March 2017 -- Silver Chips Print

Montgomery Blair High School SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND

A public forum for student expression since 1937

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Trans rights reaffirmed

By Henry Wiebe MCPS officials released a statement on Feb. 23 that reestablished the county’s policy that allows transgender students to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity. This statement was in response to a decision made by President Donald Trump to retract a letter released by President Barack Obama last fall that encouraged school systems to give transgender students access to bathrooms of their choice.

The Board of Education wanted to reinforce their earlier position on the controversial topic. “The Montgomery County Board of Education and Montgomery County

Public Schools (MCPS) reaffirm our commitment to providing a safe and welcoming learning environment for all students, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other personal characteristics,” the statement read.

The Board originally took the stance before Obama released his letter. “Our MCPS guidelines were developed prior to the Obama administration’s guidance, which interpreted federal law to prohibit discrimination based on students’ transgender status, and our MCPS guidelines will remain in place notwithstanding the Trump administration’s recent actions, which withdraw the Obama administration’s guidance and leave this issue for school districts and states to address,” the statement read.

Junior Jace Eaton is a transgender boy. He says that he feels safe in Montgomery County, and

that he is glad that school officials are fighting for transgender rights. “It’s really good to have a school system that outwardly supports trans rights, especially going against the implied views of the Trump administration,” he said.

The issue has received significant attention as a result of numerous court cases against school systems that do not give bathroom access to transgender students. Junior Jamie Griffith, a transgender boy, believes that protecting transgender rights is the responsibility of the federal government and that students across the nation need to continue to strive for bathroom access. “What MCPS is doing is good, but we can’t just be satisfied with the idea of ‘Oh, where I live is progressive so it’s okay.’” he said.

“If we don’t actively challenge transphobia within our community, then there is no way that we can affect change that will then protect trans students everywhere.”

Winter basketball

JEDEDIAH GRADY

BALLING IN THE HEAT Students take advantage of the warm weather to play a game of basketball outside. Montgomery County students are used to plenty of days off in the winter, but in one of the hottest Februarys on record, there was little frost, let alone large snowstorms.

March 10, 2017 VOL 79 NO 5

BOE alters calendar

plan that identifies other dates to be used as instructional days. One day could replace a professional day on Jan. 26, and two other days could replace the first two days of the 2018 spring break, March 26 and March 27.

According to Erika Rao, a Blair

By Isabella Tilley English teacher and union repThe 2017-18 school year is set to resentative, many teachers were finish by June 12, 2018, as unaware that the Board was decided by a unaniplanning to update the mous vote from calendar. “It came 2 1 30 29 the Board of as a surprise,” 3 28 Education she said.

4 27 on Feb. 27.

“There was The cale n - no 5 debate, be26 dar was updated fore the decision.”

6 25 from its T o previRao, the 7 24 d e c i o u s v e r sion, 8 23 sion, which reduces the Last Day which number of profes9 22 h a d sional days, demonof School 10 been set strates t h e 21 Previous in DeBoard’s 11 20 Last Day cember, disregard 12 19 after severfor teachers.

13 al Maryland “It demon18 14 15 16 17 counties restrates a disconceived notice from nect between the LAURA ESPINOZA the Maryland State Board of Education deDepartment of Education that cisions and the needs of teachthere should be absolutely no in- ers,” she said. “We were very upstructional days, including make- set by the decision because it took up days, beyond June 15. away two very important profesThe previous version of the sional planning dates.” calendar, which set the last day Many teachers already feel that of school for June 15, would have the elimination of final exams forced school to end after June 15 has taken away too much planin the event of any weather-related ning time. “Already our planning school closings. “The calendar the [time] has been reduced,” Rao Board had previously adopted said. “When we had final exams, would’ve taken us [until] after we had a week of half days and an June 15, should we need to make extra day for makeup exams, and up any days,” Gboyinde Onijala, we used that time to grade exams an MCPS spokesperson, said over and to plan for the next semester the phone. and to grade.”

In the event of emergency school According to Onijala, the declosings, the new calendar will al- cision was made with feedback low for a maximum of three days from a calendar committee, which to be made up after the last day includes representatives from the of school. “Wednesday [June 13] teacher’s union and the Montcould be a potential makeup day gomery County Council of Parent … Thursday the 14th, and Friday Teacher Associations. Onijala also the 15th could be a makeup day as encouraged students and parents well,” Onijala said. interested in the calendar and the In case there are more than three calendar-making process to look emergency school closings, the at the MCPS website for additional Board has adopted a contingency information.

June 2018

In Blair’s hometown, residents say all are welcome

By Alexandra Marquez and Alice Park It is a crisp, cold evening in downtown Silver Spring, and people dart from store to store on Ellsworth Drive, the center of the suburban community. The street is unusually empty for a Friday night. As most pedestrians hurry indoors to escape the frigid weather, Tiko Lopez, an employee at a law firm a few blocks away, pauses at the curb. She sets down her shopping bags and lights a cigarette, seemingly unfazed by the sub-30 degree temperature.

Lopez is alone but appears comfortable, cracking a warm smile when asked if she resides

COURTESY OF RENAY JOHNSON

NEWS A2

in Silver Spring. “I was born and raised in D.C. but Silver Spring is my home,” she says. But Lopez’s smile grows wider, and her tone becomes more animated, as she describes the people in her hometown. “This is a large immigrant community and I think it’s wonderful,” she says. “You have a mix of everybody… and I think it’s an awesome mix.”

Silver Spring has long been considered a hub of immigrants from across the globe. According to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2015, over 37% of its population was born in another country. On a recent evening in downtown Silver Spring, Silver Chips speaks to Lo-

pez and other residents to gauge the community’s attitude and feelings about immigration.

Welcoming community Generally, Silver Spring residents agree that people living in the area embrace the immigrant populations and the diversity around them.

Carly Kempler, a student at the University of Maryland, enjoys an ice cream cone with her friends at Ben and Jerry’s, also undaunted by the cold outside. She believes that her school and its students

see IMMIGRATION page C2

insidechips

It’s Academic

Bingo!

A deeper look at Blair’s top-ranked quizbowl team.

Looking into the lives of bingo night volunteers.

C6

OP/ED B1

GRIFFIN REILLY

FEATURES C1

D3

ENTERTAINMENT D1

ALEXANDRA MARQUEZ

WARM COMMUNITY Tiko Lopez and her husband, a Blair alum, are all smiles as they describe their welcoming hometown, Silver Spring.

Chips found that the area is generally accepting of immigrants.

Talento latino en nuestra comunidad

March Madness Sports journalists and students make predictions for UMD basketball.

Periodista mejicana sobresale.

CORTESÍA DE ALEXANDRA LIMÓN

E2

CHIPS CLIPS D6

CALEB BAUMAN

LA ESQUINA LATINA E1

F2 SPORTS F1

A2 News

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March 10, 2017

Alex Abrosimov and Matt Post named SMOB nominees Post received the highest number of delegate votes in both rounds of voting

By Gilda Geist Richard Montgomery junior Alex Abrosimov and Sherwood junior Matt Post became the Student Member of the Board (SMOB) nominees at the SMOB Nominating Convention on Feb. 22. In the first round of voting, Abrosimov and Post received 94 and 151 votes, respectively. In the second round of voting, between the top seven candidates out of the original 13, Abrosimov received 76 votes and Post received 171.

Of the four Blair candidates, juniors Le Do, Chas Goldman, and Michael Yin made it into the second round of voting, receiving 30, 24, and 11 votes, respectively.

Both Abrosimov’s and Post’s policy platforms involve strategies for fighting the achievement gap.

According to the policy platform that Abrosimov linked to on his Twitter page, his ideas for working to close the achievement gap include funding infrastructure for underachieving schools, expanding bus routes to reach low-achieving areas, and communicating and promoting Magnet programs at low-achieving schools. He also plans to give funding and decision-making power to the Minority Scholars Program (MSP).

According to his website, Post’s proposed methods to fight the achievement gap include expanding pre-kindergarten, increasing Magnet accessibility by administering a universal Magnet test

schools, building more classrooms to reduce class sizes, fixing bathrooms, and cleaning school buses.

Abrosimov said that while he does not expect to be able to fund too many large construction projects at every school, he wants to improve students’ surroundings.

“I know we can’t rebuild every single high school, but we can definitely make conditions livable. We can definitely have a certain level of standard that we should adhere to,” he said.

Both candidates want to train teachers to recognize students’ mental health needs. In addition, Abrosimov wants to hire additional trained psychologists and reform the Individualized Education Program policy, which gives accommodations to students with learning disabilities, and the 504 policy, which requires schools to provide equal opportunities in schools for students with disabilities.

Post’s plans include emphasizing mental health in the health curriculum, promoting free help hotlines, and conducting assemblies on LGBTQ+ acceptance and cultural competency.

Post’s proposed methods for technology reform include allocating future funding for classroom electronic devices to tablets, rather than Chromebooks. He also wants to increase Wi-Fi speed and bandwidth and upgrade the school computers to Windows 10.

Both Abrosimov and Post ad-

soapbox What issue would you like the next SMOB to prioritize?

“The SMOB should focus on giving equal opportunities to everyone, no matter what language they speak.”

— Brennan Moore, freshman “I would like the SMOB to prioritize the grade discrepancy between white students and students of color.”

— Michael Darkwa, junior and reducing testing fees, and opening a chapter of the MSP at every middle and high school.

On his website, Post also says he wants to increase funding for English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), reform discipline policies, and hire teachers that reflect MCPS’s student body’s demographics.

For infrastructure policy, Post advocates that the Capital Improvements Plan should prioritize construction projects that have been put off until later dates, which would ensure that these infrastructure improvements are completed sooner rather than later.

He also wants to increase construction funding by working with state legislators and reforming the casino formula to make sure money is actually going to education.

Currently, despite that the money generated by casinos in Maryland is going into the Education Trust Fund, much of that money is being used for purposes other than education. Post also plans to address air conditioning issues in schools.

Abrosimov plans to address infrastructure by advocating for the expansion of the Capital Improvements Budget. Abrosimov’s online platform said that infrastructure money would go to rebuilding

vocate for all middle and high school students to have the right to use their phones at lunch, as well as for the implementation of the Bring Your Own Device policy at all schools, which would allow students to bring their personal tablets, laptops, or any other device to use at school.

Nate Radcliffe, an eighth grader at Thomas W. Pyle who served as a delegate at the Nominating Convention, selected Post and Abrosimov as his top choices in round one of voting. Radcliffe said that the cell phone policy for middle school students was an important issue for him.

In addition to cell phone policy reform, Abrosimov’s policy ideas include allowing middle school students to use phones in the hallways and increasing funding for technology in ESOL classes.

Post and Abrosimov both want to reform school lunches by bringing food trucks onto school campuses. Abrosimov wants to expand open lunch and increase funding for Free and Reduced Meals Students (FARMS) in order to serve healthier food.

Post plans to create and serve a healthier menu by hiring chefs, providing schools with locally sourced produce, offering vegetar-

COURTESY OF MATT POST

SHERWOOD SMOB CANDIDATE Current SMOB Eric Guerci’s chief of staff, junior Matt Post, was nominated at the Student Member of the Board Nominating Convention on Feb. 22. ian and vegan options, and including a salad bar in every school cafeteria.

Post also has strategies for environmental improvement, which include installing green roofs and solar panels, finding greener options than the current fluorescent lighting panels, and reducing paper consumption. Post also wants to make sure that schools are following the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design guidelines, created by the United States Green Buildings Council.

Abrosimov plans to advocate for the reduction of standardized testing. He also wants to fight the expansion of Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) testing and help prepare middle school students early on for the Required Quarterly Assessments (RQA).

Abrosimov also advocates for keeping the current school start times.

According to Abrosimov, he wants to make sure schools that are usually neglected are given more attention. “I feel like a lot of schools have been neglected by past student members just because of where they are or who goes there and their socioeconomic status,” he said. “I want to prioritize spending in schools that need it more, not schools that already have enough.”

In terms of experience, both SMOB candidates have worked in student and local government.

“I’ve worked in student government, I’ve worked in advocacy, and I’ve worked in educational

policy,” Post said.

Post is also the chief of staff for current SMOB and BethesdaChevy Chase senior Eric Guerci.

“As Eric’s chief of staff, and as the vice president of MCR-SGA (Montgomery County Regional), and as an individual advocate, I’ve really experienced these issues up close,” he said.

Post was also involved in the push for full SMOB voting rights.

“I was part of the effort to, after 38 years of fighting for it, finally get the Student Member of the Board full voting rights,” he said.

Abrosimov has worked on the campaigns of three Board of Education members, including that of current Board member Jeanette Dixon. He has also done advocacy work at his own school. “Every single thing that I’ve promised this year and last year, I’ve actually accomplished, at least on a trial run basis,” Abrosimov said.

He said this includes getting food trucks for Richard Montgomery and Poolesville, and starting the Student Union in MCPS. After the Nominating Convention, Post and Abrosimov both said that their strategies for outreach will focus on social media use and visiting every middle and high school in the county to talk to students. “I want to have personal conversations with these students so I can understand what they’re looking for in the next SMOB, what their concerns are, and what they want to see moving forward in this county,” Post said.

Both candidates also said that they plan to use these same meth-

ods of outreach to communicate with the student body if they win the election on Apr. 26. Post wants to continue to regularly visit schools. “Students still feel like the SMOB isn’t accessible to them, so what I want to do is expand in-person communication. I want to have a school visit every single week for the entirety of my term,” Post said.

Abrosimov and Post also plan to use social media to communicate with students. Abrosimov wants to abolish the SMOB newsletters because he found a video he posted on Twitter to be more accessible to students. “I think that social media is the future, and I think that if in two days I can basically communicate with about 20 percent of the county for free on social media, instead of spending $30,000 on these really expensive productions that nobody really reads or cares about, then we’ve been doing a pretty good job,” Abrosimov said.

This year, there were 13 candidates at the SMOB Nominating convention, compared to four last year. According to Winston Churchill junior Omisa Jinsi, the Special Elections Committee Administrator for MCR, the spike in the number of candidates may be due to Guerci’s increased communication with students over the past two years.

Blair senior and MCR-SGA President Prim Phoolsombat said that the current state of national politics may also have inspired students to get involved and increased the “desire of students to create meaningful change.”

SAMI MALLON

RICHARD MONTGOMERY SMOB HOPEFUL Junior Alex Abrosimov shares his policy ideas with delegates at the Student Member of the Board Nominating Convention on Feb. 22.

March 10, 2017

News A3

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Media Center hosts annual African-American read-in Students visit workshops and book displays for Black History Month

By Serena Debesai Students participated in the annual African American Read-In on Feb. 28 in the media center.

Media center specialist Andrea Lamphier organized the event with African American Studies teacher, Kenneth Smith, in celebration of Black History Month. The read-in featured student workshops focused on aspects of African-American culture, such as hair, colorism, music, and fashion. A collection of books pertaining to or authored by African-Americans was also on display.

According to Lamphier, the African American Read-In is a national event sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English. Blair has hosted annual read-ins since 2007; however, Lamphier only began collaborating with the African American Studies class four years ago.

Every year, Smith tasks students taking African American Studies in the second semester with creating interactive displays of their choice for the read-in. “They have to do their own research, they have to decide how they are going to interact with students who come in. This is student run,” Smith said.

Seniors Kayla Salmon and Brandon Njinjoh, junior Reigan Lewis, and sophomores Berkit Getachew and Emily Nuez presented on black hair and the evolution of black hairstyles. According to Getachew, the project was inspired by everyday experiences surrounding black hair. “You hear the negative things about African-American hair, and there is a stigma,” Getachew said.

Lamphier was extremely pleased with the student involvement in the read-in. “I just really wanted the students to take ownership and they have. The stuff they have made is fantastic,” Lamphier said.

A key feature of the read-in is a guest author. Last year, counselor Dr. Daryl Howard read an excerpt from his novel Complex People.

This year, students performed a dramatic reading of the novel All American Boys, in place of a guest author.

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

EXPLORING LITERATURE Students browse through books that celebrate black history and culture in the media center..

The novel, winner of the 2016 One Maryland One Book Award, tells the story of two teens, one white and one black, as they react to an incidence of police brutality in their community. Each chapter alternates between the two voices. “[All American Boys] is a perfectly timely book about a young white man, a young African-American man and the issue of police involvement,” Lamphier said. “I got a grant for a class set of those books, so I am very thrilled that that happened, and I am very glad that some students put themselves out to do the dramatic reading.”

Junior Eldana Negash attended the readin and hopes to get involved in creating a future workshop for the event. “You get to learn a lot, and at the same time it is fun,” Negash said.

Smith plans to implement the same student-run structure in coming years and believes that finding an author to participate in the read-in will be the largest future challenge. “It gets better each year,” Smith said.

“I think this format is probably the format we are going to continue use … I think the big thing is getting an author in.”

As of now, students interested in creating workshops for the read-in must be second semester students in African American Studies. Smith wishes the opportunity would be available to students in his first semester as well. “If I had them all last semester, we would have much more time, they would have a lot more knowledge and information.

It would be that much better,” Smith said.

Senior Pedraam Faridjoo, a current student in African American Studies, finds that

the course provides a thought-provoking and important perspective on history. “I think it is interesting, especially as someone who is not of African descent because you don’t really learn a lot about it. They cover a lot of stuff that isn’t really covered in depth in other history classes like U.S. History.”

Last year, the read-in was available to students for the entire day, and approximately 900 students attended, according to Smith.

The immense amount of work required for an all-day event forced Smith and Lamphier to limit the read-in to just seventh period this year.

“Last year, we had this all day. It was too much for my class to do,” Smith said. This year, teachers were notified of the read-in via email, and were invited to bring their seventh period classes.

Former child soldier Emmanuel Jal speaks to students

Activist shares his message of peace during assembly and workshops

inviting Jal to Blair was for students to get a different perspective. “I think it’s important for kids who are going to be global citizens to have a taste of what people on the other side of the world go through and especially because he was living these horrendous experiences as a teenager,” she said.

Junior Linnea Rives said that she enjoyed the workshop because of Jal’s positivity. “I thought it was really awesome that he had been through so much but he was still an optimistic person,” she said.

One talking point that stood out to Rives was Jal’s message about forgiveness. “Forgiveness is important because if you stay angry [at someone], then you are a slave to them. It stood out to me because this is good advice in general,” Rives said.

Jal spoke about the extreme hardships he faced during his childhood and said the main reason he came was to tell his story.

“I believe that when we tell our stories to each other, we can put a spotlight in a dark place,” Jal said.

By Leila Jackson Former child soldier, current musician, and peace activist Emmanuel Jal gave a speech in the auditorium on the morning of Feb. 21 and later held workshops with smaller groups of students.

During the assembly, Jal spoke about fear and trauma pertaining to his past experience as a child soldier in Sudan. “Whoever owns your mind owns you or what you create,” Jal said. “Trauma owned my mind.”

Jal also focused on having courage and learning from failure. “Fear will make you see obstacles. Courage will make you see opportunities,” Jal said. He emphasized giving back, which he does through his charity, Gua Africa. Jal started and finished the assembly with a song, and he brought volunteers up on stage to dance with him while teaching the audience the dance as well.

Social studies teacher Anne Manuel organized the event. She had heard about Jal through a neighbor who told her about bringing him to Washington, D.C. for a meeting at the White House. Manuel thought it could be a good experience for students to hear him at Blair. “[Jal’s message] relates to things I’ve been covering in my Human Rights class for years,” Manuel said.

Manuel began fundraising for the event, which would cost $2,000, during the summer of 2016. The PTSA, the English department, and the Blair Alumni Association contributed to the fundraiser, and Manuel eventually set up a GoFundMe account to raise the rest of the money.

Jal has performed at refugee camps, schools, colleges, conferences, and community events to tell his story and promote peace. “One of the things that I do is I share my experiences for social-emotional learning to create a conscious global awakening,” Jal said. “So basically it’s storytelling and

HANNAH SCHWARTZ

WORDS OF WISDOM Former child soldier Emmanuel Jal tells his life story and promotes peace to Blair students during an assembly on Feb. 21. this is through the arts, music, acting, [and] movies.”

During the assembly, Jal also used a concept which he calls “My Life is Art” for telling his story. “Life is a work of art that you create,” Jal said. He sees his life as a work of art that he, as the artist, makes.

Manuel thought it was important to bring

Jal to Blair because of his words of inspiration. “He has this message about peace and tolerance that is so important in this divisive time,” Manuel said. “It’s a message we’re trying to give at Blair all the time but it can come from someone who has certain credibility that none of us have.”

Manuel explained that another reason for

To access Jal’s full presentation, scan the QR code above with a QR reader app or visit the URL below. youtu.be/4zcKCjP1zUc

A4 News Newsbriefs New community, recreation, and aquatic center in Silver Spring Montgomery County has begun developing a 120,000 square feet community, recreation, and aquatic center in downtown Silver Spring. The facility will include meeting, exercise, and crafts rooms, a gymnasium, and pools for recreation and swim meets.

The center will be managed by the county’s Department of Recreation and will be open to the public.

The facility will be at the intersection of Cameron Street, Apple Avenue, and Second Avenue in the northwest corner. The estimated cost of the facility is $43 million, according to David Dise, director of the county’s Department of General Services.

The facility is currently in its design stage. “The project still has to go through a number of hearings and reviews by the Planning Commission and has to be included in the upcoming Capital Improvements Program,” Dise said. “So funds will have to be appropriated for this and [there are] contracts left for construction.”

The county has already approved the engineering and architectural planning that is underway now. The facility has yet to be approved for construction work. This process will begin in late March, with the final approval given in May and funds becoming available in July. Dise estimates that the project is between two and three years away from completion.

The center is part of a larger redevelopment project of residential buildings in progress by the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC). The HOC plans to begin construction by late winter of next year.

The facility has been tentatively named the Silver Spring Recreation and Aquatic Center (S-RAC).

The county’s Department of Recreation has a long-term plan to create recreation centers throughout the county based on population density. “It’s a unique opportunity for Silver Spring and the county. There is nothing like this in that area of the county,” Dise said.

Tom Perez elected Democratic National Committee chairman Former Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, father of one Blair student and two alumni, was elected the chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Feb. 25. Perez is the first Latino chairman of the Democratic Party.

During his first speech as chairman, Perez focused on strengthening and unifying the Democratic Party and leading a resistance against President Trump.

Perez won with 235 votes out of 435 on the second ballot. The vote was pushed to a second ballot after Perez missed the threshold for victory by just one vote on the first ballot. This marked the first contested election for chairman of the DNC since 1985.

As his first move as chairman, Perez named his top opponent, Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison, deputy party chair.

Newsbriefs compiled by Hermela Mengesha

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March 10, 2017

County leaders hold People’s Town Hall

Representatives speak to residents in Silver Spring Civic Building

By Laura Espinoza

The People’s Town Hall Forum was held at the Silver Spring Civic Building on Feb. 26. Following a recent resurgence of town halls across the country, the Takoma Park Mobilization and other citizen groups sought to bring the area’s federal representatives to speak to their constituents.

U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin and U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen were the original speakers for the event.

Two days prior to the event, Representatives Anthony Brown, John Delaney, and John Sarbanes were also added to the list of speakers.

Additionally, Montgomery County Council members and Maryland state representatives were present at the forum.

Maryland State Senator Rich-

ard Madaleno only spoke once at the town hall, but he felt that it was important to attend. “Like any other citizen, I wanted to hear what our members of Congress were going to talk about,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to learn from people as to what issues people are concerned about right now.”

The first two speakers were two members of the Montgomery County Council, Marc Elrich and Vice President Hans Riemer. Elrich emphasized the need for the $15 minimum wage bill to become law in Montgomery County, citing its lack of success as a disagreement within the Democratic Party.

“This is an inter-house squabble,” he said to the audience. Elrich spoke about the need for the rise in the minimum wage because of the high cost of living in the county.

Riemer encouraged county resi-

LAURA ESPINOZA

TOWN HALL FORUM Member of the Board of Social Services, Seth Grimes, introduces key speakers at the meeting.

dents to stand up for their political beliefs when challenged by President Donald Trump and the White House. He cited Blair students and the Nov. 14 walkout as an example.

“The only good thing that happened the day after the election was that the students of Montgomery Blair and Montgomery County Public Schools marched to Washington and raised their voices,” Riemer said.

After speeches from Gustavo Torres, Executive Director of CASA de Maryland, and Delaney, event organizer Jen Wofford announced that Council President Roger Berliner committed to passing the minimum wage bill from the outdoor stage. He originally voted against the legislation on Jan. 17.

Soon after Berliner’s announcement, Raskin was welcomed to the stage. After exciting the crowd with stories about Republican representatives, he quickly expressed his dislike for many of Trump’s current initiatives.

Sarbanes and Brown then spoke about the importance of voter registration and welcoming immigrants into the U.S. “We have to take this power and go to Washington and Capitol Hill and to the White House and say we’re going to have a humane policy for immigration in this country.

We’re not going to demonize and break up families!” Sarbanes said.

Brown ended with an anecdote about standing up for one’s beliefs in the face of adversity.

Cardin was given the microphone, and he immediately brought up Mexican-American relations and his role in solving the issue. He especially emphasized the importance of understanding how the election was impacted by Russian interference and where

Trump’s business interests lie. “We should see his tax returns. And he must divest his assets,” Cardin said to the crowd.

Senator Chris Van Hollen’s speech focused mainly on Trump’s attack on media, and he thanked the audience for calling the main Senate phone line constantly and shutting it down during the first wave of Cabinet confirmations.

Town Hall attendees who had been preselected to ask questions made their way to the stage shortly after Van Hollen concluded his speech. The audience questions focused on the Affordable Care Act’s rising costs, Democratic passiveness in getting a hearing and vote for Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, Republican cooperation on uncovering Russian interference in the U.S., the Maryland Trust Act, female representation in Congress, and fracking in Maryland.

The event ended almost 30 minutes later than scheduled because of the extra speakers, but many representatives from different levels stayed to talk to their constituents after the town hall.

Maryland State Senator Will Smith supports town halls that provide for citizens access to officials. “It’s important for us to give these opportunities to have a dialogues so that you understand where we’re coming from, but we, more importantly, understand what’s on your mind,” he said.

Senior Rohan Dalvi attended the forum and found the experience enriching. He plans on attending similar events in the future. “I thought it was really interesting seeing how different members of our state legislature and local legislature prioritized their interests and seeing what particular things they were working on,” he said.

Mary Beth Tinker shares advice with students

Plaintiff of landmark Supreme Court case speaks about youth activism

By Noah Chopra-Khan Mary Beth Tinker, plaintiff of the 1969 Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines, spoke to students in the auditorium on Feb. 22 about her experience being suspended from school for standing up for her First Amendment right to free speech. She emphasized the importance of youth activism and answered questions about students’ rights during fifth and sixth period.

OneBlair, a club focused on increasing the dialogue on current events and race issues, invited Tinker to speak to students.

Senior Claire Maske, a member of the leadership team of OneBlair, said Tinker’s experiences would resonate with students who have also utilized their First Amendment rights. “The court case gave students free speech, and so we thought that was relevant to what our club was doing and Blair students in general have been going to a lot of marches and doing stuff in school. So we thought that her perspective on that, like the fact that we students have a right to do that, would be interesting to hear about,” Maske said.

Tinker spoke about how in 1965, she and two other students were suspended for wearing black armbands in support of a truce in the Vietnam War. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a suit against the school district on their behalf, arguing that the rule prohibiting the armbands violated the First Amendment. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court,

HANNAH SCHWARTZ

INSPIRING YOUNG ACTIVISTS Tinker speaks to Blair students about the importance of youth action, free speech, and expression. which ruled in favor of Tinker and established that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

After her case was settled, Tinker decided to use her experience to inform and inspire students.

“Having been a nurse who works with kids, I see how young people don’t have as much of a voice as they should. So I started thinking maybe there is something in my experience through the Tinker case that I could share with students, and also share stories

of other kids through history and today who are speaking up and standing about things,” she said.

Included in the stories she shared was the Blair walkout. “I saw where a lot of students from Blair had walked out of school after the election. And so, I was heartened to see that a lot of you are taking a stand for something you believe in, that’s very important,” Tinker said.

Tinker used her case to tell students that anyone can make a difference, and that it just takes courage.

“You don’t have to be Rosa Parks, you don’t have to be Martin Luther King to take a stand about something, to speak up about something,” she said. “You can just be a shy, scared, very ordinary child like I was and still make a difference.”

Maske was in the audience and she appreciated what Tinker said.

“I think it was really cool. She just talked a lot about being passionate and making sure your voice is heard, and when whatever issue you’re trying to talk about, if it may fail, what to do then, and how to keep your spirits up, and how to be a good advocate as a student,” she said.

Tinker believes that aside from just bringing change, activism adds to the quality of life.

“When you join with others to stand up for something you believe in, that you talk about, life becomes very meaningful, very interesting, and it’s a great way of life,” she said.

Tinker is a children’s nurse as well as a lifelong activist for the rights of all students. “Even elementary schoolers want to speak up and stand up about things,” she said.

OneBlair aims to continue dialogue between students. They meet Wednesdays in the Media Center conference room during both lunches. “When we don’t have a speaker come in, we have forums to discuss different events and things happening in the current events,” Maske said. “So that’s a really good thing that’s happening on a weekly basis.”

News A5

silverchips

March 10, 2017

President Trump signs series of executive orders into law

By Georgina Burros

Following President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, he signed a series of 16 executive orders and 13 presidential memos These legally-binding orders use the President’s ability to exercise executive authority because they are carried out by federal departments and administrative agencies.

According to the Financial Times, Trump has issued eight executive orders within his first two weeks of office, while President Obama issued nine, President Clinton made three, and President W. Bush issued two in the same time period.

According to NBC News, on Trump’s first day in office he signed an executive order to reverse specific parts of Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA), widely known as Obamacare. As stated by the order, it aims to minimize the “economic burden” of the ACA on individuals and provide states with greater control to implement health care laws. The order added to political debate over the ACA, but had limited impact, because a complete repeal cannot be put into place until Congress passes a broad “repeal and replace” plan. According to CNN, on Monday, March 6, House Republicans announced their bill to repeal Obamacare with the American Health Care Act. Trump’s executive orders have received additional attention and caused controversy. On Jan. 23, Trump signed an executive order restoring the “Mexico City” abortion policy. According to Politico, this policy was established by former President Ronald Reagan, and has been repealed by multiple Democratic presidents since its installation.

Trump’s order blocks the use of taxpayer dollars to fund non-governmental organizations outside the U.S. that provide abortions.

The decree that Trump signed on Jan. 27, “Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Entry into the United States,” was released by the Office of the White House Press Secretary and immediately prompted turmoil on social media and in the press. In the order, Trump delayed any immigration into the U.S. for 90 days for people coming from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, and Yemen, and suspended the U.S. refugee immigration program for 120 days. Additionally, Trump’s executive order gave Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) increased ability and discretion to detain

Number of executive orders signed in first two weeks of the Presidency = 1 executive order

Clinton

G.W Bush

Obama

Trump SERENA DEBESAI

FINANCIAL TIMES

undocumented immigrants.

The order was challenged by several states in federal courts on the basis that it discriminates on the basis of religion. According to CNN, on Feb. 3, Seattle Federal District Court Judge James Robart ruled that the order be suspended. After an appeal by the White House, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Robart and rejected Trump’s request that the order be reinstated. According to NBC News, Trump signed a revised executive

order on March 6, which reinstates the temporary ban of immigration from six majority Muslim countries, excluding Iraq. According to University of Maryland MLaw Programs Director Robert Koulish, the constitutionality of this order is likely to be ruled on similarly to the last, contingent on the revisions to the order. “Of course it depends on the new language looks like as well as where the case is heard,” Koulish said. “A liberal court is likely to strike it down; a conservative court may well uphold it.”

Up and Coming

A system of checks and balances plays a role in determining the impact and constitutionality of Trump’s executive orders, especially those accused of religious discrimination. According to Blair Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. Government and Politics teacher Peter Cirincione, “Writing an executive order does not make something so.

It can put things in motion, and some things can be done, some administrative rules, regulations that are made entirely within the executive branch can be changed, but you can’t change law, and you can’t change the Constitution with an executive order,” Cirincione said.

Throughout his campaign, one of Trump’s main promises was to build a Mexico-funded wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. According to White House records, Trump’s recent executive order, titled “Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements,” creates a plan for construction of a physical wall and a further expanded process of detaining those violating federal immigration law.

According to the executive order, its purpose is “to direct executive departments and agencies to deploy all lawful means to secure the Nation’s southern border, to prevent further illegal immigration into the United States, and to repatriate illegal aliens swiftly, consistently, and humanely,” in order to prevent illegal immigration and human trafficking.

According to Koulish, the implementation of this wall is unlikely. “It is important for people to know that wall like structures already exist along 650 miles of [U.S.-Mexico] border, as a result of the Secure Fence Act of 2006,” says Koulish. “[The government] stopped where [it] did for a variety of reasons: physically impossible to build fencing in certain border terrains; it was cost prohibitive; the process was corrupt; and it created immense destruction for residents and within cities and towns. These same problems will confront the Trump wall.”

Cirincione stresses the importance of checks and balances on the upcoming actions of the Trump administration. “The other check that runs across all of these is the check that the people have on their government,” he says. “That our democratic government, our elected president, our elected representatives respond to the will of the people.”

March 15

March 23

Spring Sports Parent Meeting Auditorium

MCPD/MCFD HOOPS Basketball Tournament Main gym

March 24-April 1

April 5

Spring Musical: The Wiz Auditorium

Graduation Information Meeting Auditorium

Student & Teacher Awards & Honors

The Blair Wrestling team was named the Southwest Division Champions. Juniors Rudy Ngouni and Ryan Holland both placed third at the MPSSAA 4A Regional Wrestling Championship. Ryan Holland also placed fourth at the MPSSAA 4A State Wrestling Championship.

Seniors Zenab Abubakari, Abel Demiss, Alula Abraham, and Kaleb Dagne, as well as Juniors Alix Swann and Alyssa Berrios placed second at the DC Indie Film Fest with their documentary.

Junior Morgan Casey placed third in the 800 m run at the MPSSAA 4A Indoor State Track and Field Championship. Junior Josephine Brané-Wright placed sixth in the 1600 m run.

e

Seniors Suad Mohamud and Yuchabel Sanon were named two of Bethesda Beat’s Top Teens.

Senior Pratik Rathore, juniors Guangqi Cui, David Wu, and Dilhan Salgado, and sophomores Steven Qu, Kevin Qian, Jacob Stavrianos, and Daniel Zhu placed fourth at the Harvard-MIT Math Tournament.

The Girls’ Swimming and Diving Team both placed second at the MPSSAA 4A/3A State Championship.

Senior Madison Waechter won the 200 yd free and 500 yd freestyle and broke the 500 yd freestyle record at the MPSSAA State 4A/3A Swmming and Diving Champion. Junior Hannah Kannan also placed second in 100 yd butterfly.

The Blair Club Hockey Team beat Wootten to win the Montgomery Hockey JV Championship.

Sophomores Claire Hibbelin, Anna Brookes, and Aline Marra were named Finalists in the CSPAN Student-Cam competition, for their documentaty Round Peg, Square Hole.

Junior Laura Espinoza won the Woman of Tomorrow Award.

Seniors Vivian Bauer and Lalise Beyene, and juniors Zenab Abubakari and Vivian Tarbert advanced to the World Affairs Council Academic World Quest National Competition.

B1 Opinion silverchips Montgomery Blair High School 51 University Boulevard East Silver Spring, MD 20901 Phone: (301) 649-2864 Winner of the 2015 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Winner of the 2015 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Crown Editors-in-Chief: Alexandra Marquez and Alice Park Managing News Editors: Dawson Do and Joshua Fernandes Managing Op/Ed Editor: Aditi Shetty Managing Features Editors: Julian Brown and Cole Sebastian Managing Entertainment Editors: Georgina Burros and Brianna Forté Managing Sports Editors: Grady Jakobsberg Ombudsman: Cole Sebastian Newsbriefs Editor: Dawson Do and Joshua Fernandes Executive Business Directors: Elizabeth Cove and Ariel Zhang Business Staff: Gerrit Antonisse Marianne Benyamin Karen Depenyou Rudi Eilen Julia Henderson Kanani Jiang Honor Kalala Niki Patel Page Editors: Noah Chopra-Khan Emma Cross Alexander Dacy Serena Debesai Laura Espinoza Gilda Geist Olivia Gonzalez Cole Greenberg Leila Jackson Hermela Mengesha Elias Monastersky Christian Mussenden Erin Namovicz Isabella Tilley Henry Wiebe La Esquina Latina Editor-in-Chief: Camila Fernández La Esquina Latina Editor Carlos Fuentes La Esquina Latina Writers: Alisson Fortis Michael Hernández Angie Mejia Sofia Muñoz Managing Media Coordinator: Ben Miller Managing Photo Editors: Caleb Bauman and Griffin Reilly Photographers: Ben Doggett Jedediah Grady Chaminda Hangilipola Sami Mallon Hannah Schwartz Managing Art Editor: Shivani Mattikalli Artists: Jenny Cueva-Diaz Niamh Duecy Carly Tagen-Dye Lindsay Harris Marissa He Amy Krimm Tiffany Mao Alexandra Mendivil Aritra Roy Meghna Sambathkumar Sabrina Tan Puzzle Editor: Neal Sarkar Copy Editors: Divya John Sophia Liu Elia Martin La Esquina Latina Advisor: Dianette Coombs Advisor: Jeremy Stelzner

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Signed letters to the editor are encouraged.

Submit your letter to Jeremy Stelzner’s mailbox in the main office, to room 158 or to silver.chips.print@gmail.com. Concerns about Silver Chips’ content should be directed to the Ombudsman, the public’s representative to the paper, at silver.chips. ombudsman@gmail.com. Letters may be edited for space and clarity.

silverchips

March 10, 2017

Taking the benefits of de-icers with a grain of salt

By Cole Greenberg An opinion

It is safe to say that if a thick film of road salt formed over every major interstate in the nation, the public would still cruise by without a second look. In the minds of Americans, the salt remains an afterthought, largely present for the chillier seasons, then gone with all the ice and snowflakes. But to what extent can tons of salt– more than 50,000 a year in Montgomery County– really just disappear?

Montgomery County, along with the rest of the country, may rely on the salt as a de-icer, but using road salt to clear the streets is like trying to open a soda can with a chainsaw. The compound has a much bigger environmental impact than simply being a winter weather remedy.

For one, road salt normally stays in the immediate vicinity of where it is placed rather than

getting washed away to a large water source. According to Sujay Kaushal, an associate professor in the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center at the University of Maryland, it is often embedded in soil or groundwater, increasing the salinity of its surrounding area at an alarming rate.

Salt works like a tumor in the earth, stunting plant growth and killing foliage. It presents a danger not only to vegetation, but to animals as well.

According to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Science (DES), “Particularly high concentrations of sodium and chloride can be found in snow melt, which many animals drink to relieve thirst and potentially can cause salt toxicity including dehydration, confusion and weakness, among other symptoms.”

Other symptoms include drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, cardiac abnormalities and even

MEGHNA SAMBATHKUMAR

death.

Eventually, the salt is carried to a body of water where skyrocketing chloride levels will result in death among aquatic life. In fact, high salinity levels can produce a level of water quality so astonishingly bad that it can literally become void of oxygen. Breathtaking, is it not?

And this hellish saltscape will not be disseminated quickly.

According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, “It takes only one teaspoon of road salt to permanently pollute five gallons of water. Once in the water, there is no way to remove the chloride.”

During the time it takes the chloride to flush away naturally, various species of fish, macroinvertebrates, insects, and amphibians are all vulnerable to its harmful effects.

When transportation officials use road salt, they open up the door to a lingering environmental problem, like a party guest that stays too long and sets fire to the house.

When road salt finally does find its way out of fresh water domains, its next target is tap water across the region. It collects inside public drinking wells, and although consuming water with high salt concentrations is not exceedingly toxic, it does create health issues for individuals with salt-restrictive diets.

The bigger effect however, is what salt water does when exposed to infrastructure. As reported by the DES, chloride found in road salt deteriorates concrete and can compromise the integrity of bridges, roads, and buildings. Similarly, the chemical

can corrode the brake linings and body parts of vehicles exposed to it, leading to repair costs and safety issues.

The most dangerous impact of highly concentrated salt water, one seen in Montgomery County throughout 2015—covered by the Washington Post— and currently in Flint, Michigan, is the corrosion of metal pipes. According to Kaushal, road salt has a dangerous effect on metal pipes. “[Road salt] can lead to the release of metals from pipes and corrosion of pipes, so those are all issues associated with drinking water,” he says. If the contamination of drinking water continues, the corrosion of metal pipes is bound to continue as well.

As municipalities and water quality managers see increasing trends in road-salt-related issues, the need for change is more obvious than ever. Road salt is not the only compound able to melt snowy roads. Companies like EcoTraction, a privately owned volcanic mineral producer, market their biodegradable products as eco-friendly alternatives to road salt. According to the Chicago Park District, an EcoTraction customer since 2009, the material has been both cost-effective and beneficial to the surrounding ecosystem.

Road salt may appear to be ephemeral in its effects, but if anything, it is the opposite. In order to avoid a massive environmental backlash, it is crucial that we transition away from using road salt as a de-icer. Otherwise, we will witness the stability of our eco-system melt, just like the salted snow.

These assignments can also help students succeed

Teachers should experiment with designated seats in classrooms

By Alexander Dacy An opinion

As students begin to file into their first class on the first day of school, some look around apprehensively. Surveying the room, they notice index cards scattered on the tables, each with a name written in colorful ink, marking students’ places in the classroom.

Assigned seats are a school ritual most students hate, but many teachers love.

This scenario may sound familiar to many Blazers, but debate persists within the academic community regarding assigned seats.

Educators argue over the level of control they should exercise when it comes to where their students sit. Teachers should experiment with assigning students seats in their classrooms because selecting seats can increase student productivity, decrease off-task behavior, and allow students to meet new peers.

Teachers who assign seats generally see an increase in efficiency in completing assignments, especially among low-achieving students, and a decrease in off-task and disruptive behavior. A 2012 study by the United States Military Academy showed “consistent improvement in the [grades] of … low-performance students.”

These positive trends are also apparent in student behavior. A 2012 study published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis found that “disruptive behavior occurred on average more than twice as often during student seat selection than during teacher seat selection.”

Science teacher Desiree Balla’s thinking concurs with the study.

She assigns seats in order to

reduce student distractions and increase potential productivity.

“I feel like during direct instruction—lecture or discussion or things like that—it’s best to assist students by limiting distractions, thereby putting students in a position to succeed,” she says.

Balla initially assigns seats alphabetically in order to learn student names, but then she adjusts the arrangement in order to better accommodate her students. “It’s a carefully considered process, in which I take into account the requests that have been made to me by students on the first day of class,” she explains.

Furthermore, research regarding student seating also shows that arranging students in rows rather than groups tends to result in more productive and on-task work habits, especially with respect to individual assignments.

A 2008 study published in the journal Support for Learning explains that “teachers who want to maximize the on-task behavior of their students during independent work should consider utilizing rows … and moving desks into other positions to facilitate interaction when it is desired.”

In addition to academic advantages, assigned seating also has often unthought-of social benefits for students. When students choose their own seats, they are most likely to “choose to sit next to other students who will interact socially,” according to the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis study. These people are usually their friends, who make students feel safe and comfortable in a new environment like an unfamiliar classroom on the first day of school. These findings would seem to support the case for unas-

signed seats.

However, with assigned seating, students are usually placed with new and unfamiliar people.

These unknown acquaintances can expose students to novel ideas and other perspectives. Lasting friendships and other positive outcomes can also arise from these encounters.

In one instance, junior Emmett Adler was assigned to sit next to junior Eli Cohen in a seventh grade science class, and they built a lasting friendship from there.

“The whole year, I was copying all of his stuff, because he’s really good at science, and it’s just not my strong suit, so at first, he hated me,” he explained. “We then started to joke and all that, and we became friends through that … [Now], he’s one of my two best friends.”

In the end, teachers should

keep in mind the research that cites the benefits of required seating when making the decision to assign seats. However, in addition to the research, teachers should consider student age, the type of class, and student behavior when they decide what seating arrangement they prefer. For example, older students with more experience in the classroom generally have better discretion and are more likely to be productive and stay on-task than younger students, even if they choose their own seats.

Even though students of all ages typically dread assigned seats, adding this type of structure to the classroom has its advantages.

As Balla emphasizes, the assignments are “not punishment or anything like that. It’s actually to help [the students] to succeed.”

MARISSA HE

March 10, 2017

Opinion B2

silverchips

Should the minimum wage be raised to $15?

YES:

NO:

Current minimum wages are not high enough for people to survive.

For years, the government at all levels has passed tax cut upon tax cut for the wealthy under the pretense that the money would trickle down to the working class.

Spoiler alert: it has not. Now, communities are finally putting their faith in the working class with a movement BEN DOGGETT to pass $15-anhour minimum Olivia Gonzalez wage laws. This trickle-up model is long overdue — raising the minimum wage benefits the economy and gives people a livable salary.

In Montgomery County, County Executive Isiah Leggett vetoed the Council’s bill to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour on the basis of a potential negative impact on small businesses. While many opponents of raising the minimum wage share the same concern, these qualms are nothing but fear tactics. According to the Center for American Progress Action Fund, research shows that raising the minimum wage benefits all sectors of the economy, even in times of recession or economic hardship.

Additionally, the American Sustainable Business Council found that the majority of small business owners favor raising the minimum wage, according to a survey done by the organization.

Additionally, increasing the minimum wage would boost the economy. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI)’s 2013 analysis of the Fair Minimum Wage Act, raising the minimum wage would boost the United States’ gross domestic product by $22 billion, positively affecting the salaries of over 27 million workers nationwide.

As of right now, most of the wage gains and wealth accumulation has been concentrated among people who are already rich, rather than those who actually need to save. When you give money to people who are living paycheck to paycheck, however, a lot of that wealth is going to go directly into local economies, because people will be spending money on necessities like automobiles, groceries, and housing. The EPI report supports this, claiming that “lowwage workers are more likely than any other income group to spend any additional earnings they receive, largely because they must in order to meet their basic needs.”

Additionally, raising the minimum wage lowers government spending for programs such as food stamps, subsidized housing, and welfare. The analysis done by the EPI says that if the federal minimum wage were raised to $10.10 from the current minimum hourly earnings of $7.25, almost two million workers would no longer have to rely on federal assistance programs. Looking at these numbers, one can only imagine how many more workers would be able to afford

The county is not ready for a $15 minimum wage.

their own basic necessities if the minimum hourly wage were raised to $15, taking much of the economic burden off of federal, state, and local governments.

The reality is that the costs of housing are far beyond what people working for minimum wage can afford, according to the National Low Income Housing Association (NLIHC). So, why rely on a minimum wage that is too low for people to survive off of, even if they are working full time?

According to the NLIHC, in order to afford rent in a one-bedroom unit in Maryland, an individual would have to work over 80 hours a week, which comes out to 16 hours per day. A typical American work week is 40 hours. Minimum wage workers should not have to work double the norm, only to barely scrape by. It is inhumane, let alone nearly impossible, to expect workers to juggle family responsibilities and necessities like, you know, sleep.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed a wage calculator that determines what a livable wage is for each county in Maryland.

For an adult employee living on their own in Montgomery County, the hourly minimum wage must be at least $14.51 in order for said worker to support themselves. Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would provide a livable wage for the residents of Montgomery County.

But aside from the economic benefits of raising the minimum wage, people would be able to live with dignity for all of their hard work. People who are living on the current minimum wage are struggling to make ends meet.

Those who work minimum wage jobs are doing grueling, tedious work, and they deserve recognition for their services. The current hourly minimum simply is not enough in a capitalist society where achievement is determined by compensation.

In his speech during the Health and Human Services Committee session in support of increasing the minimum wage, Councilmember March Elrich corroborates the radical idea of rewarding people for their hard work. “With this increase, we make it clear that we believe that an honest day’s work should result in an honest day’s pay and not leave a working person mired in poverty,” he says.

Overall, raising the hourly minimum wage to $15 an hour is beneficial to everyone: workers will earn more, more jobs will be created, and the economy will prosper.

On the surface, the so-called “fight for 15” sounds great. The more money people make, the more easily they can support their families.

However, things in life are rarely ever that simple.

A universal $15 minimum wage in Montgomery County will hurt small BEN DOGGETT business owners trying to Erin Namovicz make a living for themselves, as well as close off opportunities for inexperienced workers trying to get entry-level positions. It will foster an underground economy while driving away honest businesses that can more easily afford the minimum wages in other counties.

People struggling to live on minimum wage have legitimate concerns, but losing their jobs due to a minimum wage hike would be far worse.

Almost 95 percent of the companies in Montgomery County are considered small businesses, according to County Executive Isiah Leggett. These businesses make up a substantial part of our economy, and a successful small business not only provides jobs to workers, but becomes its SALLY ZHAO owner’s livelihood.

If the minimum wage is raised to $15 an hour, local small businesses will have to lay off their workers, according to an address given by Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner (D-District 1) in December 2016. “There does come a point where people say, ‘I can’t do this. I will lose my business, I will lose my home. I will start laying people off, I will employ technology as opposed to people,’” he says.

According to Councilmember Nancy Floreen (D-At Large), the county already has required provisions in place to help protect its workforce, such as paid sick leave. When combined with an increased minimum wage, these provisions become too much for some employers to handle, and lead to the growth of an underground economy. People who are paid in cash and make up the underground economy do not receive Social Security benefits, workers’ compensation, or other essential protections, according to Floreen.

While it is important that people are able to live off of the money they make, if employers move out of the county, job opportunities for county residents go with them.

When Montgomery County initially voted to incrementally increase its minimum wage to $11.50 an hour, Prince George’s County and Washington, D.C. raised theirs as well. That way, there were fewer incentives for employers to move across county lines to find cheaper labor.

D.C. has approved a $15 minimum wage, joining other $15-an-hour cities with strong tourist industries. However, tourism is a source of revenue that Montgomery County does not have. When the bill to raise the minimum wage reached Leggett’s desk, he decided to veto it in part because he believed that not enough studies have been done on the bill’s local economic impact. “Unlike Seattle or New York City, we are not a ‘destination city’ that draws great numbers of business travelers or tourists that will be able to afford higher costs for short-term visits. Our residents will essentially shoulder the bulk of the cost,” his statement reads.

An increase in the minimum wage would also limit job opportunities for young people or those seeking a fresh start.

When it costs businesses more to hire an entry-level employee, they are going to make sure that they get their money’s worth. This forces them to re-define which new employees would be crucial to the business, often compelling them to pass over those with no experience, like teenagers. Under the current minimum wage, businesses may take on people such as high school students or newly arrived immigrants to train because they are not too expensive to pay. However, “the more the basic wage goes up, they’re going to pick more experienced workers to fill those spots,” Floreen says.

According to a 2010 study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute and North Carolina State University, when the minimum wage is increased by 10 percent, employment for 16-to-19-year-olds in minimum wage jobs falls by over 11 percent.

This takes away the opportunity for many students to work part-time to support their families or save money for college.

In the end, the minimum wage is just a starting wage. Many of those receiving it do not yet have families of their own to support. According to a 2016 Bureau of Labor Statistics report, half of those paid at or under the federal minimum wage are under the age of 25. In most companies, experience and hard work lead to a livable wage, and maintaining a low entry-level wage lets workers get their foot in the door.

Montgomery County is not ready for an increase in the minimum wage that will do more to drive away businesses and legitimate jobs than it will to help the fraction of its workers currently earning minimum wage. While it may be hard for low-wage workers to get by on minimum wage, they may be out of work entirely if the businesses employing them are unable to survive a minimum wage hike.

voicebox Gerber Romero Freshman

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

“Yes, maybe they don’t have enough money to buy the things they need and the prices are rising.”

Dustin Mons Junior

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

“No, it already jumped from [$7.25] to [$11.50] in June, so I don’t see why they need to raise it to $15.”

Michela Rooney Freshman

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

“Yes, I would like more money when I work as a lifeguard.”

Namir Bruck Junior

JEDEDIAH GRADY

“No, it causes inflation and raises the prices of gross products”

Edward Hunter Senior

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

“Yes, in Portland or Washington they raised it and it worked out well.”

B3 Opinion

silverchips

March 10, 2017

Active resistance in the age of destructive policies

Take advantage of opportunities besides protesting to fight back against the administration

By Serena Debesai An opinon Donald Trump has been President for only 50 days and yet hundreds of thousands of people have already come out to protest his actions. In just six weeks, Trump has taken steps to eliminate the health care of thousands, attempted to implement a discriminatory travel ban, withheld funding to sanctuary cities, and nominated white supremacists to his Cabinet.

For many frustrated students unable to vote in the recent election, protesting has served as an outlet for expressing their opinions. The Women’s March on Washington, for example, was a demonstration of anti-Trump sentiments and a call for unity that drew hundreds of MCPS students.

Protest is undeniably important; often times it can shock a sluggish government into action.

However, despite widespread protests, Trump has continued to implement destructive and divisive policies, like his recent rollback of protections for transgender students.

This fact is a testament to an important truth: while protest is necessary and should be encouraged, it is not enough. Students need to take their passion for protesting and direct it toward making a change.

Fortunately, there are many ways that students who oppose the president’s policies can become involved in the community to combat Trump.

Making donations to organizations such as the American Civil

Liberties Union (ACLU), CASA de Maryland (CASA), or Planned Parenthood is one of the simplest ways students can aid in resisting the administration. According to Juan Cortés, Youth Coordinator at CASA de Maryland, a group that works to improve the quality of life in immigrant communities, many organizations resisting Trump are nonprofits that rely on private donations to sustain themselves.

“Without the charitable contributions of people who are interested in the work that we do … we wouldn’t have money for programs. We wouldn’t have money to pay the salaries of the employees here,” Cortés says.

Already, donations have had a tangible impact. Following the travel ban, the ACLU received a record-shattering influx of donations totaling to $24 million in little over a day, according to the New York Times. These funds will go to increasing the ACLU’s staff size, which is critical as the organization uses litigation and lobbying to contest violations of civil rights.

Even small donations can go a long way, and the process is often simple; easy-to-follow instructions are available online for most organizations. Freshman Lena Ruther’s parents have donated to various political organizations in order to help protect community members they feel are threatened by Trump. “They just wanted to help organizations so that they could reach out and support people who are more in danger than we are in Takoma Park,” Ruther says.

Understandably, it may be financially difficult for some, es-

pecially students, to make regular donations. Luckily, an abundance of organizations that oppose Trump also provide volunteer opportunities for students. As volunteers, students can enter the front lines and directly effect change in the community.

Students can sign up online to become regular volunteers with CASA, and receive alerts detailing service opportunities. With CASA, students can also learn to give Know Your Rights Trainings, sessions that inform community members of the proper course of action during a U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement raid.

Planned Parenthood offers a similar program in which one can become a Planned Parenthood Defender. Defenders are called on to

complete critical tasks for the organization such as calling Congress members or rallying, according to the Planned Parenthood website.

Ultimately, Trump is not the only politician in Washington responsible for creating laws. The bulk of that job falls on our local representatives and members of Congress. Calling or writing letters to Congressmen is another way students can have their voice heard by the government. The website 5calls.org provides a step-by-step process that includes scripts and phone numbers for your local representative.

Lobbying is also another highly effective avenue students can pursue. One of CASA’s major commitments includes sponsoring legislation. On Feb. 27, Blair

COURTESY OF JULIA AVILEZ-VAVALA

LOBBYING LEGISLATORS Senior Julia Aviles-Zavala argues in favor of the Trust Act at the Maryland statehouse on Feb. 27.

students and other community members traveled with CASA to the statehouse in Annapolis in order to lobby for the Trust Act. This bill would limit police involvement in deportations and prevent the implementation of a Muslim registry in Maryland, according to the Washington Post.

Senior Julia Aviles-Zavala has worked with CASA on art advocacy projects and attended the lobbying session. She feels that CASA provides an excellent opportunity to become involved in advocacy as well as self-growth. “Everyone at CASA is very welcoming and is willing to do what it takes to make sure the youth have great opportunities, for educational and social growth,” Aviles-Zavala says.

While actions such as lobbying may provide more immediate relief from Trump’s actions, populating the House and Senate with representatives that oppose Trump will be the most effective way to prevent harmful legislation in the future. Progressive politicians can regain a majority in the House by winning races in swing districts, and students can participate in Swing Left, an organization that provides volunteering opportunities in swing districts.

Stopping Trump may seem like a herculean task, but through the work of many dedicated individuals, the resistance is already becoming a reality. There is an array of opportunities available to students interested in tackling the challenges we will face in the coming years. Now is not the time to remain a spectator, but to actively seek and create change. That is the ultimate resistance.

Popping the liberal bubble at Blair is essential

Students must know how to participate in meaningful political discourse

By Laura Espinoza An opinon

The classroom is meant to be a place that encourages freedom of thought and expression, but is it really open to all opinions? Sophomore Telon Yan often thinks about a conservative friend of his who is silent during class discussions.

“I sat next to him [in English] the entire semester ... I asked him, ‘Why don’t you speak up too?’ But he was like, ‘I don’t want to, like, die.’”

Talking about issues more accepted by liberal audiences is embraced and encouraged by students and teachers at Blair.

However, political discussion involves many different opinions coming together. Students must know how to engage in respectful discussions with those who have

different political views because once they leave Blair, they will not be surrounded only by people who think like them.

Unfortunately, many students find it difficult to discuss sensitive topics, often because of the emotions that back their beliefs.

No one wants to be ostracized for their opinions or condemned because they do not agree with the majority. Discourse and debate are key pieces of a productive classroom experience. However, these conversations are often the most moderated and limited in comparison to discussion among friends because of the more formal setting.

People do not want to bring up uncomfortable ideas in front of their teachers or classmates they are not close with.

Students should encourage an open learning environment

by actively listening to new ideas and asking questions, rather than shutting down unpopular statements. Teachers can also facilitate this learning by enforcing respect when controversial topics arise.

As long as students are willing to engage respectfully and constructively, discussion can turn into positive education on today’s important issues.

Dissenting opinions do not just exist in the classroom, but they can manifest themselves in personal relationships and friend groups.

Oftentimes, groups of friends will have similar ideologies and experiences, but an opposing view can pop up. It is important to be prepared for these situations where there is no adult moderator to stop discussion when it gets heated.

The most crucial thing to remember is that someone’s opin-

AMY KRIMM

ions are not necessarily indicative of their character. Someone having an alternative idea about an issue does not mean they are automatically a hateful or bad person.

Jumping to conclusions and rude name-calling is the worst way to build an argument.

Freshman Patrick Diver does not let his political views get in the way of his personal relationships. “We get to a point where we realize that there’s no purpose in arguing ... because we’re all still going to go back to our same beliefs,” he says.

The attitudes of Diver and his friends are typical. Researchers at Northwestern University found that political disagreement often times did not lead to a change in opinion, regardless of how strong the opinions were.

Even if friends agree to disagree, they should not be excused when making offensive and insensitive jokes or comments. Helping someone understand why their words are hurtful can be a step towards finding common ground in a discussion. And for the friend that was out of line? Taking the time to listen to the other person’s personal experiences and opposing views without jumping to conclusions is the best way to be open-minded.

In addition to discussions within friend groups and classrooms, many of these polarizing conversations occur on social media. These websites can be the most dangerous places to have such arguments because of the disconnect between the people sending the messages.

It is important to remember that a real human is behind every Twitter account and Tumblr page, but it is not always possible to decipher what people mean. These

messages are inherently taken out of context because readers cannot see the personal cues behind the screen, such as tone or body language.

A study from the University of Texas at Austin and Catholic University of Chile found that people who face disagreement online participate less in political discussions while people who face agreement participate more. Does this behavior actually contribute to common understanding or does it just shove people out of the way?

These online platforms can also drive people to look for fights with those who have opposing opinions, rather than engaging in conversation. According to the Pew Research Center, 59 percent of Americans find discussing politics online with people they disagree with to be “stressful and frustrating.” This frustration can end up leading to regrettable actions if not kept in check.

Responding with a sarcastic message that does not contribute to the argument has become acceptable, and even encouraged, online. These discussions should be held to the same standards as one-on-one conversations because on both sides of the screen, real people are affected.

Junior Emmett Adler strongly believes that online users should be aware of differing opinions.

“You may not agree and you may have numbers on your side here, and you’re capable of shutting someone down, but just because can doesn’t mean that you should,” he says.

When a person starts listening to the voices of others, new ideas of tolerance and understanding can form. All it really takes is an open mind and respect.

silverchips

March 10, 2017

Opinion B4

Learning new ways to navigate increased cheating Embracing failure may be the key to prevention of academic dishonesty

By Emma Cross An opinion When it comes to making sure that students do not cheat, more preventative action is not the answer. Teachers at Blair are already getting the message across that cheating is wrong and are taking measures to prevent it in the classroom. The problem is that, like many other high schoolers, Blair students are often driven to cheat by a competitive atmosphere combined with a fear of failure. Making sure students do not cheat is a lot more complicated than imposing more rules and discipline.

Cheating comes in many forms, from plagiarism to cheating on a test to academic dishonesty, like feigning illness to get out of an exam. As technology has advanced, cheating has, in many ways, become more accessible for students. Richard Pérez-Peña writes in the New York Times that the Internet has only amplified the convenience of academic deception. “Internet access has made cheating easier, enabling students to connect instantly with answers, friends to consult and works to plagiarize,” he writes.

In recent years, science teacher Elizabeth Levien has seen widespread cheating in her department. “I’ve heard of just egregious cheating in the science department, of people stealing the tests...people just seeing things ahead of time. And then just the rampant sharing online, and then passing it off as their own…It’s really out of control,” she says.

To combat the surge in accessibility to cheating material, teachers do their best to make academic dishonesty more difficult.

“We all try to have some kind of routine where we mix up tests ... be mentally present when kids are testing. We try to be vigilant about phone use,” Levien says.

Teachers have also begun to utilize websites such as turnitin.com, which check student work for plagiarism from Internet sources.

Junior Eleanor Williams says that teach-

ers vary in their attempts at preventing cheating. “Some teachers are better at stopping cheating than others. I’ve had teachers collect phones and walk around during tests, but others don’t even look in your direction,” she says.

Despite varied levels of vigilance during tests, there are other effective ways to prevent academic dishonesty. Additional methods of combatting cheating, such as increased encouragement or academic support, are needed due to lack of success in preventing academic dishonesty with the current disciplinary measures. Due to increased stress, students may benefit more from intellectual encouragement in class than from threats of punishment.

Some students are pressured into such difficult academic environments that they feel cheating is the only way to succeed. Denise Clark Pope, a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and the author of Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students, says that students do not like cheating, but they feel it is necessary to succeed. “[The students] know [cheating] is wrong; they tell me they wish they didn’t do it … But they feel like the most important thing they do is get the grades,” Pope said in an interview published in the Stanford Report.

Williams agrees that students cheat because they believe it is their only option to succeed. “I think the difficulty of material causes a fear of failure which drives students to cheat. Sometimes the smartest students are the ones who are willing to take a risk cheating because they are held to a high standard by parents, teachers, even peers, so they fear becoming a disappointment,” Williams says.

In some cases, students should consider the difficulty of a course before committing to it. According to Levien, students sometimes tell themselves that the material is too difficult before they even attempt it. “Then they’re in panic and resort to cheating,” she

soapbox Do you think teachers do enough to prevent cheating?

“No, I don’t think teachers do enough to prevent cheating because I’ve seen students cheat in the open and go on their phone for answers. Some teachers need to put more effort in preventing [cheating]” — Nashton Datis, junior “I think teachers do more than enough to prevent cheating. Everytime we take a test, they always make sure that there is space between the desks ... they walk around the classroom to make sure that everyone is looking at their own paper.”

— Eldana Negash, junior “I think [teachers] do enough to prevent cheating, doing any more would be invading [students’] privacy.”

— Andrew Buchan, sophomore “I think cheating will be inevitable as long as schools/ teachers/students prioritize grades over learning.”

— Alex Mentzell, junior “I don’t think teachers do enough to prevent cheating.

Most teachers simply walk around the classroom during a test to monitor if there is any cheating. Most kids just cheat when the teacher isn’t near them.”

— Aarthi Arun, freshman

CARLY TAGEN-DYE

says.

However, to really combat cheating at its core, teachers need to relay the importance of failure in academic environments. “We’ve also not, as a culture, done enough to say failure is so important. Not being perfect is so important. So whether that’s just in the families, in the homes, or at the school level, or societal level, failure is really good. And we shouldn’t be so afraid to fail,” Levien says.

Although it may be difficult, disappointment is necessary in order to succeed. Failing, especially in the high school years, should not be viewed so negatively, because these experiences of disappointment, large or small, may allow people to gain knowledge and resilience that allows success later in life. According to author, executive coach and speaker Dr. Sam Collins, diversity of failure is the key to discovering success.

“When something goes wrong, we need to learn to say, ‘Something good is happening here. Look for the greater message of the experience and expect it to, eventually, turn

out for the good. Recognizing this gets easier with practice,’” Collins said in an interview in Forbes.

In a school with so many driven, ambitious kids, Blazers can often feel the pressure to be perfect. Teachers should remind their students that sometimes they should embrace failure. While offering extra academic support may be beneficial, a shift in attitude may be much more valuable amidst rigorous academic competition. Creating a supportive classroom environment could alleviate the pressure on students and discourage them from cheating.

Putting the role of teachers aside, some students will always cheat, according to Levien. “Cheating is ancient, it’s universal … it’s going to happen regardless,” she says.

Although more can be done in terms of academic support to prevent cheating, it is unrealistic to expect complete eradication of academic dishonesty. However, a change of mindset and an acceptance of failure could lead to major strides in combating the cheating epidemic.

B5 Opinion

silverchips

THEN: 1997

& NOW: 2017

March 10, 2017

COURTESY OF SILVER CHIPS ARCHIVES

IN

PROGRESS

Construction

of

Blair’s

current

building

began

in

1997.

CALEB BAUMAN

DECADES LATER The steeple is one of Blair’s most defining architectural features.

My Blair: Personal Column Hiding one’s faith don’t understand and hate what they can’t conquer.” Islamophobia stems from an irrational fear. People who fear Muslims only A hijab, or a headscarf, is an important fear them because they don’t understand part of Islam, symbolizing modesty and them. Ignorance is not bliss when innocent privacy. Deciding to wear one is not a decipeople are victimized because of a lack sion to be taken lightly, and of knowledge about Islam. deciding to wear a hijab is Islam is a peaceful religion, one of the biggest decisions a and if people were willing to Muslim woman has to make, learn more about it, their fear especially in consideration of would evaporate. the world we live in today.

Accepting someone A Muslim woman that I for who they are should know used to wear a hijab, not be political. It doesn’t but after all the hate, fear, concern your race, religion, and rage that has been sex, sexual orientation, or thrown at our religion, she anything else. All those are decided to stop. She told me just labels that are used to that she didn’t feel safe while categorize you, not define CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA wearing the headscarf. She you. It is a basic human right didn’t want to be targeted for those all over the world because of the hijab on her head, through to be accepted. vulgar remarks or worse.

The Muslim woman I know should The First Amendment gives people the not feel like she is required to take off her right to the freedom of religion. That means hijab to be accepted in the world we live in. all religions, from Buddhism to ChristianIslamophobia is not a problem that will just ity to Judaism to Islam. The freedom to naturally go away. Each day that we allow practice religion doesn’t just mean allowing it to become a part of our society gives the someone to be a part of whatever religion idea more momentum and power, until it they wish. It also comes from allowing will be so ingrained in our society that it those people to practice their religion withwill be impossible to get it out. out fear.

Don’t let Islamophobia get so big that The award-winning author Andrew we are still fighting it for hundreds of years A. Smith said that “people fear what they to come.

By Absa Fall Guest writer

“Never forget” and we won’t

By Oreet Zimand Guest writer I have grown up with the stories all around me: people talk of fear and suffering, of the most daring acts of bravery in the most pressing times, of the strength to survive in the face of adversity. Stories of the Holocaust have been ever present growing up in a Jewish community and going to a Jewish day school up through eighth grade, surrounded by calls to “never forget.” Yet I always felt removed. None of this could ever happen here, right?

Because of this mindset, that the hate our country has for other minorities could never reach me, I was truly shaken by recent violent actions perpetrated to cause fear within my people. It started with President Trump failing to mention the Jewish people in his address on International Holocaust Memorial Day. Then the President shot down a reporter asking about anti-semitism, saying, “I hate the question.” Jewish Community Centers across the country have received over 120 bomb threats. Hundreds of graves were kicked over in Jewish cemeteries in Philadelphia and St. Louis, where my father grew up,

and finally the fear hit home when a bomb threat was made on my cousins’ Jewish day school right here in Montgomery County.

These threats have caused fear to possess the hearts of all my people, as they hold a distinctly harsh sentiment, “Get out, you’re not one of us.”

The graves of generations of American Jews, who came from near and far to help this country grow, were kicked over as if they meant nothing. This is just one recent example of the hateful underbelly of this country, whose prejudices and discrimination have hurt almost every minority group in America.

JEDIDIAH GRADY We’re richer because of our diversity, which comes from the memories and the heritage from previous generations. The denial of people as Americans because they speak a different language, observe different holidays, or don’t look or talk the same rips away our opportunity to experience new ideas and perspectives. No one should feel like they have to hide their differences out of fear or conceal their past to blend in with the acceptable norm. America is a country of immigrants where everyone should be able to celebrate their diverse pasts while working together to build a brighter future.

Religious rhetoric

Religion in the classroom

As students in Montgomery County, we are privileged to be in quite a rich and welleducated area, so we are raised to question the truth. This is simply not the case In an ever-increasingly divided society, in much of the country, especially in rural it’s easy to stick with people similar to areas, where there also tends to be a larger oneself. Race, gender, religion, and grade population of Christians. level are just some things we When a politician says that self-segregate by.

Christians are an underrepFor the most part, politiresented demographic in the cians have generally gotten country or that homosexualless racist and sexist, but they ity is immoral, it may be hard have not become significantly for an uneducated Christian more accepting of religions. to question that person, Arguments based on whether or not the statement religion are often used in is true. ways that sometimes even the It is not the religion itself people of that religion find that is the issue, but rather unsettling. I am one of those the way some people give people. Christians make up a CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA unquestionable faith to those vast majority of the nation’s who use it as their justificapopulation, so it is no surtion. prise that politicians often say things that We must understand that our country Christians want to hear. stands for the rights of all people. Jesus’s Whether they actually mean it or if they ministry heavily emphasized loving those just want public support or votes is unclear; that society does not love and showing either way, I feel that arguments made in kindness to both friends and enemies, and the name of religion have little or nothalmost all other religions teach similar mesing to do with actual beliefs and values. sages of caring for one another.

Even the KKK argued for their cause with No matter what one does or does not religious reasons, though I highly doubt believe in, this is a principle I believe we that Christians around the world or Christ can all agree upon. himself would agree with them.

central tension is a struggle between the local Ibo religion and the European colonists’ Christian customs. As a Catholic, I felt Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, comfortable offering my opinion about the Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Atheist. You’ve actions of Christian missionaries, but I felt probably met at least one person from each too scared to discuss the Ibo polytheistic reof these faiths. ligion because I did not have Religion is an integral part any prior knowledge of it. of a person’s identity. Just Similarly, I noticed this as one’s character and moral tendency among my classcompass is shaped by race, mates. Our class discussion ethnicity, gender, and sexual centered around the Euroorientation, religion is critical peans, the group that we to developing one’s values knew the most about. No one and views on the world. spoke of the Ibo customs or Montgomery County has religion. made a conscious effort to This lack of religious widen and diversify schools’ knowledge poses a sericurricula by introducing ous issue in the classroom.

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA more literature by minority How could my class fully authors. However, focusing understand the book’s meson racial diversity and equality is not the sage when we ignored an entire character only approach that needs to be reconsidgroup? ered in schools.

As students, it is our right to participate Religion is equally important, if not in class. As students, it is our responsibility more so. to respect others’ backgrounds and not ridiIn literary discussions, we often talk cule those who do not entirely comprehend about biblical references, causing students a culture or a religion. to view the work with a Judeo-Christian Together, we must make an effort to take perspective. Recently, my English class risks, expose ourselves to new cultures, and read Things Fall Apart, a novel by Nigerian expand our boundaries so as to view the author Chinua Achebe. In the book, the world with a culturally aware perspective.

By Telon Yan Guest writer

By Mindy Burton Guest writer

Editorials B6

silverchips

March 10, 2017

Teachers should thank the Board for always ignoring them Life is pretty sweet for students in Montgomery County right now. We have no final exams, temperatures in the 70s in February, and our governor is letting us stay home for more time in the summer. While students should cherish these luxuries that make school much more bearable, these changes have even greater benefits for teachers in MCPS. Governor Hogan recently imposed new restrictions on Maryland school calendars, instructing schools to start after Labor Day and end before June 15 next year.

With such strict requirements, the county had few choices for allotting professional and noninstructional days.

Fortunately, MCPS struck the perfect balance, satisfying the constraints and giving teachers even more time to relax.

The Board of Education recently modified next year’s calendar to give teachers one professional day (compared to this year’s four) to plan lessons, finalize grades, and decompress from listening to students grumble about their grades all year.

Since teachers may have complained about running out of time to complete all these tasks, MCPS also allotted a whopping eight pre-service days before the school year begins, three of which will be spent training employees.

Teachers can rest easy knowing the county wants them to prioritize orientation sessions about the grading policy that is not enforced over more taxing errands, like preparing for the first day or set-

ting up their classrooms. It seems that the Board finally listened to teachers’ desperate pleas for even more orientation and “How to use Chromebooks” training.

MCPS also heard its employees’ cries about the lack of instruction that takes place during the month of May, when standardized testing abounds. Since teaching new material is virtually impossible during AP and PARCC testing season, this gives our teachers a well-deserved month of relaxation.

Teachers can toss those lesson plans they have toiled over for months out the window! Instead of teaching new material, they can sit back, show the Oscarnominated movies they have been dying to watch on their humongous Promethean boards, and play computer games using the Chromebook skills they acquired in August.

Since most on-level and honors courses administer the county’s standardized assessments, RQAs, and PARCC, teaching has never been easier in MCPS. Most teachers are expected to teach to the county tests, which allows them to conserve their energy for more important diversions, like marathoning Star Wars or gallivanting around the state to find the best diner food.

The abundance of testing also opens up the teaching profession to those who may have no interest in teaching at all. Since teachers are no longer expected to show creativity, free agency, or enthusiasm for their jobs, even

an incompetent robot can join the MCPS workforce and earn a good evaluation in the county’s eyes.

Of course, it is only fitting that teachers cannot plan their own curricula, since using Chromebooks is much higher on the county’s list of expectations. It does not matter what teachers do with them, as long as they make it seem like the $15 million MCPS spent was well worth it.

Hopefully the eight pre-service days in next year’s calendar are enough time to train teachers to power on their Chromebooks correctly and plug them back in to charge.

Students should appreciate the county’s recent slew of decisions that lift the burdens off their weary teachers’ backs.

With more training, fewer professional days, an emphasis on testing, and fewer opportunities to influence the curricula they teach, teachers in MCPS are sure to see their students’ PARCC and AP scores, as well as their salaries, skyrocket in the months and years to come.

Comments?

Questions?

Email silverchipsprint@gmail.com!

SHIVANI MATTIKALLI

Why I am glad I outsourced my job

By Cole Sebastian If you are a regular reader of the ombudsman (hey Mom!), you might be surprised to learn that my job as ombudsman extends beyond desperately surrounding my face with words. Beyond dwelling in the corner of B6, it is my responsibility to serve as

a public liaison for Silver Chips.

This means that I should improve public relations and outreach, recruit future journalism students, and handle complaints and concerns. However, these are considered to be less of day to day responsibilities and more like occasional responsibilities if a situation should arise.

Recently, a situation arose in which I got the opportunity to

pawn off my non-existent dayto-day responsibilities to a brand new staff member. With that, it is my honor to introduce Bennett Miller as the new Silver Chips Social Media Manager and Multimedia Specialist. Ben is taking over many tasks that I should be doing; including managing Silver Chips social media accounts, get-

Ombudsman Cole Sebastian ting feedback from readers, and increasing Chips’ online presence.

In addition, he is producing QR code videos and videos for Twitter.

It is often difficult to keep Silver Chips relevant in today’s world because we are a print publication and much of the world has moved on to exclusively digital media. According to a 2016 Pew Research study,

only five percent of people ages 18 to 29 get their news from print publications, while 32 percent get their news from social media. We can assume that those numbers are even more drastic for people in high school. Essentially, it is Ben’s job to utilize the massive social media market in order to get people to read the physical

GRIFFIN REILLY

newspaper.

Updating our social media presence is how we can adapt to the changing media landscape without breaking Silver Chips tradition. We are a print-only publication and always will be, but that does not mean we do not understand the resources we have beyond print journalism.

We brought Ben on board to take advantage of those resources.

Ben has also taken over the previously struggling Silver Chips Feedback Survey that I created last May. While I was able to average one response each cycle, I hoped that more people would take the survey without changing how it was advertised in any way.

Ben got 35 respondents on his first try. So, that was a real mixed bag of emotions for me. Ben is also able to interpret the results of the survey in a way that informs our decision-making, further bridging the gap between the paper and the readers.

Another big focus for Ben has been keeping Chips consistently relevant. Because we only publish every five weeks, it is hard to keep interest between cycles. Ben continues to use Twitter to inform Blazers on local news and relevant stories whenever Chips cannot.

The Silver Chips Twitter account used to only retweet stories from major news organizations between cycles, if even that, but Ben is now producing a constant stream of original content.

With his new strategies, Ben has increased followers by 15 percent and increased page views by 250 percent.

With all of his many improvements to outreach, I am grateful that Ben is doing the jobs that I should have been doing, so that I feel less guilty about not doing them. However, Ben can be most useful if you take advantage of opportunities afforded to you, the readers. Please direct message the Silver Chips twitter account, fill out our feedback survey, email me, and do everything you can to make your voice heard.

Questions? Comments? Concerns?

Contact the Blair Ombudsman at ombudsmansilverchips@gmail.com!

Correction On page A1 of the Feb. 2017 issue, the “Blue lives matter” photograph under Inside Chips was miscredited to Jedidiah Grady. The picture was taken by Caleb Bauman.

See a mistake?

Email silverchipsprint@gmail.com!

What do you think?

Feel free to access a feedback survey below to tell us what you think about Silver Chips!

Scan the code above with a QR reader app, or use the URL http://www.chipssurvey.com/ to access the feedback survey!

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March 10, 2017

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Features C1

Coming together: Blair in the wake of Brown v. Board

Blair’s history of integration after the landmark Supreme Court case

By Isabella Tilley Dorita Sewell, a young black girl in a sea of white, sits down on the school bus.

“You can’t sit there,” the white girl next to her says coolly. “I’m saving that seat for someone.”

The seat is a bench seat, and it is clear to Sewell that the girl does not need the whole seat. They are in middle school, and certainly Sewell, the white girl, and her friend can all fit onto one bench. “What she meant was … she didn’t want me to sit near her,” Sewell says, half a century later.

Sewell, a 1961 Blair graduate now in her seventies, still vividly remembers this junior high experience from the late 1950s, just after the Supreme Court decided to desegregate public schools in Brown v. Board of Education.

A slow start The Brown decision was made in May of 1954, at the end of the school year.

After that, any students of color who wished to attend another school could not be denied access to the school of their choice. MCPS was slow, however, to take steps that actively integrated schools.

The Board of Education initially proposed a 12-year plan for integration, but some Board members dissented, advocating for the integration of elementary schools by 1956 and the integration of high schools by 1957. Down-county secondary schools, like Blair, were integrated in 1956, and up-county high schools began integrating in 1957.

According to a June 1956 Sentinel article

by Dorothy Waleski, the “first year of integration was generally successful.”

Waleski observed that nothing bad happened to the white students as a result of integration, although several white parents worried about “communicable diseases,” “low achievement,” and “mixed dancing.”

Although high school integration began in 1956, Montgomery County was not considered completely desegregated until the lone black high school, Carver High School, was closed in 1961. Carver had opened only 10 years earlier, and according to Miriam Bunow, the education and outreach manager for Peerless Rockville, a Montgomery County historical society, it was a drastic improvement from earlier Montgomery County black schools.

“Carver was really an effort by the school board to achieve the actual phrase ‘separate but equal,’ in that it was a massive improvement in terms of the classes that were available, and even [the] physical building,” she says.

A closer look at Blair Despite the fact that, MCPS was considered “fully desegregated” by 1961, the racial demographics of the student body were still quite skewed. Sewell, who graduated in 1961, estimates that only about five percent of Blair’s 2,200 students were black. Sewell noticed that many of the other black students hung out together, but she was friends with a small group of white students, and thought of herself as a bit different than the other black students. “They were kind of underprivileged, and I didn’t consider myself underprivileged,” she says.

Compared to her intolerable junior high experience at nearly all-white Montgomery Hills, Sewell’s experience at Blair was unexceptional, although she was still well aware

of the racism of other students. “I think that the white kids were considered normal and the black kids were considered, you know, something weird,” she says.

Sewell is quoted in a local newspaper article from the late 1950s called “Blair High Makes Desegregation Succeed” as saying that “it takes a certain kind of person to become president of the student council, or a school hero.” That “certain kind of person,” she thought at the time, was a well-liked white student.

Today, Sewell no longer completely agrees with her comment. “That statement was an attempt to say … ‘There is racism here … no black kid is going to be president of student council,’” she explains. “But it didn’t take long … before black kids were president in council.”

Sewell attended Blair during the early stages of integration, and thinks that may have played a role in the treatment of black students. “Integration was brand new, and the people … got used to each other quickly.

It’s not that they were never going to get used to each other.”

Later, when her brother, who is three years younger than her, attended Blair, he found himself to be quite popular. “Everybody just loved my brother … he was a school hero!”

Sewell exclaims.

Sewell did not

mind her own lack of popularity. “It took probably a year or so for people to speak to me,” she says with a laugh.

She is and has been adamant about being content with her abnormalities. “I am— and was—a pretty odd person,” she says. “I certainly wouldn’t like to be like everybody else that I knew at Blair.”

Even though Sewell eventually came to embrace her differences, she looks back on her stint in middle school as the “most unhappy period of my life.” After attending an all-black middle school for a few weeks, she was sexually assaulted by a classmate, and her parents abruptly pulled her out of the school. At the time, even though not all schools were integrated, black students were allowed to go to any school of their choice in the county, regardless of its race.

Sewell’s parents took advantage of this and had her transferred to Montgomery Hills, where she was treated poorly by many of the students. One girl was assigned to show Sewell around and help her get from class to class, but Sewell often found herself wandering the halls of Montgomery Hills by herself, with no one to guide her. Sewell also suspects that many of the children had parents who were in the Ku Klux Klan.

Even teachers were unfair to Sewell. She

recalls one teacher who, despite Sewell’s standardized test scores showing that she was in the 99th percentile of students, refused to recommend her for an advanced math class.

Sewell did not let her middle school experience deter her from doing well at Blair, though. Sewell’s parents reminded her that she was “as good as anyone else,” and she went on to do well in all of her classes and participate in a variety of clubs, from the National Honor Society to the German Club.

By the time Kevin Moose, a 1975 graduate and current social studies teacher, came to Blair, the student body was more diverse.

A majority of the students were white, but there were more students of color, and Moose thinks that friend groups were wellmixed. “Racial tension … just really didn’t seem to be a factor at all in the school,” he says. “I think part of the reason why is we didn’t have this separation that we have today.”

The separation that Moose is referring to is the separation of students into different leveled courses, as well as into the Magnet and Communication Arts Programs.

Though there were honors and on-level classes, students did not have access to nearly the number of AP classes Blair has today.

“Kids were mixed … you didn’t have many chances to be separated,” he says.

Norman Stant, a former Blair English teacher, remembers when the county brought the Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Magnet program to Blair in 1985, a decade after Moose had graduated. Blair’s student body was becoming increasingly black and Latino, and MCPS was not shy about touting this fact as the reason to place a magnet program at Blair.

“The demographics changed, people were selling and moving out, and moving into bigger houses,” Stant says. “And, of course, then … the [number of] minority students grew because that was the real emphasis for bringing the magnet program in originally.”

MCPS hoped to raise Blair’s falling test scores by attracting more white and Asian students.

Dan Reed, a blogger for “Just Up the Pike” and occasional Washington Post columnist, confirms that Blair started to perform poorly in the 1970s. “I had heard rumors that they had even talked about closing the school entirely, but instead the magnet program sort of became a tool to attract middle class families back to that school, even if their kids weren’t gonna be in the magnet,” he says.

Reed adds that today, Blair has a more prestigious reputation because of its magnet programs. “It’s one of the most sought-after high schools in the county now,” he says.

Even though the student body today is more diverse than it was in the 1970s, Moose thinks that certain things have worsened since the 1970s, like student self-segregation and the achievement gap. “If you walk

“Our future prosperity depend[s] on a truly integrated and equitable MCPS.” -Dan Reed, Blogger for Just Up the Pike through the halls of Blair today you see divisions by race and ethnicity … there’s more

COURTESY OF KEVIN MOOSE

QUITE AMOOSED A young Kevin Moose, class of ‘75, smiles for his senior portrait.

divisions today [than] back in the seventies,” he says. “There wasn’t a stratification of classes … everybody was in the same … income zone … I don’t think we had the extremes of wealth and poverty that you see today, which certainly impacts how a kid views school and how a student performs in class.”

Integration today

Moose is not the only one to see the de facto segregation of students as a problem.

Reed says that there is a plethora of research indicating that integration has benefits for white students and students of color alike.

Researcher Heather Schwartz found that in Montgomery County, low-income students randomly assigned to public housing units in high-income neighborhoods performed better than low-income students in low-income neighborhoods, even though, according to the New York Times, the county spends $2,000 more per student in lowincome areas. According to the Century Foundation, students at integrated schools are more likely to graduate and go to college, and usually earn higher test scores.

Problems in public education are often tied closely to neighborhood demographics.

“Since … the boundaries are drawn based on that neighborhood, that school’s gonna reflect [the] population of that neighborhood,” says Reed. He explains that school segregation and neighborhood segregation are in a “feedback loop.” If a school is not doing well, families who can afford to move to a better school zone will do so, leaving behind the families who do not have the means to do so.

Today, when school boards consider the growing achievement gap, they rarely consider redrawing boundaries in an attempt to integrate schools. Reed attributes this to the bad political connotation of redrawing boundaries. “Politically, [redistricting] could be very difficult to do because naturally, if you are zoned for a really desirable school you might be concerned about losing that access, and there are folks even in Montgomery County who feel like if you change the school boundaries to include a less affluent area that your school might suffer as a result,” he says.

According to Reed, the fears of these wealthier residents are misplaced. “In reality, a lot of the research shows that that’s really not the case, and in fact students of all socioeconomic levels perform better in a diverse school [district],” he says.

Though Sewell played an important role in desegregating Blair over half a century ago, many people, like Reed, are arguing that actively pursuing integration is just as relevant today as it was after the Brown decision. “Our kids, our communities and our future prosperity depend on a truly integrated and equitable MCPS,” Reed writes in a column for the Washington Post. “It’s time for … the Board of Education to stop coasting on the system’s good reputation and start working to maintain it.”

silverchips

C2 Features

March 10, 2017

A city of immigrants responds to an unfamiliar administration

Silver Spring community voices their attitudes and concerns about immigration from IMMIGRATION page A1 are appreciative of the assortment of experiences the student population features. “I think the University of Maryland community is really welcoming to all backgrounds, although I think that certain groups would say that the University can always improve upon welcoming new people and its diversity,” she says.

Harry Deitch, the manager of MOD Pizza on Ellsworth Drive, spends his evening firing pizzas and striking up conversation with MOD customers. He engages with community members almost every day and, like Lopez, says that Silver Spring is composed of people from distinct backgrounds. “I don’t see an attitude [toward immigration], I just see a diverse community,” he says.

This diverse community that Deitch engages with on a daily basis is what makes Silver Spring so notable. A community with people from so many different places stands out to everyone, especially to the other immigrants who end up here.

Ericka Copper, Catering Manager at Eggspectation, immigrated to the country from Costa Rica and traveled across the world while serving in the U.S. military. Silver Spring, however, with its rich mix of ethnicities, stands out to her. “Out of all the places I’ve been, this is one of the most diverse places,” she says.

Because of the city’s diversity, Grace, an employee at Montgomery College who requested to be identified only by her first name, believes there is more tolerance of different backgrounds. “We don’t have a problem here with immigrants. We don’t care,” she says. “Everyone understands each other.”

Grace’s friend, Stephanie Nkatchou, waits with her to catch a movie in the Regal Majestic, and adds that immigrants are especially supportive of each other in a community so diverse because they understand each other’s experiences. “Especially in Silver Spring … I feel like because there are a lot of immigrants here … there’s no like discrimination type of stuff,” she says. “It’s more like everyone knows.”

As she sits to charge her phone in Silver Spring’s new Ellsworth Place, Northwood senior Nadeje Dogbo describes the support and encouragement directed toward her school’s immigrant population. “At Northwood we’re very over-protective of the students that are scared... like everyone’s scared for their friends who might not have papers,” she says, her voice breaking slightly. “I get a little emotional over it.”

While Dogbo believes that most of the Silver Spring community is tolerant and welcoming of immigrants, senior Itcenia Quezada, seated at a nearby table, says that she sees prejudice against ESOL students in Blair’s halls. “At Blair they’re supportive, but they tend to discriminate against the ESOL students a lot, knowing that they’re the most

ALEXANDRA MARQUEZ

SILVER SPRINGERS Community members Ericka Copper, Nadeje Dogbo, Itcenia Quezada, and Everton Plunkett (clockwise from top left) discuss their views on immigration while spending time in Silver Spring’s busy downtown hub. prominent group of immigrants at Blair,” Quezada says. “I guess they like frown upon them, like ‘Oh they’re ESOL kids.’”

New attitudes In recent months following Trump’s election and executive actions, many community members say they have noticed a surge of support for immigrants on their school campuses.

Kempler says that UMD students have gathered in groups to petition the school’s administration for more support. “A lot of the marginalized groups on campus have organized and created lists of demands to the university president,” she says. “I have seen various departments making efforts to reach out to people who are undocumented immigrants to protect them.”

“People have been coming together to protect immigrants, especially if they don’t have their status here yet,” says Lara Martin, another student at UMD. Quezada, the Blair senior, and Everton Plunkett, an Einstein alum, say more teenagers are defending immigrants’ rights in response to Trump’s actions. “There were a lot of people who didn’t care, but now that it’s actually happening around here, and

people are actually being taken out of their homes… now they actually want to notice or say stuff about it,” Plunkett says.

Despite noticing some positive changes since Trump’s election, Quezada says that the threat of deportation has stoked fear in the Langley Park neighborhood, where there is a large immigrant population. “I’ve noticed that there’s a lot less traffic later in the days because they don’t go out anymore in fear of being deported,” Quezada says.

In addition to reduced traffic, Sam Kreutz, an employee at Kung Fu Tea in Ellsworth Place, says he has observed stricter enforcement of the law, and in turn, more careful behavior to avoid drawing attention.

“I’ve noticed in the immigrant community a lot of people are much more cautious and try to stay away from the police and the law.

Especially when driving, I’ve also noticed a lot more policing,” Kreutz says.

At Northwood, Dogbo says that recent threats to the safety of immigrant students have shaken the community, and no one wants to see their friends in distress. “I feel like there’s a lot more tension and a lot more looking over your shoulder and I just feel like everyone is scared and it’s put everyone on edge,” Dogbo says. “It’s just not right.

We all feel like it’s not right and we all have friends who might not be here legally, but we’re happy they are.”

Future protections

ALEXANDRA MARQUEZ

MOVIEGOERS Friends Grace, Lara Martin, and Stephanie Nkatchou take a minute to voice their opinions about immigration before enjoying a Friday night film.

In January, Maryland lawmakers introduced legislation in the General Assembly that would prohibit law enforcement officials from complying with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requests and arresting individuals for immigration purposes. According to The Washington Post, the Maryland Law Enforcement and Governmental Trust Act’s passage could potentially jeopardize federal funding to the state.

Considering the possible consequences of the law, Plunkett, the Einstein alum, believes that protecting immigrant families is more important than securing funding. “People’s families outweigh just money. People’s love and family are worth a lot more than just money for the state. People come here to America to like live a happier life and make their own money, so why would you care about… the county’s personal money,” he says.

Dogbo agrees that cooperation with ICE should be limited, especially to protect people fleeing danger in their home countries.

“I think it’s worth it to be honest because what ICE is doing isn’t right and people come here for different reasons,” she says.

“I’d risk the chance of losing our funding

over someone who’s going back to country where they’re not safe… I think a life saved is way more valuable than funds.”

For Deitch, the MOD manager, immigration policy should be simple. “We allow people in and keep it diverse and anything that jeopardizes that is wrong,” he says.

However, some community members are less certain that cutting off communication with ICE is worth the risk of potential cuts to the state’s budget.

Kempler worries that any reductions to federal funding may affect tuition at UMD, a public institution. “Any sort of budget cuts would definitely, probably affect our tuition and cause us to pay more,” she says.

Grace, the Montgomery College employee, is adamant that the county would suffer from reduced federal funding, and supporters of immigration reform must find other avenues to protest. “I think you should follow federal rules. But if federal law sucks, then it’s difficult for me to tell you to follow it,” she says. “Make sure you’re mobilizing to change the law right now. Because honestly this area cannot deal with federal cuts. We don’t have the money to do that.

So you’re going to have to comply and then maybe organize at a grassroots level to help the community.”

While Copper, the Eggspectation caterer, echoes Grace’s sentiment, she has different concerns about the law. Copper believes that public officials need to find a way to keep people safe while enforcing the law fairly, even if that means complying with ICE sometimes. “I hate the fact that Trump brings up the cartels, and you know, the people that do all the bad stuff, the criminals,” she says. “But we kind of need to have some sort of balance between the two... There just needs to be some sort of balance where the police can work with ICE and vice versa.”

In Lopez’s eyes, a larger priority than undocumented immigrants is gang activity in the region, particularly by MS-13. “People are trying to go to school, they’re trying to get education, they’re trying to feed their families… and the cops are trying to do the same thing, they’re trying to do their job,” she says. “They have more things to be worrying about right here, on a day to day basis, than to be worrying about whether you’re legal or not.”

Lopez foresees that the Trust Act will need to slash through “a lot of red tape” to pass. For now, though, she is optimistic that Silver Spring will remain a safe place for its thousands of immigrant residents.

“You know, this is a welcoming community as far as I can see,” she says. “Nothing has changed to the detriment of it, so far, so let’s just hope it stays that way.”

Features C3

silverchips

March 10, 2017

From Main Street, U.S.A. to Blair Boulevard Blazers reflect on their upbringings in small towns across the country

By Olivia Gonzalez Five-year-old Campbell Walsh looks out her car window as the world outside rushes past her. She clenches the sides of her car seat, bracing herself for the long road trip ahead. Today marks the day she moves from her small-town home of Port Jefferson, New York to an unfamiliar big city in Maryland.

Home to a population about three times the size of Blair, Port Jefferson prides itself on its waterfront properties and its internationally renowned Charles Dickens Festival. Self-described on its website as “Long Island’s hidden treasure,” Port Jefferson has long been a place to call home for Walsh’s

family. “[My mom] grew up there, too, so she knew all the families, they went to high school together,” she says. “I couldn’t go anywhere without my mom knowing someone.”

Senior Aidan Young, too, felt like he knew everyone in Fletcher, Vermont. “Where I lived in Vermont, I knew every single person, because there was less people in my home town than are at Blair right now,” he says. “Everyone was really nice, and they were always willing to help out a bit.”

Young’s parents settled in Fletcher after spending their childhoods nearby in New Hampshire.

Fletcher is one of the smallest towns in Vermont, with only 1,277 people, according to the 2010 Cen-

sus. For Young, the change to big city life was a struggle. “Before living here, I lived in Boston, so that was a big transition,” he says. “I would have a hard time sleeping for a bit, because there would always be cars going by and sirens and I was not used to that at all.”

Sophomore Nina Boggan faced similar acculturative issues in her move from Bartlett, Tennessee, particularly at her new school. “I was used to wearing uniforms all the time, so my style was absolutely disgusting. I called all my teachers ‘ma’am’ and ‘sir’ before I realized that was weird,” she says. “I also wasn’t used to having a lot of other black people in my advanced classes, but I thought that was cool.”

In Walsh’s case, the biggest dif-

soapbox Do you consider Silver Spring a big city?

“I would consider Silver Spring a big city although I may be familiar with the area, I always see a lot of new faces.”

— Jake Kibunja, junior “I don’t consider Silver Spring a big city. It’s not very urban and I doubt the actual size is very large.”

—Jasmine Ali, freshman

ference was the increased diversity in Maryland. “I didn’t realize how many people there were aside from the people I knew, and how many other cultures and ethnicities there were. I knew there were a couple, but I didn’t know how many,” she says. “As I look back at it when I’m older, I’m like, wow, I grew up in an area [that] was very not diverse at all.”

For Boggan, Blair was a completely different place, both in its physical attributes and its practices. “[My old school] didn’t have a gym, so we would either go outside, or do aerobics videos in the hallways. You had to wear uniforms, and, if you didn’t tuck your shirt in, a big guy named Mr. Omari would yell at you,” she says.

“Also, corporal punishment is still legal in the state of Tennessee, so kids who did really bad things got carried off and spanked.”

Media teacher and BNC advi-

CARLY TAGEN-DYE

sor George Mayo spent his first two years teaching at a middle school in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

For him, Montgomery County is a much more diverse work environment, as he was one of very few male teachers in his county in Virginia.

“It just seemed like a welcoming of different ideas, more than that it was where I was teaching before,” he says. “[The other faculty members] didn’t really understand what I was doing, they thought my class was out of control, when we were just being active.”

Overall, these Blazers are happy that they now live in a bigger city, rather than a small, rural town. For Young, city life is simply more captivating. “It’s a lot bigger, there’s a lot more things to do, there’s a lot more courses to take, it’s more interesting, more interesting people around,” he says. “I think I’d be bored if I stayed where I was.”

Some teenagers fake it until they make it to 21

For underage students, using fake IDs is well worth the risk

By Leila Jackson Where only first names appear, names have been changed to protect the identities of the sources.

John stands in line at a Shop-Rite store to pay for a 40 ounce bottle of English Malt Liquor, even though he is a junior and more than three years underage. Getting away with it relies on his confidence, so he strikes up a conversation with a few people in line about the Super Bowl. Suddenly, he sees a police officer walking towards him from outside. Unexpectedly, the officer joins the conversation and just as John starts to relax, the officer asks if he has an ID. John pulls out the two by three inch rectangular piece of plastic he purchased from the internet, and, to his relief, the officer does not suspect a thing. For now, John is off the hook.

Self-reliance The most common reason students cite for getting a fake ID is to be able to purchase alcohol by themselves, especially when they get to college. Katie, a senior, just recently ordered a fake ID. “The whole party scene in college is big and to be able to provide for myself will be nice,” she says.

Jake, a senior, decided to get one because a lot of his friends were getting them together. “There was like a pool of people getting them together and I decided it was better to get one now,” Jake says.

“IDGod” Almighty The way that students like Jake

SHIVANI MATTIKALLI

and Katie get their fake IDs is through the internet, and primarily from a website called IDGod. IDGod is a service located outside of the U.S., and claims to be the “#1 trusted Fake ID website worldwide.”

Students can join a group chat where one person collects the information that is needed on their IDs such as weight, height, date of birth (with a different year), and a picture against a monocolor background, similar to the one at the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). The last step is for the student to sign on a blank piece of paper to be reproduced on the ID. The designated leader of the

group then enters each individual’s information onto the website and places a group order. “If you get four people from one state to order it then you get it for [a] discount,” John says. An individual order can cost at least $100, but the price lowers with each additional person added.

The only payment options for these IDs are through Bitcoin or Western Union. “So, you drop off cash at Western Union and they send it to this person and once they receive the money they can start making it,” John says. “It takes a month or two to get them and send them anonymously back through the mail.”

Fake ID, real charges Although carrying a fake ID can give students a sense of independence, it is illegal and results in serious consequences if caught.

According to the Maryland MVA, someone under 21 caught with a fake ID can face a fine up to $500, revocation or suspension of an actual driver’s license, and up to two months in prison.

Katie fears getting caught because she does not think she looks old enough to pass for a 21-yearold, but Sarah, another senior with a fake ID, is not too concerned.

“I’ve used it so many times. In all scenarios they check it for like a

second and it looks pretty authentic, I’m assuming. So, I haven’t gotten caught and I feel like I would’ve by now,” she says.

Suman Shrestha, the owner of Fenwick Beer and Wine, says that they have had some problems with underage customers trying to use fake IDs. He knows that they are fake if they do not scan at checkout, but he does not confiscate them.

“We don’t keep it, we just say come back when you’re 21,” Shrestha says. If, however, users claim that the ID is real, Shrestha takes more serious action. “If they try to argue then we will call 911,” he says.

None of these students have been caught, but all of them know stories about people who have been.

“One of my friends got caught because he went to a liquor store that he hadn’t been to before and they scanned it and [fake IDs] don’t scan, so he got it taken away, but that was the only consequence,” Sarah says.

According to John, getting a fake ID seems pretty simple because of the internet and the easy access it grants students to websites like IDGod. “Last year, less than 10 seniors I knew had a fake, but I’m getting like 15 people a fake right now and then another 10 people had a fake in the last pool,” John says.

Underage drinking has never been a secret, but fake IDs allow students under 21 to purchase alcohol for themselves.

“Fake IDs [are] kind of just power to the underage drinkers,” John says. “You know everyone is going to drink, but now it’s easier if I can just buy it.”

silverc

March 10, 2017

The growth of Deaf thea is a sign of the times

A look at deaf students in The Wiz and all-Deaf pro

[

It was in first grade that freshman Serena Rush first discovered her love for theater. At Kendall D Elementary School in D.C., a teacher showed Rush and her classmates the musical Annie, and i basics of putting on a show to the elementary schoolers. When Rush was cast as the lead role knew that she would be involved in theater for years to come. On the night of the performanc on stage in front of a crowd of parents, lifted her hands, and began to sign.

Rehearsal through an interpreter

About a month before showtime, director Kelly O’Connor strains to be heard over the music playing in the background as she shouts directions to a group of actors on stage fumbling through their dance routine. As many dancers listen intently to match their steps to the song, Gray is looking off to the side where Lori Yeh, an interpreter, stands signing “one, two, three, four,” over and over.

As many dancers listen intently to match their steps to the song, freshman Audrey Gray is looking off to the side where the interpreter stands signing “one, two, three, four,” over and over.

Although both Rush and Gray are able to understand what people say in individual conversations through listening intently and reading lips, in many situations with soft noises or an abundance of background noise, they quickly get lost. Gray can understand the music that she is dancing and singing to when that is the only thing she is listening to, but it takes effort. “Sometimes when I’m dancing, I focus a lot on what I’m doing so I kind of lose the music,” she says.

“I don’t really hear the music unless I really focus on it.”

Because of this, interpreters play a crucial role in rehearsals for Rush and Gray. Besides interpreting O’Connor’s instructions, the rotating team of Yeh, Kristan Pramuk, and Laurie Stiles let them know where they are in the play, and notify them of their cues to come on stage. “I try to interpret definitely anything that comes out of the mouth of Ms. O’Connor. Anything at all. And I try to match her tone of voice with my signing,” says Pramuk.

Usually, there is only one MCPS-provided interpreter at an after-school rehearsal. This can cause challenges in productions such as this one, where there are two deaf students who use sign language interpreting. “If one of them is doing the tornado dance and one of them is doing an emerald city dance, we can’t be in two places at once,” Pramuk says. In those cases, a second interpreter is usually on hand.

Because of this, interpreters play a crucial role in rehearsals for Rush and Gray. Besides interpreting O’Connor’s instructions, she

lets them know where they are in the play, and notifies them of their cues to come on stage. Normally, actors waiting in the wings rely on what they hear on stage to know when they come in.

Without the ability to hear what is going on, Rush and Gray must figure out where they are in the song through visual observation. “I have to get by by watching people around me and try to memorize the timing between moves,” Gray says.

Just like any teacher with hard of hearing students, O’Connor tries to accommodate Rush and Gray the best she can without knowing sign language. “I feel that I am more aware of how I’m expressing myself and that everybody can hear me and understand what I’m saying,” she says. She also tries to turn toward them when giving directions.

“She lets us sit where we want, which is usually near her ... and she’ll try to position herself so that the interpreter doesn’t be at an awkward pose trying to sign to us,” Gray says.

During rehearsals, the interpreter interprets what O’Connor, the choreographer, stage crew, and other students say, and sometimes helps Gray and Rush to keep the beat. During final performances, however, she stays backstage. “If it’s performance night, we tend to have the interpreter stay backstage so that way if there’s anything going wrong or something we need to know last minute, she can just come in and help us,” Rush says.

While the interpreter who is present at rehearsal is not always the same person who interprets the final performances, Pramuk says that she still feels a sense of pride when the show comes together.

“Watching a show come together and watching the enthusiasm of high school students making a big production or a small production is really really satisfying, even for the interpreters to watch happen,” she says. “I personally end up being really proud of them and I feel really fortunate to be able to be a part of the process.”

Matching pitch

The Wiz is a musical, so everyone in the ensemble sings. Many cast members first learned to sing in music classes at school, or by

singing along to the radio. At K School, a school run by Gallaude Rush took no music classes. In th which she credits for her dancing When she transferred to a ma of a sudden kids were singing in Rush had to tackle the impossib she could not fully hear.

When Rush and Gray read th their script, the tiny black dots a ings to hearing people as to what to them. To learn what the notes must match their voices to a pian Through a cochlear implant, piano and the human voice is exa if it’s by itself. If we’re singing w note or two,” Rush says.

This difficulty singing along match our voices with the pitch own voices,” Rush explains. “The our voices sound like, so we can’ Gray says the only way to m through “a lot of practice.” She w with singing experience to listen something on pitch, because she also takes singing lessons to hel loss.

Everybody talks to

While a hearing loss presents musical theater, it carries over in drama as well. In the noisy envir often unable to understand the th say. “I do find it hard because oft terpret social parts, and so you h

Features C4/C5

rchips all the people. And we’re high school students so we use a lot of slang, so it makes it even harder for us, we have to work our brains to connect the sound,” Rush says.

Pramuk says that the dynamic nature of rehearsal makes it especially hard for deaf students to hear. “There’s a lot of competing noise, which is trouble for any deaf or hard of hearing student because a set may be being constructed, sidebar conversations can be happening all over, and that can be difficult for a person who’s wearing hearing aids because that sound gets amplified, and it interferes with whatever the focused conversation is.”

For Rush, this communication barrier leads to a sense of isolation that began when she started participating in the spring musicals at Earle B. Wood Middle School.

For Rush, this sense of isolation began when she started participating in the spring musicals at Earle B. Wood Middle School. Although Wood has a deaf and hard of hearing program located at the school, Rush was the only deaf student in the cast of her production.

“It was very weird at first because I felt like I was alone, but then once the kids started to get to know each other a little more, you kind of felt comfortable, you felt part of the group,” she says.

The birth of Deaf theater

ater s

oductions

l Demonstrative d introduced the ole of Annie, she ce, she stepped

]

t Kendall Demonstrative Elementary det University for local deaf children, their place were silent dance classes, ing skills. mainstream school in third grade, all in music class, not just dancing. Now sible: learning to sing something that

d the lyrics and notes to a song from s and lines that hold concrete meanhat pitch they need to sing mean little es should sound like, Rush and Gray ano. nt, the difference in the timbre of the exacerbated. “We can hear [the piano] with it, usually we’ll go off by like a

ng to the piano is because “we can’t ch as well because we can’t hear our The piano is a little different from what an’t quite connect it.” make sure she is singing correctly is e will often ask her mother or a friend ten to her and hear if she is singing she is unable to tell for herself. Rush help her learn to sing with a hearing

too much

nts its own technical disadvantages in r into the social aspect of high school vironment of a play rehearsal, Rush is e things that her fellow cast-members often times the interpreter doesn’t inu have to look back and forth between

Rush and Gray’s first show was their elementary school’s production of Annie. In this class musical, the first graders signed all the parts to the play, with a voice interpreter speaking to allow hearing parents and guests to understand their lines. A short walk across campus from the elementary school is Gallaudet University’s Elstad Auditorium, where American Deaf theater was born.

According to Ethan Sinnott, the program director of Gallaudet’s theater and dance department, Deaf theater emerged as an art form in the first half of the twentieth century. It started out with people using American Sign Language (ASL) to tell jokes and stories at Deaf clubs, and by 1957 it had gathered enough momentum that the university set up a theater department. Originally, “it wasn’t people thinking, ‘I’m a professional actor.’ I think ... the prospect of being hired by a hearing company at that time was not likely,” Sinnott says.

While there have not traditionally been many opportunities for Deaf people to participate in theater, Sinnott explains that ASL as a language lends itself to drama. “There is a natural comfort zone that comes with being an actor and being Deaf, and communicating via ASL,” he says.

Often times, Sinnott, who also contracts outside of Gallaudet as a set-designer, will watch hearing performances in which the actors do not have the same quality of facial expressions as in Deaf theater.

“The use of ASL means that Deaf actors are naturally better communicators physically than their hearing counterparts,” Sinnott says. “I can’t tell you how many hearing productions that I’ve seen throughout the years where ... they look like wooden sticks moving around.

You just see their mouths moving, and that’s it.

For most profoundly deaf people, communication is an inherently visual task. Because of this, when directors translate the scripts of plays into ASL, they must keep in mind how well the audience is able to see what is happening on stage. This often leads to plays taking place in the smaller, more intimate black-box theater than in larger auditoriums.

Sinnott explains that set designers do not only have to consider the positioning of actors on the stage, but also have to ensure that people sitting in every corner of the audience have a clear sight-line to each actor at all times. “You have to think about that 360 view, and you have to be aware of the intimacy of the space,” he says.

The aspect of visibility in deaf theater translates to costume design as well. Costumes need to be loose enough to allow for large arm movement, and they need to contrast enough with the skin for the actor’s hands to pop out. This issue is especially prevalent for actors such as Sinnott who have fairer complexions. “The stage lights are very powerful and they can essentially wash me out. If my skin color is similar to what it is I’m wearing for a costume, it almost looks like it’s melting,” he explains.

When Rush and Gray view most live theater, they have to rely on interpreters or live captions to understand what is being said on stage. However, ASL productions, such as those put on by Gallaudet and the National Theater of the Deaf, are able to reach a much wider Deaf audience than spoken theater.

“If you have an all-Deaf cast, it’s really easy because you don’t have to worry about missing anything or trying to understand exactly what they’re saying,” Rush says. “If you have an interpreter you have to keep looking back and forth between the stage and the interpreter, and it’s really hard because you often miss things. You don’t enjoy it as much because you’re always watching the interpreter.”

Hearing productions

Since the National Theater for the Deaf was founded in 1967, an increasing amount of professional Deaf theater companies that perform in ASL have emerged, many in the D.C. area. However, many Gallaudet students who graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in theater seek to work in mixed or hearing productions, where they are generally met with resistance. According to Sinnott, “It is largely a hearing world, all the theater companies are largely hearing individual-based, and they’ve never had experiences with Deaf people and so they’re resistant to the idea of bringing on Deaf people into a company.”

A main issue that emerges for Deaf actors looking for work in hearing productions is the use of voice. Many profoundly deaf people, like Sinnott, have trouble speaking in a way that is easily under-

stood by the audience. “If I start using my voice, they relate my ability to speak with talent as an actor, and those are two very separate issues. And so a lot of times you’ll see people posting that they want a deaf actor, but they have to be able to speak well,” he says.

Sinnott believes that the voice should be viewed as part of an actor’s skills set, along with other items such as the ability to juggle or dance.

In theater, connections matter when looking for a job. To help Gallaudet theater majors find work after they graduate, Gallaudet has a residency partnership with the D.C. theater company Faction of Fools. The university allows them to use their space for rehearsals and space, but in return, they must include some Gallaudet actors in their performances.

Sinnott says that this gives hearing actors experience working with Deaf actors, and shows them the value that they can add to a production, so that when “that actor or that person moves on another theater company, they’re less inhibited, they’re more comfortable collaborating ... with Deaf people.”

In the end, “theater work is more frustrations than victories,” Sinnott says. “It is a slow, hard struggle, it’s been an uphill battle, but the thing is, it’s high risk, high reward in this field. And Deaf or hearing it doesn’t matter, that’s synonymous in the field of theater.”

However, once Deaf people get their foot in the door at a hearing production, communication is still an issue. Much like Rush and Gray, Sinnott has difficulty communicating with cast members during rehearsals on largely dark stages, especially without an often costly interpreter. “The last tech that I was involved in, one of the team members figured out it’s easy to text me in the dark versus trying to come down and talk to me,” he says.

Additionally, Sinnott has found that many hearing productions include Deaf actors as a gesture of tokenism. Trying out for productions himself, he found many hearing people “with no experience of Deafness or sign language or anything like that [thinking], ‘Look I’m going to be so nice, I’m going to involve this Deaf person, I’m giving them an opportunity.’ But typically that means giving them one line, or walking in and out of a scene. And that’s their moment on the stage.”

While theater gives everyone a place to express themselves, it has helped Rush and Gray push their limits of what they thought they were capable of. “It’s been hard but fun at the same time,” Rush concludes. “I’m starting to find these new things about myself and my Deafness.”

► DEAF THEATER Rush (left) is profoundly deaf, meaning she cannot hear at all on her own, but hears through a cochlear implant and hearing aid. She and Gray (right) are the only Deaf students in Blair’s spring production of The Wiz, where they must learn to overcome their hearing losses to display their love of song, dance, and theater.

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Story by Erin Namovicz Photos by

Chaminda Hangilipola

Design by

Dawson Do

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March 10, 2017

It’s Academic buzzes its way into the semi-finals An inside look at one of Blair’s most prestigious and successful teams

By Noah Chopra-Khan Sophomore Anson Berns is on the edge of his seat, drumming his fingers and trying to calm his mind. The moderator begins reading out the next question. “In 1999, Irish poet Seamus Heaney transla-” “Buzz!”

Berns lifts his hand from the buzzer. “Beowulf,” he answers, bringing Blair one step closer to a win against Sandy Springs Friends School and an undefeated season in the Montgomery Academic Beltway League, the county quizbowl league.

Berns is a member of Blair’s nationally recognized It’s Academic team. This elite group of students enters a variety of quizbowl competitions to showcase their knowledge on a wide range of topics.

They do not win big prizes or large sums of cash; rather, they play for the joy of competing, and the pride that comes with winning.

The bulk of the team’s time, however, is spent practicing. Members meet every day during sixth period, as well as after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays in room 215. “We started lunch practices this year, it wasn’t as prominent in years past,” senior Sambuddha

COURTESY OF BENNETT MILLER

SCHOLASTIC CHAMPIONS It’s Academic takes pride in their awards and success in clinching an undefeated season this year.

Chattopadhyay says.

Chattopadhyay joined the club in his freshman year through a lucky accident. “I walked in thinking it’s the physics team, and they were doing trivia and I was like, ‘Oh, this is cool,’” he says.

Sophomore Ian Rackow also started playing as a freshman, and he says he appreciates how the game has expanded his horizons.

“I really like it sort of as a way to expose myself to a lot of different things. When you’re studying you learn a lot about history or literature or science. Things that I haven’t already learned in school, or being in the magnet, stuff that I don’t focus on,” he says.

Berns enjoys the game for similar reasons, as he can learn more about the humanities and stay mentally fit, as well as for the competitive nature of the game. “It’s fun to play and it’s fun to win,” he says. “We take it seriously, you know. We want to win. So being in a game, the score is close, you got a couple questions left, and there is definitely a strong competitive spirit.”

On Feb. 18, the team advanced to the semi-finals of the It’s Academic competition. Beyond the game show, the team competes in numerous tournaments in the area, from Richmond to Baltimore. “We have a circuit here, like we know other teams that we play, and there’s a national tournament. So it’s not just like idle sitting around reading books or whatever. We do play the game and there is a fierce desire to win,” Berns says.

That fierce desire to win is

evident in their competitive after school practices. “Part of what makes practice so good is we can play against each other, see where our weaknesses are,” Chattopadhyay says. “We just scrimmage the entire time basically.”

During the scrimmages, a student reads out a set of questions to an attentive group of competitors, all ready to buzz in and answer.

The team also makes sure to practice different formats of questions used in all of the competitions.

The format of the It’s Academic show taped in NBC studios is all about speed, according to Berns.

“The focus will be one clue long and it focuses on coming in fast,” he says.

Speed questions are very quick and rely on fast recall, but Berns’ favorite format is pyramidal.

“The questions are longer and in the shape of a pyramid,” he says.

“Few people should know it at the beginning. More people should know it as the question goes on and everyone should know it at the question’s end.”

For this format, the goal is to be in the small minority of people who know the answer in the beginning, before the complete question is read. This takes a huge amount of effort: combing through thousands of questions, building a huge base of knowledge, and then specializing in a certain subject.

Berns, for example, specializes in literature. “For me, that means reading lots of short stories, novels, poetry and familiarizing myself with world literature,” he says.

Fortunately, the team’s tremen-

dous efforts have been paying off, according to physics teacher James Schafer, who has been coaching the team for about 10 years. “I think right now we have a group of students that are incredibly dedicated to becoming really outstanding players,” he says.

Schafer says the game requires two crucial skills. One part is “having the right knowledge base,” he says, “and the other part is being mentally strong enough to overcome the challenges from the other team.”

More than a simple recall of knowledge, quizbowl requires students to roll with the punches and regain composure after every win and defeat. “Our mantra is: the most important question is the next question,” Chattopadhyay says. “I buzz in, I mess something up, and I try to forget about it. And we try not arguing about it. Because when we argue, that’s going to cost us the next one and maybe the next one.”

The team has a few competitions coming up, including a statewide tournament hosted by the University of Maryland on March 11, a tournament at Georgetown University on March 18, and a tournament at Thomas Jefferson High School on March 25, which will include the number one team in the country, Detroit Catholic Central.

With months of practice under their belt, the team members feel prepared to keep their successful season going. “A lot of quizbowl is about momentum. If you’re winning, keep the momentum going,”

A life of travel, at home and overseas

The challenges of military families on the move

By Gilda Geist In the summer of 2015, Ayzia Mosher arrives in Silver Spring.

Her family’s new apartment is right in the center of downtown.

She can hear the cars and buses rush down the busy streets outside the window of her tree-lined apartment building. It is not Mosher’s first time moving to a new home.

It is her sixteenth.

Mosher has lived in South Dakota, Illinois, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and even Belgium. This is because her father, Captain Caleb Mosher, is a member of the Air Force Reserves. His job requires him to move his family around the country. Two years ago, his job brought him to Silver Spring. Now, as Mosher finishes her senior year of high school at Blair, her parents live in Massachusetts, where Captain Mosher has been most recently stationed.

Mosher is renting a room with some of her friends and coworkers. After years of moving around because of her father’s job, she wants to stay in Maryland.

Like Mosher, many students at Blair have parents in the military. While many military kids often move around the country, or even the world, each has a unique experience. Whether it is school, friends, or family, the military impacts every aspect of these students’ lives.

World travelers After spending so much of her life traveling, Mosher plans to settle down for a few years to attend the University of Maryland. “This is my favorite place,” Mosher says.

“I feel really at home here and I’d

like to stay here for a while.”

Freshman Orin Hughes has lived in Ohio, California, and Louisiana, and moved to Silver Spring in 2014. His mother, Calisha Jameson, is a chief in the Navy and works in a hospital. His stepfather, Nelson Jameson, is a sergeant.

Hughes’s experiences with moving differ depending on where he lives. He says that during his time in Ohio and Maryland, he has made several good friends. “I’ve met some people that help me get through life,” he says.

After years of being on the road, both Mosher and Hughes plan to graduate from high school in Silver Spring.

Deployment difficulties While traveling the world can be exciting, being in a military family also comes with hardships, like regularly having a parent away from home.

In 2016, after she had spent two years at Blair, junior Emily Munroe’s family moved to Landstuhl, a military base in Germany. Monroe’s mother, Michele Munroe, is currently the Assistant Deputy Commander for Nursing at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

In 2008, Munroe’s mother was deployed to Iraq. According to Munroe, the time away from her mother was difficult for her father and led to her parents’ divorce.

“He took to alcohol to deal with his problems instead of getting some help,” Munroe says.

According to Munroe, these difficulties are more common among military families than people may expect. “You don’t know what’s going to happen while they’re over there, and when they get back they

might have PTSD,” Munroe says.

Munroe is not the only military kid to have concerns when her parent is away. Mosher’s father was deployed to Afghanistan for six months, just after her family had moved to Silver Spring. Although he was not in combat during his time in Afghanistan, his position could still have put him in danger.

“It’s more secure than other jobs, but it’s never safe,” Mosher says.

Except when her father is deployed, Mosher and her family move to wherever he is stationed.

“Being deployed is always rough, but … we always move with him so he’s not away from us ever,” she says.

When Mosher’s father returned from Afghanistan, he shared some of his experiences with his family.

“While he was over there he didn’t want to worry us, but once he got back, he told us a few stories of things that happened to him over there where he was definitely in danger,” Mosher says.

In addition to struggles in family life, military kids can sometimes face stigma. Senior Jasmine Blassingame’s father was a sergeant major and retired two years ago. In her experience, people sometimes make assumptions when they hear that her father was in the military.

“Most people who aren’t in military families, they don’t understand how the military works…” she says. “People don’t go into the military to kill others. They’re there for their jobs, and a lot of people don’t understand that.”

Forming friendships One thing that Munroe enjoys about being a military kid is the number of friends she has made.

COURTESY OF AYZIA MOSHER

HOMECOMING Ayzia Mosher reunites with her father Captain Caleb Mosher after he returns from being deployed in Afghanistan.

In Munroe’s experience, people have been very welcoming. “It’s just so great to see people moving and accepting you, even though you’re going to move,” she says.

“It’s kind of nice having that joining effort to make you feel more comfortable.”

While Mosher says that she does not find it hard to adjust to a new home, it can be difficult to maintain friendships. “It’s not that hard to adjust to new places because I’ve been doing it since I was born,” she says. “The hardest part

is just not being able to make close friendships.”

This was true for Mosher when she moved to Silver Spring. At first, she loved the area, but had trouble finding friends in such a large school.

“My first day at Blair was not as good as my first experience in Silver Spring,” Mosher says. “It was actually really rough for a little while until I found the solid group of friends that I found, and I love them to death now and I’m so glad that I have them.”

March 9, 2017

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March 10, 2017

Date Lab: A different kind of making love Behind the scenes of The Washington Post’s matchmaking series

By Isabella Tilley Among the many ways to find true love -- Tinder, Christian Mingle, and Match.com, just to name a few -- one method stands out from the rest: Date Lab! The service is a good old fashioned matchmaking enterprise run by real people, not algorithms, at the Washington Post Magazine.

In today’s modern age, computer algorithms are being used to help improve lives in a variety of , including medicine, statistics, and online dating. Any dating site that asks you to fill out an application is mostly likely using your answers to collect information, which they then plug into a computer algorithm that can find matches or tell you your percentage match.

Date Lab is different. Created in 2006, this section of the Washington Post Magazine uses a real, live matchmaker to pair up applicants and send them on dates together.

When you apply, your information enters a database with over 7,000 other applicants, leaving it all up to matchmaker and features writer Christina Antoniades, who has been working as Date Lab’s matchmaker since 2008.

Date Lab applicants fill out a questionnaire and attach a few pictures. Some of the questions are basic, requiring you to fill out your name, age, job, gender, and sexual orientation. Antoniades uses these to narrow down the field, before taking a look at the more interesting questions.

There are questions about your type, your dream date, and absolute deal-breakers; other parts require you to describe yourself in one word, or to brag about yourself.

Antoniades sifts through this information to find other applicants who share common traits. “I would look for things that they can maybe kind of connect over … activities that

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

MATCHMAKER, MATCHMAKER Christina Antoniades is the lady behind the magic of reviewing all Date Lab applications to make each of the matches by hand. they like to do … a similar outlook on life,” she says.

Once Antoniades has narrowed down a list of candidates for a specific applicant, she goes through the questionnaires again and tries to figure out which candidate has the most in common with the applicant she is trying to match. Today, she is trying to find a match for a late-twenty-something international TV reporter whose dream date is a “human rights lawyer who knows how to party.”

Antoniades compares the self-described “quippy” TV reporter’s musical tastes, favor-

ite books and movies, and political leanings with those of her five candidates. She tries to match people who give similar responses, but she also pays attention to responses to questions like “pitch a dating show” to see if the applicants will be compatible in terms of personality, and where they are in life. “I look for two people that I think will hit it off, and that, at the very least, will have an interesting evening together, but always the goal is that there will be some romantic potential, as well,” she says.

At the end of her matchmaking session today, Antoniades has ranked five appli-

cants to try to send on a date with the TV reporter, but sometimes, the process can take much longer. Working from home, she spends an hour or two each day sifting through applications, and sometimes it can take years to find a suitable match. According to Antoniades, she keeps the difficult matches in the back of her mind while going through new applications.

Antoniades recognizes that, sometimes, it does not matter how a person looks on paper. When reflecting on her own personal dating experience, she says that it can be valuable to overlook certain expectations.

“I know there were people I had dated that if I had written down on paper what I was looking for, I would not have gone out with them.”

In one of Date Lab’s best matches, Antoniades remembers overlooking certain parts of Megan Knight and Grant Schafer’s applications. Now, Knight and Schafer are married.

Other times, great Date Lab matches have connected over something that they did not even mention in their applications. “Often there’s something that I did not know about them that did not lead me to match them, and there was a point of connection for them,” Antoniades says.

After a series of particularly unfortunate dates in 2008, Date Lab matchmakers threw up their hands and put their commenters’ hypothesis to the test - “a monkey could do it.” They had Rockville native Armani, a tiny capuchin monkey, do the matchmaking for them. Armani chose two pictures, and the match ended up going on a date that they both rated as a 5 on a 1-5 scale. In the new age of Tinder and Match.com, and even with the old-fashioned Date Lab, it can be easy to forget that there is another way to fall in love: a lucky coincidence.

A culinary journey to three authentic restaurants An insider’s guide to hidden food havens around the Silver Spring area

By Noah Chopra-Khan

The warm, tasty smell of pupusas wafts through the dining room from the counter in the back. Grumbling stomachs are audible throughout the restaurant when each order number is called, but no one minds the wait.

La Casita’s delicious authentic food draws the Silver Spring community in through its doors every day to satisfy cravings for Salvadoran food.

Silver Spring was recently ranked the fourth most culturally and ethnically diverse city in the U.S. by WalletHub. This diversity is well represented in the wide variety of culturally authentic restaurants in the area. A few area establishments stand out for their service and their delicious authentic food: Spicy Delights, La Casita, and Sushi

Jin Next Door.

Spicy Delights Greeting newcomers and repeat customers with compassion, a smile, and the plentiful aroma of cocoa bread, Ms. Spicy has been running Spicy Delights for over 23 years.

Whether it be curiosity, close proximity to the Takoma metro, or high Yelp ratings that bring people in, the consistently delicious Jamaican dishes keep them coming back.

Mr. Jon, the sole chef, has been working the kitchen since its opening. “I love what I do and I do it with passion,” he says.

At Spicy Delights, the passion he mentions is present in every dish, although two stand out as favorites: the oxtail and the jerk chicken. The tenderness of the oxtail

meat itself is perfectly cooked and ready to fall off the bone. The tender meat is paired with a delicious sauce that is both savory and sweet. For those more attracted to spice, the jerk chicken is phenomenal. The meat is topped with a spicy marinade made with pimenta, a hot Jamaican spice, and intense hot peppers.

La Casita As they walk into La Casita, diners see families enjoying tasty meals and embrace the smell of fresh pupusas. This restaurant is known for its friendly service and traditional Salvadoran food. “The view was always to go Salvadoran and we didn’t want to diverge from that,” says Jaime Arbaiza, one of the founders and the manager of La Ca-

sita on Piney Branch Avenue. La Casita was originally a Salvadoran market, but in 2002, officially became a restaurant. Although it has been around for over a decade, La Casita’s menu has been fairly consistent from the beginning. “We just wanted to stay true to what we were, Salvadoran food, pupusas, things like that,” Arbaiza says.

La Casita’s pupusas are the flagship dish of the restaurant. A pupusa is a thick, handmade corn tortilla filled with cheese, chicken, beans, pork, or squash. The “pupusas revueltas,” made with ground fried pork and cheese, are marked on the menu as a favorite, and they are deserving of their praise. The pupusas are cooked on a skillet to lightly charred perfection, and the meat is well seasoned.

Many patrons complete their meal with a traditional Salvadoran drink. A quality option is horchata, a refreshing drink made with milk, chocolate, cinnamon, and rice.

Sushi Jin Next Door

CALEB BAUMAN

PUPUSAS GALORE Local Salvadoran restuarant La Casita is known for its pupsas, which can be filled with cheese, beans, and pork.

The small entrance for Sushi Jin Next Door leads into a cozy restaurant. Hardwood paneling lines the walls, complimented by warm lights overhead and delicate pottery lining the tall shelves.

The Yakitori grilled chicken on skewers is an amazing appetizer. It is seasoned to great flavor, cooked to a tenderness, and topped with a sweet delicious sauce.

The flying dragon roll is one of over 80 options for sushi at the restaurant and it stands out for its fun presentation and delicious taste. It is a long roll made with rice, seaweed, avocado, other vegetables, and an entire cooked eel. It is drizzled in sauce and topped with garnishes to look like a dragon.

Each restaurant is truly outstanding. Sushi Jin Next Door has the widest range of options, but it is definitely the most expensive.

La Casita feels the most authentic to its cuisine’s country of origin, with specialized dishes to El Salvador and traditional drinks.

Also, La Casita is the cheapest option.

The best of the three restaurants is Spicy Delight. Unfortunately, there are few seats.

Fortunately, everything else is amazing.

The service from Ms. Spicy is kind and the Jamaican dishes are awesomely spiced and perfectly cooked.

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March 10, 2017

Ooh! Ahh! Why are we called the Blazers?

Uncovering the mysteries of our famed mascot’s origin were only referred to as “Blairites,” with no unique name to characterize the school, but some of the student body wanted a way to collectively identify themselves.

In 1941, the sports editor of Silver Chips at the time, Joe Savarese, created a contest in which students submitted nickname ideas to the staff. Later, the list was consolidated into the top ten ideas for the students to vote on.

“They had 50 different names suggested,” Levin explains. “Some of them were kind of throwaways, and they weren’t going to use them. One of them was the Twerps, which is a take-off of the Maryland Terps, and things like that.”

Eventually, the final 10, which included names such as Red Devils, Scarlet Scrappers, Bombers, Cardinals, and Bullets, were distributed on ballots for students to select their favorite. Blazers came out on top with “approximately 25 percent of the Montgomery Blair student” vote, according to Levin. He says that students were particularly drawn to the name Blazers because “Blair Blazers was alliteration, and secondly, the school colors were already red and white, so the Blazers fit,” since the name is now associ-

By Alexander Dacy The Blazer. It is omnipresent as students walk through the Blair halls. It looms over the giant wall in the gymnasium. The little red devil is on posters, agenda books, tshirts, and more. No one can escape Blair without seeing the image of a devil with a pitchfork at some point during the day.

It is an integral piece of the school’s identity, but where does this enduring mascot come from? Blair’s mascot has been the Blazer for years, yet no one seems to know its origin, how it was chosen, and why a Blazer is likened to a devil.

While current Blair students do not appear to know the origins of our nickname, they do have wide-ranging theories as to how the Blazer came to be. Sophomore Alya Fawal believes the name stems from the word “trailblazers,” a nod to Blair students leading the way. “I think it might have something to do with the idea of trailblazing, which I know was a thing that Montgomery Blair had a fair amount to do with,” she says.

Sophomore Adam Kristensen, on the other hand, thinks the name arose as a memorial to a past fire, since a “blaze” corresponds to a fire. “I think it came from our old building burning down,” he concludes.

Alternatively, freshman Souleyman Diop theorizes the name was born from a reference to a popular drug. “I think we’re called the Blazers because the school was made on 4/20, and a lot of these people at the school, they do a lot of bad stuff,” he says, referring to smoking marijuana. The terms “4/20” and “blaze,” as in Blazers, are slang words for

soapbox

AVERY LIOU

marijuana.

Sophomore Micah Contee credits the name to students “doing bad stuff,” but in a different context than Diop. “I think we got our name Blazers because teenagers were wild, like the devil,” he explains. “We’re evil, we’re wild, and we like having sex, and our hormones are everywhere.”

None of these student theories are correct, however. According to Mark Levin, Montgomery Blair Alumni Association PresiThis story is accompanied by a dent, the name was video shot by Chaminda Hangiliactually chosen after pola and produced by Ben Miller. a proposed vote.

Use the QR code to check out When Blair was eswhat other Blazers thought about tablished in 1935, the school did not have a the origins of our mascot. mascot. The students

ated with a devil, and devils are predominantly red.

While this explanation is simpler than most students theorized, our school’s nickname is still relatively popular among students. Junior Osman Vural likes the mascot because of how different it is. “I like the name because it is very unique,” he says.

“Most other schools have animal nicknames, most of which are repetitive and not interesting.”

Sophomore Alex Holland is a little less receptive of the name than Vural, explaining that the name elicits many marijuana jokes at the school’s expense, but notes that it “could be a lot worse.”

The Blazer is an integral part of Blair’s culture. The term is heard hundreds of times every day, and appears almost everywhere in the building. While there is still no clear explanation as to why a Blazer is represented as a devil, there is a simple answer to a long-asked question about our name’s origin: a vote.

Maybe solving that final mystery is the next step in blazing the path to uncover another part of our school’s history.

If you could choose Blair’s mascot what would it be and why?

“I would choose a snake because there are many people that bite in this school.”

— Odalys Zaldana, freshman “Blair’s mascot would be a cardinal beacuse it’s still the school colors and doesnt discriminate against people who religously can’t support the devil mascot.”

— Chris Rodriguez, junior

Magical creatures, deep trenches, and mind control, oh my!

Taking a look at this year’s most noteworthy scientific discoveries

By Elias Monastersky More than 13,000 feet under the sea, a light coming off of a small submarine reveals dozens of pale crustaceans clinging to the cracked, rocky surface of an unexplored volcanic vent. Organisms that live this deep in the ocean have to deal with the crushing pressure of about 5,800 pounds per square inch. For reference, the normal pressure that humans experience is about 15 pounds per square inch. This is just one of the many discoveries that have shocked the science community in the last few months.

Science is a terrifyingly wonderful thing.

New innovations occur every day as scientists work tirelessly to answer the unsolved

TIFFANY MAO

mysteries of the world. Yet often times, these breathtaking advancements in the scientific world are left unrecognized by those outside of it. From discovering new creatures to controlling primal instincts, the discoveries and experiments that have happened these past couple of months deserve some recognition.

Gandalf, Harry Potter, and other magical beings There are always new organisms being discovered on Earth. Recently, however, there has been an abnormally popular trend that involves naming new creatures after popular characters from movies and books.

From amoebas to apes, this craze can make for some entertaining organism classifications.

Amoebas are single celled organisms that move and eat using pseudopods (temporary foot-like projections). While they are tiny in size, one recently discovered species has an extremely distinct and recognizable shell.

According to Live Science, the aptly named Arcella gandalfi looks exactly like the hat worn by the famous Lord of The Rings wizard, Gandalf. The hat shape located on the amoeba is actually a shell that helps keep the organisms’ inside moist as well as shield the cell from harmful ultraviolet rays.

While anyone who lives in Maryland is already a crab expert, the wizarding world of Harry Potter also shares an interest in crustaceans. It may not be magical, but the newly discovered crab named Harryplax severus took 20 years to be recognized as a new species after it was found. The biologists at the National University of Singapore who found the crab, Peter Ng and Jose Christopher E. Mendoza, happened to be Potterheads and took the opportunity to name the crab after

two iconic characters from the popular book series. Normally found at deep depths, the creature is well adapted to its environment and has small eyes and strong antennae to accommodate for the lack of light.

Naming animals after Star Wars characters and creatures is nothing new; there are Greedo fish, sarlacc spiders, Chewbacca moths, Yoda worms, and now Skywalker apes. The Skywalker hoolock gibbon is one of the three species in the genus of hoolock gibbons. The Star Wars inspired name also describes the ape’s favorite method of transportation: by tree.

However, the discovery of the species also shined a light on its endangered status.

Like the other small apes that live in southern China and Southeast Asia, the Skywalker gibbon faces habitat loss and hunting.

The discovery of new species acts as a reminder that there is still so much that we do not know about our planet. It also encourages the need to learn about, discover, and protect these new animals.

Earth’s last frontier Because humans have lived on Earth for the past 200,000 years, some may believe that every place on the planet has already been explored. An unmapped site recently found near the Mariana Trench proved this idea to be untrue. More than 13,000 feet under the ocean’s surface, the newly discovered ecosystem is located near volcanic vents and is full of life.

According to National Geographic, the abundance of organisms may lead to the discovery of new species that are unique to these volcanic areas. The location has three hydrothermal volcanic vents: cracks in the earth that release geothermally heated wa-

ter.

This is an entirely new area of the world to explore, and the possibilities of new animals (and more funny names) make this an exciting scientific discovery.

Laser mice

Predatory instincts may seem unnecessary in a world where people get their food at a supermarket and rarely have to fight to survive. However, just because people do not use them does not mean they have disappeared from human intuition. According to Nature, Ivan de Araujo, a neurobiologist at Yale University, and his colleagues recently discovered a way to activate this hunting instinct in mice, causing them to display stalking and feeding activities on almost anything placed in their cage. This would not, however, turn them into mindless zombies.

They refrained from attacking other mice and showed no increase in aggressiveness.

This behavior is accomplished by infecting the mouse with a virus that causes their neurons to be sensitive to blue light. The scientists then used a small optical fiber to shine a blue laser on the amygdala, the area of the brain that contains the predatory instinct and emotions like fear. When the blue laser was on, the mice would hunt anything from bottle caps to crickets.

The application of this process on humans is still far away, but could help cure addictive behavior and diseases like PTSD. There are always mind-blowing things going on in the science world, so it is interesting to see what scientists are up to.

Whether it is discovering new species or mind controlling mice, it is nice to see that there is more to this world than meets the eye.

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March 10, 2017

Victory and heartbreak on Bingo Night

Blazers of Note

Retirement home volunteers and residents enjoy bingo

By Christian Mussenden

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

Noah Stern Sophomore Following the death of his father last year, sophomore Noah Stern wrote an article for the Health and Science section of the Washington Post. “My ‘superhero’ died: A teenager confronts his dad’s mortality “ details Stern and his family’s experience coping with his father’s illness and death. “It’s for my dad, just in general, to remember him and for other people to know what the experience feels like if they’re going through it,” he says. “And just to help people understand what was really happening last year.”

Stern was inspired to write the story after both his mother and father wrote articles about their experiences for the Post this past year. “When I was going to sleep one night I thought of writing one myself,” he says. “I texted my mom asking, ‘Can I do this?’ and she got me in touch with the person.”

To anyone else who might be dealing with the death of a parent, Stern advises seeing a therapist. “I refused last year, which wasn’t the best idea, [but] now that my mom has been forcing me to go to one it’s really helped a lot,” he says.

It is 6:30 on a Friday night and I walk into recreational room at The Village at Rockville, a retirement community in Rockville, for a night of bingo. The silence in the room is almost deafening. I look around to find that the participating residents are laser-focused on their boards, and the competitors become more on edge when a volunteer spins the contraption containing the numbers. The metal grating of the balls envelops the small, diamond-shaped room.

“B4!’ a man yells, and soon the game starts all over again. After a couple of numbers have been called, a resident raises his voice. “Bingo!” he shrieks, and after a quick confirmation by the caller, a paper ticket is handed out by one of the many volunteers standing around. Soon, cries of “Bingo!” ring out around the room, and volunteers scramble to hand out the tickets to the increasing number of victors.

It is 6:45 on a Friday night, and while others would be much happier spending their Friday nights out with their friends or partying, the volunteers at The Village in Rockville appear to be more than happy to sacrifice their Friday evening to help out at their local retirement home.

Melissa Blackstone, the Volunteer Coordinator at the Village in Rockville, says Bingo Night is one of the center’s most popular activities. “The residents really love bingo, they follow bingo, they know the rules of bingo. It gets really quiet, really competitive, because they’re all so focused on bingo,” Blackstone says.

During my trip to the retirement home, I meet Natyia Kumar, a tenth grader at Wootton, and she agrees that Bingo Night is special. “Bingo Night is different from everything else,” Kumar tells me. “Almost everyone from the building, every resident from the building participates. It’s very fun

Ben Auslin Junior Imagine a world where students care more about their credit scores than their GPAs. This is the subject of junior Ben Auslin’s article “Economics shouldn’t be an elective,” recently published in the Wall Street Journal. Auslin was inspired to write this article after recently realizing that he never knew exactly what people meant when they referenced “the economy.”

Taking his concerns a step further, Auslin decided to write an article about it.

“I decided that this was an issue that not only interests me, but moreover should be of great concern to the public,” he says.

“Imagine the consequences of unleashing a generation that does not understand concepts such as credit and debt into adulthood.”

Auslin pointed to schools as the solution, since they are a place where everyone is educated. Requiring economics, Auslin believes, is making that education more applicable to students’ futures. “If someone isn’t there to tell us what we need to know, and guide us through the concepts, then the problem gets worse with every graduating class,” he says. “With the right knowledge, our generation might actually not make matters worse and wouldn’t that be great?”

to see everyone, and to help them out.”

Bingo Night is not the only activity that the residents partake in. Around the room there are posters reminding everyone about upcoming exercise classes and movie nights, as well as a litany of other miscellaneous activities. All of this is made possible by the tireless work of the volunteers.

Kumar volunteers almost every day after school because of the center’s proximity to her school. “This is literally half a mile away from my school, so it’s really convenient because I can walk here every day,” Kumar says. “There’s a lot of work to be done, and a lot of responsibilities, so that’s why I started.

But it’s a lot of fun work.”

All the hard work, Kumar believes, is worth it, as the experience of volunteering here has had a significant impact on her.

“The great thing about this place is that it’s so much fun,” Kumar says. “You meet a bunch of new people, you hear a bunch of life stories that are really interesting, and you do a lot of fun stuff.”

Blackstone agrees that teenagers can benefit from interacting with seniors. “I think that kids can learn a lot from our residents,” she says. “They have a lot of stories to tell, a lot of life lessons to teach.”

As for new volunteers, Blackstone encourages all prospective volunteers to come to Bingo Night and help out themselves. “I would tell a volunteer who’s on edge specifically about coming here, to come, and to come to Bingo Night,” Blackstone says.

“Once they come to Bingo Night, they’ll probably want to come back. The residents, unlike some of your peers, are really open, and really loving.”

In a blink of an eye, the clock strikes 7:30 and Bingo Night comes to a close. The residents, some victoriously smiling, others disappointed with their fortunes, slowly pour out of the two exits of the room with the aid of volunteers. This Bingo Night was a success, and with the help of these volunteers and employees, all future Bingo Nights will be just as successful.

Country music albums for the genre’s worst skeptics

By Henry Wiebe In first person

BEN DOGGETT

GRIFFIN REILLY

NEXT ROUND Residents at The Village in Rockville eagerly await the next number.

From pickup trucks to beer, Jesus to America, country music has always been boiled down to a cliché or stereotype. Many music listeners are so turned off by this homogenization of the entire genre that they fail to recognize that country music is an extremely nuanced style, reflective of a wide variety of values and themes.

People listening to the radio hear a banjo or a slight Southern drawl, and immediately change the station, automatically condemning all country music simply because they consider it unsophisticated and inferior to other genres. Because I am such a big fan of country, this perception just does not make any sense to me. Here are a few albums that I enjoy and think accurately represent the range and quality of country music.

Chris Stapleton: “Traveller” This 2016 Grammy winner relies heavily on soulful guitar solos and what is, in my opinion, the most impressive voice in all of country music. In songs like “Whiskey and You” and “Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore,” Chris Stapleton is able to capture a bittersweet and bluesy tone by stripping down the track, occasionally only having a single guitar or harmonica playing. In songs like

“Tennessee Whiskey” and “Sometimes I Cry,” he contrasts his slow and sweet songs with impressive vocal acrobatics. His amazing skill as a musician is complemented nicely by his superb songwriting; the collection of songs featured on the album are all beautifully composed. He uses his classic country voice and a collection of mostly acoustic instruments to create a raw sound that is much closer to traditional country than most of the modern music currently being played on the radio.

Sturgill Simpson: “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth” The winner of this year’s Grammy for Best Country Album, Sturgill Simpson, contrasts Stapleton’s vocal-based music with a style that relies more heavily on the instrumentation, even incorporating traditional jazz instruments like the saxophone, trumpet, and trombone. Simpson does sing in this album, but the songs are driven less by the lyrics and more by his overall style.

Simpson displays his wide range of influences, from southern rock ballads like “Brace for Impact (Live a Little),” to more traditional country, such as “Sea Stories,” to a style that almost slips into jazz and blues in songs like “All Around You.” He even covers “In Bloom,” putting his own slowed-down spin on the famous Nirvana song.

Florida Georgia Line: “Dig Your Roots”

By Olivia Gonzalez NIAMH DUCEY

vorite, and I am not including this album on my list to show how much I personally love it. Rather, I wish to shed light on another way in which modern country artists are rapidly gaining popularity.

Florida Georgia Line, or FGL as their fans affectionately refer to them, is actually a duo of male singers (can you guess where they are from?) at the forefront of a movement described by some as “bro-country.” This type of music draws influence from rock and hip-hop and conforms more to modern stadium-country music stereotypes, but this is excusable because the purpose of this music is drastically different from that of artists like Chris Stapleton or Sturgill Simpson.

With songs like “H.O.L.Y.,” an acronym for “high on loving you,” and “God, Your Mama, And Me (feat. Backstreet Boys),” it is hard to consider their music as “masterpieces of art,” but Florida Georgia Line succeeds in creating catchy songs that capture the carefree spirit of modern country.

This subgenre is not necessarily my fa-

NIAMH DUCEY

Maren Morris: “Hero” In her debut album, 26-year-old Maren Morris establishes herself as a young artist who is poised to have an impact on the country music scene for years to come. She started her career by writing songs for superstars like Tim McGraw and Kelly Clarkson, and her compositions eventually caught the eye of Nashville producers, who offered her a shot of her own. Her hard work resulted in a nomination for Best Country Album of the Year, and a Grammy for Best Solo Country Performance for the most popular song on her album, “My Church.”

Morris brings an R&B fusion style to country that very few other performers are using. She boasts a powerful range that allows her to both passionately sing her soulful gospel songs and joyously belt her catchy island tunes.

I started out listening to country with early music from Billy Currington and classics from Johnny Cash, who were two of my grandfather’s’ favorite artists. That connection to my grandfather really helped me to give country a fair chance. Though country music might be an acquired taste, it is definitely a taste worth acquiring.

March 10, 2017

silverchips

Entertainment D4

A marathon only a storm trooper could miss

Silver Chips watches all seven Star Wars episodes in 16 hours

By Julian Brown, Grady Jakobsberg, and Cole Sebastian In first person

Friday. 10:30 p.m. It felt like we had been watching for years, but the time code only said 45 minutes. We had barely scratched the surface of Episode II and our task at hand seemed increasingly daunting. The floor was littered with remnants of the sweets and junk food that had lifted our spirits in the early hours of our venture, but had since left us tired and brokenhearted.

With our eyes glazed and fighting to stay open, we struggled to dedicate any energy toward keeping up with the droning plot of the second prequel. An overdose of garbage CGI and Hayden Christensen was taking its toll and our task, which only required sitting and staring blankly, was proving to be the greatest challenge of our lives.

It all started a couple of months beforehand in Room 165. The idea was Jeremy Stelzner’s (Chips advisor and resident nerd): marathon all seven episodes of Star Wars, a feat that would take 16 hours. “Uuuuhhh,” we responded. We did not take to the idea.

Nevertheless, our daring will for adventure eventually pulled us toward this journey of a lifetime.

In terms of logistics, we all agreed the torture would be concentrated in Cole’s basement. However, agreeing on the order to watch the films was a much more contentious debate. We understood that the prequels would be the main challenge, so the decision came down to whether we should get those out of LINDSAY HARRIS the way in the beginning or go with the traditional release date order.

More because of procrastination than anything else, we decided that our exhausted selves would have to deal with the low quality flicks, because we would be starting with the original trilogy. It was a decision we would suffer from greatly.

Leaving school at the end of fourth period on a Friday, we drove directly to Giant to pick up 16 hours’ worth of movie munching sustenance. We were in Cole’s basement with our first movie queued up by noon.

we found two burning bodies in front of a house, we would freak the heck out regardless of whether we had ever met those people.

Despite our complaints, in terms of our viewing experience, the movie was one of the best. Aside from a couple of whiny black holes in a galaxy of stars, there is no question that Star Wars’ godly status in pop-culture is well-earned. We were fresh and untainted at that point; the reality of the long, strenuous, 16-hour Star Wars extravaganza had not yet hit.

Episode V: The Empire Eats Snacks The most entertaining part of this movie was definitely Yoda. The portrayal of the Jedi master as a hairy, green puppet who looks like Kermit’s grandpa and has Cookie Monster’s voice is incredibly funny. And considering the situation, it becomes even funnier.

Yoda is the one remaining Jedi in the galaxy after ObiWan’s death in Episode IV and Luke is the only hope for the triumph of good over evil; yet, for their introduction, Yoda chooses to mess with Luke constantly. He pretends he is not Yoda, steals Luke’s food, and pulls Luke around for his own entertainment. Luke takes himself far too seriously and Yoda takes him down several notches, adding much needed comedic relief to the darkest film of the original trilogy.

Perhaps the most well-known and iconic Star Wars moment occurs in this movie, when Darth Vader reveals to Luke that he is his father. At this point, in the midst of our lethargy, we all got up and yelled in mock amazement at a fact we have all known since we were seven.

We tried to put ourselves in the minds of those watching the movie for the first time.

Those 1970’s hippies had no clue that Darth Vader was Luke’s father and were just as deceived as Luke by Yoda’s trickery. One day we hope to talk to a nerd of ol’ who remembers the reveal of the greatest twist in movie history.

Episode VI: Return of the Boredom

George Lucas has some odd conceptions on sisterly love. Leia kisses Luke twice, once

on the Death Star in Episode IV and again The most fascinating aspect of this movie on Hoth in Episode V, which is perfectly was revisiting the characters that have be- normal until Episode VI when we find out come idolized and immortalized in pop cul- they are siblings, and it gets even weirder ture. Notably, we realized which characters when Leia reveals that she always susare different in the movies from what their pected it. So the only conclusion that makes reputation suggests. Even more notably, we sense is that George Lucas had a strange rerealized that C-3PO is an entirely useless lationship with one or more of his sisters. piece of crap that should have been left unLuckily though, the movie is held toassembled in the droid factory. gether by the presence of the galaxy’s most Whenever anybody has an idea that lovable creatures, the Ewoks. The Ewoks would move the plot forward, C-3PO is get a bad rep. We get it. They are ridiculous. there to tell them it is too dangerous and They are the first sign of George Lucas gothat he is too much of a whiny little ing off the deep end. But when you boy to go along with it. are expecting yet another Meanwhile, R2-D2 species of tentacled, is a problem-solver butt-faced toads, extraordinaire, conthese teddy sistently helping Luke and co. get bear-like past obstacles. Naturally, C-3PO resavages prosponds by being a total jerk, petty vide many and selfish to the one robot laughs with that puts up with their Home S I ARR YH him. C-3PO never Alone style DSA N I L contributes warfare. You to the cause gotta love those and always fur-balls. needs his This movie was lazy butt to be one of the most enjoysaved and it is beyond us as to why he has able of our journey. We were five hours in, to be shoehorned into every single Star Wars and thus a bit lucid, but not too far gone. We movie that has been or ever will be made. were beginning our transition from appreciThe only character that perhaps comes ating the movies for the plot to only looking close to C-3PO’s wimpiness is Luke, who for visually stimulating battles and funnier reacts more to having to go to the academy moments like the Ewoks. a season late than when his aunt and uncle are charbroiled by the Empire. Seriously, he Episode I: The Phantom Pizza reacts to seeing the man and woman who

raised him still smoldering by his front door It was during this episode that our long by stoically staring into the double suns. If awaited dinner arrived. We had ordered Episode IV: A No Hope

from Tiffin, an Indian restaurant strongly recommended by Cole and Grady. After having quite a bit of trouble setting up our foldable dinner tables, we settled down for some fine dining.

As we pulled out our naan wrapped in aluminum foil, we noticed another aluminum packaged food. We soon realized that the wonderful people at Tiffin had blessed us with an extra naan bread. We hungrily ripped open the foil to find that this was no ordinary naan. The bread was darker and covered with cheese, sau- sage, tomato sauce, and basil. We noticed that it also had a couple bites out of it, and thought, “Something is awry…”

‘Twas pizza! We were wrecked.

Somehow, we ended up with two half eaten slices of pizza sandwiched together and wrapped in foil in the same bag as our Indian food. For three fatigued guys coming off seven hours of Star Wars, this was an occurrence of Tatooineshattering proportions.

Oh yeah, and Episode I was absolute garbage.

Episode II: Attack of the Snores

It was around this movie that we came to the conclusion that George Lucas may have some racial prejudices. Many of the alien races in Episodes I and II are caricatures of different ethnic groups. Jar-Jar Binks be like, “Me-sa an obvious generalization of Jamaican people.” Watto, the dirty, flying alien that owns Anakin as a slave, could not have been a more Jewish stereotype if Lucas tried. He has a huge nose, wears a yarmulke-like hat, and even says, “money, money, money” at one point.

There is even a scene when Anakin commits a race-based massacre. After his mother is murdered by Tuskin Raiders, Anakin then wipes out an entire Tuskin civilization on Tatooine. The Tuskin Raiders, or sandpeople as they are also called, with their long robes, masks, and wrapped heads, are clearly negative caricatures of Arabs.

Other than the obvious racism, the movie passed by in a haze of slow dialogue and bad CGI, as boring as watching paint dry or grass grow or any other boring metaphor.

It was at this point that we lost faith. Every two minutes, we would look at the time and complain that it had only been two minutes since we last looked. Our morale was about as low as our eyelids.

Episode III: Revenge of the Sleep

Apart from Yoda doing a couple awesome flips in his fight with Darth Sidious, this movie was horribly unmemorable. The final battle between Anakin and Obi-Wan begins okay, but turns into an underwhelming CGI fantasy when they take their light-sabers to the molten lava river for a bob-

LINDSAY HARRIS

bing catastrophe of a battle. Not to mention that Hayden Christensen’s acting quality is at an all-time low through much of this movie. We ended the film yelling at the screen to finally cut to black so we could be finished with the horrendously exhausting prequels. Eventually, the TV heeded our requests and we were left with one last movie.

Episode VII: The Group Awakens

It took only one scene from this episode to rouse us from our slumber. The Force Awakens starts with a stormtrooper battle on Jakku in which Resistance pilot Poe Dameron just barely manages to stash a map to Luke Skywalker into his droid before getting caught and imprisoned.

That one scene, with its high definition graphics, great acting, and intense action, was such a contrast from the seven hours of cartoon wasteland that preceded it. It was enough to make Star Wars fun IS ARR again.

YH DSA N I L However, there is one criticism and it is a big one: this movie had a third Death Star. Yes, that is right.

There have been three. In Episode IV, the galactic Empire is building a new weapon which has the ability to destroy planets. It is terrifying and exciting. We all cheer on Luke and rebel forces as they blow it up in the end.

In Episode VI, the Empire is attempting to rebuild the Death Star and are almost finished before the rebel forces are able to once again destroy it, this time finishing off the Empire for good. Sure, it is a bit repetitive, but at least we had the Luke, Darth Vader, and Sith Lord scene, as well as the aforementioned Ewoks, to make up for it.

Unfortunately though, for Star Wars, the third time is not the charm; it is too much.

Yes, this latest super weapon is built into a planet and seems to be able to destroy multiple other planets at once, but it is exactly the same thing and exactly the same plot.

Please find some originality.

Luckily though, this movie sets up Episode VIII brilliantly and Luke finally steps back into the ring. Hopefully, someone at Lucasfilm will be able to come up with an original storyline by the time the next Star Wars installment rolls around.

It is 4 a.m. We are finally finished. Weak high-fives all around, but before we hit the much deserved hay, we turn to the video camera recording us for our final task. Cole waves his hands like a conductor and we start singing the song that we have learned to love, hate, and everything in between over the last 16 hours. “Bummm bumm ba ba ba BAMM bum ba ba ba BAMM bum ba ba ba bummm….”

This story is accompanied by a video produced by Ben Miller. To see the video, scan the code to the right with a QR reader app or use the URL below. https://vimeo.com/207181029

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March 9, 2017

Chips Clips D6

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March 3, 2017 No Stone Unturned

by Neal Sarkar

Mini

A Crushing Blow

1. Snakes along the Nile 5. Character whose songs are performed by 32 down 9. “Johnny B. ____” (Chuck Berry hit) 14. Leaping insect 15. Job for an actor 16. Bird of Boston 17. *Barbary symbol of strength and secuirty 20. Mark who won the 1998 Masters 21. It may be green or black 22. Gorilla, e.g.

23. Dancer and spy Hari 25. Swear 28. *60th anniversary celebration 34. Every bit 35. Chinese Chairman 36. Like some drug testing 38. Catches 41. Stimpy’s TV pal 43. Madrid Monarch 44. Neuron cell bodies 46. Fabled Arabian bird 48. Neither partner 49. *Crunchy place to park a car 53. Extend across

54. Tofu source 55. Part of the system 58. The I in first aid’s RICE 60. Do business with 64. *City northwest of Denver 68. Magnate 69. Like some points 70. “The Time Machine” people 71. Mark with a hot iron 72. Wraps up 73. Eggnog season Down 1. Hairstyle that’s picked 2. Close angrily 3. Tampa/St. ____ 4. Deli meat 5. Slip 6. Highball?

7. Narrow cut 8. Greek sea 9. ___ Up (transformation in slang) 10. Acorn bearer 11. Shamu, for one 12. Plummet 13. Brontë title heroine 18. Like 20% of Israel 19. Party handout 24. Slightly open 26. Actor Sharif

27. Ebb 28. Takes courses?

29. The youngest Jetson 30. Andes animal 31. Baseball Hall of Famer Bobby 32. “Frozen” Singer Menzel 33. Blood drive attendee 37. Helgenberger of “CSI” 39. Rabbit’s feet 40. Dance movement 42. Signals silently 45. Is of use to 47. Places to come out of, perhaps 50. IRS concern 51. Looked at carefully 52. _______ Girl (California stereotype) 55. Search thoroughly 56. Axe target?

57. Lady who wore a meat dress 59. Supply and demand subj.

61. ____lemon Athletica 62. Utility belt item 63. Drama award 65. Operate 66. Outdated 67. Angler’s need

Sudoku (hard) Across 1. Number of words ending in “mt” 4. Red Ln. Stop 7. Disney sequal about a deer (released 64 years after the original) 9. Bomber type 10. Soviet cooperative 11. Less complicated 13. Soft men’s neckwear 14. ___ Talks, offerers of “ideas worth spreading” 15. ___ TENTACION, jailed Florida rapper

Down 1. Baby does 2. Portman of “Black Swan” 3. May stone 4. Faux finish 5. Federal law whose protections on transgender students are TBD 6. Bethesda based research agcy.

8. Indonesian dyed cloth 11. Hollywood hrs.

12. Secretary of State Tillerson

COURTESY OF WEBSUDOKU

There Snow Snow

Gossip Girl

SHIVANI MATTIKALLI

Across

AMY KRIMM

MARISSA HE

Submit your comics and art to Silver Chips! Email silver.chips.print@gmail.com

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silverchips

10 de marzo, 2017

La Esquina Latina

Silver Chips 10 de marzo de 2017

Una pared estadounidense dividiendo culturas y raíces

Análisis del posible efecto de la muralla y quienes luchan contra ella

Por Michael Hernández y Sofía Muñoz Con el mandato del Presidente Donald Trump, el afamado muro fronterizo entre Méjico y los Estados Unidos, cada vez se vuelve una realidad. El Presidente Trump estima que el muro fronterizo tendría un aproximado de 40 pies de altura y mil millas; además, se estima un valor de 10 mil millones a 12 mil millones de dólares.

Un informe interno del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional calcula un costo de 21,600 millones de dólares para las mil millas que recorrería el muro fronterizo. Bernstein, una compañía de investigación de datos de Wall Street calculó que el muro costará 25 mil millones de dólares en su totalidad, el doble de lo que costaría hacer una autopista de costa a costa en los Estados Unidos. También estiman que el muro necesitará 700 millones de dólares en concreto y 240 millones de dólares en cemento. La construcción del muro causaría que la demanda de cemento aumentará al 1% a nivel mundial.

Estos costos no incluyen la con strucción de nuevas calles para poder accesar el muro fronterizo en áreas desérticas o montañosas.

El Presidente Donald Trump asegura que cuando negocie el precio del muro las cifras bajaran muchísimo. El mandatario señaló que hasta el momento no hay nada concreto y que solo existen estimados. Paul Ryan, el Presidente de la Cámara de Representantes, comentó que el congreso facilitará los fondos para construir el muro con un presupuesto entre 13 o 15 millones de dólares. Esta cantidad de dinero no concuerda con el estimado hecho por la compañía de investigación Bernstein. Trump implicó que establecerá un impuesto de 20% sobre las importaciones de Méjico para recaudar el dinero necesario para construir el muro. Cabe mencionar que a fines de enero el Presidente de Méjico, Enrique Peña Nieto, canceló su visita a Washington D.C. por diferencias relacionadas con el tema del muro. En un video publicado en su cuenta de Twitter, Peña Nieto declaró, “Lamento y repruebo la decisión de Estados Unidos de continuar la construcción de un muro que lejos de unirnos, nos dividirá.” De acuerdo al secretario de Seguridad Nacional, John Kelly, el muro será completado en los próximos dos años.

Hasta el momento no se sabe quien o quienes van a construir el muro fronterizo. Recientemente Jorge Pérez, un millonario inmobiliario y amigo cubano de Trump, que ha expandido la ciudad de Miami con condominios y otros edificios exclusivos, salió a relucir que el magnate le había ofrecido construir el muro. Pérez, quien es conocido como el “rey latino de los condominios” y uno de los más influyentes empresarios de los Estados Unidos, rechazó la propuesta de Trump al igual que ser su secretario de vivienda en la Casa Blanca y definió el muro como una “estupidez”. Él no demostró ningún interés en construirlo cuando habló con Trump y le dijo en son de chiste en qué lado pondría su apellido latino (Pérez) en el de Méjico o de los Estados Unidos.

En lo personal, a Pérez le preocupa

mucho la retórica anti-inmigrantes y en una entrevista con Primer Impacto, él comentó: “Una pared sería un insulto no solo para Méjico, sino también para todos los latinos.” Él sugirió que para ba-

tal de cuál 33 países son miembros.

Los miembros colaboran para, avanzar en el proceso gradual de integración de la región, haciendo un sabio equilibrio entre la unidad y la diversidad política, económi-

es sorprendente que el cambio de poder presidencial cree una discusión entre los países vecinos.

Durante la transición del presidente Trump, sus propuestas sobre la construcción de la muralla ha crea-

GRIFFIN REILLY

ANSWERcoalition.org Cientos de personas alzan su banderín y sus voces con entusiasmo en apoyo al mensaje que promueve que debemos construir murallas en contra del racismo y la intolerancia sexista. jar la inmigración de personas de Méjico y países centroamericanos se debe invertir en progreso para mejorar las economías de estos países. Por otro lado también se debe incluir un plan que evalúe de manera eficaz, dentro de un marco de tiempo razonable y prudente la evaluación de personas que buscan asilo por las condiciones violentas que acosan sus países Debido a la gran conmoción causada por las ideas de una pared, dividiendo dos países, muchos líderes latinoamericanos

ca, social y cultural de los 600 millones de habitantes de América Latina y el Caribe, de acuerdo al sitio web de la organización.

Todos los presidentes o representantes estuvieron presentes, excepto por los representantes de Chile, Colombia y Méjico, quienes cancelaron al último momento.

Las discusiones con el resto de los miembros trataron sobre promoción de los intereses de los pueblos de parte de la integración política, económica, social, y cultural, como también, construyendo solu-

do mucho debate sobre cómo lo va a lograr y cuál va ha ser el impacto.

Con eso en mente, el tema fue analizado por los miembros de la CELAC y muchos países estuvieron de acuerdo con posiciones firmes contra la división del continente. Preguntando sobre la posición del gobierno boliviano con relación a la muralla, Diego Pary el embajador representante permanente ante la organización de Estados Americanos, comentó que, “Los muros dividen a los pueblos, por lo tanto nosotros

GRIFFIN REILLY

CON ORGULLO Y ENTUSIASMO Los protestantes sostienen dignamente la bandera mejicana, criticando los comentarios inapropiados que hizo Trump, donde generalizan a los mejicanos como violadores. han tomado la iniciativa para tratar de encontrar soluciones mientras se mantienen aliados con Méjico y los Estados Unidos. La quinta cumbre de la Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (CELAC) ocurrió el 25 de enero de 2017 en la República Dominicana.

La CELAC se manifiesta por ser un diálogo abierto intergubernamen-

ciones para cualquier problema que podría enfrentar una región.

Este año, mientras la mayoría de la conversación fue centrada alrededor de los temas regionales, el tema de la muralla propuesta por el Presidente Trump fue discutido. Los Estados Unidos tiene un gran rol en la política y la economía mundial, así que no

creemos que hay que destruir los muros, construir puentes, vías de integración y unidad.” El presidente ecuatoriano Rafael Correa también tuvo un mensaje similar al decir que, “Tenemos que protegernos de la política agresiva de perseguir a los inmigrantes. Los ataques contra los derechos humanos es uno de los temas centrales

que nos trajo a esta cumbre,” como reportó el noticiero Al Jazeera.

Las cabezas de estado no son los únicos que piensan que la muralla de Trump no es una forma apropiada de mantener bajos niveles de inmigración ilegal a los Estados Unidos. Han habido varias protestas contra la muralla y la división de los pueblos, especialmente en Méjico, el país que va a ser más afectado por las implicaciones económicas y políticas delineadas en la propuesta de Trump. Con un mensaje de fortaleza e inclusión, hubo protestas en la Ciudad de Méjico el 12 de febrero donde aproximadamente 200,000 personas caminaron en la Avenida Central y al frente de la embajada americana.

Muchas de las protestas en Méjico también involucraron el disgusto de la población quienes están exigiendo la salida del presidente Peña Nieto. Cuando Peña Nieto comenzó su presidencia, el 54 por ciento del pueblo lo aprobaba, como reportó Los Angeles Times. Después que pasaron los años, el porcentaje empezo a bajar debido a la política de su gobierno, especialmente a la respuesta a la gran cantidad de violencia en el país. En agosto, Peña Nieto y el Presidente Trump (antes de haber sido elegido) tuvieron una reunión en Méjico en donde hablaron sobre la política entre Méjico y los Estados Unidos. Durante el mes, el presidente mejicano tenía una aprobación de 29 por ciento, pero después de la reunión bajó a 24 por ciento. Muchos mejicanos sintieron como si Peña Nieto no respetó el dolor de ellos después de las cosas negativas que Trump había dicho durante su campaña.

Ahora, hay una gran campaña llamada “¡Fuera Peña!” que demuestra el deseo de muchos mejicanos. Ahora, en febrero ha sido reportado que su aprobación es del 17 por ciento. La amenaza americana contra la inmigración mejicana y latina ha causado incertidumbre y preocupación para muchas personas mejicanas y la respuesta de su presidente parece que no lo ha aliviado. Para entender cuál es la opinión del gobierno mejicano, preguntamos a la embajada de Méjico aquí en Washington, D.C. pero después de aceptar a la entrevista no comentaron.

Después de una campaña que muchos clasifican como tóxica, hubo mucha duda sobre quién iba a apoyar al nuevo Presidente Trump. Con el gran número de protestas en ciudades alrededor de los Estados Unidos y otros países, parecía que no había mucha tolerancia para las ideas que Trump propuso. Por otro lado, muchas personas han decidido tener una mente abierta para poder darle una oportunidad justa. Pary comentó que el gobierno boliviano marca su relación con el Presidente Trump debido al, “respeto a la soberanía y la institucionalidad de los estados, esperamos que con EEUU, podamos trabajar en ese mismo sentido.” Muchos líderes también tuvieron una respuesta similar a la de Pary. Con eso en mente, todavía hay cautela entre las relaciones políticas y sin duda, es obvio que muchos de los ciudadanos y líderes de los países latinos están unidos tras una causa que nos afecta a todos.

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Alexandra Limón, reportera latina, rompe barreras Con esfuerzo y dedicación logra un puesto de prestigio en el campo noticiero Por Michael Hernández y Sofia Muñoz Alexandra Limón es una reportera que trabaja para el canal local Fox 5 en la área metropolitana de Washington D.C. Limón nació en Méjico pero vino a los Estados Unidos a los dos años de edad. Ella y su mamá llegaron al condado de Orange en California, donde ella creció. A pesar de haber vivido en una casa mejicana a ella nunca se le prohibió soñar en los Estados Unidos. Cuando ella era niña soñaba con ser una bailarina profesional pero su abuela siempre la llamaba, “la reportera de la familia”, sin imaginarse de que de verdad sería una reportera.

Al entrar a la Universidad de Fullerton en California ella decidió tomar una clase de periodismo y fue allí en ese salón de clases donde encontró su pasión por esta profesión.

Ella adquirió su experiencia trabajando en varios canales de televisión en la costa oeste como reportera para TV Azteca en Reno, Nevada. TV Azteca es la segunda empresa más prestigiosa de medios de comunicación en Méjico después de Televisa. Después trabajó como reportera para Telemundo en Tucson Arizona, el segundo proveedor más importante de contenido en español en la nación americana. Luego se incorporó al canal 47 de CBS en Fresno, California y ha KiroTV en Seattle, Washington. Finalmente se convirtió en una reportera de libre dedicación para Fox 11 en Los Ángeles y luego le ofrecieron un trabajo de tiempo completo en Fox 5 aquí en la área de Washington.

Limón confiesa que mudarse a la costa este fue un gran cambio para ella y su esposo. Ella añade, “Es chistoso, siempre escuchamos los estereotipos de que las personas en California son muy buena gente y muy relajadas. Siempre pensé que este no era el caso necesariamente pero cuando llegué acá entonces me di cuenta de porque la gente dice eso.” Limón se dio cuenta que las per-

sonalidades de gente en la costa este tienden a ser más serias y limitadas. Fue algo a lo cual se acostumbraron muy rápido.

Un día típico para Alexandra empieza a las 9 a.m. y termina alrededor de las 6:30 p.m. Ella entra a trabajar en la estación que está ubicada en Washington D.C. Luego a las

briendo todo el día. A las 5 p.m. y a las 6 p.m. tiene reportajes en vivo y a veces deja algo grabado que sale en la televisión en la noche.

Con la presidencia de Donald Trump y sus comentarios, el trabajo de los reporteros se ha vuelto más controversial. Como reportera, Limón dice lo que va a ayudar a largo

CORTESÍA DE ALEXANDRA LIMÓN

REPORTERA DE FOX 5 DC Comparte sus experiencias de trabajo con La Esquina Latina.

9:30 a.m. tienen una reunión con todos los reporteros y productores en donde deciden los reportajes que van a cubrir ese día. Después de la reunión, alrededor de las 10:00 -10:30 a.m. llegan los camarógrafos y le asignan uno a cada reportero. Mientras tanto, ella hace llamadas para programar entrevistas para su reportaje, buscando toda la información que necesita. Entre 10:30-11 a.m. ella sale de la estación (si hay noticia de última hora como un tiroteo, salen de inmediato pero si no, tienen tiempo para organizar y planear) para el lugar en donde van a ir. Pasa todo el día en el lugar de los hechos o lo que está cu-

plazo es seguir haciendo el trabajo como cualquier otro día, reportar solo la información que ha sido verificada y ser muy claros de dónde viene la información sin involucrar opiniones personales. Ella comenta, “Obviamente que todo el mundo las tiene [opiniones] pero es diferente tenerlas y otra cosa dejar que afecten tus reportajes. Al final es lo que va a importar y ser muy significante.”

Con muchos años de experiencia en la industria de los medios, Alexandra tiene muchos consejos que compartir con estudiantes que quieran ser periodistas. Primeramente ella expresa que se debe de empe-

zar en una ciudad pequeña y dice, “Hoy en día yo creo que se les facilita a las personas que se acaban de graduar de la universidad de trabajar en una ciudad bastante grande.

El problema que yo he visto es que cuando llegan no saben lo que están haciendo.” Las personas que hacen esto no tienen la práctica necesaria para terminar su trabajo a tiempo o tienen muchos errores. En comparación, en una ciudad pequeña se puede adquirir experiencia y mejorar como periodistas sin tener la presión de trabajar en una ciudad grande.

Limón recalca diciendo que, “Si llegas al mercado de San Diego y Baltimore y no sabes lo que estás haciendo entonces va a causar problemas muy serios porque son mercados que involucran noticas grandes.” Otro consejo es que como periodista hay que estar dispuesto a ir a cualquier lugar. Alexandra ha estado dispuesta a viajar a donde sea porque le gusta lo que hace y esto le ha dado la oportunidad de conocer a muchas personas.

Limón se encuentra muy feliz con su trabajo aquí en Washington y hace unos meses renovó su contrato con Fox News. En el futuro le gustaría regresar a la costa oeste porque allí se encuentra la familia de ella y su esposo. También ella quisiera que su hijo de dos años crecería cerca de su familia para que sea expuesto a su cultura mejicana.

Hasta el momento se le ha hecho muy difícil inculcarle sus raíces porque su esposo es estadounidense. Ella tampoco descarta la posibilidad de ser una corresponsal nacional, pero es algo que consideraría mucho porque este puesto requiere viajar y con un niño de dos años es muy difícil. Por el momento no habrá cambios laborales para Limón ya que está muy satisfecha con su trabajo en Fox5 DC y seguirá aportando su talento mediante sus reportajes. Pueden ver sus reportajes de martes a domingo a las 5 y tambíen la pueden seguir en su cuenta de Twitter @AlexandraFox5DC para mas contendio exclusivo.

Visita al teatro GALA, una alternativa al arte cinematográfico

Una experiencia cultural y placentera sin responsabilidades de trabajo académico Por Carlos Fuentes El Teatro Gala, no es un lugar desconocido por Blair, ya que el departamento de idiomas ha organizado varias excursiones educacionales para enriquecer el estudio literario de obras latinoamericanas y españolas que toma lugar en la sala de clases. Para darles un vistazo a los estudiantes de las clases de español para hispanohablantes y español AP han sido parte de la audiencia en este prestigioso teatro para ver en vivo obras cuyos autores han sido estudiado en clase.

La última obra vista por los estudiantes de Blair fue “Crónica de una muerte anunciada” de Gabriel García Márquez. Para efectos de este artículo decidí descubrir cómo sería la experiencia de ver una obra en el teatro sin ser parte de una excursión escolar de la escuela. Al ir al teatro la obra que se estaba presentando era, “Yo también hablo de la rosa escrito” por Emilio Carballido y dirigido por Hugo Medrano. Lo que me llamó la atención desde el principio fue que para poder presenciar esa obra teatral tuve que hacer una reservación previa en línea. En este teatro no se podía solo entrar a la hora de la obra y comprar un boleto, sino, era necesaria una reservación. “¡Qué lujoso!,” pensé, se sentía como si estuviera planeando ir a una cena elegante. El boleto de entrada costó $27.25 dólares y llegar ahí fue simple ya que el teatro está ubicado una cuadra desde la estación de metro de la parada de Columbia Heights.

Al entrar al vestíbulo me sentí fuera de lugar pues la última vez que estuve en el teatro fue con las clases de español. Pero esa tarde estuve alrededor de aproximadamente 40 adultos. Lo que me sorprendió más fue que la mayoría de ellos eran de ascendencia anglosajona, que vinieron a ver una obra en español. Esto me pareció un poco extraño. Inmediatamente estuve un poco fuera de mi elemento. Todos estuvieron tomando vino mientras que yo era el único

que era menor de edad. De todos modos, yo vine a ver la obra y no para tomar entonces cuando se cumplieron las ocho de la noche tomé mi asiento para disfrutar la obra.

El cuarto se oscureció y la actuación em-

dos chicos pobres viviendo en la ciudad de Méjico. Los hechos de la pobreza son evidentes, como Polo que no tiene dinero para comprar zapatos e ir a la escuela; pero ambos dos pescan monedas de un teléfono público.

CORTESÍA DE ROSE CAMPIGLIA

JULIETA EGURROLA La actriz hace su apariencia en el teatro GALA representando el personaje que se comunica con espíritus en la obra Yo también hablo de la rosa. pezó con el centro de atención en el personaje, que estaba de bajo de la luz en la oscuridad. En el caso de esta obra el personaje que comenzó fue una mujer que se contactaba con los seres del otro mundo. Y como es común en el personaje al empezar una obra relata una breve introducción de la obra de los hechos que la audiencia está a punto de presenciar. El medio tuvo varios monólogos en la obra donde hablaba en lenguaje figurativo con mucho simbolismo que me trajo un poco de confusión a lo que se refirió como cuando dijo que se sentía como una anémona del mar. La trama de la obra desarrolla con la introducción de Polo y Toña,

Polo y Toña se encuentran barriendo un basurero cerca de unas vías del tren cuando encuentran un balde lleno de cemento. Los adolescentes inocentes deciden que quieren ver lo que pasaría si lo mueven encima de las rieles del tren. La próxima escena comienza en la oscuridad con el sonido de un accidente de tren. Un vendedor de periódicos anuncia sus papeles con noticias sobre un descarrilamiento de tren refiriendo a los causantes como delincuentes.

La mayoría del resto de la obra es una serie de perspectivas de las intenciones de Polo y Toña. Las perspectivas varían desde opiniones incorrectos como que fueron co-

munistas tratando de derrotar la economía capitalista hasta rec lamaciones ridículas de un profesor quien ve el incidente como resultado del libido reprimido y una abundancia de energía sexual entre los chicos. El comentario social es evidente por cómo se representa las condiciones económicas de Méjico en los años 60s. La obra también trae un mensaje de que la verdad no es singular, un evento como el descarrilamiento de tren ocurre y todo el mundo tiene su vista de la verdad. Piensa en una rosa, sus pétalos y los átomos de cada pétalo. Sin los pétalos no es nada más que un tallo, pero sin cada átomo no es nada. Entonces, cuál es la rosa?

Salí del teatro gratamente sorprendido aunque al entrar me sentí un poco fuera de lo que estoy acostumbrado, pero salí con más respeto hacia las obras de teatro y especialmente por la calidad alta de la producción del teatro GALA. Normalmente, estoy acostumbrado a películas de cine pero esto fue un cambio agradable. De hecho, recomiendo no solo el teatro GALA pero que todos traten de presenciar una obra de teatro si no lo han hecho. Si uno está en duda de presenciar una obra de teatro, podría recurrir a ir a una de las obras de Blair. Coincidentemente, la obra musical de la primavera “The Wiz” se acerca y es una buena oportunidad para ver si las obras de teatro son de su gusto.

Si este articulo pica tu curiosidad, el presenciar una obra del Teatro GALA, puedes ir su página web es.galatheatre.org para ver el calendario y cuando presentaran la próxima obra. En el mes de marzo el Teatro GALA eligió presentar la obra Séneca: ratón de biblioteca empezando el trece del mes, los boletos ya están de venta en el sitio web de GALA. En conclusión, mi visita al Teatro GALA sin ataduras académicas fue una experiencia provechosa y le recomiendo el teatro a cualquier persona buscando una experiencia diferente en Washington D.C.

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Conozca sus derechos como un inmigrante indocumentado PTSA organiza una reunión informativa para los padres latinos

Por Carlos Fuentes El sábado 25 de febrero del 2017 el grupo los padres de la asociación de padres, maestros y estudiantes (PTSA), auspició una reunión en español con la organización CASA de Maryland para proporcionar información a los padres de estudiantes inmigrantes y a la comunidad. CASA de Maryland es una organización ubicada en Takoma Park que tiene la visión de crear una sociedad libre de discriminación y mejorar el estado de la vida en las comunidades latinos. En esta reunión, Juan David Cortés fue uno de los oradores.

Esta reunión fue organizada como reacción al reciente pánico por las noticias del aumento de deportaciones de inmigrantes indocumentados. Padres latinos e inmigrantes fueron invitados para expresar sus preocupaciones e informarse de sus derechos.

Cortés comenzó explicando porqué es importante conocer sus derechos. Como cualquier ciudadano, incluso si uno es indocumentado, es importante saber qué hacer en caso de una situación en donde uno tenga que interactuar con la policía o tener conflicto con agentes de ICE. Cortés explica que la deportación no es algo tan simple como que un agente de ICE llegue a su casa y busqué a inmigrantes indocumentados. Él explica, “tienen que tener una causa u orden de arresto firmada por un juez para entrar a su casa.” La última parte de esto es muy importante, los agentes de ICE son muy tramposos, ellos pueden decirle que tienen un orden de arresto para convencer a uno que salga de la casa cuando en realidad esa orden no tiene la autorización de un juez. “Ellos tienen que claramente decirle la causa de arresto. De no ser así, usted tiene el derecho de quedarse en la casa. En el momento que ellos entren a su casa sin permiso todo lo que encuentren es evidencia ilegal,” continúa Cortés. Es importante saber que uno si

tiene protección, así sea la policía o agentes de ICE, ellos no pueden hacer lo que les plazca.

Otro punto importante que fue discutido fue lo que se debe hacer en caso si uno rompe la ley y son arrestados. Aunque ya lo hayan arrestado, uno todavía tiene derechos y la última cosa que quiere hacer es incriminarse.

policía es maliciosa, van a asumir que uno no conoce sus derechos y van a pedirles información a los pasajeros y si uno consiente a las órdenes se puede poner en riesgo si es indocumentado o si tiene otros cargos criminales.

Algo que Cortés clarificó para los padres es la relación entre la policía del condado y ICE.

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

JUAN DAVID CORTÉS Juan Cortés, el orador de la reunión, informa a los presentes de sus opciones en posibles situaciones dificiles que podrian enfrentar.

Cortés dice, “te van a hacer preguntas, van a querer saber de donde eres, como y cuando vinistes, no les digas nada excepto que quieres hablar con tu abogado.” El tener o no tener representación legal al momento no es imprescindible. Todo lo que uno le diga a la policía puede ser y será usado en contra de uno.

Una causa por la cual los inmigrantes son arrestados es por conducir sin licencia o seguro automovilístico. Aunque uno sea detenido por la policía, los pasajeros del vehículo no están obligados a decir nada o presentar documentación a las autoridades. Pero la

Cada gobierno local de un condado decide si quieren compartir información de arrestos y cargos de residentes con agentes de ICE. Oficialmente los condados de Montgomery y Prince George han declarado que ellos no están de acuerdo con las deportaciones masivas y no planifican ayudar a agentes de ICE. Por ejemplo, si uno tiene una orden de arresto en el condado de Montgomery, ICE no sabrá de esa orden. Obviamente esto no significa que uno podrá salir, romper la ley y asumir que no habrá consecuencias. En otras palabras, nadie está sobre la ley tenga o no tenga docu-

mentación legal para residir en el país.

Una preocupación latente en la mente de los padres y los estudiantes presentes fue la incertidumbre con respecto a la situación escolar para los estudiantes indocumentados. Las escuelas públicas del condado de Montgomery han dicho que van a asegurar que todos los estudiantes se sientan seguros sin importar su estatus inmigratorio. La póliza número 10029.2 del departamento de seguridad nacional dice que las escuelas públicas son designadas como lugares sensibles. Esto hace que ICE no pueda entrar a las escuelas por razones de arresto, búsquedas, entrevistas y por razones de ejecución de inmigración. Con esto, Blair sugiere que los estudiantes indocumentados de Blair no dejen de asistir consistentemente a la escuela por el temor de ser aprehendido durante las horas escolares. Otro lugar designado como sensible son las manifestaciones y protestas públicas. La primera enmienda de la Constitución de los Estados Unidos protege los derechos de expresión libre y la agrupacion en una protesta pacífica. Todos tienen el derecho de salir y expresar sus opiniones en protestas organizadas y se sugiere que uno salga y tome ventaja de ese derecho. Últimamente, aunque no fue discutido en la reunión, las escuelas públicas del Condado de Montgomery quieren hacer claro que el acoso de cualquier forma basado en el estatus inmigratorio de los estudiantes es intolerable. Todos los estudiantes de Blair serán tratados con respeto y permitidos a recibir la educación que merecen. En conclusión, uno debe tener en cuenta los derechos y libertades que uno tiene aunque sea indocumentado y no se deje ser intimidado por los recientes eventos con relación a las órdenes impuestas por el Presidente de los Estados Unidos.

Resentimientos sociales del pasado crean conflictos Al presente todavia existen desacuerdos entre países latinoamericanos Por Angie Mejia

Latinoamérica puede ser vista como una gran familia de países hispanohablantes. La gente a menudo agrupa a estos 33 países simplemente como hablando el mismo idioma y siendo latino. Sin embargo, Centro y Sudamérica es el grupo étnicamente más diverso del mundo. Al ser tan diversos y diferentes, algunos de estos países se han visto envueltos en conflictos y disputas cuales han creado rivalidades entre países. Estas rivalidades se han creado a través de la guerra, las disputas fronterizas, la competencia, los estereotipos y obviamente va a ver rivalidades por el fútbol.

Se han librado guerras entre muchos países latinoamericanos que han sido suficientemente significativas para decir que todavía hay cierta tensión entre los países de hoy. Nicaragua y Costa Rica son conocidos por ser rivales debido a su prolongada disputa fronteriza del río San Juan y los pantanos cercanos. El río marca la frontera de estos dos países vecinos. En 1880, la Corte dio los derechos de navegación de la mayoría del río a Nicaragua, y una pequeña parte para Costa Rica. No fue hasta el año 2010 cuando Nicaragua empezó las operaciones de dragado en el río y traspasaron la porción pantanal de Costa Rica. Los dos países se metieron en una gran conflicto sobre a quién le pertenecía realmente el territorio.

Finalmente en el año 2015, el tribunal dictaminó que la tierra en disputa era de Costa Rica, Nicaragua tuvo que pagar por todos los daños y retirar sus tropas.

A pesar de que este conflicto ha durado más de un siglo, ambos países quieren cerrar el capítulo y salir de esta disputa.

En Suramérica estalló la guerra entre Ecuador y Perú, conocida como la Guerra del 41, Perú sorprendió al Ecuador cuando invadió las tierras ecuatorianas. Perú logró acaparar

algunas tierras de las provincias más meridionales de Ecuador y una parte del territorio de la selva ecuatoriana. Hubo dos guerras más, en 1981 y 1995, pero finalmente se terminó el conflicto firmando un acuerdo de paz, Acta Presidencial

Chile al reclamar toda la costa boliviana y la punta sur de Perú. Se dice que esta disputa todavía sigue pues Bolivia todavía reclama y exige su salida al Océano Pacífico.

El fútbol ha sido motivo de disputa en varios países. El Salvador y Honduras lucharon una guerra de 100 horas que comen-

de Brasilia, el 26 de octubre de 1998. La mayoría de la población ecuatorianos s i g u e n aún resentidos por la manera en que se llevó la resolución del conflicto con Perú.

En el año 1879, ocurrió la Guerra del Pacífico en la que Bolivia y Perú se opusieron a Chile por la disputa fronteriza del Desierto de Atacama. Los resultados de la guerra terminaron dejando a Bolivia sin salida al mar, concluyendo en una gran victoria para

zó por el resultado SHIVANI MATTIKALLI de los partidos de fútbol y las controversias de inmigración. El final de una serie de partidos de fútbol entre los dos países para el clasificatorio de la Copa Mundial de la FIFA de 1970 provocó la guerra. El Salvador venció por 3-1, lo que expulsó a Honduras de su clasificación. Dado que Honduras es más de cinco veces el tamaño de El Salvador y tenía menos población, alrededor de 300,000 salvadoreños se mudaron a Honduras. En 1962, Honduras promulgó una nueva ley que permitía a su gobierno quitar tierras

a los agricultores inmigrantes. El Salvador inició la guerra el 14 de julio de 1969. Se dice que la disputa sigue siendo activa entre los fanáticos especialmente en los juegos de fútbol donde estos dos compiten entre ellos.

El Salvador tuvo otra tensión con Méjico, cuando Méjico no pudo clasificarse para la Copa Mundial de la FIFA 1982. México consideró esta pérdida como inaceptable debido al hecho de que El Salvador no tenía el equipo más fuerte. Sin embargo, muchos afirman que a la mayoría de Centroamérica no le gusta a México.

Muchas rivalidades tienen que ver con la competencia. La rivalidad entre Argentina y Brasil es una relación deportiva porque las dos selecciones son unos de las más grandes y potentes.

Algunos de estos partidos son marcados por incidentes notables y a veces polémicos. En la Copa Mundial de la FIFA 1982, futbolista argentino Diego Maradona dio una patada a jugador brasileño Batista y recibió una tarjeta roja directa debido a que estaba frustrado por el mal arbitraje y la pérdida inminente. La rivalidad también se llama la “Batalla de los sudamericanos.”

ESPN FC lo clasificó en la cima de su lista de rivalidades entre los lados nacionales.

Aunque estas suposiciones se han originado a partir de conflictos en el pasado, no significa que la gente conserve estos resentimientos o se asocie con ellos. Eber Parada del doceavo grado cuenta, “No es bueno odiar a la gente por su país de origen o el color de su piel, ya que te estarías desplazando a ti mismo del mundo entero de su cultura y su gente.” Pocas personas lo hacen pero la mayoría de la gente ignora los conflictos pasados y tiene amistades con personas de países diferentes.

March 9, 2017

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College Courses. College Credits. College Park. ysp.umd.edu

University of Maryland’s Terp Young Scholars is a great summer option for rising high school seniors, juniors, and sophomores who are looking for a challenging academic experience.

Mark your calendar for July 9-28, and talk to your parents about experiencing Terp Young Scholars in summer 2017.

During Terp Young Scholars, you’ll: • Learn from UMD’s distinguished faculty • Earn three university credits • Explore new academic fields • Live and work with equally talented peers

Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Innovation+X: Sustainability

Government and Politics: American Government International Political Relations

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silverchips

March 10, 2017

The alpine decline: Snow conditions are going downhill

The dramatic effect that climate change has on the ski resort industry

By Henry Wiebe

Once upon a time, it was common for the east coast ski season to run from early December until the end of March. But in recent years, skiers are lucky to hit the slopes once or twice in early January. March is now considered a month of spring; skiing during that time is for the dreamers up north.

Although it is hard to see any visible changes due to climate change in many communities, one place where global warming already has a profound impact is in the ski industry.

According to the Climate Central, the winter months on the northeastern seaboard have seen an increase in temperature of over three degrees Fahrenheit since 1970. The effect this has had on ski resorts has the potential to be devastating.

Only about an hour and a half drive from Montgomery County, Whitetail Ski Resort in Mercersburg, Pa. is one of the more popular ski destinations in the area, but in recent years it has felt the impact of climate change.

According to Katrina Gayman, the Director of Marketing and Sales at Whitetail, sustained cold temperatures are required for the resort to be able to artificially manufacture snow. In order for mountain management to maintain a sufficient amount of snow, the temperatures must be below freezing for

twelve to forty-eight hours.

According to date from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the average high temperature this January in the United States was 3.5 degrees higher than the 20th century average. January 2017 was the 18th warmest in the past 123 years. With such warm temperatures, the resort cannot rely on man-made or natural snow to sustain use through the winter.

Phil Stratton, a PhD student at the University of Maryland studying atmospheric chemistry, describes how the warmer climate will affect precipitation in our area. “As the climate increases in temperature, the ability of the air to hold more moisture or water is going to increase,” he says. “What all of the reports are saying is that there is going to be more precipitation, but just less events.” This means that the total snowfall might actually be slightly greater, but the storms would come far less often. Because of the longer intervals of time between natural snowfall, ski resorts will be forced to rely more upon the use of man-made snow in the future.

Stratton also describes how the warmer weather will alter the time period during which resorts will be able to generate their own snow. “An increase in temperature … decreases days in which you have snow coverage. So if you have snow forming later in the season, and then melting earlier in the

soapbox Has the warm weather affected your skiing this winter?

“Skiing was a big issue this year with the warm weather. Even though I went to the mountains, the snow was a giant slushy mess.”

— Erin Muder, sophmore “The snow on the slopes is really wet and makes skiing conditions not good.”

— Sam Grossman, sophmore

COURTESY OF BRIAN BAKER

SNOW NO MO’ Members of the Takoma Park Ski Club pose for a picture in 2014. season, you are decreasing the number of days in which you … can stay open for business.”

Brian Baker is the head of Takoma Park Ski Club, a community organization that takes over 300 skiers and snowboarders to Liberty Mountain Resort or Whitetail during most weekends in the winter. Baker says that he has definitely seen the warmer weather affect the snow production. “It has to be a certain temperature to blow the mist so the air vapors freeze,” he says. “It’s one thing to have no natural snow, but it’s another thing to have temperatures too warm to make snow.”

Baker points out that the skiers are not the only ones who are affected by the warmer weather. Ski resorts create employment opportunities for many people who live in the towns surrounding the mountain. “There are a lot of people in those areas who depend on the ski slope for a job ... they don’t have a Downtown Silver Spring or a mall like Whea-

ton Mall where they can go and get a job,” he says. “A lot of them depend on Whitetail and Liberty or Roundtop [Mountain Resort] for their jobs.”

Junior Haron Adbaru is has been a member of the Takoma Park Ski Club for six years.

On a recent trip, the snow quality was so poor that he was almost completely unable to ski at all. “A week ago I was skiing and it was 60 degrees outside and there were just patches of grass everywhere, and one of the mountains had to close down,” he said. “A lot of the times, my skis get scratched up because there are rocks poking out.”

The overall effect that climate change is having on the success of ski resorts is extremely damaging. “Based on my observation, it has been getting progressively worse,” says Baker. “We thought last year was bad because there was no snow to start the season in January, but this season is even worse. You’re out there in a tank top and short sleeve shirt.”

Student athletes sustain painful injuries they cannot just walk off

Blazers share stories of their serious injuries in the sports they love to play

By Hermela Mengesha Junior Mina Tzoukermann is pushing through the pain. Gymnastics is her life, and she has no intention of quitting. Not after months and months of perfecting her routine. Not after all of those late nights at the gym.

So she practices through the growing ache in her back. She promises her mom that after the approaching meet she will see a doctor.

But as Tzoukermann tumbles and jumps through her floor routine at the competition, the pain becomes almost unbearable.

Something is very wrong, as the searing pain traveling down her back makes clear. “I ran off at the end because it was really hurting,” Tzoukermann recalls.

When she goes to the doctor, he explains that she has a L5 stress fracture. He dances around the subject, but the message is clear: her days of competing are over. It would be months before Tzoukermann comes to terms with the fact that this is her last time performing gymnastics.

For devoted athletes like Tzoukermann, it is incredibly hard to lose the sport they love. Whether it is for a few months or for-

ever, the day they are injured remains fresh in their minds.

“Through the wire” It is the second to last game of the soccer season and junior Francisco Morales is going for the ball, just as he has done a hundred times before. This is second nature to him.

What he does not expect is a player on the opposing team to come charging at him.

For Morales, the next few minutes are a complete blur. He immediately falls to the ground and his vision goes fuzzy. When his eyes come into focus, the pain is excruciating. “Next thing you know I can’t feel my mouth and my ears are ringing,” Morales says.

The details of the story vary from person to person. “My mom said she heard the crack from a hundred feet away,” Morales says. “[People] said he hit me with his head, his elbow, with his knee, his nose. I don’t know.”

As his teammates wait for Morales to get up, they keep their distance, hoping to give him some air to breathe. It is not until the coach tells them Morales is going to the hospital that they grasp the seriousness of his injury.

His first thought is of the game. He is desperate to know if he can play again. But Morales’ jaw is broken, his mandible snapped in half. The next six weeks will be filled with chicken nugget smoothies, soup, and mumbling words with a jaw locked in place. On top of that, Morales will have to wait four months until he can play soccer again.

In the blink of an eye

SHIVA

NI MA TTIKA

LLI

Sophomore Eric Moreno’s life was injury free. That was until soccer tryouts before his sophomore year.

Tryouts are almost over and Moreno is sure he has secured a sport on the team. As he dribbles to the goal, he keeps his eyes on

the ball, feeling confident. He brings his kicking leg back, swings his foot, and connects with the ball, sending it spiraling towards the goal with all of his strength. It should be a perfect shot, but there is one problem.

Moreno is off balance.

He hears a sickening crack from his knee as he falls to the ground. The other players surround him, sure he will get up at any moment and keep playing. The pain feels bearable so Moreno takes a shot at standing up, but quickly finds that he cannot put any weight on his leg. Even then, he thinks he will be fine; his team thinks he will be fine.

It is when Moreno goes to the hospital and the doctor tells him his knee is fractured, that he realizes his season is over. Moreno will not be able to play varsity soccer until junior year. Months of training over the summer gone to waste in a split second.

Overworked

Unlike Moreno, injury is second nature to sophomore Alya Fawal. “I’m a healthy person, but I’m a very, very athletic person. Sometimes it can be an overload on my body,” Fawal says. From a young age, she has danced ballet competitively and played soccer. “That kind of wrecked my body,” she says.

Her knee is especially prone to acting up, and Fawal is used to limping through the pain. When one soccer game during her freshman year rolls around, Fawal’s routine fails her. Before the game, her coach asks her again and again whether she is sure she can play. Fawal assures her coach she is ready.

Five minutes later, Fawal kicks the ball, hard. “It was this moment of blinding pain and I fell over,” Fawal says.

But the only thought on her mind is the game. Fawal is more worried about missing the season than the pain coursing up and down her leg, which feels like intense stabs to her. “I remember laying on the ground thinking [my coach] is going to kill me,”

COURTESY OF ERIC MORENO

CRACK! Sophomore Eric Moreno fractured his knee playing soccer last fall.

she says. Even then, it takes her days to go to the doctor. “He just kind of looked at me like I was the dumbest person in the whole world,” Fawal says.

Fawal finds out that she is externally located, meaning the muscles on the outside of her thigh are unusually tight. “They pull my knee cap out of place,” she says.

To this day, Fawal still feels an ache in her knees at least twice a week, and she keeps an assortment of knee braces on hand.

Yet Fawal has no regrets. “No matter how much I keep hurting my body, I keep pushing as hard as I can,” she says.

For Fawal, the risk of injury is far less daunting than the prospect of never having played. “Taking [the sport] away is just taking away such a big part of where you learn discipline from and where you meet your friends,” Fawal says. “What you base the rest of your life on.”

Sports F2

silverchips

March 10, 2017

This year is the best year yet to “Fear The Turtle” Experts say Maryland’s chance in upcoming tournaments are strong

By Emma Cross After the University of Maryland (UMD) lost four of its best players to the National Basketball Association (NBA) last year, Maryland fans might have scoffed if you tried to talk to them about the team’s chances in the Big Ten and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. As March Madness approaches, students and sports journalists alike make hopeful predictions and continue to be amazed as the UMD Terrapins enter with their best chance to win in years.

Coming out of their shell After the team’s move from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) to the Big Ten Conference in 2014, the Terps have seen increasing success under Coach Mark Turgeon, reaching the Sweet Sixteen last year for the first time in over a decade. The team’s record is currently 24-7.

Kevin Blackistone, sports journalist, professor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, and frequent panelist for ESPN’s Around the Horn and for Comcast’s Redskins Postgame Live, says that Maryland has performed phenomenally so far. “They’ve done a great job transitioning from the ACC to the Big Ten … We have some really good players, they’ve done a good job recruiting,” Blackistone says.

Much of the team’s success can be attributed to the talent of the players. Junior Melo Trimble has been a huge asset to the team for three years, averaging 16.9 points per game this season. However, in a transition year, the freshman Terps make up the surprisingly strong backbone of the team.

According to Kyle Stackpole, sports editor of the University of Maryland’s newspaper The Diamondback, freshman guard/forward Kevin Huerter has been a solid shooter and defender, with an average of 8.7 points per game. Justin Jackson, also a freshman, has been the leading rebounder, and recorded his second double-double with 22 points

and 12 rebounds at Ohio State in January.

Stackpole says that Jackson, scoring 331 total points this season, is talented with both inside and outside jump shots, a skill more surprising in a team’s big man.

The team has also benefited from particularly strong recruits this year. “They have three freshmen that are starters, and they have pretty much been awesome all year.

They come in right away and make immediate impact,” Stackpole says.

Travis Valmon, a freshman guard for the Terps, says that other than technical victories, the team’s tight-knit relationship has allowed them to flourish this season. “Being a close group has probably been the best part, and has helped us a lot in having success this year,” Valmon says.

Valmon also emphasizes the encouraging atmosphere of the locker room, highlighting that, despite a playful ambience, the team knows when to come together and focus. “We’re really tight-knit group, so we’re always laughing and making jokes with each other, listening to music … It’s a nice feeling when it’s time to get focused and you can feel the focus and the positive energy in the room,” Valmon says.

Challenges for the Terps Despite a decent season, the team still struggles from faults that may hold them back from success in the March Madness tournament. One of the team’s most obvious shortcomings is rebounding. The Terps have a rebound margin of 1.0, which represents the difference between the number of rebounds the team averages per game and the number of rebounds they allow their opponents to average per game. The Terps’ rebound margin is relatively low compared to other Big Ten teams like Wisconsin, which has a rebound margin of 6.5.

The skill deficit has also become more prominent with the loss of center Michal Cekovsky, who fractured his left ankle in February. “One of our biggest weaknesses is rebounding, and that takes a hit with [Cekovsky] being out,” Stackpole says.

By Christian Mussenden

It is springtime and to every fan of the Washington Nationals, this means another year of hearing every “analyst” and “expert” peg the Washington Nationals as one of the favorites to win the World Series.

Then, after all the hype, fans are forced to watch the Nationals go home in early October, without a ring.

It is hard to believe that this year will be any different. The team’s competition in the National League (i.e. The New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the reigning champs, the Chicago Cubs) all improved during the offseason. So, I know you no longer believe the Nats have a chance to win it all, but hear me out. This season is different than those of years past, and if the Nationals can maintain good health, they will win this year’s World Series.

The Nationals have always been a good team, but what prevents them from being a great team and a World Series contender is consistent production from the offensive side of the ball. This year, the Nationals will again have their dominant pitching carrying the team, but what makes this team different from past squads is that they actually have a capable offense to match their elite pitching.

Last year, we only saw glimpses of the Washington Nationals’ power, but those peeks were few and far between. Bryce Harper, the Nationals’ best offensive player, followed a legendary 2015 campaign, where he won the Most Valuable Player Award, with a disappointing 2016 campaign. The

reason Harper’s 2016 season was so underwhelming was because he dealt with a variety of minor injuries to his neck and lower body that hindered his playing style for the entire year.

As a National’s fan, that news would usually be discouraging. Harper has a history of injuries and 2017 could end up being more of the same. However, an encouraging sign is that last year the National’s offense did not implode when Harper was not meeting his expectations. The team was led by an MVP worthy season from Daniel Murphy, and significant contributions from young speedster Trea Turner. Prior Nationals teams would never have been able to handle the blow of losing Harper, but last year’s team took it in stride.

Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Joe Ross, and Tanner Roark will always keep the team’s skill level up with their stellar pitching. But, this year is different. This year, Harper will return to his 2015 form, and the rest of the team’s lineup will capitalize off of their improvements in 2016. If the team can reach the playoffs without any injuries and if the team can finally handle the pressure of the playoffs, then the Washington Nationals will surely win their first World Series.

“Christian’s Corner” is a monthly column in which staff writer Christian Mussenden expresses his opinion on current events in the world of sports.

COURTESY OF MARQUISE MCKINE/THE DIAMONDBACK

SLAM DUNK Damonte Dodd dunks the ball on a Rutgers defender in a 79-59 victory.

Other than technical improvements, Valmon says it is important for team members to make personal improvements that will benefit the team as a whole. “For me personally, I want to be a better communicator. One of the biggest parts of being a basketball player and playing basketball at this level is being able to communicate, and that’s definitely something I could personally work on,” Valmon says.

The downside of having skilled players is that they are more likely to leave their college team to play professionally for the NBA a year early. Blackistone believes that Maryland should make the best of this year while they still have Trimble, a likely NBA recruit, on the team. “They probably really want to make a run this year, because there is a good chance they could lose Melo Trimble to the NBA draft if he declares to leave early, so we want to get the most out of him while he’s here,” Blackistone says.

Going to the big dance Its struggles aside, the UMD basketball team is in good shape as the season comes to an end. With a record of 12-6 within its conference, Maryland is ranked third going into the Big Ten Tournament.

Stackpole says the Terps will enjoy the advantages that come with being a top team in their conference, such as exemptions from the first games. “They should enter the Big Ten Tournament as one of top four teams, so they get a bye, or get a double bye,” Stackpole says.

As spectators know, the NCAA Tournament is the highlight of the college basketball season. UMD supporters are getting more excited as Maryland has one of their best chances in years, according to Blackistone. “I think they have a very good chance … and the fact that they’ve played so well on the road within the Big Ten Conference bodes well in the NCAA tournament because you’re never going to be playing at home,” he says.

Although optimistic, Stackpole says supporters have to be pragmatic as the tournament approaches. “I think they could lose in the first round, I think that’s realistic, just because they’ve played in so many close games, and a team could up upset them,” Stackpole says. “But at the same time I think that they could make a run, to say,

the Sweet Sixteen or the Elite Eight on the back of Melo Trimble as long as some of the freshmen step up too.”

Valmon says the team feels good going to into tournament season, knowing that with a solid performance, they could go far.

“We’re really excited to see where we end up and see how far we can go … how well we play, because we know we can get better. We’re working hard and we’re looking forward to it,” he says.

Rivalries and tournament time As Maryland competes, it will face tough competition both within the Big Ten and in the entire Division I. Due to the recent transition from the ACC to the Big Ten, Maryland has yet to develop clear rivalries within their conference. “When they were in the ACC you would just say Duke, and then North Carolina, and then Virginia. But now they’re developing new rivalries, and I don’t know that any of them have really blossomed just yet,” says Blackstone.

Stackpole predicts a potential rivalry with Georgetown University, following Maryland’s one-point victory over Georgetown after Huerter blocked a potential winning basket in the last three seconds of the game. “I think Georgetown just because of what’s happened in the past two years …

I wouldn’t call it a rivalry, but a potential to have that kind of rival type atmosphere,” Stackpole says.

As for the rest of the division, it is hard to predict who will win the NCAA Tournament, but Blackistone says that there are a few elite teams with a good chance of getting into the Final Four. “Just as always your top tier teams, Gonzaga is hoping to get to the Final Four for the first time, they’re undefeated in their conference …

Duke, Kansas, Kentucky are still very good.

Oregon seems to be a very good team in the Pac 12,” Blackistone says.

For Valmon, being a part of the UMD basketball program is more than just the love for the sport. As a Rockville native, Valmon is very proud to play for his home state. “I’ve been a Maryland fan my whole life … I’ve been coming to games since I was probably like seven … so for me to be able to put that jersey on and step out on the floor at the Xfinity Center, it means a lot to me,” Valmon says.

soapbox

Who do you think will win the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship?

“Duke is winning the whole thing; they’re like the Spurs of the NCAA.” — Zolani Grady, freshman “Maryland will win the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship. Even though they are in a slump right now, they will pick it up during the tournament.”

— Ray Weng, junior

F3 Sports

silverchips

March 10, 2017

In a league of their own: The expansion of eSports

In the industry of competitive gaming, it is the keyboard clickers who rule

at it’ while people often think, ‘I cannot be on a professional football team because it is very selective.’”

As accessible as eSports is, there remains a group of audience members content with just watching. Someone like Will Ederer, a League of Legends fan in his junior year, never played enough to go pro. On the contrary, Ederer says he just enjoys spectating.

Like other eSports fans, Ederer can name the best League of Legends player off the top of his head. Just last year, he and a friend traveled up to New York to attend the League of Legends World Semi-finals in person. Ederer pays close attention to interteam rivalries and the latest gossip on which player is predicted to dominate. And whatever the future holds, Ederer plans to stick with the community.

By Cole Greenberg and Elias Monastersky The balconies of Madison Square Garden, New York City’s premier indoor sports arena, fill quickly with exuberant, actioncraving fans. Some spectators don team colors and wave homemade signs, while others purchase foam fingers and inflatable merchandise. “The Garden,” a $1.1 billion stadium venue, is home to the NBA’s New York Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers.

And just like always, all 20,789 of tonight’s sports fans come prepared to scream, root, and cheer for their favorite players.

The uniformed teams emerge one by one, sauntering across the arena floor to the sound of professional announcers. Beneath the smiles and waves, the championship players are sweating. Tonight, the teams compete for $5 million in prize money. The players take a breath, settle into their chairs, and begin to play video games.

This is the world of eSports, a $500 million industry with a growing fan base and world-wide viewership. In 2011, the event described above, the League of Legends World Semi-finals, had fewer than two million viewers and a measly prize of $100,000.

Six years later, the same event was witnessed by an audience of over 43 million. Unlike the NBA and the NFL, eSports has built its domain in a few short years, and the kingdom is only predicted to grow from here.

Leveling up

Senior Remzi Hazboun had been playing video games his whole life, but he never thought it was possible to watch others play until 2011, when his friend introduced him to the concept. If his friend was right, there was a vast collection of unbelievably good players streaming their games online on a website named Twitch.

Twitch.tv, a video streaming site created for showcasing live gaming content, was just getting started when Hazboun first discovered it. It was sites like Twitch that began to popularize eSports among audiences. “I’m pretty good,” he remembers musing to himself. “And then I watched these people and I was like ‘This is insane!’”

Some gamers stood out as exceptional, and audiences enjoyed watching those players destroy anything in their digital path. Corporations started to uncover the gold mine of eSports. Red Bull, Intel, and McDonald’s all sponsored teams. According to Hazboun, the introduction of company sponsorship baited even more capital.

“They give a lot of money to put their brand

COURTESY OF LAWRENCE ZHAO

INTERNATIONAL PLAY League of Legends fans take their seats in Madison Square Garden on Oct. 21 to watch the World Semi-finals along with millions of online viewers. on everyone’s jersey, and sometimes they’ll change their in-game name, it’ll say, like, Intel,” Hazboun says. “So basically once money started getting involved, people were like, ‘Oh I can make money off of this.’”

Major news outlets like ESPN and Yahoo Sports started to report on eSports. TBS and CBS ran games on their networks. Player conglomerates began paying salaries, and “professional video gamer” started to look a lot more like a real job as the beginning of the 21st century dawned.

Even colleges like the University of California-Irvine and Robert Morris University started launching eSports scholarship programs for students who wanted to advance their gaming careers. Lawrence Zhao, a senior member of Blair’s League of Legends team, is entertaining the idea of eSports scholarships. “UC Irvine has not gotten back to me but I have had a couple schools say they are willing to give me money, both a combination of merit and eSports to come and play,” Zhao says.

The hall of game

At one point or another, eSports fans have all pondered the same thought: What is it like to be at the top of the gaming world? Alex Mireles, or HyperFlame as his fans call him, would know better than most.

Mireles began playing “Super Smash Bros Project M” competitively in 2012, and now, five years later, some consider him to be one of the world’s top ten players.

“For almost an entire year I was just

CHAMINDA HANGILIPOLA

LOCAL PLAY Seniors Caleb Robelle (left) and Keith Rattigan (right) enjoy their time playing video games together during lunch in room 317 in Blair’s Super Smash Bros Club.

inside SPORTS

grinding out tech skills and stuff, or I was practicing hitting these buttons in the correct order making sure I am not running off the page and killing myself and losing my lives,” Mireles says. “It just takes a whole lot

While the popularity of eSports has grown tremendously in past years, it is still common for its mention to merit blank stares. Zhao recalls that during his New York trip to the World Semi-finals, one confused onlooker outside of Madison Square Garden approached him and asked if they

CALEB BAUMAN

COLLEGIATE PLAY High school and college students at the University of Maryland gather to play “Super Smash Bros Project M” in the school’s weekly tournament. of practice.”

According to Mireles, remaining an eSports professional requires a never-ending cycle of practices, matches, and independent play. Top League of Legends players, the type of gamers competing at Madison Square Garden, play for hours on end. Professional players can reel in six figures or more, but they spend almost all of their time gaming, sometimes for more than eight hours a day.

“It seems like fun, you know, playing video games for a living,” Zhao says. “But it is a pretty tough life.”

Even when players are not competing in matches or practicing as a team, it is the expectation that they spend their free hours playing. Just like an NFL or MLB player, top eSports players’ lives revolve around the game. In competitive gaming, however, there is no physical limit. A baseball player can only spend so many hours pitching or hitting, but eSports players can play video games for much longer. In fact, the longest video game marathon ever lasted a little over 138 hours.

A kid with the best arm in his town may dream of playing pro football, but the chances are he never will. Not strong enough, not big enough, not fast enough. All eSports requires is a mouse and the right attitude. “Say I am incredible at a game and I get four of my friends who are all incredible at the same game and we played and we got good.”

Hazboun says. “It is very accessible. People can think, ‘I can do this enough and get good

Maryland Terps preview

Skiing and global warming

see page F1

see page F2

JENNY CUEVA-DIAZ

“Apples to oranges”

JENNY CUEVA-DIAZ

were “holding Comic-Con inside.”

People outside of the eSports culture tend to tilt their heads at ESPN coverage and nationally broadcasted games. And it is not just a lack of universal notoriety that limits the community, but the actual content as well. Watching a baseball or basketball game is relatively easy, even for a person who vaguely understands how the game works.

ESports requires a game manual, maybe even a “how to eSports for dummies” novel.

The technical aspects of the games are deep and nuanced, often confusing for somebody unfamiliar with the mechanics.

According to Zhao, in order for the community to grow, eSports needs to become an accessible activity for all ages. “When I was in Madison Square Garden there [were] some people over 50 and there was more than I expected and to me that is the biggest room to grow,” Zhao says. “If you sort of get all age groups interested you probably can be on the same level as ice hockey or something like that.”

It appears that as long as eSports is rising in popularity, the argument over whether eSports is a sport will remain a steady one.

As far as Ben Mourad, a junior member of Blair’s League of Legends team, is concerned, it does not matter. “Apples to oranges,” Mourad says. He just wants to improve as an eSports player no matter the disparities between competitive gaming and traditional sports.

And while a football team might draft tight ends or safeties, Mourad’s team drafts assassins and magic users. A football player might watch the Superbowl, but Mourad is normally tuned into the League of Legends championships. While a football player studies up on blitz plays and shotgun passes, Mourad works on spell casting and sword slashing.

But as both players settle into their practicing habits, each finds a rhythm and intensity similar to one another. They should get some rest. Tomorrow’s match will be a tough one.