October 2020 — Silver Chips Print

silverchips A public forum for a student expression since 1937 Montgomery Blair High School

How safe are our schools?

RBG

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Military Institute violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. “Generalizations about ‘the way women are,’ estimates of what is appropriate for most women, no longer justify denying opportunity to women whose talent and capacity place them outside the average description,” she wrote.

English teacher Beth Hanak believes that this ruling has helped make America a more

MCPS is currently investigating the possibility of opening schools during the second quarter for select groups of students with the highest degree of need, possibly renouncing their previous announcement that the first semester would be conducted entirely virtually.

MCPS sent an email to staff members on Sept. 25 giving a 45-day notice of the possibility of returning to in-person classes.

The notice was required by a deal agreed upon by the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) and MCPS. Superintendent Jack Smith clarified that the notification does not signify that MCPS will shift to in-person learning. “This does not mean that in-person instruction will begin in 45 days,” he wrote. “It means that we can… do more in-depth collaborative planning for the eventual return to instruction in buildings.”

The MCEA president, Christopher Lloyd, declined to comment for this story.

The possibility of returning to in-person classes places a burden on MCPS to keep students safe and prevent the spread of COVID-19 within schools, a task that school districts across the country have struggled with.

Heating, ventilation, and air condition (HVAC) systems are essential to limiting the spread of COVID-19, according to Linsey Marr, the Charles P. Lunsford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. “[HVAC systems] are critical. Ideally, you could open the windows if the weather is conducive for it.

That will greatly improve ventilation, preventing a buildup of virus

see RBG page A4

see REOPENING page G1

DELIA MORAN

By Luther Voltaire Staff Writer On Sept. 18, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died of pancreatic cancer at age 87 at her home in Washington, D.C. She served as one of the nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court for more than 27 years.

Ginsburg was nominated to the nation’s highest court by President Bill Clinton in 1993. She made history as the first Jewish woman—and only the second woman—ever to sit on the court when she was con-

firmed later that year by the U.S. Senate with a 96-to-three vote.

In the days following Ginsburg’s death, Blair senior Abby Kusmin took command of organizing a community vigil at the Red Brick Courthouse in Rockville. Kusmin, a leader of Sunrise Silver Spring—a local chapter of the national climate justice organization Sunrise Movement—said that the Sept. 23 event aimed to inspire youth to respond to Ginsburg’s passing by taking action instead of mourning.

“I hope [it was a way] to get people

to take action at that moment and realize [not to just say], ‘Oh, let’s be sad, mad and hopeless,’” she said.

“I hope it was kind of an impetus.”

Throughout her tenure on the court, many recognized Ginsburg as a feminist icon. She fought for gender equality, reproductive rights, and other liberal policies that altered the course of American jurisprudence.

In 1996, Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion in United States v. Virginia, ruling that the male-only admission policy at the Virginia

By Lilia Wong and Jon Eckert News Editor & Staff Writer

When the system fails survivors

Trigger warning: This article contains information about and somewhat graphic descriptions of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse.

By Aviva Bechky and Annie Goldman Opinions/Design Editor & Staff Writer Where only first names appear, names have been changed to protect the identity of the sources.

Arya reported sexual harassment. Then she reported it again.

And again. “It was this horrible cycle,” she says. As far as she knows, her harassers never received consequences other than verbal warnings.

Over the summer of 2019, a

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group of Blair students added her to a group chat and repeatedly made degrading sexual comments.

Arya, who graduated from Blair in 2020, reported this to the school several times. She talked to counselors and security, completed the MCPS Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting form (Form 230-35), and even spoke to school staff with other students who had been harassed by the same boys, hoping that their collective voice would be heard.

Despite all of this, she saw little restorative or retributive action from Blair. “Nothing happened,” Arya says. “When [school staff]

said, ‘If they do this again, there will be consequences,’ they should have actually meant it.”

Fed up, Arya eventually posted about her experiences on social media. Her story joined an outpouring of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault allegations throughout MCPS that were shared online this summer. Students across the county and at Blair continue to raise concerns about the protocol and its implementation, from uncomfortable interactions with security while recounting traumatic experiences to uncertainty around how administration imposes consequences for perpetrators.

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The official process MCPS regulations outline the technical process for reporting and investigating sexual misconduct.

Per these guidelines, students who have experienced or witnessed sexual harassment, abuse, or assault should file a report, either verbally or written, to any staff member, who will help the student fill out Form 230-35.

Once filed, the form is used to launch an investigation. Either the Blair security team or the Special Victims Investigative Division (SVID) of the Montgomery County Police Department will look into

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the incident. Misdemeanors go to security; felonies go to the SVID. As defined by Maryland law, misdemeanors are sexual offenses in the fourth degree, such as sexual contact without consent. Felonies are offenses in the first, second, or third degree, which include rape and nonconsensual sexual contact involving a weapon.

After receiving a report, Blair principal Renay Johnson and administration decide whether to refer it to the police. SVID can then choose whether to take the case or leave it to the school. see REPORTING page D5

Performative activism in professional sports Professional sports leagues have changed their minds about players peacefully protesting, but how genuine is the change?

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silverchips

A2 News Oct. 16, 2020 silverchips Montgomery Blair High School 51 University Boulevard East Silver Spring, MD 20901 (301) 649 - 2864 Winner of the 2015 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker and the 2019 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medal EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Oliver Goldman Tony Calderon González Renata Muñoz Anika Seth LA ESQUINA LATINA EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Tony Calderon González Renata Muñoz MANAGING NEWS EDITORS Abby Brier Lilia Wong MANAGING OPINIONS EDITORS Aviva Bechky Clark Zhang MANAGING FEATURES EDITORS Anna Fisher Lopez Abednego Togas MANAGING CULTURE EDITORS Khayla Robinson Ishaan Shrestha MANAGING SPORTS AND COVID-19 EDITORS Adam Chazan Emilie Vigliotta LA ESQUINA LATINA EDITOR Cecilia Clemens Vargas Lugo OMBUDSMAN Kathryn LaLonde DESIGN EDITORS Aviva Bechky Simran Thakkar Grace Walsh COLUMNISTS Adam Chazan Ayush Dutta Ashley Thommana Charles Wiebe SENIOR WRITERS Rekha Leonard Sarah McKinzie ENGLISH STAFF WRITERS Jon Eckert Maia Egnal Leila Faraday Marijke Friedman Annie Goldman Sean Li Annie Mount Maybelle Patterson Samantha Rodriguez Sofia Roehrig Jasper Swartz Cal Tobias Luther Voltaire LA ESQUINA LATINA WRITERS Cecilia Clemens Vargas Lugo Ariel Godoy Angela Ramirez Sofia Roehrig Río Sanchez EXECUTIVE BUSINESS DIRECTORS Alex Koehler Ryan Peralta Harris Devasena Sitaram BUSINESS STAFF Marina Deane-Gonzalez Kevin Gehl Maddie Whipple MANAGING ART EDITOR Shashi Arnold ARTISTS Jay Chao Jennifer Hu Leela Mehta-Harwitz Sonia Pivovarov Marissa Rhice MANAGING PHOTO EDITORS Miles Grovic Robert Padmore PHOTOGRAPHERS Christina Chen Arielle Granston Sarah Martin Delia Moran Edson Orellana Henry Reichle Elenora Rue Esther Tang MEDIA EDITOR Alex Dong PUZZLE EDITOR Leela Mehta-Harwitz COPY EDITORS Eva Allred Anika Dasgupta Isabella Fan Maya Guise Eric Lei Valentina Simon Shariar Vaez-Ghaemi Bracklinn Williams Colin Wu LA ESQUINA LATINA ADVISORS Dianette Coombs Maria Eugenia Tanos ADVISOR Jeremy Stelzner 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 or of all Silver Chips members. Signed letters to the editor are encouraged; submit them to silver.chips.print@gmail.com. Letters may be edited for space and clarity.

County council considers removing police from school

By Cal Tobias Staff Writer Community leaders, such as Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando and former MCPS Student Member of the Board (SMOB) Nate Tinbite, have called for the reduction or elimination of the School Resource Officer (SRO) program, which installs Montgomery County police officers in county high schools.

The main objection to the program is due to disproportionate arrest rates for some racial groups.

MCPS data show that in the 20182019 school year, 45 percent of the 163 arrested students countywide were Black. In contrast, 21.6 percent of all 162,680 MCPS students in that school year were Black.

A similar trend is apparent in Maryland. According to data from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), Black students made up 56.2 percent of arrests, despite being only 33.6 percent of total students.

Suspensions are also disproportionately issued in the county. MCPS suspension data show that Black and Hispanic students are three times as likely to be suspended as their peers. They also revealed that Black and Hispanic students combined received roughly 80 percent of all suspensions, though Black and Hispanic students make up just 46.8 percent of MCPS’s total student population.

Officer Sharese Junious, who was the SRO assigned to Montgomery Blair High School for five years until receiving a promotion in 2020, thinks that the SRO program plays an important role in schools,

according to an interview with Silver Chips in February. “My job is acting as a liaison between the police department and the school,” Junious said, “and basically making sure that the school has any law enforcement it needs.”

SROs’ duties, according to the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) website, also include emergency preparedness and safety education, crisis management, assisting with traffic and law enforcement within the school, and helping deliver MCP programs within schools. Such programs include topics like conflict resolution, crime and gang prevention, and drug and alcohol awareness.

Junious believes that the role of the program has been misconstrued by some. “A lot of people are under the assumption that we go to

school and we just lock up kids all day, and that couldn’t be further from the truth,” she said. “We really do value the relationships that we build with the students and the staff, and it has nothing to do with us wanting to arrest kids.”

But Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando doubts the merits of the program and is calling for its elimination. According to Jawando, the program is partly to blame for the disproportionate arrest rates of Black and Hispanic students. Jawando thinks the resources expended on the program would be better spent elsewhere.

“We spend 3 million dollars on our police budget, which is the purview of the County Council, to support the SRO program,” Jawando said. “At the same time, we have one of the worst student to nurse

ratios in the region,... [and] we also don’t have enough counselors and therapists.”

In July, Jawando proposed eliminating the program to the Montgomery County Council Public Safety Committee, but two out of its three members opposed the effort. Later that month, he offered a motion to the Council as a compromise. The new motion would have reassigned 12 of the 23 school resource officers currently assigned to MCPS’s 26 high schools to other areas of the MCPD. However, the council rejected this also, with four votes in support and five in opposition.

This is an ongoing story. Silver Chips will publish more information in our next issue.

Adam Chazan contributed reporting.

ADAM CHAZAN

NOTE Fewer than ten Asian students were arrested in the 2018-2019 schoolyear, so MCPS did not in-

Ebbing enrollment

Enrollment has dropped off this fall in light of remote learning realities in MCPS

By Jasper Swartz Staff Writer

Following an announcement from MCPS on July 21 that students would not return to in-person school for at least the first semester, a large number of MCPS families opted to unenroll in favor of private education or homeschooling options.

At the Montgomery County Board of Education (BOE) meeting on Oct. 6, MCPS revealed that the enrollment total for the 20202021 school year is 161,150 students, marking a drop-off of more than 4,100 students since last year, when enrollment totaled 165,267.

According to Superintendent Jack Smith at a Board meeting on Sept. 13, this large shift has for the most part occurred in elementary

schools. While most middle and high schools met their expected enrollment numbers this year, no elementary schools reached their projections.

Melissa Wilets, the mother of a 12-year-old starting sixth grade this year, decided to transfer her son to the independent Washington Waldorf School due to the high screen time MCPS expects of students amidst virtual learning. She disapproved of the county’s learning model in the spring, noting the “heavy reliance on technology.”

Wilets already knew a family with a student enrolled at Waldorf who had a positive experience with the school’s virtual learning strategy. “We heard good reports about how they were teaching the kids and how they were able to translate what they normally do to this new

ANIKA SETH

A DOWNWARD SPIKE

environment,” she said.

When she initially transferred her son, Wilets hoped that he would be learning in a physical classroom; instead, the Waldorf school adopted a hybrid model, including both virtual and in-person learning. “They are going in person once a week and have an hour and a half with their teachers and classmates outside with masks on,” she said. “I think that’s really made a difference. Kids get to interact with each other in person, which isn’t happening with MCPS.” Junior Caroline Quinn also changed schools in light of COVID-19, transferring from Walt Whitman to St. Andrews Episcopal School in Potomac. Quinn is satisfied with her decision because she will be going back to school in person as soon as this week. “It’s hard to feel like you’re really going to school right now because we are still online, but I’m looking forward to going in person,” she said.

Last year, only 74 students unenrolled in MCPS in favor of homeschooling. However, this year almost 1,080 students have left the public school system to be homeschooled, according to data presented to the BOE. Hemakshi Gordy, who graduated from Blair in 2020 and decided to take a gap year due to COVID-19, has been tutoring two elementary school students. They unenrolled from MCPS over the summer and are homeschooling this year.

Gordy explained that the students were due to start kindergarten and second grade at Takoma

Park Elementary School this fall.

However, when MCPS unveiled its new virtual learning plan over the summer, their mother decided that homeschooling would be a better fit.

As a single parent working a fulltime job, the students’ mother does not have the capacity to help two small children with their schoolwork throughout the day along with her job, so she decided to hire Gordy to teach them in person. “It was going to be hours and hours of Zoom, something like nine a.m. to three in the afternoon for elementary school kids, and that is absolutely not reasonable or possible for most families,” Gordy said, “let alone for families where both parents are working or parents who don’t speak English. It just wasn’t going to work out.”

Elizabeth Danielski, a Blair junior, also seriously considered a switch to private school over the summer. However unlike Wilets and her family, Danielski decided to remain in MCPS. Danielski explained that the private schools that she looked into did not have the same diversity in course options as Blair, so by remaining in public school she has the opportunity to take the classes that she’s interested in. “AP Chemistry is one of the classes that the private schools we looked at didn’t have… so I’m glad that I got to stay with MCPS for that,” she said, “but on the other hand, a lot of private schools are open now, and for a lot of my other classes, that would probably be a more effective method of learning.”

silverchips

Oct. 16, 2020 News A3

Broadening the beltway

Hogan’s proposed highway expansions could cut into Blair’s athletic fields

By Samantha Rodriguez Staff Writer Governor Larry Hogan’s controversial highway expansion plan, which includes adding four toll lanes to Interstate Highways 270 and 495, will, if enacted, cut into Blair’s athletic fields and affect the entire capital suburban community.

The project spans more than 70 miles—from south of George Washington Memorial Parkway on I-495 in Virginia, to west of Maryland’s Exit 5 on I-495, and north into Frederick County on I-270.

First proposed by Hogan in September of 2017, the project has three phases representing distinct sections of the interstate highways.

Currently Phase 1, the portion from the American Legion Bridge to Frederick along I-270, which would not directly affect Blair, is pending approval for construction.

This phase will accept written comments until Nov. 9. After Phase 1 is built, Phase 2 will be proposed for construction, which includes the portion of I-495 that runs alongside Blair.

Maryland’s Department of Transportation (MDOT) compared multiple proposals, including Alternative 10, the design that Hogan favors. Alternative 10 adds four Express Toll Lanes (ETLs) on I-270 and I-495 while maintaining

the existing High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes on I-270. The Alternative 10 proposal gained traction following congestion studies conducted by the MDOT in 2018, which show it maximizes congestion relief compared to other road alternatives.

As currently proposed, Alternative 10 would reconstruct the highway noise barriers to cut slightly into Blair’s athletic fields. In addition to causing space constraints, the new noise barriers would not fully curb the noise of traffic from the expanded 12-lane highway.

Increased traffic flow would also create additional air pollution and carbon emissions, which poses additional problems for the Blair community. Ross Capon, the president emeritus of the Rail Passengers Association, explained that carbon emissions from cars impede youth development. “[There is a] biological impact of higher carbon dioxide concentrations on the functioning of the human brain,” Capon said.

This is supported by a study published by the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, which studied brain function at varying concentrations of carbon dioxide. The study found a 21 percent decrease in the average cognitive scores of participants for every 440 particles per million (ppm) increase of carbon dioxide.

The Blair community would also be burdened by increased traffic flow while entering and exiting the expanded highway, making the area increasingly dangerous for pedestrians.

The current cost estimate for the entire project is $11 billion; the plan is to subsidize between $484 million and $1 billion from taxpayers. The original proposal included no direct taxpayer subsidy.

Furthermore, this price tag does not consider the cost for sewer and pipe relocation, which the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) estimated to be $2 billion, including an estimated 277 percent increase in water bills.

This is approximately up to $2,200 per year for a family of three in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties.

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The total $11 billion cost would be funded by a private company through a Public-Private Partnership (P3), a system in which private funds are used in exchange for toll revenues.

However, P3s often fail to provide these purported savings to taxpayers. Ben Ross, the chair of the Maryland Transit Opportunities Coalition, looked back at similar partnerships and described the disadvantage of P3 programs. One example is the Purple Line, a new Metro spanning 16 miles and connecting Bethesda with New Carrollton.

“We are seeing the weaknesses of the [P3] model right now with the Purple Line,” he said. “[The government has] a history of losing money but the people who make the deals clean up and walk away.”

Currently, construction of the Purple Line is stalled and will not be completed without significant taxpayer funding.

Four companies are competing to be the private partner of the expansion. The Maryland Board of Public Works (BPW) is scheduled to announce the winning company for Phase 1 in May 2021. Transurban is projected to win as they built the toll lanes on the Virginia portion of the Beltway and Hogan’s former Chief of Intergovernmental Relations now works for the company.

Proponents of the project believe that the expansion of these major highways is necessary to improve the regional standard of living and stimulate economic growth by enhancing the reliability of commute time. According to the Managed Lanes Study published by the MDOT, average congestion per day is seven hours on I-270 and 10 hours on I-495. Alternative 10 expects a decrease in daily delays of 35 percent.

Opponents feel that the plan would be environmentally unsustainable, as there are no comprehensive stormwater drainage plans and more than 1,500 acres of forest spanning 47 local parks would be cut down. In addition, 34 homes would be acquired by the state, cutting into neighborhoods and forcing families to move further away from major roadways. Such action would lead to longer commutes and more reliance on cars.

The P3 system requires toll lanes to make a profit, which Capon believes would create a tiered system on the highway unfairly excluding and discriminating against poorer citizens. “It’s more likely to look like the Virginia beltway where, during rush hour, you can pay $30 to $40 to ride the toll lanes,” he said. “That’s why some people call them ‘luxury lanes.’”

Opponents also insist that instead of spending billions on cars and highways, greater emphasis should be put on public transit.

All alternatives proposed by the MDOT specifically excluded transit options such as the Purple Line, Bus Rapid Transit routes, and Ride on Metro busses, according to Jane Lyons, the Maryland Advocacy Manager for Coalition for Smarter Growth.

Lyons believes the proposed solution is not representative of current knowledge about transportation. “The alternatives that [the state] looked at are things you would look at in the 1950s,” she said. “What we want them to look at is more of a modern 21st century approach to transportation.”

Citizens can email MLS-NEPA-P3@mdot.maryland.gov to voice their opinions on the proposed highway expansion.

Awards & Honors Jennifer Poole

MCPS Counselor of the Year Award

Aviva R. Bechky, Ezra M. Bernstein, Shoshana Braier, Oscar M. Brodkin, Ethan S. Coffin, Noah B. Elazar, Anna L. Fisher Lopez, Nicole G. Frank, Daniel Y. Ge, Fiona D. Harrington, Arthur A. Hu, Bumjin Joo, Ozan K. Kayaalp, Dheeraj U. Keshav, Mark G. Kokiyelov, Jason E. Liu, Raymond Luo, Daniel G. Monroe, Rajit Mukhopadhyay, Ethan J. Oh, Eli S. Qian, Timothy C. Qian, Caroline A. Robison, Svetlana Y. Semenova, Ishaan A. Shrestha, Nora E. Slott, Esther Tang, Christopher L. Tong, Nicole E. Tran, Shariar Vaez-Ghaemi, Marc S. Wagger, Charlotte S. Wallsten, Evan Z. Wang, Bracklinn N. Williams, Colin W. Wu, Gabriel D. Wu, Chad K. Yu, Joseph A. Zenick, Lillian Zhou

National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

silverchips

Oct. 16, 2020 News A5

Heated negotiations lead to months of delay

MCPS teachers’ contract moves to mediation

By Grace Walsh Design Editor On Aug. 28, the Montgomery County Board of Education (BOE) and the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) jointly filed a formal notice of impasse with the Maryland Public Schools Labor Relations Board (PSLRB).

The filing marked the first time in over twenty years that the two sides were not able to reach a contract agreement before the existing one expired. The two sides have since started a mediation process, as outlined in the current contract.

For almost a year, the BOE and the MCEA have been unable to find consensus on a labor contract, which would apply to the more than 14,000 MCEA members who work as teachers, counselors, and other staff in MCPS. The current contract was set to expire on June 30, but the day before it expired, the BOE extended the contract to July 31 to allow more time for negotiation. On Aug. 6, after the July deadline passed without settling on a new contract, the BOE formally extended the previous contract indefinitely until a new contract is adopted.

In early October, MCPS and the MCEA agreed on a mediator, Joshua Javits, who will work with both parties to resolve the remain-

SHASHI ARNOLD SHASHI ARNOLD

ing areas of disagreement in contract negotiations. If the sides fail to find a solution during mediation, the PSLRB has the ultimate authority to choose the final contract out of three proposed drafts from the MCEA, the BOE, and Javits.

The BOE has declined to comment throughout the contract negotiations and resulting impasse. David Stein, a Blair math teacher and member of the MCEA bargaining committee, said that before the impasse was confirmed in August by the PSLRB, members of the MCEA could only talk privately amongst themselves. But since the impasse was declared on Aug. 28, Stein has had the freedom to speak

publicly about the negotiations.

In an Oct. 5 blog post, the MCEA outlined the issues that, in their mind, have caused the stalemate. “[The] MCEA continues to stand firm for individual control of planning time, transparency in school resource allocations and environmental concerns, and greater emphasis on ensuring equity for our students as well as issues related to wages in year two of the contract,” they wrote. The union had previously published a list of 21 points of disagreement.

As part of addressing the equity issues for students, the MCEA

wants to incorporate language regarding the school-to-prison pipeline into the contract.

Stein explained the importance of incorporating this idea: “[The school-to-prison pipeline is] a well-researched phenomenon in our schools where the atmosphere in schools... ends up doing nothing for certain students but putting them on a path for prison.”

Stein highlighted this as an equity concern. “Those students [being put on a path toward prison] are disproportionately Black and Brown students… but the school district refuses to use those words in our contract,” he said. According to Stein, the BOE referred to the phrase school to prison pipe-

line as “too jargony.”

The BOE and MCEA have had issues working together in the past, including some other instances of enlisting outside assistance. After the MCEA proposed the use of an “interest-based bargaining process” in 1998, the BOE and the MCEA hired Conflict Management Inc. to mediate negotiations.

For the current contract negotiations, however, the MCEA did not use “interest-based bargaining,” instead returning to a more formal route of trading contracts back and forth.

Stein explained how, this year, the MCEA allowed open bargaining so that MCEA members—not just those on the committee—could observe the negotiations. “Our members could come to the bargaining sessions and see what’s happening,” he said. “We never did that before.”

The BOE announced in September that they are hiring controversial attorney Ron Taylor of Venable LLP to represent them during the upcoming impasse proceedings. Taylor has a record of anti-union sentiments. The MCEA has questioned the expense and possible bias of this outside counsel.

silverchips

Oct. 16, 2020 Opinions B1

Should social media companies continue offering face filters?

YES NO

By Annie Mount Staff Writer AN OPINION

All photos courtesy of their subjects and edited by Delia Moran

Try to imagine what social media would look like with no filters. Instagram would lose the Starburst filter that decorates selfies with colorful lines. Snapchat wouldn’t have the filter that puts your face on a dancing hot dog or on a piece of broccoli.

Without filters, social media would be much less vibrant. They boost the entertainment value of social media and help social media users post pictures that they feel more confident in. Even though some of them make you more conventionally attractive, they are not the cause of society holding those values—and therefore, face filters should not be banned.

Filters make social media more interesting and engaging. Many students, like senior Certitude Lembion, think that social media would not be the same without them.

“I don’t think they should necessarily be banned because they are part of the fun of social media,” Lembion said. “If they are banned, then it will make social media a lot less fun for people who just use it as a part of entertainment and enjoyment.”

Face filters often make very subtle changes to one’s appearance, whether it’s slightly lightening their skin, drawing out their lashes, or slimming down their nose. Many are concerned about the mental health effects of comparing oneself to an even slightly filtered picture as it may enforce unrealistic beauty standards. In response to these claims, however, many social media companies have recently added a new feature that indicates whether or not someone is using a filter, which makes it much harder for people to compare themselves to the people in edited photos.

Lembion continued, “[We should be] saying that it’s ok to use filters as long as you disclose it and you make sure that those who look up to you know that this isn’t real life; it’s just for social media.” Even though pictures are being edited, we should be more transparent about when filters are being used instead of banning them outright.

It is unfair to place all of the blame for unfair beauty standards on filters. In the cosmetics and fashion industries, in Hollywood, and in magazine and television advertisements, there is constant pressure to look a certain way: skinny, tan, clear skin, white teeth, big lips, and a small nose. These establishments use heavily edited pictures to advertise their products and profit off of the insecurities that they themselves hammer into consumers.

Junior Gelila Isayas agrees that filters are not the main culprit. “If you aren’t content with how you look regarding your face, the blame should not be completely towards filters,” Isayas said. “Nowadays, there’s skin care and makeup for those who wish to enhance or fix their features.” While these unattainable beauty standards should not exist, filters are only a part of this system, and they are not the cause of these insecurities. Removing them won’t fix anything.

They are engaging and fun, and are hardly the root of unrealistic beauty standards.

They have negative impacts on mental health and discriminate against people of color.

More often, people use filters as a convenient method to hide everyday blemishes. If someone wants to hide their eye bags one morning, they have the option to use a filter and take a quick selfie without having to worry about how they look. Without fil-

Online class is exhausting. As soon as it ends, all I want to do is scroll through TikTok and watch kids dancing to songs and having fun. I think they look great, but I don’t see past the filters that hide the smallest hint of a pimple, that make their eyes just that much bigger, their cheeks just that much thinner. “Wow,” I think, “They look so much prettier than I do.”

I’m not alone—over 1 billion people have downloaded TikTok. When we use the in-app camera to film a short video, a featured “beauty filter” button can be tempting. It makes such tiny changes that the effects are hardly noticeable until you turn it off—but those small tweaks can sink deep into people’s minds, rooting themselves and creating tangible harm. Social media companies should stop offering filters that change the ways our faces look to protect our mental well-being.

These face-altering filters can lead to serious mental health problems such as low self-esteem. A 2015 study from the International Journal of Eating Disorders found that girls who manipu-

If you aren’t content with how you look regarding your face, the blame should not be completely towards GELILA ISAYAS ters, people would turn towards makeup.

Filters, at least, would save time.

“I think banning filters isn’t really the right

JENNIFER HU

thing to do,” Lembion said.

“Instead we should be educating people and making sure that they know that what’s on social media isn’t exactly real.”

Filters should be an option for the people who want them. While filters on social media are far from perfect, they are not the root of the problem. If filters are reworked and regulated to be more inclusive for all people, they would not contribute to unfair beauty standards. Banning them, however, is not the solution.

Considering the current world atmosphere, many people would welcome any excuse for a harmless distraction with open arms. If filters can offer them even just a couple seconds of amusement, then why would we take that away from them? Everyone can use a bit of fun and positivity in their lives.

lated photos before sharing them onto social media were significantly more likely to have body image or eating issues.

Granted, this study included outside editing as well as filters, but filters are the most convenient route. External editing requires navigating between multiple apps, learning new software, returning to your social media app, and posting. For most people, this is too much effort to put into a single post— making filters the predominant culprit.

Early this year, an analysis from the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) found that the number of plastic surgeries rose by 6 percent between 2018 and 2019. Seventy-two percent of surgeons and practitioners affiliated with AAFPRS reported that they saw patients who wanted procedures in order to look better for selfies. Even if filters were not the direct cause of this statistic, they have contributed to today’s selfie culture.

Filters don’t cause body dysmorphia, but they are known to worsen it.

voicebox

By Maybelle Patterson Staff Writer AN OPINION Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), more commonly known as body dysmorphia, is a mental illness related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). People with BDD hate a part or parts of their bodies. They develop a conviction that they are hideous and that everyone around them thinks so too. Filters can affirm this misconception.

Stephanie Woodrow, an OCD specialist, says that looking at filtered pictures of ourselves for too long can be damaging. “Our perception of what’s real is being completely altered,” she explained. “If we’re not receiving the message of what’s actually real, then we’re looking at ourselves in the mirror without filters, and we’re seeing nothing but flaws.”

For people with body dysmorphia, the thought that they have to change can be so intense that they can lose a sense of what they actually look like. Filters can cause that perception of reality to break down even further.

“You see that filtered version of yourself, and you try your hardest to attain it, but realistically, you can’t,” senior Maya Guise said.

Of course, every person who has body dysmorphia has a different experience, and some might not be affected by filters. But for others, filtered faces can become all-consuming and harmful. Social media companies need to realize this and stop offering filters.

So-called “beauty” filters do a few things reliably—they lighten your skin, make your eyes bigger, and make your face thinner.

When filters labeled “beauty” change all features into those associated with white people, it can send a message to people of color that they aren’t pretty enough. Guise noted, “A lot of these filters are very eurocentric. They make your nose smaller; they make your skin lighter.”

Sophomore Bella Graham agrees. “They create an idea that everyone has to be perfect and look a certain type of way,” Graham said. That “certain type of way?” White. Social media should be a place where everyone can feel beautiful, regardless of whether their features happen to match the white ideal.

Unfortunately, this is not always the reality.

While some filters openly change how your face looks, some hide their shifting of facial features until the damage is done.

While it might seem like someone is just having fun, seemingly inconspicuous filters could be changing a user’s face while they are distracted by the adorable animal or funny joke on top. For example, a filter that puts cute dog ears on your smiling visage might simultaneously ensure that your face stays slim. Even though we know that dogs aren’t the new beauty standard, the tweaks that are made underneath the graphics can still influence our subconscious.

Face filters exacerbate body dysmorphia and perpetuate unrealistic beauty standards.

Therefore, social media companies must stop offering them.

MORE “Face filters can be really innovative and fun, but some can give us (especially younger kids) a warped perception of beauty.”

“Face filters enable one to express their personality.”

“They should keep the one from TikTok that makes you a dragon; ban everything else.”

“Face filters prey on people’s insecurities and distort our realities.”

ANASTASIA MATVEEV junior “No [they shouldn’t get rid of them] but they should be more mindful of what the filters do.”

VALENTINA SIMON senior

PETER NESIN senior

OLIVIA SCHULZ junior

BELLA GRAHAM sophomore

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Oct. 16, 2020 Opinions B3

Summer health? Not so sick.

By Jasper Swartz Staff Writer AN OPINION When Norah Lesperin, a sophomore at Albert Einstein, took health over summer break to get the required graduation credit out of the way, she encountered hateful comments about her identity and a sexual assault lesson so insensitive that it made her feel nauseous.

Many students feel that health is too tedious of a course to take for an entire semester, so MCPS provides a shortened version of the class over the summer.

Unfortunately, the abridged lessons often breeze through important topics that merit more discussion than the threeweek class allows and give teachers less time to form bonds with their students.

By promoting a quick and easy alternative to the regular health class during the school year, MCPS contributes to the dangerous notion that health is an unimportant throwaway class. “The way that the curriculum is set up, it’s more about completing the tasks.

It’s less about understanding the ideas,” Blair s oph o mo re

Anna Uline said.

The rapid nature of the course creates a disconnect between teachers and students. Lesperin said that she felt unsafe during a health lesson over the summer about LGBTQ+ identities when another student commented in the chat that they do not believe gay students face bullying.

“To me, as an LGBT student reading that, I was like, ‘oh no,’ but it moved too fast for the teacher to read it, and she didn’t respond,” she said. “Suddenly, I felt that it was my duty to help this kid understand, but there was nothing I could do, and it then made me really uncomfortable k nowin g I was in a class with s om e on e who might possibly think that gay people lie about being bullied. It was a nerve-wracking moment.”

Educators like Barbara Contino, a current Richard Montgomery teacher who has taught health for 23 years, feel that the compressed schedule does not permit enough discourse. “I need more time to build a SONIA PIVOVAROV

better relationship with some of my students so there can be more communication and overall sharing,” Contino said. Online summer health, however, doesn’t provide her with that time.

When the curriculum is condensed, teachers must condense a semester’s worth of information into a few weeks—and unfortunately, key information is lost. “The biggest challenge teaching over the summer is finishing the curriculum in a very short period of time,” Contino furthered.

Lessons that would have been taught and discussed over a period of a few days during the school year are reduced to meaningless modules that students often ignore.

“There was one Zoom lesson and then a couple of articles [about LGBTQ+ identities] that the teacher put on MyMCPS classroom,” Uline said, “[but] I didn’t do them because there were no worksheets to go with them.”

When we graduate, odds are that knowing how to solve for x in a complicated algebra equation or the date of the Battle of Gettysburg will never cross our minds again.

Health, however, is crucial—think first aid, eating a balanced diet, and phone numbers like the suicide prevention hotline. But when these topics are taught over the summer, they are severely rushed.

Lesperin and Uline both referenced a worksheet that was assigned to students taking health this summer titled “Preventing Sexual Aggression.” The first question on the assignment asked students to list three ways to avoid being the victim of sexual assault.

Lesperin was infuriated by the lesson. “I was horrified. I was angry,” she said. “What if someone in the class was a victim of sexual

assault and ended up thinking it was their fault because of the lesson?”

Uline, who is a survivor of sexual assault, shares Lesperin’s sentiments. “The sexual assault unit... I found [it] very offensive,”

The sexual assault unit... I found [it] very offensive.

ANNA ULINE Uline said. “I am a victim of sexual assault, and the unit was full of victim-blaming. It made you write out how to prevent being sexually assaulted.”

That part of the unit was removed after students complained, according to Uline. However, the fact that it was assigned in the first place, with no follow-up lesson to

clarify consent or apologize for blaming survivors, demonstrates the serious consequences of shortening the course.

MCPS should require that all students take a full semester health class. While students may find this tedious, this is the only way to ensure that the subject is treated with the gravity it requires. A full semester gives students the opportunity to thoroughly engage with the material and discuss it in a safe space— characteristics that are not guaranteed during the summer course.

If students are interested in taking extra classes over the summer to satisfy graduation requirements or earn more credits, let them take the courses that cover material that won’t matter in a life-or-death situation. Health is too important to be given only a cursory three weeks and a couple of worksheets. When students go out into the world, the lessons that we will need most will be those taught in the health classroom.

soapbox How do you feel about the Montgomery County health curriculum? Should it be offered online?

“It has to be taught in person, and it also needs to be made more comfortable for students to ask questions they may have.”

“Online learning is much easier and can adapt to each student’s pace, but the whole curriculum needs to be changed.”

MICHAELLA SEVALIE junior

LANA ANDERSON junior

Overriding the veto on our future The Maryland General Assembly must override Hogan’s veto on the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future

By Marijke Friedman Staff Writer AN OPINION Joe Francaviglia struggled for years with getting mental health resources for his students. “I taught 33 eighth graders my second period, and the class had at least eight kids with serious mental health needs,” Francaviglia, a former teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools and current Executive Director of Strong Schools Maryland, said. “We had one school psychologist who was there part-time. My class alone would have filled her caseload.”

Even at Blair, students frequently have to wait in long lines to speak to their guidance counselors. This is not an adequate situation for students or teachers. We deserve better. We demand the enactment of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a monumental education reform bill, passed in March by the Maryland State Senate and House of Delegates, that addresses education-related issues, including the allocation of mental health resources.

The Blueprint has five main components: retaining high quality and diverse teachers, investing in early childhood education, ensuring all students are college and career ready, giving students the resources they need to be successful, and establishing a board to oversee the implementation of the bill. Unfortunately, Governor Larry Hogan vetoed the Blueprint in May,

citing economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis.

In reality, the pandemic has only further emphasized the need for the Maryland General Assembly to push legislation that will help alleviate the inequities exacerbated

by COVID-19. Now, more than ever, it is critical that the General Assembly overrides Hogan’s veto to ensure that every Maryland student gets the quality education we deserve—and the resources we need in both the short and longterm.

During a normal year, the pressures of school work cause plenty of anxiety for students, but this stress is minuscule compared to the effects of COVID-19 and social isolation. According to EAB, an education consulting group headquartered in Washington, D.C., 75 percent of children receiving mental health care accessed that support in school. It is inevitable that while students learn virtually, some of them are not receiving the help that they need. While school counseling departments are doing their best to adapt to these challenging times, we must ensure that they have the staff and materials to provide even better support when we emerge from the pandemic.

If passed, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future would provide funding for more social workers, counselors, and psychologists, as well as place an emphasis on helping students with trauma. That is especially key now, as the pandemic has only increased trauma in the

community, with some students losing loved ones to COVID-19 and others facing detrimental economic loss. Without the mental health resources they need, many students struggle to focus on their schoolwork and have a difficult time succeeding academically and socially. Students must have adults who are looking out for their psychological and educational well-being.

Besides s uppo r t in g the mental health of students, Julie Palakovich Carr, who represents District 17 (Rockville and Gaithersburg) in the Maryland House of Delegates, believes that the bill will also bolster the education system.

“It really is a landmark bill that is meant to dramatically improve the quality of public school education across the state of Maryland,” she explained. Some ways the Blueprint would do this are by making pre-kindergarten available to all students and improving the working conditions of teachers.

One of the best ways to guarantee measures like these ones

and to accomplish the passing of the Blueprint is by working with community groups. Francaviglia’s Strong Schools Maryland, for example, is an organization that aims to create the best schools for Maryland students by lobbying for the Blueprint’s passage.

On a more local level, students can get involved by joining Montgomery County Students Towards Equitable Public Schools

SHASHI ARNOLD

(STEPS), a student advocacy group that is working to ensure the Blueprint passes. “We’re going to sit down with elected officials in Montgomery County and just make sure that we can secure the yes vote,” Avery Smedley, a senior at Albert Einstein High School and the lead organizer of STEPS, said.

Students can and should also call their state representatives to encourage them to override the veto.

“This is not just about the next 20 weeks for schools; this is about the next 20 years,” Francaviglia explained. “What kind of schools do we want our students to attend when we emerge from this pandemic?”

The answer is clear. We need schools with adequate mental health resources. We need pre-kindergarten for all students. We need to give all students the resources they need to be successful. We need the General Assembly to override Governor Hogan’s veto to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.

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B4 Opinions Oct. 16, 2020

Employees matter. MCPS should treat them as such.

From maintaining schools, to distributing food, to teaching on Zoom, MCPS employees are continuously going above and beyond during this pandemic. Now, MCPS is hanging them out to dry.

On Oct. 8, MCPS announced that it will increase the amount that employees pay toward their healthcare by an average of 10 percent starting in January and also proposed withholding their cost of living adjustments. Amid a global crisis when these employees have been working tirelessly and bravely, this change—an effective pay cut—is inexcusable.

This is even more disheartening when we consider that Montgomery County has laudably agreed to grant hazard pay to other non-public school employees—such as first responders and prison correction workers.

Just like those other public employees who have been working on the frontlines, employees in the public schools system are essential workers, and they must be treated that way.

They have been to schools to help disinfect facilities and to prepare and distribute food to students. They have distributed thousands of Chromebooks and school supplies in order to make virtual learning possible and more equitable. And yet MCPS is slashing the pay for those who are putting their heart and soul into their work.

The people working from school buildings are putting their lives on the line every day. Despite Governor Larry Hogan touting Maryland’s COVID-19 metrics, the average number of new cases per day is even higher now than it was in June, during the so-called “peak” of the pandemic.

Furthermore, during a Board of Educa-

tion meeting on Oct. 6, Associate Superintendent of Operations Essie McGuire confirmed that 79 MCPS employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and nine school buildings have already closed due to cases, with more positive tests and school closings every week—take Bradley Hills Elementary School, which is completely closed until Oct. 23 due to four positive tests last week, or Northwood, where meal distribution temporarily moved to a mobile delivery truck due to a kitchen staff member’s diagnosis, also last week.

To protect staff against the virus, MCPS said they would make kits of personal protective equipment (PPE) available to all employees, including face masks. Yet they announced that N95 respirators would not be available to all employees and that many would instead receive cloth and disposable masks, which don’t qualify as PPE according to the Centers for Disease Control. According to McGuire, MCPS is still working with the Office of Special Education to determine what additional PPE is required for staff working in-person with students in special needs programs even though we are more than a month into the school year.

It is disappointing to see so many holes in the county’s reopening plan, which was approved by the state government in mid-August. Since then, Hogan has repeatedly pushed for hastened school reopenings, citing his confidence in the state’s preparation.

Evidently, his confidence is misguided.

In an email sent to employees following the Oct. 8 announcement, MCPS stated that they contacted all three unions representing employees in MCPS and discussed the premium increases in depth with the

associations. However, the Montgomery County Education Association wrote in a statement to members that “the decision to raise healthcare costs is one that MCPS made on its own.”

All three unions strongly oppose these changes. As compensation, MCPS compromised by offering a premium holiday for the first pay period in January, meaning there will be no healthcare premium for a single paycheck. But this one-time “holiday” does nothing to offset the loss of income that employees will experience in the following months.

Transparency is key, especially during the convoluted and trying times we find ourselves in, and yet the concerns of the

relevant parties are being ignored. “It illustrates some of the issues that we have with MCPS decision making being very far from transparent with the communities that are most impacted by [these] decisions,” Lynne Harris, who is running for the At-Large seat on the Board of Education and was endorsed by the Editorial Board last spring, said in an interview with Silver Chips.

To give employees fair compensation, MCPS must not increase healthcare costs and must instead give their employees the same hazard pay as other county employees. There is no justification for this inequity. Public school employees, too, are essential.

attacks.”

“When… it crosses the line from being, ‘we don’t block anyone,’ to bullying and harassment and intimidation,” she said, “you have the right to block people.”

Some of the tweets were racist, misogynistic, and derogatory. One person sent out a racial slur underneath a post from Principal Johnson about new portables at Blair, another brought her salary into question, and someone else used the word “clown” to describe the principal.

These comments crossed the line. Our principal should not have to face bigoted criticism, and she had every right to block those students. Just like our peers who were speaking out against abuse, Principal Johnson should be allowed to protect herself from harassment and bullying. But it was unnecessary for her to block students that were simply being critical of the administration.

Whatever Principal Johnson’s response was to individual students, blocking students who spoke out made it feel as if we were being punished for criticizing administration.

According to Principal Johnson, any statement that she makes regarding topics such as sexual assault, rape, or violence must be approved by MCPS before it is released. But she now recognizes she could have made a neutral comment addressing the situation: “In retrospect, I could have said, ‘Hi Blazers, I understand your concern about sexual assault in our school; [there’s] a police investigation.’”

If Principal Johnson had released this statement through Twitter, or in a newsletter at the time, I think many of us would have felt much more secure and safe knowing that the school was taking action to protect their students.

The best way to mitigate MCPS employees having to handle criticism from students

on social media would be to remove names attached to the accounts. Instead of having a “Blair Principal” Twitter or Instagram, administration could simply have an account for Montgomery Blair High School. This way, students could voice concerns without crossing the line into personal attacks.

The county must also seriously revise its teacher-student “Best Practices for Employees” guide. A web-page of recommendations is simply not enough. Employees need clear rules and clear ramifications of the penalties for breaking these rules. Students need to also understand that using racist language against someone that they are upset with is not acceptable. Oftentimes, it can have the opposite of the intended effect.

The incident this summer with Principal Johnson and other Blair staff lay bare that the MCPS social media policy is weak and ineffective. For years, interactions between teachers and their students on social media have gone virtually unchecked. It should not be our responsibility as students to tattle on teachers for breaking these guidelines.

MCPS must step up now and recognize that this is a growing issue of concern—one that will get much more complex as new social media platforms gain prominence and the county shifts toward more digital learning opportunities.

When do the social media accounts of MCPS employees go too far?

By Kathryn LaLonde Ombudsman

Many of us have experienced teachers who interact with us digitally in a way that feels like an invasion of our privacy. Some teachers follow us from personal accounts or retweet our personal posts without asking; others comment on student social media content that is unrelated to school.

In 2015, a former Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School principal personally followed back many of her students on Twitter. Despite the fact that she believed it would bridge the gap between student and teacher, she faced significant blowback from her students.

There’s a reason why that gap exists. There should be a difference in how we interact with our teachers versus how we interact with our friends and family.

When teachers and administrators communicate personally with students through social media, the nature of those exchanges can oftentimes put students in uncomfortable positions. How would it look if we

blocked our teachers who interacted with us on social media? This action could effect how they view us as students and maybe, some students feel, even change how they grade our papers and tests.

A teacher’s presence on social media also puts them in a difficult position. There is a fine line between announcing a fundraiser or a scholarship opportunity and snooping on students or asking why they haven’t turned in a particular assignment. Any engagement on social media that crosses that line of direct teacher-student communication is an overstep.

The MCPS policy on social media is theoretically clear. In their “Best Practices for Employees” guide, they offer recommendations on how staff members should conduct themselves on social media, including not doing anything that signals they are “friends” with a student and having separate accounts for “professional” and “personal” matters.

The document also explains, “MCPS employees posting to social media in a professional capacity should not block users or delete comments on their own initiative.”

Our own principal, Renay Johnson, is known for her active social media presence on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Principal Johnson’s Twitter, especially, is popular among staff and parents, as she often posts resources for students and advertises various sporting events and academic opportunities in the Blair community. And yet, despite—or perhaps because of—her significant following and support, her accounts have recently sparked uncomfortable tension.

Over the summer, a number of students took to social media with criticism of the Blair administration, and MCPS regarding the treatment of sexual harassment allegations and the culture of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse in our schools. Some of these students’ Twitter accounts were later blocked by Principal Johnson.

I spoke with Principal Johnson, and she said that she felt the tweets were “personal

To connect with Kathryn, email her at ombudsmansilverchips @gmail.com

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Oct. 16, 2020 Opinions B5

Lynne Harris and Sunil Dasgupta are the two final candidates for the At-Large seat on the Montgomery County Board of Education in the November 2020 election.

Personal column

Five myths about reopening schools and what we need to do right now

Personal column

No decisions about you without you

By Sunil Dasgupta Guest Writer

By Lynne Harris Guest Writer

AN OPINION

AN OPINION

The final decision on reopening MCPS lies with the county’s chief health officer.

The Board of Education’s role—and mine, as a prospective member—is to tirelessly plan for the moment the light turns green. Rather than emphasize careful and transparent planning and identifying needed resources, MCPS has contributed to anxiety and confusion. That, and poor communication, has led to five myths about school reopening.

Myth #1: Schools are safe and ready for return. Several questions need answers.

What are the protocols for temperature checking, testing, contract tracing, distancing, and staff substitution? Who will assume school health responsibility, given that not every school has its own nurse? Who will determine which classrooms are usable, given known ventilation problems? Who will train staff in health protection?

What we must do: MCPS needs to work with families, educators, and other county agencies to address these questions before setting a reopen date. We cannot repeat what happened this past fall—where the educational plan was approved just days before school reopened.

Myth #2: Teachers stand in the way of reopening. Every single teacher I know—out of several hundred—

The daily lived experience of our students in our schools should inform every decision we make for pragmatic reasons—because students know things that no one else knows.

But perhaps more importantly, it’s essential that we routinely engage students to work with us to improve our schools because they have become, unequivocally, the moral compass of MCPS. MCPS has had “equity” as a core value for many years. Board Policy FAA, Educational Facilities Planning, specifies the process by which the Board makes decisions about an array of facility utilization issues, including the selection of new school sites, boundary changes, school closures, and consolidations.

The policy has existed since 1986, been revised several times, and has included requiring the consideration of four co-equal factors (student demographics, geographic proximity, stability of school assignments over time, facility utilization) in making these types of decisions at least since the 1990s.

Policy FAA has for decades included creating a “diverse student body” as one of four co-equal factors to be considered when establishing school boundaries or determining where to build or expand schools. Yet—in 2020—the racial, cultural, and socioeconomic composition of individual schools is highly variable, and there are deep inequities in our system.

In the 18th wealthiest county in the nation, we have schools in which less than one percent of students are impacted by poverty and schools in which almost 90 percent are. We are a majority-minority school system—32.4 percent Latinx, 27 percent white, 21.4 percent Black, 14.1 percent Asian—but the demographics of most schools are far from reflective of that reality. Eighty-two percent of students arrested in schools, or on school property, are students of color. We are a diverse school system, but we are NOT a system of diverse schools. We proclaim equity as a core value, but we are NOT an equitable school system.

Students all across MCPS have called out these inequities clearly, substantively and courageously. MCPS has benefited from an uninterrupted series of Student Members of the Board of Education (SMOBs) (Eric Guerci, Matthew Post, Ananya Tadikonda, Nathaniel Tinbite) standing up and calling for MCPS to do and be better. Without this strong, clear student voice, MCPS would not have authorized a county-wide boundary analysis. MCPS would not have embarked on a systemwide anti-racist audit. The BOE would not have passed a resolution calling for a detailed review of the data surrounding our School Resource Officer program.

To me, it’s obvious that tackling the work required to transform MCPS into a worldclass, anti-racist, school system requires students at every decision-making table. We need to partner with them now to create a plan to make that a reality.

In facing enormous challenges, the COVID Generation has shown resilience not seen in a long while... I know the COVID Generation will lead us out of this mess and help resolve enduring problems.

SUNIL DASGUPTA wants to be back safely in their classrooms.

According to Board member Judith Docca (District 1), 100 teachers voluntarily served on MCPS reopening “design teams” this summer despite a labor impasse and no contract. I spoke with many teachers who served—all felt their concerns were ignored.

What we must do: Teachers bring education to our students. Instead of alienating them, MCPS must make educators true partners. It is time to come to a contract agreement and support and engage teachers so they can provide the best possible education for our students.

Myth #3: Low-income families will choose return over safety. No family wants to send their children to unsafe schools, including low-income minority families disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Like all

COURTESY OF SUNIL DASGUPTA

COURTESY OF LYNNE HARRIS

families, they, too, will weigh the risk against their circumstances.

What we must do: Honor individual family and educator choices. I have proposed a detailed census of student/staff return preferences. Respondents should be able to update their choices, offering an accurate, evolving picture. Previous MCPS surveys had no responses from some zip codes and multiple entries from certain families. More on census/planning: https://bit.ly/2SLesO6.

Myth #4: Virtual learning is an across-theboard failure. Many students have succeeded in online learning; many others are struggling mightily. Some students are moving faster through coursework, and even some special needs families say their children thrive away from classroom distractions.

What we must do: This variability could have been—and can still be—addressed with better planning, manageable student and teacher workloads, and pedagogical and technological support. We need a true reimagining of our school day, including project-based lessons that do not require continuous screen time. Many teachers have excelled with little support. Imagine how much better things might be if educators help, planning, and training.

Myth #5: Our kids are falling behind.

This is a concern, but falling behind whom?

Private schools? Fairfax County in Virginia?

Other states or countries? The pandemic is global. India, for example, is seeing a surge, and schools are closed. Many European countries are struggling. The worst outcome is sickness and fatalities. The academic and athletic losses are the second-to-worst. Incredibly, students have been creative and dogged, despite changing plans, curricula, platforms, and tech failures.

What we must do: Shift our expectations. In facing enormous challenges, the COVID Generation has shown resilience not seen in a long while. We have now lost half the number of people to COVID-19 as we lost in World War II. The generation that came of age during that terrible time lost learning, missed proms and celebrations, did not play football, and took school buses to work in factories. I know the COVID Generation will lead us out of this mess and help resolve enduring problems—such as climate change, racism, and inequality.

I’ve spent the past 12 years immersed in Montgomery County Public Schools, starting in 2008 when my son started kindergarten.

I went to my first PTA meeting, raised my hand to volunteer for something, and then kept raising my hand. Taking on more volunteer roles, leading the PTA, stepping up to work as a leader of the countywide PTA (the Montgomery County Council of PTAs, or MCCPTA)—those things together provided many opportunities to study issues, listen, learn from leaders, and connect with communities.

Participating in more meetings, work groups, task forces, focus groups, interview panels, selection committees, events, panels, town halls and assemblies than I can count was a graduate course in MCPS. Becoming a teacher in 2016 (Medical Science with Clinical Applications as part of the Career and Technology Education (CTE) program at Thomas Edison) provided me with additional insights into the workings of our school system—allowing me to see things not just through the lens of a parent and advocate, but also from the perspective of someone in the teaching trenches every day.

It has been an invaluable education. I have learned about the array of issues affecting our students and schools is vast and constantly evolving. Staying current is constant work. I’ve learned that every one of our 208 schools is different from every other—and different from itself year to year.

I’ve learned that MCPS needs to be more intentional about engaging the unique talents and innovative ideas of teachers and not burden them with administrative tasks that don’t directly impact our ability to be good educators and connect with our students. I’ve learned that every one of our school communities is a rich and diverse pool of talent, expertise, and knowledge that too often MCPS just doesn’t substantively engage—in either the policy-making or problem-solving process—and that is a huge missed opportunity.

But the most important thing I’ve learned is that our students are THE best barometer for how MCPS is doing as a school system.

Our students are the deepest well of knowledge about every aspect of our schools and any issue we face. If we want to make MCPS the best it can be, we have to make partnering with students simply the way we do business.

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B6 Opinions Oct. 16, 2020

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la

El 16 de octubre de 2020

esquinalatina Representando la comunidad latinx desde el 2003

Volumen 18 Número 1

La nueva realidad de la vida personal y escolar Por Ariel Godoy y Angela Ramirez Escritores Algunos estudiantes afrontan desafíos este año escolar a causa de la pandemia. A la misma vez los padres y la sociedad sienten el mismo peso. La pandemia causada por el COVID-19 ha forzado a que la sociedad y la comunidad estudiantil de Blair se vean comprometidos al alterar las rutinas diarias, personales, escolares y laborales.

Este año escolar ha tenido varios cambios, el más notable siendo las clases virtuales. Uno de los mayores retos ha sido que algunos estudiantes han tenido que cuidar a sus hermanos menores o ayudar a su familia con los quehaceres de la casa mientras están conectados a sus clases.

La cuarentena ha sido un golpe muy fuerte para los padres, ya que muchos de ellos han perdido sus trabajos y algunos han sido desalojados debido a no tener ningún tipo de ingreso para pagar su renta.

Muchos de ellos han enfrentado la necesidad de buscar un trabajo diferente, en los cuales trabajan muchas horas por un salario bajo.

Otro gran reto es que algunos padres se van a trabajar con la inseguridad de saber si sus hijos se conectan a sus clases.

Muchos de los estudiantes han tenido problemas con el aprendi-

zaje virtual. A varios no les gusta la idea de tener clases en línea, debido a que no aprenden de la misma forma como en un entorno escolar.

Joselin Valeriano es una estudiante de décimo grado, quien nació en El Salvador y recién vino a los Estados Unidos el octubre pasado. Ella empezó a asistir a Blair en enero, pero lastimosamente en marzo cancelaron las clases debido a la pandemia. Ella enfrenta dificultades manejando la tecnología y a la misma vez tiene que lidiar con tener que aprender inglés. Para ella, el reto se multiplica. “Es un poco difícil pero más que todo no es aprender si no que es entender.

Porque algunos maestros hablan muy rápido y todos los que están en mis clases ya son nacidos aquí”, dice Valeriano.

Además de este reto, hay otros como tener que cuidar a niños pequeños. En el caso de Valeriano, durante sus clases ella tiene que cuidar a sus primos de 5 y 10 años.

“A veces se pelean y a mi me están preguntando algo y tengo que estar diciéndole que no estén peleando, o cuando es mi hora de almuerzo aprovecho y le pregunto si tienen hambre o tienen que usar el baño”.

Ella añade, “casualmente a las 12:30 le da hambre y me toca estar en la clase y cocinándole y dándole de comer al de 5 años porque todavía no puede comer solo”.

Valeriano también dice que para ella, “Es muy importante saber cómo manejar nuestro estrés,

ansiedad, frustración para relajar- bajaban después de la escuela para nos. A veces salgo a caminar por la ayudar a sus familias. A raíz de esto tarde o escucho música porque muchos tuvieron que abandonar eso me relaja mucho”. los trabajos, lo cual afectó mucho Otra estudiante del grado a las familias que no tenían los suonce, Melany Andrades, dice ficientes ingresos para pagar la coque tiene que cuidar a su her- mida, renta y otros tipos de pagos. mano de seis años durante sus Las agencias y las escuelas del con-

clases. Necesita ver si él se conecta a sus clases o si él está prestando atención mientras ella también está tomando sus clases.

dado están ayudando a muchas familias con la entrega de comida, tarjetas de dinero y otros tipos de asistencia, las cuales les están siendo de mucho beneficio a familias que no tienen los suficientes ingresos para abastecerse y alimentar a sus hijos.

Como para muchos estudiantes, los primeros días fueron estresantes. “Es difícil porque cada 20 minutos tengo que mirar a mi hermano o a veces entra a mi cuarto y tengo que llevarlo de vuelta a su cuarto’’, cuenta Andrades. Con respeto a las clases de su hermano, Andrades sigue, “Depende de lo que pasa en clase si no le gusta la lección o lo que dice el profesor él no presta atención en absoluto”.

Aunque los padres de Andrades están conscientes de que ella tiene sus clases, le piden que haga quehaceres de la casa. Esto causa que ella no entienda o pierda el hilo de las lecciones. Andrades entiende que sus profesores están haciendo lo mejor que pueden para enseñar a los estudiantes en estas circunstancias, pero ella prefiere estar cara a cara con sus profesores.

Es cierto que los estudiantes han tenido muchas dificultades durante esta pandemia con el aprendizaje y la economía. Esto se debe a que un OBSTÁCULOS EN LA PANDEMIA gran número de los estudiantes tra-

Decir “latinxs para vidas negras” es insincero Por Renata Muñoz Editora en Jefa UNA OPINIÓN

En los últimos meses, protestas nacionales se han manifestado a favor del movimiento de Black Lives Matter (“Las Vidas Negras Importan” o BLM). A causa de estas protestas, la frase “latinxs para vidas negras” ha surgido, pero esta frase tiene el efecto contrario de la intención original.

La frase “latinxs para vidas negras” comenzó como forma de mostrar solidaridad entre latinxs y afroamericanos. Sin embargo, al decir “latinxs para vidas negras”, se crea una separación innecesaria y dañina, que separa a los latinxs y los afroamericanos como si fueran dos entidades opuestas.

Janel Martinez, una afrolatinx que fundó un sitio web para apoyar a otros afrolatinxs, explica el problema en una entrevista con The

Washington Post, “[es] extremadamente problemática simplemente porque estás borrando [como es] ser de raza negra”.

En otra entrevista con The Washington Post, Paul Joseph López Oro, un profesor asistente de estudios Africanos, explica, “la frase te hace pensar inmediatamente que no hay personas de raza negra en la comunidad latinx… [el dicho] viene de un lugar de marcando a los latinxs como personas que no son de raza negra y los peligros de eso es que no es verdad”. Según un estudio del Centro de Investigación Pew en el 2014, 1 de cada 4 latinxs se identifica como afrolatinx.

Además, la frase se enfoca en la persona que no es afroamericana. Martinez sigue, “el propósito de Las Vidas Negras Importan era poner personas de raza negra al centro”. Si el objetivo es elevar las voces afroamericanas, ¿por qué nosotros, los latinxs que no somos afroamericanos, somos incapaces de poner las voces de los afroamericanos al centro sin hablar de nosotros mismos?

De la misma forma, cuando los afroamericanos celebran éxitos, latinxs que no son afroamericanos tienen un impulso de incluirse en ese éxito, típicamente de forma negativa.

John Leguizamo, un actor latinx, reclamó que los afroamericanos recibieron más nominaciones para los premios Emmys del 2020 que latinxs, tuitiando, “¿por qué es que nosotros los latinxs no podemos tener un pedazo de la tarta?”

En su tuit, Leguizamo citó un artículo del LA Times que declara, “No ha habido artistas latinos entre las nominaciones de actores principales y secundarios para series de drama o comedia en los últimos seis años”. Sin embargo en los Emmys del 2019, Jharrel Jerome, un actor afro-Dominicano, ganó la categoría de actor principal para la serie de drama, When They See Us. Lo que es más irónico es que Leguizamo también actuó en When They See Us, pero fue capaz de ignorar que su propio colega era latinx como él.

Similarmente, cuando la película Black Panther, la cual tuvo un elenco mayoritariamente afroamericano y de raza negra, se estrenó, muchos latinxs reclamaron, preguntando, “¿cuándo podemos tener nuestro propio Black Panther?” Pero cuando hay representación latinx, que también es representación afrolatinx, latinxs que no son afroamericanos, como Leguizamo, lo ignoran y no están satisfechos. A menudo, los latinxs que no son afroameriancos no consideran representacion afrolatinx como representación latinx.

Los éxitos de la comunidad afroamericana son vistos como negativos por la comunidad latinx en

“La frase te hace pensar inmediatamente que no hay personas de raza negra en la comunidad latinx”

parte porque a menudo usamos a los afroamericanos como una medida de nuestro potencial. En un tuit, Jade Bentil, una historiadora de raza negra, explicó, “[las] personas de raza negra son los contrastes que personas que no son de raza negra usan para medir su humanidad. Nuestra [las personas de raza negra] sujeción sirve como la base de posibilidad para su propio acceso a la humanidad. Entonces cuando personas de raza negra son *percibidos* como ‘ganando’, se produce una crisis - el mundo ya no tiene sentido”.

En otras palabras, los latinxs que no son afroamericanos no pueden aceptar que personas afroamericanas tengan más representación que

ellos porque todavía ven a personas afroamericanas como “menos” que ellos y conflictúa con nuestra percepción que somos mejores que los afroamericanos.

Declarar solidaridad con el BLM diciendo “latinxs para vidas negras” ignora los problemas de racismo contra los afroamericanos en la comunidad latinx, especialmente cuando dictamos el racismo contra afroamericanos como paralelo a la discrimnación contra los latinxs. Nuestros obstáculos no son lo mismo que los obstáculos de los afroamericanos. Además, latinxs que no somos afroamericanos contribuimos al racismo al que se enfrentan los afroamericanos. Como latinxs que no somos afroamericanos, no podemos declarar solidaridad sin hablar sobre el racismo en nuestra comunidad y activamente trabajar contra el racismo.

Frecuentemente, como latinxs, usamos la excusa de que las cosas son diferentes en Latinoamérica y el racismo es diferente allá. Es verdad que el racismo se presenta de forma diferente en Latinoamérica, pero el hecho de que las cosas sean diferentes es un indicador de que ignoramos tanto el racismo que ya está normalizado dentro de la sociedad.

Mientras el racismo contra afroamericanos siga en la comunidad latinx, nuestra solidaridad será insincera. Lo que podemos hacer ahora es trabajar en corregir nuestros comportamientos y pensamientos racistas y los de los grupos a nuestro alrededor. Si escuchas un amigo que no es afroamericano usar palabras despectivas tales como la palabra “n” o si un miembro de tu familia usa una frase con connotaciones racistas, deberías corregirles. Lo más importante es escuchar a la comunidad afroamericana para saber cuál es la mejor forma de apoyarlos.

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C2 La Esquina Latina 16 de octubre de 2020

Langley Park: reurbanización en una pandemia

Como la pandemia ha agravado los problemas económicos de la comunidad de Langley Park Por Sofia Roehrig Escritora

Siguiendo meses de calma económica debido a COVID-19, ha habido un gran aumento en las tasas de desplazamiento en la comunidad de Langley Park, MD; exacerbando el riesgo de gentrificación en el área.

Localizada dentro de el Capital Beltway, la comunidad de Langley Park se puede caracterizar por su vivienda de bajos ingresos y su demográfica consiste primariamente de hispanohablantes. Consistente con la tendencia que está sucediendo en todo el país, la pandemia COVID-19 ha demostrado ser un desafío adicional para la comunidad latinx, específicamente para grupos demográficos que son en su mayoría indocumentados. La comunidad de Langley Park se ve afectada por ambos factores, con 70 por ciento de sus residentes viviendo sin papeles y una gran parte de esa población hablando solamente español, de acuerdo a CASA Maryland, una organización que aboga por la comunidad indocumentada local. El impacto de COVID-19 en comunidades indocumentadas se debe en gran parte al tipo de trabajo que ocupan los individuos. Como una mayoría de trabajadores sin documentos están empleados en trabajos de salario mínimo con pocas protecciones, ese grupo es el que sufre más cuando hay un cismo económico, como COVID-19, que resulta en un aumento de tasas de desempleo.

Aún antes de la pandemia, los residentes de Langley Park estaban afectados por una tasa alta de desempleo-- casi 36 por ciento más alta que el promedio nacional de acuerdo con un estudio de AreaVibes, un programa que examina las

características y comodidades de un área. Con el COVID-19, esas tasas han surgido todavía más. Como consecuencia de este aumento, las tasas de desplazamiento también han subido vertiginosamente.

Aunque el estado de Maryland ha dispersado $30 millones para prevenir evacuaciones a resultado de COVID-19, estos recursos no son muy accesibles para la gran mayoría de los residentes de Langley Park debido a su estado legal.

La zona de Langley Park se ha considerado por décadas como un lugar valioso con el potencial de ser desarrollada para maximizar capital urbana. De acuerdo a Bridget Broullire, una representante del Departamento

de Planificación para el condado de Montgomery, Langley Park tiene comodidades atractivas. “Su proximidad a College Park y su infraestructura urbana son factores que hacen que Langley Park sea muy valioso’’, dijo Broullire en un correo electrónico. Cuando hay muchas desplazadas de una área, es más fácil para los desarrolladores comprar espacios grandes donde pueden construir vivienda más cara.

Hace unos años, había unos cambios hechos a la zonificación en el centro de Langley Park que, según Broullire, “se dedicaron a proporcionar más densidad, altura y flexibilidad al área”. Estos cambios a las políticas de zonificación

facilitan la remodelación porque establecen la posibilidad de desarrollar el área más para cumplir con el potencial restablecido de las empresas y la vivienda.

La amenaza inminente de desarrollo tiene implicaciones amplias para residentes de Langley Park, especialmente para los individuos que no tienen los recursos financieros para retroceder el impacto que la gentrificación tendría. Cuando una área se re-urbaniza, los precios de alquiler también aumentan para acomodar el nuevo valor de la propiedad. Más de tres cuartos de los residentes de Langley Park alquilan su vivienda e incluso pequeños aumentos de alquiler pueden tener un impacto trágico a los inquilinos.

IMPRESAS INDEPENDIENTES

Similarmente, muchos de los negocios que existen en Langley Park también dependen en niveles estables de alquiler porque rentan su espacio. Restaurantes independientes estarán en riesgo de perder la capacidad de permanecer en Langley Park si su situación de alquiler cambia. Las empresas independientes en el área son pilares de la comunidad local y elementos esenciales a la cultura de Langley Park.

Como una gran parte de trabajadores indocumentados, según el Centro de Estudios Migratorios, trabajan en “infraestructura crítica y esencial” (como servicios de salud, infraestructura, fabricación, alimentos, seguridad y otras necesidades de todos los estadounidenses), hay todavía muchas personas en Langley Park que se quedan sin trabajo. De acuerdo al gobernador de Maryland, Larry Hogan, las empresas de todo el estado tardarán en volver a abrir para evitar agravando la pandemia de COVID. Por el bien de la estabilidad financiera de Langley Park, esperamos que la pandemia se resuelva lo más rápido posible porque lo más tiempo que continúan estas tasas altas de desempleo, lo más que la comunidad estará plagada con desalojos forzosos.

Afortunadamente para los residentes de Langley Park, “cualquier acción de desarrollo que podría pasar necesitaría pasar el boceto, un plan preliminar y los permisos, que es un proceso de varios años”, según Broullire. Si la re-urbanización es una posibilidad para Langley Park, esto será en un futuro distante.

¿Cuán importante es el voto latinx?

Los cambios y tendencias de los votantes latinxs en las elecciones presidenciales Por Cecilia Clemens Vargas Lugo como resultado Kennedy ganó, debido en parte a sus esfuerzos Editora con los votantes latinxs. Durante la Durante esta elección presiden- convención nacional demócrata en cial, se estima que 32 millones de 1960, Edward Roybal, un concejal latinxs serán elegibles para votar en de Los Ángeles, convenció a Kenlos comicios. Los votantes latinxs nedy sobre la importancia de atraer son un grupo demográfico muy im- votantes latinxs. Roybal argumenportante y esto ha causado que di- taba que esto sería beneficioso si ferentes campañas presidenciales Kennedy quería ganar el apoyo de estados con poblaciones altas de lahagan un esfuerzo para atraerlos.

En el año 1960, el país estaba tinxs, como Texas. Entonces Roysiguiendo otra elección histórica: bal y varios otros líderes latinxs emlas campañas presidenciales de pezaron los clubes Viva Kennedy, John F. Kennedy y Richard Nixon. donde latinxs podían registrarse Kennedy y Nixon tuvieron una para votar y apoyar a Kennedy.

Este movimiento marcó la priapretada carrera presidencial, pero

mera vez que la comunidad latinx fue reconocida por políticos estadounidenses en una escala tan grande y los clubes Viva Kennedy facilitaron el comienzo de varios otros movimientos latinxs.

Un aspecto único entre los votantes latinxs es que diferentes grupos entre la comunidad latinx votan para diferentes partidos políticos. Esto causa que diferentes estados con una gran cantidad de votantes latinxs voten de maneras distintas. Dr. Mark Hugo López, el director de migración global y demografía en el Pew Research Center, cuenta que “En el caso de

Florida, por ejemplo, hay más apoyo para el candidato republicano porque hay una población cubana que se identifican más en el candidato republicano.” Los cubanos tienen una larga historia de votar por candidatos republicanos y son muy influyentes en Florida. En contraste “estados como California o como Nueva York el apoyo para los demócratas es muy fuerte”, dice López En adición están saliendo datos sobre los venezolanos “que indican que ellos también apoyan a los republicanos en el caso de las elecciones para el presidente,” cuenta López López añade que en general la comunidad latinx tiende a votar para el candidato demócrata en la elección presidencial. Él dice que esta “culminación del voto latino para los demócratas y los republicanos es casi lo mismo en los muchos de los años durante las dos últimas décadas. Pero es muy interesante, porque en 2004 fue un año cuando el voto latino fue con George Bush, un republicano, con un porcentaje de más de 40 por ciento.”

Debido al porcentaje de latinxs en algunos estados, el voto latinx en las últimas elecciones ha sido muy importante para ganar ciertos estados. Estados como Florida, un estado clave para la elección, donde 1 en 5 votantes son latinx, ocasiona que la comunidad latinx pueda decidir quien gana los votos electorales del estado. Pero la elección no es totalmente decidida por los latinxs.

Aun así, de acuerdo con la oficina del Censo de los Estados Uni-

[Esta] culminación del voto latino para los demócratas y los republicanos es casi lo mismo en los muchos de los años durante las dos últimas décadas. Pero es muy interesante, porque en 2004 fue un año cuando el voto latino fue con George Bush, un republicano, con un porcentaje de más de 40 por ciento.

dos, solo 47.6 por ciento de latinxs votaron en la elección presidencial de 2016. En contraste, el 65.3 por ciento de la población blanca no-hispana votó y 59.6 por ciento de la población afro-americana no hispana votó. De todos modos, la cantidad de ciudadanos latinxs que pueden votar sigue creciendo cada día.

La comunidad latinx ha sido muy prominente en la política de este país por años. Con proyecciones del Pew Research Center que indican que los latinxs van a ser la minoría racial y étnica con el porcentaje más grande de votantes, quién sabe qué otros cambios causarán los latinxs en el futuro.

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16 de octubre de 2020 La Esquina Latina C3

Incluso virtualmente, las voces siguen unidas Por Tony Calderón Gonzalez y Renata Muñoz Editores en Jefe El 15 de septiembre marca el comienzo del mes de la herencia hispana en los Estados Unidos. Para Blair, es un mes lleno de celebraciones de las distintas culturas latinxs y un tiempo de aprendizaje.

En 1968, el presidente Lyndon B. Johnson tomó la iniciativa de crear un mes que reconociera las contribuciones que han tenido los estadounidenses con raíces hispanohablantes.Este mes marca la independencia de cinco países latinoamericanos: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua y Costa Rica.

El año pasado, la obra del mes de herencia hispana en Blair fue titulada “Fiesta Blair” y tomó lugar solo un día en el mes de septiembre. Geovany Rivera, uno de los directores estudiantiles de la obra, cuenta que su plan para el 2020 era expandir Fiesta Blair con el nuevo nombre de Voces Unidas, “teníamos [planeado] un show entero que iba ser dos fines de semana en octubre… era una hora y media [y] dos actos”.

... decidimos en hacer algo que era como una celebración.

GEOVANY RIVERA A causa de la pandemia, este año la obra de Voces Unidas se ha realizado en línea. Al ser en línea, el equipo de Voces Unidas enfrentó muchos desafíos durante su proceso.

Rivera explica que tuvieron que comenzar planeando la obra nuevamente después de escuchar que la escuela se cerraría por causa del COVID-19. Rivera dice, “el año pasado en noviembre… después que terminamos [Fiesta Blair], empezamos a planear el show que… era para este año en octubre y lo teníamos terminado… en marzo… [Cuando] dijeron que no íbamos a regresar es cuando planeamos en hacer algo virtualmente. Nos quedamos callados por un rato porque no

sabíamos que íbamos hacer, pero decidimos en hacer algo que era como una celebración”.

El proceso entero para planear la obra tomó cerca de cinco meses, en lo cual la transición inicial a un modo virtual requirió más tiempo. Rivera sigue, “no había inspiración [en] ningún lugar. No había nadie que nos estaban enseñando cómo navegar esto: Cómo crear el show, que manera que la gente envíe sus actuaciones, cosas así… todo fue

como un bebe, estamos aprendiendo de la primera vez”.

En las audiciones, Rivera cuenta que hubieron algunas canciones que les sorprendieron, “la que me gustó a mi fue Carlos, el hizo [una canción de] Aventura y ese estilo de música no es algo que yo… escuchaba de niño… pero a la gente le encanta Aventura y bachata y yo estaba como ‘okay, miremos como se escucha’ y… yo siento que se escuchaban más o menos igualitos y esa fue una de las más sorprendentes”.

Carlos Castro Gomez, el estudiante del décimo grado que cantó “Cuando Volverás” por Aventura, cuenta la razon por la cual el escogió esa cancion, “yo he sido fanático desde que, desde que oí de ellos cuando yo estaba chiquito”.

Este fue el primer año que Castro Gomez participó en la obra, pero pudo ver Fiesta Blair el año pasado, “yo no estaba en esto de los shows, pues no sabía, pero me gustó el show, me gustó la energía, como todos hicieron y quería ser parte y esta era mi oportunidad”.

Además, Castro Gomez piensa que Voces Unidas “introduce a nuevas personas de otras religiones [y] de otras culturas [y] hace ver que la herencia hispana no es como dicen otras personas… creo que teniendo ese show influencia a la escuela que vean que somos como cualquier otro humano, solo [una] diferente cultura”.

Castro Gomez no tuvo mucha experiencia antes de participar en Voces Unidas pero él cuenta que, “simplemente traté de usar otras cosas que yo aprendí cuando yo estaba en el octavo grado cuando yo hice un show… claro [esta vez] tenía que estar enfrente de una cámara y… estar enfrente de personas [ayudo] y yo trate de usar la misma táctica y me salió bien”.

Al participar en Voces Unidas, Castro Gomez cuenta que sus familiares estuvieron sorprendidos en su talento, “les enseñé [mi video] a mis padres, mis familiares, mi tío también, mi tía que vive en Los Ángeles también, todo[s] mis familiares lo vieron y ellos, ellos [estuvieron] sorprendidos que, que yo tenía ese talento, que ellos nunca han oído [o] visto”.

También, a Castro Gomez le gusto poder mostrar su talento a sus amigos, “me gustó

La obra del mes de la herencia hispana logró en demostrar las voces diversas de la comunidad

do de tener la oportunidad, él dice, “los directores fueron los más amables… [no los] podían agradecer más… por darme la oportunidad de hacer algo tan bueno… [como] Voces Unidas en Blair”. Castro Gomez aumenta que participar en la obra también le puede ayudar en el futuro, “[en] actuar tal vez se saca una beca o alguien viene importante de una escuela de canto y ellos… pueden ver lo que usted puede hacer debajo de presión con personas enfrente de usted y estar día y día… recordando [tus lineas]… y solo Voces Unidas y también teatro el año pasado me han dado una oportunidad de mi imagen salir afuera a otras personas para descubrir lo que puedo hacer”.

Para la obra del mes de herencia hispana del próximo año, Castro Gomez está seguro que participará, “si… este show [estuvo] tan bueno virtualmente, ¿cómo no va a salir de bueno en persona?… siempre me ha gustado el canto desde chiquito, SHASHI ARNOLD siempre me ha gustaque yo podía tener mi imagen afuera y bue- do de estar enfrente de personas y yo sienno yo podía enseñar lo que podía [hacer] a to que la segunda vez si podemos regresar [a todos mis otros compañeros que no saben lo la escuela] yo… [haria] mejor de como hice [esta vez]”. que puedo hacer”.

Además de participar de nuevo, Castro Otros estudiantes, como Gwendolyn Gomez quien está en el doceavo grado, parti- Gomez recomendaría a otros estudiantes cipó este año cantando “Rey” por Christine que participen en Voces Unidas, “yo he teniD’CLario, una canción de adoración de par- do una buena experiencia. Yo creo que más te de su religión y cuenta que al escoger la de las otras personas que podían hacer eso canción se sintió, “aceptada y sabiendo... que creo que también [tuvieron una buena expenuestra comunidad no encuentra la religión riencia]… Yo digo que otras personas, si tiecomo algo extraño o como un tema incó- nen talento de cantar, bailar, leer cualquier modo del que hablamos… me sentí cómoda poema que vengan a tratar Voces Unidas y que ellos enseñen al mundo que ellos puecantando”.

Rivera también cuenta lo que le gusta de den hacer otra cosa… Yo sugiero que vengan actuar además de dirigir la obra, “para mi me a audicionar”. encanta… hacer shows es lo que me inspira hacer trabajo… El año pasado

...si tienen talento de cantar, bailar, leer cualquier poema que vengan a tratar Voces Unidas y que ellos enseñen al mundo que ellos pueden hacer otra cosa...

CARLOS CASTRO GOMEZ fue la primera vez que no necesariamente estaba enfrente del show y estaba detrás y lo estaba [dirigiendo] y encontré que me encante los dos lugares”.

Después de participar en Voces Unidas, Castro Gomez estaba agradeci-

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For the people or for

How blocking post office funding widens th national class divide

W

hile neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night prevents the post office from delivering the mail, the federal government aiming to defund it might. Over the past few months, President Donald Trump has expressed his opposition to funding the United States Postal Service (USPS) on the grounds that he fears voting by mail will increase voter fraud.

The post office as we know it Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to establish post offices and post roads (mail routes). As a result, the USPS has existed in some capacity since 1775.

“The post office helped to create America,” Jamie Raskin, the elected representative for Maryland’s 8th Congressional District, says. “Before we had a post office, [we] had 13 separate, distant, and disconnected colonies, really with their own currencies, their own commercial lives, their own cultural and political lives. [The post office] gave us the skeleton of a national economy, a national communications system, and national politics.”

Contrary to popular belief, the USPS is a government agency, not a government-owned corporation, and was never meant to turn a profit. The USPS has managed to stay afloat in recent years despite receiving little to no federal funding, but it has been running a large debt for some time and mainly subsists on funds from postage and package sales.

As the election approaches, the post office needs a sizable amount of money to prepare for the influx of mail-in ballots. The bipartisan, Trump-appointed Board of Governors tasked with finding the exact amount

of money the USPS needs this budget cycle placed the estimate at $25 billion. Trump has repeatedly bashed this number, saying it will go to “fraudulent” voting, going so far as to call the mail-in votes “the greatest fraud in the history of elections.”

If Congress passes a relief bill to fund the USPS, however, then Trump, as the chief executive of the nation, must carry out its will.

“Congress has the power to establish a post office. Congress has the power to say here’s how the post office will operate,” Mark Graber, a Regents Professor at the University System of Maryland and one of the country’s leading experts on constitutional law and politics, says. “If Congress passes a law that says the post office should be delivering the mail, the President has an obligation to… execute that law.”

Trump can attempt to veto the spending bill that will fund the post office, but if Congress overrides his veto with a supermajority vote—or a two-thirds majority—Trump cannot deny the USPS funding.

Although Trump’s calls to defund the post office stem from his concern of fraudulent voting, his actions affect many of the post office’s other important functions. “I had lots of constituents who were waiting for their heart medication, or if they were diabetic, their insulin. People were extremely agitated about where their medicines were,” Raskin says. “There were also tons of small businesses that were having problems either receiving materials or sending out packages.”

Many demonstrations have sprung up in the Montgomery County area protesting Trump’s call to block funding for the USPS and the subsequent ramifications that the local community has already begun to experi-

DROP AND GO Blair is one of the many community locations hosting a ballot dropbox for those who prefer to avoid the post office this election season.

Story by Rekha Leonard and Maia Egnal Design by Rekha Leonard, Simran Thakkar, and Adam Chazan Art by Jay Chao Photos by Sarah Martin

ence. Anna White, a Silver Spring resident who organized a protest at the Silver Spring post office, says, “The message of the rallies was to save the postal service, and not remove any more [mail deposit boxes].” White also

impede a voter’s abil “If you think that the p then use the ballot dro Part of the reason th ty fares better than oth

TRASHING THE BOXES Mail boxes are left to the junk heap as the with finances and managing timely deliveries. emphasized the protestors’ desire to “make sure we can trust in the postal service to mail ballots—and for our democracy.”

Local ramifications For the Montgomery County Board of Elections (BOE), Trump’s threats to the post office are not a tremendous cause of concern. The Board has developed alternate methods of submitting ballots that don’t rely on postal services, according to Gilberto Zelaya, the public information officer at the Montgomery County BOE. “Once you get your ballot, you have two options: you either send it back through the post office, but if you’re really concerned about the post office, then you have up to 50 ballot drop boxes,” Zelaya says.

Zelaya emphasizes that problems with the post office should not

is that the county has sources than other area The average income in is over $30,000 more t age income. More mon to a higher budget for t The Montgomery get is $8,375,091. In tire state of New York of $11.6 million. Th comes in with $8,64 more than Montgome says, “Maryland as a s substantial investment tem.”

Due to its large County does not have ing on one voting op save money. This fina Mon

Oct. 16, 2020 Features D1/D2

r the privileged?

he

lity to cast their vote: post office is a barrier, opbox.” hat Montgomery Counher parts of the country

e post office struggles

s greater access to reas of the United States. n Montgomery County than the national averney from taxes equates the BOE. County BOE’s budcomparison, the enk’s BOE has a budget he state of Alabama 46,239, only slightly ery County. As Raskin state has made pretty ts in the electoral sys-

budget, Montgomery to worry about focusption over another to ancial freedom allows ntgomery County to

run a hybrid method of voting, giving its citizens many different ways to vote.

Ballot boxes, for example, are a costly endeavor. The average ballot box costs about $6,000, according to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council, which means that the Montgomery County BOE spends around $300,000 on ballot boxes alone. However, the box itself is not the only cost, as they are cleared out twice a day and must be monitored.

Another benefit Montgomery County voters have access to is accurate and plentiful information. “People who live in our district have access to a lot of good information,” Raskin says. “We’re able to sort through all the propaganda and disinformation that has been put out. So in that sense, we’re more resilient to recover from the effects of all the president’s propaganda.” Despite this, Raskin furthers, “everybody needs to have a voting plan.”

Montgomery County’s affluence has given the area the ability to overcome the obstacle of a weakened USPS. But, for less wealthy parts of the country and localities with less funding allocated for elections, Trump’s funding block could prove to be a much bigger problem.

Election implications While the post office claims it will be able to keep up with the influx of mail-in ballots, it has also released statements saying that voters should mail their ballots at least a week before the election to make sure that they get in on

time. This means that voters will need to submit their ballots on Oct. 27, a week before the official Election Day of Nov. 3, to ensure their votes are counted.

These potential shipping delays could have a significant impact on the election due to policies in some states that prohibit counting late mail-in ballots. In the 2020 Democratic presidential primary election, over 65,000 ballots were rejected because they arrived late. With over 30 percent of the total ballots cast in this election predicted to be sent by mail, the USPS will be attempting to process a significantly larger number of ballots than it did in the primaries. To facilitate mail-in voting, nine states plus Washington, D.C. are mailing ballots to all registered voters; nine other states, including Maryland, are mailing applications for requesting a mail-in ballot to all registered voters.

Implications for the rest of the country

Trump has repeatedly accused mail-in voting of causing rampant voter fraud, saying, “We want people to vote so that when they vote, it means one vote.”

However, there is little evidence of voter

fraud increasing substantially with mail-in ballots. In fact, there is little evidence of voter fraud actually being a problem in United States elections at all. “There’s almost been as much voter fraud as there has been alien invasion,” Graber says. “No president has ever worried about mail-in voting fraud because it doesn’t happen.” Despite evidence to the contrary, the president still insists on denying the USPS funding on these grounds.

Historically, the Republican Party—which Trump is a part of­ —has tended to benefit from absentee and mail-in voting. “The Republicans have always been able to use effective absentee balloting and they have won big races and small races because of it,” Sarah Farnsworth, a local election judge, says. “They know how to run that structure this year. They could have easily done very well by this, except that their White House occupant is giving a totally different message than the message that they have honed and perfected for over 40 years.”

Trump’s recent attacks on the post office have created many potential issues for voters.

With COVID-19 still affecting thousands nationwide, and lower-income areas disproportionately bearing the brunt, those who live in the least affluent areas or in localities with less money set aside for elections will be the most impacted by the results of the coming election—and the most likely to have their votes jeopardized.

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D3 Features Oct. 16, 2020

Q&A with Rahman Culver, Blair’s new Diversity and Inclusion Instructional Coordinator

By Renata Muñoz Editor-in-Chief This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Why was the Diversity and Inclusion Instructional Coordinator position created specifically this year?

This role was created based on the vision of Principal Renay Johnson. It was instituted over the summer when the entire country was engaged in this collective reflection and reckoning for us to face the extent of racial injustice and bias in our nation’s institutions.

These issues aren’t new. What’s new is the nation’s willingness to engage around it with any level of consensus. Blair is no different.

We’ve always upheld as a tenet of our community that we value our diversity and try to ensure that we’re celebrating and respecting those different cultures, backgrounds, genders, and so on. This position was created to engage in a deeper commitment and create a more intense focus on some of the priorities we’ve had for a long time.

What responsibilities does your new role entail?

I engage in a couple of different major areas. I work in tandem with the administrative team to help provide strategic leadership and planning around some of these issues. As a school, we have the big, lofty goal of increasing equity, but how do we start to strategize and come up with incremental mile-

stones and targets that will help us arrive at that goal?

Another big focus is training and professional development for my colleagues. A lot of teachers and staff want to engage in this work.

They want to have these conversations, be a trusted and safe adult, and have relational trust around these issues with their students.

But they just feel unprepared. I am behind a lot of the work that provides support for teachers. I helped develop the recent lesson in innovation periods around race and equity, specifically microaggressions.

Another thing I do is data assessment. How do we measure how we’re doing? It’s one thing to have a goal, but we have to know how well we’re progressing toward that goal.

The last thing is I engage with community organizations and partners. I’m working with the Student Government Association (SGA) right now on a project that will allow students to collaborate directly with teachers to develop lessons that are more culturally responsive and help have conversations around race as it relates to each particular content area because it does impact every content area.

The question is how students can have a leading voice in this. What do students want to talk about? All of that falls under the purview of this role.

What are some specific steps you are taking to make Blair more equitable?

We can’t talk about equity without looking at our application pro-

be thinking about what we can do to change that.

I am a Blair Magnet alumnus myself. I know what it’s like to sit in those classrooms and not see many people who look like me. In the wake of this reckoning, folks are looking squarely at magnet programs and questioning their role in recreating inequities in society.

Thomas Jefferson High School in Fairfax County in Virginia just abolished their program’s admission test because as a community they decided they wanted to expand access and equity. I expect MCPS and Blair will look at similar types of interventions. I’d love to see us respond in a similar way.

What do you want students to know?

COURTESY OF RAHMAN CULVER

grams. We have to look at who’s participating in these programs— AP participation is similar in this regard. What is the culture in these rooms? How can we expand access so there are fewer disparities in participation? How can we improve the culture in these classrooms for students of color and ensure the climate is welcoming for all students?

Our publications are something else that I’ve been looking at.

When we look at the leadership and staffing in publications, do they fully represent the community?

That’s at the heart of all of these questions. Does the participation in our classrooms, extracurriculars, and everything else within Blair mirror the full demographic makeup of our school? If not, we have to

When students have concerns, I’m an additional person they can reach out to. Student voices have to be what drives this process. For everyone who feels like these conversations are overdue or there’s a better way that we could be doing this, reach out and speak up in class. We have to create a culture where it’s the norm to talk about these issues. It shouldn’t feel like we’re somehow impolite or not on task because we want to talk about these issues. It’s not going to get better if we can’t confront these systemic issues around race, gender, misogyny, patriarchy, transphobia, homophobia, and more. This is our job as a community and I hope everyone feels comfortable seizing this moment to make sure we keep this on the forefront.

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D5 Features Oct. 16, 2020 Trigger Warning: This article contains information about and somewhat graphic descriptions of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse.

from REPORTING page A1 When security investigates, they work with school administration to determine an appropriate course of action, according to Darryl Cooper, the Blair security team leader. “[We] pass on what information [we] get onto administration for them to discipline,” he explains.

When SVID investigates, the police determine if there is enough evidence to criminally charge the accused.

After the investigation, Johnson decides on school disciplinary actions. “Once [all the evidence is] brought to me, then I look at the Student Code of Conduct, and depending on the behavior, we determine [the consequence],” she says, even for cases that may warrant legal charges.

Though some students disagree, Johnson says, “The consequences that I give are appropriate,” as per MCPS guidelines. “I can’t let my morals or my personal opinions come into play.”

Those consequences range from a mediation to a ten-day suspension with recommendation for expulsion. Johnson does not make the final call when expelling a student; rather, the MCPS Central Office takes her recommendation and holds a hearing. If a perpetrator returns to school after an expulsion hearing, Blair administration is limited in what additional consequences they can give, says Johnson.

She also says she informs Central Office of all cases of sexual assault and that an internal record is kept of all incidents of sexual misconduct reported to Blair staff, which she reviews to ensure that each has been handled appropriately. Cases are closed, she says, unless additional information is needed to determine the outcome.

Per Johnson and Kathy Greene, Senior Specialist at MCPS Student Welfare and Compliance, survivors can opt to change their schedule to avoid the accused, beginning as soon as allegations are raised. Students can even switch schools if they complete a Request for Change of School Assignment form.

Per MCPS regulation, involved students’ anonymity “will be preserved consistent with applicable laws and MCPS’ responsibility to investigate and address such complaints.” This means that the alleged perpetrator is typically not informed of their accuser’s identity, according to Johnson.

This is the policy surrounding sexual misconduct on paper. However, based on student testimony, the actual process plays out with much more inconsistency, nuance, and frustration.

Alienated by the process Makeyda Soriano, Blair’s resource counselor, says that counselors should be supportive: “Every student should feel validated when

counselor… asked is, ‘Are you sure this is what happened to you?’

BONNIE they’re coming to express something that’s happened to them.”

Yet for some students, the reporting process is uncomfortable and can add to their trauma. When Bonnie, now graduated, was a sophomore at Blair, she reported sexual misconduct to her counselor. “The first thing the counselor… asked is, ‘Are you sure this is what happened to you?’” she says.

Other students recount feelings of alienation while speaking with

Blair security.

Shannon, a senior, wanted to report sexual harassment in order to support the allegations of a friend who had been harassed by the same student.

When she walked into the office, though, she quickly became uncomfortable with how the guards were questioning her friend.

“They just kept basically interrogating her like she was the problem,” Shannon recalls.

“It was insane. I was like, ‘I can’t do this.’”

From security’s point of view, however, questions like what they asked Shannon’s friend are essential. Investigations into sexual misconduct often come down to the accounts of the parties involved. This means that getting an honest and thorough description of the events is paramount.

Still, Cooper knows the process is imperfect.

“The unfortunate part is… there are certain questions that have to be asked in order to determine how to channel the allegation,” he says.

“I know that’s an uncomfortable process.”

While part of students’ comfort levels depends on the content of questions, they also rely on the demeanor of those asking. This demeanor is not always professional—like when Emma and Merrin, now juniors, made a report to security about a student who had molested them and choked Emma in class. “[Security guards] were making jokes, not about the assault but about other things, and they just weren’t taking it seriously,” Emma says.

Merrin adds, “One of them was eating a hard boiled egg. I remember that.”

They, like Bonnie and Shannon, faced uncomfortable questions. One of the male security guards asked Emma why she “didn’t say no,” and lectured both of them on how to fend off unsolicited advances.

When asked if he has ever witnessed any security guards behaving unprofessionally while speaking to survivors, Cooper responded, “No.” Cathy, a senior, had a different experience from Emma and Merrin’s. At a party in sophomore year, two male students touched her thigh; she told them laughingly to get off and “didn’t think too much of it.”

But later, when her friend reported similar non-consensual touching by one of those students, she mentioned Cathy’s name to security. Security brought Cathy to their office to make a formal statement.

Cathy felt, however, that they exaggerated her story.

“They kind of manipulated my statement into making it a bigger thing and having more evidence against the [perpetrators] with my statement against them,” she explains.

Reporting sexual misconduct at Blair The reporting process, she says, “was the scariest thing of [her] life.”

Not every student’s experience matches these patterns. When Lola was a freshman, she reported a student who was sexually harassing her. “I thought [the process] was pretty good,” she says. The perpetrator was suspended. When he returned to school, his behavior was toned down, and Lola, who is now a senior, doesn’t “think there’s really anything else [Blair] could’ve done.”

She acknowledges, however, that she may have had certain factors in her favor. For example, other students supported her testimony, the perpetrator had been reported before, and, she says, she was “a little white girl who looked innocent” while he was a person of color.

Student experiences with the reporting process vary. Some, like Lola, are content. Others, like Bonnie, Shannon, Emma, Merrin, and Cathy, are not.

Confusion and contradiction Student experiences sometimes differ from county protocol as some staff members explain it—for instance, about what students are told. “The students… and families that are involved receive a formal notice about the outcome of the investigation,” Greene, from Student Welfare and Compliance, explains.

But students like Cathy and Arya say they never heard back at all. In Cathy’s junior year, male students sexually harassed several girls, including Cathy, in a large group chat.

She showed screenshots to school staff.

“I wasn’t contacted [by] the school after I sent in all the information that I JAY CHAO knew,” she says.

Though Arya felt two of her teachers supported her throughout the process, she also saw a failure in communication from school leadership.

Students’ experi-

ences also stray away from the procedural expectations during the reporting process itself. Johnson says that students are entitled to speak with whichever security guard they feel most comfortable talking to. Merrin saw otherwise. “[A counselor] requested for a female security guard for [me and Emma] to speak to to make us more comfortable,” she says. “But the two guys took us.”

When asked why some students did not get to speak with a guard that they were comfortable with, Johnson wrote in an email, “Often students will request to speak to a female security officer, but if that is not possible… students can request a female administrator or school counselor be present when making a report.”

Blair’s former School Resource Officer, who is female, and a female security guard were both

[A counselor] requested for a female security guard for [us] to speak to... But the two guys took us.

MERRIN in the room, according to Emma and Merrin, but the latter was on her phone and paid little attention while male guards questioned them.

Scared to report The harassment and reporting process defined Arya’s senior year. In freshman year, however, she chose not to report the student who assaulted her. He had pulled her into him outside of gym class, grabbed her buttocks, and tried to kiss her while she struggled to get away. Afterward, he began texting her vulgar comments about what he wanted to do with her.

She did not report him. “I was just mostly scared that it would kind of take over my life,” she says of her thought process then—which is exactly what happened when she reported harassment three years later.

Staff members differ in their knowledge about students’ comfort levels coming forward and in their willingness to discuss it. When asked if she thought students felt safe at school, Johnson replied, “I think they do. And if they don’t, I need to know.”

Blair’s Diversity and Inclusion Instructional Coordinator Rahman Culver acknowledges the hesitation to report, describing Blair as a microcosm of society. “Blair is subject to the same forces and dynamics that touch all of our institutions,” he says. “We are remiss if we don’t acknowledge the reality of how [the school] environment is not always very supportive and embracing to folks who come forward.”

Arya’s experiences speak to that. After she reported the online harassment her senior year, little changed. “No one was ever kicked off of [an athletic team]. No one was ever suspended or got any kind of in-school punishment. Nothing,” she says. “We were not prioritized at all.”

In response to these students’ stories, Johnson says, “I’m not saying that they’re not important, but… eight students does not represent the whole school.”

Shannon disagrees: “No one really reports stuff at Blair because they know that nothing will get done.”

Prayag Gordy, Anika Seth, and Cal Tobias contributed reporting.

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Oct. 16, 2020 Features D6

The pandemic and pollution

By Sean Li Staff Writer For the past seven months, our world has been one with cleaner air and fewer cars on the road—hallmarks of a sustainable, eco-friendly future that society has imagined for decades.

How we’ve achieved it, though, isn’t as ideal, because it’s not the result of a climate protection policy. Having killed over one million worldwide, COVID-19 is nothing to celebrate; however, the pandemic has given us a once-in-a-lifetime look at the effects of an unprecedented drop in vehicle use.

The first few months of COVID-19 lockdowns saw worldwide decreases in road traffic. “In China, the reduction could be up to 90%, because the restrictions are more fierce… and no people could go outside for some cities,” Yuan Wang, a climate scientist at the California Institute of Technology and author of a recent study on pandemic air pollution in Chinese cities, says. His study found that levels of pollutants associated with vehicles, mainly nitrogen oxide (NO), dipped accordingly with the drop in driving.

However, NO isn’t the only harmful emission in the air. Others include particulate matter, known as PM 2.5—tiny, micrometer-wide particles that mainly come from industry and manufacturing—as well as ozone, a gas that not only blocks UV rays in the atmosphere but also serves as a dangerous pollutant at surface level. Volatile organic compounds (VOC), such as methane gas, are another harmful industrial byproduct.

Ground-level ozone in particular has become a growing

problem during the pandemic.

It forms through a chemical reaction between NO and VOC, and the ratio between the two gases determines how much is produced. “If one is excessively higher than the other,” Wang says, “then the ozone production will be reduced.” Thus, high concentrations of NO relative to VOC can actually turn down the reaction. “That’s what happened in most of the cities in China [before COVID-19] because the automobiles produced a lot of nitrogen oxides that can actually reduce the ozone,” he furthers.

In short, while the fall in NO emissions reduced the presence of one harmful chemical, it led to the rise of another by balancing the ratio between NO and VOC, accelerating ozone production. This process led to ozone increases of 25 percent in cities like Wuhan and Beijing, according to Wang’s study. Because ozone gas traps PM2.5, its

We are even more polluted than the worstcase scenario.

YUAN WANG increase also furthered particulate matter’s harmful potential.

Strict regulations on factories and other plants in the United States have reduced levels of industrial particulate matter, and while it still plagues some densely populated areas, other air quality factors are starting to receive more attention. “For most regions, the PM is not an issue anymore. In some urban cities like LA, probably New York, they still have some PM issues. But the focus will proba-

bly be some other pollutant like ozone,” Wang says.

Indeed, when he looked at data from his home city of Los Angeles, he discovered ozone spikes similar to the ones he observed abroad. “We do see a little bit of an [ozone] increase, not as significant as China, but there’s still some increase,” he says. “I think the reason is the same.”

Recent wildfires on the west coast have also caused particle pollution to skyrocket. “Every morning we wake up and see the PM values at like 200. The number for Beijing this winter was 150, so we are even more polluted than the worst-case scenario,” he adds.

Maryland is also immensely impacted by poor air quality.

According to Maryland Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles in an interview with Silver Chips, airborne pollutants make up a third of the NO entering the Chesapeake Bay and contribute to algae blooms, which are detrimental to marine ecosystems.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Web page explains, “[Algal blooms] cloud the water and absorb the oxygen, creating dead zones in the Bay that cannot support underwater grasses, crabs, fish, and other marine life.”

Additionally, poor air quality has pervasive impacts on health, as confirmed by Susan Anenberg, an associate professor of Environmental and Occupation-

COVID-19’s effect on air quality and climate change al Health at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. “Pollutants are associated with a range of negative health outcomes, including respiratory ailments, cardiovascular disease, and even early death,” Anenberg says.

SONIA PIVOVAROV

The pandemic has given us insight as to what future air pollution policies should look like.

While simply reducing driving works for some areas like Maryland, Wang’s study highlights an important lesson for more urban hotspots like Beijing—that without regulations on industry, decreasing traffic can instead be detrimental to air quality because of the increase in ozone production.

However, lockdowns have also shown us the potential results. “Globally, we may reduce about 25 percent of the CO 2, carbon dioxide, during March to May,” Wang says. According to the Maryland Transportation Institute in a statement to Maryland

Matters, “just a 5 percent reduction in travel demand could lead to a 32-58 percent reduction in traffic congestion,” which then reduces the prevalence of some pollutants, like NO and CO 2. Furthermore, the need for better policy is growing, as people worldwide begin to face the effects of climate change firsthand. “There’s an increasing urgency, locally and globally, to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and it’s based on the certainty that impacts to communities and ec os yste ms are going to get even worse if we don’t dramatically reduce our carbon pollution,” Grumbles says.

To address these issues, Maryland’s legislature has committed to two major policy initiatives coming out of the pandemic: increasing both teleworking and electric vehicles for the state.

Grumbles, recognizing the global urgency of air pollution, is confident that these local efforts can have wider implications. “If there isn’t leadership at the federal level, and if there are still some areas around the world which need to do much more, it helps to have states like Maryland and local communities like Montgomery County taking action in a responsible way to reduce greenhouse gases and also increase climate resiliency,” he says.

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E1 Culture Oct. 16, 2020

Do blue light glasses work?

By Luther Voltaire Staff Writer As Leigh Tinsley stared into her Chromebook, grading her student’s work, she began to feel a shooting pain in her eyes and a throbbing headache that seemed to distort the world around her. Worried about her health, she contacted her doctor, who recommended that she buy blue light glasses to alleviate some of her symptoms.

Though aware of the skepticism surrounding the effectiveness of these glasses, Tinsley still bought them and feels that her issues have been relieved.

Tinsley, a Blair English teacher, is not the only one who has experienced eye pain and headaches from screen usage and opted to buy blue light glasses. With digital technology becoming increasingly intertwined with people’s lives and COVID-19 forcing nationwide shutdowns and remote learning realities, more and more people are spending time in front of screens. Consequently, they are exposing themselves to blue light, which can be harmful to an individual’s health in excess.

Nicholas Losekamp, a psychology teacher at Blair, said that the issue is due to a lack of blinking when staring at screens. “When you focus on something, you don’t blink. If you’re not blinking, you’re not lubricating your eyes,” he said.

“If you do that for a long period of time, it’s going to cause eye strain,” he explained.

Additionally, according to VeryWellHealth, an award-winning online resource with information on up-to-date health topics, while not a causing factor, there is evidence that greater

exposure to blue light can increase the risk of macular degeneration—a disease that severely impairs eyesight.

But the damage caused by blue light goes beyond an individual’s vision.

As a result, blue light glasses have emerged as a popular option as they are said to solve these health issues, thus allowing people to continue the on-screen activities they enjoy.

To those who have never owned glasses before, wearing blue light glasses is a different experience.

Cruz Portillo-Castillo, a senior at Northwood, bought blue light glasses last December to resolve the eye strain and sleeping difficulties he experienced after playing on his Nintendo Switch gaming console. Portillo-Castillo noticed that his surroundings were different when he wore his glasses.

“Everything [around me] had a different color to it,” he said. “Sometimes white would have a more yellowish tint to it.”

Portillo-Castillo said the glasses didn’t change the way he saw himself, and he didn’t feel it changed the way others perceived him.

“Not at all,” he said. “[I just noticed] being able to see better, less eye strain, [and] being able to sleep better.”

Similarly, Kenny Menelas, a junior at Takoma Academy, also bought blue light glasses because of eye strain resulting from digital use and used them so much that he forgot to put his glasses in his case before playing and resting.

“The glasses are attached to me like peanut butter and jelly,” he wrote in an email. “[One time] I

Blazers of Note

MACEDA BERHANU

forgot to remove the glasses from my face when I was playing basketball with my friends. My friends laughed at me and called me careless, but I [didn’t notice].”

The researchers measured subjects’ symptoms of eye strain on a five-point scale over the course of a month of wearing either highblue-blocking or non-blue-bloc-

Other solutions that can ease eye strains like the 20-20-20 rule, which suggests that every 20 minutes, a person should look at something different 20 feet away

Although Portillo-Castillo, Menelas, and many others agree that blue light glasses helped alleviate the eye strain and headaches caused by using digital devices, according to scientific research, these glasses do not do that.

A 2017 study by Wiley Online Library investigated whether utilizing blue light glasses reduces eye strain, and researchers didn’t find evidence that supported the commonly held belief.

king glasses. They couldn’t find a noticeable difference between the two groups.

Losekamp stated that people’s issues may feel resolved when wearing these glasses because of the placebo effect—a psychological phenomenon where someone thinks they are cured of an issue despite engaging in a treatment without therapeutic value. “The glasses don’t help you,” he said. “But the belief that they do makes them work.”

from them for 20 seconds. This helps to relax your eyes and encourages blinking. Furthermore, using eye drops can help lubricate your eyes if they become dry.

At the end of the day, whatever the method a person chooses to alleviate the symptoms of staring at a screen all day—whether it be wearing blue light glasses or utilizing strategies like the 20-20-20 rule— striving to protect one’s health is all that matters.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTINA CHEN

By Cal Tobias Staff Writer

When a student returns to school after being suspended, they may face a number of challenges. They may have missed several classes and fallen behind. They may face humiliation. And they may not have the structures and support they need to reintegrate effectively.

Maceda Berhanu has made changing this problem one of her priorities as the SGA president. In her time on the SGA, she has headed a number of efforts aimed at improving the overall well-being of Blair students, specifically those returning from suspensions.

Her main project last year revolved around restorative justice–an approach to punishment that shifts the focus away from retribution and empowers offenders to reckon with their actions through community-building exercises.

Last year, Berhanu helped implement a restorative justice committee composed of her and two other students which works to help students returning from suspensions. “[We need to] focus on how we can remove barriers to relationship-build-

ing and establish alternatives to shame while highlighting the effects of suspension,” Berhanu said. The group’s main project involved surveying Blair students who were skipping class. They would walk through the halls and talk to students in the halls, asking them questions and gathering data. After that, their hope was to go back and mentor and help the students, and to use the data to inform decisions moving forward.

Berhanu and other members on the committee had several other ideas for how to help students returning from suspensions, including implementing restorative justice circles. “When students are gone for a long period of time [and they return], they’re missing a bunch of work, [they don’t really know] what’s going on,” she said. “A ‘welcome back’ circle [would] kind of reassure them.”

Berhanu also had an idea to help suspended students get back on track by assigning them a staff member who would assist them in a number of ways. “When you [come] back, you would be assigned to a trusted

adult, who’s designated to… watch over you and assist you throughout the school day.”

Throughout last year, Berhanu made a point of trying to curb students’ workload and prioritize their mental health, including one radical idea: “Our plan was that students would have one weekend a month of no homework,” she said. Unfortunately, COVID-19 thwarted those plans. “Everything got really cut short because of [COVID-19].”

However, Berhanu is still pushing initiatives aimed at helping students through virtual learning. “We have a hotline that’s open right now where students are able to text a number that is totally anonymous,” she said.

“They can send any concerns that they may have about virtual learning.”

In the same vein, Berhanu said she has been helping students deal with teachers who make them turn their cameras on during Zoom classes. “Something that we really want to address is cameras,” she said.

“Although teachers aren’t allowed to force [students to turn them on],

we’ve heard that a lot of teachers are.” Concerns like these have been brought to Principal Renay Johnson, who Berhanu said has been handling the situation well by communicating with teachers.

In the coming weeks, Berhanu and the SGA are planning to unveil a new Blair podcast. “I’m very excited about the podcast releasing,” she said, “not only because it’s something new, but it [gives] students a whole new opportunity to voice their opinion about various issues.”

A new Blair app will also be arriving sometime this school year, offering students a centralized place where they can access information about clubs, athletics, and other general updates about Blair events. The app will also include other features, such as letting students know if any given day is odd or even.

“Our main goal is to create community engagement, and I think it’s going to be a big part of [what] the Blair SGA will have to offer this year,” Berhanu said in reference to the app. “[It’s] something that I hope everyone is looking forward to.”

Every four years, large swaths of the nation come together to cast their ballots and pick their leaders in a great ritual of democracy. But one group has consistently failed to show up on Election Day: young people.

Junior Asher Labovich knows that young people can make a difference at the polls and wants to help increase the youth vote. As the election approaches, he only has one thing in mind: registering Blair students to vote. “Voting is one of the most important things I think we can do as a society and to… make the world a better place.” he says. “Especially this year, with the importance of the election.”

When Labovich and a team of seven other students first started registering voters last November,

they were planning to register every eligible voter at Blair. But his original plans were upended by COVID-19.

“It’s much, much more difficult [to register students now],” he explains.

“Without COVID, we could go to teachers specifically, and ask, ‘Hey, could you give out this link in your class?’ but it’s hard to do [that] with [COVID] because there’s no… physical contact.”

However, Labovich has not been deterred from his goal and remains committed to registering as many students as he can. “We’re mostly just getting people to talk to people in their inner circle… and [teaching] them how to [register others],” he explains. “Now we’re moving on to the teachers… [and asking] them to put up links.” By reaching students

through both methods, Labovich hopes to register up to 50 new voters.

Labovich has changes he’d like to see made at the state and national level to make voting easier. He supports automatic voter registration as well as several other measures. “I think you need automatic or mail-in voting for pretty much every state,” he says.

“Remove voter ID laws… that just makes it harder for people to vote for absolutely no reason.” Labovich also highlighted one popular proposal for increasing voter turnout: making Election Day a holiday and forcing employers to give employees the day off to vote.

Labovich wants to see a large youth turnout next month, but he pointed to two major factors that are working against turning out the youth

vote: busy schedules and apathy.

“Voting is oftentimes fairly difficult… if you’re working and you’re older and you’ve got a job, it’s harder to vote on Election Day because a lot of the time they don’t give you the day off.” he adds. “It’s also just the ambivalence in voting because I know even I felt this quite a lot. The hope is not [there] as much as it could be in politics.”

Even though one vote may seem mathematically insignificant, Labovich urges students to cast their votes. “[Your vote] can make it better for a lot of people,” he says, “so it’s important to vote whether or not it makes it perfect.”

Blair students can learn more about how to register to vote at https://mocoto100.carrd.co/.

HENRY REICHLE

ASHER LABOVICH

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Oct. 16, 2020 Culture E2

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E3 Culture Oct. 16, 2020

Is Mulan (2020) a film worth fighting for?

By Annie Mount Staff Writer On Sept. 4, Disney digitally released the live action remake “Mulan” to Disney+. Even before the film premiered, it was surrounded by controversy, which caused many people to call for a boycott of the film.

Discussion about a boycott emerged yet again after its release as consumers realized the lack of

Asian representation behind the camera. Despite the all-Asian cast—which created the perception of diversity—none of the directors, screenwriters, or costume designers were of Asian descent.

“I think that what we’re seeing here is some of the growing pains of Hollywood wanting to be inclusive in terms of storytelling, and yet

behind the scenes are not able to or wanting to,” Nancy Wang Yuen, a sociologist who teaches at Biola University’s School of Cinema and Media Arts, told NBC News.

Disney expected Mulan, which had a budget of $200 million, to be a big success in China, but its performance has been lackluster.

Kenneth Seat, w h o teaches East Asian Studies at Blair, feels that the lack of Asian representation in the

p r o d uc tion team may be a reason for this. “The remake was made to be played in Chinese theaters as well as for Ameri-

SONIA PIVOVAROV

can consumption, but on the other hand, it seems that it fell flat in China. Perhaps it would have helped if the director was Chinese next time,” he said.

Chinese moviegoers also felt that the movie was not accurate to Chinese culture. According to an article in The New York Times from September, a common complaint was that “the filmmakers were trying too hard to pander to China but did not try hard enough to get their historical facts right.

They made Mulan too westernized yet still succumbed to Orientalist stereotypes.”

Another potential cause for the movie’s low ratings in China may be that government authorities banned media outlets from covering the film’s release. According to Reuters, no official reason was given.

Regarding the movie’s plot itself, many fans were disappointed that Disney made so many changes from the 1998 animated version.

According to The Washington Post, Disney decided to make these changes in order to be more accurate to Chinese culture and the oldest known version of the original legend, The Ballad of Mulan.

“I was disappointed in the plot because I thought that they should have either gone with something that felt more familiar to the original Mulan and had a lot more of the humor and some more familiar characters or they should have got a whole different direction and stuck with the plot of the legend,” junior Kiah Beachler said. “I think they didn’t balance it enough and instead of trying to find a middle ground they should have just gone one way or the other.”

Junior Anastasia Matveev agrees

that the film’s plot fell short of expectations. “I was sort of disappointed in the weird paths the plot took,” she said. “It just didn’t feel like it was following any actual message or concrete ideology. There were plot points that didn’t really add to the overall message the movie was trying to convey.”

Matveev also appreciated the message of the original film. “I just thought it was nice that it gave Mulan power. It wasn’t just for the sake of female empowerment. It wasn’t performative, it felt real,” she said.

“It felt like a narrative that young girls could watch and a character that they could look up to.”

Sophomore Kai Jenkins thought that the new film lacked the charisma of the original. “I think that the Disney magic was taken out of it when they didn’t include any singing,” she said. Matveev agrees, as she thinks the new movie didn’t improve upon the old one. “I really like the composition of the original,” she said. “Everything about it. The music, the voice talent, the animation.”

Jenkins also thinks that Disney made a bad move by filming the new version.“I think they shouldn’t have made the movie because I feel like it was more of an action movie than a Disney movie.”

Disney was clearly making an effort to honor The Ballad of Mulan.

However, many audience members feel that the company needs to work harder to improve ethnic representation behind the scenes and create more original content.

This could very well be a wakeup call for Disney to start telling new stories instead of remaking their existing films to pander to people’s nostalgia.

Love from six feet apart

How wedding plans have evolved during quarantine

By Leila Faraday Staff Writer Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, wedding guests typically envisioned a champagne glass against their lips—not a thermometer. For many couples who had their weddings scheduled for sometime in the past six months, their plans have changed drastically.

COVID-19 restrictions bring postponed ceremonies, vendor cancellations, limits on the number of guests in a venue, and countless other challenges for weddings.

Some couples have postponed their events for a date far in the future, and others have worked tirelessly to create a safe ceremony that still lives up to what they had originally hoped.

Most people don’t envision what some call the happiest day of one’s life to be a day where everyone’s smiles are hidden by masks, but couples everywhere have been able to turn a challenging situation around and make their day special—and safe.

Maria Oristian, a local bride who held her wedding in July, described a last-minute COVID-19 change to her ceremony that she ended up loving, “My favorite part was probably being able to have most of the reception outside,” Oristian wrote in an email. “Due to the pandemic, we were able to open the doors to the reception venue when the dancing started.”

This modification allowed everyone at her wedding to dance and

chat with each other while staying socially distanced, giving guests a little more peace of mind.

Many couples are going for outdoor ceremonies as well as other safety-related features, like integrating hand sanitizing stations and giving out custom masks as wedding favors.

Other couples have opted to go to their local courthouse and elope in private, while holding a virtual wedding ceremony over platforms like Zoom and Skype to share their special day with loved ones. These virtual ceremonies allow for at-risk family members and friends to watch the couple exchange vows and share stories while also getting the chance to share a toast or wish the couple well in a way that’s more meaningful than over text or email.

For these virtual weddings, those looking to make the celebration extra special have even found ways to deliver a special meal from their caterer to their guest’s houses.

Despite many of the ceremony modifications available now, some just don’t feel satisfied holding a gathering during such a restricted time. Many couples would rather wait to hold their weddings when they will be able to have the number of guests they want and include all their family members without potentially risking lives. This means postponing ceremonies indefinitely or pushing to a date far in the future.

Megan Lusby, who teaches Geometry and AP Statistics at Blair, had to do just that. “I have two grandparents [that] we wanted to be

there, as well as some older aunts and uncles who are very important to us,” she noted. “We knew they wouldn’t be able to make it had we held our wedding on the original date.” Her ceremony was pushed an entire year forward to May of 2021, and she hopes that she can hold the wedding how they had originally planned.

Wedding vendors, photographers, and planners have all faced their own challenges in providing their services this season. Carrie Coleman, a local photographer based in the DC area, has shot less than half the weddings she typically does in a year. She also has not been able to shake hands with and hug clients during their ceremony takes somewhat of a toll on her business. “So much of what I do is people-driven and all about connection,” she wrote in an email.

“It’s definitely not easy… to be hidden behind a mask the whole day.”

Coleman has incorporated mask shots into her photos for couples who want to show what a unique and crazy time they got married in.

She has also had to figure out how to capture meaningful shots while maintaining her distance from her clients. “Usually when I shoot, I get fairly close to my clients, but I have had to adjust that this year,” she said. “It’s important to me that my clients feel like I have their best interest in mind and that I protect myself while shooting.”

No matter how couples’ plans have changed for their weddings this year, it is heartwarming to see people find creative and safe ways

to celebrate their love. Coleman sums this up best, saying, “From elopements by waterfalls with just a bride and groom, to a small 16

person dinner in someone’s backyard—events this year look a lot different, but… the beauty of them has only increased.”

COURTESY OF ALEX KRALL

SAFER CEREMONIES Wedding guests watch joyfully from behind their masks as their loved ones get married.

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Oct. 16, 2020 Culture E4

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E5 Culture Oct. 16, 2020

Chips Clips ACROSS 1. Slightly askew, like a door 4. Common AP Euro subject 6. Drat!

8. Avian Hogwarts pet 9. Scabbers, to #8 DOWN 1. A, in AFK 2. Often dropped, sometimes broken 3. Knight’s protection 5. ____ Fans 7. Shock and ____

ACROSS 1. With “I”, childish spelling trick 4. Biden’s former boss 6. Rational-______ legitimacy 8. SZA’s former flame, apparently 9. Take-home pay

DOWN 1. Winter ailments 2. Lyft competitor 3. Polytheistic Roman worshipper 5. Car parker 7. _____ or break

PUZZLES BY LEELA MEHTA-HARWITZ

Scan the QR code to see the puzzle answers.

JENNIFER HU

LEELA MEHTA-HARWITZ

silverchips

By Ashley Thommana Columnist It is that time of year again: Brightly-colored leaves are strewn across the ground, pumpkin spice lattes are steaming from the cup, and of course, eagerly anticipated trips to orchards and haunted houses are on our minds.

Many of us are not rural residents, spending most of our time surrounded by tall buildings as opposed to flat farmland, but the magical season of fall has always offered us an oasis—the chance to go on a hayride, pick apples at the farm, or take a trip to the pumpkin patch.

The COVID-19 pandemic has completely altered the scope of outdoor activities. In the early months of the pandemic, countless concerts, picnics, and festivals were canceled.

Summer, it seems, flew right by.

However, with a second chance of sorts as we move through the fall season, many events are being adapted. With ample space to allow visitors to socially distance outdoors, farms and other hosts of outdoor activities are continuing autumnal traditions in a unique way.

Blair history teacher Marc Grossman, who runs a local organic mixed vegetable farm, notes that farmers markets are a great way to en-

Oct. 16, 2020 Culture E6 joy the outdoors and buy produce.

“You are outside, the air is well ventilated, [the food] is fresh,” he says.

Moreover, despite the adjustments that had to be made early in the year due to COVID-19, these markets have maintained that festive seasonal environment.

According to Grossman, whose local farmers market has required masks and enforced social distancing since early April, “they are fun, they are exciting, they are vibrant.”

Farmers markets are not the only way to enjoy seasonal activities. Butler’s Orchard, for example, is a farm in Germantown where guests can pick their own food. The orchard now requires reservations, masks, and social distancing to promote safety while still offering sweet fruit and a memorable experience—from pick-your-own pumpkins to private bonfires and hayrides.

Other local farms, like Summers Farm in Frederick, are hosting fall festivals complete with corn mazes and wagon rides, reminiscent of our pre-pandemic days.

Craving a good scare?

While trick-or-treating under a full blue moon may not be possible this Halloween, several outdoor h au n ted trails and fields remain open.

Markoff’s Haunted Forest and Field of Screams Maryland, both in Montgomery County, are still operational and will be open until Nov. 1.

However, engaging with the outdoors and traditional fall events isn’t just about enjoying the season for our own benefit. It is also about showing up for our local businesses and farms who have been supporting our

communities.

Early in the pandemic, many people took interest in the source of their food for the first time. “In those last two

INTERNATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS Compiled by Sean Li Staff Writer

G20 summit set to be virtual weeks of March, [people] saw empty shelves,” Grossman recalls. “And for the first time ever, I think there were a lot of people who asked themselves, ‘Where is my food coming from?’”

Since then, farms have been operating to support the community. “I have never before donated hundreds and hundreds of pounds of produce to Manna [Food Center], but I am this year,” Grossman says.

He receives some compensation for the donations, which are a part of a program spearheaded by the Montgomery County Food Council.

While attempting to provide food to food banks, farms are taking a hit as the restaurant industry suffers. For Grossman, 15 percent of his revenue comes from restaurant sales—but not this year. “We made the call: We aren’t going to sell to restaurants this year,” he says. His farm has been providing food to restaurants for a decade.

The pandemic has caused a “tidal wave of change,” as Grossman puts it. However, fall has always been a season of enjoying and engaging with the outdoors. Following safety protocols, we have the opportunity to make the most out of this unorthodox autumn while also supporting our local businesses and farms.

It is the breath of fresh air we all deserve.

ESTHER TANG

The annual Group of Twenty (G20) summit, scheduled for Nov. 21 and 22, has been shifted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting, previously set to be hosted by Saudi Arabia, gives the leaders of the world’s largest economies an opportunity to come together and discuss international financial projects and economic stability. Members include China, Russia, the United States, and India, as well as numerous members of the European Union, like Germany, France, and Italy. There are several goals for this year’s forum, with the global COVID-19 response and recovery a major focus for world leaders.

“The upcoming G20 Leaders’ Summit will focus on protecting lives and restoring growth by addressing vulnerabilities uncovered during the pandemic and by laying down the foundations for a better future,” the G20 presidency—the group of people Saudi Arabia designated to oversee the summit—said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency and reported to Arab News. While the meeting is set to be virtual, it will still be chaired by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, whose son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been criticized for silencing supporters of democracy in the nation. These accusations returned to the international spotlight following the Oct. 2 anniversary of Washington Post writer and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi’s death in 2018, as his killing was linked to Prince Mohammed according to CIA and United Nations reports.

Explosion in Port of Beirut On Aug. 4, an explosion occurred in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, killing over 200 people, injuring more than 6,500, and leaving more than 300,000 homeless. The blast was caused by a stockpile of over 2,500 tons of ammonium nitrate, a compound used in explosives, stored alongside fireworks and flammable kerosene, leading many to blame the Lebanese government for allowing such dangerous circumstances to develop. “Repeated warnings had ricocheted throughout the Lebanese government, between the port and customs authorities, three ministries, the commander of the Lebanese Army, at least two powerful judges and, weeks before the blast, the prime minister and president,” the New York Times wrote in a recent article. On Aug. 10, six days after the explosion, the government resigned, leaving the parliament to decide on a new cabinet. However, the effects of the incident will remain a serious blow to the nation’s already struggling economy, as damages to the city are now estimated at $15 billion.

France to ban wild circus

FALL-ING IN LOVE WITH THE SEASON... Families and friends gather at a pumpkin patch to enjoy good weather and good company.

France’s Ministry for Ecological Transition announced a plan on Sept. 29 to gradually eliminate all wild animals from traveling circuses in the coming years. This order only applies to mobile shows and excludes zoos and other permanent exhibits.

The ministry has also prohibited the breeding and acquisition of dolphins and orca (killer) whales in France’s three marine parks, effective immediately, and promises to end mink farming within five years.

The announcement comes on the back of growing animal rights legislation around the world, including a Canadian bill passed in June 2019 that bans keeping whales and dolphins in captivity.

While circuses have existed for centuries, attitudes towards captive animals have changed in recent decades. “It is time that our ancestral fascination with these wild beings no longer means they end up in captivity,” Barbara Pompili, the Minister of Ecological Transition, said in a press conference reported by BBC. The French announcement also sets an important precedent for similar bills in other nations, such as a proposed draft in Poland that would ban fur farms and the use of wild animals in circuses.

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F1 Sports Oct. 16, 2020

From prohibitive to performative

By Maia Egnal and Simran Thakkar Staff Writer & Design Editor

to them. Sayings such as “Say Her Name,” in reference to the killing of Breonna Taylor and other Black women, and “I Can’t Breathe,” in reference to Eric Garner’s and Floyd’s final words, were printed on the backs of NBA players’ jerseys. The names of Black men and women who were killed and other sayings like these were pasted on the backs of NFL players’ helmets.

All of the sayings on the jerseys and helmets had to be approved by the respective leagues before being used.

Football fields and basketball courts have also been fitted with statements voicing

Black Lives Matter movement, emphasizing that change will take the whole country.

While Blair athletes might not have gone so far as refusing to play, senior varsity basketball player Jacob Briggs knows that they would have still protested this year had there not been a pandemic. Despite the consequences for missing practice and school, Briggs thinks they also would have attended all the protests outside of school.

“Even during all the punishments we got for protesting last year [in DC], we still went as a team to support each other and what was being fought for,” he says. Players who skipped school to protest were forced by the coach to run during following practices.

Is this activism simply performative?

Similar to the changing of the Washington Football Team name, much

A EL A-H HT ME TZ WI AR

sup-

The current climate

The name change comes as part of a series of reforms and donations from sports leagues across the country. The National Football League (NFL) has pledged to donate $250 million over ten years to help combat racism; the National Basketball Association (NBA): $300 million.

George Solomon, former sports editor at the Washington Post and founder of the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism, told Silver Chips that he thinks viewers are pushing to allow athletes to use their national platform to protest.

“The social fabric of the country is changing, and there is a demand for athletes to speak out more than ever,” he explains.

In the opening weekend of the NFL 2020 season, five teams—including upper management—remained inside their locker rooms for both the playing of the national anthem and of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a song often referred to as the Black national anthem.

In a public statement, the Green Bay Packers, one of the teams that opted to stay in the locker room, explained their rationale: “We decided as a team to remain in the locker room... so as to not distract from our message that we stand united for social justice and racial equality. This is part of our continued call on our leaders to engage in meaningful dialogue that results in change.”

Statements like these from

NFL commissioner, released a video in which he said that the NFL “was wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier,” even as players like Colin Kaepernick, who used their platform to protest, are still unsigned and exiled from the league.

During the first weekend of games, the NFL showed a video of Alicia Keys singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” In this video, Kaepernick is prominently featured along with many other NFL stars kneeling for the song.

Kaepernick tweeted, seemingly in response, “While the NFL runs propaganda about how they care about Black Life, they are still actively blackballing Eric Reid for fighting for the Black community.”

Kaepernick’s comments reference NFL player Eric Reid, who filed a collusion lawsuit in 2018 accusing the NFL of preventing his employment because of his protest activity. Other athletes agree with Kaepernick, with Reid even calling the video “diabolical,” according to ESPN. Like the Green Bay Packers, the Miami Dolphins also released a public video about why their team chose to remain in the locker room; the statement featured many of their players criticizing the NFL and their “empty gestures.”

Why now?

LE

On July 13, the football team based in Washington, D.C. announced that they were changing their name from the Washington Redskins to the Washington Football Team—an announcement that had been long awaited by many across the country.

The Washington Football Team had been known as the “Redskins” for over 80 years, despite it being widely considered a slur against Native Americans. Protests, demonstrations, and boycotts have all called for a name change since 1972, but Dan Snyder, the owner of the team, famously stated in a USA Today interview, “We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple. NEVER—you can use caps.”

Pressure increased on Snyder and the rest of the organization following the killing of George Floyd and the social reckoning that followed. Investors no longer wanted to associate with the team’s brand. Nike pulled all of the team’s merchandise off of their website. FedEx, the brand for which their stadium is named, formally asked the team to change their name.

In mid-July, the team’s management finally relented. While activists recognized this decision as a step in the right direction, many believe that Snyder only changed the name because he knew he had no other choice. In an interview with ABC, Billy Tayac, Chief of the Piscataway Tribe in the Chesapeake Bay region, said, “With Mr. Snyder, what put the pressure on him to change the name? Money talks and that’s what he realizes.”

teams’ front offices were especially impactful, as just two years ago, many of them were fining players for protesting in their own way.

In the NBA, many players decided to strike and leave the stadium before their playoff games began on Aug. 26, in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, temporarily halting the NBA playoffs. Following their lead, many players in Major League Baseball, the Women’s National Basketball Association, and Major League Soccer striked as well.

College sports cancelled practices and games.

Once the NBA players called off their protest, the NBA and the

Pro-sports leagues’ changing reaction to social activism

National Basketball Players Associations released a statement explaining that the NBA and their players had formed a coalition, designed to create a forum for all those involved with the NBA to share their views on social justice and to try to create joint change.

In addition, both the NBA and NFL allowed their players to wear statements about social activism on their respective jerseys and h e lm e t s , in order to raise awaren e s s for the issues most important

port for the

of this activism has faced criticism.

Other than the sizable monetary donations, some motions by the league have been characterized as too little, too late.

Many fans are asking why it took so long for the sports leagues to finally make these changes— many of which do not feel as if they are truly the changes that are needed.

Roger Goodell, the

All of this change begs the question of why these sports leagues chose to start supporting these protests now. The NBA has long tried to make itself appear to be the most progressive of sports leagues, with the commissioner choosing not to enforce rules against social activism on the athletes, but the NFL has held their position against protestors for many years.

Kaepernick kneeled in 2016, Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013, and people have protested the old Washington Football Team name since 1972. So why did it take until 2020 for the NFL to respond to continuous criticism?

Simply put: money. The NFL is finding itself in a precarious position with younger viewers. In 2017, just 27 percent of Millennials said that they were committed to watching football games, a huge drop from the 36 percent of Generation X-ers, according to a survey done

by McKinsey and Company. That same survey did not find the same gap in generational viewership in the NBA, an organization known for being more progressive.

An NFL-sponsored poll in 2018 found that a majority of African-American, Latinx, and millennial viewers did not support disciplining players who kneeled. Racial tensions have only mounted since then. With growing pressure from all around, the NFL was pushed to support the Black Lives Matter movement and players’ peaceful protests at games.

Briggs concurs that athletic leagues, including the NBA, do not actually care about the Black Lives Matter movement, but rather the money. “It’s a business and the majority of their money comes from minorities, so if minorities aren’t [supporting them], then they don’t have a source of income,” he says.

“Allowing players to skip games or change their jersey names—I feel like it’s a whole scam to keep the money flowing.”

While major sports leagues, especially the NFL, seem to have made some changes for the better, they were forced into a similar situation as the Washington Football Team: reform or risk losing money and relevancy. The NFL chose money.

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Oct. 16, 2020 Sports F2

From Blair to the big leagues Former Blazer Tom Brown inducted into the Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame

By Jon Eckert Staff Writer Before Tom Brown was a twotime Super Bowl champion and a Major League Baseball player— and one of less than 70 people to have ever played both professional football and baseball—he was a Blazer.

Brown, one of this year’s inductees into the Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame, played football, baseball, and basketball for Blair before graduating in 1958.

Tom Brown’s son, Brad Brown, says that his father was competitive from an early age. “Growing up [in] Silver Spring, [he] came from a very athletic background,” he says. “My dad always [tells me] he played [sports] with kids that were two or three years older than him because that’s what his older brother Richard was.”

At Blair, Brown was a gifted athlete and excelled at the three sports he played year-round. In particular, Brown’s talent in football led to interest from colleges.

However, Brown insisted on playing baseball at the next level. “My dad loved baseball [more] than any other sport,” Brad Brown says.

When Brown visited the University of Maryland in 1958, he leveled with head football coach Tom Nugent. “[My dad] said ‘Listen, I want to play baseball too,’”

ball team.

During his time at Maryland, Brown enjoyed success on the gridiron and the diamond; he earned All-American and All-Conference honors playing both football and baseball. In his senior season in 1963, Brown sported an impressive .449 batting average, earning him an offer to play for the Washington Senators right out of col-

“[My dad] had an impact on these kids.

They came from all different backgrounds, married, divorced, white, Black, Catholic, it didn’t matter to my dad. If you wanted to come out and play sports, my dad would love to have you.” lege. That same year, Brown was drafted 28th overall in the NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers.

“My dad had to make that decision of ‘do I go football or baseball?’”

Brad Brown says. “He obviously figured that he would have a much longer career in baseball, so he chose baseball.”

MAKING A STATEMENT

Brad Brown says, “and the coach [went] ‘no… we want you to focus on one sport.’” That’s when Tom Brown’s father stepped in and told Nugent it was either allow him to play both or they would look at other schools. Nugent realized he didn’t have a choice; he agreed to let Brown play both football and baseball on the condition that he earn a starting position on the base-

Brown signed a minor league contract in February of 1963. He ended up making the major league team in April, but Brad Brown explains that it wasn’t just athletic skill that led him to get called up. ”He’s down there in the minor league system and he’s doing real well,” he says, “but it was Fidel Castro that had a huge impact on my dad’s career… The Senators’ first

baseman was Cuban and [he went] back to Cuba after the baseball season,” he explains. “The guy got stuck down there and he couldn’t get out. They needed a first baseman… so they go, ‘let’s call up Tom Brown.’”

After a year playing at the major league level and a couple of years floating around in the Senators’ minor league system, Vince Lombardi—the legendary football coach and the namesake of the Super Bowl trophy— persuaded Brown to make the switch to football and play for the Green Bay Packers.

Under Lombardi, Brown won the first two Super Bowls in NFL history in 1967 and 1968. In the 1968 offseason, Lombardi left Green Bay to become the coach and general manager of Washington’s football franchise and brought Brown with him. Brown would only end up playing a single game with Washington before suffering a season-ending injury and retiring at the end of the season.

Brown is the only athlete in history to have played for both Washington’s baseball and football franchises.

After retiring, Brown left a mark off the field as well. He created a youth sports camp in Salisbury called Tom Brown’s Rookie League. “My dad wanted to teach kids the fundamentals of baseball, basketball, and football,” Brad Brown says.

“He had an impact on these kids.

They came from all different backgrounds— married [parents], divorced [parents], white, Black, Catholic.

It didn’t matter to my dad. If you wanted to come out and play sports, my dad would love to have you.”

Brad Brown describes the attitude his dad brought to coaching. “I remember when we were playing youth football and there was a penalty, the referees would go talk to the coaches, [but] my dad [would say]... ‘go talk to my players and let them decide what they want to do.’” Brown continued to coach and oversee the camp for 40 years until he retired in 2015.

In his pursuits off the field, Brown was humble and made a point of passing along his sports wisdom to the next generation.“When he was coaching, he never wanted anyone to say ‘Oh, that’s Tom Brown over there,’” Brad Brown says. “[It] was about the kids.”

Tom Brady: six-time Super Bowl Champion, four-time Super Bowl MVP, three-time League MVP, 14-time Pro Bowl selection, three-time First-team All-Pro, twotime NFL Offensive Player of the Year. His list of achievements and honors goes on and on, but is he really the Greatest Football Player of All Time (G.O.A.T.)?

By Ayush Dutta Sports Columnist Football does not have a G.O.A.T. The conversation always surrounds the quarterbacks— Tom Brady, Joe Montana, and the Manning brothers to name a few. But the idea that quarterbacks are somehow more important than running backs, wide receivers, or anyone on defense is deeply flawed.

Comparing players at the quarterback position is a much more reasonable way to have the G.O.A.T. argument. But quite frankly, Tom Brady is not even the greatest quarterback of all time.

Now, I am not going to deny that Brady is a great player. He is by far the most accomplished to play the game. Period. But Brady is a system quarterback and the product of the greatest coach of all time: Bill Belichick.

The notion that Brady is solely responsible for the New England Patriots’ dynasty is completely and utterly false. Theoretically, if any top-15 quarterback replaced Brady in Belichick’s system, they would be more accomplished than Brady.

Statistically, Brady’s play is just above average. Even though he’s played the second-most games in quarterback history, he sits 16th all-time in completion percentage—under the likes of Kirk Cousins, Phillip Rivers, Derek Carr, and Matt Shaub. Brady does not lead a single major individual statistical category. He was not the factor that led to the Patriots’ long list of success. As a matter of fact, Brady’s mediocrity hindered the potential of Belichick’s reign.

Brady’s style of play is nothing to marvel at. Over the course of almost 300 games played in the NFL, he has mastered the art of the checkdown. Whether it was a five-yard post to Gronkowski or a drag to Edelman, Brady was not the one making big plays and winning games during his time in New England. Theoretically, if Brady was the G.O.A.T. and was paired with a top-five wideout talent of all time, the expectation would be that he wins a Super Bowl, right?

Wrong. Randy Moss and Tom Brady never won a championship.

Instead, they lost to Eli Manning and the talent-starved, 10-win New York Giants in the 2012 Super Bowl.

Pair an innately talented quarterback—the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson, for example—with Belichick’s genius and the most consistent defense this league has ever seen, and you have well more than a mere six Super Bowls in 19 seasons.

By Charlie Wiebe Sports Columnist I despise Tom Brady just as much as the next person. I have never rooted for him or his New England Patriots to win. Having been raised in San Francisco, I was supplied with Joe Montana highlight reels from a young age. It was impossible for me to imagine any quarterback more dominant or skillful than “Golden Joe.” However, as my knowledge of football grew, it became more and more difficult to deny the truth: “TB12” is the greatest to ever play the game.

Looking at the raw statistics is the first step in understanding why Brady is the G.O.A.T. He ranks second in career passing yards and passing touchdowns, trailing only New Orleans Saints’ legend Drew Brees. Brady ranks No. 6 all-time in passer rating and No. 16 in completion percentage. But what sets Brady apart is remarkable longevity and a decorated career of awards, accolades, and Super Bowls.

Now in his 21st season, Brady has played 290 games and will soon pass Brett Favre for the most games played by a quarterback in league history. During his lengthy career, he has collected three Most Valuable Player awards, 14 Pro Bowl selections, three First-team All-Pro selections, along with countless other honors.

The most impressive and important of his achievements, however, are his rings. His record six Super Bowl wins and four Super Bowl MVP trophies prove his superiority over the entire NFL. In the playoffs, no other quarterback can compare to Brady. Take Brees, for example. As referenced before, Brees edges out Brady in both career passing yards and touchdowns.

But Brees’ single championship and limited number of deep playoff runs suggest that his statistical success is a mere reflection of the weakness of his conference, the NFC South.

Now that I’ve incontrovertibly established that Brady is the G.O.A.T., I must address the common counter-argument that his successes can be attributed to New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

Quite frankly, this is a moronic argument. Belichick had a losing record with the Cleveland Browns before becoming the Patriots head coach in 2000. After joining New England, he led the Patriots to five wins and a dismal 13 losses before Drew Bledsoe’s fateful injury and Brady’s subsequent rise to dominance as the starting quarterback.

It’s obvious that the two enjoyed mutual success, but that does not diminish Brady’s career accomplishments. If you think Belichick’s coaching genius stains Brady’s legacy, you must also eliminate Joe Montana and Jerry Rice from the G.O.A.T. conversation, as they both benefited greatly from the legendary coach Bill Walsh and his famed “West Coast offense.”

Once you learn to put all anti-Patriots bias aside and look at Tom Brady’s career objectively, it’s easy to conclude that Brady is the greatest football player of all time.

To say otherwise is blasphemy.

silverchips

Oct. 16, 2020 COVID-19 G2

silverchips

Oct. 16, 2020 COVID-19 G3

From the SAC to the steering wheel

By Annie Goldman Staff Writer When the bell rang at 11:00 a.m. on a normal school day, the lunchtime rush began. Students made their way to the Student Activity Center (SAC), forming long cafeteria lines as they waited to receive their food.

Now, however, students enjoy their lunch break from home.

Some students make use of the MCPS meal distribution program and join a different line—one in the Blair parking lot.

COVID-19 and the school closures that followed have posed unique challenges for the Blair community, especially those that relied on the school for their meals.

These students are hardly alone, as the Food and Environment Reporting Network finds that nationwide food insecurity has more than doubled during this pandemic.

MCPS has responded by implementing socially-distant meal distribution centers at 74 locations countywide, and Blair is one of them. This process began in midMarch and has continued since; by the beginning of August, MCPS had provided over 4 million bagged meals for free to students and children under 18, according to the Bethesda Beat.

Blair Cafeteria Manager Christine Blanton says that on the bus-

Covering COVID-19

iest days, she leads her staff in distributing over 3,100 meals. She knows her regulars, explaining that many people rely on the program.

“That’s a family that you know is in need of food,” she says, “[because] they don’t miss a day. Rain or shine, they’re here.”

Blair Principal Renay Johnson says that the endless line of cars during the weekend rush rep-

That’s a family that you know is in need of food [because] they don’t miss a day. Rain or shine, they’re here.

resents a positive asset to the community. “Just seeing the traffic, the line to get into the school to get the meals… I know it’s a good thing and I know we’re serving the community,” she says.

Johnson wants students to be able to prioritize their education without concern over basic necessities. “It shouldn’t even be any stress.

You should come to school, and we should be able to feed you breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” she ex-

Native American funding see page G1

plains. “You just focus on learning.”

In the 2019-2020 school year, 33.3 percent of Blair’s 3,223 students received Free and Reduced Meals (FARMS) while at school.

Local organizations are also distributing meals, as the wider Silver Spring community has come together to keep Blair families fed.

Manna Food Center, Silver Spring Cares, Small Things Matter, and other non-profits have stepped in to make food accessible.

Roxanna Yamashita, the CEO of Small Things Matter, explains that their efforts expand food accessibility beyond just students, as COVID-19 and corresponding economic challenges continue. “[The food we distribute] is supplemental to other people in the community that might not be able to access [school] meals,” she says.

While Johnson points to the MCPS program’s successes, Blanton feels there is room for improvement. Blanton is unsure whether the short lunch break, which is 75 minutes, is enough time for students to pick up lunch from the school, return home, and join their classes punctually. She also points out that some students do not have the means of picking up meals at all. “Not everybody can drive, not everybody has transportation,” she says.

Blanton thinks that MCPS should have school bus drivers deliver food

Inside SPORTS

to low-income communities. “You will get out more food that way,” she explains, “versus trying to have people come up here to get food because people still [need to] work; they’re trying to hold on to whatever little bit of job that they have.”

Marla Caplon, the MCPS Director of Student Wellness Initiatives, agrees that having a system of delivering meals would further increase their accessibility: “My concern, you know, has always been making sure that folks get food, but what about those folks that can’t come out?”

Farzaneh Nabavian, Blair’s Par-

serving food distribution services is paramount, the future is uncertain. Johnson explains that free meals are only guaranteed for the community until the end of the calendar year. “I think we have to see what the budget is,” she says.

“We’ll see what’s allocated from the federal government for school lunches and school meals.”

Even if MCPS schools reopen and meals become easily accessible to students again, Johnson agrees with Nabavian that the program should remain in place. “[Free meal distribution] is a great service for the community, so I hope

MEALS ON WHEELS ent Community Coordinator, explains that the families making use of these services are grateful for the program despite its imperfections.

The efforts to help those in need during the pandemic have changed the lives of all involved, Nabavian says. She believes this meal program should remain in effect even after schools return to in-person learning.

Though Nabavian thinks pre-

it continues through the school year,” she says. “Hopefully school leaders, as well as government officials will realize [that] just because kids go back to school, families may still be unemployed.”

For now, Johnson says that these long lines at Blair show the extent of the community’s need— which will likely persist for a long time. “When there’s no line, then we’ll know it’s okay.”

Activism in sports

Who is the GOAT?

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see page F2

COVID-19 tracker Silver Chips is following the COVID-19 pandemic closely. As part of our coverage, we will be updating this section with COVID-19 statistics. For daily updates and an interactive display of data in the state of Maryland, visit mdcovidtracker.com.

Blair zip codes 877

GRAPHICS

Blair zip codes 221

Montgomery County 2.0% 497 Maryland 305

290 186 179

2.4%

NOTE