The Pitch
Walter Johnson’s Student Newspaper
Walter Johnson High School
November 1, 2019
Volume 65, Issue 2
6400 Rock Spring Drive, Bethesda, MD 20814
Storming into the history books By Gabe Riveiro Â–ÂƒĆĄ ”‹–‡”
By Emma Saltzman and Emily Speranza થ †‹–‘”• Vaping A new law bars teenagers from purchasing tobacco and vaping products by raising the age to be able to purchase the products from 18 to 21. Š‹• Žƒ™ ÂƒĆĄÂ‡Â…Â–Â• ƒŽŽ ”‡•‹†‡Â?–• except for active duty military Â?‡Â?„‡”• ƒÂ?† ™‡Â?– ‹Â?–‘ ‡ƥ‡…– on Oct. 1. Vaping has been a major topic in the news lately, as new diseases relating to vap‹Â?‰ Šƒ˜‡ ‡Â?‡”‰‡†ǥ ÂƒĆĄÂ‡Â…Â–Â‹Â?‰ many minors. The new law is ƒÂ? ‡ƥ‘”– –‘ Â?‡‡’ ˜ƒ’‹Â?‰ ’”‘†ucts out of the hands of young people. Photo by Lucas Gillespie
Varsity football coach Larry Hurd Jr. talks to his team at the WJ Homecoming football game. The Wildcats boasted a record season, starting the year at 4-0.
guess you could say it’s nice to prove the doubters wrong, but it feels even nicer proving something to ourselves,â€? senior quarterback Josh Forburger said. With the 2019 season already in the latter half of its nineweek lifespan, these dark days appear to be well in the Wildcats’ rearview mirror. Through eight games, the Wildcats have allowed more than two endœ‘Â?‡ –”‹’• –‘ ‘’’‘•‹Â?‰ ‘ƥ‡Â?•‡• in only 37.5% of their contests thus far as opposed to the 72% of contests in which this defensive lapse occurred between 2010-2018. In part, a desire to not only
compete, but to win as well has been credited to head coach Larry Hurd Jr.. “Coming into the program we wanted to emphasize that we could be successful if we did things the right way and we’re continuing to learn that. We wanted to create a culture that valued competing, and not just competing but winning,� Hurd Jr. said. Winning records for the football team was a foreign concept to every student in the school leading up to this year. A 2016 season highlighted by turmoil at the quarterback position followed by an injury plagued 2017 performance earned the Wild-
cats a 6-14 record for this group of seniors in their underclassmen years. The 2018 season brought a new era toWJ with the implementation of a new …‘ƒ…Š‹Â?‰ Â•Â–ÂƒĆĄ ƒÂ?† ƒ ‰”‘—’ ‘ˆ players who bought into what their coaches preached and at ÂŽÂƒÂ•Â–ÇĄ ‹Â? ͜͞Í?ÍĽÇĄ ƒŽŽ ‘ˆ –Š‡ ’‹‡…‡• Ƥnally fell into place. “Family. For us that’s a motto and it means Forget About Me, I Love You. We wanted the kids to feel proud of themselves. We wanted to establish something that our entire community could be proud of when they come to games on Friday night,â€? Hurd Jr. said. Continued on page 4
County considers PE credit for athletes
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Feature Aid for the aimless: advice for students about what comes after high school.
10-11 Pitch WJPitch.com the
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Illustrtion by Nora Talbott
Photo courtsey of Air Force
Opinion Why WJ should do more than just wear pink on Wednesdays.
not sponsored by the school would not be included in this bill. Junior Kaitlyn Brady is an acrobat outside of school and practices over 24 hours per week. She believes that it’s unfair to students like her who are not involved in sports at school, but still dedicate a lot of their time to athletics. “If people are putting in a lot of hours outside of school, they should be getting credit, too,� Brady said. Others believe that PE is a good way for students to take a break from their long day of academics and unwind and some research even suggests
Online
that exercise may help students in their classes. “Taking PE class will ben‡Ƥ– ƒ •–—†‡Â?– ‹Â? –Š‡‹” ƒ…ƒ†‡Â?‹… pursuits,â€? PE teacher Lorraine Goldstein said. “There is research showing the brain’s learning centers get turned on by exercise.â€? The new bill will give students half of a PE credit for participating in school-sponsored athletics. This bill was a campaign promise made by Tinbite last year when he was running. MCPS Superintendent Jack Smith will review the proposal in hopes of implementation by February 2020. Photo by Benicio Balignot
a PE class can be very redundant if they are already spending multiple hours after school practicing. Student Member of the Board “Student athletes should be of Education (SMOB) Nate Tin- able to earn a PE credit for their bite proposed a bill that would hard work during the season,â€? give students physical educa- Tinbite said via Instagram. tion credit for participating in a Freshman girls’ varsity socschool-sponsored sports team. cer player Brooke Onder thinks This bill has received lots of that giving student athletes PE positive feedback from student …”‡†‹– ™‹ŽŽ „‡ „‡Â?Â‡Ć¤Â…Â‹ÂƒÂŽ –‘ –Š‡‹” athletes, but there is concern performance. that not everyone will be in“We would be spending less cluded. time on physical education –—†‡Â?– ƒ–ŠŽ‡–‡• ‘ˆ–‡Â? ƤÂ?† and conserving more energy themselves exhausted after a ƒÂ?† ‡ƥ‘”– ˆ‘” ‘—” ’”ƒ…–‹…‡• ƒÂ?† long day of school and practice. games,â€? Onder said. Additionally, having to take Athletes who are in activities › ƒ–› ”Â?†‘”ƥ ƒÂ?† Emma Saltzman Â–ÂƒĆĄ ”‹–‡” ƒÂ?† થ †‹–‘”
A&E See The Pitch’s take on Kanye’s newest album.
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Gender “Xâ€? The Maryland State Board of Elections and the Motor Vehicle Administration now allow people to choose “Xâ€? or Dz—Â?•’‡…‹Ƥ‡†dz ĥ –Š‡‹” ‰‡Â?†‡” instead of male or female on their voter registrations and driver’s licenses. This is in response to the new bill that was enacted on Oct. 1. Maryland lawmakers meant for the bill to be inclusive to members of the LGBTQ community who are transgender or non-binary, meaning they may not refer to themselves as male or female. This, in particular, is very important for non-binary individuals who use license as a form of idenÂ–Â‹Ć¤Â…ÂƒÂ–Â‹Â‘Â?Ǥ Cyberbullying Maryland passed Grace’s Law 2.0 on Oct. 1, toughening penalties for electronic harassment. If a person is caught persuading a minor to commit suicide due to electronic harrasment, they may be imprisoned for up to 10 years and/or receive a $10,000 ƤÂ?‡Ǥ In 2013, Maryland enacted the original Grace’s law, which prohibits misusive behavior over the internet against minors. ÂŽÂŽ …›„‡”„—ŽŽ›‹Â?‰ ‘ƥ‡Â?•‡• in school are taken very seriously and reported to the •…Š‘‘Ž ”‡•‘—”…‡ ‘Ƽ…‡”Ǥ Grace’s Law 2.0 has recieved lots of support from students, parents and teachers.
Photo by Lucas Gillespie
In September of 1995, the Ƥ”•– ‘› –‘”› Â?‘˜‹‡ ™ƒ• •–‹ŽŽ two months away from being released, the Carolina Panthers ’Žƒ›‡† –Š‡‹” Ƥ”•– ‰ƒÂ?‡ ĥ ƒÂ? NFL team and the Walter Johnson varsity football team was Í&#x;ÇŚÍœÇ¤ Š‹• Â?ƒ”Â?‡† –Š‡ ƤÂ?ƒŽ –‹Â?‡ the Wildcats would open a season undefeated through three weeks of play. However, this year, a rejuvenated squad with ƒ ˆ”‡•Š …‘ƒ…Š‹Â?‰ Â•Â–ÂƒĆĄ Šƒ• „‡‡Â? able to reach that same feat for –Š‡ Ƥ”•– –‹Â?‡ •‹Â?…‡Ǣ ‘’‡Â?‹Â?‰ –Š‡ year at 4-0 the Wildcats stayed undefeated for over a third of –Š‡ •‡ƒ•‘Â? ˆ‘” –Š‡ Ƥ”•– –‹Â?‡ ‹Â? –Š‡ ƒ”›ŽƒÂ?† Â’ÂŽÂƒÂ›Â‘ĆĄ ‡”ƒǤ At the turn of the decade, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope surrounding the football team as they closed out the 2010 season with a winning record of 6-4. However, this would be the last time the Wildcats would end their season with a winÂ?‹Â?‰ ”‡…‘”†Ǥ ‹•‹„Ž‡ ‘ƥ‡Â?•‹˜‡ schemes such as in 2013 led to a total of 52 points on the year (5.2 points per game) and defensive blunders such as in 2015 led to 376 points from opposing teams (37.6 points allowed per game). All this made for WJ earning the reputation of laughing stock of Montgomery County football. The Wildcats have posted a composite record of 25-65 (.277) over the past nine years allowing 28.2 PPG and scoring just 16.7 PPG over that time. “People weren’t expecting much from us this year so I
New laws in Maryland
Sports Interview with WJ football player Aaron Jones
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