June 2022 Tattler

Montgomery County’s Longest Running School Newspaper

STATES!

June 2022

Volume XCVI

Issue V

4301 East-West High Way, Bethesda, MD 20814

Bethesda Chevy Chase High School

TRACK & FIELD

GIRLS LAX

only the 2nd MOCO team to EVER go to the big dance

runs past & jumps over competition

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p16 ULTIMATE

Photo via Elinor Tedros

CREW

most decorated team of B-CC atheletes still finds ways to WOW

Barons take home the trophy

p16 Photo via Colleen O’Neal-Freeman

Photo via Emily Inman

Photo via Brian Herberger

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“Soul Crushing” A Disastrous Design The State of Teaching and The Great Resignation

PART I: STUDENT BEHAVIOR

BY BENNETT GALPER AND KATHERINE JONES In Part 1 of this 3-part series, we focus on the struggle teachers are feeling and the role student bevhaivor plays in that struggle. Part 1 is based on a combination of inteviews and answers to our survey of teachers.

In Parts 2-3, we will investigate other factors teachers mentioned again and again as contributing to thier struggles: support (or lack thereof) and changing currlicular requirements.

“H

eartbreaking, humiliating, and soul crushing,” is how Mrs. A.*, a B-CC teacher, described her experience in the classroom this year.

She is not alone.

A staggering number of MCPS teachers have decided not to return to teaching next year. The resignation/retirement rate of teachers approximately doubled from 444 last year to nearly 800 this year, according to the Montgomery County Education Association.

When we asked B-CC teachers to reflect on MCPS’ version of “The Great Resignation.” many of their answers touched on a similar theme:

lack of respect.

Mrs. A said there are days with many “good moments,” but others that feel “so awful” and “exhausting,” putting her in disbelief that she has “to do this again.” “I am struggling with whether I will come back next year,” said Mrs. A. The majority of B-CC teacher who responded to The Tattler’s survey said they went into the profession to “make a difference.” Some of those same teachers later commented “[I] can’t make a difference” and “[my] effort was wasted.”

A number of the teachers surveyed believe that, while the school needs to prioritize students’ mental health, that priority should extend to the teachers as well. As one surveyed teacher put it, “We are still dealing with our own trauma.”

During a a sit-down interview, Mrs. B recounted that, during Fall 2021, a student sent her an email filled with vulgarities and ad hominem attacks.

When she reported it to administration, there was no disciplinary action. The student was moved from Mrs. B’s class into another class, essentially shifting the problem Continued on page 4

F-Wing Raises Serious Concerns about Safety and Class Disruption

By Hannah Troubh It’s 20 minutes into 1st period on a Tuesday morning at B-CC. You overslept and have just arrived. As you approach campus, you consider how you’ll get inside. The main entrance might be a first thought, but then you remember all that it entails: getting yelled at by security, having to get a pass, and ending up further from class than you started.

To get to class quickly, you head to the F-wing basement en-

trance. But of course, the door is locked. You’re face to face with a sign. Attendance Matters.

For F-Wing basement teacher Ms. Mahoney, this sign feels like a false premise as to why we should not open the door. Teachers in the F-wing are certainly not worried about the absences on your record. What they are worried about, however, is your and other students’ safety.

Just two weeks ago, more than

20 elementary schoolers were killed in the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook in​​ Uvalde, Texas.

Unsurprisingly, teachers feel uneasy, especially those in classrooms with ever-revolving doors and virtually no place to hide. “I hear this door constantly opening and I don’t know if it’s an adult or a student. I don’t know who’s coming around the corner,” said Ms. Mahoney.

Continued on page 3

Also in this edition...

ROBOTICS CLUB

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THE NEW SMOB

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LOOK BACK

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News

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The Unseen Battle: Nearly Half of Teens Struggle With Hopelessness

By Bennett Galper

T

his data echoes a cry for help,” said Dr. Debra Houry, a director of the Center for Disease Control (CDC), in response to their new study that illustrated a worsening mental health crisis for the nation’s teenagers, published on March 31, 2022.

Of the teens surveyed, 44%

feel persistent sadness or hopelessness, and 14% have contemplated suicide, while 6% of them have actually attempted it. For most, dark and sad thoughts are hidden, disguised behind so much of what we see on social media, and even in-person, such as cheerful Instagram posts or

even a light-hearted demeanor.

The CDC study attributed negative feelings to a concept called “school connectedness,” which is when students believe that adults in their school care about them as individuals. As students started to attend school virtually due to COVID-19, they lost that connectedness, both to school and others. “School connectedness is a key to addressing youth adversities at all times – especially during times of severe disruptions,” said CDC Director of Adolescent and School Health Dr. Kathleen Ethier.

Experts like Drs. Ethier and Houry believe that hiring more psychologists in high schools would return a sense of “school connectedness” to students, as such professionals would offer an outlet to discuss their feelings that they currently might lack. Five B-CC students interviewed attested to that, agreeing that opening up about one’s feelings to someone is the best way to cope with them. The online health journal published by the National Association of chool Psychologists recommended in an October 2018 article that schools should make available one psychologist per every

Read more about student mental health in the Amplifier. To preview and order your free copy visit: tinyurl.com/orderamp22

Why Amplify?

It was August 2021 when we were slected to lead The Amplifier, the countywide student journalism magazine of Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland.

For some of us, it was a “do it for college” kind of thing. You know, something that would look good on a college application supplemental.

Then, the 2021-2022 school year happened.

We all expected turbulence re-turning to full-time, in-person school after the pandemic, but we did not expect violence to drag MCPS onto the evening news night after night. We knew mental health was on the decline among teens, but we could not imagine it would takeclassmates from us.

In April, we learned from the CDC that 44% of American teens feel persistently hopeless (up from 26% in 2009). Less than a month later, we watched in horror as an 18 year-old killed 10 in a Buffalo supermarket.

A week later, another 18 year-old killed 19 children and 2 adults at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

What seemed like a “nice” thing to do back in August is now clearly a public safety imperative.

While we watch Congress squabble over sensible gun legislation, there is something else each of us can do right now.

Listen to teens.

It is the right thing to do: morally, psychologically, and for the greater well-being.

Listen to teens.

We are not trying to be sensational or alarmist.

However, if almost half of teens are feeling persistently hopeless, an unbearable number (i.e. any number greater than zero) of teens are at risk of doing harm to themselves or others.

We either listen to teenagers or we are in for a world of hurt.

America clearly understands the power of teen voices. In 2018, we crowded the streets of D.C. for March for Our Lives to hear David Hogg and Emma “X” González, Stoneman Douglas survivors, and gun control activists.

Yet, America fails to provide a consistent platform for teen voices.

--Assembling The Amplifier, we realized that print journalism is a luxury restricted more and more to schools in higher-income zip codes, leaving too many

without a voice.

The Amplifier aims to change that narrative.

Over the past three months, we assembled a team of talented writers, editors, and artists representing 15 schools in Montgomery County.

We applaud MCPS for having our back, agreeing to finance the printing of thousands of copies of The Amplifier, with no censorship whatsoever. They have made it possible for The Amplifier to be a magazine purely for student expression: free of cost, free of advertisement, and free of spin.

This edition of the magazine is organized around a day in the life of a high school student. Each chapter chronicles a different point of the day: the hallway, class, lunch, a party, etc.

--If those in power refuse to give students a platform, we will do it ourselves. This edition of The Amplifier tells the story of students and pushes their voices to center stage. It is a platform where student voices and concerns can be communicated, where their opinions can be heard en masse, where they are represented, expressed, and most importantly... Amplified.

500 students, which means that B-CC should add three more psychologists to meet this ratio. While their recent addition of an additional school psychologist was a step in the right direction, B-CC students want the school to provide more mental health support for students.

Some students surveyed believe we should have more and easier access to mental health resources as we have easy accessibility to other resources at school. A Sophomore added that a lot of students don’t feel comfortable talking to their counselors, or even their parents about their mental health, but since private therapists are quite expensive, having more at B-CC would allow a lot more students to open up about their mental health struggles.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic especially, social media has served as a veritable lifeline for students to connect with their peers. But the new CDC study showed it has also been a root cause of the decline in teen mental health, as they were literally left to their own devices, frequenting social media as a way to fill an empty void, seeking to compare themselves to influencers, or even fellow students.

A recent study conducted by

Child Minds revealed that 66% of teens who constantly use social media had higher rates of depression.

While social media has played a major role in depressing this generation, the CDC report showed that there have been other factors: 55% of Black students, 64% of Asian students, and 35% of students (collectively) experienced racism - online and/or in-person; 11% of students experienced physical abuse by a parent or other adult in the home; and 29% of high schoolers said a parent or other adult in their home lost a job, heightening insecurity and stress.

In addition, LGBTQ. youth reported greater levels of poor mental health, emotional abuse by a parent or caregiver, and having attempted suicide compared to their counterparts, leading to 26% percent of them considering suicide and 12% actually attempting it. These rates are almost twice as high as the suicide rates of the other students.

The roots of mental health decline among teens must be addressed by B-CC, as today’s high schoolers will be running our world tomorrow.

Art by Chloe Brown

The Tattler Staff This edition was Conceived and organized by Bennett Galper Katherine Jones Designed by Lily Capizzi Naomi Kales Olivia Romano Carmen Torrecilla Hannah Troubh Edited by Elyas Laubach Gabe Gebekristose Nathaniel Schrader Aaron Tiao Josh Garber Michael Shapiro Sponsored by David Lopilato Jennifer Patel Special thanks to the students of Journalism 1

Kim for the Win - Meet the New SMOB

By Lily Capizzi and Carmen Torrecilla

new SMOB may resolve any questions or satisfy your curiosity about Arvin Kim. Q: Why is being SMOB important to you?

Many students are aware of the newly elected Student Member of the Board (SMOB) for MCPS Arvin Kim, a rising senior at Walt Whitman High School.

However, with thousands of students in our county, few actually know who Arvin truly is, or his journey to being nominated the 2022 SMOB. This exclusive interview with your

Kim: “Being SMOB is important to me simply because it’s a really critical role in our county, you are one of the 8 members of the Board of Education. Looking at this past year, some of the challenges we’ve faced, whether it be mental health crisis, or a rise of violence in our school buildings, I think it’s indicative that next year and the policies that we push next year are going to be really crucial in terms of determining a future for our county. I think that this role is really important this year.

One thing that I really want to work on so we’re ready for the school year is implementing an increased amount of

mental health support; having the early work of the SMOB and the board at that point I anticipate will be getting ready for the school year.”

Q: What is the first thing you are going to do as SMOB? Kim: “Again the SMOB term starts in July, so year and a lot of important work is going to come out of the Board of Education in the next school year.

That structure in place for the start of the school year is really critical and it’s definitely something that I want to work on right away.”

seeing how significant of a role students play in that process has been super insightful and informative. Above all, it’s inspiring, and I think those are the reasons that kept me going through that process over the past five years; it’s the reason why I’ve decided to run for this position.”

Q: When or in what moment you decided to run for SMOB?

Kim: “I’ve been involved in the change making process for education in our county for around the past five years.

Connecting with students from across the county and learning about the struggles that we face from school to school, region to region, and

Kim: “I don’t know if there was a specific snap moment where I decided I wanted to run for the position, but I’ve been involved in the change making process for education in our county for around the past five years. Connecting with students from across the county and learning about the struggles that we face from school to school, from region to region, and seeing how significant of a role students play in that process has been super insightful and informative. Above all, it’s inspiring, and I think those are the going

one gets a checkmark next to their name, and now let’s have two hours where we can make some choices that aren’t normalizing what’s not normal.”

Mrs. Mahoney described that simple actions like propping open the door next to her classroom to let in students should not be normalized, as it invites danger into our school.

Instead, she believes that students should be forced to enter the school through the

front entrance where they can be met with security guards who watch everyone who enters and exits the building all day long.

It may feel like a school shooting could never happen at our school, but for teachers, it’s different. “I have been teaching for a long time, so it almost feels like an inevitability and I have a hard time living with that,” says Ms. Mahoney. Regardless of your

Q: Why did you decide to run for SMOB?

through that process over the past five years; it’s the reason why I’ve decided to run for this position.”

Q: How have your past accomplishments led you to become prepared for this role?

Kim: “Some of those organizations and some of those roles that I’ve held have been really insightful in the change making process, but I think the most important thing has been connecting with students across the county and processing what it means to be a student in MCPS. I’ve learned about the struggles that we face, individually, and as a school, and the struggles that we face in all the space as a county at large. Seeing all that unfold and learning about those problems has given me valuable insight on the work I can accomplish in this next year.”

Photo via @arvinforsmob on Instagram

F-Wing Continued from page 1

Besides the disruptive banging and chatter, unsecured F-wing doors run the risk of allowing entrance to anyone who looks remotely like a student. Opening the door for one student you know may lead to 15 more flooding in that you don’t. As students, we may not understand the fear in this. After all, it’s been so normalized in our school.

Ms. Mahoney recalls the day after Uvalde: “We had stu-

dents sit for two hours to take a test they didn’t need to pass, that just needed to have a checkmark next to their name for graduation,” proceeded by, “a moment of silence and that’s supposed to be recognition for the 21 people who have been shot and killed in a school.”

Ms. Mahoney added that, “at the very least we should reverse the order of testing. We should say we are going to do a moment of testing; every-

concerns, our F-wing teachers are asking us to respect theirs.

The next time you are about to open the door for students, consider the stampede of safety-related problems that will continue to exist as we reinforce the precedent that we have set for opening doors.

Instead, be the one who ends the precedent, and kindly ask students to take another minute out of their day to walk through the main office.

Messages about school safety from B-CC Administration (June 2, 2022) Dear Students,

Dear B-CC Families and Community Members,

When you arrive at B-CC each day, the administrative team, your teachers, and all staff work to keep you safe so that you are able to learn in a healthy and productive environment. This includes securing the doors of the building, and we need your help. All MCPS schools are required to secure the entry doors. This means that doors should not be propped open, and it means that anyone seeking entry should enter through the main doors, once school is in session.

We cannot ignore that our nation’s schools are potential targets for disturbed individuals who seek to harm innocent people. Each time there is a school shooting, we mourn the loss of the people who died in senseless violence. But, we can also engage in active measures to protect ourselves. We need to do what we can to keep our school safe, and it begins with something as simple as using the proper doors and respecting the practices we have in place for safety.

We need to make sure that you do not open doors for anyone, not your friends or random students who are knocking on the back or side doors. If you find yourself on the outside, come to the main entrance to get in. You will always be able to do so. Do not take it upon yourself to compromise the safety of everyone when you either open a door, or bang on the doors from the other side, insisting that someone break the rules and open the door for you. Stop texting your friends to leave their classes and come and let you in. Your convenience is not worth devaluing the safety of the rest of us.

In the aftermath of numerous school shootings, we are asking for your support in communicating with your children regarding the safety measures we have implemented at B-CC. In keeping with the Superintendent’s expectation that all doors in MCPS schools are secure, we have instructed students to use the main school entrance if they arrive after school starts and anytime during the school day.

At 7:50, we lock the entry doors. At this time, students who are not in the building need to use the main entrance for entry. They will always be able to enter the building in this way.

We ask your support in helping students to understand that: They should use the main entrance if they arrive to school after 7:50.

They should not knock on windows or doors, attempting to get someone to let them in an unauthorized entrance.

They should not text their friends to leave class to come and let them in a side door or back entrance.

They should not prop open any doors at any time in order to return to the building through an unauthorized entrance.

The requests are simple. And while we recognize that none of our students think that the above practices could have serious consequences, we know that they can. For everyone’s safety and well-being, we ask that you speak with your student[s] about these expectations and practices. It is very important that they understand why we ask them to do what is explained here and that they support these measures.

We work hard to keep your children safe so that they can learn and thrive. Please work with us to communicate the importance of these practices in helping to maintain the safety and security of all of us at B-CC.

If you have any questions or concerns about this message and its content, please feel free to speak with your school counselor, your grade level administrator, your teachers, parents, and friends regarding the seriousness and importance of what we have communicated here.

Thank you.

Thank you.

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News

4 Continued from page 1

to another teacher and not addressing the student’s behavior or its root causes.

As a result of this experience, Mrs. B said she has practically given up on pushing for consequences.

“I started teaching because I found that working with students…seeing their success and pushing them towards success is something I really love to do,” Mrs. B said.

But this year has left many teachers like Mrs. B questioning whether the passion is worth the struggle.

For Mrs. A., the constant steam of work and responsibility put on teachers has been overwhelming this year.

“The time you rush, rush, rush [through work dumped on you], I am not doing it anymore, I’m just not,” said Mrs. A. This feeling of being overwhelmed was echoed throughout the survey. One respondent wrote that teachers are expected to do everything on their own, like analyzing county-required student surveys or being a “counselor” and “life coach” to their students, saying that “we are not mental health experts or psychologists.” They added that “[we are not] compensated for it no matter how many responsibilities are added onto our job.”

Ironically, all those extra requirements do not translate

into more respect. As one surveyed teacher explained, “It’s that feeling of not being needed and respected that causes hesitation to continue teaching sometimes.”

The workload might be more manageable for many teachers if the sense of satisfaction was strong. But, according to our interviews and surveys, the single most-cited factor turning teaching into a struggle is the lack of respect teachers feel from students.

Mrs. B, Mrs. A and many of the teachers surveyed expressed their concerns with classroom management, pointing to how students are always on their phones, talking with their friends, or even disrupting the teacher during lessons. “The lack of paying attention [from students] has totally derailed me,” said Mrs. A. When asked about the greatest challenge facing teachers, 46.7% of the teachers we surveyed, pointed to student phone-use during class as the biggest challenge. 13.3% said dealing with disrespectful behavior from students was the greatest struggle.

Those two challenges may seem distinct at first glance, yet many teachers see them as connected.

“Phone use leads to disrespectful behavior, especially when teachers enforce phone policies,” one respdondent wrote.

Five teachers also added

that dealing with poor student attendance daily was also challenging - most of the teachers who said so also believe that the school should have repercussions for inadequate student attendance records.

Mrs. A connects the unprecedentedly disrespectful behavior of many students to the pandemic, saying, “A lot of kids have not been in school since middle school, and their maturity levels show it.”

Mrs. B also pointed to the pandemic saying, “I think with… students being at home for two years [due to COVID-19]... they just don’t know how to be in a public setting with people.”

While both these teachers recognize the pandemic’s role in deteriorating student behavior, they both also point to “lenient” school policies.

Mrs. B said she believes there should be a schoolwide cell phone policy, rather than forcing teachers to be the authority figures to limit students’ cell phone use, which only adds more work to already overflowing teacher plates.

Mrs. B adds said she believes that other “lenient” MCPS policies, such as the 50% rule, are channeling into students a lack of respect for their teachers.

“Students don’t even feel like they have to [perform on tests and assignments] because [no matter what] … they still get a 50 percent,” she said.

Another teacher agreed: “There are no hard boundaries with attendance, cell phones, grades, hallway passes, dress code, etc.”According to Mrs. B, teaching is a low-pay, highstress profession that no one goes into it for the money.

While she understands that her students ultimately bear the blame for their behavior and classroom performance, Mrs. A* puts the fault on herself as well. “The kids are not what I’m used to … I have several students who have no motivation to work,” Mrs. A* said.

As a result of that, she is constantly asking herself, “Why can’t I do better?”

The thought of quitting has plagued many of the teachers we heard from for this story.

“I have thought about new careers probably once a week since I started [teaching]... [however,] I do know that this is the job I want to keep for a while,” Mrs. B said.

Mrs. A* agreed: “Have I thought about quitting? Yeah!

Am I still thinking about it?

Yeah!” she exclaimed.

Just under twenty percent of B-CC teachers responded to our survey. Of the respondents, 63.3% of the teachers feel burned out from teaching. and 60% of the teachers surveyed said they feel especially isolated from other teachers and administrators.

Despite her unhappiness, Mrs. B*said she will return next year because of extracur-

ricular activities in which she is involved that allow her “to see the students in a more personal way,” especially as they pursue their passions.

On the other hand, Mrs. A* admitted to being skeptical about next year at B-CC and MCPS and has not yet decided whether to return. “When I think about next year, I think about what things will change” and whether things “will be better …I have to figure out what I can control and what I can’t control.”

While the reasoning for the widespread discontent among is different in every respondent’s case. Yet, we found that the root causes boils down to three– teachers feel distressed, unsupported and they do not concur with curricular changes and requirements.

In Part 2, we will explore what teachers say about the suppport they do/don’t feel from B-CC, MCPS, and beyond.

* Names of B-CC teachers have been replaced by letters to respect their privacy and enable them to speak freely.

The letters we used do not correspond to the teachers’ actual last name.

Have teachers felt isolated from other teachers and/or administrators?

Do you [teachers] feel burned out from teaching?

No 37.5%

Yes 62.5%

These have been the biggest challenges this year in dealing with

students?

Other 40%

Disrespectful Behavior 13.3%

Student Phone Use During Class 46.7%

IN TEACHERS’ OWN WORDS “W

ithout us, the whole structure collapses.

We also instill valuable lessons of citizenship and responsibility that our society sorely needs.

And most important of all, we help bring hope and a semblance of normality to children who need it now more than ever.”

“W

e’re left fumbling trying to figure out what to do next.”

“S

cripted curriculum, endless data collection, and non-stop testing are sucking the joy out of school for teacher and students alike.”

“N

“T

he increased mental health issues and violence that are not adequately addressed by MCPS, along with the grading policy that inflates students’ grades, makes it difficult to do our job... I do wish MCPS would support teachers and listen to their concerns with actionable plans.”

o Accountability”

“I

feel like we always just lower the bar when someone is stressed, but we never teach them how to deal with it appropriately. Many people are stressed, for good reason, but there is always stress, and students need to learn to manage it but still be a part of our school community in a productive way.”

“I

t’s the behind the scenes things that teachers are forced to abide by, that are mandated by the county itself, along with the timeline in which things are to be accomplished.

That is the unreasonable part that I am certainly struggling with this year and I’m sure years to come.”

“I

f admin is not providing solutions or support for teacher concerns, why should we stay and deal with the damage of trying to figure it out ourselves?”

“R

“I

t’s been hard to get back to normal with ever-changing landscape due to COVID... I think it’s grinding all of us down.”

“E

here needs to be a commitment from administration, teachers, students and parents to improve the issues we saw this year. There needs to be accountability again. Bring back the attendance policy. Enforce a universal phone policy. Mental health of students will improve over time.”

“S

tudents avoiding class instruction whether it’s phone use or leaving the classroom for extended periods of time.”

“S

tudents seem to not really care about class, which makes it even harder to get out of the burnout.”

“K

eachers cannot be expected to handle everything by ourselves - we are also not mental health experts or psychologists. WAY TOO MUCH ON OUR PLATES!”

“D

“W

“M

ental and emotional health... students and teachers feel overwhelmed.”

eeping everything in perspective, while helping students return to an in-person school year amid the evolving pandemic has been a challenge .”

ntitlement”

ampant attendance issues with little to no repercussions.”

“T

“T

e have to jump through hoops just to give a student a zero on an assignments they didn’t do, and any sort of dispute generally makes teachers feel powerless... It feels like the we implicitly promote entitlement because students are rarely held accountable for their choices.”

“K

eeping [students] motivated, having [students] advocate for themselves, [and] mental health concerns.”

“Y

ou want to see these young teachers fall in love with this profession, but the pandemic, virtual learning, increased phone use, and attendance is making this job a lot less enjoyable than [it was] 5-6 years ago when I first started. I used to really love teaching and now it feels more like child care.” he cell phone usage and skipping classes have gotten so bad that it feels near impossible to build meaningful relationnstead of holing up ships with some students. I in the Admin wing, would love to see full-school administrators should changes around both these take the time to mix with issues for next year.” students and teachers.

They should delegate some of their less essential tasks... perhaps hire clerical help or parent his year has been the hardest volunteers.” since I started teaching. The

“S

“T

tress” “I

isrespected”

“I

wish I was able to retire, too.

I don’t blame anyone for retiring early. It is ridiculous the amount of work and micromanaging that is inflicted on teachers.”

“T

“B

increased mental health issues and violence that are not adequately addressed

by MCPS, along with the grading policy that inflates students' grades, makes it difficult to do our job... I do wish MCPS would support teachers and listen to their concerns with actionable plans.”

urned out”

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Robo Barons: Battle of the Droids A New Mascot?

By Edele Deneke and Kristine Roque

By Jake Silver

On Monday, January 7, as the RoboBarons celebrated their strong showing in regionals, in which they qualified for states, club president, Sam Meddin, was called into Ms. Sutton’s office, hoping for a congratulations from the school. In just three years, Meddin turned the lackadaisical club with four members into a MOCO powerhouse and state championship contender with 40 members, all with significantly less funding than the other schools.

Unfortunately, this meeting was not the news Sam had hoped for. Due to a paperwork issue, the club would be immedi ately suspended, unable to compete in states. The robotics equipment, which was all paid for by private fundraising and stored at B-CC, was confiscated and locked up

There is a Cost

from the RoboBarons. If our football team ever had a paperwork issue, it would never interfere with their playoffs. But apparently it does for robotics? Most schools’ administrations would celebrate an up and coming robotics team, but apparently not B-CC’s.

Persistent to be able to compete in the state competition, members of the RoboBarons reached out to SMOB Hannah O’Looney and Montgomery County’s office to appeal their suspension. Fortunately, they were reinstated with 2 weeks left until states; the RoboBarons were back in business.

While other teams spent over a month developing their reboot, B-CC would have to make up for lost time.

“Everyday, from 3-6, we would go to Sam or Vince’s house, troubleshooting how to improve our

robot,” DK tells the Tattler, adding that “Vince is like a megamind, somehow every meeting he has some new awesome idea to try out.”

“To be honest, in the two weeks before states, I think we spentover 40 hours creating our robot. After everyone left my house, I experimented with the robot until midnight.” Vince tells us.the team for qualifying for states this year, we lost a match we should have won.

We were just an inch away from nationals, but we are already preparing for next year, with a goal of placing in the top four in the state. ” (The top four teams qualify for nationals.)

At states, the RoboBarons went 5-1 at the tournament, placing 10th out of 60 teams. “Although I am proud of

The transition from the Baron, to an immobile Pinetree, which B-CC flirted with through new teacher merchandise decorated with them.

This change could cost us a minimum of $80,000. While the discussion of our mascot has been a hot topic recently, many have not come to the realization that this comes at a high price - literally. The money doesn’t just grow on pine trees, nor trees at all, so where would the funding come from? Would we cut down on the funds for the school’s variety of clubs? Would we reduce the number of field trips we go on? Or would B-CC raise the price of snacks in the vending machine?

The MCPS School Board directed that Poolesville High School desert their offensive mascot, the “Indian”, in 2001.

The change didn’t come without a conflict, however, as a

good portion of the community showed their dislike towards the decision by hiring lawyers that would help them file a legal challenge against the school board. Ultimately, it didn’t work, as the students later voted to change it to the “Falcons”, which came with a price tag.

The change cost them over $80,000 because they needed to rebrand the entire school, which included changing logos around the school and redoing all the sports teams’ merchandise and uniforms.

Many believe that, similarly, the Baron is not inclusive and wish for a brand-new image.

On the other hand, some say that the mascot is just fine, and no modifications should be made. Regardless, the dispute over B-CC’s mascot is creating pressure on the MCPS School Board…and their wallet.

Photos via Sam Meddin

Planes, Trains, Masks, and Confusion

By Naomi Kales

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has restated their recommendation that Americans wear face masks when using public transportation, but there has been a lack of clarification surrounding this rule. A Florida judge struck down the federal mask mandate for travel in April, and the Biden administration appealed to this ruling.

The mandate was extended to May third when U.S. health officials restated their recommendation that travelers stay masked.

As a result of this lift, travelers would no longer need to wear their masks in airports, planes, buses, trains, and at

transit hubs. As many other public spaces have lifted their mask mandates, it was seen as inconsistent to require masks on transportation, especially because spaces like planes have better ventilation than many crowded public places like a restaurant. However, wearing a mask always lowers the risk of infection.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) stopped enforcing their mask requirement after the April 18 court ruling. This is a controversial issue, however, as some people believe they should not need to wear a mask on public transit if they are not required to do so in other public spaces,

while others believe that it is necessary to stay masked on transportation. Parents of children who are not old enough to receive the coronavirus vaccine are also displeased by the April 18 decision. Airlines have been lobbying the White House to drop the mask mandate, as travel rebounds are very beneficial to them.

Even when masked, it will prove difficult to distance oneself from maskless commuters on public transit because spaces like buses and trains are commonly crowded and enclosed. The longer the commute, the higher the risk of exposure.

The current status of the CDC and Department of Justice appeal regarding the travel mask mandate is unclear, as both declined to comment on the appeal. Overall, it is very unclear what the policy is regarding the mask mandate on travel, which means there is inconsistency. Because the CDC has not consistently commented on the mandate, it is difficult for travelers to know whether or not they must mask on planes and other modes of travel.

Photo via the B-CC Archives

7 Drawing by Aubrey Samuels

MILLENMILLENNIALS VS. GEN Z THE B-CC EDITION

T

he underclassmen edition this year encapsulates this as we traveled back to the 1990s and ‘80s at B-CC, finding what has slipped in between the cracks from the millennial era of students at this school, long before we ever walked these halls. This newspaper not only shows how our school has evolved from past decades, but also covers pressing topics in our school such

as its drug culture, the struggles of LGBTQ+ students, B-CC’s school spirit, and so much more.

Like the Baron above, our school has drastically evolved; at first, it was just the small, congested A-building, and now the school is four times as big, with the B, C, and F buildings. But along with the physical structure, the people, the culture, and even the food within B-

CC have changed over time.

With The Amplifier we were able to take a deep dive into the culture that we live through everyday. This newspaper’s theme was influenced by this deep dive, however, a deep dive into a world that has changed greatly since the millennial generation due to modern technology, the ever-growing Bethesda area, and so many

other factors. Lunch spots, music, and even friend group dynamics have all grown and evolved in the last 40 years, making them almost unrecognizable to the generation before us. The instagram account @theB-CCarchives brings our school’s evolution to our eyes by showcasing their favorite pictures from decades ago and most of the pictures in the next couple of pages

are from it. Not only do their pictures show us how much B-CC and its surrounding area have changed, but, more importantly, if we’ve changed for the better.

That clichéd question of ‘have we changed for the better’ is something we investigated in this issue, but we’ll let you be the judge of that.

part in all of this that we are missing: for our whole lives, the “high school experience” that we had seen all throughout film and television was created through the eyes of adults - John Hughes was 35 when he wrote the Breakfast Club, for example.

When Ingalls was a student here, observing the social dynamic from within, she didn’t believe there were many cliques at all, just friend groups. It seems that most stu-

dents can’t see the social power structures, as they are a part of them - no matter who they are friends with. Now that she’s a part of that outside perspective, looking back onto her high school experience and forward at ours, Ingalls’s views have changed and molded into those of the writers of the ‘90s. Our lack of perspective makes it difficult to see the impact your exclusivity could have on others.

The cliques we see here at

B-CC may not be the same as the ones in these high school movies, but even in a world without jocks and preps, hierarchies will always exist; it’s how we address these hierarchies that defines how our social system works. The people at the top of any hierarchy are always the last people to know about the issues going on down “below,” and it’s often issues they cause that they’re blind to.

SOCIAL HEIRARCHIES

By Audrey Ohrenstein and Eliza Fletcher It’s 7:40 in the morning, and a group of kids sit in the corner spreading out their legs to show off their Doc Martin’s, while a kid on a skateboard glides down the hallway, almost running over a couple aggressively making out in front of a locker. Is this a scene from Mean Girls, or just the F wing halls?

From Clueless to She’s All That, movie writers of the ’90s crafted a specific idea of what high school looked like. These films showed the impressionable younger generation that high school is full of parties, judgmental cliques, and exclusive clubs. This interpretation left kids growing up in the 2000s asking themselves if this is what high school is really like?

Identifying faces is hard, but identifying personalities is harder, especially in a time when everyone’s identity is so fluid. The goth girl whose fishnets and baby tee intimidated you one day may wear an unassuming blue skirt and white sneakers the next day; no one is nearly as one-dimensional as we see in the movies.

At B-CC, we obviously have some clear examples in friend groups of our own, but are

they exclusive like cliques in the movies?

Some students at B-CC believe that cliques aren’t present at all, while others feel that “there are friend groups or sets of friend groups who are ‘exclusive’,” said an anonymous sophomore, adding that “[school] is very cliquey, so if one [group] doesn’t like you, most of them don’t like you.”

Some students at this school see hierarchies among their peers, finding that they are made to feel lesser than others because they don’t belong to a certain group. Another sophomore stated that at football games, “It’s really awful to get kicked out of your seat that you sat in first, just because you’re not friends with the right people.” The exaggeration of exclusivity that we see in movies is definitely excessive, but maybe not as much as we thought. This point of view could be a blind spot for students “higher up” on our social ladder.

Former B-CC student and current teacher Ryan Ingalls stated, “I think cliques were prevalent, but not to the extent they are now… [school] didn’t seem as divided.” Ingalls’s statement exposes a crucial

Photo via the B-CC Archives

8

OUR TOWN

Photos via the B-CC Archives and MCPS

By Lucy Dahl

in

“I

used to hang out and smoke in front of the C wing steps, which is now where the daycare is,” said former student Steven Dahl (class of 1988). Now, every weekday morning, innocent young children walk up those steps eager to learn.

This is just one aspect of B-CC culture that has changed significantly.

“Whenever I wanted to get

away from class I would go to the McDonald’s that was across the street from B-CC or the Roy [Rodgers] that was on Wisconsin Ave,” said Steven.

These buildings that were on the corner of Wisconsin Ave and East-West highway have long since been torn down in favor of high-rises, significantly changing the area around B-CC. While the restaurant scene

Bethesda continues to grow and evolve, so does the architecture. Modern office buildings now tower over the few original buildings. Former B-CC student Mark Dahl (class of 1989) said, “The neighborhood surrounding B-CC used to be full of lots of little houses that weren’t considered as valuable as they are today. Now wherever you look there are a ton of

huge houses built atop of the lots where all the small houses used to be.” This architectural change correlates with the major rebranding of the area surrounding B-CC in an effort to make it more cosmopolitan.

Before the ‘90s, the area was not considered as desirable as it is today. “Bethesda had grown steadily from an almost rural suburb to a bustling suburb of a major city by the 1970’s and 1980’s. Growth really exploded however in 1984, when the Washington Metro was expanded out to Grosvenor, and Bethesda became a stop on a major rapid-transit system. Streets lined with small shops soon became avenues with multi-story buildings and high rises,” according to a story from the 80th-anniversary edition of the Tattler.

By the ‘90s, growth peaked in Bethesda. Many people were interested in modernizing B - C C and helping the school adjust to a more urban environm e n t

with a larger student body.

This need for expansion led to B-CC’s 1999 renovations. One of the most significant changes that came from these renovations was the connecting of the two main buildings, A and B. Today, B-CC has 80 classrooms, a media center with 30 workstations, a TV studio, media production facilities, a greenhouse, a music lab, two gyms, a weight room, a 900 seat auditorium and a large cafeteria, yet somehow the integrity and charm of the original building has remained preserved.

Looking at pictures of the school in past yearbooks has revealed how much things have changed at, and around, B-CC in just a few decades. It makes you wonder what lies ahead for B-CC in the next couple decades and beyond.

ACADEMIC RIGOR

By Brooke Silver and Sydney Zimmerman

C

ollegeboard. This word provokes stress and anxiety in the minds of just about every high school student. With it comes the suffocating process of never-ending flashcards, AP prep videos, practice tests, and memorization of hundreds of vocabulary words for a 5. Yet, school has not always been a never-ending source of calamity. How in the world did we get here?

A few decades ago, societal standards for academic success were a bit different. Only a handful of AP classes were offered at B-CC, in contrast to the twenty-plus now available. John Zehner, class of 1983 and current teacher, recalled that he took one AP course in high school. In his words, “very few students took AP classes, and overall, I don’t remember working crazy hard at any point in high school.”

This never-ending cycle of academic stress can be attributed to a culture obsessed with unrealistic academic achievement. Teenagers today often feel pressured to succeed in ways that previous generations simply did not.

Ms. Wahi, a teacher at B-CC who attended high school in the 1990s, explains that when she was a teenager, mental ill-

ness “was certainly not talked about. If you had asked me what mental illness was when I was in high school, I would have been oblivious.”

Contrarily, junior Georgia McAuliffe assert- ed that she “knows multiple people who have been diagnosed with mental health illnesses. It is so normalized that it almost invalidates people.” While Georgia supports all that B-CC is doing to improve student mental health, she believes there is still a lot left unfulfilled. She describes how her stress levels are intolerably high, leading to multiple mental breakdowns per week. Additionally, sophomore Leo Cutitta noted that “as exams are rightaround the corner, the schoolwork along with exam prep is very overwhelming.” He feels as if societal standards have created unrealistic expectations for students as a whole, pushing students to take on more than they can handle.

In a time of chaos, it is okay to stop and take a break once in a while. When push comes to shove, neither your GPA nor your AP exam scores define you as a human being. We need to stop pretending that they do .

Photos via the B-CC Archives and MCPS

LGBTQ PRIDE 1990 I

’m beginning to feel like I have to prick myself with a pin to make sure I exist. I am constantly amazed when talking to people in school, at the prevalent attitude that gays simply aren’t present at B-CC. Gay youth? The concept could be equated with INVISIBILITY. The problems of gay youth are essentially ignored by counselors and teachers.

For instance, B-CC has all these programs to help teens cope with depression, substance abuse, etc.

However, studies show that gay youth are three to six times

By Mia Garrett

T

he first time I went to a Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA) meeting, I was shocked.

There were so many people, yet I had never known more than three or four openly LGBTQ+ students throughout my time in public school. I immediately recognized many GSA attendees. I had known them for over four years but had no idea they were part of this community. I realized that we are not as small of a minority as I once thought. How did the LGBTQ+ community go from being totally ostracized in schools twenty years ago to being not only accepted, but supported, in such a short amount of time?

The growing number of out LGBTQ+ students in the school has built a stronger sense of community, allowing for further courage and vocality from LGBTQ+ students. In a recent study done

by WestEd, nearly 14 percent

9

more likely to commit suicide than are straight youth.

The chances of a gay/lesbian youth becoming a substance abuser are also higher than for straight youth.

I believe it is imperative for schools to start talking about gay/lesbian youth, This is needed to break the stereotypes (e.g., there are women, gay and straight, with short hair and low voices, and there are men, gay and straight, who are effeminate) and to curb violence against gays. Gay-bashing is spurred by HOMOPHOBIA, the irrational fear of homosexuals.

Homophobia

and gay-bashing are products of ignorance, and one of the largest groups who engage in verbal and physical abuse of gays are high school students.

I don’t think it’s possible to go through an entire day at B-CC (or at any other school for that matter) without hearing at least a dozen times the words “fag,” “queer,” or “dyke” spat out in jest or anger, either way depicting a negative and stereotypical image. As a gay person, I cannot help but cringe every time I hear people yell those names. It’s probably, also, that many of the kids who use these

names have never met a person that they knew were gay.

However, I’m sure they’d be surprised by Alfred Kinsey’s studies, which found that one out of every ten persons is gay (this includes teenagers).

These are things students need to know, and education is the only way to fill in their ignorance. Gay/lesbian issues must be talked about for the safety of gay teenagers’ lives, for their mental stability and further healthy growth as a person in the school and community, I realize this is a touchy subject; adults don’t like to think of teenagers

thinking about having sex, much less having feelings for and experiences with members of the same sex. However, I urge the administration, teachers, and counselors to consider these facts and take action. Gay Youth are everywhere and it is time we be acknowledged.

of the middle school and high school students surveyed said they identify with a sexual orientation other than heterosexual, and roughly three percent of them identified as transgender. In retrospect, this is a huge difference compared to roughly six percent of students who were openly part of the LGBTQ community in the mid-’90s. Trans students weren’t recognized or supported, and in turn they made up only a fraction of open LGBTQ+ students.

The introduction of clubs like the GSA, which began in the early 2000s, has had a huge impact on the acceptance of Queer people in schools. “Though there is still work to be done, there have definitely been more clubs and forums available for these discussions which have led to more positive treatment, understanding, and acceptance within the B-CC community,” said a longtime

B-CC teacher.

In 1996, the Montgomery County Board of Education voted 6 - 0 to prohibit discrimination against the in MCPS. After the vote, board member Blair G. Ewing stated, “We’re not [advocates]. We’re not endorsers. We’re not encouragers… we’re merely protecting.” During this period, lesbians, gays, and bisexuals were supposedly protected from discrimination and harassment by teachers, but weren’t given nesserary additional support. There were no safe spaces to discuss gender and sexuality or an option to wear either a dress or suit for senior pictures. Transgender students received even less support from the administration due to their lower visibility.

In 2015, members of the infamous homophobic and antisemitic Westboro Church gathered outside of Churchill High School

carrying homophobic signs saying that the school was ‘encouraging sin’. Despite Churchill requesting students to not counter-protest, students from Churchill, Whitman, Richard Montgomery, and Walter Johnson all gathered to protest just off school grounds. “It unified us under one cause, fighting against their hate,” said a senior. “It not only brought us together, it brought the whole county together”. A counter-protest of this scale wouldn’t be possible in the ‘90s due to a lack of support. It is only possible now since multiple schools drown out the hate as the newer generations of students are, as a whole, more and more supportive of LGBTQ+ than the previous.

Despite advances in LGBTQ+ acceptance in schools since the ‘90s, there is still a plethora of discrimination that lives on in the present. One student thought

“that we live in a very liberal bubble, where, for the most part, outwardly being homophobic is frowned upon. However, that doesn’t stop many students from being bigoted behind [Queer students’] backs, and it doesn’t stop students from being openly transphobic, which I have witnessed numerous times,” said a lesbian B-CC student. While direct harassment and bullying of LGBTQ+ students isn’t as common as it used to be, joking about people being gay behind their back, or calling each other the F-slur, still is. As a whole, B-CC should look for more ways to educate students about the LGBTQ+ experience to snuff out discrimination and make the school a more safe and comfortable environment for LGBTQ+ students.

BY REBECCA TUCKER This article. “Gay Youth Speaks Out,” first appeared in a 1990 edition of the Tattler

2022

SWEETHEARTS

By Josephine Abate and Caroline O’Brien

T

hroughout the years, ‘high school sweethearts’ have been a staple within teen lifestyles and have defined decades of young love, especially at B-CC. Two power couples have walked, and continue to walk, the B-CC halls: beloved History teacher and basketball coach Sean Tracy and his wife Yalda ‘Nikki’ Soheil, as well as seniors Molly

Persson and Derek Sappenfield. Read along as gossip, rumors, and breakups unravel throughout these two tales of high school romance...

All good relationships start somewhere, right? Tracy’s and Persson’s relationships both began in middle school: when the popular Sean Tracy met his future wife Soheil in 1996 and when, the also popular Persson met her future boyfriend Sappenfield in 2017.

Tracy explained to us that the real romance began in his Junior year at B-CC, when he “asked [Nikki] out on a date in a note,” with a “check the box yes or no, [or] something like that.” However, high school was not Persson’s and Sappenfield’s first rodeo, as they had gone out on a few ‘dates’ back in eighth grade. Molly reminisced about when Derek first popped the question, she expressed, “he gave me a rose

[when he] asked me,” but the second time, “he just asked.”

The first date is known to stress out potential couples the most. The questions of what to wear, say, and act flood the minds of single people everywhere. Tracy recalls that his first date with Nikki happened to be a movie and remembers they met at the United Artists theater, which was just down the road from B-CC. Molly and Derek’s first “date” consisted of “chinese food [at] his house,” and their second go around was to a “sushi place in DC.” Had they ever broken up?

Almost every relationship has at least a few speed bumps before it starts driving smoothly.

“Eighth grade,” Molly smiles.

She claims they broke up because she “just didn’t want a boyfriend in high school,” but ultimately ended up regretting that decision in the end. Tra-

cy felt the same way, but told us “we tried to make it work when I went to Bullis, it was just hard to do. So we broke up, for senior year.”

“I was kind of not so much of a nice guy,” Tracy explains on the topic of ‘I love yous.’

“I’d never really liked saying I love you just because I felt it was a word that people just threw around and didn’t really mean. And [Nikki] would say it and I would just tell her, I wasn’t comfortable saying it.”

However ‘I love you’ became more comfortable for Tracy over time, and he “eventually ended up saying it.” Per contra, Derek was much more comfortable than Tracy in the beginning of his relationship.

Molly mentions Derek said it first at a “random, we were just joking around, [and] then he just said it.”

You might just be wondering, “how can I find my own

‘high school sweetheart?” The really obvious answer is to stop daydreaming about that perfect someone, and ‘just ask,’ like Derek. Introduce yourself to the people in your classes, clubs, and sports. Maybe even try asking out someone you like instead of waiting for them to get around to it. There are countless ways to show interest: flowers, chocolates, or even a check box. Don’t forget to put yourself out there and remember, there is someone for everyone.

Mr. Tracy and Soheil above left, Perrson and Sappenfield above

10

DRUG CULTURE

By Riley Nee

T

ucked away in the Tattler archives, an article written by the eventual executive producer of The Wire, David Simon, offered his earliest perceptions of B-CC drug culture. In a 1976 edition of the Tattler, Simon had a reporter go into the school hallways with $75 to see what drugs

were available. According to the article, “it was estimated that the reporter would need at least a day to exhaust his cash supply. However, less than four hours later, the reporter had made arrangements to purchase four ‘dime’ bags of marijuana, and two to four ‘nickel’ bags of cocaine.” Be-

fore the article was released, there was little done about the drug’s influence on B-CC. In Simon’s original article, a junior stated, “you’ve got to really flaunt the drugs to get any reaction at all.”

Students used substances in hallways, bathrooms, and on the front lawns. Gary Zingraf, a B-CC alum, gave his synopsis of the aftermath of Simon’s article. He said that “it created quite the stir. The following year, police arrested a bunch of students for smoking on the front lawn. I always figured they felt pressured to do something because of the article.” According to the officer present at the arrest, “all you have to do is ride down East-West highway and you can see kids smoking dope.”

As demonstrated by Simon’s article, drug use was getting out of hand.

Fascinated by the results of Simon’s article, I wanted to see what sort of drugs we could find now. Would the mobile devices glued to our hands at all times dwindle the turnaround time to score drugs?

Within a day, we communicated with students and located

weed, shrooms, Adderall, and vape products. We would have to wait another hour or so after school for acid and a “dirty perc thirty.” Cocaine was more of a Whitman thing but that still did not make it unattainable. “Whitman’s got a huge coke problem. There’s really not any coke at B-CC though,” a student noted.

CDC research showed that from 2016 to 2020, illicit drug use among eighth graders shot up by 61%. Such a short time frame for a massive uptick in usage can be attributed to the difficulties youth today face, a trend that was occurring pre-pandemic. “I know of these students who are substance users, and they have these mental health problems that go along with it,” school counselor John Favazzo told me in an interview.

When asked about the impact of the pandemic on teen drug use, he did not pull any punches. In his words, “the isolation that was caused by the pandemic for so many young people … had an impact on mental health for our students. Some students are choosing substances to help improve those moods, but in the end, they’re only temporary.”

When asked whether some students were more at risk for substance abuse than others, Mr. Favazzo shook his head.

He said that in his experiences, addiction is “non-discrim-

inatory. It crosses all races, cultures, and socioeconomic lines. I have seen students from all different backgrounds who are struggling with or using substances.” The tricky part about drug use is that there is no clear solution. Is it better to enforce strict punishment on drug users? We know that does not work. Do we provide more hotlines and resources? Maybe, but would anybody use them? Should we educate our children about drugs, and demonstrate the consequences of addiction?

Unfortunately, high schoolers are not fans of being told what to do with their bodies.

Drugs are woven into the fabric of high school. Not everybody uses it, but they surely know someone who does.

Friends get themselves into precarious situations, the smell of weed lingering in a hallway. Feeling invincible, giggling through exhales of smoke, tripping, and waking up with mysterious bruises.

The highs can be delightful, but the lows are horrifying.

Our media feeds us these false perceptions of how these years of our lives should be. A glittery facade of opioids and smoke soundtracked to angsty pop-dance beats. Drugs have cornered us, and there is no foreseeable way out.

Drawimg by Aubrey Samuels

SOCIAL DIVERSITY

By Erwann Pesme and Ryan Jakhadi

“If I’m being honest, I didn’t notice [that] I’m the only Black person in my AP classes until like three weeks ago,” said an anonymous B-CC student. This situation is nothing new to me. Over my time at B-CC the lack of ethnic diversity in my AP and IB classes has been something I’ve always noticed. While we’re made to believe students from different ethnic backgrounds are permitted to take whatever classes they want, no matter the difficulty, it’s evident by the current demographics of AP and IB programs that certain classes feel more welcoming than others.

This has been a common issue that has plagued higher-level courses for decades.

Many students believe that a lack of familiarity, similarities, or encouragement from classmates and teachers makes it more difficult for new students to acclimate and excel in the environment. Some even go as far as to say, “It’s because they [the B-CC staff] don’t make an effort to advertise the class to Black kids.” and “if they advertised it then 1000% more Black kids would do AP

classes.” Now, imagine a scenario where you, the new kid, are surrounded by people that look, act, and talk differently than you. Doesn’t seem very welcoming, does it?

According to data from the National Assessment of Education Progress, or NAEP, the percentage of students with AP or IB course credits in the 1990s was primarily White. While less than 15% of the White student population took an AP or IB course in 1990, and 25% of the Asian students, too, the sheer number of White students that attended high school led to them being the majority in almost every classroom. Between 1992 and 1993, 453,182 White students and 4,114 Asian students were enrolled in high school. Taking these numbers and using the percentages previously mentioned, around 67,977 White students took an AP or IB course in 1992-1993, while nearly 1,029 Asian students took one. This means that during the 90s, the rate of White students taking AP/IB classes to Asian students taking those classes was around 66:1, respectively.

Many of B-CC’s minority students feel out of place when they first enter their AP or IB classes, switching out of these classes to find others with more familiarity. Data obtained from fellow classmates after conduct ing interviews in various AP and IB classes show that at least 50% of the students surveyed identified as White, and in some cases, White students accounted for 80% of the classes. Over the last two decades, the number of students nationwide taking AP or IB classes has significantly increased, especially for students of different ethnicities.

Data taken from 2013 shows that 72% of the Asian, 40% of the White, 34% of the Hispanic, and 23% of the Black student populations took at least one higher-level course. The trend in the demographics of the current AP and IB student bodies at B-CC actually goes against the trend that has recently been observed nationwide.

It is clear that there are a variety of reasons for why students who hail from different ethnic backgrounds

are prompted not to enroll in more advanced classes despite being more than qualified.

It has also proven that those currently taking AP/IB classes, whatever their ethnicity, believe that the B-CC administration should do a better job of informing minority students of higher-level programs and ensuring they feel welcome in those classes.

Photo via the B-CC Archives

11

SCHOOLSPIRIT COLORDAY

By Alessandra Faccone and Evan Rich

“I remember my classmates walking between classes covered in paint,” said B-CC alumna Francesca Faccone (class of 2015) while recounting B-CC’s last Color Day in 2012. The upperclassmen’s goal during Color Day was to paint as many freshmen before the day was

over, earning the nickname, “​​freshman beatdown day.” To most it seemed like a harmless tradition, but it invited the use of alcohol and multiple cases of assault.

“People were very enthusiastic about Color Day, going all out in decorating their grade’s designated hallway… when [the school] decided to end it, people were really upset. It seemed like the last big tradition,” stated Faccone. But, the energetic day was not put to an end for no reason, however. In its final year, when three students were cited for possession of alcohol and one was cited for assault, the school knew it was time to call it quits.

“Someone was shoved into a trashcan and a couple freshmen got bruised up,” said B-CC teacher Mr. Lopilato.

These implications made former principal Karen Lochard feel justified in ending it, marking Color Day as “a way for upperclassmen to target freshmen.” However, a video

taken by a student during the 2012 Color Day depicts a comradery and a wholehearted participation in school spirit that has been unmatched in the past few years.

A similar tradition - Mr. B-CC, the senior male talent show - was discontinued in 2020, partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also because of its raunchy humor.

The last show in 2019 featured many students, some of whose talents ranged from playing the piano to attempting to eat an entire watermelon. Despite its light-hearted nature, the show has misogynistic undertones, as it excludes women and has no female equivalent.

Little has been done to bring this tradition back, but Mr. Lopilato is “not concerned. It is not fully dead; it keeps coming back up.”

While some traditions seem harmless, not all are. On the first day of school, many senior girls saw a lot of their fellow female classmates wearing matching, class-unique t-shirts - a tradition that has been around for a while - for the first

PEPRALLIES

time and were disappointed that they were left out. An anonymous senior girl said “it felt like a B-CC tradition was being taken away from me.

I had been looking forward to it since freshman year and wasn’t included in it at all.”

Another senior girl added that this tradition is “exclusionary, especially towards students of color.”

As most traditions since color day have failed to include everyone, many find that school spirit and traditions haven’t been the same since.

Recently, a lot of the high school traditions have stagnated because most students don’t have the passion it takes

to start a new one. Most high school students today feel that there are more important demands on their time, such as academics or extracurriculars.

Despite this, Mr. Lopilato did not seem pessimistic about the future of high school traditions, stating that they seem to “bounce back one way or another.” Although, with sentiments of disinterest and indifference winning out, students disagree because most of them agreed that an increased social media presence created online communities, replacing school communities.

Photos via the B-CC Archives

By Ari Snyder and Andy Flynn

School spirit and pep rallies are some of the most classic high school experiences a teenager can have. From loudly cheering for your school to watching the teachers dominate the students in tug of war, pep rallies are one of the best ways for students to express their school spirit. However, for a school like B-CC, which remained almost completely shut down during the 2020 and ‘21 school years, it’s hard to say whether B-CC still has its same school spirit.

Some people will say that school spirit has increased as people were itching to get back to school, while others may argue that it has decreased as people care less about the school due to the lost time. One person who can attest to the changes in school

spirit over the years is Economics and History teacher Mr. Zehner.

Mr. Zehner attended B-CC as a student from 1979 to 1983 and has taught at B-CC since 1991. When asked about what pep rallies were like as a student, Zehner said that they were “1950s esque and usually were only for the football team who would only get one or two a year.” He later went on to say how there was only “one for basketball, but that was only because they were going to the state championship.”

Now, pep rallies seem to be much more seasonal with a few in the fall and some in the spring. Along with that, current pep rallies do not seem to focus on a specific sport, instead focusing on activities such as tug of war and

cheer dances. As for the school spirit back when Mr. Zehner was a student, he said, “There was definitely more pep when it was divided by classes, there were students more excited to to cheer against the underclassmen which was messed up but that’s the truth.”

“The upperclassmen are a lot more spirited than the underclassmen . . . I believe some of the younger people think they are too cool to be spirited but as they grow older they will appreciate it more. Also, a lot of the underclassmen never

got to experience B-CC sports and the atmosphere around it due to COVID-19… Hopefully the Class of ‘22 set a good example,” said B-CC Senior Kai Murphy. He later added that some students care for pep rallies and student spirit so little that if pep rallies were to be dropped altogether, “The underclassmen wouldn’t miss it.”

It is fair to say that the pep rallies and school spirit at B-CC have improved from what it was in the 1980s, but it is evident that COVID-19 took a major toll on school spirit. However, with a little bit of work to improve and rebuild the school spirit, B-CC can get right back to where it once was.

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TEACHERS

By Rahma Wadood

29 years have passed since the beginning of her teaching career, but Ms. Liz still had a youthful pep when I’d asked her to describe the seven years she taught in the 1990s. The role of teaching had massively changed, especially within the last couple of years as pandemic restrictions adjusted the way students in 2020 were taught. In the national spotlight, teacher shortages, differences in social customs, and usage of resources shape school as it is right now. With three decades of teaching on her clock, Ms. Liz shares her experiences regarding current issues and how they compare to the decade before the turn of the century.

Q: What was the major difference between teaching in the ’90s and the 2020s?

A: “It was just a different world back then. Information took longer to get across. Now it’s really quick [Ms. Liz snaps her fingers], everything’s instant. Back in the ’90s, when a kid forgot to turn an assignment in, it was marked late.

Now, my students have until midnight to turn it in online… [Also,] kids had more consequences back then. [Teachers] were strict on a lot of things, so students tended to be… [less] distracted.

The pandemic definitely accelerated the way staff utilize technology within the classroom. Ms. Liz, like every teacher within the last two years, was impacted by the pandemic. But a long term effect, along with the usage of Zoom for class on snow days, was teacher shortages.

Q: What is your opinion

LUNCH

on national teacher shortages and the larger class sizes?

A: “You have a teaching shortage because since the pandemic, some people flat-out don’t respect teachers. Like, every hour, ‘put your phones away, put your phones away, put your phones away’ - or, ‘I didn’t understand what we were doing’. Like, if you put your phones away and stop listening to music [small sigh] you would have learned the lesson of the class... In the ’90s, they had 24 students and now they have 32 students. There’s a lot to manage now.”

Teacher shortages have been at an all-time high. With funding that some find almost disrespectful and new challenges to overcome, teachers have been discouraged from leaving their

jobs or taking action. The slogan “teach for the sake of the kids” has been used to discourage them, Ms. Liz claims, “If really [teaching] for kids, we wouldn’t have 32 kids to a classroom- we’d have 20 with a teacher’s assistant.”

Q: What was a story that purely encompassed your favorite part of teaching in the 1990s?

A: “The ’90s is when B-CC still had Driver’s Ed. I had a fast car [wheezes in a laugh]. My students, when they got their licenses, would always see me pulling my car out of the parking lot.

They’d pull up next to me, and say, ‘please, Ms. Liz! Just to that stop light, race us!’... and I was so much younger, in my twenties! So I’d say, ‘Fine, oh my god.’”

Laughing, Ms. Liz describes

the moment where a cop pulled her over at the end of East-West Highway to give her a speeding ticket because she was a teacher, setting an example for her teenage students. “I told my students about it after. I just knew something would go wrong but they were just laughing their tails off [shakes her head and chuckles],” said Ms. Liz. Ms. Liz’s experiences about the age before hand-held high speed internet provide insight on how teaching has drastically changed within the decades. Like a fast car, speeding off of campus, time has sped quickly away, making a time almost so long ago feel like a distant memory. We’re here wondering: how much different will 2050

demic and restaurants reopen, the B-CC Community can attempt to regain some of the previous restaurants and areas

to eat lunch at. Maybe one day, lunch periods will again be bustling with as much variety and life as they once were.

be from now?

By Matthew Carr and Luna Nash

F

or many B-CC students, lunch time is their most beloved period, as it serves as a break from the grueling school day, allowing students to socialize and replenish their energy.

B-CC’s open lunch has been around since the early ‘80s. Until 2012, there was a McDonald’s near the school, but the location is now the restaurant Q by Peter Chang. After the closure of McDonald’s, the local restaurant Sprouts Cafe has become the most popular destination for students looking to eat off-campus.

However, the high prices and quality of food when compared to McDonald’s leaves many students longing for menus of the past.

In previous years, students were surrounded by a wide variety of accessible options for off-campus meals. “There was also a big food court at the Met-

ro, which had Burger King, Sbarro, and a bunch of other things,” recounted one alum, adding that “there was a place right across from school that was a buffet and very popular. [Also,] for kids with cars, California Tortilla was a hot spot.”

The halls of B-CC were frequently deserted during lunch in pursuit of the various restaurants surrounding the campus, a stark contrast to the crowded halls of today. Students of the present settle most often for Sprout, if they choose to eat out at all, due to its convenient location. The lunch experience for those who remain inside was described by a current student as “boring and uninteresting.”

The outrageously high rent prices among restaurants has impaired their ability to profit in the area, which has led many of them

to abandon their Bethesda locations.

Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic’s shuttering of businesses has put many establishments out of business for good.

Even those that survived were faced with greatly reduced capacities, overcrowding, and little room to grow.

Before schools officially fell under quarantine, there was a range of thriving restaurants such as Booeymonger and Peet’s Coffee, but when we returned to school in spring 2021, both of these were closed. With an already-faltering restaurant ecosystem, motivation to leave school during lunch shrunk. Even with these restrictions lifted, students’ desire to take advantage of open-campus lunch has reduced significantly.

Hopefully, as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 Pan

ELECTIVES

By Tai Jespersen

8

It’s ironic that a class titled Peace Studies would ever come under aggressive and combative scrutiny. Peace Studies, one of the most popular classes offered at B-CC, is a class synonymous with controversy. In a Washington Post article titled, “The Battle Over Peace Studies” students Andrew Saraf and Avishek Panth stated that “McCarthy makes no effort to disguise his opposition to war, violence and animal testing.” They argued that the course should be banned for promoting a political agenda.

This, however, is not a shared sentiment among former peace studies students; many of them have dismissed Saraf and Panth’s claims. As a graduate from the class of 92’ stated, “They seek not only to ban an elective, but they have never taken the course, they have sat in on only one class, they have not researched McCarthy, nor have they even spoken with

him. I’ll let that sink in for a minute. Because this article got four columns in the Post.”

Peace Studies was first created in 1988 by Colman McCarthy, a writer for the Washington Post, and a well-known figure in the peace activism scene. He has made appearances on news networks such as CBS and even gave a TED talk. McCarthy, not an MCPS staff member, voluntarily taught the class for 33 years, wanting to teach his students that “there are options to deal with conflicts in other ways, but we don’t teach them the other ways, so they look on people like me: ‘well, you’re one of those old ‘60s hippies, one of those old liberals, still hangin’ around, aren’t you?’”

Despite the movement to remove the course, Peace Studies is still offered as an elective with many students eager to take the class. Aaron Zimmet, a former Peace Studies student, says, “I

thought the subjects were very interesting, it is very unique and unlike other classes offered at B-CC.” According to the class overview, “Students are encouraged to be good listeners. Listening to others is an act of caring. If we don’t see eye to eye with someone, we can always talk heart to heart.” This mantra is reflected by current peace studies teacher, Mr. Tracy. When asked about the controversy, he responded by saying, “I thought it would have been different if they took the class”. He says he would have loved for Saraf and Panth to take the course, and voice their opposing viewpoints from within the course’s many class discussions. McCarthy mirrors Tracy’s view, “I’ve never said my views are right and theirs are wrong…I cherish conservative dissenters. I wish we could get more of them in.”

Photos via the B-CC Archives

13

CELEBRITY OBSESSION

By Courtney Kloss and Hannah Rubin

“W

hen I hear the name Taylor Swift I think of Kanye West, Jake Gyllenhall…Harry Styles,” said a B-CC student. When people, like that B-CC student, think of big female names in music, they tend to stray away from their music, and toward what goes on outside of it. The paparazzi amplifies this, swarming and firing questions at artists about

their personal life, while targeting female artists. This gives the media complete control over an artist’s reputation.

For example, Britney Spears’s image has been reversed by the media’s perception of her. In the early 2000’s Britney was a pop sensation; she was referred to as the “Princess of Pop” and became the best selling teenage

artist of all time. With some of her earlier hit songs like Baby One More Time, and Toxic, she drew major attention as a new up and coming artist.

As her popularity exploded, the more obsessed with Britney and her personal life the public became. At the height of her career, Britney stated that she “couldn’t ever leave the house without 20 cars following [her].” The constant intrusion of the paparazzi mixed with the media’s sexualization of her takes a large toll on a teenage girl new to the music industry. Even from her first magazine cover with Rolling Stone at just 17 years old, Britney was sexualized because of her revealing pajama outfit, sparking a media frenzy and immense criticism of her.

Her reputation would continue to grow as she got older, but not for the better. She has struggled with bipolar disorder which causes her extreme mood swings and turns her “into a different person,” she stated. From 2006 - 2008, she experienced “the most public downfall of any star in history,” as her breakdowns and strug-

gles with mental health were massly publicized.

When asked about their thoughts on Britney, current B-CC students state that “her reputation definitely has changed” since the beginnings of her career, and how her “white trash pop queen” persona has become a “symbol for people to unite around.”

Current generations now feel sympathetic for Britney as the extent of her abuse and struggles under the conservatorship have come to light. A female student states, “I feel bad for her; in order to be a childhood icon for us all, she had to suffer so much.”

Despite their ten-year age gap, Britney’s life in the public eye is uncannily similar to Taylor Swift’s. Taylor started her career as a 14 year old country singer with a dream. As more discovered her and her dream became a reality, it came at the cost of her losing her voice. It was during the early stages of her career when she signed a deal with Big Machine Records. She was young and didn’t fully understand the music industry, and ended up in a thirteen year contract with Big Ma-

chine that granted them full ownership of her music.

She tried to gain control back of her songs from Big Machine during all this. She did not succeed, but instead decided to start rerecording her past albums to officially own the rights to her songs. This has gone very well for her.

This same phenomenon happens continuously to women in the media.

Which leaves us with the question: will this ever change? Does the media always choose to invest their best efforts into ruining yet another reputation of a growing female artists? Only time will tell.

Photo via the Financial Times

MUSIC

By David Mburu, Ella Raymond, Roxie Jenkin, Nina Allen, and Vittoria Bianchini

WHAT WAS HOT IN THE ‘90S Perhaps it was Jack Harlow’s ‘First Class’ where you first heard the iconic beat sampled off of Fergie’s early 2000s pop hit ‘Glamourous’ or maybe you owe Tik Tok for the array of 90s hits strewn across your playlist.

While the cause behind the resurgence of early 2000s and 90s music differs from person to person, one thing is abundantly clear: these generations of music have rallied to make a comeback.

Although bands can play with a generic demographic in mind, audiences are constantly changing as people resonate with different music at different stages in their lives. Some bands, such as the localized 90s cover band White Ford Bronco, acknowledge the shift in recognition as well as voice their concerns about appealing to new audiences. Lead singer, Gretchen Gustafson, expressed that despite the revival of 90s music with younger generations she worries, “that the longer we’re rooted in just [the 90s], we will lose people because as mentioned, they are millennials, and they’re getting married and having children and they don’t want to stay out until 1.”

While her worries have historically been customary trouble for bands throughout the industry, the younger generation is steadily proving once again to be different than those who came before them. In previous generations, music was somewhat confined to the demographics they were raised in with very few opportunities to share music across generations on a large scale. Now with technology, music has no boundaries. Music can be shared across many social media platforms

like Tiktok and Instagram. A junior at B-CC expressed that he feels music is “like any art form; it doesn’t really matter the actual artist or time that it was made, it matters more about the impact and what the creative form does to people.”

Relevance has also been another consideration in keeping different genres of music interesting to younger listeners.

What was riveting to our parents might be considered to be lamer to our generation and vice versa.

Bands are changing what they do to adjust to these problems.

Gustafson says that she and her bandmates have been thinking about being less “90’s focused, [and] adding a few 2000s songs just to keep the younger crowd happy.” The question arises, however, is diverting from 90’s music necessary?

The idea of deriving the music that came before us and creating something new and exciting through sampling has risen as a way to give a nod to the iconic music of the past.

There are several examples of this throughout new music. In Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You”, the writers of the famous song “No Scrubs” were credited due to the similarity in melody. In Machine Gun Kelly and Camilla Cabello’s song “Bad Things”, they interpolate Fastball’s 1999 single, “Out Of My Head”. Both songs topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. And just like that, “good music stays.”

Bands like White Ford Bronco and famous music artists across social media platforms have continued to uphold the integrity of different genres of music whilst bringing something new and rousing to the music industry as they continue

THE ‘90S ARE HOT AGAIN From Blues to Jazz, American society has recurrently seen the rise of music that stems from African American communities. Under-appreciated and overlooked until white artists, like Eminem, the hip hop industry derived from marginalized African American and Latino communities in New York City in the 90s and instantly gained popularity as white artists adopted it into the mainstream.

Since 1991, music has undergone a major transformation through the rise of hip-hop, grunge, R&B, gangster rap and alternative genres. Poppier post-grunge bands like Green Day and Weezer emerged at the forefront, hitting billboards and smashing records with their success. Simultaneously, the “hip-hop/rap” genre began to explode, becoming the most popular genre of music on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for the last two decades. This time period also gave birth to popular rappers like Tupac, the Wu-Tang Clan, Snoop Dog, Eminem, and many more.

Even today, our music culture remains enthralled with hip hop.

According to Nielsen Music’s

2017 year-end report, hip-hop has officially overtaken rock as the most popular genre in the country, and it is nearly impossible to listen to radio stations these days without hearing popular rappers like Drake or the Migos. Due to the major hip hop revolution of the 90s, it is a major component of our music today.

“Lots of people in the 90’s sort of refused or didn’t listen to hip hop because people from their parents were not exposed to that kind of music as much, now we have a generation which is more diverse in music and hip hop is heavily listened to,” explained piano and music teacher at B-CC Lisa Itkin, while describing the shift of music into hip-hop.

In addition, Itkin acknowledged the generational difference in taste of music, and how that contributed to the gradual acceptance and integration of the genre into pop culture.

It is no surprise that when six B-CC students were interviewed and asked to state their favorite song, they all provided hip-hop songs. Some of the songs cited by the students were ‘Can’t Hold

Us’ by MackleMore, ‘Bound 2’

by Kanye West and ‘Martin and Gina’ by Polo G. Each of these songs are composed by high profile hip hop artists that have overtaken billboards and experienced success across the globe. B-CC Sophomore Rahma Wadood justifies this as she explains that hiphop has become a very influential role in our culture. Wadood asserts that “hip-hop is very prominent in music to the point that even disney movies have hip-hop in them.”

Hip-hop and faster paced music has increased in popularity since the 90s, and at the same time it has become increasingly important to pop culture with big-time artists like Kanye, Jay-Z and Eminem leading the way. As time will pass, hip-hop will only get more popular and advanced as new artists with their own unique styles and flows coming up every week. With new ways to incorporate different beats and increase production, hip-hop can continue to have a massive influence on our generation and shape our lives for years to come.

14

A Blast from the Past

A collection of some of the best B-CC student and staff photo remakes found on the @thebccarchives Instagram

Mr. Zehner 2003 x 2022

1998 x 2022

1986s x 2019

Boys Varsity Basketball 1980s x 2022

15

1980s x 2022

Early 80s x 2020

Football Team 1980s x 2021

1980 x 2019

Sports

16

Girls Lacrosse: Baron Army Invades Baltimore

By Katherine Jones The B-CC Girls Lacrosse Team made great stories this season. With an all new coaching staff and the loss of 6 seniors, there was no telling how this season would go. The new Coaches, Maggie and Mikayla Lucas were both collegiate level athletes, and Maggie even went through the B-CC Lacrosse program.

They could be seen on the sidelines coaching, as well as sporting matching game day outfits.

After the regular season, MCPS’ South 1st Team All-Division mentions were given to 4 B-CC players, including 3 of the captains: Lizzie Coyle, Grayson O’marra, Malia Adams and goalkeeper, Ella Morton. These girls and so many others on the team have worked so hard for this recognition and deserve every part of it.

Reflecting on her experience, Junior Malia Adams say “This season was definitely one to remember.

From building new friendships, to growing as a team, and creating countless memories.

Army for life!” This same spirit was shown throughout their march to the State Championship, and we can’t wait to see what they’ve got going for them in in the years to come.

Before winning all but one game in the playoffs,

the Barons finished the regular season 9-4, with tough losses to Sherwood, Walt Whitman, Walter Johnson, and Quince Orchards “Coming into playoffs was a totally different dynamic,” says second year varsity player Cassidy Carroll, “We truly had so much to prove to our fans, opposing teams, and, most importantly, ourselves.”

They knocked out Wootton at their first and only home game of playoffs.

With little time for rest they took out Walter Johnson, a favored contender for the regional title. This is when their “revenge tour” truly started. After defeating the wildcats 10-9 this put them on the map and the team truly felt they were unstoppable. They took this spirit with them when they faced Walt Whitman in the regional championship. Whitman girls lacrosse at this time were 14-0, and felt as if they were already on the road to states.

The game was head to head the entire time, but Barons Army rained victorious with a 11-10 win. The 2022 lacrosse team was the very first in B-CC’s history to win the regional championships.

Without hesitation, their revenge tour was complet-

ed by knocking out Whitman, but they didn’t stop there.

A shutout against Northwestern in the state quarterfinals was the perfect ammunition for state semifinals. A scorcher versus Urbana High School seemed to be the only thing in between the Army and states.

The Army faced the unfamiliarity of Urbana and used it to persevere, winning 11-8. States had seemed impossible and distant but were somehow now in plain sight. Ending the Army’s incredible season was a tough loss in the Maryland 4A State Championship at Loyola University against the reigning champions, Broadneck High School. They didn’t let this take away from the accomplishments and milestones they’ve hit this year.

The team thanks to their hype circles, griddy lines, and outstanding fans for pushing them towards something that had never been done before, and which they thought never was possible. B-CC Girls Lacrosse this year was only the second Montgomery County team to ever make it to state finals.

The army doesn’t plan on stopping here, and is going to take on the ‘23 season in full force!

Photos via Elinor Tedros

The Ultimate Frisbee Team Wins States

By Bennett Galper The wltimate frisbee showed exemplary disc skills at the state championship, winning all seven of their games. A clutch score from Noah Knish sealed the deal for the Barons late in the final game, winning 15-4.

This marked B-CC’s first state championship win since the basketball team won in 2016. This win will also go down in history as ‘B-CC’s’ fourfth ever state championship victory. The ‘Rons keep rolling!

“Can’t Wait for another win next year,” co-captain Max Posner said.

Photo above via Jeff Knishkowy and photo on left via Ultiphotos

“Over this whole season I’ve watched us grow from all seperate players into a real team.

It was amazing the way our team came together perfectly for states. I’m so proud of every single player and I can’t wait for next year,” co-captain Elie Hart said.

Sports

17

Track and Field Finds Success at States

By Olivia Romano

The B-CC track and field team had a great season! They started off the season with their first meet against Whitman. Both the girls and boys team have been doing well at their meets. At the 27th Annual Chuck Zonis Track and Field Invitational, the girls team placed 7th and the boys team placed 4th. The two teams had a challenging season but still continued to work hard for the remainder of the meets.

Ella Welch, a sophomore sprinter for B-CC, described what it was like during her first normal track season. Because spaces on the track team were limited due to covid, Ella explains how she has had to push herself harder, since there are so many more sprinters, adding that the same went for her fellow runners. Ella said, ¨The team has been really strong this year, and people have been tying school records. We have had people qualify for nationals early on this season which is crazy.” She added.

On May 27, the barons took on States, at Prince Georges Sports Learning Complex.

The mens varsity finished off their season placing tenth in

the 4x800 relay. The women’s varsity team ended their season placing twelfth in the women’s 4x800 relay. Amanda Ridore came in tenth in the women’s 100 meter preliminary races and also tied for eighth in the high jump with Fiona Narrod-Malcolm. Varri Higgins placed ninth in the women’s 1600 meter and also placed fifth in the 3200 meter.

Jaylin Harried had a personal record, coming in ninth in the triple jump.

Amanda Ridore, Fiona Narrod-Malcolm, JD Weaver, Grant Freeman, Finn Dupin, Tytan Hickson, and Varri Higgins, are all headed to nationals. Congratulations on an

Photos via Emily Inman

amazing season. Roll ‘Rons!

The Crew Team Goes to States and Nationals

By Carmen Torrecilla

The B-CC crew team had a year of intense fall and winter training, all of which culminated for the most exciting time of the year, spring season!

B-CC produced some high-speed boats this year, many of which seemed to fly across the water, first to the finish line! B-CC’s boys 1V boat finished first to win the Maryland/Delaware State Championships with a time of 4:27.4.

The Barons beat runner up St.Andrews and Whitman, who placed third. Despite the size and competition of the other crews, the Barons fought hard throughout the entire season in B-CC style. Senior captain Tibor Teleki attributed much of their success to all the athletes in the boat, “trusting each other.”

An 8 second loss to Gonzaga earlier in the season pushed the crew team to work harder, which was demonstrated by the 1v boy’s second consecutive win of the Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Rowing Association! This team wasn’t nearly short of resilience as they triumphantly approached every finish line, defying all the odds stacked against them.

At Stotesbury, the largest scholastic rowing competition in the country, both the B-CC girls and boys 1v placed 5th at the grand finals! The boys 2v won and brought home the first B-CC Stotes trophy! Then the boys went on to place 3rd at SRAAs, scholastic nationals!

Overall, this season has been filled with lots of hard work and amazing wins!

Photos via Brian Herberger

Sports

18

Hit Bombs, Turn Left, Repeat

By Bennett Galper

The 2021-22 B-CC baseball season was one full of hitting bombs, throwing gas, highs, and lows. The Barons kicked off their season strong, beating Poolesville 10-4, followed by a 28 run blowout against Kennedy. This great start to the season propelled the Barons toward finishing the regular season with a 3-2 regional record, putting them at sixth in the region, and a 12-7 overall one, three of which were blowouts: Quince Orchard, Kennedy, and Richard Montgomery.

The many highlights of this season included defeating the Barons’ Bethesda rival Whitman, a walk off home run from Senior Spencer Upston in the Barons’ narrow 6-5

victory over Clarksburg, and fellow Senior Teddy Fisher’s grand slam, securing the win against Richard Montgomery, putting them “back in the win column,” according to the team’s Instagram @B-CCbaronsbaseball. Despite its electric highs, this season had its lows as well, including two blowouts against Walter Johnson and Towson, with a few other losses and the Frostburg State commit and Senior PO (pitcher only) Dylan Friebert’s one week absence due to COVID-19 protocols.

However, this team is not defined by their wins nor their losses, but by their resilience - like when Cornell commit and Senior Beck Urofsky tragically injured his leg during a game against Churchill and doctors told him

that he’d be out for eight weeks, but Urofsky persevered through the injury, coming back in just two weeks, risking his leg and career to finish the season strong in Baron fashion.

“On and off the field, we have faced the most adversity that we ever have had in my 4 years here, but it’s exciting that everyone is healthy and ready to make a run for the playoffs,” said Urofsky right before playoffs.

After beating Wooton 5-4, with two homers from Senior Paul Fine, in their first playoff game, the Barons’ season was abruptly ended by the highly ranked Churchill bulldogs (41). While the Barons didn’t accomplish their goal of winning states, they had an overall successful season. Roll ‘Rons!

The seniors of the baseball team (Photo via Ben Pruski)

Photo via Ben Mckeon

Tennis: The Kings and Queens of the Court

By Bennett Galper

This season marked both the boys and girls tennis teams’ first full season since the 2018’19 school year, yet both teams quickly adjusted to the increase in games and tournaments. After winning the Maryland state championship during their shortened season last year, the Barons went into this season with high levels of confidence. Senior captain Jax Khademi described their overall record as “mediocre,” finishing at 6-6.

The girls, on the other hand, thought they played well, finishing the regular season with a record of 9-4. Was it their tradition of eating Grillo’s pickles before every game, “not missing a single match,” according to Sophomore

Chloe Wise, that brought them success?

Or was it their skillful playing? Probably their playing, but the pickles may have somewhat helped.

The boys’ mindset was quite unique this season: “our mentality switched from an urgency to win, to more of a relaxed mindset,” Khademi said. Their change in mentality allowed them to calm their nerves before and during matches, helping them focus on playing good tennis, rather than the idea of winning.

According to captain Khademi, the Barons’ three season defining moments were when they beat Kennedy on Senior night, their win over our heated rival Walter Johnson, and when Seniors Amar Sebti

and Jake Elias “put on a show as our sub 1 doubles team,” said Khademi.

The girls team’s chemistry was remarkable, “everyone is so encouraging to one another and makes practice and matches very enjoyable,” Wise said.

Their strong bond was fostered

through events like their team sleepover, which really brought the team together, according to Wise. Their sister-like relationship created a positive environment for the Barons on and off the courts.

The Barons overcame adversity well this season, defy

ing all the odds put up against them, like when they beat the highly ranked Wooton team - who recently won the state championship - in a tight match. This match proved the Barons’ determination to win, propelling them toward success for the rest of the season.

Boys team photo and picture on the right via Jax Khademi and girls team photo via Chloe Wise

There is Nothing Soft About the Softball Team

By Olivia Romano

It was a successful season for the B-CC softball team, who have a 10-6 record for this year. After a tough loss against Walter Johnson, the Barons quickly bounced back for their game against Whitman, pulling through with a win of 4-2. After all of their games this spring, the Barons are ranked first

in the region.

The Barons faced some challenges during the season. Sophomore Abby Koeppel said “In the beginning, not being able to practice at B-CC was quite difficult and frustrating.” Because it is difficult for both the baseball team and the softball team to practice on the field at

once, both groups had to take turns using the field.

She said, “While it is still not 100 percent resolved, we are a little closer to complete equality with the field sharing.”

“Overall, this season has been really good and fun. I have loved getting to know my teammates and playing on the team,”

Koeppel said. Despite all the adversity they have faced, the Barons almost always pull out with a win, whether they are down a few runs during a game or not able to practice.

During their first playoff game, the Barons faced Whitman for the second time this season. Despite fighting hard the entire

Photos via Emma Doty

Boys Lax Defies All Odds

By Katherine Jones

B-CC Boys Lacrosse Team had a monumental season. They’ve put themselves on the map with a 10-2 record. With 24 seniors leaving next season, the class of 2022 left everything they had on the field during their final season, and their record, paired with their aggressive play, proved that.

“Being the only un-

derclassmen on the team was sometimes challenging, but I feel like it really helped me develop as a player,” said Sophomore Danny Loughlin, a second year varsity player, adding that he was able to learn from them by playing at a faster pace. Hopefully, Danny and players alike are able to carry on the legacy left for them by

the class of ‘22.

Boys Lacrosse ended their season in a nailbiter against the 2022 state champions, Churchill, in the regional finals. Although they didn’t win, this will only serve as motivation in their 22’-23’ season. Roll ‘Rons!

Photos via Christo Doyle

game and scoring an astounding seven runs in the fifth inning, the Barons failed to come out on top, losing to the Vikings by just four runs (11-7).

Overall a great season for the Barons!

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Thank you, Mr. Lopilato...

By The Tattler Staff It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our teacher, mentor, hero, and savior Mr. David Lopilato.

He has run the Tattler for over a decade. During this time, the Tattler has become the leading student-run newspaper in the county, and possibly the country, winning numerous awards.

However, anyone who has had Mr. Lopilato as a teacher, or even been in his presence, will attest to the fact that this was never his main goal.

Everyone on the Tattler staff, no matter how involved one was, knows that Mr. Lopilato has our back both inside and outside the classroom. His encouragement is relentless and be-

hind the scenes he works harder for the Tattler than any of us could realize. He is incredibly generous and selfless; always willing to go the extra mile to help his students out. Best of all, he is passionate about seeing his students succeed and is willing to push us to be the very best we can; if that meant bringing up uncomfortable topics that most stay away from, or even single-handedly taking on the logistics of connecting schools across the county, that’s what Mr. Lopilato would do.

For many, signing up for the Tattler sprang from the desire to have a break from the work from core classes. Yet, when students enter the Tattler classroom, they’ll find it

to be anything but a “free A”.

Mr. Lopilato values the individual, always making sure that each and every student has the opportunity to bring something of their own to each publication. Words and anecdotes can’t describe the legacy and standards Lopilato brought to and is leaving the Tattler with. In the coming years, we will continue to uphold all that he has taught us.

We, the Tattler Staff, are sure that, as we carry on Mr. Lopilato’s teachings, he will also bring the same passion and care to his new endeavors. We wish him the best of luck in his new role and can’t wait to see what he will accomplish!

The Senior Staff on top, current - and next year’s - staff above

Sponsor Gets the Final Word

By David Lopilato

After more than a decade working with the most articulate students I have ever known, I should have the words to express how much being with The Tattler has meant to me.

Yet, somehow I don’t.

It has been an absolute honor to be associated with a publication that connects me to such names as David Simon and John Harwood. But the names you may not know yet, the ones I am sure you will know soon, the editors and writers and artists who have put their name on bylines this past decade, are the ones who will leave the best possible, most indelible imprint on me.

This group of students (heck, their whole generation) has already taken on so many false dichotomies and challenged so many artificial binaries.

Yet, I implore us all to take on one more - the so-called distinction be-

tween instructional vs. non-instuctional.

Instructional vs. non-instructional, the distinction without a difference, gets in the way of equity.

John Marshall from MCPS Printing and I have been pushing to have the printing of newspapers like The Tattler labeled “instructional.”

How could it not be? Students conceive, design, organize, write, fundraise, and distribute a news magazine. What part of that is non-instructional? Besides, getting MCPS to consider this enterprise instructional opens up funding that every school in the county can tap.

Our magazines cannot be glossier than another school’s simply because we have more potential ad revenue in Bethesda, or donors with deeper pockets.

The distinction without a difference reared its ugly

head again on Friday June 3rd.

A quick reminder of what happened on June 3rd may be in order first.

Staff members at B-CC organized a Career Day, featuring dozens of amazing speakers from all conceivable professions. Now, I have helped organized a few events at B-CC over the years. I know how much work goes into them. I have the utmost admiration for those staff members who organized this one. The preparation was monumental! But, I digress.

The conversations on the community listserv (among other places) leading up to June 3rd devolved into people saying things like, “Why should my son go to school? It’s not instructional.”

I’m sorry, but in what sliver of the multiverse is listening to a White House correspondent non instructional? Yes, we

all have to be mindful of loading up students and teachers and administrators with more and more stress-inducing work, especially at a time when we are emotionally and physically stretched thin.

Yes, we all have to work on communication. But, we also have to repair our community after such tumultuous times. And, anything that helps towards that goal is not only instructional, it’s essential. And, it’s hard.

That is why the students I have met through The Tattler have changed me forever. I have seen students pull all-nighters. I have seen seniors working on a magazine after they graduated. There were no academic markers in Synergy compelling them to do these things. They did them because they felt intrinsically pulled to do them.

Read The Tattler. It is in very capable, gifted,

creative hands going forward - a versatile staff of rising seniors, juniors and sophomores piloted by the talented Ms. Jen Patel.

Come to events organized

by The Tattler, even if you don’t trust the media (you will come to trust these editors - best in the business). Watch B-CCTV. It’s incomparable. Come to the musicals even if you don’t know a single name in the program. Come to Baronpalooza. And, come to events organized by the Cultural Studies Certificate program (the project I am now pouring my heart into at B-CC).

The value of these and so many other “instructional/non-instructional/ yada yada yada” activities cannot be measured in points but in purpose.

We need to all work at repairing our community.

Non-instuctional is a social construct.