The Tide - November 2019

20

News 2-3

Opinions 4-6

La Marea 9

Center Spread 10-11

Features 12-14

Arts 16-18

Sports 19-20

Jazz ensemble meets Taiwan

by Christine Zhu FEATURES EDITOR

Between Oct. 12 and 21, members of RM’s Jazz Ensemble visited Yilan, Taiwan to perform in the Yilan International Art Festival. While visiting, they also played outreach performances in schools, parks and traditional Taiwanese markets.

“As part of the sister city relationship Rockville has with Yilan, a delegation from the festival came last May to hear the Jazz Ensemble. Two weeks later, we were invited to participate in a festival where everything except for the flights was covered,” Instrumental Music Director Peter Perry said. “It was an unbelievable opportunity and I was equally astounded and proud that we were the only international high school group invited.”

There was extensive preparation prior to the trip, from both staff and students.

“Financing, accommodations, travel arrangements are all by themselves extensive. Add all the logistics and permissions of

taking students—that is a whole new dimension,” Dr. Perry said. “Therefore, the details of planning, and putting on an international trip with students are quite extensive and usually take about a year to comfortable put together—we did it in two months.”

GRAPHIC BY VALERIE WANG

Over the summer, members of the group performed at the official Rockville-Yilan Sister City Signing Ceremony. In the month and a half leading up to their departure, they worked on a handful of jazz tunes in class as well as four arrangements specifically for the trip: a Taiwanese folk song, a piece they’d be playing with Taiwanese students, and two pieces that they had play with all performers in the festival.

TAIWAN cont. page 12

GRAPHIC BY KISHA YAN

A look at MCPS’ boundary study

What it is, and what it means for MCPS students

by Vismaya Paul Mohindra and Rachel Wang SENIOR NEWS WRITERS

Based on a proposal by former Student Member of the Board (SMOB) Ananya Tadikonda last school year, the MCPS Board of Education awarded WXY Architecture and Urban Design, a New York-based firm, a $475,000 contract to conduct a year-long districtwide analysis of the county’s current school boundary lines. The firm will investigate impacts on school diversity, crowding and socioeconomic

Inside The Tide...

trends. The analysis is the first comprehensive study of school boundaries by MCPS within the last 20 years.

According to WTOP, the districtwide study is currently focused only on analyzing boundaries rather than recommending changes.

However, as reported by the Bethesda Magazine, the decision to carry out his study has generated controversy among county residents, especially since many see it as the first step toward redistricting.

The Board of Education held its first meeting on the initial phase

Opinions, 5

iPhone vs. Google Pixel

of the project on Nov. 18, and a series of public hearings will be held from December to January to further discuss the study.

WXY Architecture will review MCPS and local data on demographics, socioeconomic trends, development and transportation trends and existing school boundaries, according to Bethesda Magazine. WXY then will analyze boundary change practices from other school districts across the U.S. as well similarly-sized school districts facing similar issues as MCPS.

PHOTO BY EMILY CHEN

Contestants have carried donation boxes to raise money for prostate cancer.

RM puts down the razor for November

by Eliana Mazin FEATURES WRITER

BOUNDARY, cont. page 3

No-Shave November is a call to action for students and teachers to devote their appearances to a great cause. This month, 18 men are raising awareness and money for prostate cancer as they carry donation boxes around RM. Camaraderie and competitiveness have flourished as participants strive for the esteemed titles of Longest Beard, Best Styled Beard

Center Spread, 10

Features, 18

Thanksgiving Activities

Student Activism

and Most Money Raised.

The pool of contestants has grown since last year, and each competitor has his own reason for participating. “It’s something I did last year [and] I thought I could do a better job this time around. It’s really just a great cause—we’re raising money to help people with cancer and contribute to the American Cancer Society,” junior Pierre Zeineddin said.

NO SHAVE, cont. page 12

The Online Tide

2

The Tide

NEWS

County looks to implement new school safety measures proposal

by Avery Wang NEWS WRITER

At the beginning of the 20192020 school year, MCPS began to implement its latest plan to increase school security. According to ABC7 News, new safety measures range from an improved check-in system in every school building to interior security cameras on every school bus.

Multiple aspects still have yet to be executed, including measures focused on increasing school bus safety.

According to Bethesda Magazine, the county plans to purchase buses that have already been fitted with seat belts. MCPS spokesman Derek Turner said that the alternative, adding seat belts to existing school buses, would be much more costly.

MCPS school buses are replaced in phases, each bus about every 12 years. According to the MCPS website, roughly 1,300 school buses shuttle 103,000 county students to school every day.

“In high school, it’s basically like the outside world” - Anya Tahi Although bus drivers are trained to avoid accidents, many believe that installing seat belts would be a significant preventative measure.

Alice Morton, parent of three current MCPS students, said, “In some cases, I think students stand in the aisle or walk while the bus is in motion, so [I believe] there are no safety measures currently.”

“I wasn’t aware that seat belts were even available. At one point, [the seat belts] weren’t even built in,” photography teacher Ms. Kim Gould said. “So I feel like they should be wearing them, and if they

have them available, then yes, they should be wearing them.”

While state law would not require all students to wear seat belts once the county purchases the new buses, MCPS policy would require students to wear their seat belts. If they do not, students will be reported to their school administration.

“I honestly wouldn’t have a problem with [wearing a seatbelt], because it’s the same thing you would do when you’re in a car,” freshman Anya Tahi said.

Students expressed that the seat belt rules should b e clear. “I would definitely… have one [rule] or the other,” Tahi said. “[Either] state law says that students wear seatbelts… and the administrator gets told if they’re not wearing it, or they don’t have to wear the seatbelt and they don’t get told on.”

Another safety addition includes increasing security cameras within schools to monitor emergencies, tardiness or suspicious personnel.

According to the MCPS website, the majority of MCPS high schools are already equipped with security cameras. Over the next year, the county plans to install security cameras in all elementary schools as well.

Many students believe that more cameras will increase security. “I do think more cameras… in hallways and around corners would be beneficial to the safety of the students,” freshman Jonathan Haddock said.

“More cameras are nice because, you know, a lot of different things happen at our school, so I think that it will help,” Tahi said.

Staff members have also appreciated the installation

of more cameras in their high schools. “There have definitely been more cameras added over the last two or three years in the building,” Ms. Gould said. “I absolutely think they help with safety.”

Another added safety provision is a renovation of school check-in systems. All schools currently have an Access Control System (ACS),

GRAPHIC BY NICOLE FANG

which allows staff to view visitors before they enter the school. The new planned checkin system scans visitors’ driver’s licenses and is also linked to the National Sex Offender Registry.

“I definitely think our new check-in procedure has increased our safety,” Ms. Gould said. “We’ve had too many doors left open and it’s nice that we have one [way] in and one out.”

Some students also expressed that their academic performance is linked to their feeling of the school’s security level.

“School is supposed to be a second home like away from home,” Haddock said. “It’s supposed to be a place where students can feel safe [and] if you don’t feel safe, then you can’t learn properly.”

Echoing Haddock’s sentiment, Tahi said, “School security is very important because especially in high school, it’s basically like the outside world. Like you need [security] outside, you need it inside of a school.”

November/December

November 2019

NEWS IN BRIEF

RM launches new accessible technology and hotspot program

Providing technology to students in today’s digital age is a major priority for RM’s media specialist, Dr. Michelle Alexander. Dr. Alexander is advertising a nationwide program for RM that would allow students who do not have access to a reliable internet connection or computer at home to borrow a Chromebook and WiFi hotspot for academic purposes. “If the need is there, they get to keep it for all four years of high school,” Dr. Alexander said.

The initiative serves to give disadvantaged students access to the resources and materials that other students can easily get online. “I think it is a phenomenal opportunity, and people should take advantage of it because it is something not many students have,” computer science teacher Dr. Heather Hennis said. “We try to do the most we can to facilitate the learning here at RM, ensuring an equal opportunity to learn and work.”

A University of Michigan study found that providing University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts students with free computers for home and school use improved learning in a number of subjects from science to English.

Many students have a positive outlook on the role technology will continue to play in schools. “It doesn’t waste paper and is a lot easier than writing stuff down. It’s also easier to do collaborative work,” freshman Shubhang Eruventi said.

Some have also voiced the drawbacks of an overreliance on technology. ”It’s definitely true that it can be distracting and lead to off task behavior,” senior Christine Zhou said. “It’s an agreement between the teacher and the student to be on task while using electronics to do work.”

However, many students and teachers made it clear that it is not technology itself that leads to off-task behavior, but the students themselves. “It’s a personal choice. You can be off-task in a variety of other ways too,” Eruventi said.

Technology use throughout MCPS is on the rise. According to the Bethesda Magazine, MCPS has organized a partnership with Verizon to provide free iPads to 3,000 middle school students across the county. The partnership would also provide free internet access to students and technology training for teachers.

TD Bank is also launching a program that would distribute Macbook Pros and Chromebooks to four D.C. area school districts including MCPS.

By Timothy Chu NEWS WRITER

MoCo passes CROWN Act to fight against hair discrimination As of November, Montgomery County has become the first municipality in the country to pass the CROWN Act, which prohibits hairstyle discrimination in employment, housing, taxi service and other public accommodations. A person who is discriminated against can seek a civil penalty of up to $5,000 through the county’s Office of Human Rights.

The bill, entitled “Creating a Respectful World for Open Hair,” or CROWN, was first passed in California and New York in July.

Similar legislation has since been introduced in other states.

Many students, such as sophomore Madeline Lawrence, have expressed their support for the CROWN act.

“If people’s hair...is not hurting anyone, then I don’t think there’s any reason it should have been banned in the first place from any schools,” Lawrence said. “I do support the CROWN act because it’s giving people their rights back to wear their hair how they want to.”

Math teacher Laura Goetz also supports the CROWN Act and believes that hair discrimination certainly exists. “I can imagine that there would be instances where somebody might you know might say, ‘This certain hairstyle means this certain behavior,’” Mrs. Goetz said.

“I am saddened that there needs to be a law to make sure that [discrmination] doesn’t happen, but I am proud of our county for being the one to take the lead on that saying it will not be a problem here,” Mrs. Goetz added.

By Feileen Li NEWS WRITER

November 28

Thanksgiving Gobblin’ till you’re wobblin’!

December 13

RM Idol Do, a deer, a female deer...

December 20

International Night They call me Mr. Worldwide.

December 23

Winter Break Begins Are you getting a lump of coal?

CORRECTIONS

Mr. Monteleone’s name was incorrectly spelled in the Features article, “Mr. Monteleone shares insights into Rocket Time.”

The opening date for the Addams Family play was incorrectly stated in the Arts section.

The RM Quizbowl A Team placed 1st at the JHU Novice Tournament, not 2nd.

AWARDS

Congrats to the Boys Cross Country Team for their 2nd place finish at the 4A West Regional Championships.

Kudos to Model UN members Justin Posner and Abhinav Karthikeyan for winning Honorable Mentions at VAMUN. Hats off to Namya Nanda for being recognized as a finalist for the Maryland Montgomery County Council Member For A Day.

NEWS

The Tide

November 2019

3

Board of Education examines MCPS boundaries BOUNDARY, cont. from front page The firm will also test how potential boundary changes will affect transportation, student demographics and proximity to schools. From the data collected, WXY will publicly present three potential boundary plan options next summer, along with strategies to project and manage over-enrollment, underenrollment and segregation.

The demographic factor of the WXY study in particular has become a point of contention amongst MCPS residents, students and parents. According to Bethesda Magazine, at a public meeting held in April, the study faced widespread opposition from parents who brought up issues with racial equity, detriment to current school communities and long transportation times.

MCPS also received around 1000 public comments about the study, many of which were published by Bethesda Magazine and reflect a similar negative response. “Any proposal to change school boundaries will have a detrimental effect in the community dynamics,” wrote a commenter, whose name was excluded by MCPS for privacy.

“It will affect more than just schools, the housing market will plunge into chaos as a result and

local businesses will suffer. [As a] long time Montgomery county resident (20 years with both kids attended public schools) I for one will move out of the county once this consultant work begins.”

However, student advocates like schoolwide vice president and junior Nick Asante, who helped push for the countywide border analysis along with Tadikonda, believe that the studies will successfully reflect the long-standing issues of unequal

“Study after study has shown that the schools in wealthy communities are getting the most funding.”

- Hana O’Looney educational opportunities.

“When students living five miles away from each other receive educational opportunities of extremely varied quality, then you know there’s something wrong with the system. Parents being appalled and completely against a study whose sole purpose is to study our different

school boundaries is a clear the potential transportation indicator that something is and residential hardships that wrong,” Asante said. come hand-in-hand with the Other student advocates redistricting. “You might be in see the boundary study as one boundary and the school an opportunity to change the might not be too far, but then current school assignments you redraw it and then it that they believe to be becomes really far away. segregated.

I think that that is “It’s been definitely a valid understood concern for a lot for a long of people,” time that senior M C P S A n n ya h and its St. Louis district lines said. is the product T h e of racist housing adoption of policies from the 1950s to the boundary 1960s,” sophomore Uma plans may Fox said. “And we see GRAPHIC also lead to

BY SLAVENA the ramifications of residential and PEYCHINOVA house pricing issues. that policy today in the way our schools are zoned “Schools do impact how people where schools are oftentimes [previously decided] to buy houses not reflective of the diversity and that impacts the housing of this county and do not offer market because a lot of people rate students an equal chance at schools and see how great it is,” opportunities.”

St. Louis said. As a result, many Similarly, SGA student leader people’s houses may lose economic sophomore Hana O’Looney value due to the redrawing of said, “Study after study has school boundaries. shown the benefits of diversity Alongside the WXY countywide in the classroom, and study analysis, MCPS has simultaneously after study has shown that the conducted two smaller boundary schools in wealthy communities studies: one involving the are getting the most funding. Seneca Valley, Northwest and There is absolutely no way to Clarksburg High School clusters; justify this.” another involving Forest Knolls, However, some students Montgomery Knolls and Pine have voiced concerns regarding Crest elementary schools. MCPS

Superintendent Jack R. Smith released his recommendations for these studies in the FY 2021 Capital Budget Plan and the FY 2021-2026 Capital Improvements Program on Oct. 25. Besides Smith’s suggestions, several other boundary change options are also currently being evaluated.

While designing these boundary studies, the Division of Capital Planning followed the Board Policy FAA, Educational Facilities Planning, and evaluated four factors similar to WXY’s: demographics, school utilization, geography and stability of school reassignment over time.

“None of those factors are weighted. We look at all the factors, and we develop options that advance those factors,” MCPS Director of the Division of Capital Planning Adrienne Karamahis said. “Some of the options advance some of the factors better than others, and so we develop a wide variety of options that we believe advance all of the factors in different ways.”

While the Board of Education considers options for its boundary studies, public meetings and testimonies from citizens will continue to occur over the course of the next few months. “I’d love to see more students testify about the importance of diversity in their lives and the importance of improving the diversity of our schools,” Fox said.

Elephant in the room: Young Republicans club disappears

by Sagar Castleman and Gus Carvell NEWS WRITERS

The conservative minority at RM has lost its organized arm this school year with the dissolving of the Young Republicans Club.

Founded two years ago, the club was a student-led organization created by conservative students from the class of 2019. With the graduation of those founding members last spring, the club has not continued into the 2019-2020 school year.

“Last year [the club] was very dominated by those groups of seniors. It was a passion for many of them. Perhaps there wasn’t enough outreach for the underclassmen last year who are sophomores, juniors and seniors this year,” former club sponsor Robert Eagleson said.

“It was a place of dialogue, a place of conversation, a place of discourse.”

- Mr. Eagleson

“It was a place of dialogue, a place of conversation, a place of discourse… [students] were also able to… reach out and kind of network and things like that,” Eagleson continued. “It was how they could kind of—if they wanted to—go down a political or government pathway, to get

would join Young Republicans Club if it were to restart for the school year.

“I suppose I assumed there would be more people who were strongly interested in politics.

And of course, considering the area we’re in, there would be a more strongly liberal environment, but it seems like for the most part, people don’t care, or are fairly moderate,” Midlam said.

Mr. Eagleson stressed that the absence of the club does not mean that there isn’t interest and expressed the hope that students would revive the club to its activity like in past years.

“I do find it disheartening that right now there isn’t a Young Republicans Club,” Mr. Eagleson said. “When I signed on [to sponsor the club] two years ago, I was actually unaware of it.

And I found it kind of refreshing that students wanted to especially bring it in a notably leftGRAPHIC back.” leaning area.

BY KISHA YAN Eagleson hopes that “The most important form of diversity in this school is all but restarting a conservative student vanished, and that is diversity of group will spark discourse thought--we have none of that on both sides of the political here,” sophomore Jay Savukinas spectrum in RM, suggesting said. “I think that what’s most a public debate for the school important about a person is his to see, potentially including values… and the school does remarks from members of the not really promote a diversity of Young Democrats Club.

“I hope whoever does take values.”

However, the RM political over,” Eagleson said, “if it rises landscape does not seem to again from the ashes like a bother all student conservatives. phoenix, pushes for that, because “[RM] definitely hasn’t been a I think in the next 365 days that hostile environment,” freshman can be very worthwhile for this Brent Midlam said, who said he school.” conservative ties.”

Many believe that such opportunities are becoming more and more important due to the strength of the liberal majority among young Americans. At RM alone, there is a Young Democrats club and an RM 4 Gun Control club, both of which lean left.

According to the Pew Research Center, Gen Z is more likely than any other generation to believe that the government should do more to solve problems, and has the lowest approval rating of President Trump. Increasing liberalism also crosses party lines, with Republican Gen Zers being the most supportive of government solutions out of all generations of Republicans.

Despite the changing face of conservatism in RM’s political landscape, many think it is still important to keep c o n s e r va t i ve voices from being stifled,

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARCY FINE

Holocaust survivor Marty Weiss gave a presentation to RM students in 2016.

State bolsters schools’ Holocaust curriculum

by Jake Lee NEWS WRITER

This past October, the Maryland State Legislature debated over new requirements on Holocaust education. While the bill did not pass in the recent General Assembly, it still has the potential to be an important change to the Maryland Curriculum in 2020.

The proposed bill would make specific changes to all 24 counties in Maryland. According to the Maryland State Department of Education, the bill would mandate that middle school students be taught the history of anti-Semitism and high school history classes will have increased Holocaust instruction.

However, some state education officials disagree with the bill on the grounds that the Maryland State Department of Education would have been better suited for mandating these sort of requirements.

Despite this, many students support the change and see the current coverage of Holocaust history as lacking. Junior Sarah Molot, the co-president of the Jewish Student Union, said, “The only time we really went into it, we just barely touched on it during U.S. history where we discussed

World War II. But it was more like ‘that happened,’ not diving into why it happened or how it happened, or what it entailed.”

Students also support the possible change in curricula to teach about the causes and effects of the Holocaust beyond World War II. “I think [Holocaust Education] should be codified into law nationally...there’s no way to learn about a single event without learning why it happened,” Molot said.

However, others feel that established changes to the curriculum have already made progress. “I think that the one that we have now adequately covers [the Holocaust]. We had a revised curriculum starting last school year, in the 2018-19 school year, that changed it a little bit, and I think that it better covered the Holocaust than that of previous years’ curriculums,” social studies teacher Christopher Hinsvark said Besides the modified Holocaust coverage, the bill also requires history classes to cover other neglected areas in history.

“There’s a whole third Marking Period Common Writing Task, which is a county-required assessment, and that actually covers different genocides, ” Mr. Hinsvark said.

4 The Tide

November 2019

OPINIONS

College not for everyone­, and that’s OK

by Nicole Fang

SENIOR OPINIONS WRITER

It is that time of year where high school seniors, counselors, and parents hustle through test dates and college application deadlines. However, as the cost of tuition rises and the national student loan debt crisis continues to make headlines, students wonder whether college is worth it. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, attending college can cost about $26,000 per year. Families must weigh the cost against the likelihood of a better salary and the opportunities college can provide.

Despite rising tuition and opportunity costs, most students maintain stance that college remains financially worth it as it will help them in the job market.

“Going to college is definitely important because it sets you up to have an easy life with a degree and career path that you know you can support yourself

with,” senior Claire Gebhart said. According to research by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the average college graduate earns over $30,000 more than an average worker with only a high school diploma.

It is important to recognize, however, that college is not for everyone. “Even though many high-achieving students are determined to make it into Ivy Leagues and high-tier universities for their future, we should all realize that in reality, many of the most successful people come from state universities or are college dropouts, like Mark Zuckerburg,” senior Corinne Foley said. Even though going to a four-year college is a popular and valuable tool in setting a path for one’s future, it is not the lone determinant for a prosperous life.

Although many do not hold community colleges in high esteem, two-year programs like Montgomery College offer opportunities similar to their prestigious counterparts. “There is too much emphasis on the

PHOTO BY SLAVENA PEYCHINOVA

Student examines the different post-high school college options posted.

name of a school and not enough on the programs they offer and how they can help you become the best for whatever career you’re looking for,” RM’s Career Information Coordinator Ms. Hull said. Community colleges serve a good purpose for students who are undecided or unable to afford to pay for four-year university—with higher than a 3.2 GPA and a good SAT score, a student could qualify

Embrace Netflix: Streaming services improve our lives

by Katie Yuan OPINIONS WRITER

In a fast-paced and modern world, convenience is most essential. Our hectic daily schedules crammed with activities simply do not offer us enough time to binge-watch our favorite movies or shows, much less watch them in theater. As a result, it is the accessibility and ease at which we can enjoy shows anywhere at anytime that make streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and the recent Disney+, such a huge presence in our lives. Despite much controversy about these streaming service’s dominance on the film industry, the benefits these services hold definitely outweigh the costs.

The most important characteristics of any successful item on the market today are convenience and accessibility.

Streaming services are a prime example of this. Whether you are in the car, waiting for someone or are just in the mood for another episode, the latest movies and shows are just a few clicks away.

“More people can view the films and become inspired.”

- William Mason Junior Joanna Ge said, “People don’t have to go to the movie theater or go out and buy a DVD, making it a very attractive option.” Furthermore, streaming movies online costs less than the amount you would pay watching the same number of movies at the theater. Junior Annika Meng said, “With Netflix, just a subscription of $9 to $16 a month yields an

enormous selection of things that users can watch in the comfort of their own homes.”

While some may argue that streaming services are detrimental to the traditional cinema industry, there will always be people who are willing to watch movies in theaters despite the expansion of streaming services. In fact, newly released and well-produced movies that are considered to be worth watching in theaters, like Avengers Endgame which racked up a record-shattering $2.176 billion worldwide, will always succeed.

for Montgomery Scholars and earn a full scholarship.

Headlining college dropouts, like Mark Zuckerberg and Richard Branson, have shown how people without a degree can also make an impact on this world. While many Ivy League graduates today have massive student loans that prevent them from starting their own endeavors, innovative college

dropouts have found incredible success in launching start-ups.

However, this is not to say that all college dropouts are guaranteed success.

Entrepreneurs like Zuckerberg and Branson had really specific goals and plans to achieve them.

“If you drop out of school, without goals or a plan, that’s a formula for disaster because you should not be allowed to be able to sit on your parents’ couch and play video games all day,” Ms. Hull said.

Decisions of whether to go to college is different for everyone.

“Going to college in the first place is absolutely worth it, but the teaching profession is so saturated with qualified people that it doesn’t matter so much where you go—you’ll get a good education either way,” senior Thalia Peters said.

With every individual in their own unique situation, as long as students work hard and construct a thought-out plan, nothing can stop them from procuring a bright future.

Cartoon Corner “Give Thanksgiving a chance to shine!”

inclusive, more people can view the films and become inspired.”

Critics might argue that as streaming services become more popular, some of our favorite shows are being dispersed among varied services. But, competition provides many benefits. Though this may cause streaming services to stop offering certain movies, it also induces the creation of new ones. For example, Netflix has invested $15 billion into its Netflix Originals, self-produced movies and series. With competition, better quality content will be produced for our enjoyment.

GRAPHIC BY ANGELINA GUHL

The Tide

250 Richard Montgomery Drive Rockville, Maryland 20852 www.thermtide.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.

600 copies of the newspaper are printed and distributed among students.

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

PHOTO BY MATTHEW WONG

A student scrolls through movies offered on the Netflix streaming service

In addition, online streaming services offer a diverse collection of shows and movies, allowing people of all ages to enjoy. There will always be something for the little kid who watches cartoons or the teenager who loves horror, and even the grandma who enjoys watching nature documentaries.

The large variety of genres and topics allow people to explore and try new things.

Moreover, the variety of shows offered even promotes diversity in the audience. Junior William Mason says, “ It is good in my opinion because if the film services make films more

These platforms set the stage for aspiring actors. As more streaming platform film their own shows, lesser known actors get the spotlight. English and film teacher Mr. Arenas said, “It’s going to give people we have never heard of an opportunity to present themselves on a world stage.”

Industries that do not evolve will get left behind. As streaming becomes more popular than watching in theaters, the expansion of streaming services is inevitable.

So the next time you decide to watch a movie, consider streaming from the comfort of your own home.

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 CSPA and NSPA. Questions, concerns, and suggestions on articles, advertisements, and photos can be submitted to thetideeditors@gmail.com.

Editors-in-Chief....................................................Emily Chen, Helen Qian, Shevani Tewari News......................................................................................................................Faith Cheung Opinions................................................................................................Ashley Ye, Emily Zhao La Marea.......................................................................................Amanda Rodriguez-Michel Center Spread............................................................................Daniel Chen, Brooke Hilliard Features.......................................................................................Victoria Tong, Christine Zhu Arts........................................................................................................Mary Ma, Clare Zhang Sports..........................................................................................Kyra Wisneski, Eileen Zhang TidePod................................................................................................................Grace Burwell Photo.................................................................................................Irene Kim, Joyce Milandu Graphics.............................................................................................Valerie Wang, Kisha Yan Business.......................................................................................................................Jennifer Li Digital Media....................................................................................................Lanz Fernandez Design........................................................................................................................Angela Mu

OPINIONS

The Tide

November 2019

5

Black & Gold

Is the iPhone 11 or the Pixel 4 better? Or neither?

G

iPhone 11 is the better phone Pixel 4 beats all opponents

by Eric Yi OPINIONS WRITER

From streaming Black Mirror to ordering pick-up from Panera, a smartphone is a versatile part of your life.

Due to its enhanced capabilities, the new iPhone 11 provides the best experience.

The iPhone 11 has incredible specifications. Powered by the latest A13 bionic chip, the new iPhone works faster with a battery life far surpassing its rival, the Google Pixel 4. This combination naturally lends itself to smoother and longer-lasting gaming and video-streaming experiences.

Students would no longer need to worry about their phone battery dying in class.

The new iPhone has an undeniably spectacular camera quality. Referring to her iPhone 11, senior Joy Wang said, “I used to think the 2-camera design was a little strange, but I can’t really argue with the quality of the pictures.”

To take photos in the dark, the iPhone 11 boasts a new night mode. With ultrawide lenses, next-generation Smart HDR and the new QuickTake feature, the new iPhone allows for stunning landscape photos and clearer videos. These upgrades are perfect for aspiring photographers and those who want high resolution photos or videos for social media.

Additionally, several users have praised the new iPhone for its sleek design.

“My favorite thing about it would have to be the colors,” Wang said. “I personally have the purple iPhone, which I think is gorgeous, but I also think the green and yellow colors are really unique and pretty.”

With all of its benefits, the iPhone 11 is $100 cheaper than a Google Pixel 4 at $699.

The iPhone 11 also provides consumers with a 256 GB model––which is still cheaper than the Pixel with 128 GB. Furthermore, Apple has a convenient

B

Black

trade-in program to reduce the iPhone 11’s price, making it more affordable for all iPhone owners.

Having an iPhone also gives access to iMessage group chats and a plethora of apps only available on the App Store, like Apollo, Enlight and Co-Star.

PHOTO BY EMILY ZHAO

An iPhone 11 owner shows off their phone

Reviews also show some problems with the new Pixel that the iPhone does not have.

For example, while the new Pixel supports a unique radar sensor, reviews suggest that this feature is not particularly reliable and can even compromise your privacy.

According to Forbes, there have been several security concerns over the FaceID feature of the Pixel, which recognizes users and unlocks the phone even when the owner is sleeping and their eyes are closed.

Strangely, Google also chose to remove unlimited Google Photos backup on their new phone, which was a major selling point of their previous models. On the other hand, the iPhone 11 now supports larger storage sizes, giving avid photo-takers an option for more storage for photos and videos.

“Generally, regarding the two phones, I would have to agree that the iPhone is better, simply because of the great iOS system and the popularity of the Apple brand,” Wang said. While still imperfect, compared to the Pixel 4, the latest iPhone models offer a higher quality camera, longer battery life, and more aesthetic design for both photo enthusiasts and casual student users alike.

by Brennan Rose OPINIONS WRITER

The smartphone marketplace is undeniably oversaturated, with dozens of companies fighting to attract and maintain consumers. Google is relatively new to the smartphone industry with the first Pixel released 2016, but it already rivals the industry giant, Apple. Each company recently released a new flagship phone, the Pixel 4 and iPhone 11 respectively, but the Pixel 4 is definitely superior.

Though both smartphones have two cameras, the telephoto lens on the Pixel 4 creates higher-quality close-up shots, which are extremely versatile. Despite the iPhone possessing a variety of software features such as Smart HDR and Portrait Lighting, these features are available on older-generation iPhones after the new iOS 13 update. Because of this, there’s no reason to get the new phone if the current one has the exact same features.

The Pixel 4 on the other hand, has software that is unique to this phone such as Super Resolution Zoom with 8x zoom and Night Sight, called the astrophotography mode of the camera. These features make the phone a better upgrade than the iPhone.

Their operating systems are completely unique. In the smartphone market, it is iOS versus Android. iOS is Apple’s software that they continuously work with and improve on, but it is notoriously difficult for a user to tailor to their preferences.

One of the main factors that people really love about Android is that the system is customizable. You can change the look, feel, homescreens and overall function of your phone from the default Play Store. iOS is very fixed; while you can customize it through a process known as “jailbreaking” the phone, it is much more difficult and limited in regards to personalizations and preferences.

Apple’s iPhone is another tired iteration of Apple’s attempts to try to keep up in this crowded smartphone space with no true or original innovations. Apple copies many features from Android, such as Smart HDR being very similar to Google’s HDR Plus features last year, as well as iOS 13 adding night mode when Android had dark mode far before Apple added it.

In fact, the reason why people buy Apple and believe that it is better than

Gold Android phones is simple: the bandwagon effect. They never think about any Android phones or even consider that Google actually knows how to make a smartphone. iPhones are very prevalent in the U.S. smartphone market, so people always believe that its popularity means that it is higher quality. However, this is absolutely not the case. Apple has become a success story not based on how innovative they are, but due to how millions mindlessly follow them.

PHOTO BY LYNNA DENG

A person displays their new Google Pixel 4

The Google Pixel 4 has everything a smartphone should have and even more.

Senior Daffa Villandiar said, “Androids have really good cameras and they also have good software, so I’d rather go with that because that’s the best of both worlds.”

The Pixel 4 gives users a great phone with all the specs you would expect from a flagship phone that beats Apple to the punch. Apple is out of original ideas and all they do is copy, while Google provides a phone that one would expect in today’s society.

Neither of these overpriced phones are worth your money

by Athira Nair SENIOR OPINIONS WRITER

It is the age of pictures. Whether you are sharing a piece of your life on social media or memorializing a beloved relative, photos are essential. More and more people are ditching big clunky cameras for big clunky phones. They are bigger, bolder, but not really better. The iPhone 11 was recently released, with the Google Pixel 4 soon following. And the only thing that differentiates them from older models is the photo quality and the price tag.

The most obvious specification that both phones boast is the improved photo quality. Apple’s iPhone 11 has dual camera, brighter true tone flash, portrait mode with depth control, next-generation smart HDR, third-generation neural engine, and the list goes on. But the iPhone XR has all of these features just without the adjectives, and for a much cheaper price.

Senior Neal Machado said, “I don’t think there are any key differences. It’s really an incremental upgrade it’s not a huge design difference.” Compared to the iPhone X, the iPhone 11 does not have

any sort of new revolutionary technology. storage. And once again, the only major It could be argued that upgrading to an difference is photo quality, as the Pixel 4 iPhone 11 is worthwhile if someone owns boasts a dual camera. In fact, it actually a lower model such as the iPhone 7 or may be a loss for some people to buy 8. But even then, unless the the new Pixel. Machado said, photo features are absolutely “I don’t think that the Pixel essential, an iPhone XR 4 is worth the money would be a better option for because it doesn’t have an upgrade. Sophomore Una the best battery life, the Mekic, owner of an iPhone cameras are ok, it doesn’t 11, said “I mean, considering have expandable storage, it the cost there aren’t really any doesn’t have a headphone advantages having an iPhone jack, and it doesn’t come 11. My [iPhone] 8 Plus was with an adapter.” This may broken; otherwise, I wouldn’t be okay for some, but there have gotten it.” There is almost were quite a few people who a $100 price difference between were outraged when Apple the XR and the 11 and a $400 took away its headphone jacks. price difference between the The only reason the iPhone 11 Pro and XR, which is quite a 11 and Pixel 4 are so popular is sum of money for phones that are because of the hype and social virtually the same. status that surrounds both The Pixel has the same story. phones. Sophomore Megan Block The Pixel 4 only has slightly more said, “It’s just like, here’s the new GRAPHIC BY MATTHEW phone buy it, be cool that improved features than ADJODHA the 3, with an even wider you have the current one. price difference than Apple. The Pixel 4 It’s more like status, it’s not that the phone is currently at $800 while the Pixel 3 is changes.” This philosophy holds with priced at $500 to $600 depending on the almost every new generation of a product

when it is released. Companies overhype their product with cool advertisements and flashy release promotions so that it catches a person’s eye.

The only people who will really recognize and appreciate the newer models are technology and photo enthusiasts. The Pixel 4 has a refresh rate of 90Hz instead of 60Hz which allows for faster load time and smooth scrolling, but an average user honestly will not be able to tell the difference. So for the average consumer, these phones are overrated. There will not be a noticeable difference and the only wow factor is photo quality. If you are using a phone to get the perfect shot then maybe it is time to invest in an actual camera.

Truth be told, no one is looking for a highresolution picture for Snapchat.

In the end, it is best to do some research on the perfect phone because everyone has different needs and requirements.

Listening to overhyped reviews may lead to a major loss of money for an overrated product. Though the iPhone 11 and Pixel 4 are both amazing phones in their own right, they are not life-changing pieces of machinery. After all, they really just take up pocket space.

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OPINIONS

The Tide

November 2019

Trump’s climate change policy Letters to fuels the wildfires of California the Editor

by The Tide Editorial Board Six thousand fires per year.

Two hundred acres burnt per year.

Over the past century, California has warmed by approximately 3 degrees Fahrenheit, triple the global average. This increase in temperature dehydrates plants and soil, leaving the trees, shrubs, and rolling grasslands of the state dry and primed to burn. As a result, wildfires have been a common occurrence in California in recent years.

This year is no exception. The current fire season is projected to end in December, yet there have already been over 6,402 fires recorded, with 250,349 acres of land burnt. These fires have resulted in widespread destruction of buildings and power grids and deaths, as well as horrific fatalities across the state.

“Watching the news and seeing live pictures of California’s state right now is just so devastating that we have to do something to save ourselves,” sophomore Monica Escalante said.

Although wildfires are a natural part of California’s ecosystem and autumn is the traditional high-risk season for fires to break out, forests have become more fire prone and the wildfire season has lengthened by several months. With sea levels rising and diseases spreading, the California wildfires are only another symptom of increasingly apparent climate change. Yet President Donald Trump refuses to see the overarching connection to climate change, much less have enough knowledge about the environment to give informed advice or action to combat the growing calamity.

Trump’s blatant ignorance can be seen in his numerous comments on California’s wildfire crisis. On

Nov. 3, he tweeted, “The Governor of California, @GavinNewsom, has done a terrible job of forest management.” He also suggested that the governor open up water lanes to combat the wildfire: “California desperately needs water, and you can have it now!”

Not only is his comment unnecessarily inflammatory, but his comments are also simply incorrect. First of all, most of the fires are burning in the shrubs or grasslands, not forests. Even if forests were the issue, the California state government owns a mere 3 percent of its state forest lands, demonstrating the president’s misunderstanding of the whole situation.

Trump also claimed that California has the most severe wildfires, citing it as a reason that the state government is not fighting the fires effectively.

However, Fortune Magazine f o u n d t h a t Alaska

lost almost ten times the amount of land in the past year; the reason it is not as highly publicized is because it is not nearly as populated, and therefore as dangerous, as California. By perpetuating false information, Trump reveals that he is more concerned with antagonizing others rather than actually fighting climate change.

This sentiment is best represented in California Governor Gavin Newsom’s response to Trump’s tweets: “You don’t believe in climate change. You are excused from this conversation.”

Trump’s disbelief in climate change dangerously exacerbates t h e issue. It can be seen in his track record against environmental policies: in 2017, he announced that he would be withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement, a global fight

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS GRAPHIC BY VALERIE WANG

against climate change, mocked the established science of humancaused warming as a hoax, and directed the Environmental Protection Agency to roll back nearly every federal policy designed to curb the heattrapping fossil-fuel pollution that is one of the major causes of global warming. Now, he’s threatening to cut federal funds for the fight against California wildfires.

Trump has many steps he needs to take to resolve this issue. He must begin listening to environmentalists and experts on this topic, and then factor in their opinions when determining the next course of action to combat the wildfires. “If you want to know who is right, ask the scientists,” Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson said in an interview with CBS L.A. So far, scientists and fire officials agree that climate change—the strong winds and dried out shrubs produced by a changing environment—are the real culprits of these devastating wildfires. When talking about climate change in relation to the fires, meteorologist Brian Garcia said, “I don’t necessarily like to call it ‘the new normal,’ because the new normal implies we’ve hit an equilibrium of some kind and we haven’t.” He continues,“We’re going to continue to warm and continue to see the impacts of this changing climate.”

As a result, the most important course of action would be for Trump to recognize that climate change exists. In terms of the California wildfires, a belief in climate change can continue federal funding to fight the fires and save the lives of thousands of people in California. The wildfires will not go away on their own.

Only with dedicated efforts—and a belief in climate change—will the fires be extinguished.

Protests should not encroach on daily life

by Brent Midlam OPINIONS WRITER

Protesters in Hong Kong have been challenging the totalitarian status quo for weeks now, blocking the streets and challenging the Chinese authority in a game of cat and mouse. Closer to home, DC protesters regularly block main roads, advocating for stricter regulations on various issues. In both of these situations, the protests disrupt the daily lives of citizens who would not be involved otherwise.

Public protests are an outgrowth of the democratic process, and they give citizens a

GRAPHIC BY CATHERINE JOE

magnified voice in the social and political structures in which they live. However, encroaching on the business of others is unacceptable.

While these protests may be wellintentioned, they should involve only the protesters and the group whom they are protesting.

Banning protests that block public activity acts as a deterrent and a punishment. Blocking busy roads, especially during rush hour, affects thousands of people. Any given person on the road could be rushing to the emergency room or an urgent appointment. Many people are just driving to their jobs, and to an average citizen, being late to work can make a significant difference.

In emergency situations, a road block could prevent somebody from reaching a hospital or a police officer from arriving promptly at a crime scene. As a result, authorities must step in and protect public order. One man or woman who is just trying to get to work or an urgent appointment should not be the victim of another person’s activism.

Civil disobedience is sometimes an effective tactic.

Eleanor Clemans-Cope, sophomore and co-founder of MoCo on Climate explained “A

rising tactic right now in the climate movement is Extinction Rebellion, which is doing a shutdown of cities. [Protesters] will gather in the streets… They will stand in solidarity and basically shut down business as usual so that people in DC absolutely cannot ignore them.”

“They will stand in solidarity and basically shut down business as usual.”

- Eleanor Clemans-Cope But this does not mean that we should make city shutdowns legal. While civil disobedience demonstrates that people are willing to make sacrifices for a movement and helps boost the movement’s credibility, ordinary residents may grow to resent the movement due to its disturbances.

There are plenty of ways to protest systems and create political and social change without inconveniencing ordinary citizens. Boycotts can at least send

a message to corporations, and political concerns are addressed most effectively at the ballot box. Ultimately, you can simply secure a permit beforehand, or protest on the weekend. But even if protesters do choose civil disobedience, the illegality contributes to the efficacy of the protest.

This measure sets a reasonable standard for protesters to follow. Some may still choose disruptive civil disobedience, but they must weigh their options and recognize the damage they may cause. Laws will not only act as a deterrent but also as a gauge for how dedicated the activists are to their cause. In the case of a human rights abuse or immediate problem, activists will have to be willing to break the law to effect change, instead of shutting down a city for a petty reason.

Peaceful protests are a crucial part of any healthy democracy, but so is law and order. Not only do legal measures discourage disruption of daily life, but they solidify the importance of the protest. We may not be able to prevent civil disobedience, but we can mitigate the damage it can cause.

Dear Editor, The article titled, “Moco’s Ride On Flex Program creates new transport options” should get an update and interview with someone who actually uses it to describe how it works and the difference between a regular Ride On and the Ride On Flex. I sometimes ride the Ride On bus home, and I am open to new transportation options, so it’d be great to get more information from fellow RM students.

Sui Sung Sophomore Dear Editor, I agree with the Pro-Ice Protest article about division between people of different races. In the United States, there are so many people that don’t like immigrants and think they are all criminals.

This is not the case; many people come to the United States to get a better future. Many Americans don’t see the effort immigrants put in and continue to judge them using unfair stereotypes. Yes, there are always bad people in a group, but why judge them based on their worst? The reason for the division is because people aren’t open-minded to the thought of new people in the United States or realize all the effort immigrants put in to leave everything they know behind. I believe that this divide is a major problem in the world.

Jessica Del Carmen Villatoro Sophomore Dear Editor, I agree with the article “Computer science classes offer ample opportunity for students,” though not completely. Computer Science is a leading field that many students do not have exposure to. While it’s true that RM needs to make its computer science courses more attractive, it’d be more effective if more computer science classes were introduced to students who aren’t in the IB program. They may want to have a deeper understanding of computer science, but they don’t have access to classes like IB Computer Science. In order to address the problem of RM not having enough teachers to cover more computer science classes, leave the fundamental classes like AP Computer Science Principles to teachers who have a more basic knowledge of computer science.

The teachers who know advanced computer science could handle the advanced classes.

Aina Atienza Sophomore Interested in contributing your opinion on topics randing from lighthearted satire to international political concerns?

Scan the QR code below or email your response at tide.opinions@ gmail.com!

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La Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica moderniza por Gianluca Umana ESCRITOR DE NOTICIAS

Este mes, uno de los clubs más populares de Richard Montgomery ha regresado, ¡y esta vez con más actividades que nunca! La Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica celebró su primera reunión del año en el 2 de noviembre, presentando una reforma completa del club del año pasado. Algunos de sus objetivos incluyen nuevas oportunidades de tutoría, presentaciones culturales, y juegos en los que los miembros pueden competir.

Como una de las varias sociedades de honor en Richard Montgomery, La Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica es la única dedicada al aprendimiento y la tutoría de español. La sociedad ha pasado muchos años dando a los estudiantes la oportunidad de explorar el idioma de español a través del club.

Desde tutorías gratuitas durante el almuerzo hasta presentaciones en español sobre la cultura latina, los miembros de la sociedad siempre han sido entusiasmados y apasionados

por motivar a los estudiantes en adoptar el idioma español.

Este año, bajo la dirección del Sr. Colchao y la Srta. Carter, el club ha tomado un nuevo enfoque y está comenzando a buscar nuevas iniciativas, que incluyen mejorar la tutoría y las actividades del club. “[Algunas metas incluyen] el desarrollo de

“Estoy super alegre de ser parte de la sociedad.”

- Sr. Colchao

este programa competitivo de estudiantes de español, entonces con los juegos y cosas así,” dice Sr. Colchao.

“También queremos establecer firmemente la tutoría que en la escuela para que los miembros puedan usar el lenguaje, enseñar a los estudiantes en niveles más bajos. Porque yo como maestro en total, en todos aspectos, yo creo que dominas un tema o un estudio cuando lo puedes enseñar.”

Muchas de estas decisiones provienen de los comentarios de miembros de la sociedad el año pasado, quienes fueron desilusionados por el club. El Sr. Colchao nos dijo, “En la primera reunión, preguntamos los estudiantes que hicieron en el año pasado y básicamente dijeron que se conocieron uno o dos veces e hicieron presentaciones sobre no se que,” dice Sr. Colchao. Este año, el Sr. Colchao planea que la sociedad se reúna más y haga más que sólo presentaciones.

Uno de los cambios más interesantes que se añadirá al club este año es la inclusión de juegos y competiciones. “Vamos a comenzar con hacer algunos juegos porque, ¿sabes cómo la escuela tiene competiciones por matemáticas y ciencia y cosas así?” exclamó el Sr. Colchao.

“Ahorita están desarrollando programas para que lenguaje también pueda tener un tipo de competición así, y juegos son unas partes de eso.”

Algunas sociedades como la Sociedad de Honor de

Maestra Destacada: La Sra. Van Duzer inspira a todos

GRÁFICO POR KISHA YAN

Matemáticas, por ejemplo, tienen competiciones anuales en la forma de las pruebas que pueden adjudicar a los estudiantes con las becas. Una competición o juego similar en la Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica sería muy gratificante para los estudiantes.

Aunque todavía no hay nada definitivo, una idea es tener fiestas que celebren un determinado país con comida y música popular de

RM Recomenda: Música y Películas

por Amanda Baranick

por Amanda Rodriguez-Michel

ESCRITORA DE NOTICIAS

ESCRITORA DE NOTICIAS

Quienes hemos tenido la suerte de tener a la Sra. Van Duzer de maestra no solamente sabe sobre las técnicas del idioma español, sino también sobre la riqueza cultural del mundo hispano.

Como ha enseñado cientos de estudiantes, la Sra. Van Duzer es una maestra con tanto experiencia como entusiasmo. Sin duda alguna, la Sra. Van Duzer es una de esas profesoras que por su preparación, dedicación y carisma mantiene el interés de los alumnos en continuar mejorando sus habilidades en español.

La Sra. Van Duzer demostró un gran interés de ser maestra desde que era una niña cuando jugaba a enseñarle a sus muñecas.

Ella ha impartido clases por 34 años, y ha trabajado en Richard Montgomery como profesora de español los últimos cuatro años.

“Quería compartir eso con estudiantes.”

- Sra. Van Duzer

La Sra. Van Duzer específicamente quiso ser maestra de español gracias a su interés en el lenguaje, me comentó que, “mi mamá era de Argentina y por eso siempre quería aprender a hablar español y después quería compartir eso con estudiantes.”

Sin duda, su pasión por el español es profundo. Además, no sólo está interesada en aprender el idioma, también ha puesto un

FOTO POR PERSONA X

FOTO CORTESÍA DE EMNET KAHSAY

La Sra . Van Duzer (a la izquierda) se vistió como Salvador Dalí para el mes de herencia hispanica y celebro con sus estudiantes durante la clase.

gran esfuerzo en aprender sobre la cultura hispana.

Ha tomado varios viajes a España con becas de la embajada, y también en viajes escolares, en donde su conocimiento del idioma, la cultura y la gente creció. Hoy en día, la Sra. Van Duzer continúa teniendo el amor de ser maestra que tuvo desde su infancia. Le importa mucho que a sus alumnos les vaya bien en sus clases, y quiere motivarlos a siempre estar mejorando.

Según me comentó, ella ama trabajar con gente joven, construir relaciones con sus estudiantes, y motivarlos a estudiar otros idiomas y otras culturas.

Además, ella espera continuar creciendo como maestra y espera mejorar sus lecciones.

Con respecto a su vida personal, la Sra.Van Duzer me comentó que está felizmente casada y hace cuatro años logró convertirse en madre, cuando adoptó a su hija de

Colombia. Además, en su tiempo libre, le gusta “hacer crucigramas, caminar a [sus] perros, y pasar tiempo con familia.” Ella describe esta etapa como una “experiencia preciosa y muy especial en [su] vida.” Es evidente que la Sra. Van Duzer es muy querida y tiene un corazón muy grande.

La Sra. Van Duzer es una profesora muy dedicada y cariñosa que ha podido ayudar a sus estudiantes a aprender el español, y sobre las culturas hispanas.

La alegría y el entusiasmo que ella trae a su clase todos los días motivan a sus estudiantes a tener el interés de prestar atención y aprender. Su esfuerzo y pasión por lo que está haciendo es tan evidente: desde su sonrisa inquebrantable hasta su genuina empatía por los estudiantes, la Sra. Van Duzer hace una gran diferencia en la vida de los estudiantes en RM.

ese país. Otros también sugirieron una excursión.

A d e m á s , la sociedad ha introducido elecciones para puestos de liderazgo, algo que no ocurrieron el año pasado. Los miembros de la sociedad han elegido a una presidenta, vicepresidenta, y secretaria que dirigirán el club. “Básicamente ahora nosotros ya hicimos nuestra parte del club entonces ahora está más en las manos de ellas,” dice el Sr. Colchao. “Ellas van a ser las personas que nos organizan, deciden de qué se va a tratar la reunión, y cosas así.”

Desde entonces, han establecido un día específico para la tutoría: después de la escuela los martes, y esperan aumentar otras iniciativas para el club.

Este año seguramente mostrará un gran cambio en la Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica, y se alienta a juniors y seniors a participar en el club. “Estoy super alegre de ser parte de la sociedad de este año y para los años que vienen,” dice el Sr. Colchao.

Es ese epoca del ano cuando preferimos quedarnos en casa y esconder debajo de las cobijas. Si ya has visto todas las películas en tu lista de netflix, pero todavía no quieres atreverte a levantarte y hacer la tarea, no preocupes, porque aquí hemos compilado una lista de nuestros favoritos programas. Entonces disfruta, toma un PSL o un chocolate caliente, y quédate en la cama.

1) El Ciudadano Ilustre: Se trata de un ganador del premio Nobel que regresa a su país de origen, Argentina, después de algunos giros.

2) Perdiendo Norte: Una comedia sobre dos mujeres españoles que se mudan a Berlín para buscar trabajo profesional.

Revela el cambio cultural en una manera divertida.

3) Roma: Una de las películas más populares este año, Roma se trate de una familia que enfrenta a la adversidad en méxico en 1970.

4) Durante la tormenta: Un thriller que cambia entre el presente y el futuro, donde una mujer trata de salvar la vida de un hombre.

5) Soltera Codiciada: Una comedia sobre una mujer peruana que acaba de salir de una separación. Ella comienza un blog al respecto y recibe algunas respuestas interesantes.

6) El Hijo: Basado en una novela del escritor argentino Guillermo Martínez, un pintor se vuelve cada vez más paranoico ya que teme que su esposa esté tratando de quitarle a su hijo. ¡Esperamos que disfrutes de nuestras recomendaciones! ¿Cuál es tu favorito?

Si necesita algo de música nueva, o simplemente quiere evitar las inevitables canciones navideñas que se reproducirá en la radio en el corto plazo, hemos compilado una lista de algunas canciones que creemos que vale la pena escuchar.

1) Tusa por Nicki Minaj: Una canción sobre superar a tu ex.

Canta sobre el contraste entre extrañarlo y no pensar más sobre él.

2) Que Tire Pa Lante por Daddy Yankee: Una canción de rap estilo libre sobre un chico que felicita a una chica por sus movimientos de baile y quiere ver más de sus movimientos de baile 3) Que Pena por J. Balvin: Una combinación de música de baile caribeña, EDM y tango sobre tratar de recordar el nombre de una mujer a quien conocieron.

La esperada colaboración entre Maluma y J Balvin.

4) Fantasías por Rauw Alejandro: Una canción sobre el amor y tratar de ganarse el afecto de una mujer.

5) Te Quemaste por Manuel Turizo: Una canción apasionada sobre cómo una chica infiel que engañó a un hombre merecía ser abandonada, a la que se refiere como quemada.

6) 11 pm por Maluma: Otra canción sobre el amor del famoso Maluma sobre cómo una novia debería dejar de volver con su ex y quedarse con su novio actual porque se ve mejor con él.

7) China por Anuel AA: Una colaboración entre Anuel AA, Daddy Yankee, Ozuna, J Balvin y Karol G sobre siendo infiel en una relación cuando conocen a alguien en el club.

Queremos saber: ¿qué canción de la lista es tu favorita? Envíenos un correo electrónico: thetide. lamarea.editors@gmail.com

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The Tide

November 2019

Lexy Silverstein, senior South Moon Under What are some of the unique sales for South Moon Under?

“There’s an extra 40 percent off all sales in store and online, and when you buy more, you save more. Especially for Black Friday, you see sales for the entire store, and individual sales for certain items and certain brands. I know at South Moon Under, specifically, we provide loads of different brands in our store — it’s not just a South Moon Under branded store.”

Are there any Black Friday sales that we should know about?

“I know that the majority of stores know that Black Friday is such a big deal, and almost every store will have one of their biggest sales on Black Friday. At South Moon, we do 40% off; at Urban Outfitters, they do individual items.”

What are the brands that are relatively cheaper but still high quality?

“I always buy UGG boots on Black Friday. They’re really, really, really expensive, but they take a lot off on Black Friday.

And you’ll find so many sales at Best Buy and Target for electronics. It’s a really good time to buy electronics too, because those are so expensive, and they’re on sale. And cars. If you’re looking for cars, they’re always on sale on Black Friday.”

Photo courtesy of Lexy Silverstein

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Along with Thanksgiving comes lots of fall arts and crafts! Here are the instructions for making some holiday-themed crafts.

How to make a hand turkey: 1) Get a brown piece of paper.

2) Trace your hand on the paper.

3) Draw a dot for the eye on the thumb .

4) Draw a gizzard and a beak on the bottom of the thumb.

5) Draw the feathers on your fingers.

6) Shade it in with some festive colors!

On the topic of insanity, “National Lampoon's Thanksgiving Family Reunion” offers a new meaning to the phrase “my family is crazy”. Upon learning of the existence of his estranged relatives living in Idaho, Mitch Snider (Judge Renold) decides that he and his family will go spend Thanksgiving with his new, freespirited family. Things soon go from bad to worse as the different ideals of the family begin to clash in hilarious hijinx. The movie provides the classic feelings of stress and levity that comes when the entire family comes together.

“A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” (1973)

How to create a Tree of Thanks: 1) Gather different colors of construction paper (make sure you have a brown piece!).

2) Using the brown, draw and then cut out a tree trunk and glue it on to a different piece of colored construction paper.

3) Draw and cut out leaves on different pieces of colored paper.

4) Write some things you are thankful for on the leaves, then glue them on to the top of the tree.

What time should students get to your store on Black Friday?

“I would say come early morning or late night because around 3 to 5 it’s really, really bad.”

Photo courtesy of Reja Wasty

Alex Concaugh, senior Target Can you describe Target’s Black Friday sales?

“This year there is going to be great deals going on, particularly with movies and electronics. Gifts such as Beats headphones, hoverboards, phones and laptops are at unbeatable prices that I would recommend looking into.”

Photo courtesy of Alex Concaugh

No Thanksgiving movie list could be complete without including the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving classic—a movie that has inspired countless pseudotraditions throughout the country, such as the ever wonderful concept of “Friendsgiving,” a wholesome example of how you can share the love and bonds that Thanksgiving represents with the friends you hold closest. No matter what the season, or the holiday, Charlie Brown never fails to disappoint and entertain.

“Planes, Trains and Automobiles” (1987)

“Planes, Trains and Automobiles” remains a timeless classic and especially enjoyable around the holiday season. This movie reinvented the buddy roadtrip comedy subgenre, through the dynamic of the no-nonsense businessman Neal Page (Steve Martin) and the talkative and charismatic Del Griffith (John Candy). The pair attempts to get home in time for their respective Thanksgiving dinner but is stopped at almost every point along the way due to one impossible condition or another. Page and Candy’s dynamic is relatable and fresh in this heartwarming adventure to overcome the insanity that is holiday travel.

What time should students get to Target on Black Friday?

“If those type of deals with electronics interests someone, I would recommend coming to the store around 7 a.m. on that Friday to beat out the crowds.”

Maddie Catron, senior Marshalls What are some popular items for students?

“It’s a discount store, so they definitely have clothes that are cheaper and because the inventory changes almost every day because they get shipments in every day. For seniors that are graduating, they definitely have a lot of home supplies that you can take to your school for your dorm. And also, they just have cute clothes that aren’t expensive and a nice beauty section.”

How has shopping changed for you now that you’re not only shopping but also working?

“I definitely shop smarter. You definitely learn the value of money when you’re forced to make it and then choose how you spend it. They have durable jeans that are like $20 so you can definitely still shop smart and look cute at the same time.”

Photo courtesy of Maddie Catron

RM students who work in retail give the inside scoop on all the Black Friday deals and steals!

Kimberly Liu, senior American Eagle Outfitters What time do you recommend students get to American Eagle on Black Friday?

“I would recommend getting there as early as possible in the morning. The later in the day you go, the more hectic the store is.”

When it comes to Thanksgiving foods, what’s better than mac and cheese? For years, science teacher Stuart Albaugh has relied on a famous mac and cheese recipe. “Basically, this was the first real meal that I learned to actually cook that wasn't out of a box and took actual effort. It was really nice to feel like I could actually make something somewhat fancy, and try and impress people with macaroni not from a box,” Mr. Albaugh said.

Ingredients (for 12 people):

1 stick of unsalted butter 6 slices of white bread teared up into ¼ to ½ inch pieces 5 ½ cups milk ½ cup all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons kosher salt ¼ teaspoon nutmeg ¼ teaspoon black pepper ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper 4 ½ cups sharp white cheddar 2 cups Gruyere or 11/4 cups grated pecorino Romano 1 lb elbow macaroni

Why should students choose to shop at American Eagle on Black Friday?

“I think AE’s prices are really reasonable for the quality of clothes they sell, but with the additional discounts for Black Friday the prices are insanely good, especially on jeans.”

Photo courtesy of Kimberly Liu

Whether it be among the avid football watching or the constant viewing of the Macy’s Parade—the family bonding time around the TV remains integral to the Thanksgiving Day experience of millions of families across the U.S. So if you are struggling for something to watch and laugh at with your family while processing your Thanksgiving dinner food baby, then look no further than these three iconic Thanksgiving films.

“National Lampoon’s Thanksgiving Family Reunion” (2003)

How to make a paper bag turkey: 1) Get a brown paper bag.

2) Get red and orange construction paper and googly eyes.

3) Cut out feathers from construction paper and glue them behind the bag.

4) Glue the googly eyes on the front of the bag and draw a smiley face.

Reja Wasty, senior Express Outlet Store What are some sales or deals students should know about?

“We have a lot of sales because it’s the Outlets, so everything is usually way cheaper.

Like jeans are usually about $80 but last week they were $30.”

November 2019

Do you have any tips for navigating the mall on Black Friday?

“Look through everything because a lot of times there are hidden gems in places you usually wouldn’t look. Also, make sure you know what stores you want to go to and where they are in relation to each other, so you can start on one end of the mall and work your way to the other without having to go back and forth.”

Articles by: Rachel Freedman, Megan Harrington, Allison Howlett, Kevin Hrozencik, Emily Huang, Nikki Shah, Sydney Weiss and Rosemary Yang

Graphics by: Kat Chen, Alana Lu, Slavena Peychinova, Annabelle Sargent, Evelyn Shue, Christina Tang, Valerie Wang, Kisha Yan

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2) Butter a 3-quart casserole dish (and set aside).

3) Put bread pieces in a medium bowl.

4) In a small saucepan with medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter and, once melted, pour it into the bread bowl and mix.

5) Heat the milk in a medium saucepan with medium heat.

6) Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat and, once it begins to bubble, add flour. Cook and stir for one minute.

7) Slowly pour the hot milk into the flour-butter mixture and whisk until mixture is bubbly and thick.

8) Remove pan from heat and stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar, 11/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup pecorino. Set the cheese sauce aside.

9) Fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Add macaroni, and cook for 2-3 minutes less than suggested so that the outside is cooked and the inside is undone.

10) Drain the macaroni well, rinsing it under cold running water.

11) Stir macaroni into the cheese sauce and pour mixture into prepared casserole dish.

12) Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top and add the breadcrumbs, and bake for about 30 minutes until it is brown on top.

13) Cool for 5 minutes and serve!

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FEATURES

November 2019

MoCo for Change marches toward a better world

by Natalie Weger FEATURES WRITER

Eight months have passed since over 8,000 students from the DMV area rallied against gun violence at Capitol Hill. This momentous event that gained national media attention was coordinated by Montgomery County Students for Change, an all-youth organization that fights for social justice through student activism.

The group was founded in March 2018 when students were infuriated about a deadly school shooting in Parkland, Fla. a month earlier.

“We were just a group of high school students from around the county that were tired of the inaction around students being brutally slaughtered in their own classrooms,” junior Claire Gelillo, one of the co-presidents of the organization, said.

Since then, MoCo for Change has expanded its focus to multiple issues, some of which include gun violence, climate change and student inequity.

Currently, co-presidents senior Aishlinn Kivlighn, who attends Wootton High School, and Gelillo run the organization.

Vice president junior May Soemin also attends RM. The rest of MoCo for Change comprises about 130 students from all over Montgomery County, making

it a strong representative of the youth perspective.

Being an all-youth organization in today’s political climate comes with both positives and negatives.

“The advantages are being able to catch the attention of the nation because when a group of 13- to 18-year-olds are knocking on the door of the Capitol, it definitely causes people to look,” Soemin said.

County this October.

In addition, MoCo for Change has lobbied senators and members of Congress into considering potential gun legislation. “By lobbying, it creates a relationship between the lawmakers and their constituents, which is essential to creating the change we need,” Soemin said.

Since fighting against gun violence is one of the group’s main focuses, MoCo for Change works toward attaining sensible gun laws through lobbying, protesting, writing letters, displaying art and engaging in nonviolent demonstrations.

They favor common sense measures such as background checks, extreme risk protection orders and an assault weapons ban.

This year, MoCo for Change began to collaborate with MoCo on Climate, a student-run group that demands climate reform GRAPHIC BY CHRISTINA TANG through protesting, legislative advocacy and student activism.

However, the cons of being The have supported a petition a student-led organization can by MoCo on Climate calling on include administrative hardships MCPS to make their buildings and time management, which the greener, switch to electric buses, members of MoCo for Change educate students about climate have had to overcome. “It takes a change, and give excused while to adjust, but eventually we absences for student activism. know a balance,” Soemin said.

To combat student inequity, Nevertheless, MoCo for MoCo for Change advocated Change fought through these for a proposal calling upon the challenges and achieved Board of Education to perform significant accomplishments, a countywide analysis of including earning the Peacemaker Montgomery County’s school of the Year Award in Montgomery boundary lines.

“We testified in front of the board, attended hearings, participated in community conversations and talked to local news outlets,” Gelillo said.

This analysis was performed to encourage fairness in our school system and to ensure that the Montgomery County school boundary lines are not drawn in bias towards socio-economic class.

“When a group of 13- to 18-yearolds are knocking on the door of the Capitol, it definitely causes people to look.”

- May Soemin MoCo for Change also believes that exercising the right to vote is a big step towards solving these issues. As a result, the organization publicly supports candidates who support its stances or adovacate for legislation it has pushed, all while encouraging others around the county to do the same.

Additionally, the organization partners with the Montgomery County Board of Elections and MCR-SGA to create voter

registration drives in high schools across Montgomery County.

The organization’s most notable example of nonviolent demonstration was the 2018 March on Capitol Hill, a second round of which Moco for Change is planning on doing again this year.

“It was exhilarating and watching the giant crowd from top of the Hill was the most powerful sight I’ve ever witnessed,” Soemin said.

The event gave many of the organization’s members an opportunity to speak in front of thousands of people at the March for Our Lives protest.

Organizing events like these requires much planning, which they carry out by holding meetings at the Carver Education Center. These meetings involve hosting speakers, including Congressman Jamie Raskin, local organizers and activists from all over the nation.

Social media has also played a major role in coordinating events by allowing them to reach out to students through platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

By getting involved with MoCo for Change, students across Montgomery County work toward making a strong impact on society. “With our proximity to the nation’s capitol, we have a unique opportunity to make a widespread difference. Come be a part of it,” Gelillo said.

No-shave November raises BHip relieves stress cancer awareness with spirit NO SHAVE, cont. from front page For some, this cause hits close to home. “My uncle survived prostate cancer. He [recently] made it through chemo and he’s going to be okay,” junior Alex Grapes shared. Although No-Shave November gives its participants the opportunity to raise awareness, it often comes at the expense of their own comfort.

“Sometimes, you can wake up, and it feels like your whole face is burning,” Zeineddin said.

On the other hand, Principal Monteleone has not found abstaining from shaving to be problematic. “It’s more painful to shave. I’m notorious for coming in with a bloody neck,” Monteleone said. “I bought myself an extra ten minutes a day.”

Some contestants have received backlash from their partners.

“The first [couple of days], when I had to be completely cleanshaven, my wife was not a fan and kept telling me how bad I looked,” math teacher Patrick Wainwright said.

The harshest critics, however, are often the contestants themselves. “[My beard] looks god-awful—I look like one of those chinstrap penguins,” senior Rob Kearns said.

Family and social dynamics have also changed. “My kids are so not used to me having a beard.

I always catch them staring when I’m not looking,” English teacher

Micahel Arenas shared. them can really grow a beard,” At the beginning of the Hrozencik said. competition, many contestants The teachers are not above suffered through an sharing this attitude. “They can’t uncomfortable limbo. “There’s match up to me; that’s all I can this awkward phase between say,” science teacher Akshay having a beard and not having Gandhi said. a beard, and that’s where I am No-Shave November has now,” senior Zayus Clark said. become a creative outlet for The participants the contestants. “I are taking first shaved in a the challenge weird handlebar seriously, however, moustache; the employing a students loved it,” multitude of Gandhi said. strategies in Munasinghe put their quest for his own spin on the trophies and challenge to raise bragging rights. the stakes. “If I can “Every single time miraculously get somebody donates, $100 in donations by I let them draw the end, I will dye my something on the beard before shaving box,” Hrozencik PHOTO BY EMILY CHEN it off,” he said. “The said. “Meth stole Senior Kevin Hrozencik top donator will get that idea from me.” displays his donation box. to pick the color.”

Students and Superstition has teachers alike have been throwing come into play for Arenas. “I’m a themselves into the fundraising big NFL fan and my favorite team rivalry. “I’ve been bribing my is the Steelers. Ever since I started students by giving them candy growing this [beard], we haven’t if they make a donation, so I’m lost a game,” he said. hoping to make the most money,” No-Shave November has had Mr. Wainwright shared. a profound impact on how the “This is a lot of my own stuff contestants view the world. “I see [from] an old box of coins I had people who have beards in a new in my room,” Clark said. “I think light. I see how much they struggle you’re allowed to donate to to maintain it and I respect them yourself—it’s all going to charity deeply,” Munasinghe said. “I anyways.” didn’t really think I’d like to grow Occasionally, the competitors out my beard, but after seeing it get a little feisty. “A lot of them for a while, I think I might keep it are chumps; I don’t think any of for a little while longer.”

are going through it themselves or have gone through it fairly

by Amanda Wu recently. Sometimes students FEATURES WRITER are so much more comfortable talking to peers than to adults.”

Whether it is balancing work Though it is a new initiative for AP classes with practices for that just kicked off this school winter sports or finding time to year, the BHip Club is gaining study for the SAT while working traction among many RM a part-time job, RM students are students and has plans to trekking through some of the expand far beyond its current most rewarding yet most difficult bimonthly meetings. times of high school.

Recently, members of Balancing academic and the BHip Club have visited personal success can be homerooms during Rocket overwhelming at times. Thus, Time and collected questions every other Tuesday in room from students seeking advice 253, BHip Club (pronounced on school-related challenges, ‘Be-Hip’) creates a community ranging from ‘How do you earn that can ease students’ stress SSL hours?’ to ‘How do you and help them feel a little less deal with school drama and overwhelmed at school. relationships?’

During their lunch meetings, a Many of these questions group of trained peer counselors will be answered in the future. welcome newcomers and “We’re going to be recording regulars alike to pull up a chair and televising answers to some and join their group conversation o f these questions and maybe covering any variety of get them out once a topics. week,” Ms. Shay said.

Providing a “My freshman wide range of year would have counseling, from been better if I had academic tips to a resource like mental health upperclassmen guidance, these giving me some RM students are insight and willing to give advice on topics GRAPHIC BY ARIES WANG like how to avoid their advice on any procrastination, subject or just lend a listening ear. how to get involved with clubs, Club sponsor and IB etc.,” club president and junior coordinator Nancy Shay said, Julia Craig said. “So, I like how “[The club’s] main purpose is to I can help others figure out how give students opportunities to talk to deal with their situations about issues that are important to since it would’ve been helpful them with other students who for me when I was a freshman.”

FEATURES

The Tide

November 2019

13

Making space for diversity in the book room

The approved books for the English department are

by Kevin Hrozcenik distinguished by the grade level SENIOR FEATURES WRITER and difficulty, and the process can prove to be rather tedious.

Subjects such as English are “If there is a book I want to get often left to the discretion of the approved, I will pester people teachers as to what the assigned until I have it. If somebody wants reading will be for the semester. a book approved, they need to How do English teachers decide file a form explaining its literary which books are studied over the merit, how it’s going to be used, course of the semester? what grade level is appropriate, “It’s really the county who gets [and] its value,” Ms. Michaels to approve the list of books said. for every grade This level,” English form is then resource submitted to teacher Leah the Evaluation Michaels said. and Selection “The county Committee, a dictates some committee books as core on which texts, meaning Ms. Michaels everybody has served.

“The to read them.” committee is a Ms. Michaels, group of people who has served as an who read the English resource teacher book, discusses the for three years, is book and the form GRAPHIC BY constantly pushing to ANNABELLE SARGENT and approves the expand the inventory book,” Ms. Michaels of the RM book room. said.

“The way we get them is by Assuming the book makes it looking off a list of books the through that process, it then sits county has approved. Then I just with other books awaiting final see how much money I can get... approval on what is known as [it] is just a matter of me going to the 30-day shelf: an online forum the school and being like: ‘I need where the county presents each X amount of money’ and seeing book to the public’s viewing how much they will give me,” and each book is up for public Ms. Michaels said. comment.

As a result, Ms. Michaels has “You could see what’s under been able to transition away from consideration to be approved, so the old books that are falling you could go and comment,” Ms. apart at the seams and purchase Michaels said. newer, more durable books.

Acting as both a regular

English teacher and as the head of the department, Ms. Michaels has the unique ability to help focus on what grade levels receive new books.

“It depends on who you ask, but I think there is a push, not just LGBTQ but also women, anyone of color, any marginalized anyone. Basically everything I

Lucy Boyce, freshman Probably Jane Austen. I just feel like Jane Austen died too young and I want to see what she would’ve written. I’d just be like, “Sit, and then write me a new book,” and then I get to publish it and make all the money.

Shreyas Pant, senior My grandmother. She’s like 86, but she’s in Nepal and she has a fear of flight, so I haven’t seen her in maybe 10 years.

PHOTO BY CHRISTINE ZHU

The book room, tucked away in room 259, houses copies of the books in the English curriculum. One section is dedicated solely to Shakespeare.

“This year I am focusing my attention on 10th grade, but I add new books to every grade level,” Ms. Michaels said. “I did 10th grade based on what they were already reading and looking where they needed a little bit more energy.”

Ms. Michaels also tries to emphasize voices that she feels are missing or not accurately represented in the curriculum.

She introduced “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” featuring a prominent love story between two boys.

buy at this point is something that is missing,” Ms. Michaels said.

It is because of these new introduction of books that it becomes evident that the MCPS curriculum is slowly opening up and introducing students to new voices and perspectives otherwise overlooked and not represented.

“A lot of books are now becoming new classics and the county is so far doing less and less where they are making large groups of kids read the same books, which I think is great,” Ms. Michaels said.

West delivers and distributes in Haiti

by Delaney Crawley FEATURES WRITER

Not many prove the statement “not all superheroes wear capes” better than freshman Reese West.

While West was already an active student, participating in school and club sports and doing basic community service with her family, she is expanding her horizons and helping people outside of her community.

Over Christmas break, West, her younger brother and her parents plan to visit Haiti, which is located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean.

Haiti primarily suffers from deforestation, overpopulation, insufficient sanitation, natural disasters and food insecurity.

Throughout the whole country, these pressing issues are most prevalent in Miragoâne, the city of Haiti that the West family will be visiting.

West has always had a passion for volunteer work. When her family friends presented her with the opportunity to help those in need, she knew she had to do it.

She and her family have been planning the big trip for quite some time now, and have prepared for what is to come. “We did some research and learned about it, and soon it became really important to us,” West said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF REESE WEST

Freshman Reese West (second from the left) and her family have planned to deliver food and Christmas gifts to families in Haiti.

Currently, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 80 percent of its residents living in impoverished communities, according to the CIA World Factbook.

West will be flying out to Haiti on Dec. 28 and will be spending about four days in the country. The first order of business is to distribute food throughout schools, because many kids are

malnourished and severely underweight.

After this, the family will go door to door, visiting each house and delivering a bag of rice to impoverished families.

“This is good because we really get first hand interactions with the people there,” West said. “They don’t see it as anything but kindness which is a really beautiful thing.”

Not only will they be helping feed the families of Miragoâne, but they plan to stock the

nearby medical clinic with basic over-the-counter medicines, as there is a concerning lack of basic care for children and adults.

They also will be doing some manual labor. “We are also going to be building a shed to house and store dangerous chemicals, next to a place where a playground is going to be built,” West said. This way, the toxic chemicals will be out of the way for the children.

Lastly, the kids will be getting surprise late Christmas gifts from the West family. Thanks to some fundraising, the family is bringing the kids dolls, coloring books and various sports equipment, which includes 125 soccer balls.

That is a lot for a family of four to do in four days, but their passion and compassion will drive them to get the work done.

West’s friends not only know about her upcoming project, but support her in many ways. They donate money to her cause as well as motivate and assure her that her work really does help people.

In the future, she aspires to be a doctor, but could also definitely see herself working for a non-

Jay Savukinas, sophomore I would like to spend Thanksgiving dinner with Emperor Hirohito. I think he’s a very smart and cultured man and I’m sure that I would love to eat dinner with him.

Matthew Gu, freshman I would have a Thanksgiving dinner with Gordon Ramsay because at least the food would be good.

Kyra Chassaing, sophomore Bill Nye. Because he’s cool, he’s a legend!

Nicole Eisner, senior For next year in college, I’d invite all my friends because we’re not going to see each other for like three months, so it’d be fun to have everyone there.

Lauren Payne, junior I would have Thanksgiving dinner with Toni Morrison. We read her book in English this year called “Song of Solomon,” and we’re watching a documentary about her and I just think she would be a really interesting person to sit down with and talk.

GRAPHIC BY CHRISTINA TANG

“It’s nice to see how people are so positively impacted by it.”

- Reese West profit organization.

The simple fulfillment of making people happy is what drives West to be so generous. Despite this taking away time from her relaxing winter vacation, West is excited to take on the challenge and help as many people as she can.

“It’s nice to see how people are so positively impacted by it, and it’s nice to see their faces,” West said.

Rina Levy, senior The Obamas. I think that would be really fun. They’d be really interesting and I think they’d probably have some really good stories to share.

Gwen Taylor, freshman Cotton Eye Joe. I want to see where he went.

Katherine Chiao, junior My family because I feel like they’re such an important part of my life that I should be able to share such an important holiday with and I don’t think there’s anyone else that’s that important.

Maria Rodriguez, senior Probably like my whole family because a lot of my family doesn’t live in Maryland, so it’d be cool to be able to have everyone together.

GRAPHICS BY ANGELINA GUHL

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The Tide

November 2019

make the worst days into the best ones. I couldn’t imagine what I’d do without them!

Sydney Weiss, junior I am thankful for not failing my grades just yet...

Matilde Aranibar Campero, freshman

Thanks to Ms. Kidd for being the wokest journalism teacher ever (no cap).

Emily Zhao, senior

I am thankful for a family that supports me. I can always count on my parents to help me if I’m struggling in school or another area. My brother and sister are kind and generous.

Lauren Richards, freshman

Both members of Earth Treks It just had to be fate I’m glad for Katie Zhang my dear, health nut swolemate.

Kaylen Pak, senior

Thanks to all of the RM building services members, who do so much hard work throughout the school and make it a welcoming environment!

Victoria Koretsky, sophomore Thank you to all of my friends for being there to make life a bit more bearable and for just existing. I appreciate you all more than I could ever properly describe with words. <3 Annyah St. Louis, senior Thankful for Moominvalley, my supportive friends/The Addams Family cast (you’re all doing amazing sweetie), and frogs.

Sam Vidas, sophomore I appreciate my cat, and my hedgehog, and my bird, and my lizards... all my animals. They always have time to spend with me and help me de-stress. Animals are truly more reliable than people!

Jeremy Kuznetsov, junior I’m thankful for Mrs. Goetz and Mr. Thomas. Academically, they are phenomenal teachers who have cultivated my love for math and history. Personally, they are role models who have shown me what kind of a person I’d like to grow up to become.

Daniel Espejo, senior I’m thankful for all my friends, especially Nicole who helps me with my problems. She my go to for when I need advice. I’m also thankful for Mango Boi, I don’t know where I’d be now without him. Finally my family for supporting me. I grateful for all the people in my life!

Sophia Ubiera, freshman I’m thankful for all the opportunities RMIB has given me! And Mr. Michael Pan. Sareet Nayak, senior Thankful for the bois that are always there to go stupid on the swings ;) <3 Heidi Leung, junior I’m thankful for Alex Karbowski :) Angelina Guhl, sophomore

I’m thankful for The Tide.

Helena Yang, senior I’m thankful for my family, friends, and health.

Isari Kodithuwakku, freshman Thank you to all my rats - particularly Duck, Lilo, Jek, Grez, and JoJo. All my love.

Becca Howlett, senior I’m very thankful for one of my closest friends, Annyah St. Louis!

She’s always so supportive and she also has, like, the coolest dance moves ever. #AnnyahStLouisFanClub #WeStan Vickie Tan, senior I find it hard to thank just one person. So many people around me, like my parents, friends, teachers, and classmates, have helped me and made me the person I am today. I look forward to spending the rest of high school with you people!

Anishka Basheerbad, sophomore I am especially thankful this year for my teachers—you are all so helpful and make class enjoyable and interesting! I’m also thankful for my family, best friends (thank you for getting coffee and bagels with me and occasionally proofreading my articles, I LOVE you guys <3), and everyone on the Tide for making the newspaper so much fun to be a part of.

Grace Burwell, junior Ezzsuper, Conghits4jesus, and Miryu—Thanks for 7+ years of adventures, forcing me to wake up before 12, and being my second family. I <3 you :) Katie Kolodner, senior

This for Hannah, the kindest soul I’ve ever met. Thank you for listening to my stupid jokes all the time. I love you more than you know. Keep your head up high queen, your crown’s falling.

Amna Shamim, junior I am most grateful for the things we can’t control: the beauty of the Autumn trees, the sunny days, and the safety of all those we love.

Samantha Brown, senior Thanks to my family who helped me in the most difficult times.

Thank you to my friends for being always by my side.

Raquel Caballero, freshman Thankful for em dashes, coffee, my phone flashlight, and everyone who sends pictures of the Promethean board in class group chats <3 Helen Qian, senior To my friends—thank you Vickie for putting up with my everyday in math class when I’m tired & going insane & singing “September” nonstop, for sending me cowboy memes & lovely poems, for letting me sleep on your shoulder. Thank you Mather for putting up with all the stupid sounds I make & going along with my gobbledygook every day. Thank you Rose for making my bus rides less boring & listening to my stories even when I’m laughing so hard I can’t finish my sentences. Thank you Ashley for always being supportive & understanding & creative & for comforting me when I feel like I’m spiralling out of control.

Lydia Wei, senior It’s cliché, but I’m thankful for my family and friends. A big thank you to the people who talk with me, laugh with me, cry with me and continue to teach me new things each and every day.

Evelyn Shue, freshman I’m thankful for my friends because they never fail to make me happy and I would never survive without them. Love you, amigos :) Ruth Taddesse, freshman

I am very thankful for my friends and family. Thank you to my friends for making me laugh when I’m not in the best of moods and dealing with me in general. Thank you to my family who has always been supportive and loving. I am very lucky to have such amazing people in my life.

Davi Jacobs, freshman

I’m thankful for music for taking up far too much of my time yet being something that I can’t imagine my life without. Honorable mentions to pit orchestra, jazz ensemble, and all those who make pit and jazz as riveting as they are.

Christine Zhu, senior

I’m thankful for Dev Bhardwaj.

Aidan Goldenberg-Hart, senior

I’m thankful for my amazing friends and family who always

I’m thankful for all of my friends who stuck with me this year even though I went through a ton; shoutout to Christine for working the same job as me over the summer, I’m really glad we got to spend that time together!!

Claire Gebhart, senior I’m thankful for PHILOSOPHY CLUB, MEETINGS EVERY THURSDAY AT LUNCH IN ROOM 220. Also for my little sis Matilde, you make me really proud; my best slug Ashley, you make me smile a ton; my fellow gadflies—AT PHILOSOPHY CLUB, THURSDAYS AT LUNCH, ROOM 220—Justin and Reed, who always keep me thinking, as well as Mr. Thomas, PHILOSOPHY CLUB (THURSDAYS. LUNCH. 220) sponsor and a superb teacher, who has helped me and many others become the inquirers of tomorrow—at PHILOSOPHY CLUB THURSDAYS LUNCH 220.

Nestor Aranibar, senior Incredibly, incredibly thankful for the LOML, Zach, for always dealing with all my quirks and complaints, and for continuing to be amazing, wonderful, and every other positive adjective I can come up with.

Kat Chen, senior I’m grateful for the many homework group chats my grade has created, food and Netflix, and my friends and family. I’m slightly less thankful for homework and assessments, but thankful nonetheless for school and my teachers.

Avery Wang, freshman I’m thankful for the two people who are getting me through Chinese Class: Katie, the greatest tutor of all time, and Meth, my personal therapist. I’m incredibly grateful for you both!

Eliana Mazin, sophomore I am thankful for all of the awesome staff that work to teach and inspire the next generation.

Their hard work and effort will be remembered!

Timothy Chu, junior I’m thankful for justafewbros + guava + Amiee. They are lights in my life & I would be completely different without them. I’ve found the best people ever, even if they don’t believe it.

Emnet Kahsay, senior I’m very thankful for my family and friends. My friends always make me laugh the hard-

est, and support me through everything. I’m so grateful to have met with both new friends and old friends this year. My family is always there for me too, and also listen to all my random problems and feelings. Thank you so much! I love you guys. <3 Jessica Sun, freshman I am thankful for my family for raising me to be the naïve, hardworking and loving person I am today. I am also thankful for Kai and Sabrielle, because you both are truly my second family.

I am greatful that we can support each other on this long, confusing journey called adolescence.

Matthew Adjodha, sophomore I am so thankful for all of my incredible friends. You guys mean the world to me and I can’t wait to see all of the amazing things you do!! :) Kyra Wisneski, senior I’m pretty thankful for Mr. Willard. It’s not often you get a teacher who really builds fun relationships with their students.

I truly appreciate his efforts.

Tejas Nazare, junior Thankful for the most important people in my life: my family and my frens Emily, Katie, and Mir. Thank you for always being here for me and for being the all-around best people to exist.

I would also like to thank the presence of bubble tea, which has become more important than ever as my consumption of it has become my sole contribution to the economy and my only purpose in life.

Alyssa Cong, senior I’m thankful for my best friends.

But for especially Ruth, Hanna, and Hayal. They’ve always been there for me and make me feel the happiest everyday. Love you guys! <3 Marcela Ferrufino, freshman I’m thankful for Coach Fahrner, who helped establish the new volleyball club, so nobody don’t have to sneak into the gym illegally anymore!

Corrigan Peters, sophomore I’m thankful for Elizabeth Tran for the laughs, hugs, and stealing my charger every day. I wouldn’t want to share a name with anyone else (even though I’m clearly superior) jk ;) Elizabeth Mao, senior thanks to all my friends that stuck with me even when I wasn’t at my best!!

Shuxin Dai, freshman Thanks to Emily for being an amazing co-editor.

Ashley Ye, senior

Don’t see your thank-you note here? Check thermtide.com for the rest. Some of the notes have been abridged for formatting purposes.

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November 2019

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The Tide

November 2019

ARTS

Elmo takes on issues of parental addiction

by Lynna Deng ARTS WRITER

PHOTO BY IRENE KIM

Senior Tudor Postolache lights up the stage in the fall musical as the eccentric matchmaker Uncle Fester.

On stage, Postolache shoots for the moon

by Grace Comer SENIOR ARTS WRITER

Decked out in a bald cap and flowing robe, senior Tudor Postolache is one of the stars of this year’s fall musical, “The Addams Family.” His role as Uncle Fester is the final singing role of his high school career.

Over the years, Postolache has been an integral member of the Black Maskers, RM’s drama club.

“I started out as an actor, but I found my way into a couple of crews, such as props and sound,” Postolache said. He also wrote and directed a show for the annual independent student-run production, One Acts, last year.

Outside of RM, Postolache is heavily involved in the world of drama. This past summer, he played a main role in Wildwood Summer Theatre’s production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” He also attended the Chesapeake Shakespeare Theatre Company’s teen summer camp and took on a job with them last spring.

Postolache has always been interested in the arts. “I have to credit my father, my family and particularly my eldest sister, who kind of nurtured me into a love for performing,” he said.

In fourth grade, he joined his school’s drama program, and has been a member of school drama ever since elementary school.

Even with his extensive experience in theater, the RM drama program continues to have a special place in his heart.

“My favorite part about drama, particularly the Black Maskers, is definitely the community of students who come together to make these productions,” he said. His love for drama makes it difficult to pick just one favorite memory. “From the cast parties, going to Silver Diner after a production, the show night highs, and just in general, rehearsing on a midweek afternoon, it’s an amazing experience,” he said.

In fact, Postolache credits the Black Maskers with helping him fully realize his love of acting. “In the past, while I may have been unsure, now I find nothing that gives me more joy than to create

stories,” he said. He is currently applying to performing arts schools, hoping to continue with this passion in college.

Despite all the time he dedicates to drama, Postolache still finds time to participate in other activities. He is the publicity editor of “Fine Lines,” RM’s annual student art magazine. He also volunteers on and off with various organizations and plans to join the Tri-M Music Honor Society this year.

Postolache encourages interested students at RM to consider joining the drama program. “Never will you find a more accepting community of people,” he said.

Though drama is a huge time commitment, Postolache finds acting incredibly rewarding. “As soon as drama starts or any sort of acting begins, I come alive,” he said. “The involvement and the experience is worth it.”

As his final high school musical comes to a close, Postolache is looking forward to the studentdirected One Acts and the spring play. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said.

Ever since its creation more than 50 years ago, “Sesame Street” has been continually expanding from its original cast. Most recently, on Oct. 9, Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind “Sesame Street,” announced a new bilingual initiative called “Sesame Street in Communities.”

The purpose of this initiative is to “support children and families affected by parental addiction” through Karli, a six year-old puppet in foster care whose mother was revealed to be in rehab for addiction.

So far, the initiative has produced shorts with Elmo’s dad clarifying that addiction is a sickness, Karli talking about the support groups she attends and Karli explaining that though she used to blame herself for her mother’s addiction, it was actually a “grown-up problem.”

Karli has even given tips for other children in similarly distressing situations, such as talking to friends and taking deep breaths.

According to combined data from 2009 and 2014 surveys performed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an estimated one in eight children (8.7 million) 17 years of age or younger have lived in households with at least one parent with a substance use disorder. According to the Administration for Children and Families, one-third of the children in foster care enter the system because of their parents’ addiction.

Lo o kin g at these statistics, it seems t h a t Karli’s story

has the potential to resonate with many children across the country.

These children can identify with Karli, and are more likely to absorb messages and advice from beloved characters, who seem more like friends and equals, than those from adults and their parents.

For children unfamiliar with the idea of addiction, this initiative promotes an accurate and healthy understanding of pressing issues. “I think it’s really important because it’s like the real world, and children need to be exposed to that, so it doesn’t seem scary or out of the norm when they encounter that later,” junior Bianca Romano said.

Though this initiative may offer solidarity to some children and broaden the understanding of addiction for others, the extent to which the initiative has been reported on in the media raises concerns that Sesame Street may only be introducing these new characters for the publicity.

“Sesame Street should not be making a really big deal about ‘look at us, we’re coming out with new characters who are really unique.’ I think if they were sort of subtly introducing these characters, it’d be a really cool thing to do,” sophomore Emily Wu said.

The impact of a parent’s addiction on younger children is traumatic, but often overlooked; so few resources are available to assist them in grappling with the issue. Regardless of their motivation, by introducing this initiative, “Sesame Street” has taken the essential first steps t o wa r d s filling this void.

GRAPHIC BY VALERIE WANG

Despite standout moments, SNL loses some charm

by Aaron Smith ARTS WRITER

With seven episodes aired so far, NBC’s iconic sketch-comedy show, “Saturday Night Live” (SNL), has begun its 45th season, which will bring the show into the next decade. Fans of television and film can watch their favorite actors have fun with the SNL cast in the comedy sketches, and music fans can see their favorite artists perform on bright and abstract sets.

As with every SNL season, viewers who may have been keeping up with recent political affairs hope to find relief in the latest episode. Aside from the standard sketches, this season notably highlights the impeachment proceedings and 2020 presidential campaigns.

However, the primary goal of SNL is to be funny, and it unfortunately falls flat in that regard. Many of the cast members have been on for the better part of the decade, if not longer, and that age

is beginning to show. Sketches like “Roadside Museum” feature dry performances with predictable punchlines, while “Apple Picking” and “Another What’s

GRAPHIC BY HELENA YANG

Wrong with This Picture” are rehashings of older ideas that add nothing new or creative to warrant their creation. “Love at First Sight” and “Locker Room” just feel like the writers are scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Fortunately, there are some exceptions. Bowen Yang, one of this season’s two new cast members and the show’s first ChineseAmerican cast member, particularly stands out above the rest. Though he gets relatively low screentime, his appearances reveal his potential to be one of the show’s next great comedians.

His youth and background shine through

in his performances and bring a spark to the show’s otherwise monotonous style of comedy.

He alone cannot boost the entire show, but his performances can bring a sketch from dull and unimpactful to mildly entertaining, and the few times he does take center stage are some of the best sketches of the season.

Michael Che’s personality and relatable sense of humor also keeps The Weekend Update engaging and entertaining, and certain hosts have managed to temporarily revitalize the show, including David Harbour and Chance the Rapper.

Nonetheless, the show ultimately ends up a shadow of its former self as a result of the cast and the writers’ decaying abilities. In its current state, the show is in clear need of new perspectives from fresh performers and writers.

ARTS

November 2019

The Tide

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Swift calls upon fans in ongoing feud

by Anishka Basheerbad ARTS WRITER

On Nov. 14, Taylor Swift published an open letter alleging that the former and current CEOs of Big Machine Records, Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun respectively, have prevented her from performing her older records, asking fans and other musicians for support.

In a letter, Swift said that she had been planning to perform a medley of her songs from the past decade to perform at the American Music Awards on Nov. 24, where she will receive the Artist of the Decade Award.

So why are Borchetta and Braun allowed to keep Swift from performing her own music? Well, Big Machine owns the master rights to her first six albums. Having the master rights of the a c t u a l studio and live recordings of an artist’s m u s i c allows l a b e l s to license t h o s e recordings to third parties who may want to use the songs in a TV show or movie a n d keep the money gained from this licensing. They are free to do this without the artist’s permission.

It used to be routine for an artist who signed a record deal with a label to forfeit their master rights. In return, the label would financially support the recording and release of the music. However, in the past decade or so, the frequency of music licensing has increased dramatically, particularly with

the rise of streaming services such as Spotify, making it more important for artists to maintain their master rights than ever before. To complicate the situation even more, if the artist’s record sales increase the original investment of the label in the production of their music, as Swift’s clearly

Big Machine ended in 2018, after the release of her sixth album, “Reputation.” In November 2018, she signed a multi-album contract with Universal Music Group, Big Machine’s distributor. Under this contract, Swift keeps the

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master rights to the new recordings she makes, including those of her most recent album, “Lover,” which received the highest Metacritic score of any of her albums.

“Lover” has also received high praise from fans: “This album is PH

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have, the artist can receive part of the profit from licensing, but the label still maintains control.

Swift’s relationship with Big Machine over the course of her 13year career reflects the increasing importance of master rights.

Swift signed with Big Machine in 2005, when she was just 15 years old. She was one of the first to sign with the label, which Scott Borchetta had just recently founded. Swift was arguably the driving force behind the label’s success, becoming the first Big Machine artist to win a Grammy Award—four, in fact—in 2010.

Swift’s 12-year contract with

K BY

“She always writes from the heart, and you can feel that in every beat, every chord, every note of her songs.”

- Erin Mullens

amazing, especially the music videos,” sophomore Erin Mullens said. “Taylor Swift’s songs are real. She always writes from the heart, and you can feel that in every beat, every chord, every note of her songs.”

After Swift’s departure from the label, her relationship with Big Machine grew even more thorny on June 30 of 2019, when Scooter Braun acquired the masters to all of Swift’s albums with exception of “Lover.”

On that same day, Swift published a lengthy letter on Tumblr addressing the controversy with Big Machine and Scooter Braun, calling it her “worst case scenario.” Explaining the reason why she left Big Machine in the first place, Swift said, “For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my own work. Instead, I was given an opportunity to sign back up to Big Machine Records and ‘earn’ one album back at a time, one for every new one I turned in.”

Unwilling to accept this offer, Swift had “made peace with the fact” that Borchetta would eventually sell the label, deciding to leave her master rights with him and sign with Universal Music Group instead. However, when Borschetta sold Swift’s masters to Braun, she was not pleased, mainly because Braun represents Kanye West and was involved with him around the time of the “Famous” music video, which features a nude wax figure of Swift in bed with West and the lyrics, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex…Why? I made that [expletive] famous.”

In the post, Swift says, “All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying

I’ve received at [Scooter’s] hand for years.”

“She has really developed in her career, not only in her music style, but also in her knowledge of the business.”

- Maya Ramamurthi Swift has yet to repossess the rights to her first six albums, but she has managed to win a small victory. On Nov. 18, Big Machine issued a statement agreeing to “grant all licenses of their artists’ performances to stream postshow and for rebroadcast on mutually approved platforms.”

At the very least, this will allow Swift to perform her medley at the AMAs. Swift’s transparency regarding her struggles in the music business has helped raise awareness and mobilize fans to call for change in the industry. This outspokenness and transparency is characteristic of Swift in recent years, but her journey to this point has been a long one. “I think that she has really developed in her career, not only in her music style, but also in her knowledge of the business,” freshman Maya Ramamurthi said. “She has been notorious for getting into trouble and involved in drama, but I think that in general, she has learned to handle increasingly well as she grows as an artist.”

Nabis art brings warmth to The Phillips Collection

by Mary Ma ARTS EDITOR

The Phillips Collection’s most recent exhibition, “Bonnard to Vuillard: The Intimate Poetry of Everyday Life,” features over 60 rare works from a group of Parisian Post-Impressionist artists called Les Nabis.

The term “Nabi” derives from Hebrew and Arabic words meaning “prophet.” The group, formed in 1888, Nestled in a cozy corner of Dupont Circle, The Phillips Collection houses some of the most valuable works of art in a modest brownstone, a sharp contrast to the commonly neoclassical or ultramodern grand art museums on the National Mall. “Everyday Life” continues this welcoming, down to earth ambiance with the warm jewel toned walls, soft carpet and dim, moody lighting of the showroom.

Alluringly approachable, the comfortable setting of the exhibit is reflective of its material; the Nabis aimed to display the comforting aesthetics of daily life. Intricate paintings of musicians and relatives line the walls, reminiscing memories of Vuillard, Bonnard and their contemporaries.

However, paintings are not the only medium of work featured. Other mediums such as sculpture, prints and screens share the spotlight. From oil paintings to prints to sculptures, The Phillips Collection avoids the boredom that comes with uniformity. The flat, yet lively colors, the influence of Japanese prints and the nostalgic tone unify the different pieces, telling a cohesive story that flows from room to room.

The Nabis questioned the divide between decorative and high art with their groundbreaking casual pieces.

Paying homage to this intention, the Collection seamlessly incorporates its rare art with more casual, perhaps mundane elements. Visitors will find books about the exhibit, printed wallpaper and plush leather seats to simply sit, relax and immerse themselves in the aesthetic ideals of the Nabis artists.

The Collection centers their approach to the presentation of artwork on visitor experience.

The exhibit enables any viewer to reach what is often seen as untouchable: the snobbish world of high art.

“Everyday Life” runs until Jan. 26, and is free for visitors under the age of 18.

Vuillard’s scenes of domesticity grace the walls.

Calming landscapes of small villages provide a comforting atmosphere to the exhibit.

The Nabis often referenced each other in their own artworks, paying homage to their contemporaries.

GRAPHIC BY VALERIE WANG

An elegant china piece spotlighted against ornately printed wallpaper.

Nabi painters often painted portraits of citizens engaging in daily activities.

A plush velvet sofa, some exhibition books and a clay pot of orchids make up the small sitting area.

PHOTOS BY MARY MA

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ARTS

The Tide

November 2019

RM gets jazzy at international festival TAIWAN, cont. page 1

The festival incorporated much more than performances, though. Each day featured many activities, from press conferences to ceremonies. “We performed in the festival with representatives from 12 countries: Taiwan, Russia, the United States, Poland, Spain, Mexico, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Thailand,” junior trombonist Corbin Christopher said.

Along with listening to the other groups’ music and learning about their culture, the student groups got to speak with each

other multiple times. During one of the lunches, the festival organizers seated different countries together. During their free time, a few students practiced their Spanish with the Mexicans and Spaniards.

“We performed in outreach performances for the local junior and senior high schools of Yilan, where we got to interact with the students,” senior and trumpeter Ivan Postovit said. At one school, the American and Taiwanese students played a piece together.

At a few others, RM Jazz played their tunes for the Taiwanese students, and separate groups from the Taiwanese school,

one for traditional Taiwanese instruments and one for western, performed as well. After one performance, an English teacher from the school even brought the Jazz Ensemble into her classroom for a Q&A session with her students where the two groups learned about each other’s lifestyles.

The musicians also got to experience other aspects of Taiwanese culture. “We visited a Taiwanese opera museum, a candied fruit museum, a few temples, and a crayon factory,” senior bassist Melissa Langert said.

Despite the language barrier,

PHOTO COURTESY OF PETER PERRY

One of Jazz’s numerous performances took place at I-Lan Commercial Vocational Senior High School.

RM Jazz was able to connect with the other performers—both local and foreign—through music. “It was important to me to see that we could take music students from this side of the world, fly them across the globe, sit them down with music students from the other side of the world, and, with very little effort, communicate and perform music together—a truly universal language,” Dr. Perry said.

The Mongolian group featured Tuvan throat singing, a type of singing in which the performer sings multiple pitches simultaneously.

The group from Mexico included electronic music in their pieces.

The festival exposed a group of American teenagers to music and instruments from all over the world. “It was gratifying to hear the music of all these different cultures,” Christopher said.

At the end of the closing ceremony, all of the performers at the festival performed two pieces collectively; one was a medley appropriately titled “Travel Around the World,” arranged by the festival organizers, with traditional music from each country. “For me, the most rewarding part was playing with the aforementioned multitude of groups,” Borsum said.

Not only did RM Jazz get to hear music from other cultures, they got to share their music with fellow musicians and, in the case of the park and traditional market performances, passersby as well.

“The people were so excited to see us and sincerely interested in what we were performing and what we were doing there. There was an almost celebrity status with the teenagers over there,” Dr. Perry said.

“The people were so excited to see us and sincerely interested in what we were performing.”

- Dr. Perry By the closing ceremony, the group had gained an established Taiwanese fanbase.

These Taiwanese fans would ask for photos, autographs and Instagram handles after each performance.

As a result, each member of RM Jazz Club has received a handful of direct messages (DMs), and Postovit gained roughly 400 followers.

Although the students were sad to leave behind their celebrity status, those who are not graduating seniors are looking forward to going back next year for the 2020 Yilan International Art Festival.

The Tide Crossword: No Theme November ACROSS: 1. The fourth estate 6. Michele of “Glee” 9. The city formerly known as Edo 10. Bart Simpson, for one 11. Letter between rho and tau 12. Heat up in a microwave 13. Where Germany’s Mario Götze scored the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup 15. Home on the fjord, for many Norwegians 18. Finn, for John Boyega 19. Salvador Dalí’s was named Babou 21. Kim, to Psalm, Saint, North, and Chicago 22. Credit alternative 26. Not one for amateur hour 27. Only son of Lucius and Narcissa 28. Female lobster 29. Viscous liquid

DOWN: 1. 61, a career high for Lebron James (abbr.)

2. Louis XIV, par exemple 3. Heart recording, for short 4. Green light in “The Great Gatsby,” for one 5. What rockets literally do and RM Rockets figuratively do 6. Melissa Viviane Jefferson, professionally 7. Online covering for a knight?

8. Maker of AirPods 14. Wisconsin Avenue is a major one in D.C. 15. Pizzazz 16. Twenty years, to Lincoln in a famous address 17. N.E.R.D. and Rihanna single of 2017 20. 10-to-1 and 1,000,000-to-1 23. Milky Way, e.g.

24. Post-op locale that sounds like a phrase of understanding 25. One-up

A Note from the Editors: We’re Recruiting!

Welcome back to another edition of The Tide Crossword!

Does the sight of a blank grid bring you joy? Do you love solving crosswords in your free time, on the road or even during class (shh)? Are you part of the Crossword Club? Are puzzles just your thing?

Then you should apply for a Crossword Constructor position on The Tide!

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and are always welcome. Just send us an email with the subject line “Crossword Constructor Interest” to thetideeditors@gmail.com.

Interested but no experience? Don’t worry, we will provide training!

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Solutions to the crossword puzzle will be posted on thermtide.com!

©JEREMY KOENIG

@RM_Tide

@rm_tide thermtide.com

SPORTS

The Tide

Boys basketball bounces back for another historic season

by Corrigan Peters and Kevin Zhang

November 2019

Poms jump into counties

SPORTS WRITERS

by Brooke Hilliard

Many at RM likely remember the success of the boys varsity basketball team last season. Last March, the hallways buzzed with excitement due to the key playoff victories over Gaithersburg and Walter Johnson that led the team to the state semi-finals. The team was lead by three star players: Ryan Cornish, Djordje Orcev and Miles Galley. The face of the team has changed drastically since then, with Orcev and Galley graduating and Cornish transferring, but the team remains in good hands.

“Our team has so much depth that losing three key starters has little impact to our talent,” junior Jabril Robinson said. “Our younger guys coming off the bench can start on almost any other team in MoCo.”

CENTER SPREAD EDITOR

“This team is very capable of making a similar run as last year.”

- Hayden Lunenfeld Even though the players who led the team through the postseason last season have moved on, the valuable wisdom from playing at the state level is still present in the returning members.

“This team is very capable of making a similar run as last year,” junior Hayden Lunenfeld said.

“We still have many returning players that took part in the run to states, so experience is not an issue.”

Despite this change, many constants remain, such as the preparation for games. “[Preparation] really hasn’t changed,” junior Kordell

PHOTO COURTESY OF KORDELL LEWIS

Junior Kordell Lewis goes up for a lay-up to score at semifinals.

Lewis said. “There’s pre-season and even Coach Azhar before he workouts and after-school left emphasized that our trust in workouts. Nothing has really each other needs to be higher than changed and we’re all putting in before.” the work necessary to prepare us “A new offense and defense for the season.” was introduced and tested over The players are focused on summer league, and have proven maintaining a mindset and work to be more fit for the team we ethic that combats the heavy have going forward, instilling responsibility of filling the shoes confidence and trust in everyone of last seasons stars. in the program,” Lunenfeld said.

“You always expect to go as The team has embraced far as you can go, you don’t expect improvements that need to be to do anything less, “ Lewis said. made, and while they understand “Of course, expectations come how important the contributions along with hard work and a good that last year’s players offered, work ethic, and that’s what we’re they are not lacking in confidence going to do.” for the upcoming season.

With a foundation of “There are a lot of good teams preparation and mentality that in Montgomery County this are standard to basketball, year,” Robinson said. “But when the coaches of the team have the dust settles, I still think we encouraged some improvements. should come out on top.”

“We’ve increased our focus The team may look different on shooting, playing while under this year, but the RM community fatigue and on our lower body should not expect any less. strength. These are the things that “Expectations are always high are going to separate us from the for RM basketball, and we take other teams we play this season,” pride in meeting and exceeding Robinson said. “Coach Breslaw them,” Lunenfeld said.

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The RM Poms are well known for their performances at halftime, but their hard work and captivating dance routines do not stop once halftime is over.

As fall sports are winding down and winter sports are starting up, the Poms are still going strong, training for their upcoming competition season for the winter.

Their first chance to show off their skills is at the exhibition, which takes place on Dec. 14 at Seneca Valley High School this year, which serves as a precursor to the actual competition. “It’s a good way to see how we fit in the competition,” senior Avery Jones said.

Poms competition season officially begins with three invitationals that any MCPS Poms team can participate in. This year they are on Jan. 11 at Northwest High School, Jan. 18 at Blake High School and Jan. 25 at Damascus High School. The RM Poms plan to perform in all three.

Each Poms performance is

four to six minutes long and is scored on choreography, technique, difficulty level and energy level. “The routines are really tiring. You have to make sure you’re keeping your energy up,” Jones said.

Following the three invitationals is the countywide competition, a required competition in which all the MCPS Poms teams compete in their respective divisions. This year, it will take place on Feb. 1, 2020 at Montgomery Blair High School. “We are definitely motivated to perform well, score high and are looking forward to a successful season,” junior Kaya Clark said.

“Counties are much more intense,” Jones said. The scores and placements from the countywide competition are the most important for the Poms as they determine if they will change divisions the next school year.

At the county competition, an MCPS Poms team has the opportunity to win the “spirit award” for having the most spirited audience. “We need people to come out and cheer for us,” Jones said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AVERY JONES

The Poms team poses before a competition during last year’s season.

Underclassmen score spots on varsity squads

by Kevin Zhang SPORTS WRITER

Playing on a varsity team is an incredible accomplishment and many high school athletes spend years training for the opportunity. However, for a few talented underclassmen athletes, the varsity team is where they belong from the get-go.

Many underclassmen athletes use the opportunity of being on varsity to expand their social circles while also furthering their athletic ability. “It allows the underclassmen to develop as both people and players and build relationships on and off the

PHOTO COURTESY OF KYLE LIAO

Junior Kyle Liao serves the ball.

field,” sophomore Andy Song, a member of the tennis and soccer teams, said.

For sophomore William Mason, being a part of the varsity cross country and track teams not only allowed him to build relationships with upperclassmen, but also to shape his mindset when he headed into his freshman year of high school. “It definitely is a good building experience for underclassmen because they will train and compete at an elevated level, which helps them build confidence and work ethic on and off the track,” Mason said.

Despite their lack of high school experience, the expectations for these underclassmen aren’t anything less than the upperclassmen.

“They don’t want you to build a lazy mentality,” Song said.

This level of expectation allows varsity teams to develop a solid foundation for younger players.

“It’s a great way to develop talented players over a longer period of time,” junior Kyle Liao, a member of the varsity volleyball team, said.

The experience of the upperclassmen on the team can help guide their younger counterparts through the

beginning of high school. “The ongoing support of guys that didn’t necessarily race alongside me was critical in getting me to a point where I actually could stick with them at the end of sophomore cross

PHOTO COURTESY OF ELIAS APPLEBAUM

Junior Elias Applebaum (left) competes alongside other runners.

GRAPHIC

BY LEONARDO MONTELEONE

country and track,” Applebaum said. “It also prepares them for the upcoming years as they become more and more important to their teams,” Song said.

While many of these younger athletes demonstrate a remarkable amount of class and talent, some wonder whether or not this takes away opportunities for upperclassmen, who have put in the work for far more years. “You

can certainly see that argument,” Liao said. “While you do want to introduce opportunities to younger athletes, these older athletes should have priority because they have been playing longer and they have less time to participate.”

“It did feel a little undeserved in a sense where many people had worked for years to try to get a spot on varsity and I got it within a short period of time,” Mason said. Sophomore Talia Kouncar, a member of the girls varsity basketball team, however, believes that it ultimately comes

down to athletic ability.

“If that individual is able and ready to play on a varsity team, then it’s a good idea to let them because it definitely boosts their confidence,” Kouncar said.

“As a younger student, this is big because it feels like you have to prove your mettle to show that you deserve to be on the team, and more importantly, that you deserve playing time,” sophomore Kara Venditti, a threesport varsity athlete, said. “It’s a great feeling to make varsity.

It’s an extremely gratifying achievement,” Venditti said.

20 The Tide

SPORTS

November 2019

Ayoola looks to football career after high school Division 4A playoffs.

Despite the pressure for the football team, Ayoola tried his SPORTS WRITER best to keep his head clear. “You Senior T’kai Ayoola, a running know, coming into this as an back for the RM varsity football underdog, as long as we stay team, is the most recent recipient focused and stay motivated and of the University of Maryland’s stay into the season, we can win, Preferred Walk On scholarship. for sure,” Ayoola said.

Ayoola has been playing Ayoola’s contributions to the football for the past nine years team also hasn’t gotten unnoticed and he continues to further his by his teammates. Junior Dylan athletic career into the college Lowe said, “He’s a really level. His career started off hard worker, at practice with his first team, the he is always focused and Howard County Terps. never talks or goofs off, “I’ve been playing he’s reliable and all these since I was eight things make him one of our years old. It’s a love,” best players.”

Ayoola said. His love Although the for football has Rockets fell just only continued GRAPHIC BY KISHA YAN short of a state since, as he played championship through high school as well. showing, the team is still regarded This past season, Ayoola scored as one of the top in the county, 19 rushing touchdowns. He has though it wasn’t always this way. been a starter on the varsity team since he was a sophomore and “Football is has been on the varsity roster since his freshman year. definitely a team Ayoola thinks of his fellow sport. It’s not football players not only as a team, but also a family. “Football just about me or is definitely a team sport. It is not just about me or any other person, any other but I feel like whenever my team person.” needs me, I’ll be there to get the job done,” Ayoola said.

- T’kai Ayoola As the top scorer for the varsity football team, he helped to secure the team an overall record of Ayoola said, “It’s been a couple 8-3, a 35th rank in the state of years since we’ve won the first Maryland, and a spot in the round of playoffs, you know, so

by Chris Meija

PHOTO COURTESY OF T’KAI AYOOLA

Ayoola dives over four Clarksburg defense as he carries the ball upfield.

being the underdogs we have to fight even harder to beat Northwest. It’s not always easy, but everything worth fighting for isn’t easy.”

Individually, Ayoola has also seen his fair share of setbacks over the past few years. For instance, he dislocated his right shoulder in both his sophomore and junior year. “Being able to come back and play on it and still do well is one of the best feelings,” Ayoola said.

After the accidents, he pushed harder to become an even better athlete than what he was. “When I got brought up to the varsity team (freshman year), I knew that I would have to train even harder because I had never played varsity before, so I knew that I would have to work out and prepare my body before I stepped onto that field.” With this in mind, Ayoola began training and gained 25 pounds in between his junior and senior year.

As the years passed, Ayoola’s statistics have only improved.

During the senior night game against Wootton, Ayoola averaged 18.25 yards per carry, ran a total of 146 yards, and also scored four touchdowns.

After this seasons performance, Ayoola plans on taking his football skills to the next level at the University Maryland where he has received a “preferred walk on scholarship.” This scholarship will almost guarantee Ayoola a spot on the varsity roster for the University of Maryland, a Division One school.

His contribution to the football team has been a major one, and his impact on the team as a whole will be remembered for years to come.

“I just want to say thank you to everyone who shows me and the team support and love and thank you for picking me as athlete of the month,” Ayoola said.

Check @rm_tide on Instagram to vote for next month’s nomination!

GRAPHIC BY VALERIE WANG

RMXC star runners lead pack at counties and beyond

by Lucas Corea SPORTS WRITER

More commonly known as RMXC, the RM Cross Country

team boasts one of the best programs in the state. With the number five boys team in the 4A state division, the number five individual boy runner and the number two individual girl runner, RMXC has enjoyed plenty of success in the past few years.

Not only is the team a strong competitor at a high level, they also have a fun and enjoyable team atmosphere. “It consists of the team joking around, saying

inside jokes, listening to some music in the beginning,” senior captain John Condon said. “And when Coach comes out, this fun and relaxing atmosphere continues. But then we also know when it’s time to work.”

Many other teammates concur with this strong team unity. “I would say that we all get very close over the entire season, and that the team is very supportive and encouraging,”sophomore Hazel Hoppe said.

Holding a roster of over 70 runners, RMXC has always had a very large squad. However, once the county championships passed on Oct. 19, the team was whittled down to about 10 boys and seven

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHARLOTTE TURESSON

Turesson (right) races alongside Walter Johnson’s Jenna Goldberg (left) at the state XC meet after placing second in both regionals and counties.

girls as the varsity championship season took over. Senior Garrett Suhr said, “It gets a little bit more serious but we still like to have fun as long as we get the work in.”

“The pressure increases but the support and encouragement do too. And going to regionals especially when the team gets really small we all get nervous and excited together and hype each other up,” sophomore Nisha Ashtrey said.

Unfortunately, the RMXC girls team failed to make the cut for states, one spot short of qualifying. “I think for the girls team it was mostly a season of developing and gaining experience. Our team is young and there’s lots of potential to come,” junior Charlotte Turesson said. “Even though our team didn’t qualify for states, I think that it was a great experience to gain knowledge about themselves as individuals in running.”

Turesson qualified as an individual for states after placing second in both the regional and county championships, behind Walter Johnson’s senior Jenna Goldberg. At the states race, Turesson once again attained the silver medal, just behind Goldberg.

“You win some, you lose some.

Honestly I’m so fortunate to have raced against Jenna for this season,” Turesson said. “I’ll admit it was tough at times to end up second three times in a row, but there’s no point on dwelling and feeling sorry for yourself when each day is a new day.”

The RMXC boys team also came into the season with big hopes.

“We wanted a county and state

PHOTO COURTESY OF GARRETT SUHR

Suhr raced his PR 15:16 at the 2019 Great American XC festival in NC, finishing 17th among the nation’s top runners, with RM’s fastest time.

title. And to defend our regional title,” junior Elias Applebaum said. Suhr also looked to take home the individual state title.

After a decent showing at the Great American XC race in North Carolina, RMXC began to prepare for the county, region and state championship races. Every day of training from the beginning of June through the end of November is planned by coaches Davy Rogers and Dave Warren.

“I think the coaches are good at prioritizing what we need to be focusing on in the long run across our season,” junior Edward Sorensen said. “Every workout is important in building us to be able to perform our best when it counts.”

The county championships was the first title race of the season.

“The team was going for the win and to prove the haters wrong who say we choke every year,” Suhr said. Unfortunately, RM

fell short, with the boys placing fourth.

Once again, the RM boys fell short of their expectations, grabbing second behind Walter Johnson. “I think Regionals was big for us as a team because we collectively realized that we had to perform better,” Sorensen said.

The RM boys pulled together a miraculous fifth place finish at states, one spot better than last year, beating out Walter Johnson.

Suhr also finished fifth overall individually. “I don’t know if we would’ve done as well at states if we didn’t have that wake up call [at regionals],” Sorensen said.

Although RMXC’s top two runners, Suhr and senior Aidan Goldenberg-Hart, are leaving next year, a deep group of underclassmen, including freshman Noah Fisher and sophomore Henry Kaye look to take over and lead the team to more success.