization procedure.” The

web site reads, “We do not censor our news, but from time to time we may remove or significantly delay the publication of some identifying details from original documents to protect life and limb of innocent people.” But occasionally removing a few details in their postings isn’t enough to address the problem fully. Concrete, outside legislation allowing censorship of sensitive material is the only way to ensure that these innocent people are protected.

One such piece of legislation, the Securing Human Intelligence and Enforcing Lawful Dissemination (SHIELD) Act, was proposed in the Senate in early December.

The Congressional Research Service report explains that this bill would amend a current law that only prevents disclosures of certain information related to communications intelligence like wiretapping.

The SHIELD Act would make it a crime to disclose information concerning the identity of a classified source or human intelligence activities of the U.S. or any foreign government. Additionally, it would

prohibit the release of any information that supports threats such as international terrorism, narcotics trafficking, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and organized crime. This suggested bill presents a fair compromise to all parties — sensitive government and military communication could once again become confidential, and WikiLeaks could continue to publish material that does not pose a clear threat to the U.S. or to military intelligence operations.

WikiLeaks loves to wave the freedom-ofthe-press flag as if it is the be all and end all to any journalistic controversy. But when topsecret military documents are involved, the issue becomes much more DOYUNG LEE complex. The Bill of Rights is a fluid document — constantly amended and interpreted as changing times highlight new issues with it. Recent technological gains allowing the existence of WikiLeaks have caused one of those issues, and so now it is Congress’ turn to prevent this dangerous trend from spiraling further out of control.

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SOAPBOX 7

February 9, 2011

SOAPBOX: Blazers speak out If you could start your own business, what would it be? Why?

see story, page 15

see story, page 19 “I would like to open a bakery because I could make the world a better place with cookies. ” -sophomore Julia Nolan a “I’d open a tattoo shop because I like to draw and be creative and it would be cool to let people design their own tattoos too.”

-senior Zenya Ramirez “If I could start my own business I would run my own dance studio. I would teach dance lessons for many different ages, levels of capabiliity and different styles.”

-sophomore Nora Leonard

If you could create a whole new identity on the Internet, would you? What would you change?

“Yes, I would. I would make myself mean and angry and rude to everyone.”

-sophomore Meg Lebow “No, I wouldn’t. Why would I want to be something else? I like who I am right now.“ -senior Trevor Fullerton “It would depend on the situation. If no one would ever find out it’s fake, then I would.”

-junior Herlinda Delgado

ART BY NATHAN GAMSON

“I would start an electronic training center because many adults do not know how to use certain electronics such as iPods, cellphones, laptops and TVs.” -freshman Briana Villa

“No, there’s no reason why you would want to change yourself just so you can talk to strangers.”

-senior Missi Chilkamari “No, I wouldn’t create a new identity. I would stay the same because I like myself.”

-junior Chanel Alridge

What do you think about the Metro buses going high-tech? see story, page 11 “It is complicated and useless, I tried it once and here are submenus, it’s worthless.”

-junior Daniel Smith

Do you think that iPads and other technology in the classroom enrich your learning experience? see story, page 4

“I think it’s very good because kids will know if the bus will be on time.”

-sophomore Michelle Yirenki

“No, everyone would get distracted unless they block some of the applications.”

-junior David Suarez

“I didn’t know that it was possible, but it sounds really great to be able to do that.”

-junior Carina Zox

“iPads and other technology enhance learning but considering how much they cost, it is not worth it. These technologies also promote participation. Although there are some benefits, the price just isn’t worth it, especially when budgets are being cut.”

-sophomore Justin Kung

“It’s pretty dumb because I can just look it up online anyway.”

-junior Julian Lofton

“Yeah, kids would be more active and excited to learn, doing their own independent work.”

-sophomore Brian Reyes

Do you believe that all Washington, D.C., sports teams are cursed? see story, page 31 “No, I don’t believe that all Washington sports teams are cursed. You just need to get a certain amount of beast players together and then we’ll be successful.”

-sophomore Leslie Sora “I think our sports teams are cursed. Think about it, the only team that is actually good is the Washington Capitals. Washington sucks in basketball, football and baseball and we rock in one of the least popular sports, ice hockey. ” -sophomore Hillary Yeboah

“I think that iPads and other technology would definitely enrich students’ learning experiences. The internet allows students to search for information to help them understand what they’re learning. If somehow iPads were prvided to schools, students would be more interested in learning because they’ve got fun technology to use.”

-sophomore Carina Goncalves “No, it’s a distraction, especially for guys because they like to play games.”

-senior Khady Diop

chipsINDEX 41.5 5 0 12

Percentage of Blazers who say they have read a book for leisure in the past year

Number of Blair staff members with a Ph.D

Number of AP classes at Blair in which freshmen are allowed to enroll Number of Dagorhir units in the D.C. area

38 16.4 50.92 2.8

Average age of an entrepreneur

Percentage of Blazers who say they know what curling is

Area of the DCC in square miles Percentage increase from FY 2011 in Weast’s proposed FY 2012 budget

Compiled by Claire Boston with additional reporting by Richard Chen, Brittany Cheng, Saaraa Farooq, Cole Gallishaw, Hailey Klien, Stacey Matthew, Kaitlen Montgomery and Jessica Moreno.

Quote of the Issue

“ ” I generally try to avoid reality. senior Ori Perl

see DAGORHIR, page 19

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February 9, 2011

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BNC updates website, increases viewership Production and exposure grow with website and online podcasts from BNC page 1

ductions even after they are aired during the school day. “The idea is to create a model that will reach more people,” said Bustillos.

daily announcements no longer feature Blazer hosts and have been converted to a PowerPoint format, which allows for quicker, easier production, Maisto said.

InfoFlow is now also available throughout the day on large TV screens located outside of room 100. According to Maisto, Blazers can stop by the screens and watch the InfoFlow PowerPoint at their convenience while passing between classes or during lunch, ultimately increasing the show’s viewership.

Making InfoFlow more accessible and changing its format has been a substantial part of BNC’s work over the past several months, according to Maisto, who is responsible, along with other members of the BNC staff, for creating InfoFlow twice monthly. “The re-vamping of InfoFlow is the biggest thing we’ve done this year by far,” he said.

InfoFlow, BNC’s television show Metropolitan and all radio podcasts are uploaded to the website and can be accessed at any time. Additional instructional or promotional videos produced by BNC are now also available online, including a BNC-produced instructional video featuring Blair’s counselors presenting a step-by-step process for class registration. Uploading these INFORMATION COURTESY OF BLAIR NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS According to Bustillos, updating BNC’s videos to the Internet ensures that the student body is able to access all of BNC’s pro- Internet component has also allowed BNC

to more easily distribute content it produces in regards to the radio branch. “With that attention to the web, I think that radio has come back stronger,” he said.

Since BNC Radio can now post its productions on BNCmedia. org, as well as an auxiliary site hosted by official. fm, the number of listeners has increased. According to Maisto, the first episode of “That’s All, Folks” was listened to approximately 61 times on the BNC website alone.

Maisto has produced three episodes to date, and he hopes to produce an episode monthly from now on. The show focuses specifically on a non-traditional view of folk music, he said, emphasizing the backgrounds, traditions and tastes of Blair’s community. “BNC will get more positive exposure if we focus more on diversity within the PHILIPA FRIEDMAN school,” he added.

“Every country has its own style of music.”

BNC Radio’s senior Gabe Pollak, known

on the air as DJ Gabe the Babe, is also working on his own Top 40-style radio production based on Blazers’ current favorite music, said Bustillos.

According to Bustillos, BNC’s radio productions have never been officially broadcast; in past years, a radio program was aired during lunch, but this practice was cancelled about three years ago following a decrease in listeners. Maisto said that, until this year, radio productions were recorded onto discs and graded but never distributed to the student body.

The website is part of a larger push to further integrate BNC into the Blair community. According to Maisto, Bustillos has been adamant about including more Blair-specific content in BNC’s productions this year in effort to project the image that BNC is an active part of the school.

Bustillos added that expanding the online aspect of BNC was necessary for BNC to remain current and on the cutting edge of high school media production. “I want the school to see that digital media can be used not just as an extra but as an absolute necessity to staying contemporary in education,” he said.

WEBSITE UPDATES

BNCmedia.org is divided up into four main sections which link from the homepage, which features an informative video about BNC’s program and organization. The four sections include Television, Radio, PR (Public Relations), and InfoFlow. Maisto’s radio show is available under the Radio heading on the page titled “Podcasts.”

Each week, Pollak also posts a new song on the Radio page, under the title “Song of the Week.”

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Immigration debate comes to state Senators seek in-state tuition for all from DREAM page 1 their parents’ decisions,” he said.

Fogel also said that the unavailability of in-state tuition hinders many undocumented students from continuing their

tends the University of Maryland.

“We don’t give this opportunity to every American,” O’Donnell said. “Why should we provide it to illegal citizens?”

According to a press statement

by Judicial Watch, Montgomery

INFORMATION COURTESY OF MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE

education and that it is in Maryland’s best interest that each individual has a solid education.

“As a state, we want to encourage [undocumented students] to get a good education and become a productive member of our society,” he said.

According to Blair ESOL Parent/Community Coordinator Diana Sayago, paying for college is a common problem among the undocumented students at Blair.

“I know several students who have not gone to college because they could not get financial aid,” she said. “They went to work instead of going to school, and some of them were prominent students.”

Opponents, including Republican Minority Leader Anthony O’Donnell of the Maryland House of Delegates, argue that it is irresponsible to subsidize taxpayer money to those who are here illegally. The state would have to pay an additional $14,000 to $16,000 for every illegal immigrant that at-

NEWS

February 9, 2011

JEWEL GALBRAITH

College failed to collect $5,870,852 in tuition because of its current policy. The additional money needed to fund discounts for undocumented and non-county residents comes from taxpayer dollars, the statement said. “Montgomery College’s funneling of tax dollars to tuition benefits for illegal aliens is against the law,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton in the statement.

Lozano, who is leading a youth campaign in support of the Marland Dream Act, said that it is not the college’s job to track the immigration status of its applicants. “The institution of public education is preparing the future generations,” she said. “It’s not homeland security; it’s not immigration customs enforcement.”

The bill contains specific requirements that an undocumented student must fulfill in order to be eligible for in-state tuition, Fogel said. A student must have been enrolled in a Maryland high school for at least two years, apply

to become a permanent resident and show proof that the student or the student’s parents have paid income tax the previous year.

Lozano believes the lawsuit is a political strategy aimed at repressing the strong push for the educational rights of undocumented students. “It’s coming at a time where a lot of support for the Maryland Dream [Act] is gaining momentum,” she said.

O’Donnell said that the bill would encourage illegal people to move to Maryland to take advantage of the price on education and put Maryland in a greater financial burden. “When other states are cracking down, Maryland is saying, ‘Well if you want to have cheaper education, come here,’” he said. On the contrary, Lozano said that other states that have implemented this measure, such as Texas, have not seen a dramatic rise in their immigrant population.

This past December, Congress defeated the federal DREAM Act that would have provided illegal students a pathway to citizenship upon graduating high school and seeking higher education.

Because the DREAM act did not pass, Fogel said that Madeleno and other state Democrats are taking initiative to improve policies affecting undocumented students.

Maryland does not have power to grant citizenship but should take steps to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to succeed, he said.

A similar bill was passed by both Maryland chambers in 2003 but failed to become law after former Governor Robert Ehrlich vetoed it. Now that Democrats control the House of Delegates, the Senate and the governorship, the bill has a greater chance of becoming law, Fogel said.

If the bill passes, Maryland will be the 11th state to allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition.

Public Works Facility under renovation Administrative Office undergoes expansions

By Valerie Hu The construction for the Takoma Park Public Works Renovation Project that began in August 2010 is slated for completion in August 2011. The Bignell Watkins Hasser Architects and general contractor Keller Brothers, Inc. will expand the public work facility’s administrative office and install environmentally friendly systems.

The city will spend approximately $3.5 million on the renovations. “This is spread out over regrading, taking down old buildings, putting up new buildings, changing systems in buildings and the geothermal [system],” City Council Member Dan Robinson said. The renovations will provide larger space to accommodate staff and store city equipment, according to Public Works Director Daryl Braithwaite.

The contractors will expand the administrative office by constructing an infill building that will connect two existing buildings. The new building will have a conference room, staff lounge and lobby, according to Braithwaite.

As part of the facility’s go-green initiative, the department hopes that the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) will approve a greywater irrigation system that would carry out the facility’s nursery operations, according to Braithwaite. If approved, the city would collect rainwater to use to grow plants in city parks, flush toilets and wash vehicles.

In February, the Public Works Department will request a proposal to install solar panels on the facility and contract with com-

9

MCPS budget introduced from BUDGET page 1 on FY 2010 levels and spend at least $10,664 per student, which it failed to do in FY 2011, according to Marshall Spatz, director of the MCPS Department of Management, Budget and Planning.

If MCPS does not meet MOE requirements, the state will fine the school district by withholding $22 million in funding for the budget, according to Kauffman.

However, according to Maryland State Senator Karen Montgomery, the State Senate is considering Senate Bill 53 (SB 53), an amendment to the MOE law that would create funding flexibility for Montgomery County by changing the criteria the Maryland State Board of Education (MSBE) must use to grant waivers. Seven senators, including Montgomery County representatives Richard Madaleno and Robert Garagiola, sponsored SB 53.

According to County Council Vice President Valerie Ervin, the County Council initially pushed the Maryland General Assembly and the Montgomery County Delegation to the Maryland General Assembly to amend the MOE law. “We want to be able to temporarily get out of the requirement when the county cannot reach what MOE is that year,” said Ervin.

According to Lacefield, the county government supports SB 53 because of growing MOE requirements. “We’re very supportive of the amendment. The INFORMATION FROM MCPS NATALIE RUTSCH problem with MOE is that it punishes Montgomery County and the County Council by March for doing well. We’ve gone above 1, according to Spatz. According and beyond for many years, and to Kauffman, the board will conMOE keeps getting higher,” he tinue to push for MOE. “We will ask for a MOE budget, but it goes said.

MCPS will lose $54 million in through several steps,” he said.

Despite financial setbacks, federal stimulus funds in FY 2012 because the economic stimulus MCPS saved $15 million during FY package 2011 that guaranwill go teeing towards t h o s e f u n d funds, the ing the AmeriFY 2012 can Rebudget, covery accordand Reing to investKauffment Act BOE member man. He of 2009, Phil Kauffman identiwill exfied repire after duced FY 2011, said Xie. According to Kauffman, MCPS would receive spending on textbooks and in$37 million more from Maryland structional materials, a hiring than initial budget projections freeze and a spending freeze as suggested under Governor Mar- responsible for the savings.

Leggett will make his recomtin O’Malley’s proposed FY 2012 Operating Budget for Maryland. mendation regarding the budget Because the state budget will not to the County Council by March be finalized until May 31, the in- 15. After a series of hearings and creased funding is not guaran- work sessions, the County Council will approve the budget by teed, said Montgomery.

The BOE is currently reviewing May 19. The BOE will then rethe budget and will submit an of- view the budget and finalize it by ficial request for funds to Leggett June 16.

We will ask for a MOE budget, but it goes through several steps.

fied. LEED certification is the most basic achievement level in the LEED third-party certification system for high performing green buildings.

The next level up is silver, followed by gold. “We’re cautiously optimistic about becoming silver,” Matthews said.

MOLLY ELLISON In addition to enlarging The 50-year-old Takoma Public Works Facility is the administrative office, the undergoing renovations. Construction began last August contractors have already reand is scheduled for completion by August 2011. graded the slope on the facility’s Ritchie Avenue entrance to accommodate vehicles. panies to buy the renewable energy credits.

“The trucks couldn’t make it up the grade “Essentially, someone pays us to use solar arfrom the Ritchie Avenue side,” Takoma Park rays on our city building,” Matthews said.

With the renovations, the city hopes to City Manager Barbara Matthews said. “It become Leadership in Energy and Environ- was too steep.” Prior to the regrading, the mental Design (LEED) Green Building certi- trucks accessed the facility through the Os-

wego Avenue entrance.

The improved Ritchie Avenue entrance steers public works traffic away from the single-family residential homes located on Oswego Avenue.

The construction workers have demolished all buildings necessary and started erecting the walls for the larger administrative office. The contractors have also started installing a geothermal heat pump system.

“The buildings are going to be heated and cooled with a geothermal system that has wells that are drilled in the ground,” Braithwaite said.

The facility is closed to the public during renovations. Currently, most of the administrative staff is working out of the Takoma Park Community Center.

“If people want to apply for permits or request recycling equipments, they can go there,” Braithwaite said.

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February 9, 2011

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Diesel exhaust filters installed on MCPS buses Intercounty Connector prompts environmental awareness on local highways

By Srividya Murthy MCPS has installed diesel exhaust filters on 70 MCPS buses in order to enforce the 2008 settlement with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and to meet Environ-

INFORMATION COURTESY OF WASHINGTONPOST.COM

mental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines for improved air quality in the local Washington D.C., area. The settlement additionally entailed the construction of an air quality monitor near the Capital Beltway, which would be able to provide the first hard data on the highway’s pollution levels over the course of three years.

The filter installation began over the

past summer, and was completed in the last month, according to Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) environmental manager on the Intercounty Connector (ICC) construction, Rob Shreeve. MCPS received $264,000 from the Maryland Depart-

PHILIPA FRIEDMAN AND JEWEL GALBRAITH

ment of the Environment (MDE), as well as $1 million dollars from the SHA as part of the ICC agreement, stated Superintendent Jerry Weast’s memorandum to the Board of Education in April 2010. The filters cost about $15,000 each and will reduce the diesel emissions by 90 to 95 percent. Currently, 70 percent of the MCPS bus fleet has diesel filters, which includes those buses that were

retrofit, as well as new buses, which will already have the filters installed, according to MCPS Department of Transportation (DOT) director, Todd Watkins. Since 12 buses of the MCPS fleet are replaced each year, Watkins predicts that all buses will have diesel filters in four years.

MCPS Board of Education approved the proposal to build the exhaust filters in response to the EPA as well as the 2007 lawsuit to stop the ICC construction. EDF brought the lawsuit against the ICC due to the environmental damage the construction would create. The lawsuit ended in a settlement in which ICC agreed to pay $1 million to provide diesel filter retrofits in 70 MCPS buses.

The filters will reduce air pollution on the highway as well as protect students from damaging diesel exhaust, said Environmental Defense Fund lawyer, Bob Yuhnke.

“Black smoke is harmful to health and particularly harmful to young lungs,” he said.

According to Yuhnke, students are exposed to unhealthy air in the schoolyard in front of idling buses and on the road as the moving buses intake the exhaust already in the air. Yuhnke says that students who go to school near a highway or live near one are especially at risk to high pollution levels. “It all adds up, cumulative over the course of the day,” he said.

In spite of high pollution levels around students, Watkins believes that the bus filters will be effective, and will have a positive impact for both student health and the local environment. “There is a noticeable difference. Before, you could smell exhaust fumes.

Most of that has gone away,” he said.

In addition to enabling the diesel filer installation, the SHA paid another $1 million toward the construction of a new air quality monitor near the Capital Beltway, which would track pollution levels near highways and provide proof of any violation to the Clean Air Act. The air quality monitor has been in place since May 2009 near Laurel in

Prince George’s county and displays pollution levels near homes, schools, communities and hospitals located beside the highway, according to Yuhnke. It is the third air quality monitor in the region and has collected data for over year, said Shreeve.

Yuhnke believes that the presence of bus filters has not completely settled the environmental concerns with the ICC. He believes that the presence of the air quality monitors will prove that pollution levels are much higher near the highway and are extremely dangerous for local schools and communities.

On the other hand, Shreeve says that environmental consequences would be equally as dangerous without construction. “Some things can be mitigated for, and some things can’t,” he said. “If you don’t build the ICC, everyone will be stuck on roads, and there will be a lot of pollution by wasting a lot of time sitting still.”

DOT is also reducing pollution emissions from school buses by improving bus route efficiency, conserving fuel consumption and monitoring bus idling.

ICC GOES GREEN Environmental consequences of ICC construction and highway congestion have also inspired other vehicles to apply filtration devices as well, said Shreeve. “Newer trucks and newer buses are all coming now with filtration that has created more efficient engines and a positive effect on air quality.” Shreeve says that the ICC construction has led to several green programs, like the Environmental and Community Stewardship program, which develops projects that work to mitigate ICC damage.

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NEWS 11

February 9, 2011

Ride-On introduces tracking features for commuters Customers soon to be able to call and text for bus arrival information

By Philipa Friedman By the end of the summer, Ride-On, Montgomery County’s bus transit system, will have instituted the fully operational Smart Traveler system, which will allow commuters to check locations and arrival times for buses due to arrive at specific stops, according to Montgomery County Public Information Officer Esther Bowring.

According to Bowring, each bus is equipped with an automated positioning system which can give its exact location at any given time. Patrons of the bus service will be able to call Ride-On and ask for the location of their bus and the time at which it will arrive at their stop. “They’re going to be replacing every single bus stop pole,” said Bowring. “Each one is going to be a unique number.”

Commuters will then be able to call or text Ride-On at a phone number which will be posted at every stop, supply their stop number, and receive the time of the next bus’s arrival. Arrival times for each bus will also be available for 24-hour access online.

In addition, significant changes will be made to the county’s 311 operation, a general call center available for patrons of county services to call with questions or complaints. The complaints are then investigated by a county staff member. “[The 311 line] operates from seven to five on weekdays,” said Bowring. “That’s why we’re trying to expand the availability of this to 24/7 with texting, calls and Internet.”

According to Bowring, the entire program will be phased in over the course of about six months, beginning with changes to the 311 line. “Within the next few weeks, people will be able to start calling 311 and get information about when their bus will be arriving,” she said.

The entire system, including texting, calling and internet, will be fully operational by the end of this summer.

Sophomore Rachel Mussenden, who uses the Ride-On bus system several times a week, said that the upcoming changes would make her commute easier. Although she said the buses showed up on time fairly regularly, there are times when buses are late or do not arrive. “Sometimes [the bus] just doesn’t show up at all until the next scheduled stop,” Mussenden said.

Mussenden has called the 311 line to find out m ore information about the bus schedules on two occasions, but she did not find it useful. “It’s really unhelpful because it tells you just to look at bus schedules online,” she said. Mussenden reported that she would take advantage of the improved 311 service when it is available to her.

According to Bowring, the implementation of this system is the conclusion of a multiyear project. Consequently, the majority of the funding for this system has already been spent. According to Bowring, the project cost a total of $220,000, spent over a threeyear period. This funding originally came from the county’s operating budget and was already allocated for the project.

INFORMATION COUTESY OF THE RIDE-ON TRIP PLANNING SERVICE

According to Community Relations Manager Tom Pogue, Ride-On also received some federal stimulus money in order to enhance technology for bus dispatching.

President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allocated federal

PHILIPA FRIEDMAN

grant funds to local communities for specific purposes, including the improvement of transportation infrastructure. The $350,000 dollars supplied to Ride-On by this act were used to purchase buses and improve bus dispatching.

USDA revises school lunch nutrition standards

By Eliza Wapner

PHOTOS BY ANDREW KIRWAN

At left, Wheaton High School is home to several unique vocational courses. At right, Edison students assemble in the café to enjoy food prepared by students participating in Edison’s cooking program.

Edison and Wheaton possibly to merge Commitee decides on the future of vocational programs

By Claire Koenig

MCPS is examining potential plans to combine the Thomas Edison High School of Technology with Wheaton High School.

According to Edison Network Operations teacher Jesse McGee, no conclusions have been reached yet, but if an arrangement is approved by Superintendent Jerry Weast and the Montgomery County Board of Education (BOE), Wheaton may offer a new vocational magnet program through Edison. Officials hope this arrangement would simultaneously allow more students to participate in the popular Edison program and solve under-enrollment issues at Wheaton.

McGee is a member of a roundtable advisory committee comprised of Edison and Wheaton faculty who will provide a collection of their suggestions for the superintendent to consider. The committee has had five meetings in the past year to discuss options, according to McGee, and will give a final report of their comments to Weast in February. Weast will

then read the recommendations and make his own proposal to the BOE, who will approve or refuse his decision by March 8.

McGee said that a number of combinations are being considered, some more realistic than others. Some suggestions have Edison remaining at its current location within the Wheaton building and creating an exclusive magnet program in which students must attend Wheaton to take Edison classes. Others recommend moving Edison to a more central location in the county.

Debate regarding the creation of a new “high-tech high school” through integration of Edison into Wheaton, making them one school with a largely career-based agenda, began in April of this year. But the BOE denied a request for a $3.2 million grant, and MCPS officials had to re-evaluate the situation. Discussion continued on a series of different approaches to the combination with the most recent meeting of the advisory committee on Jan. 19.

According to McGee the meeting was not intended to finalize deci-

sions regarding the future of the schools, only to discuss options and suggest the best methods of combination. “It’s all really in the hands of the superintendent and the MCPS administration now,” he said.

Because Weast has not yet released his own recommendations, it is unclear how the new program would affect Blair students who attend Edison currently, or students that would like to attend Edison in the future. According to McGee it is possible that only Wheaton students would be allowed to take Edison classes, but nothing will be set in stone until the BOE the proposal.

Yoshi Yui, a Blair junior who attends Edison’s Academy of Hospitality and Tourism, said that an integration of Edison into Wheaton would be a problem for potential Edison students; especially those that don’t want to go to Wheaton. “I like Edison and I like Blair,” he said. “I don’t want to have to go to Wheaton.” Yui said that most of the Edison students he had spoken to felt the same way.

the Institute of Medicine recommendations that the USDA used The United States Department to create its new guidelines, acof Agriculture (USDA) proposed cording to Marla Caplon, director new guidelines for public school of the MCPS Division of Food and meals on Jan. 13. The initiatives Nutrition Services. Thus, Caplon would require healthy food choic- said that there would only be a few es, including more fruits and veg- minimal changes made to MCPS’s etables in every meal and snacks meal plan. One of these changes for after school activities. The new would require that fruit be eaten regulations are based on recom- at breakfast by obliging students mendations made by the Institute to take one-half cup of fruit at of Medicine and are updating the breakfast.

National School Lunch and School Because MCPS already comBreakfast program as part of the plies with the rules, the changes H e a l t h y, also will Hunger-Free not have a Kids act of significant 2010, acimpact on cording to a the cafeteUSDA press ria budget. release.

“The only In the impact will press release, be always Agriculture having the Secretary fruit and Tom Vilsack veggie opstated that tion and the the new inibreakfast tiatives are change, so in response it’s no big to the growdeal,” said ing rate of INFORMATION COURTESY OF DAILY NEWS Caplon.

NATALIE RUSTCH obesity in She exschool-aged children. plained that by using commodity The new school initiatives products, such as grains and meat would attempt to lower the obe- that can be bought in bulk, and sity rate by requiring that caf- revenues from student meal buyeterias offer low-fat and non-fat ers, the MCPS cafeteria division milk, creating calorie maximums is self-sustaining. “We take care of and minimums to restrict satu- [the budget]. We don’t charge anyrated and trans fats, constraining one for it,” according to Caplon. starchy foods and decreasing sodiBlair cafeteria director, Maddum levels in schools. They would alena Bianchini, thinks that school be adding more fruits and vegeta- meals are not causing the obesity bles, increasing the availability of trend in students, at least at Blair. products made with whole grains “Students cannot possibly get and calling for a grain and protein obese from a small lunch that they to be served at breakfast across eat,” she said. “I think it’s what the country. In breakfast, for in- they’re eating outside of school.” stance, the rules stipulate that the However, Bianchini believes that fruits and vegetables requirement the new school meal guidelines in school lunches will increase by will benefit the country. “It will approximately a cup and a half encourage new people to try [the each day. healthier school meals],” said MCPS has always followed Bianchini.

12 ADS

February 9, 2011

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from SEMESTER page 1 in Maine, students follow a maritime studies program while sailing around the Caribbean and the East Coast for four months, according to education director Allyson Graham.

Other programs include an arts semester at Oxbow School in California, and CityTERM, in which students study the history and culture of New York City and take frequent trips into the city.

To accommodate the requirements of students’ home schools, semester schools follow an interdisciplinary approach to their education, teaching core classes with a focus on their particular theme. Siegel took a History of Wilderness Exploration class to fulfill his history requirement, and his English class read books relating to American literature and the land.

Other semester schools have different courses befitting their setting. Aboard OCF ships, for example, students take an applied maritime math course to learn how to chart courses and navigate the ship.

According to Bill Hinkley, interim head of school at Chewonki Semester School in Maine, the idea that attending a semester school is like going to summer camp for classes is a misconception: the academics of semester schools are just as rigorous as at traditional high schools.

“Some students think they’re getting away from school. They’re not,” he says.

“The classes are hard, hard in a good way — they’re engaging.”

The semester school experience doesn’t run cheap. Tuition for semester schools easily approaches and often surpasses tuition for elite boarding schools and even some colleges, reaching $20,000 per semester or even more.

D u e to the steep price, di-

February 9, 2011

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13

lakes, stopping now and then for brief mini students grow closer. With such small classes, it is easy for each student to get to know every lessons relating to the ecology of the area.

Place-based learning plays a big role at other student. “No one is ‘untouchable’ — High Mountain Institute, located in the Colo- you can talk with anybody,” she says. “It rado Rockies. The books in the English curric- allows you to be who you are.”

Having such close relationships with each ulum take place in the canyons surrounding other enables the campus, students to according work effecto admistively togethsions assoer, explains ciate Eliza McGettigan.

Parsons.

Group projDuring the ects are a big course of part of life at the semesCityTERM. ter, students “Not a day go on three goes by withdifferent out group expediwork,” he tions, backsays, “whethpacking er it’s in a through the group of two backcounor a group of try. Because 16.” Living they’re livBeyond the classroom PHOTOS COURTESY OF CONNOR SIEGEL and learning ing what so closely toNo matter what schools they come from, t h e y ’ r e Connor Siegel and a Conserve School classmate gether means semester school students share a desire to try l e a r n i n g , laugh after a long day of backpacking. that students something new. Admissions officers say that students can this is what they look for most in a prospective clearly see the importance and relevance of can communicate honestly with each other when it comes time to work, he says. student: a willingness to be creative and push their lessons, says Parsons.

Siegel says that being able to learn in his the boundaries. “We look for students who are willing to challenge themselves and who own way and get his own understanding Outside the books are open to new experiences,” says Graham. meant he was able to appreciate the signifiSiegel wanted something different than cance of his classes because they were appliBeyond forming strong, long-lasting the typical high school experience he found cable to his life on campus. “You’re learning friendships, students of semester schools about things that learn what cannot be taught in the standard are completely rel- high school classroom. In experiencing someevant to you,” he thing new, students develop new values and explains. learn life lessons. Siegel says that he grew to Even though the truly appreciate the environment during his location of OCF’s time at Conserve. “[I learned] how much I enschool is constantly joy being out in nature,” he says. “It’s where changing, as the I want to spend most of my time.” ship makes its way Hinkley says that fostering this connecthrough the Carib- tion with the land is crucial to Chewonki’s bean, learning is still program. By living so closely with nature, very much place- students become more aware of the impact based. Students im- of their lives on the environment. From their merse themselves in experiences at Chewonki, students learn the cultures of the responsibility, environmental consciousness islands, familiariz- and independence, Hinkley explains. ing themselves with Likewise, at Conserve School, the way the music, literature, students live forces them to appreciate food and customs of their connections to the environment. For the islands where the instance, students help grow food on Students at Conserve School venture through the forest. ship makes port. the school’s organic farm. By seeA c c o r d i n g t o ing the way their food is grown, at Blair. “I was really ready for a change,” he Graham, immersing themselves in such an students see how their lives are says. At the recommendation of a friend, he in-depth way helps students understand the connected to the land and thus looked into semester schools and settled on value of their experiences. “It’s extremely to appreciate it. hands-on,” she says. “It’s relevant to life.”

Siegel found that living Conserve School.

And Conserve certainly offered a taste of a She cites more self-confidence, an under- harmoniously with the endramatically different lifestyle. Siegel lived in standing of different cultural habits and vironment was fulfilling. a private bedroom in the schools’ dormitories group working skills as the benefits of OCF’s “Being around nature makes you learn about and took his meals with the rest of the school, program. yourself and about students and faculty both. Each morning the influence of the after breakfast, Siegel and the other Conserve ‘Be who you are’ wild,” he says. students went to morning classes, in subjects That influence they needed to keep up with their sending Perhaps as a result of immersing themschool’s requirements. In the afternoon were selves so deeply, semester students form tight may hold sway Conserve’s core classes — an environmental bonds with their classmates. In the 16 weeks over what Siegel science course in applied ecology and sustain- Siegel spent at Conserve school, he went from wants to achieve ability, a literature classes called “Wilderness not knowing a single one of his classmates to in his life. Siegel Voices,” the History of Wilderness Explora- considering them among his closest friends. says his experition course, and a P.E. class that focused on Living and studying together helped the stu- ence at Conserve outdoor skills and activities. dents form these strong bonds. “Since you’re expanded his It’s not just the subjects that are unique: the around each other all the time, you know each dreams for ways students learn and interact with each other so well,” Siegel says. “You have similar the future.

“It opened other at semester schools are radically differ- passions, so you connect well.” ent from those at traditional high schools.

Community learning is a key aspect of the m y e y e s .

A key part of the semester school educa- semester school experience. A small group of There are so tion is place-based learning, meaning using students — normally between 22 and 40 — m a n y m o r e the school’s surroundings to experience allows to students to form tight friendships possibilities the lessons first hand. with their peers. Hinkley explains that at future holds,” he Anderson cites as an example of big, traditional high schools, it’s often easier says. “Here, day Conserve’s placed-based learning a five- for students’ mean or cliquey behavior to to day life is so hour canoe trip the students took. They go unnoticed by their peers. By contrast, at narrow. Now I used what they learned in their explora- semester schools, students can’t hide from know there’s so tion class to construct their own dugout each other. “It creates a genuineness of in- much more, so much to canoe. The English teacher then led a teractions,” Hinkley says. trip in their canoes through the nearby Parsons agrees that the small size helps life.” versity is limited — for most semester schools, the majority of students come from elite private schools. Financial aid packages are generally awarded, though, opening the schools up somewhat to people of different backgrounds. OCF, for example, has a policy of making its program accessible to students who cannot afford full tuition. “If you’re accepted and want to go, we’ll make it happen,” says Graham.

At Conserve School, the price is much lower — a $200 supply fee is all students will have to pay for the near future. Thanks to an endowment from the school’s founder, the school, which opened as a semester school in fall 2010, can afford full-tuition scholarships for all its students for the first few years of its operation, until 2013. According to Head of School Stefan Anderson, the low price has made the school more diverse. He estimates that about 70 percent of Conserve’s students come from public schools, compared to 25 to 50 percent at other semester schools.

14 NEWSBRIEFS

NEWSBRIEFS

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February 9, 2011

Casting the dice

As AP registration increases, test scores drop )N A $EC MEMORANDUM TO THE "OARD OF %DUCATION "/%

MCPS Superintendent Jerry Weast reported that between 2006 and 2010, the number of MCPS students taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams increased, but overall scores dropped. Weast wrote in his memorandum that the passing rate, the percentage of county students earning a score of three or higher on at least one AP exam, dropped from 74.9 percent to 71.7 percent. Furthermore, between 2006 and 2010, the achievement gap between white and minority students who passed AP tests grew. The gap between white and black students grew from 29.5 percent to 31.8 percent, and the gap between white and Latino students grew from 13.8 percent to 23 PERCENT "/% 0RESIDENT #HRISTOPHER "ARCLAY DEFENDED THE NUMbers, saying that students gain opportunities by taking AP courses AND EXAMS (E ALSO EMPHASIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPROVING overall scores by modeling techniques used by schools in MCPS that perform well on AP tests.

Civic Federation holds superintendent forum The Montgomery County Civic Federation (MCCF) hosted a community meeting on Dec. 13 to discuss the selection process for a new MCPS Superintendent. The forum focused on the imporTANCE OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE "OARD OF %DUCATION "/% AND transparency in choosing the successor to current MCPS Superintendent Jerry Weast, who will retire at the end of June. Attendees EXPRESSED CONCERN REGARDING HOW FAIR AND HONEST THE "/% WILL BE in selecting a new superintendent and directed many complaints AT "/% MEMBER 0HILIP +AUFFMAN A SPEAKER AT THE MEETING +AUFFMAN DEFENDED THE "/% AND SAID IT WOULD PERFORM COMMUNITY OUTREACH EFFORTS AS PART OF THE SELECTION PROCESS (E DID NOT HOWEVER

SPECIFY THE TYPES OF EFFORTS THE "/% WOULD USE -#03 HELD A SERIES OF PUBLIC FORUMS OPEN TO ALL -ONTGOMERY #OUNTY CITIZENS DESIGNED to gather community input on the superintendent search process on Jan. 21, Feb. 1 and Feb. 2.

TOLU OMOKEHINDE

Members of the cast of “Guys and Dolls� look on as director Kelly O’Connor assigns ensemble roles for the opening number. The musical is scheduled to open on April 1.

Council reconsiders library bridge proposal On Dec. 14, the County Council voted to reconsider a resolution to the Silver Spring Urban Renewal Plan that would allow a pedestrian bridge to be built over Wayne Avenue. The controversial pedestrian bridge would connect the Wayne Avenue parking garage to the first floor of the future Silver Spring Library. The current Silver Spring Urban Renewal Plan, written in 1999, forbids pedestrian bridges over certain streets in downtown Silver Spring including Wayne Avenue.

Recently elected County Council Vice President Valerie Ervin, who initially voted against the amendment in the 8-1 vote in July 2009, then believed that alternative parking would be supplied for special needs patrons. In reality, this parking would be significantly more expensive for the county, costing $1.1 million to $1.6 million for seven handicapped parking spots and 20 short-term parking spots versus the $750,000 to $1 million for the bridge. She now voices her support for the bridge if no other parking options were to be provided. The resolution has been sent to Parks and Recreation to comment. Once they have commented or the 60 days they have to comment is up, a hearing will be scheduled and the council will vote on the amendment.

General Assembly opens to $1.6 billion deficit The Maryland General Assembly started its 428th legislative session on Jan. 12 facing a $1.6 billion deficit in its $13 billion FisCAL 9EAR &9 OPERATING BUDGET 'OVERNOR -ARTIN / -ALLEY addressed the General Assembly and was clear that the deficit will require severe spending cuts and cooperation. Some solutions that have been suggested include raising alcohol and gas taxes and cutting funding for education, environmental protection and health care. Despite the proposals, Montgomery County delegates aim to keep funding for teacher pensions at the state level to avoid deepening the $300 million deficit the county faces in FY 2012. Debate regarding the budget will continue throughout the ninety day sesSION / -ALLEY INTRODUCED A BILLION CAPITAL BUDGET BILL ON Jan. 31. The bill included cuts in Medicaid, teacher pensions and education funding, and tuition hikes in the state university system. / -ALLEY ALSO CANCELLED TEACHER FURLOUGH DAYS AND PROMISED A TWO PERCENT PAY RAISE IN 4HE BILL WILL BE lNALIZED BY -AY

Transit Center opening delayed by six months According to David Dise, director of the Montgomery County Department of General Services, the opening of the Silver Spring Transit Center has been pushed back from June to December because of a drill shortage and the unexpected relocation of water, gas and electric lines. An exact date has not yet been determined.

Extending construction by six months will add to the projected $95 million project cost, which was calculated when construction began in September 2008. According to Dise, the Montgomery County government has not settled on a dollar amount yet and is negotiating the price increase with Foulger-Pratt Contracting, the contracting firm involved with the construction of the transit center. The center will be a three-story building that accommodates WMATA trains and buses, and MARC trains. It will also be connected to hiking trails and bike trails.

Newsbriefs compiled by Maureen Lei, with additional reporting by Eliza Wapner, 4HE 'AZETTE and The Washington Post.

SAM ELKIND AND PHILIPA FRIEDMAN

HONORS s "LAIR S )T S !CADEMIC TEAM TOOK SECOND PLACE in the Fall 2010 Knowledge Master Open (KMO), the largest high school academic tournament in the United States, achieving 1763 out of a total of 2000 possible points.

and Thomas Zhang; juniors Ittai Baum, Brendan Berger, Andrew Gilbert, Andrew Lu and Naomi Rubin; and sophomores Jason Hyun, Diwakaran Ilangovan, Bob Ma, Patrick Owen, Charles Pasternak and Samuel Zbarsky.

s 3ENIOR Charles Argue won third place in the University of Maryland Math Competition. The FOLLOWING "LAIR STUDENTS EARNED (ONORABLE -ENtions: seniors Andrew Das Sarma, Lev Krayzman

s 3ENIOR Adam Biru was one of 15 MCPS students to receive $100,000 Posse Scholarships, a four-year full-tuition scholarship from the Posse Foundation.

(E WILL ATTEND 3EWANEE 5NIVERSITY OF THE 3OUTH

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By Stella Bartholet

February 9, 2011

must be careful not to spend too much time in the virtual world. The hobby can become more than just an interest, she says, and it’s easy to get caught up in the fantasy and neglect reality.

Scrat is everything a 14-year-old girl might want to be. She’s positive and understanding, always listening patiently to others’ problems. Scrat always knows the right things to say at the right time. In a sense, she is perfect ‘A clean slate’ — except that Scrat isn’t exactly human. She is the alternate online personality of freshman When Sidel logs on to her FanFiction.

Tammy Sidel. net account, she is not just playing a role.

According to She actually begins to psychologist Dathink like a different nille Drake, based person. “It feels like in Bethesda, creatthere is one mind that ing Internet identities acts like myself and has become increasone other mind that ingly popular among acts like [Scrat]. It teenagers. The high switches as I switch school years are a pebetween browsers,” riod of exploration, she says. as well as angst — a Sidel began sotime for students to cializing on the Inexamine who they ternet in July 2008, are and find their more than a year junior place in the world, before she created Daniel Smith she says. TeenagScrat. She decided ers become different to make an account characters online in with the web site order to have fun, express their opinions FanFiction.net after she learned about the site anonymously and escape real-life pressures. from a friend at camp.

According to Drake, however, students The web site is a forum where users can write their own fantasy stories, read other people’s tales and discuss fiction books. At first, Sidel joined to publish her own stories for other users to read. But the appeal became even stronger after she created Scrat.

Sidel conceived the new character as a way to escape a social predicament. She had befriended a few users on FanFiction.net, but acted insensitively towards them, she says, not paying attention to their feelings. After taunting her newfound friends, Sidel realized they no longer liked her.

In order to reestablish their friendship, she created a new profile with a different name and personality, without revealing the true identity behind the account. “I started Scrat to create a new person, so I had a clean slate,” says Sidel. And Scrat has stuck ever since.

Sidel has continued to use Scrat’s profile because she feels more accepted as her alternate identity than as herself.

According to Sidel, Scrat is a really “huggable” person who is approachable and sensitive to other people’s feelings. Sidel describes herself as being more self-centered and short tempered. In her view, Scrat is a character without any imperfections and is someone she aims to be.

“I don’t fit in and Scrat does fit in,” she says.

Junior Daniel Smith decided to create his online identity for d i ff e re n t re a sons, but has continued to use it because of the attention he receives on the Internet. In November 2010 he was looking for videos online when he came across Livestream.com, which was different from any other web site he had ever encountered.

Smith could enter chatrooms about specific topics and contribute to conversations anonymously.

He found that people responded to his comments, and that his contributions were important to the discussions, which made him feel appreciated. “They listen to my opinions more on the Internet,” he says. “For some reason, they happen to matter more there.”

They listen to my opinions more on the Internet...for some reason, they happen to matter more there.

Smith decided to create a fake name so that people couldn’t him track down, but he also found it easier to relate to people under this different identity. When Smith becomes 18-year-old Afroleus, he acts more outgoing and helpful so that more people can relate to him. In real life, Smith says, he tends to be shy. “I think if I kept my personality the same [online], I wouldn’t really stand out as much,” he says.

Comfortable, confident and covert Smith finds comfort in being heard, but he also just has fun ignoring reality for a few hours and taking a break from his normal routine. He enjoys the social aspect of the online community.

According to Smith, his alternate identity helps to diminish one of his inner struggles: The feeling that no one is there for him. “I’m trying to escape from a kind of loneliness,” he says.

According to Bethsda-based psychologist Edward Spector, it’s not uncommon for students to want to leave worries behind — school stress, social anxiety, family issues — and enter into a world where they have more control. He says that many people utilize the media and online games as a coping mechanism. “I think people in general take on a virtual life, whether that’s playing video games or whether it’s a Facebook page, to cope with the stress of real life problems,” he says.

But Smith thinks the appeal of the virtual world is more complex than leaving worries behind. He concedes that he does like to use the Internet as an escape, but he also just likes to be able to express his true views a n o n y m o u s l y.

This allows Smith to be himself to a fuller extent, since he doesn’t have to limit freshman his opinions.

He is more Tammy Sidel comfortable expressing his viewpoints online, where people don’t make broad assumptions about him, since they don’t know the person behind the username well. “Strangers, they don’t know what you are going to say until you say it. It’s really a whole new type of dimension when you are talking to strangers,” he says.

Smith feels misunderstood in the real world because he tends to relate to women better. “The topics that I generally talk about are more feminine because I usually connect more with females, and as a result I have more feminine outlooks,” he says. “My new character allows me more confidence, a lot more confidence than if I were talking as myself with strangers I didn’t know.”

Smith, who is heterosexual, has been

As Scrat stayed on the forums for longer and longer, she became an actual person.

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labeled as gay multiple times in person.

But online, people don’t make assumptions about his sexuality. He feels misinterpreted in person, whereas on Livestream.com people understand his personality and viewpoints.

Even if Smith does get offended or ignored online, he finds it easier to move on. “In person, it hurts a lot more than on the Internet, where you can brush it off and keep on going,” he says.

Back to reality

Unlike Smith, who has an online identity in order to feel more comfortable expressing himself, Sidel uses Scrat to change her personality so that she can feel accepted. “It gets to a point where I’d rather be her than myself, because she is a lot more of a likable person,” she says.

According to Drake, becoming too attached to an online identity can lead to unhealthy consequences.

ART BY ERIC GABRIEL

She says that teenagers need to be able to moderate the amount of time they spend online as their alternate ego. “It can lead to the direction of taking over so much time that the kid doesn’t have enough time to experiment in the real world,” she says. “Kids have to have the opportunity to experience those challenges.”

Spector says that a healthy amount of time varies with each child’s ability to still actively participate in other activities, but that two hours a day seems like a good estimate of the maximum. Smith and Sidel spend different amounts of time as their alternate identities.

Smith typically participates in chatrooms three to four hours a month, whereas Sidel uses Fanfiction.net on an average of two hours a day.

Sidel acknowledges that Scrat interferes with her life, however, she has started to make a change. “The problem was that as Scrat stayed on the forums for longer and longer and started becoming more developed, she became an actual person,” she says. “It began blurring the line between reality and fantasy.”

Now that she is aware of the consequences, Sidel has accepted the fact that Scrat isn’t real.

“I am much healthier now that I realize that Scrat doesn’t actually exist, and that it’s not healthy,” she says.

Sidel also understands now that these users on FanFiction.net aren’t her true friends.

“Eventually I just realized that if I have to create a kind of identity to be friends with them they aren’t really my friends,” she says.

Even though Sidel continues to spend time on FanFiction.net, she is beginning act more like Scrat in person. Her goal is to better relate to people offline, and spend less time as her alternate persona online. Creating Scrat on the Internet has helped Sidel discover the kind of person she wants to be in the real world.

The line between fantasy and reality is no longer blurred.

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CENTERSPREAD February 9, 2011

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

The conversation was private enough: Mike, a sophomore, casually told a friend that he wasn’t supposed to be at the school. The secret should have stopped there.

But Mike looked up and saw a teacher walking by.

He had overheard. In a flash, all of it — the addresses forged, the documents fabricated, the boundaries crossed — threatened to fall apart. The fear of discovery flickered through Mike’s mind, but the teacher’s next words erased it: “Don’t tell the whole school,” he said, and continued down Blair Boulevard.

Although Blair restricts its boundaries to students who live or attended middle school in the Down-County Consortium (DCC), some Blazers arrive from Prince George’s County, Washington, D.C., and as far away as Howard County. In an informal poll of 250 Blazers conducted during lunch last week, six admitted to living outside Montgomery County, which could translate to 2.4 percent of the total Blair population.

The issue sparked national controversy late last month when a teacher’s aide near Akron, Ohio, was sentenced to ten days in jail for falsifying documents to get her children into another school district. The district had hired a private investigator to track about 100 families, and when the aide fought the district’s demands for $30,000 in back tuition, a judge sent her to jail in order to make an example of her situation, news analysts said.

Mike’s mistake was unusual, but his situation is far from uncommon. In a school of nearly 2,900 students, it’s possible to slip through the residency cracks. Those who make the trip to Blair face serious potential ramifications; any student found to be attending Blair illegally will have the opportunity to pay tuition or “will be withdrawn immediately, and records and all will be sent to whatever the receiving school [is],” says Principal Darryl Williams. Blazers like Mike, however, take the risk because of their motivation to obtain a better education and more resources, which they say they have found in Montgomery County.

month. Mike has lived alone with his father near the Montgomery border in Prince George’s for eight years. His first foray into MCPS was as a Blair freshman last year. He uses the RideOn bus to get to and from school, reducing the possibility of detection.

Chloe, a senior, doesn’t need the bus — she simply travels to her grandmother’s or uncle’s Montgomery houses after school, where she and her siblings wait for their mother to get off work. The uncle’s mailing address is her façade, but technology has made it easier to avoid discovery in recent years; she lists her cell phone number on official documents, although the days when she gave her home phone number never led to identification.

Her ride home is simple, but Chloe’s path to MCPS was a bit more complicated. After her father left and her family lost their Prince George’s home, Chloe’s mom moved her family in with relatives in Silver Spring, and Chloe began legally attending Blair in 10th grade. When her mom tired of living with the extended family, she moved Chloe and her siblings back to Prince George’s. But the Montgomery address and school stuck, because the family was convinced that the quality of education at Blair was better.

Henry, a senior, has had no such major changes — he has always lived in Prince George’s always attended MCPS. It started with his pre-school day care in Montgomery. When it came time to enter the school system, the day care provider allowed Henry to use her address. They’ve remained close, and Henry goes to her house occasionally to pick up school documents mailed home. Their arrangement has stayed that way for thirteen years.

The thin county line

Below the border

Mike uses his mother’s Montgomery address for school documents, but he goes to her house only about twice a

Henry has enjoyed an MCPS education for over a decade, but Mike has experienced another school system. He says that his father’s primary mo-

tivation to send him to Blair was the low quality of education and lack of opportunities that his Prince George’s schools offered. “There [were] fights everywhere,” he recalls of his old school, which didn’t allow students to bring textbooks home. “It’s dirty. There was trash everywhere — and then over here, it’s clean.”

Chloe, too, has experienced the chaos of trying to learn in a situation where peers are unmotivated, and she says the differences between her former high school and Blair are clear. “I had teachers that when you came to class, the kids would kind of take over,” she says. “[Teachers] would give you a book and tell you what pages to read and what questions to answer.”

At Blair, she says, students care about their classes, allowing teachers to focus on engaging students through discussions and interaction.

Testing statistics indicate a disparity between the school systems: The mean SAT score in Montgomery in 2009 was 330 points higher than that in Prince George’s, while eighth-grade Maryland School Assessment proficiency rates were more than 30 percent higher in Montgomery.

For Chloe, however, the benefits of a Blair education come with a new concern: the possibility of getting caught. Although the worry dwindled as she became more comfortable at the school, it’s never far from her mind. “I feel scared sometimes because I heard that something [could] happen to my parents, like they could go to jail,” she says.

Regardless of the incident in Ohio, such anxiety is unfounded: expulsion is the most serious consequence possible, according to Lesli Maxwell, a spokesperson for MCPS. “I don’t think that attending outside of your jurisdiction is a criminal act,” she says. “We’re not aware that anybody’s ever been arrested for something like this.”

Lives uninterrupted Despite her fears, Chloe says that she is committed to engaging fully in the Blair community. She occupies herself with extracurricular activities and tries to be a support system for her friends and family. “I’m really involved in school, so if anybody needs help, I’ll volunteer,” she says. “It’s not for the [Student Service Learning] hours; I just like helping.”

Mike says he enjoys the social freedoms that Blair affords him. When his father first told him that he wanted Mike to attend MCPS, the announcement surprised and concerned him. Mike worried that the adjustment would be difficult. Instead, however, he found the atmosphere much more welcoming and the people much friendlier. At his Prince George’s school, he says, “you have to know which friends to choose because you’ll probably get caught up in a bad situation.” In Blair, he’s quickly found a spot in a large group of friends.

Having spent his entire academic career in MCPS, Henry says he is cer-

by Eli Okun Photos by Tolu Omokehinde

tainly not afraid of participating — and he has athletic achievements to show for it.

In fact, he says, his sports team is such a strong community that his non-residency is out in the open and not an issue.

“My coaches already know,” he says. “I’m up front with them, and they’re fine with it.” Once, when he was injured, a coach even drove him home — Out of 250 across the county line — without incident.

Williams argues that such practices are Blazers surveyed in anything but incidental. Attending Blair ilan informal Silver legally, he says, is primarily a matter of fairness. Since Blair uses the Preferred Choice Chips poll taken on system along with other DCC schools, not Feb. 3 and 4, all those who wish to attend are able to.

Prince George’s or D.C. residents take up those spots without paying the requisite tax dollars to Montgomery County and, indirectly, MCPS. “I have students who live in [the Blair] area who want to come here, but they can’t, because I’m at capacity,” Williams says of DCC students who try to enter Blair after the school year has begun.

There are also serious security concerns. In the case of an emergency or an administrator’s need to contact parents, a false address or misleading phone number could magnify the problem, says Williams.

Although he declines to reveal specific tactics, Williams says that the administration has various ways of investigating Blazer residency, and the problem is so common in a school of Blair’s size that Williams deals with some sort of residency issue — from simple moving to discoveries of illegal attendance — every week.

For the most part, Chloe doesn’t stress about those kinds of concerns.

She wants to squeeze the most out of her high school experience. “I feel like if I go to the school I want to go to and I learn the things I want to learn, then it’ll help me later in life,” she says.

Focused on the future and the opportunities that she sees across the Montgomery line, Chloe says, she refuses to let any border stop her.

6 said they come to Blair from outside Montgomery County.

This could signify that

2.4% or 69 out of 2877

Blazers attend Blair illegally.

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CENTERSPREAD February 9, 2011

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

The conversation was private enough: Mike, a sophomore, casually told a friend that he wasn’t supposed to be at the school. The secret should have stopped there.

But Mike looked up and saw a teacher walking by.

He had overheard. In a flash, all of it — the addresses forged, the documents fabricated, the boundaries crossed — threatened to fall apart. The fear of discovery flickered through Mike’s mind, but the teacher’s next words erased it: “Don’t tell the whole school,” he said, and continued down Blair Boulevard.

Although Blair restricts its boundaries to students who live or attended middle school in the Down-County Consortium (DCC), some Blazers arrive from Prince George’s County, Washington, D.C., and as far away as Howard County. In an informal poll of 250 Blazers conducted during lunch last week, six admitted to living outside Montgomery County, which could translate to 2.4 percent of the total Blair population.

The issue sparked national controversy late last month when a teacher’s aide near Akron, Ohio, was sentenced to ten days in jail for falsifying documents to get her children into another school district. The district had hired a private investigator to track about 100 families, and when the aide fought the district’s demands for $30,000 in back tuition, a judge sent her to jail in order to make an example of her situation, news analysts said.

Mike’s mistake was unusual, but his situation is far from uncommon. In a school of nearly 2,900 students, it’s possible to slip through the residency cracks. Those who make the trip to Blair face serious potential ramifications; any student found to be attending Blair illegally will have the opportunity to pay tuition or “will be withdrawn immediately, and records and all will be sent to whatever the receiving school [is],” says Principal Darryl Williams. Blazers like Mike, however, take the risk because of their motivation to obtain a better education and more resources, which they say they have found in Montgomery County.

month. Mike has lived alone with his father near the Montgomery border in Prince George’s for eight years. His first foray into MCPS was as a Blair freshman last year. He uses the RideOn bus to get to and from school, reducing the possibility of detection.

Chloe, a senior, doesn’t need the bus — she simply travels to her grandmother’s or uncle’s Montgomery houses after school, where she and her siblings wait for their mother to get off work. The uncle’s mailing address is her façade, but technology has made it easier to avoid discovery in recent years; she lists her cell phone number on official documents, although the days when she gave her home phone number never led to identification.

Her ride home is simple, but Chloe’s path to MCPS was a bit more complicated. After her father left and her family lost their Prince George’s home, Chloe’s mom moved her family in with relatives in Silver Spring, and Chloe began legally attending Blair in 10th grade. When her mom tired of living with the extended family, she moved Chloe and her siblings back to Prince George’s. But the Montgomery address and school stuck, because the family was convinced that the quality of education at Blair was better.

Henry, a senior, has had no such major changes — he has always lived in Prince George’s always attended MCPS. It started with his pre-school day care in Montgomery. When it came time to enter the school system, the day care provider allowed Henry to use her address. They’ve remained close, and Henry goes to her house occasionally to pick up school documents mailed home. Their arrangement has stayed that way for thirteen years.

The thin county line

Below the border

Mike uses his mother’s Montgomery address for school documents, but he goes to her house only about twice a

Henry has enjoyed an MCPS education for over a decade, but Mike has experienced another school system. He says that his father’s primary mo-

tivation to send him to Blair was the low quality of education and lack of opportunities that his Prince George’s schools offered. “There [were] fights everywhere,” he recalls of his old school, which didn’t allow students to bring textbooks home. “It’s dirty. There was trash everywhere — and then over here, it’s clean.”

Chloe, too, has experienced the chaos of trying to learn in a situation where peers are unmotivated, and she says the differences between her former high school and Blair are clear. “I had teachers that when you came to class, the kids would kind of take over,” she says. “[Teachers] would give you a book and tell you what pages to read and what questions to answer.”

At Blair, she says, students care about their classes, allowing teachers to focus on engaging students through discussions and interaction.

Testing statistics indicate a disparity between the school systems: The mean SAT score in Montgomery in 2009 was 330 points higher than that in Prince George’s, while eighth-grade Maryland School Assessment proficiency rates were more than 30 percent higher in Montgomery.

For Chloe, however, the benefits of a Blair education come with a new concern: the possibility of getting caught. Although the worry dwindled as she became more comfortable at the school, it’s never far from her mind. “I feel scared sometimes because I heard that something [could] happen to my parents, like they could go to jail,” she says.

Regardless of the incident in Ohio, such anxiety is unfounded: expulsion is the most serious consequence possible, according to Lesli Maxwell, a spokesperson for MCPS. “I don’t think that attending outside of your jurisdiction is a criminal act,” she says. “We’re not aware that anybody’s ever been arrested for something like this.”

Lives uninterrupted Despite her fears, Chloe says that she is committed to engaging fully in the Blair community. She occupies herself with extracurricular activities and tries to be a support system for her friends and family. “I’m really involved in school, so if anybody needs help, I’ll volunteer,” she says. “It’s not for the [Student Service Learning] hours; I just like helping.”

Mike says he enjoys the social freedoms that Blair affords him. When his father first told him that he wanted Mike to attend MCPS, the announcement surprised and concerned him. Mike worried that the adjustment would be difficult. Instead, however, he found the atmosphere much more welcoming and the people much friendlier. At his Prince George’s school, he says, “you have to know which friends to choose because you’ll probably get caught up in a bad situation.” In Blair, he’s quickly found a spot in a large group of friends.

Having spent his entire academic career in MCPS, Henry says he is cer-

by Eli Okun Photos by Tolu Omokehinde

tainly not afraid of participating — and he has athletic achievements to show for it.

In fact, he says, his sports team is such a strong community that his non-residency is out in the open and not an issue.

“My coaches already know,” he says. “I’m up front with them, and they’re fine with it.” Once, when he was injured, a coach even drove him home — Out of 250 across the county line — without incident.

Williams argues that such practices are Blazers surveyed in anything but incidental. Attending Blair ilan informal Silver legally, he says, is primarily a matter of fairness. Since Blair uses the Preferred Choice Chips poll taken on system along with other DCC schools, not Feb. 3 and 4, all those who wish to attend are able to.

Prince George’s or D.C. residents take up those spots without paying the requisite tax dollars to Montgomery County and, indirectly, MCPS. “I have students who live in [the Blair] area who want to come here, but they can’t, because I’m at capacity,” Williams says of DCC students who try to enter Blair after the school year has begun.

There are also serious security concerns. In the case of an emergency or an administrator’s need to contact parents, a false address or misleading phone number could magnify the problem, says Williams.

Although he declines to reveal specific tactics, Williams says that the administration has various ways of investigating Blazer residency, and the problem is so common in a school of Blair’s size that Williams deals with some sort of residency issue — from simple moving to discoveries of illegal attendance — every week.

For the most part, Chloe doesn’t stress about those kinds of concerns.

She wants to squeeze the most out of her high school experience. “I feel like if I go to the school I want to go to and I learn the things I want to learn, then it’ll help me later in life,” she says.

Focused on the future and the opportunities that she sees across the Montgomery line, Chloe says, she refuses to let any border stop her.

6 said they come to Blair from outside Montgomery County.

This could signify that

2.4% or 69 out of 2877

Blazers attend Blair illegally.

18

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FEATURES 19

February 9, 2011

The knights next door Medieval-style battle game allows Blazers to retreat into a world of fantasy

By Sebi Medina-Tayac This is a battle like no other.

Javelins soar over the slowly setting sun. Swords bash past shields and fell enemies. Shouted orders, the scratching of feet on dry grass, and muffled thuds permeate the ambient hum of the Interstate.

Eventually, an armistice is called.

“Five minute water break, guys!” shouts one. Weapons made of Plexiglas, foam and tube socks hit the ground. The fighters sit in a circle and take turns proposing new drill ideas, joking and laughing. This is Dagorhir.

An international medieval-style combat game organization, Dagorhir has lured thousands of players seeking a physical outlet, fantasy and excitement onto the battlefield. At Montgomery College’s Dagorhir club, players participate in a variety of types of battle games all involving combatants “attacking” each other with padded reproductions of medieval weapons. Transcending the worlds of role-playing and Dungeons and Dragons, Dagorhir allows teens to indulge the insatiable joy of safe, friendly, fun swordplay.

More than the rings On her way home from Silver Spring one summer day, senior Eyerusalem Sahlu and her friend, senior Lauren Rust, passed by the yard in front of Montgomery College’s Takoma Park/ Silver Spring campus, about 3.5 miles from Blair.

They saw a Dagorhir practice in progress, and, interested, they signed up and have been playing

ever since.

The leader of the club, a man who identifies solely as “Warthog,” says that cases like Sahlu and Rust’s aren’t unusual. “All the time people just come by and want to know what’s happening,” he says.

Warthog refuses to give his name, even for journalistic purposes. A Montgomery College sophomore (in his 30s), former professional soccer player and trained medic, he boasts that very few people in Dagorhir, even those he’s known for years, know his real name. “Imagine spending three or four years with a group of people,” he explains. “They’re your best friends, they have the keys to your house, but you don’t know their real names. That’s exciting.”

According to Sahlu, absolutely everyone in Dagorhir knows each other by their pseudonyms, to create alternate identities within the Dagorhir world.

Senior Ori Perl, who goes by “Drizzt Do’ Urden” at Dagorhir, has played at Montgomery College and another group, or “unit”, for about two years. A fantasy enthusiast, Perl sees Dagorhir partly as an outlet for his interest. “I generally try to avoid reality,” he says.

Sahlu, by contrast, considers Dagorhir as more of a creative outlet than deviation from reality, appreciating entering a situation where she has to think and strategize.

According to Warthog, people join for very different reasons, and have distinctive expectations.

“People in Dagorhir come from different backgrounds,” he explains.

“Some people, like me, come for the sports and team aspect. Others

are into the whole [Dungeons and Dragons] thing. And others say, ‘I don’t really do anything else, maybe I’ll try this.’”

Foam frenzy Curious first-time players may probably find the most distinctive feature of Dagorhir to be the presence of foam weapons. But these are no ordinary toys. These instruments of war are home-made and composed usually of a plastic frame, a foam body, a fabric shell, and lots of duct tape.

Sahlu and Rust borrow the weapons Warthog makes and provides at practice, but more experienced Perl has been smithing swords of his own for a while, which, for him, is quite fun in itself. He trades them, several at a time, to friends for other weapons.

Even George Lucas would be humbled by the loss of limb involved in Dagorhir. Players unlucky enough to meet the wrong end of one of these weapons must fake disembodiment of the attacked limb by putting it behind their backs. Yes, this does mean the game involves much comical hopping and crawling. A touch to the torso is a fatal blow, but in Dagorhir, players fall theatrically, run to a “resurrection tree” with their weapons on their heads, and return to the fray.

The village of pillage While Dagorhir units meet up once a week to practice fighting, they meet with other units in organized battles about once a month.

NICK GROSSMAN

Lauren Rust battles with other players at Dagorhir practice.

Sahlu, having only attended the Thanksgiving battle in November, said that besides the six hours spent being defeated by cold as much as by enemies, overall, the battle was not as competitive or “hard-core” as she expected. On the contrary, players attest to the positive social environment of Dagorhir, within and between units.

Dagorhir is organized into large geographic “realms,” and smaller, group-oriented “units,” which each have distinctive coats of arms, weapons, ranking systems, and races (including orcs, elves, and even humans). Warthog runs the Montgomery College Dagorhir club under the unit Gestiguiste, which, according to Perl, also hosts many non-combat events, such as feasts, parties, movie nights and talent shows.

Sahlu feels a different attitude among the Dagorhir community, which lacks the judgment and social pressures present at Blair.

“At school, we get weird looks,” she says. “But at Dagorhir, they take us for who we are… You can be different, but share a common interest.”

For whatever reasons they joined and stayed, players all describe the experience as simply, inexplicably fun. Dagorhir delivers what they come for, practice after practice, be it the opportunity to wage war with close friends, escape the mundane or simply let loose. For Sahlu, the four-hour long practices every week bring a bit of intensity into her life.

“At school I feel like a zombie,” she says. “At Dagorhir, there’s this excitement and thrill… a challenge that brings me back to life.”

Getting down to business Blazers turn their hobbies into profitable ventures

By Maggie Shi Sophomores Leah Hammond and Allison Whitney had a major task at hand: cupcakes.

The job was, simply, to bake and decorate them, but there was a catch. It wasn’t just a couple cupcakes, or a dozen, or even a couple dozen — it was 300.

The two baked and decorated diligently, day in and day out. Finally finished after two days of baking, they packed the cupcakes up and brought them to the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., just in time.

But, this was not an outrageous round in a competitive baking show. For Hammond and Whitney, it was just another order at Ally and Leah’s Cupcakes. For the two, the ability to handle such responsibilities was just another

life lessons — lessons that can’t be taught in a classroom but instead by getting involved in the real world.

Startups

When Whitney and Hammond first started their business in eighth grade, it wasn’t to learn such lessons or even to gain work experience. Whitney says that the business first began as a way for the two friends to bond after Whitney had returned from moving to California and Florida.

The two reconnected over a shared hobby, baking. “We wanted to find a way to rekindle the friendship,” Hammond says. “And cupcakes were in.” They started taking small orders from their friends and word of the business spread among their classmates.

By the end of eighth grade, the business had expanded to bigger orders, like catering to Blair ’s “Sweeney Todd” in 2009. Now, the two regularly cater to birthday parties, community get-togethers and special events. According to Hammond, the two spend about five to six hours each week baking, decorating and planning.

This kind of time commitment is common when running a business, especially if the business requires making and then selling products. Senior Orion McCarthy, for example, spent most of COURTESY OF ALLSION WHITNEY AND LEAH HAMMOND his summer making ceramics for Allison Whitney and Leah Hammond prepare their his business, Pottery by Orion, in cupcakes for catering. preparation for his first pottery sale at the Takoma Park Street Festival. lesson from owning their own business.

In his first sale, McCarthy sold 36 pieces.

According to Junior Achievement, an organization that promotes teen entrepre- McCarthy first picked up ceramics in sophoneurship, 69% of teens say they would like more year at Blair, but only started selling to start their own business. When teens pieces when his neighbors suggested he start their own businesses, they learn true share a booth with them during the Street

Festival.

Up until the holidays, McCarthy was working to bulk up inventory for such festivals and prepare for holiday orders.

Not only did he have to INFORMATION COURTESY OF NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY JEWEL GALBRAITH keep his business going, but he also had to fit in time for In general, McCarthy says he has honed schoolwork. “It was kind of difficult to bulk his people skills and learned to take customup [the inventory] because the sales were at ers’ criticism with grace. In addition, he has the same time as college applications,” Mc- learned many business-specific tactics, like Carthy says. Managing schoolwork and the deciding how to price his pieces. He says that business became a balancing act and a test of a piece which is sentimental to him might not time-management for him. “I would reserve be worth as much in the eyes of the customer. certain days for school and certain days for “I made me think more about money and pottery,” he says. view money in a different way,” he says.

Likewise for Whitney and Hammond, the At the end of the day, this enjoyment is the workload was stressful at times. “We both true reason Blazers like Whitney, Hammond play sports, and Leah’s in [the Communica- and McCarthy start businesses. The lessons tions Arts Program],” Whitney says. “[The they learn, the people they meet, or even the business] takes up a lot of time, especially in profits. They do it simply because, as Mcthe critical years of high school.”

Carthy says, they love it.

Out of school, in the real world Real-life time management skills are only part of the responsibility that comes with running a business, and most other necessary skills can’t be studied in the classroom — they have to be experienced. Teachers stress accountability time and again, but Hammond says that running a business emphasizes this even more. “It’s definitely taught me a lot of responsibility because you can’t just blow off, can’t ignore [an order],” she says.

Whitney says that owning a business prepares her for the future. “It teaches me about future encounters in life, as well as being responsible, planning things and time management.”

SISTER STARTUP Bethesda’s famed Georgetown Cupcake, like Ally and Leah’s Cupcakes, started as a part of the recent “cupcake trend.” The selfproclaimed “designer cupcakery” started as a small business venture between two sisters, and has grown to become a nationally recognized business with its own cable reality show, “DC Cupcakes.” The business has a flagship store in Georgetown as well as a second location in Bethesda.

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FEATURES 21

Blazers begin working to turn modeling passions into bankable careers

By Claire Boston Junior Jenny Nguyen’s summer trip to Vietnam in sixth grade seemed like an unlikely place to discover a new passion.

Agreeing to model in a hair show at her brother’s workplace, she was whisked away to hair and makeup and soon found herself confidently strutting down a runway.

Of the hundreds of models who walk fashion weeks each season, only 33 are under 18, according to New York Magazine’s Model Manual. While Nguyen and other Blazers who model are not among the few teenagers who are signed to major agencies, they have found local opportunities modeling for photographers and nearby shows. For these Blazers, some of whom have aspirations of professional modeling careers, a shot at early exposure makes starting in high school a practical move.

The local draw

three years, she has done photo shoots with local photographers in order to develop a portfolio and has also walked in local fashion shows, including some events for MTS. She says that she hopes to model for a living when she is older.

While Shulanda also devotes time to singing and dancing, she says modeling is her favorite of the three, especially when she does photo shoots. “It’s exciting because you never know how the photos will come out it.

It really boosts my confidence because I get to see the photos at the end and they look so beautiful,” she says.

Tanisha, who has worked with her sister on various photo shoots and has also been in local shows with MTS, Blair’s Fashion Club and the University of Maryland, says she enjoys both the runway and print work she’s done in the past. “My favorite part about modeling is being able to dress up and become a fiercer you. I love walking and taking pictures because I know that I have a lot of energy to bring to the table,” she says.

Junior Shulanda Henry got be‘Work for it’ gan modeling as COURTESY OF TECK PHOTOGRAPHY a freshman, when Both Shulanda and she joined Mont- Junior Jenny Ngyuen has modeled in Tanisha say that their gomery Talent photoshoots, but hopes to start acting. energy is key to their Search (MTS), a success, but according performance group for teenage models and to Nguyen, who has done photo shoots and dancers at the Wheaton Community Center. runway work locally and in New York, conHer sister, senior Tanisha Henry, co-founded fidence is also important. “If you’re comMTS and serves as head model and mentor fortable with yourself you can do anything to other group members, who work to put you want. You can’t let anyone break you on fashion showcases at the community down,” she says. center. For Shulanda, what began as a pasSuzi Young, an agent who runs Camera time developed into a passion. In the past Ready Kids, a talent agency based in Silver

Spring that represents children and teenagers, says she looks for confidence in all of the talent she represents. She mentions that selfconfidence and motivation, in addition to skill, are essential traits she looks for when auditioning new talent.

Shulanda believes that her drive will ultimately help dictate her success. “You can’t just sit back and think it’s going come to you. You have to have the mindset to try, and you have to work for it,” she explains.

Apart from confidence and drive, Nguyen and Shulanda both say their families’ support has been essential in helping them expand their careers. Nguyen explains that her modeling and acting work has helped her bond with her father.

“Me and my father don’t really see COURTESY OF TANISHA HENRY everything on the same page, but with this he really supports me Senior Tanisha Henry expands her portfolio with a photo shoot by photographer Kermit Gresham. and I love him for it,” she says.

Shulanda says that working with her sister keeps her from becoming hopes her jobs will serve as a stepping stone nervous at shoots and shows and gives her to acting work. “I want to have my own TV an opportunity to learn new modeling tips. show some day, and for now, modeling is In the photo shoots she has done with her a way to get there,” she says. She explains sister, she says that Tanisha is often able to that her past trips to New York for modelhelp her come up with new poses to try, and ing have helped her gain exposure to agents, is also able to help at MTS practices, since many of whom represent agencies with both modeling and acting divisions. she choreographs the shows herself.

While Tanisha says she enjoys modeling, she doesn’t intend to do it professionally.

Looking forward Instead, she hopes to become a pediatrician.

Nguyen has a manager who helps her Still, Tanisha says she has no intentions to with her career, but she is hoping to get an give up modeling yet. “I do plan on conagent who could land her more auditions tinuing my modeling now. We’ll see where and modeling jobs. This summer, she plans it takes me,” she says. Shulanda, however, to go on a Caribbean cruise where she will aspires to model as a career, and making her do runway work for prospective agents, in- dreams into reality is one of her biggest pricluding powerhouse New York agencies like orities now. “Modeling is something I take Wilhelmina and Ford. Ultimately, Nguyen very seriously,” she says. “It’s what I love.”

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FEATURES 23

February 9, 2011

TANGOING WITH TRIGONOMETRY

By Eliza Wapner

ballroom dancing at the beginning of his freshman year after he quit figure skating.

Senior Danny Catacora glides across the Catacora soon began competing at Latin dance floor. He dips his partner, spins and ballroom dance contests with his first partmaintains his graceful poise as he dances ner, Kennedy Taylor. Latin-based ballroom around the studio. dance is a more sensual and rhythmic type of dance His body moves differing from standard to the music, stayballroom, which is more ing directly on the traditional type of dance. beat.

His partCatacora loved the Latin ner’s body spins style, but when he changed in and out of his partners, his new partner steady arms. Latintroduced him to standard er, after the hourballroom. He has been folong drive home cusing on standard for a year from the Baltimore with his current partner Jendance studio, nifer Fales, who attends Mt. math and science Hebron High School in Elreplaces ballroom liot City, MD. Catacora recmusic as Catacora ognizes that he still has a lot delves into his to learn, but he enjoys what homework. he is doing. “It’s new and Catacora is a it’s fun and I like learning competitive ballthe steps,” he says. room dancer. He COURTESY OF MARYLAND DANCESPORT He and Fales train at has been dancing four days a week Senior Danny Catacora takes his Atlantic Ballroom in Towand competing partner’s hand at a competition. son, Maryland with world champion ballroom dancing in competitions across the county since ninth grade. He says coaches Pauline and Igor Pilipenchuk. While that dance gives him a “release” and is an figure skating, Catacora found the coaches antidote to high school pressures. Catacora mean and the strict schedule debilitating. is also a stellar student and is passionate in He was forced to quit because of the lack of his studies in Blair’s Science, Mathematics, time he had for his studies. Now, he finds and Computer Science Magnet Program. the coaches at Atlantic Ballroom flexible and Unexpectedly, both of Catacora’s passions helpful. Catacora has made many friends and has found a supporting community at nicely complement each other. his dance studio. As he has grown as a dancer, they have been there encouraging him. “I Dance fever came there two and a half years ago as a beCatacora grew up in a family full of ginner,” says Catacora of Atlantic Ballroom. dancers. His mom was a ballerina, his dad “They were very helpful, now they congratdanced in high school, and now he and his ulate me. It’s a very nice community.” siblings have begun dancing. His family is Math in motion Bolivian and together they dance traditional folklore dances, such as Caporales, a fesCatacora also has found a thriving comtive line dance, and Tinkas, a harvest dance.

“The energy is in my blood,” Catacora. This munity at Blair. In the magnet program, he love of dance led him to start Latin-based is given the chance to explore his passion

for engineering. His friends and teachers agree that Catacora has a great work ethic.

“He works hard and he likes what he’s doing,” says Catacora’s best friend senior Brian Clanton. The challenging steps, exciting twirls and dangerous dips of ballroom provide Catacora with a fun, more creative supplement to school. “It’s important to have a consistent balance of work and fun,” says Catacora.

Laws of physics

techniques rely heavily on the laws of physics. “It’s important that if dancers understand physics it can make their movements better and more effective and decrease the potential for injury,” says Laws. However the dance community has been resistant to this fact until very recently. “They say ‘this [dance] is an art form and that [physics] is a science forget about trying to relate the two,’” describes Laws. Even though Catacora doesn’t actively employ physics concepts in his dances, he acknowledges the connection between the two. “Since I like science and technology so much, it’s inside me and probably helps me dance,” he explains.

From here, Catacora wants to go to col-

But dance and school are related in more ways than one. One of the Magnet program’s goals is to build advanced problem-solving techniques. Catacora says that dance helps him incorporate creativity into his academic life.

The same creativity that aids him when he’s spinning his partner assists him when he’s designing a web page for his computer science class. The lessons he has learned in the Magnet program at Blair also help him on the dance floor in other ways. “In the magnet I’ve been looking at my goals and realizing I can accomplish them and bringing it into my COURTESY OF DANNY CATACORA dancing,” he says.

For all their dif- Catacora holds his frame with partner Jennifer Fales. ferences, studying math and science is similar to studying lege to be an engineer. He hopes to pursue waltzes and tango. The ability to perform his love for math and science later in life but complex leaps, twists and jumps requires he resolves that dancing will always be a big basic knowledge of the principles of inertia, part of him. “I will continue [dancing], that’s motion and physics. Physicist and dance en- definite,” decides Catacora. “I can’t see mythusiast, Kenneth Laws, explains that dance self without music or movement.”

24

ENTERTAINMENT

By Natalie Rutsch Ah, Montgomery Blair High School.

What’s more romantic than the overcrowded halls, the disappointing football games or the sweaty homecoming dances? It doesn’t get much more picturesque than meeting “the one” at a table in the SAC littered with styrofoam Cup O’Noodles.

I jest. Despite all the cynics on Blair Boulevard this Valentine’s Day, Blair isn’t a terribly unromantic place. In fact, it fosters romance for many, including a lucky few

Blazer graduates who married their high school sweethearts.

The Schriders stand at Blair in 1945.

They’ve been married 63 years. Al and Joyce have 10 children, 31 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.

on Sligo Creek and Rock Creek Parkways.

Favorite hangouts included the drive-in theater in Hyattsville and the Teen Club at the Nolte Rec Center. Then, in August of 1969, George and Donna eloped. They knew George’s parents would insist on a wedding in the Greek church and Donna’s would argue for their church, so they decided to keep it simple by eloping near Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, where George attended college at the time. In June, the Nicholsons had their first daughter, and then two years later they had a son. Today, their family lives is Leesburg, Virginia and also includes five grandchildren. Donna admits she expected to marry her high school sweetheart.

“Everybody does, right?” she says with a laugh.

So whether you expect it or not, this Valentine’s Day, make sure to watch who you sit next to in English or partner with in gym.

You never know if a fellow Blazer could end up your husband- or bride-to-be.

A family affair Take Al and Joyce Schrider, class of ’46 and ’47, respectively. The Schriders met at Blair when Joyce was a sophomore. “I’d see him walking in the hall. He found out who I was and called me up for a date,” says Joyce.

Al, a football player, took Joyce to see Blair’s football coach at the time, Reno Continetti, play for the University of Maryland. The first date led to many more, usually trips to the movies and maybe a stop at the Hot Shoppe, a popular fast food chain with incar service.

The Schriders dated throughout high school, attended two proms together and eventually married in a small ceremony after Joyce graduated. “It’s something we thought we were going to do all along,” says Al. Today, the Schriders live in Howard County and they have 10 children, 31 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.

They assemble their massive family for holidays, though Al admits it’s a daunting task. “It’s very difficult to get all of them together,” he says. Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners draw crowds of 50 or more, spread out over multiple tables, says Al. In addition to family gatherings, the Schriders still meet up every week with a group of high school friends for pizza. Al says, “The whole experience at Blair was enjoyable.” And no wonder — Blair gave him not only life-long friends but a wife of 63 years.

Hotshot at the Hot Shoppe COURTESY OF AL AND JOYCE SCHRIDER

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February 9, 2011

Although they went to Blair two decades later, high school sweethearts Donna and George Nicholson, ’67, also fell in love at the Hot Shoppe and eventually married after graduation. Donna first met George when

COURTESY OF GEORGE AND DONNA NICHOLSON

George and Donna Nicholson pose for a photo at Blair’s senior prom in 1967. they sat across from each other in their 10th grade Algebra class. He had just moved from Florida, and she thought his style choices, yellow or pink shirts and socks to match, made him a little more than quirky.

Despite his fashion sense, Donna agreed to a date with George. To Donna’s displeasure, George’s mother and Greek grandmother drove the pair to the movie. Their 10th grade romance never gained wings, but in junior year they rekindled the fling. “There was just this thing,” says Donna, describing her feelings in the renewed relationship.

George and Donna stayed together through high school, frequenting the Hot Shoppe, movies and dances, and cruising

A DELAYED SPARK Not all Blazers who marry are high school sweethearts. Look at Cory Choi and Rachel Yood, class of ’03. Although they were both leaders of Students for Global Responsibility at Blair, the spark didn’t come until later. When they were both living in New York, Choi and Yood reconnected through mutual friends who also went to Blair. Yood, looking for a place to live, moved in with Choi and his roommate. Later, they began dating. Choi proposed to Yood not with an engagement ring, but with a stained glass snail lamp, because they always admired the wacky stained glass lamps in Chinatown. In 2009, they married in Silver Spring. Today they live in New York.

silverCHIPS

ENTERTAINMENT 25

February 9, 2011

10 times the fun for less than $10

By Helen Bowers

When the weekend rolls around and you’re trying to impress someone with a date or wanting somewhere new to chill with friends, it can seem like the only things to do in Downtown Silver Spring are to watch movies or eat. Not only does that get boring, it can cut a hole in your pocket. But if you venture out of your comfort zone, you can find some places that won’t set you back more than $10.

Great flea finds The flea market across from Wheaton plaza on Georgia Avenue carries everything from pocket watches to used instruments, all at great prices. There you can find friendly vendors selling cultural artifacts, novelty toys or used clothing. Take a look at the handbags and scarves, or the graphic tee-shirts and winter hats. Haggling is always acceptable at the flea market, and with so much selection, you’re sure to find what you want. PRICE: $2 and up

3…2…1…Blastoff!

Saving on skating

If you need a fun family activity that will have something to interest everyone, the rides at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum will take you out of this world. You can train to become an astronaut or jet flyer with the help of motion stimulators. Rides at the Washington DC location include SpaceWalk, Cosmic Coaster, F-18 Experience or Wings. PRICE: $7-$10

Books on a budget

Bowling bargain

Hidden away in the basement of the Wheaton Public Library there’s a small bookstore that sells donated books, as well as old library books.

Here you can find volumes with topics ranging from philosophy to foreign language to romance novels. The best part is that you would be hard pressed to find a book that costs over $3.

This store is particularly excellent for finding books for classes, but also great for recreational reading. Need suggestions? Try checking out Zeitoun, Hunger Games, Never Let Me Go or Persepolis. You can see reviews of each of these books on page 27. PRICE: $0.50 and up

The White Oak Duckpin Bowling Lanes are both affordable and unforgettable.

Grab a group of friends and head right on down to the lanes. And whether you’re throwing strikes or gutterballs, you’ll have fun.

Duckpin bowling is essentially the same as regular bowling, except that the bowling balls are a little bit smaller, and players get three balls per turn.

You and your group of friends can just bowl a relaxing game or start an extreme competition for strikes. For an extra splurge, try Cosmic Bowling every Saturday night from 11 PM to 1 AM, which features music and a disco ball. PRICE: $10 and up for lanes, games and shoe rental

While some of us are still wounded by the loss of the beloved Astroturf in Downtown Silver Spring, the new ice-skating rink is a great place to hang out.

This outdoor rink is open to beginners as well as experts and can even be reserved for private parties. Whether you want to ice skate or chuckle with your friends at those who are merely slipping and tumbling around, the Silver Spring Ice Arena can be a great source of fun. PRICE: $10-$11 for ice rink admission and ice skate rental

Naturally cheap While it may be costly to buy backpacking gear and set out for a great adventure, you can answer the call of the wild without putting a hole in your wallet.

Head to the Sligo Creek Bike Path where you can stop on the bridges to feed ducks, play a game in the fields, or just play on the playground. Raining? Grab some old clothes and have a mud battle. PRICE: $0

Listening for less D.C. culture is at its best at Busboys and Poets, a restaurant and bookstore combination.

All Busboys and Poets locations in D.C. offer great food and attractions. Every Tuesday at the 14th and V Street locations there is a weekly open mic which is on Wednesdays at the 5th and K Street venue. The restaurant offers everything from salads to burgers, and has a few vegan options. PRICE: $10 and up

Affordable arcades

Economic entrées Nestled among an array of ethnically diverse restaurants in Wheaton, lies Woomi Garden. Help yourself to all you can eat sushi, Korean and Japanese barbeque and other delightful foods like tempura sweet potato. Don’t be fooled by the affordable pricing, though. The food at Woomi Garden is top-notch. PRICE: buffet under $10

If you’re tired of all of the old video games you have at home, a much wider variety is available at the amazing arcade in Chevy Chase as well as in the smaller games room in the Majestic Theater.

Though small, the Majestic Theater has an array of games including shooting, blasting and many more games of other varieties. PRICE $1 and up

Delicacies without debt If you’re planning a night in, and Chinese Food delivery is too expensive, pick up some ingredients at the Thai Market on Thayer Street in Downtown Silver Spring. These reasonably priced groceries can be made into an array of dishes. If you’re not in the mood for cooking, you can order off the menu and the cooks will prepare your meal. Any way you go, the Thai Market will provide everything necessary for a mouth-watering meal. PRICE: $10

26 ENTERTAINMENT

February 9, 2011

silverCHIPS

Nando’s Peri Peri spices up Downtown dining New Silver Spring restaurant fuses cultures in winning chicken dishes

By Jialin Quinlan and Natalie Rutsch

counter, the wait staff holds a warm, friendly presence in the restaurant. After admitting we were first time customers, our waitress gave us a full rundown of all the menu had to offer. With her helpful advice, we were ready to delve into the diverse menu.

Nando’s specialty is their flame-grilled chicken, so naturally we couldn’t leave without trying it. We went with the Lemon and Herb baste because we weren’t sure how hot the Portuguese/Mozambican mix could get.

It’s a good thing we were careful because

With restaurants already spread across five different continents, Nando’s Peri-Peri finally brings its cultural flavor to Downtown Silver Spring. Its famous Peri-Peri Flame-Grilled Chicken, which has delighted worldwide, is a fusion of Portuguese and Mozambican cuisine.

In the 16th century, Portuguese sailors arrived in Mozambique and discovered the African Bird’s Eye Chilipepper, or pili-pili, as the locals called it.

The settlers mispronounced the name as “periperi” and began adding it to their food, eventually introducing it to the world as a fiery baste for grilled chicken.

The spacious interior of Nando’s Peri-Peri fuses folk art, innovative light fixtures and gorgeous natural wood furniture to create a refreshing atmosphere. Nando’s Peri-Peri is a great mix of casual and upscale — customers order at a PHOTOS BY NICK GROSSMAN counter, but waiters deliver food to Nando’s grilled chicken can be paired with many sauces. the table. The restaurant is filled with decorative vases and Nando’s mild is at least our medium. But pillows, but there are also paper napkins with a full cup of water to swig, we were and a soda fountain. A great spot for lunch fine. The Lemon and Herb baste provided in sweatpants or a date in a tie, Nando’s em- a nice burst of citrus that complimented the chicken’s grilled flavor. The side of Macho bodies versatility.

Even though customers place orders at a Peas (yes, we liked the name) was equally

scrumptious. The unconventional dish offered a bed of green peas with little flecks of chili spice, parsley and a hint of mint.

The Butternut Squash and Couscous Salad is a tasty option for vegetarians, but customers can add chicken for a little extra.

Marked with a red star as Nando’s Favorite, the refreshing salad is a winning combination of oven-roasted squash, light couscous, roasted corn, red onion, olives and raisins, all on a bed of spinach. Nando’s Peri-Peri offers a tasty Chocolate Spoon Cake.

The salad is flavorful from the first bite and, in typical Nando just a touch of cilantro. If you can’t handle fashion, includes a hint of spice. The salad is spicy, the mild is a must; even the medium definitely a delicious option, but buyers be- can leave your mouth on fire. ware: It might be hard to pass up the chicken Since no meal, no matter how good, is entrees. complete without some dangerously sugarIf you’re looking for something a little less laden desserts, we finished the meal with healthy, the garlic bread and French fries are the Chocolate Spoon Cake and the Dulce the sides for you. The garlic bread is spread de Leche Cheesecake. The Chocolate Spoon thick with butter and sprinkled with mouth- Cake is criminally chocolate, layering a watering garlic and herbs. The bread is an moist, dark cake bittersweet frosting and ultimate comfort food, matched only by the chocolate shavings. The cheesecake was savory fries. Fries are less exotic than the equally delectable, a perfect blend of the other dishes, but regardless, Nando’s serves sweet cheesecake and even sweeter caramel up crisp, salty delights. swirls.

Another one of Nando’s Favorites is the From the fiery chicken to the tangy salad Chicken Breast Pita. While seemingly a safe to the savory desserts, Nando’s is the best bet, the chicken-stuffed pita pocket packs an multicultural dining experience Ellsworth unexpected punch. The warm, toasted pita has to offer. So pack your appetite, and take is full of crispy vegetables, mayonnaise and your taste buds on a flavorful journey.

silverCHIPS

ENTERTAINMENT 27

February 9, 2011

DOYUNG LEE

By Claire Sleigh

Remember back in elementary school when we had all that time on our hands? Back then, the most nerve-racking part of the day was show-and-tell, and there was always time to play and relax. Now, with all the stress of classes, finals and extra-curriculars, finding a free moment to curl up and read a book can be a challenge. For Blazers looking to squeeze a book between physics homework and soccer practice, Silver Chips provides a selection of four different quick reads that are sure to make a lasting impact.

Never Let Me Go

The Hunger Games

By Kazuo Ishiguro

By Suzanne Collins

While some may recognize Never Let Me Go as the blockbuster hit of the past summer, the original novel deserves its own recognition. A stunning story about the pains of growing up, the careful balance between dreams and reality, and the dynamics between friends, Never Let Me Go is a must-read. The narrator, Kathy, grows up in a utopian world at a British school called Hailsham. The story is told in flash-backs as Kathy begins to accept her ominous destiny.

COURTESY OF BOOK COVER ARCHIVE The reader is plunged into this new world as Kathy’s equal, as she assumes that the reader is already fully knowledgeable and often neglects to explain sudden plot twists. This strange yet riveting guessing game adds to the eeriness of the book, pulling readers in. But this suspense factor merely adds interest to intricate character developments and moving plot, the true backbone of the story. Kathy and her two friends, Tommy and Ruth, struggle in separate ways with their identical fates, but Kathy’s loyalty to her friends and her reaction to the social system propels the plot. Never Let Me Go is a reflection on the dynamics between people as they grow and adapt, a relevant part of our high school lives.

The fast-paced, attention grabbing, yet moving series of the decade is Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games. Readers will devour this series. It’s impossible to put down, irresistible in its climactic action, and disturbing in its satire of a world gone horribly wrong. Set in the world of Panem and dominated by the tyrannical Capitol, The Hunger Games draws on the idea of the gladiators under the Romans. Children from different districts are pitted against one another in an intense battle for survival. The situation complicates when the protagonist Katniss is thrown into the rink with a boy who loves her and is bent on saving her life. Both a meditation on how the body and mind react under pressure and a reflection on those basic values which should never be compromised, The Hunger Games is sure to thrill. Later books in the series are equally fantastic and will draw readers into the twisted world of Panem. Irresistible and heart stopping, the series will appeal to anyone with a sense of adventure.

COURTESY OF COLLIDER.COM

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Zeitoun

By Marjane Satrapi

By Dave Eggers

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood is in a literary category of its own. Both a touching memoir and a humorous graphic novel, the story is told through the eyes of author Satrapi growing up as a child through multiple revolutions in Iran during the 1980s. Satrapi captures the essence of childhood, complete with fantastical dreams, puzzling questions and the daily trials of growing up in a community that is shaken by revolution. Readers will fall in love with Satrapi as she struggles to understand her place in the world and tries to cope with the terrors she witnesses daily. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood uncovers the history and humanity of Iran, a country that is often misunderstood. With growing unrest in the Middle East it is important to understand this volatile area from all perspectives.

Even those who are skeptical of what is essentially a non-fiction comic book will fall in love with Satrapi’s artwork and plow through the story in a matter of hours.

COURTESY OF HISTORIUM.COM

Movies The Roommate (PG-13) – College freshman Sara Matthews (Minka Kelly) is a roommate you would kill for. At least, Rebecca (Leighton Meester) would. Meester’s emotionally unstable character quickly develops a creepy obsession with her new roommate. The two start off as friends but things take a twisted turn when Rebecca begins to feel threatened

by Sara’s other friends. Determined to do whatever it takes to be the only person in Sara’s life, Rebecca goes on a rampage to destroy anyone close to Sara. Though it may not be Oscar material, it’s sure to give you the creeps about college. (Feb. 4) Waiting for Forever (PG-13) – The romantic drama stars two childhood friends Will Donner (Tom Sturridge) and Emma Twist (Rachel

Zeitoun is the true story of one man who stays in New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina is approaching and the city is being evacuated. A Syrian native, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, loves both New Orleans, with its buildings and vibrant community, and the United States. The book shows how the hurricane brings out the best in Zeitoun, as he paddles silently around the city in his canoe saving neighbors and friends, and highlights the worst aspects of the U.S. governCOURTESY OF THECLUBOFBOOKS.COM ment and law enforcement agencies. The most arresting part of the book comes with the realization that Zeitoun’s tragic story is true and happened in our country five years ago. When reading the book, it is possible to be swept away by Eggers’ powerful yet accessible storytelling and the absolute absurdity of the situation, but these travesties are no fictional account. In the wake of Katrina and 9/11, fear of both the Muslim and African-American communities led to widespread discrimination and, in Zeitoun’s case, even violence. Zeitoun’s story was found by the Eggers’ project “Voice of Witness” in their quest to bring knowledge of human rights violations to the public.

BEYOND the Boulevard Bilson). In their early years together, the two were inseparable, until Emma left to pursue her dreams of becoming an actress. Time passes and soon Emma becomes engaged.

When the two re-connect years later, Will, who has loved Emma all his life, tries to convince her that they’re soul mates and that fate brought them back together. He vows to follow her to the ends of the earth, unsure of whether or not he might actually be ‘waiting for forever.’ (Feb. 4)

DVDs Due Date (R) – Imagine Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifinakas together on a crosscountry road trip and hilarity ensues. Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) is a man on a mission. He needs to get to Los Angeles before the birth of his firstborn child but just

before taking the flight home from Atlanta, he meets the eccentric Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifinakas) and ends up on the no-fly list.

Desperate to get home (and against his better judgment) the high-strung father-to-be decides to hitch a ride across the country with Ethan. Though the journey is certainly trying, Downey and Galifinakas’ antics are sure to keep you laughing. (Feb. 22) You Again (PG) – Marni (Kristen Bell) was tormented by mean girls in high school. She was ignored by cute guys. The head cheerleader Joana (Odette Yustman) made her life a living hell. You know the drill. Years later, the outrageously successful Marni runs into Joana again — the two are sisters-in-law. A parallel conflict develops when Marni’s mother, Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis), runs into her own high-school nemesis and has a few problems of her own. Though the storyline is clichéd,

You Again makes for a good laugh. In the end, the crazy comedy proves that rivalries might actually be forever. (Feb. 8)

Concerts

Linkin Park at the Verizon Center, Thursday Feb. 10 at 7:00 p.m.; tickets $62.50

Trey Songz at D.A.R. Constitution Hall, Saturday Feb. 12 at 7:00 p.m.; tickets $55

Lady Gaga at the Verizon Center, Thursday Feb. 24 at 8:00 p.m.; tickets $52.50

Beyond the Boulevard compiled

by Simrin Gupta

28 CHIPS CLIPS

silverCHIPS

February 9, 2011

Cupid’s Crossword

by Helen Bowers

ACROSS 1. “I Love You” in dinosaur language 5. University of Central O.A 7. “Quickly” 11. English Braille American Edition, for short 14. Alternative to LOL; laugh a little bit 15. Company that builds space-ships 16. Hearing devices 17. Minniscule island 18. Things that are sent 20. Often accompanies flowers in a gift 22. National Democratic Institute, for short 24. Hat 27. See once again 29. A writing in which you can express love in rhyme 33. Go into 34. Romantic outing 36. Adjacent over hypotenuse 39. Estimate, for short 42. Platonic(ish?) relationship between two male friends

48. Family member 49. Indiana Hardwood Lumberman association, for short 50. American Apparel and Footwear Association, for short 51. Call of _____, War video game 52. Man made swimming hole 53. Chopped cheese 54. Sense of self 56. _____, There, everywhere 57. Put into action 58. See 17 across.

DOWN 1. Artifact 2. Often, one feels ______ when they are flattered 3. Do this after a break up 4. Narrow boat shaped, three stringed instrument 5. Anger 6. Used to lift things in construction and the name of a bird 7. Use money 8. Horrifically sad 9. Adverse Event Reporting System 10. The Employment Solution,

for short 12. See 15 across 21. Two people with feelings of intense liking 25. The hunted 26.The Odyssey + the Iliad are ______ Poems 27. Prefix to a ship’s name 28. Inland Navigation Europe, for short 29. There is controversy over whether this should be taught in Health classes 30. Institute for Environmental Education 31. Promotional pieces of media 37. Take in visual cues for objects at a distance 38. Learning center 40. Before notebooks, students used a ____.

42. Someone who takes their time ____ their time.

43. A make-up 44. I’m ____ you. ( two words) 45. Chilly, cold...

46. To marry suddenly 47. The profession of retail 48. Not common 50. Allegheny General Hospital, for short.

Silver Chips Caption Contest

“Yo, that’s cold, man.”- Senior Whitney Del Rosario

Hallucination

Submit caption ideas for the image above to the folder labeled “Caption Contest” on the door of room 165, or to silver.chips.caption.contest@gmail.com. The winner will be drawn into the image for the new cycle’s contest and receive two tickets to the spring musical, “Guys and Dolls.”

S U D O K U

COURTESY OF WWW.WEBSUDOKU.COM

by Doyung Lee

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LA ESQUINA LATINA

9 de Febrero de 2011

Desastres, alegrías y muchos recuerdos

29

¡Última Última hora! Ú

Dejando atrás lo malo y recordando lo bueno que dejó el 2010 Terror en Arizona Por Janett Encinas La catástrofe más grande del año fue el terremoto en Haití el 12 de enero. Haití fue El año 2010 estuvo cargado de muchas sacudido por un terremoto de magnitud 7 emociones como el triunfo de España en la que causó más de 100 mil muertos y 1.3 milcopa mundial, el rescate de los 33 mineros en lones de damnificados. Al cabo de un año, el Chile y la reforma de salud en los Estados U- número de muertos incrementó por una epidemia de cólera nidos. La copa que sufrió Haití. mundial del En los Estados 2010 se llevó Unidos, para mua cabo en Jochos latinos fue hannesburgo, una indignación Sudáfrica. cuando el 29 de Comenzando julio, la gobernael 11 de junio y dora de Arizona culminando el Jan Brewer firmó 11 de julio con la ley SB 1070 el triunfo de que criminaliza el los españoles hecho de ser incontra los hodocumentado. landeses 1-0, Igualmente esta fue la priamargo fue cuanmera vez que do el sueño de España ganó CORTESíA DE EXAMINER.COM una mejor edula copa muncación se desvandial. Aunque El equipo español celebran su primera eció para muchos España no victoria en el mundial este verano. jóvenes indocues parte de América Latina, es un orgullo que un país mentados. El proyecto de ley DREAM (en hispanohablante haya ganado el codiciado inglés, Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) era una propuesta que mutrofeo de oro sólido.

Otro momento inolvidable le tocó vivir a chos jóvenes esperaban les permitiría ir a la los chilenos. ¿Cómo olvidar el exitoso rescate universidad al mismo tiempo que legalizar de 33 mineros el pasado 13 de octubre del su estatus migratorio.

La ley favorecería a aquellos estudiantes 2010? Atrapados en una mina después de un derrumbe, lograron sobrevivir 69 días a 690 que entraron al país ilegalmente antes de los metros bajo tierra, y fueron reconocidos como 16 años de edad. El proyecto de ley no contó héroes por todos quienes siguieron su drama. con suficientes votos en el Senado para evitar Fue prácticamente un milagro que salieran que fuera bloqueado, aunque quedó abierto para futuras peticiones. sanos y salvos de su traumático encierro.

El derrame de petróleo en el Golfo de México el 22 de abril fue categorizado como uno de los desastres ecológicos más grandes de los Estados Unidos, ya que causó la muerte de cientos de aves y animales marinos. Debido a la fuga causada por falla de una válvula en el pozo petrolero, el crudo continuó esparciéndose por el Golfo de México hasta cuando el pozo fue sellado en el mes de agosto.

A pesar de que el terremoto en Haití, la ley SB 1070 de Arizona, el desastre en el Golfo de México y el fallido proyecto de ley DREAM trajeron consigo un ambiente negativo al 2010, este año también trajo cosas buenas para recordar y el deseo de trabajar para borrar las huellas del pasado. Haití se recupera lenta pero seguramente, el petróleo de-

Este año también trajo cosas buenas que recordar y el deseo de trabajar para borrar las huellas del pasado. rramado en el Golfo ha sido limpiado casi en un 85 por ciento, y el proyecto de ley DREAM sigue siendo un sueño pero no imposible.

Pero no por eso hay que darse por vencido, ni se deben perder las esperanzas. Tenemos que seguir creyendo en nosotros mismos, siempre decir que sí podemos y dar lo mejor que tenemos en la vida.

La congresista Gabrielle Giffords de 40 años fue herido por una bala el 8 de enero en Tucson, Arizona. El acusado es el hombre Jared Loughtner, de 22 años.

Debido a la gravedad del disparo, la congresista Giffords se encuentra en cuidados intensivos.

Ángel de la guarda El joven universitario Daniel Hernandez fue reconocido por haberle salvado la vida a la congresista Gabrielle Giffords en el atentado contra ella. El joven asistio a Griffords, dandole primeros auxilios. El fue homenajeado por el presidente de los Estados Unidos Barack Obama en la casa blanca.

Misterio en Arizona Un suceso extraño ocurrio durante la noche del año nuevo; miles de pájaros cayeron en la superficie de Arizona. Unos expertos predicen que el problema puede ser debido la contaminación del aire, una tormenta violenta, o algunas toxinas de los fuegos artificiales de esa noche. Algunos de esos pájaros fueron inmediatamente llevados a los laboratorios para ser investigados. Siguen las investigaciones en Arzansas, AZ.

Ciudad Juárez, ‘la capital de las matanzas’ La ideología machista de algunas culturas latinas pone a las mujeres en peligro Por Yessica Somoza Cada día en Ciudad Juárez, México muchas mujeres salen a trabajar en fábricas para ganar el dinero que necesitan para mantener a sus familias.

Todas las mañanas estas mujeres salen de sus casas muy temprano y toman buses camino a la ciudad, siempre preguntándose “¿podré llegar a casa sana y salva hoy?” En Ciudad Juárez el asesinato de mujeres es una dura realidad cotidiana.

En estos crímenes llamados “femicidios” las mujeres Mujeres protestan la son violadas, mutiladas, asesinadas y sus cuerpos abandonados en el desierto. Muchas de las víctimas de femicidios eran trabajadoras en fábricas textiles o empleadas domésticas.

La incógnita es por qué son escogidas estas mujeres. Tal vez es porque es fácil encontrarlas caminando solas pero también es porque en algunos sectores de la cultura mexicana todavía existe el machismo y las mujeres son tomadas como un objeto sexual.

Los detectives encargados de estas muertes en Juárez dejan de buscar al culpable porque ni a ellos les interesa resolver CORTESíA DE CNN MEXICO estos caviolencia en la calle. sos. Las autoridades mexicanas han enfatizado que es muy común que las mujeres vivan dos vidas, y que esa es la razon por la cual son asesinadas, admitiendo el poco interés que hay en

ellas.

Adicionalmente, suponen que la mayoría de estos crímenes se cometen en la noche, implicando que las mujeres estaban haciendo algo ilícito, porque todos saben que las mujeres buenas no salen de noche.

Este prejuicio contra las mujeres le resta importancia a los femicidios, incluso Victimas de hasta en altos cargos del comunidad, gobierno. El mismo gobernador del estado de Chihuahua, José Reyes Baeza, cuando estaba en su cargo en el 2005, dijo que la atención dada a estas matanzas estaba empeorando la imagen de la ciudad.

Los números de homicidios no bajan y cada año son una ocurrencia esperada. ¿Cómo es que estas atrocidades han sido cometidas impunemente por más de una década?

Las mujeres de Juárez reciben apoyo de ciertos grupos que se esfuerzan por protegerlas contra la violencia. Adicionalmente, algunos de los dueños de fábricas han tomado medidas para reducir el número de femicidios y ofrecen servicios de bus para recoger a las mujeres de sus casas y traerlas de regreso.

CORTESíA DE LA TIMES

los femicidios son enterradas por la con tumbas que leen “ni una mas.”

Desafortunadamente, esta medida preventiva no ha reducido las tasas del crímen.

En partes de la cultura latinoaméricana, a las mujeres se les inculca que deben ser buenas esposas y obedecer al hombre. Esta ideología no sólo hace que las mujeres sean oprimidas por los mismos hombres, sino que también las pone en peligro al fomentar una cultura que atenta contra sus vidas. Si las mujeres no luchan para cambiar esta tradición de dominación masculina, los femicidios no cesarán. Mientras el resto del mundo avanza hacia la igualdad de géneros, ciertas regiones de América Latina seguirán estancadas en el siglo XVIII.

¿Y tú, qué PIENSAS? ¿Cúal fué tu mejor experiencia durante el 2010?

“Fue haberle enseñado a bailar a mi mascota.”

Branda Umanzor, Onceavo grado

“Fui de viaje a Texas y lo pasé increíble.”

Diego Flores, Décimo grado

“Fue el mejor año porque conocí al amor de mi vida, Diana.”

Isidro Maldonado, Doceavo grado

“Por fin pude ir a Six Flags con mis mejores amigos.”

Katherine Reinosa, Doceavo grado

30 SPORTS

February 9, 2011

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Chips Trips: Curling Our athletic reporters delve into an age old tradition of the sporting world

By Jialin Quinlan and Gardi Royce As the wind whipped around the cold Scottish pond, two lone figures stared nervously at the ground. They whispered and checked their surroundings, making sure no one was watching them. They had been

dying out across the world, your passionate Chips reporter took it upon herself to learn and appreciate curling.

Intrepid sports reporters Jialin Quinlan and Nick Grossman face off at opposite ends of the icy arena. Hours of training and preparation have led to this moment and

PHOTOS BY NICK GROSSMAN

Beginning curlers can hold onto special handles to practice maintaining balance.

Jialin uses little starting blocks called hacks to push off the ice and curl the stone toward the target on the opposite end of the rink. simply playing on the frozen ice when suddenly; they created one of the most dynamic and exciting games known to man.

They had been kicking rocks on the ice and then had begun pretending to play golf on the frozen water. With one flick of the sticks they were wielding, they had created the game called curling, one founded on dedication, speed and a sick sense of the ice. Their excitement and surprise belied their true amazement at creating such a revolutionary sport.

Yet as the years turned centuries, the game remained the same, with one exception.

What had started as a new athletic discovery in the cold turf of Scotland was now an global symbol, a figurehead of all that was good in the world. Later the Royal Caledonian Curling Club (RCCC) would be founded, solidifying its place in sporting history. The RCCC then led to the establishment of the World Curling Federation, a committee dedicated to ensuring the global development and recognition of curling.

Yet the real foundation of the game comes not from its rules and regulations, but from the culture from which it originated. Ancient Scottish society valued hard work and embodied a ‘never back down’ mentality, one that is still evident within curling today, even as it is declining in popularity.

Sadly this sport is dying out in the modern world, with more flashy sports garnering the attention, the future of curling is looking bleak. Yet it will always be remembered as the sport founded on a tradition of excellence for over 400 years. A sport that defies modern culture’s demand for glitz and glamour, curling was always one that relied on dedication and heart. Even though it may seem to be

The premise is simple: played on a long sheet of ice, with big targets at either end, the object of the game is to slide your stone as close to the center of the target, called the house, as possible. If your stones are closer to the center than your opponents, then you are awarded the points. The best is to get the stone “right on the button.”

There are different attachments that can be strapped to the bottom of each shoe, one to help grip the ice and push off, and one very

there is only one goal: Olympic gold. Well, maybe in our dreams, but bragging rights are just as good, right?

Now when most people hear about curling, they picture a couple of middleaged men with broomsticks chasing a giant rock across an icerink. But curling isn’t just an icy mix of Quidditch and shuffleboard, as we found out, it’s a sport that requires strength, finesse and as many warm layers as you can pile on w h i l e s t i l l Curlers earn points by sliding their stones closer to the center of the being able to target, also called the house, than their opponents. move.

Although slippery piece that carries most of the curler’s it’s not a sport for the faint-hearted, curling weight across the ice. It was quite a problem is accessible to newcomers and beginners trying to keep one foot stable on the ice, but every Saturday at the Potomac Curling Club. eventually we got the hang of maneuvering Hard-core curlers gather at the rink at 8 a.m. around the ice. to practice and to teach anyone willing to We also learned how to use the brooms, learn. If you’re worried that you’ll be the only one without any experience, all the seasoned pros are extremely patient and encouraging. No matter how many times Nick fell over, our instructors were there to provide help and encouragement.

Curling, a sport in on a frozen lake in Scotland over 400 years ago, has declined in popularity but remains an enjoyable, accessible sport.

which we brushed back and forth in front of an oncoming stone to make it slide farther.

Then came the hard part — learning the proper stance to slide down the ice and curl the stone to the most advantageous spot on the ice. But in our case, we just wanted to make sure it went in the general direction of the opposite end of the ice without knocking someone off their feet. The instructors taught us how to push off of hacks, little starting blocks which are pretty similar to those used in track and field.

The main difference was that we had to hold onto handles that were essentially training wheels for curlers in order to keep our balance, which didn’t help our general feeling of slightly bewildered embarrassment.

Our instructor Vince told us that it took him almost two years to perfect his curl, which made us feel a little better when we could only get those gigantic rocks about halfway down the ice.

After our 45 minute tutorial, it was game time. Apparently that was a sufficient amount of time to make us competent enough curlers to play a full game with people that have been playing for years. But we were pretty bad.

During the little practice session, we only had to push the stone about a third of the way down the ice, but this was the real deal.

When I finally managed to get the stone all the way to the target, by the time it got down there it had curled to either of the sidelines of the lane and way out of scoring range. Nick was admittedly better at it, but I definitely fell less, so it ended up pretty even.

All in all, curling was a great new sport to try, and a worthwhile experience. And now, we’ll know exactly what’s going on when we watch Olympic curling.

Experienced curlers gather at the Potomac Curling Club every Saturday at 8 a.m. to practice and teach curling to newcomers and beginners.

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SPORTS 31

February 9, 2011

Vexed by the Capital Curse Sports in the nation’s capital can’t escape a dark fate

By Gardi Royce An opinion To truly understand and recognize the widespread significance of sports, you need only look at Cleveland, Ohio, deemed the “most miserable city” in America by a 2010 Reuters poll. What was once home to National Basketball Association (NBA) stardom and “King” LeBron James has now become a ghost town, a shadow of a time long ago. Yet while James left Cleveland for the beaches in Miami, along the way he had to pass through yet another sports purgatory: Washington, D.C. The nation’s capital boasts some of the worst sporting luck in recent times. From phenom pitchers to gun-slinging guards, D.C. has a way of turning even good opportunities into bad results. It is no longer a haven for champagne and victory cigars, rather, it is deeply mired in the Capital Curse.

Chicago, Boston, Buffalo and now D.C. All of these cities are haunted by an external force, a

compass of misfortune that predicts playoff disappointments and early off seasons. While curses like “The Bambino” and “Sports Illustrated” have more widely regarded legitimacy, there is no denying a growing trend in D.C. sports.

This trend has been evident over the past 20 years—only five winning seasons for the Washington Wizards, with a post-season record of 6-23. D.C. should have been good, even great. We had Air Jordan, we battled King James year after year, and yet D.C. could never get over the hump.

The last two decades in the capital have been anything but magical for the Wizards. Culminating in 2001, the team had developed into a sanctuary for overpaid and under performing athletes who played hard during free agency but spent the rest of their time smoking marijuana (Rasheed Wallace) and hiring prostitutes (Andre Blatche). With Michael Jordan coming out of retirement to bring basketball

NATHAN GAMSON

back to the nation’s capital, the new century was supposed to be one of championship banners and sold out crowds, not lottery ping-pong balls. Yet in 2001, with MJ engineering the decision, the Wizards selected Kwame Brown with the first pick in the draft.

Now considered one of the worst picks in NBA history, Brown’s selection epitomized the bad luck that plagued the organization for years. Unfortunately, this bad luck seeped not only into the Wizards organization, but also poisoned the capital’s football team.

What used to be a football organization has now turned into a D.C. television drama, The Washington Redskins were a real football team twenty years ago, an organization founded on hard work and dedication. Yet the 2010-11 year was comparable to a new season of Jersey Shore, featuring just as much fighting, backstabbing and break-ups. You don’t have to be a sports nut to have heard of the new sports “soap opera” starring Donovan McNabb as the out-of-luck hero, Albert Haynesworth as the greedy villain and Michael Shanahan as the manipulating and strict older father. Unfortunately, D.C. fans don’t have the luxury of changing channels. The same show has been playing for the last 15 years with different actors. D.C. fans are used to this type of heartbreak.

In 2003, a slashing point guard was traded to the Wizards. Also known as Agent Zero and Hibbachi, Gilbert Arenas quickly became a fan favorite, dazzling and taunting Washington fans for four years — until suddenly his name stopped gracing Sports Center and started appearing on arrest warrants. The player who scored 60 points against Kobe Bryant, who drained game-winning baskets in his sleep, was sentenced to jail for threatening a teammate with a gold-plated gun he modeled after one in an Austin Powers

COURTESY OF NFL GRIDIRON GAB AND J L CAUVIN’S BLOG

Albert Haynesworth (left) and Kwame Brown (right) epitomized the missed opportunities that have plagued Washington, D.C., sports. movie. Armed with a playoff team of Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison and Arenas, the Wizards were supposed to compete for Eastern supremacy until their potential came crashing with their thoughtless leader. The moment Arenas entered the halfway house, any hope of turning the curse around was dashed, a feeling Washington fans are all too familiar with.

For the last 15 years, the Redskins have been offering job applications for washed-up, selfish has-beens that are looking to be grossly overpaid on a perpetually “re-building” team. Indeed, Deion Sanders, Adam Archuleta and Albert Haynesworth have to be incredibly content that they were all paid more money at their respective positions than any other player in the history of the NFL. Since 1995, the Redskins have had only five winning seasons, despite coaching by some historic NFL coaches like Marty Schottenheimer, Joe Gibbs, Norv Turner and, of course, Jim Zorn. Owner Daniel Snyder has been trying to

emulate the New York Yankees for the last ten years, employing their pay-to-win strategy and failing.

While New York gets criticized for buying championships, the Redskins spend just as much money and still lose. Despite having one of the highest payrolls in the NFL, they cannot put together a winning team.

In the most powerful city in the world, people are used to feeling good about their home. Yet for the past 20 years, something’s been missing — that spirit-lifting buzz of sports success. While not everyone is a sports fan, when the team is winning, everyone’s happy.

And for the last two decades, the teams haven’t been winning.

From Stephen Strasburg to Arenas, the Capital Curse has worked its devilish magic on our city’s sports. Sadly, there is no uplifting resolution to a city mired in sporting limbo, only the bittersweet feeling that at some point, without warning, success will return to our capital. And when it does, we will be ready.

Take one for the team: Linebackers sacrifice health for glory To reduce health risks, colleges must continue care for athletes’ health even after graduation

By NoahGrace Bauman An opinion After four years of rigorous training and encouraged weight gain, only 3.4 percent of college football players will make it into the NFL, according to the National Football League Players Association. When their glory days fade away, the rest of these athletes graduate from football and move on to suffer from a disease that, according to the Center for Disease Control they share with 26.5 percent of Americans — obesity.

Dr. Ben Levine, director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital has cited an increase in the weight of football players today from those of 20 years ago.

As the size of these athletes continues to increase, obesity is becoming increasingly prevalent among former college football players.

Football at all levels has become the quintessential American pastime, and it is now being associated with what is considered to be the ‘American disease’. Americans watch college football with an almost religious fervor, and millions of diehard fans follow these young players, such constant attention adds a great amount of pressure to the athletes to be big and strong.

It is this burden that has caused coaches to encourage weight gain among players, especially linemen, which often causes serious and long-lasting health problems. Such pressure from coaches is unhealthy and

dangerous. Colleges not only to reduce the pressure to gain weight among athletes, but they also need to create a health plan for players that will ensure the well-being of these athletes even after they leave the team.

While playing football, these athletes are encouraged to eat heavily in order to put on more weight. In a study of 70 football linemen conducted by Jackie Buell of Ohio State University, around half of the sample suffered from metabolic syndrome — a group of risk factors for many health complications caused by obesity. According to WebMD, a health information database, obesity is strongly linked to many other medical problems including heart

disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer.

Obesity is an incredibly serious health issue the college football athletic regimen puts players at risk for, however, it is the loss of nutritional support that encourages the cross over into obesity.

After players leave the team, they also leave behind the nutritional support they once received as students. Though Wes Robinson, head athletic trainer of football at University of Maryland College Park, claims that none of his players are obese, he said that he does recognize the lack of support that follows these athletes after college. “When they leave, we have exit interviews on a medical standpoint and we remind them that [they] are changing activity level, but I’ll be honest, it’s not extensive,” said Robinson.

He also mentioned that nutritional counseling is available while the athERIC GABRIEL

letes are attending school, but not after they leave. This is unhealthy and unfair to these athletes. They represent their school out on the field, and their health shouldn’t have to suffer as a result.

Since coaches encourage their players to bulk up for the team, they must help them slim down after they leave. James Borcher, assistant professor of clinical family medicine at Ohio State University, as cited in the article “College Football Linemen Take One For The Team,” believes that providing assistance to athletes after college will help in stopping obesity among the players.

“Many players will be done after college…

Can we help decrease their risk for metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance, or even potential cardiovascular problems, with intervention and by keeping an eye on their natural progression once they’re done playing? I think that’s where we can make an impact,” said Borcher. Providing a help such as a nutritional plan, counseling and workout regimen to the athletes would seriously improve their health and combat many problems that come along with being overweight.

This trend needs to end. Players should be provided with a plan that will set them on a path to achieve good health after they leave the team. These athletes have already devoted so much time and effort to their team. The least schools can do is provide them with a post-college care plan to help them combat the disease common to so many Americans.

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February 9, 2011 silverchips.mbhs.edu/section/sports.php

Blair wrestling locks Wheaton Knights into a checkmate Blazer varsity wrestling obliterates Knights in a decisive 58-18 win, securing its fifth win

By NoahGrace Bauman Jan. 25, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM — In an expected win for the varsity wrestling team (5-6), the Blazers annihilated Wheaton, ending the meet with a score of 58-18. They racked up 42 points in forfeits from the six-player Wheaton team, and acquired two pins and won multiple matches, which enabled them to maintain an impressive lead throughout the match.

In the first contest of the meet, junior cocaptain Steven Staley (130) fought hard in a close match that went into the third period, where he was unable to secure a pin. Nonetheless, Staley managed to contribute four points for Blair with a score of 11-10.

Though his win contributed to Blair’s wide lead, Staley noted that he could have done better. “I was gassing out because I dropped nine pounds this week, but I’m not complaining,” said Staley.

Fellow junior co-captain Billy Saturno (130) was able to secure another 12 points for Blair in the first pin of the match. A combination of a quick takedown and technical prowess helped him pin his opponent in the first period, ending the match-up 7-0.

Wheaton was finally able to gain points after match-ups with junior Edwin Salvador (140) and senior Lazaro Chavez (135).

Chavez had problems in the beginning of the match calling a time out for an apparent injury and a pep talk from coach Jacob Scott.

Chavez showed determination, however, and powered through the match until the end. Chavez secured a win and Wheaton took its second match-up with a 14-10 score.

The second and final Blair pin of the night came from senior Rachid Pio (152) in a riveting head to head match-up. Each period ended in a near tied score, with neither opponent gaining a clear advantage on the other until the third period when Pio secured the pin with 13 seconds left.

Though the Blazers crushed Wheaton, Staley was still unimpressed by his team’s performance. “I don’t think we performed as well as we should have. People were gassing out because of cutting weight and were making rookie mistakes,” he said.

Despite Staley’s critiques, Saturno was still happy with Blair’s accomplishment. “[The match] was pretty good. We won most of the matches we wrestled, so even if there weren’t forfeits I think we still would have won,” said Saturno.

Scott was proud of his team’s win, but cited some plans for future team improvements. “We have to work on pummeling, getting a good upper body position. It’ll help guys position themselves when they are locked,” he said.

With a mere three matches left in the season, Scott plans to continue to work with the men on technique, but believes most of the team’s success this year has come from newfound team bonding and support. “The biggest thing we’ve worked on is team unity,

and we’ve surpassed our goal. We’ve gone out to eat together, we’ve banned profanity and insults, I’ve made the goal obvious and I feel great about the team’s interpersonal relationships” said Scott.

With this fundamental bond, Scott hopes to continue to provide a healthy atmosphere for the wrestlers to help ensure the continuation of a solid season.

insideSPORTS Chips Trips: Curling See page 30 Jialin Quinlan and Nick Grossman try their luck at the unsung yet increasingly popular winter sport, curling.

D.C. sports curse See page 31 Columnist Gardi Royce delves into D.C.’s prima dona athletes, overpaid coaches and whiny ball hogs.

TOLU OMOKEHINDE

Junior co-captains Steven Staley (left) and Billy Saturno (right) both won matches, contributing to Blair’s victory.

Cheerleading leads Division with first place win Blazers blast past competition with flawless routine

By Claire Sleigh Feb. 5, PAINT BRANCH —

sportsmanship and gained points for wellexecuted and shockingly-high basket tosses.

Coach Sarah Fillman was pleased with the team’s performance and energy, although she regretted the loss of the spirit award, which Blair has previously won six times in a row. The spirit award is given to the team whose fans display the most enthusiasm and

sportsmanship and was considered Blair’s signature award. Throughout the competition, the team worked hard to keep the Blair fans on their feet and cheering. They were shocked when Watkins Mill, whose parents had been far less vocal, won the award.

Even though the team didn’t win the award, they appreciated the enthusiasm of

the fans, according to Coach Roxanne Fus. “Our fans did a great job of supporting us The Blair cheerleading squad won Diviagainst some tough competition,” she said. sion II of the Panther Cheer Competition The team was nervous going into the on Saturday, trouncing Watkins Mill and competition because of complications during Northwood. Blair captain Victoria Luc also practice with one difficult move. They won the captain’s award, also had a limited amount of practice but the team fell disaptime due to snow days. Fillman sought pointingly short of the to calm the team down before the compecoveted spirit award. tition and urged them to relax and enjoy Blair was one of the themselves. “My message to them after more exciting groups warm-ups was to have fun and complete that performed, bringing a good routine,” she said. enthusiasm and variety Luc was especially nervous going into to the floor. The stunts, the match because she had to execute a which have always a solo section, and she faced strong comcentral part of Blair’s petition from Northwood captain Luis routine, were impressive Gutierrez. Luc felt empowered by her and ultimately successteammates and attributed part of her sucful. Despite worries in cess to them. “It’s awesome that I won warm-ups and the week but I couldn’t have done it without my leading up to the competeam,” she said. “They were right there tition about a particular behind me the whole time.” Gutierrez move, the stunt went up pumped up the crowds with cheering, and the routine proceedhip-swinging and kiss-blowing, but Luc ed effortlessly. In addiwas given the Captain’s award based on tion to the flips, throws superior leadership. and lifts, the cheerleadLuc was proud of both her award and ers broke out dance the team’s overall performance. “We all moves with rhythm and worked together and we all performed spirit that energized our best,” she said. The team executed the already screaming their three-minute sequence almost crowd. flawlessly and with no major deducThe Blazers lost points tions. The competition was a great endfor bobbling on a lift and ing to a mixed season for Blair, and will for minor details, like not COURTESY OF MELANIE SIM propel the cheerleaders forward into the pointing toes. Per usual, next one. the team scored high in One of the more difficult lifts of the routine, the cheerleaders perform this one effortlessly.