The Warrior December 2014

Warrior Sherwood High School 300 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Sandy Spring, MD 20860

37th Year, Issue No.2

December 5, 2014

the

Inside: News: 1-3, Gender Issues: 4-5, Features: 6-8, Humor: 9, Spotlight: 10-11, Opinions: 12-14, Wondering Warrior: 15, Entertainment: 16-17, Sports: 18-20

Unrest in Ferguson Sparks A Social Media Backlash

What kind of parents do you have? pg. 3

pg. 14 Starting as a bipartisan endeavor in the beginning of Obama’s administration, which was heavily advocated by policymakers, Republicans and Democrats revered in the Common Core’s promises of new tests, the eradication of specific curricula, and the measuring of critical thinking skills. These promises would remain consistent across state lines. But now, some of those that so fervently endorsed the policy’s reforms to school testing and benchmark progress reports have turned their cries of admiration into those of disapproval.

On the conservative side, some argue that although the reformations were initiated by state law makers, the Common Core has turned into an institution of “big government.” Some liberals, on the other hand, are beginning to think that the Common Core is in fact another high-stakes testing program actually imposed from Washington with big help from wealthy foundations (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) and little help from teachers, parents and local communities. Although many policy experts and moderate politicians, not to mention President Obama, still support

The Backlash Against the Common Core

by Emma Heirholzer ‘15

Common Core—two words that often drag along a slew of thoughts, spoken in voices of greatly varying opinions. Stuck between its supporters and opponents, it seems that the shiny new policy—the Phoenix of President George W. Bush’s No-Child-Left-Behind ashes—has seen better days. In light of this recent backlash against the educational reform, a rarity has occurred within political circles; liberals and conservatives alike are calling for the dismantling of Common Core and perhaps all of standardized testing in school systems across America.

see TESTS, pg. 2

Starr Continues To Interact with MCPS Student Community

by Brian Hughes ‘15 and Betselot Wondimu ‘15

On Tuesday, Superintendent Joshua Starr visited Sherwood as one of the middle and high schools in a series of town hall meetings. Students who attended the town hall asked a myriad of questions concerning academic programs and MCPS’s distribution of funds. “The more we can engage them in the leadership conversation the better we are as a community and as a system,” said Starr.

Starr emphasized MCPS’s plans regarding technological innovations in schools. He began by commenting on the county purchasing about 44,000 Chromebooks to distribute throughout its schools, since their educational potential was the highest for the most acceptable financial cost. “We currently have the largest Chromebook rollout in the country,” Starr said. Starr added that this push will help solve important interdisciplinary problems.

With a dramatic increase in ESOL students in MCPS, for example, Starr stated that the universal nature of technology will allow students “to express their learning” in a more effective manner to their teachers and peers.

Starr and MCPS Board of Education

Jack Armstrong ‘15

Dr. Starr (left) and Student Member of the Board Dahlia Huh (right) address students’ concerns and answers questions at a town hall hosted by Sherwood on December 2.

President Phillip Kauffman also discussed various issues with student journalists from MCPS on October 29 during a Student Media Roundtable held at Carver Educational Services Center. Starr firmly noted that MCPS will make a switch from Edline to a grade-sharing website called myMCPS, which teachers and staff currently use to review curriculum and keep gradebooks.

The facilitation of student-teacher communication through the placement of all information regarding student grades on one website is the main push-factor for the

switch.

MCPS also plans to launch its new Cybercivility initiative in December at all school levels, acting as a resource for students, parents and teachers to consult for advice about cyberbullying and emphasize to students the effect of their “cyber footprint,” as Starr called it. The push in effort toward Cybercivility began in early 2014, when Starr created the Cybercivility Task Force. While using twitter and other social media websites to keep the MCPS community updated on information regarding

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school events and closings, Starr noticed an inappropriate amount of vulgar and offensive language being used by students toward adults to express their opinions toward policies and closing decisions during the winter. With this, Starr decided it was necessary to form a group to identify resources and develop tools for schools and parents to use that could promote civility between students and adults online. As of now, MCPS plans to incorporate student contests such as PSAs, pledge campaign videos, community forums and the like to increase its efforts to help students deal with cyberbullying, stressing that this will be a largely community-run initiative.

Kauffman touched on the topic of reconstruction and accommodations for growth both now and in the future, discussing mainly the county’s Capital Improvements Plan (CIP). The CIP is the Board’s list of revitalization projects, a list that Kauffman said was “established several years ago.” “The order of priority for high schools is currently Edison and Wheaton, then Seneca Valley, Wootton, Poolesville and eventually Damascus in 2024,” said Kauffman. When the list was revisited years later by consultants, Kauffman explained that there were no major changes at the high school level.

The Warrior•News 2

December 5, 2014

MCPS Avoids PARCC

S W E N in brief

Graduation Requirement

by Betselot Wondimu ‘15

On October 28, the Maryland State Board of Education (MSBE) accepted a plan that pushed back PARCC exams as a graduation requirement for high school students to the 2016-17 school year. The approval came after MCPS Board of Education President Philip Kauffman wrote a letter to MSBE Superintendent Lillian Lowery on October 7, asking that the state refrain from implementing its plan to use PARCC exams as a graduation requirement for at least two years. According to Lowery, Maryland plans to implement two cut-scores for algebra and English tests: a lower cut score that would fulfill graduation requirements and a higher cut score that would reveal college readiness.

The MCPS Board of Education expressed concern over the state’s original fast-paced plan to use PARCC exams as end-of-theyear tests that replace the algebra and English HSA exams, noting that testing anxiety (and therefore scores unreflective of the student body’s potential) would emerge after the hurried transition. In the letter announcing the push in the PARCC exams’ implementation, MSBE Vice President Mary Finan stated that the “two-year plan will allow our students and teachers to become more knowledgeable in the more rigorous standards during the transition.”

Fairfax County High Schools Change Start Times

by Madison Dymond ‘16

Shortly following Superintendent Joshua Starr’s decision to recommend against later start times for Montgomery County due to financial restrictions, The Fairfax County School Board voted 11 to 1 to delay start times to between 8 a.m. and 8:10 a.m. in the county’s 22 high schools and three secondary schools.

According to an article in the Washington Post, this delay in start times will cost around $4.9 million, which includes the purchase of 27 new buses. The middle schools will begin at 7:30 a.m., 30 minutes earlier than they have in prior years.

The debate on start times has been ongoing for more than a decade, as studies have continually found that teens do not get enough sleep. “Teenagers need more sleep,” said Sandy Evans, a Mason District Representative for Fairfax County, in a WTOP story. “This is not good for their health. We know that our teen students are very sleep deprived,” said Evans.

The change in Fairfax County will become effective for the 2015-2016 school year. As for MCPS, there are no recent indications that high school will start later.

Sherwood Sackers

by Kaleigh Homer ‘15

Recently, a number of senior boys have taken up the hobby of hacky sacking during their free time in hallways and outside the Ertzman doors during lunch time.

The hacky sacking began when senior Riley Grimes brought a hacky sack to lunch one day and started kicking it around. Others soon joined him. “It’s fun, it’s relaxing and it’s convenient. It can’t get much better than that,” said Grimes. Since hacky sacking is not permitted in the school hallways the boys try to hacky sack only outside.

A Sherwood hacky sack Twitter account gives updates and shout outs to people who hacky sack in the community. The account was originally made by Grimes because Magruder also has a Twitter for their hacky sackers, and the Sherwood hacky sackers wanted to create a competitive atmosphere between them.

SGA Organizes Various School Activities

by Catherine Jou ‘15

Throughout the year the Student Government Association works with the school coordinating and attending activities, promoting school spirit and connecting to the community. Many of these functions are unknown to students or go unnoticed.

Representing Student Interests Once a month the Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association holds a countywide General Assembly Meeting which hosts a number of representatives and SGA members from different schools that “talk about various problems within the county and transmit the information from the Board to the school’s SGA,” said MCR liaison, junior Doron Tadmor.

On October 14 Sherwood hosted the first annual MCR General Assembly Meeting. SGA and class officers helped welcome students from other schools.

Sherwood’s SGA held its first General Assembly in the cafeteria on November 11. There are representatives from each Advisory period who attend the meetings.

Before the General Assembly an agenda and a colored notecard specific to the grade were distributed. Students were encouraged to take notes to report back to their individual Advisories. The notecards are collected at the end to serve as feedback for what the representatives of each advisory period would like to see happen.

The SGA believes that the weekly advisory periods allow students to communicate better with teachers and provides students with a more intimate setting. “[Advisory] takes a big school and makes it small,” said SGA supervisor Catina Wist.

“The general assembly is a vehicle to communicate to the whole student body. So it makes

Chase Wilson 16’

SGA representatives (from left) seniors Katarina Stephanos, Annie Rafferty, Nikolas Kreiger and Hunter Moore address students and staff in the crowd during the homecoming pep rally on October 30. the student body into several smaller groups. We have advisory time so kids feel more connected to their high school. We can hear what they want and listen to what they want to say so we can be proactive and inclusive in our efforts,” said Wist.

Planning Spirit Events In addition to being a bridge for communication, SGA Treasurer, senior Nikolas Krieger noted Advisory is a great avenue of school spirit. A little over a month ago SGA planned and helped out with many homecoming festivities, which include spirit week, pep rally and dance. “We come up with the ideas for spirit week by having a meeting with all the class officers and then throwing out different ideas and having the class officers and SGA officers vote,” explained SGA Secretary, senior Hunter Moore.

“We tweet at all activities, we organize school spirit days that aren’t just homecoming focused but we do it seasonally in conjunction with the class officers so we’re all on the same page and everyone is promoting school

spirit,” said Wist.

Although SGA is planning on having a Sadie Hawkins dance, many obstacles must be resolved in order for it to happen. “You have to get pricing for DJ’s, pricing for security after hours, you have to talk to administrators to see if we’re even allowed to have a dance. Decide how many tickets are going to be sold and the price of tickets,” said SGA President, senior Katarina Stephanos

Giving Back to the Community The SGA also works with local charities. Last year the SGA donated the proceeds made from Mr. Sherwood to the Wounded Warrior Project and Lily’s Hope.

“As events happen we take action to help other charities,” said Wist.

SGA has worked on the can food drive in association with Olney Help and will be assisting the Doctors of Tomorrow with the blood drive on December 19.

“We are just trying to bring the Sherwood cluster together.

We try our hardest to organize and keep the school running,” said SGA liaison, senior Chis Chiogioji.

Common Core Standards Stir Controversy

all off, David Coleman was elected president of College Board– the Common Core, the opinions the same man who was a main of dissenters have had a seemingcreator of Common Core ideals. ly snowballing effect; more and Conspiracy theorists have even more people are being swayed begun to think that the Common in the direction of opposing the Core and its testing protocols will be a financial payout for educational reforms. With College Board. the conservatives fearing a federal takeover, and the “With the conservatives fear- The grand bipartisan liberals fearing too much ing a federal takeover, and the consensus has been cut clean influence from big business, liberals fearing too much in- to the bone, offering a preview of the obstacles facing it seems that two unlikely parties have found common fluence from big business, it future reform efforts. Activground in hating the same seems that two unlikely parties ists are even attacking Coleman’s new Advanced Placething they once championed.

But when did the Com- have found common ground ment tests, overseen by the mon Core specifically fall in hating the same thing they College Board—tests they fear have been influenced out of graces with people? once championed.” with the same agendas of the Most can trace its problems Common Core. back to the Obama administration’s heavy handed tactics to steered states in the direction of Amid all of this chaos, the induce states to join the Common adopting Common Core policy once happy-faced politicians who Core. With the recession still in changes. Other critics also felt found promise in the proposed full swing, states now have been that all the philanthropists and changes to standardized testing in accused of adopting Common corporations were ending up schools are frowning with worry core policies too quickly due to gaining control as they teamed as they start to wonder what hapthe massive incentive proposed up with Common Core lobbyists pens when the ‘Phoenix’ burns… by the administration. If states and policy makers in the support The question is: will anything began adopting the new college of the new reforms. And to cap it rise from the ashes?

from TESTS, pg. 1

readiness standards set out by the Common Core, they could have the chance to win federal funds provided by the Department of Education’s new program called Race to the Top. This large sum of money, critics argue, clearly

The Warrior•News December 5, 2014

Students Speak Out through Social Media about Ferguson

by Betselot Wondimu ‘15

On August 9, Police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown, who was an 18-year-old college-bound student, graduated from his high school eight days before the shooting. Though some feel Wil-

son was defending himself, the fact that Wilson was not arrested after the shooting sparked outrage in the Ferguson community, who felt that Brown’s death represented a larger issue that continues to plague American society: police discrimination against minorities.

After months of highly-publicized protest, a grand jury decided not to indict Wilson on

November 24, believing that the evidence they were provided with pointed more toward self-defense than homicide. This decision led to further civil unrest and debate surrounding the issue of racial profiling and police brutality nationwide. Although Wilson won’t face criminal charges, he did resign from the Ferguson Police Department on November 29.

Twitter

Alex Hanson, Sherwood

Ethan Cadeaux, Northwest

Facebook

Zach Williams, Northwest

Snapchat

Sophie Mezebish, Sherwood

“Do not shoot. This cigarillo is not a weapon. I did not choose the skin tone I was born with. Injustice must end before it’s too late. R.I.P. Mike Brown.” ~George Barksdale, Blair

photo courtesy of George Barksdale

3

Class of 2014 Sat Scores Lower Than That of 2013

by Ketki Chauhan ‘16

Average SAT scores for the Class of 2014 increased overall in MCPS while declining at Sherwood. The scores are used by Sherwood administrators to target students who are struggling and to see what areas students overall need more improvement on. The scores, however, do not dictate what is taught to the students.

Sherwood’s Class of 2014 had an average total SAT score of 1588, compared to 1611 for the Class of 2013. For a number of years, Sherwood’s average SAT scores ranked the school near the middle of the county’s 25 high schools.

The school’s participation rate for taking the SAT has also dropped from 82.9 percent to 78.6 percent. However, the percentage of last year’s seniors who have taken either the SAT or the ACT was 83.7 percent, which is higher than the goal of at least 80 percent established in Sherwood’s School Improvement Plan.

Another school goal, according to Assistant Principal Kathryn Carroll, is that 68 percent of students score a 1650 or higher on the SAT. A 1650 score is considered by MCPS as the benchmark for college readiness. “The challenge has been that about 48 percent of our students who take the SAT or ACT make 1650 on the SAT and at least 24 on the ACT. It is not only important that you take the test, but also that you do well on the test,” said Carroll.

Carroll uses the College Readiness Monitoring Tool to identify students who have not taken SAT/ACT and also students who did not score 1650 on the SAT or 24 on the ACT. She shares information, practice test material and other resources to help students prepare for the college exam of their choice. Some students choose to take the exams for a second time after more test preparation based on their individual goals. Students are also ad-

vised to enroll in the College Prep class here at Sherwood.

Principal Bill Gregory believes participation is important to keep in mind when looking at the school’s scores. He points out that a few schools with better scores have lower participation rates. Gregory values both participation and performance and would not like to see an improvement in scores if participation is dropping at the same time.

Math resource teacher Jordan Bennett envisions more students preparing for college entrance tests through resources like the PSAT, mock tests and preparation classes. He believes that there are many factors in being successful on the SAT, which includes test taking strategies. He added that many students at Sherwood understand the mathematical concepts on the SAT; however there are other variables that affect the scores.

English resource teacher Shelley Jackson said that students who score well on the verbal sections are usually good readers.

She points out that nationally and locally, students are reading less which she believes contributes to the poor scores. “Pretty soon, we are going to have a society where people who can read carefully will have way more power than those who cannot. That is already true to some extent, and it is going to become more true,” she said. The department’s goal, according to Jackson, is to help students build those close reading skills that will help students on the SAT, however students still need to read more on their own.

Gregory points out that Sherwood’s SAT scores do not alone reflect the school as Sherwood excels in AP exams and participation rates. “[The SAT] is one piece of information that is beneficial to the student and for the school in terms of preparing students for life after high school and also for helping the school shape its program,” said Gregory.

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The Warrior•Gender Issues 4

December 5, 2014

Watson Sets the Record Straight ‘It’s On Us’ Campaign

by Emma Izzo ‘15

British actress and Goodwill Ambassador for United Nations Women Emma Watson gave a moving speech about gender inequality and how to fight it.

She, among other UN Women, launched the HeForShe campaign on September 20. Her speech aimed to get males to pledge to join the feminist movement and work towards gender equality.

The HeForShe campaign is about making men feel comfortable standing up and calling themselves feminists, which Watson powerfully highlighted by pointing out how few men she saw at a feminism rally.

In her speech, Watson, best known for her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, makes the point that in order to achieve gender equality, harmful stereotypes about feminism must change. She argued that the term feminism is about women having the same rights as men, holding equal paying jobs and deciding when to get married.

“When at 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of their beloved sports teams, because they didn’t want to appear muscly. When at 18, my male friends were unable to express their feelings, I decided that I was a feminist,” she proclaimed in her speech.

Watson spoke about misconceptions that label feminism a “man-hating” ideology and how gender stereotypes can harm both men and women. “I have realized that fighting for womens’ rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop.”

Watson believes that boys and men shouldn’t feel odd or

Combats Rape Culture

by Julia Gajewski-Nemes ‘15

Source: www.eonline.com

Watson addresses gender disparities to a UN assembly in September, launching the HeForShe campaign to engage men in gender equality. embarassed about thinking of themselves as feminists. “I want men to take up this mantle. So their daughters, sisters and mothers can be free from prejudice, but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human too—reclaim those parts

of themselves they abandoned and in doing so be a more true and complete version of themselves.” said Watson. “We need boys and men working with us.”

The HeForShe campaign has the hope of ending gender inequality by 2030.

With the number of sexual assaults on college campuses at an all-time high and the subject getting more attention from the press than ever before, controversy over who is to be held responsible for these sexual assaults is growing rapidly.

Because the public at large does not know who to hold accountable for the perpetuation of sexual assault, it is nearly impossible for the government to propose a compromise that would satisfy every side of the issue.

This was exemplified earlier this year when President Barack Obama launched the It’s On Us initiative, an awareness program to help put an end to sexual assaults on college campuses. The initiative asks men and women across the United States to make a personal commitment to “step off the sidelines and be part of the solution to end campus sexual assault.”

On the It’s On Us webpage, visitors are able to sign a pledge promising “not to be a bystander to the problem” and read tips on what to do if one witnesses a situation that appears to be leading up to sexual assault. The page offers many tips and advice: “identify situations in which sexual assault may occur;” “if you see something, intervene in any way you can;” “if something looks like a bad situation, it probably is;” “get someone to help if you see something;” and “get in the way by creating a distraction.”

While the campaign has gained support from many celebrities, universities, sports teams, non-profit organizations and millions of Americans, the initiative also caught the attention of a number of feminists—but not in a positive way.

Although many citizens, including those of the Feminist Majority Foundation, view the government’s efforts as ones that revolve around the empowerment of individuals and build a culture in which sexual assault and blame for its victims are not tolerated, some feminists find that the by-

stander-focused approach to the campaign discourages women empowerment and only superficially solves the problem.

Feminist Blogger Dana Bolger explains that the campaign’s conceptualization of sexual violence as an issue between “’someones’ who do ‘something’ to other ‘someones’” inaccurately depicts the issue as if it is easily avoidable by de-politicizing and de-gendering a highly political and gender-central issue. She condemns the campaign for disregarding the fact that perpetrators are much more likely to be men and their victims are much more likely to be women.

“The campaign’s tips—like guiding your friends away from perpetrators at parties—might help an individual woman avoid a rapist in an individual instance, but it won’t stop that rapist from turning to the next girl down the bar. It makes the problem seem discrete and manageable, with a quick fix that fits comfortably within an existing structure of how our world works, who has power, and who doesn’t,” states Bolger. “It enlists men, for instance, to protect their female friends at a bar but not to recognize their own power and privilege, the subtle ways in which they enact violence all the time.”

Although Bolger offers a unique perspective on the probable effectiveness of It’s On Us to reduce sexual assaults on college campuses, her argument on the man’s role in incidents of sexual assault is nothing new to the larger-scale discussion. In the United States there has been an ongoing debate on who should be held more responsible for sexual violence on college campuses—those who commit the crime (traditionally men) or those to whom it happens (traditionally women). Feminists generally advocate for the former, arguing that in order to reduce the number of sexual assaults, prevention measures must be instilled on the men’s end ensuring that they are aware of the atrocity of rape and “de-normalizing” the concept of sexual assault in their minds.

The Warrior•Gender Issues December 5, 2014

5

Military Faces Sexual Assault Allegations Dress Code Places Unfair In the military, about one in three women are raped and about eight in ten are sexually harassed during their service, almost double the rate of rape and sexual harassment in civilian society.

To find why such a frequent problem in the military cannot be stopped by the Pentagon, USA Today interviewed many people who had worked closely on the issue, including lawmakers and social scientists.

Two factors emerged with the majority of people interviewed.

The simple fact that military culture is ruled by “macho” men is the first reason. Women only have been allowed in combat since late January 2013, so many men in the military still see them as unfit for dangerous, life-threatening duties. “Some men still think ... women are inferior,” said Bob Shadley, author of a book on sexual scandals at Maryland’s Aberdeen Proving Ground and a retired Army Major General. “They don’t fit in the male war-fighter image.”

Secondly, the military justice system gives the commanders of troops accused of sexual assault the ultimate say over legal proceedings, creating bias that results in very few people guilty of these crimes actually being punished.

Many male soldiers who sexually abuse fellow female soldiers are protected under their commander.

In one case, a female was sexually harassed by a member of the Coast Guard, and when she told her commander and the male soldier’s commander, he told her to “shut-up” and get out of his office.

Along with a lack of support from commanders, there is another main reason why women don’t mention their incidents of harassment to anyone. Many of the 83 percent of the women who don’t report their experience with sexual assault don’t want to cause “trouble” in their unit or don’t want their commander, peers, friends or family to know.

In order to address this issue, the Pentagon writes annual reports on the current state of sexual harassment. In 2012, this report included a 1,500 page list of all of the sexual harassment cases that year.

The Pentagon has also created a Special Victim Counsel program, which enables sexual assault victims to have an attorney free of charge to help them through the entire legal process.

This program is desperately needed, as little else is being done and the rate of sexual assault crimes in the military has risen 64 percent since 2006.

This huge increase in sexual assaults has also shed some light on Military Sexual Trauma (MST), which is appearing to be more harmful to women than Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and causes many women who willingly signed up to help defend their country, to leave the military.

1996: 11 Army instructors in Aberdeen, Maryland were punished after 50 women made sexual abuse charges and 26 made rape accusations.

2003: An investigation sparked by emails sent to high-ranking officials found widespread sexual harassment being ignored by the Air Force Leadership.

2011: 35 Air Force instructors in San Antonio, Texas were removed from their posts after accusations of sexual harassment from 43 airwomen emerged.

by Kira Yates ‘16

2013: Michael Wladischkin, an Air Force staff sergeant, was charged with having sex with four women, one in a local nightclub restroom.

2012: Army General and former CIA Director David Petraeus had an extramarital affair with Paula Broadwell, a writer and former military officer.

2012: First class sergeant Michael McClendon was charged with indecency after videotaping female cadets showering without their consent.

Eating Disorders Rise with Social Media

by Sara Casareto ‘16

Social media plays a key role in the average teenage girl’s daily life; however, it harbors a recent trend that can have serious repercussions on a girl’s mental health.

95 percent of individuals with eating disorders are between 1225, which is the age-group predominant on social media sites.

Society is seeing an increase in the number of adolescents who feel the need to change their body.

According to a study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, children under 12 hospitalized for an eating disorder increased by 119 percent between 1999 and 2006. This time period happens to correlate with the increased worldwide use of Internet from 4.1 percent to 16.7, and with the creation of one of the first major social media sites in 2004, Facebook.

Scrolling through their feeds, young women are bombarded by images of “perfect bodies,” depicted as extremely thin with visible bone outlines. Advertisements and peer pressure have created an idea that to be beautiful, one must also be skinny as a twig.

This trend travels under the hashtag “thinspiration” and thinspiration pages. Thinspiration

(thinspo) promotes the use and support of any actions to lose weight. People post images of skinny girls with headlines such as “the longer the fast the flatter the stomach,” and “waking up thin is worth going to bed hungry.” According to researchers from Johns Hopkins University, after viewing 180 of these websites, they found that 83 percent had suggestions for engaging in eating disorder behaviors. Thinspo websites do not promote anorexia or bulimia outright, but the behaviors are implied especially through “success stories.” Thinspo sites suggest that bulimia and anorexia are not mental disorders but rather “lifestyle choices.”

Seeing these body types and the “before and after” pictures that thinspo websites promote can cause many teenage girls to compare their own bodies to those images. It can spur envy or desire, when the reality is that the body type portrayed in advertising is natural for only five percent of American females.

Also, #Thighgap and #bikinibridge are familiar terms in social media. The allure of the thigh gap is being able to stand with feet touching and have space between one’s thighs. A bikini bridge is having a space between the stom-

ach and border of a bikini bottom.

Initially promoting healthy eating choices and exercise, competition and body bashing between thinspo users can cause girls to take drastic measures to get a thigh gap or bikini bridge. #Pro-Mia or #Pro-Ana are other hashtags circling the web, with “Mia” standing for bulimia and “Ana” for anorexia. These hashtags all fall under the umbrella of #Pro-ED or Pro-Eating Disorders. Posts of pictures with these captions perpetuate the “success” from these actions, and girls begin to feel compelled to follow the example.

By targeting teenage girls, social media is taking advantage of their innocence and confusion.

Many of these girls are led astray by the belief that eating disorders are a choice and not a disease, and then remain in denial due to depression.

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness; twenty percent of people suffering from anorexia die prematurely from complications and fifty percent of individuals with eating disorders enter critical depression. Eating disorders increase the likelihood of depression and suicide in teenagers, a group already prone towards experiencing negative thoughts.

Burden on Teenage Girls

by Marie Moeller ‘15 Regardless of the season, the school dress code looms over every single female at Sherwood— whether it’s the “short” shorts and spaghetti straps in the spring or yoga pants in the fall and winter.

Despite the good intentions behind the dress code, it is a futile attempt to control student’s personal decisions to ensure that everyone is wearing vague and indiscernible “school-appropriate” attire to create a non-distracting learning environment. Instead, it creates an oppressive one, particularly for female students.

In order to maintain a healthy learning environment, the dress code is written so that all clothing-related “distractions” in the classroom can be eliminated, with the average heterosexual male in mind. When a bra strap can be seen, it is suggestive; when a girl’s shoulders are bare, it is a ploy to attract the opposite sex; when the hem of a girl’s shorts are not touching her fingertips, she is a slut. All of these assumptions are insinuated by the dress code, sexualizing the female body. The shoulder and stomach are typical body parts of both males and females, and yet, they are immediately altered so that a midriff is now used to label a portion of the female body as “risqué.”

In addition to sexualizing the body, certain body types are scrutinized under the dress code.

Girls that are curvier are called out for wearing outfits that reveal cleavage, but if the same outfit was worn by a girl with smaller breasts, she would have not vio-

lated the dress code. The specific targeting causes girls, especially for curvier girls in this case, to become insecure about themselves because the dress code is essentially condemning their body type instead of their clothes.

Telling a girl what she is wearing is “inappropriate” is clearly degrading, but more importantly it is sexist. Removing a girl from class or, in some schools, sending her home is essentially denying her right to an education because of her anatomy. It makes her unequal to her male counterparts because she is the “distraction” and is less entitled to the education she is given by law. Also, enforcement is hardly ever extended to guys. Girls receive unequal treatment when they are told to “cover up” while guys are excused from “sagging.”

Despite sagging being written as a violation of the dress code in the student handbook, Sherwood security, in passing, reminds guys to pull up their pants—if that—while they force girls to stand in front of them and zip up their jackets to conceal their body while receiving a lecture.

The dress code can also be sexist towards males. It implies that men are sex-crazed animals with no control over their urges.

The absurdity of it really calls into question the perception of men and women in society, extending down to public schools.

Establishing a sexist environment through rules like the dress code allows these behaviors to trickle down generation to generation, creating a vicious cycle of prejudice in society.

The Warrior•Features 6

December 5, 2014

Class Field Trips Increase Interactive Learning

by Samantha Schwartz ‘16 We all know the excitement that comes with the announcement of a class field trip, from missing school to experiencing learning in a fun and interactive way. Thus far this school year, many classes have gone on a variety of field trips: 1. AP European History and Comparative Religion classes went to museums in Washington, D.C. in October with social studies teacher Michelle Games.

Classes visited the National Gallery of Art to view art from all different eras. The trip was relevant to their lessons about different genres of art in the time periods that they developed. The Comparative Religion classes went to the Sackler Museum to experience Buddhist, Islamic, Hindu

and Ancient Chinese artifacts because the class was learning about early religions in the East.

2. The history honor society at Sherwood, Rho Kappa, went on a field trip to the Spy Museum in D.C. on October 26, hosted by social studies teacher and Rho Kappa sponsor Nicole Glover. The officers and other students involved in Rho Kappa chose where to go on field trips due to the majority’s interests. The honor society decided on the Spy Museum because many wanted to learn more about the Cold War and learn about it from a different perspective. Rho Kappa will be attending the Newsuem and the White House later this school year.

3. Wildlife Biology classes took a trip to the Chesapeake Bay on November 5, led by science teacher Glenn Miller. On the Chesa-

peake Bay the classes canoed and learned about biodiversity, environmental impacts of developed areas, different reusable materials used to make buildings and investigated water quality. Before the trip, the Wildlife Biology classes were learning about ecology and biodiversity of the Chesapeake.

4. Social studies teachers Beth Shevitz, Michelle Games and Josh Kinnetz led a field trip on November 21 to the dinner theater Medieval Times with their AP World History classes. In classes, students were learning about cross-cultural communications and trade during the seventh to fifteenth centuries as well as the political and labor systems in Europe at that time. By going on the trip to Medieval Times, a restaurant where costumers eat like they would in the Middle Ages and experience a medieval show filled with jousting, kings and queens, and more, the students learned “about the social, political hierarchy of Europe in the Middle Ages ... to give the students a glimpse into social history and entertainment,” said Shevitz.

5. AP Environmental classes and science teacher Laura Dinerman took students on a threeday trip to the Karen Noonan Center on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. “We [lived] for three days in an old hunting lodge converted into an environmental learning center. While there, we [went] crabbing, oystering, ex-

ploring marshes, visiting Smith Island and progging,” said Dinerman. The purpose of the trip is to explore environmental and social issues of the Chesapeake Bay. This trip was offered to the class as they were learning about hu-

man impacts on the environment, but only a few spaces were available. Dinerman and 20 students left November 23 and returned November 25 to share their findings with other AP Environmental students.

Bottom Left: Seniors Riley Grimes and Josh Popkin seine for organisms from the stream on the field trip for Glenn Miller’s Wildlife Biology classes.

Top Right: (Left to Right) Seniors Ryan Kendall, Alison Sarver, Amanda Bitting and Hayley Mazur place organisms in a plastic container with water to identify the organisms caught in the collected sample.

Bottom Right: Seniors Ethan Glaudemans and Hayley Mazur bring the seine to a flat area along the stream bank.

Preoccupation with Safety Hinders Child Development

by Ashley Nnuabe ‘16 Across the board, recent studies have shown an intriguing relationship between children’s emotional growth and the amount of time and freedom they receive for play. In Western society today, there has been a prevailing viewpoint that a constraining parent is a good parent, but that actually may only lead to having children that are too afraid to take their own risks.

In recent times, playgrounds have become overly cushioned by excessive supervision, rubber mats and loose fill surfaces instead of hard surfaces for safety reasons. Such precautions may prevent children from learning from any mistakes they may make during play. If a child gets hurt, they will most likely avoid doing the action that led to the pain again. These experiences help kids grow from their mistakes, which will eventually build decision-making skills for an independent future.

According to Peter Gray, a Ph.D. Professor of Psychology at Boston College, “if we deprive children of play, they can’t learn how to negotiate, control their

own lives, see things from others’ points of view and compromise.” Gray studies the causes behind the higher rates of anxiety, depression and suicide amongst teens and young adults.

Without the confidence to take matters into their own hands, it will be difficult for kids to cope with simple injuries. Fear and anxiety build up when dealing with a situation due to the inexperience of owning up to the consequences of their actions.

In the United Kingdom, playgrounds more suitable to solidifying courage in young children became more popular in the 1940s. They varied but focused heavily on a natural environment enriched with random objects that could be used for creativity. The key to this atmosphere was limited adult supervision in order for children to rely on themselves.

The professionally trained supervisors limited their intervention unless a real accident occurred.

However, the approach failed to spread and laws in that country have been created to ensure safer playgrounds.

The issue of children being safer and creating sheltered and safer environments for children

illustration by Helen Schmitt ‘15

...playgrounds stunt emotional growth? comes at the expense of their learning of basic consequences and cause-effect relationships.

It potentially stunts the developmental skills used to handle real-life experiences, which hurts a child’s ability to thrive. When children finally reach the point

of independence, they may experience extreme reactions to the absence of guidance from their parents. The stress of the independence that comes with maturity may induce anxiety or depression. Excessive playground safety is only an element

of a bigger picture regarding the plummeting of emotional stability. Parents who struggle to allow their children to continue without their supervision or neglect to promote independent activities can cause similar results for their children’s future.

The Warrior•Features December 5, 2014 Young Woman with a Passion for Fashion

by Gianna Bartolini ‘15 Senior Samantha Berger may seem like your average student, taking rigorous classes and playing as the captain of the soccer team, but there is more to her than meets the eye. For the last eight years, she has been working towards her goal of becoming a fashion designer. Beginning in the fourth grade, she was designing and creating paper doll dresses, but it wasn’t until the seventh grade that she leaned to sew real-life models of her sketches.

Since then, she has been perfecting her craft, attending a pre-college program at New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) for three weeks this past summer.

“It was awesome,” Berger said about her experience at FIT, “I stayed on the Upper East Side and took classes Monday through Thursday. On Fridays and the weekends I explored the city and did internships and interviews with industry professionals including Ralph Lauren and Tori Burch.” Meeting these people has given her much to think about in terms of her future plans, not only for college, but for a career. While she has already been accepted to Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), her top choices for college are Central St. Martins in London and Parsons The New

School for Design, the number one schools in the world and in the United States for fashion design, respectively. Wherever she goes, however, she will be taking a number of classes designed to improve her skills in designing, sewing, and creating clothing and textiles. After college, her dream job is to continue designing clothes. “I want to have my own fashion label, or design under a famous one,” Berger elaborated.

“I want to travel and be inspired!”

Although she is not a professional yet, that does not deter her from sewing and designing clothing for herself and practicing her sewing skills. Berger has been working in the costume shop for Sherwood’s Rock and Roll Revival for the past three years, and currently has internships at The Look Boutique and Designs by Nicole in Olney, where she mainly works in a retail environment and learns the basics of running a business in the fashion world.

For her college portfolio, she has also been working very hard sketching, designing, creating and photographing her work so that schools can get an accurate perception of her abilities. One of those pieces, a yellow blouse, was actually featured in The Warrior’s October 2014 fashion spread. Of Berger’s work, her personal favorites include a stained-glass dress and a navy pea coat.

Based on her past experience in fashion and her drive to be the best, Samantha Berger seems to be on the path to becoming very successful in whatever she sets out to do in the future.

7

Designer: Samantha Berger Model: Pearl Mak Photo: Lianna Lieberman Featured: Navy pea coat

Designer: Designer:Samantha SamanthaBerger Berger Model: Model:Pearl PearlMak Mak Photo: Photo:Lianna LiannaLieberman Lieberman Featured: and skirt Featured:Crop-top Leaf dress

Designer: Samantha Berger Model: Pearl Mak Photo: Lianna Lieberman Featured: Skirt

New AP Framework Sparks Controversy

by Steven Witkin ‘16 An updated AP US History (APUSH) curriculum framework has triggered debate in several school systems. The framework, developed over four years ago by the College Board, was implemented for the first time this school year. Instead of focusing on content such as events, figures and the details of laws, the new framework focuses on documents and encourages interpretation of historical trends in order to view America’s role in a larger world context. It requests that teachers cover the provided themes and trends through a variety of historical examples.

APUSH teacher Beth Shevitz finds that the focus on documents “allows students to interpret history for themselves,” although the move away from definitive events compels classes “to gloss over [interesting events] to meet the demands of the new curriculum,” she said.

The framework has come under fire in the last few months.

Organizations have claimed that it concentrates on negative aspects of history while marginalizing positive aspects, overlooks influential and heroic historical figures, focuses on the more liberal goals of progressivism throughout history and challenges the concept of American exceptionalism. The Republican National Committee alliteratively asserted that the framework “re-

flects a radically revisionist view of American history.” Several complaints have been made about the blunt yet true generalizations typical of the framework, especially the statement that Manifest Destiny, the belief that the West was America’s for the taking, “was built on a belief in white racial superiority and a sense of American cultural superiority.”

The Texas Board of Education showed its objection in September when it voted to prohibit teaching the new framework because it is based on Common Core standards, which are banned in Texas. South Carolina and Tennessee have considered similar moves.

The controversy was brought to the nation’s attention in September when the Jefferson County School Board in Colorado passed a resolution to review the framework to ensure that it “promotes citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free enterprise system.”

In response, thousands of Jefferson County students organized walkouts and protests in support of their AP education, holding signs with slogans such as “there is nothing more patriotic than protest” and “leave our curriculum to the experts.” Teachers organized strikes by taking unnecessary sick days, resulting in two high schools closing temporarily for lack of teachers. The county Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) is also in opposition to the

resolution.

The College Board published an open letter in response to their public outcry, correcting “uninformed criticisms” and noting that the new framework intends to correct the previously rushed, content-packed and memorization-based curriculum, giving teachers and students a chance to “go into depth about the most significant concepts of the course.”

Criticisms that the new framework did not appreciate influential events and people were countered by the Board’s addition of suggested content and figures to teach with each general concept, along with the Board’s emphasis that the framework is simply a framework and its policy that “each individual school must develop its own curriculum for courses labeled AP,” will remain intact.

Shevitz speculates that the overzealous response to the framework partially comes from the circumstance that, in order to tie American events in with more general historical trends, it emphasizes the effects of history on others, such as slaves and Native Americans, over the achievements of a nation, which might be uncomfortable to some. She credits the new framework with its enhanced priority on “how did it happen, why did it happen, and is it happening again because it is important to know why society is the way it is at the point that you’re living in it.”

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The Warrior•Features 8

December 5, 2014

The Warrior•Humor December 5, 2014

9

Sleeping on the Field of Dreams

by Ankur Kayastha ‘15 and Betselot Wondimu ‘15

cartoon by Helen Schmitt ‘15

Human Hibernation Epidemic

by Allie Pino ‘15

Now that the winter season is bringing cold weather, many students are getting ready to start what they have been planning for months: human hibernation.

All kids want to do during the chilly times is eat, sleep and watch new episodes on Netflix.

Human hibernation does not begin at birth, but studies have shown that teens are the most common group who participate in this activity. The earliest age reported to have experienced human hibernation was a six-year-old boy in Maine. His parents found him in his room everyday with a fort of food surrounding his bed, blankets wrapped around him and his computer screen lit up. It has been said that every time the parents went upstairs to try to get him out of his room, it was so dark in there that the only way they knew

he was inside was by the sound of his growling at them to, as the little boy put it, “leave his cave.”

There are many different stages of human hibernation, but the two most common are the “Hyperphagia Transition” and the “Fall Transition.” The “Hyperphagia Transition” is a period of excessive eating and drinking to fatten for hibernation. Teens have been known for stocking up on high-calorie foods. Jordan Rim, food industry veteran and President of Fat Bars stated, “We look forward to the end of the year because that is the time when sales on our treats go through the roof. Our most popular foods during this time are the Jumbo Filled Creamed Cakes, Chocolate-Chunk Sweet Sprinkled Brownie and Doughnut Medley.”

During this stage, teens with unlimited food options eat 5,000 to 8,000 calories per day. If they are

Odd Robbery of ‘Just Puppies’

by Lauren Cosca ‘15 This past Saturday, a group of five young girls who attend Sherwood broke into Just Puppies in Rockville and took part in a robbery. The girls did not take any money from the several cash registers in the store, but instead took every single puppy in the store.

Arriving early the next morning, store manager Bill Stevens entered the room where the puppies were kept and found that all of the cages were empty. He continued to check the cash registers and the safe in the back of the store, and both were untouched.

Upon finding several pairs of Ugg boots, iPhone chargers and empty cups of Starbucks coffee, Stevens called the police who found a broken window in the back of the store. It was later confirmed that this was how the girls gained entrance into the store.

The police immediately opened a tip line for anyone with information pertaining to the break-in. Calls flooded in from many concerned citizens.

Hours later, the police learned that multiple teenage girls in the area were posting pictures to their Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts of themselves playing with and feeding “these 30 ador-

able puppies we just got from Rockville. #Cute #Free.” Police officers began an investigation shortly afterward and brought in each girl for questioning. It wasn’t long until they began to confess. “They’re just so cute. If I didn’t, like, take them home to take selfies with, I would, like, die,” said a freshman whose name will remain anonymous.

The girls have not been formally charged with any crimes yet, and there is still some confusion as to why the girls did not take any money from the store.

An investigator on the case is pushing for strong, intensive therapy for the girls, and a psychologist consulting for the police department says there may be some serious underlying psychological issues that the girls suffer from that led them to rob the store.

None of the girls have a criminal record or has ever been in trouble before, except for one with an unrelated assault charge.

“We didn’t do anything bad, the dogs are just so, like, adorable that like we had to take them, you know?” said a sophomore. “I just thought that, like, I could get like soooo many likes [on Instagram] if I posted a picture of, like, me with all these cute puppies. And I did. It was, like, totally worth it.”

denied water and food during this stage, they become dehydrated and must utilize muscle for energy.

“Fall Transition” is a period after Hyperphagia when metabolic processes change in preparation for hibernation. Teens voluntarily eat less, but continue to drink to purge body waste. They become increasingly lethargic, resting 22 or more hours per day. Active heart rates fall from 70-100 beats per minute to 50-60 beats per minute, and sleeping heart rates fall from 66-80 beats per minute to less than 22 beats per minute.

Researchers have found that as a person ages, human hibernation will not have such a tremendous effect as it does on young teens. However, 34.6 percent of adults over 25 have not been able to quit human hibernation.

If teens keep up this trend, we all may be faced with the decision to grow a thick coat of fur.

Following the wild success achieved by the Field of Screams during the Halloween season, Terry Benson and Toby Lewith, two Sherwood seniors, decided to create their own institution called the Field of Dreams. The students noted the disgusting and disturbing aura of the Field of Screams, which evoked fear and panic in innocent children, as reason enough to begin their corporation.

“So basically,” began Benson, “I went to the Field of Screams for the first time in October and I was instantly appalled by all of the devilish decorations and creepy characters jumping out to scare people. Yo, after our first visit, I looked at Toby directly in the left pupil and we immediately pinky swore that we would create a more comforting and welcoming environment for pre-pubescent kids to enjoy.”

The Field of Dreams, which is open year-round, follows the same structure as its Field of Screams counterpart, but with a completely divergent theme.

Whereas the Field of Screams leads its visitors on a long and dark trail of terror, Lewith made it a point to emphasize that the Field of Dreams takes its customers “through a sweet ‘n’ salty trail, where workers dressed in unicorn costumes pass out sweet

chocolate candies to children.”

Likewise, while the Field of Screams workers carry chainsaws and weapons to intimidate their visitors, the Field of Dreams workers “only hold open arms, inviting love and camaraderie to visitors at all times.” When later accused of being ‘soft,’ Benson and Lewith shook off the allegations while embracing each other in tears.

The Field of Dreams has also seen a dramatic increase in job applications. “I have a couple of friends who work there, and they told me all you have to do is smile and pass out candy,” said junior Chad Hershey. “So I thought, ‘why not exploit these clowns of their money while barely working at all?’ It seemed too easy.”

The two students’ organization has been received well by the Sandy Spring community, as seen by the enormous profits they’ve made. Although they have only made $1.50 in total revenue from actual community members, a wealthy parent-donor who wished to remain anonymous invested $2 million in the organization, stating he initially saw potential in both Benson and Lewith as businessmen. “I immediately regretted my decision to help those boys out,” the donor later stated. “I’ve actually gotten negative returns on my investments … I’m struggling to feed my family now.”

AP Literature Analyzes Rap Songs

about drugs and alcohol. Instead, they note a Hamlet-like, existentialist contemplation of life, In an effort to make their especially in the repeated line “I poetry unit more engaging for can’t spell sober.” This parallels students, AP English Literature the critic D.G. James’ analysis teachers came to a bold but conof Hamlet, stating, “Hamlet does troversial decision: incorporate not know; and he knows no way rap lyrics into the curriculum. of knowing.” Keef can’t even Although most people don’t norunderstand how to face the evils mally associate rap with the kind of the world sober, much of literary excellence reserved for high school “I’ve got plaques on my walls, you’ve less actually do so while intoxicated. These lyrics English courses, these got gingivitis.” embody the philosophical teachers contend that such ~ Renowned Poet 2 Chainz and poetic brilliance that music is indeed worthy of characterizes the vast masuch consideration.

“I have to admit I was skep- izes the downsides of that suc- jority of what was once thought to tical at first, and even after I’d cess—excessive attention, lack of be “ignorant” rap music. heard the songs a few times, I still privacy, false friends, etc. While Unfortunately, many parents didn’t get it. They just seemed so 2 Chainz does prefer his position don’t share Meushaw’s high reinane and meaningless,” said AP to that of the average person (he gard for rap. They instead prefer English Literature teacher Mau- does not want to have gingivitis), words like inappropriate, obreen Meushaw. “But after exten- his lifestyle nonetheless presents scene, asinine and “crap” to desively listening to the songs and its own unique challenges. This scribe the genre. These parents poring over the lyrics for several perceptive and insightful view- maintain that rap has no deeper hours, I started to find all sorts of point also serves to humanize value beneath its surface, only subtleties and nuances and won- rappers in general, allowing or- the literal meaning of the lyrics. derful hidden meaning. It was dinary people to empathize with Meushaw fervently disagrees, arguing, “If you take the lyrics like peeling an onion, each suc- them in their difficult situation. cessive layer uncovering a more Students and teachers alike at face value, then yes, they’re profound significance than the have recognized rappers’ ability clearly nonsensical. But that’s last. And I did cry a little, it was to endow their songs with im- the whole point—no assemblage just so beautiful.” pressive overall themes, with a of words could be so absurd and

Teachers have been fascinat- particular affinity for the works of senseless, it just isn’t possible. ed by rap artists’ remarkable ca- Chief Keef. In Keef’s “Hate Be- There has to be a greater meanpacity for wordplay. Consider this ing Sober,” students and teachers ing, a reason why, right? Otherfrom 2 Chainz in “Hijack”: “I’ve see more than a simplistic song wise it would just be garbage.”

by Leo Corman ‘15

got plaques on my walls, you’ve got gingivitis.” At first, this line contains the obvious dental pun.

Upon further observation, however, these lines provide a powerful commentary on the dual nature of fame. 2 Chainz has physical plaques that commemorate his rapping success, but he also has metaphorical plaque that symbol-

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Creating new varieties of GM g. yin bu are y peop ith junk main p ery the at wh ow being made rero le fo should have the right to kn ls and conditions they are ica em ch the of ety eatin still fee ods is t bsaf cans the l hun has some concerned over hat se a health risk, some Ameri g the po ds foo se the t tha e nc ide gr m entific ev to ov t by inserting sistant to. Despite little sci lab. Some experts argue tha a erea , which y after in ed difi mo en be ve duce ha t ting. can

plant has the potential to pro are wary of eating foods tha GM a lead ng ati cre of ss ce other, the pro g of these Solu genes of one species into an ecially if there is little testin elim esp s, cie ien fic de l na tio t tri nu lunion in ns and tration (FDA) only had vo nis mi toxins, allergens, carcinoge Ad ug Dr d your ate junk : Do an od Fo years, the U.S. A reviews n’ d f new varieties. In the past few ng GM foods. Today, the FD wi gro tes Sta d ite dese iet comp ood out t Un the farmers in A may still not be rv le o tary safety assessments for researchers are wary the FD me So . ds foo GM once e to trea tely, peo f in mass els t lev ple GM varieties before they are w t the data on toxicity and nutrien ne th wi ed iat i oc n ass ks msel y reduce any ris wha doing enough to adequatel t you awhile. ves Id re and produced. indu ally wa entify of develop and changing food sources n l ge an g ch t te ite f ma e cli h, t wt o gro ion tes, in y eat, oods When factoring in populat demand. In the United Sta s thi

o et me to u d’ ifie od r ‘m spec i foods can be e access. ial tr n mode favoring countries worldwide, GM rld does not have the sam wo the of t res the r t e bu a le, ats. M key. tio availab be engineered both non-GM and GM are because of the flexibility to oder n as ps cro GM on re mo g yin ation Other countries will start rel is pulations. wing po

for harsh conditions and gro

longer in flooding n be engineered to survive ca s ne ge e ric ia, As dst ea In South

p yields in seasons of exten cro h hig re su en to ry ssa rieties to conditions. This is nece tically modify these rice va ne ge to y ilit ab the t ou ith ed flooding. W ly would not itions in Asia, the food supp nd co g gin an ch se the d tan withs 50, there e food to the region. By 20 be stable enough to provid ich n people on the planet, wh lio bil 9 n tha re mo be ll wi nd on the accessibilwill put an increased dema . ity of GM crops worldwide

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by Marie Moeller ‘ 15 It seems like going gluten-free is the new peanut allergy for teens. For some, a gluten-free diet is just a fad for losing weight, but for others this diet is a life altering reality due to their gluten intolerance. At Sherwood, several students have been diagnosed as gluten intolerant within the past year and have been working to overcome the challenges presented with adjusting to their diet.

Gluten intolerance is a broad term used to describe a condition in which the body reacts to gluten, the proteins responsible for the elastic texture of dough. People suffering from gluten intolerance cannot eat anything with gluten, which is found in barley, rye and wheat.

These foods and their derivatives are a significant part of the American diet, so many initially struggle with a total shift in diet. “I was scared I would have nothing to eat,” said gluten intolerant freshman Katish Sussman. “It is because you start to miss the flour in your life, like not being able to eat real pizza or bread, but almost everything that is made with flour can be made without it.”

Gluten intolerance encompasses a series of gluten-related health problems, including gluten sensitivity, celiac disease and wheat allergy. Many teenagers, who were previously undiagnosed, tend to suffer from gluten sensitivity as opposed to celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that damages the lining of the small intestine, or wheat allergy, which is caused by the immune system overreacting to proteins in wheat, usually resulting in hives. People with gluten sensitivity experience nausea, pain in joints, and fatigue.

However, an uneducated audience often believes that anyone with an

actual gluten intolerance would have been diagnosed at a young age rather than later in life. As a result, these people fail to recognize the legitimacy of the first-time diagnosis of teens, claiming that the adverse symptoms gluten intolerant teens experience are more imagined than real.

“It’s really annoying because it feels like they’re telling me that I don’t know what my body is feeling … It’s not something I would do to get attention because if I could, I would eat gluten,” commented senior Lianna Lieberman on her experience when she first shared her diagnosis as gluten sensitive.

In addition to these challenges, Lieberman’s gluten sensitivity significantly impacts her personal lifestyle. As an avid baker, she faced the possibility of giving up her passion since she cannot eat the flour-based goods she bakes for friends. “I had to make the choice between sharing what I make and being able to eat what I make,” said Lieberman.

Luckily, Lieberman can share and eat her food in the gluten-free club created by Sussman and freshman Danielle Russell. In the club, which meets every Wednesday in E148, gluten-intolerant students can meet to eat a gluten-free lunch and exchange recipes. “We both thought about how we are probably not the only people in the school who are gluten free,” said Sussman. “So we decided to make a club to share knowledge of different ways people are gluten free and … show people that being gluten free is not as hard as it seems.”

The Warrior•Opinions 12

December 5, 2014

Staff Editorial:

In Our Opinion

How Valuable Are Honor Societies?

Why do the majority of students join NHS? Do tutoring hour policies need to be changed? rence in ffe di a of e or m e ak m Should it the Community?

Students in the National Honor Society (NHS) are certainly academically talented students. To be considered for admittance into Sherwood’s NHS, students must have a 3.7 unweighted or 4.0 weighted GPA and provide evidence of strong leadership positions. They are also required to submit a list of activities, an essay and four teacher evaluations. However, this nationally recognized organization aims for more than just good grades.

On its website, NHS states that “members participate in community service projects … and serve as ambassadors to their schools and communities.”

Unfortunately, Sherwood’s chapter falls short in fulfilling these missions, caused by a lack of student motivation and flaws in the honor society’s system.

The majority of the students who have the eligible GPA become a member of NHS, resulting in a massive organization of currently 183 students.

Most students readily admit they join NHS solely to impress colleges and make their applications stand out. NHS members’ primary motivation to garner a bundle of college admittance letters in the mail greatly diminishes their willingness to participate in school-related community activities and weakens the school’s NHS as a whole.

To make the society stronger, the leadership needs to be redefined. Officers should take an active role in positively shaping the society by setting up volunteer activities, enforcing tutoring hours, and serving as academic role models to both the society and the school. To ensure that officers are committed and serious about the position, mem-

bers should be nominated and then interviewed prior to the democratic elections, guaranteeing NHS to have true ambassadors who are dedicated to the mission.

One of the tasks that NHS is currently responsible for is the tutoring of students who need extra academic support. However, a significant number of members do not take their tutoring obligations seriously enough to help students who are academically struggling. One solution is to designate specific classrooms where NHS members can tutor others. Teachers would then oversee the tutoring to ensure that the hours are legitimate.

Currently, the only tasks NHS members need to fulfill are getting their tutoring hours and attending monthly meetings. To make the society more distinguished and helpful in the community, members should be required to participate in charitable fundraisers and volunteer events once every semester. Specifically, NHS should focus on encouraging education in the community. NHS has recently started an elementary school “mentoring” program. While this is a step in the right direction, it needs to be enforced that society members participate so that the program makes a concrete impact.

Before applying to NHS, prospective students should educate themselves about the serious commitment they are undertaking. Perhaps by raising the standards to become a member and the expectations once a member, NHS will become the prestigious and well respected organization it should be.

Warrior P

the

ublished seven times a year, The Warrior serves as Sherwood High School’s premier news source. Over the years, it has received numerous state and national honors. With a staff of 35 students and one advisor, The Warrior keeps the Sherwood community apprised of local and national events.

All opinion articles represent the viewpoint of the writer. The unsigned staff editorials solely represent the opinions of the newspaper staff. These articles do not necessarily represent the views of Sherwood High School.

The Warrior welcomes Letters to the Editor of 250 words or less. They may be submitted to room C268 or emailed to thewarrioronline.shs@gmail.com. Letters must be signed, and all content received by the newspaper is subject to editing.

The Warrior staff invites feedback and corrections to printed inaccuracies.

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Staff Print

Layout and Production Directors ................. Marie Moeller ‘15 Betselot Wondimu ‘15

News Editors .............................................. Connor Loughran ‘15 Samantha Schwartz ‘16

Specials Editor ................................................ Steven Witkin ‘16 Features Editors ............................................

Annie Feinroth ‘15

Allie Pino ‘15 Humor Editor ................................................. Hunter Moore ‘15 Spotlight Editor ......................................... Emma Hierholzer ‘15 Opinions Editors ................................ Julia Gajewski-Nemes ‘15 Will Van Gelder ‘16

Wondering Warrior Editor............................. Lauren Cosca ‘15 Entertainment Editors ................................. Ketki

Chauhan ‘16 Ryan Deal ‘16

Sports Editors ............................................... Jack Armstrong ‘15 Sammie Spillman ‘16

Online Online Managing Editor ................................ Brian Hughes ‘15 Online Page Editors......................................... Catherine Jou ‘15 Ashley Nnabue ‘16 Stacey Wells ‘15

Content and Copy Managing Content and Copy Director ....... Meagan Barrett ‘15 Content and Copy Editors ............................... Leo Corman ‘15 Madison Dymond ‘16 Ankur Kayastha ‘15 Kira Yates ‘16

Managing Photo Editor ................................... Haley Whitt ‘15 Photographers .............................................. Jack Armstrong ‘15

Chase Wilson ‘17 Cartoonist ....................................................... Helen Schmitt ‘15 Pollster .......................................................... Kaleigh Homer ‘15 Morning Announcements Script Editor............. Allie Pino ‘15 Staff Reporters ............................................ Gianna Bartolini ‘15 Emily Gilburt ‘16 Emma Izzo ‘15 Stephen Luckey ‘15

Business and Publicity Directors................. Dalton Sanchez ‘15

cartoon by Sidney Brown ‘17

Zach Stubblefield ‘15 Advisor.......................................................................... Peter Huck

The Warrior•Opinions December 5, 2014

13

Should MCPS Change College Curriculum?

The current MCPS agenda is designed to steer students towards college life. This curriculum’s emphasis on college-readiness is believed to help create efficient and productive students who will be well-prepared for a higher education. However, not all students are fit for a life on a college campus, and MCPS’s curriculum may not be preparing them for the real world. Should MCPS amend its curriculum or continue to operate as if all of its students are college-bound? The Warrior debates the issue.

Pro

by Ryan Deal ‘16 Among the most important decisions teenagers will make in their life is where to go to college. However, college is just not right for some students. Whether this is due to a lack of money or a lack of interest, there is a large chunk of students in MCPS that will not attend a college in the fall after their graduation. According to MCPS’s own collected data, more than one in four of its high school graduates will not attend a college of any kind. Only about half of MCPS students will earn a bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university.

With this in mind, MCPS should re-evaluate its agenda which operates as if all students will go to college. Although the current agenda has the best intentions in mind, its bar is too high to reach.

Under the current college-focusing curriculum of MCPS, students with little income are in a bind. For the state of Maryland, the average in-state and out-of-state tuition is $24,414 and $44,507, respectively. Not every family can afford such steep costs year-in and year-out. Even though there are financial aid programs available, the burden is just not worth it for students who have no desire to attend a university.

Even for students who can afford college but do not want to go, MCPS is leading them into a brick wall of sorts. Such

Con

students are cast out into the workforce with little-to-no skills on how to adjust to such a life. Rather than continually forcing algebraic formulas or periodic tables down the throats of workforce-bound students, MCPS should adjust the curriculum to include more classes or clubs designed specifically for certain jobs or positions.

Programs such as the Edison Program touch upon this idea, and its popularity and success in creating the Future Scientists and Engineers of America should indicate the desire for more such occupationally-based clubs or courses. With more workforce-based programs available such as the Edison program, many students will be given more opportunities to explore life without college. The inclusion of this, along with a more specialized curriculum that does not pressure all students into a college-life, will allow MCPS to lead the charge for a stronger, happier and more efficient workforce.

MCPS should take a step back and focus less on the futures of the college-bound students. A school system’s main goal should be to put enrollees in a position to succeed. The best way to do so is by stopping the belief that all students must attend college to be successful and by promoting more occupationally-based programs for the thousands of MCPS graduates who will never receive a college degree.

by Annie Feinroth ‘15 You were in elementary school for six years, preparing for middle school. You go to middle school and all the teachers talk about is the rigor of high school. And now you’ve made it to high school, and now they are preparing you for . . . wait, what are they preparing you for? Oh yeah! Life.

But will every student’s post-high school life look the same?

For the majority of students in Montgomery County, college is the next step.

MCPS has a graduation rate of 90 percent, one of the highest in the nation. Eighty percent of MCPS high school graduates enroll in college within 16 months of graduation. MCPS is correct in preparing all of its students for college or university, and it shouldn’t change the way it operates to accommodate the minority of its students.

Planning for college early can help ensure that students are ready come graduation day.

As a freshman, it’s hard to know what you’re going to do after high school. You don’t know if you are going to Montgomery College or attending Cornell. MCPS shouldn’t set low expectations and standards for students, when students haven’t reached their full potential. Yes, not all students will head off to college or graduate, but that doesn’t mean that MCPS has the

power to decide who will and who won’t.

If MCPS decided to operate as if not every student is going to college, it would need to change the curriculum to expand programs for students who aren’t college bound. This would be extremely expensive. Creating more space for these classes and the equipment needed would be more money on top of that. The stoves and tables for the food industry. The computers and the necessary programs for the graphic design group and then the equipment and cars for the car industry. MCPS does not need to take on that investment. Also, if MCPS added these classes for the students who aren’t going to college many questions arise including, will they make taking these alternative classes a graduation requirement? For every student to take? That would make graduation harder for students that do plan on college. Plus, it would be unrealistic to expect that the school system could find qualified teachers for the specialized fields.

Whether students decide to go to college or not, college preparation doesn’t hurt anyone. The only people it affects are the students in high school. Even if students don’t head to college right after high school, they might go back later in life, and still use what they learned at MCPS schools, and come to the realization that it was very beneficial.

To The Point Dancing around the Issue

‘Black’ Isn’t Derogatory

Print with Caution

by Betselot Wondimu ‘15

by Zach Stubblefield ‘15

by Steven Witkin ‘16

On November 11, MCPS’s Board of Education voted 7-1 to only list days of school closed for the 2015-16 school year while not relating those days to any holidays.

The vote came after outrage from the county’s Muslim community, whose protests to close schools on two of their main holidays were rejected with a Board vote of 5¬2 last year.

The Board’s most recent vote represents a major failure for two reasons. First, the Board is insinuating that removing the names of respected Christian and Jewish holidays is equivalent to recognizing Muslim holidays. This is a miserable attempt by the Board to avoid the actual issue and appease a cognizant Muslim community. Second, the rationale for not closing school on Muslim holidays is that, considering the small Muslim population in MCPS, it would be unfair to close school for its holidays and not for other religious minorities. This argument is terribly flawed; it is based on census data from the 1970s and does not take the changing religious demographics of the Washington-Metropolitan area into account. No progress will be made until the Board stops flaunting a facade of harmony.

Do not be afraid to use black as a descriptor. Far too often people tip-toe over someone’s skin color like it is sacrilege to point it out. They fear that if they refer to someone by their skin tone and ethnicity, they’ll be labeled as racist. That is such as unnecessary taboo; all it does is complicate things. It is perfectly fine to say someone is black; it is a defining characteristic that lets someone know who you are talking about right away. Whether black or African American is the right term when referring to me and my ebony brethren has also been a subject of debate among many people.

I believe that black is the proper term to call us; not African American. African American implies that we still have close ties to Africa. The fact of the matter is that most black people in America have not had ancestral ties to Africa for more than four generations and have created a completely divergent and unique culture than those of African countries. So why would we consider ourselves African when our families have not been there for hundreds of years and have no direct relations with Africans? So do us all a favor and just call us black.

Recently, global resource sustainability has evolved from a casual consideration to an urgently relevant issue, spawning government agencies and studies dedicated to finding out how to delay the exhaustion of resources.

There have been numerous efforts to reduce resource consumption, yet most of these developments and attitudes have not reached schools, especially involving the consumption of paper. The amount of paper that teachers print in a year is enormous. An average student’s binder fills up each quarter. Sherwood consumes over 4 million sheets a year, not including test booklets. Every week, students receive papers that could have been class sets and packets that could have been double-sided. Many students just take a few notes and recycle them. Promethean Boards were supposed to slow the constant flow of handouts, yet many teachers still print out unnecessary copies of Power Points and sheets that need only be accessible on Edline.

Unless the school switches to electronic distribution perhaps involving tablets, teachers and students need to become conscious of the paper they use, because every sheet adds up.

14

The Warrior•Opinions December 5, 2014

The parenting style of an adult has been proven to affect the way in which a child develops emotionally, physically, socially, and intellectually. The Warrior conducted a survey of students’ opinions on the parenting styles of their parental figures.

way both of their parents/guardians parent them

51%

But only of respondents plan to have a similar parenting style as both of their parents/guardians if they have children

50% of all respondents

Authoritative - a parent that communicates in a warm, accepting, and nuturing manner, while maintaining firm expectations and restrictions on their children’s behavior.

6%

5%

59%

10%

Only consider their dad more involved than their mom.

%

4%

19% think that their

mom is too involved 22% think that their dad is not involved enough

No

75% 4%

12%

1%

Mom

Would you say that you have a good relationship with your parents/legal guardians?

Yes

12%

Dad

consider their mom more involved in their lives than their dad.

Permissive - a very relaxed approach where parents are generally warm, nurturing, and affectionate. However, they are overly accepting of their children’s behavior, good or bad.

Passive - the parent is totally disengaged and emotionally uninvolved in his or her child’s life. There is little, if any expression of love and affection.

What parenting style best describes the way in which your parents/legal guardians parent you?

18%

Authoritarian - a very strict form of parenting that expects a child to adhere to rules and regulations set out by the parents with little to no communication and input from the child.

63% of respondents generally agree with the

17

Four main styles in which parenting is categorized ...

Parenting

Mom, not dad

Dad, not mom

Unsure

10%

5%

6%

66% Authoritarian

Permissive

Authoritative

Passive

*211 students surveyed

Does Not Apply

Graduation Standards Need Critical Changes

by Meagan Barrett ‘15

For 13 straight years of American schooling, whether you truly understand and retain the content or not, you are pushed through classes that you may or may not excel at in order to keep up with the ever-competitive “standard.” As the United States education system has progressed, it has developed this obsession with encouraging—or pushing, really—students to take classes that they struggle in or are simply disinterested in.

Enforcing a rigid, set standard may have once made sense.

When the British government was first developing the public education system that they would implement throughout its colonies, it needed to teach inhabitants of their colonies three basic things: how to read, write and do basic arithmetic. And thus, on-level algebra was born. But in the current American social structure, what is such standardization really

worth? The school system stress- for college’s approval. There’s sentially turns them off from the es that kids take more challenging no argument that students should subject. And having requirements classes in the subjects they don’t definitely learn both math and for a certain number of credits in succeed in, solely because it English, but to what level and at a designated subject in order to makes the student more appealing what intensity they should learn graduate perpetuates the disdain to colleges. Their strengths and at is debatable. they have for that subject. Now, weaknesses have no weight in In high school, students have not only is it difficult, but it is their educational career, and their reached a level at which they are also an obstacle standing between academic interests, them and graduation. desires and goals

It would be are boiled down to “It would be more effective if a new system more effective if a nothing more than a system were in were in place, one that didn’t have a require- new bundled up pre-deplace, one that didn’t termined act. We no ment for credits by class subject. Instead, a have a requirement longer live in a soci- new requirement to have a certain number of for credits by class ety where it is necessubject. Instead, a overall credits should be implemented.” sary to have lots of new requirement to people who can all have a certain number do the same thing. And as high self-aware enough to know what of overall credits should be impleschools continue to encourage interests them, what they succeed mented. In this system, more rigstudents to start thinking of their in and what they simply can’t do. orous courses would have more future careers earlier, it’s hardly Of course learning basic math and weight, and a certain number of necessary to continue exposing a English is necessary to function in rigorous courses would be restudent who truly struggles with society. But forcing those who ar- quired in order to graduate within math to high level-calculus. At the en’t proficient in English or math four years. However, the student same time, if a student struggles to continue taking the subjects in could pursue rigorous courses in with basic grammar rules, there’s which they struggle until twelfth any subject they choose. And beno need for them to be persuad- grade simply makes that part of cause having English and social ed to take AP English classes just their education a chore, and it es- sciences as well as math and nat-

ural sciences make for a balanced education that is healthy for the brain’s development, it would be required for a student to take less rigorous electives; however, passing or failing these classes would not dictate a student’s eligibility to graduate. It could be possible to showcase proficiency in extracurricular classes to colleges as a bonus, but it would be optional.

Because these classes essentially would not affect students’ grades, they could truly try any class they choose.

It would be much more effective to allow students to take the classes in which they excel, and let them choose to challenge themselves without the weight of graduation bearing down on them as they’re trying to branch out. It isn’t necessary to force kids to struggle in subject they simply aren’t interested in just to meet some elusive, unrealistic standard. A fish should be judged on its ability to swim, not on how well it climbs trees.

The Warrior•Wondering Warrior

15

December 5, 2014

Who was your favorite Do you listen to music band/artist when you when you study? were in middle school?

What musical artist is your guilty pleasure?

“All American Rejects.”

-Michelle Tolson ‘15

“Fall Out Boy.”

-Diane Trieu ‘16 “Demi Lavato.”

-Dani Banda ‘15 “Green Day.”

-Claire O’Connell ‘16

33% said no

“Wiz Khalifa.”

-Julie Swarr ‘15

Music

“Taylor Swift.”

-Marisa Bouey ‘15

11% Rock

19% Other

19% Pop

h at W

Stu d

7% Indie

55%have a playlist the radio

en

ic

In the car, do you listen to the radio or do you have a playlist?

ite Decade r o v 0f Fa s M t

us

li ge st nr en e to of th m e us m ic os d t? o y

ou

“Black Keys.”

-India Wilson ‘15

45%listen to

67% said yes

21% Country

23% Rap

1960s........................................5%

Do you buy your music on iTunes or download it for free?

76%

1970s........................................4% 1980s........................................9% 1990s......................................20% 2000s......................................32% 2010s......................................24% Other.........................................6%

24%

iTunes

Free

*100 People Surveyed

compiled by Lauren Cosca ‘15 and Kaleigh Homer ‘15

The Warrior•Entertainment 16

December 5, 2014

‘Cinderella’ Captivates for a Magical Night of Theater

by Zach Stubblefield ‘15 The autumn play, “Cinderella,” was a huge success. It was shown on November 14, 15, 21 and 22. Despite its origins as a simple children’s tale, the cast managed to spice it up with some clever dialogue, special effects and great set pieces.

The cast did a great job of keeping the audience engaged throughout the play. The stepsisters (seniors Nicole Lado and Sophie Mezebish) and stepmother (senior Jessi Alperin) stole the show. They did a superb job of bickering and babbling whenever they were on stage. It was a joy to watch them argue with each other and watch their comical attempts at being graceful.

Another standout was Prince Charming’s (senior Will Goniprow) right hand man, Lionel (junior Joseph Hunt). He was often the voice of reason throughout the play, and he usually got a lot of flak when he used that voice with Cinderella’s whimsical fam-

photo courtesy of Lianna Lieberman

The stepsisters and stepmother show their flamboyant nature upon receiving an invitation to the ball. ily. Also, it goes without saying that all of the singing parts in the musical were fantastic.

The tech crew made sure the special effects used in the show were top notch. The light work was especially noteworthy. The crew went beyond using simple

techniques to show characters on the stage; they used lights to enhance the overall experience. The light work was really on display during the ball scene. The tech crew made the iconic clock out of lights which was much better than finding a regular old grand-

father clock to do the job. Another thing that stood out was the fairy god mother’s magic. I was flabbergasted as smoke started filling the stage when she started using her magic and Cinderella come out in full regalia when the smoke dispersed. The transition was so

smooth I forgot I was watching a high school play for a second.

Overall, the tech crew did a great job of making the play look professional.

The play also had some killer set pieces. Many seemed average at first, but when one starts noticing all the little details put into them, the sets start to show how magnificent they really are.

Whether it was the fire place lighting up, the mural in Cinderella’s house being an actual picture of her dysfunctional step family, or the pumpkin outside the ball room after Cinderella leaves prematurely, the small touches of detail really helped elevate the set pieces.

I feel sorry for all the Sherwood students who didn’t take time out of their schedules to see this year’s fall production, because they missed a helluva show.

Rock ‘n’ Roll has to be great this year if it plans to meet the standard Andrew Dodge, the play’s director, has set with his fantastic rendition of “Cinderella.”

A Very Fitting Farewell

by Madison Dymond ‘16

Inherent Vice

Dec. 12

Shows N’ Shindigs

Movies

The Interview Dec. 25

Annie Dec. 19

Concerts Hot 99.5 Jingle Ball Festival

O.A.R Dec.13

Towson

Dec.15

Dec.5

Echostage

Rick Ross Verizon Center

On November 11, classic rock band Pink Floyd released “The Endless River,” their first album since “The Division Bell” in 1994. Although this album, which the band has announced will be their last, is almost entirely instrumental, it’s unmistakably and completely Pink Floyd and it’s an ideal goodbye to the band’s extremely devoted fans.

Pink Floyd began in the early 60s with five original members, but with drama such as original vocalist and guitarist Syd Barrett’s mental instability caused by drug addiction, members came and went over the years. The biggest cause of drama in the band was various disagreements between later vocalist and guitarist David Gilmour and bassist, lyricist and vocalist Roger Waters that ended in Waters suing the band to prevent them from performing with the name “Pink Floyd.” Along with iconic bands such as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd changed rock music and influenced many bands that followed. Through such albums as “The Wall” and “The Dark Side of the Moon,” Pink Floyd became one of the most famous rock bands of all time.

The band last performed live in 2005 at the conclusion of what would be their final world tour.

In 2008, keyboardist Richard Wright died of cancer. Its remaining two members—Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason—struggled to create an album without

him, but they very successfully produced “The Endless River” as a tribute to and a celebration of his immense talent, as well as the band’s goodbye to fans. The twelfth song on the album, “Autumn ’68,” features Wright’s organ playing.

Even with little vocals, the album has the psychedelic sound of the 70s that Pink Floyd was so well known for. The few lyrics on the album are about simple communication between humans, and what can be accomplished by it.

Without being very complex, the lyrics seem to deliver a straightforward message to listeners.

Although Gilmour only actually sang for one song on the album, his voice sounds almost as flawless and crisp as it did in the band’s earlier years.

The music ranges from melancholy soft rock to upbeat hard rock. Some songs on the album are made to parallel songs from other Pink Floyd albums—specifically “The Wall.” The music is not very original, but summarizes the best of Pink Floyd. This will very likely not be considered one of the band’s best albums, and it was not expected to be. It is still, however, a great finish.

The songs are short and flow together perfectly. This album may not be pleasing to all fans due to its lack of vocals, but it’s definitely worthy of their pleasure because, not only is it a sentimental thank you and goodbye from the almost 50-year-old band, but the instrumentation is just as incredibly Pink Floyd as it always has been.

The Warrior•Entertainment December 5, 2014

17

Sequels Stand Their Ground

‘Mockingjay’ Movie Catches Fire

by Chase Wilson ‘17

by Stacey Wells ‘15

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare was released at midnight on November 4 with more than 300,000 pre-orders. Available for the Xbox 360, Xbox one, PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation 4, this is the eleventh installment in the Call of Duty (CoD) franchise. The developing studio, Sledgehammer, stated that one of the most difficult things they had to consider in the months leading up to the release was trying to keep the fans interested with new and fresh content from the game.

Sledgehammer succeeded, releasing snippets of content every couple of months along with pre-order incentives for the game that gave fans a taste of what could be in the game, such as the gold exo-suit with a per-order edition of the game.

The storyline follows a soldier, Jack Mitchell, who begins as a private for the United States military but joins up with Atlas, a private military corporation, after he loses his arm and his childhood best friend in an explosion while fighting in Seoul, Korea against the KVA, an unidentified terrorist organization. The president of the corporation, Jonathan Irons, slowly turns into the antagonist of the game through a few unexpected twists. The big, new enhancement to the game is the introduction of the “exo-suit,” a specially designed suit which gives the wearer more maneuverability than ever before. The exo-suit is a huge improvement to the game and enhances the player’s strength and adds a boost ability which makes the player able to jump higher and dash away from threats in battle. New maps are always a big factor in a game, and Advanced Warfare has a perfect blend of smaller to medium sized maps with one or two long ranged maps. Overall, the game blends the older installments ingenuity with new graphics, engines and technology.

The release of Far Cry 4 surpassed its expectations with what I believe is enough potential to win the Shooter of the Year award of 2014, just as Far Cry 3 did in 2013. The game is out on PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. The game has many of the same mechanics as its predecessor, but the graphics surpass those of any of the other games I have seen on the next-gen consoles. Also, there is a new feature called “auto drive” which makes the vehicle the player is driving follow the road by itself, giving the player the ability to accurately aim out of the side of the car.

The campaign starts off with Ajay Ghale, our main character, trying to fulfill his mother’s dying wish: for her ashes to be spread across Lakshwana, a mysterious temple in the northern part of Kyrat. Upon entering Kyrat, the bus Ajay is riding in is promptly attacked by Pagan Min, the psychotic ruler of Kyrat, and his troops, and then saved by a resistance force called “The Golden Path.” Ajay’s deceased parents started the resistance force.

Throughout the game, the player finds him/herself in the middle of the Kyrati civil war, which is based on Nepal’s Revolution, torn between focusing on helping the rebels in their revolution or on spreading Ajay’s mother’s ashes. The variety of decisions a player must make throughout the game contributes to the depth of immersion one feels when playing the game, which rockets the game past all other competitors.

The highly anticipated “Mockingjay: Part 1,” the third movie in the Hunger Games series, opened in theaters on November 21. Though many mumbled and grumbled over the fact that the final book-to-movie adaptation is split into two, the separate films will allow for each and every event in the book to be thoroughly portrayed on the big screen. Almost no aspect of the novel has been overlooked, filling the movie with tremendous detail and drama. This most recent installment may just be the best movie so far of the franchise.

Overall, the casting is strong and almost everyone is well suited for their roles. Jennifer Lawrence, cast as the female protagonist Katniss Everdeen, puts on a spectacular performance. She morphs into the ‘Girl on Fire,’ portraying Katniss’ increasing mental instability while simultaneously showing her determination to keep fighting. Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark) does not appear for an extensive amount of time in this film, but acts extremely well when onscreen, perfectly capturing how his character’s composure and sanity ebbs away as he is continually tortured by his captors. The only minor disappointment appears in Elden

Henson (Pollox), a mute man.

Henson appears overly happy and animated during a serious moment, distracting the audience from what is actually happening in that particular scene.

In addition to the well-chosen, talented cast, ‘Mockingjay’ is also filled with heart-pounding action. In one scene, Katniss’ safe hold is being bombed by the enemy, forcing all of the civilians underground. The audience witnesses the bombs shaking the structure underground, hears a frightening siren, sees panicked people trying to reach safety, and watches as Katniss’ sister (played by Willow Shields) desperately tries to reach the safe area before the doors close. The tension builds, making even the most stoic movie-goer concerned over this 13-year-old girl’s life. In between the continued action, there are brief respites of calm, such as when Katniss admires the beauty and innocence of the quiet forest with Gale (played

by Liam Hemsworth). They share an intimate moment in the forest and kiss later on in the film, building even more conflict over who Katniss is ultimately in love with—Peeta or Gale. Although a large part of the series is centered on the romance, the love triangle does not overtake the central storyline of the film.

The cinematography com-

petes as one of the best parts of this breathtaking movie. Katniss is in a variety of environments— from skeleton-filled District 12 to the rubble left over from the bombing. Each environment perfectly encapsulates the emotions of the specific scene. For instance, when Katniss and Gale wander through the forest, the audience can admire the beauty of the light rays appearing through the trees and the stunning, peaceful deer.

However, one issue with the cinematography is when the coveted Mockingjay is finally shown. Its appearance is obviously CGI and needed a little extra work to appear more realistic. But this film exceeds expectations and truly excites the crowd for “Mockingjay: Part 2.”

Going Beyond Fame To Find Love

by Allie Pino ‘15 Hollywood has long embraced the story of the suffering superstar. You know the tale, don’t you? A talented but misunderstood singer or actor struggles with the downside of living in the spotlight. Often there is a parent trying to live his or her own dreams through the child’s adult career. There might even be a hero who will appear to protect the artist from the perils of fame and fortune. This narrative idea is explored in the film “Beyond the Lights.” Thanks to the clever direction of Gina Prince-Bythewood, however, the film shatters these clichés and turns into an unexpectedly electric and moving romantic drama.

Noni Jean (Gugu MbathaRaw) is a hot new artist who just won a Billboard Music Award and is primed for super-stardom. Noni should be on top the world, but in reality she’s not in a good place.

Being positioned as the object of male sexual desires in the media, dressed in close to nothing outfits and accessorized in a mountain of purple hair extensions is not what she envisioned her life to be.

In Mbatha-Raw’s capable hands, she’s a real, damaged human being navigating extraordinary circumstances over which she has little control. Many of those situations are because of Noni’s mother and manager, Macy Jean (Minnie Driver). No question, Macy Jean is plenty un-

likeable in her cruelty, especially when turning a blind eye to her daughter’s clear discomfort at being told to remove her top during a photo shoot.

The pressures of success compel Noni to nearly end her life. Returning to her Hollywood hotel after the awards show, Noni climbs over the balcony banister, ready to jump. Her plan is foiled by the grace and good grip of LAPD officer Kaz Nicol (Nate Parker). “I see you,” Kaz says with the kind of empathy and emotion Noni’s life has been sorely lacking. Then he pulls her to safety. Where she goes from there is the driving storyline of the movie.

Drawn to each other, Noni and Kaz fall fast and hard in love, despite the protests of those around them who urge them to put their career ambitions ahead of their romance. But it is ultimately Kaz’s love that gives Noni

the courage to find her own voice and break free to become the artist she was meant to be.

Director Prince-Bythewood does a nice job sketching both Noni and Kaz’s contrasting environments: her stifling affluence— with its many paparazzi and exploiters of all stripes—versus his modest blue-collar existence.

The script has a distinctly modern angle that smartly incorporates the current entertainment-industry climate, as well as the intersection of social media, tabloids and celebrity, which is rarely portrayed with the accuracy and insight it’s given here.

A star-crossed love story is only as good as its Romeo and Juliet. Both Noni and Kaz have a sweet, smoldering chemistry that’s a joy to witness. This is feel-good entertainment at heart that creates an element of wish fulfillment to how the duo’s romance plays out.

The Warrior•Sports 18

December 5, 2014

Student Athletes Cope with ACL Injuries

by Hunter Moore ‘15

On September 12, senior Tim Kress’s season came to a sudden end in a football game against Blair while making a sack.

As Kress was on the ground, a Blair offensive lineman landed on his awkwardly positioned knee and caused him to tear both his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and his meniscus.

“The pain was like no other pain I have ever felt. It was excruciating,” said Kress.

“What’s even worse was the devastation I felt when I got the news that my senior year of football was over. I had worked so hard and had so much riding on the season, and it was taken from me in an instant.”

In all levels of sports—professional, college and high school—there have recently been problems with the tearing of the ACL. There are about 200,000 ACL injuries in the United States per year. At Sherwood alone, several students have torn their ACL, and it seems that every six to eight weeks, a new student-athlete suffers an ACL injury.

ACL tears are relatively common because the human body is not built to make the jumps and cuts athletes now make, according to various reports. The ACL is located inside the knee joint, connecting the underside of the femur to the top of the tibia. Its main role is to prevent the tibia from sliding in front of the femur and out of the joint. The dynamic forces created by jumping and making side-to-side cuts tend to stress the ACL by pushing the tibia out of position. When the ACL tears, it is usually because the athlete rotated his hips at the wrong moment, adding too much force to the ligament.

Senior Christopher Chiogioji was forced to miss this year’s football season due to a devastating injury suffered during a scrimmage against Howard weeks before last year’s lacrosse season. He tore his ACL making a cut that caused his knee to give out and the ligament to tear instantly.

This injury will also force him to miss the basketball season opener against Magruder as a part of the rehabilitation process.

Chiogioji found the next couple of months much harder than the days immediately following his injury. “The process of surgery and rehab was long and hard; if you don’t work it out every day then it won’t get any better. I’ve been working hard to get back into shape and get my knee fixed, but one of the most difficult tasks was overcoming muscle atrophy [the weakening or loss of muscle tissue]. I’m happy the process is almost over to say the least,” said Chiogioji.

Senior Alex Kozlowski has torn both

Boys' basketball

girls' basketball

Source: The Gazette

MOMENT OF IMPACT Seniors Tim Kress and Hunter Moore sacked Blair’s quarterback in a game on September 12, moments before Kress tore his ACL. The tear ended his high school football career. However, he is expected to recover before the baseball season begins. of her ACLs, tearing the first one while playing basketball and the other during the powder puff football game last year. “Tearing my ACLs wasn’t incredibly painful when it actually happened, but the next day was dreadful,” said Kozlowski. “Walking down the stairs was out of the question and walking itself was a horrible task.”

According to recent studies, female athletes are five times more likely to have an ACL injury. Women have a wider pelvis, different thigh bone structure, different muscle maturation and different hormonal changes than men, which make women more susceptible to an injury.

Kozlowski has been in rehabilitation

for five months, and still has about three more weeks to go. Fortunately, she will be able to return to the basketball court for her senior year, though she will be required to miss her first few games, including the game against rival Magruder. Kozlowski can officially begin playing on December 29.

While ACL injuries have become more common, there have been advancements in medicine to not make it the devastating injury it was a few decades ago. Thirty years ago an ACL tear was career-ending, but now, with a surgery and rehabilitation period, there is a 96 to 98 percent chance of returning to the sport.

WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW

BIGGEST GAMES

12/5/2014 Fri. 5:15 PM Magruder (A) 2/6/2015 Fri. 7 PM Springbrook (H) 2/13/2015 Fri. 7 PM Gaithersburg (H) TOP ATHLETES

Xavier McCants Hunter Moore 2013 RECORD

13-11

BIGGEST GAMES

12/5/2014 Fri. 7 PM Magruder (A) 1/6/2015 Tues. 7 PM Blake (H) 1/26/2015 Mon. 5:15 PM Paint Branch (A) TOP ATHLETES

Nicole Stockinger Taylor Andrews Amanda Allen 2013 RECORD

10-13

wrestling

BIGGEST GAMES

12/20/2014 Sat. 1 PM Northwest, Poolesville (H) 1/24/2015 Sat. 2:30 PM Magruder (A) 1/31/2015 Sat. 1 PM Springbrook (H) TOP ATHLETES

Andrew Frumkin Charlie Siarkas Sean Levey 2013 RECORD

13-1

indoor track BIGGEST MEETS

1/10/2015 Sat. 9 AM Montgomery Invitational 1/24/2015 Sat. 8:30 AM Last Track, Philly Invitational 1/30/2015 Fri. 4PM Virginia Tech Invitational TOP ATHLETES BOYS Jefferson Ruiz Junior Settles DeVonte Doward

GIRLS Lauren Woods Tiffany Woods Molly Hierholzer

swim and dive BIGGEST MEETS 12/6/2014 Sat. 11:30 AM Damascus (Olney Swim) 1/10/2015 Sat. 9:15 AM Northwest (Olney Swim)

2013 RECORD

TOP ATHLETES BOY SWIMMERS Jake Ryan Austin Kong Declan Black

GIRL SWIMMERS Morgan Hill Margarita Ryan Christina Kolanowski

DIVERS Caroline Graves Cody Carlson

GIRLS 5-1, Regional Champs BOYS 1-5

The Warrior•Sports December 5, 2014

Warriors’ Season Ends After State Semi-Finals

by Will Van Gelder ‘16 The Warriors advanced to the state Semi-Finals before being defeated 3-0 by Severna Park on November 12. The team had gone undefeated during the regular season and ended the season with an astonishing 23-1 record, with their only loss coming against Severna, 25-17, 25-18, 25-18.

Severna’s attack was led by 6-foot-4 Mary Smith, who recorded 14 kills and 8 blocks. Severna managed to limit Sherwood’s duo of sophomore Kaiya Heyliger-Powell and senior Kerra Tirado to combine for only 19 kills.

The game, which was played at the University of Maryland, was a showcase of some of the state’s most promising prospects in volleyball.

“You can’t measure an entire season by a single game. If you look at where we started and how far we have come, that progress is the real measuring stick,” said Coach Ben Sanger. “It is unfortunate we lost, but Severna Park was the better team on Wednesday night. I look at this season as a success, as these 17 girls continued to push each other every day. I’m going to miss this group a lot.”

In addition to Sanger, assistant coaches Brian McCarty and Joe Moyers also heavily contributed to the team’s success. The captains, Tirado, senior Dalton Sanchez and junior Ariella Rodriguez, played a significant role in motivating players and maintaining the team’s focus in practices and matches. As a result, the Warriors dominated nearly every opponent they faced and won seventeen of their twenty regular season matches in straight sets.

After a relatively easy

19

Four Playoff Games Should Be Just a Start

by Stephen Luckey ‘15

Jack Armstrong ‘15

GOING UP FOR THE BLOCK Senior Kerra Tirado and sophomore Kaiya Heyliger-Powell jump in an attempt to double-block the Falcons. first-round match against Paint Branch, the Warriors exacted revenge against Howard, who beat Sherwood in the state semi-finals last year; in this year’s duel, Sherwood won 25-19, 25-15, 25-10.

The girls then defeated the reigning state champions, Dulaney from Baltimore County. Sanger noted that the coaches scouted Dulaney to find weaknesses to exploit. The Warriors were helped by senior Julia Gajewski-Nemes’ ability to make smart plays and hit around the blocks, as well as

strong serving from seniors Alison Sarver and Kristen Stitzlein.

The Warriors consistently kept Dulaney off balance in the 25-16, 25-20, 25-20 victory.

“We were faced with a lot of difficult things this season and we came together as a team to overcome the hardships and make it to the state semi-finals. I am so proud of my team and couldn’t have asked for anyone better to spend my last season of girls’ volleyball with,” said senior defensive specialist Sarver.

College football is the one of the most viewed sports on television. The fan bases for top teams are loyal to their core but in years past, fans of only two teams can root for a big championship after the regular season. This was because of the old Bowl Champion Series (BCS) system, in which the No.1 and No.2 teams duked it out on the gridiron for the national championship. Through this system, teams ranked anywhere below the two top spots were designated to a lesser bowl game.

The argument grew louder in the past decade that some lower ranked teams were overall better than the higher-ranked No.1 and No.2 teams. Anything can happen in college football and some of the other teams in the top ten truly had the potential to beat the national championship contenders. And so, this year is the first time that there will be a playoff system. The top four selected teams will go head-to-head to see which two advance to the championship.

Still, this year’s playoff system doesn’t go far enough. TCU is ranked No.3 after leapfrogging undefeated Florida State, who sits at No.4. If things hold this weekend No.5 Baylor and No.6 Ohio State will be left out of the playoffs even though they each have only lost one game.

Ohio State also plays in the Big Ten, including a game this weekend against surging Wisconsin. The NCAA should have an eight-team playoff so all the deserving teams have a chance at the championship title.

This would obviously extend the process, but it would allow for a system more like the NFL. To accommodate the addition of games, the trivial bowl games could be cut out. Make it all about the big kahuna, the main event, the national championship.

Regardless of what happens with the four-team playoff system, there will still be arguments over what actual improvements were made. Let the top teams have a chance and show the nation what they can do. Yes, Ole Miss has three losses, but the Rebels beat newly No.1 ranked Alabama, as well as previously No.4 ranked Mississippi State.

An eight-team playoff would settle the debates about the best college team in America. The NCAA should use this year’s playoff as a first step to going to eight teams in 2015.

For more sports stories, visit www.thewarrioronline.com Follow us on twitter at @SHSWarriorPress

The Warrior•Sports 20

December 5, 2014

DOMINATING THE COURT Xavier McCants accepts

leadership role on the team

by Leo Corman ‘15

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enior shooting guard Xavier (zah-vee-ay) McCants started playing basketball when he was 8 years old, following in the footsteps of his older siblings. Now entering his third season on the varsity squad and returning as the team’s leading scorer from last season, McCants will look to establish himself as the number one player on his team and one of the county’s best.

McCants plays basketball for the competition. “What I find enjoyable about basketball is the competitiveness and the adrenaline rush I get while I play. Naturally I’m very competitive and I love to win,” said McCants. “The most challenging thing about basketball is trying to stay consistent … with scoring, defense and taking care of the ball.”

McCants recognizes the positive influence his coaches have had on his development. He credits his Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) coach, Kevin Harris, for pushing him to achieve his full potential and “never sugar-coating anything.” McCants also appreciates the guidance he has received from varsity Coach Tim Gilchrist and former NBA guard and assistant Coach Walt Williams, who have both helped to “teach [him] what’s going to be needed … at the next level.”

McCants is currently being recruited by several colleges.

McCants has a very aggressive playing style,

especially in his ability to attack the basket and score through contact. His speed and ball-handling allow him to beat defenders up the floor, and his athleticism and body control help him absorb contact and finish at the rim. While McCants relies mainly on getting to the basket, his improved outside jump shot will likely be an offensive threat that defenses will have to respect this season.

McCants expects to be one of the leading scorers in the county this season and possibly earn first team All-Met honors. Coach Gilchrist has high leadership expectations for McCants as well. “We want Xav to grow as the season goes on, and we want him and fellow seniors to guide this team through the playoffs to Comcast,” said Gilchrist. “I expect hard work in practice everyday, and expect Xav to not allow any of his teammates to slack at any moment on or off the court.

We expect the highest level of quality of work.

Anything less is not the Sherwood Warrior way.”

“The most challenging thing about basketball is trying to stay consistent.”

-Xavier McCants ‘15 According to Gilchrist, McCants’ success stems from more than just natural talent. “He is a tireless worker in the gym, the classroom and the weight room,” said Gilchrist. “Xav is very coachable and listens attentively; he executes the team’s game plan and also has the support of his teammates. He is a special player, but is very humble and wants to see his teammates do just as well as he is hoping to do this winter.”

Gilchrist added that he hopes to have a balanced offense with strong ball movement, making it difficult for opposing coaches to double-team McCants or deny him the ball. The Warriors open the season today against rival Magruder.