THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL FOR SCIENCE AND TECH || ALEXANDRIA, VA
TJTODAY
NOV. 22, 2017 || VOL 4 ISSUE 3 || www.tjtoday.org
THE MAGAZINE
6560 BRADDOCK RD. ALEXANDRIA, VA 22312
UNLOCKED
A look into the work of the sysadmins
12
BUS FRIENDSHIPS
How Jefferson students create friendships while weathering long commutes
20
LEAD ED
In a STEM school, should there be Humanities Research?
26
RAPPERS
Members of Bigos and Lucas Huynh on how they got their start
CONTENTS 06 The Sysadmins EDITORIAL BOARD Ankit Agrawal Katherine Du Angel Kim Adithi Ramakrishnan
Uzma Rentia Avni Singh Christine Zhao
Sysadmins talk about the development of Ion updates and their personal growth
SECTION EDITORS MiJin Cho
Alex Howe
BROADCAST EXECUTIVE Alexa Nguonly
Lynn Nguyen
STAFF REPORTERS Roja Ayyadurai Rena Cai Ashley Huang Sneha Joisha Tanya Kurnootala Irina Lee
Grace Mak Clay Reppert Sadhana Suri Prerak Thakkar Miranda Xiong
ADVISER
Erinn Harris
1
1. Sysadmins Keegan Lanzillotta, William Zhang, and Dylan Jones code together on a computer. in the Syslab. 2. Wrestlers Caleb O’Cain and Connor Regan practice against each other while their teammates do squats. 3. Bus friends and seniors Kanvi Shah, Rahul Rajan, Tanvi Haldankar, Emily Quan, and Soham Ray play in the snow during their sophomore year.
News 04 Jefferson plans addition of new security cameras Administration adds cameras to interior of school
Sci-Tech 10
3
2
Jefferson’s new website
What to do with the old website and screenshots of the new website
In-Depth
Opinion
16 Meet a Custodian
24 Lead Editorial
Custodian Junpei Yuan’s journey from China to America
Should Jefferson offer a humanities research lab?
Sports
Entertainment
20 College Commitment
26 Student Rappers
Senior Margaret Covey’s soccer skills take her to West Point
Rappers discuss their raps and influences
tjTODAY is the official newsmagazine of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology published by the journalism staff. The staff is deeply committed to a code of journalistic ethics that demands the exercise of accuracy, good judgment and impartiality. The content of tjTODAY is determined by the editorial board. Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of the staff of tjTODAY, but not necessarily the opinions of individual editors.
NEWS || NOV. 22, 2017 03
NEWS
POETRY IN MOTION Poetry Out Loud participants compete intramurally Vikram Achuthan || Staff Writer
1
2
3 1. Junior John Small recited “The Barnacle� by A. E. Stallings while crouching. 2. Freshman Julia Feldhaus recites a poem while using hand gestures to emphasize parts of the poem. 3. Judges Amy Reich and Katy Oskoui react to a poem recital. 4. Audience members listen to and take in a poem.
4
NEWS
FOCUS ON
SECURITY
Jefferson plans addition of security cameras inside the school Alex Howe || SECTION EDITOR
I
n order to keep students safe, Jefferson’s administration plans to add security cameras to the interior of the school. Jefferson currently has exterior security cameras, but there are none inside the school.
“Sometimes when people hear that there are going to be cameras on the interior, people worry about privacy and they wonder, ‘Oh, are we going to be watched?’,” Bonitatibus said. “First of all, no cameras will ever be in any private area. They would not be in bathrooms, they would not be in locker rooms, they would not even be in classrooms. We’re talking general areas in the hallways.”
“We are one of very few high schools without interior cameras,” principal Dr. Ann Bonitatibus said. “My understanding The administration made the blueprints is that when the architectural plans were and determined how much money would drawn up for the renovation here, that be needed to add the security cameras there were plans that included interior during renovation. However, due to small cameras. We have exterior ones right now.” modifications to the school’s layout, The cameras will be placed in hallways, changes were necessary. large public spaces, and near stairwells. “The design that we had was for the
original design of the renovation, [but] over the years some things changed [in the school blueprints],” Bonitatibus said. “[The FCPS Office of Safety and Security] said we have to reposition some things [for the camera layout].” There currently has not been much progress in the installation of security cameras, largely due in part to the end of Jefferson’s renovation last year. “The administration is considering implementing interior cameras. [Dr. Bonitatibus] hasn’t made any definitive decisions yet,” SGA President Nick Begotka said. “What she’s going to do before making those decisions is talking with student focus groups, talking with student leadership, and talking with other stakeholders in the community to see if it is a good decision for our school.” One of the main downsides is that people prefer not to be monitored while they are doing leisure activities and schoolwork. “The feeling of constantly being watched, even if there isn’t someone technically in that room, just knowing that all your actions now and 30 days prior could be monitored or stored somewhere hurts that feeling of student freedom and student privacy at school,” Begotka said. Additionally, both administrators and An approximation of the vantage point of the new security cameras
NEWS || NOV. 22, 2017 05 SGA members anticipate pushback against the addition of security cameras.
cameras would allow administrators to look back if someone has an item stolen, which could be a positive.”
“I am almost 100 percent sure everyone will be against it,” Begotka said. “Just walking through the halls, having that freedom, not like you’re going to do anything bad, but just walk through the halls, talk with your friends, joke around a bit, seeing that camera and that feeling of being surveyed kind of ruins that free feeling.”
Security cameras are also useful if Jefferson ever enters a situation in which a shooter enters the school, which Dr. Bonitatibus personally experienced while she was working at a high school in Frederick, Md. “There was an active shooter and I was one of the first on the scene. That building had approximately 70 interior cameras,” Bonitatibus said. “The school went into lockdown immediately.”
However, adding security cameras to Jefferson’s interior will help in situations such as finding missing students and staff, or an attempt to take or damage valuable equipment. “There’s a microscope someplace that costs $250,000. The planetarium, the projector going in there, costs over half a million dollars,” Bonitatibus said. “If anybody ever wanted to, they could do some serious damage.” Another benefit to adding security cameras is the ability to potentially catch student thieves, thus preventing robberies of students’ electronic devices. “You may not know, but stealing-even besides food--TI-84 calculators and other technology, can be serious,” Begotka said. “Having these security
The presence of an active shooter caused panic and confusion. “I had a couple kids who were shot, and bleeding, and they were in the gymnasium,” Bonitatibus said. “I was at the center of command. I had my security person come in, [and] we didn’t know if the shooter was still in the building.” Thanks to the usage of security cameras, Bonitatibus was able to keep some level of control over the situation at hand, and keep the school and students safe. “We were able very quickly with those cameras to click through them all to see if there was any student not safe. So we were able to see, [if there was] somebody unsupervised, somebody potentially in danger,” Bonitatibus said. “If I wouldn’t have had those cameras, we could have been in that building much longer, and something really terrible could have happened.” The possible installation of security cameras is ultimately a move to ensure the security of both students and staff at Jefferson. “We are in an era now where we can’t take our safety for granted,” Bonitatibus said. “You [students] are our most valuable commodities and assets. Our staff is very important.”
Jefferson security cameras will appear like this
IN-DEPTH
DAMAGE
CONTROL
Student-run systems administrators collaborate to bounce back from obstacles, bugs and failures
PHOTO // Ankit Agrawal
IN-DEPTH || NOV. 22, 2017 07 From left to right: junior Dylan Jones, senior William Zhang, sophomore Keegan Lanzillotta, senior Naitian Zhou and junior Omkar Kulkarni pose in the server room of the Computer Systems lab.
I
n the left-hand nook of Room 200c, with raspberry pies strewn across the table and a signage display illuminating the floor below, senior Naitian Zhou drops off his bag by a workstation before heading to the machine room on his right.
The problem began last night, when the “waitaha” server stopped responding to Secure Shell (SSH). Zhou, a student systems administrator, is down in the syslab before school in an effort to get “waitaha” running again. “We couldn’t really remote in because the networking was down, so we basically had to wait till the morning to come in and fix that,” Zhou said. “We freaked out a little bit and then we tried all of those things and none of them have worked and we [couldn’t] think of anything else so we just came to school and fixed it the next day.” From 6:46 p.m. the night before, to 4:08 p.m. on Sep. 14, Zhou and the four other student systems administrators scrambled to find a solution as Ion, Webmail, and remote access servers all randomly went offline. The student systems administrators, commonly abbreviated as sysadmins, are responsible for responding to issues like these and maintaining the TJHSST servers within the school and online. Sophomore Keegan Lanzillotta, juniors Dylan Jones and Omkar Kulkarni and seniors Naitian Zhou and William Zhang monitor everything from Ion to workstations, webmail to networking. Since the group’s inception in 1985, the sysadmin umbrella has encompassed over 140 student sysadmins and intranet maintainers. The current group has witnessed drastic changes within the system’s infrastructure and group dynamics, the most
From left to right: junior Dylan Jones, senior William Zhang and sophomore Keegan Lanzillotta. Jones and Lanzillotta stand around a computer in the Computer Systems lab as Zhang types. Though Kulkarni is the head sysadmin, tasks are delegated depending on qualifications. PHOTO // Ankit Agrawal
notable which occurred 2016 with the latest updates on topics like ticketing notable of of which occured in 2016inwith the departure of a key staff member. systems and understudies and set a game plan to delegate tasks for when systems “In early 2016, we lost our lead go awry. sysadmin [Andrew Hamilton],” Zhang said. “We didn’t have a clear structure, there was no one to delegate roles, and he used to be the guy that knew everything, because he graduated in 2009 and [worked] part-time with TJ. Basically, he just disappeared overnight and we scrambled to figure out how things worked. Not everyone knew what we were supposed to do or how to fix it. So Fox [Wilson], Sam [Damashek], and James [Woglom], who are now graduated, did a pretty good job of stepping into that role.” The sysadmins communicate through IRC (Internet Relay Chat), a chat client used by many programmers, to discuss
The System Administrators first appeared in the Jefferson yearbook in 2005. First row: alumni John Livingston, Kyle Moffett, Eric Prince, Dan Tran, Menyoung Lee. Second row: alumni Bryar Fleming, Nadeem Kolia, Andrew Dcason, former Computer Systems Lab director Randy Latimer.
“The first thing we do is we have a chat, and we’re like “Guys, everything is broken,” and then everyone affirms that everything is broken,” Zhou said. “And then we figure out: is someone responsible for this? Is this something that someone maybe not intentionally done but realizes they did? And in which case, they would be most culpable for solving that. If it isn’t something like that, then everyone has their individual responsibilities.” With Zhang on webmail and workstations, Zhou on Ion, Kulkarni on user issues, Jones on signages, and Lanzillotta on website maintenance,
INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITIES Omkar Kulkarni: Lead sysadmin, System issues
Dylan Jones: Networking, Signage displays
Keegan Lanzillotta: Website maintenance, Signage displays and Signage2 software, Workstations William Zhang: Workstations, Clusters, Gitlab, Webmail, Networking Naitian Zhou: Ion, Web development
IN-DEPTH || NOV. 22, 2017 09 the sysadmins generally the sysadmins will will generally alwaysalways have the right person on hand for when situations require a deeper level of understanding. In previous years, however, the sysadmins still experienced significant obstacles with handling the interdependent system that was in place: combined with the usual hardware flukes, single-point failures could lead to complete server downtime and were easily susceptible to significant crashes.
the Ion backend, which deals with user data and authentication, switching from Fedora to Ubuntu, two popular Linux operating systems and overall equipping the system to better handle failures. Zhang recalls dedicating 20 hour weeks over the summer to make the necessary changes. “A lot of the work we couldn’t do
One of the most valuable features of this new system is compartmentalization, which makes identifying issues simple and fast. Sysadmins can clearly pinpoint which section of the system goes down, an important step in fixing a problem. Combining this with more frequent back-ups and reduced human interaction creates a more robust system that minimizes the effects of a crash.
BY THE NUMBERS
“In Ion’s case, if you get the ‘application server cannot be reached’ error message, you know that it’s a problem with the actual application server and not the vm [virtual machine] it’s running on,” Kulkarni said. “If nothing shows up, you know that the vm itself has gone down, and from there you can figure out where the error lies depending on which machines you cannot connect to anymore.”
“One of the things that we Number of signage displays around didn’t have last year was very the school many backups,” Kulkarni said. “Last year, there were a lot First preliminary displays installed of single-point failures, so if in Gandhi commons one machine went down, then everything went down, whereas Daily display reboot time now, everything is separated so there’s no one place where As the sysadmins continue working someone can walk in, press the power remotely, and for that we just came in to introduce Datadog, a monitoring button, and everything will stop working.” person over the summer,” Zhang said. system that directly sends notifications As the difficulties built up over time, the “For example, we had to reinstall some about errors, as well as signage2, signage sysadmins decided to overhaul the existing of the servers in there, and although it’s software that Lanzillotta, Jones, junior system and rebuild the infrastructure from possible to do reinstall remotely, it’s a lot Jack Duvall, and others built from scratch, the ground up. They worked on rewriting easier to do it in person.” they focus ahead on future improvements
11
2015
PHOTO // Ankit Agrawal
4 AM
while proud of the work they’ve accomplished. “Honestly, just the fact that we managed to make the transition without many noticeable hiccups was a good indicator of its success,” Zhou said. “It was a large change in the backend, but there weren’t any fancy new features, so the biggest thing was it cleaned up a lot of the old code and made it easier to continue development.”
Left: In the sever room in the Computer Systems lab, sophomore Keegan Lanzillotta presses keys while booting up a computer. The server room serves as a data center for the maintenance of Jefferson servers, both in school and online.
SCI-TECH
tjhsst.edu The future of TJ’s personal website v.2.0
and student opinions.
Rena Cai || STAFF WRITER
W
FCPS guidelines, such as putting a map of the school on the hen students attempt to access the website tjhsst.edu on Oct. 24, they’re greeted with a redirect notice waving website. them over to tjhsst.fcps.edu, Jefferson’s new official “It’s just a lot of things showing TJ life - showing TJ students website. That same day, however, an announcement was posted on being TJ students,” Lanzilotta said. Intranet, explaining that tjhsst.edu will be replaced with a different After the suggestions are collected and compiled, the Sysadmins version of the website. may hold a design contest where students can submit descriptions “Basically, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) said that the and/or mockups for the actual design of the new website. official face of Jefferson as a website has to be hosted by them but However, this all depends on the we still control tjhsst.edu, we still responses gathered by the google own that and we can host whatever form, as the Sysadmins may forego we want there,” sophomore the competition entirely and design it “Right now, we’re just looking for ideas Sysadmin Keegan Lanzillotta said. themselves. of what to put there. At this early stage, The same day the website was “We don’t have anything formal it’s just getting a general idea of what replaced with one under the FCPS yet. There’s no definite time frame or domain, an Intranet announcement purpose [tjhsst.edu] is going to have in structure for the competition yet,” junior informing students of the change, Sysadmin Dylan Jones said. the future.” as well as including a link to a In order to change tjhsst.edu without google form that gives students the -Sophomore Keegan Lanzillotta it taking tjhsst.fcps.edu’s position as the opportunity to submit suggestions offi cial face of TJ, the Sysadmins must of their own and have a say in what wait until the traffic to the old website the new website will be like. dies down. As that depends on uncontrollable factors, it’s hard “We can’t do anything that is like the official face of TJ,” to estimate when the process can start, but it will most likely be a Lanzillotta said. “It has to be more focused on what the students few months. While they are waiting, the Sysadmins will be actively are doing, what life is like at TJ instead of a school website.” brainstorming about and taking suggestions for the new website. Some of these suggestions revolve around functions that already “Right now, we’re just looking for ideas of what to put there,” exist on the official website, such as pictures of the different clubs Lanzillotta said. “At this early stage it’s just getting a general idea of or an activities page; a few suggestions even directly ask for the what purpose [tjhsst.edu] is going to have in the future.” old website back. Others suggest things that are not allowed under
Oct. 24, 2017
Taken Down & Replaced by FCPS version
Dec., 2017
Decides on Design through Contest
Estimated Schedule for the New Version of tjhsst.edu These are the predicted dates and are liable to change.
2018
Completed Version goes Online
Of the By the For the
STUDENTS
SCI-TECH || NOV. 22, 2017 11
What are the most popular suggestions from students? TJ students were asked what they would like to see on the new version of tjhsst.edu. By far the most requested is photos of students, especially photos of 8th period activities and sporting activities. While FCPS’s version of TJ’s school website does have pictures, the website is mainly text based and doesn’t focus on student life, as to fit in with FCPS’s standardization. Implementing photo galleries will fill in both of those holes.
When the old website went offline, the W school calendar also disappeared. Though the calendar site itself is still up, there is no longer a link that directs to you to it. tjhsst.fcps.edu does list upcoming events, but that’s all it is: a list that is cumbersome to search through for events that are interesting. Intranet also merely links to tjhsst.fcps.edu’s event page instead of the old calander. There is no wonder a comprehensive calendar is one of the most popular suggestions for the new tjhsst.edu.
The third most popular suggestion is simply T a directory that compiles all important links, whether it’s to often used sites like Intranet and library databases or less traveled sites like TJ SGA. By assembling links to all of these websites into one page, this allows students to easily access those resources. However, a directory like this is already in place in Intranet, thus placing a directory onto tjhsst.edu may be redundant.
IN-DEPTH From left to right: Freshman Hashir Aqeel, Farhan Babar, David KwabiAddo, Mallika Khati, Huda Abdulle, Reva Hirave, Catie Granum, Grace Cha, and Shan Lateef eat in the Gym 2 hallway during lunch.
PHOTO // Sneha Joisha
TAKE A TURN ON FRIENDSHIP LANE
How one group of friends found each other on the bus Sneha Joisha || STAFF WRITER
For most Jefferson students, thoughts of the bus ride evoke an impending sense of dread. The extended trip in a yellow sardine can last anywhere from 50 minutes to two hours, forcing students out of bed early in the morning and getting them home when the sky is pitch black. But for nine freshmen, the agonizing bus ride was the start of something well worth the unreasonably early wake-up alarms. Huda Abdulle, Hashir Aqeel, Farhan Babar, Grace Cha, Catie Granum, Reva Hirave, Mallika Khati, David Kwabi-Addo and Shan Lateef, who all live in Prince William County, first met each other before attending Jefferson and became closer to each other by going to events and participating in various activities together. “Before TJ, Prince William County had those part[ies for those who got into TJ], and all of us went there, and there was nothing else to do, so we started talking to each other about middle school,” said Aqeel. “At the beginning, we didn’t talk that much, so I would just kind of talk to Farhan who I’ve known for three years. I knew
Farhan from [Rippon] Middle School. It was just a need to have friends because we didn’t want to be loners.” Since these friends live near each other, they ride together in the same bus. They got to know each other more when they talked to each other on their bus. “The first day of school at Woodbridge High School, which is our bus stop, we were really confused where to meet like where to stand and wait for the bus, and I remember turning around and then meeting Reva,” Abdulle said. “We instantly recognized each other from the party, and we just clicked instantly.” Although they have the same bus, some of them had different stops, and some of them did not know each other as much as they knew others. “I wasn’t at [Huda’s and Reva’s] bus stop,” said Aqeel. “I didn’t meet them until after they were on the bus and kind of gradually over a
IN-DEPTH || NOV. 22, 2017 13 week, I started bonding with them.” When they attended the first day of Jefferson, they hung out mostly with each other during the beginning of their freshman years. Abdulle and Hirave created a group chat on Facebook Messenger, and the friends talked to each other even more. “We were new at TJ, and we didn’t know anyone, so we just started talking on the bus, and we’re like ‘Hey! I know you!’ And we just became friends,” said Hirave. “I knew Huda from the party because I thought her name was Gouda like the cheese. So then I walked up to her and just talked, ‘Hi, Gouda!’ And she was just so confused. We started eating lunch together [in the IBET commons].” In October, most of them went together to the Homecoming dance and the football game, and they enjoyed spending time together. “Before the actual dance, we went to a restaurant near where all of us live in Prince William County,” said Aqeel. “And then we stayed there for two to three hours, took pictures, did a bunch of stuff. After that, we carpooled to the actual dance, and we stayed there basically the whole time. [We] kind of just [had] a solid seven hours to just talk and do whatever we felt like doing. That connect[ed] us together.” Now, the friends meet up with each other often to work on homework and study. “Every single weekend, we study together at Montclair Library, and we go over bio, stats, just everything, and we just catch up on each other on what happened during the week,” said Abdulle. During their bus rides, they like to talk to each other about various topics, such as Koreaboos, who are people who enjoy learning about Korean culture. A lot of people on their bus like to listen to music by Korean pop music band groups such as BTS. “We just kind of have a meme [about them],” said Aqeel. “Catie and Grace and Huda are kind of Koreaboos themselves. It’s funny because the people who can’t speak or understand Korean, it’s funny watching them trying to figure it out. That’s just what we meme [about].”
CRAM on the TRAM
Bus riders find ways to make the most out of their long rides
Talk
111 responses
Sleep
Music
100 responses
100 responses
50 minutes
average bus ride length Based on a survey of 190 responses
GRAPHIC // Christine Zhao
Images courtesy of Creative Commons users mcmurryjulie, Iokena, and Clker-Free-Vector-Images
They say they all have very different personalities from each other. “We all have roles in our friends like I’m the mom friend apparently,” said Hirave. “I remind them about stuff. I’m prepared, so I have napkins and candy when they get hungry, and I have food and snacks. They always ask me for food. Catie said [to me], ‘You’re such a mom.’” The friends like how each person has different talents and skills. They look forward to learning more about each other during their years at Jefferson. “Everyone in our group is good at something that’s different from what others are good at,” said Aqeel. “Reva’s really good at writing and music, especially writing. Farhan’s good at tech. David’s good at math. Shan’s good at Spanish. Grace is a really good musician, and she’s good at math. So if you ever need help with anything, you can go to that person for one thing.”
“We make fun of each other. We poke and prod at each other. We just bond a lot.” -Sophomore Josh Boisvert Sophomores Josh Boisvert, Ben Altermatt, Megan Dass, Victoria Agrinya, and Iyouel Endashaw ride Bus 24 every day from Prince William County. The group became friends at the start of the school year in 2015 and have remained close every since. DESIGN // Christine Zhao
IN-DEPTH Head Custodian Junpei Yuan worked for three years as Custodian 1 and five years as Custodian 2. Eventually, his unfailing determination and love of learning won out, and he became the superintendent. PHOTO // MiJin Cho
EVERY STEP
IN-DEPTH || NOV. 22, 2017 15
CH I N A AM E R I C A FROM
TO
Building Supervisor and Head Custodian Junpei Yuan overcomes language and cultural barriers in his immigration to the United States MiJin Cho || SECTION EDITOR
A
10-year period of “bewildering complexity and almost unfathomable brutality (The Guardian, “The Cultural Revolution”), the mid-1900s Cultural Revolution brought turmoil and bloodshed to more than two million Chinese citizens. The Revolution’s re-education system halted educational opportunities for several generations of students. Junpei Yuan was one of them. Living within the revolutionary times in Qing Dao, China, he began to understand early on the limitations to education and his family’s economic struggles.
published one of my articles, which got the attention of a restaurant owner whose business was declining,” Yuan said. “He wanted my help to attract business, and he helped my family and me immigrate to America.”
“After a while, I had to quit my job in the restaurant because of the low salary and [a lack of] insurance and benefits. I had been a construction worker [in the past], and I realized that I could apply previous knowledge to being a custodian,” Yuan said. “[When I first got the job of a custodian], I While his hopes were high, when Yuan finally immigrated to the United States with worked hard and, after a while, the principal his wife and daughter in 1995, he came face- sent me out to officially learn [the job of a custodian]. Slowly, over time, I accumulated to-face with intense language and cultural more knowledge and experience.” barriers.
“Even simple things like going to the store was hard, telephoning other people was hard. It was hard to live.”
“The community I lived in was quite poor, and getting enough to eat was the most important concern. At the time, we survived just to survive,” Yuan said. “Since I never really got a proper education, I wanted to learn some skilled work to be employed. Working in a restaurant was guaranteed a living, so that’s how I got started.”
After more than eight years as a custodian, Superintendent Junpei Yuan has gained layers of wisdom from his beginning years and continues to learn.
“Now, I’m a lot more acclimated to America and I’m actually not as used to some of the customs in China. “When I came here, practicalities took over I am still trying to learn here,” Yuan said. and nothing came to fruition,” Yuan said. “Even though I didn’t learn much in the way “When I actually came here, I felt scared. of academics, I still try learn more about There were very few other Chinese people to things I enjoy. Being a supervisor, there are turn to when I had a problem. No one could still some things I need to learn, even now, so I am still learning more.” Yuan began his culinary studies in China’s understand my language, and I couldn’t speak English. Even simple things like going Peng Ren school, hoping for a future with In facing strife, whether it be within the the restaurant business. Through establishing to the store was hard, telephoning other Cultural Revolution as he had or another people was hard. It was hard to live. The core knowledge in cooking, he began his limiting circumstance, Mr. Yuan advises career as a chef until a restaurant in America second day I was here, I wanted to go back.” those looking for a new life: presented an opportunity he could not turn In addition to facing linguistic and cultural “Start from the beginning and learn things down. changes, Yuan faced big changes within his anew to find a job. Don’t be intimidated by occupation, transitioning from the restaurant the foreign environment, and don’t give up.” “The school’s international board later to a construction site and a school.
--- Head Custodian Junpei Yuan
For the full article, visit tjtoday.org
IN-DEPTH
COMMUNITY SERVICE DURING THANKSGIVING:
YOSEPH MAK Roja Ayyadurai and Sadhana Suri || STAFF WRITERS
the kitchen every day, which means I can get away with choosing not to cook.”
Mak stands in front of Hunters Woods Fellowship.
E
PHOTO // Mak
very Thanksgiving season, in an effort to give back to the community, sophomore Yoseph Mak spends his time volunteering at Hunters Woods Fellowship House Kitchen. “It’s a nice way to serve others, and even though it’s something small, I feel like I’m doing something important, so there’s some selfsatisfaction there, too.” Mak says. A standard day on the job consists of both cooking and packing food, along with organizing utensils, assembling food packages, and doing other small jobs around the kitchen, which serves a wide assortment of typical warm comfort foods.
Despite Mak’s inability to cook, he participates in this form of service to give back to the community in any way he can. Mak’s favorite part of volunteering is seeing his hard work in action. “After working for [the whole day], it’s really cool to see the packaged food go off and sometimes you see the food you make get fed to the people in need, and people taking the little packages of food you wrapped,” Mak said. “It feels like I’m making an impact.” It’s no wonder that Mak believes that serving the needy isn’t just an activity for the holidays. Volunteering with his sister year-round, instead, through his church organization, has always been a part of Mak’s life, and he wholeheartedly recommends it.
“It just gives you a nice feeling. I mean, you’re helping other people, “There’s some things that I just can’t right? That’s always a good thing. It can be a good break, too, like a do. Like take cooking, for example. form of stress-relief, so it’s definitely I’m bad at it. I absolutely fail at it. something you should consider Luckily, you’re not usually assigned jobs, so you can change your [role] in doing year-round, not just for Thanksgiving.”
ADS || NOV. 22, 2017 17
go ahead get lost you’ll find your way... techniques 2018
to www.yearbookordercenter.com to buy your 2018 publications package. Use school code 13621. ORDER BY DEC. 31 TO RECEIVE YOUR
FREE NAMEPLATE.
OPINION
AN UPSTREAM UPGRADE
Jefferson’s new website, now controlled by FCPS, has been revamped for the better Grace Mak || STAFF WRITER
F
aced with the problem of managing nearly 200 individually-running school sites, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) hoped to make this process more efficient by using new web technology and templates. The first of these sites were launched early this year and before long, every Fairfax County school site was run using the same technology with the exception of Jefferson -- until recently.
site notorious for its unreliability. In addition, the site could handle only a limited amount of internet traffic before crashing or taking minutes to load. On the other hand, the new website, using design from digital agency Forum One and infrastructure from website platform Partheon, is built to handle large amounts of traffic. This reduces the amount of crashes and loading time.
button icons, the site appears more technologically developed when compared to the original site featuring relatively basic HTML coding.
Users of the old site constantly found themselves confronted with a grey screen stating that the site was down, making the
modern web design that exhibits greater sophistication to the public. Being fully mobile responsive and featuring animated
running, brand new website?
However, even with these technological advantages, the new site loses the originality and uniqueness of Jefferson that set us apart from the 193 other schools in the county. The old site had a compact format Because FCPS now runs the site, managing and highlighted our diverse community and As mandated by FCPS, Jefferson was the it is much more efficient. As stated on the education program with pictures and easy-tolast of 194 Fairfax County schools to take Forum One website, “With each website access important links. In contrast, the new down the original school site, replacing it sharing a common template, FCPS can template is almost an exact copy of every with one nearly identical to the main FCPS deliver consistent functionality throughout other FCPS school website and cluttered website. This was immediately pointed out the entire district – and make updates once to with announcements and news, some specific by stressed and annoyed students trying to the central site that automatically push to all to Jefferson while others pertaining to all of access library databases from the original 194 individual sites.” In addition, technology FCPS. school domain, only to be redirected to a new staff at Jefferson no longer have to spend Even so, the new school website is and unfamiliar site. Although this may at first most of their time updating and keeping undeniably more modern and advanced in be an unwelcome change, a closer look at the the school site running, saving time for both design and technology. Although it will take reasons behind this decision reveals that the Fairfax County’s and Jefferson’s technology time to adjust to a new format, what better new FCPS-run site is actually a step up from specialists. way is there to represent a school specialized the original. The new website also uses a more in science and technology than a smoothly
OPINION || NOV. 22, 2017 19
A FRESH TWIST
Hollywood should pursue an all-girls ”Lord of the Flies” remake
O
Miranda Xiong || STAFF WRITER
nce again, Hollywood is attempting to produce a film adaptation of a book. This time, it has its eyes set on William Golding’s classic “Lord of the Flies,” but unlike the 1963 and 1990 adaptations, it will supposedly feature an all-girl cast. The idea of girls acting out the hallmark savagery of “Lord of the Flies” has already stirred up controversy on the interwebs. Two adaptations have already been made, but with only boys. An all-girls remake would shatter a stereotype and produce an all-girls’ film that would be watched by men and women alike. This film could also allow for a fresh new take that would still be able to communicate the plot and themes Golding was trying to get across. The psychology of girls is also suited to the psychology of the boys in “Lord of the Flies,” making for a good match and faithfulness to the point. Most of the criticism questions the decision to allow two male directors, Scott McGehee and David Siegel, to write such a remake. However, McGehee and Siegel have directed films such as “Bee Season” and “What Maisie Knew,” both of which center around female characters. According to Mother Nature Network, both of these films also happen to encompass stories that are rooted in childhood trauma. By producing this film, McGehee and Siegel are shattering perceived differences in audience perception of girls’ and boys’ films. Most men’s stories are considered universal stories, enjoyed by all. However, popular girls’ films such as “Mean Girls” are considered to be mostly for women. By producing a girls’ film on what’s considered to be a boy’s story, McGehee and Siegel break the glass ceiling in another way: everyone can watch films about anyone, no matter the gender. A third adaptation certainly has a lot to live up to. According to “‘Someone missed the point’: Lord of the Flies ‘all girls’ remake spawns social media backlash” published on The Guardian, the film’s directors, David Siegel and Scott McGhee stated that their version would break away from “some of the conventions, the ways we think of boys and aggression.” In this statement, the directors make it clear that their remake will stay faithful to the book’s ideas, but taking a different path. They never mention that the film is meant to empower women; instead, the purpose is to add a contemporary twist to a classic story. Golding’s point, as clearly stated by Golding himself, was to trace the flaws of human society back to human nature. Girls are human, correct? Then a film could surely be made about the flawed human nature of girls. A staple of “Lord of the Flies” is perceived power dominance. Even early on in the boys’ society, Jack already starts to bully Piggy, stating, “You would, would you? Fatty!” then proceeds to smack Piggy’s glasses off. Jack’s shaming of Piggy’s body image is similar to the way girls bully others. Girls who bully target those who are weak, just like boys.
PHOTO // Katherine Du An adaptation of William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” with a cast of girls would make a refreshing new take.
A distinct characteristic of bullying by girls is the tendency to form groups and alliances, singling out targets. Sounds familiar? The formation of groups is, in fact, what triggers the war that ultimately leads to the boys’ demise in “Lord of the Flies.” According to “Girls Who Bully and the Women They Learn From” published in Huffpost, the presence of groups frightens other girls to join in order to avoid the risk of being bullied, according to HuffPost. Female behavior of bullying is reminiscent of the behavior of boys in “Lord of the Flies,” and can in fact show the holes in human nature. It seems as if no one is willing to let “Lord of the Flies” off the hook. Most of the questions raised target the two male directors, with most tweets claiming that two male directors would not capture the psyche of girls. Other tweets say that an all-girls remake would just involve girls apologizing over and over again until everyone was dead, or that the book was meant to communicate toxic masculinity. However, the mere fact that these tweets claim that girls are tame, docile creatures who would never do such a thing, suggests that the authors of these tweets degrade girls into a stereotype. Considering this, two film directors who have already directed female-centric films before could make a film better than any of those on social media decrying women. Golding wrote “Lord of the Flies” as a message about society. If girls can capture the essence of human nature, then the film stays truthful to the story. Girls are inherently different than boys, but at the basic level, everyone’s humanity is the same.
OPINION
Something’s
MISS
Jefferson should include humanities research labs to offer diverse learning opportunities
LEAD EDITORIAL
Jefferson prides itself on offering students the freedom to choose--be it an elective, a sport, an extracurricular activity or a research opportunities off-campus -- but not even one lab. But for a school so firmly committed research lab for the humanities. to student choice, its senior research Why is this a problem? First and foremost: opportunities leave a significant option the humanities are essential to education, completely off the table. whether a student pursues a STEM career Yes, Jefferson is a science, technology, or not. The humanities instill in students the engineering and math (STEM)-centered ability to communicate-- the ability to express school. Yes, its students apply seeking their ideas in a coherent and comprehensive cutting-edge equipment and in-depth manner. No scientific discovery would scientific inquiry. But a copious amount of make it past the lab without clearly-written STEM opportunities and research labs does research report--and if a scientist’s words not excuse a total lack of humanities ones. are indecipherable, then his or her research Jefferson offers 14 senior research labs, the is a moot point. The lack of a humanities Jefferson Underclassmen Multidisciplinary research lab at Jefferson sends the message Projects (JUMP Lab) and mentorship that the humanities do not pull as much
weight as STEM fields do--when, in reality, that statement could not be more false. At first glance, a humanities research lab doesn’t seem necessary: after all, students apply to Jefferson in search of a STEM-centered education. But blindly assuming that every single thirteen-yearold submitting his or her application will remain committed to the sciences alone is naive, at best. Jefferson encourages curiosity and experimentation--both in terms of curriculum and in student interest. Students at Jefferson may attend with the end goal of completing a science-based senior research project. There is no problem with that. But as years pass, student interests may change. A freshman interested in biology may shift
OPINION || NOV. 22, 2017 21
s
SSING Senior Gopika Rajanikanth conducts research in the biotechnology senior research lab. Jefferson has 14 science research labs, but no humanities research labs.
to a senior majoring in foreign policy, and a ninth-grade aspiring engineer may end up a graduating journalist. Jefferson should respect the interests of these students in addition to those who are passionate about STEM. Students whose interests deviate from STEM are forced to take science prerequisites that cater to the lab they have to join, not the one they want to join. While it is necessary for the school to support the needs of students passionate about scientific research, it is equally as essential for it to nurture those students who are excited by the sciences, but want to apply their research skills to the humanities. A humanities research lab would enrich and challenge students who are considering a
humanities major in college, and take into account STEM-focused students seeking a slightly different career path.
a more holistic laboratory experience at Jefferson--one that doesn’t discount the humanities in a STEM-centered school.
Further, the school already offers multiple humanities classes--some are even graduation requirements. A research lab could be a natural progression for students that take multiple years of humanities classes. Journalism and Photojournalism classes could be prerequisites for a Media and Publications Lab; multiple years of a foreign language could lead to a Language Research Lab. The labs would not be requirements for all students; rather, they would serve the needs of students equally as interested in research, but along a unique track. Most importantly, they would create
The Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Portrait of a Graduate outlines key character traits essential for student success beyond high school. The very first trait outlined in the list is communication--using effective reading and writing skills to convey a sense of understanding. The importance of humanities research regardless of STEM focus cannot be understated. A humanities research lab would not only aid current Jefferson students by diversifying the school’s learning experience--it would also communicate clearly the inextricably linked nature of the humanities and sciences.
SPORTS
A NEW WRESTLING
STANCE
The new year brings with it new wrestlers
T
he two wrestlers stand facing each other on the mat. They slap hands. The referee blows his whistle. The two lunge at each other, both trying to push the other to the ground and gain the upper hand. Spectators watch in silence. In a few minutes, one wrestler has pinned the other to the ground. The referee blows his whistle and slaps the mat. On the other side of the mat, coach Phillips lifts his hands in triumph - it’s his first time at a wrestling match as coach. Wrestling is a relatively small sport at TJ, with just about 30 people on the team. This year, Charles Phillips, Safety and Security assistant, will be coaching wrestling, along with the other coach, Alex Shmorhun. This year, Phillips wants to increase focus on overall conditioning. “Mr. Phillips is going to bring some more working out to the wrestling community,” senior and wrestler Jacques Brown said. “I think that’s a good thing.” Typical workouts at practice include jogging, stretching, pushups, squats, sit-ups, and move-specific drills. Senior and wrestler Owen Barnett hopes that these drills will be beneficial to the team’s season. “Last year, only two of us got to regionals,” Barnett said. “We have a good team this year, and I think we should do better overall.”
Prerak Thakkar || STAFF WRITER
Phillips also expressed a desire to increase participation in wrestling at TJ: “The first [thing I want to do] is to get a wrestler in every weight class,” he said. The team has almost reached this goal. “Last year, we only had eight out of the 14 classes,” senior and wrestler Owen Barnett said. “I think this year, we [have] up to 10 or 11, which is better because we can get less forfeits and more points in matches.” Jefferson has not had a heavyweight wrestler for a long time. However, one of the new wrestlers joining this year is sophomore Caleb O’Cain, who has joined the team as a heavyweight. “A lot of people said ‘Caleb, you’d be really good at wrestling,’ so I said, hey, I’d try it,” O’Cain said. O’Cain, who played on Jefferson’s basketball last year, noted some of the differences in training for the two sports. “Wrestling practices have more conditioning and are based on skill individually versus team skill in basketball,” O’Cain said. “You [have] to be in a lot better shape to be in wrestling, and it’s a lot harder sport.” O’Cain expressed enthusiasm in anticipation of this matches this year. “I feel like a lot of schools won’t be expecting me, and then when I go, it’s going to be like, whapoom!”
PHOTOS // Ankit Agrawal
All photos are from wrestling practice on Nov. 14. 1: In the middle of practice, Senior Maya Parker attempts to get loose of Senior Owen Barnett’s grip as Barnett attempts to pin Parker to the mat. 2: As a part of a practice match, Sophomore Caleb O’Cain and Junior Connor Regen wrestle in the middle of the mat while the rest of the team watches and exercises. 3: From left to right, Junior ShiHao Cao, Senior David Cho, and Senior Jacques Brown do squats while a pair wrestles at the center of the mat, a common activity during afterschool practices. 4: Holding his ground, Sophomore Jack Bellamy plants himself on the floor while Sophomore Evan Huang grabs his waist to wrestle Bellamy entirely onto the ground.
2
4
3
SPORTS || NOV. 22, 2017 23
1
A DAY IN THE
LIFE OF A WRESTLER
MON-FRI
WRESTLE PRACTICE MATCHES LEARNING NEW MOVES
WRESTLING PUSHES ATHLETES TO THE LIMIT WITH A RIGOROUS WORK OUT SCHEDULE AND INTENSE AFTER SCHOOL PRACTICES THROUGHOUT WINTER
20
min
55
min
WARM UP
20
min
30
min
What does an afterschool practice look like?
CONDITIONING Timing information from wrestler Clayton Reppert
SPORTS
REACHING HER Covey played soccer at Jefferson her freshman and sophomore year, and for Vienna Youth Soccer since 2004. Covey kicks the ball during a match her freshman year.
PHOTO // W. Ryu
GOAL Senior Margaret Covey to play soccer for West Point
Angel Kim || ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR
I
f you had told the third-grade Margaret Covey that she would be playing soccer for a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I school, she wouldn’t have believed you. Covey’s journey to becoming the soccer player took a slow start. She had been playing since 2004, but was placed in the bottom team when she began travel soccer in third grade. Despite feeling discouraged for the next few years, she didn’t quit, and new coach
in seventh grade would become her “biggest seemed like a distant goal for much of fan.” Covey’s life. With supportive coaches, parents and teammates, that goal has become a “I was working hard and did everything reality. that I could possibly do, and to me I never saw any reward,” Covey said. “And then the soccer coach I had since seventh grade came, and he gave me a chance. I got moved up to the B team, and halfway through seventh grade, I got moved up to the A team.” Committing to play soccer for West Point
“I’m just like this soccer player in Vienna Virginia, and we were very community based, so we don’t really go to a lot of big soccer tournaments that are far away, we usually stay pretty local,” Covey said. “And I think for me, I never thought [getting recruited] would happen, and so my soccer coach really pushed me and helped me work on what [West Point’s coaches] wanted to work on, what they wanted me to get better with.” Covey was accepted to the United States Military Academy, commonly referred to as West Point, this past fall. However, before she was formally admitted to the institution, she had became a member of its soccer team. “Last year I verbally committed to play at West Point,” Covey said. “Basically, this means that I decided that I wanted to go to West Point and that the coaches wanted me to be on their team.” Covey plays in a game at the West Point soccer camp. She first attended the camp at West Point in the summer of eighth grade. PHOTO // Covey
SPORTS || NOV. 22, 2017 25 Covey kicks the ball at a West Point soccer camp match summer of her junior year. PHOTO // Covey
Covey plays in a soccer match during her sophomore year. Besides soccer, she runs for the Jefferson cross country and indoor track teams. PHOTO // Covey
Covey has been attending West Point’s summer soccer camp since she was in eighth grade. As she became more serious about the sport, she learned more about what the coaches look for in players.
that they will receive athletic financial aid for a year. There also are additional steps in applying to the school itself.
“I started really looking at the school sophomore year,” Covey said. “I took an unofficial visit spring of sophomore year. Summer of my junior year I went back to camp, I had a meeting with the coaches, they were like, ‘Yeah, we want you to work on these things.’”
“You have your main application, which is essays, teacher evaluations,” Covey said. “They also have a medical portion so you schedule a medical appointment, and this thing called DoDMERB [Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board], and also have to get nominations. Everyone is eligible for their congressman, the vice president and their two senators, and if you have a parent in the military, you’re also eligible for a presidential nomination. Those are separate applications and you apply to each of the individuals.”
In contrast to Vienna Youth Soccer, the locally based team that Covey has been playing on since 2004, West Point stressed more individual work, rather than quickly passing the ball to teammates. “One specific memory I had from camp is my 4v4 team was doing terrible, like we were losing everything, we were not meshing,” Covey said. “In the meeting [my coach] told me, ‘Oh, I wish you would have just taken a shot,’ and that was something that had never registered with me.” Covey got the coaches’ attention through a process similar to how other schools recruit players; she reached out to them, and they would attend games to watch her play. However, as a military academy, committed players do not sign a National Letter of Intent, a binding agreement used at many NCAA Division I and II schools that a student will attend the institution and
Covey made the decision to apply to West Point over other academies based on a number of factors. As Covey stands with her official appointment to West Point. She had already verbally committed to play soccer a member of the Jefferson cross for the school, but could not be officially admitted until country and indoor track teams, her senior year. running and an emphasis on land PHOTO // Covey training seemed more appealing. One tours,” Covey said. “I think those really of her greatest motivators, however, inspired me to be a part of something was her father, who serves in the Army. that’s greater than just myself, and I kind “When I was in seventh grade and of fell in love with the ideals that the Army fifth grade, [my dad] went to Iraq and had, and the career path that I can pursue Afghanistan, so during the [Freedom] through it.”
ENTERTAINMENT
FINDING T H E I R
BEAT
Album art images from soundcloud.com
The journey to discovering a unique voice as a student rapper
Irina Lee and Grace Mak || STAFF WRITERS
T
homas Jefferson High School: a haven for wide-eyed physics Over time, “Freshest Freshmen” grew to be a piece that served as a geeks, SIS-addicted youths, technology-obsessed teens. And source of inspiration that motivated others to create their own songs. rappers. “I started making beats over the summer, and then I wanted to With artists such as Future and Cardi B topping the charts of make some songs during the year, and then ‘Freshest Freshmen’ mainstream music, the rap culture at Jefferson has also expanded came out, and all the diss tracks started dropping, so I recorded them across all grades, spreading its influence far and wide, from homecoming’s “Freshest Freshmen” to diss tracks playfully targeting other classes. Freshman Rohan Bajapai gained acclaim as a member of Bigos, a group of freshman rappers who produced “Freshest Freshmen.” He feels that peer influence played a large role in his decision to begin rapping. “It was kinda hype back then in 8th grade, so then I was like ‘Hey, I wanna rap,’” Bajapai said. “I like rapping, I like the culture, so I decided to make a Soundcloud.”
“Everybody is inspired by different types of music. Use whatever inspires you to create something new that speaks to you.”
-Sophomore Lucas Huynh
ENTERTAINMENT || NOV. 22, 2017 27
‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra in the car, and I was listening to the lyrics of the song, and I drew a lot of inspiration from that,” Huynh said. Although Huynh made a relatively popular diss track of his own, he found a more unique voice listening to the jazzy undertones of Frank Sinatra. “[The diss track] was my most-played song because it was relevant to what was going on at school, but I would definitely say that’s not my best work, and that’s not really who I am,” Huynh said. “Personally, I love Sinatra’s voice, and I also love the meaning behind his songs. ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ is my favorite song, so I’ve learned to play that song on the guitar as well. He just brings a really upbeat, lively spirit to it.” Based off his own journey in discovering his rap style, Huynh believes that rapping isn’t limited to just the styles that are popular now. “A lot of people like to listen to trap music, but for rap, I like to broaden that spectrum. Don’t feel shy to do something that’s different compared to other people,” Huynh said. “Don’t ever feel pressure, like ‘Oh, I have to cuss here, because it’s a rap song.’ Do what you think is good. Draw inspiration from what you’re inspired by, because everybody is inspired by different types of music. Use whatever inspires you to create something new that speaks to you.” With a piano, phone and laptop, Huynh composes and records a new track. PHOTO // Huynh
and I dropped them,” junior Kobe Lum said.
Huynh also hopes to spread a message of unity and love to the community through his work. “Everyday, the people we encounter, the people we deal with, our family, it’s important that we keep our relationships with them close and that’s what the song is really about,” Huynh said. “It’s about finding your own path as well, but not forgetting those that have helped you along the way.”
As the number of student rappers at Jefferson continued to grow, artists branched out into different rap styles, finding their own unique voice in the rap community. Though From left to right: freshmen Arjun Dhumne, Raunak Daga, sophomore Lucas Huynh was also influenced Rohan Bajapai and Niko Economos rap and dance in the by the positive reaction to Bigos’ creation, he “Freshest Freshmen” 2021 Homecoming Spirit video. felt a certain amount of disconnect with their photo from youtube.com message and style. “I don’t really draw any inspiration from the student [rappers] here, not necessarily because their rapping isn’t good, but because they might be doing a different type of music,” Huynh said. “For example, there’s a freshman who’s really popular here. He’s more in the trap lane, so he’ll draw more influence from people like Travis Scott. But my music, I draw it from different sources, so his music is more beat-oriented, and I’m more lyricoriented. That’s what separates our music.” For Huynh, the start of a new track came in the form of a simple car ride with his dad. “It’s kind of funny. My dad was just listening to the song
SKEP-TACLES “
PHOTO // Alexa Nguonly REPORTING // Alexa Nguonly
BEING CRITICAL of much of what is given to you can ALWAYS BE A GOOD THING. In general, as I get older, I am much more leery of those who think they HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS. Those who think they have a MONOPOLY ON THE TRUTH. Those people who have some sort of ideology or explanation thatexplains it all often have an OVERLY SIMPLISTIC VIEW OF THE WORLD.
I have learned to NOT TAKE MYSELF TOO SERIOUSLY. I don’t have all the answers as a dad, as a teacher, or as a human being. I am very SKEPTICAL at times of what comes out of my own mouth.
TEACHER
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AARON SACKS || WHAT I VE LEARNED