volume 48, issue 5

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December 16, 2009 Walt whitman High school 7100 whittier boulevard Bethesda, maryland 20817 theblackandwhite.net

Inside Look Loss of

2 NEWS credit policy
UMD capping proposal
out-of-state students at
sparks much
30 % debate
7 OPINION
by JESSICA GELFARB and
JAMES DIONNE
Montgomery County union members,
teachers and administrators continue to

Pro/Con remain divided over proposed changes to

the current loss of credit policy, said Doug
Prouty, the president of the Montgomery
Decriminalization of County Education Association.
Marijuana The current policy is up for debate,
Prouty said, because it is implemented
inconsistently and unfairly punishes
minority students.
Creating a policy that will work

11 IN-DEPTH
throughout the county has been difficult,
said building MCEA representative Jenny
Students stroll among the outdoor lights at the Mormon Temple on a recent winter evening. Higgins, a guidance counselor. Students
have different issues with attendance.
Decade in review
Happy Holidays!
At some schools, students fail to turn in
notes excusing an absence, while at other
schools, students skip to gain an academic
advantage.
With holiday lights sparkling on trees and bushes across Bethesda, holiday “The problems that face some students
cheer abounds. Students are partaking in all kinds of seasonal activities from in our county regarding attendance may
performances to charitable events to family celebrations. Check out page 14 for a not be issues students at Whitman can
new take on a gift guide and then head over to page 15 for some holiday recipes relate to,” Higgins said. “We need an
LC policy comprehensive enough for the

20 FEATURE
that you probably haven’t tasted before.
entire county.”

“
Statistics show that a disproportionate

Administration cracks
number of Latino students, impoverished
students and special ed students lose
A lot of time credit as a result of the current policy.

down on sharing accounts

people don’t find “They end up losing credit a lot more
than other students and it’s not because
their niche in what they’re absent more often,” Prouty said.
they want to do in “That’s a huge problem.”
life, and it’s great By Jessica Gelfarb Thomas automatically suspends
Principal Alan Goodwin also noted
that the current policy is flawed because

”
knowing that I can the accounts of any students he catches it places the burden of monitoring
bring that out in Using a friend’s computer account to sharing accounts for a week and requires attendance on teachers, who must
them. type an e-mail or print a paper is no longer them to serve one detention. generate warning letters for students
a negligible offense. Within the first While Thomas always used to send with three unexcused absences and follow
-Steve Sutherland three months of school, IT specialist Greg teachers e-mails with the names and ID through with loss of credit after they have
LFI teacher Thomas suspended approximately 65 numbers of students with suspended

22 ARTS
student network accounts as punishment
for sharing.
New software like SynchronEyes
Meet the Whitman Idols! allows staff members in computer labs to
see a small picture of a student’s computer
screen and the account each computer is
logged into. This feature makes it easy
to identify whether two computers are
logged onto the same account.
accounts, he now includes the students’
school picture.
“Because there were a large number of
students sharing accounts, we realized it
would be impossible for teachers to glance
at a list of names and realize if any of them
were their students,” he said.
Students say that the repercussions
for account sharing are too severe. Some
see ACCOUNTS page 3
five. Most union members agree that if
the burden of disciplinary action isn’t
placed on the teacher, they would support
changing the LC policy, Prouty said.
The Loss of Credit Project Team, an
MCPS work group, is addressing these
concerns. Their proposed policy revision
includes consequences for skipping class,
ranging from a teacher conference to a
detention. Under the proposal, students
can be denied the opportunity to make up
missed work at the teacher’s discretion.
Teachers must base their decisions on

SGA to raise funds for leukemia and lymphoma

by ryan hauck
This February, when the school and SGA gear up for the
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s “High School Challenge,”
no one will be more enthusiastic than freshman Tim King.
King, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia
at the age of eight, has been selected as the first ever “High School
Hero” for the event.
“They’re using my story to give people a general idea of what
leukemia is like and build up sympathy,” says King, who is also
among many students nationwide whose stories are profiled on
the society’s website.
Along with Pennies for Patients, Battle of the Beards, and
the new addition of a guy auction, the High School Challenge
will probably include King addressing the student body, SGA
president Aaron Schifrin says.
“We’re just going to go all out this year,” Schifrin says. “We
have several new fundraisers which I think are very unique.”
The High School Challenge consists of local schools
competing to see who can raise the most awareness and money
to combat leukemia. The winning school receives a party pack
at the end of the year that includes pizza, a visit from HOT 99.5
DJ Sami and $200 worth of Best Buy gift cards.
“Past students have said that not only do they feel like
they are doing something that makes a direct impact in their
community, but they also are building a resume of tangible
Freshman Tim King is currently battling leukemia and was selected by
the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for the “High School Challenge.”
leadership skills,” says Erin Walker, the campaign manager for
LLS’s School & Youth program.
Walker says that King was selected because of his
a process approved by their individual
principal. No student will ever lose credit
only for missing classes.
Prouty thinks that such a policy
change would discourage students from
dropping courses that they are struggling
with.
“I would think students would be
more likely to continue working in a
course which is troubling and in which
they have a few absences’,” he said.
“They would know there is a possibility
of getting credit for the course.”
Though the proposal addresses some
concerns, it opens the door to new
problems. Goodwin points out that if
students are free to miss classes without
losing credit, they will likely be more
inclined to skip class, and adds that
enforcement of the policy could become
inconsistent among teachers.
“Some teachers may elect not to hurt
a student,” Goodwin said. “Is that awful?
In some ways, yes, because some teachers
may decide that they want to be lenient
and some may not.”
The school’s other union
representative, social studies teacher
Courtney Osborne, is concerned that the
new policy will be inconsistent because

see FUNDS page 17 see LC POLICY page 2

2 news december 16, 2009

Crazy lines on Bradley cause
confusion, concern among drivers
By Stephanie Haven
People driving down a repaved Bradley
Boulevard may be relieved by the absence of
construction workers and traffic. But there’s still
one remaining problem: squiggly traffic lines.
Something that vaguely resembles the classic
double yellow lines twist and turn along Bradley
Blvd right before Fernwood Road, confusing and
amusing drivers.
But don’t worry; the twisting lines aren’t
permanent.
Construction workers typically don’t apply
temporary tape with as much care as when they
apply permanent paint, said Kellie Boulware, State
Highway Administration spokesperson. It’s possible
that the lines either didn’t stick to the road properly
or that a malfunction with the machine created air
between the road and the tape which caused the
lines to move from their original position.
“It can be tricky sometimes,” media spokesperson
Kim Frum said. “[The tape] may have shifted.”
The lines have turned into more of a joke than a
guide for where to drive on the road. Many travelers
Neighbors campaign for stoplight at River
said they find the skihawkedy lines humorous,
while other residents protest that they could be
hazardous.
“It looks like a small child squiggling in a
coloring book, learning how to use crayons for the
first time,” sophomore Naomi Stoll said. “Especially
in an area with so many teenage drivers, the state
has a responsibility to fix the lines before we have
any deadly accidents.”
Some more experienced drivers said they felt
the lines were more humorous than dangerous.
“We almost pay more attention to the lines now
than we did before just to see where the lines will
weave, but, it’s just a cosmetic thing,” parent Jeffery
Trauberman said. “It didn’t look significant enough
to affect safety.”
Construction workers will fix the caddywompus
lines by the end of 2009 when they finish resurfacing
Bradley Blvd.
“The lines you see now are only there as a
marker so that people are more familiar with the
paint,” she said. “It’s not something that will be
there long term.” 
photo by JENNY BALDWIN
UMD defying
trend, capping
out-of-state admits
In-state students to continue to
make up 70 percent of student body
By Nikhil Gupta
University of Maryland Director of Undergraduate
Admissions Shannon Gundy has vowed to keep out-of-
state student enrollment capped at 30 percent, against
the growing trend of state schools increasing out-of-state
enrollment in an effort to raise tuition revenue.
State colleges have always charged higher tuition
for out-of-state students than in-state students, but the
gap has recently grown larger. Penn State, for example,
charges $13,604 for state residents but over $25,000 for
students who live outside of Pennsylvania, according to
the Princeton Review.
The percentage of out-of-state students on college
campuses has increased steadily over the last two
years. Since 2007, out-of-state student enrollment
has increased three percent at the College of William
and Mary, six percent at the University of Washington
and University of Iowa and nine percent at Penn State,
according to the Washington Post.
While this new admissions trend may be unfair to
in-state students, senior Noah Gavil can sympathize
with the colleges.
“They’ve got to do what they’ve got to do to uphold
a certain level of education,” he said. “Sometimes that
means bringing in the students that will provide the
largest amount of revenue.”
While most state colleges have followed this general
trend, the University of Maryland is one of the few that
has vowed to maintain consistent in-state acceptance
rates. Despite the recession, the University’s Board of

and Braeburn intersection, cite accidents
By James Dionne
Students have struggled to drive across River Road
and turn into the back entrance of the school during
rush hour for years. Residents of the Bannockburn
neighborhood have campaigned to install a traffic light
at the intersection of Braeburn Pkwy and River Rd. for
15 years.
The Maryland State Highway Administration has
repeatedly denied requests for a light at the intersection.
improved,” Boltuck said.
Boltuck has been involved in attempts to install
a traffic light for two years. One of his most pressing
concerns is the high number of student drivers crossing
the intersection on their way to school.
“There are numerous student drivers because it’s
near Whitman’s back entrance,” he said. “It’s too much
to expect perfect judgment from everyone.”
Junior Ned Daryoush fell victim to the dangers of
the intersection earlier this year, totaling his car crossing
Regents has upheld its mandate that at least 70 percent
of the student body each year be Maryland residents.
Gundy explained that the school is making both staff
and program cuts in light of declining funds, but that it
won’t compromise in-state enrollment.
“I can understand where other universities are
coming from,” she said. “It’s a quick source of revenue.
But as a state institution, you have to remember where
your priorities lie. Our priority is not to generate the most
revenue; our main responsibility is to serve the residents
of the state of Maryland.” 

After a petition and numerous complaints, the SHA
conducted a traffic analysis in March, 2008 and found
that the installation of a light isn’t warranted.
However, former Whitman parent Richard Boltuck
said the study was faulty. In an e-mail to Whitnet Nov.
15, he claimed that several accidents that occurred at the
intersection were left out of the final report.  
A variety of factors—ranging from locations of nearby
traffic signals to intersection design— affect the SHA’s
decision to install a light , said Charlie Gischlar of the
SHA Office of Communications.
Because of the SHA traffic analysis, the intersection
will remain without a light. But proponents say they will
continue to advocate for one.
“It has been a community consensus for over a
decade that the safety of the intersection must be
IT personnel
the intersection.
“I would be so happy if they installed a light there,”
he said. “It would make my—as well as many other
kids’—commute to school a whole lot easier. Right now
there’s a huge problem with that intersection because
there’s so much chaos.”
Parent Debbie Flack thinks that the light could be a
suspend accounts
traffic hazard.
“I’m worried about it,” she said. “It would make River
very stop and go, especially because it’s a main artery.”
after students share
But Educational Facilities Officer Arnold Aubrey
thinks that a light would be beneficial, and wouldn’t
cause traffic problems.
passwords
“A light could be timed so there wouldn’t be a large
build-up,” he said. “I don’t think it would be that much
of a problem.” 

23 out of 25 principals support LC proposal

continued from page 1
it allows each school to decide
how they want to deal with attendance
and enforce the policy.
“The whole reason they want to
revamp the program is because it’s
inconsistent,” Osborne said. “Now
you’re going to have every single
school applying it differently? It’s a
nightmare.”
Other counties have successfully
employed other, more uniform LC
policies. In Frederick, students
can miss 10 classes before losing
credit. Whether or not the absence is
excused or unexcused is irrelevant.
Prouty said a similar policy would be
unfair to students who miss class for
legitimate reasons.
“If you have the number 10 and
someone is sick and has to miss
three weeks of school, I don’t think
it’s appropriate for someone to lose
credit because of an illness,” Prouty
said.
Despite some uncertainty,
the new policy is gaining support,
Goodwin said. At a recent MCPS
principals conference 23 out of 25
principals supported most aspects
of the proposed policy, he said.
Goodwin attributes this support to
the fact that the evolving policy now
allows for an academic penalty if a
student skips class.
“It’s a step in the right direction,”
he said. 
continued from page 1
pictures of students with suspended accounts,
arguing that it’s extreme.
Goodwin said the issue is “worth talking about.”
Because individuals are responsible for all activities
that occur on their accounts, students need to understand
that sharing accounts can potentially have serious
consequences, Thomas said. Administrators initially
accused two students of participating in computer
-related offenses that other people using their accounts
actually committed. One student created a sub-folder
with an offensive label.
“You can say you didn’t do it, but it’s just like
anything else,” Thomas said. “The administration is
going to go on the evidence.”
Sophomore Casey Paul recently served detention for
account sharing. He said the consequences for the act
are often too severe, particularly if the student’s intent
is “academic and not malicious.”
Students are typically sharing accounts for academic
purposes, Social Studies teacher Marisa Del Savio said.
“There are so many kids sharing accounts, and
they’re nice kids,” Del Savio said. “The problem is that
people aren’t able to access their accounts when they
need to. That’s what should be fixed.”
Regardless of whether or not account sharing
warrants serious consequences, Goodwin said that
learning to keep personal accounts private is an
important life skill. 
December 16, 2009 news 3

Ginolfi poses to benefit breast cancer research

By Ryan Hauck pictures originally spurred him to join the event, but that has anything to do with a giving a girl money for
said he was impressed when he learned about Ginolfi’s her looks.”
When the average student ogles an image of a plan. Despite her disagreements with Campus Girls USA,
scantily-clad model, he’s probably not too concerned “It’s very noble of her and breaks the stereotype of Ginolfi doesn’t regret her work with the group, especially
about the model’s alma mater. what any other girl from any other state would do with after receiving positive feedback from breast cancer
That may change for students now that Caroline the money,” he said. survivors.
Ginolfi (‘08) came in second in Campus Girl’s Hottest Sophomore Xavier Zaim, however, says that while “People keep coming up to me telling me stories
Campus Girl Contest. donating one’s winnings to charity is an honorable of friends and family members and how they really
Campus Girls USA, founded in 2006, publishes endeavor, participating in a program like Campus appreciate what I’m doing,” she said. “It’s really
annual calendars featuring provocatively posed pictures Girls objectifies women, whether or not there’s a rewarding to hear all their stories and that I really am
of the most attractive girls in various collegiate competition. making a difference in people’s lives.”
conferences. Additional photos of the women “Regardless of whether Ginolfi’s mother, Susan, said she was proud of her
appear on the organization’s website. The or not she’s in it for money, daughter for fighting for breast cancer, but agrees that
organization claims to give 100 percent of doing something where you monetary rewards for good looks is inappropriate.
the proceeds to the Susan G. Komen Breast expose yourself like that is just “I was glad that she participated in it,” she says. “At
Cancer Foundation. However, wrong,” Zaim said. this point I’m disappointed because of the $1,000 they’re
this year the company Toward the end of Ginolfi’s giving out to someone to win the hottest college girl. I
announced that it campaign, another Campus don’t think that’s right.”
would also award Girls participant, Madison Ginolfi’s brother, sophomore
$1,000 to the model Hart from West Virginia Dan, declared his support for his
voted the “hottest” by University, announced that she too would donate sister, despite the ridicule he
the site’s visitors. the winnings to breast cancer research. sometimes has to put up with
Ginolfi was selected “The other girls said she would have West from other students.
to take part in the Virginia University match the donation,” “Some guys come up to me
campaign last April Ginolfi said. “The only thing that matters is and joke around about how hot
after applying online the that if she wins or I win, the money goes to they think she is,” Dan said. “It
previous fall, but she said breast cancer.” gets kind of old after a while, but
that they never informed Campus Girls USA claims that the I can deal with it.”
her she that she would be addition of a contest was necessary in order Caroline said she hopes
entering a competition. to cut down on costs. that her participation will
“It was involuntary; “One facet of our business is change the way Whitman
they didn’t tell us,” Ginolfi finding models and to do so requires students look at swimsuit
said. “I never signed up to advertising which costs money – a lot models.
be in a beauty contest.” of it,” a company spokesperson said. “I know that there’s a
In response, Ginolfi stigma attached to girls who
created an event on Facebook “By integrating Facebook on our website would pose in a bikini for
denouncing the organizers of and putting on the current competition, we are using it a calendar,” she said.
Campus Girls and encouraging as a viral way to spread the word about Campus Girls “I know it sounds
people to vote for her, saying that should she win the USA and find new applicants. This in turn will save us kind of silly, but if I
$1,000 prize, she would donate all the prize money to far more than we would have spent if we solely relied can wear a bikini to
cancer research. on advertising and allow us in the end to donate more help breast cancer
“I want [the money] to go to breast cancer,” she money to breast cancer research.” and help these
said. “I don’t want it to just go to some girl who’s going Ginolfi rejects the company’s explanation, arguing women who have been
to spend it on shoes.” that if their intention was truly to save money, they struggling and fighting
Eventually the group grew to have more than wouldn’t be handing out a $1,000 prize. this awful disease,
3,000 members, including dozens of current Whitman “I told them that I didn’t think it was right, and they I will absolutely do
students. told me it was because they were trying to save money that.” 
photos courtesy CAMPUS GIRLS
Junior Mikey Stevens admitted that the enticing for advertising,” she said. “I still don’t understand how

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4 news december 16, 2009

T-Mobile lobbies to install cell tower on edge of

baseball field, would pay $2000 a month to MCPS
By Alex Zimmermann
Students with T-Mobile cell phones
may soon receive a signal boost. The
company is lobbying to install a new
cellular antenna, which would sit atop a
new light pole towering 120 feet over the
school baseball field.
T-Mobile proposed plans for the new
tower at a PTSA meeting Nov. 17, claiming
that it would improve the inconsistent
coverage in and around the school.
“This area has been a spotty wireless
area since wireless was built out here in
the mid-90s,” T-Mobile consultant Sean
Hughes said. “It’s not reliable. As we use
our phones more and more every day we
have to be closer and closer to get service.
This could be a great option.”
T-Mobile would pay a $2,000 rental
fee per month, which would be split
evenly among Whitman, the elementary
school cluster and MCPS. Similar
financial arrangements exist with cell
service companies at other area schools
including Sherwood, Blake, Springbrook
and Blair.
If the company builds the tower, they
could offer other cell phone companies
the opportunity to “co-locate” antennas
inside the pole. Clients of other providers
could also then receive a signal boost in
the middle of a well-known service dead
spot.
“Certainly there are dead spots in the
area surrounding Wilson Lane, Whittier
Boulevard and River Road,” principal
Alan Goodwin said. “These are things
that I’ve heard ever since I’ve been in this
community.”
However, community members
have expressed their concerns about the
tower, arguing that radio frequency waves
could cause serious health effects, citing
a variety of past studies and personal
experiences. One parent described a
friend who got a brain tumor, claiming it Simulation of T-Mobile tower
was due to radio frequency exposure.
Approximately 45 to 50 parents
attended the meeting, PTSA co-president
Vicky Strella said. One parent worried
that students would climb up the tower.
Another stated that her children won’t
attend Whitman if the tower is built,
adding that they moved here because
there weren’t cell towers at the time.
T-Mobile representatives dismissed
most claims of the potential health risks.
The waves emitted by the radio tower
would expose people on the ground to
less radio frequency than baby monitors,
wireless routers or cell phones themselves,
said Matt Butcher of SiteSafe, a company
specializing in radio frequency wave
analysis. Current scientific estimates
indicate the potential radio frequency
exposure is less than one tenth of 1 percent
of the maximum exposure allowed by the
FDA, Butcher said.
Company representatives also stressed
the difference between radio frequency
emission from cell phones and that from graphic by JACOB RASCH
cell antennas.
“I haven’t seen any [studies] that
found any relationship between distance “The [radio frequency] powers are very Goodwin allowed T-Mobile
from antennas and increased risk of low, so let’s look at all the resources.” representatives to visit the property and
health effects,” Butcher said. Although Goodwin publicly supported hold a community forum at the PTSA
Faced with parents shouting the tower proposal before the PTSA meeting. The final decision will be subject
references to a variety of studies that meeting, he says he will remain neutral to the approval of the Montgomery
linked radio frequency waves to health on the matter. County Tower Review Committee and
consequences, T-Mobile representatives “I am still confused by the situation,” superintendent Jerry Weast.
questioned the validity and relevance of Goodwin said. “I removed [the message The PTSA’s powers are restricted
the studies. of support for the tower on the school to drafting a resolution expressing the
“I would caution that if there are going website] to make the discussion more community’s general opinion, as the Pyle
to be assertions that it’s unsafe, both sides of a public discussion than a school PTSA did when a similar proposal was
provide reputable sources,” Hughes said. discussion.” debated in 2005. 

Bethesda ES Howard County

students may takes the lead
have to transfer banning tanning beds
to Bradley Hills for minors
by jamie norwood

New district divisions
would redirect the
few students who go
to Pyle from Bethesda
By Sahil Ansari
Some Bethesda Elementary
students may have to transfer to
Bradley Hills Elementary in the near
future as a result of an upcoming
examination of MCPS boundary
lines. New district divisions may
force some students who live in the
Bethesda Elementary district to
transfer to Bradley Hills Elementary
as a result of overcrowding.
Currently, the majority of
students who attend Bethesda
Elementary go to Westland Middle
School and then Bethesda Chevy-
Chase High School. Only a small
number of students who live in the
westernmost segment of the district
attend Pyle and then Whitman.
On Dec. 15, parent representatives
from Bethesda Elementary and
Bradley Hills Elementary will meet
to discuss possible transfers, which
will alleviate the problems posed by
large class sizes. They will then send a
report to Superintendent Jerry Weast
in February and reconvene to further
discuss new boundaries in March,
according to Bruce Crispell, MCPS
director of long-range planning.
“It’s a very long process with
a lot of community involvement,”
Crispell said.
If the parent representatives and
Weast agree on a change, students
affected would begin attending
Bradley Hills Elementary in 2013.
Some students may have to transfer from Bethesda Elementary to Bradley Hills, due
to new district divisions. Shown above is the area subject to boundary review on
Dec. 15 when parent representatives from the two schools will meet to discuss the
matter.
One benefit of the proposed
change is an easier transition to
Pyle for some students. A few of the
Bethesda Elementary graduates, who
attended Pyle instead of Westland,
about 20 out of 400, found that the
transition was difficult when most
of their peers went to a different
middle school.
“It would have been nice to have
known the Bradley Hills kids earlier
because it was harder to break into
groups of friends,” junior Leo Doran
said. “This way you would be going
in with a familiar group of people
instead of going to a completely
new school where you don’t know
anybody.”
Bethesda Elementary PTA
president Patricia Brown said that
at this point there is no consensus
graphic by SHIN DUK SEO
among the PTA.
Some parents are concerned that
the change may only affect students
who have not yet begun elementary
school, which could split families
up among different schools, Brown
said.
Chiyo Kobayashi, the mother of
three children who attended Bethesda
Elementary then Pyle, will have her
son starting elementary school next
year. She says she wouldn’t mind if
he attended Bradley Hills instead of
Bethesda Elementary, even though
the latter is in walking distance from
her house.
“I’ve heard Bradley Hills is
excellent, and my three kids say BE
is fantastic,” Kobayashi said. “Both
are great schools.” 
As second semester approaches and the days get
colder, students will do just about anything to hold onto
a glimmer of summer.
But don’t rely on tanning salons to maintain that
summer glow this holiday season; multiple Maryland
counties have recently banned tanning beds for minors
or are in the process of doing so.
Howard County’s Nov. 10 restriction on tanning beds
is the first ban of its kind in the nation.
“Teenagers are much more likely to burn with indoor
tanning,” Howard County board of Health officer Dr.
Peter Bielenson said in a Baltimore TV interview. “And
burns, particularly at a young age, are clearly correlated
with developing melanoma and other skin cancers later
in life.”
Because this type of ban has been relatively unheard
of, pediatricians and other health officials are pleasantly
surprised.
“[Tanning beds] are dangerous,” says Hillary
Deutsch, a pediatrician at Bethesda Pediatrics. “They
perpetuate the idea that having darker skin is what’s
cool, and a lot of teenagers don’t look down the road at
the terrible effects tanning will have on their skin.”
Adrienne Mac, an employee at Hollywood Tans in
Bethesda disagrees with Deutsch and is appalled by
the ban.
“I t ’ s r e a l l y b l o w n o u t o f p r o p o r t i o n , ” h e
says. “Tanning doesn’t do anything wrong
for you. All that UV stuff really isn’t a big deal. I
go tanning all the time and I don’t have cancer.”
In fact, tanning beds expose tanners to much stronger
UV rays than the sun does. The American Cancer society
says that no one under 18 should be exposed to those
levels of UV rays.
Junior Catherine Block occasionally spray tans
or goes to tanning beds for special events and thinks
Howard County’s new ban is unnecessary.
“If minors’ parents let them tan they should be
allowed to,” she says. “And I don’t think teenagers even
need parental consent. You don’t ask your parents if
you can go out in the sun, so why ask them if it’s okay
to go tanning?”
Although Block disagrees with the ban, she still
acknowledges how dangerous tanning can be.
“Just from my experience with tanning beds my skin
is already slightly damaged,” she says. “My friends who
go tanning have white spots all over their bodies.”
december 16, 2009 news 5

Fourteen area Catholic schools may close

due to financial and organizational issues
Tuition, demographic shift likely reasons for lower enrollment
SARAH KLOTZ
By Nikhil Gupta
Why the schools are closing:
photo by

Fourteen private Catholic schools

in the area may have to close by the
end of the year if they can’t come
up with a solution to financial and
organizational concerns.
All 14 schools are part of the
Archdiocese of Washington, a
chapter of the Roman Catholic
Church that runs 96 Catholic
schools in Washington and
Maryland in addition to
churches and social
service programs.
Although the
archdiocese schools
boast 23 Blue Ribbon
Awards and a 99 percent
college acceptance rate,
they have faced declining
enrollment and other
organizational issues over the
past few years.
The chapter tried to combat
the recession by renewing its
large tuition assistance fund,
which provided students with $4
million in financial aid this year.
However, while the recent economic
recession has exacerbated the issue
of enrollment, the problem existed
long before then.
Kathy Dempsey, assistant
director of communications for the
archdiocese, attributes the growing
enrollment problem to an increasing
lack of interest in a traditional
Catholic school education. Another
large factor is a local demographic
shift.
“A large part of new residents in
the area are immigrants, and the new
l loss of government vouchers
l increasing cost of running
schools
l aging and expensive
school buildings
l high tuition rates
l fewer benefactors
immigrant
population
doesn’t have
the culture
of Catholic
s c h o o l s
and Catholic
education,” she
said.
P r o b l e m s
surfaced in October,
2007 when the Archbishop
o f Washington organized a
community meeting, recognizing
the need for some sort of solution.
Participants concluded that the
educational structure and policy of
the archdiocese was inefficient and
needed to be reexamined.
That same year, the archdiocese
closed seven of their Catholic schools,
converting them to DC public charter
schools. The troubles continued last
year when the archdiocese closed
down two more schools in southern
Maryland.
This year, officials from 14 of
these schools have agreed to hold
meetings to review their assets and
discuss their future plans. While
the St. Hugh of Grenoble School
in Greenbelt already decided Dec.
4 that it would close at the end of
the year, most likely merging with
St. Joseph’s School in Beltsville,
Dempsey explained that most of the
schools will not decide until later
this year.
“It’s about examining finances
and searching for solutions,” she
said. “Not all of these schools are
going to close. It’s to get ahead of
the game.”
Dempsey said that she hopes all
of the schools in the archdiocese will
eventually hold annual meetings in
order to assess funds and inform the
school community.
“[These meetings] will strengthen
and enhance Catholic schools in
the future,” she said. “Catholic
schools may look very different later
down the line, but they’re not going
anywhere. I can tell you that.” 
Algebra II class
splits mid-semester
By Rachel Lerner
To help alleviate classroom overcrowding,
administrators split students in Bonnie Duvall’s
sixth period Algebra II class into two separate
sections Nov. 30.
Administrators implemented this rare mid-
semester split to balance classes after a number
of students dropped down from honors Algebra II
into regular Algebra II, assistant principal Jennifer
Webster said.
“I had students who asked if they could switch
down, and I would have to say no because I didn’t
have enough room for them,” Webster said.
She said that administrators aim to keep on-level
classes capped at 28 students, and the new class
provides for a better teacher-to-student ratio.
Students with last names beginning with A
through P stayed in Duvall’s sixth period class while
students with last names beginning with Q through Z
switched into math teacher Anne Chiasson’s newly-
created fifth period class.
“I liked the excitement of switching lunches and
having a new teacher, although I’m going to miss Ms.
Duvall,” junior Becky Schwartz said.
Duvall said that she is able to give more personal
attention to each of her students in her new class.
“Before, in such a large class, I wasn’t able to
really check everyone’s homework and make sure
they were doing it right,” she said. “Now I can.”
Sophomore Charlie Hedges, who is still in
Duvall’s sixth period said the split has helped him
learn more effectively.
“I like having a smaller class,” he said. “It is
easier to focus and ask questions.” 

YOU’LL GET KICKED

OUT OF CLASS.
GUARANTEED! Every student in every major will get kicked out of class at Longwood
University … straight into one of Virginia’s best internship programs.
Required internships or directed research provide real-world experience
before the real world – a guaranteed advantage.

WhyLongwood.com
800.281.4677
admissions@longwood.edu
6 opinion december 16, 2009

Gray Area: A, B, Zzzzzzzzz Letter to the

by Rachel Nussbaum

The other day, I spent a good five

to 10 minutes giggling over a pun I put
into an English presentation. In class,
no one laughed.
Yes, times are tough in the life of
this junior, and it turns out, eleventh
grade isn’t conducive to sleep. I know,
who would’ve guessed?
Well, it seems like a lot of people.
Last year I didn’t realize that the most
sleep I would get in a night is six hours.
Despite this, I’m still expected to act
like a fully functioning person, handling
tests and quizzes and contact lenses
with ease.
The entire situation is crazy, just like
my eyes now make me look. I’m avoiding
the child development classroom for the
children’s sake.
The recommended number of hours
of sleep per night is eight and a half,
according to the Center for Disease
Control’s website. Like I said before,
I usually get five to six, depending on
how spiteful my teachers are feeling that
day. While researching, I learned that
insufficient sleep could lead to obesity,
diabetes and depression.
To use some street slang, no duh.
From all the late nights I’ve pulled,
which aren’t nearly as cool as they sound
right there, I’ve learned a thing or two.
One, sugar is definitely useful.
Nothing gets that physics lab finished
like Cookie Crisps cereal and Swiss Miss
straight from the packet.
Sure, some may say that this will
lead to obesity and a diabetes-caused
untimely demise. But see, this brings me
to my second piece of wisdom.
Here’s a hint. It’s a-parta-me (I
know that’s pretty lame, but please, see
the first paragraph. Puns are all that
get me by.)
That’s right: aspartame! The little
lifesaver that keeps my jean size from
increasing with my hours spent awake.
Aspartame is basically a sugar
substitute, the difference between the
regular and Diet Coke that I chug before
9:00 AM. Without it, I’d probably turn
to “5 Hour Energy” for my caffeine fix,
a pepper-upper that carries an insanely
low calorie count…and extreme jitters,
followed by a crash that makes Evil
Knievel’s Vegas stunt look like child’s
play.
But anyways, aspartame looked like
a great solution to the sleep deficiency
problem that seems to plague half the
student body. Then, out of morbid
curiosity, I Googled the side effects of
the sugar-replacement. Hmm. As I was
browsing the extensive list, a few like
nausea, hives and personality changes
popped out at me.
And then, irony of all ironies, trouble
with contact lenses.
Now I see where the depression
comes from. 
Editor
I would like to clarify some of the
statements made in Jessica Littman’s
article in the B&W dated 11.17 regarding
“Retake Policies.” I want to assure the
Whitman community and our students
that the Math Department here at
Whitman is in full compliance with the
county’s Grading and Reporting Policy
(G&R)—our individual course teams
determine what their grading systems will
be, what their course expectations are,
etc., as stipulated in the policy.
While it might be possible for some
departments to develop a consistent
department-wide set of policies regarding
reassessments, I have never pushed my
department in that direction because the
G&R policy doesn’t mandate department-
wide reassessment policies, it allows
individual course teams to make their
own decisions.
We notify our students on day 1 of
each semester what our grading systems
and reassessment policies are, so there’s
no truth in the statement that there’s
confusion and unfairness with that

Allow students to use iPods in library notification process—students know

by Jessica Littman
Students sit scattered around tables
and in front of computers in the library,
nodding their heads to music as they
study silently.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Nothing. Students should be allowed to
use their personal music players in the
library, as long as they keep the volume
low and don’t disturb others.
Students aren’t allowed to listen to
personal music players in the library
because the administration treats the
library like a classroom, applying the
same rules and restrictions, says media
specialist Ginny Trulio. But the library
isn’t like other classrooms; it’s a place
for students to study independently. If
they don’t have to listen to an instructor
or collaborate with other students, then
there’s nothing wrong with students
silently listening to music while they
study individually.
When classes are working in the
library, it should be up to the teacher’s
discretion whether students can use
headphones or not. But when students
are studying on their own, they should
be able to use their own studying
strategies, which often include listening
to music.
The rule against music players
in classrooms makes sense, because
if students have their headphones
the score from day 1, it’s in our written
classroom guidelines.
The article also gives the mistaken
in, they can’t hear impression that these policies can change
the teacher. Teachers within the school year depending on the
might also argue that course team’s whim, but that just isn’t
the music distracts true—course team decisions are in effect
them from their for the entire school year. It is true that
work even when the decisions within a course team might
teacher isn’t talking change from one school year to another,
to the class. But in the but that’s because we math people don’t
library it’s up to the always teach the same courses from
students to determine one year to the next, and to expect that
how they want to new teachers on a course team should
study. Whether be bound by the previous course team’s
administrators think policies isn’t fair to the new teachers on
that students should that team.
listen to music while If we feel that our reassessment
they study or not policies aren’t as effective as we would
shouldn’t matter. like them to be during one school year,
Walk into the we are not allowed to change/modify
library during lunch those reassessment policies for the
or after school, and photo by JESSICA LITTMAN current school year, but we can change
you’ll see several them the following year to try a different
students discreetly reassessment model. We are given that
listening to their personal music players. Listening to music can sharpen attention latitude in the G&R policy, and we are
Students often break the restrictions on and retention skills, according to a study constantly trying to come up with grading
headphone use, and other students say by Stanford University researchers who systems and reassessment policies that
that this doesn’t disrupt their studying. concluded that listening to music helps are fair to our students and are not a
No one plays music too loudly, says development of reading skills. burden to us teachers, even those of us
junior Ryan Slayen, who often studies Restricting students from listening who have been teaching for 30+ years.
in the library during lunch or after to music in the library doesn’t help Different course teams can come
school. anyone, and it hurts the students who up with different grading/reassessment
Many students like to listen to music benefit from listening to music while systems, but that doesn’t make them
while they study because the ambient they study. For those who feel that wrong, confusing or unfair, just different.
noise helps them to concentrate. they need music to work, the library 
Sophomore Annie Russell says the isn’t a place where they can study most Russ Rushton, Math RT
ambient noise helps her to focus. effectively.  Whitman HS

Volume 48, Issue 5

2009-2010
The Black & White is published 10 times a year by the students of Walt Whitman High School, 7100 Whittier Blvd., Bethesda, MD 20817. The Black & White is an open forum for student views. Subscriptions for the
2009-2010 school year include the Black & White and The Spectator. Pick-up subscriptions cost $20 and mail subscriptions cost $25. The newspaper aims to both inform and entertain. The editorial board establishes
Black & White policy.
Unsigned editorials convey the opinion of the Black & White editorial board. Signed opinion pieces reflect the positions of the individual staff. Opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Walt Whit-
man High School (WWHS) or Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).
The Black & White encourages readers to submit opinions on relevant topics in the form of letters to the editor. Letters must be signed to be printed, though names will be withheld upon request. The Black &
White reserves the right to edit letters for content and space. Letters to the editor may be placed in the Black & White mailbox in the main office or the editor’s mailbox in room B211, or may be emailed to 2010black-
andwhiteprint@gmail.com.
All content in the paper is reviewed to ensure that it meets the highest levels of legal and ethical standards with respect to material that is libelous, obscene or invasive of privacy. Accuracy is of utmost importance
to the Black & White staff. The address of the Black & White Online Edition is <www.theblackandwhite.net>. The online edition contact is 2010blackandwhiteonline@gmail.com.
Recent awards include the 2008, 2005, 2004 NSPA Pacemaker Online Award Finalist; 2002 NSPA Pacemaker Award; CSPA 2008 Silver Crown; CPSA 2005, 2008 Gold Medalist Award; Quill & Scroll George H. Gallup
Award 2000-2008; 2005, 2004 NSPA All-American Award, 2004 MSPA/Washington Post Advisor of the Year Award.
PRINT EDITION ONLINE EDITION
Editor-in-Chief Sarah Craig In-Depth Writers Rebecca Andrasko Online Editor-in-Chief Surbhi Agrawal
Managing Editor Victoria Scordato Carolina Millan-Ronchetti Online Managing Editors Jenny Baldwin
Writing Coach Chelsea Lo Julia Weingardt Eleanor Katz
Copy Chief Megan Dwyer Andrew Wyner Webmaster Ted Knox
Production & Design Directors Maria Valatkaite Feature Writers Sahil Ansari Online Copy Editor Megan Dwyer
Shinduk Seo Jamie Norwood Online Daily Editor Leah Harburg
News Editors Carolyn Heiman Zach Schloss Online News Writers Alex Zimmerman
Dale Zhou Hailey Siller Stephanie Haven
Opinion Editor Mike Bernhard Nalini Tatata Online Feature Writer Rachel Nussbaum
In-Depth Editors Danielle Bloch Arts Writers Kristin Baglien Online Opinion Writer Alana Neuman
Susan Russell Ryan Hauck Online Arts Writers Julia Dane
Feature Editors Caroline Kahlenberg Adam Glazer Parissa Jaseb
Ellie Golightly Production Assistants Marina Booth Fashion Lindsey Galego
Q&A Editor Richard Scordato Neill Robertson Health Shayna Barbash
Arts Editors Yasmeen Abutaleb Photo Director Sarah Klotz Film Shahana Lal
Nina Slesinger Assistant Photo Director Sara Allen Music Tim Klepp
Ombudsman Sarah Houston Graphics Director Elena Toumayan Tech/Media John Son
News Writers James Dionne Graphic Artists Keegan Barber Politics Beatriz Forster
Jessica Gelfarb Business Manager Hidemi Omori Arts and Entertainment Ollie Tell
Nikhil Gupta Business Assistants Emily Aronson Online News Link Leah Jennings
Rachel Lerner Caitlin DePorter
Opinion Writers Kevin Hoogstraten Kevin Rudd Advisor Louise Reynolds
Molly Kaplowitz Ad Manager Caroline Bartholomew Assistant Advisor Prudence Crewdson
Jessica Littman Public Relations Nikkita Sarna
Stewart Longsworth
december 16, 2009
PRO
by jessica littman
The subject of decriminalizing
marijuana prompts people to roll their
eyes and dismiss the idea as an unrealistic
pipe dream of potheads. But during a
time when the government should be
jumping at the chance to save money
by reducing law enforcement costs,
marijuana decriminalization is becoming
a legitimate possibility.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder
recently announced that federal
prosecutors will back away from pursuing
cases against medical marijuana users
in states that have legalized medical
marijuana, and this is a step in the
right direction. States should take this
opportunity to pass more aggressive
legislation decriminalizing non-medical
marijuana.
Decriminalization doesn’t mean
legalization; it just means reducing
the penalties for using or possessing
marijuana. Considering the amount of
money the government spends trying to enforce
anti-marijuana laws, as well as evidence from the
National Institutes of Health and law enforcement
officials showing that it can be less harmful
to a person’s health than alcohol, the federal
government should decriminalize marijuana. This
will reduce law enforcement costs because fewer
people will have to be prosecuted for marijuana-
related crimes.
In a report written by a Harvard economist and
published in 2005, 500 economists from around
the country supported decriminalization on the
grounds that it would save law enforcement money.
The report, signed by three Nobel Laureates,
including a former advisor to Ronald Reagan,
maintains that decriminalization would save state
and federal governments $7.7 billion a year.
Law enforcement officials have even formed a
group called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
While users of marijuana become more aware of
their condition and are likely to drive very slowly,
those under the influence of alcohol are more
likely to deny their condition and drive quickly and
recklessly, according to the organization. As with any
drug, it’s crucial for authorities to be able to keep track of its distribution, something
that will only be possible with decriminalization. By decriminalizing marijuana, the
government can gain a strong foothold in controlling its dissemination, a much
better option given the alternative: hundreds of street corner pot dealers clogging
our prisons and wasting taxpayers’ money.
If scientists and policemen believe that marijuana is safer than alcohol, and
economists believe it could help the faltering economy, then maybe it’s time for
the issue of decriminalization to be seriously discussed.
Journalism isn’t dying, just changing —for the better
by sarah houston
In the midst of a new wave of journalism, the media
has highlighted only the problems that newspapers
are facing. We hear hundreds of stories about revenue
cuts, shrinking readership numbers and bankrupt
publications, but something is missing. Between the
mess of editorials and features that leave readers
worried, there is a silver lining. While publications are
facing new struggles, the media has emphasized only
the complications, while pushing aside the positives of
the situation.
The bottom line is that a large group of readers
still embrace newspapers. According to the Columbia
Journalism Review, 48.6 million people in the U.S.
bought newspapers every day last year. Although the
number was higher three years ago, the losses aren’t as
monumental as some might think. The peak population
that reads newspapers every day was 62 million in
1990, but that was at a time when the Internet wasn’t
an integral part of our daily life. It has been dropping
since then, but the numbers are still large enough to
keep many papers alive.
For some reason, whether it be the high quality of
reporting found in newspapers or the nostalgic feeling
of a paper in your hands, newspapers are not going
away any time soon. Although ad revenues may be
down, the Audit Bureau of Circulations found that the
Wall Street Journal, one of the largest papers in the
country, is gaining readers and has already increased
circulation by 0.6 percent. The New York Times Co. also
reported that in the third quarter, “circulation revenues
rose 6.7 percent, mainly because of higher subscription
and newsstand prices at The New York Times and The
Boston Globe.”
In an editorial in the Nov. 1 issue of the Washington
Post, columnist Kathleen Parker introduces Alex Jones,
a Pulitzer Prize-winning media critic and author of
“Losing the News.” Jones believes that although the
journalism business is most certainly changing, the
shift is bringing out the best in a considerable number
opinion
States that have passed
medical marijuana laws
since 1996
of U.S. high school seniors who admitted to driving high in the past two weeks on a
nationwide 2008 survey, it would be irresponsible to make the drug more accessible
and inevitably increase the number of dangerous drivers on the road.
The U.S. government classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, along with cocaine
and LSD for a reason. Proponents of marijuana decriminalization would do well to
think about why that is before lighting up their next joint or encouraging others to do
the same. 
of people.
“The story isn’t that newspapers are dying,” he
says. “The story is that, even though people can get the
same content online for free, they’re ponying up to buy
newspapers that are more expensive than ever.”
Jones attributes this to a type of “citizenship
decision.” If newsrooms and reporters were cast aside,
who would become the source for reliable and consistent
“
American society must take
some collective responsibility for
supporting independent news
reporting in this new environment.
-Leonard Downie
The Reconstruction of American
”
Journalism
information? Most readers still think that we shouldn’t
have to find that answer out on our own.
Large newspapers are vital to the preservation
of accurate and truthful reporting because of their
standards. You don’t see websites and bloggers held to
a set of strict rules that dictate the way they go about
their jobs; readers have no guarantee that the content
they produce is accurate. In a 2009 survey by the Pew
Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism,
45 percent of respondents thought that the Internet was
changing the fundamental values of journalism and
loosening standards.
Leonard Downie, former executive editor of the
Washington Post, and Michael Schedson, professor of
communication at Columbia, wrote a study titled “The
Reconstruction of American Journalism.” They write
that the backbone of American journalism seems to be
the local newspapers situated in smaller cities and towns.
7
CON by Kevin Hoogstraten
Marijuana has been in the news
a lot lately. America’s first marijuana
café, where individuals with Oregon
medical marijuana cards can smoke
weed for $25 a month, recently opened
in Portland, and an October Gallup poll
found that 44 percent of Americans
favor legalization of marijuana for
general use. A larger percentage of
Americans support decriminalizing
marijuana. Decriminalization would
make possession of up to one ounce of the
drug an offense equivalent to a parking
ticket but would keep distribution and
production of marijuana as felonies.
Despite these recent developments,
marijuana remains a dangerous
gateway drug that simply shouldn’t be
decriminalized.
A National Institute on Drug Abuse
study found that marijuana smoke had
50 percent more cancer-causing agents
than tobacco smoke, and another study
by the Medical Research Institute of
New Zealand found that smoking one joint was
the equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes in terms
of lung cancer risk. Marijuana can also affect
intelligence. Frequent users experience a decrease
in IQ over time, according to the Canadian Medical
Association Journal.
Marijuana is also a gateway drug. One 1998
Columbia University study found that marijuana
users are 85 times more likely to try cocaine than
non-users. Decriminalizing marijuana sends young
adults the message that smoking is acceptable, and
decriminalization will likely lead to an increase in
users. Many of these users will go on to experiment
with harder drugs like cocaine and heroin whose
harmful effects are beyond debate.
Marijuana proponents argue that people should
be allowed to risk their own health by smoking
marijuana, but marijuana use affects society as a
whole. Marijuana affects a user’s ability to drive:
a decade-long Australian study found that 13.5
percent of 3,400 drivers killed in car accidents had
cannabis in their bloodstream. Driving while high
not only endangers the driver’s life, it endangers
other citizens’ lives. Considering the 12 percent
These small publications don’t have to deal with much
competition from local TV stations or other newspapers,
and have suffered less in the economic downturn.
But for the larger papers like the Washington Post
and USA Today, changes are necessary to keep the public
inspired. Publications are joining together to create
collaborative organizations that save money and produce
more engaging stories Downie and Schedson report. For
example, Ohio’s eight largest newspapers have come
together to create the Ohio News Organization. They
share most types of news but independently work on
investigative and enterprise reporting.
By sharing the straightforward news stories, these
newspapers have more staff to work on the in-depth
pieces that distinguish each individual publication.
Investigative pieces are part of the reason people still
buy papers when online offers so much info for free.
While newspapers try new tactics to maintain a high
standard of reporting with less revenue and a smaller
staff, Downie and Schedson suggest, “American society
must take some collective responsibility for supporting
independent news reporting in this new environment.”
Americans have already come together to save public
programs such as health care, scientific research, and
education, and newspapers should be given the same
attention.
Instead of seeing the future of journalism as a
dying business, see it as a challenge. Many publications
are now stepping up to the plate, thinking of unique
answers to these problems. And although 48.6 million
Americans still actively read newspapers, there is still
work to do. The real question is, are you willing to roll
with the changes to preserve our publications? Students
should keep subscribing not only to the B&W, but talk
to their parents about keeping subscriptions to national
newspapers at home. If anyone is going to help papers
stay afloat, it is the younger readers.
Don’t look at the problems facing newspapers as a
reason to complain, but a reason to come together and
ensure the survival of one of the most important outlets
of freedom of speech in our country. 
8 opinion december 16, 2009

Letter from Israel Read all over...

A Green Christmas

Organic

photo courtesy BEN WOLCOTT

Ben Wolcott (‘09), left, is spending a gap year in Israel with Workshop, the socialist and
progressive labor Zionist youth movement Habonim Dror runs.
Last year’s managing editor, Ben of us played in a Quidditch tournament
Wolcott (‘09), opted to do a gap year a few weeks back. We basically just ran
in Israel instead of going directly to around and yelled at each other as a few
Swarthmore College. people, the “bludgers,” tackled whoever

Instead of hobbling off to class every

morning, the twenty people I live with
gather around our kitchen table to eat
breakfast. After we eat the scrambled
eggs, cereal or French toast that one of
us puts together, all 79 people on the
program circle up in a field to sing, share
world news and start the day together.
Some mornings, the twenty of us
learn and talk about Jewish history for
three hours while on other mornings, I
work at the community’s museum with
a friend of mine. And if that’s not on the
schedule, we might travel around Israel
to experience the country and its society
in light of what we’ve learned.
At some point last year, I decided
to take a break after high school, so I
could live communally in Israel. I’m on
a program called Workshop, which the
socialist and progressive labor Zionist
youth movement Habonim Dror has run
for the past 59 years.
I’ve been a part of Habonim since I
was nine, so I’m spending this year with
some of my closest friends as well as
people from all over the country. We live
communally, sharing everything from
household chores to our bank account.
The program intentionally builds a
good amount of free time into the day, so
the twenty of us can meet and have long
discussions about our lifestyle and plan
sweet activities for ourselves. To give
a serious and rewarding example, we
spent the last couple of nights in a room
giving each other constructive criticism
until we couldn’t sit up straight and had
to go to sleep. On the lighter side, the 79
had the ball.
The supportive and open environment Paper Free
that we’ve created helps us push our
boundaries, so we can learn more about
ourselves and how we want to live our
lives. Personally, as I’ve shared more
and more, I’ve gained a new appreciation
of my own space. And on an ideological
note, I’ve spent a good deal of time
thinking about the importance of caring
for everyone, regardless of whether or
not I naturally gravitate towards them.
Almost everything that we do allows
us to share our thoughts and feelings so
that we fully invest ourselves in forming
strong and meaningful relationships. Recycling
And while I’m not learning as much
factual information as I would if I were
in college, I think that the relationships
I’m developing and the discussions I’m
having teach me more about myself than
joining a cooperative or playing club
Frisbee would.
Still, I’m surprised at how much I’ve
missed spending my mornings, days
Carbon Free
and nights jammed with homework,
debate practice and flat nights. I miss
the sense of accomplishment I got
when I handed in a project or when the
Black & White came out. Yet I’ve begun
to find a similar gratification in less
quantifiable experiences, whether it’s
learning about Israel’s diverse cultures
or having insightful conversations with
my four roommates.
Gap years aren’t for everyone, but I
couldn’t be happier that I found the time
Solar Powered Carpooling
to take stock of my life and to figure out
where I’m going.  graphic by ELENA TOUMAYAN
-Ben Wolcott

Students should create own computer passwords Happy

Shutting down school accounts doesn’t address real problem
by Stewart Longsworth
The school monitors now broadcast
an ominous warning to students as they
log in: “60 Whitman students had their
account suspended in the last month
for sharing accounts!”
The administration is clearly
cracking down on account sharing this
year. Computer administrators can
easily detect students who are sharing
accounts from their central monitoring
system and slap them with a detention
and a one-week account suspension.
While sharing accounts is
unnecessary and dangerous, this
campaign against account sharing
doesn’t address the true root of the
problem: random passwords that
boggle the memory of most students.
If passwords were easier to memorize,
then incidences of account sharing
would be few and far between.
Administrators are right to point
out the problems sharing accounts can
cause. By sharing accounts, students
are handing out their login information,
exposing important files to possible
tampering or destruction. Students
who violate computer use guidelines or
try to hack into the computer network
can hide their identities by working
from a shared account. And sharing
accounts is unnecessary for group
work; students can always save their
work to the student shared network,
allowing group members to access it
from their own accounts.
Why would anybody share accounts?
Most students share their accounts
because friends or classmates lost
their passwords. These students could
always go to IT Systems Technician
Sharon Vaughn to retrieve a password,
but it is easier to ask another student
for their login and password. Students
often have to wait several days to get
their passwords back, and urgent
schoolwork may force them to share
an account in the meantime.
If passwords were more memorable
variations on words or phrases, then
they would be a lot easier to remember,
alleviating the need to share accounts
most of the time. Yet right now, MCPS
generates the random passwords via
the Microsoft operating system all
school networks use.
For the relatively low security
concerns of a school network, random,
computer-generated passwords are
overkill. Students are probably not
going to try to guess another student’s
password because the effort it would
take to find the password would far
Holidays from
the Black &
White staff!
graphic by ELENA TOUMAYAN
exceed the reward of getting on another
person’s account. Non-random
passwords would do the trick just
fine.
The Board of Education should
change its password assignment policy
so students can choose their own
password at the beginning of high
school. This was the system before
the password policy was updated.
To keep passwords from being too
simple, students would have to comply
with certain standards; for example,
a password would need at least one
number or symbol and at least seven
digits. Students would then keep this
password for all four years of high
school, making passwords even easier
to remember.
Students share accounts when
they lose passwords that are almost
impossible to memorize. Allowing
them to make their own passwords
alleviates both sharing concerns and
student frustration. 
december 16, 2009 9

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10 photo December 16, 2009

1. 3.

2. 4.

Graffiti and mural art tell 5.

the stories of students, a city
by chelsea lo

Whether it’s a crude drawing etched on a classroom desk or spray paint

streaked across walls, graffiti has always been a problem in D.C. and area
schools. But now, former vandals can call themselves artists thanks to the D.C.
Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Murals D.C., a project designed to
revitalize areas with rampant vandalism, sticks aerosol cans in the hands of
D.C. youth to paint murals reflecting the city’s history and culture. So next

6.
time you’re tempted to scrawl a not-so-delicate word in a bathroom stall or
write a cute reminder for your peers to wipe their nether regions, take a cue
from these street artists who have made the city their canvas—legally.

1. Canvas in art room 6. 400 Florida Ave. NW

2. Canvas in art room 7. 1344 U Street NW
3. Bathroom stall mural 8. Shiloh Baptist Church
4.Canvas in art room 9. Howard University
5. Canvas in art room 10. 1344 U Street NW

10.

9.
7.

8.
December 16, 2009 in-depth
A DECADE ON THE EDGE
O
nce upon a time, before “2000” was a trendy suffix
for high-tech products, the year 2000 was only a
distant reality filled, we thought, with flying cars,
robot servants and video phones.
But as the 1990s came to an end and the new millennium
approached, these Jetson-inspired fantasies were replaced by fears
of the Y2K bug causing worldwide electronic malfunction. As New
Year’s Day passed without catastrophe, most were able to toast to
new beginnings. But relief wouldn’t last long.
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks followed closely on Y2K’s heels,
prompting Americans to reevaluate their most central values and
beliefs. As fretful citizens hoarded jugs of water, batteries and duct
tape to prepare for an anticipated terrorist takeover, it appeared that
the world was headed towards a decade of fear instead of a decade of
hope. The ominous note that Y2K sent at the start of the millennium
set the tone for the coming decade; the 21st century citizen would
be no stranger to anxiety and unease. Al-Qaeda, anthrax, sniper
attacks, SARS, war, college campus shootings, staph infections, bird
flu, swine flu (and for a few students, cicadas) kept kids indoors,
washing their hands and lying awake at night.
Despite the perception of a “Bethesda bubble,” Whitman students
were hardly insulated from these tumultuous events. Students’
parents were evacuated after a third plane hit the Pentagon, the
sniper attacks came too close for comfort, and Hurricane Katrina
brought a handful of refugees to the halls of Whitman and Pyle.
Some students enlisted to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan, a swine flu
outbreak led to the quarantine of a dozen students in China and the
11
recent economic crisis has resulted in a spike in MCPS class sizes
as private schools report lower student enrollment.
But aside from outside events, we have had a big decade. The
2000s forced us to take the good publicity with the bad, to celebrate
Project Backpack and deal with the Smoothie King robberies all
in less than a year. The school was visited by the Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court one year, and by religious extremists the next.
Student volunteers helped put the nation’s first African American
president in office and attended the inauguration of a lifetime. In
the athletic sphere, the decade opened and closed with boys soccer
claiming states, and included championship victories for girls soccer
in 2004 and boys basketball in 2006.
So what can we look forward to in the next decade? We can
keep dreaming of a day when students will apply for permits to
park their flying cars in the Whitman parking lot, and hoping that
the technological renaissance begun in the 2000s will continue into
the next decade. From bulky cell phones and the 2001 introduction
of the iPod to colored flip phones with QWERTY keyboards and
iPhones, we’ve come a long way since the start of the decade.
Though we haven’t made robot servants a household staple,
reading blogs, surfing YouTube and checking Facebook have
become second nature, and this past decade has been nothing
short of technologically revolutionary. Our cars probably won’t
fly, but future Driver’s Ed students will breathe a collective sigh of
relief when the Mercedes CL’s ability to self-parallel park becomes
a standard feature on all four-wheeled vehicles. And landline
telephones might not come with standard video monitors, but
between Skype and iChat, we likely aren’t missing much.
As with any decade, we will be confronted with hardship and
heartbreak. But as the first babies of the 1990s enter their 20s, we
can hope that the highs will be higher, the lows will be fewer, and
we can pay tribute to another memorable decade ten years from
now. 
photo illustration by NEILL ROBERTSON
12
2000
Jan. 1, 2000:
Start of the new
millennium. People
speculate that the new
millennium will cause
computers to malfunction, due
to numbers rolling over from
the two-digit symbol for 1999,
“…99,” to “00,” for 2000, but
no widespread errors seem to
occur.
Nov. 2000:
Boys Soccer wins State
championships for the
seventh time since 1979.
senators, ABC News, CBS News,
Nov. 2000:
George W. Bush defeats
Al Gore in the presidential
election, the closest race in
nation’s history. The decision
comes down to the Supreme
Court after ‘hanging chads’ skew
election results in Florida.
planes into a Pennsylvania field.
december 16, 2009
Oct. 7, 2001:
U.S. goes to war in
Afghanistan. The United
States launches Operation
Enduring Freedom in response
to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks and in an effort to find
Al-Qaeda.
Sept. 18, 2001:
Letters containing
anthrax are mailed from
Princeton, NJ to several
NBC News, the New York Post,
and the National Enquirer.
Sept. 11, 2001:
Al-Qaeda affiliated
terrorists fly hijacked
planes into the World
Trade Center buildings and
the Pentagon. In a fourth
hijacked plane, passengers
overpower hijackers, steering
Approximately 3,000 people
died in the attacks, and schools
in the area go into lockdown.
Jan. 28, 2001:
The Baltimore
Ravens defeat the New
York Giants 34–7 in Super
Bowl XXXV to win their
first ever championship
title.
2001
in-de
2002 2004
Feb. 1, 2004:
Space Shuttle Columbia
disintegrates upon reentry
into the atmosphere, killing
all seven crew members in the
Jan. 8, 2002: worst accident of its kind since
the 1986 Challenger accident.
The No Child Left Behind
Act is signed into law by Aug. 2003:
George W. Bush. The act
requires states to develop After a computer
standardized assessments malfunction results in the May 2004:
evaluating basic skills in order “Northeast Blackout.” 
to receive federal funding. The blackout affects 45 The Lance Armstrong Foundation
million people in cities from sells Livestrong bracelets to
Baltimore to Ottawa. raise money for cancer research. 
These bracelets become a huge
trend among teenagers and adults.
June 2003:
Martha Stewart May 2004:
is indicted for insider
Oct. 2002: trading and lying to Cicada invasion begins and
investigators.  She lasts the entire summer. Some
The sniper attacks kill 10 serves five months students get their protein by
people and critically injure in jail. daring each other to eat the
three over a three-week period. insects. At the end of the
Area schools go into code blue summer, the cicadas
alert, keeping students inside at depart for 17
recess. years.
Nov. 2002:
First SARS case is Nov. 2004:
reported. Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Girls Soccer
infect 8,096 people causing 774 wins states,
deaths between Nov. 2002 and their first state
July 2003. Within a matter title since 1994. 
of weeks in early 2003, SARS
spread from Guangdong, China
and rapidly infects individuals
in 37 countries around the
world. People wear surgical
masks to protect themselves
from the airborne illness.
April 2003:
Apple creates iTunes. 
Customers around the world
download over 6 billion songs,
and counting.
Oct. 2004:
The Red Sox win the World
Series for the first time in 86
years, giving all Red Sox fans
hope for a bright future. 
March
20, 2003:
War in
Iraq begins
after Bush
administration
suspects
weapons of mass
destruction. 
2003
epth
2006
Aug. 2005:
Three Bethesda kids start
Project Backpack. The March 30, 2006:
organization collects over
50,000 backpacks filled with Five Whitman
toys, books, and school supplies students rob the
to send to kids in New Orleans.  Smoothie King
in downtown
Bethesda.
All but one of
the students
is criminally
charged.
Aug. 2005:
Hurricane Katrina strikes Spring 2006:
Louisiana, killing thousands and
displacing even more.  The boy’s Basketball team,
led by Michael Gruner (’06)
and Alex Baron (’06), wins the infection, caused
state championships.
Aug. 8, 2006
Alexandra Robbins follows
eight Whitman students
and one former student to
document their hectic lives.  people travelled
With this material, she writes
 
her best-selling book,
Spring 2005:
“The Overachievers.”
Washington Nationals
bring baseball back to D.C.  to minimize health problems
Despite fans’ initial
enthusiasm, the turnout at
games has been weak for the
past several years.
Sept. 5, 2006:
Steve Irwin, Australian
wildlife specialist and
television star known for
his famous “crikey mate!” is
fatally stung by a stingray
while filming
a segment for
Animal Planet.
2005
december 16, 2009 13
2008
March 4, 2008:
Chief Court Justice John
Roberts speaks to NSL
students and fields questions
from government teacher
Robert Mathis.
June 26, 2008:
Stock market plummets
Fall 2007: to the lowest point since the
Hand sanitizer Depression. Tumbling U.S.
sales jump as stocks and a slowing economy
students try to contribute to the lowest DOW
ward off the Staph industrial average since 1929.
by a skin-to-skin bacteria
that spread through several
Montgomery County schools.
Aug. 8,
2008:
Summer
July 21, 2007: Olympics
begin in
J.K Rowling releases Beijing. Michael
the seventh and final Phelps becomes
installment of the Harry an American hero
Potter Series, “Harry when he wins a total of
Potter and the eight gold medals, the
Deathly Hallows.” most of any Olympian
Fans everywhere line in history. His image
up at bookstores for the as a role model is later
midnight release. tarnished after tabloids
print photos of Phelps
smoking marijuana.
Nov. 20, 2009:
Varsity boy’s soccer
Nov. 4, 2008: comes full circle by defeating the
Urbana Eagles 1-0 in overtime
U.S. voters elect President of the Maryland 4A State
Barack Obama. A championship game, earning
May 2007: record 1.8 million the team its second state title
since 2000.
Montgomery County to D.C. for his
inauguration
bans trans-fats in
Jan. 20.
restaurants, supermarket
bakeries and delis in an effort
caused by clogged arteries and Oct. 8, 2009:
high cholesterol.
A shooting near
Whitman prompts
Dec. 23, 2008: lockdown. Police
investigate the shooting on
A massive water the 6800 block of Millwood
April 16, 2007: main bursts, Road the evening of Oct. 8,
flooding River the victim, a former Whitman
The Virginia Tech Rd. Administrators parent, is taken to Suburban
shootings shock the send students home Hospital in critical condition
nation and cause schools early. but survives.
and universities to rethink
their security.
April 23, 2009:
Westboro Baptist
Church protests
at Whitman . Seven
congregants from the
Topeka, Kansas-based
group protest the school’s
namesake because of
Jan. 9, 2007: his sexual orientation.
Nearly 500 students
Apple releases the stage a peaceful counter
iPhone, changing the protest.
future of technology and
communication.
2007 2009
14 feature december 16, 2009

By Julia Weingardt

Holiday gift shopping can be tough. Whether it’s for the friend who has everything or for the parent who “wants nothing but your love,” there’s always someone
for whom you just don’t know what to buy. There’s no reason to bring out the gift cards and baked goods—we’ve compiled the best gifts that are sure to be attention
grabbers.

Flip-Flop Socks MoMa Mini Sky Pro Thumb Wrestling

These piggie toasters are the Umbrella Enjoy some competitive
family bonding with this
practical gift for your friends Brighten anyone’s rainy miniature thumb war
who think wearing flip-flops day with this sophisticated arena. It’s portable,
in the snow is okay. Available sky umbrella. The bright so you can take it
with both blue cat and red clouds create a picturesque on the go for those
bunny patterns, these crazy cloud scene, no matter the ten hour family car
socks complete any outfit. weather. Just one upward rides!
glance, and you might
just forget that it’s raining Price: $7.00
Price: $13.00 altogether! www.perpetualkid.com
www.uncommongoods.com Price: $28.79
www.amazon.com, www.target.com
Beating Heart Talking Japanese Bubble Calendar
Pillow Watches
Originally created to
calm and relax, this fuzzy What better way to check off
pillow pulses out a realistic All the rage in
Japan (no seriously!), each day than to pop a circle of
heartbeat. Every time you bubble wrap? This poster-size
turn it on, an entirely new these watches will
tell you the time in calendar has a bubble to burst
lub-dub rhythm forms. for every day of the year and
Caution: do not use while both Japanese and
your native tongue. A is the perfect way to spice up a
operating heavy machinery, boring wall.
as this healing heart will thoughtful gift for the
bilingual speaker!
likely drive you into the Price: $20
best sleep of your life! www.bubblecalendar.com
Price: $14.99
Price: $35-50 www.fredflare.com
www.mybeatingheart.com

Mix Stix Drumstick Happy/Sad Reversible Tickle Me

Kitchen Spoon Sweatshirt
This gift is perfect for moms
who would rather shake than
bake! Let her express her musical
talent while cooking with these
wooden spoons shaped like
drumsticks (Disclaimer:
they do not actually
play music.)
Price: 9.99
www.perpetualkid.com
Freud
Perfect for the
Wear your emotions on budding student (or your
the outside with this mood psychology teacher), this
matching sweatshirt! Chic plush doll is the classier
and stylish, this sweatshirt version of the childhood
will save you from favorite, “tickle me
answering the mundane elmo.” It’s sure to
“How are you today?” be a crowd pleaser.
Available at Target.
Price: $44
www.fredflare.com Price: $18.99
www.target.com

Do you have any

unusual holiday
traditions?
i n, e r, o t, r i n,
e i k
s n r o e g
P e r l, s
as ore c
f
hi an
R ma K vi nior M S
o b h o l e r G a u j an hom n iel eshm
Jac Fres NicSenio Ju L Sop D a Fr

“L ast year I went to Hawaii
over winter break. On Christmas
I spent my time at the beach and
going scuba diving.”
“O n Christmas Eve
everybody gets rice pudding,
and in one of the bowls
of pudding there’ll be an
almond. Whoever gets the
almond gets a marzipan pig;
it’s a Scandinavian thing.”
“M y brothers “O n Christmas Eve we eat “M y family is Jewish,
and I built Lego chocolate fondue with all my family so on Christmas day we go to
creatures and hid them and we open the presents at midnight. the movies and then we get
in the middle of the We also eat vitelle tone, which is a Chinese food.”
Christmas tree.” typical Argentina food. We all wear
Santa Claus hats and play with sparkle
firework sticks.”
December 16, 2009
Holiday Baked apples with cranberry-pecan stuffing
Recipes
. . . for even the
Scrooge-iest baker
by sarah craig and megan dwyer
Vidalia onion and
goat cheese tarts
Ingredients:
1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 tablespoon flour
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large purple Vidalia onions
1 red bell pepper
Moravian sugar cake
1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 oz. chèvre (goat cheese)
½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt to taste
Directions:
Unfold sheet of puff pastry and roll out on
floured surface into large rectangle, cut pastry
with knife or pizza wheel into 16 smaller
rectangles. Set aside.
Heat olive in large frying pan over medium
heat.
Slice onions and peppers into thin strips and
add to pan.
Sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes, then
continue to cook over medium low heat until
onions are caramelized and peppers are soft,
about 10 minutes.
Add balsamic vinegar and salt to taste. Remove
from heat and cool until warm.
While onion mixture is cooling, spread about
1 tablespoon of goat cheese on each piece of
pastry dough, leaving a small edge of each
rectangle exposed.
Spoon generous heap of onion mixture on top
of goat cheese. Sprinkle each with parmesan
cheese.
Bake at 375˚ F oven for about 30 minutes until
pastry is puffed up and brown.
Feature 15
Ingredients:
7 large granny sm
it
6 tablespoons unsa h apples
lt
¼ cup packed bro ed butter, softened
w
1/3 cup chopped n sugar
dri
1/3 cup pecans, to ed cranberries
a
3 tablespoons old sted and coarsely chopped
-fa
1 teaspoon grated shioned rolled oats
ora
½ teaspoon groun nge zest
d cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/3 good quality
m
1/3 plus 2 tablespoo aple syrup
n
of applesauce and s apple cider (or combination
orange juice)
Directions:
Peel, core, and cut 1 apple into 1/4-inch dice.
Combine 5 tablespoons of butter, brown sugar, cranberries, pecans, oats, orange zest,
cinnamon, diced apple, and salt in large bowl; set aside.
Shave thin slice off bottom (blossom end) of remaining 6 apples to allow them to sit
flat. Cut top 1/2 inch off stem end of apples and reserve. Peel apples and use melon
baller or small measuring spoon to remove 1½-inch diameter core, being careful not
to cut through bottom of apple.
Melt remaining tablespoon butter in 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once
foaming subsides, add apples, stem-side down, and cook until cut surface is golden
brown, about 3 minutes.
Flip apples, reduce heat to low, and spoon filling inside, mounding excess filling over
cavities; top with reserved apple caps. Add maple syrup and 1/3 cup cider to skillet.
Transfer skillet to oven, and bake until skewer inserted into apples meets little re-
sistance, 35 to 40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with maple syrup mixture in
skillet.
Adapted from a recipe in “Cooks Illustrated”
Topping: Dough:
1 tablespoon cream or whole milk 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2/3 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 cup warm water (105 to 110˚ F)
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled 3 cups flour 
2 tablespoons dry skim milk powder
3 tablespoons dehydrated potatoes
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs 
1/2 cup butter, softened
Directions:
Sprinkle yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar into water in a
large mixing bowl. Dissolve and let sit for 5 minutes until
yeast begins to foam.
Add all other dough ingredients, but leave out 1 cup of
flour.
Beat on medium speed in a mixer for 5 minutes. Turn
down to low and add remaining cup of flour. Continue
mixing until soft dough forms.
Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise until
doubled in bulk (about 1 1/2 hours).
Punch dough down and let it rise again for 45 minutes.
Grease and line a 17x11x1 inch jelly roll pan with
parchment paper, then grease parchment paper. 
Spread dough out evenly in the pan using hands. If dough
resists spreading, let it rest for a few minutes.
Cover and let rise again until puffy (about 1 hour).
Gently press tips of fingers into the dough all over to
create depressions and wells. Brush the dough with the
MEGAN DWYER
photos by
cream.
Adapted from a recipe in “North Carolina and Old Salem Cookery”
16 feature December 16, 2009

Teacher Gift Guide

by Rachel Nussbaum  English teacher: As much as students dread receiving papers covered in red
Barnes and Noble’s decorations are up, and “Jingle Bells” is on ink, teachers probably hate relying on the one stereotypical color. Help your teacher
the radio. It’s official: the holidays are just around the corner, along channel his or her inner Picasso with a set of a dozen Staples® Gel Stick Pens,
with loads of free time and an overall spirit of jolliness. But finding heaps and you’ll be rolling as easy as their pen tips. If you’re feeling a bit more creative, go
of homework under the Christmas tree, Hanukkah bush or Kwanza for the Metal Black Quill and Ink Italian Writing Set from Barnes and Noble.
cherry tree (who knew?) can be even worse than a lump of coal. So, There’s nothing like correcting misplaced modifiers in style.
it’s in everyone’s best interest to butter up teachers a little by giving
them a gift so mind-blowing that they forget all about that video History teacher: Though history is traditionally seen as one of the drier
project due the day after break. subjects, it doesn’t have to be. Take, for instance, “Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort
            of History of the United States.” APUSH teachers in particular will be sure to
What to get your… appreciate the, um, thoughtfulness of the piece. Or, “Dave Barry’s History of
Science teacher: Eye protection requirements have the Millennium (So Far),” a chronicle of the most important
a large presence on every precautionary safety assessment, developments of the era, like Pokémon and the Big Mac. Perfect
but there’s no rule saying that they can’t be a pair of super- for modern world history teachers. Who knows, maybe it’ll even
sweet goggles. And without a doubt, a pair of moderately replace the much less imaginative textbooks
priced Smith Transit Graphic Ski Goggles would currently used. We can only hope.
up a teacher’s cool factor more than any dorky plastic
pair from the ’70s. Once your teacher stops thinking Foreign language teacher:
about water’s hydrologic cycle and starts boarding down Whether you take Spanish, French,
its solid form, they’ll be able to see what an excellent student Italian or Japanese, conjugating
you really are. verbs for the thousandth time gets
a little boring. Imagine what it’s like
Math teacher: It’s hard for anyone not to be for your teacher. But with MUZZY:
jealous of those math wiz kids who know how to create Family Edition, the BBC language
artistic masterpieces on their TI-83. If you really value instruction course that includes
your math teacher’s hard work/tendency to round up story DVDs, interactive software
grades, track down one of those whizzes and pay them and 11 “memorable” MUZZY
for their services. Once you know how to make the songs, both you and your
graphs yourself, offer your teacher a private tutoring teacher will experience
session, free of charge, to show him just how much verb exercises and
your grade really means to you. Then again, if that’s improbable grammar
not up your alley, you can always just wrap up structures like
an empty box and fasten it with a Master Lock never before. The
1530DCM X-treme Combination Lock. Set captivating tales and
the code as Fibonacci’s sequence, and they’ll bright colors will
have so much fun opening the present that make it practically
they won’t even mind the lack of contents.     impossible to not
bond with Señora or
Madame! 

better scores.
better choices.
PrepMatters. individual test preparation
& educational counseling

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ACT or SAT: Options are good, making a choice is better

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Daniel de Vise of The specific role. So too with the ACT and SAT. The wrong answers which means you should
Washington Post instincts for one may actually work against leave nothing blank!), and take a practice test
recounted what many in you in the other. Apart from under timed conditions.
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metro area has doubled 2) The belief that it's better to Recent and Upcomgin Webinars: concordance-tables.pdf )
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december 16, 2009
King named
‘High School
Hero’ for
Leukemia
Awareness month
continued from page 1
“Tim is one of the most determined individuals I
have ever met,” she says. “He just doesn’t know the
meaning of giving up.”
King’s family first realized there was an issue
the summer before he turned nine, when he started
experiencing intense bouts of fatigue. King’s parents
took him to a local clinic, where he tested positive
for the disease.
“Looking back now, all I remember is waking
up and having a Broviac catheter in my chest and
knowing it’s been there a while,” King writes on the
LLS website. “I’ve heard people’s memory can shut
down to prevent additional trauma, and I suppose
that’s what happened.”
After treatment, King found himself in and out
of the hospital for complications from medication,
including a blood clot and a temporary case of
diabetes, but he was in remission.
When King turned 13, the bouts of fatigue came
back, and testing revealed that the cancer came
back. When chemotherapy failed, the Kings opted
for a bone marrow transplant. Blood test showed
that King’s older brother, junior J.T., was a perfect
match. He would be the donor.
J.T. says it was worth it when he woke up in
the hospital and heard that the surgery had been a
success.
“I was relieved that it worked and very hopeful
that my brother could lead a normal life, that he
might finally be cancer-free after all he’s been
through,” J.T. says.
Since then, Tim says his classmates have been
supportive and compassionate about his condition.
“I’ve had a lot of people say ‘I’m sorry you’re
feeling bad,’ or ‘Get well soon,’ and that’s always
nice,” he says.
Tim has not always taken part in the fundraiser
in the past.
“Last year I wasn’t very involved in Pennies for
Patients,” he says, “but seeing a lot of people getting
excited and donating money, not just to me but to
leukemia patients in general – that gave me a good
feeling.”
As he became more involved, Tim worked hard
to raise awareness not only at Whitman but at other
area schools.
“So far 15 [schools] have joined us to host the
High School Challenge this February in Tim’s honor,”
Walker says. “They are rallying around a teen just
like them, but who has experienced more than most
of them ever will.”
Walker commends the High School Challenge
for the role it plays in raising awareness about the
prevalence of blood cancers.
“The more students that know about Tim’s story
and get involved in helping him and others like him,
the better,” she says. 
Colonial Opticians sends packages, letters to troops overseas
Company spreads holiday cheer, passes on community support to deployed soldiers
By Jessica Gelfarb
Items like shampoo, hairspray and Chap Stick
probably wouldn’t be on a typical Christmas list. But for
the U.S troops fighting overseas, these seemingly simple
supplies are scarce and desperately needed.
Ever since the U.S first sent troops to Iraq and
Afghanistan, Bethesda resident Claudia Sullivan made it
a priority to send them care packages. This year, Sullivan
partnered with her workplace, Colonial Opticians, to
expand her efforts.
Sullivan especially wanted to involve Colonial
this year because co -worker Deborah Procopio has a
daughter serving in a marine unit recently deployed
oversees. Donors can drop items off at one of Colonial’s
five Montgomery County stores. Sullivan then collects
the items and creates care packages to send to Procopio’s
daughter’s unit.
Former Whitman parent Ellen Kominers, whose
sons graduated in ’08 and ’05, donated Chap Stick, hand
warmers and snack packs.
“No matter what one’s politics might be, I think it is
important to support our troops,” Kominers says.
Helene Weingarten, another former Whitman
parent, wrote Sullivan a check to help cover the cost of
feature
Mathis to take students on trip to Uganda
By Emily Aronson
Trekking through the desert, taking bucket showers
and living without electricity in a Ugandan village for 20
days may not seem like the ideal way to spend summer
break for most students. But from July 25 to Aug.12 this
summer, a dozen students and history resource teacher
Bob Mathis will volunteer in eastern Uganda through the
Women’s Microfinance Initiative. Montana Stevenson
(’06) and Laura Van Oudenaren (’06), seniors at UVA
and Davidson respectively, will also accompany them.
WMI is a non-profit organization founded by Robyn
Nietert and Betsy Gordon, both former
Whitman mothers, that provides
micro-loans to impoverished women
in Uganda so they can start their own
businesses. The student volunteers
will set up an Internet café in the
newly-constructed village meeting
hall of Buyobo, a rural village
150 miles from Uganda’s capital,
Kampala.
Nietert and Gordon have traveled
to Buyobo with WMI, but this is the
first time that the Initiative will bring
a group of high school students on
the trip.
“It was amazing to me the
way the children in the villages
reacted to young adults being in
the community,” Nietert says about
taking her own daughters, one of
them Stevenson, to the village in
January of 2008.
Mathis says he looks forward to the unique experience
and the chance to give back to the community.
“The main goal is to expose students to another
way of life, another culture, and also to have a service
exchange,” he says.
Because over 30 students have expressed interest
in the trip, Mathis hasn’t yet determined who will
go. Seniority will most likely be the determining
factor, Mathis says, and though there aren’t specific
prerequisites, he prefers students who have taken
World History. To prepare for the trip, Mathis will
most likely assign readings about Uganda’s history and
government.
“I’ve never taken students to a third world village,”
he says, though he notes that he has personally travelled
in developing areas and has taken students to the former
photo courtesy CLAUDIA SULLIVAN
Claudia Sullivan, right, and Deborah Procopio, left, put
together a package to send to troops overseas.
shipping the packages overseas.
Procopio noted that men and women in her
daughter’s unit are in great need of certain basic items.
Women in the unit are required to wear their hair in buns
but constantly run out of the hairspray needed to keep
17
Soviet Union and England.
In order to teach the adults and children in the
village about technology, Whitman students will bring
15 laptops donated by Discovery Communications in
Silver Spring to the village. The students will participate
in workshops at the beginning of the trip to learn how to
teach computer skills to the people in the village.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how our students
relate and act while providing the service that they’re
going to do,” Mathis says.
Nietert says that a special bond forms when teenagers,
rather than adults, counsel their younger peers.
“The children just respond so
positively to young adults,” she
says. “I think that that teenage
connection to teaching children
how to use computers is going to be
magnificent.”
Some of the other community
service activities that Whitman
students will participate in include
volunteering at a local elementary
school, planting fruit trees in Kabale
and helping at a Kabale sports clinic.
Students will also get the chance to
experience African culture through
activities like bead-making, dancing
and drumming.
The itinerary also includes visits
to the Bwindi Impenetrable National
Park, one of the few existing homes of
photos courtesy WMI
endangered gorillas, the Chimpanzee
Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation
Trust on Ngamba Island and a
rafting trip on the Nile. To experience the more modern
part of the country, students will meet with a government
official and visit a local NGO in Kampala.
Mathis expects that Stevenson and Van Oudenaren
will take a leadership role on the trip. They both traveled
with Mathis to the Three Affiliated Tribes Reservation in
North Dakota while in high school, which they say first
interested them in helping underprivileged areas.
Nietert hopes that students see how much of a
difference a small amount of effort can make in peoples’
lives, and that the trip will spark students’ interests in
global events and advocating change. She’s excited that
the Whitman community has expressed so much interest
in helping people all over the planet.
“Whitman’s just kicking butt in global engagement,”
she says. 
their buns secure. She also said that there isn’t enough
shampoo for everyone in the unit.
Sullivan urges people to donate basic items like
toothpaste, deodorant and shampoo, but she also asks
them to donate video games, snacks, and movies, adding
that young people need time to unwind and have fun.
“These are young adults who are away from home
and in a hard situation,” she says. “What we take for
granted they might enjoy a lot.”
Procopio recently spoke to her daughter, who told her
that the unit is already enjoying many of the items. They
plan to send a card thanking everyone who donated.
“Everything is just so appreciated,” Procopio said.
“But more than anything, what they’re enjoying the
most is all the support from everybody back home.
Sullivan also collects letters to send overseas. She
says that communicating with people back home is
especially important to soldiers who don’t receive mail
or gifts from family or friends. In every package she has
sent over the years, Sullivan has included a pad of paper
and her home address.
“I will have men write to me and tell me that I am
the only person who has ever sent them anything,” she
says. “They love to get letters.” 
18 feature december 16, 2009

Showtime showdown: local theater review Six music students

By Rachel Nussbaum
make All-State Jazz
Between ninjas, vampires, the end of the world and a
While they may not be extensive, Bethesda’s theater
choices span the spectrum of availability, convenience Band this year By Tim Freeman
maternal Sandra Bullock, it’s hard enough to decide on a and coolness, both figuratively and literally. So before
night’s entertainment. Factor in the choice of theater, and you click “buy” on Fandango, take these factors into
having to deal with the overwhelming number of possible consideration.  Of the thousands of high school band students
permutations can make you feel like a less brilliant in Maryland, only a select few make the All-State
version of Russell Crowe in “A Beautiful Mind.” Jazz band each year. Musicians who audition for this
Regal Bethesda 10. ensemble spend countless hours learning difficult
Bethesda Row. music and perfecting solos before putting together
Such blatant disregard demo tapes. Acceptance into this band is intense and
Yes, it’s awfully pretentious. The for policy would never occur highly competitive due to the fact that only 19 spots are
escalator set-up is odd. And yes, it at Regal Bethesda 10, where, available.
has employees with generic emo- thanks to swarms of teens, This year, an astonishingly high number of Whitman
underground haircuts. Yet it also has heightened security regularly musicians will play in this prestigious ensemble. The six
indie movies that aren’t available scans theaters playing R-rated students —junior Siddhu Anandalingam on the baritone
anywhere else, and an incredibly movies for moviegoers. Despite saxophone, senior bassist Dan Pappalardo, junior Emily
relaxed attitude towards cheeky IDs for only borderline delicious popcorn Park on the vibraphone, senior trumpeter Kate Amrine,
R-rated movies. The European inspired
concession stand is worth the trip by
AMC Mazza Gallerie. and an unenthusiastic staff, the sophomore Gabe Slesinger on the trumpet and junior
drummer Sahil Ansari— make up the largest contingent
theater’s outside design is a major
itself, boasting a plethora of hard to find attraction to the middle school of musicians from a single high school.
At the heart of Friendship
and totally international snacks, from set. The stone rotunda is great Anandalingam is the only returning member from
Heights, Mazza’s top floor offers
Toblerone’s to JuJubes. Just don’t head for giggling cliques and catching Whitman. His previous experience in the band was one
visitors a luxurious setting and
to Bethesda Row intending to watch up with anyone you haven’t seen of the main reasons he decided to reaudition this year.
a wide variety of film selections.
“Ninja Assassin” with since elementary The experience in Whitman’s excellent Jazz band
Although the chairs are comfy and
like-minded fans. With school, but if you’re program was a major factor that contributed to the
the stadium seating is a thickly
all the beret-adorned more interested in high number of musicians chosen to play in
cushioned piece of heaven, these
Ph.D. students seeing a movie than the band, Anandalingam said.
offerings are clearly meant for a
mocking the cultural making awkward “Ms. Alvey prepared us well,” he
more mature audience than the
inaccuracies, it’ll be chit-chat with said. “We rehearsed the songs in class
average high school student.
hard to even hear the your SAT tutor, together and even performed them. That
The matinée bar, slightly
dialogue. But, if you’ve this probably isn’t really helped a lot of the recordings
higher ticket prices and attached
just seen “New Moon” the theater for you. we sent in.”
restaurant are a bit much for those
and want to bring your Not to the almost Ms. Alvey attributed the high
who really just want to see the latest
IQ back up a dozen horizontal slope of number of participants to Whitman’s
installment of “Transformers” for
or so points, head for the theater’s seating student body.
the seventh time. On the other
Bethesda Row. Just system, which may “We have a lot of talent here, and we
hand, the older audience doesn’t
be sure to get there pose difficulties always have a lot of kids,” she adds. “They
require strict security, which makes
on time. Those early- to anyone who are all great kids and great musicians.”
“wandering” into the wrong theater
bird specials have the actually wants to Instead of attending a formal
easy.
elderly trained. see the screen.  audition, all prospective players must
put together a tape that fulfills the
specific requirements for each
instrument. For the most part,
students were required to play
the songs “You Lika Da Juice?”
by Victor Lopez and “Softly,
as in a Morning Sunrise” by
Dave Wolpe as well as solo,
although requirements varied
for different instruments.
The All-State Jazz band will
rehearse intensely over a period
of three days, from January 22
and 23 at Towson University Center
graphic by NEILL ROBERTSON for the Arts, and will perform on the final
night. 
december 16, 2009
Video chatting
on the rise
Parents, students want to stay in
touch, communicate more
By Jamie Norwood
A college freshman waves hi to her family as her
mother asks her about classes and campus life. They
discuss everything from her mid-term exams to plans
for winter break. When it’s time to say goodbye, the
freshman shuts her laptop and heads back to class.
With over 500 million Skype downloads worldwide,
video chatting is on the rise and has recently become
a key way for students who go away to school to stay
connected to friends and family from home.
“Camcorders used to be much more popular,” Ashley
Johnson, a sales operator at Best Buy in Gaithersburg,
says. “The video aspect to computers has been so popular
recently that it’s rare someone will buy a laptop without
a built in camera.”
A freshman at Boston College, Michal Malachowski
(’09) uses video chat to stay in touch with his younger
brother, junior KJ Malachowski.
“I had never spent more than a couple weeks away
from Michal,” KJ says. “Video chatting makes me think
of all the times we used to hang out and gossip.”
Video chatting also gives students going abroad the
opportunity to feel closer to home.
Junior David Maman is spending two months abroad
in Israel and plans on frequent Skype sessions to make
up for being so far away from his friends and family.
“I’ll be video chatting at least three times a week,”
Want to video chat?
Let’s look at a few of the
different types:
iChat Oovoo
iChat’s easy and Oovoo doesn’t
fast, but users tend require any downloads,
to get familiar with but it isn’t too reliable.
the “communication While you can conduct
error” message that six-person video chats,
pops up and ends a the website (oovoo.
conversation. It’s com) has poor picture
possible to have a four- quality. Still, you can
way video chat, but this leave video messages on
rarely works unless
everyone involved has
other Oovoo accounts.
Just open up Internet
a Mac. But iChat does Expl o rer, Sa fa ri or
come automatically Firefox and turn on
with any Mac and your webcam to use
doesn’t require extra this program.
downloads.
Facebook users give back, donate with a click of a button
By Zach Schloss
In today’s increasingly technological world, one click
can feed a starving child, raise money for cancer research
or help bring your favorite Mexican restaurant chain to
your hometown.
“I’m a Chipotle addict. I’m addicted to their burritos,”
says Maryland delegate Alfred Carr, who started a
Facebook group to bring a Chipotle to Kensington, MD.
“The group started to grow and kind of snowballed from
there. We quickly got a bunch of members talking about
the whole idea.”
The group, now 276 strong, seems to have achieved
its goal; Chipotle is now negotiating a lease to set up shop
in a vacant space in Kensington, Carr says.
Even students have begun using Facebook to raise
awareness about their cause. Whitman students have
created groups advocating for a lower drinking age and
urging people to vote for Caroline Ginolfi (’08), as part of
a campaign to raise money for breast cancer awareness
ending on Dec. 5. A Facebook group also appeared
encouraging people to vote for defensive tackle Danny
Lee to be Maryland’s Army Iron Man of the Year. The
group helped Lee come in second place in the contest,
which ended on Nov. 29.
In her senior year, Aidan Chambers (’09), created
a Facebook group called “We Need YOUR Help to Save
Whitman and Go Green,” which advocated for the
elimination of Styrofoam cafeteria trays in Montgomery
County. Although MCPS refused to make the change due
to budgetary restraints, Chambers says that she thinks
the group raised a significant amount of awareness.
“I wanted to get as many people as possible to go
along with the cause,” Chambers says. “I figured the
best way to do it would be to send it out on a Facebook
group, because I knew that if I just had a written petition
feature
graphic by ELENA TOUMAYAN
Maman says. “It’ll be nice to actually see my parents and
friends when I’m away.”
Maman, already an avid video chatter, says video
chat is a good way to get updates on life in Bethesda.
“I would normally just Facebook my friends,” he
says, “but if I really want to talk about things, I’ll get on
video chat.”
Video chat has become popular as a means of casual
communication between students.
“Instead of calling my friends after school, I’ll video
chat with them,” sophomore Erin Holden says. “It’s
better than talking on the phone, and I don’t have to
worry about wasting minutes or anything.”
Holden believes that the convenience of video chat
has taken away from time friends and family members
spend together.
“I’ve video chatted with my sister when she’s right
across the hall from me,” she says. “I’m not sure why,
especially because I could’ve easily just walked into her
room. It’s convenient, that’s it.” 
Skype
Skype isn’t compatible with slow computers
but works most of the time. Skype must be
downloaded to your computer, but it’s free. Only
two people can have a conversation at once.
I wouldn’t be able to reach out to as many people. It’s
much easier for people to see when it’s on Facebook.”
As Facebook has expanded to over 300 million active
users, it has become an increasingly effective means for
people to promote causes of all kinds.
Carr started a group to achieve his goal, but there is
now a “Causes” application available for download. A
variety of non-profit organizations use the application
to help raise money for causes ranging from combating
cancer to ending genocide in Darfur.
Over 230,000 non-profit organizations use the
application, according to the Washington Post. The top
five organizations have raised over two million dollars
and boast over 1.3 million members combined.
The application encourages users to donate money
and recruit others to join a cause by ranking the
top donors and holding competitions to see what
organizations can raise the most money.
“Facebook is a phenomenal tool for any kind of
cause: something that is more political or something
more light-hearted like this one,” Carr says. “It’s such
a quick way of spreading the idea around and getting
other people to support it.”
On Sept. 29, the Montgomery County Council voted
in favor of a proposal by County Executive Isiah Legget
to provide the golf course with $150,000 to continue its
operations for another nine months, making the groups’
efforts at least a temporary success.
Carr notes that that the primary advantage of creating
Facebook groups is the ability to reach the diverse pool
of users the site attracts.
“It’s great for bringing in young people who might
not necessarily be voters but care about their issues and
causes,” he says. “It’s a way for them to get involved and
voice their opinions.” 
19
Del Savio revives
Mock Trial team
By Hailey Siller
Fifteen students are getting a head start on their
preparation for the BAR exam, learning the same
techniques employed by trial lawyers while still in
high school.
Whitman’s new Mock Trial team provides
students with the opportunity to practice courtroom
strategies every Wednesday night, helping them to
gain experience for a possible career in law.
“The goal of Mock Trial is to teach students
about the law, courts and trial procedure, as well as
to help students hone skills such as critical thinking,
public speaking and team work,” says Shelly Brown
Wojciechowski, Maryland high school Mock Trial
coordinator.
The Mock Trial team was modeled after the
team that existed two years ago, which stopped
after the captains missed the deadline to enter the
national competition. Earlier this year, Principal
Alan Goodwin suggested creating a new team to
history resource teacher Bob Mathis, who then asked
Psychology teacher Marie Del Savio to sponsor the
team.
“I agreed to sponsor it because it seemed like a
lot of fun and it would give me a chance to work with
parents in the community,” Del Savio says.
Co-captain junior Danny Parris says the team has
exceeded his expectations.
“Students seem to be interested in the content and
what we do for the team, all the legal stuff,” he says.
Del Savio recruited five lawyers, all Whitman
parents, to coach the Mock Trial team. The coaches
attend the weekly Wednesday meeting and teach
students how to break down cases.
“Mock trial changed my life forever,” co-captain
junior Nate Simon says. “Mock trial helps with public
speaking which will benefit me forever.”
Many believe the team dynamic of Mock
Trial differentiates it from other extracurricular
activities.
“In debate a team is much smaller – or it is an
individual pursuit,” national high school Mock Trial
chairperson John Wheeler says. “In Mock Trial
to really succeed, all members of a team must be
committed to practice.”
Despite extra work, the national high school Mock
Trial manager Emily Reilly say students will benefit
in many ways from participating.
“It is a great place for students who are interested
in the law to get hands-on exposure, but the advocacy,
teamwork and critical thinking skills are really the
focus of the program,” Reilly says.
Wojciechowski agrees with Reilly, citing many of
her former students that are now successful attorneys
and who attribute their success to the 27 year-old
Maryland Mock Trial program.
“It always amazes me the things that students
come up with, angles of the case that we never thought
of or twists that were totally unintentional but that
work in the court room,” Reilly says. 
The top 5 causes by total
dollars donated:
photo courtesy FACEBOOK
20 feature december 16, 2009

Best Buddies participants inspired to pursue careers in teaching

By Zach Schloss
As a junior, Tyler Wood (’09) was made a teacher’s
aide in a special education class after he dropped his
language class. Now a freshman at the University
of Alabama, Wood is studying special education in
grades six through 12 and hopes to become a special
ed teacher.
Wood had no idea what to expect when he was
enrolled in the Designated Hitter program, a student
internship program lead by Steve Sutherland, a teacher
in the Learning for Independence Program. Now,
two years later,Wood plans to pursue a career like
Sutherland’s, teaching students with autism.
Wood never expected to fall in love with the
program.
“You get a pretty good connection with the kids from
working with them,” he says. “Before, I didn’t really
understand what the whole class was about, like who
the kids were. Then I bonded with them from working
with them every day.”
Wood’s story is hardly unique. Two or three former
participants in Designated Hitters and Best Buddies
are currently studying special education in college, and
seven more seniors plan to pursue careers in special
education as well, says Sutherland.
This influx of students interested in teaching special
education comes at a good time. The U.S. Department
of Education says that the number of special needs
students is increasing at a faster rate than the general
population. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also
predicts that the need for special education teachers
will increase more quickly than the need for students
entering other professions over the next decade.
Sutherland is glad that he’s been able to inspire
students to pursue special education professionally and
says that many students would never have considered
the special ed career option without the DH program.
“A lot of time people don’t find their niche in what
they want to do in life, and it’s great knowing that I can
bring that out in them,” he says. “Hopefully, when they
go into a teaching career they can do the same thing
for their class.”
Although student internships in the special ed
classes were available prior to Sutherland’s arrival,
he suggested using the name Designated Hitters, a
reference to the baseball player who hits in place of the
pitcher. The name originated at Walter Johnson high
school and was later adapted by Watkins Mill, where
Sutherland attended high school.
Sutherland himself was a Designated Hitter
and knew ever since that he wanted to be a special
education teacher. He says his job allows him to
build stronger bonds with his students in a way other
teachers don’t have a chance to.
“Everyone in the classroom just has a different
amazing personality,” he says. “I have David the
cartoonist and Kathryn the dancer. You don’t typically
see that in the general classes.”
Whitman’s special education program has evolved
significantly since its inception. When Veronica Garner
began teaching the School Community-Based program,
another special education program, at Whitman in
1989, she says there were not nearly as many student
photo by ZACH SCHLOSS
aides as today.
Sutherland was hired to teach the LFI program
when it was added three years ago. Garner says Designated Hitters sponsor Steve Sutherland encourages his
the class is generally for slightly higher-functioning student aides to pursue careers in special education.
students than those who are in enrolled in the SCB career in special education.
program. Initially, the class only had two students. Garner believes participation in the DH program
Senior Alex Pellegrino, one of the first two students, increases the likelihood of a student choosing to pursue
says he prefers the current class size, now at 21. special education as a career.
“Things now are better, because I like it when “I think they see a new side of teaching—some of
other people go to my class,” he says. “I like to talk it’s academics; some of its functional academics,” she
to them.” says. “When they see those functional things, it seems
Since Sutherland began the DH program, it has more personal and they see a side of teaching they don’t
successfully helped students in both the LFI and SCB normally see in their classrooms.”
classes, Garner says. Many of the students involved in Designated Hitters
The DH program had a profound impact on Adele and Best Buddies attribute their success to Sutherland,
Carnemark (‘09), who is now majoring in special who was named Middle & High School Advisor of
education at James Madison University and plans to the Year in 2008, and to senior David Garrison,
work with autistic elementary school students after she the Best Buddies chapter president, who has twice
graduates. Carnemark discovered her love of special been nominated for Chapter President of the Year in
education sophomore year, she says, even before she Maryland.
joined Best Buddies or Designated Hitters. “Sutherland doesn’t come across as teaching special
“People that know me really well call me a special ed students,” says senior Mikayla Turkewitz, who has a
ed geek,” she says. “I find it fascinating as much as I sibling in the special ed program. “His whole thing is
want to help.” to not baby the students, which is what some people’s
Passion seems to be a common trait among natural thought is.”
participants in the various special ed programs. When Best Buddies, meanwhile, has won numerous
senior Aaron Williams first joined Best Buddies as a awards, including the 2007 award for best chapter in
freshman, he did so primarily as a way to get to know Maryland.
Sutherland, who coached him on the JV baseball “Since freshman year, I’ve seen and witnessed a
team. change,” Carnemark says. “Seeing [Sutherland] work
“Since then, it’s just evolved into me loving the and takes away all those negative stereotypes for a lot
club,” he says, adding that he has been considering a of people, especially in this community.” 

Listservs: the new picket fence MCPS officials now

twittin’ like birds
By Rachel Nussbaum “Definitely, people are using it.”
Likewise, the Mohican’s network
The annoyingly cheerful neighbor gives neighbors an opportunity to
sticking her head over the fence to compare experiences with service
“chat” is an antiquated stereotype that’s providers, according to Kim Schifrin, By Rachel Lerner orchestra! All 10,000 second graders
usually found more on television than in a Whitman parent and moderator of visit Strathmore to hear the National
backyards.   But in some neighborhoods the site. It’s midnight. You’re filled with Philharmonic.”
the fence has been replaced by a list serv, “I think that most residents use it exciting promise of snow the next day. Sophomore Sarah Backenstoe,
as neighborhood news goes digital. to find recommendations for services,” You continue to refresh and refresh who follows the MCPS Twitter, thinks
Bethesda neighborhoods like River Schifrin says. “Most people will want the MCPS web page, hoping for the that even more students would follow
Falls, Fort Sumner and Mohican have people that they know their neighbors bold red letters to appear, declaring the page if the updates were less
created networks to facilitate easy have had.” “SCHOOL CANCELLED.” But the formal.
communication between neighbors. The River Falls chat network allows webpage stays unchanged. You fall “I think that if MCPS were to
They serve as digital town halls, a residents the chance to talk about asleep with your hand still grasping make their twitter more personable
place for residents to air comments everything from the best exterminator the mouse. Click. Click. Click. and less standardized, it would be
and concerns without the podium and t o s u s p i c i o u s i n c i d e n t s i n t h e This winter, MCPS hopes to more student friendly,” she said.
gavel. neighborhood. notify students and parents of snow Tofig credits MCPS online
“It brought us into the 21st century, “It’s a time-saver,” says Natalie days through a more immediate and expansion to the prior success of
finally,” Mary Sue Johnson, president of Mahdesian.  “It’s like an instantaneous convenient medium: Twitter. The both the MCPS website, which gets
the Sumner Citizens Association, says.  Y e l l o w P a g e s , b u t w i t h g o o d district officers already “tweets” about more than half a million hits a week,
“And we have all kinds of neighborhood references.” early release days and changes to and MCPS Quicknotes, an email
community news on it, as well as county However, some students say that school schedules. newsletter with more than 40,000
news and state and local news. And the network has become just another MCPS is just one school system subscribers.
information from the County Council, way for nosy parents to spy on their across the country that has added MCPS will assemble a group in
so we can let people know about those children. Facebook and Twitter to their arsenal the next few weeks of staff to look
kinds of events coming up.” “I think it’s a way for River Falls of communication tools. at other social media sites such as
Johnson says that in addition to moms to gossip about their kids,” senior “Students, parents, and staff are Facebook, and show how they can be
news, residents post recommendations Jonathan Daniels says. “It’s pretty busy and mobile during the day,” said used most efficiently for the county,
for certain service providers and much pointless.” Dana Tofig, director of the MCPS Tofig said.
requests for odd jobs. Parents have sent emails concerning Public Information Office. “They “[Online expansion] is not the
“Literally, within about twelve hours teenagers’ activities and whereabouts, often rely on their mobile devices future, it’s the present,” Tofig said.
she had thirty different emails,” says something Daniels considers more for information and updates, and we “We are doing more and more online
Johnson, talking about the responses gossipy chat than significant. want to make MCPS information as each year. It’s an exciting challenge to
to her daughter’s request after posting “It’s good for some things,” Daniels accessible as possible to them on the keep up with all the new technologies
her job qualifications on the network. says. “But not the part that’s like a devices they use most.” and tools that are available for
detective.” MCPS set up a Twitter account communications.”
Mahdesian says that although this past June and currently boasts Since the beginning of the year,
the network has been used for gossip over 1,500 followers, many of whom the media center has also had its own
occasionally, like one instance when are students. Twitter page. The media center has
neighborhood kids logged onto a family’s MCPS officers “tweet” about yet to post more than one tweet but
account and posted false rumors about everything from board meetings specialist Ginny Trulio said that they
people in the neighborhood, such posts and county-wide events to specific hope to expand their page by next
are uncommon. information about individual semester and attract new followers.
“I’m constantly checking my

“
“Some people tend to use it in schools.
a way to embarrass somebody, but One Nov. 18 “tweet” read, “Board phone throughout the day for updates
very rarely does that happen,” of Education to decide on facilities, on celebrities and friends that I
It’s like instantaneous Mahdesian says.  “I don’t read boundaries and capital improvements follow,” Backenstoe said. “It’s great
those emails.” tomorrow night at 7 p.m.” The next that I can check for school news at
yellow pages. Unlike those neighborhood day’s post read, “The thrill of the the same time.” 
-Natalie Mahdesian gossips who cornered residents

”
in the past, list servs let residents
Whitman parent decide if they want to be
included.
“You have the option of
just deleting them,” Mahdesian
says. 
december 16, 2009 Arts 21

Meet the Whitman Idols!

The Whitman Idols sound-off before their Jan. 27 performance. “I mainly want to have a good
“I hope that it will be a lot of “It’s a great way to get time. I don’t expect to win or
fun for those in it and those involved with music aside anything; I just want to see
watching” from the plays” other people’s talents”
- Senior Ellen Hoffman - Freshman Emma Keltetas - Sophomore Samantha Thurber

Keene plays drums for

School of Rock All-Stars
Band to embark on cross-country tour
by Sahil Ansari

Over winter break, while some

kids are visiting grandma’s or
photo courtesy SARAH TYSON hitting the ski slopes, sophomore
Hunter Keene will be in a slightly

Junior band performs at different locale – a tour bus.

As a drummer in the School of
Rock All-Stars program, Keene will
embark on a mini-tour at the end

Verizon Center, records album of December. The tour consists of

By Julia Dane and Parissa
Jaseb
Junior Sarah Tyson shifts her weight
as she steps up to the microphone, her
hair catching the light. As she and juniors
Emily Park, Adam Horin and Brett Horin
begin singing the opening stanzas of the
national anthem, hundreds of spectators
rise to attention and everyone is still,
save for the chestnut mare whisking its
tail at the side of the arena. It’s a late
October evening at the Verizon Center,
and Whitman band, Edge of the Border,
is opening the 50th Annual Washington
International Horse Show.
“We were doing a gig in Bethesda and
a woman came up to us and asked if we
wanted to sing the national anthem at the
event,” Park says, “It was really cool.”
Park plays drums, Tyson sings, and
the Horin brothers, Adam and Brett,
play guitar and bass respectively. Band
director Terry Alvey says each member
in the band is very skilled at his or her
instruments.
“They are extremely talented,
classically trained musicians,” she says.
“They are always prepared, always
making contributions to the group. They
are leaders.”
While Adam writes the lyrics for most
of the bands songs, all of the members
contribute to the band’s overall sound.
“It’s a collaborative effort,” Adam says.
“We all add our ideas to the songs.”
Since their Verizon Center show-
opener in 2008, the band has released an
EP on iTunes called “The Window.” The
album has three original songs, recorded
and produced at Blue House Studios in
Silver Spring. Park says that their music,
which she describes as soft rock with a
hint of jazz, is inspired by artists like KT
Tunstall and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Currently, the band is in the process
of putting together a full-length album
of original songs. Adam says that the
band is drifting toward a new sound by
incorporating piano, saxophone and
strings on their new album.
“We want to have edgier songs, so
you get to see a darker side of our music,”
he adds.
Edge of the Border says they’ve
finished writing the album, but the
recording process has stalled due to lack
of funds. Money earned from gigs and the
album on iTunes will go towards studio
time, but due to the band members’ hectic
schedules, gigs are few and far between.
“We want to play more shows, like in
front of Haagen-Daz,” Park says. “But it’s
hard right now because it’s junior year.”
The band’s name was inspired by
an encounter with a confused onlooker
during a gig, who thought they were
playing in front of Borders instead of
Barnes and Nobles. The band thought
the implication that they were playing on
“the edge” of Borders was funny enough
to incorporate into their namesake.
She adds that high school graduation
won’t stop the band from jamming
together.
“Everyone in the band is really
supportive of each other,” Park says.
“Even if we all go to different schools,
we will still get together when we come
back.” 
six shows at venues all across the
country, including ones in Illinois,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
New York and Baltimore, though
Keene says these locations are
subject to change.
The band he will play in rotates
members depending on the song,
with each musician getting to play
at least a couple of songs. Keene
will play mostly classic rock like
Led Zeppelin, the Doors and Pink
Floyd.
Keene, who has been playing
drums for five years, first joined
Paul Green’s School of Rock three
years ago when he wanted drum
lessons. He currently goes to School
of Rock’s Silver Spring location, one of
67 across the country. Every Thursday
he spends half of a three hour session
in a private lesson and the other half
rehearsing with the band, an experience
he says builds teamwork.
“It helps me learn how to work with
other musicians and figure things out,”
he says.
School of Rock, which was founded in
Philadelphia in 1998, gives kids of all ages
an opportunity to practice and play shows
with a real rock and roll band. According
to its website, School of Rock aims “to put
them on stage in front of as many people
as possible and to help foster a new
generation of incredible musicians.” The
students in the program play hundreds
of concerts a year in venues across the
country.
At the recommendation of the music
director, Keene auditioned this summer
for the prestigious School of Rock All-
Stars, an elite sect of the School of Rock
program.
Though his involvement in the local
School of Rock branch meant playing a
photo courtesy HUNTER KEENE
show about every three months, Keene
wanted to take his drumming to the next
level.
“[The All-Stars] aren’t just local,” he
says. “You get to learn stuff about going
on the road.”
Keene has been going to Philadelphia
every single weekend since September to
rehearse for the upcoming tour. Since
several of the 20 All-Stars live in the DC
area, Keene carpools every Saturday,
making the commute slightly easier but
still time-consuming.
At first, the trips to Philadelphia were
also the biggest deterrent for his mother,
Kathy Keene, who wasn’t looking forward
to the long drives.
“Once he got in [to the All-Stars]
I couldn’t say no,” she says. “I knew
it would be an amazing experience to
tour.”
Keene plans to continue with School
of Rock throughout high school and as of
now, his drumming aspirations extend
far beyond graduation.
“I wanna be a professional musician,”
he says instinctively. “For now that’s what
I’m gonna try to do.” 
22
Students use energy drinks
to replace sleep with sugar
By Sahil Ansari
Everyone in your house is asleep, but you’re stuck on
page two of your six-page research paper that’s due the
next day. As your eyelids begin to droop, you consider
calling it a night. But then you reach for salvation in a
shiny green can – Monster energy drink.
Despite the harmful side effects associated with
drinks like Red Bull, Rock Star and Doubleshot, they
have become a sugary alternative to getting a good night’s
sleep for high school students across the world.
Since energy drink production skyrocketed in 2006
with the launch of over 500 different brands, the industry
has grown almost 75 percent per year. By 2010 the energy
drink business is expected to top $10 billion, according
to the Christian Science Monitor.
Junior Jiko Mendoza may be responsible for a solid
percentage of those sales. Mendoza, who became a fan
of energy drinks in sixth grade, drinks two Red Bulls a
day – one “dose” in the morning for a pre-dawn kick and
one in the evening to help him plow through homework
and crash just in time for bed.
“It gives you a ton of energy,” he says. “It’s basically
like you’re on drugs but not really.”
Mendoza says that he has yet to experience any side
effects or health issues as a result of his twice-daily habit.
Nevertheless, potential effects, like an increase in heart
rate, are creating substantial controversy in the medical
community.
Roberta Anding, the dietician for the Houston Texans
football team, has found that teens use energy drinks
like Red Bull, Vault and Jolt to try and get by without
the proper amount of sleep during the most stressful
years of high schools.
“High school students today are trying to do
everything and do it well to have a lovely resume,”
Anding says. “Sleep is the only place where time can
be cut.”
Although studies of the long-term effects of the
drinks are inconclusive, Anding says that from her
observations energy drink consumption can, in some
cases, make it almost impossible for users to sleep or
concentrate.
Chugging energy drinks is no substitute for a good
night’s sleep and doesn’t do much to keep people alert
in the long run. While it does provide a temporary
alertness, drinkers continuously down cans throughout
the day in an attempt to ward off fatigue and weariness,
Anding says.
And unlike coffee and tea, which have natural
antioxidants, energy drinks don’t come from a bean or a
leaf. They are made from chemicals produced in a lab.
graphic by NEILL ROBERTSON
‘Leggo my Eggo!’
By Hailey Siller
Imagine a world without waffles. Many would say
that that’s no world at all.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature doesn’t understand
the concept of “Leggo My Eggo.” Kellogg’s Eggo waffle
bakery in Atlanta has flooded due to extreme weather
conditions this past fall, in addition to existing equipment
failures at their largest bakery in Tennessee.
Widespread response to this news has been nothing
short of outrage.
“There’s an Eggo Waffle shortage?!” freshmen
Moriah Heaney exclaims. “I might not be able to make
it through this week!”
What many students rely on to start their day right
has gone so, so wrong. But, rest assured, the product
will be available sometime before we’re dead.
“The Eggo team is working around the clock to
bring everyone’s favorite waffles back to store shelves as
quickly as possible,” according to the Kellogg website.
The team better get on it or they may have more than
a few upset teens on their hands.
“Every day when I get home I find myself craving
some sort of delicious treat,” sophomore Ari Kapner
says. “Usually what I’m searching for are frozen Eggo
waffles!”
According to National Public Radio, waffles are still
being produced at bakeries in San Jose, CA and Blue
Anchor, NJ.
Angry Eggo fans will not be alone during this
holiday season. Due to heavy rains in the Morton, IL
area, Nestle’s Libby’s pumpkins were not able to be
harvested.
“This is the first time in decades that we have
arts
“Mother nature did
a great job with food,”
Anding says. “Energy
drinks are a manufactured
product geared towards
business.”
One of the main
ingredients in energy
drinks, in addition to
caffeine, is taurine. The
Henry Ford Hospital study
showed that taurine was
largely responsible for the
increased heart rate in
consumers.
For sophomore David
Newman, a daily can of Red
Bull goes a long way in helping
him finish his homework on a
late night.
“I get so much more done,
and I can really stay focused,”
he says. “If I drink one at nine,
I can’t fall asleep until one or
two.”
He drinks Red Bull almost
exclusively – not only because
he likes the taste and claims
other drinks don’t work as well,
but because Red Bull’s extreme photo by SARAH KLOTZ
sports endorsements make it more
appealing.
“Red Bull is at all the action sports events,” Newman
says. “They sponsor Motocross and all those crazy
things.”
The companies target adolescent males almost
exclusively and give the drinks names like Monster and
Jolt to market the “tough guy mentality,” Anding says.
“You rarely see an energy drink in a pink can,” she
says.
Drinks like Red Bull contain 120 grams of caffeine
per 12-ounce can – nearly four times the amount than in
Coca-Cola and two to three times as much as coffee.
While some teens like Mendoza and Newman are
unfazed by the drinks, others have noticed some negative
effects.
Sophomore Collier Camp, who used to drink Red
Bull once a day “just for fun,” decided to stop when the
drink began to make him feel lazy.
“I didn’t even get that much energy,” he says. “I’d
just feel awful afterwards.”
And one mixture that supposedly makes teens feel
even more awful is the potent combination of energy
drinks and alcohol. In November, these drinks caught
the attention of the FDA, who began an investigation
into the safety of these drinks.
“It’s really dangerous because the energy drink
makes you feel alert and makes you think you are less
drunk than you actually are,” Anding says.
Miller Brewing makes Sparks, and Anheuser-Busch
makes Tilt, both caffeinated drinks with higher amounts
of alcohol than beer. An alternative party drink is a
“heart-attack” – vodka mixed with Red Bull.
Anding’s advice for energy drink consumers is
simple: “There’s no substitute for sleep. Do yourself a
favor – stop studying and get some sleep.” 
graphic by ELENA TOUMAYAN
experienced such very poor weather conditions affecting
our harvest,” says Roz Ohearn, the Marketing and
Communications Director of Nestle Prepared Foods
Company.
He says tractors and other harvesting equipment
were unable to move through the fields and prepare
them for harvest, meaning that this year, some had to go
without the sole reason for celebrating Thanksgiving–
pumpkin pie.
As a result of the shortage, Libby’s managers have
decided to not ship anymore pumpkin pie mix and
canned pumpkin products until 2010, when hopefully
Mother Nature will take pity on the pumpkin-lovers of
the world.
“We hope she’s better to us next season, giving us a
little less rain and a lot more sunshine, because we are
already planning to plant even more acres of pumpkins,”
Libby’s staff says in an apology posted on their website.
“This way everyone can enjoy as many delicious pumpkin
dishes as they want!”
Without the trusty golden goodness of Kellogg’s
Eggo waffles or Libby’s perfect pumpkin pies to snack
on, some students are not sure how they will make do
with significantly less delectable alternatives.
“I am absolutely heartbroken,” junior Hannah
Nowack says. “I will not be able to function without my
daily Eggo chocolate chip waffle before school!” 
december 16, 2009
Hip-hop
scene develops
in D.C.
Wale, XO weigh in on
hip-hop, D.C. culture
By Adam Glazer
For D.C., a city that has never had a distinct hip-
hop sound or prominent emcee before, 2009 has been
an exceptionally busy year.
“Attention Deficit,” released Nov. 3, is the debut
album of D.C. - based emcee Wale, who performed
at the 2009 BET Hip-Hop Awards and has a hit
single, “D.C. Chillin,” number 32 on the Billboard
charts. In October, D.C. lyrical powerhouses XO, yU
and Oddisee, who go by the name Diamond District,
released their debut album, “In the Ruff,” which held
a top 10 spot for a week on iTunes. XO released his
solo debut, “Monumental,” in June, which received
over 40,000 downloads.
Hip-hop originated in the south Bronx during
the late 70s, when break-dancing, graffiti, DJ’ing,
emceeing and street knowledge all came together to
form the first hip-hop culture. Back in the day, hip-
hop was an integral part of the culture of the inner-
city working class youth and took root in African and
Latino American neighborhoods.
If you asked a hip-hop fan where to find a strong
hip-hop scene, they’d probably direct you to New
York, hip-hop’s birthplace; Atlanta, home of the
Braves, Falcons and “dirty south hip-hop”; or Los
Angeles, the city of g-funk and gangsta rap But until
recently, D.C. wouldn’t have made the list.
D.C. is better known as the founder of go-go, a
subgenre of funk that is often referred to as the “soul
of the city.” Other notable musicians who have hailed
from the capital include Chuck Brown, known as the
“godfather of go-go,” Duke Ellington, Marvin Gaye,
punk bands Bad Brains and Minor Threat and electro-
rockers Thievery Corporation.
Large record companies initially dismissed hip-
hop as a fad, but finally caught on after songs like
“Rappers Delight” by Sugar Hill Gang, the first hip-
hop single to become a top 40 hit, started to sell.
Wale, a Quince Orchard (‘01) alum who recalls
playing football against Whitman, remembers
growing up with hip-hop.
“It’s everywhere you look,” Wale says. “I just
remember it being all around me.”While at Quince
Orchard, Wale says he developed a talent and passion
for emceeing.
“It’s like public speaking,” he says. “I was always
good at that – standing in front of a class, getting
their attention.”
While “Attention Deficit” is Wale’s first studio
album, he has garnered much attention through
other songs and projects such as “The Mix-tape About
Nothing” and collaborations with Kid Cudi, Gucci
Mane and Lady Gaga.
His 2007 hit, “Nike Boots,” which includes a
shout-out to Montgomery County, not only helped
boost Wale’s fame, but made Nike boots, officially
named Nike Air Max Goadomes, a trademark of D.C.
hip-hop.
XO acknowledges Wale’s success, but takes note
to differentiate himself, saying that he’s going to
continue what he’s been doing.
“I hope his album does well, but I’m in my own
lane,” he says.
XO started his rapping career in his teens by
participating in open mics and earning respect in
freestyle circles, known as ciphers, in the U-street
area around 1997.
XO plans to release his sophomore LP, “1-1-
10,” on the same date as the album title, which will
be available for download on his label’s website,
studio43.com.
Wale and XO have very different sounds, but both
are reflective of D.C. and offer different styles to the
same genre.
“My sound is all over the place-soul influences,
go-go influences, as well as more organic hip-hop,”
Wale says.
XO heavily emphasizes meaningful lyrics,
something that is becoming more of an underground,
art as opposed to rapping about clothes and going
to clubs.
“Thought-provoking lyrics come with thought-
provoking topics,” XO says. “So it’s the message the
machine wants to push, not the music.”
When asked what comes to mind when they think
about hip-hop, XO and Wale seem to agree on what
hip-hop should be.
“I think about expression, the capabilities of a
message through hip-hop,” XO says.
“I think of heads nodding to the beat and poetry
– expressing yourself,” Wale says. 
december 16, 2009
The Decade in Entertainment
Top 10 movies of the decade
by Parissa Jaseb
2000: Gladiator
When Roman general, Maximus Decimus Meridias (Russell
Crowe) is chosen over the emperor’s son to assume power as
leader, the prince betrays the general and murders his family.
The film incorporated great action scenes, with fighting, blood
and conflict, this movie kept viewers hooked on the screen. It’s
no wonder this film won five Oscars.
 
2001: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The first film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy tells the story of a
hobbit named Frodo who must destroy a powerful but dangerous
ring. Based off the popular book by J.R.R. Tolkien, this is one of
the best film adaptations ever. The trilogy racked up 17 Oscars
in total and made over $1 million worldwide.
2002: Chicago
Through show tunes, elaborate sets and revealing costumes,
“Chicago,” tells the story of two showgirls, one already a star and the
other who dreams of becoming one, who find themselves in jail for
murder. Jazzy songs like “Cell Block Tango” create an edgy but up-
beat tempo. “Chicago” won six Oscars including one for Catherine
Zeta-Jones’s fiery performance as murderess Velma Kelly.
 
2003: Pirates of the Caribbean:The Curse of the Black Pearl
The film, about a young blacksmith (Orlando Bloom) who falls
in love with the governor’s daughter (Keira Knightly), has become an
instant classic, popular among kids and adults alike. When the governor’s
daughter gets kidnapped by pirates, the blacksmith teams up with swash-
buckling pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) to save her. The film
became a vast and popular franchise, churning out posters and Halloween
costumes, and making over $655 million worldwide.
2004: Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda follows a Hutu hotel manager who rescues Tutsi
natives during the time of bloody and brutal genocide in Rwanda.
This film is based on a true story, and the superb acting coupled
with the powerful story reaches across time and age divisions.
Accordingly, “Hotel Rwanda” was nominated for three Oscars.
 
Collectors’ items: albums of the year since 2000
by Julia Dane
2000: All That You Can’t Leave Behind by U2
It really was a beautiful day when U2 released All That
You Can’t Leave Behind. After years of experimentation with
different genres like electronic, U2 found its niche on the
airwaves with pop. Led by strong singles “Beautiful Day” and
“Elevation,” the album was able to accomplish one of the most
difficult tasks in the music business: pleasing the critics, the
old fans and the new fans simultaneously.
2001: Love and Theft by Bob Dylan
Never before had the music scene seen so many genres
packed into one album than on Bob Dylan’s Love and Theft.
After a decade passed without him producing a new song,
Dylan released Love and Theft as his comeback album. Not
only did he exceed expectations, but he did it while using
less popular styles like folk and blue-grass (impressive)
and singing about Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum (super
impressive).
2002: Sea Change by Beck
Considering that Beck wrote Sea Change after breaking
up with his longtime girlfriend, it could have easily turned
into a mopey, self-absorbed mess. But though Beck crooned
mostly in monotone, the acoustic guitar and soft vocals created
a bleakly beautiful album.
2003: Elephant by White Stripes
White Stripes did everything right in Elephant. The rock
duo, while staying true to its Led Zeppelin-inspired retro style,
flawlessly fused different genres, from the smashing guitar riffs
of rock to blues piano chords. The album didn’t have much
competition in this reporter’s book, up only against Justin
Timberlake’s Justified, a popular but unjustified debut into
the world of solo artists.
2004: American Idiot by Green Day
On American Idiot, Green Day produced something that
isn’t ordinarily seen on an album but nevertheless proved
effective: a story line that smoothly connects all the songs.
Plus, the album covered the country’s political failures during
the George W. Bush era, and who doesn’t like to bash (or listen
to people bash) the president who brought us No Child Left
Behind and the Iraq War.
arts 23
2005: Wedding Crashers
This lighthearted comedy tells the story of two friends (Owen
Wilson and Vince Vaughn) who show up to weddings uninvited in
order to score girls. Wilson and Vaughn make a great team; their
charisma and chemistry are undeniable, and their comedic timing is
impeccable. Though overlooked by the Academy, “Wedding Crashers”
is a crowd-pleaser that helped cement Wilson and Vaughn as comedy
heavyweights.
 
  2006: Little Miss Sunshine
Little Miss Sunshine tells the story of a 10 year old girl who dreams
of competing in a beauty pageant, and a not-so-average family, from
a druggie grandfather to a suicidal uncle, who road trips to California
for a beauty competition. This film is full of dry humor, and audiences
are guaranteed plenty of laughs, but this family is more than just
dysfunctional. In the end, they come together to show what it truly
means to be related.
2007: No Country for Old Men
When a typical man named Llewelyn Moss finds $2 million left
behind after a drug deal goes wrong, he decides to take the money and
run. With a drug dealer/killer Anton Chigurh on his trail, he plays a
game of cat and mouse while police sheriff Ed Tom Bell always stays
just one step behind.  This thriller won four Oscars, including one
for best picture and does Cormac McCarthy’s critically acclaimed
novel  justice.   
2008: Slumdog Millionaire
“Slumdog Millionaire,” a film that was shot in India and stars
no big-name actors, tells the story of an Indian boy, Jamal, as
he competes for a million dollars on the Indian version of “Who
Wants to be a Millionaire?” Filled with snap shots of Jamal’s life,
the film depicts a harrowing and shockingly realistic account of life
in impoverished India. The movie ultimately made $160 million
worldwide and won eight Oscars, not bad for a film made for only
$1 million.
2009: Where the Wild Things Are
The film, based on a children’s book by Maurice Sendak, tells
the story of a young boy, Max, who feels misunderstood at home
and transports himself to a world of monsters and imagination.
Director Spike Jonze (87’) turns this short story into a two hour
long film, giving each character emotions and personality, allowing
both adults and children to fall in love with the characters and the
film in general.
2005: Late Registration by Kanye West
After a slew of unimaginative lyrics and dry albums, the
rap scene seemed to be falling into a slump. But Kanye’s Late
Registration redeemed rap with instant hits like “Gold Digger”
and “Hey Mama.” The album was a triumph in versatility,
showing off Kanye’s wit and political savvy while also revealing
his sensitive side.
2006: Continuum by John Mayer
It’s no secret that John Mayer had (okay, still has) a bit of an
ego problem, but with the release of Continuum, he at least had
something to back it up. By intelligently fusing blues, R&B and
pop, Mayer produced an album that validated his reputation
for being a thoughtful, gifted musician, and proved him to be
more than just a pretty face for girls to swoon over.
2007: Kala by M.I.A.
For M.I.A.’s Kala, the term “sophomore slump” didn’t
apply. The Sri Lankan rapper brought back the infectious,
chaotic beats from her successful debut album that have
become her signature, and the results are surprisingly fresh,
giving fans even more to satisfy their appetites for the neon-
wearing rapper’s electronic beats and cheeky lyrics.
2008: Viva la Vida by Coldplay
With Viva la Vida, Coldplay set themselves apart from
the overflowing pool of rock bands by creating a completely
unexpected album. Considered the band’s “experimental”
album, Viva la Vida incorporated exotic instruments like the
Persian santur, a trapezoid-shaped instrument with 96 strings.
The album was greeted with critical and commercial success,
with hits like the title track and “Violet Hill” dominating the
airwaves.
2009: Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal
Collective
This year, Animal Collective created an album some
might interpret as weird and difficult to understand. But in
contrast to the sea of pop and dance albums released this
year, Merriweather Post Pavilion was innovative. By fusing
psychedelic sounds, bursts of noise, whining vocals and a
variety of instruments and textures, the band invented a
distinctive style that couldn’t be placed in any specific genre.
24 Arts december 16, 2009

The first flakes of this school year fell

earlier in the week, an official indication
that winter has arrived. As we move
farther into the month of December and the
winter solstice approaches, days become
shorter and the darkness of night becomes
nearly omnipresent. Many students arrive
before the crack of dawn and leave after
the sun has set. And while this might
seem depressing to some, think of it as just
another reminder that winter break is right
around the corner and yet another year
is coming to an end. Endings lead to new
beginnings, and the end of 2009 means the
beginning of a whole new decade. It also
means the end of the era in which many of
us grew up and the beginning of a whole
new chapter of our lives.

photos by KEEGAN BARBER

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