The Black and White Vol. 55 Issue 7

FEATURE

SPORTS

Sophomore scores a spot on Princeton team PAGE 19

Walt Whitman High School

CROSSWORD

A backstage look at pre-professional theater programs PAGE 12

7100 Whittier Boulevard Bethesda, MD 20817

The Squeri Root of J² presents: A New Hope PAGE 16

Friday, June 9, 2017

Volume 55 Issue 7

Shot clock, running clock added for 2017-2018 basketball season

Congratulations class of 2017!

by MAX GERSCH

The class of 2017, 517 seniors, toss their mortarboards to the ceiling at DAR Constitution Hall June 5 celebrating their graduation. Students Anna Mcguire, Mason Robinson, Andres Garcia and Alex Parsky shared their thoughts on the occasion and their high school experiences through commencement speeches. In addition to the students, former teacher Joe Mornini urged students to contribute to their communities. This year’s graduation also featured a poem from Whitman Poet Laureate, sophomore Toby Schecter. Photo by ANNABELLE GORDON.

Gap years expand students’ horizons, exploring world outside of classroom

by THOMAS MANDE Midway through her senior year, Charlotte Holdrich (‘16) still didn’t know what she wanted to study in college.

So instead of enrolling directly at the University of Maryland, Holdrich deferred her admission for a year. She spent the next eight months working at a P.F. Chang’s—then the following four learning Arabic in Morocco.

Recently, more students like Holdrich are postponing college and taking a break from academics, said College and Career Information coordinator Anne Hutchens. Next year, 13 Whitman students will be taking gap years, with plans ranging from working in an ambulance in Israel to doing community service projects in Nicaragua.

Students who take gap years have two options: planning their own or participating in a structured program designed to provide meaningful gap year experiences across the globe.

Senior Marieke Van Rossum chose the latter. Seeking a break from the constant stress of school, she worked with the National Outdoor Leadership School to create a twosegment plan: three months camping in India, then four months studying French in a small town in southern France.

“These four years of high school have been a lot of constantly working and pushing on,” Van Rossum said. “So it’s a time to not have to worry about things I should be doing, or have to do.”

Colleges and universities have become increasingly supportive of gap years, often encouraging students to take one before attending college. Some, like Tufts University, have even created their own gap year programs. The Tufts 1+4 program allows students to do a year of service with organizations, either locally or globally, before arriving on campus.

“Students learn about a different community than their own, get out of their own bubble or echo chamber, learn to communicate with different people and learn to work with others around real problems facing the world,” program

Leor Rosen (‘16) hikes in the Golan Heights in Northern Israel. Rosen spent her gap year in Israel, volunteering at a rape crisis center in Bat Yam and learning Hebrew in Jerusalem. Photo courtesy LEOR ROSEN.

founder Alan Solomont said. “The overwhelming majority of students I talked to that have done this report that it was life changing.”

Continued on Page 15

The timer is rapidly winding down with just one minute to go. In the final seconds of a boys basketball game, the winning team holds on to the ball while the losing team desperately tries to foul in an attempt to regain possession.

This situation was a common occurrence in boys basketball last season, but the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association, the administrative group for Maryland high school sports, has added a new rule for boys basketball to prevent it: a 35-second shot clock. Girls basketball will keep its 30-second shot clock. The Association will also implement a running clock for both boys and girls basketball games when a team is leading by 35 points or more.

Boys basketball coach Chris Lun calls the shot clock long overdue and says it could change how teams approach late game situations.

“I feel like if you’re down six with four minutes to go, you shouldn’t have to resort to fouling to get the ball back,” Lun said. “I think you can play tough defense for 35 seconds and get the ball back.”

A shot clock speeds up the tempo of the game and discourages players from stalling, requiring the offensive team to take a shot that hits the rim of the basket in the allotted time. If they fail to do so, the opposing team will get possession of the ball.

The Association was previously unwilling to add a shot clock because the National Federation of State High School Associations, the governing body for most high school sports in the United States, does not currently have a universal shot clock for boys basketball.

By deciding to implement a shot clock, Maryland will “lose its voice” on the national level, Lun said, meaning that Maryland loses its representation in the National Federation.

The second change is the introduction of a running clock into both boys and girls basketball. If one of the teams is winning by 35 points or more in the fourth quarter, then the clock will only stop during a timeout.

Lun and girls varsity coach Peter Kenah both said that the rule will have a bigger impact on girls games because boys games are rarely won by such large margins.

Kenah thinks that the rule may deprive his players of valuable game time because the games will be shorter if a team is up by more than 35 points. He also worries that his players’ efforts in practice may be wasted because of the shorter games.

Girls basketball guard Brooke Gumataotao, however, doesn’t think that having a running clock will alter how the team plays next season.

“Our mindset is to play to the very last second and always play as hard as you can no matter what the score is,” she said. “We like to focus more on the game itself rather than the score.”

NEWS

2

Charity weeks raise more awareness, less money

by ANDIE SILVERMAN This year, the SGA raised $16,500 less than last year following its transition from the annual LLS month— where Whitman competed with other high schools nationwide to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society—to four individual charity weeks throughout the year. Leadership students attributed this reduction in fundraising results to prioritizing the message behind the weeks rather than collecting money itself.

“The new charity weeks system was a lot more message-based and less money-focused,” spirit weeks co-chair Dana Gurland said.

Last year, the Whitman community raised $51,000 during LLS month, and has won the LLS fundraising challenge the last five years.

This year with the new charity weeks, the SGA generated a total of $34,500. The funds that were raised went to various charities including the Leukemia & Lymphoma society, World Wildlife Fund, the Maryland chapter of the National Alliance of Mental Illness, AMVETS, Stepping Stones and National Center for Children and Families.

While Whitman didn’t raise as much money as it did in the past, Leadership students said it benefited the community in a different way.

“When the events became more messaged-based we as a community could reach out more,” Gurland said.

“Mental health affects so many people in the school and one of the benefits of making a week about it was that it

Junior Jared Lesley crosses the finish line where he is showered with colored powder at the Color Rush 5k, one of the new events included this year for Homelessness week. Each of the new charity weeks aimed to raise awareness and money for a different issues: mental health, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the environment, and homelessnes. Photo by RENZ JOHNSON.

made them feel like they were seen in Whitman.

While some students applauded the attention to other charities and issues, others felt that breaking LLS month into separate weeks took away from the excitement of when the events were packed closer together.

“With the weeks I was never fully invested just because it was so short,” junior Lily Tender said. “I also never really knew when a week was about to happen.”

At this point, the Leadership class plans to keep the charity weeks for next year and focus on improving the spirit weeks for students and staff.

“Solidifying the major events such as Color Rush and Vike-A-Thon would be a main goal for next year,” executive board Alex Herrera treasurer said. “We would really push PR prior to the events in order to get people more excited about them.”

County PTA reports $39K missing from account Ongoing investigation into fraudulent activity prompts new regulations

by MATT PROESTEL After gaining access to financial records April 6, an investigative team confirmed that $39,000 have gone missing from the Montgomery County Council Parent Teacher Association. The police have not released the names of any suspects.

The Association’s budget varies from year to year; this year, it held a total of $80,000. Funding for the organization comes from contributions from school PTAs around the county. With the disappearance of almost half of their budget, the Association will be forced to cut down on the number of county events they usually fund, like a performing arts festival they recently organized, MCCPTA President Lynne Harris said.

Suspicions arose after the Association’s board of

directors reviewed the fiscal year finances during a February meeting and noticed expenses in the financial records that had never actually occurred. Soon after, the Board hired an investigative team to audit the Association’s financial records, Harris said.

After the investigative team found fraudulent activity within the accounts, the police began investigating the disappearance of money and questioned Association leaders, Harris said.

“I was mad and frustrated. It became clear by the time we understood the volume of the theft that I would be coming into the organization as the president and that it wouldn’t be a normal year,” she said. “Dealing with the financial issues as well as trying to start the normal business of the organization was stressful.”

The Association leadership has since written new

guidelines for MCPS PTAs to prevent future fraud.

“There are about 17 things that will be done in the future,” Whitman’s PTA president, Joe Busch said.

“There will be more training for the treasurers. They’re recommending that banking statements be done online and that all bank accounts specifically require two signatures for checks.”

SGA treasurer Pablo Rothschild doesn’t believe that what occurred within the Montgomery County Council PTA should be a cause for concern within Whitman’s student body government, he said.

“No money has ever gone missing from the SGA,” Rothschild said. “I actually feel a very strong connection with the Business Office. We do everything the way it is supposed to be done for the auditors and everything is there: tidy and neat.”

Metro raises fares, sparks debate over its future

by KATHERINE SYLVESTER The D.C. Metro will increase fares and decrease non-rush hour train arrivals starting June 25, following a Metro Board of Directors vote March 23. Trips during peak hours of five to nine a.m. and three to seven p.m. will cost 10 cents more, and off-peak trips will cost 25 cents more. The increased fares will raise funds to ensure long-term safety and reliability of the Metro, Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said.

The Board approved the change to address the $18 billion budget shortfall facing Metro over the next 10 years, WTOP reported March 23. Unless they approve other revenue-raising measures, however, the deficit may continue to strain operations and affect Metro’s long-term quality.

“The plan to both raise fares and reduce routes would have a negative impact on ridership,” said a legislative director who works for D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman, a member of the Transportation Committee.

The changes may affect Whitman students who ride the Metro to get to baseball games, concerts or internships.

“I’m working at a summer camp in D.C.—I can’t drive, so I’m going to take the Metro,” sophomore Rachel Halliday said. “I understand they need funds to fix their program. The Metro system is in such a state of disrepair that it’s unsafe.

Am I happy about paying more for the Metro? No. But would I rather not die?

Yes.” Other proposals to ensure long-term success of the Metro include a sales tax, federalization and privatization, all of which hold varying levels of support.

Sales Tax

A sales tax—the solution with the broadest base of support—could be implemented in regional jurisdictions that use the Metro, including Bethesda. Both D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and members of the D.C. Council support the measure, calling it a fair solution with the least detrimental effect.

The Council advocates for a one percent regional sales tax, which would generate $650 million annually, more than enough to cover the shortfall.

While some are concerned that the sales tax will have the most harsh effect on the poor, others suggest that eliminating certain items from the tax will alleviate its severity. The District, for example,

exempts groceries from the sales tax, so the poor are less affected, Silverman’s aide said.

Federal Takeover

A federal takeover would shift responsibility of the Metro to the federal government. Today, the federal government oversees Metro safety, but a local agency carries out all normal operations.

Proponents argue the federal government could act without political interference to make much-needed reforms with greater budgetary capabilities.

“You have to have extraordinary powers—that’s the key,” Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans said in a Congressional hearing November 2016. “You have to be able to negate contracts, fire people and restructure without outside interference.”

However, some voice concerns about the federal government’s effectiveness.

“I don’t think the federal government is very good at running a business,” Board member Michael Goldman said, citing the U.S. Postal Service and Amtrak.

Others, like Virginia Rep. Gerald Connolly, have even expressed doubt that the government would want to take over Metro in the first place.

“I would be surprised if there’s any appetite in Congress to take on the responsibilities of a contemporary urban transit system,” Connolly said in a November Washington Post interview.

Privatization

Privatization would shift control of the Metro to a for-profit company. While full privatization is unlikely, officials say, partial privatization could improve efficiency in some newer facilities like the Silver Line, Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld suggested in an April report.

A popular example of successful privatization is Hong Kong’s Metro network, which was privatized in 2000. It now has a 99.9 percent punctuality rate and only a $1 average cost per trip, CNN reported in a 2015 article, adding that the company has a $1 billion net profit.

Not everyone believes this transfer would be in the public’s best interest.

“Privatization is a profit-driven initiative,” transit union D.C. representative Anthony Garland said. “You mostly ignore maintenance issues, you cut service, you raise fares, the public doesn’t have as much say in it—it’s all about the profit share.”

News

3

12 staff members say goodbye to Whitman Teachers, counselors share stories, memories

briefs Metro to install Wi-Fi in Red Line stations by 2018

by EVA LILES

Teachers Prudence Crewdson (left), Isabella Kyser (center) and Nicholas Confino (right) work with students in the classroom.

After 15, 12 and five years each respectively at Whitman, Kyser and Crewdson will both retire, and Confino will leave to teach at Rockville High School. Photos by OLIVIA MATTHEWS and ASMARA BENSON.

by REBECCA HIRSH This year, along with the 517 graduating seniors, 12 staff members, with a combined 143 years at the school, will be leaving Whitman.

Teachers retiring

Five teachers will retire at the end of this year in order to spend more time with their families. All have left an impact on the school community, with tenures averaging 15 years each.

Child development teacher Marjorie Eiserike will retire after 20 years at the school. Leaving her colleagues and students is one of the hardest decisions she’s ever made, she said. Principal Alan Goodwin is working to find a replacement to run the program.

“I am the happiest teacher on the planet,” Eiserike said. “I know in an academic school like Whitman, it’d be pretty easy to sort of let this program just dwindle away, but I’ve always been supported here.”

After 15 years in the foreign language department, Italian and Spanish teacher Isabella Kyser (‘67) will also be retiring this year, marking the 50th anniversary of her own Whitman graduation. Kyser plans to volunteer at the National Gallery of Art and local homeless shelters. Even after 50 years, Kyser said the heart of the school hasn’t changed much since she attended.

“It’s a different school physically,” Kyser said. “The funniest thing is that nothing’s really changed; it’s the same competitive air. It’s kind of nice to end my career in a place where I started learning.”

“

“

When ideas ignite in the classroom and people are really just excited to share ideas—that’s what I’ll miss the most.

- English teacher Prudence Crewdson

After 27 and 22 years respectively at Whitman, resource counselor Frances Landau and guidance counselor Rob Putt are both retiring. In the fall, a counselor from Burnt Mills Elementary School will replace Landau in the counseling department and guidance counselor Kari Wislar will take over as resource counselor.

Landau echoed Kyser’s sentiment and advised students to enjoy their time at Whitman.

“This is a very stressed out environment,” Landau said. “Sometimes I think both the kids and the parents are too anxious about the next step and need to stop and smell the roses.”

Putt is retiring after 40 years in education. With a background as a music teacher, he looks forward to playing the bassoon and jazz piano again. He and his wife plan to move permanently to their vacation house in Lewes, Delaware.

Neil Hawkins, building services night supervisor, will retire from the school after 20 years to drive cars for BMW. Having worked in the county for 31 years, he’ll miss the students and staff, especially his coworkers in the building services department, Hawkins said.

English teacher Prudence Crewdson is also retiring after 12 years at the school and will move to Califor-

nia. There, she hopes to spend time doing yoga, reading books and watching movies. She’ll miss her students and colleagues the most, Crewdson said.

“When ideas ignite in the classroom and people are really just excited to share ideas―that’s what I’ll miss the most,” Crewdson said. “I have been extremely lucky to work at a place where people care about one another and have one another’s backs.”

Teachers leaving education

Along with the five retiring teachers, two teachers will leave teaching to pursue careers as a hairdresser and pro golfer respectively.

Paraeducator Theingi Tun is leaving after nine years to advance her business as a hairdresser. She’s worked as a part-time hairdresser for about 14 years and teaches haircutting to aspiring stylists. Tun is grateful for having the opportunity to be able to work here and at the salon, she said.

“Whitman’s been a good place for me,” Tun said. “I probably can’t imagine working anywhere else. I have great supervisors here who have always really supported me.”

Physics teacher Daniel Chen is also leaving to live out one of his lifelong dreams: playing professional golf. If playing pro doesn’t work out, he said, he might come back to teaching. Chen, who’s been here for five years, will miss watching his students learn and think in different ways, he said.

“Never stop learning; never stop asking questions,” he said. “That’s kind of the heart of physics and the sciences. You keep wondering and you stay curious.”

Teachers leaving Whitman

English teacher Nicholas Confino, who was the Black & White advisor this year, will be leaving after five years at Whitman to teach English and run the journalism program at Rockville High School. Former advisor Louise Reynolds will resume the position next year.

With Rockville five minutes from his house, Confino decided that working closer to home would be better for his family, especially with his newborn son.

“It was unexpected. For my students, and for me,” Confino said. “I will miss teaching here and miss my students more than I can say.”

Media specialist April Moyo will leave the staff at the end of her first year due to her husband’s job relocation to Charlotte, North Carolina. Moyo has brought about many changes to the media center, including flexible seating and a more relaxed, open-door policy.

The special education department is losing two teachers: Rebecca Brown and Nicole Maury.

Brown currently pilots the geometry course for the Learning and Academic Disabilities program. Whitman lost funding for certain special education positions and as a result, Brown is moving to Richard Montgomery High School.

Maury (‘08) is moving to California after two years at Whitman, where she plans to continue teaching.

Maury will miss Whitman, especially because she was once a student at Whitman herself, she said.

“Having grown up here and coming back to teach here was nice. I’ll miss the other teachers, especially since I knew them for so long. But most of all, I’ll miss my students,” Maury said. “It’s a very familiar place.

It’s kind of like home.”

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will make Wi-Fi available to riders at 30 Red Line stations by the end of 2017.

The process will not cost WMATA any additional funds, as it only requires changing the privacy features on the already existing Wi-Fi service to make it available to the public, according to the WMATA website.

“Having free access to Wi-Fi while on the platforms at Metrorail stations will allow customers to stay better connected while they travel,” according to the WMATA’s press release.

WMATA plans to equip all stations from Union Station to Medical Center in Bethesda with free WiFi before 2018, leaving out only Woodley Park due to installation complications. Any underground stations outside of this range are due to receive Wi-Fi by mid 2018, media relations manager Sherri Ly said.

Funding for turf field approved

by CHRIS ATKINSON After many years of discussion regarding a turf field at Whitman, a county judge approved Montgomery Soccer Incorporation’s $1.3 million bid towards funding the field’s creation May 4. The deal grants property right of the field to MSI for 10 years.

This marks the end of a two-year process of obtaining Board of Education, County Council, County Executive Council and Education Committee approval of the proposal.

Whitman is now waiting for contractors to bid on the rights to build the field.

“Once the school hires a contractor, the construction is projected to take place over this winter to have a new field ready for the 2018 spring season,” athletic director Andrew Wetzel said.

New lanes, tech to be added to I-270

by ZOE KAUFMANN Governor Larry Hogan and the Maryland Department of Transportation announced a plan April 12 to add at least 23 miles of new lanes, more traffic lights on exit ramps and improved traffic technology to I-270.

The $100 million proposal aims to reduce congestion in two ways: adding new lanes to northbound and southbound local lanes near the I-270 and I-495 merge and introducing speed limits that change based on tracking current traffic patterns.

Construction is expected to start this fall and could stretch into 2019.

Opponents of the plan claim that the highway needs more drastic construction and overhauling instead of rehabilitation and adding new lanes, pointing out that previous efforts to expand the lanes in the 1990s eased congestion for only a short period of time. However, more significant construction would also be more expensive, and the lack of funding could make other solutions improbable, Hogan said in a press conference April 29.

Many Whitman teachers welcome the change, especially those who have altered their commute to avoid I-270’s unpredictable traffic.

“Every little bit helps,” choral director Jeffrey Davidson said. “Commuting in the afternoon is really getting crazy.”

4

News

Forgotten African-American cemetery ignites controversy over Westbard development The parking lot of the Westwood Towers apartment complex between Westbard Ave. and River Road isn’t a very appealing sight: asphalt covers much of the ground, and a few scattered trees and a small stream are the only signs of life. There are no indications of what might lie underneath: an AfricanAmerican graveyard dating back to the early 20th century.

Although no physical evidence of a cemetery has been discovered, historical documents published by historians from the Little Falls Watershed Alliance indicate that the lot was used as a graveyard by the African-American Westbard community in the early 20th century.

The area was sold to developers in 1958 and is now slated to become an aboveground parking lot as part of the planned

development at Westbard.

This plan, however, has been postponed after months of strenuous debate due to fierce opposition from members of the nearby Macedonia Baptist Church and other groups over the possibility of a cemetery. In response to the reports and community pressure, developer Equity One has halted construction plans until an archaeological study of the site is completed.

Members of the Church have vocally opposed the development in the past few months, and have been supported by members of nearby congregations and activist groups, including the Montgomery County NAACP. “We have an obligation to respect bodies, to respect the people who once lived here and whose remains are there.

That’s all that’s left of them physically and personally,” said Rev. Tim Tutt,

The Macedonia Baptist Chruch was founded in 1923 and remains one of the last symbols of the African-American Westbard community. Photo by RYAN GAINES.

senior minister of the Westmoreland United Church of Christ and Whitman parent. “Politically and historically, we also have a responsibility to have a living memory. That’s what keeps us from committing the same terrible acts over and over and over.”

The investigation itself has also sparked controversy because Equity One will fund it. Members of the Macedonia Baptist Church, as well as other groups, have argued this will introduce bias into any findings and are calling for an independent archaeological investigation.

The county is committed to funding a study conducted by a team of archaeologists and anthropologists selected by the Church once the developer grants them access to the land, said Rev. Segun Adebayo, interim pastor of the Church.

Some supporters of the Church question whether race came into play in the debate over the cemetery, alleging that the extended fight over the cemetary’s existence would’ve been much shorter and less strenuous if it hadn't been a community of color.

“African American history and perspectives are already so scarce in the mainstream that this issue is just another representation of how minority voices are silenced,” junior Rabhya Mehrotra said.

After the Civil War and emancipation, former slaves moved from local plantations to the area now known as Westbard, where they were unable to afford or were forbidden entrance into white churches and cemeteries.

The Macedonia Baptist Church is the last remaining vestige of the Westbard African-American community. Because of this, groups like White’s Tabernacle No. 39 organized to create and maintain African-American places of worship and graveyards.

Historians from the Watershed Alliance believe that any remains buried in the cemetery may not have been exhumed and reburied, meaning the new

construction would be built over bodies.

“There is no single shred of evidence that the bodies were ever exhumed,” Rev. Adebayo said in an interview with WTOP.

“

We have an obligation to respect bodies, to respect the people who once lived here and whose remains are there. That’s all that’s left of them physically and personally.

- Rev. Tim Tutt

“

by ZOE KAUFMANN

If graves do remain, they lie under many feet of filler dirt; the plot was leveled in the late 1960s when construction began on Westwood Towers, according to first-hand accounts compiled by the Alliance. Accounts from that time period claim that construction workers found bones while building, but didn't report or rebury them, according to a February Washington Post article.

The Montgomery County Planning Board has indicated that they will turn the area into a park if remains are officially found. Regardless of the study results, the Church has called for a museum to be built on the site, commemorating the history of the Westbard African-American community.

“The United States has changed a lot, but we still owe it to them to remember—to the people who lived in this area,” Black Student Union president Christiana Turay said. “We can never forget the past.”

The company-funded archaeological investigation will begin in early June.

TV studio renovations foster professional environment New anchor desk, film backdrop added to TV studio filming room

by MIRA DWYER The TV studio is now more than just a meeting place for leadership, staff and after-school clubs. After nearly eight months of renovations, the room has been transformed into a high-quality studio for TV production classes and Whitman Shorts.

Media services technician Travis Swiger has a background in broadcast radio and piloted these renovations upon his arrival at Whitman this year. With assistance from the drama tech crew and TV production students, Swiger revamped the studio by constructing a new backdrop and anchor desk for Shorts episodes, he said.

“I wanted to provide a venue for kids that might be interested in going into the broadcast field,” Swiger said. “It’s a place where they can come be creative and use equipment to learn what the field is about.”

In the past, Shorts students filmed in an empty classroom next to the official Shorts room, but the classroom was converted into the security office at the beginning of this year, forcing Shorts to find a new place to film.

“I think that the studio has really become that place for us to meet and talk about stories,” Shorts editor Claire Sanfuentes said. “It’s definitely a more professional place to shoot interviews.”

The updated studio also provided the Filmmakers Club with a proper meeting place where they film with professional equipment.

“When we were talking about [creating the club] last year, there were some concerns that the T.V. studio wasn’t really being used as a TV studio,” co-president Urban Seiberg said. “It’s really nice that it turned into a working space that fits our needs.”

Shorts advisor Geoff Schaefer has requested TV studio renovations since 2013, but budget cuts kept the program from expanding, he said.

The Whitman Education Foundation added to Swiger’s renovations by providing funds for rollaway

The International Club used the TV studio's new backdrop to film an informative documentary from December to January while the anchor desk was being built. The new backdrop includes a flat screen TV that allows Shorts and clubs to display images in the background while conducting interviews and filming segments. Photo courtesy TRAVIS SWIGER.

tables, which allow for easy transitions between meetings and filming. In the future, Swiger wants to install teleprompters and plans to ask the Education Foundation to fund that purchase as well, he said.

While Schaefer will remain the Shorts advisor, Swiger plans to become more involved in the TV production class by teaching beginning students the basics

of the craft, he said.

Because Schaefer wasn’t able to teach a first period class, Shorts was unable to produce daily video announcements. Swiger hopes to reintroduce Friday video announcements, which were discontinued last year, he said.

the

B&W

The Black & White is an open forum for student views from Walt Whitman High School, 7100 Whittier Blvd., Bethesda, MD, 20817. The Black & White’s website is www.theblackandwhite.net. The app can be downloaded by searching for “The WW Black and White” in the app store.

Signed opinion pieces reflect the positions of the individual staff and not necessarily the opinion of Walt Whitman High School or Montgomery County Public Schools. Unsigned editorial pieces reflect the opinion of the newspaper.

All content in the paper is reviewed to ensure that it meets the highest level of legal and ethical standards with respect to the material as libelous, obscene or invasive of privacy. All corrections are posted on the website.

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Volume 55, Issue 7 2016-2017

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Carmen Molina Amy Nankin Sam Shiffman Lily Friedman Valerie Akinyoyenu Tiger Björnlund Emma Sorkin Pearl Sun Camille Caldera Jennie Yu Anna Gray Lily Jacobson Andie Silverman Elea Levin Sabrina Martin Abby Snyder Elisa McCartin Michelle Silver Aiden Lesley Joey Squeri Daniel Weber Ava Chenok Ann Morgan Jacobi Charlotte Alden Emma Davis Mei-Mei Greenstein Emma Davis Iris Berendes-Dean Sophie deBettencourt Selina Ding Landon Hatcher Avery Johnston Julia Rubin Jana Warner Josh Corbin Eli Saletan Lexie Johnson Ben Meron Matt Boyer Annabelle Gordon Olivia Matthews Julie Rosenstein Anthony Breder Caleb Herring Abbi Audas Hannah Chaudhry Kyle Layman Ben Levin Aaron Titlebaum Jessie Buxbaum Mira Dwyer Rebecca Hirsh Zoe Kauffmann Eva Liles Sydney Miller Eric Neugeboren Matt Proestel Naren Roy Jeremy Wenick Shehrez Chaudry Cami Corcoran Camerynn Hawke Eva Herscowitz Azraf Khan Thomas Mande Julia McGowan Brooke McLeod Rebecca Mills Elyssa Seltzer Yiyang Zhang Ella Atsavapranee Hannah Feuer Maddy Frank Anna Koretsky Jenny Lu Katherine Sylvester Ivy Xun Chris Atkinson Ariana Faghani Max Gersch Cam Jones Elyse Lowet Kevan Nathani Jessie Solomon Matthew van Bastelaer Anjali Jha Arthur Varner Isaac De Marchi Maeve Trainor Louise Reynolds

OPINION

5

It’s time to talk Staff about sexism Editorial

Bra straps, tank tops, short shorts, ripped jeans, leggings.

These items are all fixtures in most girls’ everyday outfits. And they have one more thing in common: they’re all banned in our school’s dress code.

Every spring, administrators make an announcement over the loudspeakers reminding students of clothing banned in Whitman’s dress code. When assistant principal Kathy McHale made the announcement this year, many students, including junior Rabhya Mehrotra, believed it was inherently sexist and decided to take action.

Mehrotra wants to assemble a group of students to lead discussions on sexism and the school dress code during English classes in September. Principal Alan Goodwin and other administrators should be commended for supporting Mehrotra in her efforts to make these plans a reality.

Administrators should make discussions about difficult top-

ics—like sexism—a bi-yearly occurrence during the last week of each semester. Discussions like these have been held successfully in the past, with entire days devoted to boosting students’ mental health. Now, administrators should use the two weeks originally designated for finals for these meaningful discussions.

While these seminars may prompt controversy within the student body, they’re necessary because they address an issue pervasive throughout our society. Exposure to a variety of viewpoints will enable students to voice their own opinions and listen to others to hopefully increases empathy within the school. Research has shown that understanding other people’s experiences through classroom discussion helps students grasp concepts with greater ease.

These discussions are especially important due to the lack of conversation about sexism despite its prevalence in MCPS. At Rockville High School in 2013, security removed a freshman girl from class because her shirt wasn’t long enough to cover her leggings, according to a 2013 Washington Post

article. Administration required her to either change her outfit or leave school; she chose the latter.

Forcing students to chose between their dignity and their education is just one example of sexism in education.

Although controversy surrounding the dress code originally prompted Mehrotra’s initiative, sexism is prevalent within schools in other ways that affect both genders. Girls tend to participate less in classroom discussions than boys, causing teachers to rely on boys for participation rather than girls, according to Columbia University’s Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Teaching Center.

While girls feel neglected in the classroom, boys carry the burden of being expected to bear the weight of the conversation and are called on to participate even if they aren’t prepared or willing to speak. These discussions will bring this overlooked form of sexism to light.

Sexism is an important and complex issue; in order to confront the sexism students face everyday, schools need to address the issue directly by giving it the attention it deserves.

Standardize MD disciplinary policies, end the disparities

by HANNAH FEUER In Baltimore County Public Schools, the maximum punishment for using a water gun in school is expulsion and being referred to law enforcement.

Meanwhile, in Montgomery County Public Schools, the maximum punishment for using a water gun in school is much less severe: temporary removal from class, peer mediation or community service.

Differing policies on water guns represent only a small sampling of different disciplinary policies across the 24 counties in Maryland. In a survey of six counties’ codes of conduct, maximum punishments for similar infractions ranged from classroom-level interventions to referral to law enforcement.

Maryland legislators should eliminate these disparities by reintroducing the Maryland School Discipline Reform Bill. The bill—which recently failed to pass in the Maryland House of Delegates—would mandate that every county across the state adopts standardized guidelines in their code of conduct. The guidelines establish five levels of intervention for offenses and ensure that discipline is focused on rehabilitation rather than pushing “problem” students out of school.

Schools across the country with higher minority populations and lower income students tend to use stricter punishments than other schools with similar crime rates and disciplinary issues, professor Jason Nance wrote in a paper for the Emory Law Journal.

As a result, African-American students are suspended and expelled at a rate three times greater than white students, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The reliance on suspensions and expulsions as disciplinary measures has drastic effects: a suspension is the number one predictor of whether a student will drop out of school, the National Education Association reported in 2015.

Opponents of standardizing school discipline codes argue that discipline is an issue best dealt with on a local level, since students in different areas will respond differently to consequences. However, allowing for such discretion in school disciplinary policies creates a risk of implicitly basing the harshness of disciplinary codes on racial and socioeconomic demographics, rather than students’ needs.

Maryland is not immune to the disparities that Nance describes; the demographic makeup of a school in Maryland is a stronger predictor of that school’s suspension rates than student behavior itself, according to a study by the Open Society Institute, an organization that works to reform Baltimore schools.

For example, not only is Baltimore County home to harsher punishments for school water gun offenders, but the district also has the fourth lowest per capita income in Maryland. Montgomery County has both limited punishments and the highest per capita income in the state, according to Maryland Manual Online, a state government website with information from the 2010 census.

Racial disparities are also evident in resulting punishments; in Maryland, African Americans accounted for 61 percent of expulsions and suspensions last year, though they only made up 34 percent of the total student population, reported Advocates for Children and Youth, a non-partisan non-profit organization.

These disparities perpetuate racial stereotypes and facilitate an impression that the school system’s principal purpose is to maintain law and order, rather than to help students grow. By creating a single, standardized disciplinary code across the state with the implementation of the Maryland School Discipline Reform Bill, Maryland would eliminate the unsettling correlation between higher minority and lower income populations and harsher disciplinary policies.

Using a water gun in Baltimore is no more of a crime than using a water gun in Bethesda. It’s time we recognize this and ensure that students across the state face the same punishments for the same offenses.

Detention vs. Detainment

6

Opinion

Stop shying away from introversion

by IVY XUN Sitting in kindergarten class on a patch of brightly colored carpet, I groaned at the predicaments of Mondays. On Mondays, I was subjected to the standard mechanical rounds of forced small talk, of “What fun things did you do this weekend, class?”and the inevitable choruses of “soccer game!”, “birthday party!” and “playground playdates!” that followed.

Monday talks meant boredom. I sat quietly in the midst of the shouting and focused on how the letter B on the alphabet sign above me curved upward like an elephant tusk. The next Wednesday, I found myself sitting in the principal’s office.

“

“

Introversion simply means valuing a quiet, private corner in a crowded and buzzing world.

I had difficulty with communication, he said. I was anti-social, he said. I needed ESOL, he said. As a result of what he perceived to be a personality problem, I was told I needed to change. But at five years old, I was just trying to be myself. I hated group discussions, shuddered at the thought of small talk and preferred solidarity over social interaction—a textbook case of introversion.

School systems claim to prize tolerance, yet the threshold of which personalities are seen as promising is ironically narrow. It’s someone who chatters, some-

one who’s sociable, someone who’s supposedly actionoriented, author Susan Cain writes in her bestselling book, “Quiet.” Extroverts seem to exude confidence, act spontaneously and have all the qualities that society deems to be leadership material.

On the other hand, quiet is seen as passive, a preference for solitude as a lack of “people skills” and silence as having nothing to say. Introversion, a trait half of the world’s population shares, according to Psychology Today, has become a second-class personality.

I have an entire collection of teachers’ comments and report cards to prove it: “She seems sweet and smart but needs to assert herself more,” my fourth grader teacher wrote. My second grade teacher gave me a “needs progress” rating for my group-working abilities, explaining that “Ivy needs to act more like a leader.”

Society often perceives talkative people as inherently more intelligent and desirable. Indeed, teachers presented with two equally competent students will tend to rate the one who talks more in class as more successful academically despite introverts being just as capable, the American Psychology Association reports.

Granted, the more a person talks, the more easily one’s ideas and opinions can be heard, but introverts have a host of quiet strengths that are just as valuable.

It’s crucial to break the stigma surrounding introversion and embrace its benefits.

For example, introverts are better listeners and observers, according to a Wall Street Journal article. And introversion also holds advantages in leadership; a 2010 Harvard Business Review study found that introverted leaders generated better performances and higher profits than their extroverted counterparts. Not surprisingly, some of our most revolutionary figures spanning dramatically different fields are self proclaimed intro-

Characteristics of Introverts Good ory Mem

Problem solving

Go Pla od a nn t ing

Graphic by JULIA RUBIN. Head icon courtesy The Noun Project, Yeonjung Rho

verts, including Bill Gates, JK Rowling, Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin.

In education and in society, I’m constantly told that being loud and bold is the only way for my voice to be valued. But introversion doesn’t mean shyness. It doesn’t mean being submissive. It doesn’t mean second class. Introversion simply means valuing a quiet, private corner in a crowded and buzzing world.

Photo courtesy ANNABELLE GORDON

Stay up to date with Let’s take a pass on this new hall pass policy

by JENNY LU High school students face a seemingly endless amount of responsibilities in school.

They’re expected to balance a competitive school workload with a multitude of extracurriculars. Yet, when it comes to going to the bathroom, the school security team doesn’t seem to think students are responsible enough to return to class.

As of April, students are required to carry a hall pass whenever they leave a classroom as part of an increase in safety and security measures. Teachers are encouraged to give a student the hall pass in exchange for a valuable item, such as a cell phone or backpack.

While hall passes alone are reasonable, students shouldn’t be required to turn in personal valuables for hall passes because the process makes teachers unnecessarily liable, disrupts lessons and infantilizes students.

The new hall policy is problematic because it makes teachers financially responsible for students’ property. If a teacher’s personal property is damaged, the Montgomery County Education Association will reimburse it, but in the case that the student’s property is compromised, the teacher is liable, according to the MCEA’s contract.

Requiring students to turn in a valuable item violates the MCPS policy that prohibits teachers from being required to hold on to student-owned items, one English teacher explained. Because of this, many teachers feel uncomfortable with the idea that they could potentially be responsible for students’ expensive personal items.

In addition, this policy disrupts class when teachers have to stop a lesson to take a

student’s personal items hostage. Before this policy, students could take a pass and leave without interrupting the class, but under the new system, lessons come to a halt as students exchange their valuables with the teacher for a hall pass.

Despite the downsides of the hall pass system, some believe that requiring students to turn in their belongings for a pass is helpful because it makes keeping track of students’ whereabouts easier and ensures that students will return to class promptly.

However, the hall passes already guarantee that students will return without the added requirement of leaving behind a valuable.

Taking students’ belongings is unnecessary insurance for students to return promptly.

Unless students carry their backpack with them to the bathroom, they’ll always have to return to class to retrieve their items—asking for collateral achieves nothing.

Along with that, requiring students to hand over their property as down payment is patronizing. The school presents an additional burden on students who are already motivated to come, and therefore return, to class. Hall passes already allow teachers to keep track of how long students are out of class, thus eliminating the need to leave valuable possessions behind.

While action to increase school safety and discourage students from wandering the halls is important, the process of turning in a valuable item to a teacher disrupts classes, and causes many teachers to feel uneasy as well as infantilizes students. The security team must revise this policy to ensure that hallway monitoring doesn’t come at a cost to teachers and students.

Photography

Recent scores Recentsports sport scores Continued stories from print Multimedia stories Trending stories: 1. College apparel business gains popularity, appeals to students 2. Junior competes at National Duals for wrestling 3. Claims that fidget toys help students sparks debate

Opinion

7

MCPS: Keep our school lunches healthy Lunches should focus on health, not politics

by ELLA ATSAVAPRANEE Teenagers are notorious for unhealthy eating, often choosing mozzarella sticks over carrot sticks. Even though students don’t always eat well, healthy options in the cafeteria are still important.

In a self-described effort to “make school meals great again,” the Trump administration rolled back federal nutrition standards that were part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The original standards promoted healthier school lunches nationwide, requiring schools to reduce fat and sodium content and offer more whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Starting next school year, schools will be able to disregard these standards all together.

Earlier standards for school lunches, however, have merit, and MCPS should uphold those standards.

Under the nutrition standards set by the Obama administration, MCPS worked diligently to increase health standards in school meals, the district’s director of Food and Nutrition Services said. These efforts can be seen in Whitman’s own cafeteria, which now serves foods with reduced sodium and healthier snacks, such as low-fat ice cream, cafeteria manager Karen Phillips said. The new administration’s more lenient standards could affect students’ lunches as well as their long term health.

Besides the obvious health benefits, nutritious lunches encourage students to form healthy eating habits for adulthood. After stricter standards were put in place by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, students ate more fruits and vegetables and actually grew to like the healthier foods, reported 2014 survey by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The new standards could have a direct impact on students who buy school lunch every day. In MCPS, about a third of students benefit from free or reducedpriced meals, according to a 2016 report. Fresh produce, fish and meat is harder to find and more expensive in poorer communities, making the new standards particularly harmful to students from low-income families because school is the only place they have consistent access to healthy foods.

Some school districts believe that healthier meals aren’t worth the extra cost because students won’t buy them. However, schools would profit from serving healthy foods. Within the first year of implementing healthier meals, schools saw a $450 million increase in

revenue from school lunches nationwide, according to a 2014 USDA press release. The additional investment in healthy foods is not only beneficial to students, but to schools as well.

Schools must support students’ physical well-being in addition to their intellectual well-being. With better options available in the cafeteria, healthy eating will become second nature instead of second choice.

FEATURE

8

‘13 Reasons Why’ prompts response from administration over portrayal of mental illness

by CAMI CORCORAN In hallways almost identical to Whitman’s, the fictional tale of high school junior Hannah Baker unfolds through vivid flashbacks and detailed storytelling.

The popular Netflix original series, “13 Reasons Why,” explores controversial topics—cyber bullying, sexual assault and self harm—through Baker’s eyes. She explains the events leading up to her suicide through a series of 13 audio recordings, each targeting a specific person she blames for her death.

Since its debut March 31, the show has amassed more than 11 million tweets, becoming the most tweeted Netflix show of 2017, Variety reported. The show has been met with both criticism and praise over its portrayal of suicide and mental illness.

Concern about the sensitive topics presented in the show prompted superintendent Jack Smith to urge county high school and middle school principals to issue a statement to the community.

“This letter is being sent as a proactive measure and in the interest of ensuring that parents/guardians know about the Netflix series,” principal Alan Goodwin wrote in his May 2 email. “Many adolescents have been watching the series alone and without adult supervision.”

Mental health experts have expressed concern about the show’s representation of mental illness, a disease that affects one in five American teenagers, the Center for Disease Control reported.

Suicidal individuals exposed to graphic images of suicides are more likely to attempt the act themselves, a phenomenon known as suicide contagion.

As a result, experts advise the media not to sensationalize or describe suicide in a graphic manner.

Some viewers were especially alarmed at the portrayal of detailed and graphic scenes, such as a rape scene and Baker’s suicide.

“I worry that it was a little too graphic,” sophomore Molly Herson said. “I don’t think that they should have showed

her slit her wrists. It definitely could’ve been triggering to someone with mental health issues.”

The National Association of School Psychologists issued a statement discouraging students from watching the series.

“Its powerful storytelling may lead impressionable viewers to romanticize the choices made by the characters and/ or develop revenge fantasies,” the NASP said in their statement.

Proponents of the show argue that Baker’s fictional suicide has brought needed attention to teenage suicide, currently the second leading cause of death for adolescents ages 12-19, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Creator Brian Yorker justified his decision to depict the suicide as an artistic choice, making the scene intentionally painful to watch in order to emphasize the gravity of suicide and avoid romanticizing her death, he said.

For sophomore Nathan Nemeroff, the scenes were brutal.

“The self harm and suicide hit me really hard,” he said. “It was subtle and casual, and then she just killed herself right on the screen.”

School counselors took issue with their portrayal, which suggested that counselors lack care and competence. In the final episode, Baker approaches her counselor and tells him she feels “empty” inside. The counselor, missing the signs of a student in crisis, doesn’t provide any additional support.

“That’s the exact opposite message we’re trying to get through to kids,” guidance counselor Kari Wislar said.

“We want them to feel able to go to a trusted adult and disclose any type of feelings.”

Goodwin hopes the show doesn’t influence students in a negative way but instead encourages students who are struggling with mental illness to seek help.

“Students need to be aware of the options for help we have here, and that there’s always a place to turn,” he said.

Graphic by MEIMEI GREENSTEIN

Counselors who are concerned about a student’s mental health may immediately contact the student and their parent(s). After doing so, the situation is evaluated and further action, such as connecting the student with a therapist or a crisis center, is taken if deemed necessary, following MCPS protocol and national guidelines, Wislar said.

“As hard as it is for Hannah to express herself, the situation could’ve been avoided if she had gotten help,” senior Emma Cohen-Dumani said. “It’s vital

to speak up and get help if you’re struggling.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, visit your counselor or contact one of the following services: Montgomery County Crisis Center: 240-777-4000 Montgomery County Hotline: 301-738-2255 Montgomery County Youth Crisis Line: 301-738-9697

A look ‘Down These Mean Streets’ at the Smithsonian New photo exhibit captures the changing lives of minorities in the 1950s

by JULIA MCGOWAN

Full of growing suburbs, catchy ad slogans and drive-in movies, the 1950s are generally remembered as an era of idealistic conformity in American history. However, less commonly discussed is the role of this time period as the setting for a major demographic change, when minorities played an increasingly more prevalent and vocal part of American society.

Photographers captured minorities’ shift from city to suburban life on camera, and their work is on display in a new exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, entitled “Down These Mean Streets: Community and Place in Urban Photography.” The exhibit, which opened May 12, was inspired by “Down These Mean Streets,” a 1967 memoir by Piri Thomas about growing up in Harlem, New York. The display showcases the work of 10 Latino photographers who captured the changing culture of minorities during the 1950s.

Each photographer featured in the exhibit puts their own twist on the demographic shift.

The author looks on at the work of New York, New York photographer Winston Vargas. The photo, titled “University of the Streets” was taken in Brownsville, New York in the 1950s. Photo courtesy KIRA GANDOLFO.

Photographer Hiram Maristany focused on capturing subjects he had a personal relationship with; Frank Espada engages with his subjects in photo shoots of both candid and posed shots; and John Valadez photographs

strangers found on the streets.

“It’s a documentary-type feel,” Tom, a museum visitor said. “It captures the aspects of America’s urban life during the 50s. Those times are good to remember.”

The people, places and objects in each picture have their own backstory, and the contrast between the positive facial expressions and run-down buildings expresses the neighborhood culture of minorities in the

heart of the 20th century. Sophomore Kira Gandolfo especially appreciated the rawness of the scenes , as most depicted the everyday reality of poor areas with a less educated population.

“It’s kind of refreshing,” Gandolfo said. “Around the galleries it’s mostly artifacts or paintings of wealthy people, but this showed urban neighborhoods and the people who aren’t [wealthy].”

The museum invites visitors to leave anonymous comments and feedback about the exhibit in an interactive journal, encouraging discussion about the messages portrayed in the photographs.

“In the faces of young people of color depicted here, I see such pure emotions and often such innocent joyfulness,” an anonymous visitor wrote. “I wonder where the struggles of life have taken them in the interventional years and if they’ve watched, broken-hearted as I am, as so many youthful black and brown lives have been senselessly wasted. But there is always hope.”

The exhibit runs through Aug. 6.

Feature

9

Album reviews: Summer 2017

Artwork by ISLAND RECORDS

Artwork by FUELED BY RAMEN

Artwork by SABRINA CLAUDIO

‘Confidently Lost’ Rating 3/5

‘After Laughter’ Rating 4/5

‘Don’t Kill My Vibe’ Rating 3/5 Synth-pop explodes on the radio as an empowered voice preaches self strength.

This voice belongs to Norwegian songstress Sigrid Raabe in her four song EP released via Island Records May 5 .

Her fiery opening track “Don’t Kill My Vibe”—the song that launched Sigrid’s career—preaches independence. Her anthem of self empowerment includes: “You think you’re so important to me don’t you? But I wanted you to know, that you don’t belong here.” Sigrid blazes through a quiet synthesizer beat as she showcases her forceful voice.

Following her aggressive pop path, Raabe continues her EP with “Plot Twist.” In this track, she discusses a failed relationship one lover tries too late to mend: “Do you need me to spell it all out? Just screw it all, plot twist, moved on and now you want me.”

Another track on the EP is “Fake Friends.” Although she takes a slower approach, Raabe maintains her aggressive voice, shaping it into the sound of the EP as she discusses relationships lacking trust. The slow beginning sets up the punch of the chorus, allowing the listener to appreciate Raabe’s varying voice. Unfortunately, this track has the similar one-toned emotion throughout the EP, which fails to increase her EP’s total appeal due to its lack of emotional diversity.

Classified as ‘aggressive pop,’ Sigrid’s music is a much-needed sound in the music industry. Her songs are great for those into music perfect for jumping around or working out. But Sigrid lacks variety, staying close to her punchy jams, keeping her from her full potential as an artist. Sigrid is here to stay though; stay tuned for more electrifying songs.

by AARON TITLEBAUM

After three years of silence, rock band Paramore has finally returned with a new identity. The band has matured their look and abandoned their previous “angsty teen” image with monumental changes in their sound and themes.

Paramore, led by singer Hayley Williams, released their fifth studio album, “After Laughter,” May 12. This album delves into raw emotion and releases a new pop and contemporary sound with an underlying 80s synth theme throughout.

The band’s opening track, “Hard Times,” emulates the band’s new and upbeat sound. “Hard Times,” with its motivating lyrics and melody, promotes the idea that people can survive their difficulties. Their main message to fans is that everyone, even a well-known rock band, has their faults.

Continuing this new 80s synth sound, Paramore released the song “Fake Happy,” which allowed Williams to express her depression and her need to mask it with a “fake happy.” This relatable theme is comforting to listeners, reassuring them that they aren’t alone in their struggle. With this track, Paramore delivered another anthem that stands true to their rock sound, while still maintaining a 1980s music vibe.

Overall, “After Laughter” is the resurgence of Paramore, upping their popularity and facilitating their shift into a alternative pop styled band while still holding on to their rock roots. The full album is extremely catchy, combining relatable lyrics with upbeat tempos sure to please. “After Laughter” could be played on a rainy day to lift anyone’s spirits.

Sultry R&B echoes through the soundwaves. A soft voice reverberates through the air. Newcomer Sabrina Claudio, rooted in Miami, serves her EP, “Confidently Lost,” up for enjoyment.

Claudio made waves after releasing her EP on SoundCloud March 2016. She officially re-released her EP on on iTunes March 16, which led her to capture mainstream attention.

Opening with her song “Confidently Lost,” Claudio brings a late night slowness to her collection. Piano sounds cascade as the singer’s voice fits perfectly to the track. Claudio describes the importance of being alone in this song: “I’m alone but I’m not lonely/ Comfortably indulging/ And trying to get to know me/ I’m just an outline of what I used to be/ Constantly evolving/ Steadily revolving.” She outlines self growth and discusses the importance of being comfortable in your own skin.

Following with the hooking track, “Too Much Too Late,” Claudio infuses sultry jazz, R&B and pop to create an instant, grooving hit. In this song, the singer discusses wanting someone back, even though time has past. Claudio takes a different viewpoint, as many songs discuss someone else wanting them back and preaching not needing anyone; here, Claudio praises love and how perfect the other is for her.

Claudio manages to fuse contemporary pop with an inviting jazz-driven twist to appeal to many people.

Unfortunately, her songs lack individuality, Many of the tracks are extremely similar to each other and may leave listeners bored. Though she has an impressive voice, her songs all have the same sultry, slow vibe which gets repetitive. Claudio came to impress and mainly delivered; watch out for her in the future.

Gap years provide unique learning experience for students Spending a year immersed in a different culture appeals to many students, including Holdrich, who said her time in Morocco provided her with a new perspective on her own cultural identity.

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computer and electronics store in Rockville as a cashier and salesperson.

Being away from school enabled Miele to improve his quality of life by taking some time to de-stress and enjoy himself, he said. It also allowed him to reflect back on his mistakes in high school and experience the

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Continued from page 1

There’s something about traveling where you see the world in a different way, but you also see your own upbringing and culture in a different way.

- Charlotte Holdrich (‘16)

“There’s something about traveling where you see the world in a different way, but you also see your own upbringing and culture in a different way,” Holdrich said. “It’s helped me differentiate who I am from American culture.”

While many students embark on trips, others spend their gap year working. Alec Miele (‘16) wasn’t quite ready for college after graduating, he said.

He decided instead to spend the following year working at a

rewards of diligence and effort firsthand.

“I have a different perspective on work ethic now,” Miele said. “It’s definitely been a major benefit for me.”

In the fall, Miele will attend Montgomery College and plans to transfer to the University of Maryland after two years to study engineering.

Most Whitman students still choose to enroll in college directly, Hutchens said. This made it difficult for Holdrich

Leor Rosen (‘16) visits the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Israel during her gap year. This year 13 students will be taking gap years and taking a break from academics for a year. Photo courtesy LEOR ROSEN.

and Van Rossum to step away from their education while most of their peers went straight to college, they said.

“When everyone is hearing back their college decisions, you’re kind of like, what am I

going to be doing next year?”

Van Rossum said.

For those students who choose to take a gap year however, the experience can provide them with a chance to learn in a new kind of environment re-

gardless of how it’s spent.

“I was kind of tired of regular school and I wanted something a little bit different,” Holdrich said. “So I just made the world my classroom.”

10

In-De

Changes in

Bethesda

The area surrounding the intersection of present-day Old Georgetown Road and Wisconsin Avenue was named “Bethesda,” Jan. 23, 1871. Since then, some institutions, including Tastee Diner and Barnes & Noble, have become cherished icons while eclectic businesses are popping up at an exponential rate. The Black & White decided to outline changes to Bethesda, starting from its humble beginnings and ending with a glimpse into its plans for the future.

closing up shop As Bethesda has evolved into a district of high-rise buildings, restaurants and boutiques, cherished neighborhood businesses will soon become history due to new developments, changing tastes or owners deciding it’s time to close.

Falling into this trend are longtime Bethesda staples like Barnes & Noble and Tastee Diner, locations that have become sentimental for many residents, especially for Whitman students.

“In the ‘old’ days, we used to hang out at Montgomery Mall, go to the Tastee Diner, race to Roy

Rogers and buy our school supplies at Bruce Variety [a Bethesda crafts and variety store which closed in 2015],” Mari Allen (‘87) said.

When Barnes & Noble announced its plans to close this December, the announcement was met with intense opposition from residents. A Change.org petition to keep the 19-year institution in Bethesda had over 5,000 signatures as of June 7.

“I feel like teenagers won’t have a place to hang out anymore,” junior Ellie Spies said. “Barnes & Noble has been a designated spot for us for a while.”

by pearl Sun and Abby snYder

Another Bethesda landmark, Tastee Diner, has been a popular meeting place for Whitman students and a Bethesda institution since 1935. The owner has been meeting with business representatives from Marriott International Inc. to discuss selling the location but hasn’t come to an agreement yet, according to an April 24 WTOP article.

Efforts to preserve some longstanding institutions may prevail.

A local developer is discussing opening a new Regal Bethesda theater on Wisconsin Avenue near the intersection with Walsh Street,

just a few blocks away from its original location. The theather closed in March.

Although the Tastee Diner manager has declined to comment on the current status of his deal, Paper Source manager Therese Boucher said there’s still hope for the diner.

“There’s been a lot of building in the area and a lot of conversation about Marriott coming to downtown Bethesda, replacing Tastee diner,” Boucher said. “But it might not actually happen—I talked to [the manager]; he said he’s not selling.”

epth

11

bethesda’s history Native Americans hunting game in the sprawling greenery and dense forest. Farmers hauling sacks of wheat from newly granted plantations.

These scenes once took place on what we now know as Bethesda’s Wisconsin Avenue: a wide open expanse, sprawling with trees and dotted with travelers in wooden-wheeled wagons through the end of the 19th century.

Within a few years, the first hardsurfaced road in the county opened, a thin strip veering off from the older Georgetown road in a straight line through the county. A rickety wooden tollbooth appeared to collect fees from travelers— six and a quarter cents for every horse and rider, 12 and a half

cents for livestock carriers and 25 cents for a stagecoach.

Scattered around the new turnpike, residing farmers settled into modest homes and harvested fields of corn and wheat.

The village became more than just a wayside stop with the introduction of a trolley track from Bethesda into Georgetown and property developments made by the Chevy Chase Land Company, which owns many of the buildings in Bethesda today, Bethesda historian William Offutt said. In 1908, with the creation of the State Highway Administration, the track was modernized into a road that still runs between the District of Columbia and

bethesda today Despite these changes, downtown Bethesda still remains at the heart of the community. On any given day, the streets are filled with people of all ages: giggling groups of middle schoolers flock to Starbucks and Class 520, middleaged moms gossip over lunch at Paul, a French pâtisserie, or Sweetgreen and families with young children tumble into Five Guys or Nando’s for a quick bite before rushing off again.

While some residents have protested recent closings, many of these vacancies have welcomed new businesses like Class 520, a Thai ice cream shop that opened in early May. The main customer attraction is the rolled ice cream, which is made fresh every day, manager Adam Shi said.

“The shop is an enjoyable place to experience something new,” junior Sharon Lee, who works at Class 520, said. “You get to witness ice cream being made right in front of your eyes—it can’t get any fresher than that.”

Other additions to the Bethesda restaurant sector include Q by Peter Chang’s, a Chinese restaurant that opened

May 13. A gluten-free bakery with vegan options, Red Bandana Bakery, and a D.C. restaurant chain that offers burritostyle sushi rolls, Buredo, are also opening this summer.

Tim Shank, who has lived in the area for nearly 40 years, says the changes are indicative of the development of Bethesda’s unique demographic.

“There’s always been a lot of turnover,” Shank said. “But it’s eclectic—the restaurants, the stores and boutiques—and I think this is driven by the tastes of people who have money [and are] interested in different cultures.”

Paper Source manager Therese Boucher, who has maintained her Bethesda shop for seven years, and SoulCycle manager Colleen Reilly agreed that Bethesda’s diverse and wealthy clientele makes for an especially business-friendly environment.

“Bethesda’s a unique, upscale community, and customers in Bethesda want some really nice product from businesses,” Boucher said. “The unique community of buyers want to go the extra mile to find appealing items.”

upper Montgomery County today.

Bethesda’s early status as a rest stop was commemorated in 1929 by the Daughters of the American Revolution, who put up their “Madonna of the Trail” statue in Bethesda, honoring pioneers passing through.

The statue was temporarily removed and then replaced at the same spot, where it remains to this day, Bethesda resident Timothy Shank said.

With a more efficient means of transportation, farmers began exporting produce to bigger cities and city dwellers found a route to escape to the country for a refreshing stop.

While the community remained rural, mainly populated by farmers and

small businesses, a business boom in the 1940s connected with WWII and the Districts’s growing population sparked the city’s rapid expansion.

With the opening of Bethesda’s Metro station in 1984—one year after the county had approved a then-unprecedented package redevelopment plan—an estimated 13,000 to 15,000 new employees filled the office towers, Offutt said.

Since then, Bethesda has been a rapidly expanding suburb with endless construction.

“I’ve noticed a lot of buildings going up, and a lot of continuous construction,” Shank said. “I can’t remember a year when there wasn’t some

2017 Bethesda population: 62,024 people The population density in Bethesda is 687% higher than Maryland

Buildings currently in bethesda 91 EXISTING 11 planned 3 uNDER CONSTRUCTION

Graphics by IRIS BERENDES-DEAN

pottery barn kids

PAUL

12

Feature

Pre-professional programs set the stage for college theater

by Eva Herscowitz

T

he show hasn’t begun, but backstage, the cast is buzzing. Performers make final adjustments: zippers are zipped, mascara is applied and mic tape is secured. Between mirror selfies and extra layers of lipstick, the pre-show jitters are nearly tangible. But when these high school performers take the stage, what unfolds looks more like an off-Broadway production than an amateur one.

For many members of Whitman Drama, their curtain call extends far beyond closing night. Some students pursue theater year-round by enrolling in pre-professional theater programs.

These selective programs attempt to prepare high school actors for college theater by focusing on intense vocal, acting and dance training.

“It gives them an advantage coming to our school,” said Kayron Lanz of University of North Carolina’s drama department.

Act Two at the Levine School of Music Act Two at the Levine School of Music puts on three full-scale musicals every year. The diversity of this year’s productions—”Pippin,” “Godspell” and “All Shook Up”—reflects the performers’ commitment to mastering a variety of skills.

“The first half [of preparation] is about learning your stuff and then the second half is really applying it and putting it all together,” sophomore Emmy Lane said. “But it’s really fun, so I don’t feel the intensity. All my best friends come from Act Two.” While a weekly hour of dance is mandatory, choreography, voice training and staging time varies for each production. For example, while shows like “All Shook Up” included many dance numbers, “Godspell” focused more on voice.

In addition to the eight hours of

weekly rehearsal spent perfecting performance techniques, the Pre-Professional Program Apprentice Program, unique to Act Two, allows students to work as apprentices in departments like stage management, costumes, props and assistant direction. Shadowing professionals in each department, performers learn the inner workings of a pre-professional musical. Because they work as both performers and apprentices, students contribute to the production on all levels, artistic director Kevin Kuchar said.

“Our cast members are as responsible for the finished project if they’re a first year or a senior who is taking his or her final bow,” Kuchar said. “That philosophy shows in the performance.”

Young Artists of America In a Young Artists of America concert, performers, supplemented by a 75-piece orchestra, use their voices to tell a story.

Under the direction of Rolando and Kristofer Sanz, YAA performs two concerts composed of songs from a musical, accompanied by a symphonic orchestra every year at Strathmore. Like previous shows, in this years’ performance of “The Wizard of Oz,” performers switched roles throughout the show, and elaborate costumes and makeup were secondary to vocal skill.

“Since music is such a strong component, we spend a great deal of time not only systematically learning the music, but also learning how to put the music into our voices and instruments,” Rolando Sanz said. “The process of rehearsal is the most important part of training.”

In addition to the fall concert, YAA puts on a spring musical. Although both performances occur under a limited time frame, a methodical rehearsal schedule eliminates stress.

“The best part is how diligent everyone is,” Sophomore Lily James said.

“Everyone is so invested and can work really quickly.”

Photo courtesy MICHAEL HORAN

Photos courtesy IAN BAND

Adventure Theater Musical Theater Center Academy Nestled between Glen Echo Park’s carousel and arcade building is Adventure Theater Musical Theater Center Academy, a program that emphasizes training, collaboration and preparation for careers in musical theater.

Every year, ATMTC performs a cabaret, called “Spotlight,”consisting of 15-20 different numbers from various musicals. “Spotlight “profiles a musical theater icon by selecting numbers specific to a certain actor, director or choreographer. Along with performing in numbers like “96,000” from “In the Heights,” ATMTC members improve their technique in master classes taught by working professionals and attend professional shows.

Rather than casting performers in roles suited to their strengths, directors specifically place actors in roles that will challenge them.

“When you have to learn to do something you aren’t familiar with, you

become a better performer because of it,” sophomore Allie O’Connor said.

Unlike production-based programs like Act Two, ATMTC prioritizes fundamental skills over full-scale musicals, producing artistic director Michael Bobbitt said.

“Technique is the most important thing to have a successful career in this industry,” he said. “You can’t be an Olympic athlete without significant training. The same goes for theater. You can’t be a successful Broadway performer without significant training.”

While all programs vary in their performance and direction styles, they share strong directors and foster close friendships between participants. No matter the program, the high-quality instruction allows performers to excel in their craft, sophomore Kira Gandolfo said.

“We know we’re getting the best training in the area, and I’m also working with some of the best actors, dancers and singers in the area,” Gandolfo said. “It’s such a privilege, and I feel so lucky.”

Photo courtesy CARMELITA WATKINSON

Feature

13

NIH internship program faces potential cuts Trump’s proposed budget could reduce number of student interns by half if passed While most students learn about biology by reading a textbook, NIH student interns spend their afternoons processing blood samples and conducting hands-on stem cell research. But in 2018, opportunities like these may disappear due to budget cuts by President Donald Trump.

Trump’s proposed spending cuts, scheduled to take effect in 2018, would

cut the NIH’s yearly $30 billion budget by 20 percent, reducing it to $24 billion.

Most of the cuts would affect grants given to universities for research but would also likely impact Whitman students’ NIH internships, program director Melanie Hudock said.

The proposed budget will only become law if Congress passes it in 2018.

Both Republicans and Democrats are saying that cutting funding could have catastrophic results, but cuts seem un-

NIH Funding Proposals President Trump’s proposed 20 percent budget cut to the NIH could affect the availability of internships for Whitman students.

$30 billion $24 billion

Trump 2018

Congress 2017 Graphic by SOPHIE DEBETTENCOURT

likely, according to Joel Achenbach of the Washington Post.

A reduced budget could cut the number of interns in half. Even though interns are unpaid, the cuts would limit the number of graduate students and young doctors who train students, Hudock said.

“It all depends on how NIH allocates the money,” Hudock said. “I’ve been told by a lot of labs that I’ve been doing work with for years that they can’t take an intern.”

The loss of these positions would be challenging to the continuation of the intern program, as hospitals limit what students can do during their internships, Hudock said.

A majority of all science interns are sent to NIH, with 23 Whitman interns currently working there.

The hospital provides students with opportunities to work in clinical areas, gather articles, analyze data and wet labs, take blood samples and test the effects of drugs, senior Nathan Kattapuram said.

“NIH is unique because you get to work at a place that only focuses on science and be surrounded by people who share your passion for the subject,” sophomore Ryan de Lissovoy said. “It’s really frightening to see that our president thinks that science is unimportant.”

Without hands-on experiences like those found at NIH, fewer young scientists could be drawn to the medical field, NIH scientist Dr. Rosie Kaplan said.

“Unless you’re actually pipetting and looking at normalization curves, it’s

a completely different feeling than just reading about things in school,” Kaplan said. “If you don’t have that experience first hand, you can’t really experience it.”

The cuts could even lead to decreased modernization across the whole field. When money is limited, funds are channeled to larger and more conventional projects, Kaplan said. This could leave less room for innovation and outside-the-box research, which are pivotal to finding new vaccines.

“

“

by AZRAF KHAN

It’s really frightening to see that our president thinks that science is unimportant.

- sophomore Ryan de Lissovoy

“You’re going to be getting less biotech startups, less expanding of research and development, so they slow down and fewer drugs come into the market,” Kaplan said.

Even if the cuts don’t pass, the proposal is still notable as an indication of the new administration’s plans for funding medical research.

“It sends a message to scientists as well as the general U.S. population that the health of our nation isn’t a priority,” an NIH scientist said.

Student scuba divers plunge to new depths

by YIYANG ZHANG As junior Sophia Chirico dives deeper into the clear water, bubbles from the oxygen regulator tickle her face as she breathes in and out. She goes farther down, kicking through the blue water. Free of gravity’s pull as the ocean’s current carries her along, she passes the pods of dolphins and schools of fish that swim beside her.

Chirico is one of several Whitman students with a scuba diving license from the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, a worldwide scuba training organization. PADI categorizes divers into five levels: open water, adventure, advanced open water, rescue and master. The open water license is the first step towards engaging in any scuba activities; divers can obtain a preliminary version at 10 years old and can upgrade it to a full open water license once they turn 15.

Chirico received her preliminary open water certification at 14. She’s always loved marine life and wanted to see it up close instead of just hearing stories from her father, she said.

“My dad grew up scuba diving,” Chirico said. “Every time we traveled, he would go diving, and I would want to go with him. But I wasn’t old enough at the time, so I waited and got my license once I reached the age.”

To become open-water certified, divers need to take a series of courses about basic diving principles including gearing, signals, navigation and safety procedures. They then have to demonstrate those skills in a minimum of four recorded open-water dives.

Junior Jared Levine earned his preliminary open water certification in Hawaii when he was 12. Tropical waters in places like Hawaii or the

Cayman Islands are his favorite places to dive because of the warm water and diversity of marine life. One highlight was his trip to the Cayman Islands, where he went shipwreck diving and paddled through sunken ships and cabins, he said.

Though Levine loves the adventurous aspect of scuba diving, sophomore Emilio Renteria values the calming underwater environment.

After obtaining his open water certification in December, Renteria was excited to explore deeper waters and new parts of the sea.

“Being in deep waters is a whole new experience,” Renteria said. “I like the isolation down there—you can’t really hear anything other than yourself breathing, and you just feel like you’re in a different world.”

While scuba diving is just a hobby for Chirico, Levine and Renteria, junior Katya Damskey hopes that diving will one day be part of her career.

Damskey plans to be a marine biologist and received her open water license this May. She hopes to work with marine conservation activists in the future and participate in monthly conservation trips where they organize cleanups for trash or fishnets and advocate to protect the ocean.

“I’ve wanted to be a marine biologist since I was in sixth grade,” Damskey said. “Hopefully, I’ll eventually be certified as master diver and take my activities further into the ocean.”

Although students treat scuba diving with different seriousness, all divers believe that it was an eyeopening experience.

“People can see videos of the ocean and think that it’s pretty cool, but seeing it first hand is very different,” Chirico said. “The waters are different everywhere, so I get to see stuff that people don’t usually see.”

Sophomore Emilio Renteria dives in Florida as a sea eel—some species of which can grow up to five feet long—peeps out from the reefs. Photo courtesy EMILIO RENTERIA.

Junior Jared Levine in his scuba gear, ready for a dive. Levine’s family often travels to dive in tropical waters together since he earned his preliminary open water certification at age 12. Photo courtesy JARED LEVINE.

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14

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Feature

15

Summer college programs allow students to experience campus life, explore classes

by AZRAF KHAN At a competitive high school like Whitman, most students focus nearly all of their attention on getting into college, and summer provides no break from this obsession. Eager to improve their chances of admission at prestigious colleges and universities, some students attend summer programs at schools they’re interested in.

“

Their experience here generally leads students to decide if they want to continue pursuing their interests in higher education or if they want to explore other avenues.

“

- Cherubs program assistant Rachel Flannigan Students in summer programs like Cherubs at Northwestern University, Summer@Brown at Brown University and Summer Hoya at Georgetown University spend a portion of their summers living on campuses, attending classes and familiarizing themselves with college life. Colleges offer summer classes in a variety of subjects, from humanities and the arts to sciences.

These programs offer a preview of the academic college experience for prospective students and could hopefully sway admissions offices in their favor, students said.

Some more selective programs, like Cherubs at

Graphic by CHARLOTTE ALDEN

Northwestern and Global Scholars at Yale, are known for increasing students’ admission chances. At Northwestern, only about ten percent of applicants in the general population are admitted, compared to the 4060 percent of Cherubs alumni who are accepted in part due to their knowledge and dedication to the university, program assistant Rachel Flannigan said.

“We don’t have a point system or anything, so going to the program doesn’t necessarily help an application on face,” an application reader at Northwestern said. “What it does show us, however, is that the students have a good understanding of the school.”

Attending a school’s summer program doesn’t guarantee admission to a school by default; admissions offices won’t recognize students individually themselves and are unaware that students attended these programs unless it’s included in their application, an admissions officer at Georgetown University said.

But these programs can still be helpful by exposing students to new fields of study, Flannigan said.

“Their experience here generally leads students to

decide if they want to continue pursuing their interests in higher education or if they want to explore other avenues,” Flannigan said.

The experience of living like a college student also helps with the application process, said college freshman Julia Gilman (‘16), who attended Summer@Brown the summer before being accepted to at Brown University.

“Being at Brown all summer made it easier to answer ‘Why Brown?’ [on their application] because I spent time there and talked to so many summer resident advisors who were mostly Brown students,” Gilman said.

Ultimately, these programs can provide a valuable experience at top schools and help students feel more comfortable in their college choice, students said.

“Pre-colleges can actually be fun,” Gilman said.

“Some are more intense than others, but living on a college campus and meeting kids from all over the country is an adventure.”

Homeschooling provides personalized education Looser curriculums and emphasis on improvement help students succeed When Sean Roark was in second grade, he struggled with reading. His teachers at Bannockburn Elementary School tried their best to improve his skills, yet he still couldn’t grasp the concept. But when the Roark family decided to homeschool their son, something clicked.

The Roarks are one of 2,613 Montgomery County families who homeschool their children, according to the Maryland Homeschool Association.

Their three kids, Raven, a junior; Sean, an eighth-grader; and Trace, a sixth-grader, left traditional school in 2010 because the family was dissatisfied with the impersonality of public education.

“By homeschooling Sean, I saw certain areas where I would have never known about him—where he struggled—and we were able to correct them much faster,” mother Nicki Roark said.

“Within a month he was reading two grade levels above, all on his own.”

The family follows an education model in which students take charge of their education without the oversight of traditional school or parents. The Roark children take online classes independently but are encouraged to work collaboratively with their siblings before asking for help. Rather than completing traditional school work everyday, the Roarks incorporate life-based learning throughout their lessons, Nicki Roark said.

“When they were young, we would go out on a nature walk, and all of a sudden we would find a frog,” Nicki Roark said. “Then we would study frogs because it was an interest of the week.”

Math teacher Amy Hunt, whose husband homeschools their kids, pulled her children out of traditional school because she believed her kids’ private school tuition was too high.

Homeschooling’s relative affordability motivates some private school families to make the switch; according to the

MDHSA, the average family spends about $900 per student every year. Some public school families use free online resources and used textbooks to minimize cost. In addition to its lower cost, Hunt’s daughters prefer the personalized instruction of homeschooling compared to the Catholic school they previously attended, Amy Hunt said.

“The kids also have the freedom to speak up and say ‘I don’t understand this concept,’” Hunt said. “When you’re working with them one-on-one you can truly see what they’re retaining and what they’re not.”

Though the content of the curriculum is up to the family, Montgomery County requires biannual portfolio reviews of student work to ensure that parents are teaching content that aligns with their children’s appropriate grade levels.

While the Hunts use structured “spiral” curriculums in which the complexity of concepts progressively increases throughout the year, the Roarks’ flexible curriculum gives them a degree of independence, Raven Roark said.

In addition to selecting a curriculum, parents also have to learn how to teach their kids.

26,975 homeschooled students in Maryland Stats from Maryland Homeschool Association and National Center for Education Statistics

For Nicki Roark, this was a daunting and stressful experience.

“In the beginning, I always felt like I wasn’t teaching enough, or I was always asking myself if I was doing well enough,” Nicki Roark said. “As a parent, you wonder: ‘Am I screwing up my kids?’”

Science teacher Peyton Ford said that teaching high-level classes in a homeschool setting may present a certain challenge for parents who lack extensive knowledge of the subject.

“Chemistry’s too esoteric for the average parent to implement,” he said.

“Even if they had a degree in chemistry, they’d still have to go back and refresh themselves because the chemistry they know wouldn’t be applicable to a general chem class in high school.”

Unlike the Roarks and Hunts, who left traditional schools because they wanted more independence, some students opt to homeschool to focus on a specific talent or activity. Senior Shayan Najam hopes to play tennis professionally, and

91%

of parents with homeschooled kids have concerns about their local schools.

2,613 homeschooled students in Montgomery County Graphic by JULIA RUBIN

leaving private school was the best way to jumpstart his career, he said.

Though his practice schedule is intense, Najam is still responsible for his own education, and will continue to take online classes through George Washington University next year as a college freshman, he said.

“

The kids also have the freedom to speak up and say ‘I don’t understand this concept. When you’re working with them one-on-one you can truly see what they’re retaining and what they’re not.

“

by EVA HERSCOWITZ

-math teacher Amy Hunt “Tennis is what I love to do, so homeschooling allows me to have more time to play it,” Najam said. “But it’s up to me to get my work done through my online classes.”

While Najam has been able to remain close with other tennis players at his academy, for many, the isolation of homeschooling and exclusion from public school-sponsored activities makes forming friendships a challenge, Raven Roark said. Still, Nicki Roark believes that the bonding time with her kids is what makes homeschooling special.

“I find out so much about them that I would have never known,” she said. “I love it; I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

CROSSWORD

16

W C R O S S R D The Squeri Root of J² presents: A New Hope

by JOEY SQUERI ACROSS 1. ___ and Lasses 5. Disappears 10. K-___, Wal___ , among others 14. Biblical brother of Jacob 15. “They __ __ it again!”

16. Gnarly, in slang 17. A period for 24-, 38-, 51-, and 64- across 19. Eye inconvenience 20. Hyundai sedan model 21. Prefix for -game, -tense, -pared 23. “__ __ peanut a nut?” (crucial life question) 24. Trip to College Park, Ann Arbor, Chapel Hill 28. Evergreen tree variety 31. What Usain Bolt is not 32. Jeremy ___, voice of Scar in the Lion King 33. Famous ___ (cookie company) 35. Islamic leader 37. Tic counterpart 38. A two week trip to Italy with your sister and parents, say 43. Lion’s lair 44. E-mail folder 45. Western gunslinger Wyatt 46. Nods or gives a thumbs up 48. Beginner for -meter or -gram 50. Former LSU football coach Miles

Cartoon

51. Day to celebrate ‘Murica and “The Star Spangled Banner” 56. Supporter of a sports team 57. Not crazy 58. Former home run king Hank 62. Swiss producer of sewing machines 64. Headfirst, Calleva or Coach Lun’s, among others 67. 100, south of the border 68. Baseball for beginners 69. 3600 seconds make this 70. Maryland mascot 71. Syrian authoritative president 72. Sounds of disdain or impatience DOWN 1. Some say this is more 2. Associated students of the University of Oregon abbr.

3. Kendrick’s latest album 4. Common Middle Eastern spice 5. Lines that will never intersect 6. Dinner scrap 7. Original Equipment Industries abbr.

8. Family movie rating __-__ 9. Unit of volume equal to one cubic meter 10. Marriott Global source abbr.

11. Tending to avoid conversation 12. Product made by drying a grape

13. Rewards for dogs 18. European grocery company 22. Andrew Lloyd Webber play about Argentina 25. London Mysterium abbr.

26. Online mail order bride company?

27. More than just mad 28. U.S.A. flight regulator 29. Worldwide money lender for nations 30. Speedy bird often featured in cartoons 34. Mixture with a soft consistency 36. Bethesda running shoe store 39. _ <3 __ (Shirt for a Brooklyn basketball fan) 40. Clinical Trials Innovation Unit abbr.

41. Something worth mining for 42. Yellowstone and Yosemite regulator 46. Have influence on 47. One who protects the net 49. Plant growth regulant 52. ¡___ la vista!

53. Ontario United Banking Systems abbr.

54. Government crisis management branches 55. Boat to buy with millions 59. Popular tomato sauce brand 60. Legendary London recording studio 61. Public radio stations 63. Rival of PDP in Nigerian politics 65. English paper format 66. Driving time recorder located in the console

Answers posted on theblackandwhite.net

SPORTS

17

Whitman wrestlers pin down new uniform Wrestling is a rigorous and demanding sport that attracts a number of highly competitive athletes to participate. Yet one aspect of wrestling deters perspective wrestlers from participation: the uniform, also know as a singlet, which some find uncomfortable and revealing.

New Uniform

Compression shirt

New uniforms increase participation

USA WRESTLING

Athletic shorts

Graphic by JULIA RUBIN

To provide an alternative to the traditional singlet, a two-piece wrestling uniform consisting of athletic shorts and a compression shirt, was approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations Wrestling Rules Committee at their April 2-4 meeting.

This alternative to the one-piece singlet has led to an increase in participation where it’s been made available, with the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association reporting that the size of several middle school teams have doubled since offering the new uniform as an alternative.

In a survey of 3,436 wrestling coaches around the country, 74.5 percent said they would support the change to the compression shirt and shorts combination instead of the singlet, and 86.2 percent of supporters said they were on board because they thought it would increase participation, according to a survey taken by sports media company FloSports.

Despite this initial support, the decision is still quite new and Whitman wrestling coach Derek Manon is reserving his judgement about the uniforms until they’re used.

“I think the positives or negatives of the new uniform will remain to be seen once we see it in competition,” Manon said. “That said, the guys wrestle in shorts and compression shorts or T-shirts on almost a daily basis in the practice room.”

Although this uniform has yet to be designed and implemented for the Whitman team, some wrestlers have already responded favorably to the option, like freshman Stephanie Solloso, who said her one-piece uniform was uncomfortable and revealing.

“The last uniform that I had was made specifically for a girl,” Solloso said. “It fit, but it had cutouts in it,

and I had to wear something there so nothing would fall out.”

Conversely, more experienced members of the team who are already comfortable with the traditional singlet plan to continue wearing them even when the new uniform is released.

“

“

by AIDEN LESLEY

We all like our one-piece singlets.

It’s kind of a staple of wrestling, and a lot of people don’t like the possibility of wearing a two-piece alternative.

- sophomore Yussef Zaki

“We all like our one-piece singlets,” sophomore Yussef Zaki said. “It’s kind of a staple of wrestling, and a lot of people don’t like the possibility of using the two-piece alternative.”

Despite the hesitation some veteran wrestlers might have about making the switch, the new uniform could be more appealing to prospective wrestlers, Zaki said.

“I feel like new wrestlers, especially younger ones from Pyle, might like the two-piece more at first because it’s more like regular clothes,” Zaki said. “But I also feel that it’s kind of important for a wrestler to wear their one-piece uniform proudly for the school and over time, everyone usually comes to like them.”

Crew cruises through final three regattas

by MATTHEW VAN BASTELAER In their last three regattas of the season, the crew team medaled five times with the boys and girls varsity boats, as well as the freshman girls boat, performing well at three prestigious competitions.

The team’s domination began with the Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Rowing Association championship race May 13. Despite the fierce competition, the boys varsity first eight finished second, qualifying them for the Scholastic Rowing Association of America regatta May 26-27: the national championships. Both the girls varsity and girls freshman boats also qualified for SRAAs due to their strong performances at the WMIRA championship.

“

“

This year’s freshmen did really well. We’re all excited and looking forward to them rowing with us next year.

- sophomore Charlotte Gump

“At WMIRAs we performed better than the previous race, but it still wasn’t where we wanted to be, placement wise,” boys varsity rower Baillie Olin said. “We were hoping to beat B-CC but once again, we came in behind them.”

After a week of rigorous practice following WMIRAs, the team lined up again to face off against some of the best

At SRAAs the following weekend, “It’s a testament to how fast our recrew teams in the country at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, the world’s largest gion has become, and how fast our local each of the three boats made it out of high school regatta, May 20. Two of competition is,” coach Kirkland Shipley their respective heats and the girls varsiWhitman’s boats medaled—the fresh- said. “Whitman, NCS and B-C-C all row ty boat made it to their final, placing fifth man girls winning bronze and the var- out of the same boathouse and regularly overall and ten seconds out of first place.

The freshman girls won their heat sity girls silver—one of their best results scrimmage or race each other.”

Performing better than longtime ri- but then had to drop out of the regatta this season. The boys varsity boat placed third in time trials but failed to medal in val BCC and finishing only 3.9 seconds after their coxswain fell ill.

Boys varsity coxswain Matthew after NCS, the Whitman varsity girls finals.

“After the race, everyone was very proved themselves as one of the fastest Conover was pleased with his boat and emotional because we had been working boats in the fastest region; this helps the the crew team’s overall performance in for so long,” girls varsity coxswain Katie team to be confident in their abilities for his final season with the program.

“With every year, Whitman gets Zarate said. “Stotes[bury] is held to such next year, sophomore Charlotte Gump closer and closer to a national title,” a high standard, so the fact that we were said.

“I’m excited about our prospects Conover said. “It’s been an honor to see medalling at that race among 40-some crews in the event, that was a really big for next year,” Gump said. “This year’s the team develop into what it is today, accomplishment for our team and boat.” freshmen did really well. We’re all excit- and I hope that they keep moving in the Both the girls and boys varsity boats’ ed and looking forward to them rowing direction they’re in.” finishes were their best ever, and it was with us next year.” the first time in ten years the boys varsity boat made it to a final at Stotesbury.

For the boys team, this finish marked the team’s changing culture, varsity girls head coach Kirkland Shipley said.

“The boys team got an entirely new coaching staff, headed by Dusan Nikolic, who coached the varsity guys,” Shipley said. “The team became one that put the team first, committing to training and putting in the work necessary to compete with the fastest programs in the region and nation.”

In addition to the success of the new varsity boys coach, Shipley was named coach of the year by the Washington Post.

“Shipley is a very dedicated coach ,” Junior Tess Ravick said. “He cares a lot about the team.”

Not only did Whitman perform well, but so did many of the other DMV region’s boats, like the National Cathedral School’s varsity girls boat who got first place and the Bethesda Chevy The boys and girls crew teams have performed exceptionally well this season, winning five medals in three prestigious competitions last month. Photos courtesy of WHITMAN CREW BOOSTERS. Chase varsity girls boat who got fifth.

Sports

18

Super athletes with superstitions

by JESSIE SOLOMON After sleeping for at least nine hours, soccer goalie Ben Katz checks to see that his lucky green rubber band is on his wrist and clicks play on the first song of his pregame playlist. Katz arrives at the game and spits into his gloves the same way he always has. After all this is done, it’s time to play.

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Superstitions, for me, are finding what works for you on any particular day. If you have a great game, your mind links it to what you did to prepare.

- pitcher Mathew Rones

Whether it’s an individual ritual like Katz’s or something as simple as wearing the same pair of socks to every game, numerous Whitman athletes partake in pre-game rituals in hopes that they’ll help them and their team succeed.

While individual players use their own rituals in an extra effort to improve their performance, some teams share superstitions and practices.

“We can’t cross the bats because that’s bad luck; we got to make sure that they’re nice and even,” right fielder Justin Carboni said. “It’s just something we do.”

Additionally, players won’t step on the first or third base foul lines when running out to their positions, Carboni said.

Shortstop Sean Fleming has developed his own routines since he started playing baseball at four years old.

“I use the same undershirt every game just because you want to do the same thing,” Fleming said.

“If you have a bad game, you switch it up a little.”

Pitcher Matthew Rones uses the same socks in addition to the same undershirt every game, he said.

For players who didn’t previously participate in rituals, some caught on to the trend after witnessing opponents or professionals doing their own routines, Katz said.

On boys basketball, the team halts all conversation once they enter the locker room, forward Jack Berson said.

“It’s something our coaches didn’t tell us,” Berson said. “The seniors always said to do it to get us focused on the game.”

Additionally, guard Jonathan Harris crafted his own ritual through trial and error his freshman year.

Harris created a custom playlist to get him pumped for the upcoming game. After experimenting with a variety of songs, Harris found his playlist successful after an almost perfect season.

“We went 16‒1 freshman year,” Harris said. “I figured if it was working, why fix it?”

Every athlete’s pre-game ritual or superstition is mainly developed through what they see opponents do, what their team practices or sometimes what the player designs himself. But the common goal for all these routines is the same: to help athletes and their team win.

“Superstitions, for me, are finding what works for you on any particular day,” Rones said. “If you have a great game, your mind links it to what you did to prepare.”

Graphic by LANDON HATCHER and JANA WARNER

Sports

19

Athlete of the Month: Eric Wayman Photos courtesy RUMI HADDON

by ARIANA FAGHANI Batting an exceptional .490, center fielder Eric Wayman led the baseball team to an 11-6 record this season, breaking five individual county records along the way for batting average, steals, runs, on-base percentage and fielding percentage.

In addition to breaking a number of records, Wayman didn’t strike out a single time this year and was named first team All-Met by the Washington Post.

Wayman first developed an interest in baseball at the age of three by watching

MLB games. As he grew older, he played on club teams and continually improved his skills, technique and speed.

“Baseball is a game that you need instincts to play,” Wayman said. “I think that because I started so young, I was able to build those instincts. Now things that may have been hard for me before have become second nature.”

Wayman was called up to varsity his freshman year and has shifted from individually oriented to more of a team player under the guidance of his varsity baseball teammates.

“The seniors [I played with] my

freshman year knew a lot about the game,” Wayman said. “They were able to take me under their wing and teach me pretty much everything. Up until high school I knew that I liked baseball and that I was pretty good at it, but once I got to high school, that really catapulted it.”

In Wayman’s three and a half years on varsity, he has internalized lessons about leadership by watching older players and has become a natural leader himself, coach Joe Cassidy said.

“Eric is pretty much the best leader and teammate you could possibly have,” outfielder Justin Carboni said. “He’s an

amazing player all around, he never messes around and he’s always focused.

He has a bright future ahead of him on the baseball field.”

Wayman will attend the University of Delaware next year and hopes to walk on to their team or play through a club team. Although Wayman still has a lot of time to consider his future, he hopes to eventually play professionally.

“I just love being around the game,” Wayman said. “ I know it sounds corny, but it’s true.”

Sophomore Morgan Wiese follows trend in early committment, verbally commits to Princeton

by CAM JONES A 13-year-old boy receiving a scholarship offer to play football at Florida Atlantic; an eighth grader committing to Johns Hopkins for lacrosse; a seventh grader committing to the University of Texas for soccer.

While these instances may seem unusual, early commitment is becoming increasingly common. This rising trend came to Whitman when sophomore soccer player Morgan Wiese verbally committed to Princeton University in January.

Wiese first became interested in playing collegiate soccer when college scouts began attending her games in eighth grade. Wiese had always wanted to attend Princeton and was ecstatic when they extended her an offer, accepting it almost immediately, she said.

“I didn’t have to think about it at all,” Wiese said.

“I committed, and I was a mixed of so happy and relieved.”

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It’s not uncommon to see eighth graders committing as lacrosse players or women’s soccer players. That’s happening with regularity now, and it’s silly.

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- Georgetown University boys soccer head coach Brian Wiese

With certain schools beginning to recruit earlier and earlier, other schools have felt obligated to follow.

When the trend began, there were around five schools “driving the bus” for early recruitment in women’s lacrosse, and other schools felt they needed to keep up to stay competitive with rival schools, Penn Women’s Lacrosse coach Karen Corbett said in an interview with ESPN. Instead of worrying about the recruiting process her junior and senior years, Wiese looks forward to being able to focus more on academics, she said.

Despite this benefit for Wiese, some believe that the commitment process begins too early, like her father

Sophomore Morgan Wiese kicks the soccer ball down field during a regular season game. Despite only being a sophomore, Wiese recently verbally committed to play soccer at Princeton University this January. Photo courtesy ADAM PRILL.

Brian Wiese, who is Georgetown University Men’s Soccer coach.

“It’s not uncommon to see eighth graders committing as lacrosse players or women’s soccer players,” Brian Wiese said. “That’s happening with regularity now, and it’s silly. I think the best time for athletes to be committing is senior year in theory.”

To address these doubts, the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 Council passed legislation April 14 that prohibits college lacrosse coaches from communicating directly with athletes until Sept.

1 of their junior year. Although this legislation only applies to lacrosse, the NCAA states on their website that it’s a step towards reducing early commitment.

One of the risks of extending offers to younger athletes is that they haven’t reached their full potential by their sophomore year. Players’ abilities often change from high school to college and most schools have a cap

for how many players per class can commit. The class of 2019 Princeton women’s soccer team has four out of seven slots already filled, despite there being two years before that class reaches the college level, Morgan Wiese said.

Despite Wiese having already committed, Princeton has still laid out academic expectations she must meet in order to keep her spot, such as taking more AP classes next year, she said.

Even with this academic pressure, Wiese’s Whitman teammates have confidence in her dedication to the team as the varsity captain next year.

“Morgan is going to be a great captain because she has great leadership qualities and as a center back, she directs our team very well,” sophomore goalie Katie Stender-Moore said. “She really cares about the team, and I know she’ll put full effort into connecting our team on and off the field.”

Back Page

20

Freshman kayaker navigates his way to world championships

Freshman Taylor Pittman paddles his way through the course and many obstacles. Pittman has been kayaking competitively since he was ten and recently qualified for the Junior World Championships July 17-23 in Bratislava, Slovakia. Photo courtesy TAYLOR PITTMAN.

by ELYSE LOWET Freshman Taylor Pittman paddles rapidly through the water, each stroke propelling him closer to the finish. Water splashes in his face as he carefully steers himself down the waterfall, away from the rocks and between the hanging gates.

The word “USA” stands out on the nose of his purple kayak.

Pittman has competed on the U.S. Junior National team for the past two years and recently finished in the top three at the U.S. Kayaking Junior Team trials, qualifying for the July 17-23 Junior World Championships in Slovakia. He has kayaked competitively since he was

ten years old, following in the footsteps of his father and stepbrother.

“I love kayaking because it’s exciting: it’s a super raw and natural feeling,” Pittman said.

In a race, there are up to 25 gates on a course; if a kayaker touches a gate, two seconds are added to their time, and 50 seconds are added for missing a gate en-

tirely.

To ready himself for these challenges, Pittman ensures that he is both mentally and physically prepared before completing a course, he said.

“When you warm up and walk the course before every race, you have the course in your head and you’ll visualize going down,” Pittman said.

Races require endurance, speed and masterful technique. To improve upon these key aspects, Pittman paddles every day, lifts three times a week and runs twice a week.

“He’s a fighter—he doesn’t give up, and he’s not intimidated,” coach Silvan Poberaj said.

Pittman trains with his teammate Joshua Joseph at the C&O Canal and Great Falls in order to simulate both the whitewater and hanging gates. Their competitive nature strengthens their training and better prepares them for races against strong competitors, Pittman said.

“We time our runs together and challenge each other to be better,” Joseph said. “He’s always focused on training and racing well.”

One of Pittman’s biggest accomplishments as a kayaker has been qualifying for Junior World championships two years in a row; his current goal is to qualify for semi-finals this year. Pittman’s work ethic and love for the sport sets him apart from the other competitors, Poberaj said.

“I wish there were more athletes like him that have no problem training for as long and as many times a day as him,” Poberaj said. “So far I’m very optimistic about his future.”

Artist spotlight: Amy Tong, the girl on fire Senior’s art featured in ‘Hunger Games’ exhibition

by YIYANG ZHANG After a long day of school, senior Amy Tong sets aside her backpack and pulls out a blank canvas, a set of paints and a handful of brushes in all sizes. Brush in hand, she takes a moment to gather her thoughts before she starts to paint. Stroke by stroke, an outline appears and the colors slowly blend to transform the canvas into a vivid image of a woman’s figure.

Four years ago, Tong walked into her Foundations of Art class with zero experience or interest in the field. But the class piqued her interest and since then, Tong has taken art classes for her entire high school career, becoming an artist known far beyond Whitman through her art Instagram account.

“I love how I can put my emotions and thoughts on paper through strokes and color,” Tong said. “That’s why art has a special place in my heart; I can relate to it and use drawings to fully express myself.”

Tong’s passion led her to create an art Instagram account in 2014, @yuanyangty, as a platform to share her work. Since then, Tong has gained over 25,000 followers. Posting her art on social media has boosted her confidence and interacting with the online art community has provided her with a source of inspiration and publicity, she said.

“You gain so much more exposure in a short amount of time on social media. It spreads to countries all around the world,” Tong said. “It’s free art—anyone can see it and anyone can be inspired by it, anyone can critique it.”

The input Tong receives from her followers has helped her improve her skills, expand her fan base and even win competitions like “The Hunger Games” IMAX fan art contest. Tong’s digital art depicting a scene in Mockingjay Part II was chosen to be displayed in “The Hunger Games” ex-

hibition that began in New York City.

It’s travelled all the way from there to San Francisco,to Sydney and currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky.

“It was pretty exciting for me, especially when I saw Stef Dawson, the actress who played Annie in the movie, post a picture of her with my work on Facebook,” Tong said. “That really boosted my confidence and passion for art.”

Tong’s AP studio art teacher, Robert Burgess, has taught Tong for three years and noted that her planning, visual and technical skills have improved tremendously during her time at Whitman.

“Amy is at the level where she’s combining very strong technical skills with creativity,” Burgess said.

“It’s rare for a high school student.

She just wants to make her art better, stronger and create the visions she has on canvas.”

Senior artist Eunisa Lu has also noted Tong’s dedication and attention to detail. Watching Tong’s artistic skills improve over the years has motivated Lu to work harder on her own art, Lu said.

“You see the amount of work Amy puts into a piece and can’t help but appreciate it—it reminded me that I can be a good artist as well,” Lu said. “Having a friend who is incredible at something really does make the unreachable seem more realistic.”

While Tong doesn’t plan to study art when she attends Tufts University in the fall, Burgess believes that she’ll continue to create impressive pieces due to her focus, creativity and willingness to take risks. Tong has always seen art as a great way to connect with other artists and her own feelings, she said.

“When I do art, I can immerse myself in my own little realm,” Tong said. “I like to connect to the emotions and colors of the human experience itself through the pieces I create.”

Senior Amy Tong presents some of her favorite artworks from her past four years at Whitman. Tong enjoys drawing portraits and prefers to work with color pencils or acrylic paint.

Tong’s digital art piece is inspired by Annie and Finnick’s wedding from “the Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II.” This piece won first place in The Hunger Games fan art contest in 2015 and is currently on display at The Hunger Games’ exhibition in Louisville, Kentucky. Photos courtesy AMY TONG.