Uncaged April - June 2023

Hey Free Birds!

It’s almost the end of the year, which means this is the last magazine for the 2022-2023 school year! We hope you enjoy what our staff has put together, and we would like to congratulate you for finishing this school year!

Freshmen, we hope you’ve enjoyed your first year of high school! Sophomores, get ready for junior year! You’re going to have a great time next year. To the juniors, junior year is finally over! Make sure to savor every moment, because high school will be over in the blink of an eye. We can’t wait to see you all again during the next school year!

Finally, to the class of 23, you’ve had an interesting high school year, but it’s finally over! We want to wish you all the best for any of your future plans, and can’t wait to see what you all accomplish now that you are graduating.

We hope you enjoy the last magazine of the school year. Make sure to also check out our website, uncagedfhs.org, for the latest stories and broadcast archives!

Adviser

Dana Baker

STAFF the from the editors

Editor-in-Chief

Pratha Ravani

Managing Editor

Michael Baker III

Online Editor

Addy Welz

Photo Editor

Jackie Buktaw

Design Editor

Hazel Nguyen

News Editor

Jackie Buktaw

Features Editor

Hazel Nguyen

Culture Editor

Addy Welz

Opinions Editor

Pratha Ravani

Sports Editors

Pratha Ravani

Staff Writers

Amelia Lee

Amogha Chetla

Charlie Laiacona

Gunnar Baker

Hannah Joo

Hannah Laywell

Henry Kim

Hope Nguyen

Jackson Franzen

Keira McDowell

Mahi Parikh

Rachael Phillips

Megan Inscoe

Nashawn Stewart

Olivia Johnson

Sadie Porter

Sophia Azam

Sunny Panthangi

Zayna Jamil

Uncaged is the newsmagazine of Freedom High School. The attitudes, opinions, views, and ideas expressed in Uncaged do not necessarily reflect those of this staff, the faculty adviser, Freedom High School, or the Loudoun County Public School system. Uncaged follows the county and state guidelines established for student high school publications, and disclaims any liability with respect thereto the use or reliance on any such information contained in this publication. The Uncaged staff welcomes contributions and encourages the expression of students, faculty, staff, and members of the Freedom High School community.

Cover Photos taken by Michael Baker III

Photos Provided by Nicole Burch, Allison Burch, Chloe Collins Om Parbadia and Ella Walters

Cover Designed By Pratha Ravani

“

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom.

Students Voice Their Opinions on Advisory

Every Freedom High school student is assigned an advisory for their high school career where they collaborate with their peers and learn life lessons from their instructors. However, FHS students have a variety of opinions on whether or not they believe advisory is helpful or not.

“I think that the goal of advisory is to help students connect meaningfully with their peers while also creating another safe environment for each student,” said senior Simone Rao.

During each advisory class, students are taught about a range of lessons by their instructors, with a major emphasis on mental health. However, they are also taught about major things such as cultural holidays, the importance of being an honorable student and other school related topics. Sometimes there are also interactive activities where students can collaborate with their peers, like trivia.

“In my classroom, a lot of these lessons on mental health are conveyed through short lectures, so sometimes the best way to participate is to simply listen with an open mind and avoid causing distractions,” said sophomore Shehab Salem.

Many lessons can appear very similar, causing students to feel as if they are continually learning the same material. The lessons also provide a large overview of the topic, but do not go very much in-depth. This may make it difficult for students to gain much from these lessons.

“The topics of the advisory lessons can be very repetitive as, in my personal experience, the same topics come up each year and are taught extremely similarly,” Rao said.

Many students grow bored as the lessons continue to repeat. Some teachers enforce strict policies requiring students to participate and be attentive during advisory. This includes

“no-phone” or homework policies, annoying and frustrating many students view advisory as a class to relax in.

“Allowing the students more freedom in advisory rather than forcing a lesson on them will make advisory a lot more relaxing for the students simply looking to take a small break before their next block,” Salem said.

Before the pandemic occurred in 2020, Freedom High School structured advisory differently. On Tuesday, the teachers would teach the advisory lessons, and on Friday it was treated as a study hall where students can interact with their friends or participate in clubs. When students came back to school during 2021, FHS altered the structure so that both days there would be lessons, as well as morning announcements and broadcast on Friday.

“I enjoy the more interactive lessons [how it is now] because they are more engaging. However, I did like

how the second advisory of the week was always a study hall when I was a freshman. It gave me time not only to catch up on my work but also to connect with my peers in a more sociable manner,” Rao said.

FHS freshman also experienced a change in how advisory is done, as it is structured differently at J. Michael Lunsford. At JML, advisory is before the first block everyday and focused on doing more interactive activities rather than lessons.

“Advisory in middle school was definitely made to be more about having fun than learning. We did more charity stuff in middle school than we do now,” said freshman Bailey Clark.

While FHS freshmen experienced a change in how advisory is structured, high school advisory allows them to meet new students who they can develop bonds with and learn valuable lessons that will benefit them throughout their life.

[Story by Amelia Lee]

Photo by Amelia Lee Mr Devitt’s sophomore advisory class work on other assignments during advisory.

Students and Teachers Discuss Class Sizes

[Story by Sophia Azam]

Students have many different opinions on class size and how it can affect them. Some students prefer bigger classrooms, while others prefer smaller classrooms. Many students have mixed opinions on which classroom size they prefer.

“I like bigger classrooms because smaller classrooms make it feel kind of cramped,” said junior Nuri Han.

Many students prefer bigger classrooms over smaller classrooms because of feeling cramped. On the other hand, some students enjoy smaller classrooms better.

“I prefer smaller classrooms because the bigger the classrooms, the more kids, and the more kids can be intimidating,” said freshman Ahanaa Kumar.

Even though both classes’ sizes are well-liked, they can both have benefits and downsides.

Bigger classrooms can have several benefits.

“Some pros of a bigger classroom would be the opportunity to meet and work with new people often for group projects,” said Han.

Students like being a part of a larger group in bigger classrooms.

“[The pro is] a bigger community,” said freshman Alicia Aldea.

Bigger classrooms not only have benefits but have cons.

“A con is that more people can be distractions for some individuals,” Kumar said.

Many students think being in a more extensive classroom will lead to more distractions, especially since many students have trouble focusing.

Students also feel smaller classrooms can have multiple pros.

“The pros of a smaller classroom is that some people like me prefer a small space with less people,” Kumar said.

Smaller classrooms can as well have cons.

“Some cons of a small class would be that the classroom environment might be a little dry if most of the stu-

dents aren’t talkative,” Han said. Students fear having peers in their smaller classrooms who do not like socializing, which can also affect how well students know their classmates.

“I know my classmates pretty well but not that much when it comes to their personality,” Kumar said. Most students are not close to their classmates but know a few facts about them.

“I know a lot of people in my classes, not super well, but I know a few basic things about them,” said Han.

Countless students agree that class size can affect how they get to know their classmates. Most students concur that getting to know their classmates in smaller classrooms is easier.

“I feel like it would be easier to get to know my classmates in smaller classes because we would be forced to interact, but I think that also depends on how well we get along,” said Han.

Class size can affect many aspects of school, but students agree that class size does not affect how well they learn materials in certain subjects.

“If we are only talking about me, then it doesn’t really matter to me, but it can differ depending on how others prefer their work environment,” said Kumar.

Since most teachers upload as-

signments online, students can always back them, so it does not affect the class size.

“Class size doesn’t really affect how I learn the materials since most of them are uploaded online for viewing later. I do wish that sometimes the class would slow down or speed up, though,” said Han.

Teachers do not think that class size can affect their teaching ability.

“I think it depends on how disciplined the students are,” said Mamatha Kandukuri, science teacher. Numerous students can concur that the ideal class size should be no more than 20 students.

Other students think that even 20 students are extreme.

“I think the ideal class size would be somewhere around 15 people,” said Han.

Teachers also have views on the perfect class size. They believe that the class size should be less than 25 students.

“If the Class size is less than 25 for schools’ systems, it’s better to organize and give Instruction/Lab/Activity,” said Kandukuri.

Both students and teachers have very distinct views on class size and how it can affect them in their school life.

Photo by Michael Baker III

Mrs Lewis-Osborne’s AP Government class has fewer people since seniors went on Capstone.

Beauty Standards Continue In Today’s Society

[Story by Hope Nguyen]

Beauty standards are an unconscious, but nevertheless, real thing that people deal with on a daily basis. According to Manifoldapp.org, beauty standards determine “what is beautiful, from body shape, to facial proportions, to height and weight.”

Standards of beauty have existed all throughout human history, the only difference is they change every century or so. Manifoldapp.org claims they, “affect people’s everyday interactions, the media, and the commercial world.”

In the most common form, beauty standards are a complex social process that are perpetuated through many forms of social status.

There are little explanations for why they exist, but many theories range from evolution, racism, to social media. Cultural or social standards also affect beauty standards, as they vary based on where people are born. The Universality of Attractiveness Judgements claims that across cultures and within them, most people agree on who is objectively attractive at least. This does not take into account historical events such as colonialism, which have impacted the world’s perception of beauty since way back.

“I do feel like pretty privilege is real because if one is more pretty they get more opportunities based on their appearance,” said junior Sahej Dhillon.“Not only just opportunities but they will attract more attention and hold more status of themselves anywhere based on their looks by making networks and successful careers.”

“Pretty privilege is definitely a real thing in our society,” said senior Khalid Moosa. “It’s been engraved in our society and is constantly shoved in our face through social media and other

media we consume. People that are closer to the beauty standard are often associated with fame, fortune, and being treated better. We are inclined as humans to favor people who we think are attractive.”

Matthew Ablaza, a senior said, “For most people, pretty privilege is not a real thing because what society deems pretty is not only subjective, but is a goal that can be reasonably reached.”

“Society operates on the fact in which people are more attractive and meet societal beauty standards that have a lot of advantages and opportunities compared to people who are less attractive and not noticeable,” said junior Harkirat Dhillon.

According to Firstrand.co, Pretty Privilege is, “the association of beauty with talent, intelligence, social success, and health.” Firstrand claims it may start, “as early as pre-school, where cuter kids get more attention from their teachers and are expected to do well. With that attention come better grades, more confidence, and greater comfort with public display.”

“I do think people treat others differently based on their looks because [their] first impression is first judge as well,” Sahej Dhillon said. “If someone really attractive ends up approaching people it will make the person look more friendly or even confident in ways where they have more opportunities to see the world rather than someone less attractive. People won’t really want them as they’ve been rejected in other stages of life where they’re already sad about them not meeting the beauty standards. It’s mainly about the brain and pre existing beliefs.”

In 2021, TikTok user @whygz asked people to share stories about the first time they realized people thought

they were ugly, which spurred a trend where people shared stories on when they realized people thought they were unattractive. The trend spawned conversations where people discussed the reality of living in a world where people thought they were ugly, and how they were treated because of it. Many pointed out that people don’t respect those who are ugly or treat them with kindness or give them the time of day.

“People do treat others differently based on their looks. Someone would be naturally biased towards someone who they find attractive versus someone who they don’t find attractive,” Ablaza said. “This is clearly shown in the dating field but can also affect things like careers. Looks are one the most important factors in making a first impression and people will naturally judge others based on looks.”

Looks are seen as important because they are the cause of first impressions. Whenever a person meets someone, the person will judge them based on their looks first and character last. The American Psychological Association claims, “how you look and act can matter as much as your ideas.”

Harkirat Dhillon said, “It’s just morally wrong to hate on someone who might not seem attractive and like how a lot of people say it depends on what type of ugly you are. Being treated differently based on looks isn’t easy and it makes others feel insecure about how they look and how they can match up to a standard of being physically attractive.”

“I think people make a lot of assumptions about what somebody is like based on their looks. Seeing someone who’s bigger, darker, or even if they dress a certain way really makes people fall to stereotypes and they

might not always be accurate,” Moosa said. “This doesn’t just apply to negative interactions. People might think that someone is more smart or qualified by the way they look or dress.”

There is also the issue of feminine products being given a pink tax, according to the Senate’s Joint Economics Committee. Pink tax is when feminine products are more expensive than men’s products even if they are exactly the same solely based on the fact the item is sold to women. Many women have started bringing up the sexism involved when it comes to beauty standards, having pretty privilege, and how they mainly target women.

“Women and men are both affected an equal amount, but the ways that beauty standards target women are a lot more blatant and in your face. There are countless magazines, models, and many other sources that all promote a perfect woman. A woman cannot go anywhere without some product or media telling her that she could look better, be slimmer, or act a certain way,” Moosa said.

On social media platforms like Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube, many women have started calling out unfair stereotypes and the struggles they go through, such as people judging or hating them based on their fashion choices, or even what color they like.

Ablaza disagreed. “I think that men are actually more affected by beauty standards and some men actually do have privilege over others. One example is height, which is a characteristic that is mostly based on genetics. Generally, taller men are considered more attractive than someone who is short,” Ablaza said. “This would be an example of actual pretty privilege. There are also other factors that make me think men are more affected by beauty standards than women. A major factor is one’s physique. If you’re overweight or obese, you will have a significantly more difficult time.”

A common example of the sexism men face when it comes to societal standards of beauty are height, which many point out is something they can’t control. Although both men and women have faced fatphobia based on their weight, many men online point out it is less socially acceptable

to make fun of or point out a girl’s weight whereas it is not the same for men.

“Of course women are affected by beauty standards more than men because they are the face of everything. Everywhere you go it’s more of women’s looks and bodies which you will see on the runway, marketing advertisements, brands, etc. Women do face lots of pressure when it comes to the ideal beauty level and to look good for women is more essential to being feminine than to being masculine,” said Harkirat Dhillon. “They are exposed to more social situations and to match the stereotype of being feminine is hard because you won’t always feel good even if you are pretty. Even though girls are more likely to be dissatisfied with their appearance, yet they are the ones which MOST pay attention to how they look because making them feel any uglier makes them insecure. Society expects a lot of women to be the most perfect girl with an ideal body type and a specific type of face. Compared to men, they can’t just put makeup on their face to make them feel better but have to live with what they are made of.”

Every year, tons of women go through plastic surgery to fit in with beauty standards, much more than men on average. The American Society For Aesthetic Plastic Surgery stated, “women accounted for 89.7% of all surgical and 90.6% of all nonsurgical cosmetic procedures.”

This does not include medical surgery but cosmetic surgeries. Currently the trend on Tiktok that mainly targets women is the buccal fat removal, to thin the cheeks on a person’s face. Today.com shared that buccal fat removal, “increased by nearly 70% in 2021.”

Many students shared who they feel are more affected by beauty standards.

“I do strongly believe that women are more directly affected by beauty standards than men because women have makeup which can change their appearance real fast but men don’t so if a man is ugly he’s ugly or if he’s attractive then he is. Plus women’s ideal faces and bodies in the media are more essential in western society to men. Women also seem to be more

insecure of themselves where they would have plastic surgery done to attract the other gender, but men’s beauty standards are mainly on their gym bodies because they spend more time there but both women and men can be effected as it leads to health issues where they try hard to reach the standard,” said Sahej Dhillon.

Another discussion on the topic of beauty standards is how they differ throughout the world. In the west, in the context of the United States, there’s a common trend with people online believing white people are more attractive.

Moosa said, “There is a big focus on western beauty standards in today’s society. More ethnic features are often seen as weird or even ugly. This is most shown in beauty products that come out that promote lighter skin or surgeries such as double eyelid surgery.”

Moosa also feels like fetishism is something that is prevalent in our society today.

“Fetishism is also a big force that affects beauty standards,” said Moosa. “Most recently, Asian features have been seen as attractive and people from other cultures try to copy ethnic features to look like them. This is very problematic because it reinforces stereotypes and promotes cultural appropriation.”

Harkirat Dhillon said, “Inadvertent racism has been perpetuated in beauty standards and will continue especially because of skin color. Before all you saw was mainly all fair skin girls, mostly blondes advertising for brands but as there’s a more diverse variety of artists, as other colors are also being brought in. There were so many racist practices in the cosmetic industry [with] which white women have always been the primary market for the mainstream. Ever since racism became a big conflict it was always the whites which were the number one loved and the others were too blind to be seen why it was wrong. Every race is beautiful and has its own features whether that’s sharp eyes like South Asian girls or light colored eyes from European girls.”

Many black, brown and Asian girls are beginning to bring attention to the

issue of how lighter toned people have more opportunity and are the faces of the western world, how it simplifies more of what makes someone attractive because of long seen racism throughout the years.

“If you look at many people from a race they all tend to maybe look similar and dress similar or even have similar makeup routines, it comes more of someone’s type as they find those people more attractive from a particular race,” said Sahej Dhillon. “Even the color of the skin tone can change this because according to studies people find more pale or light skin people attractive than dark skin because of how colorism around the beauty world is treated.”

Moosa said, “History has had a very big impact on global beauty standards. The most notable example is the effects of colonization and the rise of colorism. Most colonized nations have skin that is darker or different than the mostly caucasian colonizing countries. The beauty standards of those countries were changed to reflect the thinking of the colonizers. Skin that was lighter was considered beautiful, while ethnic dark skin was the opposite. “

Studies have shown that not fitting into beauty standards can have a massive impact on people’s self esteem, sense of self worth or self image. Psychreg.org reported, “those who are less physically attractive tend to have lower self-esteem and confidence than those who are more physically attractive.”

“I’m personally affected by beauty standards in my life. the way other people find a specific target group of people [more] attractive even if it’s the same makeup routine [as me] or how they look,” said Sahej Dhillon. “Plus since the beauty standards have risen so much to how an attractive girl looks [it] makes you feel more insecure. Personally there’s many ways on how a girl can be pretty but seeing other people on social media who are more attractive makes me feel less confident and like I need to look like this to match the standards so I can feel and be more pretty to others.”

“Coming from an immigrant back-

ground, especially an Indian one, I was affected by a variety of different standards,” said Moosa. “I was darker than all my friends, but my skin was considered beautiful to other Indian people. I was too fat to meet western standards, but considered alright by indian standards. Being a male also has its own standards that affect me. Some clothes which I really like are considered weird or even send out the wrong signals, even though they’re just clothes.”

The internet and mainly the media may be a considerable factor to blame for these standards of beauty that are thrust upon the common public. Many don’t know what to do to combat it. It has proven according to Forbes. com that, “social media use is linked to greater feelings of social isolation.”

“We are constantly being bombarded with perfect people living extravagant lifestyles, and this is made worse by advertisements which make people feel worse about themselves,”

Moosa said.

The rise in popularity of body neutrality or body positivity movements have started to combat these standards by showing others it is okay to accept your body as it is, and even be content with it. The New York Times defines it as, “the ability to accept and respect your body even if it isn’t the way you’d prefer it to be.”

“I think that learning to accept your body is key to having a healthy mindset. For those of us with features that come from our heritage, we should not compare them to western standards and realize that our unique features are beautiful and should not be hidden or changed,” said Moosa.

Although beauty standards still exist throughout the world, with ongoing awareness and social changes, people might begin to accept different types of beauty and that less pressure to achieve different standards will become the norm.

Students battle between Confidence Vs. Overconfidence

[Story by Addy Welz]

There is a line between confidence and overconfidence. Being seen as confident and being seen as overconfident can greatly change the way that the people treat a person.

“I think confidence is where you have a positive, proud feeling about yourself and your actions. I think you have strength and you have comfort in what you’re portraying to the world right, there’s no doubt at all,” said English teacher Amelia Speirs. “However, there’s still room for like other suggestions or outside voices, you’re not being stubborn you just you believe this. You have your sense of why you believe it, but you’re still open to other ideas.”

Confidence can be as easy as a person being comfortable in their own skin and having their own set of morals and beliefs while still being open to new ideas.

Confidence can also be affected by the people that a person surrounds themselves with. Oftentimes, people are more comfortable talking and sharing their ideas when they are in a group of people that they feel safe with.

Having a good environment can create better relationships and give a person the positive boost that they need to be successful.

However overconfidence starts a whole new problem.

“I believe overconfidence is when an individual or group goes into a situation assuming the outcome or assuming their own abilities compared

to their opponents, whether better or worse,” PE teacher Michele Gibbons said.

Overconfidence relates to a whole new problem of people thinking that they are always right. When people think that they are always right it causes problems with them not being open to listening to new ideas.

“I think overconfidence can be dangerous because it can lead to sort of ignorance, especially when it comes to other people’s feelings and ideas,” said Speirs.

Overconfidence can oftentimes start issues on how people perceive them.

“When I see overconfident classmates it makes me see them as being self confident. There can be certain situations where it can affect the work being done,” said Junior Gracie Ty.

It is oftentimes a big question on why people choose to be overconfident.

“I think people act overconfident because they’re scared of looking. Dumb, for lack of better words. I think people are scared of what other people think of them. So I think they think of cockiness, overconfidence, almost arrogance, in a way, as a way of hiding behind the self doubt and a lot of the anxiety they may feel in a situation” Speirs said.

“I think people act overconfident to be more positive and to hide nerves or doubt,” Ty said.

Although there is not one reason for why people act overconfident it does change the way that people act and perceive each other.

School Culture Guides Student Experiences

[Story by Zayna Jamil]

For many students, finding community at school can be a difficult process, especially when certain circumstances affect their ability to feel a sense of belonging.

At times, there can be tight-knit groups within school, but also largely diverse groups; students seek ways to be associated with either of these groups to fit in. Social/cultural indicators are also aspects of school that create culture, something in which every school embodies.

At schools, specifically Freedom High School, students are a diverse group, in which many cultures and ethnicities clash together and form their friend groups whether that’s through extracurricular activities, classes or mutual friendships. However, how students find these groups can vary from who a person is and their background.

“I’ve had multiple new students come from other communities where maybe they see people that look like them, and come into Freedom High School where we’re incredibly diverse, but for certain groups within the school, the numbers are low,” said Darlene Adu Gyamfi, FHS counselor.

A lot of students feel a sense of belonging through their own cultural groups based on their religion or ethnicity. An important reason why students find it difficult seeking a community at school is because, a

lot of times, diversity they see is not prevalent in their own community. This can lead to students with specific backgrounds losing that binding connection with others, feeling as if their own voices aren’t heard.

Some students may feel more comfortable associating themselves with those who share similar customs and traditions as them and some may be open to experiencing connections through the sharing of differences in ways of life. These factors depend on each person and their way of navigating through the school’s social phenomenon.

“Students feel a domino effect coming from an environment where they’re surrounded by people who feel like them, look like them or share similar experiences with them and then come into a new environment where there’s not a lot of that,” Adu-Gyamfi said.

For those students who struggle to find community or feel like they don’t apply to the general “norm” of a school, extracurriculars and other aspects of school besides classes have positively impacted their social life at FHS. Through their passions and interests, students still find ways to connect with other students who differ from them. Culture is usually not the only form of belonging for students, especially in a school where many students have various beliefs and have grown up with different experiences.

“FHS is home to an almost absurd amount of communities that people

can join,” said senior Yohaness Berhe. “Clubs for people with similar interests or backgrounds, honor societies for our more scholarly students and sports teams that come together to achieve their goals.

Through the many student-centered clubs at FHS, students have found the strongest communities that best suit their interests. Cultural, business, humanities, sciences, academic and game clubs have been a resource that strengthens their ability in confidence to make friends.

Some students even think that FHS should take the initiative to better its ways of creating student community at school through better get-to-knowyou activities or club fairs. This would make students who are new or who are trying to seek community more comfortable and at pace when the school year begins.

“In the beginning of the school year, we could do more mixers with our grades,” said sophomore Tara Bhogaraju. “Instead of icebreakers that nobody really enjoys, implement more activities that could join people together and get to know each other in a more fun and modern way.”

Although students may struggle with finding a place at FHS due to many reasons such as cultural differences, self-esteem and being a new student to the school, opportunities and experiences await the youth every year of high school, and students make the first choice to start that new journey in their high school careers.

Students Share How Early They Plan for College

College is one of the most important things to many students, especially Freedom students who believe it to be a foundational step to a successful career. This begs the question on how early Freedom students begin to think about and prepare for college, if they contemplate this throughout their whole childhood or wait until they finish high school. Then, this also brings into question whether college truly aligns with student goals, or is there an underlying pressure to pursue a college education.

“I never think about it much,” said Freshman Denize Hazarati.

However, other students think differently about college planning.

“It’s reasonable to think about it now but not seriously,” said Sophomore Dahong Kim.

These responses from younger students align with their lower interest to think about college because of how far away it is for them. Younger students don’t need to focus on their future too much, but for older students, adulthood is right around the corner. These looming thoughts about college and the future could greatly affect the psyche of these older students.

Thinking about college can be stressful but others are more reassured.

”I’m pretty confident about my future,” said Junior Luna Barker.

On the other hand, others believe the stress can be overwhelming when balancing other activities.

“It’s stressful preparing for college and keeping up your grades,” said Senior Libby Donahoe.

Many students are worried about certain aspects of college and their future. In general, this stress may poten-

tially affect their mental health. Some may even believe that their amount of college preparation may hurt their chances toward a better college.

“Only people who are striving for a lot. Like, if you don’t care what college you go to then all you need to do is keep your grades up but working towards a big school is gonna take a lot of effort and will cause more stress,” said Barker.

Some older students purposely don’t think about college very often to avoid the stress and mental strain it will cause them.

“Some of [my friends] talk about it but not very many,” said Barker.

High school students usually think about college only when necessary. This is because of their many responsibilities and growing stress of preparing for their future.

[Story by Jackson Franzen and Hazel Nguyen]

CGI: An Innovative Technology

When watching an action or science fiction movie, it can be expected that CGI is being used to simulate the amazing visuals that everyone is watching on their screen. CGI stands for computer-generated imagery.

In 2009, James Cameron’s Avatar was one of the first movies to be digitally shot and go on to be majorly successful in the box office. The widespread use of realistic CGI paired with recent technological advancements was revolutionary.

Ryan Brown is an art student at Freedom High School that has a particular interest in CGI films.

“Avatar is beautiful. And that’s why I like the CGI in Avatar because it takes things that would be literally impossible to create physically, and then transfers it. Especially with the motion detection for the creatures themselves,” said Brown about the use of CGI in Avatar and how it aided to the development of the story itself.

“It was so good. It’s crazy how they do that. How they can just completely transform people into a whole other thing and it’s so beautiful,” said Becca Laub, a sophomore at FHS.

CGI has improved throughout the years, from animation to fantasy movies. However, now, CGI is sometimes used when not needed or just done poorly, in general. Cats was a movie that was released in 2019 that is notoriously recognized for the poor, rushed CGI of hybrid cat-humans. When CGI is used incorrectly or badly then some-

times the credibility of the film can be tarnished.

Brown brings up Thor: Love and Thunder because of the “terrible” CGI effects in the movie regarding the specific hologram scene.

“The whole Marvel Cinematic Universe is definitely one of the most popular. And I feel like that’s a good example of having it devolving over time. Because I really, really liked early MCU movies, but then, by the time endgame rolls around, I feel like if you look up the behind the scenes footage of that. It’s kind of soulless, with a lot of green screens.” said Brown about how CGI can even affect actors in some ways.

Many different techniques are used to perfect the special effects in science fiction, action, and fantasy movies. The most common way that CGI is seen in films is the input of CGI generated images into raw footage of actors. In Jurassic World, all of the dinosaurs were CGI generated while the humans acting were still completely real.

Another set technique that is utilized in movies is stagecraft. Stage craft is a virtual production visual effects technology that uses a huge LED screen to feign the background of the movie so that actors can immerse

themselves more into their characters.

“Something that I liked that’s been implemented recently is the use of stagecraft. Which is like a holographic set design piece. So the show, The Mandalori-

an kind of pioneered it and then a bunch of movies have used it since,” said Brown when prompted about his favorite CGI technique.

Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, and Avengers: Endgame were few favorite CGI-revolving movies by Laub and Brown. All of these movies use CGI to further the story, but there are many instances where CGI was not needed or just not done well.

“I think that it’s really cool when it’s done right. I feel like it’s really difficult. It’s a very difficult thing to use with editing. And so when it is achieved, it’s really cool but then if it’s not, it looks weird. Faces are really hard,” said Laub.

CGI will continue to be revolutionary in the future. Further improvements and innovations will be used to create beautiful landscapes and worlds that watchers everywhere can sit down

[Story by Amogha Chetla]

Standardized Testing Does Not Show Intelligence

[Story by Megan Inscoe and Hazel Nguyen]

Standardized testing originated in the mid-1800s and has been a vital part of education since. The topic of whether or not standardized testing should still be used in schools has sparked controversy, because many people have mixed feelings on whether standardized testing actually shows the intelligence of a student or not. Some students favor standardized testing, stereotypically the ones who are good test takers. However, many students who prefer other forms of tests tend to struggle with memorization. There are many reasons for both sides of the argument over whether standardized testing should still be used in classrooms.

Many people don’t think standardized testing is the right way to judge someone’s general knowledge of a topic/subject. A huge reason for this is because some people perceive standardized testing to be a way to test one’s ability of memorization, not how much someone actually knows of the subject.

“Standardized tests are not accurate measures of students’ intelligence since they require more of the ability to memorize simple information than they require the ability to problem solve and learn,”said junior Kaylee Parker.

Other grade levels also believe that standardized testing is more about memorization than measuring a students’ academic ability.

“I don’t think that standardized testing is useful because it does not necessarily show a students intelligence, it simply shows more of a students ability to memorize rather than understand,” said freshman Tanvi Bheemanakunta.

Students believe that standardized testing can be replaced with other

more accurate forms of testing, since this type of testing can mess with their mental health by giving them a lot of stress and anxiety. Some students have a harder time studying and paying attention while learning material. Standardized tests can stress people out so much because they are put under pressure. Some students experience studying for hours on end and still facing immense anxiety while testing.

“I think that standardized testing does have an effect on your mental health because it can cause someone to stress over something that does not necessarily define their intelligence,” Bheemanakunta said.

Parker thinks because of the mental toll standardized tests can have on someone they should be replaced with an alternative.

“Standardized tests should be replaced with tests/projects that use more open ended questions or issues, so that students can show the information they know without being judged on whether or not they know obscure facts,” Parker said.

Colleen Hilliker, who’s been teaching art for 13 years and is teaching Art 1, Art 3, Photography and Drawing & Painting this year, said, “Sure, I think there are some subjects that students should have a basic understanding of but I don’t know if it’s imperative that all students take an exam on something that they may not utilize in the future. For example, if I were to take an Algebra 1 SOL today, I am pretty sure I would not pass. But ask

me about artists and the time periods they worked and how their art was representational of that time. Ask me how the ISO can affect the aperture or shutter speed needed to take a well exposed photograph. Because I don’t know what √27x9y3z6 written in the simplest radical form is, does that mean I’m not intelligent and can’t be successful?”

Other students like standardized testing and think it’s a fair way to judge someone’s intelligence. Also, the familiarity, since it’s been used for many years, is another reason people think the public school system should keep it. Standardized testing can be good for those who do well under pressure and remember the material really well. It’s also much easier for those with a bunch of time on their hands, like students who don’t do an after school activity or ones who go to study groups.

“I do slightly like standardized testing because it helps me understand my level of general knowledge,” said sophomore Calyna Chen. “Studying for standardized tests might have helped me with studying for other tests but overall the content is different so it doesn’t help too much.”

Hilliker adds, “I can see how it would be beneficial for teachers to get an idea of where their students are struggling or excelling with the content. They can then use that information to alter lesson plans and pacing.”

The debate regarding standardized testing will continue for a very long time. While the people who like standardized testing want to keep things the way they are. Others, who are against this kind of testing, want to change the way our intelligence is measured. Students will never come to a full agreement. In the future, the way students take tests may change, if enough people support changing the test taking process. For now, students will take standardized tests like they always have.

Seniors Considering Different Types of Colleges

[Story by Nashawn Stewart]

As quarter four sets the reality for many seniors that college is coming sooner than they think. Some students have chosen a university on their path while others have chosen community college. Students will explain their choice between community college and university and their reasons for choosing it. For some students community college is the more budget friendly option, or for those who wish to be close to home. For other students however, they would prefer the university experience or would like to explore or move back to their home state. Whatever the reason, both college experiences have their share of pros and cons and each has their own unique ones.

Starting with the differences of going to a university, the biggest advantage is arguably the fact that it offers the most independence. While that comes with many of its own possible disadvantages, it still gives you the ability to deal with your problems on your own. Going with the old saying, “stress builds character,” dealing with the hardships of college on one’s own will build a sense of responsibility. Considering the fact that the first year of university comes with many challenges. Some of these challenges include not being able to have a car during your freshman year, which makes travel hard if you don’t happen to have a dorm. Another potential disadvantage is the possibility of having to stay in freshman dorms. Yet despite this, these are first year challenges that, if anything, add to the college experience. From sophomore year onward, university generally gets easier once you begin to establish a routine.

Going to an in-state college has some benefits such as being able to live at home or on campus. But regardless, making a four year commitment to a college can come with many doubts, such as university not meeting your expectations. Senior

Ryan Tuck-

er talks about his choice on going to university.

“I’m going to Old Dominion University. I’m not really nervous to start college, I’m actually excited for it,” Tucker said. “I’m going to be living on campus for university, so the only thing I’m sort of nervous about now is being in a dorm as a freshman.”

Some universities have a special meaning for some students such as having family members that have attended or because of certain programs that they offer. For other students they want to accomplish a goal or complete a bucket list by the time they graduate University.

“I mainly chose ODU because it was just a college I really wanted to go to, as for my expectations I’m just hoping for a lot more freedom,” Tucker said.

Now to begin the benefits and drawbacks of going to a community college over a university. For many people going to community college, they have chosen to do so to be closer to the family, or so they can finish their general ed for cheaper first. Students choosing to attend a public college often don’t have to deal with hassles such as living on campus and deal with certain financial trouble on their own. Also the general ed at a public four year college is much cheaper than a private university, and not to mention easier in some cases.

Senior Koichi Seto discusses whether he wants to attend a community college or university, as well as his expectations for his choice.

“I am attending NOVA, a community college, because it allows me to save more money than if I had gone to a four year university,” Koichi said.

“ I don’t really have any expectations right now other than a bigger workload, but I’m going in with an open mind, but I am excited to be able to learn what interests me.”

Many students choose to attend community college for financial reasons and their many bachelor programs, but going to NOVA has the benefit of automatic acceptance into most Virginia universities. However some people also go to NOVA for one year to complete their general ed classes and then move to their preferred university.

“I plan on getting a bachelor’s degree at NOVA. After attending NOVA, I want to get a degree in computer science. I hope to land an internship at a tech job by the time I’m finished with NOVA, “said Koichi. “I also feel that taking my general ed at a community college will be easier than at a university,” said Koichi.

After hearing other students’ choices on why they chose what college they’re attending, students believe there are pros and cons to community colleges and universities. On one hand you get to save more money and have the option of going to a nearby campus or taking classes from home. On the other hand, the university experience and a lot more freedom.

Freedom Considers if Mandating Langauge Courses is Important

[Story by Rachael Phillips and Hazel Nguyen]

Language is the method of communication that is used whether with words, writing or gestures. As a society, language is essential in our daily lives. Although, there’s still the debate of whether or not knowing another language is essential in our daily lives.

Starting in seventh grade, taking a language course is mandatory throughout middle school in LCPS. Loudoun County Public Schools offers courses such as French, German, Latin and Spanish. In addition, high school students have the option of taking sign language. However, once students get to high school, taking a language class is no longer mandatory.

Due to this, a lot of students choose to opt out of their language courses once entering ninth grade, believing that languages are not necessary anymore.

“I don’t think students need to take languages all throughout high school, but I do think that there should be a language requirement,” said junior Anna Caron.

Although not everyone agrees with the language requirement, students believe that having the knowledge

of another language can be useful to real-world communication skills and learning about different cultures.

FHS Junior Caitin Wagner said, “Language is essential because it can expand your communication with others in parts of the world.”

According to a 2019 report by the U.S. Census Bureau, it is estimated that almost 70 million Americans speak a language other than English. That is 1 in 5 people in the US. Not only does this apply in the United States, but around the world as well. Around 75% of the world’s population doesn’t communicate using English.

Whether it’s a trip around the world or a quick trip to the grocery store, chances are there are people all around who speak a completely separate language than just being monolingual.

In addition to knowing languages to communicate with the world around you, some believe that languages can help improve your chances of getting a job or getting into a top college.

“Knowing a second language can open opportunities for success in all life situations,” said Frederick Reed, Spanish teacher.

While most schools only require or look for two years of a language, some

top schools such as NYU and Brown University look for students who have taken three to four years of a language course. Many colleges have stated how taking numerous years of a language class grabs their attention, but this may not be a significant determinant of an accepted or rejected email.

With the use of better communication or helping get into a college, it also appears that languages can help an individual in further stages of life.

“A second language can only make you a more well-rounded person,” Reed said.

Although knowing a separate language seems to be important, people still wonder if it should be mandatory or not.

“I don’t necessarily think taking a language is better than picking a different elective,” Caron said.

Many students can agree that taking a language course in the first place is important and necessary, whether that is sticking with your language all the way until senior year, or starting new your freshman year. Language electives are classes that many students may not prefer, but it is a considerable option for those wanting to improve their communication skills and cultural connections.

Photo by Rachael Phillips

A poster in a Spanish classroom translates to “Speaking Spanish is Fun!”

Photo provided by Aryana Dutt French students focus on translating a story.

Students Decide How Passion Affects their Career

[Story by Mahi Parikh]

As soon as students enter high school, many feel the pressure of figuring out their passion and future career. With applying to college and getting back admission letters, this pressure is only increasing. Most students feel as if these two things need to be related and they have to find a job doing something they love, even though many aren’t completely sure what they truly love and how to relate that into their career.

In some situations, students know exactly what their passion is and have spent a majority of their life working towards building that into a career.

There are many benefits to this situation, and it could end up being a very successful career. Some students find that following their passion doesn’t require them to go to college and possibly be burdened with student debt, but they are able to make money to support themselves right out of high school.

“The benefit of not going to college is not going into debt, a chance to find your purpose to go on everyday to accomplish an overarching goal that will span the rest of your life and to build your character, body and finances,” said junior Nabil Benkirane.

Benkirane has plans of taking a gap year and possibly enrolling in a welding academy, as he knows that is

his true passion and doesn’t want to waste time learning in college.

“True knowledge is obtained by those who seek it, not what is forced to be taught in a class just to pass,” said Benkirane.

When a student knows what path they plan to follow and college isn’t a necessity for that career goal, it makes sense to skip straight to working, rather than taking years off of that profession in college. Following one’s passion can also make that career more successful than working in a job that one doesn’t enjoy.

“Following your passion can end up making more money because you are motivated to work. You go to work everyday doing something that you love,

Photo by Michael Baker III

R.J. Eberhart shapes pretzel dough in the Culinary Arts class at MATA.

Photo provided by Marissa Strong

Marissa Strong takes a picture at the Harvard Library.

which is a good motivator to do your best,” said sophomore Palak Sanghavi.

For some people, going to work isn’t their favorite part of the day, but rather something they dread doing when they wake up. When one’s career and passion is connected, it could lead to a happier lifestyle. It isn’t always as black and white as that, though.

“A lot of times, jobs focused around passions can become draining, [such as] working long hours, and people can often lose the meaning behind why they are pursuing their passion,” said junior Aashna Patel.

It is common to lose the love for a certain skill that certain people once had, after relating it to their job. Many people also find that their passion doesn’t work well for their lifestyle.

“The path I love, music, is unreliable and doesn’t pay well. However, I still want to study music and use it when I can,” Patel said.

If someone chooses a career that isn’t related to their passion, they can still continue doing what they love in their free time. One’s career doesn’t have to take over their life, but rather just a way to live their life and pursue their passion on their own time. Whether someone’s career is just a way to make money or something they truly love, there are chances of something going wrong in both situations.

“There’s a risk in every career you do, it just depends on how you take the risk and what steps you [take] to make it as less of a risk as possible,” said senior Diya Parikh.

Students often feel scared to take a

different path that isn’t certain, but it is important to always take that chance because a long and successful career could come out of it.

“The more educated you are, I think that it’s okay to take a risk because you have things to fall back on,” Parikh said.

“True knowledge is obtained by those who seek it, not what is forced to be taught in a class just to pass.”

- Nabil Benkirane (junior)

Photo by Michael Baker III

Brooklyn Worchester styles Avani Sirota’s hair in the Cosmetology class at MATA.

What Students Might Not Realize About Their Teachers

with other school related activities.

Students see their teachers working from the time school starts until they leave school at the end of the day. However, teachers do more for their students than what students may think.

“I feel like students don’t realize what a large capacity the teacher has to handle. When the students get to see the teacher, [it] is roughly a 25-28 to one ratio, but that teacher has four or five other classes. Whatever she, he, or they [are] doing for one class, they’re doing it times five,” said Hannah Lewis, science teacher.

Most FHS teachers have around 100-150 students across five classes. This means they have hundreds of tests and projects to grade, and more than 100 students they are responsible for teaching each school year. Most teachers also teach different classes which requires more lesson planning for each unique class.

The teachers interviewed spent an average of one to three hours per weeknight and roughly eight hours on the weekends grading assignments or coming up with lesson plans along

“My kids are working on a project right now and people will write anywhere from five to twenty pages, and that’s per kid,” said Amelia Speirs, English teacher. “I spend roughly five to seven minutes [grading each project], so doing an entire class can take six or seven hours.”

The lesson plan for each time a class meets also takes time to put together. Teachers put thought into their planning with the purpose of helping their students and to meet specific standards of learning. Teachers said that everything they teach in class has a greater purpose than what students may see.

“[I] put meticulous thought into everything we do in class,” said Lauren Krause, German teacher.

Some teachers also attempt to plan their lessons based on where their students are at and what they need to work on to succeed.

“When I’m planning my lessons, I don’t get too far ahead because [I] look at where [my students are] being successful and where [they are] stumbling so the next lesson will build from that,” said Kimberly Haugh, math

teacher.

Teachers spend more time in the school building than what students see. They are supposed to be in school by 9:15 a.m. and stay until 4:30 p.m. However, many teachers arrive earlier to get work done, attend staff meetings, or to meet with students for test corrections or makeups. They may also stay after school for an additional one to two hours for the same reasons.

“I get here around 8:30 a.m. at the latest in the morning, and then I usually don’t leave until 5:30 p.m.,” Lewis said. “Then I go home and probably work [on] school for about two to two and a half [more] hours.”

Teachers have found different ways to achieve a work-life balance, implement boundaries and manage their after school workload.

“I have a spot where I do a lot of the work where my dog keeps me company. It makes it a little bit nicer,” Haugh said. “Then by having a spot I can walk away so that the schoolwork stays in one room.”

Lewis noted that she gives herself certain work hours after school to give her a good balance and time to relax after long days.

“If I have a lot of stuff to do, I will say okay, I will do schoolwork until 7:00 pm. Whatever doesn’t get done

[Story by Keira McDowell]

Photo by Keira McDowell German teacher, Lauren Krause, teaches her German III students in front of the classroom.

by then will get pushed over to tomorrow,” Lewis said, “It gives me time for dinner and a little relaxation with zero thought about school.”

Some teachers also decide to do more within FHS and help by sponsoring clubs which requires more time spent planning meetings, time after school for meetings, and sometimes going on trips for competitions or other activities within the club. Most FHS sports are also coached by FHS teachers, which is an additional time commitment for teachers as they have to attend practices throughout the week as well as games or meets over the weekends. Teachers are not often paid for being a club sponsor and only receive a small stipend for being a coach.

“It’s just teachers doing it out of their hearts to support their kids,” Speirs said.

In addition to spending extra hours on school work, teachers may choose to spend money out of their own pocket for treats, snacks or extra

school supplies to benefit their students.

“[Students] don’t always like to read in the way that we’re used to thinking. For some people, it’s manga, a running magazine, ESPN or something that’s still words on a page. I buy a lot of different material for my students to keep them interested in reading,” Speirs said. “I [also] buy a lot of snacks, and that’s like 100 bucks a week just to cover snacks for kids. So that’s all coming out of my own pocket.”

Despite some of these challenges, teachers still find that they love teaching.

“I think it’s awesome seeing how you guys can work through a problem or communicate your feelings or own up when you’ve made a mistake. Seeing all of those little minor realizations within the student body is so heartwarming, and it gives me great joy for the next generation of adults that are soon to come,” Lewis said.

Teachers also enjoy the variety of

their days and getting to learn things from their students.

“I think my favorite thing is that I learn almost as much from my kids as they do, so they make me laugh and cry and feel like 50 different emotions throughout the day. No day is the same and I’m always able to at some point have something meaningful to connect with,” Speirs said.

Teachers enjoy being able to support their students any way they can.

“Honestly all 134 of [my students] put the biggest smile on my face,” Lewis said, “If I can do one thing to help [them] throughout this entire school year, I will feel good about myself.

Most of all, teachers find the work they do to be rewarding.

“[I get to work] with other people and [teach] them something skillful, fun and rewarding,” Krause said. “You get to do a lot of fun, goofy things.”

Overall, teachers put in a lot of effort into their classes and students in order to help their students succeed.

Photo by Keira McDowell Math teacher, Kimberly Haugh, teaches her Pre-Calculus students on the white board.

Capstone Murals Leave A Mark on Freedom

[Story by Sadie Porter]

Seniors have endless options for Capstone from shadowing at a doctors office to working with animals. For a couple students, Capstone looks like painting a mural in the art hallway.

Two of the couple of students who are working together on a mural are Manmayi Ghaisis and Daniel Tanudjaja.

This is a big undertaking, and these students are ready to create a masterpiece.

“It feels exciting, yet a little nerve wracking,” Ghaisis said. “I’m sure Daniel feels this way too, but it’s a lot of pressure to produce a piece of art that you hope most people will love.”

They are the only students who are working on this specific mural, which gives them a lot of space for creativity, but a lot of work.

“I personally love the anticipation,” said Ghaisis.

Tanudjaja and Ghaisis have decided to paint a mural focused on what Freedom fine arts is all about.

They are creating a “series of vignettes that basically represent the three main disciplines our school offers within our Fine Arts Wing,” Tanudjaja said.

Those three aspects are visual arts, music and drama.

“Our goal is to shed light on all different art forms that Freedom has,” Ghaisis said.

Freedom houses talented students within the fine arts wing, and often they can be overlooked due to the fine arts wing being so hidden.

“We’re planning to spruce up the barren walls and hopefully add some flare and liveliness to the Fine Arts Wing, so it looks less like a basement, and more like a fine arts wing,” Tanudjaja said.

Painting a mural can cause some difficulty deciding on what to paint on such a big space. Getting inspiration is a key part of the process.

“We were inspired mainly by what different artists have done in the past,

from aspects of the Harlem Renaissance’s art’s use of complementary colors and geometric shapes to minimalist duct tape wall murals,” Ghaisis said.

Tanudjaja believes this is a way of giving back to the teachers and programs of the fine arts wing.

“I also want to give back to the Fine Arts department at Freedom after extensively taking classes from various disciplines and teachers within the department,” Tanudjaja said.

These two students want to celebrate Freedom’s art programs, because they have a special connection with the fine arts department.

“We hope that people see our mural and see their personal love for art displayed in it, whether it be for music, theater, or painting and drawing,” Ghaisis said.

It’s important to include all of the aspects of Freedom Fine Arts because every discipline deserves to be represented.

Many Freedom students have a special connection to art, including the teachers, which has gotten them through tough times throughout their high school years.

“Mrs. Kang from the Fine Arts

department has been of immense help and support in helping us get approval from administration and develop potential designs for the proposed mural,” Tanudjaja said.

Julie Kang said, “[first] creating a proposal design with limited colors, [second] finding a location to display the mural, and [third] scheduling a meeting with the Principal to discuss plans.”

Kang provided support to Ghaisis and Tanudjaja by helping behind the scenes.

With Tanudjaja and Ghaisis being very good friends, it was a perfect match for these handful of projects.

“With such an ambitious plan, I knew I needed some extra hands and extra input, so naturally Manmayi, being someone I knew who was naturally artistically inclined, was someone I knew would be the right person to work alongside,” Tanudjaja said.

This mural physically represents how fine arts shapes Freedom and the love that many students have for the programs.

What this mural will silently represent is teamwork and partnership, which is what these students want to display.

Photo by Sadie Porter

This is the initial sketch of Manmayi Ghaisis and Daniel Tanudjaja’s Capstone design.

GPA Boosting Classes Has Its Pros and Cons 5.0 A+

[Story by Hannah Joo]

As students reach the end of the school year, courses for the next year must be selected and students start to ponder upon their choices. Freedom High School offers a selection of more than 150 different course options for students. With all the AP, DE, honors, and academic classes, students choose courses that are the right fit for them but also challenge them.

Every class holds individual difficulty levels and can vary based on the teacher. Many students sign themselves up for classes and their credit without realizing the workload or troubles it may cause them. Courses students take can heavily impact their stress levels or the lifestyle they can start to adapt.

“I am currently taking three APs, one DE, and one honors class,” said junior Anthony Pham. “I think the workload difference is extremely different for each class. My AP classes, of course, give the most amount of work and studying times, DE, gives a fair amount of work, while honors is a fairly easy class for me.”

The class rigor, workload, and impact of taking specific classes creates

varying stresses, both positively and negatively.

“I get really stressed with the workload that my teachers press on me because I have many classes that I have to handle, but I did want to challenge myself during junior year so I don’t regret the classes I chose. I also got to meet a lot of new people and made new friends this year because my classes like AP Psych and Sports Marketing have people from several grades. I think my class workload gives me a fair amount of time to do any after school activities or things I want to do for myself,” said Pham.

Junior year in high school is usually the year that students have the hardest time, as they sign up for the more rigorous classes. Before their senior year, students tend to aim for harder classes to prepare themselves for college. Many senior students also continue to take demanding classes, but take it easier than their junior year.

Sophomore Claire Lee takes a challenging AP World History course.

“My one and only AP class, AP World History, is my hardest class because it is my only AP class,” Lee said. “Compared to my other honors classes, I have the hardest time keeping up and maintaining a decent grade. There’s definitely a big differ-

ence between my honors and AP classes. My honors classes are much more lenient while AP moves so much faster with more content. I have to prepare for junior year when I will probably be taking more AP classes with a bigger workload.”

Student’s usually express their struggle with classes because each teacher holds differing expectation levels for their classes.

Luther Meyer, an honors and AP physics teacher, said, “Between my honors and AP physics classes, the difficulty level is very different. I expect much more from my AP classes and assign harder, more challenging assignments for them because the course is much more rigorous. With my honors class, I am much more lenient with them on assignments and work.”

As each class’s difficulty levels rise, teachers expect much more from their students. Student’s must choose the courses that are the best fit for them and will help them succeed. Some students challenge themselves extremely, while others play it safe with the easier classes. Students believe the difference between AP, DE, honors, and academic classes is important for students to understand for a healthy balance in their lifestyle.

Photo by Hannah Joo Students work on assignments during their study hall.

Photo by Hannah Joo

A student’s laptop shows upcoming course assignments in Schoology

Photo by Hazel Nguyen Megan Sinkar, Aarya Ghimire, and Lekhya Mantri give a presentation in AP Seminar.

Students Become Certified Personal Trainers

[Story by Olivia Johnson]

The National Academy of Sports Medicine, better referred to as NASM, is a program that is provided for individuals who are interested in becoming certified as a fitness instructor or personal trainer. FHS has been offering the NASM course since 2018, and has been an elective class ever since. The class is offered to all students for free and it is a year-long course. NASM teaches students a variety of different kinds of skills that are needed to get a personal trainer certification at the end of the year.

In the beginning of the year, the class primarily focuses on the teachings of anatomy and physiology. During the middle of the school year, different types of exercises are taught to students and then at the end of the year, students learn how to work with different types of groups of people in order to best suit their physical needs.

There is a large scale of majors that students can get in college, once completing the NASM course in high school. Taking NASM is a great way for students to prepare for their majors and can better their chances at success

while completing them. Students are able to explore many different career paths as well that involve teachings from the course.

“I am interested in studying kinesiology next year in college. I hope to go into sports medicine and or sports science fields in college,” said senior Issac Yun.

If students are interested in the course, it is quite simple for them to sign up for it.

“[Students] just have to talk to their school counselor and they just need to make sure that they have enough space in their schedule for this class. Depending on how many students sign up, [the total of classes] will depend on how many blocks it’s offered,” said Physical Ed teacher Sarah Verdis.

There are plenty of majors that students can get in college, once completing the NASM course in high

school.

As well as college majors, NASM has plenty of advantages for those interested in fitness. It is a great tool to use to help others with their fitness and their health.

“With NASM, we can better understand our bodies, and what are useful tools to help ourselves, and others to become better physically and mentally,” said senior Nicole Burch.

NASM is a great addition to the sports education electives and is the perfect way for students to learn more about the human body and how it works.

“I have had a lot of students find a bunch of success but my big thing to students is to just reach out when you have questions and we can work together and figure out how to work on challenges that they have problems,” said Verdis.

Photo by Olivia Johnson Sarah Verdis, a PE and NASM instructor, explains a bodily system to a NASM class.

Best on the Playing Field

[Story by Sunny Pathangi]

It is a common interest for many students at Freedom High School to enjoy any type of athletics, whether it be playing, watching or even reporting.

Playing sports is more of a challenge according to Kenneth Christopher, director of School Counseling at Freedom.

“Out of 20 people I would say 0.01 people would choose to pursue a career in the athletics field. It is a very rare career path, with the exception of some students who have gotten into more of the marketing side of sports,” Christopher said.

This does not stop or discourage students from reaching for a spot in this career.

“I definitely want to take sports as a career, whether it could be playing/ competing professionally or just being a coach,” said Jeremiah Cherry, freshman football player and track athlete. “I love track and football and I really want to stay connected with these two sports throughout the rest of my life.”

There are many students that share the same passion but also learn different life skills from sports. Junior Emmy Anderberg, who plays shot put and discus for our track and field team, basketball, and competes in powerlifting competitions, is one of those students.

“I want to take the discipline that I’ve gotten from sports into the real world. I know that no matter how my day has gone, good or bad, I have to go to practice, and I have to do something to try and get better,” Andberg said. “Also, I hope to take whatever strength I’ve gained so that when my dogs get old I can carry them up the stairs!”

Along with the passion, students from FHS have achieved and reached great heights in their career. Kevin Parades, a Freedom alumni, is most popular at our school. He currently plays for Wolfsburg in Germany and the Bundesliga which is one of the top soccer leagues in the world. He

was a Freedom student who ended up switching to homeschool with DC United and finished up his high school career through the DC United’s educational program and played professionally for the MLS for like a year and a half, maybe more.

“He switched over to the Bundesliga where he’s finding some success and had his first goal and first assist this season,” Christopher said.

It is a popular opinion in FHS that sports are good as a hobby. When talking about colleges, many say that they would major in a more reliable career.

“I was looking at data just recently, and I believe 1.3% of student athletes actually will receive a college scholarship to play in college,” Christopher said. “That’s a very small percentage. I say the same thing to our students that are pursuing careers in music and theater. Just have a plan B.”

“As much as I love sports and would love to continue with them, I don’t see myself becoming a professional athlete or anything of the sort,” Andberg said.

“I definitely have other career paths in mind because it’s always good to have more than just one,” Cherry said.

Along with ups, there are also many downs that challenge student athletes. Mental challenges not only affect athletes, but different types of students face them one way or another.

“I think the one thing that I see the most with our student athletes and across the board, sometimes the burnout starts weighing on them during junior and senior year and that’s when they really start to make decisions as to what they would like to do with their life,” Christopher said.

“I believe I will have a lot of mental challenges, staying positive during times when you just want to give up, a lot of second guessing if you are willing to put in the work, and me personally I’m all the time. You can definitely overcome a lot of obstacles just by trusting yourself, and not letting your thoughts completely control your

actions,” Cherry said.

Andberg agreed,“No matter how many times I try to fix the issues in my form by thinking through my cues, it just doesn’t happen. I’ve yet to find a way to overcome those, but hopefully I’ll be able to do so soon. With self doubt, that’s more of a fleeting obstacle. It’s just hard to see yourself being successful on any level after having an off day or feeling weak during a lift, and the only way to really get around that is by thinking back to a time when things were going right and telling yourself that it’ll happen again and that every day can’t be perfect.”

Athletics is a career that requires one to be well-rounded. When it comes to mental health, physical health and effort and dedication, one must manage it all. This makes it difficult for many students due to the fact that they must study and receive good grades. The pressure is high and, in most cases, leads to burnout and many mental problems.

“Nevertheless, if sports and athletics is a passion, one should pass all obstacles. The statistics say athletics as a career is risky, but as an adolescent, I think you should pursue these risks,” Christopher said. “You try to do your best, you try to be the best at whatever you’re doing, whether that’s on stage, on the field, on the court, whatever that is, I want you to know that if passion is driving them, students can and will really pursue what they want to do.”

- Kenneth Christopher

“If passion is driving them, students can and will pursue what they want to do.”

Celebrating Our Future College Athletes

sport:Yearsplayed11years

Favorite Scoringmemory:the stroke that sent myteamtostates for the first time history.inFreedomfieldhockey

Quote:

“It’snotwhether yougetknockeddown;it’s whetheryougetup.”

–VinceLombardi

sport:Yearsplayed 7years

Favoritememory: Myjunioryear at whenDistricts I made myfirstholein one at Bull Run Golf Club on the 16ththeQuote:hole!“Youdonotriseto levelofyourgoals.Youfalltothelevelofyour systems.”

-JamesClear

sport:Yearsplayed Quote:4years“Yourbiggestchallengeisn’t someone else. It’s the ache in yourlungsandthe burninginyourlegs, and the voice inside youthatyells“ICANT”.Butyou don’tlisten,youjustpushharder.Andthenyouhearthevoice whisper“ICAN”andyou discoverthatthepersonyou forthoughtyouwereisnomatch theoneyoureallyare.”-Unknown

13Yearsplayedsport: Favoriteyearsmemory: memoryonespecificIhadplayingat Freedom was when we beat the number 1 seeded ColganHighSchool lastintheregionalquarterfinals thatyear,whichwassomething noonehadexpectedfor us to forQuote:do.“Everythinghappens a reason. What is meant tobe,willbe.”

-ElizabethJ.Von Amelsvoort

sport:Yearsplayed 13 Favoriteyears memory: firstThrowingmy varsity passtouchdown athome myjuniorYear. Quote:“Mayyoualways remembertoenjoytheroad, one.”especiallywhenit’sahard

-KobeBryant

sport:Yearsplayed14years

Favoritememory: Myfavorite basketball memoryis hittingagame winnermy sophomoreyear andgettingpulledupthe varsitythegameafter youQuote:“Whenunderpressure youdon’trisetotheoccasion, fallbackonthelevelofyourtraining.”

-Unknown

sport:Yearsplayed12years

Favorite memory: Winningthe state championship with the baseballteamlastyear gameandpitchingacompleteinthestatechampion-shipgame.

Quote:“Jobsnot finished.”

-KobeBryant

12Yearsplayedsport: years

Favorite memory:My favorite memorylacrosse

atFHSwashavingthe opportunitytoplay andwithmyoldersister records.breakingthreeschool

Quote:“Wewillchase perfection,andwewillchaseit whilerelentlessly,knowingallthe we can never attain it.catchButalongtheway,weshall excellence.”

-VinceLombardiJr.

sport:Yearsplayed

Favorite3yearsmemory: Breakingtheschooldiscus record for the 7th time. quickerQuote:“Fasterthanfast, lighting.”thanquick.Iam

-LightningMcQueen

Yearsplayedsport:

10years

Favoritememory: myfavorite sportmemoryinmywasgoingtostatefinalsmy sophomoreyear.

sport:Yearsplayed 9years

Favoritememory: memoryMyfavoriteiswhenoverhandIfirstgotmyserve over the net. Thiswasapivotal moment for me as a skillkidasIhadstruggledwiththat upuntil14’syear,where highestIendedupwithoneofthe Quote:team.acepercentagesonthe

“Whensomethinggoes“Plotwronginyourlife,justyell Twist” and move on.”

-Unknown

Years

Years playedsport:

12years

Favoritememory: StatesRunmy sophomoreyear. Quote:“Youmiss 100%oftheshotsyoudon’ttake.”

-WayneGretzky

played 12sport:years

Favorite memory: My sophomore season, catchingthe finaloutofthegame toagainstBrookePoint send us to statefinals.Quote:Cause chaos & dominate theday.

-CoachKelly

Bronowicz

Freedom Screams For School Spirit

[Opinion by Henry Kim]

School spirit is an event that educational institutions hold to help boost enthusiasm for students at the school.

Freedom High School is a very passionate school when it comes to school spirit. There are endless Freedom Eagle emblems plastered throughout the hallways to showcase the school’s spirit. Freedom also regularly holds school spirit competitions against each grade level to encourage the support for their schools by rewarding them and announcing the winners on the morning announcements. This passion for school spirit is particularly obvious with the multiple pep rallies held every year.

Planning pep rallies are a difficult yet effective way to express school spirit. However, it requires a lot of manpower and thorough planning ahead of time.

So the fact that Freedom holds multiple every year shows their devotion for the school and its students. The pep rallies, specifically, helps to boost the school’s pride when representing themselves against other schools and is a great uplifting for sports teams ahead of big games.

That’s not all of the perks the pep rally has: the school commonly sees mini games such as musical chairs, tug of war, etc played by the sports teams or the students. There are also many entertaining performances put on by the students themselves as well. This can range from the dance clubs

performing, the band playing music, or the freedom cheer team showing off their skills.

This surely sounds like a great way for students to bond with each other and create special memories. However, as great as this pep rally sounds, there are its downsides. Many students frequently skip the day of the pep rally by staying at home or going to the library during the pep rally. This can be for a number of reasons such as: the pep rally being too loud, gym being too congested with hundreds of people, uncomfortable in a big crowd, or simply just not wanting to participate in the pep rally.

So this presents the question: Should students be allowed to leave/ skip the pep rally?

Yes, students should certainly be allowed to leave pep rallies early simply because they shouldn’t be forced

to attend a big school gathering they don’t feel comfortable in or don’t want to be apart of. It’s unfair to force students to attend the pep rally as they may have private reasons for not wanting to attend. It can also be as simple as some students just not interested in the pep rally and have no interest in it and can find a better use of their own time.

If the school were to force the pep rally, then a downside that may occur is by forcing students to participate in school spirit activities it could potentially push them farther away from school spirit and less likely to engage in other activities held throughout the year. This is why it is best to keep the pep rallies not mandatory and leave the students the option to opt-out if they want so that schools don’t push students past where they draw the line of comfort.

Photo by Michael Baker III Freedom Seniors cheer during the fall pep rally.

Health Disorders

Triggering in Classrooms

[Opinion by Charlie Lailacona]

Freedom is a generally accepting and understanding community, from most of what I’ve seen and heard - and as a freshman, it’s good to know that the school I’ve just entered won’t push me down a rabbit hole of depression and anxiety.

However, there’s been a few... incidents.

For starters, the freshman class have completed a health unit about nutrition. On the first day of the new unit, every student was suddenly introduced to a worksheet formatted like a scoreboard.

Let’s focus first on some of the questions: I stay within 10 pounds of my ideal weight; I am aware of the calories I eat; and, the opposite, I am aware of the dangers of dieting for young adults.

Does anyone see the issue here? Perhaps not...let’s look at the purpose of this worksheet. As students go through the questions, they build up points, and at the end, they rate themselves on how good they are at eating.

Not only are the questions extremely personal, the worksheet then asks the student to score themself, and if they get a low score, it tells them “your dead” (with the wrong “you’re”, might I add).

For people like myself, who may have insecurities or struggles surrounding eating, this worksheet - and some of the material in this unit - can be extremely triggering. A trigger is a thing or situation that can cause a person to panic or have another “adverse emotional reaction” (NAMI.org). A good example of this is another one of the assignments for this unit: a threeday food journal.

Tracking what is being consumed can not only be stressful - for some, it can become a habit, or even an obsession. Counting the calories and nutrition facts can also become habitual, and cause issues with a healthy view on eating later on. I do honestly believe that the assignment curriculum

should be changed to something less personal.

Now, let’s address another common issue: a comeback - “kill yourself.” We shouldn’t be saying this phrase at all - even if it’s being said to a close friend. No one can ever know everything about someone - human lives are just too complicated. I personally have had this line used on me twice, and it has made me angry and confused. Why would my friend want me to kill myself?

Suicide is a serious issue. Think about it for a minute - am I wishing that that person was dead? Even if everyone else is using these words, they can still hurt someone in inexplicable ways. They might be struggling with something that no one knows about. I don’t want to be the one to start a thought path that says, hey, maybe I should do that. Everyone’s lives are so intrinsically connected that it’s impossible not to affect someone, even if it’s not expected to have such negative repercussions.

For the third and final incident, a clip that had been played for freshman history classes about the Phalanx battle formation. Trigger warnings for the clip were given for some classes, but not others. A student from a preAP world history class mentions that a brief preface was given to the clip played; on the flip side, in a geography and world history honors class, there was no warning at all - it was simply “we’ll show this clip, it’s a good representation of the formation.”

The clip showed a man being pierced by a spear at the very startresulting in his death - and then an intense battle between the two sides, where many soldiers died - I could barely look at the screen.

For those who might say, “Oh, but Charlie, most people haven’t been in wars, etc, etc” - must I reiterate that no one human knows everything about another? A classmate sitting nearby right now might have lived in a conflicted area for a while before moving to the United States. Isn’t it also sort

of gruesome to watch someone be pierced through the heart by a pointy projectile? To add to this argument, the rating on the movie the clip is from, 300, states that it is rated Rmeaning, technically, anyone under seventeen has to be accompanied by an adult and be prepared to watch the movie. The clip can stay - but the trigger warnings have to come with it.

These are just a few examples of triggering incidents that have already occurred at our school - but others may have had more.

Here’s a guide on how to construct a trigger warning:

1 ) The start of a trigger warning can either be TW (“trigger warning”) or CW (“content warning”). After “CW” or “TW”, can either be a colon ( : ) or two forward slashes ( // ).

2 ) Include any possibly sensitive topic - some examples include food; disordered eating; slurs or strong insults; self-harm; suicide; any kind of discrimination (homophobia, transphobia, racism, misogyny etc); sexual content; violence or death; body image, dysphoria, or weight; scarring; loud noise (whether sudden or constant); cursing; writing in all capitals; etc.

b ) When writing these words into the trigger warning, do NOT censor parts of the word, change the letters to symbols or numbers, or transform said words into things like “sewerslide”. Those with reading disabilities or who might not be able to read English as well could have difficulty deciphering what these words might mean.

c ) Give some space or time for the viewer to click off or look away - don’t just go hey! Trigger warning! and not give the person some time to process. Shoving the triggering content in their face is not going to be helpful. (for example, put a large gap between the trigger warning and the rest of the post or page; wait a few seconds with the warning on the screen and then off of it before the video continues).