23
Warrior the 34th Year, Issue No.5 300 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Sandy Spring, MD 20860 Inside: News: 1-4, BSW: 5-6, Features: 7-9, Humor: 10-11, Spotlight: 12-13 Opinions: 14-16, Wondering Warrior: 17, Entertainment: 18-20, Sports: 21-24 June 5, 2012 Sherwood High School This Saturday, hundreds of people will gather upon the grounds of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School to participate in Relay for Life of Olney, an annual over- night event held to promote awareness of and raise money for the fight against cancer. Relay for Life is sponsored by the American Cancer Society and is organized into teams, each working to raise as much money as possible before and during the event. Relay for Life has been held on the Sherwood track for the past seven years, but this year has one major difference as the location of the event moves to Good Counsel. Since Sherwood is getting a new field and track, the construction forced the event to be moved to Good Counsel. This cre- ated chaos for the Relay managers and co- ordinators as they scrambled to manage the event despite the change in location. “We miss Sherwood. The staff, fac- ulty and students are wonderful. We hope to come back next year,” said event chair Bryna Selig. She and other coordinators of the Relay event have struggled with the changes a difference in venue will bring. The biggest concern is the astroturf at Good Counsel. No food or beverages are allowed on the turf, and free standing tents are prohibited. Also, the luminaria, which are little bags placed around the track in honor and in memory of those who have battled cancer, will have artificial lights in them this year as opposed to real candles, taking away from the effect. However, the enthusiasm and passion for the cause has not been diminished by the change in location. There will be a large tent in a separate section right off the track where people can buy and sell food, and many exciting activities will take place throughout the night, including a midnight Bingo game. There are 63 teams (nearly 600 participants) involved in the Relay for Life event, and $135,370 has been raised for the fight against cancer. Despite the obstacles of a new venue, Relay for Life continues into another ex- citing year as people celebrate, remember, and fight back against the disease that has affected millions. The Determined March On, On a Different Track by Mandy Stussman ‘14 Dedicated participants of the Relay for Life of Olney event gathered on the Sherwood track last year. This year, the event will be held on Our Lady of Good Counsel’s track. www.thewarrioronline.com State Champions At Last School Collects on Student Debts by Bridget Cook ‘14 As of May 10, the total amount of money owed in obligations was $29,583, with 10th and 11th grade classes owing the most at $10,443 and $11,916, respectively. Because of obligations being cleared for prom and graduation, the number has de- creased to $1,165 as of May 25. “Students have several years to accu- mulate obligations. By the time they reach their senior year, they begin to clear the obligations in order to purchase tickets for school events such as homecoming and prom. [Students] clear obligations to be able to participate in their graduation cer- emony. Obligations should be taken care of as they occur instead of letting them ac- cumulate to their senior year,” said Brenda Hoyle, the school’s Business Manager. However, clearing obligations in time for diploma distribution is not usually a problem for seniors. “School staff work diligently with students and parents to get any outstanding financial obligations cleared before diplomas are distributed,” said Hoyle. Some of the most common classes stu- dents receive obligations in include Eng- lish, math, art, food and consumer science, Foundations of Technology, and Media Sherwood softball celebrates with coach Pat Flanagan after winning their first state championship. The Warriors beat Chesapeake High School 1-0 to win only the second championship in MCPS history. see OBLIGATIONS, pg. 2 Joey Lavoie ‘14 Spotlight An insider’s look at the 2012 Olympic Games. Pgs. 12-13 Entertainment Getting strange stares in the hallway? Pg. 18 photo coutesy of Bryna Selig Get some new summer fashion tips!

June Issue 2012

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Page 1: June Issue 2012

Warriorthe34th Year, Issue No.5

300 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Sandy Spring, MD 20860

Inside: News: 1-4, BSW: 5-6, Features: 7-9, Humor: 10-11, Spotlight: 12-13 Opinions: 14-16, Wondering Warrior: 17, Entertainment: 18-20, Sports: 21-24

June 5, 2012

Sherwood High School

This Saturday, hundreds of people will gather upon the grounds of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School to participate in Relay for Life of Olney, an annual over-night event held to promote awareness of and raise money for the fight against cancer. Relay for Life is sponsored by the American Cancer Society and is organized into teams, each working to raise as much money as possible before and during the event. Relay for Life has been held on the Sherwood track for the past seven years, but this year has one major difference as the location of the event moves to Good Counsel. Since Sherwood is getting a new field and track, the construction forced the event to be moved to Good Counsel. This cre-ated chaos for the Relay managers and co-ordinators as they scrambled to manage the event despite the change in location. “We miss Sherwood. The staff, fac-ulty and students are wonderful. We hope to come back next year,” said event chair Bryna Selig. She and other coordinators

of the Relay event have struggled with the changes a difference in venue will bring. The biggest concern is the astroturf at Good Counsel. No food or beverages are allowed on the turf, and free standing tents are prohibited. Also, the luminaria, which are little bags placed around the track in honor and in memory of those who have battled cancer, will have artificial lights in them this year as opposed to real candles, taking away from the effect. However, the enthusiasm and passion for the cause has not been diminished by the change in location. There will be a large tent in a separate section right off the track where people can buy and sell food, and many exciting activities will take place throughout the night, including a midnight Bingo game. There are 63 teams (nearly 600 participants) involved in the Relay for Life event, and $135,370 has been raised for the fight against cancer. Despite the obstacles of a new venue, Relay for Life continues into another ex-citing year as people celebrate, remember, and fight back against the disease that has affected millions.

The Determined March On, On a Different Trackby Mandy Stussman ‘14

Dedicated participants of the Relay for Life of Olney event gathered on the Sherwood track last year. This year, the event will be held on Our Lady of Good Counsel’s track.

www.thewarrioronline.com

State Champions At Last School Collects on Student Debtsby Bridget Cook ‘14

As of May 10, the total amount of money owed in obligations was $29,583, with 10th and 11th grade classes owing the most at $10,443 and $11,916, respectively. Because of obligations being cleared for prom and graduation, the number has de-creased to $1,165 as of May 25. “Students have several years to accu-mulate obligations. By the time they reach their senior year, they begin to clear the obligations in order to purchase tickets for school events such as homecoming and prom. [Students] clear obligations to be able to participate in their graduation cer-emony. Obligations should be taken care of as they occur instead of letting them ac-cumulate to their senior year,” said Brenda Hoyle, the school’s Business Manager. However, clearing obligations in time for diploma distribution is not usually a problem for seniors. “School staff work diligently with students and parents to get any outstanding financial obligations cleared before diplomas are distributed,” said Hoyle. Some of the most common classes stu-dents receive obligations in include Eng-lish, math, art, food and consumer science, Foundations of Technology, and Media Sherwood softball celebrates with coach Pat Flanagan after winning their first state championship. The Warriors beat Chesapeake

High School 1-0 to win only the second championship in MCPS history. see OBLIGATIONS, pg. 2

Joey Lavoie ‘14

SpotlightAn insider’s look at the 2012 Olympic Games.

Pgs. 12-13

EntertainmentGetting strange stares in

the hallway?

Pg. 18

photo coutesy of Bryna Selig

Get some new summer fashion tips!

Page 2: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•NewsJune 5, 20122

New SGA Looks to Hit the Ground Running

by Michael Natelli ‘14

Last Wednesday at the end of fourth period, Principal Bill Greg-ory announced that junior Evan Schwartz had become SGA Presi-dent for the 2012-2013 school year. After serving as the Class of 2013 Treasurer for three consecu-tive years, Schwartz decided that his “love for student leadership and advocacy,” as he describes it, made him ready to take the leap to the SGA Presidency. “I believe that I have been trained for this position since my freshman year, and it has always been my goal to help the entire school,” said Schwartz. “I also love what I do and what student government has to offer.”

Schwartz’s plan is first and foremost to generate more of a connection with students. “It is imperative that student govern-ment becomes more accessible to the student body,” he said. “It is also important to me that we utilize all of the different students at Sherwood. It would be great to use the skills of our many clubs to make our events run smoothly and effectively.” However, Schwartz is not do-ing this alone. He will be aided by classmates Vice President Sean Prin, Secretary Hope Gouterman and Treasurer Katy Chiogioji. “Everyone deserves to have a great school year and making this school year the best yet is the goal we hope to accomplish as mem-

bers of SGA,” said Gouterman. Prin would like to push to-wards changes such as “a more exciting pep-rally, tailgates when we play Magruder [and] a better Mr. Sherwood contest. Things like that that’ll make the school year feel like time’s flying by.” The new staff already have several events planned, most no-tably the “Welcome Back Senior Barbeque” scheduled for Septem-ber of next school year. The hope for the event is to raise significant funds to put towards events such as Senior Homecoming Halls as well as prom, currently scheduled to take place on a yacht. “I expect the barbecue to be a hit,” said Prin. “I mean, who doesn’t like barbecue?”

NEWSin brief

For the first time in three years, MCPS employees will likely be receiving a pay increase. Salaries are expected to increase by an average of 3.4 percent. The change has to be approved by three em-ployee unions, and if approved by all three organizations, it will be voted on by the Board of Education on June 14. “This agreement speaks to the long-term healing and sustain-ability of our school system,” said Superintendent Joshua Starr dur-ing a news conference on May 21. “Our employees have given up a lot in the last three years. We believe it is time to ensure that their compensation meets the increased demands of the future.” The pay increase is only for the 2013 fiscal year, which starts July 1. Any pay changes for fiscal year 2014 and beyond will need to be negotiated and agreed to by all parties. Fairfax and Prince George’s counties also have negotiations un-derway to allow for increases in pay.

Despite a recent downward trend in the number of fatal automo-bile crashes, the Governors Highway Safety Association found that the number of deadly accidents involving new teenage drivers saw a slight increase in 2011. A study from the AAA published in The Washington Post stated that the number of passengers in a car with a teenage driver can triple or even quadruple the likelihood of that car being involved in a fatal accident. Although teens are widely reputed to be the least responsible drivers, the study found that dangerous driving is common among any driver younger than 24 years old. These drivers have underde-veloped reflexes and are more likely to use their cell phones while driving, significantly increasing their chances of having fatal acci-dents. Even with the slight increase in young driver accidents, the Na-tional Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported a 375 person decrease in the number of deaths on the roads from 2010 to 2011. Many are giving state laws, such as graduated licensing systems, credit for the decline in fatal driving accidents.

Sherwood ranked 313th on this year’s Challenge Index from The Washington Post. The index was created in 1998 by reporter Jay Matthews and is based on student access to college-level class-es, such as AP and IB courses, in U.S. high schools. It is calculated by dividing the number of college-level tests by the number of graduating seniors. Only 1,898 schools of the 22,000 high schools in the country qualified to be ranked by having at least the same number of college-level tests as graduating students. All 25 MCPS high schools made the list. Five schools made the top 100, with Poolesville finishing the highest at 54th. Of 177 DC area schools, Sherwood’s was 40th, and Poolesville was fourth.

MCPS Employees Set To Get Raiseby Leah Schroeder ‘13

More Passengers Lead to More Crashes

Sherwood Ranks Highly in Challenge Index

by Alyssa Miller ‘13

by Alex Porter ‘13

Washington DC Area Rankings (Out Of 177 schools)

4 Poolesville5 Richard Montgomery7 Bethesda Chevy Chase8 Walter Johnson9 Winston Churchill18 Thomas S. Wootton20 Walt Whitman30 Quince Orchard35 Montgomery Blair40 Sherwood43 Rockville47 Albert Einstein50 Northwest

59 Damascus68 Col. Zadok Magruder70 Seneca Valley78 Northwood79 Springbrook80 Wheaton81 Clarksburg83 James Hubert Blake84 Paint Branch86 Watkins Mill106 Gaithersburg128 John F. Kennedy

Students Stress over Obligations

Graduating seniors line up outside of the Business Office to pay their obligations before the year ends.

Center fees. English Composition Assistant Liz Bolton sees a signif-icant number of English book ob-ligations each year, although they have decreased since the imple-mentation of a new bar code sys-tem. “During the first year when the bar code system was put into use, I wrote about $5,000 worth of obligations ... this year we are down to about $3,500 in books that are placed on the obligation list,” said Bolton. Obligations are prevalent in high school because many stu-dents do not realize the extent of their obligations or that they even exist. Others brush off the notices they receive, not thinking about them again until it is time for ma-jor school events such as prom, and graduation. Even though school staff are willing to help students with the obligations payment process, stu-dents still face impediments as they discover their obligations. Students receive a few notices per year over the phone or from a teacher notifying them that they owe money, and then must schedule time to go the Business Office during school and consult with an administrator. Previously, there was a more efficient sys-tem in place for determining ob-ligations. “In past years, a list of

student financial obligations was posted outside the school Busi-ness Office and students could easily check and see if they had an active financial obligation. For privacy reasons, MCPS has deter-mined that we can no longer post a list,” said Hoyle. If a student feels that an ob-ligation was incorrectly adminis-tered or that they no longer owe money, they can go through an appeals process. They begin at a lower level, simply by discussing the issue with a teacher. “Most often the issue is resolved at this level,” Hoyle stated. If the obliga-tion still stands, the student must

confer with someone working in the Business Office for investi-gation of the claim. Rarely, the obligation still cannot be cleared after this level. If that happens, a student must go to the business administrator and eventually the principal. In some cases waivers will be issued for students owing obligations in the face of financial hardship. “School staff work diligently with students and families to clear obligations … Students may pay obligations and return textbooks to the Business Office, Room 101, daily before and after school and during lunch,” Hoyle added.

from OBLIGATIONS, pg. 1

Taylor Fernandes ‘14

Class of 2013

Class of 2014

Class of 2015

President: Nikki SteinerVice President: Lia KuriharaSecretary: Carroll RachefskyTreasurer: Kevin Pham

President: Dino ZagamiVice President: Rob YoungSecretary: Jan PasternakTreasurer: Natalie Sebeck

President: Julia Gajewski-NemesVice President: Annie RaffertySecretary: Kristin StitizleinTreasurer: Chris Chiogioji

Class Officers

SGA President: SGA Vice President:

SGA Secretary: SGA Treasurer:

Evan Schwartz Sean Prin

Katy ChiogiojiHope Gouterman

Page 3: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•NewsJune 5, 2012 3

New and Returning Courses For 2012-2013 School Yearby Evan Schwartz ‘13

One of the most highly an-ticipated courses for the 2012-2013 school year can be found in the English department. The Literature as Film class will be offered next year as a single-se-mester elective to students grades 9-12. Christiane Lock, who will be teaching the class next year, is excited about the high level of interest students have shown. Literature as Film will delve deeply into the actual characteris-tics of filming technique covering a range of topics including cine-matic language, types of movies, cinematography, acting, editing and sound. This includes a look at films throughout history, ana-lyzing the growth of cinema in culture. While the range of ages and maturity levels may appear to be a challenge, Lock believes that “a more diverse crowd would create a more meaningful discussion.” Lock said that the different ages of students in the class should not detract from learning the subject. “I look forward to a variety of perspectives,” she added. However, this class may not pique the interest of students looking to watch rated-R mov-ies. Due to MCPS restrictions, the class will only be allowed to view films with a rating of G, PG, or PG-13. Despite the view-ing restrictions, the class will be offering an in depth look at film culture often overlooked. “My goal is that students understand the importance of storytelling as seen through the art form of mov-ies,” Lock said. “Most of all, I hope that students continue to love watching a variety of mov-ies as a way of both creating and understanding our culture.”

A highly-anticipated return-ing course for next year is Mo-lecular Biology. Though she will not be teaching the class, science teacher Allison Erdman spoke about the class’s return. The course has been offered before at Sherwood, but was not taught this past year due to a lack of stu-dent interest. Molecular, differing from Honors or AP Biology, is a weighted-credit class that, “fo-cuses in on two main parts of biol-ogy—the cells and biomolecules within the cell (proteins, carbohy-drates, nucleic acids),” said Erd-man. “It also incorporates more of the application of technology into hands-on labs—testing anti-biotics for resistance in bacteria, gel electrophoresis, Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCR) and fo-rensics lab techniques.” Through the numerous hands-on lab activities, Erdman explained that Molecular will provide students with an under-standing of the biotechnology that has helped scientists under-stand gene expression, including gel electrophoresis, PCR and the Human Genome project. Further-more, the class will delve into the application of these concepts and technology—including the forensics unit, genetic diseases, the biology of cancer, infectious diseases and genetic engineering. Molecular will be covering a broad range of scientific topics, which may seem overwhelming. In brief, Molecular Biology will give students an in-depth, hands-on introduction to the molecules of life and their applications in the world, which scientists have used to improve our food, medi-cine, and understanding of DNA and inherited diseases.

One of the most talked-about courses for next year is not new at all. AP Comparative Government was taught previously at Sher-wood, but did not receive enough registrants for the 2011-2012 school year. The course is set to be taught by history teacher Jen Walker. It focuses on the govern-ment systems of six nations: the United Kingdom, Mexico, Rus-sia, China, Nigeria and Iran. “The course is designed to give students a look at differ-ing political objectives and poli-cies used amongst developed, developing and less developed nations,” explained Walker. She hopes students will leave the class with a broader understand-ing of world politics, and come to appreciate the freedoms and op-portunities that people living in the United States experience. Walker, who previously taught the class, is looking for-ward to the course’s use of stu-dent study groups which enhance students’ practice of cooperation and work management. With only one period of the class, the same students will study together both semesters, which Walker believes to be a benefit. Walker looks forward to the year and the use of experiential learning through extended field trips and guest speaker appear-ances. “In the past [the class] has gone to the state department and has also had outside speakers come in. If anything, I would like to add some additional field trips or guest speakers from some of the embassies to give students a first-hand account of current situ-ations on an international scale.”

Literature as Film Molecular Biology AP ComparativeGovernment

Farewell...

Math teacher Mel Laughner has decided to call it quits and retire after a 42-year career, exclusively at Sher-wood. Known for his many sto-ries and his humor, Laughner is a favorite among students. For years, he also coached various sports, including football, bas-ketball and baseball. Laughner

said it was easy to stay at Sher-wood since he always liked his colleagues and the students. “If you’re going to be in this profession and like the school you’re in, there’s no reason to go elsewhere,” said Laughner. Laughner isn’t completely giving up teaching, as he teaches part time at Montgomery College. “Other than that, I don’t know [what else I’m going to do]. I’m looking forward to having free time to relax; and if I get bored I’ll find something to do,” said Laughner.

After 15 years of hard work and loyal service to the school, AP Biology teacher Jim Douglas has announced his leave from Sherwood. Douglas is going to teach a combination of biology and AP Biology at the McLean School in Potomac. Although the McLean School is com-monly thought to be a school for special needs students, Douglas describes it as a school with some students with some mild learning needs. “I just felt it was time to change. I don’t know how to describe that until you just get to the point in your life when you know that it’s time to change, but I felt like it was time to change and felt like this is a good match for what I can do,” said Douglas about the switch.

Medical Careers teacher Mau-reen Goodwin is retiring this year after 25 years of teaching at Sher-wood. Not only has Goodwin been a dedicated teacher, but she has aided the athletics program over the years as a field hockey coach and, more recently, as an allied softball coach. One of the highlights of being the Medical Careers teacher for Goodwin has been taking students to Friends House Retirement Community.

In retirement, Goodwin knows she will miss aspects of the teach-ing profession. “I do know I will miss the daily contact with students and with my peers ... I feel that being here has enriched my life in so many ways,” she explained.

The Warrior thanks its many wonderful patrons: Aiken family, Stacie Anderson, Armstrong family, John Fetty and Associates - Architect, Aud family, Barbara Baldoni, Becker family, Bloom family, Bolen family, Boudhraa family, Perry and Stephanie Buckberg, Joey Byrd, Cameron family, Carr family, Carrera family, Colliton family, Bill and Theresa Coulter, Crider family, Cudd family, D’Amato family, Downey family, Chuck and Cindy Dowrick, M and M Drumheller, Mike and Anna Eastwood, Farrell family, Rosanne Ferris, Florian family, Freile family, Gallagher family, Gancy family, Gary and Sherry Graves, Gavett family, Graf family, Gregory family, Greseth family, Guillie family, Hahn’s family, Rob and Lynette Hall, Dick and Vivian Harris, Harris family, Hierholzer family, Hubbard family, Hughes

family, Joe and Kathy Hughes, Kim and Cody Hysell, Justus family, Keilsohni family, Kelly family, Kendall family, Kimmel family, Koehler family, Konefal family, Kovalsky family, Kozlowski family, Steve and Cathy Kress, Kyber/ Loughran family, Lyn and Stuart Langbein, Cheryl Willams Levey, Levy family, Lunking family, Paul and Pat Mangus, Martin family, Masters family, Lisa McCarthy, Melnick family, Mezebish family, Jerry and BJ Mills, Milstein family, Joe and Denise Moyer, Murphy family, E. Muslimova, Michael and Jessica Natelli, Cecil family, Newmark family, Nickerson Family, Nimrat family, Orenstein family, Pan-zer family, Pettenati family, Porter family, Rajotte family, Kara and Chuck Rogers, Roy family, Ryczek family, Salzwedel and Moratz family, Sanechez- Copeland family, Sarecky family, Septoff family,Schmuckler family, Schroeder family, Siberry family, Bob and Suzanne Simala, Josey and Chris Simpson, Snyder family, Sousane family, Ralph and Linda Stewart, Ryan Strong, Stussman family, Thanos family, Violeta and Peter Wagner, Walsh family, Shawn and Tobie Watkins, Weiss family, Wetizner

family, Tom and Susan Wells, Darby Whitehair, Widmaier family, Nancy and Chuck Wight, Winter family, Witkin family, Woods family, Young family

If you are interested in becoming a patron for the 2012-2013 school year, please contact [email protected]

by Matt Diogo ‘14

by Jamie Langbien ‘13

by Whitney Marie Halaby ‘14

A tribute to these teachers who will not be returning

Mr. Laughner

Mr. Douglas

Mrs. Goodwin

Page 4: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•NewsJune 5, 20124

Page 5: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•Beyond School WallsJune 5, 2012 5

World’s Most Wanted

Human Rights Watchby Robel Wondimu ‘13

Today is determining the future of human rights, as humanity will decide whether to repeat history or take the high road and change its course. In the world today there are many nations that deny their people of their civil liberties and innumerable rights as humans. In some instances through genocides, massacres and civil wars, the United States and global powers have done little to help the tormented peoples of despairing nations, but in others they have intervened but for the wrong reasons. Society still faces the same dilemma today and a decision needs to be made to put this country on the right side of history.

Dawood Ibrahim, Indian crime leader

Semion Mogilevich, Russian crime leader

Nasir al-Wuhayshi, Leader of al-Qaeda

Joaquin Guzman Loera, Mexican drug lord

Ayman al-Zawahiri, Leader of al-Qaeda

1. 2.

3. 4.

5.

The Chinese Martyr Chen Guangcheng is a fugitive in China who escaped from house arrest into U.S. custody. The United States wants to protect him from China and use him as a symbol for why China needs to liberalize its coun-try. While some believe this is bad for relations, adding to an already rocky relationship with China, others feel this is only a bump in the road that serves to strengthen relations. America aided Guangcheng into a hospital under the condition that he would be treated humanely by the government. While he was under the protection of American diplomats, the lives of his wife and kids were threatened if he continued to stay or tried to flee to the U.S., which he is trying to do since his life is now in danger. China is furious at America and said such law-breaking intervention in Chinese domestic issues will not be tolerated again. The country is demanding an apology from U.S. diplomats, but America continues to assert its position that the action was for the best. The Chinese government has agreed to allow Guangcheng to study in the United States due to diplomatic negotiations, showing some level of mutual respect for each other.

How you can help: Amnesty International Alone, you can’t really do anything about this yourself. In reality, individually, a high school student is powerless when it comes to the actions of foreign heads of states and how they handle their domestic affairs. Even in America it would be impossible to eradicate the death penalty in the states that allow it, because according to a 2011 Gallop poll, 64 percent of citizens are in favor of it. With this kind of support from constituents it would be political suicide to oppose it in the states that currently allow it, and unfortunately there is no other means of change but political litigation. Under these circumstances the most logical thing to do is show support for the efforts of an organization like Amnesty International, which seeks to lobby and educate the uninformed and influential about the weight these issues carry locally and worldwide. If students around the country band together and back organizations or grass roots movements, there isn’t anything that can’t be accomplished. This is now evident because of movements like Invisible Children, which was able to rally a nation of youth and get what some called the impossible accomplished. Time is the ultimate healer, so even as this action is taken we must continue to wait for more progressive, logical and open-minded generations. For now, it is our responsibility to craft and instill such thinking into the minds of the youth so they can carry this out.

Journalistic Freedoms Journalistic freedom is a hallmark of human rights. A nation is only as free as its journalists; this corre-lation is evident in the varying amounts of liberty that different nations provide to their journalists. Freedom of the press is important enough to be protected by the Constitution of the United States, arguably the freest nation in the world. It ranks among freedoms like speech and religion, and right to a fair trial. Around the world, countries like China, Iran and North Korea oppress and muzzle their journalists, and in effect dimin-ish the futures of their countries. China, like every other oppressive communist government in history, is bound to fall. There is already a popular uprising in Iran and the people of North Korea are trying to flee the country if the opportunity ever presents itself. Many oppressive governments distort the press to promote propaganda and elevate the image of leaders to the people. In the words of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, “When a person goes to a country and finds their newspapers filled with nothing but good news, he can bet there are good men in jail.”

America Under ScrutinyExecutions CIA Renditions Guantanamo Bay

In 2011 alone, 43 inmates were executed in 13 states. This is a number that ranks the United States among some of the worst human rights offenders in the world such as Saudi Arabia, Cuba, and Russia. The number also puts the U.S. in a league of 58 nations that practice capital punishments. In America, 15 states have abolished the death penalty; Maryland is trying to join this small group, but right now a bill abolishing the death penalty is in deadlock in the state legislature. The reason a majority of states practice capital punish-ment is because they are fol-lowing the will of the majority, who support the death penalty, instead of, at least, reforming the review system to allow death row inmates more chances to prove their innocence.

Since 9/11, the Central Intel-ligence Agency (CIA) has been expanding it’s program of ex-traordinary renditions. Renditions are the process in which the CIA kidnaps a fugitive from another country and takes them into cus-tody to be interrogated and pro-cessed. The Washington Post reports that suspects are taken to black sites to be tortured, whose exis-tence the government denies. The legality of such actions cannot be contested, because while its exis-tence is believed to be true, there is no evidence to prove it. Since 9/11, nearly 3,000 sus-pected terrorists have been de-tained, 100 of which have been from Europe. This led a European Council of investigations to indict America for knowingly breaking international human rights laws and concealing evidence.

Ever since the start of the War on Terror, the U.S. deten-tion center in Guantanamo Bay (GITMO) has been in full throt-tle. GITMO has been a facility where suspected terrorists are captured and held until their tri-als, by military tribunals which are courts consisting of military officials. This system of trial has come under fire due to the ques-tions of integrity raised. Is it fair to detainees that they are being tried by their enemy combatants who captured them? President Obama made it a campaign promise to close GIT-MO, but so far he has been un-able to, because no other nation will take the detainees as nation-als. Another issue is the absence of enough prisons in the main-land willing to take them, due to public disapproval.

Matteo Messina Denaro,Head of the Italian Mafia

6.

Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov,Russian mobster

7.

Felicien Kabuga,Backer of Rwandan genocide

8.

Joseph Kony, Head of Rebel Army

9.

Doku Umarov, Russian Terrorist

10.

*According to Forbes Magazine

Page 6: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•Beyond School WallsJune 5, 20126

Almost two and a half cen-turies ago, Quaker farmer Basil Brooke built a house on land ruled by King George. Soon thereaf-ter, George Washington became president, and 42 presidents later, this house still stands and is being readied for a fresh start. The house, named Falling Green, now stands on the Ol-ney Boys and Girls Community Sports Association’s (OBGC) Community Park. OBGC agreed to renovate the house when they purchased the land in 2001. Con-struction will begin in fall 2012. “The motto for the campaign is ‘Preserving the Past, Preparing the Future.’ This project is a per-fect example of how we can learn from the past while preparing our future generations with our ac-tivities,” said OBGC’s Executive Director, Elisabeth Deal. “We wanted to save this important piece of Maryland history and knew that it would benefit the en-tire community, while helping to meet the organization’s need for office and meeting space.” Falling Green will be used for administrative offices and will also be open to the public for tours when renovations are complete. OBGC’s offices are currently located off of Georgia Avenue in Olney. According to Deal, having these offices on-site will increase security, decrease costs and create more meeting space for volunteers. Falling Green will be the

second renovation project that OBGC has completed on their grounds. In 2003, OBGC won an award from Preservation Mont-gomery for the renovation of the barn located next to the house. The barn is now being used for storage. “As we worked on the barn, we learned that historic projects take much more time, money and effort due to the various approv-als that are needed from State and County preservation agencies. In the end, it is definitely worth it when you see the structure re-stored to its original beauty,” said Deal. “As we began working on Falling Green several years ago, we knew it would take many

OBGC Honors Olney’s History

years to complete and planned accordingly.” OBGC has already completed pre-construction work, including developing architectural and civil engineering plans, and security and structural repairs, through the use of state funds. The next phase will involve stonework, the con-struction of a two-story addition, and the installation of geothermal and other utility systems. Falling Green will be restored in an envi-ronmentally friendly way. OBGC welcomes the sup-port of the community to help save this historic treasure. Tax-deductible contributions can be mailed to OBGC-Falling Green, PO Box 2, Olney, MD 20830.

by Leah Schroeder ‘13

Falling Green, a house built in the 1770s, stands on OBGC’s Freeman Fields. OBGC has plans in the works to renovate the house for use as administrative offices. Construction will begin in the fall.

The traditional ways of fun-draising such as mailings and phone calls are things of the past. Kickstarter is a website that has recently sprung up as a way to fundraise for whatever project fits one’s fancy. The website allows people to share their ideas about new products and causes, for which they wish to raise money, making it extremely accessible to a large audience. Examples range from smartphone watches to full length movies, and everything in between. The basis for the website is providing people the funds need-ed for a certain product or cause, allowing their dreams to become reality. Fundraising and all of the processes that go along with it have been condensed down and refined into an easy-to-use sys-tem that is growing rapidly. The website is used in many ways that vary from new technological ad-vancements to charitable causes. The site’s range of ability shows that it is an amazing way to gather

funds for causes and future prod-ucts. Kickstarter, as a means to raise funds, is effective since it re-quires a minimal amount of work and is substantially easier than old fashioned fundraising. This provides a potential opportunity for fundraising in schools, but it also allows the people that feel strongly about an idea to fund it, even if that idea is part of a school sponsored activity. This accessible way to gather funds should be used to its fullest potential and given an opportu-nity to show what it can do for a new generation of causes within an educational system. School sponsored activities definitely fall into the category of “supportable causes,” and should have oppor-tunities, which Kickstarter pro-vides, to get around the hassles of generic fundraising. The entire world is digitizing, and fundrais-ing should not be an exception to that rule. Kickstarter provides new and different opportunities that give a glimpse into the future of fundraising.

Tech NetdotGet the hook-up on the recent technological updates, innovations

and news in the world

Kickstarting Opportunitiesby Shaan Verma ‘13

Bridget Cook ‘14

Page 7: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•FeaturesJune 5, 2012 7

Junior Jacqi Prochaska may have the opportunity to fulfill her dream of becoming a famous musician after Tony Hill, a scout and recruiter of Capitol Records, observed her singing her original song, “Take Me Away,” during a Rock ‘n’ Roll performance on March 11. Because of Prochaska’s pas-sion for music, she auditioned for and participated in Rock ‘n’ Roll as a sophomore last year. This year, Prochaska was awarded a prestigious solo where she re-ceived the opportunity to perform her own original song by winning a song-writing contest against the other soloists who wanted to per-form their own music. “Jacqi’s song had the best form and structure,” described Bill Evans, the director of Rock ‘n’ Roll. “It had great lyrics. It had a message. It had a melody, and the melody and lyrics definitely fit together. It sent a message across. It was the only one [song] that was really fully formed.” After the performance, Hill approached Evans and asked about contacting Prochaska for more information about her mu-sic and possibly signing a con-tract with her to become an artist with Capitol Records. “It’s mind blowing. I’m still processing it,” said Prochaska. “I understand that I’m going to sac-rifice a lot and I’m going to have to go through a lot, but I know I won’t lose who I am as a person because that’s what music makes

me. That’s what makes me who I am. I’m ready. I’m cautious and thoughtful of it, but I’m ready for it.” Prochaska has had a strong interest in music from an early age. Since she was eight years old, Prochaska has been playing the guitar, and she taught herself how to play the piano when she was 13 years old. Inspired by a mixture of in-die, pop, folk, alternative, soft rock and country music, Prochas-ka began writing her own songs even before she learned how to play the guitar. “I really didn’t have a push to write; it just came to me. Like I said, it’s just a passion I had and it just grew the more I grew up and went through more and had different things to express that I couldn’t in any other way … I use it as … self-expression. I write about what I feel, so I write a lot of love songs and breakup songs. I write a lot about struggles in life. I write about how you can overcome something,” explained Prochaska. Prochaska plans to meet with Capitol Records to perform some of her best original songs, such as “Take Me Away,” “Better Things,” and “Burning Candles.” “I feel like I’m home when I’m on that stage … I don’t have that crazy, jittery feeling before performances because I love giv-ing what I have to offer to people … I make music for me, but at the same time, I want to convey it in a way that people can enjoy it,” said Prochaska.

Junior Jacqi Prochaska sings her solo “Take Me Away,” a song she wrote and performed at this year’s Rock ‘N’ Roll.

Prochaska: Talented and Possibly Signedby Rachel Zemel ‘13

Tumblr Blogging Gains Popularity

Twitter and Facebook sit atop the long list of social media sites, but a rapidly growing competi-tor may not be far behind. Tum-blr, a micro-blogging website launched in 2007, has grabbed the attention of many people with its user-friendly dashboard and Twitter-like ability to post con-tent and share it with a worldwide network of people. Last year, Tumblr increased its users from 11 million to about 20 million, more than it had in any of its first three years. “ I ’ m

not really surprised that so many

people use it. It’s a great way for people to express themselves without having to sign up for a traditional blog that less people might see,” said sophomore Stephanie Cuzmar. She has been using the website for about a year now and says she has little to no

complaints about it. Re-blogging is the most com-mon activity people do on Tum-blr and some would argue that it is the whole point. Users can type a word or phrase into the search box on the site and have results that have been tagged with the word or phrase. Pictures usually come up as search results, with the most re-blogged ones at the top. People then re-blog the posts they l ike

w h i c h are most com-

monly pictures, videos, links or quotes as opposed to the more common extended written commentaries on other blogging websites. The system Twitter has in place with “followers” is ap-plied here as well. Basically, if you like another person’s page you follow him/her and whatever he/she posts shows up on your dashboard. “I like that you can

Learning the Ropes of Rock Climbingby Michaela O’Donnell ‘13

by Jessica Carrera ‘13

Rock climbing, the physi-cally and mentally demanding activity of scaling either artificial or natural rocks, was originally practiced by mountaineers in the Alps in the late 19th century. Over time, it evolved into an in-teresting sport adopted by both men and women of all ages. Freshman Paul Gooch, a new climber in the rock-climbing community, started rock climbing as a sport one year ago. Although it is considered a strenuous sport that takes a lot of strength, stam-ina and training, Gooch discov-ered rock climbing accidentally. “I first went to great falls and climbed a sketchy 50 foot rock face with my friend and no gear. The only reason we climbed it is because we were playing tag. I liked climbing and the feel of the rush and the victory when you get a climb,” said Gooch. After experiencing the thrill of his first climb, Gooch decided to check out an indoor climbing facility called Earthtrek. “I was overwhelmed. Every-one was so gnarly and intense and into it. It was rad but I gave it my best, but of course I didn’t com-pare,” said Gooch. In the rock climbing world, there are certain titles for each type of rock climber. Lead climb-ing, the most difficult type of climbing, consists of the climbers continuously clipping themself to the rock face as they ascend the rock face. This type of climbing requires the most equipment and costs the most to do. Top rope climbing, while

similar to lead climbing, is easier and less dangerous. In this type, the climber has more of a set place to climb because the rope is tied to the top of the destina-tion. This is the most known and preferred way of rock climbing to the general public because of its easier setup and fewer chances of injury. These climbs can range from 50 to 100 feet. Bouldering, the last type of climbing, is when the climber is free to climb on natural rocks without gear. With a dedication to rock climbing a couple times a week for fun, Gooch discovered quickly his love for the natural rocks and branded himself a boul-derer. Bouldering climbs range from 10 to 30 feet but require a certain level of fitness since bouldering relies on one’s own

strength instead of ropes. “I have often finished climbs with bleeding fingers or not fin-ished climbs bleeding and disap-pointed. Most of the time people project climbs and it takes a week or weeks to finish one climb, but when you get it, it feels surreal,” said Gooch. Climbing widely accepts both genders. Gooch often finds he is “jaw-dropped” by the female climbers because of their flex-ibility and grace compared to the climbs of males using their upper body strength. He compares the girls’ artful way of climbing to dancers. “You have to commit. Push yourself until you collapse. Don’t just give up because you are tired. Climb until you fall,” said Gooch as advice to hopeful beginners.

see posts so easily. It lets me see which pictures are the funniest or the ones that I would want on my blog and I can just re-blog them quickly,” said sophomore Kate Delauder. Typically, images found on the internet are featured and are the main items being blogged and re-blogged, but photography is

also big on the

s i t e .

A p a r -

t i c u l a r blog entitled “The Pho-

tographers Directory” showcases original photography from peo-ple all over the world. This new medium allows unknown pho-tographs to share their different work with more people than they ever could of through Facebook, which only makes connections through friends. “One picture or post could make [a person] Tumblr famous in an instant. I want to be a singer when I’m older and, besides You-Tube, this is a great way to get myself out there” said Cuzmar.

Freshman Paul Gooch practices his bouldering, the type of climbing that uses no climbing equipment.

photo courtesy of Gary Peters

photo courtesy of Paul Gooch ‘15

Page 8: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•FeaturesJune 5, 20128

When we as Americans think about the military, we mostly focus on the brave soldiers who risk their lives to protect our free-doms. What seems to escape our focus sometimes is the sacrifice of the loved ones they leave be-hind. This is the case for junior Genna Shaia. She has lived in many places while her father was in the Army before his retirement from service. The Shaia family has travelled and lived in Loui-siana, Germany and now Mary-land. Generally, they moved as a family, except for in 2003 when Shaia’s dad was deployed to Iraq.

“We were afraid he wasn’t going to come back” recalled Shaia. Sophomore Colleen O’Neill also has a father in the military, who was deployed to Afghanistan just May 22 this year. He will be gone for six months, and will be returning on Thanksgiving day. O’Neill said she is sad that her dad won’t be here to see her take her drivers test or be here on her first day of junior year. Luckily, O’Neill has her mother to lean on while her dad is absent. “I think we will both re-ally be each other’s support sys-tems while he is gone,” she said. Her older brothers and sisters were alive when her father was previously deployed, although this is the first time O’Neill will

experience her dad’s absence. Students with a parent in the military can be scared, wor-ried and uncertain at times, and it is important that everyone show support for these families in need. Even though Memorial Day was last weekend, students shouldn’t forget about the sacri-fices made by American troops and all of the men and women, fathers, husbands, aunts, uncles, mothers, daughters, siblings and friends who lay their lives on the line for the common good of the rest of the country’s citizens. In addition, students should always keep in mind the immense sacri-fices soldiers’ families and friends are also making during any de-ployment.

Out of Sight, but Not Out of Mind

by Diana McDermott ‘13 and Whitney Marie Halaby ‘14

Wreck this Journal - Jessica’s Journey

Sherwood students discuss their experience having parents deployed with the military.

I got “Wreck This Journal” in May from my sister for my birthday. The basic point of the book is to flip to a random page and complete whatever test the author, Keri Smith, has instructed the reader to do on that page. Due to the strange and “reckless” nature of the tasks, the journal has been dedicated “to perfectionists all over the world.” I wouldn’t exactly call myself a perfectionist, but the whole idea sounded fun enough and the pictures from Tumblr and other blogs looked cool with all of the various ways different people had filled out

the pages. Here are just a few glimpses of my journey as I ‘Wreck This Journal.’

by Jessica Carrera ‘13

“Cover this page using only office supplies.” The best part about this page was finding the of-fice supplies to put in it. My friend, my sister and I used supplies we found around my house, which wasn’t much at all but we made do. There was no particular order to arranging the items on the page so it is not necessarily the prettiest, but I will always remember putting it together. To me, this page is a perfect example of ordered chaos and conveys perfectly how three not-very-artistic people will create a memorable piece.

“Write Carelessly. Now.” Here I wanted to get someone else’s perspective on carelessness, so I asked two friends from Newspaper to complete the page. At first they both asked what me what I wanted them to do; I think because the word “careless” gave too much freedom and because it is my journal. After I told them to do whatever it said on the page, they claimed they wrote the first thing they thought about. I read over it later and realized that I had managed to capture the most random things two people thought about when looking at this page. The best part is that after I complete the entire journal and look back on it from time to time, that writing will always be there and those two friends will always be remembered.

“Create a nonstop line.” This page was more about reflection than anything else. I was completely engrossed in creating a line that was complex, that swirled and curved all over the two pages that were allotted and it set up the opportunity for deep thought. When I drew this line I had not only been doing homework and babysitting, but also studying for AP exams as well as the SAT so to say I was overwhelmed was an understatement. I hadn’t devoted that much time to the journal, so I decided to draw a line since it didn’t seem time consuming. I think I spent about five to ten minutes drawing it (more than I anticipated), and in that time I thought hard about other things that were going on outside of school that I wasn’t able to think about before. I took a break from studying the rest of that day and it was probably irresponsible, but it definitely took stress away.

To create is to

destroy.

photo courtesy of Colleen O’Neill ‘14

Sophomore Colleen O’Neill’s father, Tom O’Neill, was just deployed to Afghanistan for the next six months.

Page 9: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•FeaturesJune 5, 2012 9

At first glance, a cartoon based on toy ponies might not seem to have much appeal to high school students, especially not to teenage boys. But “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” has drawn quite the crowd among older viewers, and has spawned Sherwood’s own Brony Club to appreciate the show. The name “brony” is a port-manteau of “bro” and “pony” used to describe a male viewer of the program. Additionally, female fans are referred to as “pegasisters.” While the specific names may suggest some exclusiv-ity to the club, junior Willie Keilsohn says that all it takes to be-come a brony is enjoy-ing the show. The club typically watches the latest episode of the show when it meets Tuesdays at lunch. Since the second season just end-ed, the bronies have enjoyed fan-made parody videos together. Keilsohn was drawn to the show and club after seeing fre-quent references to it on the in-ternet. “I figured if I wanted to understand the jokes I should at least watch the first episode and know who the characters are.” After the episode’s cliffhanger

ending, Keilsohn was compelled to continue watching and become hooked. Most club members al-ready watched the show before the club’s inception this year. The Brony club was founded by junior Katie Gardner, and is sponsored by English teacher Patty Jasnow. Jasnow was not familiar with the show before it was introduced to her by a group of students frequently in her classroom. When they suggested creating a club, Jasnow agreed to sponsor it. Jasnow “appreciate[s] their interest in it and their enthu-

siasm, and will stay to watch dur-ing lunch.” Keilsohn has been a lifelong fan of animated shows, and is also an officer in the Anime Club. He enjoys My Little Pony as an alter-native to today’s more prevalent cartoons, which he finds shallow and too distant from the shows he grew up with. “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,” the cur-rent installment of the show, was created by Lauren Faust. Faust was also involved with “Foster’s

Home for Imaginary Friends” and “The Powerpuff Girls,” two popular series that many students enjoyed watching when younger. Keilsohn says that their legacy continues in My Little Pony. “[It] is a great cartoon that aired at a perfect moment, and thus has be-come a huge success,” explained Keilsohn. “[It’s] filling a gap that only good cartoons can fill.” Between four and ten stu-dents will typically meet to watch and discuss the show, as many cannot regularly come due to other commitments. Participation

may also be low due to an issue with signs advertising for the club around the school dis-appearing, despite it being recognized by administrators. Jasnow says new members are always welcome to this

“really interesting group of kids.” The next season will likely begin in the fall of this year. “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” airs on Discovery Kids’ succes-sor “The Hub,” a joint venture between Discovery and Hasbro. Monthly viewership has grown rapidly, from 1.4 million at the beginning of the show, to four million by the end of that sea-son. It has been nominated for Leo Awards and Daytime Emmy Awards.

Students Miss Jeff’s Presence in Halls Jeff Pettenati, the former

security guard, switched schools this April from Sherwood to Springbrook in response to a shrink-ing security staff at Sher-wood. Pettenati had been a major influence on the students of Sherwood since his hiring in 2004. He provided friendship to

students, and helped make the halls of Sherwood the safe environ-

ment that they are. “ I

e n j o y e d w o r k -

i n g i n a

by Alex Porter ‘13

friendly environment full of good kids and supportive staff … Being around so many young people makes me feel younger than I am and more energetic,” said Pettenati. His friendships with the students quickly made Pette-nati a favored adult. His friendly conversations and humorous stories made him very person-able, and many students referred to him on a first-name basis. Pettenati’s signature golf cart was known to all and his pas-sion was to help the students. “He cared about the kids and he helped the kids, and he got popular by just being around and joking with the kids,” com-mented junior Andrew Claure about his favorite security guard. Claure enjoyed friendly con-versations with Pettenati and even occasional rides in his golf cart if he behaved himself. However, Pettenati’s friend-ships did not interfere with his work. As fun and personable as he was, Pettenati did not slack on his job to keep the school secure. Even students Pettenati knew well received the same punishments as ev-eryone else for their actions. “It is still challenging to

take students that I’m friend-ly with to the administration to suffer the consequences for their poor choices. It always saddens me,” said Pettenati.

Pettenati studied criminal justice at Montgomery College and American University and received a job as a two-week chemistry substitute at Bannack-er Middle School. After that, he worked wherever he was needed in the building until he became a substitute security guard. He later transferred to Rock Ter-race School, a school for spe-cial needs children. He then left Rock Terrace to acquire a temp position at Sherwood, which eventually led to a full-time se-curity job in September of 2004. MCPS wanted to hire two ad-ditional security guards to schools that require them, but there was no funding in the budget for two more positions. Instead, MCPS decided to relocate two security guards, one from Churchill and the other from Sherwood, to a school that needs them more. Pettenati has yet to be informed which high school he will be assigned to; however, in the meantime he has taken a position at Springbrook. If a security position reopens at Sherwood, Principal Bill Greg-ory has given Pettenati first right of refusal, meaning he is the first one to be offered the job, and Pettena-ti said he would definitely take it. “My kids have gone through Sherwood High School and it’s my community,” said Pette-nati. “[I have] way too many personal relationships to let my government push me out.”

by Cal Wilson ‘14

“[It] is a great cartoon that aired at a per-fect moment, and thus has become a huge success ... [It’s] filling a gap that only good cartoons can fill.”

~ Willie Keilsohn

‘Bronies’ Celebrate Cartoon in Clubphotos courtesy of Pat Rooney

Page 10: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•HumorJune 5, 201210

Lately, all you hear in the news is “Romney this” and “Obama that,” but get ready for the new ground-breaking politi-cian in the making: Kim Kar-dashian. That’s right. Kardashian has announced she is running for a spot on the City Council of Glendale, California. It all started with a girl who had a dream. That dream was to skip that whole business of get-ting a college education and in-stead ask her dad, infamous O.J. Simpson defender Robert Kar-dashian, for money to buy clothes and sell them for more money on eBay. Who needs school with such entrepreneurial spirit? Now cynics may be skep-tical of her ability to govern a town, but trust me, she’s the right chick for the job. As a true intel-lectual, Kardashian was bound to attract publicity with her “assets.” She quickly gained her fantastic reputation from her very popular home movies, when, in compari-son, it took politicians, like Bill Clinton and John Edwards, years to get caught with ... well, you know. Glendale is known for its strong Armenian cultural influ-ence. As an Armenian (granted, born and raised in California) Kardashian is the best and only choice to keep that sacred cultural pride intact. As seen in her show “Keep-ing up with the Kardashians,” she portrays her ability to juggle numerous issues, or, should I say, men. Kardashian went from hip-hop star Ray J to then-freshly divorced singer Nick Lachey

by Katie Mercogliano ‘14

Life after Diablo is Bleak and Emptyby Andrew Wasik ‘13

After 12 years of waiting it is finally out. I have spent countless days upon days playing Diablo II, which was released in 2000, but Diablo III has finally made its long awaited debut. I am us-ing The Warrior newspaper to announce my retirement from so-cial activities for the rest of, well, my high school years. No more will you see me at every sporting event. No more will you see me at any time after 2:10. No more will you see me on the weekends, because that is all prime slaying time The action/role-playing PC game published by Blizzard En-tertainment was released on May 15 at 3 A.M. EST. I of course, being a diehard fan of the series, was up at 3 A.M. dying to play. At first I was discouraged because the game, which was the most preordered of all time, had mil-lions of people trying to log on at once. Time after time I kept get-ting the dreaded “Error 37” which meant that the servers were busy and I would have to wait to log on. But after waiting for another hour I was finally able to log in and create my first character. I was hooked instantly upon play-ing and continue to be hooked. I play with a constant smile on my face because this game is by far the greatest thing my eyes have ever seen. My keyboard and my mouse have become my best friends. But have no fear, I am not really alone. “It is like playing heaven and I’m God,” said junior

Cameron Hadeed. “I now give up all social gatherings to kill some monsters and collect some loot.” To add to an already depress-ing interview, junior Evan Francis noted, “I haven’t talked to a fe-male in weeks, but it’s okay, there are still monsters to kill and gold to acquire.” As of now, my own daily routine consists of waking up exhausted after playing past mid-night and walking through school zombified, then getting home to play with my companions-in-arms again. I spend the next few hours picking up loot and gold and killing bosses. “It is dinner time, honey, come and get some food!” my mom says in a futile attempt to get me out of my room. Of course, she fails. I continue clicking around on screen while eating hot pockets and cookies. My daily outfit consists of boxers, a Maryland Terrapins Snuggie, and potato chip crumbs covering everything on me. I am in des-perate need of a new chair with better back support and more cushions because my body can’t take much more of this. My eyes are constantly burning red, and I have lost all vision farther than the length between my head and the computer screen. So to my lovely Sherwood High School, I will be that guy with a scraggly beard talking to himself in the corner of your math room. I will be that kid that casts a spell at you when you cut me off in the halls. Do not try to ap-proach me. I am potentially dan-gerous in my fragile “Diablo III” mental state.

rience is slim, she still has many qualifications. For example, she overcame the failure of her first marriage and managed to stay married to the same man, bas-ketball star Kris Humphries, for a whole 72 days! If she can do that, imagine the commitment she will show towards her political responsibilities. If Kardashian gets elected ... no, when Kardashian gets elect-ed, she will propel the city of Glendale into a bright future. I’m sure the Glendale citizens will be grateful for the fashion, makeup and primping techniques she has to offer to help boost city morale. Let’s just pray Kanye will let her finish her inaugural speech.

to New Orleans football champ Reggie Bush. With so many men to keep track of, Kardashian has proven herself a capable multi-tasker, an extremely beneficial at-tribute in the world of politics. When it comes to Kim Kar-dashian, you can definitely say she does things 100 percent, no questions asked. Like when she was asked to do Playboy, she was quoted saying how proud she is of herself for bearing all. She didn’t even need to make those special little “home videos” anymore be-cause she was getting paid to take of her clothes publicly. Talk about branching out and expanding in business. Although her political expe-

Kardashian May Run for Mayor?Kim Kardashian plans to run for City Councilwoman of Glendale, CA, in 2017.

Kardashian caught off guard by paparazzi before announcing her candidacy for City Councilwoman of Glendale, California.

cartoon by Andi Hopkins ‘14

Page 11: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•HumorJune 5, 2012 11

Toilets, Tiles and Troubles

“I think the team will benefit greatly from this new addition” said swim coach and engineering teacher Brendan Lees. “And now we can start a Water Polo team!” The new pool will offer many fantastic opportunities and new class options for students for the second semester of the 2012-2013 school year, when the pool is expected to be fully ready for operation. Some of these new classes include Swimming, Syn-chronized Swimming, Water Polo, Diving, and Lifeguarding and Pool Safety. Potentially, this pool could save lives. The pool will create a new medium of learning, though some of the graduated seniors were not happy about missing their chance to see the new pool on the third floor, also known as the roof, of the building. “I didn’t know Sherwood even had a third floor. The school has a third floor?” asked gradu-ated senior Will Drozdoski before construction began. “It kind of frustrates me that it took so long [to get one].” Other students cannot keep their excitement at a minimum.

Sometimes the stress of hav-ing to wait for a summer swim-ming pool is just too long and inconvenient. Finally, there is a solution that applies exclusively to Sherwood staff and students. The long-time myth of the swim-ming pool on the third floor of the school is finally coming to frui-tion. In mid-April 2012, school ad-ministrators and MCPS officials agreed to begin construction and installation of the new swimming pool June 8 during final exams. This means that while students are taking their tests, some can simply look out the window to see workers slaving away with their thunderously loud machinery on the rooftop as they begin excava-tion to create the new pool. The new pool will come equipped with two one-meter diving boards and one three-meter diving board along with six swimming lanes for the swim and dive practices. No longer will the Swim and Dive Team have to travel to the Olney Indoor Swim Center at 5 am every week.

Swimming Pool Construction Beginsby Connor Martin ‘13 “I would like to pick up on

some swimming lessons. And since I’m a lifeguard, maybe I’ll get a job,” said sophomore Taylor Serafenas. “I’ll teach everyone aerobics classes,” added her friend, sopho-more Nicole Walsh. The new pool will attract a lot of new attention to the school, and plans are already forming to create a great ambience around the pool area. As a source of rev-enue, the school administration is looking into making the pool ac-cessible to the public starting next summer. There is a question about ar-chitectural stability of the school. Administrators did the research and determined that the pool will be safe for everyone to use while classes still go on underneath the pool. The safety will depend on the construction of the pool and whether or not it is done correctly. “If they go too far into the third floor [with the pool], they might break through the roof of the second floor. If the pool leaked, everyone in the second floor would get cooled off,” stat-ed Serafenas.

by Cal Wilson ‘14

When I was born, my parents painted my nursery blue. Even in elementary school, the bath-rooms’ tiles were colored blue and pink to help display which bathroom is for which gender. In Sherwood, however, the boys’ bathroom is colored a pinkish-or-ange and the girls’ is green. What kind of sick joke is this to trick high school students into walking in the wrong bathroom? Countless freshmen have fallen victim to this cruel trap. A freshman, with his bladder full, rushes into the green bathroom in the C hall that he believes to be

by Melissa Fajardo ‘13

the little boys’ room, but quickly retreats after noticing the ab-sence of urinals or the smell of pee. Imagine the embarrassment of being caught in the wrong bathroom. The poor freshman is scarred for life all because of the oddly tiled facilities. The tiles should convey to the user which bathroom is for which gender, not attract the wrong person like a moth to a bug lamp. (I am sure false advertising is illegal.) Some of the bathrooms are even missing their signs, so the only differentiation between the two lavatories is the tile color. The only way to find out which bathroom is which, besides ven-

Building Service workers Jose Guevara and Jack Huynh survey the roof top where construction for the third floor pool is expected to begin June 8.

turing into the unknown yourself, is to wait for someone to exit. After about a year, the colors are such a commonly seen abnor-mality that they do not have much of an effect anymore. The pos-sibility of stepping into the girls’ bathroom still distracts me and I always triple check that I am go-ing into the correct one. Besides, do girls really want to see what goes on within the walls of the boys’ bathroom? Trust me, you don’t. All my life I have trusted re-strooms to give me a safe haven to carry out my duties, but thanks to the facilities of Sherwood, my trust has been betrayed.

Cal Wilson ‘14

Taking a screen shot of the angry song

you’re listening to won’t make us feel

bad for you.

Classic beautiful sunset picture.

Please don’t tag us in this on

Facebook!

I hope people stared at you when you took your camera out at

Chipotle.

Oh, you took a cool picture with the Instagram app? You must be such a highly skilled photographer.

Arranging the cups in a diagonal line was

super artsy of you.

Page 12: June Issue 2012

The Olympics have been an unofficial emblem for interna-tional unity and a symbol of global citizens going above and beyond since the Games beginnings. Notable events include North and South Korea’s cooperative march at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy easing decades of dispute between the nations at a crossroads for international sportsmanship, and the incredi-ble triumphs of African-Amer- ican track and field athlete, Jesse Owens, who defeated German athletes seeded to dominate the 1936 Olympic Games hosted in Nazi-run Berlin, proving to the world that color lies dormant when it comes to the internationally shared re-spect of sporting. Despite the historical and moral value of the games, there are some who do not watch the games. It is understandable that during the summer, people have

other commitments, like family and summer programs, but since one billion people, fifteen-percent of the world’s population, tuned into the 2008 Opening Ceremonies at the Olympic Games in Beijing alone, it would appear that people really do tend to put this international competition over their own plans; or at least some of the Olympics. Social Stud- ies teacher Michelle Games said that she has lost track of the games since she began traveling frequently during the summer. “I like some of the events, and if I turn the TV on and see them I might watch some–like gymnastics, or hurdles. Or if my boyfriend is over I might watch something with him; since he is a great athlete himself, he likes to watch the Olympics,” said Games.International travels shouldn’t seem to hinder an Olympic fanatic, though, as the British Broadcasting Company stated that nearly five million British viewers alone tuned into the 2008 Opening Ceremonies regardless of the fact that they were being broadcast in the middle of the day. Ignoring the great record of viewers for the Beijing Games and looking at the two previous summers, Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004, it is astounding to see that the games racked up a total of 3.6 billion and 3.9 billion viewers respectively. This means that in 2000, since the world’s population hovered around 6 bil- lion citizens, over half of the world watched the games at some point or another. This is not surprising, as most students interviewed by The Warrior reported that they watch part of the Games. One rare War-rior responded, “The Olympics demonstrates national pride. You can guarantee that I will be watching the games every day!” “I love seeing all of the different styles of competition. I like sports too, and competition makes watching worth the while,” said Bhakti Patel (’14). Viewers’ taste in Olympic sports ranges greatly, but the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) reported that the most watched sporting event has been volleyball, the fast paced event finding men and women battling it out in the sand in couples, and on the court in teams. Numerous Sherwood students reported that watching Volleyball is an exception to not watching the games. This can be attributed to the stellar performances by Americans Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh who defeated team China in a storybook finish in the rain in 2008. They will be going for the record of being the first-ever pair to win gold in beach volleyball for three years in a row. Another event that gained exceptional viewership has been men’s and women’s Swimming thanks to American athlete Michael Phelps. “I don’t watch any Olympic games except for Michael Phelps’ swims,” says senior Rikki Sargent.

1

23

1. Michael Phelps – SwimmingPhelps recently announced that his appearance in London will be his third and final time participating in the Olympics. After competing in two Olym-pics, Phelps had a total of 16 medals to his name, 14 of them gold. Phelps’ swimming events in the last Olympics were filled with much excitement and many victories. In a recent interview with The Huffington Post, Phelps revealed that he doesn’t feel as prepared as he wants to be and is searching for the passion that will enhance his performance. He wants to be satisfied with himself at the end of his career and wants the world to see that he still has it.

2. Usain Bolt- TrackJamaica’s pride and joy, Usain Bolt returns to the games as the world’s fast-est man after setting the 200m world record in Beijing. He was 13 years old when Puma sponsored him after watching him run at a local school competition. At the age of 25 he is the third most googled sportsperson in the world behind Tiger Woods and David Beckham. Bolt’s performance in his training has stirred some concern as he ran his slowest time ever in the Czech Republic on May 18. The world will wait to see if Bolt will execute his races to his full potential in London and break more world records even after this training hiccup.

3. Shawn Johnson- GymnasticsAmerica’s sweetheart was expected to sweep the competition in London, until she tore her ACL during a ski trip with her friends in 2010. She con-tinues to train hard, even with her injury, and is hoping to outshine younger gymnasts who are itching to make names for themselves. Johnson won a gold medal and three silvers in Beijing and is eager to make her second and final Olympic appearance in London a memorable one. After retiring, she hopes to go to college at Stanford.

4. Jen Kessy and April Ross – Beach VolleyballThese American breakout stars won the 2009 Beach Volleyball World Championship and are ready to challenge the Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh duo that have previously dominated beach volleyball.

5. Qiu Bo – DivingThis 2011 FINA Male Diver of the Year is expected to bring home the gold for China. At age 19, he won two gold medals at the 2011 World Champi-onships in the 10-meter platform and the 10-meter synchronized platform. The diving world will watch as Bo is matched up against Brit favorite Tom Daly, who won silver in Beijing at just 14 years old. Bo, however, is expected to obliterate all competition.

Top 5 People to Watchby Melissa Fajardo ‘13

1312

2012 Olympic Games

The Warrior Welcomes Youto the

Understanding the Olympics with Michael Natelli ‘14 Mascots: Animal mascots of the host country have been a custom of the Olympic games since the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. The first significant attention drawn to the mascots was in the 1980 Summer games in Moscow, when the Soviet Union used the Russian bear (Misha). These mas-cots have become a huge marketing tool, but were originally a symbol of the home country’s customs. This summer’s Olympic mascots will be the Wenlock and the Manedville, two one-eyed, imaginary creatures created by the IOC to attract a younger audience.

Whenever the Olympics come around, a common debate almost always shows up in conversation: should professional athletes get to play in the games? They haven’t always gotten to play in the Olympics. Two years before the 1988 games, the Interna-tional Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to make all professional athletes eligible to compete for their country. Before then, only amateur athletes, such as collegiate athletes, were allowed to represent their countries by competing. The famous 1980 “Miracle on Ice” U.S. hockey team was composed solely of amateur players, which made the defeat of the Soviet Union all the more amazing. The reasoning behind the IOC’s decision to allow pros is simple; they’re athletes, they play the sport professionally, so why not let them play? Yes, some players even leave their league during the regular season and playoffs to play in the games, which is disappointing to some of the fans of the league. If Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals left his team when they needed him down the road, or if Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz left the Red Sox to play in the Olympics, I know I’d be upset. However, their decision to play in said games would be for very valid reasons: to, well, play for their country. So if an athlete does leave their league to join the Olympics, don’t think of it as a sign of disrespect; more so pride for their country. Since I’ve watched the Olympics, I would imagine having professional athletes in them would be more competitive rather than watching amateur athletes. I mean, they’re the best at what they do, they get paid millions of dollars for it. That’s basically the whole argument in a nutshell, both for and against pro athletes in the games.

Why Pros Should Get to Playby Matt Diogo ‘14

Understanding the OlympicsThe Rings: First designed in 1921 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the five rings on the primary Olym-pics logo were believed to signify the five conti-nents that partook in the games – Africa, America (North and South considered as one), Asia, Eu-rope, and Australia. However, this theory was dis-missed by the IOC in 1951, citing that there was no evidence that Coubertin had intended this. The rings were first used in the build-up prior to the 1936 games in Berlin, Germany, and now simply represent how the whole world comes together to partake in the games.

London

Understanding the Olympics The Torch Relay: The tradition of a relay team carrying the Olympic Torch from Greece to the stadium in which the Opening Ceremonies occur began the same year as the use of the Olympic Rings: 1936, in Berlin. Prior to its journey, the torch is lit via the rays of the sun, using a parabolic refractor to focus the energy, in Olympia, Greece, the site of the ancient Olympics. The glowing of the fire at the venue is a symbol of the games going on, while the extinguishing of the flame symbolizes their end.

How many hours of the Summer Olympics doyou think you will watch total?

*Survey of 84 students

None40%

20+ 16-20

11-15

6-1011%

1-5 25%

6%

8%

10%

Students Portion Olympics

Understanding the OlympicsThe Motto: The primary Olympic motto, “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” was first proposed by the founder of the modern Olympic games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, in 1894 at the formation of the International Olympic Com-mittee (IOC). The three-word Latin phrase stands for “Faster, Higher, Stronger.” The motto was formally introduced 30 years later in the 1924 Olympic Games.

by Evan Schwartz ‘13

Page 13: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•OpinionsJune 5, 201214

IN OURopinion...

As students depart to go their separate ways this summer, they have a job. High school students are virtually required by MCPS to start looking at colleges. While not for a grade, the assignment to “look at colleges” is something students start to hear as early as their first year of high school. A number of students, however, do not want to go straight to a four-year college to continue their academic studies. Some may be better starting work right away after graduation. Some may want to apprentice to learn a trade. Others may want a year off after 13 consecutive years of schooling. And, truth be told, there are some students who have long hated school and see it as a prison sentence rather than an opportunity. But school systems don’t seem to have figured that out yet. The MCPS mantra “Suc-cess for All” implicitly has become a code for “College for All.” Robert J. Samuelson addressed this one-size-fits-all approach in a recent edito-rial in The Washington Post while criticizing the college-driven attitude that schools have developed since the mid-twentieth century. As Samuelson forcefully contends, “the primacy of the college-prep track marginalizes millions of students for whom it’s disconnected from ‘real life’ and unrelated to their needs.” This marginalization of a portion of the student body is present here within the walls of Sherwood. One of the most obvious pushes is that Sherwood, with the blessing of MCPS, has been reducing offerings of on-level courses while at the same time steering more and more students, and earlier and earlier in high school, into AP classes. The aim is to make students “college ready” as part of MCPS’ highly publicized pathway to in-crease students’ chances of being successful in college. Such a goal is commendable, given that the think-tank Education Sector just recently found that nearly 30 percent of college students who took out loans dropped out of school. As MCPS notes in its own promotional materials for its Seven Keys to College Readiness, one in three students

at four-year colleges take at least one remedial class. No one reasonably would argue with the contention that students who go to col-lege should have the skills and knowledge to be successful there, but MCPS has put the cart before the horse and assumes that every one of its students should go to col-lege. The message those students and their parents receive as early as elementary school is that students who do not end up in college have come up short in their edu-cation. Such a mindset of maximizing the number of students who take AP/IB classes and score high on the SAT or ACT might help MCPS with its preoccupation to tout its status as one of the very best public school systems in the country, but it doesn’t serve a sizeable group of students at Sherwood and other MCPS high schools. The consequence of such a myopic focus on college is that high schools like Sher-wood do not have enough supports and programs for those students who would benefit from an alternative path such as vocational training. Such students often have to look into possibilities other than college on their own time; as a result, many of them are directionless when they graduate from Sherwood. The fixation with getting a college degree short-changes other viable options for young people. As Samuelson points out in his editorial, 69 percent of jobs in America do not even require a post-high school degree. These are the factory workers, the janitors, the salesmen. They are all necessary to our society—we could not function without them—and it is plain stupid to put such workers through a four-year delay that results in years of debt. Schools still can help students get ready for life without pushing them to go to college. The first step is to acknowledge that college is not meant for everyone. The second step is to invest more into courses, special programs and staffing that will pro-vide supports and even inspiration for students to find the future that is right for them.

Use the Ertzman To Prepare Students for College

Executive Editor .............................................

PrintManaging Editors ....................................... News Editors ....................................................

BSW Editor ........................................................ Vicky Florian ‘14Features Editors ................................................. Mary Macrae ‘14 Humor Editors .................................................. Cal Wilson ‘14Spotlight Editor ........................................... Opinions Editors ............................................ Wondering Warrior Editor................................... Jenni Kenel ‘14Entertainment Editors ............................ Sports Editors .................................................

OnlineManaging Editor ............................................. Page Editors ...................................................... Brendan Cudd ‘14

Content and CopyManaging Content Director ................................. Content and Copy Editors ........................

Managing Photographers .................................. Taylor Fernandes ‘14

Pollster ........................................................ Katie Mercogliano ‘14

Business Director .................................

Advisor .......................................................................... Peter Huck

Warriorthe

StaffDiana McDermott ‘13

Jessica Carrera ‘13

Mandy Stussman ‘14

Andrew Wasik ‘13

Melissa Fajardo ‘13

Connor Martin ‘13

Sydney Morrison ‘13

Whitney Marie Halaby ‘14

Maria Claudia Garcia-Rada ‘13Jamie Langbein ‘13

Joey Lavoie ‘14

Michael Natelli ‘14

Shaan Verma ‘13

Alex Porter ‘13Briana Applewhite ‘13

Steffi Carrera ‘14 Alyssa Miller ‘13

Nick Mourtoupalas ‘13 Evan Schwartz ‘13

Michaela O’Donnell ‘13

Whitney Marie Halaby ‘14

Leah Schroeder ‘13

College Is Not the Only Pathway to Success

The jump from high school to college is drastic. For many stu-dents, adapting to such changes so late in one’s learning career can be rather difficult. Count-less juniors and seniors eager to advance to college would gladly embrace an early taste of the teaching styles and class environ-ments seen in large university lec-ture halls. The most significant dif-ference between lecture halls and high school classrooms is the amount of standardization throughout the class, in that all students get the same treatment and opportunities. Students are given much more responsibility to prioritize their energy and time expenditure in and out of class. The Ertzman Theater pres-ents an incredible opportunity for college-bound students to adjust to lecture hall learning environ-ments early to make their future transition a walk in the park. Teachers of the same cours-es, particularly AP classes, could take this opportunity to co-teach or bring in guest speakers and instructors. Teaching multiple classes at once would increase class size dramatically, possibly making the learning experience more challenging, but important-ly, more realistic to college. Addi-tionally, guest speakers represent instructors that students have no familiarity with, as if it were their first day during their freshman year of college. High school students have

level learning system is not about to change, so students have to. College freshman are bound to see students on laptops dur-ing class, feel the intimidation of asking questions in front of many people, and have trouble staying awake to begin with. Aside from its adversities, lecture-hall teaching shows stu-dents how to be better listeners and note-takers not only in class, but in their careers beyond col-lege. Furthermore, the increased student to teacher ratio in lecture halls creates an impersonal at-mosphere that portrays the adult world. This could be the next big step for many college-bound stu-dents, and resisting change can only hurt them in the future.

by Nick Mourtoupalas ‘13

Bridget Cook ‘14

Robel Wondimu ‘13

become accustomed to mindless-ly copying words displayed on the board into their notebooks verba-tim without processing the actual information. College freshman are unpleasantly surprised when their first semester professors be-gin their lesson with straight lec-ture, forcing them to completely change the way they take notes. No board, no questions, but only listening. It is this kind of shock that can be avoided if high school students are exposed to more challenging learning environments early. The disadvantages of lecture halls, such as minimal interaction and ease of distraction, force students to expect these learning obstacles on a regular basis; the college-

Sherwood students attending college will encounter classes in giant lec-ture halls.

Page 14: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•OpinionsJune 5, 2012 15

The Left Belongs in Politics

In recent years, the political left has become further and fur-ther removed from mainstream debate. The Democratic Party is increasingly distancing itself from being seen as “liberal,” and the right continues to bat-ter progressives with charges of anti-Americanism. This not only diminishes the breadth of conver-sation on public issues, it discards the opinions of many Americans by branding them traitors and scaring them out of society. Many forget that some of America’s greatest times were under liberal policies that would be demonized today. In the 1950s, the “good old days” according to many conservatives, the wealthi-est in the country paid tax rates up to 90 percent, and strong unions built today’s middle class. What would be called government handouts today provided un-imagined opportunities for a gen-eration, like a college education from the G.I. Bill for the vast seg-ment of the population who were drafted veterans and their fami-lies. America became what it is today because of big government building it, and now these chanc-

es are being taken away in efforts to change the government from a device by and for its people into a partner for large businesses and corporations. Fortunately, there is some-thing we can do as progressives to make a difference, and it starts with integrating ourselves back into politics instead of being content with bitterly watching from the outside. As the status of the left as a political bystand-er has cemented itself, many of our representatives have actu-ally become extremists. Belief in a strong federal government actively helping society has now become associated with conspira-cy theorists and extremists thanks to some of the more popular left-wing media online. “The Young Turks,” the internet’s largest news program, which has played a ma-jor role in bringing the left back into relevance, has unfortunately associated itself with networks like “Russia Today,” a borderline propaganda network designed to create anti-American sentiment domestically. We need to rid our-selves of these connections, and participate more in politics in-stead of just being mad at what happens. Fortunately, groups like Change.org and MoveOn are suc-ceeding in bringing the left back to the fight. Liberalism isn’t about hating America; it’s about making the nation the best it can be. We don’t want to destroy business or soci-ety; we want just laws and decent standards of living for all Ameri-cans. While it might not be every-one’s choice of how to improve things, liberalism should not be discredited as the ramblings of a few hippies. If it was treated fairly, more people would real-ize that these crazy leftists have something to say after all.

by Alex Porter ‘13

On May 9, Barack Obama became the first president to support gay marriage. This came af-ter Vice President Joe Biden did the same earlier in the week. Many have criticized President Obama since this announcement, claiming that he is pandering for votes before the election when he could have supported it before if he really cared. But announcing this leading up to the election may be the more daring method. These critics say that President Obama is desperate for votes, when this carried the risk of losing voters like those who decided to ban gay marriage in North Carolina at the same time, more than winning any over. Obama already had the support of most of the gay community, and the Republicans were not fighting for it, so this move didn’t gain him anything he didn’t already have. Obama made the right move, for himself and for history, and will be vindicated by our poster-ity when they look back on the time when who someone loved made them a second-class citizen.

I think one of the main reasons students feel the intense need to get the heck out of school in the later days of May and sometimes even April is not because of the early mornings, the workload (probably anything but the workload) or the long hours of classes; it is because no one in the building seems to want to be there. During the post-AP exam period, not only are the seniors slowly but surely disappearing from the classrooms and hallways, but the teachers and their efforts are too. One of my teachers, who will remain anonymous, took all three HSA days off from school. Three of my other teachers were also absent on one of those days. Now there may be some actual legitimate reasons for their absences, but is it really fair to the students that the teachers don’t even show up just because there’s nothing left to teach? On yearbook day, in all seven of my classes, everyone sat down and read the yearbook. What did the teachers do? Sit around or read the yearbook. I didn’t learn a single thing that day. Then the next school day, at least three of my classes were “study periods,” to put it nicely. When I don’t like getting up early to go to school when I am learning things, how am I supposed to feel when I have to get up to spend seven hours at a desk doing nothing?

Florida A&M University has sparked controversy recently with thousands of court documents being released detailing the brutal killing of Robert Champion during his hazing period in the FAMU marching band. During his final “initiation” task, Champion agreed to enter Bus C in an Orlando parking lot and was pummeled by drumsticks, bass drum mallets, straps, fists an even an orange cone, while he focused on making it to the other side of the bus. Champion was a part of a common tradition in the FAMU marching band, and it’s commonly called “Crossing Bus C,” where students must reach the end of the bus in order to complete the hazing process. After reaching the back of the bus, Champion collapsed and died shortly after due to hemorrhagic shock caused by blunt-force trauma. Cases like this happen often around the country, and hazing has gotten out of control. It should be stopped immediately in every uni-versity across the country, a ban enforced by students, staff and administration alike. It may seem like a tradition and part of the “college experience,” but when a person’s life is cut short over a silly “tradition,” the real outcome should be the outlawing of hazing once and for all.

TO THE

POINT

Now, What’s the capital of Ukraine?

Kiev!

The online war game I found on the internet! I was talking to Sniper-Man267, and he told me in order to level-up, I have to go to Ukraine’s

capital, Kiev!

Correct. Now, where did you

learn that?

Cartoon by Andi Hopkins ‘14

Obama’s Support of Gay Marriage Not for Votesby Alex Porter ‘13

Get Me Out of Hereby Connor Martin ‘13

Hazing Leads to a Deadly Outcomeby Briana Applewhite ‘13

Bridget Cook ‘14

Page 15: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•OpinionsJune 5, 201216

We Are The Multi-tasking Generation Every generation has a bone to pick with another. We blame our parents for the current eco-nomic crisis, and I’m sure they had a lot to say about their par-ents and how they messed up their lives. No doubt we as a gen-eration, at one point or another, will collectively do something for which we deserve our fair share of blame. But honestly guys, we just aren’t who they think we are. Our generation, born from

1990-2010, has been character-ized as Generation Z. The emerg-ing profile of our generation, according to pundits and academ-ics, is that we’re lazy. The gen-eration of TV addicts, Facebook hogs, Twitter freaks and blogging nerds. Adults accuse us of spend-ing hours wasting our time surf-ing stupid websites and playing pointless games. Well, they’re wrong. We’re the generation of multi-taskers, of competitors, of hard workers. We’re the all-night-

ers, the top athletes, the kids who get 2300s on their SATs and then retake them because the scores aren’t high enough. We aren’t lazy. We just go our separate ways earlier. There are the star athletes who spend all days outside train-ing, running, sprinting for what they hope to be. Many of these athletes end up being on the All -Gazzete All-Met teams. And just because they are athletes doesn’t mean they give up the scholarly aspects of their lives either. Many

by Jamie Langbein ‘13 of the top athletes are also top stu-dents, taking AP classes, scoring high on SATs and just succeeding at what they do in both areas of their lives. And of course, there are those that don’t excel on the field but are still stellar students. They spend a lot of time in front of the computer doing homework, go-ing above and beyond what teach-ers ask for. This, for the record, is really impressive because it is al-most impossible to please teach-ers these days. Plenty of students

do really well in school because they actually enjoy learning. So what? We’re growing up different. It’s not a bad thing. We are the age of mini geniuses. In December of 2011, a 17-year-old girl from California invented a nanoparticle that destroys cancer cells. That requires time spent not playing sports or socializing, which many adults criticize our generation for not doing. We’re different from previous genera-tions. But that doesn’t mean we are better or worse for it.

While it is true that students shouldn’t be babied, they do have different sleep cycles from adults, as stated previously. Teenagers are not the same as adults and schools should recognize this fact and act accordingly. It is unhealthy and unproductive to force students to work on so few hours of sleep. Schools should be looking out for stu-dents’ best interests rather than forcing them into unhealthy life choices.

Schools are trying to help students to the best of their abilities. However, it is not always possible. If high schools start later elementary and middle schools will have to change the times they start and end as well. Another reason high school ends so early is to allow for high school students to pick up and take care of younger students. Therefore, parents would have to find a way for their younger child to avoid being home alone. Parents may have to change their jobs.

Schools provide day care programs for students who cannot be home alone. Babysit-ters are also available, and do not cost much more than hiring a student; often, older siblings insist on some form of payment for watching their younger siblings anyway. Babysitters are often more responsible than older siblings forced into the job. Elemen-tary schools starting earlier does not pose a problem for waking younger kids either, as many are already awake at this time. Younger children have different sleep cycles than teenagers, which allows the former to wake up earlier much easier than the latter. If elementary schools start earlier, the parents may still be home before work to walk their kids to school and high schoolers can transport themselves.

Not everyone has enough money to provide babysitters or pay for day care. Changing start times would also mean the school has to pay more money to change bus schedules, teacher hours, and after-school activity hours. With the state of the economy, it is too expensive to apply these costly changes.

Pro (Miller): We should push back start times because studies have shown that students who get more sleep get better grades. Students perform at a grade level up to three times higher when they get the recommended levels of sleep. It’s difficult for students to get sleep when they are up past midnight doing homework and then waking up before the sunrise to go to school.

Con (Garcia-Rada): Although it may seem like students would be getting more sleep, they wouldn’t. Students might get a chance to sleep in later, but they will need to stay up longer because of after school activities or simply because they would get home later. Some students would have to stay at school until as late as seven, which would mean they would have to start their homework even later than usual.

How much a student sleeps depends on their ability to plan. Students need to learn how to manage their time well. The reason many students go to bed so late is because they pro-crastinate so much; they have to rush to finish homework and studying. By changing the school starting time, students are being babied. School starting so early prepares students for jobs. No job is going to change their starting time because someone needs more sleep.

Even if students have to stay up a little later to do their work, it would still be easier for them to get up and do their work. Teenagers have different sleep cycles from younger kids and adults; teens’ brains don’t start producing the sleep hormone melatonin un-til an hour later than other age demographics’ brains, and they keep producing the hormone an hour later. Students currently are woken up in the middle of their sleep cycles and forced to go to school when their bodies are still being told to sleep. If start times are pushed back, students can sleep when their bodies want to, and will feel better rested throughout the day, making homework easier to finish more quickly.

While it may be costly to change the school opening times, this will pay off in the long run because students and teachers will get more rest and will perform better. Schools with higher achieving students are often eligible for grants. It is worth the extra money to provide a healthier learning environment that is more conducive to education and is much kinder to students both in the short-term and long-term.

The school environment is fine as it is now. High schools have been starting this early for so long that changing the start time is simply going to change tradition. Schools are fine as they are now.

There’s nothing wrong with changing tradition. Change is good and this change has been a long time coming. After carefully considering the pros and cons of changing start times, I still firmly believe that the benefits far outweigh the negatives in terms of making school times later.

In April, the Fairfax County school board voted 10-2 in favor of further considering the idea of pushing high school start times to after 8 a.m. Two Warrior staff members argued over the impact changing start times would have on the budget, students, parents

and teachers in the community if such a change ever happened in MCPS.

The Debate:School Start Times

by Alyssa Miller ‘13 and Maria Claudia Garcia-Rada ’13

As the wise Ben Franklin said, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Students need to realize the benefits of waking up earlier. Students need to have all the qualities Franklin said in order to be successful in life. Though it may be a struggle to wake up early, students should take advantage of the opportunity to greet the day and have more time to accomplish more.

Page 16: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•Wondering WarriorJune 5, 201217

What is your favorite place to go to the beach?

What will you do with your papers after school ends?

What is your favorite thing to do at an amusement park?

What is your favorite community pool?

What is your average summer wake up

time?

“I will burn them in a giant incinerator

and dance around them.”-Ankur Kayastha ‘15

“I’m going to save them and use

them when I need to.”-Maria Gomez ‘13

“Burn them ... One by one.”-McKayla Joaquim ‘14

“Throw them in traffic.”-Koby Tomasson ‘14

“Rehobeth Beach because it’s a happy place.” -Chloe Wilson ‘14

“Old Orchard Beach because the water is freezing and the sand is hot.”

-Robyn Dudrick ‘15

“Cape May. It is a cute beach town with just enough people.”

-Erin Ryan ‘14

“To play the game where you pick up a duck and it has a number and you win a prize; that’s the best.”

-Alex Errera ‘15

“I love the rollercoasters, because they give you such a rush.”

-Bekele Frehiwot ‘14

27% Tanterra Pool19% Norbeck

9% Lake Hallowell

29% Olney Mill

8% Hallowell 4% Norbeck Hills

4% Manor Oaks

*84 students surveyed compiled by Katie Mercogliano

SUMMER7a.m. - 11 a.m.11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

40% 55%

3 p.m. - 6 p.m.1%

Before Dawn4%

Page 17: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•EntertainmentJune 5, 201218

The Warrior Game Corner

The Do’s and Don’ts of Summer Fashion

by Briana Applewhite ‘13

See answers online at thewarrioronline.com Drawings by Andi Hopkins ‘14

Can you spot the 10 differences between the two pictures?

Summertime is almost here and with the new season comes a brand new summer wardrobe. Some peo-ple become edgier with their clothing options, while others fall in a rut with the basics. Here is a guide to

achieving the perfect summer look with a list of do’s and don’ts for the proper summer style.

Do’s Dont’s Try bright colors and new patterns: Summer is a great time to try a bolder wardrobe, and this includes jazzing up your closet with funky neons and experi-menting with fun patterns.

Dress for your body type: Summer is a great time to shed some of the heavy clothing that winter requires, but some people overdo it wearing next to nothing. Don’t dress in something just because it’s “in” because it might not flatter your body type. Try adapting that “in” trend into something that works for your body.

Accessorize: There’s nothing like a nice necklace, pair of earrings and a bracelet to brighten up an outfit. Pay special at-tention to the color, texture and feel of your outfit. Any accessories you choose should match accordingly. This will turn your outfit into a look.

Pants: Guys, don’t resist the tempta-tion of wearing capri pants this summer. They can be extremely stylish if matched appropriately, but they’re not meant for everyone. If you think you can pull it off, then go right ahead. Girls, don’t be afraid to try a pair of cropped jeans as well. No, they are not “highwaters.” Paired with a simple pair of heels or a cute pair of san-dals would be perfect for the summer heat.

Last but not least: Sunscreen! Sun-screen! Sunscreen! Protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays. You don’t want to chance looking like a leather purse later on in life.

Socks with Sandals: It’s just not ac-ceptable.

Flip Flops: These shoes will be the bane of my existence, I swear. No one wants to hear you “flip- flopping” down the hallway. Girls shouldn’t wear them and boys should just eject these mon-strosities right into the trash can be-cause they have no place in a function-ing, non-tool society.

Uggs: Shorts and Uggs are terrible. Whoever thought it was a good idea to wear sheep-skin boots in 90 degree weather should shoot themselves (not literally). They shouldn’t even be worn in the winter let alone the summer. Un-less you are an Eskimo in the middle of an Alaskan dog-sledding race, please re-tire these shoes.

Wife Beaters: Guys, no one wants to see your sleeve tribal tattoo, and ladies, showing your bra-straps is not cute. Go with a simple tank top for proper summer attire.

Leave something for the imagi-nation: Nothing says you’re easy more than a Band-Aid wrapped around your waist that you claim is a skirt. If you bend over and about three inches of your underwear show, DON’T WEAR IT!

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The Warrior•EntertainmentJune 5, 2012 19

Boy Bands Never Fail To Sweep Pre-Teen Girls off Their Feetby Maria Claudia Garcia-Rada ‘13

by Sydney Morrison ‘13

As an avid reader, I always have mixed emotions when I hear my favorite novels are be-ing put on the big screen. Mov-ies are only so long; they can’t possibly capture every aspect of a written book in less than three short hours. But sometimes, with a good director and an awesome cast, the film industry can pull it off, including many of the “Harry Potter” films and “The Note-book.” Turning bestsellers into T.V. shows, however, is another story. While it’s difficult to cut out parts of a novel when making a movie, it’s nearly impossible to stretch out all the details enough to get a decent multi-season tele-vision show. A plot can only drag on for so long. So, our dear tele-vision producers have come up with brilliant idea. They don’t follow the same plot line written by the author, but take the idea, write a new storyline, throw in some new characters and give it the same title. Like I said, bril-liant, right? Wrong. Too many of my favorite series have been torn apart by the insane directors and producers who can’t come up with their own ideas. Half the characters in ABC Family’s “Pretty Little Liars,” novels originally written by Sara Shepard, were not in the books, and the other half were supposed to die. And did I say that this show is aired on ABC Family? Key word being, Family. A series surrounding a murder investiga-tion and creepy weirdo stalkers should not be featured on ABC Family. Which leads me to men-tion how much of the murder and stalker-ing was actually removed from the story before being put on television. What nice editing they did, cutting out half the plot.

If you’ve ever picked up “The Vampire Diaries,” by L.J. Smith, who is such a talented author if I may add, you’ll know that the series is addictive, sexy and very very scary. So a few years later when I heard they were turning it into a television series my heart, of course, just fluttered with joy. Sarcasm. Between maybe the first and third episode of the show I knew it was doomed. That “sexy” aspect of the novel was played up to the extreme (because that’s where the big money is nowadays right?), and the scary plotline was replaced with a much different, less than riveting one. Perhaps I had too much hope, thinking that among the 11 directors and 27 producers one of them might just say, “Hey, this is actually a really good book series, why don’t we just follow the storyline on this one?” But no, they had to make themselves look creative and hire 20 writers to re-write the story that was already written for them perfectly. Good idea guys, good idea. While both television shows and movies have trouble captur-ing all aspects of well-written novels, television companies nev-er ever seem to get it right. They steal the plot and call it their own, destroying the series in the pro-cess. Writers and directors should stay away from books as the in-spiration for new T.V. shows and come up with something of their own.

Ballistic girls chasing The New Kids on the Blocks’ car. Teens freaking out when the Backstreet Boys come on the radio. Girls jamming out to The Jackson 5 songs. Teens camping out to get One Direction con-cert tickets. Yeah, that’s what boy bands do to girls. It’s like they have this amazing ability to instantly capture the hearts of millions of girls who have never even met them. They somehow make their way into countless teenage girls’ bedrooms in the form of posters and life-size cardboard models. Crazy, right? My love for boy bands start-ed in elementary school when al-most every girl was crazy about The Backstreet Boys. Singing along to the song “I Want It That Way” is a major memory from my childhood. Boy bands were also a part of

our lives in middle school, when almost every girl had pictures and posters of the Jonas Broth-ers covering their lockers, and typical conversion would be silly side comments about which Jonas Brothers they found the most at-tractive. What made these boys so likeable was the fact that they were down to earth and genuinely nice people. Take Nick Jonas, for exam-ple. So many girls looked up to him because his openness about his experience with diabetes en-couraged girls to face difficulties. The Jonas Brothers appeared on a Disney Channel show called “Jonas,” which caused even more girls to fall in love with them. However, as the boys grew up, the band grew apart. Kevin Jonas got married and Nick returned to Broadway. Just as it appeared that the obsession with boy bands was over, bands such as One Direc-tion and Big Time Rush have

filled the boy band fad. One Di-rection has become an instant hit. What teen girl would not die for cute, talented British boys singing about love? I know I would. One of their songs, “What Makes You Beautiful,” was released in Sep-tember 2011 and reached No. 1 on the charts in the UK. Girls not only fall in love with their Brit-ish accents, but their personalities as well. One Direction speaks out to their fans; they are constantly thanking them for all their sup-port. The love for One Direction is due to the boys being different than most typical groups, as their British accents and vintage dress-ing is all fresh and unique for American teen girls. Whether it’s The Jackson Five or N’SYNC, boy bands have always been a part of the Ameri-can culture. As one band ends, another one comes along and the new bands always have some-thing to offer teenage girls, even if it’s more of the same.

Television and Books Don’t Go Hand in HandBoy bands

through theyears

‘N’SYNC

1988-1999

Page 19: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•EntertainmentJune 5, 201220

‘Calico Joe’ Hits a Home Run The Men in Black Are Backby Leah Schroeder ‘13 by Mary Macrae ‘14 August 24, 1973: A day that will live in fictional baseball in-famy. With one pitch, three lives are shattered and many more are altered. John Grisham’s novel “Cal-ico Joe,” released April 10, re-counts the efforts of a son to per-suade his dying father to make a long due apology to a former rival. Paul Tracey is the son of a former professional baseball player, Warren Tracey, who, on August 24, 1973, in a fit of rage, “accidentally” throws a pitch that hits a promising and highly popu-lar rookie, Joe Castle, in the head. Joe is too brain damaged to play again, while the criticism leaves Warren incapable of pitching ef-fectively, ending both of their careers. Paul wants his father to take this opportunity during the last months of his life to admit to his wrongdoing and apologize to Joe, Paul’s childhood hero. While Warren and Joe are fictional, the rest of the players and coaches are real, making it possible for the reader to get more involved in the story as they read the names of famous players and managers, such as Willie Mays and Yogi Berra. However, even if one is not a baseball fan and does not recognize these names, the stories will still seem wonderfully realistic and will, thus, still fulfill their intended role in the overall

plot. Baseball fans and non-fans alike can easily recognize that Joe had the makings of a once in a lifetime baseball player, with 160 at bats, 78 hits, 21 home runs, 21 doubles, eight triples, 31 stolen bases and a batting average of .488, the highest ever, after play-ing just 38 games. Warren was al-ready disliked inside and outside of the stadium for his poor pitch-ing and his poor attitude. He was an abusive father and husband and that carried into his pitching as he attained the highest record of hitting players in the major league. Paul tells the story by reflect-ing on memories of his child-hood, building on them little by little until he describes that fateful day, while also connecting those memories to what is happening today. Will Paul find peace with his father? Will Warren try to make amends with his son and with Joe? Will Joe forgive War-ren after all of these years? The reader only cares to find out be-cause Paul cares and his stories reflect that. This book is not about the hits and the outs. It is about the great characters that inhabit base-ball and live each day to show their passion for the game. That is the magic of baseball and of Grisham’s novel—it can appeal to anyone and leave any reader yearning for more.

Walking into a nearly empty theater last Friday night, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical of seeing “Men in Black III.” First of all, because the theater was practically empty on its premiere night, and second, I hadn’t seen the first two Men in Black mov-ies so I didn’t know what to ex-pect. As the movie began, I fum-bled to put on my 3D glasses. In the first scene, I witnessed a ter-rible looking beast named Boris the Animal, played by Jemaine Clement, who escaped from his jail cell in hopes of traveling back into time to kill Agent K, played by Tommy Lee Jones. His partner Agent J, played by Will Smith, must then travel back in time to prevent this from happening. By going back in time, the movie is able to explore and ex-plain Tommy Lee Jones’ beloved character’s past. Playing this role, Josh Brolin delivers a hilarious portrayal of young Agent K. The spot on impersonation of Tommy Lee Jones alone makes watching this movie worthwhile. Brolin nails Jones’ gritty Texas accent and completely steals the show. When Smith, as Agent J, goes back in time in the movie, he also returns to his Fresh Prince days and delivers a set of great

one liners throughout the entire film. In the end, his sentimental side even comes out through his friendship with Agent K. Clement plays the venge-ful villian Boris the Animal that makes the viewer’s skin crawl. The special effects added to make his hand hold a grimy and disgusting alien were absolutely amazing. Usually you can tell when speical effects are being used, but in this film it looked so realistic. The special effects were showcased only to heighten the fun and add to the movie’s story. And while I am not typically a huge fan of 3D movies, “Men in Black III” finally got it right. Un-like a lot of 3D movies today, this movie doesn’t remind you every 15 seconds that it is 3D. The most enjoyable aspect was the fact that the movie did not take itself seriously. The director realized that it was a silly con-cept for a movie and embraced it. It didn’t try to be something that it wasn’t nor some magnificent piece of cinema. It was simply just a goofy and enjoyable movie. This sci-fi comedy action flick with its charming star stud-ded cast, bright imaginative ef-fects, and classic storyline deliv-ered in its third installment. This triumph explains why “Men in Black III” trumped the blockbust-er action flick “The Avengers” last weekend in box office sales.

REVIEWS

Designed by Michaela O’Donnell ‘13

Page 20: June Issue 2012

Over the past several years, athletic events have torn up the current field within Sherwood’s Caruso Memorial Stadium, leav-ing hardly a speck of grass. A field renovation is scheduled to begin in the next two weeks and be finished no later than August 10, just in time for fall sports try-outs. The new turf-like Bermuda grass should hold up much bet-ter under constant use, and its ability to grow quickly should ensure full growth by the August deadline. In addition, the track is getting a new surface, also set to be done on August 10, to replace the current track that has large air bubbles on it. The Bermuda grass’ deep root system allows for a much better survival rate during drought and also prevents significant chunks from being torn out of the ground.

Sophomore Dean Emerson, who plays center on the football team, approves of the choice of Ber-muda even over more expensive options such as turf. “I’m glad we’re getting Ber-muda over synthetic turf since it gives better cushion for run-ning and whatnot,” said Emer-son. “Turf is unforgiving when it comes to contact.” The field should improve playing conditions for all athletes, regardless of the sport, as heavy rain will no longer be as much of an issue. The grass is very absor-bent, making the rain serve almost as a protective pad when an ath-lete falls to the ground rather than as a catalyst for field damage. As Emerson indicated, the soft grass will also give a lot more when it comes to the pounding of cleats. According to football coach Mike Bonavia, this additional support should decrease the traditional

foot and ankle pain that players experience over the course of a long season. Students and staff have spec-ulated that the field and track renovation could lead to a full sta-dium makeover, potentially along the lines of getting blue turf like at Boise State University as well as new bleachers; however, that is not the case. “No … this is a field renovation project. Bleachers are not included in the scope of work. [Talks of a full-out renova-tion] are just rumors,” explained school Business Manager Brenda Hoyle. “I felt it was desperately needed,” said Bonavia. “We didn’t have a crown whatsoever so we didn’t have any drainage and everything sat on our field … If we maintain the Bermuda and get the crown and put the new dirt in, [things should be much im-proved]. We’re really excited.”

Field and Track To Get Needed Upgradesby Michael Natelli ‘14

Concussions in professional sports have been on the con-science of the American public since the dawn of the new mil-lennium. There has been much debate and controversy sur-rounding how to address the is-sue, mainly because it is not yet fully understood what a concus-sion is and what its permanent consequences are. A concussion is the violent shaking of the brain within the skull caused by a strong external force to the head. In the short-term it leads to confusion, head-aches and even unconscious-ness. However, the long-term effects are still hotly contested. Overtime, severe or multiple concussions will lead to brain swelling, which is associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkin-son’s disease, cognitive and physical disabilities, and clinical depression. On May 3, nearly 2,000 for-mer NFL players filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the NFL was negligent and didn’t edu-cate players about concussions or how to deal with the conse-quences of related brain injuries. The lawsuit also contends that the league did not do enough to prevent such injuries. A recent study conducted by Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Spine Health found that leather helmets used in the earlier years of the league may have protected players from concussions better than modern helmets which are only more effective at prevent-ing skull damage. This study seems to con-clude that the NFL is liable for the long-term injuries of its play-ers since it has been negligent in providing for their safety. Obvi-ously the risks of playing a con-tact sport, where bone crushing hits are legal, should be evident to players, but the burden of re-sponsibility is on the employer, the NFL, to let the employees, players, know the risks associate

with the job. Beyond players’ careers, the NFL should also be held li-able for their long-term mental health care. Just like the military provides healthcare for its veter-ans, the NFL, which also poses dangers to its participants, needs to offer psychological screenings and periodic health testing for its players. In early May, former San Diego Chargers linebacker Ju-nior Seau committed suicide due to clinical depression caused by a history of reoccurring concus-sions. The NFL is an environ-ment where players are expected to play through injuries like con-cussions or risk facing attacks from coaches and players for giving up on the team or being soft. According to his teammate and fellow linebacker Gary Plummer, Seau has suffered over 1,500 concussions in his career. Brain injuries like his are associ-ated with degenerative cognitive conditions, so it is no surprise that Seau was in no mental con-dition to seek help for himself. The emotional and psychologi-cal implications of this are un-imaginable. Concussions have become an even more pressing issue in high school sports in recent years. According to the Cen-ters for Disease Control (CDC), the rate of concussions in high school sports has doubled in the past decade. This statistic is defi-nitely the result of player safety awareness becoming a priority in sports, with injuries like concus-sions thankfully being screened for and taken care of. The suicide of Seau and the rise in high school sporting con-cussions only makes this issue more pressing. In a sport filled with contingencies, one thing is clear: the effects of concussions can be dire, and ignorance is not an option in handling the situa-tion in the future.

Accepted Ignorance:The Stigma Surrounding

Concussions

The renovation of the track and field will start in the next two weeks and is set to be finished on August 10.by Robel Wondimu ‘13

The Warrior•Sports21June 5, 2012

Taylor Fernandes ‘14

Page 21: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•Sports22 June 5, 2012

“Time for a First”by Joey Lavoie ‘14 A 21-0 softball season was capped off by a 1-0 win over Anne Arundel county’s Chesapeake High School in a shutout fashion. Sherwood took Montgomery Country by storm this year, with one of the most talented teams in Sherwood history. 2012 was Sherwood’s first ever softball state championship, and the first for Montgomery County since the late 90s. With the help of one of the best pitchers in the county, sophomore Meggie Dejter, the Warriors won their games by an average of 10-1. The Lady Warriors even beat three teams by more than 20 runs. An impressive season paid off and resulted in a well earned state title.

“That Makes Two”by Michael Natelli ‘14 It was a memorable day at Ritchie Coliseum on November 19, as the girls’ volleyball team captured their second 4A state title in as many seasons. The win secured a perfect 19-0 record for the War-riors, who swept the fourth-ranked Arundel in four straight sets (25-21, 25-19, 25-19). The effort was led by 14 kills for junior star Alex Holston, as well as a match-high 12 digs for graduated senior Sydney West and 29 assists for junior Maddie Moyer. With so many players returning, don’t be surprised if girls’ volleyball makes the list of mo-ments again next season.

“Gatorade’s Volleyball Player of the Year”by Joey Lavoie ‘14 Maryland’s Gatorade Player of the Year, Alex Holston, led the Sherwood Lady Warrior Volleyball team to an undefeated season and a Maryland state championship. The Gatorade Player of the Year is given to the best girls’ volleyball player in each state. In 19 games, she recorded 267 kills as her team only lost two sets on the way. The six foot tall ju-nior already committed to the University of Florida. A banner now hangs in Sherwood’s main gym com-memorating Alex’s amazing job leading the volleyball team for two perfect seasons.

“Sherwood Boys’ Basketball Playoff Run”by Andrew Wasik ‘13 Going into the Maryland 4A playoffs, the seventh seeded Sher-wood Warriors were supposed to beat 10th ranked Perry Hall, and then lose to second seeded Southwestern. After beating Perry Hall 83-75 and overcoming Southwestern 47-38 in overtime, the Warriors showed that they were ready for a historic playoff run. After an easy win over Westminster 60-48, Sherwood came to the 4A North finals verses first seeded Springbrook Blue Devils. Winning by a score of 51-48, the Warriors pulled off the biggest upset of the playoffs. The Warriors went on to lose to the eventual state champion Magruder at the Comcast Center, but still had one of the most memorable playoff runs in school history.

Top Ten MoMenTs of The 2011-12 sporTs Year

“Nando Goes for 280”by Michael Natelli ‘14 Despite questionable weather conditions, it was a night to re-member at Caruso Memorial Stadium, as graduated senior Fernando Smith collected 268 rushing yards against Northwest. The Warriors were clinging to their slim playoff chances in their final home game of the season, and Smith kept those hopes alive, scoring the winning touchdown with only seconds remaining as the Warriors defeated the Jaguars 32-24. What can easily be forgotten about this game is how “’Nando,” as he’s known, also rushed in for five touchdowns on season-high carries. Smith will be studying at Hargrave Military Academy next year.

“The Shot”by Andrew Wasik ‘13 While not the greatest accomplishment of the year, this is by far the best single feat. In the state semifinal game versus the eventual state champion Magruder Colonels as the clock wound down to 4.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter, graduated senior Scott Bolen hit a three point shot from NBA length to tie the game up. The Sherwood crowd exploded with joy while Magruder was shocked and worried. Although Magruder went on to win 75-68, “The Shot” will be remem-bered as a fantastic end to the so called “Bolen Era” of basketball at Sherwood.

“Scott Bolen’s 1000th point”by Andrew Wasik ‘13 During the first game of the Warriors’ playoff run this season against Perry Hall, every time graduated senior Scott Bolen scored, the crowd counted down from 10 till eventually that number got to 0 as Bolen scored the 1000th point of his career. With the crowd erupting after a reverse alley-oop dunk, Bolen and his parents were brought out at halftime and awarded a ceremonial basketball marking the amount of points and the date he scored his millennial.

“Poms Captain Award”by Jamie Langbein ‘13 After graduating several successful seniors in 2011, the Sherwood Poms were missing one of the most talented dancers in Montgomery County, Ilona Szeless (‘11), who had scored the first ever perfect score in the Pom Captain’s competition. Despite coming in fourth place overall this year, captain and graduated senior Alexandra Stephanos received First Place Captain’s Award, following in Szeless’ footsteps. Despite the disappointment at counties, the Warriors placed first and second at the other “Pompetitions” that they competed in this year.

“Boys’ Lax Crushes Magruder”by Jamie Langbein ‘13 In every sport, there is one motto that any Warrior believes in — and that is “Beat Magruder.” The 2012 boys’ lacrosse team didn’t just beat Magruder, they pummeled them into the ground. With only one goal allowed by senior Connor Welch, the Warriors dominated the game with a score of 21-1. Tight defense, control of ground balls, and a well executed offense ensured the win over the rival Colonels. To complement the boys, the Lady Warriors had a similar result, crushing the girls’ team 20-1.

“Damascus Football Game”by Michael Natelli ‘14 This year, the football team was long overdue for a victory against the Damascus Hornets. Former state champion Warriors Coach Al Thomas was the defensive coordinator for Damascus, adding that extra motivation for the Warriors to get the win. That motivation certainly added the needed boost, as the Warriors went on to defeat the Hornets by a score of 14-3, led by a rushing touchdown from running back senior Fernando Smith and a wild play of sorts by quarterback junior Jordan Larsen, who caught his own deflected pass and ran it back for a touchdown.

1

3

5

as told by Jamie Langbein ‘13, Joey Lavoie ‘14, Michael Natelli ‘14, and Andrew Wasik ‘13

After two State Championships and four Regional Championships, this year for the War-riors has been a great one. Here are the top 10 moments of the Sherwood Sports Year based

on the opinions of four Warrior Sports enthusiasts.

9

24

6

10

7 8

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The Warrior•Sports23June 5, 2012

Followell Plays with Fire as Elite Twirler

From twirling fire at school events to traveling internation-ally with Team USA, freshman Amanda Followell never fails to impress. Followell picked up her baton twirling when she was merely a child, and plans to con-tinue for much longer. Followell’s mo-tivation for twirling came from her mother and grandmother, both former twirlers. Her mother began to teach her baton at the age of four, when she competed in her first local competi-tion. Followell then brought her talent to her elementary school talent shows and when she attended Rosa Parks Middle School, she performed during school pep-ral-lies and soon later began compet-ing internationally. “In the past two years, es-pecially, Amanda has improved exponentially. She is able to step into any position on the team,” said her coach, Annie Kennedy. “It’s exciting to see her perform under pressure because she al-ways does a great job. Her skill

acquisition has been the result of her persistence and commit-ment.” Followell devotes much of her time to baton twirling, train-ing five to six days a week for several hours a day, while still making time for her duties on Sherwood Cheerleading. “It’s very hard, but my coach is very

understanding when I can’t be at practice because of cheer,” said Followell, who also trains during the summer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., five days a week, and competes in travel competitions. Followell recently traveled with Team USA over spring break to Switzerland for an internation-al competition. Team USA won every team event in the competi-tion and most individual events. “I see how people love my twirl-ing, so I practice more and more

to be the best I can. It makes me happy when I win,” said Follow-ell. Through her talent and hard work, Followell is competing at an elite level as a member of a national team and achieving indi-vidual success in her solo events. “Amanda is an awesome team member and mentor for other ath-

letes to follow,” said Kennedy. “She will repeat a trick or skill until she masters it. She has initiative and confidence to try any-thing.” Followell plans to take her twirling with her to college and hopes to be a fu-ture twirler at the Uni-

versity of Maryland. Followell is working towards a scholarship for her twirling in order to reach her goal. “If she keeps setting her sights high, I know that she will someday be performing on a foot-ball field in college, entertaining audiences with her enthusiasm and passion for twirling,” said Kennedy. Next year, Followell will be joining the elite senior team, hop-ing to qualify for the 2015 cham-pionships in Italy.

by Taylor Fernandes ‘14

Sherwood student upholds family tradition and follows her heart as she trains to compete in national and also international twirling competitions.

“In the past two years, especially, Amanda has improved exponentially. It’s exciting to see her perform under pressure because she always does a great job. Her skill ac-quisition has been the result of her persis-tence and commitment.”

~Coach Annie Kennedy

photo courtesy of Amanda Followell ‘15

Freshman Amanda Followell shows off her firery batons at a pep rally.

Page 23: June Issue 2012

The Warrior•Sports24June 5, 2012

Softball Takes First State Title in School History

Warriors’ Baseball Loses to Northwest 7-6 Boys’ and Girls’ Lacrosse Fall in Regionals to Churchill Bulldogs

Track and Field Ends with Success

Boys’, Coed Volleyball Lose in Playoffs

It was an unfortunate end to a stellar season. The Warriors var-sity baseball team’s season ended on May 22 in the state semi-finals to the Northwest Jaguars 7-6, in ten innings. The game was thrill-ing, but a sad ending for the new-look Warriors. The squad got off to a quick 5-0 lead on graduated senior Co-lin McMahon’s two-run home run in the third inning. However, as head coach Sean Davis put it, “obviously Northwest wasn’t go-ing to just lay down and let us win,” and they did no such thing, coming back in the fifth inning to score five runs to tie the game at 6-6. The rest of the game was a stalemate, neither team scoring runs, while shutting each other down offensively. Northwest relief pitcher Max Banks came in to replace Tony Cianci after three innings of shaky starting pitching. Banks shut the door on the Warriors, allowing only four hits over seven innings. Warrior sophomore Matt Chanin was equally superb, only allowing two hits and one earned run. That run came on a suicide squeeze by Jaguar Scott Ardoin in the tenth inning, scoring Banks and end-ing the season for Sherwood; an incredibly similar situation to that of last year, when a suicide squeeze by Churchill knocked out Bill Goodman’s squad in the final game of his stellar coaching career. The players are keeping an optimistic eye towards next sea-son, as they have their full pitch-ing staff returning with the ex-ception of graduated senior Tyler

Rodriguez. Junior Michael Zerafa knows that they need to “stay fo-cused through the year, and put in the same amount of work we did this year, and hopefully it will pay off.” Coming off a playoff run to the 4A semi-finals that surprised

The Warriors went to Terra-pin Softball Complex at the Uni-versity of Maryland on May 25 to take on the Chesapeake Cougars for the 4A state title. The War-riors played the Cougars twice in previous years and lost both so Coach Pat Flanagan hoped that the third time would turn out dif-ferently. Her team came through with a 1-0 victory and delivered Flanagan her first state champion-ship in a long, successful coach-ing career. This is Sherwood’s first state championship for soft-ball and is only the second title ever for Montgomery County. “The team did a great job of keeping Chesapeake from scor-ing,” said Flanagan. “I feel the play at the plate that sophomore Rae Harrison made was the key to our success. Had they scored on that who knows what might have happened? You never want to give any type of an edge. Offensively, I would have liked for us to have scored more runs. We just didn’t have a good day hitting, but fortu-nately it didn’t come back to bite

Both boys’ and coed volley-ball made strong runs in the coun-ty playoffs before getting knocked out in their semi-final games. In round 2 of the MCPS boys’ county volleyball tournament, the fourth-seeded Warriors knocked out fifth-seeded Blake in straight games. The team, coached by Ben Sanger, then traveled to Wootton

on May 8, where they fell in the semi-finals to finish the season with a record of 11-3. In coed volleyball, the Warriors, led by coach Pete Siarkas, handily de-feated Watkins Mill 3-0 but then lost a heartbreaker three games to two against rival Damascus. The top-seeded Warriors finished the season at 13-1, having earlier beat Damascus during the regular season.

After a great deal of success at Counties, the Warrior track and field team was able to carry its success into Regionals on May 19. The most notable performanc-es included first-place finishes by sophomores Ameerat Olatunde and Grace McDonald in the Shot Put and 800 Meter Run, respec-tively, as well as second-place finishes by the girls’ 800 Meter Relay team and girls’ 1600 Meter Relay. Other notable accomplish-ments included a fourth-place

finish by junior Andrew Sarver in the Triple Jump and a sixth-place finish by graduated senior Will Gavett in the 300 Meter Hurdles. The Warriors qualified seven individuals as well as four relay teams for the State Champi-onships at Morgan State Univer-sity on May 25 and May 26. At States, the Warriors were able to close out the season strong, led by personal records set by Olatunde (Shot Put – 37’03”, 6th place), Sarver (Triple Jump – 40’01” – 15th) and the girls’ 4 x 400 relay team (4:02.77 – 5th).

by Brendan Cudd ‘14

by Matt Diogo ‘14

by Shaan Verma ‘13

by Michael Natelli ‘14

byJamie Langbein ‘13

May 16 was a disappointing day for any and all Sherwood la-crosse fans. Both the girls’ and boys’ teams lost in the Region Finals to the Winston Churchill Bulldogs. Both hard fought games ultimately ended up in a 12-5 loss for the boys and a 20-19 loss for the girls. The boys had an impressive season, going 13-3 overall, with losses coming from Wootton and powerhouse Good Counsel. The

Junior Grant Dickey started the Warriors off with three solid innings, giving them a 6-1 lead by the beginning of the fifth inning.

photo courtesy George Smith

Joey Lavoie ‘14

Dejter had trouble in the first few innings but steadied herself. “The nerves got to me a lot,” De-jter said in an interview with The Washington Post. “But once they got those runners on, there was nothing I could do about it. I just had to work through it and give it all I got.”

To get to the state finals, the team went through an intense amount of work. “As a team we’ve been working together since probably early January. Practices once the season started lasted about 2 1/2-3 hours. Once in a while we would have off but it’s rare. The girls work hard dur-

ing practice and we go through everything every time — fielding, hitting, running. Then there are extra situations or whatever we need depending on who we play,” said senior Sara Sabry. Coach Flanagan was well aware of the challenges that the Warriors faced in taking on Ches-apeake, saying before the match-up, “I think we can hit their pitch-ing and their defense is very solid and they also have good hitting. This will have to be the best de-fensive game we have played all season. They have a history with their program and we have played them twice and lost twice; hope-fully the third time’s the charm.” The team has become closer since the beginning of the season which has helped them perform together. “I think that our chem-istry has grown just because we all are so excited where we are at this point and any drama or any-thing would ruin it. The team has worked hard together because of how close [we are] and we all are such fun and outgoing girls so that really helps,” said senior Captain Kristen Holonich.

boys were led by graduated se-niors Connor Welch in goal with 126 saves and Griffin Paquin on attack with 32 goals and 22 as-sists. After graduating goalie KC Emerson (‘11) and losing coach Mitch Rosenfeld, the future seemed shaky for the Lady War-riors. However, anchored by ju-nior captain Maddie Doan and sophomore Emily Kenul and coached by first year coach Kelly Hughes, the Warriors pulled out an impressive 12-2 season.

us.” The only run of the title game was scored in the sixth inning off a hit by freshman Nicole Stock-inger. Sophomore Meggie Dejter played a key part in the game and capped a tremendous season, striking out six and leading the team to the shutout.

many, Davis has shown that there is continuity to Sherwood’s base-ball program and to its annual place as one of the top teams in Maryland. “The [JV] program has been good the past couple years, so that kind of backs the drawing board,” Davis noted.

The softball team poses with their coaches and new state champion trophies after a well deserved win.

Michael Natelli ‘14