Vol. 52 » Issue 6

volume 52, Issue 6 February 26, 2014

Walt whitman High school

7100 whittier boulevard

Bethesda, maryland 20817

theblackandwhite.net

Leaving the classroom for Everest and the Outback

photo by NICK ANDERSON

Former social studies teacher and wife halfway through ten-month trip around the world Students danced from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the third annual bRAVE dance marathon for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

The dance raised over $27,000, making it the biggest fundraising event of LLS month. See more on LLS month, pages 8-9.

New vistor ID system, additional cameras tighten security ID system aims to keep sex offenders off school property

By Tyler Jacobson Improving school security is an ever-shifting jigsaw puzzle, with school officials constantly trying to fit in new policies to reach the overall goal of bettering student safety. This year, a computerized visitor check-in is the newest piece.

Now, visitors entering the building during the school day must have their photo identification scanned by a staff member or parent volunteer in the main office. The “Visitor Management Service,” a computer program, then accesses a database from the Maryland sex offender registry to see if the visitor is a registered sex offender, said Doug Steel, the supervisor of MCPS Department of School Safety and Security.

The department is concluding a six-year long process, costing approximately $500,000, to outfit all 202 MCPS schools with the Visitor Management Service.

Begun in early January at Whitman, the identification scan’s function is to keep any sex offenders—who aren’t legally allowed on school grounds— from entering school property.

Additionally, security will now have a digital record of all visitors to the building.

“It’s definitely an effective tool when it comes to information pertaining to visitors,” said security team leader Cherisse Milliner, who is still waiting

to be trained on the system.

This system is a step down from what the elementary and middle schools currently have, where the front door is locked at all times and visitors have to contact the main office via intercom before being buzzed in.

The county is putting that intercom system into high schools this summer, but because of the large number of people entering and exiting high schools, administrators will have the option to use the intercom however they want, Steel said.

Though the ID program has only been in use for a couple of weeks, county officials have yet to train Whitman administrators on exactly what to do if a sex offender shows up, security assistant Paul Marshall said.

Steel explained the protocol in a phone interview last week. If the Visitor Management System identifies a visitor as a sex offender, the person checking the visitor in must then confirm this identification through the Maryland Sex Registry website. Then an administrator moves the visitor into a private room, before security escorts him or her off the premises. If the offender is being confrontational at any time, the school could contact the police.

In the six years since the program started, MCPS has encountered only six to 12 sex offenders, Steel said.

Though there haven’t been

Inside Look

Science department adds new courses for next school year Page 2

any notable problems at Whitman so far, there have been a few false alarms, secretary Jennifer Hoppel said. One visitor had the same name as someone who set off a red flag in the sex offender registry.

“Dr. Goodwin had to call the head of county security,” Hoppel said. “It turned out all okay though.”

Scanning visitor’s IDs won’t stop someone from walking into the building and bypassing the main office, Steel said, adding, “That becomes security’s responsibility.”

MCPS won’t use the Visitor Management Service to check for a person’s criminal record because it’s wrong to ban someone from going on school grounds for something they did years ago, Steel said.

“There’s a privacy issue there.”

Last year, MCPS replaced security cameras in the building with 76 higher quality ones. In the spring, the school will add more cameras outside, administrators said.

“We have a much better camera system,” Goodwin said.

“Now it’s much easier to identify the faces in the video feed.”

Still, Goodwin feels like there are still some minor changes that could be made.

“Some doors need to close more properly,” Goodwin said. “But like always, the best security is vigilance by our teachers and students.”

Progress update: Whitman Compliments should inspire face-toConstruction in downtown B-Town face interaction Page 5 Page 3

By Casey Noenickx After spending the first year of their marriage commuting between New York and D.C., former social studies teacher Michael Curran and his wife Sarah Curran have finally made up for lost time, living together around the clock and around the globe.

The couple began their ten-month journey in September and has already conquered six countries, across four continents, with six more to go. The two plan to return to Maryland after their trip—Sarah will be working for the Maryland Court of Appeals and Michael will be returning to a teaching position in the county.

“The timing for the trip just worked out perfectly, so that’s why we figured ‘Why not?’” Sarah said. “It had been hard living apart, and since both of us had jobs to come back to, no impounding leases, no kids, this was the best time for us to travel.”

The Currans started with a U.S. road trip from D.C. to Dallas, flew out of Dallas to Fiji, and toured Australia, New Zealand, India and Nepal. They are currently finishing off the longest leg of their trip, six weeks in Nepal, and they’ll next hit Turkey, South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, and finally Argentina and Brazil for the World Cup this summer.

“The countries are hard to compare; they’ve all just been very different experiences so far,” Michael said.

“Australia was very luxurious in comparison to Fiji, but both places were so beautiful and all the people were just as friendly.”

Between touring and volunteering, highlights of the trip so far have included teaching in Nepal as well as hiking to the Everest base camp. For Michael, he is especially looking forward to being in Brazil for the World Cup this summer.

Both packed just two pairs of pants and a couple t-shirts. In addition to clothes, they only brought necessities like pots, pans and a tent, and have been buying anything else that they may need as they go.

After their U.S. leg, the Currans started in Fiji, staying on Galoa Island for just over a week, living in traditional grass huts on the beach.

“It felt like we were living in a jungle, it was pretty hilarious,” Michael said. “The weather was beautiful spring weather, and all of the locals were beyond welcoming. I felt pretty big though, because everyone was pretty small.”

After Fiji, the Currans flew directly into Sydney, Australia. Stepping off the plane into 112-degree weather, the couple greeted the big city and its touristcentral expenses.

The Currans participated in typical tourist activities, visiting the Harbor Bridge, the Circular Quay, and the Sydney Opera House, which was beautifully lit up at night, Sarah said. After four days in Sydney the two then headed into the Great Outback.

Continued on page 16

An inside look at NBC4’s weather team

Scout team pushes girls basketball to best season in years

Page 12

Page 15

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February 26, 2014

NEWS

Briefs Maryland schools still on top as education magazine changes ranking system The Maryland education system was ranked number one in the country for five years straight by Education Week, but was stripped of its numerical ranking when the national education newspaper switched to letter grades this year. Education Week’s annual Quality Counts assessment of state schools still listed Maryland as the best education system in the nation, but qualified it with a B+ grade.

This year the assessment was streamlined, and scores were allotted from subscores in three categories: student chance of success, K-12 achievement and school finance. Maryland received consistent B’s in each of the current three categories, even placing second in the country in K-12 Achievement.

Massachusetts remains Maryland’s closest rival: while managing to receive number one in both K-12 achievement and chance of success, Massachusetts got an overall score of a B due to its 11th place ranking in school finance.

It’s unlikely, however, that any major changes will be made as a result of the findings. MCPS already has strong education programs in place, and will likely just use the Quality Counts report as a fresh look at the state of Maryland’s education system, principal Alan Goodwin said.

Lady Vikes continue domination with 4x800 state championship The golden age of girls sports at Whitman is in full swing.

Last week in the Maryland 3A/4A Indoor Track State Championships, juniors Erin McClanahan, Clare Severe, Lela Walter and sophomore Lisa Feldman won the 4x800 meter relay. Severe also won the 800-meter individual event.

The relay team finished the race in 9:39, beating Churchill’s team by five seconds.

“We won regionals so knew we had a great shot,” Walter said. “But we were still nervous, so to actually win was incredible.”

Only starting to race together in early February, the girls have greatly improved their time since then. They spent a long time working on their handoffs, Walter said.

It was the girls track team’s fifth state championship in the last two years and Severe’s sixth state championship. She has won five in track and one more from soccer this fall.

Senior Ed Smith finished second in the boys 800-meters and junior Amir Khagani finished fourth in the 3200-meters.

AP scores increase over last three years MCPS seniors excelled on last year’s AP exams, scoring significantly higher than the rest of the country. In 2013, approximately 2.2 million students took AP exams, approximately 40 percent of whom were in 12th grade.

Over half of MCPS graduates scored a collegeready score—three or above—on the AP exams in 2013. At Whitman, 83.5 percent of graduates earned a score of three or above in 2013, up about two percent from 2012 and five percent from 2011, according to data released by MCPS. Many more students take at least one AP exam at Whitman compared to the county and the country. Eighty-six percent of Whitman seniors took at least one AP exam in 2013 compared to 66 percent of MCPS seniors and 33 percent of seniors nationwide, according to the county’s statistics.

“We have a high-achieving student population, so the high AP scores are just a side effect of that,” resource counselor Frances Landau said. “Another factor is that at Whitman, the expectation is that if you sign up for an AP class, you take the AP exam in May.”

Science revamps physics courses, Shorts and yearbook add journalism as pre-requisite

By Casey Noenickx Students registering for courses next year will see several changes in their class catalogues. AP Physics 1 and a double-period AP Physics C will be taught for the first time next year, while the Intro to Journalism class will become a prerequisite for all student publications, including Yearbook and Whitman Shorts.

CollegeBoard is dropping AP Physics B and replacing it with two courses—AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2. These courses will break up AP Physics B into two years and shift the focus to main ideas. AP Physics 1 will cover about 60 percent of the material taught in AP Physics B, science resource teacher Don DeMember said.

AP Physics 1 will be offered next year and AP Physics 2 will debut in the 2015-2016 school year.

Additionally, the two AP Physics C classes will be offered next year combined as a double period.

Currently, AP Physics C Mechanics is offered as a single-period, year-long course and AP Physics C Electricity and Magnetism is offered as an independentstudy, year-long course. The double period will teach mechanics first semester and electricity and magnetism second semester.

The reconfigured physics classes are an indicator of an increased push for STEM—science, technology, engineering and math—in high schools. STEM teachers work together to encourage students to take each other’s classes, DeMember said.

“I think the change is going to be great because it offers a lot of flexibility,” he said. “The downside is there are a lot of different options and getting students into the right class is going to be tricky.”

AP Physics C targets students that already know they want to go into physical science or engineering in college, along with some of the most advanced math students, DeMember said.

AP Physics 1 and 2 will also cover mechanics and electricity and magnetism, but the difference between the courses is that AP Physics C will be calculus-based.

“If students take both physics courses, the changes

will be beneficial,” teacher Kismet Talaat said. “AP Physics 1 won’t cover everything and AP Physics 2 will have the fun stuff.”

Intro to Journalism, or J1 — currently a prerequisite for application to the Black & White, will also be required for Whitman Shorts and Yearbook next year.

Generally, students take J1 sophomore year.

“J1 has done a phenomenal job preparing students for the Black & White—writing stories, preparing to do interviews, that sort of skill set,” teacher Nick Confino said. “We found that for Yearbook or Whitman Shorts, some of those skill sets haven’t been as strong as the sponsors would like, so we thought that J1 would be really influential for students interested in these publications.”

The curriculum won’t change dramatically, except for the addition of broadcast journalism. Interviewing and story writing is still a part of the skill set that Yearbook and Shorts kids should have, Confino said.

“What we teach in J1 is traditional, honorable journalism,” teacher Prudence Crewdson said.

“These are not just student activities; these are real news publications and they need to be based on solid reporting—getting the facts straight and presenting people’s views correctly, honestly and clearly.”

The new requirement will help the yearbook’s writing and reporting, Yearbook sponsor Elizabeth Keating said.

“What I don’t think students understand is just how much journalism goes into the yearbook,” she said. “We may have a smaller staff or some reluctance to go from journalism into the Yearbook, but I think in the long run it will only be a good thing.”

Journalism would also become a requirement for Whitman Shorts.

“This will be great for Whitman Shorts, because we all just see everything as a joke right now,” Shorts advisor Geoff Schaefer said. “Whenever we have a big story idea it’s like ‘Guys, you can’t just talk about the funny parts of a fire drill.’ You have to have some journalistic style in there.”

Subject: Physics Courses -

AP Physics C - Electricity and Magnetism AP Physics C - Mechanics

AP Physics 1

AP Physics C - Mechanics and E&M

(ind. study)

(double period)

AP Physics 2 (starting in fall 2015)

Subject: Journalism Course -

Intro to Journalism

The Black & White Yearbook TV Production

Whitman Shorts

Senior debater plans gap year to develop charity

BY BEN TITLEBAUM and Kelley Czajka The average national debate tournament costs about $500.

Multiply that by five tournaments per year, and add the team’s membership fee and tuition for debate camp. A year of Whitman debate will total about $5,500. Many students enjoy debate enough to justify the high cost, but others have struggled with the activity’s steep costs.

Senior Daisy Massey, captain of the Lincoln Douglas team, started a charity called Access Debate in December that will provide needbased assistance to financially challenged debaters, hoping to expand the size of the Lincoln Douglas debate community. Massey will take a gap year to develop her project before she attends Yale.

Whitman’s debate team is fortunate to have dozens of members with top coaches and a history of excellence; however, many schools and debaters don’t have access to the financial resources needed to help a team grow and succeed, Massey said.

“There’s nothing to help kids who don’t already have a team,” Massey said. “That’s what I’m trying to build.”

Massey’s mom, Mandy Katz, who has been heavily involved with the debate team for years, agreed.

“I think the issue is huge,” she said. “The perception in debate is that it’s getting worse—you’ve got a big program-small program gap.”

Emily Portuguese, a senior at Hanover Park High School in New Jersey, is the only debater at her school. She has to coordinate and sign up for tournaments by herself.

Her family also has to pay for a private coach.

“I know firsthand how expensive the debate community can be,” she said. “Without monetary funding, it’s pretty much impossible to go to tournaments.”

Massey decided to take action after debating a unique round at the prestigious Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky last April. In this round, Massey’s opponent deviated from the given topic and instead tried to gain the judge’s vote by discussing how he had taken a job in order to pay for debate and coached himself by reading and watching instructional videos. She was so moved by her opponent’s story, she said, that she decided to do whatever she could to help other talented but less-well-off debaters.

“I remember talking to my sister about the round and suggesting that at the very least we could start fundraising at tournament registration so that when kids register they can donate money,” Massey said.

Deciding what precisely she wanted her organization to achieve was difficult, Massey said. She had to narrow down the organization’s purpose to “something feasible,” she said, explaining that the organization shouldn’t try to “do too many things.”

Massey worked on bringing Access Debate to fruition throughout first semester, reaching out to other members of the debate community from across the country to compose the organization’s advisory board. She began building the website in October.

Massey plans to contact debate friends who can share the organization’s mission with their teams. She is hosting Access Tournament of Champions, where sponsors can donate money to participating debaters for each round or tournament they compete in. The money will go directly to scholarships for selected candidates. If Access TOC can raise $2,000 in February, the organization will then award its first scholarship.

More scholarships will follow in the spring and summer depending on the amount of money raised.

Massey’s opponent in her TOC round, Jack Ave, who graduated from Okoboji High School in Iowa last spring, praised the importance of Massey’s efforts.

“The work Daisy Massey is doing is going to be instrumental at equalizing debate,” Ave said.

“I think it will help start the movement. It will have a snowball effect.”

Portuguese was even more specific about the charity’s possibilities.

“Access Debate will allow more people to gain new skills, meet new people and have fun,” Portuguese said.

News

February 26, 2014

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projected graphic courtesy STONEBRIDGECARRAS, LLC

Woodmont Plaza developments continue

A mock-up of the planned Woodmont Plaza developments. The site, on the corner of Woodmont and Bethesda avenues, will include a new apartment buildings, as well as condominiums and retail.

Construction at Lot 31 includes retail, residential space, new parking garage

By Sarah Friedman The crater at the corner of Woodmont and Bethesda avenues, also known as Lot 31, will soon be transformed into retail and residential buildings, along with a massive parking garage, through a $200 million construction plan scheduled to be completed in spring of 2015.

Development firms StonebridgeCarras and PN Hoffman have partnered to complete the project.

The development will include 40,000 square feet of retail space, two residential units--The Flats, a 162-unit apartment complex, and The Darcy, an 88-unit condominium building--and a 1200-space parking garage. Roughly 900 parking spaces will be for public use, while the remaining spaces will be reserved for residents of the condos and apartments, said StonebridgeCarras principal Douglas Firstenberg.

Before construction, Lot 31 was a public parking lot with 300 spaces. This increase in parking will ease parking concerns in the area, said Stephanie Coppula, a spokesperson for the Bethesda Urban Partnership, an non-profit organization responsible for landscaping and maintenance of downtown Bethesda.

The section of Woodmont Avenue adjacent to the project, which has remained closed during construction, will reopen this summer, and the parking garage will be available to the public by the end of 2014. The retail and residential buildings will open in late spring of 2015, Firstenberg

said.

The only incoming retailers that have been announced are Silver, an upscale version of the Silver Diner, and the second location of PassionFish, a local seafood restaurant.

“It’s going to be a mix of some more food options and shopping stores, which we’re really excited about because we think there’s a shortage of true shopping in downtown Bethesda,” Firstenberg said.

Developers StonebridgeCarras and PN Hoffman won rights to the Lot 31 property in 2005, Firstenberg said. The county selected the partnership to build a public parking garage, using county funds, as well as mixed-use buildings of their choice. The construction plans were approved in 2009, when the development companies began to work with Verizon to relocate over 3,000 fiber-optic cable lines in West Bethesda. In 2012, the two firms began construction on the project.

The developers have encountered countless complications in the planning and building process, including having to rezone the land and work around copious amounts of snow. In addition, Bethesda residents have complained about the temporary loss of parking and closure of Woodmont Road, Firstenberg said.

Despite inconveniences, residents look forward to increased parking in addition to even more restaurant options.

“I’ve never been to Silver Diner before, but I’m really excited,” freshman Mattie Robinson said.

New retail developments include restaurants PassionFish, Silver Diner spin-off

by Casey Noenickx Aside from the luxurious condominiums and apartments that will debut at Bethesda’s Lot 31 across from Barnes and Noble, trendy and eccentric restaurants will also open in 2015, including PassionFish, an upscale seafood restaurant, and Silver, a modernized restaurant by the creators of Silver Diner.

So far, the two restaurants are the only ones to have announced their opening in the Lot 31 location.

More shops and restaurants have signed onto the project, and will be announced later, said StonebridgeCarras principal Douglas Firstenberg, one of the developers of the project.

Silver, the new restaurant by Silver Diner, will bring flavor to the new buildings. The menu is supposed to be smaller and also more upscale than the diner, with items including seasonal entrees.

Also new in the Silver concept will be a bar, something never seen in the original diner locations. A more modern design—with a stone and wooden interior—and outdoor seating will make the concept fit more into the Bethesda Row restaurant landscape.

Bethesda’s PassionFish will be the restaurant’s second location. Passion Food Hospitality, the restaurant group that runs PassionFish, currently runs six other

restaurants, including D.C. Coast and District Commons. Bethesda’s PassionFish will be the first of their restaurants to open in Maryland.

“Our expansion and new ventures follow a conservative pace; so, we may continue to focus on our ability to strive for excellence daily,” said Passion Food Hospitality chef Gus DiMillo said in a statement.

“We challenge every growth decision by that motto and we are pleased to share those same values with our partners at such a superior development.”

The 150-seat restaurant and a banquet room will go on the ground floor of The Darcy—the condominium building on Lot 31.

The original PassionFish opened in 2008 in Reston and has since been named to numerous best restaurant lists. Chef Chris Clime will be overseeing the opening of the new location.

The restaurant provides an original seafood menu with dishes ranging from Mediterranean to Thai cuisine, and also a number of sushi and crudo options, Clime said. The restaurant was the first to sign on to the Lot 31 development.

“We are thrilled to bring PassionFish to our development— the overall scope of this restaurant is a perfect complement to The Darcy’s luxury condominiums,” Firstenberg said in a press release.

Kraze Burger closes, cites problems stemming from construction

By Adam Simon Many consider downtown Bethesda a hub for thriving and trendy businesses and restaurants; but often times, this creates an overly-competitive environment that makes survival a constant challenge.

Bethesda’s Kraze Burger location filed for bankruptcy and closed on Jan. 30. The Bethesda franchise is separate from the corporate entity—Kraze Burger Inc. Because they are independent, the Bethesda location could file for bankruptcy with no implication on the corporate company.

“The bankruptcy will be dismissed within a matter of weeks,” CEO Sang Lee said in an email to the Black & White. “This has no effect on the Kraze Burger organization or any other Kraze Burger locations.”

The company attributes the failure of the

location to large-scale construction on Bethesda Ave. disrupting foot-traffic through the downtown area. The construction is responsible for the 50 percent drop in sales, according to Lee. The Korean-based burger chain is not the only company facing setbacks from the construction, but because of special circumstances, they couldn’t stay afloat.

“Other stores in the Bethesda Row area received assistance from their landlords due to these issues,” Lee said. “However, our landlord was unwilling to give us any relief under these market circumstances.”

Opening in 2011, Kraze Burger Bethesda had prime real estate, located on the corner of Woodmont Ave. and Elm St. in retail space formerly occupied by HäagenDazs. Because of the good location and trendy style, the

closing caught some students off guard.

“I didn’t understand because I normally saw it pretty packed,” junior Josh Trauberman said. “It also had such good location—right in the heart of Bethesda— and I never would have thought that a restaurant with that good of a location would close within its relatively recent opening.”

Although this location faced hard times, Kraze Burger the corporation is thriving. With three locations in the US already, Kraze Burger has signed new leases in downtown D.C., BWI Airport and Dulles Airport, and is currently constructing a new location in Montgomery Mall.

“I can assure you Kraze Burgers is a company with solid, sound fundamentals and a plan to succeed,” Lee said.

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News

February 26, 2014

photo courtesy JORDAN WOLFF

Whitman graduation rate declines by 1.8 percent

The jazz ensemble won first place for its second straight year after placing second the two years before.

The ensemble attributed much of its success to the chemistry among members.

Jazz ensemble takes first place in Mid-Atlantic Festival

by Adam Simon The Whitman Jazz ensemble riffed, bopped and rocked their way to the top, winning first place in the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival over Presidents Day weekend.

The jazz festival is held in Rockville, MD and features schools from D.C., Maryland, Virginia and New York.

There are multiple sections of the competition, with 12 schools competing in the high school jazz category. After the initial performances, the top three schools advance to the next round, where they perform two pieces. First, second and third place are determined, and first is awarded $1,000.

Whitman has competed for the past three years, and has placed all three times,taking second place two years ago and first place last year. This year the band has a different makeup, which contributed to its success.

There are two freshmen, three sophomores and more girls than usual. The group also has a strong rhythm section, comprised of seniors Chris Hodgman, Carson Lystad, Sam Shapiro, Jake Askarinam and Jordan Wolff.

“The rhythm section is really the driving force behind all of our success,” junior saxophonist Olivia Weals said. “These guys have all been playing with each other for at least three years in jazz band, plus more time outside of that in combos and other bands.”

Throughout the year, teachers and professionals came to listen to the group and gave their feedback. Music teacher Terry Alvey incorporated the feedback into lessons, using it to mentor the group, saxophonist Aina Puig said.

“Ms. Alvey has, of course, helped tremendously,” Puig said. “She encourages us to think of ways to improve as an ensemble and work collectively to get the best sound.”

As a group, they sounded more mature than other bands their age at the competition, Alvey said.

But above all, chemistry among band members drove the team into first place.

“Everyone loves to play and we all have such a great time together,” senior trombonist Sydney Pimentel said. “It’s the perfect atmosphere for success.”

County sees 1.5 percent increase in graduation rate over two years

By Matt Yang Walking across the stage at DAR Constitution Hall represents the culmination of the long journey that Whitman students undergo.

However, fewer students completed the journey last year than in previous years.

Despite a small spike in the MCPS graduation rate, Whitman’s graduation rate is on the decline.

The county rate increased by 1.5 percent over the past two years, while Whitman experienced a 1.8 percent decrease over the same time period. The 2013 graduation rates for MCPS and Whitman were 88.3 and 93.6 percent respectively, according to data released by MCPS. In comparison, the 2013 graduation rates for B-CC, Churchill and Wootton were all above 95 percent.

The four-year graduation rates are measured by comparing the number of students enrolled in the ninth grade class to the number of students who graduate from that class four years later, not including transfers, principal Alan Goodwin said. The graduation rate for Whitman has typically been around 95 or 96 percent, he said.

Even though the 1.8 decrease in the overall graduation rate is relatively small, Goodwin believes it is still meaningful.

“We always want students to

graduate, but some students either aren’t ready or make bad decisions,” Goodwin said. “The decrease represents a handful of students who didn’t graduate, and students need to graduate.”

Recent data also highlights differences in graduation rates across different ethnicities. At Whitman, 94.7 percent of White students, 66.7 percent of Black or African students, 92.3 percent of Hispanic or Latino students and above 95 percent of Asian students graduated in 2013.

The biggest reason that students don’t graduate is because they haven’t fulfilled the required credits. For example, some students fail English 12 or math classes their senior year and are forced to take summer school, keeping them from graduating on time, counselor Jamie Ahearn said.

There are no overarching reasons that the graduation rates have risen or declined in the past couple of years. Rather, it’s just a matter of each class being unique, Goodwin said.

“We are making steady progress in our efforts to narrow performance gaps,” superintendent Joshua Starr said in a press release. “But we know that there is still much work to be done to ensure that every student graduates on time and is ready for college and the work place.”

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fEBRUARY 26, 2014

Staff Editorial

OPINION

Long-standing hallway Whitman Compliments should art needs an upgrade

inspire face-to-face friendliness

By Scott Singer Nearly three weeks ago, Whitman Compliments had once again conquered my Facebook newsfeed. Nameless posts labeled my classmates as “funny, nice, and VERY attractive,” “human jukebox because there isn’t a song on this earth they don’t know” and in typical Washington fashion, “going to be President in 2040.”

The reincarnated Facebook page came back earlier this month as an outlet for students to complement their peers anonymously. After a nine-day run, Whitman Compliments closed shop.

Our student body needs to translate its virtual kindness into real world interaction— interaction that Whitman Compliments was supposed to catalyze. It’s important that we hold on to the positive vibes of Whitman Compliments and translate them to our everyday lives.

Sites like Whitman Compliments can provide a morale boost to people, given the wide readership of the webpage. But often the students who receive compliments are the same people who already get them from their peers during school, psychologist Judith Glasser told the Black & White in an e-mail interview. This leaves the students who might need a compliment the even most in greater despair.

It’s unrealistic to ask that everyone be perfectly nice 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We’re all human and are free to express our emotions, even the negative ones, in moderation. While we generally do a good job recognizing a select few friends, we should strive to recognize our peers that seem to be under the radar.

Even Eyal Hanfling, the originator of Whitman Compliments, believes compliments in person are much more meaning than virtual shout-outs, he said. We should try to make his vision a reality—if you’re the type that competes with your classmates on a test, consider congratulating them on a good score instead of rubbing in the fact that you scored a half of a point higher. If you’re an athlete, tell your teammates that you’re impressed with their new moves, and perhaps ask them to teach you how to perform them as well. In order for our students to succeed beyond high school, they must understand how to relate to and empathize with their peers. Positivity is a good start.

Perhaps in this age of digital anonymity, it’s more important than ever to express gratitude for how awesome your peers are.

But even more importantly, we should try to recognize those who could use a compliment the most.

After three years of leisurely hallway strolls, the view is starting to look a little too familiar. Head up the stairs by the auditorium and you’ll find a series of paintings presenting some of the world’s greatest architecture. Walk down by the T.V. studio and you’ll come across an assortment of caricatures that appear to date back to the 1800s. Grab a bite in the cafeteria and you’ll notice a few large canvases in the back.

All of this art has one thing in common: It’s remained nearly unchanged for as long as anyone can remember.

To be fair, a significant amount of our school’s older artwork is part of the Legacy Collection, a sort of in-school museum started 12 years ago by art teacher Jean Diamond.

In this program, the school pays students to acquire exceptional, award-winning, or historically significant art in order to create an archival record of outstanding student work. The collection is oneof-a-kind among high schools on the entire East Coast and has caught the attention of Superintendent Joshua Starr, who is coming to tour it soon, said Diamond. Right now, more glass cases are being installed to house new paintings. This is all good news.

But much of our school’s hallway artwork is reminiscent of some sort of antique shop or ancient history museum.

Numerous projects dot the hallways from five or more years ago and multiple paintings can be traced back to single individuals who graduated years ago. It’s doubtful that our grads who have moved on past high school, through college, and

are now living adult lives would really care all that much if their amateur artwork was finally taken down. Let’s face it; they had a good run.

The time to change this outdated art is long since overdue. Without a doubt, our school has the necessary talent to transform our hallways into vibrant galleries that showcase the creativity of our current generation.

And it’s quite simple to do.

While the Legacy Collection should be spared, the remaining student artwork could be cycled through every month or so, adding much needed color to fairly dull institutional corridors, and potentially even bringing a little fame to the artists behind the scenes. New artwork could also remedy the frequent déjà vu that occurs around every turn.

Additionally, plots of wall space could be divvied out to aspiring muralists wishing to share their skill with the community. And the benefits don’t just stop at aesthetics.

Painting our walls could be a team building exercise or even a spirit event. It could be used to raise money by auctioning off square footage for a small price, thus providing fundraisers and conveying the energy of our student body at the same time. Remember the appearance of those mysterious taped blue squares? Imagine a hallway full of them, but filled with frescoes rather than flyers.

It’s no secret that most kids enjoy the surprise of finding their halls colorfully decorated during pre-homecoming spirit week. It would be all too easy to give them that feeling every week.

Volume 52, Issue 6 2013-2014 The Black & White is published 9 times a year by the students of Walt Whitman High School, 7100 Whittier Blvd., Bethesda, MD, 20817. The Black & White is an open forum for student views. Students and staff can pick up the paper free of charge. Mail subscriptions cost $35. The newspaper aims to both inform and entertain.

Signed opinion pieces reflect the positions of the individual staff. Opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Walt Whitman High School or Montgomery County Public Schools.

The Black & White encourages readers to submit opinions on relevant topics in the form of letters to the editor. Letters must be signed to be printed, though names will be withheld upon

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opinion

6

FEBRUARY 26, 2014

Facebook: Worth the time and effort?

Pro

Con

Sebastian van Bastelaer

B

efore finishing the

three weeks I spent in Tanzania over the summer, I was struck with a sad realization: once I left the village, I would probably never see those students and villagers again. It was, after all, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interact with these people. My fears were eliminated, however, when I heard a phrase I never thought I’d hear in rural Africa: “Do you have Facebook?”

Seven months later, I’m still in touch with those people.

Having a Facebook account opens the window to stay in touch with people I would have never had a chance to contact again.

In an age where we can travel to distant corners of the globe within a couple days, people have the chance to make friends all over the world.

In today’s interconnected world, Facebook is vital to preserve and nurture those relationships.

Critics of the site tend to focus on its impact on a local scale, saying that interacting with friends through a computer is hardly interacting at all. However, when viewed from a global perspective, Facebook’s impact can be huge.

Just take exchange students, for instance.

Exchange students from a school in France arrived Feb. 25, but their hosts had already gotten in touch with their guests online in weeks prior, learning about each other and preparing to share a home together for two weeks. Junior Harrison Guh has learned that his guest plays hockey, and

already made plans to attend a Capitals game with him.

That’s something that could never have happened without Facebook.

Those who argue that Facebook is a major distractor fail to realize that any waste of time is the users’ responsibility, not the site’s fault. The website isn’t forcing anyone to stay on it. Most can spend a reasonable, controlled amount of time on the site, and have fun in the process. Anything can become a tool for procrastination, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value.

In addition, many people who oppose Facebook argue that the site’s system of “liking” people’s posts and pictures is a competitive, unrealistic view of society. However, the ability to “Like” somebody’s material is just that: a chance to tell people that you appreciate who they

Having a Facebook account opens the window to stay in touch with people I would have never had a chance to contact again. are, or what they believe in.

There’s a reason that most people who join the site stay on it. Yet despite its widespread popularity, there are still many who consistently criticize it. I would continue to refute them if I could, but in the end, why rub it in? They’re missing out enough already.

Sarah Friedman and Samantha Zambri

I

n a world where one’s social life is determined by her Facebook profile page, you could call us nobodies.

My name is Sarah Friedman. Most of you probably don’t know that, because you’ve never seen me pop up on your Facebook news feed. To me, that is a good thing, given that I’ve probably never met most of you in my life. When I was 12, my parents banned me from Facebook, despite my constant begging and pleading to make a profile “like everyone else.” They finally caved when I got to high school, but by then I had realized I didn’t want a Facebook after all.

Without Facebook, you don’t have to request to be friends with anyone; the best way to do a group project is to work on it in person. And if a person wants to know what a peer looks like, they will have to track them down in real life.

My name is Samantha Zambri and I’m a recovering Facebook addict. Like any junkie, I didn’t realize how bad my addiction was until I was in too deep.

Honestly, I don’t hate Facebook. In fact, there are often days when I miss it. But contrary to my friends’ beliefs, life without Facebook isn’t agonizing or boring or isolating. It’s freeing.

Those without Facebook are outsiders to the universe of friend requests, groups with instantaneous updates and profile picture drama. In their world, they don’t have to request to be friends with anyone; the best way to do a group project is to work on it in person. And if a person wants to know what a peer looks like, they will have to track them down in real life.

Being friends with someone is so much more than the click of a button.

“Stalking” someone’s Facebook profile

page before meeting them takes away the mystery of getting to know them— their friends, their interests and their past summer’s events—all of which are easily available online. Making immediate judgments based on a few pictures and words on a web page doesn’t feel like the best way to meet someone in the “disconnected” world of the Facebook-less.

We admit, there are benefits to having a Facebook page. There’s a reason why 1.1 billion people—about a seventh of the world—have a profile on the network. Groups and teams can send out updates and rally their troops efficiently, and it’s nice to know what people are doing when you may not talk to them as much as you would like.

However, no one can deny that obsessing over “likes” on a profile picture is almost as ridiculous as Miley Cyrus’ VMA performance. How many of those likes on your profile picture are from people who actually think you’re attractive? No one will ever know.

Working on a project via Facebook chat isn’t the best environment for the creative process. Computer screens act as barriers between productivity and procrastination. Completing part of a project before a physical meeting with a group feels more urgent than having to post it on a Facebook group before a certain time.

Finally: the creativity conundrum.

It’s much more difficult to communicate ideas online than it is in person.

Meeting in person allows ideas to flow organically, without having to type into a chat box. It’s easier to make comprehensive decisions when all group members are present and paying full attention to the task at hand, not looking at their best friend’s new profile picture, checking Edline, watching a YouTube video or taking a Buzzfeed quiz.

We’re sorry in advance to all of you who have to work on a group project with us in the future, but when it comes to Facebook, consider us offline for good.

D.C.’s lack of representation in Congress is unfair, promotes political apathy by fionn adamian “Taxation without representation” is the catchphrase of most U.S. History classes. Teachers drill the idea into students to explain how colonists revolted against taxes the British imposed without a seat in parliament. Today, the saying has taken a contemporary meaning on D.C. license plates everywhere— the U.S. capital’s tax paying residents have no representation in Congress.

However, this New Year marked a step towards democracy for D.C. when an April 2013 referendum measure allowing the city to spend locally raised tax revenue without a congressional appropriation went into effect. The new law has set the D.C. Council and Congress at odds, as the Government Accountability Office declared a referendum cannot legally change the relationship between the federal government and the District. The D.C. Council still plans to implement the new rules.

Setting aside the legality of the referendum, Congress should grant D.C. greater home rule and representation. It’s

bitterly ironic that citizens in the capital of the supposed champion of democracy have no say in their own legislature.

And despite claims that the Constitution only allows states to have representation in Congress, D.C. is given the same responsibilities as states in over 400 laws, including interstate commerce, making the discrepancy inexcusable.

D.C. also wasn’t initially meant to be a residential area, but as times

change, so should our interpretation of the Constitution. Now, over 600,000 people live in D.C., a greater population than both Wyoming and Vermont.

A student perspective provides an equally compelling argument for democracy in the nation’s capital: kids have no reason to get engaged in politics when they have no say in the system in the first place. Younger generations are often chastised for being apathetic. But

our youth’s indifference could be shaped in part by the idea that nothing they can do will matter at the local level. D.C.’s disenfranchisement legitimizes this perception by denying citizens a vote in government and the final say in how the City Council spends their own tax dollars.

Congress has often tried to pass strict restrictions on abortion or more lenient gun control laws specifically at the D.C. level. Regardless of one’s opinions on these contentious issues, D.C. citizens still deserve to have their own debate over them. That’s the fundamental premise of our democracy: we all have a right to influence policy through a vote.

Going forward, D.C. is set to come into conflict with Congress over whether or not it should have the freedom to set its own budget. Congress should defer to the city on its local issues. It’s none of Congress’ business.

Fionn Adamian, a Black & White opinion editor, is a public affairs intern at DC Vote.

SGA “ the leaderSHIP never sinks

7

Ads

“

march 19, 2014

Jorge Richardson Marcela Falck-Bados VICE-PRESIDENT PRESIDENT

announcements:

Kendall Eisenberg TREASURER

Thank you for the outstanding student attendance at all of our events during LLS Month!

Your donations make a difference. With your help, we are one step closer to finding a cure.

Thank you!

Jenna Kantor SECRETARY

Rachel Ordan SECRETARY

Class Officers:

‘14 ‘15 ‘16 ‘17

Elizabeth Meyer Jonny Rasch, Katie Sullivan, Mia Carmel Jenna Hosker, Selvi Ulusan, Carolyn Hoover Keara Sullivan, Kueho Michael Choi, Sophia Zambri

8

In-De

FEBRUARY 26, 2014

The ins and outs of

photo by NICK ANDERSON

Leukemia and Lymphoma month

Sarah Friedman here’s no better time to be a Viking than the month of February, when Whitman holds its annual LLS Month fundraiser.

LLS Month is a part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s High School Challenge Program, a competition unique to the DC area in which local high schools compete against each other to raise the most money throughout the month of February.

After winter break, the entire leadership class — 25 students advised

by Sheryl Freedman — divides into committees and shifts into full-blown LLS mode.

Last year, Whitman raised the most money in the county by a long shot — a whopping $91,761.16 — putting us about $11,266 over Walter Johnson, the second place school.

Eagerness to raise more money than WJ helped fueled last year’s massive fundraising, leadership advisor Sheryl Freedman said.

“It’s a brilliant strategy on LLS’ part,” Freedman said.

Last year, however, the student body got caught up with the competitive aspect, she said. She doesn’t mind scaling back the intensity in exchange for focusing on the cause — funding cancer treatment and research.

“There’s been a peak,” Freedman said. “We’re trying to get back to the message and away from the competition.”

The cause is especially important to senior Marcela Falck-Bados, LLS chairperson, who underwent treatment for leukemia in 2002 and 2009.

“Working with the SGA and LLS and combining both passions that I have, makes it an even bigger driving force,” Falck-Bados said. “It makes me want people to realize how many amazing things Whitman has done for such an amazing cause. Combining all of that is just really rewarding.”

T

bRAVE Eating.

Dancing.

Sweating.

Screaming. What do these things all have in common? They all take place at bRAVE, the sweatiest, loudest and biggest fundraising high school rave in Montgomery County. bRAVE began as a 12-hour dance marathon in 2012, inspired by Penn State’s Thon, a 12-hour rave to raise money for pediatric cancer. Last year, the committee cut the event down to seven hours to eliminate the five awkward hours at the start.

From its first year, when the event raised about $10,000 from 500 guests, bRAVE was a hit. The dance raised more than twice as much last year, when

over 800 dancers helped raise $21,000.

This year bRAVE hit 1000 guests, and raised over $27,000. Organizational improvements made the event run more smoothly than ever before.

Last year, the leadership staff expected about 100 sign-ups at the door, but over 400 last-minute dancers turned up. As a result, there wasn’t enough food and the rush was overwhelming, said senior Elizabeth Meyer, bRAVE committee chair.

Leadership was prepared for 1,000 students this year, and developed a wristband system for food distribution.

Each person received a wristband of one of five colors when they arrived — one for each grade and for at the door sign ups. The wristband colors denoted which shift guests could take their food, spacing out the crowd.

To accommodate the massive number of guests, the bRAVE committee reached out to local restaurants to ask for food donations, which made up the bulk of the food served. This year’s largest donors included Bethesda Bagels, Mamma Lucia’s, Chipotle and Georgetown Cupcake. Leadership supplemented the donations with snacks like granola bars and chips, but only spent $200 on additional food expenses.

Justin Goodman of JG Entertainment has been the DJ for the event since its first year. This year the event used a different DJ from the same company.

Meyer has enjoyed working on bRAVE since its conception, and admires how far it has come. “bRAVE is such an incredible event because it brings every grade together for one night to support an amazing cause,” she said. “Planning it is always stressful and a ton of work, but it’s 100% worth it in the end to see how much fun everyone has and how much money we are able to raise to find a cure.”

RedRush While runners were gasping for breath at the second annual RedRush 5K, senior Anjana Setlur, a co-chair of the event, was breathing a sigh of relief.

RedRush ended up raising over $13,000 for LLS, $3,000 more than last year’s race.

To prepare for the event, Setlur and the committee had to obtain a race permit, find sponsors and map out a course, she said. They also paid for a racing company, Race DC, to provide each runner with a bib number and timing chip.

To include more of the community, the leadership committee created a new event, RedRush Jr., geared towards elementary-school aged kids. Twenty-

five kids signed up for the event, but only half attended because of the cold weather, said junior Alex Hosker, chair of RedRush Jr. The kids then ran a one-lap relay race in two teams instead of the full 5K. “Seeing the kids running around and having a good time made me feel good,” Hosker said. “Because it was the first annual RedRush Jr., there was a lot to learn and a lot to improve on for next year.”

Olympics Event If it weren’t for logistic misunderstandings, Whitman students would have the opportunity to face off against rival schools in an Olympicsinspired battle, organized by the Whitmaniacs, with either WJ or B-CC. Whitmaniacs planned to hold a basketball game with Whitman teachers against WJ teachers, the date overlapped with the first playoff game.

“Basketball playoffs come first for us,” said senior Libby Collett, president of Whitmaniacs.

Rescheduling the event with B-CC fell through as well. Although the B-CC student leadership was enthusiastic about the idea, the school’s principal dismissed it because of past conflicts between the two schools, Collet said.

Leadership and Whitmaniacs are considering holding the event later this year or next February for LLS Month.

bRAVE 2014:

$27,000 About 1000 dancers showed up

raised over

RedRush 2014: Safeway donated 1,000 water bottles 300 granola bars 300 bananas

2012 total $58,000

FEBRUARY 26, 2014

epth

9

Q&A: LLS campaign manager discusses the impact of fundrasing

BY SOPHIA GLAZER and ethan taswell The Black & White spoke with Jessica Lindquist, school and youth campaign manager for LLS, about the impact of donations to the society as well as Whitman and WJ’s rivalry over fundraising.

B&W: How has the LLS grown in past years?

JL: LLS was founded in 1949.

Since then the mission has changed a little over time, but it’s always been consistent with finding a cure for cancer.

Seventy-five cents of every dollar that’s fundraised is given back for research or for cancer patient services. Back in 1949, the survival rate for children who had the most common case of leukemia was only a 3 percent survival rate and today we are able to have 94 percent of kids survive.

B&W: If 75 cents out of every dollar goes to research, where does the rest of the money go to?

JL: The rest of the money goes to

the programs that we run for Pennies for Patients, Light the Night and more.

Those are for material costs which we need to get the programs running, and some also goes to employees.

B&W: How significant is February’s high school fundraising in the context of overall donations?

JL: Our high school challenge brings in about $200,000 every year. Last year it brought in $214,000 and that was from about 15 high schools that participated.

Our overall goal for this Pennies for Patients program is just under $1 million.

B&W: How much of your net yearly donation comes in February?

JL: We have schools that fundraise throughout the year but the majority come from February. There are about 450 schools that participate and out of those schools there are about 240 that participate in February.

B&W: What are some inspirational

stories that have resulted from donations?

JL: I think the biggest thing is the fact that there are patients that live in underserved communities and come from low-income families that have concerns, and because of the treatments we’ve found and because of the money we’ve raised, we are able to send these patients to hospitals and cancer patient centers. Often times they don’t have cars or they don’t have the money to get themselves there and provide for these services. The funds that we raise help go towards these kids who don’t have the financial needs to get there.

B&W: Do donations go directly to you or are they allocated to hospitals or research universities?

JL: They’re divvied out. In our chapter we don’t directly give to anyone, it goes to our national office which is in New York, but they disperse the money to a hospital. A large portion of the money goes to Johns Hopkins, which is in our area, so it’s good to know that

when we raise money it’s going locally as well.

B&W: Do you think the rivalry between Whitman and WJ is beneficial because the outcome is more money for a good cause?

JL: I think a strong, friendly competition is great. We have a lot of schools throughout the metro D.C. area that compete with each other and it brings more funds in and it brings more awareness. It drives kids and motivates them to not only beat out their competition but also say that they are doing the most they can for cancer research and finding a cure so I think it’s a great thing.

You know it’s up to the schools on how they want to promote and how they want to compete with their rivalries. But we think it’s great and we work really hard with all the schools and ensure things are friendly.

Other county high schools join fundraising effort with variety of events A

by Nicole Fleck s Whitman’s spirit for Leukemia and Lymphoma month increases, other schools around the county are working on their own events to contribute to the cause as well. Many schools have been inspired by each other, adopting events like dance-a-thons or auctioning off students, but there’s also a great deal of originality with other events.

Walter Johnson WJ and Whitman have a history of fierce competition during the High School Challenge for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Last year, WJ came in a close second place, raising a total of $80,495.30. This year they’re bringing back many successful events, while also incorporating new ones.

WJ has modified the standard event of Pennies for Patients by adding water pong. To play, people dress up, pair off and play pong. WJ is hosting a new event called Bachelor Auction, similar to Guy Auction, where girls bid on the guys at their school and go on a date of the bidder’s choice.

Other events include a classic carnival, doughnut sales and a big Family Feud game where people dress up in crazy costumes to play Family Feud.

In addition to these events, WJ has Glow, which is similar to Whitman’s bRAVE. This event includes a

twist, called After Hours, in which, other people donate a certain amount of money for a certain amount of time danced.

Whitman originally was going to have an event with WJ, but due to logistical difficulties it never moved beyond the initial planning stage. Although the event is no longer happening, many students think collaborating efforts between schools is a good idea.

“I think that [when collaborating] the competition between schools is really important,” junior Maggie Howie said. “It makes our schools work harder to try and beat each other which allows us to raise a lot more money for such an amazing cause.”

B-CC B-CC finished in third place in Montgomery County in donations last year, raising roughly $5,600.

In addition to the standard Pennies for Patients collection competition between first period classes, B-CC also has a “Wall of Fame” for students willing to donate extra for paper LLS stickers that get put on the wall with their names on them.

The Barons also host a student-staff basketball game and Penny Wars, a donation competition between grades where pennies add points to a team and dollars steal points from an opposing team.

B-CC’s fundraising events also include a talent show, with all proceeds going to LLS. “It’s the first year we’re doing it, and it combines a lot of students’ hard work, creativity and talent for a really great cause,” president Mitchell Broadwater said.

Richard Montgomery RM came in fifth place in Montgomery County in the LLS competition last year, raising nearly $5,000. This year, the school’s SGA is aiming higher.

“We doubled our goal from last year, so we are now going for $10,000,” junior Erin Koppel said. “In years past, we haven’t had as many events, but every year we are always trying to add new things.”

Similar to WJ, RM hosts an event called Pong for Patients. Students set up a bracket and play water pong while competing in costume competitions. RM also hosts Mr. RM, similar to Mr. Whitman, which is their boys’ beauty pageant.

This year RM is also holding its first ever dance-athon. At this eight-hour event, students pledge $40 for the dance, and receive a free t-shirt if they reach $50.

They also break up the dance-a-thon with different types of dance lessons every other hour including zumba, swing dance and tango.

photo by MICHELLE JARCHO

2013 total $91,000

Runners in the second annual Red Rush 5K begin the course the morning of Feb. 9.

Almost 550 runners ran a course that wove through neighborhoods around the school.

10

feature

February 26, 2014

BURGERS: The American Classic

BY Nick Meyer No other dish is as emblematic of American cuisine as the hamburger. Sure, one can argue for the case of the hotdog, which is no doubt an American staple. But what separates the hotdog from the hamburger—besides superiority in pretty much everything from size to taste to consistency—is that the hamburger was definitely invented in America.

While many patriotic Americans love to believe that their much beloved “tube steak” is uniquely American, its origins actually lie in Germany and Austria, where it’s referred to as a Frankfurter Würstchen or Vienna Sausage. Unlike the hot dog, the Library of Congress officially recognizes the hamburger as a uniquely American culinary icon created in 1900.

Danish immigrant Louis Lassen of New Haven, CT is credited with its inception. According to legend, when Lassen ran out of steak one day, he served a customer broiled ground meat scraps between two pieces of toast—and thus the hamburger was born.

Since that faithful day in 1900, Louis Luncheon restaurant in New Haven has been churning out the classic meat sandwich, giving birth to a food craze that’s likely to never disappear; and for good reason too. The hamburger’s appeal lies in its delicious simplicity, making it a fast food staple across the globe.

But its fast food origins doesn’t mean the burger cannot also be an upscale meal worthy of even a Michelin star (or two, or three). Ever since chefs started putting thirty dollar slabs of foie gras on kobe beef patties back in the 80’s, the burger has become just as common at snobbishly expensive establishments as it has at the local McDonalds.

Believe me, if someone else is picking up the check and I have the opportunity to order an extravagantly crafted cheeseburger topped with foie gras, bone marrow, sautéed mushrooms and caveaged cheddar—as is the case at Ray’s Hell Burger in nearby Rosslyn, VA—I’m all for it.

But for the most part, I like my burgers unpretentious and seared to perfection. And around here, the two places that hit the spot when I’m craving a cheeseburger are Five Guys and Smash Burger.

True, both of these spots are national chains. But unlike their cheaper, fast food counterparts, they offer unique vibes, a fresh and bountiful selection of toppings and fair prices for the quality.

Five Guys—which opened on Bethesda Ave back in 2008—has been serving up their uncomplicated but consistently tasty burgers since the first location premiered in 1986. The burger chain now has over 1,000 outlets nationwide, and for a good reason Burgers are served with either one or two patties, and can be topped with American cheese and bacon, plus 15 others options for no additional cost. The fries are not to be missed: served plain or Cajun style and in two sizes, they come overflowing in a cup, making them a great deal.

Less known, but equally tasty is Smash Burger.

The Denver-based chain opened up shop on Cordell Ave late in 2013. The burgers are full of flavor as a result of the signature cooking process, which involves smashing a ball of seasoned beef on the griddle to preserve the flavor of the juices.

There’s even a burger designed specifically for the Washington D.C. market, another special feature of the new chain.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries 4829 Bethesda Ave Bethesda, MD Smash Burger 4903 Cordell Ave, Bethesda, MD

Senior Derek Newberry volunteers every Saturday at Star Gazing Farms, which cares for abandoned and abused animals . The farm currently houses about 45 animals

and checks for anemia in the animals.

As one of the most experienced workers on the farm, Newberry is trusted in harder, more unique jobs.

One of them is oiling chicken feet to prepare them for the cold weather.

“That’s something a lot of people haven’t done,” Newberry said. “Their legs get really dry so you have to prepare them for the winter by oiling them up.”

Though he has no problem working with the chickens, working with the llamas is a whole different experience. Newberry not only has to cut the llamas’ teeth, as their teeth never stop growing, but he also has to wrangle the llamas when it is time for them to be sheared for wool.

“The llamas are not very cooperative,” Newberry said.

“They’re six feet tall and about three-hundred pounds and I have to hold them down to keep them steady—then they spit on you.”

While working so closely with the animals for over a year, Newberry has found that each animal has their own personality.

“Tetsuro, the pig is this big, fat, black pig that just loves attention,” he said. “You can scratch his belly and he’ll be standing and then just collapse. It’s so funny.”

Some of the animals are a little more mischievous. One goat named Newman likes to open car doors with his horns.

“I’ve seen him open up other people’s cars with his horns and he’ll climb in and you’ll have to drag him out,” Newberry said. “He’ll hold onto the steering wheel.”

The experience on the farm has lead Newberry to think about working with animals or projects related to animals in the future.

“I decided to take APES because of the farm,” Newberry said. “I’ve put a lot of thought in studying environmental protection or animal rights.”

Alum spends gap year in New Zealand as au pair

By Emma Anderson While the east coast battles wave after wave of cold weather, Whitman alum Lauren Brooks (‘13) is enjoying the 70-degree days of a New Zealand summer.

Brooks decided she was not quite ready to go to college last fall, and with the encouragement of her parents, she decided to take a gap year to be an au pair outside of Auckland, New Zealand, and travel in Australia for three weeks.

“I was not ready for college right out of high school,” Brooks said. “I wanted to take a year to travel the world, have a cultural experience, meet new people, get work experience with young children, and to get to know myself a little better.”

While at Whitman, Brooks participated in the child development class taught by Marjorie Eiserike.

“Lauren loved working with kids,” Eiserike said.

“She emerged as a leader in her teaching group and had creative activities. Her plans were exemplary.”

Brooks plans to attend Salisbury University in the fall to pursue an career in

Lauren Brooks (‘13), at right, is spending her gap year in New Zealand as an au pair. Brooks will work for two families before traveling in Australia for three weeks.

education, with the goal of becoming an elementary school teacher.

Brooks applied with Au Pair International, which has opportunities all over the world. After going through a process of background checks, references, and Skype interviews, Brooks was matched with a family and left for New Zealand in early September.

“I was nervous leaving all of my friends and family behind,” Brooks said. “But with modern day technology I still stay in contract with everyone via Skype, Facebook, and Snap Chat.”

Brooks had a fivemonth contract with one family, but has now moved on to her second

photo courtesy LAUREN BROOKS

DUDE FOOD:

by Caroline Schweitzer Dr. Doolittle—more like Dr. Newberry.

After senior Derek Newberry had to give up crew due to an injury, he found a new way to spend his time off the water: volunteering at a rescue farm for abandoned and abused animals.

Newberry volunteers at Star Gazing Farms in Boyds, Maryland, located in northern Montgomery County. There are about 45 animals on the farm including 12 different species ranging from chickens to llamas.

The farm was started in 2002 and provides a permanent home for deserted and mistreated animals.

Many of the abandoned animals on the farm are old and sick and require constant care.

“I love animals,” Newberry said. “That’s why I volunteer on the farm. Living here [in Bethesda] you don’t really get that farm or animal experience.”

Newberry volunteers every Saturday from about 9:00 am to 2:00 p.m. He has been volunteering since last January and has earned over 175 community service hours in the process.

Anne Shroeder, who started the non-profit farm, admires Derek’s willingness to do anything and says she can always rely on him.

“He appreciates [the animals] for who they are,” Shroeder said. “Other people want to force themselves upon the animals, but Derek is very quiet and respectful.”

Newberry starts his day by scooping the manure and laying fresh wood chippings down for the animals, which typically takes about two hours, he said.

He then proceeds to do jobs like grooming the horses, cleaning out the chicken coops and delivering trash to the junkyard. He regularly administers medicine for worms

photo courtesy DEREK NEWBERRY

FEATURE Senior volunteers at local farm, works with rescued and abused animals

family with whom she has a three-month contract.

As an au pair, Brooks does jobs around the house including playing and looking after children, vacuuming and doing the dishes. Most people in New Zealand don’t have dryers because they are expensive, so Brooks spends time hanging the wash out on the line.

Her life in New Zealand is a change of pace compared to her Bethesda suburban home.

“My first family lived on a 35 acre farm only five minutes from town with 25 cows, six sheep, five chickens, a horse and a dog,” Brooks said. “My second family lives right on [Waihi] beach about 25 minutes from town.

Every evening there is an amazing sunset we see off in the distance by the water.”

Brooks considers herself very social and said it helped her to adjust to her new families and meet other people her age, many of whom are also au pairs.

Brook’s Instagram is full of pictures of her all over the country at famous sites including Lake Wakatipu, the third largest lake in New Zealand, and New Brighton beach. Brooks even participated in the Auckland Color Run. “I have had the opportunity to travel all over New Zealand on my weekends off,” Brooks said. “There is always something going on in town, especially in the summer.”

Brooks will leave New Zealand in early May to set off on her next adventure—three weeks traveling Australia.

However, she said she’s sad to leave New Zealand behind.

“I will miss all the amazing places I have been and all the friends and families I have met and created such a close bond with,” Brooks said.

february 26, 2014

11

Feature

Reisberg (‘06) looks to spark career as filmmaker Former Whitman Shorts director debuts new movie, “Big Significant Things”

By Emma Anderson From Whitman’s televisions to the silver screen, alum Bryan Reisberg (’06) is hoping to make his way into the big leagues of the film industry.

Reisberg served as the director of Whitman Shorts his senior year. And now, his debut movie, “Big Significant Things,” starring “Game of Thrones” actor Harry Lloyd, will premiere in March at the prominent South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. The festival, which began in 1987, features music and conferences with famous speakers, as well as film.

In 2008, Reisberg formed his own production company, Uncorked Productions, with fellow NYU student Andrew Corkin. After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Film/TV production in 2009, he worked at an advertising agency while making music videos and short films on the side.

Reisberg started writing the film when he was 23, and after a few months he had a full script.

“By the time I had a script written it wasn’t too hard to get a lot of people

involved who needed to be there,” Reisberg said. “Really early on we got a great casting director who brought in Harry Lloyd. He was the lead in the film and things after that just started falling into place.”

The film follows 26-year-old Craig as he leaves his job, family and girlfriend for a spontaneous road trip south.

He makes a plan to visit several of the “Worlds Largest Roadside Attractions” in the comedy/drama.

In comparison to some independent films that can take a year or more to find funding, a financier invested the entire $500,000 for “Big Significant Things”.

The 30-person cast and 40-person crew travelled to Mississippi last May to film for two months. Reisberg and his crew spent the summer editing and started submitting the film to festivals in the fall. In late January, he found out his film had been chosen from over 2,000 submissions for one of the 115 spots in the feature film lineup.

“South by Southwest, next to Sundance, is one of the top film festivals in the country for a film this size,” Reisberg said. “From there, you see how

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it is perceived, you go into more film festivals around the world, hopefully somebody buys it, and then we release it.”

His inspiration for “Big Significant Things” came from his experience growing up in the sheltered environments of Whitman and NYU, day-dreaming of adventure.

“You just kind of have these fantasies of ‘what if I just left, what if I just drove off and went to go explore somewhere,’” Reisberg said. “After five minutes of thinking that, I’m like ‘I’d have to set up certain bills for online bill payment, I’d have to pay student loans on this day, I’d probably have to check in with my mother because she would be nervous back home in Maryland.’ You couldn’t just get up and leave in this day and age.”

The idea of a road trip in the movie was inspired by movies from the 60’s and 70’s like “Five Easy Pieces” where people just drove across the country seeking adventure, Reisburg said.

“It became this funny idea about if you took a character who has been for all intents and purposes sheltered his entire

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life [and he had] that funny desire to do something so romantic and something so spontaneous, when in the real world it’s hard to do that,” Reisberg said.

Whitman Shorts teacher Geoff Schaefer missed out on having Reisberg in his class by one year, becoming the Shorts teacher in 2007. He and Reisberg connected over Facebook after he graduated.

“Bryan will be successful because he’s charismatic,” Schaefer said.

“If he took whatever creative talents he had in high school and developed them in college, he will be on the screen in no time.”

Reisberg hopes his film catches a producer’s eye at SXSW, but said he doesn’t have a specific message he wants the audience to walk away with.

“At the end of the day, the goal is to tell a good story; the goal is to keep the audience engaged, and to create something that you’re confident in stylistically,” Reisberg said. “Then you hope at the end of the day that, maybe, you smuggled some good ideas in there that can kind of bring the film some more life than you intended.”

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ACROSS 1. Renamed to Ho Chi Minh City 8. Type of highway 11. Movie score (abbrev.)

12. Believes in higher power but isn’t religious 13. Neighborhood ___, Black ___, “Night ___” 14. “___ nom nom” 15. Just weakness leaving the body 16 . John Green, William Shakespeare found fault in these 17. Robocop adversary ___-209 20. Rapper (abbrev.)

21. Renamed to Tokyo 23. Baseball play often performed by famous people 25. Middle-Earth location 26. NYC soccer team, also space 28. Called “white” if well-intentioned 30. Duke University is located in this city 32. Sometimes considered the lowest form of humor 33. University of Wisconsin campus location 36. Graduate (for short) 38. Connection (for short) 39. South-East Asian country (for short) 40. “Black Magic Woman”, “Samba Pa Ti” band

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By Chris Hodgman DOWN 2. “Call of Duty” attachment (abbrev.)

3. Sports drink with 3 “stages” 4. Company that allegedly sued “Flappy Bird” creator 5. Tool used in burglary and “Half-Life” 6. Math-related AP subject 7. Gym class (abbrev.)

9. Celebrity news channel 10. Nevada lake known for clear water 12. What does the “AM” in “7 AM” stand for?

16. Has best second semester EVER

18. Nation’s capital (abbrev.)

19. Main idea 22. Ventriloquist (last name) 24. Norse god/Marvel superhero-themed chemical element 27. 5-man band is this color 28. In “The Lego Movie,” female heroine’s real name 29. Popular 31. Girl’s name 34. 4chan’s “International” board 35. Agency responsible for censoring music on the radio (abbrev.)

37. Proved too much for the girl

Feature

12

A & Black & White feature Ask AThe editors are here to help!

By Annie Ludewig and Alexa Brodsky Dear A&A, My parents are wary of allowing me to go to beach week. I don’t think they are going to let me go, but I don’t want to miss out on all my friends having fun.

I know a few other people who aren’t going to beach week either. Do you have any suggestions for us to still have fun without going to Dewey?

Xoxo, Distant from Dewey Dear Distant from Dewey, Don’t worry, a lot of people can’t go to beach week. Grab your friends and head out to Sandy Point Beach for a day trip. There are also close by waterfront options. You can look into renting a house with your friends by the bay or maybe in Rehoboth or Ocean City if you want the ocean. There are also options in the mountains for a getaway week with your friends more camping style. Deep Creek Lake has many smaller houses for rent and lots of activity options (water skiing, boating, and amusement parks). If you’re staying home, there are a few festivals going on in D.C. over Memorial Day weekend such as a carnival in Gaithersburg or a ceremony/parade in Rockville.

Xoxo, A&A Dear A&A, My guy friend is crazy about my best friend, but she doesn’t reciprocate the feelings. He’s always asking me for advice on how to win her over and asks me if she feels the same. He checks his phone all the time to see if she’s texting him and is super nervous when he hangs out around her. I feel so bad not telling him the truth when he is always pining over her, but at the same time, it would suck to see him get hurt.

What do I do? Do I tell him about her feelings or let him figure it out on his own?

Xoxo, Stuck in the middle Dear Stuck in the middle, If we were in your position, we would try to remove ourselves from the situation. It’s hard to be loyal to both friends without hurting someone’s feelings. Tell your guy friend that your best friend is keeping her feelings to herself and that he should take the situation into his own hands. Maybe also warn your best friend and make sure that she doesn’t hurt your guy friend’s feelings. In other words, tell her to give more clear signals that she is not romantically interested. It’s much harder for your guy friend to move on when he is getting mixed signals from the girl. It’s hard to be in the middle and it’s important to maintain your friendships with both individuals.

Clarify with each of them that you don’t want to be in the middle of their relationship.

Xoxo, A&A

Dear A&A, I’m a senior and I still do all my work on time and to the best of my ability. All of my friends have gotten senioritis and have stopped doing work, so they’re pressuring me to send them my assignments to copy. The people who ask for my work are usually my friends so I feel obligated to say yes. It’s gotten to the point where I feel a bit uncomfortable sharing my work with so many people. How can I keep my work to myself without coming off as rude?

Sincerely, Not a cheater Dear Not a cheater, It’s stressful when you’re encouraged to cheat– especially when that encouragement comes from your closest friends. We recommend telling your friends how you feel. Let them know that keeping your homework private has nothing to do with your friendship, but rather your values. If they’re having trouble completing an assignment, offer your help.

You can use your work as a guide or example for others but copying someone else’s work verbatim is dishonest. Don’t be afraid to tell your friends how you feel. They’ll understand. In the long run, it’s better if everyone completes their own assignments.

Xoxo, A&A

February 26, 2014

An inside look at NBC4’s snow coverage

BY SCOTT SINGER ANd Nicole Fleck In between NBC’s coverage of the Sochi olympics is NBC4’s meteorologists’ coverage of “Snochi”, the latest of the D.C. area’s snowstorms. And just like the olympians thousands of miles away, the meteorologists live for the big moment—an opportunity presented when snow struck the metro area Feb. 13.

“We love this,” head meteorologist Doug Kammerer said. “That storm is like our Super Bowl.”

Similar to Super Bowl commentators, Kammerer’s team strives to provide a personal perspective of the snow to their viewers.

“For every one person who is watching you, you need to make them feel like you are there in their neighborhood and forecasting for their street,” NBC4 meteorologist Veronica Johnson said.

During the week leading up to the storm, the meteorologists filtered through several weather models to provide an accurate assessment of snow accumulation, starting by finding potential ranges of snowfall and analyzing past experiences. The storm was in their forecast for over a week, Kammerer said.

“This storm reminded me of the superstorm of ‘93—that storm came through in March and brought in a

lot of snow, then a little bit of sleet, and then more snow,” Kammerer said in a phone interview with The Black & White. The mix of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean helps power the storm, explained Kammerer, who regularly applies climatology to his diagnosis of a storm.

When his team of meteorologists has discrepancies in their predictions, they resort to a compromise for what snowfall projection to present in the newscast, Kammerer said. In the case of a large storm, he often collaborates with his friends from Philadelphia’s NBC station.

After preparing the forecast, the NBC meteorologists began extended hours of coverage on Feb. 12 when the storm hit. Kammerer was on the set from 12:30 p.m. until 2 a.m. the next morning.

“It’s kind of like an all-handson-deck situation,” he said.

Several NBC trucks filmed live footage for audiences all around the area—from the Pennsylvania border to the middle of Virginia, Johnson said. The meteorologists directed reporters to the areas with the greatest amount of snowfall and the areas on the dividing line between rain and snow.

The meteorologists are also in charge of making their own graphics, Johnson said.

“Many people are surprised

that we make from scratch the graphics that they see,” she said.

“We’re meteorologists, we’re scientists, we’re communicators and we’re also artists because we have to tell the story in such a way that is not busy or cluttered, [but] clear and concise.”

The meteorologists faced several challenges throughout the storm; the biggest was malfunctioning graphics on the morning of Feb. 13.

“Our computers completely crashed, but we were still live,” Kammerer said. “So we still had to talk about the snow and what was going on and break down the information differently. Instead of using radars, we used cameras in the different areas.”

While winter can sometimes pose problems for predicting the weather, the team’s predictions for the storm were relatively accurate.

Kammerer said they were able to accurately predict snowfall and temperatures for the storm.

Kammerer was definitely right when he predicted delays after a weather system hit Bethesda Monday, Feb. 18.

“I think there may be a twohour delay tomorrow,” Kammerer predicted the previous Sunday. “I definitely don’t think there will be school closures—and I definitely hope not, because my kids need to get back to school.”

Looking back at past and present popular apps

By Sarah Friedman Since the Apple App Store launched in 2008, it has sold over 30 billion apps. Many apps have risen and fallen in popularity, creating hype among smartphone users and then falling back into the shadows of the App Store. These app “fads” occupy phone screens

everywhere: Doodle Jump during seventh grade math class, Candy Crush at 2 a.m. when you should be writing an English essay and Snapchat during well... everything. Here’s a throwback to the apps that have distracted us, frustrated us and kept us staring at our phones until our eyes hurt.

Cut the Rope- Cut the Rope publisher Activision announced that they will release a 650-level 3D version of the game, Cut the Rope: Triple Treat, for the Nintendo 3DS in March.

Angry Birds Doodle Jump Fruit Ninja Instagram Words with Friends Temple Run Tiny Wings

Draw Something Flow Snapchat- Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, met with Snapchat founders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy in early 2013 about his vision for integrating the two networks. Spiegel and Murphy had a different approach- they ordered Sun Tzu’s The Art of War for each of their six employees.

QuizUp Vine Candy Crush Subway Surfers

Flappy Bird: On February 8, creator Dong Nguyen announced that he would remove Flappy Bird from the App Store, despite the $50,000 he reportedly made off the game’s in-app advertising. “I am sorry ‘Flappy Bird’ users, 22 hours from now, I will take ‘Flappy Bird’ down,” he tweeted. “I cannot take this anymore.”

Google Play and Apple App Store employees have been denying mock versions of the app created by developers eager to restore the game’s fame.

february 26, 2014

13

SPORTS Swimming: Sarah Kannan

BY CALEB KUSHNER Swimmer Sarah Kannan has been unbeatable this season, placing first in every individual event.

Her go-to stroke throughout the season was the 200-freestyle, but heading into regionals and metros she decided to switch things up.

Kannan competed in the 100-freestyle and 50-freestyle in regionals placing first and second respectively. She then competed in metros placing fourth in both the 100 and 200-freestyle.

photo courtesy SARAH KANNAN

“It’s really fun swimming with such a great team this year,” Kannan said. “Especially with the guys team being undefeated and the girls being 4-1.”

In her final run at states this past Saturday Kannan placed second in the 100-freestyle and fourth in the 50-freestyle.

Swim and dive coach Geoff Schaefer finds Kannan’s presence irreplaceable on the team.

“If anything, Sarah Kannan is a champion,” Schaefer said. “With her graduation I lose a big hole in my lineup—and you can’t replace Sarah—she’s too good.”

Kannan will continue her lustrous swimming career at Cornell next year in college.

TEAM UPDATES: PLAYOFFS Boys Basketball

1 - Blair Blair BYE 4 - B-CC 5 - WJ

Senior Ben Castagnetti tries to shake off a defender against Blair Feb. 18.

Boys 4A West Section 1 Champion

6 - RM

2 - WHITMAN Friday, Feb 28 @ Whitman, 7 p.m.

Girls Basketball

7 - Kennedy

Boys Basketball At a Glance

13.4 4.6

Points per game by sophomore Kyle Depoller Assists per game by Max Steinhorn, second in the county

Girls 4A West Section 1 Champion

4A/3A South TEAM

RECORD

PERCENTAGE

Whitman

13-1

.928

Churchill

12-2

.857

7-7

..500

Walter Johnson

7-7

.500

Richard Montgomery

5-9

.357

Wootton

5-9

.357

B-CC

1 - WHITMAN BYE

Tuesday, March 4 @ Whitman, 7 p.m.

4 - WJ 5 - Blair 3 - Churchill 6 - RM 2 - Kennedy 7 - B-CC

Senior Rebecca Ford fights her way into the paint against Blair Feb. 18. The Lady Vikes routed the Blazers 58-20.

Wrestling At a Glance

photo courtesy BONNIE SHARBAUGH

Wrestling

WHITMAN

photo courtesy TOM KNOX

photo by NICK ANDERSON

3 - Churchill

Upcoming matches: Region Tournament, Feb. 28-March 1 State Tournament, March 7-8 Senior Will Baker controls his opponent at the MCPS wrestling championship Feb 21.

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Wins by senior Stephen Sharbaugh, who currently leads the team in wins Pins by senior Kevin Baker, leading the team in both falls and team points scored.

February 26, 2014

Sports

14

By Roger Champagne Although it isn’t as well known as basketball, crew and wrestling, corollary Bocce may in fact be the sport most representative of all students at Whitman.

Bocce is one of three corollary sports at Whitman, along with team handball in the fall, and allied softball in the spring.

In 2010 Whitman fielded its first bocce team, bringing students with intellectual disabilites together with their peers.

Best Buddies vice president Janie Klein and LFI program director Amy Parrish manage the team together.

Bocce is a sport of Italian origin, and is played by each team throwing a smaller ball (the Jack) across a court.

Each team then throws larger balls toward the Jack. The distance of each ball from the location of the jack is measured, and the smallest distance scores a point.

The team that hits the points threshold first is declared the winner.

Although Whitman finished the regular season 1-4, Klein said that almost everyone who participated had a positive experience.

“It was still a lot of fun. Even though we came in last place, we had the best

spirit there, and that’s team bonding,” she said.

Although the team lost in the first round of divisionals, Parrish said that the experience was important because it allowed LFI and non-disabled students to connect in a way that may not have been possible otherwise.

“The LFI students played with their non-disabled peers, and it’s always a bonding experience,” Parish said.

“Everyone really joins in and participates and its very positive for everybody.”

Bocce is a major LFI sport, that transverses several counties in Maryland, and on top of that several states. Whitman is one of 22 schools in Montgomery County to have a bocce team, and is a member of the Central Division. The Vikes’ have played against Montgomery County teams including Wootton, Churchill, Walter Johnson, B-CC and Gaithersburg.

Team members enjoy the unity and camaraderie that comes from playing a varsity sport.

“I like to play Bocce because I play on a team,” LFI senior Jack Nail said.

“I love my Whitman team. I think that Bocce is the best team ever.”

photo courtesy JANIE KLEIN

LFI students have fun, connect with their peers through bocce

The Bocce team is one of three corollary sports at Whitman which include student athletes with intellectual disabilities. The team is a member of the Central Division, and finished the regular season with a 1-4 record.

Bocce also presents students in LFI and non-LFI students an opportunity to move beyond disabilities and play together as one unit.

“I also think it’s a great opportunity for people that do have special needs and people that don’t have special

needs to actually play a sport together and actually be competitive with one another,” Klein said. “Basically that there is no barriers in the sport and it’s just everyone working together.”

Senior Mooers ends final swim season with victorious campaign

By Sam Berson Thirty-seven years ago Don Mooers swam and won the Metro Championships. Now, his son, senior Johnny Mooers is helping propel the Vikings to similar success.

Mooers played a key part in the Viking’s undefeated regular season, and has won all but one of the races he competed in the regular season. Mooers also broke multiple school records and helped the boys team finish fourth in this year’s Metro Championships, a meet that brings together over 50 local public and private schools for the biggest competition of the season.

“I was very happy with my own performances but also with the performances of the team this year,” Mooers said.

Mooers has been swimming competitively since the age of seven. Once he started high school, he dropped baseball and basketball to focus solely on swimming for Whitman and his club team, Rockville Montgomery

Swim Club, one of the top club teams in the country.

Mooers specializes in sprint events and competed in the 100-meter breaststroke and 100-meter freestyle at Metros, finishing third in both, along with two relays.

His third place finishes helped the team finish strong even though it wasn’t Mooers’ desired result.

“Metros is a meet that I’ve had my sights on for my entire season,” Mooers said. “It was one of my goals to win, but I did have personal best times, times I never thought I would swim and I impressed myself.”

This season, Mooers has also broken two individual records and two team relay records in events throughout the season.

Although Mooers is having a successful season, he is undecided whether he wants to take his swimming to the next level and compete in college.

While the team finished fifth in the state championships, Feb. 22, Mooers won the 400 freestyle

relay and finished third in both the 100-yard freestyle and the 200-yard freestyle relay.

“Compared to past years this is probably the strongest team I’ve been on during my four years,” Mooers said.

Outside of the pool, Mooers is big on the deck and gets teammates pumped up before events.

“He has been a very motivational figure on the pool deck,” junior Alex Vissering said. He would always come to me before a swim and tell me ‘you are going to win,’ and gets us all pumped up.”

While Mooers has helped the team throughout the season, his notable performance at Metros highlighted his strong skills and leadership.

“For Metros, he definitely had a big piece of the pie in terms of points, and he was instrumental in various relays,” coach Geoff Schaefer said. “When we went to war, he was part of the machine.”

february 26, 2014

15

Sports

Wrestling reaches Region Duals

By Roger Champagne Despite having almost the exact same Varsity lineup as last year, the wrestling team has gone from a record of 7-7 to 13-2, and made the Region Duals for the first time in four years.

Boasting its best record since 2010, the Vikings have dominated this season. Eight of the current varsity wrestlers are seniors, compared to last year with only two seniors on the varsity squad.

“It was definitely the strength and experience of our varsity lineup and the great connection we have as a team that made us so good,” senior Will Baker said.

Wrestling head coach Derek Manon attributes much of the team’s success to the hard work they put in during practices and the experience the team currently has. With a season that stretches from mid-Nov. to early March, and with practices that often last three hours, the team has one of the most intense schedules of any team at Whitman.

“The wrestling season is one of the longest athletic seasons of high school extracurriculars,” Manon said.

“And to be able to go through what they go through on a daily basis, in that practice room is something to be admired.”

The team also increased its off season training this year, with almost every varsity member participating in the Maryland Summer Wrestling League, and a majority wrestling in a fall mat club at Whitman.

Wrestlers on the team feel this had a huge improvement on everyone’s individual performance.

“Being stacked with veterans gives the team a huge advantage compared to last year,” captain Maxwell Sessions said.

In addition to a strong regular season record, the varsity squad wrestled impressively in individual tournaments throughout the season. At this year’s Patriot Classic in early January, ten wrestlers placed in Senior Stephen Sharbaugh looks for a near-side cradle and the the top six of their weight class—in comparison to no pin against Sherwood Feb. 12 placers last season—and took second overall as a team with two individual champions in Mitch Fenton and region, the team fell 28-37 to Sherwood in the first Stephen Sharbaugh. round.

At the Grapple at the Brook later that month, 12 The Vikings now look to avenge their loss and wrestlers placed in the top six—as opposed to four continue their successful season this weekend, with ten placers the previous season—and again took second wrestlers, compared to just four last year, wrestling in place with two champions in Kevin Baker and Mitch the region tournament hoping to qualify for the state Fenton. tournament at the University of Maryland Mar 7.

At the Region Duals, a four-team tournament between the best wrestling squads out of 26 in the

Kenah leads girls basketball to strongest season in years

by Caleb Kushner At the beginning of the winter season, the girls basketball team lost two games in the same week to Good Council and Bishop McNamara. After these two losses, coach Pete Kenah told the girls, “our season starts here.”

Since the team’s 1-2 start, the Vikings have won 18 games in a row, posting an impressive 19-2 record. The team is currently ranked eleventh by the Washington Post, the team’s highest ranking in Kenah’s twelve year tenure.

“We looked at it as a new beginning once we got through those two games,” Kenah said.

As the season has progressed, the team has tightened up its defense. The Lady Vikes currently allow a mere 36 points per game and only one public school has scored more than 50 points against the team.

“Especially in girls basketball, people say the offense comes and goes,” Kenah said. “But it’s the defense that is going to keep us in ball games.”

In one of the team’s strongest defensive performances against the B-CC Barons on Feb. 11, guard Marissa Cannon had six steals in the first half

alone, helping the Vikes hold the Barons to only 32 points.

For the first time this year, the team has implemented a scout-team that practices with them on a regular basis.

The scout-team, made up of a group of senior boys, helps mimic the offensive and defensive tendencies of each opponent the girls will face.

Kenah also compiles footage of other teams’ gameplay by exchanging with coaches and paying student Riley Lewis to film.

“If we’re able to understand the strengths, weaknesses and tendencies of other teams then it gives us a huge edge on the competition,” Kenah said.

In the team’s most recent win over the Kennedy Cavaliers, the Vikes completely stifled one of the Cavaliers’ strongest inbounding plays in which they scored six points with against Paint Branch.

Forward Marie Hatch said the new scout-team has played an important role in the team’s success this season.

“Scouting gives us a lot of confidence and lets us play without having to think too much,” Hatch said. “Sometimes we know the other teams’ plays well enough

that we can tell if they ran it wrong.”

The Vikings have also received offensive boosts from their young talent.

Hatch, a sophomore, leads the team in scoring, averaging about 10 points per game. Along with Hatch, freshman Abby Meyers and junior Nicole Fleck, are each averaging about eight points per game, giving the team a balanced offensive attack.

Meyers, a guard, credits her great success as a freshman to the strong teamwork and dedication of her teammates.

“If we’re able to understand the strengths, weaknesses and tendencies of other teams then it gives us a huge edge on the competition,” -Coach Peter Kenah “The team is like a family to me, and we all work our tails off in practice,” Meyers said. “They always have my back—whether it be when I fall down or am not playing well—they are always there to pick me up.”

Fleck has been a threat from beyond the arc all season, with the best threepoint shooting percentage in the state at 45 percent and averaging about two three-pointers a game. She hit a season high five three-pointers in the Vikes’ win against the Poolesville Falcons.

As the season winds down, the team has one goal in sight: to win states.

Last season the squad suffered a tough one-point loss in the state semi-finals to Baltimore Polytechnic. This year, the team begins the playoffs as the numberone seed in Section I of the 4A West region with a first-round bye. From there, the Vikes are five wins away from a state championship.

In order to get there, Kenah said he will be focusing his attention on correcting the small things such as defensive closeouts, boxing out at the free-throw line and scoring on fast breaks.

“I think we definitely have the potential to go just as far if not further than last year if we focus in this last stretch of the season,” forward Avery Witt said.

photo courtesy ELSA BJORNLUND

Sophomore girls skate like the boys on junior varsity, club hockey teams

Elsa Bjornlund plays in a girls hockey league with the Montgomery Blue Devils.

By Sophia glazer Sophomores Margaret Nowack, Elsa Bjornlund and Aya Gandolfo may not have their sights set on winning a gold medal at Sochi, but they all love playing ice hockey for their home town.

Nowack is the only girl on the JV school team, while Bjornlund and Gandolfo play in a girls league for the Montgomery Blue Devils.

“Most of the people I talk to think it’s really interesting that I play hockey, and when I tell them I play on a guy’s team they think I’m kind of crazy,” Nowack said.

Nowack doesn’t seem fazed at all by being around all boys, even when they even have to share a locker room.

“Sometimes they tend not to talk to me in class, but at the ice rink they treat me like part of the team,” Nowack said.

Nowack has been playing hockey since she was little, but took a year off due to a knee injury.

Nowack played on an all-girl’s team in the past, but said she prefers playing with boys on the Whitman team because it’s more upbeat and aggressive.

For all three girls, hockey runs in the family. As aspiring players, they looked up to their parents and siblings as role models and dreamed of getting on the ice one day.

“My dad played hockey growing up and in college, my little brother plays now, and my older sister used to play, so it’s kind of a family sport,” Bjornlund, a defender said.

Gandolfo, a center forward, said she would go to the rink to watch her brother play and she decided to pick up the game because it looked fun.

She enjoys the intense nature of the sport.

“You have to focus only on hockey and you can’t focus on anything else that’s going on,” Gandolfo said.

Bjornlund said people aren’t surprised when she tells them she plays hockey, as girl’s hockey is becoming more popular. However, Nowack’s position is fairly unique. Unlike in girl’s hockey, boys are allowed to check, which can make the game more dangerous if a girl is playing with boys, Bjornlund said.

In the professional world, there is not a national hockey league for women like the NHL, but the Olympics and other international competitions feature women’s hockey. In Sochi, the U.S. and Canadian women’s Olympic ice hockey teams are battling it out for a gold medal, much like the 2010 Vancouver Games.

Even in a male dominated sport, females excel at a high level and may even inspire young fans to pick up the game.

“It is a really fun and unique sport that everyone can enjoy and the fact that it’s a little off the beaten path makes it really interesting,” Bjornlund said. “Hopefully one day there will be lots of girls playing.”

Ironically the success of these two teams is jeopardizing the future of women’s hockey in the Olympics. The U.S. and Canada have dominated the event since 1998 which decreases the suspense and excitement factor, so spectators have begun to lose interest.

Despite the issue, young fans are inspired by these empowering women and no matter what, U.S. women’s hockey has proven to be a power house.

Photo courtesy BONNIE SHARBAUGH

Senior-laden squad holds holds best record in four years

16

Q&A

February 26, 2014

By Ben Zimmerman Alum Dan Stillman (’06) has been following weather patterns since he was young, first as a hobby and now in his current position as lead meteorologist for the Capital Weather Gang, a weather blog run by the Washington Post. The Black & White chatted with Stillman about his interest in the weather, his favorite storms to cover and the link between extreme weather and climate change.

power outages. . That’s one of the more memorable ones, just because of the widespread impact on the entire Washington area.

B&W: Do you have any experiences or memories from Whitman that you think inspired you to become interested in science or the weather in general.

DS: Well, I was on the Black & White, so my background is sort of dual, science and meteorology, but also communications, journalism and marketing. I went to the University of Michigan and worked on the newspaper there. I eventually worked towards merging my experience in communications and journalism with science and meteorology, so Capital Weather Gang was kind of a natural fit for that.

B&W: What do you think of people becoming their own basement meteorologists?

DS: It’s great that anyone can access most of the model information that’s out there, and it gives the young aspiring meteorologists a great opportunity to kind of see what everyone’s seeing, even the professionals are looking at. You combine that with social media, and there have been some instances in recent tasks, where the amateur meteorologist will post something about a huge snowstorm that’s coming when that may not be the case, and that’s kind of gone viral, and gone a bit out of control, and confused the public in some ways, you know the realistic odds that there will be a big storm coming. But I think all in all it’s great for the aspiring meteorologist, the information is really at your fingertips.

BW: What have been your favorite storms to see or cover as a meteorologist?

DS: We never saw anything like that Snowmageddon winter. The December storm and the two February storms, all three of them were just massive. I think that winter as a whole leaves a lasting memory for me, and probably for most people. The other one, which I think was almost as impactful in some ways was the Derecho in June of 2012. I think I don’t think I’ve seen anything [like that], because of the amount and the coverage of

B&W: Why do you think CWG has become so popular and critically acclaimed today?

DS: We got noticed by the Washington Post, five or six years ago. They saw what we were doing, saw the growing interest in weather, and we moved over to the Washington Post.com website. And since then, there’s been a lot more exposure, really since the Snowmageddon winter of 2009-2010, that was a pretty big bump up in exposure and readership. People were always interested in the weather, but I think they’ve

Istanbul, Turkey

Fjordlands, NZ

become more interested in recent years, because, whether it’s true or not, it’s perceived, that the weather has been more unusual, more wild, than it’s been in the past.

photo courtesy DAN STILLMAN

Capital Weather Gang’s lead meteorologist Dan Stillman discusses historic storms, basement forecasters

B&W: Do you think that the increase in wild or unusual weather is linked to climate change?

DS: Well, you could write a hundred thousand volumes on what climate change does and how it relates to day-to-day weather, and any changes we’re seeing. I think the bottom line of what the research shows now is that in many ways, the change in climate increases the odds of extreme weather occurring. You may not be able to pinpoint a certain event, but it increases the odds that it may occur, and that it may be more extreme than it’s been in the past.

Check out the full Q&A at theblackandwhite.net

Arga, India

Hiking in the Himilayas

Former social studies teacher tackles the world on year-long sabbatical Continued from page 1 “Everywhere we went in the Outback, the sky was amazing—so dark for so far that the stars literally stretched from horizon to horizon,” Michael said. “And then during the day the sun is so big and bright and the sky is so blue it looks like a sheet of glass. There were absolutely no clouds.”

The skies were a favorite for the Currans throughout their trip—in India the couple camped directly under the stars in Rajasthan, a region in Northern India. The locals were so confident it wouldn’t rain, since it hadn’t rained in four years, that they just slept out

there on cots with no tent, Sarah said.

The couple spent two weeks in India, mostly in Rajasthan, while also exploring Delhi. The pollution in Delhi was more than they expected, with a visible haze of smog over the city, Michael said. In Arga, they got to experience the Taj Mahal, which was much bigger and better than in pictures, he said.

Last week, the Currans were finishing their last time in Nepal, after a mix of volunteering and hiking. Staying near Kathmandu, the two have been working at a Waldorf School, similar to a German Montessori school, teaching English and math. In addition, the Currans helped make toys for the kids, painting alphabet blocks and other little items.

After three weeks of volunteering, the two took a break and spent 18 days hiking to the base camp of Mount Everest. They bought all new winter gear, since it had been too heavy to pack at the beginning. Still, they were not expecting the freezing weather and seven inches of snow coming down on them, Curran said.

Last year, Sarah had been working as a lawyer in New York, while Curran was at Whitman, and the two even celebrated their first anniversary apart. The trip has allowed the couple to spend all their time together.

“After the hike and all the places we’ve stayed together, it’s really amazing how well we can get along,” Sarah said.

CURRENT LOCATION: GOREME, TURKEY

TURKEY

“There’s no where to run or hide because we are always together, but even still we don’t really get annoyed with each other or anything—it’s pretty special.”

So far it’s been about 170 days for the Currans away from home, and they still have a while to go before their return.

The two have been communicating with their families through email and Skype.

“It’s been good to get away, I think, especially because the pace of life is just really slowed down,” Sarah said.

“Living in New York, everything is just always moving and it’s so busy. But as we are traveling, I have the time to just sit on the roof, and read a book or just relax.”

START POINT: NEW YORK CITY

NEPAL INDIA AUSTRALIA

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