International Dateline - June 2019 Edition

INTERNATIONAL DATELINE

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Washington International School -“Journalism Governs Forever” - June 2019

Washington Post Column on WIS Sparks Racial Reflection

Written by Celeste Bloom 2020, Charlie Lane 2020 and Saul Pink 2021

A column published in The Washington Post portraying WIS as insensitive to racial issues drew mixed reactions from the entire community in early May. The columnist, Jay Mathews, describes the ongoing struggle between Melanie Sloan, the mother of a WIS fourth-grader, and the administration, who she felt does not properly handle

Photo Taken By Celeste Bloom

issues of race at the primary campus. The aftershocks of the column consisted of discussions regarding issues of race at WIS and how the piece depicted a school who celebrates its diversity and internationalism as a place of racial ignorance.

The column introduces the school’s struggle with race through an incident involving the appearance of racist graffiti in a Primary School girls’ bathroom. The graffiti read “N-word,” an abbreviated form of a racial slur.

Natasha Bhalla, the interim Primary School principal, described the incident as “unacceptable and deplorable.”

Mathews then mentioned subsequent times where Sloan, who is white and has an African-American daughter, felt the school was racially insensitive.

In the column, Sloan discussed three additional incidents where she complained to the school about issues involving race, all of which the administration acknowledged.

Throughout these conflicts, Sloan never met with Bhalla, who is also the Associate Head of School, or Head of School Suzanna Jemsby. Some of the events noted in the column occurred in previous years, before Jemsby came to WIS and before Bhalla took over as Interim Primary School Principal.

Jemsby was able to view the

first draft of the column, which she said “had many more factual inaccuracies” and suggested changes to Mathews’ piece.

Her biggest qualm was that her emails with Sloan were “vastly truncated” and portrayed her as “flippant.” The final sentence of the column, where Jemsby questions Sloan’s fit at WIS, was taken from that email exchange but was completely out of context.

It was depicted that Jemsby questioned Sloan’s fit at WIS because she challenged the school’s approach to racial issues. However, in actuality, the email exchange centered around the introduction of a song played at a school gathering, which Sloan called racist. Jemsby questioned Sloan’s fit at WIS, due to the fact that she accused WIS of being racist based on the way a song was introduced at the Primary School concert.

Sloan replied, saying, “I agree with you that WIS is not a good fit for us.”

Jemsby offered to send Mathews the full email exchange in order to provide more context, however, Mathews rejected her offer. She then sent an email to the entire WIS community with her stance on the column, and the next morning, the column was published.

Prompted By Grace Bretheren’s Exit, PVAC Clears way For Transgender Athletes

The WIS Community Reacts to the Column

The moment the column was published, it was the talk of the Tregaron campus. Many students questioned its credibility and whether one parent’s grievances truly represent their school.

“My initial reaction [to the column] was ‘how dare they,’” the head of the Black Student Union (BSU), Ayanna Rhodes, a rising junior who is African-American said. “It is not accurate. It’s not a good article. It’s one-sided.”

Megan Connolly, a mother of two WIS students, who organizes many fundraising projects at WIS, agreed that the column misrepresented WIS. “It seemed to me like somebody had a specific issue, which is fine, and it wasn’t being addressed in the way they wanted it to be addressed,” Connolly, who is white, said. “So, they took it to a broader audience, and I think that’s a little bit unfair because I don’t think it painted the right picture of WIS.”

LGBTQ issues are arising in every corner of America, and this past winter they hit home in the 13-member Potomac Valley Athletic Conference (PVAC). In mid-February, in response to a school leaving the conference because of transgender athletes on opposing teams, PVAC athletic directors overwhelmingly voted in favor of a new policy that allows student-athletes to play on the team consistent with their gender identity. The PVAC had to tackle this issue in December when Grace Brethren Christian School, a longtime member of the conference, sent an email to all the PVAC athletic directors, announcing their departure from the league.

See page 5

WIS students, parents, and alumni bombarded the column’s comment section, slamming Mathews for using the perspective of one parent to represent WIS.

That morning, at a discussion held by Upper School Dean of Students Beta Eaton, students talked about the column and their racial experiences on both WIS campuses. The students communally agreed that the column was poorly reported and misrepresented WIS as a whole, but it did shed light on some critical issues at WIS.

“In the end, [the column] was kind of necessary for WIS to take racism at school seriously,” rising senior Ella DeBose, who is African-American, said.

See page 2 to continue (Additional Reporting by Julia Brownell 2020, Emily Muenzer 2022, Ainhoa Petri-Hidalgo 2020, Sophia Rees 2023, Rebeka Tatham 2022, and Ye’Amlak Zegeye 2020)

New ISU Presidents Have Bold Plans their appeal between various grades as the

David Allen, 2021

The WIS upper school has elected its new International Student Union (ISU) presidents, Jakobi Haskell, and Torin O’Brien.

On Wednesday, April 24, WIS upper schoolers filed into the gym bleachers to hear the speeches of ISU candidates running for the cabinet positions. The most important position, ISU President, had four candidate pairs. There were rising seniors Daniel Freymann and Emre Topkinar, rising juniors Lincoln Manzi and Nicolas Greamo, and rising seniors Fabrice Gray and William Raineri. How-

ever, in the end, Haskell and O’Brien won the vote of the high school student body.

Haskell and O’Brien’s speech won the people over with comedy, as well as serious policy proposals. They joked about the ISU having enough money in their budget to buy everyone at school a Juul, which garnered laughs. Then when they switched to serious topics like tampons and the Life Skills curriculum, they earned applause. The crowd was on their side from the start, possibly due to

winning pair was the only duo who had candidates from different grades.

Their combined experience was also a factor in their popularity. Before election day, Haskell spoke about his and O’Brien’s candidacy. He outlined their experience, serving in ISU and leading clubs. For the past year, Haskell has served as the ISU Treasurer. O’Brien leads the Bee Club, which is dedicated to protecting bee populations, and was an eleventh grade representative in ISU. See page 2

By Saul Pink, 2021

WIS’ Middle School Bullying Protocol: Room For Improvement

By Maia Nehme & Abby Bown, 2023

It’s highly likely that at some point in the lives of students they will experience or witness a form of bullying in their school environment. However, according to a survey sent out to the middle school, fewer than half of the 35 students who responded have actually reported it in the past. Whether this is the students not reporting incidents or the administration not undertaking issues reported, the reason is debatable. See page 3

IB vs. AP

By Holden Davitian & Marta Maliszewska, 2019 Everyone has that one friend who takes the Advanced Placement (AP) and repetitively whines about it. You try to explain CAS, the EE, the IAs, everything that is involved in the two year walk through hell that is the IB, to them, but to no avail. The idea that another program holds a candle to the IB is hard to accept while experiencing the intense day to day workload at WIS, but is the AP really any easier?

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WIS News

Washington Post Column on WIS Sparks Racial compared to a typical American school.

White Italian-American rising senior, Reflection cont.

William Raineri, explained that “racism is

Many within the WIS community believe the mentality towards race within the student body needs to improve. Some high school students believe that there is casual racism which manifests itself in jokes or comments.

Rising senior Fabrice Gray, who is Haitian-American, agrees that there is subtle racism stating, “It’s a recurring joke that people call me a slave.”

Gray does not want to lose his friends, but he thinks these jokes are something that should be stopped. “I don’t think it’s a joke when people are laughing at you just for the color of your skin,” Gray said.

much more prevalent [in Italy] as people just don’t know (or care) about bad things that have happened in the past.”

Furthermore, as WIS aims to teach a “global perspective,” students learn about a plethora of injustices around the world rather than focus in on those closest to students. “There are other systems [of oppression] for [students] to look

Photo Taken By Jerrye & Roy Klotz

Racial Issues in the Past

In her first year at WIS, Jemsby is becoming more aware of the subtle racism at WIS and was saddened after attending a meeting with BSU and the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) where several students shared their experiences with subtle racism on campus.

“We can get a little complacent with things and don’t always see the hurt that is happening, so we’ve got some work to do,” Jemsby said, reflecting on the meeting.

In addition, some students feel that the administration can fall short in addressing the issue of race when an incident does occur. DeBose experienced being called the “N-word” in second grade.

She does not feel like the administration took the incident as seriously as they are now, as the recent column jeopardizes WIS’ reputation.

In ninth grade, the same individual mocked DeBose and attempted to mimic her using ape sounds. DeBose said that at the time, she was afraid to defend herself and to be seen differently from the rest of her predominantly white grade.

When DeBose’s situation was taken to the administration, the perpetrator had to apologize. But, DeBose wishes the punishment had been more severe, saying the apology was “kind of like a slap on the wrist.”

Looking ahead

In order to prevent more incidents, some students within the community question when and how WIS should introduce the subject of race to students.

Jemsby argued that in addition to WIS teaching about racial issues through literature and history lessons, “those conversations belong in the home from a really early age.” However, if parents are responsible for instilling an understanding of race in their own children, should WIS have a role in instructing parents on how and what they should teach their kids?

The school’s administration states that WIS seeks for their student body to be “one-third truly international, one-third blend international and U.S., and one-third U.S.” Some within the community believe that as the majority of students have at least one international parent, there is a lesser cultural understanding and connection to American racial issues among students,

at as well,” Jemsby said mentioning that her ancestor died in the Basque country in Spain.

“I think we do less in some areas but for a better understanding of the world at large,” Jemsby said.

However, some members of the community argue that WIS only teaches a Western worldview. According to one teacher on the Tregaron Campus, “teachers who have traveled to teach may not know any history beyond western history,” and that the school should teach about more minority groups, particularly those relevant to Washington, DC, as most students have a very basic understanding of the city.

In addition to these fundamental issues, students have raised concerns about the lack of minority representation, especially in the faculty. There are very few teachers of color in core subjects such as math, English and the sciences, throughout the Middle and Upper School.

Gray, who is a lifer at WIS, agreed that the column brought out issues with how the Primary School teaches race.

“I understand that [Sloan] really does want the education,” Gray said of

New ISU Presidents Have Bold Plans Skills on how to deal with the police and will find more areas to spend money on as knowing your rights, Jakobi Haskell said. their term progresses. cont.

But their goals go beyond what

Haskell made it clear that they want to increase student influence in major decisions by increasing student power in ISU. “Last year, when the library was being removed, we had no say over what was going on,” Haskell said. “What we’re working on now in ISU and what we’d work on as presidents in the future, would be to have a say in what’s going on around school.”

With their influence, the pair want to make changes in other areas of the school. Nearly all the candidates talked about making sure tampons are stocked in the women’s bathrooms, including Haskell and O’Brien. Haskell breached the topic of the Life Skills curriculum, saying that it was his least favorite class because the curriculum feels redundant. One of the core components of the 10th grade Life Skills class is CPR training, but according to Haskell, “if you’ve already been CPR certified, there’s really no point,” but he has ideas to improve it.

Vincent Haskell, Jakobi Haskell’s father, is a public defender, and one of O’Brien and Jakobi Haskell’s ideas was to get Vincent Haskell to give a seminar during Life

The new co-presidents will take office immediately, and their first priority is to evaluate the way the ISU budget is being spent. In their speech, one of their core campaign promises was to spend more money. In their speech, they brought

they touched on in their campaign speech.

In an interview since their election, O’Brien and Haskell mentioned that they liked some of the ideas of other candidates and student leaders. Candidates Fabrice Gray and William Raineri have already begun implementing a Senior-Junior mentorship program, a project to help Juniors getting ready for the IB with advice from seniors.

“We think this is a great idea and they should keep

Photo Taken By David Allen

up the large surplus in the ISU budget, money which they say could be spent on improving the student quality of life.

They mentioned spending more money on tampons in the women’s bathrooms and

it going,” O’Brien said. They also want to work with presidential candidates Emre Topkinar and Daniel Freymann. “[Their] Assassin game seemed like a really fun idea and it would be cool if we could

PAGE 2 THE INTERNATIONAL DATELINE Sloan getting tickets for her daughter’s entire second-grade class to visit the African-American History Museum, “I do think WIS should work harder teaching younger kids about race.”

Current eighth-grader, Sophia Al-Samarrai, who is white, commented on a meeting she recently attended with Middle School Principal Randy Althaus concerning race, stating that she learned more about race during that meeting than in all her years of education at WIS.

Rising sophomore Jesse Jackson, who is also African-American, agrees with Gray.

“I had to learn [about race] from a first-hand experience. I never really got told what racism was,” Jackson said.

Newly elected International Student Union (ISU) president Jakobi Haskell came to WIS in second grade and says that in his experience in the Primary School, he did not learn much about the African-American experience. But, he claims that the issues are much better taught in the middle and upper schools.

“In high school, we do various units about race, like the Civil War and Reconstruction, which kind of shows how the U.S. got to the situation it is in today,” Haskell, who is biracial, said. However other students, such as DeBose, expressed discomfort talking about slavery while being one of the only African-Americans in the classroom.

Rhodes, who came to WIS as a ninth-grader believes the curriculum could improve by spending more time teaching about successes of African-Americans, instead of their suffering. “It’s all based on struggle, so I believe there should be more discussion on other aspects of black history,” Rhodes said.

Jemsby expressed that she was hoping to tackle complex issues such as race when she was more familiar with the community, however, the claims made in Mathews’ column have forced the WIS administration to react to the issues of race sooner.

It is possible that we will see a change in the way that WIS approaches race both in and out of the classroom in the next school year. That being said, a large part of the racial issues at WIS are systematic, and it may take time before we see significant change. work with them to get that going for next year.” Assassin is a game that rising seniors played over the past year, and many felt that it boosted grade unity, and the presidents want to bring it to the rest of the upper school.

Haskell and O’Brien hope to create a spirit of collaboration with the WIS administration. As mentioned earlier, a major aim of their presidency is to expand the influence that ISU has at the school.

In order to do that, the presidents say they want to “set up a meeting with Ms. Jemsby and the admin to set up the boundaries of the power that ISU has in the administrative decision-making process.” This will be necessary, because as of now, ISU has not been a part of some previous major decisions, like the unforeseen design lab plan from last year.

The new presidents of the ISU have high hopes for the upcoming school year. They have already begun communicating with the student body with an email inviting students to talk to them and voice concerns regarding the recent controversy about the primary school. Among other goals, communication is key, and O’Brien and Haskell hope to continue to represent the interests of the students and advocate for change.

WIS Opinions

Find An Alternative To P.E Class Saul Pink, 2021

dread fitness testing at the beginning and end of each year, where we supposedly

A physical education class is find out how fit we are based on how part of every WIS student’s curriculum many pushups we can do in a minute and in sixth through 10th grade. Students go how long it takes us to run five-and-a-half to the gym, field, or weight room three laps around the field. We’re always told times each cycle to participate in physical that if we’re working hard in P.E., our activities, from badminton to Zumba. It has always been the custom to use class time to make sure students stay in shape.

But, the notion that a traditional gym class is essential for students is rapidly changing. More and more schools, including many local independent schools, are finding alternatives to P.E. class. WIS is not one of them.

At WIS’ neighboring Maret School, P.E. is not part of the curriculum during the school day. Students are required to either play a varsity or junior varsity sport or do an after-school “Lifetime Activity”, such as yoga or dance. A third option for students is to do an “Independent P.E. Program”, where students can use activities outside of school as Photo Taken by Washington International School their physical education. times will improve throughout the year.

“It allows flexibility in their For some, they improve, but does that 15 schedule during the day and provides a wide range of options after school,” Maret seconds you shaved off of your endurance run really come from hard work during Athletic Director Liz Hall said.

P.E. class?

The WIS Upper School curric Many students achieve WIS’ ulum reads, “The aims of the Physical aims for P.E. outside of class, whether Education course are to improve physical it’s on a WIS team, independently, or in fitness: muscular strength, flexibility, organized activities outside of school. muscular endurance, body composition, According to the WIS website, 60 percent and cardiovascular endurance.” of Middle and Upper School students

For most students, these goals participate on at least one school sports are not achieved during P.E. class. We all

team. Many of those students play during multiple seasons. Other students take part in sports outside of school, from speedskating to water polo.

If students had to fulfill some type of P.E. requirement outside of class, sports team participation would increase, making some JV or varsity teams more competitive. Students who do not exercise outside of P.E. class would still be forced to find a way to stay in shape. Also, getting rid of P.E. during the school day opens up three class periods each cycle. That could free up space in the upper and middle school day for new courses, seminars, or even free periods.

Students complain about the uselessness of Life Skills, so WIS could use the former P.E. periods to add to or revamp the course. The new ninth and 10th grade Study Hall Seminar was also a hit for students, and some of the extra time from P.E. could be used to give students extra quiet time to get ahead on homework.

WIS Athletic Director Tom O’Mara claimed that WIS doesn’t have

student sentiment was dissatisfaction with WIS’ Middle School Bullying how the administration handles bullying.

Students felt that after investigations were out, bullies didn’t face enough Protocol: Room For Improvement carried consequences for their actions and in

Maia Nehme & Abby Bown, 2023

It’s highly likely that at some point in the lives of students they will experience or witness a form of bullying in their school environment. However, according to a survey sent out to the Middle School, fewer than half of the 35 students who responded have actually reported it in the past. Whether this is due to students not reporting incidents or the perception that the administration is not undertaking issues reported, the reason is debatable.

The Community Handbook states, “If bullying does occur, all students are encouraged and expected to tell an adult immediately. Incidences reported to a member of the school community will be dealt with promptly and effectively.”

WIS’ protocol involves reporting the bullying, an investigation into whether or not the bullying accusations are valid, students working together to stop the bullying and appropriate consequences levied with the students involved.

The Middle School Principal, Mr. Randy Althaus, explained a bit more about the administrative point of view and how the WIS bullying protocol works.

Althaus referenced the WIS Community Handbook which states, “If a student feels that he or she has been a target of bullying or has witnessed bullying actions towards a peer, the student should alert an adult as soon as possible.”

Althaus believes that the administration’s approach to bullying is working to help reduce the problem. “When it does happen, it is very appropriate and effective,” he said. However he can also imagine that there is a lot of bullying that goes unreported. He also explained that usually students won’t even come to him, at least not at first, but prefer to confide in adults such as the school counselors, Ms.

Marilyn Wilson Odhiambo and Ms. Anne Hutchinson.

“When people are being bullied the thing they fear most is… repercussions and the situation getting worse,” Althaus states. He thinks students don’t confide in him because he will be too confrontational. Immediate action is often not taken, however, Althaus made it very clear that this is because a thorough investigations has to take place before the administration gets involved.

Overall, the WIS administration believes that the bullying protocol is effective, but each situation warrants a separate response. Counselor Ms. Wilson Odhiambo believes that there is “no exact way” to help students deal with bullying and that “each student has a different way that they want [their situation] handled”.

In addition, she works towards helping the victim of bullying “feel more confident and empowered in how they can handle the situation.”

When asked what she thought needed to be improved at WIS in order to help minimize bullying, she explained that students and faculty would need to work together but that a lot of the change needs to come from students.

“I would like to see more upstanders, more students stand up for someone they see is being mistreated or bullied,” said Ms Wilson Odhiambo, “instead of the target always having to report for themselves. Kids at WIS know which kids are targeted or which kids are picked on and I would love to see more [students] coming forward on behalf of their peers,” she said.

While the administration seems to believe that the protocol for bullying is effective when needed, some students disagree. In response to a survey sent out mid March that gathered responses from 35 middle school students, the general

some cases felt that the bully’s apology was not genuine. Whether or not these responses correlate exactly with the bullies’ consequences, there is clearly a feeling of frustration with the way the administration handled their situation.

When interviewing one student about her experience with bullying at WIS, she shared her opinion about the way WIS handled her case with Dateline.

She initially met with Ms. Wilson Odhiambo who told her she needed to tell Mr. Althaus and Mr. Beck about the bullying as they would dictate the punishment.

According to the student, after discussing the issue with the administration, the situation worsened and her parents eventually had to get involved.

But the student expressed her dissatisfaction with the outcome of the situation.

The student felt that the punishment was not severe enough, and that the bully’s apology was half hearted. The accused bully did not respond for comment.

However, students don’t know the full extent of the disciplinary actions the administrations takes, but maybe this is part of the problem. Should punishment be more transparent? Should WIS be more open about these bullying cases?

Althaus explained that being transparent with regard to punishment can create moral issues. “We’re not going to share peoples’ punishments and consequences with the whole community. What is important is if the behavior stops.” Althaus stated that this is a time for trial and error, that a student’s actions in Middle School should not reflect their personality or creates a reputation that follows them through the rest of their student career.

Althaus states that many of those who report bullying expect to see action from the administration. “When students and

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THE INTERNATIONAL DATELINE the facilities to take P.E. out of the school day. He mentioned that Maret uses Jelleff Recreation Center in Glover Park, in addition to their campus facilities, which include a soccer field, two gyms, and a large weight room to house their strong athletics program. WIS’ narrow soccer field, singular gym, and compact weight room are nothing compared to Maret’s state of the art athletic facilities.

Nonetheless, WIS could easily find space for after-school physical activities without interfering with school sports.

Yoga or dance classes could take place in the student center, fitness classes could happen in the weight room and on the outdoor basketball court, and the crowd of people doing independent P.E. outside of school won’t need to be accounted for.

Also, right now is the perfect time for WIS to make the drastic change away from traditional P.E. classes. With O’Mara retiring at the end of next school year, Head of School Suzanna Jemsby is open to making large changes in the athletics program.

“I anticipate involving community members in thinking about big picture issues involving our athletics program,” Jemsby wrote in an email announcing O’Mara’s retirement. The P.E. program is a perfect example of a big picture issue regarding WIS athletics.

Finding an alternative to P.E. has no negatives. It will boost sports team participation, free up space in the school day, and give students the opportunity to exercise in ways they actually enjoy. parents report something they want blood, they want to know what exactly is going to be done, how severe the punishment is going to be, we can’t do that” he said.

Althaus made it clear that even the victims of the bullying will not learn of their bullies’ consequences. “They won’t fully know that because we don’t share,” Althaus said. His main goal is to make sure that the dynamic between the victim and the bully changes in a positive manner, not to focus on the disciplinary matters and to keep all the information private. His stance on bullying cases in the Middle School involves no sharing of information between students.

In addition, the only way to inform the administration of incidents of bullying is through reporting the incident in person. “If a student feels that he or she has been a target of bullying or has witnessed bullying actions toward a peer, the student should alert an adult as soon as possible.” However, Althaus is working to improve the reporting system next year.

“One of the things we are trying to do is trying to provide more opportunities for kids to be able to report anonymously some bullying behavior so that we can help address [that].”

One possible solution to improve the situation could be the creation of an Honor Council-like system. Consisting of students and a faculty mentor, the council could create the disciplinary course of action in cases of bullying and suggest it to the administration. Implementing this council into the Middle School could create a more engaged and collaborative relationship between the administration and the students. Completely eradicating bullying at WIS is something that could only happen in a perfect world, but minimizing it as much as possible requires teamwork between students and staff members alike.

Global News

The Boeing 737 Max 8 Scandal: How Safe increasing the tendency for the plane to Are The Skies? pitch skywards and enter a potentially dangerous stall. To help reduce the risk

By Nicolas Greamo, 2021

Boeing 737 Max 8 Jets have remained grounded across the globe since investigators determined a link between the deadly Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes. As the search for answers continues, a look at the past of airline safety and the current details of the Max 8 investigation is necessary to understand how safe our skies are today.

Firstly, plane crashes are incredibly rare. The odds of your plane crashing are about one in 11 million compared to odds of about 1 in 103 for dying in a car crash. This massive difference in probability is due mostly to the fact that planes are not nearly as numerous as cars, airplanes are manufactured to adhere to many safety standards, and it requires extensive training to become a pilot.

Secondly, the amount of fatal plane crashes has actually gone down over time. From a peak of about 2,400 fatalities in 1972, the amount of fatalities in commercial plane crashes has decreased to zero in 2017 and 500 in 2018. Airplane safety has increased significantly in the past 50 years as new air safety features are developed and crashes are investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Thirdly, about 80% of plane crashes are the result of pilot error as opposed to other factors, including mechanical issues, weather phenomena and sabotage. In addition, about 56% of crashes occur during takeoff and landing, while the safest part of the flight is when the plane is at cruising altitude or begin-

Photo Taken by Eric Prado

ning its descent, both of which together account for about 12% of crashes.

While the investigation surrounding the 737 Max 8s has not yet been completed, investigators have identified the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) as a likely culprit behind the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes.

The MCAS is an automated system Boeing developed for the MAX series of 737s. Based on several parameters, most importantly the angle of attack of the plane, or the vertical direction it’s facing, the MCAS automatically lowers, or trims, the angle of attack to prevent the plane from tilting upwards and stalling in the air.

All of Boeing’s MAX series had their engines further forward on the plane,

Notre Dame: Do The Donations Match The Significance?

By Ayanna Rhodes, 2021

On Apr. 15, 2019, the famous Notre Dame Cathedral had a major fire that spanned over the top of the cathedral.

It lost its iconic spire and much of its roof from the fire, but the cause is still unknown.

People worldwide have donated money to the cathedral for reconstruction.

It amassed over €600 million in the first night and has currently received over €1 billion.

Billionaires and corporations like Apple have donated to the restoration efforts, but ordi-

Most of the negative responses, mainly from Twitter users, are about how the money from millionaires and billion-

that came from Boeing’s new design, the MCAS was introduced.

The system, however, was never explained to pilots during Boeing’s trainings for the Max 8 because the company believed that pilots would never see MCAS in action except under rare circumstances. In addition, MCAS only used a single angle of attack sensor to determine whether the plane was stalling and additional safety features, including an angle of attack indicator for pilots and angle of attack disagree light, in the event of conflicting data from the plane’s two angle of attack sensors, were not included in all models of the jets because Boeing charged extra for the features. Neither of the two MAX 8s that crashed had these safety features.

On October 29, 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed nearly 12 minutes after take-off from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. Workers on a nearby offshore drilling platform reported that the plane had taken a sharp nosedive into the Java Sea and, in one of the final transmissions between the sophomore Riley Contee said.

People may not know the significance of the cathedral and the importance of it being set on fire. In France, it is considered the heart of Paris, it houses many important religious symbols, and is filled with cultural significance.

According Sylvie Coumel, a native Parisian, The Holy Crown was brought to the cathedral in 1239, Napoleon I was coronated in the cathedral in 1804, and it is where the “Magnificat”

Photo Taken By Ian Langsdon (EPA-EFE)

nary people who wanted to help have also pitched in, like a British nine-year-old who sent €3 to the cathedral.

There have been two schools of thought in response to the surge of donations to the cathedral. People in France have expressed gratitude for the overwhelming support in the wake of the event, but critics called out billionaires that made huge donations to the cathedral.

aires should be going to larger world issues, like world hunger, instead of the 850-year-old building.

The more indifferent responses take a view of the event on a wider scale to assess the severity. “I kind of agreed with them, people are donating millions of dollars to fix a building when people don’t have water or shelter. And in general, the environment’s also dying,”

was sung during the liberation of Paris in 1944. During the Middle Ages, both the rich and poor convened and socialized. Knights would come to be blessed before a crusade or wars. It also inspired literary works like Notre Dame de Paris and Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. Notre Dame is also significant in

PAGE 4 THE INTERNATIONAL DATELINE plane’s flight crew and air traffic control, the pilot described severe flight control problems.

Investigators later discovered that one of the angle of attack sensors on the plane had malfunctioned. The MCAS had assumed the readings from this sensor were evidence of the plane stalling and trimmed the plane’s nose, causing the plane to fly at full speed into the ocean, its untrained pilots unable to do anything.

Nearly 5 months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed nearly six minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. Witnesses described how the plane had entered a steep nose-diving before crashing rapidly at, what later investigators determined, nearly 700 mph. During communication with air traffic control the pilot of the flight had requested to return to the airport after experience flight control issues.

The clear similarities between the two crashes, and the later revelations of how MCAS forced the two planes to lower their angle of attack based on faulty sensor readings, led to the groundings of all Boeing 737 Max series jets. Boeing’s share prices have fallen nearly 11% as deliveries for the Max series, which were its best-selling jets, have halted and several relatives of the victims of the crashes have sued the company for their role in the air accidents.

While Boeing has continued to struggle with the aftermath of the two crashes, the plane-building titan has claimed it will bring updates to the Max series, including mandating the angle of attack disagree light and updating the software behind MCAS. As the Max 8 saga continues, it shows how the continuing developments of modern airline safety come about and the importance of our safety in the air.

daily life and fosters personal connections.

Coumel, the Global Patient Solutions & Outcomes Director at the French pharmaceutical company, Sanofi, was devastated upon hearing about the fire. A lot of her life revolved around Notre Dame and it had a deeper importance to her than just cultural. “From school to university, then family life, with parents, friends, now with my son and my husband. For Christmas and Easter we go there. And you know it’s a very sad time, because for the first time in our lives, we won’t hear the bells ringing for Easter,” she said.

The building’s significance also lies in how many people worldwide relate to it. This may lead to more representation in the press and the severity of the event increasing. WIS French teacher and France native Anne Grelier, reflected on the significance of the donations in an interview with a Dateline reporter. She saw the event as a way to check our priorities and whether the donations match the severity of the event. If the mainstream media feels close to a certain monument then the attention will become excessive.

“And that’s the reality, but I think that’s something we need to address, how much money are we ready to contribute to a cathedral, and how much money are we ready to contribute to global warming, or [terrorism] or victims,” Grelier said.

The cathedral already has plans to be rebuilt within five years and the weakening monument has needed renovations for a while. Notre Dame and the fire are significant, but it begs the question if we as a society are willing to give equitable support to all.

SPORTS

Who Is To Blame For The Gap In Developement In Women’s Soccer?

Gender in sports is an issue for many years and it’s no secret. With the rise of soccer over the past century, and the more recent rise of female soccer, the large divide in men and women’s soccer development has become all the more obvious. But who is to blame?

In order to better understand the situation, it’s important to know a bit of the history of women playing soccer across the world.

Competitive female soccer games started at the same time as men’s in the early 1860s when the English Football Association (FA) first standardized the rules.

Female soccer was actually quite successful and even equaled mens soccer in England until the early 1920s following the end of the First World War. In fact, women in England actually began playing soccer due to their employments in factories for amPhoto Taken by Tommy Cheng, Getty Images munition for the war. teams

Women’s teams became quite from St. Louis, Missouri in the early popular, especially the DKL, which 1950’s. However, this was short lasted became one of the most popular teams and had very little success in comparison in England attracting crowds of numbers to the teams in Europe due to the lack of between 5,000-50,000 to their games. One interest in women’s sports. game brought about 53,000 fans when the The US government only played at Everton FC’s ground, Goodison established gender equality laws in the Park. early 1970’s. After they were put in place, This is where the issues began. colleges had to offer equal athletics to

After the end of the war, memfemales as well. This was a step in the bers of the FA began worrying about the right direction, but still wasn’t enough as growing popularity towards women socthe first female soccer league in the US cer and thought that they would overtake was only formed in 1995. the men. A rumor went around, that was

The 1990’s were the most neither confirmed nor denied, that the important years for the development of money they were raising was not all going women’s soccer both in the US and arguto the intended targets. ably the world.

In a move that undoubtedly

While Europe had already exforever hurt the development of women’s perienced relative success with their two soccer around the world, the English UEFA Women’s Championships in the FA banned women from playing in any 1980’s, the first women’s World Cup hostground associated with them on the basis ed by the China was critical in expanding that soccer damaged women’s bodies. its popularity and its development.

This decision led to the disbandment of

The 1991 Women’s World Cup many women’s teams, however the DKL was the first time in history where women continued playing on unofficial grounds were playing soccer on a global scale, and still managed to get a few thousand not just continental, and attracted around fans per game.

20,000 fans per game. The US were the

However, the decision made by victors, defeating Norway 2-1 in front of

65,000 people, and was a big boost for their development.

Attendance in World Cup games has been above 20,000 since 1999, where the average attendance per game reached 37,000 people.

However, the issues with women’s soccer are still very apparent.

Women’s teams in the United States’ Nationals Women’s Soccer League (NSWL) get an average of 6,024 people per game while the men’s Major League Soccer (MLS) teams receive 21,873, and although the level of the sport is higher for the men’s teams for the reasons already stated, the attendance in women’s games is significantly lower.

We don’t have to look as far as WIS to see these issues. The amount of people that go to girls games as opposed to the boys is a huge contrast. The amount of photos and recognition the boys get is far superior to the girls, and the boys are given much more support overall.

Just take a look at the hype email for the two varsity teams for the states games:

“Tomorrow the girls varsity team will play Wilson away at 2:45. I understand it is tough to go to that game but it would be great to get a nice crowd there to cheer on for the girls. They have put in some serious work this season and it would be a shame if we couldn’t celebrate their success with them.”

“The boys varsity soccer team will play St. Albans at 2:45 at home. We qualified 1st in the whole state, but as a reward they put us in the hardest bracket where every possible team we face is a really tough one. But it’s not the time to whine about it, to be the best we have to beat the best. Have we forgotten who St. Albans are? We have beef May I remind you these fans are always annoying and without a doubt they will try and infest our school with their fans. They will not “little bro” us. At 2:50 when that bell rings I expect to see the WIS field packed with fans. Bring your school shirts, red

The Clinton, Maryland-based school planned on leaving the league in the spring to avoid long travel times, but expedited its exit because of the presence of athletes who identify as transgender on competing teams.

George Hornickel, the school director of Grace Brethren, offered many reasons for their sudden departure, the first being that their school holds the biblical teaching that there are only two sexes: male and female. He also claimed that the PVAC lacked a specific policy on transgender athletes when transgender athletes started participating in PVAC competition.

After Grace Brethren’s announcement, most of the PVAC was ready to establish a formal, inclusive policy. One school asked to discuss the issue further, so the PVAC scheduled a January meeting at Sandy Spring Friends School to go over the policy. In February, league athletic directors voted 11-2 in favor of a new Article in the PVAC Handbook. WIS Athletic Director Tom O’Mara declined

O’Mara and Head of School Suzanna Jemsby fully supported Article V.

“We don’t want to know about the team that has [a transgender athlete],” O’Mara said sternly. “It’s not fair to the kid to be pointed out in that fashion.”

Grace Brethren’s Hornickel also claimed that transgender girls playing on girls teams is unfair in many ways.

“We believe that schools that allow boys to play on girls teams is a form of cheating,” Hornickel wrote in an email.

“It gives them an advantage over girls teams who only play female athletes.”

Hornickel pointed to the recent controversy in Connecticut when two transgender girls were top finishers in February’s state indoor track championships.

Hornickel additionally said that girls who identify as transgender on girls teams undermines Title IX, the federal law that states that no person can be discriminated against because of gender.

“When guys identifying as transgender girls begin making up the rosters

By Nico Vallada, 2020

the FA was most likely the most detrimental thing ever to happen to the development to women’s soccer and has most likely led to the slow development it has had.

Female soccer in the US also had a slow start to get to where it is now.

Women first began playing soccer in the US in the Craig Club Girls Soccer League which consisted of four

Prompted by Grace Bretheren’s Exit, PVAC Clears The Way For Transgeder Athletes cont. to share the schools who voted against the policy.

Article V of the PVAC Handbook now reads, “The PVAC is committed to the safety of, and respect for, all participants. Every student-athlete should have the opportunity to participate in PVAC activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity. The PVAC and its member schools will rely on the gender determination listed by the student’s school in consultation with the student-athlete and will not make separate gender identity determinations.”

Only 11 states have fully inclusive policies, similar to Article V, regarding gender identity, according to transathlete.com. The District of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) has a fully inclusive policy. Nine states have policies that state that the gender on the student’s birth certificate determines which team they play for. Other states have policies that are somewhere in between or don’t have specific policies concerning gender identity.

PAGE 5 THE INTERNATIONAL DATELINE shirts, scarfs, whatever other WIS gear you own, but it is absolutely crucial for you all to be there.”

Not only is there a huge difference in the wording and “passion” in the words used, but fans are given very little encouragement/incentive to go to the girls game and a “nice crowd” is all that’s asked for, while for the boys game its expected for the “WIS field [to be] packed with fans.”

If even at a small school level girls soccer is overlooked, then it’s no wonder that on a much larger scale, there is such a huge divide.

Soccer has become a very commercial sport and money has become, many times, the main focus for teams and soccer organizations. So, if women’s soccer is not bringing in money from ticket sales from fans, they receive less funding which in turn leads to less fan presence which creates an endless and destructive loop.

In the end, the heart of the issue is the lack of attention and funding given by fans and the major soccer organizations.

There have been efforts, though, to improve their game.

More recently, Brazil has attempted to solve the issue of the lack of women’s soccer in the country which they very much struggle with additionally.

Of the 20 teams that participated in the Brazilian league in 2017, only seven had women’s teams.

The Brazilian soccer federation (CBF) declared that starting in 2019, for any Brazilian team that wants to compete in South America’s most prestigious and exciting competition, the CONMEBOL Libertadores, they must have, among other things, a female soccer team participating in some sort of national competition.

Additionally, the Luna Bar company has also promised to make up the pay difference of $31,250 from the World Cup bonuses between the US women’s team and men’s team.

In Europe, Spain recorded the worlds largest ever attendance for a women’s club game with over 60,000 fans attending the match between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. Similarly in Italy, the Juventus vs Fiorentina match brought in 39,000 fans.

While there is still much left to be done, it is great to see how far women’s soccer has come and where it can go. of female teams, girls who otherwise could have started are now coming off the bench, and girls who were the reserves may not make the teams,” Hornickel said.

Jemsby bristled at Hornickel’s reasoning in an interview in her office.

“I think he’s fundamentally missing the point that these aren’t boys dressing up as girls,” Jemsby said. “These are young people who believe they are trapped in the wrong body.”

Some WIS athletes felt very strongly about Grace Brethren’s brazen exit.

“I think they took unnecessary action,” said girls varsity basketball star Riley Contee. “I really think they should’ve just stayed in the league.”

Jemsby made WIS’ stance on the issue very clear. She said that WIS would’ve left the PVAC if the new policy didn’t pass.

“We need to stand up for who we are,” Jemsby said. “It strikes me that in the year 2019 that we’re not able to resolve these things in favor of students is just insane.”

FEATURES

Skateboarding’s Continuing Evolution sembles the clichéd skater bum. “I smoke

By Ainhoa Petri-Hidalgo, 2020

Located in Dumbo, Brooklyn, under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, Golconda Skatepark is a constant hub of activity, even on a Tuesday morning.

The distinct sound of boards hitting the concrete pavement can be heard as skaters of all ages ride through the 18,000 square foot skate park. Steve Rodriguez, the socalled “Mayor of New York City skateboarding” and designer of the space, looks on with a proud gleam in his eyes.

“Skateboarding is one of the only activities where age doesn’t matter,” he says, “Skateboarding is really weird in the sense that it’s this level playing field.

What other activity is like that?”

Rodriguez presents an optimistic view of skating and the associated culture.

He thinks that the former “rich kid” sport is becoming increasingly diverse and that people of all ages and backgrounds now skate. But have we really left behind the stereotype of the white male skater?

Since its emergence in California in the mid-20th-century, skateboarding has become increasingly popular and made its way into the mainstream. Long gone is the image of the renegade, ruffian skater; enter the straggly 10-year-olds with padding, helmets, and knee and elbow pads.

Rodriguez attributes this shift to changes in the culture, and skateboarding becoming more accepted. “There’s sort of a new generation of kids that never skated before,” says Rodriguez. His 7-year-old son, Shiki, has been skating since he was four. “It’s kinda crazy,” he says, “I know more kids under ten that skate than people over ten. Plus, with skateboarding going to be in the Olympics in 2020, it makes parents feel like it’s a normal thing, like baseball, basketball, whatever— what they consider ‘normal’ sports.”

“More kids today in the United States start skateboarding than start playing baseball,” says Rodriguez, “And you

know baseball is considered the national pastime?”

Rodriguez started skating in the ‘80s, a much different time. “It was portrayed and seen as like, ‘this is what the bad kids do’, but I actually wasn’t a bad kid,” he says.

Like Rodriguez, Helene Stapinski, now an author and freelance reporter for The New York Times, grew up skateboarding in New Jersey.

She encountered different challenges.

“I grew up in the ‘70s, Photo Taken by NY Skateboarding and I was 14 when skateboarding exploded. I skateboarded, but it was all boys. It was me and my best friend; we were girls, but everyone else was a boy, and you had to be a tomboy to do it.” According to Rodriguez, “It has a lot to do with parents saying, ‘That’s for boys.’”

A lot has changed since then.

The emergence of female skateboarders, Rodriguez says, is “something you would never see before.” Many women have fought for their place in the sport. “Remember that show, Family?”, Stapinski asked Rodriguez, “Kristy McNichol? She was a skateboarder, and that was really good for girls because it was suddenly like, ‘We could do that.’”

Luca, a young skater, is a regular at Golconda. In his well-worn yellow tank top and baggy jeans that lie low on his hips, held up only by a loose belt, he re-

Mrs. Adhikari’s Life At WIS

By Nico Vallada, 2020

Every minimester, she would lead an Indian cooking class and teach students about the connection between cooking and history. Cooking is an important part in Adhikari’s life, one she plans on exploring further during her retirement.

After 30 years of working at WIS, Rita Adhikari, or as we all know her, Ms. Adhikari, is embarking on a new journey away from our community but leaving a long and loving legacy behind.

Adhikari first joined our community 30 years ago in September of 1989 when she came from India. She had no teaching experience outside of India but emphasized that WIS was a “very welcoming and inclusive community.” WIS embraced her cultural differences and helped her form a new identity for herself, she said.

Adhikari first joined as an English teacher with one history and geography class. She taught these classes until 1999, Photo Taken by Washington International School when she became the English

“I would like to write a book humanities teacher, a class she has been about middle school and how humanities teaching ever since. can be taught through food, music, art,

Peter Laursen, a student of sports and not just economics and war,” Adhikari’s from sixth to eighth grade, she said, “I want to highlight how other described her as “the best middle school factors, especially food, can be so influenteacher there was. She was nice, thoughttial in our world and can guide history.” ful, and a fantastic cook. One time she

However, there are many more was teaching us about the western hemithings students remember Adhikari for sphere and brought in a full meal for us to than just food. She had a big impact on eat so we could learn about the food of the junior Sacha Davies. “She taught me so places we were studying.” many skills I still use today like how to

Adhikari’s cooking connected give good presentations and test-taking many kids around WIS, even those who skills. She really helped me so much, and weren’t in her humanities class.

weed, I (expletive) around, but I’m not a violent person at all, you know,” he says.

Luca weighed in on the topic of gender as he rolled a cigarette, saying, “There’s a lot of dudes at the skatepark, but that’s changing slowly. I’ve seen a lot of female skaters.”

He says he’d never himself witnessed instances of cat-calling or harassment, but raises some of the contradictions of skating’s past and its present.

“It’s a park filled with dudes usually, so of course there’s going to be some aggression, I feel like, just because dudes like to look at pretty women,” he says

“The majority of the skater community I feel like is pretty liberal and accepting of females and their power,” says Luca before hopping on his board and skating through the park, cigarette in hand, with a serene look on his face. However, he “[doesn’t] think anybody’s really sexist.”

Rodriguez, like many other skaters, also believes in skateboarding’s continued evolution. To him, skateboarding is unique, a level playing field in comparison to other sports. Rodriguez says he can skateboard with his 7-year-old son, Shiki, and his friends. “You wouldn’t play tennis with little kids,” says Rodriguez, “but you can have a skateboarder that’s eight years old that’s as good as any skateboarder.”

“I feel pretty normal [skating with older kids],” says Shiki. Younger skaters reaffirmed this notion of unconditional acceptance and said that they were I can’t thank her enough for it,” Davies said.

The impact Adhikari had on her students is immeasurable, yet she believes that she herself learned more than she taught. She feels that every year she taught, she learned more and more about how students learn and feel as if her job wasn’t to teach but for the students to learn.

Adhikari’s teaching expertise led her to teach many seminars and workshops all over the world. She remembers teaching in London, Amsterdam, and Nice, as well as many cities in India.

She says that she plans on traveling to many places during her post-school life.

“I want to visit my daughters and grandkids in Boston and New York, and I really want to travel off season!” she said.

Post-school life, however, does not mean a complete cut off from WIS. Adhikari assures us that she will still be around WIS substituting classes since she “will miss the kids so much.” As for which grade Adhikari will miss teaching the most, she, like a parent when asked which child is their favorite, says that “each grade is special and brought their own challenges and rewards to the table. I will miss them all terribly.”

This connection is something that Adhikari wishes to include in her blog that she plans on writing. It will surround

PAGE 6

THE INTERNATIONAL DATELINE welcome regardless of their years. When asked if they had experienced prejudice based on their age, children at the skatepark responded with an adamant “no, never.”

In regards to race, the attitude is similar. “I think skating is colorblind,” says Rodriguez, “It’s just not a thing. Like no one thinks, ‘Oh, these are the black skaters’ or ‘these are the white skaters.’”

In an interview with Vice, Ray Barbee, a black skateboarding pioneer turned musician from San José, California, reiterated this sentiment saying, “Skaters have issues, but color’s not one of them.

Ever. Not that I’ve experienced, and I love that.”

“We just want to skate, you know?”, says Braden, a 15-year-old skater, “It’s mainly a Caucasian activity, but there’s definitely not any discrimination that I have run into between skaters and like minority skaters.”

In the eyes of the skaters, Golconda Skate park embodies how accepting and diverse skate culture has become. However, observing the people around, this vision fell a little short.

While exact numbers and demographics can be elusive, a study conducted among professional skateboards by the United States Sports Academy revealed limited diversity among its participants. Of the 30 survey participants, 73 percent were Caucasian, 16 percent were Hispanic, and a mere 1 percent were African American.

According to the Public Skatepark Development Guide, 77.1 percent of all skaters are male, whereas percent of core skaters are male. Conversely, 23.9 percent of all skaters are female, while 16.6 percent of all core skaters are female.

Statistically, skateboarding continues to be a rich, white, male sport, but the previous skateboarding mentality has changed and become more accepting. Regardless of what the statistics reveal, Luca put it aptly: “At the end of the day, we’re all at the same skatepark.”

her experiences as a teacher and what she wishes she had done and what she did do.

She wants to get across an idea she feels is pivotal to her; that the older generation can still teach the new generations, that there’s no algorithm for building communities and personal connections. She wants people to understand how important a human connection is for society.

While there are many things Adhikari will be remembered for, she wants for her legacy to highlight “not … buildings or technology. I want for global citizenship and the ideals that first welcomed me here to be continued. I want for differences to be celebrated and for everyone to be accepted like I was.”

Adhikari feels as if WIS was the perfect environment for her to teach in, and when asked to summarize her experience at WIS in three words, she said, “Rewarding, fun, and wonderful.”

Similarly, when asked to describe Adhikari in three words, Marco Vallada, a current student of Adhikari’s, said, “Empathetic, kind, and passionate.”

Even after everything she has given to WIS, Adhikari said that she’s so thankful for everything because “the school has given me so much. I would be a different person if I wasn’t here.” She says that “if [she] could meet the person who interviewed for this job 30 years ago, [she] would tell her to go for it because it will be a wonderful journey.”

Adhikari will undoubtedly be missed by all, and can’t be thanked enough for everything she has done for the school and her students.

AP VS IB cont.

Most 11th and 12th graders firmly believe that the IB is incredibly difficult, more so then any other program, including the AP. When asked about the most stressful component of the IB program, WIS senior Max Roman explained, “Just the amount of work, and the fact that I’m going against kids across America that are taking the AP, and like in colleges, they’ll be like oh, AP, IB same thing, haha. Or something like that. I’m just ending up at the same colleges as everyone else but suffering more.” When asked to describe the IB in two words, he replied “painful death”.

According to Prep Scholar, the Advanced Placement program is “run by the College Board (the makers of the SAT) [It] allows you to take courses at your high school, which can earn you college credit and/or qualify you for more advanced classes when you begin college.” Students can choose from 38 AP classes to take to get college credit.

The IB website, with its usual clarity, explains that the program “offers an education for students from age 3 to 19, comprising of four programmes that focus on teaching students to think critically and independently, and how to inquire with care and logic”. The IB offers 33 courses, including TOK, although many, such as Business Management or Anthropology, are not available at WIS.

For some more in depth information, we talked to Meredith Moore, who has been teaching both IB Chemistry and Psychology at WIS for three years and taught AP Psychology and Chemistry at Roland Park Country School in Baltimore, Maryland for six years. When asked about the main differences between the programs Moore stated that, “In the broad sense, AP is more directed at content, while IB is more directed at understanding. In AP psych it’s 100 multiple choice questions and two short essays, but the essays aren’t asking you to compare and contrast or critique the knowledge that you’ve learned. So, all it is is defini-

OPINIONS seems as though the AP might move more tion, application, definition, application, quickly, but again, students take less AP definition, application. So it’s really not classes than IB classes. asking you how to think critically of the

Overall, Moore implied that the work, of the studies that you would have IB requires a higher level of thinking and to know.”

Moore also learning ability than the AP does. The IB, indicated that the curriculums in science she elaborates, requires students to “critsubjects correspond more between the IB ically think, and analyze, and talk about and AP than for human science subjects.

She explained that, “AP chem coordinates research, and see the patterns, … [and use] higher level order processing skills. more to Standard Level chemistry. There Some people are ready and need to be are definitely some additions, because AP challenged at that level, and others aren’t chem happens in one year and it’s a lot.

Definitely the IA project and stuff like that necessarily there”.

James Bourke, an Economics is just IB related, but there’s no organic and TOK teacher chemistry, at WIS, was able there’s no to give a slightly spectrosdifferent glimpse copy. The into the worlds of two major AP and IB having things in taken AP classes standard throughout high level that school. Having we have in the senior Photo Courtesy of International Baccalaureate and Col- both experience as an AP student year, they lege Board, Edited by Dateline and an IB teacher, won’t have Bourke simply calls the IB “rich” while in the AP chemistry curriculum.” the AP is “overhyped”, partly as the

This comparison of the chemis“thinking involved [in the IB] is more try curriculums, combined with the fact sophisticated that of the AP”. that AP students take, on average, 2-3 AP

Regarding the tests themselves, classes on once, indicates that the IB is Bourke recalls the AP economics test indeed harder then the AP. Basically, the being multiple choice, lacking the “evalcontent covered in senior year is not inuative thinking and engagement with cluded in the AP curriculum, it’s approxpolicy” that is highly apparent in the IB imately the same material as we cover in economics course and exams.

SL IB chemistry in junior year. The class In addition to the tests being doesn’t touch on the difficulties of the HL different in the AP and IB programs, chemistry curriculum, and let’s not forget the fact that we have to take six IB classes Bourke emphasizes the different priorities and “cores” of the programs. He states at once instead of having the choice of that the IB core, which is based on TOK how many classes/exams we take.

(Theory of Knowledge, often compared to

However, when Moore exa Philosophy course), is a “really unique plained differences in teaching the two programs, it seemed like AP might present opportunity and experience for students to engage with deep thinking that I think more challenges for students. She exthe AP does not have in it”, while further plained that, “for AP, you’re on that train, explaining that TOK creates a “lens to and if you don’t get it, tough love. You view all of your other subjects in”. can’t just be like, ok, we’re gonna stop

Along with other specific and pause and really think deeply about attributes like TOK, students in the IB this and make sure everyone understands program engage in the year-long “Exthe contents. So, like, I don’t have a tended Essay” where AP students engage buffer day in AP, I just keep going.” It in a “Capstone Project”. From his point

Construire Des Murs Sur Nos Frontièr Va Mettre La Prochaine Générations A Une Désavantage

By Ye’Amlak Zegeye, 2020

Aujourd’hui, j’entends toujours de la crise migratoire; tous les grands nations puissant de l’ouest, comme l’Etats Unis et la France, sont confrontés avec une abondance des immigrants. Avec des personnalités publiques comme Donald Trump est Marine Le Pen, on entends toujours de le danger et chaos que les immigrants vont apporter avec eux quand ils traversent la frontière. Mais, la chance d’être tuer par une attaque de terroriste au Etats Unis est d’un cas sur un million est on vient d’apprendre du procès d’El Chapo que les substances illicites traversaient la frontière des entrées régulières, pas dans les ouvertures des barrières. Alors cela vous fait penser; a quoi ca serre une mur ou une interdiction de voyager si cela n’empêche pas ces menaces extérieures?

La vérité de ces murs physical et idéal est qu’il sont simplement un autre chose qui empêche les migrants pour entrer. Les sont une déclarations au monde que la nations n’est pas acceptant a des différentes personne avec des différentes cultures. Ces politiciens conservative utilisent leur position pour vocaliser leur opinion contre l’interculturalisme sans

avoir d’expérience personnel. En essayant de protéger les enfants de leur nation, ils les blessent car l’exposition à des différentes cultures est très benificiel.

Moi, je viens d’une famille d’immigrants; mes parents son on émigre de l’Ethiopie. J’habite dans une communauté ou je suis exposé à plusieurs diffèrent culture, plus que la culture éthiopienne et classique américaine et mon école est un école international. De mon expérience, je vois que cet exposure au culture est avantageux.

Je crois fermement que ma éducation multiculturelle m’a fondamentalement bénéficié. J’ai remarqué que chaque culture me permet d’avoir une perspective unique sur la politique, l’histoire, et beaucoup plus. Non seulement qu’il incite une perspective exclusive, mais aussi m’aide à communiquer avec les autres.

Dans l’essai d’Amin Maalouf “Les identités meurtrières”, l’auteur remarque qu’avoir deux ethnies (et par conséquent deux cultures) est surtout avantageux.

Maalouf est libanais chrétien et parle l’arabe, la langue de l’Islam. Il explique que, alors que les deux ont des cultures

oppositionnel, il apprécie ce que le multiculturalisme ajoute à sa vie. Dans Les identités meurtrières, l’auteur utilise une allégorie dans lequel il décrit sa rencontre avec un vieil homme arabe. Malgré le fait que l’homme est d’une génération diffèrent et un étranger, l’auteur a pu communiquer avec lui d’une manière polie et appropriée en arabe. C’est quelque chose que j’ai profité de toute ma vie. La capacité de comprendre plus d’une langue est un avantage que evident. Cependant, la connexion que Maalouf a pu partager avec le vieil homme était plus que n’est pas basée sur seulement la langue.

Quand d’autres éthiopien me reconnaît comme éthiopienne, il y a une connexion immédiate, et la compréhension qui vient de plus que la langue. C’est la connaissance que quelqu’un d’autre partage quelque chose avec vous qui est assez significant à votre identité. Cela montre que les avantages d’une double culture vont au-delà du langage oral. Dans un monde où les mots ne suffisent pas à unire les gens, je crois que ce type de connection est important.

En dehors, de mon ethnicité éthiopienne. Je trouve que l’exposé que j’ai à différents cultures est avantageux aussi. Par exemple, à cause des differents communauté d’immigrants, je peut apprécier leur nourriture, arts, est la langue.

Par conséquent, il y a des situations ou on peut créer quelque chose nouveau par mélanger les cultures. Une exemple est la

PAGE 7

THE INTERNATIONAL DATELINE of view, Bourke believes “the Extended Essay remains a more rigorous research project than the AP sort of equivalent”.

The IB Extended essay is defined as “a research paper of up to 4000 words, giving students an opportunity to conduct independent research or investigation on a topic that interests them (IB)” while the AP Capstone Project is “an innovative program that equips students with the independent research, collaborative teamwork, and communication skills that are increasingly valued by colleges” (AP).

Similar to Moore, Bourke agrees that the AP setting is made up of a “multiple choice, content-mastery approach” where this “teaching to the test approach” causes the program to adopt a more narrow conception. Whereas in the IB setting, Bourke explains the assessments are structured with a much more indepth focus where higher-order thinking is demanded, engaging students in evaluation to compare multiple perspectives and arguments”.

With an example, Bourke highlights how the IB History source-papers (part of the Paper 1 exam) seeks the students to undertake the role of a historian while the equivalent AP source-papers “push you more into ‘do you understand what they’re saying?”, again signaling how much more sophisticated the IB is. It is clear Bourke personally prefers the IB over the AP, even explicitly agreeing that the IB is “better”, yet tops off his claims with: “Take it all with a suitable grain of salt.”

From the perspectives of a teacher who has taught the AP and one that has participated in the program, one clear message comes through: the IB is more critical-thinking and analysis oriented than the AP, and requires a higher level of processing. While the AP does cover a lot of course material, comparable to that of a standard level class in a year, it focuses mostly on memorization and the IA, EE, and TOK components of the IB have no equivalent in the AP. With all this information in mind, we feel comfortable saying that AP students don’t have nearly as much to complain about. nourriture chinois-américaine ou mexicain-américaine.

L’empathie, de la perspective, les nouvelles expériences et la communication, sont tous des avantages qui emportent sur le inconvénients d’être multiculturel. Cependant, il est important de considérer quel type de communauté ou j’habite et comment elle affecte mes opinions. Mon école est une école où le multiculturalisme est extrêmement encouragé. Je vis dans une région où il y a aussi une grande communauté éthiopienne et cependant a beaucoup de support. Cela crée un biais. Il est facile pour moi de réclamer mon double ethnicité comme un avantage parce que je vis dans une communauté plus acceptant que les autres. Il y a beaucoup d’autre au diffèrent parties du monde qui sont marginalisés à cause de leur ethnicité. Une personne sans ce type de soutien est probablement plus exposée à la xénophobie et aurait donc une opinion diffèrent sur le multiculturalisme.

Mais, cela n’en demeure pas moins que si ont ferment not frontière nationaux, on risque de faire préjudice au peuple. Et sans promoter la multiculturalisme, on perdra ce qui définit Les Etats Unis; une nation d’immigrant. On risque de créer une nations qui support d’ignorance et de la xénophobie. En conclusion, il faut qu’on ouvre nos frontière et accepte le support la multiculturalisme.

For English Version go to wisdateline.org

ARTS

PAGE 8 THE INTERNATIONAL DATELINE

Art Amends History: Titus Kapharknown or famous individuals, including

By Sneha Parthasarathy, 2021

On Monday, December 10th, lies the complexity, all the complexity, 2018, the 10th grade visited the National of American history, spouted from the Portrait Gallery to view the works of Titus mouth of a 9-year-old.” What I realized Kaphar, an artist who strives to give new at that moment is that we have all of this meaning to history through art. In the public sculpture, all of these national exhibit Unseen, Kaphar draws attention to monuments that don’t actually reflect the plight, struggles, and underrepresenta- our contemporary values anymore. So I tion of African Americans in history. started thinking, “Is there a way to amend Titus Kaphar was born in 1976 and lives in New Haven, CT. He has won many awards due to his unique artwork, including a 2018 McArthur “Genius” Grant, a 2015 Creative Capital grant, a 2016 Robert Photo Taken by the Pizzuti Collection R. Rauschenberg Artist as Activist grant, a 2018 public sculpture?” And so that’s where Art for Justice Fund grant, and the 2018 this project came from.”

Rappaport Prize. His work has been fea According to the National Portured in the Museum of Modern Art, Yale trait Gallery, “Kaphar defaces, cuts, and University Art Gallery, and, most recently, peels back his paintings to show how porthe National Portrait Gallery. traits of American historical figures, such

So what makes Titus Kaphar’s as Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, artwork so special? have traditionally coded racial difference,

Perhaps the ingenuity of his hid systemic prejudices, and omitted the paintings lies in his inspiration. In interpresence of African Americans.” views, Kaphar describes a moment when

Titus Kaphar incorporates a his 9-year-old son asked of a sculpture of modern understanding of historical art Theodore Roosevelt in a museum, “Dadpieces, questioning the morality of this dy, how come he gets to ride on the horse nation by revealing how art frequently and those two guys have to walk?” maligned or underrepresented African

In Kaphar’s words, “Therein Americans. He repaints portraits of well-

How One Day at a Time can be a Helpful Resource for Understanding Social Issues

By Sofia Sanchez, 2019

One Day at a Time is a show that tackles a lot of social issues, for example, PTSD, veterans, guns, divorce, sexuality, gender, racism, deportation and many others while adding in some humour. The show is on Netflix, and

is questioning her sexuality, a son that is navigating middle school, a funny landlord that becomes a close friend and confides in them, and a hilarious, immigrant grandmother, my favourite character.

Photo Courtesy of Netflix

though it might seem like the show is too political, it is handled in a very fun way.

You may even learn some Spanish!

I recommend watching the whole show instead of just separate episodes (all episodes are 30 minutes long) because this show can help you understand many different issues that may not affect you, as it has helped me.

The show is about a Cuban family that lives in Los Angeles that includes a veteran single mother, a teenager that

This show helps me a lot in understaning how hard it can be for veterans, who were once wounded in conflict, to access resources that help them. In season one, episode seven, veteran and main character Penelope Alvarez, tries to call a Veterans association about her shoulder injury that she acquired when she was in the army. It is always important to try to understand the experiences of others to be able to understand their struggles. Even though I do not know any veterans and cannot help

presidents like George Washington, but draws attention to the sacrifices of African Americans in those paintings and show their perspective.

“That’s the nature of representation; every time we represent something we alter it and slightly change it. And so with that as my foundation, understanding that it’s always fictional to some degree, I give myself a certain freedom to really explore and ask myself questions. What might not have been understood at that time? What might have been hidden at that time? What narrative in this particular image wasn’t the primary image, but is really important? That is really interesting to me, and then I try to tease that out as much as I can,” said Kaphar.

Kaphar is unique in his idea of combining art and history to force viewers to question the past. His works highlight the role of African Americans in Colonial America, who are often overlooked and ignore in art. He remakes paintings and portraits but changes them, often through whitewashing, cutting, or folding, to draw attention to a new dimension behind the portrait.

“Unseen,” an exhibit that showed at the Smithsonian from March 23, 2018 to January 6, 2019, featured many paintings of historical and contemporary value. These art pieces brought out hidden elements of traditional paintings and enabled viewers to question the underrepresentation of African Americans in history.

As the 10th graders are learning about American history, the exhibit offered a new perspective to them. Andrew Jackson was torn up in Kaphar’s work, showing the deadly effects of his Indian Removal Act. Thomas Jefferson, fully

clothed, is painting over Sally Harrison, the slave woman with whom he had an affair, portraying the power dynamic between the two. An African American soldier, distorted behind white paint as the gun he holds is all too clear. These images, connected to history, reveal a depth to WIS’ 10th-grade history curriculum that enhances students’ understanding of America’s past.

Even though the time to view the exhibit is gone, Titus Kaphar is still a promising artist to look at, especially as his career is far from over. Kaphar’s paintings not only demonstrate incredible skill but also a global movement to voice the thoughts of minorities in the past and present. Visit his website, or take a look at one of his exhibits. It’s worth it.

Photo Taken by Guillermo Nicolas and Jim Foster

them with this issue, I like knowing that hard for Cuban immigrants in the United I can now understand these struggles and States. offer my support whenever I can.

I also learned how hard it is to be a person of colour in America. A lot of changes were made to accept racial minorities, but even middle schoolers run into racism every now and then. In episode one of season two, Penelope’s son Alex Alvarez, goes on a field trip, and a kid from another school tells him to go back to Mexico. The entire Alvarez family is in fact Mexican not Cuban.

Alex reacts violently and gets into trouble. Penelope Photo Courtesy of Netflix ends up teaching him that he will run into other people that are bigoted. As a white person, I will never run into an issue like being judged because of my skin colour, but as a Spanish person, I know what it is like to be told to “lower your voice” or “speak a language that everyone speaks”. The important thing is to be above these people and ignore the ignorant things they say sometimes.

This show is very important because it tackles hard problems by adding humour into almost every scene.

The scenes are genuine and provide easy explanations so the audience may understand. The characters always resolve their problems so that they are all happy and every situation is enacted in a way that it mirrors real life. They try to understand each other as much as possible while keeping in touch with both their American and Cuban cultures, something that can be

Seniors

PAGE 9 THE INTERNATIONAL DATELINE

Where Is The Class of 2019 Going?

What are you most excited about for the upcoming year(s)?

“The opportunities to chose what I can study, and learn from the best as well as join clubs to try new things and meet new people” - Elena Zettelmeyer, University of British Col umbia

more new things, and gaining ing try le, op pe w ne g tin “Mee Davitian, Bryn Mawr independence!” - Holden “Playing Division one soccer” Pablo

Peltier, University of Pittsburgh

shllege, especially fa co in gs in th w ne y y and per“ I am excited to tr , music, videograph gy lo no ch te gn si ion design, de ing in NYC, where liv be to g in go so al - Pasha formance arts. I am full of movement” d an g in st re te in life should be r Union Wilson, The Coope

ody,

las Peab y own life” - Nicho m ng vi ha e m ho “Going away from gan University of Michi

“Studying abroad, ta king new more intere sting classes, not taking ch emistry ” - Marta Mal iszewska, University of Virg inia

,

nmay Sharan a new city ” - Ana d an le op pe w ne “Meeting nto University of Toro

“Freedom from the IB and high school, new fun experiences, and figuring out w hat I want to do with my life” - Viola Gatti-Roaf, Dartmou th

Map of where some seniors will be going, created by Celeste Bloom

List of Some Schools

University of British Columbia Bryn Mawr College University of Pittsburgh Uinversity of Virginia University of Michigan (4) Haverford Georgia Tech University of Sussex University of Wisconsin-Madison Dartmouth University of Edinburgh Cooper Union University of California Berkeley (2) George Washington Boston University Harvard

Cornell McGill (3) University of Toronto (2) University of Los Angeles Georgetown University Indiana University (Jacobs School of Music) Connecticut College University of Maryland University of Washington Tufts University of Manchester University of Pensylvannia New York University (3) Swarthmore

TheBackPage

Is Tik Tok The New Vine?

Nico Vallada, 2020

After Vine shut down in early 2017, Tok compilation” on Youtube will overthe six-second video application’s cult whelm you with the hundreds of different following has been longing for the arrival compilations that are present on the video of a replacement to their beloved app, but service. nothing has come close. However, with

This can all be seen with the the rise of Tik Tok, has that day finally Vine accounts found everywhere, even arrived? on less public social media platforms like

Tik Tok first came about in 2016, Snapchat, and the now thousands of “RIP when Chinese company “ByteDance” Vine” compilations with titles such as released it for the purpose of making “Vines 2 watch instead of sleeping”.

15-second long lip sync videos and duets with strangers. However, after its spike in popularity in meme culture in recent months, the application’s intended audience and use has altered drastically.

Every day, Instagram is flooded with videos from Tik Tok of people “dueting” with others or making their own videos with popular songs on the platform such as the “Mia Khalifa diss track” by iLOVEFRiDAY and “Good Girls Bad Guys” by Falling in Reverse.

Photo Taken by Bytedance.

While Tik Tok may just seem like a one-time fad, Youtube compilations and entire accounts on

Even before Vine shut down, multiple social media platforms say oththere were hundreds of accounts on Faceerwise. Twitter and Instagram also feature book, Twitter and Instagram dedicated many accounts dedicated to the sharing of to showing the most popular vines of the certain Tik Tok videos. day, week, or month.

The account “tik_tok_cringe” on Youtube, especially, had a speInstagram has 13.3 thousand followers on cial relationship with Vine as the monthly Instagram, and Youtube account “DANK- compilations became weekly and so every IUS” has 104 thousand subscribers, Monday there was a fresh “Best Vines of averaging anywhere from 400 thousand to the Week” waiting for those desperate for 4.5 million views per Tik Tok compilation vines. on Youtube.

However, the changing face of

Merely putting in the words “Tik today’s online culture proves a major dif-

ference between Tik Tok and its predecessor, Vine.

From when Vine first began in 2013 until its death in early 2017, it is safe to say that online culture was much less divided. Today there is a clear division between what some might label as ‘edgy’ or less politically correct memes, and the more free and unapologetic side of the meme culture featuring such groups as “furries” and “littles”.

Arguably, a lot more went unnoticed or at least less criticized back in Vine’s age than in today’s ‘progressive’ society with a lot of backing for anti-cyberbullying campaigns and even the shutting down of accounts perceived as too ‘extreme’.

For this reason, Tik Tok can arguably be seen as an ‘edgier’ Vine with many people making duets with others but making fun of the prior video with their own twist to it and completely changing the video.

For example, a common Tik Tok is one where a person says “Oh you’re with her now? Ok, I guess I’ll just have to show you what you’re missing” and then proceeds to put their hand over the camera and transform from an uglier version of themselves to a more attractive one.

While this seems all in good fun, many take the opportunity to duet, in what some might call hilarious and others mean, with the video and react in certain ways to the transformation.

Many people have gone on to label these types of duets as bullying, while others have made compilations and capture these duets and more and mash

PAGE 10 THE INTERNATIONAL DATELINE them into a video, which can be seen as downright hilarious. One Youtube channel has made 13 different compilations in the course of two or so weeks.

While Vine’s popularity was undeniable and still is, it’s shutting down and the lack of conflict present on the internet then means that Tik Tok, if it carries this momentum and wild polarity in its viewers and creators forward, will soon reach the heights Vine reached either through controversy or pure popularity itself.

Some of the funniest Tik Tok videos are just short videos with no duets, the same thing that gave Vine the appeal and popularity it had. This has even brought back some ex-Vine stars who have been seen on the app like Chris Melberger.

Tik Tok has even surpassed Vine’s highest recorded number of monthly users.

In 2015 the number of active monthly Vine users was 200 million and it is safe to speculate that in the next two years until it’s shutting down, that number most likely grew substantially.

However, by June 2018, Tik Tok had become the iPhones most downloaded app with over 45 million downloads, largely thanks to its large presence in China and the fact that it was merged with Music.ly, another lip syncing/singing applications acquired by ByteDance in December of 2017.

In June, Tik Tok had an average of 300 million monthly users, a number which has most likely grown since, clearly showing its growth in today’s online world, and perhaps it’s surpassing of Vine?

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PAGE 11 THE INTERNATIONAL DATELINE

Middle School Stempede

By Lauren Brownell, 2023

Balancing Act Chloe Gutnikoff, 2020

Follow Us on Social Media! @WISDateline @wisdateline WIS Dateline

By Stuart Campbell-Jourdan, 2023

Global Warming, Is it Contagious?

By Sterre Libon, 2023

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Spot the Difference

5/20/2019

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