Volume 57 Issue 4 6400 Rock Spring Drive, Bethesda, MD 20814January 27, 2012

Inside, Check Out:

Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

WJ After Hours: An Inside Look at Building Services

Counter-Strike continued on pg. 4 LEAD continued on pg. 3

WJ After Hours continued on pg. 3

By Claudia Nguyen

By Julia Cinquegrani

By Girard Bucello

Photos courtesy of Ryan Martinez

Photo by Julia Cinquegrani

Bill Powell checks on WJ’s boiler while making his daily rounds.

This artwork was hand-painted by French teacher Ryan Martinez and can be seen on ceiling tiles throughout WJ. See High Art, pg. 4.

If access is a sign of power, then Bill Powell is one of the most powerful people at WJ. As the evening building services manager, Powell holds keys to every door in the building and uses them

while overseeing a crew of 13 building services work-ers who clean and maintain the school every evening so that it is ready for use again the next day. As students are leaving WJ at the end of the school day, Powell and his crew are getting ready to start their shifts. A crew of six building services workers works from 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Powell works from 2:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., and has been working at WJ since 1985. After the administration leaves, he is in charge of the school. “This school is my school—from 2:30 on, it’s my

school,” Powell said with a smile. The first thing Powell does each day is ensures that every door in the school that opens to the outside is locked properly. Along the way, Powell talks with business manager Kathy Cosgrove about changes that occurred in the building during the school day and discusses the activities that will be held at WJ that night. Powell oversees the cleaning of the building done by the other building services workers. He has di-vided the school into different sections so that each worker cleans the same section each day. One person cleans every bathroom, one person cleans the media center and the main office and other workers clean approximately 20 classrooms each.

MCPS’s Counter-Strike to Halo

Halo, Counter-Strike Blocked from School Computers

This school year witnessed the debut of a new foreign language program, called Linguistic Excellence and Discovery, or LEAD!. The program was designed to recognize and support students who are interested in pursuing a rigorous for-eign language course schedule. “Several years ago, our colleagues in [the] science [department] had a good idea, which was to create ACES,” said Steve Dubrow, foreign language teach-er and LEAD! program advisor. “I said to myself, ‘Why don’t I take that good idea, which seemed to be coming along nicely for our high school students, and apply many of those principles to for-eign languages?’” The LEAD! program has several course requirements, including tak-ing at least two foreign languages, one of which the student must pursue up through the AP level, and completing a major project senior year. Dubrow has been working with his colleagues to finalize the LEAD! pro-gram concept. The department also worked closely with Assistant Principal Christopher Merrill, who was respon-sible for naming the program with the acronym LEAD!.

Call it an early Christmas present to students – or a nuisance to adminis-tration. From early to mid-December, two students added Halo and Coun-ter-Strike to school computers. In the short time that students had access to the games, they became wildly popular, especially during classes that frequently used computers. These Local Area Network (LAN) games, which allowed students to play with each other via a local connection, quickly ate away at class time. Now, WJ administrators and MCPS officials are cracking down. MCPS administrators wrote a script (a list of commands for a computer program) that shuts off a user’s computer if the user tries to ac-cess Halo or Counter-Strike. The folder containing the files has also been re-moved numerous times by the school’s Information Technology Support Spe-cialist, Sue Reber. “I was notified about the programs by a teacher a couple of weeks ago,” said Reber. “Having unauthorized files on the school’s network is against county policy. This is a mild example of adding unauthorized files, but it’s still against

Editorial,

pgs. 5-8Feature, pgs. 9-12 Sports,

pgs. 17-20Arts & Ent.,

pgs. 13-16

LEADing the Way:WJ Starts NewLanguage Program

2 JANUARY 27, 2012NEWS Pitchthe

From wjpitch.com LETTER FROM THE

EDITORSDear Pitch Readers,

Top 5 most influential people of 2011

By Girard Bucello

Video of the Week:Carl Warner’s Landscapes

Made of Foodstuffs

By Megun Chun

Although the mandatory government class may be most high school students’ only exposure to politics, certain politically active students choose to go above and beyond, both in their views and their extra-cur-ricular activities. In fall of 2011, senior Ben Esenstad interned for a candidate running for mayor of Rockville. Though the candidate, Piotr “Peter” Gajewski, lost the election, Esenstad said the internship exposed him to many city issues, including local education and traffic re-duction. He said that his favorite part was going door-to-door, trying to persuade people in the community to vote for his candidate. Esenstad, a self-declared moderate and a registered Democrat, said that he tends to “lean to the left” on many issues. Some of the largest issues that govern-ment is facing today, he explained, are the economy and the lack of jobs. Esenstad said that he feels ad-dressing military spending would help deal with these governmental downfalls......

To see the full article and much more, visit wjpitch.com

Follow the WJ Pitch on Twitter! @TheWJPitch

First, we want to say congratulations on com-pleting the first semester of the 2012 school year. For seniors, your remaining time in high school is all smooth sailing and for freshmen, we hope you were able to grasp what high school is all about. With final exams all wrapped up, and with second semester providing a fresh start, we hope you will take the time to read and participate in all that The Pitch has to offer. As you may or may not know, we will be selling roses between Feb. 1 and Feb. 10 at the entrance to the senior hallway to be delivered to students on Valentine’s Day. We encourage you to make that “special someone” happy this Valentine’s Day with the purchase of a rose. This issue, we also have included detailed cover-age of the health issues surrounding high school and professional sports. Concussions have become an increasing problem while athletes and coaches must also maintain high levels of fitness and health.

Sincerely, Rosie Hammack, Hannah Flesch, print editors-in-chief and Ali Jawetz, online editor-in chief

Photo by Steven Groobert

The Political Side of WJ

By Wahid Ishrar

Photo Credit: Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT

3JANUARY 27, 2012 NEWSPitchthe

WJ After Hours: An Inside Look at Building Services

LEADing the Way: WJ Starts Language Program

Photos by Julia Cinquegrani

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

•Study either Chinese, French, Italian, Latin or Spanish up through the AP course

•Study a second foreign language through the second year

•Complete at least three additional full-year language courses*

•Take AP exams for all AP courses and earn a semester grade of at least a B in all LEAD! courses

•Complete a Major Project during senior year*

•It is preferred that students declare their participation in LEAD! by the end of ninth grade

* Lists of possible courses or options to complete these requirements can be found on www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/wjhs/depts/lead

LEAD! Requirements:. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Top: The inside of WJ’s boiler room, which controls the school’s heating system and is regulated by Bill Powell. Above: Powell in the building services office.

WJ After Hours continued from pg. 1

Powell said that he does not get lonely by being in the school when it is mostly empty, because he has grown ac-customed to it after having worked the evening shift at various schools in MCPS for the past 41 years. “I’ve been working the night shift so long, I have gotten used to it,” said Pow-ell. As Powell makes his rounds, he checks in with the other building ser-vices workers while they begin to clean. A naturally friendly and outgoing per-son, Powell also goes out of his way to say hello to the teachers and other staff members as he makes his rounds. “[When I see] the teachers every day, I peek in their doors and holler at them,” said Powell. Powell enjoys his daily interactions with teachers, but he does not have as much direct interaction with students because he works in the evening. “There is not too much interaction with students, but during S*T*A*G*E and extra-curriculars I see them,” said Powell. Powell often stays as late as 11:30 p.m. during play seasons so he can close the building after S*T*A*G*E ends its late-night rehearsals. During the course of the evening, Powell checks on the heating system, the boiler room and his workers and makes sure the school’s doors are se-cured. He is the last person to leave the school at night. “It keeps me in shape. I walk around the entire building every night five or six times,” said Powell. Powell said that overall, students are well-behaved and create fewer messes than they did a few years ago. How-ever, he said that the open lunch sys-tem spreads more trash throughout the school for his crew to clean up than there would be if students ate in the cafeteria. Once in a while, students also trash school bathrooms. “Sometimes kids mess bathrooms up,” said Powell. “I don’t see why they do it, but they do.” Powell is responsible for fixing any

problems that occur during the night, which means he could have to return to WJ if a problem arises. Since the new school building opened, however, he has not had to make as many late-night trips back to WJ to deal with problems. “[Before the modernization] we used to have problems with the heating sys-tem or pipes bursting, but not now in the new building. . .it’s a lot easier,” said Powell. Powell and the other building services workers have to go into work on snow days. They use snow days to catch up on work that they do not have time to do on normal school days. There are no substitutes to fill in if one worker misses a day of work, so the re-maining building services workers have to redistribute the work to get it done. “If too many people are absent and there is so much work to do. . .every-body has to pitch in,” said Powell. Despite all his responsibilities, Powell is content with his job and his crew. “Everything is pretty good around here,” said Powell. “It’s a good crew. . . I love my job. I love being around the kids, teachers and administration.” Powell’s enthusiasm about his job seems well-received. “I’m not going to let him retire,” joked Cosgrove. “We’re like the parents of a big family; we keep track of everyone.”

“Our [foreign language] department as a whole [had] submitted several drafts,” said Dubrow. “Through our meetings we were able to submit a final to the department chair, our resource teacher, Karen Generose, who presented it to the Instructional Council.” The WJ Instructional Council (IC) is a leadership group comprised of admin-istrators, departmental resource teach-ers and chairs and student and parent representatives. Last summer, the IC approved the program and Dubrow has already been successful in starting it up this school year. With the help of webmaster of the WJ website, Maria Limarzi, Dubrow has already gotten the LEAD! program’s information onto the school site. Addi-tionally, in early January, Dubrow spoke to incoming freshmen about the pro-gram at an informational meeting. Dubrow added that he is currently in the process of reviewing student appli-cations. In considering the applications, he must take into account the students’ capabilities in fulfilling the program’s requirements. “We thought that in order for students to be recognized for their achievements, we would have to make some serious demands,” said Dubrow. Right now, the program is still in its beginning stages, but Dubrow hopes the program will grow over the next few years and become a larger community at WJ for the students interested in ac-tively pursuing foreign languages. One student, senior Maggie Gilligan, was partly the inspiration for LEAD!. Gilligan has taken a wide variety of for-eign language classes during her middle and high school years, and has pursued many of them to advanced levels. This year, she is taking Chinese 3, AP Span-

ish Literature, AP Italian Language and also Introductory Arabic and Russian at Montgomery College. Additionally, she does French independent study for part of her school day as a follow-up to the AP French Language class she took last year. “I’m super excited about [the LEAD! program],” said Gilligan. “ACES and APEX encourage the learning of sci-ence... English [and history], and now they have the same thing for foreign languages. There are kids that work re-ally, really hard at foreign languages, and they deserve the same recognition as a student who is working hard at science. There is no subject that is better than the other; they all have their merits.” Gilligan also expressed how she sees the expansion of foreign languages not only at the high school level, but in mid-dle schools as well. “Even the middle school language programs are already changing,” said Gilligan. “I know they started offer-ing Italian classes at North Bethesda [Middle School] and just [this] year they started offering Chinese.” The county only requires students to take two years of foreign language, and generally, colleges like to see four. Gilli-gan expressed that she felt the program would be effective in encouraging for-eign language learning. “[LEAD!] could get students thinking ‘Okay, maybe I could start another for-eign language,’ or even AP Art History or AP [Human Geography], something related to foreign language,” said Gilli-gan. “It can encourage starting foreign languages earlier, or taking multiple foreign languages in middle school. I know that I did, but that was definitely an anomaly.”

LEAD continued from pg. 1

WJ’s new Linguistic Excellence and Discovery Program requires students to meet certain demands to become a LEAD! scholar.

4 JANUARY 27, 2012NEWS Pitchthe

By Anders Norberg

High Art: Pops of Color Paint the Ceiling at WJ

Halo, Counter-Strike Blocked from School Computers

policy.” The files were initially added almost by accident. Brian Morgan* added Counter-Strike to the school’s “Student Shared” folder on Dec. 9 with the inten-tion of deleting it immediately afterward. “I mostly added the files as a joke,” said Morgan. “I was planning on delet-ing it – since it was just a joke – but stu-dents can’t delete anything from ‘Stu-dent Shared.’ They can only add files.” Both Counter-Strike and Halo

quickly became popular, with many students taking advantage of the school’s LAN connections to play online multi-player games. “We even had teachers and other staff members playing online with us,” said Morgan. “I’m glad that peo-ple had those few days to enjoy the games, but it was never my inten-tion to have them played during class. School isn’t all fun and games.” Jason Hunt,* who added Halo to the “Student Shared” folder, is less sympathetic to the teach-ers who had their classes disrupted. “I can’t say that it wasn’t my in-tention [to have Halo played] in class,” said Hunt. “I don’t care that it took away from class time.” Both Morgan and Hunt were ques-tioned by WJ administration, but weren’t severely punished. Even so, neither of them intends to try a similar stunt on school computers in the future, since the school may be less sympathet-ic if they are found to have put the files on school computers numerous times. “I encouraged people to play Halo,” said Hunt. “I set up servers for them to use. It amused me at the time, [and] it still does, but I’m not doing that anymore.” Administrators, both at WJ and at MCPS, stress that unauthorized files

are not allowed on school comput-ers under any circumstances, as even a seemingly harmless program could disrupt the school’s network. Accord-ing to Larry Wong, who is in charge of the MCPS Office of Information Assur-ance and Risk Management, all files on school computers must be tested by the county in order for them to be deemed compatible with other programs on the school’s network. Reber says, however, that it isn’t wrong for students to use computers to play games during lunch. “It’s not an instructional part of the day, so – theoretically – stu-dents can play during lunch,” said Reber. “In practice, though, the school’s restrictions on student com-puter use apply throughout the day.” Wong disagrees, citing county pol-icy: “Anything without an educational purpose shouldn’t be on school com-puters, regardless of any compatibil-ity,” said Wong. “When you l o g on to a computer, you agree to the county’s computer use regulations. Everything you do can be archived and monitored. Wherever we see a program that shouldn’t be running, we reserve the right to shut it down.” It isn’t the first time that the county has dealt with misuse of its computers – most notably, students at Churchill High

Counter-Strike continued from pg. 1

A year ago, the ceilings in all WJ class-rooms looked the same. They held noth-ing but blank, white tiles. Now, the mo-notony of WJ’s ceiling is broken up by colorfully painted ceiling tiles, thanks to a project that was started by French teacher Ryan Martinez. The idea to paint ceiling tiles came to Martinez last year while he was teaching at B-CC High School, and a teacher had a painted ceiling tile in his classroom. Martinez followed his colleague’s ex-ample and made one for his own class-room. Afterward, he noticed that he had an extra white ceiling tile, and he continued painting from there. He had no idea how big the project would grow

at WJ. Initially, Martinez didn’t get per-mission from administration to paint the ceiling tiles, but he still gave some decorated tiles to his fellow foreign language teachers and put some in the hallways. Once word spread of Marti-nez’s project, many teachers from other departments wanted a decorated tile in their classrooms. At that point, Marti-nez talked to and got approval from the school’s administration for his project. Martinez did not originally have a specified purpose for painting the ceil-ing tiles. He started it because he loves creating art and enjoys the freedom and imagination the tiles allow. Along the way, Martinez has learned that the tiles

have a purpose beyond being pretty: they create a break from the monotony of the school day. “They are there to be pretty, not [to] teach,” said Martinez. “[This is] some-thing needed where you work or study.” Throughout Martinez’s life, he has looked for ways to express his imagina-tion. Martinez’s art career started while he attended Montgomery Blair High School. He frequently doodled on his classwork, and eventually he decided to put this pastime to use. Martinez was the cartoonist for his high school and college newspapers, and he worked as a graphic designer for two years after college. The inspiration for the tile designs

rarely comes from anywhere specific. Martinez just paints to his heart’s con-tent and sees what he comes up with. If he isn’t happy with a tile that he paints, he doesn’t put it up in the school. Martinez is still unsure of the future of his project. He wants to bring the project to other schools, but currently doesn’t have any plans to do so. Marti-nez also hopes that the art will live on in the minds of students as they remember the artwork. “I hope that when students think back on their time at [WJ], they will remem-ber these images,” said Martinez. “I also hope that the people who see these tiles will be inspired to find new ways to ex-press themselves creatively.”

School used an illegal program to edit their grades. However, this is the most widespread violation of the school’s computer use policy. The school and county responded decisively, albeit somewhat late, and after a brief stint on school computers, Halo and Counter-Strike have been rendered inaccessible at school. If only for the time being, computer use has returned to normal.

At left: Martinez poses with two of the ceiling tiles he painted.Above: The ceiling of room G33 is decorated with more than 10 painted ceiling tiles.At right: Martinez places a painted tile in a foreign language classroom’s ceiling.

Photos by Steven Groobert

Photos by Julia Cinquegrani * Name changed to protect identity

5JANUARY 27, 2012 EDITORIALPitchthe

My Best Friends’ Girlfriends By Ryan LynchPrint Editorial Editor

Ryan’s Rantson/android, but with several examples of his emphatically contradictory political views, like his support of abortion as Governor of Massachusetts that was strangely supplanted with his strong Mormon Pro-Life stance for the 2008 election, he has zero credibility. Rick Santorum might be a bit of a gaffe man himself, com-pletely denying Evolution in a debate without integrating it into Intelligent Design, and holding steadfast that the world was literally 6000 years old. But he isn’t a right wing nut by the common liberal definition, and he at least has opinions. And then there’s Ron Paul. He has been panned by the me-dia for not being “electable,” yet he won third place in Iowa over Rick Perry, who was once con-sidered a frontrunner. While detractors, including FOX News, have accused Paul of being too radical, he voted against going to war in Iraq, supports the legal-ization of many controlled substances and wants to lower government over-sight in social issues, which takes up too much of Congress’ time. It speaks volumes about the primary process in which the important people, issues and information are completely ignored and every idiotic statement or misfit candidate gets a front page re-port. A miracle notwithstanding, the 2012 Republican primary will likely

My name is Ryan “Lightsout” Lynch and my relationship status on Face-book does indeed indicate that yes, I am single. I do not have a “girlfriend,” much less a significant other at this early point in 2012, but I am not opposed to change. Without delving further into my personal life and all of the who, what and why questions, let us regain focus. This article is undeniably not about me, but some of my friends so-called “girl-friends.” Chicas, make sure to pay close attention to this one. Some of the most memorable experi-ences in life stem from unplanned and seemingly random decisions. You guys know what I’m talking about! Those Friday nights when you call your friends at 10:00 p.m. because you’re hungry, but you somehow end up flipping over Porta-Potties at the local construction site and riding around on shopping carts in a supermarket parking lot, we’ve all done it! As of late, I haven’t had too many of those experiences and I am bitter about it. Have I even tried to hang out with my friends, the same people that I have shared so many wonderful life-long memories with? Yes, but their girlfriends got in the way. I feel very fortunate to say that I have lots of friends both in and outside of school. People I consider to be in this undiscriminating group straddle a vari-ety of social cliques, constantly offering me variety and a tad of unpredictability regarding how each day is going to go. That being said, I do have a core group of friends that I hang out with more than others just like everybody else. Being a player on the varsity basketball team, for example, I naturally spend more time with my teammates between practices, games and moments spent simply messing around. The bond between close friends should be unbreakable. Unfortunately, girls hold a disproportionate amount of power in relationships. If they suddenly want to go out for dinner one evening, chances are that the guy, meaning my friend, will be going out with her. If they feel like staying at home, guess who will most likely be called to come over and wallow in misery with them? That’d be my friend again. What I’m really getting at here is that my friends’ girlfriends are the reason why I haven’t been spending the same amount of time with them. These un-forgiving, difficult females turn their noses up at the possibility of a deviation from the plan. If and when the idea of “going over to Ryan’s house while you go hang out with the girls” comes up, crying, hysteria and screams of “You don’t love me anymore!” ensue. It wouldn’t be fair to expect my friends to handle the situation any differently than they already do; by blowing me off. By no means am I trying to break up any relationships here, but space is es-sential. Besides, these guys really want to hang out with me. At least I think they do.

Primary ProblemsBy Cameron Keyani

While President Obama sits on high, trying to consolidate his base of sup-port, GOP candidates vie for the nomi-nation as their party’s representative tries to dethrone him. But it’s been a race of disappointment and unintentional hilarity, with crazy and woefully incompetent people tak-ing center stage while viable candidates are getting ignored by the media. For many people in this area, the Re-publican primary is a mildly interest-ing curiosity to pad the time while they wait to vote for Obama again. But for Republican voters, this is a crucial mo-ment in time to select the correct per-son for the presidency, and it isn’t going very well. Herman Cain? Rick Perry? Michelle Bachmann? All three are candidates with recorded gaffes that would even make Dukakis cringe. All three are out of the race, but the damage has been done. Major news outlets like CNN, MS-NBC, FOX and NPR meticulously cov-ered these candidates, focusing on their hilarious screw ups rather than the ratio-nal, intelligent soundbites of Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and, though it pains me to say so, Mitt Romney. Which brings me to the impasse of the RomneyBot-4000. I assume “Mitt” wakes up in the morning, unplugs the charger out of his back, sprays some Dust Off into his circuit board, and re-minds himself that if he wants the hu-mans to vote for him, he has to pretend to have emotions about controversial issues. Romney might not be such a bad per-

end with Mitt Romney being sent off to certain doom in a battle with Obama. But the general consensus from both sides of the political spectrum seems to be that Romney is an unlikable flip flopping pseudo-Republican, so why on Earth is he the front runner? Looking into the future, it seems the party that figures out a way to block out the peripheral garbage plaguing the pri-mary process will nominate a winning man.

Cartoon by Michael Matthes

Ask Ali Online Editor-in-Chief Ali Jawetz eagerly answers questions submitted to eics.wjpitch@gmail.com. To see more of Ali’s answers to students’ questions visit wjpitch.com

I know it’s difficult to get into college. My parents repeatedly told me that there was no guarantee of getting accepted, and life’s unfair, so we’ll just see what happens, sweet pea.

But now that I’ve gotten rejected from my Early Decision school, I have to say: it really sucks. Behind those smiles and nods in response to my parents’ warnings, I really thought I would be the one to get in. I don’t mean to complain, but I was wondering if you had any advice for feeling crappy about my own self-worth.

Sincerely,

I’m sorry you didn’t get in to your top choice – that is a really unfortunate situation, and I totally understand your frus-tration. Since I won’t hear from any of my schools until March, I cannot entirely empathize. However, I can attest to the fact that getting rejected from anything (a job, an election, a relationship, etc.) sucks.It’s hard to think that the decision isn’t personal. But the thing is, a lot of times it isn’t. College acceptances are sort of random nowadays. If the school needs an oboe player that year, because the last one graduated, then it will probably accept a new oboe player over a trombone player or a violinist. If the school feels that it doesn’t have enough geographic diversity, and it has an applicant from Tulsa, Oklahoma, then it might accept her over a New Yorker or a Maryland resident......

Dear Rejected,

Dear Ali,

Sincerely,

Rejected

AliTo see the full response and much more, visit wjpitch.com

Weak Republican field lacks credible frontrunner to go up against Obama

6 JANUARY 27, 2012EDITORIAL Pitchthe

Q: Assuming that the world is indeed going to end in 2012, what is one thing that you would

absolutely have to do before it’s all over?

UpBatat

Dec. 21, 2012. Save the date. According to the Mayan calendar, this is when the apocalypse, and the end of the world as we know it, will begin.

“I want to travel the world.”

Carly ChaseSophomore

“I want to visit Abu Dhabi.”

Omar El Hamti Senior

Annie KastlerSenior“I want to leave the country because I have never traveled outside of the U.S. before.”

Photo by Ben Resnick.

THE STAFFThe Pitch is published eight times a year by the students of Walter Johnson High School, 6400 Rock Spring Drive, Bethesda, Md. 20814. Advertising and subscription rates are available by calling 301-803-7302. Editorial opinions represent those of The Pitch staff and do not neces-sarily reflect the opinions of the staff, faculty, or student body. We welcome letters, articles, photographs and artwork, to be submitted to room 193 or e-mailed to thepitch@walter-johnson.com. The Pitch is an award-winning paper that works towards providing the student

body with accurate, as well as credible, information.

Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist 2009

American Scholastic Press Association First Place 2010-2011

Maryland HS Journalism Award Best Newspaper Overall Third Place 2009-2010

Photo EditorsEmily CosentinoSteven Groobert

Staff WriterAnders Norberg

PhotographersAnders NorbergGirard Bucello

Feature Editors Jenny DeutschSari AmielMegan Chun*

Copy ChiefSari Amiel

Copy EditorsMegan ChunNathaniel ReesClaudia Nguyen

AdvisorSylvie Ellen

B u s i n e s s / P R ManagerClaudia Nguyen

ArtistsAnders NorbergEmily Cosentino

CartoonistMichael Matthes

Editors-in-ChiefHannah FleschRosie HammackAli Jawetz*

News EditorsJulia CinquegraniGirard Bucello*

Assistant News EditorClaudia Nguyen

Editorial EditorsRyan LynchDanielle Markowitz*

Assistant Editorial Editor Nathaniel Rees

Sports EditorsPhillip ResnickDaniel FanaroffAssistant Sports EditorDaniel Thaler

Arts & Entertainment EditorTaliah DommerholtCameron Keyani*

Assistant Arts & Ent. Editor Emily Cosentino

*Online Editors

Everett WellsJunior“I want to have 1,000 followers on Twitter.”

“I want to rip out someone’s soul, use it to power a time machine, go back in time, reverse the Mayan calendar and save the world.”

Diego RubeyFreshman

“I want to go skydiving.”

Kate HowieFreshman

“I want to ask Luke Philbin to homecoming.”

Haley WeinischkeJunior

“I want to ask Haley Weinischke to homecoming.”

Luke PhilbinJunior

All photos by Steven Groobert unless otherwise noted.

Photo by Ben Resnick.

7JANUARY 27, 2012 EDITORIALPitchthe

Curveball

By Rosie HammackPrint Editor-in-Chief

“There are starving children in Africa. Life could always be worse.” I don’t know about you, but when a good friend moves away, or when a family member dies, or even when I’ve just failed a test, these are the last two sentences in the world I’d like to hear. Without fail, this piece of well-meaning advice is presented (in its preaching and self-congratulatory way) when I am in my least receptive state. And, with-out fail, it makes me feel a little worse about my own situation, because it piles guilt and pessimism and a whole slew of other negative emotions on top of an already heavy load. If I’ve learned anything at all in my narrow 17 years of experience, this is one of those little pearls. I hope to im-part it now to those who find it their blind duty to play the role of the con-soling friend: the double-negative (your situation might seem bad, but it could be worse; therefore it must somehow be the opposite of bad) does not work. It does not work because it makes no sense, and it makes no sense because it does not work. So, in the course of searching for methods that do work, I stumbled across this one: the positive. There are a few things in life that are rock solid, steady and undeniably good. They are not the same for everybody, but they carry with them the same feel-ings of well- being and hope, and though I know that some of the examples that are to follow may not resonate with ev-ery individual life experience, I hope a few of them do. I also hope they spark a positive chain reaction of gratefulness in others’ lives, as they have in mine. I, for example, can be grateful that I am a human being. I have legs that can walk and run and kick and dance. I have arms that can hug and swing and hands that can hold a cup and a pen and flip through the pages of a book. I have eyes that can see and a brain that can prop-erly process those images and other in-formation. I have ears that can hear. I have food to eat and a roof over my head, and I have a bed to sleep in every night. I have a group of friends who are funny and interesting and supportive, I have a family that is weird and enter-taining and I have acquaintances and strangers to fill all the other roles that a life could possibly need. At any given time, I might be going through some-thing rough, but I always have these things to fall back on. These positive threads weave a positive background to even the most negative situation. They support me, and they make me who I am. They are not double-negatives pre-tending to be positives. They are posi-tives, simple and unforced.

Two Negatives Do Not Make A Positive shows were canned or put on hiatus.

This year, though, they plan on adding a new live-action show called “Level Up”.

As we grow older, the shows lit-tle kids watch seem to worsen. I’ve watched some of Cartoon Network’s

Recently, I came upon Nickel-odeon, which was airing “Kung Fu Panda: Legend of Awesomeness”. I was disgusted at the lack of good cartoons these days, and began to take a trip down memory lane. The cartoons when I was young were amazing. Some of these shows were “The Grim Adven-tures of Billy and Mandy,” “Hey Arnold,” “Codename: Kids Next Door,” “Ed, Edd and Eddy,” “Dex-ter’s Laboratory,” “The Power-puff Girls,” “CatDog,” “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and “Invader Zim.” Whatever happened to shows that weren’t movie spinoffs? Currently Nickelodeon has sev-en cartoon shows, four of which are made in 3D. Along with these horrible abominations, they have seven live-action series. In 2000, Nickelodeon had 11 animated shows, none of which were spi-noffs or made in 3D, and they had about six live-action series. Cartoon Network, a network previously known for only show-ing cartoons currently has 16, nine of which are acquired pro-gramming. The network had re-ceived serious criticism from viewers when they added several live-action shows, such as “Dude, What Would Happen?” and “De-stroy Build Destroy”. All of these

Continuing Decline in Quality of Cartoons

new cartoons, and they are terrible for little kids. Shows like “Regular Show” and “Adventure Time” have characters who curse, make sexual innuendos and kick each other in the nuts. These are the things we, as teenagers, would enjoy, not 10-year-olds who don’t under-stand how babies are born. The networks have changed more than just the programming. In 2009, Nickelodeon rebranded several networks to reflect they were part of Nickelodeon; The N became TeenNick, Noggin be-came Nick Jr. and Nicktoons Net-work became Nicktoons. Nickel-odeon also changed it’s logo for the first time in over 20 years. In late 2008, Toonami, Car-toon Network’s Saturday action program block, was ended and replaced soon after by a far less entertaining Friday action block schedule. Cartoon Network also changed its logo to just a “CN”. Nickelodeon and Cartoon Net-work were some of the greatest things of my childhood, and since around 2007 and 2008 they have become progressively worse. The reason is that the best shows all ended during that time, leading the networks to essentially change

their entire programming schedule and change the networks them-selves.

Cartoon by Michael Matthes

By Anders Norberg

Twelve years into the modern age, Twitter and Facebook remain the two greatest social networking sites. Wide-ly popular and heavily used, they have sparked the ultimate social media show-down, Facebook versus Twitter.

Now, I’ve been a Facebook fan for a number of years and it is a brilliant innovation. Undoubtedly one of the most useful tools of the modern age, Facebook enables users to stay in touch with friends’ on the other side of the world, to stay up to date with the latest events, to keep note of friends birthdays

and to post photos, all with a minimal amount of effort. Facebook also al-lows users to join and make groups, making it easier for clubs, teams and other groups to pick meeting times and collaborate ideas. However, the forever-changing format of Facebook is annoying, and the new timeline for-mat is at once confusing and a stalker’s paradise. Facebook is also becoming too commercialized, with a new Farm-ville request around every corner, and random spam that causes users to un-wittingly post the same ad or video on basically every single one of their Face-book friends’ walls. Therefore, I have begun to focus my attention on Twitter. Previously be-lieving that Twitter was stupid, a com-pletely unfounded idea, seeing as how I had never even used the site before, I have now come to the realization that Twitter is better than Facebook. Not-withstanding the useless tweets about a person’s eating habits (no, I do not care about what you ate for breakfast, or lunch for that matter), Twitter pro-

vides a forum for debate over issues, whether trite, but fun comments about tribulations of one’s favorite, or least favorite, celebrity, or for debate over current political agendas of presidential candidates. Twitter also lets users stay up to date with all sorts of news, with-out having to peruse the Internet for factual information regarding current issues and topics. If one so desires, he or she can find as many corny jokes as he or she wants on Twitter, without having to spend time looking. The hashtag also serves as a boon of Twitter, connecting thousands or even millions of people to the same phrase or idea. And the best part about Twitter? Not one single Farmville request in sight… However, Twitter and Facebook are both very distinct social media sites and therefore reach different audiences and provide different experiences. So whether you are a Zuckerbergite or a Biz Stoner, everyone should get on board with both sites and understand the real benefits of each.

Facebook Losing Battle vs. Twitter in Social Networking

Death Match

By Nathaniel Rees

Shown above is a bird, now commonly recognized as the logo for Twitter. Each tiny pixel shows the ever expanding pro-file pictures of Twitter users and the place they hold in the social networking world.

Photos Courtesy of flickr.com

8 JANUARY 27, 2012EDITORIAL Pitchthe

The Rollercoaster of Senior Year Telephone operators are the bane of my existence. No mat-ter what the question is, calling customer service means a long ordeal, full of useless comments, robotic voice machines, and the worst, waiting on hold. As some-one with family members who are the complete opposite of tech-nologically savvy, there are many times we must call customer ser-vice. Whether for TV or phone is-sues, appliance dilemmas, or just a quick question about the new furnace my parents bought, I can expect the customer service per-sonnel to view the question as a huge imposition on their time, or as a kindergartner would feel if told to read the novel The Scarlet Letter. Why is the issue of customer service incompetence fresh in my mind? Well, let us go back to Mon-day Jan. 2, the day before we went back to school. On this night, my brother and I were faced with the task of cook-ing our own dinner. Lazy as usual, we decided to heat up some leftovers and when the meal was heated sufficiently, I tried to open the oven. “Tried” is the appropriate word, because the oven flashed the words “oven lockout”, and the oven door would not budge. Though I turned the oven off, the oven, and the meal inside, began to get hotter and hotter. Countless pushing of useless buttons

later, we decided to call my mom. We have owned the oven for 13 years. Sure-ly my mom knew how to fix this disas-ter! However, she responded with a “no idea.” And that’s when the dinner burst into flames. Frantically, I called the company that made the oven, Kenmore and was met with a voice recording. Desperation took over, and I began to punch random buttons on the phone, and luckily, I end-ed up with a real person on the line. I

who had absolutely no idea what he was doing. “I’ll connect you to my as-sistant manager.” Long story short, I was connect-ed and put on hold three times, as smoke began to fill the room, and the smoke alarm went off. Finally, the manager of Kenmore told me to hold the “stop” button for three seconds, which would enable me to open the oven. What did I learn from this scare, besides the fact that oven lockout is the world’s most useless accessory button? That telephone operators are completely clueless. Why is it that, every time I, or anyone else, calls for service, it takes five or more people to answer a simple question? And why is it that a simple question always turns into an hour-long fiasco when dealing with telephone operators? There seems to be no point in hav-ing many customer service personnel who answer the phone because only

the manager ever seems to be able to answer any question. Maybe the job of a customer service receptionist is an hon-orary position, one in which the worker is expected to do absolutely nothing but infuriate the caller with long “holds” and unrelated coupon offers. Whatever the case, count me in to never call customer service again. I guess now I’ll actually have to read the manual.

started to explain my predicament, but was interrupted by a cool, calm, utterly disengaged and boring voice- “Would you like to receive coupons for new Kenmore items?” “A coupon? My friggen oven is on fire”! I wanted to scream. Instead, I ex-plained calmly once again that my meal was engulfed in flames and the oven was on “lockout”. “Uhh, let me think,” the man said with the unmistakable air of someone

Incompetence Pervades Telephone OperatorsBy Nathaniel Rees

Pitch Opinion: County Bag Tax Photo by Steven Groobert

Some operators seem clueless enough to attempt to read the dictionary upside down.

The New Year brought some resolu-tions, renewed expectations and a long-awaited beginning. It also brought a five cent tax on all plastic bags at Montgom-ery County retail stores, effective once the year began. If the government is going to tax any-thing, it should be things that destroy the environment, such as plastic bags. People shouldn’t be angry about this tax because they should have been using reusable bags in the first place. The plastic bag tax represents more than just another way for the govern-ment to raise money. It is an important and vital step in the struggle between a bustling human population and the fragile planet. The tax, with original roots in Washington, D.C., indicates the conscious attempt to protect the Chesa-peake and Anacostia watersheds. Because of the non-degradable nature of the bags, especially plastic bags, when they are carelessly tossed into the envi-ronment they end up in waterways and other important environmental areas, causing problems for a very long time. It is estimated that the fee will generate $1 million this year, money that will be used for water and liter cleanup in the area. The program in D.C. has “already re-

duced plastic bag litter that clogs the rivers and streams in Washington, D.C. by an estimated 65 percent” according to a Montgomery County announce-ment promoting the use of reusable bags. That number is astounding. The mere fact that in just 18 months this re-duction has taken place is encouraging. One can only imagine what the effects would be after say, five years. The only true complaint revolves around pets. Of course we must oblige by the communal law that their waste must be picked up and disposed. So, for that reason, plastic bags are use-ful. However, newspaper plastic bags (which are delivered on a daily basis) can be used effectively. If picking up solid waste from your pet is a legitimate problem, there are also things called pooper scoopers. The problems of pollution, over-population and even climate change have been largely ignored by lawmak-ers around the world. The Montgomery County Carryout Bag Law is a monu-mental step that assures and promises commitment at least on the local level for environmental action. It’s absolutely necessary and it’s time the nation re-sponds as well.

Pitch Opinion: Moco Bag Tax

Pitchthe 9

The Environmental Effort at WJBy Sari Amiel

Although our individual school’s eco-logical footprint is only a fraction of the nation’s, WJ staff and students are contributing to environmental health by making efforts to save energy and mitigate pollution. Perhaps there are inefficient aspects of WJ’s energy use, such as the hun-dreds of papers printed each day and the Styrofoam dishware in the cafete-ria, but our artificial turf, motion sen-sitive lights, and recycling bins help re-duce the school’s carbon footprint. The environmental club, the SERT commit-tee and other groups in the WJ com-munity are working to further reduce the school’s environmental impact and to increase ecological consciousness. “One of the factors that slowed us down [in] making changes was the ren-ovation,” said Patricia Tierney, AP Envi-ronmental Science teacher and sponsor of the environmental club. Regardless of this, the construction led to energy efficiency in the form of lights that turn off automatically, new heating and cooling systems and toilets that waste less water. “There could always be an increase in awareness,” said environmental club president and senior Iliana Lang. Under the direction of environmen-tal club presidents, seniors Iliana Lang and Maya Jordan, the club has ensured that the school has enough recycling bins and is now working on an energy efficiency pledge which they will hand out to teachers. Also, the club partici-pated in the Keystone Pipeline rally in D.C. on Sunday, Nov. 6 and went to the student-run Powershift Conference last April. Last year, the club sold T-shirts il-lustrated with the word “recycle” and distributed reusable bags, with the aim of reducing the number of plastic bags that many students haul back from Gi-ant each day. With Maryland’s new 5-cent tax on plastic bags, enacted Jan. 1, Lang hopes students will use fewer

er things we don’t always pay attention to it.” Overall, though, Lang has observed many environmentally conscious stu-dents within the WJ community, and her club has ample members for the time being. Cosgrove also noticed this improvement, which she attributes to efforts to publicize environmentally friendly behaviors. “It helps to have everything out there and easily accessible,” she said. As with much of this country’s popu-lation, high school students often hear of environmental issues without learn-ing nearly as much about what they can

do to remedy these problems. Students can then lose interest in being environ-mentally friendly, because they think the problems are so extreme that they alone cannot make a difference in re-solving them. Overall, for this reason, developing environmentally friendly behaviors and an understanding of the environment can be a challenge for students. The environmental crisis is pronounced. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon, are trapping heat in the atmosphere, causing global temperatures to rise. Overgrazing and overharvesting of food can destroy soil and decrease agricultural lands. Invasive species and an increase in land development can drive native species extinct. Deforestation is aggra-

vating the greenhouse effect and fossil fuels are not only a source of pollution, but a nonrenewable energy source. With population growth, food and wa-ter are growing scarcer. Still, Lang’s own viewpoint is both hopeful and realistic. “In this technological age, [the health of the environment] is decreasing, but at the same time we’re having new innova-tions to repair the damage we’ve done,” she said. There are also significant improve-ments being made by some of the same technology that has contributed to pol-lution. According to livescience.com, experts are researching ways to create oil from any carbon-based wastes, to fil-ter the salt out of ocean water so it can be drinkable, to replace fossil fuels with hydrogen fuel cells, to generate energy from the ocean’s tides, to use microbes and plants to clean up pollution, and to use electronic sheets of paper. These sheets of paper resemble current sheets, but they are made of electronic particles that can form new arrangements and words, like computer screens. “I’m actually pretty optimistic,” said Tierney. “This [recession] is a great op-portunity for people to… engage in more environmentally friendly eco-nomic activities.” However, Lang is concerned that be-ing environmentally friendly is only a current fad, like buying organic food. “You don’t want it to just be a phase that goes away,” she said.

FEATUREJANUARY 27, 2012

plastic grocery bags. “I think we’re doing a pretty good job… both in recycling and conserv-

ing our energy,” said Business Manager Kathy Cosgrove. Cosgrove helped the environmental club distribute recycling bins and cre-ate flyers. She serves on SERT, which inspects schools and outlines improve-ments they can make. As of October this year, WJ earned an A from SERT on its environmentalism. All schools in the Montgomery County area have SERTs, and other members on this school’s team are Micah Wiggins, John Brooks and Patricia Tierney. In addition to the efforts currently being made, Cosgrove suggests keeping

doors to the outside closed and shutting down all computers and monitors when

leaving a computer lab. For students, Tierney rec-ommends recycling more often and walking, car-pooling or riding the bus to school. Lang added that leaving Promethean boards on all day is also inefficient. As for the heavy print-ing of paper that is com-monplace, it can partially be remedied by printing papers back-to-back, recy-cling the extra papers that are printed or using online hand-in and hand-out trays.

“Little things like that add up,” said Cosgrove. Unlike it is for teachers, Lang and Tierney observed that being environ-mentally friendly is not always a priority for students. “Sometimes [the environment] can become overlooked,” said Lang. “If we’re so busy with schoolwork and oth-

“In this technological age, the health of the environment is decreasing, but at the same time we’re having new innovations to repair the damage we’ve done.”

The environmental club gave this to teachers who signed it to sig-nify their efforts at keeping their classrooms greener.

Photo courtesy of Iliana Lang

The environmental club designed these bags and T-shirts to spread awareness about environmentalism.

Members of the environmental club attend-ed the Keystone Pipeline Rally in D.C. in No-vember of this year.

Photos courtesy of Iliana Lang

Photo courtesy of Tamar Chukrun

Photo courtesy of Tamar Chukrun

10 JANUARY 27, 2012FEATURE Pitchthe

11JANUARY 27, 2012 FEATUREPitchthe

WJ has never had a female SGA president in the past eight years. In addition, out of the three females who have been on the SGA in the past eight years, all three have held the position of secretary. Still, WJ at least has had female presi-dents of individual grades, and certainly has had female presi-dents of many clubs. As for the disparities within the SGA at WJ, the facts may not be surprising, given that disparities between female and male leaders are rampant in this country as a whole. Though women make up 51 percent of the population of the United States, the percentage of wom-en in Congress – the legislative body that is supposed to rep-resent the entire country – is only 17 percent. You may think this is “just the way things are,” since women only received the right to vote less than a century ago. How-ever, in the midterm election of 2010, the number of wom-en elected to political posi-tions actually decreased for the first time since 1979. Also, in the ranking of countries by the World Economic Forum, based on how well the coun-try reduced gender disparities from 2010 to 2011, the United States just entered the top 20 at rank 17, behind several Eu-ropean countries. However, Delegate Anne Kaiser of the 13th district of Maryland is one woman who never doubted her path to po-litical leadership. “I wanted to run for office since I was five years old,” she said. “[There was just] some-thing [that attracted me] about

public service and trying to make the world a better place.”Kaiser ran for the first time when she was 34, a young age by political standards. She is a member of the Ways and Means Committee and the chair of the Education Com-mittee in Maryland’s Congress. She is now entering her tenth year of office. “I would prefer [for] there to be more [women],” said Kaiser. “[But as one of my colleagues put it,] you cannot be what you cannot see.” Kaiser believes that the key to getting women involved in politics is providing mentors, so women believe they can achieve that level of leadership. A documentary called “Miss Representation,” directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, was released in 2011 about this very concept – that the way girls are portrayed in the me-dia affects their perceptions of themselves and their interest in being leaders. “To see [female] leadership in reality and on the screen in television is huge for women,” said Marie Wilson, the found-ing president of the White House Project, in the docu-mentary. Encouragement from role models is significant because, as it turns out, when women actually run, they succeed just as often as men. “The important message to get out is that women, relative to the numbers that they run and relative to the number of open seats, do just as well as men,” said Kaiser. “The prob-lem is that women don’t even try.”

At WJ, though, the inequi-ties in the SGA may stem from a different issue. “Boys write funnier speeches and they get more votes,” said senior Ben Esenstad. Since the SGA officers are valued mostly for their humor in pep rallies and homecoming video, girls may choose not to run because they think they are too serious or too intelligent to get elected. “The jokes made by male SGA candidates that people find so funny wouldn’t be socially ac-cep t abl e c o m i n g f r o m a girl c a n -d i -

date,” said Sasha Gzirian, founder of WJ’s Gender Equity Club. This is a difficult cycle to break at WJ, given that there are few role models to get in-spiration from when it comes to SGA positions. However, there is support arising from many different areas of the school. “Women in leadership posi-tions think a lot more like I do than men do, so I like women leaders,” said history teacher Nathan Schwartz. “I’m all for it.”

This fall, the Gender Equity Unit was founded to discuss and face gender-based preju-dices in the WJ community. “Many people consider the women’s rights movement to be obsolete,” said club founder

senior Sasha Gzirian. “We’re trying to p r e s e r v e the senti-ments of that movement.”

She feels that the women’s r i g h t s move-m e n t is of-t e n

viewed as a thing of the past. In 1920, with the 19th Amend-ment, women received the right to vote. Since then, con-traception and abortion were legalized, and the Equal Pay Act was passed. This provides men and women of certain profes-sions with identical salaries. In other professions, though, the disparity between men’s and women’s salaries increased. Feminists are still working to increase the number of pow-erful women in office and to maintain the progress women have already made. “[I hope] women finally get the same wage for the same job as men, because there is still that disparity,” said Gzirian. The club was partially in-

spired by a class discussion last spring that ended with male students stereotyping women. “We were learning about how horribly women were treated [in medieval times],” said medieval history teacher Jeremy Butler. “I tried to have a discussion about why through-out history men tried to keep them powerless… but the guys ended up saying things that the women found offensive.” Senior Sarah Collins was the first to leave the class. Since then, Butler formally apolo-gized and the issue was re-solved. Butler thinks a lack of awareness may have contrib-uted to this conflict. “The men didn’t realize that it’s still a sensitive topic,” he said. This caused the club officers to realize that gender inequal-ity still exists in our society, even at WJ, and that prejudices are more strongly ingrained in many people than might be thought. “I think that there is a gender gap in our society and there are problems with gender [in-equality] that teenagers have to face,” said club member senior Abby Adler. Gzirian thought that girls and boys are taught different behaviors and standards from an early age, by society at large and at the micro level. Adler agrees, stating that teenagers’ gender divide is centered on a double standard. For example, guys who date many girls can be admired, whereas girls who do the same are often regarded as “sluts.” However, the gender divide is more pronounced in third-world countries, where

women’s rights can be serious-ly restricted. According to Equality Now, an organization founded to protect women’s rights glob-ally, women have been flogged for driving in Saudi Arabia. In Kyrgyzstan, brides are often kidnapped and raped. Some other issues in developing na-tions include child marriage and the lack of voting and prop-erty rights for women. Also, in many third-world countries, women are denied access to education, which leads to fur-ther prejudice and contrib-utes to higher birth rates and higher levels of poverty. There are many organizations, such as World Education, Inc., that work to provide stable educa-tion for girls. Despite the fact that female students at WJ are already getting an education, the Gender Equity Unit wants to make this environment prej-udice-free. “If someone feels that they’ve been violated…we can dis-cuss why that happened, [and] what we can do about it,” said Gzirian. However, she acknowledged that change is not always sud-den, especially in the school environment, where compet-ing concerns often exist. “Change comes organically,” she said. “You can’t force it.” Adler agreed that fostering awareness is the first step in bringing about change. “My hope [for resolving gen-der inequities] as of right now would be to raise awareness,” she said. “It’s tough to change what people think, but when you’re aware of something, it gets change moving.”

GenderEquity

By Ali JawetzBy Sari Amiel

Photos courtesy of flickr.com

G-Equity Unit: WJ’s Gender Equity ClubWomen’s Plight in Politics

12 JANUARY 27, 2012 FEATURE Pitchthe

Each week, Baker has a few pre-planned meetings. These are often with her leadership team, composed of all the department chairs in addition to the admin-istration. In these meetings, many of which occur

A Day in the Life of Principal Jennifer Baker It is 7 a.m. on a weekday and Principal Jenni-fer Baker arrives at school. After checking her email and responding to urgent matters (such as malfunc-tioning equip-ment) in the build-ing, she goes into the halls and greets students. For most of her day, Baker conducts meetings with staff, mem-

bers of her administrative team, students and parents. However, she also occasionally leaves the school to attend meetings elsewhere, sometimes with other MCPS high school principals or various committees. From day to day, Baker’s schedule varies. “The thing I like about this job is that it’s different almost every single day,” she said. “It’s almost easier to look at my job in a week, as opposed to in a day.”

WJ Students Lend a Helping Hand in Haiti While some WJ students were tanning on faraway beaches or lounging at home, Emily and Charlotte Fallick spent winter break in Haiti, helping rebuild houses and offering support to displaced victims after the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake on January 12, 2010. “The devastation is very prominent,” said Emily. “Refugee camps, piles of burning trash and ruins were everywhere.” The Fallick family travelled to Haiti with their syna-gogue, Adat Shalom, and spent the majority of the trip working in Leogane, the epicenter of the earthquake, where they were building earthquake-proof duplexes for people currently living in the “tent cities.” Over 500 people were killed in Leogane during the earth-quake, many of whom were priests and nuns working at the Sainte Rose de Lima School there, according to the Washington Post. “I personally spent most of the time making trusses, the triangular foundations for the roof,” said Emily. However, because of the lack of proper equipment, such as power tools and metal gussets, they were able to make about eight trusses in four days, which would have taken only one day in the United States.

By Jenny Deutsch

By Megan Chun

Principal Jennifer Baker combines interactions with the student body with administrative responsibilities.

Last year’s earthquake left many in Haiti without proper homes.

Photo by Steven Groobert

after school hours, Baker and the team work to plan upcoming events. Issues such as the need for police or security for a school event will be discussed. Around 5 p.m., Baker goes home and eats dinner before heading off to some sort of WJ event or sports game. “Anytime I’m out at an event, I interact with parents or students, and I love that,” she said. “That’s one of my favorite things to do.” Baker notes that going to school events and games may be one aspect of her job that many students over-look. “Sometimes people seem very surprised [when they see me at events],” she said. “I’ll have students say, ‘You’re at everything!’” Apart from organizing and attending school events, Baker also feels a strong responsibility to protect WJ’s academic standing, particularly among colleges and universities. She regularly observes WJ classes and provides feedback to teachers. “You want colleges to look at a student coming out of WJ, and say, ‘Hey, that school has a great reputa-tion,’ so preserving and protecting the reputation of the school [is important to me],” she said. “I want peo-ple to view our school as a school that can educate a bunch of different types of students, can offer a lot to students, and has really high academic standards.” Baker feels that, although some days may be full of conflict resolution and disciplining students who make “bad decisions,” she still enjoys her work.

“Obviously it felt good to help, but I felt like I wasn’t doing very much,” said Fallick. “For the same price I paid for the trip we could have hired 49 Haitians from the village.” The earthquake took place Tuesday Jan. 12, 2010 and caused extreme destruction. An estimated 316,000 people died and millions more were left in-

“I still look forward to coming to work the next day because I know that a lot of amazing things can happen [at WJ],” she said.

jured and homeless. Haiti, a country with a long his-tory of social and economic problems, is having a hard time recovering from such a disaster. According to the CIA World Factbook, Haiti is the poorest country in its hemisphere. Eighty percent of the people in Haiti are below the poverty line. The earthquake it experi-enced in 2010 damaged Haiti’s already weak economic system, since Port-au-Prince, its capital, was ruined in the natural disaster. Due to this, its Gross Domestic Product contracted about 5.1 percent in the year fol-lowing the earthquake. After the earthquake, relief efforts poured in from all over the world. The United States alone sent thou-sands of troops. Private nonprofit agencies sent in vol-unteers and doctors and donated money to the recon-struction effort. Since the horrific natural disaster, the Haitian gov-ernment has also launched many programs in the hope of assisting the millions of people still living in pov-erty. One of these programs, called “Aba Grangou,” is a national food effort designed to feed 2.2 million school children. “Aba Grangou,” in Haitian, means “Down with Hunger.”

Senior Emily Fallick formed connections with members of the Haitian community.

Messages of inspiration were found even in the seemingly hopeless situation.

Living conditions in Haiti remain less than optimal.

Principal Jennifer Baker supports the basketball team.

Photos Courtesy of Emily Fallick

13ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTJANUARY 27, 2012 Pitchthe

Books are the standard form of literature for today’s youth, but the Kindle seems to be slowly taking over. Since its debut in 2007, the Kin-dle has become increasingly popular. Though its advantages over books are considerable, altough the drawbacks do not go unnoticed. A Kindle owner can has access to a library of books on a device that weighs only 10-20 ounces. The Kin-dle can download a book in 60 sec-onds, saving a trip to and from the bookstore. Built-in Wi-Fi also makes online review searches quick and convenient. “[Kindles] are better because they have many books in one place,” said junior Steven Gondre-Lewis. “Not having to leave the house to get a book can help motivate people to read in my opinion.” Although the first payment of the Kindle can be a bit pricey, the books are significantly cheaper and there are deals as low as 99 cents a book. Though it may be aggravating for some to have to charge a Kindle in order to read a book that in print form requires no power at all, its charge lasts up to one month. There

are also many different models of the Kindle and other reading devices like the Nook and more. The Kindle will connect to your Amazon account and bill your credit card or home just as if you bought a pair of shoes from the same website. Despite these advantages, some students still prefer books over elec-tronic readers. “I don’t know why I prefer books,” said sophomore Emma Teal. “I feel the Kindle is pushing technology where it is not necessary.” Teal explained the Kindle cannot replicate the smell of a brand new book and the feel of turning the pag-es.

By Emily Cosentino

The Future of Literature

The price of books on the Kindle might be cheaper, but the price of the Kindle itself is high. Students can pay 15-20 dollars for a book every once in a while but 79-199 dollars may seem a little steep. Along with other electronic de-vices, the Kindle can be easily dam-aged. Except in a few circumstances, a book will remain intact. The main advantage of the book is its classic appeal. Generations grew up reading books. Being able to hold a book is a different feeling then holding an electronic device. Books can be donated, shared and passed down while the Kindle most likely will have one user. If the modern luxuries of a Kindle increase its popularity, what will the future of reading become for the next generations? Will bulky textbook be replaced with electronic versions? Even versions of biblical text are now available on the Kindle. Although the evolution of litera-ture is in play, it seems that for now it only involves casual, not academic, reading. According to an article by USA Today, 90 percent of college students

Photo By Emily Cosentino

would recommend the Kindle for ca-sual reading but not as a study tool. Electronic readers may be increas-ing in popularity but are not being used for academic purposes. Whether people are for screen or paper, the future of our reading is evolving.

Sophmore Moriah Austin-Brantly takes some time from school to read on her Kindle.

Photo By Emily Cosentino

Electronic reader devices like the Kindle and the Nook are increasing in popularity but books are still a classic for the current generation. WJ students talk about their opinions on the evolution of literature.

14 JANUARY 27, 2012ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Pitchthe

Exploring the SmithsonianBy Taliah Dommerholt

Though WJ’s proximity to D.C. is often taken for granted, the school is located near one of the prime destinations for art seeking, history-absorbing and science crazed museum-goers of the world. Just a 20 minute metro ride away, the Smithsonian holds a multitude of exhibits open to the public. Such exhibits cover the broad interests of the tourists and intellectu-als and sixth graders on their annual field trips alike, opening even the most critical eyes to information that will keep them engaged for hours. And the best part is—the museums are free. Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian is the largest museum and research institution in the world, com-prising of 19 museums and galleries along with the National Zoo. The entire complex is far too large for a person to cover in one day, but living in the D.C. Met-ropolitan area, easy access is guaranteed. It’s a given that most people living in the area are well-accustomed to dragging relatives and family friends to the National Mall for some ogling of T. Rex bones

and then a quick pic-ture with the Wash-ington Monument balanced in some-one’s palm. However, there is much more to explore than the usual sites, with new exhibits almost every month and a variety of museums that may not have been appeal-ing at younger ages, but can now be sur-prisingly interesting. Begin at the Ameri-can Art Museum, at the Gallery Place/Chinatown stop on the Red line of the metro. First be sure

to check out photographer Annie Leibovitz’s new exhibit “Pilgrimage,” which includes photographs of American landscapes and shots of iconic individu-als’ homes, including those of Georgia O’Keeffe and Thomas Jefferson. Each subject has a distinct per-sonal meaning for Leibovitz and the collection forms a narrative of the history her photographs have told throughout her 40 year career. Then move to the Renwick Gallery, where you can find the collection “Something of Splendor: Decora-tive Arts from the White House,” featuring over 95 objects, including furniture and textiles from the White House’s private collection. The collection not only gives an inside peak at life in the home of the presidents, but also displays a history of interior design trends. Conveniently situated in the same building, the Por-trait Gallery runs adjacent to the American Art Muse-um. Its name speaks for itself, but a current temporary exhibit that should not be missed is “The Black List: Photographs by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders,” featur-ing images of prominent African American figures of a variety of backgrounds, depicting their successes and contributions to a society in which they were histori-cally marginalized. Approximately a 20-minute walk away is the ac-claimed National Museum of American History. One exhibit to see is titled “Bon Appetit! Julia Child’s Kitchen at the Smithsonian.” In fact, on site is her ac-tual kitchen, reassembled. In 2001 Child donated the kitchen, well known for its appearance on her televi-sion cooking programs, to the museum. Next door on the National Mall sits the ever-pop-ular Natural History Museum. As a popular fieldtrip destination, most are very familiar with its permanent exhibits (although the mammals exhibit never seems to get old), but in a few months the museum will hold a new exhibit titled “Against All Odds: Rescue at the Chilean Mine,” including video footage, rock samples and mementos from the 33 miners who were trapped for almost two months. For a break from the indoors, the Sculpture Garden next to the National Gallery of Art has an ice skat-ing rink open to the public that lets visitors enjoy the winter atmosphere while skating amongst larger-than-

life sculptures. One should never pass over a trip to the United States Botanical Garden. The garden was established in 1820 by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and it is situated right next to the Capi-tol. The indoor gardens and galleries of the conserva-tory emphasize the diversity of plants from around the world and their cultural, scientific and economic func-tions. The conservatory holds a desert, a jungle, an or-chid room and multiple other ecosystems that highlight sustainability and biodiversity. A walk through the different exhibits takes you to all different parts of the world, allowing the museum-goer to experience foreign ecosystems without ever having to leave D.C. Having grown up in Bethesda, it is often that one develops an indifference toward Washington D.C. and how much it has to offer. It’s easy to overlook the many benefits of living in a metropolitan suburb, but it’s never too late to open take a look around and be-gin exploring the nation’s capital and its many cultural sources.

Washington D.C.’s Prime Museum and Research Complex and a Place to Explore

Cartoons by Michael Matthes

Map Courtesy of the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program

15JANUARY 27, 2011 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTPitchthe

This Week in Theaters

Albums Releases

Consequences of College Consumerism what to do with obsolete college wear

At the end of every college tour, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll hear something along the lines of: “The college store is just around the corner.” College t-shirts, sweatpants, lanyards, notebooks, bumper sticks, yoga pants and even magnets are all conveniently located 10 feet away from the end of the tour. Some students like to show sup-port for schools to which they’re apply-ing by buying clothes emblazoned with college spirit, while some buy such par-aphernalia because the colors are pretty. Maybe they just really like spending

money on overpriced clothing. But what to do with the college ap-parel once you decide on a specific school and have nixed the others? There are a few options. You can give it away to a sibling or friend, burn it, leave it at the bottom of your closet or be that person wearing a Harvard sweat-shirt at the University of Maryland. Senior Robyn Bernstein has a long family history at University of Michigan and has plenty of t-shirts, bumper stick-ers and even earrings with the Michigan logo. “If I hadn’t gotten in [to University

of Michigan], I still would have kept them to wear at my family’s Michi-gan parties and football games,” she said. Having clothes from parents’, sib-lings’, or friends’ alma maters is not an unusual phenomenon. “The only college clothes I own are from Univer-sity of Illinois and North-western, because that’s where my parents went” said senior Emily Katz. It’s the same story for senior Sophie Mindes, who has college apparel from Kenyon Col-lege, Boston Col-lege and New York University. “For Kenyon College, I have a t-shirt because I’m applying and my dad went there,” she said. “I also have

By Danielle Markowitz

multiple things from BC since my brother goes there, and I just really love NYU.” Some seniors simply avoid buy-ing college apparel out of superstition and instead opt for smaller things like note-books or lanyards. Some seniors see college apparel as a promise for the fu-ture, though. I remember that last year, a senior wore an NYU sweatshirt on an almost weekly basis. One day I asked him if he got in. He said, “No, but I’m hoping.” Whether it’s based on superstition or hope, college apparel can represent the future. Deciding on a college is one of the biggest decisions we teenagers make in our early lives. So maybe you own a myriad of University of North Caroli-na Chapel Hill clothes because it’s the school of your dreams, or maybe you

own a small key chain from University of Maryland

that a sibling bought as a holiday present. One way or another, just remember that the t-shirt you own may not be your future, and wherever you

end up, make the best out of those next four years.

See answers online at www.wjpitch.com!

Sudoku

Cartoons drawn by Michael Matthes

Feb. 3- Big Miracle - Chronicle- The Woman in BlackFeb. 10- Journey 2: The Mysterious Island- Safe House-Star Wars Episode One 3D-The Vow

Jan. 31-Lana del Rey: Born to Die-Ringo Starr: Ringo 2012

Feb. 7-Dr. Dog: Be the Void-Of Montreal: Paralytic Stalks-Paul McCartney: Kisses on the Bottom-The Fray: Scars and Stories-Van Halen: A Different Kind of Truth

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By Cameron Keyani and Michael Matthes

Halo is gone. What do we do with our lives now? For weeks, students played it covertly on a server in the school computers with little repercussions. Then every Jim Madcow and Suzie Wildcat caught wind of it, and the game was shut down instantly. People abused the awesome power they had, play-ing Halo instead of doing assignments and listening in class. It was not an uncommon sight to walk into a computer lab with a teacher lecturing while every single monitor was lit up with scenes of intergalactic slaughter. We learned a lot from this experience. It was not that people shouldn’t tamper with school property, or play video games on school time. What we learned was that too many people can’t be involved in some-thing cool, or else it gets ruined. Take the Occupy Wall Street movement. The 99 per-cent is complaining that the one percent has too much power and wealth. Well guess what, if everyone had wealth, wealth would suck. Forbes would tout owners of horses and one bedroom shacks rather than billion-aire philanthropists. Cool things by nature are exclusive. The hottest nightclub is the one that is the hardest to get into, cool music is usually not getting air play on 99.5 FM, and cool kids are usually the ones who don’t search for the approval of others because they are happy with themselves. Whenever something cool pops up, people flock to it like a bunch of slavering dogs and ruin it for the small group of people who are actually passion-ate about it. Halo on the Student Shared folder is just one example in a laundry list of cool, perhaps illicit, things that have been ruined by too many clingers be-ing reckless and stupid. It should be noted that “popular” used to be a dis-paraging word, describing something vulgar and stu-pid that the unwashed masses liked, such as gladiator fighting and public theater. No one likes a dirty hipster who hates everything popular, but when things are ruined by mass popular-ity, it’s hard not to connect the two.

Third BaseThe Humor Column This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

Wintery Recipes

2 cups 1% or Skim Milk3 ounces Semisweet chocolate, chopped1 ounce Milk Chocolate, chopped1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

Heat the milk in a saucepan and remove from heat once simmering. Stir in the chocoloate until melted and then add the sugar, vanilla and ceyenne. Reheat and serve. Serve with whipped cream and chocolate nibs.

Spicy Hot Chocolate

Tomatillo Salsa1 pound Tomatillos1 Small Red Onion, choppedJuice of one lime2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped2 tablespoons Cilantro chopped1 Jalapeno Pepper, finely chopped

Peel the husks off of the tomatillos and rinse them until they are no longer sticky. Put them in a pan and roast them in the oven at 350 degrees until they are slightly brown and begin to fall apart. Place them in a bowl and blend them slightly with an immersion blender. Let the tomatillos cool before adding the onion, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, and pepper. Serve with tortilla chips.

Mom’s Turkey Chili2 tablespoons Olive Oil1 Red Pepper, chopped1 Yellow Pepper, chopped1 Large Onion, chopped¼ pound Carrots, chopped2 cans Diced Tomatoes1 pound Ground Turkey1 jar Salsa (of your choosing)2 cans drained and rinsed Dark Red Kidney Beans1 tablespoon Cumin½ tablespoon Chili Powder½ tablespoon PaprikaSalt and Pepper to taste

In a Dutch oven or a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil to sauté the peppers, onions and carrots. In a separate skillet, begin to brown the ground turkey. When the vegetables are soft, add the diced tomatoes and use a blender to grind up the vegetables into a sauce or leave them whole if preferred. Drain the fat out of the browned turkey and add it to the vegetables in the Dutch oven. Add the salsa, kidney beans and spices, simmering on low heat until ready to be served. Eat over rice or pasta with grated Mexican cheese on top.

“Man, I’m so glad we can share some quality time, just the two of us.”

Photo by Julia Cinquegrani

2 sticks Unsalted Butter1 cup Granulated Sugar1 cup Light Brown Sugar2 large Eggs2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract1 teaspoon Baking Soda3 cups All-Purpose Flour1 teaspoon Salt2 cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and grease two cookie sheets with cooking spray or butter. In a large bowl, blend together the butter and sugars until creamed and fluffy. Whip the eggs and vanilla until mixed and beat into the butter and sugar mix. In a separate bowl, combine the bakind soda, flour and salt. Slowly add the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Once completely combined, stir in the chocolate chips. Drop spoon-fuls of batter onto the cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

By Taliah Dommerholt

Artwork by Michael Matthes

After a day in the snow, these homemade family recipes will simultaneously warm and fill you up.

16 JANUARY 27, 2012ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Pitchthe

17JANUARY 27, 2012 SPORTSPitchthe

18 January 27, 2012SPORTS Pitchthe

On NFL teams, the quarterback is traditionally the main leader on and off the field. Offenses usually revolve around him and teammates acknowl-edge his high relevancy. This past season all this has changed. With the exception of a few superior players, quarterbacks have become about as respectable as kickers. First off, it’s important to recog-nize the select few quarterbacks who earned their paychecks this year. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, New Orleans’ Drew Brees and New England’s Tom Brady once again had remarkable sea-sons and continued their legacies as all-time elite quarterbacks. Detroit quar-terback Matthew Stafford proved he’s on the rise and the Giant’s Eli Manning had his best season to date. After them a clear line is drawn. The difference between the top tier and bottom tier of quarterbacks is quite dramatic. I think everyone can agree that Indianapolis’ own Curtis Painter is the worst of the worst. After three years of playing the backup role, it was finally Painter’s turn to be the signal

caller when Peyton Manning suffered a neck injury and Kerry Collins failed miserably. Chaos ensued. I personally have never seen somebody struggle so much to pass a ball in my life and I’ve watched a lot of Redskin games. Over a span of nine games, Painter accumu-lated a total of just six touchdowns. It took Packers’ backup quarterback Matt Flynn just one game to reach the same total. Indianapolis was well aware of the ineptitude of their quarterback. They finally replaced Painter with Dan Or-lovsky, who is best known for leading the 2008 Detroit Lions to an impressive 0-16 record. As bad as Painter was, it’s still not fair to single him out in a season chock-full of lousy quarterbacks. In Washington, we were blessed with the opportunity to watch Rex Grossman heave up balls like he was in the pass portion of the Punt, Pass and Kick competition. Then there was John Skelton of the Arizona Cardinals, whose quarterback rating hovers slightly above his completion percentage. Houston’s T.J. Yates is still trying to figure out how to read a col-lege defense and Chicago’s Caleb Hanie averaged only 102 pass yards per game. We even got the special privilege of see-ing Kyle Boller pull out a 31.1 passer rating over the course of a couple games in Oakland. In Kansas City, the Chiefs were left with no choice but to play Ty-ler Palko. I’m willing to bet at least half their coaching staff still has no clue how

he got on the team. Even the quarterbacks with some legitimacy heading into the season couldn’t manage to do any good. Viking fans hoped Donovan McNabb could re-vive his career in Minnesota but lost all hope when he scraped out a grand total of 39 passing yards in his first game. Af-ter showing a lot of promise last year, Josh Freeman and Sam Bradford had ratings under 75 and led their teams to losing seasons. The Arizona Cardinals are suffering from buyer’s remorse after investing quite a bit in a trade for the former Phil-adelphia Eagle Kevin Kolb. Even worse, in New York, fellow Jet players are pub-licly questioning the supposed franchise quarterback Mark Sanchez’s work ethic and seem to have lost all confidence in him. Finally, this wouldn’t be a quarter-back conversation without mentioning Tim Tebow. As much as one may want to argue that he won a bunch of games, it is clear Tebow is not a good quarterback. His inaccuracy and poor mechanics sim-ply won’t ever give him the consistency a team needs from their starter. Grant-ed, he brings a lot of positive energy and leadership, but that will begin to grow old on teammates, and eventually he’ll suffer from not having an adequate skill set to fall back on. Either way, all can agree there will never again be as much buzz over a quarterback with a 46.5 completion percentage.

Every season has its share of laughable quarterbacks, but this year it was hard to ignore the abundance of them. More times than not, a team endures poor quarterback play due to the process of grooming a rookie or an injury but this year there were plenty avoidable situa-tions. For example, why would Seattle go into the season with Tavaris Jack-son as their starter even after his sub-par performances in Minnesota? Why would Washington be content with two guys who had both not been a starter for years? It seems as if some teams are starting to prioritize other positions over quarterbacks. Also, an unusually high number of quarterbacks saw their performances dip compared to recent years (i.e. Brad-ford, Freeman, Sanchez, and Rivers). Maybe quarterbacks are being coddled too much by their coaches and therefore don’t feel as much pressure to live up to expectations. Then again, the lack of success could be attributed to the lock-out shortened off-season, but I tend to write off that excuse since defenses were at the same disadvantage. We’ll see if the bad quarterback play becomes a trend this decade or if it is simply a one-year fluke. I just hope next time I turn on the NFL Redzone chan-nel I can see more touchdowns than in-terceptions.

Thaler’s Theorem

Recruiting Spotlight For three of the past four years, senior Garrett Pow-ell has been a consistent force for the WJ Swim & Dive team (Powell spent his sophomore season at George-town Preparatory School). As one of the team’s most experienced swimmers, he has put together a string of outstanding seasons. Powell has established himself as one of the met-ropolitan area’s elite freestyle swimmers, winning the Metros 500m freestyle title as a junior and garnering All-Met first team recognition in the process. After extensive training and solid performances at national meets, Powell has qualified for the Olympic trials in the mile (freestyle), and hopes to make the cut for the 400m freestyle and the 200m backstroke. Powell has been swimming since he was about two years old, starting out in his backyard, and he hasn’t stopped since. Throughout his high school career, he was able to catch the eye of prestigious NCAA Divi-sion I programs. But, due to NCAA restrictions, he was only able to communicate with coaches as early as his junior year. It did not take very long for Powell to decide. Earlier in the school year, Powell put pen to paper on his letter of intent to the University of Georgia. “Georgia was just the best pick for me, it had the academics I wanted along with the level of swimming,” said Powell. “Also, I fell in love with how pretty the school was.” Georgia is currently ranked ninth nationally, accord-ing to the NCAA official website, and second overall in the SEC, falling only behind Auburn. Powell currently holds four swimming records at WJ. He has the fastest individual time in the 500-yard freestyle, and the 100-yard backstroke. He is also part of the four-man relay teams that boast the fastest times in the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays. In the team’s most recent meet against B-CC, Powell won the 500-yard freestyle, finishing a whopping 18 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

Leading the pack for the other half of the Swim & Dive program is senior captain Annie Kastler. Kastler has been diving since she was about 10 years old, and has been a member of the WJ team since her freshman year. Kastler has put together a stellar senior season thus far. In every meet this season, she has finished in first place in the 1-meter dive, beating other competitors by an average score of 37.96. Last month on Dec. 10, in a meet against WJ rival,Churchill, Kastler set the WJ record for four dives, with a final tally of 200.35 points. Kastler’s consistent, high-scoring performances also earned the recognition of plenty of coaches at the col-lege level. For Kastler, what separated others from the pack, was a team dynamic similar to that of the one at WJ. “I like the team aspect of WJ Swim & Dive, and how supportive everyone is,” said Kastler. “I looked for a college team that has the same energy.” This past summer, Kastler was invited by coaches to take recruiting trips to schools, where she hoped to find her perfect match in terms of both academics and athletics. That search ended in September, when dur-ing National Signing Week, Kastler penned her letter-of-intent to the University of California-Berkeley. “I [felt] that the dive coach at Cal is a good fit for me, and I know that he will help me improve so that I can reach my goals,” said Kastler. Since coming to WJ, Kastler has been an absolute stalwart. But, as every elite athlete will tell you, there is always more work to be done, especially during the transition from the high school level to the college level. “I will need to work on a lot of basics to improve my form and perfect the more difficult dives that I learned this year,” said Kastler. “I also hope to get more experi-ence at meets and learn how to stay calm and focused.” The team will next compete against Whitman on Jan. 28, at the Martin Luther King Swim Center in Silver Spring.

Garrett Powell Annie KastlerBy Daniel Fanaroff

Seniors Annie Kastler (above) and Garrett Powell (below) have both committed to Divison I schools. Powell earned First Team All-Met honors last season and Kastler was named an All-American.

By Daniel Thaler

Photo courtesy of Jan Dommerholt

Photo courtesy of Andrew Ship

Assistant Sports Editor Daniel Thaler gives his opinion on the sloppy play of NFL quarterbacks

this past season

more calories than those who don’t play sports. Fats from processed junk foods and sugars are detrimental to the body and should be avoided. A healthy diet consists mainly of carbohydrates along with some protein and healthy fats. A common misconception among high school athletes is that they should eat large amounts of protein in order to increase strength and endurance. Al-though protein is important for athletes to have, excessive amounts can cause dehydration, intestinal irritation, risk of heart disease and kidney problems. As high school athletes proceed through their daily grind, eating and working out continues to be a main portion of their off-field time. Players consistently see the parallel between success on the field and taking proper care of their bodies.

19January 27, 2012 SPORTSPitchThe

comes important as ever. According to CNN, 39 football players fell victim to heat-related deaths between the years of 1995 and 2009. A little over a year ago

in Bowie, MD, a junior on the football team, Jonathan Nolan, collapsed and died while running laps. “[Once the season starts] I definitely eat more protein, less fattening foods, [drink] more water and sleep more,” said England. Football is not the only sport with two-a-days, though. Every team has its share of tough early season practices. That combined with the endurance it takes to make it through a couple months’ worth of games and practices really test high school athletes. For senior swimmer Fletcher Tollef-son, a majority of his free time is dedi-cated to swimming and conditioning. “[Throughout the season] I swim an av-erage of 19 hours a week with addition-al dry land conditioning,” said Tollefson. In order to sustain energy for the entirety of the season, according to Livstrong.com, athletes should eat

everal student athletes have tak-en on the task of strengthening their performances through giv-

ing up junk food and using extra time to get in game shape. On a daily basis, the school weight room and track are filled with athletes from various differ-ent sports. Although each sport differs in intensity, all kinds of athletes self-im-pose diets and workouts. “If not for my eating habits and con-ditioning, my body wouldn’t be able to keep up with the vigorous workouts at practice, which would lead to me los-ing a lot more matches than I should,” said junior Tommy Branthover who cur-rently weighs 130 pounds and is in the 126 pound weight class. Branthover is on the varsity wres-tling team, one of the most physically demanding sports at WJ. In addition to practices every weekday until 5 p.m., the team has to show up to school at 9 a.m. every Saturday and practice for two and a half hours. At practice, the team runs several sets of stairs just to warm up, do numerous pushups and core work, and then spend a lot of time wrestling, a grueling task in itself. “Our practices are sufficient for get-ting [the wrestlers] in shape but you can never do too much,” said wrestling coach Robert Yi. “Sometimes someone may need to get in extra running to make weight.” In addition, the commitment outside of school is trying. Each wrestler places in a certain weight class and it’s impor-tant for them to control their weight in order to be eligible for their next match. This means wrestlers must focus on their diets to make sure they don’t put on weight, but at the same time have enough energy to get through their schedule. “We encourage [the wrestlers] to eat enough, but not too much, where the food sits like a brick in their stomachs,” said Yi. “On days when the wrestlers are on weight, we suggest they eat foods such as power bars, fruit and turkey slices.” Sometimes though, situations will oc-cur where wrestlers end up falling into an unhealthy eating cycle. If they ease up on their diet for too long at any point, then they desperately find ways to make up for it.

“On match days, I eat a minimal amount of food to make weight,” said senior var-sity wrestler Max McCleskey. On the opposite end of the spectrum,

the football team is always trying to get bigger. They have workouts year around whether it’s weight lifting or condition-ing. “Before the season we do heavy weights. During the season we run more sprints and [do] lots of pushups, up downs and core work,” said senior quarterback Bryan England. Players say the coaches don’t pressure them as much about what they eat un-less they begin to fall out of shape. Most of the football players are aware that they are responsible for eating right. “I eat a lot of meat and carbs as well as vegetables and fruits. I try to eat healthy and stay away from sweets,” said Eng-land. Every August the season starts with a week of two-a-days, where the team has two practices a day made up of mostly conditioning. With temperatures usu-ally in the 90s, a player’s nutrition be-

Sacrifice for Success

S

If not for my eating habits and conditioning, my body wouldn’t be able to keep up with the vigorous workouts.

”“

By Daniel Thaler

Numerous high school sports require student athletes to constantly monitor their body weight. Sometimes the student athletes take drastic measures such as extreme dieting and working out to reach their target weight.

Bryan England pays extra attention to his diet during football season to allow him to reach his physical peak.

Tommy Branthover must strain himself to make weight before every tournament.

Photo by Steven Groobert

Photo by Steven GroobertPhoto courtesy of Adam Strochak

Student athletes alter diets and lifestyles to manage grueling seasons

The average number of TBI’s reported each year in America

SportsJANUARY 27, 201220

19

Concussions have become a prominent issue in sports today, ranging from the high school level all the way to the pros. Star athletes such as the NHL’s Sid-ney Crosby,the NFL’s Michael Vick and the MLB’s Jus-tin Morneau have missed time from their respective sports due to concussions and post-concussion symp-toms. Because of the recent uptick in reported head injuries lately, leagues ranging from high school to the pros have taken measures to prevent head injuries as well as try to improve identifying and treating them. Whenever an athlete steps on the field, the court or the ice, he or she knows they are risking injury. Al-though injuries rarely occur, each time athlete partici-pate in a sport there is a slim chance that they could get hurt. For junior field hockey player Kelsey Hickey, the game hadn’t even started when she was hurt. “It was before the game, and my teammates were passing to warm up,” said Hickey. “The ball hit the edge of the track and popped up and hit me in the head.” Hickey missed three weeks of practice due to post-concussion syndrome. Hickey is one of over 170,000 young adults who suffered a concussion in the past year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Freshman Jake Weinischke is another Wildcat athlete who suffered a concussion. Weinischke was hit from behind during his first JV hockey game of the year and hasn’t played since. He has now missed over two months of hockey and isn’t close to returning. “I feel pretty sad about it,” said Weinischke. “I love hockey and the WJ team has been a great experience.”Although the two experienced their injuries in differ-ent ways, there is one common theme in their stories: neither of the two realized that they had been con-cussed until much later.

“I thought I was fine,” said Hickey. “[My head] just kind of hurt. My friends asked me if I was okay and I said ‘Yes,’ but [Sophomore Anna Rowthorn] told me that I already had a bump the size of a golf ball on my head.” Hickey was still having problems focusing a few days later and became ill at practice before she went to a concussion specialist who informed her of the severity of her injury. Weinischke was so caught up in the moment that he didn’t realize he had been concussed either. “I was so [angry] at the kid who hit me that I didn’t re-ally consider that I might have a concussion until I got back to the bench where [my coach] performed the basic concussion test on me,” said Weinischke. “I went to the pediatrician the next day to figure out how bad the case was and what I needed to do to get better.” The basic concussion test that was performed on Weinischke has become more commonly used after blows to the head. At the Rockville Ice Arena, the steps of the test are posted on all benches and locker room doors and many leagues now require coaches to take classes on recognizing and treating concussions. Because of this effort, identification of concussions has risen in the past few years. According to the CDC, the number of reported concussions among children and adolescents has increased by 60 percent in the last decade. ”It’s hard to prevent a concussion because you don’t know when you’re going to get one,” said WJ’s head athletic trainer Karina Bond. “Everyone should have an awareness of signs and symptoms for a concussion and that seems to have increased over the last few years especially in the sports world.” Even though concussions kept these two, just like thousands of other high school athletes around the country, out of their respective sports, it also affected their school work, a fact often overlooked by many. According to the CDC, symptoms of a concus-sion include difficulty paying attention, confusion and memory problems, all of which have a detrimental ef-fect on a student’s ability to complete their work at school. “I missed three full days of school and then I went part- time for like, three or four days,” said Hickey. “I ended up dropping Spanish 5 because there was too much for me to make up.” Hickey said that even now, months after her original injury, she still struggles to read for long periods of time without getting headaches. Weinischke was relatively fortunate in that his injury occurred just before winter break so he didn’t miss as much school, though he was still affected academically as well. “I only missed two or three days of school,” said Weinischke. The state has established clear protocols on how to assess head injuries which has made it easier for trainers to help athletes who have experienced head

Percent of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) occur in adolecents ages 10-19

*All statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Percent increase of reported TBI’s over the last decade

70.5 60 170,000

trauma. “When an athlete gets injured due to head trauma, I automatically treat it as a possible concussion,” said Bond. “I check for all the signs and symptoms going through a list of questions, memory tests, and balance tests. We have a form that is to be filled out by myself or their coach and then taken to the doctor in order for them to be cleared and allowed back into partici-pation.” Due to the rising number of reported head injuries, leagues all over the country have implemented greater punishments for hits to the head; the Maryland Scho-lastic Hockey League, the governing body for all youth hockey in Maryland, has updated a checking rule so that any contact to the head, incidental or otherwise, shall draw a penalty. The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic As-sociation (MPSSAA), which runs all high school sports in the state of Maryland has a list of recommended courses for coaches to take on concussions, suggested workouts to prevent concussions and a form to give to parents describing a head injury to their child so that the parent can get proper care for their student-athlete. However, despite all of the precautions and work to improve concussion awareness, there are still stu-dent-athletes who are concussed every day. Hopefully, future technology can increase protection against con-cussions even more or prevent them entirely, but for now it is vital to athletes’ health that concussion aware-ness continues to rise among coaches and parents. “I’m a lot more careful [when I play sports],” said Hickey. That’s an attitude that every athlete should take.

By Phillip Resnick

Football has the highest rate of concussions in high school sports, with over .47 ouit of every 1000 athletes suffering some form of head injury.

Photo courtesy of Adam Strochak

Photo courtesy of Billy Glover

Although contact sports like hockey and football have high concussion rates, sports like soccer and girls’ lacrosse also post a suprisingly high number of concussions too.

The

HeaLth

IssueDieting effects athletes perfor-mance on the

field.

18Two WJ athletes commit to major

Divison I colleges.

Concussions Hinder Student Athletes’ Performance On, Off the Field