Issue 5

A

ANNANDALE HIGH SCHOOL

the VOLUME #60 ISSUE 5

4700 Medford Dr. Annandale, VA 22003 470

Informinng the Atoms siince 1954 4

TUESDAY, DEC. 16, 2014

(703) 642-4229

Students reconsider colleges New York, a student, Emma Sulkowicz, has committed to carrying her mattress around with her until the school expels the student that she claims raped her during her sophomore year.

These are just two isolated cases of schools failing to uphold the standards that are put in place. The reality of it is that this is not an issue that is just now becoming relevant.

Rolling Stone prompts students to hold safety in higher regard

NATIONAL

BY BERTA TARQUI AND JAROD GOLUB Co-Editors in Chief Senior Kara Hoisington woke up in the middle of the night to a text message that she had gotten in a group message for her travel softball team.

The message had a link to an article that said that a former teammate of theirs, now at the University of Virginia, had gone missing. That teammate's name was Hannah Graham.

Along with the disappearance and murder of Graham, recent developments and concern about sexual assault on campuses have led to more and more students reconsidering the choices that they are making when they apply to college.

"It obviously hasn't just happened at UVA," Hoisington said. "Other schools, hundreds of schools, have had things like this happen on their campuses, and it's something that people need to take into consideration when applying to schools."

Across the country, colleges and universities are beginning to be spotlighted, not only for the violations of campus safety that are happening, but also for the way that the administration is handling the situations.

For example, at Columbia University in New York City,

According to the organization One In Four, one in every four women in college has reported surviving rape or attempted rape at some point in their lifetime. This statistic has remained the same since the 1980s, proving that there has not been enough conversation about this issue to lower the rates.

The organization also states that one in 20 women and men report experiencing sexual violence other than rape.

Usually these crimes of sexual harassment or rape occur during the first few months of school. A reason why this trend may be happening is because some new students feel pressured to join parties where drinking or drugs tend to be involved. Alcohol and drugs can inhibit a person's thinking and may cause them to make decisions that they usually would not make if they were sober.

Many freshman students are starting college without a lot of experience keeping themselves safe while away from home.

"Obviously, being away from your parents for the first time and doing things on your own, you have to figure out what's safe and what's not by yourself. There are police officers there, but it's really up to you and having to trust the people around you," Hoisington said.

Students cannot rely on campus security to keep them safe at all times, because many of the stories surfacing see RAPE pg. 5

Spirit week excites students Leadership raises awareness for bullying

Clubs and organizations decorate halls for prizes

BY TIPYAN OMER Staff Writer Around the holidays, the Leadership class plans the school's annual winter spirit week.

Usually creating a holiday themed spirit week, the committee decided to shake things up a bit by bringing to light a problem that is very real to our students. AHS leadership worked with counselor Ilana Reyes to come up with a spirit week that raises awareness about bullying.

Many students believe the Leadership team has a huge influence in our school, so it's great to see them putting their power to good use. All the spirit days have an anti-bullying theme. Many students think this concept is beneficial to the student body.

"I think incorporating anti-bullying week with this winter's spirit week was a clever idea," junior Ruth Tiguh said. "Not only does it allow students to show school spirit, but it informs students why we chose the spirit days."

Monday was "Put bullying to rest and wear your pajamas to school" day. Several students wore their nightclothes to symbolize bullying being put to rest.

On Tuesday, students were "MARVELous" and asked to put an end to bullying by wearing

Deck the Halls winners revealed

BY MAREM ATEF Staff Writer

Deck the Halls is also a tradition clubs and organizations do at AHS. This is the DECA's hall.

superhero costumes, showing how one could be heroic and take the opportunity to stop an act of bullying.

Wednesday was "Bullying is tacky" day, where students dressed in their tackiest clothing to show how tacky and tasteless bullying is.

On Thursday the theme was "Red, white and bully free." Students wore the colors of the American flag to show that we are united as a nation and school against bullying.

Mr. Annandale contest approaches

This all led up to the pep rally on Friday and the last themed day of "Black out against bullying," where students wore all black in order to "black out," or eradicate, bullying. This year, the Leadership class created an incentive for students by rewarding those who participate every day of the spirit week, with a free" stop the hate" t-shirt.

Creating an incentive for the students is a see PEP pg. 5

As students entered the math hallway on Dec. 12, many were in awe with the decorations on the doors and walls. Houses were constructed from paper, snowmen were plastered on teacher's doors with the teacher's face. Fake snow also covered the floor; it was their winter wonderland.

The winner of this year's Deck the Halls competition was the Class of 2015.

There was a tie for second between The A-Blast and The Antenna Yearbook (working together) and Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA).

Deck the Halls is a friendly competition between many different clubs and sports in spirit of the holiday season. The winners of the competition receive $300 towards their club.

Clubs who willingly participate are assigned with a hallway to design or a part of the school to bedazzle by continuing to uphold the theme of holiday halls. This year's participating clubs include Family Career Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), DECA, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Hispanic Leadership, The Antenna Yearbook, The A-Blast, Speech and Debate, Golf, Just World, Art Club and the Feminist club.

All the classes and their sponsors helped organize and participate in decorating a hall in the hopes of their class winning. see DECK pg. 5

Stocking drive to help children

BY BERTA TARQUI AND ANIQA RASHID

Republicans organize toy donation

Co-Editor in Chief & Staff Writer

BY BERTA TARQUI

The crowd of friends and family cheer loudly as senior and junior boys display their various types of talents on the stage in the auditorium. They have been preparing for several weeks, picking out the right suit and practicing their talent, whether it be lifting weights or performing a skit with their partner.

By the end of the night, a winner is announced and crowned Mr. Annandale.

The winner is given a sash as well. Leadership has held their interest meeting on Dec. 15. While some are interested in joining their year, others have to be encouraged by their friends to participate.

Leadership hopes to keep the categories that they have been using every year, but also hopes to see new talents and acts that will entertain the crowd.

"We are just really excited for [Mr. Annandale] and we to get a lot of participants," senior Nina Fairman said.

Fairman, who is the head of the Leadership committee coordinating the event, hopes to make this year's event much more exciting.

Co-Editor in Chief

Seniors and juniors are eligible

The Young Republicans Club is working on a campaign to help underprivileged children have memorable holiday season. For this Christmas season the Young Republicans are stuffing stockings with used toys and little essentials for children in need.

The stockings will go to the Philips Program, who serves special needs, children many of whom are at or below the poverty line. The Phillips Program accepts donations all year long and they have specific goals such as raising enough money to purchase iPads which can be beneficial to children struggling with communication and stationary bikes that will help children with movement difficulties and by helping them become active. Their school year campaign is called the 2014-2015 Annual Campaign.

This is stocking drive started on from Dec. 1 and will come to a close on Dec. 19. The president of the club, Amiansu Khanal, and Andrew Peters are the ones coordinating this as their project.

see LEADERSHIP pg. 5

Social studies teacher Fred Zuniga show the toys that were donated.

see STOCKING pg. 5

Winter work

Student traditionss

Q&A with alumni

Debate whether teachers should give homeowork

Holidays bring on different traditions for different cultures

Justin Zormelo interviewd about basketball career

Academics 6

International 12

Sports X-Tra 15

2 EDITORIALS

Dec. 16, 2014

One school, many changes Reflection on school policies from this year PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY PHUONG NGUYEN

BY PHUONG NGUYEN Editorials Editor Several changes have been imposed at AHS since the start of the academic school year. Changes have taken away freedoms that students have once enjoyed. The lack of cell phone privileges and the absence of Atom Time have caused discontent among the student body.

It's common to see students complain about getting their phones taken away and panic at the fact that there is no free time to complete homework.

For many students, school is becoming more like a prison rather than a positive learning environment.

CELL PHONE RESTRICTIONS

Junior Lailah Said has a story all too common when it comes to possessing a cell phone. Said got her iPhone taken away as she was quickly switching it to "airplane mode" when walking to class. The cell phone policy is Cell phone use this year has experienced major crackdowns and many students have had their devices confiscated. perhaps the most criticized change in the whole school students check their phones for calls, important mes- many students took advantage of Atom Time to work on year among students. their most challenging courses to avoid having almost inPersonal electronic devices (PEDs) are regulated sages, or reminders without causing any trouble.

Is not worth the time and effort to yell at students, humane all-nighters to finish homework. more harshly by the administration. Posters around To make matters worse, the Flex schedule itself is a school warn students of when and where the use of PEDs watch a box fill with phones then and seeing annoyed disorganized mess. Students sometimes have no idea is permitted. Students are allowed to use their PEDs be- parents on the weekends trying to retrieve them?

Why don't we all resort to passing notes around the where to go. One day, Flex is an extended W4 period, fore school, during lunch and after dismissal. Devices then back to R3, then to R7, then back again to R3. are allowed only with verbal permission from a teacher halls like in '90s? What next, paper will get banned? "[Flex is] annoying because it's only two classes that during class and are prohibited during class transitions, we go to over and over and I feel like it doesn't rotate exams and locker rooms.

GOOD-BYE ATOM TIME enough,"junior Ashley Giddings said. "I miss Atom Time; I "I think that [administrators] should be a little more At the start of the school year, Atom Time was regot a lot of work done." understanding," Said said. placed with Flex for the rest of the school Flex. Flex is a It is understandable that cell phone policy aims to dreaded part of White Days when students realize that limit distractions and disruptions, but is it necessary to they do not have the opportunity to finish homework or LATER START TIMES enforce the rule across all corners of school? have a head start on assignments.

The FCPS School Board voted to approve later start The administration is trying to address complaints Replacing Atom Time with Flex has hindered stu- times in October, concluding over a year of contentious from teachers about distruptive cell phone use, however dent's ability to make academic choices. Instead of hav- debates amongst students and parents. Next year, high the restrictions will not improve the situation. ing the liberty of going to any class for help, students are school start times will be set between 8:00-8:10 a.m.

This is the 21st century and cell phones and tech- forced to attend a rotating schedule of classes. with dismissal anywhere from 2:45-2:55 p.m. nology are behind treated as contraband items. Most This is especially hard for IB Diploma candidates as The decision may look appealing, however students

schedules will be negatively affected by the change.

Since the length of the school will remain the same, students will start their homework routine late and go to sleep later.

Students involved in extracurricular activities such as sports, theater and band will get home at around 6 p.m. or later since most practices and rehearsals end around 5 p.m.

With that said, students will have to deal with ridiculous evening traffic on their way home.

What's the point of having later start times if everything is only going to be shifted later?

Disguising one hour of extra sleep isn't going to help anybody. Students will feel more anxiety and pressure to complete their work on time. No one knows this better than IB Diploma candidates who have to manage IB Theory of Knowledge, clubs, sports and around three to five hours of homework a night.

Later start times will also promote procrastination as many students will feel the urge to hold off homework for later.

ATOMIC HYPE SQUAD UNITES SCHOOL Not all changes this year have been negative and conflicting.

Remember when football games used to be dead and empty? Thanks to the AHS Hypesquad, those days are over.

The Hypesquad has grown to be a prominent body at school and community. The Hypesquad boosts school spirit by encouraging students to attend football games and other sporting events.

Students not only have the opportunity to attend games with their friends but can also earn prizes from a points reward system.

Thanks to help from Leadership, the Hypesquad is one of the most recognizable student sections in the region.

The organization was voted as the Favorite Student Section in the DC area in a poll sponsored by WUSA9 and featured in an article on USA Today.

Overall, the Hypesquad has bought a good impression to the student body than in years passed.

"It [has] really brought everyone and made us more like a family and now there's less cliques, junior Janan Gokturk said. It means [a lot] to be a part of one school and one family and support each other."

Student spotlight: My time at Annandale Former student moves and misses friends & life at AHS I didn't know how great of a school AHS was until I changed schools.

It all happened so fast, it was very confusing and I had no clue what was going to happen. I moved in with my mom and started to attend King George High School in Stafford County.

I was of course overjoyed to get to see my mom and five siblings that I was not allowed to see in over a year.

I didn't want to change schools, but my mom couldn't drive me two hours every day to school.

My first impression of KGHS is that it is huge. The halls are almost twice the size of Annandale. The school colors are blue and yellow and the mascot is a fox, which is definitely not as cool as an Atom.

Probably 75 percent of the school had hunting camo on, so I stuck out like a sore thumb. Unfortunately, the school is an AP school and had only four courses per semester.

They were already half way

through their courses when AHS was only a quarter in. They didn't offer Latin or count my credit for Trig, which really annoyed me. At first I was put into all online classes.

I was brand new, had no friends and was stuck in the same room all day. Thankfully I was able to get put in USVA and AP physics, with two online class periods where I'm taking Spanish and already completed Economic Finance.

I knew I would want to start up a sport and I was planning to try out for the swim and dive team at AHS so I ended up doing it at King George. It's going pretty well so far and it is a good way to keep my mind off of everything.

I miss absolutely everything about Annandale. The teachers at Annandale are passionate about what they teach and they care about the students getting good grades.

I had such amazing teachers this year and was really upset to not be able to continue taking their classes. This would have been my third

COURTESY OF CHRISTINA OLKOWSKI

BY CHRISTINA OLKOWSKI Special to The A-Blast

Christina Olkowski (second row, fourth from right) poses with her former JV LAX Team; top right: Olkowski with her friend Molly Gormley.

year taking Latin at Annandale.

That class really changed my life. From all my amazing classmates and all the inside jokes to meeting the love of my life and Ms. Ash, one of the most caring and impressionable teachers I've had.

She would always take time out of her day to help me when I was confused on material or even my problems outside of school.

The music program we have is phenomenal. Ever since I was

in sixth grade I wanted to be in Annandale Singers and last year I got in. This year I was so excited to be an upperclassman of the group, I was really looking forward to Broadway Desserts, Singing Valentines, assessment, our class trip and just singing with my friends. Every time I was onstage singing with that group it felt almost magical.

At Annandale people really act as a family. Even if you weren't really close, you were still treated with

kindness and everyone was friendly to one another.

I've witnessed at least four full-on fights while I've been here, and people give off the impression of being very "cliquey." I was taking yearbook this year and it was probably the most hilarious group of people I've met, I know you guys will be so "out of it."

Annandale has an amazing HypeSquad, which is great at supporting our sports by going big or

going home. I enjoyed being a part of the Atomic Dance team my freshman and sophomore years. It might not have been the most popular thing, but I enjoyed performing at games and competing, doing something I loved to do. I didn't do it this year but I wish my best of luck to them for their winter season.

I was on JV Lacrosse last spring and even though we didn't win any games we had fun. The coaches were all fantastic; I loved learning how to play and meeting new people. I was really excited to do it again this year, and sadly King George does not offer it.

I know you guys will play to win and do your best! I will definitely be coming to watch you play. Overall, I think my experience at Annandale has improved me as a student and as a person. It has challenged me to work my hardest in school and challenge myself.

I will never forget all of the memories and friendships I have made. I will visit as often as I can.

I wish the best to the graduating class of 2015 and to my class you're almost there guys!

Who knows what will happen, but I know that I am going to try and do everything I possibly can to return to Annandale my senior year.

Go ATOMS!

Letter to the Editor in response to "Give potential athletes another chance"

Staff

Track article wrong EDITORS IN CHIEF Jarod Golub Berta Tarqui MANAGING EDITOR Chelsea Alfonso EDITORIALS EDITORS Phuong Nguyen Sarah Metzel

Biruk Negash

Bailey Oliver

WEEKEND EDITOR: Erin Johnson

ACADEMICS EDITORS: Kailyn Garay Alaina Garay

INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Summar Ayoub

WEB EDITOR/ MASTER: Jared Lefbom

Faisal Hassan Ricque' Lynch Thida Pathammavong Nebeyu Solomon Maria Suarez Raphael Yu Timothy Gray Tipyan Abdelrahman Marem Atef Ahmad Ayub Jeanine Barakat Haben Cheffna Omar Haddou Emily Lien Mery Berhene Hussein Salem Arzoo Marzi

COPY EDITOR Linus Bumbaca

ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS: Nuhami Mandefro Conrad Shartel

IN-DEPTH EDITORS Alexandra Zernik Cayley Byrne

LIFESTYLES EDITORS: Soulisa Pathammavong Marilyn Rivas

HEAD VIDEOGRAPHER: Rahel Tecle

SPORTS EDITORS: Marife Baragano Sabrina Hawa

HEALTH EDITOR: Nancy Evora

AD MANAGER: Zeke Yonas

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORS: Kiara Patino Julie Swenton

CIRCULATION MANAGER: Zeke Yonas

PHOTOGRAPHER: Ricky Lam Emily Lien Andrew Nunez

STAFF WRITERS: Sheila Aguirre

ADVISER: Alan Weintraut

SPORTS XTRA EDITOR: Daniel Yenetega PEOPLE EDITOR:

ART EDITOR:

HEAD OF SOCIAL MEDIA: Andrew Gonzalez

Annandale High School Vol. 60 No.5 4700 Medford Dr. Annandale, VA 22003 703.642.4229 Dec. 16, 2014 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 theablast14@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, 2014.

First, I would like to say that I love The A-Blast. I think that it is great for this school. You recently asked us to put a name behind what we say like the kids that write these articles, so I am doing that now.

I just read the article "Give potential athletes another chance," and it makes us seem like we don't care nor do we want many people to tryout. I really wish someone would have come and interviewed us or asked some questions before this article was printed.

Just to put the record straight, we cut NO ONE this Indoor Track Season. Yes, there was nearly 300 athletes on the team a few years ago, but we hardly had 100 students try out this season. It is not our fault that there [were] not that many people coming out to tryout. We [begged] kids to come out and tryout especially for field events.

It is extremely hurtful that this article came out and put us in a bad light without asking us any questions. Other coaches and I put in many hours to this team, and I--for one--live to coach. I want nothing but the best for my kids. I want to see them succeed in academics and on the track, and most of all in life when they graduate high school. There are only six coaches, and we take on a tremendous amount of responsibility.

We are the largest team in the school, so you can imagine if we had 300 athletes and how hard that is to manage. I only [wrote] this to show our side. I want everyone to understand that we all coach because we love to mentor kids and see them gain strides over the years. We are not there to hold ANYONE back.

BY CARL KLEIN TRACK AND FIELD COACH

EDITORIALS 3

Dec. 16, 2014

Sarah Gets Sassy

Activism transformed Evolving technology changes social activism

BY SARAH METZEL Since the start of the millenium, a craze has swept the globe. It eats up our hours and shapes our lives, molding the youth who will become future leaders. Social activism has made a comeback.

"The American Civil Rights Movement was very much a part of my generation. I went to Washington for the famous march," social studies teacher John Hawes said.

"The Washington rally was peaceful, successful and there was a lot of spirit that said activism can work." This protester marched in the People's Climate March in NYC this September.

Activism was a large part of Hawes's youth. Graduating from high Movement were actually putting lifestyle is a relatively recent school in 1959, he spent his years their lives on the line and doing jail development. In 2000, the as a young adult surrounded by time."

Internet held over 51 percent the multitude of social movements Even though most of us aren't of the information in all that came out of the 1960s. His diehard activists, the easiest thing telecommunications networks, up sister was a Freedom Rider, riding you can do also happens to be the from only one percent in 1993. In integrated buses all through the most important: stay informed two decades, we went from living South to protest segregation and and have opinions. Coincidentally, in isolated nations to existing discrimination. that's also the most important part as a global community in an "Activism has not had nearly of being a citizen of a democratic interconnected world, united under the same success anywhere since," nation.

Hawes said of the American Civil It's embarrassing that only 36 Rights Movement. percent of Americans can name "The Most of today's social activism all three branches of government. depth of can, in some way, fit into the category That's according to a poll conducted of internet activism. In today's fast- by the Annenberg Public Policy commitment paced world, it's just more practical Center on Sept. 17 of this year. and for social justice organizations to That was the same day America communicate with followers online. celebrated national Constitution organization The Internet has drastically changed Day, commemorating the 227th it takes to the way information is spread. anniversary of the signing of the change a society is Gone are the days of traipsing Constitution. around town, stapling brightly There's really no excuse for humongous." colored flyers to wooden posts in ignorance when we are constantly John Hawes the hopes that someone will take being bombarded by social media Social studies teacher notice. Today we have mass email alerts and news updates. We've communication, Facebook groups been pampered by this plethora of and online petitions to spread the information for most of our lives, binary code. word about our concerns.

With Internet obsession changing relying on the instant-gratification "[Tweeting] doesn't cost you of the Internet to do our homework, the way we interact, we must anything intellectually, emotionally talk with friends and watch our ask the question: are we actually or physically," Hawes points out. favorite shows. participating more in society?

"The people in the Civil Rights This transformation in our Does the rise of Internet activism

SARAH METZEL

Editorials Editor

automatically equate to a more informed and passionate populace?

"Technology is very successful in drawing people in," Hawes said.

"However, it may not be connected with enough of the people who actually care deeply enough to do something."

The term "slacktivism" was coined by law professor Cass Sunstein to describe the activity of supporting a cause in a way that doesn't make a real impact.

People do this to feel good about themselves and give their online persona the appearance of being a conscientious citizen.

An example of "slacktivism" would be retweeting a statement or joining a Facebook group about saving the whales and then promptly forgetting about it. You might say to yourself, "I'm such a good person, now everyone will know I care about marine life!"

I'm not condemning all the "slacktivists" out there, because in the past I've been one myself. It's not ideal, but it's better than remaining ignorant and doing nothing.

It's surprising how the number of Facebook likes can contribute to

the success of a movement. People will decide to attend a march or legislators might decide to act on a cause based on these arbitrary numbers.

"Activism is an important part of solving a legal issue," Hawes said.

"The Civil Rights Movement had the benefit of having a very specific and genuine target."

For leaders to take an activist seriously, their movement has to have a purpose. If their issue is considered vague or unimportant, law-makers will disregard it and move on to one of the hundreds of other complaints they have to deal with.

"There was a general sense that the people in power were wooden and needed to be moved," Hawes said.

If you're a serious political activist, it might be important to remember that legislators act as puppets. After all, congressmen work for us. It's their job to listen to our complaints and suggestions. It's just a matter of garnering support for your cause and presenting your movement in a professional and organized manner.

"The depth of commitment and organization it takes to change a society is humongous," Hawes said.

Just like in the 1960s, movements are popping up all over the globe.

The Arab Spring pro-democracy movements that started in 2010 are still going on, as well as similar movements in Hong Kong, DR Congo, Darfur and several other locations.

The Climate Change, Gender Equality and Gay Rights Movements, just to name a few, are huge campaigns with millions of followers spread around the globe.

"Activism was not just in this country, but it was a global contagion," Hawes said. "Even before the Internet and Twitter, people paid attention."

Hawes makes an important point. To recreate the success of the Civil Rights Movement we need to pay attention to the real world, not just selected parts of the worldwide web. Activism needs to be infectious, permeating our lives and prompting us not only to click, but to act.

Modern movements making history Jadavpur. These students wanted to help others in the community be a part of the movement, and be in support of new changes made to administration regarding sexual violence in university.

The movement has disseminated throughout all of India as students and employees stand together against harassment in colleges.

Although there isn't any action currently being taken to stop the violence so commonly found in college campuses, several continually push authorities to enforce measures protecting students, especially women.

BY ANIQA RASHID Staff Writer

PEOPLE'S CLIMATE MARCH & ENVIRONMENTAL PROTESTS The People's Climate March (PCM) is an annual march in NYC, including 162 other countries, that attracts over 100 world leaders and environmental enthusiasts nationwide.

In addition to the annual rally, the organization branches off into several local projects and helps promote these current and future projects working to alleviate climate change.

Since climate change is caused by numerous factors such as factory pollution in water and air, and deforestation, many of the umbrella projects cover a variety of issues worldwide.

Several nearby community service and environmental programs have partnered with the program, and gotten together in order to collectively share their voices in the march in NYC. The PCM, along with other environmental protests will take place in other major cities such as Chicago, San Francisco and Atlanta.

VENEZUELAN GOVERNEMENT PROTESTS Protests began in January of 2014 after the murder of three civilians.

Originally composed of mostly student protesters, it formed into protest taken part by the entirety of the Venezuelan population.

After the death of President Hugo Chavez, the country was left in the hands of Nicolas Maduro which has led the country to its downfall as social and economic policies in place have no effect on the current conditions of the country.

Every month of this year, there have been rallies and riots against the Venezuelan government, in protest for better safety measures to decrease crime rate as well as take care of the many other issues that plague the country.

OCCUPY CENTRAL MOVEMENT

VENEZUELA FACTS · Protests began when former actress and Miss Venezuela, Monica Spear, was murdered · Peaceful protests, such as sit-ins and hunger strikes, have been used by demonstrators · 75 percent of Venezuelans think their government is corrupt · In April 2014, Maduro became president with allegedly 50.6 percent of the votes · Widespread media censorship in Venezuela Some of these issues are the lack and shortage of basic necessities, and injustice, in terms of having the freedom of speech. The most dominant and far-reached protests were from February to June of this year.

However, there are still smaller and more spread-out protests that take place in various districts of Venezuela.

This has not been the first time for a massive outbreak of protests in Venezuela. The country's authoritarian rules have fueled strong resentment towards the government, resulting in a multitude of walkouts for the past 10 years.

DARFUR FACTS SAVE DARFUR MOVEMENT Protests began in 2003 and continue today against genocide in Darfur, Sudan.

The Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) are two of the main rebel groups that opposed President Omar al-Bashir, with JEM being the most dominant recently.

Several students in universities near Darfur and neighboring areas have protested within their universities to stop the the displacement and killing of their citizens.

Many of these students have been arrested for their peaceful protests but also killed after police use force by shooting and using tear gas on the students.

Recently, there has been an increase in violence with the Darfur Rebels. However, smaller groups like the Addis Ababa and Tripoli groups decided to take part in a cease-fire.

Save Darfur Coalition, one of the main organizations attempting to eradicate the horrid conditions in Sudan, promotes activism through art and poetry spread by online resources. This "art activism" helps draw attention to the Darfur condition and eventually leads to more physical protests in Darfur and other areas as well.

· Headquarters of the Save Darfur Coalition is in Washington, D.C. · The conflict has displaced over 2.5 million people · The fighting is between the Sudan Liberation Army and the Sudanese Government · Sudan's former president, Omar alBashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court

HOK KOLOROB MOVEMENT The new Hok Kolorob or "Let there be noise" Movement began after the sexual molestation of a female university pupil by two other engineering students at the same college.

Jadavpur University students began protesting Sep. 10 in Kolkata, India to rally against sexual harassment and campus violence across India, beginning this year.

This is the first movement of its kind that originated in India and has used social media as a platform for internet activism.

Students from other universities took action and created a Facebook page to shed light on the events in

Coined as the "Umbrella Revolution" by Western media, these protests have made the news recently for the occupation of Hong Kong Government offices in China.

This civil disobedience campaign was created and named Occupy Central as Chinese citizens block off roads and access to the financial hub in Hong Kong, demanding a fair electoral system.

Many set up blue tents on the roads, then proceed to sit and wait until its time for their ritual rally.

The pro-democracy activists petition for a freer system in the upcoming election in 2017. This new system would comply with the international standards of suffrage and give people both the right to vote, as well as the ability to be elected for office.

The primary locations in Hong Kong where protesters stand up against Chinese officials are Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. The main Occupy Central Campaign protests ended on Dec. 3, but have continued via university students demonstrating in their place.

Protests on Dec. 11 taking place in Admiralty, a business hub, came to a halt as police arrested over 200 activists.

In other areas like Tsim Sha Tsui, protests began and ended quickly, with only three days of protest.

Despite the fear in the activists of the police bringing tear gas, or breaking their tents, students still continually to call for changes in the Chinese election procedures.

Torture atrocities exposed

BY SARAH METZEL Editorials Edtior I consider myself a patriot. Many of my closest friends would laugh at this statement because I've been known to openly disparage American practices overseas. I'll comment on every American faux pas ranging from our superiority complex to the use of drones in warfare.

Still, I consider myself a patriot.

This is because I care enough about our country to criticize our global presence. As the most powerful nation on Earth, I expect our leaders to uphold admirable standards.

So as I read about the torture methods used by CIA officials to interrogate alleged terrorists, I felt unbearably ashamed. Since Sep. 11, 2001, the majority of my life, the country that I pledge allegiance to everyday has been routinely violating human rights.

To say there have been "violations" would be putting it lightly. The torture techniques that our trusted CIA officials have used are some of the cruelest and unbearable mankind has ever endured.

One of the CIA's favorite torture techniques is waterboarding. A victim is strapped down and a cloth is placed over their mouth and nose.

Water is then poured onto their face so that they start to gag and a drowning sensation is simulated.

Waterboarding causes intense pain and brain damage, often resulting in the death of the victim.

Detainees of the CIA have also been forced to stand on broken limbs for hours, deprived of sleep for 180 hours, and subjected to unnecessary "rectal feeding."

One instance of "rectal feeding" occurred when a prisoner's lunch of

"As a patriot, I expect the best from my leaders. We have failed as a beacon of democracy in a world wrought with turmoil."

Sarah Metzel pasta, hummus, raisins and nuts was pureed and infused into the anus.

"Rectal feeding" allows for very few nutrients to be absorbed through the colon; mostly only salt and glucose makes it into the digestive system.

This technique results in anal fissures, hemorrhoids and rotting food inside the digestive tract.

The CIA euphemistically calls these forms of torture "enhanced interrogation techniques," or EITs. In his interview with Meet the Press, former Vice-President Dick Cheney said that "he would do it all over again in a minute."

The Senate's official report on CIA torture states that the techniques used were "not an effective means of acquiring intelligence" and they were "brutal and far worse than what the CIA represented."

People who have been following the CIA's activities would not be surprised that the organization is capable of doing this. If the CIA was capable of killing Congo's first democratic Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, for no reason other than convenience; I would not put torture past them.

As a patriot, I expect the best from my leaders. We have failed as a beacon of democracy in a world wrought with turmoil. The United States needs to become a benevolent leader in the world, not the hated dictator that tortures the weak.

FIVE MYTHS ABOUT THE CIA On your smartphone, scan this code using the application "QR Code" to read what the CIA does not want you to know.

4 NEWS

Dec. 16, 2014

Arts work with the holidays Green Atoms is expanding

Musical arts get festive with concert tunes

AHS garden becomes a large focus for the club

BY ALAN VARGAS News Editor

BY EMILY LIEN Part of the fun of winter holidays is hearing Christmas songs play in the elevator, in the waiting room and just about everywhere else.

What's even better than hearing it on the radio is hearing the festive voices and instruments in person throughout the winter concerts hosted by Annandale's Music Department.

The band's winter concert had already passed, but chorus concert's is today at 7 p.m. and orchestra's is this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Both events are worth six Hype Squad points.

Chorus is keeping the traditional songs of the holiday season, but it's also incorporating new ideas and creativity into them. Chorus is keeping classics like the "Twelve Days of Christmas," but is adding a new twist with "Silent Night" a different student will sing each line in a different language. One song will even be sung completely in Spanish.

"The music selection is beautiful.

They're filled with different tones, speeds and melodies. We're all really excited for the upcoming concert," senior Julie Nguyen said.

Julie is a dedicated member of chorus who has been part of her school's chorus since fifth grade and been singing for her church choir for four years. This year she is the acting president of the whole chorus department.

"I'm trying to get things changed up. We haven't had new t-shirts in five years, and the display case hasn't been changed since 2009.

EMILY LIEN

Photographer

AHS Chorus and Orchestra students collaberate for a large-scale performance for the holidays.

cellos, violas, first violins and the second violins are section leaders, and, like their name indicates, section leaders are responsible for managing the rest of the players in their section. The first chair of the first violins has the extra role of acting as concertmaster/ concertmistress.

Senior Lynn Kha has been concertmistress of the Philharmonic Orchestra consistently for the past year and will be for the upcoming winter concert this year as well. The concertmistress leads the orchestra and performs the more ceremonial duties. At the concert's opening, she walks up to the center of the stage, bows to the audience and then to her orchestra, and tunes the orchestra.

"Practicing music isn't a chore for me. I really like music

However, the council has been really active and meeting every week to discuss about what we could accomplish as a person and as a musician," Julie said.

Leadership positions in chorus were done with submitting a written application to Jessica Irish, the chorus teacher. Irish will then make her decision based on what position the student is running for, what the student wrote that he/she could offer if given the position and the qualities that the overall student possesses.

Orchestra awards their leadership differently. Before each concert, orchestra holds a playing test, and judging by the results of this players move up and down the row, with the best players at the front of the row.

The first and second chair of the

so that motivates me to compete against other people for first chair.

As I moved up from Artiste to Philharmonic, I had to compete a lot more because the players were all at a high level," Lynn said.

Lynn practices an average of one and a half hour to two hours everyday to improve herself and contribute to Annandale's orchestra.

"We're trying to step up, so the pieces we're playing for the winter concert are more challenging than they had been the previous years," Lynn said.

An aspiring club that has been at Annandale for years, Green Atoms, sponsored by Special Ed teacher Joyan Binsley, has decided to take on big projects and dedicate a lot of their time to focus on the garden this year.

Every year, Green Atoms works alongside Key Club in providing AHS students with community service.

The main service opportunity this club provides is recycling on Wednesdays in room 78. This, however, is nowhere near the extent to which this club services the community.

This year, the focus has been to get more members engaged in club activities, as well as work on the garden next to the orchestra room.

"We're not planning on making any drastic changes, but we're planning on doing more charity work, like donations, for environmental groups such as World Wide Fund for Nature," junior Green Atoms President Reemie Jin said.

In previous years, Green Atoms has struggled to meet a popular crowd, so they are working on new strategies to help bring about solutions to the problems in our community involving the environment, and hopefully get people enthusiastic about being green.

"For the garden, we're planning on having more member involvement with the cleaning and actual gardening," Jin said. "We're also planning on having some activities hosted in the garden."

There are several aspects of the club, besides the garden, that has drawn these students to take an

avid interest in it.

"My favorite thing about Green Atoms is that it brings people who have the same interests and passion for helping the community together," junior officer Farah Yasmeen said. "It [also] allows you to work with others because it's a group effort."

Like many other clubs, Green Atoms hopes to make a difference in the AHS community.

"We hope to improve our garden and clean it up so that it can be somewhere that students enjoy being in," junior Green Atoms officer Lydia Teffera said. "People are aware of recycling, but may not be aware of Green Atoms and what the club actually stands for, and we would like be known as something other than a recycling club."

Just as well, members and officers hope to gain something from the experience in this club.

"I hope that I gain more knowledge about how I can help the environment within my community," Yasmeen said. "And hopefully, I'll be able to pass on that knowledge to others as well."

So, as shown, this year is proving to be very promising for Green Atoms, so make sure to get involved!

Check out Green Atoms plans On your smartphone, scan this code using the application "QR Code" to read about the future plans of Green Atoms

Clubs offer students ways to donate and volunteer

BY BERTA TARQUI Editor in Chief Through several projects including Toys-For-Tots, canned food drives, book drives and working in shelters, clubs across AHS offer students several opportunities to get involved.

Key Club has not gone into to

any major projects this December, as it's main focus is going to be in January. National Honor Society is holding a Toys-For-Tots donations box in math teacher Molly Jepson's room. The Atoms Red Cross had a successful winter items drive which included clothes, foods, and other winter necessities.

All clubs have expressed their gratitude by thanks to the members who got involved.

Though this act of giving back to the community is more habitual than holistic, there are always plenty of students who take this time and see it as a very important opportunity.

"I think it's pretty important

to help other people during this time," senior Brenna Schields said.

"Especially as it gets colder, it's important because a lot of people wouldn't get any sort of help any other way" Clubs such as Atoms Red Cross, Key Club and many more offer students several opportunities to get involved at the AHS community, as well as the rest of Fairfax County.

These projects range from small things like donations, to big projects like helping out at homeless shelters.

Officers and members believe that any project, no matter how big or small, can make a big impact

on the surrounding community, so they invest in a wide variety of projects.

Still, some projects definitely prove to be significantly more impacting, due to the size of the project as well as its immediate impact. Certain students recognize this.

"I think the best way to help is by donating food and clothing to organizations that will give it to people in need," Schields said. "Or, volunteering at places like soup kitchens that people get a warm meal."

Whatever the project, it is important for everyone to get involved and make a difference.

SUMMER AYOUB

Several students find ways to get enrich the community

Volunteers set up Toys-For-Tots to give gifts to the less fortunate children

Heard in the Hall: Do you or your family volunteer during the holidays?

"Yes; they lay wreaths at the Arlington Cemetery."

"I volunteer in a Vietnamese community who are MACKENZIE GILLIGAN underprivileged." sopohomore SABRINA HYUNH sophomore

"I volunteer at the All Nations Praise Ministries church during the holiday season."

NANA FORSON

"I volunteer at my church called Word of Life to feed the homeless."

"My family donates to Goodwill and/or Salvation Army."

MARIATU KAMARA

"We donate clothes to Goodwill."

AMBER TRAN sophomore

junior

SYMONE JENKIN junior

"I go to a homeless shelter in D.C and I donate clothes to a local church in the area."

"I volunteer at Martha's Table which is a local homeless shelter during the holiday season."

BLIN KEBROM

junior

HANA MEKONEN

senior

sophomore

— COMPILED BY: NEBEYU SOLOMON

TITUS’S DRIVING SCHOOL “Taking pride in road safety”

Why choose Titus's Driving School Over Others?

1. The school is bonded and isnsured 2. Students do not need 45 hours driving time prior to the program 3. Parents and students can check yellowpages. com for school reviews 4. Students don’t have to pay until they get their drivers license 5. If you bring your friend along, you get $25 off your payment

Contact us by phone or email (571) 217-1441 (703) 751-2391

Fax: (703) 879-5943 info@titus-driving-school.com

Hear about the driving school from other participants:

“Titus’s Driving School is the best driving school for any new drivers.

I learned how to drive through him and from day one, all he dealt with was driving safely. He would always remind us that when driving, you must be safe because being behind the wheel is the only course in which you are handling your life and potentially that of others.”

— Emmanuel Kwayke, senior

Congrats to our AHS Band students who successfully auditioned for All-Disctrict 10 Honor Bands All-District Win Ensemble: — Kenny Doung, Clarinet — Thomas White, Clarinet — Caitlin Odom, Percussion — Andrew Lauler, Percussion — Nathan Pho, Percussion All-District Symphonic Band: — Christopher Lee, Piccolo — Caitlin White, Bassoon — Nicholas Mortensen, Trumpet — Toby Singh, Trumpet — Ben Betts, Trombone

NEWS 5

Dec. 16, 2014

Rape on campus survey

Rape on campuses exposed CONT. "RAPE" now about rapes on campus stem from parties that may be located outside the immediate grounds of the school. Being in a new area and not knowing the dangers can have devastating effects.

Many websites dedicated to providing information about colleges around the country will usually list the type of safety measures taken at that school. In College News, website visitors can learn if the campus has on-campus security that are there to either help students find their way back to their dorms when it is dark or create a safe atmosphere.

LOCALLY At AHS, many people do not see the recent developments on college campuses as that huge of a problem, with only 20 percent of the sample size of 225 juniors and seniors stating that they changed their opinion of certain colleges after events like this happened.

However, there are also people who did not change their minds based on events.

"These events haven't affected my decision to apply to UVA at all," senior Richard Manahl said. "I still want to apply there, and it's still probably my number one choice. My sister goes there, and whenever I visit there I just love the campus and the life."

"These events haven't affected my decision to apply to UVA. I still want to apply there, and it's still my number one choice."

Richard Manahal senior

"Everyone enjoyed it last year, so we hope to make it just as good or even better! And we really want boys who are excited to participate so we can make it a lot of fun," Fairman said.

There are five categories for this competition: Mr. Strength, Mr. Elegance, Mr. Talent, Mr. Spirit and finally, Mr. Intelligence. Mr. Annandale will be chosen based on the number of previous winnings in the sub-categories.

In the muscle category, seniors and juniors have to display their muscle strength by using weights or using their escort as assistance.

Contestants can also wear workout clothes to show off their muscles.

In the elegance section, seniors walk down the stage with a female escort, both dressed in formal attire. There are many ways the seniors and juniors can earn points in this category such as doing a catwalk or matching with their escort.

For talent, students can choose their best talent to persuade the judges to give them a high score.

Participants usually sing a song, play an instrument or perform a practiced skit. For the spirit category, participants must wear red and white and show off how much spirit they have. They can also chant the "fight song" and try to get others to join in with them.

For the intelligence category, the contestants must be in the top five. They will be asked an easy

Effects of Sexual Harrasment/Abuse and Rape Statistics Sleep disorders: Some victims may have trouble sleeping after the even or have bad dreams.

Eating disorders: People with eating disorders usually need to control something in their lives, and after going through sexual harrasment or rape, they may feel that their lives are out of control.

Depression: After victims go through some form of sexual harrasment or abuse, they may feel worthless or sad from the incident.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: The rape or sexual harrasment can cause some to grow anxious about that remind them about the situation. Sufferers may have flashbacks and wake up in the middle of the night.

Rape encounters or incidents of sexual harrasment usually occur on Fridays and Saturdays from midnight to 6 a.m.

Why rape is often not reported Many victims are embarrassmed or ashamed of being a victim and some victims blame themselves for the encounter.

While there are many discrepancies surrounding the most recent case of campus safety violations at the University of Virginia, and regardless of the validity of the article published by Rolling Stone, sexual assault on campuses and campus safety in general are prevalent issues affecting American society and they need to be addressed, something Rolling Stone has begun the process of.

"I am actually glad the information is out because I think its going to help both men and women who have been victims of sexual

assault to feel more confident in speaking out and hopeful that they are going to get the help that they need," school Psychologist Anne Brosnan said.

Because there has been such a small amount of conversation, many students do not feel the need to do further research about the area they are moving to or how many cases of rape or sexual harassment happen on campus.

"It [campus security and safety] hasn't really been a factor for me when deciding schools," Manahl said. "When I've visited

Pep rally to stop bullying

12

percent of seniors and juniors are following the Rolling Stone article regarding the UVA rape scandal.

16

percent of seniors and juniors applying to colleges do research of the crime rates of the area before applying.

20

percent of seniors and juniors are not applying to the University of Virginia because of the recent rape article.

49

percent of seniors and juniors applying to colleges are concerned about campus safety.

51

CONT. "PEP" great way to get students involved and demonstrate their spirit for school and a worldwide cause.

"Other schools had already done the free t-shirt idea," senior Sheryl Fox said. "When we visited South County, they had a similar shirt and a lot of people liked the... Who doesn't want a free t-shirt?"

Bullying is an issue that can never really be resolved but we can help reduce it by bringing more awareness through events like the Anti-Bullying Spirit Week. Although some students may not realize it, even when friends are make fun of each other, it is sometimes a form of bullying. Even though the victim might not speak up, sometimes the words that are said affect them greater than can be imagined.

Another common form of bullying is cyber bullying. Students attack each other through social media such as Twitter or Facebook.

This is why AHS has incorporated anti-bullying week with the winter spirit week, to recognize and raise awareness of the many forms of bullying.

"Our theme for this year is with Atom Pride: One school one family," Reyes said. "We want to make 'one school, one family' a part of everything we do, but things like bullying, spreading of rumors, cyber bullying- all of those things break down our ability to be united."

53

percent of seniors and juniors are not following the Rolling Stone article regarding the UVA rape scandal.

percent of seniors and juniors applying to colleges do not do research of the crime rates of the area before applying.

This survey was given exclusively to junior and seniors during W4 on Dec. 4. There was a total of 123 juniors and 123 seniors and a total of 225 for both classes.

Students in the gym are cheering during the Winter Pep Rally. Leadership is leading the crowd with chants.

successful this week because everyone has been participating and are trying to put bullying to an end," junior Dianna Agyeman said.

Throughout spirit week, during lunch, students came up and signed an anti-bullying pledge and wrote their initials on a star, which was put onto a huge poster in the cafeteria.

We may not be able to completely stop bullying but we can raise awareness one step at a time.

"With [both] our pride theme and our leadership theme being 'one school one family,' we sort of thought it was the perfect tie-in to unite spirit week with anti-bullying awareness week," Reyes said.

Throughout the week, a multitude of students participated in the Spirit Week and made for a successful week.

"Spirit week has been very

A thousand-mile journey starts with the first step, and AHS Leadership students did just this, during this school year.

By working with Reyes, the students came up with unique ideas to interest the students, all while educating the entirety of the the AHS community that bullying is indeed a problem.

Republicans hold a stocking drive CONT. "REPUBLICANS"

Mr. Annandale continued On your smartphone, scan this code using the application "QR Code" to finish the story

campuses I've seen the emergency alarm systems that can call the cops and everything, and I say to myself 'Oh that's a cool addition,' but I focus more on extracurriculars and the majors that I am interested in."

The afterward effects and trauma of rape or sexual harassment can be devastating to a person's life.

According to Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), rape can cause post-traumatic stress disorder, depression which can lead to suicide and may lead some to substance abuse to deal with the trauma.

"I think that psychologically rape can be almost like a reaction to a very stressful events. It can develop almost like a post traumatic stress reaction," Brosnan said.

"It can cause people to become extremely anxious they can avoid certain situations, avoid certain people sometimes people blame themselves they can become depressed it can affect their eating habits, their sleeping habits it can affect their concentration" RAINN also cites depression, self-harm and substance abuse as effects of rape or other forms of sexual assault.

In order to eliminate the taboos associated with the subject of rape and sexual assault, it is important to acknowledge the stigma that American society has for victim blaming and undermining the severity of this issue.

"We need to create a culture of acceptance and support for people to speak out," Brosnan said. "Letting them know that they'll be heard and also believed you know that they will be taken seriously is essential to providing this environment."

"People need to respect themselves and others. Don't ever think that it's your fault for being raped," Hoisington said.

TIPYAN OMER

CONT. "MR. ANNANDALE"

Where you can get help Let your loved one know that professional help is available through the National Sexual Assault Hotline, 1.800.656.HOPE and the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline.

HABEN CHEFFENA AND MERY BERHANE

Leadership prepares for Mr. Annandale

SEXUAL ABUSE AND RAPE STATISTICS

Young Republican members, juniors Amiansu Khanal and Andrew Peters.

"If you can donate anything we are in room 271A Mrs. Bartleys room and room T20," president junior Amiansu Khanal junior.

If students or faculty members want to donate any toys or gifts to the program they must drop off the donations at the designated sites in AHS. While toys are accepted, money is not. If any members of the community wish to donate any money they must go to their the Phillips Program's at philipsprograms.org.

"This is the first year the Young Republicans have done the Christmas toy drive," junior Andrew Peters said. Peters is also a member of the club.

The special students from age six to 21 and from those, 60 percent that are below the poverty line are the ones benefitting from the Christmas drive.

Since this is the first time the Young Republicans are organizing this holiday drive, some are unaware that there is one going on. However, flyers have been made to inform students and faculty members.

Some students are thinking about donating to the drive, but are aware that there are several going on at the same time.

"I am thinking of donating some used toys. I like the idea of all the clubs organizing different drives to help kids during the holiday season. For example, I heard National Honor Society is collecting donations for toys as well.

It is great that the community is coming together to make a child's holiday special," senior Victoria Park said.

They are planning on working together with the Young Democrats in this project. They also want to recruit members for their club, so if you are interested you can meet with the sponsors in room 271A or T20.

Deck the Halls winner revealed CONT. "DECK" Deck the Halls also serves as a way of creating an environment where students come together right before break and work towards the same goal.

"It benefits our club by bringing us together and a lot of people showed up to help make all the decorations so everyone could get involved," Class of 2015 sponsor Cragin Winkler said.

However, the competition isn't just about the money.

"Besides the reward, the time spent with one another and the laughter my friends and I shared during our session of "pimp my hall" are memories, and that is the ultimate prize," junior Kadijah Sesay said.

Some people participate in Deck the Halls regardless of the reward,

Deck the Hall continued On your smartphone, scan this code using the application "QR Code" to read the rest of the story.

NEWS BRIEFS HISPANIC LEADERSHIP CLUB BAKE SALE

PEER TO PEER FAMILY COUNSELING

On Tuesday Dec. 16, there will be a bake sale in the cafeteria lobby from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday Dec. 17, there will be Peer to Peer Family Counseling in room 155.

WINTER CHORAL CONCERT

BIG ATOM/LITTLE ATOM

The annual Winter Choral Concert During the W4 period, there will be will be held on Tuesday Dec.16 in the a meeting for the Big Atom/Little Atom auditorium from 7 p.m to 9 p.m.

Program on Thursday Dec. 18.

TWO-HOUR EARLY RELEASE

IB DIPLOMA CEREMONY

COLLABORATION DAY

On Friday Dec. 19, students will be released at 12 p.m. due to the winter break.

Make sure to follow the special schedule.

On Friday Jan. 9, the graduates from the Class of 2014 will receive their diplomas from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

On Tuesday Jan. 13, all grades except freshmen will begin school at 8:27 a.m.

There will be no flex period.

WINTER BREAK

SOL RETAKES

STUDENT HOLIDAY

The winter break will be from Monday, Dec. 22, to Friday, Jan. 2. Those who participate in sports will need to follow their schedule for practices.

From Monday Jan. 12 through Friday Jan. 16, there will be SOL retakes in computer labs. Make sure to get your ticket and schedule to take the test.

There will be no school on Monday Jan. 19 due to Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.

6 ACADEMICS

Dec. 16, 2014

Keeping up with your homework IILLUSTRATED BY: NEBEYU SOLOMON

Strategies on how to get the work done on time during winter break

BY KAILYN GARAY Academics Editor Playing in the snow, spending time with friends and family and no homework? With winter break just days away, teachers have a big decision to make that will affect your winter break.

Some teachers might tell students to enjoy winter break with no homework, but other teachers tell students to do homework over winter break.

"I don't like doing homework over winter break," sophomore Jesstasia Torres said.

Most students and parents can agree with Torres and also some teachers.

Spanish teacher Antonio Rivadeneira does not give homework to students over break.

Catherine Gibson gives homework to Sabrina Hunyh to complete over winter break.

"I believe that the kids have the necessity to relieve some stress from school and when the kids are relaxed they are more motivated to learn," said Rivadeneira.

Winter break is a vacation, but is it really a vacation if teachers are having students do homework during it. Math teacher Roberto Obando does give homework over winter

break.

"Students need to practice all the time so that, when they come back to school they won't forget anything," said Obando.

Although most students do not like having homework during winter break, some students agree with Obando and like having homework over winter break because it

helps them remember the material after so long.

Also, if teachers give students a project they have 14 full days to complete it instead of just two days.

When a student gets homework they might feel overwhelmed because they want to spend time with their family and friends but they also have to do homework. "if we do get homework then it's going to keep us from forgetting everything over winter break," freshman Gabrielle White said.

Here are seven tips to help students manage their homework over winter break.

Time management is very stressful to keep up with when you have no school because there are tons of activities to do.

Do your homework first so you don't have to worry about it later.

Make a list of all of the homework you need to complete over winter break. Then estimate a time of how long it will take you and when, you will complete it.

If you have a computer available to you then make this list on Microsoft or on your email and save it into your documents or onto your Google drive so you will not lose it and can update it easily.

Tell your family and friends that you will need to do homework over break, letting your family and friends know that at some point during the break you will have to do your homework.

This will make it easier to get it done when you need to. Also you getting your homework done might persuade your family and friends to complete their work too.

Do your homework in the morning. Doing your homework in the morning is way more efficient than doing it in the middle of the day because you are more fresh and alert in the morning and if you get it done early then you will have the rest of the day free.

Don't procrastinate. You have probably heard this a lot throughout your life, but leaving things for the last minute is stressful when you want to get things done and enjoy your winter break without worrying about when you're going to get your homework done.

Do your homework alone and somewhere quiet and peaceful. Doing your homework somewhere peaceful will help you focus on what you're doing and help you not get distracted. A good place to do your homework is a public library near you.

Take breaks. Even though you really want to finish your homework, you should take 10-15 minute breaks every 45 minutes.

During the breaks don't be on your phone or lay down because you will fall asleep. Instead you can eat a Healthy snack or go outside and take a walk.

Stay positive this winter, and even if you do get homework you now know how to stay successful and still enjoy your winter break.

Educational apps that can help you improve in school

ESSENTIALS Learning a foreign language is a core part of high school curriculum. This app provides premade flashcards for learning vocab and audio quizzes to help your speech and pronunciation. Plus, it's free.

Frog dissection This app helps you learn about the ins and outs of a frog's anatomy, but without the amphibian juice.

Its $3.99, but worth it if you prefer to stay animal-friendly.

Graphing calculator This app quickly plots and traces multiple equations on the same graph.

It supports graphing polar and parametric equations. It only costs $2.99, a bargain compared to a real calculator.

Math Formulas This app has algebra, geometry, calculus, trigonometry, probability and statistics. Use the powerful search function to find what you are looking for. It only costs $0.99.

SAT Crossword

Shakespeare This app contains 41 Shakespearean plays and 154 sonnets. This app will provide detailed scene breakdowns of locations and characters in each act. It's free!

The chemical touch With this app you can select different elements to learn more about their properties. You can even sort the table with different colors to identify periodic trends. it's $0.99.

Blackboard This app makes it easier for you to keep up with your courses by letting you access them whenever and wherever you want.

This app is free.

Khan Academy This app covers a massive number of topics, including K-12 math, science topics, playlists on art, history, civics and finance. Khan Academy allows you to learn almost anything for free.

IB Diploma candidate spotlight: Fatima Tauqir Q: How do you keep up with your academics and social life?

A: Keeping up with both my academic and social life is really difficult, so time management is key. I dedicate most of my time doing homework, studying and preparing for college apps but I still attempt to find some time during the weekend to hang out with my friends or do something fun, anything that involves forgetting school and stressing less.

Q: What is your favorite subject?

Anthropology. I took the class my junior year and it was an amazing experience and having Ms. Miller as my teacher made the class even better. We learned about aspects of societies and community, as well as cultures. The class was very personal and ultimately a hand on experience filled with lots of discussions and debates, which is why I think I enjoyed it so much.

PHOTO COURTESY: FATIMA TAUQIR

A: My favorite subject would be

Senior IB Diploma candidate Fatima Tauqir

Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

A: In 10 years, hopefully I'll be a prestigious doctor that gives back but also who is super rich, successful and happy

Across

Q: Who is your favorite IB teacher?

3. (n) irritation, frustration 6. (v) to cooperate, work together 9. (n) identification with the feelings of others 10. (n) lecturer, speaker 12. (n) high praise 13. (adj) opposed in nature, not able to live or work together 14. (adj) considerate, skillful in acting to avoid offense to others 18. (adj) separating, moving in different directions from a particular point 20. (adj) careful and hard-working 24. (adj) harmful, destructive, detrimental 27. (n) repair, making something new again 28. (v) to criticize harshly 29. (v) to attribute an action to particular person or group

Crossword answers On your smartphone, scan this code using the application QR Code to see the answers to the Crossword.

Down

A: All of the IB teachers are amazing. They are dedicated and compassionate, and take the time to make

1. (n) trust, sociability amongst friends 2. (adj) dried up, shriveled 3.(adj) outstanding, an example to others 4.(v) to imitate, follow an example 5.(adj) arrogant and condescending 7.(n) assumption, theory requiring proof 8.(adj) fearless, adventurous 11. (adj) red-colored, flushed; gaudy, ornate 13.(adj) instinctive, untaught 15. (n) the act of refraining from pleasurable activity, e.g., eating or drinking 16.(adj) temporary, short-lived, fleeting 17.(n) misfortune, an unfavorable turn of events 19.(adj) preferring to live in isolation 21.(adj) respected because of age 22. (adj) unusually advanced or talented at an early age 23.(n) sympathy, helpfulness or mercy 25.(n) wisdom 26 (v) to observe carefully

sure the class is both learning and having fun. Many of them are compassionate and grow to be more than teachers but someone you can go to for advice. But if I had to choose a few it would be Ms. Hanneman, Mr. Kelly, Ms. Miller and Mr. Tyndall.

Q: What is your essay topic going to be about?

A: My extended essay is on Alice in Wonderland and I chose the topic because I loved the story growing up and I thought it would be cool to break down the mind of Lewis Carrol (the author) and see the thought process behind Wonderland.

Q: Is your only focus academics?

A: My only focus isn't just academics. I'm involved in the school yearbook which is a way to relieve stress and work on an amazing book with a great staff. I also participate in various school clubs and honor societies so I'm constantly in school and super busy. But it has its upsides because it's a chance to give back to the community and the school.

Q: What is your daily routine when you get home from school?

A: After I come home from school, I usually watch a bit of TV and take an hour or two to nap. Right afterwards, I start my homework and in between find time to eat, take breaks and spend time with my family.

Q: Do you have any advice for future IB candidates?

A: My advice for future IB candidates would be that school and academics isn't everything and you shouldn't dictate your life to it. Find time for yourself and the things you love to do.

HEALTH 7

Dec. 16, 2014

Cell phones: bad for your neck Multiple medical research studies show that cell phone use causes neck strain

BY NANCY EVORA It is two in the morning and you are still texting to your best friend about that test you failed and how much you studied for it.

What many do not know is that for every time you lean to see or send a message on your phone, you are putting more weight to your neck which leads to a bad posture.

According to The Washington Post today's teenagers spend more than seven and a half hours on technology such as texting, googling, listening to music, playing and interacting in social media such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

That is about 700 to 1400 hours a year on the Internet.

Bad posture is defined as the head in a tilted forward position and the shoulders dropping forward in a rounded position.

This can be caused for not sitting or sleeping properly.

Also, in some cases bad posture can be caused from a previous accident.

However, one of the main causes of bad posture in people today is because of the use of cellphones.

When you see a person texting or reading a text message, their posture is different because they lean forward toward their cellphones, which ends up putting more weight to the neck.

Studies from doctors in the UK and U.S. have found that for every time a person bend their head at a 60 degrees angle to see a picture on the phone, the spine and neck is holding 60 pounds worth of pressure.

Bad posture causes the neck muscle

PHUONG NGUYEN

Health Editor

Students in Chemistry class use their cell phones during a free time. Cell phones can cause a bad posture among others illnesses.

to be shortened and tightened and the shoulder are rounded forward.

Being born on a digital era, students find themselves hooked on their cellphones and technology 24/7 which they do not see it as a healthy habit.

"I usually text from 3 to 8 o'clock but the texts are short and not followed by one another, I take my time during those hours to respond," junior Crisley Leon said.

Students did not have the knowledge of what the use of cellphones for a long time could cause health damages.

"I heard that the use of cellphones were bad for health but I really had no idea that

by bending your neck down when texting is damaging your spine," sophomore Diamond Harris said.

Having bad posture is not just one of the many problems that cellphones are cause, internally, bad posture damages the spinal nerves by compressing them against each other which leads to a experience of pain.

Besides affecting the posture, doctors have found research that cellphones can affect the health in different ways.

Recent research from the Department of Oncology in Sweden have found that the radiation of cell phones can cause brain

AARON BOYD

Two exercises to help with bad posture

Pilates: To start, lay on your back with your knees bent, feet on the floor, and your hands behind your head. Push your lower back into the floor and gradually curl your head up off the floor.

Strongly exhale while pulling your navel in and up near your spine. Slowly push one knee up to your chest, keeping your lower back pressed down, extend your other leg straight up at around a 45-degree angle.

Benefits This exercise is beneficial because it trains your leg muscles to benefit your pelvis.

Pilates will help enhance your core and flatten abdominals and create a strong back. It can also help gain lean muscles and flexibility. Pilates are a gentle workout and will benefit the person in many ways.

Although pilates may seem like an easy workout, it can be a tough workout if used with a workout ball, or with one or both legs up.

The New Crunch; Curl-Up: This exercises works the abdominals, the six pack muscle, and obliques, which are the muscles that help you rotate your torso.

Hold your hands behind your head, lift your legs up and pull your navel up and in toward your spine, rotating your head and shoulders forward as well.

Hold this position, then gradually go back down. Repeat.

Benefits Doing curl ups one or two days a week can help improve the bad posture and other parts of the body. They help to strength the arms, legs abs and they also help to straight the spine helping it to . Also the curl ups help the spine to become more flexible

cancer.

Aside from the probability that cell phones can cause cancer, research from the university of Essex, UK have found that the presence of cell phones between two people talking can affect people feelings in a negative way according to the results.

The high frequency of cell phones increases the stress level. For example, the ringing, vibrating alerts and reminders increase stress level according to reports from the UK. Staring at cell phones can cause problems to the eyes. The reason for that

is because the cell phones screens are smaller than the computer screens and when people go to see their cell phones they put the device closer to their eyes.

The use of cellphones can damage the immune system. Cell phones are the devices that are touched the most. All kinds of bacteria and germs are found in cell phones and they can be easily transmitted.

According to research from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the germs found of the phones contain more disease prone germs than those who are found in the toilets.

Whenever someone is using their phones, they are using mostly of the time their hands. Typing for a really long time can cause pain and inflammation of the joints of the fingers.

According to the European Research Institute for Electronic Components have found that cell phones might lead to heart disease and kidney stones because of the radiation cell phones have.

There are different ways to prevent all the disease and bad posture that cell phones can cause. Even if you have already a bad posture, it is never too late to try to fix it.

There are plenty types of exercises you could do to fix your spine. Exercises like crunches, side plank, crunches with twist, standing side bends and others.

Just because you do not have a bad posture, does not mean that you could not try to prevent it. A way from preventing a poor posture is to stand besides a wall and try to stand straight.

Also every time you go to check your computer, always try to stand straight, do not lean forward because what you are doing is putting more weight to your spine.

Overall, one of the main things that you can do to stay healthy is to try to avoid being on your phone all the time. It is good to use cell phones but on the right time.

Spending more than half a day on social media is not good for the health.

8 PHOTO Bullying awareness Spirit Week

Dec. 16, 2014

Students go all out to show their school pride and fight against bullying Blackout Against Bullying Boys and girls varsity basketball players blackout bullying at the winter pep rally.

Senior Kristel Franjie, sophomore Marife Baragano, senior Austin Hall, sophomore Kiara Patino, seniors Michael Velasquez, Nina Fairman, Rochelle Kenny, Erin Johnson, Shawn Courtney, Beza Yoseph, Francis Sillah, Georgio Khoury, sophomore Amanda Adenan, and senior Christina Le.

Put Bullying to Rest

Be MARVEL MARVELous. ous. Stop Bullying Students dress up as superheroes to "be MARVELous and stop bullying."

COURTESY OF JANAN GOKTURK

Students wear their pajamas to put bullying to rest.

Seniors Aviad Gebrehiwot and Zac Taylor.

Math teachers Molly Jepson, Jessica Arias and junior Janan Gokturk.

Juniors Hassa Koroma, Mahlate Burket and Hanan Redi.

Senior Cody Reagan and leadership teacher Carmen Bartley.

Junior Brooke Thadeus.

Juniors Janan Gokturk and Ashley Britton.

Bullying is Tacky

COURTESY OF JESSICA ROOP

COURTESY OF CODY REAGAN

Seniors Moesha Fares, Rachel Allshouse and sophomore Arianna Ward.

Freshmen Jessica Roop and Jack Cariyannis.

Red, White, and Bully Free

Students dress wacky to show how bullying is tacky.

COURTESY OF AHS DANCE TEAM

Students wear American flagcolored clothing to show that they are bully free.

Senior Marcia Pedro, sophomores Marakie Mekuria, Ceilidh Williams, and junior Kayla Strother.

Seniors Lee Hayes, Beza Yospeh, Nina Fairman and sophomore Sheryl Fox.

Juniors Danielle Robinson and Molly Gormley.

Seniors Daniela Salinas, Kaytlin Hopkins, and English teacher Brian Aldenderfer.

COURTESY OF MOESHA FARES

COURTESY OF DANIIELA SALINAS

Seniors Effie Kalulu, Kristen Peralta, Juliene Delarosa and juniors Marem Atef and Eden Mesfin.

Senior Moesha Fares, sophomore Katy Garish, and junior Almaz Abeje.

PEOPLE 9

Dec. 16, 2014

AHS welcomes new Assistant Principal Brian Olmes

Student's passion for figure skating Gelila Reta has been a figure skater since she was five years old and has competed in numerous competitions

BY BIRUK NEGASH AND MARIA SUAREZ

People Editor & Staff Writer For many students and faculty, the first day of school always comes with excitement and nerves. Assistant Principal Brian Olmes started his first day at AHS on Dec. 1 with his mind set on familiarizing himself with the school.

"I want to get to know people and I've started being able to do that," Olmes said.

Olmes is originally from Robinson Secondary School where he worked as an ESOL teacher for 13 years and was also the wrestling coach. Olmes has also succeeded in accomplishing level training for the FCPS Restorative Justice Initiative.

Olmes would like to challenge himself to learn more about the Annandale community because he believes it has a good reputation.

Olmes earned his Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Leadership at George Mason University. After he earned his Bachelors of Arts Degree in European History at San Francisco University, he lived in Northern Mexico for about a year. "It was a great chance for me to really live in the culture," Olmes said.

"I'm honestly here to help kids achieve their goals to be as successful as they can possibly be here at Annandale," Olmes said.

Q&A with Assistant Principal Brian Olmes What do you like best about your job?

"Going from a teacher to an administrator is a little bit less of interaction with the kids. I still really enjoy meeting kids in the hallway, in the cafeteria and I really like working with teachers in a new way. As an administrator, the interaction is still really positive and really important, but it's a little different."

What challenges have you faced while doing your job?

"The biggest thing for me is starting now. In the beginning of the year when everyone starts, everyone kind of starts at the same pace. At this point when I came in last week, everyone was going at 100%. I walk in the door and everyone knows each other, know what to do and all the kids know their schedule and where they're going. I had to keep looking at my little cheat sheet on the back. It's just the adjustment period here with schedules and just the building itself."

What does a day in your job look like?

"Some of it is meeting with teachers and some of it is talking to other administrators about administrative duties and activities. I have to go down to the cafeteria at lunch time, hang out in there, meet some of the kids and observe what's going on.

One of the kids I met is on the basketball team and another one of the students I met just had a show this weekend playing the saxophone down in Shirlington."

What is something that you want others to know about your job?

"I'm here to help. I know that sometimes kids aren't always looking at teachers or administrators as really wanting to help,

but we do. Myself and all the people here at Annandale. We really want to help the kids and I really want them to know that if I can help in a way that's productive and helpful to them, I want to be that person."

How has your high school experience prepared you for this job?

"When I was in high school, I had some really good administrators that were really helpful to me as a student. It really got me into the idea of wanting to be able to do this in the future. My years as a teacher, I loved working with kids and just getting to know them outside of the classroom as well. Those types of things really helped me to become a school leader and be really excited about working with students and teachers."

What future obstacles do you think you will face at AHS? "The biggest challenge for me now is getting to know the students, teachers and the culture of Annandale. It's a great challenge and I'm really excited about it. Continuing to build my skills and abilities as a principal and a leader are the things that I need to improve on as I'm here at Annandale."

What kind of skills do you need to work in your job?

"Really strong communication skills, really enjoying working with kids and really enjoying working with people. I need to be an effective communicator and that means more than just talking. That means listening and being creative; thinking outside the box and trying to find good, exciting ways to solve problems."

People Editor & Circulation Manager "I love ice-skating because it makes me feel so free and calm," junior Gelila Reta said. "It takes me back to my childhood in Canada and the fact that it is not an aggressive sport makes me like it even more."

For Reta, ice-skating has always been a form of relaxation and something that allows her to find her inner self. Reta started iceskating at the age of five years old when she was in Canada. Figure skating, a popular sport in Canada, got her to take interest in it from such a young age.

Reta practices an average of three hours a day, three times a week. For Reta, an IB diploma candidate who is involved in honor societies and clubs, time management is a critical skill so that she can manage her daily schedule. She tries to balance her time by doing her homework during the day because her practice is at night.

"I like that it's not a team sport because I'm really competitive," Reta said. "I prefer to be an individual because I can only blame myself for mistakes and not other teammates."

In her competitions, she has to have a routine made beforehand and the person who makes the least mistakes wins. Reta has been in a pair before, but didn't like it because she believes she works better alone.

"My best memory was winning first place in the Fairfax Regional Ice Competition recently," Reta said. Gelila has won a medal, but prizes vary from competition to competition.

"I deal with my nerves by listening to music before a competition, usually hip-hop," Reta said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GELILA RETA

MARIA SUAREZ

BY BIRUK NEGASH AND ZEKE YONAS

Reta poses with her ice-skates before going to practice.

For Reta, improvements in ice-skating consist of perfecting her jumps and getting higher scores in her competitions. Her biggest inspiration is Gracie Gold who won the Gold Olympic gold metal for ice-skating.

"My worst memory of ice-skating is when I fell during a performance, but I just got back up again and continued my routine. At the end of the day that is all that matters." Reta said.

The fact that her parents support her makes it easier for Reta. Knowing that she has a support system since she was five years old makes her feel good about competing. Ice-skating is something that she plans on continuing throughout her life time because it has been a part of her childhood.

Ice-skating takes patience and grace and that to Reta makes it different than other sports because it separates her from the rest. The fact that she can incorporate her individuality makes the sport personal to her and allows her to enjoy it.

A panorama of the ice-skating rink at Fairfax Ice Arena taken by Reta while enjoying her night out with friends.

ALUMNI POSTCARD: VISODA HENG, '13 What college do you attend and what are you majoring in?

I go to NOVA and I am transferring to GMU for nursing.

I choose nursing because I have a passion for helping people and it's always been something I've liked.

What is the best part about college?

The best part about college is that you do things on your own time and the teachers aren't following your every move. You get to pick your own schedule and have the time to become your own person and express your individuality.

What was your favorite subject and who was your favorite teacher at AHS? My favorite subject is Chemistry and my two favorite teachers were both my science teachers from freshman and sophomore year and Coach Harris.

WHO AM I? •

This is my 15th year teaching at AHS

•

I attended high school at Andrew’s Academy in Michigan

•

I went to New Bold College in England

•

I grew up in Takoma Park, Maryland

•

I enjoy watching whatever is on ESPN

•

My favorite movie is Saving Private Ryan

•

My biggest fear is growing old

•

My favorite sports are hockey, football and baseball

•

I played basketball, tennis, football and baseball in high school

•

A fun fact about me is that I just got married in May

•

The craziest thing I’ve done is teach high school

What was your favorite memory at AHS? My favorite memory at AHS was the football games because it felt like the students came together as a whole.

What activities did you participate in while at Annandale?

I participated in DECA and in clubs like STAND and Just World.

What advice do you have for upcoming graduates at AHS? My advice is to remember that education is extremely important and to take full advantage of it. Make sure to take it easy, and don't stress yourself out; go at your own speed. When it comes time for college people will keep pushing you about picking a major take your time and never bite off more than you can chew.

What helped you the most at Annandale?

What helped me the most at Annandale is my group of friends. It's good to have a support system and a set of people that you can rely on. Knowing that people are understanding the same thing makes it so much easier.

These students and staff wesome were selected as Awesome Atoms for demonstrating toms Atom Pride Junior Nayerli Toledo received the Awesome Atom Award for being an extremely hard-working 11th grade honors student. She is an active participant in class. Nayerli participates in multiple extracurricular activities. She has also earned the respect of her peers and faculty members through her dedication and kindness. Nayerli is extremely committed and is dedicated to SGA. "She always does the right thing and is trustworthy. She is also one of the most positive students I've ever had and always has a smile on her face," leadership teacher Carmen Bartley said.

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

Human Anatomy teacher Francesca Mast received the Awesome Atom Award for being extremely passionate about her work with students. Mast is also the sponsor of the Comic Book Club and consistently demonstrates care and empathy.

Administrative assistant Maro Moussessian received the Awesome Atom Award for always willing to go the extra mile to help students and will do anything that is asked of her to help make AHS a better place.

12 INTERNATIONAL Same holidays, different traditions

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMANDA ADENAN

Dec. 16, 2014

Students share their family activities throughout the Christmas time

BY SUMMER AYOUB AND JEANINE BARAKAT International Editor & Staff Writer

Saint Nick Through the Years

Junior Amanda Adenan and her sister Colleen, are celebrating Christmas by singing Christmas carols by their Christmas tree. Circa 2000.

Senior Nina Fairman (center) is smiling with her mother and father for their annual Christmas picture. Circa 2000.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KAYTLIN HOPKINS

Junior Claudia Molina (left) is posing with her family for their Christmas photo, with her mother, father, and sister (left to right). Circa 2013.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NINA FAIRMAN

PHOTO COURTESY OF CLAUDIA MOLINA

With all of the different culutres and ethnicities at AHS, Christmas is still celebrated for the same reason, which is coming together with family and waiting for Santa to come bring presents.

Growing up, many students were told stories of a magical man who lived at the North Pole with hundreds of elves. Some students may know him as Papa Noel or Kris Kringle, while others might be more familiar with Old Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus.

"Ever since I was young, I referred to Santa Claus as Papa Noel," junior Fabiana Hinojosa said.

To many parents, Santa Claus was a way to keep their children from misbehaving so they could stay on the nice list. Children were told that each Christmas, Santa Claus and his elves would put you on the naughty or nice list. Children on the nice list would receive presents they had asked for, while children on the naughty list received nothing or coal.

For centuries, stories about this gift giver were told to children all around the world. In Latin American countries, children were told similar stories, except their Santa Claus went by the name of Papa Noel.

"Growing up my mom used to tell me Papa Noel was one of God's angels, and he would only give me presents if I behaved," Hinojosa said.

Santa Claus' story began with a monk named Saint Nicholas, who was known for his kindness and his love of children.

Nicholas spent his life helping those in need, such as the sick and the poor. As people began to know his name , many heroic stories of him were spread. Whilst his popularity spread, he became the inspiration of many legends. With this, the story of Santa Claus emerged.

One of the first literatures on Santa Claus, Twas the Night before Christmas, was soon written by Clement Clarke Moore therefore he then became a household name. Now Santa Claus has spread throughout the world and is known by many different names. In the United States, he is most commonly known as St. Nicholas, or Kris Kringle. Many Latin American students, grew up knowing him as Papa Noel.

In other countries, although the stories might be a bit different, he's still known as the man who climbs through your chimney to deliver your presents.

As winter approaches, students and their families begin to prepare for the Christmas holiday. Some traditions students and their families practice is buying a Christmas tree to place in their living room and decorating it with Christmas ornaments.

"When we were kids, my godfather would dress up as Santa, and he would give everybody their gifts individually. He would go under the tree and read off each persons name," senior Aviad Gebrehiwot said.

Others might also add lights outside their homes, as well as inside their house in celebration of the holiday. During this time in Washington D.C., the national tree is put in place along with a display of Christmas lights.

Many people have different traditions for the Christmas holiday, such as going out of state to visit family, going to the movies after Christmas dinner or even going sightseeing. But the most important part of Christmas is coming together and being with family.

"For Christmas I'm planning on going skiing with my whole family," junior Mario Arriola said.

Many different cultures recognize the man known to most as Santa Claus, whether it's by that name or another. His names and legacy will be known for generations to come. Although Christmas is known for a religious reason, it can be celebrated in many different ways.

No matter what culture or ethnicity students and their families from they all come together for the same reason which is having a family to spend the holiday with and just keeping each other happy and joyful.

Senior Kaytlin Hopkins is having a traditional Christmas dinner with her mother, father, aunts and uncles. Circa 2000.

1823: The first publishing of Twas the Night Before Christmas. This became an American classic and created long lasting images of the American St. Nicholas.

1916: A popular magazine called the St. Nicholas Magazine was published. It included pictures and drawings from quality authors and illustrators.

1950's: The European advertisement promoted the distribution of CocaCola no matter if children were naughty or nice.

1820

2000 1931: From 1931 to 1964, Haddon Sundlbom was known for creating a new advertisement for Coca-Cola every year using the "thirst knows no season" campaign.

1864-1886: St. Nicholas was drawn by Tomas Nast.

He featured a flowing beard, with a round shaped belly, a fur suit and a pipe made of clay.

1994: The Netherlands and Belgium action committees tell Santa Claus to stay away from their country after Dec. 6, St. Nicholas Day. Source: stnicholascenter.org

Celebration of New Years in other religions Islam The Hijri New Year is based on the Islamic calendar. The first day is observed on the first day of Muharram, which is the first month on the Islamic calendar. The first year in the Islamic calendar started in 622 AD. Islamic organizations determine the new month by local moon sighting.

Judaism

Buddhism

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah is a two day celebration, starting with Tishrei, which is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve. Rosh Hashanah has traditions of sounding the shofar (a rams horn) and eating foods that symbolize a "sweet new year" such as apples dipped in honey.

Losar is celebrated for three days after the first full moon in the month of April. The first day is celebrated with family, while the second and third days are celebrated with friends. Throughout those days there are special rituals to get rid of evil spirits, such as wearing new clothing and preparing for feasts.

Source: 123Newyear.com

Annandale: American Stories First-person accounts of immigrants coming to the United States

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEANINE BARAKAT

BY SANDRINNE MOUSA Special to The A-Blast Changing place in our society means changing life because we get to adapt to new things which is not always easy. When I moved from my country in December 2012 from Central African Republic, to come to the United States.

I could not imagine how they were different. I knew there would be different foods, culture, clothes and a lot more. But the principle differences that interested me were the transportation, holidays and the American education system.

First of all, comparing my country and United States' transportation. In my country , we have buses, cabs and a lot of motorcycles that people love to use. We don't pay a lot of money to take buses. Some people walk, especially the poor and merchants who try to sell their goods.

However, we have problems with our roads and cars get destroyed due to the potholes in the ground. Apart from that, United States is one of the few countries in the world that has the best transportation; there are various car companies, good roads, trains and beautiful cars. Otherwise, there is one thing that really surprised me in the United States teenagers can drive a car. In my country it is not possible ; teens need to be 18 or older before driving. Now I find out that it is natural here and I need to accept it. I wish my country could have this opportunity so that our economy would increase.

Secondly, each holiday is one of the best moments of my life. Beside all holidays in the world, Christmas is my favorite particularly when I celebrate in my country. The way my people celebrate it, makes me feel the spirit of Christmas around me and in my heart. We usually go out with all of our family and friends. People are performing many shows about Jesus' birth and it is so cool. Everyone is out, music and joy everywhere, people smile , dance, sing and of course we get presents too. But the best part is that I get to sing in my

church with my friends; it is really fun and wonderful to get together.

U.S has Thanksgiving that I like too. I learned that it is a time to get together with your family to share foods such as turkey, and the most important to give thanks to God for his love and protection for each of us. As a result, everybody is happy to see each other. I love holidays here, but I prefer celebrating it in my country because I think it is more fun and interesting.

Thirdly, education in Central American Republic is different and hard. In the U.S there are more opportunities in school than my country, schools are free here; we don't have to pay for our lunch, books buses some of our school supplies. They give us the chance to learn, study hard so one day we could have a better job. I also didn't know that English was hard to learn until I started school.

English was the most difficult time in my education. However, school is really hard in my country. Learning is suffering because students have to learn by heart everything the teacher said and it is not great. Despite their differences in education, both teachers in my country and here are the best.

They don't want us to be lazy. They are there to teach us good things so we can use in our future; they are not mean. We should not hate them because they have the key of our future. I am very happy to know them even if they're sometimes hard with us.

Overall, being in two countries that are different in everything is difficult but sometimes awesome. The difference of my country Central African Republic and U.S. in transportation, holidays and education changed my life and made me a new person. I am still continually surprised by everything in this country. I strongly believe that the difference between these two countries make them unique and special in the world. I hope one day I will go back to my wonderful country and share my incredible experience that I have in this mysterious country.

ARTS 13

Dec. 16, 2014

PHOTO COURTESY OF RILEY PAYUNG

FAST FACTS · Team of seven, some are programmers, others artists. · Founded in 2012

Spencer Limon, programmer and concept artist

BAILEY OLIVER

BAILEY OLIVER

Riley Payung, Programmer and founder

BAILEY OLIVER

BAILEY OLIVER

· Use pograms such as Autodesk Maya, Adobe Illustrator, Eclipse, Adobe Photoshop

Esteban Blanco, concept artist

Max Kim, programmer and artist

Not Pictured: Chris Viades, Pualy O'Neil and Robbie Weiner

· Game is Infernal Voyage, an MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online roleplaying game)

Ouroboros Animation

· Alpha build is expected to arrive by July to August of 2015

AHS students create video game

BY BAILEY OLIVER Arts Editor Artists at AHS are plentiful and varied, ranging from painters to dancers to singers and cartoonists.

A group of juniors will add game developers to that list. Ouroburos Animation, a group of seven students founded in 2012, are in the process of making their own massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) titled Infernal Voyage.

Junior and founder Riley Payung describes his game as a mix of certain fantasy games.

"It's basically like Diablo and a mix of other games and is online," Payung said.

Ouroburos's game has gone through numerous different design phases since it began.

"I started developing it around eighth grade and it just kind of branched off from that point.

Originally it was going to be a single player game," Riley said.

Going through early development has proved challenging for the team, with various issues arising.

"Currently we've had a few minor setbacks, because of unorganization, but we'll eventually get into it where we can actually develop every day," Payung said.

Many issues stem from game balance and creating classes.

"One difficult point is when we're

making different classes. We have to make the skills for the classes and balancing the damage and all the 'math stuff,' it's very tedious," junior and programmer Max Kim said.

"What I found difficult was just coming up with just an original idea, making a design that I would think that make everyone happy, in regards to design, as well as just finding time to do it," junior and programmer Spencer Limon said.

However, the team makes do with the resources they have, using time during school to discuss plans.

"In our W8 class we just kind of blow off whatever we are supposed to do and talk about it [the game] mostly, so I guess you could say that

W8 is our meeting time," Limon said.

As with any video game, there is an artistic element to game as well as a technical one. Junior and concept artist Esteban Blanco has to work together with the programmers in order to visualize what they see in their head.

"They [the programmers] tell me what to do, I try to visualize what they are trying to do and if there's anything wrong with it, I change it as soon as possible," Blanco said.

"I know that these guys have been planning for a long time and I want them to show what they want, so I try to compromise with them."

Blanco draws his inspiration primarily from ancient gods and

goddess mythology.

"There is a lot of history, ancient gods and all as well as a lot of things that influence the design," Blanco said. "There's a lot of things that they [the programmers] want to use and it's challenging [to come up with ideas] but it's really fun to think of new things to create."

As development begins to pick up to a faster pace, the team discusses the rewards and satisfaction that come from making their own game.

"I would say it's the creative process [that I enjoy] where you bounce back ideas between multiple people and you move forward with different parts of the game," Kim said.

Blanco shares similar ideas of what he enjoys about making a game.

"Seeing new ideas and how they stick together, and how they show off each other." Blanco said.

Limon agreed, saying that he enjoys working with the team.

"Working with people I can enjoy and not hate with all my heart.," Limon said.

Payung is more looking forward to having people play his game.

"I'd have to say the satisfaction of players playing the game is pretty awesome, something I look forward to,." Payung said.

A timeline of making a game 1. Planning: Beginning stage, ideas make it to paper and brainstorming begins.

Deadlines are decided as well as other important variables in development.

2. Initial design All designs, such as concept and final artwork, story arcs, stat balances and more are wrapped together

9. Online distrubution

3. Design document:

5. Picking an engine

7. Bug & glitch search and fix

All designs, deadlines and work from stages one that have been finalized and are compiled into a booklet.

An engine, the software framework that runs the game is decided on by the team.

Internal testing to make sure that the game runs smooth and can be distributed without flaws. Reported bugs and glitches are fixed in the game's code.

Testing codes are distributed through an online platform or website. The game is playable at this point.

4. 3D modeling:

6. Programming

8. Clean up

10. Play testing

Final stage of production for designs, which are rendered into three dimensional objects via a specific software. These are models that will eventually appear in the game.

The final stretch before testing codes are sent out. Last minute changes are made as well as searching again for any more bugs.

All designs, 3D models and other content like story information are compiled in code.

11. Release The game is available to everyone, for the first time.

Before release, everything is tested for quality assurance, with the help of players and others who not part of the development team.

12. Rinse and repeat The process repeats for the game again, for additional content that may be made.

Concept Art for Infernal Voyage PHOTO COURTESY OF RILEY PAYUNG

ONLINE: SUPPORT THE DEVELOPERS

Shovel Knight

Minecraft

Created by Yacht Cub games, Shovel Knight is a 2D platformer that relives old-school gaming with 8-bit graphics and a minimal chiptune soundtrack. The game has sold over 300,000 copies as of 2014.

Created by Markus Persson, Minecraft is a 3D sandbox game allowing players to create. nearly anything. Minecraft has sold roughly 54 million copies, making it the third highest selling game of all time.

Limbo Created by developer Playdead, Limbo is a 2D puzzle platformer that gained much of its appeal through its black and white tone and spooky atmosphere. Limbo has sold over three million copies.

The Binding of Issac Created by Edmund McMillen, the Binding of Issac is a dungeon crawler where players explore a monster infested basement. As of 2013, the game has sold two million copies.

Journey

Created by developer Thatgamecompany, Journey is an exploration game, where players traverse varying landscapes. Many praised it for its art style, and its soundtrack was nominated at the Grammys.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GAMESPOT.COM

PHOTO COURTESY OF GAMESPOT.COM

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEAMPOWERED.COM

Artist and programmer Max Kim has drawn numerous art for enemy design ideas that may be imn the game.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GIANTBOMB.COM

PHOTO COURTESY OF GAMESPOTOM

PHOTO COURTESY OF YACHTCLUBGAMES.COM

Successful Indie games

PHOTO COURTESY OF RILEY PAYUNG

PHOTO COURTESY OF RILEY PAYUNG

On your smartphone, scan this code using the application "QR Code" to help support Ouroboros Animation in making their game on gofundme.com

DayZ

Initially a mod of the shooter Arma II, DayZ became popular enough that a standalone version was released. The game is an online survival adventure in must deal with zombies and other players. The standalone version has sold over two million copies.

14 LIFESTYLES

Dec. 16, 2014

The right gift for the holiday season Treat him right You can never go wrong with what present to give a guy. No matter who he is or what he's interested in, use these gift ideas as a guide to what you can get him.

Cologne $80-100

Shoes $100-150 If you want to go all out and spoil him, get him a pair of shoes that he would like.

Video games $40-60

Not only does cologne benefit him by smelling good, it also benefits you.

Leather wallet $50

Treat her right Whether you want to spend a lot for her or you want something simple and inexpensive, here are some gifts you can think about getting her.

Undergarments $5-15 A last minute alternative is undergarments.

They're affordable and effortless.

Hair straightener/curler $40-60

Make up kit/palettes $50-80

Hair tools are a good option if you want to buy her something that will last longer

Make up kits come with a lot of different cosmetics.

Remember the more the merrier!

Phone accessories $25-50 Protect him by protecting his phone.

Get him a case that matches his personality.

The newest Fuji Polaroid is the gift for any girl that likes to capture the moment.

Worried she will lose her money? Get her a wristlet, it won't leave her wrist!

If he is unorganized with his money, get him a wallet to address this problem.

Video games are not only for extreme gamers, but anyone who enjoys playing games.

Fuji Polaroid camera $80-$100

Wristlet $45-120

Clothing gift cards $25-50 If all else fails, get her a gift card from her favorite store.

Ralph Lauren sweatpants $30-50 Nothing beats a good pair of sweatpants. They're comfy and stylish at the same time.

Beanies and hats $20-30

Beanies and hats are the way to go. They'll keep him cozy for the cold season.

Jewelry $20-100 Whether you spend a lot or not on the jewelry, she'll love it after all it is the thought that counts.

Victoria Secret gift set $30-40 She will adore the beautiful products that the VS gift set includes.

Lush bath bomb $5-15 Don't know what to get her?

Don't stress! Buy her Lush bath bombs.

Get the look with Marilyn and Soulisa Imitate the style of teen fashion icon Kylie Jenner for inexpensive prices White crop top H&M $12

Jean button up Goodwill $15 Leather skirt Urban Outfitters $50

Skull scarf H&M $12

Lace-up heels Rack Room shoes $20

Over the knee boots Charlotte Russe $49

Gold layer necklace Express $20 Black crop top Forever 21 $12

White boyfriend jeans Zara $25

Black Heels Forever 21 $40

Red plaid flannel Urban Outfitters $30

Compiled by Soulisa Pathammavong and Marilyn Rivas

SPORTS X-TRA 15

Dec. 16, 2014

AHS grad trains basketball superstars Justin Zormelo combines love of basketball and math skills to develop the NBA's elite

Justin Zormelo Timeline Junior year, 2001

BY NEBEYU SOLOMON Staff Writer With basketball season in full swing we tend to look back at past players who have made it in the world.

One former player in the spotlight is AHS alumni Justin Zormelo. He played for the AHS varsity basketball team from 2001 to 2002. Zormelo has played basketball since he was five years old and has progressed as a child and got better and better everyday. He went to Georgetown university and worked as the manager for the Georgetown Hoyas basketball team.

"I started playing basketball at the age of five with the Annandale Boys & Girls Club," Zormelo said. "During elementary school, I played in the Catholic Youth League (CYO) for St. Michael, Alexandria All Stars and other AAU select teams. We played all over Virginia, in Indiana and Las Vegas."

During Zormelo's high school days, Annandale was full of different people.

"Annandale's diversity was a great preparation for the real world," Zormelo said. "I was in classes with students and teachers from a lot of different cultures, religion and economic backgrounds."

Zormelo's background on the varsity basketball team at AHS trained him to train others into becoming basketball phenoms.

The way Zormelo trains his athletes is unlike any other trainer has done before.

Zormelo analyzes statistics to increase individual player performances. His focus on stats separates him from other trainers.

He is the founder of Best Ball Analytics, which helps not only professionals, but also college and even high school athletes work on their game. He has worked with different NBA stars like Kevin Durant, Andrew Wiggins,

Zormelo played varsity basketball at a private school during his freshman and sophomore years. He came to AHS in his junior year and played on the varsity boys basketball team. He joined the team in Coach Patrick Hughes' first year as coach of the varsity boys team. Here he is shown on the bottom right, wearing number 15.

Senior year, 2002 Dwayne Wade and many more.

"Obviously he's pretty well respected because he's working out with a lot of famous players and he's taken something and really doing something unique that other trainers may not be doing," Zormelo's former coach Patrick Hughes said. "I'm sure he's doing a good job."

Zormelo does many different things while working with players.

"Depending on clients, I can be doing on the court training, scouting, preparing analysis, consulting with players on development plan, strategizing for next game and opponents, etc," Zormelo said.

Zormelo started out like many student athletes, working on athletics and academics at the same time, which led him to work with some of the greatest players in NBA history.

Zormelo also played on the varsity boys basketball team during his senior year at AHS. The varsity team went 9-11 that season, which was Hughes' second season as head coach of the boys varsity program. —PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTENNA YEARBOOK

Q&A with stat wonder Justin Zormelo Q: What were your earliest experiences with basketball?

A: I started playing basketball at the age of five with the Annandale Boys & Girls Club. During elementary school, I played in the Catholic Youth League (CYO) for St. Michael, Alexandria All Stars and other AAU select teams. We played all over Virginia, in Indiana and Las Vegas.

It was amazing to find myself playing in high school and AAU teams with and against my teammates going back to my first Boys & Girls Club team of five year olds. Looking back I also remember that some of the players my AAU teams played against were JJ Reddick, Jarrett Jack and Carmelo Anthony.

Q: Who were some NBA players or other influential people that you looked up to? Do you still look up to these people?

A: I loved Larry Bird. He was a complete team player who could shoot and worked hard every minute he was on the court. I also admired the Dream Team and had cut outs of all the players on my bedroom wall. Other influential people basketball wise thus far have been John Thompson III and his father, Shaquille O'Neal, Shawn Marion, Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra and of course Kevin Durant today. Every chance I get, I watch tapes of old games of the Dream Team.

Zormelo trains with NBA stars such as Kevin Durant (left) and Dwyane Wade (right).

—PHOTO COURTESY OF BEST BALL ANALYTICS

Q: What do you remember the most about AHS? A: Annandale's diversity was a great preparation for the real world. I was in classes with students and teachers from a lot of different cultures, religion and economic backgrounds.

We all came together as a community during classes, school activities and sports.

Q: What made you interested in statistics?

A: I have always had an aptitude for math, so it was second nature for me to look at plays and players and analyze the patterns and statistics behind these. Couple this with my knowledge of basketball and I was able to develop ways statistics can be utilized in developing and helping players improve at all levels including high school, college, international and NBA. Q: What made you realize that you could connect statistics with basketball?

A: Whenever I played, watched college or NBA basketball, I was always keen to look at statistics such as points per game, per possession, assists, etc. I didn't just stop with just what the numbers were, I wanted to know what the numbers or statistics meant and how it could be used to improve and get players to excel.

Q: What is Best Ball Analytics and what made you create it?

A: It represents playing your best ball, what to do to play your best ball and how analytics can be adapted to help players play their best ball. Visit my website at bestballanalytics.com to learn more.

Q: Describe what your job is like.

A: My job varies depending on each client. What is consistent is my working 12 to 16 hours a day and being on the road constantly.

Q: What is an average workday for you?

A: An average work day for me can be 12 to 16 hours of work. Depending on clients - I can be doing on the court training, scouting, preparing analysis, consulting with players on development plan, strategizing for next game and opponents, etc.

Q: Did you ever get used to your job or is it still a big deal when you meet famous NBA players?

A: Every player is unique, so I have to treat each client as their own individual. I am still in awe of those very talented and fortunate players who have made it to the pinnacle of basketball - The NBA. To be able to work with players of that caliber there has to be mutual respect and trust between us in order to achieve our objectives.

Q: Is there a certain player that you enjoy working with? Who is it and why?

A: Kevin Durant is someone I enjoy working with. He works real hard and is always looking to get better. He is not just content on being a star, he works to be the best.

Q: What advice would you give to high school students who love basketball and would want to turn their love of basketball into a career?

A: Get the best education you can. Participate in the game in any way you can, including volunteering. Pursue any opportunities you hear about with passion and perseverance.

When you hit an obstacle, use it as a learning experience and a chance to re-direct. Dream on, dream often and dream big, always work hard and open doors for yourself when they are closed.

Q&A with Patrick Hughes Hughes coached Zormelo in 2001 and 2002, which were Hughes' first two seasons as head coach of boys varsity basketball.rWhat do you Q: Q: What do you

remember about Zormelo?

A: Zormelo used to come to my basketball camp when he was younger so I knew him before he got to Annandale. He decided to go to private school for two years and he went to O'Connell I believe and he figured out his sophomore year he probably would play more at Annandale than he would there since they would recruit people there all the time. So he came back to Annandale his junior year and played for me his junior and senior year. He's a very good shooter and a decent ball handler. He had some injuries off and on. He went to Georgetown and was a manager at Georgetown, he was a good kid and loved the game.

Q: What kind of player was he?

A: He was a good player and he came in his junior year and some people have already been here for a while, so he was finding his role. He was a good player and he shot the ball well.

Q: What qualities about him do you remember?

A: He wanted to do well and he loved the game. He put time in trying to get better. He knew a lot about college basketball players and NBA players. He was really into that kind of stuff.

DANIEL YENEGETA

Q: How did your experience playing for Annandale impact you?

A: As a point guard for the varsity team, I learned to recognize how and when to get my teammates the ball so that they could score. I also understood that playing defense was the other half of the game. You have to play both ends of the court in order to get a win! We weren't a big team in the middle, so we had to work hard for our shots. In life you have to work hard no matter what -- especially after you get a shot.

Q: Did you see this type of potential in him?

A: At that time I didn't think of him as doing what he is doing now but I guess when he was managing at Georgetown he got into the video aspect of it and that kind of helped him help some of the players and I'm Hughes coached Zormelo in 2001 and 2002, which were Hughes' first sure he figured he kind of could make a living out of two seasons as head coach of boys varsity basketball. this. I'm not surprised he got into that but at the time, I thought he could've coached and I could've seen it that way. I know once he got to Georgetown, he kind of found his niche and it's pretty cool how he's helping out pretty famous athletes.

Q: What do you think of him now that he's gone out to do big things?

A: I haven't talked to him in a long time but I have seen him at Georgetown, he came back and saw me a couple times but we've emailed back to each other a while back when he was going on this but I haven't talked to him in a while. I'm sure he's doing a good job, obviously he's pretty well respected because he's working out with a lot of famous players and he's taken something and really doing something unique that other trainers may not be doing.

Q: Are you proud of what he's been able to accomplish?

A: Absolutely, he's a very intelligent young man and smart kid. I knew he would do well.

16 SPORTS Boys basketball falls to Woodson

Dec. 16, 2014

Coach Behne excited for rest of the season

Team falls with a 20 point difference

BY SABRINA HAWA

BY SABRINA HAWA The boys varsity team had their home opener game against Woodson on Dec. 12 at 7:00 p.m. The final score was 51-70, making their record 1-4.

"We are gonna make sure we work on communication more our next game against Centerville," varsity player Emmanuel KwakyeDompreh said. "Also work on getting more open passes."

Woodson is one of the many known rivals in the district, made this a very anticipated game for both fans and players.

The first quarter started strong with the Atoms winning the tip off by junior Dini Mohammad and then getting up two points right away.

The first quarter ended with a score of 10-17, with Woodson in the lead. The score remained close from both teams consistently putting up points on the board. The boys kept a strong and determined deneanor even though they were behind on the score board.

The Atoms came back strong in the second quarter by swinging the ball consistently and by obtaining both offensive and defensive

SABRINA HAWA

Sports Editor

Ballin' Out Sophomore Dontae Johnson looks for the open pass at the game against Woodson

rebounds. The team started to work a lot harder to push the ball through the lane to attempt to get a point.

The second quarter ended with a close score of 22-28, going in Woodson's favor.

Individually, the team performed well, with each player putting up multiple baskets. This shows how each team member has a great ability to maintain control of the ball and find an open shot on the court.

The team kept up their momentum during both the third and fourth quarter, only trailing the Cavs by a

small amount.

However, by the time the fourth quarter came around, the expression of the players faces began to change and the exhaustion began to show, not in just their faces but their playing.

Fouls began to plauge the team and the game was paused many times by extensive amount of foul shots being made by both sides of the court.

The final minutes of the game very tense as the atoms tried to catch up to their opponents.

Despite their loss to Woodson, Coach Behne was high hopes for the season, not only on the scoreboard and records, but for the players as individual people.

The guys will take on the Centerville Wildcats tonight at 7:30 p.m in the main gym.

"We're really excited for this next game." Kwakye-Dompreh said. "It should be a good game."

How do you feel playing against school's that we have big rivalries with and does it make the team nervous knowing that a lot of people are anticipating this game?

"We love it, its fun. Everything is nerve racking, this is more exciting because it brings out the competitive nature and brings out more of the understanding that you're out here to compete but also to hopefully having fun and providing entertainment for everybody."

What are you anticipating for the rest of the season?

"Excitement, a lot of fun, hopefully a lot of good basketball and hopefully a lot more of exciting games like how we had last year."

Anything you want to say to the seniors this year?

"I love every one of them and I am very happy for them and very proud to have them on the team this year representing the school and hopefully they can have a memorable season that'll last for a lifetime."

SABRINA HAWA

Sports Editor

What is your overall goal for the season and goals for players that are planning on returning next year?

"It's always about having good student athletes and having gentlemen that grow into men and take on the characteristics and the things we teach them into their life and become standout people in the community and hopefully universities and wherever they go to from there. Also hopefully win games here and there."

Heard in the Hall: What basketball game are you most excited for?

"TJ because it will be a good win."

DEVIN DAVIS freshman

"The game against TJ because it'll be our first team win hopefully."

ABDI ABDALLA

"Lake Braddock because we have a big rivarly with them."

" Lake braddock because they are a big district rival."

"Lake Braddock because we have a good rivarly."

MARCELO MARQUEZ

MIKAEL MECHAL

JORDAN ADAMS

sophomore, JV

sophomore, jv

sophomore, varsity

freshman

"Woodson, it's the first home game of the season and have last year district player of the year.

DONTAE JOHNSON sophomore, varsity

"Woodson, because we have a big rivalry and it would be nice to get a home win."

Woodson, they are district champs and they are one of our biggest rivals."

EMMANUEL KWAKYEDOMPREH

FRANCIS SILLAH

senior, varsity

senior, varisty

Track competes Runner rank high in last meet

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

Staff Writer Indoor winter track had their first meet of the season at TJ middle school on Dec. 12. The indoor track runners had mixed feelings about their first meet.

Most players ended up having winning most of the races and matches that they competed in and ended up having an overall high ranking among the competition.

The indoor track meet consisted of 4x800, 300 meter dash and the 4x800 relay.

"The meet was a good start to the season and we did pretty well for the beginning of the season," sophomore Kelsie Licatovich said.

Licatovich came first in her heat of the 300 meter dash.

Senior Robert Lamb ran the 4x800 and felt that this meet was one of the less competitive meets since it was the first of the season.

Lamb came in first the in the 4x800 and came in third for the 1600 meter race.

Focusing on the race and not worrying about first place was main goal for some track runners, while other runners made it their goal to come in first in their race.

"The meet was fun and energetic, I mainly focus on beating the person in front of me rather than winning the race," sophomore Youssef El Boukri said.

El Boukri ran the 1600 meter race and thought he did well for his first meet of the season.

"The track runners for 4x800 team created a goal to achieve first place and we did," junior Risky Alvarado said. Alvarado thought the meet went well because he got third place in the two mile race.

"My goal was just to run as well as I could because it wasn't the best track and I think I achieved it," Lamb said.

The next indoor track meet is fit invite and it is at PG Sports Complex.

PHOTO COURTESY OF YOUSSEF EL BOUKRI

DONATE YOUR VEHICLE TO THE AHS AUTO PROGRAM

BY SHEILA AGUIRRE

Sophomore Youssef El Boukri at the meet at TJ Middle School last friday.

UPCOMING TRACK MEETS · 12/27 FIT INVITE @ PG Sports Complex · 1/17 vs. Fairfax and Herndon @ TJ Middle School · 1/23 vs. West Potomac, Lake Braddock and Wakefield @ TJ Middle School · 1/31 vs. TC Williams, South County, and West Potomac at Episcopal High School · 2/4 Patriot Conference championship @ Episcopal High School · The Nationals survived without him when he had his broken thumb

SPORTS 17 Girls basketball overall record 3-2 Dec. 16, 2014

Girls varsity defeats Woodson and Thomas Jefferson High Schools this weekend.

Sports Editor The team has been working hard in and out of the court to come together and play as a family.

After defeating their greatest rival Woodson HS and Thomas Jefferson HS the girls have high hopes for the season.

Are you seeing poise. on some of the t-shirts in the hallways?

After adopting "poise" as their the new motto, the AHS girls varsity is an official new team this year.

Embracing a style of play and working together, the girls have shown much improvement.

Poise is noun that means "a: easy self-possessed assurance of manner: gracious tact in coping or handling; b: a particular way of carrying oneself."

"I think those shirts are actually a really cool idea," junior Molly Gormley said. "I've actually heard a lot of people in the hallway talking about them. So many people actually want to buy them."

"We have definitely learned how to work together more," junior Katie Pacak said. "So far we have bonded more than ever."

The girls have been coming together outside of school for team bonding activities. For example, they all went to senior Erin Johnson's house to bond with a team dinner.

"It is a really good way for us to be able to learn more about each other," sophomore Katie Garrish said. "If we are able to get along on and off the court, it will let us have a better working dynamic on the court."

Working with a new coach this year was something junior Kiara Patino was skeptical of at first.

"I never met him before so everything was kinda new to me, but after the first green day I thought that he

COURTSEY OF CLAUDIA BARAGANO

BY MARIFE BARAGANO

if the villains claim the "belts" then none of the girls get their running amounts reduced.

Brown finds it important that the girls run for a purpose, so instead of just running up and down the court continuously, the girls play scrimmages and live game situations to practice "poise."

The previous weekend, the girls played against Thomas Jefferson HS and the Woodson Cavaliers. Going the entire weekend undefeated, the girls are enjoying what the new style of play is bringing.

During the Woodson match, senior Beza Yoseph took the first charge of the regular season causing an uproar in the stands.

Parents and students in the AHS sections began to cheer loudly, causing the Woodson section to become very angry. They began to actually "boo" the girls team.

This just made both teams want to fight harder.

This determination is what makes basketball such an interesting sport. When all the odds are against you, who will be the victor in the end?

It just so happened this time that the AHS girls varsity team came out as the victor with a score of 4526.

The next day, the girls had to come back to the AHS gym and play against Thomas Jefferson High School. At the end of the game, the girls came out the victor again with a score of 69-20.

"It sometimes a little difficult when you have to play every day," senior Nina Fairman said, "The important thing is that you take care of your body and do not over work it all the time."

Johnson is one of the top leading scorers of the team with 84 points so far in the season. Coming in close second with a score of 66 points this season is sophomore Katie Garrish.

Assistant coaches Kate Culhane and Pete Campbell have also added a different aspect of the team . Together the coaching staff is working together to play at the girls strengths and work on improving their weaknesses.

No matter what the girls consider themselves a family on and off the court.

The girls also consider the boys varsity basketball team their family as well.

Junior Kiara Patino eyes her opponent while playing defense to ensure she protects her side of the court. (Bottom Picture) Coach James Brown speaks to the girls about the next play.

would be good to us."

Coach James Brown has introduced a new method of coaching. Every week, practices now include something called Competition Wednesday.

Each Wednesday, the girls have a chance to win competition belt. They compete in one on one, three on three and three point shot competitions. Brown is a firm

believer in playing people that are older so that the girls can improve.

For competition Wednesday, hs brings "villains," or older people who have played basketball in either college or on his previous teams. If one of the girls wins the "belt," their running for the next week gets cut almost in half. This gives an incentive for the girls to win. However,

Boys and girls swim and dive hoping for better season Junior Aaron Boyd auto qualifies for regionals this weekend at last two meets

Junior Aaron Boyd comes up for a breath before going back into the water and finishing the race.

But not at all for a lack of effort.

"Practices have been fairly difficult this season, but it is all to help us prepare for the upcoming meets," junior Luke Daggle said, "If we keeping working hard at practices then the final outcome in meets will be better."

Keeping a positive attitude is what is helping the Atoms stay in the zone. They never plan on giving up.

"I think our girls really stepped it up this weekend. We had a few swimmers missing, so many people had to swim events they weren't used to," junior Ashley Britton said, "but there were some who swam for the first time in a meet, so it was good for them to gain experience. Everyone had a positive attitude and cheered each other on, which made everything more adaptable for each swimmer."

In previous years, the team has been able to come out of funks like these and even make it out to states.

After the meets, the team usually picks a

place to have a team dinner. This is another way the Atoms promote a family dynamic.

"I'd say the best part of being on the team is the meets and the team dinners," Daggle said, "It is really fun being able to spend time with your friends and become closer with the people on your team."

A big accomplishment was that Junior Aaron Boyd (picture on top) had almost auto qualified for a position in states but did qualify for a regional cut. Though he did not get a state qualification, all of AHS is rooting for him to get the spot he deserves.

"I pretty sure if Aaron keeps working as hard as he has in practice it will be easy for him to get a spot at states, " said Junior swim manager Molly Gormley," He is almost there and if he gets to states it will bring so much more pride to the AHS swim team."

The reason that some of the boys were suspended was due to an incident at the winter pep rally. They knowingly walked around the gym in their speedos after being told not to by their coaching staff.

COURTESY OF ANYA MONTES DE OCA

Sports Editor Boys and girls swim and dive have competed against Lake Braddock Secondary School, West Springfield High School and West Potomac High School doing a good job to stay in the competition.

Swim meets are hot events filled with chanting schools, loud parents and crazy fans. Parents and fans gather in the stands of the recreational center to cheer on the boys and girls, while the students from each school gather around in their designated corners and wait for their heat to be called.

Once their heat is called, they get ready by taking off their sweatpants hopping into the pool.

This weekend though was a bit hectic due to the fact that many of the players were either suspended or injured so they could not compete.

Though missing some key players; the AHS swim team did an amazing job.

"They did a really great job this weekend," Coach Klein said, "We had a lot of new people swimming so it was a good opportunity for them to try something new."

Many of the underclassmen had to compete in different events that they were not used to. This was an experience they would never be able to forget.

"I was so surprised on how some of the freshmen, sophomores and even some juniors competed in events they never swam in before," junior Gabriel Martino said, "I was nice to see that they tried their best for the team and gave us all they had."

Unfortunately the team did not come home with the win in the last three meets.

COURTESY OF ANYA MONTES DE OCA

BY MARIFE BARAGANO

The swim coaches decided to take action and suspend the senior boys (picture to the left) from the next meet.

Some students were disappointed at the fact the boys had gotten in trouble for their actions.

"This has been a standing tradition at AHS for many years now," junior Hassa Koroma said, "I would think that they would be cool with the boys doing this after so many years" The coaching staff strongly believes that this is not the end and the swimmer will come out of the hump and succeed. They are determined to make it.

"It is important that the AHS community knows that this upset is not going to stop us from getting to our goal and going all the way to states," Martino said.

Seniors Ben Martino, Bennett Collins, Jared Lefbom, Dominic Shuey and Tyler Sapp pose for a picture.

Boys place fifth overall in the NOVA Classic surmounting previous expectations

BY MARIFE BARAGANO Sports Editor Last weekend, varsity boys wrestling had the opportunity to attend the Nova classic, missing a day of school.

So far this season the boys have done amazingly with an overall record of 4-1. They lost only once to Forest Park High School but they defeated Patriot High School, John Paul the Great High School, Prince Anne High School and Brooke Point High School.

During the Nova classic, the boys placed in fifth as a team. Individually, though junior Alex Joya - third place (132lbs.), senior Tony Gibbs - third place (220lbs.), junior Azimat Israilov (145) - fifth place, junior Ozzie

Israilov - fifth place (145lbs), senior Devin Hamlett - fifth place (160lbs.), senior Sergio Martinez - fifth place (285lbs.), sophomore Santiago Medrano - sixth place (138lbs,), freshman Allen Kokilananda - seventh place (120lbs.) and junior Mike Weaver - eighth place (138lbs.).

The varsity boys were missed at the winter pep rally but were still recognized for their hard work and dedication. Practicing seven days a week, it is clear that these boys work hard for these amazing results.

"Wrestling is the most unique sport, it involves technique, power and mental toughness," Medrano said, "In practice we start by lifting in the weight room and then we head up to the mat room, each and every single move we practice consist of us constantly moving, the coach pushes us to our full potential."

There was a complication with a few of the members on the team who had gotten skin infections. Despite this complication, they came together and did really well in the Nova classic.

In previous years , the Gramling Atoms have done very well at all their meets.

After losing a lot of seniors, this year the

COURTESY OF SANTIAGO MEDRANO

Boys wrestling competes at NOVA Winter Classic

The boys varsity poses for a group picture after placing 5th overall team.

boys are anxious to keep the winning streak going.

At the first meet ever played by the Atoms they came in third place surprising everyone.

"It's awesome that everyone in the school can support each other and be like one big family," sophomore Liam Conroy said.

Congratulations to those individuals

who did an outstanding at the NOVA Winter Classic.

"I just hope that they boys can keep it up," Conroy said.

18 ENTERTAINMENT The end of the Hobbit

Dec. 16, 2014

The final film in the trilogy takes its last adventure

BY OMAR HADDOU AND AHMAD AYUB

EONLINE.COM

Staff Writers

A poster depicting all of the characters from the new Hobbit movie.

Today marks the end of an epic trilogy that concludes the greatest series of movies in the history of the American movie industry, commonly compared with the Harry Potter and Star Wars series. The multi-billion dollar franchise is coming to a close after 13 years of incredible adaptations of the three books that altogether spawned an enormous fan base.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies will conclude the collection of movies that have attracted an incredible number of fans that can t wait to see what will happen. Several will even go to the midnight premiere of the movie to watch it before most.

"My parents and I are huge fans of the movies, and my dad is taking me to the midnight premiere with him, something I've never done for a movie before," junior Mahlate Bereket said.

Both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were written by J. R. R. Tolkien, a writer who lived in the 19th and 20th centuries. He created a collection of books that take place in Middle-Earth, the fictional setting that Tolkien created.

The Hobbit, which was only one book in contrast to the three movies made from it, is a prequel to The Lord of the Rings, which had three volumes, and, as a book, was released first. However, the movie series for The Hobbit was released after its sequel.

"Harry Potter and The Hobbit definitely have to be some of my favorite books and movies," junior Kirk Lindberg said.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring first premiered in theaters on Dec. 19, 2001. This brought about the beginning of a trilogy that would change fantasy film history forever. The next two films, The Two Towers and Return of the King, premiered on Dec. 18, 2002 and Dec. 17, 2003, respectively.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released on Dec. 14, 2012 and its sequel, The Desolation of Smaug, premiered almost exactly a year later on Dec. 13, 2014.

There was a nine year break between the final Lord of the Rings movie and the first Hobbit movie, a break in which many fans were left wondering as to whether the prequel series would be a reality. The prequel trilogy originally started as a rumour by devout fans of the original trilogy. Peter Jackson, the director behind the extraordinary story written by Tolkien,

Important battles from Middle-Earth The Battle Outside of Moria

kept those rumours under wraps, making it more exciting when it was officially announced.

"I read some of the books and loved them, especially The Hobbit, and the movies made the series even better," sophomore Saud Shah said.

The Lord of the Rings movies were huge hits in the box office, making a total of $2,917,506,956 from the three movies. The Hobbit movies are close behind and have a chance of beating that record, with $1,975,370,423 made with the first two films.

"I hope I can see it at midnight, and if I can't I'll go the next day cause I want to see it as early as possible," Shah said.

The movie will pick up directly where The Desolation of Smaug ended, with the dragon known as Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) on his way to attack a small town on a lake, fittingly named Lake-town, after finding out that Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) cared about the people. Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) angered the nefarious beast by pouring melted gold on it, the pain being the motivation for the dragon to set off as quickly as he did.

The end of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug left viewers in awe and already hoping to see the next film as soon as possible. However, the fans were forced to wait a year to witness the finale of the saga.

"I watched all the Lord of the Rings movies with my brothers when I was little and loved them, so I was really excited when The Hobbit finally came out in theaters," sophomore Lucie Lefbom said.

As evidenced from the trailer for the final movie, several of the actors and actresses from the original trilogy returned to play the characters they originally played. Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellan), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) and Elrond (Hugo Weaving) are some of the few.

Recently, Jackson announced that there will be a 45 minute battle scene, hence the name Battle of the Five Armies. Jackson explained the battle scene coherently in an interview. In addition, Jackson said that the battle will include dwarves, men, elves and orcs.

The series has fans that attend, and in some cases, teach at AHS and are eager to watch the final movie.

Senior Lorenzo Aluning spoke about how impactful this series was to his life. "This movie is going to be a turning point in my life, that is how important this movie is, because it changed the way I looked at the world."

Even English teacher Sean Hardy loved the series and gave his opinion on the Hobbit trilogy and the upcoming movie. "I think the first two Hobbit movies were average, but the last one has potential," Hardy said.

Hardy thinks the preview of the movie "looks cool" and is excited to watch the battle scenes and the updated CGI. He also added how he was disappointed that such a short book was split into a trilogy of movies.

The movie has fans expecting a superb ending, even the ones who have read the book and know what is to come. The film will finish off one of the greatest franchises to ever be created and amaze fans and critics alike.

Heard in the Halls: Which Lord of the Rings character would you be and why?

"I would be Legolas because he uses a bow and arrow in all of the battle scenes and it is so cool."

"I want to be Legolas because he uses a bow and I want to be like Katniss Everdeen."

PHILIP DELCORE

MICHAEL HENG

sophomore

junior

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Once Thorin's Company escapes the Mines of Moria, they are met by Azag and his pack of wargs.

The Company is chased up into trees, and forced to fight them from up there.

"I would be Gimlia because he is hilarious and uses a really cool axe."

"I would be Aragorn because he fights all those orcs at once in the first movie and it was awesome."

The River in Mirkwood

BEN BETTS sophomore

NATHAN CORCORAN junior

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

"I like Sam Gamgee because he is very courageous and carries Frodo up Mt. Doom."

After escaping from the Wood-Elves, Thorin's Company has to ride through a river in barrels to escape the grip of the elves and the surprise attack from the orcs.

The Battle of Perth Galen

TODD LE

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

"I would be an Ent because they are peaceful and cool, and they are big trees that walk."

"Legolas because I love archery and being an elf would be awesome."

JULIANA IGLESIAS sophomore

senior

This fight is between the horde of Orcs and Uruk-Kai. During this battle, the Fellowship begins to split apart, leaving every man for himself against a large army of enemies.

"My favorite character is the Witch King of Nazgul because he has the same powers as Morgoth."

SHANK RAI

RICHIE FRUCHTERMAN

junior

senior

The Battle of Helm's Deep

"I would be Arwen because she ends up with Aragorn and only because it's Viggo Mortensen."

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers The battle focuses around the elves from Rivendell supporting the men of Helm's Deep and Rohan, and the orcs from Mordor. The men and elves prevail and defend the city.

"Gandalf because he dies and comes back to life even stronger and cooler."

MATTHEW VOGUS

BONNIE VINING

sophomore

English teacher

How Lord of the Rings smart are you?

What is the name of Aragorn's lover?

A: Faramir

A: Zelda

B: Thorin

B: Galadriel

C: Sauron

C: Arwen

D: Bruce Wayne

D: Bombur

What is the stone that Bilbo What is the mountain Smaug is sent to retrieve from resides in called?

Smaug called?

A: The Lonely Mountain A: Infinity Stone B: Mirkwood

How many rings of power are there?

A: 5

B: Glamdring

C: Mt. Doom

C: 18

C: Narsil

D: Krypton

D: 20

D: Arkenstone

B: 9

Answer Key: A, C, D, A, D

What is the name of Boromir's brother?

ENTERTAINMENT 19 You can't say that? Why not?

Dec. 16, 2014

Artist or criminal: Daiyan dishes on the rapper's controversy and her personal thoughts on the view of Rap

BY ARIANA DAIYAN Special to The A-Blast In 2010, Anthony Elonis had posted some questionable comments on Facebook that depicted violence through threats aimed at his ex-wife (Tara Elonis), a kindergarten class and an FBI agent assigned to the investigation of these posts. His wife felt endangered by the controversial posts and reported it to law enforcement. The case eventually found its way to the Supreme Court.

This issue will be a deciding factor in the future interpretation of the Interstate Communications Statute which addresses the transmission of one person's threat to injure another. Anthony Elonis has stated that he is an aspiring rapper and that his lyrics are protected under free speech of the First Amendment.

While this case is in progress, there is a spotlight on the validity of rap lyrics as criminal evidence, raising questions about the line between art and crime. Marshall Mathers, widely known as Eminem, has been cited multiple times in the development of this issue.

When Elonis was first prosecuted he said that his lyrics were modeled after this rap mogul. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. further questioned the difference between music and valid threats when he recited verses from Eminem's Slim Shady LP hit, '97 Bonnie and Clyde. The track includes violent images of Mathers and his daughter, Hailie, tying up and drowning a figure that seems to be modeled after his then ex-wife, Kim Mathers.

The Chief Justice quoted, "C'mon Hai-Hai...a nice bed for mommy at the bottom of the lake... you wanna help da-da tie a rope around this rock, We'll tie to to her footsie then we ll roll her off the dock..." Roberts Jr. then turned to the people of the courtroom and asked if Mathers could be prosecuted for the lyrics quoted. The biggest problem the jury seemed to have with this comparison is the difference in delivery media. What Eminem is able to say on a multi-platinum music record should be under scrutiny of a different eye than the interpersonal threatening 'lyrics' Elonis posted on Facebook.

The case has also brought into light the issue of Antwain Steward's "Ride Out." Steward, who performs under the name 'Twain Gotti', rapped about how he "walked to your boy and I approached him... Nobody saw when I [expletive] smoked him, roped him, sharpened up the shank, then I poked him, .357

Elonis (right photo) undergoes court after posting violent lyrics of Eminem's on Facebook the year. Elonis' "freedom of speech" is questioned when it threatens someone else's life.

Smith & Wesson beam scooped him."

These lyrics piqued the attention and interest of Detective Carlos Nunez, he saw it as a confession for an unsolved criminal case from four years ago regarding the murders of two young men. The Newport News, Virginia police claimed that Steward was associated with gang activity and the killing he boasted about was indeed the old case; 'Twain Gotti' was arrested and eventually charged with the murders.

The use of rap lyrics as criminal evidence is hardly unheard of. Charis Kubrin, a criminal law professor at University of California, Irvine, says she's recorded over 100 court cases that used hip-hop lyrics as evidence in trials.

Often, the songs are used as confessions.

The focus of the Elonis case regarding rap music in particular is unreasonable, as the posts could have been referenced as a poem or an opera.

Hip-hop has a record with congress, however it is still "protected under the First Amendment's free speech clause and it's criminalization has a chilling effect on free expression," according to journalist Veronica Majerol.

The genre is exposed to the prejudice of a general public that may not

know much about the art form. It is unfair to generalize the entirety of this genre and its main contributors. I also think it is ridiculous that the court implied that lyrics off an album that was quadruple platinum certified by the RIAA within a year of its release were comparable to a set of lyrics posted on Fcebook by an "aspiring rap artist."

The posts could have easily been presented as words to jazz or operatic pieces, in terms of necessary context. The realm of rap should not be the main focus of this case. There is a clear double standard in mainstream media's perception of hip hop music; nobody ever had an issue when Johnny Cash sang, "But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die..," in 'Folsom Prison Blues'.

On the contrary, this classic country musician was invited as a musical guest to the White House. This obvious divide in the treatment of various styles of music should garner more attention than its been given thus far.

The progression of contemporary art forms will always be hindered by these implications unless the confines of societal prejudice are eradicated. I can only hope that.

Cases that challenge our freedom of speech

BETHEL SCHOOL DISTRICT V. FRASER (1986)

RICK ROSS AND REEBOK (2010)

After student Matthew Fraser conducted a speech full of sexual content, Bethel School District suspended him for three days and forbade him from speaking during graduation. After taking this to court, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2: verifying the school's authorization in censorship.

After a feature in the hit song "U.O.E.N.O", rapper Rick Ross enraged his fans with his lyrics related to rape and was dropped from his $5 million contract with Reebok after they were disappointed with there star spokesman. Today, Ross still wears Reebok and says the lyrics and him never condone rape or any type of sexual assaults.

HUCKLEBERRY FINN AND NATIONAL SCHOOL PUBLICATIONS (2011) After 125 years of excellence, an Alabama publications company replaced the "n" word in Twain's Adventure of Huckleberry Finn with "slave" after hundreds of school banned the classic from their curriculum. Co-owner and editor of NewSouth Books, Randall Williams argued that its racial slur was obscene for schools.

Should freedom of speech protect all expressions?

"Yes, it applies to everything but people should not abuse the privileges."

"Yes, because if there are restrictions, it defies the meaning of a freedom."

Sam Curtin

sophomore

freshmen

"Yes, because everyone has different opinions and they should be aloud to share them."

"Yes, because without your word, it does not mean anything. You won't be taken seriously."

Brooke Thadeus

Reem Lakkis

junior

senior

Saad Farooq

"Yes, because the minute you start controlling what people say, it restricts their abilities to express themselves."

Lee Hayes senior

"Freedom of speech is like leaning your seat back on an airplane. You have the right to do it, but if you use it to it's full extent, you're probably a jerk."

Timothy Murphy Learning Disabilities teacher

20 WEEKEND

Dec. 16, 2014

‘TIS THEof your How to make theSEASON holiday most season!

Gaylord ICE show

National Christmas tree

Frosty and friends take over National Harbor as the Gaylord hosts their annual ICE Show. The 2 million pounds of ice are sculpted by artisans from Harbin, China. The sculptures have flown to the U.S. just for the creation of the Gaylord's ICE Show. Admission ranges from $16-$34 and the exhibit is open until Jan. 4. Make sure you dress warm for this holiday adventure, it is quite frosty in there. Take a nice evening trip with your family and friends to experience this holiday work of art for yourself. Following your icy adventure, go out and eat at one of National Harbor's best restaurants and have a jolly time with your family this holiday season.

Go experience one of our Nation's greatest holiday treasures: The National Christmas Tree. With a great view of The White House, you can experience the great tradition illuminated by close to 80,000 lights. Surrounding the tree are 50 mini Christmas trees, each state represented by one of them. Admission to see the tree is free and the tree is lit from dusk to 11 p.m. The tree is up until Jan. 1, so don't miss a chance to take a trip with your friends and family to see our Nation's beautiful Christmas tree.

Ice skating Take part in another holiday tradition in our Nation's Capital. You and your friends can take a day trip out to the district for the day and ice skate in front of the National Gallery of Art. The outside rink is open until March 16, so you have plenty of time to plan your ice skating trip.

Admission is $8 for adults and $7 for students, children and senior citizens. If you don't have ice skates, don't worry, you can rent a pair for $3. The rink is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Don't miss your chance to fulfill your winter bucket list. Get out there and skate your butt off.

What will you do during the holiday season?

BY MAREM ATEF Staff Writer

Sledding Assuming that we get a large amount of snow this winter season, make sure you get out of your house and enjoy everything the winter has to offer. You can sled anywhere, on anything all for free and grab some friends while you do it! Make it into a competition and see who can get down the hill faster or make a ramp and launch yourself off of it into a huge pile of snow. You can never go wrong when it comes to having a play day in the snow. If you can't think of a spot to go sledding, head over to Pincrest Golfcourse and hit their slopes.

Bull Run light show If you are one who enjoys the decorations that the holiday season provides, then the Bull Run Festival of Lights is the place for you. The light show is a long stretch of holiday decor in Bull Run's Regional Park. Pack a car full of your friends and head out to see what the park has to offer. Prices range from $20 and below for a car full of friends. Make sure to enjoy the holiday spirit as you drive through Bull Run's famous light show.

Fourteen days, 336 hours, 20,160 minutes is almost not enough time to spend this year's holiday break. So how are AHS students taking advantage of this two week gift? From surfing the shores of Hawaii, or catching some extra Z's, many students utilize this time to reflect on the year and unwind from all the stress and overwhelming emotions 2014 has brought upon us.

"I am really crossing my fingers for it to snow so I can have a snowball fight and just chill with my friends," junior Davian Gonzalez said.

Along with Gonzalez, senior Michael Velasquez also hopes for a tremendous amount of snow. "Hopefully this winter break the streets will be covered in snow so I won't have to go into work and I could just sleep all day and watch Arrow on Netflix," Velasquez said.

Snow is a popular guest in the wintertime. Whether it gets you out of school, gets you out of practice, or any other obligation you have, snow is a blessing for most students. Snow provides you with a multitude of activities such as sledding, snowball fights or building a snowman. Hopefully we will get enough snow this year to fulfill every student's wish.

Although the winter weather is what some students plan their winter break around, others plan on laying low and enjoying a peaceful holiday season. Many students plan to use the break in order to catch up on some of their favorite shows. Junior Eden Mesfin plans on abiding by her motto of "eat, sleep and watch Netflix is a great way to spend your winter break." For all those nights you had to miss your favorite show to do homework, you can now make up for all that lost time and more. Let's say that you watch eight hours of Netflix a day or eight hour long episodes, you will be able to watch 112 episodes over the 14 day winter break. Most TV seasons are 18 episodes long, so there is plenty of time to catch up on your TV pleasures.

While most Atoms plan on spending their break close to home, quite a few people have plans to escape the cold air and head west or south. Junior Brooke Thadeus is exchanging her sled for a boogie board and her Christmas sweater for a bathing suit. "Were going to Hawaii for break for the full two weeks and my mom has a whole schedule of activities were going to do and I'm just really excited to spend the holidays under the sun," Thadeus said.

Along with Thadeus, sophomore Tara El-Achi and her family are excited to leave Annandale. "My family and I are heading to Florida because we hate when the temperature is the same as our age. Plus I love palm trees and jet skiing in Miami," El-Achi said.

As some students exchange snow for sand, other students are taking advantage of all the benefits that the winter brings. While these students are fleeing A-Town to avoid the cold, junior Kadijah Sesay plans on heading to Ski Liberty resort in Pennsylvania with her friends and family. "I've never been skiing so I can't wait to see what this trip has in store for me," Sesay said.

Sesay is not the only person taking a trip to the slopes this season, David Park and his family have a trip planned. "My family and I are going to a ski resort this year for four days over break. I am excited because it is an annual tradition [for my family]," junior David Park said. With 14 days of complete freedom, make sure to go out and make the most of your break just like all of these students.

A Christmas Carol Ford's Theatre will be holding its annual musical, A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas, all throughout the holiday season. The antique theatre that Lincoln spent his last day in holds a magical show that is good for the whole family. It is a formal event so make sure you look extra nice while you are there. This is a great way to celebrate the holiday season. You could even surprise your family with tickets. You can find tickets for any date until Jan. 1 on the theatre's website. Ticket prices range from $100-$300, so get your tickets before they all sell out.

Caroling Join in on another famous holiday tradition: caroling! The event is free aside from having to print out the lyrics to your favorite holiday songs. Get a group of friends and family members and work your way around your neighborhood. Caroling can be an entertaining event for you and the people you sing to. Go out and spread the holiday spirit with your magical voice. President of the Latin Club, Todd Le, will be leading the club's annual caroling at school. Be on the look out for them at school tomorrow!

Class of 2015 Bulletin To-do List: DeceMber EDITION You have nine days to finish your holiday shopping!

Attend the winter chorus concert tonight @ 7 p.m.

Pray for a lot of snow!

182 days until graduation