Outlook Official Newspaper of Oakton High School
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Vol. 11
Issue 4
24-25
February 2017
28
Finding a principal
Winter Fashion: Menswear
Views on senioritis
Updates on Oakton’s new leader
Oakton’s popular styles this winter
How teachers react to senioritis photo courtesy of jennifer coon
snailmail
Contents
from the editors
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Dear Oakton,
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t this point in time, we have officially made it to second semester. Third quarter. More than halfway through the year. What a time to be a student at Oakton! One of the most noteworthy things that has happened since our last newsmagazine (published online at oaktonoutlook.com) has been the addition of Cougar Towne. And yes, that is towne, with an “e” (page 13). But what does Oakton’s student body think about this? With larger trailers than we were anticipating, this also comes with serious congestion (page 31). On a more positive note, at least the bathrooms are nice and the “streets” have names. Keeping up with the changes that are happening at Oakton, the new principal selection is still underway. An overview of the process and when we can expect our new principal is definitely valuable information to have (page 3). Like our last issue, we also are proudly portraying Cougar culture and style with our fashion column spread (pages 24 and 25). The crazy weather this winter has kept us all on our toes, from 60 degree weather to scattered snow days, yet some Oakton students keep on rocking their style. Another noteworthy aspect of second semester is the shift in seniors’ attitudes towards school. We can all recognize that senioritis is definitely a thing, but what do teachers think about it, and how do they react (page 28)? Additionally, with seniors noticeably spending less time doing actual schoolwork, we can take a moment to see what some of their plans are and how they are spending this extra free time (page 19). During this cold season, we should also take note of the winter sports that are currently in their postseason (page 12). For Swim & Dive, the Boys team broke two school records at regionals, along with nine swimmers and one diver qualifying for states. Winter Track & Field has a couple of athletes with qualifying times for states and over ten athletes compete at regionals, Wrestling had six boys advance to regionals, Boys Basketball finished first in the district, and Gymnastics had a Bronze finish for the team at districts, with two placing at regionals. That’s all the news we have for now, but make sure to keep on checking oaktonoutlook.com for our more regular stories and updates on what is new around the Oakton community and the rest of the world. We wish you the best of luck with second semester, and the next couple months of 2018!
photo courtesy of devin gardner
Winter sports postseason are in full swing, with Boys Swim and Dive performing well in meets.
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photo courtesy of katherine thompson
The name Cougar Towne remains a mystery to some, find out why it’s named the way it is.
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photo courtesy of lindsey katsaros
Mr. Waxman’s government classes work with Best Buddies
24&25
photo courtesy of ashleigh tain
The Winter Fashion column showcases some of the most popular mens style. Editorial Policy: The Outlook is an open forum
Stay Rowdy, Cougs!
for student expression. Unsigned editorials reflect the collective opinion of the Outlook staff. Signed editorials represent the opinion
Jessica Marshall and Rebecca Woodhouse Editors-in-Chief
of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Outlook or Oakton High School. Reader opinions are important to the Outlook drawing by celia liberace
outlook staff editors in chief
jessica marshall rebecca woodhouse
editorial board
katerina faben ishika jain lindsey katsaros jake neuffer ashleigh tain courtney te katie thompson
adviser
elizabeth snyder
staff writers emily bach brendan bellingham abel berrocal enmanuel checo amy dai lana farkas wendy gao olivia garrone aubrey harrell riya jain sahithi jammulamadaka owen mccarty grace mouzavires
kartik mukalla juvianna mullings sally park emily richardson jacob rutzick zoe sauger zoe siamon ashley shepard clare sparling aneesh sreenivas nathan tankel payton wozny
and contributions are welcome. Make your voice heard by sending us a line about what’s on your mind. Letters to the editor may be sent via e-mail to efsnyder1@fcps.edu, or dropped off in Mrs. Snyder’s box in the main office or in room 135. The Outlook reserves the right to edit submissions for grammar and content provided the meaning remains unchanged.
cover photo by student body: 2500 circulation: 600
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meant to represent every student in Oakton, meaning not all parents will have kids that are in the same grade level. Although students and teachers around the school would like to hear about this, the interviews and meetings are left to be confidential. Tyson does tremendous background checking and resume checking on the principals. People from all over the community were encouraged to send in letters expressing what they would like to see in Oakton’s new principal. The panel will take these letters and do their best in finding the principal that satisfies the criteria in the letters.When the new principal is selected, they would begin working with interim principal Meier in the spring/summer. This is to help the new principal become acquainted, knowledgeable, and familiar with all aspects of Oakton High School. The new principal was supposed to be selected by last June, however a principal of best fit and match for Oakton could not be found and the process was
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Beginning February 20th, candidates for Oakton High School’s new principal will be interviewed by a panel. The panel does its best in representing the community by including three employees, three parents, one student, two people from the school board, and another principal. The three employees and three parents are initially voted on and then narrowed down by Douglas Tyson, the Assistant Superintendent of Region 1. The parents and employees
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d an al d te ncip c i le se pr ing terim put on e b is as in hold until l now. Oakton is ipa iew tentatively supc in f v posed to have a new r p o by June. w int Theprincipal e interim principal does o n p not have to go through the e th er’s same and only are selectw ei ed by Mr.process o Tyson and the superintenH . M dent. This is because interim principals r M are are usually retired so they already
know the job of a principal and have a lot experience. Mr. Meier expresses his thoughts on the new principal. Once Oakton finds their new principal, Mr. Meier’s plan for the future is to continue to be an interim principal for other schools. Reflecting on the twelve schools he had been an interim principal for, he enjoys his job so much that he does not want to discontinue. After retiring, he still came back to be a principal because he wanted to be around students. His father told him, “do something you enjoy, worst thing in the world is to hate getting up and going to work.” Mr. Meier proudly expresses that this never applied to him. He hopes that Oakton will continue Project Based Learning(POL) and Capstone projects. After being to so many schools, he knows that this is a really unique thing to Oakton and should be continued. Once his job is over at Oakton, he says that he will miss the energy, excitement, and motivation to learn as well as the pride the students have. He feels the students at Oakton have a lot of willingness to be flexible, especially with the renovation, and admires them for adjusting a lot.
riya jain staff writer
february 2018
news
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A movie with a cause
zoe siamon staff writer
Why Touching Heart is important to the community, and details on an upcoming event
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veryone is born with a natural dents who attend meeting with the older desire to help others, a little bit of board. “Younger volunteers are not valbenevolence that lives within you. ued any less than adults, in fact Touching The issue is, not many people are exposed Heart primarily seeks out young volunto this desire. Some lock it away or never teers to create events,” said Abby Cortez, make an effort to give their time or ener9. gy to those who need it. Touching Heart On March ninth, 6:30 PM at Reston is a charity organization that concenTown Center Bow Tie Theatre, Touching trates on bringing out the natural philanHeart is hosting a movie event, screenthropist in everyone, starting at a young ing A Wrinkle in Time. The profits of this age. Volunteers are given the opportunity event will go towards starting a “Schools to run events they are passionate about on a Mission” club at elementary schools while gaining real world that cannot afford to open one themexperience. selves. “Through While this may not seem like a “Altruism, or Touching Heart, very necessary cause to donate unselfish concern, you actually get money to, raising money for the exposure, elementary schools to start a isn’t exactly someyou’re really Heart club is incredithing that’s taught, it’s Touching learning about bly important. If these elemenwhat the something that you learn tary schools can start teaching needs are in their kids to be kind and charithrough your comtable at a young age, the impact munity, and it could have on our community experience .” internationally. is massive. “Touching Heart itself You get to see the is a charity aimed at young people. direct impact,” said The mission as a whole is to teach the Sam Deur, a program young community about giving back and manager who works with why it is so important,” said Cortez. If Touching Heart as a Kids on a Mission kids are able to start learning and underProgram Manager. She works with kids standing the joys of humanitarianism at and teens to help them plan and run a young age, their future character will be events. These events range widely from so vastly improved. ice skating to galas, all depending on “At a young age, we want to teach the what the kids in charge are interested or future of America and the world that you passionate about. “They’re really doing can make a difference in the lives of othan event that they have passion for, and ers and that you should never stop doing then they get to watch how that helps it.” said Deur. There will always be peoother kids,” said Deur. ple in need. However, if Touching Heart There are large leadership roles given continues to inspire the adolescent age to at a young age, including the junior give, and to never stop giving, we are just board. This is a board of a select few stuthat much closer to a better world.
-Sam Deur
4 news february 2018
Who: Touching Heart, a charity that focuses on the participation of children and teenagers What: “A Wrinkle in Time” movie event hosted by Touching Heart When: March 9th at 6:30 PM Where: Reston Town Center, Bow Tie Cinema Why: To raise money for elementary schools to fund a Schools on a Mission club
MOCAT project
A project to end teenage stereotyping
kalina boshkovska staff writer
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OCAT? What’s that? A cat? No, the MOCAT (Museum Of Contemporary American Teenager) is actually a project that brings students and adults alike together to better understand one another. In December, there was a brief opening of a museum in Bethesda Chevy Chase High School, where students got to design, paint, and create a piece that would be featured. The overarching idea was to show adults the life of a teenager from a student’s perspective in order to combat stereotypes made by our parents and adults in our life. So why should we know about this? Well, high schools are trying to focus on project based learning, and our English teachers have all been to training to learn about how to pursue that. During this training, “the English 10 faculty developed this project, that when first developed was called ‘the many voices of Oakton’ project, we knew we wanted to give you all a voice and refuse to be stereotyped and get multiple perspectives on what being an Oakton High School student is like,” said Mrs. Katherine Hovanec, an English 10 teacher at Oakton High School. This project was introduced briefly in many English classes this year, however while the project was being introduced, the MOCAT project created by Bethesda Chevy Chase High School became popular due to it being a museum with art pieces made entirely by students who expressed themselves any way they liked. “We were inspired by this project, and we reached out to the teacher, Mr. Lopelato, and said we wanted to collaborate with him in the future.” Mrs. Hovanec. This is when English classes began to implement the idea of creating a physical presentation about something they are passionate about, something to voice their opinion with. Presentations will be held during classes on Tuesday (2/13/2018) in front of teachers.
This project was introduced this year, but there is hope that next year this project can be taken to the next level by possibly opening up the museum again and having students from Oakton High School display their art. Hopefully the rising sophomores will get this opportunity to express themselves through art and ultimately eliminate the stereotype made by adults who criticize teenagers for always being on their phone, or thinking that they have it easy because they’re young.
The display will include interactive project such as some where many will be able to vote about what social medias impact you most or some where you will have to write something you love about yourself and something you do not. There will also be displays of memes in the meme center right outside of room 228; along with these there will be art pieces such as paintings and small sculptures that all display the opinions and beliefs of teenagers at Oakton High School. Each piece of art has its own value and meaning both to the creator and to the viewer. Hopefully we can all relate to each piece and appreciate the art that Oakton students are capable of making.
February 2018
News
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Digging deeper into The Center
lana farkas staff writer
Answering questions about the free peer-tutoring program and the services The Center provides with Ms. Lin, one of the directors.
First off, what can you say about The Center in general?
“This elective definitely gives students a lot of leadership opportunities which in general, I think, looks better than taking another AP course. I’m able to write many great recommendations because I know whow students work with other teachers and students, and it’s basically like running a little business. You can really see the students grow as leaders and as learners, so not only are they helping others, but they’re really building their leadership skills.”
How are tutor-a-thons beneficial for all students? ”I really just love the idea of an all-subject tutoring center where peers are the ones who get to do the tutoring, and one of my favorite parts of the job is just seeing tutors and student managers grow as individuals and improve their leadership skills. I think it’s important for students to know that they shouldn’t be afraid of asking for help in any way because getting help is a normal part of life and it’s crucial to everyone’s learning and growth.”
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“The center should be a safe, comfortable learning space for students to come and collaborate with peer tutors. The main goal of the center is to establish that it’s okay to ask for help, and we hope to encourage this ideal by making a kind and friendly environment for students to learn from each other.”
What are some benefits for students who choose to join the Center? ”There are many opportunities for students to be tutored such as the tutor-a-thon, peer-to-peer-tutoring, lunches, and cougar time. Also, we are starting to collaborate with other 5th period classes, so the tutors get to help other students edit their essays or study on review days for upcoming tests. I think The Center allows students to realize that study groups are really beneficial because when students get to college, it’s very common for students to get together with other classmates to study or work on a project.”
Why did you want to be a part of the Center?
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he course Combating Intolerance is making its debut next year at Oakton. Combining a unique twist of history, discussion and outreach, this history elective is unlike any other course offered at Oakton. This unconventional class is ready to make its mark. Mrs. Insanally, who will be leading the course, has provided the inside scoop.
The class’s history
Combating Intolerance has been a course in Fairfax County schools for decades. Madison has provided the class since 1994. However, Oakton has just now joined in. Insanally is eager to be begin to program at Oakton. “I think that its long overdue. Especially with our changing demographics.” Across the country, the course is known by few. On the other hand, Combating Intolerance is picking up more attention in Fairfax County and other schools may begin to host the class as well.
A new way of learning
You may be wondering, what exactly do you do in Combating Intolerance? To begin with, it is not your normal history class. According to Mrs. Insanally, “It’s like a two-fold thing. One, it introduces students to the concept of tolerance and intolerance. What that is, what that looks like, what it has been in our past, and what it is today. The second component is sort of like a community service component because we are going to be talking about, creating, designing ways to transfer that knowledge to the Oakton community. And I’m hoping, I don’t know if we will do it the first year, but hopefully, to the community at large. Just like a awareness campaign kind of thing.” Insanally hopes that this community outreach aspect of the class will trans-
form the students into a strong community as they will be fighting for the same issue. Another unique feature of the class is that is very student directed. Insanally explained, “There are several topics too. We may or may not address all of them. I am going to leave it up to the students to decide which ones they want to focus on and delve into. It is a very student centered class. It is really student led student directed in terms of how they want to communicate this information.” Although there will be a few lectures in regards to the history aspects of the class, it is really up to the students to decide what they want to discuss and what they want to their information. The topics include but are not limited to: ability, age, bias, prejudice, stereotyping, body image, discrimination, bullying, gender, genocide, hate crimes, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status. Additionally a large focus of the class will be outreach and developing real life skills. Insanally notes, “I am looking mostly from the kids in the class to develop tools strategies techniques with how to address intolerance. What is the best way to go about combating intolerance. I want them to figure out what that actually looks like and feel like. And maybe learn somethings about people who are intolerant.” The class strives to create a community of learners, develop self awareness and
awareness of others, examine the roots and effects of intolerance, create an awareness of intolerance, and develop oral and written communication skills. This class essentially provides you with the skills needed to apply your knowledge to the outside community.
Is this class for you?
Combating Intolerance is open to all juniors and seniors as an elective. Although anyone can join, Insanally highlights the type of student the class is especially suited for, “This class is perfect for those who have themselves experienced intolerance. Sometimes when you are on the receiving end of it it tends to shut you down. And I think that understanding where it comes from, why it develops, helps deal with that negative experience. And it’s also for the kids who feel strongly about equality, diversity, and fairness. If you feel strongly about those three things, then this class is perfect for you.” Additionally, she stresses that those who are connected to these issues will help create the type of community this class attempts to foster. If you are passionate or looking to deepen your understanding on these issues then be sure to sign up for Combating Intolerance. It will provide you with a community of like minded individuals and an unique opportunity. Mrs. Insanally is excited to explore these concepts with you and your soon to be fellow peers.
clare sparling staff writer
A closer look at Oakton’s new class
february 2018
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A warm welcoming and a sorrow goodbye A look at Oakton’s new and retiring teachers
katarina faben editorial board
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ith the start of the third quarter comes the beginning of student decision making, as they work to figure out their schedules for next school year, and possible future majors. Although this is a stressful time for everyone alike, teachers are also working to make decisions that will change the course of their career; entering and leaving their jobs. Dig deeper into teacher’s lifestyles as we explore two teachers, Ms. Irizarry-Vaughan and Ms. Doshireh.
Ms. Shiva’s Introduction to Oakton
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s. Doshireh is a new teacher at Oakton High School for the 2017-2018 school year. She is an Algebra 2 teacher who is very passionate about math and helping her students understand the class content. Her motivation to becoming a teacher was working to ease students through math problems, as she enjoys the result of the drive and motivation students exhibit. She remarks, “I really like the subject math, and seeing students faces light up when they understood it, and I wanted to make sure everyone felt that way. I decided that being a teacher was the best way to do it.” Ms. Doshireh has been having a great time teaching at Oakton thus far, as she is strives to do what is best for both herself and her students on a daily basis. She feels like a teacher’s responsibilities differ from other occupations in that the job is centered around helping others before yourself.
A Farewell to Ms. Irizarry
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s. Irizarry- Vaughan is one of Oakton’s retiring teachers for the 20182019 school year. After teaching for almost forty five years, she feels like it is the right time for her to focus on things she has always wanted to do, including spending more time with her husband and traveling. After retiring, Ms. Irizarry plans to relocate to Spain. Her favorite memory at Oakton was spending time with the students and her fellow staff members. She reminisces, “The students are fantastic, they make my day every single day. My coworkers are very professional and educated. “ Her favorite school-wide activity is the exposition of learning, as she feels like it is a great event to educate both students and teachers about student’s passions and interests. “I love the exposition of learning, it challenged me a lot and I have learned so much from Oakton High School.”
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sports Oakton dance team travels to Nationals to get seventh in kick and thirteenth in pom while in Orlando, FL
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ows straightened, hair buns up high, and smiles bright, the Oakton Dance Team is ready to compete at the UDA Dance Team Championship in Orlando, Florida for Nationals. Their preparation has been much more than they put-together appearance they show while on the stage in front of the judges. The production started back in July, when the team started learning the routine for Nationals. Sophia Applegate, senior and conditioning captain, stated, “We practice in the fall while also learning football routines, and then December hits and it’s just go, go, go,”. With practices often over the weekend and brutal conditioning workouts, the dancers continue to become more prepared. Drilling, cardio, endurance, and running the routine over and over are parts of the key to success.
It was a mess. We were all crying, and it was crazy to make it to double finals. - Sophia Applegate
As part of the competition, the dancers perform their routine in front of judges. This year, Oakton Dance Team got seventh in kick and thirteenth in pom, which is one of the best years in their history. When the team got their final scores, “It was a mess. We were all crying, and it was crazy to make it to double finals,” said Applegate. To compete in kick, the team had to make it past semi finals to finals, going against about 28 teams. For pom, the level of competition was even higher with more teams competing, so to make it to finals Oakton’s Dance Team first had to make it past prelims and semifinals, which is equivalent to about 56 teams to compete against. Last year, Oakton’s Dance Team made it to semis for pom and was the last team to not make it into finals, but going into this season, “our entire goal was to make it to double finals,
photos courtesy of Sophia Applegate
and we reached that goal,” Applegate said. But what was it like to be in Disney World? For one thing, it wasn’t all fun and games in the park. The team arrived in Orlando Thursday evening and spent some time at the park, but then for the next three days their schedule was packed with practicing and competing. Disney World created a new venue for dance and cheer that was used for the competition, which added to the thrill of the weekend. Throughout the weekend, the team also had to work with the roller coaster of emotions that come with preparing to perform on a national stage. Since they were so successful with the competition, the team didn’t make it to the rides on Sunday night. “Normally we go Sunday night, but because we were in pom and kick finals, which went until 11:15 and the late-night park is only open until 2 we didn’t end up going on any of the rides, but honestly it was fine because I was exhausted and we had made it to double finals instead,” Applegate said. However, just being at Disney and the atmosphere surrounding the place, “is just really fun,” Applegate said. One thing that makes the Oakton Dance Team stand out is how unified they are. In addition to the judges recognizing their synchronization and working together as a team, they can tell by the trust and friendships that the team has. It does help being together for so much time for the seven months leading up to the competition, but there is still a difference between competing to win and competing to win with friends. While some teams were there just to be serious and only dance and aren’t really friends, Applegate said, “Our team really has so much love for each other. Before we perform we always circle up to hold hands and encourage each other. Besides the anxiety we all had for performing, there was also the love and joy of being together on the stage that made it really special,”. Even compared to previous years, “This is the best year I’ve been on the Oakton dance team, because we are so close and tight-knit. Sure we have our spats, but we spend so much time together and so we are so much closer,” Applegate said. The bond the Oakton Dance Team has is apparent through the successful season they have had. Congrats to Oakton Dance Team for doing so well at Nationals!
rebecca woodhouse editor-in-chief
february 2018
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The Eagles soar to victory
The Philadelphia Eagles win their first Super Bowl in franchise history
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he fifty second Super Bowl was the classic underdog story. The Philadelphia Eagles were expected to go far into the playoffs. Week ten marked a great win for Carson Wentz’s number one seeded Eagles. Wentz had gone back to the locker room near the end of the game but at the time no one thought it was serious. About an hour after the game, every Eagles fan was heartbroken. Carson Wentz had torn his ACL and his season was over. After that, no one thought that back up Nick Foles could lead the Eagles anywhere. Foles played mediocre during the end of the regular season, and the Eagles held onto the number one seed. Foles played well against the Falcons and great against the Vikings. The Eagles were underdogs in both those games and then the Superbowl came around. No one gave the Eagles the chance and everyone said that Tom Brady and the Patriots would destroy the Eagles. The first half of the super bowl was very exciting. The story of the beginning half was missed kicks. The Eagles missed an extra point and the Patriots missed a field goal and an extra point. The Eagles scored a touchdown early with a great throw by Nick Foles to Alshon Jeffery. At that moment, Eagles fan started to believe they could win. The Eagles led the patriots sixteen to twelve with thirty seconds left. They were on the Patriots four yard line. The Eagles did a direct snap to the running back who pitched to an ex-quarterback turned receiver, Trey Burton, threw a touchdown pass to Nick Foles. The half ended with great momentum for the Eagles. Up ten points going into the second half, the Eagles were in good position, but when going against Tom Brady no lead is safe. The Patriots started to make a come back. They scored fourteen points in the third quarter, and the Eagles only scored one touchdown with a Legarrette Blount run. The Eagles
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were barely holding onto their lead. Then the fourth quarter rolled around and the Patriots had all the momentum. The Pats used this momentum to take the lead early in the fourth, but the Eagles were fighters. They drove down the field and scored a touchdown from Foles to tight end Zach Ertz. With two minutes thirty seconds, the Patriots with Tom Brady had all the time in the world. Then Brandon Graham got to Brady for the first time all game. He strip sacked him and the Eagles recovered the fumble. The Eagles ran out the clock and kicked a field goal. The Patriots got the ball back down eight with forty seconds left. Brady drove down to his own forty. Then he threw a hail mary to end the game. Gronkowski was there along with five Eagles. There was a jump ball and the Eagles swatted it to win the game. Nick Foles won super bowl MVP cementing his story as one of the great comebacks of all time. Foles considered quitting football a year and a half ago. Now he is a world champion. The Eagles won their first championship in franchise history. No one would have thought Nick Foles would be the one to do it. Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb and many other great quarterbacks have put on the Eagles uniform. None of them got over the championship hump, but back up Nick Foles did. Foles future is going to be very bright, there are many teams that would love to have the reigning super bowl most valuable player. Foles has a large trade value and the Eagles should capitalize and trade Foles sooner rather than later. Eagles fan, Surfael Feesha (12), says that Nick is a great quarterback, but the team is still Wentz’s. He expects him to be traded this offseason for draft picks.. Even after he is gone, the story of Nick Foles and the improbable super bowl run will remain a Philadelphia legend for years to come.
nathan tankel staff writer
jacob rutzwick staff writer
photo courtesy of Jeffrey Beall
photo courtesy of Matthew Straubmiller
photo courtesy of Keith Allison
All you need to know about the 2018 Winter Olympics The low-down on athletes to root for, political tensions between countries, and everything in between
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n February 7, the 2018 Winter Olympics commenced in PyeongChang, South Korea. What’s to be expected as nations come together to compete for glory in this unifying event? Will the event still garner a respectful amount of viewers? Will the current tensions between countries, particularly North Korea, seep its way into the Olympic coverage? We can only tune in to find out. 15 sports will be competed in, the most popular being snowboarding, figure skating, freestyle skiing, alpine skiing, speed skating, ice hockey and luge. Stars to expect Part of the spirit and excitement of the Olympics is having someone to root for. Of course, you can always just root for a particular country, but knowing the athletes competing just adds to the overall experience of this infamous event. When asked who she was most excited to watch, Winter Olympics, local Kathie Wilson stated,“I’ll be watching women’s speed skating to watch Maame Biney. She’s the first African American woman to qualify for the American speed skating team and she’s from south lakes high school, really close by to us.” 17-year-old Maame Biney is said to be the United State’s best bet to win the 500 meter in speed skating, her immense skill shown in the fact that her time at trials for the 500 meter was only eight-tenths of a second off the world record. Another star many peoples’ eyes will be on is Shaun White. Even those not well acquainted with athletes have probably heard Shaun’s name brought up at one point in their life. After a rough loss at the Sochi
Olympics in 2014, Shaun White, now 27, has since been working harder than ever to prepare for this year’s Olympics. Despite his recent facial injury on the slopes that required 62 stitches and physical therapy, Shaun White remains determined as ever to win gold and has persevered in his training and qualified for the Olympics with his perfect score at Snowmass. Olympic Popularity Considering the Olympics is such a historic and infamous event, it only makes sense that it garners an immense amount of people tuning in to
watch;however, recent Olympics have seen a decrease in viewers. According to Nielsen Total Audience data, the twohour-and-forty-five-minute broadcast averaged 17.2 million viewers and a 9.7 household rating. This marks a 14 percent decline from the 20 million viewers and 11.3 household rating NBC notched during the first night of the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Despite this, the Olympics still racks in million of views, and for the time being remains an iconic event. Some sports gather in more of an audience than others. The popularity of each Olympic sport is widely different depending on the country. According to data from Google, hockey (closely followed by figure skating) is the most watched sport in America and Canada, while in
Total Winter Olympic gold medals won by countries
others bobsleighing, curling and snowboarding are much more likely to dominate the TV screens.
Norway
Tension Between Nations Considering recent conflicts between America and other countries, most notably North Korea, it stands to reason that there could be tension at the Olympics. North Korea’s presence at PyeongChang has caused controversy among many, with some saying that the country doesn’t have the right to compete amid tensions among many Asian countries, as well as America. When asked if he thinks North Korea should be allowed to participate, local John Wilson replied “Yes, definitely. Politics shouldn’t punish the athletes.” Tension between North Korea and America became especially obvious when you observe American Vice President, Mike Pence’s reaction to North Korea and South Korea athletes came out together united as one in a touching sign of peace at the opening ceremony. Instead of rising and clapping like all representatives around him, he instead chose to remain seated with a stoic expression on his face. Another gesture that displays the current attitude towards North Korea from America’s administration is the fact that Fred Warmbier, father of Otto Warmbier whose death was ultimately caused by North Korea’s harsh military abuse, was invited to attend the games. Whether there will be anymore fallout or passive aggressive gestures from America to North Korea or vice versa is undetermined, but there is a chance.
aubrey harrell staff writer
118 USA
96 Germany
78 Canada
62 Austria
59 *not including 2018
february 2018
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Pouncing into postseason
owen mccarty arthur kennington staff writer staff writer
A recap of a few of the winter sports at Oakton
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ith the winter season coming to and end, we reflect as supporters on a regular season for Oakton’s winter sports teams, and go into the postseason period. Some teams that are looking strong in postseason include Boys and Girls swim and dive, and Oakton’s Boys and Girls Track and Field teams. The gymnastics and wrestling team have also been performing well. Oakton Swim is having a extraordinary season as a whole. The Boys Swim Team had a regular season record of 5-2 and the girls with a record of 6-1. The hype for playoffs was evident behind the scenes for both teams as members got together to mentally lock in and even have some fun. Some members decided to cut each other’s hair before districts, all in efforts to create that special bond before playoffs. Senior Swimmer and Captain Devin Gardner was eager to reclaim his playoff success that he had achieved last year with his team. Gardener said “The Boys and Girls teams had a phenomenal season,” showing his confidence in his team of a mix of all grade levels. One of the major highlights in the season was in the 200 Medley relay where the Cougars beat rival team Madison in the District Final. This was a huge victory and with it came history. The 200 Medley relay beat broke a school record and got All-American athlete status in the regional finals. Freshman Anthony Grimm had an outstanding swim in the 100 meter fly and backstroke, and Junior Daniel Gyenis had very tough swims in the 500 and 200 free. “I am looking forward to wearing the Swim Team states jacket for a second year in a row, and leading the 200 medley relay to victory in states as Boys captain” says Gardener. Oakton Swim will look to represent the burgundy and gold at states once again and bring back another set of rings to showcase. Boys Track and Field have had their ups and down as the season has progressed. With the majority of the team being underclassmen, the few seniors that remained had to step up for the team. At the Concorde District Championships, Oakton were prepared to show that they were still one of the strongest track programs in the District. However at the end of the two day meet, the team did not finish as well as they planned. The team placed 5th, but there were many standout individual performances from the runners. Sophomore, Lucas Banerji finished 6th in the 500 meter and 5th in the 1000 meter run, earning himself a place in the regional meet. Juniors Danny Morales and Scott Sullivan also earned themselves a spot in the regional meet with Danny finishing 4th in the 1000 meter run and Scott finishing 3rd in the 1600 meter run. Sullivan also finished 4th in the 3200 meter race, completing his impressive double of top 4 finishes at the district meet. Another noteworthy performance was freshman Bryce Buttrey finishing
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8th out of 14 runners in his first district experience. He is one of the many signs that Oakton not only has a shining present but a bright future. Oakton’s 4 by 400 meter relay finished second and earned antihero spot for the Cougars in the regional meet. Senior Ahmed Hassan, who is a member of the relay team, said, “our team was just really determined to show what we are made of”. The relay only lost to Chantilly by one second and Hassan said, “We know we can do better and at regions we want to make an even bigger statement.” The Girls Track and Field team also had a strong performance at the district meet and finished in 4th place as a team. Similarly to the Boys, the Girls team had fewer overall athletes in the competition compared to other teams, therefore the individual results are more telling of how well the ladies performed, rather than the team’s placing. Freshman Juviannadean Mullings finished 3rd in the 55 meter dash finals. Mullings finished 6th in the preliminary race but was then able to move up into 3rd place for the final. The seniors showed their strength by finishing 3rd through 5th in the 1000 meter run. Seniors Kira Buttrey, Rachel Green, and Mandy Odom will all race at the regional meet following their performance. Oakton also had a great showing in the 1600 meter run with sophomore Katya Lebert finishing 3rd and senior Gaby Katz finishing 5th, placing into the regional meet. Senior Gaby Katz said, “I was happy with how I ran at districts but I know I can run better and will do my best to improve at regions.” Sophomore Katya Lebert followed up on her performance in the mile by finishing 2nd in the 3200 meter run. This is one of the most challenging doubles that a runner can do at a meet, and as a sophomore this was a massive performance. Seniors Mandy Odom and Joanna Moffit also finished top six in the 3200 and earned their places in the region meet. These standout individuals will be moving onto regions with their minds set on improving their times in hope of making the state meet. Oakton Boys Basketball is coming off an impressive regular season in which they finished first in the district. Senior Tommy Mahieu says the team is looking good despite coming off a tough loss to end the regular season against rivals Madison. The team heads into the district tournament with no major injuries to any of their players. The Cougars will play Chantilly in the district semi-final but have already earned a place in regionals. Their regional opponent will be determined after the conclusion of the district tournament. Mahieu believes that the team is strong enough to make it far this postseason but says the team has its focus set on winning the district right now. “A district win would be huge for us, but we are focusing on one game at a time for now” said Mahieu. Seniors Braeden Johnson and Jake Digby
received first team all district honors with Junior Micah Johnson receiving second team all district. Seniors Charlie Smith and Jonah Schultz were defensive first team all district. This team is one of the strongest that Oakton has seen in a long time and with the scoring ability and leadership of seniors Braden Johnson and Jake Digby, the team is poised to make a run deep in the postseason. Oakton Girls basketball finished off the season with a 11-11 record and were poised to prove that their regular season record did not represent their talent. Girls Basketball has historically been one of Oakton’s most successful programs. With Coach Fred Priester at the helm, the team is always prepared to perform at the highest level. The four seniors on the team have been on numerous playoff runs with the past teams and coming off a loss in the state final, they are determined to finish off their high school careers with a trophy. With three freshmen on the team, this playoff run will add invaluable experience for future postseason appearances. The Cougars blew out Chantilly 46-28 in the first round of districts and play Westfield next in the semi-finals. Westfield have beaten Oakton in their previous two meetings this season but the team will look to bounce back and make it to the district final.
photo courtesy of Luis Acosta
photo courtesy of Tommy Mahieu
february 2018 photo courtesy of Devin Gardner
indepth
Finding the ‘e’ in Cougar Towne How did Cougar Towne get its name, and its mysterious ‘e?’ jake neuffer editorial board
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e need to talk about the elephant in the room: why is there an ‘e’ at the end of “Cougar Towne?” It can’t be a typo; my spellcheck is screaming at me even as I type this. It also can’t just be a case of borrowing some spelling from across the pond (like with the infamous “shoppe”); there hasn’t been an ‘e’ in the word “town” since Shakespeare was writing plays, not even in England. So why has this new fixture of Oakton life picked up a seemingly useless letter? According to an interview with a teacher, who requested anonymity, a surprising amount of thought went into naming Cougar Towne. “Originally, a lot of us wanted to call it something like ‘Cougar Cottages’ or ‘The Cougar Court,’” he said. “One of us eventually started calling it ‘Cougar Town,’ though, and that name spread like fire.” Cougar Town is a reference to an early 2000’s sitcom by the same name. First airing on ABC, the show took place in the fictional town of Gulfhaven, Florida. The school mascot for Gulfhaven high school was, fittingly, a cougar. Courtney Cox (yes, the same actress who played Monica on Friends) was the real cougar of the story, though. The show followed her adventures with her son, ex-husband, and alcoholic friends as she chased young men. She also somehow got nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in this show. There was some initial push back to this new name. Some staff members didn’t think “Cougar Town” was an appropriate name for the new area. As a solution, an ‘e’ was added to the end of the name to differentiate it, and that was that. Cougar Towne was born. So where do we go from here, now that Oakton’s destiny has been intertwined with this masterpiece of early 2000’s comedy. Do we continue down this dark path and turn every Oakton location into some homage to early 2000’s media? Or do we take this lesson in stride and, as an institution, try to do better? Will we push back against the waves which perpetually endeavor to carry us into oblivion, or do we blossom as a community? Only time will tell.
february 2018
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From students to employees: Cougars join the working world Money doesn’t grow on trees -- many students at Oakton, especially second semester seniors, are getting jobs and working hard to make money on their own. Angela Mecca (12) has been a nanny for her two children for almost three years, after her neighbor contacted her to babysit regularly throughout the school year while the parents are at work. Mecca knew that she wanted to make enough money to be able to travel the next summer, but she didn’t know how, so when she was contacted to be a nanny, it was the perfect opportunity. She works two to three days a week from 4:00 to 8:30 p.m., in addition to occasionally babysitting for families in the neighborhood. A typical day consists of picking the kids up from the bus stop, helping them with their homework, and cooking dinner. Some other fun activities include baking, having a tea party, watching a movie, playing outside, or going fishing at a nearby pond when it is warm. One bonus of being a nanny is that she is able to do her own homework while the kids do theirs - she does not have to wait until she gets home at night to do work. Finding the balance of being a friend and caregiver can sometimes be a difficult aspect of the job. “I like to be a ‘big sister’ to them, but I also have to remember that I am responsible for taking care of them”, said Mecca. “People sometimes think that it is the easiest job, but it really isn’t… it means you are their cook, their maid, their teacher, and their role model all at the same time”, she added. Despite this, Mecca is so thankful that she found this job a couple years ago and she loves spending time with the two kids, being more than just a babysitter -- also being their friend and “big sister”. “It makes me so happy to see that I make an impact on their lives”, said Mecca. The older child even wrote her Bah Mitzvah speech about how much Mecca has changed her life for the better! To all students looking for babysitting jobs -- before you do, Mecca recommends taking a class to learn the ropes of the process. The American Academy of Pediatrics often sponsors classes at the Herndon Community Center (Herndon, VA), where experienced professionals teach participants how to change diapers, do the Heimlich, keep watch for poisonous substances, and questions to ask before babysitting (allergies, fears, things they can do on their own).
indepth february 2018
sally park staff writer
Babysitter
Chloe Dearman (12) has worked at Mathnasium of Fairfax for two years. She heard about the center through adults and teachers, so she went to their website and decided to contact the owner. They requested that she send in her resume, come in for an interview, and take a test to assess her math skills. After analyzing her test scores and personality traits, they quickly offered her a job of being a tutor to elementary through middle school aged children. Dearman works at Mathnasium about three times a week for four hours per shift. This is a convenient location for her, living only ten minutes away. “My manager is really flexible when I need to alter my schedule and hours for the week based on school and other activities, so I usually have a manageable time balancing everything”, said Dearman. It can be tiring, however, tutoring three to four students at a time, helping them with homework, practice problems, or test reviews. Although it can be challenging making sure the students stay focused and positive, she definitely loves working with kids and being able to see them grow and have more confidence in themselves throughout their time at Mathnasium. “It’s really nice to have my own income and be able to support myself financially with things that I want to do”, she added.
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jessica marshall editor-in-chief
Math tutor
photo courtesy of angela mecca
Are you prepared for a part time job?
Before you start your search for a part time job, ask yourself these questions: 1) Am I willing to give up my free time? 2) How will I ensure that I can balance all my extracurricular activities, school work, responsibilities, and this job? 3) Am I able and willing to commit my time and effort? 4) Do I have a method of accessible transportation? 5) How might this job impact my everyday life?
45%
have a job
55%
do not have a job * statistics based on a survey conducted with 136 Oakton students
Sales associate Yousif Ahmad (11) is currently working as a Sales Associate at Journeys at Fair Oaks Mall, a popular name-brand shoe store. He had previous work experience at McDonald’s but decided to quit because of the better working conditions and kinder customers that Journeys is willing to offer. He first got a job because of how it teaches him responsibility and patience with customers. The money will also help him pay for his college tuition and prevent him from asking his parents for money. Ahmad works around six hours on some school days and eight hours on weekends. He gets paid the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and a commission. Some negatives that he faces as a working high schooler includes being exhausted after busy day of school and work. Ahmad works around two to six days a week, so he often doesn’t have a rest day because of his hectic schedule. When he first got the job at Journey’s, he felt pressured to work hard so he didn’t have to go back to work at McDonald’s.
photo courtesy of yousif ahmad
Hostess
Sarah Berlin (12), has been a hostess at Red’s Table in Reston for a year and a half. Although she has held other jobs in the past, this is the first serious one, where she has had to pay taxes. Berlin works about three to four nights per week with long shifts, ranging from 3:30 to 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. It is, however, convenient to get to and from work quickly, as she lives less than ten minutes away from the restaurant. Berlin began the job search about a year and a half ago, by stopping at multiple restaurants and giving the managers her resume and personal information. Red’s Table was the first place to call her back for an interview, and she started training the following day. As a hostess, her job is to seat customers and basically just ensure that they are having a good experience. Even though Berlin has long hours and it seems stressful managing her time, she is actually able to get some homework accomplished at the hostess stand. She has been there for long enough that her coworkers trust that she can still do her job and multi task, especially since it is a chill, family-owned restaurant, and their busiest days are only Fridays and Saturdays (when Berlin doesn’t necessarily need to be studying). Starting a new job can be difficult, but don’t let the nerves of the first few days scare you away. When Berlin began as a hostess, she was overwhelmed, but she was determined to stick with it, and within a couple of days, tasks became more natural. “If you feel like you aren’t very confident going into your job, just know that the first four or five days are not going to be the defining experience of your career there. When you enter something new, you aren’t going to have the whole skill set. My best advice would be to act confident, ask questions, and work hard, and eventually things will just come naturally”, said Berlin.
february 2018
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Sexual assault: an anonymous column “I think one of the hardest things about dealing with sexual assault is that nobody talks about it. It’s such a stigmatized topic that I felt like even if I wanted to talk about it, I didn’t know how to.”
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n the wake of the Me Too and Times Up movement, thousands of women have come forward to share their stories of sexual assault. The topic has long existed aside intense stigmatization, which often made it difficult for victims to discuss their experiences without fear of retribution. However, movements like Me Too have begun to empower women to share their stories regardless, most notably within Hollywood, but also within our own school. I interviewed a victim of sexual assault at Oakton, who for the purpose of this article chose to stay anonymous, but nonetheless wanted her story to be heard. Q: Do you feel comfortable describing the events that occurred that night? A: Yes. Everything started out slow. At first I was really confused what was happening. I guess that’s probably the best way to describe it; I was confused. As it kept happening I kept wondering why it was happening to me. It just didn’t feel real, almost like an out of body experience. I don’t want to get into too much detail about the specifics, but I guess the best way that I can describe what happened is to say that it was a complete shock, and
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even when I was experiencing it I couldn’t believe what was happening. Q: What happened after your assault? A: For a while I stayed silent. I wasn’t really sure who I was supposed to talk to, if I should talk to anyone, or even if they’d believe me. Seeing it now I wish I had said something earlier, but I think a part of me was so scared that I was going to be rejected for it that I didn’t even bother to try. Q: Why do you think you felt that way? A: In the end, it comes back to that nobody ever told me what I was supposed to do. I think one of the hardest things about dealing with sexual assault is that nobody talks about it. It’s such a stigmatized topic that I felt like even if I wanted to talk about it, I didn’t know how to. I had heard about how to prevent it, but I never really felt like anyone taught me what I was supposed to say, who I was supposed to say it to, and when I was supposed to talk. I explained what happened to someone a few months later, but for a while I was mostly on my own. Q: If you didn’t speak to someone for months, how did you cope with the events from that night? A: I dealt with it in my head. I’d replay the
emily bach staff writer
events of that night over and over, hoping somehow it would give me clarity. As I’m sure you can imagine, it didn’t. But, I didn’t know what else to do. I think in some sense that’s my own fault. I think part of me didn’t want to go looking for people to talk to because it was too painful, but I don’t think it’s just on me either. I wish there was more of an emphasis on what people should do in these situations that aren’t celebrities. As much as I’d love to send a tweet that exposes the night, that probably wouldn’t make any real change in my life. Q: What impact did dealing with everything alone have on you? A: It took me a while to recover from. I didn’t trust people for a really long time, and since I waited so long to tell anyone, I spent a long time blaming myself for it. I think that’s probably the biggest thing I hope people take away from this, that you need to tell someone. I was really embarrassed and scared, but looking back I wish I had said something earlier. It would have made this a lot less messy. Q: Do you have anything you want to say to victims of sexual assault within your community? A: Please recognize that it gets better. For me, it didn’t seem like it would for a really long time, but it will. You’ll learn a lot about yourself, a lot of stuff I didn’t really want to know I realized, but I think it’s actually grown me as a person. But, I think the experience is really different for everyone too. You can’t really compare your feelings to someone else as much as you’d like to, because obviously the connections are different and so is the experience. Also, please know that the sooner you tell someone the sooner you can start to recover. Even if you just talk to a parent or friend, it’s so important that you don’t go through the process alone like I did. Telling my mom was like lifting a weight off of my shoulders. I know that it can seem terrifying, but I promise, as someone who’s lived it, it’s the only way to fully recover. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, please strongly consider speaking to a school counselor or visiting rainn.org. RAINN runs a 24 hour hot line that will connect you to a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area at 800.656.HOPE (4673).
Is Apple really slowing your iPhone?
brendan bellingham staff writer
Battery degradation linked to iPhone processor throttling
photos courtesy of RestoreHub/DIgiFloor
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ou’d have to be living under a rock since early December to not have heard the iPhone battery controversy. Most users have at least wondered about the harm their battery might be doing to their iPhone’s performance, and some have visited Apple stores looking for replacements. The theory that Apple intentionally underclocks older iPhone processors has been rumored for many years but has only recently been proven via consumer testing. To set the stage you have to be aware of a few key points on the timeline of this battery controversy. We all know that iPhone performance begins degrading not too long after the year they are announced, just as new iPhones are announced. The sudden sluggish performance of last generation iPhones seems to come soon after September, when the most current iPhone is announced alongside the most recent rendition of iOS. Until recently this performance drop and alleged inability for older batteries to hold a charge has been attributed by many as a way for Apple to force last gen iPhone users to upgrade. Some users have found that over the air updates are the only way for Apple to hinder performance on older devices and are not updating iOS above the version their phone shipped with. Stopping iOS updates has been the way most people have been getting around processor throttling, but battery degradation is a factor that has recently been found to
be quite closely linked to iOS processor throttling. Reddit user TeckFire posted his findings of battery degradation being linked to processor throttling to the iPhone subreddit about a month ago. He provided significant evidence when he replaced the original battery of his iPhone 6S with a new one and saw performance enhancements not only in everyday use but in Geekbench scores he took before and after the swap. This post made a massive splash first in the Twittersphere and soon after in mainstream media. TeckFire’s post was supported by Geekbench themselves when they tested their own devices with Geekbench software and published it on their community forums. Geekbench is a cross platform processor benchmark that is widely accepted as the standard when testing processor performance. After Geekbench popularized the findings of TeckFire, the data was picked up by numerous news outlets and the information was brought to the masses. The information was so widespread in fact that Apple was expected to make a statement, and they did. Apple responded via an open letter to their customers on their website that said that processor throttling was implemented in order to keep iPhones with older batteries running quick on new iOS software. Apple was praised by many for the portion of their letter that knocked the price of a battery replacements from $79 to $29 for all of 2018. The battery price cut sup-
abel berrocal staff writer
ports Apple’s statement that processor throttling was linked to battery degradation and at the surface level was expected to solve the problem. It wasn’t until the media as well as customers looked past Apple’s statement and considered just how many batteries Apple would have to replace to solve this problem. Brendan Dolan, a sophomore, experienced immense battery degradation and performance hindering on his iPhone 6S for weeks. Brendan realized his iPhone needed a new battery and visited Apple’s website ready to pay the $29 to once again have a phone that could hold a charge for more than an hour. Brendan was promptly turned down when Apple’s website deemed his iPhone not suitable for a battery replacement. Brendan is currently still using his dying device, waiting for his contract to expire so he can leave Apple. When comparing the number of iPhones Apple sells to the number of retail employees at Apple stores, it is clear that the drop in battery cost is no solution to this growing problem. Apple simply doesn’t have the infrastructure to replace batteries for all customers affected. We can only hope that after the next iPhone release customers revisit this topic and consider not purchasing an iPhone again. iPhone processor throttling will continue to occur if consumers continue to support a company that produces a high end device that presumably dies after its first year.
february 2018
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ashleigh tain editorial board
feature
juvianna mullings staff writer
Rapidly growing youth on social media Preteens are taking advantage of social media platforms to act older than their real age
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e live in a society where growth is stimulated. It has always been something we’ve seen around us, in the forms of GMO chemicals to stimulant pills. But what happens when we start seeing this similar repercussion in our youth? These days, elementary to middle schoolers around the country are taking advantage of their social media accounts to present themselves older than they are. Commonly by showing off their bodies and posting non-age appropriate material, this crisis has accelerated into a competition for likes and views. Instagram and Musical.ly have especially become a cesspool of flashy pictures and swarming youth. On Instagram, teens and tweens commonly use their accounts to attack popular accounts. Musical.ly, used for lip-syncing videos, has evolved into a social media platform that is heavily populated by these eager teens and tweens. Musical.ly tries to cut out the inappropriate language, but kids still find a way to use the “unclean” versions. When signing up for most social media accounts, large social media corporations attempt to narrow their new users by creating age restraints. It is commonly 18 years or under that one could create an account under a social media. There are ways around that when choosing your birthday, such as writing another year to ensure you’re the right age to participate in the platform. One of the main reasons for teens and kids to act this way is because society has made it their duty to judge a person’s appearance before their personality. Kids feel as though it isn’t cool to “dress like they’re 12” or look their age anymore. If you see a teenager from the 80’s vs. 2018, you can see a distinct difference in how they dress and the amount of makeup on their face.
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Social Media, as said before, plays a large role by allowing teens to post pictures and videos including not so age appropriate material. Control and discipline isn’t being instilled into teens as much anymore by their parents or older influences in their life. This is seen as these older influences give electronics to their children to tame their activity. Basically 2018 is full of out-of-control 1116 year olds. A poll featured on TechAdvisor.com shows that most people voted that kids 15+ should be allowed to have a social media account and kids underage (9-14) shouldn’t be allowed to have one. Monitoring the child’s behavior and activity on social media is important. Parents can download “spy” apps to ensure their child is out of harm’s way and acting their age. Some parents can go to the extreme of not allowing their child to own any social media account, especially social media platforms such as Instagram or Snapchat. Although these precautions are hard to fully go through with, the child will be safer from internet trolls and inappropriate individuals seeking youth to prey upon. Having overprotective parents or older siblings usually don’t allow the child to go out much or do certain mature things, but this also has benefits and non-benefits. It won’t be beneficial because some teens become rebellious as they get older and have limited freedom. On the other hand, having an overprotective loved ones gives you a sense of security and comfort knowing that someone cares about your safety and well-being. On Musical.ly, many use location to find new friends in the same area, and this can be a risk as people aren’t always who they say they are. If kids are aware of the true dangers of social media, maybe they’ll calm down a little and act their age, if we as young influencers take action to reciprocate responsibility and maturity.
The final stretch
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Oakton seniors make plans for second semester and their last few months of high school
amy dai staff writer
he time has finally come. After three grueling years of homework, late nights, and minimal sleep, it is about time that seniors get a break. Having spent their first semester of the year carefully completing college applications while juggling work from multiple AP courses, the first half of senior year may in fact be the toughest time of high school. With most college applications due in December and early January, seniors have now made it to the final stretch before graduation and perhaps most exciting of all, the beginning of college. The second semester of senior year is infamous for being the most relaxing time as many seniors no longer have to strive for high grades, and instead experience the many privileges of being a senior including senior skip days, senior trips, graduation parties, prom, and enjoying the last few months of high school. Here are some ways Oakton seniors plan to spend their second half of the year:
Aparna Nanduru
photo courtesy of lindsey katsaros
Although anxiously waiting for regular college decisions to be released in March, Aparna Nanduru wants to make the most out of the second semester of her senior year. “I definitely am going to try and maintain my grades and combat senioritis as best as I can. At the same time, however, this time of our lives will not come again and I really plan to enjoy every bit of it. Some of my plans include attending the Capitol Hill field trip, prom, all night graduation parties, driving to local spots to hangout and spend time with friends, and last but not least, participating in some (but not too many) senior skip days,” she Nanduru.
Lydia Davis
photo courtesy of lydia davis
Shreya Dalal Also waiting to hear back from her top college choices, Shreya Dalal is planning on taking it easy and relaxing after the stressful application season. Just like the other seniors, she wants to commemorate the friendships she formed in high school and wants to spend time with her friends before parting ways in June. “I have not heard from my top choice college, so it does not feel like its second semester yet, but I definitely want to relax more now that there is no pressure and have fun with friends and family until I leave for college.”
Lydia Davis’s main goal is to create long lasting memories during the final moments of her high school career. “Sometimes I find it hard to believe I finally made it to the second semester of my senior year. I have always heard stories about the second semester and how relaxing it is to be done with college applications. Even though I very much look forward to starting college in fall, I still feel the need to keep up good study habits in order to finish high school strong. My plans for this semester are to spend as much time as I can with friends before we leave for college by going on a spring break trip, beach week, and exploring local areas with friend during down time,” said Davis.
photo courtesy of shreya dalal
february 2018
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sahithi jammulamadaka staff writer olivia garrone staff writer
The Science Fair A quick look at some of this year’s regional participants
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he science fair. Whether you love it or hate it, if you took Biology Honors, then you’ve been through it. It takes seemingly endless hours of research and hard work to make your experiment come to life! Over the teacher workdays, all of the science teachers came together and contemplated who’s projects would be entered into the regional science fair. Here is a some insight on some of the participants.
The Effect of Different Types of Compost Fertilizers on Plant Growth Abby Cortez (9) created a project that investigates the effectiveness of compost tea, a topic that is constantly being debated among plant enthusiast. Cortez took it upon herself to solve this mystery. To conduct her experiment, she made four groups of plants: the first group, the plants were given water, in the second group compost, in the third group aerated compost tea, and in the fourth group non-aerated compost tea. Cortez said, “it is interesting to look at the statistics and see where this project can go in the future, and how it can be applied to the real-world.” She is looking forward to the science fair as it will give her a new experience as this is first time doing anything like this. The Effect of Root Type on Erosion Haley Longfellow (9) and Sydney Chen (9) created an experiment with the potential to make a difference. “Our goal with this was to find a variety of vegetation that would be helpful in preventing erosion in the bay,” said Longfellow. “We simulated the waves and rain that mainly cause the erosion with water... On top of each of the containers and their holders there was a netting mechanism that we 3D printed. When the water was poured, some water and soil would come out of the netting,” said Longfellow. Both Longfellow and Chen both enjoyed doing their science fair project and put over 100 hours into their project. Chen said, “It’s cool to be able to share our project with people of the same mindset and drive as us.”
The Effect of Devices in a Mesh Network on Network Performance Reva Nira (9) and Neil Suri (9) created another important project: one that, through the exposure the science fair provides, will bring awareness to cancer. “Though our project does not find the cure to cancer, it is unique in the sense that it is more technological with a focus to provide a solution to being able to reach out to first responders,” said Nira. To conduct their experiment, they set up five bluetooth android devices 20 meters apart from each other before, then ran a program, before analyzing their results on network performance. They are looking forward to the science fair with a positive attitude. “At the end of the day it’s not really about placing or not, but the experience that one gains,” said Nira.
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Inclusion in action
lindsey katsaros aneesh sreenivas editorial board staff writer
Category B students and honors students in one class
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riving to school, walking to class, and listening to lectures are all part of the daily routine for high school seniors. However, for students with learning disabilities, these tasks can be as exciting. For the past few years, Category B (Cat-B) students have become more closely involved with activities that many Oakton seniors take part in, such as candidates day, model congress, and the Capitol Hill trip. According to FCPS, Cat-B students are students with “low incidence disabilities who exhibit moderate to significant delays in the areas of language, communication, cognition, socialization, and adaptive functioning that impact their ability to demonstrate progress in the general curriculum.” This year, the Cat-B students are becoming more closely involved by participating in a combined Government class with 12th grade honors students. Oakton government teacher, Mr. Eliot Waxman, and multiple disabilities teacher, Ms. Alexandra Reed, have been discussing ways to include the Cat-B students in more activities. Both teachers had seen the success of the Cat-B’s previous involvement in senior activities such as model congress. In January 2017, Mr. Waxman and Ms. Reed decided to present the idea of a combined government class to Dr. Banbury, who was the principal of Oakton at that time. Soon after, they then began planning all of the class logistics. With the help of Ms. Hogan, the director of student services, they were able to match up a 2nd period Govern-
ment Honors class with a 2nd period Cat-B government class. Pairing the Cat-B class with an honors government class was strategically chosen because these students would have more flexibility in their class than AP and general education students. The Cat-B and honors government students do not have every class together, but rather the Cat-B students are able to stop by about two or three times over the course of two weeks. Even with the time apart, this honors government class works differently than all of the other honors government classes at Oakton. “If I teach you about the president, as a general ed student, now next class, I want you to help those guys learn how to be the president.” said Mr. Waxman. Kinda Callas (12), an honors student in this class, explained that they do more hands on learning rather than seminar style talking and note taking. From this class, Callas has noticed that everybody learns in different ways. “Just because one may not absorb as much information from sitting, listening to a Powerpoint does not mean there’s not different ways one can learn,” said Callas. One of the many projects that this class has done was related to the constitution. Students worked in groups to take photographs around the school that represented the different core principles of the preamble. Students from this combined class, along with AP Art students, recently took a field trip to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. It was apparent early on that these tasks were not so simple for some of Ms. Reed’s students. “We had to figure out how to navigate all the way through and change lines and all those things. And so, if you are my student, you can’t just run ahead and catch the next train, you are going to learn these things too,” said Mr. Waxman. Once they arrived in Washington D.C., they all took a tour of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. For the honors students it was mainly about government, but for Ms. Reed’s students, this field trip was about spending the day with the general educations students and venturing out into the city. Callas said that her favorite moment during this field trip was when they all found a portrait of Eunice K. Shriver, who was
photo courtesy of Mr. Waxman
What are the benefits of this class?
“For Ms. Reed’s kids, the idea of being a typical teenage student, and doing the kinds of things that you guys do” -Mr. Waxman “For my students, learning what it means to be a citizen of the world, meeting all kinds of people, learning that it’s not as simple as you think and hopefully some empathy towards other people” -Mr. Waxman
the founder of Special Olympics. “It was such a beautiful portrait that represented inclusion,” said Callas. This class gives Cat-B students the opportunity to experience what we experience everyday, such as navigating through hallways, socializing with friends, participating in collaborative exercises, and so much more. It also gives government students the opportunity to know how it is to be a citizen by understanding individuals of all types. This collaborative class organized by Mr. Waxman and Mrs. Reed is truly a novel idea. The future of this class, while optimistic, is never final. It would be shame for such a novel class to not continue, but as Mr. Waxman said, there are a lot of new factors next year that must be taken into consideration.
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All about the class of 2022 Everything you need to know about the rising freshman class
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tarting high school is There is a heavier workone of the most overload, and there is a lot more whelming experiences competition. “I’m worried during student’s academic about how much work I will career. High school is a big have and if I will be able to step up from middle school; pass all my classes,” said there is a bigger campus, Lilly Eubanks, an 8th grader more freedom, and much at Trailside Middle School. more stress. It is the time A lot of where kids seem students to worry “I think middle school work as about not hard as has prepared me for high being able they can school and I’m looking to pass all in hopes forward to making new of their of getclasses, friends,” ting into but as a good -Brooke Smith long as college. you take The tranclasses that you can hansition from middle school dle and put effort into your to high school is intense, so work, you should be able to some eighth graders talked pass. about how they felt about the jump from middle school to There is a big difference high school. between middle school and high school and it’s arguable Beginning high school can whether or not middle school be very exciting and brings does a good job of preparing many opportunities like us for high school. “I defimeeting new people, learnnitely think middle school is ing new things, and having preparing us for high school, the ability to try new things. especially in eighth grade the Carlyn Switzer, 8th grader work becomes more chalat Franklin Middle School, lenging and you have shorter says she’s most excited for deadlines,” said Brooke “having more freedom than Smith, an eighth grader at middle school.” Any midRachel Carson Middle School. dle schooler will agree that However, some people disthey can’t wait to have more agree with her. “I think that freedom in high school, middle school is definitely like eating lunch where you not preparing us for high want, having the opportunity school. Middle school is so to spend more time on your different from high school phone, and joining many and we won’t know exactly more after school activities what to expect until we are and clubs. As you get older freshmen,” said Eubanks. and you are taking on more Whether they are prepared or responsibilities, you are also not, there will certainly be a getting more privileges. lot of freshman this coming fall. The incoming freshman Although high school can class, as of the beginning of be fun, there is also a lot of February, had 668 incomadded stress. ing freshman enrolled for Oakton HS.
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gracie mouzavires staff writer payton wozny staff writer
Carlyn Switzer, 8th grader at Franklin MS. photo courtesy of Carlyn Switzer.
Brooke Smith, 8th grader at Rachel Carson MS. photo courtesy of Brooke Smith.
Advice to the Rising Freshman
It is recommended that you do not overwork yourself, especially during your freshman year. Time management is very important, but not just for your school work. Make sure to save time for extracurriculars and free time. Strive to find what you think is important and spend time doing that. Also, communication with your peers and teachers is very important. If you miss a day of class, make sure to get caught up with everything you missed or might fall behind. Lastly, make sure you enjoy high school and good luck!
a&e courtney te editorial board
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february 2018
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the
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elcome to this month’s feature of winter, urban menswear After our last issue of vibrant, primary colors and feminine fashion, we decided for a change of scene to simple monochromatic style. Featured above are sophomores Alex Do, Arya Forouzanfar, Cameron Ortis, and senior Joonas Castrén. Each month the fashion column highlights unique style and the people behind it. We believe clothing represents far more than a tee shirt or cool pair of shoes, but can act as an outlet for creativity and self expression. When we asked them how they felt about fashion, this is what they said. Q: Who do you take inspiration from? Arya: I take most of my inspiration from Vincenzo Barelli, an Instagram model that is featured by someone else I follow, Marcus Rawning, and Jaden Smith. Joonas: Ryan Gosling and Pep Guardiola Cameron: A$AP Rocky, Russell Westbrook Q: Why do you dress up?
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Joonas: I don’t necessarily dress for other people; I dress for myself. When I look good or wear something I feel comfortable in, I feel more confident. Cameron: For the longest time, I never really cared. I’d dress nice every now and then because I had to, but now I do because it makes me more comfortable and confident. Q: What’s one thing you like about your style? Alex: I like the colors I wear and it makes me feel comfortable. Arya: I think one good thing about my style is that I’ve always been changing. That can be bad in some moments because I’d spend so much money on a piece and then be done with it in a year, but I think that shows that it’s not static and that I’m able to move on from one trend or style.
Joonas: For me, I think it’s the versatility. Although minimalism and wearing a lot of basics can be a bit boring, it doesn’t have to be. I feel when I look at my wardrobe I can put everything together because I have all the essentials. Although having a flashy yellow rain jacket is nice, I think the success comes in the versatility. Q: How do you think your style will evolve in the future? Cameron: Because recently my style started to become more elevated and put together than before, I think it will keep improving in the same direction. Alex: I think it will remain the same style, but hopefully become more colorful. Arya: I hope I’ll get taller so whenever I wear a jacket it’s not dragging on the ground and I can have a more versatile wardrobe... In general, I hope I’ll be able to mature to a fashion level that’ll allow me to pair colors and styles together even more than I do now. Joonas: I think my wardrobe can be a little bit repetitive at times, so I hope I’ll be able to utilize more splashes of color. I don’t really see myself going into the highend designer realm, I’d rather invest more in long-time pieces with brands like Norse Project which is one of my
favorites. Q: What is your advice for people who’s finding their own style? Joonas: If you want to get more into fashion, hit up thrift stores. Of course it’s going to be kind of hit or miss, but what I enjoy doing is finding pieces and tailoring them myself. It’s easier than you think and it’s an accessible way to put your own spin on off-the-rack types of items. Arya: My biggest advice is to be open minded. For most of my life I went through a period where I felt like things would look bad on me, and this, I feel, restrained my style from evolving. If you’re considering being involved in what you look like, definitely consider options like thrifting. I think the thing with fashion is it comes over time. Joonas: I agree, you’re not going to have a killer wardrobe overnight. I think if you’re willing to develop your own taste and style unique to yourself, then it’s definitely something to invest time into.
emily bach ashleigh tain staff writer editorial board
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good day starts with good food, but often times the struggle comes down to deciding where to go. Choosing the right place to eat can cause some stress, especially in places like Reston Town Center where there are so many restaurants. Reston Town Center is a popular place for shopping, dining, and just hanging out because of its pretty scenery and desirable location. Come with us as we explore the best places to eat in Reston Town Center and what to order. TED’S BULLETIN If you need a good place to eat out for breakfast, go to Ted’s Bulletin. The food was amazing and the atmosphere was perfect for a cozy weekend breakfast. The menu is small, but has all the American classics. Their pancakes are thin instead of thick which may be a deal breaker to some people, however their other dishes make up for the loss. The french toast has just the right amount of cinnamon and with the hashbrowns and eggs, it’s the perfect combination. Ted’s Bulletin also has amazing hot chocolate. When the waiters served the hot chocolate, it was almost spilling over the cup. Not only is the food amazing, but the staff is so friendly and was there to help if you needed it. You could also tell that the staff got along well because they were always ready to give a helping hand to each other. All together with the marvelous food and the cordial staff, Ted’s Bulletin is the place to eat breakfast in Reston Town Center. THE COUNTER Shopping in Reston Town
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Center takes a lot of energy, and The Counter is the perfect place to rest your feet and grab a bite. Whether it’s lunch or dinner or even brunch, The Counter has it all. Their customizable burgers are created to suit your every need and craving. The journey begins with your choice of a protein, ranging from classic beef to vegetarian veggie. Then you choose your
bun and cheese, with choices ranging from Brioche and Ciabatta to Cheddar and Mozzarella. Afterwards, pick all your favorite sauces and toppings. Pair your burger with a side and lunch is served! The Counter has especially delicious shoestring fries. Situated in the heart and center of Reston Town Center, you’ll be back to shopping with a satisfied appetite in no time.
photo courtesy of The Counter’s Instagram
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“Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.” - Orson Welles
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PITANGO GELATO Gelato might not be the best dessert in the winter time, but no matter what time of the year it is, you cannot give up the opportunity to go to Pitango Gelato. A lot of times, dishes or desserts from other countries are changed in America so that all Americans will enjoy it. However, Pitango’s stayed true to its roots and the gelato is very much an Italian gelato. It has the most phenomenal creamy texture and when you put it in your mouth you can’t help but marvel over the goodness. They have a variety of flavors including sorbet (which I recommend more in the summer), and allow you to have samples to choose your favorite flavor; the combination of half hazelnut and half vanilla is a personal flavor favorite. It is no wonder the gelato tastes so wonderful because the owner, Noah Dan, is a true Italian and goes above and beyond to find the perfect ingredients. Pitango’s is a family business, so true love is really put into making the gelato which you can tell from the moment you put the spoon in your mouth.
zoe sauger wendy gao staff writer staff writer
BEYOND THE SCREEN
The newest season of Netflix’s Black Mirror* is no exception to the show’s legacy of immersive and mind-changing thinkpieces.
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ne of the shows that’s currently being talked about due to it’s abstract, dramatic, and mind-boggling nature is the Netflix Original Black Mirror. The concept of the show is episodic, each hour-long installment portraying a potential way that the technology in our lives could backfire on us. Some episodes play with the idea of the current technology at our disposal being exceedingly dangerous, while others present future inventions and the risks intertwined with those. In either situation, this show is single handedly creating a new sub-genre of science fiction. The fourth and most recent season was no exception. While some seasons were better than others, each and every episode left myself and other viewers utterly amazed. The season starts off strong with U.S.S. Callister, set in a space-themed virtual reality video game. Certain developers of the actual video game have their DNA stolen from their sadistic CTO, who then traps alternate versions of them in his own game. It’s an amazing story of rebelling against power and plain refreshing to see after three straight seasons of dark storylines. From my personal perspective, this episode was high in the ranks. The idea of virtual-reality video games is already on the scene for us, and seeing it developed into an entire universe is enthralling. If you were to watch any episodes of this season, I cannot rec-
ommend this one highly enough. It’s a great watch for any first-timers of the series. Following U.S.S. Callister was Arkangel, a cautionary tale of helicopter parenting and censorship. A mother worried about her daughter’s wellbeing invests in a startup product, the ‘Arkangel’. Through an implant on her daughter’s arm, she’s able to use a tablet-like device to do things such as see through her daughter’s eyes, track her, and block out anything she doesn’t want her to see, such as blood and violence. Her mother having turned off the device years ago, conflict begins to arise when her daughter reaches her teen years and is exposed to adult concepts,. Because she had spent her entire life being sheltered from just that, the daughter and her mother encounter some turmoil. Seeing a storyline with nothing except for good intentions causing a violent downfall is heartbreaking. The dramatic irony in this episode is extremely heavy, making the watching experience that much more captivating. This was another personal favorite. While every episode had an amazing production value, outstanding performances by the actors, and compelling storylines, (as with most series), some episodes were better than others. A few of the episodes this season, namely Crocodile and Metalhead, seemed to just be trying a little too hard to fit the niche of the show. They matched in level the drama and intensity of the other four episodes of the season, but they lacked generously in the connections to technology. As standalone short films, both were outstanding, but
in comparison to the rest of the series, they were lacking. Both of the episodes, specifically Crocodile, seemed unnecessarily dark and brooding, as if they were making up for the weak link the installment had to the rest of the series. While the show should not be completely revolving around technology for the sake of variety, it is an important variable. Neither episode really
photo courtesy of Netflix
focused in on one specific metaphor or aspect of technology, but more incorporated those into a seemingly already established storyline. Overall, this season, as well as the other three, are worth the watch. For fans of the theater of the absurd, and occasionally disturbing, this show is perfect. Anyone looking for something eye-opening, mind-altering, or plainly entertaining, Black Mirror is for you.
emily richardson staff writer *Black Mirror is intended for Mature Audiences.
Courtesy of Netflix
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opinion
Teachers vs. senioritis
ishika jain editorial board
This time of year is when students, especially seniors, are afflicted by a deadly epidemic -- senioritis. Senioritis is known to cause a decline in motivation in seniors, especially during second semester. However, senioritis affects not only students, but also teachers. Below are two Oakton teachers perspectives on senioritis and how they try to combat it in their classrooms. Believes in senioritis
Mr. John Krizel teaches with the style of just going along with his students. He knows that seniors lose motivation and he tries his best to go along with it. “Seniors are going to have whatever attitude they are going to have. There’s only so much that we can do as teachers to shake them out of that. ” stated Mr.Krizel.
AP Human Geography AP Biology Teacher: Dr. Teacher: Mr. Krizel Fernandez
Motivator
For the seniors in his AP Human Geography Class, they know that they have the AP Exam to work towards, so at the end it eventually comes down to students doing their part now to do well on the exam later. “I don’t do anything special to motivate students that have senioritis. It’s a fact of life that we need to work around it.” stated Mr. Krizel.
Senioritis Trend
The teacher has not seen a change in the trend of senioritis over the years. However, he does speculate that there may have been an increase over the past few years. Mr. Krizel referred to his own high school experience. When the teacher was in high school, he didn’t have his senior skip day until June. Whereas Oakton seniors just recently had their senior skip day, which seemed a little early and “a bit too much” said Mr. Krizel. However, Mr. Krizel does know that students are under a lot of pressure and stress. “It’s understandable that seeing the finish line might cause them to let go a little bit, especially when students start getting college acceptances. It’s human nature. I don’t think it’s something to get mad at.” said Mr. Krizel. After the AP Exam and SOLs are over, Mr. Krizel admits that he gets hit with secondhand senioritis. “When your whole year is building up to a test and that test is over, I think it’s natural for teachers to feel that sense of relief.” said Mr. Krizel. He used the analogy that getting into college for seniors is like students completing their standardized tests for teachers. At one point or another, both teachers and students may be afflicted with senioritis.
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Believes in senioritis Despite what many people think, senioritis is a natural process states Dr. Jacqueline Fernandez. When anyone, not only students, completes a big project, whether it be completing college applications or painting a house, one’s stress levels drop and people can finally take that big sigh of relief.
Motivator Dr. Fernandez does still try her best to keep her students motivated. If students do well on the AP Exam, they may get a college credit which can be a motivator for many students. Dr. Fernandez even has a list of colleges and the number of credits they may give for taking the AP Biology Exam outside her room. This serves as a constant reminder that in the long term, taking the class seriously now could save a lot of time and money in the future.
Senioritis trend
Dr. Fernandez does see a trend where seniors try in their AP classes but not in their honor/regular classes because students know that they can get credits from AP exams. Dr. Fernandez is pretty understanding when it comes to seniors taking a quick break, so she gives them a week or so to ease back into things again. As Dr. Fernandez stated, “I understand that the motivation is very low, but after about a week or so, I expect everyone to rebound and slowly start caring.” Dr. Fernandez says its up to students to make sure they are doing everything they can as AP Biology is an elective class that students choose to take. Dr. Fernandez also tries her best to keep a positive attitude and be as uplifting as possible instead of hammering students down with work. The AP Biology teacher makes things as easy as possible as she leaves some of the simpler and interesting units for second semester - “ I leave the Ecology unit towards the end on purpose because it’s a little easier and also body systems because you’ll be learning how your body works, so you have a more personal connection to what you’re learning.” stated Dr. Fernandez. Dr. Fernandez stated that she gets secondhand senioritis the day after the AP Exam. The class slows down a little bit during this time and during the week of exams, Dr. Fernandez has a game week where students play board games. This gives students time to recover and ease back into things. However, after the week of games, the class hits the ground running once again.
katie thompson editorial board
First, Whole Foods. Next, the world. Amazon.com’s attempts to create an “all-Amazon” world aren’t that bad
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don’t know what other people think, but to me it seems like Amazon is taking over the world. Since 1994, Amazon’s delivery services (standard and Prime) have established Amazon as the premier online store. Now, with expansions into TV and music streaming, Amazon’s Alexa, Whole Foods, The Washington Post (owned by Jeff Bezos), Amazon Key (a service for Prime members for in-home delivery), and now Amazon is slowly integrating itself into the everyday lives of Americans. It’s almost scary how quickly they’ve been able to diversify and expand their business so quickly and effectively, but I don’t think that Amazon’s takeover is necessarily a bad thing. Amazon’s first foray outside of online delivery began in 2007 with the Kindle. Since the Kindle was first launched, nearly 50 million Kindles had been sold by the end of 2013. However, this entry to the book market is only part of the story. Amazon’s online market has led to a 3% increase in traditional book sales and E-book sales increased by 4% in 2016. Today, Amazon is even responsible for half of all print book sales. This
kind of expansion didn’t seem like an attempt to “take over the world”, more like a natural extension of Amazon’s services. However, this diversification is something that actually benefited the bookselling industry, as it had been predicted to crumble prior to this boost in sales. Another interesting aspect of Amazon’s business is its build to an all-Amazon world. Alexa, the acquisition of Whole Foods and the introduction of Amazon Key are all indicators of Amazon’s larger plan. The implications of Alexa and Whole Foods are obvious (Amazon’s influence in your home and the establishment of brick and mortar stores), but Amazon Key predicts more about Amazon’s future. While Key has been available to Amazon Prime members since October of 2017, it hasn’t caught on yet among most consumers. For those of you unfamiliar with this service, it is an electronic key that is installed by Amazon in addition to your lock, and vetted delivery people use an app to to unlock the door and deliver your packages inside your home. Key does come with a camera
that is installed at 6 points around the front entrance. There are several other security features that go along with those mentioned, but people still don’t feel very comfortable with the device. Regardless, the most important aspect of Key is its implications. It’s clear that Amazon is setting up this feature to prepare for future endeavors like home cleaning and shopping services. Giving Amazon access to our homes is just one of the first bold steps they have taken to get us used to the Amazon world. In spite of the interesting forays into diversification, I believe that Amazon’s growing business is actually a benefit. Several industries and areas of the country have benefitted from Amazon’s presence, and the current debate over Amazon HQ2 shows how valuable the company is to local economies. Honestly, the idea of Amazon having all of the services I could need sounds very convenient, no matter how “controlling” it seems. At this point, Amazon’s presence in our lives is a given, and their technological and business advancements should be embraced, not pushed away.
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What’s with all these New Year’s resolutions? The sacrificial religious history and the marketing tactics behind everybody’s favorite self-improvement technique
kartik mukalla staff writer
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n January 1st of every year, there’s a thought that 50% of American adults have in common: Let’s make new year’s resolutions. It has always been an American tradition. After a New Year’s Eve celebrating the events of the past year, most people see the new year as a way to start off with a fresh slate and fix their mistakes and bad habits that they indulged in the previous year. Mesopotamia, which most of our World History students should recognize, started the idea of celebrating new year’s day in 2000 BC. Eventually, with the early Roman calendar, which had 10 months, Romans declared March 1st as the start of the new year. With the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, the start of the new year was officially recognized as January 1st around the world. Of course, celebrating New Year’s day comes with recognizing the idea of making resolutions to improve yourself. The tradition started with the Roman worshipers of Janus, the god of beginnings and ends. His two heads represented beginnings and endings, and also represented looking forward to the year ahead and looking back at the year that just happened. Because of this, the people of ancient and classical Rome gave him offerings and tributes in the
photo courtesy of Tony Grist hope of gaining his favor. In fact, the month of January in our modern Gregorian calendar is named after him. The amount of Americans that have participated in New Year’s resolutions is the highest in history at this point. During the Great Depression, around 25% of Americans participated in them before the participation rate skyrocketed into what it is today. In fact, it’s become so popular that the U.S. government puts out an official list of popular resolutions, such as cutting down on alcohol
and losing weight, and the methods and resources to succeed in achieving their goals. The question still remains: Why do we still try New Year’s resolutions, despite a reported 12% success rate? 35% of interviewees from a study said that they failed to reach their resolutions because they set unrealistic goals. 33% admitted they didn’t use anything to track their progress and a further 23% of interviewees flat out forgot their goals for the new year. In fact, most people quit their resolutions around this time, early February. However, despite the massive failure rates of making New Year’s resolutions, there’s evidence that shows that people who attempt to improve themselves as a result of New Year’s resolutions have a ten times higher chance of achieving their goals than people who try to improve themselves during any other time of the year. Studies also show that the goals that are the most likely to succeed are goals that can be quantified, such as “shave $2 off your weekly purchases every week” rather than “save money”. Recently, companies have taken advantage of this high rate of resolutions by ramping up their marketing for the year. Planet Fitness, the lower-end gym chain marketed as an alternative for more money and activity-intensive gyms such as Lifetime and Gold’s Gym, has been raking in a lot of cash due to its clever system of payment options and discounts. With 1,500 gyms across America, Planet Fitness has made a crazy amount of profit. Their main cash machine is a yearly advertising
blitz that focuses on people that are not frequent gym-goers who would be comfortable with paying upwards on $137 every month and consistently visit the gym daily. Its advertising campaign frequently features regular people trying to escape the typical tribulations of an expensive gym membership. Planet Fitness then offers itself as a more casual alternative to the traditional gym experience, promising a friendly and attentive staff and a generally judgment-free experience with other casual gym-goers. After the initial marketing blitz, the corporation lets its $10 a month subscriptions collect like barnacles while its customers, no longer motivated by their resolutions, stop going to the gym yet forget to cancel their subscription. This method has worked well. Planet Fitness reportedly raked in around $425 million in 2017. News sources also benefit from the resolutions craze. Many major news publications write new year’s advice articles, such as Fox News and CNN, write fluff articles offering advice on achieving their New Year’s resolutions and then ramp up their news coverage to get more ad revenue through clicks. Much like how many news companies and stores benefit off of the social phenomenon of New Year’s Eve celebrations, New Year’s resolutions have ascended from humble tributes to ancient gods into a major source of cash and social discussion. Next time you think of losing weight for the new year, just remember how many companies are looking to profit off of your motivation.
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Cougar Towne woes Is Cougar Towne really that bad?
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hen Cougar Towne was first introduced to the student population after winter break, the only topic of discussion seemed to be the problems with Cougar Towne. Inevitably, three or four kids in every class would trudge in a few minutes late muttering “Cougar Towne” as their excuse. During January, it was pretty bad. Temperatures were at their lowest all winter, door 10 was a nightmare, everyone was late, and the trek outside was overall pretty miserable. However, at the beginning of third quarter, the change of the passing period to seven minutes fixed the tardiness problem that students and teachers alike complained about. Yet people still seem to have grievances, most of them justified, but Cougar Towne is really not as bad as it could be. Many students still complain about the situation at door 10 and the accessibility of the trailers. There is only one path in order to get access to the over 40 trailers of Cougar Towne, and most students have to walk completely to get to it. This single entrance has led to many students concerned over fire and other safety hazards, as when it comes to evacuating Cougar Towne, the occupants of every trailer will be flooding the lot, inevitably leading to some problems (every man and woman for themselves). There are also obvious problems with overcrowding in the main hallway regarding student traffic in and out of the building. Of course,
after the lengthening of the passing period, this student pileup doesn’t have any serious tardiness issues, but the frigid temperatures certainly make the wait uncomfortable. The temperature have become another controversial aspect of Cougar Towne. Clearly, the establishment of Cougar Towne couldn’t have been at a worse time. Most days it’s around freezing and nearly every student has a math class, and must trek outside every other day (unless you have math 3rd, in which case, sorry). The whole situation would be more understandable if we had seen any renovations starting to occur, but because we have been out in the winter cold for a month now with no changes in the math hallway, the timing of the move is questionable. Obviously, it won’t stay cold for long, but as these trailers will most likely house the math department for the next five years, students of Oakton will have to
brave the cold for three to four months every year (Godspeed future Cougars, Godspeed). Despite the negative listed above, there are many reasons to believe that Cougar Towne can and will get better. First of all, the quality of the trailers is really impressive compared to the ones we had before. The bathrooms are so luxurious and have warm water and are clean! Additionally, administration has proved themselves willing to listen to the students, as they petitioned the county to allow us longer passing periods and have been trying to make the experience better for everyone (Adding the ‘e’ at the end of Town made the trailers seem more classy did it not?). Whether you love them or hate them, the trailers are here to stay for the rest of the renovation. They have a lot of issues, but things aren’t as bad as they once were, and there is potential for improvement, so the Outlook staff remains optimistic.
The staff editorial represents the official opinion of the Outlook Editorial Board
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Memorable Moments “I think the best part about Cougar Towne is the clean bathrooms.” - Lucas Johnson, 12
“I am Michael Scott. Michael Scott is me.” - Sambriddi Pandey, 12
“You can go to school but you can’t buy class.” - Jake Giordano, 12
“I told my drama class that I’m married.” - Rohan Nanduri, 10
“It’s just all in the knees.” - Morgan Pham, 10
“My friend asked me “Your body is a temple. If how my grades were you stuff it with food, it goes straight to your hips.” doing. I said they were - Mr. Kaplan like Snoop Dogg, dropping like it’s hot. ” “I’m gonna wing this test like I wing - Lindsey Dann, 9 my eyeliner... I don’t.” “You know you’re a bad athlete when you’ve been hit by every single type of P.E. equipment this year.” - Dhriti Gampa, 9
- Gaby Katz, 12
“I am very tired today. I don’t have anything very funny to say…” - Yara Hussein, 11