The Churchill Observer- October 2014

Volume 39 - Issue 2

A National Blue Ribbon School

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Assessment schedule abandoned to decrease stress reinstating the assessment schedule.

“We will be conducting a February survey to follow-up on the change in the assessment schedule,” Taylor said. “We would reconsider bringing back the assessment schedule based upon the climate results.”

According to Taylor, CHS administrators are planning to meet with students to evaluate the current assessment schedule and the overall student body’s stress level.

By Danny Gordon Staff Writer Noah Salzberg Online Features Editor For the 2014-15 school year, CHS administrators opted out of implementing the assessment schedule that was initially formed two years ago.

The assessment schedule allowed certain subjects to test on certain days of the week, with the intention of spreading out tests to reduce student stress.

“I think when [the assessment schedule] was implemented well, the schedule was effective,” assistant principal John Taylor said. “Ever since we implemented the policy, we did mid-year surveys to make sure it was effective, and the results consistently showed no majority. However, the later surveys revealed an overwhelming majority saying that the assessment schedule created more stress.”

In addition to the schedule failing to comply with its original intention, the policy was not consistently followed by teachers, whose lesson plans were disrupted by the assessment schedule.

“We had to plan our weeks around the assessment schedule rather than what was best for the students,” English teacher Christin Nixon said.

According to Taylor, snow days made the assessment schedule difficult to follow and “impossible to implement.”

Students also found problems with the assessment schedule. It

would oftentimes not be clear as to what constituted a n assessment.

Despite the problems found with the schedule, s t u d e n t s have mixed reactions to the elimination of the policy.

“I think it is a harmful decision to the student body that we will have more overlapping assessments,” senior Billy Wang said. “It will give us a lot more unnecessary stress.”

Other students, like junior Zach Ruvo, are pleased with the change.

“I have

not been overloaded with tests on the same day, so [the assessment schedule’s removal] hasn’t made a difference to me,” Ruvo said. “The assessment schedule stressed me out because it made school not so much about doing well on tests but rather about getting through the schedule.”

Stress-reduction is a focal point for CHS administrators.

Despite the survey’s overwhelmingly negative results the year prior, CHS is still open to the idea of

ADMINISTRATION IMPLEMENTS MAKE-UP ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE According to the CHS administration, to reduce confusion and anxiety, assessment make-ups are now prioritized chronologically by: 1. Date of Absence 2. Period of the Day For example, if a student is absent on Tuesday and Wednesday, and he misses three tests, he will make them up in the followning order: 1. Tuesday 4th Period Science 2. Wednesday 2nd Period Math 3. Wednesday 6th Period History Students with long term absences must meet with their teachers and counselor to create a makeup schedule.

Homecoming floats to be built in familiar places

BOE pays law firm $140K to advise them in misuse of funds.

PAGE 2

Features What Would You Do?

How you would act when faced with ethical challenges?

PAGE 9

college visits,” senior executive board member Maher Kanwal said. “When you are only given one weekend, it is hard for students to be able to help.”

According to the Class of 2016 co-president Eli Promisel, finding a certain time to build the floats can be challenging. However, students have been very flexible with their schedules to find time to work on the floats.

“The idea of opening up your property to dozens of teenagers for an entire week is no small favor,” social studies teacher and Class of 2017 sponsor Kevin Doherty said. “I hope it works and builds more competition and unity among classes.”

Arts Body Image

Many of today’s songs regarding body image tell woman of all shapes and sizes to embrace it.

PAGE 13

PHOTO BY DANIELLE KIEFER.

News Credit Card Misuse

“Building at someone’s house helps make it more fun,” Menkart said. “Even though we are building for something school related, doing it outside of school makes it seem more like you and a bunch of friends are just getting together to hang out and work on a cool project.”

Even though working outside of school has its benefits, it can be challenging to find specific times to build floats over the weekend because of students’ busy schedules.

“It is harder to establish meetings, especially senior year, because so many kids use the weekends to do

IMAGE BY SAMMI SILBER.

As homecoming approaches, executive board members of each grade are preparing to build homecoming floats; however this year, students will not spend long hours after school working, but instead will spend time working over several weekends.

This is not the first time floats have needed to be built at students’ houses. When CHS was being rebuilt in the early 2000s, floats were constructed

at students’ houses as the finishing touches were made. Floats are once again being built at students’ houses due to a lack of space at CHS. “Unfortunately, we do not have the space to provide four grades the appropriate work space to create floats at school,” assistant principal John Taylor said. “Without the space or time, a return to floats being built at homes allows us to continue the tradition.”

According to junior Nicole Menkart, building floats at students’ houses can increase class unity. Compared to building floats at school, the atmosphere at students’ houses is more comfortable.

PH OTO BY GIL JA CO BSON .

By Isabel Dibble Online Observations Editor

2

News

theObserver

Thursday, October 23, 2014

MCPS disciplinary policy to decrease suspensions Code of Conduct emphasizes keeping students in school

By Eugenia Cardinale Production Editor When students misbehave, they are often removed from the classroom environment. However, new MCPS disciplinary policies are looking to change that.

The goal of these new policies, outlined in the 2014-2015 Code of Conduct, is to adequately punish students when necessary without removing them from a learning environment and taking away from their academic experience.

“The whole thrust from the state and the county is to keep students in school,” CHS Principal Joan Benz said.

“We want our kids to be here so we can assist them academically but also with shaping behavior.”

These policies intend for schools to intervene as early as possible when students misbehave, which will also help the goal of decreasing suspensions.

“In general, there have been less suspensions,” assistant principal John Taylor said. “As part of this new policy, we are trying to intervene earlier before it gets to the level of suspension.”

The early intervention process begins with a meeting with the student’s grade level assistant principal, and then the counselor is involved if further intervention is needed.

“They would have a certain number of ‘coaching sessions,’” Benz said.

“During that time, both the administrator and counselor would try to determine what the core problem was that was causing that behavior.”

Staff is intended to seek ways to develop meaningful relationships with students which will allow them to have easier earlier intervention when

students misbehave. Some CHS staff members have specific strategies to develop these relationships.

“If I respect my students, I find they show respect back to me,” Social Studies teacher Jared Pulliam said. “I like using a more relaxed, open vibe to make sure students feel safe and accepted in my class. I find that students act up less just out of the fact that they don’t want to offend or disappoint me, they don’t want to lose the respect that I’ve given them.”

According to Benz, while the main difference with these policies is the “thrust to keep students in school,” this policy is also less severe than those implemented in the past.

“I think the biggest thing that we feel is going to be good for our students is that some of the zero-tolerance policies have been put aside,” Taylor said.

“An example would be if a student was camping over the weekend and left their Swiss-army knife in their backpack. That used to be an automatic 10-day suspension. Now we have leeway to say, what were the reasons why knife was there?

What was the intention? It allows us to really look at the whole picture of what is going on with the student rather than having to put certain things in place just because of the particular infraction.”

Students and parents were informed and can learn more about these policies through the Code of Conduct and the Student Handbook, and staff members were informed about the policy changes prior to the start of school.

“They told us about the new policies the week prior to school starting,” Chemistry teacher Wesley Russ said. “I know that we are trying to keep students in the school as much as possible which is preferred over their missing out on

PHOTO BY EUGENIA CARDINALE.

MCPS has added policies to the new Code of Conduct and Student Handbook that aim to discipline students without removing them from the learning environment. learning. I think that it is a good idea.”

The goals of this new policy are for students to understand their rights and responsibilities and to demonstrate appropriate behavior in order to become productive citizens. However, some people believe that CHS students are not as well informed as they could be about these policies.

“I am not 100 percent sure students even realize there are new policies,” U.S. History teacher Amanda Marshall said.

“I think that your average kid at CHS, if asked, will tell you they have no idea there are new policies. Even if they are aware of a change, I’ll bet they can’t tell you what it is.”

As the main goal of these policies is to keep students’ academic education a prior-

ity and also help them with their behavior, schools also intend to use all possible resources to achieve this goal.

“The main thing will be developing more options for resources and supports for students,” Taylor said. “For example in the Code of Conduct it talks about how we can make part of the consequences for a student that was for example caught with drugs to attend counseling or substance abuse therapy. That’s hard to do if we can’t say, here are some people to go to.”

Many believe that these new policies are the best route to addressing the issues that students do have and will be the most beneficial for students.

“I believe that the time in school and class will be so much more beneficial than suspensions,” Benz said.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

News

theObserver

3

MoCo launches pedestrian safety campaign

By Pablo Roa Production Editor Teens ages 15-19 make up 51 percent of underage pedestrian fatalities. In Montgomery County, that age group also makes up the largest percentage of pedestrians who are at fault in collisions.

In an effort to increase pedestrian safety awareness among high school students, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) recently teamed up with MCPS to launch the “YOLO” (“You Only Live Once”) campaign, a year-long initiative created to inform the public of the dangers created by distracted walking.

The “YOLO” campaign suggests specific ways to spread pedestrian safety awareness.

“We want to prevent the tragic consequences of distracted teen walking and driving, and one of the best ways to reach teens is by involving them in educating their peers,” county executive Isiah Leggett said in a Sept.

17 press statement.

The “YOLO” campaign is intended to teach teenagers the dangers of walking near roadways or parking lots while being distracted by cellphones, music or anything else that takes their attention away from their surroundings. While pedestrian safety is an issue for people of all ages, the campaign addresses the problem at the high school level because teenagers are most susceptible to pedestrian-related accidents.

“I think it’s a very worthwhile campaign,” Principal Joan Benz said. “We see it all the time; kids get hurt, cars go up on sidewalks, and sometimes kids are walking in places where there are no pedestrian crosswalks.

Some kids take off out of the parking lot at high speeds, and that can be dangerous for students crossing the lot or walking across the street. It’s something to raise a heightened awareness of the dangers that are involved.”

With the new initiative, MCDOT sent toolkits to MCPS high schools containing “YOLO” campaign guidebooks. The guidebooks provide statistics for why a pedestrian safety campaign is necessary, and suggest different activities that schools can participate in to help get students involved in resolving the issue.

“The YOLO campaign empowers students to use their creativity to convince their friends that crossing the street or driving while texting, playing handheld games, listening to music or engaging in phone conversations is not only a bad idea — it could mean the difference between life and death,” Leggett said in the statement. “And, we hope that parents set the example for their children by also putting away their devices when driving or walking.”

Along with the guidebooks, the campaign also distributed posters portraying local teenagers with tire marks going across their faces.

“The feedback that we have received from the campaign both in the County and regionally has been very positive,” Kirby said. “I have already received a few phone calls from students interested in doing a project at their school.”

By naming the initiative the “YOLO” campaign, MCDOT and MCPS hope to appeal to teenagers both through their schools and on social media. All campaign materials

are labeled with the #YOLOwalksafe hashtag, encouraging students and members of the community to share the campaign on Twitter, Instagram and other social media outlets.

With the campaign’s creative ideas and social media outreach, Benz hopes students will become more aware of the major problems created by distracted

walking. Benz acknowledges the complexity of the issue and understands that it is not easy to resolve, but she believes that the “YOLO” campaign is a step in the right direction.

“I think it’s really valuable,” Benz said. “The posters and all the other things are a great beginning and they’ll help raise visual awareness.”

He realized the need for such a website dedicated solely to studentto-student collaboration after he tried unsuccessfully to become a tutor for online tutoring companies.

“I applied to be an online math tutor to Tutor.com and TutorVista, but was either rejected or ignored because I am too young,” Nigam said. “I could not believe that there was no avenue for academically strong students to help other kids. That’s when I decided to start VolunteerTutor.”

Nigam spent most of the summer developing VolunteerTutor. In order to create his website, he had to learn how to operate Wordpress and Moodle, two open source web software that can be integrated into an e-learning system.

The customizability of open source software enabled Nigam to create a professional, user-friendly platform.

“I watched many YouTube videos to orient myself with Wordpress, and tinkered with program until I understood its various functions,” Nigam said. “I also reached out to an e-learning systems specialist to help me create parallel whiteboard sessions and keep a live record of student hours.”

After receiving non-profit status, Nigam launched VolunteerTutor at the start of the 2014-2015 school year.

He met with the CHS administration to demonstrate VolunteerTutor and discuss the functionality of the program within the CHS community.

“I am grateful for all the support and advice the CHS administration has given me,” Nigam said. “They are really helping me to spread VolunteerTutor.”

Given that all VolunteerTutor sessions are recorded, the website will be used by several teachers to help

make up for the loss of class time during snow days.

“For snow days, I am going to have a time set so people can watch sessions on VolunteerTutor,” math department head Audrey Phillips said. “It will also be recorded so students will be responsible for the material.”

Although the organization is currently small, VolunteerTutor’s student and tutor base is rapidly expanding as more students hear about the website.

According to junior Shayan Sadegh, VolunteerTutor is extremely useful to hold large study groups before tests, especially in challenging courses like AP Chemistry.

“VolunteerTutor has the potential to revolutionize education,” senior Gregorio Zimerman said. “It can expand nationally, even to the collegiate level.”

IMAGE BY PABLO ROA.

Tutoring website creates platform for interactive help

By Danny Gordon Staff Writer

Senior Yash Nigam recently developed an e-learning system called VolunteerTutor that enables high school students to collaborate with peers using an interactive interface.

The conferencing happens through digital whiteboards with file, screen sharing capabilities, and a full communication suite equipped with webcams, microphones, and chat messengers. The sessions, of any length, are recorded in the accounts of students so that they can be played back for review at a later time.

Nigam, an Observer staff writer and the Online Opinions Editor developed VolunteerTutor to enable students to earn student service learning (SSL) hours by virtually tutoring struggling students.

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The Churchill

Opinions

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

Observer Editors

Editors-in-Chief Katie Gauch Sammi Silber Chief Production Manager Katie Clem News Editors *Ana Faguy *Gil Jacobson *Kim Rooney Opinions Editors Fiona Asbury *Alissa Li *Kim Rooney Observations Editors *Alissa Li Features Editors *Julia Heimlich Danielle Kiefer *Emily Raab *Pablo Roa Arts Editors Madison Hurr *Julia Heimlich *Emiliana Cardinale *Eugenia Cardinale Sports Editors Michael Fox Julia McDermott *Thomas Atkinson *Ana Faguy *Ross Tanenbaum Photography Editors Jasmine Baten *Pablo Roa Fact Checkers Eugenia Cardinale Ariel Levchenko * Production Editors

Managers Advertising Manager Balbina Yang Business Manager Daniel Miyares Circulation Managers Emiliana Cardinale Emily Wang Contest Managers Nathan Gertler Arielle Gordon Public Relations Thomas Atkinson Nathan Deychman Hannah Yasharoff Adviser Kelly Knarr

Our Policy The Churchill Observer is published monthly by the students of Winston Churchill High School, 11300 Gainsborough Road, Potomac, Md. 20854. Advertising and subscription rates are available by e-mailing churchill. observer@gmail.com. Advertisements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of staff, faculty or the student body.

Every effort has been made by the staff to assure that the news is accurate and free of bias.

Editorial opinions are those of the Observer staff, and personal commentaries and cartoons reflect the opinions of their writers.

Letters to the editor must be signed, and assertions must be documented upon request.

The Observer is a public forum for the purpose of expressing the views of and informing the Churchill student body.

Social media new medium for censorship

CARTOON BY S..L..

Twitter. It’s a quick, easy way for news to spread and ideas to be shared. At the Observer we use our @CHS_Observer account as one more way to communicate with the CHS community in an informative and relatively light-hearted way. However, on Sept. 29, this social network became a way for our rights as student journalists to be infringed upon.

Bruh. It was a meme, a picture that circulates the Internet with changing captions, of a confused-looking girl, who is black, with the caption, “When someone says they don’t read The Churchill Observer.”

Three days later, it was flagged by an unfamiliar party who reported it to MCPS Superintendent Joshua Starr with the caption “Really, @mcpssuper?”

This flag and comment have since been deleted. MCPS Public Information Officer (PIO), Dana Tofig responded to the flag, thanking the user for the flagging the tweet, and assuring him that our principal had been notified.

As promised, Tofig sent Principal Joan Benz an email requesting the tweet be removed because it was “inappropriate.”

Our adviser requested via email an explanation of why the post was inappropriate, but the Public Information Office gave us no reason for why the picture needed to be taken down. As a result, we chose not to comply.

According to Student Press Law Center (SPLC) At-

torney Advocate Adam Goldstein, the rights of student journalists on social media are greater than in print because they are further removed from the school institution.

Although we are an organization associated with CHS and MCPS, we are also a separate entity. We raise our own money and express views that may challenge either one of our overarching sponsors.

In fact, according to SPLC Executive Director Frank LoMonte, the account we used was owned by Twitter, rather than the taxpayers of our school district. We, therefore, have an additional means of separation from the school.

This begs the question as to why MCPS was concerned with the picture. We speculated that a reason the person who flagged the tweet could have found it offensive could be if he was unfamiliar with the meme and thought we were targeting a specific person or her race, even though the meme was of a random woman and not of an MCPS student.

The Observer staff discussed at length our intentions behind the post and whether the meme would be perceived as offensive to our intended audience of students at CHS. We questioned our motives and whether we were unintentionally perpetuating a stereotype of “sassy” black

females. If so, we would have had to seriously reevaluate the ethical code of our publication, but we still would have been protected from the censure.

The journalist who posted the picture, who is also black, was attempting to make a joke using a popular meme that all students could relate to and enjoy, and, of course, to raise awareness for our publication, in hopes that more students would read it.

Regardless of the subject’s ethnicity, we were focused on the expression on her face and not the color. We questioned whether we would have faced controversy if we had posted an identical picture with a white student as the subject.

Both Goldstein and LoMonte agree that we would have had to publish something actually illegal, such as libel (printing false information that ruins someone’s reputation) or threats of violence, in order for a school to have any reason to become involved.

The Hazelwood Supreme Court case allows for schools to censor school-sponsored publications for reasonable educational purposes, according to LoMonte. Since courts have not yet extended this precedent to social media, it is assumed that student journalists have much more freedom on Twitter and other news-sharing websites.

Had we realized that the

tweet was somehow offensive, we would have had cause to take it down. As a publication, it is in our best interest to maintain an unbiased and trustworthy reputation. Anything that could damage this reputation is not material that we would have chosen to publicize. We were looking for a humorous way to connect with our readers on a more personal level, and found it in a popular, funny tweet that we decided to publish.

According to Goldstein, there was no reason we should have been told to take down the tweet.

As social networking is a relatively new medium for journalism, it will take time to create a set of standards, even laws, and it is likely that this situation was nothing more than a misunderstanding.

“Without knowing any of the background [of the picture], I felt like it was important to raise it to the principal,” Tofig wrote in an Oct. 20 email.

We realize that MCPS was merely trying to appease the general public’s concerns, rather than intentionally seeking to censor a student publication.

However, if just a misunderstanding, this experience has given us a chance to rediscover our rights as journalists. It has also given us an opportunity to reflect on our responsibilities behind every word we publish. Instances such as this one will ultimately help us grow as journalists and as a publication.

By Arielle Gordon Contest Manager

each department to decide individually if it wants to weigh grades and how much to weigh each category.

According to social studies department head Rodney Van Tassell, MCPS allows each department to make its own decisions regarding the weight of grades.

If a department does decide to weigh grades, homework’s weight must be limited. In fact, homework cannot be worth more than ten percent of the quarter grade.

The department must also give enough large summative assignments to make sure that there is enough variety in the grades. This system sends the wrong message by causing students to focus on doing well on large assignments instead of doing well on all assignments given.

According to Principal Joan Benz, homework is given to help students

prepare for tests. If they do well on the homework, they should do well on the test and not need to care about homework points.

MCPS should not allow schools to weigh summative assignments as more than 50 percent of quarter grades. Currently, there is no guideline for how much weight summative assignments can have.

Students must learn that all assignments are important, no matter the point value, and the grading policy must reflect that.

Due to the lack of weight given to homework points, it is very hard to boost a grade after one bad test score, so students tend to only focus on the test.

Some might say that this policy is a beneficial to the students because it teaches them to focus on the big projects and not get caught

up in the smaller tasks. However, in reality, it just teaches students that as long as they get a good grade in the end, it doesn’t matter how they get there.

Since homework is worth so little, many students do not feel that it is worth their time to complete and often copy answers off of another student or simply will not complete it. Not completing homework just leads students to be underprepared for tests and as a result they receive lower grades, and do not have the homework completion points to serve as a grade booster.

MCPS needs to send the message that preparation is important.

This is easily accomplished by giving homework equal weight and point value in relation to the rest of students’ assignments.

BSERVER O OPINION

Weighted grades do more harm than good “I HAVE to do well on this next math test! It is 70 percent of my grade!”

This is not an uncommon statement to hear in CHS hallways.

Weighted grades are beginning to take over the CHS gradebooks, with summative assessments taking the most weight.

Many departments at CHS weigh summative assignments heavily at 50, 60 or even 70 percent of students’ quarter grades. However, homework is given only five percent of the quarter grade. This is unfair.

This system does not always reward students who do all of their homework and occasionally struggle on tests. MCPS allows

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Opinions

theObserver

5

Colleges not using Common App are missing out

By Yash Nigam Online Opinions Editor The “Common Application” is a deceptive name because it is, in fact, uncommon to many colleges.

While hundreds of colleges have transitioned to using the Common App as their main admissions portal, there are still more that cling to their own online applications system or prefer paper applications to the Common App. However, the Common App is an extremely useful tool that more colleges should use because it is easy and efficient for both colleges and applicants. The Common App standardizes the various components of a typical college application so that students only have to fill it out once. It encompasses test scores, activity descriptions, and most importantly, a central essay on one of six prompts that have been agreed upon beforehand by participating institutions.

It marks the starting point of a new age of admissions, one that colleges should embrace. Colleges that refuse to acknowledge the utility of the Common App and maintain their sovereignty through their own application mediums are at risk of losing capable candidates.

Seniors are extremely busy during admissions season, managing extracurricular activities, academics and college applications. They do not have the time to learn unfamiliar application systems, reenter information that they have already documented in the Common App, and write multiple essays that they cannot send to more than one college.

The unfortunate result is that many decide not to apply to colleges that do not subscribe to the Common App. Several colleges that do not use the Common App justify their decision by claiming that the Common App is not as comprehensive as their admissions process or that it is not in line with their philosophy.

According to a 2010 October Wash-

PHOTO BY YASH NIGAM.

The University of Maryland’s application system requires an 11-digit alphanumeric PIN students need to enter each time to login, unlike the standard username or e-mail used for the Common App. ington Post article, the dean of Georgetown University admissions prefers paper applications to the Common App because the admissions officers want each application to be “unique” and do not want students “applying for the wrong reasons.”

Georgetown’s decision to cling to paper applications is regressive. Paper applications have been the medium for college applications for more than a century. It is time to change, but schools like Georgetown fail to recognize the utility of the Common App. The reasoning that Georgetown University offers for not using the Common App is flawed. The Common App does not prevent applications from being “unique” because each university can customize the questions and the layout of the Common App however they wish.

College admissions officers can add all the questions of their current application to the Common App’s supplemental section.

According to senior Malcolm Udeozor, he is not applying to Georgetown University because submitting paper applications is “too much of a hassle.”

The University of Maryland, College Park cites a similar reason as Georgetown University for not using the Common App. According to Shannon Gundy, University of Maryland’s associate director for undergraduate admissions, the University has its own application system because the Common App is not “holistic.”

What colleges that use their own application methods do not

say publically is that the Common App is very expensive to use.

According to Gundy, cost is not the main driving factor, but it is a consideration.

According to CHS College Career Counselor Luana Zimmerman, however, the cost of using the Common App and the “anticipated return on that investment” are major factors that affect whether a college ultimately decides to subscribe to the Common App. Whatever the reasons of colleges may be for not using the Common App, their admissions counselors should realize that the Common App attracts capable applicants by making the application process less time consuming.

Monthly fire drills lead to apathy, safety concerns

By Arjun Swaminathan Online Arts Editor As the practice fire alarm began ringing Sept. 23, students, knowing they would be missing class due to the drill, chatted amiably with one another and meandered outside until they located their classmates and teacher.

Fire drills or evacuations at CHS are meant to prepare students for an actual emergency, but the constant presence of these exercises throughout the school year has reduced their effectiveness. The intention of holding these monthly occurrences is a positive desire to maintain student awareness in cases of emergencies.

However, as students do not always take fire drills seriously, such exercises decrease the emphasis on other types of emergencies and take away from important class time.

In addition to evacuations, CHS safety exercises include lockdowns and shelter drills for outside threats such as luring criminals, dangerous animals and inclement weather. While the aforementioned threats may not occur as often as fires and chemical spills, they are as dangerous. However, fire drills are far more common.

According to Principal Joan Benz, CHS holds at least 10 drills overall each year, as mandated by the state fire marshal, but only a few are lock-

PHOTO BY JORDAN JANIS.

The regular frequency of fire drills makes students less likely to evacuate the building quickly should a real fire take place in the school. downs and shelter drills.

CHS tries to assure that students take evacuations seriously by having teachers keep an eye on students while communicating with one another.

Thus, teachers are supposed to maintain order and escort students out in a quick and organized fashion when evacuating the building. However,

students tend to form packs with friends from other classes and stroll through the hallways until they reach the door.

After walking outside, students must locate their teacher and go through roll call before waiting for the signal to re-enter the building. This stalls returning to class,

affecting the curriculum because the classes during that period of the day will have fallen behind others on classwork and learning of concepts.

According to Benz, teachers dread unannounced evacuation drills the most because they are “time consuming.”

Although one may argue that fire drills are necessary in order to keep students aware of safety procedures and prepared in case of an actual evacuation, such a statement is false. Nearly every CHS student has participated in a fire drill in the past and does not require constant reminders of the course of action in case of a legitimate emergency.

Clearly, fire drills have become overemphasized and unnecessarily frequent at CHS, and as a result they are not being taken seriously. Additionally, they have interfered far too much with learning in classes. With that in mind, MCPS must request that the fire marshal retract or reduce his mandate, because there is no need to reinforce an understanding of the same procedure over and over again in high school.

For the sake of academic learning and preparedness in case of an actual emergency, evacuation drills must become less common.

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Observations

SMOB Advisory Council

By Alissa Li Observations Editor

Amongst the diverse group of students SMOB Dahlia Huh gathered from all over MCPS to be a part of her SMOB Council are many CHS students. The SMOB Advisory Council comprises of more than 55 students, ranging from elementary to high school, who work together to achieve the SMOB’s agenda for the year.

Freshmen Olivia Wang, Volunteer Ops Deputy Freshman Omisa Jinsi, High School Affairs Deputy Freshman Allison Wachen, General Secretary

Freshman Iman Durrani, General Secretary Sophomore Balbina Yang, Resources Director Junior Erika Matthews, Internship and Career Ops Deputy Junior Harini Babu, Legislative Deputy Junior Madison Hurr, Community Press Correspondent and High School Affairs Deputy Junior Martin Yau, Volunteer Ops Deputy Senior Sammi Silber, Press Secretary “The Council facilitates communication between the diverse school system and the Student Member to ensure that every voice is heard,” Huh said. The Council is the largest it’s ever been this year so that no student voice is left out of the conversation.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAHLIA HUH.

History Honors Society

By Isabel Dibble Online Observations Editor

The National History Honors Society and the National Engineering Honors Society are two new programs created this year at CHS. After a long process of approvals and finding advisors, the National History Honors Society is ready to promote the study of history and politics to students.

“We are looking forward to a new year with speakers from the Smithsonian National Museums and government agencies,” senior president Elina Kapoor said. “We are thrilled to share our passion for current events, history and politics with others.”

According to senior vice president

PHOTO BY ISABEL DIBBLE.

Christina Hnatov, the Engineering society plans to spread the word that the society is offering many activities such as tutoring, to encourage students to join.

“We have some wonderful engineering and programming competitions lined up, which I think is going to be a lot of fun,” Hnatov said.

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

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National Scholarships

By Alissa Li Observations Editor CHS students have been selected out of a national pool of other candidates as National Merit Commended Students. Among those are also the National Merit Semi-Finalists, National Achievement Scholarship and National Hispanic Scholars.

2015 National Merit Semi-Finalists Annie Fang Hanna Jia Emily Jin Paula Kleyman Marisa Lu Neil Luo Tom Shen Chaitanya Singh Billie Sun Olivia Whitener 2015 National Merit Commended Students Megan Armstrong Victoria Chang Michelle Dan Elizabeth Gelbaugh Drew Gerber John-Luke Giroux Harrison Goohs Grant Haskins Christina Hnatov Jordan Janis Erik Johnson Katie Kidney

Jillian Kirsch David Klinger Yaroslava Kuzina Edmond Lee Esther Li Claire Lin Anastasia Mculsky Abigail Means Spencer Mehdizadeh Nina Min Daniel Miyares Sean Naimi Celine Nakpil Yash Nigam Kyle Parisi Kim Rooney Jacob Smith Jackie Spang Kriza Sy Anand Upender William Wang Alan Yan Charles Yang Hana Yen Michelle Yuen Emet Zeitz Wesley Zhu 2015 National Achievement Scholarships Cameron Babers 2015 National Hispanic Scholars Arturo Woodward-Montes Katie Kidney Megan Armstrong Pablo Roa

Math teacher wins day at Nationals Park

By Nathan Deychman Staff Writer

Math and Health teacher James Collins won a Twitter contest to play a game of fungo golf, a combination of golf and baseball, with Washington Nationals manager Matt Williams last month.

The Nationals picked Collins’ entry as the winner, and he had the opportunity to challenge Williams and spend

a day at Nationals Park.

“It was great,” Collins said. “I won the opportunity to play fungo golf with Matt, tickets to that night’s game and lots of fan gear like shirts and hats.”

Along with Williams, Collins also played with Dan Kolko, the nationals’ sideline reporter.

“Dan’s Twitter profile says that he is obsessed with blue Gatorade, so I brought him one,” Collins said. “He thought it was clutch.”

PAJAMA TROPICAL DAY TUESDAY 10/27

10/28

PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMES COLLINS.

JERSEY DAY

CLASS COLORS

GAME DAY

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

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7

School spirit on the rise at CHS sporting events

By Jordan Janis Online Editor-in-Chief Katherine Michael Staff Writer “We’ve got spirit, yes we do; we’ve got spirit, how ‘bout you?”

Since we were sophomores, the CHS student section—also known as the “Dawg Pound”—has not been able to truthfully call this classic spirit chant.

However, this year, our senior year, that has changed; attendance to sporting events has increased by an estimated 10 to 15 percent, according to athletic director Scott Rivinius. Overall, school spirit has dramatically increased.

“School spirit has been better at athletic events this year,” Rivinius said.

“We have had higher attendance for all of our fall sports compared to the past several years, and at games, fans have been more involved in cheering on their teams and enjoying their time at the games.”

In order to increase school spirit, students have been wearing blue and green to school on Fridays, participating in “blueouts” and “white-outs” at the games and using a variety of new cheers, from chants for individual CHS players to “Aboo, Aba,” a chant of random noise with the purpose of pumping up the crowd.

“It’s been a lot more fun cheering at games since people are actually involved and calling back with us,” senior cheerleading captain Elisa Carpenter said.

Students have even tried a new method of showing their school spirit: clapping baby powder into the air at kickoff to demonstrate their energy. However, this has been banned by the administration.

According to Rivinius, the throwing of baby powder can cause health issues for people with respiratory illnesses and can be mistaken for smoke or an explosion, so students who throw powder at games in the future will be ejected.

PHOTO BY KATHERINE MICHAEL.

Though it has since been banned, throwing baby powder was one new way students showed their spirit.

The senior class led the now-banned baby powder throwing, in addition to many other spirit tactics.

According to Rivinius, a big factor in the recent intensifying school spirit is the senior class’s involvement at school events.

“A strong example is being set by the senior class,” Rivinius said. “Collectively, they have strong school spirit, and the underclassmen are responding to that leadership.”

Not only have individual students tried to strengthen CHS pride, but the SGA as a whole has also made a special effort to boost school spirit.

“We’ve been putting more things out to get students more informed of school events,” senior president Marco Gutierrez said. “We’ve made numerous advertise-

ments on the Daily Dose, as well as reestablishing the Superfan cookouts, which we did not have last year.”

The SGA instituted a Spirit Bus for the away Wootton-CHS football game in September. Students who bought Superfan shirts and attended the Superfan cookout received a ride to the game with their friends.

“Those who went told me that they had a great time and wanted to do it again,” Rivinius said. “It is definitely something we can do in the future based off of interest.”

According to Gutierrez, CHS has made major improvements in school spirit, but “can still grow our school spirit just as the Class of 2012 was known for.”

Ideas for improvements include

themed football games and more announcements on the Daily Dose of upcoming sporting events and sports scores. However, many students and staff members feel that an important contributor to school spirit, despite any improvements by the student body, however, is the football team’s 5-2 record, as of Oct. 17.

“When the team is winning, everybody wants to go, and it’s more fun,” English teacher Shelley Perrett said.

However, school spirit also greatly influences the performance of the football team and consequently improves its record.

“The more fans we have brings more energy to the players, and it’s definitely contributed to our record,” senior wide receiver Jesse Locke said. “The louder the student section is, the more energy we have, so the better we perform.”

8

Features

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Thursday, October 23 , 2014

The ‘Observer’ sits down with SMOB Dahlia Huh

By Alissa Li Observerations Editor

Every spring, a student is elected to represent his or her peers on the MCPS Board of Education. This past spring, students voted and made Dahlia Huh the next Student Member of the Board, or SMOB. Though students may be familiar with her name and policies, most only know her on the surface, so The Observer sat down with Huh to talk about her and her future plans.

What plans have you implemented so far?

“Since officially taking office in July, I’ve been a part of the Board’s launch of the Technology Plan that encompasses the rollout of the 40,000 Chromebooks to grades 3, 5 and 6, as well as those in high school social studies classes. The tablets and laptops will be slowly integrated into high schools, so don’t worry if you don’t see them at CHS yet!”

What future plans do hope to implement in the near future?

“In the coming months, I, along with many student advocacy organizations, will be working on gaining full SMOB voting rights from the state legislature.

The bill will allow future SMOBs to have an actual vote on the budget, not just a voice. Secondly, I am working with the Student Advisory Council to create a scholarship and opportunities resource database that will allow MCPS students to reach that next level of education or explore their individual interests of becoming small business owners, pilots, EMT, authors or any other path they choose.”

What is your schedule like now that you are SMOB? “I spend many hours a week reading up on memos, looking up decisions by the state department, preparing for future Board meetings,

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAHLIA HUH.

Huh hopes to reach out to MCPS community in order to implement new policies, including Chromebooks in Social Studies classes. Above, Huh reads to fifth and sixth graders at the Longview School. attending other student advocacy group meetings and taking the information back to the Board, shooting emails, reading appeals, brushing up on policies that were made before my term, getting briefed on upcoming presentations and so forth.”

How can students contact you?

“The best way for students to contact me is to email me to Dahlia_S_ Huh@mcpsmd.org. Also, please follow my Twitter: @DahliaHuh and Facebook page, SMOB Dahlia Huh.”

What do you hope or envision MCPS to be like in the far future?

What is the most interest thing you’ve done?

“In the future, I envision MCPS to be even more of a leader in education than it currently is. Already, MCPS has a progressive and proactive way of adapting education to best meet the needs of each up and coming generation. Standardized testing, although currently necessary, will hopefully play a much smaller role in determining a student’s achievements. I envision MCPS to be one of the first, if not the first, school systems to close the achievement gap.”

“Last summer, I decided to co-author a 350-page children’s adventure novel (Gilbert and the Scepter of Silence) with my older sister.

The decision to write a book was spontaneous and once the ball got rolling, it was hard to stop writing. Sticking to the project all summer was an amazing experience, and it definitely was on interesting process.”

If you could redo high school, what would you change?

“I wouldn’t change a thing!”

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Features

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9

‘Observer’ asks CHS: What would you do?

By Gil Jacobson News Editor Sammi Silber Editor-in-Chief

Each day at CHS, students face a variety of scenarios including cramming for last minute tests or stressing over having enough money to pay for lunch at Cabin John Mall.

However, there are some situations where students truly have to ask: What would I do?

Although we are all Bulldogs, we may act differently in certain ethically-questionable situations.

For instance, what would you do if someone dropped a wallet and it had $20 inside, and the student’s ID was also in the wallet? Or what if you saw another student crying in the hallway? Would you intervene? The Observer investigated what students would do in these made-up but realistic scenarios.

1. Would You Cheat?

You have a huge test, but even after studying for hours the night before, you still do not understand the concepts. However, when you walk through the doors, there is a substitute teacher who is confused about procedures and is not paying attention. Would you cheat?

According to an Observer survey of 90 students, over half of students surveyed said that they would in fact cheat on the test instead of just taking it to the best of their abilities.

However, there are still some students who would not want to risk getting caught and therefore would not take the chance and cheat.

“I’d still be too scared that the sub would end up noticing and I’d get a zero,” senior Drew Gerber said.

2.Do you stop bullying?

After a long day, you’re walking down the halls, ready to go out to lunch with your friends, but you see a student being bullied. Would you intervene and stand up for the victim?

IMAGE BY GIL JACOBSON..

Students reacted differently to various situations, such as finding a wallet on the ground, cheating on a test and standing up to a bully.

According to the same survey, 53 percent said they would intervene and help, 23 percent said that they would stand up to the bully and 15 percent said that they would watch, but they would not get involved.

The remaining nine percent said they would do something other than the aforementioned responses.

“I would probably stand up for the victim, but I would grab a teacher or another adult first to back me up because I would be scared,” said junior and Best Buddies Club secretary Ruoping Li. 3. Would you take money from a wallet you found on the ground?

During school, while walking to your next class, you look down at your feet and spot a wallet laying on the ground. Confused and curious, you pick up the wallet and open it to find $20 worth of cash. However, along with the money, you also find the student’s school ID, indicating whose wallet it is. Would you still take the money?

According to a different Observer survey of 49 students, only four students said that they would take the money from the wallet, while the rest of the students would return the wallet to its original owner.

“If it was my wallet, I wouldn’t want someone taking it from me,” sophomore Gwen Asbury said.

4. Would you help a student who was having a rough day?

You are walking to the Media Center to print out something for class, and you spot a student sitting alone in the hallway with his head in his hands, crying. You’ve never seen him before. What do you do?

According to the survey, about 65 percent of students said that they would just keep walking and pretend not to see him.

“There have been many times where I’ve been with friends, and I see someone just sitting alone, and I think about how cool it would be to just sit down with them and talk instead of pretending to look busy,” senior WeiAnne Reidy said. “But I’m not going to pretend I’m that nice

person. I’ve never done anything like that, but I wish I had the guts to. It’s something I can change about myself though.”

These situations are very different from one another, as they either benefit the self or another person. However, why do students find it appropriate cheat to earn a higher grade, but they cannot bring themselves to stop and help a crying classmate?

According to a Psychology Today article, we are hesitant to intervene in a situation in a public place because of the “bystander effect,” where we “pass the buck” and ignore the problem because we believe that others will take care of it, since there are many people walking around who we think will probably act.

However, this proves to be a chain reaction among the entire crowd, which causes people to most likely help themselves before acting quickly in group situations.

Another reason why people may find it okay to cheat yet find it unacceptable to take money out of a wallet is because of guilt.

According to AP Psychology teacher Rodney Van Tassell, students may behave in different situations depending on whom their actions affect.

“When a student cheats, they may not really feel like they’re hurting someone else,” Van Tassell said. “There’s guilt all the way around, but if I take money from your wallet, I know you’re going to buy food later that day and see that the money is gone. Whereas if I look over your shoulder and copy your answer, you may not notice, so I’m not hurting you directly.”

Regardless of the situation, however, some students still choose to take the ethical high road.

“I’d rather get a C myself than get an A I didn’t earn,” senior Esther Li said.

Others students would also stop to help another in need, because they would hope that someone would do the same for them.

“If I were in a bad mood, I would want someone to stop and help me,” senior Marquette Lewis said.

“It shows people that you care.”

Yik Yak offers unique new way of social networking

By Julia Heimlich Features Editor Thomas Atkinson Public Relations Manager

Everyone knows the rush of excitement that often accompanies a Facebook or Twitter post receiving attention. The idea of posting personal thoughts on the Internet without judgment or feedback, however, is something most people are not accustomed to.

The recently-developed social networking app, Yik Yak, provides an opportunity for students to express their own ideas while remaining anonymous..

“Yik Yak breaks down social barriers to build communities,” said a company representative who wished to remain anonymous.

“Using geo-location technology to track chatter in a given radius, Yik Yak provides a forum for any person to post questions or comments and engage in genuine, unfiltered conversations with those nearby.”

Yik Yak was developed by Brooks Buffington and Tyler Droll, two Furman University graduates who wanted a new way to connect with people.

“With a majority of citizens communicating via mobile devices, we recognized the importance of a localized forum that could be open

to anyone to discuss events, issues and general happenings in the area,” the representative said.

The app has gained popularity quickly due to its new approach and unsourced postings.

“Late at night, it can get pretty funny,” sophomore Dylan Whittaker said. “Before football games you see what clever remarks each school has about each other. It’s also fun to see how many ‘ups’ you can get, and if you can make it to the hot page.”

An “up” is a when someone upvotes a yak by giving it a point. A person’s yak gets votes depending on its quality. Yaks with unpopular opinions get downvotes, making the score less, even putting it into the negatives. If a yak gets more than five downs then it will be deleted.

Some may have concerns about problems with cyberbullying, but Yik Yak developers have taken precautions to ensure the best possible protection for users.

According to the representative, those within a close proximity of a primary or secondary school cannot access Yik Yak to prevent younger people from using it. The app additionally monitors potentially harmful or negative posts, and blocks or bans users who seem to participate in this kind of behavior.

“We continue to build out this technology to ensure positive interaction,

PHOTO BY JULIA HEIMLICH.

Although Yik Yak is intended for college students, many CHS students still use the app every day to discuss school-related topics. but we are also finding that as more users sign up and start using the app, each community begins to selfregulate itself in a positive way,” the representative said.

According to freshman Sheerin Naimi, inappropriate Yaks usually disappear quickly, which makes it easy to prevent bullying.

“I’ve seen Yaks that put people down, but they always get ‘downed’

and eventually reported, so very few people end up seeing them,” Naimi said.

Regardless of how safe the app claims to be, Yik Yak users should always remain aware of the dangerous of anonymity online.

“Any time someone is doing something anonymously, they’re hiding,” Principal Joan Benz said. “They feel like they can say anything because they won’t get caught or identified.”

Features

10 Although not as serious as fainting or seizures, vomiting is common. Vomiting is a symptom of numerous causes, including headaches, indigestion, food poisoning and infections.

However, serious vomiting, caused by food poisoning, abdominal pain or stiff necks, can be a need for emergency medi-

cal attention. A doctor must be seen immediately in case the symptoms turn harmful.

Vomiting causes dehydration.

To relieve symptoms of dehydration, such as dry mouth and fatigue, drink clear fluids that contain electrolytes to help restore lost nutrients, and don’t eat for six hours after vomiting.

theObserver

Fainting is caused from the lack of flow of oxygen to the brain and results in a loss of consciousness for a short period of time. Usually, fainting is not a huge concern, but it can sometimes be a sign of a serious medical issue.

Fainting can be triggered by emotional factors, such as trauma or fear, or by health issues

Thursday, October 23, 2014

such as dehydration, low blood sugar, standing up too quickly or being in one place for a long period of time.

When someone faints, it is necessary to make sure blood flows to the head. Raise the feet above the heart, sit the person down for 10 to 15 minutes, and loosen any tight articles of clothing, such as collars or belts.

In case of emergency Fact #2: Annually, 67 percent of schools activate emergency medical systems for an emergency involving a student.

In case of emergency Fact #1: 10 to 25 percent of injuries to children occur while they are in school.

In case of emergency Fact #3: Emergency systems response time is below 10 minutes for 84 percent of schools.

In ca Fact

86 perc reporte emerg

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Thursday, October 23,

Another common problem that plagues many CHS students is allergies.

An allergy is the immune system’s response to a foreign substance that is not typically harmful to your body. These substances elicit responses from your immune system that may cause itchy, watery eyes, a running nose or a cough.

Most students here at CHS have allergies that do not call

for immediate medical attention, but some students do have serious allergies. In those cases, students typically tend to carry an Epinephrine Auto-injector, also known as an Epi-Pen. “In general, parents bring medications to treat known medical emergencies such as anaphylaxis, seizures, asthma,” Stapleton said. “I do have epinephrine for anaphylaxis to treat students as needed for anaphylaxis.”

theObserver

A seizure is often identified by violent shaking or loss of body control, and is caused by electrical activity change in the brain.

Whether mild or severe, seizures must be approached with caution and immediate action.

Seizures are classified into two types. Partial seizures affect one side of the brain and body, and generalized seizures affect both sides. Episodes of these seizures can last anywhere from a few seconds to about 15 minutes.

Warning signs of these episodes include dizziness, chang-

In case of emergency Fact #6:

ase of emergency #4:

70 percent of injury-related deaths occur in school-aged youth.

rcent of surveyed schools ed having a medical gency-response plan.

In case of emergency

11 es in vision, anxiety or fear, and severe sickness in the stomach.

After such warning signs, symptoms such as blackouts, confusion, uncontrollable muscle movement, falling and sudden mood changes may occur.

Symptoms can worsen and cause injury, or in extreme cases, a coma or even death. To prevent worsening, situate the person on his side with his head on a cushion, and wait for staff members or responders to arrive.

If a student faints or is unable to breathe, immediately call 911.

*Statistics from The Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Fact #5:

68 percent of 573 school nurses managed a life-threatening emergency requiring emergency medical systems activation in the school year before the survey.

By Ana Faguy News Editor Katie Gauch Editor-in-Chief

Due to the personal nature of the medical emergencies discussed in this story, the Observer has respected the request of students to remain anonymous.

The bell rings and you sit down at your desk. You pull out your notebook and start taking notes. As you write you suddently notice that your classmate has collapsed to the floor and is seizing.

This very real situation occurred last month when Jane walked into her Spanish class.

“I informed the teacher that Jane needed to go to the health room, but she couldn’t walk because she was shaking so much,” said sophomore Robert. “[The teacher] left the classroom and didn’t say anything to us, which was very unnerv-

ing. Apparently she was trying to find someone for help.”

This shocked the students in the class, and many did not know how to react or help. Instead, they sat there and panicked, not knowing what to do while the student suffered.

According to senior Ralph, he has heard from some of his teachers to not press the “call” button “in any circumstances.”

“It was a very confusing and scary situation,” Ralph said.

According to assistant principal John Taylor, if a medical emergency does arise, students should press the call button in the class.

Although cases like these do not happen every day, medical emergencies do occur at CHS. Another student, Dave, felt the onset of his fainting episode during his first period and asked his teacher if he could go to the health room.

However, he could not make it to the health room on time and collapsed.

“When I passed out, people

told me that my teacher called the nurse, who then called the rescue team,” Dave said. “The students had to leave the classroom and move into one class across the hall for the rest of the period. The rescue team put me on a stretcher and sent me to the hospital, but I wasn’t scared or shocked.”

In cases like these, students, staff and visitors need to be prepared to take action because if not treated soon enough, the student can be critically injured or even die.

Here is what you should do, according to Taylor.

If someone has a medical emergency in school, assess the situation. If the person is unresponsive, find help immediately by pushing the red or black “call” button located in every classroom that will directly contact the main office and the school nurse.

“When the button is pushed, the main office will respond as soon as possible, usually within seconds,” as-

sistant principal John Taylor said. “The response is as quick as possible, but from experience, no matter how quick the response, it always feels like a long time with the adrenaline flowing and waiting with someone in distress.”

Once a staff member is in control of the situation, security and the school nurse will determine the next steps that need to be taken. More often than not, medical emergencies can be resolved in the nurse’s office. On the other hand, for more serious situations, students and staff should skip this step and call 911.

“We work for the health department and have certain protocol to follow,” CHS nurse Deborah Stapleton said. “A student should immediately call 911 if someone is unconscious, having a seizure or heart attack outside of the school setting. Inside the school setting, [a student should] tell an adult and we’ll take care of it.”

12

By Katie Clem Production Manager Pablo Roa Production Editor In an ever-growing entertainment world, TV shows can be viewed at the touch of a finger. It is often difficult for people to single out a show that has made a difference in their lives.

However, for many CHS students, no show has been quite as influential as the 1990s sitcom, Friends, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

For 10 years between 1994 and 2004, millions of people from around the globe tuned into NBC every Thursday night to watch Friends, the hit TV sitcom that followed the lives of Monica and Ross Geller, Rachel Green, Chandler Bing, Phoebe Buffay and Joey Tribbiani, as they struggled with work and various relationships.

Throughout its 10-year run, Friends not only won six Primetime Emmy Awards, but also influenced the lives and cultures of many of its fans. From the world-wide adoption of Jennifer Aniston’s hair, also known as “The Rachel,” to the iconic stage of the Central Perk coffee house, the show’s influence went far beyond the confines of TV screens.

While it has been 20 years since its debut and a decade since its finale, Friends is still recognized by many to be one of the greatest shows of all time, a continued trend-setter and an inspiration.

“It definitely is prominent today,” senior Abby Means said. “It captures the attention of so many different generations. I think this makes it prominent in any era.”

Though not known at the time, Friends became one of the first shows to portray a change in the young adult lifestyle. Before this time, most television shows like Full House and The Cosby Show focused on the nuclear family as the central unit.

With Friends, viewers see things like casual romantic relationships, homosexuality and female dominance in the workplace as daily occurrences.

“I think the show showed people what it was like to be different, and that it wasn’t a bad thing,” Means said. “It showed homosexual couples creating a loving family which, especially in the ‘90s and early 2000s, was a huge issue.

Instead of avoiding the topic, Friends embraced it and took a side.”

Every show, however, has its secrets, and Friends is no exception. Here are some things you might not know about the show: The writers were originally going to have Chandler be gay, but decided against it after the first season.

At the same time Friends debuted, Lisa Kudrow was playing

Arts

theObserver

Thursday, October 23, 2014

20 Years Later...

Ursula on NBC’s Mad About You. The producers decided to write in Ursula as Phoebe’s twin sister to create a crossover between the two shows.

The writers did not initially intend for there to be a Ross and Rachel romance, but, instead, a love story between Monica and Joey.

The show was originally called Insomnia Cafe. It was then renamed Friends Like Us, and then Six of One before becoming Friends.

Gunther was not supposed to be a central part of the show but ended up appearing in 185 episodes.

Though these things were not initially intended to be a part of Friends, they all make up what viewers love most in the show.

“I love the characters’ interactions,” senior David Fitzgerald said. “They did a perfect job putting a group of people together who can get themselves into hilarious situations. Also, the show has its serious parts to it where you can feel for and laugh with the characters.”

While fans can still enjoy the antics of Ross, Rachel, Joey, Monica, Chandler and Phoebe on TV, the actors who portrayed them for 10 years have moved on to bigger and better things.

Courteney Cox, who played the control freak Monica Geller, came into Friends as the most famous of the six and later went on to star in many shows, including Cougar Town. David Schwimmer, who played the adorkable paleontologist Ross Geller, later went on to star in the box-office hit Madagascar.

Lisa Kudrow, the actress who played the quirky Pheobe Buffay, and Matthew Perry, the actor who played the always-sarcastic Chandler Bing, both went on to have successful careers in film and television.

Matt LeBlanc, who played the playboy, struggling actor Joey Tribbiani, continued his role in the spinoff series Joey and acted as himself in the show Episodes, which garnered him a Golden Globe Award.

Jennifer Aniston, who claimed fame playing the spoiled, yet loveable Rachel Green, became the most well known of the six by the series finale. She is best known for starring in many romantic comedies, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.

These six actors, along with the

PHOTO COURTESY OF FLICKR.

excellent quality of writing, touched many people over the years.

“I take half of my jokes from there,” senior Daniel Espinoza said. “It makes me so happy when I feel sad because the type of humor found in this show isn’t like any others. It’s a show where I truly laugh out loud.”

Social studies teacher Christopher Forney, who graduated from college not long before the show’s 1994 debut, says he likes the show because it related to his life at the time it aired.

“I lived in a group house, so I feel like the show to a certain degree mirrored my situation,” Forney said.

Forney also says he is not surprised that Friends remains prominent today.

Forney, who claims he had a crush on Pheobe while the show aired, believes the show does a good job at appealing to today’s young generation, despite the fact that it first aired two decades ago.

“When I was your age, Star Trek -- the original series -- was airing reruns, so it seems like a natural phenomenon that Friends is still popular,” Forney said. “It is relatable to the younger generation.”

While it has been 20 years since the show debuted, Friends remains influential in today’s society and in the CHS community.

The show has influenced many lives and has taught everyone that, even when life is hard, good friends “will be there for you.”

Arts

Thursday, October 23, 2014

13

theObserver

Body positivity songs argue that size doesn’t matter

By Danielle Kiefer Features Editor Hannah Yasharoff Public Relations Editor

Media outlets constantly bombard teenagers with images and ideas about how their bodies should look, often portraying thin women as society’s idea of perfection.

However, many recent popular songs have gone against that trend, focusing instead on body positivity.

Songs such as Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass,” Colbie Calliat’s “Try” and Mary Lambert’s “Secrets” all urge women to accept and love who they are without feeling like they need to change themselves, despite magazines and advertisements from outlets such as Victoria’s Secret telling them otherwise.

“The media plays a huge role in body image,” guidance counselor Makeyda Hilliard said. “When you pick up a magazine, you see pretty clearly what they’re leaning towards, and what’s accepted and what’s not.”

Trainor directly addresses the media’s influence on body image in “All About That Bass,” when she sings “I see the magazine working that Photoshop. We know that s*** ain’t real, come on now make it stop.”

Photoshop can go beyond misrepresenting what the model actually looks like, causing real psychological and physical issues, especially for young women and girls.

“The danger is that there are girls out there who think they should look like that and try to look like that to the point where it’s really damaging to their health,” CHS Counseling Services Director Robin Moore said.

Celebrities have caught on to the harmful effects of Photoshop, and

many have spoken out about this issue.

“My heroes are the actors and actresses who put out pictures of themselves au natural, or when they call out the magazine for the touchups that they do and say ‘no, this is not me,’” guidance counselor Angela Mastromatteo said. “They’re showing their acne; they’re showing their dark circles; they’re showing what their hair looks like when it hasn’t been done by a professional.”

With songs like “All About that Bass,” many artists are making an effort to step away from the unrealistic beauty standards that can be caused by the media and Photoshop. Trainor encourages being more positive toward body image by declaring that she’s “bringing booty back,” with lyrics such as “my mama she told me don’t worry about your size.” Lambert’s and Calliat’s songs are also centered on a similar theme of accepting and embracing their bodies, specifically emphasizing that being curvy can be a good thing.

“Now it’s all about the curves and the whole Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian butt thing,” Mastromatteo said. “That was such a negative thing for so long.”

However, there can be some backlash to praising curves; even though being skinny is often idealized as the perfect body type, thinner girls often struggle with body image just as much. Trainor addresses this in her song when she sings, “I know you think you’re fat, but I’m here to tell you every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top,” despite admitting that she “won’t be no stick figure silicone Barbie doll.”

“These body-positive songs are great—they’re all about embracing your image, but I think it could have a negative impact on those who are smaller,” Hilliard said. “It really de-

PHOTO BY DANIELLE KIEFER.

Body positivity songs, such as “All About That Bass,” teach listeners that they do not have to look like magazine models in order to be beautiful. pends on what you see as beautiful.

It might not be as positive for that girl who wants to be thicker, but she can’t be; now she’s hearing this song, and she thinks ‘Well, I wish I did have all that bass.’”

While these songs certainly have not kickstarted a worldwide campaign for body positivity, they have provided an alternative point of view in a culture that normally pays little attention to media that is not centered around drama, sex or celebrity obsession.

“It’s a good change of pace,” junior Lindsey Tait said. “I don’t think it has a really huge impact because

at the end of the day, you’ll probably look in the mirror and still be kind of unhappy with at least some part of your body, but it’s good that it’s starting a change.”

Even though these songs may not be perfect, most can agree that overall, they express a theme of self-acceptance and have a mostly positive impact on body image.

“These songs have allowed me to accept myself for the way I am,” senior Savannah Chapa said. “I don’t need to live up to beauty standards—which are nearly impossible to achieve anyway—because I’m alright just the way I am.”

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

DC always saves the day Marvel’s heroes superior

By Jasmine Baten Photo Editor

Nananananana—BATMAN… Would win in a fight against Captain America…. right?

That’s right. There’s a battle going down in the comic world: DC Comics versus Marvel. Time to see whose cape is prettier.

DC Comics is the not-so-obvious winner—it’s given the world its original superheroes. DC Comics boasts the classic, traditional superheroes. You know, the ones you think of when someone says “superhero.” That flying, super buff guy or girl with the fluttering cape and outstretched fists, soaring into the skyline over a crowd of grateful, cheering people.

“DC Comics started the “Silver Age” of comics, creating the iconic superheroes that everyone knows,” junior Juli Malacane said. “Their superheroes are timeless, as are their stories.”

No matter what anyone says, DC must be doing something right, seeing as the words “Batman” or “Superman” prompt an immediate response of “I am Batman” in a deep, growly voice, or “It’s a bird, it’s a plane…it’s Superman!”

When someone says “Avengers,” there’s silence for a minute while everyone racks their brains for a theme song or slogan. Sorry, guys.

There isn’t one.

Now, no one can judge a battle between two huge comic franchises without splitting them up into comic books and films. Each category is a huge part of the franchise’s

name, even though they may be at odds with one another.

According to AP Psychology teacher Jared Pulliam, the difference between any comic and its movie is like the “difference between a book and its film adaptation.”

The way a person imagines the characters in their heads will always be different from what the screen has to offer. Or in some cases, it won’t, and the movie will be en pointe.

But in general, comic books are still a happening thing. Faith in humanity and nerddom is restored. Yes, there a r e still comic stores, with their soughtafter comic books and graphic novels.

In fact, DC Comics covers both.

Whereas comics are widely accepted as an adolescent to young adult pastime, grown adults might find themselves getting some strange sideglances if they’ve got a Superman comic book cracked open at work.

Not to worry—DC Comics provides a more mature alternative to comic books with its graphic novels that are considered legitimate literary works. DC Comics is behind The Watchmen, which is on the New York Times list of the Top 100 Books.

That’s right, books.

DC Comics: making nerdy habits acceptable in this mean old world

since 1934. Your move, Marvel.

But the substance within those glossy covers is what actually attracts comic lovers of all ages. The characters are beloved and timeless; the Justice League of America has been around since our parents were kids, and it seems like they haven’t aged a day.

“DC Comics superheroes are godlike, invincible, and always role models for all,” Malacane said.

Marvel fans like to tout that DC

By Daniel Miyares Business Manager

The green monstrosity advances in a furious rage, muscles bulging and eyes flaring. The familiar, vibrant red-and blue cape ripples in flight as a chiseled figure soars to meet him.

Just before the two forces of nature converge, time stops, and this

FACE OFF DC vs. Marvel

Comics give their characters too much of a divine status.

According to Pulliam, it’s hard to relate to DC superheroes like Superman because they’re “too perfect, and they hardly ever have conflicts that normal people go through.”

It seems rational, except the whole idea behind superheroes is that they’re supernatural—they’ve got abilities and qualities ordinary people don’t have. However, this can only apply when the multicolored Spandex uniforms are on. When they aren’t, DC superheroes do have a human side.

Marvel-lovers have missed the Batmobile on this one. In the DC Comics universe, superheroes who actually have part-time human lives keep their identities a secret.

The result? Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent are actually living the struggle. (OK, maybe not Bruce Wayne so much.). But they have conflicted, messed up lives—it all just disappears when they get a distress call.

And let’s be real here— people would much rather have a flawless godlike figure saving the world than a troubled human who’s bound to make multiple mistakes.

“DC Comics supers can stand up for themselves, whereas Marvel characters have to deal with more personal problems,” junior Liz Humphries said. “This means that they hesitate and sometimes could end up failing.”

But comic franchises aren’t all about the comic books—most people are more familiar with the films. DC Comics is widely known for its high-grossing films— the Batman and Superman series, which honestly don’t have much wrong with them at all.

“The Dark Knight was a great movie because of both the extraordinary special effects and the phenomenal acting by Heath Ledger, who exceeded my expectations when depicting the Joker,” Malacane said.

Basically, this showdown has strong contenders, both with bright futures and admirable pasts. But the jury has spoken and the verdict’s out: Marvel is ahead of the game in the film universe, but DC Comics comics come out on top.

daydream of countless comic fans ends.

A battle royale between Marvel’s Incredible Hulk and DC Comic’s Superman would be highly competitive and utterly fantastic.

The battle for paying moviegoers, gamers and readers between the very real companies the two represent, DC Comics and Marvel, however, is not nearly as competitive.

Ask any student walking these halls whether he or she would rather watch a Marvel or a DC production, and most wouldn’t recognize DC at all. Yes, Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy was a cinematic

achievement worthy of its accolades and fangirl army. Now, ask them whether they’d like to watch Fantastic Four 2, Green Lantern or Catwoman, and their eyes will gloss over.

Marvel acts as a sort of common denominator for going out to the movies, according to senior Savannah Chapa.

Almost anyone can enjoy a fun superhero movie, critic reviews and box office receipts aside.

The same cannot be said for DC. According to AP Psychology teacher Jared Pulliam, DC products tended to be darker, both in early comics and in recent movies. As a kid, h e found the melancholy Batman comics to be off-putting.

Marvel, in all of its corporate glory, is more fun. Case in point, Guardians of the Galaxy casts a wise-cracking raccoon and a talking tree as protagonists, and it works. It’s a distinctively oddball concept, but I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t find it wholly entertaining.

Junior Nancy McNelly, one of Marvel’s many fans, proves this point. According to McNelly, their movies and comics, especially Guardians in both forms, tend to be the perfect combination of action

and comedy.

Rocket Raccoon is characteristic of Marvel’s master plan, a vibrant character in an even more vibrant universe. The defining characteristic of a good superhero film is the enjoyment that comes from a suspension of disbelief. Marvel champions its excessiveness and weirdness, knowing that entertainment (and the money made by the entertainment, of course) is its primary objective.

According to Pulliam, DC has its own virtues, as it offers more refined content such as graphic novels Watchmen and V for Vendetta, appealing to a more mature and older audience.

Meanwhile, Marvel entertains a wider and largely younger audience. Its writers and directors know this, and fortunately do not try to fix what is not broken.

While DC struggles to come off as serious and thought-provoking, two things traditional comics were never truly intended to be — Marvel gives us what we truly want: superheroes delighting us with their over-the-top, heroic acts.

In addition, Marvel-owned characters, such as Wolverine, have much more depth than those of DC, according to Pulliam. This gap is most apparent in Superhero films and comics — DC’s Man of Steel

is practically perfect and unbeatable, making him blasé and boring.

Marvel’s iconic Wolverine, on the other hand, suffers from PTSD and memory loss. While he is immortal, unbelievable by nature, the character’s gritty persona makes him relatable and even believable, which i s no small f e a t for a man with metal claw implants.

Furthermore, Marvel’s characters are simply more diverse. According to Chapa, while Batman and Superman are great, they encompass all that DC has to offer for moviegoer and comic nerd alike. Marvel has every hero and villain from a spider-like teen to a Nordic god to a talking raccoon, each of which entertains in its own unique way.

In truth, we as a culture look to comics and now superhero movies to escape from a mundane reality. To watch Hulk perform his signature smash or to watch Thor wield his iconic hammer is to be a kid again, invincible and free. The feeling isn’t the same when Batman kills in cold blood, or Superman, Mr. Perfect, wins again.

So, who would win the battle between the Avengers and the Justice League? The world may never know. But as of now, the battle for our eyeballs and our hearts has already been won by a hulking green monster, an American poster in tights and a wise-cracking raccoon.

Avengers assemble, and don’t let us down.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Arts

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theObserver

Think Big club aims to bring 3D printing to CHS

By Madison Hurr Arts Editor With the advent of 3D printing, the technological world has entered a revolutionary period.

CHS’ “Think Big” entrepreneurship club plans to bring this technological revolution home by raising funds for a 3D printer for students and staff to use during instruction or at their discretion to create their own prototypes.

“Think Big started as a club to help students pursue entrepreneurial interest, so we thought a 3D printer would be a great outlet for those who want to develop and potentially sell new things,” senior copresident Erik Johnson said.

“I’ve already been approached by multiple students asking when the 3D printer will arrive to they can print prototypes for ideas they have.”

Many universities, such as Duke, Stanford and Cornell University, have brought 3D printing programs to their campuses, allowing students to summon their innate creativity and create their own prototypes.

A 3D printer at CHS would allow students to take their coursework to a whole new dimension.

“We really think students will be able to benefit in a huge way by being able to create their own ideas,” senior co-president Anand Upender said. “I have seen how much creativity 3D printing inspires because you can make any physical object or invention that comes to your mind—CHS needs that.”

While in their infancy, 3D

PHOTO BY MADISON HURR

The club hopes the 3D printer, which can print complex objects, will benefit many CHS students and staff by changing the way students learn. printers could only produce small figurines, they can now print a plethora of complex and important objects: bones, organs, instruments, camera lenses and even houses (with printers that print with concrete).

“A 3D printer is a new, extremely interesting idea with loads of potential that will play a huge part in the future of the automotive industry, the prosthetics industry and the medical industry,” Johnson said.

According to Upender, the

potential 3D printer will be available for both student and staff use. In order for the plan for the printer to come through, Think Big needs funding by students and parents who support this aspect of education through novel technology. The club is hoping that the printer will be ready for students in December.

“Anyone at CHS can use the printer but only if we have their support early on as we fund it,” Updender said.

“We plan to use the popular crowd-funding

platform, Kickstarter, to get people excited about getting a 3D printer and raise money from students and parents. It will be available to classes, clubs and individuals who show an interest and are willing to learn how to use it.”

Think Big plans to use Kickstarter to raise about $2,000 for their campaign. They have also implemented a stretch goal to sponsor the addition of a 3D printer to another MCPS School, perhaps Seneca Valley or Watkins Mill.

A 3D printer would serve multiple purposes at CHS. Biology classes could print models of cells, art classes could print parts to fix broken supplies, and technology classes could incorporate prototyping into their curriculums.

The Think Big officers also plan for the 3D printer to teach students about the technology and engineering fields.

“Since 3D printing is permeating throughout more and more fields, students will have the rare ability to learn the code and programming for it, and overall be familiar with technology that they may encounter down the line,” Johnson said. “CHS doesn’t have any engineering classes, but with a 3D printer students could experiment with engineering themselves, for example by designing minimalistic structures to support a certain weight.”

As MCPS schools are making progress to become more technologically advanced with the implementation of Wi-Fi and Chromebooks, the addition of a 3D printer may bring CHS one step closer to becoming a school of the future.

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

Want to be a novelist? Seven tips for certain success

By Kim Rooney Production Editor

3. Keep up with your word count.

NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, is an international challenge for people to write a novel of at least 50,000 words in the month of November. If successful, writers are rewarded with free copies of their books, as well as access to online writing resources. It may seem daunting, but never fear!

Here are five ways to make your journey easier.

Updating your word count on your NaNoWriMo profile will help you keep track of how much you need to write each day. It can be difficult to find time to write, but you’re going to have to make it. Carve out an hour or two each night to write, and on days when you have less work, write a little extra. It may have to replace time watching television or surfing the Internet, but it’ll only be for a month, and you’ll have a novel to show for it.

“Even though you only need 1,667 words per day, at the beginning, try to do 2,000 so you get ahead and have a safety net,” junior Rosemarie Fettig said.

1. Figure out if you’re a planner or a pantser.

Do you require outlines and extensive planning or can you fly by the seat of your pants?

If you prefer planning, try starting with the end of your novel and working back until you reach the beginning. It will save you from floundering midNovember with half a story and nowhere to go with the plot, and it’ll help you avoid confusing subplots and plot holes.

“I’m using October to plan,” junior Nancy McNelly said.

“Last year, I didn’t plan, and I think that was the main reason why I didn’t win.”

2. Don’t be a perfectionist.

Save that for the months after November, when you have time to edit, revise and rewrite.

For now, focus on getting your first draft onto paper. Trying to get every page to be perfect in November will only slow you down and keep you from reaching your goal.

“It’s not the final copy, so it doesn’t have to be perfect,” senior Reena John said. “You can draft it a bit and edit later.”

4. Save. Then save again.

The last thing you want is to reach 49,999 words only to lose it because you forgot to save. If not at the end of every page, you should at least save at the end of every chapter. While we’re on the subject, make sure to back it up somewhere. Whether it’s a flash drive, on Google Docs or on iCloud, back up your story.

“I save every five seconds,” senior Erin McClelland said.

5. Stay motivated.

The second week slump can be detrimental to your novel. Homework, extracurricular activities, and, for seniors, college apps, begin to weigh down on you. You will become tempted to put off writing.

Stay strong! There are tons of forum discussions on the NaNoWriMo website concerning the dreaded second week slump, and you receive motivational emails every day.

“Because it’s so ambitious, you

PHOTO BY KIM ROONEY.

Senior Reena John, who’s a one-year veteran for the contest, works on outlining her ideas for her novel for National Novel Writing Month. feel even more accomplished when you finish,” Fettig said. “And because it’s such an enormous amount of work, you feel accomplished even if you get half of it done.”

6. Find inspiration.

Writers block is detrimental to any writer, but for one under a one month deadline, it’s horrifying. When your mind goes blank, you can either wait for inspiration to find you, or out and search for it. In this case, you should get your search party ready. Listen to music, read a few chapters from a book or watch an episode of a show—but just one. If you’d rather have inspiration find you, set up a routine so it knows exactly when and where to find you.

“It’s weird, but music helps,” John said. “Sometimes I’ll hear a song, and I’ll have an idea.”

7. It’s O.K. to fail.

Just make sure to start. Fifty thousand words is longer than classics such as The Great Gatsby, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Fahrenheit 451. As long as you’ve given an honest effort, you’ll have a fledgling novel and an experience to tuck under your belt for next year. Know your limits, but always remember your goals.

“I really just want to complete my goal,” McNelly said. “I’ve never completed a novel before, and I’d really like to do that.”

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Sports

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Wizards fans plead: Durant, please come home

By Jake Certner Staff Writer Nathan Gertler Staff Writer

“I’m Coming Home.”

These three simple words and a photo of LeBron James in his old Cleveland Cavaliers jersey were posted on his Instagram July 11. After four years and two championships with the Miami Heat, the superstar announced his return home to the Cavaliers. Other players should follow the same path.

Kevin Durant, please come back. Washington D.C. begs you.

As Durant’s current contract comes to a close, he too should return home and play for our Washington Wizards.

Although Durant never left the Wizards in the first place, his basketball hiatus from the area would qualify his return as a homecoming all the same.

Durant grew up near Washington, D.C. in Prince George’s County, where he played basketball in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and for Montrose Christian High School. He went on to play at the University of Texas and was eventually drafted second overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Seattle Supersonics.

After the 2014-2015 NBA season, Durant will become a 27-year-old free agent at the prime of his career.

Spending the last seven seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder (OKC), Durant now has the oppor-

tunity to end his time with OKC and come home to help the Wizards in their quest for a championship.

According to a July 2014 Washington Post interview with NBA expert Michael Wilbon, the Wizards “have done all the right things’” and are putting together “all their resources,” to “clear out a big pile of money,” for their pursuit of Kevin Durant in 2016.

The Wizards have made it clear they are interested in the former MVP. Yes, Durant will have emotional ties to the D.C. area, but that is not the only reason the Wizards are a right choice for him. It may seem crazy, but the Wizards actually give Durant a better chance to capture a championship.

According to a USAToday.com 2014 September article, in regards to the best NBA backcourts, Wizards teammates John Wall and Bradley Beal will be at “the top of the list.”

Washington already has one of the best backcourt tandems in the whole league that will only get better with experience. Wall and Beal give Durant a better opportunity to win, not only in the present, but also moving forward.

They are both developing superstars that will compliment Durant’s play better than Russell Westbrook, his current superstar teammate in Oklahoma City.

According to a March 2014 NBA. com article, it is doubtful that Durant can be successful with Westbrook because there have been no great teams “where the dominant talent was challenged by another star,” much like Westbrook and Durant. The success of the Thunder in the playoffs, or rather lack thereof, speaks volumes

PHOTO COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS.

Durant guards Nene in a match between D.C. and Oklahoma City. to this point. First off, to highlight Westbrook’s injury problems, he didn’t play enough games last year to register any official statistics. However, when he wasn’t hurt, he competed with Durant for shot attempts and took chances away from the true star of the team. Durant will have no chance of winning a championship with a point guard who cannot share and is constantly injured.

On the other hand, Wall’s stats don’t lie. He averaged 8.8 assists

per game last year, ranking second in the whole league, and he added 19.3 point per game to go with it.

With the youth of Wall and Beal along with the veteran play of center Marcin Gortat and forward Nene, it is easy to see why Washington will be a very favorable destination for Durant in 2016.

In regards to Durant, “If the Wizards come to get him, he’s ready,” said NBA expert Michael Wilbon. In 2016, the Wizards look like they are coming.

Capitals could contend for Stanley Cup Athlete Commits

By Michael Fox Sports Editor

PHOTO COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS.

With a new general manager and coach, Ovechkin and his team are hopeful to return to the playoffs.

By Nathan Gertler Staff Writer The Washington Capitals suffered an utterly disappointing season last year, finishing fifth in the Metropolitan division last year and missing out on the playoffs. However, the offseason moves the Capitals have made over the summer will once again make them contenders.

First off, the Capitals fired head coach Adam Oates after a disappointing two years at the helm. They also decided to not bring back general manager and vice president George McPhee, after 16 seasons and seven division titles.

One of the many positive moves the Capitals made during the offseason was the hiring of former Nashville Predators head coach Barry Trotz and promoting assistant general manager Brian MacLellan to general manager.

Trotz was very successful with a lackluster Predators roster, so he

should do wonders with the unprecedented talent that the Capitals have to offer.

Even without star winger Alexander Ovechkin, who led the NHL in goals last year with 51, the Capitals have talent in almost every other position.

One position that needed improvement last year was in defense, and the Capitals put pen to paper on two expensive, but highly-rated free agent defenders, Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen. Orpik signed a one year, $27.5 million dollar deal in the summer, while Niskanen joined for seven years, $40.25 million.

According to sports writer Neil Greenberg in an Oct. 8 Washington Post article, Niskanen and Orpik are “clear upgrades” over the “revolving door of blue liners that Washington brought in last year” and could also help the team’s “biggest weakness last year: the penalty kill.”

The Capitals ranked 16th in penalty kill percentage last season, and 21st

overall in penalty minutes per game.

Both areas gained much improvement with the additions of Orpik and Niskanen in the offseason.

Improving the defense was one of the main priorities of the offseason, but that was not the only problem last season. The Capitals relied on Ovechkin way too much last season, and it ultimately cost them as they did not make the playoffs.

Center Nicklas Backstrom hopes to build on his 61 assists last season, which ranked him third in the league.

The Capitals will also look to the highly-touted youngster Evgeny Kuznetsov to make a big impact this season.

Missing out on the playoffs last year, the Capitals had a very mediocre and disappointing season, but the changes they made and the players they have brought in this season will once again make them contenders. As of Oct. 20, the Capitals are 3-0-2 this season.

They will face the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 22

Congratulations to senior Marshall Rhodes who recently committed to St. Mary’s College of Maryland to play lacrosse next year.

Rhodes has been on varsity lacrosse, playing midfielder since his freshman years. Rhodes had 11 goals and 7 assists in the 2013-2014 season.

“I’m very excited to play there,” Rhodes said. “I like the campus and the team very much, and they were welcoming every time I went down there.”

Despite his excitement, Rhodes plans to keep his focus on finishing his final year as a Bulldog the right way.

“My mentality for the Churchill season won’t change at all,” Rhodes said.

“When it comes to Churchill, it’s all about the Bulldogs and winning states.”

PHOTO COURTESY MICHAEL CETTA

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Thursday, October 23 , 2014

Junior duels his way to national ranking Sacks also believes that Schwartzman excels at distance control.

“It’s his quickness that made him a competitive fencer at first,” Sacks said. “What makes him an exceptional fencer now is his sense of distance and his timing. JD understands distance within a fraction of an inch when his opponent is moving.”

Schwartzman plans on fencing in a few international tournaments this year and hopes to medal in one of these tournaments one day. Some of these tournaments will be held in Paris, France and Italy. Schwartzman also wants to be ranked on the Senior List, an adult age division in which Olympians often compete. In order

for him to be ranked on the Senior List, Schwartzman must place in the top 32 in a D1 NAC, which is filled with the best adult fencers in the nation.

Although the Olympics could be promising for Schwartzman he does not want to become an Olympic fencer because it requires fencing all day, every day. The Olympic fencers today often do not go to college or have jobs because they focus solely on fencing.

However, Schwartzman would like to fence in college one day.

“He has a ton of potential,” Sacks said. “It all depends on what he wants to put into it. Fencing at an Ivy League or other college is a very realistic goal for him.”

Schwartzman (right) gets ready for his youth-14 North American Cup match in Louisville, Kentucky. He won the match and came in second overall.

By Jonathan Greenzaid Online Sports Editor One on one, in a cacophony of clanks and slashes, sabers bounce off of each other as the two warriors try to get an edge over their opponent.

With a quick twist of the torso and a thrust of the arm, the long metallic point strikes a body and the crowd cheers. This isn’t a scene out of Zorro, but a fencing competition among the best fencers in the country.

Junior Jonathan “JD” Schwartzman is one of these fencers and is currently ranked 14th in the nation for the youth 17-age division.

“I like fencing because it’s both offense and defense at the same time,” Schwartzman said. “In fencing, even if you are going forward and have the attack, the other person can hit you. It’s like chess: it all has to do with strategy.”

Schwartzman started fencing when he was 6-and- a-half years old, after his parents introduced him to it. His parents were interested in the sport after watching the TV show The Tudors and going on a vacation where they fenced.

“I loved the sport, and I thought he would love to play the sport because he loved playing with swords, and he was a really fast and quick kid,”

said Schwartzman’s mother, Karen. “I thought it would be a cool idea for him to give it a try.”

In Schwartzman’s first regional fencing competition as a 7-year-old, he placed 37 out of 45 competitors, but by the time he was 9, he had grown to be the best fencer in the region.

Later, at 11, he fenced in the youth-14 age division of national tournaments called NACs (North American Cups).

Schwartzman earned a silver medal in the youth 14-division, and his team won gold overall.

Schwartzman fenced in the youth 17age group as a 15-year-old and placed 7th at NACs. Today, he is an A-rated fencer, which is equivalent to a black belt in karate. Only two to three percent of the fencing population in the US is ranked in the A group.

“A punkish attitude is what a person needs to win, and JD has that,” said Schwartzman’s fencing coach Stuart Sacks. “In a one-on-one sport, it has to do a lot with exerting your will over your opponent’s will, and not playing by the rules too much.”

According to Schwartzman, the two main factors of fencing are being quick and having great blade work. What he lacks in blade work he makes up for in his sheer quickness, speed and counter attacks. Counter attacks are similar to dodging bullets except instead of a bullet, he evades his opponent’s blade.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JD SCHWARTZMAN.

Senior and her horse succeed by leaps and bounds

By Emiliana Cardinale Production Editor As the competition progresses, senior Shannon Case passes through the three phases of eventing, a discipline of horseback riding, just as she has been doing since the age of 5.

The three phases of horseback riding are Dressage, Cross Country jumping and Stadium jumping. In dressage, the rider and horse work together to perform a predetermined pattern. Cross country jumping is a course of 18 to 25 jumps in the open which includes solid obstacles. In stadium jumping, athletes jump over wooden rails, in an enclosed arena that fall when they are hit.

“Cross Country is my favorite phase,” Case said. “It’s really thrilling, and every cross country course is very different with new obstacles and questions for the horse and rider.”

In each phase, a rider is given penalty points for things that are done incorrectly. These penalties vary with each phase. In dressage, riders are judged on their position, connection with the horse, accuracy of movements and overall flow. In cross country

jumping, riders receive penalty points for stopping at fences or missing the optimum time, which is usually between 30 seconds to one minute. Stadium jumping also has an optimum time which riders are penalized for missing. Riders are also penalized for every wooden rail that falls. At the end, the points from the three stages are combined.

“The horse and rider with the lowest score win,” Case said. “Even though I ended up as one of the last place finishers, it was definitely an amazing experience. It had the biggest and most challenging courses I’ve ever ridden on, and my division had nearly 80 of the top competitors from the country.”

During the spring and fall, Case competes almost every weekend. She has earned many awards including the Seneca Valley Pony Club Combined Training award in 2013 with her horse Simon; the Royal Courier Horse of the Year award in 2012 with Simon; the Waredaca Horse Trails with her sister’s horse Kobe in 2013, and the Maryland Horse trail, twice, with Simon in 2012 and in 2013.

Case’s dedication has helped her develop a passion for horseback riding, and one of the most important aspects for her is working with the horses themselves.

“It’s awesome to build a working partnership with a horse and to be able to communicate with him or her,” Case said. “They are amazing animals, and I love to compete with them.”

Despite her success and passion for

the sport, Case’s future in riding is still undetermined.

“I may not end up as a full-time professional rider, but horses and competitions are going to be my passion the rest of my life,” Case said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHANNON CASE.

Shannon Case competes in the stadium jumping phase with her horse, Simon, in the American Eventing Championships in 2012.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Sports

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19

The domestic violence double standard hurts men

By Noah Salzberg Online Features Editor

I want to start off by saying that I am in no way defending or supporting any sort of domestic violence nor any of the professional athletes recently involved in domestic violence disputes.

Their actions are repulsive. Domestic violence is a very serious crime that should not be promoted or portrayed in any positive way.

However, what I will say about domestic violence is that the public’s perception of it is sexist.

With issues of domestic violence from such influential public figures including Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy, San Francisco 49ers defensive end Ray McDonald, Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer and Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson being on the forefront of American sports discussion, it is the common perception to have that the only serious domestic violence issues involve women as the only victims.

According to a 2010 Center for Disease Control and Prevention survey, over 40 percent of the victims of severe physical domestic violence cases are men. This number is shocking given that the vast majority of cases portrayed on the news and other media outlets show men-against-women cases.

From television shows to movies, scenes in which there is physical abuse of the man are often considered humorous. Whereas, if a woman were to be struck, the scene would be viewed in a negative light. There exists this double standard, the fact that domestic violence against a man is laughed at, whereas domestic violence against women is frowned upon and viewed in a negative light.

This misconception creates a difficult situation for male victims of domestic violence, as many shelters often only provide services to female clients.

According to a 2012 study “More Men than Women Victims of Intimate Partner Physical Violence” conducted by the CDC, 63.9 percent of the men who contact an abuse shelter or hotline were told that the agency would provide services only to women, and 40.2 percent were accused of being the batterer in the relationship.

This negative stigma created by pop

PHOTO COURTESY OF KEITH ALLISON.

Many professional athletes, such as Ravens player Ray Rice and soccer goalie Hope Solo, have been accused of domestic violence; however, Rice’s assault received far more media attention than Solo’s did. culture also discourages government agencies, such as the Justice Department, from doing research on victimizing men. Society prevents serious issues of domestic violence against men as being seen as a serious problem.

Even our professional sports associations uphold this double standard.

According to a September 2014 New York Times article, Rice was recently suspended indefinitely by the NFL after a TMZ leaked a surveillance video showing Rice and his then girlfriend, Janay Rice, in an altercation at an Atlantic City casino. The video ended with Rice beating her and dragging her unconscious body out of the elevator.

According to a September 2014 article in The Washington Post, in June 2014, the U.S. Women’s Soccer National Team goalkeeper Hope Solo was arrested and charged with assault after striking her 17-year old nephew and sister. However, despite all this, she was not only allowed to represent our country in two international matches after the incident, but also remained a captain of the team.

How is it fair that a woman who assaulted a minor is allowed to represent the US, while a man who assaulted his wife is suspended indefinitely from playing in the NFL? No, I am not saying that Rice should

immediately be granted a pardon for his actions. What I am saying is that Solo should not be allowed to play until the dispute is settled in court.

It is not right that any person who physically harms another person, regardless of gender, is allowed to play in any international matches, let alone represent our country as a captain of his or her team.

In other cases of women-againstmen domestic violence, some women weren’t even charged with a crime. This was the case for Elin Nordegren, the current ex-wife of golfer Tiger Woods.

On Thanksgiving in 2009, details emerged about numerous affairs that Woods had been involved in with multiple women. There was an argument between Nordegren and Woods, which, according to a November 2013 article of The New York Post, turned into a physical altercation, as Nordegren “threw [Woods’s cell phone] at Woods, chipping his tooth…pummeled his chest and scratched his face…and reached for the nearest weapon—a golf club— and began chasing him.”

While what Woods did to Nordegren was heinous, she still committed various acts of domestic violence, none of which she was charged for. Had the roles been reversed and Nordegren

been the one with a chipped tooth, pummeled to the ground, and chased by a golf club, Woods would have been charged immediately, not just because what he did was wrong and illegal, but because of the enormous media pressure that would have been created.

According to a May 2007 study conducted by the CDC, research showed that in non-reciprocally violent relationships, women were the perpetrators in more than 70 percent of the cases. Yet, the problem is that none of these domestic violence issues are covered on the news.

The constant exclusion of coverage about domestic violence of women against men portrays what University of New Hampshire researcher Murray Straus calls “selective inattention.”

Selective inattention refers to how, in regards to domestic violence, there is a complete emphasis on female victims and an utter disregard for male victims.

Domestic violence in its entirety is a heinous and disgusting act, whether it is perpetrated by men or women.

However, people assume that it is an epidemic only affecting women. Men and women alike are suffering from domestic violence across the nation, and the problem needs to be eradicated immediately.

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Volume 39 - Issue 2

By Julia McDermott Sports Editor When CHS sophomore Julia Reicin was 2, she began to take swimming classes. A year later, she took up soccer, and by the time she was 7, she was playing both sports competitively. It was not until middle school, however, that her running career began. Her undeniable speed on the soccer field added to her swimming endurance could be combined into one sport—a perfect storm.

“The first time I saw Julia run, I was impressed,” cross country head coach Paul Jacobson said. “She makes it look easy.”

In her freshman year alone, Reicin tore up the cross country course, running a personal best 19:17 for 5k, and placing 8th in the county, 7th in the region and 13th in the state. She was nominated second team All-Gazette for the 2013 cross country season.

“I was extremely happy with my overall performance as a freshman,” Reicin said. “Thanks to the help of my coaches and teammates, over the

Thursday, October 23, 2014

course of the season, I dramatically improved my times.”

Although a farily independent sport, cross country’s distinctive camaraderie is what Julia attributes much of her success to. The opportunity to train with friends and hear the cheers of an entire team during a lonely race is what keeps her going through those long miles.

“For me, cross country is a team sport,” Reicin said. “ I love the team atmosphere, and everyone is so supportive of each other. We push each other to do our best.”

The cross country spirit, however, is not the only thing that drives Julia to success. As a runner, Julia is known by her teammates as being focused and committed to her training.

“Running with someone who is my age and so fast is extremely motivating,” sophomore runner Becca Clem said. “I admire her determination to succeed even when she is hurt, injured, or has a bad day.”

Not only does she run, but Julia also swims competitively, and was a member of the CHS swim and dive team for the 2013-2014 season. In the Metropoli-

tan Swim and Dive Championship at the end of the season, Julia finished 7th in the 50 free and 12th in the 100 free, helping the girls team to win the 2014 Metros title.

In the spring, she ran for the CHS track and field team, placing second in the county for the 800 meter race, earning her an All-Gazette honorable mention.

“Julia is very disciplined, self-motivated and drives herself hard,” Julia’s mother Jodi Reicin said.

In the 2014 cross country season, Julia has already been named a Team Maryland runner by Run Washington, meaning she is one of the top seven girl cross country runners in the state.

Coming off of division wins for the boys and girls sides, Julia hopes that the postseason will continue to be successful for both teams.

“There are a lot of good seniors this year, but she will still definitely be one of the top runners in the state,” Jacobson said.

According to Jacobson, Julia is unique in her quiet leadership, setting an example of a runner who stays positive and never complains.

According to her mother, she is a tough mental and physical competitor, striving for her own personal feeling of accomplish ment after every race. Runners around the county know Julia for her trademark kick of speed at the end of the race.

“Through the years, Julia has had many wins and many losses, but I

numbers and cheering level, seems to be higher in more competitive games,” said Gregg Gochnour, umpire and Commissioner for the board for Washington Field Hockey Umpires Association.

The Sept. 19 football game between Wootton and CHS was a site for some disorder between the schools’ fans, including a fight where punches were thrown. The fight was quickly resolved by administration.

“I think occasionally fans can get over-excited for games which may get out of hand, but only out of pride for their school,” senior Marco Gutierrez said. “As in any good rivalry, neither team wants to walk away with a loss of pride or school spirit.”

According to senior football player Greg Dourian, the Wootton game was the most fun game he has played in because CHS won bragging rights. The Bulldogs beat the Patriots 35-14.

“Year round we talk trash to each other, and that’s what fuels the intensity for both sides when it comes to the game,” Dourian said. “The school spirit is higher than ever when playing a rival like Wootton because you’re trying to one up the other side.”

In addition to taunting on the field or in the stands, the popularity of social media is now another cause for concern when it comes to unsportsmanlike conduct.

Both [the Wootton and CHS] teams know that any Twitter, Facebook, YikYak or other online or in-person nastiness will be dealt with immediately and strictly,” Wootton field hockey coach Kearney Blandamer said. “It’s unsportsmanlike, and detracts from the otherwise awesomeness of both groups of athletes.”

Although the rivalry between the two schools is much older than the students who currently fuel it, the division between Cabin John Middle School students adds to it.

Recently, the rivalry extended to the middle school level by means of unsportsmanlike conduct between the CHS and Wootton middle school feeder football teams. The incident was quickly settled by both parties.

“I think the rivalry predates everyone involved at this point, but its clear to see that the proximity and the sharing of the middle school makes for a more meaningful rivalry since it brings bragging rights with people

PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOTT SILVERSTEIN.

At 7, Reicin started playing soccer, but she but took up cross country at CHS. love her commitment and willingness to work hard to improve,” Jodi Reicin said. “And of course, I love to see her smile brighten her face when she has run a race that she is proud of.”

For better or worse: rivalries affect sportsmanship

By Emily Raab Production Editor

Ask any alumni who CHS’s biggest rival was when they were a student, and they will probably say Wootton. The rivalry between the two neighboring schools has existed for generations as an outlet for friendly athletic competition.

Although it often brings out the best in both schools’ athletes and spectators, the tension between the schools has been a source for unsportsmanlike conduct, both on and off the field.

“While I am not unhappy with the level of intensity that comes with a rivalry, it sometimes bring with it highs and lows that are too significant,” boys soccer head coach Arnold Tarzy said.

“In the end it’s just another game.”

According to Tarzy, incidents between the Wootton and CHS soccer teams have involved racial slurs and spitting in the past.

Unsportsmanlike conduct is more common in games between rivals due to the increased intensity of the game, both in the athletes and in the fans.

“The intensity of play on the field with the players, as well as the crowd

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you know,” Tarzy said.

The relationship between Wootton and CHS is not all negative, however.

For example, the field hockey teams recently worked together on a fundraiser for mental health at their Sept. 12 game.

“They wanted to take a public stand in support of teen mental health, and they organized the purchase of “UMTTR” shirts and dedicated our game to the promotion of positivity and cooperation in this effort.” Blandamer said.

In most sports however, the schools will remain foes. The close proximity combined with strong school spirit from both schools will continue Wootton and CHS’ rivalry for generations to come.

According to a study on the psychology of rivalry conducted by University of California, Berkeley, rivalry is generally highest between teams that are similar to each other, have a history of being evenly matched, and have repeatedly competed against each other. All of these conditions fit the relationship between Wootton and CHS, creating an intense environment between the schools that can sometimes lead to negativity, but ultimately results in motivational benefits.

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