Kathy Grove (p

When you walk into a classroom and see Mr. Dadlani Jaipal you know it is going to be a good day. Mr. Jaipal, one of the most beloved staff members at B-CC, began his time here as a Special Ed Para-educator in 1999. He would work until lunch and help cover classes after as needed. Since 1999, he has continued to work at B-CC as a substitute teacher. However, throughout virtual learning not many teachers needed substitute

EVERYONE’S teachers, so he was not working with FAVORITE B-CC as often. Now that school is back in person, he currently works two or three days a week but hopes to work five days a week in the future. Mr. Jaipal has become a prominent member of the B-CC community and comes back to help out all the time. One thing that continues to bring him back to B-CC is that he loves how “everyone knows each other.” When asked how he feels about being the most loved substi-

dadlani jaipal “If you are nice to students, they will be equally or more nice to you.”

tute teacher at B-CC he responded “I don’t know, maybe I am lucky.” Seeing Mr. Jaipal in a classroom can brighten up anyone’s day, even when he’s not your substitute he has a positive impact on the community. He once made hundreds of samosas for B-CC staff right before Thanksgiving break. “If you are nice to students then students will be equally or more nice to you,” Mr. Jaipal said. He continues to follow this philosophy every time he comes back to B-CC.

By Mimi Danzis

HE’S BEEN HEREHOW LONG?! john zehner

John Zehner is a B-CC veteran. When Zehner started his freshman year at B-CC in 1979, he never would have expected that in more than 40 years he would still be spending his weekdays at his alma mater. After his graduation in 1983, Zehner returned to teach in 1991 and has continued to show his baron pride ever since.

Zehner did not originally intend to teach at B-CC after he graduated. “It wasn’t a plan that I figured out when I was a youngster,” Zehner said. But a few years after college, Zehner moved back to the DMV and applied for teaching jobs in D.C., Virginia, and Montgomery County. Zehner had already started coaching on the B-CC Football team, and he also knew plenty of teachers at B-CC because his mother had worked here, his brother was a substitute teacher briefly, and from his time walking these halls as a student. Initially Zehner got a job at B-CC teaching one class a day, and substituting for the remaining class periods. Today, Zehner teaches five class periods: two AP Economics classes, two AP NSL classes, and one Honors U.S. History class. Mr. Zehner is now the longest tenured teacher at B-CC, as this is his 31st year here. When asked about why he has stayed at B-CC so long, Zehner’s response was, in short, “I like B-CC.” Besides the subjects he teaches, one of Zehner’s favorite things about B-CC is the “cool mix of different groups of people.”

Profile

LIGHTS! CAMERA! rosana pagán

ACTION! By Grayson O’Marra

Coming off of a “lost year” due to the pandemic, Rosana Pagán, the teacher of B-CC TV, discusses the obstacles the crew has faced throughout the past few years. Pagán notes that it was hard for the new underclassmen members to be trained as usual during virtual school. “Normally, the underclassmen spend their first year helping out and learning the ropes, so by the time they’re upperclassmen, they are fully knowledgeable and capable. We lost that learning opportunity.” Despite the training setback, B-CC TV staff has been able to overcome this issue with the help of past members. “B-CC TV is a community-centered class, and it’s nice to know that we’re always here for each other, and we’re always a team, even after graduation.” They have also had to operate the past few years with no school equipment, no production site, and no support from the school or any school organizations (PTSA, Boosters, etc). Even with all these major setbacks, the B-CC TV staff was able to win eight student-lead-production Emmy’s with content that was developed over the pandemic– bringing their total to 12. Pagán says “our plan for the rest of the year is to put out the best possible content we can for our student body. We work really hard each episode to develop segments that will help build community in a time that we are relearning the importance of community and meaningful relationships”.

kathy grove

SEIZE THE CLAY!

“There is magic in clay!” Beams Kathie

Grove. After teaching ceramics for 11 years, she still has the same love for the unique art form as when she first started. Graduating from college with an Art Education degree, Ms. Grove was taught a variety of different art subjects, everything except for ceramics. Even so, something about the porous sediment made her curious. “You can literally take something from the ground at your feet if you know what to look for and make something with it. The processes and techniques that you can learn are almost endless. “No other medium comes close to the versatility that clay possesses.” Although at that point she had little knowledge of the subject, 10 years ago Ms. Grove applied for the opening at B-CC to teach ceramics and got the job. Her passion for ceramics only grew.

After building her skills for a couple of years at evening classes and workshops,

Ms. Grove was able to create a portfolio and get accepted to a graduate ceramics and sculpture program. She now participates in craft shows frequently and dedicates her summers to work on her pots for the shows. She also teaches adult ceramics classes twice a week and even sells her work on her website and through commissions. “I now have a masters degree in ceramics and sculpture, and the best job in the whole school.” So what makes the cracked hands and stained clothes all worth it? “My favorite part of teaching ceramics is when I see a student accomplish something that they previously believed was impossible. The sense of accomplishment and pride they feel means that I was successful in doing my job. It is very fulfilling. I have the privilege of teaching something I love to do.” When asked how she hopes her ceramics students will be affected by taking her class, she says that she wants students to “see clay as an outlet for creativity and stress relief, like therapy. It certainly is my therapy.” By Ruby Buczkowski 13

Profile Their Homeland Invaded

By JoHaNNa kreJza

Thousands gather in front of the White House, shouting “President Biden, do not betray Ukraine! President Biden, the world is watching you!” Emotions run high as the people of Ukraine are being invaded by Russia. In the crowd, there is both courage and desperation, fear and pride, song and dance, which Gaby Karakcheyeva, a Ukrainian student at B-CC, finds comfort in.

Ukraine, which was a part of the Russian Empire for centuries before becoming a part of the USSR, won independence in 1991. Tensions have been simmering since 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. On February 24, 2022, the world watched in horror as Russia invaded its neighboring country.

Like many Eastern Europeans, Karakcheyeva says “I always knew that, by some means, Russia was the aggressor in a lot of situations, and that my country was being treated unfairly. After Crimea, I knew we weren’t safe.” “It’s scary to constantly live under the threat that your country might not exist tomorrow,” she says.

Both of Karakcheyeva’s parents lived in Ukraine for decades before immigrating to the US. Her grandparents, aunt, and family friends are now living in the war. She says, “It's heartbreaking to have to sit on my phone and refresh the news, calling my grandparents, worrying about them, wondering if they’re alive. If they don't respond to me in a minute, I'm like, oh my God, they're dead. Watching my culture get destroyed in front of my eyes, watching videos of Russian rockets slamming into apartments that look similar to my grandparents’ breaks my heart.”

Aili Ribulis, a European diplomat, also attended the protest. “I need to show solidarity with Ukraine. It’s the least we can do, we should be doing much more politically.” Ribulis grew up in Estonia, a Baltic country in Eastern Europe, when it was a part of the Soviet Union. Echoing the posters saying “Who’s next?”, Ribulis believes there is a possibility that “Russia could be interested in restoring its own political control over the Baltic states,” although they are members of NATO, giving them a layer of protection that Ukraine doesn’t have.

Although foreign troops can’t directly intervene, Ribulis says, “Ukraine has been benefiting hugely from all sorts of other support, including political support, economic support, military support, and so on. The European Union and the US have been imposing increasingly heavy sanctions on Russia in order to punish them for this behavior that is completely against any major

international law documents.” These sanctions are already having drastic effects on the Russian economy: the ruble’s value is plummeting and inflation is soaring.

Karakcheyeva has conflicting emotions about the political aspects of this conflict. While she is grateful for the support from the West, she thinks that “the sanctions, at least the way that they were approached at first, were very stupidly done. They just weren’t enough.” She feels frustrated with the overemphasis on the economic impact, saying, “it’s hard to watch everyone throw economics in the air and not actually do anything about the lives being directly impacted. I really hope that people start taking this war seriously and separate their economic impacts from the human cost of this war. What matters most is the people that are living in it and the people that are dying for it.”

“I don’t see an end to this anytime soon,” Karakcheyeva says, “when you're in something, you can't really see a way out - I can't really see a solution to this.” Mirroring other protestors’ hopes, Karakcheyeva wants leaders to be held accountable, especially Mr. Putin. She says, “I would really just like to see the fighting stop as soon as possible. But I know that's probably not going to happen.”

Protesters in front of the White House on Feb 27, 2022 (left & above). Gaby Karakcheyeva (right). All photos by Johanna Krejza More from our interview with

Gaby Karakcheyeva

“I call my grandparents every day. They made the decision to stay put, which I understand and respect. We offered to fly them out to the states before the invasion began, and they declined. I pray for them every day. I hope to God they never have to be defenseless, I hope they continue to stay safe.”

“Ukraine is not Russia. It was never Russia. While I grew up speaking Russian, as per being in the more Eastern part of Ukraine, I have never identified with Russian culture. I have always had this identity crisis as a result of not knowing Ukrainian, yet being a Ukrainian. My language has always been a mix of pride and shame for me, a part of the reason is because people in my daily life always just grouped the two countries together, just as Russia is attempting to do now.”

“Ukrainians are very brave and very passionate about their country. There is nothing like being Ukrainian, I hold great pride in my heritage. We are strong, resilient, and powerful.”

CAPTAIN COMPOST

ethan weiss

Ethan Weiss, a senior at B-CC, has been fighting hard for composting in MCPS. According to the

EPA, in the past year the United

States has produced close to 250 million tons of garbage. This environmental crisis is what propelled

Wess to take action in his own community.

Composting, the process of using decomposed waste from plants and food as fertilizer for plants, has become a practical and viable solution to this garbage epidemic. While recycling has been largely peddled as the best response, composting is more sustainable and realistic. Weiss, along with fellow seniors Micah Schuchman and Jack Clauss, launched Capital Compost, a composting group that both advocates and implements composting practices throughout MCPS. Through some incredibly diligent efforts, they were able to secure a $48,000 grant from the World Wildlife Fund to cover two years’ worth of composting costs for eight schools within MCPS. These programs, sponsored by Capital Compost, are primarily focused on elementary schools, where the habit of compositing can more easily be installed. In an audit of an elementary school cafeteria’s trash, Weiss noted that “only 10% was legitimate trash while over 80% was compostable/ liquids and the rest was recyclable.” Weiss makes clear the importance of community effort, stating that “Jack, Micah, and I hope that once we graduate the reins can be passed onto other motivated students. The realization of our goals is only possible with the help of B-CC and MCPS students as we show our local government the need for composting and push for new legislation.”

TAKE YOUR MARK...

By paul FiNe aNd lola NordliNGer

The 2022 indoor track and field team was a success, with five schools- B-CC, Churchill, Whitman, Wootton and Walter Johnson- competing in the “polar bear” meet this year (the name comes from the freezing conditions the runners are met with). The meets were conducted exactly as an indoor one. The distances are the exact same, but the race takes place on a 400m outdoor track as opposed to an 200m indoor track. Though scores and places are not awarded, the meet is a good measure as to how a team is doing as they get ready for regionals and states. Regionals took place indoors on February 11th at Hagerstown community college. The B-CC team practiced daily with hopes of dominating regionals in order to qualify for states, which took place on February 26th at Armory in Baltimore. Runners must finish in the top 4 places of their event at regionals in order to qualify. Five runners qualified for the state meet. The team’s undeniable spirit has helped them persevere through this “less than ideal” season, as senior Kieran Fitzgerald puts it. The team has felt the repercussions of COVID-19, from having to find a new meet location after their main one was repurposed to be a testing center, to several meets being canceled. Great job to all of our track stars on an amazing season!

G !

By kaTHeriNe JoNes

The Barons swim and dive team is back and better than ever this year! They entered the championship season with a great regular season record (2-3). The group was more than ready to take on this season. Senior Captain Ailey Gold emphasizes how important it was for morale to be high, saying “we were doing well in meets and had a lot of camaraderie considering how we lost out on the last season. We hope to continue swimming well into the postseason and hopefully place high at metros and win states!” B-CC Junior and Yale swim/dive commit Nina Allen was also super excited about how this year the team focused on rebuilding this season. “The underclassmen suddenly found themselves as the leaders, with a whole new dynamic and so many new faces. Just being able to show up every Saturday and put our best foot forward was really rewarding for everyone. As the weeks passed I think we got really good at learning to swim for each other as well as for our own personal goals.” B-CC ended the season with a second palce win at states for the girls. Congrats to everyone!

THE BAR N-BALLERS

This season (2021-’22) marked the Barons’ first full basketball season since 2019, where the boys amassed a record of 10-15, but the girls had an astounding record of 23-10. After a resiliency-filled victory over Whitman a couple nights prior, the Barons failed to keep their winning streak alive, losing to Churchill, the number three ranked team in their state class (68-55). The Barons plan on coming back stronger and better next season. After the girls capped off an accomplished regular season with a win against WJ (64-28), finishing with a record of 12-4, the Baron’s season came to an abrupt end, losing their first playoff game to Churchill (41-51). Luckily, the Barons are a young team, so their future is looking bright.

R LL POMS The B-CC winter sports season is in full swing, yet B-CC Poms is just getting By GraysoN o’Marra started, so far only performing in two competitions. In those two competitions, however, they have dominated. They placed 1st overall in the Northwest Invitational and 3rd overall in the Springbrook Invitational. Along with these two impressive performances, they performed at the halftime show of the Washington Wizards game on January 12th. Senior Ariana Shannon touched on the team’s first place performance at the Northwest Invitational, “As a team I believe we performed really well. We had a lot more energy throughout our performance and it looked clean and cohesive.”

POMS BEFORE COUNTIES 2/5/22

Senior Ever Lanter talked about how performing at the Wizards game made her “less stressed than a regular performance.”

It was less intimidating to Lanter and the team; the ambiance of the large stadium and crowd did not get to the team, as they were able to maintain their composure and put on a superb performance.

B-CC poms had their last competition of the season, Counties, on February 5th, placing 3rd overall. Congratulations on a great season, Barons!

GO TEAM!

breaking up with COVID-19

Dear COVID, This has been going on too long. I can’t take it anymore. Everytime I think we’re done, you keep coming back into my life. This time I mean it. We’re done. At first, it was new, yeah kinda fun, but that was supposed to be a two-weeks. Things were never supposed to get this serious. Weeks turned to months. Months to more than a year. When our long-distance relationship transitioned back to in-person, I felt the tension between us rise. I started to feel distant from you as your presence around the school seemingly dissipated. Soon enough, winter came creeping around and you were at every corner I turned. Everyone warned me about you. I should’ve known when your actions began hurting not only me, but my loved ones. The sudden spur of positive cases after Thanksgiving break was an immature move. You’ve been acting out and leaving a mess in your wake. Winter break provided much needed distance from you, but you came back and I could see your bitter revenge play out. 52,000 cases in January 2022, what a player. Then, MCPS implemented a policy to switch to online learning if at least 5% of the school tested positive which they later withdrew. I then started to realize things weren’t working out between us. The hot topic of conversation after winter break was whether we would switch to virtual. Everyone was constantly checking for any sign of closure, any sign of you. You were just too much drama for me. When no plan for closure took effect, I was upset. I wanted you gone. Even though MCPS decided to ignore you, I couldn’t. This toxic relationship has to end. It’s definitely you, not me. Social distancing, masks, and canceled events were all compromises I made to make this work, but I’m done. Cases have started to dwindle, but I know I will still occasionally see you at parties or school events, but I need to be more than 6-feet apart from you, permanently. I need you out of my life. Now MCPS decided that the masks are now optional effective immediately. Our relationship will always be part of my memories, but it’s time we both go our separate ways. Sincerely, Lily Capizzi, Carmen Torrecilla, and everyone else

THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS: THE COMMUNITY RESPONSE

The fear of contracting COVID-19 while still attempting to continue with our lives is a struggle we are all dealing with. How is our community handling it, and what do key members have to say?

By NaTHaNiel sCHrader

“We had notice of [the spread of COVID-19] before Thanksgiving. Yet MCPS clearly had no contingency plan for a case spike.

“We had notice of [the spread of COVID-19] before Thanksgiving. Yet MCPS clearly had no contingency plan for a case spike. I hesitate to even say they had a policy, because their directions changed almost every day” says Lyric Wynik, president of the B-CC PTSA. MCPS was clearly taken by surprise. In response to fear expressed by students and staff for their safety, MCPS issued an ominous 5% policy, saying that schools could face closures and potential returns to virtual learning if they surpassed a 5% COVID-19 positive threshold. There was still confusion about this policy, as it turned out that MCPS had the final say on school closures if a school did pass the threshold. Like many other students, Nathan Schriver, a junior at B-CC, was under the impression the 5% line was definite and unchangeable.“When they made the 5% threshold and then quickly redacted it, it made it seem like MCPS doesn’t care about student and health safety.” Unfortunately, almost no new information was provided or action was taken by MCPS upon return from winter break. For many parents and teachers, this (lack of) response was not enough, and petitions were created. A student-led petition to go virtual was also created and quickly spread, fed by students’ shared fears of contracting COVID-19 at lunch or during classes. The county soon announced that multiple elementary schools were going virtual since they had more than 5% of students or staff test positive. Many students thought B-CC would go virtual as well. “When they were releasing school covid percentages every day, I thought we were definitely going to go virtual the week after all the snow days,” said Miles Harjes, a Junior at B-CC. In addition to the closures, after the break stricter safety guidelines were imposed on school athletic teams. Including no spectators and a 10 day shut down if three or more students on the team test positive for COVID-19. MCPS decided not to issue any statements except that they would stop posting and tracking the percentage of cases in schools. The one piece of information that did go out was that MCPS was going to issue KN95 masks to all students and staff, as well as supply them with take home COVID-19 testing kits. Shortly after that, it was announced that schools would close on a case to case basis. MCPS has made many mistakes while responding to rising cases of COVID-19 due to the Omicron variant. One mistake includes making school administrators also work as contact tracers. “That was barely acceptable when there were 1-3 cases. But once cases rose above that, and particularly to above 10 cases, that policy should have stopped. It should have become a public health department issue.” Lyric Winik stated.

The problem is above a whole course load of work we are forcing administrators to have even more work. If they wanted to go into public health they would have chosen that as a career a long time ago.

“When they made the 5% threshold and then quickly redacted it, it made it seem like MCPS doesn’t care about student and health safety.”

Ready for the World to Shake

spoken-word By Charlie Williams

Attention! Attention! May I have your attention please. Listen closely to the words I am about to say. Let’s talk about our history The one others try so hard to forget. They murdered our people for something so out of our control. They held us back from being great so when I talk loud, don’t silence me. They left us hanging, whether from a tree or from the shake of a hand. It was almost like we were a disease that spread like wildfires over the coast of Cali. Like we were the cheese touch, what ignited so much fear within our youth. But they were monsters. With N words flying from their mouths like venom, throwing us around like the asymmetrical rocks they once used to kill. They still don’t seem to get it… Get how we fought from the depths of hell with our hands behind our heads… knowing they were pointing the caliber towards the bright red targets placed on our backs, crying for dear life, but somehow they want me to act like they saved us? Let's talk about how police were created to keep black people below, rocking brown uniforms resembling a skin color they seemed to despise. Let’s talk about the people shot and killed for refusing to be manhandled by those who claim to protect us. This is not a dig at the white community because I know not all are bad, but if you feel uncomfortable. Good. Now you’ve felt a sliver of what black people have had to feel. We accept and appreciate our allies, but don’t confuse the bare minimum for heroism. Thank you to those who marched and gave me the right to vote. Thank you to those who allowed themselves to be held captive in a jail cell so that I can walk the streets freely. Thank you for being the hero. As the black youth it is our turn to be the change. It is our turn to make a difference. When we get loud, don’t silence us. When we raise a hand, don’t leave us hanging. And when we put our foot down, be ready for the world to shake.

What’s going on at B-CC and MCPS?! IS IT RIGGED?!

Historically, at B-CC, being a Senior means having free periods, standing in the front at sporting events, storming the school dressed in blue and gold, graduating at Constitution Hall, and most notably having a parking pass. While it’s true that not every past B-CC Senior had a parking pass (remember Mr. Levine’s nostalgic daily announcements), there used to be a more established system for granting passes. In years prior, parking passes were allocated based on need, where students who were contributing a plethora of hours to B-CC were rewarded. Over the summer, Dr. Mooney and Admin changed this to a “random draw lottery.” There were 75 spots, however, any internship, dual-enrollment, or child development students were offered year-long passes. This limits the spots in the lottery to only 30 for 2 semesters; there were 134 applicants for the second semester. As a Senior class we have had so many traditions taken from us due to COVID-19, it is truly enraging that the administration decided to strip us of another tradition. Underclassmen may be wondering, well if it’s a completely random draw how is it unfair? What Seniors soon realized is that students who got lucky the first semester were still able to submit a new application and be re-entered for another pass second semester. Many Seniors have gotten a pass both semesters, yet have no need for one over students who have never gotten one. Senior Gaby Karakcheyeva shared her frustration, “I have a job 15-minutes away from school and it’s very inconvenient for me if I get scheduled right after school. Also, being an Editor-In-Chief for the yearbook I stay late hours at school, sometimes until 8 or 9 PM. Not being

By Abbie Bobeck able to have a car on campus is just really inconvenient for me and I can’t afford to park at Waverly every day, even if I need to. The lottery system needs to be changed.” As I glance out the windows of the F-wing this semester, I notice a lot of the exact same cars parked in the student lot from first semester. Once again, the administration has failed to prioritize the needs of students; I only hope they can re-evaluate this system for younger students to enjoy as Seniors.

S(NO)W DAYS OFF Graphics by Nina Pollak Is waking up in the morning to a beautiful snow coated ground, and the magical words of your parents telling you, “no school today, it’s a snow day” a blast from the past for MCPS students? With the new snow day policy, those days may now be behind us. During the COVID shutdown, students and teachers across the country transitioned to online learning in order to prevent the spread of the virus. Pursuing online school during the global pandemic showed MCPS that despite not being able to physically attend school, students can still engage in lessons virtually. On February 2nd, MCPS sent an email out to students, teachers, parents and administrators announcing that “[MCPS] will consider a transition to virtual learning on days when schools are closed due to inclement weather… These are days when the district would otherwise determine that a system closure would be needed for safety reasons.” In the future, MCPS students will be required to attend school virtually in the event of a school closure due to “inclement weather.” No more playing in the snow with friends, or drinking hot chocolate while watching a movie, just Zoom classes until 2:30 pm. MCPS is scheduled to have 182 school days this year - two over the Maryland state requirement (180), which account for snow days. As of now, MCPS has had five snow days this school year, meaning they must make up three of them in order to reach the state requirement. They

By Bennett Galper will make those days up by either cutting into summer, or getting rid of some of the days we’re scheduled to have off. With the new policy, MCPS will no longer have to worry about scrambling to fit the 180 day requirement since the virtual school day will still count as school.

Reading Away the Stress

Senioritis: enough sleep is a rarity, homework is in abundance, attendance is a struggle, and the unknown of the impending future is all consuming. Time is of the essence! And yet, many of the Senior girls have been seen carrying around a new facet- no, not college acceptance letters quite yet- but books! Extracurricular books.

Reading for fun, a concept lost on most after elementary school has made a comeback.

Authors such as Colleen Hoover, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Lois Lowry, and several others are becoming household names amongst the Senior girls. These authors have written a variety of books such as fiction, romance, and thriller, all of which have been indulged in. Senior Abbie Bobeck explained how in elementary school she was “an avid reader….but [she] hasn’t read as much in high school because [she] hasn’t had free time with schoolwork and activities. In the past year [she’s] rekindled [her] passion for reading and has taken time out of [her] day to read because it brings me joy and improves my mental health!”

Ever Lanter, another Senior, describes her reasoning for her increase in reading for it is,“a good outlet to get away from the world: the stresses of social media, school, and college. Especially with the stress at the end of the quarter, reading has been a great escape.”

It’s not uncommon for two girls to walk into the same class with the same book in hand, which is an automatic conversation starter (and perhaps class disrupter). The phrase, “put your phones away!” has phased into “this is not reading time!” in some classes.

Some of the overall favorite books are:

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid It Ends With Us, Ugly Love, and Verity by Colleen Hoover

Check them out and join our unofficial book club! They will not disappoint.

Sidenote: we recommend the app “Good Reads” to check out what your friends are reading and see the incredible array of books that are out there!

Read on!

Graphic by Nina Pollak