November 2017 -- Silver Chips

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Montgomery Blair High School SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND

A public forum for student expression since 1937

silverchips

November 15, 2017 VOL 80 NO 2

National alt-right movement places flyers at Blair

By Elise Cauton

At 5:45 a.m. on November 1, Blair staff discovered flyers with the words “It’s okay to be white” on the exterior doors of the school. The flyers were part of a campaign launched by an alt-right group that promotes white supremacy, according to a Washington Post article. Principal Renay Johnson said that the flyers were placed on school property at 2:35 a.m. When staff arrived at school, they removed the flyers from the doors and contacted security. Johnson explained that the flyers were taken down because they were

not approved by administration. “In order to put signs on the building, you have to have my permission, and of course, no one had my permission,” Johnson said. “So they took the signs down, and security called police.” According to The Washington Post, the flyers were part of a campaign organized on 4chan, an online forum. “[These are] efforts white-nationalist groups have made to recruit in and around the nation’s college campuses and other mainstream settings with claims of growing white maltreatment and expanding anti-white discrimination,” the article said. Johnson stressed that the phrase

“It’s okay to be white” is not inappropriate in and of itself, but the circumstances in which it was used are. “It’s okay to be anything you want to be,” she said. “But it’s not okay to post signs without permission, it’s not okay to post signs in a direction of a hate group.” Johnson was disappointed by the incident, as she said that Montgomery County tends to be a very tolerant community. “I’ve been to so many parts of Montgomery County, and I always think that every school welcomes all students and all families,” Johnson said. “It’s unfortunate, especially at a place like Blair, [with] how diverse we are … that

we would even deal with this.” She also stressed that if students have any further questions about the incident, they are welcome to talk to her. “I just want my Blazers to know […] that if you have any questions or concerns, or you want more answers, feel free to come see me,” Johnson said. “I’m your principal, and I can explain why the signs were inappropriate, and I can also explain why people are not allowed to post [just] anything on the school.” Since the event gained national media attention, some staff members have since received hateful emails criticizing the removal of the flyers from school

By Miranda Rose Daly

By Marlena Tyldesley

Creating the best college application is hard, and there are many different factors that play into the admission process: grades, GPA, standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, essays, and much more. As college application season begins, three admission officers from different schools share their knowledge to help students navigate the application process. Finn Vigeland, a former Columbia University admissions officer, Jennifer Ziegenfus, an admissions officer at Towson University, and Joe Shields, an admissions officer at Goucher College, answer questions about their process of accepting applicants below. Q: What makes a student stand out? What are you looking for when you look over an application? Vigeland: We are looking for students who stand out within the context of their own school. They have challenged themselves and taken some of the most rigorous coursework available. They are attending various cultural events and institutions that are available in their area because they are genuinely curious about how the world works. We certainly want to see students who are academic superstars, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a student has gotten straight A+’s in all AP classes. We understand that if a student is academically capable and they have been challenging themselves, then they will be ready for the challenge of a Columbia education. Ziegenfus: I think it depends on what a student has done in high school. For example, you could have somebody who is really talented in the performing arts and shows a lot of strength in something like theater who is

see ADMISSIONS page SP2

NEWS A2

Across the country, seniors will spend this fall filling out college applications. When considering schools, students look at courses, housing and cost, among other factors. But what about a school’s entertainment options? Which guests come to lecture? Who plays at concerts? It may never occur to a student to consider these things, but they will affect his or her life for the next four years. Below is a short look into the entertainment scene of the University of Maryland, College Park, Temple University and Towson University. According to Naviance, these three colleges are among the top six Blair alums have attended since 2000. SAMI MALLON

GAME DAY The University of Maryland’s marching band pumps up the students before a game against the University of Michigan, while Sigma Alpha Mu hangs out at the tailgate.

By Camden Roberts

Over the past few decades, fraternities and sororities across the nation have increasingly become known as a hotspot for dangerous and reckless behavior. According to Hank Nuwer, a professor at Franklin College and the author of “Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing,” at least 41 hazing-related deaths have been reported in the last ten years. Deaths like these often come at the hand of coercion and illegal behaviors such as binge drinking and assault, activities often covered by popular media and associated with Greek life.

OP/ED B1

Delta Lambda Phi (DLP) is a social fraternity that prides itself on acceptance. Founded in 1986 by Vernon L. Strickland, the fraternity was originally designed as a social group for

see FRAT CULTURE page SP6

see CAMPUSES page SP8

insidechips

service (one that’s main purpose is community service), honor (one that is focused on academics and accepts people based on GPA), and professional (when members belong to or want to belong to the same occupation). Beyond that, some organizations are designed to attract groups of people who share a common interest or trait.

Delta Lambda Phi

Latina exitosa

ELIA GRIFFIN

LA ESQUINA LATINA C1

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A spotlight on the Blair sports team members who stay off the field

Stage crew shines with their brilliant set designs CHAMINDA HANGLIPOLA

FEATURES D1

Team managers

Behind the scenes

Una entrevista con Ada Villatoro, la propietaria de El Golfo

Why schools should provide free menstrual products

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This culture harms not only fraternity brothers, but outsiders as well. Fraternities have famously had issues with sexual assault, racism and homophobia. According to a 2007 study by Oklahoma State University professor John Foubert, freshmen involved in fraternities at an unspecified mid-sized public school were almost three times more likely to commit sexual assault. This statistic doesn’t account for the differences in Greek letter organizations. Not all fraternities are created for the same reason. There are a few categories for Greek letter organizations, social (one that is not created for a purpose beyond camaraderie),

University of Maryland, College Park

Every semester, Sammi Sibler donates a pack of Swedish Fish to Testudo, the mascot of the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD). In her time at UMD, Sibler, a junior, acts as the lectures director for Student Entertainment Events (SEE), the group on campus that organizes events and visits. SEE is a group of 23 student directors and three advisors who get together and coordinate the events for the year. SEE puts on everything from the Dining Hall Homecoming Tailgate to a comedy night with Hasan Minhaj. Sibler values the entertainment at her school and its impact on her college experience. “College life can get hard,” she says. “Between studying and finals and all of that… sometimes you … just need a comedy show or you need a concert or you need a lecture that speaks on an issue that’s important to you.”

Greek life with a twist

Menstrual products

MARISSA HE

see FLIERS page A2

Concerts on campus

They got the beat

Asking about admissions

property. Johnson explained that she is open to discussing the issue with community members, but has told staff to ignore any of these emails. “If any Blair parent is upset or angry, I want to have the conversation with them,” Johnson said. “I’ve sent a message to all staff to ignore any messages of hate, and do not answer them, but continue to discuss any concerns our students have and our parent community has about this topic.” Leslie Blaha, the academies administrator and a science teacher at Blair, was one teacher who received these emails.

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ENTERTAINMENT E1

ELIA GRIFFIN

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CHIPS CLIPS E5

SPORTS F1


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