September 2018: Blank Slate

T SEPTEMBER 2018

Tattler Staff

Blank Slate

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BY THE TATTLER EDITORIAL STAFF

Editors in Chief Andrew Cha Sophia Saidi Emily Schrader Managing Editors Paloma Delgado Lee Schwartz Aidan Smyth Art Editors Julia Mencher Daniel Navratil Business Manager Tommy Turi Supervisor David Lopilato Layout and Cover Daniel Navratil 2

ext time you’re walking in the F-Wing, take a moment to take in all the built-in display cases and collaboration areas. Sure, most of them are still empty or unused, but, oh, the possibilities. This school year, we Barons must do more than simply fill cases with forgotten trophies or use collaboration areas as tucked-away lunch spots; we must embrace all that these architectural flourishes stand for: a Blank Slate. We gave suggestions on ways to change the academic and student culture at B-CC. This year is the year that we start fresh and make those ideas, and others, a reality. Welcome to the Blank Slate.

In our time at MCPS, we have never started a school year with a slate this clean, possibilities this varied. For the first time in thirteen years, the Washington Post has delayed its annual ranking of MCPS high schools, a highly influential ranking and problematic annual count of warm bodies in AP and IB testing rooms. We contend that such a ranking system is an inaccurate and out-of-touch representation of high school students and the ways in which we affect the world. Let’s move beyond it. Let’s seize the slate.

How is the Tattler going to do this? We’ve already made one big change for this school year: the Tattler is no longer a traditional newspaper. This year, our monthly newspaper will become a monthly news magazine. We hope that a magazine will allow us to include a wider range of student voices, and this starts now. We want our cover to be your blank slate. Pick up a pen and write your suggestions for an improved B-CC on our cover. Take a picture of your idea and send it to @bcctattler on Instagram or to @tattlerbcc on Twitter.

Let us, B-CC, redefine what it means to be a great high school. Let us, B-CC, make this new wing a harbinger for change. Let us, B-CC, demonstrate to the county, the state, and the nation what we are capable of. We need to seize the slate, and all of that starts with us, the students.

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BY AIDAN SMYTH ne proposal: B-CC needs a school-wide end-of-the-year project. Many students feel that, following the completion of AP and IB exams, the bulk of assigned work is busywork, if any work is assigned at all. While this is not true in all classes, many students regardless become disengaged towards the end of the year. We would like to direct students’ attentions to productive means at this time of the year with the aim of fostering a culture of learners dedicated to giving back to their community.

In classes whose teachers choose to participate, students will have class-time dedicated to working—either in small groups or with the entire class—on projects that relate to a specific theme, to be decided on by a school-wide vote. Though this is by no means the final idea, the Tattler proposes that all projects be tied to combating inequality on a local level. We want the student body to get involved, to hear project theme ideas that reflect their passions. Projects relating to a theme of inequality could include creating a curriculum to teach middle schoolers about injustice. For example, history classes could do projects examining the changes that Bethesda has undergone throughout its existence and the impact that these changes have had on academic discrimination in our school system.

The final product would be the transformation of B-CC into a museum in May at the end of this year. The museum would showcase the student projects and allow the community to come to B-CC and view the projects, raising awareness for our local inequalities. However, this is just one suggestion.

We are relying on you, the student body, to voice your support and help make these projects a reality. The Tattler has spoken with Dr. Jones and she has provided us with steps to take in order to get this idea off the ground. But it cannot be done without popular support from B-CC students. We ask that students go to tattlerextra.org to sign a petition expressing support for this idea, and that students propose their own ideas. We have a unique opportunity to enact large and meaningful change in our community when we act as a student body, so let’s take it.

EMAIL AIDAN AT 347246@MCPSMD.NET WITH YOUR IDEAS.

In the meantime, here’s what you missed:

NEWS BRIEFS BY SASHA FRANK-STEMPEL, PABLO LOPEZ, MONIQUE BOATENG, ELIJAH WEBB, AND HENRY BURON

Jun. 27th 2018

On June 27th, 2018, Anthony Kennedy wrote to President Trump saying that he would be stepping down as a Supreme Court Justice, giving the Trump administration an opportunity to leave its mark on the Court for decades to come.

A week later, Trump announced he would be nominating Brett Kavanaugh, a D.C. circuit judge. In his announcement ceremony, Trump cited Kavanaugh’s “impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications, and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law.”

The Supreme Court nominee’s confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee coincided with the first week of school, with Democratic senators going after Kavanaugh for his stances on abortion and presidential power.

Jul. 17th 2018

On July 17th, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo moved from Spanish club Real Madrid to Italian club Juventus for a $117m transfer fee. Ronaldo has built up a reputation as one of the world’s greatest soccer players after being successful playing for Manchester United and Real Madrid. Since joining Juve, Ronaldo was said to have avoided UEFA’s presentation gala because he had learned he was not in line to win the best player award. Many have said he should have gone to support his ex-teammate Modric who won the award. All eyes are on Ronaldo for the start of his first season in Serie A. Former soccer star Alessandro Del Piero said, “I think everyone will be keeping a very, very close eye to him to see how he performs.”

Aug. 16th 2018

On August 16th, 2018, The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, passed away at the age of 76 in Detroit, Michigan. She won 18 Grammy awards and was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Aretha Franklin often used her voice to support racial equality during the Civil Rights Movement, leaving behind a legacy hard for any contemporary artists to attain.

“Aretha was one of a kind,” said Lydia Amponsah, the mother of a BCC student. “What she had was truly special, and it’s scary that we’re losing these icons.

The music industry lost one of its most influential vocalists.”

Sept.

3rd 2018

This past week, Nike released a new advertising campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick, the NFL quarterback who made headlines in 2016 for protesting police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem. Nike’s decision to center an ad around Kaepernick has sparked controversy across the nation, with people on both sides of the issue taking to social media to voice their opinions. President Trump himself came out with a statement, saying “I don’t like what Nike did.

I don’t think it’s appropriate.” It’s safe to say that the issue of standing for the anthem has caused lasting divisions across the country, and Nike’s most recent advertisement only reflects these tensions.

Sept.

5th 2018

On Wednesday, the New York Times published a scathing editorial written by an anonymous Trump administration official who claims to be part of a group of “[senior officials] working diligently from within to frustrate parts of [Trump’s] agenda and his worst inclinations.”

A livid Trump tweeted that the “failing New York Times” must, “for National Security purposes,” turn in the “gutless” anonymous writer.

Members of the Trump administration, including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Defense Secretary James Mattis, have been quick to deny being the author of this unprecedented article.

PHOTOGRAPHS SOURCED FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, FOX SPORTS, NIKE, AND TIME MAGAZINE

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Unite the Right 2: An Essay From the Other Side of the Barricade

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BY SOPHIA SAIDI he first thing I noticed were the massive crowds.

Throngs of nondescript people crowded the streets leading up to Lafayette Park.

A slightly disorganized group of Black Lives Matter protesters joyously danced to “Before I Let Go” by Maze and Frankie Beverly. Nearby stood Antifa, flags waving, dressed in casual combat attire. Others sat randomly in trees and on rooftops, taking videos and occasionally yelling out to the crowd. The smell of marijuana filled the air.

But amidst all the chaos, there was not one sign of racism. No swastikas, no hoods or capes, none of the telltale clues used to identify an everyday white supremacist. Still, it was early.

They were not expected to demonstrate until five, which was over two hours away.

I remember, one year ago, hearing the news about Charlottesville. White supremacists and Neo-Nazis had taken over the UVA campus and were protesting for their right to free speech.

I remember my heart racing as I watched videos of protestors chanting phrases like “white power” and “you cannot replace us.” When I checked social media and found out someone had been killed by an angry white man

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in a car, as a person of color, I remember feeling horrified.

But still, that was somewhere else.

That was rural Virginia where racism hid behind farm silos and inside fields of corn. That was in the Bible Belt where ignorance superseded facts, and bigotry was the status quo. That was not a part of my world.

Yet this summer, on August 12th, the white nationalists brought their protest to D.C. Suddenly, the cries of radical hatred that I feared collided with my protective liberal sanctuary. I saw posts pop up on my social media, urging people of color to stay home and to stay away from the city. I remembered the feeling of terror that overcame me exactly one year before.

Greater than that, though, was a sense of intrigue and curiosity. I was there with an agenda: I wanted to stare into the face of white supremacy.

They came out around three, or maybe a little bit after. The crowd rushed to the barricade, hoping to catch a glimpse of white nationalism.

The “lucky” ones who made it to the front squinted at the indistinct figures in the distance. The “unfortunate” people in the back, too short to see over the crowd, tried jumping up to see what was causing the commotion.

“Shame!” the crowd chanted, although it was not exactly clear who the chant was directed at. More than any-

thing else, confusion seemed to be the strongest sentiment at the moment.

There was this strange sense of disappointment that spread throughout the crowd; I felt it too. I came out expecting robes and pitchforks, and all I got were faint glimpses of two dozen losers in flannels and MAGA hats.

At one point, a lone white supremacist wearing a “Trump 2020” shirt found himself on the wrong side of the barricade and was immediately surrounded by a throng of angry liberals.

Everyone seemed eager to finally have found someone to yell at, directing a shower of disjointed progressive ideas in his general direction. Soon, though, the excitement faded, and the crowd directed its attention elsewhere.

Thunder shook the park as lightning crackled in the distance, electrifying the nervous energy that buzzed in the air. It seemed like no one knew what to do. Rain began to fall on the dwindling crowd, putting a final damper on an unsuccessful parade. That was the end of it. The racists left—and so did we.

The whole experience was laughable.

I made my way home, wet and feeling somewhat hopeful about the power of joy and resilience to turn what was supposed to be a racist demonstration into nothing more than a good-natured story.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SOPHIA SAIDI

Parking Lot Troubles

BY ANDREW CHA, EVAN CHARLES, AND CALLIE WILKS

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s the new addition to the B-CC building wrapped up just in time for the school year, many students were excited to arrive on the first day with access to the newly renovated student parking lot. A repaved and expanded lot not only meant more space for parking, but a much needed boost in spirit for seniors who had waited the last two years to reap the rewards of the renovation. Because of this, many were dissatisfied to hear that the new “student” lot, in addition to the Chelton parking lot, would be reserved for teachers, while the smaller East-West Highway parking lot would become the new student lot.

In just the first week of school, many students have already expressed their distaste for the new parking arrangement, with the main frustration among students seeming to be a perceived decrease in allocated spaces. As there were no parking passes for the first week, students have been arriving very early to secure a spot, with most who arrive any later than twenty minutes before the first bell not being able find a space.

SGA President Gabs Capizzi was one of the many students turned away from the student lot on the first day of school.

Recalling her

experience, she commented: “I just remember being pretty disappointed because I think we were all expecting and hoping for the larger parking lot.

It really would have been beneficial for a lot of students this year.” Head of security Mrs. Curry reports that though many students are concerned with a decrease in spots, there are actually still 71 allotted spaces for student parking—an increase from last year.

In an interview with the Tattler, Dr. Jones explained that prior to the beginning of the school year, she sent a survey to teachers asking if they would prefer the newly-renovated parking lot for the 20182019 school year. While some of the staff argued that using the new lot would be more convenient for their classes and offices in the new building, others preferred the Chelton and East-West Highway lots, feeling that such a change was unnecessary.

Though the survey revealed that teachers were evenly split on the issue, Dr. Jones and the administration ultimately felt there was enough reason to make the change.

The administration’s priority in regards to parking at B-CC is, and always has been, making sure that all staff members can be accommodated. Unbeknownst to most students, last year, “not all staff could park, and a lot of people were frustrated by it,” said Dr. Jones. Specifically, many teachers who worked part-time or had later shifts could not find parking upon arriving to school. The administration anticipated that upon increasing the size of the staff, this problem would only be exacerbated, and so they found it necessary to grant the staff the new parking lot for the upcoming school year.

Safety was another problem that factored into the parking settlement. With this renovation, B-CC has become the only school in MCPS to have a covered lot.This new struc-

ture l e a v e s many blind spots and dark corners, and even with cameras being installed soon, the security staff cannot oversee everything. “With this cover over the lot, there are columns and different things that limit visibility,” Dr. Jones commented. “We want to make sure everything is as safe as possible.”

However, one safety concern that has risen as a result of the new parking arrangement is the issue of leaving at the end of the day. Traditionally, the parking lot on EastWest Highway has been the main location for parents to drop off and pick up students.

But since since the teachers and staff who parked in this lot often did not leave until three o’clock or later, this was not previously an issue. Now, with students parking there, the end of the day rush has been chaotic, with students backing out and parents picking up at the same time. Realizing this, the administration has sent out an email to families reminding them to drop off and pick up at the Chelton lot. However, many parents have yet to adopt this rule.

The administration seems to understand both the student and parent frustration with the new parking arrangement.

However, Dr. Jones wants to assure students that there is definitely more student parking than last year, and that in the coming weeks, security will be more strict in sending parents to drop off and pick up at the Chelton lot. Hopefully, this will alleviate the stressful buildup of traffic at the beginning and end of the day, but regardless, Dr. Jones and the security team “will continue to come back to it to make sure everything is running smoothly.”

PHOTOGRAPHS BY SOPHIA SAIDI PAGE CONCEPT BY DANIEL NAVRATIL

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Local Church Responds to Catholic Sex Abuse Crisis

BY DANIEL NAVRATIL AND EMILY SCHRADER

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he crisis in the Roman Catholic Church is hitting close to home for members of the Our Lady of Lourdes congregation neighboring B-CC. In a recent community meeting, parishioners grappled with the latest revelations to emerge in the sex abuse scandal that has plagued the church since the 1980s.

“This has rocked me for the past month.

It has seriously rocked me,” a community member said, facing an audience of concerned peers.

The Bethesda congregation is among countless Catholic churches, schools, and institutions confronting what has become a crisis in the Catholic church. In a scathing report published on August 14th, the Pennsylvania grand jury detailed 70 years of sexual abuse by hundreds of priests across the state. The release of the report came just weeks after the resignation of former D.C. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, following allegations that he sexually abused seminarians for decades.

Monsignor Edward Filardi, pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes and former secretary to McCarrick, organized the meeting to give community members an outlet for their concerns.

“I had a woman here from the parish, a lifelong parishioner, who just felt very frustrated about it and upset, as anyone who has a conscience would,” Filardi said. “She felt she had no voice to speak, and to express her anger and her opinion. So let’s do it, let’s hold this forum.”

Nearly 100 parishioners packed the pews of the church on August 29th, listening intently as their peers expressed opinions on the sex abuse crisis and the clergical response. At play were tensions between some who defended the integrity of the church, and others who condemned its lack of transparency, both at the highest levels and in their own congregation.

In an interview with the Tattler, Joseph Capizzi, a professor of moral theology at Catholic University and a B-CC parent, said

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he was “struck” by the divide at the meeting.

On one hand, he said, a “minority of people who spoke that night approached it the way I might—with real anger about both what has happened, how it has been dealt with by the bishops, and an ongoing lack of forthrightness” by officials in the Catholic Church.

On the other, Capizzi said a majority of people voiced an “enabling” opinion. “People seemed to want to diminish what happened, either by reference to history, by reference to how long ago these things seem to have happened, or by reference to alternative social forces,” Capizzi said.

Some of the more traditionalist views vocalized at the meeting could come as a shock to many members of the greater Bethesda community. Numerous attendees pointed to the gay community as the root of the sex abuse issue, and in an interview with the Tattler, Filardi said that churches “need to be assertive in vetting out or filtering out men with homosexual tendencies.”

Filardi said the history of sexual abuse “was all part of the sexual revolution that kind of unbound people from traditional strictures of sexuality” in the 1970s. In his view, the magnitude of the scandal is diminished by the fact that it occurred decades ago.

“It is basically a revelation of old news,” Filardi said. “One of my frustrations is that 20 years ago, this was all timely and it made sense. Now, it is almost like what would have been news 20 years ago is what is reported now. It undermines people’s confidence.”

Rather than focus on past “instances of impropriety,” Filardi hopes to distance the church from that era and redirect public attention toward reforms that root out sexual misconduct within the church.

But at the meeting, parishioners refused to overlook the far reaching impacts of the scandal. Individuals not only questioned their adherence to the church, but voiced doubts in the ability of the institution to safeguard their children.

One mother said she now hesitates to entrust the education of her children to

Catholic schools. Another conveyed her incredulity at the continued secrecy of higher-ups in the church.

Filardi, however, continued to defend the trajectory of the church, pointing out reforms implemented in 2002, after a Boston Globe investigation uncovered a systemic problem of sexual abuse throughout the Boston Archdiocese.

“Reforms have been in place, and even strengthened, since about 2002,” Filardi said. “There is no safer place for minors in schools than in the Catholic church, because no one is doing as much as we are to fingerprint, to conduct background checks on anybody who works with youth...and to know what to do if there is such a concern.”

In contrast, Capizzi said he “never quite thought the 2002 scandal was handled well.” In his opinion, the very reforms Filardi praised failed to address the heart of the issue—the clergy—and instead unduly targeted the laity.

“In 2002, the message was not that the laity was the problem; it was something dif-

ferent,” Capizzi said. “We addressed it by training of the laity, fingerprinting of the laity, and so on—well that does not quite get to the issue.”

Several attendees said the root of the ongoing crisis lies in the secretive nature of the church, and demanded an improved flow of transparency between laypeople and the clergy. Capizzi expressed disappointment that, to his knowledge, Our Lady of Lourdes had not put out any statement condemning the scandal.

“Some people want to hear more forthrightness about this, and they sense that has not happened yet,” Capizzi said. “Right now, we should be erring on the side of transparency, because people are suspicious of moves to be secretive.”

However, transparent processes may be difficult to implement within the church, Capizzi said, because of the “inside-outside” mentality of hierarchical institutions.

“If you are inside the institution, you are going to be privy to certain things that people on the outside would not be,” he said.

“You try to protect and maintain that exclusion, and also maintain the good that the institution serves.”

For Filardi, who worked four years in the office of ex-Cardinal McCarrick, that balance—between maintaining privacy and informing parishioners of the inner workings of the church—may be difficult to strike.

“Monsignor Filardi is in an awkward position,” Capizzi said. “He was very close to Cardinal McCarrick.”

One young woman at the meeting questioned Filardi on his knowledge of the scandal, asking, “Monsignor, I have nothing but respect for you, but what did you know? I want to know the details from you.”

Despite the speculation, Filardi maintained that he was not aware of past sexual misconduct by McCarrick.

“I know there are many of you that might not believe this, but in the years I worked with him, I never saw anything immoral, illegal, anything but a priestly demeanor,” Filardi said. “Whether out of prudence or repentance, whatever had happened in the

past he had addressed, and was not part of his life here.”

As the forum wound down, and parishioners vacated the pews of the church, many questions remained. Community members wondered how to separate religious beliefs from allegiance to the church as an institution, how to restore their trust in the clergy and its guiding principles, how to protect their children while raising them in the Catholic faith.

“If anything I heard that night was helpful to me, personally, it was what the church can do [to reassure people] that their children are safe here,” Filardi said. “I didn’t become a priest to misuse it...That the church should be a place where someone is harmed, and not helped and healed, is a great tragedy.”

ANDREW CHA AND CAT DESOUZA CONTRIBUTED TO THIS STORY. PHOTOGRAPH OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH BY DANIEL NAVRATIL

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Freshmen Again: Seniors Lost in New Building

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BY LAUREN GIPS

e’ve all been freshmen at some point, whether it’s right now, or three years ago. The deal with being a freshman is that it only happens once. After that, you know where virtually everything is, you no longer get teased, and frankly, you grow up a little more. For the class of 2019, most of these are true. The seniors are now almost adults and get their turn to haze the newest class of B-CC, but there is one thing holding them back. The newly added F-Wing, or as it has been dubbed, “the Fwing,” has caused many seniors to get lost in the first couple weeks of school, making them feel like freshmen once again.

Senior Artemis Margaronis describes the experience as “embarrassing because I had to ask teachers where to go like it was the first day of freshman year.” Others even asked freshmen how to get to places. Seniors are supposed to be the top rank of the “jungle” that is high school, but getting lost in the first days really puts a damper on their credibility.

“It was like the third day of school and I can’t even describe it because I have no clue where I was... But I was, I think, on the first floor of the Fwing, and I was roaming around and I went up to some kids, I think they looked like freshmen. I was like ‘Hey guys, do you know where F016 is?’ and they just kind of looked at me and were like ‘We’re sorry, we don’t know where we’re going either.’ It’s just like one of those embarrassing moments.”

Inaya Laubach

Race for County Executive Heats Up

BY SASHA FRANK-STEMPEL AND JOSH GARBER

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n June 26th, Maryland voters went to the polls to vote in the 2018 primaries. Registered Republicans and Democrats selected their candidates for both local and statewide offices, with the winners of each primary going on to compete in the midterm general election on November 6th.

By 8pm, ballots were completed, polls closed, and candidates awaited the results.

Many candidates won by vast margins, but the most contested race was for County Executive.

On the Democratic side, former County Councilman At-Large Marc Elrich and businessman David Blair were neck and neck when the votes were beginning to be tallied, with the remaining four candidates lagging far behind.

Hayden Renaghan, a junior at B-CC and former intern for the Elrich campaign, was not anxious about the race. “I had faith that Marc would win because I knew he was the best candidate,” Renaghan said. “Towards the end of the campaign I was getting a little worried about David Blair but I had hope that Marc would pull through.”

By the following morning, with 98.9% of votes tallied, Elrich appeared to have triumphed with 34,729 votes (29.2%).

Blair, however, had obtained 34,277 votes (28.9%), only 452 votes shy of Elrich’s total.

But the election was not completely

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over. The Montgomery County Board of Elections still needed to count the remaining absentee ballots and other ballots that had not yet been counted. When every single vote had been tallied, the final result had Councilman Elrich defeating Mr. Blair by 79 votes.

Because the votes were much too close to be certain of an ultimate winner, Blair requested a partial recount for all provisional and absentee ballots, along with recounts in two precincts where he expected to receive a few more votes when ballots were counted for the second time.

The Blair campaign wasn’t sure that the recount would earn them enough votes to put them ahead, but they were hopeful.

Dani Miller, an intern for the campaign and senior at Churchill High School, said that “David Blair’s mindset, which was shared with everyone who worked at the campaign, was that it’s not over until it’s over.”

Yet, according to a staffer with the Elrich campaign, the councilman and his staffers were not concerned with the recounts. She said they were very confident that, even including the recounted votes, Elrich would triumph.

And they had no reason to be worried, for Blair had only received two additional votes from the recount, decreasing Elrich’s margin of victory to 77 votes out of the over 120,000 votes that were originally cast.

After his nail-biting victory, Elrich now looks to the general election on November 6th, where he will face off against his Republican opponent, frequent County Exec-

utive candidate, attorney, and real estate broker Robin Ficker.

Ficker, an attorney who has completed 35,000 cases, has long been involved in local politics, including starting a petition to create term limits for the County Executive and County Council members in 2016.

This petition was passed with nearly 70% of the vote. An interesting note is that the measure prevented Nancy Floreen, Roger Berliner, Marc Elrich and George Leventhal from serving another term each. All of whom would go on to compete in this year’s County Executive race. Aside from being known as a local activist who has run for various public offices over the years, Ficker also made headlines in the 1990s as a heckler, sitting behind the opponent’s bench at Washington Bullets NBA games.

However, this race is receiving even more attention due to a surprise last minute entrance. Former Democratic Councilwoman Nancy Floreen announced her intention to run in the race as an independent after her campaign had acquired the 6,500 signatures required to be eligible to run without the backing of a major party.

Despite the attention this announcement made, her bid appears to be a long shot. Roughly 60% of Montgomery County voters are registered as Democrats, and Elrich and his staffers feel extremely confident about seizing the position of County Executive. His base continues to grow, with endorsements from Blair as well as Isaiah Leggett, who held the County Executive post since 2006.

The Fine Art of Dance

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BY GRACE HARRINGTON long with the construction of the new dance studio comes a new Fine Arts elective: a dance class called Dance is a Fine Art. The class is open to all grade levels and is taught by Ms. Jennifer Lloyd, who is also an English teacher here at B-CC. “I danced all throughout high school and college,” Lloyd said.

“I ended up on the English teaching track, but when [the administration] offered me the position they knew I had a background in dance.”

Students who take the class need no prior dance experience, but by the end of the year Lloyd hopes that everyone has a base knowledge of all of the styles covered.

“I’m looking more for growth, the ability to take risks, [and to] put yourself out there,” she said.

In addition to learning different styles of dance, students will learn to choreograph their own routines. A class routine choreographed by the students will be presented at the county-wide dance showcase on February 22nd. Students who enroll will also participate in classroom-based learning along with practicing dance.

“On the days that we’re not dancing, we’ll be getting Chromebooks; we’ll be doing presentations, taking notes on different dance styles, watching videos, learning the history of different dance styles, something like that,” Lloyd said.

Dance is a Fine Art is primarily taught in B-CC’s newly constructed dance studio, which, with vaulted ceilings and tall windows, has already made an impression on students and teachers alike.

“It’s a space that you really want to be in. It’s a space that makes me more creative,” Lloyd said.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY SOPHIA SAIDI

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A FEW NEW FACES AT B-CC

BY ISABEL DANZIS AND GRACE HARRINGTON

Leah Hepburn

Patrick Fowler

Monica Judge

Ms. Hepburn teaches English 10 and AP Lit. She is from rural Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

“It’s in central Pennsylvania,” Hepburn said. “We nicknamed it Pennsyltucky because it’s kind of back country.

We had a wing of our high school dedicated to agriculture.”

This type of agricultural lifestyle didn’t suit Hepburn very much.

“I was dying to get out, so I put all my effort into school and extracurriculars and just finding a way to get out of central PA,” Hepburn said. She attended college at George Washington University in DC and got her masters in Fine Art and Creative Writing at Temple University.

When she was younger, Hepburn never thought that she would become a teacher. In fact, she was terrified of public speaking up until graduate school.

“I had a physical reaction to it” Hepburn said. However, in graduate school, she was offered a lower tuition if she taught a freshman English class. Taking the opportunity, she fell in love with teaching.

“It felt very comfortable and natural to be talking about something I loved so much,” Hepburn said.

Since her stint as an adjunct instructor at Temple, Hepburn has worked at a school in Laredo, Texas, and as an adjunct professor at both Montgomery College and Frederick Community College.

Last year she worked at Parkdale High School in Prince George’s County, her first year working in the public school system or at a high school. This year will be her 8th year teaching. Mrs. Hepburn took the position at B-CC because she has heard great things about how teachers have a lot of freedom to teach without too many guidelines.

Mr. Fowler is a new music teacher here at B-CC and a Montgomery County native. Mr. Fowler attended Wootton High School in Potomac and the University of Maryland, College Park.

“I went to college to do a performance degree on the bass, and a double major on music education. Performance was my priority and education was my second but throughout four and a half years of college it started to switch,” Fowler said.

Now, Fowler teaches Advanced Band,

Ms. Judge is an Honors English 10 and AP Lang teacher. She is from Austin, Texas, but has spent most of her adult life in New York City. She attended college at Sarah Lawrence College, which is just outside of New York City.

“It’s a tiny liberal arts college, very progressive, I loved it,” Judge said.

After college, Judge taught in New York City Public Schools as an eighth grade teacher before moving to Bethesda three years ago.

Although Judge never expected to be a teacher, her father was a teacher, coach, and principal, which ultimately became a compelling factor in her choosing to become a teacher.

“I think he was a sort of hero of mine and instilled a love of education, the value of it, and so as I got older and when I was looking at my options and was thinking about how I wanted to make an impact, teaching felt obvious and exciting,” Judge said.

The first high school that she has taught at, Judge chose to teach at B-CC because it had a lot of the characteristics that she was looking for in a school.

“I’ve heard really great things about [B-CC]- in terms of how great the kids are- everyone honestly says that over and over to me. I like that it’s a relatively diverse school; I think that is exciting and important,” Judge said.

For a high school, Judge feels that the B-CC community is very multifaceted, which helps create the very strong school spirit that she feels sets B-CC apart from other schools. Additionally, she has noticed how B-CC has a lot of brand new technology at its fingertips, helping to make the teaching process easier.

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“This school just has so much going on. I think that’s what really sets it apart.”

Advanced Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, and AP Music Theory at B-CC. This is his first year as a full time teacher. He was inspired to become a teacher and a musician because of his former teachers, Mr. Scott Herman from Cabin John Middle School and Mrs. Carolyn Herman from Wootton High School.

“I’ve heard great things about [BCC],” Fowler said. “When I was researching the school for my interview back in May, I was looking at the music classes, and I was just astounded by how many there were. This school just has so much going on. I think that’s what really sets it apart.”

SPORTS RECRUITMENT

BY KEVIN MCAULIFFE, TOM MERRITT, AND BENNETT SCHWARTZ

After a busy summer of recruiting, these three B-CC student-athletes solidified their home for the next four years by committing to a college of their choice. Each of these three athletes has shown great promise in their athletic pursuits at B-CC, and with their final seasons as Barons approaching we wanted to take a look at where our sports stars have chosen to continue their careers:

Nathan Messer

Leo Cowie

Kyra Feinauer

The first recruited Baron athlete is Nathan Messer from B-CC’s State Champion Soccer team. Messer currently plays for OBGC Rangers Blue, the fourth best club team in the nation for his age group. Messer will continue his academic and playing career at College of William and Mary, a D1 school in Williamsburg, Virginia. Nathan is always one of the fastest players on the field and a clinical finisher sure to score many goals from the wing in his career.

Nathan chose William and Mary for its “incredible academics and stellar soccer program.” After leading B-CC’s soccer team in both goals and assists, he hopes to lead the team to its second straight state championship this fall.

Another Baron headed to the next level is Leo Cowie of the B-CC Lacrosse team.

Cowie will take his talents to Kenyon College, an NCAA Division 3 school in Gambier, Ohio where he will suit up for the Lords. Cowie is a nifty “X” attackman, tasked with scoring goals and creating assists for the Barons and his club team. He possesses a high lacrosse IQ, exceptional vision, and an innate ability to put the ball in the back of the net. He also led the Barons in points last year. Cowie chose Kenyon because of “rigorous academics, small class sizes, and an opportunity to showcase my skills at the next level.” Once there, he hopes to “succeed on and off the field.” Be sure to check out Leo and the rest of the B-CC Lacrosse team at home games this spring.

Lastly, we have Kyra Feinauer who recently committed to play volleyball at St. Mary’s College in MD. Another familiar sports star at B-CC, Kyra has been a key piece for the B-CC Varsity Volleyball team for the last four years.

After visiting St. Mary’s and staying with the team overnight, Feinauer says she “felt at home,” and that the girls “treated her like a sister.” One of the main reasons Kyra chose St. Mary’s is because she “found the academics appealing as St. Mary’s is an Honors College.” Come out to a few Volleyball games this year and watch Kyra and the rest of her team destroy the competition.

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A Look Back: Alumni Recount Their Years at B-CC

BY PALOMA DELGADO AND LEE SCHWARTZ

New building, new students, new year, new start. When you’re in the midst of radical change, it is sometimes necessary to remember your roots. As a new B-CC takes form and moves towards the future, we take a glimpse back into the past. Two B-CC alums reminisce about their lives in high school, and memories that made B-CC their home for four years.

F

or Max Fainberg, it’s crazy to think that many of his former classmates from high school now have kids that attend B-CC. “We’re all old,” Fainberg said, laughing.

When asked how the school has changed since he attended, Fainberg was most in awe about how much larger the school had become. “The school is so different...physically from what it was before, that some of the stuff that I might remember might not even be around anymore.”

Yet one thing that has remained at B-CC (or at least up until construction began), and that “looms large” in Fainberg’s memory, is the wall behind the field.

“There would be like this retaining wall...and that wall had like graffiti on it from all the years passed,” Fainberg said. “They would let each graduating class paint the wall, and so it wouldn’t be like one single mural, it would be this patchwork of things that seniors painted on the wall.”

According to Fainberg, there were very limited things to do in the B-CC area at the time. As a result, the McDonald’s next to the school was nearly always packed.

“Everybody would go to McDonald’s at lunch and after games or after dances,” Fainberg said, “so the McDonald’s was like a major, major landmark and a major, major hangout for people at B-CC, but it’s just not there anymore.”

And much like the McDonald’s, many traditions at B-CC have since disappeared.

“Every year the seniors in the spring, like in May, would put on like a variety show,” said Fainberg. “It was like an opportunity for the seniors to kind of make fun of B-CC and make fun of teachers and just make fun of stuff.”

Fainberg said the seniors would get a script approved by the principal, “and then inevitably...we would change the script after it got approved, and there would be a lot of cursing and a lot of stuff like that. The principals would always, after the show, threaten to not let people graduate, because they were so upset with the seniors. It was a good time.”

Fainberg remembers in the winter “students, on days off, like on snow days… would go over to Columbia Country Club and go sledding and drink and do whatever. Basically be delinquents on the golf course there.” In the summer, “people would have impromptu parties on the golf course. And again, you would access that by walking down the train tracks. That was kind of a big thing.”

During his four years, Fainberg had his fair share of memories and wild times—not too far off from the shenanigans that currently go on an B-CC. But many B-CC students remain nostalgic for a time when the trail—and the McDonald’s—were still there.

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T

om Clifford, attending B-CC before Mr. Fainberg, reminisces about his class at the “tail end of the seventies.”

Administratively, B-CC was a very different place.

But B-CC had, just like it does now, a “real tapestry of people,” Clifford said. “There was certainly a different makeup economically and ethnically.”

Clifford made friends throughout the school, claiming to be the “guy that knew everybody and was friends with everybody.”

In fact, Clifford was the homecoming king.

“But the funny part about me being homecoming king was I wasn’t even on the football team anymore. It was all about just going around and knowing everybody,” he said.

“I played JV football as a 10th grader and was injured right away,” Clifford said. “It was horrible...I never thought I was going to do anything but play football, and that changed immediately.”

However, leaving the football team is what eventually led Clifford to a passion he continues today: music. “I discovered how much playing in a band meant to me, and to this day I play music...I’m the lead singer of a band called ‘King Soul.’ So to me, it kind of forced my hand to figure out what else is out there,” Clifford said.

Clifford recalls one B-CC tradition—painting the roof—before painting the rock became a thing. “I’d say [the painting of the rock is] a newer tradition to keep kids from going up on the roof, because people used to paint up on the roof. Our slogan for many years at B-CC was ‘It’s on the roof!’ like when we were winning basketball games someone would start to cheer ‘It’s on the roof!’ and everyone would go ‘Oh yeah! One hundred proof! Oh yeah!’ It was always a challenge every year not to get caught,” he said. “People would get up there and paint like “Whitman sucks” and all this stuff.”

One other event that occurred at school, Clifford remembers, was a big drug bust. “People used to go out and smoke pot on the front lawn and I think it was the Montgomery County Police that had some people dressed up as construction workers because the school was under construction while we were there,” he said.

Finishing the interview, Clifford remembers the places where his friend group would hang out. Like Fainberg, the McDonald’s played a large role in his high school life, but according to Clifford there was also “Shakey’s Pizza, and they never checked an ID in that damn place. It was 18 to drink when we were in high school. One of your buddies could go buy a keg legally, if he had just happened to have turned 18...It was a very different time.”

PHOTO OF MAX FAINBERG, CLASS OF 1984