Common Sense Magazine May 2022 by woottonnews

Common Sense THOMAS S. WOOTTON HIGH SCHOOL | 2100 WOOTTON PARKWAY | ROCKVILLE, MD 20850 VOLUME 51, ISSUE 6 | MAY 2022

Cover by Julia Lvovsky

news

Families4Families 5 Police CEO 5 Senior picnic 6 Pep rally, spirit days 6 Ukrainian student speaks 7 Class officers 7

Senior college list 12 - 13

AP art portfolios 14

6 news

opinion

School pride shines in spring pep rally, spirit weeks by Brendan Glaser

TikTok’s impact on students’ brains by Isaac Muffett

In recent weeks, students have been showcasing their spirit at events such as the spring pep rally and school spirit weeks...

In the summer of 2020, I downloaded TikTok. Like other students struggling with pandemic boredom and isolation, I was looking for a way to scroll away my time

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS May 2022

Seasonal allergies 16 Restaurants 16 AP exams 17 Senior advice 17 Summer concerts 18

opinions reviews sports commons arts profiles back page Tik Tok 8 - 9 Daylight Savings 10 Student athlete eligibility 11

Seniors Mia Mikowski, Katherine Sarkisov and Keerthi Padmanabhan celebrate at the senior picnic on May 6. Photo courtsey Katherine Sarkisov

features

SMOB 15 New SGA president 15

and connect with kids my age when I had no other way. But just like it did for those others, the app quickly became a much bigger part of my life than I’d ever intended it to – in the worst way possible.

Olivia Rodrigo concert 19 “Morbius”19

Varsity baseball 20 Varsity softball 20 Coed volleyball 21 Boys’ volleyball 21 Tennis 22 Track 22 Varsity boys’ lacrosse 23 Varsity girls’ lacrosse 23

Common Sense goes to college 24

Senate passes daylight savings bill, ending time change by Ellie Mollica Daylight savings time is a controversial topic, especially with the new bill passed by the U.S. Senate.

TOC by Rae Weinstein

TABLE OF CONTENTS features

reviews

sports

Spring and summer concerts coming to DMV by Ben Cohen

Olivia Rodrigo opens up to world in highly anticipated film by Josie Rosenstein

Varsity softball ends season with playoff loss to Churchill by Rob Carpenter

Varsity girls’ lacrosse season comes to end by Lea Weinstein

The varsity softball season has come to a disappointing end, but that does not discredit all of the hard work...

When the final whistle at Bethesda Chevy Chase blew on May 11, it signaled the end of the girls’ varsity lacrosse season...

After two COVID-19 infected years, the summer of 2022 is coming up and pandemic restrictions are being lifted.

Olivia Rodrigo rose to stardom with the release of her hit song “Drivers License.”

May 2022 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page by Ethan Lenkin

Common Sense Staff

Editors-in-Chief Julia Lvovsky, Ethan Lenkin, Rae Weinstein Online Editors-in-Chief Danielle Land, Mandy Schoen Managing Editors Mason Berk, Dylan Cohen, Jake Hoffman, Sarah Nanos, Daniel Sofer, Emma Song News Editors Maria Daraselia, Sophia Fritsch, Naina Giare Longform Editor Kate Hawley Opinion Editors Ellie Monica, Isaac Muffett Commons Editor Elizabeth Mehler Profiles Editor Catie Russ Features Editors Vivian Pisani, Sasha Sampaio, Maria Sofronas Back Page Editor Jelissa Ngako

Letter from the Editors Since our April issue, next year’s leadership has ascended into their roles. Common Sense has a new Editorial Board, and we are thrilled to give you our first issue. As always, our print editions do not hold every one of the more than 70 articles published by our staff in the past few weeks. This magazine represents the work we feel is the most informative, timely, and relevant to you, our readers. Our coverage ranges across a spectrum of topics, and this is reflected in our magazine. In this issue, you will find articles about class, SGA, and countywide elections that will shape the educational landscape for both our school, and Montgomery County. The articles pertaining to these election results and information about new officeholders will leave you more informed about the new people occupying these positions. We have highlighted exemplary art students, and the impact of TikTok on mental health. You will also find movie reviews, and information about upcoming concerts. AP exams have concluded, and you can read about the effects of these exams on our student

body, and their preparation for these everimportant tests. As far as athletics, you can read about the conclusion to spring seasons, playoff results and tennis winning the regional title. You’ll also find a point-counterpoint on the issue of GPA requirements for student-athletes, as well as arguments on both sides of the annual daylight savings time debate. Since the publication of our last magazine, nearly all seniors have decided what they will be doing after high school. The vast majority will be attending college, and you can view which colleges 428 of our seniors will be attending next year in our Commons section. The Editorial Board thanks you for supporting student journalism, and hopes after reading this magazine, you will feel informed about both our school and broader community. We’d like to thank the outgoing editorial board for their support and mentorship as we begin our new roles. Finally, we’d like to thank our adviser, Evva Starr, for continuing her essential guidance and support as we close out the 2021-22 school year.

Editors-in-chief Danielle Land, Julia Lvovsky, Ethan Lenkin, Rae Weinstein, Mandy Schoen

Arts Editor Claire Lenkin Reviews Editor Shreyas Jindal Senior Sports Editors Alec Fleischer, Ryan McGraw Sports Editors Chris Castelli, Jake Konigsberg Race and Equity Editor Julia Lvovsky

Adviser Evva Starr

Common Sense is an open forum for student views from Thomas S. Wootton High School, 2100 Wootton Parkway, Rockville, MD, 20850. Common Sense’s website is woottoncommonsense.com. Common Sense’s magazine is published six times a year. Signed opinion pieces reflect the positions of individuals and not necessarily the opinion of Thomas S. Wootton High School or Montgomery County Public Schools. Unsigned editorial pieces reflect the opinion of the newspaper editorial board. All content is reviewed to ensure it meets the highest level of legal and ethical standards with the material as libelous, obscene, or invasive of privacy. All corrections are posted on the website. Annual mail subscriptions cost $30, and can be purchased through the school online store. More information about our editorial policies can be found at woottoncommonsense.com/editorial-policy/

4 STAFF PAGE May 2022

Page by Amanda Slud

Families4Families, NHS launch food drive

donations to Hope and a Home, a nonprofit operating in DC whose goal is to create stable housing for low-income families and provide higher education opportunities. Hope and a Home provides opportunities for people to give time, money and donations. “People can help their communities by donating at food drop-offs and volunteering. I volunteer as much as I can and it goes such a long way,” sophomore Elena Filbert said. Throughout this year the Families4Families club has met one to two times a month to plan drop-offs, discuss deliveries and decide which type of foods they need. The club uses a SignUpGenius to track donations. The National Honors Society has also taken part in the food drives throughout the year. NHS members could make donations and receive hours, which are necessary to take part in the club. Junior Anya Sander volunteered and donated at the last drive. “I think it’s important to stay connected with the community and support it so we can all move forward together,” Sander said. Families4Families uses its Instagram (@ wootton_f4f ) to provide information for

both club and non-club members. Even though the club has just finished its last drop-off, they plan on returning next year with more food drop-offs and volunteer opportunities. Photo courtesy Annable Bunten

Kate Hawley senior longform editor he Families4Families club held its final food drive on Apr. 26. Nonperishable foods, essential items and lightly-used shoes were all collected. The National Honors Society aided in the drive. The Families4Families Club has held five food drives this year and, in the past two years, the club has donated over 20,000 meals to community members in need. Food drives have been held about once a month, in front of the auditorium. “In a community, we all need to help each other. I know that if I were ever in need, members of my community would step in to help me,” sophomore Nico Dorazio said. Families4Families is a local organization in the DMV that provides materials for student-run clubs to operate. The organization pairs student clubs from a school or neighborhood with a local nonprofit charity. Other MCPS schools such as Whitman, B-CC and Walter Johnson have Families4Families clubs at their schools. Wootton Families4Families delivers

Sophomore Families4Families co-president Elena Fiolbert organizes grocery bags to be donated to Hope and a Home.

New approach to safety: MCPS brings Community Engagement Officers into schools

Elizabeth Mehler commons editor ontgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) announced a new agreement on Apr. 26 with the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) and the Montgomery County government called the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will enhance the program guiding support from law enforcement in MCPS schools. The MOU was created with collaborative work between the MCPD, MCPS and community input from students, parents and staff. This included 10 student focus groups of all three levels of education, parent focus groups at all high schools, youth-

police dialogues with police representatives in every police district in MCPS, a virtual community conversation on student safety and well-being with over 1,000 participants, and county-wide student forums at all secondary schools in MCPS. In a statement released by MCPS, they announced that through these engagement activities they found “the Community Engagement Officer (CEO) Program is a necessary part of an informed, thoughtful and comprehensive response to address the safety of all students and staff.” At the start of the current school year, uniformed police officers were removed from school buildings in MCPS and were replaced with the CEO

program. Rather than having uniformed police officers stationed inside the schools, officers are now assigned to cover school clusters. CEOs are provided an office in the school building and given the authority to respond to student service calls. However, CEOs will not be permanently stationed inside schools and do not have any authority over student discipline or enforcing MCPS rules. The Memorandum of Understanding lists the duties of community engagement officers. The CEOs’ duties include serving as a liaison between their agency and MCPS officials for policerelated concerns and incidents, handling school service calls with the responsibility of investigating the calls while minimizing

disruption to the school day, delivering law enforcement programs such as DARE and crime prevention, staying informed regarding current gang trends and coordinating assistance at major school events when needed. While on MCPS property, CEOs will have full authority as police officers but are expected to acknowledge and work within the scope of the principal’s authority. Students advocated against the presence of police in schools and effectively removed the Student Resources Officer (SRO) program for the start of the current school year. Advocates for police-free schools argue that law enforcement in schools reinforces the criminalization of young students of color.

May 2022 NEWS

Page by Naina Giare

Senior picnic’s disappointing weather not enough to ruin students’ fun

Jake Dolan managing editor emeritus

everything besides the chicken. “I enjoyed most of the food. The food was all really good besides the chicken,” Sarkisiv said. However, the students didn’t let the rainy weather and lack of activities ruin their fun. Just hanging out with friends was enough for students. “My favorite part of the picnic was hanging out with my friends. Overall, it was fun and I would do it again,” Sarkisov said. Every senior wore a shirt of the college they will be attending next year, so seeing where everyone was going and taking pictures together was one major highlight of the event for students. “My favorite part was getting to take pictures with all my friends and see where everyone is going to college,” Kimbis said. “I had lots of fun. Even though it felt like saying goodbye to people, it was a heartwarming experience.”

Kamadinate agrees with Kimbis, and although the picnic itself was lackluster, the photos were able to save the picnic. “My favorite part of the picnic was the pictures afterwards

that students organized because you want pictures with people you are friends with,” Kamadinata said. “That part made the whole picnic a fun, enjoyable experience for me.” Photo courtesy Katherine Sarkisov

espite the quite gloomy weather, seniors attended the picnic that took place at Smokey Glen Farm on May 6. With a $25 ticket fee, the picnic included catered foods from Smokey Glen Farm such as pie, chicken, rolls, salad and more. The event had bad weather and constant rain throughout the day, which left the fields wet and muddy that students were hanging out on. Also, the high ticket fee left students expecting more bang for their buck than they ended up getting. Students expected there to be more to do but were disappointed to find out the picnic entailed not much more than just food. “I think it was missing some activities, there wasn’t much for people to do besides standing and

talking,” senior Sammi Kimbis said. “However, I think that our school did a good job of putting the picnic together for us and everyone had fun.” Students did note that the high ticket price helped lower the ticket cost for prom. “I thought it was way overpriced, but I appreciated how that lowered the prom ticket price. If the food was better and it was more organized with more things to do then I would’ve enjoyed it more,” senior Judah Kamadinata said. Students had varying opinions on the food, however, one common consensus was that the chicken was disappointing. “I did not enjoy the food as the chicken and coleslaw were unseasoned and bland,” Kamadinata said. Kimbis enjoyed the pie, whereas senior Katherine Sarkisiv enjoyed

Seniors Mia Mikowski, Katherine Sarkisov and Keerthi Padmanabhan celebrate at the senior picnic, which took place at Smokey Glen Farm on May 6.

School pride shines in spring pep rally, spirit weeks Brendan Glaser staff writer

n recent weeks, students have been showcasing their spirit at events such as the spring pep rally and school spirit weeks planned by the SGA. These school-wide spirit events have been a way of taking pressure off the end of a long school year, especially for seniors. This past pep rally was one to remember as it was the last chance of the year for students to come together and exemplify school spirit. Both new and traditional performances and

6 NEWS May 2022

events came into play. One of the new ideas introduced was teacher dares. These are requests by students for dares that the selected teacher must perform at the pep rally. For this year’s dare, three students were able to pie a teacher of their choice in the face. However, some students thought that the teacher dares could have been more developed and included more than just one dare. Senior Morgan Hendriksson saw this event as a missed opportunity. “They could have done more than just throw cream into teachers’ faces,” Hendriksson said.

In addition to the teacher’s dares, traditional events such as tug of war took place. One of the tug-of-war competitions was sophomores and juniors against freshmen and seniors. The sophomores and juniors came away with the victory, although the seniors would get revenge by winning the noise competition at the end of the pep rally. “Playing tug of war against the juniors and sophomores was the most memorable moment of this year’s spring pep rally for me, though it ended in a crushing defeat,” senior Justin McGraw said, a participant in the tug-of-

war competition. Along with the pep rally, spirit weeks have been planned throughout the year by the SGA in which each day of the week entails a different theme of what to wear to school that particular day. One of the unique days during the most recent spirit week was to bring something to school that wasn’t a backpack but use it as a backpack. Students got creative with this concept and brought rather unconventional items. “Someone brought a stroller and another student brought their sister to hold their stuff,” junior Bill Godnick said.

Page by Mace Berk and Jake Hoffman

New faces elected to run school Jake Konigsberg & Chris Castelli sports editors

he school’s annual elections for next year’s class officers and SGA officers were held from May 4 to May 5. Students in each class voted for their grade levels’ president, vice president, treasurer and secretary for class officer positions. Although both class officers and the SGA are leaders throughout school, they have many differences. One main difference is the leadership with school dances as the SGA hosts homecoming and the class officers organize the junior banquet and the prom. The SGA is held as an elective class while with the exception of splanning (an elective class) all other class officers meet outside of school as extracurriculars. For the class officers of 2023, every candidate who won their respective election had been at their current position the previous year: Max Choi as president, Hope Safai as vice president, Tyler Cosgrove as treasurer and Allison Cheng as secretary. For the class officers of 2024, Kelly Ren won the presidency, Aneela Shemsu won the vice presidency, Irene Kim won the treasurer position and Yuanzhe Cui won the secretary position. For the class officers of 2025 Kian Hamidzadeh won the presidency, Noah Friedman won the vice presidency, Yury Rusakov won the treasurer position and Justin Kim won the secretary position. For SGA rising seniors Vivek Majumdar and Maya Gottesman were elected as co-presidents, rising junior Rhea Chelar as secretary and rising junior Naomi Esterowitz as treasurer. Majumdar, who has been a SGA member since his sophomore year, will be one of the co-presidents and will focus on increasing the student power in SGA’s decisions. Students were frustrated with the voting process. “I think the way the candidates’ speeches were designed on the website was not very good because it was at the bottom under all of the names of the

Max Choi - 2023 Class President

candidates, and it was so much quicker to just vote and be done with it. For next year I think that all homeroom teachers should show the speeches to the classes so students have to watch them,” junior Devlin McCarthy said. To obtain more votes, candidates created social media accounts and placed posters around the school to raise awareness of their campaign. With the use of social media and posters, students who had not known anything about candidates can learn what they intend to do if elected, allowing students to become more educated on who they want to vote for. Gottesman, who is currently a junior officer and the executive council vice president for SGA, will be sharing president responsibilities alongside Majumdar. Gottesman hopes to focus on increasing school spirit and SGA’s involvement within the community. “I look forward to implementing more fundraising and philanthropic endeavors for the Wootton community to give back while bringing our school closer together,” Gottesman said. SGA works on various events throughout the school year, such as homecoming, pep rallies, spirit weeks and a spring project. Class officers plan events like junior banquet, prom, and reunions once their class graduates. Treasurer Esterowitz is optomistic for next year, ““I hope to keep the student body’s money organized and allocate the funds towards the most sustainable materials we can get,” Esterowitz said. Students are in support of the future of the SGA and can’t wait to see what they will do in the future. ““Although I don’t always know what the SGA does, I’m thankful for the strong SGA we have here and I’m excited to see what new events will be introduced next year,” sophomore Matthew Repie said.

Kelly Ren - 2024 Class President

Maya Gottesman - SGA Co-President May 2022 NEWS

Pages by Kate Hawley

P OPINION

TIKTOK’S IMPACT ON STUDENTS’ BRAINS TikTok’s algorithim is designed to make the app addictive, but at what cost? As levels of depression and anxiety rise, social media may be to blame. BY ISAAC MUFFETT

n the summer of 2020, I downloaded TikTok. Like other students struggling with pandemic boredom and isolation, I was looking for a way to scroll away my time and connect with kids my age when I had no other way. But just like it did for those others, the app quickly became a much bigger part of my life than I’d ever intended it to – in the worst way possible. It would be impossible to tell this story properly without first explaining TikTok’s algorithm. On TikTok, the user experience centers around the For You page. When the app is first downloaded, the For You page consists of popular videos of all kinds, i.e. dance videos, comedy videos, cooking videos, etc. As users interact with the app, the algorithm gathers user preference data, so the For You page becomes personalized to one’s interests. While TikTok has not officially released a description of the app’s algorithm, the basic dimensions it uses to determine

8 OPINION May 2022

a user’s engagement and personalize their feed are obvious: likes, comments, shares and watch times. However, the algorithm most likely uses less obvious dimensions in addition to these, like the “sounds” a user interacts with and the videos liked and engaged with by their followers. This hyper-specific algorithm is effective in doing what it’s designed to do: keep users watching and engaging with curated content for as long as possible. Unfortunately I, like so many other students, downloaded the app at a time when my mental health was taking a turn for the worse. Before TikTok, there were communities of kids on Tumblr and Instagram that used the sites to connect with others struggling with mental health, oftentimes in harmful ways that romanticized or sensationalized the issues. However, these communities were contained. In order to be fed content like this, users had to search for it through hashtags and usernames, because unless they actively engaged with it, it wouldn’t appear in their feeds or on their explore pages.

The majority of TikTok’s user base is made up of young people, so these communities are still prevalent, but the app’s algorithm doesn’t offer the same kind of shield for young viewers that its predecessors did. Because the algorithm bases user preferences on passive engagement (watch times, “sounds”, and videos their followers engaged with), as well as active engagement (likes, comments, and shares), users are at a much higher risk of being exposed to harmful content just because it uses an audio they’ve engaged with or because people who follow them also watch videos like these.

retty much immediately after downloading the app, I started being shown videos like these; Videos lipsyncing to songs about topics like suicide and addiction, usually coupled with text expressing the creator’s depression or nihilism. I never actually went looking for these videos, but as I engaged with them, either actively or passively, they appeared more and more until online school started up again in the fall, at which point they had pretty much taken over my For You page. With the world still in the throes of a global pandemic, I was now stuck alone in my room seven hours a day, four days a week, and TikTok became my only refuge. The content was seemingly endless and always catered specifically to me. I had an average daily screen time of more than nine hours per day, about 80% of which was spent on the app. My brain was, as I would later find out, literally addicted to scrolling through videos, depressing or otherwise, and I wasn’t the only one. In April, the Wall Street Journal reported on a study of Chinese college students whose brain scans showed that areas of the brain involved in addiction were highly activated after watching videos on the app.

This is especially concerning to psychologists because the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for impulse control and executive functioning, doesn’t fully develop until the age of 25. This means that teens and young adults on the app are more likely to get addicted to its constant stream of short-term gratification, and prioritize it over activities like schoolwork and self-care, which improve well-being and satisfaction in the long-term. So, I was spending the majority of my days alone, in my room, scrolling through an app that was rapidly deteriorating my already-poor mental health. Before long I had become functionally nocturnal and was failing in almost every class. Even when I tried to pay attention to my online classes, I couldn’t. I was only ever able to focus on my schoolwork for five to 10 minutes at a time before I got distracted and forgot what I was doing completely. More often than not, I would catch myself mindlessly opening TikTok and scrolling through the first few videos I saw, before trying to regain my focus and repeating the cycle

hen TikTok hit one billion users worldwide in 2021, I realized that the patterns I had noticed in my experience with the app were likely to be a much bigger issue than I’d initially thought. However, despite the abundance of psychological and neurological research on social media usage in general, TikTok in particular appeared and grew in popularity so recently that I could find barely any research on its psychological impact. Still, research from the few studies I could find confirmed my suspicions. In a study for the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health that examined a sample of more than 3,000 Chinese high schoolers,

researchers found that TikTok usage was consistently linked with depression, anxiety, stress and memory loss.

Art by Caitlin Kim

This is unsurprising, given that social media usage as a whole has been associated with mental health issues in teens. One article for the Mayo Clinic reported that greater social media use in teens, as well as nighttime use and emotional investment in social media, were linked with worse sleep quality and higher levels of anxiety and depression. TikTok use poses all these same risks, but the app also presents a unique set of issues as a result of its model centering short-form content. The default length of a TikTok video is 15 seconds. While the maximum length was increased to three minutes in 2021, Wired reported in November that the optimal recommended video length (how long a video should be to see the most success) is between 21 and 34 seconds. This element of the platform concerns psychologists because young TikTok users,

who make up the majority of the app’s audience, only have to pay attention to content for less than a minute at a time for immediate

gratification. Obviously, it is extremely addictive. Moreover, research has indicated that exposure to digital media in young adults has been associated with long-lasting attention deficits. According to one Harvard study, frequent digital media usage increased the risk of ADHD symptoms in teens by 10%.

ven among students at this school, TikTok has had a significant impact on teens’ attention spans and mental health. Sophomore Sanjana Mudiya said that she’s struggled with these same issues after using the app. “TikTok has such short videos and everything on your For You page is something different, so my attention span has shortened dramatically [as a result of the app,] and gaining so many different pieces of information at the same time has taken a toll on my mental health.

My emotions vary depending on the TikTok I watch, so I will immediately go from extreme sadness over a situation, to laughing over a funny video, to feeling pity, and so on. The app doesn’t allow me to feel my emotions to their full extent because they’re just swept away by other short videos,” Mudiya said. Freshman Vera Shcherbakova described the same experience. “Using social media, especially TikTok, has significantly lowered my attention span and my ability to focus on one topic,” Vera said. Kids on TikTok are increasingly becoming addicted to the immediate gratification the app offers and stunting their brain development in the process, which puts them at risk for attention deficits and mental illness even into adulthood. Now more than ever, students need to be careful in their approach to social media, but especially TikTok. In small doses, the app may be harmless, but as with anything addictive, scrolling is a slippery slope. Junior Addy Ziafat described the app using three words: “fun, rotting, addictive.” Students: pay attention to what you’re watching, and for how long. When you see content that may be harmful, use the “not interested” feature, and set limits for yourself. On iPhones, you can even use Screen Time settings to limit the time you spend on specific apps. Even if you continue to spend time scrolling, the most important thing you can do to protect yourself is to train your focus. This means paying attention for longer periods of time to long-form content like novels and films, especially those you can learn from. When you become stuck in a constant cycle of immediate gratification, it’s difficult to pull yourself out, and you may end up damaging your brain more than you ever thought possible.

May 2022 OPINION

Page by Isaac Muffett

Senate ends time change, passes daylight savings bill

Ellie Mollica opinion editor

aylight savings time is a controversial topic, especially with the new bill passed by the U.S. Senate. The bill, also known as the Sunshine Protection Act, makes daylight savings time permanent. Effective in 2023, the gaining and losing of an hour of daylight will end, allowing for the confusion to end as well. One of the perks of the bill is the extra hour of sunlight. This extra hour can be used in different ways, but will overall benefit students, with extra daylight to do sports or even stay up later to do homework. On weekends, there is more time to spend with friends and family or go do activities like shopping. Sophomore Brandon Reotutar is excited about the extra hour. “The additional hour would let me go out a bit more since since it gives me more time,” Reotutar said. Sophomore Erin McGinness explains her need for the extra hour, using it to make up school work. “If I had an extra hour of daylight I would use it to do my homework or study for an upcoming test,” McGinness said. High school students often struggle with getting the proper amount of sleep. With an additional hour added, there is also extra time to sleep, giving students the necessary time to feel completely rested before the school day. Reotutar said that he feels the difference only sometimes during the day. “Sometimes it does affect me to not get as much sleep, and when it does affect me it’s either the start of the day or the end of the school

10 OPINION May 2022

day,” Reotutar said. Students feel as if there is not enough to properly enjoy the time outside of school. Freshman Ella Cooper said limitations are given to students when it becomes darker earlier. “I would rather gain an hour of daylight because it would benefit me personally by being able to do the things I enjoy longer when it comes to being outside in the evening or at night,” Cooper said. Seasonal depression occurs for a large portion of students during the winter, due to the sun setting earlier and colder weather. Students often feel distressed, leading them to become more stressed in school, or just overall unhappy with life. With a lack of sunlight, students have less joy in life, and it begins to have a negative toll on behaviors. McGinness said the amount of sunlight she has affects how tired she is and how well she is able to stay awake. “I feel that when I am in the sun longer I am more tired in the evening,” McGinness said.

“[Going to school when it’s dark] gives me less motivation throughout the day as well as making me feel more tired.” - Ella Cooper, 9 Although there are different pros to the bill, there are also downsides. The change in time leads to it being darker in the mornings during the winter months. Cooper said she dislikes going to school when it’s dark. “It gives me less motivation throughout the day as well as making me feel more tired,” Cooper said.

Page by Ellie Mollica

Should there be eligibility rules for student athletes?

Chris Castelli sports editor

to come to class and stay on track with my assignments, otherwise I would have a hard time staying on top of things,” senior Reza Abediyeh said. It can be argued that the rules need to be lessened because of the amount of stress studentathletes go through and how they don’t have as much time to complete assignments or study. However, they are called student-athletes for a reason, which means school is prioritized and when they sign up for a sport they acknowledge that the sport is a time-consuming commitment. “I know how much effort and time varsity sports take, but that’s why I have a routine I follow where I can manage my time properly to get school work done,¨ junior Tyler Cosgrove said. All in all, there should be eligibility rules for studentathletes to meet because it prepares them for real life and makes school a priority. The football and lacrosse teams have both become proactive about the eligibility problem and have implemented systems to help, such as mandatory team study hall or suspensions from playing time in games for not being eligible. “Sports aren’t forever and they can only take you so far, but a diploma will be valuable anywhere you go in life,” Bernardo said.

The varsity football team is led by Head Coach Ivan Hicks (pictured here in all red), who has implemented mandatory study hall before practice.

Mace Berk managing editor

he end-of-school bell rings and the average student goes back home to take a nap, eat a snack and leisurely do homework throughout the evening. A student athlete, however, has a two-hour practice consuming the majority of their afternoon and then comes back home sore and exhausted. Without the lack of resources (because practices overlap free tutoring provided by the school) it’s easy for student athletes to experience an increase in anxiety and have their grades slip. This growing issue is present in all sports and it doesn’t seem like it will be slowing down anytime soon. In an anonymous survey of 30 randomly selected members of the varsity and JV lacrosse teams, 36% of the participants were worried about their eligibility status at the end of the third quarter. On the co-ed golf team of the five randomly selected students, 60% of the athletes said they experienced more anxiety with grades in season compared to out of season. Based on this data, the GPA requirement for athletes should be abandoned. “I think that MCPS should get rid of the grade minimum because it puts more added stress on athletes and it makes it difficult for them to manage school and a sport. I also think that sports are good for students to be better in shape and that Photo by Erik Kleinbussink

ccording to the NCCA, only 7.3% of high school football players go on to play in the NCAA at any division. This means for the other 93%, high school is the end of their playing time and they will have to use their education to pursue their careers. Currently, Montgomery County eligibility rules state that to be eligible for extracurricular activities, a student needs to have a 2.0 GPA average and no more than one failing grade for the marking period, which is not a difficult task for the majority of students. However, staying eligible has been a prevalent problem with teams around the county and is something student-athletes struggle with. Giving students the ability to miss class and fail every test, which is what ineligible students tend to do, sends a poor message to younger kids about the importance of school. It also encourages those falling students to slack off in other aspects of life, such as work or home responsibilities, and enforces detrimental habits that do not prepare them for a real-life job. ¨We make sure to put academics first and make practice times as convenient as possible to leave time for studying or getting work done,¨ varsity boys’ lacrosse Head Coach Ralph Bernardo said. As well as preparing students for the future, the eligibility rules also incentivize athletes to go to class and help them stay appealing to college recruiters. The NCCA requires a 2.0 GPA to stay eligible to play sports because they understand how important grades are and how success mainly comes from the classroom. “The eligibility rules definitely help me stay motivated

shouldn’t have to be limited for anyone,” sophomore JV football and lacrosse player Matthew Cortes said. Cortes brings up a great point with sports helping more students stay in shape as the obesity percentage among students in the US is a staggering 19.3% according to the CDC. With more students participating in sports, they become less likely to become overweight and are more likely to pick up healthy habits that can be carried on for a lifetime. Not everyone agrees with the removal of the eligibility requirements. Junior varsity cross country and lacrosse player Jessica Winson said, “I think that academics are the priority and athletes should make sure that the practices and games don’t take away from their school performance.” Contrary to Winson’s belief, students rely on sports to get scholarships and afford college. The NCAA has provided scholarships for more than 180,000 students and provided over $3.6 billion in 2021. Although the grade eligibility requirements affect all MCPS sports, there is a disproportionate number of ineligible athletes on boys’ team sports compared to girls and individual sports. The coaches on the boys’ lacrosse team give frequent reminders to players and try to provide academic resources if the players need. Furthermore, because of the stress and anxiety that the eligibility requirement imposes, MCPS should amend the eligibility requirement in an effort to make athletics more accessible for students.

May 2022 OPINION

Drone photo by Josh M. Freedman

Yes

Pages by Elizabeth Mehler Caesar, Aidan.........................American University Cole-Sanni, Jordan................American University Moore, Logan............... .........American University Pate,Jack..................................American University Shemsu, Alia...........................American University Esterowitz, Jakob...........................Amherst College Fofana, Skye........................Binghamton University Du, Claire..........................................Boston College Mehler, Jack......................................Boston College Reed, Adam......................................Boston College Zheng, Elaine...................................Boston College Newell, Shannon.........................Boston University Serrano, Rizel..............................Boston University Slud, Amanda..............................Boston University Wain, Maya..................................Boston University Lotenberg, Jake..........................Bridgton Academy Yang, Iris.......................................Brown University Bolze, Samantha.......................Bucknell University Cheng, Zhi-Yin...........California State University, Long Beach Kang, Darae................Carnegie Mellon University Wang, Just...................Carnegie Mellon University Wang, Emily...............Carnegie Mellon University Qin, Charlie.......Case Western Reserve University Behrens, Sydney.......Claremont McKenna College Salchak, Armaan......College of William and Mary Kim, Jeanne..................................Davidson College Kannan, Jay..................................Drexel University Otengo, Ted..................................Drexel University Saha, Kiron...................................Drexel University Allampallam, Maanav...................Duke University Gong, Jasmine................................Duke University Keller, Samantha............................Duke University Mu, James.......................................Duke University Book, Noah.....................Earn and Learn program Sarikulaya, Helen............................Elon University Chao, Samuel...............................Emory University Gudur, Sindhuja..........................Emory University Kim, Brian...................................Emory University Hoyle, Emily.......................Florida State University Kotler, Shayna...................Florida State University Al-Arief, Nadya............................................gap year Beaudet,Samuel............................................gap year Cederbrant, Walter......................................gap year Darby, Anna.................................................gap year King, Owen...................................................gap year Shirzad, Lily..................................................gap year Song, Joanne.................................................gap year Jones, Dye’mond..........................................gap year then cosmetology school Doumbouya, Sere....................George Washington University Pak, Nathan..............................George Washington University Venkatesan,Shrutha......................Georgetown University Wang, Carolyn...................Georgetown University Bu, Lawrence.......................................Georgia Tech Chuang, Kaitlyn..................................Georgia Tech Padmanabhan, Keerthi.......................Georgia Tech Weiss, Brady........................................Georgia Tech Wen, Rose............................................Georgia Tech Li, Alanna..................................Harvard University Keneally, Anna............................Haverford College Croker, Josephine...............................Hood College Friedman, Sophie.......................Indiana University Gardiner, Sage............................Indiana University Karimi Bakhtiary, Gelareh........Indiana University Smith, Ian...................................Indiana University Stearns, Hannah.........................Indiana University Zhang, Jordan.............................Indiana University

12 Commons May 2022

Farewell Clas Roach, Angela............................Indiana University of Pennsylvania Graham, Devon..................Jacksonville University Corini, Eden..................James Madison University Ghaly, Caty.....................James Madison University Glaser, Max..................James Madison University Jezek, Nicole..................James Madison University Fuller, Claire...................Johns Hopkins University Bilounga Amougou, Alain.....Lackawanna College Yi, Daniel............................Marymount University Ahmed, Umar......................................................MC Arvizu, Eric..........................................................MC Beeks, Nehemiah.................................................MC Bellot,Jordan........................................................MC Berehanselassie, Yohnnes...................................MC Black, Richard......................................................MC Ciecwierz-Elias, Julieanne..................................MC Claxton, Casey.....................................................MC Denio, Ryan..........................................................MC Hsueh, Athena.....................................................MC Karar, Eltayeb.......................................................MC Martinez, Tatiana................................................MC Masood, Adil........................................................MC Messina, Maxwell................................................MC Rahmi, Talia.........................................................MC Roberson, James..................................................MC Sadatierova, Mira................................................MC Scott, Chandler....................................................MC Walker, Isaiah.......................................................MC Wells, Rylee..........................................................MC Zaslavsky, Samuel................................................MC Zubiate Salmon, Alejandro................................MC Hendriksson, Morgan.........................................MC Turner, Abigail.....................................................MC Lipford, Saniya.....................................................MC Hoek, Trevor........................................................MC Hertzler, Leo................................McGill University Stoller, Ethan.................Miami University of Ohio Barrow, Jonathan..........Miami University of Ohio Blumberg, Harris..........Miami University of Ohio Drykerman, Jake...........Miami University of Ohio Levine, Emily.................Miami University of Ohio Smith, Olivia.................Miami University of Ohio Leonova-Khvalko, Elizabeth........MICA or SCAD Zairis, Panayioti..........................military in Greece Fuenzalida Pino, Valentina..........moving to Chile Berhane, Leona......................New York University Cao, Allison............................New York University Jack, Elizabeth........................New York University Rah, Hannah..........................New York University Rollins, Charlotte...................New York University Song, Jeffery............................New York University Wang, Tim..............................New York University Wang, Brandon......................New York University Xu, Katherine.........................New York University Tu, Chelsea...........New York University, Shanghai Batkin, Riley........North Carolina State University Mahon, Grace..................Northeastern University Mikowski, Mia................Northwestern University Qiu, Nicholas...................Northwestern University Smorodinsev, Veronica......................................Otis College of Art and Design

Fuentes, Omar.......................Penn State University Hashemi, Amirpooyan........Penn State University Iyer, Advait............................Penn State University Koliscak, Logan....................Penn State University Lee, Daniel.............................Penn State University Liljas, Alfred..........................Penn State University Linn, Justin............................Penn State University Mack, Dylan..........................Penn State University Moreno, Joaquin...................Penn State University Needleman, Jordan...............Penn State University Poosuntisumpun, Norawit.....................Penn State University Repie, Ian...............................Penn State University Reynolds, Andrew................Penn State University Seibert, Jenna........................Penn State University Shariati, Ariana.....................Penn State University Shiflett, Michael....................Penn State University Siman, Jenna.........................Penn State University Wang, Henry.......................Penn State, Harrisburg Akinfe, Fifi...........................Pepperdine University Ji, Kelly............................................Pomona College Christovich, Charlotte......................Pratt Institute Ericta, Alexandra...............................Pratt Institute Loconte, Michael........................Purdue University Mitri, Thomas.............................Purdue University Munshi, Nima.............................Purdue University Leflore, Rose..............................Radford University Gully, Adalyn.................................Rider University Jordan, Luke..................................Ringling College of Art and Design Rubin, Julius...................Robert Morris University Carpenter, Robert.....................Rochester Institute of Technology Miller, Liam...............................Rochester Institute of Technology Velez, Diego...............................Rochester Institute of Technology Matikyan, Caroline.....................Savannah College of Art and Design Walker, Claire..............................Savannah College of Art and Design Mendoza, Faith............School of Visual Arts NYC Kidane, Simon.............................Seattle University Kimia, Aava..........Southern Methodist University Ofori-Appiah, Stephen....................St.Olaf College Lieske, James..........................Stevenson University Reyer, Jamie...........................Stevenson University Weber, Noah..........................Stevenson University Zarate, Sophie....................Stony Brook University Wang, Kristen.........................Swarthmore College Chavez, Mathis...........................Temple University Mockensturm, Alexandra.........Temple University Burnes, Natalie...........................Temple University Japan Rajkumar, Shreya...............Texas A&M University

Aman, Ryan...................The Ohio State University Bhanot, Jay.....................The Ohio State University Sauter, Nikhil.................The Ohio State University Christovich, Benjamin.............Towson University Gittleson, Shana........................Towson University Golabi, Daniel............................Towson University Khotsanlee Momo...................Towson University Mondle, Jerin.............................Towson University Mwumvaneza Shimo, Jean Jacques............Towson University Pete, Karyssa..............................Towson University Sinclair, Kristina.......................Towson University Torrejon, Julio............................Towson University Zweig, Lily ...............................Towson University Nelson, Elizabeth.............................Trinity College Kim, Olivia......................................Tufts University Kumaran, Geena.............................Tufts University Li, Benjamin....................................Tufts University Cantor, Shelby..............................Tulane University Cowen, Ellie.................................Tulane University Morris, Jaimie..............................Tulane University Adissu, Edna...................................................UMBC Boac, Lance.....................................................UMBC Cheng, Katelyn...............................................UMBC Cheng, Elaine.................................................UMBC Chordia, Aum................................................UMBC Evehe, Fatiha..................................................UMBC Gabdrakhmanova, Renata............................UMBC Ghaderi-Yeganeh, Rosa.................................UMBC Kaminski, Matthew........................................UMBC Lee, Autumn...................................................UMBC Lin, Maggie.....................................................UMBC Maier, Lukas...................................................UMBC Negmeldin, Salma........................................UMBC Obadina, Oluwaseyifunmi...........................UMBC Quispe, Andrea..............................................UMBC Ramirez, Ally..................................................UMBC Shumba, AJ.....................................................UMBC Simmons, Liam..............................................UMBC Simmons, Logan............................................UMBC Singh, Suhani.................................................UMBC Teklu, Jonathan..............................................UMBC Thompson-Jones, Kai....................................UMBC Zairis, Yiorgo..................................................UMBC Zhou, Daniel...................................................UMBC Meyer, Jonathan.............................................UMBC Shanmugam Bhuvaneswari, Nideesh..........UMBC Abediyeh, Seyed.............................................UMCP Abera, Kim.....................................................UMCP Afkhami-Guiser, Venoose.............................UMCP Alie, Rayna......................................................UMCP Bakshi, Divya..................................................UMCP Berhane, Nahom............................................UMCP Bett, Samuel....................................................UMCP Brunner, Jackson............................................UMCP Bush, Tyler......................................................UMCP Chavez, Alexis................................................UMCP Chelar, Maya................................................UMCP

C C C C C C C D D D D D E E E F F G G H H H H H H H H I I J J J J K K K K K K K K K K K K L L L L L L L L L L M M M M M M M M

ass of 2022

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Chen, Jeffrey...................................................UMCP Chen, Jerry......................................................UMCP Chen, Amber..................................................UMCP Chen, Nancy...................................................UMCP Cheung, Rachel..............................................UMCP Chung, Beatrice.............................................UMCP Cooper, Ella....................................................UMCP Day, Jamin......................................................UMCP DeLeon, Justin...............................................UMCP Dhaliwal, Amol..............................................UMCP Dheenadhayalan, Neha.................................UMCP Dolan, Jacob...................................................UMCP Eisenfeld, Hannah.........................................UMCP Engel, David...................................................UMCP Euler, Joshua...................................................UMCP Faroughi, Nikki..............................................UMCP Feizy-Marandy, Keon....................................UMCP Garg, Vanshika...............................................UMCP Guo, Iris..........................................................UMCP Hafeez, Karina................................................UMCP Halpern, Brett................................................UMCP Hang, Wesley..................................................UMCP Harry, Brooklynn...........................................UMCP Hong, Rachel..................................................UMCP Hou, Fengfu....................................................UMCP Hu, Aiden.......................................................UMCP Hussein, Hoda................................................UMCP Ibrahim, Humnah..........................................UMCP Ipe, Elizabeth..................................................UMCP Jacobs, Nathan................................................UMCP Jang, Hyun Seo...............................................UMCP Jiang, Kevin.....................................................UMCP Jo, Eric.............................................................UMCP Kamadinata, Judah........................................UMCP Kanipakala, Srirashmika...............................UMCP Kaur, Eknoor..................................................UMCP Keselman, Tammy..........................................UMCP Khanlarbeik, Elena........................................UMCP Khanna, Aditya..............................................UMCP Kim, Paul........................................................UMCP Kim, Ryan.......................................................UMCP Krishna-Rogers, Sachin................................UMCP Krishnan, Meghna.........................................UMCP Kwak, Daniel..................................................UMCP Kwan, Caitlyn.................................................UMCP Lee, Mackenzie...............................................UMCP Lee, Donovan.................................................UMCP Lee, Christina.................................................UMCP Lee, Elisabeth.................................................UMCP Li, Kathleen....................................................UMCP Liao, Grace......................................................UMCP Liderman, Rachel...........................................UMCP Lim, Brian.......................................................UMCP Liu, Evan.........................................................UMCP Lopez, Alexander...........................................UMCP Makalou, Kadia..............................................UMCP Malik, Manaal................................................UMCP Margolin, Benjamin......................................UMCP Matikyan, Natalie...........................................UMCP Metz, Ellie.......................................................UMCP Meyerovich, Nadia.........................................UMCP Miao, Karen....................................................UMCP Mika, Gracie...................................................UMCP

Miller, Dason..................................................UMCP Mishra, Parth.................................................UMCP Mitchell, Liam................................................UMCP Mohebi, Aria..................................................UMCP Moon, Ethan...................................................UMCP Nguyen, Madison..........................................UMCP Obolensky, Alexey.........................................UMCP Ofori, Desiree.................................................UMCP Pahlavan, Blake..............................................UMCP Pan, Brandon..................................................UMCP Paranthaman, Nivitha...................................UMCP Park, Isabelle..................................................UMCP Parsons, Jack...................................................UMCP Pawar, Keya....................................................UMCP Philipose, Divya.............................................UMCP Podberesky, Ethan.........................................UMCP Qadri, Asbah..................................................UMCP Qadri, Isra......................................................UMCP Ravishankar, Archit.......................................UMCP Reiter, Eliza.....................................................UMCP Sadiq, Amber..................................................UMCP Saenger, Allison.............................................UMCP Samavedam, Anjali........................................UMCP Samborn, Jayne..............................................UMCP Samya, Saum..................................................UMCP Sarkisov, Katherine........................................UMCP Schnur, Max...................................................UMCP Seiler, Maya....................................................UMCP Sherry, Joshua................................................UMCP Singh, Shreya..................................................UMCP Sun, Joy............................................................UMCP Talukder, Nuha...............................................UMCP Taylor, Dylan..................................................UMCP Tipparaju, Krishna Priya..............................UMCP Udayshankar, Surya.......................................UMCP Umansky, Sophie...........................................UMCP Venkatesh Babu, Shreeya..............................UMCP Wong, Brian...................................................UMCP Wu, Jiayi..........................................................UMCP Xie, Michelle..................................................UMCP Xu, Marvin.....................................................UMCP Yeghyan, Yeva.................................................UMCP Yeh, Christian.................................................UMCP Yeh, Christopher............................................UMCP Yu, Michelle....................................................UMCP Yuen, Kira.......................................................UMCP Yune, David....................................................UMCP Zhang, Andrew..............................................UMCP

Zhu, Hannah..................................................UMCP Zhuang, Mady................................................UMCP Duperval, Kain........................................undecided Kapustina, Alexandra.............................undecided Avvaru, Keerthana..........United States Air Force Academy Wang, Jason.......................United States Air Force Academy Walsh, James................United States Coast Guard Academy Binder, Ryan............United States Naval Academy Mitri, Samir.............United States Naval Academy Pothini Balaji, Shravani.....University of Alabama at Birmingham Klein, Gabriel........................University of Arizona Chakir, Adam...........................University of Belize Depalma, Nicolas............University of California, Berkeley Christensen, Cade.................University of Central Florida Butler, Ryan.........University of Colorado Boulder Cohen, Ethan......University of Colorado Boulder Wool, Max...........University of Colorado Boulder Edery, Prielle.......................University of Delaware Hansen, Helena..................University of Delaware Kaplunovich, Sophia.........University of Delaware McGraw, Justin...................University of Delaware Parent, Ryan........................University of Delaware Roebuck, Ayzelinn.............University of Delaware Shmunis, Eric.....................University of Delaware Yoon, Dylan........................University of Delaware Xie, Zhiwei.............................University of Florida Jones, Carter..........................University of Georgia Miller, Shane.........................University of Georgia Neustadt, Joseph...................University of Georgia Stepanov, Elizabeth..............University of Georgia Seibert, Michael..................University of Hartford Golub, Spencer.......................University of Illinois Li, Max.....................................University of Illinois Collinson, Natasha............University of Kentucky Morris, Jacob......................University of Louisville Kiriacos, Joseph........University of Massachusetts, Amherst Mash, Charles...........University of Massachusetts, Amherst Shi, Jonathan............University of Massachusetts, Amherst Duarte Larrota, Mateo...........University of Miami Hilmi, Layla.............................University of Miami

Judelsohn, Logan....................University of Miami Smith, Jordan.........................University of Miami Freedman, Joshua..............University of Michigan Kondam, Siddharth.................................University of Michigan Lay, Rachel..........................University of Michigan Hosking, Madison.............Mississippi University McMillen, Rebecca..................................University of New Hampshire Arun, Roshni...........University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Jones, Nicholas........University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Jordan, Kyle..............University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Lee, Danielle............University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Rosenstein, Josie......University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Berlinger, Sonya...............University of Pittsburgh Geisner, Jonah..................University of Pittsburgh Kerns, Kathleen................University of Pittsburgh Kimbis, Samantha............University of Pittsburgh Thigpen, Erica..................University of Pittsburgh Wang, Michael..................University of Pittsburgh Good, Sophia....................University of Richmond Chatterjee, Sreejato...........University of Rochester Dupree, Alex.............University of South Carolina Wasserman, Nicole..................University of South Carolina Henmueller, Amanda..............University of South Florida Fayne, Ethan.....University of Southern California Gross, Samuel.........................University of Tampa Luts, Bradley............................University of Tampa Tavenner, Marilin...................University of Tampa Cottone, Daniela...............University of Tennessee Fossett, Micah......................University of Virginia Wiley, Miles..........................University of Virginia Brown, Naomi..................University of Wisconsin -Madison Gritz, Allison....................University of Wisconsin -Madison Adarsh, Ashita........................University of Zagreb school of medicine Guillen, Giselle.......................Villanova University Chen, Ronald......................................Virginia Tech Ehrman, Benjamin.............................Virginia Tech Gracyalny, Max...................................Virginia Tech Grainger, Arthur.................................Virginia Tech Helgeson, Tessa..................................Virginia Tech Kumar, Aditya.....................................Virginia Tech Moral, Cansu......................................Virginia Tech Qiu, Christopher.................................Virginia Tech Rosen, Yael...........................................Virginia Tech Wood, Katherine.................................Virginia Tech Yeilding, Jack.......................................Virginia Tech Kleinbussink, Giselle..............Washington College Safai, Dylan...................................Williams College

May 2022 Commons 13

Page by Claire Lenkin

AP Art student Charlotte Christovich finishes painting, drawing portfolio Art by Charlotte Christovich

Claire Lenkin arts editor

14 Arts May 2022

Art by Charlotte Christovich

harlotte Christovich, a senior in AP Art, usually works with mediums such as graphite pencil and pen, and she occasionally works with acrylic. She decided to take AP Art for multiple reasons: encouragement from her teacher, Quan Duong, and to gain experience building a portfolio. She enjoys art for a multitude of reasons. “My favorite part about creating art is definitely how therapeutic it is. Time always goes by so fast when I’m drawing, and it really helps me clear my mind,” Christovich said. The decision to take any AP can be hard, but for Christovich, it seemed natural. “I’ve always enjoyed drawing and art in general, but I would say that I realized it was something I wanted to explore more deeply around the beginning of high school,” Christovich said. Christovich has preferences about what she likes to draw and create art from. “I get inspiration from the people around me, as I really enjoy drawing figures and portraits,” Christovich said.

Page by Catie Russ

New SMOB Arvin Kim elected

psychologists and closing the opportunity gap in the county. Sophomore Madison Moorhead ince 1978, the student hopes Kim will incorporate member of the board mental health opportunities (SMOB) position has been into his term. “I hope Arvin a vital part of the school board gets us more mental health days and advocacy for students. On and wellness time because it Apr. 20, Arvin Kim, a junior benefits my overall health,” at Walt Whitman, was Moorhead said. elected for the SMOB Kim’s platform position for the 2022focused on students 23 school year. and their overall Kim ran with necessities. Kim a platform based on hopes to create a student support and student SMOB equity. After two years of advisory cabinet co u COVID being a part to represent rte sy of everyday lives, M the student PS Kim has different v o i c e ways to support from each students’ mental middle health, with and high opportunities Arvin Kim was elected MCPS Student Member s c h o o l . such as hiring of the Board after receiving 58.7% of the vote. H e Ellie Mollica opinion editor

oto Ph

plans to have community events to access resources and opportunities for students and wants to minimize standardized testing. Sophomore Emily Liu said she thinks Kim won the election for a variety of reasons. “I think Arvin won the election based on his campaign because he had solid policies and outlined steps towards his goals,” Liu said. Kim had an active social media and physical presence in the schools, as he visited almost every single middle and high school in the county, and made sure to foster relationships with the different schools. Kim has over 8,900 followers on Instagram, making him a popular contender for SMOB. Sophomore Jax Kobey observed Arvin’s social aspects of his campaign. “I think both

candidates utilized social media in similar ways, however, Arvin had more experience and a better platform,” Kobey said. While Kim ran a successful campaign, his opponent Ibrahima (Baba) Cisse, a junior at Albert Einstein, also ran a strong campaign with closing the opportunity gap. Cisse said that where you live should not determine the quality of education. Liu hopes Kim contributes some of Cisse’s ideas to his term, especially decreasing the opportunity gap. “Something in particular that I hope that he will do is continue to visit underrepresented schools in the DCC and NEC throughout his term. In doing this, he’ll be able to listen to their concerns, and work with them to figure out how to best serve them and their communities,” Liu said.

Maya Gottesman runs extra mile for SGA

articipating in SGA, NHS, and the cross country and track and field teams, junior Maya Gottesman has a lot on her plate. However, she doesn’t let her busy schedule get in the way of her interests. This upcoming school year, she’s looking forward to increasing SGA activity and school involvement in events. As SGA co-president, Gottesman aims to increase communication between the SGA and the school community. To keep people updated on upcoming events, Gottesman communicates with peers by messaging group chats and posting to her social media accounts. “We’ve [SGA] heard a lot of feedback that some people don’t know what’s going on, such as a spirit day or event,” Gottesman said. Along with increased communication, Gottesman plans to provide more fun events for students. She hopes that these events will allow for more inter-grade bonding and create a more spirited and enjoyable environment. “One thing that I want to implement is having something in the Commons, whether it be coloring pages to pick up or games like

musical chairs,” Gottesman said. Besides SGA, Gottesman runs for the cross country and track and field team. Starting when she was in second grade, running quickly became her passion. In elementary and middle school, she was involved in Rockville’s youth cross country and track programs. Gottesman also ran for Robert Frost Middle School’s cross country team all three years. Despite hitting a rough spot over the pandemic due to an injury, she was able to get back into running. “With track I make sure I get my runs in. That time serves as a relaxing time before my school work and lets me be able to hang out with friends I made on the team,” Gottesman said. To train for competitions, Gottesman runs five to six days a week, cross-training on the seventh day. She has been preparing for track and field regionals on May 18, where she ran the 4x8 relay the 1600 (mile) and the 3200 (two mile). Her goal is to set a personal record for all her events and qualify for states in the 3200 and relay. “People always ask me how I’m able to run these hard events. I don’t know how I do it. I kind of just start and keep going,” Gottesman said. After visiting colleges around the

Photo courtesy Maya Gottesman.

Sarah Nanos managing editor

Junior Maya Gottesman enjoys a sunset at Wrightsville Beach over spring break.

country, Gottesman found that she was most drawn to schools in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Maryland. She prefers somewhere that is close to her family and in a moderate climate, since she doesn’t enjoy running in weather under 50 degrees. She also visited schools that cater to the career she intends to pursue: sports administration and communications.

May 2022 PROFILES

Page by Vivian Pisani

Allergy season is upon us Niki Naderi staff writer s spring rolls by, seasonal allergies affect students, teachers and athletes. Sophomore Catherine Clark feels allergies are affecting her learning environment. “When I am sneezing my nose gets tickly and I can’t focus on my work,” Clark said. Clark experiences symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, congestion and itchy eyes. which has been affecting her ability to see. “Let’s say my eyes itch, it affects my ability to see because I am constantly itching my eye,” Clark said. Medication can help with allergies such as Zyrtec and Claritin. “I believe Zyrtec really does help me throughout the day. I take it every morning,” Clark said. Health teacher Tony Pykosh is also a

soccer coach outside of school. His team competes in an elite clubs national league. He feels as if allergies haven’t affected his players ability to play the game. “I would say not really, I haven’t noticed much of a difference,” Pykosh said. Pykosh has two sons, Ryan who is nine and Nicholas who is 12. Ryan plays soccer and flag football and Nicholas swims and plays soccer. Nicholas has bad seasonal allergies compared to Ryan. “For Nicholas, he has bad seasonal allergies. He will get very itchy eyes, a runny nose and sneeze a lot,” Pykosh said.. “He has to take Claritin and when he goes outside to play he has to take a shower to take all the pollen off. Poor kid.” Nurse Stanice Okoroha has been here for about a year. Many people come into the nurse with allergy-like symptoms. “Some of the symptoms are the same as Covid. For

example, some people sneeze, some have runny noses and a sore throat. Most of these symptoms are symptoms of Covid so one can mistake and say they’re suffering from Covid when they’re not,” Okoroha said. A test is the only way to prove if one has Covid. People who have symptoms are infectious. “People who are experiencing symptoms are infectious. One who is having symptoms can get others sick,” Okoroha said. So what can students do to help with their symptoms and prevent others from getting sick? “Stay away from crowds, always wear your mask, wash your hands often and clean your surfaces well,” Okoroha said. Students should be cautious with their symptoms and their surroundings, making sure what they touch is clean. “Whatever you approach, make sure you clean every time,” Okoroha said.

Perfect springtime restaurants with outdoor seating available Amanda Slud managing editor emeritus

16 FEATURES May 2022

Photo courtsey riolakefront Instagram

s the temperature goes up and the appeal of being outdoors increases, restaurants are opening up outdoor seating. ThisOur area has tons of restaurants with outdoor seating, perfect for the springtime. One great restaurant with outdoor seating is Yard House in Rio. They have a wide variety of food options on their menu and a huge selection of seating ranging from inside, patio and outdoor. Their outdoor seats have a view of Rio. Sophomore Lily King loves to go to Yard House. “My family and I go a lot because we like their menu, but also because the outdoor seating is really pretty in the spring and summer,” King said. True Food Kitchen is another restaurant with outdoor seating. True Food Kitchen has a location in Bethesda, and recently opened up a new location in Rio. True Food Kitchen has many healthy options, as well as and a large list of vegan and vegetarian options. Their Bethesda location has seats all along the outside of the restaurant. Their new location has seats located right in the center of Rio. If you are in the Kentlands and looking for a meal on a nice day, Cinco De Mayo Restaurant and Bar has great outdoor seating. The lively restaurant serves authentic Mexican food and is definitely worth a try. Berries & Bowls in the Kentlands is perfect for the hot weather, with their cold smoothies and bowls being a perfect meal to cool you down. Senior Emily Levine works at Berries & Bowls. “On days when it is warm out, we get super busy and most of our seats outside

are full,” Levine said. If you are near Pike & Rose, Summer House Santa Monica has the perfect atmosphere for a nice warm day. Besides having a large menu, they have popular outdoor seating that gets very busy in the spring and summer. In the nice weather they even open up some of their indoor seating so that they are outside. Senior Ethan Fayne is excited to go back to Summer House. “I love going in the summer because it is so pretty and I can’t wait to go more now that it is getting warmer out,” Fayne said. If you are in Crown, Coastal Flats is a good, classic restaurant to try. They have outdoor seating along the corner of their restaurant. Their menu includes food like steak, seafood and pasta. While also in Crown, check out Ted’s Bulletin. Their menu is always changing to add delicious items, and they have plenty of desserts you will want to try.

The new and recently opened True Food Kitchen in Rio with outdoor seating and a choice location right in the heart of Rio.

Page by Sasha Sampaio

Students prepare for AP exams Jake Dolan managing editor emeritus

exams for college credit. “I started studying once all the units were finished, about two weeks ago. I study three to five hours per day, and my strategy is to take a full MC or FRQ section, go over it, then take a second one to see improvement,” Mikowski said. Regardless of the approach, all three students feel confident that their study methods will be enough. Mikowski has seen drastic improvements in her scores on practice exams, which has motivated her to keep studying. “My studying is definitely working. I see the scores going up, which is encouraging,” Mikowski said. However, studying isn’t all smooth sailing. It can take copious amounts of time as many students are taking several AP exams. For example, Atwal and

Mikowski are both taking four AP exams this year, while Kar is taking three. “I am taking the AP Language and Composition, Computer Science A and AP Calc AB exams. Taking three APs has made it quite difficult to cover all the material of all the courses prior to my testing dates,” Kar said. Photo courtesy Jake Dolan

ith AP exams starting this week, students have been taking various approaches to study for the exams. AP exams are graded on a scale from 1-5, with a 3 or above being a pass and giving the student college credit for the class. Due to this, students will study extreme hours to review the course material and secure college credit. Every student has their own study strategies and will spend different amounts of time studying. Some students won’t study, meanwhile, others will begin studying months in advance. Junior Souvik Kar has been studying since the beginning of winter break with the hope of getting 5s on all his exams. “I

study for AP exams by buying study books and doing them, getting help from teachers, doing a lot of practice tests and making review sheets. Overall, I have studied at least four hours per day since winter break,” Kar said. But not every student takes as extreme of an approach as Kar. Junior Sureena Atwal has only been studying since the beginning of April, both in-class and out of it, with the goal of passing all of her exams. “I review all my notes from the beginning of the year, as well as have study groups with my friends and have been doing this since April,” Atwal said. Senior Mia Mikowski has also only been studying since the beginning of April and is aiming for all 5s on her exams because her college, Northwestern University, only accepts 5s on AP

Junior Souvik Kar practices for his AP AB Calculus exam at the beginning of class on Apr. 29.

Seniors give advice on college application process Joyce Yang staff writer

he college application and admissions process is one of, if not the most notoriously difficult step toward finishing high school for students throughout the U.S. Given the complications the COVID-19 pandemic has brought upon classes, not only have application requirements and opportunities been compromised but there has also been an unprecedented drop in admission rates. A defining characteristic of the altered college application process due to COVID-19 is the implementation of test-blind and testoptional applications. “More schools being test-optional definitely makes it more open to lower-income students who can’t afford or don’t have access to testing, but on the other hand, it increased the amount of applications by so much, which I think ended up making schools a lot more selective this year,” senior Sammi Kimbis said. “I thought the college admissions decisions this year were very tough because there were many schools staying test-

optional, ultimately causing the overall number of applicants to rise,” senior Dylan Safai said. Senior Sophie Zarate said she advises that students write about something you are

“I thought the college admissions decisions this year were very tough.” - Dylan Safai, 12 passionate about. “The essay is a crucial part of the application process, but you shouldn’t overthink it too much. Write something you are passionate about. Something you love to do, your background story, or something you know that will make you stand out,” senior

Sophie Zarate said. “I thought the defining aspect of my application that made me stand out to admissions officers was my main essay where I discussed my fascination with paradigms of power,” Safai said. However, this is not to say that stats are not a large determinant of admission; while the personal essay is a way to define your unique personality and passions to admission officers, stats on your achievements as a student and how you have defined your personal course throughout high school are what admissions officers look to determine your potential in academic accomplishments at their school. “Overall though, I’d say for most people the main aspect of their application that helps them stand out is their extracurriculars,” Safai said. This stage in a high school student’s career may seem like a life-or-death ordeal, a deciding factor in the course of the rest of their entire lives. While applications can be overwhelming, it’s important to remember that these decisions are not the end of the world.

May 2022 FEATURES

Page by Maria Sofronas

18 FEATURES May 2022

Sophomore Elena Filbert attends Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour Tour concert on May 4 at The Anthem in Washington, DC.

loved having some normalcy back in my life, I had so much fun going with some of my swim friends and meeting new people at the concert,” Filbert said. The band AJR came to the Merriweather Post Pavilion on May 14. The band, composed of three brothers, Adam Met, Jack Met and Ryan Met, rose to the top of the leaderboard in 2021 with their hit song “Bang!”, which collected over 200 million streams on Spotify. The band is playing at an outdoor venue, just as the flowers begin blooming and the weather starts getting warmer. Coldplay is coming to FedEx Field on Jun. 1. FedEx Field is the second biggest NFL stadium and can seat over 91,000 people, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if this concert becomes rowdy. Coldplay will most likely play their new single “Let Somebody Go,” featuring Selena Gomez, along

with some of their classic hits such as “Yellow” and “Viva La Vida.” If you are more into country music, put on your cowboy boots and get ready to go see Morgan Wallen at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, Virginia, on Jun. 4. After getting canceled in 2021 due to violation of pandemic restrictions the night before he was set to host Saturday Night Live, Morgan Wallen made a comeback with his album Dangerous, released in 2021. “I especially like his songs ‘Whiskey Glasses’ and ‘Sand in My Boots,’” junior Kaitlin Mariani said.

Sophomore Elena Filbert and swim team friends, Peggy Lannan and Sarah Lavan enjoy Olivia Rodrigo concert.

Photo courtesy Elena Filbert

Ben Cohen staff writer fter two COVID-19 infected years, the summer of 2022 is coming up and pandemic restrictions are being lifted. With this comes the return of concerts, a commodity we forgot about. So get ready to bang your head and move your feet as top artists of all genres are coming to Maryland this spring and summer. Different artists have recently come to Maryland, including Lil Tecca, who came to the Fillmore in Silver Spring. This concert got junior Felipe Lemgruber riled up and excited about all of the upcoming rap concerts over the summer. “He mostly played his old songs, but it was still really fun,” although upcoming rapper Young Chris “stole the show,” Lemgurber said. If you like rap music, NLE Choppa performed on May 16 at the Fillmore, according to Seat Geek. “I like some of his new songs like Jumpin’ and Too Hot. I definitely want to see him, but COVID is a big concern,” Lemgruber said. Lemgruber is right; COVID-19 cases are on the rise again and are a concern in the concert community. With no mask restrictions or vaccine mandates and hundreds of people tightly packed in a poorly ventilated room such as the Fillmore, concerts can be a COVID-19 brewing ground. Olivia Rodrigo performed on May 4 at The Anthem in Washington D.C. for her “Sour” tour. Rodrigo will conclude her tour June 7 after performing in 48 cities worldwide. The tickets sold out rapidly since her songs are in high demand and high on the charts. Her hit “Driver’s License” was the top winner at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards. Sophomore Elena Filbert went to the concert with her friends. “I really

Photo courtesy Elena Filbert

Spring, summer concerts come to DMV after pandemic A

Page by Shreyas Jindal

Olivia Rodrigo stars in highly anticipated film Photo used with permission from Google Commons

Josie Rosenstein managing editor emeritus

livia Rodrigo rose to stardom with the release of her hit song “Drivers License.” Although the 19-yearold had been acting for several years prior in shows like “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” and “Bizaardvark,” it was the singer’s grammy-nominated song that garnered the attention of the world. After fans speculated the song was about Rodrigo’s co-star and alleged ex-boyfriend Joshua Bassett, she, along with Bassett, was catapulted into the harsh limelight. Since its release on Jan. 8, 2021, Rodrigo has released a full-length album entitled “Sour,” in which “Drivers License” is the lead track. Now, the artist has released “Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U,” a movie following her musical journey and the creation of her hit album. The documentary follows Rodrigo on a drive from Salt Lake City, the location of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” to Los Angeles. The peaceful shots of Rodrigo’s vintage blue Ford Bronco are combined with her reflective voiceovers, where she explained that much of her album was written on her drives between those two cities.

Since the release of Sour, Rodrigo has won three gramys and is touring the album on the sour tour.

Despite being only 77 minutes long, the film takes viewers through the inspiration behind her 11 hit songs, ranging from breakups to the harmful nature of social media. While explaining what each song meant to her, clips of Rodrigo and her

producer Dan Nigro creating the songs is included. Throughout the road trip, Rodrigo stops to perform each song, with each performance matching the music’s aesthetic. However, the film deviates from this for the performance of “Drivers License,” which is made up of clips from different concerts and talk shows. The documentary does not dive into the details of Rodrigo’s upbringing but instead focuses solely on the music and its inspiration. It touches on the pressure of following a global phenomenon like “Drivers License” while being a high school senior. As a second-semester senior, it is shocking to watch a person my age produce an album that would capture the world. The inspiration behind Rodrigo’s album are issues that many teenagers face and can relate to, like the struggle to parallel park. Despite being an award-winning singer, Rodrigo is a regular teen at heart. Overall, the film is great. The concept of it being a road trip from Salt Lake to Los Angeles adds something extra to the documentary. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Rodrigo’s album and is curious about how a 19-year-old created a Grammy award-winning album.

Marvel comics character Morbius comes to theateres

Sasha Sampaio features editor orbius, a living vampire, appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, was released in theaters on Apr. 1 all over the United States. Soon after announcing plans for a new shared universe of films inspired by Spiderman characters beginning with Venom in 2018, Sony began developing a fantasy action film based on Morbius. The film has grossed over $147 million against a $75 million to $83 million budget, making it the ninth highest-grossing film of 2022 so far. Morbius stars Jared Leto as Dr. Michael Morbius, along with Matt Smith as Milo, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal and Tyrese Gibson.

In the film, Morbius becomes a living vampire after curing himself of a rare disease. Dr. Michael Morbius is dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder and determined to save others from the same fate. While at first his actions seem to be a radical success, a darkness inside of him is soon unleashed. In an attempt g to cure himself of a rare life-long blood disease with experimental vampire bat science, Dr. Michael Morbius’s experiment goes wrong and he accidentally infects himself with a form of vampirism, finding himself torn between his human and monstrous natures. While he is seemingly cured of his disease, his bones become hollow and he gains the ability to fly, as well as gaining superhuman strength, super speed, and accelerated

healing. However, he also begins to be tortured by a life-sustaining thirst for blood. The blood allows him to survive and gives him a strong aversion to light. The film was given a 16% on the Tomatometer along with a 71% audience score. ¨Morbius isn’t telling the most original story, but cool visuals and fast action keep things entertaining,¨ one reviewer said. The film began casting and production in London in February 2019. Then was delayed several times from an initial July 2020 date primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was panned by critics who criticized its special effects, performances, writing, post-credits scene and the actor’s performance. The audience was not content with the outcome of the film. The critics’ agreed and

said, ¨Cursed with uninspired effects, rote performances, and a borderline nonsensical story, this dreary mess is a vain attempt to make Morbius happen.¨ Junior Bill Godnick said he loves Marvel movies and is constantly watching them with family and friends. ¨The recent Marvel movies that have come out in the past couple of years have been so good so I decided to watch Morbius and I didn’t really enjoy it,¨ Godnick said. However, Marvel movies are known for their end credit scenes that usually foreshadow future films and television shows, resolve a plotline from the film or provide comic relief. In the film Morbius, there were two end-credit scenes that had viewers stick around for the set up of intriguing questions for the future of the character.

May 2022 REVIEWS

Page by Chris Castelli

Varsity baseball concludes season 13-5

Justin Linn senior sports editor emeritus arsity baseball finished the regular season with a record of 13-4 and fell short to BCC 4-3 on May 12 in the first round of the playoffs. Against BCC in the playoffs, senior pitcher Liam Miller pitched a gem in his last ever high school baseball game, as he pitched five solid innings to keep the game tied at three. Senior Brady Weiss also had a quality game as he helped his team bring the bats as he notched a double. Miller was happy with how he pitched, but he knew his team needed to help him out and get runs. “I pitched well but obviously we didn’t get the outcome that we wanted” Miller said. Senior Rob Carpenter was unable to play in the first round of playoffs due to an illness. Next year Carpenter is taking his talents to Rochester, N.Y., and will be attending and playing baseball at RIT. Carpenter was not happy with being sidelined during this big first round matchup, but he knows that now he is able to focus on getting ready for

his freshman year season. “I am looking

forward to going on with my career and playing at RIT but the Wootton baseball team will forever have a special place in

my heart,” Carpenter said. Senior Dason Miller has been playing alongside Carpenter and Miller for years before playing on the school team. He has also created a great bond with them throughout their playing careers. “It definitely is a little sad to see these boys moving onto their next chapter and it’s unfortunate that it had to end like this, but I know we will remain close friends throughout the college years and hopefully we have a team reunion in the years to come,” Miller said. Junior Brandon Son knew that this game against BCC was going to be a challenge but he believed in his teammates to get the job done. Although it is a sad ending, Son is looking forward to his senior season next year. Son will be one of the expected captains next year, so he will have to lead the team. “I’m looking forward to using my voice and helping out the players next year. I truly believe that this is a team that could compete for states next year, and I think all of my teammates have that same goal,” Son said.

Captain Lizzie Nelson leads varsity softball with energy

he varsity softball season has come to a disappointing end, but that does not discredit all of the hardwork and improvements that were made throughout the spring. The team picked up four victories in a row with wins against Rockville, Einstein, Poolesville and Gaithersburg. These wins were highlighted by a three-run homerun from senior captain Lizzie Nelson to cap off her senior night against Gaithersburg on May 5. “It feels absolutely insane and I’m so happy we won senior night,” Nelson said. With such a young and talented team, the Patriots finally put everything together. The recent success to end the regular season was no mistake; the girls have been working day in and day out on their individual and team skills. The team had confidence going into the playoffs and hopes of continuing their winning streak. The weather made it difficult to practice, pouring for days in a row, but the girls made it work by practicing indoors to touch up

20 SPORTS May 2022

their game going into the much anticipated playoff game against rival Churchill. Last year, the team also faced off against Churchill in the first round of playoffs and, coming back from a deficit, they were able to win on a walk-off single in extra innings. The girls had no doubt that they could pull off this same upset again this year. The day finally came. The girls traveled to Churchill on May 12, with nothing but winning in mind. Churchill has a highpowered offense and a crisp defense, making them hard to beat. The Patriots were playing without star junior pitcher Karen Potts, who led the team in batting average. Nevertheless, the Patriots came out with energy, scoring several runs early on. However, it was not enough to come out with the victory as the girls fell 16-4 to end their season. The team plays in a tough division, with opponents like Churchill, BCC, and Whitman always finishing toward the top of the county. This makes it difficult to make a run in the playoffs, always facing off against the best teams first. This isn’t the last time the girls will be

seeing each other. They have formed bonds that will last a lifetime. “I have four more years in college, but I am still sad because I won’t be able to play with this same group again,” Nelson said.

Photo courtesy Lizzie Nelson

Rob Carpenter editor-in-chief emeritus

Lizzie Nelson Senior captain

Page by Jake Konigsberg

Emotions spike as coed volleyball season comes to abrupt end

Ethan Stoller sports editor emeritus he coed volleyball team had a strong season, going 4-4 on the year. Head Coach Mary Malinaukas pushed them to get in shape and peak performance. On April 27 the team had their senior night celebration versus Magruder. The squad decorated the gym, making posters, and cutouts of seniors Nadia Meyerovich and Kyle Jordan’s heads to show their love and support for the seniors final home game. The team showed out on senior night, defeating Magruder 3-0. “It was emotional for me; playing my last game in this uniform is certainly a sensitive topic, my teammates are incredibly special to me and I’m so fortunate to have gone through my last ride with this group of individuals,” Meyerovich said. Although this is the last dance for the seniors, the memories that they made within this program will never be forgotten. “I love this team, I love my coaches, I love this sport. Volleyball has helped me become the man I am today. I will always love this sport and will cherish every moment that I have spent with this amazing group of people,” Jordan said. As the regular season wraps up, the Patriots set their focus on the playoffs in hopes of making a run to the County championship. They practice every day of the week, Photo courtesy Jared Su

and on Saturday as well to get themselves in the best possible form in order to make a run. The squad was given Quince Orchard in the first round of the playoffs. The team lost to Quince Orchard in the playoffs last season so this is a revenge spot for the Patriots. The seniors especially are emotional for this game because they know that the sport that they have always loved is coming to an end. The team lost in the first round of playoffs to Quince Orchard in a match to five sets, losing the final set 15-13 in a back-andforth game to cap off the season. It was a hard-fought match but the Patriots came up just short of victory. The Patriots played to the best of their ability in this close match and they should be proud of everything they have accomplished this season. Although the season is over, returning players are pumped for next season and can’t wait to show their opponents what they’ve got. Captain Bella Bargman plays club volleyball for MVSA when high school volleyball is not in season and she is working hard to do everything she can to lead this team to success next season. “I will be working extra hard and I will help my teammates work hard in order to help this team be more successful. We had a good year but did not meet our goal. Next year [we will] aim for a county championship and will settle for nothing less,” Bargman said.

Boys’ volleyball has high hopes for next year

Peter Stanton-Shepherd staff writer fter one of the most successful regular seasons in Patriot history, boys’ volleyball fell off a little bit at the close of the season. After a dominant senior night win, the boys fell to Richard Montgomery in the last game of the regular season, with a score of 3-0. This was the second loss of the regular season, and the last game before playoffs began. Junior Felipe Lemgruber said, “After the great regular season that we had, ending it with this loss hurt. I think it might have been a huge hit on our confidence going into the playoffs.” The boys started off the playoffs by facing the Seneca Valley Screaming Eagles. After the disappointing loss to Richard Montgomery, there were some question marks about this game. The boys didn’t let

this get to them, and won with an impressive score of 3-1. After the commanding first-round victory, the boys took on the Sherwood Warriors, a respectable opponent for a second-round matchup. This game was a real battle and went back and forth, but the boys were able to edge out the win 3-2 in sets. “This game was one of my favorite games of the season because it was competitive the entire time, two good teams going head-to-head in the playoffs, it doesn’t get much better than that. It was one of the best games I’ve been a part of, and it felt really good to get the win,” junior Jared Su said. The performances so far in the playoffs had been inspiring, but now it was time for the real test. In the regional semifinal the boys faced off against one of the best teams in the county, and one of two of the only teams to beat the boys in the regular season, Walter Johnson. Both teams are loaded

with talent, but Walter Johnson is an older group that has been together for longer, and ultimately this lack of experience for the Patriots is what cost them in this game. The boys weren’t able to grab a set, losing 3-0 to the Wildcats. “This was definitely a disappointing way to end our season, but I’m so proud of everything we have accomplished this season, and it’s only going to get better next year,” sophomore Eli Umar said. Although it didn’t end the way the boys would’ve liked, there is still so much to look forward to. The boys are a young group, as Daniel Zhou was the only senior on the team. This means that almost all of the lineup that only lost three games all season will be returning next year. This young group will mature and improve in the offseason, with the goal in mind of winning the regional championship next year.

May 2022 SPORTS

Page by Ryan McGraw

Track and field team impresses at county meets

he track and field season may be coming to an end soon, but the playoff season is in full swing. The County A & County B meets were a success this past week and the team looks forward to continuing their success at regionals and states. On May 11, the team participated in the Montgomery County Section A Championships. The varsity boys tied with Watkins Mill for 18th place out of 21 teams (five race points). The varsity girls finished fifth out of 20 teams at 26 race points. Distance coach Jackson Nosbisch said he knew all year long he had a great group of young stars to help lift the team to new heights. “The standout performance I would say out of both meets was Victoria Ketzler. It is so tough to do four events at such a high level like she did on Wednesday. The fact she did the 4x800, 1600, 800, and 4x4 in a span of five hours and medaling in three out of four shows how tough she is. A lot of people on the team would have been scared to do that but she attacked it with no fear,” coach Nosbisch said. On May 14, the rest of the selected group of varsity runners competed in the

MoCo Section B Championships. This meet was for any of the team’s runners who didn’t make County A. This meet was located at Albert Einstein, and all who participated continued the success of their teammates in the previous meet. The boys team finished 12th out of 22 teams with a score of 21 race points, and the girls team finished 11th out of 20 teams with a score of 20 race points. “I liked how everyone that participated was excited to be there and excited to run. We are a very young team and the passion that a lot of our athletes have for track and field is truly impressive. That passion for competing and wanting to do well individually and for the team is only going to help us as we grow in the next years,” Nosbisch said. “There had been a lot of new, young additions to the team and everyone showed good progress throughout the season. At this time of year, some injuries tend to pop up and many have been able to manage those and still get PRs (Personal Records) and finish out the season on a high note. Seeing these performances has me extremely excited for the future of the program,” printers coach Mo Drammeh said. “We had a lot of success in the boys’ high jump winning both A (Yule Pieters: 6’ 0”)

Photo courtesy Jackson Nosbisch

Owen Lomotan staff writer

The girls’ county A 4x8 m dash team (race order: Mei Rodgers, Maya Gottesman, Rebecca Vazconez and Victoria Ketzler) celebrate winning their medals on Wednesday May 11.

and B (Yassine Idrissa: 5’ 10”) competitions with marks that would be top three in the region and top 10 in Wootton history. We also had a lot of fourth place and top three finishes at the County A meet, which would translate well to the regional meet because the subset of schools that are in our region were all at the county meet, except for one,” Drammeh said.

Both tennis teams triumphant in county tournaments, regionals Brett Halpern staff writer

oys’ and girls’ tennis have both had incredibly strong seniors as they continue on through the state tournaments after winning at regionals. In the county championships, the boys singles 1 senior Jakob Esterowitz continued his dominance as he took down Noah Lewis in the semifinal round and had a dominant 6-3, 6-0 win over Churchill’s Nathan La in the finals. “It’s great to have the support of the whole team around me as I get through these tough matches, It really gives me that extra push that I need to be successful,” Esterowitz said. On the girls’ side, senior Helen Sarikulaya is leaving on a high note as she had a big win against Poolesville’s Ruhika Bhat in the finals 1-6, 6-2, 6-2, to win another county championship. This win put the girls’ team in a strong position, marking a three-way county championship tie with the Patriots, Churchill and Poolesville. Another bright spot on the girls’ team has been sophomore Naomi Esterowitz as she lost only one game in the entire county tournament for 3 singles with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 win in the finals against Poolesville’s Annie Zhao. She now looks on in hopes to win a state doubles title with partner junior Anusha Iyer in the coming weeks. “I had so much fun

22 SPORTS May 2022

playing singles this year and now we’re getting ready to switch it up to hopefully have a successful doubles tournament,” Esterowitz said. Girl’s singles 2 Iyer had a frustrating end to the season, having to retire in the finals of the county tournament with an injury. After a dominant showing early on in the tournament, her elbow began to act up, causing her to have to pull out of the tournament. “It was tough to end the season like that but I’m glad I have a chance to redeem it in the upcoming doubles part of the state tournament,” Iyer said. For the state and regional tournament there is a girls singles, boys singles, girls doubles, boys doubles, and mixed doubles draw, all with the chance to take home a state title. Jakob Esterowitz and Sarikulaya look to build on their seasons in the singles spot while sophomore Ben Wang with junior Dylan Zhang, and Naomi Esterowitz with Iyer will be teaming up for doubles with junior Boxuan Song and junior Kaleigh Barrow at mixed doubles. In the first round, Jakob Esterowitz took out Churchill’s freshman Bert Mackey in a 6-2, 6-1 win, sending him into the second round of the regional tournament. Similarly, Helen Sarikulaya defeated Whitman’s Grace Roddy 6-0, 6-0 as they both are cruising through into the next round of regionals. At doubles Wang, Zhang, Naomi Esterowitz, and Iyer found similar success as all teams moved through into the next round of the competition.

Page by Alec Fleischer

Varsity boys’ lax ends season strong James Walsh managng editor emeritus

eading into the final stretch of the season, the boys looked to finish on a high note after a slow start. The team went 3-4 through the first seven games, capped off by a hard-fought home loss to Sherwood on Apr. 22. After the loss to Sherwood, the team traveled to Northwest to play the Jaguars on Apr. 26. The boys absolutely dominated, securing a 12-1 win. This was huge for the team, especially coming off of a big loss, as the win set the tone for how the rest of the season would play out. The boys played their biggest rival Churchill, on Apr. 27. The team traveled into the Dawghouse for a well-anticipated match, but lost 18-2. With only three games left, the boys’ only priority at this point was to try to win out, in order to secure a high seed for the playoffs. “With only three games left and the regular season winding down, we must do our absolute best to put ourselves in the best possible position for playoffs - that includes winning these last three games,” senior defenseman Reza Abediyeh

said at the time. All in all, the team did pull through with their promise. On Apr. 29, the boys defeated Poolesville with a respectable 8-4 final score. Then the team hosted Quince

Orchard at home and beat the Cougars, 116, in an intense battle that led to a fight on Instagram in the @qolacrosse comment section. The last game of the regular season was the team’s senior night, against Blair,

on May. 6. The team had eight seniors on the squad, and games like this are always a special moment for them. After originally being rained out, the game was made up the day after and the team defeated the Blazers 9-5. “Senior night was amazing and will be a day I will never forget. I am so happy to have played alongside my fellow seniors and made incredible memories along the way,” senior captain Nate Jacobs said. The team finished the regular season with a final record of 7-5 and the team was lined up to play the Whitman. Before the game started, the boys’ starting goalie, senior Logan Kolisack, couldn’t play due to sickness. Vikings in the first round of the playoffs. The game went down on May. 11, at Whitman. After a hard fought battle, the team just couldn’t pull through and fell to the Vikings 14-8, ending their season. “I’m devastated to see the season end. Lacrosse for me was always a place where I felt at peace. However, the future of Wootton lacrosse is in good hands with Alec Fleischer, six returning starters, and lots of bench debth. They can go very far, and I’m excited to see how the boys do next year,” senior captain Ian Smith said.

Girls’ lacrosse team fights until final whistle

me make friends and so many memories,” senior Adalyn Gully said. The season consisted of the girls having fun together both during practice and outside of practice. Team bonding was big, especially because coming off of Covid-19 people hadn’t been able to see each other for so long and most of these girls had never played together. “The team bonded really well and had good chemistry together,” Fletcher said. Although the team had their struggles, they made memories throughout the spring months. “I love the team bonding - we do like dinners and breakfasts,” senior Jenna Seibert said. Throughout the season the girls played against tough teams such as Sherwood, Whitman and Walter Johnson. No matter what

the score was, the players never gave up.“We definitely have faced a tough schedule this year but we maintained a positive attitude and we played as hard as we could,” junior Jessica Winson said.

One thing this team never lacked was motivation.The team gave it their all, especially when they played Sherwood. Every practice consisted of a hard working team wanting to win every game they played in. Photo by Mick Hennessy

Lea Weinstein staff writer hen the final whistle at Bethesda Chevy Chase blew on May 11, it signaled the end of the girls’ varsity lacrosse season, with a 14-1 loss in the first round of the playoffs. The team ended the season with three wins and nine losses but the losses don’t define the players and coaches thoughts on how the season went as a whole. “I thought the season was successful, the girls showed up and had fun,” coach Casey Fletcher said. Although the season didn’t produce a ton of wins for the team, it did provide important life lessons. It taught the girls about being a team and helped them create new friendships. “As a girl who didn’t start off playing lacrosse, this team really helped

The girls line up as they get ready to play against Northwest.

May 2022 SPORTS

Page by Jelissa Ngako

“It’s been amazing getting involved in the various communities Wootton provides. I’m looking forward to finding my niche and branching out into activities that Michigan provides.” -Josh Freedman, 12

“I’m super excited being in a new area and trying out college life and freedom. I’m so grateful for the friends and memories I made at Wootton.” -Nico DePalma, 12

“I’m most excited to meet new people and makw new memories in a new state. I want to say thank you to all my teachers and friends, I’m going to miss you so much.” - Ellie Cowen, 12

“I am so excited go to the college of my dreams, Haverford. Thank you to my family, teachers, and of course Mrs.Starr for helping me become the person I am today.” -Anna Keneally, 12

“I’m mostly excited to meet new people, I’m grateful for meeting new friends.” -Rob Carpenter, 12

“I’m excited for making new friends, new beginnings and I really appreciate everyone on the newspaper staff, a cappella, Mrs. Starr and Mr. Schwartz.” -Luke Jordan, 12

24 BACK PAGE May 2022

Common Sense Magazine May 2022

Articles inside

Daylight Savings

AP art portfolios

Common Sense goes to college

Olivia Rodrigo concert “Morbius”19

Tik Tok 8

Summer concerts