October 2015

Sherwood High School 300 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Sandy Spring, MD 20860 www.thewarrioronline.com

Warrior 38th Year, Issue No.1

October 15, 2015

the

Inside: News: 1-5, Football: 6-7, Features: 8-9 Humor: 10-11, Spotlight: 12-13, Opinions: 14-17, Wondering Warrior: 18 Entertainment: 19-21, Sports: 22-24

American Sign Language:

Added as a Foreign Language Class pg. 3

Football:

Causing Serious Injuries at All Levels of the Game pg. 6

imgarcade.com

Social Media:

Its Effects on Our Generation pg. 12-13

Jump on the Bandwagon:

How Sherwood Students Feel About Trends pg. 18

Scream Queens: A Review of the New, Star-Filled Show

pg. 19

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Soccer: The Ups and Downs of the Fall Season so Far pg. 23

Solar Panels Ready To Go on Roof of School

by Tyler Ruth ‘16 As a part of MCPS’s ongoing efforts to become a more environmentally friendly and sustainable organization, the departments of Facilities Management and Materials Management, in partnership with SunEdison LLC, have begun installation of solar panels on Sherwood and three other schools. Installation of 2,041 solar panels onto the entirety of the roof (excluding the auxiliary gym) of Sherwood was supposed to begin on August 24 but permits have not yet been attained, delaying the project indefinitely. The project is expected to be done by mid-December.

MCPS made an agreement with SunEdison LLC for the latter to be responsible for the possession, installation, operation, maintenance and financing of the photovoltaic cells that are rated for a capacity of approximately 564 kilowatts at Sherwood (total energy for all of the solar panels being installed at the four schools is 2.2 megawatts). Last year Sherwood used 2,060,074 kilowatt-hours in energy. Depending on the time of year, the solar panels at Sherwood will be able to account for 20-40 percent of those power needs. In exchange for this, MCPS has agreed to a 20-year term agreement for the solar panels to be hosted on MCPS property.

The school is expected to install 2,041 solar panels on the roof by mid-December. The project was delayed due to difficulty acquiring permits. Sherwood is one of four schools in the county implementing solar energy.

SunEdison LLC was chosen for the project because of its successful installation and operation of solar panels on eight schools in 2008 and 2009. SunEdison LLC also provides MCPS with the most competitive prices as the prices have essentially been subsidized so SunEdison LLC can offer fixed prices that are lower than the competition. With this new deal in place, MCPS has an estimated annual utility cost avoidance of about $206,000.

MCPS Votes To Eliminate Countywide Final Exams

by Morgan Hill ‘16 The Board of Education voted unanimously on September 8 to remove county exams for all high school students. The decision will become effective for the 2016-2017 school year, making the final exams at the end of this school year the last exams that the county will administer. Externally assessed courses, which are classes that require students to take the PARCC or HSA tests, will not be subjected to county exams for the second semester of this school year.

The decision comes just weeks after the board eliminated all exams for middle school students in MCPS. In doing so, the Board hopes to shift education to a more project-based system of learning. Before making their final decision, the Board reached out to students and parents across the county for input on the proposal. “This is a decision which directly benefits the students,” said Eric Guerci, Student Mem-

ber of the Board (SMOB). “In reaching out to students, this was the option they felt was the best by an overwhelming majority.”

Leadership came to agreement about the removal of exams less than two months after the idea was first proposed. It has been pointed out that the Board took little time to debate the consequences of its decision and how it would affect students in the long run. “I fear that MCPS is moving too fast on something that is going to have a deep impact on the high schools. They have in many ways ‘put the cart before the horse,’” said science teacher Glenn Miller, who is a Sherwood representative to the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA).

“The Board of Education and the MCPS leadership should have spent more time vetting this idea and talking it over with stakeholders. They should be able to show what the other assessments

see NO EXAMS, pg. 3

All the energy produced by the SunEdison panels will be bought up by MCPS and used only in accordance with MCPS buildings and services.

This means that no energy will be distributed to the surrounding communities like some residential owners of solar panels choose to do in order to be paid for the outputted energy to the county.

Since 2003, MCPS has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by over 70,000 MtC02e (million

metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) from the 178,000 MtCO2e that used to be produced every year before sustainability management plans were put into place. With the new solar panels and better power management, such as using LED instead of fluorescent lights, timed lighting and virtualization of servers, MCPS hopes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by another 15 percent by 2024. MCPS plans to install solar panels at more schools.

Late School Times Students across the school were asked how their schedules were altered by the twenty-minute change.

Have the delayed start and end times affected you?

42% no 58% yes Do you get more sleep due to the later start time?

55% no 45% yes If you could select the school hours, which choice would you pick?

6% said 9:00-3:45 8% said 8:30-3:15 22% said 8:00-2:45

25% said 7:45-2:30 39% said 7:25-2:10 *109 students surveyed compiled by Samantha Schwartz ‘16

The Warrior•News 2

October 15, 2015

Pay To Park or Park and Pay

S W E N in brief

by Samantha Schwartz ‘16

Each year a fortunate few drive to and from school, gaining five extra minutes of sleep and speedily leaving right before the busses pull out. These student drivers gain the luxury of wheels, but at a cost. Students who park at school must pay $75 at the beginning of the year for a parking permit.

The initial parking permit and cost itself are no different from other years, but what is new are the consequences that result from parking without a permit. In the past students were issued a warning or a small fine if caught without a permit, but this school year students found parking without a permit hanging from their front mirror will be issued a county citation parking ticket. Students can contest the fine in court.

If students fail to pay the initial ticket or do not appear in court, their license will be suspended, just like any other county-issued parking ticket. Students caught driving without paying their ticket, meaning a suspended license, will receive larger fines.

Former Student Sentenced to Jail Term for Fatal Accident

by Bryse Thornwell ‘16

The court trial for former Sherwood student Austin Hall (‘15) came to a close on September 10. Hall pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol, as well as causing the vehicular manslaughter of Shawn Gangloff and life threatening injuries to Max Dechter. Evidence shows that Hall lost control of his car while driving at 119 mph, and that he possessed a blood-alcohol content of 0.11 two and a half hours after the crash.

Hall was originally sentenced to eight years in prison, but the Judge reduced the sentencing to 18 months along with five years of probation and 150 hours of community service. The judge also said he wanted to see Hall speak in schools and other organizations about the dangers of drunk driving.

When Hall spoke to the courtroom, he said, “Words can’t describe the way I feel about everything that happened.” Hall pleaded guilty because he wanted to take responsibility for his actions as well as make a difference in the community by talking about what happened. Hall’s attorney in the Washington Post described him as “‘a good person’ from a good family who made a ‘horrible mistake.’”

Program Creates Awareness About Music Education

by Megan Werden ’17 More Music Montgomery (MMM), a student-led project organized by Rockville senior Michael Silverglade, is creating a new awareness campaign to increase funding for music education in Montgomery County.

On September 21, Silverglade spoke to the Montgomery County Board of Education, saying that music education is something very important to thousands of students and families in the county.

Silverglade described how kids will stay more engaged in school, will obtain better SAT scores, and will learn collaboration and teamwork. He added that colleges value students who study music.

Music education has not been given a substantial amount of funding as the county’s student population has grown. MCPS is behind the rest of the State of Maryland in its commitment to instrumental music for elementary schools. According to Silverglade, elementary students in other counties receive up to 90 minutes of music each week, while Montgomery County elementary students receive only 30 minutes. However, music education enrollment grows at all levels each year with 13,000 elementary students anticipated this coming school year.

Graduate Dies in Vehicle Accident Recent Sherwood graduate, Jarrett Harman (’14) died in a motorcycle collision on September 4. After the fatal accident occurred, he succumbed to his injuries at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center.

Harman was a second-year student at Montgomery College in hopes of earning an engineering degree. While he was at Sherwood, he thrived in cross-country and track and field. The news of his death sparked an outpouring of trib-

utes on social media, most notably about his beautiful smile and genuine character.

The viewing and funeral services were held on September 11 and 12 at The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepard in Olney, Maryland. Numerous members of the Sherwood Community

attended to mourn and to honor this incredible young man’s legacy.

- Alleigh Keyes ‘16

Day in the Life of an Office Aide

by Milan Polk ‘16 In the middle of class, some mysterious junior or senior may walk in, hand the teacher a pass and be on their way. To the freshman, the idea of an office aide is a whole new concept. Until high school, it is difficult for a student to do anything other than go to class. Even student aides are technically in a class. Office aides, on the other hand, get to be in a different environment.

The idea behind office aides was simple enough: staff in the counseling and main office needed help, so students were enlisted. However, students are able to benefit from the arrangement as well.

“It was originally used for when a student’s schedule choices just didn’t work out. Sometimes it’s also used for those who are overwhelmed with hard classes and need a more relaxed period,” said Nancy Benson, a counselor.

She is unsure exactly when the

program started at Sherwood, but she knows it has been going on longer than 14 years, which is as long as she has been at the school.

Office aides do more than just pass out notes to teachers: “They answer the telephones, run the passes, collate papers and do any other odd jobs we have for them like alphabetizing papers,” said Georgianne Linthicum, the overall manager of the office aides as well as a receptionist at the front desk in the counseling office. The most important job, according to Linthicum, is answering the phones. “The phone is always ringing,” she said. If the students run out of tasks, they simply do homework for other classes.

Being an office aide gives students a sense of menial work and could help them consider if they want to work in an office setting. “It could lead to a secretarial position,” Linthicum said.

In order to become an office aide, there are a few requirements. Generally, students are in

eleventh and twelfth grade because upperclassmen tend to have more flexible schedules. In addition, the students must be mature and responsible. “We like them to be polite, and have no foolishness in the halls when they’re passing out notes,” Linthicum says. When on the phone, students have to be respectful to the people they are talking to and make sure the callers are not giving students any overtly personal stories or details by letting “them know a student is talking,” Linthicum said.

Students who have an extra space in their schedule should consider a position as an office aide. The staff greatly appreciate the students’ help that is a product of the aides program. “They all are really good kids,” said Benson. Office aides are students who want to help others on a daily basis by handing out notes, answering phones and completing other tasks. Students interested in becoming an office aide should talk to their counselor.

Religious Toleration Guidelines Distributed To Students Throughout the School System

by Ketki Chauhan ‘16 After requests to honor other religious holidays, MCPS has decided for the first time ever to create guidelines for religious diversity. The booklet, which was given to all the students in the county (Sherwood students received it in their advisories), begins with a set of FAQs about the accommodations for students observing a special holiday and then specific sections regarding policies about absences, religious dress, prayer in school, etc. It was created in partnership with the Montgomery County Executive’s Faith Working Group.

On June 10, an interfaith forum was held to strengthen the collaboration between the school

system and the faith communities in the county. The developments for the guidelines were set in motion to placate those angered by the Board of Education’s initial vote in regard to religious holidays.

In 2014, the Board of Education voted against closing school for Muslim holidays, like Eid al-Adha, after multiple requests were made by Muslim communities to treat their holidays like Jewish holidays in which school is closed. Instead, the Board removed religious holidays off the calendar, opting to just refer to the day as “No school” rather than specifying the holiday for which they are closing. This resolution was originally proposed by then Superintendent Joshua Starr.

The board defended its decision of not closing school as well as affirmed in the guidelines that students who miss school to observe a religious holiday are considered excused and must be given an opportunity to make up whatever work they missed.

However, parents still believe that this puts their child at a disadvantage, making them choose between their faith and school work.

Public comment on the calendar policy was available until October 9. One of the items covered in the policy was the consideration whether school should be closed because of high absenteeism. More information on the guidelines and a copy of it can be found on the MCPS website.

The Warrior•News October 15, 2015 MCPS Weighs Grading Options from NO EXAMS, pg. 1 are going to look like instead of just mentioning the idea in broad terms.”

The formulation of a final grading plan for calculating semester grades is still underway.

The Board recently unveiled four possible grading options that could replace the old system.

The first option would determine semester grades by averaging together the student’s grade percentages from the two quarters of the semester. The second option would use a point system similar to the one used for calculating a student’s GPA. An A would be worth four points, a B worth three points, and so on. To calculate the semester grades, the two numbers would then be averaged together. Another option is the use of a trend line. A student who earns an A in the first quarter and a B in the second quarter would receive a B for the semester. This option has received little support from board members and faculty across the county. The last option would be to replace the county-made final exams with exams made by teachers for their respective classes. The Board is slated to make a final decision regarding grading options on November 10.

In recent years, concern has been increasing regarding semester-ending exams. Both teachers and students alike voiced concern over the amount of instructional time the exams consumed. Under the new plan, teachers will regain a week of instructional time as well as multiple days previously dedicated to reviewing material

for the exams. “This would help students have more time to learn and process the material than under our traditional model.” English teacher Patty Jasnow said.

The Board and community members also had concerns over the effectiveness of the exams.

Many questioned if the exams accurately indicated how well the students understood the material. In an analysis of countywide exam performance, Board members found that nearly 50 percent of Algebra 1 students were failing their math exams each year.

Across all math classes, more than 60 percent of students failed exams annually. Additional analysis showed that many of the students who failed exams were excelling in the class during the quarter.

Testing advocates believe that exams prepare students for college level learning, which includes cumulative exams. “I feel students still need the experience of preparing for a final in all core courses,” said engineering teacher Brendan Lees. “Unless colleges are eliminating final exams also, students still need the practice.”

Moving forward, the county will look to resolve the details regarding implementation of the plan. Eventually, the Board will develop and implement communication programs, which will allow the county to report to both students and parents on student progress. Changes to the plan are also probable, as the Board looks to identify the best possible grading guidelines and procedures to accompany the policy.

3

American Sign Language Introduced To The Foreign Language Department

by Maddie Peloff ‘16 This year, a new sign language class was introduced to the foreign language department.

The class teaches students about American Sign Language (ASL), including how to sign and the language’s cultural history.

Amy Crumrine, the sign language teacher, is new to the Sherwood community. Being deaf herself, she understands the challenges deaf people face when attempting to communicate with others. For that reason, she believes the sign language class is a great opportunity for students to learn to communicate with the millions of deaf people in the country. She urges students to take sign language because she believes they, as well as other deaf individuals, will benefit by being able to communicate with an entirely new group of people that they may not have been able to communicate with before. Approximately “15 percent of the population experiences some trouble hearing,” explained Crumrine.

The curriculum for the new sign language class is based off the “Master ASL” book, which is the only sign language curriculum that meets the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language’s standards of a foreign language class. The class’s content is based in two categories: language and culture.

As for the language portion, students learn ASL vocabulary and grammar that enables them to

Kayla Cohen ‘17

Alexis Romas (‘16) and her classmates practice signs in their ASL class. properly communicate with deaf individuals. For the culture section, students learn all about deaf culture and history, giving them a unique appreciation for the deaf world. In order to teach this content to students, Crumrine uses many PowerPoint presentations interspersed with interactive activities to convey to students new vocabulary and help them better understand how to expressively and receptively sign.

Senior Alexis Romas decided to take the class after it was recommended to her by a friend in college who is studying sign language. Romas stated that she finds the class to be extremely

enjoyable, and her favorite part is learning new vocabulary. “All the different hand gestures are really fascinating and some are kind of difficult,” she explained. “It kind of makes you think ‘this is someone’s language’ and it’s awesome how [someone] can just do a hand gesture and you know exactly what they mean.”

Crumrine encourages students to take her class because “ASL is a language of its ownjust like Spanish or French,” and just like both of these classes, ASL gives students a unique opportunity to widen their cultural understandings and learn something new about a culture they

The Warrior thanks its many wonderful patrons: Abramowitz Family, Allen Family, Averbach Family, Frank and Alexis Bentz, Bray Family, Rick and Rita Brigham, Durond and Lisa Brown, Jan and Bill Carlson, Chauhan Family, Cohen Family, Cooper Family, Deal Family, Deffinbaugh Family, Dymond Family, Falcigno Family, Rosanne Ferris, Ganey Family, Jonathan and Ruth Golomb, Gormley Family, Hein Family, Hoyt and Karen Hughes, Jonas Family , Kanaskie Family, Susan Mize and Kevin Kanstoroom, Kendall Family, Randy and Nancy Keyes, Kuhlmann Family, Levy Family, Little Family, Loughner Family, Malakoff Family, Newman Family, Paidas Family, Proctor Family, Rosendorf Family, Laura and Craig Sanchez, Schwartz Family, Sentner Family, Sousane Family , Spillman Family, Suissa Family, Sutherland Family, Tagliere Family, Thornwell-Williams Family, Tobb Family, Tom Family, Weinberger Family, Stacey Wells, Andy and Bev White, Lynn Fields and Steve White, Todd and Renate Wilson, Witkin Family, Yates Family If you are interested in becoming a patron, contact Peter Huck at Peter_J_Huck@mcpsmd. org or go to the Warrior Online at www.thewarrioronline.com

The Warrior•News 4

October 15, 2015

SAT Loses Popularity as Scores Continue To Decline

by Jacob Golomb ‘16 Recent SAT reports have shown an overall decline in national and local scores. At Sherwood, SAT composite scores have gone down by 40 points in the past three years. Sherwood’s Class of 2015 averaged a composite score of 1582, with Math scores at 537, Critical Reading at 527, and Writing at 517.

Sherwood’s decline mirrors a national trend of falling scores.

Overall, scores in the United States have gone down by eight points since 2012, with a larger drop for Maryland and MCPS. As the SAT scores decline, the popularity has decreased, too.

Whereas 70.7 percent of the Class of 2012 for MCPS took the SAT, 67.8 percent of the Class of 2015 took the test. Sherwood, however, is an anomaly in MCPS because it is one of the only high schools in the county with SAT participation above 80 percent last year.

The ACT is increasingly being viewed as an attractive replacement for the ever more unpopular SAT. In contrast to the SAT’s declining scores, ACT scores have seen a slight increase

Mean SAT scores nationally and locally have been slowly decreasing since 2012. Sherwood’s scores correlate with this constant decline. However, the scores for Sherwood have remained higher than the nation’s. in recent years, indicating that the ACT is a better fit than the SAT for some students. The increasing attractiveness of the ACT is probably driven by the fact that, unlike with the SAT, the ACT’s essay is optional and its multi-

ple choice questions are more straightforward. The SAT has decided to follow the ACT’s example in hopes of remedying the decrease in its popularity.

The new SAT test, launching in March 2016, will have an op-

tional essay and no section with difficult vocab questions. This will result in four, rather than the three, sections: Reading, Writing and Language, Math, and the optional Essay which will no longer be factored into the Writing score.

The Reading and Writing sections will be reported as one score out of 800 possible points. The redesigned SAT will have a composite score out of 1600 rather than 2400 and there will be no penalty for guessing. In the current version of the test, each wrong answer subtracts .25 of a point from the score.

In the new version, incorrect answers will neither add nor subtract from the score, similar to how the ACT works. Therefore, whereas with the current SAT students are only supposed to answer if they are confident they know the answer, students taking the new SAT will have better chances of scoring higher by guessing rather than leaving the question blank because getting an answer wrong is counted just like not answering it at all.

Despite the SAT’s decreasing popularity and the increase in popularity of the ACT, all colleges in the country accept both tests. According to the director of admissions at Harvard, “Either [the ACT or SAT] fine with us, and we don’t have a feeling that either favors students with any particular profile.”

Three New Restaurants Coming to Olney

by Nicole Reich ‘17 A trio of new restaurants will soon opening Olney, giving students even more options for eating out. Jersey Mike’s will be located beside the Olney Bagel Bakery, while Cava Mezze will be in the space previously occupied by the Olney Toy Store.

Chick-Fil-A is expected to open within the next year behind Five Guys.

New businesses still see attractive opportunities despite the fact that Olney is filled with countless food options. “Olney is an attractive place for many

businesses to invest because we are a solid community with great demographics,” said John Webster, President of the Greater Olney Civic Association. “GOCA wishes success to each of the new business owners and welcomes them to our community.”

Jersey Mikes, which is now hiring, sells a variety of hot and cold sandwiches, wraps and the unique sub in a tub, which is an alternative option to the classic subs because its contents are put into a salad. Jersey Mike’s also has a secret menu found online consisting of subs that have been removed from the regular menu.

Meals can be ordered online for ease, as well. Even for big events, Jersey Mike’s offers catering.

Cava Mezze is a sit-down restaurant specializing in Greek dishes. The already popular Cava Grill, located in Montgomery Mall, Bethesda Row, Kentlands and Silver Spring, is the sister restaurant to Cava Mezze. The restaurant will serve brunch, lunch and dinner. Offerings will include the classics such as spanakopita, dips, flaming cheese and chicken skewers. A four-course prix fixe menu, Mezze Mania, will be available every Monday night for $25.

Maya Koeppen ‘17

The sign for Jersey Mike’s Subs has been up for about a month. The sub shop is put in So Original’s previous location and will open in the upcoming months. Similarily, the sign for Cava Mezze is now up at its location.

The Warrior•News October 15, 2015

5

The Warrior•Football 6

October 15, 2015

Concussions Raise Concerns on Multiple Levels Serious Injuries Put NFL Players at Increased Risk

by Kira Yates ‘16 Football has an ongoing reputation as being a violent sport in which players risk their safety each game. While many injuries are serious, the most dangerous and prevalent injuries are concussions, or any trauma to the head.

On the opening Sunday of the 2015 season, almost every game had at least one player out with a concussion by halftime, with a total of nine concussions before the Monday game was even played. In the 2014 season alone, 112 professional football players in the NFL suffered concussions.

Although the NFL claims that the number of concussions in each season had decreased by 35 percent, the number of concussions that occurred on opening weekend this year was double the number of those that occurred on the opening weekend in 2010, and these numbers could continue to rise as the season progresses.

While a concussion may force a player to sit out a week of practice and a game or two, multiple concussions, or even one major concussion, can cause many serious long-term issues. Traumatic head injury in professional football players has been correlated with the disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

CTE, a progressive, degenerative brain disease caused by hard and/ or repetitive hits to the head, has been studied extensively at the CTE Center at Boston University.

The Center thoroughly examined the brains of 91 former NFL players, and found CTE in 87 of those brains. Combined with studies from the Department of Veterans Affairs, CTE was found in nearly 80 percent of 165 former football players from all levels of the game. Some former NFL players such as Dave Duerson, Ray East-

erling and Andre Waters, who are now known to have suffered from CTE, suffered a very painful decline and are believed to have committed suicide after suffering from the symptoms of CTE. Besides concussions, the sport of football presents the constant threat of mild to severe injuries, ranging from broken fingers to torn ACLs. In order to keep up with all of the injuries in the NFL and to ensure that members of fantasy football leagues choose the right players for the week, many websites including ESPN, NFL, CBS, Fox Sports and Yahoo keep a running list of all of the injured players in the NFL. According to these lists, almost every single team in the NFL has at least five injured players who are unable to play. For example, the Pittsburgh Steelers had eight players injured in the last weekend of September with injuries including a broken hand, a shoulder injury, a thumb injury, a chest injury and a knee injury that will cause starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to miss four to six weeks of the season.

Such injuries, as well as mounting evidence of long term brain trauma caused by playing football, is leading some to question the very safety of the game itself. Steve Almond, author of “Against Football: One Fan’s Reluctant Manifesto,” writes an “exasperated, frustrated, wide-ranging argument that the time has come to abandon football as a sport built on … a willingness to find it entertaining to watch people suffer brain damage.” A sport in which dozens of players suffer severe injuries week after week calls into question the general safety of the game, and whether or not the regulations being made to improve the safety of the game are actually working.

whiteknollyouthfootball.com

Most coaches of youth football orgainzations are not required to have qualifications or even be licensed.

Youth Football Results in Long-term Effects

by Ashley Nnabue ‘16 The Hall of Fame Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman said, “I think that we’re at a real crossroads, as it relates to the grassroots of our sport, because if I had a 10-year-boy, I don’t know that I’d be real inclined to encourage him to go play football, in light of what we are learning from head injury.”

According to the New York Times youth football is the most dangerous stage of football because it produces higher risks of memory and thinking problems later in life. Players that begin playing between the ages of 5 and 14 tend to accumulate more drastic injuries than players that start later in life. By playing a contact sport at such a young age, children can disrupt proper development. However, the symptoms of brain injuries might not appear until later in the player’s life.

Many youth football organizations have earned a lot of attention after studies highlighted the dangers of allowing young children to partake in an extensive form of aggression at

such a young age. According to Boston University, former NFL players that played tackle football when they were younger were more likely to experience thinking and memory problems as adults. Depending on the severity, the damage can be fatal.

Responding to complaints of violent, physical contact, Pop Warner, a prominent youth football program across the country, created new rules to limit contact during practices in 2012.

Players are no longer allowed to engage in full speed head-on blocking or tackling drills or intentional head-to-head contact.

Also, each practice may only contain 40 minutes of contact.

Yet according to USA Today, the University of Pittsburgh conducted a study that found that players were 26 times more likely to be concussed in games than in practices. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center suggested, “youth football leagues should focus on awareness and education about concussions … practice is when tackling technique can be taught and reinforced in a much safer environment than in games.”

Julian Bailes, chair of Pop Warner youth football’s medical advisory board, responded by questioning the size of the study sample (of 20 diagnosed concussions, 18 happened during games), but did not disagree that more concussions occur in games.

Furthermore, youth football organizations have minimal requirements in place for coach qualifications. Pee-wee football has proven to be the most critical stage for children because their brains are still developing, yet that is where the worst coaches are found. Coaches for Pop Warner only have to complete an online course every three years to become eligible. This process neglects to assess an individual’s ability to instruct young children on proper tackling techniques.

Ultimately, it is up to parents to decide whether or not they will allow their child to participate in a high-contact sport during their youth. Although precautions are being taken to improve safety tactics, there are still many parents, including NFL players, that refuse to allow their sons to play the sport.

The Redskins’ Past Comes Back To Haunt Them

by Danielle Tobb ‘17

Fans of the Washington Redskins are a long-suffering bunch and they have reached the point where they expect this season to be the worst for their team. At the beginning of the season, the team demoted Robert Griffin III who went from hero to zero since being the Redskins’ second draft pick overall in 2012. On the last day of August, Jay Gruden pulled RGIII as the starting quarterback and named Kurt Cousins as his replacement. Since then, the team has experienced new lows with a 2-3 losing record.

During another season of suffering for the Redskins, many have temporarily forgotten the controversy over whether or not the team should keep its name. The conflict reignited most recently in October, 2013 when President Obama spoke out about how he had legitimate concerns about the racist connotation that the name may hold.

On November 2, 2014, thousands of Native

www.washingtonpost.com

The Washington Warriors is one of the more popular suggestions for a redesigned logo.

Americans in Minnesota outside the stadium where the Redskins game was about to take place, Vikings chanted, “Who are we…not your mascots!” The courts re-

visited the issue on July 8, 2015; the US District Court upheld the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s decision to cancel the Redskins’ federal trademark registration.

The team is still permitted to use the name but without federal trademark protection.

In response to criticism over the team name, Redskins owner Dan Snyder said, “A Redskin is a football player. A Redskin is our fans, the Washington Redskin fan base.

It represents honor, represents respect, represents pride, hopefully winning.”

While Snyder remains unmoved by the growing calls for a new team name, others began to rename and redesign a logo on their own. The Washington Post opened a competition to the public to create a new name. The top suggested names in their contest include the Washington Warriors, Washington Americans and Washington Blue Crabs.

Whether or not the Redskins make the playoffs this season, the controversy over the team name is not going anywhere soon.

Snyder is insistent that the name and logo is not offensive to Native Americans, but future legislation or public opinion might force the change upon the team.

The Warrior•Football October 15, 2015

7

Goodell Losing His Grip on Legal Power in NFL Maryland in the Midwest?

UMD followed the money from TV contracts in its risky decision to leave the ACC and instead join the Big Ten.

by Ben Cooper ‘16

Over the past few years, the NFL has been in the news for what has happened off the field almost as much as for what has happened on it. Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was suspended for domestic violence. Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was suspended for child abuse. Most recently, Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots, was suspended for supposedly deflating footballs to his advantage.

These events all have one thing in common; the suspensions were all overturned in the court of law after a supposed error in the NFL process.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell imposed each of these suspensions, but they were all reversed because courts ruled that he overstepped the boundaries outlined in the agreement between the NFL and its players known as the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Specifically in the Brady case, Goodell stated that because Brady was “probably” involved in the deflation of footballs, he deserved a four-game suspension.

When Brady and his team of lawyers took the case to court, the ruling was overturned because Goodell had never suspended anyone on those terms and he didn’t adhere to the boundaries stated in the CBA. In the CBA, Goodell is given the right to fairly hand out suspensions as well as preside neutrally over any appeal of those suspensions, therefore making him in charge of nearly

by Will Van Gelder ‘16

scoreboardtx.com

After Goodell attempts multiple suspensions, the NFLPA seek changes. the entire process. The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) argued that Goodell did not fairly hand out the suspension. This isn’t the first time an error has been made in the NFL’s legal process, and it’s clear that the NFLPA will seek changes to the powers that Goodell currently holds.

A wrongdoing does not normally define one’s career, but in Goodell’s case there have been four major suspensions of his overturned in court. Most experts

agree that there are glaring issues with how he is involved in every phase of the NFL’s legal process, and therefore the NFLPA is looking to agree to a new CBA that would reduce his involvement in situations that require fines, suspensions or appeals. Goodell wouldn’t be completely removed from the process, but certainly after so many mishaps there would be someone else to help out in order to avoid even more embarrassment for the NFL.

Many high school students imagining the college life, envision dorm rooms, new friends, and professors in large auditoriums. But for other students, the first image that might come to mind when thinking of college is football on Saturday afternoons.

College football is a tremendously popular sport that, in some parts of the country, is watched even more than the NFL. The affinity for sports that these students feel often translates into giant TV contracts for some independent schools such as Notre Dame, but more often for collegiate sports conferences.

The money these contracts rake in often helps to determine major decisions by university leaders about their athletic programs.

Take the University of Maryland, for example.

Sports are deeply ingrained in the culture at Maryland’s College Park campus. The school’s athletics have collected 41 national championship titles, with the boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams together combining for 23 of those titles. Given this sports legacy, it was big news when the school officially changed conferences in July of 2014. Maryland ended its 61-year membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) to join the much more profitable Big 10, which actually now consists of 14 teams. The Big 10 primarily is known for its powerhouse football programs. Maryland has

won one national football championship—in 1953.

Maryland’s choice to leave the ACC baffled many fans and outside observers. But the main reason was actually quite easy to ascertain. Being a member of the Big 10 is very profitable, with 12 of their 14 schools expected to take in $45 million in television revenue in 2017-18, compared to the ACC’s average of $21 million per school. Maryland is also now guaranteed more national TV coverage on networks such as ESPN. Maryland students and other supporters will have to see if the money and additional TV coverage is worth it. The Maryland football team is currently in the midst of a terrible season, while its basketball team is a pre-season favorite to win a national championship. Yet, basketball fans no longer will get to see another chapter in a Maryland-Duke basketball rivalry that goes back decades. It’s also highly unlikely that Maryland fans will find it easier to travel to Wisconsin as opposed to Virgina to see their Terps play a conference away game.

College sports originally were intended to be for students’ entertainment. With the TV deals that are now being offered, however, collegiate athletics have become a business similar to the NFL or NBA. While the students in College Park may not like it, the people in charge can’t say no to more money.

The Warrior•Features 8

October 15, 2015

Behind Warrior Wakeup Live Show Students Prepare for

by Milan Polk ‘16

Warrior Wakeup Live, Sherwood’s morning show, went live in late September. It is mainly run by students, who are trained to do everything from recording audio to filming the show.

The school year begins with a small group of students working on the show. It is instructed by John Williams, the school’s media services technician, and Jason Daigle, the technology education resource teacher. Most students will work behind the scenes, with only a few chosen to be hosts.

Giving each student’s position is the first step to production. “We try to gauge interest and see what students are interested in,” said Williams.

Williams supervises the students in the studio and Daigle handles the students that film the recorded material. Both of these aspects come together to form the daily live show, with live hosts, but also previously recorded segments such as cooking and SAT questions. Once the students learn the basics, they practice continually before they go live. “We do two or three weeks worth of dry runs,” Williams said.

One of the most important factors to the morning show is timing. The production is only allotted five minutes and thirty

Homecoming Halls

by Maya Koeppen ‘17

Kayla Cohen ‘17

Cameraman junior Jean Didier Yemba videotapes the morning show. seconds to air, and cannot go on past the bell. This problem is a job for the assistant director, who uses a stopwatch to keep the show on time. If the show seems to be running too long, the director, who this year is senior Jennifer Jung, tells the hosts to skip an announcement or to immediately end the show to stay on schedule.

The students do not work in the same position all year, however. Those that film recorded material will eventually have a chance to work in the studio, and vice versa. The show has about four

hosts who periodically switch out. Jobs are not permanent, and if one finds that they would work better somewhere else in the production, the instructors will accommodate.

Williams and Daigle like to start the show each school year as soon as the students are ready.

However, if they are not ready, then they will simply keep practicing until they are down to minimal issues and can work out any major problems. “It takes a lot of trial and error,” Williams explained.

Each year students and teachers crowd the halls in awe at the extensively decorated and highly anticipated hallways, while those who worked on them nervously await the results. This year will prove to be no exception. Next Friday, students will leave the real world and enter into the sets of some of the most crowd-pleasing, top-grossing films of all time.

Featuring the themes of “The Dark Knight” by the seniors, “Toy Story” by the juniors, “Frozen” by the sophomores, and “Star Wars” by the freshmen, the halls are sure to bring out the movie junkie in everyone. But what goes into this tradition we’ve come to know and love? How is it judged, and how can one get involved?

School-wide Student Government Association (SGA) President, senior Zoe Sweeney, has been involved with the halls since her freshman year. “So there’s the artistic people, there’s the band people … they help out a lot,” Sweeny said in regard to this year’s senior hall.

Homecoming halls require a lot of long hours and teamwork in order have a successful final product. As a result, many classes

spend time together after school and on weekends in order to complete the halls in time. During these meetings, backgrounds and props are designed, characters are assigned, music is chosen and snacks are prepared, all in preparation for the big reveal.

In addition, every class spends many long hours the night before setting up the hall and finalizing last-minute details.

After weeks of hard work, the halls are ready for students and judges. “It’s always new staff [who judge], and we like them to see what Sherwood is all about,” said SGA co-sponsor Catina Wist.

Each hall is judged by a set rubric and scoring system based on different components of the hall. During the judging, staff take into account the overall presentation and student participation in the hall, as well as food, spirit and music. These results are then presented to the classes at the homecoming pep rally later in the school day.

Any student who still wants to get involved with the halls should attend class meetings and should stay updated through social media. Ask your class sponsor; it is a great way to get involved in the school community.

Talented Artist Begins Business

by Alliegh Keyes ‘16 Inspired by her late grandmother who shared a similar passion for art, senior Kelly Billig started her artistic journey at the tender age of 8. With exposure to acrylics early on under her grandmother’s guidance, Billig discovered an outlet for self-expression.

Now, she is sharing her talents with peers and the community.

What started out as an artsy and colorful design on her calculator case became a thriving business after being noticed by friends. Since last year, Billig has been painting away, and her friends are donning her newly decorated calculator cases.

“I started my business to make a little extra money and it just kept growing. I expected to make a couple calculators, but orders continued to come in,” said Billig.

One of Billig’s clients, senior Fikir Ejigineh, loves her calculator because Billig customizes the design to one’s liking. Whether an animal, scenery, sport or Lilly Pulitzer-esque design, Billig can paint it.

Although calculators are Billig’s traditional canvas, she is expanding her work to weddings, dorm rooms and nurseries.

“I have expanded to bigger and more professional projects such as canvases and murals,” noted Billig.

In addition to her professional projects, Billig continues to pursue various side projects

Chase Wilson ‘17

Senior Kelly Billig’s painting is hanging in Laura Dinerman’s classroom. for the community. She painted artwork to benefit senior Alex Greenbaum’s Relay for Life team. Billig is “an amazing artist [who] wanted to make a tree of life with hands of hope on it [to demonstrate] everyone’s role in the fight to cure cancer,” said Greenbaum.

Furthermore, Billig helped create a mural at Sherwood Elementary School. The mural consists of trees with ornaments, a picket fence and starry background. Last spring, she designed artwork for health teacher Matt Parson’s “Becoming a Warrior” youth sport summer camp. Using Photoshop, she created logos to serve as visual aids. One of them contains the image of an athlete holding a football and volleyball

above lettering.

Recently, Billig entered the Weather & Climate Contest, sponsored by the National Aquarium. Her work, which depicts a polar bear on melting ice with factories in the background, received an honorable mention.

Currently, the beautiful artwork is hanging up in the executive’s headquarters of Climate Central in Princeton, New Jersey.

Being so passionate about art, Billig shows no signs of slowing down. “Art is something I have been interested in all my life and I’m so lucky to be able to share it with others,” she said.

With the future in mind, Billig plans to pursue business and marketing, fields where her talents will likely come in handy.

The Warrior•Features

9

October 15, 2015

Forensics Club Speaks Out

by Lexi Paidas ‘17

that personality can reveal a lot?

What Makes You, You: the Myers Briggs Test

by Madison Dymond ‘16 Near the end of every school year, Sherwood sophomores take a personality test that leaves them with four basic letters and a description of themselves. If taken correctly, the description will be terrifyingly accurate and make students marvel at how a computer can know so much about a person from many seemingly simple questions. They do not understand the genius behind the test, so they merely forget the letters and move on with their lives. What few people realize is that this test may hold the key to understanding ourselves and each other.

This test is the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). MBTI is based off of psychologist Carl Jung’s psychological types and his study of personality. The test was developed in the 1920s by Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers. They studied Jung’s theories and created a theory of their own.

Myers Briggs is comprised of 16 personality types. An individual’s type is determined by how one answers a series of questions. The first letter comes from where one gets energy. If he or she gets energy from other people, then he or she is extroverted (E). If one gets energy from being alone, he or she is introverted (I). The next letter determines how one perceives the world. Those who take information in via their intuition are intuitive (N), and those who take it in via their senses are sensing (S). The third letter represents how one makes judge-

ments and decisions. If someone judges based on emotion, he or she is feeling (F). If someone judges based on logic, he or she is thinking (T). The final letter is based off of how one views and perceives the world. People who are spontaneous and prefer to have unplanned lives are perceiving (P), while those who see structure, organization and prefer plans are judging (J). These letters make up one’s Myers Briggs type. If someone is, for example, extroverted, sensing, thinking and perceiving, they would be an ESTP. A sample description of this type would be, “ESTPs are the likeliest personality type to make a lifestyle of risky behavior. They live in the moment and dive into the action – they are the eye of the storm.”

There is a lot more to MBTI than just the four letters. For example, each type has a different set of cognitive functions that basically show how individuals classified as that type think.

Information on the functions is available on The Myers Briggs Foundation website.

Since its creation, MBTI has increased in popularity. The test is beginning to be used for school and career chloices. It can help people choose a college major or occupation. Some of the types are naturally more qualified for specific occupations than other types. The test is also widely seen on the Internet. Having a basic grasp on these types helps people understand themselves and each other. A free version of the test is available at: www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test.

The Forensics Club−sounds like a science club, right? Not a bad guess, but it turns out that the forensics club members pick a piece of literature and perform it for individual and team points at a qualifying, semi-final or final competition. Forensics means “pertaining to public discussion,” based off the word Forum, which is a root of Forensics.

Junior Catherine White is the club’s president and a first place winner last year at the county wide competition. “The rest of the kids in the club are incredibly cool, and have become some of my best friends,” said White. “I can’t wait to see what the newbies in the club are going to bring to the table, and I’m eager to get to witness them find themselves as performers.”

The members pick a piece from either a speechmaker’s category (extemporaneous, informative or persuasive), interpretation category (serious poetry, serious prose, humorous literature, serious drama, or children’ lit) or the group category (reader’s theatre and ensemble acting). Members are allowed to perform multiple pieces in multiple categories.

Club sponsor, English teacher Christopher Goodrich, has been involved in Forensics at the high school level for five years and has been Sherwood’s Forensics Club sponsor for one. He also competed when he was in high school. “[Forensics] allows students to perfect something they need to be successful: talking in front of people. If you are good at that, or can fake being good at that, then in all likelihood, you will make your way to the top of the human food chain pretty quickly,” said Goodrich.

Last year the club sent five

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Kayla Cohen ‘17

Forensics president, junior Catherine White, performs one of her pieces. students to quarter-finals, four to semi-finals, and three to the final competition. The club won 5th place overall.

“Last year was my first year ever competing, and so I was pretty thrilled to even make it to finals [top 6 competitors in each category make it to the finals].

When they called my name for first place I was ecstatic, and getting to perform the pieces in

front of my biggest supporters, Mr. Goodrich and my mom, at the awards ceremony was the best feeling,” said White.

The club members have their first competition October 24 at Blake High School. The club also has future plans to open a clinic for public speaking for students who have a speech or piece of writing that they need to perform at school, or anywhere else.

10

The Warrior•Humor October 15, 2015

Vote

for President in 2020

“I, Kanye West, will be the Kanye ‘Best’ president this country has ever seen!”

Core Beliefs:

Presidential Staff:

-“I’m not no politician…but…”

- “Listen to the kids, bruh.”

- “Bruh, it’s about ideas.”

- “Art ain’t always polite.”

- “It’s time for the millennials, bruh.”

- “No brands.”

- “Don’t teach hate.”

- “Freedom to roll up a little some’n.”

- “I am a god.”

Vice President: Taylor Swift Presidential Cabinet:

JAY-Z (Department of the “Holy Grail”)

Beyoncé (Department of being “Flawless”)

Kris Jenner (Department of “Cool Moms”)

Rihanna (Department of “Money”)

Justin Timberlake (Department of “Early

2000’s Boy Bands”)

Anyone with over 30 million Twitter followers

As President I Promise to: - Make America an “all the better, faster, stronger” country.

- Formally address my fellow Americans as: “Bruh.”

- Establish a New National Religion: All Hail “Yeezus.”

- Hold freestyle rap battles between countries to settle disagreements. The first country to get their feelings hurt loses.

- Make “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” a heartwarming documentary about the first lady and the “real” life events of her family.

- “Run This Town.”

- Print more money; “If they hate, then let them hate, and watch the money pile up.”

- Make this country great in less than “FourFiveSeconds.” compiled by Bryse Thornwell ‘16

by Sydney Brown ‘17

The Warrior•Humor October 15, 2015

11

“What Did You Just Say?” Teachers are put to the test to see if they understand students’ slang.

Grind:

“Booty shakin’ on someone’s body” ~Mr. Goodrich “Making salad” ~Mr. Silverbook

Roast:

“To burn” ~Ms. Bonita “I prefer Joanin’ –what we said back in the 80s. Bring back Joanin!!!” ~Mrs. Jasnow

Siced It:

“Someone cannot spell (should be sliced it)” ~Mrs. Orange “What you do to a tomato before you put it on your sammich” ~Mr. Maddox

On Fleek:

“A person with a bad case of dandruff” ~Mrs. Orange “On point” ~Mrs. Bloom

Swerve:

“What I do to miss kids in the parking lot” ~Mrs. McKeldin “Move; get out of the way” ~Mr. Goodrich

Bae:

“MA BOO Mr. Kinnetz” ~Mrs. McKeldin “Sound made by goats” ~Mrs. Orange

Finna:

Swag:

“Ms. Jaffe’s shoe collection” ~Mrs. McKeldin “When you walk like an idiot” ~Mrs. Orange

I Stamp:

“That guy from the Hunger Games with the sparkly eyes” ~Mr. Maddox “I’m more for the traditional contractions” ~Mrs. Jasnow

Chase Wilson ‘17

Historic Pool Moved to New Location

by Steven Witkin ‘16

“Something you do when you mail stuff” ~Mrs. Orange “To co-sign or agree” ~ Mr. Bennett

Fam:

“Peeps, not the marshmallow chickens” ~Mrs. Jasnow “I swear”~Mrs. Aguilar

Slay:

Flick Up:

“Give someone the finger” ~Mr. Soso “Pick your nose and flick the booger” ~Mr. Bennett

Squad:

“The police” ~Mr. Silverbook “Your peeps/group” ~Mrs. Aguilar

Ratchet:

“What Buffy does to the vampires” ~Mr. Maddox “Killin’ dragons” ~Mrs. McKeldin

“Tool Box” ~Mr. Silverbook “Unappealing in both dress and behavior” ~Mr. Bennett

WCW:

TBT:

“World Championship Wrestling” ~Mr. Soso “Wacky Child Wednesday” ~Mrs. Bloom

“Taco Bell Tacos” ~Mr. Maddox “To Be Told” ~Mrs. Lock

Killin It:

Doe:

“What I do on the mic” ~Mrs. McKeldin “A felony in all 50 states” ~Mr. Maddox

“A deer, a female deer” ~Mrs. McKeldin “Homer Simpson?” ~Mrs. Jasnow

Answer Key

Grind: When an individual pushes themselves Siced it: When something is exaggerated extremely to achieve a goal On fleek: Quality of being perfect Roast: Humiliate someone with a joke, Bae: Before Anyone Else Baby/Sweetie comeback, or diss Finna: Going to Swerve: Dodging someone Flick up: Take a picture Swag: Cool Squad: Group of friends; crew, posse I Stamp: I agree Ratchet: Ugly, gross Fam: Family; ones you consider family TBT: Throwback Thursday Slay: Did something amazing Doe: Alternative word for “though” WCW: Woman Crush Wednesday

by Nicole Reich ‘17, Tate Harrop ‘17, and Amanda Allen ‘17 Killin it: To do something very good

Being over 100 years old, this school faces a common dilemma with each construction project and renovation. How can the building be upgraded without destroying its historic aspects? Compromises have been made in the past, but when this summer’s project of covering the roof with solar panels threatened the existence of the third-floor pool, the teachers made one thing very clear: save the pool.

With rumors floating around, the truth about the Sherwood pool is a bit murky.

However, the discovery of long-submerged MCPS records filtered out the fact from the fiction. The pool was installed above what is now the dance studio in the summer of 1959 with leftover funds from building the fallout shelter under the F hall. As it is strictly off limits to students, even members of the swim team, only teachers have gotten a glimpse at the pool.

“It is round, fairly small, and concrete,” said social studies teacher Nicole Glover, adding, “It’s really an integral part of Sherwood’s culture. The last time I saw it was when . . . let’s just say that the teachers here like to use it for certain—traditions.”

It is obvious that the pool has sentimental value, but is it enough to justify preserving it? Apparently so, because the project of finding it a new home was one of the most complex ever carried out on a school building. Engineering teacher Tom Sparacino participated in the undertaking.

“After several rejected proposals, it was decided that the pool would be placed under the gymnasium,” he explained. “How it got there in just one summer is a true marvel of engineering.” The former pool area had to be demolished and flattened to make space for the solar panels. The pool then had to be lowered by crane into a specially designed cavity under the gym. Although the gym floor and pads were just redone a few years ago, they were redone again to incorporate access points to the pool’s new location.

As the waters of time flow on, it is important that history is preserved. For now, Sherwood’s aquatic tradition will live on underneath the gym, just a few feet deep.

l a i a c i o S ed M

Snapchat Raises Privacy Concerns

by Bryse Thornwell ‘16

Instagram to VSCO

by Sara Casareto ‘16 Social media is a given part of life. The app that’s trending differs, as shown by the hops from Facebook to Instagram to now, VSCO. This photo editing app also allows people to share their photos to a grid where anyone can see them, but there’s a twist: no “like” option and it is completely anonymous in terms of followers.

“I use VSCO to post more of the pictures I take on a daily basis,” said senior Julia Horwitz. “It’s cool to be able to post a lot of pictures at once and not be judged for it. My favorite thing about VSCO is being able to follow whoever I want and them not knowing.”

Visual Supply and Co. was founded in 2011, but only recently created its app, VSCO cam, enabling users to access VSCO from anywhere. The company’s message and goal is to promote the sharing and formation of creativity and artistic expression.

VSCO was inspired by the look of Hollywood films, giving photos a quality of professional movies. As an online writer for The Verge said, “Whereas Instagram set out to make your mobile photos look good, VSCO hopes to make them look real.” The variety of filters and the added editing tools makes VSCO cam a popular editing app, not just a social media, if in truth it can even be dubbed a social site with VSCO’s anonymity of followers.

The app allows people to edit their pictures and either post it to the online grid or save it to their phones to post on other social media sites. The Grid is open for all to see and for anyone to follow; however, the person posting the picture has absolutely no idea who is following them. “The lack of followers lets me feel more comfortable with posting whatever I want,” said freshman Maureen Fisher.

The app’s latest update had over a million downloads within the first week of its release this June. The new popularity of this app and all its different features encompass the argument teens often use to justify their use of social media. It’s all about personal expression.

By now, most students are aware of the mobile messaging app, Snapchat, that allows both Android and iPhone users to send pictures or videos to their friends on a contact list. Snapchat Inc. promises to delete those photos or videos after a designated amount of time set by the sender. The company also promises to do its best to notify the sender if the receiver took a “screenshot” or saved whatever content the sender sent to them.

However, recently Snapchat’s privacy concerns have attracted the attention of the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC charges that “it deceived consumers with promises about the disappearing nature of the messages sent through the service.” Multiple third party apps, found for free on both iPhones and Androids, can save the content sent by Snapchat users without notifying the sender. While Snapchat’s small disclaimer states that Snaps deleted from the servers could possibly still be recovered, the FTC maintains that Snapchat continues to advertise the shortlived nature for messages.

In addition to falsely advertising the nature of the Snaps, the FTC also alleges that Snapchat not only deceived customers over how much personal data it collected, it also failed to secure its “Find Friends” feature which led to a security breach in 4.6 million accounts.

The users who were “hacked” found themselves sending photos and videos to complete strangers while they were under the impression they were chatting with a friend.

Although the developer of Snapchat has agreed to settle the charges, and the app will be subject to monitoring by an independent privacy professional for the next 20 years, Snapchat users should still be mindful about the content they send while using the app.

The Evolution of YouTube

by Steven Witkin ‘16

Think back to YouTube, circa 2008. You probably used the growing video-sharing website to stream pre-VEVO pirated music videos, watch viral dance routines gone bad or learn how to be a ninja. Long before anybody called anyone a youtuber or content creator, when there were no ads before videos, YouTube was just another social media site, a platform for normal people to share their creations with a normal audience.

Now 10 years old, YouTube has retained its intimate personality. However, the people talking through the screens have turned into celebrities. Once YouTube started paying ad-supported content creators by the view in 2008, the most popular vloggers could call themselves professional youtubers. These self-produced entertainers, many with millions of subscribers, are now able to devote their full time to content production. This puts them on the level of traditional celebrities, except that they have full control over their videos. In several cases, a homemade comedy idea has turned into a franchise. For example, Hannah Hart’s 2011 “My Drunk Kitchen” skit, in which she cooked “grilled cheese” while smashed, grew into a weekly web series with 2.2 million subscribers and a published cookbook.

In this way, YouTube has risen to the level of television with its highly viewed weekly series. Some series even have turned into television shows. “Broad City”, a YouTube series made by two

friends from 2009-2011, was picked up by Comedy Central and debuted as a sitcom in 2014.

Other youtubers have become more popular than television. The most viewed show on television is The Big Bang Theory with 21.3 million viewers. Swedish gamer Felix Kjellberg, a.k.a PewDiePie, outdoes all of television with 39.5 million subscribers. His vulgar reactions to video games, nonexistent outside of the internet, have a combined 10 billion views and earn him $7 million a year. YouTube still lacks the professional resources that television shows have, but it wins in convenience. A poll showed that young adults get an overwhelming percent of their video content from mobile devices. The problem with television is that it is grounded, while YouTube can be accessed anywhere.

YouTube is also important to the democratic process. Not only does it act as a vehicle for political ideas and discussions, it has become a center for free education. Thousands of free videos from Khan Academy, Crash Course, and MIT OpenCourseWare are available to teach college-level subjects to anybody. In this way, YouTube may revolutionized how people receive their news and education.

As YouTube develops, a duality is forming. The upper crust of celebrities is appearing, but the masses still use the platform for their personal creations. As it seems now, YouTube is part of a larger movement to move away from traditional television and form a society where anyone, anywhere can be entertained for free.

Selfies Correlated With Narcissism

by Emily Gilburt ‘16

When Android collected data on its phone users, the statistical results that got the most publicity are the 93 million selfies that are taken every day, with 4 million of them being duck faces.

The astonishing number of selfies led to many studies regarding such photos and their potential link to addiction, narcissism and psychopathy. Among these studies was one conducted at the University of Birmingham in England, showing that those who post selfies often have shallower and considerably less intimate relationships with their friends on social-media.

According to another study led by Ohio State University, men who post more photos of themselves online score much higher on scales of narcissism and psychopathy. Since psychopathic personalities are more likely to behave impulsively and irrationally, those who scored highest on the psychopathy scales were more likely to immediately upload their photos to social media before thinking their decision through.

However, those subjects in the study with narcissistic personalities took the time and effort to photoshop and edit their photos to perfection before posting them. Selfies, defined by researchers, are basically self-portraits, and a narcissist aims to attain perfection in their ‘self-portraits’. Editing photos is linked with higher self-objectification-- a prominent narcissistic trait. All types of the defining diagnostic characteristics of narcissism (with the one exception of the characteristic of self-sufficiency) were positively correlated with selfie-posting.

In addition to these studies indicating a correlation between psychopathy/narcissism and selfies, problems caused by cases of selfie addiction have started to arise. In the UK, 19-year-old Danny Bowman became so obsessed with taking the “perfect selfie” that his mental health condition began to rapidly deteriorate, causing him to drop out of school, become a recluse and lose roughly 30 pounds. On average, Bowman spent 10 hours every day taking about 200 selfies. However, these selfies were never good enough in his eyes, and he attempted suicide through overdose.

Bowman is now in intensive therapy and has not taken a selfie in over seven months. In an interview with ITVs Daybreak, Bowman said, “This would not have happened if it was not in the media age.” Bowman continued to discuss that perfection is unattainable and it is a lesson everyone must learn. “I think this kind of thing can happen to anyone, for me it manifested itself in selfies.”

The Warrior•Opinions 14

October 15, 2015

Staff Editorial:

In Our Opinion

Ending Final Exams Is For The Best Will learned material be more easily forgotten?

sts Are projects and te s? effective substitute In early September, the MCPS Board of Education’s Management Committee accepted the proposal to eliminate two-hour final exams for high school students starting in the 2016-2017 school year. MCPS students primarily reacted to the news with an outpouring of excitement. After all, who likes taking tests anyways? However, some students admit that final exams are necessary in order to help them become fully prepared for college.

Every school year when final exams approach, most teachers take two to three weeks to prepare and review for the cumulative test. This means that students lose time that could be dedicated to class instruction. Also, when final exams approach, teachers typically rush to get through the rest of the curriculum, due to time constraints at the end of the school year.

Additionally, final exams are unbelievably stressful, as students have to not only prepare for a vigorous test on its own, but also remember material from the beginning of the semester. Final exams count for 25 percent of the final semester grade, yet does a single test truly demonstrate if students understand everything they have learned in such an extended period of time? The final exam system is inherently flawed in its structure.

According to MCPS’ Memorandum, marking period assignments such as unit tests and projects will take the place of final exams. MCPS stated that its main goal is to provide students with more frequent means of measuring their learning. By incorporating the material into manageable assign-

Warrior P

the

Will students be at a disadvantage in co llege

?

ments, students will have an approachable way to grasp the abundance of knowledge they are presented with in each class. At least, that is the intention. Already, some have raised concerns that such assessments will be graded too subjectively to truly evaluate students’ mastery of the material.

The Washington Post recently came out with an unsigned editorial that called MCPS out on trying to take the “easy way” out of the larger problem of MCPS students generally performing poorly on semester finals. For example, 65 percent of students failed the Algebra 1 exam this past year. These statistics obviously show the extreme difficulty surrounding the final exams that students encounter. Many parents who posted on the MCPS website comments section generally seem to disagree with the county’s decision, explaining how abolishing final exams will hinder students’ performances when they get into college. These parents’ concerns seem overblown, given that college-bound students regularly take three-hour AP exams, not to mention the SAT or ACT. These students graduate high school with plenty of experience taking high stakes exams.

By getting rid of final exams, MCPS students are one step closer to fully comprehending subjects rather than simply learning information for a test at the end of the year. Alternatives such as projects and portfolios, if well designed by MCPS, will make the high school experience more geared towards real-world work situations such as presentations, thus preparing students for the future.

ublished six times a year, The Warrior serves as Sherwood High School’s premier news source.

Over the years, it has received numerous state and national honors. With a staff of 35 students and one advisor, The Warrior keeps the Sherwood community apprised of local and national events.

All opinion articles represent the viewpoint of the writer. The unsigned staff editorials solely represent the opinions of the newspaper staff. These articles do not necessarily represent the views of Sherwood High School.

The Warrior welcomes Letters to the Editor of 250 words or less. They may be submitted to room C268 or emailed to thewarrioronline.shs@gmail.com. Letters must be signed, and all content received by the newspaper is subject to editing.

The Warrior staff invites feedback and corrections to printed inaccuracies.

The Warrior reserves the right to refuse advertisements.

Staff Print Layout and Production Directors ..................Steven Witkin ‘16 Kira Yates ‘16

News Editors .................................................. Ketki Chauhan ‘16

Samantha Schwartz ‘16

Specials Editors ............................................ Meghan Proctor ‘16 Megan Werden ‘17

Features Editors ..............................................

Sara Casareto ‘16

Lauren MacFadden ‘17

Humor Editors .............................................Noah Rosendorf ‘17

John Sutherland ‘16

Spotlight Editor .............................................. Amanda Allen ‘17 Opinions Editors ................................................ Ben Cooper ‘16 Chris Sung ‘17

Wondering Warrior Editor.................................Lexi Paidas ‘17 Deal ‘16 Entertainment Editors .........................................Ryan

Tate Harrop ‘17

Sports Editors ................................................... Nicole Reich ‘17

Sammie Spillman ‘16

Online Online Managing Editors .............................Ashley Nnabue ‘16

Milan Polk ‘16

Content and Copy Content and Copy Editors ....................... Madison Dymond ‘16

Morgan Hill ‘16 Maddie Peloff ‘16

Managing Photo Editor ................................ Maya Koeppen ‘17 Photographers .................................................. Kayla Cohen ‘17 Chase Wilson ‘17

Cartoonist......................................................... Sidney Brown ‘17 Pollster ............................................................. Emily Gilburt ‘16 Staff Reporters ............................................... Jacob Golomb ‘16

Alleigh Keyes ‘16 Elizabeth Kronlage ‘18 Tyler Ruth ‘16 Bryse Thornwell ‘16

Business and Publicity Directors.................... Danielle Tobb ‘17

Will Van Gelder ‘16

cartoon by Sidney Brown ‘17

Advisor........................................................................... Peter Huck

The Warrior•Opinions October 15, 2015

15

PRO V. CON

CHROMEBOOKS Last year, MCPS distributed 40,000 Chromebooks to schools as part of a longterm program to integrate modern technology platforms into education. MCPS has purchased more Chromebooks this year despite delays from budget cuts. Is the instructional value of these devices worth the price?

Chromebooks Provide Benefits

Chromebooks Have Limited Use

by Meghan Proctor ‘16

by Christopher Sung ‘17

With the rise of technology in everyday lives, there comes a growing demand for use of that technology to better benefit students. Chromebooks help satisfy that demand by providing more options for both teachers and students while taking very few expenses out of MCPS’s budget.

Especially in high schools, Chromebooks act as extra computers for when teachers set aside time during class for students to work on projects. With the Chromebooks, teachers do not have to worry as much about reserving a computer lab. Students also have more time to work on the projects, as students can start working in the classroom right as the bell rings, rather than having to start class in a different room.

Even if MCPS allows students to bring their own devices in the future to work on projects in class, some students may not want to bring a $700 laptop to school with them, where it could get lost or stolen.

All students have methods of studying that works best for them.

While some prefer printed work, others may find it easier to type on a computer than to write on paper. Through the use of Google Drive, students can use Chromebooks in class to work on activ-

ities or worksheets online if they wish. Using Chromebooks in the classroom gives students different options for working on the activity. Not only will students have the option to work in a way that they are more used to, but students who are more accustomed to working on paper can experiment with different methods.

At first glance, having more Chromebooks in schools across the county appears expensive.

This year, it costs MCPS $3 million to provide middle and high schools across the entire county with these devices. However, given MCPS’s budget of $2.39 billion, Chromebooks are relatively cheap, taking only a small chunk out of the budget. With only a tenth of a percent of the budget going to Chromebooks, MCPS can easily afford them with other goals in mind.

Chromebooks provide more options for student work in the classroom without taking a toll on the budget. By adding more of them into high schools, students can only benefit from the use of this technology and its expansion.

Teachers and students will have easier access to these miniature laptops, and classes of all subjects will be able to take advantage of technology and the services it can provide to better students’ education.

40,000

40,000

Number of Chromebooks and tabletsNumber boughtofby the Chromebooks and County in 2014.

tablets bought by the County in 2014.

15.03

Million dollars.

The original cost for the County’s first phase Chromebook Acquisition.

Million dollars.

15.03

The original cost for the County’s first phase Chromebook Acquisition.

Throughout the country, the current trend in education has seen school districts investing millions of dollars on the latest new devices seen on advertisements and tech magazines. In Montgomery County, the Board of Education spent $15 million last year to fund the first phase of a massive three-part Chromebook Acquisition.

Despite logical opposition to the program, many supporters of the initiative defended the Board’s decision, arguing that Chromebooks would modernize the classroom and become an added benefit for both teachers and students. Yet, nearly a year into the program, many at Sherwood are casting doubts over the supposed educational benefits of Chromebooks.

When Chromebooks were first introduced to Sherwood, many students eagerly waited to use the new devices for their first time. However, after just two months, students realized that many teachers had little idea of how to creatively incorporate Chromebooks into lessons. This is not the fault of the teachers.

Rather, the Chromebooks were hard to integrate into the classroom because they were simply what teachers already had access

to: computers.

When Chromebooks were used in class, teachers often used them as options for students to take notes with, but even then, most students opted to use pen and paper over the complicated Google Drive programs.

It came as no surprise that all the excitement for Chromebooks among students soon died out and the only place where Chromebooks were seen again was at the library during student government elections. For a purportedly innovative technology platform, Chromebooks failed to impress many students and teachers, as it did almost nothing to change the classroom environment in any substantial way.

This should be troubling news for the County as it struggles to find funding for needed school modernization such as construction programs and teachers’ salaries—380 of whom were laid off last spring.

Although the County purchased Chromebooks to help students, the technology hasn’t lived up to its promises. Instead of further pursing this acquisition, MCPS should now focus on funding necessary projects for education and halting its purchase of Chromebooks for schools.

This will hopefully fund valuable school programs.

Food Waste Has Many Unintended Consequences

by Kira Yates ‘16 Food waste in the United States is an increasingly serious problem. Each year, 40 percent of the food produced in the United States is never consumed, but rather thrown away by grocery stores and restaurants. This converts to wasting about $165 billion every year, from resources used to grow the food, to the manual labor, to the money spent on the food. One factor in this food waste epidemic is that grocery stores constantly overstock their products to appeal to the majority of “impulse shoppers,” who tend to buy from displays with a lot of options, fearing that a display of only a few products demonstrates a flaw with those goods.

This wasting of food, which may seem insignificant, actually has many negative consequences. First of all, when produce decomposes in a landfill, it does not have access to fresh air and therefore emits methane, a gas which trap heat and contributes greatly

to global warming.

Along with environmental implications, food waste also has social consequences. In a country where approximately 50 million people live in foodinsecure households, statistics show that the average American throws away 20 pounds of food per month. An easy solution to fix both of these problems simultaneously would be for restaurants, businesses like grocery stores and farmers to donate any leftover food. Unfortunately, many companies are reluctant to donate food because they are afraid of any legal problems they may face. Unbeknownst to them, the “Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Donation Act” prevents companies from being sued for donating food that may cause health problems, but because not many people are aware of it, the legislation has had little effect on the amount of food donated to the hungry.

Also, donating extra food to the hungry is very expensive, due to packing, shipping and distri-

bution costs and undermines the whole goal of a company. For many, it is easier and less costly to simply throw away extra food.

For this reason, there should be economic incentives, specifically tax breaks, for companies who donate leftover food. While a system like this does exist, the legislation is temporary and must be renewed every six months, so because companies are unsure if they will receive a tax break at the end of the year, they are understandably hesitant to donate food.

Recently, the “Fighting Hunger Incentive Act” was passed in the House to make these economic incentives permanent, only to be renamed and filled with completely different content in the Senate for no apparent reason. Wasting unnecessarily large amounts of food is a very serious environmental and social problem in the U.S., which could easily be reduced by legislation creating economic incentives such as tax breaks for companies who donate food to the hungry.

Food Waste Facts • •

• • •

•

• •

• •

Less than 3 percent of food waste is composted Food waste costs a family of four approximately $590 annually Food waste has increased by 10 percent since 1974 33.79 million tons of food were wasted in the U.S. in 2010 One quarter of the food we waste would provide enough food for 43 million people to have three meals a day Every ton of food wasted results in 3.8 tons of green house gas emissions A typical chain restaurant in the U.S. wastes about 25,000 to 75,000 pounds of food per year More than 6 billion pounds of fresh produce go un- harvested or unsold each year The average diner leaves 17 percent of a meal un- eaten and 55 percent of diners do not take home po- tential leftovers.

Municipal solid food waste accounts for 30 percent of the total wasted food energy Source: www.endfoodwastenow.org

The Warrior•Opinions 16

October 15, 2015

This Type of Conservatism Is Nativist Recalling the Grand Old Party With the role of Speaker in limbo, the Republican Party faces the loss of its old, center-right identity.

by Will Van Gelder ‘16

As this country slowly gears up for the long 2016 Presidential election, Republican voters have a plethora of candidates to choose from. There are too many governors, former governors and senators to count and the number of candidates had ballooned to seventeen before Wisconsin governor Scott Walker and former Texas governor Rick Perry dropped out. Surprisingly, business magnate Donald Trump, who is best known for his real estate company and his television show, “The Apprentice,” has gained an incredible number of supporters and has been leading in the polls for nearly three months.

Trump uses fiery rhetoric and over the top rallies to gain support, and he is relying on the idea that his business expertise will translate over to running the country. Trump is adamantly anti-immigrant, and he claimed in his now infamous campaign announcement speech that many of the Mexican immigrants that have illegally crossed the border are criminals and rapists. While this blatant show of racism disgusted a wide number of people, many of his supporters embrace this logic and his idea that the country must deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants who have made their way to this country.

The ideas Trump is spouting sound eerily similar to many racist ideals of past eras. He seems to believe that South and Central Americans as a whole are an inferior race and that if they live in the United States they need to be thrown out immediately. A law like this would, of course, not work if actually put into place,

by Christopher Sung ‘17

www.wach.com

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has risen to the top of the Republican Presidential pack by demonizing illegal immigrants. but the fact that a candidate with views this extreme and this racist is leading the polls shows a lot about this country and how a large percentage of Americans see themselves as being somehow exceptional.

Not only is this plan blatantly racist but it also isn’t feasible.

A wall along the border would cost billions of dollars, and the American taxpayer would bear the brunt of that cost. The deportation of 11 million immigrants would also take years and years and cost trillions of dollars and require the hiring or reassigning of millions of border patrol and military members throughout the

nation who would become a sort of Gestapo-like force.

This country was founded on the concrete bedrock of democracy and freedom for all. It has become known as a melting pot of cultures and languages for centuries; however, if Donald Trump is elected president and forcibly removes millions of people who moved to this great nation to attempt to gain better opportunities for themselves and their families, we will be looked upon with disgust and hatred throughout the world. Our European allies will no longer respect us and our country will be seen in a very negative light.

“We believe in America,” but now the American public doesn’t believe in them. In the latest fiasco that has plagued the Republican Party, the unruly House Freedom Caucus—the Tea Party radicals—have somehow managed to plunge the Republican Party back into turmoil, as a series of selfless acts to unite the embattled faction by both former Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy have left the Republican Party without a leader and source of unity within the influential House of Representatives.

Just how much longer will we allow these radicals to destroy the efforts of all moderate Republicans to champion the cause of fiscal integrity?

It is an outrage that the self-proclaimed House Freedom Caucus purports to advance the cause of Conservatism by sharp-shooting and eliminating the moderate elements that give the center-right party its ability to have standing with the voters, the American people who believe in a country that works for the American people, not against it by formulating an inexcusable plot to shut down the government.

This is not the Republican Party that I learned about and that, as many sensible Republicans will allude to, Ronald Reagan knew.

Reagan knew a party of unity and strength that championed the middle class by promoting free-market enterprise and conducting thoughtful foreign diplomacy with nations throughout

the entire world. Even on immigration, a controversial topic in society today, Reagan championed a party that wanted to help illegal immigrants and control our borders rather than simply building a “great wall,” to deter them from this country—as stated by the pinup boy for radical-right extremism, Donald Trump.

For example, in 1986, Reagan and his Republican colleagues passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which legalized three million undocumented illegal immigrants. In addition, when Reagan announced his presidential candidacy in 1979, Reagan had proposed a “North American Accord” in which commerce and people would move freely across the borders of Canada and Mexico. Although this idea was largely overlooked or dismissed as a campaign gimmick in the United States, Reagan was serious in his proposal.

A dreamer and visionary, what Reagan saw and hoped for was not the dysfunctional Republican Party of today. Likewise, Reagan did not envision the nation to become gridlocked by partisanship—partisanship caused by radical members of Congress of both the Republicans and Democrats.

In a true Conservative fashion, what I long for is a return to the past: a time in politics that was marked by understanding across the aisle and a Republican Party filled with great minds rather than impulsive reactionaries who destroy the Republican Party in the false belief that they are successors to Reagan’s conservative principles.

To The Point The Fees Cost Too Much

Saving Lives With Organs

Zero-Tolerance Is Unfair

by Meghan Proctor ‘16

by Kayla Cohen ‘17

by Jacob Golomb ‘16

By now, many seniors have applied to some colleges.

Some may have already finished the process. Whether someone has applied to one college or 10, that student likely had to pay an application fee, usually around $40 $50. This payment may not seem like much individually, but they can add up to become a problem, especially for students applying to many colleges.

College is expensive, and there is no way around that.

However, students should not be punished for wanting to apply to many different schools. The application fees can discourage some students from applying to colleges that they would at least like a small chance to get accepted to, even if those schools will likely reject them.

There is a long process between receiving a potential student’s application and making a final decision, and those who review the hundreds of applications received each year need to be paid. However, with the thousands of dollars in tuition each enrolled student pays per year, it should not be too difficult to find a way to pay them with a reduced or eliminated application fee.

Many teens are in the process of getting their driver’s licenses, and they will be asked whether or not they would like to be an organ or tissue donor. Most young people likely have not given the issue much thought and might say no to being a donor.

Each day, 79 people get an organ transplant, but 22 people die waiting for a transplant that cannot take place because of the shortage of donor organs. Although there is much grief that results from someone dying, if the deceased person is a donor, families can be consoled by knowing that a piece of someone they love will prolong another person’s life. With many people being diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses, donating organs will ensure that at least one or more people will continue their life.

If one does not have a driver’s license or wants to change his or her status to be an organ donor, he or she can sign up on the website www.organdonor.gov. It might seem like a small thing, but becoming a donor is one of the bigger decisions for students to think about while earning their licenses.

A Texas teenager named Ahmed Mohamed made headlines last month when, in an effort to impress his teachers, he rebuilt a clock inside a pencil case. One of Mohamed’s teachers, because she thought it looked like a bomb (and maybe also because Mohamed is Muslim), sent the student to the principal. Even though Mohamed had explained that the device was a clock, the principal, pursuant to zero-tolerance policies, contacted the police who arrested and booked him.

Although Mohamed’s unfortunate punishment was a result of jumping to conclusions and possibly Islamophobia, the main culprit was the school’s zero-tolerance policy. Zero-tolerance policies set strict, automatic punishments for breaking specific rules. The school decided that its policies called for having him arrested for bringing in a fake bomb even after it was clear that it was a clock.

Mohamed is a victim of policies eager to punish students on suspicion of rule-breaking. Instead of setting these strict rules for automatic penalties, schools should have incidents reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

The Warrior•Opinions

17

October 15, 2015

The Pulse R-rated Movies

What should be the main reason a movie receives an R-rating?

How often do you watch R-rated movies?

Language

Sexual Content

Violence

Other

Should movie ratings be enforced for teenagers? see agers would n e te r e g n u o g” “ YES, y ldn’t be seein u o sh y e th s thing -senior

“NO, if it wasn’t enforced , teens wouldn’t be so tempted to sneak in” -sophomore

“NO, censorship does no thing. Most teenagers are already exposed to things that are included in R-rated mov ies” -junior es encourage vi o m ed at -r R , “YES n be harmful to ca at th r io av beh d happiness” their health an -sophomore

t ers have differen “YES, all teenag tent , and some con maturity levels es” ate for some ag is not appropri -senior

“NO, parents shou ld regulate what th eir kids can watch, no t movie ratings” -junior

Have YOU ever snuck into an R-rated movie?

Yes

No

38%

62%

How often do you think OTHER teenagers sneak into R-rated movies?

Often

50%

Sometimes

43%

Never

7%

*147 students surveyed compiled by Ben Cooper ‘16

Sending Students from Middle School to Prison

by Ryan Deal ‘16

A sickening story emerging from a Minnesota forest last year grabbed headlines across the globe. Two twelve-year old girls, in an attempt to impress Slender Man, a fictional character created on the website Creepypasta, led their friend into the woods and stabbed her 17 times in an attempt to kill her. The two girls, who are just now standing trial in an adult court for attempted murder (the victim miraculously survived), are well within the age limit to be tried in a juvenile court, so why

are they not?

Adolescence is a time when one experiences loads of pressure and anxiety, often making missteps, some worse than others.

However, regardless of whether the action was disturbing (murder) or fairly mundane (underage drinking), teenagers commonly have believed that they cannot experience a penalty equivalent to that of an adults. This law has been seemingly entrenched in the justice system for years, as evidenced by the presence of a juvenile court. However, it’s a law that is fading more and more

into irrelevance. According to the International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, roughly 250,000 youth are tried, sentenced or incarcerated as adults annually in the United States.

The juvenile court system exists to take severely troubled minors and place them in rehabilitation institutions so that they can eventually live functional and law-abiding lives. By ignoring this process for minors and thrusting them right into adult court, the focus shifts from helping the minor sort through their issues to punishing them for what

they have done. Punishment is for adults who should know better, not for minors who desperately need specialized, professional treatment.

According to a study published in the journal Law and Human Behavior, “youths aged 15 and younger performed more poorly [in the study] than young adults, with a greater proportion manifesting a level of impairment consistent with those found incompetent to stand trial.” If an underage minor is not even able to match the intellect of an adult who would not be able to stand

trial, then why does the adult court let them?

The way in which the courts handle cases involving minors cannot be mutually exclusive, they must go all-in on one side.

Either abolish the presence of juvenile courts and create a single adult court system, thus making all crimes an adult crime, or start abiding by the age limit set so many decades ago and actually begin charging all minors as minors. It is not up to a judge to decide which juvenile crimes should or should not be punished severely.

18

The Warrior Wonders... ? d n

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“Monograms because they personalize everything. I have so many monogrammed things!”

-Naomi Lawrence ‘17 ain

“Joggers because they’re comfortable” -Jada Satchell ‘18

“Vineyard Vines because I’m trying to make it into Cornell” -Gisele Martin ‘19

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“High-top Converse because they go with everything” -Lucy Lyons ‘17

“Nike mid-calf socks. Who doesn’t love Nike?”

-Wilson Vo ‘17

“Rainbows because they’re o y the most convenient shoes an c I have” nd Have you ever bought e -Nadia Sabry ‘17 r “High-top converse becuase something just because t t they will always be in style” ha it’s popular?

W -Moziah Andrews ‘16

Yes 54% No 46%

What is your least favorite trend?

Bathroom Parties 16%

Do you think a lot of Sherwood Students follow trends?

Vineyard Vines 13% Jack Rogers and Kelly Birch Sandals 7.2%

Yes 93%

Rainbow Flip Flops 6.3% Tumbler Cups 5.4% Scrunchies 5.4%

No 7%

Do you consider yourself to be someone who follows trends?

Shark Watches 5.4% Nike Mid-calf Socks 4.5%

Lily Pulitzer Agenda Books 4.5% Monograms 2.7%

49% 51%

Michael Kors Watches 1.8% High-Top Converse Shoes 1.8% Pearl Earrings .9%

Jump on the Bandwagon If you could start any trend, what would it be?

“Spirit week because it brings competitiveness and fun to an otherwise stressful school life” -Max James ‘17 “Rainbow Loom Club because it’s awesome” -Ally Phillip ‘19 “Jean shorts because they’re super comfy” -Wilson Vo ‘17 *110 students surveyed compiled by Lexi Paidas ‘17

The Warrior•Entertainment October 15, 2015

19

Other Fall Shows • Blindspot (NBC) • Code Black (CBS) • The Player (NBC) • The Bastard Executioner (FX) Quantico Supergirl

• Minority Report (FOX)

Scream Queens

• Heroes Reborn (NBC) • Dr. Ken (ABC) • Rosewood (FOX) • Truth Be Told (NBC) Limitless

Blood and Oil

Grandfathered

• The Muppets (ABC)

Stamos and Peck Delight Viewers in ‘Grandfathered’

by Alleigh Keyes ‘16 A fifty-something year-old who, as his character, Jimmy Martino, says in the show, “dyes his hair and uses botox, but not on his face” is back on television.

John Stamos (“Full House”) has made his long-awaited return to primetime television.

Stamos co-stars alongside Josh Peck (“Drake and Josh”) in “Grandfathered,” the FOX com-

edy that premiered on September 29. In the show, a bachelor discovers that he is a parent and grandparent in the same conversation. Both of these actors now play father figures as Peck plays Gerald Kingsley, a young dad who happens to be Martino’s newly discovered son. After years without major projects, this show has potential to be the comeback for both Stamos and Peck. The two actors may be swoon-worthy

as individuals, but together they have the ability for a bona fide hit.

Last February, the pilot was picked up by FOX, and based on the start of this season, “Grandfathered” was well worth the wait.

By effectively combining humor with the concepts of family versus socialite living, it lives up to all of the publicity put into this show. Notably, the family scenes are adorable and heartwarming— qualities that are often hard to

find in today’s world of tasteless reality shows and vulgar crime shows.

“Full House” and “Drake & Josh” fans, prepare to fall in love.

Certainly, Stamos and Peck are much older and play different characters from their respective roles that initially made them famous. However, it is refreshing to see Stamos and Peck with new personas, conveying their versatility as actors. Although Peck has

acquired a notable following on social media, including 8.8 million followers on Vine, “Grandfathered” proves that he is more than a child-star turned Vine star.

This dynamic duo combines on-screen bromance with comedic appeal. If you happen to love these particular actors or a good comedy, look no further. “Grandfathered” has arrived in a big way, and Peck and Stamos are here to stay.

Thrills and Chills Abound in Chopra Shines in Suspenful FBI Drama better get to know one another de- At times, the flashbacks to Impressive ‘Scream Queens’ by Ketki Chauhan ‘16 spite a traumatic start to the train- the training academy has it come

by Lauren MacFadden ‘17

The series “Scream Queens” made its debut on ‘Fox’ September 21 and is already becoming this year’s pop-culture phenomenon. The new hit show is a mix of comedy and horror all in one; it takes place on a college campus and follows a group of sorority girls who are targeted by a mysterious killer wearing a red devil costume. Much of the show’s buzz has to do with the star-filled cast including Nick Jonas, Ariana Grande, Emma Roberts, Keke Palmer, Jaime Lee Curtis, Lea Michele and Abigail Breslin.

Roberts has come far from her roots as the Nickelodeon star she once was as a teenager in the show “Un-fabulous” where she played an awkward tween suffering through puberty and high school. Now, in “Scream Queens,” Roberts is the leading actress in the series and plays Chanel Oberlin, a chic and egotistical sorority leader who makes borderline offensive jokes about race and sexual orientation.

Much of “Scream Queens” makes fun of twenty-first-century social media. Grande’s character, Chanel number two, is the first victim as shown in the commer-

cials leading up to the premiere.

While being murdered, Grande communicates with the killer via text instead of screaming for help. Like most shows in this decade, “Scream Queens” has many pop-culture references made so the young audience members can relate. However, some younger audiences may not be able to grasp the sarcasm that goes along with the somewhat offensive jokes.

The first and second episodes are full of satire and suspense with the murderer claiming three victims in gory, blood-filled ways.

One is a decapitation by a lawnmower. Although gruesome, it is not surprising that Ryan Murphy, the creator of “Glee,” and “American Horror Story,” is one of the creators of the “Scream Queens.”

The satirical humor that appears throughout the first episode is similar to “Glee,” an extra bonus for fans of that other pop-culture phenomenon from a few years back.

With four characters already murdered or missing, the audience members are left trying to decide who is trustworthy and who is a suspect. It is evident that “Scream Queens” will deservedly be the new ‘it’ show this fall.

Liam O’Connor (Josh Hopkins), an FBI agent demoted to work as an instructor at the academy, does not lie when he tells his newest FBI recruits to trust their gut as opposed to just blindly following orders. In just the second episode of ABC’s newest television series “Quantico,” the characters on the show and the viewers alike are told by O’Connor to be wary of who they trust and what they believe.

“Quantico” provides some fresh air from the new dramas and crime-packed action series out today. The new series focuses on a set of FBI recruits at a training academy in Quantico, Virginia. Simultaneously, however, the producers continue with the show’s second major plot: the nation has just been attacked and Alex Parrish (Priyanka Chopra), who has been a recruit for just a few months, is the prime suspect.

The FBI agents are convinced one of the trainees is the mastermind for the terror and whoever he/she may be has had this attack planned for months, maybe even years.

Each episode consists of a task the trainees are expected to complete. In the meantime, the trainees use these experiences to

ing with the death of one of their own. Every episode discloses another piece to the puzzle of who is behind the terror attack and also reveals a new piece of information about one of the recruits.

As the viewers, we begin to trust each of the seven main recruits even as we are exposed to their dark secrets. However, as time goes on, the mask each of them wears to protect their past wears off, leaving us to suspect them of being the mastermind of the attack, assuming Parrish is honest and was truly drugged before being found helpless at the scene of the attack.

Whether or not Parrish is successful in her search for the real culprit is reason in itself to watch the series. She is likable from the start with her calculative mind that impresses both O’Connor and fellow mentor Miranda Shaw (Aunjanue Ellis) and her friendly but snappy nature that easily warms the heart of her fellow recruits. Chopra does a spectacular job in her American television debut. Previously, she has starred in major Bollywood films, the Hindi film industry centralized in India, and is considered one of the most versatile Bollywood actresses of her generation.

across as a high school drama.

With a love triangle and characters like Nathalie Velasquez (Anabelle Acosta), who appears to exist solely to be the foil to Parrish, the show becomes slightly immature. This is more obvious when compared to the flash-forward scenes where every minute counts; Parrish is on the run from the FBI and with O’Connor releasing her name to all news stations, she has limited time to find the answers she (and the viewers) have for all of their questions.

The series is captivating and keeps one’s interest from the time it begins until the final credits.

It premiered September 27 and has had two mind-boggling episodes following it. As the format is similar to another ABC show (“How To Get Away With Murder”), it is possible for the show to conjoin the two plots as the viewers get closer and closer to the day the attack happened.

Till then, “Quantico” is certainly one of ABC’s stronger and more interesting shows as the viewer experiences being a recruit and solving the same cases as the characters on screen. Behind a strong leading woman and a captivating plot, “Quantico” may just have what it takes to succeed.

The Warrior•Entertainment 20

October 15, 2015

Shows N’ Shindigs

Movies

Concerts

Brooklyn - November 4 The Peanuts Movie - November 6

9:30 club Tove Lo - October 19 Garbage - October 28 Cold War Kids - October 25

Spectre - November 6 By the Sea - November 13 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 - November 20

Fillmore Aer - October 23

Creed - November 25

Cypress Hill - October 29

The Good Dinosaur - November 25

TIMEFLIES - November 12

graphic by Ryan Deal ‘16 and Tate Harrop ‘17

Silverbook Invites Musicians To Inspire Students

by Jacob Golomb ‘16 As all music students at Sherwood know, Alex Silverbook is a dedicated and very talented band teacher. One of the ways he shows his love for music education is by inviting well-known musicians to Sherwood to perform and work with students.

The workshops that these guests do include working on musical pieces with students, sharing what influenced him or her to become a musician, and talking about the life of a professional musician. For example, when Tia Fuller, a well-known saxophonist, came to Sherwood a few years ago, she spoke to students about her experiences being on tour with Beyoncé.

According to Silverbook, it is rare for high schools to get so many well-known musicians to conduct clinics for the students.

Silverbook happens to be friendly with many of these musicians so he simply invites them to Sherwood. For other well-known musicians, he checks if they are touring in the D.C. area and contacts their managers to see if they are interested.

These connections are a result of Silverbook’s lifelong interest in jazz. As a teenager, he gained exposure to many of the great jazz musicians of the time

courtesy of Alex Silverbook

Saxophonist Jeff Coffin and drummer Futureman put on an impressive performance as a part of teacher Alex Silverbook’s music workshops. by going to jazz clubs and con- Sherwood alum Allison Miller. certs in Philadelphia.

Last year, three-time Grammy “It is important that students Award winning saxophonist Jeff are exposed to the masters so they Coffin and renowned Bela Fleck can learn from them and contin- and the Flecktones drummer “Fuue the music through their own tureman” played for the music experiences,” Silverbook said. “I students and discussed everything take a lot of pride in exposing stu- from jazz music to the importance dents to musicians. I learn things of music in our lives. too, not just them.”

“Jeff Coffin and Futureman Silverbook tries to get two or took their years of experience and three musicians in a year to work translated it to a very enjoyable with the students. Most of the workshop,” said senior drummer time, music students, some par- Tyler Golsen. “Futureman taught ents and interested teachers can me how to have fun on the drums attend these workshops. again.”

The musicians Silverbook “I don’t expect everybody I has gotten to attend range from teach will become professional Grammy-Award winners Nich- musicians, but they will go away olas Payton and David Sanchez with greater inspiration from muto celebrated jazz drummer and sic,” said Silverbook.

The Warrior•Entertainment October 15, 2015

21

Taylor Swift’s Superstardom Reaching Historic Levels

by Amanda Allen ‘17

Global superstar Taylor Swift is one of the most well-known singer/songwriters in the world.

With her newest album, “1989,” she is reaching levels that have rarely been seen before. “1989” became the ninth album to spend at least 24 weeks in the Billboard 200, along with albums by artists like Michael Jackson and the Backstreet Boys. Swift’s third album, “Speak Now”, is the only album to have all its songs on the Hot 100. She will appear in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most million-selling weeks on the U.S. album charts. Her past three studio albums, which she wrote herself, sold over a million copies in the first week of being released.

“1989” was released almost one year ago and is still at the top of the charts. The seven-time Grammy winner deservedly has been named “Biggest Pop Star in the World” by a cover story in New York Magazine.

Swift has made a full transition from country to pop with “1989.” The album is named after the year she was born and is influenced by late 80’s pop. Unlike other pop singers and songs, she continues to write meaningful lyrics that reflect her personal experiences through relatable stories.

When asked about songwriting, Swift explained, “When I write songs, I’m not thinking about millions of people. Songs are my diaries; they always have been. You have to put your trust in everyone

because putting down those real, personal details and thoughts that make a song authentic also opens you up. Honesty is a big part of my songwriting.”

Swift brings these personal stories alive in her sold-out 1989 World Tour. Swift does more than most artists including designing tours, choreography, and costumes. This show is known for having a new surprise guest each night ranging from her celebrity friends such as Selena Gomez and Ed Sheeran to other hitmakers like Justin Timberlake and The Weeknd. Other celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres, The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team and Kobe Bryant also have made appearances. On the first night of many Los Angeles concerts, Bryant presented Swift with a permanent banner in the Staples Center for achieving the most sold-out shows in that arena. The set list includes all songs from her newest album, and some of her old hits accompanied by various instruments played by Swift.

“Never one to do things halfway, Swift has made this a pop show — or rather the pop show, as far as 2015 is concerned,” according to Rolling Stone Magazine.

Perhaps most importantly, Swift is a great role model to fans, unlike many artists of the generation such as Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber. Swift manages to stay down to earth, even with the success. She is known to respond to fans directly on social media, which explains why she has the most followers on Instagram. She

billboard.com

has free meet-and-greets before and after her shows with fans that are chosen directly from her social media accounts, or from who her mom finds during the show. Fans have also received Christmas and Valentine’s Day gifts from this pop star. Before “1989” was released, she held “1989 Secret Sessions,” where Swift personally previewed her fifth studio album for 89 fans in each of her five houses. Swift’s fan base continues to grow along with her success. Currently, her only competition is herself, as she is the most popular pop artist of this generation.

Awards

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American Country Music Awards: 8

•

American Music Awards: 16

•

Billboard Mid-Year Music Awards: 6

•

Country Music Association Awards: 11

•

CMT Artists of the Year Awards: 4

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CMT Music Awards: 6

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Grammy Awards: 7

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Songwriter’s Hall Of Fame: 2

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MTV Video Music Awards: 6

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Nashville Music Awards: 3

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Guinness World Records: 6

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People’s Choice Awards: 8

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Teen Choice Awards: 25

‘The Martian’ Blasts Off to Otherworldly Success

by Megan Werden ‘17

In the action and sci-fi movie “The Martian,” Matt Damon plays Mark Watney, a determined astronaut who is presumed dead after a storm hits Mars while he and his fellow crew are on a mission there. Some debris hits Watney during the storm, and he suffers a gruesome injury. The rest of crew escapes from the planet and leaves him behind.

Turns out that Watney is alive and now has to figure out how to live on Mars by himself, without contact with NASA. He learns how to grow potatoes using his crew’s stored waste, and rations his food day by day to keep him alive as long as possible. He also searches the surroundings of his new home on Mars, and he finds some very surprising but helpful technologies that will help him survive. Using advanced technology, NASA discovers that he is still on Mars and spends more than 500 days to find a way to bring him back home.

The crew, Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain), Rick Martinez (Michael Peña), Beth Johanssen (Kate Mara), Chris Beck (Sebastian Stan), and Alex Vogel (Aksel Hennie), does not know that Wat-

indiewire.com

Mark Watney (Matt Damon) looks on in hopelessness as he discovers that he has been left behind on Mars.

He must suvive alone on the planet for over a year after he was left behind by his crew following a storm. ney is alive until two months after NASA first figures out he is still on Mars. They are at first furious with NASA, but then they regret leaving their fellow crew mate behind. Lewis is especially distraught because she is the commander who ordered her crew

to leave him behind. Once they find out he is alive and are able to communicate with him, they are determined to do anything they can to help him return home, even if it means risking their lives. The movie, directed by Andy Weir and based on a sci-fi novel with

the same title, soars thanks to its realistic special effects and an outstanding performance by Damon.

The special effects make the movie very realistic, creating an entire world for Watney on Mars.

Since this movie is sci-fi, the fact

that the special effects are real-looking make the movie stand out in its genre. Damon had to go through vigorous training for the film. This is very evident as he does many of his own stunts throughout “The Martian,” including when he is shaken around quite a bit in a space-simulated scene. As Watney is living on Mars, he has to travel throughout the planet to find different resources. At one point while Watney is searching the planet for resources, a fiery explosion throws him back. Such scenes are gripping to watch and utterly believable looking.

The dramatic visuals are complemented by Damon’s fantastic acting. He portrays Watney as brilliantly smart (as one would expect of a NASA astronaut) but also smart-mouthed. Damon adds a lot of comic relief to tense scenes, as his character is able to find the humor in the most trying of circumstances.

The balance of suspense and comedic levity separates “The Martian” from other films about a lone survivor trying to make it out alive. It’s not too often that a film successfully provides much-needed laughs during dire circumstances.

The Warrior•Sports 22

October 15, 2015

Girls’ Cross Country Racing Towards Regional Meet

by Madison Dymond ‘16 The girls’ cross country team placed 12 out of 32 teams at an October 10 invitational meet in New York. Seniors Amanda Hayes-Puttfarcken and Maddie Peloff came in first and second place, both receiving medals.

Freshman Alexa Donaldson came in sixth place and received a medal as well.

Coming into this season, the team knew that they had the potential to be one of the strongest groups of runners in the county.

So far, so good. The team also had an impressive performance at the DCXC Invite three weeks ago, with several girls reaching personal records and a few receiving medals. Hayes-Puttfarcken came in eighth place with a time of 19:32.

Earlier in the season, the team beat Northwest on September 29 during their second divisional meet. The girls also performed well during their first divisional meet which took place on September 15, beating Northwest and Poolesville but losing to Wootton.

The meet took place at Sherwood and was the first home meet of the season. The results of the second meet will go towards the team’s overall scores and ranking. At the September 29 meet, Sherwood won with a time of 21:08, run by Hayes-Puttfarcken, followed by Northwest runner Sofia Zarate in second, with a time of 21:57. Peloff came in third with a time of 22:04.

“I am very optimistic about the season,” said Hayes-Puttfarcken, one of the team’s three captains. “The team’s looking

pretty good, and I believe we have a chance at winning Regionals.”

Senior Jacqueline Noland agrees with that assessment. “It’s going pretty well. The girls are doing well and we’re all coming together, and our training over the summer is starting to really pay off,” she said.

The top runners are generally the same as last year, seeing as the team did not lose any seniors to graduation. Hayes-Puttfarcken and Peloff remain the team’s two strongest runners, but there is definitely some new freshmen talent as well.

“The freshmen are looking pretty good this year overall.

Alexa Donaldson is improving greatly,” said Hayes-Puttfarcken.

Donaldson’s performance at the October 10 meet backs this up.

Unfortunately, two of the new

top freshmen runners, Megan Kendall and Charlotte Haughton, are injured. These runners ran in the most recent race, but haven’t been able to train recently due to their injuries. Because of this, they struggled to reach their full potential after missing out on practice.

The top seven girls run each meet. There is no official list of top runners, as Coach Dan Reeks changes his rotation every meet based on each runner’s performance. There are also no official rankings at the moment. The second half of the season always sees great improvement as the runners increase their training base.

The entire season leads up to the County’s meet, which will be held on Saturday October 24, and Regionals that will take place two weeks after that. The team gen-

erally is keeping the same training techniques it has always had, which involves emphasis on even pace-running, but there is one aspect the runners are doing differently this year. “Instead of grouping by gender, we’re grouping solely by times run in races,” said Hayes-Puttfarcken. Some of this year’s girls are as fast as some of the boys, so they are now practicing together. This will allow for the runners to be able to practice in a way that best fits their talents as opposed to being grouped by gender.

The team has overcome many obstacles so far this year including various injuries, and the girls have still managed to have an extremely impressive start to the season. If this is any indicator of how well their season will go, things are looking pretty positive.

Gazette’s Closure Leaves Hole in Sports Coverage

by Ryan Deal ‘16

Maya Koeppen ‘17

Junior Megan Wilson jumps up for a defensive block in a tough set while senior Christina Toven covers her.

Varsity Girls’ Volleyball Quickly Picks Up Where They Left Off Last Season

by Sammie Spillman ‘16 Last season, the girls’ volleyball team made it to Ritchie Coliseum for the 4A state semi-finals where they were defeated in three sets by Severna Park. The 2014 playoff run was the latest for a volleyball program that won three state championships from 2011-2013. In the wake of all that success, there were predictions this year that the Sherwood girls’ volleyball program was in decline and for the first time in years, the Washington Post did not rank Sherwood among the top 10 teams in the area. The 2015 team entered the season with something to prove.

The Warriors began the season by winning three consecutive non-conference games against Springbrook (25-10, 25-9, 25-5), Paint Branch (25-6, 25-18, 2521), and Gaithersburg (25-11, 2520, 23-25, 26-24). After the stern test against the Trojans, the Warriors opened conference play with

a 26-16, 25-20, 25-19 straight-set win over Whitman.

“The season has been going great. We have a lot of chemistry this year that allows us to communicate better on the court,” said junior Megan Wilson. “I think the thing that really sets us apart from other teams is the fact that we adapt to each team we play. If [junior] Kaiya [Heyliger-Powell] needs to block on the right side, we are able to make the switch fast and efficiently, making us an all-around deceptive team. We are aggressive offensively and defensively and our mental toughness also contributes to our success in difficult situations.”

A true test for Sherwood came when playing Churchill on September 24, where they were pushed to their limits before losing in three sets, 25-13, 25-19, and 25-13. Following this upset, the girls came back and pushed through to win four consecutive games against Walter Johnson (25-12, 25-18, 25-22), Blair (25-

12, 25-20, 25-17) Northwood (25-14, 25-19, 25-8), and BCC on October 10, 25-20, 25-15, and 2517. The 9-1 Warriors have won in three straight sets in eight of their nine victories.

Even with this success, the Warriors are still looking to build on their skills and make another trip to Richie Stadium. “We’re half way through the season now and we are still looking to improve,” said Coach Ben Sanger.

“We continue to get better and hoping to get healthy for the real tough part of our schedule.”

This past Tuesday, the girls faced Northwest, a huge competitor and rival, which tested the team and their ability to face tough opponents as the season comes close to an end, and playoffs start up. “This is a huge game for us so we are really working hard on executing our game plan and playing as a team,” said senior Alex Greenbaum. “Every day we go into practice with the goal to get better and work hard.”

For nearly 60 years, The Gazette, the notable Montgomery County-specialized publication, has covered high school sports with a watchful eye, hiring beat reporters and columnists to cover games of all sports over the course of a season. With All-Gazette honors and in-depth articles, The Gazette provided a venue for the student athletes to be recognized at the next level. However, that venue, which had been available for so long was slammed shut this summer as The Gazette ceased publication.

The Gazette’s final issue ran in June, thus signaling the end of the paper’s presence in Montgomery County. The financial constraints suffocated the publication in recent years, making it harder and harder for the publication to continually distribute news in a cost effective way. One of the consequences of the ceasing publication is that the extensive coverage of high school sports by local reporters is all but removed, dimming the spotlight on some of the county’s finest athletes.

“I was heartbroken when I found out [about the cessation],” said the girls’ lacrosse Coach Kelly Hughes, “We knew the reporters by name. I was able to check the local scores that mattered to me. They ran special interest pieces about any athlete, no matter how their team was doing that season. I really feel for the athletes who deserve to be recognized.”

Disappointment was a shared trait among all coaches residents in Montgomery County. With a large portion of local sports coverage now going into the hands of Washington Post reporters, many coaches who do not lead major, private-school programs fear that their team performance may get lost in the shuffle.

“It is very difficult for the Washington Post to cover so many MCPS athletic teams and thus many student athletes and teams lose the recognition they deserve,” said girls’ soccer Coach Danielle Rosanova. “Typically, only the powerhouse programs receive coverage from the Post and that leaves out the majority of schools and players who are performing well, but may not grab headlines.” Such an occurrence may become a very real situation for many of the county’s top programs, because now they must compete with players all around the state for recognition, not just players from their own county.

Recognition is certainly something that student-athletes worry about as they may look to make a name for themselves on the field as they graduate and head to the next level of their careers. For such athletes, the loss of The Gazette is a massive blow.

However, other resources have emerged in the past years that may give such athletes some much needed exposure. Hudl, an online video-editing website, has been launched into the mainstream in recent years, allowing athletes to sort through game film uploaded by coaches and make highlight tapes from their best plays. The site has become so popular to the extent that a high school student may find it difficult to scroll down their Twitter feed on a given day and not find some sort of link to a fellow student’s tape.

Often times, such tapes will catch the attention of college coaches, where, as athletes know, opportunities can begin pouring in.

The closing of The Gazette not only ends an era, but creates a void in the recruiting game. Tactics used to get recognition will surely change in the future, but no longer will a player be able to put “All-Gazette” team on their resume.

The Warrior•Sports October 15, 2015

23

Girls’ Soccer Starts Season Out Strong

by Elizabeth Kronlage ‘18 The girls’ varsity soccer team stormed out of the gates this season, going undefeated in the first seven games and outscoring their opponents by a combined 45 goals to six.

The balanced offense is led by seniors Ariella Amaguana (midfielder), and Ashley Webb and Captain Danielle Rhorman (forwards). Amaguana leads the county in number of assists, while Rhorman and Webb are in the top five in the county for most goals scored. Senior Delaney McMenamin leads the team’s concrete defense from the center back position.

While facing often inferior competition thus far throughout the season, the Warriors have exhibited exceptional communication, positioning and speed on the field. The team recently defeated Rockville on October 6 by an astonishing 8-0, and the game clearly demonstrated their ability to possess the ball, score goals and outplay their opponents overall.

The season became significantly more challenging beginning this past Tuesday night against Magruder in the division championship game. Both teams entered the match undefeated and with multiple players who will play at the collegiate level in the future.

The Warriors remaining four regular season games include Northwest on October 15, Blair on October 20, Bethesda-Chevy

Chase on October 22 and Churchill on October 26. The Warriors’ toughest competition is likely going to be Churchill and BCC. Churchill, one of the strongest teams in the county, has beaten two opponents by double-digits, while BCC has won three consecutive 4A state championships from 2009-2011. As the Warriors head into the playoffs, the team should have a good sense of just how well they stack up against the other good teams in the state.

Rohrman is looking forward to the tough games ahead on the schedule. “I trust my team and I feel we have a lot of chemistry since most of us have been playing with each other for 3-4 years,” she said. “I believe we can go far this year and I’m looking forward to playing more difficult teams. We have to keep coming out aggressively and continue to possess the ball.”

The Warriors are brimming with confidence as they look to rely on the understanding on the field that they have developed from playing together. The team includes 14 seniors, and such veteran experience often can be the difference-maker come playoff time when two evenly match teams are battling each other.

“For the upcoming games, it is important that we stay strong the whole game and not give up any goals, especially in playoffs when the games will be more difficult, and one goal could decide if we go home or continue on the road to the final,” said Rohrman.

Chase Wilson ‘17

Senior Alan Kristall, an integral offensive player, wins a header during a tough match against Watkins Mill.

Boys’ Soccer Struggles To Find Consistency

by Noah Rosendorf ‘17 Boys’ varsity soccer’s record so far reflects a season full of many ups and downs. The team stood at 3-4-1, after losing to Rockville 1-0 on October 6. Although the Warriors have beat conference foes Blake, Paint Branch and Springbrook, they have also suffered losses such as a 4-1 defeat to Watkins Mill in conference play on September 30 and a 3-1 defeat against non-conference foe Northwest in the first game of the season.

The team has had good communication throughout the games, which has led to meaningful possession. However, the possession often has not resulted in goals. A struggle in a number of games has been the Warriors’ inability to play quality balls to strikers, such as senior Chris Homon and junior Cheriff Dicko, to create quality chances on goal.

The Warriors had a chance of winning the 4A North division, but the recent losses to Watkins Mill and Rockville took them out of the hunt. “We can only focus on winning one game at a time,” said Coach Matt Parsons. “We need to stick with what we have been successful doing all season and con-

tinue on making it better. We need to create more high-quality opportunities and finish those chances.

Our strikers need to stay wide, and we need to work on our defensive shape. We also can not give up big gaps in the field—that is what will win us games.”

After a crucial game yesterday against arch-rival Magruder, the Warriors need to continue building a positive outlook as they finish the regular season against quality opponents, including a game at Blair on October 20 and a home game against B-CC on October 22.

“In order to succeed as a team we need to work as a unit more. A lot of the forwards have had low confidence so it’s vital to remain positive and continue to work hard. We need to send the ball to our strikers more by waiting for the perfect ball to send them,” said senior left forward Alan Kristall.

Parsons is emphasizing patience and hard work as the foundations for consistently strong performances. “We have to be patient as a team. You do not improve the way you play dramatically everyday. By working hard everyday in training, we will get a little bit better each day, and that is how we will become successful,” said Parsons.

Senior Lea Owens Steps Up Her Game on the Court

by Kayla Cohen ‘17

Kayla Cohen ‘17

Senior Lea Owens serves the ball during the opening set of the match against Wootton on September 26.

The number one girls’ singles player, senior Lea Owens, will compete on the tennis team with a full scholarship at the University of Richmond starting next fall.

Her full ride is the most recent milestone in her tennis career, which began when Owens was only four years old.

Her freshmen year, she started playing at the Junior Tennis Championship Center (JTCC) at University of Maryland, which is a regional training center where people from all over the county come to train. The facility offers full-time and part-time training.

When the high school tennis season ends this fall, Owens will be practicing at the JTCC five days a week, for three hours each day.

Growing up, Owens’s older sister inspired her to play tennis.

“She was always better than me, and I wanted to be as good as her,” said Owens. Playing at the number one singles spot, Owens has become an outstanding player. “What I love most about tennis is the intensity of the one-on-one competition,” she said.

During the winter, Owens practices for about three hours a day, and in the summer she

practices for about five hours a day. Her practices consist of both playing tennis and doing fitness.

The intense training should help tremendously as she prepares to play tennis at the college level.

“I decided to go to UR because it has really good academics and it’s small so you can get a lot of attention. Also, it [is] really pretty and not too far from home,” Owens said. In addition to Richmond’s small park-like campus, Owens was attracted to the tennis team’s fun attitude.

Girls’ tennis coach Tom Maley watched Owens become a stronger player over her four years of high school tennis. “Our current roster features many quality young women with very good tennis skills. However, Owens is truly one of the two very best female tennis players in our county and even throughout the entire state of Maryland,” he said. When Owens first started high school, her national ranking for her grade was about 600. Now, she is in the top 100 for Class of 2016.

Next year, the tennis team will be different without Owens, and she will be missed. But her amazing tennis playing will serve her well throughout her time in college and in the future.

The Warrior•Sports

24

October 15, 2015

Shawn Bliss

QUarterback

Marcus Travis Levy Simms Running Back Wide Receiver Offensive Lineman Charlie siarkas

FOotball Eyes revenge against Paint branch

by John Sutherland ‘16 Ever since the Warriors lost a crushing defeat to Paint Branch 26-22 that ended their playoff chances last year, the team has been craving a chance for a rematch. On October 23, they will finally get their chance to redeem themselves and they cannot wait for the opportunity.

“We have to prove a point this year,” said senior OL Charlie Siarkas. “And fight to show our best potential.”

The 5-0 team has plenty of reasons to be optimistic about

their chances against currently undefeated Paint Branch. The offense has been on fire, averaging 41.2 points per game. Between junior RB Travis Levy’s 863 rushing yards and senior WR Marcus Simms’ 584 receiving yards through five games, the offense has been nearly impossible to stop. On top of that, the team upset 13th ranked Northwest 1613, which will give them even more confidence going into the Paint Branch game.

The defense was very impressive in the game limiting a Northwest

offense that was averaging 33.5 points per game before the game, to just 13 points. The Warriors most recently heavily pounded Northwood 56-6. They have blown out teams throughout the year.

Since RB Travis Levy dominated the game last year with 194 yards and three touchdowns, expect the team to have a big emphasis on the run game. The passing game seriously struggled against Paint Branch’s defense last year but with a new quarterback, senior Shawn Bliss, the team hopes this year

will be different. In order for the team to win, Simms must have a better game as he only had three receptions for nine yards last year.

Similar to Sherwood, Paint Branch has a very high-powered offense that is led by a new quarterback, senior Armani Ceballos, and has a star duo in WR JD Guerrero and RB Cedric Content. Sherwood’s defense may face their toughest test yet when they go up against Paint Branch’s offense.

“We plan on stopping the run,” said se-

nior DL Rafiq Antoine.

“Then we’ll be able to more easily cover in the pass game.”

If Sherwood wins this game, they will most likely go undefeated as they face much weaker opponents the rest of the schedule.

There is plenty of optimism about how far this team could go.

As this is the Homecoming game, the student section should be electric and will continue to prove that Sherwood’s Caruso Memorial Field offers one of the best atmospheres for high school football in the county.