March 2020 — Silver Chips Print

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

March 11, 2020

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SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND

VOL. 82 NO. 5

County responds to coronavirus

By Emilie Vigliotta

Staff Writer

Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency in a press conference on Mar. 5 in response to the confirmation of three cases of COVID-19 in Maryland. There have since been two more confirmed cases in the state; four of the cases are from Montgomery County.

As cases of COVID-19 begin to surface across the nation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that local schools prepare contingency plans for long-term closures and that cities prepare to cancel mass gatherings.

In order to continue grades and instruction, Montgomery County is encouraging teachers to prepare online activities and is determining how to broadcast lessons on television. “The more online, the better,” Assistant Principal Adriana Burgos-Ojeda said.

Though Hogan said that there has been no record of exposure to school-aged children in Maryland,

see CORONAVIRUS page A2

NEW GUN CONTROL BILL

TIPPING

MD legislature considers bill to regulate shotgun and rifle transfers

See page A5

MILES GROVIC

A WALK IN English Teacher Keith Anderson holds a sign supporting the teachers’ union at a protest outside of school on the morning of Friday, March 6. Read more about teachers’ unions in our PRO/CON on page B1 .

LATINX Explorando el significado de esta palabra en la comunidad hispanohablante

Why the gratuity tip should be eliminated

See page B2

THE NIGHT SHIFT

See page C1

Hours after Blair students have left for the day, adult students take their seats

See page D5

RUI: Riding under the influence

By Aviva Bechky

Staff Writer

The passenger tilted his head back and chugged vodka from a bottle as Ronald West pulled up in his Uber to pick him up. “Uh, you’re not getting in my car,” thought West, who also works as a security guard at Blair. He hit cancel and drove away.

West knows that drunk passengers are far from a rarity. Uber and Lyft actively encourage drunk passengers to ride, and anti-drunkdriving groups promote their services as a safe alternative. But for drivers, drunk passengers are often an unpleasant part of the job.

“If you encounter a rider who is too drunk or rowdy, you have the right to decline the trip for your own safety,” the Uber Community Guidelines tell drivers. West does that sometimes, as with the vodkachugger, but he still picks up drunk passengers regularly.

This is despite his active efforts to avoid them: West stays away from clubs and tries not to drive

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op/ed B1

too late at night. His approach is not foolproof, though. “Sometimes people are drunk at 5:00 [p.m.],” he says. After the first time a passenger threw up, he bought barf bags to keep in the car.

West is not alone in his problems. Neil Collins, who used to drive for Uber and Lyft in Washington, D.C., once picked up a group of people who climbed into his car with beer. Collins asked them not to open it; they did anyway. Then they spilled it all over the carpet.

“That was… the straw that broke the camel’s back,” he says. He reached out to Uber for help with the clean-up fees. No support ever came, and he stopped rideshare driving shortly after.

But while drunk passengers can be a hassle for drivers, ridesharing presents itself to passengers as a safe alternative to driving intoxicated. Both Uber and Lyft offer it as such; in fact, both partner with road-safety organizations to promote their services: Uber with

see RIDESHARE page E1

La Esquina Latina C1

SANKOFA

COIN TOSSER

Blazers celebrate black history month through artistic expression

See page E1

Read the story of a 100-year-old Tuskegee airman

See page F2

Community celebrates black history

By Anna Fisher Lopez

Staff Writer

Community organizations in Takoma Park and Silver Spring hosted a number of events throughout February in honor of Black History Month, an annual celebration of Black tradition, culture, and heritage.

The Takoma Park Arts and Humanities Department held three major events in February, starting on Feb. 6 with a lecture by the descendant of a Union soldier who was freed from slavery after fighting in the Civil War. They also organized a concert with Black guitarist and songwriter Yasmin Williams, and screened three vintage films made during the Civil Rights movement.

The department’s goal was to hold a variety of events that engage different audiences in learning more about different elements of Black culture. “We try to have a diverse selection of events that appeal to different people and also represent the diversity in Takoma Park

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and the wider community,” Brendan Smith, the Takoma Park Arts and Humanities Coordinator, said.

The department chose events that emphasized the continued relevance of Black history in modern culture. “You [can] think of black history as being current and now and also about [culture], instead of just history,” Smith said.

The film screening event, called “Overlooked Films from the Civil Rights Movement,” exposed audience to unrecognized documentary-style clips produced by organizations such as SNCC, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, which fought against voter suppression and racial injustice during the Civil Rights movement.

Event organizer Richard Hall wished to educate viewers about less-known aspects of history in order to increase their social and cultural awareness. “The more people investigate the past and how change is made for African Americans and other minorities, the more they’ll learn about very interesting, see BLACK HISTORY page A2

culture E1

chips clips E5

sports F1

A2 News silverchips Montgomery Blair High School 51 University Boulevard East Silver Spring, MD 20901 Winner of the 2015 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Winner of the 2019 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medal

Editors-in-Chief: Prayag Gordy Uma Gupta Managing News Editors: George Ashford Sarah Schiffgens Managing Op/Ed Editors: Itamar Fiorino Amanda Liu Managing Features Editors: Elias Chen Mira Diamond-Berman Managing Culture Editors: Kie Donovan Paloma Williams Managing Sports Editor: Ethan Park Ombudsman: Victoria Xin Senior Staffer: Khushboo Rathore Columnist: Teddy Beamer Page Editors: Aviva Bechky Abby Brier Adam Chazan Ayush Dutta Oliver Goldman Kathryn LaLonde Rekha Leonard Anna Fisher Lopez Sarah McKinzie Khayla Robinson Anika Seth Ishaan Shrestha Simran Thakkar Ashley Thommana Abednego Togas Emilie Vigliotta Grace Walsh Charlie Wiebe Lilia Wong Clark Zhang La Esquina Latina Editor-in-Chief: Jasmine Mendez-Paredes La Esquina Latina Editor: Renata Muñoz Alzahra Rodríguez La Esquina Latina Writers: Río Sánchez Ariel Lemus Godoy Tony Calderón González Cecilia Clemens Vargas Lugo Yenmis Quiñones Executive Business Directors: Preston Beatty Alyssa Ma Merete Oakes Business Staff: Joe Byler Marina Deane-Gonzalez Ryan Peralta Harris Alex Koehler Devasena Sitaram Managing Photo Editors: Dede Greenfield Lucy Martin Photographers: Christina Chen Miles Grovic Yuri Kim Audrey Li Delia Moran Edson Orellana Bobby Padmore Elenora Rue Esther Tang Managing Media Coordinators: Tarun Mattikalli Alex Dong Managing Art Editors: Shashi Arnold Seoyoung Joo Artists: Gabriel Winston-Bailey Kelley Li Karen Yang Ivvone Zhou Jennifer Hu Duyen Phan Sonia Pivovarov Leela Mehta-Harwitz Puzzle Editor: Sophia Weng Copy Editors: Annie Hicks Adia Keene Bianca Sauro Gabe Worthington Jessica Ye La Esquina Latina Advisor: 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. Signed letters to the editor are encouraged. Submit your letter to Jeremy Stelzner’s mailbox in the main office or to editors@ silverchips.org. Concerns about Silver Chips’ content should be directed to the Ombudsman, the public’s representative to the paper, at ombudsman.silverchips@gmail.com. Letters may be edited for space and clarity. Visit silverchips.org for more information.

silverchips

March 11, 2020

Takoma Park and Silver Spring celebrate Black History Month from BLACK HISTORY page A1

fascinating history and things that people have gone through,” he said.

Montgomery College’s Cultural Arts Center also hosted several events celebrating Black History Month, including an hour-long keynote speech from accomplished activist Desmond Meade on Feb. 20.

Meade was introduced by Vincent Intondi, the director of the Institute of Race, Justice, and Civic Engagement at Montgomery College. Meade interspersed motivational and inspiring refrains with a recounting of his life story, in which he overcame homelessness and drug addiction and led the successful movement to pass an amendment in Florida that restored voting rights to over 1.4 million convicts. After the conclusion of his speech, Meade answered audience questions as time spilled beyond the allotted hour reserved for the event.

In addition to educating the community on black culture and history, the events honoring Black History Month aim to inspire new generations of minorities to believe in their own power to succeed. Martha Alvarado, a Montgomery College student who attended Meade’s speech, said that events that celebrate Black History combat potential insecurities caused by a long record of oppression and discrimination.

“We come from a culture of trauma and self doubt,” she said.

DELIA MORAN

“I think it’s really important… [to] have proper representation for us to really see ourselves as potential activists [and] leaders.”

Community member Malika Ali attended the speech at the recommendation of Intondi, her former professor, and feels that events that emphasize the achievements of Black people are important in building her own aspirations for the future.

“Just hearing stories, I feel like I can see myself,” she said. “I think [it is] very important to be able to see black people in the limelight… and how that’s a possibility

for me as well.”

Throughout February, WPGC, a D.C.-based radio station which

“I think [it is] very important to be able to see black people in the limelight...and how that’s a possibility for me as well” - Malika Ali

styles itself as “the DNA of the DMV,” featured a number of Black community members who have “shifted the status quo and strive to make black history every day,” according to their website.

To and promote education of Black History outside of the month of February, the Montgomery County Historical Society has a collection of archival materials, book lists, and African American Heritage walking tours available on their website, along with other resources detailing the historical role of Black people in Montgomery County.

County prepares for potential school closures in wake of COVID-19 emergency from CORONAVIRUS page A1

parents can excuse their student from attending school in Montgomery County if they have concerns about the virus. Principal Renay Johnson has received two phone calls and four emails from worried parents thus far who have pulled their students from school.

Johnson scheduled a schoolwide deep cleaning for the evening of Mar. 9. “We have thirty-five hundred people that come here every day, with students and staff, all day long,” she said. “Anything you touch, touch areas, the door knobs, they’re wiping those constantly; the railings on the stairwells, they’re wiping those constantly.”

Currently, the county lacks the supplies to clean the chromebooks, with the PTA raising funds to purchase sanitizing wipes for Blair. “I asked my building services to order those so we can have [the chromebooks] wiped down, but right now, no, nothing for the keyboards,” Johnson said.

In the case of a school closure, MCPS will continue to provide lunch and dinner to students on Free and Reduced Meals (FARMs), according to a countywide emergency meeting for school staff on Monday, Mar. 10.

Principal Johnson said that a work group would provide resources to students who still seek support from the school. “That work group would set up areas where the students could go and have lunch and breakfast, or if they need it, other things, technology, support, that human services group would help them with that,” she said.

If students begin exhibiting flulike symptoms, teachers have the ability to send them to the health room, where parents are required to pick them up. MCPS expressed that staff members are expected to self-quarantine if they suspect COVID-19 during the countywide emergency meeting. When dealing with students, teachers are required to follow the “approved talking points” set out by Montgomery County.

On Mar. 5, Hogan submitted a supplemental budget that requests $10 million for emergency coronavirus preparedness expenses.

“Given the rapidly emerging threat to public health, it is critical that we have the flexibility to immediately access these resources,” Hogan said. The proposed budget would allocate funds for rapid diagnosis technologies, quarantine housing facilities, additional operational staffing, and other preparedness measures.

All Marylanders with COVID-19 have contracted the virus overseas and Montgomery County officials have confirmed that these cases are not a result of community spread. Travis Gayles, Montgomery County health officer and chief of public health services, said in an interview with Politico that the “severity of [COVID-19], even if it’s here, remains in a mild category.”

Contact investigations are currently underway and though school systems are developing plans in case of closure, no large-scale closures have been recommended by county officials.

silverchips

March 11, 2020

Department of Education continues inquiry into bridge project cheating allegations

By Abednego Togas Staff Writer The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is investigating an MCPS teacher’s allegations that students received improper help in completing bridge projects.

Brian Donlon, a social studies teacher at Richard Montgomery, first reported his concerns that students were cheating on bridge projects in March 2019.

Bridge projects are opportunities to fulfill graduation requirements given to students who are unable to pass Maryland’s state assessments.

Donlon raised his concerns to the Richard Montgomery administration after he noticed teachers providing students a prefilled graphic organizer to help complete a bridge project in government. MCPS denied Donlon’s claims that cheating was involved and asserted that the allegations were investigated in Spring 2019.

MCPS also stated that, according to the MSDE Administrative Manual, protocols were not violated and that providing aides for students with English Language Learner accommodations is appropriate. “While we are pleased to see that the allegation of cheating was unsubstantiated, MSDE does identify areas for continued improvements in bridge project administration training,” MCPS said in a statement on Jan. 22.

Bridge projects administered at Blair are run by a group of staff that take their own approach into helping students that complete bridge projects. “Here at Blair, we have a very strong committee, a team with all of those subject areas and we work alongside other teachers to support students who are eligi-

ble for the bridge project,” Brandi Richardson, an assistant principal at Blair, said.

Those who complete bridge projects often include students with disabilities, students who experience assessment anxiety, and English language learners.

Students who are not accustomed to the English language are the most impacted by testing requirements and often need more

students in a variety of ways rather than leaving them to do the projects all on their own. “They might do things such as scaffolding, providing outlines, writing graphic organizers,” Richardson said.

Richardson also claimed that such guidance complies with state regulations. “As a team of individuals, we do work within those boundaries and follow policies, but we also put in the support needed for

IVVONE ZHOU

assistance in areas like bridge projects. “[Bridge projects] are not in multiple languages—there’s no Spanish version, there’s no French version,” Richardson said. “It’s very difficult when you’re trying to teach students difficult concepts when a language barrier is in between that as well.”

In order to alleviate language barriers, teachers at Blair can guide

students to be able to get through the [project],” she said.

Questions of whether or not this kind of assistance is permitted by state regulations prompted Donlon to report to the MCPS Office of Shared Accountability and then to MSDE in April 2019. “The question is how do you work with the student? Maybe help them find some resources, give them an idea

of a level of expectation there,” Donlan said in an interview with Silver Chips. “But it’s another thing to flat-out do the project for the kid.”

According to The Washington Post, the initial MSDE inquiry lasted from April to July 2019, when state officials closed their investigation and told Donlon that MCPS had “adequately addressed his concerns.” However, Donlon was disappointed with the school system’s report that suggested the issue only pertained to one student. He wrote to MSDE again and in November, Maryland officials agreed to relaunch their investigations.

Although MSDE has not yet published a full report, MCPS said in a press release on Jan 20. that the cheating allegations made by Donlon were unsubstantiated.

At Blair, there is a 100 percent success rate for students graduating through a bridge project.

“We’ve never had a student not be able to get through the project successfully in earning their high school diploma,” Richardson said.

Bridge project success rates were recently brought into discussion

by State Board of Education member David Steiner.

“The department acknowledged in print recently, that we have no data to suggest any failure rate on bridge projects,” Steiner said in a State Board of Education meeting on Jan. 28. “This is in my view a scandal.”

As of publication, investigations are still ongoing and a full report by MSDE has yet to be released.

Up & Coming

Awards and Honors

March 21

Amanda Liu was named a Coca-Cola Scholarship Regional Finalist and Maryland’s JEA Student Journalist of the Year

Third Annual Community Music Festival

March 25

Free Official SAT Exam; registration forms available in the counseling office

March 27

Early release day End of third marking period

April 6 - 13

Spring Break Offices closed April 10 & April 13

Lintaro Donovan and Young-Bin Lee’s C-SPAN StudentCam entry “Democracy Must Be Learned” made it into the Top 12 Mervin Mancia and Brian McCaw were named Regional Champions for wrestling Colin Galen, Timothy Qian, Gabriel Wu, and Philip Wu won the UMD Coding Competition Albert Ho was named Capitol Region JV Bee Champion 34 students from Blair DECA qualified for ICDC, placing the Blair chapter 3rd in Maryland Blair’s FIRST Robotics Competition (Team 449) won the Engineering Inspiration Award at the Bethesda District Competition

News A3 Newsbriefs New data show that arrest rates are highest for black students Education Week, a news organization that covers K-12 education, released a report that documented nearly 70,000 student arrests among 8,000 American public schools in the school years 2013–2014.

33.7 percent of those arrested were White, 33.4 percent were Black, 24.9 percent were Hispanic, 1.8 percent were Asian, and 1.8 percent were Native American.

In Maryland, more than half of arrested students were Black, while Black students make up about a third of the overall student body.

According to Education Week, Black students are more likely to be arrested than any other race or ethnic group not only in Maryland, but also in 42 other states and Washington, D.C. In 28 states, Black students are overrepresented in arrests compared to enrollment by at least 10 percentage points. In 10 out of those 28 states—including Maryland—the gap is 20 percentage points or higher.

Anonymous source threatens school An anonymous student posted a message on Tellonym, a website that allows one to send and receive anonymous messages, threatening the safety of both students and faculty. The message was posted on an Instagram page on the weekend of Feb. 8, which both students and Principal Renay Johnson saw.

On Sunday, Feb. 9, Johnson sent out a letter to families addressing the matter, stating that heightened security would be present that following Monday.

According to Roxanne Fuss, school secretary, 783 students were absent the day after the scare, approximately triple the amount of students who are absent on a regular basis.

Johnson sent out a letter on Feb. 10 to notify students and faculty that the student confessed to the matter, stating that the threat was false.

Outlined punishment aligned with the MCPS Student Code of Conduct were enforced to deal with the students’ consequences, according to the letter.

MCPS developing new protocols to address hate/bias incidents On Feb. 6 MCPS revealed a plan focusing on improved mental health services for students impacted by hate and bias related incidents, such as swastika graffiti, racial slurs, and other forms of discrimination occurring in schools.

Incidents at Walt Whitman and Winston Churchill High Schools are examples of the situations the plan would address. According to WTOP, at Walt Whitman, two high school students posted a photo in April on social media doing blackface, which also contained a racial slur in the photo caption; at Winston Churchill, a few students were disciplined after handing out “n-word passes,” which purportedly gave students a “pass” to say the racial slur.

The plan would focus on three main areas: responsive actions, restorative actions, and preventative actions. Responsive actions would address the hate and bias related incidents; restorative actions involves engaging with the community to provide education and mental health resources; and preventative actions would attempt to ensure that the situations don’t arise again.

Newsbriefs compiled by Khayla Robinson

A4 News

silverchips

March 11, 2020

Maryland state legislature passes implementation and approprations bill for sweeping school reform

By Grace Walsh and George Ashford Staff Writer and Managing News Editor The Maryland House of Delegates approved an appropriations bill for education reforms recommended by the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, or Kirwan Commission, and passed by the general assembly last year. The bill, HB 1300, passed 96-41 on Friday.

The reforms, codified in an act titled “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future,”, include expanding access to pre-kindergarten, paying teachers more, strengthening teacher preparation programs and standards, increasing funding for schools with high concentrations of poverty, and creating statewide programs and standards for college and career readiness.

The 2020 bill will allocate the state funding necessary to implement the Blueprint reforms-- an increase of $2.6 billion annually by 2030, accompanied by a $1.3 billion in required new spending from counties and Baltimore City. The legislature has not yet settled on a source for that funding.

Delegate Lorig Charkoudian of District 20, which includes Takoma Park and much of Silver Spring, said that the Blueprint implementation bill was an important milestone in improving Maryland education. “We know from research and from looking across the world what works, and we put that all into a bill, and we’re putting it together for Maryland’s children and Maryland’s future, and I am so thrilled and honored to be part of a body that made that decision,” she said.

A different bill, that would have funded the Blueprint by applying sales tax to services as well as physical goods, was unanimously rejected by the Revenues sub-committee

of the House Ways and Means committee after facing opposition from constituents and legislators.

The bill, HB 1628, would have generated $2.9 billion by fiscal year annually by 2025 and increased the current sales tax revenue by 50 percent by decreasing the state sales tax from six to five percent but including in the sales tax nearly every professional service, including haircuts, landscaping, and legal services.

Two days before the bill was voted upon, hundreds of small business owners went to Annapolis to protest the CHRISTINA CHEN tax reform. 119 citizens signed up BRIT KIRWAN SPEAKS Blair students got to hear about Kiwan’s comissons to testify against the potential impact the comission will have on November 6. the bill, and only and seven signed up Members of the general assembly prothe Blueprint Bill, “Taken together, these in support. posed several other bills that would conbills get us much of the way to fully fundGovernor Larry Hogan also opposed tribute to funding the Blueprint, including ing the Blueprint, though future legislators the bill, saying during a press conference closing corporate tax loopholes, raising the and Governors will have more work to do on Feb. 20 that HB 1628, “.. is greater tax on tobacco, and legalizing and taxing to fund the final few years of the plan. And than all of the previous administration’s tax sports betting. they make our tax system more fair and increases combined... It would destroy our Luedtke tweeted about the bill package help many Maryland small businesses.” economy. And I promise that it’s not ever and what it means for the future of funding wrote Luedtke. going to happen while I’m governor.”

silverchips

March 11, 2020

News A5

Maryland House of Delegates passes new background check bill Regulates transfers of rifles, shotguns

By Aviva Bechky Staff Writer The Maryland House of Delegates passed a bill on Feb. 4 regulating secondary transfers of rifles and shotguns. The bill is currently being considered by the Senate.

A secondary transfer is the sale or gift of a rifle or shotgun that occurs without the involvement of a licensed gun dealer, like when one friend sells their gun to another.

House Bill 4 would require that all such transfers be conducted through a federally licensed gun dealer, except in a few specific cases. This means the buyer would be required to undergo a background check before the sale could go through.

The bill passed 87-47 in the House. It passed the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Feb. 28 and will be examined on the Senate floor this week.

Currently, background checks are required when purchasing a long gun—a rifle or shotgun—from a federally licensed dealer, but secondary transfers are unregulated.

Proponents of the background check bill see that as a major loophole in the status quo.

“If I know that I cannot pass a background check… then I could just go to my friend and have them

legislation has drawn the ire of gun rights groups like Maryland Shall Issue and the National Rifle Association. “[The bill] is criminalizing what is common and innocent conduct. There’s nothing uncommon about privately selling a firearm,” Daniel Carlin-Weber, a director of Maryland Shall Issue, said. He also argued that for the most part, the state will have no way to know when a gun is transferred illegally, so “[the bill will] be enforced arbitrarily, kind of in an ad hoc manner.”

The NRA opposes the bill for similar reasons. “This proposal would have no impact on crime and is completely unenforceable,” the organization said in a statement on its website.

Under the bill, conducting the private sale of a long gun without going through a licensed dealer EMILIYA GEBRU would be a misdemeanor offense, with a maximum penalty of five sell me [a gun],” Delegate Van- years in prison and a $10,000 fine. essa Atterbeary, the sponsor of the Lying on the forms used to regulate bill in the House, said. “This law the transfer would also constitute would close that loophole and just a misdemeanor, with a maximum require everyone to pass a back- penalty of three years in prison and ground check.” a $5,000 fine.

Senator Susan Lee, the primary A similar bill was introduced sponsor of the bill in the Senate, last year and passed the House and agreed. “We just want to ensure Senate separately. However, the that those who versions passed should not have in each cham“We just want to guns cannot go ber were differaround the law ent, and the legensure that those and purchase islative session them by private who should not have ended before sales,” she said. they could agree guns cannot go on one version The bill includes sevaround the law and of the bill. eral exceptions, This year, purchase them by most notably there is new for private leadership in private sales.” transfers beboth the House tween immediand the Senate, - Senator Susan Lee ate family memand Delegate bers. Moreover, Atterbeary bethe Senate’s version of the bill was lieves that the bill is more likely to amended such that it no longer ap- pass under their supervision. Govplies to temporary transfers, though ernor Hogan’s response to the bill the House version covers both per- is currently unclear; in the past, he manent and temporary transfers. has signed some gun control meaThat difference would need to be sures but vetoed others. addressed in a conference commitAdditional Maryland gun legislatee if the Senate passes the legisla- tion is currently pending, including tion. a bill banning ghost guns—untraceThe bill has garnered support able guns manufactured using 3D from gun control group Moms printers—and another bill expandDemand Action, which testified in ing the state’s military-style assault its favor. However, the proposed rifle ban.

soapbox Should the buyer in private gun sales have to go through a background check?

“In any exchange of firearms, background checks should be required.”

— Cy Blair, junior “No matter the scenario, the buyer of a firearm should have to go through a background check to ensure that a dangerous person cannot easily get their hands on a gun.”

— Andrew Szabo, freshman

ELENORA RUE

MCPS relocates bus stops across county A reevaluation to increase student safety

the Blair cluster, makes the final approval for bus route changes proposed by the bus supervisors. She described some of the logistical difMCPS is relocating existing ficulties in moving stops.

“We go into the neighborhood school bus stops near busy, highspeed roads to increase student to make sure the school bus is safety. The MCPS Board of Trans- able to navigate through the neighportation (BOT) has made changes borhood without hitting any cars, throughout the school year and is any parked cars, the roads are big enough, [and] there’s no one way considering making more.

The BOT has already moved streets,” she said. “Obviously, if some bus stops in Aspen Hill and we determine the bus can navigate along Georgia Avenue and Univer- through the neighborhood, we sity Boulevard further into neigh- would much rather have students borhoods in an attempt to protect off of main roads.”

The bus stop changes are a part students from motor vehicle accidents. The BOT is also looking of an MCPS campaign to increase into moving bus stops along New student safety under the name Hampshire Avenue, Viers Mill “Eyes up, phone down.” “[MCPS] Road, Connecticut Avenue, and developed this partnership with the Department of Transportation of Frederick Avenue.

According to MCPS Director of ‘Eyes up, phone down,’ and there’s Transportation Todd Watkins, the posters and signs,” Turner said.

T h i s BOT will consider campaign bus route is con“It has some cost in t i m i n g nected to terms of efficiency along with the county safety when initiative Viand the ride times for moving bus sion Zero, students, but where it stops.

“It an initiative has some igned makes sense, [the MCPS dtoe simprove cost in terms of Board of Transportation pedestrian efficiency safety. “Viis] moving stops back and the ride sion Zero times for [into the neighborhood].” is about destudents, signing the - Todd Watkins but where system… so it makes that even sense, [the when things BOT is] moving stops back [into happen that would have resulted in the neighborhood],” Watkins said. an injury or death, the design of the Monica Boone, the bus routes system protects people anyway,” manager for the Blair cluster, Watkins said. helps to make sure bus routes run Currently, Vision Zero is pushsmoothly. Each year, she and her ing out new material to students team reevaluate bus stops to ac- to extend pedestrian safety precommodate the new distribution cautions to the public. “We are of students in a process called map also developing… a wait-back camreview. paign,” Turner said. “It talks about MCPS Chief Public Commu- whatever bus stop you are waiting nications Officer Derek Turner [at] in the morning [and advises described the conditions bus su- students] to stand back from the pervisors consider when making roadway.” decisions to relocate bus stops.

Efforts to increase safety spread “They’re saying, ‘Is this the best throughout the community after spot, is there somewhere else that 9-year-old Sophia Chen passed might work? What’s it look like in away in a bus accident on Dec. 12. terms of accidents… what’s the pos- According to Watkins, her school sibility of getting into the neighbor- community and the Walt Whithood?’” man film students are working on Melonie Brotherton, one of the outreach efforts to prevent further transportation cluster managers for incidents and injuries.

By Abby Brier Staff Writer

A6 News

silverchips

Stemming the smoke MCPS pushes anti-vaping campaign

By Clark Zhang Staff Writer During second period, at approximately 7:45 a.m. on Monday, Mar. 2, two Blair students were hospitalized after vaping a cannabis concentrate. One became unresponsive and the second student went to the health room with a headache. School nurse Anisa Harris called 911 and the two students were transported to Holy Cross Hospital by ambulance.

Both students were discharged in the afternoon and released to their parents.

Vaping-related illness among students has become more common throughout the county, with three hospitalizations from Winston Churchill High School in the past year.

According to Councilmember Gabe Albornoz, vaping has reached epidemic proportions among young people. “E-cigarettes have increased [in] use between 2011 and 2015 among youth by 900 percent,” Albornoz said.

“More than 3.6 million middle and high schoolers are currently using e-cigarettes.”

In response to vaping’s increased popularity among teens, Blair administration and MCPS have been pushing a campaign against vaping through prevention and rehabilitation.

At Blair, the efforts against vaping come in the form of education. “[We had] a PTSA meeting…, innovation period, [had]

administrators talk about vaping in the classroom, [and as] part of the health curriculum,” Principal Renay Johnson said.

In the afternoon on Mar. 2, Johnson sent out an email to parents about the morning incident and a detailed description of the act of vaping, accompanied by dozens of resources. “[In] some of the links I shared, it shows pens exploding in kids faces,” Johnson said.

Furthermore, she emphasized the financial cost of vaping. “It’s pretty expensive,” Johnson said.

“I talked to some kids who say, that’s a lot. You have to buy the cartridge, the body, the head.”

For those hospitalized, the cost is even higher. “It is a financial burden on those families because there is an ambulance fee of 150 regardless,” Johnson said.

Given the recency of the vaping incident, Johnson wants to readdress the issue of vaping. “I think it would be good to retouch [on it],” Johnson said. “It’s so relevant to our population [after] kids actually went to the hospital.”

To do so, Johnson is changing the structure of innovation periods. “We’ve decided instead of having you go to your homeroom…you just stay in the classroom… [with] a teacher who knows you,” Johnson said.

At the county level, the MCPS Health Department is engaging in a four-prong plan to address vaping.

Their first prong is an anti-vap-

ing symposium on its campus to provide resources for students and parents, hosted by John Hopkins University’s Montgomery County on Saturday, Mar. 28.

Keynote speaker Dr. Ruben Baler, a health scientist who works with the National

March 11, 2020 partnered with the Department of Health and Human Services, and are conducting student focus groups,” Associate Superintendent of the Office of Student and Family Support and Engagement Reuben Ruschelle said. “We’re actually pushing into the schools and we’re holding student focus groups together [and] speak[ing] to students who may engage [in vaping].”

The final prongs change how the county will address students who were caught vaping. “We’re not so much punitive as much as rehabilitative,” Ruschelle said.

“When we find students who have vaping devices,

Institute on Drug Abuse, will be discussing SHAS HI AR “The Adolescent [we NOLD Brain and the Vaping ask] how Epidemic,” as well as the ways in are we going beyond using the which vaping can harm childrens’ Student Code of Conduct to also development. get them the support they need.”

The second prong is engagAs part of the rehabilitation, ing with the students. “We are students will take a mandatory

class with a distinct focus on vaping for both parents and students. “We want to dig a little bit deeper…[because] oftentimes the factors that are leading students to engage in... vaping [are] symptomatic of underlying issues,” Ruschelle said.

From a legislative perspective, MCPS has been active as well.

In a press conference held by all nine members of the Montgomery County Council on Sept. 16, 2019, officials stated their concerns with vaping and the effect of the new bills being discussed.

Councilmember Craig Rice, a sponsor of the bills, criticized what he claims are e-cigarette companies’ efforts to intentionally target underage users by advertising flavors such as lemon twist or tropical blast.

The bills ban manufacturers from distributing vape products within half a mile of schools, ban vape shops within half a mile of schools, increase age restrictions on e-cigarette possession from 18 years of age to 21 years of age, and ban flavored vapes.

Some vape store owners believe that the legislation misses its target. Benjamin Lackey, owner of Vape Social in Gaithersburg, said in an interview with The Washington Post that he turns away underage customers. “There’s no way we’d sell to anyone in high school or below, so I’m really not sure how this would help,” Lackey told The Post.

Kellen Leeson, an inventory manager at Vapor WorldWide in Shady Grove, claims that the vape stores themselves are not the problem. “If I’m a 16-year-old, I’m going to hop onto Amazon or eBay and I’m going to order it right to my house,” he said in an interview with The Washington Post.

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March 11, 2020

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B1 Op/Ed

March 11, 2020

Does the teacher’s union benefit the student interest?

YES

NO

It improves learning environments and give teachers a voice to affect policy

Unions protect unsuitable teachers, promote a soley seniority based system, and pour money into politics

By Kathryn LaLonde Staff Writer

By Lilia Wong Staff Writer

he people who have had the greatest impact on our lives other than our parents, are our teachers. They have chosen to dedicate their lives to expanding our knowledge and encouraging our future. No matter how amazing the curriculum or the school, teachers influnce students’ education the most.

The manner in which our teachers are treated is a key factor in our education. Teachers’ unions, like the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), are crucial for maintaining good quality working conditions and giving teachers a voice in county government, which in turn benefits students.

Many students underestimate the difficulties and challenges that come with being a teacher.

Although they work extremely hard, teachers earn very low wages. The minimum starting salary for teachers is $49,013 and it often takes many years of additional education for teachers to reach $74,000, compared to Superintendent Jack Smith’s new salary of $310,000.

One of the primary jobs of the MCEA is to fight for higher wages for teachers. This encourages more teachers to come to work in schools.

David Airozo, a member of the Board of Directors for MCEA and the Communications Committee Chair, as well as a fourth-grade teacher at Franklin Knolls Elementary School, believes teachers are not paid what they are worth.

“Teachers are… generally not paid what people of similar educational backgrounds and experiences are paid,” he said.

The MCEA negotiates with school system officials to develop a pay scale for the salaries of administrators and teachers. Along with their efforts to improve teacher pay, the MCEA works to win tenure for its teachers.

Tenure gives teachers lifetime job security after they have been working for a certain number of years and can protect them from getting fired for certain reasons like political affiliation. Some argue against tenure, complaining that its protections sometimes help older, disinterested teachers retain their jobs. But tenure is a good thing, despite the misconceptions about its rules.

MCPS has worked collaboratively with the MCEA to implement a peer review system for all teachers with or without tenure called Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) Program, which works to improve teachers who are ineffective. As Airozo believes, no teaching job is permanent, not even one with tenure. Furthermore, there are measures the union can use to improve teachers’ skills.

“There’s no guarantee that you’re going to keep your job if you’re not doing your job… Any teacher that is going through trouble or is struggling can go through the PAR process, that’s a very formal process that MCPS and MCEA have together,” he said. “If they improve [and] administrators agree that they have improved, then they keep the job and if they don’t they’re out.”

Despite students who may believe so, tenure doesn’t guarantee absolute safety and security for teachers. Instead, PAR functions almost like a checks and balances process against tenure.

so awful that they need to be removed from the classroom. But instead of immediate termination in New York City, the teacher union ensures that teachers often go to “rubber rooms,” places where the school district reassigns teachers who are under investigation. Teachers are held in rubber rooms with full pay and benefits until the lengthy firing process is complete.

In one such case, Aryeh Eller, a former Queens music teacher was accused of sexually harassing female students. Eller was a tenured teacher by the time his case was heard, and the court threw out his case because of a technicality.

He has been in the rubber room for 20 years, as the school board didn’t want him near students again. Eller has been paid $1.7 million by the school district over that period and has received full benefits throughout.

Newer teachers are victims of the system as well. If budgetary constraints force layoffs, the untenured teachers are often the first to go, regardless of performance reviews.

Thirty states and Washington, D.C. do not require any review of performance when deciding which teachers should be laid off. Ten more states do not require performance reviews to be the deciding factor.

The system operates under a “last in, first out policy”, purely based on years of teaching and level of education, instead of merit.

Furthermore, after teachers reach a top level of seniority, there are often fewer external incentives to keep them actively teaching.

Jim Mogge, an AP World History teacher, has been in the classroom for 38 years. He thinks that no one would notice if he were to stop updating lessons. “I could get away [with] recycling whatever I’ve been doing for the last five years,” Mogge said. “Especially if they told me when they were going to come observe me.”

But Mogge feels that this is a faulty way to approach teaching. “What motivates you is making [the lessons] good and doing the best you can,” he said.

Mogge always tries to implement new material and information in his lessons each year. “I want to do it differently, and I want to make it work better for kids.” Unfortunately, not all students are lucky enough to have teachers like Mogge who constantly try to improve their lessons and classes.

Instead of funding the materials that Mogge spends improving his lessons, teachers’ unions pour their money into politics.

The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers collectively donated $64 million to political organizations in 2016.

The benefits that these unions extend to teachers often have the potential to allow for weaker teachers to remain in the classroom.

They also end up costing an already-underfunded education system an obscene amount of extra money. This system needs to be reformed to ensure a higher quality of classroom learning.

T

EDSON ORELLANA

As the teachers are encouraged to improve, the classroom environment will get better.

The union does support better wages for teachers, but Airozo believes that the MCEA is more concerned with working conditions because they directly correlate with the learning environment for students. “[Schools] have become an untenable working condition for many people,” he said. “There are just too many demands, there’s too much paperwork, too many students without the support we need to let the kids succeed, let the kids be everything they can be.”

“I know we got MCPS to pay attention to Eastern Middle School, which had a huge problem with mold,” Airozo continued. “Even with our air quality, that’s something that we’ve brought to the attention not just there but at other schools.”

This success may seem small, but it is very difficult for the MCEA to impact a lot in the first place. The union cannot affect class sizes, scheduling, or the calendar, but they have been able to impact boundary changes for areas within MCPS. The MCEA, for example, brought to attention Franklin Knolls Elementary School, which is expected to have a smaller size next year because of the union’s efforts.

Airozo said that the MCEA members care most about advocating for their students. “When we did a poll last year of our members, the most important thing from their perspective is that we have the resources necessaryto reach every child [and] do our jobs effectively, so that every kid that we come in contact with, we can do our best to get them as far as they can,” he said.

The MCEA is constantly lobbying MCPS for additional ESOL teachers and resources for ESOL students, more counselors, and stronger support for special education. The union organizes teachers into one body, which makes them more effective and powerful. Airozo thinks that without a union, negotiations between MCPS and teachers would be individualized, which can get complex and confusing.

“The union gives us… a collective voice, so if we didn’t have the union we’d be looking at negotiating an individualized contract almost for every person,” he said.

Our teachers do so much for us. They come in early to school, grade papers on the weekends, and plan lessons and activities just so that we can have a brighter future. The MCEA gives them a voice they wouldn’t have on their own, and that voice is not only fighting for the teachers, but it is also fighting for the students.

J

oseph Ocul, a teacher with Chicago Public Schools, refused to participate in a May 2016 day-long teacher’s strike with the Chicago Teachers’ Union. Instead, he attended school to practice with the chess team, made up of underprivileged youth, that he leads. The club had a national competition on the horizon, and Ocul promised his students that he would help them prepare, even if it meant he had to miss the strike.

Unfortunately, his union did not agree. Ocul was expelled from the union and labeled as a scab. The union even continued to seek its dues from Ocul’s paycheck until he launched an official complaint.

This is one of many instances where teachers’ unions have placed their own agendas above the interests of students. Unions can shield struggling teachers from scrutiny, create a system solely based on seniority, and donate obscene amounts of money to partisan political organizations, harming students on many fronts.

One faulty mechanism that teachers’ unions utilize is tenure. Tenure offers an additional level of protection to teachers’ job security; stipulations vary from state to state, but tenure agreements generally require that teachers teach for two to three years. Under tenured protection, firing an unsuccessful teacher can take years.

The tenure process can be ineffective and costly. According to a study by the New Teacher Project, 86 percent of administrators are deterred from terminating tenured teachers, due to the complicated process of firing them. The study found that many administrators regard the termination process as inefficient, cumbersome, and at times, inconsequential.

The process of removing teachers within MCPS is lengthy. After teachers receive a below standard evaluation, they go through at least a school year’s length of peer remediation. If there is a recommendation from the school that the teacher is still below standard, the choice goes to a panel. “[The panel] is comprised of seven teachers, seven principles, and usually the vice president of the teachers’ union,” Joseph Fanning, an administrator at Blair, said. If the panel deems that the teacher isn’t meeting standards, the decision then goes to MCPS superiors.

On a ten-point scale, the Fordham Institute gave MCPS a four because it is “difficult to dismiss” teachers.

Sometimes, teachers are accused of offenses

DELIA MORAN

voicebox

Cindy Depenyou

Marijke Friedman

Habib Camara

Patrick Gough

YES “Teacher unions support... the student interest because [they reassure] that teachers are given the right resources to teach appropriate subjects

YES “[They] benefit students because they unite teacher’s and just encourage them to do a better job...”

NO “The whole point is that they benefit teachers... having a union just for them makes sense.”

NO Teacher unions... are not really strong. My dad’s a teacher... he doesn’t think that any of the movements are effective.”

Senior

Sophomore

Freshman

Junior

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March 11, 2020

(Tech)nically required

By Ashley Thommana Staff Writer According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), from 2018 to 2028, the employment of computer and information research scientists is expected to grow 12 percent, much higher than other jobs are estimated to grow. Similarly, the field of skilled labor is facing a lack of workers. “A shortage of skilled workers in some fields is leading to stiff competition as companies hunt for talent,” CNBC reported in January 2019.

While traditional classes often fail to touch upon these careers, the MCPS required technology credit classes address this deficit, giving students the important opportunity to consider these careers before entering college or the workforce. Not only do they open the doors to careers in growing job fields, they also boost student creativity and innovation.

The MCPS technology requirement at Blair can be fulfilled through two semesters of Foundations of Technology or AP Computer Science Principles.

Students with interests beyond the coverage of these introductory classes can continue to take courses such as Advanced Design and Technological Applications.

However, the introductory technology requirement still gives students the opportunity to explore career options. “It gets kids to do different things and to see what they are interested in so they will have a good idea of what they want to do in the future,” Gelila Isayas, a sophomore currently fulfilling her technology credit, said.

AP Computer Science Principles offers students the opportunity to understand and apply computation concepts. Foundations of Technology, similarly, addresses understanding and application of technology concepts.

Both classes can promote careers in skilled labor and engineering.

Through hands-on projects in the classes,

students can explore these job opportunities. “[Students] get theory, application… and that gives them a great overview,” Foundations of Technology teacher Michael Ashley said.

The class emphasizes real-world applications in conjunction with knowledge. “It is very important to me to teach not just theory,” Ashley said, “but also how it [applies] to what is going on in the real world.”

Junior Isabelle Megosh, who is currently taking Foundations of Technology, feels like the class opens doors to atypical careers in an academic setting. “It definitely gives students a lot of opportunities to consider careers that they have never considered before,” Megosh said.

Ashley agreed, highlighting that technology offers a lot of unique job opportunities.

Why the gratuity tip should be abolished

MILES GROVIC WAITRESSING Elayna Davis-Mercer brings the check at All Set Restaurant & Bar.

By Ayush Dutta Staff Writer While many students are out with friends on a Friday night, senior Elijah Kodjak has spent the last five hours clearing plates, transporting dishes, and setting tables. He leaves Roscoe’s Neapolitan Pizzeria with just $50 in his pocket.

Earning just 64 percent of Maryland’s minimum wage, the majority of income for Roscoe’s servers, waiters, and hosts comes through tips—a widespread practice across almost all restaurants in the United States.

Unfortunately, this has led to extreme inconsistencies in workers’ salaries. The practice of cutting wages and relying on tips should be abolished from restaurants nationwide.

Depending on tips to compensate for cuts in hourly wage contributes to unpredictable paychecks for workers. “On Saturday mornings I’ll get $40, but really any night shift, depending on the night… I’ll go home with $60 to $80” Kodjak, who has been working at Roscoe’s since the start of the school year, said.

Like many high schoolers, Kodjak started working as a means to make money. “It’s fun

Op/Ed B2

Why a technology subject is beneficial

job openings in infrastructurerelated fields than people trained to fill them.

Some of these jobs don’t require university degrees but still provide a means of income.

There are around 30 million jobs in the United States that don’t need a bachelor’s degree but still pay an annual average of $55,000 according to the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce.

It may only be through involved technology credit that students learn about these opportunities. “When you take [what you learn] outside these four walls, it’s going to impact our lives,” Ashley said. “You maybe go to college or maybe you don’t go to college, [but] you will be able to join the workforce.”

While students may ultimately choose whether they want to pursue careers in technology, they at least can explore these fields.

Additionally, some students view CHRISTINA CHEN their technology classes as a fun, “Technology is a great area because it en- hands-on break from standard classes like compasses all your core subjects,” he said. Math or English. “It is good to have a class Students can pull knowledge from their math where you can be creative and not have to sit classes or even English classes and apply it to at a desk and do work all day,” Isayas said. “It is a nice class to even things out and let your the vast career opportunities in technology.

For example, one application Ashley de- mind calm down a bit.”

As Ashley believes, technology courses scribed is in looking at energy sources. “We look at renewable energy and non-renewable draw out innovation in students. “It’s our job energy sources and how that is going to impact as educators to help create and design a pathnot just the present generations but genera- way to that you are able to birth your vision,” tions to come,” he said. In addition, the class he said. This is important as it gives students touches upon other aspects of technology, the opportunity to stray from more traditional schoolwork and instead funnel creativity into such as transportation modules.

These topics presented in technology projects.

As always, intent doesn’t necessarily correclasses emphasize non-obsolete jobs that offer a living. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Ed- late with implementation, but the technology ucation reported a five year prediction stating requirement is an important step in pushing that there were going to be 68 percent more out a new generation of innovators.

Ditch the tip sometimes,” he said, “but it’s still work; it’s still a job.” For many workers in the service industry, money is everything, and inconsistent income caused by tipping severely damages their ability to manage their money and be successful.

This phenomenon is not a concern abroad, as other countries have found ways to fix wages and reduce inconsistencies.

Throughout Europe, tipping is unheard of, and even illegal in a number of countries. Instead, these countries compensate with higher, steady wages. Food servers in Switzerland, who don’t accept tips, earn a yearly average of $43,318, a whopping $23,000 more than the average tip-collecting worker in the US. In fact, almost every country where tipping is not common practice has a higher average income for servers.

The dining experience should be a smooth process for workers and customers, and eliminating the gratuity tip will simplify and maximize the dependability of a restaurant job. “I would much rather get a steady income so I have a consistent way of getting paid,” Kodjak said. “[Tips] should be included in the price of the meal so the workers can always be compensated.”

The concept of the tip is solely dependent on the customer. Something as uncontrollable as the mood of the patron can affect the financial well-being of workers throughout the restaurant.

The phenomenon of “bad service, bad tip” is a grave misconception due to the introduction and spread of the pool tip system. At many restaurants, the house collects all tips earned that night and divides them among workers based on a point system, depending on position and merit.

“Points will vary depending on how long you worked during the shift, if you stay the entire time … if you leave early, or if it’s not that busy, you get less,” senior Elayna DavisMercer, a server at All Set Restaurant & Bar, said. Individual waiters are not affected by a small tip; instead, the house pool tip is de-

creased, meaning servers completely unrelated to the “bad” service take a hit to their paychecks.

But for Davis-Mercer, tips alone have greatly inflated her paycheck past minimum wage. “Tipping makes it so that we are paid a lot more than we would usually be,” she claimed, “but it is definitely dependent on the customers.”

Although many patrons tip the customary 20 percent, the occasional large groups

“I would much rather get a steady income so I have a consistent way of getting paid.”

- Elijah Kodjak

and tips allow for workers to make drastically more than a set hourly wage would allow. “I served a group of lawyers who were having a happy hour after work… at the end of the shift, they got their check for $700 with the included 20 percent gratuity on top,” DavisMercer said. “They tipped an additional $100.”

Tipping has its advantages, allowing an unrestricted salary cap on a worker’s paycheck. Nevertheless, the likelihood of receiving a large tip is so rare that it should not outweigh the drawbacks of extensive dependency upon customers.

Abolishing the tip is necessary in the best interests of servers and workers in the food industry—but it would not be an immediate change; the 20 percent tip custom has been passed down for generations and shows no sign of slowing down. But dependency on the customer to sustain employees has proved itself to be the wrong way to run a restaurant.

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B3 Op/Ed

Restoring justice

By Oliver Goldman Staff Writer “When you lead a school that’s majority-minority, your data’s going to be disproportionate,” Principal Renay Johnson said, referencing the suspension and expulsion rates at Blair. But the data are a little more than disproportionate; they’re alarming.

During the 2015–2016 school year, black students at Blair were suspended at 8.9 times the rate of white students, according to data collected by the United States Department of Education for Civil Rights. Hispanic students were also seven times as likely to be suspended as their white counterparts.

Over the past three years, Blair’s overall suspension rate has decreased, but some striking statistics remain: Zero Asian students and only three white students were suspended during the 2019 school year, while there have been increases in suspensions of black students in special education programs and female students of color.

These numbers are not unique to Blair---similar trends of high suspensions and expulsions of minority students manifest all across the country. MCPS and other school systems should undergo a fundamental philosophical change in how they approach punishment: Instead of retribution, the focus should be on restoration.

In MCPS, principals and administrators levy punishments based on the criteria laid out in the Student Code of Conduct hand-

book. One section of the student handbook, called the Disciplinary Response Matrix, sets the bounds of permissible courses of action for certain student infractions based on a graduated one-to-five scale---level one being classroom and teacherled responses and level five being long-term out-of-school measures or expulsions.

The goal of MCPS’ matrix--versions of which other school systems also utilize---is to reduce suspensions by providing criteria and setting predetermined limits. But the idea behind the matrix is still rooted in punishing students, just in a limited and ostensibly more equitable fashion.

Restorative justice is an approach that shifts the focus away from punishment. It theorizes that by refocusing discipline to be more constructive, offenders will be empowered to reckon with their actions. “We are all humans, we all make mistakes,” assistant principal and school restorative justice committee chair Brandi Richardson said. “Being able to learn, reflect, and rebuild through those mistakes is… collaborative and requires a community.”

The origins of restorative justice at Blair date back to summer 2018, when Johnson and Richardson began to develop a restorative justice program.

“We took 19 staff members in two different groups [for] training activities,” Richardson said. The initiative then proliferated throughout the building in administrative

The permit puzzle

By Clark Zhang Staff Writer According to Blair’s Student Parking Application form, “Student parking at Montgomery Blair High School is a privilege.” But that privilege is turning into a pitfall as the lack of parking permits has restricted students from accessing convenient transportation and left dozens of permits unused.

The issues with the parking permit system are three-fold: ineffective guidelines, a limiting application process, and the associated fees.

Currently, 140 parking permits are handed out to students who complete an application form---requiring their license, vehicle registration, and insurance policy---through a first-come-first-serve basis.

Students with permits who don’t rely on parking at Blair every day prevent others from using the permits to their full potential. If permits were handed out on a needs basis, then the parking lot would be almost full every day. But, from recording the number of empty spots over a three-week period, approximately a third of the parking spots are empty every day.

Those who haven’t even gained their provisional license are still able to preemptively obtain a parking permit. “There are some people that are planning on getting their license, so they get a parking pass before they actually [need] it,” senior Gwen Sletten said. Since everyone doesn’t pass the test on their first try, a park-

ing spot is wasted while those students try to obtain their license.

As a result of these loopholes, students who have no reliable means to get home are often left without any permits because they applied too late. “I had one first semester... and I didn’t realize I had to renew it for a second semester,” senior Nate Klein said, “so I just never got one.”

Klein, who is the captain of Blair’s robotics team, is busy managing the team throughout the year.

March 11, 2020

Restorative justice initiatives can help solve school suspension problems and departmental meetings, she explained. Eventually, the urge to restore justice trickled down to students, namely in lesson plans for innovation periods and with the inception of SGA’s Restorative Justice Committee.

“As adults, as educators, we certainly want to do our best to support students, but those who know students best are students,” Richardson said. “Hearing their voices and their ideas… is a key and essential element to changing a culture.”

Junior Maceda Berhanu, the vice president of the SGA and a member of the Restorative Justice Committee, explained that the SGA is breeding their own targeted solutions to address the current disciplinary climate. They plan to roll out a mentor program called “Staff Pods” to provide suspended students with access to a trusted adult who can assist them with overcoming mistakes, both mentally and emotionally.

Including trusted adults in the process would also promote student involvement, Berhanu reasoned.

“Whenever you get in trouble, [the punishment and reconciliation process is] mainly a whole bunch of [administrators] and so your voice isn’t really being heard,” she said.

But with Staff Pods, students would be able to more actively participate.

The SGA is also considering how innovation periods can be used to better foster relationship building between staff and students. Berhanu believes that the innovation period teachers should be

someone students already know or have connected with. Additionally, students should convene more frequently in their innovation period to engage in community circles and fix broken teacher-student relationships. “That’s where it all begins,” she said. “If you’re not feeling welcomed in class… what makes you feel like you should be there?”

Fostering a welcoming environment is vital to kindling social harmony in the classroom, especially for students of color who are often denigrated and punished inequitably by teachers and administrators.

“We’ve seen research that kids of color are charged more harshly because they’re seen as more culpable for actions [than are white kids],” Alyson Clements, the director of advocacy at the National Juvenile Justice Network, explained.

While MCPS has begun bringing restorative justice to the table--they plan to implement programs

MARISSA RICE

in 125 of the district’s 208 schools by the end of this school year--issues of inequity and unjustified punishment are deeply ingrained in schools and require inspired and unified action. “This is a systemic issue,” Clemens said. Initiatives should be enacted in across-theboard fashion with force and fidelity in order to upend this layered and discriminatory system.

“We all have a common goal of doing what’s best for our students,” Richardson said. “The school functions far beyond educating [students] instructionally: It’s educating them and building productive members of society.”

MCPS and school systems across the nation should honor this common goal: help students, don’t hurt them. Give all students the resources and support they need to succeed as young adults both inside and outside of school. Restore justice to a broken system.

Dismantling the problems with Blair’s parking permit system

“They parked in four corners, which is an extra walk and they risk being towed.”

- Gwen Sletten

option for transportation.

Moreover, only one vehicle can be registered under a parking permit.

Further, the insurance logistics only allows a single insurance policy to be associated with a permit. This makes borrowing permits and driving different vehicles unfeasible, but it would be easily remedied if multiple insurance policies could be submitted.

Borrowing permits would ensure that the parking lot is further used to its capacity. “If somebody is like, oh, I don’t use [my permit] on Tuesdays, [so] you can use mine on a Tuesday,” Klein said.

The $37.50 cost of the parking permits further turns students away from obtaining a pass and incentivizes them to park illegally in areas around Blair. “I know a lot of people when they can’t afford the parking pass, they parked in four corners, which is an extra walk and they risk being towed,” Sletten said.

The parking permit payment has ESTHER TANG no place in a school environment.

Parking lots are paid for and main“During second semester, I stay tained by MCPS, which are already until 6:30, so not having [a parking paid for by the taxpayers around the permit] sucks,” Klein said. “Either county—-including the parents of the I have to get my parents to come students parking at Blair. The extra pick me up and… they’re coming costs do not help pay for the maintefrom D.C.…. or I take the Metro nance, but rather are directed toward bus home and I don’t get home un- filling the predetermined athletics budget. til past eight.”

A school’s purpose is to promote If the school were to create a comprehensive application that al- education. However, an inadequate lowed each student to explain how application process and unnecessary much they need a permit, students fees hinder the accessibility of that would finally have a much-needed education for hundreds of students.

March 11, 2020

By Shariar Vaez-Ghaemi Guest Writer

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Op/Ed B4

Personal Column Defining DECA

Think about the first thing you did in high school. I don’t mean “go to class” or “sit in the SAC.” What was the first thing you really devoted yourself to doing in high school?

Maybe cross country, debate, or the yearbook. Now think about why you did it. Maybe you wanted to learn new skills while making new friends. Or maybe you had those skills coming in, and you just wanted to compete.

The first thing I did in high school was DECA, and I have no idea why I did it. But I don’t think my life would have been the same if I didn’t.

In my freshman year, many of my friends at Richard Montgomery were doing this DECA thing, and not a single one of them could explain what it was. A quick look at deca.org gave me all of no information, but for some reason, I wanted AUDREY LI to know more. From what I could

tell, it seemed like DECA was another leadership organization, but one with a really epic conference.

When my friends approached me about starting a chapter at Blair, I was excited.

Through two years of DECA, I only now have the long-awaited definition. DECA is where you learn how to solve real world problems.

For many people, that means gaining knowledge about the business world, and doing role plays in marketing, finance, and entrepreneurship settings. For others, DECA is a chance to craft a business plan or research something interesting in the world. For my friends and me, DECA afforded us an opportunity to travel to local middle schools and teach students about community leadership.

DECA is still new at Blair. We sent 43 competitors to state this year, and last year we sent 14. We’re

Corrections: January 2019 Page A3 listed Feb. 12 as Presidents’ Day. It was actually on Feb. 15 On page A2, Councilmember Hans Riemer’s last name was misspelled On page C1, the art credit for Seoyoung Joo was misspelled On page MH7, the art credit for Gabriel Winston-Bailey was misspelled On page E3, the byline for op/ed editor Itamar Fiorino was misspelled

not the biggest chapter in Maryland, or the biggest club at Blair. But here’s the beauty of DECA: Each chapter can grow into a family, and Blair is no exception. Many of us went to Orlando together last year, and many more of us are going to Nashville together this year. We’ve all learned things we would never come across in school, both about the world and about ourselves.

But this isn’t an advertisement; this is a message. If you’re a freshman, there are a lot of things you can do outside of the classroom.

Blair has hundreds of clubs you can get involved with. Don’t make the mistake of going with the flow, and plugging yourself into whatever your friends like. Do the weird thing that nobody else would do, or start something fresh at Blair. And remember this: Whatever path you choose, be thankful for the opportunity you have. It just might change your life.

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B5 Op/Ed

March 11, 2020

Trump is leading us to disaster COVID-19, a new strain of coronavirus responsible for 3,996 deaths to date worldwide, has halted cities and sent the stock markets spirling.

Now officially classified as a pandemic, the COVID-19 shows no signs of slowing down as it moves from country to country.

China, the first nation to witness a massive outbreak of the virus, has snapped back from the initial shock of the illness. From building new hospitals in days to using popular apps like WeChat and AliPay to monitor citizens, the Chinese government has taken major steps to stop the spread of the disease. According to Science Magazine, the nation’s authoritative governmental structure has been essential to the success of their prevention measures.

Italy, another nation hit hard by COVID-19, has shown how a democratic nation can take drastic steps to reduce the spread of the virus.

On Monday the prime minister extended their quarantine to the entire nation.

Other nations, however, have not been so quick to act. Iran, for example, now has the second highest number of COVID-19 cases outside of China. According to The New York Times, leaders in Iran were confident that the virus would not affect their nation, going so far as to brag about exporting face masks to China. Today, however, Iran’s death toll keeps increasing as hospitals are overwhelmed by patients.

As Trump continues to unleash a torrent of tweets downplaying the impact of coronavirus, the US is drifting dangerously close to following in these nations’ footsteps. With over 500 recorded cases already making their way across the country, jumping around states like California, Florida, Texas, and Maryland, it is time that the US up its response game. A good place to start? Mont-

By Victoria Xin Ombudsman COVID-19 is one of the most significant pandemics in the time of social media. Though coronavirus has spread globally, social media has allowed the fake news surrounding coronavirus to travel faster than the virus itself.

Gov. Hogan has demonstrated strong leadership in his response to the COVID-19.

Will the president follow suit? gomery County.

In the DMV region, there have been nine confirmed coronavirus cases as of Monday, March 9. In Maryland, there are five confirmed cases. In Montgomery County there are four.

Politically, we are right in the middle of the coronavirus crisis.

In our own county, the patients include a married couple in their 70s and another an individual in their 50s. One of the patients even visited The Village, a retirement home in Rockville. Montgomery County students frequently volunteer there. Despite the fact that all of the people who have tested positive are over 50 years old, there remains a danger for the younger population.

For a public school system like MCPS, this outbreak is especially dangerous. We’re highly populated. Students aren’t only restricted to their neighborhoods. There are special programs that take students from all across the county. The coronavirus can easily spread to the entire county if even one student contracts it.

Although children and young adults are not as susceptible to the virus, many students live with elderly parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and many other people of highly susceptible populations.

People over sixty and those with underlying health conditions are much more vulnerable to the virus. In fact, morbidity and mortality rates are three to five times higher.

By going to school and rubbing shoulders every day with students from all across the county, students could be endangering not only themselves, but their high-risk family members.

In Washington, D.C., schools have already taken preventative action. School Without Walls High

School, where a staff member tested positive for the virus, will close. The District of Columbia International School will also shut their doors for a deep cleaning.

Here in Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan has press conference af-

ter press conference to update the media and the public. His office continues to provide up-to-date information through the internet. In Montgomery County, officials have also held press conferences.

Trump and the federal govern-

ment need to look more like our local governments—-not the other way around. The Centers for Disease Control should stand up to Trump’s lies and spread accurate information, not politically-motivated falsehoods.

Coronavirus is fueling an epidemic of fake news

From platforms based in Russia to China to the U.S., false narratives have pinned the spread of coronavirus to national governments, bioengineering, bat soup, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and countless other entities.

A report by the State Department revealed roughly two million foreign tweets were touting corona-

virus conspiracy theories after the virus began to travel internationally.

The report even found coronavirus conspiracies on Twitter to be bolstered by bots—automated fake accounts.

To their credit, many social media companies have already taken steps to prevent the spread of fake coronavirus news.

Many platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, have created pop-ups for coronavirus-related posts that redirect users to national or global health authorities.

Facebook has also banned ads for any products claiming to cure or prevent coronavirus.

Even Pinterest is actively combatting the fake coronavirus news epidemic. Implementing one of the most heavy-handed approaches, Pinterest only reveals information from the official World Health Organization (WHO) account when users search for coronavirus content.

Twitter is using a less upfront approach. Since Twitter’s fake news

policies only regulate coordinated attacks of misinformation, they are restricted in their policing, but have banned accounts with unusual activity related to coronavirus.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s owner and CEO, has pledged to give the WHO as many free ads as they need on Facebook and to give them the resources to advertise on other platforms and organizations as well.

The State Department report on fake coronavirus news does have an optimistic side. Official resources like a real-time coronavirus contagion tracking map, built by Johns Hopkins University, are among the most shared links.

Credible health institutions are also doing their best to spread accurate information on social media. The WHO even created a TikTok in order to accurately inform teenagers about coronavirus prevention.

News broke last week that the Chinese are dealing with a second, more aggressive strain of COVID-19. As we battle against this

new strain of coronavirus, we’re forced to face the fear of the unknown.

It is certainly reasonable to be scared right now. However, being bombarded with conspiracy theories and half-truths can easily transform fear into paranoia.

These false claims are not only unproductive—they’re dangerous.

The WHO went as far as to label the rampant spread of fake coronavirus news as an “infodemic.”

Especially now, when hoaxes fly high, we must be extra careful to distinguish the difference between a trusted government announcement and social media info-manipulation, to step back and approach every piece of news with common sense.

To connect with Victoria email her at ombudsmansilver chips@gmail.com

11 de marzo de 2020

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La Esquina Latina C1

La Esquina Latina

Silver Chips el 11 de marzo de 2020

“Latinx”, ¿americano o latinoamericano? ¿Por qué es tan usado este término?

Por: Ariel Godoy Lemus y Río Sánchez Escritores Las palabras que usamos diariamente están repletas de nuestra ideología; en el español, una regla clave es indicar el género de una palabra. El término “Latinx” fue creado para tener una opción de género neutral y fue mayormente adoptado por la comunidad LGBTQ+. Es usado en vez de latino o latina, usualmente por personas jóvenes con el propósito de ser más inclusivos. ¿Cómo puede una simple palabra generar tantos debates y controversias? Lo importante con las palabras no es solamente cómo se usan, sino lo que se quiere decir con ellas.

Las palabras pueden causar revoluciones.

La Real Academia Española (RAE) rechazó el uso de la “x” y la “e” como alternativas neutrales y aclaró que la terminación masculina debería ser la predeterminada porque también incluye el femenino. Pero si la RAE agrega palabras como ‘‘tuitear’’, ‘‘jonrón’’, ‘‘bluyín’’ y otros anglicismos, o palabras prestadas del inglés, al diccionario español, una equis no debería causar tanto tumulto.

La raíz de la palabra latinx ha generado mucha controversia porque es un término americanizado y técnicamente abarca abarca los géneros femenino y lo masculino, lo que tendría sentido hasta que se menciona a

personas que se encuentran fuera del género binario. Pero el término es utilizado más en los Estados Unidos que en Latinoamérica, donde es más común escuchar latino o en algunas ocasiones “latine”.

Por esto mismo, muchos no quieren que “latinx” sea

artículos. Ella dice, “Bueno, entiendo los problemas que la gente tiene especialmente con personas que son más abiertas respecto a ser del género no binario. Yo no pienso que es algo que va a cambiar por-

SHASHI ARNOLD

aceptado por la RAE. Maddox Comee, un estudiante del noveno grado, comentó que ha escuchado este término en conversaciones casuales o en

que es un lenguaje muy complejo. Los términos masculinos y femeninos son lo que hacen el idioma entero. Creo que se podrían crear nuevos términos pero no creo

que el idioma entero vaya a cambiar”. Sobre la controversia que rodea el término Comee opina, “todavía hay mucho prejuicio entre la comunidad, creo que viene desde el trasfondo cultural pero es algo que definitivamente debería de ser considerado y todos deberían de sentirse bienvenidos”.

Otro alumno Edgar Hernández de décimo grado dice que ha visto algunas veces el término “latinx” en el internet y que piensa que sería una buena idea hacerlo parte del vocabulario diario porque tiene mucho que ver con la cultura Latinoamerica. Él dice, “Pienso que cada quien tiene su opinión acerca de que usar o qué no [usar] y que si la comunidad LGBTQ+ ha adoptado esta palabra deberíamos seguir el mismo ejemplo”. Él también dice que no se siente identificado con el término hasta el momento visto que él no lo ha usado y no lo han llamado por este término. Aunque esta palabra ha causado mucha controversia ya que muchas personas siguen prefiriendo no usar el término debido a que ya están acostumbrados a usar el término latino/latina.

Los idiomas evolucionan con el tiempo y se debe considerar un término progresivo como este para hacer que todos los miembros de la sociedad se sientan incluidos y sin prejuicios. A pesar que mucha gente tiene diferentes puntos de vista acerca del tema, debemos respetar la opinión de cada persona.

Desafíos impiden soñar con una mejor vida

Inmigrantes centroamericanos enfrentan injusticias Por: Alzahra Rodríguez Gómez Editora Miles de centroamericanos emigran a los Estados Unidos cada año. La razón principal suele ser escapar de la violencia que existe en sus países de origen. Los Estados Unidos crean una imagen de seguridad y prosperidad económica la cual trae esperanza en la vida de varios centroamericanos.

Las políticas del presidente Donald Trump y su administración han afectado a los solicitantes de asilo ya que han hecho el proceso más complicado. También, han hecho que miles centroamericanos sean deportados y que ahora tengan que enfrentar la violencia de la cual habían escapado.

Desde enero del 2018 la administración de Trump ha implementado una política llamada Protocolos de Protección de Migrantes (MPP) que obliga a los solicitantes de asilo, que intentan ingresar a los Estados Unidos por la frontera, a permanecer en México mientras esperan los procedimientos judiciales de inmigración. Según la Unión Estadounidense por las Libertades Civiles (ACLU) hay más de 42,000 personas solicitando asilo varadas en México esperando. La espera puede tomar meses o años y mientras tanto la gente vive en malas condiciones. El Observatorio de Derechos Humanos (HRW) ha dicho que tan solo el

cuatro por ciento de estos solicitantes logran ser representados por un abogado y que menos del uno por ciento logran conseguir el asilo. También, HRW ha encontrado 816 casos de solicitantes de asilo que han sufrido abusos sexuales, torturas, desapariciones y robos mientras se encuentran en México esperando una respuesta.

Todas las personas indocumentadas corren el riesgo de ser deportados. El problema es que una vez que son deportados su vida corre peligro. Los salvadoreños se han llevado el foco principal ya que HRW ha identificado 138 casos de salvadoreños asesinados después de ser deportados de los Estados Unidos. HRW está consciente que existen más casos pero es difícil identificarlos porque casi no son reportados por las autoridades. Otras cosas que varios deportados salvadoreños sufren son abuso sexual y tortura la mayoría del tiempo perpetradas por maras.

El artículo catorce de la Declaración Universal de Derechos Humanos (UDHR) establece que todos tienen el derecho de solicitar asilo en otros países. Por lo tanto, durante el proceso para recibir asilo los solicitantes deben de estar en un lugar seguro.

Además, las personas que corren el riesgo de sufrir violencia en sus países no deberían ser deportados. Esto casos de infracción a los derechos humanos más básico no pueden ser ignorados por la sociedad.

SHAASHI ARNOLD

C2 La Esquina Latina

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Latinos en el Super Bowl

11 de marzo de 2020

JLo y Shakira perdieron la oportunidad de protestar el NFL Por: Renata Muñoz Una opinión Editora

Artistas como Cardi B, Rihanna y Jay-Z a su colaboración con Cardi B en su canse negaron a cantar en el Super Bowl. ción “I Like It” y J Balvin recibió éxito Este año, Shakira y Jennifer López en su canción “Mi Gente” por la colaboprometieron que su actuación iba ser un ración con Beyoncé. Sin estos éxitos, su El dos de febrero, los latinos tuvieron “mensaje de unidad”. Mientras el coro inclusión en este evento nunca hubiera un día histórico. Por primera vez, dos cantaba “Born in the U.S.A” de Bruce sucedido. mujeres latinas fueron las actuaciones Springsteen, López abrió su capa de la De la misma manera, López tiene principales del medio tiempo del Super bandera estadounidense para revelar una historia extensa con el robo de voBowl. Muchos latinos estuvieron felices una bandera puertorriqueña por den- cales de artistas afroamericanas. En la de ver las cantantes latinas Shakira y Jen- tro. La actuación de Shakira y López industria musical, típicamente otros nifer López, como las titulares del even- impuso el mensaje que la cantantes graban una to y exponer un espectáculo típicamente comunidad latina pista de delatino en un evento típicamente estadou- en EE.UU. tiene mostración nidense. Sin embargo, en los últimos una fuerza impopara servir años la Liga nacional de fútbol america- sible de ignorar. como refeno (NFL) ha sido sujeta a controversia Varios latinos rencia para alrededor del racismo, lo cual Shakira y sintieron que fue el cantante López ignoraron. Los latinos no necesi- una muestra culprincipal, tamos ni merecemos representación que tural contra la pero no son excluye las luchas afroamericanas. población blanca usados en La controversia alrededor el Super de EE.UU. la versión Bowl comenzó en el 2016 cuando el Sin embargo, final.

Sin NFL se opuso a contratar a Colin Kae- todos los canembargo, pernick, un mariscal de campo para los tantes, a pesar de en varias San Francisco 49ers, ya que él se negó ser latinos, eran ocasiones, estar de pie mientras se tocaba el himno de mayoría deslas cannacional en los partidos de esa tempo- cendencia blanciones de rada. Kaepernick empezó a sentarse du- ca.

Además, López han rante el himno nacional para protestar la el éxito de la utilizado brutalidad políciaca contra afroamerica- actuación vino a l las pistas de nos desarmados y apoyar el movimiento d e t r i m e n t o de las luchas SEYOUNG JOO demostración de de Black Lives Matter (“Las Vidas Ne- de los afroamericanos con respeto al cantantes afroamericanas gras Importan” o BLM).

BLM. Aunque la representación latina como Brandy, Natasha Ramos, Amerie, Al respeto, Kaepernick dijo, “Yo no es importante, no deberíamos sacrificar Ashanti y Christina Milian en las versiome voy a parar para mostrar orgullo en las luchas de otros grupos marginaliza- nes finales sin el permiso adecuado. A una bandera para un país que oprime dos por el bien de nosotros. menudo, la mayoría de los vocales en las personas afroamericanas y personas de La inclusión de J Balvin y Bad Bun- canciones de López han sido de artistas color”. ny en la actuación de medio tiempo ha afroamericanas, tanto que apenas se esDesde el comienzo de la protesta de dependido, en gran parte, de sus éxitos cucha los vocales originales de López.

Kaepernick, varios artistas comenzaron musicales con mujeres afroamericanas. Las cantantes afroamericanas detrás de a declinar invitaciones para cantar du- J Balvin y Bad Bunny recibieron éxito los éxitos de López nunca fueron acredirante el medio tiempo del Super Bowl. con la audiencia estadounidense gracias tadas correctamente.

¿Estás soltero/a? ¿Necesitas compañía para ver Netflix? ¿Alguien con quien compartir postres? ¡Bueno estás de suerte! Este marzo la cadena de tiendas de mascotas Petco está ofreciendo varios eventos de adopción durante distintas fechas en el mes.

La fundación de Petco es parte de la cadena de tiendas Petco Inc. Esta es una fundación sin fines de lucros y tiene colaboración con varios refugios de animales en el área. Su misión es proveer un cálido hogar a estos animalitos y verificando que sean llevados a una familia merecedora de su amor. Esta fundación dona alrededor de 11 millones de dólares al año a su causa y son grandes defensores de los derechos animales. Rigurosamente promueven los derechos animales en el gobierno.

El año pasado yo adopté mi gata en uno de estos eventos y el proceso fue muy diferente de lo que me habían dicho varias personas previamente. Este fue mucho más simple de lo que pensaba. Solo busque en el internet las fechas en las que tenían los eventos y fui.

Cuando encontré una gatita con la que

Aparte de López estar continuamente usando el estilo de cantar de artistas afroamericanas incorrectamente cuando no debería, su participación en el Super Bowl rechaza las luchas afroamericanas. Al participar en el evento de medio tiempo del Super Bowl, Shakira y López están mandando el mensaje que las vidas afroamericanas no tienen la importancia suficiente para apoyarlas y por lo tanto protestar el NFL. Al discutir este tema con otros latinos blancos, varios me preguntaron sobre afroamericanos famosos, con el argumento que no es justo criticar a Shakira y López cuando estos artistas afroamericanos no hacen lo adecuado para protestar el NFL. Al respecto, yo opino lo siguiente: Primero, nosotros, los latinos que no somos afro-latinos, no tenemos el derecho de dictar de qué manera una persona afroamericana debería luchar por sus derechos. Segundo, el hecho que algunos afroamericanos famosos tengan fallas no quiere decir que no puedo criticar a artistas como Shakira y López.

Nosotros los latinos no debemos ignorar la responsabilidad de traer a la luz las acciones anti-afroamericanas de artistas latinos que gozar de reconocimiento mundial. ¿Cuán importante fue la presentación de medio tiempo del Super Bowl para los latinos? ¿Fue más importante que luchar por las vidas de afroamericanos, lo cual incluye afro-latinos? Nosotros los que no somos afro-latinos tenemos que tener cuidado cuando elogiemos a la representación latina, porque más a menudo de lo que pensamos, esa representación y apoyo puede implicar el apoyo al racismo contra afroamericanos.

¿Te atrae la idea de adoptar un amigo de cuatro patas? encargada que la quería adoptar. ¡El proceso es simple, debes llenar unas planillas de adopción y ya! No se asuste, el proceso no es complicado y es rápido, necesitará una forma de identificación para poder adoptar y si algo no funciona con su nueva mascota la puede devolver.

Muchos se preguntarán, ¿Qué son los beneficios de tener una mascota? o ¿Cuáles son los costos? Tener un perro le proporciona una oportunidad de hacer ejercicio y socializar más. Un estudio conducido por la Universidad de Pennsylvania demuestra que tener un perro o aún tener un familiar que tiene un perro reduce los hormonas de estrés en la sangre, bajando la presión arterial y el ritmo cardiaco. Mientras que tener un gato disminuye las probabilidades de sufrir un ataque cardíaco casi 30 por ciento, los gatos también pueden ayudar a sanar huesos, músculos y tendones con sus ronroneos.

Lo único malo en mi opinión de adoptar es que es como una sorpresa, nunca sabes qué tipos de animalitos te encontrarás. Por eso, muchas personas

forma segura de garantizar varias cosas. ¿Te pica la curiosidad saber cuál es es la diferencia entre adoptar y comprar? Bueno hay varias diferencias empezando por la más obvia, el precio. La página web Dogster dice que, “Adoptar un perro puede costar entre 50 y 250 dólares, pero esos no son los únicos gastos a considerar”. También hay que tener presente los gastos de la comida, la camita, futuras vacunas y consultas médicas y muchas otras cosas que envuelve el tener una mascota. El costo de un perro comprado por medio de un criador varía dependiendo de la raza del perro pero tiende a ser mucho más costoso. Muchas personas optan por esta opción por cuestiones de salud como las alergias.

Además de la fundación de Petco existen también otras organizaciones que se toman el trabajo de encontrarles hogares a estos animalitos. Entre estas están va-

rios refugios como Lucky Dog Animal Rescue localizado en Arlington, Virginia, Lost Dog tambien en Arlington, Virginia, y Double Dog Dare en Westminster, Maryland. Estos rescates son también una opción si quiere adoptar un amiguito de cuatro patas.

SHAASHI ARNOLD

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11 de marzo de 2020

La Esquina Latina C3

Estudiantes latinos en el elenco de In the Heights Escrito por: Tony Calderón González

Geo Rivera Sentado en la sala del auditorio viendo unas de las obras de Blair, Geovany “Goe” Rivera, un estudiante del décimo grado, lo pondrá a pensar por qué aparenta conocido.

Geovany se a puesto una meta: participar en cada obra de teatro que él pueda durante sus años en Blair.

Conocido por sus obras de la escuela, Geovany dijo que Blair tiene “la inclusión: de ofrecerle unirse a equipos, por ejemplo, como el equipo de porristas y poms, que por mayormente son [considerados] ‘equipos femeninos’, pero el hecho que estarían dispuestos de que yo partici-

para [dice mucho]” y por eso le encanta Blair.

La obra, In the Heights, es un teatro musical que explora en tres días la vida de personajes viviendo en el vecindario latino de la ciudad de Nueva York, se estrenará en Blair este abril y Geovany tomará el rol protagonista por primera vez. Sus emociones fluyen de “alteración a emocionado por el rol”, agregó Geovany.

Geovany comentó que él “especialmente se siente orgulloso [de poder estar en esta obra]” porque siente una relación que puede “señalar a los personajes con algún familiar” y cuando preguntado sobre el significado de la obra próxima el cuen-

ta que, “siente que no está contando muy lejos de [su] propia historia”.

Indudablemente, Geovany es un ejemplo perfecto de lo que es ser un estudiante latino en Blair. Él es uno de los estudiantes sobresalientes en la escuela que representa la comunidad latina. “Me rodeo con personas como yo y venimos de diferentes razas, estilos, con mucha distinguidez”, remarcó Geovany.

En el futuro sueña con ser admitido a la Escuela Julliard en Nueva York, una escuela de gran reputación, con la esperanza de continuar su sueño con actuación y las artes.

Hasta entonces, él seguirá progresando su imagen como actor durante los dos años que le quedan en Blair.

rol de protagonista por primera vez.

Este año, Alanna también participa en InfoFlow, el noticiero matutino de Blair que sale diariamente a través de Blair Network Communications también conocido como, BNC. Dentro del equipo de BNC, ella tiene el cargo de jefa de los a presentadores. Alanna escaló rápidamente a su posición, tomando en cuenta que ella solamente había entrado a la clase de BNC en el grado once.

El señor Mayo, profesor del programa de Artes de Comunicación y el asesor del estudio de televisión en Blair, comentó que cuando Alanna “entró a BNC… ya era una buena presentadora, luego este año fue tan buena que comenzó dirigiendo el horario de alojamiento [de BNC]”.

De los ocho presentadores que hay en BNC, solamente dos son de

antecedentes latinos. Mayo añadió que, “estudiantes como Alanna mejoran el programa... y al ser tan buena presentadora, hace que el resto de los presentadores lo sean también y nos ayuda a elevar el nivel del programa completo” Alanna aspira a seguir practicando el baile, canto y actuación en la universidad y mientras tanto disfruta de sus últimos meses en Blair.

Definitivamente, Alanna dejará su marca en Blair. Su esfuerzo y voluntad de ayudar, además de ser una estudiante dedicada, la destaca como una estudiante única. “Encontrar alguien como Alanna, será realmente difícil”, agregó Mayo. Del mismo modo, se extrañará su participación y representación de la comunidad latina en BNC y las obras teatrales.

Desde luego, Alanna será difícil de reemplazar.

EDSON ORELLANA

Alanna Sibrian Desde temprana edad, Alanna Sibrian, estudiante del grado doce, le ha encantado actuar, cantar y bailar.

Según Alanna, gracias al apoyo y guía de su madre, ella ha crecido sintiendo pasión por las artes.

A lo largo de los años, Alanna ha llevado una vida activa con días ocupados que consisten en ir a la escuela, a un estudio de baile para ensayar habitualmente hasta por cinco horas y finalmente y regresar a su casa a terminar sus tareas.

Alanna ha tenido varias oportunidades artísticas en Blair. Ella ha coreografiado varias de las obras de teatro, como The Wiz, Troy Story 3, Journey to the Forbidden Planet y la obra del Tales from One Thousand and One Nights donde ella tomó el

Fechas importantes 25 de marzo

6-13 de abril

27 de marzo Medio día de clase, final del tercer periodo de calificaciones

15 de abril

2 de abril

17-9 y 23-25 de abril

Administración del SAT y el Accuplacer

Reunión con los padres de los estudiantes en el grado 12

Vacaciones de primavera

Distribución de las tarjetas de calificación

Presentación de la obra de teatro: In the Heights en el auditorio

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March 11, 2020

THE LAST RESORT How mid-Atlantic ski resorts are coping with climate change

S

kiers on the East coast, especially in the mid-Atlantic, are familiar with the constant sound of ice and man-made snow scraping against the bottoms of skis or snowboards as they skid, slip, and swear their way down the slopes.

These sounds seem all the more common as ski resorts deal with a decrease in snowfall and an increase in warm weather. The once snow-coated mountains now frequent bad days with slushy ground cover and few open trails.

Recently, resorts have struggled to attract as many visitors as they have in past years. Whitetail Resort in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, a popular destination for DMV skiers, has only received a total of seven inches of snow this year. Their average annual snowfall exceeds three feet.

The complex and risky process of man-made snow

Whitetail and its neighboring resorts, Liberty Resort in Fairfield, PA and Roundtop Resort in Lewisberry, PA, must now rely on man-made snow to cover their grassygreen hills. But they face a challenge: can the temperatures stay cold enough for them to even keep their slopes open?

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THE CONTROL ROOM Grant Moble monitors the displays in the control room. Moble can turn on the snow machines with the click of a button.

Man-made snow is a vital ski technology produced from tiny water particles that turn into snow when they hit the air. Air temperatures have to be below 32 degrees and at a “wet-bulb”—the relationship between humidity and air temperature—of below 28 degrees.

Wayne Eckelmann, an experienced ski patroller who has worked at Whitetail since 1991, explains that snow-making relies on temperatures below freezing. “It takes high pressure jets, like at a car wash, and it blows them into a massive electric fan that’s spinning at an incredible speed,” Eckelmann says. “The water hits that and it comes out in a spray… in tiny, tiny, tiny little droplets that freeze instantly—but it’s got to be below freezing.”

According to NOAA, the average temperature in January 2020 in Altoona, PA which is roughly an hour away from Mercersburg, was 33.9 degrees fahrenheit, with only four days below freezing. These temperatures are not the ideal conditions for making snow. Whitetail and other mountains in the mid-Atlantic range cannot count on natural snow, so they must rely on colder temperatures to make man-made snow.

“We are a hundred percent man-made whereas most other ski resorts, they’ll make snow to open and then they have the sustainability of natural snow,” Grant Moble, a snow maker at Whitetail, says.

Despite the challenges these mountains experience, technology has made snow-making more efficient than ever. New snow-making machines require little manual labor.

“We have roughly 300 [snow] guns on the mountain,” Keenan Wade, the lift manager at Whitetail Resort, says.

“About 30 guns on the mountain [are] manual… everything else we can just [turn on] with the click of a mouse.”

Deciding whether to even turn on these machines in the first place is a difficult daily business decision in the Whitetail control room. “[Running the machines] is an expensive necessity if you want to be open, [but] if you have somewhat of a marginal season you have to make a decision,” Wade says. “Do I want to spend the money and hope to recoup? It’s always a risk if we fire these up [because if] we get an x amount of money, we need an x amount of people and an x amount of guests to buy tickets.”

This year, Whitetail has used 156,680,000 gallons of water to make snow. It may seem like a waste, but the mountain, like most other resorts, has a reservoir where they can store and recycle water. This means that any small droplet of snow could be re-used dozens of times in one season.

But through all the logistical challenges, the greatest current threat to these mountains is one staring all ski resorts in the face: climate change.

Changing weather, changing mountain

Nationally, this winter has seen record high temperatures. A Feb. 13 NOAA report stated that “in the span of 141 years of climate records, there has never been a warmer January.” Whitetail doesn’t believe their drop in snow this year is related to climate change, because they can have good seasons or bad seasons and this year just seems to be a particularly bad year.

KATHRYN LALONDE

MAINTENANCE Fresh snow is blown over Whitetail on a cold day, while a worker grooms the terrain park.

Other experts disagree. “We see an unambiguous warming trend, so winters… are getting warmer over time,” Washington Post meteorologist Jason Samenow explains.

“The magnitude of the warmth that we’ve seen this winter, compared to normal, does have a connection to climate change, because if you look at the long term trend, everything is pointed in one direction.”

If next year is the new hottest January on record, ski mountains will have to take into consideration how warm temperatures will affect their business.

Katrina Gayman, director of Marketing and Sales at Whitetail Resort says that if there were no temperatures below freezing during a season, the mountain could not open. “We need the cold weather to sustain our business,” she says. “[If it wasn’t there] we wouldn’t be able to open.”

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Features D1/D2

Simply put, cold weather is the only factor that ski resorts in the mid-Atlantic need to sustain themselves. With the recent developments in technology, natural snow is no longer a necessity for mountains to open during the winter season. This shift in temperatures, however, is threatening ski seasons and the profitability of resorts such as Whitetail.

Financial drop

Although these mountains are just seeing the beginning of the long-term effects of climate change, changing temperatures and less snow have already had harsh effects on revenue and attendance.

Gayman explains that the weather-induced late start to the skiing season caused dips in attendance and profit. In their latest fiscal report for the current season, Vail Resorts, the parent company that operates Whitetail, reported a drop in rental, retail, and dining revenue, along with a 7.8 percent decrease compared to previous years in total skier visits for all their mountains.

Samenow believes that these ski resorts should be concerned about rising temperatures. “The mid-Atlantic is about as far south as you can get and comfortably make snow to sustain skiing during the winter,” he says. “If the climate does warm, it will just become more challenging… to make snow and to have reliable ski operations.”

At Whitetail and other mountains that rely almost completely on man-made snow, the overhead costs are soaring. According to Moble, there’s an exorbitant cost just from starting the air compressor machines they use for the snow-making machines. “[Your average air-water gun is] $5,000 just to hit the on button, and that’s not to make a run—that’s just to turn them on,” he says.

With the unavoidable financial burden of manufacturing artificial snow, making a profit is becoming increasingly difficult for mountains in the mid-Atlantic.

In keeping ticket prices low to stay competitive, resorts like Whitetail are therefore losing out due to the price of maintenance.

“Our lift tickets are pretty much comparable to anywhere else that has natural snow,” Moble says. “I don’t think we’re making as much money as some of these other resorts, because our overhead is so strong.”

Vail Resorts owns 37 resorts all over the world, and with a larger security net of other bankable mountains it can afford to act as a financial cushion to mountains in the warming mid-Atlantic region.

The future

Samenow anticipates that temperatures will continue to rise in the next couple decades. “All projections we have… suggest we’ll see continued warming in the next decade and over the next many decades until we can slow down and reverse the emissions of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” he says.

Vail Resorts understands that ski resorts can have a large carbon footprint, which is why they are looking to do their part to reduce waste and emissions. Jamie Storrs, the Senior Director of Communications at Vail Re-

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ABOVE Whitetail’s reservoir holds 100,000,000 gallons of water and has only been refilled once this year. The water is piped from the reservoir to the snow blowing machines.

RIGHT The air compressors in the control room send air to the snow machines. Snow makers rely on air compression to disperse the snow throughout the mountain.

sorts, explained that they recently launched a campaign to reach net zero emissions in the coming decade.

“Shortly after purchasing Liberty, Whitetail, and Roundtop,” he says, Vail Resorts “announced that they would be included in… Vail Resorts’ goal to achieve a zero net operating footprint by 2030,” he says.

Vail’s efforts to decrease their carbon footprint may set a precedent for other companies that own ski resorts across the globe. The impending threat of climate change is sending temperatures climbing, and it seems like they will continue to worsen in the future.

For now, Whitetail has to deal with the result of just one bad season. Despite advanced new technologies like modern snow-making machines, the future may bring more muddy slopes and slippery conditions. But, if other companies follow in Vail’s footsteps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, perhaps ski resorts stand a chance against the global threat of climate change.

Story by Design by Photos by

Kathryn LaLonde Emilie Vigliotta Adam Chazan Miles Grovic Kathryn LaLonde

March 11, 2020

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Features D3

Breaking down the SMOB job Students marginalized on the ballot

By Anika Seth Ashley Thommana Staff Writers Since 1978, the Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB), has served as the students’ voice in all educational issues.

From impacting annual budgets to curriculum changes to food trucks, SMOB is the most powerful position a student can hold in MCPS. In 2016, a bill passed through Maryland legislature making Montgomery County one of two counties in the state where a student member has full voting privileges on the Board of Education—with the exception of negative personnel actions, which include letters of reprimand, suspensions, removals, and demotions.

While the application process is technically open to any sophomore or junior that is regularly enrolled in an MCPS high school, the winners are usually concentrated at schools like Richard Montgomery and BethesdaChevy Chase. Down-County schools like Blair are historically underrepresented. A lack of awareness regarding the application process, especially in this geographic area, is a leading reason for this disparity, according to student government representatives.

The process of becoming SMOB takes months, starting with an application window in January and ending with a general election in April, where middle and high schoolers— except for graduating seniors—vote between two candidates for the upcoming school year.

An essential, and often hidden, part of the campaign is the Nominating Convention, where delegates from all schools across the county gather in the middle of February to select the final two candidates from the initial group. As the SMOB election approaches, let’s take a look at how one reaches this coveted position.

bite visited all 66 middle and high schools, and some more than once.

Step 2: The Nominating Convention

At the culmination of the first wave of campaign season, delegates gather at the annual Nominating Convention to select two candidates for the general election. This year, the Nominating Convention was held at Watkins Mill on Feb. 12, where the two final candidates—juniors Nick Asante from Richard Montgomery and Victoria Kidder from Magruder—were nominated.

Voters at the convention consist of two different bodies. The first is a set of delegates from each school in the county. “Each school is allotted delegates proportionally based on the student size of that school, and that number of delegates is allowed to attend the convention and vote for the candidates,” Vincent says.

Based on Blair’s population of over 3,300 students, 16 voting delegates went to the Nominating Convention this year. Most of these delegates are from the Blair SGA, but any student is permitted to express interest in attending as a voter. If the number of interested students exceeds the number of allotted slots, the SEC mandates that a school-wide election is conducted to determine the delegates.

However, many students aren’t aware of this opportunity. “One thing that I definitely want to do, regardless of whether or not I win, is making sure that students all over the county are aware of how the SMOB process works and the whole nominating conven-

BOBBY PADMORE

TO THE STUDENTS, FOR THE STUDENTS, AND BY THE STUDENTS Candidates at the Nominating Convention hope to garner votes from student delegates. a strong leader,” Vincent says. “It is pretty through those experiences of those schools, it much the candidates that have the best open- is hard to represent them.” ing and closing speeches that will end up beAsante, who currently serves as Tinbite’s ing the two finalists.”

Chief of Staff, explained that Tinbite’s path through Sligo Middle School and John F. Kennedy High School inspired him to advoStep 3: Getting to the gencate for ESOL and lower-income students. eral election “Seeing the school situation [in the DownKidder and Asante will both continue to County] has pushed a lot of the policies that campaign as they approach the April 22 elec- he’s tried to implement,” Asante explains. “A tion day. The winner is then sworn in to the lot of his policies have been focused on giving Board of Education during the summer. lower income students the same opportunities as their higher income peers.”

Aside from balancing the needs of a diverse group, the job is also logistically intensive.

“Once you become the actual SMOB, because you have to go to all the board meetings, all these different hearings, and you still Step 1: The campaigning visit other schools, it gets harder and harder,” period Vincent says.

For the 2020–2021 academic year, 12 stuThe challenge is amplified with these students ran for the coveted position, none of dents having to balance their board responsiwhom were from Blair. The SMOB-hopefuls bilities with the daily tasks of a high schooler. had to be nominated either by themselves or “Most weeks I am putting in 40 hours plus another student to be in the running by Jan. worth of work and it does take a toll on what 24. you have traditionally done as a high school “Any candidate from the county is welstudent,” Tinbite says, explaining that the job come to apply to become the SMOB candicomes with sacrifices, like one’s social life. date by emailing in their application during One of the potential contributors to the the filing period, which happens roughly for noticed geographic disparity in the SMOB the entire month of January,” Camber Vinprocess is how student advocacy efforts are BOBBY PADMORE cent, deputy on the Montgomery County centralized to the upcounty area, where the Regional Student Government Association’s IN IT TO WIN IT Final two candidates, juniors Nick Asante and Victoria Kidder de- Board of Education itself is located. “A lot of livered their speeches at the Nominating Convention on Feb. 12 at Watkins Mill.

Special Election Committee (SEC), says. the county SGA meetings are in Rockville,” SMOB candidates are inspired to run tion,” Asante says. “I know that’s something Nevertheless, reaching this stage has Asante explains. by their personal experience and passion to that a lot of students don’t know about.” proven difficult for Down-County candidates.

For students from other areas of the counThe second body of voters is an executive While applications from Down-County stu- ty, this can limit their access to conversations create change. “I was motivated to run for SMOB because I figured that not only did board from the Montgomery County Region- dents might be prevalent, this doesn’t neces- that concern them.

I want to see change in my school, [and not al SGA. Each of the roughly 100 executive sarily translate into campaign success. “Typi“I visited Paint Branch the other day, and only] did I have frustrations with how I was board members are allotted one vote. cally a lot of the candidates received are from they were talking about how it’s really hard After four-minute opening speeches from Down-County areas,” Vincent says. Howev- for them to get out to Rockville for a meeting going through education, [but] that, that was universal to so many other students,” current the candidates, voters cast their votes and the er, Tinbite, a senior at Kennedy High School, when they also have homework and all this SMOB and John F. Kennedy senior Nate top 50 percent of candidates move on to the is the only DCC student to have advanced to other stuff to do,” Asante adds. second round. “After a short Q&A session, the general election since 2007.

Tinbite says.

The campaign process, however, can of- [candidates] have closing statements,” VinTinbite is the forty-second SMOB. Of all ten be overwhelming for prospective candi- cent says. “[Then] there’s a second round of preceding 41, 12 have been female, and six Step 5: What comes next? dates, deterring many from even applying. voting and the final two candidates are cho- have been students from the DCC. “I am acNot only does the SMOB receive a $5,000 For one, campaigning for the position can sen.” tually the first SMOB in fourteen years who is college scholarship, student service learning Vincent, who has been on the SEC for African-American and from the Down-Coun- hours and one honors-level social studies impact attendance and school work. “One of the toughest things for campaigning to be- four years, notes that voters look for leader- ty,” Tinbite says. credit, Tinbite notes that the position has come the SMOB is the fact that you miss a lot ship skills, which is often conveyed by the given him the opportunity to connect with a of school to do it,” Vincent says. While cam- candidate speeches. “What I think a major- Step 4: Serving the student diverse body of students and professionals.

“Some of the rewards involve me not only paigning in 2019, current SMOB Nate Tin- ity of students look for… is someone who is body engaging with students… from so many vast The role of the SMOB is a hefty responsi- backgrounds [but also] working with profesbility, as the students’ sole representative must sionals and extracting the knowledge that they balance the needs of an increasingly diverse have, working with people who will teach you group. “The biggest challenge is just trying to so much that a high school classroom will make sure that… you’re not overshadowing not,” Tinbite says. or undervaluing anyone’s opinions, because Tinbite originally ran for the position in everyone’s opinion is valid,” Asante says. the hopes to create change in the lives of his Asante furthers that in order to make sure peers, especially those from marginalized that every student’s voice is heard, there is a backgrounds. need for representation from schools across “I thought that instead of the advocacy the county. He notes that the first-hand per- and the activism that I was traditionally used spective Tinbite has from going to a school in to, let’s bring it to the actual work of a board the DCC has enabled him to propose policy member,” Tinbite says. “Let’s change the syssuggestions with the area’s unique situation in tem from the inside out.” mind.

As a result, Asante stresses the importance Tinbite notes that geographic representa- of students from all backgrounds striving to tion isn’t the only form of disparity. “Histori- make their voices heard. “Everyone’s probcally, there has been a lack of representation lems are valid, no matter what place they’re not only by Down-County schools, but by in,” he explains. “Even if you end up not BOBBY PADMORE schools that are on the lowest performing tier winning the election, just the fact that you…

AND THE WINNERS ARE... SEC Administrator Lambia Katsigiannakas annouces the fi- of our district,” Tinbite says. “Until we had brought up these important issues that impact nal two candidates who will participate in April’s general election for the position of SMOB. a student, which is this year, who has been you… benefits everyone in our county.”

March 11, 2020

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Feature D4

Living in lockdown

Millions in China have been quarantined. What do they do now?

By Ishaan Shrestha Senior Writer Where only first names appear, names have been changed to protect the identities of the sources.

The streets of Wuhan, China are deserted. The city of 11 million has been sealed off since Jan. 23, and the quarantine has expanded to the entirety of the Hubei province, affecting almost 60 million people over

(SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), which are related to COVID-19, also known as the Wuhan coronavirus. Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. They may begin occurring between two and 14 days after exposure.

Life in Wuhan

Jane, a biologist working at a pharmaceutical company, was born and raised in Wuhan. Jane lives in Rockville, but her family still lives

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more than 70,000 square miles. The outbreak has since been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO).

While this strain of the coronavirus (SARS CoV-2) has infiltrated numerous countries, Wuhan remains ground zero and has the greatest number of infected people. Under strict quarantine, life inside Wuhan is practically alien to the bustling megacity of just a few months ago.

What is the coronavirus?

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses (that contain potentially lethal strains) usually spread through airborne bodily fluids of infected people and are responsible for most common colds. Some strains include severe acute respiratory syndrome

in Wuhan. They keep in touch through WeChat, a popular Chinese social media network.

As time has passed since the outbreak began around Chinese Lunar New Year, the government has more strictly enforced the quarantine. “The Wuhan city has stopped all transportation, and basically the government has encouraged and forced people to stay home,” Jane says. “They have stayed home for three weeks now. At the very beginning, they were able to go outside, grocery shopping, but [now], everything’s closed.”

The internet has been a massive aide in this time, filling in for vital needs when physically going out has been heavily restricted. “[People in Wuhan] order online: food, veg-

etables, meat,” Jane says. “They pay online and then people can deliver to their community.”

Wuhan’s living complexes are structured as many series of adjacent apartments, which makes buying necessities extremely convenient for them. “There are more than 20 or 30 stores, so they will deliver to the community, and people will have to go downstairs and take it themselves,” she said. “That’s how they get the food supplies right now.”

The quarantine’s restrictions have forced significant adjustments for all levels of the community, as everything must be done inside one’s own home. “You can read the paper, news, and surf online, and watch TV,” Jane says. “I would say because my brother [is] retired, he just does similar things as to what he used to do. Of course, he cannot go outside to exercise; that’s the only limitation for him.”

However, life is quite different for his wife and daughter, whose regularly scheduled activities and lifestyles have been greatly impaired. “My sister-in-law and [her] little girl, they’re more bored, especially the kids that cannot go to school. Right now, I think they’re starting to do online education, where the teacher is basically doing a video call,” Jane says. “It’s not comparable to routine work, but it keeps some study going on.”

Although residents are still trying to retain some semblance of normalcy, it is difficult to overstate the tense fear pervading the city. “People are really scared,” Jane says. “They’re worried because the disease hasn’t reached [its] plateau yet. Every day [there] are newly infected, the number is still climbing up, and deaths are still increasing.”

Government intervention

In late November and early December 2019 when the virus broke

out, the Chinese government was slow to react. Due to the disease’s two-week incubation period, the original contractors of COVID-19 showed no initial symptoms and spread it wherever they went.

Even when symptoms manifested and sick patients arrived at the hospital, they were often falsely diagnosed. “They were diagnosed with a lung infection,” Jane explains.

selves. Also, they don’t have enough [beds] in hospitals.”

The government has since reorganized its outbreak response campaign, now ordering anyone under suspicion of infection to hospitals.

“Six people [in my brother’s building] got light infections, so originally they were staying home to recover by themselves,” Jane says. “Now, even if you have a light infection,

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“Some doctors released the alarm, saying this could be something like SARS, like in 2003.”

Many people believe that the government could have done more to prepare its people. “The government did not really alert enough to really take earlier action. Because of the Lunar New Year, people were traveling around… so that’s why it spread so fast,” she says. “[The Chinese government] underestimated the severity of it. Originally, they thought… it’s not transferable from human to human.”

Much of the Chinese population has taken issue with the government’s complacency. “People started complaining in the media, especially when people with the infection started dying,” Jane says.

“Because the government didn’t react fast, the hospital couldn’t really have enough protection, like masks, so doctors could not protect them-

you have to go to [hospitals for] the quarantine. You cannot stay home.”

This concerted effort has increased consolidation of resources from across the country, as Wuhan is being transformed to care for the ever-mounting number of patients.

“Doctors from all over the country started to come in and help out,” she says. “They actually built new hospitals within 10 days. They occupied some of the studios and dorms in the universities to create a quarantine bed.”

This uptick in efforts has led to the WHO lauding China and President Xi Jinping for their response to the outbreak. “It is clear that there is a massive effort made by China in order to contain the disease and avoid its propagation,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says. “I think the effort is remarkable.”

Chef ’s choice

Alexandria chef brings home-made cooking to the lunch lines

By Khushboo Rathore Senior Writer Each day, hundreds of Blair students walk through the cafeteria lines, waiting for thawed chicken patties, re-heated pizzas, and bagged apple slices. However, just across the Potomac River, Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) is serving students handpicked cheeses, homegrown tomatoes and hand-baked dough in the form of in-house Chicago deep-dish pizza.

In November, ACPS hired Isaiah Ruffin, their first ‘executive chef’; under his direction, the county has become one of the first in the nation to implement ‘from scratch’ cook-

ing in school kitchens.

In the few months that he has worked at ACPS, Ruffin has put cuisine from across the world on the trays of elementary, middle and high schoolers. “I go to five different schools, Monday through Friday and I taste a new dish that’s based on a country,” he says. “January, I did Shepherd’s Pie from England.

February I did Doro Wat from Ethiopia.” But his mission isn’t just to provide new foods for the students.

Ruffin wants to increase student participation in ACPS food programs and wants to reflect the diversity of the student body in his food; ACPS is 37 percent Hispanic

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students and 25 percent black students, many of whom are Ethiopian. “[My goal is] to increase our student engagement whether that’s [by] becoming more environmentally friendly, sourcing more local foods, preparing more things from scratch, [or] really changing our menu to reflect the demographics of our school,” he says.

His sustainably minded practices promote excitement and support for dishes that students may otherwise be reluctant to eat. “I tried catfish on some students and we called it ‘old bay filet,’” he says. “There were some students and they were eating it and they were like ‘It is not our thing but we feel like we should eat it because it’s an invasive species.’”

Ruffin’s takeover of the cafeteria has gone beyond just the food, as he and the high schoolers in ACPS also work together to sort waste. “At the end of the day, [the school] had 650 pounds of waste. From that, we had 250 pounds of food waste,” he notes. “But since we’ve gotten that information, I’ve worked with my director and the facilities [to] start composting here now, [as well as] switching out our styrofoam trays for compostable trays.”

While Ruffin’s changes have positive impacts, he has had to work around budgeted supplies and money. “[To] convert [styrofoam trays] to compostable plates is twice as much, and when you think 16,000 students a day, five days a week, we’re talking $100,000 for such a simple change,” he says.

As a workaround for his costly ambitions, Ruffin has a three year plan to convert ACPS to cooking

BOBBY PADMORE BRINGING HOME THE BACON Chef Ruffin talks to Blair Cafeteria anager Christine Blanton about the ‘from scratch’ lunch initiative in Alexandria City

all meals from scratch. “Next year, I want to introduce one day a week on cooking something from scratch and then the following year, maybe three things,” he explains. “After that, go full on.”

While ACPS has been pioneering these new practices, schools like Blair do not have the manpower to create multiple meals from scratch.

Although extremely short-staffed, Blair Cafeteria Manager Christine Blanton still manages to provide students with breakfast, five lunch options, and a dinner service. Some food, including the chicken patties and pizzas, comes in pre-made, but once the staff arrives at 5:30 a.m., they are constantly working to get the other meals like Thai chicken, french fries, and hamburgers ready. “[It takes] four and a half hours,”

Blanton says.

When the already small staff— four fewer people than necessary—is down another person, they have no one to substitute for them, making it more difficult to cover the stations.

“I think [students] don’t realize how it impacts when someone takes off,” Blanton says. “When we’re short, that hurts us because now we’re playing catch-up,” she says.

Ruffin echoes this sentiment, as he sees the undervaluing of kitchen staff as contributing to the lack of concern for the nutrition of students. “In our country, we tend to think of food as a second thought,” he explains. “Our teachers get paid way [more] than our cafeteria workers, but the things you put into your body are just as important as [what] you put in your mind.”

D5 Features

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March 11, 2020

After the bell: night classes at Blair

After Blair students depart for the day, a different batch of students claims their seats

By Oliver Goldman Staff Writer “Intelligence plus character, that is the value of true education.”

Martin Luther King Jr.’s words are printed on a poster that hangs by the door of classroom 138 at Blair. A tattered “Family of Functions” booklet lays strewn across the floor and a foam block of cheddar cheese——an homage to the Green Bay Packers——dangles from the whiteboard. Students file in. They open their textbooks and turn their attention toward the teacher. Class is in session.

“Okay, ready?” Jannet Hughes asks the class. “Section A this time.”

She starts class like she always does: reviewing the homework from the class before. She reads phrases from a page in the textbook and waits for students to recite them back to her. As she does, she surveys the room, leaning over students’ desks to encourage their participation.

High schoolers are long gone for the day. Four hours have passed since the final bell rang, liberating students to bus home, meander across the street to Starbucks, or make their way down Blair Boulevard for basketball practice.

Now a different group of students fill their seats, eager to learn.

They are enrolled in the Adult ESOL and Literacy Program (AELG)——a federally funded initiative offered to adult English language learners through Montgomery College.

The program is divided into six different levels of instruction. At Blair’s site, Beginner One through Intermediate Two are available to students. The curriculum is geared toward giving students basic English skills that can be utilized at work, specific job opportunities, or eventually on one of Montgomery College’s main campuses.

“Students in the program are Montgomery College students,” program coordinator Emma Wilson says. “The program has supports in place to help students identify what [students’] skills are, what challenges life may present, what their goals are, and how to attain those goals.”

It is up to students to set their own goals and forge their own path to meet them, Wilson explains; the program just grounds students and puts them on the track to get there. “It is always one-step at a time,” she says.

“SILLY TEACHER” Beginner One teacher Jannet Hughes (left) ous night’s homework. Every once in a while, Hughes loses her been able to get previously.

From the basics to hadn’t “The good thing is that it’s never beyond too late to go to school,” she says.

Napo Gbandi, who is currently Estep immigrated to America from taking the Beginner Two class, is Côte d’Ivoire in 1995 hoping to get well aware that learning and ad- an American education, but was vancing is a process. Eventually, he denied that opportunity. “When I hopes to work his way through the came here I was supposed to go to program and enroll in traditional school, but the place where I was college classes at Montgomery Col- didn’t allow me [to].”

The AELG program opened lege. But right now, he’s just trying to grasp the basics of English.

It’s not Gdande’s first time learning the language. In fact, the classes “The good thing is that have made him recollect some of his experiences learning English it’s never too late to go in Togo, the West African nation to school.” where he was born. “The program makes me remember what I [stud- Yaova Estep ied] in my country,” he says. With a fresh chance to learn again, Gdande hopes to seize the opportunity and master the language once and for all. the door for her to finally enter the Gdande’s experience is only one classroom, and she hopes to use in a room brimming with diverse the opportunity to continue her edbackgrounds, stories, and motiva- ucation. “When I master English, I tions. Yaova Estep, another student want to go to college——Montgomin the program, explains that she ery College,” she says.

Many of the students enrolled was inspired by a fresh chance at an education——something that she in the program have their sights set

CHRISTINA CHEN

surveys the room as her students read aloud the previspot in the book and the class erupts in smiles and laughter. on Montgomery College, but there not required to be in my class but is not one typical path to get there. want to be there,” she says. “This is For example, some students have a priority for them and they make law and masters degrees from their a lot of sacrifices to be here, so it’s countries of origin and are simply just great to help them learn Englooking for English language profi- lish so that they can succeed and ciency, whereas others are truly be- function better in this country.”

Being in an environment with ginning learners. Many aren’t even sure of what they want out of the these committed and inspired individuals has changed the way Okun program just yet.

“As an adult seeking to improve carries herself outside the classyour skills and participate in edu- room. “I thought I understood and cational programs, it is not always was sensitive to people’s needs,” easy to determine what you want she says, “but the more you get to to do,” Wilson says. “Your path know individuals who are trying to is likely determined by immediate make their way in our complicated need, [such as] employment, feed- and bureaucratic world, [the more ing family, or supporting your kids’ sensitive you become].”

Hughes, who taught middle education.” and high school in the past, also ‘It’s that true ver- expresses that teaching in the prosion of the American gram has been especially challenging and rewarding. “They are so Dream’ For Susan Okun, an Intermedi- inspiring, they really want it, and I ate Two instructor in the program have to be so much more creative and a teacher for more than twenty and meet them at their level and years, teaching this population of encourage and cajole them to put in students has been unique and im- more work,” she says. Their desire pactful. “For the first time in my to learn and succeed in America is life, I’m teaching students who are tangible, she explains. “It’s that true version of the American Dream… so despite how painful and crazy life in America can be, they appreciate [their education] and they work hard for it.”

The site mentor for the program and Blair ESOL teacher Brenna Matthews says that her favorite part is seeing the students develop their English skills and incorporate them into their lives. “They have so much fun here,” she says. “They communicate with each other, they make new friends, and they’re able to talk to their kids.”

Estep appreciates how being a student has contributed to one of those things in particular——being able to talk and relate to her son, who is an elementary school student. “I can tell my son that I’m going to school [and] it motivates him,” she says. “Sometimes he’s asking me: ‘What are you doing?

Did you do your homework?’ because I’m always a little behind.”

Estep also notes that the high school students who occupy the building during the day cross her mind. She ponders the duality of student and adult learners.

“Sometimes,” she says, “I’m even thinking who’s sitting at this seat [during the day] when I’m sitTHE NIGHT SHIFT Blair’s ALEG students occupy the same seats as high schoolers and learn from similar beginner vocabulary workbooks. ting here in class.”

March 11, 2020

silverchips

Little libraries tell big stories

Features D6

How a local book-based nonprofit spreads literature around the world

By Sarah McKinzie Staff Writer Scattered on street corners, standing at the edges of front lawns, ornamenting the porches of homes and establishments all around Maryland, and, in fact, all around the world, more than 90,000 birdhouse-sized libraries are providing books to their communities.

Over the past decade, Free Little Libraries, the organization that registers these miniature bookstands, has grown into a massive nonprofit operating in 91 countries with the aim of making literature accessible for all.

These little boxes stand tall in the front yards of many current and former Blazers.

Since the nonprofit’s establishment in 2009, they have been popping up in the streets and communities surrounding Blair. Karen Nelson has been a library caretaker or “steward,” as Little Free Libraries calls them, for over three years.

“I had seen them around this neighborhood,” Nelson says, “and I had a friend… her neighborhood had way more than we did. So it just seemed like we needed more of them over in this part of Four Corners.”

From home fronts in Takoma Park to youth libraries in Syktyvkar, Russia, books are changing hands through these little boxes—and often, a piece of individual meaning is nestled into them along with the literature.

For longtime library steward Laura Frye, that piece of meaning is quite literal—the door to her little library is a replica of the door of her childhood home. The meticulously painted plywood box, covered in images of Belu and Clifford, a teapot in one corner and a little boy reading under an oak tree in another, is not only a library but also a memorial to Frye’s late mother, a former school librarian.

“My mother was just a warm, wonderful, funny woman,” Frye says. “She loved kids.

She loved animals. And she absolutely loved

to read and instilled that in my generation and then also in the next generation.” On the top shelf of the little book house, painted in long, looping cursive, is a favorite phrase of the memorialized librarian: “I saved this just for you.”

Melanie Roberts, just across the Potomac River in Arlington, is another steward who dedicated her library to a woman who spent her life educating through literature. “My grandmother was a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Southern Illinois,” Roberts says. “She helped teach kids how to read, and she met my grandfather because of their mutual love for books.”

Library stewards like Frye and Roberts often see visitors stopping by to look through the eclectic collection of literature, from children’s books for the neighborhood kids to Shakespeare and Twain.

“My favorite day,” Melissa Ferguson, library steward of four years, says, “was the day that the afterschool program at Forest Knolls elementary [visited]; [they] sprawled all over our yard, with books… that was really cute.”

The libraries’ book exchange does not only harbor kids’ books, however. As Silver Spring resident and library steward of three years Jenny Moglin recalls, “I think the most unusual book was ‘A Lesbian’s Guide to Pregnancy.’ We had, like, guide books to Cambodia… some pretty obscure things.”

Across the world in Kumagaya City, Japan, about half a mile outside of Tokyo, Shinya Tsushima stewards a little free library in the shade of an olive orchard. “Workers of our olive orchard read books after lunch or during a short break,” Tsushima says. “Visitors to our orchard also have a look through the little free library… [it] is the gathering and connecting spot where people can… read and talk. I think it has a very positive impact on our community.”

The testimonies of these stewards speak to the astounding growth of Little Free Libraries, which went from a simple idea to a

DELIA MORAN

NEW BOOKS ON THE BLOCK A little free library in Takoma Park invites neighbors to look through its collection of taken and left literature. global nonprofit in just over a decade. The founding member Todd Bol planted the first little free library on a post in his front yard, in memoriam of his mother, in 2009. It took a little over three years for the organization to be a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit with over 4,000 libraries, a trifling amount compared to the present 90,000 registered libraries and countless unregistered boxes across the globe.

There is still a question, however, of accessibility. According to the Little Free Libraries world map, these libraries seem to congregate in middle- and upper-class suburbs where reading accessibility is not lacking in the least. For an organization whose goal is spreading the accessibility of literature, Little Free Libraries seems to have a model of distribution heavily reliant on the middle class.

They have, however, attempted to make

their organization more accessible through a program called the Impact Library Program, which,“provide[s] no-cost Little Free Library book exchanges to communities where books are scarce,” according to the LFL website. And as of today, the program has provided 1,000 libraries, roughly one-ninetieth of libraries currently registered, paid for through donations made to the organization.

As memorials, statements of love, and places where communities can share the books of their childhood, old age, or anything in between, it is clear that the mission of the organization—“[to] inspire a love of reading, build community, and spark creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world”—is accompanied by a deeply felt personal and communal joy. “I think it gives people a place to share things,” Moglin says.

“And I think that’s a great idea.”

March 11, 2020

silverchips

E1 Culture International Newsbriefs

Lift every voice and sing

Coronavirus spreads globally

A family-focused Sankofa show

New cases of coronavirus have been reported in at least 97 countries including the US, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Iran, France.

As of Mar. 9, more than 110,200 cases of coronavirus have been reported, resulting in at least 3,835 deaths.

Most of the cases have originated in China, but for the first time since the start of the outbreak, more new cases are being reported in the rest of the world than in China according to the New York Times.

As the number of new cases in China drops, the outbreak seems to be shifting to Europe, especially Italy.

Italy reported 7,375 cases as of Mar. 9, a dramatic increase from the 400 cases reported on Feb. 26.

The global economy has taken a hit because of coronavirus as factories have shut down and businesses have seen decreasing revenue. The last week of February was one of the worst weeks for global markets since the 2008 financial crisis, and stocks have continued to suffer in recent weeks.

UK leaves EU The UK officially exited the EU on Jan. 31, leaving free trade negotiations between Britain and the EU unresolved. Currently, Britain is in an 11-month transition period during which it will continue to abide by EU regulations.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised that the departure will be complete by the end of the transition period, Dec. 31, which means that a new trade agreement will have to be negotiated quickly. If an agreement is not made by the time the transition period ends, Britain will face the possibility of tariffs and other trade barriers placed by the EU. In June 2016, a referendum showed that 52 percent of British people voted to leave the EU and 48 percent voted to remain, prompting the eventual exit.

The departure was first scheduled for Mar. 29, 2019 but was delayed multiple times.

Johnson called an early election in December, which resulted in the Conservative Party gaining enough seats to pass his Brexit legislation.

Omar al-Bashir to appear before International Criminal Court Sudanese rulers have agreed to hand over former president Omar alBashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC), where he will face trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Sudan’s military campaign in Darfur. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed in the Darfur genocide between 2003 and 2019.

As part of talks between the Sudanese government and Darfur’s rebel movement, Sudan’s ruling sovereign council announced that all those with ICC arrest warrants would appear before the court.

The ICC first issued a warrant for al-Bashir’s arrest in 2009 for his war crimes in Darfur, issuing a second warrant in 2010. Bashir refused to recognize the authority of the court. He cannot be tried by the ICC until he is arrested and transferred to the court, as the ICC does not try individuals unless they are present in the courtroom.

He was ousted from power in April 2019 after his 30-year dictatorship. He is currently in prison in Sudan and was sentenced to two years in a reform facility in December.

International Newsbriefs compiled by Rekha Leonard

By Rekha Leonard

up to 1619—the year the first African slaves were brought to North America—through dance. DancAfter experiencing this year’s ers showcased a traditional AfriSankofa show, one word in particu- can piece and danced to Che Che lar comes to mind: family. From Koolay, a folksong from Ghana, black communities’ desire to feel before a group of white-masked unified to the value they place on strangers appeared behind them learning about one’s ancestry, this and began to forcibly remove them intimate form of community is an from the stage in the “kidnapping essential part of black culture that scene.”

Sankofa sought to convey.

To honor the lives lost in the “This year, our goal was not to Middle Passage, vocalists sang “Jejust sing and dance: It was really sus Walks” as sophomore dancer to tell people the history of what it Camille Wyatt struggled to keep has meant to be African American from drowning under sheets of in this country, but specifically the blue water. Wyatt choreographed story of how we got here,” Sankofa the dance herself but allowed her director and English teacher Mi- emotion to guide the dance each chelle Elie says. “We had lives and night. full communities and families way “You don’t [fully] choreograph before we got here.” it; you kind of just do it and see For many black people, the val- where the music takes you,” she ue of community comes from their says. “Sometimes you feel where history of being separated in the you should catch a moment and hold a position or you want to try something different that you might have thought of the night before, so it really varies on just what you feel.”

As the family reunion part of the show began and the actors playing the Robinson family spoke about the ESTHER TANG events of 1619, seJAZZ IT UP Blazers add some jazz to nior Mahlet Tedla the show with a saxaphone interlude came out and stood alone unUS. “Because we have been so scat- der a light in the middle of a dark tered, we have this dream of being stage to give what would be one of united; and we want to be united; the most emotional and impactful and we make efforts to be united,” speeches of the show.

Elie says.

“My speech was based on the As the show opened, the audi- 1619 project by Nicole Hannah ence was met with a powerful rep- Jones, and it was basically talking resentation of the events leading about… how America has tricked Staff Writer

African Americans and prioritized enslavement rather than independence,” Tedla says.

Tedla was surprised by how emotional she became while delivering her speech.

“I started tearing up while I was backstage [during reESTHER TANG hearsal], and SAY IT PROUD Faith Bentley recites the poem I was like, ‘What is this “Ancestors Never Sleep” during the show emotion?’” she Although Elie’s involvement and says. “Ms. Elie… was happy about it. She was like, ‘That’s what we many other parts of the show may needed; that’s where the show’s go- change next year, audiences will ing to be moving people; we need recognize a few familiar aspects of people to cry; we need to take it Sankofa, such as the gospel medley, that will remain for many years to that far.’”

Aside from its role in the ac- come.

Gospel music is an important part tual content of the show, family was relevant to the cast this year as of black history in America, and the Sankofa director Michelle Elie pre- gospel medley has become a Sankofa pared to welcome her first child. staple. The entire cast lined up on the “Everybody keeps saying, ‘You’re stage dressed in all black to sing three going to be such a good mom,’ Elie lively gospel songs led by senior and says. “This is my first parenting student director DeAndre Johnson.

“The gospel Medley is always goexperience, teaching and directing ing to be in Sankofa because there’s the show.”

Because Elie is unsure what her always some element of church in life will look like next year, her fu- black culture,” Elie says. “I do think ture with Sankofa is a bit unclear. that there’s an element of Christian“I’m having a baby, and I don’t ity in black culture that’s cultural… so know if I’m going to be doing the that’s why you see the gospel medshow next year,” Elie says. “I want ley and some church scene in every to, but I have to put my family first.” Sankofa.”

The final, culminating moment of Even if Elie does take a step back next year, she will always be Sankofa sees the entire cast leading part of Sankofa. “This is part of the audience in singing the black namy purpose, so I have no problem tional anthem “Lift Every Voice and stepping out for a couple years or a Sing.” The feelings of unity and famyear or something like that to grow ily were palpable throughout the aua family and then coming back to dience as hundreds of voices joined together to fill the auditorium. the show,” she says.

The sober reality of drunk riding from RIDESHARE page A1

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Lyft with the Washington Regional Alcohol Program.

“Don’t look for a reason to drive when there are so many reasons to ride,” one MADD video warns.

In the end, whether or not to pick up drunk passengers when they see them comes down to each driver’s personal judgement.

“I work security, so I get used to looking at people,” says West. “It’s tough. You just [have to] do the best you can.”

Further complicating matters, passengers often hesitate to travel alone in rideshare vehicles, and those fears can be exacerbated when the passenger is drunk—with less control, the passenger is at a higher risk. High-profile news of assaults in rideshares have heightened those anxieties.

Yet despite the attention they generate, allegations of assault were reported in less than 0.001 percent of rides taken in 2017 and 2018 in the US, according to a report released by Uber. Of those cases, only about half accused the driver of assaulting the passenger rather than the other way around.

Of course, being assaulted or harassed in a rideshare is still a legitimate worry, but those concerns may be blown out of proportion.

“What happens is [the reports] end up being sensationalized,”

says Alyssa Lederer, who does work related to sexual violence at Tulane University. “All things considered, if someone’s drinking, it’s way safer to use a rideshare than to try to get home another way.”

The attention that the attacks have garnered, however, means that passengers worry, even when sober and in control of their reflexes. Sophomore Abby Esquivel, who rides Uber three times a week with her cousin, has seen the reports. “[They are] probably one of the reasons why I really don’t ride alone,” she says.

Being drunk poses a whole new set of risks. “Alcohol is the drug of choice for sexual predators,” Sally Kenney, who—like Lederer—researches sexual assault at Tulane, says.

“People always need to be aware of how alcohol increases their vulnerability and how sexual predators use alcohol to disable their victims.”

Sometimes, people in rideshares put themselves in extremely

vulnerable situations. “[I had an] 18-year-old girl in my car, and she [was] drunk,” West says. “I don’t know what happened to her earlier [that night], and I don’t know what’s going to happen after I drop her off.”

JENNIFER HU

He takes precautions to reassure his passengers, making a point of letting them know when he deviates from the directions on the Uber app, so they know he is not taking them somewhere dangerous. He also worries over whether his most intoxicated passengers can tell what is happening in the car and wants to make sure that he is protected from any accusations.

Because of that, he is considering installing a camera inside his car, just so that he has video evidence if necessary.

Collins, the D.C. area driver, has given thought to this as well, especially when it comes to driving female passengers.

“My goal would just be stay on the course that the screen is giving me, and if they suggest a different course, we’ll take that course,” he says. “My goal is just to get you in and out of my car as quickly as possible.”

Always on display

By Khayla Robinson Staff Writer

The year is 2004; it’s Superbowl Sunday. The Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots are battling on the field while audiences await Janet Jackson’s performance during the halftime show. Quarter two ends, and now the show is on. Everything is going great—the crowd is roaring, light and sound effects are coating the fields, and Jackson appears to be having a great time. A couple minutes pass, and Justin Timberlake has just entered the stage as a surprise guest.

Both artists interact with each other, adding onto each others vocals.

The crowd roars in excitement until something happens: Jackson’s wardrobe malfunctions, exposing a part of her body. The screen goes dark for a couple seconds as the media goes wild. The fraction of a second that exposed part of her body also hindered part of her career.

From everyday attire to expressions about body confidence in performances and songs, women have long faced criticism for the ways they carry themselves and what they choose to wear for events like the halftime shows or the Grammys. While some may wear more while others wear less, the reason behind these decisions lie in personal preference and what people are most comfortable in.

Culture E2

silverchips

March 11, 2020

The sexualization of women performers

Exhibit A: everyday wear. Although 18-year-old singer and songwriter Billie Eilish is notable for her songs “Ocean Eyes,” “Bad Guy,” and others, she is also known for wearing clothing that is particularly big. This results in her receiving many negative comments, as many view it as unappealing.

However, in a few interviews, she revealed that it was so people don’t sexualise her. According to Seventeen Magazine, in a Calvin Klein ad Eilish mentioned that when she wears baggy clothing, no one can judge what’s underneath.

“Nobody can have an opinion because they haven’t seen what’s underneath. Nobody can be like, ‘she’s slim-thick,’ ‘she’s not slimthick,’” Eilish said in the ad. “No one can say any of that because they don’t know.”

Not only are women scrutinized about daily attire, but they’re also critiqued for what they wear or do during their performances.

Exhibit B: halftime shows.

During Superbowl 54, Shakira Mebarak Ripoll and Jennifer Lopez teamed up to perform at Hard Rock Stadium, located in Miami Gardens, Florida. Through latinastyled dancing and music, Lopez and Mebarak Ripoll showcased flowy dresses and jeweled leotards that aligned with their vision.

Although they received some positive feedback, many people bashed their performance, claim-

Additionally, Jackson’s career ing it was inappropriate for chilbegan to suffer, as her album dren to view.

Even some female students at Damita Jo received its lowest sale Blair have experienced this kind rates in 20 years. Jackson was even of scrutiny. While participating in forced to withdraw from performa theatre show, junior Molly How- ing at the Grammys. On the other ard recalled feeling enraged when hand, Timberlake’s album sales she witnessed a cast member be- skyrocketed, and he performed ing shamed for what she was wear- at the Grammys, receiving two ing. “My choreographer just like… awards.

Women’s Studies teacher Ansnapped and yelled at her—and the choreographer’s a woman. She drea Maples believes that these was like, ‘What’s with all of you incidents highlight the problem guys wearing crop tops? Cover with the media: Women are chastised regardless of what they do. up!’” Howard said.

Let’s rewind back to 2004 with “Women are often criticized if Jackson and Timberlake. Before they choose to wear clothes that are the wardrobe malfunction, the more revealing, and they’re also overall vision was this: Timberlake criticized if they wear clothes that would pull a piece connecting to are not revealing enough… there’s Jackson’s top that would reveal a not always a happy medium. red bralette. However, when he pulled the piece, Jackson’s breast cup ripped off as well, exposing her right breast.

According to Rhiannon Walker, writer for the online publication The Undefeated, Michael Powell, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, stated the FCC received 540,000 complaints about Janet Jackson’s breast, more than they normally handle. Not only did they receive complaints, but a bipartisan bill was passed in 2006 that raised the maximum fine for incidents relating to inSHASHI decency from $32,500 to a ARNOLD whopping $325,000.

You get criticism on both sides,” she said.

Although societal standards of how women should carry themselves pose many challenges for women—especially those in the public eye—feminism’s growing presence at the forefront of American social and political discourse fuels hope for a better future.

Freshman Anna Uehlein believes that this better future for women is on the horizon.

“I think we’re definitely getting there with… the #MeToo Movement [and] just… the whole feminist movement that’s really strong today,” Uehlein said. “We’re definitely moving forward, but… there’s a lot more work that needs to be done.”

soapbox

“I do believe female performers are held to different standards and [are] criticized differently which isn’t right. Both male and female performers should be held to the same standard. ” — Sarthak Bhatnagar, senior

E3 Culture

March 11, 2020

silverchips

A lifelong career in teaching

Interviewing the former secretary of education

By Abednego Togas

John B. King Jr. is the President and CEO of The Education Trust, a national non-profit organization dedicated to closing achievement gaps in education. He previously served under the Obama administration as the tenth Secretary of Education. King is also a Blair parent. This interview was edited for length and clarity.

What was it like working in the Obama Administration as the Secretary of Education?

It was an honor of a lifetime to be able to serve the country as Secretary of Education, and it was a fantastic experience to work with President Obama. President Obama is deeply committed to educational excellence and equity and personally knows the importance of great educational experiences in preserving and protecting the American dream. So, he was incredibly passionate about the work that we were doing at the Education Department.

From that experience, how has your understanding of American education expanded?

When you’re in a role at the federal level, you really have to think carefully about the diversity of schools across the country, from highly-urban communities to school districts that are in very rural areas of the country that in some ways have very similar challenges, but in other ways face very different challenges.

You have to engage with the unique issues that young people confront living on Native American reservations, you have to think about the issues that affect students who have just arrived in the country, and immigrants and refugees. The scope of issues is incredibly broad when you’re working at a federal level.

How did you realize that you wanted to pursue a career in education?

Schools played a hugely important role in my life. Both of my parents were New York City Public Schools educators, and they both passed away when I was a kid. My mom passed away when I was eight, my dad when I was 12. And so school played this absolutely pivotal role in creating an environment that was safe, supportive, structured, nurturing, engaging.

There was a period when I lived with my father, who was quite sick with undiagnosed Alzheimer’s. It was just the two of us in the house and home could be scary and really difficult. But school was a place where I could be a kid. I also had these fantastic academic experiences that really shaped who I am and helped me to survive a really difficult period.

When I was in college, I started volunteering, teaching civics in schools in Boston and running summer and afterschool programs.

I love being able to try to do for other kids what teachers have done for me, so I became a high school social studies teacher and then a middle school principal. I still love teaching— I actually teach at the University of Maryland, College Park so that I have a way to stay connected to the classroom.

How do you view restorative justice initiatives? How do you feel is the best way to handle disciplinary action?

It’s really about making sure that schools are places that support students’ academic growth and their socio-emotional growth.

The strength of a strong restorative justice program is that it creates an opportunity for students to learn from the choices that they’ve made, and to grow as a result.

If students are struggling with a social en-

Blazers of Note You are climbing in the car on an early morning, but in a wave of sleepy clumsiness, you happen to drop your keys under the seat.

If only your arm could bend that way—but it can’t. Fortunately, this is not a problem for contortionist sophomore Leigh Satrom.

Naturally flexible, Satrom first began to test her limits during eighth grade. The following year, she further committed to developing her flexibility by sticking to a daily schedule, stretching every day after school and on weekends.

Her interest grew with her introduction to Cirque du Soleil. Throughout her freshman year, Satrom was enchanted by the talent possessed by these world-renowned performers.

“I was obsessed with it: I would always like to watch the behind the scenes stuff,” she says.

“I watched so many documentaries about it.”

This summer, Satrom and her father experienced a Cirque du Soleil show in real life, allowing Satrom to uncover her love for the uniqueness of and individuality expressed by contortionists. “It’s like a superpower of sorts.

It’s not something that most people can do,” she says. “It was really magical just watching it, paired with music… it was really beautiful.”

Recently, Satrom participated in the Girl Up Talent Show. It was her first performance, and the beginner’s nerves caused her to freeze-up during rehearsal the day before.

ESTHER TANG

Lintaro Donovan

Staff Writer

But at the end of it all, Satrom felt a sense of accomplishment for expressing herself in front of others. After seeing her perform, her parents offered to pay for professional lessons and to sign her up for a circus camp over spring break.

For her contortionism, Satrom draws inspiration from many past Cirque Du Soleil shows. But she is also inspired by paintings, songs, and other art forms that lead her to create new choreography. “I’ll recreate [the artwork] and then I like to come up with choreography that matches that or [a] particular song or something,” she says. “I’ll usually find a theme or a message and try to build a character around that and see what they would do.”

For the future, Satrom dreams of joining Cirque Du Soleil as a contortionist. Connected to a network of trapeze artists and gymnasts through her Instagram account, Satrom continues to build her identity as a contortionist, motivating herself every day to work harder and persevere. “It’s motivating to reach new steps and stuff and seeing your body becomes stronger and marked progress,” she says.

Satrom continues to be moved by the boldness of her art and admires its effect on others. “It inspires other people to do more and do what’s not normal and not be worried about that,” she says.

This past summer, senior Lintaro Donovan found himself in a world of surprises.

He, along with approximately 50 other passionate youth governors, was whisked away on a private tour of the White House, introduced to Sean Spicer, and heard Kellyanne Conway speak.

Donovan first became interested in politics during the 2016 election. Surprised

by Donald Trump’s campaign announcement, he followed the election and was later shocked at the consequences of low turnout.

“I realized politics doesn’t have to be boring,” he says. “Politics is active—it matters.”

When he was a sophomore, Donovan participated in CAP Congress, which prompts students to act like Congress members for a week, writing bills in attempts to pass legislation. This experience fueled his interest in politics and civic engagement, and he soon became involved with the YMCA’s Youth and Government program. “I was with these people who cared about state issues and solving issues through policy as

Courtesy of the Education Trust

vironment and with social interactions, ultimately what you want is for school to provide them with support that helps them to get better at those interactions. That’s really the spirit behind restorative justice programs.

What is the purpose of The Education Trust and what change do you hope it’ll bring to the future of education?

Our mission is to advance educational equity for low-income students and students of color. We are working to make sure that all students have access to quality early childhood education, all students have access to strong and diverse teachers, all students have access to a rich, well-rounded curriculum, all students have access to school counselors, all students have access to quality post-secondary education.

We do research on opportunity gaps that face low-income students and students of color. We do research on schools and colleges that are getting better outcomes for lowincome students of color and the practices they use. And we do advocacy based on that research in partnership with other civil rights organizations at the federal level and at the state level.

By Abby Brier

Staff Writer

By Teddy Beamer Columnist Masala chai, better known in English as “chai tea,” has been enjoyed for thousands of years. Originally from India, it is a rich and aromatic mixture of cinnamon, peppercorn, and black tea leaves, along with a variety of other spices that create a flavor profile so desired that wars were fought over it.

This cycle, I explored local cafes and coffee shops’ modern take on this ancient beverage with the chai latte.

Takoma Bev Co.

On a cold February morning, Takoma Bev Co. was just where I wanted to be.

Packed yet cozy, Bev Co. provides a unique cafe environment that got me in the mood for a nice cup of tea. Though the line inside stretched to the door, my chai latte was ready in five minutes, and five minutes later it was gone.

Although the texture of the foam was superb, the latte lacked the tea’s signature punch. Maybe I just like my tea strong, but its faint flavor, bordering on bland, was just disappointing. Despite tasting more like water than tea, its presentation was very strong.

The chai’s color was a gorgeous shade of tan, presented in a gray paper cup with the Bev Co. logo printed neatly on the side. Unfortunately, this aesthetically pleasing cup was not enough to make up for the unsatisfactory tea.

Another disappointing aspect of this latte was its size and price. $4.50 is not an unexpected or uncommon price for a latte, but for a small paper cup of watery chai, I found it pretty overpriced.

2/5 stars

Zed’s Cafe

Leigh Satrom

Filled with paintings for sale on the walls, soft lo-fi playing in the background, and comfy couches you could almost fall asleep in, Zed’s Cafe in Downtown Silver Spring is a popular spot for people to get work done or just hang out. The coffeehouse/cafe aesthetic immediately impresses you as you walk in, making you want to just sit and stay a while while you enjoy your drink.

Evident through Zed’s, the cafe experience is made by more than just the drink; its environment is important as well. Zed’s Cafe, in my opinion, provides the peak coffeeshop experience.

The first thing I noticed when I got my mug of chai was the temperature. Before even putting the mug to my lips I knew that the drink was not very hot. Normally this is a good thing, because you can start drinking right away without worrying about burning your tongue, but this cup was just below the perfect temperature, closer to lukewarm than hot.

A little spicier than most chai, this latte had a strong and bold flavor, but not one that was off-putting or overpowering. It also wasn’t overly sweet, a common flaw that I have noticed with chai lattes. The foam was another highlight of the latte, frothy and light as a cloud. Lukewarm as it was, this latte was otherwise perfect.

4/5 stars

4/5 stars

much as I did,” Donovan says. “It was incredibly empowering.”

Throughout his participation in the program, Donovan has been able to practice many of the essential skills for becoming a successful politician and an open-minded citizen. “Through this program, I became a stronger debater and public speaker, but also a kinder one—someone who could understand and sympathize with the opinions of people who are different from me,” he says.

Now as a leader in the program, Donovan hopes to pass these values on to new participants. “We’re doing it so kids get the experience of being not just a subject of government, but someone in government,” he says. “They get the experience of being a politician at a young age, and in that way, they learn how they can make change even as a young person, even as a student.”

During his time in the program, Youth and Government has grown immensely, both within Blair and across the state. “My

first year we were at 141 people. Now we’re almost at 260,” he says. “We were at [11] schools; I think this year, we’re at like 17 schools.”

Donovan plans to include politics in his future by participating in college student government and starting a legislative advocacy club. “We’ll organize students and get them to lobby for legislation on Capitol Hill, or in my college town, or in the State House of whatever state I’m living in,” he says.

With the friends he has made from across the country and across political ideologies, Donovan stays engaged and continues to learn more about politics all the time. He hopes that students stay engaged in politics because of the power they hold in the system and the field’s career opportunities.

“Politics is one of those fields of possibility,” he says. “If you have the passion, you have the drive, and you have the charisma and will to make people believe in you, you can pretty much accomplish anything that you set your mind to.”

COURTESY OF LEIGH SATROM

March 11, 2020

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March 11, 2020

Compiled by Aviva Bechky, Simran Thakkar

In Silver Chips’ 82nd year, we will continue the tradition of our dear predecessors by going through our archives and finding the best, most timely, and most local stories. Without further ado, some of our favorites.

Egyptian Jew recalls past

By Naomi Richfield February 13, 1973

JOE NEIL

NOVEMBER 1968 The Blair devil sits atop a float in the homecoming parade

“It was like coming out of a box,” re- hundred Jewish families remaining in Egypt. marked Blair senior Gabie Massouda, refer- They are mostly elderly people. “There were ring to her departure from Egypt about two no Jews my age. I think I was the youngest years ago. Gabie, a Jew from Egypt, has only Jew in Cairo,” said Gabie. Most of her life Gabie never had any friends her own age. bitter memories of her life in Cairo.

The only time Gabie enjoyed in Egypt According to Gabie, life for Jews in Egypt was miserable, especially after the 1967 Ar- was when she could meet with other Jews in ab-Israeli War. “It became worse and worse. synagogue every Saturday. Nevertheless, GaNo public or private school would accept bie cited a constant fear of Arabs who might Jews or even Christians. I lost two years of want to overtake the synagogue anytime they school. There were no jobs for Jews. It was pleased. Otherwise Jews never met. It was very bad, very bad,” she commented. In ad- forbidden for several Jewish families to live dition to having their basic rights denied, Ga- together in the same community.

Before 1967, Gabie’s family listened to a bie added that Jews were openly assaulted in the streets. As she walked home from school, London radio station which provided them young boys would insult her and throw water with uncensored news.

“There were all lies on the [Egyptian] raon her.

Gabie explained that when the 1967 war dio. There was no truth,” Gabie remarked.

Until the 1967 war, her broke out, all Jewish men seventeen or older "It became worse and family was able to avoid the constant propaganda were imprisoned. They the Egyptian media, remained in prison for worse. No public or of and thus never doubted two years where they were beaten, tortured, private school would Israel’s actions.

Before entering the and given no food for accept Jews or even United States, Gabie’s long periods of time. had to live for one Jews cannot leave Christians. I lost two family year in Paris, France.

Egypt when they want The United States has no to, noted Gabie, beyears of school." diplomatic relations with cause government policy Egypt; thus, in order to changes so often. One - Gabie Massouda enter the U.S., one must month they are allowed stay for a certain amount to leave, for several months they are not. If a Jewish family is of time in a country which does have relagranted permission to depart Egypt, it cannot tions with this country. Gabie enjoyed her sell anything and cannot bring any savings stay in Paris very much. “People were nice; or jewels out of the country. There is a very there were many Jews. I was very happy. small organization associated with the Egyp- There was much liberty,” she noted.

Gabie felt very welcome when she, in tion government which helps Jews to leave the country by providing airplane tickets and mid-July 1972, arrived in Washington where some necessary money. The organization some of her relatives live. “I’m very happy to cannot always operate, however, since its ex- be here,” she commented. Gabie had never istence depends upon the government policy gone to school with boys before and had to adjust to the great deal of freedom she feels at the time.

Gabie estimated that there are about one students at Blair have.

Teacher opinions limited in class discussions

By Sarah Peller December 23, 1993 According to some students at Blair, there are situations in which teacher’s opinions are so demeaning to individuals that it interferes with their learning. In the two recent cases at Blair, students have dropped classes in which the teachers said things so offensive as to make the class unbearable.

“What it came down to was her saying, and I quote, that ‘homosexuality was an abomination’ in her opinion.”

- Marcia Ventura One of these students, a sophomore who wishes to remain anonymous, dropped a Spanish class this year in which the teacher, according to the student, directly expressed her dislike for homosexuals. The teacher started out by telling the class one day that in Spanish, the word “pato” means both “duck” and “gay”. According to the student, it didn’t end there.

The third or fourth time the word was pointed out, the student said, it was accompanied by a statement that the teacher wrote on the board. It said “No me encantan los patos,” and in parentheses beside “patos” was written “homosexuals”. The student, who is gay, took personal offense and dropped the class almost immediately. “I felt so offended.

It really affected my self esteem, and I’m glad I’m not in that class anymore,” she says.

The second incident began last year, and involved a similar offense. Marcia Ventura, a senior at Blair last year, dropped a class because of the personally offensive statements the teacher was making. Ventura says that she had been offended by the teacher’s expression of her opinions all along, but that a particularly offensive statement caused her to finally request a schedule change. “We were talking about sexuality,” she recalls. “What it came down to was her saying, and I quote, that ‘homosexuality was an abomination’ in her opinion. I had gotten upset before this, but it hadn’t led me to do what I did after this.”

Ventura went to see former administrator Dave Allen. “I talked to him about it, and he agreed that it was wrong,” she says. “He said that since I took personal offense to what [the teacher] said, that I had permission to get out of the class.”

The teacher that Ventura complained

EMILIE AMT

NOVEMBER 1977 An editorial cartoon comments on the relationship between student advocates and the administration about last year continued this year to hold class discussions and to express her opinions on issues that came up. She says that her personal policy is to wait until her students inquire to give her own opinion. “My basic tendency is to have kids express their opinions and then, if they ask, I express mine,” she explains. “It’s not to convince anyone of my opinion; it’s to get a discussion going on an issue.”

[Principal] Gainous was surprised and

concerned to hear that this teacher was still expressing her opinions in class because, he says, he spoke to her last year and he “felt that we had an understanding.” Gainous and an assistant principal have since met with the teacher again and Gainous believes “we have a clearer understanding.”

Although she says that in the past students have disagreed with her opinions, the teacher denies that, before this year, she had ever gotten any complaints about her class conduct.

March 11, 2020

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GABRIEL WINSTON-BAILEY

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March 11, 2020

From World War II to Superbowl LIV: A 100-year-old Bethesda veteran tells his story

By Anna Fisher Lopez Staff Writer When the National Football League was officially founded in August of 1920, Charles McGee had already celebrated his first halfbirthday. Just shy of one hundred years later, McGee stood proudly under Hard Rock Stadium’s fluorescent lights in Miami and delivered the ceremonial coin toss to kick off Super Bowl LIV. McGee was joined by three other 100-year-old veterans in a joint celebration of the NFL’s history and the military achievements of the four men. “It was certainly an honor to represent veterans,” McGee recounts. “Not only the four of us that were there, but all veterans.”

He wasn’t there to watch the game, but he nevertheless got caught up in the excitement

He spent his time with his siblings, exploring the surrounding farmland and joining the Boy Scouts. “As a youngster I didn’t think about [my future],” he says. “I enjoyed being a scout going out in the woods and learning to swim… just enjoying the life that was given to me.”

Eventually, McGee ended up discovering a passion that would shape the rest of his life—his love of flying airplanes. He hopes that every young person today will be able to find their own passion. “I tell youngsters now to determine their talents, and hopefully they figure [out] something they enjoy doing,” he says. “[You] don’t want to go to work every day not liking what you have to do.”

Although McGee had found his passion, he still faced obstacles when he attempted to incorporate it into his life’s work.

of the championship match. “I was pleased that Kansas City did win,” he explains, “because Kansas City is like home for me.” McGee served as military base commander in Kansas City before retiring there and has a soft spot for the city.

Kansas City is just one place where McGee has spent part of his illustrious military career. McGee was born on Dec. 7, 1919, in Cleveland, Ohio, far from his current home in Bethesda, Md. Enlisting into the military at age 22, he served in active service for over 30 years, flying as one of the first Black fighter pilots in World War II before serving in the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Early years

Growing up, McGee did not have any big plans for his future. He came of age during the Great Depression, moving to the small town of St. Charles, IL, at the age of 10 as his father followed job opportunities to nearby Chicago.

SHASHI ARNOLD

“Ethan’s Park” is a monthly column where sports editor Ethan Park expresses an opinion on current events in sports.

I have been a D.C. Defenders fan since the beginning. I can trace my roots all the way back to that Saturday afternoon six whole weeks ago, when I sat down to watch their first game ever.

I fondly reminisce on the first minutes, the first touchdown, the first moments of elation that followed a 31-19 beatdown of the Seattle Dragons. I smile when I think of Defenders players shotgunning the beverage of champions—Bud Light Seltzer—after a 27-0 shutout of the New York Guardians. For a small, glimmering moment in my tumultuous life as a D.C. football fan, the Defenders gave me hope.

But, in true D.C. football team fashion, the Defenders promptly let their fans down with a disgraceful two-game road trip. They took this spark of hope, threw it in the dirt, stomped on it, spit on it, and stomped on it some more with dismal displays against some of the Xtreme Football League’s worst. A 39-9 loss to the winless Los Angeles Wildcats was bad enough, but losing 25-0 to the also-winless Tampa Bay Vipers was a knife to the gut.

Those two weeks were, by far, the worst weeks I’ve had as a Defenders fan. Ever.

And although we managed to squeak out a 15-6 home win against the St. Louis Battlehawks this past week, it is clear that we are no longer the powerhouse threat we once were.

What happened to the fire we once had?

What happened to our crown of a championship-caliber team, sitting atop the Week 1 power rankings? We were one of the best teams the XFL had ever seen. Point-blank, period. We were chosen to bring a football title back to D.C., led by the MVP-caliber play of quarterback Cardale Jones.

In the first two weeks, Jones threw for 499 yards and four touchdowns, with a 62-percent completion percentage. In the past high school counselor told his mother he was going to make a good truck driver,” he recounts. “Well, he went to college and got an aerospace engineering degree.”

McGee highly values schooling and education, viewing it as an essential part of building a successful and prosperous country. “Education is of number one importance for younger folks today,” he says. “My parents and grandparents said, ‘Go to high school, go to college,’ I did that, and I think everybody should go through that routine.”

McGee was in his sophomore year of college at the University of Illinois when he joined the army, kickstarting his military career and giving him the opportunity to realize his passion.

SHASHI ARNOLD

Battling discrimination

When McGee first entered military service in 1942, Black and White troops were segregated by law. Pursuing his newfound love of flying, McGee became a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, an all-Black squadron whose members were the first Black pilots in the history of the U.S. Military.

McGee remembers the World War II era as a time of relative progress in American history. “[The war] didn’t change segregation, but it gave everybody the opportunity to either enlist in the service, or get jobs, or become available in the war [effort],” he recalls. “So many things happened in the way of progress.”

Despite this progress, he believes that the United States is still far from reaching racial equality. “What the final goal is, I don’t think we’ve reached it,” he says. “Too many folks still say you can’t do something instead of telling us, ‘Prepare to do what you can do.’”

He cites a story about his son, who is a retired airline captain, as an example. “His

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‘Times have changed’

McGee’s experience in the military was rewarding, and he is grateful for the opportunities for integration that World War II created.

However, McGee noticed a significant difference in American society in the aftermath of the war. “From the time [of World War II] on, the cost of living keeps going up every year,” he says. “Certainly, times have changed.”

This issue directly affects McGee, who has lived in Bethesda for 24 years. “I didn’t move here for the cost of living,” he jokes. “Pricing the middle class person out of business or ability to buy a home… that’s a problem.”

McGee knows that unless the younger generation is empowered to make a difference, change will be nearly impossible. Because of this, he uses his learned experiences to prepare young people for the future.

A path for the future

To help young people realize their dreams and their true potential, McGee passes down a synthesis of the wisdom he has accumulated over his 100 years in the form of “The four

three weeks, he threw for only 175 yards, zero touchdowns, and six interceptions. His performance as of late has been so poor that he was benched after throwing an interception on his second pass attempt of the game this past Sunday.

Only our ground game was able to keep us afloat against St. Louis, but games against strong defenses will be virtually unwinnable without a solid presence under center.

Not only has our offense been unraveling, but efforts on the defensive side of the ball have transformed our namesake from fitting to ironic. After outscoring opponents 58-19 in the first two weeks, we have since been outscored 70-24. On top of that, we have forced only two turnovers throughout the past two games after forcing seven in Weeks 1 and 2.

Our first five games have been worrisome for many reasons, but a particularly concerning trend has become evident. We have won all of our games at home, but dropped both games on the road. I am not one for many sports superstitions, but there may be a reason why we are not called the D.C. Offenders. Our home turf has been successfully defended three times, but our team seemingly falls apart when it is time to play in enemy territory.

If new quarterback Tyree Jackson, the defense, and coach Pep Hamilton can figure out how to shift their gameplan, our season may be salvageable. But this type of inconsistency is an unprecedented, never-beforeseen letdown of the highest degree.

As a Washington football fan, the feeling of sticking with a team through the worst of times is all too familiar. If the Defenders cannot figure out what exactly is going on, original fans who were devoted from the start—myself included—may have to do the unthinkable and root for the other football team in D.C.

P’s”: perceive, prepare, perform, and persevere.

McGee almost always delivers these four P’s during his frequent public appearances in the hopes that they will inspire the youth to forge their own path to success.

First, perceive: “Dream your dreams, find out what your talents are.”

Next, prepare: “Get a good education.

Learn to read, write, and speak well and develop your talents.”

Then, perform: “Always do your best but always also have excellence as your goal in anything that you do.”

Finally, persevere: “Don’t let somebody tell you that you can’t do something.

And don’t let negative circumstances be an excuse for not achieving.”

McGee wants these values to endure as his legacy. “That’s what I like to pass on to the young folks today [that] maybe have their fingers on [an] iPad or phone a little too long,” he says. “They are our country’s future, so we have to give them hope and wish them well.”

McGee’s story shows perfectly the impact that the four P’s can have. His life was full of obstacles, from growing up during the Great Depression to fighting for a country that didn’t treat him as a full citizen under the law. Even now, he lives in a city that taxes his veteran’s pension. But against all odds, McGee persevered.

He discovered his dream of flying, became educated and entered the military, became one of the longest-serving Air Force pilots in U.S. history, and continues to spread his positive messages today. Defying every expectation levied against him, he held his head high as he stepped across the field of Hard Rock Stadium, seeming light as a feather despite the weight of 100 years on his shoulders.

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March 11, 2020

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A devastating setback

How a single fall can change an entire career

By Adam Chazan Staff Writer Sofia Brunetti was competing in the giant slalom, darting through gates and racing down the slope like she had done so many times before. But her graceful skiing turned to a face full of snow, and she soon realized that something was seriously wrong.

“It was really icy that day, and I was turning and my skis skidded and next thing I remember, I was sliding down the slope,” she says. “I didn’t realize that anything happened until I stood up and I couldn’t put any weight on my right leg.”

Brunetti tore three ligaments in her knee: her ACL, MCL, and meniscus.

Blair Athletic Trainer Brian McCabe says that these ligaments are essential to the function of the legs. “[They are a] very big support structure that keeps our legs and our knees and our feet kind of in-line, for what we’re doing: running, cutting changes in directions, all movements that are important for a sport.”

McCabe says that a ligament tear like Brunetti’s can bring about an arduous recovery period of 12-16 months; if all goes well, a full recovery is possible. “You will have the same functions and the same abilities,” he says.

“Many athletes and non-athletic clientele that suffer from an injury like this can come back to 100 percent to where they were prior, if not, sometimes better.”

A sophomore at BCC, Brunetti started skiing at age six on trips with her family. She didn’t seriously consider competing until seventh grade when her friend joined a team.

Brunetti’s passion for skiing grew, and the sport became an important part of her life. “Skiing was one of the main things that brought up my confidence,” she says. “When I was on the slopes, it was me and myself and it was one of the things that I was very confident doing.”

It has been over a year since Brunetti fell, and she is far along in a recovery process that can include surgery, rehabilitation, and physical therapy. “A month after I fell, I had

surgery,” she says. “It took me a month or a month and a half to start walking, and then I had to wait four months before I [could] start running.”

COURTESY OF SOFIA BRUNETTI Brunetti’s injury deprived her of her autonomy and made mundane activities more difficult. “I lost a lot of independence,” she says. “ I couldn’t walk on my own, I couldn’t stand up

How this Blair alum became a Major League analyst

Math on the mound

By Charlie Wiebe Staff Writer

IVVONE ZHOU

When Major League Baseball fans scan the Miami Marlins roster, they do not find big-name players like Mike Trout or Cody Bellinger. They do not see lucrative contracts or flashy deals. Instead, they find a slew of under-the-radar, rising stars.

These talents range from flamethrowers like Sandy Alcantara and Jose Urena to infielders like Brian Anderson and Jonathan Villar. The responsibility of finding and developing these players does not fall solely on coaches or a front office shelling out millions of dollars; instead, teams like the Marlins are harnessing technology with a recently rebuilt—and often overlooked—analytics department.

The Marlins’ analytics department consists of divisions for player development, amateur scouting, and international scouting.

Among those crunching the numbers to optimize the team’s results is former Blazer Neil Gahart. Gahart graduated from the Magnet program in 2015 before attending college at Johns Hopkins University.

Gahart works in “anything involving math and technology that can help any aspect of

IN POSITION stands on the

Gahart, pictured field along with

the baseball operation,” he says. He studies important statistics on player performance and uses them to develop the best strategies to apply data during gameplay.

Operating in the shadows, Gahart doesn’t meet players and gets little-to-no recognition for changes made at the Major League level.

However, his work behind the scenes affects many aspects of a league that is transforming with the introduction of newer technology.

One example of how analysts like Gahart have recently affected baseball at the Major League level is with the transformed use of the defensive shift. For this strategy, infielders move into seemingly peculiar positions depending on the batter’s hitting tendencies.

In 2016, the Marlins’ shift rate was the lowest in the bigs at 1.6 percent. However, follow-

from my bed on my own; those things were really annoying, and that was really frustrating.”

The lack of independence also impacted Brunetti’s mental health. “Having to stay still most of the day, or at that point, all of the day, just was so hard for me because for me physical activity has such a big impact on my mental health,” she says.

McCabe says that many athletes struggle mentally after devastating injuries. “Athletes are used to moving, they’re used to being part of a team, part of something,” he says. “Take that element away from them, there are a lot of studies that show that many can get into a depressive state.”

Overcoming these mental barriers has been the hardest part of Brunetti’s recovery.

“Of course it was physically painful, but I didn’t expect it to take as much as the mental toll on me as it did,” Brunetti says. “Even the rehab was much harder mentally than physically. And even now, it’s really scary to go back to skiing.”

“Going back on the slope,” Brunetti continues, “everything just feels a lot more dangerous.” Brunetti has skied several times since her fall, but she has yet to build up the confidence to compete in another race.

To fill the hole that skiing left, Brunetti has involved herself in other activities. But without skiing, there was still something missing.

“I have recently been able to run again so I’ve been doing that a little more, and I also got an internship,” she says. “But they were never really a substitute because I’m not sure if anything could give me the same feeling that skiing could.”

While Brunetti did not have high hopes for competing at a collegiate or professional level, she misses being able to spend time with her teammates.

Brunetti hopes to return to racing next year, but she does not want to rush her comeback. “What I’m trying to do right now is just take things one step at a time,” she said. “I’m still working a little bit with my physical therapist. But when I get back on the slopes, I don’t want to overdo anything.”

COURTESY OF NEIL GAHART

second from the Marlins owner Derek

left, Jetter

ing their departmental rebuild in 2018 that included adding Gahart to the staff, their frequency jumped to 22.5 percent—well above the league average.

The increased use of technology and advanced analytics is a trend not unique to the Marlins. In fact, teams across the league are using numbers and statistics to improve results in the field and at the plate. New, advanced systems like Statcast track and measure the ball’s movements as well as individual players throughout gameplay, providing interesting and important statistics such as hitting exit velocity and launch angle.

Going forward, Gahart is unsure about what further analytical progress will look like, but believes it will be impressive. “There’s going to be new and interesting data that en-

ters the public domain,” he says.

Despite the continued proliferation of data in baseball, the nature of the job often causes Gahart and other analysts to go overlooked. However, he says that the ability to move together with one unified organization toward the prospect of a championship is what makes his job worth it. “The feeling of working as part of a team to help achieve a common goal is really the thing that I enjoy the most about my job,” Gahart says.

He explains that working within the Marlins organization in particular helps him get the most out of himself by being supportive and accepting. “It’s a very open culture, it’s a very friendly culture, and it’s a culture that encourages you to be the very best version of yourself,” Gahart says. “Those are the things that appeal to me the most.”

Gahart explains that his experiences at Blair and particularly in the Magnet program helped develop his analytical skills and shape his career path.

“There are classes that you aren’t really able to find at many other places,” he says. “The Magnet gave me a huge head start going to college… and really it was having the technical background and the knowledge of baseball that enabled me to work for a Major League front office.”

The three-year Blair varsity captain and lifelong baseball fan also describes how his active participation on the baseball diamond as a pitcher and third baseman helped guide him towards his current career. “Playing baseball obviously gives you a deep knowledge of the game… something that someone who’s just watching from the stands or watching on T.V. wouldn’t [have],” Gahart says.

He wishes to continue improving the level of play at the Major League level, and expects nothing but progress from himself and from the Marlins as a team. “Baseball is awesome,” he says. “I’m most excited for the possibility of building a successful championship team.”

Sports F4

silverchips

March 11, 2020

Rita Boule: Blair’s biggest baller

By Grace Walsh Staff Writer Whether a playoff game, senior night, or heated rivalry, every sports team at Blair has at least one match-up that feels bigger than the rest—one that keeps players motivated, excited, and perhaps a little bit anxious. For Blair’s Athletic Director Rita Boule, that game comes nearly every day.

Although many Blazers only see Boule at the end of sporting events, handing out high fives regardless of the score, Boule’s job entails far more extensive preparation and organization in order to keep Blair’s sports programs going.

As athletic director, Boule coordinates all of the behind-the-scenes needs for every team at Blair. “I don’t think people realize how many little details there are that need to be done everyday,” she says. From scheduling, transportation, and management for games to handling budgets and finance for the department, Boule does it all.

Blair’s size magnifies these responsibilities, as Boule relies on constant communication to organize the hundreds of student athletes. “I like to be out in front of all of those things and make sure everybody’s on the same page,” she says.

Boule keeps a daunting to-do list, prioritized by urgency. But even the best planning cannot predict the unpredictable. A call from a parent, a student in need, or even a little bad weather can turn her list upside down.

Boule has worked hard to hone her technique over her nine years as Blair’s athletic director. “As much as I tried to be prepared to come over here, it really was baptism by fire,” she recalls.

Before Boule arrived at Blair, she was an assistant athletic director at John F. Kennedy, where her primary responsibility was to supervise events. Boule was also a coach for boys’ and girls’ varsity and JV soccer, basketball, girls’ softball, and track and field at Kennedy.

In fact, during one winter season, she even

coached the winter cheer team. Boule describes this role as her least successful coaching experience. “They just needed someone to kind of monitor and supervise,” she says, laughing. “That’s what I did, and that’s all I did.”

Boule entered her current job at Blair in May 2011, and had the opportunity to work with Dale Miller, the retiring athletic director, to help with the transition. “There was an overlap of five or six weeks with the retiring athletic director and myself, so [we] could really work together and talk about Blair sports, and he could show me a lot of things,” Boule says.

Working with Miller, Boule was introduced to the community of other Montgomery County athletic directors with whom she’s grown close. “It’s a really tight community,” she says. “We all call each other, and [we] kind of work together… if you have a question, you just call one of them.”

The directors provide advice and support for each other when new challenges arise. “It’s really just learning the job on the job, which is very difficult,” Boule says. ”But it’s also [about] having that support and utilizing that support when you need it.”

Starting next year, Montgomery County will extend the high school athletic director position from the current 10-month job to a full 12-month role. “[Working] 12 months gives a little bit more credibility to the job, and allows us to do our job more efficiently and effectively,” Boule says.

But no matter the role she occupies or school at which she works, Boule’s love for working with students has remained the same.

“My favorite part of my job is working with kids, with the student athletes,” Boule says. Supervising all the varsity and JV teams at Blair, Boule has the opportunity to watch student athletes—and their parents—grow along their four-year journey from freshman to senior year.

“There have been times with parents where we’ve celebrated together or we’ve shed a tear for leaving senior year or an injury has hap-

EDSON ORELLANA

HYPING THEM UP Boule, pictured in white, cheers on the girls’ basketball team. pened,” Boule recalls. “There have been tinue working with the community she has times with the assistant athletic directors built. “There are just so many times where where we have just enjoyed each other’s com- you watch [a] group of student athletes… do pany and high-fived because we just ran a something that they’re capable of—[it] is just really successful event… the kids had a great a memorable moment,” she says. “All those time, and it ran without a hitch.” moments make everything behind the scenes Moments like these inspire Boule to con- worth it.

Transferring talent School spirit

By Teddy Beamer Senior Columnist After two years of trying, junior Wennduni Kabore is now a Blazer athlete. Having previously attended Northwood, Kabore transferred his athletic talents on the football and lacrosse fields to Blair this year.

This process of transferring schools within MCPS, which Kabore described as “harder than any test [he’d] ever taken,” would not have been possible if not for constant persistence and support from the Blair coaches who guided him through.

Making the change In order to be eligible for a transfer, a student must be in circumstances that fit one of the following three situations, as outlined by the MCPS website: “Unique Hardships,” “Family Move,” or “Siblings.”

Kabore felt that his situation fell under the title of “Unique Hardships,” as Northwood’s environment was impeding his personal goals as a student and athlete. Kabore describes it as “really imperative that [he] made that switch for [his] future and [his] success.”

After this realization, Kabore applied for a Change of School Assignment (COSA) his freshman year.

However, the county rejected it. Ultimately, it was a conversation with Blair coaches at a Down County Consortium (DCC) meet that gave him the advice on how to best approach the transfer process.

“At Northwood, they didn’t really help me with much,” Kabore says. “But at Blair they want more people to come, so they [told] me how I should call the DCC, fax them, email them… bother them repeatedly.”

Coaches at a summer basketball league also helped junior Roman Cannuscio, advising him to switch schools to jumpstart his career. “The coaches, they all were telling me I need to leave and just advance my career somewhere else,” he says.

After using his grandmother’s address in Washington, D.C. to make him eligible and a meeting with the Wilson basketball coach-

BOBBY PADMORE ON THE COURT Drenched in sweat, Roman Cannuscio plays hard at a home game. es, Cannuscio made the team and joined intense seven-hour-a-day workouts the summer before junior year. “I knew that I would have to earn my spot,” he says. “I really had to prove myself.”

Public to private

The process of transferring to a private school is much different than that of public school transfers. Max Gondi, a junior swimming for Good Counsel, transferred from Northwood after his sophomore year—a process that took far less time than it did for Kabore. “All I had to do was take an exam and submit my application,” Gondi says. “I got accepted in a month.” The real challenge, Gondi adds, was recognizing that he wanted to leave.

A major influence in Gondi’s decision to go to private school was his desire to “take [his] swimming to the next level.” Many ele-

ments of the Northwood swim team were unsatisfactory to him, particularly the coaching.

“The coach wasn’t a swim coach,” Gondi explains. “She didn’t know what she was talking about.” On the flip side, Good Counsel provides extra coaching and services for their athletes. “They would try and bring in nutritionists, sports psychologists, to work on your performance and every aspect of your training,” Gondi says.

Similarly, senior Jolie LeFauve left Rockville High School after her freshman year for Stone Ridge, an all-girls private school described as a “fast school for swimming”

by Blair swim captain Alli Marney-Bell. As a swimmer, LeFauve noticed how much more ambitious and vigorous the swimmers are on the Stone Ridge team. “The competitive environment was definitely more intense at Stone Ridge compared to what it was at Rockville,” she says.

Being a member of a sports team often benefits transfer students, with many teams providing emotional support for their new member.

After a successfully approved transfer, Kabore says that connections and friendships he made from sports helped him feel comfortable in his transition, mentioning Blair football head coach Samuel Nosoff in particular.

“The first day I came on, he told me I could trust him, and that he was here for me—he was here for the players,” said Kabore. “He’s very selfless.” The striking sense of community and family present in Blair Athletics was another welcoming force in his switch to Blair.

LeFauve noted that moving to an all-girls team changed the team dynamic for the better. “There is a theme of all-girls having more unity,” she says, “that shone through in the spirit at Stone Ridge.”

She also mentioned how her success on the swim team made her adjustment to private school easier, gaining school-wide recognition through something as simple as the morning announcements. “They’ll announce records and things like that, and sophomore and junior year when we set records at meets they said my name,” she says. “When they said my name I’d be more familiar to [classmates] and they’d reach out more, so it was easier to meet people.”

Sports also create a connection between people that transcends the team they play for. After a semester at Wilson, Cannuscio came back to Blair after the brother of a Blair teammate passed away. “I wanted to come back and play for Blair with him for a year,” he says, “just [to] do as best as we can for his brother.”

Just as professional athletes switch teams, some student athletes must as well. Whether it be for athletics or for personal reasons, these student athletes show a great deal of bravery and maturity in their journeys to improve their lives and athletic careers. “I knew it was a big risk,” Cannuscio says. “But… in the end, it was worth it, because I learned a lot, and I grew as a person and as a player.”

silverchips

F5 Sports

Snowy season sports

By Simran Thakkar Staff Writer

Girls’ Varsity Basketball

The girls’ basketball team ended their season with 13 wins and seven losses. The team reached the second round of playoffs, but lost to Sherwood with a score of 59 to 45.

Regardless, Zoe Abramson, a captain on the team, still thought the season went well.

“We competed a bit better with the top teams in the county and some of the best teams that we’ve played, so overall, [the season was] pretty successful,” she said.

The girls started their season off with a six game win streak. Despite this, the team struggled with ball movement and working together.“It was very much an ‘I’ game,” Kate Hildebrandt, a junior on the team, said.

“When you work better together, you score more… when it’s just one person playing against the whole [opposing] team, it’s not going to work.”

became one of the few Blair basketball players to reach 1,000 career points.

Next season, Ayala hopes the team improves on their “overall team chemistry—just hanging out more [and]… being around each other, and everyone coming to workouts and continuing to work hard,” he said.

Key players: seniors Bakarr Bangura, Liam Olagbaju; juniors Alfred Worrell Jr., Jacob Briggs, Roman Cannuscio, Thomas WaltzChesnaye; sophomore Gio Moore

Wrestling

For the first time in school history, the wrestling team hosted Regionals after finishing with a record of 27 wins and two losses.

They topped their division and were awarded the Division Championship trophy. Mervin Mancia, a captain on the team, stood at the top of the podium with his first place finish at the county championship. Despite this success, the season came to an end for the team with a loss to Springbrook in the Region finals.

Throughout the season, the wrestlers had a lot to celebrate. Even though their season ended with a loss to Springbrook, Blair beat them earlier in the season for the first time in school history.

The wrestlers also swept the Rockville Rumble Duals—a full team tournament held at Rockville High School—going undefeated to win a trophy.

The team credits a lot of their recent success to their coach. “Every year we improve. From the time that our Coach Grover came in here MILES GROVIC to now, we have jumped levels BUCKETS ONLY Hildebrandt shoots against Springbrook. every single year,” junior captain Brain McCaw said. Senior During the off-season the team still plays Nimesh Fonseka went as far as to say Coach together. “We do workouts throughout Grover was “the best coach at Blair right now, the year—fall workouts,” Hildebrandt said. 100 percent.”

McCaw hopes the team will continue to “We have [a] summer league, we have a fall league. Those are great just because we don’t improve, despite the 11 seniors leaving the lose our chemistry. It’s hard after you are on team. “I hope to make it to States next year,” a team for months, since Nov. 15, and then he said. “Losing a lot of seniors this year is goyou stop and then it’s a whole year until you ing to hurt that chance, but through our work ethic, I think we can get there again.” play again.”

Key players: seniors Lucy Martin, Zoe Abramson; juniors Peyton Martin, Kate Hildebrandt; freshman Nathalie Frost

Boys’ Varsity Basketball

Key players: seniors Mervin Mancia, Jason Kaplan, Shaloom Ayivi Koutodjo, Elias Chen (Silver Chips editor); sophomore Junior Kim; freshman Nelson Manzoeto cxvxcvxcvxcv

Swim and Dive The boys’ varsity basketball team finished After winning their division, the swim and the season with 11 wins and nine losses. Although their season was cut short after a loss dive team ended their season fifth in the state to Paint Branch in the first round of playoffs, for the boys’ and girls’ teams, with multiple junior captain Michael Ayala was proud of swimmers and divers finishing on the podium in the top eight for their events during the what the team accomplished.

“I’m going to look back at our season State Championship. In fact, fresh[and] think about all the good times we had,” he said. “I’m proud of our team.”

The team started the season off strong, going on a six game win streak. But as the season progressed, the Blazers’ hot streak cooled down significantly, resulting in a low seed when the playoffs began. “I think we got too ahead of ourselves and then we started losing,” Ayala said.

“From there, our confidence went down.”

Before the playoffs started, Blair got a much-needed win against Whitman during YURI KIM their last game of the regular EAT MY BUBBLES Sophomore Kelly Greenleaf season. The team was hop- pulls ahead of the pack in the 100 yard breaststroke. ing to break their three-game losing streak and start the playoffs on a good man diver Ruby Borzekowski broke records over 20 years old after an impressive perfornote.

“I think that was the game that was really mance to finish fourth in the state. deciding,” Ayala said. “That was the game Max Casey-Bolanos, a captain on the that really brought our confidence back.” team, credits the team’s success to swimming During this game, junior Alfred Worrell, Jr. different events later in the season, rather

inside SPORTS

The Superbowl’s coin tosser

see page F2

March 11, 2020

Blair winter sports roundup

than sticking to the few that many had swam for the first few meets.

“In the beginning of the year, everyone was kind of stuck and doing… the same events,” he said. “Throughout the season

lina Worthington said. “It’s been a good year for us. We’re still building, but we’ve had a lot of great performances, especially from our boys.”

The boys scored third place at States for their 4x800-meter relay.

Gabe Worthington, a senior on the team, placed third in the 3200-meter at Regionals.

The girls placed fifth at Regionals for their 4x800meter relay and Mira Diamond-Berman, a captain on the team and Managing Features Editor on Silver Chips, placed sixth in the 3200-meter.

Throughout the season, the team improved and run times dropped. “A lot of people got faster, matured, [and] fixed their running form. The little things like BOBBY PADMORE pumping more, the angle of their arms pumping, it’s [the] GOING FOR THE MIDDLE Senior Mervin Mancia little stuff like that,” Enoch wrestles against an opponent wrestler at Counties. Agbodjogbe, a captain on the people really branched out [and were] able to team, said. do other events and really step up when they Moving onto the spring track season, needed to.”

Agbodjogbe hopes to “make sure everyone The team’s support of each other helped gives 100 percent during practice and [have] them improve throughout the season as well. more people attend practice.”

“As the season progressed, I felt like every dual meet, we were just getting louder and Key players: seniors Gabriel Worthington III, louder,” Alli Marney-Bell, a captain on the Ryan Temple, Max Worley, Mira Diamondteam, said. “People were coming out for the Berman (Silver Chips editor); junior Joel Simpchampionship meets who weren’t even swim- son; sophomore Samantha Rodriguez, Liam ming, which was really nice to see—just having Volz everyone supporting their teammates.”

Key players: seniors Marrick Golladay, Max Casey-Bolanos, Alli Marney-Bell, Amanda Liu Silver Chips editor); junior Aiden Rooney; sophomore Liam McDonough; freshmen Maria Sawadogo, Ruby Borzekowski

The bocce team showed improvement from last season, despite the team’s makeup of two returning members and five new members. The bocce team ended the season as one of the top teams in the county, earning a

Poms

After coming in fifth place last year at the county championship, the Poms team was hoping to bounce back this year with a higher standing. However, Poms once again placed fifth in Division 3 at Counties. Despite this, Yamarie Sarr, a junior on the team, believed that their routine and the competition went “really smoothly… when comparing the season to last year.”

The team’s goal for this year was to demonstrate the EDSON ORELLANA hard work they put into refining their routine, with a “Pom”elling the Opponent The Poms team hope of finishing in a higher lines up during their performance at a game. position at Counties. “I feel like a lot of people don’t know about Poms, spot in the County Championship where they so we wanted a bunch of people to see what finished sixth. we’ve been doing for two seasons straight Since last season, the bocce team became and see all of the hard work we’ve put into more serious and pushed themselves to get our routine,” Sarr said. as far as they could. “Last year, people had Despite not placing higher at Counties, fun. But this year, we actually [thought,] ‘Oh, Blair still won the Spirit Award. we’re a bocce team; we are working together Looking ahead to next season, the team and we are going somewhere,’” second-year hopes to find incoming freshmen who player and junior captain Sabrina McCubbin will help boost the team to the next level. said. “We actually wanted to get somewhere.”

“Throughout the whole summer, we’re baWith only two returning members, many sically training [middle schoolers] to be the team members had to learn every rule and perfect person for the team—not to replace skill necessary to play the game. “Most of the the seniors, but to add on to the team,” Sarr people did not play, but they picked it up resaid. ally fast and we practiced really hard,” Lela Hall, second-year player and junior captain, Key players: seniors Adamari Ramirez, Na- said. thalie Molina; junior Eden Mengesha; freshMcCubbin hopes to progress more next men Ami Hernandez, Lauryn Wade season and win Counties, alongside newer and younger teammates. “We have no freshIndoor Track men… on the team, so we want to [create] a The indoor track team showed major continuous generation,” she said. “I [also] growth this past season, despite this being an- want to work more as a team… we need to be other building year for the team. more serious, but still playful.”

“The last four years have all been building years, but we finally have a stable coaching Key players: juniors Adam Noyes, Lela Hall, staff and… really good coaches,” captain Me- Sabrina McCubbin, Eshan Sharma

MLB Analyst

see page F3

KELLEY LI

Bocce

Insight into Blair’s AD Ms. Boule

see page F4