The Viking / Issue I/ September 2017

THE

VIKING Loudoun Valley High School / Purcellville, VA / SEPTEMBER 2017

Roads Less Traveled Though summer may seem long gone, hold onto those fun filled days and take a road trip in and around Loudoun County.

Cover / Students ride in a Jeep Wrangler down the back roads of Loudoun County ready for a road trip. (photo / Madison Stiles).

Above / Focused on the field, senior Ashton Bouffard drums with the marching band in support of the varsity football team in their game against Martinsburg on August 25th (photo / Ella Serafin).

THE

VIKING News Magazine Staff 2017-2018

Editors-in-Chief Carleigh Rahn Griffin Hunt

Copy Editor Zach Stevenson

Online Editors Kerry Webster Brianna Henriquez

Sports Editor Claire Slook

Photo Editors Olivia de Stanley Madison Stiles

Ads Managers Sadie Grant Grace Jennings Lauren Madey Madison McIntosh

Writers, Photographers, Business and Promotional Staff Max Breitenthaler, Colin Bunn, Beau Buzzelli, Heather Feconda, Erika Gesel, Riley Green, Jordan Iwerks, Ben Keane, Ella Krug, Gillian Krug, Bailey Kuhn, Casey Marin, Caleigh Marsh, Mary Peterson, Noelle Saine, Jared Sanders, Ella Serafin, Logan Stup, Christina Thornton Adviser Paige Cox thevikingnews.com | Twitter: @lvhsviking | Instagram: lvhsviking | Snapchat: lvhsviking

Letter from the Editors

Dear Vikings, The Viking is a completely student-run and studentfunded newsmagazine, meaning that our staff is responsible for everything you see printed, unless otherwise credited. All interviews are fairly represented, and audio files are kept for reference.

In the coming school year, our goal is to serve the student body by covering a variety of topics, ranging from serious political controversies to pop culture events.

Finally, the Viking is lucky enough to have a faculty and student body overwhelmingly supportive

of our news magazine. Thank you for your readership and your feedback.

Thank you, Carleigh Rahn and Griffin Hunt Editors-in-Chief

CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2017

4 5 6 7 9

Shopping Shift The nation-wide flight from big name stores to local and online shopping takes its toll, even close to home.

Shark Week Junior Rachel Crum works closely with the Baltimore aquarium to prevent shark overfishing and ensure their survival.

The Highest Honor Scouts devote their time to the community and to achieving the highest rank.

The Hate Next Door Recent Valley graduates, current UVA freshman discuss the jarring events in Charlottesville.

Roads Less Traveled Though summer may seem long-gone, hold onto those fun filled days and take a road trip in and around Loudoun County.

12

Going for the Gold

15

What Democracy Feels Like

While all eyes are on the boys cross country team, field hockey is celebrating their upgrade to a first tier sport, golf is breaking records left and right, and other fall sports are counting their successes.

We must recapture the sense of possibility that leads to political participation.

Right / Senior Sophie Bosse leads the Jungle in the first home football game of the season. The varsity football team played against Martinsburg on August 25th. (photo / Ella Serafin)

Shopping Shift The nation-wide flight from big name stores to local and online shopping takes its toll, even close to home.

By Kerry Webster

S

hopping malls are becoming less and less relevant among American consumers, being outshined by sites like Amazon, Ebay, Etsy and Overstock.

A study conducted by UPS states that millennials now make 54% of purchases online, According to Business Insider Magazine, 89,000 retail workers lost their jobs between October of 2016 and April of 2017 (more than the entire US coal industry, per the New York Times). This has obvious negative effects on the economy. Those who are laid off from retail jobs then have less money to spend, and are less likely to make purchases at retail stores.

Because of this decline in brick-andmortar shopping, many department stores have found themselves faced with the reality of closing their doors. This isn’t just a national phenomenon; it’s happening in our community. The Nordstrom at Dulles Town Centre closed recently after being in business for 15 years.

For many, the choice to shop online is a matter of influence. According to bigcommerce.com, a website specializing in online sales, the top three factors in online

shopping are price (87%), shipping cost and speed (80%) and discount offers (71%).

“I shop online because of the convenience of not having to go to a store,” junior KC Dizon said. “It saves time even though sometimes you might spend a little more money on shipping. Since we live in a small town, commercial stores are harder to get to... I think the time and money saved on gas makes up for a few extra dollars on shipping, which sometimes is free.”

Still, there is a large percentage of persons who prefer the traditional approach to shopping. The same study conducted by BigCommerce.com stated that 34% said difficult to return items and long delivery estimates dissuaded them from shopping online. Forty-nine percent of Americans cite not being able to touch, feel or try a product as one of their least favorite aspects of online shopping. “[I prefer] mall shopping... there is a wide variety and [I have] the option to try on the clothes before I spend money on them,” freshman Angela Palese said.

Aside from online shopping and shopping in big-box and department stores, there are those who are drawn to the charm

and nostalgic qualities of the small business.

Despite the surrounding brand names and cookie cutter fashion, Purcellville provides a handful of niche shops, like Nostalgia and Piper Dan’s Keltic Shoppe, with one-of-akind products. Like these shops, Twigs is a locally owned business that carries home decor and women’s apparel.

Despite the abundance of products and shops that malls provide, owner of Twigs Amy Turner feels that small businesses have something special to offer.

“In a nutshell, I would say it’s the personal service, unique items, and awareness of shopping local that brings in our loyal customers,” Turner said.

photo / GIllian Krug layout / Carleigh Rahn

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Shark Week Junior Rachel Crum works closely with the Baltimore Aquarium to prevent shark overfishing and ensure the animals’ survival.

By Griffin Hunt

I

f there’s one thing the past five Sharknado movies and countless Shark Week specials have taught us, it’s that America loves sharks. One student however, has taken her love of sharks to a whole new level.

Junior Rachel Crum has studied sharks, ocean ecology and even taken a class on ecology in South Africa. In addition, she has led countless initiatives with aquariums all across the East Coast where she fights for the preservation of shark habitats.

In the summer of 2015 she started working with the Baltimore Aquarium.

There she meets with their husbandry (care and preservation) expert. She also helps recruit students for their internship programs and later hopes to join the program herself with the Baltimore Aquarium.

In addition to working with the aquarium directly, she started a charity for ocean conservation. The charity raises funds for aquariums and facilities while also maintaining a Youtube page. On it, they post videos about marine conservation and sharks.

“Most of [the fundraising] is online and its mostly [spread by] word of mouth for now,” Crum said, “We want to eventually sponsor [events]”.

To further her understanding of marine ecology, Crum attended a class in South Africa where she went cage diving with great whites. She also helped determine the gender of the sharks. While there, she

also worked with a variety of ecologists including one that had a television show on Shark Week. Cage diving allowed her an opportunity to experience Great Whites up close and personal, where she witnessed their understated beauty.

“I’ve always liked the ocean and I just think they have a nice grace to them that most people don’t get,” Crum said.

“They’re just really misunderstood.

While cage diving in South Africa, she was able to encounter a shark one on one.

“The second everybody left [the cage],

“

I’ve always liked the ocean and I just think [sharks] have a nice grace to them that most people don’t get,” Rachel Crum said.

the shark came at the bait and I was the only person in there, it was really cool,” Crum said.

Luckily, after much research and experience she has little fear of sharks. She has dealt with Sand Tiger sharks, Nurse sharks and Ragged Tooth sharks. She frequently works with Nurse, Tiger and Great White sharks.

In order to gain experience working with sharks and network for her charity, she’s met with head employees at the Maui Aquarium, Boston Aquarium and the

National Aquarium in Baltimore. Her personal favorite is the Georgia aquarium. “[In their large ocean tank] they have Whale sharks which was really cool,” Crum said, “it’s interesting to witness them in captivity.”

Her conservation work may sound daunting and the amount of work it takes to get into the field may seem extensive, but joining the cause isn’t as complicated as it seems. Crum started her work with a single email to the Baltimore Aquarium.

All kinds of conservation is important, however people often gravitate towards more publicized issues about megafauna (large or giant animals) when it comes to protecting wildlife.

“You always see the picture of the polar bear on the little ice cap in the middle of the ocean,” Crum said, “A lot of people don’t really care about sharks in general, ‘cause they’re scary.”

Unfortunately because of movies like Jaws and high profile shark attacks continually flooding the media, sharks often receive a bad rap. Crum fights to protect these predators from fishermen and the multitude of threats that affect sharks.

“In general, if you were to take all of one thing out of an ecosystem,” Crum said, “something is going to go out of wack and then everything is going to be affected from there.”

Photo / Rachel Crum Layout / Griffin Hunt

The Highest Honor Scouts devote their time to the community and to achieving the highest rank.

By Max Breitenthaler

Celebrating the completion of the his Eagle Scout project, senior Luke Harris stands with Mayor Kwasi Fraser. For his final Eagle Scout Project, Harris developed the overgrown areas of Susan R. Kane Nature Park into a community walking trail.

J

unior Cooper Borneman struggles to open his eyes in the blazing heat and stinging wind of Assateague Island as his troop treks onward. Meanwhile, senior Luke Harris is deep in the canyons of New Mexico, struggling not to inhale some of the thousands of mosquitoes swarming his face. Although quitting wasn’t an option, it was certainly a thought prevalent in the minds of the two Eagle Scouts.

These high schoolers have gone through years of camping trips and have spent hours upon hours of community service to achieve the highest rank in Boy Scouts: Eagle Scout. Achieving Eagle Scout status is a long process that most scouts do not attempt and even fewer complete.

“No,” Harris said, “I would not do it again because it took forever.”

Those, such as Harris and Borneman, who were able to tolerate the long journey, know that their achievements will help them in the future. Because of the high standards, Eagle Scout is an impressive

addition to any resume.

“I think society expects a great amount of Eagle Scouts and, [...] I mean to do justice to that,” Harris said.

Both scouts felt that being an Eagle Scout demonstrated to both colleges and employers their character. “[Being an Eagle Scout] shows that I have the dedication to go forward and carry out a massive project and work hard,” Borneman said.

Scouting teaches important survival and real world skills. Throughout the ranks, scouts earn merit badges including swimming, shooting and fishing. Harris, who works as a lifeguard at Franklin Park, believes that being an Eagle Scout and earning these badges has given him the skills he needs for his job and life.

Becoming an Eagle Scout is a grueling process including a year long project and three months of paper work. To complete the final project, scouts must work to improve their community. Borneman worked with the Izaak Walton shooting range in Leesburg to build a fence and fix

a ditch in their property. Harris worked at the Susan R. Kane Nature Park in Purcellville to turn the overgrown grassy area into a walking trail.

The journey to becoming an Eagle Scout is not just paperwork and community service, though. Both scouts had plenty of stories to tell from the countless camping trips they took part in.

“I spent a week out on the ocean with no contact to the mainland and swam with sharks,” Borneman said.

In the end, both scouts agreed that the years spent working and volunteering were wellworth their time. But, the relationships they built were easily the most important part of the experience.

“The experiences of going on week-long camp outs with my friends where we play cards up in the mountains or in the middle of a storm,” Borneman said. “Those are moments that made the time and struggle worth it.” photo / courtesy of Luke Harris layout / Carleigh Rahn

The Hate Next Door Recent Valley graduates, current UVA freshman discuss the jarring events in Charlottesville.

By Claire Slook and Zach Stevenson

W

e at The Viking were deeply shaken by the violence that erupted spurred by a unite the right rally between white supremacists in Charlottesville in August. We were especially horrified at the tragic death of Heather Heyer, and by the brazen militancy of Neo-Nazis and the KKK. The rights of speech and assembly are enshrined in our Constitution, yet both were powerless against semi-automatic weapons, clubs and pepper spray.

Just days after the event, our staff group message blew up with responses as we contemplated how to best cover an event that, even as it made headlines around the globe, felt very, very personal. Should we merely approach it as a trending news topic and deliver the who, what, where and when of the rally and its aftermath?

Should we add our voice to the national debate over the resurgence of overt racism, and re-articulate our belief that our nation is strongest when it values and defends its most vulnerable citizens?

In the end we decided that both of those methods didn’t sufficiently convey how close to home the events in Charlottesville truly were.

In order to capture the immediacy of the events in Charlottesville we, turned to former Valley students who now call UVA home.

Jasmine Mao and Emily Hubbard both began their first year at the University of Virginia this August. We asked both to explain how the rally and subsequent media coverage shaped the beginning of their college life.

In the days immediately following the rally, Hubbard received emails from deans, counselors, professors and student leaders assuring her that Charlottesville remained a warm and welcoming place. Mao received similar assurances, yet was discouraged by what some of the apologies implied.

“In most of my classes, my professors simply apologized that we had to enter the university at a trying and hostile time, but honestly these apologies upset me,” Mao said. “It almost seemed as if they thought by apologizing, the issue would be resolved and we could all move on with our lives.”

Both Mao and Hubbard felt that they couldn’t just move on. Their first days at UVA would always be defined by the violence that preceded their arrival, and

to pretend otherwise seemed to them both foolish and impossible. For Mao especially, addressing it honestly and openly was the only way forward.

“At the convocation for the curriculum I’m in, professors actually addressed the problems.” Mao Said, “Recalling their own first hand account of the rally, motivating us to make something of our education, or encouraging us to research the contentious history of our university,”. “Never have I entered a school that welcomed criticism and truth as much as UVA has, and that’s when my respect for this institution grew.”

What happened in Charlottesville is terrifying, but it can’t be the end of the story. To turn away would be to give forces of hate and destruction the final say. It is imperative that we replace our shame with the resolve to ask the hard questions and start the difficult conversations that will allow us to reckon with our shared reality.

layout / Griffin Hunt photo / Creative Commons

540-751-2077 860 East Main Street, Suite B info@mydeliandcafe.com Purcellville, Virginia 20132 mydeliandcafe.com facebook.com/mydeliandcafe Loudoun County

Hardware - Custom & Stock Millwork 121 N. Bailey Lane, Purcellville 540-338-1840

Roads Less Traveled Dinosaur Land tops our list of zany, outof-the-way attractions to visit on your next road trip in and around Loudoun.

By Carleigh Rahn

Nine Roads Less Traveled

T

hough summer may seem long-gone, hold on to those fun-filled days and take a weekend road trip in and around Loudoun County.

1

THAI PAN

Don’t be fooled by the gas station next door, Thai Pan offers some of the best Pad Thai you’ll find. A short drive to Old Town Leesburg will give you an authentic and affordable experience.

2 Harrison St SE, Leesburg

2

SCRUFFY’S

Covered with adorable photos of pets available for adoption, Scruffy’s Ice Cream shop makes the perfect stop for a sweet treat and a smile. Proceeds of the attached thrift shop go directly to the Middleburg Humane Foundation, making it even more deserving of a stop.

6 W Washington St, Middleburg

3

SWEET ZEN7

This funky ice cream shop is perfect for the chemistry nerds out there. Infused with nitrogen, the Dragon’s Breath makes the 45 minute drive to Manassas worth it.

12757 Braemar Village Plaza, Bristow

4

BLUE RIDGE NATURE CENTER

The drive to the rail is a view in and of itself This beautiful and serene walk through woods is fit for beginners but just as scenic as some of the advanced hikes. The journey to the trail is a view in and of itself.

11661 Harpers Ferry Rd, Purcellville

y.

5

LOCKE STORE AND MILL

Grab a creamy cup of mac n’ cheese and head across the street to the Mill, a definite Instagram worthy spot to eat.

2049 Millwood Rd, Millwood

6

NALLS

This quaint roadside farmer’s market is a sight for sore eyes.

Complete with flowers, pumpkins and homemade pies, Nalls is a must stop for those seeking a taste of the local produce.

4869 Harry Byrd Hwy, Berryville

7

DINOSAUR LAND

For just six bucks, you can feel like a Flinstone. Travel back in time and chill with these larger than life dinosaurs. Featuring over 25 different dinos, this kitchy theme park will send you back to the stone age.

3848 Stonewall Jackson Hwy, White Post

8

EXIT PLAN

If you’re looking for a thrilling, local adventure, this escape room is the place for you. Take a couple of close friends and be ready to trust each other and follow your instincts.

201 Royal St SE F, Leesburg

9

VILLAGE LANES

If you’re looking for an old-school, bowling experience, Village Lanes is the place for you.

Serving cheese fries and corn dogs. Their classic menu will satisfy your junk food cravings and the retro decor will take you back in time.

49 Catoctin Cir SE, Leesburg

photo / Madison Stiles and Olivia deStanley illustration / Madison Stiles layout /Carleigh Rahn

Going for the While all eyes are on the boys cross country team, field tier sport, golf is breaking records left and right, and other

top left / Running the ball down field, senior Rock Swartz leads the varsity football team in their September 1 game against Stone Bridge. The team scored only one touchdown, resulting in a 38-7 final score. (photo/ Olivia deStanley) bottom left / In an all day tournament September 9, junior Mackenzie Mahon passes from the back row. With a young team featuring only one senior, the volleyball team hopes to build for the future. (photo/ Jared Sanders) top right / Preparing to pass, senior Hannah Synder dribbles down the field. As of September 19, the field hockey team had a record of 3-5, already an improvement from last season’s 2-13 record. (photo/ Ella Krug) above / After senior night, golf team seniors Josh Bowles, Sam Ball, Chris Lindemeyer and Ryan Hammer celebrate their victory. Alongside his teammates, Hammer broke the school record by finishing eight under par. (photo/ Courtesy of Ryan Hammer)

Green

^

and

Gold

hockey is celebrating their upgrade to a first fall sports are counting their successes. By Carleigh Rahn and Claire Slook

above / Snagging first in five races , the boys and girls cross country team dominated the Oatlands Invitational, which included more than a hundred teams. Because of the sweeping wins, @Milestatdotcom even tweeted “The #oatlands invite has officially been renamed the Loudoun Valley invite...� Runners Brayden Cassidy, Kellen Hasle and Elliot Peterson sprint towards the finish line in hopes of bringing home another win. (photo/ Jared Sanders)

layout/ Carleigh Rahn

Literary Magazine Submissions include: Poetry Short Stories Creative Nonfiction Essays

Photography Paintings Drawings Other Artwork

To submit to the Literary Magazine, contact Mrs. Hildbold in room 124

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EDITORIAL

This is What Democracy Feels Like We misunderstand our democracy because we do not understand each other.

I

n his 1831 work Democracy in America, Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville observed that, “In democratic communities the imagination is compressed when men consider themselves; it expands indefinitely when they think of the state.” Such loft y sentiments about the optimistic mindset of citizens in democratic societies can seem hopelessly naive when contrasted with surveys, graphs, and polls that plot Americans’ historically low levels of trust in and satisfaction with the federal government.

However, de Tocqueville was hardly hyperbolic in his observations of early America. His work was the product of a tour he took of the fledgling nation, and the ecstatic sense of possibility he identified during his travels was a symptom of what historian Richard Bushman called early America’s “culture of boundlessness.”

Contemporary Americans seem to be all too willing to exchange that culture for one of cynicism, anger, complacency and antipathy.

Emanuel Leutze’s painting Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way hangs just outside the House of Representatives chamber in the U.S. Capitol. The painting is a romanticized portrayal of Manifest Destiny, the belief that the Western frontier was preserved for the American people to

explore, conquer and civilize.

However, the painting is more than just an ode to a now-discredited dogma of racial and cultural superiority; Leutze’s panorama captures in a painting what de Tocqueville captured in words: the feeling of infinite potential naturally attached to the concept of self-governance. The actual citizens of de Tocqueville’s political study and the idealized pioneers, frontiersmen and fur traders of Leutze’s wagon train were bound together by a belief in the inevitability of progress, an outgrowth of their belief in one another.

They were loyal to the United States of America, but their allegiance wasn’t to an abstract power structure or a faceless Leviathan. According to the logic of democracy, their allegiance to one another and their allegiance to the state were one and the same.

It follows then, that today’s angry distrust and misunderstanding of democracy is a symptom of our distrust of one another.

We don’t believe in democracy because we do not believe in one another. We misunderstand our democracy because we do not understand each other. The way to repair our fraying social contract, and to recapture the unbridled optimism that was so prevalent in the infant republic, is to reconnect ourselves to what political

theorist Daniel Burke called “the little platoons” of society, the local and intimate communities – such as book clubs, honor societies or youth football teams – that we create with those around us.

With the communities we create acting as mediators, we can begin to understand larger organizations, like state, national, and international governing bodies, in a more informed and nuanced way. These societal microcosms force us to reckon with reality, instead of ranting against abstractions. They teach us to consider the concerns of our neighbors, and thus keep us from reducing our fellow citizens to stereotypes.

So while what we’re doing here at Loudoun Valley High School may seem mundane and insignificant, I urge students to see the web of relationships they create— the classes they’re in, the clubs they are members of, the sports teams they play for— in a more profound light.

Perhaps when we re-evaluate the significance of what, choice by choice and action by action, we’re building, we’ll feel compelled to try a little harder to strengthen the communities that sustain the American experiment. layout / Zach Stevenson and Kerry Webster photo / Creative Commons

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts On September 1,

the varsity football team challenged the 2016 state finalists, Stone Bridge High School, in their first away game of the season. Stone Bridge took an early lead and headed to the locker room at halftime with a 17-0 advantage. In the final moments of the game, senior Henry Hill intercepted a Stone Bridge pass and returned it to the end zone for a touchdown. With senior Evan Winnett (13), Hill (14) launches into the air in celebration of his first varsity touchdown.

“It was just crazy to think about like, you’re not supposed to score on defense but here I am getting in,” Hill said.

Hill’s touchdown ended the Bulldog’s shutout bid and brought the final score to 38-7 for Stone Bridge.

layout / Olivia deStanley Photo / Olivia deStanley