THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL FOR SCIENCE AND TECH || ALEXANDRIA, VA
TJTODAY
NOV. 30, 2018 || VOL 4 ISSUE 3 || www. tjtodayday.org
THE MAGAZINE
Finstagram the
evolution of
Instagram Instagram accounts are changing. Are you keeping up?
CONTENTS EDITORIAL BOARD Editors-in-Chief MiJin Cho Sabria Kazmi Online Managing Editor Shruthi Nyshadham
06
The Rise of the Instas An in-depth look at the usage of instagram, finstagram, and sinstagram
BROADCAST EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
16
Lynn Nguyen
TEAM LEADERS Justin Chang Pratika Katiyar Irina Lee Grace Mak
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STAFF WRITERS Vikram Achuthan Aafreen Ali Rose Du Zia Sun Sarah Wang Reena Wang Jessica Feng Tanya Kurnootala Connie Ryu Minjoo Song Tammy Ding Rhea Premanand
ADVISER Erinn Harris tjTODAY is the official newsmagazine of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology published by the journalism staff. The staff is deeply committed to a code of journalistic ethics that demands the exercise of accuracy, good judgment and impartiality. The content of tjTODAY is determined by the editorial board. Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of the staff of tjTODAY, but not necessarily the opinions of individual editors.
04 In-Depth 04
Challenging the Definition of Success
The implementation of Challenge Success as a mental health initiative
22 Entertainment 26
Bright on the Side
What ten students are thankful for this Thanksgiving
CONTENTS AND ONLINE || NOV 30 03
Have You Seen Visit tjtoday.org for our lastest What We’ve articles as well as online versions of Been Doing? what you see in this issue. FINISHING ON A HIGH NOTE
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
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WORDS ARE OUR WEAPON
Letters should be no more than 300 words, refer to a specific article, and include the writer’s full name and email address.
HOW DO I WRITE A LETTER?
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Sports
Opinion
Sci-Tech
14
22
12
Leaping into the Olympics
Breaking the Glass
In the Books
Shannon Xiao shares her experience as a Junior Olympian
Lead Editorial: female representation in legislative bodies
Robert Crotts shares his passion for the linguistics
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24
20
Swimming with the Stars
Profiles of members of the Jefferson Swim and Dive Team
A Fair Shake for Remakes
The case for remakes of movies
Twinkle Twinkle TJStar How We Wonder What You Are
Reforming TJStar and its implementation
Challenging d
t
With a growing emphasis on mental wellness, Jefferson enrolls in a Stanford-based program known as Challenge Success which works with schools to help create a more nurturing environment in schools. Pratika Katiyar || TEAM LEADER
PHOTO // Sonia Kanchan
S
eventy-three percent. That’s the number of high school students across the U.S. saying that schoolwork is their sole cause of stress. Obtained from the Challenge Success website, this data shows that the majority of high schoolers across the nation are impacted in some way, whether that be positive or negative, by their school workload. Although challenging schoolwork and tests can lead to a healthy amount of stress, this arises the question: how much
Succ
stress is considered healthy? That is where Challenge Success comes into play. Its goal is to identify the root causes of unhealthy stress and find new solutions to making Jefferson, and other middle and high schools, a more comfortable and accommodating environment for students.
THE BEGINNING
Sophomore Amber Garcha decided to be part of the Challenge Success team because she felt that she could
FEATURES || NOV 30, 2018 05
g definition the
ccess
of
make a difference in the Jefferson community, and because she envisioned ways it could become a better learning environment. “I was tired of seeing all my friends and other people being buried in homework and missing opportunities to just relax and have fun because of their crazy workload,” Garcha said. “Plus, I’ve always thought about the ways TJ could improve, and Challenge Success was the perfect way to make those changes and start helping the school.” The student team is made up of Garcha, junior Laney Moy, and senior Ethan Phillips. However, students aren’t the only ones involved in making transformations to the Jefferson community; parents and staff members are also collaborating with them. The staff team is comprised of Mark Forgash, Malcolm Eckel, Mary Beth Kochman, Anthony Powell, and Jefferson principal Ann Bonitatibus. Before deciding to implement Challenge Success, a lot of research took place to compare various programs and determine whether they fit the community at TJ. “Last year, Dr. Bonitatibus brought the idea of implementing the Positivity Project at our school to SGA,” Phillips said. “As a member of SGA, I felt that that program had a lot of faults, and worked with the administration to try and reach an alternative. Dr. Bonitatibus later presented Challenge Success to us, whose structure and research-backed methods fit TJ much better, in my opinion.” “After lots of different conversations, we felt that [Challenge Success] worked best for us because it gives us the tools that we need to study ourselves, to identify what we think our root causes are, and then it allows us to develop responses that are appropriate for our school,” Bonitatibus said.
Malcolm Eckel, mathematics teacher and Challenge Success team member, working with junior Medha Gupta. As a part of the team, Eckel uses his passion as a teacher in changing the way the Jefferson community looks at the word success. “The name Challenge Success refers to challenging this narrow idea of success. [The idea] that you have to get every possible point of everything to get straight A’s and go to the best college so that you can keep getting straight A’s so you can go make a lot of money. High performing schools like TJ should be a place where students can find their passion and develop their own ideas of success," Eckel said. PHOTO // Ananda Kalukin
implemented to help improve aspects of the school. “I really hope that Challenge Success can bring TJ back to the school it used to be, where everyone was interested in the learning experiences rather than just the grades and college apps. I also want Challenge Success to make TJ a place where students and teachers aren’t constantly crushed by the academic pressure all around them. TJ should be a place that people look forward to going to everyday,” Garcha said. Challenge Success is one of the many paths an individual school can take to improving mental wellness. However, it should not be the only path, as there will not be instantaneous changes. Some possible changes that Challenge Success will bring can morph the current challenges at TJ into a more real world perspective, allowing students to apply their knowledge outside of school. “I know that there won’t be any huge changes or improvements to the school culture before I graduate, but my goal is to leave the school a better place than when I entered as a freshman. I think one of the best ways we can do that is by rethinking how students are assessed and taught,” Phillips said. “The real world doesn’t make you take tests and quizzes, it challenges you in other ways and makes you think outside the box. We need more of that here at TJ.”
UPCOMING CHANGES
On Oct. 26, a Challenge Success survey was administered to students in hopes of gaining feedback or where the community stands as a whole on topics such as workload and mental health. In the future, based on the survey results, changes could possibly be
PHOTO // Sonia Kanchan PHOTO // Pratika Katiyar Sophomore Amber Garcha and Senior Ethan Phillips
rise the
MiJin Cho, Sabria Kazmi, and Shruthi Nyshadham || EDITORS
Instas P
of the
ress. Hold. Choose. With just one touch to the right corner of the screen, your Instagram identity can change. A mobile app that allows for multiple interchangeable accounts per individual, Instagram has risen in popularity for its three main categories: rinstas, finstas, and sinstas. A “rinsta”, or real Instagram, is the type of account traditionally associated with the platform: a glamorous, carefully curated gallery designed to be seen by a broad audience. A fake Instagram, or “finsta”, caters more to an account owner’s close friends, often featuring candid and unfiltered photos of day-to-day experiences. The final account type is a secret Instagram or “sinsta,” sometimes referred to as a private Instagram. This account can be so private that it has no followers, with content ranging from philosophical to inappropriate, depending on the user.
Photos courtesy of Otilia Danalache, Arjun Dhumne, and Laura Gersony
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Michael Kyrychenko, 11 AJ Seo, 9 218
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PHOTOS // Sabria Kazmi
COVER STORY || NOV 30, 2018 09
Rinsta: First Look
the people who are following you to [a] small amount, there’s always the chance that some information will get out. So if you really want something to not spread fast, just say it in person. But A rinsta can be considered a virtual first impression. if you do want to keep people updated on your life at different “It’s what I want to display when people look at me,” sophomore levels of closeness, I think that social media can be a really effective mechanism. Just maybe, for someone like me, who has reasons to Arjun Dhumne said. “In any scenario, the first impression keep my life more secure, it’s not the best option.” someone sees, you want them to see your best you.” For senior Otilia Danalache, rinsta is a way to make new connections and maintain contact with people from the past. However, this aspect of rinstas can bring a degree of superficiality.
In her professional experience, Jefferson school psychologist Dr. Esther Barkat has seen how the illusion of ‘private’ social media accounts can lead to the over-sharing of personal and sensitive information.
“[Rinsta is] just kind of checking up on people,” Danalache said. “We think that this [account] is private, therefore nobody can “It’s just scrolling through their feed and remembering, ‘Oh, that’s get to it. But that’s not true,” Barkat said. “Let’s say some[one] how my friend from third grade is doing now’. [But] there’s nothing screenshot the post and reposts it. And [other people] know [who private, nothing about my personality. There’s so many people I or where] that original post came from, that in turn can become barely know that follow me [who] I’ve never spoken to in real life.” problematic. So, one has to be careful. What is the limit, what is the That sense of artificiality associated with rinstas has left some fine line?” hesitant to use the platform at all. Once this fine line is established, however, Gersony “Before I came to TJ, I actually didn’t have any social media sees the value of finstas in creating an environment of because for me, it’s not an incredibly important part of my life,” support and amiable connections with her followers. sophomore Maria Izzi said. “I feel like sometimes [social media] “Because of the narrower audience that creates more problems than it solves.” I have, it takes away that need to be Despite the lack of genuineness, rinsta can become a means of validated and to be commented measuring personal worth. on and liked. So I think that narrower population that “I realized that they’re very much reflections of our own I’ve selected to follow my style insecurities,” senior Laura Gersony said. “And it’s kind of, in my eyes, a toxic cycle of seeking validation from others, and then using is one that I trust and admire and… value me for more than my their validation as a metric of your own worth.” exterior,” Gersony said.
Finsta: Diary
For Gersony, who exclusively uses finsta, this journal-form of communication with her close friends has greater appeal to her than a rinsta. “I think that the primary goal of my finsta is to communicate with my friends, as opposed to seeking validation,” Gersony said. “So I try to post when something important happens to me. ‘I’ve accomplished this’, or ‘I’ve failed dismally’ [at] something else. Just to keep them in the loop, to send them messages that have been helpful or heart-warming to me.” Dhumne considers his finsta a place where he can show his true self, and for that reason his finsta consists only of his close friends. “Your close friends, people who actually know who you are, are on your finsta,” Dhumne said. “Because you’re more comfortable around people who you know better, and since they’re the ones following [your finsta], you can be more like yourself. My finsta shows the true me.” While finsta allows users greater freedom to be themselves, there are still boundaries for what can be posted. After all, nothing online is truly private. “If it’s something that’s really important to you that you only want a few people to know, I feel like it’s best said in person anyway,” Izzi said. “Because if you put it online, even if you are restricting
Otilia Danalache, 12
Defining the Terms Rinsta
n. an Instagram account used to display one’s best self to the public. v. to post something on one’s rinsta
Finsta
n. an Instagram account used to communicate exclusively with friends or acquaintances syn. spam v. to post something on one’s finsta
Spam
n. an Instagram account used to communicate exclusively with friends or acquaintances that one posts on frequently syn. finsta v. to post many photos consecutively, usually on a spam account
Sinsta
n. an Instagram account used to communicate with one’s inner circle. This account will usually, be limited to only a select few followers. v. to post something on one’s sinsta
Sinsta: Inner Circle
“If I want to just get everything off my chest, I usually [talk] to [my friends] in person, because even just calling [a] friend on the phone and being able to talk it out is helpful,” Izzi said. “People will respond quicker if you’re talking to them in an actual conversation Danalache adds to the concept of using Instagram as a place to share information with people she trusts through her use of a private so if you are looking for someone else’s response or advice, you’ll get that faster. But also I feel like if you say something out loud, then it’s insta. not as filtered because when you’re writing things, you can edit your “It’s a lot more… private discussions about how I’m feeling, my feelings.” mental health, or things that really bother me, or specific interactions that I don’t feel comfortable sharing with people that I don’t know as well,” Danalache said. “It’s just a lot more private and personal. Whereas [on] my spam I’m really comfortable with anyone taking a look at it… [it’s] just kind of a day to day spam of my life.” Despite the many benefits Instagram users find with the use of
Takeaway
While Freshman AJ Seo does not have an Instagram, she gravitates finstas and other private accounts, the use of various Instagram accounts raises concerns about having multiple online identities. towards a sinsta for these reasons. “If I had Instagram I would definitely have a sinsta … so that not everyone knows what I’m doing, but I could still share with my friends,” Seo said. “[It] would be less distracting and time-consuming because you have less people. It’s more private, so you don’t have to worry too much about who sees everything you are.”
“I think it’s a lot of useless work [to have] three different levels of who you are,” junior Michael Kyrychenko said. “Why go through all that hassle? Why does social media have to have all that drama behind it, when you’re changing who you are, when you’re going to be someone you’re not?”
Multiple accounts can be a strategy for keeping different social circles separate—family distinct from friends and co-workers, for instance, or casual acquaintances distinct from one’s inner circle. Such divisions in audience mean that the content of each account is starkly different from the others, but according to Barkat, that in itself isn’t a “My private, I like to call it, I don’t really call it a sinsta, that’s just for bad thing. What matters is how the accounts are used. my really close friends. That’s about 30 people, and not necessarily “Whether it’s a private account or it’s a public account, it all depends people that I consistently talk to now, but just people that I trust,.” on how responsible you are,” Barkat said. “Both accounts can lead Danalache said. to a false sense of security. There’s a false sense of satisfaction when To Izzi, private insta can have greater impact when it is translated somebody likes certain things [we post], and then we get caught up into meaningful conversation. in an obsession of fakeness. On the other hand, if we have a private account where we share everything, that can create a situation that can be very harmful also.” What really distinguishes a sinsta from a finsta is its exclusivity. Some people even have no followers on these accounts, and use it as a place to document things for themselves. Danalache has 30 followers, but they are all people she trusts.
Who to Follow
Rather than posting about detailed information about personal issues on finstas or private accounts, Barkat strongly suggests talking to an adult you can trust about the issue. “Try to resist posting too many intimate things on social media. And if you think you are overwhelmed, stressed, and have anxiety, seek out any one of us—your counselor, your social worker, your psychologist, your teachers, whoever is a trusting adult.” Although Barkat believes social media has the potential to be harmful, she thinks it’s also important to acknowledge the fact that it is a part of most people’s lives now. She is not advocating for people to stop using Instagram, but for people to think more about what they post. Responsible social media usage means finding a middle ground between the two extremes of showing an perfect version of yourself and revealing too much. “We cannot tell our children and we cannot tell everybody, ‘okay stop using this [social media]’, because that takes you out of the whole group,” Barkat said. “Ask yourself the important part of why we’re posting. What’s the importance of posting, and is it going to be helpful or harmful for me as well as another person who is looking at it. That’s your fine line. Take a deep breath before you just starting posting something.”
What to Post Where
COVER STORY || NOV 30, 2018 11
Is it a pic of you?
yes
Is it a...
no, it’s a...
screen shot
photo’s irrelavant; I’m ranting
selfie professional photo
so cute
How do you look?
Who should see it?
like an egg
meme
people who know me
no one inner circle ONLY
Don’t Post! Rinsta
Sinsta
Finsta
NEWS
1
FEATURES| Nov 30 2018 13
H
ello. Apple. King. These words, so commonplace to many of us, hold great meaning for junior Robert Crotts. Through his study of linguistics, he has explored aspects of the language that extend beyond surface-level conversation and found his calling in the pattern and history of words. To him, linguistics represents connections between the old and the new, the hidden and the obvious, reality and fantasy. “Everyone speaks a language, so it’s not something that you can avoid in your day-to-day life. Really, it’s just whether or not you’re interested in investigating it. I’ve been interested in language for a very long time. I took two years of Spanish; I took four years of Latin when I had the chance.” QUENYA AND TOLKIEN Another language Crotts delved into was Quenya, a fictional Elvish language created by J. R. R. Tolkien as part of his works centering around the fictional land of Middle Earth. Quenya is particularly known as a constructed language, or conlang. “It’s always interesting to look into the process of actually making [conlangs] and how they’re based on some real languages,” Crotts said. “Quenya is based on Finnish. It’s interesting how it intersects with real language.” Through his study of Quenya, Crotts gained a greater appreciation for the level of detail Tolkien put into his stories and began to understand a number of hidden linguistic aspects. “A lot of the charm of the books is just sort of being able to notice things under the surface that you could read more into. I like the patterns. I like the linguistic basis [of his works] because Tolkien was a linguist. [He wrote] a collection of books I really admire for how they’re made and how much care is put into them, especially [regarding] his appreciation of how to write poetry that emulates historical poetry. He was able to not only write a lot of metrical poetry, but also make these older styles of poems.”
HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS Beyond delving deeper into Tolkien’s imaginary world, Crotts also picked up a few hidden quirks of the English language. “A lot of preconceptions that you have about a language you speak, based on how it’s written or how people talk about it in everyday life, can be overturned by what you find out linguistically,” Crotts said. “[In the past], vowel initial words actually began with a consonant. If you wanted to say ‘apple,’ that word actually begins with the glottal stop, which is a consonant.” The history of how language has evolved speaks directly to Crotts. To him, the past, present and future are linked by the transformation of words and sounds. “When it comes to parts of the study of historical linguistics, I would have to go with phonological change, the way that some words in Old English [change]. [For example], ‘chinning’ becomes ‘kinning’ and then become king,” Crotts said. “The thing that I find most captivating is probably just the ability to look at language from ancient times from antiquity and to be able to really interpret what people were saying back then in a way that wouldn’t be possible without language.” LINGUISTICS CLUB At Jefferson, Crotts found his calling in Linguistics Club, an organization that he now co-runs with junior Jack Mallek. Both are eager to welcome any new member to the club, regardless of prior experience or knowledge. “[Linguistics Club] has to be more discussion-based. I don’t think anyone in the club really knows that much more than anyone else There’s always something something unique that [anyone] could contribute to the discussion about linguistics,” Crotts said.
s k o Bo IN THE
Irina Lee || TEAM
rotts’ Junior Robert C istics passion for lingu for inspires his love Tolkien’s works
LEADER
PHOTO // Irina Lee
Caption: Crotts plans a lecture for linguistics club.
SPORTS
LEAPING
Junior olympian Shannon Xiao’s 11 year journey withh rhythmic gymnastics
OLYMPICS
into the
Jessica Feng and Reena Wang || STAFF WRITERS
M
any people dream of reaching the Olympics and winning accolades at international sporting events, but few ever achieve it. Junior Shannon Xiao is one of twelve rhythmic gymnasts representing the US team in the Junior Olympics of 2018. Having placed first at international competitions such as the Junior Pan American Championships and the Pacific Rim Championships, Xiao has high aspirations for what the future may bring. Though she now competes at a high level, Xiao originally had humble expectations for her achievements in the sport. With her older sister as a role model, Xiao started rhythmic gymnastics at the age of five and has been competing ever since. “My sister did the sport before me and I just kind of followed in her footsteps.” Xiao said. “I didn’t really have that many expectations or goals, I just went with it. But over time it progressed a lot because of the different levels. As you get older you’ll obviously improve from before.” Coursework at Jefferson is often hard to deal with, as homework, projects, and tests often occupy a majority of the time outside of school. Training to compete on the world stage takes up most of Xiao’s time outside of school, too.
“Because of all the practices every year, last year I missed about 30 days of school in total, and that is honestly really hard and especially the tests. I had to do a lot of learning by myself and reading the 1textbooks by myself, but it was possible
through constant communication with my teachers and classmates,” Xiao said. “It’s also kind of hard to separate your mind from school stress and gymnastics stress, so while I am at practice, I have to basically have a separate mindset. So when I am at practice, I focus on my gymnastic goals and then while I am at Atem quamonipsae school Iquis just focus schoolexergoals.”
ferum que nonsequi dolum As foreaque how Xiao keeps herveni motivation simpe peliquam month after month, she mentioned foquiae verferitati andapositive. cusing on her goals nustia and staying delesti ipsae pro maionsecus ad“Obviously, est dolorepres after a enimporrum lot of hard practices you start to doubt yourself and what quias maxim dis dio voloreyou can achieve. You just need to keep henis repedi deliquis sita que in mind that sometimes it’s not because pedit, quoyourself, eum serum you’re bad but it’ssejust a bad ceri dolum, utenis re eoswhen aut you day. Also, after competitions quaspid am, don’t do asqui wellculpa as yousumenis expect and don’t achieve your goals, you just have to keep simodia nem et eat. aIdpositive mindset and keep on working que volum fugia erehendae for the next competition,” Xiao said. perum aut quidem. Ut idestrum remporest inis to doluptam Xiao is alsoqui aiming reach new exeruminettheomnihil laccab ille- to heights future and will continue inspire gymnasts across the country nis simpor at excearumet et and in her local community.
“Yes, that is definitely one of my goals
and because rhythmic gymnastics is kind of different because it needs a lot of commitment so I feel like once I go to college I might have to stop, but for now I’m just aiming to compete at the World Championship,” Xiao said. “I would just say that honestly, it might seem very hard at times but once you remove yourself from the tough times and situations, you can actually notice the grace and beauty of the sport and how fun it is to be living in the routine,” Xiao said.
SPORTS| Nov 30 2018 15
RIBBONS SOARING ‘ROUND THE WORLD
Xiao’s first international competition brought her closer to her inspirations Irina Lee || TEAM LEADER
At eleven years old, many children have barely begun to pursue their passion, but junior Shannon Xiao as already participated in her first international event. “I was just kind of awestruck at all the international athletes and they were all so good,” Xiao said. Although many people would feel the nerves of competing against the top, Xiao kept her cool throughout the competition. “I didn’t feel pressure at all because they were all so good I didn’t really see myself as a competitor against them,” Xiao said.
PHOTO // Gymnastics World VA Caption: Xiao practices with the ribbon.
1 Captions: 1. Xiao practices with her clubs. 2. Xiao places first at aninternational competition. Photos courtesy of Shannon Xiao.
2
XIAO’S SCHEDULE: MONDAY - FRIDAY Claire Wilson || STAFF WRITER
8:40 am - 4:00 pm
School
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
Transportation
4:45pm - 9:00 pm
Gymnastics Practice
9:00 pm - 9:45 pm
Transportation
9:45 pm
Start Homework
SwithWIMMING Aafreen Ali, Rose Du, Zia Sun, Sarah Wang || STAFF WRITERS
STARS
the
As Jefferson’s Swim and Dive team sets out to continue its triumphant legacy, the stories of its members reveal what it takes to reach for success
A
look at the front of Jefferson’s building says one thing about its Swim and Dive team - they’re massively successful. The list of TJSD championship years is almost as long as Scholastic Bowl’s. TJSD is recognized throughout the school by their innumerable victories, most recently under coaches Ian Henderhan and Deonte Sharpe. The boys swim and dive team has won consecutive championships from 2013 to 2018, including regional, conference, and state titles. Not to be outdone, the girls team has won various accolades in the same time period, missing only a 2016 conference title. But what exactly makes this team so successful? What sets TJSD apart from other high school swim and dive teams? To find out, tjTODAY spoke to several members of the team. Dive into their experiences.
NATALIE MARTIN It’s the end of a stressful school day, and you’re ready to get home. However, you remember you have a two and a half hour swim practice after school. Fast forward to a Monday or Wednesday morning: you’re gearing up for another day when you realize you have yet another practice . Finally, instead of sleeping in on the long-awaited Saturday, you have to swim for three more hours. While this schedule may sound like a nightmare, it’s nothing new for sophomore Natalie Martin. As reflected by her schedule, Martin has a solid dedication to swimming that stems from her parents. “My parents were swimmers,” Martin said. “They signed me up for swim lessons when I was younger, and I’ve been swimming for as long as I can remember.” Having parents with swimming experience is a benefit for Martin that most swimmers do not have.
“They encourage me to keep swimming and working hard. My dad especially has given me a lot of help and tips,” Martin said. This year is Martin’s second year on TJSD, and she has been a member of the Arlington Aquatic Club (AAC) for ten years. Because swimming occupies a lot of her time outside school, most students would see it as additional stress; however, Martin sees it differently. “It’s nice to have the mental break of swim practice after school,” Martin said. “I honestly can’t imagine my life without it.”
SPORTS || NOV 30, 2018 17
VIVIAN LIN
JERRY LI “Take your mark.” Your heart pounds as you wait for the buzzer to sound. With eyes set on the water below, the rest of the world melts away. Now, it is just you and the race ahead. Over the years, junior Jerry Li has developed a permanent determination for competitive swimming.
With a love for swimming, Jefferson’s Swim and Dive team captain, senior Vivian Lin, knew her athletic path from the beginning.
have club swim, being a part of the TJ swim and dive team allows me to have a family outside of school and in a sport that I love,” Lin said.
“I’ve been swimming my whole life since I was around six. I had a lot of friends on [Jefferson’s] swim team, so I already knew I wanted to join TJSD,” Lin said.
Her decision has paid off, as she is now able to focus all her attention on improving TJSD. Lin’s role on the swim and dive team has also boosted her studies at home.
Because she valued education over extra swim time, Lin had to give up club swim. However, Lin is still able to experience the same swimming lifestyle.
“When swim season starts, the practice and meets take up time I would have procrastinated,” Lin said. “By joining swim, I have been able to manage my “There’s something special about being on a time better, and I am so team. Even though I don’t glad that I joined.” PHOTOS // Aafreen Ali, Karen Misener, Mark Xu
Before joining Jefferson’s swim and dive team, Li had previous swim experience through out-of-school swim.
The focus on growth as an individual in the water is what kept drawing Wong back to the sport. “In swimming it’s really not about other people and more about your personal records and how you perform,” Wong said. “At every meet you can get better and can always find room for improvement.”
“I first went to my RECenter and took swim lessons, and then I joined a summer team,” Li said. “The next season, I joined my winter [club] team. That’s when I started competitive [swim].”
Wong participates in club swim at NCAP eleven months a year. On top of this, TJSD has taken up part of Wong’s schedule during the winter since freshman year.
Li believes a combination of hard work and perseverance in pursuing his love of swimming has allowed him to set his own path. “Although TJSD has pushed my limits and forced me to manage my time, it has helped shape me into who I am today.”
ANTHONY WONG Swimming has been part of sophomore Anthony Wong’s daily routine for almost his entire life. “Since I was three years old, I’ve always done swim lessons, so I’ve always loved being in the water,” Wong said. “When I turned nine, I actually started getting into competitive swimming with a Maryland team.”
“[TJSD] is a whole different team, a whole different group of people that you’re swimming with. I would consider it a kind of new sport, in a way,” Wong said. Although he loves club swim, TJSD has offered an entirely different experience for Wong, even though he’s competing in the same water year round. “During club swim it’s more like train, perform, race, do your best,” Wong said. “With TJSD it’s more about character, working together and being there for each other.”
SKETCHING O UT T H E
S
atellite and spacecraft data, observatory databases, and information from renowned research centers including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics are just some of the many resources students in the astronomy research lab use to gather data and investigate their research topics ranging anywhere from angular broadening to dark noise removal in raw x-ray data.
WHAT THEY DO Unlike other senior research labs where students might use equipments to conduct experiments and generate data, seniors in the astronomy lab spend most of their time behind a computer screen, looking for any possible data they could use to aid their research. “Most of the research done in the Astronomy Lab is more analysis than hands-on application,” senior Rachel Eom said. “We look at data collected by numerous databases and then come up
Seniors in the astronomy research lab explore data from numerous databases and research centers in hopes of finding information to aid their research Justin Chang || TEAM LEADER
with a “conclusion” that will debunk our proposed hypothesis.” As surprising as it sounds, however, this is not something new. In fact, it’s always been this way. “Astronomy is different from all the sciences in that you can’t touch or manipulate what you’re studying remotely,” Ms. Lee Ann Hennig, astronomy lab director, said. “You can’t touch a star, right? You can’t go to the planet yet, so you’re replicating what you see from the spacecraft.” Students in the astronomy lab are also under the guidance of a researcher who visits the students weekly to help them go through the process of what they need to know for their projects. “We have a mentor that comes in who’s doing radio astronomy, and he will bring his data and show the students what he’s looking for,” Hennig said. “They will work with him and they’re learning how to interpret it, so they’re not missing out. They’re just learning how to use what’s available.” Though collecting data and gathering
background information might sound mundane, there are many benefits associated with gathering data from prestigious databases and reliable sources such as NASA’s spacecrafts, telescopes, and observatories.
ADVANTAGES “Some of the advantages to getting data from professional scientific papers and databases is that you can trust that the data that you do get was measured to the best of our current abilities,” senior Isabela Huckabee said. Huckabee, who is exploring habitability in exoplanets, noted how work in the astronomy lab heavily depended on the nature of one’s study and research project. “Depending on the project, the astronomy lab can either be building and testing things constantly, or can be sitting at a computer all day. My project requires the latter. All data, for me at least, comes from parsing through past papers,”
SCI-TECH || NOV 30, 2018 19 1.
uc abee said loo at papers that ha e used a sample ith similar conditions as mine, for hate er reason, and then determine ithin that sample hich ones can use that fit the conditions of my e uations
DISADVANTAGES espite the ad anta es and con eniences it pro ides, loo in throu h past research papers and searchin for ne data pro es to be a challen e as it s difficult to find papers rele ant to her research, hich results in uc abee performin multiple calculations, hich aren t al ays that accurate t s uite hard to find papers that ha e hat m loo in for, but for my pro ect, it s not enou h to ust scroll throu h an e oplanet database and rab a handful of habitable ones, uc abee said he hu e dra bac is that there s simply not enou h data ha e to ma e a lot of assumptions so hile et a result, it s frustratin to no that it isn t as accurate as it could e been ith more ra data
A DIFFERENT APPROACH nli e some students in the lab, om, hose roup is in esti atin an ular broadenin throu h measurements and analy ation, ta es a different route as she and her roup e plore ne possibilities in data collection for their research hat my roup and are doin is
measurin and analy in an optical phenomenon called an ular broadenin in bursts of ener y from the sun n order to do this effecti ely, e ill be ta in data from different radio sources by calibratin python code in a pro ram called , om said uch of our time ill be spent measurin data and calibratin code fter e e done that, e ill be creatin multiple raphs and establishin any relationships s easy as it sounds, ho e er, om s research is still fundamentally similar to that of others in the lab, as e tensi e bac round no led e and information is re uired to in esti ate the topic of interest t seems li e a simple process, but there is a lot of bac round readin and scientific application e need to do prior to doin our actual e periment, om 2.
said n fact, e are still refinin our bac round no led e
NEUTRAL STANCE nterestin ly, enni doesn t see any ad anta es or disad anta es associated to atherin and collectin data from obser atory databases and research centers and belie es that it is ho research in the astronomy lab should be carried out t s not an ad anta e but that s the ay it s done, and that s the ay some research and lab systems do it, so it s learnin those types of topics and ho to o about usin them, enni said t s a little bit different it s no better t s ust a different attitude in hat e re doin it s a different method hat e use e ardless, as the astronomy lab prepares those ho are interested in a career in the field, enni couldn t be more proud of the seniors in the lab he students that ta e the astronomy electi e are ell prepared alon ith their core classes, and m al ays ama ed at the pro ects they come up ith, enni said 1. Seniors Srinidhi Nagireddy and Angie Sohn look for raw x-ray files on the Chandra Observatory database to explore the process of dark noise removal in raw x-ray data. 2. Seniors Jennifer Hernandez and Esther Kang explore multiple observatory databases in hopes of finding information to support their research. PHOTOS // Justin Chang
FINDING OUR (TJ)
Behind the scenes of reforming one of Jefferson’s biggest events Tammy Ding and Minjoo Song || STAFF WRITERS
STAR
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JSTAR: Thomas Jefferson Symposium to Advance Research. Since its beginnings in 2009, tjSTAR has been a unique annual opportunity for students at Jefferson to present STEM-related research they’ve been working on all year, and learn from guest speakers they may not have a chance to meet otherwise. Every year, committee members begin planning early on to ensure that the event runs as successfully as possible. But like any major event, tjSTAR is not without its challenges.
THE PROBLEM “We’ve always had a problem with different groups,” sophomore Maria Izzi, tjSTAR committee member, said. “With attendance in particular, some classes tend to just not fill up a lot of times, so that’s what we’re really trying to combat this year.” Student attendance turned out to be the biggest issue with tjSTAR’s structure over the past years. “Last year, over 300 students dropped that we know of,” junior and tjSTAR committee member Rhoshini Raghuraman said. “We can’t really tell how many people dropped because attendance is not being taken. But we don’t want to enforce attendance, because that just makes the entire experience less enjoyable.”
IDEAS FOR REFORM The tjSTAR committee is currently working to come up with ways to make the experience more appealing to students. “tjSTAR is going under a reconstruction to make it better, and as it’s reached 10 years, we’ve decided it’s time to innovate and make it newer,” junior and tjSTAR committee member Hana Wong said. “We’re planning to advertise it more, and also have more events that students like.” Besides more advertising, many possible solutions regarding the event have been proposed by both tjSTAR committee
members and members of the Jefferson community. “We have been discussing quite a bit, both the student group and the teachers and administration,” Koji Otani, sponsor of the tjSTAR committee, said. “We don’t know what kind of changes to make, but we know we should be carrying out this event in a different way so there are a lot of lot of scenarios we’re talking about.” One such scenario that the committee has discussed was the possibility of hosting tjSTAR on a weekend. “We have a lot of different ideas on the floor right now,” Izzi said. “Some of them include different times of day, maybe on the weekend, stuff like that.” However, members have realized that there were shortcomings to this prospect – turnout in the overall event would decrease rather than increase. Other possible ideas regarding modifying the schedule of tjSTAR included having it take place after school or using half a school day instead of a full school day.
POSSIBLE STRUCTURAL CHANGES Revising the structure of the event itself to make it more enjoyable for students has been considered as well. “We’re trying to change just the overall vibe of tjSTAR,” Raghuraman said. “We don’t want it to be students just sitting in a classroom, just listening to boring presentations over and over again. [For example], IBET presentations are kind of redundant – I mean, they’re fine and all, but they’re just redundant.” The tjSTAR committee is looking to the community of teachers at Jefferson for suggestions on making the day more interesting. “We know that nobody wants to sit through PowerPoint presentation after presentation all day long; it’s not really a good way to enjoy learning,” Otani said. “So we sent a survey to math teachers, science teachers, administration, and the guidance department [about] what they would suggest.”
SCI-TECH || NOV 30, 2018 21 A few proposals have been presented concerning changes. tjSTAR committee members brainstormed ideas with the thought that interactive experiences would increase student participation. “We’re just playing around with a lot of ideas, [including] having a panel of scientists from different fields. So it’d be a very diverse panel – the students can go there; it could be in the auditorium or just in one of those big rooms,” Raghuraman said. “People could ask questions and learn more instead of just one person talking for 45 minutes straight.” Another possible idea was that of symposium-style presentations for both student presentations and guest speaker presentations. “Right now we also have this science fair idea going on,” Raghuraman said. “We want to make use of the commons areas we have; we want to really make it a more vibrant, an interactive experience, because we want to show off our stuff, right? Like, we want to show off what our students are doing. And we want to actually showcase that what the community is also doing, which is a huge aspect of tjSTAR.”
THE VALUE OF TJSTAR However, some have even suggested that Jefferson should discontinue tjSTAR as a whole. “Some teachers are saying that tjSTAR should end because it’s in that hectic week – SATs are coming up, AP tests, and people just want to ditch because they want to study for those,” Raghuraman said. “But we still want to keep that tradition going; it’s our culture.” In attempt to balance the needs of both students and teachers, tjSTAR committee members strive to resolve conflicts. “As with any reform, you’re gonna come across some problems – every time we want to change one aspect of tjSTAR, it ends up being something that a different group of the population doesn’t like,” Izzi said. “It’s hard to make everyone happy. That’s kind of our goal, really – to find a balance.” Izzi agrees that keeping tjSTAR is crucial to the community surrounding Jefferson as well. “tjSTAR was originally meant for presenting STEM related research that students at this school are doing to the community,” Izzi said. “As a school that specializes in STEM, it’s our responsibility to share that knowledge at least with other students in our community. That’s a huge aspect of tjSTAR.” Ultimately, it’s undeniable that tjSTAR is an integral part of Jefferson’s culture, serving as a liaison between student researchers and the community. “There are so many great things happening in our learning environment, and it’s our responsibility to share what’s going on in the community,” Otani said. “That’s the whole point of tjSTAR.” PHOTO // Tammy Ding
Breaking the
Glass
A look into female leadership in Congress
OPINION || NOV 30, 2018 23
LEAD EDITORIAL:
T
wo hundred twenty-seven female candidates for Congress and governor. One hundred and seven elected, with 85 in the House of Representatives and 23 in the Senate. Thirty-eight of them, women of color. The 2018 midterm elections surpassed the 19.4 percent women representation in the 115th Congress with a solid 23.6 percent. This rise in percentage shines light on the public’s morphing opinion of female leadership, whereby women in power are no longer an exception, but a norm. Built off the backbone of the contemporary feminist movement, the case for female representation in policy is a delayed reaction against male-dominated legislative bodies. Such reaction has become more prominent in the past few years, as President Donald Trump took office, the #MeToo movement rose in popularity, and the Brett Kavanaugh court hearings dominated media networks. The result was the last election, which propelled a record number of women to seats in political office. The impact of women in seats of authority surpasses the boundaries of institutional government and reaches the mentality of the growing generations. In assessing the diversity of today’s leaders, adolescents are growing comfortable with the idea that anyone, regardless of gender, can act on current policy to in‡uence public agenda. In this respect, the rise of female politicians has become an organic process, where gender representation is no longer a fight against the rules or a quota, but a continued struggle in changing the mindset of the American people. This changing mentality is met with a major setback, however. In breaking a threshold in female representation, the feminist movement may lose supporters who counter that feminism is no longer valid in an equal society. With the recent win for women in leadership in November and previous legislations, such as the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, the movement behind gender equality can dwindle in fervor. But gender disparity is still a disparity -- 50% of the people in the country are women while only 24% of Congress is female. The question lies now on the strength of the women’s fight back.
ILLUSTRATION // Samantha Yap
PHOTOS // Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, Concept Arts, LA, Amazon
SSSHHAK E E K A
Fair
REMAKES for
Why movie remakes serve an important purpose throughout the world Vikram Achuthan || STAFF WRITER
A
ds, promotional trailers, and posters for new and upcomining movies flood the internet, marking the nearing presence of the holiday season. This year is no different, and one of the most popular movies showing in theaters this month is “The Crimes of Grindelwald,” the sequel in the “Fantastic Beasts” series. The “Fantastic Beasts” series itself is a spin-off prequel of the famous “Harry Potter” series, which has collectively grossed over 8.5 billion dollars in box-office sales, making it one of the most popular film franchises of all time. This spin-off is just an example of the hundreds of movies that exist today that are altered, remade versions of the original film. The question is are these spin-offs and remakes really worth watching. Many movie viewers often scoff and grumble at the idea of a movie remake in production. The perception is that movie remakes ruin the original film by never living up to the high
expectations set by the original. However, remakes and spinoffs serve several important purposes. From the point of big movie studios like Disney and Warner Bros., remaking movies give them an opportunity to reach a new audience that might not have been around during the time the original movie was popular. Audiences judge whether to watch sequels or spin-offs based on the quality of the original movie; however, oftentimes the original movie is too outdated and unknown for audiences to have watched it and known about it. The “Star Wars” series is a prime example - the first three “Star Wars” movies were created in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the next six were almost all created in the 21st Century. With the latest installments of “Star Wars,” young viewers who previously would not have been interested in watching a movie from the 20th century, are now captivated by a fresh storyline and background. It is possible that viewers
OPINION || NOV 30, 2018 25
who watched the original “Star Wars” as teenagers and young adults might not be as fascinated by the new installments, but this doesn’t matter - Disney has already succeeded in reaching a new audience. Another reason movie remakes are becoming more popular is that movies themselves are becoming more popular. Entertainment studios are dealing with what they call a “global box-office,” which has brought upon the need for movies to satisfy audiences not just in the United States, but all over the world. According to Box Office Mojo, only 20 percent of box-office revenue from the original “Ghostbusters” movie, which hit screens in 1984, came from foreign viewers. In 2016, 40 percent of box-office sales from the “Ghostbusters” remake was comprised of foreign sales. This increase shows the enormous growing global demand for Hollywood movies. What better way to supply this need than to remake Hollywood classics that
have gained American recognition? One argument that critics of remakes and sequels present is that remakes will never be able to bring back the fond memories of the original movie. This is true, especially if the remake is poorly-made. However, a well-made remake or sequel is able to successfully use themes and references from the original movie and combine it with a fresh perspective designed for younger generations. Regardless of what critics of remakes say about them, the decision to watch a remake or sequel is a personal choice. Remakes are worth watching because they can create a nostalgic experience by reminding you of the first time you watched the original film. They can invoke a rush of memories of a different time in your life and the emotions you felt, both good and bad, about a particular scene. So give remakes a chance, and perhaps, you might end up being surprised.
ENTERTAINMENT || NOVEMBER 30, 2018
Bright Side on the
Students appreciate friends, family, and the Jefferson community this Thanksgiving
Shruthi Nyshadham || ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR
“I’m most thankful for my friends, because they always make my day better and can cheer me up even if they’re roasting me. I always look forward to meeting them, and I don’t know what I’d do without Amber Garcha, 10
“I think [Thanksgiving] just shows us what we appeciate: the things we’ve been given. TJ has provided me with so many opportunities that will help me in the future. We should think about our lives outside of just books and homework, and think about what we are really thankful for.” Hasita Nalluri, 9
“I’m thankful for some of the great teachers [I have], like Mr. Hill, who’s done a great job teaching Math 3. [If] you’re not always focused on the negative things, you can get a positive outlook on life that can help with managing stress.” Emerson Rodriguez, 10
“I’m thankful for my family and friends, for the support I get in anything I do. Just the community, not only at TJ, but in my neighborhood around my house, is really nice to have.” Pranav Wadhwa, 11
“I am thankful for my new friends that I have made in my short time at TJ. If one day I’m feeling down, I know just talking to my friends for a few minutes will make me feel better. They supported me when I was trying out for basketball by making me feel less nervous and encouraging me.” Erika Ramirez, 9
“I’m thankful for my [friend] Eeshma, because [she] make[s] me laugh and be happy. Just last week, I was really stressed because I had [multiple exams], but then Eeshma started singing, dancing and being silly, and it cheered me up.” Nitika Malhotra, 12
“Thanksgiving means I get to spend time with my family. My sister’s in college, so I miss her a lot. For her to come home and for us to be together means a lot.” David Luo, 11
“The people [are] really what make TJ. Without [them], it would just be a really hard school. I’m thankful for all the teachers that helped me in college application writing and being a presence.” Andrew Kim, 12
“I’m thankful for my friends and family more than ever this year, because it’s the last year I’ll be able to see [them] nearly everyday. Since I’ll be in college next year, [I] will mainly be communicating over call/text, so I’m grateful that I get to see them so often now.” Mishka Philizaire, 12
“I’m really thankful for my counselor and teachers making my transition into TJ go so smoothly. I’m a froshmore and it was really tough switching schools at first, but I had a lot of support from the staff and now I feel a lot more comfortable.” Sophia Troshynski, 10
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MUSIC
PHOTO // Lynn Nguyen REPORTING // Lynn Nguyen
AS PART OF LIFE
“
I used to love [piano] a lot. I practiced two to three hours a day, [but] coming into middle school [and TJ], I kind of lost interest because of time. IF YOU’VE DONE IT FOR LIKE OVER 10 YEARS, I FEEL LIKE IT JUST BECOMES LIKE A PART OF YOU.
She was always really involved with music, especially if I played a new piece. SHE WOULD ALWAYS LISTEN TO PROFESSIONALS PLAY IT and then SHE WOULD HELP ME PLAY IT LIKE THEM. Her input was really important for me to play well.
I liked piano because the music just gave you an avenue to express your emotions, so IT WAS A WAY FOR ME TO LIKE EXPRESS MYSELF. You don’t really get that anywhere else because YOU CAN PUT YOUR HEART INTO THE MUSIC.
”
FRESHMAN
NATHAN MO || WHAT I VE LEARNED