The Tide - March 2015

News 2-4

Opinions 6-7

La Marea 8

International 10-11

1935

1892

Sports 12-13

Throwback 14-28

1945

1955

If RM’s walls could talk The Throwback Issue

2015

The law of inertia only half applies to Richard Montgomery. It is true that, since 1892, the school has been in constant motion, each day of instruction followed by the next. But to assume that the school exists today simply because it did yesterday is to ignore the scores of students and teachers who have populated and cared for this school. To let the speed of our own experiences here—the blur of classes, activities, and events as we rush towards graduation—limit our appreciation of RM’s history is to miss some of the school’s greatest moments.

Were it not for Ruby Gott Tyler, the mascot would not be the Rocket— perhaps we would be the Home of the Rams or the Raiders. Were it not for legendary football coach Roy Lester and the football, basketball, and baseball teams of the 60s, our trophy cabinet would be a little emptier.

And were it not for the five teachers, including Robert Hines, who helped establish the IB magnet program, our teaching staff would be a little thinner; the school, in fact, might not even exist.

To wear black and gold today is to inherit a rich history, shaped by 125 years of forces inside and outside of RM. It is a history that demands and deserves our attention, appreciation, and respect. The Tide is excited to present “The Throwback Issue,” which attempts to tell the story and capture the spirit of Richard Montgomery High School. We hope we have done it justice. The Throwback Issue begins on page 14.

—Editors in Chief

1965

2005

1985 PHOTOS COURTESY OF RM YEARBOOKS

Concussions plague RM athletics

by Julia Kochman

FOTO DE ELVERT BARNES

En los autobuses locales, los latinos tienen una representación desproporcionada.

Disparidad de razas en los autobuses públicos de Lisa Hernandez La diversidad presente en el área de Washington DC es especialmente prominente en el sistema de autobuses públicos. Aunque la gente de todas las razas viaja en autobús, la mayoría de los usuarios son afroamericanos y latinos.

Esta disparidad en el desglose racial de los pasajeros de autobuses tiene implicaciones en la comunidad latina de este área.

Una encuesta, llevada a cabo por la Autoridad de Transporte del Área Metropolitana de Washington entre el 2005 y el 2009, halló que alrededor de 400.000 usuarios de autobuses públicos hablan inglés menos que “muy bien”. De esos 400.000, cerca de 200.000 indican que su lengua materna es el español. Además, el 6% de los usuarios, que equivale a 193.000 personas, afirman no poder hablar inglés.

Con estadísticas como estas, no es extrano.

AUTOBUSES, cont. página 8

Many athletes brush off pain as an indicator of perseverance, determination, and hard work, but when it comes to injuries as severe as concussions, discomfort often delays training and hinders improvement. However, when athletes fail to recognize or seek help for serious injuries, a minor incident can lead to dangerous consequences. Despite the importance of early treatment, many athletes refuse to admit to concussion symptoms, as they fear they will be pulled out of their beloved sport.

According to a study by the University of Pittsburgh, in the United States, “the annual incidence of sports-related concussion is estimated at 300,000.” The sheer number of these injuries demonstrates the overwhelming prevalence of such afflictions in athletics. Another study from the University of North Carolina demonstrated that football is the number one high school sport where concussions occur, followed by boys soccer. In fifth, cheerleading proves its danger and risk, while, surprisingly, ice hockey does not even make the list.

But what is a concussion? It is a functional change to the brain. Imagine your brain sloshing around inside your

skull, like marbles inside a jar. The impact of the hit or fall shifts the brain in uncomfortable ways.

Junior and ex-football player Judah Canizares described the circumstances of his injury: “It was in a football game, [and] I was running up to the dogpile and got blindsided by another player.”

He added, “It’s an odd feeling to explain, [the] best way I can describe it is that it was almost like time distorted and I was swimming in syrup. When I got up off the ground everything seemed unstable and hazy and everything became ten times harder to focus on.”

The effects commonly associated with concussions are headaches and blurred vision, when in reality there is a broader set of red flags that could indicate a concussion.

Freshman Kate Schuck described her symptoms as “very hard… to stay awake, and [her] emotions go crazy.”

Schuck, along with fellow freshman Melanie Osborne, complained of dizziness.

While neither of their concussions were that severe, one of RM’s top wrestlers, senior David Silverberg, suffered a major concussion this past winter. “The first day I started wrestling workouts, I had gone to dive for a football and land on the high jump mats. However when I landed on the mats I rolled and went head first into the ground,” recalled Silverberg.

CONCUSSIONS, cont. page 12

News, 2

Opinions, 6

La Marea, 8

International, 10

Sports, 12

SMOB finalists selected

Statistics vs. calculus

¿Dónde nos sentamos?

Holi around the world

Voylleyball season starts

NEWS 2 The Tide Doubts cast on school suspensions

by Phil Zhang Do you ever worry about suspension? What about catching up on missed classes? Debate over the consequences of suspension is sweeping the nation, with some arguing that suspension is not the answer, and that it deprives students of valuable time that could be spent in classroom instruction.

According to a report from the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at University of California-Los Angeles, students in grades K-12 lost about 18 million days of classroom instruction in the 20112012 school year.

Some people argue that this loss of class time is not an effective way to deal with misbehavior, and that keeping them out of class is the opposite of what those students need. “It was ridiculous and not proper punishment,” said junior Andy Bejean, who was suspended in freshman year.

Education and child development experts say that suspension and expulsion place students at risk for academic failure, dropping out, and involvement in the justice system.

“By making the student leave school, he or she is not only set behind on class work, but might be discouraged from making up that work and trying hard in class, and possibly causing them to give up on school completely,” junior Audrey Richter said.

The problem with suspension and other punishment is that they are meant to have a negative impact on the student himself for the betterment for the other students at the school. “It was boring and unnecessary for what I did. It really wasn’t a positive experience,” Bejean said.

“The way to approach it is to say ‘this is a problem area, how can we turn this around or learn skills to prevent this from being a problem in the future,’ so I don’t want it to be a punishment, I would much prefer to have positive ways to improve behavior,” head of the counseling department John Randall II said.

While suspension does have its cons, sometimes it is necessary to ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for other students. Students are often suspended because they did something wrong that prevented instruction, and suspension allows class to continue without disruptions. “In many situations, it’s necessary to have the student removed from the school setting in order to protect other students and in some cases, to protect that student as well. I don’t think that suspensions should be a first option, it should be a last resort,” administrator and vice principal

act the same way that they do in school as they do at home” Mr. Brown said.

“I’d much prefer to try and have conversations with them, to encourage them, to find better ways of behaving to find ways that are more helpful to themselves,” Mr. Randall said.

These possible alternatives to the harsh punishment of suspension could help students acknowledge their mistakes and move forward, rather than being kept out of class.

The new discipline regulations don’t want to remove suspension, but to change the way that schools

March 2015

NEWS IN BRIEF

Nathan Poland, “Mr. President,” crowned new Mr. RM On Friday, March 13, RM students gathered in the auditorium to watch the highly anticipated event, Mr. RM. As the curtains opened, revealing the 15 senior contestants, the deafening cheers of students could be heard all across the auditorium. Soon after, the vivacious hosts, seniors Allie Parrish and Rosa Scholl, made humorous introductions for each of the contestants.

The event soon progressed into the talent portion of the show.

The audience was met with impressive talents ranging from Jordan Sherman’s intense kayaking adventure to Justin Pan’s live Chinese yo-yo performance.

The event then transitioned into an introduction of a speaker from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) who spoke about RM’s generous donations to the association. All proceeds raised from the contestants’ fundraising went to the LLS. After intermission came the formal wear section of the show.

Contestants were escorted across the stage by their mothers, sisters, cousins or girlfriends.

After the exciting beach wear contest, first cuts were made and the top six contestsants continued to the interview portion that would determine the winner of Mr. RM. At the end of the show, the renowned “Mr. President,” otherwise known as Nathan Poland, took the Mr. RM title, with “Mr. Sir,” senior Andrew Del Vecchio, in second place.

By Jisue Gonzales

Racial chants cause turmoil at University of Oklahoma

PHOTO BY MADDIE FRANKE

Although vice principal Mark Brown supports the idea of necessary suspensions, he thinks this form of discipline should be a last resort.

Mark Brown said. approach discipline. “We have The same report also not said, ‘Don’t suspend.’ We reviewed the racial discrepancies have said, ‘You have to document in suspension rates, revealing that it and explain it,’“ Maryland the suspension rate differs based State Board of Education member on ethnic background. The report James H. DeGraffenreidt Jr. said. focused on the recent efforts to Still, education officials and close this “discipline gap,” which school systems all around the is the difference in suspension nation believe that discipline rates based on race, gender, and is important to students, given other factors. that the basis of education is to Maryland school systems have turn students into functioning already adopted new discipline members of society. regulations to avoid suspension “I fully support discipline as a when possible, and use more core value of education. We have rehabilitating methods to deal to learn to be held responsible for with problems in discipline. our actions in order to mature into “In a previous school building, responsible citizens” sophomore we actually had parents come Hannah Greco said. in and shadow their students in “One of our goals is to help lieu of suspensions, and I think students develop the social that was a really effective method skills necessary to survive in the because students typically don’t world,” Mr. Randall added.

March/April

March 26

End of Third Quarter This could be the start of something new.

April 3-10

Spring Break What time is it? Not summertime (yet)!

April 6

Easter Monday ‘Tis the day of oversized rabbits and marshmallow chicks.

April 14

Report Card Distribution We’re all in this together.

April 17

Opening Night for “And Then There Were None” Come watch a story of romance, murder, and intrigue!

April 29

SMOB Elections Watch our candidates bop to the top.

A recent controversy at the University of Oklahoma caused public outrage and resulted in the closing of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity chapter and the suspension of some of its members. A 10-second long clip of the fraternity brothers shouting racial slurs surfaced on March 8. The chants include vulgar racist remarks and threats shouted in unison by the brothers aboard the bus.

The fraternity’s national headquarters has since made the decision to completely close down the University of Oklahoma chapter, while apologizing for the actions of those in the video.

“We apologize for the unacceptable and racist behavior of the individuals in the video, and we are disgusted that any member would act in such a way. Furthermore, we are embarrassed by this video and offer our empathy not only to anyone outside the organization who is offended but also to our brothers who come from a wide range of backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities,” the fraternity’s leaders wrote in a statement posted on their website.

The two leaders of the racist chant were expelled by the university. One of the students, Parker Rice, issued a statement. “I am deeply sorry for what I did Saturday night. It was wrong and reckless. I made a horrible mistake by joining into the singing and encouraging others to do the same” he said.

By Phil Zhang

Math Honor Society organizes Pi Day puzzle hunt Pi Day or March 14 (3.14) fell on a Saturday this year, but that didn’t keep the Math Honor Society from celebrating the special holiday.

MHS sponsored the first annual Pi Day Puzzle Hunt, organized by seniors Helen Yang and William Wang and juniors Kevin Ying and Christopher Lee, as well as math teachers John Chase and Laura Goetz. The Puzzle Hunt began on March 10 and concluded the morning of March 12, when one four person team finished the six challenging math problems.

The solutions to each of the problems led to a clue which allowed the team to find the next problem. Yang said that while the problems were all interesting and demanding, they were more focused on the set-up, rather than the computations of the problem, so any student who had taken at least geometry would be able to participate.

When teams got stuck, they were able to ask the MHS officers for hints every few hours.A total of 35 teams signed up and the event had been open to all students regardless of whether they were part of MHS. On March 13, MHS also hosted the eighth annual pie eating contest on Main Street, which principal Damon Monteleone won.

Contestants had to eat a slice of pie without using their hands.

By Brittany Tabora

AWARDS Congratulations to the Forensics Team, which received a plaque for their second place finish at the county competition.

Freshman Megan Lewis, juniors Raja Ramesh, Cynthia Song, Anita Bangali, Ella Lorete, Cathleen Kong, Sara Hunt, Valencia Fu, and senior Emily Yang received trophies for their outstanding performances as part of the Forensics Team.

Congratulations to the Madrigals choir, which received three superior ratings at the chamber choir festival.

The Chamber Orchestra and Concert Band received straight superior ratings at the county high school orchestra festival, qualifying for the state festival in April.

Congratulations to junior Emily Zhang, who received one gold key and one silver key from the national level of the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition.

Congratulations to all 34 RM finalists in the 2015 National Merit Scholars Competition.

NEWS

The Tide

March 2015

Graduation rates for African Americans increase

This large distinction between the academic performance of different

by Isabelle Zhou races, commonly called the achievement gap, is one of our national education African Americans have made great system’s greatest challenges.

Dr. educational progress in the United States, Starr, Montgomery County’s former yet they are still hindered by graduation superintendent, had focused much of his rates lower than the U.S. average. However, time on this issue. according to The Schott 50-State Report Despite Dr. Starr’s promise to help on Public Education and Black Males, the close the gap,Montgomery County has gap between African-American males’ seen minimal improvement, and there graduation rates and those has actually been a growing of other races is gradually disparity. In fact, according closing, especially in to one article by the news Montgomery County. source Greater Greater Montgomery County Washington that compared has the highest graduation Montgomery County several rate for African-American percent of black males in other large school districts males in the nation. The in the greater D.C. area, MCPS graduate Schott 50-State Report Montgomery County ranked confirmed that among only third in the region, the districts with more spending approximately than 10,000 male African32 percent more on lowAmerican students enrolled, income students than it does Montgomery County has percent of black males in on non-poor students, as the highest graduation measured by whether the the U.S. graduate rate for the group, at 74 students receive a free or percent.

Cumberland reduced lunch.

County, North Carolina, The Greater Greater has the second-highest Washington reports that in black male graduation rate, order to make the county at 68 percent of their black male population a better school system, officials must graduating, while the national average is recognize faults, especially pertaining only 59 percent. to the achievement gap, and work to However, these statistics cannot be seen improve them. as sufficient advancement, since African Many students worry about the lack Americans’ graduation rates are still far of activity found in Montgomery COunty lower than those of whites. According to today. “I don’t think enough is being The Schott 50-State Report, MCPS also has done because I don’t see much being done the highest graduation for white males, at in school or outside of school,” freshman 91 percent, leaving a gap of 17 percentage Adjeoda Tekpor said. points between the two races. Although Students also point to our school this gap is lower than the national gap of system as a promoter of the achievement 21 percentage points, it is still a noticeable gap. “I don’t believe in standardized difference. testing. I feel like we could definitely do

74 59

more by helping students improve instead of diminishing student opportunities in this way,” freshman Maria Vicente said.

In spite of these issues, most students are content with the faculty and management of education, especially at RM. “We have really good teachers in general, and most of them are really good at engaging students into learning.

Generally in our schools, we are taught to learn more and aspire to go to college,” Vicente said.

Others believe the satisfaction with the educational system is due to the influence of the International Baccalaureate program at RM. “I think being in the IB program, the achievement gap is a lot less evident, because, in the IB program, the graduation is exponentially increased just based on the standards of the program.

So I think it’s harder to see the difference,” freshman Peter Jasperse said.

However, other students believe that the IB program has created a more general divide, aside from specific measures like the graduation gap, between students at Richard Montgomery.

“I think there is definitely a disparity when there is a magnet program in a high school,” senior Ankita Reddy said.

“The achievement gap at RM seems to be something that many IB students just prefer not to discuss, but I think that it’s important to find ways to become aware of the entire school community.”

“The school system could be less selective in how they dish out courses and

3

GRAPHICS BY GRACE SUN

MCPS has the highest graduation rate for African American males in the nation. applications for the magnet program,” Tekpor said, “just things to balance out either side of the achievement gap.”

Although Montgomery County has faced issues in closing the gap between the graduation rates of African-American students and those of other races, The Schott 50-State Report’s data from 20132014 states that African-American males’ graduation rate was 81.9 percent last year while the graduation rate of white males was 93.7 percent, which means the gap has decreased to less than twelve percentage points.

SMOB finalists elected at Nominating Convention

by Christina You On March 11, students from around MCPS gathered at the annual Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB) Nominating Convention, held at Watkins Mill High School, to narrow down the list of six potential SMOB candidates to two finalists.

The Nominating Convention was rescheduled twice due to inclement weather, but, ultimately, the delegates were able to play an important role in deciding the future of SMOB. “There was a great exchange of ideas

“You could really tell that all of the delegates were tuned in and engaged and ultimately voted based on the merit of [the candidates’] ideas and the ability of the candidate to carry out those ideas.”

-David Edimo and different plans for the future of our schools [at the convention]. And you could really tell that all of the delegates were tuned in and engaged and ultimately voted based on the merit of those ideas and the ability of the candidates to carry out those ideas, said David Edimo, RM sophomore and Chief of Staff for the Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association (MCR-SGA).

After listening to speeches from all six

students, holding a preliminary vote to narrow the ballot down to three candidates, and then conducting another questionanswer round for the top three, delegates selected Eric Guerci and Rachit Agarwal to advance to the final election in April.

Cameron Reed, of Springbrook High School, advanced to the middle round; Richard Banach, of B-CC, Zachary Williams, of Montgomery Blair, and Harris Baylin, of Wheaton High School, were eliminated in the first round.

Guerci, a sophomore at BethesdaChevy Chase High School, and Agarwal, a junior at Richard Montgomery, will be the two names on this year’s ballot for the 2015-2016 Student Member of the Board.

Voting, open to all MCPS middle and high school students, will take place on April 29.

According to the official MCPS website, the SMOB position was first introduced in 1978. With the exceptions of boundary changes, budgets, and school closings, the SMOB has an equal vote on the Board of Education. The SMOB can voice his or her opinion on issues such as administrative appointments, policy, and the Board of Education’s platform. He or she also has a vote on issues such as transfers and expulsions.

“SMOB is an important position that deals with important issues,” sophomore Daniel Feshbach said. “The school board’s government is one of the most important bodies of government we, as students, know. The SMOB represents our student body in this government.”

RM freshman and member of MCRSGA Matthew Pease said, “Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t even know who the SMOB is, but it’s important for them to participate in the process because the SMBO actually can do things. He or she can vote on a multitude of matters that concern us.”

However, although the consideration for SMOB has always been an important decision to make for Montgomery County middle and high school students, this year’s election could be the most critical one yet.

According to the news website MyMCMedia, a bill sponsored by the Montgomery County Delegation is currently making its way through the Maryland General Assembly. If passed, the bill would extend full voting rights to the

start will we truly be able to help lowerincome students, and other aspects like lower class sizes and the use of technology in all classrooms will complement these programs and enhance their effect,” he continued.

PHOTO BY MATT PEASE

The six SMOB candidates battled it out at the SMOB nomination convention.

Candidates Eric Guerci and Rachit Agarwal emerged victorious from the event.

Student Member of the Board, giving them Agarwal also has used campaign power over issues such as the budget. slogans such as “No poetry, just Until voting day, Eric Guerci and practicality,” “No BS or buzzwords,” and Rachit Agarwal will be campaigning for “Let’s get Rachit,” to emphasize his sincere students’ votes. While both candidates and direct approach. promise to bring a voice to, communicate Agarwal was the Public Relations with, and fight for MCPS’ 150,000 students, Officer for former SMOB Justin Kim, Chief there are some differences in the policies of Technology for current SMOB Dahlia and programs they advocate.

Huh, and the Technology Deputy for MCR“We must fix the root of the cause of SGA. income inequality by taking meaningful Meanwhile, Guerci has taken on a steps to reduce the achievement gap. similar stance on class sizes, technology Eighty-five percent of learning occurs implementation, and the achievement gap. before the age of six, so my priority for On his campaign website, Guerci asserts helping our younger brothers and sisters his views on major education issues and is advocating for free countywide learning stresses his experience and capability. programs to be implemented,” Agarwal Guerci is the current Vice President of wrote on his campaign website.

MCR-SGA and was the Policy Advisor to “Only through education from the Kim.

4

The Tide

NEWS

March 2015

Career Day presents new opportunity for students

by Jisue Gonzalez On Friday, Feb. 27, the RM Parent Teacher Student Association (RMPTSA) and school community held the first ever Career Day at RM. A typical half day at school became a lively event filled with parents, friends of teachers, and members of the local community speaking to students about their careers.

Students were exposed to presentations from a variety of professionals, including Air Force Recruiters, hackers, and museum curators. As a result, many were prompted to think about their own careers choices in the near future.

“I think Career Day was a great opportunity for students to know what positions are out there and learn how to get to those positions. It also provided me with insight for the careers that I want to head into,” sophomore Tyler Hoffman said.

“I was glad that all students in the building, regardless of their academic level or program, were exposed to an array of careers that opened their eyes and inspired them.”

-Principal Damon Monteleone It’s clear that Career Day was valuable for students and speakers alike. Parents of RM students noted the uniqueness of the event. “I didn’t have this experience when I was younger and I would have loved to, so I think it’s great that students are getting exposed to this at an earlier age,” explained Doctor Angela Priester, a psychologist and mother of sophomore Victoria Priester.

In terms of student participation, parents and speakers were very impressed with the sheer interest students expressed in their classes.

“I was impressed at how attentive students were. In every class I was asked interesting questions and students remained engaged throughout my long talks,” said Gregory Kostka, an attorney for the U.S. House of Representatives and father of junior Andy Kostka.

While much of the conversations in the classrooms revolved around aspects of the job like speakers’ schedules, salaries, and paths to their current occupations, they also stemmed to a multitude of other related topics.

“I talked to students about job specific things such as writing checks and calculating taxes, but I also got to talk about general lessons I learned throughout my life and career,” said Eileen Sherr, a tax certified public accountant.

It was conversations like these that captured the interests of not only students, but speakers as well.

Throughout the day, presenters received meaningful feedback from attentive students. Students received these various careers, many of which they may not have considered previously, with high levels of excitement and curiosity.

“The questions I was asked really showed how students were engaged and thinking about their futures,” said Mylene Ouimette, a research librarian at NIST and a parent of tenth grader Greta Ouimette.

While Career Day reflected the true interests of RM students, it also revealed the overarching purpose of the day.

“School is often so routine, but Career Day shows that this routine has a purpose for the future,” noted Gregory Kostka.

Nancy Downing, RM’s hardworking PTSA president and mother of sophomore Valerie Downing, kept this purpose in mind throughout her planning for the event. “I came up with the idea for Career Day because I wanted to give kids hope for the future. I also wanted to connect the parents and community with

the school to encourage the students,” she explained.

It was exactly the community that Mrs. Downing envisioned that participated in Career Day. Members from all corners of the local community came out to speak to

students together, regardless of academic level, race, age, or any other factor. RM students, being separated by program, classes, and more, were united as one student body throughout the day.

“I was glad that all students in the

PHOTO COURTESY OF LIFETOUCH INC.

After the school day ended, students gathered on Main Street during lunch in order to speak with the Career Day presenters, including those whom they did not see in class. students, such as residents in surrounding neighborhoods, friends of teachers, parents, and many more.

“I’m not a parent here but my friend, Roxanne Hodges, a Spanish teacher here, asked me to come in and speak to students.

I had a great time talking to engaged students and I hope I inspired them,” said Diego Saenz, a reactor systems engineer at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Eileen Sherr, a certified public accountant, also came from the local community.

Many speakers were not directly involved with Richard Montgomery High School instead coming from the community at large.

Career Day ultimately unified the community and the school by bringing all

building, regardless of their academic level or program, were exposed to an array of careers that opened their eyes and inspired them,” principal Damon Monteleone said.

The collaborative effort of Mrs. Downing, RM parent Myra Dudley, president of the Julius West PTA Vince Mickens, career coordinator Mary Hull, and assistant principal Jonathan Garrick proved fruitful. The hard work of these individuals and many more made Career Day a successful and rewarding experience for students.

This day set a precedent for future events of this nature; next year, students can look forward to meeting more interesting professionals from around the area.

Initiative 71 brings marijuana legalization to D.C. ounce with another person of legal age.

There may be no buying or selling, and

by Lipi Agrawal only six plants are allowed to be grown at once.

Some students question the As of Feb. 26, marijuana usage has effectiveness of the aforementioned been effectively legalized in restrictions. “These restrictions DC. The legislation that brought are pretty reasonable,” an about this change was Initiative anonymous senior said, 71, which legalized the possession “but people who were and cultivation of marijuana by already breaking previous persons 21 and older. As of last laws won’t stop at these November, 70 percent of DC minor ones.” residents supported the initiative.

Other students comment A Congressional review period was put in on the positive effects of place for 30 days, and on Feb. 26 the initiative having restriction-free access became law. to pot. “The legalization of The main argument touted by opponents pot could be really useful of the law is based on the possible negative to the government if it had health effects of smoking marijuana. some monetary value, such According to studies done by the National as through taxes,” junior Institute on Drug Abuse, chronic marijuana Vivien Zhu said. use can cause long-term memory loss, Students also learning impairment, addiction, and even commented on the other respiratory problems. positive economic effects However, some students disagree, the law may have. “Those based on personal experience with the people who were arrested drug. “Weed is definitely less dangerous on counts of illegally than alcohol. You can definitely try it once, possessing marijuana just don’t go overboard, like smoking it would sometimes go to jail. five times a day,” an anonymous senior As a result, taxpayers have said. “It’s not addicting,” added another t o pay more to maintain the anonymous senior. prison systems.

If The decision of our nation’s capital marijuana is legalized, followed in the footsteps of Colorado, those arrested Alaska, and Washington, but the way would be free, that the law will be incorporated and could then into daily life is very different. contribute to For example, there will be no the economy,” open-air smoking nor any pot junior Daniel shops, establishments that GRAPHICS BY HANNAH SALEM Feshbach said. are common in Colorado.

“Making something illegal just Users may only possess two ounces of marijuana and may only share up to one because it could have consequences

doesn’t really help -- just look at Prohibition -- and kind of just makes it more appealing.

But if people know how to be safe or only do it as adults, then really what’s the big deal?” sophomore Alex Haddad asked.

Because D.C. is the nation’s capital and a symbol for change, many believe that if pot is legalized in D.C. and things move smoothly, it will set the pace and example for other states.

“The nation’s capital has an exaggerated impact” said Keith Stroup, legal counsel at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, in an interview with The Washington Post.

“If Washington, D.C. can legalize marijuana and the sky doesn’t fall, things will get a lot easier in these other states.”

Many people believe that much may not change for those who are already recreational cannabis users.

For example, prevoiusly, many cannabis users procured their drugs illegally, but now, as Nikolas Schiller of the D.C. Cannabis Campaign says, “The difference is that they don’t have to worry about cops breaking down their door if they’re smoking.”

In fact, about 50,000 D.C. residents have marijuana arrest charges on their record.

“The majority of people who were already using it illegally would continue

to do so” an anonymous senior said. The price of obtaining illegal marijuana is much less than it would be in Oregon, Alaska, and Colorado. The tax imposed on the sale of marijuana also increases the incentive for people to obtain marijuana illegally through dealers, to circumvent the tax.

Although this Initiative was law as of Feb. 25, there are still heated debates going on in Congress. Many Republicans did not agree with the law, and are still attempting to get it revoked. This angered some local officials, as they view the legalization of marijuana to be a purely local issue, and think that the Republican Congress should focus on more significant problems.

A resolution made this past December detailed that the District could no longer spend any more money on marijuana legalization, and many Republicans believe that this new law is a violation of that resolution.

Thus, the Congress has forbade the selling or taxing of pot, and all pot must be “home grown, and [for] home use.”

The law only legalizes pot for those above a certain age, and therefore will not affect any teenagers that are illegally using pot.

The Tide

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March 2015

5

6 The Tide

OPINIONS

Detractors of APUSH are misguided

by Jared Stolove Early last month, an Oklahoma House committee approved a bill that would, if passed, cut off state funding for any school offering AP U.S. History (APUSH). This bill would be tantamount to a statewide ban on the class, since schools rely on state funding to stay afloat.

Ultimately, the committee plans to write and establish a new U.S. History curriculum, focusing on the founding fathers and the ideal of “American exceptionalism.”

This bill is the manifestation of a conservative backlash against APUSH that has been sweeping the country. The College Board, the education nonprofit that writes Advanced Placement curricula, released a new framework for APUSH in late 2012. According to the College Board’s website, the new program intends to provide “teachers with greater flexibility to focus on specific historical topics, events, and issues in depth.”

However, conservatives have derided the new program as “radically revisionist.” Parents, teachers, and politicians across the country worry that the new framework will undermine American values and destroy students’ pride in their country.

There are no sections of APUSH this year at RM; though it was offered as an elective, no one signed up for the course. It is no longer part of the standard progression of history courses due to logistical issues concerning the schoolwide integration the Middle Years Program.

While this gap in our school’s course offerings may seem like a mere scheduling blip, its implications reach farther than

they may first appear. APUSH has long been a cornerstone of our school’s history program, providing students with knowledge of our society’s roots as well as an opportunity to discuss and analyze national issues that still have relevance today. Will our other history courses be up to the challenge of replacing this highly valued class? “[The backlash is] grounded in a fundamental misunderstanding,” said history teacher Todd Stillman. “The big story of US History…[is] an

GRAPHIC BY NANCY JIANG

amazing story about creating a better, more inclusive country.

To continue to form ‘a more perfect union’ we need to draw both positive and negative lessons from our past.”

Stressing only the high points of American history and whitewashing the mistakes of our past can only leave students ignorant and unprepared to understand the issues of the future. In the extrme case, they could also potentially

adapt a misplaced sense of jingoism.

However, Mr. Stillman also put my fears to rest regarding the future of RM’s history program, stressing the importance of our fantastic staff and student body.

“I wouldn't get caught up in the brands or the labels,” he said, “With our terrific staff, students are going to get a great experience no matter their course selection.”

Ultimately, curriculum is not the true determinant of the value of a history class; the level of discussion both amongst students and between students and teachers is. And with the overall quality of students and teachers at our school, classroom debate will continue to be lively, interesting, and rewarding.

APUSH was debatably a good framework for encouraging this discussion. But removing it will not change the most important thing about the classroom. Regardless of the curriculum offered to them, students will continue to discuss, and discover. With the right teacher, who stresses these concepts of analysis and critical thinking, these ends will continue to be met. Ultimately, the recent attacks against AP US History classes are the result of politicians and parents trying to control the information that today’s youths are exposed to.

As for RM, hopefully teachers and administration can work together in an expedient manner to put APUSH back on our list of course offerings sooner rather than later. Fortunately for students, teachers are the ones who truly have the power over what is taught in the classroom.

Hopefully after the politicians have had their say and all the scheduling conflicts are resolved, we can get back to learning.

Poll of the month: Students and teachers express concern over PARCC testing

by Fonda Shen Students at RM, along with students in several states across the nation, sat down for the first PARCC tests early this month.

The PARCC tests are tailored to the Common Core Standards, a set of standards written collaboratively by several states and put into effect for the first time this year. For high school students, the PARCC tests serve as a replacement to the old HSAs, and not many seemed to welcome the idea.

Yes

March 2015

Only days before, students were introduced to the tests for the first time. “I didn't think it mattered, and didn't take it very seriously,” sophomore Madeleine Cheng said, a sentiment echoed by several of her peers.

“It was not very difficult,” freshman Jasmine de la Vega said after she took the Algebra I PARCC exam. For a test that is tailored to a supposedly rigorous curriculum, the simplicity of the test may prove to be a problem.

“I didn’t think the test matched what we learned at all, and the questions were really confusing,” said sophomore

No

A sample of 340 students taking the PARCC was used create these results. The question was, “Do you think the PARCC assessment will be a valuable tool in evaluating your college/career readiness?”

Nicole Hultquist after she took her Algebra II test. The PARCC tests are supposed to measure the progress of a student, but if the questions have nothing to do with the content taught in the classroom, how can students be expected to show progress?

Perhaps what is even more worrisome is that students who walked out claimed that they did not even try because a bad score appeared to have no consequences.

Another one of the purposes of the PARCC tests is to serve as predictors for student performance, but with the lack of effort put into the tests, is it feasible at the moment? “I don't think they know what the results are going to show,” English teacher Laurie Brown said.

English teacher Michael Oakes also expressed concerns that MCPS students are spending too much time testing. His tenth grade students have recently not only taken the PARCC tests but also tests written and required by MCPS. Despite the influx of criticism, however, the PARCC is still in its early days, so only time will tell what value it may hold for our students.

Letters to the Editor

Freshmen continue to get involved at RM I definitely feel that freshmen are definitely getting more involved around this time of the school year. Although there are a lot of recruitment drives and things like the Club Fair that help get freshmen involved early on in the year, at this time we are now able to get more deeply involved in the activities that we’ve chosen and try new things without feeling as overwhelmed.

I started track this spring season and it is very fun! Although tiring, exercising everyday keeps me healthy and happy.

-Sue Lee, 9th grade

First annual Pi Day hunt was huge success This year’s first annual Pi Day Hunt was a huge success in my opinion. Not only did it celebrate the once-in-a-century Pi Day, it was also a great way to get students to use their problem solving skills to solve simple yet complex math problems. This should be a celebration that happens every year, with more kids comeing out to participate and more prizes given out to encourage everyone.

-Simon Liu, 10th grade

Boys basketball had a fantastic season The season was an amazing run. Although we came up short of our goal we still have a lot to look back on and be proud of. It was great to have all of the support from our fans, and the experience with my teamates of working hard and winning a lot of games was one I won’t forget.

-Seth Nosanchuk, 11th grade

Mr. RM seniors blew the crowd away The crowd was going crazy even before it even started; everyone was rushing in to get a good seat. It was insane. Mr. RM was a hit and I think it was the best I have seen in my four years!

The boys really knew how to strut their stuff! Having known most of them since freshman year, I have never seen them evoke this much confidence and they definitely got out of their comfort zones. They really impressed me and left me speechless.

-Sara Monterroso, 12th grade

Please send any comments as letters to the editor to tide.opinions@gmail.com.

Submissions may be edited for length and/or clarity.

The Tide

250 Richard Montgomery Drive Rockville, Maryland 20852 www.rmtide.com 301-610-8000 The Tide is the student newspaper of Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland. The Tide is dedicated to keeping the Richard Montgomery school community accurately informed and to providing a forum for student expression.

1,000 copies of the newspaper are printed and disctributed among students.

Any corrections are printed in the following issue on page 2.

The opinions presented in The Tide do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff and administration at Richard Montgomery.

The Tide is affliated with ASPA, CSPA, and NSPA. Questions, concerns, and suggestions on articles, advertisements, and photos can be submitted to thetideeditors@gmail.com.

Editors-in-Chief....Andrew Del Vecchio, Rachel Gold, Catherine Wang, Matthew Zipf News................................................................Grace Cheung, Claire Luo, Brittany Tabora Opinions.................................................Farah Kabir, Anagha Lokhande, Jennifer Zhang International........................................................................Adithya Girish, Nikita Sardana Center Spread.....................................................................Anna Lavrentieva, Muye Wang La Marea............................................................................................................Darian Garica Features...........................................................................................Liz Choi, Michelle Wang Arts................................................................Michelle Dubovitsky, Nancy Jin, Max Molot Sports.................................................................Daisy Grant, Andy Kostka, Yueyang Ying Photo......................................Rachit Agarwal, Connie Chen, Maddie Franke, Mona Lee Graphics......................................................................................Nancy Jiang, Cynthia Song Copy.....................................................Nathan Li, David Nguyen, Alex Yu, Emily Zhang Online.............................................................Trinish Chatterjee, Jimmy Li, Dahlia Wilson Sponsor.....................................................................................................Mrs. Andrea Lyons

The Tide

OPINIONS

Black & Gold

March 2015 7

Should net neutrality be adopted in the United States?

Net neutrality hurts infrastructure Internet should be free and open

by Xochi Cartland Recently, the Federal Communications Commission has been debating the policy of net neutrality, the principle that the internet is open to international access without giving any preference to specific database entries.

Proponents of net neutrality argue that it allows for free, open access to the internet and is a first amendment right, while opponents of net neutrality argue that it would deter investment in improving broadband infrastructure and is trying to fix a system that is not broken.

Ultimately, net neutrality is an impractical policy. It cannot be implemented because internet service providers would monitor all internet usage and charge more money for more access to the internet under this policy.

Sophomore Charlotte Beckford said, “Despite the possible improvements to fair usage of the Internet, net neutrality infringes on the capitalism America’s economy depends upon and, frankly, is trying to fix something that isn’t even a problem. Instead of focusing on sending the world further into the twenty-first century, maybe we should focus on maintaining the standard of living we have already set up?”

If net neutrality were established, it would be difficult for service providers to give customers adequate levels of service.

According to sophomore Ben Fishman, “instituting net neutrality would put a chokehold on broadband companies, spam the casual internet consumer with unnecessary garbage, and prevent

researchers from finding useful data.”

“The internet is the new frontier of the way we connect with the world and to keep it equal and open to all is important,” senior Arturo Beckford claimed.

“However even without net neutrality, people will still be able to have an open access to all sites of their choosing,” Beckford added.

In an interview with The Scientific American, Verizon swore that even without net neutrality “unblocked access to lawful websites ... will not change.”

by Trinish Chatterjee Today, our social dynamics, our education, our entertainment, and even our official business are carried out on the internet. In order to reap the benefits of this new technology, it is important that access this technology is kept free and open.

In this way, “net neutrality”—which is the assertion that the internet should

GRAPHIC BY VALENCIA FU

The internet is a valuable commodity, and equal access to it is certainly an important goal for the future.

Nonetheless, at present, the infrastructure is unable to accomodate net neutrality and simply does not have the necessary framework to implement the idea.

After all, as the adage goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

be treated as a public utility—is an essential step for the United States to start integrating the internet more deeply within our society. By treating the internet the same as, say, electricity, our generation will have secure, open internet access in the 21st century and into the foreseeable future.

On a more abstract level, net neutrality will protect our free speech and guarantee

that the internet continues to be the public forum of expression that it has grown to be in the past few years.

But how does net neutrality actually affect the lives of RM students? Many of the benefits of net neutrality stem from the fact that this doctrine would ensure that companies would not be able to unfairly impose restrictions on how we access the internet.

On an everyday level, this means that access to high-volume websites, like Netflix, Facebook, or YouTube, would not be slowed down due to heavy traffic.

Without the guarantee of unobstructed access to these websites, there is always the possibility that these websites so often used by teenagers will become more difficult to use.

In addition, net neutrality would also ensure that certain content will not be able to be censored by internet providers.

The concept is similar to how MCPS can block students from visiting certain websites while students are using their computers. Without net neutrality internet providers can likewise block certain webpages.

This would not only harm the spirit of free market competition that our nation’s economy is built upon, but would also impinge on the social, educational, and entertainment experiences that we have all come to integrate into our everyday lives.

Think about how often you use the internet on a day-to-day basis, from checking Edline at school, to uploading photos and tweeting on your phone, to watching Netflix at home. Net neutrality ensures that we will all be able to continue to use the internet in the same way well into the future.

Statistics or calculus: Which class should guide our curriculum?

by Jenny Chen As our world begins to rely more heavily on data and information, many wonder if our education system should adapt to the new focus on statistics.

Educators have now begun to question whether calculus, traditionally considered the king of high school math, should be replaced by statistics, which is arguably more relevant to most students’ lives after high school.

“There’s always been this path to calculus, starting early with geometry, algebra and pre-calculus, but there is no ‘path’ to statistics which, I think, is why

“Statistics is more applicable to the ‘real world’ of most of these kids’ lives.

But application is not the most important reason we teach mathematics.” people see it as a lesser form of math,” senior Bailey Dinman said.

The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that the US will soon face a shortage of up to 190,000 professionals with advanced training in statistics and machine learning. In addition to that, another 1.5 million executives and analysts will need enough proficiency in statistics to work closely with data scientists to design experiments.

While calculus is seldom used in daily

life, statistics involves math related, but not limited to, risk, reward, and randomness, all of which can be used in a variety of real-world applications, including games, gambling, and trends. Even more importantly, in our technologicallyadvanced world, media reports regarding health, science, and the environment are filled with statistics. Statistics is now a more practical discipline than calculus and has greater relevance to the jobs being generated by the digital age.

Senior Daniel Kipnis, however, believes that both courses are equally relevant to students’ lives. “Both are really important to learn and are applicable to all the sciences. I suppose statistics is more useful than calculus in some social sciences like sociology, but even the most basic concepts in economics are based on calculus, not to mention all of engineering, so I don’t think they can be distinguished by differences in applicability,” Kipnis said.

Proponents of calculus also raise valid arguments about the enduring value of calculus and the skills it teaches students.

“The world is becoming more reliant on data and thus statistics is becoming more useful, but that doesn’t negate the importance of calculus. I think that if we acted based on this theory we could make both statistics and calculus a required class.

But I definitely don’t think calculus should be replaced,” sophomore Joseph Li said.

Calculus is essential for building mathematical models of the world around us and is indispensable in disciplines such as physics, economics, and biology. It remains the principal point of entry to to the most mathematically based scientific careers.

Although many people will not end up using calculus directly in their lives after high school, it is still a valuable and essential course. One of the greatest lessons taught in any higher mathematics class is the ability to problem solve and think

abstractly.

“I agree that statistics is more applicable to the ‘real world’ of most of these kids’ lives. But I would argue that application is not the most important reason we teach mathematics. The most important thing we teach kids is mathematical thinking.

merging together to provide students with a more comprehensive understanding of mathematics. This is representative of our current curriculum, in which statistics is offered as a mathematics elective that several students take in addition to the calculus course.

PHOTO BY MADDIE FRANKE

While math teachers may having differing opinions regarding the nuiances of the cirriculum, they generally agree that students should gain exposure to a variety of topics.

The same thing is true of every other high school subject area. Will most students ever need to know particular historical facts?

No. We aim to train them in historical thinking. In general, two of our aims as secondary educators are to provide a liberal education for students so they can engage in intelligent conversations with all people in all subject areas in the adult world and to open doors for a future career in a more narrow field of study,” said John Chase, calculus teacher and author of the math blog Random Walks.

Statistics and calculus could be taught as complementary courses, with the skills taught in each area of mathematics

“I feel strongly that statistics and calculus should be considered complementary rather than mutually exclusive. Both provide essential skills for problem solving and future study in diverse scientific, engineering, and economic disciplines,” said statistics teacher Douglas McDonald.

Both statistics and calculus are valuable classes and, ultimately, it is up to students to decide which classes to take based on their path for the future. While it is unlikely that calculus will be unseated from its throne as the pinnacle of the high school math curriculum, statistics continues to gain importance in our data-driven world.

8

The Tide

LA MAREA

Marzo del 2015

Autobuses: El 75% de usuarios son minorías AUTOBUSES, cont. de página 1 extraño que el sistema de transporte público haya comenzado a adaptarse a las necesidades de los usuarios latinos. Hoy en día, en la mayoría de las rutas, los anuncios se publican en inglés y en español.

Claramente los latinos tienen poder e influencia sobre el sistema de transporte público. Las personas que dirigen el sistema no pueden permitirse perder esta gran cantidad de usuarios ya que ellos contribuyen ampliamente desde el punto de vista económico.

“La discriminación debida al racismo también contribuye a los bajos ingresos de los usuarios latinos.”

En otro estudio, hecho por la Autoridad de Transporte del Área Metropolitana de Washington en el 2011, halló que de toda la población que usa el transporte público, 56% de las personas eran minorías y 25% tenían bajos ingresos.

En los autobuses, el 75% de los usuarios eran minorías y el 42% tenían bajos ingresos.

En ese año la población con bajos ingresos hizo 56.184.898 viajes y la población de minorías hizo 100.330.175 viajes. Todos estos datos parecen indicar que los latinos, que en general tienen bajos ingresos, son la principal fuente de ingresos para los autobuses públicos.

Esto revela mucho sobre la posición de los latinos en la sociedad estadounidense, y todos los retos con los que se encuentran.

Los trabajos que los inmigrantes latinos deben tomar en este país, especialmente aquellos que no pueden hablar inglés y no tienen títulos universitarios, no pagan mucho. La discriminación debida al racismo también contribuye a los bajos ingresos de los usuarios latinos.

Se descubrió en un estudio por parte de la Autoridad de Transporte del Área Metropolitana de Washington que la mayoría de los 200.000 estudiantes bajo el Programa de Subsidio de Transporte Escolar eran minorías.

A pesar de que la mayor parte de estos estudiantes son de familias de bajos ingresos, las tarifas de los autobuses han aumentado.

Este aumento presenta problemas para bastantes familias latinas que dependen de los autobuses como su principal modo de

GRÁFICO DE KELLEY LOU

transporte.

Andy Kostka, un estudiante que ha montado en los autobuses públicos varias veces, me dijo que piensa que a veces algunas personas tienen miedo de montar en los autobuses por la presencia de las minorías.

Pero Kostka dijo que “[esta manera de pensar] es incorrecta.” “Aunque todos somos diferentes culturalmente, no hay ninguna razón por la que tener miedo a alguien de otra raza,” dijo Kostka.

La configuración racial y económica

de la población de los usuarios de los autobuses públicos revela la cruda verdad sobre la vida de los latinos en los Estados Unidos.

Los grandes ingresos económicos que los latinos crean para el área no llegan a ser apreciados en el lugar de trabajo.

Un estudio en detalle sobre los usuarios de los autobuses públicos revela que la mayoría de los latinos viajan en autobús, probablemente porque no tienen los recursos económicos necesarios para viajar de otra manera.

Pasillos de RMHS: Monopolización en el ¿Dónde nos sentamos? mercado de televisión hacer esto.” Ella tiene razón porque las costumbres son cosas que casi nunca se de Melissa Escobar olvidan.

Jesús, un estudiante de ESOL dice que ¿Alguna vez has pasado por el pasillo él se sienta ahí porque es la única hora que de ESOL en el segundo piso y has notado tienen para “divertirse” y pasar un rato que todos los estudiantes en su mayoría “[riéndose]” ya que el resto del día lo pasan son hispanos? No eres la primera persona estudiando. A mi parecer los estudiantes en darse cuenta de esto. No sólo se sientan que se sientan cerca del gimnasio o fuera les en ese pasillo sino también algunos se van gusta jugar un deporte y prefieren jugarlo a la cafetería y a otros lugares cerca del juntos como dice Yerson “ nos divertimos más” de esa manera. La hora del almuerzo gimnasio.

Toda la escuela está dividida por es la hora de relajamiento y diversión para grupos durante la hora del almuerzo. Quise la mayoría de los estudiantes, es lógico llegar al fondo de este tema y entrevisté a después de pasar cuatro periodos donde la dos chicas: Estefanía Quintero y Alejandra mente está cansada recuperar energía con amigos que nos caigan bien.

Borja.

Adónde y con quién comemos el Ambas chicas piensan que la razón de la división es que cada uno prefiere almuerzo depende de nuestra personalidad y el idioma que hablamos, así que aunque estar con la e s t e m o s gente que les divididos, hace sentirse no importa cómodos, porque lo que a d e m á s queremos prefieren es sentirnos estar en el cómodos. lugar donde E s ya conocen el importante ambiente. A la darse cuenta vez, también como dice un es más estudiante conveniente ya de ESOL del que sus clases grado once, están cerca “nos sentamos y no tienen donde nos que caminar sentimos mucho para cómodos.” llegar.

Aunque puede Alejandra m e n c i o n ó Algunos estudiantes almuerzan en su grupo cotidiano. verse afectado por muchas una idea muy interesante: me dijo que los grupos se crean otras cosas, donde elegimos sentarnos es basados en, “las clases que [tomamos] y el nuestra decisión. Tal vez es esta la razón idioma que hablamos.” De esta manera por la cual es tan interesante ver donde los amigos tienen de qué hablar y cómo se sienta cada persona durante la hora del almuerzo. divertirse.

Como dice la frase: “Más valen los En mi opinión pienso que el idioma que hablamos es una parte esencial de los amigos, que los pesos en el bolsillo.”

Muchas escuelas participan en un amigos que hacemos.

Con respecto a los estudiantes que se programa llamado “mix it up day”. En este sientan en la cafetería, Estefanía dijo que la programa los profesores y consejeros de la razón de esto es que, “en nuestros países escuela ayudan a los estudiantes a sentarse de origen todos los estudiantes comen en con otras personas durante el almuerzo la cafetería entonces tienen costumbre de una vez al año.

de Sara Garcia-Beech Las series de televisión y películas de lengua española tienen un gran mercado en la comunidad hispana de los Estados Unidos, y ofrecen una gran diversidad de entretenimiento para ellos.

Por lo tanto, tiene sentido que las compañías de televisión se estén aprovechando de esta nueva y creciente demografía. O mejor dicho, la compañía.

Es bien conocido que la compañía más importante de programas españoles en los Estados Unidos es Univisión.

Univisión posee la gran parte de los canales de lengua española, desde las telenovelas, a las noticias, a las transmisiones de deporte. Hay otras compañías independientes que también transmiten programas en español, pero ninguna que se haya acercado al poder que tiene Univisión.

“Es básicamente uno de los canales más populares porque casi toda la gente hispana lo ve,” dijo Nina Holtz, una estudiante del grado once. “Es como el único canal en español en los Estados Unidos.”

Aunque hay leyes en los Estados Unidos para prevenir la creación de monopolios, Univisión técnicamente no viola ninguna de ellas porque sí hay otras compañías en ese área, pero claro, no tienen la influencia que Univisión tiene.

La gran mayoría de los programas transmitidos por Univisión son telenovelas, que son muy populares entre los hispanos, y por consecuencia, Latinoamérica está asociada con ellas.

Hasta existe un programa en un canal inglés que parodia el drama excesivo de las telenovelas, llamado “Jane the Virgin”, basada en la telenovela venezolana “Juana la virgen”. Ha sido un éxito increíble

entre las audiencias angloparlantes, y es una de las muchas formas de como la cultura hispana ha penetrado en la cultura estadounidense.

Es un hecho que la televisión puede tener mucha influencia sobre los pensamientos de los telespectadores, y cuando la mayoría del contenido que reciben los hispanos viene de una sola fuente, es fácil que nos encontremos con mensajes incompletos o parciales.

Recientemente, el presentador del programa “El gordo y la flaca”, Rodner

“El latido del corazón hispano de Estados Unidos”

--Eslogan de Univisión Figueroa, causó un gran escándalo cuando expresó unos comentarios racistas sobre Michelle Obama, comparándola al elenco de la película “El planeta de los simios”.

Fue despedido poco tiempo después del episodio, y uno de los ejecutivos dijo que “En Univisión, no hay espacio para comentarios racistas”.

Parece ser que a los ejecutivos de la compañía sí les importa qué tipo de mensaje GRÁFICO DE VALENCIA FU propagan, lo que es positivo, considerando la influencia que tienen sobre la población hispana de los Estados Unidos.

Aunque sí sería mejor si hubiera una variedad más grande de canales entre los que escoger, para que los hispanos tuvieran la oportunidad de oír diferentes puntos de vista que no vienen de la misma empresa.

The Tide

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March 2015

9

10 The Tide

INTERNATIONAL

March 2015

Spring break China trip

by Matthew Zipf

For most high school students, spring break means college visits, family trips, and AP study sessions. For a group of Chinabound RM and B-CC students, however, it will be much more of an adventure.

On Thursday, April 2, the group of around 30 students will depart from D.C. for China, embarking on a ten-day tour of major cities on the country’s eastern shore. Students who opted for a three-day extension will also explore Dunhuang, a region in western China, and return on April 14 instead of April 10.

The tour is organized by Education First, an international education company that specializes in travel. The trip will be centered around the cities of Beijing, Yangshuo, and, Shanghai, with excursions to the Great Wall and Hangzhou.

IB senior Jessica Kang, who will travel with the group, said, “I decided to go on the trip to China because I thought it’d be absolutely incredible to be able to learn about Chinese history and culture firsthand. I’ve never been outside of the country before, so I’m really excited to see how different life is outside of the United States.”

Kang also elected to add the threeday extension. “I’m most excited for is the three-day extension that I signed up for— I’ll be riding camels in the Gobi Desert to Crescent Lake, which is a natural oasis,” she said.

For Kang and her co-traveler, fellow senior Allie Murphy, the major attractions include the Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, and Forbidden City, all of which are on the Beijing leg of the trip.

Like for Kang, the trip will mark Murphy’s first time abroad. “I had been interested in doing one of the spring break trips for a while, but it’s a big commitment.

We decided to splurge because it’s senior year. I’m excited because I’ve never been overseas before.”

IB Coordinator Jennifer Hoover organized RM’s involvement with the EF tour and coordinates a different international trip each year. “Like other teachers, since I’ve been here, we’ve organized a cultural trip for students in the IB program primarily. Last year we went to Peru, which had a service-oriented component to it. Two years ago, we also went to China, so we’ve been there already with students, and it was a mostly cultural awareness experience,” Ms. Hoover said.

While the Peru trip centered around service, the China trip will be focused more on cultural awareness and exploration. Ms. Hoover said, “The kids who went have not always been Chinese speakers, so they have a chance to learn something about a culture and maybe create inspiration to learn the language and to learn about a culture that you might not know too much about, and with China, it’s just so important in the 21st century with the international landscape.”

Ms. Hoover tries to find locations that present unique opportunities to students.

“We try not to pick the tropical places or the places in Europe that other departments might want to send students to,” she said.

“For 2016, we’ve identified Japan as our travel location.”

This spring break, counselors Evan Anderson and Erica LeBright have also organized a trip to Athens, Greece, as well as some of the Greek islands. In June, there will be a school trip to Vienna, Budapest, and Prague, led by Choral Music teacher Ronald Frezzo.

Holi splashes color on RM

by Kevin Liu and Eric Li People all around the world gathered on March 6 to celebrate the traditional Hindu holiday of Holi. The celebrations associated with this festival represent the end of winter and the beginning of the long-awaited spring. Regardless of gender, race, or age, all people revel in the joy of this festival to cover each other in a multitude of colors, often in the form of dry powders

The morning after is a time of excitement and festivity.The day is purely for fun and enjoyment, without a specific religious purpose. The festival marks the beginning of spring, and the focus is on bettering human relationships, resetting damaged and painful experiences and at the same time cherishing beneficial change.

The bright colors of the holiday reflect these sentiments.

Senior Ankita Reddy reflected on the festival’s growing mainstream appeal. “I know at my temple, a lot of Americans

LESSONS LEARNED

PAST EXCHANGE STUDENTS OF RM SHARE THEIR STORIES

Batu

OSNAT

PHOTO COURTESY OF BATU KAYA

PHOTO COURTESY OF OSNAT BASIS

Batu Kaya, a citizen from Turkey, came to RM, as an exchange student, in 2012. For eleven months, Batu had the opportunity to explore the way American students go about their daily lives, studying at RM and living with a host family.

Osnat Basis, born and raised in Israel, was an exchange student at RM for the 2013-2014 school year.

Now, as a senior in high school back home, she reflected on the lessons she learned here in Rockville and how she has applied them abroad.

Q: When were you a student at RM? A: I was a sophomore at RM two years ago.

Q: When were you a student at RM? A: I was a student at RM last year.

I was hosted by the Marlin family, and they had two RM students, so they helped me around, and many students offered help in my classes.

I felt very welcomed, and it wasn’t difficult for me to adjust to the new school at all.

Q: How did you feel when you first arrived to our school?

A: My high school in Istanbul is one of the biggest in the nation, so I was not expecting any surprises. That being said, the moment my host parents drove me to school, at that very first glance, I realized I was stepping into a world that would exceed my prior one both physically and mentally.

Q: What were some differences between RM and the schools back in your own country?

A: The curriculum we follow in Turkish schools is very rigid and limiting. I loved the fact that I could pick electives that I thought were interesting or challenging, and that there were teachers and students who could show me the different spheres in academia.

Q: What did you learn from going to RM? A: Honestly, what I accomplished at RM was fundamentally acquiring a keen sense of identity, independence, and responsibility. If I wanted people to love, respect, and listen to me, I had to approach them, explain myself, and be genuine. I’d like to think that my attempts have mostly been fruitful.

PHOTO BY PHILIP DEL VECCHIO

Students celebrate Holi with a fun festival, covering their white clothes with color. and Indians go to celebrate and UMD has a or colored water.

In India, the birthplace of the holiday, huge festival. The Color Run is practically however, the celebration is one of the based off of Holi - they stole the idea,” she biggest events of the year, with traditions said.

During Holi, children and adults form both old and new creating a brilliant energy groups and use various types of colored and spirit across the country.

The origins of Holi are based in legends. powders to cover each other in a rainbow The generally accepted story is of Holika of shades over their white clothing, often and Prahlad, in which Holika uses her gift making games out of the activity or of immunity to fire for evil, but instead dancing along to music. The fun carries on throughout the day, often continuing on burns to ashes for her sin.

The festival is celebrated over the course into the following weekend or in specific of two days. On the eve of Holi, in the Holi festivals throughout the month.

In Rockville, and in many other cities middle of the night, pyres are tradiionally set ablaze to celebrate the legend of Holika, in the U.S., Holi has become a secular and people gather around the fire to sing celebration, inviting people of all faiths, ethnicities to partake in the colorful festival. and dance.

Q: What have you been doing since your return to your country?

A: The most important has been the college application journey. I managed to get into my top schools, so now I’m trying to decide which one to pick.

In addition to that, I am interested in philosophy, and I write creative literature in Turkish. One of my pieces got published! That makes me proud!

Q: What was your favorite thing about RM? A: Honestly, I loved everything about it.

Well, maybe not the emergency drills.

Those gave me the creeps.

Q: What were some of the highlights you had at RM? A: The best part of my year at RM was prom; it was a new and interesting experience for me, since we don’t have such thing in my country. I also loved being part of the drama club, and I still don’t get why they call the week before a show the “hell week,” because it was such a fun week for me, having to eat dinner at school and spend some time with friends.

Q: What did you learn from going to RM? A: I learned several things from RM, for example, that life is way bigger than math and science. I had the chance to take fun subjects and learn about many new things. One of the most interesting classes was my Global Issues class, an elective that deals with all the problems around the world. It was cool to discuss interesting matters with others.

Q: What experiences did you take back with you to Israel?

A: Throughout my stay in the D.C. area, I noticed the huge diversity which isn’t very popular in the Middle East, so when I came back home I constantly mentioned the term diversity and tried to explain it to people around here. Also, I am not sure if skiing is considered an experience that I took home, but if “yes” then it was another thing that people around here want me to teach them, because obviously we don’t do snow stuff here and everyone got really excited when I offered to show them how to ski.

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March 2015

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The Tide

SPORTS

March 2015

Athlete concussions take toll Young talent ready for volleyball season CONCUSSION, cont. from page 1

recorvery time. Between feeling fatigued, moody, and in pain, the time during which athletes cannot play their beloved sport feels like forever. All an athlete wants to be able to do is play; according to junior Maeve Givens, who claimed that she “would try to rush it and ignore the doctors advice, and then feel even worse.”

For some, like freshman Katie Serway, who got a concussion from getting hit in the head with a volleyball, or junior Payal Arora,

When the wrestling star rolled onto the ground, he damaged his head in a unique way that triggered a seizure. He remarked that all he remembered was catching the football mid-air, and was unable to recall what happened after that. Silverberg’s concussion resulted in memory loss and temporary loss of consciousness.

Many coaches incorporate safety precautions to help prevent concussions, which includes ensuring correct form in tackling or hitting technique.

Varsity football coach Joshua Klotz stated, “For football, our players complete a 4-way neck strengthening exercise at the start of every off-season workout.

We also teach correct tackling and blocking technique where the head is not involved in the physical contact.”

S i n c e concussions potentially cause who serious damage NG IA J got a to the growing Y NC concussion brain, athletes NA BY while playing should always see IC PH A soccer, the recovery a doctor in the case GR process only takes about two of any symptoms, however minor they may seem. Girls weeks. For more intense cases, varsity basketball coach Michael such as Silverberg, or junior Oakes stressed the importance of David Hoddinott, who received a checking for concussions, stating, unexpected harsh check during an “As a competitor, athletes are ice hockey game, the recuperation always going to want to continue period can last up to two or three to play; having a concussion months.

Nonetheless, the healing test takes the guesswork out of coaches hands and ultimately time is, without a doubt, necessary before returning to protects student-athletes.”

RM Athletic Trainer Tori full participation in sports. “The Simonetti added that while not all most significant brain health athletes “deny the symptoms, they risk is second impact syndrome. often don’t know what’s wrong This happens if an athlete does and may not feel symptoms until not report symptoms, or returns to [sports] before full recovery. well after the incident.”

Any athlete dreads the A second hit to an injured brain long, seemingly overextended can potential[ly] cause permanent

brain injury and death,” stated Simonetti.

Hoddinott said about his healing process, “The recovery took appoximately four weeks until I could fully participate in sports again. I had to see a doctor multiple times to track the progress, [and] it completely limited training for all the time I was concussed.”

However, regardless of the time necessary to recover, the disruption in the training regimen is physically taxing. “I couldn't jump as high as I used to, my passing was off and so was my hitting,” recalled Serway.

Junior Marie-Claire Salive agreed, “Coming back [into soccer], it took a little bit of time to re-adjust to the vulnerability, the balls flying at my head, and the contact.”

Even though adjusting back into a full contact sport can be difficult, returning to school can prove to be an even greater challenge, adding additional stress to these student athletes.

The brain is still healing, even after multiple days or weeks off.

“The hardest part was when I returned from missing many days and being expected to make it up immediately although I was still recovering,” explained Givens.

Catching up on the missed material is stressful, but so is staying on top of the concepts being taught at school. Students are busy finishing extra assignments when they should be taking it slow. Some teachers are more accommodating than others, giving students time to catch up rather than bombarding them with piles of make-up work.

For recovering athletes, additional time is appreciated; Silverberg stated, “I'd like to give a big thanks to those teachers that were cooperative because it made getting back into school much much easier.”

The two players agree that fundamentals are key to success

by Andew Spencer in volleyball. “If we shore up our basic skills and communication, The boys volleyball team looks winning should come naturally,” to dig their way to another strong Hu said. The season is often season, hoping to repeat last year’s described as “short, but intense,” journey to the County semifinals. with daily two hour practices The team looks to carry the filled with conditioning and drills. momentum with the leadership along with their two or three games a week. of juniors Jeffrey The team of 14 Chang and Oliver is exceptionally Hu. young for a varsity Coach Gretchen team, with only six Barber-Strunk is upperclassmen. looking forward to However, this her third year of limitation does coaching the team. not deter their “I enjoy sharing high expectations my passion for the for the upcoming game. To see them season.

“Our at the beginning team has a lot of of the season and talent and heart. compare them Obviously we’d to the end, it is love to make it to hard not to smile the final match, when you see but we have a lot the progression of work to do,” they’ve made,” Coach BarberBarber-Strunk said.

Strunk stated. The Chang agreed, “I Rockville Gazette don’t think the states that Richard success of a season Montgomery is is measured by “always amongst how we ultimately the top teams in place, but by how much we grow skill PHOTO BY MONA LEE the county” and that they expect wise as a volleyball Jack English sets the ball. nothing less this team.”

Hu is also eager to begin the season.

Because only 11 games are 2015 season, stating, “Volleyball is a great way to build lasting played throughout the regular relationships, and I’ve been able season, every game is critical. to meet so many new people that The team will look to avenge last I never would’ve had a chance to season’s playoff loss in the April 14th game against Wootton High talk to before.”

Chang earned an All-County School. Other pivotal matchHonorable Mention last season. ups are home games against One thing that fuels Chang’s hard powerhouses Sherwood and work is his desire to carry on his Clarksburg on March 25 and family’s legacy, citing his brother April 22, respectively.

Another factor that is vital to as a motivator. “I personally have a really strong drive to win the team’s success is spectator championships because I have support. “We’re a pretty darn good family history as my brother won team and we really appreciate a championship 6 years ago in his when the RM community comes out to support us,” Chang said. stint at RM.”

Baseball and softball knock it out of the park

by Anders Alilio The varsity baseball team shows promise this season. An influx of freshmen has brought abundant potential and immediate talent to both the JV and varsity rosters.

Despite losing eight seniors, key to last year’s success, the fresh crop of talent helps bouy the team.

Looking ahead, the RM offense will be driven by senior Hunter Harrison, a stalwart figure with one or more hits in nearly every game last season, as well as junior Seth Nosanchuk.

Meanwhile, junior Andy Kostka provides the defensive basis in the outfield, a necessity for any successful baseball campaign.

Among the ranks of returning varsity players is senior pitcher Ryan Lane, who displayed his prowess in a two-hit performance that helped the Rockets to a 19-0 trouncing of Kennedy in late April 2014. Senior Evan Kunstman will be a key leader in the infield and

PHOTO BY ANDY KOSTKA

Senior Hunter Harrison tosses the ball to a teammate as they warm up for practice early in the season. relied upon to play multiple improve or develop in the season The team will continue to rely positions, including shortstop ahead, few can claim a legacy to on its superb defense, which was and pitcher, as well as third base. defend. The varsity softball team the key to victory last season. This The JV baseball squad will also falls within the ranks of those that pattern of excellent defensive look to improve upon the 2014 seek to maintain dominance in play is most evident in the season as well as make significant their respective competition after statistics from last season, when contributions to the varsity roster. a season culminating in 13 wins varsity softball only gave up more While all teams can aim to and only four losses last year. than three runs on only three

occasions, one of which was still a win. Meanwhile, the girls also amassed 144 runs over the course of 17 games, most memorably in a 24-0 blowout victory against Bethesda Chevy-Chase and a 20-2 victory over Kennedy.

Among the returning varsity players, many are from the class of 2015, including Samantha Wyatt (first base), Stephanie Silverberg (second base), Shannon Powell (pitcher), and Allie Parrish (third base). Returner players from the junior class include Allison Berman and Paige Leckie.

Coach Michael Horton will also look to incorporate various figures from the JV softball team, headed by coach Michael Willard.

The JV team just managed to etch out a winning season last Spring with a 4-3 record, however proved to be incredibly adept at scoring points. Last season featured inconceivable score-lines such as a 31-6 win against Northwood and a 29-5 steamrolling of Kennedy in late April, both of which the girls hope to repeat this year.

The Tide

SPORTS

Athlete of the Issue

March 2015

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Nick Jackson: Natural scorer and natural leader

by Anders Alilio Sports reporters, coaches, and students alike can all agree that the boys varsity basketball team had an unreal season.

From showing their worth at tryouts, to committing themselves to practicing, and performing during games when it was most needed, the solidarity within the team culminated with this season’s spectacular run. However, senior captain Nick Jackson has played an exceptional role in leading the team to a nearly undefeated season.

Jackson epitomizes the scoring end of a pass-oriented style of play that the team exhibited this season, using his huge physical presence in terms of height and speed. Coach David Breslaw commented, “It’s not much coaching involved there… maybe I just put him in the right spot.”

Jackson’s prolific offensive play is most clearly identified in his stats for this season.

Against the formidable Whitman team, Jackson again showed his prowess with 20 points. In a nail-bitingly close game against Gaithersburg, Jackson scored the winning three-point shot, part of his 22 points for the night, ultimately leading to a hard-fought victory. “It was a great win, showed how we push through adversity,” said Jackson.

Jackson’s individual talents have not gone unrecognized among the pundits of high school basketball. The Gazette, the Washington Post, and even the “High School Sports” column for USA Today have all acknowledged Jackson’s preeminence, especially in the paint. The Gazette describes Jackson as an “inside threat” and

the Washington Post emphasizes how his game is “fueled by offensive boards and second-chance points.”

Nevertheless, Jackson made sure not to take his physical advantages for granted.

court [Jackson] was always one of those players who was consistently defending the basket, getting a rebound, making a fast break.”

“Even when he was exhausted,” she

© 2015 EYE ON THE BALL

Nick Jackson prepares to take a free throw during the home opener against Rockville.

Part of what makes Jackson stand out as a player is what one fan describes as his “dedication.” Junior Sophie El-Masry, a frequent attendee of the basketball games this season and part of the “Hell’s Kitchen” fan base, was quick to state that, “On the

said, “he never let up.”

Jackson’s season was characterized by truly dynamic play. However, Jackson’s legacy also extends to his effect on his teammates.

“I think as far as leadership goes I

was more of a ‘lead by example’ kind-of guy,” he said. As a captain of the team, it was surely expected that he would fulfill the role of an exemplary player, but Jackson surpassed it instead. On the court, Jackson made himself available to all of his teammates whenever they needed him.

Although the responsibilities asked of him were great, Jackson took the role as a team leader in stride. “I’d try hard in practice, work hard, and…I think I was someone that everyone relied on,” he confirmed. “So, if they ever had questions, or if they ever needed someone to lean on during the games I was someone they could turn to.”

The strong relationship among the team extended off the court. Jackson described situations where him and his teammates would not even be at school, but would still be perfecting their team-oriented style of play. “As far as off the court,” he remarked, “we did a lot together. We would hang out…but most of the time we spent off the court… we’d go and play basketball together anyways.”

Jackson truly embodies all of the qualities of an elite athlete, both in terms of individual talent and his ability to lead the team. Jackson also shows a genuine passion for the sport; after the victory at Whitman, Jackson stated, “It’s always a good time.

We love being out here together.”

Jackson’s passion for the game was especially telling when he discussed his future. He stated, “I’m going to play basketball at Widener University in Pennsylvania…I’ll do that for four years and hopefully, I’ll be able to coach at some point in time.”

Lacrosse controls field Tennis sets for season

by Zack Khan “Get on the line!” Those four infamous words incite an orchestra of groans from the boys lacrosse team, as Coach Steve Puhl often says these words before ordering the team to run laps. However, it is those same four words that instill discipline and provide the mental and physical tenacity which is key for a successful season. The team suffered a significant drop in players from last year, putting them in a vulnerable position.

“Due to [our] numbers we don’t have room to really get hurt,” senior Trevon Barkley said.

Despite the setback, the boys like to keep a positive outlook, and they are not going to let a smaller roster hamper their goals for success this season. “With a smaller team, we are able to build on each other’s strengths even more. We are more of a squad,” junior Ben Rosenberg stated.

A typical boys practice consists of a mixture of running, drills, and crossfit training. First year coach Puhl has also been focusing on building a flexible playing style during practice, so that the team can use their smaller roster to their advantage.

The players have responded positively to the new coach’s style. Senior Zak Hill said, “He’s really proactive...he’s knowledgeable [and] I think he has potential to be a great coach here and help the program grow.”

This new cohesive dynamic, characterized primarily by teamwork and adaptability, will be the boys’ ticket to victory this season. “We are a whole new kind of machine, and I have nothing but high hopes for the new season,” stated

junior Carlos Monterroso.

Like the boys, the girls varsity team looks to improve their tactics in order to compensate for a smaller roster this season, as the team lost 11 senior players last year.

However, the team has been exploiting its greatest strengths to make up for the loss of personnel.

“Our greatest strength is definitely the speed we have on the team. We have quite a few girls who are really fast, so we will be able to outrun some of the teams we play,” junior Maeve Givens said. She added, “Our greatest weakness I think will be gaining chemistry between each other. Losing such a big group last year means that we have a lot of new players [with] who[m] we haven't all played.”

Another focus for the girls this season is developing the less obvious skills needed in order to find success, along with the fundamental lacrosse skills.

Coach Brett Ponchione focuses on making the team well-rounded, both on and off the field. His strict emphasis on the little things, such as how the girls line their bags up on the sideline, can make a huge difference.

“It sounds silly at first, but when you start applying it to the actual game it makes a huge impact.

The team’s X-Cuts are tighter, our stick skills are PHOTO BY YUEYANG YING sharper, and that's all because of how he emphasizes little details,” junior Sarah Morgan said.

The skills that Ponchione expects of his players will go on to serve them long after they finish the season. “Coach taught us how to firmly give a handshake, which makes us appear more confident,” junior Elizabeth Conway stated.

It is clear that his great perspective has been a catalyst for the team’s success in past seasons, and it is sure to help the girls in this season as well.

by Neil Duggal As the snow melts away and the spring season gets underway, the tennis season is ready to kick off. Coach Fahrner is hoping to win his 17th division title for RM. In his 37 years of being the boys’ tennis coach, Fahrner’s teams have won the division 16 times, but this year, the boys tennis team will be moving from Division 1 to Division 2.

“Even though we had a slow start due to the snow, I think we have a lot of talent and I think we have a pretty good chance of winning Division 2 this year,” senior captain Justin Pan said.

PHOTO BY YUEYANG YING

Justin Pan serves the ball to an opponent.

According to Fahrner, strategy will be key for this season.“If we lose a set, we will not go on without changing our strategy,” he said. The team is run with this mentality in mind. Fahrner does not believe in working on stroke technique or repeating mechanical drills endlessly.

He trusts that his players will have worked hard in the nine month off-season and that they have come technically prepared. With this in mind, Fahrner simply focuses on strategies that his players can use during their matches.

What strategies does the tennis team implement? “For doubles we have strategy A, B, and C and we exhaust all of them to make sure we win,” Fahrner responded, who also added that his doubles are going to be the key to the team’s success. “We have four solid singles players, but the strength of the doubles has been yet to be determined.”

Since it is rare for the singles players to win all their matches, the doubles teams will need to be able to notch some important victories. The combination of doubles and singles matches between schools tests all qualities of a team.

Besides strategy, Fahrner will also be looking for new players that can add something to the team. “If I need size, I may look to add someone to my doubles team,” Fahrner said. The deciding factor for players trying out for the team every year is simply if they can beat other players in head-to-head matches, but sometimes subjective calls on some players are made.

Through the tryout process, Fahrner hopes to construct the perfect team for the season.

“Well this year the competition is really high because we have a lot of good talent this year, like a lot of people tried out and they didn’t try out last year. Also, there’s a lot of young talent, there’s definitely more freshmen and sophomores that are starting than last year,” sophomore Andrew Mattingly noted.

With all of the values and strategies that Fahrner hopes to implement, Fahrner will also need strong leadership from his team captains, Justin Pan and Chris Chen.

“They are some of the best leaders I have ever had,” Fahrner said, who says he has had many goods leaders in his 37 years coaching.

“I think that there's always room for improvement, even for the best players out there.” Pan said, pointing out aspects of his own game that need improvement.

He, like the rest of the team, sees this year as a breakthrough for themselves and RM tennis. Whatever comes next, the team will certainly be ready for it.

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The Tide

THROWBACK

Back in September, in the confines of Potbelly Sandwich Shop in Rockville Town Center, we found two wooden tables plastered with old photos of Richard Montgomery High School’s graduating class of 1975. On one of the tables, buried underneath black-and-white yearbook photos and senior signatures, was a small doodle of a logo for The Tide.

Based off the issue count and logo, we realized that The Tide would be turning 40 this year, a remarkable achievement for a high school newspaper.* We decided we would celebrate its history by featuring an article on the history of Richard Montgomery in the March issue, when news is slower. We hoped to feature one or two alumni.

Somewhere between then and February, as we began our foray into RM’s past, we realized that the history at our fingertips was more illustrious than we could have possibly imagined. For one,

March 2015

RM is the oldest high school in all of Montgomery County, having been established in 1892, and it maintains an active alumni base.

RM’s alumni, collectively, have lived through two World Wars, racial integration, a presidential assassination, and the 9/11 attacks. They have a wealth of experience, and they are eager to share. For each of them, their time at RM means something unique, shifting and changing with the decades. RM, too, has itself evolved through the years, switching buildings three times, picking up a Cold War missile, and adding an IB program.

When 105-year-old Ruby Tyler attended RM, Rockville was a hunting grounds with a newly opened railroad. It was she who would eventually come up with the name “Rockets” for RM. When Class of 1956 graduate Gloria Poole walked the halls of RM, the school had not yet been integrated; black students in Montgomery County attended

THROWBACK

The Tide

Carver High School. Rockville for her was a small town, with sock hops and family-owned flower shops.

Both of these women had so much to share when interviewed, and their interviews became keystones of major articles in this issue. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. In our search to uncover RM’s history, we organized interviews with legendary coach and stadiumnamesake Roy Lester, family members of journalist Kurt Schork, who was killed in the line of duty, as well as former Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman.

In spite of attending RM during such different eras in history and leading such different lives, all of these alumni are connected by their lasting attachment to RM. So much of what we have covered in this issue was willingly contributed by alumni who expressed their deep pride in being a Rocket.

For the first time in the history of The Tide, we had the chance to share that pride with the whole RM community and create something warmer than your average monthly newspaper.

In many ways, this issue has become more than just a labor of love—it’s our love letter to RM, to four fleeting years here, and to every incandescent heart who has passed through these halls.

As we realized just how much RM’s history had to offer, we expanded this issue of The Tide to 28 pages to fully cover everything that we wanted to. While the first half of this issue might look like your traditional Tide, be prepared, for the second half is going to be a journey back in time.

—Editors in Chief *Note: At the beginning of March, we uncovered in the 1927 yearbook that the school newspaper dated all the way back to 1905. It was originally named “Sunshine and Shadows.”

March 2015

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The Tide

THROWBACK

ARTS

March 2015

Fine Lines’s literary legacy

preferred form of art or writing.” Recent shifts in focus have brought about a more

by Taylor Balfour and Ella Lorete diverse publication produced by a wider range of editors.

Every Wednesday afternoon, Richard According to Mrs. Liles, “The most Montgomery students meet in room 252 dramatic change we have experienced to review art, music, and photography is with the funding for the magazine.” submissions and to decide what will be Publishing and printing the Fine Lines featured in this year’s edition of Fine Lines. magazine runs a bill that goes anywhere In 1965, a group of only seven editors between $8,000 and $10,000. The club has got together to publish RM’s first literary had to rely on vigorous fundraising efforts magazine, then dubbed Touchstone; thus, and now raises nearly 60-80% of the money the club was born. by itself.

The magazine quickly grew to a staff These fundraising efforts include of 34 by 1970, events such as and then RM Idol, the disappeared. It Valentine’s Rose was resurrected Sale, and four in 1977 by Coffeehouses advisor Betsy each year.

Butler, with a Fine Lines has staff of only won or been five editors nominated and its current for numerous name: Fine high awards, Lines. Class of including the 1989 alumus CSPA Gold Roy Everhart Crown award. commented, Sophomore PHOTO BY TAYLOR BALFOUR “Before, we Hannah Greco Each annual issue exhibits its own original design. had decided said, “I love on Fine Lines Fine Lines because it would have been a very open so much because in our discussions, I interpretation of the magazine, being hear so many different viewpoints and written lines or lines drawn on a page to perspectives and opinions that I never make art.” would have seen on my own.”

Fine Lines has often been considered Juenemann said, “Everyone involved a club geared towards students in the with the magazine was fun to be with - it magnet program. Class of 1998 alumna was a great community.” Each publication Gayle Juenemann said, “At that time, it is a herculean effort that requires was almost exclusively IB students in participation from everyone involved with the literary magazine. But I felt like this the magazine. Mrs. Liles explained that magazine was not for IB art - it was for RM. “the entire staff is responsible for editing That was the highlight of my experience: and creating the layout of the magazine.” trying to reach out to people who were in These efforts have definitely paid off. all the art classes, not just the IB people.”

Despite their humble beginnings, Fine Current sponsor Sara Liles said, “we Lines has grown into a remarkable and felt it was essential for all students to feel respected publication that will inspire empowered, to have a voice through their students for years and years to come.

GRAPHIC BY CYNTHIA SONG

Snapshots from the Black Maskers’ lengthy show history

Left: Actresses surround a Black Maskers boy.

Below: Actors rehearse their lines while arranging their costumes and preparing for performance in the 1990s.

Above: Black Maskers members in the 1960s exhibit their acting chops onstage, taking a binding oath in the eery candlelight.

PHOTOS BY TOM CREAMER

Above: Student directors in the 1970s sit back and discuss their ideas about an upcoming production in the old auditorium.

Above: Black Maskers members in the 1980s practice their dance moves.

Left: “A Christmas Carol,” based off of the classic novel, was a huge success in 2012.

To read more about the history of the Black Maskers, turn to page 18.

THROWBACK

The Tide

March 2015

17

Music program’s past resonates in the present

by Katherine Wang

Do you ever hear the singing voices of choruses echoing through the halls of Richard Montgomery? With a history stretching farther than the 1940s, RM’s music program has brought achievement, honor, and artistic freedom to the school and its students for years.

The music program began with the Richard Montgomery Glee Club during the 1940s and ‘50s under choral teacher Mrs. Mary F. de Vermond, where they performed for holidays, school assemblies, drama productions, and their annual Minstrel Show. In the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, band teacher John E. Preston directed the Glee Club, until choral music director Henry Benedict joined RM. As RM’s choral director between 1965 and 1981, Mr. Benedict has been regarded as an important figure in the school’s musical history. “He was really phenomenal,” current Chorus and AP Music Theory teacher Ronald Frezzo said, “I still have music that he did that I can do with the kids, but it’s a real stretch! I do hard music but some of his stuff is really hard.”

Mr. Benedict returned in 2007 during the closing of the old RM building for a celebration where alumni gathered for festivities, a dance, and a concert. Former students of Mr. Benedict sang with former students of Mr. Frezzo for a performance that was extremely well attended and the highlight of the night.

“The folks that were his were there early, they were all dressed appropriately,

Teacher Ronald Frezzo directs the chorus.

they had been sent the music, and they all knew the music,” Mr. Frezzo said, “There were pieces Mr. Benedict had done with them and some of which he even wrote himself.”

When Mr. Frezzo joined the school in 1985, there were only two choruses. Over the years, he has managed to expand the music program into larger numbers through incorporating courses like AP Music Theory and IB Music and adding groups like Treble Choral and Concert Choir.

However, one particular chorus has had a significantly longer history with Richard Montgomery: the Madrigals. Known as the highest-level chorus in the school, the Madrigals used to sing only Madrigal songs, which were pop tunes from the early 16th and 17th centuries in Europe, primarily love songs and poetry. The Madrigals even wore Renaissance-like costumes when they sang.

Today, the Madrigals perform a wider variety of music, but still fit in a few classic Madrigal pieces into their repertoire every year. Their modern outfits are tuxedos for the males and black and white robes for the females.

The history of the Madrigals has been dotted with achievements. Not only have

the famous “Garage Gallery” was born.

But why was it called a “Garage Gallery”? In the old RM building, there was no gallery, so art shows were held in the school garage instead. “It was a former auto body shop. Our walls were drapes borrowed from the county and we taped works on,” Ms. Fishman explained. The name stuck, and students have continued to call it the “Garage Gallery” show.

The first year, the gallery theme was “Avant Garde.” Ms. Fishman recalled, “We had curators who did everything.

They hung the show, planned the budget, thought of the theme, created invitations and did press releases. This was all very ‘avant garde’ for the time.”

Ms. Fishman marveled at how the show has developed since “Avant Garde”.

To her, “the Garage Gallery really took on a life of its own. People from the community looked forward to the event, and since then, every IB art show has continued the tradition of having a theme.”

2002, a year art teacher Katherine Stanton and Ms. Fishman are particularly fond of, had the theme “Underage.” “I always told the students to pretend you are 40 years old and make mature art. The invitation had all of their drivers licenses scanned on the front,” Ms. Fishman remembered.

The very first AP art show held in the new Richard Montgomery building, where

In 1996, Sonia Brenner exhibited her artwork at the third Garage Gallery, “Evolution.” the students turned the gallery into a three- and this year, the gallery “NOVA” includdimensional piece of artwork building, ed AP art students for the very first time. was especially memorable. “They had this Mrs. Stanton hopes to create another whole idea for the installation where they first in RM art history by hosting a festival were going to actually make it look like a of the arts, featuring anything from film to butcher shop… they had actually made poetry reading. From drapes in a school these giant suspended pieces of meat that garage to a gallery dedicated solely to art, were going to be hanging from hooks,” art the conditions under which art is showteacher Kelly Posey said. cased have certainly changed. What has Since the start of RM’s art shows, stayed constant, however, is the dedication changes to the program have been made. the students have worked with in the past Digital Art has been added to the curricu- and will work with for many generations lum, AP and IB Art have been combined, to come.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MR. FREZZO

they sung with other RM choruses at venues like the Kennedy Center and St. Peter’s Basilica, the Madrigals have also performed their own concerts for occasions like inaugurations.

“They sang for one of the inaugural events of George W. Bush. Not at Capitol Hill, but the night before, something downtown,” Mr. Frezzo said, “Michael Steele, who was the first black lieutenant governor of Maryland, was a former student and when he became lieutenant governor, the Madrigals sang at his inaugural concert.”

Luckily, former students and current students of RM are always given the opportunity to intertwine the glory of the past with the prestige of the present. “At the end of concerts, we always do this one version of ‘America’ and alumni are invited to come up on stage and sing,” Mr. Frezzo said, “when they come up on stage, the younger kids just love it.”

Hundreds of RM students have let their singing voices flow through these halls, and for both current and past students, the music program has provided an outlet for their interests and passions. So next time you hear the melodious voices of RM’s choruses, remember the decades of history that still ring in those notes.

NOVA adds to the canvas of art show history

by Jessica Ji This year’s IB and AP art show “NOVA” stunned on its opening night, March 15, as IB and AP art classes came together to produce one of the best shows in Richard Montgomery’s history.

Every year, RM holds an IB and AP art show to exhibit the impressive artistic talent of its students. However, more remarkable than the gorgeous paintings hanging around the school is the rich history that exists behind the showcase.

The RM Art Department was started over 30 years ago by former art teacher Ruth Fishman. Early art classes at Richard Montgomery included Ceramics, Studio Art, IB Art, and Photography. Since then, the Art Department has expanded to cover a variety of art forms and has become a major part of life at RM. Ms. Fishman decided in 1994 that she wanted to create a “Garage Gallery” show to take the art department to the next level.

“I wanted the students to have an understanding of the total picture beyond just making art. Thus the emphasis was not only on making creative, conceptual works but also understanding the functions of museums and related aspects including being an art critic,” Ms. Fishman said.Thus,

PHOTO COURTESY OF RUTH FISHMAN

Tori Amos takes the music industry by storm

by Nancy Jin

Nominated eight times for a Grammy award and having sold more than 12 million albums worldwide, Richard Montgomery alum Tori Amos has attained international fame for her alternative rock, dealing with issues like feminism and sexuality.

Born Myra Ellen Amos in North Carolina, she started going by the nickname Tori when a friend told her she looked like a Torrey pine, a tree native to the West Coast.

Amos moved to Baltimore, Md. when she was two, and then to Rockville when she was five.

Taking up music at a very early age, Amos won a scholarship to the Preparatory Division of the Peabody Conservatory of Music to be classically trained in vocal music. She is one of the only alternative rock performers who uses piano as her primary instrument of choice.

When she was 11, Amos was asked to leave and her scholarship was discontinued. Amos hypothesizes that the loss of her scholarship was because of her interest in rock music and her intense dislike of read-

ing music.

Amos was a Richard Montgomery graduate of the class of 1981, and as a senior, she was voted Homecoming Queen, as well as awarded the superlatives for

PHOTO COURTESY OF 1981 RMHS YEARBOOK

Tori Amos poses for her yearbook photo.

Most Talented, Most Likely to Succeed, and Best All Around. While attending RM, Amos participated in the choir, Madrigals, Black Maskers, the Steering Committee, and The Tide.

During her senior year, Amos wrote the song “Baltimore” with help from her brother, Mike Amos, for a competition involving the Orioles baseball team. Her song won the competition and launched Amos’ music career, with “Baltimore” as her first single.

In her autobiography “Piece by Piece,” Amos maintains that her grandfather, affectionately referred to as “Poppa,” was her greatest influence when it came to pursuing music.

“He rocked me to sleep ever since the day I was born, singing with a tone that reminds me of sunlight shining through black strap molasses,” Amos wrote.

At 21, Amos moved to Los Angeles to pursue her music career. Her first musical group, Y Kant Tori Read, experienced commercial failure and the group was disbanded.

However, because she still had a sixyear contract with Atlantic Records, Amos started a solo career which was better received. Her first solo album, “Little Earthquakes,” dealt with her struggle to find her

identity and self-enlightenment.

Amos has used her prominence to bring more attention to helping victims of sexual assault. A victim herself, Amos has been particularly active with the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network since its inception in 1994.

Amos has been nominated for eight Grammy awards, including Best Alternative Music Album and Best Female Vocal Rock Performance. She also won the Klassik Ohne Grenzen (crossover classical) prize in 2012 for her album “Night of Hunters.”

In September 2013, Amos launched a new music project, an adaptation of the book “The Light Princess,” which premiered at London’s Royal National Theater. This performance was nominated for Best Musical and won Best Musical Performance at the Evening Standard Awards.

Amos’s story is one of the many that serve as a reminder for the potential that RM students have to achieve great things when they leave the school grounds.

Whether or not they follow a path similar to Amos, RM students can go confidently in the directions of their dreams knowing that those before them have done the same and succeeded.

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The Tide

THROWBACK

March 2015

Look into the past as Black Maskers preps spring play

by Rachel Li From constructing sets and fitting costumes to rehearsing lines and practicing stage directions, the Black Maskers is hard at work on the spring play. After creating the record-breaking fall musical, an adaptation of the Disney classic, “Beauty and the Beast,” Black Maskers is adapting yet another classic.

Based off of Agatha Christie’s masterpiece, the novel “And Then There Were None,” the play is set to open on Friday, April 17. Additional dates are set for April 18, 24, and 25.

The story is “a thrilling murder mystery about ten people stranded on an island who start to die off one by one as they try to figure out which of them is the killer,” according to senior Hannah Ferster, a cast member of the show.

Beyond the mystery, there is something quite unusual about this show: the cast.

Viewers who see the show multiple times will notice that the cast onstage changes completely between Fridays and Saturdays.

“There are two separate casts for this show...one cast gets the Friday performances and the other gets the Saturday dates,” said senior Olivia Antezana, a co-assistant director for the show. The double cast means twice the fun, since according to Antezana, “each actor/ actress has a different interpretation of their roles, so I would highly recommend watching each cast at least once.”

While this year’s spring play may differentiate itself from past shows, it is joining a remarkable catalogue of Black Maskers productions. With over 200 members who work hard to produce three

GRAPHIC BY KERN LEE

The Black Maskers, founded in 1947, are named after the iconic faces of the Greek plays. productions a year: a fall musical, the One Act plays, and a spring play, Black Maskers is rich in history and tradition that dates back over 60 years.

Though the Black Maskers have entertained the school with their productions since 1947, there were not always so many students who participated in drama. When the club initially started, it only had 16 members, and was simply called the “dramatic club”.

In 1951, the club would adopt their current moniker “Black Maskers,” which originates from the Greek mask of tragedy and comedy. True to their name, the Black Maskers performed both comedies and tragedies, and try to balance the types of productions they put on. They have done

27

light-hearted musicals such as “Guys and Dolls”, but also more serious ones, such as “The Miracle Worker”, which tells the story of Helen Keller.

In recent years however, Black Maskers has seen several old traditions change, and new traditions be born. Up until two years ago, the Black Maskers always had a fall play and a spring musical. Now, however, they have a fall musical and a spring play to avoid conflicts with the numerous music festivals in March.

Additionally, the One Act Play Festival was not an official part of the Black Maskers’ annual schedule until 2008. An RM alum, Jonathan Frankel, came up with the idea to do an entirely student produced and directed production. The One Act Play

Festival was born that very year and the Black Maskers have been performing it in between the fall musical and the spring play ever since.

Though past productions are incredibly memorable for everyone involved, recent Black Maskers productions certainly rival those of the past. One of the more notable recent plays is “The Laramie Project”, which the Black Maskers put on in the fall of 2010. The play tells the true story of a homosexual boy named Matthew Shepard who was killed by two homophobic adult males in his hometown of Laramie, Wyoming.

Managing director and former RM English teacher Emily Davis said, “It’s a show that presents many different views of different people in the town and their viewpoints on homosexuality, but also intolerance in general. By doing it here, it’s a show that deals with a lot of really mature issues and themes, so that’s why it got everybody involved.”

Despite the enormous amount of people participating in the club today, the Black Maskers are still a close, tight-knit community. “Everyone in the club knows and respects each other, and we form some really strong bonds because of that,” Ferster said.

RM alum Roy Everhart, who was part of the class of 1989 and part of Black Maskers all four years of his high school career, said, “It was always bittersweet going in on a Monday after a show was over and tearing the set down.”

In Black Maskers, there is a place for everyone - musicians, artists, and actors can all find a spot in the cast or crew.

Students have been finding a home in Black Maskers for almost 70 years now. Richard Montgomery’s Black Maskers truly has a remarkable, unmatched history.

THROWBACK

The Tide

March 2015

Evolution of RM

IB’s growth through the years

by Matthew Zipf For the RM of 30 years ago, the problem of school overcrowding would seem almost comical. In the 1980s, the halls were empty: Enrollment had fallen to 900, and the construction of several nearby high schools had prompted debate over RM’s closure and sale.

Enter the IB. Spearheaded by a cadre of MCPS policymakers and actualized by teacher recruits, including history teacher Robert Hines, the IB magnet program was introduced in 1987 to raise both enrollment and academic performance.

At the time, faith in the IB program was in short supply; the task of turning RM around seemed too gargantuan for even the most motivated of educators.

As alumnus Jol Silversmith, Class of 1990, recalled, the IB headquarters encouraged administrators “not to expect any of the pilot students to earn an IB diploma.”

Six did. And as the program grew, so too did its accomplishments. The IB produced a steady line of Presidential Scholars, Intel finalists, and Ivy entrants, all of whom brought prestige and funding to RM. Before long, the magnet became a household name among high-achieving students in Montgomery County.

As RM was the first public school in Maryland to have an IB program, Mr. Hines and his colleagues had to work from the ground up. “To start the program, we didn’t bring in outsiders,” Mr. Hines remarked. “We had to draft the existing honors program here.

We said, ‘Hey, you’re IB students.’

They asked, ‘What’s IB?’ And we didn’t even know what IB was either!”

The first IB class of juniors had 17 students, followed by a sophomore class of 23, and finally an entering freshman class of 70. “Our class included the second ‘pilot’ IB class, starting our sophomore year—only about 25 of us, almost all already living within the RM cluster,” Silversmith said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF 1990 RM YEARBOOK

IB students in 1990 agonize over a test on the infamous “Palmer.”

The program has since grown to over 150 students per year, drawing students from around the county and adding electives such as IB Anthropology, Psychology, and Film along the way.

“There are a lot more academic choices just by size...

In the beginning, there was only one IB science course—you had to take Biology. Just Biology, double-period, HL. Chemistry and Physics had to be taken outside of the IB,” Mr. Hines said.

One of the magnet program’s first major struggles was achieving recognition from domestic universities.

“You couldn’t get any credit at the University of Maryland for an IB diploma,” Mr. Hines recalled. “I had to send a syllabus to colleges for the kids trying to get credit.

And now, colleges are finally like, ‘whoa, this IB program, we’ll give them 40 credits.’”

Not all students and staff, however, fully embraced the IB. “The school didn’t want outsiders,” Mr. Hines said, and it changed the dynamic of sports at RM as well.

“The introduction of ESOL and IB programs added about 600 more students to the school but had little impact on how many of those students played sports due to transportation and other problems related to taking students from all over the county,” Byron Mullican, Class of ‘68, recalled. “RM was always playing up in the level of competition due to the school’s increased size but lacked the participation of those added students.”

Nonetheless, the IB pulled RM out of imminent closure and has since become a major identifier for the school. “The IB has become a competitive program. It’s a large part of the school now,” Mr. Hines said. “It began a growing process for RM.”

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“Why I Love RM” RM has a special place in my heart I have always believed that RMHS is the BEST school in the county. One of the most significant events that I experienced at RMHS was that I met and fell in love with Anne Kohlenberg when I was in the 9th grade and married her 6 years later. We had three great kids, Mike, Marianne, and Byron (all RMHS grads). Byron’s daughter, Elizabeth, graduated from RMHS in 1990.

-Ray Mullican, Class of 1944

Football team was one of best in nation In the 60’s RM was representative of the City of Rockville and everyone was proud of our school. On football game days, the stands would be overflowing and across the field at Park Street Elm would be filled. When the Rockets won, the entire city “won.” There was no greater pride for we football players than to represent our school and when we came out of the locker room and ran on the field, the place went crazy and we swelled with pride and the sense that we had to defend our school.

-Byron Mullican, Class of 1968

Clubs at RM give a new creative outlet I was fortunate enough to be a student of RM during a very good time; it was such a creative awakening for so many talents.

I was able to find a home with the Black Maskers because there it was all about fun. We had a pretty close knit group, and many of us were either in advanced acting, chorus, or Madrigals together.

-Roy Everhart, Class of 1989

Class traditions were always a spectacle One of my favorite traditions that ended after 1998-1999 school year was the running of the sophomores and Freshman at homecoming. The seniors used paper cups to spell out “Class of 1999”on the far fence for the homecoming pep rally near the football field outside. During the middle of the rally, the freshman and sophomore classes made a run for it across the football field to tear out the cups from the fence. The seniors would then chase the underclassmen down and try to tackle them on the field before they could do any damage. It was quite the amazing scene to watch.

-Matthew Morgan, Class of 1997

RM alumni are encouraged to send comments as letters to the editor to thetideeditors@gmail.com.

Watson Prather led RM through smooth integration

by Andrew Del Vecchio Watson Prather was a star athlete. In addition to playing basketball and baseball, he played two years of varsity football, and never lost a game. Yet as he walked into school on his first day at Richard Montgomery, hundreds of students gazed at him as if he did not belong.

Prather was one of ten students who were selected to transfer from Carver High School, the county’s school for colored students, to Richard Montgomery in 1958. This came as the result of the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared in 1954 that the segregation of schools was unconstitutional. Within the next few years, Montgomery County started transferring students from Carver to schools across the county.

At football tryouts before the first day of school, Prather was one of two African American players out of the 100 that participated in the workouts.

Despite this, however, Prather said nearly all the players were generally accepting of him, and only seemed to note his performance on the field rather than the color of his skin.

“The guys on the team treated me like they treated everyone else... we were all very very friendly. We all talked and laughed and joked together,” Prather stated.

Prather spoke with great respect for Coach Roy Lester, who was new to the RM football program during Prather’s junior year. Lester led the Rockets to two consecutive undefeated seasons, but Prather remembers him more for his character than for his wins.

He recalled, “Coach Lester was a no nonsense type of coach. His expectations were high, and he felt he had a very talented group of athletes.”

On the first day of school, Prather was a stranger to everyone except for those he had met during football practice.

Naturally, he stayed close to his teammates throughout the day, while the other students looked at him curiously. Prather said he

was unphased by this, however, as he never felt threatened or antagonized by the other students.

“I didn’t feel afraid. I didn’t feel anything. I just went about my business with the classes. And everyone was friendly as they could possibly be,” he stated.

Prather said that his routine was simple; he went to school, went to practice, and then went to his home in Lincoln Park, a historically African American community.

He remembered, “Whenever practice was over I grabbed my things and took off and went home by myself. I don’t recall ever getting a ride from someone or being offered to take me home every night.”

While Prather was able to adapt to the relatively accepting Richard Montgomery community, he found the effects of segregation to be more prevalent in the social atmosphere of Rockville. He could only enter the movie theater through the back entrance. He also found himself only attending social events in Lincoln Park while the white students gathered in white

Rockville neighborhoods.

One particular instance that resonates in Prather’s mind occurred at the Norbeck Country Club. Because of the football team’s overwhelming success, they were invited to a dinner and celebration at the Club. As Prather was walking through the door, he was stopped by a staff member and told that colored people were not allowed.

As Prather turned to leave, Coach Lester approached and asked why he was leaving so soon.

Prather explained the situation, and Lester then immediately

talked to the staff member. After a few brief moments, Lester motioned for Prather to come in, saying that he too was a part of the team. “He stood up for what was right, because I was a part of the team,” Prather said.

Prather was thankful that the school was more accepting of his race than others in the country after the Brown ruling, and he is proud of the diversity that RM displays today. Prather, a lifelong Rocket, also worked at RM for 26 years as a counselor and coached championship-winning football, basketball, and softball teams.

PHOTO COURTESY OF 1959 RM YEARBOOK

Watson Prather pictured with the JV football team of 1958, the first year he attended RM after transferring from Carver High School.

20 The Tide

THROWBACK

FEATURES

March 2015

Evolution of school newspaper over past century

by Cathleen Kong Every issue of Richard Montgomery’s student newspaper, The Tide, follows the apt statement made by the 1928 RM yearbook: “In being the written record it voices the sentiments and feelings of the lives it records.”

The school newspaper was founded in 1905 under the name “Sunshine and Shadows.” Although the origin of the “Tide” name is unclear, the fact that the mid-1930s boys basketball teams were dubbed the “Yellow Tide” seems more than just a coincidence.

It was indeed in the early 1930s that The Tide was established as a news publication in conjunction with Sunshine and Shadows, and then broke off to become a magazine.

By the early 1940s, Sunshine and Shadows had been fully replaced by The Tide, again a newspaper. The Tide, as it is known today, was born.

Papers from the 1940s and early 1950s were created on typewriters. The titles and graphics were filled in by hand, and the entire paper was then mimeographed. By 1956, the titles, too, were typeset, graphics had largely disappeared, and the paper had adopted a more formal name, “The

Montgomery Tide.”

Before the invention of computers and programs such as Adobe InDesign which editors use nowadays, The Tide had to rely on typsetting with a small printer in Takoma Park.

Julie Spear Lynch, managing editor of The Tide in 1984, recalls spending long hours printing the paper, laying out the pages by hand. “Sometimes we were there from three to eleven at night. Sometimes you were writing stories while you were there…The hardest thing to do was the captions, and we had to place them by hand word for word, sometimes even letter by letter,” Lynch said.

Class of 1998 alumni Zachary PincusRoth, who was an editor-in-chief, recalled that editors used floppy disks. The editors would drive to FedEx Kinko’s to print out and look over the pages before making copies. “We always intended to do it quickly but we would end up staying there until at least 2 a.m. looking at the pages and revising them, and racking up a bill,” Pincus-Roth said.

Likewise, current editors continue to work after school to perfect each and every copy of The Tide until they see fit. Sofia Hu, editor in chief as a senior in 2013, recalled, “I remember everyone in the design room fighting over what song to play — Be a

PHOTO COURTESY OF 1974 RMHS YEARBOOK

Tide staffers in the 1970s review copies of the new newspaper after it has been printed.

Man was really popular — and Marni, same content that current issues cover. For David, Megan and I scrambling to move example, the newspaper back then had the 1000 issues from main office to in front of “the black and gold of it” column in the the library without a cart.”

Opinions section, now simply known as However, these past EICs and editors “Black and Gold.” have left behind more than just archived There have been some traditions lost issues of the paper, as their contributions over the years. In the past, The Tide had an have often led to long standing traditions. April Fool’s Day spoof section called “The Special features of the modern Tide, such Tid,” which Pincus-Roth recalls working as Senior Wills, go all the way back to the on. Even as things change, one thing is days of Sunshine and Shadows. certain: The Tide will never cease surging In the 80s, The Tide covered a lot of the forwards.

Kurt Schork: inspirational on the field and the front

by Rachel Gold and Grace Sun Kurt Schork did not set out to be the greatest American war correspondent since the Vietnam War. But as a captain of the Richard Montgomery football team, he was a leader. As a Rhodes Scholar, he was a writer. As a race car driver, he was always pushing the limits. So when he finally became a journalist at age 40, he was equipped to make an impact.

Born on January 24, 1947 in Washington D.C., Schork spent most of his childhood in Rockville. While at Richard Montgomery, he was a yearbook editor, vice president of the student government, and worked at the popular Hop Shoppes restaurant. “Kurt was the rockstar of the family,” said Kurt’s brother, John Schork. “He was the most popular, both as a scholar and an athlete.

Everybody liked him...when he was at RM, it seemed he was always dating the prettiest cheerleader.”

Schork was a standout defensive back on legendary coach Roy Lester’s football teams. Named a captain his senior year, Schork led the 1965 team to a 10-0 record and a county championship. “Kurt was one of my favorites,” Lester said. “He wasn’t that big but he was tough and smart.”

When Schork told Lester he was going to Jamestown College in North Dakota, Lester remembers telling Schork he would be smarter than most people at school. “And evidently he was,” Lester said, “because he was a Rhodes Scholar out of there.”

After graduating from Oxford on his Rhodes Scholarship, Schork worked for the Massachusetts state government. He left to run Senator Bill Bradley’s first campaign and later worked in consulting. “But he had always wanted to be a journalist, and this was the time he was going to do it,” John Schork said.

He began his career in Asia, and was quickly drawn to the battlegrounds of the post- cold-war order. First in Sri Lanka, then in Iraq, Chechnya, East Timor, and Sierra Leone, Schork “hammered out the discomforting truths of a bloody decade,” Roger Cohen, who worked with Schork in Sarajevo, told the The New York Times.

When the U.S. began the combat element of Operation Desert Storm in Iraq in 1991, Schork went to cover the war from

PHOTO COURTESY OF 1964 RMHS YEARBOOK

PHOTO COURTESY OF MEDIA DIVERSITY INSTITUTE

Top: On the right, Schork dominated on the field as captain of RM’s football team.

Bottom: Schork sought to get as close to the story as possible with personal interviews. the American perspective. “But that was boring, so he came back to the U.S. and got connected with the Kurds,” John said.

Saddam Hussein had invaded Kuwait and was leading a genocidal campaign against Iraq’s Kurdish population. “Kurt knew Saddam Hussein would go after the Kurds, so he did research and found someone who had access to the Kurds and said, ‘I want to cover you. I want to put your struggle in the newspapers.’”

When he arrived to start his investigation, Schork was transported secretly across a river from Turkey into Iraq. According to John, “[Kurt] had to be absolutely quiet, or they would get shot. Kurt was agnostic, but he said that by the time he got to the center of the river he was praying to every deity he knew.”

Schork was the first western journalist to cover the Kurds, and was followed by American reporters looking for the foci of the struggle. In a particularly telling anecdote, John remembers how a general pointed at Schork and said, “That man is the front line.”

Schork was indeed the front line in every conflict he covered, but it was his coverage of the Siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s for which he is most known. The Bosnian Serbs, hoping to create a new state, had surrounded the city and were bombarding it daily. At a time when most of the West felt that the conflict was far away, Schork “was driven by a desire to ensure that nobody could claim ignorance,” Cohen told The Times. “He believed that his words would ultimately count and perhaps even

right wrong.”

Schork’s dispatches for Reuters were bare-faced—John remembers his brother saying, “I only write what I see and I write about everything I see”—but out of them emerged a deep sense of humanity. When a Serbian boy and Muslim girl were shot in May 1993, Kurt wrote of the Romeo and Juliet narrative, “Two lovers lie dead on the banks of Sarajevo’s Miljacka River, locked in a final embrace. For four days they have sprawled near Vbrana bridge in a wasteland of shell-blasted rubble… in a country mad for war, Bosko and Admira were crazy for each other.”

John Schork remembered, “For three days, Kurt couldn’t get NATO forces to get a tank and shield [Bosko and Admira] so they could get the bodies and give them a respectful burial. But he persisted, and they were able to retrieve the bodies. Then, when he got a chance, he went and visited the mother of the boy on a regular basis because she was alone. When Kurt was killed, she sent me an email saying how he was the kindest man because he would always bring food for her dogs.”

Schork’s own untimely death came on May 24, 2000, when he was covering the civil war in Sierra Leone. Schork had just returned from covering a period of bloodletting in Chechnya, which was so merciless that he had resolved not to cover any more wars. However, Reuters offered him an assignment in Sierra Leone. He was in the jungle looking for 19 Nigerian NATO soldiers who had been massacred when his vehicle was ambushed. He and Miguel Gil Moreno de Mora, a reporter for AP, were killed instantly.

“His death was a shock to journalism,” John Schork said. “When Kurt and Miguel were killed, the war in Sierra Leone stopped shortly thereafter because it was such a shock.”

Schork’s passing was marked by family, co-workers, and dignitaries, among them President Clinton and former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke. Holbrooke said in his eulogy for Schork, “He was where he wanted to be, doing what he wanted to do.” Schork had voiced that sentiment sentiment when he was in Iraq covering the Kurds. John remembers his brother writing, “Here I am sleeping under the stars with men and horses—it doesn’t get better than this.”

The Tide

THROWBACK

March 2015

21

Racial tensions rise years after 1950s integration

by Stuti Ganatra Nowadays, Richard Montgomery High School is widely recognized as one of the most racially diverse schools in the county, with its distinguished IB program, outstanding athletic program, and rich history. Students of all nationalities walk in the halls of RM, speaking all types of languages and representing many unique cultures.

However, there was a time in our history when RM was not so laudable. During the 1970s, discrimination was a prevalent issue - from RM’s student body to the principal of the school.

In 1935, with the opening of the “Rockville Colored High School,” RM became a completely caucasian school. Twenty years later, the public schools became integrated following the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.

In Arkansas, the Little Rock Nine of Little Rock Central High School would end up dominating national headlines for being the first students to be integrated into an all-white high school. However, at Richard Montgomery, there was the “Rockville Ten,” which were ten students from Carver High School, a colored high school, who were integrated in 1958.

Class of 1966 alumnus Marianne Aitcheson noted that when her classmates of different races began dating, “it was unheard of at that time, and not everyone was comfortable with it.” Students of different races were forced to conform to society’s expectations and act in manners that reflected the behaviors associated with the stereotypes of their race.

There were also some violent instances that accelerated the racial tensions of the time period. Former student Nancy J. Patrick remembered that the school paper had printed a deragatory article towards students of color. The hallways were also often scenes of violence and hate. “My friend was attacked outside of the cafeteria

PHOTO COURTESY OF 1975 RMHS YEARBOOK

After integration in 1958, RM experienced controversial racial tensions in the 1970s. and beaten up,” she recalled. student body.

Patrick herself was also physically Principal McHale joined us after harassed at school. “I was hit so hard that I Principal Miles’ tenure in 1972 but only saw stars.” But when her parents pushed to remained at RM as principal for two press assault charges, she was discouraged years, as he officially resigned on April 1, by the principal who did not want to 1974 due to alleged racial tensions. 1978 provide further ammunition to the debates alumnus, Jeff Hawkins recalls that while of racial tension and hoped that the events McHale was the principal, there were “riot would settle down. Junior Maddie Stamos police with white helmets, shields and billy believes that “silencing a victim like that clubs stationed throughout the hallways.” is extremely damaging and potentially There were many racial authorities worse than the incident itself, as it not stationed in the high school to ensure civil only invalidates the victim’s experience, obedience. However, despite the attempts but validates and normalizes the attacker’s of administration to defuse racial tensions, actions as well.” students were still targets of racial prejudice However, Richard Montgomery’s and stereotypes. unique zoning, which allows for students Amidst the racial controversies of almost every demographic to attend our during this unfortunate and tumultuous school, caused higher racial tensions at era of American history, there were a RM than many other Montgomery County few instances of students displaying Schools back in the 70s. As time progressed, compassion and acceptance towards the authorities were brought in with the hope new African American students. Class of reducing the violence and hatred in the of 1964 alumnus Tom Curtis said, “As

an athlete, we had guys playing on the football team, and we respected them. It was not that ‘we were black’, and ‘they were white;’ it was ‘you are the fullback and wide receiver, and you do a great job.’”

Students like Curtis eased the integration of whites and blacks in public schools at a time when racial prejudice and oppression were coming to a peak.

Curtis remembered one major controversial event which took place during his years at RM. George Wallace, in his presidential campaign in 1964, gave a speech at RM. Curtis had been working in the technical booth during the speech, and said Wallace “was reeling along about the n-word and all the liberals that he did not like…He got to the point in his speech where he was going on, and I said enough, and I pulled the plug.”

Curtis took action against what he called, “an awful lot of vitriol.” Curtis recalled how Wallace’s men suspected sabotage, and how the speech never had quite the same effect afterwards. The students were not struck with the same awe, and Wallace never fully regained the same level of respect and dominance at RM. However, many alumni also recall the small changes that were taking place in front of their very own eyes at our high school. During alumnus Marianne Mullican Aitcheson’s senior year, 1966, there began to be interracial couples within the school. Aitchenson recollected, “We had long discussions on Vietnam in Mrs. King’s history class” and “there were classmates who were members of SNCC. We were becoming more worldly.”

Today, major racial tensions in the U.S. still affect the RM community, with recent tragedies such as Ferguson leading students to express their opinions through social media and discussion forums.

Despite many terrible setbacks along with a lack of confidence in RM’s capabilities, our students, staff, and community have shown a constant motivation to achieve our dreams and better not only ourselves but also our community.

Alumni reflect on world-changing events of the past

by Akanksha Girish Since the first graduating class of 1897, Richard Montgomery High School has survived a series of tumultuous, and often times horrific, national and international events that have shaped the school into the diverse and multi-faceted community that it is today. As we move forward and pave new paths of success, it is critical to reflect on the past events that have affected the student body.

Former RM students have come together to share their high school experiences. The alumni have given us an opportunity to relive RM’s past filled with tales of courage, fear, and grief.

While students were entering their formative years at RM, the oppressive shadow of war and violence seemed to haunt RM and other high schools around the nation. World War II, from 1939-1945, had a profound impact on the RM student body of the time.

Class of 1944 alumnus Ray Mullican recalled, “I was drafted into the Navy when I turned 18, with a year left in school...As far as I know only one student died in the war.” Remembering a time when fellow classmates were constantly risking their lives on the battlefield has allowed students since then to appreciate the security they find in knowing that their friends will not have to face the horrors of war.

However, students also witnessed the pain and sorrow of death on the homefront, far away from the front lines of war. Most, if not all, of the alumni that attended RM in 1963 can remember with stark clarity the day of November 22 when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Class of 1964 alumnus Anna Holton said, “It was numbing, stunning, shocking, and much, much more than words can

express... our loss of innocence.”

Tom Curtis, also from the class 1964, remembered that not a single student, staff, or community member was left untouched by the events of the day. He said, “There were people crying in the hallways. It was something unimaginable.” Curtis, having interned on Capitol Hill, attended the president’s funeral.

Kennedy’s assassination was an event that stunned the RM community, leaving students and teachers in grief and mourning.

Some events in RM’s history, though, were occasions for celebration and liberation. For example, the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 was received with great joy and relief by the student body.

English teacher and Class of 1991 alumnus Bonnie Peyer remembered, “It was a very happy moment for our generation. I remember there was one student at our school, a 10th grader named Josh, who went to the Soviet Union, and there was so much excitement because he had gone behind the Iron Curtain.”

The thawing of the Cold War was also a welcomed relief to the previous series of heart-wrenching events in RM history. The student body was infused with a new hope of a future after the war.

More recently, however, an absolutely unforgettable and life-changing even was 9/11 in 2001. Following the fall of the World Trade Center, the nearby Pentagon was also attacked.

Class of 2003 alumnus Amy Stewart said that when her class turned on the TV, they all watched as the towers collapsed.

“We cried. We sat in horror as the news announced another plane had been hijacked and was on its way to DC...We all tried to call our loved ones who worked in the city, comfort each other, and try to understand.

It was a day I will never forget.”

Biology teacher Virginia Azuree also

PHOTO COURTESY OF 2003 RMHS YEARBOOK

Even in the frigid cold rain, students protested to voice their opinions on the Iraqi war. remembered the attacks with a similar began in 2002, students protested against sorrow and grief. She said, “With 9/11, the violent measures being taken. the callous disregard of human life was The only way for RM and the nation at just simply astonishing. With the sniper, large to move towards a brighter and more students were just annoyed at him; there secure future is by remembering the past. was no fear. But when the Pentagon was Recalling the horrors of war-time and the hit, that was real fear.” Many were at a loss fear of terrorist attacks will not only ensure of words as to how to convey the deaths of that we take precautionary measures to so many innocent citizens. ensure the safety of all students, but also Music teacher Ronald Frezzo said, that we analyze our mistakes. Realizing “9/11 was extremely sobering for all of us. the faults of racism has helped the nation The fact is that we thought that we were move towards a more integrated society, as protected by our boundary, our moat, by exhibited in RM’s diverse student body. being surrounded by oceans. 9/11 was The past events have brought together a show of terrible, terrible disregard for students in a way that only the most tragic innocent people.” catastrophes can build new friendships 9/11 would be remembered by all RM and solidify the bonds between students. students and staff, but also served as a Despite some of the horrific events unifying force as the school community embedded in the halls of RM, they have came together to support each other. only added to a stronger and braver However, when the resulting Iraqi war generation of students.

22

The Tide

THROWBACK

Traditions of RM’s past

by Cindy Song and Ami Thaivalappil

As the oldest public high school in Montgomery County, RM definitely has a past packed with some strange and goofy traditions. One of the most famous high school traditions, homecoming has always been a momentous occasion at RM. Alumni still reminisce memories of homecoming week in their years at the school.

Alumnus Matthew Morgan described a fun tradition that was practiced during Homecoming up until the 1998-1999 school year. He said, “The seniors had used paper cups to write ‘Class of 1999’ on the far fence for the homecoming pep-rally. During the rally, freshman and sophomores made a run for it across the football field to tear out the cups. The seniors would chase ‘em down and try to tackle them before they could do any damage.”

During the pep rallies, a common cheer was the Rocket Freeze. The rally leaders would garner spirit by shouting “are the rockets ready for the rocket freeze?” to receive an enthusiastic reply of “hell yeah!”

Now, we have another tradition that gets students riled up: Hell’s Kitchen, a rowdy uproar of clanging pots and pans, which is done in student sections at football and basketball games.

Another interesting, and slightly

spooky, tradition was the Homecoming Funeral. English teacher Bonnie Peyer, a former RM student, explained, “The angel, grim reaper, football player ball bearers, effigy of the opposing team, designated widow, and the band playing funeral dirges led cheerleaders and poms through the halls, picking up classes along the way out to the field for the raucous pep rally!”

Though it sounds rather unusual, the funeral was actually held to boost support for RM’s football team. It was a “funeral” because it mourned the upcoming loss of the opposing team.

Other traditions were more controversial. Byron Mullican, a former RM football player, described a tradition called ‘slave day’. Mullican explained, “That was when the cheerleaders were the players’ ‘slaves’ and had to get us any and everything we wanted to eat at the cafeteria.” Fortunately for the cheerleaders, this is no longer a practice here at school.

While the old traditions are long gone, Rocket pride is a legacy that none of us will ever let go of. Mullican, remembering his days on the field as a RM football player, recalled, “When the Rockets won, the entire city won. There was no greater pride for us football players than to represent our school.”

In the words of alumnus Cheryl Rink: “I am still proud to be a Rocket. We are the Rockets, mighty, mighty Rockets.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF 1975 RMHS YEARBOOK

Students depict a funeral for homecoming to symbolize the opponent’s upcoming loss.

March 2015

PHOTO COURTESY OF 1957 RMHS YEARBOOK

RM girls met for “Future Homemakers” to learn the culinary skills expected of women.

Classes take new turn

by Victoria Priester

Creative Writing, Wildlife Biology, Statistics, Anthropology… Sound familiar?

These are all unique classes that RM students today can sign up for when they choose their classes each school year. Well, how about fashion merchandising, creative clothing, and gourmet cooking?

Since women during the 50s were expected to stay home and take care of children while the men worked, students’ electives at RM in the 50s were also more tailored to these expectations. Girls took electives in the Home Art Department such as sewing and cooking. In the 1957 yearbook, pictures depict junior girls sewing stockings for the needy and measuring ingredients for a cake. They were referred to as “future homemakers.”

Meanwhile, guys learned about the uses of electronics as well as how to use power tools and repair automobiles. This coincided with the expectations for men: to provide for their families and to fix appliances around their houses.

According to Gloria Poole, an RM

alumnus from the class of 1956, “There were no gals in auto shop, wood shop, or metal shop. And of course no guys in Home Arts. There seemed to be a very strong line for which we kept our given paths of life. There were usually no exceptions and certainly were not considered the norm should you cross the line.” As expectations for men and women in the home changed, so have classes at RM. However, if there is one memory of RM that alumni from all different decades share, it is the positive impact that RM’s teachers have had on their lives. Rob Lackey, an alumnus from the class of 1983, shared his story: “I wasn’t a very good student in high school, but my Chemistry teacher figured out how to challenge me...

He gave me the courage and inspiration to go on to study Chemical Engineering.”

Lackey is now a doctor, and might have never even considered his career without the guidance and support from his high school teacher. RM’s history reminds us that even though classes, opportunities, and the world around us may change, the hard work and dedication of students and staff remains the same.

L.A. Weekly editor Zachary Pincus-Roth reflects

by Cathleen Kong In high school, Zachary Pincus-Roth learned how the world works by making paper cars. Pincus-Roth, who graduated from Richard Montgomery in 1998, can still recall his IB/AP economics teacher, Mr. Baron, announcing in a Russian accent, “Today, we’re going to make cars.”

“We were Soviet workers in his car factory, and he had us make as many cars as we could -- we cut them out of paper -- and then he paid us all the same amount no matter how many we made, to show us how communism worked,” Pincus-Roth recalled. The lesson plan was indicative of the school’s “amazing” teachers, PincusRoth remembers, who each instilled in

him an appreciation of history and culture, and, of course, a love for writing.

Since graduating from RM and then Princeton University, where he wrote his senior dissertation on Seinfeld, PincusRoth has appeared on NPR, performed stand-up comedy, and is an awardwinning journalist who has written for the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Slate. It all started here at Richard Montgomery.

At RM, Roth already exhibited signs of interest in his future career path, as he was a sports editor, news editor, and editor in chief of The Tide. However, he also contributed to the Opinions section, writing a unique column called “Can I Say One Thing?” in which he gave his personal take on a variety of everyday topics, from family vacations to the usage of spin books.

Pincus-Roth maintains fond memories of his experience as a Rocket. “My friends and I would do things like go out for coffee at the Rockville Pike Starbucks, which was then brand new. We thought that was a super-sophisticated thing to do at the time,” he recalled.

Although he has achieved much in the field of journalism, Pincus-Roth is also a novice stand-up comedian. “It wasn’t until after college that I got the nerve to do it,” he said. “I had been building up material for years in a Word document and...finally I took a stand-up class here in L.A..”

Most of his time, though, is spent exploring about how “art and entertainment connect with audiences” as an editor for L.A. Weekly. Pincus-Roth finds that being a journalist nowadays requires more than just being able to write and investigate.

Peyer sees some very familiar faces every day in the halls, so see if you can recognize some of these names.

“I took history with Mr. Hines in 9th and 12th grades, and there are many other teachers still at RM from those days: Mr. Frezzo, who taught my sister, class of 1994, Mr. Evans, until last year, Ms. GhentPaolucci, Ms. Johnson, Ms. Solernou, and Ms. Svrcek, who was our staff development teacher until this year -- she taught my 9th grade geometry class,” she said.

A typical IB student, Ms. Peyer was a busy-bee in high school, doing poms for all four years, running track for two years, and helping the SGA as a part of the Homecoming float committee.

What drew Ms. Peyer to teaching was that she was able to connect with people in a way she had not been able to in sales. “I enjoy it most when everyone’s really tuned in to what we’re talking about - when a discussion takes on a life of its own and everyone wants to express his or her views.

It’s a great energy; I also love the feeling

Ms. Peyer recalls her high school years at RM and loves that she can teach at RM now. in a room when everyone’s engaged in And when I was told I could work with writing something and you can tell they’re seniors here, I was ecstatic. And I haven’t eager to get their thoughts out.” she said. been disappointed,” Ms. Peyer said.

After teaching middle school for 13 As advice for the new wave of RM years, she began contemplating a leap students, she said, “Remember that very into teaching at a higher level, she was few choices are permanent. Nothing is the uncertain as to where she wanted to go. end of the world. Be thankful for your great “I hesitated about making the leap to just RM education, and stay connected to good ANY high school. But when I saw the job friends as you make your way beyond opening at RM, I pounced on it, because I these walls!” Take her advice to heart RM was pretty sure it’s what I was looking for. students, she has been in your shoes before.

“Sometimes I feel like my job is a lot about managing my email inbox. Also, now at work we talk all the time about our online presence — what gets read, how to get things read. Back then the internet didn’t really exist as it does now.”

For those who wish to follow in Pincus-Roth’s footsteps, the RM alumnus offered a few words of wisdom: “Appreciate high school — and college — as much as you can. In the real world it gets much scarier and harder — to be a journalist, or to be anything, really. If you want to be a journalist, go dominate your college journalism scene, find a journalism professor and/or real-world journalist who can be a mentor, and try to land an amazing internship that can get you published clips and maybe even lead to a job.”

Ms. Peyer: Transition from RM student to teacher

by Catherine Wang It is rare to find a student who spent all four years as a student at RM and would then return over 20 years later to teach the next generation of RM students.

A student who graduated as a part of the first four-year International Baccalaureate (IB) class that RM ever had, a program that RM has become renowned for ever since. This student is of course, no other than English teacher Bonnie Peyer.

As a graduate of the class of 1991, you can imagine that her experience at the school was quite different from what students experience these days in the fresh new building at RM. “It’s much bigger now!” Ms. Peyer said, “There were about 1200-1300 students when I was there, and 265 or so in my graduating class.” However, in spite of changes in numbers, some experiences remain universal for every Rocket. Ms.

PHOTO BY MONA LEE

The Tide

THROWBACK

March 2015

Then and Now

23

1985 2014

PHOTO COURTESY OF 1985 RMHS YEARBOOK

Above: After being crowned, the Homecoming king and queen of 1985 smile wide for a photo during the annual dance.

1981

PHOTO COURTESY OF LIFETOUCH PHOTOGRAPHY

Above: Homecoming king and queen of 2014, Alex Fehlinger and Grace Kim, make their grand entrance during the Homecoming dance.

1966 2015

PHOTO COURTESY OF 1966 RMHS YEARBOOK

Above: Guy tries to impress the ladies with his guitar.

1955

PHOTO COURTESY OF 1981 RMHS YEARBOOK

Above: Karen Kreutel scores an awsome shot to earn two points for the Rockets during a 1980s match.

Below: Allie Parrish defends the ball from a Churchill player during a basketball game this year.

2015

PHOTO BY CONNIE CHEN

PHOTO COURTESY OF 1955 RMHS YEARBOOK

Above: Defensive players make a tackle in 1955.

PHOTO BY CONNIE CHEN

Above: Adam Ng performs at the first coffeehouse of 2015.

2014

PHOTO BY CONNIE CHEN

Above: Alex Fehlinger makes a play during a 2014 football game.

2015

PHOTO BY CONNIE CHEN

Above: Varsity cross country runners show their determination by continuing to practice in the cold weather.

Right: A cross country runner runs down the track towards victory.

1986

PHOTO COURTESY OF 1986 RMHS YEARBOOK

24 The Tide

THROWBACK

SPORTS

March 2015

From RM to the MLB, Riggleman remembers home

by Evan Scheinberg It is no secret that Richard Montgomery is home to a number of legends. Some we know, such as Coach Fahrner who has been with us for more than thirty years. Some we may not know, like Mike Curtis, an All-Pro NFL linebacker for the Baltimore Colts and Washington Redskins.

But one of the most famous Richard Montgomery alum is former Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, and San Diego Padres Manager and is current Cincinnati Reds

COURTESY OF RM 1970 YEARBOOK

third-base coach, Jim Riggleman.

Riggleman still recalls many moments from RM, especially as the star third baseman on the Rockets baseball team.

A graduate of the class of 1970, Riggleman played third base for the Rockets throughout his high school career. When asked about the origins of his baseball career, Riggleman said that he was a delivery boy for the Washington Post during the summers.

He would read the articles about the Washington Senators and a new passion was born.

He began his play through the Rockville Boys Baseball Association, or RBBA, and played all the way through high school and college at Frostburg State University.

Riggleman claimed that the man who impacted his baseball career the most was his father.

Riggleman explained, “My father had gotten me into the game. He loved baseball. Throwing the ball in the backyard, typical father-son things were what we did and I started to really get a liking for it.”

Riggleman’s first season came during his sophomore year, and while consistent playing time was hard to come by, he still has great memories of his first season.

By the time his senior season was underway, Riggleman said he was, ”playing pretty good and the competition was pretty good.”

He continued by stating, “I

PHOTO COURTESY OF WASHINGTON POST

Riggleman watches as the Nationals’ pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg leads the team to victory over the Cincinatti Reds on July 21, 2010. had grown enough by then, so schedule, they played about 45 my size wasn’t going to eliminate games, so I transferred there, me from being a player.” and really enjoyed my career at Riggleman always had an [Frostburg] and got the chance to interest for playing in college, but sign professionally.” now it seemed possible to play Riggleman was drafted by against better competition. Back the Los Angeles Dodgers in June when Riggleman was a senior of 1974. He played through their in high school, Frostburg State system all the way to Triple-A and other state schools did not baseball in the Minor Leagues. offer scholarships. He received The Minor Leagues were stressful, a scholarship to play baseball but exactly what he wanted to be and basketball at the University doing. of Jamestown, a small school in “It was a situation where it North Dakota. was extremely enjoyable. Now, “I really enjoyed there were a lot of ups and [Jamestown],” he said, “I loved downs, you’re struggling, you’re it out there, but at that point, I not getting your hits. If you’re realized that if I was going to do a pitcher, you’re struggling anything in baseball, I had to get to throw strikes and there are into some better weather, where times where you feel a dream we played more games. And slipping away from you....but [Frostburg] had a pretty extensive the experience itself, it was just

amazing,” he said.

After the 1981 season, Riggleman acquired his first job as a Major League coach. Jim Leyland, current manager of the Detroit Tigers, provided him a job as a minor league manager.

He recalled, “I just wanted to make a living, I love baseball, and it was an opportunity to stay in the game and coach.” He remembers his emotions just before his first Major League game as, “Very excited, very proud.”

He would later go on to manage four other teams, but perhaps the most exciting moment as a Major League manager was when Nationals’ pitcher Stephen Strasburg made his debut. Strasburg had 14 strikeouts in the 5-2 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was the start of an illustrious career for the young National’s ace.

“It was a special night and he answered the call,” Riggleman said.

For young players, Riggleman offers one piece of advice: hardwork. He said, “If you want to be a ball player, you have to play baseball; you have to play a lot of baseball, you have to go in 100%.”

Now with the Reds in Cincinnati, Riggleman has not forgotten his hometown at all. “I love Rockville. I come back every year, usually around Christmastime,” Riggleman said. “I’m very proud of Rockville.”

Fahrner establishes a legacy Hot shots’ hang out

by Syllia Newstead Coach and P.E. teacher John Fahrner is mainly known for three things: his crazy stories, his funny jokes, and his commitment to Richard Montgomery. Mr. Fahrner started out as one of the many students in his class, but due to his unwavering dedication and love for the school, he quickly became a long-lasting legacy at RM. Fahrner has known what he wanted to be when he grew up since he was in middle school: a coach and a physical education teacher. During his time at Julius West Middle School, his gym teacher Mr. Hahn, inspired Fahrner to strive to reach his dream. “I saw that he can come to school with his play clothes on, play, laugh and get paid for it,” Fahrner stated. He observed Hahn’s widespread positive influence on both his students and his colleagues, and Fahrner wanted a chance to have the same kind of reach.

Along with Hahn, Fahrner also found a great role model in his father, who was a coach up until 1960. Seeing his dad coaching further solidified his dream of becoming a coach and teacher. Fahrner was a major athlete in high school, playing football, basketball, and baseball throughout the year. Later on he started playing tennis, where he was quickly nationally ranked, and has not stopped playing since.

His time at RM has taught him a lot of valuable life lessons.

Even though he grew up in a low income class, Fahrner stated,

“no barriers [existed] between kids at RM.” He was friends with everybody no matter their background or history. He works hard to instill these positive ideas in his students and players, hoping to preserve the warm school environment he grew up in.

COURTESY OF RM 1970 YEARBOOK

As a teacher, Mr. Fahrner has connected with the students to the point that they can have honest and open conversations. He

teaches them educational skills and qualities needed to succeed in life. His engaging teaching style keeps kids interested and attached to what he has to say.

He teaches in a way students can easily understand and actually use what is being taught.

Working with kids has been beneficial to him. He learns from the students just as much as they learn from him. Fahrner has a relationship with all his students past and present. “If you love them they will love you back,” Fahrner said. For years he has lived by that motto, and the effects are easily observable as he walks down the hall greeting student after student.

“Coach Fahrner has significantly improved the team as a whole in teamwork, sportsmanship, and spirit with his strong experience as a former tennis player,” tennis co-captain Chris Chen said. During his career, Fahrner has coached many different sports, but his favorite is, by far, tennis. He takes pride in his team and does his best to improve the players both in the game and out.

“He takes care of all his players and managers. He’s serious about his team, but he still likes to have fun,” boys tennis manager Mia Deng said. Fahrner tries to teach his players the technical side of things, but he also tries to make sure that they are enjoying themselves while doing so.

After college, Fahrner returned to jumpstart his career in teaching. Although he has taught at many different schools in the county, he always finds himself returning to RM. This school has been his home for a long time, and will be forever.

after football games. “You can’t imagine what it was like,” Schork

by Albert Zhang said, “All the students would go there, the cheerleaders would go It was the 20th century and there and lead cheers because we you were a hot shot who wanted won every game – it was a very to get hot chops at Hot Shoppes exciting time to live in Rockville.”

- the popular family-style chain Jim Riggleman, a graduate of that had its famous run from 1927 the class of 1970, remembers Hot to 1999. Popular for its Mighty Mo Shoppes as part of the athletic burger, “Teen Twist” sandwich, tradition at RM. “Everyone would Orange Freeze milkshake, Hot go to the game, and after the Fudge Ice Cream Cake, and game, everyone would its massive buffet bar, it find their way down is a nostalgic name Rockville Pike to for many.

Hot Shoppes The restaurant,” o l d Riggleman said, memories “The football of a longplayers would standing sports all come down tradition after have now the been lost in game. It the busy ebb really GRAPHICS BY ALBERT ZHANG and flow of Richard was just Montgomery life. a great atmosphere; there was a After hot, sweaty football lot of pride in the school.” games filled with cheering “Usually the team won every and adrenaline, Hot week, very seldom there was a Shoppes would be loss,” he continued, “It was a the place to sit back lot to get hyped up about, and in cushiony booths everyone took great pride in it... It and order cold carried over into the next season frothy milkshakes. of basketball and It would be the place then baseball to dine after wild would follow. basketball games.

Everyone Hot Shoppes was had a lot of the center of all respect for the hub, where all the athletic students, parents, programs and had friends, and great spirit.” teachers alike came It was 1999 when the together. heart-wrenching decision was John Schork, a made to shut the doors of the football player who last Hot Shoppes store. However, graduated in 1969, their legacy of rich tradition lives remembers Hot Shoppes on in the heart of all Richard as a great place to go Montgomery graduates.

The Tide

THROWBACK

March 2015

25

Legend Roy Lester reflects on his career at RM

by Rachel Gold and Quang Nguyen Any time students step on the turf field behind Richard Montgomery, they are entering an enduring symbol of Richard Montgomery’s athletic heritage. Roy Lester Stadium is a fitting tribute for a coach who, over the course of a decade, lost only ten games, sealed eight undefeated seasons, and established an athletic tradition that has brought pride to the community -- a tradition that lives on in Hell’s Kitchen.

Lester was born in 1923 in Spencer, West Virginia. He attended West Virginia University, where he displayed tremendous athletic achievements in baseball, basketball, and football. Lester led his football team to the Sun Bowl in 1949. Lester earned his degree in political science and graduated in 1949.

After serving in Pearl Harbor at the end of World War II, he had two coaching jobs before winding up at Richard Montgomery in 1959.

When he arrived, Coach Lester found a program that was well-equipped for success. “We had some good kids at Richard Montgomery; we had some smart kids. We didn’t have any outstanding linemen or anything like that, but they were all dedicated. They wanted to win, and we put them in a position to win,” Lester said.

Putting players in a position to win was the source of Lester’s genius, according to Lee Branthover, an All-American linebacker and co-captain of Lester’s 1968 team. “There was such keen competition for different positions and Coach Lester had the uncanny ability to identify talented players and optimize their contribution to the team,” said Branthover, who also played for Lester for four years at the University of Maryland.

In his first season at RM, Lester guided the Rockets to a 9-0 record and a county championship. Over the course of the next decade, Lester led the team to seven more undefeated seasons and a total record of 89-

10. Lester’s team that operated under the mentality that, according to Branthover, “we are not going to lose any games.”

“My only losing game here,” Branthover remembered, “We lost to Einstein 1412. During the play they beat us on, I intercepted the ball, but it hit my arm and fell to the ground and I didn’t make the interception. The next play, touchdown.

So, you know, I was really depressed.

Coach Lester suggested that maybe I

straight: this is the way it’s going to be,” Branthover remembered. “When a couple of players let their hair get a tad longer, he would immediately label them hippies.

Nobody wanted to be a hippie, so they would immediately go to the barbershop to get their hair trimmed.”

Lester was a believer in “instant education”: taking a player out of the game after he made a mistake. He said, “When something goes wrong, you immediately

PHOTO COURTESY OF RM 1968 YEARBOOK

Coach Roy Lester and one of his players watched his Rockets practice before game day. should go back to JV on Monday. Driving home, I asked my father to stop on the old iron bridge so I could jump off and end it.”

Lester set out to create an environment in which the players learned to expect success. When asked to what he attributes the team’s winning streaks, Lester laughed.

“I don’t know! We just did what we thought was right. What we did was we taught fundamentals and we taught them how to play. The more you win, the more dedication you’ll get. They like the idea of being on top -- that’s better than being on the bottom.”

The environment Lester created was one predicated on following the rules and working hard. “In the late 60s, Vietnam is starting to get in full swing, and you have a lot of rebellion, if you will, but Lester was

take the kid out of the game and put somebody else in. You correct him, and then send him back in again. That’s what you call instant education. You don’t wait ‘til the next game. You correct him NOW.” But Branthover made it clear that Lester knew which lines to cross. “He knew the individual player well enough to know which guy you should put your arm around and talk with as opposed to getting after him,” the co-captain said.

Branthover is known as Lester’s shadow, for he left for Maryland the same year that Lester did -- 1969 -- and would later serve as Lester’s assistant coach at Magruder High School in the 1980s. Perhaps the only person more qualified to comment on Lester’s greatness is his daughter, Amy Lester Greco.

Greco decided that his greatest quality is his ability to let people love him. “That is a very difficult quality to come by,” she said. “Letting people be there for you or be in your life or mean something to you.

He allows people to love him because he loves them. He loves every single one of [his players] and remembers every one of them whether they were horrible or they were great.”

Though Lester is not the type to use the word “love” when he speaks--as social studies teacher Bob Hines, who worked with Lester at Magruder, said, he is “oldschool”--his interest in his players as young men quickly emerged. He rattled off names of players and their current professions, and, in one notable example, spoke like a proud father about Charlie Snowden.

Though Snowden was hurt for most of his tenure at RM, Lester took a great interest in him -- the relationship has a deep backstory -- and secured his college scholarship.

“He’s one of the most dedicated kids I’ve ever had in anything. I got him a scholarship to New Mexico State and he’s done well ever since. Charlie is one of the most trustworthy guys that you can find anywhere.”

The sentiments ran both ways. Snowden said of Lester, “My life has been so wonderful because of RM! Mr. Lester was my guardian angel. I love him for being so fair and kind to a black kid with no father.

He believed in me and never doubted I wanted to be a good person.”

Lester, who left RM in 1969 when offered the head coaching position at the University of Maryland, still lives in Gaithersburg but winters in Naples, Florida. He hears from his players often and sees a group of them each year around Christmas, when they get together to reminisce. In October 2010, Lester returned formally to RM for the naming of the stadium in his honor.

But for Lester, the hardware he has collected since means far less than the years he spent with his players. “I took great pride in the things we did at Richard Montgomery. That’s all there was to it.”

Rocket alumni return home to coach students

by Madeleine Cheng Varsity girls soccer coach Monica Tarzy, varsity boys basketball coach David Breslaw, and coaches Jonathan Freda and Davy Rogers have all worn black and gold at one point in their life. Whether it be on the court, the field, the track, or the diamond, they all used to be student athletes at RM. Since then, they have returned to foster the same Rocket pride and spirit through coaching some of the sports teams here at RM. Breslaw went to RM from 1995-1998 after spending his freshman year at St. Andrew’s

Breslaw goes head to head in a RM game.

Episcopal School. Once here, he played point guard on the varsity basketball team all three years. His favorite memory was in his senior year with “the starting season opener against Wootton who was our rival at the time. Just playing that game and it went into overtime, it was really exciting,” he recalled.

He really enjoyed “playing with the guys on my team... I had never played on a team that good, so when I was on the court I really felt like I was playing in the big leagues,” Mr. Breslaw said. He remembers the what a challenge it was to practice with

such talent, but pointed out that this helped him realize the many challenges in life and taught him to work harder.

Breslaw currently teaches every level of world history and is in his third year of coaching boys varsity basketball after five years of coaching JV boys basketball.

A student a few years younger than Mr. Breslaw, Ms. Tarzy graduated from RM in 2004. While she was at RM, she participated in one year of JV soccer, three years of varsity soccer, two years of swimming, and half a season of poms.

Her favorite sport to play was soccer because “it was what I was good at...my family was a big soccer family,” Ms. Tarzy said.

Her favorite athletic memory was the soccer playoff in 2002, when “we were playing Walter Johnson and it was snowing that day…we had lost to them earlier in the season and so we played them in the snow and it was really cold, it was home, and we actually won the game in overtime,” she described.

A big difference she noticed in the students now as opposed to when she went to school here, is the decrease in amount of spirit. “People aren’t as peppy, like there’s not enough spirit, it’s gotten better in the past year, but the spirit is not the same, like we bled black and gold when I was there.

Nowadays, everyone has other teams that

Tarzy sits for a team picture before a game.

they play for…we kinda lived for RM,” she explained.

Another RM alum is Mr. Freda. During his time here from 1997 to 2001, Mr. Freda

Freda poses for a football team picture. played one year of JV football, three years of varsity football, and ran track in his freshman year. “Football was and is my favorite sport... The first time I tackled somebody and was congratulated for it, rather than punished for it, I knew it was the sport for me,” he said.

In his junior year he was the RM Offensive Player of the Year and in his senior year, not only was he one of the team captains, but he also won the Gazette Honorable Mention at fullback. His achievements did not stop there: he also broke the RM Bench Press Record in his senior year.

Currently, he is teaching P.E., coaching football and track, and acts as the assistant Athletic Director.

“My favorite part about working at RM now is trying to help the current students understand that history or Rocket Pride that RM was always known for. I also love working at RM because I have a lot of friends that work here too and a bunch of them were my classmates at RM or my coach when I was here.” he said. Freda cites Coach Fahrner, his old football coach and P.E. teacher, as one of his favorite people to work with.

A classmate of Mr. Freda’s, and the current coach of the cross country and

track teams is Mr. Rogers (1994-1998).

During this time he played JV basketball and varsity baseball as an underclassman, ran cross country all four years, and ran track in his last two years.

Rogers was a integral part of the cross country and track teams during his time year, participating as they won several State Championships. Specifically, he was the state champion in the mile his senior year and in the 4x400 as an upperclassman.

“You made a lot of memories with the people on your team, you know, and they became your friends for life” Mr. Rogers reflected.

He continued on to explain, “In the late 90s, RM was a powerhouse in pretty much every sport. It was fun going to the

Rogers races ahead to get to finish line. basketball games. It was a lot smaller gym than what it is now, so when it was packed, it was the loudest you could possibly believe.”

As for any changes in RM, he says the only standout thing is the character of the new building. “The school’s brand new now... but the old school had a lot of character and it had been there for so long.

People say it was run-down, but there was something about the old school…and I’m sure in a couple years the new building will also have a lot of character….but I mean— it’s Richard Montgomery, it’s awesome.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RM 1998, 2003, AND 2001 YEARBOOKS

26 The Tide

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March 2015

The Tide

THROWBACK

March 2015

INTERNATIONAL

27

From missile to mascot: History of the RM Rocket

by Akanksha Girish

Spirit, power, spontaneity, speed, energy, and spark. These are just a few of the words that came to the minds of RM students as they reflected on our high school’s distinguished mascot.

Junior Hannah Smith said, “To me as a student, the rocket’s forward trajectory and sheer power represent a motivation and willpower that is closely connected with our love of learning and determination to succeed.”

The Rockets mascot is in fact much older than is generally believed. The original idea for the name “Richard Montgomery Rockets” came from 105 year old Ruby Gott Tyler, who attended RM in the late 1920’s.

In 1927, she brilliantly proposed to the student council to call the yearbook The Rockets. Thus, RM’s yearbook class engendered the glory and reputation that has since preceded the Richard Montgomery Rockets.

Choral music teacher Ronald Frezzo vividly recalled Tyler saying in 2007 that she came up with the Rockets because she thought “that this school [was] coming up like a rocket.”

Mr. Frezzo said, “It was really phenomenal to hear this. I think what that woman said is that this is a school on the go. This school is on the move, people know about this school and know about the achievements at this school.” Students at RM constantly prove themselves victorious and successful in competitions where they represent RM on the county, state, and national levels.

Biology teacher Virginia Azuree said, “I think that the rocket embodies energy, supremacy, and speed, which are all factors of the RM community. We like to believe that we are competitive and cutting

edge, that we prepare our students to be competitive and cutting edge.”

The statue of the RM Rocket that regally overlooks the sports fields has been a cherished symbol to students around campus for decades since it was donated to the school in the 1960’s.

Weighing 1,000 pounds when armed, with a range of 25-30 miles, and measuring

enemy aircraft.”

In 1945, the U.S. Army began the Nike program, which was suitably named after the Greek goddess of victory. The program developed America’s first missiles with high-speed and high-flying capabilities, armed with missiles programmed by ground computers/radars.

The U.S. Army was desperately in

PHOTO BY MONA LEE

An authentic Cold War missile, the rocket now stands outside of Roy Lester Stadium.

21 feet long and 12 inches in diameter, with a wingspan of 4.5 feet, the RM Rocket statue is revered by students and faculty.

However, what many might not know about the rocket statue is its unique history.

The rocket statue on RM’s campus at the entrance to the Roy Lester Stadium is in fact a war missile.

History teacher Robert Hines explained, “The RM Rocket is a Nike Ajax missile from the Cold War. These missiles once ringed Washington, D.C. in the 1950s and 1960s to protect Washington from approaching

need of innovative weaponry to combat the advanced rocketry and aircrafts that the Germans mastered during the war.

Developed to do just that, the Nike Ajax was first deployed near the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. After learning about the statue’s origins, senior Rosa Jang said, “There is such a rich history that is closely integrated with the rocket statue which is sadly overlooked. The innovativeness, stability, and intelligence that the statue embodies is an integral aspect of our school’s

community.”

There are also three major missile batteries in the county. Mr. Hines said, “Each of these sites contained radar domes, housing for soldiers, launching platforms and/or underground elevators to hide and protect the missiles.”

English teacher Bonnie Peyer, who also attended RM as a part of the Class of 1991, remembers the statue when she was a student. Peyer said, “The rocket statue we have with us now has stood the test of time.”

From former to current students, the rocket has symbolized new frontiers and a bright future at RM. Freshman Tran Nguyen said, “Our school’s mascot is unique because it represents exploration and expanding our horizons.”

The Rocket pride runs strong from sports to academics and even the arts.

Frezzo said, “There are tons of wonderful things that are happening at this school and in this building on all levels. This is a school that most kids are proud to be a part of because it has got a reputation for success.”

The Rocket, from its start in 1927, has become a symbol that has evolved with the student body. Ms. Peyer said, “I think that our mascot represents power, moving ahead, and spirit. I am sure that no other school can shout their school mascot in the middle of the national anthem.”

Ms. Azuree added her interpretation of what being a Rocket means. She said, “Our mascot definitely symbolizes energy. We have the energy to look for better ways to teach and better ways to learn, and those are two very different things.”

The RM Rocket has been a source of pride and awe to the surrounding Rockville community for the past 87 years and will continue to do so as bright and talented students enter the world with the power, confidence, and spirit of having been a Richard Montgomery Rocket.

35 years later, U.S. ambassador reflects on high school

by Ly Do Nestled between Togo and Nigeria on the continent of Africa lies the small country of Benin. United States Ambassador Michael Raynor currently lives in Benin, working to improve the way of life of its people. However, one specific piece of his past is especially notable-Raynor graduated from RM in 1980, 25 years ago.

Now a successful diplomat, Raynor grew up as a normal high school student at RM. His favorite memories from high school are moments surely recognized by current RM students, such as “getting to go off the high school campus for lunch,” or “calling friends every night to complain about homework instead of doing it,” he explained.

When asked about his extracurricular activities, Raynor spoke about his time as a student athlete as well as his involvement in other clubs and organizations.

“I swam all three years, [because] back then, RM started in 10th grade and was a co-captain my senior year. I worked on the yearbook [as] co-editor-in-chief senior year and belonged to the Piano Club, basically a few people getting together once a week to show off whatever we were being taught

by [our] piano teachers,” he said.

Raynor’s favorite experiences at RM were not limited to extracurriculars.

“I really liked all of my English classes, particularly when they gave me the ability to read novels when I didn’t feel like doing more rigorous homework,” Raynor said. “My favorite teacher was Mrs. Barrett, [from] 11th grade English – she was incredibly smart and fairly demanding, but fair and thoughtful. Praise coming from her, on those rare occasions when any of us earned it, really meant something.”

F r e n c h class was also a subject that Raynor particularly enjoyed. “I gained an appreciation for the pleasure and value of understanding and communicating with foreign cultures. These skills and perceptions gave me a leg-up in college and grad school and eventually in my current job,” he explained.

The valuable skills he took away from RM’s own educators proved to be useful from his high school town in Rockville all the way to his current home in Benin.

Raynor’s career was not entirely unprecedented. Even from an early age, he knew he “wanted to end up with a job that involved travel” because of the fair

amount of his childhood that he spent living overseas.

After graduating from high school, he majored in international affairs at Lafayette College and went on to get to his masters in international affairs at Columbia University, after which he joined the U.S. State Department as a Foreign Service Officer.

His job as a Foreign Service Officer “involves being assigned to a different job in either a foreign country or D.C. every few years.” The position has allowed him to live in different countries, mostly in Africa, including Harare, Windhoek, Conakry, Djibouti, and Brazzaville, with the destination changing every few years.

His current ambassador job in Benin is thus just the “latest in [his] series of Foreign Service postings.”The responsibilities of an Ambassador, as Raynor revealed, are fairly heavy.

His current job comes with two main responsibilities, one “dealing(s) with the Beninese government, citizens, and organizations” and the other “dealing with the management of the U.S. Embassy itself.”

Besides these administrative duties, he also has to spend “around 10% of [his] time traveling around rural Benin to get to know the country and its people better.”

In his travels, Raynor noted that while “Benin is a wonderful country – democratic, stable, tolerant, and welcoming,” it unfortunately is also “extremely poor with low rates on most measures of economic and social development.”

Thus, most of his jobs as an ambassador for the U.S. have focused on “helping Benin build its capacity to continue doing the right things politically, economically, and socially for its people so that it can remain a model of democracy and stability while alleviating its widespread poverty.”

While these responsibilities may sound difficult, Ambassador Raynor loves the job because of the immense responsibility that it brings.

“It’s an incredible honor to represent the president and people of the United States to a foreign country and the job is very varied and rewarding,”Raynor said.

Raynor’s experience at RM has undoubtedly shaped the path he followed long after he had graduated and brought him to countries around the world, and the experiences of the many future graduates of RM will undoubtedly do the same.

LEFT PHOTO: COURTESY OF RM 1980 YEARBOOK RIGHT PHOTO: COURTESY OF US EMBASSY

28 The Tide

THROWBACK

Profiles

March 2015

Conversation with Mr. Hines Will Allen, reaching high

by Matthew Zipf Q: What has been the major change since you started teaching at RM? A: Well, I started the IB 28 years ago.

At the time, we were small, unknown, invisible. There was a lot of friction in the community as to what the program coming in was. The school didn’t want outsiders, but it was down to 900 students and due to close. Big classrooms were empty. I didn’t have a class bigger than 18. It was a school dying.

To create the IB out of that was a big difference. The IB began a growing process for RM. School enrollment generally went up in the county and in the community, which also helped us. The school became a lot more diverse; a lot more immigrants started coming into the school. I would say that, ten years later, we had over 47 languages in the school. It was pretty amazing. But Rockville has changed. The county has changed. The IB has become a competitive program; it’s a large part of the school now. What do we have, five hundred students? It’s a quarter of the school’s population. Back then, it was 5 percent of the school, maybe 10 percent if you throw in the ninth graders.

Q: When did Archaeology Club start?

A: Well, I brought it here from Magruder.

It was started in ‘84, so it’s in its 31st year.

We started digging at Montgomery Mall.

We had no money, no finances, no backing, so the club was created out of nothing, just $50 out of my pocket money. We bought sifters and scrapers from some hardware store. But I didn’t want to start another archaeology club that becomes a digging club, where you just dig up stuff and put it in a box somewhere.

Q: Going forwards, where do you see

RM ten or twenty years out?

A: Richard Montgomery really shows where the future of the county is going, because we’ve always sort of been a mirror of what the county percentages are [in terms of immigration and diversity]. I see it as a healthy development. It’s hard to assimilate new people into the country, but they always bring new ideas, and also, it lets the locals see other parts of the world and learn about other parts of the world that they never would have—by having friends, going to others’ houses, getting to eat different foods.

Q: What about RM are you most proud of?

A: I’m proud of the staff and the students—it’s a really good bunch.From the beginning, there was a sense of teamwork When I was department chairman for 17 years, I got to work on that teamwork, and I hired most of the teachers we have now.

The fact is that the teaching staff makes the school. The old building was run down, dirty, but it was still a vibrant place to work, and we developed this great program in an old building, because of the people. It’s about the people. It’s about the RM cluster, the community.

My first day here, people badmouthed RM left and right: “It’s a low academics school,” “They have race fights over there,” “There are a lot of tensions in the community.” When I got here, none of that was true. The first day I opened the door, a student helped me get in with all my books. It’s just a good community.

Q: When students from twenty, thirty years ago get back to you, what do they say?

A: They say two things: That they learned to think here and they learned to write here. I think in many cases, they come back and say that this is harder than their college life.

in a multicultural situation,” he said. “So when I would go in the cafeteria every day,

by Rachel Gold I might wind up sitting anywhere. I had a girlfriend who was Italian and French, so I Basketball is a vertical game. How was always crossing these color barriers.” fitting, then, that Will Allen—who led Allen became the first African Richard Montgomery to its first and only American to play basketball for the boys basketball state championship in University of Miami. After college, he 1966—is now a pioneer in the urban farming was a fourth-round pick in the NBA draft movement, growing plants in stacked rows and played abroad. When he returned to maximize yields. It stateside, he bought is clear that Allen has a run-down plant always looked up. nursery in Milwaukee.

Allen, known then That nursery, which as Willie, graduated he named Growing in 1967, and is likely Power, has since grown the best player to have into an international represented RM on the movement, with Allen courts. Having grown at its forefront. He up on a vegetable farm, thinks growing food he was introduced to in cities is the key to basketball at Julius West. solving world hunger, Allen’s impact was and won a MacArthur felt as soon as he arrived “Genuis Grant” for at RM: he led the team his leadership in to the county title three sustainable urban times—each year he agriculture. “The only was at the school—and way to end hunger is to one state crown. Being do it on a local level,” responsible for chores he said. “Milwaukee on the family farm, he has 10,000 vacant lots, thinks, had something to so we have the space to do with it. “I was a good grow food here.” Allen athlete because I was has worked in Africa, PHOTO COURTESY OF 1967 YEARBOOK Ukraine, and is starting bigger than everyone else, and very strong Will Allen led RM to the state title. a project in Haiti, all because I worked on the farm since I was while his Milwaukee operation continues five,” he said. to thrive. This baller-turned-grower has Allen rocketed to fame. “I was in the never stopped reaching.

Post almost every week—my mom kept all He may be in demand around the the articles,” he remembered. Voted most world, but Allen immediately responded popular and most athletic in his senior year, when RM came calling. “Anything for Allen does not attribute these superlatives RM,” he said.”As I look back, those were only to basketball. Growing up, his best some of my best years, if not the best years. friends were white neighbors. “I grew up That was a transformative time for me.”

Ninety years out, Ruby Gott Tyler feels the ‘RM magic’

by Rachel Gold Ruby Gott Tyler is hunched over her copy of the 1927 yearbook. She runs her finger down the line of girls in the yearbook club photo, laughing at their identical hemlines—well below the knee, of course.

“There’s Frances Magruder, there’s Miss Hickerson… Where am I?” Her voice trails off as her bright pink fingernail moves to the next row. Finally, it stops. “There I am!” She looks up and laughs. “Isn’t this something… my Rocket.”

Tyler was not holding just any copy of the yearbook. It was, in every sense of the possessive term, hers. As the business manager of the yearbook club at Richard Montgomery, then called Montgomery County High School, Tyler was sitting at the table when it came time to name what would be the school’s first yearbook. The team had five minutes before their book was set to go to press.

In a high voice that has a slight rasp— understandable, after a century of use—but that fills the room, Tyler retold the story.

“We had it all ready to go to the printer and somebody said, ‘We haven’t a name for this book. What are we going to call it?’ So I said, ‘Something with Rockville in it.’ And we couldn’t think of anything that had Rockville. So I said Rock… Rock… and then I came up with Rocket.” Tyler clapped her hands together and laughed, calling the whole affair “an accident.”

It was not a NASA rocket that Tyler had in mind, but a Fourth of July firecracker.“Oh, they were very popular and very powerful,” Tyler said. “The whole street would get together and we’d have supper and then the men would go to the bottom of the yard and start shooting up the firecrackers and we’d sit on the bank. It was great, but they don’t do that anymore.”

Almost ninety years later, the “Rocket” title on the front of Tyler’s yearbook is at the heart of the school’s identity. Now 105 years old and still a proud Rockvillian, Tyler may see herself as the mother of the Rocket book, but she does not seem to realize that she is also the mother of the

Montgomery County High School, as RM was known until 1935, was a place where the school board’s offices were in the same building as the classrooms.

When asked about the superintendent, Tyler replied matter-of-factly, as if she had spoken with him yesterday. “Dr. Broome,”

PHOTO BY RACHEL GOLD

105-year-old Ruby Gott Tyler suggested the “Rocket” title for the RM yearbook in 1927.

Rockets—the athletes, artists, students, and staff who represent this school on the fields, on the stage, in the classroom.

The disconnect makes sense, given that Ruby Estelle Gott was born just after Teddy Roosevelt left the White House, graduated high school before the Depression, and had three daughters with husband Frank Ames Tyler by the outbreak of World War II. When she was five years old, her family had moved from Poolesville, where they had no electricity, to Rockville. Most roads were not paved, and hunting was a popular pastime in the wooded environs.

Still, as Ruby recalled with another smile, the family had “moved uptown.”

she said. “A sweet old fellow. Soft-spoken, a nice man.”

Tyler loved school—especially English class. “I read a lot, an awful lot,” she said. “Most any book that was readable.

Adventure books, love stories....” Tyler paused, trying to recall her favorite book.

Finally, she remembers: Little Women.

The memory was jogged by her daughter, Mary (Mimi) Vitol, with whom Tyler has lived for the past few years. Tyler, who drove until she was 95 years old, was in no rush to leave her house on South Adams Street—where she had lived for 74 years—and still refers to South Adams as “home.” But Vitol, as warm and jovial

as her mother, is able to keep a close eye on Tyler and, more importantly, keep her young. The former requires nearly fulltime supervision, but Tyler seems to make the latter task easy.

Tyler has never missed voting in an election, talks to elected officials when they call for advice, and likes to get her nails done at the salon in Wintergreen Plaza. They are currently a bright shade of pink. Mother and daughter are bridge partners in two different groups, and Vitol reports that her mom is a “great player.”

Tyler said she does not use a walker because “that’s for old people,” and quickly fit an entire pink-glazed donut in her petite frame.

Tyler, who looks forward to what each day will bring, is an exemplar in aging gracefully—a clean bill of health certainly helps—but it is Vitol who makes this grace possible. Vitol and her husband have given much of themselves in bringing Tyler to the center of their lives, but at least from the perspective of a guest, their home is all the brighter and warmer for it.

After a century serving her school, her family, and her community, Tyler is now content to watch the world churn from Vitol’s cozy living room. She has watched opportunities for women expand from “schoolteacher, phone operator, or secretary” to the infinite possibilities of today. “There are so many choices, I don’t know what I would select,” Tyler mused.

While RM has evolved to keep pace with this change, it is clear that the 90 years since her graduation have not eroded Tyler’s attachment to the home of the Rockets. “Take care of my school,” she said. “Give it a pat for me.” In a note she sent after my second visit—she had advised, after all, that thank-you notes are the “best thing you can do”—Tyler said that “RM is magic.” Some things never change.