One Year Later: January-February Magazine 2018

T One Year Later Jan-Feb Magazine

The Tattler

January-February Magazine

Editors-in-Chief Matt Cohen Camille Devincenti

Managing Editors Andrew Cha Conor Kelley Emily Schrader

Advisors

David Lopilato Rosana Pagรกn Cover photo by Sophia Saidi, backpage photo by Kiara Coleman, table of contents photo by camilo montoya

NEWS

WOMEN’S MARCH // FRONT ENTRANCE // BARNES & NOBLE // EDUCATE A CHILD // STUDENTS RESPOND TO TRUMP //

PROFILE

JENNIE HAN // COLMAN McCARTHY // BEN MINTURN // BASKETBALL SENIOR TRIO // GABE MCANDREW //

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STUDENT LIFE 18

JUGGLING TEAM // STUDENTS AND LOCKERS // INSTAGRAM MUSEUMS // YOUNG LOVE // COLLEGE STRESS // B-CC PODCAST // ALTERNATE HOMECOMING // BIBLE MUSEUM //

STYLE

SCIENCE WITH ART // KICKBOXING // VALENTINES DAY DATES //

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Women’s March 2018 An Inside look into the resistance Photos below by Sophia saidi

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reflecting on the march That lAUNCHED A MOVEMENT

Graphic by Sophia Saidi

By Sophia Saidi, Emily Schrader, and Paloma Delgado One year ago, women all over the world took to the streets in a massive global call for women’s rights. One year later, they are still marching. One year ago, women all over the world responded to the election of President Donald Trump, criticized for misogynistic behavior and sexual harassment allegations. One year later, the march has become a larger movement. One year ago, women all over the world raised their voices in protest. One year later, the resistance continues.

On the one year anniversary of President Trump’s inauguration, crowds of protesters around the world marched in the second annual Women’s March.

In cities large and small, women hoisted up posters and called for change, advocating for issues ranging from the right to choose, to representation, to impeachment. In Washington, where more than 10,000 people showed up to march, Barons were able to get a glimpse of this activism in action.

Junior Amanda Baratz said she attended the protest in an attempt to recapture the optimism she felt marching the year before.

“Now...as we’ve somehow made it a year through this presidency, it’s more important than ever to emphasize these messages of feminism,” Baratz said.

“There were so many different movements combined into one, and that’s what I like about it...Everybody is free to express whatever they are motivated to promote.”

Although the Women’s March began as a response to Trump’s election, the movement has since taken on a greater message, promoting women’s rights and intersectional feminism.

“It’s become about more than just one president, and now it’s also about the #MeToo movement, and all the movements that we’re seeing,” said Ella Goldblum, another junior present at the protest.

This year’s march occurred amidst a wave of feminist advocacy. In the past year, social awareness campaigns such as #MeToo and Time’s Up rose to prominence as part of a widespread push to change the conversation surrounding sexual harassment. The two campaigns seek to highlight the prevalence of sexual harassment in modern society, and normalize what was once a taboo conversation.

“When the Women’s March started, I didn’t expect it to become a whole movement,” Goldblum said. “I think they’ve gotten a lot of young people engaged.”

In wake of recent events, women who marched last year are now beginning to run for office. Since President Trump assumed office, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of political campaigns run by women.

Emily’s List, a democratic organization which works to get women elected into public office, has heard from over 30,000 women interested in running for office since the 2016 election.

This trend of activism reaches beyond the nation’s capital. Caroline Bur-

ton, a senior at Nerinx Hall High School in Missouri, marched in her own city of St. Louis in 2017, and again this year.

For her, the march became an “outlet for those who have been silenced, to speak up.”

“I believe that Trump’s inauguration triggered an incredible movement,” Burton said. “Having someone in office who constantly degrades women and brags about sexually assaulting them should not be tolerated.”

Looking to the future, more and more women seek to embrace social activism.

“The Women’s March was about more than just women,” Burton said.

“That is why intersectional feminism is so important. We are protesting for women of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, transgender women and so many more.”

It is the diversity, and global scale, of this march that has drawn thousands of protesters to advocate for the issues they care about. Though she acknowledged that the march has been criticized for a lack of direction, and at times a lack of inclusivity, Baratz supported the overall goal of social activism.

“It’s not really effective in the sense that people were like, ‘Oh, I went to the Women’s March—I made a difference.’

No, I don’t really think you can say that, and when people say that, it kind of irks me,” Baratz said. “But it’s more the idea of getting woke, and staying woke, to all the issues that are happening right now.”

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THE FRONT ENTRANCE IS BACK, AND SO IS B-CC

By Anthony Ashe and Matt Cohen On Monday March 27, B-CC students walked into school, and witnessed a shocking sight. Front steps: crumbled. Main entrance: unusable.

Gym: limited.

These words served as the opening to the April 2017 edition of The Tattler, the first edition since the front steps had been torn down. Nine months later, as students returned to Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School after winter break, they witnessed a shocking sight. Front steps: rebuilt. Main entrance: bright and inviting. Gym: ready for a crowd.

January 2, 2018 marked the return of the front entrance to B-CC. On that cold winter morning, Class of 2018 President Will Satloff cut the rope lining the front steps, and marked a key milestone in the B-CC renovation project. “Construction is very exciting for me, every couple of weeks I go inside, and you are just watching something grow and change and develop,” B-CC principal Dr. Jones said.

While the main entrance is back, construction is far from complete. The interior of the new wing is being built and Dr. Jones plans to get more student involvement with the construction project. “I’m trying to do everything I

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can to have everyone have a little part in the new space,” Dr. Jones said. “We’ve just gotten a series of problems for students to work on, a series of problems from the architects. We are going to

organize how we put it out there, for contests, for teams of students to work on them, to also work on them in applicable classes.”

Since the construction project began, B-CC has lost more than just a few parking spaces, more than just the main entrance for a few months, and more than just the football field, its lost a chunk of school spirit. Traveling throughout Montgomery County to attend B-CC games, and simply having home football games on another school’s field, have taken away from B-CC lauded “Baron Pride”.

“It’s been really difficult to go from last year where we had the field to having to go to WJ for our football games.

It definitely feels a lot different,” B-CC student Aaron Knishkowy said.

Though as students walked into the newly christened main entrance, Baron Pride walked in as well. The return of the main entrance also meant the gym could reopen, giving B-CC students a long awaited chance to cheer on their teams. It seemed almost too fitting that the boys basketball team would cap off this day of renewal with a home basketball game against Whitman, a team which B-CC hasn’t beaten since December 2015.

Evolution of the Main Entrance

April 2017

June 2017

January 2018

As game time approached, the crowd packed into the gym, the whiteout themed student section as loud as ever, ready to welcome home their Barons. B-CC/Whitman basketball games always feature a sell out crowd, but this game felt different. “We sold tickets beforehand,” Dr. Jones said. “Still when we got here [for the game] the line was all the way down the hall, and people just kept coming. Obviously people do pack the Whitman games, but this was exceptional.”

The students roared as the Barons pulled in front in the second quarter of the game, and even appeared to get into the head of Whitman’s players. At halftime, the 4A state champion boys soccer team unveiled its banner, circling the gym as they showed off the spoils of their title run. As the game tightened, the Barons faithful tried to will its team on one more run, and Gordon Gibson delivered with a stellar fourth quarter.

B-CC won the game 50-38, sealed by a Gibson dunk. B-CC had broken the losing streak against the Vikings, and broken through the decline in school spirit. “I hope that we will be able to continue to pack the games and support our teams, and not just basketball, but bocce and wrestling. Our gym is back...We are back to being able to have spirited events in the gym, and that is exciting,” Dr. Jones said.

“Getting the gym back for the winter season has been awesome,” B-CC student Alexa Clauss said. “The game against Whitman the first day back was a great atmosphere. It felt great to have the gym back!”

January 2nd was a day of new beginnings. We saw our school begin to return to much enthusiasm, and with it, students could finally have a home game. While we are still a year away from the completion of the football field, it was certainly invigorating to have the gym back. Football will once again have its home games at Walter Johnson in the fall of 2018, but there is a chance the field, and stadium, could be ready for use for spring sports in 2019. Though no matter how much longer we are without a football field, with the return of the main entrance and gym, Baron Pride is back.

All photos taken by Matt Cohen

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A Bethesda Landmark closes its doors

Photo by Camille devincenti

By Camille Devincenti and Vanessa Pontachack On January 11th, the Barnes & Noble bookstore in the center of downtown Bethesda officially closed after 21 years in business, during which it became a sacred landmark in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase community.

Anthropologie, a clothing retailer, is set to move into the three-level space in early 2018, but an exact date has not been announced yet. Federal Realty, the property managers of Bethesda Row, confirmed that Amazon Books would be the new bookstore in town, moving into the space that the Urban Country furniture store used to occupy before it relocated to another address close by.

Residents of the Bethesda community have seen countless developments in their neighborhood, from the Purple Line construction to store closings and openings, but none hit home like the closing of Barnes & Noble.

While some are glad that Anthropologie and Amazon Books are coming to Bethesda, others are disappointed that Barnes & Noble will be replaced by an Anthropologie that has another store less than two miles away, while the closest Barnes & Noble is 5 miles away in Rockville. In addition, to many

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in the community, Barnes & Noble had become more than just a bookseller— it carried through the lives of many Bethesda teens.

“I love Anthropologie, but I don’t think having one is worth losing Barnes & Noble,” Onjoli Das, a senior at B-CC, said. “I remember when I was little, I would sit down at the benches in the children’s section and read books for hours. It inspired my love for reading,” she said.

Senior Ashley Cho said she feels “bad for the future middle schoolers because they don’t have a place to gather anymore. When we went to Westland, it was a rite of passage to go to Barnes & Noble and hang out in Bethesda Row with a big group of friends, backpacks on, Starbucks in hand, and then call your mom to pick you up at 8 PM.” The closing of Barnes & Noble raises questions about our community values. Are people not reading as much anymore? Do we value shopping more than having a quiet place to read and a wide selection of books?

“I haven’t read a real book in a long time,” senior Lucas Hirsch said. “If I have to read, it’s usually for school, and if I were to want to buy a book, I would buy it on Amazon because it’s cheaper,

faster, and easier than buying it in a store.”

Some students noted that Barnes & Noble was popular among their friend groups more for the reason that it was a convenient place to meet up than because they liked to read there.

“In eighth grade, we all went to Barnes & Noble just to hang out. It was more about having a place to go than actually reading and buying the books there. That nostalgia is something I will forever cherish,” senior Jordan Hermelijn said.

Other students who did not grow up in Bethesda did not experience the special connection to Barnes & Noble that many B-CC students and longtime Bethesda residents have.

“I don’t feel the same attachment to Barnes & Noble that someone who lived in Bethesda their whole life here would have, but I think it was a great place to get books and chill,” said Alessandro Azzaro, an Italian exchange student who enrolled at B-CC last year.

While there are mixed opinions on Barnes & Noble and the new stores to come, Barnes & Noble has certainly had a lasting impact on the Bethesda community, and it will forever be cherished.

It Takes a village... to educate a child sga picks a new charity

Illustration by emily Schrader

By Eve McGloon and Alex Fine Under the leadership of SGA President Jacob Rains, B-CC class of 2017, and student government administrations several years before, every February at B-CC was dedicated to fundraising for the charity Pennies for Patients.

However, with the most recent election of Vikram Akwei (‘18) as schoolwide president, he sensed the school needed a change -- new motivation and a new organization to back.

“Barons are advocates for a host of worthy causes,” Akwei said. “As an SGA, we felt compelled to connect our charity efforts to the passions of our peers. We want to facilitate the transformation from passive supporters to proactive agents of change.”

Akwei’s administration polled the student body, with the hopes that if the students had a say in which charity to support, their fundraising efforts would be more purposeful.

The poll revealed that Educate a Child (EAC) would be the target of B-CC’s fundraising efforts this winter.

EAC is a global charity focused on giving all children an opportunity for education.

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser of Qatar founded EAC in 2012 and has since expanded over 43 countries. The program constructs new school settings, sends supplies, and trains more teachers to increase enrollment rates and reduce the number of uneducated children.

The program starts by researching areas with high levels of out of school children (OOSC) typically due to poverty, limited resources, natural disaster, poor infrastructure, and living in places affected by armed conflict, especially girls, refugees, and children with disabilities.

EAC is partnered with many similar

organizations also working to reduce the number of uneducated children, like UNICEF and Global Partnership for Education. EAC and its partners cofund projects to help make a difference.

Recently in Bangladesh, EAC partnered with BRAC, an international developmental organization, to introduce boat schools in order to provide a mobile classroom for rural children that are too far from the primary school to enroll.

EAC has high hopes for the future, as they move to reach their goals of enrolling at least 10 million OOSC, keeping the issue of OOSC high on global agendas, and mobilizing 1 billion US dollars to ensure the sustainability of each program they start.

Will the shift in charities revamp fundraising amongst B-CC students this February? Only time will tell.

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“S***hole country” comments enrage immigrant families

Olivia Yansaneh is Nigerian-American.

Senior Kai Alexis is half Haitian.

Both come from a country labeled a “S***hole” by President Trump. In the wake of Trump’s comments, and in the aftermath of his controversial immigration policies, these two students respond.

By Lara McMurray What do you think these comments reveal about Trump’s character?

Olivia Yanaseh: I wasn’t surprised at all. He’s said and done so many things to people that “aren’t like him.” It’s appalling how someone this racist could be in the presidency right now and in charge of representing all Americans. In that sense, he isn’t a president, a president would never say things like that about its citizens. I really think America has really reached a new low with him in office.

Kai Alexis: Honestly, I wasn’t surprised at all when I heard these comments. I wasn’t even hurt by them, I wasn’t surprised.. But then I realized that we can’t normalize this racism, he’s our president, at the least we should be holding him to the same expectations as everyone else. We’ve already known Trump is racist. Even though he didn’t call out people of color, he degraded immigrants from Africa and Haiti, then said he wanted more immigrants from white countries like Norway. He didn’t have to specify for those comments to be considered racist.

How do you think these stereotypes are harmful?

OY: There are already so many stereotypes ingrained in Americans about the

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African continent and African people.

These stereotypes are the reason many perceive Africa as a place where all people live in huts, where there’s no water to drink, there’s barely any food or clothes on anyone’s backs, which are all completely untrue. Trump’s comments have reinforced these stereotypes.

KA: The fact that the president is saying this on such a large scale, for the entire world to hear, just makes it “okay.” So people who in the past wouldn’t display their racism are now doing it because if the president does it, why can’t they?

This makes it incredibly easy for people to justify stereotyping, which is already a huge problem in our society.

What effect do you think these stereotypes could have in the U.S. or abroad?

OY: By saying this, Trump has instilled to the rest of the world that we’re bigoted and think that way. What Trump says doesn’t even represent the ideology of half of the United States.

KA: What bothers me the most about this is how Trump represents our country, and he’s doing so in such a bad light.

I hate to think that other countries will believe that all Americans have this backward way of thinking, which is completely untrue. This country was built off of immigrants, thats the American

dream, we’re supposed to be a country of opportunity. That’s an idea we should strive for, not get rid of.

How are these stereotypes false?

OY: These stereotypes couldn’t be further from the truth. Sure, there are some underdeveloped places in Nigeria, like there are in every nation. But there are many extremely well developed regions, such as Abuja and Lagos. I’ve been to Lagos, I’ve been to Abuja, and I’ve been to smaller towns, and nobody lives in huts. Everyone lives in a house, it may be a small house,but not a hut. While the government could do a better job improving infrastructure and water systems, Nigeria is an incredible country. It is by no means a s***hole.

KA: Saying “all Haitians have aids” and calling Haiti a “s***hole” are both huge generalizations. What really bothers me about this comment is that he’s not really talking about the country, he’s talking about the people. I have a lot of family nearby who are originally from Haiti, and they’re all extremely well educated.

I wouldn’t be able to name any of my uncles and aunts that don’t have degrees and aren’t extremely successful in their fields.

for science was, in part, inspired by her grandfather, who was a physics professor at Yale.

“He was the one who got me into that,” Han said. “I feel like he was just so proud to have an aspiring scientist in the family, so that’s also a big motivator because we were very close.”

A Jen of all Trades

By Marxe Orbach Many people, even as adults, have no idea exactly what they would like to do with their lives. But for B-CC senior Jennie Han, this is far from the case.

Han is interested in pursuing a career as a biomedical researcher. Her most prized possession is her microscope, and she spends her free time studying new topics. But, her drive has not begun recently. In fact, it’s always been there.

“It’s funny—there wasn’t actually a specific moment or something that inspired that in me, but I’ve always been interested in science,” Han said. “I was growing crystals when I was five years old and I was creating polymer structures when I was eight. It’s just always been an inclination for me.“ Her natural talent in the scientific fields flowered when Han came to B-CC as a freshman and took her first class in biology. Already intrigued, she continued to investigate the sciences throughout her high school career.

“Last year I took AP Chemistry and AP Environmental Science, and this year I’m in AP Biology. It’s really fun, now that I’ve taken them, to watch them form a conglomerate where they all meet each other in this beautiful triple venn diagram,” Han said.

Images provided by Jennie Han

Although she finds the subject matter fascinating, her grit comes from more than one source.

“Another factor that drives me is that the ratio of women to men in any field in S.T.E.M. is just abhorrent,” Han said. “It’s because women aren’t encouraged to pursue, to study, and to care about math and science as much

as men are....I mean you see all these women make these incredible technological innovations. It’s unfortunate but true that we need more of that to level the playing field. So yeah, that’s a big motivator for me and that’s a big part of it.”

But Han’s push is not only about her fascination or her determination to be part of social change. Her love

But academic abilities are not the only thing that defines her. Beyond her interest in science, Han acts and sings in theater productions, works with computer code, and even creates visual art. Sometimes, her interests even overlap.

“I find that having good dimensional awareness and being a good visual artist is very helpful when I’m programing,” Han said, combining computer coding and artistic aesthetics.

“Synthetic biology and its applications with 3D printing are very interesting to me. And of course, having sculpting, and painting, and drawing is useful in understanding the dimensions and nuances of the whole thing.”

In theater and voice, Han found that the “shamelessness of being a stage performer applies to me every day where I really wouldn’t even call it confidence, but its carelessness over the way people view me. My self consciousness went out the door.”

Han hopes that incoming B-CC underclassmen will be proud to say they have numerous girls taking high level courses in S.T.E.M. She encourages other girls to pursue the sciences, and offers a word of advice to anybody with large goals to “learn as much as you can about as many things as you can and you will be better at everything you do.”

Take it from Jennie Han, B-CC’s resident actress, sculptor, painter, coder, singer, feminist, and scientist-in-training.

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Peace is Possible

Colman McCarthy Photo by Conor Kelley

By Conor Kelley and Brett Sapin “We have so many types of violence in the world. We have economic violence, emotional violence, environmental violence, corporate violence, military violence, domestic violence, racial violence, homophobic violence, prison violence, assault gun violence, handgun violence, violence towards the animals. You can be overwhelmed by all of these types of harmfulness.

But there is an alternative - teach nonviolence.”

Now in his 30th consecutive year at B-CC high school, venerable journalist, pacifist, and peace educator Colman McCarthy teaches the ways of peacemaking and nonviolence to high school seniors at a time when efforts of peace might just matter the most.

A pioneer in peace education, McCarthy founded the Center for Teaching Peace in 1985, a non-profit dedicated to providing schools with education in nonviolence and peacemaking.

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Peace Studies holds discussions of literature, history, and current events that delve into the great peacemakers, the prevalence of violence, and the ways in which people can strive for and achieve a peaceful lifestyle.

“It’s not a theoretical class, it’s about practical ways to increase peace and decrease violence, which ought to be the purpose of our lives, if you seek a life of purpose,” McCarthy said, who carries this philosophy with him to his weekly peace courses at the University of Maryland, American University, and Georgetown Law School.

As global terrorism, nuclear tensions, and the exclusion of non-Americans constitutes the bulk of our executive office’s attention, the importance of peace education seems to be rising day by day.

“We are fighting wars that can’t be won, explained, or afforded. And that is the nature of this country,” McCarthy

said.

Violence and harm is never what society wholeheartedly strives for, yet there exist perpetuating cycles of harmfulness and aggression on a global scale, most evident in military and domestic gun violence, the consequences of global warming, and animal agriculture. By teaching alternatives to violence, students can learn to adopt and act upon attainable solutions that reduce conflict. This is what McCarthy strives to instill in his own students, for them to realize the power they have to defy and protest institutions and corporations that contribute to some form of violence.

One of the most achievable measures in the fight against animal violence, for example, is a conversion to a vegan diet, of which McCarthy is devout.

“That’s one very gratifying thing.

Many students become aware that ‘I can do something about this’ by not

eating animal flesh or drinking their milk. You can’t do much about lowering the Pentagon budget. You can talk about it, write about it, but every day you make a choice: Do I have a cruelty-free diet or a cruelty-based diet?”

As a former omnivore himself, McCarthy has stated that he is very careful not to come on as judgmental when discussing veganism with his students.

“We were raised that way,” he said. “We never stepped back, we never asked, ‘Wait, is this ethical to be doing this?

Is it environmentally good to be eating meat?’”

“It’s not a theoretical class, it’s about practical ways to increase peace and decrease violence, which ought to be the purpose of our lives” McCarthy stated that peace education is something that deserves greater attention and development because most students have been victimized by some type of violence in their life, whether it be domestically, economically, homophobically, or racially rooted.

“Out of 12 years in school, eight in elementary and middle and four in high school, this is the only class that deals with issues that will always affect [these students’] lives,” he said. The most important type of classes, he argues, are those that leave you pondering the material well after the class is dismissed.

This is often the case with his Peace Studies class, as McCarthy brings in guest speakers from all walks of life to share their experiences. A Vietnam veteran who overcame years of addiction and homelessness, a journalist covering the global refugee crisis, and a plethora of McCarthy’s former students are just a few of the guests that bring insightful perspectives and make a profound impact on the course’s students. “And yet,” McCarthy pointed out, “we’re all yearning to have a peaceful life. But we

don’t teach you the mechanics of it, nor the literature of it, nor the history of it, it’s all there waiting to be done.”

Peace education, as McCarthy put it, is still in its infancy.

“We don’t have a department here in Peace Studies. We have a science department, a math department, but no Peace Studies department. So, the conclusion is that peace education is not really taken seriously by many of our schools,” McCarthy said, who has lobbied seven B-CC principals in the last 30 years for such a department. “I have not gotten anywhere with any of them,” he said. “So maybe the eighth principal, we’ll hit a home run.”

In terms of a curriculum, a multiyear Peace Studies course load would not be short of material. Students could spend entire semesters studying the great peacemakers like Mohandas Gandhi, Dorothy Day, The Dalai Lama or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., or animal violence in agribusiness, or the importance, history, and methods of civil disobedience. All the while, maintaining the philosophy against homework, exams, and grades, all of which McCarthy considers forms of “academic violence.”

“I believe in homethinking rather than homeworking,” McCarthy said.

However, that doesn’t mean a fullblown Peace Studies path of study wouldn’t be difficult: “From day one to the end it’s a challenging and arduous class because it makes you look inside to find answers to the most crucial of life’s questions,” McCarthy said. “How do I use all the blessings and gifts I’ve been given? Do I become self-centered or other-centered? What am I doing to increase peace and decrease violence?

Do I ask questions but never question the answers? Did I tell someone today, I love you?”

According to McCarthy, in order to truly make a positive impact, Peace Studies must begin in early education, just like any other academic subject.

McCarthy compared the ideal scenario for early peace education to the Montessori Method, a method of education grounded in collaboration, hands-onlearning, and the building of confidence and trust. McCarthy also cited the need for a dramatic shift from teachings of competition to teachings of cooperation at a young age where we are most

impressionable.

“Unless we teach them peace, someone else will teach them violence,” is one of McCarthy’s mantras.

Class readings and discussions are held on how competition serves as the building blocks for more violent tendencies down the road.

“The first time we teach you competition is to play musical chairs,” McCarthy said. “Knock someone out of that seat, knock ‘em over...Then we take you outside and have the tug of war. Not the tug of peace, the tug of war.”

McCarthy and peace advocates alike

“We’re all yearning to have a peaceful life. But we don’t teach you the mechanics of it, nor the literature of it, nor the history of it, it’s all there waiting to be done” have emphasized how the ultimate form of competition is war, and that lessons instilled in us as children will influence our sensitivity to, willingness to participate in, and moral perception of large-scale violence.

Colman McCarthy established B-CC’s Peace Studies course in 1988 with a sole objective: To teach young adults the importance of seeking alternatives to violence. Today, through much discussion and dissent, lectures and guest speakers, and weekly war protests out on East West Highway, Peace Studies is as strong as ever, fulfilling that goal McCarthy set out to accomplish since he first began teaching peace.

Yet, in a world still ripe with violence, educators like McCarthy are needed now more than ever to push efforts of revolutionizing peace education to their full potential. After looking back on 30 years, it’s time to act forward on making peace plausible.

“Peace Studies is really an AP math class,” McCarthy said. “Add love everyday. Subtract hate everywhere. Multiply peace every place. Divide violence every way.”

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Photo taken by Matt Cohen

B-CC Football: Building From the Ground Up

By Matt Cohen and Ian Benepe What was once the home football field of the B-CC Barons now sits as a gravel and dirt covered expanse, used daily as a parking lot for the construction crew working on the B-CC renovation project. Like the football field itself, the B-CC football program is in need of a rebuild. The field will receive a new turf surface, and new bleachers will be installed to bring home football games to life. The team itself has gone 14-36 over the last five years, and has had just four winning seasons since 2000. Just as the field has been gone for years, so has B-CC football as a relevant program in Montgomery County.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, a new hope for Barons football emerged.

It was announced that B-CC had found a new man to lead the rebuild, Ben Minturn.

Minturn graduated college in 2010, and has built up a wealth of coaching experience in the few years since he graduated. Though as Minturn approaches his first season as a varsity head coach in the fall of 2018, the years he has coaching after college are

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far from the only football experience Minturn brings.

Minturn has been around football since an early age. He first began playing at seven years old, and comes from a family where football is an integral part of their identity. “Everybody in my family played football,” Minturn said. “My dad played at Ithaca College, and also grew up locally and played at Bullis. My grandfather actually went [to B-CC]...It’s just a big thing in my family.”

Minturn played high school football at Damascus High School, enjoying a fantastic career. Minturn was called up to the varsity team at the end of his freshman year, and held a spot on the varsity squad for the rest of his time at Damascus. Minturn won two state championships at Damascus, in his freshman year, and in his junior year where the Hornets went undefeated.

Minturn went on to play at Shepherd University, where he was converted to an outside linebacker. The change proved a positive one, as Minturn totalled 182 tackles, four fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles in his career. He was a preseason All-American

in his senior year.

Though for Minturn, it was clear in high school that teaching physical education and coaching was the career path he wanted to pursue. “Sports have always been the centerpiece of everything that I enjoy. I think my dad instilled the idea of going after something you love, and going after that regardless, don’t worry about money.

For me it was always football or sports in general something was something I was passionate about. So I wanted to have something I knew I’d be comfortable doing, that I would enjoy,” Minturn said of discovering his interest in coaching.

Once Minturn left Shepherd, he was given the opportunity to come on the coaching staff at Stevenson University.

Minturn worked as an assistant coach working with the outside linebackers.

From Stevenson, Minturn went on to Sherwood High School, where he spent a year on staff. After Sherwood, Minturn moved to Quince Orchard High School, where he served as an assistant in his first year, before becoming the head coach of the JV team for two years. “He did a great job, I think

he only lost two games as a head coach down on JV. I think he’s a really good young coach,” QO varsity head coach John Kelley said of Minturn. “He has a lot of playing experience. He played for a very successful high school program, he played at a very successful college program. He’s got a lot of good experience coaching at different places, I think that’s one thing that makes him a good coach.”

Minturn was brought up to the varsity team at QO to assist during the playoffs, and it wasn’t long after QO’s 2017 season ended in a state championship game loss to Wise that Minturn began to apply for the B-CC job. The athletic director at QO reached out to Minturn, inquiring if he was interested in the B-CC job once it became available. Minturn applied for the job, and was awarded the position.

Minturn’s prior playing and coaching experience will be assets for him as he begins his first varsity head coaching job, but building a program won’t be an easy task. Minturn will have to get a whole new group of players to buy into his system, something that is much easier said than done. Minturn plans on “setting a standard for how things are done, and sticking to the expectation that you’ve set in place, saying what I mean and meaning what I’m saying...It’s a goal of mine to work for what we want, but we are going to have fun doing it at the same time,” Minturn

said.

Minturn also plans to go around to the middle schools, and get kids from the middle schools excited to come to B-CC and play football, a connection that all the top programs have.

As Minturn works to build community wide interest in the football program, the new stadium will begin to be built. The stadium is the last task for the construction crew to complete, after the new wing of the school opens next fall. The new stadium figures to bring back a sense of school pride that had been diminished upon moving the home football games to Walter Johnson High School. The return of the field is an exciting date on the minds of many in the B-CC community, including its new football coach. “Any time you have new facilities and something that maybe isn’t offered at other places is awesome,” Minturn said. “It livens up the atmosphere...I think it helps make this place more appealing, and hopefully will make more kids play football at B-CC.” With the new stadium, Minturn plans to rebuild a program that the student body can get excited about.

It's not going to happen overnight, but Minturn comes from a winning background, a mentality he wants to eventually instill at B-CC. Minturn’s focus was clear on expanding the program, making sure players are prepared and make it through the

full season, getting the most out of the players and making sure everyone has a good experience. The record of the team isn’t at the top of the agenda for Minturn as he builds the program. In the long term, Minturn plans to create a program that is respected, one that sets a high standard and is successful.

When Minturn takes the field for his first game as the B-CC head coach, he’ll look across the field, and see none other than his mentor at QO, John Kelley, coaching the Cougars. It will be a game that pits Minturn’s program against the type of program he wants to build.

It will take time to get there, just as it will still take time for the Barons to return home. However, the message from Minturn remains clear. “There is so much you can take from being a part of a good program, and putting everything that you have into something to be the best you can be,” Minturn said.

“Even if you fall up short, knowing that you always tried your best or put your best effort forwards, that’s always something that you can walk away from and never have any regrets about.

Understanding that winning is important, but what’s more important is having integrity and doing things the right way, that’s what means the most to me.

If I can have the type of impact on kids where they’re successful past B-CC, I think that would mean a lot more to me than winning and losing.”

B-CC Football Wins Over the Last 10 Years

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Photo taken by Harry Turner

A bond Bigger Than Basketball

By Harry Turner and Matt Levin

Eight years, countless tournaments and named captains on the B-CC varsity basketball team their senior year.

For Miles English, Gordon Gibson and Thomas Baer, basketball has been a part of their lives, and a fuel to their friendship since elementary school.

These three had very similar paths that led them to start for the B-CC varsity basketball team. Whether it was competing in Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) tournaments, or attending offseason workouts and practices, the three of them have been through it all together. However, as they are in the midst of their final season playing together, English, Gibson and Baer have decisions to make about their future that will split them apart. ` Miles, Gordon and Thomas started their basketball careers in the AAU circuit. Playing at the age of eight years old, the three realized they had some true basketball talent. The three played

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on the AAU team, the Rim Rattlers, throughout elementary and middle school. In their AAU career, the Rim Rattlers made five tournaments, once even finishing in first place. As their successful AAU careers came to an end, Bethesda-Chevy Chase basketball was on their minds.

Even though the three made it to B-CC varsity at different times, (English after his sophomore season, Gibson at the beginning of sophomore season and Baer for the varsity playoffs

“It’s been fun to play with each other for all these years. It’ll feel weird to not spend all of this time together once the season is over.”

after his freshman season) it seemed that all three got the most out of each of their experiences. English is appreciative of the extra time he got to spend on JV, stating that “it gave me a lot more confidence compared to sitting on the bench for the varsity team as an underclassmen.”

For Baer, having experience at the varsity level for all four years has only helped him master the speed of the game. Gibson admits that going up against B-CC’s former anchor in the paint, seven footer Tyjhai Byers, “made it hard to keep my confidence during practice.”

Now as seniors, English, Gibson and Baer are determined to go out with a bang. Baer stated that “our team goal is to win the division and then the state title. It’s a process, but we think we have what it takes.” This year, the big three have led the Barons on to an incredible 15-3 start (as of 1/31/18), and to a perfect division record as B-CC won the 4A South as well as clinching the top seed in the section.

“It’s been fun to play with each other for all these years. It’ll feel weird to not spend all of this time together once the season is over,” Baer said. However, just because their B-CC basketball careers are coming to an end, their basketball careers are not over.

When the college decision process came around, each had different values and hopes for what their collegiate experience would hold. For Gibson, playing in college was a priority. His high level play for the Barons helped get him noticed, but it was playing in AAU tournaments up and down the East coast against high level competition that earned him calls and letters from schools. Gibson has committed to play at Division III heavyweight Washington University in St. Louis next year. As for English, choosing schools to apply to wasn’t determined by the possibility of him playing ball. The forward is currently looking at schools in the Midwest. Baer, is still weighing his options and is looking at a few Division III schools along with schools that challenge him academically.

As the big three are parting ways after years of playing alongside each other, they will always cherish and remember playing together for years to come.

By Willie Crystal, Josh Byman, and Lucas Kiel The century mark is an important feat in any sport, whether it’s 100 home runs in baseball, 100 touchdowns in the NFL, or 100 goals in hockey. As B-CC wrestler Gabe McAndrew entered his senior year, he was just shy of 100 wins. He had put in hours of work, going through countless treacherous early morning practices and sacrificing entire weekends for tournaments to get to this point. On December 20th, 2017, McAndrew finally reached the coveted century mark.

Despite winning the Montgomery County championship last year as a junior, making it to states, and having the best year of his wrestling career, McAndrew views this accomplishment as the sweetest of all. To leave on a high note is crucial, and although this happened early in his senior season, he will still leave a prominent mark in B-CC wrestling history with over 100 wins.

He hasn’t gotten to this point without challenges. Weight is always an issue for wrestlers. When asked about the hardest part of wrestling at B-CC, McAndrew said “staying disciplined with weight” without hesitation.

His weight has fluctuated, “starting freshman year at the 170 pound weight class, and now finishing my senior year at the 195 pound weight class,” McAndrew said. As you go up in weight, the wrestling gets more difficult, so McAn-

Gabe McAndrew: 100 Wins... and Beyond

drew has had to adjust to the uptick in weight class, and has done a phenomenal job at doing so.

McAndrew started wrestling when he was six years old, but he quit in middle school before picking it back up again in high school. McAndrew credits his coach Sam Arnone with his success. He said that Arnone pressured him into wrestling during his freshman year, and has helped him become a great wrestler since then. He also claims that his mother is the per-

“wrestling helps you in any sport. It teaches you how to be a competitor.” son who has contributed the most to his wrestling career. McAndrew said his mom “drove me to every practice, match, and tournament since I was a little kid, and continues to come to every wrestling event to this day.”

When asked what the defining moment in his career was, McAndrew pointed to his big win at the Montgomery County championship last year, calling it his “first great accomplish-

ment as an individual in high school.”

He doesn’t know if he will continue wrestling into college, however, but he says it’s definitely a possibility. Even if he does quit wrestling after high school, he will still have had a bright wrestling career filled with accomplishments.

McAndrew is not only a wrestler, though, as he has been a staple on the football team since his sophomore year. Sticking with a struggling team is always hard but McAndrew credits the lessons he has learned through wrestling to be able to stay committed.

“I believe that wrestling helps you in any sport,” McAndrew said. “It teaches you how to be a competitor and how to be the best you can be as an individual while still being part of a team.”

Not only did wrestling teach McAndrew how to stay committed and to work hard, but it has helped his football career as well, since “wrestling actually translates to football, you learn how to use your hands and how to compete one on one,” McAndrew said.

“Particularly for my position as a tight end in football where I need to be able to block, for this wrestling is very helpful.”

Even though McAndrew’s athletic career at B-CC is coming to an end, he has learned lessons and skills that will last him a lifetime.

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Juggling their way to the top

By Andrew Cha, Lansing Lee IV and Sasha Frank-Stempel Walking into Mr. Orlando’s math classroom during lunch on a regular Wednesday, one would generally expect to see students and teachers hard at work.

But since the beginning of this school year, this has rarely been the case. Instead, there are tennis balls, hacky sacks, and pins flying through the air, all in sync with the loud music that echoes throughout the room.

Somehow, the mood feels both fun and humorous, yet simultaneously focused and determined. This tone is what sets apart Barons Juggling, B-CC’s current club on the rise, from other student groups.

In its first year as a club, Barons Juggling has already become one of the most popular and well-known clubs throughout the entire school, garnering a strong amount of students for each weekly meeting, and performing at various school-sponsored social and sporting events.

As founder and captain of the club, junior Tom Merritt realizes the level of success the club has reached in such a short time, as well as the potential for Barons Juggling to become something greater.

“We want to be recognized as a varsity sport, and, at some point in the future, hopefully we can get juggling

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sanctioned by all of MCPS,” Merritt said.

While this may seem like a bit of a stretch to some, Merritt noted that the juggling club currently holds all of the makings of a school sport. It is highly organized, divided by skill level into four separate teams with a “varsity team” composed of the most advanced members.

Also, a couple of months ago, with help from the B-CC TV team, Barons Juggling were able to film and produce an ESPN style “30 for 30” profile on the club which aired later in the week’s episode. Most recently, the club was even able to fund and print their own “Barons Juggling” jerseys, which they plan to show off at their upcoming performances scheduled for the spring sports pep rally and the B-CC talent show.

In the eyes of the team, these recent accomplishments are not only some of the hallmarks of a potential sports team, but they are also symbolic of the initiative that the team possesses to reach its full potential in the near future.

From swim meets and volleyball games, to pep rallies and talent shows, juggling captain Tom Merritt acknowledged that while the club needs to maintain a sense of seriousness to eventually become a school sanctioned

sport, they cannot disregard some of the pressures that new and potential members may have with juggling in front of all of their peers and teachers. As any “regular” athlete knows, performing in front of a large audience can be stressful, especially when one may not have any previous experience with juggling but still wants to be apart of the team.

To account for this, Merritt and the rest of the juggling team opened their club “to all skill levels, and no previous experience is required.”

Ultimately, this inclusiveness and mentoring are what give the juggling club its charm. It is already impressive that the club has managed to schedule performances at a variety of events, organize structured teams, and print their own jerseys, all on their own initiative. In this way, juggling is truly striving to be on the path towards being recognized, if not by MCPS, then by the students, as a school sport.

But what is just as impressive, is the fact that they have been able to do this while maintaining a “relaxed atmosphere open to anyone,” as Merritt said.

In his perspective, although the club has high hopes for the future, it is driven foundationally upon “students who have, or want to develop a passion for juggling.”

Do B-CC Students still use their Lockers?

By Lauren Gips and Julia Taylor B-CC has hundreds of lockers lining the hallways but who actually uses them? Every typical American high school TV or movie showcases the students using their lockers to store their belongings but the question remains: do people actually use lockers outside of Hollywood?

Personally, I have never used my locker despite getting a locker number and combination each year. In fact, I’m fairly sure that upon receiving the slip of paper this year, I spit my gum in it.

This “non-use of lockers” comes as a bit of a shock to those coming from Westland and even other schools because of their frequent use of lockers.

At Westland, it was actually not allowed to not use your locker. All per-

sonal belongings, cell phones included were to be locked away. Everything besides your binder of course.

Another reason lockers were such a big part of “Westland Culture” was the tradition of getting up early to deck out the locker of a friend on their birthday.

They would come down the hall to see their locker covered in streamers, balloons, and cards. Westland was a place where the rules shaped how we acted, so because we couldn’t wear our backpacks, we accepted and embraced the sense of independence that lockers provided.

At B-CC, only a small number of student use their locker. Most people don’t even know where the locker assigned to them during the first week of school is located, and simply shove

the slip of paper with their number and combination on it in their bag, never to see it again.

“In four years of being here, I haven’t once used my locker, I just haven’t had a need for it,” senior Alex Fitzgerald said. “It’s much more convenient to have all my class materials with me at all times. But even if I did need it, I still wouldn’t use it because I can never figure out how to open it.”

Utilizing the lockers the same way as done in middle school is impractical, as there is just not enough time to go to lockers between classes. But there are many other ways to use this often-neglected free space.

Ever have a heavy textbook to bring to but putting it in your backpack makes your bag seem twice as heavy?

Put it your locker. What about that winter coat? Putting it in your locker will eliminate the inconvenience of having to go back and figure out what classroom you left it in earlier.

Junior Virginia Brown seems to have the right idea. “I use my locker because I need somewhere to put my track bag during the day and in the winter, it’s where I leave my coat,” Brown said.

But it seems that for the most part, unless team rooms are inaccessible, even student athletes rarely use their lockers.

Even at other schools in MCPS, students rarely use lockers due to inconvenience.

Emily Schweitzer, a junior at Walt Whitman High School said that “at Whitman, it is very uncommon to use a locker because it is so inconvenient.

With only five minutes between classes that leaves just enough time to get to class nonetheless to go to your locker across the building.”

For many high schoolers in the area, it is just not as practical to sprint through the hallways to grab a couple of things. Back in middle school, it was easier because students carried school supplies around anyway, and only went to their lockers in the morning, at lunch, and during dismissal. While those are all possibilities of locker use today, it is simply less likely because we can carry our backpacks around all day.

And it is much more inconvenient to empty your backpack into a locker every morning, rather than just pull out a notebook for a specific class.

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instagram museums

Transforming art culture in a digital age

Photo by Paloma delgado By emily schrader, paloma delgado and sophia saidi In a gallery at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, translucent white paper descends from the high ceiling, drifting to join the airy piles covering the floor. As the periodic humming of machines fills the air, crowds wade through the paper heaps, taking in the immersive installation and snapping selfies.

There, two George Washington University seniors, Sarah and Linda, lie sprawling amidst the mechanical whirring of falling paper.

“I saw this exhibit on someone else’s Snapchat, and I was like, ‘That looks cool!’” Sarah said. “I just saw this online and texted [Linda], ‘We’re going.

This. Tomorrow. Let’s do it,’ and we did.”

The multimedia exhibit, Ann Hamilton’s “At Hand,” combines visual and digital elements to symbolize the replacement of manual labor with technological innovation. But even as the art makes a statement about the “absence” associated with technology, social media has taken over the crowds of visitors.

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Around the room, cell phones are out in force, as people pose for the perfect Instagram photos or Snapchat videos with the confetti-like paper. This social media experience is not unique to “At Hand.” In art museums across the country, immersive, Instagram-friendly art spaces are the new normal, transforming the way young people see and interact with visual art.

The trend raises questions: Does the end result make art more accessible, or is it a denigration of the creative process? In an increasingly digital world, has social media reduced exhibits to nothing more than flattering Instagram backdrops?

For Lindsay Maizland, a gallery guide at the Hirshhorn, the answer is clear.

“I don’t think it detracts from the purpose [of art], I just think it’s a different purpose,” Maizland said. “Personally I love watching people interact with art, and I think even if...you’re just taking a selfie, you’re still trying to get to know the art, and you’re still thinking about it and thinking about its aesthetic.”

The clamor of social-media induced crowds, however, may disrupt the effectiveness of the exhibit, Maizland said.

“It was kind of supposed to be a very contemplative, peaceful place where you could kind of get lost in the art... and get lost in your thoughts,” she said, “but now it’s so popular for people to come and take pictures.”

Perla Krauze, an artist visiting from Mexico, echoed the sentiments of Maizland. Although she “doesn’t mind” social media, she said it does not necessarily improve the message of the art.

In her opinion, the constant presence of smartphone cameras in art galleries makes viewing experiences less personal. Looking around at the crowds, Krauze said she probably would have preferred to experience the gallery on her own.

“I like to see the work in a more personal way, just slowly and without too many people,” she said.

As a sculptor and painter herself, Krauze wondered aloud why some of her pieces tend to attract larger audiences.

“What is it that makes some of them more ‘trendy’ than others?” Krauze said. “What is it in that piece of art?”

The answer may lie in the increasing prevalence of interactive art spaces, as art featured on social media has become popular among younger generations. This, in turn, has shifted the focus away from traditional art pieces and towards more visually engaging styles of art. Simply put, people like art that looks good in photographs.

Seven years ago, in Mexico City’s Museo de Arte Moderno, Krauze created an installation that featured brightly colored suspended stones illuminated by a projection playing in the background.

At the time, “it was not that trendy, at least in Mexico, to be taking selfies in an exhibit,” Krauze said. “But maybe that would have been a place for the selfies.”

It is hard to pinpoint exactly when this new phenomenon of “art as social media backdrop” began to take hold, but the Renwick Gallery may have sparked the trend with its visually appealing “Wonder” installation two years ago. Last spring, when a travelling exhibition by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama came to Washington, young art lovers—and their phones—filled the galleries.

Nobody expected Kusama’s exhibition, “Infinity Mirrors,” to draw the largest attendance at the Hirshhorn in three decades. The installation, a series of small rooms resplendent with vibrant polka dots and mirrored surfaces in every direction, broke records nonetheless.

Mirror selfies from the exhibit reached over 90 million Instagram and Twitter accounts, creating a nationwide sensation and illustrating a new culture of snapping photos with cell phones during art exhibits.

“It’s like saying, ‘I’m here. I was there,’ for your friends on Facebook and Instagram and all that,” Krauze said.

Not all of this free publicity was beneficial—Hirshhorn staff limited the time in each room to just 30 seconds due to high demand. One viewer even lost his footing while taking a selfie in the infinity room, All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins, smashing one of the priceless polka-dotted gourds.

“I feel like there was just like everyone going...to get your Instagram post, and it really just made the whole experience really stressful,” Maizland said. “That’s the opposite of what Yayoi Kusama wanted, because [the art] was kind of a way for her to deal with her anxiety and schizophrenia.”

Despite the shortcomings of the exhibition, it certainly drew a large following. Over the same time period, the Hirshhorn recorded its highest spring visitation since the museum’s opening in 1974. The sheer number of visitors, and the 34,000 photos posted on Ins-

“You can give a hundred artists a pen and a pencil and a paper, and you’ll get a million results, and what technology is doing is broadening the tools that artists can use.”

“Parallel Universe” at ARTECHOUSE, an interactive art space in downtown D.C. Photo by Emily Schrader. tagram, are testament to the newfound accessibility of art on social media.

“I think that social media and seeing it online makes you more likely to come, rather than saying, ‘Oh, I’ve already seen it.’ We’ve always had access to pictures of art, and that’s never really stopped people from going before,” Linda said. “We saw this on social media, and that’s why we came.”

Social media seems to be broadening the scope of people who are interested in visiting art exhibits, extending it to people who may not have otherwise been exposed to that type of cultural education.

“I think it’s a completely different experience than seeing a painting or a photo or something hanging on a wall,” said Maizland. “This can be a lot more meaningful for certain people who maybe don’t really know art, and for me that’s really true, like I don’t know the history of art.”

This was the vision behind ARTECHOUSE, which describes itself as Washington D.C.’s first interactive digital art gallery that revolves around art, science, and technology in the 21st century. Viewers enter what organizers call an “art space,” not a gallery, where they lie on bean bags and gaze up at massive digital screens fluctuating with pulsing patterns of light. The art space incorporates augmented reality technology, and even a digitally enhanced bar.

“There’s no other bar that offers a drink that moves when you look at it through your phone,” said Lena Galperina, a Visual Experience Director at ARTECHOUSE. Currently, the art space is displaying the exhibition “Parallel Universe,” a four piece installment created by the Turkish art studio Ouchhh. The exhibition is an overwhelming display of lights, sounds, and vibrations, which “puts people in the performer’s shoes,” Galperina said. “Not necessarily performing for an audience, but they then become part of that experience, performing for themselves.”

Regardless of the artistic merit of this “Instagram art,” one thing is certain: it gives young people an opportunity to connect with visual media and express themselves through creative shots.

Although ARTECHOUSE is the first of its kind in Washington, digital art is becoming more and more prominent within the changing landscape of the art world. These digital artists are changing the way people perceive, interpret, and engage with art itself.

“You can give a hundred artists a pen and a pencil and a paper, and you’ll get a million results,” Galperina said.

“What technology is doing is broadening the tools that artists can use.”

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Photo courtesy of Ilhan Alyanak

Looking Beyond the Cliché: Teens in Love

By Sophie Cobb I was 17 the first time I truly fell in love. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever felt; pure bliss. When I expressed these feelings though, I was often faced with criticism regarding my age. Apparently, because I’m young, I’m incapable of caring so deeply for another individual. It’s upsetting to hear those things, to have your own feelings invalidated with no concern, especially when you know how you feel. “You’re too young to be in love.” “You only think you’re in love.” “You just like him a lot.” What I received were essentially all different variations of “No, you’re wrong.”

What I wish I could’ve said to the unbelievers was this, “Thanks for the concern, but I’m sure of my feelings, and quite frankly your input was unprompted.” In reality, all I could really do in these situations was smile, nod, and ignore the comment as politely as possible. Don’t want to cause a fuss.

The term “puppy love” feeds the stigma which deems young love as somehow less than. This phrase, used

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almost exclusively in reference to adolescent romantic attachments, claims such connections as shallow and transient. The lack of respect for our deep emotions is clear.

This criticism of teenagers in love, seen universally, is what inspired me to create my interactive exhibit for MoCAT. To recap quickly for those who aren’t familiar: I interviewed 10 teenagers about their experiences with love, presented those videos inside a physical installment of lockers, which was placed in front of a chalkboard where viewers could contribute their own responses about love. I didn’t know what to expect, I didn’t even think I would get many answers. What I received instead were incredibly raw and moving stories told in just a few words; a reflection of all the different facets love can have.

I heard countless inquiries from adults who were pleasantly shocked to witness teenagers speak so honestly about the love in their life. Each one

asked me how I got them to open up truthfully like that. The funny thing is, most of the people I interviewed had absolutely no idea what I was going to ask them about. So here’s a quick shout out to all 10 of you who were so willing to talk to me about what love means to you, and how it has shaped you.

Many adults also mentioned the nostalgia they felt while viewing the exhibit, remembering their glory days with fondness. One story that fascinated me came from a pair of high school sweethearts. They too faced criticism on their love, but they stood strong and 40 years later are happy as can be. These remarks inspired me to go in search of more testimonials from our elder generation on the topic of young love. I wanted all the perspective I could get.

A friend of mine recently visited her father in Colombia over the summer.

These two, who seldom see each other, found themselves in a deep conversation about love and what it means. She said it was one of the best conversations

she had ever been a part of. Her father described young love as the “most euphoric thing he had ever felt”, and he wishes he could reattain its magic. For him, adult love is a more difficult endeavor to achieve. He claims that individuals are less likely to fall in love as willing, which is a quality of young love that certainly cannot be denied. Teenage excitement and the curiosity of it all renders us susceptible to that loving feeling.

“I wish I had married her,” sighs 53 year old Christopher, “There’s just something about that connection, that person will always know you on a level that others can’t reach.”

According to Chris, the bond one shares with their first love is of an incredibly special nature.

“You’re both loving each other as you’re growing and changing as people. They will know how you function perhaps better than you know yourself.

Most importantly, they’re someone who can really appreciate that growth, and encourage it further.”

Christopher offers a valuable insight on the conditions of pursuing young love. Teenagers are already struggling with their own coming-of-age experience, so pairing that with a significant other can be overwhelming. Though this can be a lot to handle at times, having a supportive partner while crossing this threshold rewards you with someone who holds a deep-rooted understanding of and appreciation for you.

“The hardest but most fulfilling part is learning how to love together.”

By far, the most glorious story I came across was from none other than the passion that is my French grandfather. I had never heard the story of his first love before, and it was an absolute delight.

Every summer his mother would send him to the North of France, and when he was 14 he happened upon a girl who became, as he says, his “little fiancée.”

Here’s my favorite part.

“I thought about her nonstop until one day I could not hold it in anymore. I ran away from home,” he writes, “I had some money so I went to the Gare du Nord in Paris to take the train to her.”

He ended up staying with his uncle who lived in the same village as his

beloved. After spending a few tender days together, he returned home with a “happy heart.” It’s been sixty years and he still remembers it like it was just yesterday.

I know what you’re thinking. That’s crazy. It has to be fake, right? It’s just like the movies! Well, I suppose that just goes to show the enchanting power of having a young love.

He followed this touching story with

no matter your age. Its authenticity is by no means determined by age. Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply bitter that they never got to be young and in love like you are.

“I thought about her nonstop until one day I could not hold it in anymore. I ran away from home.” a few wise statements regarding love, which are presented below: “We say that first love is the one we never forget and never want to forget.”

“The heart illuminates our eyes.”

“Young love is strong, it makes us go through intense emotions; it tickles us.”

“First love always remains a deep part of us because it has built us.”

“Your first love represents eternal youth, the innocence is unique.”

The evidence speaks for itself. Despite the constant criticism endured by young love, it seems to be one of the most complex parts of our human lives.

Speaking for myself, love has made the most profound impact on me, more than anything else in my life. Love is even perhaps the never-ending lesson of life, constantly shaping us and altering our understanding of human intimacy.

In my humble opinion, love is real

Chalkboard responses to the prompt, “Describe the first time you fell in love.”

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Stress Levels Among Teens Increase with Expectations

By Hana Zherka Senior Jennifer Baker is released from school at the bell. She heads to soccer practice, or to a game. Depending on the night, she will get home as early as 6:00 in the evening and as late as 11:00 at night. No matter the time, she’ll have to do homework for her 5 AP classes. She was, unfortunately, unable to do some during lunch due to a student government meeting, honors society meeting (where she is either vice president, service chair, or community outreach chair depending on which of the three she attends), tutoring session, or philanthropy club meeting -of which she is president. On an average night she will spend the next 6 hours doing homework and, if she’s lucky, she won’t have to work on college applications. She might be in bed by 1:00 in the morning, leaving her with around five or six hours of sleep per night.

Even just a few years ago, Jennifer would have been a shoo-in for each Ivy League. Now, in 2017, she hasn’t even considered applying. In fact, only four of the nine schools she is applying to are even ranked in the top 20.

Expectations and pressures put on students are at an all time high today, as teenagers are made to think that their every action defines their future.

“One grade on a test can ruin your life,” said Emma Lopus, a senior at B-CC. “I have cried in the bathroom after failing a quiz.”

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According to one senior, students believe that “the college you go to makes the difference between success and failure.”

Students are not taught that it’s okay to fail and learn from it. For them, there’s no room to fail. In the prime of their learning age, teenagers are not allowed to learn. They are expected to know.

For kids of all academic and athletic

“In the prime of their learning age, teenagers are not allowed to learn. They are expected to know.”

achievement, the stress from expectations of excellent achievement in school has a very real mental consequence.

“I had my first mental breakdown of the year today,” a high school senior posted only a month after the year started. “It feels like I’m holding up a ceiling that is slowly crushing me.

“My arms are getting tired,” another said.

Every student I spoke to could im-

mediately relay an experience when they had broken down crying due to school-associated stress. Statistically, these numbers show, as student depression and anxiety are on the rise.

According to Psychology Today, “the average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950’s.”

And, for the first time in recorded history, “anxiety is more prevalent than depression.”

But stress isn’t all bad. “A little stress and in moderation can be helpful to high schoolers in so many ways. It motivates them to study, to do better. It helps push them,” said Mary Alvord, a psychologist specializing in teens based in Maryland. Stress, like everything, in moderation is good, but in excess can be detrimental to health, both long and short term.

Teenagers have always felt more stress than adults, which makes sense.

They are learning how to manage responsibilities and schedules, whereas adults have already gone through the learning period. But the problem remains that this stress has begun to reach catastrophic levels. “Chronic stress can cause anxiety, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system, and can contribute to diseases such as depression, obesity and heart disease,” the American Psychological Association said.

Many ask, how did we get here? Now, more than ever, high school graduates are applying to colleges. The amount of elite, well-known schools, however, has remained the same. This past application season, Stanford received 44,000 applications. Only nine years prior, in 2008, this number was at 25,000. Until 2000, the record application high was 17,652 in 1985. Total number of students enrolled each year? 1,700.

Having taken AP BC Calculus-- a college level course-- in his sophomore year of high school, Tyler Duran is now relying on coaches to help him get into these top schools. He went on to ace AP Physics his junior year of high school, and run out of math classes offered by the school, all while swimming competitively 17 hours a week, interning three, and playing the saxophone in the school’s jazz band. Tyler is applying to

the number one school in the country, but for him, it’s now just luck of the draw.

The fact is that Jennifer and Tyler are at the top of their class academically and in terms of extracurriculars, but are still unsure which type of letter they will be receiving come April. And this influx of applications is happening for every school down the line as national rates increase. Students are then required to compete with Jennifer and Tyler for what is their top school and the latter’s safety.

Across the nation, this has elevated stress levels among children, as early as elementary school. In the fourth grade, in fact, I recall running for class president because I thought it would look good on college applications. Although I clearly had no idea what the application process was, I was set on doing

things for college, rather than for myself.

One of the best ways to prevent this stress, according to the American Psychological Association, is to plan time for school-related activities, while also planning time to relax. In doing this, students can actually become more high-performing according to Douglas Barton, the team manager of Elevate Education.

The most important thing for avoidance of stress, it seems, is the decision to take on activities that bring the student real joy, and are not tailored to satisfy any parent or college. Students also must be able to say no to activities in order to avoid overloading themselves, and realize that with dedication and passion, they can end up wherever they want to be, regardless of the college they went to.

Parents feel the anxiety too

By Josh Garber On one September afternoon, senior Vikram Akwei, student body president of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, finishes school and heads to track practice. Following the training, several hours of rigorous running and strength exercises, he rushes to the fall musical rehearsal, where he has secured a leading role. It is not until after the rehearsal, that he finally leaves for home, where specifically on this day, he was assigned to read twenty pages for IB History, and to finish a physics lab. On top of all of this, he needs to write a college supplemental essay.

Akwei is not alone in his intensive schedule. Many seniors participate in numerous extracurriculars and feel the acute pressure of academic stress.

However, for many families, the real stress is felt by the parents.

“We were stressed about him forgetting to get in all the different parts of the application,” Akwei’s mother said.

“We were worried that he might forget a part of the application—luckily, he didn’t.”

Akwei’s parents aren’t the only parents stressed about their children’s application to college. Nick Gandal, a senior, described his parent’s attitude as “pretty stressed the entire time,” Gandal said. “Getting your application

completed is not your first priority, but it should be.” Many students have similar stories of their parent’s anxieties increasing as the deadlines approach. Senior Pascal Lee experienced this struggle with his parents firsthand.

“My mom kept bugging me because I did [the application] at the last minute,” Lee said.

Not only do parents stress over the application that the students must complete, but they also worry their children may not get accepted into their top choice college, or where the parent wants the student to attend.

“They were not stressed about any specific college, except for Trinity because they went there,” Gandal said.

Often, parents have their children apply to the schools they attended themselves, creating even more pressure in an already difficult college process. The stress about college attendance does not begin with seniors in high school.

“For many parents, the stress associated with their child’s prospects of getting into and going to college begins at conception,” wrote Dr. Brie Jeweler-Bentz of the The School Counseling Group. “In fact, pregnancy tests might do well to include the projected cost of a college education right on the little stick next to the response window.”

Parents’ worry about their future children’s endeavors at such a young age may cause their child to miss out on important parts of their childhood, while only signing up for activities that supposedly “look good” on college applications. In a Boston Globe article, the Linda K. Wertheimer writes, “parents signed up their kindergartners for costly math centers that tout past students’ perfect SAT math scores.”

Though many students suffer from parental involvement and stress in the college application process, a lucky few have the luxury of not experiencing this stress, including senior Nico Gonzalez. For him, his parents aren’t really involved, he said. “I personally work better on my own,” Gonzalez said. “I think the biggest challenge for my parents was getting through the hoops of me not wanting to talk about college applications or update them of how far along I’m doing, while also trying to get it all done in time.”

When a parent gets too involved and too anxious, they risk the possibility of increasing stress for their children.

Fortunately, many parents of seniors at B-CC high understand that their role is to be supportive in whatever happens for the child.

As Akwei puts it, “they want me to find the best school for me.”

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Photo by Camilo Montoya

A Tillie Takeover: B-CC’s Podcast in Review

By Pascal Lee, Millie Elsey, Tory Silver, Owen Hopkins & John Narvaiz The B-CC Podcast is the Tattler’s The Team attributes their drive to freshest media platform! Seniors Pas- push the boundaries of what is allowed cal Lee, Owen Hopkins, John Narvaiz, on a school sponsored media platform Millie Elsey, and Tory Silver bring you to the dissatisfaction they feel with a new podcast every other Friday on their self proclaimed rival, B-CC TV. the B-CC Podcast’s SoundCloud page.

“If B-CC TV is like a plain bowl of The topics are “as controversial as oatmeal, the B-CC Podcast is a bowl of possible” and always about something Cinnamon Toast Crunch” one listener that is happening at B-CC. The only said. “They don’t dance around the isvoices heard on the podcast are from sues, they talk about what’s really going B-CC students, teachers, and person- on at B-CC without holding anything nel. They have covered topics such as back!” the Juul, citations, and even rallied to This is where the B-CC Podcast sets bring color day back. This is not your itself apart, and with that, it breaks typical podcast where people talk about the stigma of podcasts being boring one subject for an hour. The episodes and dull. In an interview with Senior are around 10 minutes long and include Podcast Member and Executive Audio skits, arguments, and student opinions Creativity General Manager CEO Preson relatable topics. ident Board Member, Owen Hopkins, What sets the B-CC Podcast miles he described his hesitation to first join ahead of the competition is its genuine the Podcast Team. focus on the students at B-CC. They “When I first thought of a Podcast I focus on the news and issues that they thought about listening to NPR in the know the student body is interested in car with my mom” he said. “But realand can relate to. Expanding upon this ly quickly it became clear that this had is Podcast Executive Spaceman John the potential to be something really inNarvaiz, who explained, “we’re always teresting and engaging.” Podcasts are trying to go into the topics you wouldn’t special because they can make stories see on a conventional school news or and issues come to life without the use TV program, we portray the actual life of visual aids, Hopkins said. of a student at B-CC and that’s how we It is in unanimous agreement that make stuff you enjoy listening to.” the greatest strength of the Podcast lies

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in the diversity of the student body. By including interviews and segments that speak to every member of the community, the Podcast team is able to capitalize on the openness of B-CC. The B-CC Podcast Team furthermore encourages any student with a story or an issue they feel strongly about to get involved and make their voice heard. After all, the ultimate goal of the B-CC Podcast is to unite the student body through shared experiences, feelings, and interests, all of which characterize the unique and exciting culture of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.

For any student, parent, teacher, or citizen interested in B-CC that wants to see the real issues that affect the student body, delve into the trends and unspoken ways of B-CC culture in just 10 minutes, laugh with Owen and John, learn from Tory and Millie, and nod your head to Pascal’s melodic homemade tunes, listen to the B-CC Podcast on Soundcloud at soundcloud. com/bccpodcast and check out the new episode every other Friday.

Long live the B-CC Podcast!

Find out what you missed in our brief episode synopsis.

Ep. 1 The Juul Episode WACKY FOR KHAKI! The first season of the B-CC Podcast was kicked off with ‘The Juul Episode.’ Everything from smoking shenanigans to Booeymonger’s soggy sandwiches was addressed in this pilot episode. The chapter begins with the first Owen vs. John debate. John sides that the Juul is “the future” (and a clout enhancer) and that putting restrictions on it would be succumbing to an outdated mindset. He also added that class attendance would drastically improve if Juuling was allowed, as this would negate the need for students to skip class for a vape break.

Owen took a more conservative approach however, highlighting the many implications this incognito ‘flash drive’

“The Juul is “the future” (and a clout enhancer) and putting restrictions on it would be succumbing to an outdated mindset.” can have on student’s health. Both gentlemen presented quality arguments, but who won the debate? You’ll have to listen to find out. If the Juul bores you, the episode still has much to offer.

Tillie’s relationship advice, traditional Japanese fall-themed Haikus, and lunch-spot reviews are all included in this very special opening installment all you have to do is press play!

Ep. 2 The Halloween Episode BOO! What was everyone for Halloween this year? “The Halloween Episode” exposes people’s most creative costumes, including a sexy diaphram and B-CC’s very own Mr. Levine. Tillie strikes back with more relationship advice and tackles the ultimate senior relationship dilemma: deciding whether or not to apply to the same universities as your significant other. Owen and John follow Tillie with another smashing debate on B-CC’s school spirit (or lack thereof). The two boys, although starting out on opposite ends of the ring, actually end in harmonious agreement that B-CC needs more spirit. Find

out what freshman thought about ‘beat a freshman day’ before forming your own opinion on the matter.

Ep. 3 The Fight Episode POW POW! Violence has struck B-CC! “The Fight Episode” gives you the inside scoop of the WJ vs B-CC ice hockey game fight. Our two lead debaters, Owen and John, discuss whether the fight should of escalated and what the next steps are two of Montgomery County’s biggest rivals. The podcast team also investigates the plethora of false truths told by the B-CC student’s on their college applications. Race, gender, and extracurriculars are all categories that seem to get slightly fabricated responses, one person even went as far as saying that they had led a team they were never actually apart of to the states championships. Generating such extensive stories really weighed on our B-CC seniors and each of them laid out their plans for celebration once all their applications were submitted, out of sight, and out of mind. The episode finally closes with another Tillie segment, discussing STDs and partners that overstep their boundaries with the family. Just listen to “The Fight Episode”...do it for the culture.

Ep. 4 The Love Episode I LOVE YOU! The longest episode to date, “The Love Episode,” stretches nearly 16 minutes and details the love stories of several anonymous couples from the B-CC student body. Anecdotes of heartbreak and young love characterized this relatable segment.

For those you who have been unlucky in the love department lately, maybe go visit the gym and hear some advice on weightlifting from studs Parker Silver, Jayden Wallach, and Dylan Greenstein. They describe their daily grind sessions at Sport&Health and in first period weight room and inspired the rest of the podcast team with their utter dedication to protein powder shakes. If going to the gym still doesn’t work for you, listen to John’s professional Tin-

Read this summary and you still can’t find love? Listen to the podcast to get the full details.

Ep. 5 The Fear Episode *WETS BED*! Despite this episode being about fear, it’s anything but scary. Students share their worst nightmares but nothing compares to the fear of being matched with John on Tinder (see ep. 4). After indulging in the spooky scenarios, the episode took a turn for the better and students reflected on what they were thankful for this Thanksgiving season. Curious answers were given such as “I am thankful for gum sticking to the bottom of my shoe” and “my diplomatic immunity.”

Keeping in line with the Thanksgiving spirit, Owen shares a traditional ABAB sonnet that pushes emotional boundaries, touching controversial topics such as dinosaurs, pilgrims and Andrew Jackson. This podcast episode ends on a more academic note as Millie and Owen debate the magnitude of a white canvas. Does it mean anything? Is Millie being ignorant? Or is Owen being overly pedantic? Find out on this episode.

Ep. 6 The Citation Episode YOU’VE BEEN SERVED! Graduating from B-CC without a citation is harder than being Owen’s girlfriend.

The podcast team gained some serious intel on the B-CC student body’s many police encounters. From alcohol to marijuana to Juuls, your peers have really done it all. One student’s latenight mischievous actions even led to an (allegedly false) car robbery charge.

Another experienced similar misfortune, and despite her best efforts, failed to con her way out of trouble by using a foreign language. The podcast team went a step further to interview B-CC’s very own police officer, Officer Tisdale, to gain her informed insights. Tune into the episode to hear her thoughts!

“John helps Owen find true love in a hopeless place.” der tips. Having been a seven year veteran of the site and even earning gold member status, John helps Owen find true love in a seemingly hopeless place.

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Homecoming and Football: do they need to go together?

Photo by Ms. Councilman

By Adwyn Viera and Patrick Henry Sweaty teenagers crammed into an overheated gym. Music loud enough to damage some eardrums. Rowdy and restless spectators. All characteristics of your contemporary homecoming weekend. A two-day affair, “hoco” is not exclusive to upperclassmen like prom is, and therefore has become an event that B-CC, and high schools everywhere, can truly bond over.

Homecoming has been a staple of American high school culture for over a century. Its origins can be traced back to the University of Missouri, who claims to have held their first homecoming in 1910, with the intention of inviting alumni back to the school for the festivities. Since then, the custom has exploded. High schools across the nation have adopted the tradition, with many schools expanding the tradition to include pep rallies and parades with student-made floats being marched throughout the streets. Schools everywhere have their own unique variations, but one aspect of the homecoming experience has remained a cornerstone: the annual football game.

It’s the most important game of the year. The intensity is real. At B-CC, hype videos have been displayed on Promethean Boards in each classroom during the previous days. Students jitter with excitement as they wait in the seemingly never-ending line to purchase tickets. Attendance is the highest it will ever be. Players are nervous.

The pressure to win your homecoming

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game, a game played in front of what feels like your whole school, is immense. The stands look to be a turbulent sea of blue and gold from afar, and chatter fills the air throughout the entire night. The environment is electric, undoubtedly, but does that excitement originate from the playing field itself?

Or rather from the fact that such a large portion of the school has come together in a non-academic setting to socialize and show some spirit?

The first topic important to tackle is simply: Why football in the first place?

Sure, nowadays football is the biggest sport in America, and the NFL is a multi-billion dollar industry, but back in 1910 when homecoming games began, pro football as we know it today was still 10 years from its inception.

“Football--like basketball--is a sport that historically draws the largest number of spectators, but football is during the fall when homecomings traditionally occur,” said B-CC principal, Dr. Jones, “[They] tend to be a large social event, and many alumni typically come back and celebrate their class reunions at the games.” The social aspect seems to be the largest reason for football’s status as the flagship sport of homecoming, but this culture could be transferred to another event, as it has been done before.

If a transition away from football was enacted, but the option for the event was to be kept within the realm of sports, a realistic choice could be soccer. Several private schools in the

area, such as St. Andrew’s in Potomac, don’t have football teams, and instead have chosen to go with soccer as their homecoming sport. If there’s anything that the B-CC boys soccer state championship run proved this year, it is that students have no problem showing up in huge numbers for important soccer games. The environment at the state championship game rivaled that at any football game in recent memory, and certainly would translate well into a homecoming soccer game.

Other ideas for alternatives are much less developed, such as parades or carnivals, but could effectively be implemented if the effort was given.

However, many students are unsure of how they feel about these new ideas. “It would feel like not having a [homecoming football] game,” said senior Jacob Lebowitz, “It just seems to be such a longstanding tradition.”

It is most likely that it is not the sport itself that determines the level of hype at a homecoming event. Instead, it is the culture, tradition and simply the idea that the next day is host to one of the biggest parties of the year. It would be very unlikely that the homecoming excitement would take a hit if an alternative to football were introduced.

However, unless MCPS gets rid of football itself for growing safety concerns or another reason, it’s doubtful that the long standing homecoming custom will be modified any time soon.

Religion’s New Divine SPACE: The museum of the bible

By Lee Schwartz, Aidan Smyth and Matthew Green Early on a rainy Saturday morning, the three Tattler opinion editors found their next story within the walls of a towering brick building. Even on the gray day, the building’s protruding

glass ceiling shone, attracting crowds of people to its golden entrance framed by gold plates with illegible preachings.

The six floors of the impressive museum are filled with knowledge about a book which shaped history—the Bible.

The museum only opened its doors two

months earlier, and the three students were eager to get their impressions of the acclaimed exhibition.

After a thorough round of metal detectors, the Tattler had its inside look at D.C.’s new divine pastime: the museum of the Bible.

Science and the bible

By Matthew Green

“Are the bible and science mutually exclusive?”

There is a broad agreement today among historians that modern science owes a great deal to the biblical worldview. The idea that the natural world is orderly springs from the Bible. As the biochemist and Nobel laureate Melvin Calvin said, the conviction that “the universe is governed by a single God… seems to be the historical foundation for modern science.”

This is how I was introduced to the meager science and religion section at the Museum of the Bible. This quotation depicts a largely false and dangerous statement—that the governance of god is in direct relation to modern science. In fact, that is about as far as one could get from the truth.

The Museum of the Bible attempts to depict a world in which science and the Bible work in constant harmony with each other, which, as most modern scientists would agree, is extremely far from what happens.

But, it appears that the museum has no wish to show any actual input from modern scientists. They instead namedrop Johannes Kepler, quoting him as saying that the “laws of nature are within the grasp of the human mind; God wanted us to recognize them by creating us after his own image.” Con-

sidering his achievements in the field of science, one could easily be misled to believe that Kepler was a staunch supporter of the Catholic Church.

But, what a lot of people don’t know is that Kepler was an astronomer in the late 1500s and early 1600s, a time during which religion overpowered science, and a time during which speaking out against the church could get you sent to prison. It is unfair and deceitful to the museum’s visitors to quote a

scientist from a time period in which religious thought dominated scientific thought. The objective here is not to slander Kepler, who contributed much to the field of astronomy, and science as a whole, but to point out the improper use of this scientist.

“How can people maintain their trust in the Bible in times of rapid scientific advances?”

This was another headline focusing on science and the Bible. The question they ask here is of little importance. Science clearly disproves mainly claims made in the Bible; for the museum to be asking such a question means that they are of the opinion that it is important for someone to keep their faith even when outside evidence proves that what they may believe in is not true.

The Museum of the Bible seems to serve the purpose for the most part of informing people about the influence of an indisputably important book in human history.

But it falls flat on its look at the Bible’s influence on the contemporary, where it has become largely irrelevant.

The museum appears to throw away all intentions of remaining unbiased and instead preaches to the large Christian crowds that swarm the museum every day.

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The Bible’s Underlying role in our society

By Lee Schwartz Only half an hour in, the Museum of foils and soft watercolors, his paintings that religion could be so impactful that the Bible proved to be much more than seem like figures of dreams. Seemingly the face of Jesus finds its way onto our a collection of archaic religious texts. I abstract, his work actually points to an shirts. The famous designers in our came to a confused halt in front of an underlying theme of religion. The mu- modern society have drawn inspiration exhibit adorned with lavish sparkling seum explains Fujimura’s belief that from an ancient book, and an ancient dresses and posh high heeled shoes. art requires faith, and shows how his concept such as religion.

Mere feet behind me was a solemn col- own religious faith is expressed in his Reaching the end of my visit to the lection of ancient Bibles, Torahs, and art. His art proves to not only be beau- Museum of the Bible, I was surprised Qurans, yet I was face to face with a tiful, but meaningful. Fujimura shows with one last exhibit. An array of Harseemingly holy fashion collection. miracles happen all around us, and we ry Potter, Narnia, and children’s books While I enjoyed the timeworn books must learn to notice and appreciate were spread in an exhibit of their own. filled with mesmerizing drawings and them. The Museum of the Bible high- It seemed the worlds in these beloved ideas I couldn’t comprehend, the mu- lights how the Bible and religion has books were not only magical, but reliseum wove into its exhibits a theme of impacted art—both ancient art and art gious. Religion has had an influence how religion has impacted our world, in the 21st century. on literature immeasurably. It finds both past and present. Even for those As I continued through the muse- its way even into the most secular of who aren’t very religious, like myself, it um, I found myself circling back to the books, and as the museum shows, into is easy to see the incredible inchildren’s fiction books like fluence that the Bible has had Harry Potter. on society. The Museum of the One can pull religious Bible exhibits how religious themes from these seemsacred text has impacted fashingly secular places. Unbeion, art, literature, and almost lievably, Harry Potter magevery area of our society. It ic has roots in religion; the gives a look both into the past museum covers J.K Rowlof religion in our world, and ing’s religious inspiration the present and unseen role it as well. The author conplays in our lives. firmed that themes in her Art has proven to be a confamous books echo her own stant courier for religion. In personal struggles with older times, this influence was faith, and that the books blatant. The museum exemhave a deep connection to plifies this with remarkable Christianity. The Musestained glass windows; their um of the Bible shows this intricate scenes stem directly deep-rooted theme of relifrom the Bible and its teachgion in our society’s most ings. They tell stories where beloved books. words cannot, and are seemThe museum shows how ingly as old as religion itself. religion can seep into our The museum shows not only Matthew Green and Aidan Smyth admire a stained glass society through art, fashthis upfront influence of the window exhibit in the museum. Photo by Lee Schwartz ion, and literature. It perBible, but the more modern inmeates art both as blatant fluence that may not be apparent from holy fashion collection. I had initially stained glass windows, to more subtle the surface. The Bible is not only a overlooked its importance, but as I was contemporary art. Fashion and religion guide to living, but a source from which drawn to the exhibit I began to notice are intertwined, as the Bible has served artists draw inspiration. its significance. The exhibit almost as a creative inspiration for clothing The museum dedicates an exhib- mimicked a runway, showcasing goth- labels. Even our beloved childhood it to the contemporary art of Makoto ic-patterned dresses and rosary-em- books hold religious notes in between Fujimura as he “revisits the legacy of broidered skirts. The mannequins wore each line and chapter. Even as society illumination and explores the Bible as jeweled shoes with biblical faces, and becomes more secular, religion has the a source of creative inspiration.” Reli- crowns gleaming with gold spires. I was enduring influence to find its way into gion finds its place in contemporary art at first suspicious of the origin of these multiple forms of expression. like Fujimura’s in a more subtle way trendy biblical pieces, but to my shock, The Museum of the Bible exhibits than in stained glass windows. Upon the labels read “Dolce & Gabbana” and this unique quality of religion, and its entering the exhibit, I find myself lost “Giorgio Armani.” These labels seemed importance in ours society, whether we in Fujimura’s work. With crinkling gold to be fashioning religion. It amazed me see it or not.

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Museum of the Bible Represents the Ignorance of Religious Fanatics

By Aidan smyth

formed the base of the movement.

A simulated jail cell at one point in the exhibit drew my attention immediately. Images of convicts hung from the ceiling of the cell, the names of the inmates printed at the bottom of the headshot. Immediately, I thought that the exhibit was depicting those fanatical religious men and women who have committed horrible crimes against humanity because of their religious beliefs, biased as I am to have that be the first thought that comes to mind.

However, the exhibit instead dis-

though the title is certainly misleading.

While the heading of the plaque seems The Museum of the Bible, which to suggest that dying for one’s faith is opened in November of 2017, sits a good thing, considering that martyrs just a few blocks away from the Capiare often lauded for their sacrifices, the tol Building in Washington, D.C. The following paragraphs described the rebrainchild of Hobby Lobby President ligious conflicts and hundreds of thouSteve Green, the museum’s stated missands of deaths that resulted from rival sion is “to invite all people to engage interpretations of the Bible. Astonishwith the history, narrative and impact ingly, the museum allowed the plaque of the Bible.” A more appropriate or reto concede that “Christians have been ality-reflective mission statement may responsible for some of the worst of be “to proselytize religion on the pubthese tragedies.” lic and depict the Bible as the only way Besides a few other hidden words through which good in the describing wrongdoings world occurs.” caused by the Bible or by reThat the museum is ligion, there was essentially called the Museum of the nothing detailing the countBible does not at all mean less atrocities committed by that the museum is strictreligious people throughout ly about the Bible. In fact, the course of human histothe naming of the museum ry. may have been purposefulIn a museum that claims ly distracting so as not to that it wants its visitors to draw attention to its incredbe able to draw their own ible and gutsy imposition conclusions about the Bible, of religion, Christianity in would it not make sense to particular, onto the visitors include at least a few exwho enter the museum. amples of religion causing Though the museum has crimes and other actions six floors and a rooftop, that most people, without the main attractions are on the aid of a book telling floors two, three, and four: them so, would consider the Impact of the Bible, the heinously immoral?

Stories of the Bible, and the The Museum of the Bible History of the Bible exhibrepresents yet another arroits, respectively. For me, gant and ignorant attempt the second floor is where by religious fanatics to celthe most interesting and ebrate the legacy of their frustrating exhibit resides visions while carefully forThe most visible mani- The Museum of the Bible exhibits a jail cell highlighting the role getting the incredible negfestation of the museum’s of religion in criminal’s time in prison. Photo by Lee Schwartz ative impact that the same extreme religious stance visions have had on society. appears in its Impact of the Bible ex- played convicts who had had their lives It is difficult to continue to watch as hibit. It was full of literary and musical supposedly transformed by religion religious conservatives blatantly ignore references to the Bible, including infor- while in jail. Essentially, it was used to the horrors wrought by their beliefs mation on how the Bible has influenced show that religion can cure convicts of and instead preach to the world about such great thinkers as John Locke. their immorality, ignoring that many how great it is because of religion and Each place I turned, there was in- convicts are in jail not in spite of their the lessons in the Bible. It is frustrating formation about how the Bible has led religious beliefs but because of them. and depressing to have to bear witness people to do incredible things; the civA small plaque for a separate display to such idiocy, with the Bible Museum il rights movement apparently would near the jail cell, titled “Martyrs and simply being a concrete temple to their have been nothing if not for the reli- the Bible: Dying for the Faith,” got the ignorance. gious zealots that spearheaded it, nev- closest to mentioning a negative influer mind the countless secularists who ence that the Bible has had on society,

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Science with Art?

By Nandita Kohli and Allison Shu Science is often regarded as a subject lacking in creativity because of its heavy emphasis on analysis and meticulous experimental repetition. Dedicated to procuring consistent results.

Dr. Greg Dunn, a neuroscientist who is also passionate about East Asian-style art, set out to change this reputation by

“It was a fine day when two of my passions came together” -Greg Dunn turning products of scientific research into artwork.

“It was a fine day when two of my passions came together upon the realization that the elegant forms of neurons can be painted expressively in the Asian sumi-e style,” Dunn quoted on his website. “Neurons may be tiny in scale, but they possess the same beauty seen in traditional forms of the medi-

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Image via Greg Dunn Design um (trees, flowers, and animals).”

Together with Dr. Edwards, an applied physicist, the pair co-founded Self Reflected—an innovative project dedicated to discovering the inner workings of the human brain and revealing the nature of human consciousness through fusion with the beautiful minimalistic artwork of East Asia.

“I admire the Japanese, Chinese, and Korean masters because of their confidence in simplicity. I try to emulate this idea,” Dunn said.

Instead of studying brain scans in a lab, the Self Reflected project takes the scans created in a lab and turns them into works of art by using a combination of hand drawing, in-depth neuroscience research, algorithms to simulate neural circuitry, brain scan data, photolithography, gilding, and strategic lighting. The most elaborate art pieces are even hand-gilded with 1,750 sheets of 22K gold leaf.

Most typical brain scans are blurry and don’t reveal this high a level of detail. The objective of the Self Reflected project is to gain a glimpse of the human brain from a clearer perspective.

This also happens to be one of the main challenges of Self Reflected—the depiction of a highly detailed and complex structure as a two dimensional artist’s rendition of the brain. The most difficult regions of the brain to capture were the cortex and cerebellum.

“These regions proved very challenging to paint and choreograph,”

“The most elaborate art pieces are even hand-gilded with 1,750 sheets of 22K gold leaf.”

Dunn said. “Flattening a highly three dimensional structure into two dimensions required much re-imagining and artistic license in order to realize.”

Ultimately, pursuing such intricate challenges becomes well worth it when they harvest such beautiful results.

Dunn and Edwards’ Self Reflected project shows that a combining of interests can lead to discoveries about the world from entirely new adn different angles.

Kickboxing: Win or Wack?

By Hanna Oestros Tina Siyoum

PROFILE Name: Hanna Oestros Height: 5’5”

PROFILE: Name: Tina Siyoum Height: 5’3” Skills: Talking, Procrastinating, (Ping) Pong Sports: Crew (for about a week), goes to the gym when she feels like it.

Urban Boxing is a kickboxing studio located in the heart of Bethesda.

With a variety of classes to choose from, your summer body dreams are bound to come true. If the intensity of a one-on-one class appeals to you, you just might pick up some self-defense mechanisms along the way.

If you are more into a group workout, these boxing classes are definitely for you. Tightening your core and sculpting your arms with every punch, kickboxing will put you on the path to achieving a glorious body.

We put kickboxing to the test to see if it was worth the hype.

RATING:

Skills: Napping, Watching puppy videos on Instagram, Complaining Sports: Varsity Poms and Varsity Gymnastics

What is kickboxing good for?

Hanna: Good for focus since that’s an ability that I lack Tina: Good for building stamina and I need that because it’s grind season for poms

Where did the workout start to hurt?

Hanna: Mostly my thighs but my arms felt like they were gonna fall off Tina: definitely my core and my legs

When did you start to regret it?

Hanna: After 20 minutes I started reconsidering my decision to participate Tina: Once I walked out of the studio and felt my legs go weak

Would you do it again?

Hanna: If I need a very hard workout, yes.

Tina: Yes

WIN OR WACK?

“Kickboxing isn’t for me. This workout made me never want to work out again. I guess the summer body will have to wait...” -Hanna

RATING:

“Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect going into this class. The rigorous workout caught me off guard at first but I picked up fast because I’m a Pom and that’s what Poms do. I only needed to puff my inhaler once instead of twice which was also a bonus.” - Tina

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Got A SPECIAL SOMEONE?

By Rachel Danegger and Maya Gutman

Roam around Bethesda like it’s 7th grade all over again Reminiscing the Westland days? Want people to think you’re loitering? Well we have the perfect date idea for you! Pretend these past five years haven’t even happened and head back to the glory days of hanging out for hours in the Apple Store. Maybe even take some selfies on the iPhones so your friends know you were there. Make sure you bring absolutely no money so you cannot buy anything, and be sure to sit in that new Anthropologie for hours on end because face it, it’s their own fault for replacing the Barnes and Noble.

Scott’s Run Feeling adventurous but don’t want to drive as far? Don’t worry, Scott’s Run Nature Preserve is a great alternative to some of our further date ideas so if your date sucks, you can be there and back in under an hour! Although you may only think Scott’s Run offers a waterfall, relatively useless in this frigid weather, there is so much more to see. Bring a third party and watch your date get dragged by your overly-excited dog, jump in the waterfall anyways or even climb one of the thousands of trees surrounding the pathway. The options are endless and either way, this fun and free activity is sure to give you and your date a great day.

Gravelly Point

Do you really want your conversation to be interrupted every five minutes? Are your ready to yell over the obnoxiously loud sound of jet planes just a couple hundred feet above you? Located right along the Potomac River and just north of Reagan National Airport, you and your lucky date can sprawl out in a huge grassy field and watch the incoming and outgoing planes fly right above you. Upside: It’s noisy enough to drown out any awkward first date conversation. You’re welcome for no more awkward pauses! Gravelly Point is a beautiful place to watch a romantic sunset with your significant other.

Layout by Sophia Saidi, photos taken by Rachel Danegger

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Six date ideas way better than what you had planned Unique Thrift store

For those of you who hate fresh air, have no fear! Head on over to Unique Thrift Store!

Bring your date along on an unforgettable shopping spree of gigantic old men sweaters and oversized mom jeans. Located in Silver Spring, it has an incredible amount of pre-owned clothing, jewelry and anything else you can convince yourself you need.

From extravagant fur coats to rice cookers to sunglasses, Unique is sure to have something you can your date can bond over.

Calvert Cliffs Up for another road trip? Another long car ride with awkward conversation? Boy do we have the date for you!

Take your date on their very own shark tooth fossil expedition at Calvert Cliffs State Park. When you head to the Cliffs in the winter you can do a variety of things.

From swimming in freezing water, shivering as you watch the sunset, or digging aimlessly in the sand for shark teeth. You can even stare at a motionless fishing pole for hours as you attempt to impress your date and catch lunch. Either way, what date with shark teeth involved has ever ended poorly?

**Extra Credit Sugarloaf Mountain Calling all my fellow adventurers! Looking for the perfect road trip to get stranded in the middle of nowhere with your date? Look no further! Sugarloaf Mountain is the perfect light hike with a great view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. About an hour away from Bethesda, Sugarloaf Mountain is a little further than most of our other ideas. Downside: You better hope you don’t get sick of your date because once you get out to Sugarloaf, there’s no going home anytime soon. Luckily this date is both free and will allow ample time to get to know your date as you both struggle a little more than you should on this “light” hike.

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