The Black and White Vol. 55 Issue 6

DESTINATIONS

SPORTS

FEATURE

Club sailing team competes throughout the MidAtlantic

B&W reporter goes to fourth grade to observe Common Core

PAGE 19

PAGE 15

Class of 2017 college choices PAGE 16

SPORTS DESTINATIONS

Photo courtesy KELSEY BONHAM

Walt Whitman High School

Photo by ANDIE SILVERMAN

7100 Whittier Boulevard Bethesda, MD 20817

Athletes join college teams PAGE 18

Monday, May 22, 2017

Volume 55 Issue 6

myMCPS to replace Edline next school year

by VALERIE AKINYOYENU

Photos courtesy MARIA LOPEZ-SILVERO

This spring, juniors and seniors from varsity football and soccer joined a local rugby team, the Maryland Exiles. The team competes throughout the region and recently won its eighth consecutive state championship. Full story on page 17.

Students ‘MOD’ify protein bar buisness

by SAM SHIFFMAN

Whenever senior Jeff Su finished swim practice, he would always run into the same problem when searching for a postworkout protein bar: most of the bars had tree-nuts, which he’s deathly allergic to.

Instead of settling for what he deemed as mediocre, nut-free bars, Su and five other Whitman students—seniors Wyatt Talcott and Nate Stevens, juniors Max Levine and Koki Belikow and sophomore Joseph Oleynik—took matters into their own hands.

The team founded ModBars, an officially licensed company that produces both premade and customizable protein bars that accommodate various dietary restrictions.

“I wanted a way to essentially create my own granola bar where I could still get my 20 grams of protein and have the option to add whatever ingredients I liked and wanted,” Su said.

“All of our granola bars are original simple recipes that we crafted from scratch.”

The six founders design, bake and package the bars themselves using equipment around each other’s houses. But, at first, they struggled to create appetizing bars since none of them had any culinary experience. Their first batch of bars had almost no taste and consisted solely of flax and oat, junior Max Levine said.

“We had no recipes planned, so needless to say they did not turn out well,” Su said.

After a month of intense trial and error and self-instruction on how to bake the bars, the group created successful, high-quality recipies.

“My favorite memory was our first successful batch,” Levine said. “It actually tasted really good when we tried it and everybody was so happy and excited.”

Continued on page 12

After years of plans and pilot programs, MCPS will replace Edline with myMCPS Classroom and its mobile app starting next school year.

Currently, only teachers and administrators can input grades, access curriculum notes and review professional development resources through the web-based myMCPS, but next year’s expansion will open the platform to students and parents. After the transition, the county will no longer subscribe to Edline.

In addition to providing functions that Edline currently offers, including access to calendars and class documents, myMCPS Classroom displays a course dashboard that allows students to participate in class discussions and submit work electronically.

“The platform is user-friendly and integrates with Google Drive for ease of sharing documents that have already been created,” said Kara Trenkamp, director of the Department of Technology Integration and Support. “Students will find this system easy to use and very similar to Google Classroom.”

The county will also release a myMCPS Classroom app that can send out notifications for announcements, missing assignments and grade changes. Through this portal, parents can also review school and countywide letters that get sent home, check a school’s social media and even manage their child’s lunch account balance, said Derek Turner, director of the MCPS Department of Public Information.

“We often heard concerns about Edline not being the best tool for parents, that they often couldn’t manipulate it in the way they wanted to,” Turner said. “This new app and access point gives parents a dashboard of student information.”

To help parents adjust to the new technology, the county will also provide parents with training materials in labs and workshops, Turner said.

“While it’s a teacher-based tool, it’s also a communitybased tool,” Turner said. “It’s only helpful if both the producer—the teachers who put the content in—and the users—the parents who are using the content—both are comfortable with it.”

Continued on page 4

Senior soars to great heights, receives recreational pilot’s license

by CARMEN MOLINA Senior Francesca D’Onofrio turns the keys into the ignition, and the single engine of her instructor’s Piper PA-28 Cherokee rumbles to a start. Pushing down on the throttle, the four person aircraft rattles, and my heart leaps to my throat as we gain speed. The nose of the plane tips up, and all of a sudden, the tension beneath the wheels releases as the aircraft lifts into the air.

Photo by TOMAS CASTRO

D’Onofrio prepares for take off in a Piper PA-28 Cherokee at Washington International Flight School.

Since September, D’Onofrio has spent six days a week at Washington International Flight School (WIFA) both in the school building and the airspace above. Working first as an intern, then employee and finally, as a student, D’Onofrio hopes to earn her private pilot license by June.

D’Onofrio flew for the first time her freshman year in an hour-long introductory lesson at WIFA for people considering pursuing a flight education.

She was initially fearful of potential nausea, and with good reason—my stomach starts to twist uncomfortably only moments after we take off.

But for D’Onofrio, her first time in the cockpit confirmed that she wanted to fly; she fell in love with the grace and power of the plane in the air and the knowledge that she could control it, she said.

“I wanted to be in the sky more. I can’t really explain it, but it gives you a lot of perspective,” D’Onofrio said. “You can see things that would be so big on the ground, and they become so small.

And the views are amazing.”

Her newfound passion wasn’t cheap, though; D’Onofrio had to put her flight training on hold to work, doing odd jobs during the school years and the summer to save up money to pay for plane rentals and flight lessons. The cost of getting her license is close to $14,000, she said.

Last summer, D’Onofrio contacted WIFA Director Harry Kraemer for an internship at the flight school, which eventually led to a paid position doing administrative tasks that helped her pay off her flight instruction.

Continued on page 9

NEWS Hundreds attend annual Special Education Summit 2

by VALERIE AKINYOYENU MCPS’ fourth annual Special Education Summit brought hundreds of parents and educators to Walter Johnson High School April 22 to address the needs of the county’s students with disabilities.

Motivational speaker Scott Anderson delivered the keynote speech, which was followed by a resource fair showcasing county-provided special education services and informational breakout sessions. The sessions addressed a range of topics from nurturing young readers to exploring options for students with disabilities after high school.

“The primary goal of this summit is to continue to build and foster our partnerships with both our parent community and our resource community,” Director of MCPS Special Education Services Phillip Lynch said.

Throughout the event, parents had the opportunity to discuss their children’s individual needs with administrators and educators. Superintendent Jack Smith, MCPS Board of Education member Rebecca Smondrowski and Special Olympian Candace Whiting were among the attendees.

Many said the access to a diverse network of parents with children in special education that the summit provided proved a key resource.

“Sometimes the most beneficial thing for parents of children with disabilities is for them to see that there are other folks out there like them who have similar challenges and to learn from them,” Lynch said.

Parent Rachel Griffin, who has now attended the summit three times, said she always learns something new.

“The county has excellent programming, but as a parent you need to know about it to be able to ask for it or get the right pieces in place for your kid,” Griffin said. “This is the sort of place where you can hear about what the county has to offer.”

Before the keynote speaker took the stage, superintendent Jack Smith shared his personal experience working within the school system to shape an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for both of his adopted Bulgarian sons, Andy and Peter, who displayed a

Special Education Summit

33 Total Breakout Sessions included:

1. Autism Waiver Program 2.Stopping the Homework War

3.Strategies to Nurture Blossoming Readers

4.Yes I Can! - Woman with Down Syndrome Shares Positive Message

Graphic by IRIS BERENDES-DEAN

receptive language disorder in learning English.

“We spent a lot of time as a family in the school community helping Peter learn to hear and understand and make sense and act upon the language that he was receiving,” Smith told the audience. “So when I say it is a pleasure to be here, I say that as someone who has sat across the table at many, many IEP meetings for both Peter and Andy.”

Smith acknowledged that each family has its own distinctive experience working with the school system to meet their children’s specific educational needs. He believes the summit was an effective way to generate ideas to personalize special education in Maryland’s largest school district, he said .

“It’s not perfect, but if we strive and work together, it can happen for every child,” Smith said.

In the keynote address that followed, Anderson spoke not only as a parent of a child with special needs, but also as an individual whose diagnosis of cerebral palsy presented a parallel struggle. He discussed how he met challenges, from speaking in over 25 countries

to competing in comedy searches to driving for Uber.

Anderson also drew from his experience adopting and raising a daughter with fetal alcohol syndrome to advise parents to teach their children to laugh.

“There is hope for your children,” Anderson said.

“Your children are making a difference, and it’s worth it to keep going.”

Attendance at the summit increased since last year, which indicates the growing community aim to advance the mission of special education, planning committee co-chair Heather Wilson said.

These efforts don’t end with the summit, and Whitman special education resource teacher Lisa Korte encouraged students to learn about the implications of living with a disability by getting to know their peers.

“I think that people have general ideas or concepts about what a disability is or looks like,” Korte said, “but until you know individuals or understand their personal struggles, you may not have a full picture about what it means to have an exceptionality.”

Whitman unranked by US News and Report PARCC scores don’t measure up

Photo by LILY JACOBSON

Tastee Diner’s owner considers closing, selling space to Marriott

by LILY JACOBSON Neighborhood hotspot Tastee Diner was rumoured to have been bought by Marriott International Inc. for $7 million, according to WTOP. While Marriott proposed including the current spot of the diner in their construction plans for the company’s new headquarters, Tastee owner Gene Wilkes hasn’t decided if he will sell the property.

Wilkes, the owner of the diner since 1971, met with a Marriott representative April 21 to discuss Marriott’s bid for the space, as reported by Bethesda magazine. The representative requested a verdict from Wilkes three weeks from their meeting date.

The new complex will have a 22-story office building for Marriott’s headquarters and a hotel with at least 230 rooms, according to the April 25 Bethesda Magazine article. The Marriott representative stated that the plans for the headquarters don’t require the Tastee lot, but Wilkes believes Marriott would benefit from owning the corner, he said.

Since Tastee is a frequent destination for students for late-night meals and families for

brunches, its potential closing will have a large impact on the community.

“I would hate to see it close because it’s such an easy and convenient place to go, especially late at night with your friends,” junior Gaby Svec said. “Also, many Whitman students have traditions there, such as after talent show, team sleepovers [and] homecoming, so without the 24/7 diner, those traditions will be lost.”

Sophomore Davis Gestiehr was introduced to the diner by his father when he was one year old, and the diner is a part of several family traditions, he said.

“Every Thanksgiving I play in the family turkey bowl, followed by breakfast at Tastees,” he said.

Wilkes assured his friends, family and the community that nothing is final. With two other locations, one in Silver Spring and one in Laurel, the only factor prolonging Wilkes’s decision is money, he said.

“They can have my spot,” Wilkes told Bethesda magazine. “If they’re willing to get out there and talk as rumored with numbers that get my attention, I’d be happy to sell.”

For the past three years, Whitman has been ranked the best public school in Maryland and one of the top 100 public high schools in the nation by the U.S. News and Report. But this year, Whitman lost its title as the state’s best public school and didn’t even rank in the list of top 500 schools nationally.

In order for a school to be considered for a top ranking, it must qualify in four categories outlined

by U.S. News and World Report: students’ testing performance relative to the statistically expected performance in their state, performance of disadvantaged students, graduation rate and college readiness performance.

While Whitman performed well on other standardized tests, it failed to meet the test score threshold projected by U.S. News and World Report for the two PARCC tests administered last spring, and therefore went unranked for this year, principal Alan Goodwin wrote in a letter released to parents. Because the tests were still in the trial phase, students’ PARCC scores had no effect on their ability to pass their classes or graduate, leading to a lack of student effort and low test scores.

“While the pilot tests were given, the state had indicated that the students just had to sit for the test, and some of our students apparently did not take the tests as seriously as they should,” Goodwin said.

Winston Churchill High School earned the top spot in Maryland, ranking at 65 in the nation this

year, with 72 percent of students passing the PARCC tests compared to 24 percent of Whitman students.

The news came as a shock to many students, who did not know that PARCC exams would count for anything, including how the school would rank nationally.

“I remember being told that PARCC was still in its trial stages so we didn’t need to do well on it,” sophomore Aarushi Malhotra said.

“If I knew that the scores would be looked at I probably would’ve tried harder overall.”

Goodwin predicts that PARCC scores will improve next year, and that Whitman will continue to be considered a top public high school, he said.

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by ELEA LEVIN

If I knew that the scores would be looked at I probably would’ve tried harder overall.

- sophomore Aarushi Malhotra

“I am confident that our students will perform on future tests in the manner to which you and I are accustomed,” Goodwin said. “ I also am confident that despite not being in this particular ranking, we have been and will remain a superior school in academics, athletics, extracurricular activities and in acts of kindness.”

News

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Students RISE to new heights with internship program

by CARMEN MOLINA This summer, MCPS will pilot the Real Interesting Summer Experiences (R.I.S.E.) program, a career exploration program for rising juniors and seniors July 10-28.

MCPS and WorkSource Montgomery, an organization that facilitates the local economy by connecting workers to businesses, created the program as a result of a newly formed partnership.

The program will assign participating MCPS students to a business or organization partnered with WorkSource in one of 28 fields offered. For three weeks, students will shadow professionals within the organization for 20 to 25 hours per week and receive a $300 stipend upon the program’s completion.

“It’s a unique program in its design,” R.I.S.E. Director William Jawando said. “As a student, you should be trying to get as many jobs and experiences as you can, and with R.I.S.E., students will have access to careers and companies they might not have thought of.”

Students can indicate which fields they wish to explore in their application, with options ranging from cybersecurity and government to cosmetology and fashion.

Students apply by registering on the Summer R.I.S.E. student online portal, completing a student profile, reviewing and passing a professionalism skills quiz, submitting a student/parent agreement form and participating in an in-person training session. Applications close May 26, and organization assignments will be announced in early June.

Once assigned to their organization, students may rotate to follow different professionals within the institution over the course of the three weeks. In addition to hands-on experiences, students will also participate in professionalism training courses.

Internships can provide students with first-hand knowledge of a field they want to explore in

Shadowing professionals

Hosts include business, nonprofit, gvt. agency

20-25 hour career weeks

MD legislators consider changes to left-lane speed minimums

by PEARL SUN

MCPS Summer Internship R.I.S.E Program

Application Deadline May 26th

July 10th - 28th

$300 stipend allowance

3 weeks long For rising juniors/ seniors a way that can’t be taught in class, said junior Dora Stojanovic, who obtained an internship at the Library of Congress this summer through a family friend.

“It’s a nice buffer for your resume, and most importantly, it shows you whether or not you want to do what you think you want to do,” Stojanovic said.

Because Whitman internships are typically an intensive year-long affair, the new RISE program can be a valuable short-term opportunity to get experience in a field for students still apprehensive of their future. “[Whitman science] internships are a year long, working in a real lab, doing real science and working on real projects. You can’t get that in a three week program,” said science teacher Melanie Hudock, Whitman coordinator for science internships. “But a three week program does give you a taste.”

Members of companies involved in hosting students are excited for the fresh perspective participants can provide.

Graphic by IRIS BERENDES-DEAN

“We know that when you’re working with youth, sometimes as an institution we give off the perception that we know everything,” said Tanya Edelin, healthcare company Kaiser Permanente’s Senior Project Manager for Community Benefit. “As health care providers, it is important to understand and hear from teenagers what their needs are for the future.”

The RISE program will build upon the information students already receive about careers in school, said Elaine Chang-Baxter, Director of Partnerships at MCPS. Chang-Baxter was driven to help establish the program partly by her own high school experiences, she said.

“My own knowledge of various careers really happened from either school or from getting to know my parents friends,” she said. “But I didn’t really have an in depth knowledge of them. So we’re really trying to get students to learn about what’s out there.”

Car activated flashers installed at River Road intersection Community members remain concerned

by JULIE ROSENSTEIN Car-activated flashers, protected turning lanes and cameras were installed at the intersection of River Road and Braeburn Parkway in light of the February 2016 car crash that claimed the lives of three Whitman community members.

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Briefs

I feel safer using the guarded turning lanes because now the flow of traffic on River feels a lot more organized.

- sophomore Jack Ryan When cars enter the protected turning lanes, flashers activate to alert oncoming traffic. The protected lanes prohibit drivers exiting the school on Braeburn from turning left on River, which requires crossing oncoming traffic, or cutting straight across the intersection into the Bannockburn neighborhood.

“Personally, I don’t think the project causes any harm and might mitigate one source of hazard to some extent,” said Richard Boltuck, vice president of the

Bannockburn Civil Association.

While principal Alan Goodwin believes the intersection’s safety needs to be addressed, he acknowledged that the new safety implementations might not have prevented the accident that occurred.

“You can still turn left [from River Road onto Braeburn Parkway] which is the way the family was turning, and you can still speed crazily down River Road,” Goodwin said. “That intersection has been so problematic over the years.”

Many students use the back entrance of Whitman when driving to and from school, and some students are now more comfortable using the intersection with the new safety implementations.

“I feel safer using the guarded turning lanes because now the flow of traffic on River feels a lot more organized,” sophomore Jack Ryan said.

Though many community members agree that implementations are a good start, they would like to see further safety measures taken in the future. Community members are still advocating for safety measures including fully closing off the median strip or implementing a fully functioning intersection, complete with stop lights, Boltuck said.

“I’m satisfied with the improvements, but I’m not satisfied that that would be the final conclusion,” Goodwin said.

Maryland drivers could face up to $250 in fines due to a new bill designating left lanes as passingonly. Created to reduce traffic and slow left-lane drivers, the bill has cleared the House and is pending in the Senate.

According to the Maryland State Highway Administration, Maryland law prohibits drivers from impeding “the normal and reasonable movement of traffic” by driving too slowly, but it’s not currently specific to the left lane.

“It makes sense to reduce traffic, though I’ve never personally encountered people driving too slowly in the left lane,” junior Irene Hnatiw said.

William Folden, the sponsor of the bill, said the legislation will apply to roads that have three or more lanes in one direction and a speed limit of at least 55 mph. However, the law wouldn’t apply when traffic reduces by 10 mph or more below the posted speed limit or to motorists making a left turn or using a left HOV lane.

The fine for slow left lane driving would be $75 for a first offense, $150 for a second offense and $250 for subsequent offenses.

MCPS launches art contest to combat hate in community

by CARMEN MOLINA After seeing a rise in hate crime this year, MCPS launched a diversity-focused art competition, United We Learn, in conjunction with human rights, faith and violence-prevention councils March 17.

“Combating the elevated levels of divisiveness, prejudice, bias and hate that have emerged in our county and country is the responsibility of every community member, including students,” according to the contest press release.

To encourage collaboration, students had to work in groups of at least two and could submit art in four categories: written, performance, multimedia and visual arts.

First through third place will be awarded for elementary, middle and high school separately, and artwork will be evaluated for its creativity, alignment with the contest’s purpose, impact, emotion and group collaboration.

No Whitman students have submitted to the competition, which is likely because the contest wasn’t well publicized and the dates conflicted with Festival of the Arts, submissions for AP art classes and Congressman Jamie Raskin’s Congressional Art Competition, art teacher Jean Diamond said.

Winners will be announced May 22.

Barnes & Noble to close in Bethesda

by LILY FRIEDMAN Despite frequently drawing community members to its bookshelves, the Bethesda Barnes & Noble bookstore on Bethesda Avenue will close at the end of December. The replacement and reason for its closure are unknown.

“Our manager was told that the store is closing because of issues with the lease,” employee Nayla Matthew said. “The store most likely chose not to renew the lease because of price, but we’ll never really know why, exactly.”

Regardless, students and community members are upset by the store’s closing due to its integral role in downtown Bethesda life.

“I used to go to Barnes & Noble all the time to just read and hang out, and it holds a lot of childhood memories,” freshman Darya Sabourian said. “It’s also the only place in Bethesda you can go to buy books, so I’ll be sad to see it close.”

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News

New security measures added in response to Rockville rape accusations Whitman is implementing an improved hall-pass system, a limited visitation policy and other new security measures as part of MCPS’ decision to review and assess school security countywide after accusations of a rape at Rockville High School during school hours in a school bathroom. The rape charges were dropped.

Security head Cherisse Milliner prepared a mandatory staff presentation April 3 reviewing the school’s security operations plan and detailing the new measures to supplement Whitman’s four security team members and 109 security cameras.

“We need to make sure we’re accountable for our students and know where they are throughout the day,” Milliner said.

To better communicate safety and security efforts, security team members are positioned at a new desk outside of the main office where they can regularly monitor security cameras from a computer. Administrators and security are also seeking to make standardized hall passes mandatory for students leaving a class.

“We want to work on reestablishing or strengthening the idea that they should have an actual pass with a time on it so we can make sure a student’s not out in the hallway for too long,” principal Alan Goodwin said.

Former students won't be able to visit until after school ends, and students can no longer bring guests to school except under special circumstances, such as potential students shadowing current students.

The new security plan also controls student access to specific limited visibility areas that are removed from the security team’s watch. Students can no longer use the doors leading from the choral and instrumental rooms to the auditorium lobby during the school day and can’t go into the music rooms during the music teachers’ sixth period lunch.

“We as teachers who work with kids all the time, when we hear of things that happened at Rockville High School, we get pretty upset about it, because this is our livelihood,” choral director Jeff Davidson said. “I don’t think it’s an overreaction. I think it’s realistic.”

Davidson also noted that this system isn’t perfect as doors leading to the auditorium lobby can’t be locked from in-

side the music rooms due to the fire marshal’s standards, since this would also restrict access to doors leading outside the school. Additionally, a second set of doors beneath the school’s easternmost staircase also provides students access to this unsupervised area.

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by VALERIE AKINYOYENU

We need to make sure we’re accountable for our students and know where they are throughout the day.

-security head Cherisse Milliner

While the new measures focus on securing the school from inside, Whitman already saw substantial improvements to external security at the start of this school year. The security team oversaw the installment of access control pads that require staff to use key cards for entry at three exterior doors and a buzzer that controls visitor entry through the main doors.

Upon hearing about the alleged rape

at Rockville, some students shared that they reconsidered how safe they feel both in and out of school and said that the new security measures could foster a better sense of security.

“The fact that [the rape accusations were] closer makes me realize just because we live in a very privileged area, there’s no exclusion of who can do those terrible things,” senior Annie Waye said.

“If they give the impression that they’re trying to help and make people feel more safe, that can always be helpful.”

Other students agreed that the new measures are a step in the right direction, but the school should still address the effects of sexual assault.

“I think they will work to help reduce the problem certainly, but they won’t eliminate it,” freshman Emma Wilds said. “We need to work on the culture that is around it. We need to stop stigmatizing it.”

In wrapping up her security presentation, Milliner reminded staff to remain alert to promote student safety.

“The assistance from all staff members throughout the day will require extra eyes and ears,” Milliner said. “If you see or hear something, say something.”

Maryland legislators change legal definition of rape Two bills aim to increase awareness, transparency , equality Governor Larry Hogan signed two bills April 18 regarding sexual assault in Maryland to give more protection to victims by restructuring how evidence can be presented in cases and by redefining rape by eliminating gender and sexual identity.

forward,” Hudock said. “But until we see the rates of prosecution change, I don’t think we’ll see anyone coming forward.”

Junior Clara Lyra said she felt that students may feel ashamed to speak out and that there should be more awareness about changing this issue.

The ‘No means no’ measure

Under this statute, victims of sexual assault no longer need physical evidence of resistance to prove they were raped.

“Given that survivors increase their chances of being maimed or killed if trying to physically resist the rape, this bill will clarify that a victim of rape does not have to fight the perpetrator or put up physical resistance in order for the court to hand down a guilty verdict,” the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Dolores Kelley, said in an interview with CNN. Cases where a victim couldn’t show proof of struggle against an attacker used to be considered questionable and were often dropped, but now can be prosecuted based on other evidence.

Hogan also signed a related bill requiring rape kits be kept as evidence for at least 20 years before destruction, potentially setting a better standard for how rape allegations are handled in Maryland.

“Of all the [victims] I know, not one pressed charges,” anatomy teacher Melanie Hudock said. “They thought it was their fault and that no one would believe them.”

Hudock also expressed that of the many rape victims she had spoken to, none had been beaten up or showed physical bruises. She hopes that the new laws will help those who would otherwise remain silent to speak out, she said.

“When there are more cases prosecuted and rapists found guilty, it will encourage victims to come

The victim does not need to prove physical evidence of assault

Another bill aims to eliminate gender and sexual identity in the definition of rape and intends to address people, especially males, who feel their assault was trivialized. This eradicates the distinction between vaginal rape and other sexual assaults.

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A lot of students, regardless of gender, are hesitant to report rape.

They may fear the stigma that the victim is revictimized and their integrity is questioned. They also may feel as if there is nothing they can do.

-counselor Kari Wislar

April 18 Bill 1

Victims aren’t always female

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by ANNA GRAY

Bill 2 Gender is not included in the definition of rape

Graphic by JULIA RUBIN

“Victims may find it easier to place the blame on themselves,” Lyra said. “Phrases like ‘boys will be boys’ or ‘that’s just part of high school’ keep victims from speaking out because they feel unclear over whether an incident can truly be categorized as an act of sexual assault as it often seems like a normal thing that happens in high school.”

The bill was co-sponsored by Del. Kirill Reznik of Montgomery County, whose fraternity brother was raped in 1995 at Towson University. The man described the rape as haunting, depressing and embarrassing, according to an April 14 article in the Washington Post.

He felt he couldn’t tell anyone—not even his wife.

“A lot of students, regardless of gender, are hesitant to report rape,” counselor Kari Wislar said. “They may fear the stigma that the victim is revictimized and their integrity is questioned. They also may feel as if there is nothing they can do.”

While the majority of victims are women, the bill is meant to increase transparency of the possibility of the victim being male.

“All people should be treated with respect,” Hudock said. “Hopefully these bills encourage everybody to treat others with dignity.”

Edline replacement puts multiple tools in one place Continued from page 1 Some teachers praised the system’s inclusion of a variety of capabilities in one platform and hope the county provides them ample time to get accustomed to the system.

“Teachers are getting more and more comfortable with posting things, but how you post them on one system is different than another,” Whitman gradebook advisor Donald DeMember said. “Some people are going to have a big transition and other

people are going to have a little transition.”

Students said they believe broader access on a single system will accelerate and improve communication efforts.

“Being able to see everything at once makes stuff a lot easier,” freshman Deanna Adams said.

“There’s always guessing about what’s going on when all you can see is your grades, and just being more connected with your teachers is always a good idea.”

MCPS has been attempting to transition to the new system since

2014. The three-year effort was delayed by technical difficulties with the portal and competing efforts to integrate Performance Matters, the data-driven online platform for online tests and student evaluations that the county will also implement next school year.

“The new myMCPS portal for students and parents was always a part of the vision for expanding access to myMCPS,” Trenkamp said. “We are happy to make that happen for the upcoming school year.”

The new platform has a dashboard with a user’s classes and side menu.

the

The Black & White is an open forum for student views from Walt Whitman High School, 7100 Whittier Blvd., Bethesda, MD, 20817.

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Volume 55, Issue 6 2016-2017

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Level the playing Staff Editorial field: Lady Vikes are just Vikes

Although both male and female athletes at Whitman work equally as hard representing the Vikings at games, the teams are divided: girls sports teams are still called “Lady Vikes” and male teams remain the “Vikes,” creating an unnecessary gender division between teams.

To unite the school under one mascot and reinforce gender equality, all student athletes should be referred to as “Vikings” or “Vikes.”

The term “Lady Vikes” creates a qualifier for female athletes, unnecessarily distinguishing them from male athletes. Referring to female teams as “Lady” establishes that male sports are the norm, perpetuating the idea that male sports are the “real” sports, Ketra Armstrong, professor of sports management at the University of Michigan, explained in an interview with The Tennessean in 2015. These titles specifically classify female sports as secondary to men because they aren’t the “normal” players, says Terri Lakowski, CEO of Active Policy Solutions, an organization that promotes equality in sports.

Whitman began using the term “Lady Vikes” in

2006 to clarify which sports team was playing when announcements about games were made and to avoid confusion among fans, girls basketball coach Peter Kenah said. “Lady Vikes” does clearly signal which sports team is playing, but that isn’t reason enough to keep using a term that creates unnecessary divisions.

It isolates female athletes and casts them as secondary, since male athletes are given no gender title—calling male teams the “Gentlemen Vikings” or “Male Vikings” seems absurd. Teams should be referred to as girls basketball or boys basketball to clarify which team is playing, but when calling the teams “Vikes,” there should be no distinction.

If the male teams receive no gender qualification, female teams shouldn’t either. All sports teams make equal contributions to the school and their names should reflect that.

Calling female athletes “Lady Vikes” is an unfair tradition. All Whitman athletes are Vikings. One formal title for all teams will ensure that all athletes are playing on the same team.

Dismantle the restrictions on hijab-wearing athletes NIKE PRO HIJAB DESIGN made of polyester has holes for ventilation

conforms to athlete’s head

Graphic by MEIMEI GREENSTEIN

by EMMA SORKIN Watkins Mill junior Je’Nan Hayes played in every basketball game of the season until the regional finals in March, when an obscure Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) rule kept her on the bench.

An infrequently-enforced MPSSAA rule stated that head pieces, like Hayes’ hijab, may not be worn during sports games unless preapproved by the MPSSAA because of safety concerns like the possibility of strangulation or other neck injuries. Neither Hayes nor her coach knew she needed a waiver to be able to play with her hijab, so when the referee enforced this rule at the regional finals for the first time all season, Hayes couldn’t participate.

MCPS has since changed this rule, but Hayes’ situation is one many Muslim women around the world struggle with. This change has also been replicated nationally: the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) prohibited players from wearing headgear larger than five inches unless pre-approved by a waiver until the stipulation was repealed this month.

FIBA’s adjustment of their process so that athletes can play without prior approval provided they wear athletic hijabs, or hijabs made to prevent sports-related injuries, is a positive change. This development will allow more women opportunities to easily participate in sports and send a message against anti-Muslim sentiments.

“

empower women and girls to push through mental, emotional, physical or social barriers, said Angie Fifer, executive board member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. In the U.S., girls who play sports in high school have a higher likelihood of attending college than those who don’t, according to the Women’s Sports Foundation’s website.

Participation in sports is especially important due to the increasing anti-Islamic sentiment in the United States, as evident by recent anti-Muslim hate crimes in Kansas and New York. In 2015, there were 257 anti-Muslim hate crimes, up by nearly 70 percent from the 154 reported in 2014, an FBI report reveals. Nike’s new hijabs support Muslim women because the hijabs provide specialized religious clothing for a group targeted often because of their religion.

Despite the excitement surrounding the “Pro Hijabs,” safety concerns about headgear in sports still exist. However, manufacturers took safety concerns into consideration when developing athletic hijabs. For example, Nike’s hijabs are made of polyester, have holes for ventilation, conform to the athlete’s head and are elongated in the back so that they won’t come untucked, a Nike press release says. These

“

B&W

OPINION

5

FIBA’s adjustment of their process so that athletes can play without prior approval provided they wear athletic hijabs, or hijabs made to prevent sports-related injuries, is a positive change.

In March, Nike joined the movement, announcing that it will begin selling “Pro Hijabs” specifically designed for athletic performance.

Other organizations, from regulation bodies to sports brands, should implement similar changes to make sports increasingly inclusive to all women.

Allowing and encouraging more women to compete is vital: sports

are unlike the looser hijabs Muslim women ordinarily wear, which cause concern about strangulation and neck injury when worn while playing sports.

With Nike’s new hijabs, Muslim women have a safe way to play sports: and with FIBA’s adjustment to its rule, they finally have a way.

6

Opinion

Proposed MD driver law will inconvenience students

by TIGER BJÖRNLUND In the 1990s, all 50 states and D.C. implemented Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) policies, which gradually increases the amount of freedom young drivers have as they gain experience on the roads.

Last January, MD delegate David Fraser-Hidalgo proposed a new bill to tighten the nighttime restriction policy, moving the curfew from midnight to 10 p.m. for drivers with a provisional license.

The Maryland state legislature should leave the provisional license curfew where it currently stands because the change would inconvenience young drivers without making any noticeable improvement.

Lawmakers hope, according to the bill and individual press releases, that stricter nighttime restrictions will reduce teen crash rates, but there’s little evidence to support that assumption. The 11 states with nighttime restrictions at 10 p.m. or earlier haven’t reported any noticeable improvement as a result of these regulations, according to data from individual states. For example, Delaware, which already has a 10 p.m. curfew, had nearly double the teen driver deaths as Maryland last year when the numbers were adjusted for population, according to data from each state’s motor vehicle department.

The proposed change would also hinder young drivers. School and extracurricular events like sports and drama productions regularly run beyond 10 p.m. and force participating students to drive after that time; therefore, the new bill poses an undue burden on them. While the bill allows exceptions to the curfew for school, work, volunteer or athletic events, it requires written permission from the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration for each individual activity that runs after curfew. This is too difficult to actually accomplish, so most teens would end up having to drive illegally.

Fraser-Hidalgo and other lawmakers who have supported the law argue that driving at night is dangerous, especially for inexperienced drivers. In proposing the law, they cited fatal crashes involving young drivers from Clarksburg and Wootton in recent years. But in each crash, factors like speeding, noncompliance with other GDL laws or alcohol were involved, so the time of day can’t be exclusively blamed.

It’s unclear whether a stricter nighttime law would have prevented these crashes.

In fact, data from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveals that the most dangerous time to drive for teens isn’t late at night, but rather between 3-6 p.m. Moreover, approximately 54 percent of nighttime crashes involving teens are alcohol-related, with most alcohol-related crashes occurring between midnight and 3 a.m., according to 2015 NHTSA data. Instead of concerning themselves with teens driving home between 10 p.m.-12 a.m., Maryland legislators should concentrate their efforts on dealing with more dangerous problems like drunk driving and the enforcement of current GDL laws.

Saving teen lives is a worthy cause, and legislators should be commended for their efforts to do so. But imposing strict regulations that prevent students from living their lives isn’t the solution.

FAST FACTS

3-6 p.m. is the most dangerous time for teens to drive 54 % of teen crashes at night are alcohol-related 12 a.m. is Maryland’s current young driver curfew

Graphic by SEBI SOLA-SOLE

SGA candidates: continue making feasible promises

by TIGER BJÖRNLUND Open lunch hasn’t been expanded to juniors, fourth period delegates don’t meet once a week and food trucks haven’t yet come to Whitman for lunch. Yet candidates in the SGA presidential campaign last spring promised all of these changes.

This campaign wasn’t the first time such promises have been made. In each of the past three years, SGA candidates have made similar promises and have failed to deliver. Candidates for the SGA shouldn’t make campaign promises they know they can’t fulfill; doing so undermines the efficacy of SGA elections and offices.

This isn’t to say that the SGA and leadership class haven’t made progress this year; they undoubtedly have. The leadership class has implemented many campaign proposals, including holding polls, intensifying social media outreach to connect leadership members with students and spreading out charity weeks beyond February.

These are all noteworthy steps forward for the school. Still, most of the way into the school year, central pieces of elected officials’ platforms have failed to materialize— as they seem to year after year.

The most prominent example of this issue is, of course, food trucks. The leadership class has long explored the idea of bringing food trucks to Whitman for lunch, but has consistently faced several understandable obstacles.

County regulations dictate that food trucks can’t park on either school property or residential zones. Therefore, the trucks would require an off-campus lot which doesn’t exist. Moreover, even if one did, the administration would have to amend the lunch policy for

students to leave campus to access the trucks.

Promises like this hurt the election process for several reasons, including being unfair to students, who are led to believe that candidates can achieve unrealistic goals. In turn, students may vote based on impossible campaign platforms and never see candidate promises become a reality.

These empty promises then become a source of student apathy toward the election process.

Hearing the same pledges year after year and seeing those same pledges unfulfilled can result in a perception among students that the SGA fails to keep their promises. This leads to an attitude that SGA elections don’t matter.

The responsibility to fix this falls on the candidates who must research and verify the viability of their proposals prior to making them in their campaigns. To do this, they should contact school administration and the previous year’s leadership to determine

what ideas would prove difficult to accomplish based on past experiences. This year’s candidates did this well—none of them reverted to old, empty promises like food trucks and open lunch. Still, it’s important for future candidates and students to understand this issue.

However, such change isn’t meant to stifle creativity among candidates. If a candidate has a proposal to implement a difficult policy, they should communicate that. But they must be able to demonstrate why their new idea will be more successful than that of their predecessors and why they aren’t just repeating an old, empty promise. Even more importantly, they must deliver on that plan if elected. Otherwise, the election lacks importance.

As the nation reflects on the lack of substance in 2016’s presidential election, Whitman candidates can take the necessary steps to improve their own campaigns.

It’s time to make more time in the school day

by CAMILLE CALDERA The last thing most students want is to spend more time in school. But it could be exactly what some students need.

Extended learning time (ELT) programs—which increase instructional time by two to three hours and attempt to align school hours with common work schedules of 9 a.m.-5 p.m.—have helped close the achievement gap and lessen strain on working parents in schools throughout the state and country. To bring these benefits to MCPS, superintendent Jack Smith should form a task force to consider the implementation of ELT in schools throughout the county.

Although there are benefits for all students, the impact of increased classroom time is most pronounced for low-performing students, said Perpetual Baffour, a research associate at the Center for American Progress. Extra instructional time enables teachers to provide more individualized support for students and more engaged learning opportunities, said Jennifer Davis, the co-founder of the National Center on Time and Learning.

Due to ELT programs’ success in aiding disadvantaged students, experts like Davis believe they could help close the achievement gap, the persistent disparity in academic success between white and nonwhite students. In Massachusetts, 10 elementary and middle schools added two hours to their day as part of an ELT initiative; after a year, these schools narrowed the racial gap in test scores by almost 15 percent in science and over 35 percent in English language arts, according to the book “Time to Learn” by Christopher Gabrieli and Warren Goldstein.

Despite various county programs, the achievement gap, which ELT could help diminish, persists at MCPS and Whitman. In the 2015-2016 school year, 90.7 percent of white students in 10th grade at Whit-

man had completed geometry with a C or higher. In contrast, only 46.2 percent of African American, 60.0 percent of Latino and 64.5 percent of Asian American 10th graders had reached the same benchmark.

ELT helps working families as well by allowing parents to stay at work longer, which has the most profound impact on African American, Latino and low-income families, Baffour said. The total time parents take off to accommodate schedules costs the nation’s economy $55 billion in lost productivity annually, according to Baffour’s report, “Workin’ 9 to 5: How School Schedules Make Life Harder for Working Parents.”

The most significant challenge against ELT is the increased cost for paying staff and keeping buildings open for longer. In 2014, the last time MCPS considered an extended school day, the added costs for extending elementary school by 30 minutes totaled $46.8 million in increased staffing expenses and $775,000 for utilities, according to a report by former superintendent Joshua Starr. These cost estimates were one reason MCPS decided against extending the day, said Derek Turner, Director of the MCPS Department of Public Information.

But the cost of ELT is worth it in the long run.

School districts must spend large amounts of money when students have to repeat grades or to fund summer courses for remediation in certain lessons, Baffour said. ELT programs reduce the number of students who require reteaching, saving the district money.

ELT is a potential—and in some cases, proven— solution to many of the problems facing education, both in the county and around the nation. As a leader in educational policy, MCPS administration must consider the merits of ELT and the possibilities it presents.

CROSSWORD

7

W C R O S S R D

J2 Presents: The Final Chapter

by JUSTIN BAKER and JOEY SQUERI

ACROSS

1. LiAngelo, LaMelo, Lonzo and Lavar share

this name 5. Hawaiian term for mixed ethnic heritage.

9. *They make T-Shirts and rep the Culture 14. Ending other than a win or a loss 15. Prophetic or foreboding sign 16. Salvador Dali often painted one of these 17. Lung abnormality 18. *He likes the colors black and yellow and will see you again (fast and furiously) 20. Lord of the Rings supreme being 21. Decisive WWII naval battle: __way 22. Where the best sports players end up, abbr.

23. Soviet heavy machine gun 24. The person who has spun the most 27. Test to get into college on a 1600 point scale 29. A molecule with net electric charge 30. A gait between a walk and a run 32. Orangutans, gorillas, etc.

36. Lacking 39. Interactive data intelligence, abbr.

40. Elegant, luxurious 41. A poem or song that focuses on a single subject 42. Plan that the IMF used to require countries getting loans to adopt, abbr.

44. How chess ranks players 46. Series featuring Jonathan Archer and Malcolm Reed, abbr.

47. A hired warrior, abbr.

49. Viscous liquid composed of hydrocarbons 51. Managing, section, at-large 53. “____ the next one!”

Cartoon

54. Music symbol on the left of the staff 56. Suffix denoting a condition or state 57. Terrorist that Obama killed, abbr.

59. A person who represents others in governance 63. Biblical watercraft 66. Indiana University Southeast, abbr.

68. United Kingdom member, abbr.

69. Shoulder muscle 70. *He’s best known for his tunnel vision 73. *He has no role models and would like to see it work out. J. ___ 74. Phrase akin to “somehow I manage” 75. Item used to prop up a golf ball 76. Signs, like as in a contract 77. Items scribbled down on a legal pad 78. They can be striped or small-mouthed 79. It goes in the summative category

DOWN

1. Revealed, uncovered

2. Old game console 3. His money gets longer, speakers get louder* 4. Famous martial artist and actor Bruce ___ 5. Former raiders DE ____ Long 6. Among, if you want to sound antiquated 7. Candy dispensers 8. Egyptian symbol of life 9. The athlete’s association for mixed martial arts professionals, abbr.

10. Alternative to a 401k, abbr.

11. Large smile 12. Clumsy people, lumbering fools 13. Someone who is Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, etc. is a ____ 19. Angry, aggressive

21. Dogs that are smaller than the usual size of their breed 25. Where animals are kept in captivity for the public to view 26. Prefix meaning “three” 28. If you don’t drink it bottled…

31. Joy, a nightingale, sleep 33. He just wants to go flex and has balled since he was young* 34. “This” in Spanish 35. Local school and sports gear brand ___wood 36. Brown monster used as a Japanese telecom mascot 37. Where original sin happened 38. “That place where live music plays” slang 43. Buddy, friend, chum 45. Stranger, weirder 48. Usually second-in-command to the CEO, runs the company day-to-day, abbr.

50. Childish Gambino funk song ___bone 52. Nickname of current president of Djibouti, based on his initials 55. Recent Denzel Washington film 58. How some people get to work if they don’t have a car but don’t want to share a ride 60. What you want on social media, rhymes with 58 down 61. Chats, discussions 62. An assessment administered online 63. Similar to 64. 76ers SF nickname 65. DAMN. he’s good* 67. A stone tablet 71. Harambe was one of these 72. National association of truckers, or possibly translators, abbr.

73. Counselor in training, abbr.

8

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Feature

9

Senior Francesca D’Onofrio’s Air Force career takes off with pilot’s license Continued from page 1 She finally started up her lessons in December under Kraemer’s wing as his only flight student.

“At the school, I run the business side, so I normally don’t have the time to take on students. But when she came to me and said that she was ready to start learning to fly and wanted me to be her instructor, I decided to do it,” Kraemer said. “Every once in a while, someone really special like that comes around.

Francesca is one of probably only three of those people I’ve met in my 28-year career.”

An automotive connoisseur, Kraemer’s also taught her how to ride a motorcycle, as well as giving her the opportunity to drive a three-wheeled car and fly a 1930’s style plane with an open cockpit.

The weather is less than optimal and the plane is slightly different from those she usually flies, so Kraemer helps D’Onofrio stabilize the plane as we ascend. But once we level off, he takes his hands off his set of controls, resting an arm on the back of D’Onofrio’s headrest in front of me instead and guiding her with only occasional instruction. His trust in her is reassuring—my heart rate evens. The plane takes on the comfort and familiarity of a long car ride.

“You spend so much time with this person, it’s like having a third parent,” D’Onofrio said. “They become another member of the family.”

While the views and experiences are breath-taking, aviation is an intense profession; mathematical calculations, meteorology, physics and engineering are an everyday reality for D’Onofrio.

Her flight school lessons regularly transfer over to her classes at Whitman, especially in her physics and aerospace engineering periods. D’Onofrio brings an energy and depth to lessons by sharing her experiences of flying with the class, said science teacher Donald DeMember, who teaches her in both subjects.

“I remember her telling a story of flying to Pennsylvania one time and using the navigation stuff that we talked about in class the week before,” DeMember said. “It just makes whatever we’re studying a whole lot more legitimate, and it’s neat to see those real world connections.”

D’Onofrio loves flying, but for her, aviation isn’t just a hobby. She plans to ascend to the highest position in the Air Force: a fighter pilot.

“My step-cousin was in the military, and since I was in preschool I knew I wanted to do something related to defense,” D’Onofrio said. “I either wanted to be a policewoman, in the military or in the FBI. I wanted to protect my country.”

Photos by Tomas Castro

After learning to fly at the Washington International Flight School, senior Francesca D’Onofrio plans to join the Air Force after college.

As she got older and spoke with a friend’s parents, both of whom were fighter pilots, D’Onofrio became increasingly convinced of a future in the Air Force. Though officers are trained in the Air Force to fly, fighter pilots are the most coveted and competitive positions, and a background in aviation can be an advantage.

It’s a career choice that caught me by surprise when she first mentioned it; on the ground, D’Onofrio is sweet and soft-spoken. But once we’re in the air, it becomes vividly clear. When she radios in to alert the airpark that she’s about to land, her voice crackles over my headphones with an authority I haven’t heard before.

In the fall, D’Onofrio will attend Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, where she will participate in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).

“She’s had this set goal since the fourth grade, and everything she’s done up until now has been towards that,” Kraemer said. “This is one determined girl.”

Boy Scouts of America move toward equality Transgender boys now permitted to join Boy Scout troops

by ABBY SNYDER In the midst of public outcry for acceptance and expansion of LGBTQ+ rights, an organization that has long struggled with incorporating members of the gay community took a step toward change Jan. 30: the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) announced that transgender boys are now allowed to join.

“After weeks of significant conversations at all levels of our organization, we realized that referring to birth certificates as the reference point [for gender] is no longer sufficient,” Boy Scouts chief executive Michael Surbaugh said in a public statement Jan. 30.

The BSA has been mired in controversy surrounding LGBTQ+ rights. The Supreme Court’s 2000 Dale v. Boy Scouts of America decision upheld the BSA’s exclusion of gay members. Openly gay scouts weren’t allowed to be part of the organization until 2013, and gay leaders were banned until 2015.

Senior Calem Riggs, president of Whitman’s Gay-Straight Alliance, said he was glad to see more organizations recognizing that “trans-people are just people.” It’s especially important for the Boy Scouts to be more open since they’re an organization for young people and can now spread this progressive message to their younger members, he said.

This new inclusivity will allow more children to join and participate in BSA activities nationwide.

A transgender boy in New Jersey who was forced to leave his Cub Scout pack late in 2016 is now allowed to rejoin it, according to a New York Times article from Feb. 9. The boy, Joe Maldano, was thrilled to be able to reunite with his pack, he told the New York Times in February.

“I had a permanent smile on my face,” Maldano said. “I felt like I belonged there.”

Given the BSA’s past struggles, junior Victor Myers, who has been involved with the Boy Scouts

since joining the Cub Scouts in first grade, said he was pleasantly surprised by the change and was glad to see the organization responding to today’s constantly changing society.

Assistant Scoutmaster Steve Fox agreed that the BSA’s recent steps are for the better, but the transition may not be easy since so many scouts and troops lean toward conservative ideology, he said.

“There are many scout troops sponsored by more conservative elements of American society,” Fox said.

“Those troops in particular will have challenges in adapting to the new standards, and there will be some tension as those troops adapt.”

As the organization moves towards equality, sophomore Lucas Gates, a 16-year-old transgender boy, is ecstatic.

“I was super pumped and really happy that they got over the barriers that they placed on themselves,” Gates said.

10

In-De

‘What do we want?’ ‘Science!’

by Camille caldera and pearl sun

How important is the environment to whitman STUDENTS?

important

most important 6%

36%

36%

very important

unimportant 4%

13% somewhat important

Student Activism In the past decade, as scientists have increased calls for conservation, some students have been inspired to take up environmental advocacy work.

One such effort is the Green Team, which was co-founded by seniors Justine Henninger and Kenza Nadifi.

“We aim to promote environmental awareness while organizing and participating in our own conservation projects,” Nadifi said.

Their current initiatives include river clean-ups and a sneaker drive for Nike Reuse-A-Shoe, Nadifi added.

While Green Team works year round, some student advocacy—such as the SGA’s Environment week— centers around Earth Day in April.

Throughout the week, the SGA sold water bottles to benefit the World

Wildlife Fund, organized a hike and encouraged students to attend the People’s Climate March.

In conjunction with Environment Week, the Whitman science club planned an after-school seminar about climate change. At the seminar, club members discussed innovative solutions to climate change, including burning magnesium and carbon dioxide scrubbing.

“With diverse solutions, we can have more opportunities to combat climate change,” Club co-founder Stephen Lyons said.

Students and teachers at Blair High School organized a climate summit with similar educational aims.

“The goal was to educate students on the issues surrounding climate

change and to motivate them to take action,” Blair science teacher Charlie Demma said.

Students attending the summit had the opportunity to interact with a panel of experts, including a state delegate and a climate scientist. They also attended breakout sessions and a screening of the film “Before the Flood.”

Despite growing concerns for the environment’s decline, student advocates remain optimistic.

“There are infinite possibilities in which we could fail or succeed,” science club co-founder and sophomore Alex Westerman said. “We are students that can change the world.”

WHitman is....

43% Pessimistic

34%

about the future of the Neutral Optimistic environment

23%

11

epth

Policy Changes In his first 100 days, President Donald Trump has rolled back 23 environmental rules, marking a major shift in U.S. environmental policy.

Trump’s first controversial environmental action ordered to expedite the construction of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines.

Environmental scientists expressed fear that, if constructed, these pipelines will harm ecosystems and generate greenhouse gases, according to a January National Geographic article. Trump later signed executive orders aiming to dismantle the Obama administration’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and ban offshore oil drilling.

His first proposed budget also contained significant cuts to scientific programs, including cutting the budget of the Environmental Pro-

33%

tection Agency (EPA) by 31 percent, according to a March 15 New York Times article.

In response, activists emphasized the importance of continued scientific funding.

“Scientific funding isn’t just about new research; it’s about things we only do through publicly-funded agencies, like monitoring our air and water quality,” March for Science Communications Co-Chair Aaron Huertas wrote in a statement March 27.

EPA budget cuts were reduced to 1 percent, or $81 million, in a budget deal announced May 1.

Trump’s appointees—namely Scott Pruitt, EPA head—have been no less controversial. “[Pruitt] has commented on how he is reluctant to believe climate change is anthropogenic, which is

STrongly 36% Oppose

cause for some concern,” AP Environmental Science teacher Kelly Garton said. “The fact that he is anti-science, anti-data, and very prooil and petroleum and fracking and gas is problematic.”

Despite an increase in controversial national policies, the Maryland General Assembly and Senate passed a bill to ban hydraulic fracking March 28.

Governor Larry Hogan has said he will sign the bill, making Maryland the third state to ban fracking. Still, Garton believes the ban is insignificant.

“I’m glad we won’t have fracking wastewater, [which] could have been problematic,” Garton said.

“But generally speaking, I think it will have a nominal impact.”

7%

STrongly support

President Donald Donald Trump’s actions President Trump’s actions regarding environmental policy policy regarding environmental

Marches “What do we want?” a woman in a lab coat shouted.

“Science!” the crowd replied.

“How do we want it?” she screamed.

“Peer reviewed!” the crowd chanted.

Two weekends in a row, chants like this one echoed across the National Mall.

Forty thousand people attended the March for Science April 22 and 200,000 attended the People’s Climate March April 29, according to Resistance Report. While the March for Science website promoted a non-partisan advocacy for fact checking and scientific research across multiple fields, the People’s Climate Movement website focused on climate science and partisan opposition to President Donald Trump.

The Science March began with short demonstrations from scientists in tents followed by rallies, which included speeches from students and prominent scientists like Bill Nye. Marching began later in the afternoon.

Senior Chase Fox attended the march to unite under a common cause, he said.

“Even though you’re just walking, you’re still making an impact,” Fox said.

Although the Science March was a non-partisan event, many attended for political reasons. Science March attendee Margot Solberg, a consultant for the Ecuadorian Space Agency, thinks policymakers need to base decisions on evidence-based research, she said.

“I think there needs to be transparency and data communicated,” Solberg said.

Other attending scientists also expressed their concern for the future of their discipline.

“It’s a really difficult time to convince a lot of bright young people to go into science in an environment like this,” a paleoecologist said.

A week later, more marchers gathered in D.C. for the Climate March. Starting at the foot of the Capitol, the protesters marched to surround the White House on President Donald Trump’s 100th day in office. Once there, the demonstrators made as much noise as possible to “symbolically drown out the voices of the administration’s climate change deniers,” according to an April 29 New York Times article.

“Resistance is here to stay, welcome to your 100th day,” the crowd chanted.

The lineup for the march was divided into eight sections, each representing a different special interest such as women’s and LGBTQ+ rights. The organization aimed to convey that climate change is interwoven with traditional social justice issues like racial, gender and economic inequality.

“The main thing that I learned was the passion that many scientists have in getting funding for problems that they hope to solve,” March attendee and junior Vimathi Gummalla said. “When you think about science, there are a variety of fields that come to mind, so seeing a unified voice come together from such a diverse group of people was really cool.”

12

Feature

Unknown museums in the DMV

by AVA CHENOK While touring the nation’s capital, visitors often find time to visit renowned artistic hotspots like The National Gallery of Art or the Smithsonian. But several intimate art galleries and collections exist beyond the walls of these famous museums. Here are three hidden gems in D.C. that showcase a variety of art pieces and historical artifacts.

Blind Whino On Delaware Ave., a bright, rainbow-painted 19thcentury church stands out against the surrounding townhouses. Inside the church is the Blind Whino, a multi-functional museum that contains a regularlyupdated art annex with pieces by local artists, a performance space for concerts and an outdoor courtyard with an urban farm.

Every wall is covered with art and graffiti, and bright lights illuminate the original gothic architecture.

“The whole building itself is an art installation to me,” senior Michael Barsky said. “It juxtaposes this old baptist stained glass vibe with a modern art, gentrified feel.”

The space also holds concerts and free yoga every Wednesday.

The Hillwood Estate Located in Northwest D.C., the Hillwood Estate once belonged to heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, a collector of French and Russian art. Her collection, which spans the mansion, includes an array of artifacts including rare Fabergé Eggs that were made for Russian tsars during imperial times.

“I think it’s the combination of a historical home along with the fabulous gardens that makes us different,” head of visitor services Kathryn Kapczynski said.

The estate also has outdoor exhibits including manicured gardens and houses a cafe that serves afternoon tea.

“The gardens and estate are beautiful and worth the time to look at,” freshman Maddie Menkes said. “It’s a great place to go with family or friends and isn’t too long of a drive.”

Visitors can tour the museum, either by themselves or with an expert. Guided tours run from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and provide information about Post’s life and the exhibitions, Kapczynski said.

“We have people that come just for the gardens, and then we have people that come just for the mansion, and usually they’re happily surprised by both.” Kapczynski said.

Photo by MICHAEL BARSKY

Blind Whino: 700 Delaware Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024

Phillips Collection Founded in the 1920s by Duncan and Marjorie Phillips, the gallery spans three converted apartments in Dupont Circle. The Phillips Collection features pieces by Henri Matisse, Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet, as well as Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s renowned “Luncheon of the Boating Party.” The exhibit displays art pieces of multiple styles and time periods, said Sarah Corley, Media Relations Director at the collection.

“We like to change up the conversation and allow everyone to look upon art that we have with fresh eyes,” Corley said. “We don’t always have installations chronologically set up from the same era. We’ve got this experimental approach to our pieces.”

Senior Isabel Robinson agrees, saying that it’s exciting to see the museum develop within the intimate setting.

“It feels as if you’re alone with the artwork,” Robinson said. “The collection is also always adding new pieces of art, so every time you go is something new and fresh.”

Photo by AVA CHENOK

Photo courtesy RON COGSWELL

Hillwood Estate: 4155 Linnean Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008 Phillips Collection: 1600 21st St NW, Washington, DC 20009

Student company mixes baking, marketing ModBars’ creators share common interest in business , forge relationships CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Since then, they’ve met every weekend to discuss business opportunities, create new recipes for bars and fulfill customers’ order requests.

“

“

I believe that each of us six brings a unique perspective and valuable set of skills to the table.

- senior Jeff Su

“The bars are homemade, and the choices of what different ingredients to put into each bar were thought out really well,” junior and frequent customer Vivek Nathan said.

In addition to perfecting the bars’ quality, the group placed an importance on understanding the marketing side of the business. All six students have a passion for the company; they frequently discuss busi-

ness plans and the company’s future, Oleynik said.

“I believe that each of us six brings a unique perspective and valuable set of skills to the table,” Su said. “There was a lot more work than just making granola bars to start a granola company.”

ModBars currently sells six different variations of their own premade bars including the Milkie Whey, the Gold Rush, the Booty Fruit and the Viking Whey. In the near future, the company hopes to offer customized vegan and gluten-free bars. The company, which currently sells bars in the Whitman community, also plans to offer their products in commercial stores, Su said.

Despite their business’ recent success, their most valuable lessons haven’t been about the money.

“My favorite part about this has been forging friendships with some of the people in ModBars,” Levine said. “When you have a common interest and you both want to achieve it, it’s pretty cool what can happen.”

ModBars offers six varieties of pre-made bars, as well as customized options

Photo by MAX LEVINE

Feature

13

Bethesda church opens its doors to refugees

by AIDEN LESLEY As the United States government takes a stronger stance on immigration and refugee status, several cities and states have taken on “sanctuary” status, meaning they disregard certain deportation directives by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and welcome those seeking a new life in the U.S. Though college campuses and large cities such as San Francisco have been the most public examples of refugee support, even the most local faith communities have taken the pledge to shelter those who need refuge.

Bethesda Presbyterian Church, located next to Bethesda Elementary School, rebranded itself as a sanctuary church to help build a network that assists people seeking refuge in the U.S., whether they are undocumented immigrants or refugees.

Reverend Charles Booker suggested the idea, and the church board voted unanimously to become a sanctuary church, Booker said.

“To me, it seemed like a yes or no question,” church board member Robert River said. “Yes, we do stand with people who are oppressed, or no we do not.

Yes, we do believe people have inherent humanity, or no we do not. And as a church, I think we decided 100 percent yes, we do stand with all people. All people have inherent values being human.”

The church took the pledge proposed by “Sanctuary Not Deportation,” a proposition made to faith communities under several coalitions that advocates for embracing a sanctuary status and provides information on the processes involved to achieve this status. The proposal has spread across the U.S., and over 800 faith communities stand with the commitment.

Booker hopes that the Church’s advocacy for assisting refugees and taking the sanctuary pledge illuminates the church’s focus on showing love through action.

“There has been a great deal of interest in learning more about how this

Photo by AIDEN LESLEY

Bethesda Presbyterian Church promotes acceptance as a safe haven for refugees under the “Sanctuary Not Deportation” proposition.

all works and what it might mean for us,” church board member Joan Kloepfer said. “We’ve had two meetings after church on Sundays to discuss it, and they have been well-attended. I personally have not heard about any objections to the steps we are taking.”

In addition to opening their doors to shelter refugees, the church plans to establish a rapid response network of volunteers who would respond to a potential local immigration raid. Volunteers would film the raid without interfering

to publicize the arrest, and they would provide support to families of refugees and undocumented immigrants.

Rivers hopes that the church’s decision to become a sanctuary church will send a message to the community that all people have value and that hate and fear are not solutions to the issue at hand, he said.

“What we’re trying to stand for is if folks are in need, we want to be there in support,” Rivers said. “Folks probably wouldn’t want to come to different plac-

es if they had opportunities in their own countries. It’s an inherent need across the world, people wanting a better chance at life, and if someone comes here for a better chance at life, they’re not illegal, they just might not have the paperwork, and that’s where we want to stand.”

For more information about Bethesda Presbyterian Church’s mission as a Sanctuary Church, email Rev. Charles Booker at revbooker@gmail.com or call at 301-9861137.

Dear Mr. Confino, We can all confidently say that during your time on Volume 55, you have made the Black & White an even better newspaper. Your meticulous editing and your dedication to each and every story shows remarkably in the quality of our work. Your contagious passion for journalism has inspired and excited everyone on this staff, pushing us to work harder toward producing the best paper possible. And while the editing process was a high priority of yours, you also focused on finding ways to expand our readership and connect with our subscribers. Through hosting the political panel or simply installing newsstands around the school, you have taught us that being part of the paper is so much more than just writing and editing.

The impact you have had on us has extended far beyond the newsroom. You’ve instilled in us countless values that we will carry forever. You’ve taught us to never settle, to work hard, to communicate, to connect with others and to never procrastinate (we’re still working on this one). And though we appreciated all that you’ve done for us as a teacher and advisor, we’re even more thankful to have you as a friend.

We know you will continue to inspire students wherever you are, and we wish you the best of luck in your endeavors at Rockville and beyond.

Thank you for everything.

Josh, Rachel, Norell and the entirety of Volume 55

Current Black & White advisor Nicholas Confino will be leaving Whitman at the end of this school year, taking on the newspaper advisor role at Rockville High School. Former advisor and current English teacher Louise Reynolds will be replacing Mr. Confino for Volume 56 of the Black & White.

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Feature

15

Are you smarter than a fourth grader?

Photos by ANDIE SILVERMAN

Two fourth grade students at Bradley Hills Elementary School use Common Core’s concepts to solve multiplication problems.

by ANDIE SILVERMAN In elementary school, students learn to treat others the way they want to be treated, how to play the recorder and to never drink a bottle of glue. But elementary school is also the place where formal education begins, setting the educational tone for a student’s life.

Common Core and Curriculum 2.0 have slowly been integrated into Maryland school since 2010. In math classes these two programs work to provide students with a deeper understanding of why a mathematical rule occurs which the previous curriculum lacked, according to the MCPS website. To see how much the new curriculum has changed at Bradley Hills Elementary School since I graduated six years ago, I shadowed a fourth grader for a day.

When I was in fourth grade, we moved outside to the portables and were considered “big kids” because we switched teachers for a class. Now, due

to Common Core specialization, third grade and up rotate teachers for almost every class.

Unlike the time when teachers were given vague outlines of topics to cover during the school year, now they’re provided with scripted text for every subject, as well as warm-ups and homework sheets, fourth grade teacher Jordana Paul said.

Although a specific curriculum can be helpful for new teachers, the rigidity often limits teachers who have been working in the school system for years and know how students learn best, Paul said.

Under the new generalized curriculum, some of the fourth graders I spoke with felt that instead of answering questions based on their own ideas, they were operating with a one-size-fits-all mentality.

“I feel like everyone is doing the same thing,” fourth grader Louis Pohle said. “You can’t say ‘well I’m doing this’

and show that you are really good at something.”

As I sat on the red, checkered carpet, I stared up at a math problem on the Promethean board, and I couldn’t complete it. The way multiplication is taught has changed so much that I couldn’t use the new method to solve the problem: students now break integers down into parts, multiply each part separately, then add them for the answer.

While previously students focused on rote memorization, new Common Core strategies help to provide a deeper understanding of the concepts, ensuring each student understands the worth of each digit, fourth grade teacher Tessa Hicks said.

“They are exposed to a lot of strategies and they are given a bunch of ways to do something and then have the opportunity to decide which one works best for them,” Paul said.

These various problem-solving techniques often benefit advanced math stu-

dents but can hurt those who struggle to learn techniques.

“For some students, seeing so many strategies becomes overwhelming because then they finally are learning one and they are told to learn another one,” Hicks said. “They go ‘but wait I’m comfortable with this one, and I just now understand this one, so why do I need to learn another one?’ And the reality for those kids is that it’s confusing them sometimes.”

The Common Core curriculum was instituted to push students, but various teachers have noted that sometimes it pushes students too far. One teacher even said that she saw students pulling out their hair in class.

“There are times that I think that they put them beyond their cognitive abilities,” Hicks said. “There are definitely a few instances in the curriculum where they are pushing algebraic equations that are just above the thought process of even the highest of fourth graders.”

MCPS also altered the way students are tested under Common Core. Instead of using formative assessments which tested multiple topics within a subject, the county uses Elementary mathematics assessment tasks (EMATS), shorter tests that only focus on a limited selection of subject matter.

Though the long term effects of Common Core haven’t been seen yet, the question remains about whether students will be ready for the demands of high school mathematics.

“Students who are naturals in math are always going to be able to accelerate,” principal Alan Goodwin said. “I am just more worried about the average and below average students in math and what skill they are building. I am not convinced that they are building what they need.”

As the students returned to their homerooms to pack up, I watched as they cleaned out their cubbies and sat impatiently the carpet, waiting to be dismissed. When the walkers were dismissed, I found myself among the sea of ten year olds and realized that maybe I wasn’t smarter than a fourth grader.

Speech team speaks up at national championship

by ABBY SNYDER After placing at Metrofinals, members of the speech team accept their awards amid enthusiastic applause from parents, judges and competitors. Returning to their seats, they congratulate each other, ecstatic about their achievement: nine of them have qualified for nationals May 27 in Louisville, Kentucky.

“Speech is all about sharing thoughts and ideas with an audience,” coach Gavin Mease said. “The speaker’s job is to be able to connect with the audience in a way that makes the audience want to listen.”

Whitman’s speech team has been around for decades and competes in six events in two different categories: Interpretation and Public Address. Interpretation is closer to acting, with competitors performing a passage of their choosing, usually a monologue or soliloquy from a play. Public Address competitors write their own speeches based on current events and important social issues. Team members including juniors Valerie Akinyoyenu, Iris Berendes-Dean, and Kyra Du qualified for nationals in Interpretation, and freshman Cassie Beisheim qualified in Public Address.

Novices compete in an underclassmen-only event called Declamation, a Public Address event in which they cut a well-known speech down to 10 minutes and then present it. Sophomores Maddy Frank, Eva Herscowitz and Lindsay Keiser qualified for nationals in Declamation.

In contrast to debate, speech allows more room for creativity and collaboration, senior captain Cece Turkewitz said.

“I like to say speech is like the fun side of debate,” Turkewitz said. “It’s a lot more about community, and it’s a lot more about helping each other rather than competing against each other. Speech includes everyone, and everyone can do their own

thing within their event.”

Although only nine speakers technically qualified for nationals this year, Akinyoyenu qualified in both Dramatic Interpretation and Oral Interpretation. Since speakers are only allowed to compete in one event at nationals, junior Carmen Molina Acosta, an alternate qualifier, will take Akinyoyenu’s place in Oral Interpretation at nationals.

At competitions, speakers are split up into rounds of six competitors per event.

Each speaker is scored individually, and the top six then compete in a final round to determine the winners. Despite the individual nature of the competition, the team is close-knit and supportive of each other, Keiser said.

“I love how the team is super supportive and how every accomplishment is really celebrated,” Keiser said. “We bring out the best in each of us.”

During practices, team members present their programs to one another, Gummalla said. The speakers then study feedback from judges from past competitions, and review those comments as well as feedback from their peers to improve their performance and prepare for upcoming competitions.

But despite their hard work, speech team members feel that they receive little recognition, as their accomplishments are often overshadowed by the debate team’s success.

“It’s not something that students typically say, like ‘oh, Whitman has the best speech team,’” junior Vimathi Gummalla said. “But we do really well. We have 10 people going to nationals, and I don’t think we get the credit we deserve.”

Carmen Molina Acosta and Valerie Akinyoyenu are news writers for the Black & White.

Iris Berendes-Dean is a production assistant.

Photo by RACHEL HAZAN

Photo by IRIS BERENDES-DEAN

(Top) Junior Kyra Du rehearses her speech in practice. She will compete at nationals May 27. (Bottom) Members of the speech team pose with their awards after qualifying for Nationals at Metrofinals. Using feedback from judges and peers, they prepare for future competitions.

DESTINATIONS

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Hannah Aalemansour University of Maryland Stefanie Abramowitz University of Maryland Evitasanti Afifah Montgomery College Charlotte Aitken Tulane University Riyan Ajisaka Montgomery College

Sila Alev City University of London Sarah Alper Williamette University Ramsey Aly Montgomery College Gusthignna Liyanage Amarasiri Frostburg State University Atessa Amjadi University of Wisconsin-Madison Matthew Anderson University of Florida Manya Aronin Cleveland Institute of Music Jacob Asher New York University Ryan Ashy UNC Wilmington Deniz Aslan University of Delaware Sydney Asselin Carnegie Mellon University Miller Aucamp UCLA Mason Austin Brantly Frostburg State University Dornubari Awanen UMBC Michael Azimi University of Michigan Justin Azmoodeh University of Maryland Tyler Baker Champlain College Justin Baker Dartmouth College Lauren Baker University of Florida Matthew Baker University of Maryland Beatriz Barbosa Bertolino Moving back to Brazil Jack Barrett Tulane University Michael Barksy University of Michigan Arda Bell Towson University Jack Berson Colby College Olivia Berson Skidmore College Genevieve Beske Duke University Jacob Bickford University of Georgia Jonah Bird UCSB

Lander Dennison Piedmont Community College

Adam Deutcshman Ohio State University Nikhil Dhir Drexel University Jessica Diarra University of Toronto Mary Dimitrov University of Missouri Andreas Djurhuus American University Harry Dodwell Colorado School of Mines Shannon Donley Santa Clara University

Andrea Brain UNC Chapel Hill Claire Brodsky Elon University David Brody Vanderbilt University Douglas Bruchalski Dickinson College Sarah Bruegmann Occidental College Lucy Bucheli Bautista Moving to Ecuador Robert Burgess Salisbury University Juliet Burns Salisbury University Anne Burton Creighton University Victoria Burton George Mason University Joseph Byrne Berklee College of Music Katherine Cabral Elon University Luciano Cahe University of D.C. Charlotte Caldwell University of St. Andrews Jaime Callejon Hierro University of Maryland Celina Callo Simonnet Undecided Evan Cameron George Washington University Cesar Cantero Clavero Universidad Carlos III de Madrid Katherine Carrool Colby College Hailey Carson Hamilton College Grace Carter Tulane University John Cashmere University of South Carolina Tomas Castro Gap Year Owen Caverly Baylor University Lisa Cebula Unity College Lucas Chatwin University of Utah Maya Chen Occidental College Kueho Choi Yale University Carly Choppin New York University Matthew Clayton Duke University Noah Clement College of Wooster Caroline Cohen Tulane University Emma Cohen-Dumani University of South Carolina Natalie Cohn Worcester Polytechnic Institute Alistair Coleman Julliard School Christopher Colton University of Maryland Wesley Combs Amherst College Matthew Conover Trinity College

Sean Hwang Washington University St. Louis Andrew Hynes University of Maryland Bianca Iglesias North Carolina State University Alexandra Iriarte Montgomery College

Amelia Easley Lewis and Clark College Jonah Eisenberg University of Michigan Julia Eisenberg University of Wisconsin-Madison Laila El-Hifnawi UC Berkeley Nahom Endeshaw Montgomery College Lauren Evoy University of Maryland Alessandra Rosa Fantasia George Mason University Katherine Farr Conneticut College Matthew Farr Union College Mia Faulkner Reed College Francis Fedowitz Wake Forest University Jacob Feigin University of Michigan Lena Feldman George Washington University Matthew Fields UT Austin Brian Fisher Johns Hopkins University Harrison Flax University of Denver Andrew Ford Harvard College Sterling Fowler Montgomery College Chase Fox Indiana University Rachel Friedman Vanderbilt University Emeline Fromont Carnegie Mellon University Katherine Fudge Community&Career Connections Sarah Gamoran Gap Year; University of Denver Joy Gaston Washington State University

Devon Bragale Pennsylvania College

Carter Hughes James Madison University

Olivia Doran Davidson College Nathaniel Dwyer Cornell University

Samuel Bloch Ohio State University

Danielle Bragale James Madison University

Jaiwen Hsu University of Maryland Yu Kui Huang University of Maryland

Madeleine Infeld University of Alabama

Yuting Gao Undecided

Ian Boly Virginia Commonwealth University

Isabeau Howell SUNY Syracuse

Aidan Doran Belmont University

David Blecker Lafayette College

William Bowser Allegany College of Maryland

Joseph Hornyak University of Alabama

Nathan Geesing Kenyon College Noah Gold Skidmore College Simi Gold Virginia Commonwealth University Grace Goldman University of Washington Alexander Goldstein Drexel University Emily Golub University of Maryland Andrew Gonzales Elon University Marta Gonzalez University of Maryland Sabrina Gooptu Penn State University Michael Gorman Colorado College Gillian Gough Gap Year Victoria Gould University of Wisconsin-Madison Nikolai Granados Gap Year Luke Graves University of South Carolina Eden Gray Indiana University Georgia Gray Towson University Christopher Greenberg University of South Carolina Carina Greenberg Washington University St. Louis Jason Grill Duke University Elise Grossfield Bates College Keon Guide Montgomery College Sarah Guillaume School in France Neha Gupta Carnegie Mellon University Sebastian Gutierrez University of Maryland Ari Gutman New York University Margaret Haan Carnegie Mellon University Nathan Haddon Colby College Sabrina Halabi James Madison University Corrine Hall MIT Andrew Hallward-Driemeier Williams College

Robert Isaac UCLA David Isaacs University of Pennsylvania Nina Isenstein Northeastern University Abiyyu Ismunandar University of Maryland Elizabeth Itzkoff Denison University Harrison Jacobs UNC Chapel Hill Tamar Jacobsohn Northwestern University Mehdi Jamal Working as a firefighter Adam James Indiana University Alexander Jaramillo UNC Chapel Hill Zihui Jin Undecided Jordan Johnson Harvard College Sierra Johnston University of Michigan Reese Jones University of Maryland Anders Julin University of Maryland Ethan Jungreis Gap Year Adrienne Kafka Claremont McKenna College Julian Kafka University of Vermont Matthew Kallenborn Montgomery College Somayyeh Kamyab Hood College Emily Kaperst Stanford University Samuel Kapner UT Austin Nathan Kattapuram University of Maryland Kevin Kaufman Haverford College Hannah Kay University of South Carolina Rebecca Keteltas Tulane University Patrick Khaghani University of Maryland Gregory King Villanova University Ali Ege Kizilarslan UMBC Lily Klein Temple University Tessa Klein University of Notre Dame Laura Klemola Tango Gap Year Jessica Kline Washington University St. Louis Sophia Knappertz University of Vermont Hannes Kogelnik Grinnell College Mathew Korestsky University of Vermont Su Korukoglu University of Minnesota Hayru Nisa Kose Gap Year Constantine Koumbourlis University of Maryland Robert Kraff Cornell University Natalie Kravitz Syracuse University Griffen Kreutzberg Rollins College Katherine Kunst University of Maryland Emma Kushner University of Wisconsin-Madison Marguerite Labouche Undecided Kasra Ladjevardi University of Maryland Nicole Lane Bates College Jessica Lane Dickinson College Samuel Lankford Auburn University Caroline LaPlante Colgate University Melody Lee George Washington University Kevin Lee Montgomery College Sophie Lee Occidental College Hannah Lenkin American University Alexandra Lerner Tulane University Emma Li Scripps College

John Hamilton College of Charleston

Maxwell Li Vassar College

Sean Hannegan Penn State University

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Emily Hanson Washington University St. Louis Jennah Haque MIT Micah Harkins Swarthmore College Jonathan Harris Cornell University Eleanor Harris Dickinson College Margaret Harris University of Washington Spencer Hawke Washington University St. Louis Rachel Hazan Princeton University Michelle Hearn Sweet Briar College Jesse Hearn University of Maryland

Sophie Lieber Tulane University Emma Liles Hamilton College Jiahui Lin University of Maryland Claire Liu UC Berkeley Olivia Lobsenz Syracuse University Ellis London Brandeis University Joy London University of Maryland Madison London University of Richmond Ana Clara Losada-Radley University of Pittsburgh Brian Love University of Pittsburgh Eunisa Lu University of Maryland

Andrew Constable West Point Military Academy

Justine Henninger University of Vermont

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Michael Hepburn Gonzaga University

Maria Lukovenko Montgomery College

Grace Hering Middlebury College

Jefferson Luo Penn State University Yubo Ma UCSB

Delaney Corcoran Georgetown University Joseph Cox Occidental University Alonso Cuartero Mondoo Universidad Carlos III de Madrid Jipei Cui University of Maryland Colleen Cullinane University of Wyoming Catherine Czajka University of Delaware Francesa D’Onofiro Embry Riddle University Clara Da Silva Pratt Institute Camryn Dahl University of Maryland Brendan Daly University of Rhode Island Habeeb Delafosse Towson University

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17 Laura May Skidmore College

Justin Pollack University of Michigan

Flynn McCabe New York University

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Joseph McGinley University of Rochester Greydon McGloon Bates College

Shannon Qi University of Maryland

Anna McGuire Davidson College Mikela McMahon University of Wisconsin-Madison

Joseph Tseytlin University of Maryland

Morgan Rauh University of Colorado-Boulder

Kyle Tuliao Rochestry Institute of Technology Cecelia Turkewitz Trinity College in San Antonio Serena Tycko SUNY Binghamton

Caroline Rhodes College of William and Mary Isabella Richey Arizona State University

Sophie Van Gheem University of Wisconsin-Madison Marieke Van Rossum Gap Year

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Candela Vazquez University of Maryland Margarita Vicuna Silva Pontifical Catholic University Alison Voigt Syracuse University

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Sophie Metee San Diego State University Abigail Meyers Princeton University

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Joseph While Cornell University

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Liza Williams Moving to Jamaica

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Hannah Wolstein Gap Year; University of Southern California

Roberto Sganga Finishing school in Verona

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Marta Sganga University of Kent

Matthew Noenickx University of Vermont

Gregory Shaw Montgomery College

Ryan Nordheimer Washington University St. Louis Nicole Norwood University of South Carolina

Joseph Wood Carnegie Mellon University Olivia Woods Wake Forest University

Norell Sherman Bowdoin College

Yun Fei Wu Indiana State University

John Shungu Coastal Carolina University

Kevin Notley James Madison University

Abigail Singer University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ryan O’Boyle University of Washington

Rashmi Sivam University of Albany

Grace O’Leary Duke University

Xinyi Xie Brandeis University Runqi Xu Indiana State University Yaoying Xu Rutgers University

Molly Small Indiana University

Natachi Onwumaegbu Stanford University

Jenna York University of Delaware

Abigail Smurzynski Brandeis University

Maxwell Oppenheim Tufts University

John Young University of Wisconsin-Madison

Elliot Snow Colby College

Tyler Packard-Winkler Gap Year

Hanjiang Yu University of Maryland

Sebastian Sola-Sole Davidson College

Oliver Panlibuton Cal Polytechnic State University Harry Papaioannou University of Pennsylvania Maria Pardo Penalosa Gap Year; College in Colombia Jackson Parker College of Wooster Daniel Parker Montgomery College Alexander Parsky University of Maryland Zachary Paulos University of Maryland Claire Payette University of South Carolina Jason Payne Tufts University Angela Pepe American University Darby Peters University of Tennessee Katrina Philbin University of Pittsburgh Austin Phillips Montgomery College John Phillips, III Montgomery College

Shadden Zaki University of Maryland

David Solonsky University of Maryland Lauren Somerville University of Ottawa Alec Sorensen-Tanenbaum University of Vermont

Sophia Zambri Duke University Mariano Zamora Gonzalez University of Southern California Yun Tian Zhang Indiana State University

Brian Souza Silva Montgomery College Mateo Sposato McDaniel College

Shuai Zhang University of Maryland Helen Zhang University of Maryland

Joshua Steighner University of Maryland Kelsey Stender-Moore Macalester College Nathan Stevens Virginia Tech Frances Storey Northeastern University William Stricklett George Washington University Jeffrey Su University of Maryland

Liam Pearce Bucknell University

Keara Sullivan New York University Yichen Sun University of Wisconsin-Madison Jantakam Supich Kasetsart University Omid Tabatabaee University of Maryland Wyatt Talcott University of Maryland Yuzhuo Tian Penn State University Emily Tompkins University of Rochester

Upperclassmen tackle rugby, trading touchdowns for tries Blood drips down from junior Tristan McAlister’s eye as he slowly gets up after a tough tackle. For nearly 80 minutes, he and the Maryland Exiles have battled the best rugby program in the nation, and they have the lead.

A group of students recently began playing for the Exiles, a local club rugby team ranked among the best in the country, according to Goff Rugby Report. Because public schools don’t have rugby teams, the team consists mainly of players from different MCPS schools.

Throughout the spring, the team competes in games across the Mid-Atlantic region against other top club rugby

Caroline Triay University of Maryland

Reagan Raczynski Berklee College of Music

David Rektman University of Maryland

Megan McMorran Queens University

by SAM SHIFFMAN

Matthew Trant Towson University

April Reisenfeld Carleton College

Kiara McMahon University of Maryland

Ezra Pine Grinnell College

Martin Torrey Rochester Institute of Technology

Chase Quist Towson University

Madeleine McGill University of Vermont

Devin Pierce Clemson University

Yan Tong Tufts University

Alyssa Prill Virginia Tech

Jack McClelland DePauw University

Franco Picone Duke University

Sophia Tompkins Wake Forest University

teams and recently won the state championship for the eighth straight year.

McAlister joined the Exiles in January when his friend from Landon suggested that he play. After joining, McAlister and junior Carlos Richardson recruited other Whitman athletes to join the team. Now, eight Whitman students play on the Exiles’ varsity team.

“A few Whitman kids were playing, and football season had ended, and I needed something to do,” senior Dawson MacKay said. “I had always wanted to play rugby, and I wanted to play in college, so I saw it as a great opportunity to learn the game.”

Rugby games are 80 minutes long and teams are awarded five points for

Wangyiran Zhou Wesleyan University Emily Zitner Washington University St. Louis

A note on “Destinations” The Black & White would like to thank the seniors for

providing the information necessary to compile this list.

We

apologize for the incomplete status of the list; our staff

was unable to contact some students, and others requested to be left off the list.

We regret any inaccuracies that may “Destinations.” If you would like to make a correction, please email blackandwhitevol55@gmail.com and we will update your changes on our website. Find our interactive online map on www.theblackandwhite.net. be present in

a “try”, when a player runs into the end zone and touches the ball to the ground.

After a try, teams get an opportunity to kick the ball through the goal posts for a conversion, which is worth two points.

Teams can also kick a conversion after a penalty for three points.

MacKay currently leads the team in both tries and points, while senior Matthew Trant leads the team in conversions.

Players are only allowed to pass the ball backwards but can kick the ball forwards. Tackles must be below the chest because players don’t wear pads, and players must release the ball when tackled so both teams can fight for possession.

“The hardest part is learning the rules of gaining possession of the ball because of the subtle details you have to follow,” junior John Luke Iglesias said.

While Whitman players joined the team without prior rugby experience, students had previously played rugbyrelated sports like football and soccer.

The game combines some of football’s physicality with soccer’s movement without the ball, players said.

Rugby can benefit players in both

sports because it teaches football players to tackle using their shoulders and soccer players how to become more physical, Exiles coach Dan Soso said.

With fewer stoppages in play, rugby forces athletes to adapt more quickly and improve their endurance, players said.

“On the field, the coaches can’t really talk to you,” McAlister said. “Coaches aren’t calling plays and that’s a really cool part about it—that you’re more of the coaches on the field.”

Despite the physicality of rugby and having to travel long distances for games, some players said they now enjoy rugby even more than football or soccer. Senior Owen Caverly, McAlister and Iglesias all hope to play rugby in college, and MacKay will play club rugby next year at Gonzaga University.

“I never thought that I would be playing a sport so brutal and dangerous,” Iglesias said. “Rugby definitely has been a positive experience because of the close relationships I have from Whitman teammates as well as those gained from other guys from different schools in the county.”

SPORTS

18

Senior lunges toward NYU fencing team Come fall, high school athletes will go on to prestigious university programs for everything from basketball to football to soccer. But senior Jacob Asher is committed to New York University for something more uncommon: fencing.

Tall, long-limbed, yet quick-footed, Asher has a natural physical advantage against his opponents, he said. But a large part of his success is also due to his passion and mental dexterity.

“I really enjoy the mental aspect and strategy of it. It’s a lot like chess—people like to call it ‘physical chess,’” Asher said. “The real goal is to trick people.”

Asher’s aunt and nationally-ranked fencer, Valerie Asher (‘78), first introduced her nephew to the sport when he was eight years old after several failed attempts to interest Jacob’s siblings in the sport. Fencing is a sport based on movements that aren’t necessarily instinctual, so most kids don’t always understand how to improve at first, she said.

“Sometimes it’s frustrating, but he was the one who always kept himself going,” Valerie Asher said. “He had the most unbelievable grasp of strategy and tactics.

“

“

by CARMEN MOLINA

It’s a lot like chess — people like to call it ‘physical chess.’ The real goal is to trick people.

- senior Jacob Asher

He really, really understood the analytical game.”

There are three forms of fencing, each with their own rules and swords: saber, foil and epee. While Asher currently competes individually in epee, on the NYU team he will compete in team fencing, where team members play each member of the opposing team and the results of their matches compound into each team’s score.

Asher didn’t originally intend to fence at college, but later, he realized he couldn’t be happy at a school without it. He was scouted by universities at the United States Fencing Association’s National Tournament last summer and was approached with offers from University of San Diego and NYU, he said.

He eventually chose NYU after visiting the campus, meeting the current team members and talking with the coach, who also trains the national Olympic epee team.

The environment of the NYU team complements both the social and academic aspects of the college experience, Asher’s coach and 2011 NYU graduate Byron Neslund said.

“It’s one of the couple NCAA sports where your academic passions and your athletic interests go hand in hand, because you have the freedom to do it at your own pace,” Neslund said. “And being part of the team can be great socially for first-year college students because it gives them a group of really different people to be part of to begin with.”

Athlete of the Month: Gaby Svec Low attacker propels Vikes to playoff berth

by AMY NANKIN

Photo by OLIVIA MATHEWS

As the top scorer on the team last year, lacrosse junior captain and low attacker Gaby Svec dominated the field, leading the team to a sectional finals win. This season, Svec has taken on a similar role, consistently scoring at least two goals a game.

“Gaby is a natural leader on the field,” coach Katie Bitoni said. “She is the type of player that holds such a distinct presence on the field that you always know when she’s in the game and when she’s not.”

Svec also has a strong leadership presence off the field, helping her become the only junior captain, teammate Lindsey Schneider said.

“Gaby has been a great player from the start. Since her first year

on the team you could tell she was a leader and someone you could trust on the field,” Schneider said. “She’s only proven that further with every practice and game.”

As a leader and a top scorer on the team, Svec has focused on maintaining team chemistry and commanding the field.

“We have a smaller team this year and we are really focusing on team chemistry and working more as a team overall,” Svec said. “Besides driving to goal myself, I like to call plays and feed to cutters for assisted goals.”

This season, the team defeated long-time rivals Sherwood and Churchill for the first time in years, which instilled more confidence in the players as they prepare for playoffs.

“I think that these wins give our team a lot of momentum, and knowing that we can compete with the top schools in the county is a great feeling,” Schneider said.

“Now that we know our potential and how well we can play together, it’ll push us harder each time to try to match that energy and hopefully get us far in playoffs this year.”

The team’s success is partially attributable to Svec’s growth as a player.

“She has gained a sense of confidence in herself that has allowed her to develop into an extremely strong player,” Bitoni said. “We expect her to continue to lead by example with her commitment and dedication to her teammates as well as continue to push herself and her teammates to be better than yesterday.”

Junior Gaby Svec led the Vikings to the playoffs this season.

COLLEGE SPORTS DESTINATIONS Noah Clement College of Wooster

Jackson Parker College of Wooster

Jake Winter Carleton College

Emily Tompkins University of Rochester

Matthew Conover Trinity

Haley Carson Hamiliton College

Emma Lilies Hamilton College

Joelle Rosen Middlebury College

Elise Grossfeld Bates College

Hannes Kogelnik Grinnell College

Corrine Hall MIT

Ezra Pine Grinnell College

Jennah Haque MIT

Jack McClelland Depauw University

Max Oppenheim Tufts University

Michael Gorman Colorado College

Jacob Asher NYU

Dylan Madden Pitzer College

Abby Meyers Princeton University

Douglas Brewchalski Dickinson College

Caroline LaPlante Colgate University

Carina Greenberg Washington University of St. Louis

Joseph While Cornell University

Ellie Harris Dickinson College Evan Cameron George Washington University

Andreas Djurhuus American University

Suraphael Mbonisi Howard University

Caroline Rhodes College of William & Mary

Claire Nagelhout Lehigh University

Matt Clayton Duke University

Kevin Kaufman Haverford College

Matthieu Maciejewski Haverford College

Gunnar Morton Salisbury University

Graphic by SOPHIE DEBETTENCOURT and JULIA RUBIN. Icons courtesy of The Noun Project by hunotika, Arthur Shlain, Grant Fisher, Hea Poh Lin, James Fenton, Andrey, le garage studio and Edward Boatman.

Sports

19

Sailing team glides past competition

Photo courtesy KELSEY BONHAM

The sailing team operates through the organization DC Sail, which organizes regatta participation and provides the team with equipment coaches and access to the Gangplank Marina.

A small sailboat cuts through the water as two crew members, barely above the surface, frantically pull the vessel in an effort to turn past the nearest buoy. The boat clears the marker and the crew rights it, preparing to attack their next challenge.

For years, the club sailing team has competed in the Mid-Atlantic area during the spring and fall seasons. Currently led by junior Kelsey Bonham and senior Nathaniel Dwyer, the team operates through an organization outside of MCPS called DC Sail which organizes regatta participation and provides the team with equipment, coaches and access to the Gangplank Marina where they practice every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

“Boats, gear and coaching is very expensive, and as a team of four we couldn’t afford that,” Bonham said.

“We share coaching and resources alongside B-CC, Churchill and a lot of other schools.”

The team sails Flying Juniors (FJS) and 420s, both of which are small boats that require only two crew members. Sailing courses are mostly triangular, so the crew has to constantly adjust in order to stay on course, and sailors must have physical strength, endurance and mental strength, Dwyer said.

“You don’t have a coach sitting right next to you,” Dwyer said. “When you’re out on the water, you’re on your own and calling the shots.”

“

“

by DANIEL WEBER

You don’t have a coach sitting right next to you. When you’re out on the water, you’re on your own and calling the shots.

-senior Nathaniel Dwyer

With only five varsity sailors during the 2015-16 school year, the team was unable to participate in as many events as other teams. However, the team gained traction this year, drawing attention from first-time sailors as well as more experienced ones, and the team more than doubled in size after the first interest meeting.

“Our biggest problem was that we couldn’t go to national events without the entire varsity team of four

people and could only go to one regatta a weekend,” Bonham said. “More competitive teams will send teams of four to multiple regattas every weekend, and now, we’ll have the potential to do that.”

With an influx in participants, the team hopes to start winning regional competitions, despite facing tough competition from the Annapolis sailing team, which boasts one of the premier sailing centers in the world. Last fall, the team traveled to New Orleans to participate in the Great Oaks Regatta, which drew competitors from across the country.

“When we compete against other schools in Maryland, we are always coming in right behind Annapolis,” team member Clara Astrup said. “One of the advantages of going to New Orleans is that we raced against people from Connecticut down to Florida, and we got to realize that we’re not actually that bad compared to the rest of the country.”

Although the team members are excited about their ability to be more competitive in the future, their love for the sport is what keeps them going.

“Being halfway through a cold and rainy regatta, sore and mostly numb, and finding something that keeps you going is the aspect of it that really teaches you something about yourself and what I look back on and realize I enjoyed the most,” Bonham said.

Ding sisters combine acrobatics, ballet in competitive rhythmic gymnastics For over 10 years, juniors Lilly and Molly Ding have devoted up to 20 hours a week performing balancing acts and aiming for perfect scores. But unlike most students, their balancing act isn’t high school—it’s rhythmic gymnastics.

In rhythmic gymnastics, competitors combine elements of ballet and gymnastics to manipulate apparatus, like ribbons or clubs, for a performance routine.

The Dings picked up the sport in elementary school.

“We went to a birthday party at a rhythmic gymnastics gym, and I remember being so fascinated at how they could bend their bodies and do amazing turns and tosses,” Lilly Ding said. “We’ve been doing it ever since.”

The sisters practice for four hours everyday after school at Elegance Gymnastics in Gaithersburg. They begin with conditioning and warm up exercises, then work on their jumps and kicks, skills with the apparati and competition routines.

In previous seasons, the Dings pri-

marily competed individually, but they now focus on competing in a group setting, performing alongside three other gymnasts.

“I really enjoy being able to compete with my teammates on the floor and being able to work with each other and depend on each other,” Molly Ding said.

The group showcases two routines at competitions: a floor routine without an apparatus and one using two hoops and two clubs. Each routine is judged based on its difficulty, choreography and execution.

“Gymnasts get deductions if they don’t catch a toss correctly, if they fall out of a balance or if they take steps to catch a toss due to bad trajectory,” Lilly Ding said.

The twins typically perform at one competition per month. Some tournaments are located in the D.C. area, but others, such as invitationals, take place across the Northeast.

Over the years, the Dings have stood out because of their advanced skills with the accessories.

“What’s unique about Molly and Lilly is that they handle the equipment re-

ally well,” coach Alesya Abdurasul said.

“They can both do certain tosses and elements that nobody else in the gym can do.”

The Dings’ extensive skillset has allowed them to be successful in the world’s most prestigious rhythmic gymnastic events; they were members of the 2015 Junior Nationals first place team, the 2015 and 2016 Spring Fling interna-

“

“I really hope I can still compete in college,” Lilly Ding said. “Maybe if I end up going to college in Chicago it would be cool to try out for the US National Rhythmic Gymnastics team.”

Rhythmic gymnastics has been a major part of the Ding’s life for the last ten years. The twins don’t view it as just a sport but as an influence to other aspects of their lives.

“

by JOEY SQUERI

I really enjoy being able to compete with my teammates on the floor and being able to work with each other and depend on each other.

tional competition first-place team and the 2016 Junior Olympics fourth-place team.

Although the sisters still have another year of high school, they’ve started to think about their future in rhythmic gymnastics.

- junior Molly Ding

“My gym is like a second family to me, my coaches are basically my second moms, my friends are my sisters,” Lilly Ding said. “Gymnastics has taught me values of sacrifice, dedication and hard work. I couldn’t have learned that without experiencing it firsthand.”

Back Page

20

Album reviews: spring ‘17

by MICHAEL GORMAN

Kendrick returns with fiery darkness Kendrick Lamar reminded the world that he’s the greatest rapper alive with the release of his newest album, “DAMN.” With his classic, fiery bars that address a variety of topics from love to family, Lamar has cemented his spot at the top of the rap game. This album is a little darker than Lamar’s previous work, which is made clear with the first song, “BLOOD.,” which sets the tone for the album.

The best song on the album is “DNA.” From the first bar, Kung Fu Kenny is aggressive, rapping about his heritage—his DNA: “I got power, poison, pain and joy inside my DNA / I got hustle though, ambition, flow, inside my DNA.” The tense beat serves as a perfect backdrop for the familycentered boasting.

When looking over the tracklist, fans of Cornrow Kenny are not generally looking for a U2 feature. However, “xxx,” which features the Irish rock band, turns out to be one of the better songs on the album, with several beat switches, from subdued and bassy to high-powered and excited and a piano-driven finale.

This work is one of his most disjointed projects to date as sounds range from trap to rock, but the fact that Lamar has completely reinvented his sound for each of his major releases is impressive.

On “DAMN.,” Lamar has strengthened his case for being the greatest rapper of all time, and hopefully the 29-year-old has many more albums ahead of him.

Artwork by TOP DAWG ENTERTAINMENT

‘DAMN’ Rating 4.5/5

Artwork by OCTOBER’S VERY OWN

‘More Life’ Rating 2.5/5

Ed Sheeran thinks he’s a rapper With “Divide,” Ed Sheeran continues his trend of mathematical signs as album titles, which is by far the most clever part of the new release. The darling folk-child of Suffolk, England, continues his soft lyrics and cuddly vocals on his newest album, released March 3.

The album’s streams have been largely powered by megahits “Shape of You” and “Castle On The Hill.” Within 24 hours of being released, each track garnered over six million streams.

The former was originally written for Rihanna, but the British slang on the track convinced Sheeran and his team to keep it for themselves.

The song “Hearts Don’t Break

Around Here“ is about his girlfriend, a common subjection in the album: “I feel safe when you’re holding me near.” Sheeran maintains his sensitive persona without question. It’s repetitive and, after 16 tracks, unnecessary.

“What Do I Know?” marks Sheeran’s best attempt at a political statement. He sees all of the protests and revolutions around the world and sings, “Love can change the world in a moment.”

He doesn’t say much, but it’s a better concept than most on the album.

Sheeran probably won’t be expanding on this widely appealing sound, even if it would be for the best.

Artwork by ASYLUM RECORDS

Artwork by CINEMATIC MUSIC GROUP

‘All-Amerikkkan Bada$$’ 4/5

‘Divide’ Rating 2/5

Joey Bada$$ drops some profound heat

Drake brings together different cultures

With his second commercial album, “All-Amerikkkan Bada$$,” Joey Bada$$ continues to do what he does best: produce strong lyrics about the state of the nation.

This time, however, he expands beyond his New York roots, deploying many different styles throughout the 12-track album, released April 7.

The best song on the project is “For My People.” The track features a simple, classic beat, but the importance behind the song is the message.

Bada$$ details the struggle of being black in America while spotlighting his place in the fight against oppression: “Music is a form of expression

With his return to the spotlight, Drake may have started a new trend in the music industry— the playlist. On “More Life,” released March 18, the Toronto rapper shines a light on many different genres and cultures, from grime to dancehall, but dampens each with his signature whining.

Some may say it’s unnecessary to continue insulting someone whose career you’ve already ended, but Drake continues to diss rapper Meek Mill. On the album’s first track, “Free Smoke,” Drake comes out in full force: “Ghost-writin’ rumors turn you to a ghost.” The term “free smoke” refers to Drake’s threat to every other rapper to take his throne.

The playlist is riddled with Caribbean influence, most notably on “Passionfruit”

/ I’ma use mine just to teach you a lesson.”

Bada$$ teams up with ScHoolboy Q on “Rockabye Baby,” a hardhitting track which addresses toxic race relations in the country: “If you ‘bout this revolution, please stand up / We ain’t got no one to trust.”

Each song fits in perfectly with the last, but Bada$$ still needs to refine his sound before he makes the jump into the top-three rapper conversation. This is Bada$$’s best work yet, and at only 22 years old, he has a lot left in him. Hopefully, Kendrick Lamar will give him more than just a week to enjoy the spotlight.

Artist Spotlight: Harrison and Coulter Desimone

by AIDEN LESLEY Inspiration can stem from just about anywhere, including the mountains of Utah.

Senior Coulter and junior Harrison Desimone travel to Utah during third quarter every school year to focus on their creative sides and build their art portfolios.

Coulter Desimone focuses on photography and videography; the change in environment serves as inspiration because, in Utah, he gets to spend more time with beautiful landscapes, he said.

Coulter’s main style is minimalism, and he focuses “on the embodiment of the essential expression the subject matter conveys,” he said.

A digital artist, Harrison Desimone said that while in Utah he tends to lean toward lighter shades in his color schemes. However, his style, the layering

Photo by OLIVIA MATTHEWS

Brothers Coulter and Harrison Desimone work on their art following their return from Utah.

of multiple psychedelic images to create a more harmonic image, doesn’t change overall.

“My favorite part about digital art is that it is a way to clear my head and put my ideas onto a page in an alternative

to writing, which isn’t my strong suit,” Harrison Desimone said.

Also excited by this artistic self expression, Coulter enjoys art because of the creative freedom it offers, something he discovered with the guidance of digi-

and “Blem.” The former is a subdued dancehall track all about how Drake has trust issues in his relationships. “Blem” describes someone under the influence of marijuana, and on the track, Drake claims he’s so high he’ll say exactly what’s on his mind. It’s a skippable lullaby.

The best song on the project is “Portland,” which features Travis Scott and Quavo. It’s the closest thing this release has to a banger as Scott and Quavo continue their streak of great features.

Although it was creative, Drake’s experiment is mediocre. His corny lyrics and endless complaining worsen with each release, so hopefully, instead of focusing on new music styles on his next album, Drake works on his own material. tal art teacher Kristi McAleese.

“I’ve found Photoshop to be an amazing tool that can convey just about anything,” Coulter said. “Ms. Mac is a wonderful teacher and pushes you to create art that you enjoy creating. She doesn’t try to control your art, but allows you to find your own style, then pushes your style and your Photoshop skills to the next level.”

Coulter said that he enjoys the combination of color and emotion that his art can provide. He finds particular success in one of his pieces titled “Equal Under the Sun,” which was selected by NIH as an illustration to promote equal treatment of those with disabilities and for the NIH online catalog. Coulter plans to continue his art education next year at Savannah College of Art and Design.

When the brothers return from Utah, McAleese says she can see a change in their work.

“It’s definitely more concentrated, which is really important in art, because they’re able to sit down for a longer period of time to create their artwork,” she said. “The environment inspires them as well.”