Issue 7

A

ANNANDALE HIGH SCHOOL

VOLUME #61 ISSUE 7

4700 Medford Dr. Annandale, VA 22003 470

Informinng the Atoms siince 1954 4

Rain

58 47 WEDNESDAY, FEB. 24, 2016

(703) 642-4229

HERITAGE NIGHT Students practice cultural dances for annual event

BY TEAGAN FOTI News Editor Students from different parts of the world come together to showcase their unique culture as well as to learn about others at Heritage Night. Heritage Night will be on March 17 in the auditorium and is a chance to experience and learn about other cultures in an interesting and engaging way.

This distinctive night is a chance for our diverse student body to show off their cultures and to meet people that they can have a connection with that they wouldn't otherwise be introduced to.

"It's a great way to embrace and learn about your culture and meet new people," senior Rida Fatima said. "I can't wait until my group performs.

Formal auditions for the performances will be held today, Feb. 24, in the Auditorium.

Auditions give the supervisor, Whitney Hardy, a chance to see and comment on the performances before they take the stage in March.

"We are looking for groups [at auditions] that know what they are doing and that are entertaining," Hardy said.

Groups for Heritage Night are constructed based off of the country or culture that is

being represented and then practices for the performances are planned. Practices are coordinated by each group individually, so they are usually flexible and planned around the schedules of the performers and when most of them can attend.

"Practices are really fun," junior Fatmata Kamara said. "I like the fact that we [my group] are all comfortable with each other so it is easy to share different ideas."

Heritage Night has been a tradition at AHS for years and never ceases to attract new faces and talents. The newcomers that come to the stage each year are a large portion of what makes Heritage Night such a strong tradition.

"I went to it last year and I really liked the performances so I decided to do it this year to embrace my culture and enjoy senior year. It is my last year so why not?" Fatima said.

The large ethnic population at Annandale, which is one of the reasons why Heritage Night is such a success, gives students a chance to display their unique and flourishing culture with everyone else.

"I chose to participate in Heritage Night because I am Indian and there's such a rich culture that we have to show," senior Aditya Chaturvedi said.

Last year's Heritage Night was a huge success, almost completely selling out and so many are looking forward to this years with the same anticipation.

"I'm super excited to see the kids that came

Student debate Young Democrats and Republicans hold panels on presidential

BY NICHOLAS MORTENSON Staff Writer

out last year for it because last year was the most successful Heritage Night we have had in a long time," Hardy said. "I am also really excited to see all the new groups that I haven't seen yet and to see the kids' creativity and just really looking forward to another good year."

People attend and perform in Heritage Night for a plethora of reasons, whether it be to learn something new or to promote their personal culture.

"I like the way other cultures are shown, and we get to know more about them and their dances. We also get to see people and their special talents," Chaturvedi said "I joined because I love dancing and I wanna share my culture with others, so that they can feel the same way," Kamara said.

For students looking to participate in a performance, excessive talent isn't needed.

As Virginia's primary election nears, both the Young Democrats and Young Republicans clubs at AHS have been pushing hard to get eligible seniors registered to vote and informed about the stances of each presidential candidate.

The voter registration deadline for Virginia's March 1st primary has long since passed, but both clubs are still focusing on informing AHS voters.

In order to work towards this end, the Young Democrats and Young Republicans are hosting a series of informational panels that focus on each presidential candidate's stance on one key issue.

Immigration was the subject of the first panel, but according to senior Amiansu Khanal, president of the Young Republicans, and one of the organizers of the event, future panels will focus on other issues.

Leader of his group, Senior Aditya Chaturvedi practicing for his performance.

It's more about having fun and displaying traditions rather than ability and giving a perfect performance.

"I have danced at my uncle's wedding but that is the only experience I have had in three years," Fatima said. "I am a little bit nervous and excited because I don't know how good of a dancer I am, but I am also excited because it gives me a chance to make new friends."

Staff Writer Annandale High school will be hosting the annual Mr. Annandale competition on Friday, February 26 in the auditorium. Upperclassmen boys compete in various categories to win the title of "Mr. Annandale."

"It's a fun event held every year," junior leadership member, Edin Mesfin said. "It is a nice way to see what the boys have to offer and it is also really funny."

AHS has been hosting the competition for over twenty years. As an entertaining event that allows the school community to learn more about the students of AHS. The event will be hosted by the AHS leadership class.

Banners, posters, and packets will be going around the school to advertise the competition. Funny videos are also being created to spark interest in going to the competition.

Upcoming Spirit Week

BY TOOBA SIDDIQUE Staff Writer

AHS LEADERSHIP

BY AMANI MUNTU

Leadership is looking for an ideal number of about 10 to 15 seniors and juniors to compete in the competition.

Teachers help out by forming a panel of judges and judging the boys in the different categories. One of the faculty judges, Kathleen Mathis, has judged the competition for the past few years and is excited to judge again this year.

"I enjoy getting to see former and current students in a totally different light than in the classroom," Mathis said.

The six judged categories consist of: Mr. Elegance, Mr. Spirit, Mr. Muscle, Mr. Fan Favorite, Mr. Talent and Mr. Intelligence. Each participant can earn points and win certain categories, but the ultimate "Mr. Annandale"wins by accumulating the greatest amount of points and excelling in all of the different categories with a unique flare.

"The previous winners were consistent with every skit and every category," Mesfin said.

The competition gives each of the participants a chance to show off their skills as well as their passions. It also gives them a chance to have fun.

Junior and senior boys pose for group picture for Mr. Annandale.

see DEMOCRATS pg. 5

Students excited for spring festivities

Who will prevail at Mr. Annandale?

Junior and senior boys are ready to win

Today’s Weather

The Atoms will be participating in the third spirit week of the year, and the first in 2016 after the s-winter theme. This spirit week will begin on the 7th of March leading into the Sadie Hawkins dance which will take place in the AHS gym from 8pm11pm on Saturday, March 12th.

There will also be a pep rally the Friday of the spirit week, and students will have to represent their class by wearing their different assigned colors.

The week starts of with Bahama Mama Monday, into Shark Tale Tuesday, Surfin' USA Wednesday, Yacht Club Thursday, and ending with Friday being the Great Atomic Reef. On Friday, freshmen are to wear red, Sophomore's blue, Juniors see SPIRIT pg. 5

Students get to the next level Big Teams

AHS choir prepares for Snow Days affect students Students and teachers enjoy days off

BY KIRK LINDBERG Staff Writer With the recent snow storm, Jonas, rolling through Northern Virginia, Fairfax County Public Schools has started to cancel multiple school days due to snow. With already eight school day cancellations because of snow, students have had to adapt to many changing circumstances.

Many students had to deal with the short time period before the end of the second quarter. FCPS did not extend the second quarter at all, unlike Loudoun County who extended its second quarter by two days.

The snow days have also caused problems for sports. Many sports practices and games have had to been cancelled or postponed. For girl's varsity basketball, senior night had to be

cancelled because of forecasted snow later in the day that FCPS thought was enough to cancel all after school activities past 6:15 p.m.

"I definitely enjoyed the ten days off we had from school. I spent a lot of time relaxing and just watching Netflix. The only problem now is that I only have four days to catch up on missing assignments before the end of the quarter," senior Sarah Deible said.

This is also the case with many other students and teachers. Teachers now have to grade more material over a shorter period of time. Some of them have even pushed assignments into the next quarter.

"The biggest thing I had to change was that I had an essay that was going to be due this week, but instead of making the essay do this week, I had to make the outline a summative assessment for the second quarter and move the essay back a week that will be on the third quarter," teacher Christopher Bagot said.

The snow days have also caused problems for the annual Science Fair. Due to the see SNOW pg. 5

SELF PHOTO OF KELSIE LICATOVICH

BY TEAGAN FOTI

News Editor The 2016 regional science fair will be held at Robinson secondary school on March 11, 12 and 13.

Every year select science students make it to regionals and are given an opportunity to show their projects to higher level judges. Many students from AHS, as well as

other surrounding high schools attend to present their projects each year. The first day of regionals consists of registration and project set up, basically preparing for presentations on the second day. The third day of regionals is dedicated to awards and recognizing all of the hard work that the students have put into their projects over the prior six months.

SCIENCE FAIR REGIONAL FINALISTS Biology

Chemistry

1st prize - Ahmed Mohamed - Bashudha Dhamala 2nd prize - Vivian Dinh - Fares Ayoub, Ethan Zimmerman, Mathis Lotongo - Vinh On - Sarah Hawkins 3rd prize - Nahom Dagnachew, Philip Barlow, Tawhid Hassan - Bobby J. James - Christina Le, Eduardo Hernandez, Galilea SejasMachado - Eva Bottcher, Emma Kliewer, Tiana Nguyen 1st Honorable Mention - Kimberly Vaides, Michelle Dang Araceli Cabrera

1st prize - Aditya Chaturvedi - Sohail Chopra

Climate changee

Artsy students

Learn about the horrible things happening to the ozone

See the unique artistic pieces students have created

In-Depth 10&11

Art 12

Physics & Engineering 1st prize - Ahmed Mohammed - Dong H. Kim

2nd prize - Rebecca Kindling, Lennon Wuhrer, Ethan Yu - Jihun Kim, Kevin Hoang, Sergio Villarroel

2nd prize - Tristan Dock, Betel Eyob - Andrew Peters

3rd prize - Carson Binkley, Gabrielle Whote - Kora Coker - Ian McClelland, Annelise Schader, Chioma Okoh

3rd prize - Aldwin Pagulayan - Rebecca Soulen

1st Honorable Mention - Maisha Maliha

1st Honorable Mention - Christopher Han

College Checklist Check out what you need to know before visiting colleges Weekend 20

Help AHS win scholarship money

BY CAMILA SURUCO Staff Writer An app called Big Teams, which was founded in 2002, is now giving away money to local high schools for scholarships.

Recently, AHS has been moved into 10th place for the scholarship giveaway. In order to win this scholarship, you will first need to download the Big Teams, which is accessible on the app store.

After downloading the app, make sure to follow Annandale High School which will help move us past other local schools such as Falls Church, South County, WT Woodson and see TEAMS pg. 5

GET INVOLVED On your smartphone, scan this code using the application "QR Code" to download the application and help your school win money.

2 EDITORIALS

Feb. 24, 2016

Media tries to define beauty Triumphs of Trumpmania Adverse effects from an evil industry

Why do so many people support Trump?

BY ALEXANDRA ZERNIK Managing Editor

People always ask me my opinion on Trump. He undoubtedly is the current "IT" guy.

Personally, my opinion of him is too vast and long to casually fit into a dinner table conversation. But two words that describe Trump the "politician" are: 1) Demagogue- a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument.

Trump fits into this description perfectly. The only rational argument Trump has ever made is.... I can't think of one. His plan to stop illegal immigrants coming Trump is a controversial figure due to the sometimes into United States is to build a wall that Mexico "appar- outlandish things that he says, ently" will pay for. And how would Mexico pay?

When Megyn confronted his irrational claims during His answer is, "I am telling you, Mexico will pay for the GOP debate, he said: "She gets out and she starts that wall. We are crumbling, the Chinese are taking away asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions. You could see our jobs, but I will make America great again." there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming Trump has done a wonderful job tapping into Ameriout of her wherever." ca's most desperate nerve. The strategy of his campaign This is classic Trump. He thinks he can do no wrong, is to tell us that we are in the ruins, and he is our only his ego is bigger and higher than his Trump buildings savior. and his sense of importance is triple that size.

This is exactly how Adolf Hitler won the 1932 German Beyond all that, Trump is not even a real conservaelection- by telling the German people that the world tive, he has not lived his life like one- his multiple affairs, was after them, Germany was crumbling and Hitler was marrying three wives, his infamous New York lifestyle, their only hope. Humans are irrational beings and somethe list goes on... where beneath Trump's powerful one liners, we forget It is beyond me to understand why Trump is even that he represents idiocracy and incoherence. running as a Republican or running at all for that matter.

2) Meglomaniac- Megalomania is a condition or The job of a president requires extreme effort and mental illness that causes people to think that they have hard work.

The office is not meant for a multi milliongreat or unlimited power or importance. aire that wakes up at nine, plays golf and takes vacaMegalomania is Trump's middle name. Trump is the tions like a ritual.

It saddens me to see that any megaepitome of a narcissistic brat. lomaniac billionaire can run for president because all it If anyone dares to prove him wrong, he will altogethseems to take is vamped up confidence and unlimited er blame someone else for his mistake. revenue.

If you confront his irrational failures, he will personIf he can run and be taken seriously, what's next, we ally attack you. We can never forget his immature rehave a mafia member running for the highest office? mark on FOX reporter Megyn Kelly.

SADIE MODICA

BY AMIANSU KHANAL Special to The A-Blast

THEGUARDIAN.COM

Sports Illustrated just released three different versions of their swimsuit edition and, for the first time ever, a size 16 model, Ashley Graham, was featured on one of the covers. This made the headlines because usually every fashion cover shows the same thing: a thin, Photoshopped model or other female deemed important and beautiful by the industry. The fashion industry and its advertisements convey a very clear message to young girls: skinny is pretty.

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 69 percent of girls in 5th-12th grade reported that pictures like these influence their idea of a perfect body shape.

It's not just magazines though; social media and the Internet are filled with the glorification of only one body type.

Due to this generation being increasingly technologi- Magazines typically showcase an unrealistuc body image. cally obsessed, 42 percent of 1st-3rd grade girls want to to sell you a product by marketing perfection. be thinner. That fact shouldn't shock you. What are these It's been four years since Seventeen magazine made a young girls doing all day- Instagram stalking famous sing- "no Photoshop pledge", where they promised not to digiers and Victoria Secret models. This is who these girls are tally alter their photos, but the trend still hasn't caught looking up to. on.

Most men of this generation view females with these Even in the very modern year of 2016, the women hairless, airbrushed standards as well. Twitter and Insta- put on display during Fashion Week are all tall, extremely gram are filled with "hot girl accounts," profiles dedicated thin, and, quite frankly, usually white. In a study conductto posting pictures that all pretty much look the same. ed by a NYU Ph.D student it was found that out of the 677 Today's society is obsessed with thin girls who have models who are hired for Fashion Week, only 27, less than small waists, wide hips and big butts. Almost no one is 4%, were non-white. born that way. People of both genders go to the gym sevWhat is considered a "plus size model" isn't even plus eral times a week to change their natural anatomy. They size at all! It's just women who don't meet a certain BMI think that the only thing deemed attractive is this unreal- (Body Mass Index). istic body type that was shaped by a market.

This industry is trying to define beauty and brainwash They also think it's okay to judge based on these stan- people into thinking Caucasian features and thin bodies dards that the industry tries to set. are the "epitome of beauty."

Reality check: 90% of women have cellulite. The reaSure, there are body positive campaigns that pop up son all these people in the spotlight and on the Internet every now and again, but the majority is still stuck in this don't is due to the insidious editing tools of Photoshop. narrow viewpoint; it's disgusting. Don't let the system These pictures that we're exposed to aren't real; no one is control your perception of what's beautiful: you are. that perfect, no one's skin is that flawless. They are trying

Are relationships changing?

Technology's effects on romance

SADIE

For generations, a romantic relationship was like a formula. The relationship panned out in stages. A man and a woman would meet. The two would take a liking to each other, and the man would begin courting the woman- taking her out on dates, performing acts of chivalry, generally trying to impress her and get to know her.

The ultimate goal for both parties was to find out if that person was the one they wanted to marry and spend the rest of their life with. Relationships were far from simple, but they were all unified by a certain order of events, a homogeneity. Gradually, relationships changed to accommodate cultural and technological developments.

"People are so dependent on communicating through phones that the face-to-face interaction is less of a thing now," junior Kimberly Romero said. "There are also more options for online dating and finding love online."

The smartphone is one of the main things that has vastly affected romantic relationships in recent years. Teens and millennials, rather than using the cell phone simply to expedite communication with their partner, now conduct a large percentage of their

MODICA

BY SADIE MODICA Editorials Editors

Couples and friends often spend their time togther on their phones.

relationships over the phone. Some relationships (typically long-distance) occur entirely over the phone.

Phones are used for conversation, whether it be through texting, DMing or video chatting. Once the majority of a relationship is conducted online, the question is raised: With all of the texting instead of talking, is something lost in translation?

"Usually our conversations are different (from when we're talking)," junior Mery Licona said.

Can emojis really replace faces? Facial expressions and body language are both incredibly important in the process of becoming comfortable with someone, and ultimately in bonding with them.

Two people display their mutual attraction through mimicry of body language, dilation of the eyes, pheromones, all things that we subconsciously take into account.

None of those things are available over the phone. When the majority of conversations are over text, how are face-to-face

conversations changed? When we spend time with someone, we become familiar with their speech patterns and their voice. We understand them better.

"I prefer talking in person, because I don't get to see what he's feeling when he's texting," said Licona.

Another change smartphones have brought about is availability. Where couples used to talk maybe an hour or two on the phone, now they can text 24/7. People text at dinner, in religious services and even in class.

Dos and Don'ts: Second Semester

Staff CO-EDITORS IN CHIEF Summar Ayoub Hezekiel Yonas MANAGING EDITOR Alexandra Zernik NEWS EDITORS Mohamed Elhag Teagan Foti EDITORIALS EDITORS Sadie Modica Julie Nguyen

Raphael Yu PEOPLE EDITORS Conrad Shartel Julie Swenton WEEKEND EDITORS Cayley Byrne Biruk Negash INTERNATIONAL EDITORS Nancy Evora Timothy Gray

COPY EDITORS Linus Bumbaca Sharon Sanchez

ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS Daniel Yenegeta Ahmad Ayub

IN-DEPTH EDITORS Binqi Chen Aseal Saed

LIFESTYLES EDITORS Thida Pathammavong Tipyan Omer

SPORTS EDITORS Ryan Gammon Andrew Gonzalez Nebeyu Solomon

HEALTH EDITORS Sabrina Hawa Phuong Nguyen

SPORTS XTRA EDITORS Marem Atef

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORS Soulisa Pathammavong Marilyn Rivas

ART EDITORS Alaina Garay Kailyn Garay ACADEMICS EDITORS Marife Baragano Kiara Patino WEB EDITOR/MASTER Christopher Han HEAD VIDEOGRAPHERS Faisel Hassen Bailey Oliver AD MANAGER Hussein Salem CIRCULATION MANAGERS Jeanine Barakat Maria Suarez STAFF WRITERS Almaz Abedje Sheila Aguirre Seham Ahmed Lina Al Taii Laura Clemons Anthony Dinh Serene Ghul

Grace Hogye Nicole Jordan Jennifer Kang Lucie Lefbom Kirk Lindberg Angelo Lopez Crew McCarthy Ruth Mekonnen Julius Miller Nicholas Mortensen Amani Muntu Judy Nanaw Duy Nguyen Andrew Nunez Sergio Pozo Cory Pringle Kadijah Sesay Kavi Shamdin Rachel Shogren Camilia Soruco Halley Thadeus Karungu Thuku Melanie Valencia Firdousa Wasuge PHOTOGRAPHER Tooba Siddique ADVISER Alan Weintraut

There is more of a window, then, for one member of the couple to become either too clingy or too distant in the eyes of their significant other. Where one may expect to text all day long, the other might just want a 10 minute rapport.

"Sometimes people text you so much that it just becomes annoying or you don't want to talk to them," junior Aisha Tahir said. "You kind of just need your space, and they don't really understand that, so it makes you feel suffocated and annoyed."

Despite that, many couples enjoy the ability to converse at their leisure. They have learned the limits and expectations of their partner, and they can adjust accordingly.

"Technology has improved relationships a lot," said junior Daniel Chamul. "Now it's possible to communicate and interact with your boyfriend or girlfriend whenever you want."

Additionally, the world of social media and the ability to send texts gives people the option of finding partners outside of their geographic or social realm.

"In a sense it's better because you have more of an option to look for people outside of your neighborhood or the area you live in," Romero said.

There is, however, an inevitable downside. "At the same time it's kind of restricting because you don't have that same connection that you do once you meet the person face-to-face and it's harder to form a relationship."

Technology, it seems, has the power to make or break a relationship, and it certainly has changed the way relationships are conducted for ours and future generations.

Annandale High School Vol. 61 No.7 4700 Medford Dr. Annandale, VA 22003 703.642.4229 February 24, 2016 Adviser: Alan Weintraut ajweintraut@fcps.edu

The A-Blast is an award-winning newspaper that strives to inform, educate and entertain the student body and community.

Published every three weeks, The A-Blast will not print any material that is obscene or libelous; or that which substantially disrupts the school day, or invades an individual's right to privacy. The A-Blast is an independent, open forum for discussion that is printed at the Springfield Plant of The Washington Post.

Signed letters to the editor of 250 words or less may be emailed to theablast16@gmail.com or submitted to room 262 or mailed to the school. The A-Blast reserves the right to refuse advertisements.

All submissions become property of The A-Blast, Copyright, 2015.

Do get organized-it's easy to start losing things in the second half of the school year.

Don't lose sight of your schedule-keep up with your extracurriculars.

Do get a head start on studying for finals-you don't want to wait until the last minute!

Don't let your grades drop-- the year ending is no good reason to slack off!

EDITORIALS 3

Feb. 24, 2016

Secret international pro-rape meetings Founder of neomasculine organization seeks to recruit pro-rape minions Daryush Valizadeh, better known as Roosh V, is a self proclaimed anti-feminist and pickup artist who arranged 165 pro-rape meetings in 43 countries for his so called "fellow tribesmen."

The meetings welcomed only heterosexual men to meet in certain cities around the world before it was canceled, ironically due to safety concerns.

He has attained many new followers as well as many threats from others for his misogynistic attitude and beliefs. There is speculation of small groups of men still meeting up and having secret meetings out of the public eye, but they are not officially hosted by Valizadeh until further notice.

Valizadeh is the founder of Return of Kings, an organization that focuses on neomasculinity and differences between men and women. He is also the author of several pro-rape books that serve as guides on how to pick up women. One of his most popular books is titled Day Bang: How to Casually Pick up Girls During the Day. There is a petition going around for Amazon to stop selling his books that are filled with advice on how to pick up women and take them home. Additionally, there are several more petitions for him to be banned from certain

METRO.CO.UK

BY SHARON SANCHEZ Staff Writer

A police officer confronts Valizadeh at his home.

countries.

Valizadeh believes that rape should be legal if it is on private property, claiming that it will teach women to be more careful and learn to protect their bodies. His infamous website, rooshv.com, has already received more than a thousand visits. The controversy of Valizadeh's views has caused many angry responses.

He claims that he is not a rapist and that he has yet

to have a woman press charges on him, however others think otherwise. Many also claim that his meetups were scams aimed to grab attention but he has confirmed that the meetings were real and that if it weren't for the threats against him, he would have proceeded with the meetings.

Rape is probably one of the worst crimes someone can commit besides killing and the fact that there are people who are encouraging Valizadeh and think that rape is okay is disgusting and frightening.

It is evident that Valizadeh doesn't have respect for woman and thinks that they shouldn't be treated with the same respect as men. He is clearly showcasing that he's an anti-feminist.

"Feminism is a great thing because it stands for equality between both men and women," sophomore Jamie Argueta said. "People misinterpret feminism because some people go overboard."

Not many people are willing to call themselves feminists because they think that it means that women are somehow better than men. However that's not the point of being a feminist.

It's basically the act of treating women as well as you would treat men. Feminism is not a bad thing and people who think that way have a misconception towards it.

There was a time where women were only considered worthy to be stay-at-home-moms, taking care of their kids and making sure to cook every day.

Women weren't even allowed to study or have a fine education with a promising future. Of course, things have drastically changed since women weren't allowed to work or go to school. Suffragists fought so hard for women's right to vote.

It was a massive step for the United States, showing that women are as equal to men to have the right to vote.

Statistically, women are the weaker sex. Women are considered for being more nurturing and are known to be more gentle and caring than men.

The reality is, men and women can both get raped but it is obvious that when it comes to such a delicate topic as rape, women are the ones who are more likely to be the victims.

We live in a place where rape is still held against women because of the way they dress. Women shouldn't even worry about suffering the consequences if the way they dress is supposedly provocative. Women should be allowed to wear what they want without the fear of being a slut or body shamed.

Why is it that men get no hate and are sometimes even praised for showing parts of their bodies, while women get the opposite reaction if they do the same?

This double standard is one of the many reasons we still need feminism in society.

Women are still being paid less, and being underestimated more than men in the workplace. We still need feminism because women in the media are seen as objects and are even shamed for having low confidence or too much confidence.

Valizadeh's pro-rape group is not only making women feel unsafe, but it is also making them fear for the safety of their daughters and other family members.

Women that have different skin colors, religions or beliefs should feel like they're in a safe environment. Ultimately everyone should feel like they're in a safe environment and Valizadeh's actions are not promoting this safety.

Heard in the halls: Who should the next president be?

"Hillary Clinton because she's new and different from all the other presidents we've had."

"I don't know, because none of them seem like good presidents."

"Anybody but Trump.

He's a businessman not a politician."

JONATHAN YIM

AMY CHUNG

freshman

sophomore

"Bernie Sanders, because I like his ideas."

"Bernie Sanders, because he's better than the other NASH ALEXANDER candidates." sophomore MICHELLE HOANG junior

KATIE POPE

"Ted Cruz, because he is honestly the lesser of two evils right now."

"Bernie Sanders, because he matches my views."

"No one who's running right now, because they all suck."

JACKIE SALINAS

ISMAIL AHMAD

senior

senior

ADRIAN GOMEZ junior

freshman

D.C.'s solution to crimes is just as ridiculous as it sounds

BY JUDY NANAW Staff Writer Recent discussions have been taking place regarding whether or not D.C. should begin to pay criminals to stay out of trouble. The idea may sound funny, but is one that is being taken into serious consideration.

In the beginning of this month, the D.C. Council advanced a plan to have the city pay 50 of its most troubled residents an annual allowance to continue on in programs that they think will help turn their lives around for the better.

What makes this ridiculous suggestion even worse is the fact that the yearly payment they discussed will be up to 9,000 dollars or more and all coming out of citizens' taxes.

The offenders that will be chosen to be in the top 50 will be ones that have committed crimes involving gun use and who the D.C. police think are likely to turn to gun violence again.

The plan this genius council came up with is that if these criminals attend programs about behavioral health, education and job training and more, they will use taxpayers' money to pay them.

And who's to say that the criminals will actually become good people once you pay them asking to do so? If anything, it sounds like the innocent will begin to commit crimes so they can get an annual payment too!

Not only may the criminals continue partaking in illegal acts even while being paid, but they might use this money to create even more trouble and violations such as

buying and selling drugs with the 9,000 bucks they're receiving each year.

The government is essentially stating that they are willing to place the lives of other citizens in danger for the improvement of criminals. With this thought, it is clear that this idea is idiotic. Why should the government risk the lives of of the innocent for the lives of the guilty?

Instead of expecting a money reward for attending these helpful programs, the reward these criminals should be receiving is the brighter future they have ahead of them. If they are attending these programs with the intention of bettering themselves, then money should not be used as bribery. The criminals should be willing to turn their lives around on their own.

The sudden motion for this proposal came about after the increase in crime rates alarmed the District. There has been a steady drop in the crime rate over many years, but D.C. had 162 homicides take place in 2015-- a 54 percent jump compared to the year before.

Somehow after realizing this fact, the District of Columbia Council voted unanimously to approve a bill that will pay residents not to commit crimes-- undoubtedly one of the most foolish moves ever.

And to only add on to the absurdity of all of this, the nine grand the lawbreakers will be given will come from the taxes that people are working to pay for. To use their money for a concept so senseless is completely unfair.

There are better ways that tax money can be used such as for the construction of roads or anything that will benefit a whole community rather than bring more chaos by handing culprits thousands of dollars.

Giving money to criminals to be good is laughable and sounds like a big joke. Anyone can see a plan like this will never work and it is bizarre to think that someone actually proposed this to begin with.

Petula Dvorak, columnist for The Washington Post said, "And what next? Reverse speed cameras that send you checks in the mail for going under the speed limit?"

ILLUSTRATION BY MADISON SCHINSTOCK

District council considers paying its worst criminals to stay out of trouble

Cartoonist's corner

Obama bans solitary confinement for juveniles Isolating teens will only damage their mental states Last month, Obama made an announcement banning solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prison. Along with that, he also said that the longest amount that a prisoner can be charged with solitary confinement for the first offence is 60 days instead of the original 365 days.

According to the Washington Post, this affects about 10,000 inmates currently in prison out of the estimate 80,000-100,000 currently in solitary confinement.

Solitary confinement is a type of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated in a separate cell for 23 hours.

The reason why Obama made this decision is because of all the health risks associated with solitary confinement. Leaving a prisoner alone in a cell for over 20 hours can harm them in a number of ways.

Their brain can develop many different

WHITEHOUSE.GOV

BY RUTH MEKONNEN Staff Writer

President Barack Obama speaks in front of confinement rooms at a federal prison.

types of illnesses like schizophrenia, claustrophobia, anxiety and depression. It can also cause the brain to hallucinate and lose its grip to society.

According to PBS, research was done at McGill University in which they paid male students to stay in small rooms, only letting them leave to use the bathroom.

Although the research was planned to

last for six weeks, none of them could last longer than one. Almost all the students lost their ability to think clearly and some began to develop hallucinations.

The National Institute of Mental Health found that a teenager's brain develops at the age of 20. University graduates, who are typically 22 years old and above, can't last more than a week in solitary confinement without

hallucinations based off of the research at McGill University.

If this is the case, then how does the government expect juveniles to remain sane when young adults can barely manage?

Another problem with solitary confinement is that it's not just limited to lucid people. In fact, it was said in a Human Rights Watch that 20-70 percent of prisoners in solitary confinement have some form of a mental illness.

This is a serious problem considering that putting these prisoners in solitary confinement would worsen their mental illnesses rather than treating it.

A further study done from 1999 to 2004, found that prisoners put in solitary confinement committed nearly half of suicides.

In fact, 63 percent of suicides occurred among inmates locked in a special housing status, such as solitary or psychiatric seclusion cells.

With all the deaths happening in the world, the government should be reducing the risk of suicide instead of increasing it, especially when it comes to teenagers who have their whole life to live.

An alternative to violence is communication. Many juveniles are being put in solitary confinement due to them being violent or

dangerous to the other prisoners. Teaching them how to channel their anger or referring them to phycologists will be a healthier method than putting them in solitary confinement. The same goes for prisoners struggling with mental illnesses.

Communication is a big part in a mental illness. However, if a prisoner is just too dangerous to be around people, locking them up in cells where they are able to communicate to other prisoners without touching them will be another alternative.

No matter what mistakes we make in life, we all have the right to be treated like human beings. We need to encourage prisoners to make a better life for themselves.

Having them talk about their problems to a psychologist, having them know that it isn't too late for them to make a change for themselves, is much better than trapping them and dehumanizing them.

If a prisoner is just too dangerous to be around others, they could be put in a cell with bars to be able to communicate with others rather than being confined in a closed space alone.

Solitary confinement needs to end and Obama's ban is a right step in that direction.

4 NEWS

Feb. 24, 2016

Students get invited to perform at Gala Students in Theatre Without Borders will perform for the NEA Foundation Annual Dinner

BY TOOBA ASIDIQUE Staff Writer The AHS Theatre Without Borders team was invited by the NEA Foundation to perform at the NEA Gala Annual Dinner for the first time which took place at the National Building Museum in DC, on Feb. 12th. This event was held to honor the Hispanic Scholarship Fund for the distribution of over $450 million in scholarships..

Leslie Chekin and Nick Liacopulous, the ESOL teachers and their students were invited to acknowledge the teachers in the Education Gala and the individuals who work in public schools all over America to educate and share a strong bond with their students. There was an awards ceremony to honor over 42 educators, and The NEA Foundation Award was presented to the finest service towards Public Education.

"The audience included many prominent businesspeople, politicians, philanthropists, and educators," said Chekin. "Their patience and attentiveness to our students helped make the evening memorable

for us all."

AHS was honored to accept this invitation, and proud to send amazing talent to the GALA night to perform.

The theatre students performed in front of 850 corporate and education leaders from across the nation.

Chekin has also received one of the NEA grants for Student Achievement for the AHS theatre program, consisting of ESOL students who perform a variety of Shakespeare's plays.

"We were very impressed with what her students said about the program's impact," wrote Susan Burk, the Special Projects Director from the NEA Foundation.

AHS has been working with the NEA for almost six years now, and the AHS Theatre Without Border students were one of the four hard working groups that have been chosen to go and perform at the Gala event. The team had practiced for two months and performed at their best.

"We were very honored," said Chekin. "The students [worked] hard and we had to meet the requirements according to the producer of the event."

An opportunity as big as the Gala

event enhances the confidence of theatre students when it comes to pursuing a career in theatre or just becoming familiar with public speaking.

The students represented AHS on a national level and that too at an event that's filmed. Students were very excited for this event, and many visited DC for the first time, as well as getting on a soundstage and using microphones.

"It's heartening for Mr. Liacopoulos and me as sponsors that a national organization like the NEA recognizes that AHS Theatre Without Borders empowers a diverse student population to explore performance opportunities that normally would not be accessible to them," said Cheklin.

This performance benefitted the students back at AHS in the future as well because they will be far more experienced. Students had the opportunity to meet the directors, stage members, and the crew behind the event. One of the Theatre Without Border Members also got the chance to meet and talk to the Gala MC actor Esai Morales.

CATEGORY STANDINGS FOR DISTRICT SPEECH AND DEBATE COMPETITION HELD ON FEB. 17 Extemporaneous Speaking on Foreign and Domestic Affairs 1st - J Wartel (Lake Braddock) 2nd -Tabitha Barnes (Annandale) 3rd- T Hunt III (Lake Braddock) Impromptu Speaking 1st- S Strohecker (West Springfield) 2nd-A Sikka (Lake Braddock) 3rd-Hassa Koroma (Annandale) Poetry Interpretation 1st -S Dhillon (West Springfield) 2nd-Mary Murray (Annandale) 3rd- Justin Aliaga (Annandale) Prose Interpretation 1st - E Warrick (Lake Braddock) 2nd- A Zelkin (Lake Braddock) 3rd- Trevor Boyton (Annandale)

Story Telling 1st- V Hodge (Lake Braddock) 2nd- P Moloney (Lake Braddock) 3rd- A Tekle (Annandale) Humorous Duo Interpretation of Literature 2nd -Omid/Mati (Annandale) 3rd- Idris/Arrazola (Annandale) Humorous Dramatic Interpretation 1st- A Shinkle (West Springfield) 2nd- A Walker (Annandale) Original Oratory 1st- J Jacob (Lake Braddock) 2nd- A Bakke (West Springfield) 3rd- C Le (Lake Braddock)

BUY A 2016 ANTENNA YEARBOOK THINGS THAT WONT BE AROUND IN 20 YEARS: Costs $80 for a book full of memories -INSTAGRAM -TWITTER -SNAPCHAT -FACEBOOK The earlier you buy a yearbook, the more you save!

THINGS THAT WILL BE: Customize your yearbook and pay an extra $7 for a personal nameplate

Receive and drop off yearbook forms at room 262 and 268

NEWS 5

Feb. 24, 2016

Kings Dominion law still in effect Despite qualifying for the waiver to begin school in late August, FCPS decides to open after Labor Day

BY TEAGAN FOTI News Editor Students in all Virginia city and county school districts get a few more days of summer fun thanks to the 1986 law that makes it mandatory for school to start after labor day in September as opposed to many D.C. and Maryland schools that begin in late August.

School districts can apply for a waiver to start the week prior to labor day if they miss an average of eight school days due to weather issues or various other sudden circumstances each year. In previous years schools in Winchester City, Fauquier, Frederick and Clarke county received waivers and sent students to school a week earlier.

Despite qualifying for the waiver for the 2016-17 school year the FCPS school board voted to still give students and staff the extra week of summer.

Di"It's nice to have that last long weekend. agram showing when every Virginia school district starts school and their corresponding reason (if opened before Labor Day).

Starting the school year with a four day week In prior years it has been reported that is a nice ease back into it and then you can re- ideal," junior Tehya Moss said. "When I think ally get back into the swing of things," Busi- of the beginning of the school year I think of over $226,000 has been donated to fund campaigns for supporters. Foregoing the sale of ness teacher Howard Dwyer said. "Labor day is September, not August."

On your The law survives through large theme Busch Gardens by Anheuser-Busch the beer smartphone, scan the actual last day of summer to me." this code using the The law, often called the "Kings Dominion parks, such as Kings Dominion and Busch Gar- giant contributed nearly one million to local application "QR Law", was created as a part of an attempt to dens, donating large sums of money to fund Virginian politicians and political parties.

Code" to learn more candidates and Political Actions Committees "I like summer so I want it to be as long as give the tourism industry one extra week of about the Kings statewide.

Some theme parks have also been possible," sophomore Grace Hatch said, "so we long lines to help support them financially Dominion law. known to give free admission to political sup- should always start in September." through the winter months.

"Starting school a week early wouldn't be porters of their cause.

CONT. "DEMOCRATS" "We are covering issues that are important to Annandale students.

Immigration was first, and education will be next," Khanal said.

Senior Andrew Peters, one of the other organizers of the event, also weighed in on the topics of future panels.

"We are planning panels on economic issues, social issues, like gay marriage and abortion, and Middle Eastern policy, mostly how we should approach terrorism," Peters said.

The panels make use of recordings of candidate's speeches, as well as interviews conducted by various news agencies. Every major candidate, regardless of political party, was included. Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Ben Carson and the now-withdrawn Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina were covered by seniors Andrew Peters and Amiansu Kahlil, while senior Layla Mohamed covered Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.

LEARN IT ALL

Marco Rubio, one of the presidential candidates spoken about in the debate.

DONATE YOUR VEHICLE TO THE AHS AUTO PROGRAM

JANAN GOKTURK

Snow days affect students

Senior Janan Gokturk plays on her snowboard, enjoying her day off of school.

sledding with friends. We even made multiple school day cancellations, jumps to go over with our sleds. I'm the Science Fair has been cancelled definitely glad that we had this time all together. On Tuesday, February 2 off because I was able to take advanof this week, there is a non-mandatory tage of homework, as well as enjoy the Science Fair make-up that involves rare, large amount of snow we got," Vogus said. students setting Even though up their projects in their science classLOSS OF SCHOOL DAYS these snow days have caused rooms.

Teachers DUE TO SNOW many problems will then go around and delays for and grade the stu5 white days both teachers dents. This is not and students, the official science 3 red days they'll work tofair but a way for 2 after-school cancellations gether to maketeachers to give stuup the work, dents extra credit 1 two-hour delay even though for doing their ex8 DAYS TOTAL some of it has periments and projbeen pushed ects. back into the Junior Class third quarter.

President Matthew Vogus spent the time off relaxing, The school's consensus is that the working on a little school work, and snow days, or the "mini-break," was definitely worth the commotion. having fun in the snow.

"I spent a lot of the mini-break

CONT. "SNOW"

According to Khanal, the organizers were careful to maintain an unbiased view.

"I want [the participants] to have an unbiased view of each candidate.

I want them to hear exactly what they are saying," Khanal said.

Though the initial turnout was low, there was a good deal of discussion about each candidate between the organizers of the panel and the participants, save for some looks of bewilderment and giggles during Trump's segment. Many of the panel's participants were not only interested in learning about each candidate, they were passionate about getting young people to vote in the Virginia Primary election.

"If you can vote, please do anything you can do to vote," senior Hibo Ali said.

Though the date of the next panel is yet to be announced, the Young Democrats and Young Republicans plan on hosting one more panel before the Virginia primary election, and three more afterwards.

Big Teams CONT. "TEAMS" Robinson as well as other schools all over the nation. The school with the most downloads will begin to make their chance to win money easier.

This week our school was able to move into the top ten in the entire nation. Each school placed within the top 10 will receive a $1000 to use for scholarship money.

But in order to surpass the other schools, we will need to gather as many students as possible to download and follow the school. Don't forget the winner will be able to win $1000 for college but the only way to win is to get the app.

Spirit week arrives The Annandale High School Auto Program needs your vehicle. By donating, you may be able to deduct up to the full value of your vehicle.

The process is fast, easy and helps the best automotive program in Fairfax County Public Schools. To schedule your donation, please call: Joe Desio, instructor, 703-642-4212 or email at jfdesio@fcps.edu

CONT. "SPIRIT" Pink and seniors are supposed to wear togas to support their classes during the pep rally.

Leadership advisor Carmen Bartley tells us that the theme of this spirit week, along with dance is "under the sea".

Leadership will be decorating the gym and jock lobby to present the theme of the dance. The idea of this dance is girls asking boys out, instead of boys having to always ask a girl. However, even if students don't have a date, they are welcomed to just enjoy themselves "under the sea" with friends.

"I like the concept of Sadie Hawkins because it gives girls a chance to be the ones to ask and the guys," sophomore Jessica Roop

said. "It also puts the them in an uncomfortable situation."

Roop's proposal was a list of seven blanks with different ways of asking her date, Gabriel Lee to the dance. She said that his reaction wasn't so much surprised as happy.

"I'm excited because Gabe is my best guy friend and I get to go to the dance with him," Roop said. "I'm also excited for the spirit week because the ideas are very clever and it seems fun."

"I felt special because someone went out of their way to ask me to a school dance even though I don't go to Annandale High School anymore," sophmore Gabriel Lee said.

The Sadie Hawkins dance will be just like homecoming, and students are to dress like they would at any other semi-formal dance.

NEWS BRIEFS MYP PERSONAL PROJECT FAIR

ATOMS RED CROSS BLOOD

Tues. March 15 from 1:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

DRIVE sophomore students will set up and present Students and staff can sign up to their personal projects. The presentations donate blood in the Atoms Red Cross Blood will take place in the Cafeteria and in Clausen Drive. The sign up table will be set up in the Hall cafeteria Feb. 23-25 during all lunches.

HERITAGE NIGHT TRYOUTS Any student wanting to participate in a Heritage Night performance should attend the tryouts on Wed. Feb. 24 in the Auditorium.

Tryouts will begin at 3 p.m.. For additional questions contact Whitney Hardy.

PSAT SAT PREP CLASS The PSAT is sponsoring SAT classes every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to help students prepare for the new SAT. For additional questions, contact Karen Curtin at curtin.k@verizon.net.

SCHOOL CLOSED

MR. ANNANDALE

WINTER SPORTS BANQUET

All FCPS schools and centers will be closed on March 1 for the Virginia primary election.

The annual Mr. Annandale competition will be held on Friday, Feb. 26 in the Auditorium. The competition starts at

Feb. 29 all the winter sports will have their annual awards ceremony. The ceremony will begin in the cafeteria at 6 p.m..

MARCH MADNESS

SPRING SPORT PICTURES

The class of 2016 will have their annual march madness fundraiser on Wed. March 2 in the main gym at 3:10 p.m.. To participate students can sign up during all lunches, prior to Feb. 26.

Team and individual photos for Spring Sports will be on Tues. March 8 for girls and Wed. March 9 for boys. Photos will be taken in the main gym after school.

PATRIOT CONFERENCE DEBATE TOURNAMENT The Patriot Conference debate tournament will be held Wed. Feb. 24 at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria. The tourney will start at 4:30 p.m..

6 ACADEMICS

Ryan Smith, Science "I teach because I like to explain how the world works to students. I have been teaching at Annandale for four years.

Feb. 24, 2016

Bill Maglisceau, English "I was inspired by my teachers and coaches. I am a lacrosse coach and football coach as well as the ninth grade team leader. I am also president of lacrosse coaches in Fairfax County.

Niki Holmes, English "I've had a number of jobs in my life but nothing has felt as rewarding as teaching. Every day, I know that I will reach a student and they will from me or I will learn from them."

Andrew Freeman, History "I teach because I enjoy the process of teaching and learning. This is my first year teaching at AHS."

Why do you teach? their free time coaching sports, going to meeting, creating lesson plans, etc. " It's fun Since each subject is taught in a It's often been said that teaching is and I different way, most teachers find a a thankless job and passion for some. way to intrigue their students. These Teachers at AHS go the extra mile for their hope I am teachers vary in subjects, but still students without much in return. They do molding have the same feeling about teaching. their best to help students inside and out There are a little over than kids' lives. of the classroom.

2,100 students at AHS. It takes Teachers are known for not having the Teaching over 175 specialist/teachers, seven equivalent salary as to that of a doctor or administrators and nine counselors to a lawyer. So, why do they teach? Is it just is a keep the students on the right track to for the money or the love of the teaching? rewarding success.

"In my opinion there are two different Each member of the AHS staff has types of teachers," senior Vinicius Rangel job and taken the extra time to perfect their said. "Half of them are the ones that have you see craft and dedicate their lives to their a passion for teaching and like working profession. with students and the other half are just the kids "I teach because I like kids and stuck with it."

I like feeling like I have an impact grow and The average high school teacher, on people," Whitney Hardy, both according to Fairfax County Records, become adults. You learn a psychology teacher and a world earns a starting salary of about $55,776 a from them and they learn history teacher said. year. This number can increase depending Teachers are not only available on the amount of degrees the teacher has from you." during school hours, they also use Bianca Mullins their personal time to help extend and the amount of experience they have.

Spanish Teacher the education of their students. Some Hypothetically, the highest paying teacher in Fairfax County with a PhD and teachers also sign up to teach online over 20 years of experience can earn up to courses after school, by doing so $114,100 a year or more. teachers are lengthening their work days and committing to a Teachers in Fairfax County earn on average $10,000 less time consuming job. than nearby Arlington County. This shows that many teachers "I think teachers teach because they have a desire to love what they do, and don't just do it for the money. Many educate students and help them find what they're interested teachers have a hard time changing schools once they begin at in while doing something they love," senior Molly Gormely said. one school, becoming attached and involved in the community.

"Teachers who know what they talk about and are passionate These teachers are underpaid but yet choose to spend about what they teach are the teachers that I'll usually be closest countless hours putting effort into their work and after school to." activities. They sponsor after school activities, clubs, and sports.

Overall teachers don't teach for the money, they teach to They get paid to be here till 3:30 p.m., yet if you look around better the future of our generation and provide the fundamentals after school you can see many of your teachers hanging around of learning for each student. Teachers make a huge impact on grading papers or doing other things in the building. Many spend students in the long and short term.

BY MELANIE VALENCIA Staff Writer

Holly Miller, History "I have always been a fan of history after traveling. I realized that I wanted to share these experiences through teaching and making the history come alive."

Pat Hughes, Physical Education/Drivers Ed "I teach because from a young age I knew I liked teaching and being around kids, and it keeps you young and current."

Julia Hanneman, English "I think I've always wanted to be a teacher. When I was younger I used to give quizzes to my Beanies Babies and I think my love for teaching started there."

Carmen Bartley, English "I teach because I genuinely enjoy being around young people. I like, at least in theory, making a difference in their lives, and the thing I love the most about teaching is getting to laugh every day, it's never boring."

Suduko

Molly Jepsen, Math "I teach because I really enjoy working with students and I love teaching high school and I teach freshmen and I get to see them graduate and every year. I like watching people turn into adults and live successful lives and I love that I get to be a part of that."

Joel Jepson, History "I believe that education is the gets equalizer and gate way to opportunity and I would like to be a part of it."

Kathlyn Berry, History "I teach because I love engaging students and I love history. I enjoy sharing it. I'm excited about it and I'm trying to see if I can bring that excitement to my students."

Michael Mazzarella, Math "It's fun and I love my job and I love working with teens I hope I make a difference in some way or form."

IB Spotlight: Saud Shah How do you keep up with your academics and social life?

How to Play: 1. Place numbers where they don't already exist.

2. The game only contains numbers 1-9.

3. The goal of sudoku is to place numbers 1-9 in the empty spaces so that each row, column and 3x3 box contains the same number only once.

I balance both the IB diploma and social life by prioritizing my time. I usually get everything done for school and then if I have time I will try to squeeze in my social life.

What are your studying habits?

My study habits consist of long term studying rather than short term. I will begin reviewing material when the test date is announced.

What is your favorite IB subject?

My favorite IB subject is IB Film HL because it's a class where we can use creativity.

What are your plans after high school?

I plan on entering the medical field after high school. I will be pursuing a speciality in neurology.

What was your extended essay topic?

My extended essay topic is "To what extent did the indopak war affect the development and implementation of nuclear technology?"

Is your only focus academics?

Although I take full IB, I tend to be social and be involved with the events of Annandale. Also, I compete in sports such as football.

What advice would you give future IB diploma candidates?

My advice for future IB diploma candidates would be to not procrastinate. I know it's very cliche, but doing little over a long period of time is so much more stress free than doing all your homework the night before the due date.

What are you planning to study in college?

I'm not entirely sure about what I want to study in college, maybe biology.

What colleges are you applying to?

I want to apply to schools such as Georgetown, John Hopkins and UVA. These schools meet my needs when it comes to progressing my education.

HEALTH 7

Feb. 24, 2016

Zika virus transmits concerns Fever-causing disease sparks public health crisis Health Editor Mosquito season has yet to arrive in Virginia, however worries over the Zika virus have increased due to the first diagnosed case of the disease in the Commonwealth.

A woman from Harrisonburg tested positive for the Zika virus in late January after returning from a mission trip in Guatemala. The previous is one of 39 countries that have reported locally transmitted cases of the virus according to the World Health Organization.

News of the first case of Zika in Virginia has prompted health officials at the INOVA Alexandria Hospital to address the issue.

Flyers informing volunteers of the disease were seen around the hospital.

It is important to only trust reliable sources when dealing with the influx of information surrounding the Zika virus outbreak according to school public health nurse Shira Jorgensen who is available in the clinic twice a week.

"It is important to go to the experts to get your information," Jorgensen said.

"Fairfax County Health Department's Communicable Disease Unit, the Virginia Department of health and the CDC are all reliable sources for obtaining information regarding Zika and other communicable diseases."

Almost every day, students hear the words "Zika" and "virus" on the news. The

CDC.GOV

BY PHUONG NGUYEN

A person can acquire the Zika virus from the bite of the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquito which also transmit Dengue fever.

latest developments regarding the mosquito transmitted illness has caused concern, not only amongst the student body, but also epidemiologists and public health officials worldwide.

According to the CDC, a total of 52 travel associated cases and zero locally acquired cases of the virus of the virus have been reported in the U.S. In other words, people who have been diagnosed with the Zika virus in the states contracted the disease abroad.

With a large Hispanic population in the student body, the Zika virus is a source of worry of students such as senior Guatemalan student Stephanie Bautista.

"The disease has a huge impact on Latin American countries," Bautista said.

"Unfortunately, these countries are not able to handle this disease properly."

Hearing the same disease being repeated over and over again on the news sometimes is

not a bad thing according to some students.

"I honestly believe that any type of health-related problem should be known so the media is a good way of spreading the issue," senior Kim Mai said.

The prevalence of the disease is very minute in comparison to the Zika epidemic in Central and South America where an estimated 1.5 million cases have been reported in Brazil since the beginning of the outbreak in 2015 according to the WHO.

"I am confident that the cases of Zika that have occurred in the U.S. are being investigated and monitored," Jorgensen said.

Some students are skeptical if the Zika virus will have any direct impact on the U.S. They feel that news coverage on disease outbreaks are often blown out of proportion.

"There have been past illnesses like Ebola and the media always over reacts. I am not concerned about an illness that is hundreds of miles away," senior Lara Raid said.

To add more concerns over Zika, the WHO has found a correlation between the virus and a neurological condition called microcephaly involving newborns being born with below average brain and head sizes. Recently, it has been reported that the Zika can remain dormant in sperm and be transmitted sexually as well as through blood transfusions according to USA Today.

"It saddens me how a mosquito has the ability to cause birth defects in infants," Bautista said.

Despite these latest revelations, some students are not alarmed since severe disease impacts have yet to occur in the U.S. "I don't know if there's much of a threat of the disease crossing into the United States en masse, but even so people should be aware," senior Sacha Cameron said.

Even if the Zika virus has not manifested into an outbreak in the U.S. it is necessary to decipher between what is true, exaggerated and currently being investigated if severe circumstances arise.

"We all have a responsibility to stay informed about things that have the potential to impact us so that we can make good decisions," Jorgensen said.

Students admit to bad sugar eating habits

BY SABRINA HAWA Health Editor By now, the message that sugar is bad for your health is not a foreign concept. It is something most doctors and diet gurus agree on.

Besides adding empty calories and spiking blood glucose levels, consuming mass amounts of sugar can contribute to weight gain and increase the risk of going into cardiac arrest.

A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in 2014 found that people who ate close to 20 percent of their daily calories from added sugar had a 38 percent higher risk of dying from heart disease than those who ate half as much Sugar has a hold on a lot of people because one, it is everywhere, two, we are born to like it, and three, it has been proven to be addictive.

The same study that was published in JAMA Internal Medicine proved that humans naturally have an inborn preference for sweet and sugary items.

"I find that sugar can be really addictive

if you are not careful," junior Katie Garrish said. "A lot of foods that I love probably have a lot of sugar in them, which is not good."

Sugar is hard to avoid because it is practically everywhere. On average, a person will consume 27 calories of the substance, which is equivalent to almost 17 teaspoons.

"I do not find sugar to be that addictive because it is something that gets old and sickening after a while," sophomore Shirley Chu said. "It is also really unhealthy which makes me want to stay away from it."

Since this study, more and more research has come forward proving that sugar is addictive, not just in the loose, vernacular sense, but in the same way drugs can be addictive.

Several studies on animals have shown that sugar acts as a stimulant to the brain and the consumer develops a dependence for it.

A study from Duke University that was published in the journal Neuron showed that mice who were given a fixed amount of sugar daily had significant changes in their brain patterns and developed drug addict like symptoms.

These studies do not necessarily mean that one should cut off all candy or certain cereal brands.

The studies are proving that sugar

SABRINA HAWA

Atoms have unbreakable sweet teeth

Granola bars found in supermarkets and the Jock Lobby snack bar can lose their intended benefits and become unhealthy with added sugars

should be enjoyed in moderation and the amount of sugar being consumed should be monitored.

Most doctors say that sugar should not be an all or nothing proportion.

Most of the time, foods with high amounts of sugar can be detected right off the bat.

Foods such as candy bars, juices and cereals are easily seen. However, sugar

is also in foods such as breads, yogurts, dressings, crackers and condiments.

"I probably do eat too much sugar from day to day," junior Janu Gellert said. "I am trying to end this bad habit."

Sugar can come in many shapes and forms. On most food labels, uncovering the exact amount of the sweet substance can be a chore.

I always check for the nutrition facts

when I purchase food," junior Iris Arrazola said."I like to know what food I am eating and what is in it. It also helps because I know what's going in my body."

While most of them list the sugar contained in the food itself, they do not contain the amount of sugar added.

Adding this feature to all food labels will be a topic discussed at the upcoming revision of the nutrition fact labels.

Heavy backpacks and how to avoid them Risks of carrying too much weight along with tips to alleviate the hump on your back BINDERS AND BAD BACKS

Diagnosis with Phuong and Sabrina · Doctors say that the general weight of a backpack should not be more than 10 percent of that person's weight. · Carrying heavy backpacks can lead to premature back problems for kids and teens and this can lead to back problems as an adult. · Carrying heavier loads can lead to compressed spines. · A student who weights 150 pounds should only be carrying 7.5-15 pounds of weight in their backpacks. · Avoid buying small and compact backpacks and instead head for lightweight and bags that contain many different pockets and compartments. · Having back pains can deter kids from doing well in school and can even stop them from participating in class. · When carrying a backpack, the user should always use two straps to spread out and even out the weight. · Students have been reported carrying upwards of 50 pounds in backpack weight Source: CNN and Web MD

Avoid stuffing your backpack with multiple binders. A 3 inch binder that you need for history class can weight more than 10 pounds when full.

After each quarter, transfer your past papers into folders for storage so that you do not have to lug binders that make your back hunch and alter your posture.

Leave excess food and drinks in your locker.

Only keep a water bottle with you because these are lightweight and fit neatly to the side pocket of your backpack.

Although folders are more lightweight than binders, empty out papers that you simply do not need. Since most students that use folders carry multiple, the weight from bulging stacks of homework, classwork, handouts and essays increase the weight of your backpack by several pounds. When it comes backpacks, any reduction in weight is beneficial in relieving your spine.

Heavy textbooks are a nightmare for your spine. Especially since students that choose to carry them to class do not bring along just one. Carry your textbook in your hands in order for the remaining materials in your backpack to balance in weight and prevent you from straining your shoulders.

Always keep one compartment empty so that you can distribute materials to this area if another compartment becomes to full. Spreading out weight as much as possible will prevent unwanted back pain and spinal compression in the future.

When three out of eight kids will eventually develop spinal compression as adults, leave behind your bulky pencil pouches. Only carry a couple of pencils, erasers and a calculator in the small pocket of your backpack in order to cut down on unnecessary weight as well as create more room.

8 PHOTO

Feb. 24, 2016

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMANDA ADENAN

Atoms Happy Page :) Students share what makes them happy.

AHS follows the popular trend on Instagram where individuals make an account dedicated to whatever/whoever makes them happy using the hashtag "#100daysofhappy."

Amanda Adenan, senior: "Being an Atom girl and cheering on the football team made me happy. From getting painted

Haley Moss, freshman: "Dance makes me happy

of my leadership friends posing with the student representative to FCPS, Ben Press. They make me happy because there is never a dull moment when I am with them. I am glad I got to be apart of the family for two years."

because it lets me express myself in an undescribable way. I am able to forget about life and relax when I am dancing. There is no greater feeling in the world than moving to a piece of music."

Saud Shah, junior: "I lift at Xsport gym almost everyday. Lifting makes me happy because it allows me to escape my IB worries and the stress I face at school. Plus it is the reason I make gains and have a healthy lifestyle."

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAAD FAROOQ

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARIAM MOHAMED

Dianna Agyeman, senior: "These are some

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAUD SHAH

PHOTO COURTESY OF HALEY MOSS

PHOTO COURTESY OF DIANNA AGYEMAN

in the senior lot while blasting music from the cars. Also singing the fight song after a touchdown to celebrating with the hypesquad, cheerleaders, marching band and football team after a win outside the locker room. Everyone was so excited and happy and overall there was just positive vibes everywhere."

Mariam Mohamed, sophomore: "My friend Cindy Le makes me happy because

is going on in school or my social life I know I can get away and play music in my room. It is nice to have some consistency. It is something I feel like I am going to be able to continue with for the rest of my life. I am really glad that I picked it up and it really makes me happy."

she is my best friend. We always go on dinner dates at Elevation Burger and make plans together last minute and she comes through. We think alike, dress alike and some people even say we look alike. She is one of the few people I go to for everything and I am so thankful for her."

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANH VU NGUYEN

PHOTO COURTESY OF GABRIELA JORDAN

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLEN KOKILANANDA

Saad Farooq, junior: "Playing guitar is something I can always go to. Regardless of what

Gabriela Jordan, junior: "This is my dog Kaia and I

Allen Kokilananda, sophomore: "This picture was

Anh Vu Ngyuen, senior: "This is one of my

at Outer Banks, NC. She makes me happy because she gives me a different type of happiness that friends do not. She is a best friend that is always happy to see me when I get home and is always by my side."

taken at one of my meets after I defeated Woodbridge HS's weight class 126. I like wrestling because I have a chance to make a name for myself. I also like winning and I am in complete control of that when I am wrestling."

favorite pictures from Homecoming. These past 5 years, my girlfriend Eden Mesfin has been the source of my happiness. She has taught me how to love, care and respect. She is more than my better half."

PEOPLE 9

Feb. 24, 2016

AHS feels the love in February Students and teachers give tips and share stories about their relationships The Hardys become family of three The Kleins add up and stay secure

Tim Johnson and Hassa Koroma

PHOTO COURTESY OF JESSICA KLEIN

PHOTO COURTESY OF WHITNEY HARDY

Timothy and Whitney Hardy, English and history teachers respectively, met here at AHS when teaching in trailers across from each other.

"When he was new, I took it upon myself to invite him out with the other younger teachers and I," Whitney said.

The couple loves working in the same school with each other. They love the fact that they know the same kids and that they can work together with kids that need it.

"It's allowed us to maintain super close relationships with some former students," Whitney said.

Every year the Hardy's have the Annual "Hardy Kid's Thanksgiving" and invite many of their former students that they are close with over for Thanksgiving dinner.

The couple also loves to do things outside of their relationship in school.

"Our favorite thing to do together is to be together.

We love hanging out with our friends and watching sports," Whitney said.

They have been together for six years, and married for four.

"My favorite thing about him is his sense of humor," Whitney said.

The couple also has a baby boy due April 1, and does not want to release is name just yet!

Ian Marburger and Nicolle Uria

PHOTO COURTESY OF NICOLLE URIA

Seniors Tim Johnson and Hassa Koroma have been dating for four years when April comes. The couple met at Holmes Midde School, and started dating shortly after.

"We had our first date at the Chipotle in Tyson's Corner after we went shopping there," Koroma said.

Johnson loves how easy Hassa is to talk to, and how understanding and supporting she is.

"Tim is extremely loving and is always motivating me," Koroma said.

The couple loves to try new things, whether it be a different restaurant or some type of activity. Sometimes they just watch movies, relax or start something new on Netflix at home.

"I love his sarcasm; he always knows how to make me laugh," Koroma said.

The couple has been together for a while, and has a lot of advice to other couples.

"Our advice to other couples is that communication is key. Problems can be easily solved just by talking with each other," Koroma said.

In the picture on the left, Koroma is asking Johnson to the Sadie Hawkins school dance.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HASSA KAROMA

Carl and Jessica Klein, a security assistant and math teacher, both work at AHS and have been married for six and a half years. The couple has been together for seven years total. They met at a restaurant, Kelly's, through mutual friends.

"Our favorite thing to do together is to travel to and explore new places," Jessica said.

Their first date was when they first met and went to Newport News and walked around to get to know each other.

"Our favorite thing about each other is how they can make each other laugh," Jessica said.

The couple used to make "Together Let's..." lists where they would essentially make a bucket list for things they would do every anniversary. Their favorite memory was when they spent the day at the mall taking pictures with all the mannequins.

"It was fun, but we did get a lot of weird looks," Jessica said.

The couple enjoys working together in the same building.

"It's fun - since we don't work in the same department, we don't see too much of each other but just enough that makes it awesome," Jessica said.

Sophomores Nicole Uria and Ian Marburger have been dating for about one year and five months.

The couple met on the first day of school in band class in the sixth grade. One day, Uria sat next to him randomly, and the couple got to know each other very well.

"Our favorite thing to do together is probably cook food whenever he's over or go on adventures," Uria said.

The couple's first date was their freshman year when Uria had free time before volleyball practice, and Marburger took her to get ice cream.

"I love his sense of humor and his silliness and he's always motivating me and supporting me in things I want to do," Uria said.

Marburger likes to take his girlfriend to fun places like the water park or an amusement park.

"I like how happy and funny she always is," Marburger said.

The couple rarely fights, and when they do they always talk and work it out.

"Always be honest with each other and remember that your partner is also your best friend," Uria said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LYDIA KYEREMEH

Jordan Adams and Lydia Kyeremeh: technology helps them with Junior Jordan Adams and college freshman at VCU Lydia Kyeremeh have been dating for two years, which they celebrated on Feb. 17.

The couple met at the first home football game during the 2013 season.

Their favorite thing to do together is "ESPN and chill." They will watch all of Adams' favorite sports shows and eat pizza.

"My favorite quality about Jordan is that he's so driven," Kyeremeh said "If he sets his mind on something he's so determined to achieve it."

"My favorite quality about her is her belief that I can do anything I want to do," Adams said.

For their first date, they went and saw a movie together. They now have a routine: they go see whatever movie seems the most interesting. Adams buys the tickets and Kyeremeh buys the food.

"When we argue we don't like to get to the point where we don't talk to each other," Adams said.

"Most of the time after one of us explains why we're upset with one another we apologize and keep

WHO AM I?

it moving," Kyeremeh said.

The couple says that trust is most important in a relationship because you can't build a relationship without it.

"If you're always worried about what your significant other is doing, you probably shouldn't be with them," Kyeremeh said.

Being understanding also plays an important role in their relationship.

"We definitely don't agree on everything but coming to a compromise always works," Adams said.

They shared that being fun is also another way the couple stays happy.

"If you can spend hours together laughing and smiling over the dumbest jokes and conversations then they're definitely the one for you," Kyeremeh said.

"Going out and exploring things as well as making new memories together are probably the best parts about being in a relationship because you literally have someone you can drag around to do random

crazy stuff with," the couple shared, "things that other people would have the option to say no to."

The couple usually talks all day every day, except during Adams' basketball practices, games and sometimes during their classes.

They also text, call and FaceTime a lot! Kyetemeh tries to come home from school whenever there's a long weekend.

"We're really trusting of each other, we don't have to worry about what each other's doing just because we literally tell each other everything it's already known," Kyeremeh said, "We're like best friends so we're constantly making time to communicate."

Kyeremeh was also part of many extracurriculars at AHS. She was involved in DECA, managed the boys JV basketball game her senior year and was a large member of the Black Cultural Awareness Association.

Alumni Postcard Gunnar Thompson

I attended James Madison University (undergrad and grad).

I was born in Naha City, Okinawa, Japan.

Background: Graduated from AHS in 2013. He was a member of student government, track and cross country.

My pets consist of two cats named Zelda and Psyche that belong to my roommate.

My favorite TV show is Parks and Recreation.

College life: Is a junior at George Mason University as a Public Relations major, and a double minor in health communication and political communication. He is also a brother of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

The coolest place I've visited is Tokyo.

Favorite class: Issues in Public Relations.

In my free time I like to watch Netflix or visit galleries and museums.

Biggest fear at college: Falling behind in school. It can be difficult at first to find a balance between academics and a social life.

My favorite movie is When Harry Met Sally.

If I could live any place in the world I would live in the south of France or Okinawa.

On your smartphone, scan this code using the application QR Code to find the Wing answer to the Who Am I.

Before AHS I worked at Robinson Secondary school.

My favorite restaurant is Billy Jack's and Draft Shack in Harrisonburg, VA.

Best thing about college: My fraternity, friends, independence and not having to wake up at 6:00 a.m.

What I miss about AHS: Friends, football games and Coach Harris.

Advice to graduating seniors: Don't be nervous! College is what you make it, put yourself out there and meet as many people as you can and have fun.

10 IN-DEPTH

Feb. 24, 2016

IN-DEPTH 11

Feb. 24, 2016

CLIMATE CHANGE 5 ways Fairfax saves energy

Students make their impact on the environment

1. Education and outreach In 2009, Fairfax was awarded a $10 million energy grant from the Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant(EECB) to reduce its energy use. It was used to fund Residential Energy Education and Outreach (REE&O) to publicize benefits of home energy measures. Goals include providing experience for residents to learn about energy consumption and reduction through improved energy efficiency, using local partnership, social media and online tools to engage residents to reduce energy.

The students work to increase awareness of environmental issues, and continue to put in labor to go around and clean up the school.

Students of the club also work to keep Annandale clean and ecofriendly by collecting bottles for recycling every Wednesday.

"By recycling, the Green Atoms keep Annandale's environment clean, and seeing us makes students and teachers aware of their environment, and the trash they leave behind," Kamara said.

BY SERENE GHUL Staff Writer

P

umpkins, green kale and tomatoes are just a few of the plants that live in the garden behind the library.

These edible plants are curated by the Green Atoms. Meeting every Wednesday after school, the Green Atoms work to make Annandale greener.

Students ranging from all grades work to solve current problems in the environment at Annandale.

"The garden serves to teach students how to grow a garden and keep the school beautiful," Green Atoms garden master, senior Mariatu Kamara said.

The garden is only in service in the spring and summer, and remains closed in the winter and some of fall.

This year, the group plans to include adding more edible plants, ad possibly a butterfly garden to diversify the garden.

While the Green Atoms are also working to come up with solutions to reduce the climate change, they try to make sure that Annandale understands the issue and takes steps to reduce thier carbon footstep.

"Our goal primarily is to keep Annandale clean and environmentally sound," Green Atoms president, senior Ismail Ahmed said.

In order to do this, AHS has several recycling bins placed around the school and at least one in each classroom. The purpose of the bins is to encourage students to recycle when they can.

"Annandale HS does encourage students to be environmentally conscious because we have recycling bins posted everywhere more than there are trash bins," Ahmad said.

Each week a variety of students come to participate, some just come for the community service, others are fully committed members, that come every week faithfully.

"By recycling, the Green Atoms keep Annandale's enviroment clean, and makes students and teachers aware of their enviroment."

2. Vehicles Fairfax has had a hybrid vehicle replacement program since 2002, and now they have more than 112 hybrids in fleet. In 2006 Fairfax County collected Toyota Hybrid plug in electric cars. They then purchased 5 hybrid electric cars which save 100 mile per gallon fuel efficiency.

3. Schools Schools initiate designs for Collaboration for High Performance Schools (CHPS). Some examples of these designs include cool roofs, efficient windows and energy monitoring. Recently, Fairfax County is joining the Green Schools Alliance Collaborative with many other large school districts, which receives cheaper prices for materials that are used to furtherconserve natural resources.

Mariatu Kamara senior The Green Atoms is an easy way for teens to be involved in environmental protection to reduce the effect Annandale has in harming Earth.

The Green Atoms students realize that a lot of times students don't see global warming as an issue of an importance.

However, the members see that the club is a great way for students to learn about the environment and to be more aware.

"It's important for students to be involved in these activities so they grow a norm to it. Students here are our world's future. If they learn to be environmentally protective, then they will continue to live like that for the rest of their lives and make our earth a better place to live [in]," Ahmad said.

4. Lighting LED Parking lot lighting has decreased the FCPS carbon footprint. FCPS is now implementing an LED parking lot pilot system. The county participated in Virginia's power LED street light task force in hopes to make a positive impact.

5. Green building design JULIE NGUYEN

Green Atoms work to reduce carbon footprint

30, on average, Green Atoms members work hard to keep their garden gorwing every week.

Fairfax has developed new sustainable development policy for capital projects. New buildings must go through a certification process. In 2011, there were 12 certified green building projects, and four to be certified soon, and more than a dozen other green projects.

Celebrating the Earth with Usher and Coldplay

Reduce waste Many of the products we buy cause greenhouse emissions in some way either during production or distribution.

Drive less

Be sure you're recycling at home

Take a shower instead of a bath

Choose alternatives to driving like public transit, biking, walking or carpooling. By driving less, you are reducing the carbon dioxide being released in the air.

By recycling half of the waste your household makes, you can save 2400 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Replace a bath with a shower. A shower takes four times less energy than a bath. Using lowflow showerheads, which are cheap, you can maximize energy saving.

Do not leave appliances on standby Instead of leaving your appliances on standby, unplug the machine itself. An appliance uses 40 percent of it energy on standby mode.

How important is climate change to you?

"It's not important because there is no such thing."

"Climate change doesn't really affect my day-to-day life."

JEREMY BERRY

REBECCA TECLE

freshman

freshman

"I really don't think about climate change that much because it's not that big of a deal right now."

YEISON SHULTZ sophomore

"Very important, because it affects the environment and how animals survive, and it causes animals to be extinct."

"Not important, it's not going to affect my generation or my kids."

ANDREW OURS junior

"Important, because it will destroy polar ice caps on the arctic parts of the globe and harm the wildlife, and I like animals."

MIKALAH PARSON

JOE KURLAND

sophomore

senior

"It's really important to me because I like to snowboard, and I can't snowboard if there is no snow."

"It's important to me because it determines our future."

FABIANA HINOJOSA senior

BY BINQI CHEN In Depth Editor I woke up feeling both the humid spring air and the rush of excitement all through me on April 18.

This was the day of the annual global Citizen Earth Day concert.

This would be my first year attending, but I knew I was going to have a great time. I was grateful that the event took place on a Saturday, giving me a chance to escape the stressful life of school.

The Global Citizenship Earth Day event is essentially an annual rally with a concert as its main event.

The featured artists at the concert included: Fall Out Boy, Usher, will.i.am, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Vixx and Roy Kim. The fact that the concert was free was definitely another plus.

My neighbor Julie and I picked up information about the event a few weeks back and have been planning for the big day ever since.

Julie and I left for Washington D.C. at 9:00, in the hopes of getting ahead in the line.

However, when we arrived, there was already a sea of people packing the sidewalks of the National Mall and we knew that we would not be able to catch a spot close to the stage.

Following the snake of people in front of us, Julie and I were eventually arrived at the bag check.

After showing the guards the contents of our belongings, we sprinted across the lawn of the National Monument among hundreds of others.

Out of breath, Julie and I walked past by colorful blankets laid on the grass by other attendees. After numerous "excuse me's" and "sorry's", we squished ourselves among the overflowing crowd of yelling fans and

BINQI CHEN

A day at the national mall celebrating Earth

Roy Kim sings to the audience during the Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day concert

waited for the show to begin.

The music turned on at approximately 11:30 a.m. and all I could hear was the wave of screeches from others.

Along with the sound of loud music playing from the speakers, the gigantic screens above us began to show a series of videos promoting Earth Day and action to combat global warming.

There were a few videos that really stood out to me including one of a middle school that have taken great measures into confronting climate changes such as stopping their use of air conditioning.

Finally, after an hour of standing among thousands

of sweaty bodies, the event started. The concert was hosted by Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas and Soledad O'Brien and they really fired up the energy in the audience.

The two hosts talked about the importance of little actions that normal people can do to improve the state of the environment.

The audience soon welcomed the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the former Prime Minister Of Australia, Kevin Rudd.

The two highly honored speakers emphasized how pollution from human activity can not only affect our local community, but the world as a whole.

The event also showed a video of German Chancellor Angela Merkel talking about international child and mother mortality rates. Merkel also said that the international community wants to set new development and sustainability goals at G7 summit.

When the performances started to roll in, the cheers reached a whole new level.

I felt the ground beneath me tremble.

Usher blew the crowd away with his song "OMG" and Fall Out Boy performed "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark" along with many others of their songs.

K-Pop star Roy Kim soothed the audience with a rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine". Vixx, another K-Pop artist, performed their song "Error" in Korean.

After hours of chanting, screaming, and clapping, Julie and I had lost both of our voices and decided that it was a good time to escape the crowd and to head home.

During the car ride home, I thought about the day I just had and how the amazing power of music that was able to bring so many people together for a common cause.

I cannot wait until this year's concert and the new memories I would create then.

The experience was the perfect way to encourage a variety of people to be aware and celebrating a holiday that highlighted environmental issues.

By bringing major stars, the holiday made me aware of the environmental issues that we face.

I never thought that celebrating Earth Day would be this fun.

During the car ride home, I thought about the day I just had and how the amazing power of music that was able to bring so many people together for a common cause.

I cannot wait until this year's concert and the new memories I would create then.

TUCKER MACK senior

THROUGH THE YEARS: COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE British engineer Guy Callendar shows that temperatures had risen in the previous century. He shows that CO2 concentrations had increased over the and suggests this caused the warming.

1988

1938 1896

Svante Arrhenius predicted that increases of atmospheric CO2 from burning fossil fuels would lead to global warming.

1970 The fiirst Earth day was celebrated Apr. 22, 1970 in response the climate change movement.

2001

1997 1995 The IPCC Second Assessment establishes a link between humaninduced greenhouse gases and climate change.

The IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report concludes it is more than 90 percent likely that humanity's emissions of greenhouse gases are responsible for modern-day climate change.

IPCC Third Assessment Report finds evidence that human emissions of greenhouse gases are the main cause of the warming in the second half of the 20th Century.

Kyoto Protocol is agreed under UNFCCC. It includes the first emissions reduction targets for industrialized countries, and most major nations sign.

UN establishes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to assess the science of climate change.

1998

Publication of the controversial "hockey stick" graph shows that modern-day temperature rise in the northern hemisphere is unusual compared with the last 1,000 years.

2015 stands alone as the warmest on record. 2015 was so far ahead of 2014 in terms of heat, that 2015 surpassed 2014 as the warmest year in recorded history.

2007 2003 European heat wave, which kills more than 30,000 people.

Scientists later conclude it is the first extreme weather event definitely attributable to human-induced climate change.

2015 2009

E-mails between scientists at the Climate Research Unit of the U.K were stolen and made public. The messages show a few scientists in a bad light, being dismissive on climate change.

Senior Mariatu Kamara received two Silver Keys, one in Drawing and one for Painting.

She also received one Honorable Mention in Drawing. Her piece above called Midnight, also received a Silver Key. "I made Midnight with oil paint," Kamara said. "It is a painting that represents the things that I am afraid of, making this painting is a way for me to overcome my fears."

Feb. 24, 2016

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAMILLE COLLETTE

Students of all ages submitted their artwork on Jan. 14 to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards contest. Four AHS students, Skylar Franzelas, Mariatu Kamara, Camille Collette and Shawn deLopez, got Silver Keys and Honorable Mentions in the contest. The ceremony for the winners artwork is going to be held at the Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale Campus Ernst Cultural Center, on Feb. 24. Doors will open at 6 p.m. The exhibition will be held through March 3. deLopez declined to share his artwork. Junior Skylar Franzelas received a Silver Key in Photography for her piece Voices. "This photo was taken of my little sister named Ana," Franzelas said. "Her makeup look was achieved with liquid latex, a bruise wheel, clothes pins and fake blood."

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARIATU KAMARA

PHOTO COURTESY OF SKYLAR FRANZELAS

12 ARTS The Winners of Scholastics

Senior Camille Collette received three Honorable Mentions. This piece is called Atop the Throne, inspired by stained-glass windows often seen in churches. "I was mesmerized by the vibrant colors and the multitude of small, simplistic shapes that came together to create a beautifully detailed scene, and I wished to emulate the same reaction I felt in the viewers of this piece," Collette said.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum

BY RACHEL SHOGREN

PHOTO COURTESY OF IRVING DOMINICK

Located in the old patent house building on eighth and F street, the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) is three floors of oil paintings, sculptures, photographs and other works of art. SAAM is home to the nation's first American Art collection. The lobby connects to an enclosed court yard that has a small cafe that sells pastries, ice cream, drinks, warm food, and contains a large salad bar. There is a lot of seating and many plants that give the area an outdoor feel.

On the first floor, there are different color rooms and the color of the room separates the the types of art. The yellow room is home to several paintings of landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge and Central Park.

The teal room displays a lot of portraits and paintings of groups of people.

Paintings of American life and American history are located in the purple room.

The most interesting part of the first floor is hidden in the back, since there are a few exclusive art works back there that are worth seeing. There are a lot of sculptures made of unusual materials such as bottle caps, mirrors and wood. There is an intricate display of art that was created over a 14 year span by

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST

Staff Writer

Irving Dominick made the sculpture on the left, called Marla. An unidentified artist made the sculpture on the right in 1966, called Bottlecap Giraffe.

James Hampton that is made out of gold and silver aluminum foil, paper, plastic, wood furniture and glass. The final room on the first floor is Irving Penn's Beyond Beauty photo exhibit. The photographs are of everyday objects that have an abnormal twist, like a delicious snack with a tiny fly or a model with

smudged paint on her face.

Paintings of ex- United States presidents and other historic Americans fills the second floor.

The top floor is definitely the main attraction. A spiral staircase leads to incredible moldings, decorative tiles and colorful

stained glass windows. There are also several couches here so people can take a break while admiring the works of art.

The third floor holds more modern looking art pieces that use more tech and fabrics to create these mind-opening works of art.

The most technologically advanced piece is a giant sculpture mounted on a wall. Mounted on the wall are colorful lights outlining the 50 states and in each state are small, mini TVs and playing on each TV is a recording of an important event that took place in each state. For example, in the state of Virginia there is are videos of the Luray Caverns and in California there are videos of dancers and Hollywood.

A few of the other pieces include a Colorful acrylic and aluminum on a canvas sheet swing made by Sam Gilliam, sculptures carved from stone and a video that is a mashup of nature videos and sound effects.

SAAM is also home to an magnificent Pablo Picasso exhibit and a large pottery collection.

SAAM is located in Washington, D.C. and gets the most busy in the early afternoon around 3 p.m., so be sure to get there early.

There is also limited parking and taking the metro would be the best option.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum Address: 8th and F Streets, NW Washington, D.C. 20004 Mailing: Smithsonian American Art Museum MRC 970 Box 37012 Washington, D.C. 20013-7012 Telephone: 202-633-1000 Email: AmericanArtInfo@si.edu Daily: 11:30 a.m. -7 p.m.

Closed: Federal Holidays Admission: Free Group tours: Tours meet in the F Street lobby. Tours are offered daily at 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Except for the second Tuesdays of each month and all federal holidays.

A: Most of my pieces are drawings and paintings. I got into it by the way I think most do. I loved to draw and doodle when I was little and always looked forward to art class. I wasn't a particularly good artist at the time, but I was very imaginative. One of the earliest memories I have is creating a robot costume out of paper grocery bags for my brother.

Q: What materials do you use for your artwork?

A: My favorite materials to use are prism markers and watercolors, mostly because that's what I have on hand at home. I've recently been attempting to learn how to embroider and discovered I really like that and have a few future pieces planned out in that medium.

Q: What is it about creating art that you enjoy?

A: I like to create art because it is truly my own creation and not something that I have to do because I've been assigned it. It allows me to relax as well because I have to think only on the art piece in front of me when I'm creating, and not about all the stress in my life.

Q: What do you like most about your artwork?

A: That it's something other people enjoy. There's not one certain aspect of my artwork that I enjoy in particular, but I like the fact that other people can look at it and be interested in the process that went into it and the product that came out of it.

Q: What advice do you have for other young, developing artists?

A: I would say to not be discouraged when a piece doesn't go as planned. I've had many artworks that started out one way in my head and ended up being very different once it was finally finished. It allowed me to

think about the piece in different ways and approach different techniques on how to execute my idea.

Q: What do you plan to do with creating art in the future?

A: For the next couple of projects I hope to work more with embroidery.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MADISON SCHINSTOCK

Q: What do you create and what got you into doing it?

PHOTO COURTESY OF MADISON SCHINSTOCK

Q & A with artist Madison Schinstock

Q: What is your favorite piece of artwork?

A: My favorite piece was my attempt at recreating Carlo Dolci's Magdalene in my own style. I used prism markers to attempt to make it again in a more contemporary style while still maintaining the image.

Q: What would you say to someone that wants to get into creating art?

A: To not be afraid to practice. Anyone can be good at art as long as they're genuinely interested in the process and are willing to put the time and effort into it. Very few artists started knowing how to draw everything. Instead they began with a creative mind and put in work to learn the techniques.

Junior Madison Schinstock painted portraits for each track senior last year as a senior gift and this is one of them.

We chose junior Ulises Hernandez in Art 4. These art pieces are drawings he made for an art project. Want to have your art featured in the next issue of The A-Blast?

Each issue, the Arts page will pick a student's art from submitted content and feature their work of art on the Arts page.

All mediums are welcome, whether it be a painting, doodle, poem or song. Videos can be submitted too! Send all submissions to theablast15@gmail.com, or send it to our dropbox (using the same email as above) for files larger than two GB.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ULISES HERNANDEZ

Featured art

INTERNATIONAL 13

Feb. 24, 2016

Food vendors from the local community sell food from different countries during the festival.

One of the workshops offered at Just World Festival is yoga for students who are looking to relieve stress.

Just World raises awareness Volunteers from Hope Chinese School share crafts with festival attendees.

Arnoldo Borja and his friend posing in traditional Mexican clothing.

BY TIMOTHY GRAY International Editor The Just World Interact Club is holding its annual festival on Friday Feb. 26 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria.

The Just World festival is a showcase that promotes social injustice on important issues that take place around the world.

The festival offers a variety of food vendors that represent the different cultures of the world and AHS. The festival's admission is free although it is encouraged to bring money for the food vendors.

Just World Interact encourages students to learn more about the diverse cultures that surround them, as well as giving them the resources to make small but significant contributions to creating peace around the world.

This year the club is focusing on current issues occurring around the world.

"The purpose of the Just World festival is to brief festival goers about issues such as racial justice and human trafficking," Just World Club president Elise Kim said.

The theme of this year's festival is meant to promote selflessness and take chances.

"The theme this year is to be a gift to the world, and it connects to the world because we find ourselves given so many opportunities that some people just don't find in other developing worlds," club vice president, senior Erin Ahn said.

Just World's connection to the world is rooted in its ability to reach a large audience at AHS consisting of a wide array of different types of cultures and countries.

"The diversity [in AHS] makes it a lot easier to spread the word about global connectivity and communication because everyone is so open in

terms of perspective. It's always easier to teach someone if they're willing to learn or have open minds," Ahn said.

Besides having a mission for the club, Just World also encourages public service to its members.

"Other missions are to encourage more public community service in our environment as well as in other places of the worlds," Ahn said.

The club tries to come up with different ideas that can benefit others around the world.

"We promote events that will eventually help developing countries and famished people who are desperately in need of food," Ahn said.

The club also encourages students to be informed about international issues.

"The mission of the club is to spread awareness about what's going on in the world. We try to inform others of worldly problems that arise and ways to help out and take initiative," Kim said.

This year's festival will contain speeches, performances and variety of workshops influenced by many cultures that are present at AHS as well as the community.

"We will hopefully be having our yoga workshops this year," Ahn said.

Entertainment at the festival will also consist of performances students and families can enjoy.

"This year we will be having a variety of workshops such as yoga, belly dancing, racial justice and a speech from alumni on a topic that's still to be decided," Kim said.

For the past 10 years, The Just World Festival has strived to promote awareness and teach students about the importance of taking action on issues around the world in a fun way where guests can have a good time and learn more about the world we live in.

A representative of Kisima Academy displays a poster of their work in Kenya.

Ismail Ahmad wears "Bagman" to demonstrate how much trash people produce every year.

Presentations showcase alternate initiatives for preserving the environment by the Environart Volunteers group.

Dancers wear traditional Bolivian costumes during one of their performances.

The Mariachi Estrellas performing Mexican music for audience.

Julio Cuellar and playing traditional Bolivian music during the workshop exhibit.

Members of the Asian American Lead promotes leadership and civic participation among Asian Americans.

American stories Students from different countries share their journey

BY DANIEL SANCHEZ Special to The A-Blast When I heard that I had to move to the U.S.A., I got excited because I had the opportunity to start a new life.

I was a little scared because I did not feel ready to live in another country. Many people told my family it was a great opportunity to learn about a new culture and a new language, but that did not excite me so much because I knew I had to face a lot of challenges. I had to improve my English, learn a new culture and make new friends.

Many people come to the United States looking opportunities, good quality of life and freedom.

However, I came here to the U.S. because my dad is in the Mexican Navy and he had to come here for work, so eventually he had to take it and move here.

The first problem we had was the

language. The second challenge we had was trying to overcome the challenges, but now I am ready now to overcome those problems.

After we arrived, I noticed many differences between Mexico and America. When I arrived here a few

months ago, it was very difficult for me to adapt because I was neither happy nor angry.

Even though I was afraid of trying to communicate with new people, I still had to, so I forced myself to talk and make new friends.

After I finally came to school, I had many problems. At first, classes were boring and textbooks were hard for me to understand. I noted how some students did not speak to each other, and when I first arrived here, I thought people would come and try to be friends with me, but they did not.

Finally, I am just ready overcome the challenges, and I am hoping to graduate from high school.

I just try to work hard to make my English perfect. I also try to enjoy this time in my life to make more friends, have more fun and become smarter.

BY YAJAIRA MADRID Special to The A-Blast I moved to United States when I was 16 years old.

I thought I was prepared for everything since my mom told me how hard life is in America, but when I got here I realized I was not ready to live here.

In El Salvador, people think the United States is easy to live in since everyone talks about how beautiful this country is.

I was so excited to come to the United States and start a new life and meet new people, but after two months I got depressed.

In the beginning, everything was so sweet and beautiful. We always stayed at home and enjoyed all the moments in the family.

When I started school in the U.S., I was excited and scared at the same time because I couldn't speak English, and the school is six times bigger than my school in El Salvador.

I felt so frustrated and disappointed because I couldn't do anything, but I got excellent

teachers in AHS and over time things changed and I adapted to the new environment.

Finally, I can say I like this country because I feel secured and I'm thankful to be here; I still need to improve my English, but I feel proud of myself and thankful for all my teachers.

I have a job now, and I help my family. Those are the things that make my family proud of me.

The United States is a big country with a lot of opportunities if people know how to take advantage of them.

After all, education is hard in the U.S.A, but overall better than my country. I'm proud of myself for not giving up, and I hope to get other opportunities in this country.

14 LIFESTYLES

Feb. 24, 2016

EXPLORING OLDTOWN Fontaine Caffe & Creperie Location: 119 S Royal St, Alexandria, VA 22314 Why travel all the way to Europe when you can get the same experience in Old Town?

You can enjoy a day out with your friends while eating some delicious European food and to top it off French crepes for dessert. It's very pleasing for your taste buds. On Thursdays Fontaine Caffe & Creperie provides a free French Movie Night at 7 p.m.

Mason Social Location: 728 North Henry Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 Mason Social is full of American dishes. For those of you that love an artsy setting to take pictures, this is the place for you! They have great specials and the food is within your budget. The specials include Marrow Mondays, Taco Tuesdays and Wine Down Wednesdays. Grab a few friends and head down to get a delicious meal.

Society Fair Location: 277 S. Washington Street- Alexandria VA, 22314 Society Fair is known for their delicious bakery goods. It is a combination of a restaurant, demo kitchen and a wine bar for adults. There are deals known as "Fair Fetishes" and you can plan a Friday date night that includes a dinner for you and your significant other and dessert for only $49.

Torpedo Factory Location: 105 N Union St Alexandria, VA 22314 If you're into art and enjoy looking at art work, go to the Torpedo Factory Art Center!

This museum has a variety of art exhibits. It's an art studio and gallery. You can see different artists work. There are paintings, pottery and jewelry. It's free and open to the public. It's a cool place to take pictures and go with a few friends. You can take your new Instagram photo here.

Vaso's Mediterranean Bistro Columbia Firehouse Location: 109 S St Asaph St, Alexandria, VA 22314 This restaurant is an all American remade firehouse. The atmosphere is very cozy and relaxing. The hours vary from 11:30 to 2:00 a.m. Looking up at the ceiling window, you see an open view of the blue sky on a sunny day. This is the best place for a romantic dinner or to satisfy your late night hunger.

Location: 1118 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314 If you are a fan of Mediterranean, Greek and Italian cuisine then this is where you grab a bite! They have some of your favorites like gyros, chicken parm and even baklava. Instead of eating at an all American restaurant, switch it up and try something new.

ALL ABOUT PIERCINGS BROOKE THADEUS, 12

Popular Piercings MONGNHI NGUYEN, 12

BY TIPYAN OMER AND THIDA PATHAMMAVONG Lifestyles Editors

Nose, belly and even tongue piercings are ways students express themselves.

Over the summer a few of the guys on the football team and their friends went to one of the player's beach Piercing: Belly house. button "It was a bro moment down at the beach," senior Where: Friend Colin Corey said. Our quarterback however had a Price: $20 different, more reckless reason for why he got his.

Why: At the time, no "I got my ears pierced because I didn't say no to one in my grade had anything that week," senior Tucker Mack said. one. I thought it would These boys were very lucky since they didn't have to look cute! even leave their own beach house to get it pierced. They Pain Tolerance: had some friends from school, seniors Brooke Thadeus 1 out of 10 and Cayley Byrne come over and pierce it for them by Products used to using a piercing kit. clean: Warm water Of course the pain from a little needle didn't affect and sea salt. them at all. These football boys can tolerate so much pain.

"I don't feel pain," Corey said. Some feel so much pain in the gym that nothing else hurts.

"It didn't hurt because I'm big," Park said.

Piercings are not allowed when sports come around.

There can be many complications such as an infection or it simply getting pulled out during a game. You can try to hide it, but it will not be long until it causes irritation.

"My helmet would grind against my earrings during practice, making the hole bigger and causing sanitation issues," Park said.

Piercings are hard to take care of and takes a while to heal completely. Due to that fact, not everyone was able to keep them.

"I wasn't able to keep them, but I plan to get them redone professionally in the future," Park said. The players that did keep them found it easy to clean.

Piercing: Ears Some parents look down upon piercings and believe Where: Claires that it's trashy.

Price: $30 "At first my parents disapproved, and my dad Why: Because I just questioned my sexuality, but eventually they were okay felt like piercing my with it," said Park. While other parents don't see it as a ears. big deal.

Pain Tolerance: "My parents were surprised, but cool about it," said 1 out of 10 Mack. Many teenagers these days are getting piercings Products used to due to the recent trends. clean: Ear solution

Piercing: Tragus Where: Marlowe Ink Price: $60 Why: I saw this someone on Instagram and liked their piercing.

Pain Tolerance: 8 out of 10 Products used to

JOHNNY NGUYEN, 9

ANA GRAY, 10 Piercing: Nose Where: Sonia Jewelers Price: $25 Why: I just liked the piercings.

Pain Tolerence: 6 out of 10 Products used to clean: Rubbing alcohol

FASHION SPOTLIGHT

Q: How did you learn how to dress?

A: Style runs in my family. Experimentation and growing overtime is what helped me learn how to dress also.

Jeremiah Bethea, 11

Q: Where do you like to shop?

A: I like to shop everywhere for the most part. One of my favorite places to shop is Zara as of right now, because of their different selection of clothing.

PHOTO CREDIT JEREMIAH BETHEA

Q: What are your favorite clothing pieces?

A: I would have to say my Bullhead black trench coat and my black biker jeans. These two pieces can go with anything I wear.

Q: What is your outfit for school or a date?

A: I like focusing on the color of clothing and the overall vibe of what I'm wearing when I go to a certain place. On a date I would wear darker colors and an outfit with an overall chill and classic vibe.

Q: On your lazy days what do you prefer to wear?

A: I don't have lazy days, I always have enough energy to look good. When getting ready quickly I tend to throw on basic essentials, solid color t-shirts and dark jeans, and I would throw on a bombers jacket to keep the outfit from looking basic.

Q: What is your favorite season to dress for?

A: Winter, because the winters in Northern Virginia are

so bipolar you can wear anything from summer shorts to one of your thickest sweaters.

Q: How long does it take you to get ready?

A: It takes me a good hour to get ready, and that's if everything is going right.

Q: How much do you usually invest in clothing?

A: I invest a lot of money in clothing. On average I would say I probably spend around 300 on clothing a month.

Q: What are your favorite pair of shoes?

A: My favorite pair of shoes are most definitely my Dark Brown Suede Chelsea boots. My Chelsea boots are my favorite because they are so versatile, I can go from classy to trap real quick in these boots.

Q: Do you dress to impress or dress for yourself?

A: I dress for myself. Since I'm my biggest critic I know if I impress myself, with no doubt I'll impress others.

Q: Who is your fashion inspiration?

A: My fashion inspiration is the world. Like the world is forever changing and growing my style is also.

Q: What's your favorite accessory to add to your outfit?

A: My favorite accessory to wear with everything is my simple Black Marc Jacobs watch my dad bought me.

SPORTS X-TRA 15 Swim seniors break school records Feb. 24, 2016

Britton and Boyd swim to States after placing in finals AARON BOYD

ASHLEY BRITTON

Britton coming up for a breath during a race.

Q: How was regionals for you this year?

A: I thought regionals went well this year, I was able to make a personal record and I broke the school record, which was my main goal of the season. Also everyone else crushed and got a bunch of personal records.

Q: How are you preparing for states?

A: For States we have been tapering, so we've been focusing on sprints rather than distance swimming so that our muscles are ready and loaded.

Q: What was your main goal coming into this season?

A: My main goal coming into the season was to break the school record from 1975, now my new goal is to break a 24 flat.

Q: When did you start swim?

A: I started swimming competitively when I was 8 years old.

Q: What is your main motivation for swim?

A: My main motivation for swim is God. He gave me the ability to swim so I want to bring Him glory.

Q: How do you like to view yourself on your role on the team?

A: I would say my biggest achievement is breaking the 50 free record from 1975. It's the oldest record on the board and it was my biggest goal so it was sweet to get it.

Q: What's your favorite part about swim?

A: My favorite part about swim is traditions that we have. Whether it's the support bra award after the meet or dying our hair for Districts, we are a uniquely rooted team.

Q: How do you deal with a loss?

A: Losses are tough, but I try to remain focused and use it as fuel for my next race.

Q: What's the most difficult thing about swim?

A: The most difficult thing about swim is the distance practices. Something about 200's.

Q: Do you have any family that did swim?

A: I'm pretty much the only person in my family that swims.

Q: Why did you choose to pursue swim?

A: I chose to pursue swim because I love how competitive it is and I love the rush I get before each race. I also love every single person I meet.

Q: Do you plan on swimming in college?

A: I will be playing Division 1 lacrosse in college, so I will not be swimming, however if I ever get the chance I will definitely hop in the pool for a workout.

Senior Aaron Boyd has trained for a big part of his life in the water. Being part of the Annandale swim team for four years, he has grown as an individual and as a swimmer. All of his hardwork paid off as he broke a regional record and got an All American time for the 100 free, swimming at 45.04 seconds.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AARON BOYD

PHOTO COURTESY OF ASHLEY BRITTON

Senior Ashley Britton has worked hard all her life, swimming on her local swim team at Wakefield Chapel. She was able to improve throughout her highschool swim experience, and broke the 50 freestyle swim record set in 1975 receiving a time of 24.07 seconds.

Boyd reacts to seeing his astonishing time.

Q: What is your main motivation for swim?

A: I don't really have one, but it's great to see hard work payoff.

Q: How do you like to view your role on the team?

A: I don't see myself as anything but a swimmer who practices a lot more than anyone else.

Q: How was regionals for you this year?

A: It was great, I won two best times and won the 100 freestyle with an all American time. Our relay also broke a team record.

Q: How do you celebrate after a victory?

A: I celebrate a victory by blasting music with my friends and freestyling.

Q: How are you preparing for states?

A: I'm resting a lot more than I did before.

Q: What's the biggest achievement you have accomplished in your years on the team?

A: Winning regionals this year.

Q: What is your favorite memory from your four years on the team?

A: My favorite memory is the team dinners before meets and after meets. We grub very hard and the team makes me laugh. They have been fun all four years for me.

Q: Do you plan on swimming in college?

A: As of right now, yes I plan on swimming in college.

Q: Why did you choose to pursue swim?

A: I chose to pursue swimming because I found that I was skilled at it a young age and I am very competitive.

Q: How do you deal with a loss?

A: I don't worry about losses because they happen and I only get disappointed if I go really slow.

Q: What's your favorite part about swim?

A: The best part of swim is having fun with the team.

Q: When did you start swim?

A: When I was six I started to swim, but not competitively until I was 12.

Q: What have you improved on the most this season?

A: This season I improved on my power and strength in the water by lifting a lot.

Q: Do you have any family that did swim?

A: Nope, they can barely swim and I made them want to learn how to swim better.

March Madness 3v3 tournament Students prepare to take home the title of champions

BY SERGIO POZO Staff Writer A sense of competitiveness is in the air as last years 3v3 March Madness tournament winners, seniors Davian Gonzalez and Kevin Folli thirst for another shot at being champions. The second annual March Madness 3v3 Basketball tournament will be held on Wednesday, Mar. 2 at 3:15 p.m. in the main gym.

The teams will be organized into a bracket.

The size of the bracket will depend on how many teams sign up. There will also be a consolation bracket for a race for third. This results in a double elimination guaranteeing all teams at least two games. The games will be 10 minutes long as to not make the event too long.

Math teacher Michael Mazz along with ESOL teacher Tricia Kapuscinski are helping to organize the upcoming event.

"Last year was very successful with a huge turnout," Mazz said. "After the tournament, athletes asked us if we could do it again later that same year, but we decided to wait for the next school year."

That demand will hopefully transfer over to this year. It seems like it already has as athletes have already decided they would participate.

Senior Naol Bayisa intends on competing in the tournament.

"It's fun to play basketball with friends from the school and show off your basketball skills," Bayisa said.

However, not only upperclassmen are competing, sophomore Zaid Alkahfah is considering forming a team.

"I like competing with different people that are better than me so that I am faced with a challenge and gets me better," Alkahfah said.

With any competitive event, there must be some kind of prize to give athletes more than just bragging rights as a motivation to

win. This year, winners of the tournament will receive a custom made March Madness shirt as well as a choice of other merchandise including a bucket hat, Atoms crew socks and a water bottle.

Last year, none of the AHS Basketball players participated even though they are allowed to participate. However, this interferes with their season making it unlikely that any players will participating.

"Well, the main goal of the tournament is to have fun," Mazz said. "But the proceeds will also go to the class of 2016. This will be one of the last fundraisers before seniors go to prom."

President of the class of 2016, senior Ashley Britton also feels the same way.

"March Madness is super exciting. It not only raises a chunk of change for our class, but it is very competitive and fun!" Britton said.

As we wait for the day to come, you can sign up during all lunches starting on Feb. 22.

Folli, Gonzalez and Samuel Tamrat pose after winning last year's tournament.

16 SPORTS Wrestling moves past regionals

Feb. 24, 2016

Staff Writer

Senior Alex Joya being awarded with a win at Pack The Pit on Febrary 3.

Throughout the year I felt like we were constantly moving forward," Lodhi said. "The best thing about him is he's a young coach; having a coach that is able to use his abilities like he can is very beneficial for the team.

I can't wait to see how the mighty Atoms are like 2-4 years from now."

Regionals for the Grappling Atoms are no walk in the park. At

regionals, the stakes are higher and the competitors are more skilled, but the Atoms stepped up to the challenge nevertheless.

"Considering we have 12 out out of 14 wrestlers on our team being regional qualifiers, I think we can do some damage," Lodhi said.

Regionals took place this year on February 12 and 13. The Annandale

Atoms this year have two wrestlers who qualify for states, seniors Alex Joya and Sergio Martinez. The rest of the 10 wrestlers failed to make the top three rack, so their season ended on that day.

"Regionals was a great experience for me because this was my first year making it to the postseason," Swedish said.

This was a very new experience for many wrestlers, seeing it was the first time getting a taste of the regional atmosphere.

"I thought regionals was like a mini-Nova Classics, one of the most important meets we had earlier this season," Grappling Atoms manager, senior Autumn Yang said.

Regionals are a very important stage in these wrestlers' respective careers. They have been practicing all year and working to be successful for that point in time.

"The schools that wrestled in regionals were from different parts of the area and thus it brought hard competition," Grappling Atoms manager, Danielle Robinson said. "The competition in regionals was very

DUY NGUYEN

The defending district champions, the Grappling Atoms, had to put their title on line at this year's competition. The Atoms successfully defended their title, and were crowned district champs once again. This is the first time in Annandale history where the school won back-to-back district championships under two different head coaches. Last year they were victorious under coach Keith Shoulders and now they've won under new coach, Derek Sweet.

There were four individuals who won their whole weight class bracket on the team: senior Hammaad Lodhi for 113, sophomore Allen Kokilannanda for 126, senior Alex Joya for 138 and senior Sergio Martinez for 285 (heavyweight). There were also four who made it to the finals but finished second: sophomore Hunter Swedish for 126, senior Michael Weaver for 145, senior Azamat Israilov for 160 and senior Mohammad Hamza for 170.

"Winning two districts titles in a

row is something i'll always remember about high school, it's a memory I'll cherish forever," Hamza said.

Wrestlers who have won districts had a short amount of time to celebrate because on February 12 and 13, things got tougher at regionals.

"It definitely feels great to win the district title again, but what matters now is placing top five in the region," Lodhi said.

Coach Sweet played a very important role in the Atoms victory.

To come to a new school, coach kids you've never built relationships with, and to have to top the legacy left by Coach Shoulders is not an easy task, but Coach Sweet stepped up to the challenge.

"Coach Sweet did a really good job, coming to a new team isn't easy for a new coach, but Coach Sweet still had high expectations for the team and he worked hard which is why we made it to this point," Hamza said.

The team has grown to love and admire coach Sweet.

"Coach Sweet did a fantastic job keeping the team on their feet.

Coach Matthew Behne sharing a moment with junior Jordan Adams against West Springfield on Feb. 19.

Boys Basketball suffers defeat in first round of playoffs

BY DUY NGUYEN Videographer The Atoms faced the West Springfield Spartans in a tough first round of the district tournament. It was a hard fought battle for the atoms.

"I wish we played like that every game. We came out with so much hunger and played unselfish," Senior Samer Ighrayeb said.

The Atoms were trailing for most of the game but the Spartans were never up by more than eight points the whole game.

"I think we played hard but it wasn't enough," Junior Jordan Adams said.

Both teams knocked down their threes and exploding in the paint. Junior Dontae Johnson was the Atoms leading scorer with 20 points. Adams also had a huge contribution with 16 points.

In addition, Adams had a half court buzzer beater to bring the game within three. This gave the Atoms momentum coming out of the half where they took the lead coming into the third. The Atoms played well

in the first half but the third quarter was what hurt them the most getting outscored 20-13.

"I felt like the Atoms were the better team. Also, we felt like everyone was on the same page therefore we felt unbeatable," Ighrayeb said when asked what was going through the minds of the players throughout the game.

Unfortunately, the lead didn't last long, but the Atoms were still in the game. The Atoms struggled with rebounding and had free throw trouble, shooting just 6-10 from the line.

If the Atoms were to make their free throws, the game would have been in their hands, especially with O'Connell transfer Lewis Djonkam in foul trouble. The 6'7 opponent controlled the paint down low by opening lanes and getting rebounds for the Spartans at O'Connell. He was considered as one of the best rebounders in the WCAC. "West Springfield crushed us down low," Adams said when asked what he thought the faults were in the game.

Going into the fourth quarter, the game couldn't have been any closer

Johnson was being authoritative in the paint while Adams was controlling the three. The game had a close end, the final score 55-59, leaving the Atoms with an unfortunate loss versus the Spartans.

When asked about how the game went Ighrayeb, said, "There were no faults really. Every shot was a good shot. You can't win every battle. We played for the scoreboard, not the scorebook."

This was the most unselfish game the Atoms have played all season, with the ball moving around looking for the best chance to score.

The boys struggled throughout the regular season but exceeded expectations against West Springfield. It was a hard fought game and the Atom's future is looking good.

Although seniors Ighrayeb and Dini Mohamud won't be able to join the Atoms next year, the rest of the Atoms have plans to improve their game to during the break to win it next year.

When asked what were their plans for spring Dontae Johnson responds, "We have spring league soon and off season workouts."

Senior Kiara Patino attempting a 3-point shot against West Potomac.

Girls Basketball falls in playoffs

BY ALMAZ ABEDJE Staff Writer Third time was not the charm for the Girls Varsity Basketball team when facing the West Potomac Wolverines in the first round of districts on Feb. 19. The Atoms fell short of expectation, given their 2-0 regular season record against West Pot, losing 43-57, effectively ending their season.

The lead was constantly changing throughout the game, much like their previous matchup two days prior. The one point lead at the end of the first quarter quickly vanished as the Wolverines gained momentum going into halftime with a score of 29-24. Although the lead was cut to three in favor of West Pot at the end of the third, the momentum remained with the Wolverines for the remainder of the game.

Co-Captain Senior Katie Pacak, one of the top scorers of the game, sparked momentum throughout the match. Her 10 points, rebounding, and consistency at the free throw line heavily contributed to the successful moments in the Atoms offense.

Athlete of the week: Sergio Martinez Senior varsity athlete makes it to states Senior Sergio Martinez has wrestled all four years for his high school career. This year, he has made it to states for his weight class and is able to represent the Grappling Atoms while competing against the best wrestlers in Virginia.

Q: When did you start Wrestling?

[The first time I wrestled was] my freshman year for JV.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SERGIO POZO

Q: What weight class do you wrestle in?

I wrestle 285.

Q: What made you want to join wrestling?

I didn't want to, I was forced by Coach Adams. He threatened me. If I didn't wrestle, I wouldn't be able to play football.

Q: What do you do usually before a match?

I listen to music. I try to relax.

Q: What was the best moment in your wrestling career?

Winning districts.

Q: How do you and your team celebrate a win?

We go to Buffalo Wild Wings.

Q: How do you and your team deal with a loss?

We work harder and get ready for the next one.

Q: How difficult would you consider wrestling to be?

It's very difficult. It's not an easy sport.

Q: What's the hardest thing about wrestling?

Practice.

Q: How was your Senior Night for wrestling?

My senior night for wrestling was really good. I pinned my

stiff, that's why only two Atoms made it to states. In this point in time everyone has experience with wrestling, there isn't any easy wins, it's all earned."

"I think there's always room for improvement for every athlete, but the guys have worked tirelessly and endured a lot to get where they are.

The guys worked very hard and it showed by their obvious improvement," Danielle said.

The wrestling team this year worked very hard under Coach Sweet, but like every other sport, good is never good enough.

"I think they were really prepared, they're really good with focusing on themselves and their matches, when it's game time they put on their game faces," Yang said.

This is a testament to the will and the willingness of the team as a whole. Although the team is mainly made up of seniors, the spirit of the grappling atoms will never fade.

ALMAZ ABEDJE

BY KARUNGU THUKU

Senior Sergio Martinez getting ready to take down opponent during his senior night at Pack the Pit.

opponent.

Q: What have you improved on throughout high school wrestling?

It made me a better student, a better man. It got me tougher.

"Tonight I felt we did a lot better job of being patient with the ball and passing it around to get more open looks and to get it inside more to our bigs," Pacak said.

This was evident as well with 6'2" junior post Katie Garrish, with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Up-andcoming freshman guard Jayla Irvin, who scored 11 points, ran the offense for the majority of the game.

"I feel like I did well and this was one of my best games," Irvin said.

Although the momentum constantly shifted throughout the game, it was a rough shooting night overall for the Atoms. Their shooting inconsistency as well as the aggressive Wolverine defense contributed to multiple Atoms' single-digit scoring quarters.

"On offense we didn't finish off plays, we weren't hitting shots, and some shots were rushed or forced," Pacak said.

In comparison, West Pot was only held to one single-digit scoring quarter.

Foul trouble also heavily impacted the outcome as the team only attempted 12 free throws while their opponents attempted 29. In addition to the abundant trips to the line, four

players had four fouls each by the middle of the fourth.

When Pacak, one of their star players, fouled out late in the fourth, it was clear that the mentality of the team had already declined to a point of no recovery.

"We lost it mentally when their lead got greater, although we have been in the same situation and came out too before," Pacak said.

Second year AHS Girls' Varsity basketball coach Jimmy Brown was disappointed with the outcome but content with the season overall.

"I'm satisfied with most of the effort but as a coach you're never completely satisfied," Brown said. "I wanted more for this group, more results not for me personally but because they put a lot into this and they played so many teams tough."

As the offseason begins, Coach Brown expects each of his players to get ready for the next season well in advance.

"We're going to start a little bit earlier with our preseason stuff," Brown said. "We're going to make sure we still play in the McNamara summer league and we're going to make sure these girls know this feeling can never happen again."

SPORTS 17 Athletes stay in shape for spring Feb. 24, 2016

BY ALMAZ ABEDJE AND RACHEL SHOGREN Staff Writers

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANANDA POUDEL

SABRINA HAWA

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAMERON FOTI

PHOTO COURTESY OF CASEY GOETTLICHER

prior to tryouts, mental attitude is just as important. Many athletes expect a high amount of competition, regardless of the As winter sports come to a close, sport. spring athletes prepare for the upcom"There will be a lot of ing season. competition because no During the transition from winter one has a guaranteed spot to spring sports, athletes try to stay on the team and there are in shape for their next sport. As threea lot of good players trying peat athlete senior Katie Pacak's final out," Agyapong said. basketball season comes to an end, she High hopes for the continues to stay in shape for lacrosse. spring season is a clear "I'm still in season for basketball factor among student-athso the running we do there I'm hoping letes. will help with [my] conditioning for la"I expect everyone to crosse," Pacak said. "I've also been playwant to work hard and coming wall ball and plan on trying to go to Athletes stay in shape by doing sports, (left to right) Casey Goettlicher runs cross country, Cameron Foti passes the ball in lacrosse, Katie Pacak practices basketball, and Ananda Poudel practices soccer. pete in every practice and a few green days." every game," Pacak said.

Fellow three-peat senior Nana ForWith the large incoming class of 2019, want this season to be fun and I also expect track and playing as much as he can to get "There's always things that each player son similarly prepares for spring track in a many student-athletes are preparing for our team to go into every game and give ready for the upcoming soccer tryouts. similar fashion. their first spring season and await immense their 100 percent," Goettlicher said.

"There will be a lot of competition [at try- can do to get better individually and as a "Staying healthy [and] in shape as well as competition, like freshman Cam Foti who Competition at tryouts is a concern for outs] because no one has a guaranteed spot team. I want this season to be fun and I also healing up from current injuries is my main plans on trying out for lacrosse. many. on the team and there are a lot of good play- expect our team to go into every game and focus," Forson said.

"To prepare for tryouts, I am practicing "I think there will probably be a lot of ers trying out. My expectations are to devel- give it their all," Goettlicher said. "This is my Tennis player, junior Julia Sheehy, takes my shooting, passing, and dodging," Foti competition because a lot of guys really want op much more as a player and for the team last year to show how good I am at my sport private lessons every week and plays when- said. to be on the team," Foti said. to win more games than we did last year," so getting conditioned is a really big deal, since it will be my last season ever." ever she can to get ready for the season.

More experienced players, like senior "The nice thing about tennis is that there Agyapong said.

Athletes are trying to make their last few Junior Liam Conroy also does what he can soccer player Casey Goettlicher still do not are two levels. If you are not able to make For athletes like senior Ananda Poudel to stay in shape and get his muscle up for expect anything less than players who are the varsity team, you are able to play on the who only play one sport, the pressure to workout schedules until the season swings into full gear, as the season breaks out these baseball. "I am lifting and running every day trying to make the team. lower team and still be able to learn," Sheehy make the team is at an all time high. and practicing my baseball skills every day as "There's always a lot of competition at said. "But it is competitive for those compet"I'm getting myself mentally prepared by athletes will try to excel the expectations and try to make varsity for their sport. well," Conroy said. tryouts but I try not to think about that, I just ing for spots on the higher team." watching live soccer games," Poudel said. try to play my own game as best as I can. I Junior Jesse Agyapong has been running While physical preparation is essential

Heard in the Halls: How do you prepare for spring sports?

"By eating right and making sure you're in shape."

GEORGE TWENEIBOA freshman

"I take weight lifting "By playing a winter as a class (Body by sport and going to Coach Scott) also I spit green days." hot fire."

CASEY NGUYEN LESLIE MORIBA freshman sophomore EDDY MENDIETA

"Go to the green days, eat right, and condition."

"I go on runs after "I lift, go to basketball "I go on runs and play "I try not to eat junk, school, eat healthy workouts, and do AAU club volleyball."

I swim in the winter and drink lots of basketball." and I workout." water."

YOUNI ESKINDER MADELYNE MCCROSSIN junior Junior JORDAN HERMANN IRIS ARRAZOLA senior

junior

sophomore

Swim season comes to a close Sports Editor and Staff Writer The indoor swim and dive season has ended and the team is now preparing to come back next year and do better.

Many swimmers are setting new goals and expectations for their upcoming season.

"We have to step up our speed in races because we will be losing Ashley and Aaron," sophomore Lennon Wuhrer said. "A lot of the team and the new members are inexperienced so we have to set a good example for them." Seniors pose for senior swim picture against Woodson for their last meet of the season.

Many of the most experienced and "I think I'll miss the energy of ev- losing," senior Gabe Martino said. "We all accomplished seniors are graduating, eryone," senior Karmena Werking said. just did our best, and I think that's what therefore the underclassmen will need to "There was always laughter and a positiv- I'm going to miss the most, just being a practice even harder to fill the roles. ity that you never felt like you failed, and team and having a good time."

This means that they have to work you always had more room to improve.

"I enjoyed the time we spent togethharder and follow in the graduating se- Everybody supported everyone and it er as a team. It really made us define niors' footsteps. was nice." the one team one family motto," senior "This year we are losing about 20 or For these seniors, being on the swim Franklin Joseph said. so seniors so there are really big roles to team with the bonding and making new Most of the seniors are leaving on be filled," Wuhrer said. friends was one of the most memorable a high note but want to make sure the While the team did not end on the aspects of high school. roles are filled in by the underclassmen, note they wanted to end on, the seniors "Every team dinner, every bus ride so the seniors gave helpful advice on how specifically will miss the season since it is and every meet had the best vibe anyone to make the team even stronger than this their last meet for their high school swim can ask for the entire time. We all swam season. season. for fun and didn't worry about winning or "I would say don't be so hard on

yourself if you are new to the sport. Swimmers can only get better, but you have to start somewhere," Werking said.

"I hope they can carry on the traditions that Annandale has had for many years like the hair bleaching, team dinners, etc. I just hope they remember to have fun and know that Annandale swim is a great thing," Martino said.

While most of the swimmers did not start swimming until high school, some people have the coaches and team to appreciate for their time on the swim team.

"I give all my success to the coaches and the team, and I would like to also state that I could not ask for better teammates, they made this season exciting and really awesome," said senior Beau Hatch.

The season was an experience for everyone and the remaining athletes are prepared to come back next year with an improved attitude and skill, while still carrying on their traditions and doing it for the right reasons.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BEN PADRUTT

BY RYAN GAMMON AND LINA ALTAII

Senior Gabe Martino wears his senior night sash before his swim meet against Woodson.

Jacob Weber qualifies for states Gymnastics reflects on season well as improve ourBY GRACE HOGYE selves."

Staff Writer Because there were only five girls After many competitions on the team, they and practices, the gymnasencouraged each tics season has come to an other throughout end. The gymnastics prothe season. gram at Annandale is less Gymnastics was appreciated, but it is starta great way for the ing to become more popular. members to create Last year, the team only connew friends within sisted of one member. This the team. With such year, there were five. a small team, it was AHS does not have a important for them coach, so the team practices to support each at Lake Braddock and uses other at practices their coach for instruction.

Gymnatics poses for a team photo, (left to right), Luisa and competitions.

They use their facilities as Pedraza, Alichia House, Mollie Valorose, Ivana Jarin, Nicolle "We got along well well.

Uria and cheered each other Most of the team members on at meets and gave joined because they wanted to Despite the challenging circumexperience a different sport than stances, she was still able to excel each other constructive criticism to they were used to. this season and improve her skills build upon our skills," junior Mollie Valorose said.

"I decided to join because I while still having fun.

The gymnastics program hopes wanted to really challenge myself "All of us picked up the skills and because it's something I've never competed with girls who had lots of to expand and recruit more memdone before," sophomore Nicole experience where some of us had bers next year, and continue to imUria said. none," Uria said. "But we managed prove.

Uria, like many of the team to learn throughout the season as members, was new to the sport.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MOLLIE VALOROSE

PHOTO COURTESY OF JACOB WEBER

greatly from his previBY GRACE HOGYE ous training.

Staff Writer "My practices have The annual state track been the same as they meet is being held at Boo Wilwere earlier in the sealiams Sportsplex on Feb. 26 son," Weber said. "Lots and 27. of repeating the same This year only one runner, things trying to get them junior Jacob Weber, qualified perfect." to run at the meet. It is his first The upcoming meet time competing at the state is a great way for Weber competition and he is going to end his season. It reto be running the 55 meter flects the work that he hurdles. put in throughout the The state meet is a comregular track season. He petition for the top runners is hopeful for next seafrom various regional meets son and excited to see throughout the winter season. what he and the track Running at the state competiteam can achieve.

Jacob Weber runs the 50 meter hurdles at conference tion is the goal of many high "My team as a whole school track runners. did well, we have a lot of The states meet is more intense It is a great accomplishment to and competitive than other meets good, young runners and a lot of qualify for states and Weber is ex- and requires a lot of training and leadership from the seniors, but I cited for the opportunity of running preparation. think with the coaching we have we at the meet.

He has been putting in a lot of can be a lot better in the spring."

"I think it will be a great experi- effort in order to achieve his goal of ence competing at a much higher running a 7.92 (seconds) in his event. level than I am used to," Weber said. Despite the more serious meet, Weber's practices have not varied

18 ENTERTAINMENT

Feb. 24, 2016

Rapper beefs over the years

BY AHMAD AYUB Entertainment Editor

Ice Cube vs NWA

Jay Z vs Nas

Jay Z and Nas are both two of the best rappers of all time. Today, they're great friends, collaborating together sporadically. 15 years ago however, they had one of the biggest and most hyped rap beefs of all time.

The beef started when Jay Z released his song "Takeover," adding a little quip at the end aimed at Nas. Nas responded with "Ether," released on Jay Z's birthday. Nas unleashes his skill on Jay Z, delivering one of the best diss tracks ever made. Nas goes all out on Jay Z on the track, from dissing Jay Z's features, to his alleged affair with Foxy Brown, to claiming that he tries to replicate Biggie's flow.

The "official" end of the beef was in Jay Z's response, "Supa Ugly." Jay Z fires back, criticizing Nas for being a fake thug, then continuing to claim that he had an affair with the mother of Nas' daughter.

Although the diss tracks ended, the dispute was referenced by both Jay Z and Nas in "Blueprint 2" and "Last Real N**** Alive," respectively.

In 2005, Jay Z took part in a comeback concert named "I Declare War," inviting rappers to make peace, Nas being one of them. Since then, they have collaborated together a few times, with Jay Z's "BBC" being the most recent song.

BY HEZEKIEL YONAS Editor-in-Chief One of the most groundbreaking hip-hop groups of their heyday, N.W.A, broke up due to issues within the rap band.

After their success following their critically acclaimed project, Straight Outta Compton, and singles "Straight Outta Compton," "Express Yourself" and "Boyz-n-theHood," rapper/songwriter Ice Cube left N.W.A. because he felt as if he wasn't receiving enough royalties for his contributions.

But the beef didn't end there. On N.W.A.'s follow-up EP, 100 Miles and Runnin', group member Dr. Dre disses Ice Cube, rapping, "We started out with too much cargo/ So I'm glad got rid of Benedict Arnold."

These lyrics resulted in Ice Cube retaliating on his solo track, "No Vaseline." Ice Cube came up with an array of punchlines to insult his former colleagues, including referring to MC Ren as Kunta Kinte and accusing the rap group of performing in homosexual activities.

Although both sides violently attacked each other through song, the feud eventually died down and Ice Cube would eventually go on to create more songs with Dr. Dre.

"I don't know who Nas is so I guess Jay Z is better because Nas is unknown."

JALEN JACKSON junior

"I think Ice Cube won because he was more original."

YABI BEREKET freshman

Drake vs Meek Mill

Wiz Khalifa vs Kanye West

BY HUSSEIN SALEM

BY SERGIO POZO Staff Writer

Ad Manager

"Oh [they] must think I'm not petty cause I'm the best that's ever made music."

This was Kanye's response to a tweet of Wiz Khalifa saying "Hit this kk and become yourself." Kanye thought that "kk" was referring to his wife Kim Kardashian, while Khalifa was actually referring to a strain of weed.

Khalifa also implied that Kanye should not name his upcoming but now released album Waves because he thinks that "Max B. is the wavy one. He created the wave.

There is no wave without him."

Outraged by this comment and a misinterpretation of the first, Kanye dished out a series of tweets where he made a total of 17 points toward Khalifa. Kanye called Khalifa's music corny and stolen from Kid Cudi.

However, things took an awkward turn when Kanye complimented Khalifa, saying "I went through your Twitter and you were wearing cool pants." Kanye went on to insult Khalifa's ex-wife, who also happens to be Kanye's ex-girlfriend. She later fired a shot at Kanye as well.

In the end, Kanye's album name was named The Life of Pablo. He also later deleted the tweets aimed at Wiz Khalifa (which totalled to over 20) and claimed that he was trying to focus on positivity.

Like most rap beef nowadays, it all started from a tweet. On July 21, Meek went to Twitter to call out Drake. He said the reason why Drake wasn't promoting his new album was because him and his team found out Drake doesn't write his own raps.

Four days later, Drake took on his radio show, OVO Sound, and released a song attacking Meek, "Charged Up". and releasing another diss track, "Back to Back," four days later. The track took over the internet, Drake asking whether who wears the pants in his relationship with Nicki Minaj.

Months later, Drake dropped a track on his OVO sound radio station, "Summer Sixteen." Of course, he targets Meek several times in the song, saying Meek messed up big time and he's not done coming for him.

It also turned out, the night Drake released "Back to Back", Meek Mill and Nicki Minaj had a show in Toronto. Drake checked in the same hotel they were staying at, booked a room directly above Meek and Nicki's room and played the track all night. In Meek's "War Pain", a song from his new EP, he says he was fine with it.

"Mood: I'm still up counting $500,000 cash, Nicki in the bedroom asleep. Life is good," he says.

"Kanye won, and he ended the beef when he said he's the father of Wiz's child."

YOUSSEF EL BOUKRI junior

"Drake came harder but the songs that Meek Mill just dropped bodied Drake. I think it's a tie."

SAM WASEEM senior

Actor and actress nominations for the past five years at the Oscars

The controversy over the Academy Awards

BY ALMAZ ABEDJE Staff Writer canmua.net

This year's Oscar nominations have earned the wrath of a number of black artists. The reason - all of the nominees in the four acting categories are white.

The Academy announced the nominees on Thursday, Jan. 14 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California and soon after, Actress Jada Pinkett-Smith, wife of Fresh Prince star Will Smith and a past Oscar winner herself, made her own announcement.

In a video message posted on Facebook, Pinkett-Smith said she will boycott the awards ceremony scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 28 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California. Also boycotting the ceremony are her husband Will Smith, Oscar-winning director Spike Lee and other African-American stars.

Shortly after the video was posted, senior Kerim Idris made a firm stance siding with PinkettSmith.

These are the 20 actors and actresses nominated for their performances.

"In my opinion, I believe the controversy is justified because actors of color provide so through humor, but this is no joke. On top of the lack of much entertainment and yet [they] aren't given credit for diversity among nominees, the Academy also fails to diit," Idris said. "To go off of Spike Lee's questioning of the versify its hosts. Although this will be Rock's second hostAcademy's integrity, how can it not be deemed a racial ing appearance at the Oscars, the show hasn't had a black host in over 10 years. issue?" "[Having Chris Rock host] doesn't compromise for Some see the decision made by Pinkett-Smith and Lee to go against an organization they have graciously ac- anything. Choosing a host is easy but giving the credit cepted awards from in the past as a bit odd. Others even people of color deserve is apparently hard for them," suggest the actress took the action simply because her Idris said.

Black Cultural Awareness Association President, sehusband was not nominated for his lead role in the movie nior Hassa Koroma, has been keeping up with the controConcussion.

Nevertheless, the boycott is very much supported versy and takes a firm stand with those boycotting.

"I feel that the controversy is justified," Koroma said. and needed. Social media, specifically Twitter, has been blowing up ever since the nominees were revealed. The "I think it's completely outrageous that people in charge hashtag #OscarsSoWhite has been a worldwide trending of the Academy Awards have allowed this to happen."

The controversy was not over the nominations this topic ever since the news broke out, which for the most year, per say. It was the fact that this occurred for the secpart has ruled in favor of Pinkett-Smith and the boycott.

Sophomore Cecilia Joseph also sided with the famous ond consecutive year at the award show.

Since 2014, there have been a number of undervalactress opposing the Academy's decision. ued movies, specifically starring black actors and actresses. In 2014 it was Selma, Dear White People and Beyond the Lights. This past year it was Straight Outta Compton, Creed and Concussion. Most of those movies were based off of true stories and involved the black main character speaking up against a system that was rooted against them.

Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs is the first African-American to hold that office and made a statement regarding the controversy.

"In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beHassa Koroma yond," Isaacs said.

She also claimed she was "heartbroken and frussenior trated" at the lack of diversity. Her statement clearly contrasts with the immense power her position holds over choosing the nominees.

"I think it's great that people are speaking up about it It's not even that fact that some black actors who because white supremacy has been going on in America weren't nominated should have been; it's much bigger for too long and it's not fair that great African American than that. The problem is a system that continues to rule actors don't get recognized for being great," Joseph said. against minorities, especially African Americans.

There is another dent regarding the boycott. The host With new cases of police brutality being broadcasted for this year's ceremony, Chris Rock, says he will not take on a daily basis throughout 2015 and the lack of repercuspart in the boycott. Instead, he says he will make a short sions against those in uniform, the consecutive decision reference regarding the controversy into his opening to exclude deserving African American actors from getmonologue. ting the highest form of recognition is unfathomable.

As a comedian, it is routine to react to outrage

"I think it's completely outrageous that people in charge of the Academy Awards let this happen."

Compiled by Ahmad Ayub

Reactions to #OscarsSoWhite

"No [it's not true] because last year or two years ago, 12 Years a Slave won GABBY WHITE and that was a movie sophomore about slavery."

"Yes [it is true] because they mainly accept white people as their winners."

"Yes [it is true] because there were no black people nominated, one director and the rest were white."

MERIEM AWLAKI senior

"[The] controversy is a valid argument due to the fact that the Oscar's is an event that has been going on for years."

"I think it's how you act, Will Smith might be a good actor but I think Leonardo Dicaprio should get it."

RICARDO PEREIRA

SAUD SHAH

JOHN PALETTI

sophomore

junior

senior

"That was really unfair and hopefully minorities get more recognition in the future."

SARAH DEIBLE senior

"I don't think it's okay because all races deserve the same chance."

AZAMAT ISRAILOV senior

"I think that it's pretty unfair that there's still a racial issue in a big event like the Oscars."

SHANK RAI senior

ENTERTAINMENT 19 Kanye releases The Life of Pablo

Feb. 24, 2016

BY HUSSEIN SALEM Circulation Manager Kanye West, the Atlanta-born, Chicago-raised hip-hop MC released his seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo on Feb. 14 via Tidal music streaming service.

West's long awaited album went three years in the making and features some of the biggest names in hip-hop including Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Kid Cudi and many more. It also features the biggest rap producers in the world like Mike Dean, Metro Boomin and Hudson Mohawke.

Despite the amount of superstars working together for this one project, many people doubted the album would be any good, because of West's new music style and because

he strayed away from "the old Kanye." Instead, he shattered those rumors. West combines the greatest aspects of his music and puts it all into one album.

The album kicks right off with a gospel-oriented song. On "Ultralight Beams," West talks about his faith in God, and how he searches for God whenever he's down, knowing he'll be alright.

The track features Chance The Rapper, The-Dream, Kelly Price and a choir for background vocals. To close the song, one of the greatest gospel artists of all-time, Kirk Franklin, leads a prayer.

The very next track, produced by Metro Boomin, West borrowed the song title, plus the introduction from Pastor T.L. Barrett's "Father Stretch My Hands."

KANYE WEST

The hip hop icon's seventh solo studio album is worth the three-year wait

The cover art for The Life of Pablo was designed by Peter De Potter.

West then refers back to his recent relationships with Amber Rose and his thoughts of his relationship with his wife, Kim Kardashian.

This is the best song of the album as it features a classic beat, vintage

Kanye West rapping and an overall amazing song.

In the second part of the song, West talks about his personal moments in life, including the car crash back in 2002 that almost took his

life, as well as his mother's death.

A big inspiration to this track is Ray West, Kanye's father who left him and his mother Donda when he was just three years old. Hours before debuting the album, West tweeted a picture of the lyrics of Pt. 2 captioned, "I cried writing this. I love my Dad." "Waves", the previous rumored album name, is the 10th track on the album and is quite different from the rest.

The song features vocals from artists Chris Brown and Kid Cudi. This track took over the Internet prior to the album releasing, and was said to be the song that caused the delay of the album. Kanye stated that it was Chance The Rapper's fault the tape's release was delayed because he insisted on adding this song.

First heard back in February of 2015 at the Yeezy Season 1 launch event, "Wolves" is a track that displays a spectrum of emotion.

The song falls perfectly into the album as the prior song, "Real Friends" ends with a similar beat to "Wolves."

West added and took some

verses out for the final album version of the track; he featured an outro from Ocean. After the album was finalized, West revealed that he plans to go back and fix the song.

During an interview with The Breakfast Club, West described the album: "...this album's just embracing the music, embracing joy and being of service to the people."

Just like all modern Kanye West music, the album produced mixed opinions.

West is an artist that never likes to do the same thing twice. He takes a completely different mind-set for each and every one of his projects.

In this album, West speaks about turning to God, realizing what his life has become and going insane from his fame.

With the addition of TLOP, Kanye proves to have the greatest discography of any living rapper, which includes seven classic solo albums and one of the greatest collaboration albums of all-time. Rating: 9.2/10

The Yeezy Season experience Kanye live-streams new album and fashion event

BY TIM GRAY

The premiere of Yeezy Season 3 was a star-studded event, with celebrities such as Pusha T, Kid Cudi and even Frank Ocean in attendance.

Taylor Swift famous and how she owes him sex, this line was met with a lot of members of the crowd going "Whoaaaaahhhh".

During these tracks, cameras panned through models wearing many of Kanye's garments from his fashion line.

Young Thug could be seen modeling, and new colorways for the popular Yeezy 350 were shown, as well as the unveiling of the new Yeezy 1050 boots, a sort of update to the clunky 950 boots.

After "Famous," the song "Feedback" was played. The song is a rap through and through, with no chorus and a very hard beat.

The highlight of this song was Kanye's line "Hands up, hands up, then the cops shot us," which was met with a lot of cheering and excitement from the crowd.

Kanye then played the song "Highlights," a very cheerful song which provoked the crowd to sing along.

Immediately after this track, Kanye plays the eery and nightmarish "Freestyle 4," which seems to characterize the dark and illicit activities that accompany fame. The audience went dead silent at the arrival of this track.

After "Freestyle 4," Kanye played the masterpiece I

KANYE WEST

On Thursday, Feb. 11, my friend Hussein Salem and I rushed out of school to go to Tyson's AMC to see the premier of The Life of Pablo, as well as the unveiling of Kanye West's new Yeezy clothing line.

Upon arrival, we were directed to the IMAX theatre in Tyson's, and waited in line to have the online tickets we printed out be checked.

As we walked in, we were welcomed to a black screen accompanied by the trademark "Yeezy Season 3" font title, occasionally switching to "The Show Will Begin Soon" in the same font.

This remained on the screen for a good 15 minutes, before cutting to a livestream of a fully packed Madison Square Garden.

The Garden was set up with angelic blue spotlights, peering over multiple large tarps where the models were preparing for the show to begin.

As the Kardashian family first made their entrance into the Garden, the crowd went crazy. Soon after, Kanye appeared, accompanied by the likes of Travis Scott and Metro Boomin.

He then proceeded to connect the fabled laptop from "Real Friends" and "No More Parties in LA" to the aux, and the fun began.

Kanye played the first track of The Life of Pablo, "Ultralight Beam." The viewers in the theatre, including myself and Hussein, took very well to this song and it became clear immediately that the theme of this album was happiness and redemption.

The second song had two parts, "Father Stretch My Hand Pt. 1" and "Pt. 2". The first part began with the classic "If Young Metro don't trust you, I'm gonna shoot you" tagline, and immediately cut to Kid Cudi singing "Beautiful morning, you're the sun to my morning babe." This song was taken extremely well.

"Pt. 2" was a very rapid verse about Kanye's father, and the struggles he had such as "all his cash, market crash" and "people get divorced for that."

While an entertaining and fast paced song with "Panda" by new GOOD Music signee Desiigner playing in the background, it is clear this song comes from a certain place in Kanye's heart.

The next song, "Famous," was the most controversial. Starting off with a line about how Kanye made

GETTY IMAGES

International Editor

West sold out Madison Square Garden for the premiere of Yeezy Season 3.

had been waiting for since it was premiered in a low quality form at the first Yeezy Season in early 2015: "Wolves."

The crowd immediately reacted with excitement at the reintroduction of the song. I noticed the song had been changed, removing Vic Mensa and Sia's solo parts from the song, and replacing them with a Kanye verse about protecting his children from the "Wolves".

After Kanye's verse, the unthinkable happened. The

extremely private Frank Ocean made his legendary return with a beautiful verse at the end of "Wolves", after a two year hiatus from music.

This took the audience completely aback, and I heard numerous voices exclaiming "Frank Ocean! He's back!

Frank is back!" all at once.

As Frank Ocean's solo played, I was certain I made a good choice in attending the premier.

Future continues his hot streak Haiti Baby.'"

"I think it's great that he never stops making music," Poudel said, "because the songs in the albums EVOL and Purple Reign get me

BY ANGELO LOPEZ AND KARUNGU THUKU Staff Writers

"I really like [how Future never stops making music] because his songs get me very hyped."

MARCH 2015 808 Mafia provided production on 56 nights, the title referring to how long DJ Esco spent in a Dubai jail.

"I thought 56 Nights was a great mixtape," senior Issac Tecle said, "especially since it deals with the Black Lives Matter movement and his deal with depression."

Dini Mohamud senior EPIC RECORDS

Future has most certainly had a monstrous year. His discography in 2015 alone surpasses some artists' entire careers. While quantity doesn't always ensure quality, Future still is able to make good music while seemingly releasing or announcing a new project once every couple of months.

"I think his work ethic is amazing," senior Ananda Poudel said, "because he's working in the studio on a daily basis."

This output is currently unmatched by any other rapper at as high of a level of success as Future.

"No one works as hard as him," senior Issac Tecle said.

Future released his newest album, EVOL, in early February, less than a month after releasing his mixtape Purple Reign. Produced

by Metro Boomin and Ben Billions, the album was debuted through DJ Khaled's We the Best Radio on Beats 1, kicking off Khaled's radio channel.

EVOL starts off with the song "Ain't No Time." The hook is extremely catchy and makes listeners engaged and expect more songs like this to appear later in the album.

Future is able to deliver on this with songs like "Maybach," "Photo Copied" and "Low Life." The song "Fly Sh*t Only" was the theme song in a

JANUARY 2015 Future released the nine-track mixtape Beast Mode with production from Atlanta producer Zaytoven.

"I liked how the project was short and to the point," senior Matthew Michael said, "while still delivering bangers like 'Layup' and 'Real Sisters.'"

EVOL debuted at the top of the Billboard Top 200 charts.

Beats commercial starring Cam Newton, a big fan of Future's.

Future's amazing year in 2015 put him in commercials for Nike and Beats, made a fan out of the NFL MVP and amassed a huge fan following known as #FutureHive.

"I believe that Future had a great 2015," Tecle said, "dropping so many hot songs and mixtapes after coping with depression and divorce."

As Future picks up where he left off in 2016, AHS students are glad to see him continue the constant release of new music.

"I really like it because his songs get me very hyped," senior Dini Mohamud said. "I loved Purple Reign top to bottom, one of his best mixtapes. I have listened to EVOL and it"s very good, my favorite songs are 'Maybach," 'Xanny Family' and 'Lil'

hyped and he also has the coolest DJ in the world."

Even though at times it seems like Future releases new music too often, fans can't get enough because of his catchy hooks and impeccable beat selection.

"Future picks hot beats," senior Matthew Michael said, "and is the poster boy for this Atlanta rap fad that everybody has been listening to and trying to mimic lately."

As Future continues his hot streak from last year, with a mixtape and album already released in 2016, he doesn't seem to be cooling down any time soon.

JULY 2015 The album DS2 was a huge hit, with songs like "Commas," "Where Ya At feat.

Drake" and "Blow a Bag." The album has sold 344,000 copies in the U.S. "The album is really good," senior Yoyo Fekade said, "and has some heavy beats that you can blast in the car."

SEPTEMBER 2015 What a Time to Be Alive showcased two of the hottest rappers in the industry: Future and Drake.

"I liked it because it was worth the hype," senior Omar Abdelhamid said. "It only took them a week to make and it came out to be a nice piece of work."

20 WEEKEND

Feb. 24, 2016

7.

8. Talk to people who

1. Register online for an 4. Ask about the major official campus tour

you're interested in

Although you can easily tour a college yourself by printing out a map of the campus, registering for an official tour has many benefits.

An official tour can give you insight on what it's like to go to that specific college, since most campus tour guides are current students. These students will be able to answer any questions you have from a student's point of view.

An official tour also goes on the school's records, so if you end up applying, they'll see that you showed interest in them by actually visiting. This can even help your chances of being accepted!

Asking about specific majors is another important factor of the college process. For example, if you're interested in the medical field many colleges have Pre-Med programs available for undergraduates.

While you may be able to find a list of majors on the school's website, it's easier to get answers in person for any questions you may have. If a college does not have a specific major you're interested in, you may be surprised to find out that some colleges let you create your own major!

2. Research information

already go there

Find college students that are currently attending the school because it will give you perspective. Talk to them about the campus life, rigor of classes and what makes this school unique.

See if you can shadow one of the college students to see what the campus life is like at the college. Take their advice and apply it to your college admissions process. Make sure to find multiple students so that you can get a holistic understanding.

9. Try to see an actual classroom/dorm

Dorms could vary from college to college so it's important to see the dorms that the colleges have to offer. Seeing a dorm will help you visually see the spacing and will give you insight on what to look for when thinking about a roommate.

Observing a college classroom will help you get a feel for the class size and the learning environment.

out your visit 5. Map before you arrive If you're planning on a college visit, make sure to map out your day before you arrive. If you're taking an official tour you should plan your day around the tour, choose a place for lunch afterwards and maybe decide on another place in the surrounding area to visit.

If you're touring the campus yourself, make a to-do list of all the things you want to do on campus and draw out your route before you arrive . That will save time and make your visit easier.

about public safety

Being safe on campus is something a lot of freshman college kids and their parents worry about their first year away from home. Ask an admissions advisor if the campus has a hotline or blue light system for safety while on campus.

A blue light system is a series of emergency alarm stations set up around campus to provide assistance to students, marked by a bright blue beacon. Many campuses even have transportation services that can safely take you across campus free of charge.

Getting contact information from admission officers could help you stand out. Make sure to introduce yourself and let them know that you would be interested in keeping in touch.

If you are really thinking about the school, make sure to make good use of the business card and send them an email. In the email, ask any questions that you might have. This will go a long way because it shows that you care and take initiative.

ELON UNIVERSITY

10

ways to perfect your college visit

10. Research financial aid

6. Visit the college's

College is too expensive to not look into the financial aid.

Most colleges require that each applicant fills out the online Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) which helps them decide how much money they will give you to help you afford the university.

While FAFSA isn't known for giving out huge amounts of money, a different form called the CSS Profile is another way colleges can help you with financial aid. For example, George Washington University is around $60,000 a year and in order to make sure their applicants can afford they require the FAFSA and CSS Profile so they can give each person the most amount of money possible.

surrounding areas College is more than just the campus. Taking the time to see what the town has to offer is important because this could potentially be home for the next four years.

The surrounding areas will help you get a feel for the atmosphere and will be able to show you what you will be doing in your free time. For example, if you're visiting Virginia Commonwealth University, check out the urban art scene in downtown Richmond.

around campus 3. Walk on your own time After your tour, take the time to walk around campus yourself to see how you like it. While a tour will take you to the landmark and more historic parts of the university, walking around with a map on your own can give you a better feel of what the campus is really like as a student. See what you can discover on your own, it may help you decide whether that college is really for you!

RESTAURANT REVIEW: Chadwick's

Get contact information from admissions advisors

203 Strand St. Alexandria, VA 22314 (703) 836-4442

BY BIRUK NEGASH & JEANINE BARAKAT Weekend Editor & Circulation Manager Nestled by the water on a quiet side road in Old Town Alexandria is a local restaurant known as Chadwick's. At first glance, the restaurant appears to be small and plain with no unique characteristics. Its location on a side road undermines the value that Chadwick's has to offer.

Although its location might cause a negative initial reaction, a change of opinion is guaranteed as soon as you walk through the front doors. Upon entering you'll be surprised by the initial warmth and coziness the restaurant and its employees produce! The decor is a bit old school, but that only adds to the restaurant's unique appeal.

A variety of paintings are plastered all through the restaurant, which is very appealing to all the art lovers out there. In addition to a variety of paintings are large windows which allow an abundance of sunlight to stream in.

At the entrance of the restaurant, there are tables placed on either side of you, and a bar straight ahead. A unique feature of Chadwick's is an attached piece of the restaurant where large windows

The soft and tender chicken sandwich comes with a side of your choice.

that stretch from the bottom to the top of the wall are placed, surrounded by brick wall. They even offer wall hooks to hang your coat, which creates a warm feel. The fake windows plastered on the wall, along with a fake balcony, add an Italian-esque feel to the restaurant. It is clearly a defining piece of the restaurant and can easily be seen as a favorite seating area.

You can go to Chadwick's to have a casual breakfast, brunch, lunch or a fancy night out. Located in deep Old Town, there is a dock nearby that you can visit within

walking distance. As the weather gets warmer, this feature will allow you to take candid photos with your friends and family. Opened seven days a week from 11:30 to 2:30 in the morning, you can enjoy a meal at any time of the day.

Chadwick's only offers brunch on Saturdays and Sundays, so make sure to specify the timing with your cravings.

The menu will accompany every taste. From nachos and quesadillas to make-your-own burgers. The desserts consist of a variety of pies and cakes to satisfy

Seniors Eden Mesfin, Marem Atef, Kadijah Sesay, Jeanine Barakat, Thida Pathammavong, Tipyan Omer and Biruk Negash enjoy lunch at Chadwick's.

your sweet tooth. One thing that is important to highlight is the quality of food that is served and the proper portion sizes. While you wait for your food you can request bread and butter to munch on while you have conversations. The prices are also fair, ranging from $10-$18. Once the food arrives you will happily enjoy your meal and

will leave satisfied.

Chadwick's has a great atmosphere, friendly service and offers great food. After a lunch or dinner, you are sure to come back with more friends. The casual relaxed setting makes it a comfortable and worth-while dining experience.

Restaurant Rating:

A

Class of 2016 Bulletin Junior Dontae Johnson posting up against the Bruins.

To-do list: February Edition Sign up for March Madness to support our class!

Attend Mr. Annandale on Feb. 26 @ 7 p.m.

Spring sports athletes, get ready for your last HS season!

117 days until graduation