BOE releases budget SGA restructures constitution By Josh Schmidt The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Board of Education (BOE) unanimously agreed upon and announced a $2.13 billion budget for the fiscal year 2013. MCPS superintendent Joshua Starr initially requested a $2.1 billion budget. The unanimously approved budget will be sent to Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett (D) on March 1 at which time he and the Montgomery County Council will submit recommendations for revisions on March 15. The recommended budget will all the county to be allowed under the maintenance of Effort (MOE) law. MOE is the law that counties must spend the same amount per student from one year to the next. Montgomery County has not done this for the past three years. Student Member of the Board (SMOB) Alan Xie claims that the BOE is aware of the problems associated with MOE. “We are acutely aware of the challenges that the current law presents to the board,” Xie said. The BOE is also attempting to move the penalty of not following BOE away from the school system according to Xie. “As a board we are going to ask the state legislature to look at moving the penalty for noncompliance away from the school system,” Xie said. “It’s been a main worry of the board for the past
four years. Really since rough economic times hit.” MCPS may not receive the full amount designated by the BOE because of their not following MOE. The state may withhold $26.2 million in aid as punishment. This budget will be a $30 million decrease from last year’s
see BUDGET page 10
Government hopes to promote student rights By Puck Bregstone In the spring, the Blair Student Government Association (SGA) will institute several landmark reforms in order to better connect with the Blair community. T h e reforms are outlined in their new constitution, which was ratified Monday by the House of Representatives. The revised constitution requires that one representative from each grade meet with the central SGA daily, and work under the same sponsor. “We want to make the SGA function as a way to unite all of the classes,” said SGA sponsor Stefanie Weldon. Currently, the SGA is structured so that the president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and several other officer posi-
president and vice president. This makes collaboration difficult, said Weldon. In the new constitution, SGA President Patrice-Morgan Ongoly has emphasized the SGA’s duty to raise awareness TOLU OMOKEHINDE about student “At At lunch, SGA helps students register to vote. rights. the beginning tions function separately from the of each school year, each student four separate class governments. gets a book with all of the student Each of the class governments assee SGA page 9 semble at a different time than the
GT policy enacted MSDE approves new standards By Srividya Murthy
MAUREEN LEI
Capitol comedy
On Feb. 28, the Maryland Department of Education (MSDE) adopted the first statewide policy on Gifted and Talented (GT) programs, which will establish minimum standards for such programs in school systems across the state. GT programs label some elementary school students as “gifted” based on standardized assessments and
provide these students with accelerated instruction to these students apart from the on-level curriculum. According to Jeanne Paynter, specialist for gifted education at MSDE, these CLARE LEFEBURE regulations will set Pine Crest Elementary School accepts the foundation for GT GT students based on their applications. programs in Maryland. “It’s a policy tool for program said. Paynter said that these reguimprovement. It’s not perfect, but lations would set requirements for we need to start somewhere so we can improve these programs,” she see GT page 8
Class rings to wedding bands By Ruth Aitken Where only first names appear, names have been changed to protect the identity of the source
LEAH MUSKIN-PIERRET
Capitol Steps comedian Corey Harris portrays Herman Cain in a Mar. 4 PTSA fundraising show at Blair. See review, page 24.
On Christmas night, Lucy, a senior, was riding in a car with her closest friends. Suddenly, Lucy’s boyfriend Rick stopped the car. The blasting music was muted, and Lucy’s friends grew silent. Rick thanked Lucy for supporting him through tough times in high school, got down on one knee, and presented her with a small box. “Keep being there for me throughout the rest of my life,” he said. Immediately after the proposal, Lucy was overwhelmed. “At first, I didn’t know what to think — my mind went blank. In the moment I just thought: ‘Yes.’ I’ve been with him all of my high school years,” Lucy says. “But afterward I was thinking, am I making the right decision? Am I too young?”
Lucy, however, is one of an expanding subset of teenagers who are preparing for marriage with their significant other. Despite the increase in the average age of marriage in the United States over the past fifty years, the percentage of married teenagers has increased since the 1990s. According to a CBS News poll, an average of 4.5 percent of 15-19 year-olds were married in 2000, in contrast to 3.4 percent in 1990. The trend nestled its way into pop culture in 2008, when MTV aired the first episode of its original series “Engaged and Underage.” The show follows the lives of couples aged 18 to 22 in the weeks before their weddings. Although in all states but Nebraska the legal marriage age is 18, engagements can begin earlier on in the teenage years. For engaged Blazers, age is
see ENGAGED page 19
insideCHIPS Graduating to debt: Columnist Maggie Shi argues that student loans are excessive and unfair. see page 5
OP/ED 4
SOAPBOX 7
NEWS 8
Metro mania: Transit center completion date is labeled “indefinite.” see page 9
Army proud families: Students with parents in the military talk about their many moves. see page 21
FEATURES 16 CHIPS CLIPS 23 LA ESQUINA LATINA 28
The old Target: Discover DC’s best and oldest market and all it has to offer. see page 27
ENTERTAINMENT 24 SPORTS 30
2 EDITORIALS
silverCHIPS
March 8, 2012
Earlier tracking hurts at all levels MCPS may already go above and beyond the Maryland State Board of Education’s newly adopted guidelines for gifted and talented (GT) education, but the county has yet to take GT labeling to the state-condoned extreme. The Feb. 28 GT legislation suggests that schools monitor their students from pre-kindergarten, a dangerous move that threatens to widen the achievement gap and contribute to the deceleration of curricula across MCPS. By asking schools to consider monitoring three- and four-year-old students for signs of vague “giftedness,” Maryland is sending an improper message about the way students learn. While it is undeniable that some students are more capable than others of rigorous work from a young age, identifying students as gifted or “regular” before they are old enough to read can have dangerous implications. For one, students who are placed in the on-level track are often already fighting an uphill battle against academic discouragement because of socioeconomic factors. Labeling students whose parents did not have the time or ability to teach them to read before Pre-K as “on-level” runs the risk of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy: “on-level” students are more likely to be put in frustratingly slow classes and have drastically reduced chances of ever advancing off their track. These disadvantages increase the likelihood that these students will become discouraged or even stop trying to succeed in their classes. By the ripe age of five, it is perfectly reasonable that students may not yet have hit their academic strides. Labeling students as gifted before they have even spent a full year in school increases the likelihood that their giftedness will be an indication of their higher socioeconomic statuses and native English speaking rather than their intelligence. Currently, MCPS data indicates that white students are 20 percent more likely to receive a GT label than their black peers. Such labeling promotes the achievement gap — if a students fail to receive a gifted label in elementary school, the repercussions of being branded “on-level” can follow them through to their high school graduations. MCPS likes to boast about its high enrollment in honors and AP classes, a result of early tracking. Schools with the most advanced classes are quickly considered “the best.” But in reality, high enrollment for students in honors or AP classes says little about a curriculum’s rigor and more about a school’s labeling. MCPS’s statistic that half of the student body is gifted is grossly higher than other school systems in Maryland and the country. While MCPS could argue that its student population is just teeming with the best and the brightest, the truth is that MCPS has just manipulated the GT labeling system. By identifying such large proportions of its student body as gifted, MCPS runs the risk of sending unqualified students into classes they cannot handle. When enough students are struggling in a class that is too difficult, teachers have to bring the class’s rigor down a notch, which deflates the meaning of an “advanced” class. While it is certain that not all students are capable of the same level of work, the state of Maryland would be better off if it did not rush into the labeling of GT students, and instead waited until students’ initial socioeconomic leg-ups were mere mitigating factors in their educational potential. Pushing back the timeline for labeling would ensure that fewer students slipped through the cracks, allowing MCPS to guarantee that all worthy students receive a challenging, stimulating education.
silverCHIPS Montgomery Blair High School 51 University Boulevard East Silver Spring, MD 20901 Phone: (301) 649-2864 http://silverchips.mbhs.edu Winner of the 2009 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Award Winner of the 2009 and 2010 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Crown Silver Chips is a public forum for student expression. Student editors make all content decisions. Unsigned editorials represent the views of the editorial board and are not necessarily those of the school. Signed letters to the editor are encouraged. Submit your letter to Joseph Fanning’s mailbox in the main office, to room 158 or to silver.chips.print@gmail.com. Concerns about Silver Chips’ content should be directed to the Ombudsman, the public’s representative to the paper, at silver.chips.ombudsman@gmail.com. Letters may be edited for space and clarity. Editors-in-Chief....................................................................................... Claire Boston, Sebastian Medina-Tayac Managing News Editors...........................................................................................Maureen Lei, Srividya Murthy Managing Features Editors...................................................Stella Bartholet, NoahGrace Bauman, Eliza Wapner Managing Opinions and Editorials Editors................................................................Claire Koenig, Maggie Shi Managing Entertainment Editors.............................................................................Helen Bowers, Simrin Gupta Managing Sports Editor........................................................................................................................Claire Sleigh Production Manager............................................................................................................NoahGrace Bauman Managing Design Editor....................................................................................................................Stella Bartholet Design Team.................................NoahGrace Bauman, Maureen Lei, Maggie Shi, Claire Sleigh, Eliza Wapner Public Relations Director............................................................................................................ Simrin Gupta Outreach Coordinator...........................................................................................................................Eliza Wapner Distribution Supervisor.......................................................................................................................Claire Koenig Newsbriefs Editor..................................................................................................................................Josh Schmidt Fact-Check Supervisor....................................................................................................................Srividya Murthy Extras Editor.............................................................................................................................Katelin Montgomery Executive Business Director.................................................................................................Ann Marie Huisentruit Executive Communications Director...........................................................................................................Jane Lee Executive Advertising Director.......................................................................................................Sarah Marsteler Executive Fundraising Manager......................................................................................................Chunwoo Baik Business Staff............................................................................................................Adrian Craig, Nicholas Seidell Page Editors...........................................................Ruth Aitken, Emma Bergman, Puck Bregstone, Peter McNally, ...........................................................................................Katelin Montgomery, Katie Pohlman,Josh Schmidt, ..............................................................................................Zoërose Waldrop, Hannah Weintraub, Sarah Wilson Copy Editors..........................................................................................................Paul B. Ellis, Rebecca Naimon Spanish Page Adviser....................................................................................................Dora N. Santiago-González Spanish Page Editor.........................................................................................................Kelly Ventura Spanish Page Writers...........................................Hector Barrera, Janett Encinas, Diana Ferreira, Anilu Martinez, ...................................................................................................Yessica Somoza, Claudia Quinonez, Heydi Urbina Editorial Board......................Claire Boston, Claire Koenig, Sebastian Medina-Tayac, Maggie Shi, Claire Sleigh Editorial Cartoonist...................................................................................................................................Julia Bates Managing Photo Editor...........................................................................................................Tolu Omokehinde Photographers............................................................................. Leah Hammond, Enoch Hsiao, Clare Lefebure ..................................................................................................................Ellie Musgrave, Leah Muskin-Pierret Managing Art Editors..............................................................................................Nathan Gamson, Doyung Lee Artists.............................................................................................................Julia Bates, Xixi Chen, Tatyana Gubin Sports Writers...............................................................................Emma Bergman, Brittany Cheng, Claire Koenig, ........................................................................................................Claire Sleigh, Hannah Weintraub, Sarah Wilson Professional Technical Adviser......................................................................................................Peter Hammond Adviser.............................................................................................................................................Joseph Fanning
For news, timing is everything Silver Chips should increase number of issues By Claire Sleigh The big story on the front page happened a week ago and the nailbiting playoff game went uncovered in the print edition. Papers sit unread for weeks on end because the school gets updated only every six weeks when each new issue of Silver Chips makes its way to English classes. Currently, Silver Chips puts out seven issues a year, which is fairly infrequent. It’s up to the editorial staff of Silver Chips to strike a balance between length and quality on the one hand, and timeliness and relevance on the other. Silver Chips print should consider shifting gears to a ten-issue paper to keep the readers up-to-date through more timely and relevant sports and news stories, and to establish a greater Silver Chips presence throughout Blair. In order for such an ambitious plan to work, we would have to change both the inner structure of Silver Chips staff and the way we relate to the community, specifically shifting focus to include more Blair-related news. While we do currently strive to make our news section Blair-specific, this is difficult when many of these focused stories are short-term, and irrelevant by the time we come out with new issue. In addition, because we come out so infrequently we are regularly obliged to cover important Montgomery County issues that may not impact the daily activities of the average Blazer. While this does add breadth to our coverage, it also compromises our ability to include more Blair-centric news
stories. If this change is realized news stories will have to be written in a different, more concise style, thus diversifying our notoriously dense news section.
Ombudsman Claire Sleigh Currently, Silver Chips Online has taken on the responsibility of covering the shorter, more Blairfocused news. If Print were to share this burden we would increase overlap in coverage between the two independant publications, enhancing cooperation and decreasing the likelihood of stepping on each other’s toes, which has been a major problem this year. One of the benefits of focusing our news section would be that we would have to dig deeper at the student level. While this does mean more work on our part, searching for news ideas within
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
An “elementary” character — the longevity and evolution of Sherlock Holmes explored
s
Baseball is back — what’s to come in the major league’s
s
News: Starr eliminates TerraNova assessment for second graders
Blair is doubly helpful because our ideas will be more relatable to our student audience, and will hopefully increase our readership. Silver Chips needs to encourage more outside input, whether in the form of story ideas or content critiques. Ideally, we would establish a presence within Blair that would encourage students and staff to email us regularly with constructive ideas and comments. Such a relationship exists in major national publications, which helps them to stay relevant to their public. Fostering such a culture at Blair will be challenging, but the job will be made easier if Silver Chips comes out more frequently. With a new issue of Silver Chips showing up in English classes every couple of weeks, people would pay more attention to the newspaper. Our current editorial staff has a great opportunity to lay the foundations for such a transformation. Though next year’s senior editing staff will be unusually small, we will be increasing the size of our junior staff to compensate. A larger staff will enable Silver Chips to run with an A-team and a B-team, with one in production while the other is writing and editing. In addition, the newspaper would be shorter in order to make up for the decreased time to produce it. Cuts would have to be made to both the entertainment and features sections, which would ensure that only the most in-depth and important stories end up in the paper. Email the Ombudsman at silver.chips. Ombudsman@gmail.com with any comments, questions or suggestions.
Scan the QR code with your smartphone to access Silver Chips Online.
silverCHIPS
PRO/CON 3
March 8, 2012
Should MCPS raise the high school dropout age from 16 to 18?
Claire Koenig
YES:
NO:
Raising the dropout age keeps students in school and off the streets.
Raising the dropout age only creates more rules and misses the root of the issue.
Nearly 1 million students every year don’t make it to graduation. According to a 2006 study by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 70 percent said they could have graduated if they had tried. 38 percent claimed that they had been given “too much freedom” in their decision. And today, 74 percent of high school dropouts wish they had stayed in school. The dropout epidemic sweeping the nation isn’t going to wipe itself out, and raising the dropout age will not be the be all and the end all solution. It is a necessary first step on a long road to ensure that students stay in school long enough to make the right decision for themselves. And as President Obama so aptly punned during the State of the Union address: “When students aren’t allowed to walk away from their education, more of them walk the stage to get their diploma.” The numbers don’t have to be drastic to make a difference. According to a study by Columbia University in 2005, if only one-third of high school dropouts were to earn a diploma, federal savings in reduced costs for food stamps, housing assistance and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families would amount to $10.8 billion annually. That’s a substantial sum — even when weighed against the potential costs involved in improving the system to get students to graduation in the first place. But frankly, raising the dropout age isn’t about erasing the national debt or improving American educational rankings — it’s about keeping individual people with bright futures in jobs and off the streets. And, statistically speaking, students dropping out early in order to find jobs to support themselves or their families won’t be doing anyone a favor. Studies from the Child Trends Databank show that the male employment rate for high school dropouts was about 52 percent, and female rates were as low as 38 percent in 2010. This is compared to 65 percent employment for high school graduates, and 84 percent employment for people with college degrees. Whereas these poor prospects apply to all students who leave school early, only 32 percent of dropouts cut out to find jobs, according to a report from The News Journal. The rest are victims of a poorly constructed education system that is failing to provide
for students who are in the red. They fell behind early on. They missed too many classes. They felt like their education was a waste of their time. But these shouldn’t be reasons why we let students give up on themselves. The issue is one of push and pull. There is little our schools can do about the pull
Reforming our educational system is vital to the health of the U.S., but the necessary change must be carried out with surgical precision. Instead of a sweeping mandate, we need to take precise measures to solve the problem. Raising the dropout age performs that surgery with a hacksaw, when it needs a scalpel.
PUCK BREGSTONE
factors taking students out of classes; like sick relatives or families in dire need of financial assistance. But the push factors, that is, issues within schools that are prompting students to decide that their futures would be better without a formal education, these are the ones that need to be corrected. We need to make schools meet student standards, to monitor students in danger of failure, to improve elementary education and guarantee that children are not left behind, to find a system that ensures that attendance is not the reason to ruin a student’s life. But in the meantime, before these reforms can be made, we need to keep kids in school.
Although some students do leave high school to pursue a serious career or to enroll in some sort of alternative education, many students dropout because of outside influences. “[Problems] start very early before students even come to school…it’s kind of hard to leave those things at home,” said Marty Buckenfield from the National Dropout Prevention Center. Instead of preventing students from wanting to dropout by providing them support, raising the dropout age diverts resources towards keeping students in a place where they do not want to be for two more years, further compromising their ability to learn. Raising the dropout age is insensitive to both students who want to withdraw from
Peter McNally
school and their peers who want to stay enrolled. According to the UCLA study, due to “strong motivational dispositions” that can develop over time, some students don’t want to be in school, and make it known by acting out. The study notes that this can seriously interrupt the learning process for all the students in the classroom. Disciplinary measures and other accommodations needed to deal with misbehaving students divert resources away from the actual learning. Raising the dropout age does not engage students; it only creates one more rule, increasing the rigidity of the system. Raising the dropout age is taking a blind swing at an issue that needs to be solved with more precise measures. “It sends the message that education is important,” said Buckenfield, “but that’s all it can do. It cannot solve the dropout problem.” In a time where our public schools are struggling to educate on tight budgets, we cannot implement such a broad policy that could push our school systems to spend more money just to send a message. Reform needs to be more specific and meaningful, and change needs to take place on every level, not just with students. “Dropout prevention is everyone’s problem, not just students…the change in behavior needs to come from the schools and the communities,” said Buckenfield. Instead of instituting a sweeping mandate, let’s work on making students confident that they deserve and are capable of receiving a good education. This includes reforming the way we hire and fire teachers, making curricula more specified to the needs of students, abandoning one-size-fitsall policies and offering more outside-theclassroom support for struggling students. These are only some of the measures that need to be taken in order to improve our schooling system. Changing the legal dropout rage is only addressing a single symptom of the multitude of more serious problems that our educational systems face. In order to achieve real and lasting solutions, we need to dig deeper and determine why our students are dropping out in the first place. By simply raising the dropout age and legally binding students to the schooling system for a few more years, we are diverting our time, our resources and our energy to the wrong place.
voiceBOX “Yes. Some people aren’t mature enough to make adult decisions.” -senior Nathanael Tessema
-junior Thomas McHale
“It should be raised because by that age kids know what they want.”
“No. But there should be more options than academic tracks”
“I don’t think you should waste money on kids who don’t want to be here.”
-senior Abigail Ostriker
-sophomore Micahyas Akama
“If it makes things better, there shouldn’t be a dropout age at all.”
-senior Alex Luong
4 OPINION
silverCHIPS
March 8, 2012
For skill evaluations, teaching goes beyond the test Student test scores should not be the primary determinant of a teacher’s merit
By Leah Muskin-Pierret An opinion We’ve all had that teacher. The teacher who falls asleep in class more often than their students. The teacher who lectures more about their family than their subject. The sad anachronism “those who can’t do teach” should be a rude joke, but sadly it too often rings true. Even our star-studded, nationally-praised school district of Montgomery County has a few bad apples, and it’s in the interest of all students and teachers to be rid of them. But how? The Obama administration’s solution to improving education, Race to the Top, has prompted something more like a Scramble for the Funding in Maryland. While a great effort, the criteria of the education funding program has county educators and legislators in a fix – in order to qualify for the grants, a large part of the teacher firing system would need to be based on student test scores. Nancy Grimick, Maryland superintendent of schools, has proposed that 50 percent of teacher evaluation be based on student standardized test improvement. It’s a proposal that is intended to get serious about eliminating bad teaching practices. But to say that the proposal is controversial might be putting it lightly. “Insanity” was the way social studies teacher Mary Lou Thornton described the proposal. English resource teacher Vickie Adamson seconded that, saying, “It’s a ridiculous thing.” They have a point: test scores are a terribly unreliable indicator of teacher quality. The problem is in attribution; teaching is a school-wide effort, and one teacher’s struggle to raise scores is not necessarily indicative of their personal failure to teach. Thornton asked the crucial credit question, ”Does one teacher own
one student’s test results?” Failures to raise scores could be a result of a changing student body, problems in prerequisite classes or countless other factors. Moreover, an onlevel student’s future education might be changed dramatically by the good graces of a miracle-working teacher who sparks an interest in learning. However, as Adamson explains, “Those students may not show measurable growth in a short period of time.” Arbitrarily declaring half of a teacher’s merit based on their test scores overlooks the intricacies that comprise good or bad teaching. But that doesn’t mean inept teachers are always difficult to identify. Some teachers are just plain bad. Blair math teacher John Giles admits, “Everyone at the school knows who the good and bad teachers are.” Yet even if a teacher is universally acknowledged to be incompetent, it can take years before they are shown the door. Most teacher layoffs have to do with seniority, not merit. However, the worst of the worst tenured teachers can be removed through a laborious but occasionally successful teacher improvement system called Peer Assistance and Review (PAR). By reforming this program, MCPS could improve the quality of its teaching staff. When a tenured teacher is judged low performing by a principal, she is put into the PAR system. The teacher is assigned a Consulting Teacher, a master educator who mentors the teacher for up to two
years. Each year, PAR teachers are brought before a panel of eight teachers and eight principals, who decide if mentoring has improved the teacher, or if they must be shown the door. Thornton was on the panel for six years, and believes that the process’s
greatest advantage is the large body of evidence taken into consideration, including observations of the consulting teacher and testimonies from coworkers. She says test scores typically would comprise 20 to 30 percent of the evaluation process, far less than Grimick’s recommended 50 percent. PAR’s wide berth and focus on teacher improvement has won it national praise,
from the New York Times to the Harvard Graduate School of Education. But some of PAR’s magic may be all talk, as the skeptical Giles points out. Giles believes that teacher improvement can be a mirage. He says that those who pass through PAR, “Aren’t better at their job, they just beat the system.” Though he’s not sure how to reform the system entirely, he does note that it simply takes too long to fire a teacher. The PAR process is so drawn out that most administrators would rather transfer the problem teacher to another school. Thornton questions the commitment of administrators to PAR. In a district of over 10,000 teachers, fewer than 50 STELLA BARTHOLET tenured teachers are referred to the PAR program annually. Thornton would like to see the bottom 10 percent of teachers going through PAR, which would require an exponential expansion of the program. Compromising on teacher quality has real consequences for students. MCPS officials should reform the PAR system to best benefit the school system, instead of just padding their resumes.
Flush dignity down the toilet: inside the bowels of Blair Bathrooms are made treacherous and disgusting by a determined band of vandals By Sebastian Medina-Tayac Humor in first person This article begins with an anecdote, and this anecdote begins with an awkward freshman sitting on the toilet. It was November of 2008, and I was about to be baptized by the cruel fires of the SAC bathroom. Two rowdy upperclassmen skipped in, and I frantically lifted up my feet and leaned forward to hold the stall door closed. They heard. “Who’s in that stall?!” called one, coming over to the door. “No one,” said I, with a pubescent crack in my voice. “What’re you doing?” shouted the other, gleefully sticking his finger through the hole in the door where the lock used to be. “N-nothing,” I stammered, stuffing a wad of toilet paper into the hole. He started beating on the thin door. “What’s up, son?” “Please, sir, leave me alo—” I heard the sound of Nikes on cheap porcelain in the neighboring stall. Following a brief moment of suspense, a jubilant face poked up over the side partition. They ran out hollering with laughter, and my mortified clenching gave way to silent tears of shame. I am not alone in facing such indignities at the hands of a persistent band of hooligans intent on traumatizing anyone who enters the bathrooms, undoing the hard work of our building services staff. It is time for us hygienic Blazers to take a stand. The bathroom should be
sacred: at home, it is a procrastinating tool, an excuse not to take out the trash and a private place to call your friends. So it should be at school: a break from a test, a rest from PE and a comfortable
social place. Instead, using the bathroom is downright terrifying. Must it be this way? Can we not be civil? I truly believe that most of us can be, but there is strong evidence of intentional sabotage. Vulgar, grammatically unsound and insulting, the graffiti is an agent of the bathroom’s power to make us feel so vulnerable in so brutal a place. Since we left-wing hippies are in the habit of blaming all of our country’s woes on our failure to emulate Northern European countries, I’d like to cite Terri Mapes of About: Scandinavia Travel, who writes that public toilets in Norway often have Scandinavian-themed murals on the
walls. I’m not asking that Blair’s “artists” key in a fresco of the voyages of Leif Eriksson, but perhaps they could try for some more accuracy; “mentally challenged” is the politically correct term, the phone number 301-FUNTIME is not in service and I don’t think Darby will ever know how much you love her if you write it in the boys’ bathroom. But this is just one of the most dramatic examples. Worse yet are all the small things that make your day just that much worse DOYUNG LEE — gum on the floor, no paper towels in the dispenser (but a bajillion dry ones in the trash), stagnant fluids in the sink. Maybe some Blazers are just accidentally gross. A chewed-up hamburger shoved in the toilet paper dispenser was evidence enough to confirm my suspicion that some people actually eat in the stall. How lonely does one have to be? It’s gross and…. counterproductive. Another way to explain the perpetual disgustingness of the bathroom is what a psychologist would call “following microsocietal norms,” when humans see actions as acceptable when others do them. In the case of Blair bath-
rooms, this creates a vicious cycle. The other day, I had to dodge the sprinkles of a student who was intentionally going on the floor, with the feeble rationalization that “there was some on the ground already.” To combat such behavior, as resourceful young adults, most Blazers have developed bathroom survival techniques. We have learned that a backpack leaned against the door and a wad of toilet paper in the perverted twoway “peephole” is as good as the
lock that’s not there. We have learned that seat cleanliness is not to be trusted to the cheap singleply toilet paper, but to the heavyduty sandpaper towels, which act as a satisfactory rump shield. In the end, I want to thank the majority of Blazers who do their best— those who did hold it long enough to go in or around the toilet; who went outside to wash the dog feces off their Uggs; who didn’t insult my anatomy in their graffiti. One day, we will all learn how to act like human beings.
Art Corner Welcome to the Art Corner — a space where Silver Chips artists share their perspective on the issues of the day, or simply show off a piece of art they have been working on.
NATHAN GAMSON
silverCHIPS
OPINION 5
March 8, 2012
Restrictions are the driving force behind safe roads The Maryland GLS is said to decrease teen death rates, but it is far from perfect By Puck Bregstone An opinion In a recent study, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recorded and analyzed the deaths of teens in the age range of 16-19 in order to access the effectiveness of the Graduated Licensing System (GLS). According to their findings, after the implementation of the GLS, states have suffered 1,348 fewer fatal automobile accidents with 16-year-olds behind the wheel. But in the same period of time 1,086 more 18-year-olds have been killed behind the wheel. In July 1999 the state of Maryland, as part of an increasing trend, adopted the GLS, hailing it as the cure for the terrible epidemic of fatal car crashes involving teens that plagues the country. The GLS puts in place a series of hurdles that teens must overcome to receive drivers licenses essentially mandating that new drivers be a year or two older. Since its implementation, the GLS was credited with a 30% drop in highway fatalities among teens. The flaw here, according to the new JAMA paper, is that older studies focused only on 16-year-olds, while the JAMA report studies all fatalities for ages 16 through 19. The GLS has still saved 262 lives, according to JAMA, but by looking at the entire age cohort it seems the fatalities have simply shifted to a slightly higher age. The GLS is not fulfilling its promise. The GLS can be much improved through parental involvement, stricter laws regarding to passengers and a more correctional attitude taken by
members of the courts. The GLS laws’ are successful because parents view the system as a series of unimportant of guidelines to follow in teaching their children how to drive. But according to the New Jersey Teen Safe Driving Coalition, teens that are monitored by their parents after receiving their provisional licenses are 50 percent less likely to get in a crash, 71 percent less likely to drive while intoxicated and 50 percent more likely to wear a seatbelt. Dennis Bonn, a retired police officer and driving instructor at Greg’s Driving School, says one thing he would add to the GLS would be a requirement for parents to come to the first day of driving school. “All parents are invited to
every lesson in driving school, and even to the in-car instruction time, but in my 10 years of teaching only a few have ever shown up,” says Bonn. In Connecticut they have done exactly what Bonn suggested and according to the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles, crashes are down by 28 percent. For teen drivers, taking along a single passenger can raise the risk of a crash by 50 percent, according to the NJ Driving Coalition. In ELIZA WAPNER Maryland, provisional stage license holders are not allowed to have other teens in their car for the first five months, but after that there are no restrictions on passengers. Pennsylvania
has recently implemented a new measure in which if a new driver completes the first six months of the provisional stage flawlessly they are allowed to carry three non-family passengers. Maryland should adopt the same policy but expand it to increase safety benefits. After six months of driving with a provisional license, a driver with a ticketless record should be given the opportunity to take another skills test to receive the privilege of being able to have three nonfamily passengers. When a driver who has not received his/her full license is cited for a moving violation, often the judge will go easy on them with a sentence of probation “before judgment.” This essentially means that the judge makes a deal with the driver telling him/her that if they don’t get a ticket for the next 6 months, the consequences of the original ticket will be expunged. Judges do this because the penalties for a moving violation are so severe — For a seat belt violation, a driver still in the early phases of the GLS is subject to an extra nine months for the permit or five months for the first stage provisional. But judicial leniency is a foil to legislative over-bearing and new drivers are not learning the consequences of violating driving laws. The GLS is a step forward. The laws are certainly saving lives, but as the JAMA study reveals, more needs to be done. The MVA reports that 30 people each day, on average, are injured or killed as a result of a young Maryland driver. Simply moving fatalities from 16-year-olds to 18-year-olds was never the GLS’s goal. We must revisit this system to increase long term benefits.
Here today, loan tomorrow: debts plague hopeful students Current laws on student loans are too aggressive and threaten our futures By Maggie Shi An opinion Every year come spring, antsy seniors sit at their computers with shaking hands, daring themselves to peek at their dream schools’ admission decisions. If they’re lucky, it ends with a glance at a gratifying “congratulations,” accompanied by a glorious rush of relief. However, once the euphoria passes, reality sinks in: how will they pay for it? Student loans have an alluring Sirens’ call to students and families: “No need to pay until you graduate,” they coax; “You’re making an investment in yourself,” they promise; and most importantly, they whisper into our eager ears, “We can make your dream school possible.” It seems like an irresistible offer. But lately, student loans come with more complications than they are worth. The evolution of the once-innocent student loan has created a dangerous and manipulative leech that takes not only our money but challenges our dignities as well. Student loans are crippling young people across the United States. According to the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA), national student debt, at over $1 trillion, has exceeded national credit card debt. College graduates in the class of 2010 owe on average $25,250, and parents owe $34,000. Most loans are spread out over a decades-long repayment period, meaning the amount paid back is almost twice the size of the original loan — a $40,000 loan paid back over more than ten years could end up costing over $80,000. As tuition costs rise and unemployment stays high, there is
a much greater risk that a college graduate will struggle to pay off loans. According to U.S. Department of Education, 25 percent of government student loans default (meaning students haven’t made payments for nine months), and in community colleges and two-year colleges the rates are 30 percent and 40 percent, respectively. Even at the height of the subprime mortgage crisis, the default rates were at 25 percent. So while student loans are technically useful in that they help students further their educations, there is something amiss about the system if so many students and parents are failing to make their payments. Student loans are essentially debt traps. They are nondischargeable, meaning they are not expunged when one declares bankruptcy. Before 1976, students in financial hardship could ask to be released from their debt by declaring bankruptcy. Then in 1976, Congress added a five-year waiting period before bankruptcy could be declared on loans from the government or non-profit schools. In 2005, Congress extended this, making it impossible declare bankruptcy on any student loan, public or private.
This is strange, considering almost all other debt, like credit card debt, is dischargeable. By making only student loans nondischargeable, the government is sending out the message that reckless shopping sprees and spending without abandon are fine, but trying to afford a higher education is apparently unforgivable. If anything, student loans should be the most easily dischargeable of debts, not one of the most difficult. Nobody wants to resort to bankruptcy, but there still needs to be a safety net in place for those in real financial hardship. Another peculiar feature of student loans is that they lack a statute of limitations — debt collectors can hound students and their families indefinitely.
Coupled with the inability to declare bankruptcy, this means that overdue debt, collector’s fees and compounding interest can build up for decades. Once locked in, it becomes a vicious cycle with no way out. But what really hits home is that the only other crimes without statutes of limitations are those punishable by death — felonies like murder and treason. Murder and student debt are clearly not on the same level, but because they both lack statutes of limitations, both can haunt you for a lifetime. One of the easiest ways to restore justice to students would simply be to reinstate a statute of limitations on student loan collections, at least giving students and parents the peace of mind that
their debts won’t follow them to their deathbeds. Granted, Obama made some strides last year in reforming student loans by allowing consolidation of loans and promoting consumer awareness before students sign decade-long deals. While these changes do assuage the situation slightly, he and Congress have yet to fix the two biggest problems: bankruptcy and the statute of limitations. Without doing so, the insurmountable student debt will only get worse. The government shouldn’t turn a blind eye to the blatant injustice dealt to students. We need loan forgiveness programs, scholarships and incentives for schools to lower tuition. Instead of bailing out banks, the government should be bailing out the next generation.
XIXI CHEN
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SOAPBOX
March 8, 2012
Blazers speak out Do you often go to City Place Mall? Why or why not?
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Do you think the SSL requirement is reasonable? Why or why not?
see story, CENTERSPREAD see story, page 8
“I do often go to City Place Mall because I love going out to eat there. Like the Panera Bread, the Blue Pearl, and I also love going to the movies there too.” -senior Cyndy Rosales
“I do not think the SSL requirement is reasonable because kids would be rewarded for doing service when they’re not rewarded.” -sophomore Ruby Taylor
“No, because it’s terrible, there’s no stores there. If it had some decent clothing stores I might go there. Also the food court is terrible.” -junior Simon Amato
“Yes, I think it’s reasonable because it gives back to the community and it’s not hard to do.” -senior Jamie Kator
“I go there to get candy before movies because it’s much cheaper.” -sophomore Hallie Richie
“Not exactly, because most students don’t exactly have the time on their hands to complete those hours.” -sophomore Mike Lievano
“No, because they don’t have any big stores, and their food court is dry.” -junior Muma Banerjee
ART BY NATHAN GAMSON
“Volunteering is a lot of fun and without the requirement, I wouldn’t have done it. Depending on where you volunteer, you get different views on things. It’s about finding a place you enjoy and it makes you feel good.” -senior David Chow
“There aren’t enough good stores and it’s not very fun.” -sophomore Melissa Arias
What is your favorite sports movie? Why? see story, page 31
Do you think that the provisional license system is fair? Why or why not? see story, page 5
“I feel my favorite sports movie is probably ‘The Longest Year’ with Adam Sandler as the main character. I feel this way because it is a really funny movie. -senior Margueritte Hond
“Yes, the provisional license system is fair, people my age want to have a car to make moves.” -senior Julio Ferrufino
“‘Talledega Nights.’ If you can make NASCAR exciting then your movie is terrific.” -sophomore Mattan Berner - Kadish
“I think the provisional license system is unfair. One reason is because if you demonstrated that you can drive, you should be able to go any where.” -senior Nicolas Gomez-Sanchez
“‘Game’ is my favorite sports movie because the story is about a little girl that spent summer vacation with her football player dad. It’s really sweet seeing them coming together.” -senior Yeimy Portillo
“It’s good for our kids because it makes them better drivers, more responsible. Most kids aren’t responsible till they are older so it’s just better for everyone. It makes the roads safer.” -sophomore Ernest Ekunseitan
“‘The Blind Side’ because although it is about sports, it also has an interesting plot and is heart-warming.” -sophomore Fiona Lachman “My favorite sports movie is called ‘Gangland.’ I like this movie because it inspires teens. This movie is talking about troubled teens that end up in juvie where they meet their colleagues with the same problems and later on they help them overcome their troubles by playing football.” -senior Adamatu Komora
What new album are you most looking forward to coming out? Why? see story, page 25 “One album is ‘God Forgives and I Don’t’ by Rick Ross because his mixtape ‘Rich Forever’ was nice and Rick Ross is one of my favorite rappers.” -senior Kevin Dupalis “Justin Bieber’s ‘Believe’ album. Bieber is turning 18 (or already is by now) and I want to hear what type of music he created now, at this age.” -sophomore Stela Bandicto “I’m looking forward to a new album by the band Hey Ocean!. I loved how smooth their last album was.” -sophmore Liam Lewter
chipsINDEX 0 13 150 1
Amount of money that has been cut from Blair’s budget in the past year
Number of club sports at Blair
Number of countries that currently have U.S. military bases Million albums need to be sold for a record to be considered “platinum”
17.6 248.8 50 22
Percentage of Blazers who are registered to vote Million dollars made “The Blind Side” the top-grossing sports movie of all time Percentage of a teacher’s evaluation that would be based off of student test scores under MD Superintendent’s proposal Number of students in Iron Sharpens Iron
Chips Index compiled by Katelin Montgomery with additional reporting by Sabrina Bradford, Caroline Gabriel, Issac Jiffar, Cindy Monge Herrera, Chala Tshitundu and Angelina Yu.
Quote of the Issue
“ ” “No one in politics is as good as they seem, or as bad as they seem.” junior Tommy Raskin
see POLITICS, page 13
8 Seniors scramble for SSL NEWS
By Katie Pohlman The counseling office is mailing letters, making phone calls and sending emails to teachers, students and parents to make sure seniors who are missing Student Service Learning (SSL) hours get them. As of Feb. 10, roughly 30 percent of the class of 2012 did not meet the minimum number of hours needed to graduate, and about 20 to 30 students need 10 hours or less to do so. Resource Counselor Marcia Johnson said the 198 seniors are between one hour and 30 hours short of meeting the SSL graduation requirement. In December, the number stood at 238. She said that the counseling office sends out letters to the students and their parents and will soon begin making phone calls to them as well. As counselors meet with the seniors, they find that the reasons for the missing SSL hours vary. Johnson said that major causes include students forgetting to turn in the Student Service Learning Activity Verification form, underestimating the number of hours they had left and having issues with transferring hours from different schools. Transfer students often face the problem of coming from a school that
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requires fewer or no SSL hours. Along with letters and phone calls, Johnson said that 12th grade Administrator Andrew Coleman will meet with groups of students to remind them to get their hours in. The seniors are told that if they do not meet their SSL requirement by spring break, they will not be able to pick up their graduation caps and gowns. But Johnson is confident that those on the list will all graduate this year. “We never had a senior not graduate because of their hours. They always get them before then,” she said. However, most students are still anxious about getting the remaining hours STELLA BARTHOLET they need. S e n i o r Noorel Syarief, who needs 30 hours, is among those concerned about meeting the requirement in time. “I am very worried about getting the hours before graduation,” he said. Like many other seniors, he uses the MBHS Class of 2012 Facebook page for advice on getting the required hours. Other than a warning letter, he said he has not received much help from the school. Syarief wishes the school would help him out more. “I need immediate information and help on how I could earn them,” he said.
Gay marriage bill passed
Maryland legislature legalizes same-sex marriage By Hannah Weintraub
Maryland governor Martin O’Malley signed the same-sex marriage bill into law on Thursday, giving gay couples the right to marry in Maryland. Blair’s GSA was in full support of the bill. GSA co-president, junior Allison Goodman, said that the bill indicates a new wave of tolerance for gay people in the nation. “The government is saying that kids growing up in a same-sex household should have the same rights as me with heterosexual parents. It’s a good message of tolerance for gay people in America,” she said. Gay Blazers are also glad that marriage is now a prospective option for them just like their heterosexual peers. “It’s very exciting,” says senior Alex Rittman. “I’m gay, so it’s great that I COURTESY OF ASSOCIATED PRESS have the potential in the future to marry someone if I want.” Governor Martin O’Malley signed the bill Before same-sex marriage was legal- legalizing same-sex marriage in Maryland ized in Maryland, gay couples could last Thursday. only enter into civil unions with each other. According to the Human Rights The legalization of same-sex marriage Campaign (HRC), a gay rights activist came amidst fierce debate and opposition group, couples in civil unions are denied from black churches and organizations many rights that married couples receive, such as the Maryland Marriage Allegiance including Social Security benefits and fa- (MMA). The groups believe that allowing milial health insurance coverage. In addi- same-sex couples to marry degrades the tion, although same-sex marriages will be sanctity of marriage and infringes on an legal and recognized in Maryland, these institution’s right to oppose same-sex coumarriage licenses might not be recognized ples. “When same-sex marriage is equated in other states. with marriage between a man and a womFor Blazers with same-sex parents, the an, then it becomes ‘illegal,’ so to speak, to bill will allow their families to receive the have a differing belief and to act on that besame benefits as families with heterosexual lief,” said Derek McCoy and Julia Vidmar, parents. Freshman Elia Tzoukerman said executives of the MMA. the bill will help her two mothers. “The Opposition groups like the Maryland bill is going to help them with taxes and Republicans are planning on initiating a refbenefits. It’ll make a big difference because erendum for the bill, which would let Marythey’ll be seen as one couple, not different landers vote on the bill during November’s people in the same household,” she said. election.
Maryland approves new regulations on GT programs Students and teachers express opinions on gifted and talented labeling in schools from GT page 1 counties lacking preexisting GT programs and prevent school systems with GT programs from radically changing or eliminating them. According to Dana Tofig, public information director for MCPS, the new policy will not profoundly affect MCPS students, where GT programs have existed for decades. Although these regulations may have little effect on Blair students, the discussion has lit fire to this controversial debate about tracking in MCPS. Former Blair social studies teacher and Montgomery County Education Forum (MCEF) Executive Director George Vlasits wrote a petition against the regulations on behalf of the MCEF. Many Blair teachers signed the petition, and Students for Global Responsibility (SGR) signed the petition as a group before Vlasits submitted it to MSDE on Feb. 21. The petition argued against documenting advanced learning behaviors in PreK to second grade and providing separate services to these students during the school day. In the petition, Vlasits requested the State BOE to suspend the approval of the regulations until data on its effect on students could be thoroughly analyzed. “There is a tremendous negative impact on those not identified, as well as on those who are identified, because they are faced with unreasonable expectations,” he said. As a former Blair teacher and SGR sponsor, Vlasits has worked
extensively to end tracking in MCPS. Vlasits believes that GT programs in elementary schools create an achievement gap in high school by keeping students fixed on a certain academic track, deepening divisions between students of different races and socioeconomic statuses. He promotes heterogeneous classes — ones that include both low-achieving and high-achieving students, which he believes will challenge students who are falling behind, while strengthening the knowledge of students who are far ahead. “A rising tide lifts all boats,” he said. Senior Shayna Solomon, an SGR member, also opposes the regulations, arguing that they widen the divisions already forged by socioeconomic status. “There’s always going to be some degree of that — that financially stable students will always have the advantage, it’s a sad fact of life. But it’s really sad if you’re enforcing that,” she said. Although she opposes the regulations, Solomon believes that the detracking initiative needs improvement. As a fourth grader, Solomon was placed in a sixth grade reading class, but when the school attempted to detrack the following year, her reading level was lowered to fifth grade. “I feel like detracking can be a good idea if we take a real commitment to the ideology,” she said. “It’s about mixing the people, not about lowering the level of information,” she said. While Vlasits is disappointed that the MSDE passed these regulations, he remains determined in
his mission. “Not clear yet how we will proceed, but we view this as a setback, but not the end of effort to detrack schools in Montgomery County,” he said. Psychology teacher Margaret Jessell, who helped circulate the petition at Blair, believes that GT
INFORMATION COURTESY OF MCPS
programs can have a negative impact on students’ expectations for themselves. Jessell believes that GT programs emphasize learning information quickly rather than working hard until the learning is achieved. “A lot of kids believe that they need to get things quick-
MAUREEN LEI
ly and if not, they shouldn’t work hard,” she said. “It sends a message early on to kids — you need to be able to grasp the concepts quickly.” Sophomore Jared Collina, who agrees with Vlasits’ initiative, believes that heterogeneous classes spread opportunities to all students. “I think everyone should have an equal chance. Our school is divided between people who aren’t in programs and people who are and some students feel that they’re not as good as others.” On the other hand, senior Elizabeth Torres believes that advanced classes are necessary and that not all students should take them. “They do help you think beyond the surface level. Some people don’t get in because they don’t want to push themselves or just because they’re not able to do it,” she said. Junior Cassie Flores believes that heterogeneous classrooms have a negative impact on those who are lagging behind. She believes that it would be more difficult to learn with more advanced students. “I wouldn’t want to be in a class with people who are above my level,” she said. “If we had one level, it wouldn’t be fair to people who are faster or more advanced. Some people would be bored and some people would fall behind.” Sophomore Jacob Harris agrees, describing that homogeneous classes allow students to learn at their own pace. “Kids who are not as smart as others should learn slower. When it’s slower, they can learn more, and that’s good.”
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NEWS
March 8, 2012
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Errors delay Silver Spring Transit SGA makes changes Center construction indefinitely Class representation increased By Zoërose Waldrop Construction of the new Silver Spring Transit Center has been delayed indefinitely until the concrete slabs fall within acceptable margins of error allowed by county regulations. The project was authorized to begin in October 2008 by the Montgomery County Planning Commission and was intended to be completed in fall 2011. As of February, the project’s completion estimate had been labeled “indeterminate” without an assessment as to when the now three-and-a-half-year-long project will be completed. According to Don Scheuerman, Jr., chief of the Project Management Section for Montgomery County, the future of the project remains unknown. “As of now we haven’t even made a full assessment,” he said. The concrete building slabs have been determined to be both too thick in some areas and too thin in others. “When pouring concrete there is a margin of error that the concrete can fall within,” Scheuerman said. The margin is approximately three inches too thick and a quarter inch too thin. For the transit center, approximately 42 percent exceeds thickness and 21 percent is not thick enough to support the structure properly. The new Transit Center is designed to contain approximately 32 bus bays, a bike storage facility and 20 short-term parking spaces for commuter pick-ups and drop-
offs. The project also includes accommodations for the Metropolitan Branch bike trail that will pass next to the facility. T h e years of construction at the Silver Spring MetELLIE MUSGRAVE ro station l o c a t i o n The Transit Center was once set to open in have made 2011, but the project has been delayed again. it complicated for commuters to use Metro, students, as Silver Spring is the forcing buses to drop them off two closest Metro stop to Blair. blocks away from the station in a Junior Maya Davis has experinearby parking lot. Having to re- enced the difficulties from ongoing locate bus services (approximately construction. “The lack of a drop 135 buses an hour) two blocks off station has definitely made it away for the duration of construc- more complicated to use the metro tion is one of the several challenges station,” she said. Davis also felt that the project has faced, accord- that the many changes from ongoing to Thomas R. Robinson, Jr., ing construction has had a deterchief engineer of infrastructure for rent effect. “I don’t take buses to the Washington Metropolitan Area or from the Silver Spring Metro Transit Authority. Other challeng- station anymore because I don’t es the transit center faced, were know where to find the correct constructing in an urban environ- buses,” she said. ment with work buildings nearby The Foulger-Pratt Company and building a structure that was continues to work on the project. a complex design and created to According to Scheuerman, reparamore easily allow for future devel- tion is still possible. “We are still opment of the site. currently working on in-site civil The new system of drop-offs issues: the aspects around the and pick-ups has affected many building.”
from SGA page 1 rights and responsibilities. In five minutes, all of the recycling bins are full with that same book,” he said. Weldon said that the SGA felt
a Senate but that doesn’t exist at Blair,” he said. The SGA has also been working on technological reforms: creating a new and improved website, and developing social
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its constitution was no longer upto-date and did not accurately describe its current-day function within Blair. “One of our goals from these reforms is to make the SGA constitution represents what the SGA is actually doing,” she said. According to Ongoly, the SGA’s previous constitution was outdated and designed for an older version of Blair. “The old constitution was a photograph of the past. We had provisions for
networking tools to reach out more efficiently to Blair students, according to Ongoly. The SGA currently has accounts on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. According to Ongoly, the SGA wanted to focus more on the Blair community and revised the constitution so it would reflect that same goal. “We don’t just want to be party planners. The SGA is an umbrella organization that serves to represent students and the Blair community,” he said.
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MCPS Board of Education Iron Sharpens Iron launched presents preliminary budget Leadership program targets Latino males By Srividya Murthy from BUDGET page 1 $2.16 billion recommended budget. If this budget is not modified, it will be a two percent increase above the FY2012 budget. The recommended budget will satisfy conditions set by the Maintenance of Effort (MOE) law, which requires counties to spend the same amount per student from one year to the next. Montgomery County
has not met MOE for the past three years resulting in cuts of state funding. The Board has tried hard over the years to maintain MOE, but the Council has failed to approve adequate amounts of funding, said Board member Phil Kauffman. The
Council has decided to fund other projects of the budget instead of attempting to maintain MOE, he said. The BOE is also attempting to move the penalty of not meeting MOE away from the school system. “As a board we are going to ask the state legislature to look at moving the penalty for noncompliance away from the school system,” Xie said. MCPS may not receive the full amount proposed by the BOE because of their not following MOE. The state may withhold $26.2 million in aid. The BOE and Starr wish to have a larger budget to help cover employee benefits. Teachers have not had a salary raise in three years the MCPS teachers is a high priority for the Board. “It’s important we reward teachers. It’s out though that it is important to compensate [the teachers],” Kauffman said. Xie agrees that it is a fiscal priority for the Board to give back to its many employees. “It’s a really big goal of ours to ensure that we can budget money to all of our staff. They’ve all given a lot to our school system,” Xie said. A level of uncertainty exists concerning Governor Martin O’Malley’s (D) proposal to move state pension costs to loMAUREEN LEI cal governments. Kauffman says that the BOE is unsure what will happen and that if something is changed it will force the BOE to think differently and redo the budget. If this occurs, MCPS will have even less money to work with than already.
Assistant Principal Dirk Cauley and Blair Sports Academy director Jose Segura have piloted a leadership program, Iron Sharpens Iron, to empower male Latino students at Blair. The program consists of 22 students from all grades, programs and levels who convene weekly to build leadership qualities and discuss issues they face in their academic and personal lives. “We wanted to create a leadership development group for students with extremely good leadership potentials that were recognized by teachers, with a focus on trying to develop high school young men,” said Cauley. Cauley said that there is a heightened need to encourage leadership among Latino students, the largest racial subgroup at Blair. This year, almost 28 percent of students enrolled at Blair are Latino. Cauley is concerned that the largest population at Blair also has the highest ineligibility rate and the lowest graduation rate in the school. Iron Sharpens Iron is designed to reduce this gap in achievement. Cauley created the group based on models he found successful at previous schools at which he worked, including Argyle and Kennedy. Students participating in Iron Sharpens Iron were selected by Blair staff members who nominated Latino male students with leadership potential. The group has met weekly since Feb. 10 in the Career Center, and it will continue to meet until May 10.
During several meetings, Latino members of the community are invited to speak to students about issues that they face. “It gives them opportunities to see professional, successful Latino men,” said Cauley. “These people want to speak to them and to motivate, to inspire them to become leaders in community.” The group’s name is an analogy to the sharpening of a knife. “These are young men that are strong and going to work together to make themselves sharper and better,” said Cauley. Each of the topics discussed begins with a letter of the acronym “Iron Sharpens Iron.” In addition to efforts to integrate Latino students, Assistant Principal Alicia Deeny is striving to promote more Latino parent involvement at Blair. Deeny said that Latino parent attendance at PTSA meetings is poor, and she wants to ensure that these parents become more involved in their students’ academic lives. “We want to make Blair a place where Hispanics can be more successful,” she said. In early February, Deeny spoke at a PTSA-sponsored meeting with 40 to 50 Latino parents at Blair. At the meeting, parents discussed aspects of Blair that they liked and disliked, as well as their goals for their students, including graduation. “We want to make Latino parents feel that they are part of this school. I was excited to hear what they had to share. That is valuable info to improve the school in general,” Deeny said.
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Meet the Candidates The election for MCPS Student Member of the Board, SMOB, is April 25. Get Reporting by Maureen Lei Art by Julia Bates to know the candidates, Lissette Escobar and John Mannes. and Doyung Lee
What new initiatives do you plan on introducing? ESCOBAR: I want more students involved in helping out the student advisory council. I would definitely start by making videos myself about information on board meetings ó SMOB voice clips that I could send out to schools to play on their morning announcements, and Iíd like to install regular communication so that students can follow that and I can lay out the base for the next SMOBs. Iíd like to establish communication with school newspapers, and have an email list with them so I can send out little paragraphs on whatís happening or how students can actually come and help out.
Why do you think you were nominated? ESCOBAR: I feel I was nominated because of the points I brought up. I know what we can actually change and what we canít change. Double-A exemption is not going to happen. As much as we want it to, itís not going to happen. Itís reality. For example, we just got cell phones available during lunch, and I want to expand that to the middle schoolers, but I know itís not going to just take one year. Itíll take a few years, but we need someone to speak up and take that first step.
How will you communicate with students? ESCOBAR: I will have up a Facebook page and a Twitter page up shortly. I will also be communicating with several schools ó as many as I can via email, phone. Iíd also like to go to their schools directly. In the next two months Iíd like to show people that I am devoted to the student body. Iíd like to make a calendar to see if I can go cluster by cluster to different schools.
Is there anything you would like us to know?
ESCOBAR: Iím grateful that you contacted me, that Blair is involved and interested in our next student member. I was like, ì Wow, this newspaper is on top of its stuffî . Iím happy that Blair is interested in the student voice and how itís represented.
Lisette Escobar S c ho o l : R i c h a r d M o nt g o m e r y Grade: 11
What issues do you think MCPS students care about? MANNES: I would say the two big issues this year based on the students Iíve spoke with have been, well, number one for middle school students is cell phones during lunch for them, and for me it seems like a no brainer to lobby for that. To high school students I think weíre still not satisfied with the attendance intervention policy the way it is. I think there is still a lot of work to be done there.
What are you going to do for Blair? MANNES: Blair is a fantastic school...Iím very in support of your programs and bussing. I feel itís only right for me to make sure I visit as many schools as possible, and I look forward to coming to Blair and speaking to as many students as possible, and I hope theyíre as passionate as I am.
What are your weaknesses? Be honest. MANNES: Can I say something like lack of sleep? I think my weaknesses are shared with all the students in Montgomery County. We all donít get enough sleep, and that impacts us later in the day. Sleep is a necessity and thatís something I found out during my time campaigning for SMOB.
What’s your Analysis of the job Alan did? MANNES: Alan did a great job over his past two years being SMOB. It takes a lot being able to serve for two continuous years, and it doesnít come without a lot of successes, but a lot of challenges come from that as well. One thing he did well was that he got cell phones for high school students...that was a major success for him to be able to get that. Also, he really did bring in a pretty diverse crowd this year for SMOB council...I would like to visit even more schools than he visited.
John Mannes
School : Northw e st Gra de : 1 1
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SPECIALS
Politics and parenting
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hotos of the Obama shirts, pass out flyers and go with him family are plastered on to speaking events,” she says. campaign buttons, Rick Junior Tommy Raskin often perSantorum’s twenty-year- formed similar tasks to help out his old daughter Elizabeth was father’s campaign. Tommy’s father, seen standing in for her father at rally Jamie Raskin, is a state senator and in Florida and was elected Chelsea Clinton in 2006 after made extensive defeating a appearances for 32-year inHillary Clinton’s cumbent. 2008 presidential To m m y run. Though it’s says that he not these chiland his sisdrens’ jobs to ters help out help out on the frequently campaign they during elechave stepped tion years up to take a role by knockin their parents’ ing on doors politics. and helping The stories of organize these children of fundraisers. politicians takRaskin also ing initiative in says that their parent’s his son’s COURTESY OF AMALIA PEREZ campaigns is not help went exclusive to pol- Amalia Perez poses with her family b e y o n d iticians on the for her father’s campaign brochure. that of just national level; canvassing. at Blair, children of local politicians “He has been invaluable in my camalso assist in their parents’ political paigns,” says Raskin. “Tommy helped campaigns. Though all have been prepare me for debates. He thinks in affected by the experience in differ- very lucid ways and is a master of ent ways they all also recognize the debate. He was basically my debate different outlooks they have gained coach.” on the political process. Raskin not only recognizes the help that his family has provided to A helping hand his campaign, but also understands the important role they play in Sophomore Amalia Perez is an conveying his core beliefs to voters. active member of Blair ’s Student “My family is the key representation Government Association, but Perez of what my politics are like. People isn’t the only one in her family who can see through my wife and kids the has taken on a role in government. type of values I hope to bring into ofHer father, Thomas Perez, is the As- fice,” he says. sistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Under the spotlight Department of Justice. Though he was nominated for his current posiLike Raskin, junior Daniel Levtion by President Barack Obama, he enthal, whose father is Montgomery has had plenty of past experience County Council Member George campaigning after he served four Leventhal, recognizes the importance years on the Montgomery County of upholding his family’s image to the Council. campaign. He says he has sometimes During the campaign, Amalia experienced the extra scrutiny that would often play a supportive role. comes along with being the child of “My friends and I would wear his t- a politician. “In certain situations
I have to act in a certain way,” he says. Leventhal says his dad strongly discourages him from using profanity on Facebook and only allows him to download music legally from iTunes. “Certain things matter to him more because he is an elected official and because someone who is the face of the people needs to be ethical,” says Leventhal.
Lessons learned
Through the story, Raskin was able to pass down memorable political wisdom. “No one in politics is as good as they seem, or as bad as they seem,” says Tommy. Though Tommy has taken to the political scene, Raskin recognizes that what the children of politicians see is not always positive. “They see the personal price you pay for a life in public office, but they also see how gratifying it is to help people and pass historic legislation,” says Raskin. For Leventhal, the experience has made him not want to go into politics. “By being the son of a politician I can see why I don’t want to be a politician. It’s such a stressful job, so many people are relying on your decision. I don’t want to be placed in that position, but I respect him for it,” Leventhal says. Perez agrees that being so close to the political scene has turned her off from pursuing politics in the future. “I’ve got enough of politics now, I don’t need any more if it,” she says.
Though these Blazers have grown used to the level of attention that comes with being the child of a public figure, they all say that the experience has been educational. Perez values the way she has been able to see another side of our political system. “I am more informed about the inside of the Obama administration. He tells us about the personalities of the people beyond what you see on the news,” she says. Leventhal also believes that having a front row seat to local politics has helped him in his studies. “Let’s just say AP NSL wasn’t very hard for me,” he says. For Tommy, being the son of a politician has widened his own interest in politics. “I might not be as interested if not for the political advocacy in my family, but I was definitely interested even before he ran for office. I’ve been interested since about the fourth grade,” he says. Tommy is now COURTESY OF DANIEL LEVENTHAL the president of Blair’s Daniel Leventhal and his family are vital Yo u n g D e m o c r a t s to George Leventhal’s camaigns. club. Tommy also values the political insight and advice that he Even though each of these Blazers gets from his father. He recalls a time has a different view on taking part in when his father told him the story of a politics in the future, Raskin stresses senator from Prince George’s County the fundamental importance of the who was thought to have voted a family in politics. “The family is the certain way to maintain business in- basic inspiration for being in politics. terests, but the same senator was also We want the world to be a particular known for being dedicated to giving way for our children to inherit it,” poor people a voice in government. he says.
Election 2012 Update
GRAPHICS BY MAGGIE SHI AND NOAHGRACE BAUMAN
Elections at blair and beyond
by NoahGrace Bauman
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March 8, 2012
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March 8, 2012
Sankofa show
NEWSBRIEFS 15
Activists for Purple Line hold flashmob Seven members of the Action Committee for Transit, an advocacy group that strives to make travel easier in Montgomery County, held a demonstration in Downtown Silver Spring to support the Purple Line. The activists maintain that the Purple Line is essential to help both the environment and help businesses gain more customers. The group also believes that building the Purple Line will help clear congestion on the roads and even make car transit more efficient. The group met at the corner of Wayne Avenue and Colesville Road. The flash mob coincided with a similar demonstration IN "ALTIMORE DESIGNED TO SUPPORT "ALTIMORE S 2ED ,INE 4HE GROUPS wanted to show Maryland lawmakers that the funding to build BOTH TRANSIT LINES IS NECESSARY "OTH LINES HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY federal transit officials and are awaiting funding.
Montgomery county union pushes for bonuses Each member of the United Food add Commercial Workers Union will receive a $2,000 bonus if an agreement between the Union and County is ratified by the 4,000 members of the union. Under an agreement reached last week with Montgomery County, longevity pay increases would increase for employees who have worked more than 21 years for the county. The agreement would also reopen wage, benefit and pension negotiations every year between the Union and the county. These benefits have not been recognized for the past few years. Recent negotiations have been marked by standoffs and exhausting negotiations. This positive outcome has offered many of the top negotiators new hope for what is to come in future agreements. The agreement will cost Montgomery #OUNTY ROUGHLY MILLION IN l SCAL YEAR "Y RECEIVING THIS benefit the union employees will be able to compensate and adjust for cost of living increases. The agreement is considered good for both sides as the employees will get the bonus while the county will prove that they appreciate the employees work.
TOLU OMOKEHINDE
Sophomore Langston Cotman performs in Blair’s traditional Sankofa show on Feb. 24. The show celebrated black history through song, dance and spoken word.
County recieves grant to help violence victims Montgomery County has voted to fund seven positions dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence. The seven jobs will be funded by a grant from the US Department of Justice for the county’s social services. The new positions will help increase investigation of criminal cases and help the Family Justice Center reach out to more victims. The seven positions will be scattered across Montgomery County including the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, the State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Montgomery County Police Department. Two charities, the House of Ruth and Catholic Charities will also receive small amounts of money as they also serve victims of domestic violence. The grant will pay for nearly all of the seven positions.
Capital Crescent Trail crossing’s halted A new proposal to build the Capital Crescent Trail above the Purple Line is in peril after a report came out telling that doing so could cost upwards of $51 million in construction costs. Additional costs are also attributed to unknown risks to the foundations of nearby commercial buildings. The County would pay for the trail and all other construction costs if a proposal is agreed upon. The problem with building the trail is that logistically and engineeringwise it may not make sense to build the trail and Purple Line together, opponents say. Instead, people are suggesting that the trail and Purple Line be built seperately. The Maryland Transit Administration believes that both the trail and line can be built, but in the end they will likely have to be seperate.
Washington Adventist Hospital move delayed NATHAN GAMSON AND JOSH SCHMIDT
The decision to move Washington Adventist Hospital, from Takoma Park to White Oak has again been delayed. The death of Maryland Health Care Commissioner Randall Worthington, who was in charge of making a decision about the move, is expected to cause major delays in the planning process. A new person to review the case will be appointed within the week. Washington Adventist Hospital wants to move to White Oak in order to get more space and to ve ub a better position for patients. The hospital faces strong opposition from nearby hospitals Holy Cross and Laurel Regional Hospital. The decision on whether Washington Adventist was expected to be ready by December 2011. Washington Adventist will be forced to leave a smaller clinic in their current location if they do end up moving to White Oak.
Newsbriefs compiled by Josh Schmidt with additional reporting by The Gazette and The Silver Spring Patch.
HONORS s 4HE "LAIR "OCCE "ALL TEAM WON l RST PLACE AT THE Montgomery County competition held on February 11, at Whitman High School. s 3ENIOR #HRIS 7ELLS ADVANCED TO THE 3TATE LEVEL OF competition for wrestling. s 4HE DEBATE TEAM WAS NAMED COUNTY CHAMPI ons and had a record 52 members move onto the Montgomery County debate league finals. Senior
TEAM 3HAYNA 3OLOMON AND 2AJAN "AL PLACED SEC ond overall. Sophomore team Ashu Nanda and Aanchal Johri advanced to the top eight teams. JuNIORS -YLES 7AGNER *ASON -A 3OLOMON AND "AL received awards for their 9-1 records. s 3ILVER #HIPS /NLINE WAS NAMED ONE OF l NAL ists for the NSPA Pacemaker award. Silver Chips online is a finalist for the Online newspaper section for schools with over 1,500 enrollment.
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Left behind In the window of the customer service office there is a model of what the mall may become, complete with a skylight, an office building and tiny businesspeople. Dust accumulates on the model’s roof, like ashy snowfall, and some of the figurines have been cast to the ground by the cruel hand of time. Or maybe they just broke. They have been left behind and have had trouble getting back on their feet, much like the waning mall in which they reside. Since the 1860s, when the county’s first public school stood at the present-day site of City Place Mall, the corner of Fenton Street and Ellsworth Drive has seen decades of coming and going. As one generation’s definition of cutting edge quickly fades into the next generation’s eye sore, Silver Spring has experienced patterns of decline and regrowth for decades. City Place has faced challenges reentering the cycle of redevelopment and innovation.
City Place’s city history Surprises hide behind each windowpane of the vacant storefronts that line the mall. In one, there are stacks of suitcases whose dreams of traveling the world are long forgotten. Nearby, Gold’s Gym’s tinted windows ensure the privacy of patrons who aren’t there. Then, bizarrely, more suitcases — refugees of the rampant overpopulation of baggage in the adjacent room. Although the mall struggles today, 80 years ago, it was a continuation of the legacy of the blossoming Silver Spring shopping scene. The Silver Spring Shopping Center, one of the first of its kind in 1938, today houses Panera Bread and Asian Bistro. In the building that City Place now occupies stood the successful Hecht’s department store. However, due to economic hardships during the ‘60s and ‘70s, Silver Spring began to slump. Between 1988 and 1996, over 220 businesses had left the downtown area. The office vacancy rate reached 39 percent and the store vacancy rate reached 25 percent, according to Gus Bauman, former chairman of the Montgomery County Planning Board. “[Silver Spring] was all desolate, and they weren’t just empty buildings; they looked run down and bad. At night it was deadville, and had strange people on the sidewalk-- and you just didn’t want to be around,” he recalls. In response to these economic conditions, the county hired a developer in 1988 to create an office, mall and hotel complex known as the Silver Triangle Project (STP). The STP and its successor, the STP II, were eventually dropped in 1994 due to huge opposition from local citizens’ groups. “It was never going to happen, it was time to move on,” says Doug Duncan, the former county executive who played an integral role in Silver Spring’s revitalization in the early 2000s. Reemberto Rodriguez, head of the Silver Spring Regional Center, believes that the community
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CENTERSPREAD March 8, 2012
opposed the proposals for the same underlying reason: the Silver Triangles were not cohesive with the citizens’ vision of Silver Spring. “The community felt that those proposals did not capture what Silver Spring wanted to be. The proposals were counter to the fabric of the culture here,” says Rodriguez. Then entered the Canadians. In 1995, the county issued a Request for Expressions of Interest to developers around the country and hooked Canadian-based Triplefive Worldwide, best known for the gargantuan Mall of America, the largest mall in the United States. Triplefive put forth an elaborate plan. Their $585 million proposal would create the “American Dream Mall,” and would cover 28 acres, the size of 21 football fields. Today’s City Place offers a weird shadow of what the Triplefive mall would have featured. Instead of the proposed state-of-the-art inmall aquarium, the rare fish still alive for sale at Dollar Place is all the marine life shoppers can enjoy. Children would be frolicking in the indoor water park and wave pool in the Triplefive mall, instead of dipping their hands curiously in the tepid fountain by the food court. Teenagers may have passed their time on the miniature golf course rather than stealing modestly-priced jackets from the Burlington Coat Factory. Triplefive was unable to come up with the appropriate funding for the plan. “The more we talked to them, the more they wanted from the county,” says Duncan. “We gave them time to get the money...they just couldn’t do it,” he said. Duncan and the County Council were unwilling to provide the subsidies the company requested, which would have amounted to over $300 million.
A lonely corner
developments. It would have offered shoppers ac- of the few survivors that struggle in wake of the food cess to big box discount retailers like Nordstrom court decline. China City sits in the corner of the food Rack and Burlington Coat Factory. When the large- court, closed. The heat lamps are cold, and the chaffscale developments like the STP and the Dream Mall ing dishes sit empty. It seems now that China City may never have been more than a village. fell through, City Place hit a barrier. Kathy Stevens, chair of the Silver Spring Citizen’s “Silver Spring in the ’80s, it was desolate. City Place moved forward with the expectation that there Advisory Board, believes it is the lost opportunity would be a lot of stuff...but that never happened until that upsets the community more than the loss of any one individual store in the mall. “There has later,” says been a concern because it’s not being utiBauman. lized for what it could be. People have said, “ C i t y ‘gosh there’s something that just isn’t right.’ Place kept Something isn’t clicking.” standing The pink 80s neon lights that line the halls there for glow long after their decade has passed. “It years and was so hip, and so nouveau... It was pretty years all great for its time, but as time evolves and by itself, cultures change it becomes a victim of time,” surroundsays Rodriguez. “Now it’s not what people ed by want it to be, and the owners know that, and nothing,” I trust they will find the right mix.” he says. RegardModern-day mall less, the public was In terms of redevelopment, Duncan has pleased. his reservations. “It hasn’t worked so I “Generthink it would be difficult. People ally what I like being outdoors and walkhear is [the ing around,” he says. Rocommudriguez agrees. “[City nity] was Place] was stuck in happy betime, now the shopcause it’s ping experience better than people look for what we is different,” he had before, says. which was Downstairs nothing,” in the food says Sue The mall was developed to supplement court, a hallDecker, a earlier projects, all of which failed. way leads to member of the Silver Spring Citizen’s Advisory Board. “It at- the Office of Petrie Ross tracted customers, but just not enough,” agrees Bau- Ventures, the development group partnered man. In 2000, the county approved the Silver Spring with Hutensky Capital Central Business District Plan, which produced the Partners that currently downtown area we know today. The area began to manages the mall and revitalize; Silver Spring had “Silver Sprung.” Stunt- plans to begin its “face ed by the low profitability of the past and with the lift,” as their website adarrival of the Majestic theater across the street, the vertises. The same advertisement AMC movie theater closed. Today, the old AMC movie theater slumbers on boasts a new facade for the the fifth floor of the mall, alone, as a monument to mall and explains efforts to rethe days when the mall was merely limping, not tenant, re-merchandise and redo crawling. The theater is left totally intact in its new City Place. Although Petrie Ross capacity as a purgatory for extra mall plants that sit intends to revitalize the mall, a by the windows, waiting for the plants displayed on decision about how that will be the floors below to die so they can be given a second done has yet to chance. Save for a few kernels of popcorn likely still be made. lodged between the seats and Shrek 2 ticket stubs on the floor, the theater is bare.
Lost opportunity
All the The mall is often vacant while, of Blair students, as well. City Place Senior John Shedd finds was workhimself unable to even ing on its joke about his relationown projship with the mall. “I ect. “In was going to kid and the late be like ‘it’s my place!’ ‘80s and but it’s just so awful,” early ’90s, says Shedd. Juniors when the Harrison Reed, Chrisproposals tina Friday, and Justin were beShack also say that City ing heard, Place is rarely their destiwhen all nation during weekends in of that Downtown Silver Spring. was go“The one time I find myself ing on, in there is when ChipoC i t y For community leaders, empty hallways and vacant tle is too full and I need Place was stores are evidence of a failed development. somewhere to sit,” says g o i n g Harrison. “Or because it’s forward on its own trajectory...but City Place was cold outside,” Friday adds. “And for Subway,” says never meant to be by itself” says Bauman. City Place Shack. was intended to be attached to the Silver Triangle Today Subway, along with the Brass Hen, is one
Even after the 2000 Silver Spring revilatilization, City Place Mall failed to attract customers and businesses.
By Peter McNally and Sarah Wilson Art by Xixi Chen Photos by Clare Lefebure and Tolu Omokehinde According to Vice President Lisa Petrie, the comfuture, many agree that the concept of the mall is pany is deciding weather to pursue big box tenants challenging in modern day. “We are going back to or smaller national retailers. Until then, Petire Ross sort of main street developments. Everything is sort is holding out on leasof open and outdoors and that’s ing altogether. “ We been very successful across the intentionally are not country,“ says Duncan. leasing out the exterior Bauman believes that despite of the mall until we dechallenges to redevelopment plans termine what track we in the past, the Hutensky-Petrie are going down,” says Ross Ventures partnership will be Petrie. successful in invigorating today’s The development failing mall. “I am pretty confident has yet to receive public that the City Place of today is not hearings, nor has it had what people will know of as the any proposals passed. City Place of three or four years in “Nothing has been subthe future,” says Bauman. mitted to the Parks and Petrie also remains optimistic Plannings Commission that City Place has the potential to or the county govern- Only two restaurants in the food court move forward. “Malls have seen ment but City Place is have survived over the years. better days, but we have to do the working on proposals best we can.” and talking to major retailers. They’re actively purMaybe one day the model’s dust will be shaken suing but they aren’t there yet,” says Bauman. off and the tiny business owners will open their Owner Brian Hutensky of the Hutensky Partners storefronts again. Group confirms that the management is waiting. “We are prepared to wait until we can secure commitments from the right anchors who will allow us to create a shopping center that will be worthy of the downtown,” says Hutensky. In terms of the
silverCHIPS
Left behind In the window of the customer service office there is a model of what the mall may become, complete with a skylight, an office building and tiny businesspeople. Dust accumulates on the model’s roof, like ashy snowfall, and some of the figurines have been cast to the ground by the cruel hand of time. Or maybe they just broke. They have been left behind and have had trouble getting back on their feet, much like the waning mall in which they reside. Since the 1860s, when the county’s first public school stood at the present-day site of City Place Mall, the corner of Fenton Street and Ellsworth Drive has seen decades of coming and going. As one generation’s definition of cutting edge quickly fades into the next generation’s eye sore, Silver Spring has experienced patterns of decline and regrowth for decades. City Place has faced challenges reentering the cycle of redevelopment and innovation.
City Place’s city history Surprises hide behind each windowpane of the vacant storefronts that line the mall. In one, there are stacks of suitcases whose dreams of traveling the world are long forgotten. Nearby, Gold’s Gym’s tinted windows ensure the privacy of patrons who aren’t there. Then, bizarrely, more suitcases — refugees of the rampant overpopulation of baggage in the adjacent room. Although the mall struggles today, 80 years ago, it was a continuation of the legacy of the blossoming Silver Spring shopping scene. The Silver Spring Shopping Center, one of the first of its kind in 1938, today houses Panera Bread and Asian Bistro. In the building that City Place now occupies stood the successful Hecht’s department store. However, due to economic hardships during the ‘60s and ‘70s, Silver Spring began to slump. Between 1988 and 1996, over 220 businesses had left the downtown area. The office vacancy rate reached 39 percent and the store vacancy rate reached 25 percent, according to Gus Bauman, former chairman of the Montgomery County Planning Board. “[Silver Spring] was all desolate, and they weren’t just empty buildings; they looked run down and bad. At night it was deadville, and had strange people on the sidewalk-- and you just didn’t want to be around,” he recalls. In response to these economic conditions, the county hired a developer in 1988 to create an office, mall and hotel complex known as the Silver Triangle Project (STP). The STP and its successor, the STP II, were eventually dropped in 1994 due to huge opposition from local citizens’ groups. “It was never going to happen, it was time to move on,” says Doug Duncan, the former county executive who played an integral role in Silver Spring’s revitalization in the early 2000s. Reemberto Rodriguez, head of the Silver Spring Regional Center, believes that the community
silverCHIPS
CENTERSPREAD March 8, 2012
opposed the proposals for the same underlying reason: the Silver Triangles were not cohesive with the citizens’ vision of Silver Spring. “The community felt that those proposals did not capture what Silver Spring wanted to be. The proposals were counter to the fabric of the culture here,” says Rodriguez. Then entered the Canadians. In 1995, the county issued a Request for Expressions of Interest to developers around the country and hooked Canadian-based Triplefive Worldwide, best known for the gargantuan Mall of America, the largest mall in the United States. Triplefive put forth an elaborate plan. Their $585 million proposal would create the “American Dream Mall,” and would cover 28 acres, the size of 21 football fields. Today’s City Place offers a weird shadow of what the Triplefive mall would have featured. Instead of the proposed state-of-the-art inmall aquarium, the rare fish still alive for sale at Dollar Place is all the marine life shoppers can enjoy. Children would be frolicking in the indoor water park and wave pool in the Triplefive mall, instead of dipping their hands curiously in the tepid fountain by the food court. Teenagers may have passed their time on the miniature golf course rather than stealing modestly-priced jackets from the Burlington Coat Factory. Triplefive was unable to come up with the appropriate funding for the plan. “The more we talked to them, the more they wanted from the county,” says Duncan. “We gave them time to get the money...they just couldn’t do it,” he said. Duncan and the County Council were unwilling to provide the subsidies the company requested, which would have amounted to over $300 million.
A lonely corner
developments. It would have offered shoppers ac- of the few survivors that struggle in wake of the food cess to big box discount retailers like Nordstrom court decline. China City sits in the corner of the food Rack and Burlington Coat Factory. When the large- court, closed. The heat lamps are cold, and the chaffscale developments like the STP and the Dream Mall ing dishes sit empty. It seems now that China City may never have been more than a village. fell through, City Place hit a barrier. Kathy Stevens, chair of the Silver Spring Citizen’s “Silver Spring in the ’80s, it was desolate. City Place moved forward with the expectation that there Advisory Board, believes it is the lost opportunity would be a lot of stuff...but that never happened until that upsets the community more than the loss of any one individual store in the mall. “There has later,” says been a concern because it’s not being utiBauman. lized for what it could be. People have said, “ C i t y ‘gosh there’s something that just isn’t right.’ Place kept Something isn’t clicking.” standing The pink 80s neon lights that line the halls there for glow long after their decade has passed. “It years and was so hip, and so nouveau... It was pretty years all great for its time, but as time evolves and by itself, cultures change it becomes a victim of time,” surroundsays Rodriguez. “Now it’s not what people ed by want it to be, and the owners know that, and nothing,” I trust they will find the right mix.” he says. RegardModern-day mall less, the public was In terms of redevelopment, Duncan has pleased. his reservations. “It hasn’t worked so I “Generthink it would be difficult. People ally what I like being outdoors and walkhear is [the ing around,” he says. Rocommudriguez agrees. “[City nity] was Place] was stuck in happy betime, now the shopcause it’s ping experience better than people look for what we is different,” he had before, says. which was Downstairs nothing,” in the food says Sue The mall was developed to supplement court, a hallDecker, a earlier projects, all of which failed. way leads to member of the Silver Spring Citizen’s Advisory Board. “It at- the Office of Petrie Ross tracted customers, but just not enough,” agrees Bau- Ventures, the development group partnered man. In 2000, the county approved the Silver Spring with Hutensky Capital Central Business District Plan, which produced the Partners that currently downtown area we know today. The area began to manages the mall and revitalize; Silver Spring had “Silver Sprung.” Stunt- plans to begin its “face ed by the low profitability of the past and with the lift,” as their website adarrival of the Majestic theater across the street, the vertises. The same advertisement AMC movie theater closed. Today, the old AMC movie theater slumbers on boasts a new facade for the the fifth floor of the mall, alone, as a monument to mall and explains efforts to rethe days when the mall was merely limping, not tenant, re-merchandise and redo crawling. The theater is left totally intact in its new City Place. Although Petrie Ross capacity as a purgatory for extra mall plants that sit intends to revitalize the mall, a by the windows, waiting for the plants displayed on decision about how that will be the floors below to die so they can be given a second done has yet to chance. Save for a few kernels of popcorn likely still be made. lodged between the seats and Shrek 2 ticket stubs on the floor, the theater is bare.
Lost opportunity
All the The mall is often vacant while, of Blair students, as well. City Place Senior John Shedd finds was workhimself unable to even ing on its joke about his relationown projship with the mall. “I ect. “In was going to kid and the late be like ‘it’s my place!’ ‘80s and but it’s just so awful,” early ’90s, says Shedd. Juniors when the Harrison Reed, Chrisproposals tina Friday, and Justin were beShack also say that City ing heard, Place is rarely their destiwhen all nation during weekends in of that Downtown Silver Spring. was go“The one time I find myself ing on, in there is when ChipoC i t y For community leaders, empty hallways and vacant tle is too full and I need Place was stores are evidence of a failed development. somewhere to sit,” says g o i n g Harrison. “Or because it’s forward on its own trajectory...but City Place was cold outside,” Friday adds. “And for Subway,” says never meant to be by itself” says Bauman. City Place Shack. was intended to be attached to the Silver Triangle Today Subway, along with the Brass Hen, is one
Even after the 2000 Silver Spring revilatilization, City Place Mall failed to attract customers and businesses.
By Peter McNally and Sarah Wilson Art by Xixi Chen Photos by Clare Lefebure and Tolu Omokehinde According to Vice President Lisa Petrie, the comfuture, many agree that the concept of the mall is pany is deciding weather to pursue big box tenants challenging in modern day. “We are going back to or smaller national retailers. Until then, Petire Ross sort of main street developments. Everything is sort is holding out on leasof open and outdoors and that’s ing altogether. “ We been very successful across the intentionally are not country,“ says Duncan. leasing out the exterior Bauman believes that despite of the mall until we dechallenges to redevelopment plans termine what track we in the past, the Hutensky-Petrie are going down,” says Ross Ventures partnership will be Petrie. successful in invigorating today’s The development failing mall. “I am pretty confident has yet to receive public that the City Place of today is not hearings, nor has it had what people will know of as the any proposals passed. City Place of three or four years in “Nothing has been subthe future,” says Bauman. mitted to the Parks and Petrie also remains optimistic Plannings Commission that City Place has the potential to or the county govern- Only two restaurants in the food court move forward. “Malls have seen ment but City Place is have survived over the years. better days, but we have to do the working on proposals best we can.” and talking to major retailers. They’re actively purMaybe one day the model’s dust will be shaken suing but they aren’t there yet,” says Bauman. off and the tiny business owners will open their Owner Brian Hutensky of the Hutensky Partners storefronts again. Group confirms that the management is waiting. “We are prepared to wait until we can secure commitments from the right anchors who will allow us to create a shopping center that will be worthy of the downtown,” says Hutensky. In terms of the
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FEATURES
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March 8, 2012
A one way journey west Paraeducator recounts escape from Afghanistan By Katie Pohlman Blair paraeducator Mary Nawabi lay in her hospital bed, anticipating the day she would see her family again, and dreading the many ways they could be captured. The two weeks she waited for them to cross the extensive mountains, dodging helicopters and bullets, seemed amazingly long. Nawabi would not rest easily until she knew her family had safely escaped Afghanistan. In 1984, Nawabi, her husband, and their four young children left behind the chaotic country of Afghanistan to come to America. Their country has been in a civil war since 1978, when the communist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) took power through a military coup. The Paraeducator Mary Soviet Union, Unit- Kabul, Afghanistan ed States and other countries have intervened at various points to try to improve the situation – either siding with the rebels or the government in power – but the fighting continues to this day. Even as the governments power changes hands, Nawabi says, there is always a rebel group ready to fight them. “Afghanistan does not want to take orders from anyone. It’s just 32 states all wanting to be the capital and to have control,” she says. Since the beginning of the war, 3.3 million refugees have escaped to camps in Pakistan, another 2 million fled to settle across Europe and North America.
University of Arizona history professor David Gibbs explains that history is being repeated with the presence of American troops in Afghanistan. As they pull out, like the Soviet troops did years ago, the country will fall apart. “I don’t see the fighting ending soon, unfortunately,” Gibbs says. “I don’t see any happy endings.”
Traveling by night, hiding by day Before the war, Nawabi was a teacher in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and her husband Hafiz was a petroleum engineer. When the violence broke out, the pro-Soviet and his coworkers became suspicious of him because of his U.S. educaCLARE LEFEBURE tion. This WarNawabi taught in driven animosbefore her escape. ity pressured them to leave the country, though they were apolitical. “They didn’t like us because they thought we were against Russia. But we weren’t against anyone,” Nawabi explains. As the tension mounted, Nawabi found out she needed to undergo an operation that could only be performed in India. Fearing the whole family would flee with her, the Afghan government only granted Nawabi a passport. But her family was in danger and desperate. They found a guide who would help them cross the border, and while Nawabi was recovering from surgery, Hafiz and their three children started their two-week
journey to Pakistan. T h e y crossed the Hindu Kush mountain range, which separates the two countries, walking under cover of night, hiding from Soviet helicopters and armed rebels during the day. The bombings were constant and indiscriminate during this period of the war. “They would bomb everything they believed to be the other side’s,” says Gibbs. The family, the youngest of whom was eight years old, traveled with only one set of clothing each, and lived on a diet of dried bread and water. Once they arrived in Pakistan, they met Nawabi in India, where the U. S. government flew them to their new home in Silver Spring.
Starting over completely When they first arrived in the area, Nawabi When they first arrived in the area, Nawabi worked 12-hour days at a day-care center and took night classes at Montgomery College while her husband searched for a job. The six-member family lived in a two-bedroom apartment and lived on milk and rice, as Nawabi’s husband was rejected from one job after another. Starting life in the U.S. was tough, but Nawabi still preferred it to living in Afghanistan. “The problems that we had here in the beginning are nothing compared to what we lived through in Afghanistan,” Nawabi says. Hafiz finally
CLAIRE SLEIGH AND RUTH AITKEN
found work as a manager at a carpet store, which, while by no means his dream job, supported the family. Meanwhile, Nawabi’s career was beginning to start. A friend found out about her teaching experience in Afghanistan and encouraged her to apply for a job with MCPS. In the beginning, she worked at elementary schools, but she eventually settled at Blair where she has been teaching chemistry and biology for the past 26 years. Nawabi says that she loves the students and the faculty here, and it feels like a second home.
Never looking back
The general openness with which Nawabi was received when beginning her life in America makes her feel fortunate that she escaped Afghanistan. “We are lucky because of the freedom we have to speak, write, and do whatever we want. We didn’t have that in Afghanistan,” she says. With the ongoing violence and no remaining close ties to Afghanistan, Nawabi does not plan on returning. Her parents and siblings escaped around the same time and now live in different parts of Europe. Nawabi does not see the war ending soon.
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FEATURES 19
March 8, 2012
Down the hallway, down the aisle From ENGAGED page 1
not an issue when planning for the future of their relationships.
Popping the question Before becoming his fiancée, Lucy had been Rick’s girlfriend for four years. Rick, who is three years older than Lucy, had already given her a “promise ring” to symbolize his promise to someday propose to her. In the weeks before Christmas, Lucy began to suspect that Rick was planning a proposal. “He would give me little hints, and would always say ‘I already have your Christmas present,’” she says. For senior Herlinda Delgado, however, the question of marriage came as a surprise while on summer vacation. “[My boyfriend and I] were at the beach, playing our guitars, when all of a sudden he popped the question,” she says. Seventeen-year-old Delgado says that becoming engaged was an experience that distinguishes her from her friends. “It’s unique, especially at my age,” she says. Although Delgado says that she got engaged at a younger age than she had expected, she is happy with her decision to say yes. “Getting engaged was fun,” she says. “Though I thought I’d be much older, have a career and already be graduated.” Senior Narisa Intoranat’s engagement came more as a surprise because of some uncertainty in her relationship. Her fiancée, home on a break from military school, was preparing to leave for North Carolina at the end of the month to resume training. “[Engagement] hadn’t crossed my mind — we were going through a lot so I didn’t think that it was something that would happen,” Intoranat says. Intoranat’s fiancée, Sergio Aguirre-Valle, proposed after several of his family members encouraged him to do so. Intoranat and Aguirre-Valle had been together for four years before becoming engaged, and became comfortable with each others’ families. At Aguirre-Valle’s boot camp graduation in January, he introduced Intoranat to his godparents and his stepfather. Afterward, Intoranat was at Aguirre-Valle’s house when he said, “[My family] kept asking me if I was going to marry you. Narisa, would you marry me?”
Family affair Intoranat says that her close relationship with her family has become increasingly important as she and Aguirre-Valle advance their relationship to the next level. “Because of the engagement we got closer. We grew up as a couple, especially because our families are close now and we have that support,” she says. Lucy also says that her fiancée’s
close bond with her family simplifies the pair’s relationship. Before Rick proposed, he asked Lucy’s parents for permission. Rick’s relationship with Lucy’s parents, she says, makes her parents more willing to accept the couple’s engagement. “My parents actually like [Rick]. So they see that we have
often shocked, and some question her decision. “When you tell your friends,” Delgado says, “they say, ‘Do you know what you’re doing?’ or ‘You’re so young, how do you know he’s the one?’” Occasionally, Delgado says innocent questioning crosses into stereotypical judgments. “There’s a stereotype, especially for Spanish girls, that if you get engaged early you’re pregnant or you don’t know what you’re doing,” she says. Intoranat says that when she talks about her engagement, she is most often met with advice. “I get lectured a lot,” she says. “People tell me about all of the things that I’ve already thought through.” Though Intoranat welcomes their advice, she says that people often underestimate her. “I take the advice into consideration, but people don’t realize I’ve already thought it through. I’m not 100 percent ready, but I know that. I’m not naïve,” she says. Though some question her, Intoranat finds support in her friends who understand her decision to get engaged. “Narisa’s young, but I’ve known her since she’s been with [Aguirre-Valle], and I know how her relationship works,” Grey says. “I feel like she deserves to do what she wants.”
It’s no different to be engaged. Except now he doesn’t call me babe, he calls me wifey. senior Lucy our feet firmly on the ground, and that we’re mature,” Lucy says. In particular, Lucy notes her mother’s approval. “I’m happy that my mom is happy,” she says. “Her opinion is what means the most to me.” Rick has lived with Lucy at her mother’s house since last summer. Before the two lived together, Lucy says, it was difficult for them to see each other. Both Lucy and Rick are employed, and contribute to the monthly rent payments. Lucy says that she is grateful to her mother for allowing Rick to live with them, and that she enjoys being close to Rick. “I like going home and knowing that he’s going to be there,” she says. Lucy says that she can depend on her family members to support her engagement. “I don’t pay much mind to it when people tell me I’m too young,” she says. “When I talk to my family they say, ‘Well, you guys have been together a long time.’” While Lucy’s entire family knows of her engagement, Lucy has told only select friends. Intoranat is open about her relationship status. “I pretty much tell everybody. It’s something I’m proud of. I told all of my teachers. I’m not trying to hide it,” Intoranat laughs. She says that she addresses Aguirre-Valle as her fiancée in casual conversation. “The way that Narisa told me [about her engagement] was that she said, ‘Oh my fiancée’s here’— and I was like, ‘What?’ She threw it into conversation and kept going,” interjects Intoranat’s friend, senior Nicole Grey. Grey says that her immediate reaction was one of disbelief. “I thought, whoa, ‘fiancée?’ For a second I went, ‘That’s crazy; she’s so young, and a marriage or engagement when you’re a teenager is harder to back out of than a relationship,” she says. Because teenage engagement is rare, Delgado says, her friends are
that I have to grow up faster. I know that I have more responsibility now. I think about my relationship more, and about what could affect my future,” she says.
Tough times Senior Isabelle Kerby was with her partner for a year before the pair began to discuss their plans for the future. In Kerby’s relationship, she says, the pair first discussed engagement in her sophomore year, with the assumption that they would remain together throughout high school. “I thought, if I’m with this person the rest of my high school life, I might as well marry them,” she says. Kerby says that in retrospect, her decision to get engaged was relatively impulsive. “You get in the moment,” she says. “I couldn’t always see the bigger picture.” Initially, Kerby’s engagement served to connect the pair. “Things started turning more into ‘we,’” she says. The relationship, however, grew shaky a few months after the engagement. “It got to a point where we were still engaged, but we were on and off at the same time,” Kerby says. The engagement provided Kerby with an excuse to prolong the relationship even as it was struggling. “At the end of the day, I didn’t want to lose her, and the en-
come for all engaged teen couples, she says that her age distorted her perspective on her relationship. “When you’re younger, you don’t see everything about being engaged— you just think oh, I get to be with the person I love for life,” she says. “You don’t see the bigger picture.”
Looking forward
Shortly after her engagement, Intoranat decided that she wanted to promptly get married in order to be able to live with AguirreValle on base. She has since reconsidered. “That would be illogical,” she says. “I have to have my life in order first.” Delgado says that she’d like to secure her career and her finances before having a wedding. When she does have a wedding, Delgado expects the ceremony to be romantic and “movie-ish.” After graduation, Delgado wants to move in with her fiancée. When she leaves home, Delgado says she will be a projection of her upbringing. “I’ve never lived without my parents,” she says. “I’ll have a chance to put into practice the things that my parents have taught me all these years.” After Lucy graduates from Blair, she says that she plans to go to college and purchase a home with Rick. Because the pair have
Growing closer Intoranat says that during her early high school years, her relationship with Aguirre-Valle was strained, as they attended different schools. “We dated our freshman year, but he went to Wheaton. Our relationship was really tough,” she says. The couple was off-and-on for some time, but reunited within the past year. Because of Intoranat’s engagement, she says, she and Aguirre-Valle have become closer. “We grew up together as a couple,” she says. Lucy says that she and Rick have also become more united after becoming engaged. “We had our rocky moments before we were engaged — not huge arguments but little fights,” she says. “Now, it’s a bit easier. We hardly argue at all.” Though Lucy acknowledges that she does not feel any different because she is engaged, she jokes that she and her boyfriend have become more playful. “It’s no different to be engaged,” she says. “Except now [Rick] doesn’t call me babe, he calls me wifey.” Intoranat says that her engagement is accompanied by some accountability. “Engagement means
ELIZA WAPNER
gagement gave us more of a reason to get back together,” she says. Nine months after their engagement, however, Kerby and her girlfriend broke up. Though Lucy, Intoranat and Delgado say that they are optimistic about their future marriages, Kerby has experienced the effects of a teenage engagement that did not go as planned. “[My ex-engagement] gave me a different perspective on relationships in general,” she says. “I made up this whole future with this person and then when that gets messed up you just think, ‘Wow, maybe I’m approaching [relationships] wrong.’” Kerby says that although her experience does not reflect the out-
JULIA BATES
already lived together, Lucy feels that they are more prepared to share a home of their own. “Living together made our plans for the future more realistic,” she says. “Sometimes we ask ourselves, ‘Is this what it’s going to be like to have our own place?’” Lucy says that though the pair generally knows what they want in the future of their relationship, they have only discussed the matter casually. “We’ve talked about our future, but we’ve just mentioned it. We haven’t had a deep conversation about it,” she says. Living together has forged a bond between Lucy and Rick that makes cooperation easier between them. “When we have arguments, either we fix them or we go to sleep mad. Living together makes it easier to fix our disagreements,” she says. Lucy and Rick say that although they are easily able to correct their disagreements now, neither is able to predict the challenges that may await them in the future of their engagement. “We don’t have any challenges now, but later on we might. I don’t think that we realize how much harder things will get,” Lucy says. No matter what trials she and Rick may face, Lucy says that she wants to be with him. “Hey, we don’t know what might come later. We don’t know if we’ll be together our whole lives,” she says. “But I want to be.”
20 FEATURES
March 8, 2012
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On the defensive: bringing weapons to school Blazers risk the steep consquences of having knives for protection and utility By Stella Bartholet Where only first names appear, names have been changed to protect the identities of the sources. Michael, a junior, has a secret. He carries it with him everywhere; at home, to school, when he’s out. This secret could get him suspended, or worse, expelled, which is why he keeps it concealed in his pocket. Michael has brought a knife to school since his freshman year at Blair. Like other Blazers who carry weapons, he uses it for an assortment of reasons, from utility purposes to protection. But under MCPS policy, possession of a weapon can result in ten days of in-school suspension, expulsion or even police referral. Security guard Maureen Walsh says that such incidents related to weapons are rare at Blair. However, according to the national 2010 study “Indicators of Crime and Safety,” six percent of students in the nation report having carried a weapon to school at least one day during the year 2009. For those students who do bring weapons to school, security team leader Cedric Boatman says that possession of weapons can only lead to problems. “There’s no need for it,” he says. “You are supposed to come to school to learn and feel safe.” But these armed Blazers say that knives at school can be useful as tools or protection and are worth the slim risk of getting caught.
Device or defense? Michael first purchased his Leatherman knife for camp the summer before his fresh-
a tool but also as protection. “If it was only for utility I would not bring it,” he says. Walsh says Blair is a safe environment where a weapon is not needed for protection. She believes that the reason why some students bring knives is because they hear stories about dangerous incidents occurring in other schools and feel the need to protect themselves. She says part of her job is to relieve these fears. “I feel very strongly about making kids feel safe in school,” she says. Tom, a senior, felt vulnerable in school as an underclassman, but over middle of time has become more comninth grade. fortable. He brought a switchA student took blade to Blair in ninth and tenth his backpack TATYANA GUBIN grade because he, like Michael, felt unand other belongings when he was sitting in the SAC. After the in- safe. “The amount of people scared me and I cident, Michael has never felt entirely safe in also felt that my stuff could be stolen at any school and views his pocketknife as not only time,” he says. man year. He stored it in his backpack and found many uses for it, from cutting wires to opening bottles. Michael never saw his knife as anything more than a tool until all of his items were stolen in the
After a couple of years, Tom believed that it was no longer necessary for him to carry around a weapon. “I didn’t need it anymore because Silver Spring is a very peaceful town and with Blair, you don’t really need to worry about anything unless you run your mouth too much,” he says. At the end of tenth grade he stopped carrying his knife around and eventually lost it. Walsh hopes that other armed students will come to a realization similar to Tom’s.
Better safe than sorry
Michael keeps track of his knife closely and keeps it well hidden so as not to get caught with it at school. “I’m very cautious about how I show it or use it around school,” he says. Michael does not let any of his friends use it because he does not trust anyone else with a dangerous weapon. Though Michael is very careful with his knife, he does not worry much about getting caught. He says a couple of teachers have even seen him use it before, and did not say anything to him. From a security perspective, weapon usage at Blair is minimal compared to other large public schools. Walsh says that she has not had to confiscate many weapons during her time at Blair. “Since I’ve been here we haven’t had any serious problems with weapons,” she says. “Considering the size of the school, we don’t have many incidents.” Michael agrees with Walsh that Blair is actually quite safe compared to other large public schools. “In a public school setting, people are much more skeptical about how safe we are, especially from the outside,” he says. While he may not find Blair dangerous, he believes that it is better to be safe with his pocket knife, than sorry.
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FEATURES 21
March 8, 2012
Duty-bound to a constantly moving home front Blair students in military families have to adjust to changing enviroments By Hannah Weintraub Freshman Alex Boris looks down at his fingers and begins to count, quietly whispering under his breath. “Fordum, New York, San Antonio, Texas, Monterey, California, Brazil, Guatemala,” he recites, rattling off all places he has called home. Boris’s moves trailed behind his father’s military reassignments. His father worked as an attaché officer, a military expert employed for diplomatic services. The Department of Defense (DOD) approximates that half of those employed by the military have families and that kids in military families will move an average of six to nine times during their school-age years. For those who have planted their roots and stayed put, the prospect of such frequent moves may seem daunting, but for Boris and other military kids, constant relocation is just a part of life.
New home, all alone “Það er strákur! It’s a boy!” the doctors exclaimed when junior Ashe Welch was born during his parents’ military assignment in Iceland. Welch spent three months in Iceland before he ditched the snow for the rain and moved to Seattle. From there, he moved to five other states. His last and favorite destination was California. Although he had long left his Nordic place of birth, Welch’s friends in California were amazed by his past. “I was known as the
kid from Iceland,” Welch says. Military kids have to contend with friends gawking at their out of the ordinary birth place or the fact that they’ve moved more times than the Redskins have won the Super Bowl (that’s three for the record). It can be alienating for military kids to be without those who relate to their specific circumstance says Anita Chandra, director of behavioral and social sciences at the Research and Development Corporation. “Kids on military bases can cultural connect with others who are dealing with the same type of situations,” says Chandra. “For those in schools without military kids, it can be very isolating.” During her freshman year, junior Lily Varier had to grapple with the challenges of her father’s five-month deployment. Though Varier’s friends helped her through her father’s absence, special occasions still made her feel lonely. “At big events like homecoming, it was weird for my friends’ dads to be there and mine to not,” says Varier. “I didn’t feel isolated, just different.”
Traveler’s lessons With every move, Boris learned something new; Spanish in Guatemala and Portuguese in Brazil. But no matter the city, Boris learned how to quickly adjust to the newest place he would call home. Like brushing his teeth, moving became just another old routine. “I was used to it. It’s not a big sur-
prise,” he says. “I knew how long we would stay there before we left.” In Welch’s memory, his moves were often sudden, with little warning from the military or his parents. His dad would come downstairs and announce the next destination for the family. “It would come out of the blue,” Welch explains. The abrupt moves sometimes made it difficult for Welch to make friends. Without knowing how long he would stay in one place, investing in friendships was like looking for depth in a Ke$ha song: pointless. “It was kind of sad, being a little kid and being told everything you were used to like your friends and community will be gone,” says Welch, “It was hard to adjust to.”
Frequent flier As explorers reached greater
heights, be it The New World or the Moon, the need for travel continued to grow. So it is with many military kids. After spending much of their lives scouting out new towns and scoping out new friends, Chandra says it can be difficult for many to return to a sedentary lifestyle. The excitement of moving enthralled Welch. “Part of the fun was getting to learn about
and figure out a new place,” says Welch, “sometimes it became boring living in one place. It was fun to move around.” Inspired by his foreign homes, Boris plans on joining the military to continue traveling the world. “Whatever you do in the military, you get to travel around,” says Boris. Chandra says Boris’s choice is not unusual. 25 to 35 percent of military kids say they intend on joining the military themselves. Varier considered the possibility of joining the military after high school, but she believes the lifestyle of an active military employee is not one to which she could easily adjust. “I don’t think I’m cut out for it,” she says. ELIZA WAPNER Over the years, Welch learned to accept the trials that the array of new houses and towns presented during his days of tree climbing and kickball. “I used to regret moving and I would think about how different things would be if I stayed in one place,” Welch says. “Now there is no point in regretting because that’s just what happened in my life.”
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March 8, 2012
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CHIPS CLIPS 23
March 8, 2012
March Madness by Zoërose Waldrop
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How to get around Blair
ACROSS 1. New Orleans football team, or those who will go marching in 7. ___________ Band, halftime entertainment 12. Not a square, triangle, or line 13. Shape of a rainbow 14. Maine for short 15. The killer whale 16. Deal or 19. Small, __, or large; abbr 21. Rehoboth Bay Sailing Association, for short 22. A lumberjack’s preferred tool 23. A statement of personal belief 25. Where Euros are the currency 26. If a puppy is adorable, it is also c___ 27. The _____ de France 28. Acting sans awareness 34. What we breathe 35. Everything 36. Extra wide shoe size 37. Abbey _____ 40. What you wipe your feet on 42. Inspiration 43. New York City transportation 44. “We have nothing to _____ but _______ itself.” 46. Opposite of happy 48. Roads or routes, abbr.
49. 50. 52. 54. 55. 57. 59. 60.
Middle ______ Larry the _________ Guy ________ to Live __________ Lanka State south of VA This month brings showers Winter sport American Refugee Committee International, for short 62. A drink with jam and bread 63. Discrimination against young people 66. Actress from True Blood, Evan Rachel __________ 67. This unit produces cool air in a room 68. ___ vey! 69. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day ______ 71. Showed up 72. A buggy sports car DOWN 1. Game points 2. FLYING TRANSPORTATION 3. International Radio Call Sign, for short 4. They run the March Madness playoffs 5. Acura car model 6. 1960s Washington, D.C., baseball team 7. Fabricated 8. Plural of is 9. Radio Corporation of America, for short 10. Completely inside, _____ in 11. To require 17. Draft animals that pull
ploughs 18. L. ___ _________ J., the rapper and NCIS L.A. star 19. ___, re, mi 24. Are you, you? Sent by text 26. University of California, Irvine campus, Abbr 27. Party ‘____ the sun comes up 29. Naughty, not nice 30. Animal honored by Egyptians 31. Classic brand of jeans 32. 525,600 minutes 33. Monsters from Lord of the Rings 38. High fiber cereal ingredient 39. Nonrepresentational art 40. “No _____ Spanish homework, por favor!” 41. Class in which you get messy 42. Inter-American Development Bank, for short 44. Who goes with a gal 45. To consume 46. A frugal person___ on purchases 47. American Avalanche Institute, in brief 51. To conceal secret messages 53. Two in Roman numerals 54. Russian rifle 56. Seasonal autumnal beverage 57. @ 58. Irish fuel 59. Spanish agreement 60. When something has gone wrong, it has gone _______ 61. The _____ to recovery 64. Ultimate being 65. Private ______, detective 70. Advanced Placement, for short
February Solutions
S U D O K U TATYANA GUBIN
Expectations
Do No Evil
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by Tatyana Gubin
by Doyung Lee
silverCHIPS 24 Capitol Steps bring a mockery of democracy to Blair ENTERTAINMENT
March 8, 2012
Pitch-perfect performances at PTSA after prom fundraising event leave audience in stiches By Katelin Montgomery
to have fun, free-from-risky behavior. Since the event is free to all juniors, seniors and Complete with a cast of characters who their guests, the PTSA must raise $15,000 to look like they could be congressmen, wom- cover the expenses. That’s where the Capien and pirates themselves, the nationally ac- tol Steps performance comes in. Conny Marin of the PTSA loves group claimed Capitol Steps performed a witty political satire show at Blair last Sunday, Mar. 4 and explained that she saw them at a fundraiser and realized that they did community and they were absolutely fabulous. The performance was organized by events too. Tickets to the Blair concert cost Blair’s PTSA as a fundraiser for After Prom, $30 in advance and $40 at the door. From an event held at the school from midnight the PTSA’s perspective, the fundraiser was to 4 a.m. designed to give students a place a huge success. All of the proceeds from the ticket and concession sales raised $12,000 towards the event. The Capitol Steps had a great line up that was jam-packed with hilarious parodies. Highlights from their acts included a parody of Grease, which poked fun at the country Greece’s current economic state, Herman Cain’s song about his new product: Love Potion Number 9, and Newt Gingrich’s three ex wives singing a song entitled “The three little wives of Newt” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado”. Their jokes and senseless, and their mockery had the numerous audience members doubling over in laughter (one audience member suffered a coughing fit from laughing so hard). The Capitol Steps are mainly known for their criticism of U.S. politics, their satire is bipartisan and even extends to the realm of reality TV stars including Kim Kardashian and Snooki. Clearly, no topics were out of reach for the Capitol Steps. A particularly funny act was a Capitol Steps original, “Lirty LEAH MUSKIN-PIERRET Dies”, where the first letters of In the original song, “The Three Little Wives of phrases are flipped. Some of Newt,” actors play off of Gingrich’s infidelity. the resulting flips were quite
comical. Performers told the audience that if performance, the cast members came out they weren’t getting the hang of whipping to sell their CDs (which, according to them, flurds (flipping words) they could just nib- make great gifts for the people who live in ble down some scrotes (scribble down some notes). They also explained the poo tarty (two party) system, which leads to constipation in the government. The crowd loved these dirty jokes, which were present for the entire performance, proving that no one is too old for potty humor. Another highlight was the LEAH MUSKIN-PIERRET Moammar Gadhafi in hell act. Throughout the night, members of the Capitol Steps poked The main focus fun at political upheavals and social phenomena. was to find a roommate for the former dictator, but right the dark ages and still use CDs) and greet in the middle of the act, Gadhafi’s paper the audience members. One cast member, moustache fell off. As it is came undone, he Brian Ash, has been a Capitol Stepper for 24 tried not to let the audience know and at- years and got the job the old fashioned way tempted to stealthily adjust it with only his through a newspaper ad. “I called them for facial muscles, but soon gave up. an interview and they liked me. I haven’t Though the actor did break character, looked back,” he said. it made the act funnier as he pretended to He explains that the entire cast, made up eat his detached accessory then spit it out. of 25 members, can do up to four shows on a Later in the act, Kim Jong Ill, played by the single night. At Blair’s show, there were five shortest actor in the troupe, Tracey Stephens, cast members including Brian Ash, Jenny joined Moammar in the fiery pit and made Corbett, Kevin Corbett, Corey Harris, Tracy racist jokes that went a little too far. A crack Stephens and their wonderfully talented about eating dogs yielded loud boos from pianist Lenny Williams. the audience, but this did not hinder the The Capitol Steps perform 800 shows a evening. After all, comedy always ends up year in the DC area and worldwide. Their offending a few people. show at Blair proves them to be some of the The show was a hit and everyone left best comedians around; their skills even riwith a smile on his or her face. After the val SNL’s funniest moments.
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ENTERTAINMENT 25
March 8, 2012
Reviews by Helen Bowers and Simrin Gupta Art by Julia Bates
Which Side Are You On?
Sounds from Nowheresville
Producer: Frank Liddell, Luke Wooten
Producer: Ani DiFranco, Mike Napolitano
Producer: The Ting Tings
Release Date: Jan. 24
Release Date: Jan. 17
Release Date: Mar. 15
100 Proof Kelly Pickler
Ani DiFranco
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The Ting Tings
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THE BEST THAT CAN BE said about Kelly Pickler’s new album is that the songs are pretty short. It’s not necessarily Pickler’s American Idol’s Top Twelve voice that irks listeners into quickly changing the radio when one of her new songs comes up, it’s more the total lack of creativity, ingenuity and class in each of the 11 titles on her new album. Most of Pickler’s lyrics just aren’t clever, phrases like “stop cheating on me, or I’ll start cheating on you” leave audiences shaking their heads and wondering if Pickler really is that simple minded. A few of the tracks are sweet but they are overshadowed by too many sad, angry or just confusing songs. Songs like “The Letter (to Daddy),” and “Mother’s Day” are clearly meant to provoke an emotional response, but their lack of new perspectives or clever phrases make such feelings impossible. So if you’re looking for good music, you better look somewhere else.
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ANI DIFRANCO’S twenty first album, “Which Side Are You On?” marks another step in the folk singer’s transition from her debut focus on feminism in 1990 to her current status as an advocate for world peace. “Which Side Are You On?” has a range of songs from hard rock to psychedelic. There’s also a range of social criticize the government’s ineptitude, while many of her other numbers address the environment and societal perceptions of happiness. Many songs are less provocative than Difranco’s previous titles, though her messages are as clear as ever. Also present are Difranco’s clever analogies and metaphors. After twenty one albums, Difranco is still able to come up with rapturous imagery to illustrate the cruelty of climate change and the tragedy of war. But the imagery is not only used to depict scenes of terror; a number of songs tell tales of love and marriage, a marked distinction from previous releases.
THE TING TINGS have fallen from the limelight after their songs “Shut Up and Let Me Go” and “That’s Not My Name” hit the American billboards in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Although they may not be Top 40s material, the band is still able to put out a solid album with a good range of songs and strong musical quality. The CD’s best quality is the high degree of “listenability.” The songs can be classified as the pop of indie rock, or the smooth jazz of hard rock; their strong beats and catchy tunes make for good dancing music as well as good music to groove to on the bus. The first seven tracks are heavy on the beat and groove, while the last three introduce an acoustic tone and a more natural style. This grouping makes the songs seem pretty similar to one another, but the songs are different enough that listeners don’t get bored before track three. The album is worth listening to if you’re looking for a casual groove.
Scars and Stories
WZRD
Breakfast
Producer: Brendan O’Brien
Producer: Dot Da Genius
Producer: Xaphoon Jones
Release Date: Feb. 28
Release Date: Feb. 28
The Fray
Kid Cudi & Dot Da Genius
Release Date: Feb. 7
Chiddy Bang
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“SCARS AND STORIES” is The Fray’s third album since the release of “How to Save A Life” in 2005. For Blazers who are already fans of The Fray, the album is a must-have since the overall sound is the same. But even for those unfamiliar with the piano-driven soft rock genre, the album is still worth a listen. The Fray has stuck with their time-tested formula of medium-paced, mellow, alternative rock tunes that give the album a U2-meets-Counting Crows feel. However, they manage to keep their sound fresh with funky buildups and strong choruses (see the single “Turn Me On”). The most notable aspect of the album is that it was compiled after the band’s recent trip to Africa and Germany, giving the tracks reflective and inspirational. The Fray is still able to maintain a solid pop sensibility thanks to the efforts of producer Brenden O’Brien. Though it’s not guaranteed that “Scars and Stories” will win The Fray new fans, it will please old ones.
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ROLLING STONE HAS dubbed Kid Cudi “hiphop’s sensitive soul” but his new album “WZRD” (pronounced double-u-zee-are-dee) takes the title to a whole new level...a bad one. Co-written with Day N’ Nite producer Dot Da Genius, Cudi’s new record is anything but another “Man on the Moon” hit. Cudi and Dot intended the album to be a union of hip-hop and alternative rock sounds but the product is similar to Lil Wayne’s “Rebirth,” though “WZRD” has slightly more of a true rock-feel. This album has definitely fallen short of his fans’ expectations. If you’re used to Cudi’s catchy rap singles, “WZRD” isn’t for you. Cudi says he wanted the album to be a vehicle through which he could branch out musically, but the tracks deviate far too much from his regular style. There’s a painful emphasis on Cudi’s “soulful” vocals and recently developed acoustic guitar skills...or, er, lack thereof.
FANS OF CHIDDY BANG most probably recognize them as the artists behind the MGMT-sampled track, “Opposite of Adults,” which was an online hit from their debut mix tape, “The Swelly Express,” in ‘09. This month, the West-Philly natives have released their first studio album, Breakfast, for fans who have been hungry for more. If you haven’t heard of them, their sound has an eclectic hip-hop meets alternative swag — similar to Kanye’s Good Morning or Wiz’s Party All Night. Their new record features a handful of upbeat tracks with well-timed progressions, great samples and fun, irresistibly catchy hooks. Though Chiddy Bang might still act like the opposite of adults, their new release is definitely well-produced and cohesive. The back of the album says it best, “On ‘Breakfast,’” Chiddy grabs the mic with a “grown man flow that declares the duo are here to eat… even if they’re eating Lucky Charms.”
BEYOND the Boulevard Movies The Lorax (PG) — Based on Dr. Seuss’s children’s book, the animated 2012 rendition gives the classic story an update. The story follows a 12-year-old boy (Zac Efron)’s journey to discover the story of the Lorax (Danny DeVito), a grumpy but lovable orange forest creature who cares about protecting the natural world. This is the one thing that will help the boy achieve the girl of his dreams (Taylor Swift). This seemingly simple and heartwarming children’s tale works on a deeper level, presenting an exaggeration of a big problem today, the decreasing amount of natural environment. 21 Jump Street (R) — Drawing inspiration from the television drama series of the same name, the film stars two underachieving cops, Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt
(Jonah Hill), who are sent back to high school as students on an undercover mission to find the suppliers of a synthetic drug ring. The partners, who cannot even recite the Miranda rights, approach their mission in a non-traditional way by throwing a drug and alcohol filled party for the children, and partaking in these activities themselves. Jenko and Schmidt take viewers along for an action-packed adventure as they take on the teenage druggies while reliving the torment of their high school years in this raunchy comedy. (Mar. 16)
cult to her sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson)’s lake house. Martha is brainwashed and emotionally damaged from her time in the cult, run by a chillingly charming man named Patrick (John Hawkes), who creates psychological ownership of his devotees by renaming them. Soon after her arrival, Lucy and her husband (Hugh Dancy)’s original sympathy transform into insensitive exasperation at her strange behavior. Jumping from Martha’s past, present and subconscious, this disquieting and Sundance-winning film provides an insight into Martha’s mind.
DVDs
Tower Heist (PG-13) — Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller), the manager of The Tower, a luxurious Central Park Condominium, and his staff, who had trusted him with their pensions, have been robbed by a wealthy Wall Street investor, Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda). Fortunately for them, Shaw has been placed on house arrest in that very same building
Martha Marcy May Marlene (R) — This indie thriller is set in the sun-dappled forests in the Catskills and stars Martha (Elizabeth Olsen), who also goes by Marcy May and Marlene, a girl who has escaped from a rural
for stealing over two billion from his investors of which the tower staff is included. With Kovacs as their leader, the group plans to steal the money that they are sure Shaw has hidden in his home before he gets away with the perfect crime. Combined with Kovacs’ criminal friend, Slide (Eddy Murphy), the misfit crew attempts to take back what is theirs.
Concerts
The Black Keys at the Verizon Center, Friday Mar. 9 at 8 p.m., Tickets: $68.40 Gotye at the 9:30 Club, Thursday Mar. 22 at 7 p.m., Tickets: $128.99
Beyond the Boulevard compiled by Katelin Montgomery
26 ADS
March 8, 2012
silverCHIPS
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ENTERTAINMENT
March 8, 2012
Finding treasure at Eastern Market
27
Take a trip down to Southeast D.C.’s most eclectic bazaar but vintage clothes vendor Salvatore Bagassi says that EastDuring the week, the weekend serves as ern Market one of them. The the bright light at the end of the dark tunvendors at the market come nel. But when you get there, it can be a litfrom all around the world and tle more dim then you expected. Elaborate bring unique that sense of culplans often have a ture with them, he says. way of falling through “When you talk about the at the last minute. melting pot of America, You end up standing it’s at Eastern Market,” around awkwardly says Bagassi. in downtown Silver Bagassi’s stall has Spring or watching been a fixture at Eastern the Lifetime Movie Market for a number of Network eating a box years. He first opened the of Girl Scout cookies stand about seven years LEAH MUSKIN-PIERRET all by yourself. How ago and due to its success sad. This weekend, has been able to open a The South Market building houses a diverse mix up that bland store, “Rock It Again,” selection of all sorts of produce and delicacies. routine and take a trip on U Street. His stand down to Eastern Marspecializes in coats, which often sport auctions. He also sells other objects like rare ket. fur trim, big buttons or built in scarves, antique dice, pool balls, comic books and Eastern Market is which will make anyone look like the records. Stamps may seem like an unusual Washington, D.C.’s modern-day Jackie O. For guys, Ba- buy, but an old-timer at the market, he says oldest market, foundgassi sells suave jackets that could turn that business is great and that people snatch ed in 1873, and today even the most careless boy into a dash- up his interesting commodity. continues to operate ing George Clooney. For him and his For sellers just starting out, the market at full throttle. The coats, the market has presented huge provides a great first base. For example, Eastern Market Metro opportunities. this is the first Sunday for Monica Kang station (Blue and OrWhat Bagassi loves most about and Renee McSwain who make homemade ange Lines) is convethe market is its sense of community. Shea butter-based beauty products. Before niently located just a “There’s no alternative, but to make re- Eastern Market, the small production, Humblock away from the lationships,” he says. He often trades mingbird Botanicals, had only sold at home huge, bustling outwith other vendors and says there is an shows and private showings, so this market door bazaar. During unofficial vendor code that no one will was a big step for them. Hey, if a stamp seller the week, the indoor pay full price for an item. can make it here, so can anyone. LEAH MUSKIN-PIERRET South Market ofClothes are not the only commodSo this weekend, make that light at the fers fresh vegetables, Stands offer all sorts of vintage items, such as these ity the market offers. One of the most tunnel really worth it. Change up your cheeses, pasta and game pieces, that could add visual interest to any space. interesting and oddest stands is simply wardrobe, buy some new home decor items all sorts of food. On a bunch of tables put together. On top to spice up your room, or bring some homeSundays, the streets surrounding the South makes the market so fun is the mix of ven- of the tables, old-fashioned stamps sparkle made chocolate ravioli to the dinner table. Market burst into life with vendors selling dors. Very few markets can claim to repre- in the sun. The owner of the store sells these You can even get your Girl Scout cookies everything, including art, beauty products, sent the diversity of America authentically, stamps, acquired at other flea markets and here for next weekend.
By Eliza Wapner
clothes and furniture. If you are looking for an eclectic shopping experience, Eastern Market is the best place to be. It’s one of the only places you can find fresh produce, authentic African beads and every kind of wristwatch imaginable. What
Unique Mexican flavors south of the (District) border Taqueria Distrito Federal is the perfect place to satisfy your taco craving but I sincerely hope it’s not how they do things down there. After The subterranean hole-in-thesorting out all the bones, the taco is wall restaurant looks like the half its original volume, but twice perfect taco shack: Holy Santos as delicious. in the corner, a photo of national As for the rest of the line-up: hero Emiliano Zapata on the wall, the Barbacoa de Res (beef barbea Mexican flag draped over the cue) tacos are saucy and complex exit sign, a soccer game playing in flavor, the Tacos al Pastor (beef on a cheap TV. The guests were and pork) are flavorful and punchy all Latino, and were eating hapand the Carne Asada (steak) tacos pily. Tastefully dumpy and withare tender and well-seasoned. The out any glitz, the place is a rare corn tortillas, which cradle this diholdout of Latino authenticity in verse selection of meats, have the the viciously gentrified Columbia perfect moist, chewy consistency. Heights “neighborhood.” You’ll never crave Chipotle again. We settled on the stiff chairs There is not much good to say packed in the cramped dining about the Tilapia fish tacos, though room, which was lit by an indusI’ve never heard of anyone being trial fluorescent light. Skipping impressed with Tilapia fishanything so I guess my gamble was overly hopeful. Also less than impressive are the chips, which taste like burnt newspaper, serving no other purpose than to deliver the extraordinary guacamole from bowl to mouth in the apparent shortage of forks at the restaurant. As far as the atmosphere, I’ll say this: if you make a Groupon, the yuppies will come. This business phenomenon seems to be working well for Taqueria Distrito Federal. When we entered, we were impressed by the number of Latinos sitting down for dinner, a sure sign of the authentic Mexican taqueria experience we were looking to find. During the course of our dinner, however, the COURTESY OF DONUTTACOPOETRY.COM servers stubbornly spoke Tucked away in a calm corner of gentrified Columbia Heights, the to us in fractured English, though we spoke Spanish to taqueria offers an authentic feel and a unique atmosphere.
By Sebastian Medina-Tayac
the subpar complimentary salsas on the table (you get what you pay for), we managed to hunt down the solitary waitress and order a sampling of the tacos. Though not in the traditional Mexico City-style, they came piping-hot and freshly made. But my first bite yielded the only thing worse than a mouthful of bones and gristle: an unanticipated mouthful of bones and gristle. I was expecting the short rib taco to be filled with meat from the ribs, not the ribs themselves. It seems like the entire rib, bone included, is hacked up and tossed in. I’m willing to dismiss this disappointment with an “I guess that’s how they do things down there,”
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While most of the selection of tacos are flavorful and satisfying, like the Carne Asada, some fall flat in quality. them. I soon understood why. At precisely 7:00 p.m., there seemed to be a mass exodus of Latino diners, who were almost immediately replaced by urban professionals migrating to this calm corner of the neighborhood. Soon, we were the only people in the whole place speaking Spanish. It seems that the restaurant is completely prepared for this sudden switch in demographic, capitalizing on the window of opportunity between the closing of art galleries and the opening of theaters, in order to sweep up the Groupon-bearing yuppies. Their tastylooking selection of fajitas, which were allegedly “unavailable due to a kitchen malfunction” when we entered, miraculously started sizzling their way to the tables of the delighted and mystified new guests, exclaiming that it is “just like Cancun.”
Maybe they tip better. Though the service did improve slightly at this time, we went unnoticed by the two servers for at least 15 minutes while trying to get the check— a true feat on their part considering the tiny size of the restaurant. On the whole, Taqueria Distrito Federal didn’t end up being the hidden gem of Columbia Heights we were looking for, but offers an interesting cultural experience and a few very impressive tacos. If you know what to order, when to go and what to expect, you’ll have a great meal.
Taqueria Distrito Federal is located on 3463 14th St. NW Washington, D.C., near the Columbia Heights Metro stop (Green line). It is open 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Sundays through Wednesdays and 8 a.m. – 11 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.
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LA ESQUINA LATINA
silverCHIPS
8 de marzo del 2012
CAP y Magnet ¿Dónde están los latinos? La integración a la cultura anglosajona crea más oportunidades
Por Yessica Somoza y Hector Barrera Montgomery Blair es reconocida como una de las escuelas secundarias más diversas en el condado de Montgomery. Pero cuando nos enfocamos en dos de los programas con mayor éxito y reconocimiento dentro de la escuela, los programas CAP y Magnet, ¿serán realmente tan diversos como dicen? El programa CAP ofrece clases para estudiantes con intereses en las artes comunicativas como el periodismo o el teatro mientras el programa Magnet se compone de un currículo rígido con enfoque en las ciencias y matemáticas. Ambos están compuestos por estudiantes que poseen una excelente trayectoria académica. Sin duda pertenecer a uno de estos prestigiosos programas es razón de orgullo y felicidad. Sin embargo, obtener un lugar en dichos programas no es una tarea fácil, ya que los candidatos tienen que entregar aplicaciones, recomendaciones, y tomar un examen de ingreso como parte del proceso de selección. Muchos pensarían que la diversidad estudiantil de Montgomery Blair también estaría reflejada en ambos programas. Desafortunadamente, este no es el caso. Teniendo en cuenta el número de estudiantes latinos en el condado y en Montgomery Blair, es algo preocupante que una de las entidades menos representadas en CAP y Magnet sea la población latina. En Blair, las cifras muestran que el 29.4% de los estudiantes son hispanos, más que cualquier otro grupo. Sin embargo, ya que la ma-yoría de los estudiantes en CAP son caucásiacos y la mayoría de los estudiantes en Magnet son asiáticos, muchos de estos estudiantes latinos no están en el programa CAP ni Magnet. En los últimos cuatro años,
el programa Magnet ha recibido más de doscientas solicitudes de estudiantes asiáticos, desafortunadamente, en estos mismos últimos cuatro años el número de solicitudes de estudiantes latinos no ha aumentado. Este año, el programa Magnet recibió más de quinientas aplicaciones, el número de estudiantes latinos solicitando solo fueron veintiseis. De hecho, en los últimos cuatros años, las aplicaciones de latinos han estado en un promedio entre veinte y treinta. De este número pequeño,
El coordinador del programa Magnet, Sr. Ostrander, nota la falta de diversidad y menciona que hay muchos factores que hacen que sea muy complicado para los hispanos ser aceptados en tal programa. Él nota que tiene que haber un esfuerzo por todos lados incluyendo, en la escuela y en la familia. Juan Vicente, un estudiante de décimo grado y en el programa de Magnet, dice que su familia tuvo mucho que ver en su decisión de sol-icitar al programa, “Mis padres prácticamente no me dieron una opción y mis hermanas me empujaron a tomar el riesgo, porque yo no pensaba que iba ser aceptado.” Vicente dice que como estudiante, él también nota la falta de diversidad en los programas y personalmente siente un trato diferente por los otros estudiantes. “Desde el sexto grado he tenido que hacer frente a otra gente que no cree que soy inteligente debido a mis raíces hispanas.” Los estudiantes latinos tienen una inmensa cantidad de talento, igual que cualquier otra categoría de estudiantes, pero si no es reforzada no puede ser reconocida. OsUna clase del programa CAP. trander señala que una de las razones que los estudiantes la cifra más alta de latinos que han sido latinos no aplican al programa Magnet es aceptados son seis y en CAP, la situación no es porque las escuelas elementales e intermediferente. Esto explica por qué existe una falta dias solo ayudan a los estudiantes alcanzar de diversidad en ambos programas. No es un nivel de capacidad. Después de este nivel, porque los estudiantes latinos no tienen la ca- las escuelas no están reforzando talento. Esto pacidad de ser aceptados, es porque los estu- afecta especialmente a los estudiantes latinos que muchas veces tienen que enfrentar barrediantes latinos no aplican con frecuencia. LEAH HAMMOND
ras del idioma y de nivel socioeconómico. Sin el apoyo de sus escuelas, muchos estudiantes latinos no reciben el endoso en la casa como los estudiantes de otras razas. Es difícil también para los padres convertirse en una parte importante de la vida académica de sus hijos porque enfrentan barreras del idioma, y por eso mismo es a veces dificultoso obtener la información necesaria sobre programas como CAP y Magnet. Con el objetivo de aumentar el número de aplicaciones latinas, Ostrander menciona que el programa de Magnet ha hecho esfuerzos como por ejemplo mandar folletos de información en español para atraer más candidatos hispanos. Pero es una meta difícil de completar y para resolver este problema se requiere más que enviar información por escrito. Ostrander está firmemente opuesto a la idea de que los estudiantes latinos no puedan competir a un nivel de prestigio como el de los otros estudiantes. CAP y Magnet son programas donde los estudiantes latinos pueden triunfar si solo muestran un interés. Juan Vicente dice que él aplicó porque sus padres miraron al futuro. “Apliqué porque mis padres pensaron que el programa Magnet me podía dar un mejor futuro.” En los próximos años y con la ayuda de nuevos esfuerzos, más comunicación entre las escuelas, apoyo de los parientes e interés departe de los estudiantes, veremos si la población latina será mejor representada en CAP y Magnet. Los estudiantes latinos deben tener las mismas oportunidades que otros estudiantes, su origen no debería tener ninguna importancia. El estudiante que posee cierto potencial y deseo de plantearse desafíos personales, tiene el derecho de ir en búsqueda de una mejor educación sin ser juzgado por la raza ni por los estereotipos.
Sabor latino: Restaurante dominicano “Manna”
club” y otros jugos naturales además de las Durante el almuerzo, entre las 11 am y 3:00 bebidas típicas dominicanas. Aperitivos de la tarde es cuando más ocupados están. El sabor docomo pastelitos dominicanos, salami frito El restaurante consiste de dos plantas, la minicano es traído y otros riquísimos aperitivos también son primera planta es donde el bar está esa nosotros por el provistos. El menú de la misma manera pro- tablecido y en la segunda planta está el resseñor Francisco y vee comida para niños como pechugas fritas taurante principal. De esta forma, los duela señora Francisca con papas fritas y chicharrones ños buscan Marcial. Este resde pollo y cerdo. El señor Marcomo otaurante conocido cial relata con una gran alegría frecer un por muchos doel saber que han ambiente minicanos al igual sido muy bien al gusto del que otros latinos aceptados por cliente. Al se llama Manna. El la comunidad solo entrar restaurante Manna que rodea el esal estahace siete años está tablecimiento blecimiento ubicado en el 8640 al igual que se nota que de la Avenida Floaquellas persoel servicio wer, Takoma Park, nas que vienen al cliente MD 20912. Este resdesde lejos a su es esencial. taurante no es solamente Este es el plato típico Dominicano restaurante ya C o n s t a n t eun restaurante si no que conocido como La Bandera. sean de origen mete están también es un bar, siemdominicano o llegando pre buscando como complacer al cliente. verdes fritos o maduros y no. personas y Los dueños ofrecen diferentes opciones diferentes ensaladas. Otro El reslas meseras Restaurante Manna de servicios; como el servicio de almuerzo y plato más vendido son taurante y bar muestran su cena en el restaurante o en el bar y servicio las empanadas rellenas de está abierto amabilidad de entrega de comida a la casa del cliente. queso, carne de res, pollo todos los días pero con buscando satisfacer sus deseos aProveen espacio para banquetes y fiestas o de vegetales, las cuales Este es el menú de Manna diferente horarios. De limenticios. grandes con anticipo de reservación. Pro- son deliciosas. El plato lunes a jueves el resEsperan que su clientela siga creciendo porcionan una variedad de comidas al estilo conocido como mofongo y taurante está abierto de y siguen trabajando para proveerle a los dominicano. Uno de los platos más famosos las picaderas son los más ordenados por los 10 am-11pm y de viernes hasta el domingo clientes del área un ambiente familiar y con y pedido a menudo por los clientes el plato clientes cuando hay eventos especiales como está abierto de 11am-2am ya que el bar of- una gran calidad de comida. ¡Así que no se llamado “La bandera dominicana”. La ban- los banquetes para fiestas. También se vende rece horarios para vender bebidas alcohóli- olviden pasar por el restaurante Manna en dera dominicana es un plato que lleva ar- el famoso refresco dominicano, el “country cas a personas mayores de veintiuno años. su próxima exploración de sabores latinos!
Por Heydi Mora Urbina y Anilu Martínez
roz, habichuela (frijoles) y cualquier tipo de carne que el cliente desee. Si el cliente desea este plato típico también puede esta acompañado por tostones que son plátanos
FOTOS POR ANILU MARTINEZ
FOTOS POR ANILU MARTINEZ
FOTOS POR ANILU MARTINEZ
Nota informativa: El programa “InDesign” utilizado para realizar
¡ANUNCIO!
Nota informativa: El programa “InDesign” utilizado para realizar
el periódico de la escuela, está diseñado para la
el periódico de la escuela, está diseñado para la
lengua inglesa. Con tal propósito, Silver Chips of-
lengua inglesa. Con tal propósito, Silver Chips of-
rece disculpas por cualquier error gramatical que tengan las páginas de La Esquina Latina después de haber sido intensamente editadas. Gracias.
¿Te gusta escribir? ¿Te sientes cómodo escribiendo en español? ¿Te gustaría escribir para la Esquina Latina? Para más información, habla con la Sra. González en el salón 170.
rece disculpas por cualquier error gramatical que tengan las páginas de La Esquina Latina después de haber sido intensamente editadas. Gracias.
silverCHIPS
LA ESQUINA LATINA
8 de marzo del 2012
La educación de la joven latina en los E.E. U.U. Por Claudia Quiñonez COMENZANDO LA ESCUELA Todos los niños y adolescentes en este país, tienen la oportunidad de asistir a la escuela sin ninguna restricción. Las escuelas públicas, ofrecen la oportunidad a todos de estudiar. La única condición es que los padres presenten los documentos requeridos y vacunas administradas al joven que están registrando. Una vez cumplidos estos requisitos el estudiante es aceptado.
BENEFICIOS Si un estudiante acaba de llegar al país es sometido a una prueba de inglés para conocer el nivel de su conocimiento. Si tiene poco o ningún conocimiento del idioma tiene el derecho a tomar clases de ESOL en sus diferentes niveles. Las escuelas públicas ofrecen a los estudiantes transporté gratuito, libros escolares y actividades extracurriculares. De acuerdo al nivel económico de los padres, el alumno puede obtener un almuerzo gratuito o pagar una mínima cuota, también puede recibir exámenes gratuitos que tienen costo (como exámenes de AP, ACT, SAT). La escuela ofrece otros programas de apoyo académico y de consejería a los estudiantes que lo necesiten. También muchos talleres son ofrecidos a los padres para que apoyen a sus hijos en el desarrollo de su aprendizaje.
ASISTENCIA A CLASE Según estudios realizados se observa que en la escuela primaria la asistencia de los niños es muy buena, en el nivel intermedio ya se observa una disminución en la asistencia de los estudiantes , en la escuela secundaria la
inasistencia y el abandono escolar es mayor por distintas razones. Haciendo un análisis más cuidadoso de la escuela secundaria, se observa que los estudiantes latinos no llegan a graduarse en la proporción de los que ingresaron a la primaria porque abandonan los estudios. Las adolescentes son las que abandonan las escuelas más frecuentemente. Una de las razones podría ser que no existe el apoyo y la motivación de parte de sus padres o del entorno en el que viven; que en algunos casos no es muy bueno o destructivo. Otras porque tienen que cuidar a sus hermanos menores mientras que los padres trabajan. Una gran mayoría trabaja fuera de la casa para cubrir sus necesidades y ayudar con la economía de la familia y en otros casos se emancipan y forman su propio hogar con otro adolscente y por consiguiente tienen que dejar la escuela, y empezar a trabajar para poder sostener su nuevo hogar.
MUJER, CULTURA Y EDUCACIÓN América latina está compuesta por los países de habla hispana, desde la Patagonia( Argentina), pasando por Centro América llegando a Méjico. En todos estos países se desarrollaron las culturas pre-colombinas (antes de la llegada de América por Cristóbal Colon). En estas culturas, como la Incaica, Maya y Azteca, la mujer poseía un rol muy importante en la sociedad, ya que podía ser monarca, líder o hechicera (roles muy importantes en estas culturas). Cuando llegaron los españoles (1492) trajeron sus costumbres, su religión, y tradiciones. En la conquista como así si la llamaron los españoles, impusieron su cultura donde el machismo predominaba. Generalmente en este estilo de vida, la mujer era vista como un objeto de reproducción y ama de casa. No se le permitía obtener
una educación, ni capacitarse. Transcurren muchos años, hasta el siglo XIX, donde la mujer gana derechos y puede recibir una educación. Actualmente todavía existe esta costumbre en muchas familias hispanas, donde las hijas son educadas para ser amas de casa y madres. Esto le da a las estudinates una para abandonar la escuela y buscar su propio hogar.
DÍA DE LA MUJER El día de la mujer es celebrado mundialmente cada 8 de marzo. Se les recuerda a las mujeres la lucha que han tenido a través de los años por obtener la igualdad con el hombre. La idea de tener un día internacional para la mujer surgió a finales del siglo XIX, un periodo donde el machismo, el gran crecimiento de las poblaciones y las ideologías radicales estaban en su nivel más alto. Este año se celebrará el 101 recordatorio de esta fecha. Se les felicita a todas las mujeres, especialmente a las que están saliendo adelante
LOS EDUCADORES OPINAN En la búsqueda de mayor información, se realizaron entrevistas a diferentes educadores de nuestra escuela, siendo las personas más indicadas por la variedad de estudiantes con las que lidian todos los días. En el departamento de consejería, se entrevistó a la Sra. Small, con la siguiente pregunta: ¿Qué piensa de la cantidad de adolescentes latinas que no se gradúan de la escuela secundaria? Su respuesta fue “No es justo decir que todas lo están haciendo, hay una gran di-versidad en la cultura, pero las que generalmente lo hacen es porque los padres quieren que cuiden a los hermanos menores”. En el departamento de matemáticas la en-trevista fue al Sr. Scott , profesor de ma-
29
temáticas. Su respuesta a la misma pregunta fue “Muchas veces las estudiantes quedan embarazadas y dejan la escuela. También sus familias las obligan a dejar la escuela para proveer económicamente, cuand en realidad ellas desean seguir estudiando” A la Sra. Renay Johnson, directora de nuestra escuela se le preguntó, ¿Qué se podría hacer para mejorar la situación de las adolescentes que abandonan la escuela?, y dijo “Hay que hacer sentir a los estudiantes que son valorados y que existe una luz al final del camino”. La Sra. Deeny, subdirectora respondió, “En la cultura latina, todos quieren graduarse, pero no entienden las consecuencias de sus acciones”.
LOS ESTUDIANTES OPINAN
Se realizó una encuesta con los estudiantes de Blair para conocer la opinión personal y saber que desean hacer una vez graduados de la escuela. Aproximadamente -77% quieren ir a la universidad Algunos impedimentos son: -38% no tienen un estatus legal definido. -19% no dominan el idioma. -31% no tienen el dinero suficiente.
CONCLUSIÓN
En este país de oportunidades, las jóvenes latinas tienen muchas que podrân aprovechar siempre y cuando tengan una visión de lo que quieren. La educación está disponible para todas las que desean y están dispuestas a esforzarse y dedicarse al estudio. Sí se puede y todos somos capaces de lograr nuestros objetivos académicos.
Con tantas oportunidades es hora de motivarse y tomar acción Por Kelly Ventura Siendo de origen latino, no es ninguna sorpresa que muchas veces tengamos que enfrentarnos con estereotipos, y varias formas de discriminación. La perspectiva de que somos incapaces de terminar con nuestros estudios y graduarnos de una universidad en especial, es muy degradante. Esto debería servirnos como el empuje de motivación para alcanzar nuestras metas académicas en vez de seguir por el mismo modelo por el cual somos categorizados. La verdad es que con tantas oportunidades, no hay excusa por la cual no podamos alcanzar nuestras metas en el aspecto académico. Hay muchos programas disponibles que nos puede beneficiar grandemente. Solo tenemos que poner de nuestra parte y tomar la iniciativa de ir en búsqueda de esas oportunidades. El Hispanic College Fund y el Hispanic Heritage Foundation son ejemplos muy claros. A través de los años, estos programas han ayudado a bastante a estudiantes de descendencia latina con deseos de ir a la universidad a que realicen su sueño de poder asistir a una universidad. El Hispanic Youth Institute (HYI) es un programa creado por el Hispanic College
Fund y dirigida hacia jóvenes latinos en escuela secundaria que quieren asistir a una universidad. El programa se trata de pasar cuatro días en una universidad del área en las cuales los estudiantes aceptados al programa a través de un proceso de aplicación, son instruídos a como aplicar a las universidades; donde buscar becas y otros recursos financieros y aprender qué otras oportunidades hay con respecto a posibles carreras que sea de su agrado e interés. También dan la oportunidad a los estudiantes a que ganen becas a través de competencias durante esos cuatro días de duración del programa. Sin duda, el programa es muy recomendable y no está fuera del alcance para estudiantes latinos del condado de Montgomery, ya que el 28 de abril a las 9am en Montgomery College-Germantown, Step Up To Success (SUTS) estará auspiciando un programa muy similar. Jonathan JayesGreen, uno de los fundadores del programa que se llevará a acabo el próximo
mes sugiere grandemente a todo estudiante latino que aplique al programa. “Cualquier estudiante que quiera más orientación en su camino a llegar a la universidad o por qué debiera considerar asistir a un colegio universitario, debiera aplicar al programa. Tal vez se sorprenderán de la información buena que será provista.”, dice Jonathan Jayes-Green, un estudiante panameño muy ejemplar para la población hispana. Jonathan vino a este país hace seis años y empezó la escuela secundaria como es-tudiante en ESOL. Una vez completó su cuarto año de escuela secundaria, Jonathan logró graduarse de la escuela secundaria de Kennedy con más de 1,000 horas co-munitarias y varios créditos u-niversitarios que acumuló tomando varias clases de AP. También obtuvo una pasantía con la primera consejal latina del condado de Montgomery, Nancy Navarro. Ac-tualmente él está asistiendo a Montgomery College y fue nombrado miembro de la junta sindical de la misma institución por el gobernador O’Malley. Por querer ayudar a los jóvenes inmigrantes lo más posible, Jonathan estuvo
FOTO CORTESÍA DE EL HISPANIC COLLEGE FUND
muy involucrado en la abogacía del Acta de ensueño de Maryland y sigue sirviendo de ayuda a la juventud a través del estudiante ejemplar que ya es, y ahora a través de SUTS. A pesar de los obstáculos que muchos latinos inmigrantes tienen que enfrentar, al igual que Jonathan Jayes-Green alcanzó sus metas académicas, todos podemos hacerlo, es solo cuestión de no conformarnos con los estereotipos. El llegar a una universidad no es una tarea imposible, solo una que requiere esfuerzo personal. Muchas cosas en la vida son un desafío y el llegar a una universidad es el desafío más grande de nuestra generación hispana. Pero hay oportunidades y recursos los cuales podemos y debemos aprovechar. Así que si desean continuar con sus estudios una vez que acaben con escuela secundaria, pero necesitan más instrucción de cómo hacerlo, tomen el primer paso de esfuerzo aplicando al programa SUTS a través de la página en Facebook, Facebook. com/suts.hyi o envíen un correo electrónico a silver.chips.print@gmail.com pidiendo una aplicación. No nos podemos olvidar que las oportunidades y recursos siempre están disponibles. Solo hay que esforzarnos para encontrarlos y aprovecharnos de ellos.
¿Y tú, qué PIENSAS?
¿Cuán importante es para tus padres el que tú recibas una educación avanzada?
“Para mis padres es sumamente importante, porque quieren que sea independiente.” Brenda Torres, Onceavo grado
“No es importante, porque ellos ya quieren que me ponga a trabajar.” Geovanny Orellana, Doceavo grado
“Es importante, ellos van a depender de mi en el futuro porque soy la hija mayor.” Marjorie Martinez, Noveno grado
30 SPORTS
silverCHIPS
March 8, 2012
With friends, there’s always a home court advantage Basketball girls’ friendship lasts from first buzzer through graduation By Emma Bergman
what to do and get into arguments like sisters, because at the end of the day we know it is just a game,” she says. Some friendship roles are universal: the In the first playoff game, the girls’ dynamic jokester, the listener, the leader. Not so comworks seamlessly. A time out is called and the mon is a friend group that also has the forgirls huddle wards, the point guard and the up. Even captains. For best friends and before Consenior varsity basketball playley joins the ers Morgan Chase, Adrienne c i rc l e , t h e Jackson, Johanna Lopez, Olivia five are acNono and Myla Sapp, friendship knowledgand basketball are inseparable. ing problems The second half of the seawith the son’s first playoff game starts way they’ve up. The Lady Blazers step up been playagainst Bethesda-Chevy Chase, ing, helping staring them down from across the team imthe court. After a rough first prove their half, Sapp passes the ball down game. the lane to Jackson, who dishes Lopez it off to Chase. Lopez, who had says that the been out with an injury, comes other players off the bench and stays in for the have helped rest of the game. With Lopez her grow on the court, the five are back significantly together again and move in for ELLIE MUSGRAVE since freshthe big win. m a n y e a r. Not written in any athletic From left: seniors Johanna Lopez, Myla Sapp, Gabrielle Smith, Adrienne “I know as rule book is the aspect of sports Jackson, Morgan Chase and Olivia Nono. Smith has been out with a conthese Blazers value as much as cussion since December 2010 but still supports her teammates at games. a freshmen I was a baby,” their trophies and medals: the friendships that will likely outlast their days one another. “Before they came in we really she says. “By them pushing me, always talkon the court. didn’t have too much of a program. They ing to me, keeping my mindset positive, they really have turned the program around and made me want to do better.” brought competitive basketball back to Blair,” Shooting for varsity she says. More than the jersey The five challenge each other to be better In the summer before their freshmen year, the five were not yet close friends, but several on and off the court, Chase says. It is their Time spent at practice and games is only a played on a summer league together. All five strong relationship, adds Nono, that makes part of the players’ closeness. Chase says that girls made varsity in the winter of their fresh- criticism easier during games. “We are able since so many of the girls have abbreviated man year, and it was at practices that they to yell at each other and let each other know schedules this year, they spend much more started to build their friendship. Varsity girls’ basketball coach Erin Conley says that since their involvement in 2008, the girls have drastically transformed Blair basketball with their high expectations for
of their time outside of school together. “I would say we’re like family. We spend all our time together now,” she says. In four years of varsity basketball, the girls’ relationship with their coach has changed as well, as they gain more responsibility and respect. Conley is grateful for the girls’ leadership and says that their experience has made her job much easier. Jackson and Conley both say that Conley’s relationship with the five girls has gone beyond typical coach and team roles. “She is not only our coach but our friend,” Jackson says. “We can talk with her on the court and off the court. She’s a great coach that can give great advice about everything.”
Not Blair’s last buzzer beater In the last 20 seconds of the B-CC game, with Blair up by a margin of almost 20 points, the four starters were taken off the court to a round of applause. In their place, the future of Blair basketball dribbles, passes and scores. When sophomore Maggie McClain makes a clear shot from just inside the three-point line, the crowd goes wild as they see an example of what the future will bring. The team followed up the success against B-CC with another major win against Churchill. Last Wednesday, they were knocked out of running by Gaithersburg. Nono is certain that the end of high school won’t mean the end of her friendship with the other four girls. “Regardless of where we are, we will always have each other’s backs,” she says. “I think the bonds will grow stronger as the years keep going on.” Editors’ Note: Myla Sapp is a sports editor for Silver Chips Online
The other side of Blair sports Club sports gain freedom but lose recognition frisbee. We trust each other not to cheat and if someone makes a mis“First of all, I don’t like Frisbee, take we work together to fix it. You I love it. And second of all, ‘Frisregulate yourself,” explains Rutan. bee’ is a wham-o disc, ‘Ultimate’ is “Ultimate is played by people who a lifestyle,” jokes junior Devin Rulove the game. They’re not trying tan, a co-captain of Blair’s Ultimate to get scholarships.” Frisbee team, “Home Cooked.” Junior Michel Devynk, a memThe Ultimate team, along with ber of the ice hockey team, agrees crew, paddling, running, ice hockthat his team finds advantages in ey, are Blair’s club sports, meantheir club status. “We don’t have to ing that they don’t receive school do all the school requirements like funding, their coaches and referees getting a physical and even the are not paid for by the school and GPA requirement isn’t enforced they don’t as much,” f o l l o w s a y s country esDevynk. tablished Freshmen schedules ice hockey for comp l a y e r petitions. Javier LoTo become pez beschoollieves that sponsored, even withMCPS reout the quires that status of there be otherschoolten similar sponsored teams in sports, ice the county. hockey still While club has high sports may audience lack official turnouts status, each for their of these games. teams op“People erates with still go and a teacher watch the sponsor games, we as well as still have a volunmore fans teer coach than the EMMA HOWELLS indepenbasketball dent from The Blair ice hockey team’s club status means they are governed by team,” says the school. looser restrictions and can accept members from other schools. Lopez. Many club Because sports participants, like Rutan, on team wins and losses, Rutan be- of their equipment costs, crew and don’t mind their “club” designa- lieves that team members can have ice hockey are the two most extion. They would prefer the rec- more fun. “Ultimate is ruled by pensive club sports. Crew requires ognition school-sponsored sports the spirit of the game and love of over $1000 in membership dues
By Sarah Wilson
receive and the respect of students even more than the money. Crew, ice hockey and Ultimate each find their own benefits in the independence of existing without significant school or county involvement. “I love the freedom that comes with it. We aren’t in any way regulated by the county and we aren’t scheduled by the county,” says Rutan, “so Ultimate is for fun and for freedom.” Without school supplied referees or a playoff structure that operates based
ELLIE MUSGRAVE
The crew team receives no school funding and has to rely on club dues and fundraisers to pay their bills. and a $200 fundraising quota per member and ice hockey requiring $1000 dues for each member to play. Still, junior Ellie Mejia, a crew captain, finds that being an expensive club sport can have its advantages. “It helps to rally the team together when we fundraise,” Mejia explains. The teams also have increased flexibility with their membership and can accept athletes of both genders and from other schools. “We break down into boys’ and girls’ boats, so when we race, we are able to enter more races,” says Mejia. “A big benefit of crew is that we don’t exclude anyone who wants to try the sport, regardless of gender.” Even with the benefits of club independence, many club sports players feel that the school-sponsored status could bring them the respect that they believe they deserve as athletes. “I would like it if we were an actual school-sponsored sport so we could get more recognition,” explains Devynk. Club sports players feel that the school often treats them as being less than school-sponsored teams. “Ms. Fus disrespects us outright.
She knows we exist and chooses to ignore us. We want to be on the morning announcements because we won on Saturday!” jokes Morganstein. “The problem is that because we’re not a team we don’t get the PR or the respect. So sure we get the freedom of membership, but we’re restricted by a lack of PR,” Rutan agrees. Besides the lack of recognition from the school, club players feel that Blair students often don’t hold club sports in the same regard as those that are school-sponsored. Senior crew member James Audet explains that other students are quick to judge club sports. “I feel disrespected by people that think ‘oh it’s not a real sport. The disrespect is mostly from people who don’t play sports at all,” he says. Still, the Ultimate team is unsure of whether they would give up their independence for school sponsorship. “I think for me and everybody else it would be a qualm,” says Rutan, “because although we need the recognition, and the field space -— it’s demeaning to have to fight with other teams for field space — I appreciate the benefits we have now.”
silverCHIPS
SPORTS
March 8, 2012
INSPIrational EPICS
31
XIXI CHEN
By Claire Sleigh and Claire Koenig
Second semester seniors can smell the end of the school year from months away. It’s the light at the end of the tunnel; a carrot dangling from a very, very long stick. And sometimes the tantalizing taste of oh-so-close freedom can be a little…distracting. We lose the drive, the focus. We loaf. But never fear, because here at Silver Chips we have put our very best to the task of curing senioritis, and although it’s been a daunting task, we may have found a solution. Sports movies have inspired the world time and time again. They provide a window into the romanticized triumphs of the classic conquering underdog. They can raise spirits, inspire confidence — and maybe, just maybe, they can inspire a pair of apathetic upper-classmen to get their acts together for the final leg of the race.
Remember the Titans
Miracle I got home after school one day movie is historically accurate and feeling dead tired and completely entertaining to boot — “Miracle” uninspired. It had been an unusu- should just replace the section on ally challenging school day, and the the Cold War in U.S. history text mountain of homework books. on my desk was looking In addition, head quite unappealing coach Herb Brooks What better way (Kurt Russell) also to get inspired than gave me some aweto watch the moment some ideas for gruof glory when a rageling workouts to tag group of college which I could subhockey players wiped mit the crew team. the gloating look off of For example, wall the professional Soviet sits while passing hockey team in the 80’ a 45 pound weight Olympics? None, I condown the line was cluded, and the movie a favorite of mine madness began. that we executed COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM “Miracle” is based the following day on the true story of the Lake Placid at practice with quite painful (in Olympics, and the six month jour- a good way) results. ney the United States ice-hockey The one downside to the movie team took to get there. The sport of is that they overplayed the marital hockey takes on new meaning in this drama between Brooks and his film in the context of the cold war wife. It was too much mushyand the turmoil and confusion the gushy nonsense for me — I was people of the United States felt. The looking for the body slams.
High-waisted pants were the a football coach who is assigned norm, people were stuck in their to take over the coaching position traditions, and from veteran Bill racism prevailed. Yoast (Will Patton). Virginia in the Other highlights 1970s was a scary include a young place. and very obstinate Against this Hayden Panettiere, background and the unlikely comes a profound friendship that two and moving story of the leaders on about race and the team strike up. how to get beIn addition to yond it. “Rememhaving the compulber the Titans” sory intense-sportsisn’t just your movie soundtrack, average sports “Remember the Timovie, it is an all tans” also features COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM around fantastic some classic songs. film that mixes elements of sports The actors were such great singers lore and personal enlightenment, that I was inspired to join in on humor and tragedy. the chorus of “Ain’t No Mountain Academy Award-winning actor High Enough” — much to the Denzel Washington is spot on in chagrin of my movie-watching his interpretation of Coach Boone, companions.
Hoosiers
Million Dollar Baby
“This town doesn’t like new team’s success. The inspichange much,” is one of the first ration comes not only from the things Norman Dale (Gene Hack- basketball team and their wins, man) hears upon accepting the but also from the town drunk, position of basketball coach in Shooter (Dennis Hopper) who sobers up long Hickory (Hicks-Ville enough to lead Indiana. From there, the team through it is a constant heartto a tough win. wrenching struggle Current Blair for Coach Dale as he basketball fans tries to win over the aren’t allowed to athletes and the town rush the court afto his bizarre coachter the game, as ing style. they do multiple The movie has times in “Hoothe perfect balance siers,” because between irreverent of MCPS reguhumor and deep lations, but if moments. Hackman COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM Blair’s team ever captures the emotions of his character, and one of pulled off the kind of dramatic the highlights of the movie is see- upset victory that the Huskies ing Hackman’s adorable smiling did, not even the districts tawdry face as he finally starts seeing his rules could hold our fans back.
Why are there so many boxing movies in the sports film world? From the infamous “Rocky Balboa” to “Against the Ropes” with Meg Ryan and Omar Epps (they try so hard to act tough, they almost pull it off) — boxing always gets a movie audience to its feet with gritty stories of guts, glory and short-shorts. We figured we’d try getting our own blood pumping with some cinematic bloodshed, so “Million Dollar Baby” made it on the list. Upon first glance, the film looked like it “could have been a contender” for a higher ranking. Promising
Chariots of Fire
older boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (acting goddess Hillary Swank) and her washed up trainer (Clint Eastwood) battle through the ranks of more experienced athletes with gusto — until Maggie is knocked down by a shady punch in the title match and breaks her neck. COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA ‘Inspirational’ is perhaps not the first word one would use to describe the jawdropping, heart-wrenching agony we felt watching this woman become a quadriplegic. But hey, the acting was pretty good.
Stick It
It is a film that uses running We pity the person who has never slow-motion raced them- as an excuse to preach faith and selves to the finish line while rock- religious tolerance, which is a lovely message for ing out to the anyone who are not enchantingly insecond semester sespirational pulse niors with very brief of the Academy attention spans. Aw a r d - w i n As it was, “Charning “Chariots iots of Fire” did little of Fire” theme to improve our work song. ethic, and left us a Although it’s little morally torn true that the imbetween cheering age of white-clad on the rather pleasmen running ant Christian or the barefoot along COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM rather angry (but a stormy serf — mud on their clothes and fire in historically pardoned) Jew. In the end we gave up and their hearts — is forever engrained in the minds of sports movie buffs, decided that so long as the adorbeyond the opening scene, “Chari- able Lord Andrew Lindsay (Nigel ots of Fire” felt more like a sermon Havers) went home with a medal, we could go home happy. than a pre-game pep-talk.
In short, this movie was frus- after she walked out on the Olymtrating. No, not frustrating — it pic team the previous year (no was agonizing. At every turn in the big deal). She proceeds to royally over-used plot a new mess with the batch of sassy exclawork ethic of mations and poorly her fellow athwritten quips awaitletes and, in the ed our bleeding ears. process, sticks The highlight in the it to the proscript was when one verbial ‘man’ of of the girls called out the gymnastics to the protagonist, hierarchy by “it’s not called gymconvincing her NICE-stics.” friends to flub If we forgive the their performovie’s painfully mances in the low artistic value, the national meet. COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM plot itself is about as Nothing better motivating as an empty coffee pot. for your inner work-horse than a A misfit gymnast (Missy Peregrym) story about a bunch of girls who is bribed into returning to the sport are congratulated for giving up. NATHAN GAMSON
sportsCHIPS
March 8, 2012 silverchips.mbhs.edu/section/sports
Blair wrestler places sixth at MD States Senior co-captain Chris Wells ends his season 37-11 the ref blew his whistle, announcing that Wells had been locking his hands, an illegal move that gave his opponent two extra COLLEGE PARK, March 2-3 — points. Wells tried to come back from the two-point deficit and managed to bring the Senior Chris Wells stood on mat four, score to 4-3 after the ref awarded Wells one staring down Suitland’s DeAndre Norman. point for his opponent’s illegal stallThe whistle blew, and the two ing. Despite this additional point, it began to trade hits, searching for was too difficult for Wells catch up each other’s weaknesses. Within so late in the period. As the buzzer 20 seconds, Wells scored a takesounded for the end of the match, the down on Norman. Wells went on score was Truitt – 4, Wells – 3, giving to crush his opponent to win his Wells a sixth place finish. first match, but eventually placed Despite finishing 3-3 in the toursixth in the tournament. nament, Wells was pleased with the Last week, Wells (132) clinched final results. “I’ve wrestled great. My the third playoff spot in his weight first loss was to a state champion,” class for the 3A/4A West State he said. “Otherwise, I’ve beaten two Wrestling Championship. Two guys from out of county, and the othother Blazers, sophomore Oumaer guy I beat was a county champ.” rou Bitang (120) and senior David He also accomplished what he set Chow (195), also placed at Regionout to do. “My goal was to place,” als, but did not qualify for States. Wells said. “I’ve seen a lot of good Things looked good for Wells at wrestlers who are lucky to even win Friday night’s tournament when a match. You have to be at the top of he pinned Milford Mill’s Jay Henyour game to place here.” The last derson at 5:32 in his first match. COURTESY OF ROB WELLS time Blair placed at States was when However, he was knocked out of Kekura Musa placed sixth in 2009. the running in the next round by Senior Chris Wells defeated Jay Henderson from The Blair wrestling community apAnne Arundel’s Tyler Goodwin, Milford Mills in his first match of the tournament. plauded Wells’s performance. “He’s the eventual first-place finisher. the only Montgomery County guy at his Wells returned Saturday, ready to fight Banvard commented. Wells expressed his frustration after los- weight class who’s placed,” senior co-capfor third — the highest place he could earn. He swept Norman and Magruder’s Andrew ing 1-8 to Jackson. “I like to do a cradle on tain Billy Saturno said. “He had a great seaConine, 10-4 and 5-3, respectively. Although my opponents, but it’s hard when they’re so son and has been a great leader.” Banvard Wells was unable to pin either opponent, he tall, and I can’t get my hands around them,” added, “Chris was awesome yesterday, and he said. Banvard agreed, “[Jackson] was not today, he has surpassed my expectations.” led by wide margins the entire time. Although he earned his spot with the “He was aggressive and in control,” head much better, just taller.” In the final round, Wells faced Leonard- best wrestlers in Maryland, Wells believed coach Jake Scott said, pleased by Wells’s strategic play. Wells believed focus was vi- town’s Alex Truitt in a highly competitive he couldn’t have done it alone. “I want to tal to the wins. “I tried to pace myself, build match. Throughout the match, the two were thank the wrestling team; the past two years the lead and then play smart for the rest,” he neck and neck at 2-2. During the middle of with them has been an honor,” he said. “I’m the second period, Wells was on top of his proud to say I placed with the help from evsaid. The third consolation match, however, opponent, about to take a shot. Suddenly, eryone on this team.”
By Brittany Cheng and Hannah Weintraub
proved to be a challenge. From the start, Wilde Lake’s Malik Jackson used his height to his advantage against Wells, who ended up getting rolled over and spun in a circle on the mat. “Chris was getting cranked pretty hard on his back,” assistant coach Stephen
insideSPORTS The other athletes See page 30 Club sports teams enjoy their independence but hope for more student recognition.
Sports movies for the win See page 31 Seniors Claire Koenig and Claire Sleigh watch inspirational films to conquer their third-quarter blues.
Five for four See page 30 Five senior girls’ varsity basketball players reflect back on their four years of playing together.
Trojans defeat Blazers
Spring training
Girls’ basketball falls in semis
they caught up from a ten-point deficit to within four points of GAITHERSBURG, Feb. 29 — Gaithersburg. Blair finished the half just seven It was an emotional night for points down, a margin which exthe Lady Blazers (20-5) as they fell panded to 20 points during Blair’s to the defending Maryland State disappointing third quarter. Gaithchamps, Gaithersburg (23-0), by ersburg has played well in the a final score of 64-42. The Blazers third quarter over the course of the held up against the undefeated Tro- season, and Wednesday night was jans for the first no exception. half of the game “We always talk but fell apart in about them bethe third quarter. ing a third quarBoth Blair and ter team,” said Gaithersburg senior Rose Kacame out strong lala. “They went at with a tough on a run and we defensive mennever came back. tality. The teams The Blazers had played tight detrouble controlfense in the first ling their game quarter; the game in the third quarwas scoreless unter, and lacked til four minutes the same kind into the first. of high intenSophomore sity and speed TOLU OMOKEHINDE Erica Adarkwa that have charwas the first to Senior Johanna Lopez led acterized Blair put Blair on the the team in scoring. basketball this board with a season. Despite 15-footer with only a couple min- a sprained ankle and two torn utes to go in the first. The quarter ligaments, senior Johanna Lopez ended with Gaithersburg leading played almost the entire game and 9-2, but possession and shotwise, led the team in shooting with 20 the Blazers were not far behind. points. Both Adarkwa and senior The Blazers were particularly Myla Sapp were crucial to Blair’s strong on the perimeter and were ball control, and contributed on able to match the Trojan guards, ac- the scoreboard as well. cording to head coach Erin Conley. Blair made an appearance at the However, the Trojans were able to County Semifinals for the first time take advantage of superior inside since 1997. rebounding to rack up points. The second quarter saw some Editors’ Note: Myla Sapp is a sports strong playing from the Blazers as editor for Silver Chips Online.
By Claire Sleigh
ENOCH HSIAO
TOLU OMOKEHINDE
CLARE LEFEBURE
Spring sports tryouts began on Mar. 1. At left, junior Tony Liang goes for a spike at boys’ volleyball tryouts. At right, junior Caren Holmes sprints during a scrimmage. Below, it takes more than flurries to keep the baseball team off the field.