The T: The Mechanics of Bethesda Parenting

Grade Report

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‘HONEY GET IN ; WE’RE LATE TO SOCCER PRACTICE”

NOVEMBER 1 2019

Tattler Staff Editors in Chief Rachel Auerbach Isabel Danzis Grace Harrington Contributing Editors Lilly Behbehani Josh Garber Emma Volkers Managing Editors Charlie Kannapell Dan Shapiro Alex Waterman Art Editors Grace Carter Yael Chiappori News Editors Griffin Boswell Jason Grayer Feature Editors Juliana Capizzi Anna Hoover Mia Romano La Vida Editor Aranza Lara Opinion Editors Eli Glickman Sonali Hettipola Ethan Tiao Sports Editors Eli Davis Dylan Greenhouse Style Editors Sol Gehring Frannie Rosen Backpage Editors Juliana Blayney Jackson Hermes Karina Vasudeva 2

The Mechanics of Bethesda Parenting By the Tattler Editorial Staff This edition is not about you. It’s about the people who raised you. This edition is about the competitive nature of Bethesda, and the way it affects the dynamics of family life in this area. The Tattler has previously discussed the Bethesda Bubble and how it affects us as students, but how much does the culture of Bethesda influence our parents and how they raise us?

The Tattler focuses this month on dissecting the stereotype of the Bethesda parent. The stigma around the Bethesda parent is the extremely overbearing parent that involves themselves in nearly all aspects of their children’s lives. Is that a fair stereotype?

This past month, we hosted a round-table discussion for parents to weigh in on the perception of Bethesda parenting. We, as the Tattler editorial staff, hope that this edition can shed some light onto the Starbucks sipping, LuluLemon wearing, and highly involved Bethesda parent stereotype.

The ABC’s of Parenting in Bethesda How Does Bethesda Parenting Affect Students?

Forced Musicianship: is it a Problem?

No More Friday Night Lights

By Rachel Auerbach. Isabel Danzis and Grace Harrington “The stereotype of the Bethesda parent is that they are wealthy, well educated an work a high powered job in DC.”

By the Tattler Staff Read the Tattler staff writers’ takes on parenting in Bethesda.

By Sam Momeni More and more parents are making their kids play an instrument. But does this encourage kids to flourish musically or destroy their love of it?

By Stefano Fendrich and Tate Smyth There has been a rising concern for the injuries that football players sustain.

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When Did Bethesda Become Such a Mess?

By Ana Curic, Frannie Rosen, and Mia Romano

Read about both how construction and parking are changing in Bethesda, for better or for worse.

My Grandfather: the Bar Mitzvah Boy

By Steffi Lewis

In the Jewish community, boys are Bar Mitzvahed at 13. Lewis narrates how her grandfather chose to be Bar Mitzvahed again at 83 to mark his second life.

By Juliana Capizzi and Sonali Hettipola

Read how the West has seen an increase in nationalism in the past few years.

By Lilly Behbehani

Even with the work of organizations such as Project Turquoise, Syrian refugees are being left behind.

By Eli Glickman

Beto O’Rourke announced a proposal that would remove tax exemption from religious institutions that don’t recognize gay marriage.

Glickman argues how such a proposal would restrict freedom of religion.

The Emergence of Nationalism in the West What We Forget About Refugees Freedom of Religion in the Age of Social Justice

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Game Day is the New Sunday: No More Chick-Fil-A

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The Global Community that Makes Up B-CC Moves

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B-CC’s TEDx Event

The Rise of Second Hand Shops Rising Female Artists: Their Consolidation of Power

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By Maddy Molyneux

Chick-Fil-A is undoubtedly the most popular concession at B-CC football games. But are Chick-Fil-A’s values reflective of B-CC’s?

By Anna-Louise Cobau

B-CC hosted its first TEDx event on November 9th, welcoming many illustrious speakers.

By Aranza Lara

Read about three members from the popular club B-CC Moves. Can be read in both English and Spanish.

By Cora Hafer and Anna Hoover

The Democratic debates are in full swing. Read one writer’s opinion about how measuring the electability of a candidate hurts American democracy overall.

By Hayden Renaghan and Karina Vasudeva

Saying Goodbye to Senior Nights In Bill Guckeyson: Hometown Hero Sports CTE Does Not Capture the Whole Picture

Over the last decade, there has been a rise in female artists making headlines for their talent rather than feuds with other artists. Read about three exceptional female artists.

By Frannie Rosen

By Jack Merritt and Emmet Siegel

By Sam Momeni

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Almond milk, BMW’s and (toxic) Comparison Culture...

The ABC’s of Parenting in COVER STORY

Bethesda

BY RACHEL AUERBACH, ISABEL DANZIS, AND GRACE HARRINGTON

The stereotype of the Bethesda parent is that they are wealthy, well educated and work a high powered job in DC. These parents drive Audis and BMWs from Capitol Hill to soccer practice to Whole Foods. They force their kids take up an obscure sport, so they can commit to Yale for pole vaulting. Tutors are on retainer to raise an AP BC Calculus grade from an 88 to a 90. Four follow up emails have been sent to the counselor because Brett doesn’t like his Honors Chemistry teacher.

But are these stereotypes fair? Are Bethesda parents as demanding as they are made out to be?

Bethesda holds a uniquely high concentration of educated adults, with 84% of residents age 25 or older holding a Bachelor’s degree. According to the US Census Bureau, Bethesda is considered generally affluent, with a median household income of $154,559, which is $91,380 above the U.S median household income. As a result, a large percentage of the parents in Bethesda hold the money and the resources to help their children succeed academically and athletically.

Some students, teachers and professionals believe that this trend can lead to a culture of highly involved, competitive parenting in this area. “[People] don’t get that way, that highly educated, without being driven and demanding and intelligent. Driving and demanding and intelligent parents lead to driven and demanding and intelligent kids who have a sense for the standards of education. If someone who’s that driven and intelligent and successful feel those standards aren’t being met, they’re not gonna lie down and take it, they’re gonna try and fix it. So that’s why I think we end up with such involved parents.” said B-CC English teacher Mr.Engler.

The high graduation rates and academic success of the students in Bethesda area public schools, including B-CC, Walt Whitman, Churchill and Walter Johnson, can exacerbate the pressure parents place on their children to

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“keep pace” with their peers. In schools where earning decent grades and attending college is the norm, it is easy for parents to feel they must do everything in their power to ensure their kid is equally successful, whether that means paying for expensive tutoring, hiring college counselors, or contacting teachers with questions about their child’s grades. Certain parents in Bethesda feel that these high expectations leave no room for kids who are not exceptional. “It’s very hard for a kid in Bethesda to be an average kid, because the expectation here is above average… it’s very hard for an average kid in Bethesda to feel good about his or herself. And I find that very disturbing,” said Wendy Silver, a B-CC parent.

The push to be an exceptional child is reflective of the exceptional parents that raise them. “One of the challenges in Bethesda is that I don’t think you get to live in this community by being average. This is the community of the people who are the best in whatever they do,” said Engler.

The privilege that Bethesda has also brings its own set of struggles for its residents.

Although the problems that many children and parents face in Bethesda can be considered first world problems, they still have implications that deeply affect all aspects of living.

Surrounded by the competitive culture of such an academically excellent area, many Bethesda parents are subject to some of the same pressures as their children.

“I don’t think that kids understand that parents feel the pressure that they feel,”

said a B-CC mom at a round-table discussion about Bethesda parenting. She noted the college process as a significant source of stress, saying, “Then there’s the whole application process with questions, questions, questions.

Where did they apply? Where did they get in?

We feel it too.” The pressure parents feel can worsen when other parents showcase their child’s accomplishments through social media or in conversation. Scrolling through photos of sports trophies and college acceptance letters can be dejecting to the child and parents alike, especially when a child is struggling academically or socially. “Parents definitely brag. A lot of parents live vicariously through their children and sort of see their kid’s accomplishments as a reflection of them,” said a B-CC dad.

The competitive nature of Bethesda is pervasive beyond the classroom, with one particularly affected area being sports. Sports in Bethesda are very intense, with many kids playing on club or travel teams in addition to high school teams.

Being on one of these extremely competitive teams is both expected and admired. “I believe that there is a certain pressure in Bethesda to join competitive sports because of the social norm that basically [says] that if you don’t play a club than you’re not actually playing the sport. That has been placed in so many kid’s minds.” said B-CC sophomore Lucy Ryan. The culture of club teams then affects high school teams. With the exception of a few teams, the competitive culture of Bethesda makes it difficult for kids to pick up new sports in high school. “Although it may be possible to join a sport in high school, it may be really difficult. Since there are many athletes who have been playing since they were old enough to play, there are not as many opportunities for kids in high school who are looking to try something new,” said a B-CC sophomore Laura Barnard.

Like academics, many parents also feel the same pressure as their kids when it comes to sports. This pressure that is often placed on them by other parents. The trend of parents talking to each other about their kids can create anxiety, thereby influencing how they parent their kids.

“It’s hard to see the sports pressure. It’s hard when [the kid] says they like playing soccer, and then someone says, ‘Are you on a club team? A travel team? What level?’ I’ve gotten that five times in the past few days” said one Bethesda parent.

Academically, some Bethesda parents say that they challenge their children, and feel that it is okay to “helicopter” their children in terms of their grades. Even though a student is the one directly completing the homework and taking the tests, some parents are known to become involved by frequently checking their child’s grades online, talking with counselors or teachers, or grilling their child about upcoming assignments and tests. “There’s helicopter parenting definitely [in Bethesda]. But I’m as guilty as the next person. I don’t know if that’s a bad thing, if I’m being honest,” said Silver. “Sure, you want your kids to solve their own problems, and learn the skills to solve their own problems, and learn to advocate for themselves to overcome obstacles, but I really believe that academics is a partnership between the student, the school and the parents.” Although some level of parent engagement with their child’s academics can undoubtedly be valuable, Ned Johnson, the founder of PrepMatters and the co-author of The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives, has found that there can be a negative relationship between high parental involvement and student academic success. “In a perfect world, parents are there but they’re not overly controlling, including not checking in obsessively. [There are] those online portals where parents can sit

there and look at the grades all the while and I think that’s a bad idea when parents are checking that stuff obsessively. If they’re hovering on every single assignment or every single practice test, that is rarely helpful to the students.”

Students have also noted the negative impacts of parents engrossing themselves too heavily in their children’s lives. When parents are always taking matters into their own hands and ensuring their children remain successful, it prevents these children from learning to advocate for themselves and deal with disappointment.

“Many children have become spoiled due to the lack of them having to do things themselves.

From what I have seen, highly involved parents tend to solve their children’s problems at school and extracurriculars for them, which don’t seem to have a positive effect on their behavior.” said B-CC junior Angie Chavez.

In the social arena, some Bethesda parents feel that they are more uninvolved. Rather than manage their kids’ social lives as some parents do academically, they want their kids to make their own choices based on the values they were taught. “As a parent, you want to provide guidance, but you don’t want to do the work,” said one B-CC mom. Teaching children from a young age how to handle difficult social situations, such as peer pressure and bullying, can allow for more freedom and trust between the parent and child as they grow older and become more independent. “My husband and I have set the groundwork. [By high school] they need to make their own decisions,” said another B-CC mom.

Students also feel like their parents let them take the reins on their own social life, as long as they meet academic standards. “For me, as long as my grades are good my parents give me a lot more freedom with what I do outside of school,” said B-CC senior Will Benzmiller. However, conversations still take place between parents

about the social lives (or lack thereof) of their kids. “I know parents who have conversations about their kids, talking about where they’re sitting at lunch, who they’re hanging out with, [asking] why they aren’t going out on a Friday night, other kids are going to the Friday night football game, why aren’t [they] there?

...You worry, you want your kid to like [people] and be liked,”

GRAPHIC BY GRACE CARTER

COVER STORY

said Silver. This creates another expectation placed upon kids in Bethesda: to be as equally social and well-liked as they are academically successful.

Bethesda fosters an environment that is extremely competitive. However, that competitiveness isn’t exclusive to this area; across the U.S, students the same pressures from both their community and their parents, that many students in Bethesda face. “Any place where, I think, a combination of a lot of wealth and a lot of focus on education, you get this intensity and many cases a lot of fear. I think it’s more intense in Bethesda than it is in a lot of other places, but it’s certainly not unique. The intensity and the some of the challenges that come along with it are challenges that people all over the country have,” said Johnson. It is also worth noting that Bethesda is not a homogeneous town, as it is home to many families with a diverse range of cultures, values, and ideals regarding education and well-being. Regardless, the influence of the community of fiercely competitive, widely successful people in Bethesda can be seen in the way that many Bethesda parents raise their kids.

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Bethesda Parenting: How COVER STORY

Kids in Bethesda have a front-seat view into how parents can affect students. We asked the Tattler staff for in other places? How does it affect them as students?

Bethesda v. The World

BY ANA CURIC Bethesda parenting is drastically different from parenting in other parts of the United States, and even more different from parenting around the rest of the world. My family is originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and upon moving to the US, my parents and myself immediately noticed the drastic differences in parenting. The biggest thing we noticed was that parents are much more involved in their kid’s lives. Not to imply that parents anywhere else in the world are not involved in their kid’s lives, but in Bethesda, the level of involvement is on another level. Not only do they help their children with their homework, or hire tutors to do so, they go to every single soccer game, play, bake sale etc. They do this, while still managing to hold some of the highest ranked and highest paid jobs in the U.S. There is also a culture of competition among parents in Bethesda that is not seen in many other places. It’s a competitive sport among parents to be the best parents and to have the best and/ or most successful kids.

Parents in this area are over committed to their children’s success, which begs the question if it is really a competition of the children's success or a reflection of the parent’s success. This can be attributed to the fact that Bethesda parents are composed of some of the most educated people in America. Every parent has attended a top school and obtained a secondary, and most times even tertiary, level of education.

With such high achieving parents, the expectation that their kids will achieve or surpass their level of success is emphasized through the parenting style. Bethesda parents do everything to insure their kid’s success, which is reflected in their parenting style, whether it be hiring 10 different tutors or even going to every bake sale or soccer game. Parents all around the world want their kids to succeed and will do everything they can to help, but with so much available at their fingertips, Bethesda parents take parenting to another level.

The Extreme of Bethesda

BY JULIANA CAPIZZI Bethesda. Where do I even begin? Of course, I’m blessed to be living in this “census designated place,” as called by the United States Census Bureau. Bethesda is one of the wealthiest places in the United States with some of the best public and private schools in the country. Bethesda is constantly changing; new restaurants pop up in Bethesda Row almost every year, and it seems as though the buildings seem to be growing.

Aside from the consistent physical changes to Bethesda, one thing seems to always remain the same: the people. The parents in Bethesda are unnecessarily defensive and invested in their teen’s lives. Parents I know are constantly on their children about the school work they produce, plans for college and the future, and extracurriculars, such as athletics. Of course, most parents are invested in their children's lives, but in Bethesda I find it to be an extreme. The friends I have tend to have horrible mental health, constant stress and anxiety, partially due to their fear for the future and whether they will succeed in life. I find this anxiety to be caused most by the parents and the pressure they put on their kids. Bethesda parents, as I stated, are defensive. The kids who aren’t pressured to do well, don’t put much effort into anything. Whenever students get into trouble, it tends to involve the parents and somehow the county court. I have heard from teens that their parents email teachers for them. We are at an age where it is vital to make decisions on our own so we can live on our own in college and excel as adults. If the Bethesda parents continue to intervene in our lives, we’ll never be successful adults.

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The “Over hyped” Bethesda Parent

BY JACKSON HERMES The way I see it, Bethesda parenting is, for lack of a better word, over hyped. I see many people label it as unnecessarily toxic and unhealthy, but I can’t understand that. Of course, I sympathize with anyone with abusive helicopter parents, but so many people say their parents are so hard on them when it’s their lack of motivation for achievement that makes it seem like this. Parents obviously want the best for their children, so they will push their children to be ambitious and motivated, but a lot of the time the children don’t mirror this. Some of this stems from common teenage rebellion, but some of it also stems from where we are; one of the best high schools in Maryland, and exceptionally high-ranked nationally. While teachers bump up and inflate grades with safety quizzes and copy-what-you’re-hearing classworks, it’s insanely easy to barely apply yourself to schoolwork and get decent grades, either a testament to how good our teachers are or how easy they make the courses.

At its most basic level, the problem that many people see in the parenting is, in my opinion, a problem of the school and curriculum, where parents want their kids to succeed but the kids see this as unnecessary because they’re already getting good grades, even when they put in little effort. If there were more incentives to put in work, there wouldn’t be as much of a stereotype that the Bethesda parent pushes their kid too hard or is too competitive.

The constant conversation of Bethesda parenting shows a problem in the culture of Bethesda’s youth; we don’t understand the positions that we put ourselves in. Every kid’s dream is to make it in life, right?

None of us really want to work a 40-hour-a-week desk job that pays “just enough, “ right? So why do we keep making poor decisions that do nothing for us? Why do we continue this pattern of underage drinking and substance abuse, when there are hundreds of better things we could be doing for ourselves? Why do we always play the victim when our parents try to make something out of us, try to imprint some sense of responsibility, try to make sure we make none of the same mistakes they might have made? Too many times I’ve heard something to the effect of “I don’t like my parents for doing x y and z”, or “my parents don’t let me do fun stuff”, and I think the majority of the time the people saying it just don’t understand why their parents do some things, and that’s something that we need to understand if we want to have a mature conversation about how Bethesda parenting is “toxic.” Our view of the future is warped, one way or another, and when our parents simply want to teach us that a normal life can and most likely will happen, and that we must take steps to prepare ourselves well for what’s ahead, we can’t see it as hostile anymore.

In other words, I see the Bethesda parenting stereotype as simply a repinning of the blame for our own faults on our parents.

I wouldn’t think that Bethesda parenting is any different from parenting in any other city or town. It’s the perspective of the youth that contributes to the negative view of the parents in our area.

Does it Affect Students?

COVER STORY

their honest opinion on parenting in Bethesda. How do they think parenting in Bethesda is different than

Diverse Parenting Culture

BY MONIQUE BOATENG AND SEMHAL NEGUSSIE Bethesda parents can’t and shouldn’t be stereotyped. The culture of parenting in Bethesda is diverse because Bethesda is diverse. You wouldn’t say there’s a different parenting style for Chevy Chase parents, Silver Spring parents, or Kensington parents… so what’s the need for trying to generalize Bethesda parents? If anything, one’s parenting style comes down to many factors such as their socio-economic status, education, culture, and so much more. For example, one parent in Bethesda who immigrated from a different country would have a completely different parenting style than a parent who is third generation. One is more familiar with the area and culture whereas the other is not. Some parenting styles are infiltrated with ideologies from their cultures which results in a style that is stricter and more traditional. In Bethesda, we see an abundance of more lenient parents but that isn’t the case for all the them. Overall, for a diverse area there are different parenting styles.

Anonymous Bethesda Mom

BY ANONYMOUS B-CC STUDENT The harsh lights flood into my dark room at 6 in the morning. I hear the shrill voice of my mother as she barrels down the stairs and into my room. “WE NEED TO WORK ON YOUR COLLEGE ESSAYS!” I hear as I attempt to roll over in my bed and cover my eyes to shield them from the light. Covering my eyes, while helpful to provide a slightly more relaxed morning environment, does not help the loud yelling of my mother. She reminds me that my grades are dropping (thank you senior year), college applications are due in 2 days (thank you November 1st), and most importantly, I am underachieving (thank you anxiety and other mental health issues).

This morning scene is not uncommon in the Bethesda bubble.

Parents from around the area are hell bent on getting their children into the “best” schools, so they can flex their child’s acceptance to the local listserv! All of these toxic traits of Bethesda parents are normally well intentioned, however, the consequences of their toxicity can be shown through the poor mental health of students in our area and the competitive school environment in our county.

The Unfair Stereotypes of Bethesda Parents

BY ELI GLICKMAN

The Changing Role of the Bethesda Parent

BY MIA ROMANO Of course every family is different, however in my opinion, the parents in Bethesda are much more involved in their children’s lives than most other places. Sometimes, I have seen parents take it too far and try and do every little thing for their children.

Don’t get me wrong, if you have both of your parents and you know that they care about you, it is definitely something to be grateful for.

When we were younger, it made sense for us to receive help - a baby is not able to stand up, let alone do laundry. But now as we are getting older, nearing adulthood, we have to learn to do things on our own.

When we move out we are going to have to do everything ourselves, we will not be able to sit back and rely on someone else to do it for us.

None of this should be avoided and thought of as a terrible obligation. We should see it as what it is, an exciting step towards being more independent and mature.

A Recommendation to Parents

BY EMMETT SIEGEL Parenting in Bethesda is different in other places because there is much more pressure to have a “successful” child than in many other areas of the country and the world. Given that Bethesda is a very affluent area and is close to Washington, D.C., which has the reputation as a cutthroat city, there are automatically expectations put on children to become better than their peers. As a child and a student, there is an incredibly competitive environment where I am expected to outdo everyone around me. Even though I don’t feel a ton of pressure on myself, I know some people personally that often mention how their parents or teachers expect so much out of them and can’t keep up with the expectations. As a recommendation, parents should be as understanding as possible and do whatever possible to make sure their children don’t succumb to the pressures and expectations that come with living and growing up in Bethesda.

Bethesda parents are like any other parents: They work hard, they love their kids, and they want their kids to have good lives. The parents which I know from growing up in my Bethesda neighborhood are some of the best, hardest working people that I know. However, when discussing parents in our area, many of my classmates have characterized them as entitled jerks. The way things are for most Bethesda parents, working hard and loving their kids, is overridden by the stereotype of the Porsche driving, prosecco drinking, stay at home mom or the country club going businessman father who buys high end liquor for his kids. While to an extent this does exist in Bethesda, as in any other wealthy suburb in America, it is unfair to categorize all Bethesda parents in this way. There is a lot more to Bethesda Parents than that; there are you summer swim club team reps who work tirelessly to make sure everyone has a good time, the PTSA board members that make sure we all have the school materials we need, and the parents that help us with our homework when we need it and that make us the best people we can be -- these are the true Bethesda parents.

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COVER STORY

BY SAM MOMENI Walk past the hall of any band room and you’ll hear the resonant sound of children learning one of the most ancient cultural engagements commonly called music. Each and every one of those children expresses and develops their sense of music through a different—yet still valid—form.

Some may get their first exposure to playing by strumming and plucking the nylon, or perhaps steel, strings of a guitar. Others may learn by the slightly more daunting and foreign action of bowing a violin. A few may even grow apathetic to strings, opting for something like a wind or brass instrument. Few children, however, put forth any thought as to why they play their respective instruments. To most, “it just kind of happened.” Even in the case when kids develop a soulful calling to play an instrument via inspiration from their favorite music virtuoso (think the likes of Taylor Swift or Nick Jonas), we find that actual interest in the instrument diminishes and tapers, but there remains a compelling force keeping them playing: their parents.

One of the most quintessential features of the average “busy child’s” life is being whisked away in a family-sized SUV each Monday afternoon to learn the abstract and surreal concepts of scales and harmonies on a piano. To the children, this grows to be a bit a cyclical occurrence, either eager to learn something new each time or dreading the experience as a whole. As for the parents, most have long held the conviction that what they’re doing is beneficial to their child’s cognitive and socio-emotional development, but whether or not that is pretext is worth examining in an uber-competitive urban culture, where kids and teens alike are laden with expectations. Whether it’s to sell the impression of extraordinary “commitment” in a child to a college, outperform other neighborhood peers, or simply fulfill their own childhood regret of not playing an instrument, parents forcing their children to learn and continue playing has been both well-known and well-document8

ed. With a majority of kids in a self-conducted open poll reporting feeling “pressured” or “expected” to play (and play well), it’s obvious that the coercion of music can be quite damaging.

“Music should never be something a child is ‘forced’ to do in the first place,” said Dr. Gabriela Cohen, chair of the First Music Department at the Levine School of Music in D.C. “If there is nothing rewarding about it for the child, then it becomes unpleasant for the parent and the child.”

This is even further exemplified in the scenario of high-stakes competitions and recitals. The Director for Psychology in Schools and Education from the American Psychological Association (APA), Dr. Rena Subotnik, said: “that level of practice can be deadly.” Deadly and stressful indeed, but also counterintuitive. By doing this, parents will often deter their children from playing or having a passion for music once they are no longer required to play. The distaste they will often hold paradoxically defeats the purpose behind enrolling the child in the first place—making it a waste of time, resources, and ultimately money.

The move to force children to play instruments or learn music is evidently one that can wind up being quite wasteful and hurtful, but that doesn’t mean that exposure to music from a young age is necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it has been proven to be quite a good thing in many cases. When asked about the benefits of early-age exposure to music, Dr. Cohen said “research has shown that exposing music to children at a young age is beneficial in a variety of ways, including memory, cognitive development, learning skills, and expressive abilities, in addition to helping them to develop social skills and build their confidence.”

The scope of skills developed isn’t just limited to neurological and psychological development.

“It also is beneficial in terms of the crucial musical skills that a student more easily absorbs at a young age (keeping a steady beat, singing in tune, moving expressively), that are much harder to learn at an older age,” said Dr. Cohen.

It is also important to acknowledge the varying

GRAPHIC BY YAEL CHIAPPORI

Forced Musicianship: is it a Problem?

degrees of readiness and inclination a child can have towards playing an instrument. Kristi Licari, who teaches band at Westland Middle School, generally notices her students enjoy playing their instruments: “As with any class or activity, there are always favorite and least favorite aspects.”

That exact understanding is vital in uncovering why certain children lose or don’t have interest.

As general education moves away from its past inflexibility and now promotes individualized learning, music education has the opportunity to mirror that change. This way, it feels much less a burden, and music education becomes much more to the feel of something that would typically invoke vigor or interest in a child from an early age (not to say that it already can’t for some).

Of course, this doesn’t justify any added stress on children and teens to adhere to or excel at music. “Parental pressure is only useful in initial stages of practice to play an instrument,” Dr. Subotnik said. In these scenarios, playing music—a typically pleasing activity—grows to be one that is compounded with the rest of the stresses in a child’s life. What was once a release from a sometimes meek and stressful reality for kids become a contributor towards that irritating reality, and music grows to be nothing more than a burden or task simply put forth just to get over with.

Nevertheless, with its beneficial effects undeniable, but its potential for exploitation elevated, music education stands in a unique and challenging situation. While there’s nothing wrong with raising a child piano prodigy, the realization that not every child will be that is one that needs to be made. Music and music education is something that stops at no borders and discriminates against no one. It has proven itself to be one of the purest and honest forms of expression, meaning if it’s forced on generations to come, a great sense of its original value is lost. The adoption of a much more pragmatic and realistic ideology is what seems to most effectively foster a love for music—rather than the forcing of it.

COVER STORY

BY STEFANO FENDRICH AND TATE SMYTH The game was coming to a close as senior captain Graham Blondes looked up at the scoreboard, grasping the fact that his football team was about to lose for the last time on Senior Night. This year was supposed to be different; the county had expanded the playoff bracket, and the Barons football squad could have entered the playoffs. Instead, Blondes wears his number 74 for the last time and glances at the opposite side of the field, crowded with enough players to set up an entire defense, offense, and special teams, without using one player for more than one position. This is in contrast to the Baron’s sideline, which contains half the roster with players such as Henry Smith taking on four of five positions.

But why is there such a significant disparity in roster size between B-CC and schools like Quince Orchard and Richard Montgomery?

Why have there not been legitimate tryouts, with cuts, for the football team in years?

Why has resorting to walk-ons still not filled an entire roster? One hypothesis is that the overprotective Bethesda parent has acted again, this time, concerned about the potential risk of their child sustaining injuries like a concussion.

Over the past few years at B-CC, there has been increased concern amongst families regarding the dangers of football. When Sophomore Fredrick Ryan discovered that the football team demanded more players due to the alarming lack of participation, he urged his parents to allow him to participate. His mother, Jeanene Liaro Ryan, though amused by this request, immediately told Fredrick that joining football would be “a definite no.” According to Mrs. Ryan, the reasoning for “never let[ting] her son play football” was because of “the amount of head-to-head hits there are. It is an amount of hits a teenager can’t take that could lead to serious injury in the future.” Mrs. Ryan reflects a larger voice of Bethesda mothers who feel this is a risk not worth taking. There is, additionally,

GRAPHIC BY CHARLIE KANNAPELL

NO MORE FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS little faith in the equipment used in the sport that also scares some parents. Mrs. Ryan views helmets to be inadequate in their attempt to prevent serious brain damage. In general, the head-to-head contact can scare parents, and the stories they hear about retired NFL players who have been proven to have CTE add to that worry.

CTE has become a commonly known consequence of excessive head trauma, and the facts about the dangers of football have become widely recognized by students and parents.

At the 2019 American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting, research was presented which demonstrated an alarming number of high school football players being diagnosed with concussions in the United States.

These football-related concussions alone make up approximately six percent of all injuries to high school athletes. While this is already a significant amount, various studies that surveyed players themselves have revealed that around 50 percent of athletes have experienced concussionlike symptoms during their seasons. Considering the side effects concussions can have on the brain, including CTE, several B-CC parents are reluctant to permit their children to play for their high school football team and take these risks.

While many Baron football players acknowledge the risk of playing football, some claim that there is always a risk of injury with any sport. Junior Barons football player Nick Scott contends that “football is not, per se, a ‘dangerous sport’ as you can get hurt in almost any sport.” Scott, who has never been concussed in all his years playing football, believes that “as long as played correctly, the sport is safe.”

Many of those participating in the sport don’t have great concern regarding head-trauma risk.

Recently, football has made progress in its attempt to diminish the severity of these injuries.

B-CC football head coach Benjamin Minturn says that, currently across football, at all levels, if a player gets a concussion, “they are put on the

five-day concussion protocol, and can only return to play after getting doctor clearance.” He further points out that there is “new and improved technology and equipment and helmets that have made strides to make them safer.”

In addition to the advancements in equipment, there have recently been a plethora of rule changes enacted specifically with the goal of reducing helmet-to-helmet contact. Overall, these changes should improve the well-being and safety for the current team or any potential recruits previously concerned about joining the team.

Liz Smith, mother of Barons football junior Perry Smith, fully supports her son’s decision to play football. Smith says that his mom “understands that there is always possibility of concussions or other injuries happening,” but still supports his decision. Smith says that his mom is an active supporter of the football program and always helps out however she can. He always asks him to be careful when he plays and not make any ill-advised tackles that could result in bad injuries for either player involved. At the end of the day, Smith feels that since he has this support from his mom, she is making a wise and good decision.

Even with the implementation of this new technology, Coach Minturn believes there is more that can be done to make Barons football safer. “It might be more safe to have kids play against schools that have the same skill and experience level, instead of just based on the size of the school.” Although it would be difficult to fully realize this idea, it could help to ensure the safety of B-CC players.

We all take the safety of our student athletes seriously. But is the overprotective Bethesda parent taking it too far? Is it time for them to reevaluate their hesitation and give their kids a chance to contribute to a few more football victories on our new Guckeyson turf?

9

WHEN DID BETHESDA PHOTO COURTESY OF MIA ROMANO ADAPTED BY YAEL CHIAPPORI

FEATURE

Construction by mia romano In 1966, an addition was made onto the Bethesda-Chevy Chase high school building. It was built parallel to East West Highway, approximately where the hallway from the gym to the auditorium is now. However, almost none of B-CC’s current students even know about the addition, as it was torn down in 2002, along with other past additions from 1952, 1959, 1970, 1975, and 1976. Over the years, and especially recently, Bethesda has been under constant construction. From B-CC’s own Guckeyson memorial field, several cranes are visible on the skyline.

B-CC has recently experienced a significant period of construction itself, beginning in 2016.

Finally, this fall, the Guckeyson field was completed. However, the project still cannot be considered finished until the track is installed later this year.

Many people believe that the construction of numerous buildings is improving Bethesda. New apartments, new offices, new restaurants and more are being built on the streets of Bethesda, attracting more and more people. Recently built apartments and other housing will allow for people to move in, and as junior Sam Blank said, “when you build nice modern apartment buildings people will want to move in.” For example, Flats 8300, the luxury apartment building on Wisconsin Avenue above Harris Teeter, provides 359 units of housing and is just one of countless residential buildings in Bethesda.

Not only do these buildings make Bethesda desirable to people by providing places to live, but they also bring in a lot of businesses. All of the people living in close proximity to the retail and offices in Bethesda make it a location of high value to businesses. It seems to continue in a cycle of businesses attracting people and those people attracting even more businesses. Many people have the opinion that these newly constructed buildings look good. Sophomore Aiden Franze said, “most of the buildings do end up being pretty cool, and all the new stores and restaurants are nice, … [they] will definitely attract more people to Bethesda since there are more places to visit and places to eat.”

However, one first has to go through the bad to get to the good. Despite the admired buildings, the long lasting construction is an eyesore and a major drawback for many. Franze 10

said, “I personally am not the biggest fan of all the construction in Bethesda, and I feel every time they finish one project another one starts.”

Bethesda seems to be stuck in a never ending stage of construction and change. “Dump trucks line the streets, concrete mixers block lanes, and more sidewalks are closed than I’ve ever seen anywhere,” said Mr. Young, a teacher and coach at B-CC. Already traffic-heavy and congested streets are just getting fuller and fuller, and the restricted roads and sidewalks are certainly not helping.

With construction limiting the use of many major roads, the rest are left to handle all of the traffic, further extending people’s commutes. Just to get from B-CC to Bethesda Elementary School on Arlington Road has become a challenge. Construction poses an inconvenience to pedestrians as well. Many people need to walk along the street or constantly cross the road where there is not a crosswalk, due to the large amount of sidewalks being blocked off with orange cones and signs that read, Sidewalk Closed. The direct impact that this issue has on students at B-CC leaves many unhappy. “The second they take the sidewalks away they lose my support,” said Blank. Even though the outcome of all this construction benefits many people, the process of building is what turns people away.

Many students do not see an end to the constant construction in Bethesda. “They are constantly remodeling and rebuilding things, and I don’t feel that it will stop anytime soon,” said Franze.

Throughout Bethesda, it seems much of the retail is having a hard time maintaining their space, especially smaller businesses. What used to be one-story shops are now twenty-story office buildings or banks. Within 5,000 feet from B-CC, there are over twenty banks. “They are putting too many buildings like that in central Bethesda, and I feel they can put a bank really anywhere, but they shouldn’t take up space [that could be used] for like a restaurant in the middle of Bethesda,” said Franze. Many of the retail stores and restaurants are struggling to keep their doors open and even some chains do not stay in Bethesda due to poor profit and high cost. “There is a ton of competition and people don’t like to over-pay for food and retail around here. The tricky part is many of the big building owners charge super high rent

and it makes it really challenging for small businesses to thrive,” said Mr. Young. Between the high rent for retail space in Bethesda and the popularity of purchasing products online, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for businesses to keep their locations here. As a result, a lot of shops that draw people to Bethesda are being replaced by high rise buildings that neither the community or visitors can use. Franze said, “I personally don’t like the fact that many stores and businesses are leaving Bethesda, and feel that we are losing many of Bethesda’s best features.”

Bethesda Row, which many people see as the center of Bethesda, has also undergone many extreme changes in the past few years, and even months. Stores that were popular and widely viewed as for community gathering, like the Barnes and Noble, have been forced to leave. Louison Dessus lived in Bethesda, then moved away for 3 years. This year she returned and is now a junior at B-CC. Dessus said, “when I lived in Bethesda from 2012-2016, Bethesda seemed like the town of 1000 restaurants. It felt more communal and vibrant.

With the steady loss of these [restaurants], meeting spots are lost and could never be replaced by office spacing.” In addition, Dessus said, “it’s really sad and disheartening. When these stores leave, a part of the community leaves too, and soon enough we’ll be all out.”. However, it is not just stores that will be missed. “I have been the most sad about the loss of the Capital Crescent Trail in the direction of Silver Spring. The tree-lined gravel path was a wonderful place to run and it is now another construction site for who knows how long,” said Mr. Young.

The constant change in the B-CC community poses daily risks to it’s students. Blocked-off sidewalks and unsafe crosswalks force pedestrians to walk in the street. Glass windows fall from brand new buildings and come crashing down into the path of the people below. Trucks and machinery on every block add another possible danger to the public. There is no doubt that everlasting development in Bethesda is doing some good. Everything from new educational facilities to new housing is improving our community.

But is all of this change really worth the risk?

BECOME SUCH A MESS? FEATURE

Parking receives the season passes According to B-CC senior field hockey and lacrosse player Catherine Gaffney, the passes are distributed according to seniority. “Priority is usually given to captains and those with the largest cars; however, the respective coach has the final say,” said Gaffney.

Another option for student drivers is a neighborhood pass. This option is more about who you know rather than what you do. Students that park in the East Bethesda neighborhood surrounding the school must have an East Bethesda parking permit visible from the exterior of the car. It can also be registered online by using their license plate. The students able to obtain an East Bethesda parking permit are limited to those residing within the designated East Bethesda region. It’s a common idea amongst student drivers at B-CC to ask anyone and everyone that they know who lives in the East Bethesda neighborhood for a parking permit. The process to obtain a permit is fairly simple: one must pay a small fee of $20 and complete an online form, inquiring information about who is submitting the form (contact information and address) and information about the car in question (such as the make, model, and license plate). Many neighborhood residents are more than happy to get a parking permit for a student because of the easy process and the sympathy they feel for the desperate teenager that is asking this of them. This begs the question of whether it is ethically correct to give/ receive a pass if the person does not live in the neighborhood. Senior

Marguerite Lucas received a neighborhood pass from a friend in the neighborhood and argues that “there is very little harm done by giving a student a neighborhood pass. Students only use the pass during the school days, and therefore cause little disturbance in the neighborhood as those are the times most residents are at work.”

A third parking spot for B-CC students is the public parking garage on Waverly Street, colloquially known as simply “Waverly” by students.

Some students pay day to day, setting them back about $9.50 each day (if parked from 7:35 to 2:35). Others opt for a monthly pass, officially called Parking Convenience Stickers, or PCS permit, which costs $150 each month. Parking here, whether paying day to day or monthly, is quick easy; however, the price presents an issue for many students. There are the fortunate few who are able to convince their parents to pay for the garage, signaling the end of their parking worries. Less lucky students resort to paying for the parking themselves or trying to game system by parking in Waverly without paying and simply hoping for the best. While for some students this method proves fruitful, for others it results in a $45 parking ticket.

Parking at school, and in the general Bethesda area is no doubt very limited, proving a large obstacle for students who simply want an alternate route to get to school.

GRAPHIC BY MOLLY BUSIS

by ana curic and frannie rosen Getting your driver’s license is a rite of passage in American culture: most Americans get theirs between the ages of 15-18. While having your license provides a new sense of freedom and power, it also brings a new set of problems and responsibilities. At B-CC, one of the most prevalent problems young drivers face is finding parking in the lot. B-CC parking passes cost $25 per season, however there are only 71 passes for the entire senior class. There are alternate places to park within a block radius of B-CC, but all come with their advantages and disadvantages, such as price and location. These include the neighborhood, which requires a pass, and the Waverly Parking Garage.

The most obvious option for most students would be to park in the student lot in front of B-CC. The designated student parking spaces on campus are the student lot in the front of the school and the end of bus loop. However, since there are only 71 passes, it is very hard to come by a parking spot. According to B-CC assistant principal Samuel Levine, priority is given to student athletes, those involved in internships and clubs, and finally, students with extenuating circumstances reported in an application form submitted to the security office. The passes are distributed seasonally, with the exception of student interns who usually have an annual pass.

These passes are obtained through the internship program. On the other hand, individual clubs and sports decide who within the organization

11

My Grandfather: The Bar Mitzvah Boy

BY STEFFI LEWIS Tallis around his neck, my grandpa stepped up to the Bimah to recite the Torah portion he had done 70 years ago. While he hadn’t seen that same text in a long time, the Hebrew text felt all too familiar as the words flooded out of his mouth.

“Learn, do not memorize,” every Rabbi tells the Bar Mitzvahs, whether they are 13 or 83. Every word, every phrase, and every Aaliyah of the Torah is meant to educate and enlighten, putting each individual through a process of reflection, community service, and hard-work. This initiation ceremony acts as an introduction of each Jewish child as an adult to the wider Jewish community.

My grandpa, Dr. Dave Olim, living just outside of Philadelphia, had his Bar Mitzvah at 13, and once again at 83 years old. In traditional Jewish teachings, when an individual enters their 13th year, they get Bar or Bat Mitzvahed.

Yet, unbeknownst to many, this is not the only opportunity to go through the process. The expected lifetime for a Jewish male is 70 years and every individual who passes this 70-year mark starts over with their second life, therefore, 83 is almost like reentering that 13th year.

Granted, my Zaide, “grandpa” in Yiddish, has been considered an adult in the Jewish community for a long time, but the experience was less of a re-introduction and more of a reconnection. His motivations in reconnecting to his heritage stemmed from wanting to reaffirm his faith not only to himself, but to those around him: his family, his friends, and his

congregation. “[The Bar Mitzvah was] something that I wanted to do in order to declare and to emphasize my Jewish heritage,” said Dr. Olim, “My affirmation of being Jewish gives me pride in belonging to the small tribe of people who was formed 3000 years. I am proud to be part of that tribe which has persisted until now and I believe has given a great benefit to the world.”

With society very much up in arms, he found this experience as a means of reconnecting to the very core of his being. Entering a new decade with new phenomena, from cancel culture to new technology, and even to the re-emergence of white supremacy, he has no concept as to how to respond or live in what feels like an unknown

world. Seeing life through a different lens -- a difficulty within itself -- goes beyond the inability to recognize what feels like foreign news on the television screen, but facing the unknown at 83 years old can disconnect anyone from the greater world beyond them. The Bar Mitzvah, a symbol of connection, community, and understanding, helped him to reconnect with his family, his congregation and his religion, and ground him in his belief system, a notion far from foreign.

My Zaide has a strong Jewish identity, one that has followed him around his entire life, from his Yeshiva education to his Dermatology practice.

His belief system is firmly rooted in this identity, what he has learned through the Torah, as well as what he has learned as a Jewish man. “My teachings and my Jewish upbringing [helps] me in the way I act in life, [such as] how to treat people and what is right and what is wrong,” he stated, adding, “I have become more faithful to the [Torah’s] teachings and it has become more important because of what is happening in the world today.” In his address at the end of the Bar Mitzvah, my Zaide delivered a selfless speech that relayed a message of praise and high hopes for his family and the continuation of their Jewish heritage. Like the speech of a 13-year-old boy, he was looking into the future, not for himself, but for his family and the next generation. Religion, creed, or background, he believes that recognizing the great value in our heritage offers a great benefit to the world.

Greta Thunberg: The Girl Changing the World One Protest at a Time

DRAWING BY DERYA TASPINAR

BY IMAN KHOSRODAD

"How dare you" said Greta Thunberg passionately, addressing the UN General Assembly. "How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you're doing enough when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight."

16-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden has become a powerhouse in the face of climate change over the past 14 months. Starting as a schoolgirl who stood alone protesting outside the Swedish parliament, to a globally known name with thousands following her lead, Thunberg has become the face of climate change activism in 2019.

Fed up with the lack of attention the issue of climate change received, Thunberg skipped school for the first time on August 20, 2018 in an act of peaceful protest. At first, Thunberg was dismissed by her peers, parents, and teachers. However, she did not stand alone for long as people took notice of her actions quickly.

Over the next several months, she slowly gained media attention and followers supporting her campaign. By the end of 2018, over seventeen 12

thousand students throughout twenty-four different countries took part in "Fridays for the Future," in which they joined a weekly nationwide protest to save the planet by skipping school.

Thunberg's motivation for her activism stems from recent shocking reports and predictions made by scientists surrounding the increase of global warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported that temperatures could possibly rise more than 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit over the next twelve years, exceeding the original 1.5-degree Fahrenheit target temperature made at the Paris Climate Agreement. The report also included what the world’s population has to do in order to prevent the imminent drastic temperature rise. Aware of all these facts, and frustrated with the reality that no preventative measures were being put into place, Thunberg took it into her own hands to make a change.

This past summer, Thunberg traveled from Britain to the US to take part in the United Nations Climate Summit. Here, she drew even more media attention worldwide with her powerful remarks directed towards politicians and those with higher power. Thunberg called on the Summit leaders to recognize the need for immediate action, instead of making climate change an issue for future generations. Growing increasingly infuriated, Thunberg acknowledged the fact that she "shouldn't be up” there, but instead should be “back at school on the other side of the ocean." She continued, saying "You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency, but no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil, and that I refuse to believe."

Although millions of people support the protests led by Thunberg, others oppose and dis-

miss her movement. Following her statements made at the U.N. Climate Summit, President Trump, along with several other conservative members, responded via social media. In President Trump’s tweet, he said Thunberg “seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future!” President Trump's response was seen as offensive and diminishing to the importance of climate change and the impact Thunberg has made. In response, Thunberg has since changed her own twitter bio to quote the president, saying “a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future.” In an interview with Fox News, conservative Michael Knowles even went so far as to call Thunberg a “mentally ill Swedish child.” Despite the backlash Thunberg has received for her outspoken views, she continues her efforts to raise awareness for actions against climate change.

Bethesda Chevy Chase High School students, as well as members of the Bethesda community, have had several opportunities to join movements like Thunberg’s. In September, a global climate strike took place, in which citizens of all ages, skipped work and school with signs reading things such as “oceans are rising, and so are we” and “don’t burn my future.” Protesters chanted “whose future? Our future!” Maya Kagan, President of the Environmental Action Club, participated in the climate strike on Friday, September 13th where she stood only a few feet away from Thunberg. It was a “really amazing experience seeing so many kids at the walkout,” said Kagan.

When asked how global warming affects her personally as well as the B-CC community, she responded by saying “I think sometimes people forget that the climate catastrophe is truly connected to all issues we are facing and care about,” such as “reproductive health, health care, civil rights.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEFFI LEWIS

FEATURE

FEATURE

The Emergence of Nationalism in the West

BY JULIANA CAPIZZI AND SONALI HETTIPOLA

Support for nationalism has risen since the election of Donald Trump in 2016, spurring nationwide controversy over the impacts of nationalistic and patriotic ideals. The rise of nationalism is partly a response to the increased prominence of international law and institutions, including the United Nations and European Union after the Second World War. Many nationalists fear these institutions constrain the sovereignty of nation-states, putting power in the hands of bureaucrats and out of the hands of citizens. Most nationalists find the EU tyrannical, and the regulations it passes oppressive. Some nationalists consider this type of imperial rule as dictatorial and believe these institutions squash out the culture of these nations themselves.

Nationalism is an important topic in today’s politics, especially in America, since President Trump is a self-declared nationalist. Responding directly to concerns about globalization, President Trump said in USA Today, “I’m a nationalist. Nationalist. Nothing wrong.” This itself has influenced many of the actions taken by the Trump Administration, including the withdrawal from international treaties such as the Paris Climate Accord and organizations like the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Political philosopher Patrick Deneen at the University of Notre Dame, sided with Trump when asked to evaluate the rise of nationalism. “I personally sympathize with the widespread expression of support for the nation by many citizens in the face of rising forms of internationalism, globalism and, broadly, an ethos of cosmopolitanism among more elite and economically mobile classes. I think that this care for a more local and coherent political unit in the face of globalizing trends

“...Nationalism is ‘defined by three basic assumptions: that the world is divided into nations; that nations are defined by objective characteristics like common descent, language, or religion...’” is legitimate and desirable,” said Deneen.

The rise of nationalism has clearly taken a stand in politics in America, but also in Europe, specifically in Britain. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also identifies as a nationalist, as does the previous prime minister, David Cameron. The British National Party, which was founded in 1982, advocates for nationalism and holds a strong stance against immigration. The people in this party fear for the future of England if immigration rates continue to rise. A recent study in The Washington Post showed that support of nationalism in Russia is also on the rise. A survey asking whether citizens supported the slogan “Russia for Russians” reported that

about 60% of Russians agreed with this slogan.

In 2015, the far-right Conservative People’s Party of Estonia won its first seats in parliament.

In 2019, the group doubled their votes to 18%, making it Estonia’s third largest party. The antiimmigration Swedish Democrats won 18% of the vote in the 2018 election. In France, Marine Le Pen led the National Front party, now called the Rassemblement National party. The party advocates against immigration and blames the European Union for the increase in immigration in recent years. The party has gained a large following, as it is narrowly beat the current president of France, Emmanuel Macron, in the EU Parliamentary elections. Le Pen lead with 23.6% of votes, while Macron with 22.4%. In Spain, the Vox party, which means voice in Latin, is a far-right group which only recently gained support. This past April, the party won 10% of the vote and 24 seats in the Spanish parliament.

Samuel Goldman, an associate professor in the department of political science at George Washington University, claims that nationalism is “defined by three basic assumptions: that the world is divided into nations; that nations are defined by objective characteristics like common descent, language, or religion; and that the nation should be the focus of allegiance.

Sometimes those are assumptions are explicitly laid out. More often, though, they lie somewhere in the background of a ‘style’ of politics.”

Nationalism and race have a long troubled history, and some believe that the emergence of nationalism is directly correlated to the rise in racism and antisemitism. Deneen and Goldman share these concerns. However, Deneen is as concerned about “elite classes university, media, opinion-leaders - sweeping these concerns [of nationalists] under a rug and simply denouncing any attempted discussion [of them] as racist.” Goldman, on the other hand, said, “Nationalism usually has an ethnic element. That’s not the same thing as race.

The idea of an ethnic nation is a lot older than the idea of biological race.” But Goldman warned, “The terrible irony is that a racial idea often replaced the ethnic one… From the 19th century until at least World War 1, a popular answer was that America was a ‘white’ nation.”

With Trump as President, there is a lot of uprise and commotion about our president being racist because of his nationalist views. However, Trump claims that he is not racist. When speaking to The Washington Post, Trump said, “[I am] the least racist person that you’ve ever encountered.”

Yet, as a nationalist, some of his actions can be viewed as prejudiced. Trump has launched travel bans on Muslims, gratified white supremacists, and, most famously, advocated for a wall to be built to prevent entry of Mexicans into America.

“Some branches of nationalism certainly will place the interests of one race over another, especially if that race was dominant during the foundation of the country or culture. Since this usually isn’t reflective of modern standards, the practice could be considered racist,” Goldman said.

When questioned about the rise of nationalism in America and its effects on African Americans, Effie Amankwah-Ayeh, a B-CC junior, said, “I feel like being black, not only in America, but anywhere else in the world, [makes it] very

hard to live a life that’s relatively easy. The opportunities that aren’t presented to you and the way people look at you is different because of the color of the skin you have.” AmankwahAyeh described her thoughts when it came to being an African American in America and feeling misplaced, compared to those that are Caucasian and born in the US. She expresses that no matter what country you live in, you will have a lost feeling when looking different or coming from a different nationality. “If you see people that aren’t apart of your race and automatically don’t like them and try to discriminate against them and have a fear that your race is dying,

“As media use rises, so will other political ideologies, including nationalism. There will always be debate within the country on whether nationalism is a racist concept.”

that’s where that line of being a nationalist and a racist is crossed.” said Amankwah-Ayeh.

She continued to discuss the impact African Americans have had on the United States specifically. “[This country] was forged upon on the backs of my black brothers and sisters that never received a day of rest. My people made this country but it isn’t ours.”

Jack Bussiere, a junior from New Hampshire, identifies as a nationalist. Bussiere said, “I started to identify with nationalism about two years ago, after I found myself consuming a lot of right wing media online. It certainly wasn’t a quick transition from the vanilla conservatism I had previously identified with but it was a pretty easy one at the time.”

It is well known that political views are shared within families and the political climate that surrounds one’s home, but with the growth of media outlets such as Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, many teenagers have started to identify with parties independently. Bussiere would “watch YouTube videos from people of more radical backgrounds” and “it resonated more with [him].” Bussiere said, “In a more liberal state like Maryland, or my home state of New Hampshire, your political beliefs can cause conflict with your family, your friends, really anyone around you.”

Through media influence and President Trump’s association with the demographic, nationalism and other small parties have taken a rise in politics. In this day and age, media is a source of most political news and a way to spread political action. Today climate strikes are organized through Instagram and polls are posted on Twitter during elections.

As media use rises, so will other political ideologies, including nationalism. There will always be debate within the country on whether nationalism is a racist concept. In the years to come, nationalists will either prove to favor more racist views, or take a turn for the better.

13

An Eye for an Eye: False Justice

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHARLIE KANNAPELL

OPINION

BY ETHAN TIAO Over the last several weeks, the name Rodney Reed has headlined newspapers, been featured on Instagram and Snapchat stories, and subsequently become ingrained in America’s collective conscious. In 1998, Reed was accused of raping and strangling Stacey Stites -- a resident of Bastrop, Texas, who was weeks away from marrying a police officer, Jimmy Fennell. When a sample of Reed’s DNA was found inside of Stites, he was promptly convicted and sentenced to death.

23 years later, cries for Reed’s freedom in the aftermath of conflicting evidence and the exposure of a flaky, insufficient investigation have put the flawed nature of the death penalty system in the spotlight for the country to see.

The lack of scrutiny and due diligence displayed throughout this case re-affirms the unjust nature of the death penalty. Amidst a multitude of reasons, the death penalty should cease to exist because it often falls upon those of a lowersocioeconomic class who can’t afford high-quality lawyers and the subjective and variable nature of crime has led to the death sentence of many innocent people. In Rodney Reed’s scenario, the two aforementioned flaws play a major role in a case that may go down as one of the most colossal mistakes in criminal justice history.

In two instances during the case, Reed’s conviction was influenced by his socioeconomic status and his race. During the original trial, Reed was defended by a court-appointed lawyer -- one administered to people who don’t have the financial means to utilize retained counsel.

Although court-appointed lawyers are not necessarily less skilled or capable in comparison to lawyers on retainer, an accused person working with a retained legal team on balance 14

has a better chance at coming to a reduced or more lenient sentence than a defendant working with a state-administered lawyer. Reed’s lawyer in 1996, Lydia Clay-Jackson, took to the stand in 2017 on the third day of his exoneration hearing. She claimed, “[she] was ill-prepared at trial to defend [her] client in the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites.” The nature of taking someone’s life is much too severe to be determined in part by a defendant’s socioeconomic status but unfortunately, in this case, and many others before, it factored into the decision.

It can also be argued that Reed’s race and the bias of an all-white jury also factored into their verdict: It was later found that Reed and Stites were engaged in a consensual affair that may have been considered ‘taboo’ because of its interracial nature. While not definitive, it is highly likely that the jury in Texas, made up of 11 white citizens, held prejudice against Reed because of his skin color and the supposed killing of a white woman by a black man. The inherent subjectivity of a jury, especially one that isn’t ethnically diverse, is another one of the death penalty’s clear flaws.

The death penalty has a track record for convicting innocent people (potentially including Rodney Reed as one of them). This is an inexcusable occurrence. Although only 10 people have been determined “possibly” innocent after execution, since 1973, over 156 people have been released from death rows in 26 states because of innocence. In Reed’s case, the investigation left a horrifying amount of questions unanswered. According to the Innocence Project, the actual murder weapon was never tested for DNA evidence, three forensic experts admitted on record to errors in their testimony, and two renowned

forensic experts have concluded that Reed’s guilt is medically and scientifically impossible.

Moreover, Jimmy Fennel, Stites’s fiancée who was a prime suspect in the investigation, was incarcerated several years later for raping a woman he detained while he was a police officer.

At which point he confessed to his cell-mate “I had to kill my n*****-loving fiancée.” Numerous people have corroborating evidence that Fennel constantly threatened to kill Stites and that he lied of his whereabouts the night of the murder.

All the while, Rodney Reed remains on death row.

Last Wednesday, in the midst of mounting evidence proving the inconclusiveness of the investigation and a confession to the murder by the fiancée of the victim, a Texas appeals court moved to suspend Reed’s execution indefinitely.

Although Reed’s life has been spared, for the time being, the death penalty’s flaws continue to prevail. Two days earlier, Roger Cromartie, an inmate on Georgia’s death row was executed after courts denied appeals for DNA testing of the murder weapon and a witness’s claim that a different man confessed. Despite the victim’s daughter voicing support for the simple test, Georgia chose to ignore all appeals and inject Cromartie with lethal substances.

As Roger Cromartie is lowered into his grave, Reed enters his 24th year on death row, still set to be executed at some point in the future. As the death penalty’s failures continue to bring our country’s wealth disparity and underlying prejudice into the limelight, the question arises: How many more lives will we shatter before we once and for all get rid of this draconian method of administering false justice.

What We Forget About Refugees

GRAPHIC BY GRACE CARTER

OPINION

BY LILLY BEHBEHANI During my freshman year in 2016, a picture of a three year old Syrian boy lying dead on a beach in Turkey surfaced. The boy, named Aylan Kurdi, was attempting to flee Syria when he drowned along with his mother, and one of his brothers. The picture shocked the world and sparked public outrage over the millions of Syrian refugees fleeing their war-torn country.

The next week, my mom got an email about a new youth committee her friends were trying to get off the ground called Project Turquoise.

Within this committee, the members would fundraise and raise awareness for Syrian Refugee youth. That following Sunday, I attended the first ever Project Turquoise meeting.

After two nonstop years of fundraising for Syrian refugee youth in Camp Za’tari, a Syrian Refugee Camp that holds about 85,000 refugees in Jordan, 14 Project Turquoise members, including me, were given the opportunity to actually go into the camp and spend time with 28 of our Syrian friends. We spent five days at Camp Za’tari, teaching our Syrian peers English slang while they taught us basic Arabic. We played sports and card games, and decorated the camp with colorful murals, one of which was painted on the side of a metal shipping container that had been converted into a classroom. We created bonds with each other. We spoke to each other like we had been friends for years. They confided in us and told us about their lost brothers and

sisters, their separated families, and their missing friends. On the last day we spent together, the refugees had been given permission by the camp to leave on an excursion to a national forest.

For all, this was the first time they had been outside the confines of a barbed wire fence in 3 years. During our final goodbyes, between the tears and hugs, they told us, “Don’t forget me.”

This past summer, I joined Project Turquoise on a mission to Lebanon to continue our work with Syrian refugee youth through a connection with an organization based in Lebanon called MAPs. In Jordan, the situation was grim. But in Lebanon, there are no established Syrian refugee camps and Syrian refugees often are restricted from attending Lebanese public schools. To provide an education to Syrian youth, MAPs would create schools in the impromptu “camps” on the side of the road. However, these “camps” in Lebanon consisted of houses made of tarp and held down with old tires. Often, the Lebanese government would bulldoze their homes down.

We met with the Syrian refugees in the organization’s headquarters. They live in constant fear of being caught by the Lebanese government, because they would be put into jail and sent back to their war-torn country if they didn’t have the correct papers.

With our Syrian friends in Lebanon, we focused on doing different mindfulness and leadership activities to help them cope with their situation and to give them a skill set for when

they are ready to enter the workforce. After 5 days, we had to say our goodbyes. I hugged my friends tightly and heard a familiar phrase uttered from their mouths: “Don’t forget me.”

On the plane ride back home, I reflected on my experience in Jordan and Lebanon. When teens in two different countries, different backgrounds, and hundreds of miles apart were asked questions about their future, their responses always envisioned themselves back in Syria, in the life they had to give up in exchange for safety. Sajeda dreams of being an ophthalmologist. Inass dreams of graduating from university with a degree in neuroscience. Dania dreams of finding a cure for cancer. They all dream of devoting their lives to helping people, locally and internationally.

Often, we forget that refugees are people.

We forget they have aspirations just like us.

We, the “Western” world, get so caught up in the politics of aid and the idea of closing or regulating our borders. We get caught up in a cycle of keeping people out that we forget that they are displaced and are looking for a peaceful place to call their temporary home.

We fear because we forget about compassion.

We fear because of differences. We fear because we lose sight of our morals. The refugees don’t want our pity or our sympathy; they want humanity. They want a chance to continue their lives before it was ripped away from them.

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OPINION

BY KADIJAH BAH With the presidential election coming up in 2020, the Democratic Party has seen a rise in candidates that refer to themselves as “Democratic-Socialists.” Supporters of the Democratic-Socialist movement, such as Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have gained a lot of popularity in recent years, especially among younger generations. In a recent Gallup poll, 51% of Americans aged 18-29 had positive feelings about socialism, compared to 45% who felt positive about capitalism. The question remains, is Democratic-Socialism a feasible option for our country? The answer is certainly no.

First, let’s discuss the actual definition of Democratic Socialism. Democratic Socialism defined by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), is a way to make the economy and society run more democratically by looking out for the public’s needs over profit-making. They claim that democracy and socialism go hand-in-hand and want to abolish capitalism in favor of an economy run by a group of elected working class people or elected government officers.

The problem with abolishing capitalism is that if we were to, many minority groups in America would end up being ignored. We are one of the most diverse nations in the world, with people of various races, ethnicities, religions, and cultures making up our population. If the economy is run by the government or by a group of elected workers, who will ensure that the needs of underrepresented minorities are met? Capitalism allows for private industries to meet the needs of different demographic

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groups, with profit-making being an incentive to actually provide for these people. The “public’s needs” that the DSA refers to do not include those of the underrepresented minorities.

Another consideration is the power we are taking away from the people. Socialism allows for the government to centrally plan and distribute certain goods. The government can use this to advance their agenda and interests. For example, government officials could distribute goods in a way that favor their supporters over others, which creates more inequality. There would be too much power concentrated in the government, which goes against the basic values of democracy.

The main reason Americans, in particular, are opposed to socialism is the increase in taxes it comes with. The United States has prided itself in our fairly low tax rates, with 37% being the highest income tax rate this year. In various European countries that support many socialist programs, their highest income tax rates reach over 50%. For example, Finland, which has free higher education, various social welfare programs, and universal healthcare, has 58.3% as their highest income tax rate this year. The stark increase in tax rates that would arise if we followed in Finland’s footprints is alone a big reason why many American taxpayers would be against socialism, despite many younger Americans viewing it positively.

Even with an increase in federal income tax rates, the reality is that it still wouldn’t be enough for the government to completely fund these socialist programs. Then, we would be adding to the national debt by spending more than we are raising. The more national debt we accumulate,

GRAPHIC BY YAEL CHIAPPORI

Socialism in America Can’t Work: A Democrat’s Perspective

the higher the net interest we must pay each fiscal year will be. This leaves even less money for these programs and for other programs the U.S spends on in the future. In addition, our generation will be the one left with the task of fixing the ever-increasing national debt. As nice as “free” higher education and “free” universal healthcare may sound, especially to younger Americans, the reality is that many more problems arise that will negatively affect our future.

There is a logical reason as to why we have never had any socialist party run the country. There have been attempts, especially considering the pressures we’ve faced from nearby countries, but it just isn’t possible. We are a nation run on capitalistic values, and almost every aspect of American culture is built upon the freedom we have in our economy, so to assume that these values would suddenly cohere with a socialist economy is unreasonable.

As someone who politically identifies with the Democratic Party, the values of social and economic equality that the party holds are very important to me. However, the value of individual freedom is something I consider much more important. We should not compromise our independence in any way for what socialists perceive to be equality. Bernie Sanders has said that his definition of Democratic Socialism is “a vibrant democracy”, but what he fails to realize is that Socialism creates the exact opposite of this definition. I agree that we need to create a more vibrant, intersectional democracy where everyone feels they are represented and treated fairly, but the best way to do this is by keeping the economy primarily in the hands of all citizens.

OPINION

The Problem with our Sleep Schedule

PHOTO BY YAEL CHIAPPORI

BY ANNA-LOUISE COBAU AND LAURA JULIA FLEISCHMANN

When writing this article we debated whether we either stay up and produce quality work, or write an easier article so we can get back to other homework and go to bed early. This predicament is not a foreign concept to most students. We are forced to decide between doing things we want or need and school work. Preached to students is to maintain balance in there lives. We are told it is crucial to stick to our morals, get a good night's sleep, have a social life, but most importantly to do well in school. At what cost are we students giving up important things in our lives?

Lack of sleep among teenage students has become one of the most pressing public health crises of our time. Sleep, though described by doctors as one of the most fundamental keys to good health, is regularly being sacrificed by teens desperate to balance their busy lives. It is well known that when one is tired, daily life becomes more

difficult. Dozing off in class has become far too common as teens start to feel the effects of sleep deprivation.

Many studies have shown that during teenage years sleep patterns shift toward later times for both sleeping and waking up. It’s horrible that teens can’t naturally fall asleep until late at night, but are still forced to wake up at 6am everyday. One study found that only 15% of teens reported sleeping 8 1/2 hours on school nights.

This health crisis is too often overlooked by public officials. Lack of sleep limits the ability to learn, listen, concentrate and solve problems. It can even cause students to forget important information like names, numbers, or even homework.

Our current system is setting us up to fail. One can’t perform at their best when their sleep schedule is at its worst. It is so important for students to begin to prioritize our health. Grades and won’t get better and

quality of life won’t improve if we are not at our healthiest. The damage we are doing to ourselves now is permanent and will continue to affect us far after our high school days are done. It will seep unwelcomed into every future aspect of our lives. On some nights neither of us sleep more than 4 hours, and already these effects are felt. It has become much harder to focus in class, be productive, and even enjoy time with family and friends. Experts even suggest that quality sleep is as important as one’s health and well-being as good nutrition and exercise.

Overall, we have known how important sleep is. Students need to recognize that although giving up sleep now may help us now, the effects are detrimental to our future. The real question now is with this information will students continue to live their unhealthy lives, or really prioritize what we all know is important?

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BY ELI GLICKMAN A few weeks ago, many Democratic Presidential candidates gathered for an “Equality Townhall.” Beto O’Rourke, a now former presidential candidate and former U.S. representative from El Paso, Texas, stated that, if elected, he would remove tax-exempt status from any religious institution which does not recognize gay rights and marriage.

The crowd proceeded to roar in applause.

O’Rourke’s proposal and the supposed popular support behind him are concerning to me and many other religious people. The proposal has raised a divisive constitutional question: how do we balance the liberties of the LGBT community with the rights of religious communities that oppose LGBT equality?

I do not endorse discrimination against the LGBT community of any kind. I am steadfast in my belief that members of the LGBT community should be equal under the law to all other people, and I do not believe that homosexuality is wrong or sinful in any way. In articulating a conservative viewpoint, I am not articulating the viewpoint of anyone but myself. I recognize that some conservatives hold different beliefs about LGBT rights than the ones that I hold, yet this article does not advocate or encourage such views.

With that said, O’Rourke’s proposal is a blatant violation of the Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution, which grants citizens the right to exercise religion as they see fit. In essence, this proposal would allow the government to determine which religious interpretations are valid and punish religious institutions that do not conform to their interpretation.

Religious institutions cannot claim protection for discriminatory conduct, but they can claim it for discriminatory speech, as decided in the landmark Supreme Court case, Employment Division v. Smith. The majority opinion, delivered by the late Justice Antonin Scalia, held that general laws that ban certain activity, such as the use of a drug, cannot be dodged by citizens under the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause. Scalia wrote, “to permit this would be to make the professed doctrines of religious belief superior to the law of the land, and in effect to permit every citizen to become a law unto himself.” If a religious institution begins to partake in blatantly discriminatory or physically harmful actions against certain congregates, the government should absolutely intervene because this begins to violate the rights of others.

However, this cannot apply to O’Rourke’s proposal, because teaching that homosexuality 18

is sinful or that gay marriage is illegitimate is speech promoting a religious belief; there is not necessarily any discriminatory conduct taking place. As wrong or reprehensible as it may seem, it does not force any undue burden or other discriminatory practice on anyone.

Removing a tax-exempt status may not spell destruction for a religious institution, but it still places an undue burden upon people holding certain religious beliefs. For example, a religious institution teaches that homosexuality is a sin (a common interpretation of some religious texts, as morally reprehensible as it may seem). If the government revokes the tax exempt status of that institution, it is effectively burdening the institution’s ability to acquire funds and stay in operation; hence, it infringes upon the right of people to practice their religion freely. By actively discouraging or preventing people from espousing their own religious beliefs, the government is dictating what they can and cannot believe.

This issue is the most contentious in two places: hiring practices and marriage ceremonies. Where is the line drawn between freedom of religion and equal rights for the LGBT community when it comes to hiring clergy? Should institutions that believe homosexuality to be a sin be compelled to hire LGBT clergy? No, they should not.

Hiring clergy that oppose the core beliefs of a religious institution damages the image and integrity of the organization. The government should not force religious institutions to hire clergy who have diametrically opposed viewpoints to those of the institution. In terms of precedent, it would not make sense -- nor would it be wise -- to force a black church to hire a pastor who is a white supremacist, in the same way it would not make sense to force a Wahabist Mosque to hire a gay clergy member. Forcing a religious institution to hire a clergy member that espoused radically different beliefs than those of the congregation would actually harm the ability of the congregation to practice their religion.

Hiring staff, however, is completely different.

Staff of religious institutions do not teach doctrines to the congregates and have no ability to proselytize whatsoever. Religious institutions should not refuse to hire or terminate any nondoctrine-teaching employee based upon their religious views. Religious institutions that discriminate against employees based upon their religious views--or lack thereof--if such views are irrelevant to their position in the institution, should be punished for discriminatory conduct, under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Marriage is a more contentious issue.

GRAPHIC BY YAEL CHIAPPORI

Freedom of Religion in the Age of Social Justice

OPINION

Does it violate the religious freedoms of an institution to perform a marriage it deems illegitimate?

Yes, it does.

While, by all means, same-sex couples are guaranteed a right to civil marriage, religious institutions should not be compelled to perform any marriage. Obergefell v. Hodges upholds the rights of same-sex couples to receive civil marriage -- to be married by a judge or clerk-- not religious marriage. Forcing a religious institution to perform a marriage violates the freedom to exercise religion of the clergy. Religious officials, like anyone else, should have the right to practice their religion as they see fit. For them, practice involves officiation of religious ceremonies.

Therein lies the justification for why religious institutions cannot be forced to perform LGBT marriages. Religious officials and clergy cannot be compelled by the government to officiate a certain ceremony that contradicts their religious values.

Allowing the government to punish certain religious interpretations creates a very dangerous precedent. If Congress chose to proceed with O’Rourke’s proposal, the IRS would have the ability to take away tax-exempt status from any religious institution that does not teach that abortion is a sin or take away status from any institution that teaches that it is a sin. As soon as the government is granted the authority to determine which religious practices and interpretations are valid and which are not, we enter a territory of tyranny and religious oppression. This is not just a problem that targets religious conservatives: it can target anyone.

As divisions in our society along religious lines have grown in recent years, maintaining true freedom of religion is of paramount importance.

As Americans, we should neither tolerate nor encourage any calls to infringe upon freedom of religion from either side of the aisle. Although O’Rourke has partially retracted his statements recently, the applause that followed his proclamation still represents how contentious this issue truly is. This crusade may seem justified to some, but the precedent it creates would lead to a slippery slope for our country: If we begin to erode the first amendment, we will eventually succumb to tyranny. We must not sell away our freedoms in a desperate attempt to appear ‘politically correct’. In these dark times in which our freedoms seem to be in question by both our current government and members of its opposition, let us remember the stirring words of George Washington, “if freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”

GRAPHIC BY MOLLY BUSIS

OPINION

Game Day is the New Sunday: No More Chick-fil-A

BY MADDY MOLYNEUX On November 18th, Chick-fil-A’s President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Tassopoulos announced the fast-food chain would discontinue their donations to the Salvation Army and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

“There’s no question we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are,” wrote Tassopoulos.

In recent years, the fast-food chain has come under mounting criticism for its support of the Salvation Army and The Fellowship of Christian Athletes. To understand the scope of the controversy and the impact of Chickfil-A’s policy change, read Maddy Molyneux’s opinion piece (below) written days before Tassopoulos’ unexpected announcement. *** Unpopular opinion: B-CC should stop selling Chick-fil-A at home games. Yes, I know, it’s often the best-tasting and most appealing option at concession if you’re looking for something more substantial than a bag of chips. And it smells good. And it’s affordable. But hear me out. There’s a reason I refuse to buy Chick-fil-A, whether I’m at a football game, an airport, or anywhere else.

I don’t agree with Chick-fil-A’s values, plain and simple. I don’t want my money to go wherever they wish to donate it, because I don’t trust their judgment. In the past, the organizations on the receiving end of Chickfil-A’s donations have been pretty troubling.

Their 2017 tax returns show a $1,653,416 contribution to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). Applicants to the FCA are asked to agree to a sexual purity statement that includes anti-LGBT language, including the following: “We believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one man and one woman,” and “Neither heterosexual sex outside of marriage nor any homosexual act constitute an alternative lifestyle acceptable to God.” This language is not something that I would expect

or accept to hear in the halls of B-CC, a place where all students should feel safe and respected.

The same 2017 tax returns showed a $150,000 contribution to the Salvation Army, an organization that as recently as 2012 has been accused of firing employees on the basis of their sexual orientation. In addition, in 2011 a homeless gay couple was denied shelter from the Salvation Army when they refused to break up. One of the men, Bil Browning, says they were asked to leave “the sinful homosexual lifestyle” behind. I find this story horrifying, and can’t stand the thought that the money I use to buy a chicken sandwich at the homecoming game might eventually end up in the hands of an organization that behaves this way.

In 2017, Chick-fil-A also donated $6,000 to the Paul Anderson Youth Home. The home’s “Christcentered” approach to helping troubled young men considers homosexuality “rage against Jesus Christ and His values.” I’d like to think B-CC is a place where all religions and sexual orientations can be respected. It seems to me that selling sandwiches from Chick-fil-A, a company that supports organizations like the Paul Anderson Youth Home, is not the best way to do that.

In my opinion, the FCA’s statements, the Salvation Army’s actions, and the Paul Anderson Youth Home’s teachings go against one of my favorite things about B-CC— how open, welcoming, and respectful our student body is. Diversity night, international night, and countless other B-CC events and programs demonstrate these values that I associate so strongly with my baron identity. The way Chick-fil-A chooses to spend their money expresses the opposite of B-CC values, and therefore their food has no place in the Guck.

However, it would be wrong to ignore the Chick-fil-A Foundation’s response to backlash from these donations.

On the topic of the FCA, Chick-fil-A claims the $1,653,416 was used for inner-city

summer camps, and that participants were not required to be members of the FCA. While I’m glad participants weren’t asked to sign the “sexual purity statement,” I would argue that there are plenty of other inner-city summer camps run by non-profits that do not have pledges ridden with homophobic language. If Chick-fil-A can’t bring themselves to support those organizations instead, B-CC needs to consider taking our business elsewhere.

It is worth noting that since 2017, Chick-fil-A has stopped donating to the Paul Anderson Youth Home, claiming they were unaware of the home’s position on homosexuality, and that they can no longer support it. However, there is an expectation that a company of Chick-filA’s size and wealth would more thoroughly vet the possible recipients of their funds.

As for the Salvation Army, The Chickfil-A Foundation argues that their $150,000 donation was used for Atlanta children’s programs like summer camps and the Angel Tree, which provides holiday gifts for children in need. Once again, I would encourage an organization like the Chick-fil-A Foundation to consider donating to groups like Toys for Tots, which also supplies impoverished youth with gifts, but does not have a history of discrimination against the LGBTQ community.

At the end of the day, Chick-fil-A is a company with a history of supporting hateful organizations. They have the funding and the ability to support great organizations doing great work with zero caveats. Organizations whose values more closely align with those we hold near and dear to our hearts at B-CC. Our school prides itself on being inclusive and welcoming. Our new field, our new pride-andjoy, should represent that. It’s time to find a new concession option, because as of right now, Chickfil-A just doesn’t meet our Baron standards.

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NEWS

Four MCPS High Schools Nationally Ranked for Best STEM Schools their ranking system by evaluating skilled teachers and programs across the country who create a vigorous learning environment, continuously keeping up with developments in the STEM field, and preparing students for post-school life.

“I think that definitely as the departments grow and as kids start learning more about the program that the ranking will improve,” said Dr. Mooney.

Instagram Tests Removing Likes

BY JACOB HOTAKAINEN On November 15, 2019, Instagram started to test removing likes for a limited amount of users in the U.S. However, while likes are not visible to the public, the person who posted will be able to see their own likes. Instagram has tested removing likes in several countries besides the U.S. so far.

Instagram claims that the main reason for doing this is so that users can concentrate on the quality of photos and videos and not have the amount of likes influence their opinion. Along with

regular users, lots of influencers and celebrities that use Instagram as a platform to promote themselves are worried about how Instagram removing likes will impact their careers.

Although the majority of celebrities dislike this decision, Kim Kardashian, is actually praising the decision and claiming that it will be good for its users mental health. When asked on his opinion on Instagram removing likes, sophomore Andrew Lebowitz said, “I think it would help because users will not need

to worry if they are getting enough likes and it would positively affect teenagers mental health.” Others were not so sure of the outcome and wanted to see if Instagram would actually remove likes before making any predictions.

Senior Ezra Tuchband said, “I think it could be beneficial to reduce cyberbullying but there are also a lot of social and societal implications that we don’t know fully understand yet.”

Barons React to Impeachment Hearing

BY LAURA-JULIA FLEISCHMANN In the past month, House Democrats have launched an impeachment inquiry against President Trump. This was a result from a whistleblower report indicating that President Trump and other top White House officials had pressured the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, and his business dealings in the country. With the start of these impeachment hearings against President Trump, the Tattler staff asked various Barons their views on the matter.

Hannah Wilks, a sophomore at B-CC,

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said, “[The] main purpose of public hearings is to allow U.S. citizens to decide for themselves whether or not Trump should be impeached. Transparency, after all, is an obligation of government in a democracy.”

B-CC Junior Eli Glickman said, “The impeachment hearings are definitely an important process, especially because of Trump basically admitting to a quid pro quo,” a favor or advantage granted or expected in return for something. President Trump and his chief-of-staff Mick Mulaney admitted to doing something of the sort with Ukraine.

“Whatever happens, it is important that it is all

made public and that we can see what actually happened,” Glickman continued to say. “If it does come out that he really did do something illegal, I think it is important that he be impeached not just by Democrats but by Republicans and that removal be seriously considered.”

These hearings are a historic moment in American history -- it is only the 4th impeachment hearing.

Nevertheless, it’s important that our Barons hold an open and respectful dialogue and keep an open and educated mind leading up to the 2020 election.

GRAPHIC BY YAEL CHIAPPORI

BY LILLY BEHBEHANI AND JOSH GARBER Newsweek released a report in collaboration 1. School of Science and Engineering (TX) with STEM.org ranking B-CC as the 892nd 2. School for the Talented and Gifted (TX) Best High School STEM program in the 3.Stanford Online High School (CA) United States out of 5,000 high schools.

4. Bronx High School of Science (NY) To compare, four Montgomery County 5. University of Chicago Lab School (IL) Public High Schools ranked in the Top 500. ...

Poolesville High School ranked 121st, Thomas 892: B-CC High School (MD) S. Wootton High School ranked 160th, Winston Churchill High School ranked 282nd, and *ranking according to Newsweek Walt Whitman High School ranked 419th.

Newsweek and STEM.org determined

NEWS

Swastika Drawings Found in B-CC Bathrooms

BY GRIFFIN BOSWELL On November 14th, building services found and promptly removed two Nazi swastika symbols drawn in a bathroom on B-CC’s first floor. Images of these drawings have been circulating over social media, according to an official school statement. The student responsible for drawing the hate symbols is unknown at this time, but an investigation led by B-CC’s Resource Officer is underway.

The following day, Dr. Mooney released an official statement via email condemning the incident and hate in general: “A part of our vision at B-CC is to create a sense of belonging for every student in the building and drawings

like those found [on November 14th] work to prevent us from realizing this vision.”

This is yet another incident to add to the B-CC cluster’s ever-growing list of antiSemitic graffiti incidents, including swastikas drawn at both Silver Creek Middle School and Westland Middle School last year. With that said, students are appalled by the incident.

“There is no place for that kind of hate in our school,” said Cole Philpott, a junior at B-CC. In October, Maryland school officials announced that they are strengthening high school and middle school requirements for Holocaust education, with an emphasis on learning the roots of anti-semitism.

Some of the student body wants to see the perpetrator held accountable and set as an example to curtail similar instances in the future. However, Juliana Capizzi, another junior at B-CC, notes that “Without any evidence, as there are no cameras in the bathroom, the school can’t really do anything about these gross affairs, and thus the cycle continues.”

Following the incident, Dr. Mooney reached out to staff members, asking if they wanted to come with a plan to educate students about respecting each other. In addition, the PTA plans to hold an evening session about “Becoming a Better Community” on February 18th, where incidents such as this one will be discussed.

Sprinkler Activates; Forces Evacuation third-floor room actually had less damage [than the classroom underneath it], even though that is where the sprinkler went off.”

Fortunately, B-CC was able to clear out the water from the affected rooms that same night and the following nights because of MCPS’s contract with a restoration company that provides equipment to vacuum up the water and put in dryers during the nighttime.

While the classroom on the third floor was completely restored and the students were able to return to that class the following day, students with classes in the B226 classroom were required to be transfer to the basement for the subsequent days.

Students whose personal items were damaged from the sprinkler have been encouraged to file a report on what was damaged, including the cost and a picture of the item which will then be filed with B-CC’s insurance company. Students will be reimbursed for their damaged items.

GRAPHIC BY YAEL CHIAPPORI

BY LILLY BEHBEHANI AND JOSH GARBER Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School students were forced to evacuate during 6th and 7th period on November 13th after a sprinkler was activated in a classroom in the B Hallway of the third floor. The fire alarm rang twice in thirty minutes, prompting some students to leave school early.

The reasoning as to how the sprinklers were activated has yet to be determined, but Acting Principal Dr. Mooney confirmed that the circulating “bean theory” -- that a bean had caused the activation -- was in fact false. “What I have been told is that you have to hit the sprinkler pretty hard,” Dr. Mooney said. Other students in the class where the sprinkler went off say that students shot a bean using a rubber band at the sprinkler, which triggered the water.

The water from the sprinkler leaked to the second floor, damaging electronics and students’ personal items. According to Dr. Mooney, “The

B-CC’s TEDx Event

BY ANNA-LOUISE COBAU On Saturday, November 9th, TEDx -- the independently organized offshoot of the organization which has enthralled the nation, TED Talks -- came to B-CC. Speakers included John Harwood, Editor at Large for CNBC; Jamie Raskin, Maryland’s 8th congressional district’s representative; Erika Totten, co-creator of Black Lives Matter: DC; Marjan Naderi, award winning Afghan-American poet; and Collin O’Mara, CEO and President of the National Wildlife Federation. Each speaker gave a moving

lecture about the theme, “Chasing Tomorrow.”

Organizing this powerful event was no easy task for organizers Jake Morton, Maïsa Kobele Keita, and the members of the B-CC TEDx Club, who began working months before the date of the event. Morton and Kobel Keita worked to file a license with the TED organization, cultivate the theme, meet with B-CC’s administration, and find notable speakers for the event.

Morton found the remarks of speaker, Collin O’Mara, particularly compelling.

Describing O’Mara’s words about the

importance of free outdoor activity for young people as “significant in our ever dynamic world challenged by climate change.”

Kobel Keita found the spoken word poetry of Marjan Naderi moving, noting that “[Naderi] was able to lure us to her own world, share her pain, strength, and love to us.” The effect on the audience was immense; Many listeners found themselves with tears in their eyes.

Due to the hard work of those involved, B-CC was able to host an outstanding event that will be remembered for years to come.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF STEFFI LEWIS AND JANET GAFFNEY

Saying Goodbye To Senior Season

SPORTS

BY FRANNIE ROSEN Senior night is a long-lived tradition done at schools throughout Montgomery County. For many teams, the traditions that go hand-inhand with senior night are two-part. Part one is during the school day; commonly, non-seniors wear shirts saying they “sweat” a certain senior and seniors are gifted bags of snacks and sweets. Part two takes place at the game; seniors walk down the field with their family members and friends as their biography is read aloud over the speakers to the crowd.

For student athletes, it is a distinctive part of their senior year that honors their seniority and responsibilities to their teammates. It’s a way to praise the players that have dedicated their time and effort to their sport during their high school years. Many athletes watch their older teammates’ senior nights every year leading up to their own. For most, it is a night that only happens once in their high school career and they want it to be special.

Attending senior nights as a senior is a remarkable part of the last year of high school.

Seniors are no longer watching “the seniors”; rather, they are watching peers that they have spent the past four years with.

For the past three years, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School has been without a home field. With the Guckeyson Memorial Stadium (colloquially called “The Guck”) under construction, B-CC sports had to find a home elsewhere: Walter Johnson High School.

Although technically Walter Johnson served as B-CC’s home field for the past three years, 22

many students would say it never felt like a real home field. For many sports that already have a hard time drawing a crowd, having their home games at Walter Johnson only made it worse.

While Walter Johnson is only about five miles away, it can take more than twenty minutes to drive there from B-CC during rush hour (which is often prime game time). For some students, especially those without a driver’s license and/ or a car, the idea of trekking all the way to Walter Johnson is much too cumbersome. Many students expected the opening of the “The Guck” would make it easier for students to attend games, therefore boosting crowd sizes.

In this past fall season, “The Guck” has hosted 5 senior nights (field hockey, boys soccer, girls soccer, football, poms and cheer) and the gym hosted another (volleyball).Yet the attendance at all of these games has been lower than expected. It is B-CC’s first year back on a real home field; most home games should be drawing a crowd, especially big games such as senior night.

Field hockey’s senior night was the first senior night of the fall season on October 1st.

Even though they had a stellar season, finishing out with a 10-2 record and winning the title of “Regional Champions”, the team has had problems drawing a crowd to their games in the past.

“Field hockey games don’t usually have that much attendance, so [on] senior night, when only my friends came, I wasn’t that surprised that more of the school didn’t show out,” said Natalie Schwartz, a senior on field hockey. What should bother many students is the low expectations the student body has set. Athletes on

some sports teams have had to adjust to their view of what a good crowd turnout is because of the lack of student morale to come to games.

Boys and girls soccer shared a senior night on October 17th, with boys having their ceremony before their game at 5:30 and the girls having their ceremony between the boys’ game and the girls’ game at 7:00. Typically, boys soccer tends to have better turnout than sports like field hockey or girls soccer. However, on senior night, the crowd at the girls’ game was much larger than boys’. The student section was essentially empty as the senior boys on soccer walked down the field with their chosen escorts.

Despite the better turnout at the girl’s soccer game than the boys, many felt that the amount of people still didn’t meet the expectations of normal senior night crowds.

“There were [fewer] people than previous years even though it was [soccer’s] first senior night at home,” said Jessie Gomez, a senior girl on soccer.

Again, this shows a team that had a fantastic season and should receive more praise from their school.

Although it seems that many senior student athletes don’t let their low attendance deeply affect them, they also aren’t overwhelmed with the school spirit shown at their senior nights. They have simply adjusted their expectations of their peers due to the sad reality of their crowds, or lack thereof.

Looking ahead to next year, hopefully the student body can redeem themselves and show out for the next senior class.

GRAPHIC BY CHARLIE KANNAPELL

SPORTS

BY JACK MERRITT AND EMMETT SIEGEL

Although the new field at B-CC is referred to as “The Guck” by the majority of B-CC students, many students are unaware of the great accomplishments of John William “Bill” Guckeyson, one of the most decorated students to ever attend B-CC. Guckeyson captained the basketball and soccer teams and set numerous track and field records before graduating from B-CC in 1933. He then attended the University of Maryland on a football scholarship, despite not playing the sport in high school. An athletic and civic hero, Bill still stands as the only Baron ever to be drafted by the National Football League, a sixth-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1937. He turned down this offer to enroll in the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. While

serving as class president, Bill picked up soccer (and became an All-American) before graduating as an officer and turning down another offer to play Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators.

Guckeyson was deployed to fly his P-47 Thunderbolt (“Contrary Mary”), and ultimately a newer F-51 Mustang in World War II as a member of the Air Force. Unfortunately, he never returned to his hometown of Chevy Chase. On May 21st, 1944, his fighter plane was shot down over the small northeast city of Stendal, Germany.

There are several memorials in his honor in addition to B-CC’s stadium, as he was inducted into the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982, in which the top male student-athlete at the school is given an award in Guckeyson’s name.

Bill Guckeyson was not only a prolific athlete in a variety of sports, but he also turned down professional opportunities to serve his country and fight for fundamental freedoms overseas. Guckeyson will forever be remembered as one of the greatest role models in the history of this country, as a fellow pilot in the squadron wrote to Guckeyson’s fiance, Mary Petticrew, “everyone looked up to him.” He was a man of the people and was greatly admired and respected by those he crossed paths with.

When he would walk through the villages he often visited, the children would walk along with him, holding hands, and laughing at whatever Bill had to tell them.

Guckeyson should be remembered for his astounding integrity, heroism, and spirit, and as a role model we can all look up to.

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SPORTS OPINION

WHEN IT COMES TO BRAIN TRAUMA, CTE DOES NOT CAPTURE THE WHOLE PICTURE

BY SAM MOMENI Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: an exceedingly scientific description of a neurodegenerative disease turned mystic boogeyman, terrorizing the parents of teens who are looking to play football. CTE, however, has grown to distract from other risks involved in playing high school sports, with other forms of head trauma needing to be better communicated to the public.

Ever since its discovery and peer-reviewed publishing by forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu in 2002, CTE has taken center-stage in the conversations and discussions about head safety in sports.

Behavior in former NFL players that were once dismissed as dementia had a new name, with things getting ugly for the league rather rapidly. Eventually, after developments and acknowledgment from the NFL, a ripple effect began: if the NFL admits it, does that mean football is too dangerous for my child? Quite reasonably, CTE grew to be by far the most talked-about head trauma in sports media. That, in any case, doesn’t mean that it should be the only condition focused on. “CTE is just one disease in a spectrum of many diseases caused by brain trauma,” Dr. Omalu said in his address for his premiere book.

That statement by Dr. Omalu should be considered with great weight. CTE itself occurs after related concussive or sub-concussive blows to the head, eventually leading to the buildup of a protein called tau. That means that even when CTE is not found in a player of ‘x’ amount of years, those same accumulated blows can still lead to brain damage, CTE or not. “Every child who plays 24

football has a 100 percent risk of exposure to brain damage...that’s whether or not their brains are found to have CTE,” Dr. Omalu said. The dangers of high-school football (and contact sports in general) must then be looked at beyond the risk of CTE, as brain damage occurs beyond the one disease. As expressed by neurologists, the permanent effect of repeated traumatic brain injuries (TBI or mTBI) is observed differently for different patients with differing circumstances. Usually, an MBTI or a concussion, as it’s more commonly called, won’t result in long-term or permanent damage to cognitive function. A more severe TBI, on the other hand, does have a greater potential to result in permanent impairment. That being said, in the case of youth sports, the case of prolonged symptoms via multiple concussions is certainly a possibility. When a child sustains two, three, or even four concussions, they are then at high-risk for lasting damage to the brain.

That subset of children is at an increased risk for depression, general neurocognitive impairment, Dementia Pugilistica (similar but not the same as CTE), and heightened vulnerability to further head trauma, without having CTE as a form of reported damage. That’s not to say that these issues don’t get addressed, but the distinction needs to be made between CTE and other more common forms of head trauma in order for parents and players to understand risks associated with playing contact sports.

Players themselves have also likely been exposed selectively to the phenomenon of CTE. Troy Harris, Tight-End for Bethes-

da-Chevy Chase High School, said, “I have heard of CTE and I am aware of what it can do.” Education on CTE to the people most closely affected by it is crucial, but it’s also important to consider what is being propagated and told to players. The truth is that many of them likely are already at risk or even exhibiting symptoms of damage from play, meaning the immediacy of the damage that can occur needs to be stressed. After all, whether or not someone has actual head damage from trauma isn’t contingent on whether or not they have CTE, so popular media, as well as informers, should never give that impression.

Nonetheless, it is good to realize what the discovery of CTE has done for neurology. One of the most puzzling and challenging mysteries in sports medicine was finally given an answer, providing at least some resolution for the families of players who suffered its effects. Considering that, its distracting effect is highly understandable as well as resolvable. What’s clear is that CTE—as new as its discovery is—still needs to be explained and emphasized, but alongside other issues and complications from head trauma. This way, a more comprehensive understanding of head trauma can be developed by parents, athletes, and spectators. Education needs to be provided by schools, their affiliated teams, as well as the popular media. While ESPN and CNN may rightly continue to cover the latest discoveries on CTE, it’s important to always keep in mind that head trauma spans much more than just that.

25 GRAPHIC BY SAM MOMENI

LA VIDA

The Global Community that Makes up B-CC Moves

BY ARANZA LARA “When creating B-CC Moves, my goal was to craft a space where diversity would not only be accepted but also celebrated. Throughout the four years that I have directed and choreographed for the club, I’ve observed how talent, passion, and discipline can create a powerful community of ethnically diverse and distinctive artists. I decided to interview three out of the 35 members from B-CC Moves who accurately represent our global profile.”

MAEL TIMAMO Cameroon

With a Mexican mother and a Phillipino father, both Angelina’s Latin and Asian identities are crucial to her. She is one of the most versatile dancers in B-CC Moves, not only excellent in hip-hop, the club’s main style, but also skilled in other styles like contemporary, ballet, and lyrical.

Angelina brings a special perspective to the group, adding cultural diversity as well as artistic range and mélange. Angelina recalls that “growing up I was always compared to my mom who was also a dancer but practiced Mexican folk dance in Mexico.” Although they practiced different styles of dance, people have drawn similarities between her and her mother. “We have been compared in how we move similarly and with the same grace.”

LUCY TORCHON Dominican Republic

To Lucy, family is the most important aspect of her Dominican culture. Lucy’s family always prepares food together, eating dinner together every night. She enjoys bringing her Dominican identity to B-CC because she loves empowering other Dominican students to join B-CC Moves.

Lucy was an early member of the club, having attended meetings regularly since freshman year and performing with B-CC Moves for three years. Lucy explained, “Moves has helped me fight my stage fright, and although I still deal with it, I’m getting more confident every day.’’

Reflecting on the B-CC Moves community, Lucy said, “The people in the club are truly amazing and have helped me not only build trust but have also allowed me to be a part of the creation of a powerful community.”

PHOTOS BY THEA HEGWOOD

One of Mael’s favorite aspects about his culture is the food, as he states himself: “African food slaps.” Some of Mael’s favorite dishes are cassava leaves, gumbo, and fried plantain. Always overflowing with energy, he said that he brings “good vibes and male anatomy” to the club. As the only male in B-CC moves, Mael feels proud being the only boy in the group. Mael acknowledges that “B-CC Moves is obviously a melting pot. The first day we met we talked about where all of us are from, and it was crazy having people from literally every continent.” Mael himself is not only black, but also a second generation African. His parents have instilled meaningful cultural beliefs that he always carries with him.

He cherishes sharing aspects of his Cameroonian identity with the club, such as his taste in music.

ANGELINA DELEON Mexico and the Philippines

La comunidad global de B-CC Moves POR ARANZA LARA “Al crear B-CC Moves mi objetivo era crear un espacio donde la diversidad fuera aceptada y celebrada. A lo largo de los cuatro años que he dirigido y coreografiado para el club he observado cómo el talento, la pasión y la disciplina pueden crear una comunidad de artistas poderosa que se distingue por su talento y que es étnicamente diversa. Decidí entrevistar a tres de los 35 miembros de B-CC Moves que representan con precisión nuestro perfil global.”

MAEL TIMAMO Camerún

Uno de los aspectos favoritos de su cultura para Mael es la comida, como él mismo dice: “bofetadas africanas”. Algunos de los platos favoritos de Mael son las hojas de yuca, gumbo y plátano frito. Siempre rebosante de energía, dice que trae “buenas vibras y anatomía masculina” al club. Mael se siente orgulloso de ser el único hombre en B-CC Moves y reconoce que: “B-CC Moves es obviamente un crisol cultural.

El primer día que nos conocimos hablamos de dónde somos todos y fue una locura tener personas de literalmente todos los continentes ”.

El mismo, Mael, no solo es de raza negra, sino también es africano de segunda generación. Sus padres le han inculcado aspectos significativos de su cultura que siempre lleva consigo. Aprecia compartir parte de su identidad camerunesa con el club como su gusto por la música africana.

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ANGELINA DELEON México y Las Filipinas

Con una madre mexicana y un padre filipino las identidades latina y asiática de Angelina son fundamentales para ella. Es una de las bailarinas más versátiles en B-CC Moves y no solo es excelente en hip-hop, el estilo principal del club, sino también experta en otros estilos como contemporáneo, ballet y lírico. Angelina aporta una perspectiva especial al grupo agregando diversidad cultural y una gran mezcla artística.

Angelina recuerda que: “de pequeña siempre fui comparada con mi madre, que también era bailarina pero ella practicaba en México baile folclórico”. Aunque practican diferentes estilos de baile, la gente encuentra similitudes entre ella y su madre. “Hemos sido comparados por cómo nos movemos parecido y con la misma gracia”.

LUCY TORCHON República Dominicana

Para Lucy, la familia es el aspecto más importante de su cultura dominicana. La familia de Lucy siempre prepara comida y cenan juntos todas las noches. Le gusta llevar su identidad dominicana a B-CC porque le encanta con eso empoderar a otros estudiantes dominicanos para que se unan a B-CC Moves. Lucy fue una de las primeras miembras del club, asiste a reuniones regularmente desde el primer año y ha participado en las presentaciones de B-CC Moves durante tres años. Lucy explicó: “Moves me ha ayudado a combatir mi pánico escénico, y aunque todavía no lo supero , me siento más segura cada día”. Reflexionando sobre la comunidad de B-CC Moves, Lucy dijo: “Las personas del club son realmente sorprendentes y me han ayudado no solo a ganar confianza sino que también me han permitido ser parte de la creación de una comunidad poderosa “.

STYLE

BY CORA HAFER AND ANNA HOOVER Once considered suitable only for those who could not afford new clothes, thrifting has recently expanded into mainstream culture. Scroll through YouTube’s trending page and you’ll find dozens of videos documenting ventures and successes in thrifting. Popular YouTubers like Emma Chamberlain, Conan Gray, and Liza Koshy have all made videos searching through the rows of racks in stores like Goodwill, Value Village, and Salvation Army. And who could forget about Macklemore’s 2012 song “Thrift Shop” and its iconic music video, which has over 1.3 billion views on YouTube? As thrifting becomes more widely accepted, teens around the country are adopting it as a new way to consume. According to thredUP, an online resale market, 26% of Gen Z-ers bought second-hand apparel, footwear, or accessories in 2017; by 2019, that number had risen to 37%. St. John’s Opportunity Shop, a local non-profit thrift store, doubled their annual profits between 2018 and 2019. The market for second-hand clothing has grown nearly 21 times faster than the traditional retail market over the past three years. In an age of consumers constantly craving the newest trends, the fashion industry seems to be moving in the opposite direction. So what exactly has caused this change? And what are the effects?

For plenty of teens, thrifting is simply a cheaper alternative. Stores like Goodwill and Value Village boast far lower prices than most retail stores, and they often have a much broader selection to choose from. At a lot of thrift store locations, you can buy upwards of five items for the price of just one sweater at a department store.

Buying second-hand often allows people to buy clothes from brands that they may not be able to afford at full price. ReMix Recycling Co., a boutique on Wisconsin Avenue, has been selling new and gently used clothes for over 28 years. Derek Kennedy, owner and cofounder of ReMix said “people come in [to ReMix] and they want the brands. They want the Kate Spade bags, they want the Doc Martens, they want the Madewell jeans, but they want to pay less than the full retail.”

Even though thrift shopping is becoming more mainstream, some teens are still tentative about it. Alex Han, a sophomore at Churchill High School, said, “I don’t thrift. It’s sketchy and I don’t trust it...Why would I buy used stuff that could be worn out when it is usually worse than new stuff that lasts longer?”

For some, the fact that thrift stores have many more paint-stained, ripped, and stretched out pieces of clothing is part of the experience.“It is so fun to hunt for cool pieces and look through all the clothes to find good deals,” said B-CC junior, Isabelle Thorp.

Many find searching through all of the merchandise to find the ‘perfect’ item to be extremely rewarding. Often these deep dives through the racks and sales bins lead to the discovery of far more unique pieces than you would find while retail shopping. Leah Bartlett, a freshman at Lafayette College said, “I really like buying things that are unique. [Thrifting] feels very creative, unlike regular shopping.”

These distinctive pieces are extremely trendy right now. Old-school clothes are in, and thrifting is one of the only ways to buy authentically vintage clothes.“Thrifting has become popular in the same way that vinyl records are popular. Many people are fascinated with old school style and the analog age,” said B-CC junior JD Gorman.

The rise of thrifting has lead to many retail stores trying to mimic the vintage style available in second-hand stores. “Urban Renewal”, for example, is Urban Outfitters’ line of vintage clothing. They resell used clothes that were “hand-selected” by employees at yard sales and flea markets. The pieces range in price from around $40-$90. The brand emphasizes that each item is unique, and inscribed on each tag is: “Any tears, holes, paint stains or other ‘defects’ we consider a virtue and not a flaw. Wear it well.”

“To me, Urban Renewal is a waste of money.

Why would I buy old sweaters that have been pre-worn for a higher price than I buy new sweaters?” said Bronwyn McNulty, Whitman freshman. McNulty is not alone in this opinion. The Urban Renewal section of the Urban Outfitters website is chock-full of negative reviews, in which customers complain that the clothes come stained, look nothing like their pictures on the website, and are extremely overpriced. To many, Urban Renewal defeats the purpose of thrift shopping, capitalizing on the popularity of the “thrifted” or “vintage” look by selling second-hand clothes at a retail price.

Urban Outfitters is not the only retail store getting involved in second-hand retail. In August, both JCPenney and Macy’s launched partnerships with thredUp to create second-hand departments in dozens of their locations.

These departments will sell merchandise from brands like Gap to Gucci for up to 90% off retail price. The departments will be refreshed weekly, and continue the integration of second-hand clothing into mainstream spaces.

Although the second-hand industry has experienced exponential growth recently, many teens have been thrifting for years. B-CC senior Isaiah Sullivan said he has been thrifting since middle school, and since then, he has developed an appreciation for the clothes he finds in thrift stores, and their distinct style.

Georgetown Day School junior Asia Rinehart is also a veteran thrifter. Rinehart cited the environmental benefits of buying pre-owned clothes as one of her main motivations to thrift.

In a world where sustainability is becoming increasingly important to consumers, many shoppers, like Rinehart, are beginning to realize the detrimental environmental effects of retail shopping. The fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world, only after the oil industry. Most popular fabrics, such as polyester, are non-biodegradable and made from fossil fuels, and the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or incinerated every second.

The burning of these textiles releases destructive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and the disposal of textiles contributes heavily to the rapidly growing waste problem.

Purchasing pre-owned clothes allows consum-

PHOTO BY CORA HAFER AND ANNA HOOVER

The Rise of Second Hand Shops

ers to abstain from contributing to the environmental harms caused by the fashion industry.

The problems within the industry are only growing, as “fast fashion” becomes increasingly popular. Fast fashion is defined by Merriam-Webster as an approach “that emphasizes making fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to consumers.” A traditional retail store will release 2-3 “cycles”, or seasons of new clothes, per year.

Fast fashion stores, like Zara, H&M, and Forever 21, will produce around 50 cycles per year.

Not only are fast fashion stores mass-producing far more clothes than other brands, but they are producing them in factories that release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere at alarming rates.

On top of that, these factories have been found to have extremely inhumane working conditions.

Many of them are sweatshops - production factories that often underpay and overwork their employees. They frequently break child labor laws, do not meet health codes, and workers in them are sometimes subjected to verbal or even physical abuse. However, awareness of these conditions has been steadily increasing. In 2019, 59% of consumers said they expected retailers to create clothes ethically. As many consumers have realized, one way to avoid both supporting brands with unethical practices and paying ridiculous amounts for trendy clothes is to buy second-hand.

Because consumers have become more conscious of environmental and ethical impacts of supporting the retail fashion industry, the second-hand industry has grown at an unprecedented rate, and does not show signs of slowing down anytime soon. It is projected that by 2028, the second-hand industry will grow to be nearly 1.5 times the size of the fast fashion industry, and according to the GlobalData Market, 51% of consumers plan to spend more on second-hand clothing in the next five years.

The second-hand industry is on track to continue growing and changing the modern day view of fashion. Trends come and go, but it seems thrift shopping may be one trend that’s here to stay.

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ILLUSTRATION BY DELILAH SEAMAN

RISING FEMALE ARTISTS: THEIR CONSOLIDATION OF POWER

STYLE

BY HAYDEN RENAGHAN AND KARINA VASUDEVA

As you may have seen for around the past decade of our lives, there has been a recent rise of female artists within popular culture. Women are making headlines for their talent. This is a revolutionary trend, because it marks the end of a culture where the media simply pits women against one another.

The world is starting to come to the realization that there can be multiple successful women in the same lane. Beyond this, there is now a message that is being more widely broadcasted by female artists: a common thread between the artists in their encouragement for the pursuit of happiness. There are hundreds of successful women, many of which have pioneered this new age, and we want to shed a light on some of the biggest change makers right now.

Rico Nasty Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly, better known as Rico Nasty, has not lived a 22 year old life full of idealistic dreams. Maria Kelly was born in D.C. and raised in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

By most measures, PG County is known as one of the wealthiest black-majority neighborhoods in the country. However, Kelly and her mother were not part of this population. They lived just outside the bubble of affluence in Palmer Park, a place where PG’s poverty statistics become a reality.

Kelly’s parents enrolled her in a boarding school in Baltimore, seeking to give her a better education than what was offered in her school district. She didn’t enjoy attending this school, however, as it stifled her independence and creativity. Three years later, Kelly was caught and expelled after a boy had invited her outside to smoke marijuana. That same year, her parents got divorced. One year later, her dad was sent to prison for three years for two different charges.

Returning home from Baltimore, Kelly felt like the odd one out. Her classmates resented her, and this caused her to pave her own path.

This, “is when Maria Kelly transformed into Rico Nasty,” she told The FADER. The name ‘Rico Nasty’ arose from an incident where she was labeled as “other”; she wore a lanyard that had “Puerto Rico” on it, an accessory that acknowledged her ethnic heritage. In 10th grade, a boy, making fun of the way she smelled, yelled: “Rico nasty!” On the bus home from school that day, she changed her Instagram name to Rico Nasty, and the name eventually just stuck.

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At this same school, Rico Nasty met her best friend (and then boyfriend) Brandon. Brandon had a pivotal role in her life, and, as she notes, was one of the best things in her life. At 18, Rico found out she was pregnant with her son, Cameron.

Just a few months before Cameron’s birth, Brandon died unexpectedly from an asthma attack.

The only light in Nasty’s life that kept her going was her son, Cameron. While some of her peers were jubilantly celebrating graduation, Nasty was grappling with the harsh reality of life. She did not get into any colleges she applied to due to her expulsion from boarding school. She was now a mother without a college education in a deep depression. And this recipe, that would otherwise lead to disaster, propelled her career.

She realized becoming a rapper was her destiny.

She broke out on Soundcloud in 2016 with her anthems “Hey Arnold” and “iCarly,” and her popularity kept climbing with the release of Tales of Tacobella. In 2018, she secured a record deal with Atlantic. Throughout this musical journey, she donned personas of different characters. Tacobella, a soft girl who loved her girly anthems, “a part of [Rico] that [she has] outgrown”. Trap Lavigne, a nod to Rico’s idol, Avril Lavigne, represents a punk girl who exudes “pure energy”. And lastly, but surely not least, is Rico. And this is the persona and person that continues to grow and evolve.

Part of this growth involves Nasty’s past feuds with rappers like Asian Doll and Bali Baby. However, Rico has now said “that she [is] done fighting: “My son, parents, and fans

deserve better.” She is now only seen empowering women, whether that is through her all-female mosh pits, stanning Rihanna, or simply befriending more and more female rappers.

Rico Nasty has helped foster a community unlike ones in the past, empowering a new generation of women. Nasty notes that she has “seen so many people come to my shows and become best friends.” She recognizes, however, that this community does not involve “just her. Megan [Thee Stallion]'s fans are like that.” She is aware of her role in being the idol she needed so much in the past.

When asked what Rico Nasty meant to her, junior Zoë Shelton, explained “Rico represents a multifaceted black woman. This is so significant to me because, in society, women and people of color are often pressured to conform. Yet, Rico has constantly proven to be nonconforming, this being reflected in her various music styles and fashion. I’m very prideful when it comes to her rise and discovery because she is from my hometown. She attended Charles H. Flowers High School, which was my neighborhood school in Bowie, Maryland before I moved to this area in 8th grade.”

Similarly, when senior Laetitia Pharaon was asked about Rico Nasty, she said that Rico meant that beyond Nasty’s impact on her and many other girls’ confidence, Rico Nasty represent something bigger. She represents a group of millions of women “[who are] empowered to do their own thing in their own way and to lead a positive life.”It is safe to say that Rico Nasty is changing the world.

STYLE

Megan Thee Stallion Born Megan Pete in 1995, Megan Thee Stallion was born to a rapper mother under the name Holly Wood. Holly Wood’s career was short lived, but this six year career was enough to inspire Megan to discover her own career .

Witnessing her mother in the studio propelled Stallion to begin writing raps at the age of seven.

When she was 16, she approached her mother, who was initially doubtful of Thee Stallion’s skills. However, after she rapped for her, her mother acknowledged her talent, asking for Thee Stallion to wait to become a rapper until she was 21 due to the adult nature of her lyrics.

Megan Thee Stallion did indeed wait, but while attending university, Thee Stallion was inspired by her classmates’ freestyles. Shortly thereafter, she went viral in a cypher, which is a gathering of rappers to showcase their skills. Her digital media presence began to grow, and she donned the name Megan Thee Stallion. The basis of this

name is stallion, a slang term for a tall, beautiful woman, which is a name she felt empowered by.

After blowing up on social media, Megan Thee Stallion then chose to pursue a career, causing her mother to quit her job to become Megan’s manager. Throughout all stages of her life, Megan remained close with her mother, bonding over their shared love for rap. This made her mother’s death this past March, at the beginning of the peak of her career, very hard for Megan. However, Megan continues to persist because she knows her mom would want her to continue and become a star.

Megan Thee Stallion has recently met mainstream success, known for a phrase she coined: “Hot Girl Summer,” which was then turned into a song featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla Sign. In 2019, she released her first full-length mixtape, Fever that led to her rise to stardom. She was also named one of XXL’s Freshman Class,

a prestigious honor for up and coming artists.

While she is a full-time rapper that has received critical acclaim around the world, she is also currently a student at Texas Southern University, broadcasting the message that women can be a hot girl at all times: the summer and school year.

Senior Samantha Ebongo-Bayehe recounts finding out about Megan before she had really starting blowing up and noticing that “one of the first posts [she] remembers seeing on [Megan’s] page was of her in between her college classes listening to a beat that she was about to rap over. That really stuck with [Samantha] because it was so cool to see an educated black woman. A lot of times smart women are seen as intimidating or boring, but [Megan’s] movement shows that you can live your best life and still make that 11:59 deadline.”Megan Thee Stallion is empowering women, like Samantha, to claim their pursuit of happiness in a multi-faceted way.

Even if you are not an avid fan of rap, we encourage you to listen to these amazing women and heed the messages they are spreading. They are changing the future for the better.

Lizzo Born Melissa Viviane Jefferson on April 27, 1988 in Detroit, Michigan, now Lizzo, has taken over the music industry after releasing her first studio album in 2013. Her song “Truth Hurts” has been on the top of the Billboard Top 100 for a month straight. This is a record breaking event as she is the longest solo female rapper to hold the top spot for over four weeks. However, her career started long before she entered the mainstream public eye. Lizzo began her career in Minneapolis, where she recorded two studio albumsLizzobanger (2013) as well as Big Grrrl Small World (2015). Rapping has always been a passion of the Michigan native. Ever since Lizzo was 14 she was creating art and music around her.

She was the leader of her musical group called Cornrow Clique in high school, where her nickname “Lizzo” was derived from Jay Z song “Izzo (H.O.V.A)”. She continued to study classical music once she attended the University of Houston.

Once Lizzo turned 21, however, her life took a dark and heavy turn. After her father's passing, Lizzo resided in her car for a year while attempting to break it in the music industry. After performing in various indie groups she found her place in female rap and R&B. Joining a three-piece-all-female group named Chalice she released an album called We are Chalice which was a local hit. She then moved on to making

her solo debut albums produced by Lazerbeak and Ryan Olson, for which she received positive criticism with 4 stars out of 5 by Killian Fox in The Guardian. In 2013, Lizzo took on a US and UK fall tour with Har Mar Superstar. In 2014 she was featured alongside Chalice bandmate Siphia Eris and Claire de Lune on the song “BoyTrouble” on Prince and 3rdEyeGirl's album.

She recounts this experience as “surreal… almost like a fairytale”. Her second album, Big Grrrl Small World (2015), was a big hit. Lizzo was then able to sign with a bigger record label and released her first EP Coconut Oil in 2016.

However, Lizzo’s true rise to the global main stage was April 19, 2019 when she released her album titled Cuz I Love You. After the release of what some consider musical genius, Lizzo entered the national if not international spotlight.

Her top hit “Truth Hurts” became an anthem for a lot of girls and women. The success of the album has been attributed to the raw and blunt confidence Lizzo exerts to motivate her audience. Furthermore, the album features guest artists such as Missy Elliot and Gucci Mane.

The artist is open about co-writing songs, putting her story and energy into each song. Despite having the public image of having “bad b*tch” energy, after the release of her Billboard #1 hit “Truth Hurts” she was not feeling confi-

dent in her music. “I just felt like I was throwing music into the world and not even making a splash,” she told Elle. “A tree was falling in the forest and not making a sound, you know? I was crying in my room all day.” But to her joy, her music did make a splash, one that inspired and motivated many young women around the world.

Alongside her admirers and fans, Lizzo also faces heavy criticism for her art. Azealia Banks, also a famous female artist, has repeatedly criticized Lizzo for pandering to the "white American public.” Banks writes: "the fact that the public and the media has been keeping this fat girl joke going for so long is honestly peak boredom." She admits that Lizzo "is legit talented," but maintains that "Truth Hurts" is "not good," and that stage persona makes her a "millennial mammy."

Despite her haters, queen Lizzo has had exponential growth in her popularity and in the recognition of her music. Lizzo has kicked off her tour, has a Coachella performance under her belt, and will be in the UK and Europe at the end of her US tour. She has found her place as a main performing artist in annual music festivals such as Made in America, alongside Cardi B and Travis Scott. As a representation of confidence and unapologetic self love, Lizzo continues to grow as name and as a monument to strong women.

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STYLE

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON BODY POSITIVITY Imagine mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, seeing posts from famous models and influencers with only 1 body type, post after post. People look on social media for beauty inspiration. Many influencers on Instagram have millions of followers who are loyal fans of their look. Whatever “body type” is the most popular will be the one that people will strive to have.

There is no “perfect body”, but the influence of celebrities causes people to feel self conscious and wonder why their bodies don’t look like the people with the most followers.

As Junior Amelia Ferguson explains, “There are some parts of social media in which if you are not a specific size, you are excluded.” Brands like Brandy Mellville are notorious for this, because all of their clothing is one size, and their online advertising/in store workers must be a certain size. The promotion of exclusive brands whose clothing fails to accommodate for all body types is a recipe for promoting dysfunctional body image.

Some bodies that are heavily shown on instagram are enhanced with facetune, or their bodies are edited to look a certain way. Senior Natalie Schwartz said, “Not all body types are represented [on social media], and it often [only] portrays a certain body type which is often altered or edited.” If social media platforms continue to be a place where bodies are edited to conform to

the currently glorified body type, young people naturally will feel pressure to edit their bodies before posting. But the pressure to edit is not limited to photographic editing technology. The pressure to edit spills out into the real world as young people go on extreme diets to lose weight or get plastic surgery to enhance their appearance.

Over the years the modeling industry has slowly started to incorporate some more diversity into their campaigns and agencies. Makeup brands like Fenty by Rihanna was one of the first brands to include such a diverse range of shades to be more inclusive to different skin tones.

Arie is also a brand of clothing that launched a line called #ArieReal and this included models with a variety of body sizes, medical issues, and disabilities. In reality, this is a minor accomplishment considering most of the models that walk in popular shows such as New York Fashion Week and The Annual Victoria’s Secret show still have the same overly-slim figures. The owner of Victoria’s Secret himself was quoted on why he didn’t have plus size models by saying “trans and plus-size women do not exemplify the “fantasy” that Victoria’s Secret is trying to sell”.

This offensive and misogynistic comment caused many people to stop shopping at Victoria’s Secret because women who shop at Victoria’s Secret do not all have the “fantasy” body.

GRAPHIC BY MOLLY BUSIS

BY SOL GEHRING

When talking to Junior Izzy Thorp about whether she thinks there is fair representation of every body type she said “In recent years, I think there are representing more body types, however incredibly famous influencers who generally represent what is pretty are still incredibly slim with bigger chests and hips.” As social media continues to play a big role in beauty standards, social media platforms have become a place where all body types are welcomed and considered beautiful.

FALL IS FOR ALT ROCK Fall is a middle-of-the-road season. The inbetween of everything else. The sweet spot between hot and cold, happy and sad, and thriving yet barely surviving. Summer’s over, and happy, life-is-good electropop doesn’t feel quite right anymore. But it’s not yet winter, so it’s definitely not the time for dark, sad emo music either. School is starting, and we’re back on the grind, but also enjoying football games and Halloween and homecoming with our friends. Fall is the happy medium of the year.

Alt rock is the happy medium of music. Songs with crowded, upbeat layers of drums, guitar, bass, and keyboard make for great single-alongs in the car with your friends (because it’s getting chilly and you’re too lazy to walk to school). But the lyrics don’t quite match the beat. You wind up belting out “I love the way you’re breaking my heart” with a smile that doesn’t make much sense. Your head is bobbing up and down and you’re singing along, maybe realizing only on a subconscious level the sadness or anger behind the lyrics you’re reciting. You may be rocking out, but you’re also relating to those lyrics deep down.

Alt rock is a crucial, delicate balance between instrumentation and lyrics the same way fall is a crucial, delicate balance between happy and sad.

The instrumentation in alt rock songs creates a unique dynamic. It’s a sort of organized chaos, with each layer of instrumentation fighting for 30

the ear of the listener. Take the song “Free of Charge” by the Band CAMINO. The main focal point for the first few seconds is the drums, and then a single guitar riff is introduced. This is then layered with a secondary guitar, which is finally topped off with lead vocals. All of these layers act together to create a progressively powerful sound. The instruments work cohesively yet competitively, but the lyrics have a singular message that cuts across the noise.

That message changes depending on the song, but alt rock lyrics generally contrast with the sound of the song. The vibe of Hotel Apache’s bright, upbeat song “1985” is contrasted by the distressed lyrics “I could feel a pressure battling inside my head, and now it’s battling my heart”.

This is a common theme in the genre. The sound and appearance of the song are masking a more anxious message. The same is true in the song “Waterfalls” by THE WLDLFE. The lyric “Am I dumb to think I wasn’t good enough?” sits on top of a fast-paced, pulsing synth and swelling pads. This admission of loneliness and insecurity reflected in the lyrics contradicts the tone of the song. The sound aligns with the social excitement of fall as we return to school. But at the same time, the lyrics align closely with the isolation we may feel when we get home from the dance or the game and sit alone under a pile of homework. For most high school students, fall is a strange balancing act between these highs and lows. Alt rock is the perfect summary of fall.

But everyone’s music taste is different. For some people, rap is perfect for all seasons. For others, it’s the Victorious soundtrack yearround. But the relatability of alt rock in the fall is unparalleled. Most people listen to music for one of three reasons: to relate to the emotion the artist is singing about, to be reassured that everything is going to be okay, or just to jam out.

There’s a middle ground, and it’s the relatability, reassurance, and fun found in a lot of alt rock.

As we try to get through the first semester, struggling with the balance of heavy homework loads and seemingly constant social obligations, try listening to music that understands.

GRAPHIC BY AVA SOLOMON

BY MADDY MOLYNEUX AND AVA SOLOMON

BACKPAGE

An Open Letter to the Parking Spot Thief

BY JULIANA BLAYNEY, JACKSON HERMES, AND KARINA VASUDEVA

Inspired by a true story of a B-CC student It was the second week of school and I was filled with glee For, finally a senior, a parking pass was granted unto me.

GRAPHIC BY AIDAN MOFFITT

I arose early my first morning, lunch packed and ready to go, But in the lot in my hand-me-down whip, surprised, I came to a slow.

My face filled with shock, my hands shook with fear.

I could not believe my eyes! My spot was not clear.

Someone in my space! Another car, where mine should be.

What simpleton misread their pass? What about my guarantee?

One spot, two spot, but where’s the one I bought?

Red car, blue car, I refuse to walk far.

I shook behind my wheel, hoping that SUV would disappear.

At the sight of the Mazda CX-5, down my cheek rolled a single tear.

Since that fateful incident, the tragedy of spot F19, I dreaded my commute to school and implored Levine to intervene.

Forced to walk: Waverly, Starbucks, my humble abode, Here to there, there to here, my feet will implode.

A note to my parking spot thief: I will not give you grief.

GRAPHIC BY GRACE CARTER

You, I do not despise.

All is forgiven, until Waverly’s prices rise.

Trumpian Civil War Love Letter (adapted from Sullivan Ballou’s Civil War Letter)

BY JULIANA BLAYNEY, JACKSON HERMES, AND KARINA VASUDEVA

My dearest Shawty: Stan twitter says that Trump’s troops shall move in a few days — perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not slide into thine DMs before my time on this earth is up, I feel compelled to write a few lines that your eye may read should I bust it down all the way to heaven…

I have many misgivings about, and lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged. I know how little American Civilization now leans on the triumph of the Government. And I am nowhere near willing to lay down all my joys in this life -ca$h money and well endowed women- to help maintain this Government.

Babygirl, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet the Blonde Commander in Chief comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly onto the battlefield. His wise tweets are few and far between- I worry I will die in vain over ownership of Greenland…

But, O Lil Mama! If the dead can come back to this earth, I shall always be near you; in the happiest days and in the darkest nights … always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be me whispering in your ear, if your Snapchat story is swiped up on, it shall be my spirit passing by.

Babygirl, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall bust it down again.

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