SOAPBOX 13OP/ED 8NEWS 2 LA ESQUINA LATINA 26ENTERTAINMENT 22 SPORTS 29CHIPS CLIPS 25FEATURES 15

ELLIE MUSGRAVE

By Mallory Rappaport

By Michelle Chavez

Blair students traveled together by bus to take part in the immigra-tion reform rally on the Capitol on April 10. The transportation pro-vided by CASA de Maryland al-lowed 80 Blair students and fi ve

teachers as well as 25 students and one other teacher from other Montgomery County schools to attend.

Blair’s teacher sponsor, Dia-

nette Coombs, said Paint Branch and Blake High Schools joined Blair after school on the day of the rally after showing interest in par-ticipating, and traveled with Blair on the three buses that departed from the main offi ce area.

Students on the bus said CASA de Maryland was also facilitating transportation for people in the community by providing buses that departed from other locations like Langley Park.

Junior Daniela Velasquez joined the rally because she said she felt it was necessary to show her sup-port. “I went to the rally because I am proud to represent my heritage in a positive way,” she said. “We were peacefully making a stand in what we believe in and deserve.”

CASA Youth Member Oscar Le-mus, a bus captain for High Point High School and current Mont-gomery College student who is

Perez attends committee confi rmation hearing

Immigration reform

SARAH WILSON

Teens lobby for voting rights

Police offi cer subdues student with Taser

Students attend reform rally

VOL 75 NO 6

silverchipsApril 25, 2013

Winner of the 2012 National Pacemaker Award

Montgomery Blair High SchoolSILVER SPRING, MARYLAND

A public forum for student expression since 1937

Youth !oters

By Emma Rose Borzekowski

By Emma Rose Borzekowski

CASA brings Blazers to immigration protest

RALLY Blair students gather to protest for immigration reform outside the nation’s capitol.

VOTE Juniors Kevin O’Connor and Paul Munger and freshman Camille Kirsh attend a council meeting to lower voting age.

see RALLY page 3

On April 8th, the Takoma Park City Council held a hearing on a proposed amendment to the city’s Charter that includes lowering the city’s voting age to 16. The Takoma Park City Council is considering amendments to voting and elec-tions laws that would allow citizens aged 16 and above to vote in local elections. The proposal has passed the preliminary vote and it’s fi nal

vote will occur on May 13. City Councilmember Tim Male

introduced the proposal and said that roughly 40 to 50 people attend-ed the hearing with a majority of them speaking in favor of lowering the voting age.

Senior Tommy Raskin, President of Blair’s Young Democrats Club, said that Male requested members of the club to attend and speak at the hearing to help sway opinion in favor of this proposal.

Among students who spoke was sophomore Leigh Cook. Cook claimed in her testimony that classes like AP NSL Government

see VOTING page 3

Thomas Perez, Obama’s Labor Secretary nominee and parent of junior Amalia Perez, had his Sen-ate committee confi rmation hear-

ing April 18. The committee is scheduled to vote April 25, and if he receives committee approval, Perez will have a full Senate con-fi rmation hearing.

At the hearing, Perez told the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee that he planned to approach the job with an open mind and a focus on jobs. “Jobs, jobs, jobs,” he repeatedly emphasized, explaining how he would focus his Labor Dept.

Perez faced opposition from Republicans, who view him as too liberal. He was repeatedly ques-tioned about a deal he made as head of the Justice Department’s

Civil Rights Division with the city of St. Paul to withdraw a hous-ing discrimination case before it reached the Supreme Court.

Senator and committee chair-man Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) defend-ed Perez, calling him a “visionary leader” with a “breadth of knowl-edge and practical skills.” Both he and Perez highlighted Perez’s his-tory as a child of immigrants, and early years working in blue-collar jobs.

Perez was the former head of Maryland’s Labor Department and a longtime civil rights attorney. He would be replacing Hilda Solis and, if confi rmed, Perez would be

the only Latino serving in Obama’s Cabinet. He started his political ca-reer in Montgomery County, serv-ing as the only Latino on the Coun-ty Council. Later, Perez served as

see PEREZ page 3

Blair parent picked to head Labor Dept.

see TASER page 4

7519

37 S

ilver Chips 2013

Anniversary

Edition

.

.

A student was subdued with a Taser and arrested on April 18, af-ter punching a police offi cer near

the end of fi fth period.

The student, whose name is not being released to protect her iden-tity as a minor, was caught skip-ping class by the courtyard. Secu-rity guard Tanesha Taylor stopped her and told her to return to class, said Principal Renay Johnson. The student then became combative and Taylor called for backup, said Johnson. Blair’s School Resource Offi cer, and MCPS police offi cer,

Janelle Splaine, arrived and the stu-dent became increasingly agitated according to Johnson and numer-ous student eyewitnesses. The stu-dent punched Splaine in the face and kicked her numerous times. Splaine responded by to shooting the student with a Taser and call-ing for reinforcements. Three other police offi cers arrived on scene,

along with several of Blair’s se-curity guards and administrators including security guard Maureen Walsh and Assistant Principal Dirk Cauley.

The student was held in hand-cuffs, as Walsh called an ambu-lance, which is standard procedure after a person is tased. The student, accompanied by Cauley, was taken to the hospital to have the Taser dart removed. She was released from the hospital later that day and has been charged for disturb-ing the peace and assaulting a po-lice offi cer. She is suspended from

school. Johnson refutes rumors that the student was smoking marijua-na, saying that the police searched her and no illegal substances were found.

The event occurred at the edge of Blair’s courtyard as the student ran towards the SAC, according to several eyewitnesses, in front of many students who were eating lunch. Security guards and ad-ministrators cleared the area and kept students inside for the rest of lunch.

In an email sent out to the Blair listserv and posted on Edline, Johnson informed parents that a student had become increasingly belligerent and required police intervention. “A student became

not all SCO stories will have com-plementing media. “Good video editing is inherently going to take more time because you have to not only write the script for the video and write the storyboard for the video and fi nd the interviews for the video and go to the location, but

then you have to spend hours and hours editing,” he said.

Maisto said funding is another issue for BNC that prevents the organization from expanding. “The money’s just not there and because we want to maintain the integrity just like Silver Chips, we can’t accept money from the school. We want to have our edi-torial freedom,” he said.

While BNC and SCO are working on establishing a more multimedia presence, Maisto said he feels that it may not be neces-sary to have video or audio with every story, especially breaking news because he said students are not checking for Blair up-dates as much as they are check-ing other organizations’ updates. “People aren’t fans of the Blazers the way people are fans of the nationals or the Redskins or the Ravens or the Orioles,” he said.

SCO advisor Michelle Ed-wards said the idea of collabo-rating on stories still shows that Blair is moving forward with journalism and technol-ogy. Taylor said that SCO and BNC are only going to contin-ue to expand on their relation-

ship. “Next year, I think the goal is to have more BNC videos that cor-respond with features we write,” he said.

Taylor added that this collabo-ration will also help students who are interested in journalism get a feel for the professional journalism fi eld. “It will be important for peo-ple who want to pursue journalism in the real world to pick up those multimedia skills, and working with BNC would be a great oppor-tunity to do that.”

laborate, so we’ve had a meeting or two discussing it.

SCO Editor-in-Chief Langston Taylor said both student orga-nizations discussed plans at the meeting. “We’ve always had the capability to include videos on our site but have lacked a large

enough multimedia staff to do it. This year, Danny Rosenberg and Emma Howells have volunteered to do more video, and BNC has volunteered to do videos that cor-respond with our stories,” he said. “We talked about a vision for next year. Both organizations want the collaboration to happen. We’re just working out the logistics so that it can become a reality.”

BNC Executive Director of Ra-dio Adam Maisto said that, while collaboration will likely increase,

Thomas Perez currently undergoing congressional committee hearings for the federal government position

silverchips April 25, 20132 News

Blair parent nominated to be US Secretary of Labor

LEAH HAMMOND

PEREZ Preisdent Barack Obama nominated junior Amalia Perez’s father, Thomas Perez, as Secretary of Labor. Perez is currently undergoing congressional committee hearings and his family is adjusting to life with their father recieving national attention. A vote on his nomination will take place April 25.

the head of the County Coun-ciland made a failed bid for State Attorney. His daughter, Amalia Perez, is the junior vice president of Blair’s SGA.

She is proud of her father, but wary of the opposition his nomi-nation has brought. “First off , I’m obviously proud of him because I’ve seen how hard he works and how late he stays up... but I’m somewhat nervous about it be-

from TOM PEREZ page 1 cause it’s such a controversial pro-cess,” she said. “He tells me not to read the comments online.”

Perez said that her father’s nomination has given her a more well-rounded view of politics. “It’s weird to think that some-where out there, people think such mean things about him, be-cause they don’t know him. It made me realize that politicians I disagree with probably have a lot more to them,” she said.

FEATURES Farming

18\

SPECIALS SC Anniversary

6

COURTESY OF SLATE.COM

By Michelle Chavez

Blair Network Communica-tions (BNC) and Silver Chips Online (SCO) began collaborat-ing on select content this year. BNC advisor Paris Bustillos said the aim of having diff erent me-

dia complementing each other is to refl ect a multi-platform form of journalism.

“Not just at the school level, but internationally, media is be-ing consolidated into one deliv-ery format, which is the web. It’s just the logical step,” he said. “The progression of not having these two things sepa-rate makes sense now. Media is being presented on the web both in print and video and audio so it makes sense to col-

MEDIA Seniors Eloise Goldsmith and Langston Taylor discuss the future of Blair’s online newspaper and Blair Network Com-munications. The leadership of both outlets hope that video content can be paired with online articles to provide a greater depth of information.

SPORTS Varsity Update

31

BNC and Silver Chips Online plan mergerVideo will be available through Silver Chips Online

News

eral Transit Administration for $1.25 billion to fund the Red Line and another $1.1 billion to fund the Purple Line. However, the fed-eral transportation offi cials need to be sure that the state can hold up

its end of the deal and fund the other half of the projects, said Brown to the Baltimore Busi-ness Journal.

Brown explained that the state legisla-ture has taken action over the past year to improve the chances of receiving federal fund-ing. In 2013, the two percent increase in the gasoline tax should add $4.4 billion to the state for transportation costs over the following six years.

The General Assem-bly passed a public-private partnership

bill that would encourage joint ventures on projects between both state and private companies.

Brown justifi ed the increase in the gas tax in an interview with WTOP. “Any time you ask resi-dents to pay more at the pumps, or more in taxes, it’s incumbent upon us to demonstrate what the benefi ts are. When we point to projects like the Purple Line that will enable us to increase mass [transit] ridership, get people off the road, spending more time being productive or at home, it’s certainly more accept-able that we’re asking them to pay more at the pumps,” he said.

The next step is a meeting with business leaders on May 15 to dis-cuss funding for the Purple Line, Brown said to the Baltimore Busi-ness Journal. The forum is already over-booked with interested com-panies.

Construction is set to begin in 2015, and if the funding can be se-cured, the projects would be com-pleted by 2020.

The State of Maryland is looking to the federal government to help fi nance plans for Metro’s Purple Line subway system and Red Line

transit system in Baltimore. Feder-al transportation offi cials are now taking the project more seriously because of Maryland’s increased level of fi nancial backing, Anthony Brown told the Baltimore Business Journal.

The Red Line transit system—separate from the Glenmont to Shady Grove Red Line—would connect East and West Baltimore, spanning 14.1 miles, and the Pur-ple Line would connect Bethesda to New Carrollton, a 16.1-mile rail. The proposed cost of the Red Line is $2.57 billion, whereas the Purple

Line’s is $2.15 billion.

The Federal G o v e r n m e n t agreed to fund half of the com-bined $4.72 bil-lion proposal if the state pays for the other half. The state asked the Fed-

MCPS photographer retires after 46 years

MCPS’ only staff photographer, William Mills, announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2012-2013 school year after 46 years of work-ing for the county.

According to John Marshall, supervisor of editorial graphics and publishing services, Mills is a valuable part of documenting Montgomery County school life, however the position of full-time MCPS photographer will be cut so he will not be replaced. “Hav-ing a full time photographer has been a huge benefi t but it’s also a luxury. MCPS has seen a lot of employment reductions the past couple of years and so it’s not uncommon when there’s a retire-ment, for us to take a look at the position and evaluate whether we need it,” said Marshall.

While 72-year-old Mills claims he’s enjoyed working for the county he also feels his retire-ment is overdue. “It’s as if I’m at a party, but it’s getting a little late and the hosts are starting to get a little tired,” said Mills.

Mills grew up in Maryland and attended Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. Aside from going to school at BC-C, Mills also spent a lot of time on Blair’s campus . Before his job at MCPS, Mills at-tended the Rochester Institute of Technology and majored in pho-tography. He sees his retirement as bittersweet, and remarked that his experience at MCPS has been noth-ing but positive. “It’s been nice to have a constant job where I’m with my family and it’s been interesting

every day,” said Mills.Despite the turnover, Mills

doesn’t expect his departure be a large issue for the school system’s photography needs. “There are a lot of people that take photographs like parents and teachers. The job will just be dispersed among a va-

riety of people,” claimed Mills. Additionally, with the incred-

ible advancements in todays cam-era technology Mills claims it’s becoming much easier and less expensive for amateurs to acquire quality photography equipment. “Even your cellphone is remark-able quality,” said Mills.

Marshall agreed stating that though Mills’ work has been in-credible, MCPS will have to adjust without his photography. “The central services of MCPS will have to learn to have less of that great resource available,” said Marshall.

AFI loses sponsorship

Newsbriefs

Science fair

Rockville teen death

April 25, 2013 News 3silverchips

Newsbriefs compiled by Emma Rose Borzekowski

By Mallory Rappaport

Puzzle Palooza accomadates increased interest

State requests federal funding for purple and red metro lines

When David Stein, Peter Ham-mond, James Schafer, and Peter Ostrander started Puzzle Palooza in 2010, only 190 students, almost all in the magnet program, par-ticipated. Now, four years later, the competition has grown to al-most 300 students from all over the school.

Puzzle Palooza is a four day competition in which teams of juniors and seniors, race to solve diff erent types of original puzzles. It takes place during HSA testing time.

“We looked for a way to engage the students who did not have al-ternative modes of transportation and were stuck in the building not really doing anything for three hours. We wanted to do some-thing that was challenging and creative,” Schafer said.

Sharing a love of puzzles, Stein, Hammond, Schaefer and Ostrand-

er, who call themselves Puzzle Lords, created Puzzle Palooza.

The puzzles used in Puzzle Pa-looza are all original and written either by the Puzzle Lords, pro-fessional puzzle writers, or other Blair teachers. They are designed to require a variety of skills, so that no one person can solve all of them. “We try to spread out what we know about your puzzle solv-ing abilities and we try to have equal teams,” said Stein.

Puzzle Palooza is popular among the Magnet program. “We have a captive audience with the Magnet students,” said Stein. “We teach them.”

The Puzzle Lords have made an eff ort to reach out to students outside the Magnet Program. But the Puzzle Lords believe that re-cent expansion has been mostly due to word of mouth. “We really rely on students having a good time and telling other students and their friends about it,” Shafer

By Emma Rose Borzekowski

A Rockville High School Stu-dent was found dead in her Army recruiter’s Germantown home on April 8. Police believe that Michelle Miller, 17, was shot by Adam Arndt, 31, who then killed himself. Police and family mem-bers suspect that the two were ro-mantically involved. Miller likely met Staff Sgt. Arndt through the Army, as she was planning on do-ing basic training for the US Army Reserves this summer. Miller left her house around 9 pm on April 7th, claiming to being going to help a suicidal friend, according to her dad. Police found her around 8 am the next morning. The army is launching its own internal investi-gation on Arndt, who was married to another former Army recruit last June. His wife, Kaitlyn, 21, is cur-rently serving in North Carolina.

Five local teens, including two Blair students, are traveling on an all-expenses paid trip to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Ari-zona, from May 12-17. Senior Jin-hie Skarda and Junior Neil Davey earned the trip for their entries in the Montgomery County Science Fair that took place at the Food and Drug Administration’s White Oak campus in Silver Spring in March. There, Skarda presented her project, “Astrophysics: Analy-sis of Jovian Decametric Emission Using the Long Wavelength Ar-ray Station 1.” Davey presented, along with his partner Katie Bar-ufka from Langley High School in McLean, Va, “Microbiology: Dele-tion of Endonuclease G Disrupts Mitochondrial Homeostasis and Leads to Reduced Virulence in the Human Protozoan Parasite Leish-mania Mexicana.” The Intel Sci-ence Fair is the world’s largest pre-college science competition, with 1,500 high school students from 70 countries competing

After 10 years of partnership, the American Film Institute is los-ing Discovery’s sponsorship of its fi lm festival. The festival, former-ly known as Silverdocs and now called AFI Docs is making many changes and expanding into DC. The festival will now include, in addition to documentary screen-ings at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, screenings in the National Portrait Gallery and Na-tional Museum of American His-tory. It will have gala screenings in the Newseum, along with what the AFI is calling Institute Catalyst Sessions. Replacing the Silverdocs daily fi lmmaking panels, the Cata-lyst Sessions will use the fi lms as a starting point for a more narrowly focused discussion between the fi lmmakers, politicians, nongov-ernment workers, and think tank members. The AFI Docs festival will also be two days shorted than Silverdocs was and will take place from June 19- June 23. The festival, fi rst started in 2003 and has become a major stop on the documentary circuit. Audi will now sponsor it.

By Katelin Montgomery

PHOTOGRAPHER Left: Bill Mills served as Montogomery County’s sole photog-rapher for 46 years and has announced plans to retire at the end of this school year.

COURTESY OF THE GAZETTE

ZEKE WAPNER

Transit System Length

red line

purple line16.1 mi

14.1 mi

purple line$2.15 bil

red line$2.57 bil

Transit System Cost

said. About a third of the students participating this year will be from outside the Magnet.

However, many Blazers have still don’t know what Puzzle Pa-looza is. Senior Dixie Flores had never heard of it, though she thinks some of her friends might have. “I was never interested in it and it’s not something anyone tried to get me into,” she said.

While Flores remains apathetic about the upcoming Puzzle Pa-looza, Junior Clare Singer is very excited for this year’s competition. “I’m not really sure what it’ll be like, but my team is going to win!” she said.

Although senior Thomas Gaddy enjoyed his Puzzle Palooza expe-rience his junior year, he does not plan on participating again this year. “For four days we just did puzzles. I was on a pretty good team that actually was mostly CAP kids, and we ended up winning,”Gaddy said. “Since they’re pretty hard,

fi nishing one of them was a kind of big deal,” he said. Gaddy said the timing of puzzle Palooza – every morning during a week when he could be sleeping in – pushed him away from registering this year.

The Puzzle Lords pride them-selves on creating diffi cult puz-zles that lack clear direction and claimed that the hardest part of the puzzle is often fi guring out what it is asking. “They are all really diff erent and have lots of diff er-ent layers. We don’t give you the puzzle, either, so the fi rst step is discovering what it is you need to do,” Stein explained.

Though each year diff ers from the past, Puzzle Palooza hasn’t undergone any major changes. This year, there will be 20 teams completing, the biggest turn out it has ever received, but aside from expansion, the basic format of the competition will stay the same. And, as always, Stein eagerly add-ed, “The prizes will be huge.”

Stein, Hammond, Schafer, Ostrander revise competition

Lowered voting age considered in TKPK

adequately inform students of the political system and prepare them for the responsibility of vot-ing. “By allowing young people to vote, we’re cultivating political effi cacy from a young age,” Cook

said to the city council.Though the proposal only af-

fects Takoma Park residents, Silver

Spring resident and freshman Max

Foley Keen also spoke at the hear-

ing. “I think it’s important because

if [the proposal] passes in Takoma

it’ll be more likely to spread to oth-

er places,” said Keen.

Other attendees of the hearing included freshman Amanda Wes-sel. Wessel explained that she had

attended the hearing after being coaxed by a friend but left con-

vinced by the speakers. For her,

the most convincing argument was that voting at a young age encour-aged political participation. “After you vote once you’re more likely to

do it again,” explained Wessel.

CITY COUNCIL City council members listen to teens lobby-ing on behalf of the Voting and Elections proposal.

After attending the hearing, Raskin commented on the genera-

tional gap he noticed between dif-fering opinions. “In my experience

everyone who opposed [a younger voting age] was over the age 45,”

said Raskin.

According to a recent Gazette ar-ticle, adults opposed to the amend-ment like resident Catherine Tunis

mostly argued that 16-year-olds were not yet mature enough to handle the power and responsibili-ty of voting. “Everyone who wants power is going to ask for it, [but]

that doesn’t mean they are ready to handle it,” said Tunis to a Gazette

reporter.Male explained that regardless

of age, he feels teenagers who are engaged in politics deserve the right to participate. “Adults and teenagers alike, people who are

interested and paying attention will go out and vote and I respect the view of anyone who is willing to take the time to do that,” said

Male.

ELLIE MUSGRAVE

Newsbriefs

April 25, 2013 4 News silverchips

Long Branch rattled by sector plan

Runner from Rock-ville witnesses Boston

bombing

Transit center divides county council

Newsbriefs compiled by Issac Jiff ar

Montgomery County Council-

women Valerie Ervin and Nancy Floreen are requesting a second independent analysis of the costs of repairing the Silver Spring Tran-

sit Center less than a month after

a $2 million report was released detailing major problems with the structure. The transit center, a proj-ect begun in 2008,has long been plagued by construction prob-lems and with the county council unanimously approving $7.5 mil-lion more in funding for the tran-sit center on April 2, the total cost has been brought to $120 million. Ervin feels that the county needs another opinion on the project be-fore moving forward. Councilman

Roger Berliner of Bethesda and George Leventhal of Takoma Park,

meanwhile, feel that such a report would be superfl uous and would

only add more costs that the coun-ty could ill aff ord. A March 18 re-

port by KCE Structural Engineers

found “serious design and con-struction defects” with the transit

center.

The explosions at the Boston

Marathon April 16 startled the

nation. Runners from all over the United States come to run in the

marathon every year, but this year, two bombs went off at the fi nish

line, injuring over 100 people and killing 2. Dan DiFonzo of Rockville

and others from the Montgomery

County Road Runners Club were

in Boston and had just fi nished the

marathon when the bombs went off . They were at a restaurant cel-

ebrating and they saw the panic going on outside. Two bombs went off around 2 P.M. and two

other bombs were located and dis-mantled nearby. DiFonzo noted

that cell phone users were having trouble due to the large burden on carriers with people calling to make sure the runners are safe.

The Montgomery County Plan-

ning board is currently attempting to prevent a potential rise in rental rates in the Long Branch commu-nity. Many residents fear that the

proposed purple line, which would run directly through the area, will cause the price of housing to go up. The Long Branch Sector Plan,

which is currently being drafted, would displace many residents of Piney Branch Road, Flower Av-

enue and University Boulevard in order to accommodate the railroad. This plan could potentially aff ect

many Blair families. The Mont-

gomery County Planning Board is

considering necessary measures to preserve aff ordable housing in the

area. One plan to rezone and in-crease mandated aff ordable hous-

ing is projected to maintain about 3/4 of the aff ordable housing in

the area according to Melissa Wil-

liams, project manager of the Long Branch Sector Plan.

from VOTING page 1

Freshman arrested following security confl ictfrom TASER page 1

student became increasingly agitated according to Johnson and numerous student eyewitnesses. The student punched [Splaine] in

the face and kicked her numerous

times. Splaine responded by to

shooting the student with a Taser and calling for reinforcements. Three other police offi cers arrived

on scene, along with several of Blair’s security guards and admin-istrators including security guard Maureen Walsh and Assistant

Principal Dirk Cauley.

The student was held in hand-cuff s, as Walsh called an ambu-

lance, which is standard procedure after a person is tased. The student, accompanied by Cauley, was taken

to the hospital to have the Taser dart removed. She was released

from the hospital later that day and has been charged for disturb-ing the peace and assaulting a po-lice offi cer. She is suspended from

school. Johnson refutes rumors that the student was smoking marijua-

na, saying that the police searched her and no illegal substances were found.

The event occurred at the edge of Blair’s courtyard as the student

ran towards the SAC, according to

several eyewitnesses, in front of many students who were eat-ing lunch. Se-

curity guards and adminis-trators cleared the area and kept students

inside for the rest of lunch.

In an email sent out to the Blair listserv and posted on Edline, John-son informed parents that a student had become in-creasingly bel-ligerent and required police intervention. “A student became very disruptive and defi ant with

staff and required police interven-

tion. The student assaulted our School Resource Offi cer and, sub-

sequently, had to be restrained by police,” she wrote. Many parents

SECURITY A freshman girl was tased after resisting instructions from Blair’s resource counselor. She was released from the hospital after a few hours and suspended from school.

COURTESY OF EVAN MORRIS

and students have criticized the letter for being vague and making

no mention of the fact that they student was restrained through the use of a Taser. “This does not men-tion that the child was ‘tasered’ for an extended period of time. Taser-

ing is NOT ‘restraint.’” said par-

ent Anne LeVeque on the listserve. Johnson explained that the report

was vague in order to protect the student’s privacy.

She also made an announce-

ment at the end of the day inform-ing students of a “serious incident”

and expressing her dismay at the

students’ reaction to the event, which she deemed disrespectful. “We had several students running up, taking pictures and laughing at

her. This showed no sensitivity, no respect for the student in her situa-tion and I fi nd that disrespectful,”

said Johnson.She also encourages security to

show respect towards the students they are dealing with. Johnson ex-

plained that she would never per-sonally use a Taser on a student, but added that Splaine is a trained

police offi cer and more qualifi ed

to be making those decisions. “We

welcome and support the police. However, we want them to be sen-sitive that we are working with

young people and unless there is danger to themselves and others, no student should ever be tased,”

she said.Many students were upset with

the incident, claiming it was an overuse of force. “All we see is the girl, she’s walking past the corner

coming toward the SAC and you

see the police offi cer tasing her....I

don’t understand the need to tase her because there was a concrete ground and [the tasing] was re-ally long,” said sophomore Tigist

Tadessa.Splaine has been working at

Blair since February, when the school got its own police offi cer.

undocumented, said that he felt it is essential to pass a reform as soon as possible. “I felt like it was

necessary for my voice to be heard that we need a comprehensive im-migration reform and we are tired of waiting. We need it now,” he

said. CASA Youth Member Yves

Gomes, a bus captain for the Multi-

cultural Center, is an undocument-

ed immigrant who said he felt he was taking a stand for many. “I

went to the rally to stand in soli-darity with my undocumented community, who has long awaited immigration reform after decades of contributing to American soci-ety and the American economy,”

he said.Gomes said he came to the Unit-

ed States as a baby and his family

sought political asylum for years. “My family was able to work in the

United States legally for 12 years

because of our pending immigra-tion case, but in 2006, it was fi nally

denied; I became undocumented,”

he said. Since then, Gomes said he has

had to face numerous obstacles as an undocumented immigrant. He said he had to watch his par-ents get deported, take care of

his younger brother and watch his house get sold, among other struggles through his high school graduation.

“It was tough when I gradu-ated high school in the top 5% of my 2010 graduating class in all of Maryland, got accepted into col-

leges with scholarship off ers, but

had to turn it all down because I was to be deported at the end of

that summer,” he said.

With help from the community, a friend of Gomes said he was able to get a work permit, which ex-

pired around the same time that deferred action came into place, giving him permission to stay.

While immigration reform does not directly aff ect Velasquez, she

said she recognizes the impact it will have on the people she knows.

“I have many family members that are so smart and willing to dedicate, commit and overall posi-tively aff ect our society. I feel as if

Congress views [immigration re-

form] as more so detrimental than benefi cial,” she said.

While Gomes can stay in the country, he said he is still signifi -

cantly limited to what he can do. “Immigration reform means

being reunited with my loving parents, who were deported four and fi ve years ago, and getting a

chance to visit my ailing grand-mother in India who, whenever we speak on the phone, tells me ‘I

won’t die until I see you one more time,’” he said.

Blair Junior Karla Flores who went to the march said she hopes that legislation is passed despite the confl icts. “I come from a family

where my former undocumented grandparents were lucky enough

to obtain citizenship. I’m hop-ing that the rally results in a bill to come out of the Senate…which

will provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.”

Congress is continuing to work on

a reform. CASA de Maryland Youth Or-

ganizer Rommel Sandino declined

comment.

from RALLY page 1

Students rally for reform

IMMIGRATION Blazers rallied to keep familes together.

Voting age may change in TKPK

MICHELLE CHAVEZ

April 25, 2013 5 ADs silverchips

April 25, 20136 Specials silverchips

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April 25, 2013 Specials 7silverchips

Celebrating 75 years of Silver Chips Print

MAKING HISTORY The January 1941 issue of Silver Chips Print reveals Blair’s official team name, the ‘Blazers’, in its front page story.

However, students would have to accept that the world was changing—and they would have to act. “But, though our loss of innocence comes early in life,” the edito-rial says, “we must fi ght not to allow this

change to cripple us.”

In black and white

Levin had to get the margins right.He wanted Martin Luther King’s photo-

graph in the center of the page, the place of honor for the fallen hero. “And over it we had in big oversized font the words, ‘Why We Can’t Wait’,” Levin recalls.

Levin labored over every word of the lead editorial, he remembers, because he wanted to encapsulate the nation’s mood. “If it was race, civil rights and Vietnam,” he

says, his voice slightly grave, “you wanted to say it the way you meant it.”

Ironically, Blair was not as diverse as Dr. King would have hoped. Despite 14 years of integration, 4.1 percent of Blair’s popula-tion was Black, according to a report from the Maryland Department of Education.

Because the population was small and because of academic tracking, minority students generally didn’t sign up for Silver Chips. “The people who were talking and writing, the editors of the newspaper, were overwhelmingly white,” Levin notes.

So in 1970, Silver Chips gained a competitor. Solemn Brothers and Sisters, produced by an English class, was written for, by and about Blair’s African-American student body. “To us, the white man rules at Blair.” the lead editorial of the fi rst issues

proclaims. “We have no say here.”The racial tension was more evident that

year, says Solomon, who heard racist com-ments at the school. “There were some who tended to be more cavalier, fl ippant and

more callous.” He pauses, “the racism, the tension was implicit at the school.”

Silver Chips covered Solemn Brothers and Sisters’ progress, including when Ju-nior Assemblyman Frank Piece’s eff orts to

prevent Solemn Brothers from using school materials. Solemn Brothers survived the bill, although the school later censored the paper because it featured “obscene mate-rial,” a Silver Chips article quotes the Blair principal, Paschal Emma.

Solemn Brothers wasn’t Blair’s only racial confl ict that year. The school also held

a Black Christmas pageant just before the holiday break that ended in fi ghting and

police intervention. “A cast member was

You could call it, “eau de newsprint.” The fi rst whiff is old paper—as in 1937

old. The odor has fermented like wine, grown stronger on the chipping yellow sheets.

The ink, fading slightly after 75 years, is still legible on the page where it proudly proclaims “525 students now at Blair.”

There’s palpable optimism in the 1945 issue, carefree fun in 1952, defi ance in 1968.

By 2013, there’s all three and more, baked

into 32 pages of newsprint and color.

Silver Chips is now celebrating its 75th year of capturing what it means to be a Blazer. Silver Chips informs, entertains, questions. Silver Chips reporters examine events going on both 10,000 miles away and down the block, but they always look for that Blair angle, according to John Mathwin, Silver Chips’s sponsor from 1978

to 2005. “We only did a story,” he notes, “when it touched Blair.”

Silver Chips and silver guns

The biggest anti-Vietnam War incident at Blair, says Solomon, started with three words: “Napalm a dog?”

In 1968, Blair student Steve Malakoff

passed around fl iers suggesting a time and

place for students to gather and napalm a dog. Solomon covered the story for the paper. “The student had no intention of burning a dog,” he notes. The administra-tion and the student body, adds Levin, went berserk. “The leafl ets were torn down from

telephone polls. There were complaints from many animal rights groups.”

Malakoff was looking for that exact re-

sponse, says Solomon. “Many students who couldn’t stand the idea that a dog would be burned were totally supportive of the U.S. bombing human beings in Vietnam,” he scoff s. “And that was the point.”

Reactions to the war were mixed at Blair, says Solomon. “There were a lot of students against Vietnam; there were a lot who were pro-war.”

So when Solomon sat down to write the story, Silver Chips faculty advisor Doro-thy Settle approached him with a warn-ing. “Don’t make this article sympathetic towards [Malakoff ],” Settle said.

That contradicted Solomon’s own opin-ions. “I was very sympathetic to the point he was trying to make, but the story was not particularly sympathetic.”

More than 20 years earlier, when the U.S. entered World War II, Blair had done its part for the war eff ort. “Boys enrolled in

Coach Bridge’s gym class are now conduct-ing a campaign not only to help Blair, but to help their country,” says a Silver Chips from April 1942, pages worn thin. “Paper in all forms is being collected by boys for national defense.”

But supporting the war, Silver Chips indicates, was not always tedious nor patriotic. Sometimes, it was downright fl ir-

tatious. A 1942 article declared, “Blairites are going ‘all out for victory’ in a [dance]

devised to aff ord recreation and pleasure

for one hundred sailors. No Blair boys will be permitted.”

When the towers fell

From the Beltway behind Blair, as a 2001 article says, students could see smoke. What they didn’t know on that sunny Tuesday in September was that the Pen-tagon was burning. Ten minutes earlier,

Attendance Secretary Roxanne Fus had announced the World Trade Center attack.

The school was terrifi ed, remembers

Elizabeth Green, the editor-in-chief in 2001. She was not considering the newspaper. “I was not thinking as a journalist,” says Green. “I was thinking as a human being.”

Soon, however, Green realized the paper needed to cover reactions at Blair. “I remember feeling a responsibility to record the events of the day,” Green notes.

Samantha Henig, a staff writer in 2001,

agrees that she felt a reporter’s responsibil-ity. “I felt like there was nothing I could re-ally do,” says Henig, “So I remember being glad that I could be productive, that I could focus my confusion.”

In writing an article about reactions to 9/11 at Blair, says Green, it was easy to fi nd

interviews. “People at Blair decorated their clothes with patriotic signals,” she says, remembering outfi ts of red, white and blue.

“They were inviting a conversation.” A decade later, the raw shock and horror

still emanate from every headline of the September 2001 issue. Under the headline “Students speak out about September 11,” fi ve-inch letters spell out student reactions.

“I truly felt safe here until the tragedy,” said Kelly Lightfoot.

“I want to tell the president to not only bring [the terrorists] to justice, but also to

put them down, make them get down on their knees,” says Makara Suan.

“I wish that God had taken me instead of the thousands of innocent people,” says Meenakshi Moerahoe.

“Hatred, not bin Laden, is the true root of terrorism,” says Han Hu.

But Silver Chips, says Henig, also covered how Muslims at Blair were feeling. “Most Muslim students were willing to talk,” she notes. “They were nervous that there’d be discrimination, but they had no trouble with Blair students.”

When Green wrote that issue’s lead editorial, she knew the students at Blair were changing. “What had marked our generation up to that point was incredible prosperity,” she says. Even the new Blair was an emblem of that prosperity. “As stu-dents, we were in this new school building that was gigantic and glimmering.”

Those same students now wore red, white and blue for their country and hon-ored a student who lost her father in the tragedy. The tragedy marked a shift. “Sept 11, 2001 meant a loss of collective inno-cence,” the lead editorial says.

tripped by a White student,” the December 19 paper reports, “angering the actors.”

Since the 1970s, Blair has only gotten more diverse. To ensure that every group at Blair was represented, notes Mathwin, he instituted a policy during his time where reporters logged the race and ethnicity of their sources for a story. “It encouraged reporters to get out and talk to people they didn’t know,” he says.

Peeking in the shadows

Despite the drama of the Cold War, Mc-Carthyism and the approach of the Korean War, Chips had other concerns in 1954:

“The student body agreed almost unani-mously that aff ections are being displayed

too freely,” says a 1954 lead editorial. The paper, says 1952 editor-in-chief

Barbara Dodd Hillerman Lieske, refl ected

the “Blairites” carefree world. “We focused on what the school was doing, what events were happening at the school. We featured interesting students,” she says. “Today, stu-dents are far more exposed through media to world events.”

Racial tensions and the U.S. role in Vietnam War covered Silver Chip’s pages in the 1960s and early 1970s. But by 1978,

the year Mathwin took over, the paper had hit a rut. “That fi rst issue [of 1978], we had

a whole page,” he groans, “a whole page on drinking pee.”

The next year, race replaced pee as a lead story. Doug Cress, the 1980 editor-in-

chief, remembers a front-page article—“an essay really”—about being black at Blair. “The administration was worried about what kind of dialogue it would spark,” he says, “But it was written so well that all you could do is say ‘Wow. Why is no one else talking about this?’”

Other stories, the kinds of stories no one else would cover, followed. “We discov-ered that the school system’s asbestos inspection of the building was faulty,” says Mathwin, “There was asbestos at Blair.”

“I covered racism against Asian-Ameri-cans,” says Green.

“The superintendent came out with a racist comment,” says Mathwin, “and the Washington Post quoted us.”

”Gang fi ghts,” Green adds. “Study

drugs. Gay students coming out.” Green pauses, “I later realized most high school students don’t have articles like that.”

Silver Chips even infl uenced the prin-

cipal’s policies, says Gainous. In 2006, the

paper published a story about students having sex in the building after school. “So we changed the security shift. We had security in the building after school, patrol-ling the back hallways,” laughs Gainous.

Silver Chips was valuable, adds Gain-ous, because they didn’t just cover Ma-donna or the sports teams. “In addition to doing stories that interested students, Silver Chips did substantial work.”

It helped, Mathwin says, that Blair had students from around the world and news-worthy events each day. “Blair is an incred-ibly rich fi eld for journalism,” he notes.

Silver Chips has witnessed drama in the halls and dealt with drama of its own. In times of crisis, the paper turned from covering school events to covering Blair’s role in the outside world. When the occa-sion arose, Silver Chips reporters didn’t give up until they searched every corner, looked for the story within the story, the issue behind the issue. After all, it’s in the motto: Nullae rationales—no excuses.

And you can still smell it on the pages.

Alumni refl ect on paper’s legacy of keeping Blair informed

SILVER CHIPS PRINT ARCHIVES

2001 Chips reports on the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11

By Alanna Natanson

2008 Keeping up with the election of Barack Obama

1961 Chips reports the U.S. anti-Communism eff orts

1945 Blair takes part in World War II fundraising

SILVER CHIPS PRINT ARCHIVES

Montgomery Blair High School 51 University Boulevard East

Silver Spring, MD 20901 Phone: (301) 649-2864

2012 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Finalist

Winner of the 2009 and 2010 Colum-bia Scholastic Press Association

Gold Crown

Silver Chips is a public forum for student expression. Student editors make all content

decisions. Unsigned editorials represent the views of the editorial board and are not

necessarily those of the school. Signed letters to the editor are encouraged. Submit your

letter to Joseph Fanning’s mailbox in the main office, to room 158 or to silver.chips.print@gmail.com. Concerns about Silver Chips’

content should be directed to the Ombuds-man, the public’s representative to the paper,

at silver.chips.ombudsman@gmail.com. Letters may be edited for space and clarity.

silverchips

Editors-in-Chief: Emma Bergman and Sarah WilsonManaging Features Editors:Ruth Aitken and Hannah WeintraubManaging News Editors:Michelle Chavez and Katelin MontgomeryManaging Sports Editor:Josh SchmidtManaging Op/Eds Editor:Puck BregstoneManaging Entertainment Editor:Peter McNallyProduction Manager:Puck BregstoneManaging Design Editor:Hannah WeintraubOutreach Coordinator:Katelin MontgomeryOmbudsman:Ruth AitkenDistribution Supervisor:Peter McNallyFact Checks Supervisor:Ruth AitkenExtras Editor:Sabrina BradfordNewsbriefs Editor:Josh SchmidtPublic Relations Director:Michelle ChavezExecutive Business Director:Adrian CraigExecutive Communications Director,Executive Advertising Director:Nick SeidellExecutive Fundraising Manager, Executive Communications Director:Mac KellerBusiness Staff:Jared CollinaAniya Wood-ReynoldsAlexandra Fascione-HutchinsPage Editors:Daniel AlgerDesiree AleibarEmma Rose BorzekowskiSabrina BradfordLangston CotmanKyle DesiderioMaya HabashIsaac JiffarJenna KannerCindy MongeEvan MorrisAlanna NatansonParis Parker-LoanMallory RappaportDillon Sebastian Kenyetta Whitfield Spanish Page Adviser:Dora Gonzales Spanish Page Editor:Kelly VenturaClaudia QuinonezSpanish Page Writers:Rolando AlvarengaJannet EncinasYessica SomozaEditorial Cartoonist:Julia BatesManaging Photo Editors:Leah HammondClare LefeburePhotographers:Leila BartholetEllie MusgraveZeke WapnerManaging Arts Editors:Julia BatesXiXi ChenArtists:Katrina GolladayTatyana GubinMaggie McClain Eva Shen Puzzle Editors:Devin Rutan Michael MorgansteinCopy Editors:Paul B. EllisClaudia GowenRebecca NaimonProfessional Technical Adviser: Peter HammondAdvisor:Joseph Fanning

Opinions Silver Chips April 25, 2013 8

Self-segregation contradicts Blair’s diversity By Kenyetta WhitfieldAn opinion

The SAC, a place that not only services as a cafeteria but as an en-tire world of culture in and of itself, is full of different people, different face and different groups. Between the laughs of a small group of fresh-men to a group speaking only Span-ish, the SAC is definitely a place full of diversity. Yet the SAC’s diverse structure also reveals a blemish in Blair’s social structure, since for as many diverse groups as there are at Blair, there are just as many groups that are racially segregated.

For many Blazers, this is a nor-mal day at school. At Blair, students self-segregate, gravitating toward people like themselves not only in interests, but also in racial back-grounds. This de facto segregation, clear to anyone who spends even five minutes in the SAC at lunch, seems extremely uncharacteris-tic considering the school’s vast amount of diversity for which students and staff pride themselves.

When prospective students take a look around their soon-to-be school, both parents and students are taken aback by the visible diversity within Blair. With three thousand students, there are social groups for all kinds of kids, and students are sure to find someone they can relate to. According to Montgomery County Schools at a Glance, Blair has a population of 23.4 percent white students, 26.2 percent black students, 16.7 percent Asian and 29.9 percent Hispanic students. Blair’s self-segregation is in no way a problem with lack of di-versity. More likely it is the result of a lack of racial discussion between parents and their children.

According to a 2009 Newsweek article by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, children do not have conversations about race with their parents because race continues to be a taboo subject among Americans. Without these conversations about race, students immediately adopt the behavior they see around them. If students watch television shows with people of one race, such as the show Girls, which has been criti-cized for having no minority char-acters, then students begin to see that as normal. The same thing hap-pens with each of their day-to-day interactions. Students see white stu-dents only interacting with white students and black students doing the same, which can then evolve into other types of segregation.

The lack of early this childhood conversation is a problem that, looking around Blair Boulevard, appears to be plaguing stu-dents at Blair. The Mont-gomery County area, es-pecially the Down county Consortium (DCC), has gained a reputation for being an open and diverse place where stu-dents intermingle. This belief may discourage parents from speaking to their kids about race, and feeling there is no real problem to discuss. Parents need to speak to their chil-dren about issues of race and diver-sity before television can step in to tell kids what a normal lunch table looks like. The Newsweek article also stated that black children are likely to self-segregate as well, for fear of being discriminated against. These emotions could be precluded by parents being more proactive about the subject of race when their

students are young. If black parents spoke to their children about some of the adversities they will face, as well as the joys of experienc-ing diverse communities, some of these problems could be avoided. The same goes for white parents, who must speak to their children about embracing different cultures.

Blair is home to two prominent academic programs: the Commu-nications Arts Program (CAP) and the Magnet program. While the programs aim to serve students who are gifted in specific areas of study, they also can contribute to the polarization of racial groups.

CAP, which is known around Blair for its largely white population, and the Magnet, with its large population of white and Asian students, are classic examples of self-segregation being unintention-ally enabled by school systems.

The programs themselves are not the sole reason self-segregation ex-ists at Blair, but in order to diversify exclusive programs, students at all county schools must be aware that these programs exist. Rather than tracking and contacting students who are primarily from the East-ern Middle School Magnet or the Takoma Park Magnet program, stu-

dents all over the DCC and MCPS should not just be made aware of these programs, but should also be encouraged to apply personally by their teachers and administra-tors. Breaking down the barrier between CAP and Magnet students could be one significant factor to stopping Blazer ’s segregation.

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) is another con-tributing factor to Blair ’s self-segregation. ESOL students at Blair may fall victim to self-segregation due to the lack of exposure they have to non-ESOL students. While classes such as Physical Educa-

tion or Tech allow ESOL students to be with other stu-dents, ESOL stu-dents often remain separate from their non-ESOL peers even when given the chance to inter-act. Students may feel ostracized be-cause of their differ-ent backgrounds, which can cause

prejudices from other students due to stigmas and misunderstanding.

Walking through the SAC, the laughter of several groups of white and Asian Magnet students counter the voices of black students who gather along the windows of the library. Large groups of white CAP students giggle while multiple colorful groups of students speak a plethora of languages in the ESOL hallway. Diversity at Blair is everywhere and there is no way to escape it, but without true self-integration, Blair is just a seemingly diverse school full of strangers.

Headed on a long march to nowhere

Every so often thousands of people gather in our nation’s capitol to walk and yell. Protest-ing has been pivotal in American history. But perhaps our methods have not adapted to the changing ways of the modern age. For many hopeful activists their participation in a controversial issue has boiled down to spending a day shouting at a building full of people who cannot hear you or just don’t care.

More than fifty years ago, this walking and yelling had a much different feeling to it. Men and women would march in peaceful unison, dressed in their Sunday best, sending an impression of great maturity and posture, yet still full of passion. While the enthusiasm still exists today, the ways activists go about spreading their voices has escalated into a chaotic assembly of mildly interested constituents who only stand out in the cold be-cause they feel the need to involve themselves in the government.

Posters depicting a desperate immigrant or a melting earth cover the metropolitan area in an attempt to gain support for important causes that surround our govern-ment. Around almost every corner there is poster: March for this! March for that! With all the protests going on around our capital, the over saturation of protests force them to lose the impact they have

on the people and the politicians.Years ago, marches made a

statement. All the way back to the civil rights era and as recent as thirteen years ago, protesters in Washington were heard loud and

clear. In 2000, supporters of gun control gathered in Washington, DC to participate in the Million Mom March. “Painstakingly constructed through word of mouth, basement phone banks and Kinko’s copies by a ragtag band of volunteers with almost no organizing experience, the crowd stunningly exceeded expectations,” according to a press

release published in 2010. Atten-dance was so surprisingly high and influential, spreading to other cities in the country, that the march war-ranted an anniversary. However, during that time there was barely

any wide spread use of the Inter-net, cell phones, texting and In-stagram. Now about a decade later, everyone over the age of four is an expert social network user. News can t r a v e l m u c h faster over wires than windpipes. We should use t e c h n o l o g y more to our ad-vantage, making use of social me-dia by contact-ing politicians, signing online petitions. With this alternative, h a v i n g m u n -

dane marches may not be worth it.And if all goes well, the protest-

ers wont stop in their tracks and think their job as activists is done. All too often, enthusiastic constitu-ents believe that their time as an advocate ends once they reach their home after a march. A select few may follow up on the improvement of a policy but many ‘activists’ be-

lieve once they’ve stood in a group and chanted several cheers, their job to help pass or repeal a bill is fin-ished, according to Griffin Tucker, a member of the TED community. Un-fortunately, parading around is not going to do the job. Petitioners and other actions are always effective and in demand. A march combined with an active push for reform in the form of volunteering may have an impact on the way we change our policy in the government.

The first consideration when making executive decisions is mon-ey. With reform comes a budget, to act on a policy the government needs cash. The government does not have endless amounts of money and would have to raise taxes or make budget cuts in order to enact certain policies. Unfortunately, marching down a street is not go-ing raise the money. While many people do not have the income to donate money to a cause they be-lieve in, any contribution in helpful. “Contributions may be made either to affect the election outcome or to obtain influence over legislative de-cision-making,” according to David Austen-Smith, a professor of Politi-cal Economy. A dollar could have as much of an impact on a campaign as a three hour march in the cold.

Gathering thousands of people, and sometimes millions, defi-nitely can get a crowd going, but whether it effectively helps change policy may still be up in the air.

By Dillon SebastianAn opinion

ZEKE WAPNER

PROTEST Clean energy enthusiasts rally in DC to protest the Keystone XL Pipeline.

At DC rallies, voices are raised but protests fall flat

“Blair’s self-segregation is in no way a problem with lack of diversity. More likely it is the result of a lack of racial discussion

between parents and their children.”

April 25, 2013 Opinions 9 silverchips

Search for the Boston bombers leads to racial profilingFalse accusations feed media frenzy during the aftermath of the Mass. tragedy

racy in the race to break the story. It is appalling that an uninvolved 17-year-old and all the other falsely

accused individuals have to fear for their safety after major news outlets linked them to the crime, whether explicitly or implicitly. That these assumptions ran as facts

Almost instantly after the news broke that a bomb had detonated at the finish line of the Boston marathon, killing three people and injuring an estimated 264, a media frenzy mobilized. Some of the fi rst eyewitness reports stated that a “Saudi national” seen running from the scene of the bombings was a prime suspect; soon after, the FBI interrogated people recovering at the hospital, including a man that fi t that description. After numerous witnesses named him as a victim and not a perpetrator, however, the FBI announced that there were no persons of interest and turned its eyes elsewhere in search of the bomber. Evidently, the media did not get the message.

On Thursday, Apr. 18, three days after the bombing, the New York Post plastered the photos of two diff erent men of Arab descent on their front page. Their faces were preceded by the incriminating headline ‘BAG MEN: Feds seek these two pictured at Boston Mara-thon.’ What the New York Post’s 500,000-odd readers did not know was that the two men, one only 17 years old, had never been offi cially identifi ed as suspects and were not being pursued by the FBI. All they had going against them was the color of their skin and an American populace eager to blame someone.

Salah Barhoun, a Massachusetts high school track athlete who ran in the marathon, has described how he felt when he saw his own face on the New York Post’s front page as “the worst feeling that I can possibly feel.” Barhoun, a Muslim Ameri-can of Moroccan descent, is not the only person who has suff ered from the misinformation reported in the news: racists have orchestrated hor-rible revenge attacks against inno-cent Muslims and banded together to vandalize the proposed site of a

mosque in Boston.This is the kind of nightmarish

reality that makes us want to take a step back and ask: how did we get here?

The paper trail leads to a startling answer. The New York Post picked up the photo that started it all from Reddit, a social news website whose users created a thread called “Find the Boston bombers” and crowdsourced in order to iden-tify suspects from photos of the crowds of spectators. Though the intents of the website and its users may have started off in the right place, their attempts to fi nd someone to blame for the senseless tragedy ended in the perpetuation of misinfor-mation. Someone following the Boston story followed the trend and created their own: that Sunil Tripathi, a Brown University student who has been missing for a month, had been identifi ed as a suspect on police radio airways. Audio playback of the conversations reveals that Tripathi, like the other implicated innocents, had never been linked to the crime. A CBS cameraman tweeted the missing youth’s name and called him a suspect. Masses of Twitter users started to rally against him, trending his name and even calling for his execution. CNN’s John King soon picked up the story and informed viewers that a law enforcement offi cial had told him that the FBI was looking for “a dark-skinned male.”

It wasn’t long before the fed-eral offi cers on the case released photos of the light-skinned Tsarnaev brothers as the offi cial suspects later that day.

What is arguably most alarming about the media coverage of the Boston bombings is the willingness of well-respected news sources to compromise ethics and accu-

is awful in its own right, but the situation’s basis in racial profi ling is even worse.

False accusations do more than hurt the accused. They cement our shameful tendency of jumping to conclusions and pinning the blame on anyone who fits the profile.

Since September 11, 2001, national security precautions have refl ected the nation’s fear of foreigners

and subjected non-whites to extended TSA patdowns at airports, random traffi c stops--twice more than their white counter-parts, according to the U.S. Depart-ment of Labor ’s Bureau of Justice S t a t i s t i c s - - a n d other instances of racial profiling. While persecution following a crime is to be expected, this preemptive strike is bordering on racist.

It is understand-able for a nation to want to reach closure and serve justice as soon as possible following a tragedy such as the Boston bomb-ings. But in our search for final-ity, we must all be conscious that news sources and their consumers wield the power to perpetuate the accurate informa-tion. When word of mouth becomes words in print, each writer, edi-tor and source in-volved in a story enters a new realm of accountability. Especially in mo-ments of panic,

readers need to be able to trust news outlets to report the most accurate stories and not just rumors and as-sumptions founded in prejudice.

By Evan Morris and Paris Parker-LoanAn opinion

Student One: Hey! Did you hear? April is Volunteer month!

Student Two: Yeah! It’s also National Par-kinson’s Awareness Month, Autism Aware-ness Month, National Diabetes Month, National Poetry Month, Mathematics Aware-ness Month... Uh. Whoops. I forgot the rest. But no worries, I’ve got my chart.

Student One: Oh gee! I sure do love aware-ness months! Especially when there are 35 in one month!

Student Two: Me too!The likelihood of this conversation hap-

pening: Never.April is home to Arab-American Heri-

tage Month, Keep America Beautiful Month, Stress Awareness Month and many more. But regardless of what month it is, one thing is clear: awareness months are pointless.

Many argue that awareness months strive to give recognition to past events and cur-rent struggles that people are facing, as well as give light to topics that aren’t discussed everyday. However, striving to do some-thing and succeeding at doing something are very diff erent things.

Awareness months are a form of passive-aggressive logrolling. They are more passive than your mother telling you that singing is one of your “developing” talents. And yes, they are even more passive than a text from your girlfriend that reads: I’m fi ne.

Furthermore, awareness months are only as good as the name they are given. They im-ply that one should maybe go out and cel-

ebrate Dance Appreciation Month and hint that maybe it would be a good idea to read up on Birth Defects in January. Just because December is Political Correctness Awareness Month, that does not mean that people will take action and advocate for political cor-rectness. Unless you are directly involved in an organization or has a personal connection to the issue or topic at hand, it is unlikely that they will do anything to commemorate these months. Just because one is aware of a topic, that doesn’t mean they care enough to do something about it.

Aside from being passive aggressive, there are too many awareness topics jammed into one month that it becomes overwhelm-ing. Instead of taking the time to focus on all the topics stuff ed into the month, people get frustrated and overwhelmed by the amount of topics at hand. In turn, they don’t feel the need to address any awareness issues because the abundance of topics month af-ter month devalues the importance of com-memorating.

Awareness months do not leave a long lasting impression on the general public. A month is too short of a time to eff ectively educate and have a lasting impact. In ad-dition, they turn 30 days of awareness into widespread, all around the clock progress. No matter how many pictures are Martin Luther King Jr are colored in or how many assemblies are attended, its likely that in-dividuals, especially younger individuals, will forget about all of the diff erent activi-ties and assembly’s they attended. Why? Be-cause come next month, they’ll be coloring in pictures of diff erent historical fi gures and

attending assemblies about diff erent issues and topics (If they even choose to address these months!)

So, what’s the solution to all of this pas-sive aggressive, overwhelming, untimely hooplah?

Organizations need to come up with ap-pealing and eff ective ways to draw attention to their cause for more than just a month.

A good example is The Keep A Breast Foundation (KAB),which is a leading youth-focused, global, nonprofi t breast cancer or-ganization whose mission is to eradicate breast cancer for future generations. They provide support programs for young people impacted by cancer and educate people about prevention, early detection, and cancer-caus-ing toxins in our everyday envi-ronment. One of their leading programs is I Love Boobies!, which is well known for selling m u l t i - c o l -ored brace-lets with the phrase “I love boobies!” on them. T h e s e brace le ts were specifi -cally designed to remove the shame associated with breasts and breast health among

By Desiree AleibarAn opinion

y o u n g p e o p l e ,

u l t i m a t e l y encouraging

breast cancer dialogue.

This is genius.Not only do they

love breasts, but they made bracelets to say

so. By doing this, they are able to give a large

group of people a stylish tangible object that daily

serves to remind people of a larger issue that plagues the

lives of millions. These brace-lets are sold year round and not

just during Breast Cancer Aware-ness Month.True compassion and activism does

not manifest itself through monthly, passive commemoration. Until more

organizations begin to come up with more eff ective ways to engage the youth,

and convert temporary awareness into protracted action we will continue to pas-

sively be reminded that February is Black History Month or that September is Nation-al Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, only to mentally put aside these issues when the next month comes along.

Wait! What’s this month’s cause again? Despite intentions, awareness months do more harm than good

KATRINA GOLLADAY

BOSTON First responders rush to the scene of the Boston Marathon bomb-ing. Based on hearsay and false information, reports made rush accusations towards some innocent bystanders.

COURTESY OF NEW YORK POST

pro/con

Academy course off erings within Blair are meant to guide students and prepare them for their futures, both in and beyond college, by letting them pursue their interests in courses that can help them decide upon a career path.

Those who are not interested in technology are wasting their energy and brainpower on a course not relevant to their interests. This contrib-utes to the un-enthusiastic and bored classroom setting so common in tech courses.

For those students interested in pursuing careers in technology, these courses are also prerequisites to more advanced levels of tech-nology and engineering. The courses should not be removed from the curriculum because interested students should still have access to them, allowing them access to the more advanced courses after taking the basic levels that are currently a graduation requirement.

By eliminating them as a requirement, how-ever, the county would ensure that the only students enrolled in the classes are those truly interested in the subject matter. With the credit requirement in place, these interested stu-dents are paired with disengaged ones, taking away from a solid learning environment that should be provided for every student in every classroom.

Simple technology usage is a basic require-ment for most jobs in an increasingly tech-nology-oriented world, yet the basic levels of technology classes off ered at Blair do not off er much in the way of education to students. Students are forced to summarize printouts of

voicebox

I think yes, because I think that now a days technology

is evolving and we need to be conscious of the many techno-

logical advances.

Hector BarreraSenior

April 25, 2013 10 Opinions silverchips

Yeah. Because everything now is about technology.

I think they should because now there’s a lot of modern technol-

ogy that I feel we should be educated on fi rst before we

graduate from high school.

Bobby Pfeff erly Freshman

Ray Chalas Junior

related experience in high school, is to increase the number of classes that off er a tech credit. This means the school system must either create new classes, or change existing classes to off er the credit. The former is doubtful due to the school systems tight budget, but allow-ing existing classes to give this credit is very

feasible. Blair’s

video and photography classes teach students to use microphones, operate cameras, hook up all sorts of cables from XLR to mini, set up light-ing and even edit video and audio. Some visual art classes deal

with the same three-dimensional drawing concepts including proportion, dimension and shading that Intro to Engineering does. Stu-dents who do stage crew for Blair’s plays learn how to build entire sets and models with wood and power tools just like students in Founda-tions of Technology do on a much smaller scale. Just as students at private schools are often able to receive gym credits for sports team partici-pation, students participating in technology related activities could receive credit without being cheated out of a well-rounded educa-tion. It would free up Intro to Engineering and Foundations of Technology so that students who were actually interested in the subject could learn it in depth, while giving the other students more interesting, engaging ways to learn technology skills during their time in high school.

We’ve all been there—you’re sitting in your Intro to Engineering or Foundations of Technology class when the teacher says, “glue together six wooden cubes.” If your class is like most in Montgomery County, pained groans will follow. MCPS requires all students to earn a technology credit to graduate. Unlike other mandatory credits such as fi ne arts or physical education which can be fulfi lled by a whole list of course options, only two courses give the necessary technology credit.

This policy would severely limit students learning options, but there isn’t really much learning going on anyway. Both classes deal with engineering and technology topics which can be very complicated, interesting and practi-cal. But funneling every student in the county into two courses forces curriculum designers to simplify the subject matter to accommodate the requirement that every student must pass. The end result: an avalanche of busywork. Most educators would shudder at the idea of Cal-culus and Trigonometry being the only classes off ered for a mandatory math credit. Not every student is interested in, or willing to put forth

the eff ort to understand those subjects, but if everyone must pass the class to graduate, the class will have to adapt to the students. Since a subject can only be made so much easier to understand and there are a fi nite number of amazing teachers, learning would have to be substituted for busywork, as has happened with the tech classes.

Many in fa-vor of abolish-ing the credit requirement altogether don’t under-stand that the pointlessness comes from the clumsy curriculum of the two classes off ering it and that technol-ogy education doesn’t have to be that way. There is a plethora of important skills that students could learn in a reformed tech-education system, such as how to sotter wires, change tires, use basic tools and fi x computers to name a few. In addition, hav-ing to learn the software program, Autodesk Inventor, in Intro to Engineering, teaches students not only how to build things, but also how to learn a new software program, which is very useful in any professional fi eld. Skills like these, unlike most learned in school, are useful in everyday life. If the tech requirement was abolished, the majority of students wouldn’t take those classes. While expanding the number of classes that off er the credit would remedy the busywork, it wouldn’t completely remedy disinterest.

The only way to end the busywork, while ensuring that students get some technology

YESDanny Alger

standards of technology and create 3D shapes on a computer, activities that will not help them prepare for careers outside of technology fi elds.

Many school systems outside of Maryland do not require a technology credit for graduation, and students from those states continue on to be successful busi-nessmen, doctors, lawyers, or teach-ers. They survive well in college and

in the outside world without having to take a

basic technology course in high school. Learn-ing how to build model bridges is not relevant technology education even to those interested in tech careers.

This group of interested students’ passion should be tapped into with more engaging, higher level courses that will truly teach them foundations of technology.

Granted, not every required high school course is enjoyable to everyone, but most of those courses eventually will come in handy and are good preparation for students in col-lege and in the outside world.

With technology courses, most of the information that can be gleaned from them is relevant only to those who are interested in pursuing a technology-related fi eld. For the others, the information holds little weight in their minds. As a nonessential course that could just as easily be off ered as an elective, technology should be removed as a gradua-tion requirement in order to free up space in the schedules of students with non-technology related plans for their future.

A student spends weeks of classes crafting a bridge out of toothpicks or months using a computer to mindlessly build a model train. Sound familiar? If so, you have probably been in this student’s place, taking one of the mun-dane Technology and Design courses required for graduation.

These courses, Foundation of Technology and Introduction to Engineering and Design, are infamous among students for being a waste of space and time in their daily schedule. With all of the elective and academy courses that Blair off ers, many of which are relevant to students’ career interests and future plans, these tech classes are indeed a waste of space and time.

Simply put, the graduation requirement for technology education should be taken away. When the many students are not interested in taking the courses and would rather be taking other career-oriented classes or getting a job or internship, they should not be forced to make space for a course not relevant to their future goals.

NOSabrina Bradford

JULIA BATES

Tech is absolutely, extremely in-formal and Supercalifragilisticex-

pialidociously boring. It takes too much of our time.

Brian Griffi n Senior

Should a technology credit be required for graduation?

Erica AdarkwaJunior

I agree with the requirement, but I don’t agree with the implementa-

tion.

pro/conrelated experience in high school, is to increase the number of classes that off er a tech credit.

Should a technology credit be required for graduation?

The school system must either create new classes, or change

existing classes to offer the credit.

When students would rather be taking career-oriented classes they should not be forced to make space for tech courses that are not

relevant to their future goals.

JULIA BATES

By Evan Morris seemed to be going in the right direction. Then the questions started and I real-

ized how little people knew about me and about my identity. I spent the next year answering every question, so eager for people to understand that I was willing to ignore the invasiveness of their questions. I found myself exhausted, wishing that I could hand out a memo on being trans-gender to everyone whose queries never seemed to end.

In order to earn their validation, I was told to cater to the stereotypes that made them comfortable. I was expected to meet their defi nition of a man, so they could jus-

tify their acceptance of my identity. I must be a completely straight jock with misogy-

nistic tendencies. I couldn’t like anything girls liked and all shades of pink were out of the question. Then, maybe, they would call me a man.

I refused, and I will continue to refuse until an outdated generalization of gender is not their expectation. I will not be some hyper-masculine distortion of myself be-cause society screwed up when making the gender binary. Contrary to popular be-lief, I can be transgender and also queer. I can be a feminist and still be a man. I will not reject my past because my future is not

what they thought it would be.After years of fi elding their fool-

ish demands, I know that

this obliviousness is not being resolved. Though their education is neither my job

nor my responsibility, no one else is step-ping up to help. Not even the supposedly comprehensive health curriculum of MCPS correctly defi nes “transgender.” Sadly, it’s

still the best of what is widely taught. The media spreads stereotypes, misinforma-tion, and exaggeration in their limited cov-erage of transgender issues. The only time transgender women are covered is when they are beaten or killed. Chaz Bono, hard-ly a fair representative of an entire identity, defi nes the media’s coverage of transgen-

der men. Genderqueer people, those who do not identify as a man or a woman, are not even acknowledged publicly.

Because of this, people end up fi ghting

over issues they do not begin to under-stand. “Transgender” is not the same as

“transvestite.” There is not a minimum

or maximum age cutoff for coming out.

Transgender people are not required to get surgery or to be on hormones. Transgen-der people do not want to trick anyone; they want to be accepted for their identi-ties. Transgender people will use public restrooms; the debate is whether or not to protect them equally there. Gender neu-tral bathrooms are rare but good, how-ever, keeping transgender people in an “other” category should not be the ideal.

Furthermore, transgender people in most places can still be fi red, denied housing, or

kicked out of public establishments solely because of their identity.

There is no excuse for this discrimina-tion and general ignorance. The trans-gender identity is more than an unfortu-nate disorder. We will not continue to be neglected. We deserve the same human rights that are granted to the majority of

the population. We will only reach that point if people are educated in compas-sion and understanding. Respect should not be too mucgh to ask.

Opinions 11 silverchips

At the end of freshman year, I came out as transgender. Suddenly, everyone had questions. Apparently, they thought it was now completely appropriate to interrogate me about my entire life. I was no longer allowed privacy.

They asked if my parents cried when I told them. They asked what was in my pants. They asked how I could be a boy. They laughed at my reply; I am a boy.

I became their walking, talking diction-ary, a practical poster boy for whatever “transgender” meant. I was an incred-

ibly convenient replacement for a simple Google search. They couldn’t take the time to look it up, of course; they had lives to live. And clearly, I lived to explain my identity over and over again.

If I refused to answer a particularly of-fensive inquiry, somehow they were the victims. They were just “curious” and it

was “harmless, really.” I shouldn’t

be upset; I should be grate-ful that they cared. They wanted to be educated, they said. Never mind that they didn’t bother to learn the basics. Re-membering my name and pronouns was just too diffi cult.

They insisted

that they cared, that they were on my side. Appar-ently that didn’t amount to any respect.

It wasn’t always their fault, not com-pletely. Many of them really did mean to be supportive, but no one taught them how. They grew up learning that it’s okay to be diff erent, as long as “diff erent”

didn’t mean LGBT. The lucky ones knew that they didn’t have to be straight to be loved, that there was no one right way to be happy. But no one ever mentioned what it meant to be transgender, let alone to say that it was okay.

No one told me either. For most of my life, the phrase “gender identity” was

not even part of my vocabulary. I went through elementary school knowing that I was not quite the same as the other girls, but I had no idea why. It wasn’t because I liked sports so much or because I hated playing house. Though those were true, it was more; my mind worked diff erently.

It never occurred to me that I could actu-ally be a boy inside, even as I did my best to be like them. I cut my own hair, hoping to fi t in at recess. I was still left out; nothing

I did was good enough. I couldn’t change my body. All I liked were my shoulders, broad from years of swimming, but they weren’t enough to make me feel at home in my skin. I hid my discomfort behind baggy clothes. Middle school taught me that that just meant I was weird.

I learned the word “transgender” in

freshman year. It took me months to ac-cept that the defi nition fi t me because, for

years, I had been told that I was overreact-ing. I wasn’t diff erent; everyone felt that

way. I eventually spoke up; I was proud to be diff erent. In the few minutes after fi rst

coming out as transgender, things fi nally

My Blair: Personal column

Being transgender at Blair

Up and Coming

April 25, 2013

THEN:1989

& NOW:2013REVIEW SESSION A science teacher tutors a student during academic support at the old Blair on Wayne Ave.

CHEM HELP Becky Miller helps sophomore Molly Beckett go over a review packet for an upcoming Chemistry test.

MIMI SIM

SILVERLOGUE ARCHIVES

May 18: Prom

ZEKE WAPNER

May 6:APs

LEILA BARTHOLET

April 26: Into the Woods

Student & Teacher Awards & HonorsSeniors Lisha Yuan, Audrey Shi and Tatanya Gubin and juniors Alex Bourzut-

shky and Alan Du along with their spon-sor David Stein were selected as one of Moody’s Mega Math Challenge’s top six teams in the nation. The team will com-pete for scholarships ranging upwards of $20,000 on the weekend of April 26-28.

Junior Isabel Hendrix-Jenkins won second place and a $10,000 college scholarship in the 2012 Junior Achievement Essay Competition for her essay on how the US can tackle its income disparity.

Seniors Mimi Verdonk and Leah Ham-

mond won fi rst and second respectively

from the U.S. Department of Agriculture through their 2013 MLK Jr. essay competi-tion. Verdonk won a paid internship with the department for this summer.

Blair’s It’s Academic team, consisting of seniors Thomas Gaddy, Ian Ozeroff and

Adam Kadir have advanced to the semi-fi nals level of the regional competition.

Then and Now and Student Awards & Hon-ors were compiled by Josh Schmidt and Emma Rose Borzekowski.

ZEKE WAPNER

istic integrity in relation to reporting deli-cate personal matters. The slightest shred of “alleged” information can be repeated and spread until it is equated with fact. Reputa-tions can crumble because of reporting with

little substantiated material. Allegedly, high school is a whirlwind of rumors and drama; Silver Chips’s teen audience is especially susceptible to exaggerating mistruth. It would be irresponsible, therefore, for the newspa-per to chronicle the recent ordeal. At a time when few conclusive details are available to students, it would be difficult to com-pile a trustworthy story. In most cases, Silver Chips strives to delve into any ongoing topic on Blair’s campus. We aim to inform our audience with complete coverage and to investigate notewor-thy instances. In order to

establish a reputation of legitimacy, we endeavor to cover relevant news regardless of a contro-versy factor.

Because of the uncertain and discreet nature of this particular scenario, however, we chose to postpone any coverage. Profes-sional matters should be handled confiden-tially until details are released to a public. In the event that the conflict is resolved and specifics become available to a greater audience, Silver Chips may revisit the deci-sion not to write about the firing. For now, we will adhere to our judgment and refrain from possible defamation.

April 25, 2013 12 Editorials silverchips

LEAH HAMMOND

Slander and shoddily reported hearsay are best left to the ten-cent celebrity gossip magazines stacked along grocery store checkouts. We’ve all seen them— the pub-lications whose aim is ostensibly to trash reputations, while attracting the interest of a gawking public. It is not the place of any legitimate news outlet, and especially not the place of a high school newspaper, to prioritize reader attraction over ethical journalism. Recently, the unex-pected and extended leave of a Blair teacher prompted whispers that echoed through-out Blair Boulevard. The teacher’s leave of absence is a private matter, the details of which were not disclosed to students. As some Blazers theorized and debated amongst themselves, they sought to gather the facts from Silver Chips. However, the aim of Silver Chips is far removed from that of tabloids; the paper does not seek to undermine reputations or to destroy careers. Unlike celebrity gossip columns peppered with the word “al-legedly” and vague references to “inside sources,” Silver Chips will never construct entire stories from the basis of rumors. It is crucial, especially for a high school newspaper, to uphold standards of journal-

By Ruth Aitken

Maintaining our reliability

Ombudsman Ruth Aitken EVA SHEN

Letters to the Editor: 75 years of correspondence

As news of the Boston Marathon bomb-ings surged onto press wires April 15, the nation paused in solemn mourning for the victims and rallied for the capture of the perpetrators. Headlines proclaimed news of the shocking tragedy, and the nation followed closely as a citywide manhunt ensued for the pair of brothers responsible for the attack. Meanwhile, sitting in our desks 400 miles away, Blair students, born just before the turn of the century, were similarly struck by the harrowing news. But beneath that sadness, Generation X might have felt something else-- something that felt curiously like a lack of surprise.

For those of us born within weeks of the 1999 Columbine school shooting or within days of the April 1995 Oklahoma City bombings, mass acts of terror have regrettably come to seem common. In the years right at the dawn of our generation’s awareness of the world around us, we saw the twin towers crumple and overheard snippets of the nightly news declaring a “war on terror.” When the oldest of current Blair students were only in second grade, the pair of “Beltway snipers” terrorized our own neighborhoods in a deluge of sense-less homicides. Parents kept their children home from school. We learned to practice “Code Blue” and “Code Red” emergency drills in the event that the scenarios that raced through our nightmares actualized themselves in the school hallways.

As children, we were indoctrinated with the message that America must fight to defend itself against terrorism around the same time that we memorized the Pledge of Allegiance. In geography class, cities become synonymous with the awful acts that transpired there: Tucson, Aurora, Newtown.

It’s impossible for us in our relative youth to say whether reports of national terrorism have increased in our lifetime or whether the 24-hour news cycle simply places them more at the forefront of our awareness. It’s true that as we compul-sively refresh our browsers at the prospect of breaking developments in the Boston tragedy, we desensitize ourselves to the cataclysmic tragedy of the bombing. But the children of the digital age grew up in the shade cast by the looming threat of terror-ism; have recurrent acts of mass violence already disillusioned us?

Based on the trajectory of mass acts of violence in the United States, it is difficult to envision an end to domestic terror-ism. As we graduated from elementary to middle to high school, we slowly gained a greater awareness of the impact that terror-ism has on the world into which we’ve ma-tured. When we were children, we formed our conceptions of the world based on what was happening around us; our minds

unquestioningly threaded tragic memories into the fabric of our total understanding.

What distinguishes us from generations past is that terrorism on American soil has shaped us. So let us distinguish ourselves from generations past and become the first responders, the helpers, the people who will rush to provide whatever emergency assistance we can in the event of violent strikes. Perhaps we can be the people to recognize the reality of terrorism’s damage as we mobilize healing efforts. Because of our recognition of terrorism’s presence, let us initiate healing and humanity, compas-sion and immediate response for victims. Let our foremost objective be to care for and remember the victims, not to delve into the perpetrator’s twisted psyche.

After last week’s bombings at the Boston Marathon, for instance, Bostonians flocked to local centers to donate blood for those injured in the blasts. Amid the darkness of horrific moments, there are those who are ready on cue to volunteer their efforts. It may be idealized to hope for a populace conditioned to respond to tragedy with em-pathy instead of stupefaction, but perhaps our heightened familiarity with incidents of terrorism will allow us to become more aware of violent acts abroad, as well.

After hours of following the reports and developments of the Boston incident, fewer Americans took note of the reports sweep-ing the internet of a second tragic bombing which occurred the same day. A US plane dropped a bomb on a wedding in a moun-tainous region of Afghanistan killing at least 30 of the people in attendance. Articles and images were circulated on Facebook and other social media outlets as some decried our nation’s tendency to ignore this type of violence in the Middle East, consid-ering it to be par for the course rather than a tragedy in league with our own.

It’s impossible to deny that Americans give greater gravity to acts of terror per-petrated against our nation while civilian deaths and terror abroad rush by on the news every night- if they’re covered at all. Yet in the wake of these sudden strangely simultaneous acts of violence against the in-nocent, we are given an opportunity. We are given the opportunity to hold, for however briefly, a genuine feeling of empathy for people around the world whose own suffer-ing we so easily disassociate from, accept-ing it subconsciously as the norm for others, in the middle east especially, to experience perpetual fear of violence. Just as our generation can use our difficult relationship with terrorism and violence to learn to be the heroes each other need, we also have a responsibility to the world to extend our empathy to all the innocents forced daily to live in fear.

Gaining empathy from tragedy

1966

1941

1975

For the Past 75 years, Silver Chips has been dedicated to hearing community feedback. Be-low, we’ve included some of our favorite Letters to the Editor in years past.

To voice your opinions, send letters to the editor to silver.chips.print@gmail.com

Compiled by Emma Rose Borzekowski

Chips Pics:

Would you ever go to a teen club?

“No, I don’t want to see people my age being ratchet. I can simply go to school for that.” -junior Andrea Bravo

“This summer I’m going to H20 in Ocean City. It seems like a lot of fun be-cause you can be social and dance a lot.” -junior Fiona Lachman

“No, because it’s not a real club, it’s kind of lame.” -sophomore Jordan John-son

“Yes, gun regulation is a great idea. There is no other way to truly decrease the amount of shootings and gun violence.” -junior Emanuel Ceron @itsmannyy

³,W�ZLOO�RQO\�DIIHFW�ODZ�DELGLQJ�FLWL]HQV��FULPLQDOV�ZLOO�¿�QG�ZD\V�DURXQG�WKRVH�laws.” -senior Walter Marcos

“Yes, because it will help keep control over who has weapons and who doesn’t.” -sophomore Kenny Johnson

“No, because guns symbolize freedom in America. If you take away guns, it takes away power from the people. People are allowed to retain their freedom by keeping their guns.” -junior David Ma

Is gun regulation a good idea?

Chips Index:

“I am participating in Puzzlepalooza this year because I don’t have an HSA and I think it’s going to be lots of fun.” -junior Rebecca Hamilton-Levi

³1R��,¶OO�EH�SDUWLFLSDWLQJ�LQ�SUH�¿�QDOV�EUHDNIDVW�FOXE�DQG�VOHHSLQJSDOX]]D´��VHQLRU�Caren Holmes @Curnholmes

“Yes, I am in the magnet program.” -junior Alec Fields

Are you participating in Puzzlepalooza this year?

Will the Nationals and Orioles have another great season this year?

³7KH�1DWLRQDOV�ZLOO�GH¿�QLWHO\�FRQWLQXH�WKHLU�VXFFHVV�IURP�ODVW�VHDVRQ�ZLWK�D�limitless Stephen Strasburg and hungry Bryce Harper. The Orioles have the ability to win but in a stronger division their week rotation and injuries will hurt their chances.” -junior Neil Dalal @NeilDalal96

“The Nationals aren’t going to be good as they were last year, the Orioles will be decent.” -sophomore Aaron Clingman

Soapbox 13April 25, 2013 silverchips

Should we have awareness months?

“Awareness months only have purposes if there are meaningful events for lots of people to take part in throughout.” -junior Paul B. Ellis @PrezPBE

“Yes, because it helps spread awareness to various topics. It’s good because more people can get involved in the issues at hand.” -freshman Lucas Burtnick

“Yes, it’s fun to have spirit days in honor of awareness months, like Pink Out.” -junior Emma Roberts-Vaurio

595 Blazers are currently enrolled in a basic technology course

The Orioles have had 5 winning seasons in the past 20 years, the Nationals have had 1 winning season as the Nationals

Silver Chips Print spends approximately 84 hours a year compiling the paper during late days

About 40 percent of Blazers have been affected by gun violence

288 Blazers are participating in Puzzle Palooza this year

57.2 percent do not know what Tastee Diner is

As of the 2010 census, 18,755 people reside in Langley Park

There are 93,000 acres of unused land in Montgomery County

Chips Index compiled by Sabrina Bradford with assistance from Naomi Wein-traub, Dylan Ahunhodjaev, William Zhu, Leslie Chen, Blue Kehler, Alanni Fuji, Elizabeth Pham, Joel Weisburger, and Sam Popper

#PuzzlePaloozaLEAH HAMMOND

#NatitudeCOURTESY OF CHRIS WELLS

#teenclubCOURTESY OF NIGHTSTORM

see page 3

see page 9

see page 32

see page 22

see page 15

Want to be featured in the next Soapbox?

Follow @Silver_Chips on twitter and respond to any of our #soapbox ques-tions in full sentences. If your response is creative, intelligent or interesting your tweet could be picked for the next issue’s Soap Box! We will credit you with your full name, your grade and your twitter handle.

April 25, 2013silverchips14 ADs

Refl ecting on the local victims of a national gun violence epidemic

FeaturesSilver Chips April 25, 2013 15

pg 16-17

Google ‘gun violence’ and you will be bombarded with almost 70 million news stories from the past 24 hours alone. On such hot-topic issues as fi rearms legislation, people can fi nd themselves lost in a blur of national news updates on the latest policies and proposals.

Some of the headlines hit closer to home:‘Takoma Park teen slain by man she met

online, police say.’‘Silver Spring Teenager Fatally Shot on

Md. Bus.’‘Md. high school student, Army staff

sergeant are found dead.’In the wake of gun-related tragedies

like those involving Blair students Siobhan Nicole Lee (‘12) in January 2013, Tai Lam (‘12) in November 2008 and Rockville High School senior Michelle Miller on April 7, school communities have rallied together to seek solace. Families, friends and even strangers have channeled remorse for the community’s losses with prayer posters on Blair Boulevard, candlelight vigils in Downtown Silver Spring, widely-attended memo-rial services and hours of county-sponsored counseling.

Nation-ally, gun control proposals have been quashed by the Senate--most recently, the expanded background check proposal that was re-jected in a 54-46 vote on April 17--and returned to the legislators who proposed them, all to decide whether and how much to restrict gun owner-ship in the United States. Last year, CNN reported that there were over 310 million non-military fi rearms in the country. When one of these guns aff ects the friends and families of MCPS students, the tragedy can touch innumerable lives.

Coping as a community

Howard University-graduate Dr. Brenda

Barbour, Ph.D., has been a school psycholo-gist in Montgomery County for 25 years. Barbour, who currently works at Blair and Highland View Elementary School, has witnessed the immediate response follow-ing an incident of gun violence. Barbour says she counseled students after the Nov. 1, 2008 shooting death of Blair freshman Tai Lam and calls the community’s response as one of outrage. “Students were really angry because [the shooting] seemed so sense-less,” she says. Barbour says that this reac-tion is typical of those left behind following any tragedy. “Anger is really the biggest thing you see right afterwards,” she says. “Anger at the person who did it, anger at themselves for not knowing.”

Barbour’s ultimate goal while counseling grieving survivors, she says, is to identify students’ emotions help them understand their feelings. “At that point, you have to acknowledge the fact that you’re angry. You have to recognize that things do happen that you don’t have any control of,” she says.

Close friends of Siobhan Lee, who was shot and killed by an acquaintance

on Jan. 25 in Northwest D.C., are still recovering from

her death and decline to comment. “I’m just

not ready. That was my best friend,”

says one senior.

Elongated exposure

While the immediate reac-tion to a tragedy is often a fl urry

of emotion, action and commisera-

tion, Barbour says she has seen commu-

nities of clients become desensitized to tragedy over

time. “In the moment, people get really upset and want to get active, but then it kind of weans off and people forget about it,” she says.

Security Assistant Maureen Walsh knows fi rsthand the eff ects of frequently seeing violence. Before she took a job patrolling the Blair hallways during lunch, Walsh wore a diff erent uniform. For 32 years, she worked as a police offi cer for the Metropoli-tan Police Department in Washington, D.C.

In her time there, especially for the decade she spent working out of Southeast, Walsh says she encountered and investigated over 1500 homicides. And, according to the FBI, 67.7 percent of the nation’s murders in 2011 were committed using fi rearms. “Most of the murders involved young people,” Walsh adds. “I can’t even count how many children I’ve seen die by fi rearms.”

Like Barbour, Walsh is the mother of teenagers and says that she had to learn how to distance herself from the tragedies because of her fi rst job as a mother. “I wouldn’t be able to do my job if I couldn’t depersonalize,” she says. “One victim looked just like my youngest son.”

Walsh says that, despite her sensitivity training, she still struggled to control her emotions after Lee died. “Siobhan was re-ally just a special person. [At her funeral] there was just this overwhelming feeling of loss and sadness,” she says.

Finding light

English Department chair and teacher Vickie Adamson never taught Lee, but she recalls a few memorable encounters between the two. Adamson says she twice called security to discipline Lee during her years at Blair, but her fi nal memory of the

Blair grad is a pleasant conversation with her at Lee’s workplace at the Giant in Blair Park. “I told her, ‘I’m just really proud to see how you’re functioning and doing your job, you just have a really positive aura,’” Adamson recalls. “She just seemed to have a diff erent kind of energy.” Because of the change in Lee’s attitude that Adamson observed, she says the news of Lee’s death has had an even greater impact on her. “It’s doubly tragic because I saw a transforma-tion in her. It marked what seemed to be a new beginning for her that was cut short,” she says.

Adamson, who grew up in South Central Los Angeles and taught in the L.A. school system for seven years, says she has had plenty of experiences that have helped her form a strong opinion on gun control. In South Los Angeles in 2009, fi rearms caused 833 deaths and 74% of all homicides, ac-cording to ‘Mortality in Los Angeles County 2009’, a publication of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. While Adamson was in college, she says she often overheard gunshots coming from the home of her moth-er’s neighbor, who was involved in drug dealing. “One night my car got shot,” says Ad-amson. Once she became a

18insidefeatures

Staring down the

barrel

“This quaint little place at the intersection of home and comfort is certainly a paradise to all those who come here”

19

teacher in Los Angeles, she says she found that gun-related tragedies were not uncom-mon. “It seemed like every Monday the principal would come on the P.A. and ask for a moment of silence for a student who had been shot over the weekend.” she says. The incidents, Adamson recalls, sometimes even occurred on school property. “One year a gang came on campus and essen-tially executed a student,” she says.

Because of her experiences in the inner city and her interactions with the young lives that Blair has lost, Adamson says she takes a strong stance in favor of gun control. “I think it’s tragic that rampant gun vio-lence is just a plague to our community. It’s an epidemic,” she says. “I think we need stricter gun control laws. I don’t believe people have the right to determine whether someone lives or dies.”

Adamson credits these experiences for teaching her a lesson about the value of life, especially when the threat of violence is always present. “There’s a possibility that innocent people might get taken out, and not because of the way they chose to live their life,” she says. “So you have to live your life in the way you fi nd purpose.” As such, following the gun-related tragedies that have aff ected the Blair community, Ad-amson says that she has tried to take the op-

portunity to educate her students through anecdotes and lessons. “My students know me for storytelling,” she says. “We always have to fi nd teachable moments.”

Walsh says she echoes this sentiment, especially because of the tragedies she witnessed while on the police force. “[This job] is really cathartic because I’m work-ing with live kids. I always tell them, ‘Life doesn’t happen like it does in the movies and books. We can’t predict when tragedies are going to happen,” she says.

Walsh stresses that, following tragic inci-dents such as the recent ones in Montgom-ery County, it is important to remember that the perpetrators are the ones at fault. “It’s very common to blame a victim, but in a perfect world we should be able to do things we want to do without expecting to be murdered,” she says. “Ulti-mately, we have to hold people responsible for the violent things that they do.”

“I can’t even count how many

children I’ve seen die by fi rearms.”

- Maureen WalshBlair security

assistant

By Paris Parker-Loan

EVA SHEN

EVA SHEN

PUCK BREGSTONE

April 25, 2013 Features 16/17silverchips

n the middle of Silver Spring, at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Cam-eron Street exists a portal into another world, a dining establishment unique among dining establishments. There’s no clever gimmick, no mariachi band with fake, peeling mustaches singing “Feliz Navidad” in July. In fact, in all measurable respects the Tastee Diner is remarkably average.

“Tastees,” as the place is lovingly called by many a patron, is your classic cheap diner. The fl oors are a little dirty, the décor a little cheesy, and as far as the food, well, you get what you pay for. With the hope of uncovering the diner’s secret--what keeps so many people coming back for more--Silver Chips spent a full 24 hours at this human crossroads of old men, rowdy children and the occasional drunk teenager.

“Its a Maryland thing”

Our staff arrives at 9:00 AM to a diner fi lled with the sounds of change clinking and dishes clanging. The diner’s special something is indistinguishable, but it seems that the employees’ shirts say it best: “It’s a Maryland thing.” What else could possibly unite the senseless mix of Tastees patrons but the charms of the Old Line State? Two men call out to each other over the commotion of coff ee cups and sizzling bacon: “Bernie how are you?” “Good morning, good morning Joe!” A few tables down, a customer calls over a waiter. “Claudia! Let me introduce you to my brother in law!”

The diner is nothing if not consistent. At breakfast, noon, dinner time and midnight, friendly customers shout over one another, pancakes and eggs are potent and the Keno Ball never stops rolling.

Near the diner’s front entrance a sign reads, “there will be a $5.00 charge for whin-ing,” and from all outward appearances, the Tastees crew follows this mantra. Accord-ing to waiter Danny Tesfa, the money isn’t great and the tips are inconsistent, but the staff really does care about each other. “I hate my job, but I love my co-workers” says waiter Marcel Hall, quoting another server. “I really do care for the people I work with, this crazy bunch of people, they really are like family,” Hall says. The staff ’s unity is matched by their dedication to Tastees. In the blizzard of 2010, 8 cooks and 10 servers came out to keep the restaurant open so they wouldn’t let down their customers.

Last stop of the night

A man in a tuxedo and a woman in a gown are drinking coff ee by the window and listening to Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.” It’s 11:00 PM and they decided to pair their

of his line of work. “The average life for a shock trauma doctor is 15 years. I did 25, I beat the odds,” he says. “Now I gotta come here to get a steak and eggs for therapy. It’s better than a rum and coke.”

A wanderer’s paradise

In the early morning, Phil Collins waxes philosophically about the troubling lack of compassion in today’s society, (“Another Day in Paradise”). Upon refl ection, it’s not inconceivable that Collin’s song was written about the Tastee Diner. This quaint little place at the intersection of home and comfort is certainly a paradise to all those who come here for the friendly staff , quality service, and warm atmosphere. But Tastee’s means even more than that to some. To the good doc, its a safe haven where he can get some quiet time to eat his steak and eggs and forget about his worldly troubles. To the servers, it’s family. To others it is just the only place open at 4:00 A.M. Whatever the reason, people drift in from out of state or just down the street; 5 year-olds, aging retir-ees, accountants with their head in the clouds, all drawn to this wanderer’s paradise. Well, you know what they say: all roads lead to Tastees.

about life. All of these things make the Tastee Diner a pleasant oddity; a place where you can break out your parachute pants, slip on your legwarmers, and just get away from a hectic 21st century lifestyle for a morning.

If you really want to take a trip through time, you can toss a couple of quarters in one of Tastees jukeboxes and get a treat from any era. From Willie Nelson’s nasally whine to Gnarls Barkley’s soulful screaming, anything you want, they got.

And the Tastees soundtrack is really a metaphor for the restaurant itself. The hodge-podge of artists and musical styles mirrors the all-inclusive nature of the Tastees com-munity. The upbeat, rebellious tunes of Marley represent the lively drunk teenagers who “stick it to the man” by choosing Tastees over fast food giants like McDonald’s led by bigwig corporate billionaires. Meanwhile, Sinatra’s suave, soothing sound repre-sents the older, calmer generation of patrons who come here in the quiet, early morning hours to relax for a little bit and let the warmth of the diner melt their troubles away. The good doc, a middle-aged, white man who sits alone eating his steak and eggs at 7:00 A.M., is a part of the second group.

The good doc, who practiced medicine for 25 years at a local hospital’s trauma center is retired now, but he says his patients are still the reason he chooses anonymity. “It’s not healthy,” he says, pointing an accusatory fi nger towards his plate of steak and eggs. “I tell my patients, ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ But I like to be sinful. I sin early in the morning when nobody can see me,” he admits.

But for this Good Doc, the Tastee Diner is more than just a place to sin. The main reason he eats here, he says, is because of the employees. “The staff have become my friends. Friends are very important because they’re God’s way of apologizing for your relatives,” jokes the Doc.

He says the calm, comfortable atmosphere of the Diner is a stark contrast to his former job at a shock trauma center. “If you [come to] see me, you’ve got 9 gunshots in your head,” says the Doc. “This is a safe place. Nobody bothers anybody here.”

The diner got him through the hard times and the stress

evening at the opera with two dollar eggs because it only makes sense. “Its open 24 hours and we are dressed appropriately,” said Seth Adam Meinero.

The arrival of the opera couple signifi es the coming of the last-stop-of-the-night stragglers. “Friday night drunks come in, order one thing, expect the other, fall off their stools,” says Tony, a diner regular. While this particular Saturday night passed calmly, the regulars and staff are used to some wild suburban Maryland nights.

Some adult couples enter with quiet reserve. They are drunk but dignifi ed. “We came tonight because I’m really drunk and wanted greasy food,” says Laura of Silver Spring with the solemnity of someone much more sober. But the over-21 crowd isn’t the only group who enjoys the very normal sized “Giant Waffl e” at all hours of the day and night. Twenty years ago, Murphy of Silver Spring would regularly prop his three-year-old son up on a stool at the counter at 3:00 AM.

Others, far from home and family dinners, working strange hours or preferring the lonesome hours of the diner at dusk, settle into a booth and watch the horse races on the ancient, mounted TVs. Darryl Matthews, a weekly fi xture, arrives alone at 10:15 PM. “I can hide out, no one will fi nd me here... If it was ever closed for a day I wouldn’t know what to do.” He believes that the diner is a sanctuary to many a lone hungry wanderer desperate for an uncomfortable wooden bench and a milkshake. “Senior citizens, retirees come here alone to

sit and have a quiet meal. People don’t expect to come here to make friends,” says Mat-thews.

Early morning dreamer

At night, Tastees gets interesting characters outside of the stereotype of the late night drunken drifter, wandering aimlessly into the only place open at this hour. One patron in particular sharply contradicts this image with his drive and ambition.

Around 3:30 AM a man sitting in the last booth of the center row of seats, back facing the window, timidly orders two eggs over easy with a side of wheat toast. Smiling bashfully, Linus Chapman clasps his hands together and begins to explain his life philosophy. “I try to make myself well known,” says Chapman, a goal he has been working towards since high school. He claims he has won the North American Academic Award two years in a row while attending Simon Tilden High School in New York. He goes over his impressive list of awards while still maintaining an air of modesty. But Chapman in no way feels that he has reached his peak yet. He dreams of breaking free from the confi nes of his current accounting job and branching out into the realm of creative writing. He yearns to craft himself into a 21st century Pushkin or Tolstoy, but for now he keeps his passion for writing to himself. He has not lost sight of his dream though. He envisions his perfect life culminating in a nobel prize, the ultimate “making yourself known” award.

If Chapman’s dream comes true, at least Tastees will be able to brag that they knew him when he was just a small town accountant living in a lonely world, with a calculator and a dream.

An escape from reality

Perhaps the most outwardly noticeable attribute about the Tastee Diner is the stuck-in-the-1970s vibe that surrounds the place. “I like the retro feel, it truly feels like a neighborhood diner,” says Mary Ann, a morning customer who declined to give her last name.

The Tastee Diner doesn’t belong in this millennium. The old Superbowl photos on the walls, Frank Sinatra’s smooth, bluesy voice wafting through the air in the early afternoon, the wait-staff jabbering with the customers

24 hours at the Tastee DinerBy Isaac Jiffar Additional ’round-the-clock reporting by Silver Chips Staff

Photos by Clare Lefebure

ALWAYS TASTEE Left: The classic diner counter greets patrons with a juke box and a place to sit. Center: Tastee patrons share lunch. Right: Tastee’s glass display cases full of cakes and fruit are a diner staple.

I

April 25, 2013 Features 16/17silverchips

n the middle of Silver Spring, at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Cam-eron Street exists a portal into another world, a dining establishment unique among dining establishments. There’s no clever gimmick, no mariachi band with fake, peeling mustaches singing “Feliz Navidad” in July. In fact, in all measurable respects the Tastee Diner is remarkably average.

“Tastees,” as the place is lovingly called by many a patron, is your classic cheap diner. The fl oors are a little dirty, the décor a little cheesy, and as far as the food, well, you get what you pay for. With the hope of uncovering the diner’s secret--what keeps so many people coming back for more--Silver Chips spent a full 24 hours at this human crossroads of old men, rowdy children and the occasional drunk teenager.

“Its a Maryland thing”

Our staff arrives at 9:00 AM to a diner fi lled with the sounds of change clinking and dishes clanging. The diner’s special something is indistinguishable, but it seems that the employees’ shirts say it best: “It’s a Maryland thing.” What else could possibly unite the senseless mix of Tastees patrons but the charms of the Old Line State? Two men call out to each other over the commotion of coffee cups and sizzling bacon: “Bernie how are you?” “Good morning, good morning Joe!” A few tables down, a customer calls over a waiter. “Claudia! Let me introduce you to my brother in law!”

The diner is nothing if not consistent. At breakfast, noon, dinner time and midnight, friendly customers shout over one another, pancakes and eggs are potent and the Keno Ball never stops rolling.

Near the diner’s front entrance a sign reads, “there will be a $5.00 charge for whin-ing,” and from all outward appearances, the Tastees crew follows this mantra. Accord-ing to waiter Danny Tesfa, the money isn’t great and the tips are inconsistent, but the staff really does care about each other. “I hate my job, but I love my co-workers” says waiter Marcel Hall, quoting another server. “I really do care for the people I work with, this crazy bunch of people, they really are like family,” Hall says. The staff’s unity is matched by their dedication to Tastees. In the blizzard of 2010, 8 cooks and 10 servers came out to keep the restaurant open so they wouldn’t let down their customers.

Last stop of the night

A man in a tuxedo and a woman in a gown are drinking coffee by the window and listening to Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.” It’s 11:00 PM and they decided to pair their

of his line of work. “The average life for a shock trauma doctor is 15 years. I did 25, I beat the odds,” he says. “Now I gotta come here to get a steak and eggs for therapy. It’s better than a rum and coke.”

A wanderer’s paradise

In the early morning, Phil Collins waxes philosophically about the troubling lack of compassion in today’s society, (“Another Day in Paradise”). Upon refl ection, it’s not inconceivable that Collin’s song was written about the Tastee Diner. This quaint little place at the intersection of home and comfort is certainly a paradise to all those who come here for the friendly staff, quality service, and warm atmosphere. But Tastee’s means even more than that to some. To the good doc, its a safe haven where he can get some quiet time to eat his steak and eggs and forget about his worldly troubles. To the servers, it’s family. To others it is just the only place open at 4:00 A.M. Whatever the reason, people drift in from out of state or just down the street; 5 year-olds, aging retir-ees, accountants with their head in the clouds, all drawn to this wanderer’s paradise. Well, you know what they say: all roads lead to Tastees.

about life. All of these things make the Tastee Diner a pleasant oddity; a place where you can break out your parachute pants, slip on your legwarmers, and just get away from a hectic 21st century lifestyle for a morning.

If you really want to take a trip through time, you can toss a couple of quarters in one of Tastees jukeboxes and get a treat from any era. From Willie Nelson’s nasally whine to Gnarls Barkley’s soulful screaming, anything you want, they got.

And the Tastees soundtrack is really a metaphor for the restaurant itself. The hodge-podge of artists and musical styles mirrors the all-inclusive nature of the Tastees com-munity. The upbeat, rebellious tunes of Marley represent the lively drunk teenagers who “stick it to the man” by choosing Tastees over fast food giants like McDonald’s led by bigwig corporate billionaires. Meanwhile, Sinatra’s suave, soothing sound repre-sents the older, calmer generation of patrons who come here in the quiet, early morning hours to relax for a little bit and let the warmth of the diner melt their troubles away. The good doc, a middle-aged, white man who sits alone eating his steak and eggs at 7:00 A.M., is a part of the second group.

The good doc, who practiced medicine for 25 years at a local hospital’s trauma center is retired now, but he says his patients are still the reason he chooses anonymity. “It’s not healthy,” he says, pointing an accusatory fi nger towards his plate of steak and eggs. “I tell my patients, ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ But I like to be sinful. I sin early in the morning when nobody can see me,” he admits.

But for this Good Doc, the Tastee Diner is more than just a place to sin. The main reason he eats here, he says, is because of the employees. “The staff have become my friends. Friends are very important because they’re God’s way of apologizing for your relatives,” jokes the Doc.

He says the calm, comfortable atmosphere of the Diner is a stark contrast to his former job at a shock trauma center. “If you [come to] see me, you’ve got 9 gunshots in your head,” says the Doc. “This is a safe place. Nobody bothers anybody here.”

The diner got him through the hard times and the stress

evening at the opera with two dollar eggs because it only makes sense. “Its open 24 hours and we are dressed appropriately,” said Seth Adam Meinero.

The arrival of the opera couple signifi es the coming of the last-stop-of-the-night stragglers. “Friday night drunks come in, order one thing, expect the other, fall off their stools,” says Tony, a diner regular. While this particular Saturday night passed calmly, the regulars and staff are used to some wild suburban Maryland nights.

Some adult couples enter with quiet reserve. They are drunk but dignifi ed. “We came tonight because I’m really drunk and wanted greasy food,” says Laura of Silver Spring with the solemnity of someone much more sober. But the over-21 crowd isn’t the only group who enjoys the very normal sized “Giant Waffl e” at all hours of the day and night. Twenty years ago, Murphy of Silver Spring would regularly prop his three-year-old son up on a stool at the counter at 3:00 AM.

Others, far from home and family dinners, working strange hours or preferring the lonesome hours of the diner at dusk, settle into a booth and watch the horse races on the ancient, mounted TVs. Darryl Matthews, a weekly fi xture, arrives alone at 10:15 PM. “I can hide out, no one will fi nd me here... If it was ever closed for a day I wouldn’t know what to do.” He believes that the diner is a sanctuary to many a lone hungry wanderer desperate for an uncomfortable wooden bench and a milkshake. “Senior citizens, retirees come here alone to

sit and have a quiet meal. People don’t expect to come here to make friends,” says Mat-thews.

Early morning dreamer

At night, Tastees gets interesting characters outside of the stereotype of the late night drunken drifter, wandering aimlessly into the only place open at this hour. One patron in particular sharply contradicts this image with his drive and ambition.

Around 3:30 AM a man sitting in the last booth of the center row of seats, back facing the window, timidly orders two eggs over easy with a side of wheat toast. Smiling bashfully, Linus Chapman clasps his hands together and begins to explain his life philosophy. “I try to make myself well known,” says Chapman, a goal he has been working towards since high school. He claims he has won the North American Academic Award two years in a row while attending Simon Tilden High School in New York. He goes over his impressive list of awards while still maintaining an air of modesty. But Chapman in no way feels that he has reached his peak yet. He dreams of breaking free from the confi nes of his current accounting job and branching out into the realm of creative writing. He yearns to craft himself into a 21st century Pushkin or Tolstoy, but for now he keeps his passion for writing to himself. He has not lost sight of his dream though. He envisions his perfect life culminating in a nobel prize, the ultimate “making yourself known” award.

If Chapman’s dream comes true, at least Tastees will be able to brag that they knew him when he was just a small town accountant living in a lonely world, with a calculator and a dream.

An escape from reality

Perhaps the most outwardly noticeable attribute about the Tastee Diner is the stuck-in-the-1970s vibe that surrounds the place. “I like the retro feel, it truly feels like a neighborhood diner,” says Mary Ann, a morning customer who declined to give her last name.

The Tastee Diner doesn’t belong in this millennium. The old Superbowl photos on the walls, Frank Sinatra’s smooth, bluesy voice wafting through the air in the early afternoon, the wait-staff jabbering with the customers

24 hours at the Tastee DinerBy Isaac Jiffar Additional ’round-the-clock reporting by Silver Chips Staff

Photos by Clare Lefebure

ALWAYS TASTEE Left: The classic diner counter greets patrons with a juke box and a place to sit. Center: Tastee patrons share lunch. Right: Tastee’s glass display cases full of cakes and fruit are a diner staple.

I

Just 15 miles from the White House and the hustle and bustle of Downtown D.C. sits upper Montgomery County’s best kept secret–Nick Maravell’s 20 acre farm. For more than 30 years, Maravell’s farm has been nestled near the heart of the Potomac. The land is surrounded on every side by houses, helping to maintain the farm’s organic standards.

But on March 15, 2013, Maravell and his family lost all ways of sowing the land after Montgomery County, which owns the lease, locked the last gate with access to the farm. Not only is 20 acres of organic farm being lost, but Maravell’s daughter’s portion of the farm, the Brickyard Educational Farm, is dying out just after its fi rst year of living.

Trapped

Big box stores and highways enclose the suburban communities of Maryland, mak-ing shopping a prime recreational activity. The millennial generation has gained the reputation of being trapped in their gam-ing world, fi ghting off evil next to a bag of chips and a tall glass of bubbling soda. According to the New York Times, this stereotype holds truth as kids 8-18 years old spend more than 7.5 hours a day with an electronic device.

The exaggerated use of electronics also provides reason for the obesity epidemic as children are constantly exposed to com-mercials for processed food, according to The Future of Children.

Sophia Marvell, Maravell’s daughter, wanted to change that. After attending school in Athol, Massachusetts at the Farm School, she decided to come back to the farm where she grew up. In January 2012, Sophia started the Brickyard Educational Farm, a place for students to come learn about the environment and the importance of agriculture.

Maravell felt that not only did the com-munity need the farm, but the environment needed it as well. “I founded the farm because of grassroots community eff ort calling for use of organic soil that is located on school board land into an educational center. It seemed like a natural fi t and com-promise to both preserve the land and use it for the benefi t of MCPS students,” she says.

The program has reached children of many diff erent ages, from elementary students to high school students. Field trips to the farm are targeted towards elemen-tary students because of curriculum. “Kids need to be exposed to agriculture because it is necessary that they know where food comes from because of land ethic. As a result, when they grow up they will be con-scious and aware of what they are eating, know about localized food economy and heath and nutrition,” she says.

Diabetes and obesity are also urgent problems according to Maravell. “Exposing young people to healthy food may be a way to combat those diseases,” she says.

18 Features April 25, 2013silverchips

Greener Pastures

By Jenna Kanner

Hands-on learning

A yellow school bus pulls into a wooded neighborhood, minutes later a class of kids hop off of the bus and run to the open pastures. When their teacher gives them the go-ahead, they gather into small groups

at diff erent plots of the small educational farm. Worms writhe around in plastic bins as kids grab them with their wriggling fi n-gers. Clumps of brown dirt are stuck under their fi ngernails and their pants are stained with grass.

The fi eld trips usually consist of several diff erent activities in a station rotation. First, kids may mill around at the compost-ing station as they sift through a worm-cul-turing bin. Through the next station, they learn about vegetables in the farm’s garden, either planting, transporting, harvesting or weeding tomatoes or various other veg-etables.

Next would be the chicken station. Kids learn that chickens are not just for meat and eggs. “We talk about rotating chickens as animals in a farm and as a good source nitrogen-fertilizer manure,” she says. “Stu-dents get to grind the chicken feed with a hand crank grinder.”

After the stations, students eat brown-bag lunch, with added organic snacks pro-vided by the farm. The fi eld trip closes with a refl ection on the time spent at the farm and a sing-along if it is age appropriate.

Tim Schwartz, a teacher at a Montesorri school in McLean, has seen the impact of the farm on his students. “The kids love it! They

always feel so useful and important, and they learn so much about gardening, food production and organic farming, which is so important as we try to avoid taking our students to visit farms that are not organic,” he says.

But the farm does not only serve el-ementary school kids. Maravell has visited Blair and other high schools to have in class fi eld trips and discuss agriculture and the environment. She estimates that the Brickyard Educational Farm has reached over 600 students at the farm site and close to 1,500 kids in schools.

Lobbying For Change

But the county has other plans for the use of the land that both Nick’s Farm and the Brickyard Educational Farm occupy that is the property of the county. And just this year, the lease that Nick Maravell had on the land ran out, leaving the farm locked and fertile organic soil wasting away.

The last gate to the farm was locked on March 15. What used to be green land with plentiful crops is now a bleak fi eld with yellowed corn husks scattered across the fi eld. The educational farm, pre-viously scattered with running kids is now covered with white plastic tarps, protecting the soil while Montgomery County decides the future of the land.

According to the campaign Save this Soil that supports the Brickyard Educational Farm, weeds will immediately begin to grow, in three months take over the cover crop, a crop grown for the protection of the soil. Growth from foreign weeds will make it hard for Maravell to ever start up the educational farm again.

Montgomery County has 13 plots of land set aside for future schools, the Maravell’s land being one site. The school board does not have current plans for a school within the six-year Capital Improvements Pro-gram, but may turn it into a middle school in the future that would help to relieve overcrowding near Churchill. Previously, the land was going to be turned into soccer fi elds but County Executive Ike Leggett

recently decided to pull the plug on this proposal.

Maravell has been fi ghting to save the land along with the Save this Soil campaign and other non-profi t organizations. “I don’t think Montgomery County was ever op-posed to [the Brickyard Educational Farm] and maybe it was not a profi t thing either. MSI was only going to be paying 15,000. Currently we pay 13,000 so I’m not really sure why they decided to lease it to them,” says Maravell. “The educational farm sprouted up after the fact and seeing how successful our pilot season was I am very optimistic.”

Maravell and the diff erent campaigns continue to fi ght. The farm hopes to follow the process of which the school board opens the land for proposals by working on a business plan so they have a solid proposal when it is done. Currently, the Brickyard Educational Farm continues to be a pres-ence inside of schools with in class presen-tations.

Schwartz hopes that the farm will con-tinue to exist. “There are other farms in the D.C. metropolitan area that we can and do visit, but none off er what Brickyard does, a true-to-life, practical, genuine experience in what it means to plant, care for and grow your own food!” he says.

Maravell and her family hope that if they get the land back, the Brickyard Edu-cational Farm will expand to reach stu-dents and prospective farmers of all ages. “My family’s vision is that Nick’s Farm will cease to exist and the Brickyard Farm would use the land.”

ART BY EVA SHEN

COURTESY OF DIRTMAG.COM

GRAPHIC BY KYLE DESIDERIO

COURTESY OF DIRTMAG.COM

COURTESY OF DIRTMAG.COM

Educational farms try to preserve the impor-tance of nature

SOURCE: SAVETHISSOIL.COM

“The kids love it! They al-ways feel so useful and impor-tant, and they learn so much about gardening, food produc-

tion and organic farming.”-Tim Schwartz

FARMING The potential site of Brickyard Educational Farm, which ran its pi-lot season this past summer (above), is a 20 acre plot of Potomac farmland (top right). Sophia Maravell (right), who heads the project, is currently in the process of securing the land’s lease from the County.

teacher

diverse as Blair, but they’re still diverse in their own way,” she explains.

For Lucie attending a black college like Eastern Shore gives her the opportunity to learn more about her African culture. “By at-tending an HBCU, my experience will defi -

nitely be enhanced in the sense that I will have a better understanding and apprecia-tion of African-Americans, “Lucie affi rms.

Darko is strongly appealed to attend Howard, and is still pondering her fi nal de-

cision. She comments that Howard would be convenient and would complement all her needs. “They’re giving me a scholarship, and it’s close to home,” Darko says. She adds that Howard has many qualities that make it appealing to attend. “I really liked the sense of community there and I know that I’d still get challenged academically,” Rachel says.

“I feel like I’d be happy there.”

of community there and I know that I’d still get challenged academically,” Rachel says.

“I feel like I’d be happy there.”

says Ibrahim. But America is beau-tiful as well, he says. He believes there are better opportunities and more freedom. If he does decide to visit one of his home countries, he wants to go as an americanized Arab. “This is home for me now,”

he says. Here in Maryland, like in Egypt, he enjoys hanging out with his friends and playing sports. In a couple of weeks, Ibrahim will start working within the health depart-ment of the Inter-national Rescue Committee (IRC), an organization that provides shelter, medical care and safety to refugees of the world.

Having already lived in three dif-

ferent countries throughout his adolescent years, Ibrahim has un-dergone experiences that one often accumulates over a lifetime, if ever. He believes that from the challeng-es he has faced, he has gained the mentality that we need to help each other to succeed and move for-ward. He believes that prejudice, hatred, war and violence are all things that bring us down. “They are things that put our society at the bottom and we are never going to reach the top if we keep moving this way,” he says.

April 25, 201219 Features silverchips

Country in profi le: From the Middle East to MarylandBy Maya Habash

Sophomore Abdallah Ibrahim walks down the hallway with his friends, phone in hand, backpack on shoulder. But Ibrahim walks through the hallways with some-thing that the average American teenager doesn’t have: a back-ground of refuge along with which comes a background of heartbreak and hope. He lived the fi rst eight

years of his life in Iraq and the next ten in Egypt.

Ibrahim moved to the States six months ago, and since his move, he feels as though his whole life has essentially been turned up-side down. “It’s like when you drink a cup of tea and it’s really hot and then you drink cold water; you’re going to feel some change,” Ibrahim says. And even though it has taken some getting used to, Ibrahim believes adjusting to the change was worth it.

A justifi ed move

As a non-religious Sunni Mus-lim, moving to the US allowed Ibrahim and his family to escape the religious shackles of the Iraqi and Egyptian cultures. “My best friend of eight years was Shiite. I was Sunni. But we don’t care, we are like brothers,” says Ibrahim. “But others care and say things like ‘why is your best friend not Sunni?’” Ibrahim and his family were also criticized for not respect-ing the culture and religion of Is-lam as his mother and older sister

have never worn hijabs. “People were telling us we were worth-less,” he says. In America, he says, he feels no hatred or discrimina-tion towards him due to his reli-gious views.

In addition to freedom of reli-gion, Ibrahim has found that the US provides him with a better edu-cation. Ibrahim studied in Iraq for fi ve years of elementary school and

then moved from Iraq to Egypt to escape violence and war. In Egypt, he fi nished his elementary school

education, which went up to sixth grade, and then continued through middle school. Although he en-joyed his time with his friends, he found that his academic experience in middle school was not ideal. “Teachers are bad. They use sticks to beat the students,” he says. After middle school, Ibrahim did not at-tend high school in Egypt because it wasn’t worth the cost. “It was so expensive and the education is bad and you need to pay money for the teachers to let you pass the ex-ams—illegally,” Ibrahim explains. Instead of attending high school, Ibrahim began working at the age of 15.

Giving back

Ibrahim began working at the St. Andrews Refugee Service in Cairo. The service has two separate of-fi ces, the Resettlement Legal Aid

Project (RLAP), and the psycho-so-cial offi ce. RLAP is an organization

that helps qualifi ed refugees pres-

ent themselves to the United Na-

tions High Commissioner for Ref-ugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and national immigration agencies for permanent relocation outside of Egypt. According to the RLAP website, RLAP “assists all refugees w i t h o u t regard to r e l i g i o n , race, na-tionality, or g e n d e r … We do not make im-migration or resettle-ment deci-sions; we help refu-gees un-d e r s t a n d their op-tions and n a v i g a t e the pro-cedures.” Here, Ibra-him was an offi ce assistant man-

ager and says he was humbled by the perspective he gained. “I was a refugee, but I always feel that there are people who need help more than I do. When I sat in my offi ce listening to the people tell

me their stories, I feel like my story is nothing compared to theirs,” he explains.

In addition to working with RLAP, Ibrahim volunteered at the psycho-social department and worked with refugee children ages six to 12. They would play instru-

ments, paint, draw, and—Ibrahim’s favorite—play soccer. Ever since childhood, Ibrahim has had a pas-sion for both playing and watching the sport. His passion inspired him to put a soccer team together for the refugees he worked with. He

says it helps them forget about the painful lives they live. “We were doing the best that we could to make them feel good,” he says.

“This is my home now”

Ibrahim plans to graduate high school and become a fl ight engi-

neer. Though he has no intention of returning to Egypt or Iraq, he does miss both countries. “It’s the coun-try I was comfortable with. I lived in Cairo, so I miss the Pyramids, the beach, the weather, my friends,”

NEW TO THE AREA Abdallah Ibrahim spent the first eight years of his living in Iraq and the next ten in Egypt. Now he is happy living in Maryland.

MAYA HABASH

HBCUs offer a sense of community for black studentsThe girls gather in two lines of three as

they shout “Sankofa!” Their hands clap and their bodies sway from left to right fl ow-

ing to the rhythm of the beats. This is how Sankofa cast members prepare to represent African culture and history during the Inter-national Night event.

Although Blair is known for its diversity, some Blazers express feelings of exclusion from the ethnic embrace. For that rea-son, Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) have become options for many seniors that are looking to adapt to a home-like community, where they can ex-perience diversity within their own African-American cul-tures, As well as take the ad-vantage of the scholarship pro-grams and fi nancial aid these

institutions off er them.

Comforting

Many students choose to at-tend HBCUs for the comfort-ing atmosphere and the sense of belonging they give them. Senior Lucie Djomeni applied to Univer-sity of Maryland Eastern Shore col-lege. She comments that she was captivated by the campus experi-ence when she visited in the fall. “ I am going to Eastern Shore...be-cause when I toured it, I connected with it. It felt like home,” she says. During her visit, Lucie was able to investigate all the school had to of-fer and decided that Eastern Shore would be the ideal place for her. “The people were nice, the cam-pus is beautiful, and [there’s a] va-riety of activities and groups,” she says.

Malaisa Seilenga, a senior at Blair, shares the same opinion. He expresses that he has adapted to Blair’s multi-racial community, but feels that it would be easier for him to fi nd a place within a black college commu-

nity. “I’m really used to hanging out with a diverse group of people, but I think that it would be easier to fi t in, if I went to an

HBC,” says Seilenga. Senior Rachel Darko, has been accepted

to Howard University and she is strongly considering attending. Darko expresses her satisfaction for Howard’s comforting atmo-sphere. “The sense of community and fam-ily at these schools defi nitely attracted me…

the environment there and at other HBCUs is very nurturing,” Rachel says. She com-

ments that, in a university like Howard, she would be able to grow as a person

from the interaction with the faculty members and new peers. “College is a time where you not only learn book knowledge, but also grow as a person.” Darko says. “I want to make friends for life,” she ex-presses.

Darko says that her counselor recommend-ed HBCUs to her, and

t h e off erings seemed ben-

efi cial to her. “My counselor really

brought [HBCUs] to my attention. She said they could off er me a lot of

money so I thought I’d give them a shot,” she says.

Aff ordable and lucrative

Seilenga applied to Morehouse Col-lege, where he was accepted. He feels that this school would be an excellent opportunity for him since he would receive a full tuition scholarship. “If you’d like to fi t in easier at a college, and

if you want to pay as little as possible, then you should consider it,” he says. Financial reassurance and the academic

courses are aspects to consider. Darko adds that Howard would be benefi -

cial not just for the home-like ambiance, but the scholarship programs they off er. “They

are often generous with merit scholarships, which is a plus, too,” comments Darko.

Most black colleges off er extensive schol-

arships and fi nancial aid, making schools

more aff ordable. “My key reason for going

to Eastern Shore is tuition... the school is not that expensive and they are off ering me a lot

of money,” said Djomeni.Phalia West, the Career Center coordina-

tor, works with Blazers and provides them with the necessary tools to choose the best colleges to fi t their needs. She comments

that the main reason for students to attend a HBC is the aff ordability these schools of-

fer. “Aff ordable tuition, and SAT and GPA

requirements are more forgiving,” she says. West explains that job opportunities and

job connections are present in HBCUs. She comments that large companies seeking to diversify their staff ers, often times turning

to black colleges for recruitment. “When big companies are looking for diversity, they’re coming to HBCUs, and that’s good for stu-dents,” Mrs. West comments.

Darko agrees that this is a good quality of HBCUs, manifesting in the wide-range of academic opportunities and job opportuni-ties these institutions have for the students to take advantage of. Darko believes that Howard University will provide her with the academic challenges she needs to gradu-ate. “After college… or med school, I know the Howard alumni will actively help me and others fi nd jobs” she says.

Uniquely Diverse

Rachel feels privileged by the di-versity to which Blair has exposed her, which is why being in a diversi-fi ed atmosphere is important to her.

“I always worried about [diversity]. At Blair, I’ve been lucky to interact with all sorts of people, but HBCUs are still predominantly black,” she adds.

Although HBCUs are predomi-nantly black, Darko comments that the transition from Blair to an HBCU should not be shocking, since other ethnic groups also attend these col-leges. “HBCUs may not be as racially

NEW YORK TIMES/MIGRATION INFORMATION SOURCE

HBCU Rachel Darko, left, and Lucie Djomeni, above, were accepted to Howard University in DC and University of Mary-land Eastern Shore, respectively, and are considering attending in the fall.

Although Blair is known for its diversity, some Blazers express feelings of exclusion from the ethnic embrace. For that rea-son, Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) have become options for many seniors that are looking to adapt to a home-like community, where they can ex-perience diversity within their own African-American cul-tures, As well as take the ad-vantage of the scholarship pro-grams and fi nancial aid these

Many students choose to at-tend HBCUs for the comfort-ing atmosphere and the sense of belonging they give them. Senior Lucie Djomeni applied to Univer-sity of Maryland Eastern Shore col-lege. She comments that she was captivated by the campus experi-ence when she visited in the fall. “ I am going to Eastern Shore...be-cause when I toured it, I connected with it. It felt like home,” she says. During her visit, Lucie was able to investigate all the school had to of-fer and decided that Eastern Shore would be the ideal place for her. “The people were nice, the cam-pus is beautiful, and [there’s a] va-

ily at these schools defi nitely attracted me…

the environment there and at other HBCUs is very nurturing,” Rachel says. She com-

ments that, in a university like Howard, she would be able to grow as a person

from the interaction with the

t h e efi cial to her. “My counselor really

brought [HBCUs] to my attention. She said they could off er me a lot of

money so I thought I’d give them a shot,” she says.

Aff ordable and lucrative

Seilenga applied to Morehouse Col-lege, where he was accepted. He feels that this school would be an excellent opportunity for him since he would receive a full tuition scholarship. “If you’d like to fi t in easier at a college, and

if you want to pay as little as possible, then you should consider it,” he says. Financial reassurance and the academic ZEKE WAPNER

By Cindy Monge

ELLIE MUSGRAVE

silverchips 20 Features April 25, 2013

Seeing the profile, not the full facePrejudiced assumptions based on race still a local presence

“Come towards the car!” “Get the [expletive] over here right

now!”“Stop the attitude, before you’re on the

ground and cuffed!” Takoma Park police officers shouted, according to a statement by D.C. resident Jonathan Jones, who was stopped as he was entering the Takoma Park Metro station on January 16.

It was not yet noon when Jones left his house on North Capitol Street and began to make his way toward the Takoma Park Metro station. The sky was a peerless blue but the day was chilly. While Jones walked, he glanced southward for the sight of an ap-proaching F1 Metrobus to shelter him from the weather. As he rounded the corner onto Eastern Avenue, Jones noticed the first po-lice car slow as it passed. As Jones wrote in a statement detailing the incident, the driver ducked his head to glare at Jones, who first disregarded the officer’s “hard” stare.

Several streets later, the officer pulled his car alongside Jones once more, and fixed him in the same intense stare. Jones says he was unnerved as he continued onward, now nearly at his destination. The driver swerved in front of Jones and parked the vehicle, as two additional police vehicles arrived on the scene. The officers gathered around Jones, as did an accumulating crowd of witnesses. Jones’s statement claims that the officers de-manded that he put his hands up and ap-proach the vehicle. The “offenses”: purport-edly being observed glancing into parked cars, being “overly observant” and “aware of surroundings” as he looked for a bus.

Jones says that the officers misconstrued Jones’s caution as he navigated his some-times dangerous neighborhood, and sus-pects the officers targeted Jones based on his ethnic appearance. “I believe racial profiling was at the heart of this matter,” he writes.

Though anti-discrimination laws and equality campaigns abound, many say that interracial tensions and prejudice persist. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), “racial profiling continues to be a prevalent and egregious form of discrimination in the United States.” Racial profiling, or the systematic consideration of one’s race as a factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement or as a basis for judg-

got so Hispanic from eating too many pupu-sas,” he says. “But once people start making fun of a person[‘s race], they might slowly start to do it using worse words.”

Black and white Boulevard

Security guards loom; a cashier eyes a cus-tomer of color more closely; a police officer makes a point to follow a group of minor-ity teens. Blazer Ayana Brooks says that she constantly feels victimized by these biases when she enters an establishment, which discourages her patronage. “Once, I was

the only minority in a store and the own-ers circled around me like five times. After two minutes I got so bothered by it that I left,” she says. “They lost business because I was upset.”

Junior Kevin Marb-ley says that he’s seen a close friend of his be specifically targeted. “When I walk into the CVS, the cashiers look at me like I’m going to steal something. But a friend of mine

walked in, and just because he has dreads, they stared at him even more,” Marbley says. The experience is such a familiar one that Marbley has become desensitized to the special attention. “I don’t pay them any at-tention anymore; I’m used to people doing that to me.”

“I’m used to [being racially profiled],” senior Yamiley Nelson agrees. “I know that I shouldn’t be, but the racism I sometimes see impacts me.” According to Nelson, racial profiling can continue from Four Corners onto the Boulevard. Once as she and some friends were returning to the Blair campus at the end of the day, security guards stopped the group and questioned them. “There were other students who were just walk-ing in who were Caucasian,” Nelson recalls. “Even though the other kids [walking into school] should have been getting in trouble like us, [the security guards] weren’t saying anything to them.”

Within his first year at Blair, freshman Benjamin Felber says, he has similarly wit-nessed apparent biases in security enforce-ment. “I’ve noticed,” Felber says, scanning the cafeteria, “that the security guards are far more harsh to students who aren’t white or Asian.” A friend sitting to his right gestures toward a corner of the SAC, where a security guard is currently standing at a table of mi-nority students.

Security team leader Kathleen Greene in-

sists that such accusations, especially those based on anecdotal evidence, are entirely unfounded. “We try to stop everyone return-ing from off campus. It doesn’t matter their race, gender, or what they look like.”

“Would you have guessed?”

To senior Khaled Nurhussien, racial pro-filing seems more like something from a black-and-white sitcom than a current is-sue. “It’s a little bit funny,” senior Khaled Nurhussien says, “[Racial profiling]’s like something you’d see in a book or a movie or on TV, because you don’t think that these things still happen in real life. You think those stereotypes are in the past, but people just can’t let them go.”

Nurhussien jokes about the many ra-cial stereotypes that perpetuate themselves even around the school hallways. “If you’re Asian, you’re probably in the Magnet or in all AP classes, especially depending on how short you are,” he says sarcastically. “When you see a black kid, it’s like ‘Oh God, please don’t steal my shoes.’ And white kids prob-ably all ride horses or something.” These stereotypes, Nurhussien says, enable racial profiling and assumptions. “See, I ride hors-es, too, but would you have guessed that by looking at me?”

Nurhussien says that racial profiling orig-inates in the system. “Montgomery County itself is kind of self-segregated,” he says, mapping the regions in the air according to ethnic breakdown. “How to get rid of that?” he muses, “That’s a hard question, because Montgomery County is rigid. Change is hard. We’ve had systems that have worked so well for so long that we’re resistant to change.”

Grover says that the end of racial profil-ing will accompany a greater willingness to open discussion. “There’s tension that comes from people making assumptions instead of asking questions or having a conversation about race or bothering to get to know the person first,” she says.

Nurhussien, meanwhile, says that total tolerance will stem from the classrooms, then spread to the streets. “People make friends in their classes, and I think there’s a lot of separation [among varying classes]. Whoever you’re learning with, those are the people you’ll be hanging out with. We need greater integration, to switch up the class-rooms. That’s what makes the difference.”

ment of character, continues to spark con-troversy. The phenomenon is one that some Blazers say they recognize all too easily, both outside the SAC doors and in Blair’s class-rooms.

When prejudice is more than play

The regular teacher is absent and kids mill about the classroom chatting. Melate Ber-hanu is sitting quietly at her desk, she says, one of the few students not acting “wild”. The substitute, approaching Berhanu, makes a racially charged comment that sends the senior reeling in surprise. “The sub came up to me and said, ‘Is this how kids in Africa be-have?’ My first thought was ‘Whoa, that was uncalled for,’” Berhanu says.

Sophomore Jessi-ca Grover says that she is also familiar with people making assumptions about her heritage based on her physicality. The self-described New Jersey native says that peers often approach her speak-ing rapidfire Spanish and interrogating her about her ethnicity. “People always just as-sume that I’m Dominican just because of how I look,” Grover says. “I get really aggra-vated by it, and then it’s even more frustrat-ing when they start asking where I’m from and where my parents are from.”

Senior Justin Kung says that prejudiced attitudes can permeate even the most ev-eryday exchanges. As a guard for Blair var-sity basketball, Kung says that he repeatedly hears jokes that compare him to Yao Ming, the basketball star of Asian descent. Turk-ish Blazer Hakan Berk sighs in exasperation as he recalls the tired joke about his ethnic identification. “No, I don’t eat more turkey because I’m Turkish,” he says.

Though such remarks about racial atti-tudes based on race may seem innocuous at first, sophomore Manuel Fuentes says that it can soon become racial slurs. “I saw a kid get made fun of because [the others] said that he

DIVERSITY Sophomore Hakan Berk (below), senior Khaled Nurhussien (center) and senior Melate Berhanu (right) say that they have faced some form of racial profiling.

By Ruth Aitken

“The sub came up to me and said, ‘Is this

how kids in Africa be-have?’ My first thought was ‘Whoa, that was

uncalled for.’” -senior

Melate Berhanu

April 25, 2013 21 ADS silverchips

By Hannah Weintraub

22 Entertainment April 25, 2013silverchips

Attempting to take Saturday night by storm

P e r h a p s our fi rst fl aw was going to a straight club. Senior and 18-year-old Ellie Torres swears by the kindness she fi nds in local gay clubs. “When you go to gay clubs people don’t judge you. If you go to straight clubs, people judge you by the way you look and the way you dance,” she says. “They look at you all up and down. You know they’re judging you.”

Still, Checkalski claims that his teen par-ties possess a unifying power that can only be rivaled by the might of the cheesy sitcom. “People can’t believe that you can get 700 kids from diff erent schools, diff erent races and they get along,” he explains. “They’re surprised. Not many things can do that.” So maybe what we needed was just more teens. You know what they say; 17-year-olds are the nicest people on earth.

Ah-ah-ah-ah staying alive

We emerged from the bathroom, ready to track down the elusive disco dancing. We had sacrifi ced to get to this point and we weren’t giving up without a dance.

We walked to the end of the room and found a small, black door with a fl imsy sign attached to it, “DISCO IN THE DARK. 5 DOLLARS.” It was going to be such a good party that it didn’t really need much eye-catching advertising, right?

We paid the tattooed man who was collecting money and he opened the door. Now, let me remind you, this is not a Disney story. Miracles don’t happen. Magic isn’t real. So I’ll ease the suspense. Await-ing us wasn’t the raging party of our lives. Instead, it was a sparse collection of college grads ironically dancing with moves that would make your parents look cool. Hanging from the ceiling was the dreary disco ball that we had fought so hard to fi nd.

“THIS IS FUN!” we shouted over the rumble of 21st century disco. We were lying of course. But we all knew that would be the only way to enjoy a Disco in the Dark.

At least I can fi nd solace in the fact that I am not alone in having a subpar all-ages club experience. Clingman’s Go-go party did not inspire him to return. “That [expletive] is too ratchet for me,” he says. Torres advises that underage partiers just stay home. “You should just wait till you’re 18 to go to clubs,” she says.

After half-heartedly jiving for about 20 minutes, we fi nally had to admit that the middle-school-like dance just wasn’t doing it for us. None of us are good enough actors to maintain that charade for very long. So we hopped into a cab, leaving behind the Black Cat and our hope that Disco in the Dark would be the answer to our monoto-nous routine.

Luckily, there’s always next weekend.

Teen dance clubs provide high schoolers with an undoubtedly unique evening

TEEN CLUBS Top Left: Teenagers party at a Night-Storm event. Bottom Left: The Black Cat’s basement is home to many teen nights. Top Right: A concert at the Black Cat draws a large crowd.

The website for NightStorm Party, the self-proclaimed “hottest touring teen dance club,” screams out this generous invitation to anyone who visits its homepage. Like that boisterous kid in the movies who hands out fl iers for the next biggest party (does that ever actually happen in real life?), Night-Storm Party’s website automatically plays an audio recording of the most excited per-son in the world inviting you to his earth shattering event. When the event hawker asks for a translation to his invitation? Of course, “Harlem Shake” begins to play.

This is the charm that only a teen dance club can provide.

Teen dance clubs, all ages dance clubs and under 21 dance clubs have sat at the periph-ery of high school weekend plans for as long as 90’s TV shows have been our generation’s go-to small talk—in other words forever.

It was only a matter of time before my friends and I decided that we too must ven-ture into the teen club’s lair of mind-numb-ing top 40 hits and seizure-inducing strobe lights. Few teens are brave enough to com-mit a Friday night to it. But, for those of us who let our usual common sense and san-ity fall to the wayside, a youth dance club is waiting to give us the night of our lives.

Where’s the party at?

Normally, I’m not the sort of person to spend my weekends “hitting the clubs.” Yet, somehow I found myself on a Saturday night ogling the glittering shirt on my friend’s bedroom fl oor and declaring how perfect it was for the night’s event—the Black Cat’s all ages Disco in the Dark.

Before my disco experience, the only oth-er time I had been dancing was at a public waltz class with a dozen seasoned waltzing retirees. Needless to say, I was a mere cadet when it came to conquering the battle of the discotheque.

So what had made my friends and I de-cide that all ages dancing sounded like fun? Boredom mostly. After weekends of driving around, watching Desperate Housewives and “just chillin’” we all agreed that our age-old routine needed to be shaken up a bit. And, with that in mind, we turned to the most unsettling thing we knew: a silver ball rotating wildly and music that our parents danced to years ago.

You’re never alone at the disco

Shockingly, we are not the only teenagers hoping to fi x our weekend boredom with questionable nightlife options. Mike Check-alski, the founder of NightStorm Party, be-gan his business 23 years ago at the age of 19 with the hopes of bringing excitement to the dreary lives of teenagers. Even with this admirable goal, many people still look down on Checkalski’s venture. “People don’t think it’s a good idea,” he says of his business. But Checkalski believes his party service gives students an outlet for fun and entertainment that others are unwilling to provide. “If you pull everything from high schoolers, what’s left?” he explains.

What fi lls the void, Checkalski says, are drug-and-alcohol-fueled parties. “At schools that have [stopped having dances], students just have their own dances off school prop-erty,” he explains. Checkalski’s dances are substance-free and, like most teen clubs, partiers must go through a rigorous security

check before they are allowed inside. “People have to go through more security at my clubs than they do

at school,” says Checkalski. But what sets NightStorm parties apart

from even the Project X’s of the DMV is the sheer magnitude and over the top zeal of the events. “We’ve had as many as a couple hundred to 2,300 [partiers],” Checkalski ex-plains. Each show comes complete with an Emcee, a DJ, light displays, CO2 guns and —of course— confetti cannons.

When sophomore Aaron Clingman went to an all-ages Go-go in DC, the atmosphere was equally extreme. “It’s like a concert and party put together,” he explains. “There were bands playing, people dancing too. [Expletive] gets pretty wild.”

Back at Disco in the Dark, we were still waiting for that wildness to kick in. After a 30 minute wait for the bus, a 20 minute ride down 16th street and then a ten minute walk to the venue itself, our anticipation for a crazy night had been replaced with sheer weariness.

“Are we there yet?” one of my friends asked. And then, suddenly we were.

I wish that I could compare fi nding our Disco Haven to stumbling across a castle in the middle of a forest, but alas, this was no Disney story. Located on 14th Street, the Black Cat pays homage to its name with its looming dark exterior and catty bouncer.

“It’s all ages, right?” we nervously asked. He gave us a blank stare suggesting that we better move inside before we embarrass our-selves further. And then, just like that, we were in.

Dance like everybody’s watching

I scanned the room and looked for the dis-co ball. Nowhere to be found. The electro-popping beats of outdated music? Couldn’t be heard. Instead, the room was dark and crowded with 20-somethings hovering around the bar. They laughed raucously in their square glasses and plaid shirts. It did not seem as if they were dressed to disco.

The monstrous X’s on our hands indi-cating that we were under 21 marked us as unwanted. We all took in the scene—no disco, no teens, no confetti cannons, just judgment—and raced to fi nd refuge in the bathroom.

maybe what we needed was just more teens. maybe what we needed was just more teens. You know what they say; 17-year-olds are You know what they say; 17-year-olds are

Ah-ah-ah-ah staying aliveAh-ah-ah-ah staying alive

We emerged from the bathroom, ready We emerged from the bathroom, ready to track down the elusive disco dancing. We to track down the elusive disco dancing. We had sacrifi ced to get to this point and we had sacrifi ced to get to this point and we weren’t giving up without a dance. weren’t giving up without a dance.

We walked to the end of the room and We walked to the end of the room and found a small, black door with a fl imsy sign found a small, black door with a fl imsy sign attached to it, “DISCO IN THE DARK. 5 attached to it, “DISCO IN THE DARK. 5 DOLLARS.” It was going to be such a DOLLARS.” It was going to be such a good party that it didn’t really need good party that it didn’t really need much eye-catching advertising, much eye-catching advertising,

We paid the tattooed man We paid the tattooed man who was collecting money and who was collecting money and he opened the door. Now, let he opened the door. Now, let me remind you, this is not a me remind you, this is not a Disney story. Miracles don’t Disney story. Miracles don’t happen. Magic isn’t real. So happen. Magic isn’t real. So I’ll ease the suspense. Await-I’ll ease the suspense. Await-ing us wasn’t the raging ing us wasn’t the raging

Black Cat and our hope that Disco in the Black Cat and our hope that Disco in the Dark would be the answer to our monoto-Dark would be the answer to our monoto-nous routine. nous routine.

Luckily, there’s always next weekend. Luckily, there’s always next weekend.

partiers must go through a rigorous security partiers must go through a rigorous security check before they are allowed check before they are allowed inside. “People have to go inside. “People have to go

ing us wasn’t the raging ing us wasn’t the raging party of our lives. Instead, party of our lives. Instead, it was a sparse collection it was a sparse collection of college grads ironically of college grads ironically dancing with moves that dancing with moves that would make your parents would make your parents look cool. Hanging from the look cool. Hanging from the ceiling was the dreary disco ceiling was the dreary disco

left?” he explains. left?” he explains. What fi lls the void, Checkalski says, are What fi lls the void, Checkalski says, are

drug-and-alcohol-fueled parties. “At schools drug-and-alcohol-fueled parties. “At schools that have [stopped having dances], students that have [stopped having dances], students just have their own dances off school prop-just have their own dances off school prop-erty,” he explains. Checkalski’s dances are erty,” he explains. Checkalski’s dances are substance-free and, like most teen clubs, substance-free and, like most teen clubs, partiers must go through a rigorous security partiers must go through a rigorous security

crowded with 20-somethings hovering crowded with 20-somethings hovering around the bar. They laughed raucously in around the bar. They laughed raucously in their square glasses and plaid shirts. It did their square glasses and plaid shirts. It did not seem as if they were dressed to disco.not seem as if they were dressed to disco.

The monstrous X’s on our hands indi- The monstrous X’s on our hands indi-cating that we were under 21 marked us cating that we were under 21 marked us as unwanted. We all took in the scene—no as unwanted. We all took in the scene—no

ing us wasn’t the raging ing us wasn’t the raging party of our lives. Instead, party of our lives. Instead, it was a sparse collection it was a sparse collection of college grads ironically of college grads ironically dancing with moves that dancing with moves that would make your parents would make your parents look cool. Hanging from the look cool. Hanging from the ceiling was the dreary disco ceiling was the dreary disco ceiling was the dreary disco ceiling was the dreary disco ball that we had fought so hard ball that we had fought so hard to fi nd. to fi nd.

partiers must go through a rigorous security partiers must go through a rigorous security check before they are allowed check before they are allowed inside. “People have to go inside. “People have to go

as unwanted. We all took in the scene—no as unwanted. We all took in the scene—no disco, no teens, no confetti cannons, just disco, no teens, no confetti cannons, just judgment—and raced to fi nd refuge in judgment—and raced to fi nd refuge in

ceiling was the dreary disco ceiling was the dreary disco ball that we had fought so hard ball that we had fought so hard

through more security at my through more security at my clubs than clubs than

inside. “People have to go inside. “People have to go to fi nd. to fi nd. inside. “People have to go inside. “People have to go judgment—and raced to fi nd refuge in judgment—and raced to fi nd refuge in through more security at my through more security at my clubs than clubs than

through more security at my through more security at my clubs than clubs than they do they do

judgment—and raced to fi nd refuge in judgment—and raced to fi nd refuge in the bathroom. the bathroom.

COURTESY OF NIGTHSTORM PARTY

COURTESY OF BLACK CAT

COURTESY OF ANDREW BIRD

JULIA BATES

Ben Homola, the owner of the home and gifts store Trohv, knew it was risk establish-ing a store in Takoma DC. But in January of 2011, Homola decided that the risk was worth taking. He saw potential in the small suburb and received enough support from the OTBA to make the move. After searching all throughout DC, he decided on Old Town Takoma, “Takoma Park had the best combi-nation of an ideal lifestyle and family friend

community,” he says. Homola served as the tipping point to a new Takoma. “I was the

Entertainment 23April 25, 2013 silverchips

Takoma Park, Maryland gets teased for being full of liberal activists who are usually found wearing hippie pants and Tevas. For the past few decades, stores like Magic Carpet, Now&Then and S&A Beads have fed into that Takoma Park stereotype; catering to the DC suburb and it’s desire for organic and locally made, eco-friendly products. Recently, while still maintaining that strong sense of community between the stores and their customers, the Old Takoma Business Association (OTBA) has helped in bringing new, thriv-ing businesses to the Takoma DC area. Whether the new stores were estab-lished a year ago or a week ago, business for these shops has already took off , thanks to the welcoming and endearing community of Takoma Park.

initial pioneer of the new Takoma DC and I hope to have been infl uential part of the next [business] decisions,” Homola says. In 2014, Busboys and Poets, a place to eat, work, browse through books and join in conversa-tion, will come to the empty lot at the corner of Carroll and Maple Ave in Takoma Park. Takoma Park will also welcome a new res-taurant in 2014—established by restaurateur Jeff Black—where the old Video Americain and Summer Delights stood.

While there is certainly a new sophisti-cated feel developing in the area, Homola believes that Takoma DC will not become another fancy pants Bethesda town. “There is a real authenticity to the community that exists in Takoma Park and it is not looking to be fancy,” Homola as-sures. The new restau-rants will, however, make Takoma Park a legitimate destination for residents in Silver Spring, DC and other neighboring towns. “The Takoma community is changing, the active community is skewing towards younger people and more interesting shops are coming in,” Homola says.

LEILA BARTHOLET

Trohv Rolls on RollsRegular nights in Takoma Park don’t off er

much dining besides the well-known Mark’s kitchen and the new Takoma Bistro. Howev-er, Friday nights off er a whole new array of options, starting right outside of Trohv. Ev-ery Friday night a gathering of food trucks reside on the corner of Carroll and Maple, including the healthy Indian cuisine, Rolls on Rolls. Rachan Malhotra, the owner of the truck, attends a number of sites throughout the week but believes his Takoma stop is unique. “Takoma is diff erent from the lunch-time DC crowd. It is a tight knit community with lots of families,” says Malhotra.

Takoma is a perfect destination for Malho-tra because of the shared interest in healthy food. “Takoma is also health-conscious, which gels with my truck’s theme—healthy Indian foods,” Malhotra says. Malhotra also admires the friendly nature of Takoma Park. “When customers here show up at the truck, they stay for a few minutes and talk. It makes me feel good about coming here,” he says.

Malhotra, who is also a founder of Alive Juices, an ultra-nutritious, organic juice, is a Takoma resident who is excited about the new establishments. “Consumers need choice in dining, and Busboys brings that along with a hip vibe,” he says. Rolls on Rolls is located outside of Trohv on Fridays from 5pm-8pm.

Just down the street lies a small gelato shop, which opened in early April and now caters to an array of customers from Takoma Park and it’s neighbors. Already located in a number of places in the DC area such as Whole Foods and Nationals Park, the Ta-koma location is the company’s fi rst store-front. And in the past two weeks has already proven to be a success. After many Takoma Parkians were upset about the close down of the ice cream shop, Summer Delights in the heart of Old Takoma, the town was very excited to welcome a new place to get a cold summer treat.

The new shop is exactly what Takoma Park needs. “I think the area’s going to com-pletely change,” Gianluigi Dellaccio, owner

of Dolci Ge-lati told the Gazette. The gelato shop is the fi rst step closer to a new Ta-koma Park. The small s u b u r b a n town is in for a huge shift in dining and snacking.

Dolci Gelati

LEILA BARTHOLET

A NEW DAYFOR HIPPIE TOWN

By Dillon Sebastian

April 25, 2013 24 Entertainment silverchips

DESIREE ALEIBAR

Justin Timberlake, our favorite Renaissance man, has concocted yet another musical polyglot of jazzy sensuality and electronic soul. The album is a much welcomed follow up to the pop tour de force Future-Sex/LoveSounds, which brought us irresistable tracks like “Sexy Back” and “What Goes Around...Comes Around.” But Unlike it’s much-praised predecessor, 20/20’s vision is clouded with inconsistency.

“Pusher Love Girl” is a promising beginning to the album. Just when you think you understand the the soulful groove, JT puts the song into another gear,and the song turns into a laughably lustful and electroni-cally spiked breakdown. But from here on, the track proves to be one of Timberlake’s few explorations of dynamism on the album. A full 20 minutes (and only three songs) into the album, Strawberry Bubblegum begins. Frustratingly mellow and brutally long, the song makes you pine for the old days of tenacious lyrics laid down on a thumping Timbaland beat. In fact, even the days of NSync would be a step up from some of 20/20’s exhausting drudgery.

JT does deliver a few catchy gems. The radio hit single, “Suit and Tie” may suff er from OPS (Overplayed

Syndrome), but JT’s back to basics approach is admirable, even though Jay-Z’s lazy rhymes are not. On Mir-

rors and Ocean Floors, he also delivers satisfyingly Timberlake heartache and soul. But ultimately, the 20/20

Experience suff ers relentless repetitiveness and tiring length. Tracks weigh in at Pink Floyd-worthy propor-

tions, with a minimum track length of about fi ve minutes and a maximum of around eight. It is more than

clear that JT’s heart is in it, but it is hard for the listeners to follow. The back and forth between satisfyingly classic JT and self indulgent monotony is enough to give you

whiplash. What JT provides is certainly an experience, but not necessarily a great one.

The 20/20 Experience

You all remember that fateful 2004 day when children fl ooded from the schoolhouse for recess, only to

fi nd that your playground had been invaded. But this wasn’t a cool invasion, like the ones you and your

friends had imagined where Zoltar the Squid Emperor of Umbuquato granted you and your pals super-powers for helping him fi x his spaceship. No, your jungle gym had been taken over by bugs, cicadas to

be exact, which any eight year old boy knows are the only things on the earth grosser than girls. Like a kitten experiencing its fi rst ball of yarn, you and your posse approached the insects cautiously. Eventually

a few of you would work up the courage to gingerly pat the cicada’s wing. A few brave souls popped the cicadas into their mouths, because as eight year olds that just seemed like the right thing to do. We all soon realized that Cicadas were a blast! Children set their chalk aside to instead frolic through grass, chasing the little devils as they zig zagged through the air. And just when you were beginning to become acclimated with the cicada, just when the little frightened child worked up the courage to come out from behind the tree and join in a game of How-many-cicadas-can-I-put-down-the-back-of-your-shirt-without-you-noticing, the little buggers were gone. Our parents told us not to fret and that they would be back in

17 years. Well now, bless our lucky stars, they are back only 9 years later. Sometime in the next couple of weeks, the bugs will begin emerging from the ground and quickly make a quiet night’s sleep nearly im-possible with their 90 decibel chirping. And just how many cicadas should we expect? Some experts are calling for as many as a billion cicadas per square mile. That’s like taking the entire population of China, shrinking them down and putting wings on them, or taking all the jellybeans Reagan consumed during his presidency, and cramming them all into the space of one neighborhood. For those of you who are less enthusiastic about giant bugs, there is no need to worry. These creatures don’t bite and die within four to six weeks. But when they are gone, we will surely miss these marvels of nature.

It’s easy to see why people are furious about Harmony Korine’s sexed-up, booze-fueled, gun-toting cinematic fever dream Spring Breakers. Or is it? While many have objected to the copious amounts of sex,

drugs and violence in Korine’s latest work of line-crossing experimentation, the problem here seems to be concentration, not content. An action fi lm with endless fl ying bullets? Blockbuster. A parade of lustful

bikini-clad partying? Woohoo! Free spirits taking massive bong-rips and fi ghting the man? Classic. But

combine stunning doses of each of these things into one movie, and suddenly it’s all intolerable. At face-value, Spring Breaker’s thin and ludacris plot is an audience’s nightmare. But as satire, the

weak story is a vehicle for a poignant message. In creating such a sickening cocktail of vulgarity, Korine seems to be saying “Isn’t this what you guys like?” This question is directed towards a culture which scarfs up 24, Cheech and Chong, Call of Duty and American Pie, but can’t take it when Vanessa Hudgens holds an automatic weapon. The fi lms dubious and unclear narrative makes and breaks the fi lm, and

while some may see the lack of straightforward poignancy as a fault, it can be equally seen as the source of its merit.

If reading into movies is just a pain or you are simply unconvinced of the movie’s integrity, Spring Breakers is still worth a gander. Benoît Debie’s cinematography is a visual roller coaster of warm tech-nicolored chaos. James Franco gives what is defi nitively the strangest performance of his career as the

drug-dealing rapper, Alien. Finally, if all of this is still not enough, Gucci Mane takes up his second role in

a motion picture (no joke, his fi rst movie was a “hip-hop musical” called Confessions of a Thug) as James

Franco’s arch nemesis.

Aside from Rock Creek Forest and the envious coloration seen on the faces of Wizards fans as they watch the NBA playoff s, green is at a premium in the District of Columbia. From March 20 to April 14,

however, D.C. provides fl ora enthusiasts with a celebration they can “fauna” over. On April 13, the Na-

tional Cherry Blossom Festival culminated in in a festive parade in the afternoon and blazing fi reworks

over the tidal basin that could be heard all the way in Takoma Park. This beloved festival commemorates the Japanese cherry trees gifted by Tokyo City Mayor Yukio Ozaki to the nation’s capitol in 1912. For

the past 101 years, springtime in D.C has become synonymous with the ethereal cherry blossom petals that fi ll the trees and coat the grounds around the tidal basin. Despite a late bloom, the Cherry Blos-

som Festival ran in full swing this year from March 20th to April 14th. Since 1935, tourists fl ocked to the

nations capitol in their Hawaiian print shirts and fanny packs ready to experience the singular National Cherry Blossom Festival. This is not some boring festival where denizens stroll around a man made body of water and watch fl owers fall from trees. The festival is crammed with fun and family friendly

activities including a Youth Art Contest and a kite festival on the National Mall. Dazzling pink cherry

blossom lights lit up the sides of recognizable D.C landmarks, including the Newseum, Hard Rock Cafe and Ronald Reagan National Airport. Though the festival is offi cially over, the celebration continues on

throughout the remainder of the summer. There are some remaining cherry blossoms still in bloom and the Freer and Sackler Galleries are holding exhibits honoring Japanese art up until August 11th. Held in areas all around D.C., from Adams Morgan to Pennsylvania Avenue, this festival ties the D.C. community

together and marks the beginning of joyous spring season in a festive way.

Cherry Blossoms

Spring

round up

Cicadas

By Langston Cotm

an and

Peter McN

ally

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CINEFANTASTIQUE, FORBES.COM, ARAVAN.COM

JULIA BATES

Spring Breakers

COURTESY OF WWW.WEBSUDOKU.COM

Across1.fl ower pollenator8.metropolis10. boot-shaped country11. talking horse12. unit of sweat13. street in French14. large (abbr.)15. tidy18. Common Era (abbr.)19. snow-day toy21. ___ of loyalty22. consumed23. marathon26. Old English (abbr.)27. collateral _____30. not dry31. amount (abbr.)32. Oscars35. former princess36. “and” in Latin37. money machine39. frozen raindrop 42. ___ my lips

44. high/low cards 45. Sweet Home ____ (abbr.)46. old TV show47. ___ You Like It48.___ and robbers (s.)50. intravenous51. tax collector 52. 1991 Hussein target54. previously owned 56. black gold 57. pig sound58. BNC’s Double ____ (abbr.)60. dangerous pesticide61. Democrat (abbr.)63. exists64. not the ocean65. Silverlogue Down1. DOB2. Utah (abbr.)3. college basketball fi nals4. azure5. soap ingredient 6. Heroine of Disney’s Beauty andthe Beast7. living on the ___8. long boat9. a thought12. college degree (abbr.)

16. ____bomb17. symbol for an angle19. ___cell research 20. sketch 22. depends on #1 down24. astonish25. fi rst aid maneuver28. air conditioner (abbr.)29. goodbye in Barcelona 30. statistics 31. *33. mellow ___34. truth or ___38. lavender, pink39. healed cut40. teachers 41. “we’re not in ___ anymore”

(abbr.)43. down (abbr.)46. again prefi x 49. Asian bears51. American ____52. child 53. ancient burial place54. United Nations (abbr.)55. 100-yard ____56. not even59. teacher’s aid (abbr.)62. trauma room drama

By Emily Hauck

Zzzzzz....

Digital Downer

Love is in the air April Solutions

silverchips

Duckface

Sudoku

TATYANA GUBIN

EVA SHEN

JULIA BATES

Chips Clips 25April 25, 2013

KATRINA GOLLADAY

751937

S

ilver Chips 2013

CrossWord

Throwback

..BLAST FROM THE PAST

El programa “InDesign” utilizado para realizar el periódico de la

escuela, está diseñado para la lengua Inglesa. Con tal propósito, Silver

Chips ofrece disculpas por cualquier error gramatical que tengan las

páginas de La Esquina Latina después de haber sido intensamente

editadas.

Gracias.

Un orgullo hispano en forma de Papa Argentino

La Esquina LatinaSilver Chips 25 de abril del 2013

Las adversidades no evitan la superación: Alejandro Pérez Díaz

Un aspecto que diferencia a Blair de muchas otras comunidades escolares es la diversidad que los estudiantes traen al ambiente. Los mismos constituyentes de la comu-nidad hispána son conscientes de que en solo nuestra población hay bastante diversidad, pues todos los países hispanohablantes se diferencian en cultura. Esto mis-mo se comprueba con Alejandro Pérez Díaz, estudiante de onceavo grado quien es de descenden-cia cubana, española y alemana.

Alejandro nos dice; “Después de haber conocido tantas cul-turas, lo poco que he cogido de cada una de ellas lo he con-vertido en mi propia armonía de tal manera que define mi ser”.

Alejandro vivió en Cuba hasta sus 4 años de edad cuando un día su madre le dijo que se irían a vivir a España con sus tíos. Su mamá, la Sra. Díaz, quería perseguir oportu-nidades que en ese entonces, Cuba no le ofrecía. Además de eso, ella no quería que Alejandro estudiara en Cuba debido al na-cionalismo que les inculcan a los niños desde pequeños. Con 4 años él no entendía mucho de lo que pasaba pero si de algo estaba seguro, era de que muchas cosas iban a cambiar.

Lamentablemente al poco tiempo de vivir en España tuvieron una mala experiencia. El abandono de su padre les afectó mucho, pero después de todo eso su madre mostrán-dole mucho valor, siguió adelante. Mientras Alejandro fue creciendo comenzó a disfrutar mucho de la cultura española especialmente la grandiosa gastronomía, en la cual su plato favorito es la fabada asturiana. La música y muchas tradiciones como el fl amenco y Semana Santa. Una de las otras experiencias

que tuvo en España fue el asistir a un sistema educacional muy rígido y difícil comparado a

lo que es el sistema educacional en los Estados Unidos. Afortunadamente la universidad es gratis pero solo si logras pasar con excelentes califi caciones un examen difícil de admisión. Pero antes de poder llegar a esa etapa de su educación en la cual tendría que someterse al proceso de aplicación para asistir a una universidad en España, la vida le presentó otra sorpresa. Su madre le dijo que se irían de España a vivir a los Estados Unidos.

Tuvo la misma sensación que ya había teni-do antes cuando se mudó de Cuba a España. Sin embargo, esta vez el cambio de España a Estados Unidos fue mucho más diferente. En esta ocasión ya él estaba en otra etapa de su vida y con el tiempo había establecido un sentido de hogar en España. Ahora, Estados Unidos sería un reto completamente nuevo.

Uno de los retos principales que tuvo que confrontar Alejandro, al igual que a

otros muchos inmigrantes, fue el no hablar fluidamente el idioma inglés. Por sus limitacione con el inglés, fue retrasado un año escolar. Esto le causó enojo y mucha frustración, pues lo estaban haciendo repetir las mismas clases que ya había tomado y pasado con buenas califi caciones en España.

Afor tunadamente , logró en-contrar muchas maneras de seguir adelante y aprender rápido el idi-oma entre ellas - a través de la música.

Alejandro tuvo el deseo de aprender a tocar la guitarra y al haber escuchado que Blair ofrece una clase de guitarra, sin pensarlo dos veces se registró para poder tomarla. Debido a su aislación, Alejandro tenía tiempo para dedicarse cien por ciento a aprender a tocar la guitarra. Finalmente, después de lo que no fue mucho tiempo, aprendió a tocar maravillosamente. Consecuen-temente, empezó a asistir al club de guitarra donde hizo muchas amista-des a través de la música. “La música fue realmente la manera por la cual

empecé a cultivar amistades, ya que es un lenguaje universal”, dice Alejandro.

Finalmente, Alejandro aprendió hablar inglés y logró asimilarse a la vida ameri-cana. Ahora es un estudiante con un promedio de 4.0, es miembro de la Socie-dad Honoraria de Música, miembro de la Sociedad Nacional Honorífica, el con-certino de la clase de guitarra avanzada y el vicepresidente del Club de guitarra.

A pesar de los obstáculos, Alejandro se mantuvo fuerte durante todas las adversi-dades que la vida le presentó y eso es lo que realmente lo hace una inspiración. Alejandro nos deja con el siguiente pensamiento mo-tivador el cual le ayudó a luchar durante todos estos años “Lo difícil toma su tiempo, lo imposible, solo tarda un poco mas”.

¡Cuéntanos!

Por Aldrin Guevara y Kelly Ventura

Un recordatorio de que sólo nos derrumbamos si lo permitimos

Los católicos ya tienen nuevo Papa, el pasado trece de marzo se anunció al nuevo Papa “Habemus papam” (Tenemos Papa). El cual sustituirá a Benedicto XVI. El cardenal argentino Jorge Mario Bergoglio se convirtió en el Papa Francisco I. Es el primer latino-americano de la historia en ocupar la Catedral de San Pedro. A través de los siglos hemos visto a Papa tras Papa clamar esta posición tan sagrada en el catolicismo, pero ¿cuántos entre nosotros realmente sabemos el proceso por el cual uno se convierte en tal fi gura? El proceso para convertirse en Papa conlleva muchas responsabilidades como: ser la cabeza de la iglesia católica y el pastor de miles de ovejas en el planeta. Puede sonar fácil, pero, en realidad hay un requisito no ofi cial en el cual los cardenales de la iglesia católica escogen al Papa. En teoría, los cardenales pueden elegir a cual-quier católico para convertirse en Papa pero ellos prefi eren elegir a uno de sus propios miembros cardenales, de esta manera el req-uisito no ofi cial es ser un cardenal. La última vez en que una persona que no fue cardenal se convirtió en Papa fue hace más de 600 años. Si quieres convertirte en el próximo Papa, tienes que ascender en la escalera de la religión.

Como sacerdote Para ser un sacerdote se necesita ser un hombre dispuesto a no casarse y perman-ecer en celibato por el resto de su existencia. Además, se debe tener un título universitario en Teología o materias religiosas. Con los requisitos cumplidos y un pequeño tiempo trabajando para la iglesia tú puedes ser un sacerdote. Francisco I es un Papa con una sólida formación académica. Es titulado en Ingeniería Química y licenciado en Filo-

sofía. A los 21 años ingreso al seminario como novicio Jesuita. Una década después, en 1969, Jorge Mario Bergoglio fue ordenado como sacerdote a la edad de 33 años.

Como obispo y cardenal

Para ser un obispo se necesita ser un sacer-dote por al menos 5 años, tener un doctorado en teología y tener 35 años de edad. Además, se necesita ser nominado y elegido por los obispos de la comunidad. Cuando son domi-nados para esta posición, un reporte llega al vaticano con los nombres de los postulantes, este tiene que ser revisado y aprobado por el congreso de obispos , después, le envían un reporte al Papa el cual puede ser aceptado o rechazado. Después de la rigurosa y larga elección del obispo, se necesita ser un cardenal para poder aspirar a ser el siguiente Papa. Para ser un cardenal, las labores de obispo tienen que ser reconocidas por el Papa actual y solo él puede nominar y elegir a un cardenal. Si la ambición y obras del obispo son reconocidas él puede convertirse en uno. Como arzobispo y carde-nal, Francisco fue conocido por su humildad,

conservadurismo doctrinal y su compromiso con la justicia social. Optó por promover el diálogo y acercarse a los distintos colectivos sociales, fuesen o no católicos; así como por reforzar la tarea pastoral en las parroquias, aumentando la presencia de sacerdotes en las villas (barrios marginales). Esto hizo que fuese conocido como «el obispo de los pobres».

Elecciones para elegir al nuevo Papa

Cuando el Papa muere o resigna su posición, es tiempo de elegir uno nuevo sucesor. El 97% de las veces el Papa siempre muere. Sólo un 3% de los Papas que han ex-istido, han resignado su posición. Se necesita más de una mayoría de 2/3 para que uno de los cardenales pueda ser escogido como el próximo representante de la Iglesia. El pro-ceso de votación puede durar de 2 semanas hasta 3 años. Después de que un Papa es elegido por los cardenales, el tiene que cambiar su nombre y llevar uno nuevo para ser conocido por los demás de los fi eles Católicos. Después de haber convencido a los cardenales, el Papa que es elegido debe cambiar su nombre y elegir el que él quiera pero es una tradición tomar el nombre de alguno de los Papas anteriores.Durante el cónclave de 2005 fue uno de los cardenales más votados, rivalizando con Benedicto XVI. Corrió el rumor de que pidió que no votaran por él, con lo que declinó el papado. El proceso es muy largo, complicado y toma muchos años. Muchos latinoameri-canos se sienten orgullosos que uno de los suyos haya logrado alcanzar este puesto. Milena Castillo de onceavo grado comenta, “Mi familia no es muy religiosa que diga-mos, pero siendo de Argentina que es un país de mucho orgullo por sus logros, también gozamos de este“.

EN PERFIL Alejandro Pérez DíazEstudiante en onceavo grado.

“Pienso que es un evento importante, ya que

es la última oportunidad que tenemos los

seniors de colaborar juntos”

~ Selvin ArguetaDoceavo Grado

¿Qué opinas del baile

de graduación?

“Pienso que el evento es una locura. Muchos

van a hacer cosas no necesarias para una fi -­

esta”

“El baile de graduación es para disfrutar un

poquito de todos los logros del año escolar.”

~ Eva BobadillaDoceavo Grado

~Andre BustilloDoceavo Grado

COURTESY OF LAMEZCLA.COM

Por Janett Encinas y Rolando Alvarenga

Baile de graduación, temido por los gastos

los académicos”, dice ella. Muchos jóvenes que han asistido a CCB, piensan que es una idea magnífi ca. “Me siento bendecida

porque no tenía vestido”, dice Djomeni. El Career Center Boutique es una gran

oportunidad que ayuda a muchos de los estudiantes a ahorrar dinero. Según la Sra. West, cada año la compañía llamada The

El Baile de Graduación. Al solo mencio-nar la palabra brinda alegría y alivio porque

se sabe que los cuatro años de escuela secun-

daria están a punto de terminar.Para muchos, la decisión más difícil es

de averiguar cómo vestirse. Antes de nada, tenemos que tocar el tema del costo de ir y de cómo esto puede resultar en problemas

mucho más difíciles que escoger un par de zapatos.

Típicamente, el costo de ir a una fi esta

como esta, incluye (para una estudiante) el vestido, pelo y maquillaje, el precio de la limosina, los zapatos, el costo de la entrada, y usualmente una cena con amigos antes o después del día tan especial para los estu-diantes.

Todo esto conlleva un costo de alrededor de 500 a 600 dólares. Para un joven, el costo es más ba-

rato, dependiendo del precio del traje que el chico decida comprar o alquilar. En Montgomery Blair High School, la entrada cuesta 55 dólares.

Muchas veces, el costo de la entrada es muy caro para los estudiantes y deciden no ir. Juan Castillo, dice que el precio de ir al tan esperado baile no es tanto

per que “a muchos estudiantes de

Blair se les hace difícil pagar esa cantidad”.

Teniendo esto en mente, Sa-mantha Huntress-Reeve dice que “ es el baile que celebra todo lo

que un estudiante hizo en la es-cuela secundaria y por eso creo que todo, incluyendo el costo, vale la pena”.

Samantha nota que “es para

que los estudiantes pasen un buen rato. Si se logra ese obje-

tivo, vale la pena el dinero que se paga”.

Gastos y mas gastos

Las familias de estos chicos están gastando un promedio en-tre $ 1,000 y $ 2,000 en el baile de

graduación este año. Según una encuesta de las revistas de Teen-PROM y USA Today. La mayor parte del dinero es invertido en el vestido y el esmoquin.

El paseo en la limosina, las visitas al salón de belleza y la compra de zapatos nuevos y

joyas también están contribuyendo cada vez

más a la factura de este rito de transición de la escuela secundaria hacia la universidad.

El gasto ha sido impulsado a niveles nunca antes vistos ya que los adolescentes se ven infl uenciados por todo, desde las

celebridades de los “programas reales” y a

la prevalencia de los medios sociales. Por esa razón, para los adolescentes

que han crecido compartiendo su vida en Facebook y otras plataformas de medios

sociales, las apariencias se han vuelto aún más importantes.

Fuentes de estilo e inspiración han evolucionado con un mayor acceso a la in-formación a través de los blogs de moda y

otros sitios de web que ponen el énfasis en

la individualidad. “Hay un sentido general

de la gente que quiere ser diferenciada”, dice Andrea Morales, estudiante del onceavo grado.

Morales nos comenta que hoy en día las

chicas buscan salir de la manera tradicional

de comprar vestidos. Según ella ahora se busca exclusividad

por presión social de estar a la moda. “Ir a

una cadena nacional, como Macy’s o Nord-strom y comprar un vestido como otras 18 chicas no es una opción para mí”, también

comenta que sea desea “expresar nuestra

individualidad”

Como ahorrar dinero

Para tener una experiencia inolvidable

sin estreses, ni frustraciones es importante crear un presupuesto de todos los gastos a hacer. Después haz un listado de todo lo

que necesitas, como tu atuendo, la limosina, la fi esta, etc. Busca en el internet maneras de

comparar tu atuendo en tiendas con promo-ciones o en liquidación.

Muchos buscan la exclusividad de los

vestidos, tomando esto en cuenta que si buscan en las páginas de internet adecuadas

pueden encontrar vestidos únicos a precios maravillosos y hasta pueden ir al sastre y diseñar el traje de sus sueños.

La Sra. West, quien es la coordinadora del Career Center, también es la fundadora del

Career Center Boutique. Ella empezó con esta idea hace dos años.

Esta fue fundada con la idea de minimizar el gasto de los estudiantes del doceavo grado. “En el ultimo año, los estudiantes tienen mu-

chos gastos, y el baile de promoción es uno de

ellos. Todos deberían tener la oportunidad de

participar de un momento tan memorable.”

Dice la Sra. West. Ella también comenta que algunos de los

estudiantes no tienen la posibilidad de asistir

al baile, por la difi cultad fi nanciera. “Así que

la mitad de los problemas es el vestido, traje,

United States International

Trade Commissioners, dona vestidos y trajes para los estudiantes.

La popularidad de la bou-

tique ha crecido ya que cada año más estudiantes toman un vistazo a la boutique y

se llevan algo. “El primer

año tuvimos 13 estudiantes. El año pasado tuvimos 17 alumnos que asistieron a la boutique,” añade la Sra.

West. El benefi cio que obtienen

los estudiantes es muy grande ya que pueden utilizar los trajes para un evento en Blair o en algún otro lugar.

Ellos también pueden

usar las vestimentas formales para distintas ocasiones. “Si

tú tienes otra fi esta de gradu-

ación a la que tienes que asi-stir, nosotros podemos darle un traje extra a los estudi-

antes.” expresa Mrs. West.

El costo del atuendo a lucir no es la única inversión. Nathaly Nieto, una estudi-ante del duodécimo grado comenta que la dificultad económica la limita a la hora de hacer gastos para asistir al baile de graduación.

No solamente es por su vestido, aparte de eso ella también planea invertir en

su boleto al igual que en su

transporte. “En realidad no

estoy demasiado preocupada por mi transportación porque mi mamá se ha encargado de eso, pero sí me preocupa el costo de mi vestido. Todo es demasiado caro. Todo incluyendo los boletos,” dice

Nieto. Es evidente que el CCB

provee un benefi cio a muchos

estudiantes que por limita-ciones económicas dudan si irán al prom. “He escuchado

sobre el boutique del Ca-

reer Center, y pienso que es fantástico porque ninguna chica debe ser negada a la

oportunidad de asistir al baile

porque no tienen la manera de comprar un vestido.” com-parte Nieto.

No hay duda que el baile

de graduación estará lleno de estudiantes disfrutando de un buen momento con sus

amistades y compañeros. Hay muchos que no imaginaron llegar a participar de esta gran fi esta de fi n de año.

La excusa de lucir un traje,

no signifi ca que tengas que

cambiar tu cabello o forma

de ser. Simplemente, ten en mente que el color de tu vesti-do o esmoquin coordine con la de tu pareja, y, por supuesto,

lo que llevaras debajo.

El baile es un momento en el que celebras

todas las cosas que has aprendido y todos los bonitos recuerdos que has conseguido.

El baile de promoción es tu despedida de la

escuela secundaria hacia una vida univer-sitaria.

25 de abril de 2013 La Esquina Latina 27silverchips

Existen opciones que alivian el bolsi l lo

Por Hector Barrera, Karen Tituana, Marisela Tobar y Cindy Monge

COURTESY OF SILVERCHIPSONLINE.COM

COURTESY OF SILVERCHIPSONLINE.COM

COURTESY OF GOOGLE.COM

April 25, 201328 ADs silverchips

29 Silver Chips April 25, 2013 Sports

5

“[Ricci is] one of the most outstanding students I might ever come across. You really couldn’t ask for more, except for maybe

a couple more inches of height,” Klein jokes. -Page 30

A look back on leveling the playing fieldBy Desiree Aleibar

In the 1950s and 1960s, Blair had traditional cheerleaders and major-ettes who cheered on the sidelines and performed during halftime at the boys’ basketball and football games. The capital ‘B’s sewn onto their white wool sweaters glinted under the stadium lights as the girls skipped around excitedly, celebrating Blazer victory. Their white ruffled socks moved swiftly above their brown saddled shoes, complementing their pleated skirts and red hair bows.

Some girls cheered because they wanted to. Some because they had no other options.

At the time, the rifle team was the only interscholastic and com-petitive sport offered to girls at Blair. Girls who wished to partici-pate in sports could sign up for in-tramurals. Those who participated in these intramural sports were awarded letters similar to those given to varsity male athletes. In the late 1960s, the more popular intramural sports like softball be-came sanctioned school teams, but were never considered to be varsity or worthy of receiving the privileges that varsity boys’ ath-letes received.

Then came June 23, 1972. The document read: “No person

in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from par-ticipation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimina-tion under any education program or activity receiving federal finan-cial assistance.”

When Congress passed this legislation, also known as Title IX, Blair, under federal law, was required to permit girls to partici-pate in competitive sports. That same day, some girls traded their red pleated skirts for softball bats, soccer cleats and competitive swimwear.

New girls sports teams were formed at Blair, including girls’ tennis, which went undefeated that same year.

Often, the new girls’ teams like basketball, track and field, gym-nastics, and swimming struggled to find coaches, as the girls’ had less county funding.

Luckily, in 1972, when Blair math teacher Milton Roth was asked by former Athletic Director Nelson Colbert to coach Blair’s swim team despite having no ex-perience, he did so with no hesita-tion. “I had no experience in swim-ming yet. I didn’t see a problem in coaching the team,” he said. “I was more lucky than anything because we had skillful and experienced athletes.” The first-year swim team came fourth in the state champion-ship that year.

Not only was it difficult to find coaches, but girls’ teams were given less funding than the boys’ teams, sometimes making it im-possible for them to compete.

Regardless of previous setbacks, Blair, as well as the rest of the na-tion, has come a long way with re-gards to gender equality in sports. The year before Title IX was en-acted, there were approximately 330,000 women in America playing high school and college sports; to-day, there are more than 3,373,000. Athletic Director Rita Boule be-lieves that although Title IX was not specifically passed so that women could participate in inter-scholastic athletics, women have come a long way in sports since its passage. She expressed that, “ There’s no question that there is more gender equity in sports than there was in 1972.”

Since 1972 there is no doubt that Blair athletic department has con-tinued to grow stronger despite gender boundaries. In 1996, Silver Chips reported that, as more and more male athletes were encour-aged to concentrate on one sport, female athletes emerged as multi-sport athletes. That same year, bas-ketball player Peppi Brown was named The Washington Post’s first All-Met and given an honorable mention from the Women’s Bas-ketball Association’s All-American Team. In 2004, female Blair athletes continued to set high standards for themselves, as competitors like Alyssa Isong was noted in a Silver Chips article as, “taking her lead-ership role seriously as she sets the bar by example.”

Then there’s 2012, in which se-niors Johanna Lopez, Myla Sapp, Gabrielle Smith, Adrienne Jackson, Morgan Chase and Olivia Nono dominated girls Varsity Basket-ball.

Regardless of past obstacles, one thing is clear: girls just want to have fun… and play sports.

Interracial sports

Johnny Klippstein (‘45) was a Major League Baseball Player who pitched for the Chicago Cubs, won a World Series with the Los Ange-les Dodgers in 1958 and was the first Blazer to ever turn pro in a sport. Tom Brown (‘58), the defen-sive back for the Green Bay Pack-ers in the NFL and the first base-man for the Washington Senators in Major League Baseball, was a Blair graduate. Jose Bauza (‘76) as a sophomore led Blair soccer team to its only state championship and is the only Blazer to be named high school All-American in soccer. He was given an honorable men-tion in college when he played for UVA. Dominique Dawes (‘94) was a gymnast, Olympic gold medalist, two-time Olympic bronze medal-ist, member of the US National team and former Blair student.

The list could go on and on.Over the years, Blair has proven

that it is truly capable of producing stellar athletes. Whether they be white, black, Hispanic, Asian, pur-ple, blue or green, Blair is known

for sprouting a racially diverse group of competitive athletes that go on to have successful careers in college and professional sports.

But this was not always the case. Prior to the late 1950s, whites and nonwhites were restricted from going to school with one another and participating in high school sports together because Blair had segregation policies no different than the majority of schools in the US at the time.

The inclusion of blacks in high school sports began during the 1955-1956 school year after the Su-preme Court in the case of Brown vs. Board of Education, deemed segregation in school systems as unconstitutional. Such a decision caused polarized attitudes in the Silver Spring area as black schools pushed for desegregation while numerous white parents signed petitions urging for the county to inhibit integration.

Meanwhile, demographics at Blair continued to change. Accord-ing to the Maryland State Depart-ment of education, in 1962 Blair had 29 black students out of 2759 stu-dents, more students than Bethes-da Chevy-Chase, Walter Johnson, Wheaton and Northwood. In 1969, the black population was 4.1 per-cent, and it rose again in 1974 to a 18.3 percent population.

Blair Principal Pascal Emma even deemed the racial climate at Blair in a 1976 Silver Chips article as being “calm and friendly.” Blair graduate Henry Moore (‘69) in a (year) Silver Chips publication agreed that in the 1960s and 1970s, the team got along well. He stated that, “We had one of the best basketball teams because it was mixed. The team played well togeth-er.” By 1979, Blair sports were stronger than ever. The basketball team was no exception, winning two state titles in four years. “There were years when it was impossible to go to a Varsity Boys’ basketball game, because there was nowhere to sit!” said Roth.

To this day, despite so-cial and political hurdles of the past, Blair’s ath-letic program has proven to be one of the best in the county. In an issue of “Golden Chips”, a feature production of the Blair Alumni Association and Silver Chips, Blair alumni Joe Parks (’69) expressed that the opportunity for blacks partake in sports al-lowed for a clearer view of life. He emphasized that, “Even though there was alienation and misunder-standing, overall, my ex-perience at Blair taught me that it was okay to trust white people.”

30

A retrospective on Blair’s journey to integrating and diversifying athletics

PLAYING IN THE PAST Above: Boys’ Basketball wins States in ‘79, as covered by Silver Chips. Below: the sports header during the football season in 1972.

31

751937

Silver Chips 2013SPORTSTHROWBACK

..

April 25, 201330 Sports silverchips

Volleyball may not be the most glamor-ous of sports. There aren’t any televised pro-fessional leagues and most of the American public only watches the sport every year during the Summer Olympics. Yet Blair con-sistently has one of the best boys’ volleyball teams in Montgomery County. After gradu-ating three-time captain Andy Zhang one of Montgomery County’s best volleyball play-ers in 2012, Blair barely missed a beat in con-tinuing their quest for three straight county championships. This feat could easily be at-tributed to the notable talents of senior Ricci Huang.

From the start

Huang, who plays outside hitter for the Blair squad, has been playing volleyball since he was ten. After watching his parents play in adult leagues and his brother play on the Blair team before graduating two years ago, Huang feels it was only natural to join the Blair team beginning in his freshman year anc continue every year since. Having played for much longer than many of his Blair teammates has really helped Huang in his opinion. “I think it’s pretty important to be an experienced player and help out coach,” Huang says. With the ability to assist coaches with running drills and practices, Ricci has been a significant force behind the success of the

team in recent history. Coach Chris Klein says that when he is running late at times, he’ll go to the gym and often the boys have already begun practice and drrills under Huang’s guidance. His experience with the sport and grasp of the intricacies of volleyball is a key part of Huang’s game as he has a mental advan-tage over almost every opponent on Blair’s schedule. Also having played on a top tier club team in the County, he knows many of Blair’s opponents and can give his team-

mates tips on how to beat them.

Multi-dimensional

Ricci’s experience of having played competi-tive volleyball for the past seven years comes into play when the team needs to rally from a deficit

or make an adjustment. Huang believes that his experience gives him grace under pressue—it helps to ensure that his teammates don’t panic, as he remains collected and focused in challenging situations. Klein agrees, calling Huang’s presence “calming”. Coach Klein, who has coached Huang for all four of his year at Blair, believes that while Huang has a great mental skill set, he’s also good physically. “Ricci has a great mental game... His physical game is just as good as his mental one,” Klein said. Both Klein and Huang believe that Ricci’s best skill physically is his ability to pass the ball and set up his team-mates in the best position to get points. Klein believes that with Huang on the floor, he can

rely on a good attack coming out of the pos-session. “He gives us better attacks. If Ricci is there, we attack,” Klein says. In fact Klein has implemented an “un-orthodox” offense that almost no other

Montgomery County high school team runs. The offense relies on two players in the back

while most other schools have three or four that they rely on. Klein says that he feels

comfortable running it because he knows he can trust Huang.

One of the best

This is one of Ricci’s responsibilities among many. Not only does Ricci play on the Blair volleyball team, but he plays at the best club team in the DC Metropolitan area in which he plays libero, meaning that he’s a defensive specialist. Despite having coached for many years at Blair, Klein is still able to appreciate Huang’s remarkable skill. “He’s one of the top six players in Mont-

By Josh Schmidt

Athlete in profile: Ricci Huang, boys’ volleyball

gomery County. And I’d take him every time,” Klein says. Huang, who plans on playing club volleyball at University of Maryland next year where he will be able to continue his competitive volleyball playing for at least four more years at a high enough level to balance fun and competitivenss.. Klein has nothing but praise for Huang as he also believes that his personal quali-ties make Ricci an incredible person off the

court. “[Ricci is] one of the most outstanding students I might ever come across. You real-ly couldn’t ask for more, except for maybe a couple more inches of height,” Klein jokes.

Veteran leadership on the team helps boys’ volleyball strive for greatness

HUANG Senior Ricci Huang is a key part of the volleyball team’s recent success.

MIMI SIM

MIMI SIM

-Adrian Craig

Spring sports teams: 2013 season update

Records are current as of Apr. 23.

BOYS’ BASEBALL (6-3) is off to an unusually good start this season with a tightly knit, enthu-siastic team and good communi-cation both on and off the field. This year’s captains, junior Neil Gahart and seniors Lowell Ensel and Adam Lott are a big presence in leading the team in the right di-rection

Lott says that the team’s focus and cohesiveness this year will help them with their goal of win-ning the division title. “We’re more of a team and play together a lot better. There are no superstars; we’re all equals,” he says. “People aren’t showing up to practice and just going through the motions.” Lott also attributes the team’s focus during practice to the dedication of Head Coach Eric Zolkiewicz. “Our coach is good with getting us back on track when we fool around in practice,” Lott says. The varsity baseball team is making forward strides this year with the team’s hard work and drive to win.

GIRLS’ LACROSSE (6-2) is looking to build on last year’s suc-cessful season and, guided by this year’s captains seniors Caren Hol-mes and Allison Whitney, at one point rose to the rank of tenth in the state. The team this year is strong and committed, playing well to-gether as a unit so far. Coach Mi-chael Horne has high hopes for the Lady Blazers and aims to develop the team to their full potential. “It’s clear that this is important to them and they’ve been working hard during the season and also during the preseason,” he says. “It’s an incredibly capable team, and the sky’s the limit to how far we can go.”

The team benefits from a strong group of seniors who provide great leadership. The team’s defense is also playing well as a whole, and the team is aiming to compete and contend for the division champi-onship this year after winning it last year. As Horne continues to look down the road for future sea-sons, he looks to build the entire la-crosse program, not just the varsity team. “I’ll be working with [JV Coach Christine] Denny to build the program, not just the individ-ual teams…success in high school sports is developing athletics as a whole,” he says.

The girls’ varsity lacrosse team is looking forward to a potentially great playoff run, building from their 9-5 record and a trip to the third round of the playoffs last year.

BOYS’ LACROSSE (4-4) is young and expecting a develop-mental season, but they are expect-ed to improve and come together as a team and be contenders later on in their season. The team’s ded-ication to lacrosse has improved since last year, which will help the program grow long-term. The of-fense this season has good shoot-ing, passing and catching skills that will make them a challenge to defend for opposing teams. The defense is also composed of strong athletes that can quickly learn and implement strategies.

Coach Christopher Brown is pleased with the improving cohe-siveness of the team and hopes it

will help them win the division title. “Every day I can see them improving and coming together as a team,” he says. Brown sees the youth and inexperience on the team as an advantage for future seasons. “A young team is great for long-term plans. The [varsity skills] implemented this year will carry on into next year,” he says. Brown hopes that as the team im-proves and develops, the program will become noticeably more com-petitive in the area and attract pre-high school lacrosse players who will help build and advance the program in the future.

TRACK AND FIELD (GIRLS 4-0, BOYS 1-2) had a breakout sea-son last year with the girls’ team finishing the season 5-0 and the boys’ 2-3 . Building off of that suc-cess, the team hopes to send more runners to states and move up to Division III. Junior Captain Mor-gana D’Ottavi feels that the main focus for the team is to use the success last year to push the team harder and “keep improving.”

D’Ottavi feels that the team this year has become very close through practice and off-season training. “We all come to practice every day and give it everything we have but we also have a lot of fun,” she says. D’Ottavi also cred-its coach Mike Lockard for con-stantly helping the team improve and win. She believes that with many fewer meets compared to other sports, the team has to use every meet as a way to improve. “After you race its important to think about what went well and what could have been done bet-ter,” D’Ottavi says. “Lockard helps us realize our individual strengths and weaknesses and gets us to work on them at prac-tices and have them in mind the next time we step on the track for our race.”

With talent such as grade Gwladys Fotso, grade Darshan Patel, grade Nobel Girmay and grade Deborah Olawun on both boys’ and girls’ track, the team has a high chance to meet and even surpass their success in the previ-ous season.

BOYS’ VOLLYBALL (6-2), the two-time de-fending county champi-on team, has proven itself to be one of the best and looks to end this season with a three-peat in the

By Sabrina Bradford and Kyle Desiderio

Blazers take to the field for another big season

April 25, 2013 Sports 31silverchips

COURTESY OF MARLENE NEWMAN

ISABEL HENDRIX-JENKINS

ELLIE MUSGRAVEELLIE MUSGRAVE

ATHLETES Top: Junior Shannon Healy moves in to check an opposing Blake player. Middle left: Junior Annie Pietanza follows through as she pitches to a Magruder op-ponent, helping Blair con-tinue their stellar start to the season. Middle right: Junior co-captain and star player Neil Gahart strides through as he throws a fastball Bottom: Senior co-captain Joshua Blockstein makes an im-pressive save.

county championships. The team has started off their seasons un-characteristically slow, losing their season-opener the last two seasons to rival Wooton, but head coach Christophe Klein believes that it was a vital part in the teams’ suc-cess. “Losing the first game [last year] really lit a fire under us,” he said.

Unlike the 2012 season, however, the team lost their second game to another strong team; Richard Montgomery. Despite the loss, however, Klein is very confident that his team will be able to bounce back, especially with the uneven level of competition. “The rest of the teams I’m confident we can beat,” he affirmed

The team took a big hit this year, though, losing two-time player of the year Andy Zhang. But the team has been able to adapt, split-ting the position Zhang filled into two players. New additions such as Julian Smith-Jones will help compensate the loss of Zheng, coach Klein said

Despite losing Zheng, Klein has complete trust in his team. “I trust all 12 players,” he stated, “any one player can make a huge differ-ence.” With the rest of the season ahead, despite a slow start, Klein is still looking towards another coun-ty championship.

The team took a big hit this year, though, losing two-time player of the year Andy Zhang. But the team has been able to adapt, split-ting the position Zhang filled into two players. “New addition Julian Smith-Jones and Gabriel(?) Roc-etti will split [Zheng’s] position,” coach Klein said.

Despite losing Zheng, Klein has complete trust in his team. “I trust all 12 players,” he stated, “any one player can make a huge differ-ence.” With the rest of the season ahead, despite a slow start, Klein is still looking towards another coun-ty championship.

SOFTBALL (9-3) had a fantas-tic season last year, though it was marred by missed op-portunities. The team finished the regular season with a fantastic 15-2 record and a num-ber one playoff seed, but after a first round playoff bye, the Blazers lost to fellow power-house Northwest.

This year, the team has already had early suc-cess, demolishing Woo-ton in its season opener 17-7. Head Coach Louis Hoelman believes that the team’s success can be attributed to the strong work ethic play-ers’ displayed in the offseason. “Everyone worked hard in the off-season participating in clinics and additional teams, so we’re really prepared,” Hoelman said. “Everyone also has a really good feel for their swing as a re-sult.”

Even though nine of his 15 players are underclassman, Hoe-lman is confident in the depth of his ros-ter. “We’re a solid 1-15 team regardless of age,” Hoelman stated. Even with Blair’s consistent tal-ent, the team is still very young and in-experience could be a weakness.

Despite the team’s early wins, Hoelman warns his team to avoid the mistakes of the 2012 squad. “We need to make sure

we’re peaking at the right time and getting better every game,” he said. “We want to enter the play-offs with confidence.”

seniors came out in full force against Ken-nedy. Blockstein had an impressive game, only letting in two shots and making close to 20 saves. Senior Michel Devynck played an aggressive and active game, supporting the offense the entire time. Seniors Trevor Gib-

LACROSS Junior Nick Porter cradles around a hit on his way to one of three goals.

On senior night, the Blazers cinch the game in the last ten minutes

CHIPS April 25, 2013silverchips.mbhs.edu/section/sports.php

The grass is freshly cut, the tarp is off of the infi eld and the hun-

ger for wins is mixed in the air with pine tar. It’s baseball season. While some might knock the sport for its boring, slow-paced play, re-member that our baseball teams are the only solid area sports teams around.

The Caps have had a lackluster season, the Redskins live and die by RGIII (and we all know about his knee), and the Wizards were re-ally bad for most of the season.

Already, with Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish one out away from a perfect game in the second day of the season, it’s gearing up to be a great year for baseball.

Even better, with last year’s breakout performances by both the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals both teams have a bright future as they try to exceed the new precedent they set for them-selves last Spring.

Washington Nationals

Any Washington fan regards the past year with mixed feelings. It was a monster year for the team, with young stars such as Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg consistently displaying their sheer raw talent.

Conversely, it was a season of missed opportunities— on three separate occasions, Nats closer Drew Storen was one strike away from putting a game away against the St. Louis Cardinals and ad-vancing into the Championship Series of the playoffs before even-

tually blowing the save. This year their roster remains

relatively unchanged, and even better, one year more experienced following the growth that comes from suffering the intensity of a playoff series.

The whole t e a m shines because it has no weakness. In fact, they have a strong player at es-sentially ev-ery position.

W h i l e Storen did blow an important save, he still played a vital role in the team’s relief. Re-gardless, this off-season, the team picked up Soriano who, on the New York Yan-kees, was able to beautifully cover for the injured Mari-ano Rivera, racking up 42 saves in the process, albeit is having a shaky start early in the season.

What puts the Nationals ahead of most, though, is the team’s depth at each position is what will keep the team winning games. All fi ve of the Nats’ starting pitch-

ers boast a sub-four career earned run average and all could be aces at almost any organization. This pitching hands-down is the best in the league and every player has the ability to come through in the clutch. Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Des-mond, Bryce Harper and new ad-dition Denard Span are all players

who can hit well in any given situ-ation. Every player goes through slumps, and when that happens it is up to the rest of the team to come together and compensate for it. Opening Day is a perfect ex-ample of this as the Nats’ only two runs came off solo shots by Bryce Harper. Combined with lights-out

pitching by Strasburg, the Nats were able to pull out a win even when their of-fense wasn’t at its best.

Does this mean the Nats are a shoo-in to win the World Series? Of course

not. The baseball sea-son is long and

arduous and a lot can hap-

pen in its marathon 162-game

season. There are still other great

teams such as the Ti-gers and Braves who are also fi ghting for

a championship. However, it is safe to say that there is

no other team better equipped and more poised to win the World Series than the Nats.

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles were a shocker last year for many baseball fans last year as they snuck into the play-offs with their stellar record in extra inning games and small-ball mentality. This year they look to surprise again with another great chance of success but also the po-

insideSPORTStential for notable failure. The AL East is the most unstable

it has ever been. Once behemoths, both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have fallen con-siderably lower in the baseball consciousness due to old age and mismanagement. The Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays are favorites, but both teams’ medio-cre performance early on shows the unpredictability of the divi-sion. While unlikely, both the Red Socks and Yankees could produce seasons akin to their prime a few years ago if old veterans step up. The Blue Jays have a shaky bullpen and the Rays don’t have the most reliable starters after David Price.

Baltimore never excelled at any one facet of the game last year; they were just really reliable when it counted. They won an incredible 16 straight extra-inning games and were 74-0 when leading after sev-en innings in the regular season. A substantial amount of the credit goes to the bullpen that proved it could eat up innings when neces-sary but acknowledgement should also be given to clutch hitting and solid fi elding.

That said, the Orioles’ main weakness lies in its hitting. If catcher Matt Weiters and third baseman Manny Machado are able to provide some pop at the plate then the O’s can defi nitely surprise

again. Chris Davis has already posted more than 20 RBIs less than a month into the season. Don’t be shocked if they are able to sneak into the playoffs again with a Wild Card or even a divisional win. Who knows? Maybe we’ll even see a Nats/O’s World Series.

KATRINA GOLLADAY

By Sam Lewando

sportsBoys’ lacrosse holds back strong Kennedy offense

Getting into the Nattitude and fl ying high with the Orioles By Josh Schmidt

BLAZER STADIUM, April 19--

The Blazers (4-4) beat the Kennedy Cavaliers (1-7) handedly on their Senior Night, 9-2. Despite having a rough start, Blair picked up the pace throughout the game, scoring a third of their goals in the fi nal ten minutes.

Junior Nick Porter cradles around a hit on his way to one of his three goals.

Blair took an early lead with a goal from junior Nate Goodin, and continued to maintain this lead the rest of the game.

This shutout continued until the third quarter, despite the Cavaliers’ strong offensive efforts. The Blazers continued scoring all the way into the fourth quarter, steadily improving their communication and movement as the game progressed.

The game was a harder fought battle than Blair had initially anticipated. “We knew Kennedy was a weaker team than those that we’ve been playing, but be-

cause of that we lowered our in-tensity,” senior captain Joshua Blockstein said. “Once we real-ized this, we picked it up and focused in.” This initial lack of in-tensity meant the Blazers had trou-ble holding onto the ball, despite keeping it near Kennedy’s goal for nearly the en-tire game.

Seniors Justin Kung and Trevor Gibson pass the ball up fi egld.

The victory was special for the Blazers be-cause it celebrat-

ed the team’s graduating seniors. Although Blair is a relatively young team, the

son and Nick Seidell kept constant pressure on the Kennedy goal, playing with intensity. Senior captain Justin Kung has been one of the most dynamic and exciting players this season, playing against the Cavaliers with powerful energy, that led to several assists.

Blair spring sports are fi nally

underway, see how they’re doing!

In spring sports news See page 31

See page 29

On the volleyball court, Ricci Huang leads the varsity team to excellence with his extensive knowledge of the game.

Huang’s a spiking star

This baseball season, our home teams have a chance of making it big. Really big.By Kyle Desiderio

COACH’S LAST STAND John MacDonald, Blair’s baseball coach from 1983-2011, tips his cap at the baseball team as he retires his number 7 jersey. “Coach Mac,” who was also on the Blair baseball team from 1978-1980, coached the baseball team to 175 wins.

EMMA HOWELLS

ELLIE MUSGRAVE

King of the Dugout