Warrior

Sherwood High School

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

37th Year, Issue No.2

December 5, 2014

the

Inside: News: 1-3, Gender Issues: 4-5, Features: 6-8, Humor: 9, Spotlight: 10-11, Opinions: 12-14, Wondering Warrior: 15, Entertainment: 16-17, Sports: 18-20

Unrest in Ferguson
Sparks A Social
Media Backlash

What kind of parents

do you have?
pg. 3

pg. 14
Starting as a bipartisan
endeavor in the beginning of
Obamas administration, which
was heavily advocated by policymakers, Republicans and Democrats revered in the Common
Cores promises of new tests, the
eradication of specific curricula, and the measuring of critical
thinking skills. These promises
would remain consistent across
state lines. But now, some of
those that so fervently endorsed
the policys reforms to school
testing and benchmark progress
reports have turned their cries of
admiration into those of disapproval.
On the conservative side,
some argue that although the reformations were initiated by state
law makers, the Common Core
has turned into an institution of
big government. Some liberals,
on the other hand, are beginning
to think that the Common Core is
in fact another high-stakes testing
program actually imposed from
Washington with big help from
wealthy foundations (Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation) and
little help from teachers, parents
and local communities. Although
many policy experts and moderate politicians, not to mention
President Obama, still support

The Backlash Against the Common Core

by Emma Heirholzer 15

Common Coretwo words that often drag along a slew of

thoughts, spoken in voices of greatly varying opinions. Stuck
between its supporters and opponents, it seems that the
shiny new policythe Phoenix of President George W. Bushs
No-Child-Left-Behind asheshas seen better days. In light of
this recent backlash against the educational reform, a rarity
has occurred within political circles; liberals and conservatives alike are calling for the dismantling of Common Core
and perhaps all of standardized testing in school systems
across America.

see TESTS, pg. 2

Starr Continues To Interact with MCPS Student Community

by Brian Hughes 15
and Betselot Wondimu 15

On Tuesday, Superintendent Joshua

Starr visited Sherwood as one of the middle and high schools in a series of town hall
meetings. Students who attended the town
hall asked a myriad of questions concerning academic programs and MCPSs distribution of funds. The more we can engage them in the leadership conversation
the better we are as a community and as a
system, said Starr.
Starr emphasized MCPSs plans regarding technological innovations in
schools. He began by commenting on the
county purchasing about 44,000 Chromebooks to distribute throughout its schools,
since their educational potential was the
highest for the most acceptable financial cost. We currently have the largest
Chromebook rollout in the country, Starr
said. Starr added that this push will help
solve important interdisciplinary problems.
With a dramatic increase in ESOL students
in MCPS, for example, Starr stated that the
universal nature of technology will allow
students to express their learning in a
more effective manner to their teachers and
peers.
Starr and MCPS Board of Education

Jack Armstrong 15

Dr. Starr (left) and Student Member of the Board Dahlia Huh (right) address students
concerns and answers questions at a town hall hosted by Sherwood on December 2.
President Phillip Kauffman also discussed
various issues with student journalists from
MCPS on October 29 during a Student Media Roundtable held at Carver Educational Services Center. Starr firmly noted that
MCPS will make a switch from Edline to
a grade-sharing website called myMCPS,
which teachers and staff currently use to
review curriculum and keep gradebooks.
The facilitation of student-teacher communication through the placement of all
information regarding student grades on
one website is the main push-factor for the

switch.
MCPS also plans to launch its new
Cybercivility initiative in December at all
school levels, acting as a resource for students, parents and teachers to consult for
advice about cyberbullying and emphasize
to students the effect of their cyber footprint, as Starr called it. The push in effort
toward Cybercivility began in early 2014,
when Starr created the Cybercivility Task
Force. While using twitter and other social
media websites to keep the MCPS community updated on information regarding

www.thewarrioronline.com

school events and closings, Starr noticed

an inappropriate amount of vulgar and offensive language being used by students
toward adults to express their opinions toward policies and closing decisions during
the winter. With this, Starr decided it was
necessary to form a group to identify resources and develop tools for schools and
parents to use that could promote civility
between students and adults online. As of
now, MCPS plans to incorporate student
contests such as PSAs, pledge campaign
videos, community forums and the like
to increase its efforts to help students deal
with cyberbullying, stressing that this will
be a largely community-run initiative.
Kauffman touched on the topic of
reconstruction and accommodations for
growth both now and in the future, discussing mainly the countys Capital Improvements Plan (CIP). The CIP is the Boards
list of revitalization projects, a list that
Kauffman said was established several
years ago. The order of priority for high
schools is currently Edison and Wheaton,
then Seneca Valley, Wootton, Poolesville
and eventually Damascus in 2024, said
Kauffman. When the list was revisited
years later by consultants, Kauffman explained that there were no major changes
at the high school level.

The WarriorNews
2

December 5, 2014

MCPS Avoids PARCC

S
W
E
N
in brief

Graduation Requirement
by Betselot Wondimu 15

On October 28, the Maryland State Board of Education

(MSBE) accepted a plan that pushed back PARCC exams as a graduation requirement for high school students to the 2016-17 school
year. The approval came after MCPS Board of Education President
Philip Kauffman wrote a letter to MSBE Superintendent Lillian
Lowery on October 7, asking that the state refrain from implementing its plan to use PARCC exams as a graduation requirement for
at least two years. According to Lowery, Maryland plans to implement two cut-scores for algebra and English tests: a lower cut score
that would fulfill graduation requirements and a higher cut score
that would reveal college readiness.
The MCPS Board of Education expressed concern over the
states original fast-paced plan to use PARCC exams as end-of-theyear tests that replace the algebra and English HSA exams, noting
that testing anxiety (and therefore scores unreflective of the student
bodys potential) would emerge after the hurried transition. In the
letter announcing the push in the PARCC exams implementation,
MSBE Vice President Mary Finan stated that the two-year plan
will allow our students and teachers to become more knowledgeable in the more rigorous standards during the transition.

Fairfax County High Schools

Change Start Times
by Madison Dymond 16

Shortly following Superintendent Joshua Starrs decision to

recommend against later start times for Montgomery County due
to financial restrictions, The Fairfax County School Board voted
11 to 1 to delay start times to between 8 a.m. and 8:10 a.m. in the
countys 22 high schools and three secondary schools.
According to an article in the Washington Post, this delay in
start times will cost around $4.9 million, which includes the purchase of 27 new buses. The middle schools will begin at 7:30 a.m.,
30 minutes earlier than they have in prior years.
The debate on start times has been ongoing for more than a decade, as studies have continually found that teens do not get enough
sleep. Teenagers need more sleep, said Sandy Evans, a Mason
District Representative for Fairfax County, in a WTOP story. This
is not good for their health. We know that our teen students are very
sleep deprived, said Evans.
The change in Fairfax County will become effective for the
2015-2016 school year. As for MCPS, there are no recent indications that high school will start later.

Sherwood Sackers
by Kaleigh Homer 15

Recently, a number of senior boys have taken up the hobby of

hacky sacking during their free time in hallways and outside the
Ertzman doors during lunch time.
The hacky sacking began when senior Riley Grimes brought a
hacky sack to lunch one day and started kicking it around. Others
soon joined him. Its fun, its relaxing and its convenient. It cant
get much better than that, said Grimes. Since hacky sacking is not
permitted in the school hallways the boys try to hacky sack only
outside.
A Sherwood hacky sack Twitter account gives updates and
shout outs to people who hacky sack in the community. The account was originally made by Grimes because Magruder also has
a Twitter for their hacky sackers, and the Sherwood hacky sackers
wanted to create a competitive atmosphere between them.

SGA Organizes Various School Activities

by Catherine Jou 15

Throughout the year the Student Government Association

works with the school coordinating and attending activities,
promoting school spirit and connecting to the community. Many
of these functions are unknown to
students or go unnoticed.

Representing Student Interests

Once a month the Montgomery County Regional Student
Government Association holds
a countywide General Assembly Meeting which hosts a number of representatives and SGA
members from different schools
that talk about various problems
within the county and transmit
the information from the Board
to the schools SGA, said MCR
liaison, junior Doron Tadmor.
On October 14 Sherwood
hosted the first annual MCR General Assembly Meeting. SGA and
class officers helped welcome
students from other schools.
Sherwoods SGA held its first
General Assembly in the cafeteria
on November 11. There are representatives from each Advisory
period who attend the meetings.
Before the General Assembly an
agenda and a colored notecard
specific to the grade were distributed. Students were encouraged
to take notes to report back to
their individual Advisories. The
notecards are collected at the end
to serve as feedback for what the
representatives of each advisory
period would like to see happen.
The SGA believes that the
weekly advisory periods allow
students to communicate better with teachers and provides
students with a more intimate
setting. [Advisory] takes a big
school and makes it small, said
SGA supervisor Catina Wist.
The general assembly is a
vehicle to communicate to the
whole student body. So it makes

Chase Wilson 16

SGA representatives (from left) seniors Katarina Stephanos, Annie Rafferty, Nikolas Kreiger and Hunter Moore address students and staff in
the crowd during the homecoming pep rally on October 30.
the student body into several
smaller groups. We have advisory
time so kids feel more connected to their high school. We can
hear what they want and listen to
what they want to say so we can
be proactive and inclusive in our
efforts, said Wist.

Planning Spirit Events

In addition to being a bridge
for communication, SGA Treasurer, senior Nikolas Krieger noted Advisory is a great avenue of
school spirit. A little over a month
ago SGA planned and helped out
with many homecoming festivities, which include spirit week,
pep rally and dance. We come
up with the ideas for spirit week
by having a meeting with all the
class officers and then throwing
out different ideas and having the
class officers and SGA officers
vote, explained SGA Secretary,
senior Hunter Moore.
We tweet at all activities, we
organize school spirit days that
arent just homecoming focused
but we do it seasonally in conjunction with the class officers so
were all on the same page and
everyone is promoting school

spirit, said Wist.

Although SGA is planning on
having a Sadie Hawkins dance,
many obstacles must be resolved
in order for it to happen. You
have to get pricing for DJs, pricing for security after hours, you
have to talk to administrators to
see if were even allowed to have
a dance. Decide how many tickets
are going to be sold and the price
of tickets, said SGA President,
senior Katarina Stephanos

Giving Back to the Community

The SGA also works with local charities. Last year the SGA
donated the proceeds made from
Mr. Sherwood to the Wounded
Warrior Project and Lilys Hope.
As events happen we take action
to help other charities, said Wist.
SGA has worked on the can food
drive in association with Olney
Help and will be assisting the
Doctors of Tomorrow with the
blood drive on December 19.
We are just trying to bring
the Sherwood cluster together.
We try our hardest to organize
and keep the school running,
said SGA liaison, senior Chis
Chiogioji.

Common Core Standards Stir Controversy

all off, David Coleman was elected president of College Board

the Common Core, the opinions
the same man who was a main
of dissenters have had a seemingcreator of Common Core ideals.
ly snowballing effect; more and
Conspiracy theorists have even
more people are being swayed
begun to think that the Common
in the direction of opposing the
Core and its testing protocols
will be a financial payout for
educational reforms. With
College Board.
the conservatives fearing
a federal takeover, and the With the conservatives fear- The grand bipartisan
liberals fearing too much ing a federal takeover, and the consensus has been cut clean
influence from big business, liberals fearing too much in- to the bone, offering a preview of the obstacles facing
it seems that two unlikely
parties have found common fluence from big business, it future reform efforts. Activground in hating the same seems that two unlikely parties ists are even attacking Colemans new Advanced Placething they once championed.
But when did the Com- have found common ground ment tests, overseen by the
mon Core specifically fall in hating the same thing they College Boardtests they
fear have been influenced
out of graces with people? once championed.
with the same agendas of the
Most can trace its problems
Common Core.
back to the Obama administrations heavy handed tactics to steered states in the direction of Amid all of this chaos, the
induce states to join the Common adopting Common Core policy once happy-faced politicians who
Core. With the recession still in changes. Other critics also felt found promise in the proposed
full swing, states now have been that all the philanthropists and changes to standardized testing in
accused of adopting Common corporations were ending up schools are frowning with worry
core policies too quickly due to gaining control as they teamed as they start to wonder what hapthe massive incentive proposed up with Common Core lobbyists pens when the Phoenix burns
by the administration. If states and policy makers in the support
The question is: will anything
began adopting the new college of the new reforms. And to cap it rise from the ashes?

from TESTS, pg. 1

readiness standards set out by the

Common Core, they could have
the chance to win federal funds
provided by the Department of
Educations new program called
Race to the Top. This large sum
of money, critics argue, clearly

The WarriorNews
December 5, 2014

Students Speak Out through

Social Media about Ferguson
by Betselot Wondimu 15

On August 9, Police Officer

Darren Wilson shot and killed an
unarmed black teenager named
Michael Brown in Ferguson,
Missouri. Brown, who was an
18-year-old college-bound student, graduated from his high
school eight days before the
shooting. Though some feel Wil-

son was defending himself, the

fact that Wilson was not arrested
after the shooting sparked outrage
in the Ferguson community, who
felt that Browns death represented a larger issue that continues to
plague American society: police
discrimination against minorities.
After months of highly-publicized protest, a grand jury decided not to indict Wilson on

November 24, believing that the

evidence they were provided with
pointed more toward self-defense
than homicide. This decision led
to further civil unrest and debate
surrounding the issue of racial
profiling and police brutality nationwide. Although Wilson wont
face criminal charges, he did resign from the Ferguson Police
Department on November 29.

Twitter

Alex Hanson, Sherwood

Ethan Cadeaux, Northwest

Facebook

Zach Williams, Northwest

Snapchat

Sophie Mezebish, Sherwood

Do not shoot. This cigarillo is not

a weapon. I did not choose the skin
tone I was born with. Injustice must
end before its too late. R.I.P. Mike
Brown.
~George Barksdale, Blair

photo courtesy of George Barksdale

Class of 2014 Sat Scores

Lower Than That of 2013
by Ketki Chauhan 16

Average SAT scores for the

Class of 2014 increased overall
in MCPS while declining at Sherwood. The scores are used by
Sherwood administrators to target
students who are struggling and
to see what areas students overall
need more improvement on. The
scores, however, do not dictate
what is taught to the students.
Sherwoods Class of 2014
had an average total SAT score of
1588, compared to 1611 for the
Class of 2013. For a number of
years, Sherwoods average SAT
scores ranked the school near the
middle of the countys 25 high
schools.
The schools participation
rate for taking the SAT has also
dropped from 82.9 percent to 78.6
percent. However, the percentage
of last years seniors who have
taken either the SAT or the ACT
was 83.7 percent, which is higher
than the goal of at least 80 percent
established in Sherwoods School
Improvement Plan.
Another school goal, according to Assistant Principal Kathryn
Carroll, is that 68 percent of students score a 1650 or higher on
the SAT. A 1650 score is considered by MCPS as the benchmark
for college readiness. The challenge has been that about 48 percent of our students who take the
SAT or ACT make 1650 on the
SAT and at least 24 on the ACT.
It is not only important that you
take the test, but also that you do
well on the test, said Carroll.
Carroll uses the College
Readiness Monitoring Tool to
identify students who have not
taken SAT/ACT and also students who did not score 1650 on
the SAT or 24 on the ACT. She
shares information, practice test
material and other resources to
help students prepare for the college exam of their choice. Some
students choose to take the exams
for a second time after more test
preparation based on their individual goals. Students are also ad-

vised to enroll in the College Prep

class here at Sherwood.
Principal Bill Gregory believes participation is important
to keep in mind when looking
at the schools scores. He points
out that a few schools with better
scores have lower participation
rates. Gregory values both participation and performance and
would not like to see an improvement in scores if participation is
dropping at the same time.
Math resource teacher Jordan
Bennett envisions more students
preparing for college entrance
tests through resources like the
PSAT, mock tests and preparation
classes. He believes that there are
many factors in being successful
on the SAT, which includes test
taking strategies. He added that
many students at Sherwood understand the mathematical concepts on the SAT; however there
are other variables that affect the
scores.
English resource teacher
Shelley Jackson said that students
who score well on the verbal sections are usually good readers.
She points out that nationally and
locally, students are reading less
which she believes contributes
to the poor scores. Pretty soon,
we are going to have a society
where people who can read carefully will have way more power
than those who cannot. That is
already true to some extent, and
it is going to become more true,
she said. The departments goal,
according to Jackson, is to help
students build those close reading skills that will help students
on the SAT, however students still
need to read more on their own.
Gregory points out that Sherwoods SAT scores do not alone
reflect the school as Sherwood
excels in AP exams and participation rates. [The SAT] is one
piece of information that is beneficial to the student and for the
school in terms of preparing students for life after high school
and also for helping the school
shape its program, said Gregory.

The Warrior thanks its many wonderful patrons:

Allen Family, Armstrong Family, Bardach Family, Brady Family, Bray Family, Brigham Family, Bush Family,
Matthew & Louise Cahill, Calles Family, Chauhan Family, Copeland Family, Corman Family, Cosca Family,
Cosgrove/Romeo Family, Cudd Family, Deal Family, Dowrick Family, Feinroth Family, Rosanne Ferris,
Lynn Fields & Steve White,Ganey Family, Glaudemans Family, Glickman Family, Gormley Family, Gun Family,
Robert & Lynette Hall,Stacey & Taylor Harris, Hierholzer Family, Hoyt & Karen Hughes, Joe & Kathy Hughes, Jou Family,
Steve Kanstoroom & Susan Mize, Kayastha Family, Keilsohn Family, Kendall Family, Kress Family,
Kyber/Loughran Family, Lampshire Family, Betsy & Mark Levy, Little Family, Macrae Family, Mezebish Family,
Moeller Family, Murphy Family, Nemes Family, Nnabue Family, Paholski Family, Paidas Family, Patanwala Family,
Pohk Family, Roberts Family, Laura & Craig Sanchez,Santini Family, Robyn & Joel Schwartz, Siberry-Reody Family,
Josey & Chris Simpson, Singer Family, Sousane Family, Spillman Family, Sundell Family, Sussol Family,
Sutherland Family, Loana Thorndahl, Tom Family, Townsend Family, Van Gelder Family, Cindy & Mike Weitzner,
Wells Family, Whitt Family, Wilpon Family, Cal Wilson, Todd & Renate Wilson, Witkin Family, Wondimu Family, Yates Family

If you are interested in becoming a patron, contact Peter Huck at Peter_J_Huck@mcpsmd.org

or go to the Warrior Online at www.thewarrioronline.com

The WarriorGender Issues

4

December 5, 2014

Watson Sets the Record Straight Its On Us Campaign

by Emma Izzo 15

British actress and Goodwill

Ambassador for United Nations
Women Emma Watson gave a
moving speech about gender
inequality and how to fight it.
She, among other UN Women,
launched the HeForShe campaign
on September 20. Her speech
aimed to get males to pledge to
join the feminist movement and
work towards gender equality.
The HeForShe campaign is about
making men feel comfortable
standing up and calling themselves feminists, which Watson
powerfully highlighted by pointing out how few men she saw at a
feminism rally.
In her speech, Watson, best
known for her role as Hermione
Granger in the Harry Potter movies, makes the point that in order
to achieve gender equality, harmful stereotypes about feminism
must change. She argued that the
term feminism is about women
having the same rights as men,
holding equal paying jobs and
deciding when to get married.
When at 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of their beloved
sports teams, because they didnt
want to appear muscly. When at
18, my male friends were unable
to express their feelings, I decided that I was a feminist, she proclaimed in her speech.
Watson spoke about misconceptions that label feminism a
man-hating ideology and how
gender stereotypes can harm both
men and women. I have realized
that fighting for womens rights
has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is
one thing I know for certain, it is
that this has to stop.
Watson believes that boys
and men shouldnt feel odd or

Combats Rape Culture

by Julia Gajewski-Nemes 15

Source: www.eonline.com

Watson addresses gender disparities to a UN assembly in September,

launching the HeForShe campaign to engage men in gender equality.
embarassed about thinking of
themselves as feminists. I want
men to take up this mantle. So
their daughters, sisters and mothers can be free from prejudice,
but also so that their sons have
permission to be vulnerable and
human tooreclaim those parts

of themselves they abandoned

and in doing so be a more true
and complete version of themselves. said Watson. We need
boys and men working with us.
The HeForShe campaign has the
hope of ending gender inequality
by 2030.

With the number of sexual

assaults on college campuses at
an all-time high and the subject
getting more attention from the
press than ever before, controversy over who is to be held responsible for these sexual assaults is
growing rapidly.
Because the public at large
does not know who to hold accountable for the perpetuation of
sexual assault, it is nearly impossible for the government to propose a compromise that would
satisfy every side of the issue.
This was exemplified earlier
this year when President Barack
Obama launched the Its On Us
initiative, an awareness program
to help put an end to sexual assaults on college campuses. The
initiative asks men and women
across the United States to make
a personal commitment to step
off the sidelines and be part of the
solution to end campus sexual assault.
On the Its On Us webpage,
visitors are able to sign a pledge
promising not to be a bystander
to the problem and read tips on
what to do if one witnesses a situation that appears to be leading up
to sexual assault. The page offers
many tips and advice: identify
situations in which sexual assault
may occur; if you see something, intervene in any way you
can; if something looks like a
bad situation, it probably is; get
someone to help if you see something; and get in the way by
creating a distraction.
While the campaign has
gained support from many celebrities, universities, sports teams,
non-profit organizations and millions of Americans, the initiative
also caught the attention of a
number of feministsbut not in
a positive way.
Although many citizens, including those of the Feminist
Majority Foundation, view the
governments efforts as ones that
revolve around the empowerment
of individuals and build a culture
in which sexual assault and blame
for its victims are not tolerated,
some feminists find that the by-

stander-focused approach to the

campaign discourages women
empowerment and only superficially solves the problem.
Feminist Blogger Dana
Bolger explains that the campaigns conceptualization of sexual violence as an issue between
someones who do something
to other someones inaccurately
depicts the issue as if it is easily
avoidable by de-politicizing and
de-gendering a highly political
and gender-central issue. She
condemns the campaign for disregarding the fact that perpetrators
are much more likely to be men
and their victims are much more
likely to be women.
The campaigns tipslike
guiding your friends away from
perpetrators at partiesmight
help an individual woman avoid
a rapist in an individual instance,
but it wont stop that rapist from
turning to the next girl down the
bar. It makes the problem seem
discrete and manageable, with
a quick fix that fits comfortably
within an existing structure of
how our world works, who has
power, and who doesnt, states
Bolger. It enlists men, for instance, to protect their female
friends at a bar but not to recognize their own power and privilege, the subtle ways in which
they enact violence all the time.
Although Bolger offers a
unique perspective on the probable effectiveness of Its On Us
to reduce sexual assaults on college campuses, her argument on
the mans role in incidents of
sexual assault is nothing new to
the larger-scale discussion. In the
United States there has been an
ongoing debate on who should
be held more responsible for
sexual violence on college campusesthose who commit the
crime (traditionally men) or those
to whom it happens (traditionally women). Feminists generally
advocate for the former, arguing
that in order to reduce the number of sexual assaults, prevention
measures must be instilled on the
mens end ensuring that they are
aware of the atrocity of rape and
de-normalizing the concept of
sexual assault in their minds.

The WarriorGender Issues

December 5, 2014

Military Faces Sexual Assault Allegations Dress Code Places Unfair

In the military, about one in
three women are raped and about
eight in ten are sexually harassed
during their service, almost double the rate of rape and sexual harassment in civilian society.
To find why such a frequent
problem in the military cannot be
stopped by the Pentagon, USA
Today interviewed many people
who had worked closely on the
issue, including lawmakers and
social scientists.
Two factors emerged with the
majority of people interviewed.
The simple fact that military culture is ruled by macho men is
the first reason. Women only have
been allowed in combat since late
January 2013, so many men in
the military still see them as unfit for dangerous, life-threatening
duties. Some men still think ...
women are inferior, said Bob
Shadley, author of a book on sexual scandals at Marylands Aberdeen Proving Ground and a retired Army Major General. They
dont fit in the male war-fighter
image.
Secondly, the military justice
system gives the commanders of
troops accused of sexual assault
the ultimate say over legal proceedings, creating bias that results
in very few people guilty of these
crimes actually being punished.

Many male soldiers who sexually

abuse fellow female soldiers are
protected under their commander.
In one case, a female was sexually harassed by a member of the
Coast Guard, and when she told
her commander and the male soldiers commander, he told her to
shut-up and get out of his office.
Along with a lack of support
from commanders, there is another main reason why women
dont mention their incidents of
harassment to anyone. Many of
the 83 percent of the women who
dont report their experience with
sexual assault dont want to cause
trouble in their unit or dont
want their commander, peers,
friends or family to know.
In order to address this issue,
the Pentagon writes annual reports on the current state of sexual harassment. In 2012, this report included a 1,500 page list of
all of the sexual harassment cases
that year.
The Pentagon has also created a Special Victim Counsel
program, which enables sexual
assault victims to have an attorney free of charge to help them
through the entire legal process.
This program is desperately needed, as little else is being done and
the rate of sexual assault crimes
in the military has risen 64 percent since 2006.

This huge increase in sexual assaults has also shed some

light on Military Sexual Trauma
(MST), which is appearing to
be more harmful to women than
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) and causes many women
who willingly signed up to help
defend their country, to leave the
military.

1996: 11 Army instructors in Aberdeen, Maryland were punished after 50 women made
sexual abuse charges and 26
made rape accusations.

2003: An investigation sparked

by emails sent to high-ranking
officials found widespread sexual harassment being ignored
by the Air Force Leadership.

2011: 35 Air Force instructors

in San Antonio, Texas were
removed from their posts after accusations of sexual harassment from 43 airwomen
emerged.

by Kira Yates 16

2013: Michael Wladischkin, an

Air Force staff sergeant, was
charged with having sex with
four women, one in a local
nightclub restroom.

2012: Army General and former

CIA Director David Petraeus
had an extramarital affair with
Paula Broadwell, a writer and
former military officer.

2012: First class sergeant Michael McClendon was charged

with indecency after videotaping female cadets showering
without their consent.

Eating Disorders Rise with Social Media

by Sara Casareto 16

Social media plays a key role

in the average teenage girls daily
life; however, it harbors a recent
trend that can have serious repercussions on a girls mental health.
95 percent of individuals with
eating disorders are between 1225, which is the age-group predominant on social media sites.
Society is seeing an increase in
the number of adolescents who
feel the need to change their body.
According to a study by the
Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality, children under 12
hospitalized for an eating disorder increased by 119 percent between 1999 and 2006. This time
period happens to correlate with
the increased worldwide use of
Internet from 4.1 percent to 16.7,
and with the creation of one of
the first major social media sites
in 2004, Facebook.
Scrolling through their feeds,
young women are bombarded by
images of perfect bodies, depicted as extremely thin with visible bone outlines. Advertisements
and peer pressure have created an
idea that to be beautiful, one must
also be skinny as a twig.
This trend travels under the
hashtag thinspiration and thinspiration pages. Thinspiration

(thinspo) promotes the use and

support of any actions to lose
weight. People post images of
skinny girls with headlines such
as the longer the fast the flatter
the stomach, and waking up
thin is worth going to bed hungry. According to researchers
from Johns Hopkins University,
after viewing 180 of these websites, they found that 83 percent
had suggestions for engaging in
eating disorder behaviors. Thinspo websites do not promote anorexia or bulimia outright, but the
behaviors are implied especially
through success stories. Thinspo sites suggest that bulimia and
anorexia are not mental disorders
but rather lifestyle choices.
Seeing these body types and
the before and after pictures
that thinspo websites promote can
cause many teenage girls to compare their own bodies to those images. It can spur envy or desire,
when the reality is that the body
type portrayed in advertising is
natural for only five percent of
American females.
Also, #Thighgap and #bikinibridge are familiar terms in social
media. The allure of the thigh gap
is being able to stand with feet
touching and have space between
ones thighs. A bikini bridge is
having a space between the stom-

ach and border of a bikini bottom.

Initially promoting healthy eating
choices and exercise, competition
and body bashing between thinspo users can cause girls to take
drastic measures to get a thigh
gap or bikini bridge. #Pro-Mia or
#Pro-Ana are other hashtags circling the web, with Mia standing for bulimia and Ana for
anorexia. These hashtags all fall
under the umbrella of #Pro-ED
or Pro-Eating Disorders. Posts of
pictures with these captions perpetuate the success from these
actions, and girls begin to feel
compelled to follow the example.
By targeting teenage girls,
social media is taking advantage
of their innocence and confusion.
Many of these girls are led astray
by the belief that eating disorders
are a choice and not a disease, and
then remain in denial due to depression.
Eating disorders have the
highest mortality rate of any mental illness; twenty percent of people suffering from anorexia die
prematurely from complications
and fifty percent of individuals
with eating disorders enter critical depression. Eating disorders
increase the likelihood of depression and suicide in teenagers, a
group already prone towards experiencing negative thoughts.

Burden on Teenage Girls

by Marie Moeller 15
Regardless of the season, the
school dress code looms over every single female at Sherwood
whether its the short shorts and
spaghetti straps in the spring or
yoga pants in the fall and winter.
Despite the good intentions behind the dress code, it is a futile
attempt to control students personal decisions to ensure that everyone is wearing vague and indiscernible school-appropriate
attire to create a non-distracting
learning environment. Instead, it
creates an oppressive one, particularly for female students.
In order to maintain a healthy
learning environment, the dress
code is written so that all clothing-related distractions in the
classroom can be eliminated, with
the average heterosexual male in
mind. When a bra strap can be
seen, it is suggestive; when a
girls shoulders are bare, it is a
ploy to attract the opposite sex;
when the hem of a girls shorts are
not touching her fingertips, she is
a slut. All of these assumptions
are insinuated by the dress code,
sexualizing the female body. The
shoulder and stomach are typical
body parts of both males and females, and yet, they are immediately altered so that a midriff is
now used to label a portion of the
female body as risqu.
In addition to sexualizing
the body, certain body types are
scrutinized under the dress code.
Girls that are curvier are called
out for wearing outfits that reveal
cleavage, but if the same outfit
was worn by a girl with smaller
breasts, she would have not vio-

lated the dress code. The specific

targeting causes girls, especially
for curvier girls in this case, to become insecure about themselves
because the dress code is essentially condemning their body type
instead of their clothes.
Telling a girl what she is
wearing is inappropriate is
clearly degrading, but more importantly it is sexist. Removing a girl from class or, in some
schools, sending her home is essentially denying her right to an
education because of her anatomy. It makes her unequal to her
male counterparts because she is
the distraction and is less entitled to the education she is given
by law. Also, enforcement is hardly ever extended to guys. Girls
receive unequal treatment when
they are told to cover up while
guys are excused from sagging.
Despite sagging being written as
a violation of the dress code in
the student handbook, Sherwood
security, in passing, reminds
guys to pull up their pantsif
thatwhile they force girls to
stand in front of them and zip up
their jackets to conceal their body
while receiving a lecture.
The dress code can also be
sexist towards males. It implies
that men are sex-crazed animals
with no control over their urges.
The absurdity of it really calls
into question the perception of
men and women in society, extending down to public schools.
Establishing a sexist environment
through rules like the dress code
allows these behaviors to trickle
down generation to generation,
creating a vicious cycle of prejudice in society.

The WarriorFeatures
6

December 5, 2014

Class Field Trips Increase Interactive Learning

by Samantha Schwartz 16
We all know the excitement
that comes with the announcement of a class field trip, from
missing school to experiencing
learning in a fun and interactive
way. Thus far this school year,
many classes have gone on a variety of field trips:
1. AP European History and
Comparative Religion classes
went to museums in Washington, D.C. in October with social
studies teacher Michelle Games.
Classes visited the National Gallery of Art to view art from all different eras. The trip was relevant
to their lessons about different
genres of art in the time periods
that they developed. The Comparative Religion classes went
to the Sackler Museum to experience Buddhist, Islamic, Hindu

and Ancient Chinese artifacts because the class was learning about
early religions in the East.
2. The history honor society at
Sherwood, Rho Kappa, went on
a field trip to the Spy Museum in
D.C. on October 26, hosted by social studies teacher and Rho Kappa sponsor Nicole Glover. The officers and other students involved
in Rho Kappa chose where to go
on field trips due to the majoritys interests. The honor society
decided on the Spy Museum because many wanted to learn more
about the Cold War and learn
about it from a different perspective. Rho Kappa will be attending the Newsuem and the White
House later this school year.
3. Wildlife Biology classes took
a trip to the Chesapeake Bay on
November 5, led by science teacher Glenn Miller. On the Chesa-

peake Bay the classes canoed and

learned about biodiversity, environmental impacts of developed
areas, different reusable materials
used to make buildings and investigated water quality. Before the
trip, the Wildlife Biology classes
were learning about ecology and
biodiversity of the Chesapeake.
4. Social studies teachers Beth
Shevitz, Michelle Games and
Josh Kinnetz led a field trip on
November 21 to the dinner theater
Medieval Times with their AP
World History classes. In classes, students were learning about
cross-cultural communications
and trade during the seventh to
fifteenth centuries as well as the
political and labor systems in Europe at that time. By going on the
trip to Medieval Times, a restaurant where costumers eat like they
would in the Middle Ages and experience a medieval show filled
with jousting, kings and queens,
and more, the students learned
about the social, political hierarchy of Europe in the Middle Ages
... to give the students a glimpse
into social history and entertainment, said Shevitz.
5. AP Environmental classes
and science teacher Laura Dinerman took students on a threeday trip to the Karen Noonan
Center on the eastern shore of the
Chesapeake Bay. We [lived] for
three days in an old hunting lodge
converted into an environmental
learning center. While there, we
[went] crabbing, oystering, ex-

ploring marshes, visiting Smith

Island and progging, said Dinerman. The purpose of the trip is to
explore environmental and social
issues of the Chesapeake Bay.
This trip was offered to the class
as they were learning about hu-

man impacts on the environment,

but only a few spaces were available. Dinerman and 20 students
left November 23 and returned
November 25 to share their findings with other AP Environmental
students.
Bottom Left: Seniors Riley Grimes
and Josh Popkin seine for organisms from the stream on the field
trip for Glenn Millers Wildlife
Biology classes.
Top Right: (Left to Right) Seniors
Ryan Kendall, Alison Sarver,
Amanda Bitting and Hayley
Mazur place organisms in a
plastic container with water to
identify the organisms caught in
the collected sample.
Bottom Right: Seniors Ethan
Glaudemans and Hayley Mazur
bring the seine to a flat area
along the stream bank.

Preoccupation with Safety

Hinders Child Development
by Ashley Nnuabe 16
Across the board, recent
studies have shown an intriguing
relationship between childrens
emotional growth and the amount
of time and freedom they receive
for play. In Western society today,
there has been a prevailing viewpoint that a constraining parent is
a good parent, but that actually
may only lead to having children
that are too afraid to take their
own risks.
In recent times, playgrounds
have become overly cushioned
by excessive supervision, rubber
mats and loose fill surfaces instead of hard surfaces for safety
reasons. Such precautions may
prevent children from learning
from any mistakes they may
make during play. If a child gets
hurt, they will most likely avoid
doing the action that led to the
pain again. These experiences
help kids grow from their mistakes, which will eventually build
decision-making skills for an independent future.
According to Peter Gray, a
Ph.D. Professor of Psychology
at Boston College, if we deprive
children of play, they cant learn
how to negotiate, control their

own lives, see things from others points of view and compromise. Gray studies the causes
behind the higher rates of anxiety,
depression and suicide amongst
teens and young adults.
Without the confidence to
take matters into their own hands,
it will be difficult for kids to cope
with simple injuries. Fear and
anxiety build up when dealing
with a situation due to the inexperience of owning up to the consequences of their actions.
In the United Kingdom,
playgrounds more suitable to solidifying courage in young children became more popular in the
1940s. They varied but focused
heavily on a natural environment
enriched with random objects that
could be used for creativity. The
key to this atmosphere was limited adult supervision in order for
children to rely on themselves.
The professionally trained supervisors limited their intervention
unless a real accident occurred.
However, the approach failed to
spread and laws in that country
have been created to ensure safer
playgrounds.
The issue of children being
safer and creating sheltered and
safer environments for children

illustration by Helen Schmitt 15

...playgrounds stunt emotional growth?

comes at the expense of their
learning of basic consequences
and cause-effect relationships.
It potentially stunts the developmental skills used to handle real-life experiences, which hurts
a childs ability to thrive. When
children finally reach the point

of independence, they may experience extreme reactions to

the absence of guidance from
their parents. The stress of the
independence that comes with
maturity may induce anxiety
or depression. Excessive playground safety is only an element

of a bigger picture regarding the

plummeting of emotional stability. Parents who struggle to allow
their children to continue without
their supervision or neglect to
promote independent activities
can cause similar results for their
childrens future.

The WarriorFeatures
December 5, 2014
Young Woman with a Passion for Fashion
by Gianna Bartolini 15
Senior Samantha Berger may
seem like your average student,
taking rigorous classes and playing as the captain of the soccer
team, but there is more to her
than meets the eye. For the last
eight years, she has been working towards her goal of becoming
a fashion designer. Beginning in
the fourth grade, she was designing and creating paper doll dresses, but it wasnt until the seventh
grade that she leaned to sew real-life models of her sketches.
Since then, she has been perfecting her craft, attending a pre-college program at New York Citys
Fashion Institute of Technology
(FIT) for three weeks this past
summer.
It was awesome, Berger
said about her experience at FIT,
I stayed on the Upper East Side
and took classes Monday through
Thursday. On Fridays and the
weekends I explored the city and
did internships and interviews
with industry professionals including Ralph Lauren and Tori
Burch. Meeting these people has
given her much to think about in
terms of her future plans, not only
for college, but for a career. While
she has already been accepted to
Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), her top choices for
college are Central St. Martins
in London and Parsons The New

School for Design, the number

one schools in the world and in
the United States for fashion design, respectively. Wherever she
goes, however, she will be taking
a number of classes designed to
improve her skills in designing,
sewing, and creating clothing and
textiles. After college, her dream
job is to continue designing
clothes. I want to have my own
fashion label, or design under a
famous one, Berger elaborated.
I want to travel and be inspired!
Although she is not a professional yet, that does not deter her
from sewing and designing clothing for herself and practicing her
sewing skills. Berger has been
working in the costume shop for
Sherwoods Rock and Roll Revival for the past three years, and
currently has internships at The
Look Boutique and Designs by
Nicole in Olney, where she mainly works in a retail environment
and learns the basics of running
a business in the fashion world.
For her college portfolio, she
has also been working very hard
sketching, designing, creating
and photographing her work so
that schools can get an accurate
perception of her abilities. One of
those pieces, a yellow blouse, was
actually featured in The Warriors
October 2014 fashion spread. Of
Bergers work, her personal favorites include a stained-glass
dress and a navy pea coat.

Based on her past experience

in fashion and her drive to be the
best, Samantha Berger seems to
be on the path to becoming very
successful in whatever she sets
out to do in the future.

Designer: Samantha Berger

Model: Pearl Mak
Photo: Lianna Lieberman
Featured: Navy pea coat

Designer:
Designer:Samantha
SamanthaBerger
Berger
Model:
Model:Pearl
PearlMak
Mak
Photo:
Photo:Lianna
LiannaLieberman
Lieberman
Featured:
and skirt
Featured:Crop-top
Leaf dress

Designer: Samantha Berger

Model: Pearl Mak
Photo: Lianna Lieberman
Featured: Skirt

New AP Framework Sparks Controversy

by Steven Witkin 16
An updated AP US History
(APUSH) curriculum framework
has triggered debate in several
school systems. The framework,
developed over four years ago
by the College Board, was implemented for the first time this
school year. Instead of focusing
on content such as events, figures
and the details of laws, the new
framework focuses on documents
and encourages interpretation of
historical trends in order to view
Americas role in a larger world
context. It requests that teachers
cover the provided themes and
trends through a variety of historical examples.
APUSH teacher Beth Shevitz
finds that the focus on documents
allows students to interpret history for themselves, although the
move away from definitive events
compels classes to gloss over
[interesting events] to meet the
demands of the new curriculum,
she said.
The framework has come
under fire in the last few months.
Organizations have claimed that
it concentrates on negative aspects of history while marginalizing positive aspects, overlooks
influential and heroic historical
figures, focuses on the more
liberal goals of progressivism
throughout history and challenges the concept of American exceptionalism. The Republican
National Committee alliteratively
asserted that the framework re-

flects a radically revisionist view

of American history. Several
complaints have been made about
the blunt yet true generalizations
typical of the framework, especially the statement that Manifest
Destiny, the belief that the West
was Americas for the taking,
was built on a belief in white
racial superiority and a sense of
American cultural superiority.
The Texas Board of Education showed its objection in
September when it voted to prohibit teaching the new framework
because it is based on Common
Core standards, which are banned
in Texas. South Carolina and Tennessee have considered similar
moves.
The controversy was brought
to the nations attention in September when the Jefferson County School Board in Colorado
passed a resolution to review the
framework to ensure that it promotes citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free
enterprise system.
In response, thousands of Jefferson County students organized
walkouts and protests in support
of their AP education, holding
signs with slogans such as there
is nothing more patriotic than
protest and leave our curriculum to the experts. Teachers organized strikes by taking unnecessary sick days, resulting in two
high schools closing temporarily
for lack of teachers. The county Parent-Teacher Association
(PTA) is also in opposition to the

resolution.
The College Board published
an open letter in response to their
public outcry, correcting uninformed criticisms and noting
that the new framework intends
to correct the previously rushed,
content-packed and memorization-based curriculum, giving
teachers and students a chance to
go into depth about the most significant concepts of the course.
Criticisms that the new framework did not appreciate influential events and people were countered by the Boards addition of
suggested content and figures to
teach with each general concept,
along with the Boards emphasis that the framework is simply
a framework and its policy that
each individual school must
develop its own curriculum for
courses labeled AP, will remain
intact.
Shevitz speculates that the
overzealous response to the
framework partially comes from
the circumstance that, in order
to tie American events in with
more general historical trends, it
emphasizes the effects of history
on others, such as slaves and Native Americans, over the achievements of a nation, which might
be uncomfortable to some. She
credits the new framework with
its enhanced priority on how did
it happen, why did it happen, and
is it happening again because it is
important to know why society
is the way it is at the point that
youre living in it.

Come to Jerrys for

some good food!!!
18100 Georgia Ave, Olney, MD 20832
(301) 774-3436

The WarriorFeatures
8

December 5, 2014

The WarriorHumor
December 5, 2014

Sleeping on the
Field of Dreams
by Ankur Kayastha 15 and
Betselot Wondimu 15

cartoon by Helen Schmitt 15

Human Hibernation Epidemic

by Allie Pino 15

Now that the winter season

is bringing cold weather, many
students are getting ready to start
what they have been planning
for months: human hibernation.
All kids want to do during the
chilly times is eat, sleep and
watch new episodes on Netflix.
Human hibernation does not
begin at birth, but studies have
shown that teens are the most
common group who participate in
this activity. The earliest age reported to have experienced human
hibernation was a six-year-old
boy in Maine. His parents found
him in his room everyday with a
fort of food surrounding his bed,
blankets wrapped around him and
his computer screen lit up. It has
been said that every time the parents went upstairs to try to get him
out of his room, it was so dark in
there that the only way they knew

he was inside was by the sound

of his growling at them to, as the
little boy put it, leave his cave.
There are many different
stages of human hibernation, but
the two most common are the
Hyperphagia Transition and the
Fall Transition. The Hyperphagia Transition is a period of
excessive eating and drinking to
fatten for hibernation. Teens have
been known for stocking up on
high-calorie foods. Jordan Rim,
food industry veteran and President of Fat Bars stated, We look
forward to the end of the year
because that is the time when
sales on our treats go through
the roof. Our most popular foods
during this time are the Jumbo
Filled Creamed Cakes, Chocolate-Chunk Sweet Sprinkled
Brownie and Doughnut Medley.
During this stage, teens with unlimited food options eat 5,000 to
8,000 calories per day. If they are

Odd Robbery of Just Puppies

by Lauren Cosca 15
This past Saturday, a group of
five young girls who attend Sherwood broke into Just Puppies in
Rockville and took part in a robbery. The girls did not take any
money from the several cash registers in the store, but instead took
every single puppy in the store.
Arriving early the next morning, store manager Bill Stevens
entered the room where the puppies were kept and found that all
of the cages were empty. He continued to check the cash registers
and the safe in the back of the
store, and both were untouched.
Upon finding several pairs of
Ugg boots, iPhone chargers and
empty cups of Starbucks coffee,
Stevens called the police who
found a broken window in the
back of the store. It was later confirmed that this was how the girls
gained entrance into the store.
The
police
immediately opened a tip line for anyone
with information pertaining to
the break-in. Calls flooded in
from many concerned citizens.
Hours later, the police learned
that multiple teenage girls in the
area were posting pictures to their
Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
accounts of themselves playing
with and feeding these 30 ador-

able puppies we just got from

Rockville. #Cute #Free. Police
officers began an investigation
shortly afterward and brought
in each girl for questioning. It
wasnt long until they began to
confess. Theyre just so cute. If
I didnt, like, take them home to
take selfies with, I would, like,
die, said a freshman whose
name will remain anonymous.
The girls have not been formally charged with any crimes
yet, and there is still some confusion as to why the girls did not
take any money from the store.
An investigator on the case is
pushing for strong, intensive therapy for the girls, and a psychologist consulting for the police department says there may be some
serious underlying psychological
issues that the girls suffer from
that led them to rob the store.
None of the girls have a
criminal record or has ever been
in trouble before, except for one
with an unrelated assault charge.
We didnt do anything bad, the
dogs are just so, like, adorable
that like we had to take them, you
know? said a sophomore. I just
thought that, like, I could get like
soooo many likes [on Instagram]
if I posted a picture of, like, me
with all these cute puppies. And I
did. It was, like, totally worth it.

denied water and food during this

stage, they become dehydrated
and must utilize muscle for energy.
Fall Transition is a period
after Hyperphagia when metabolic processes change in preparation
for hibernation. Teens voluntarily
eat less, but continue to drink to
purge body waste. They become
increasingly lethargic, resting 22
or more hours per day. Active
heart rates fall from 70-100 beats
per minute to 50-60 beats per
minute, and sleeping heart rates
fall from 66-80 beats per minute
to less than 22 beats per minute.
Researchers have found that
as a person ages, human hibernation will not have such a tremendous effect as it does on young
teens. However, 34.6 percent
of adults over 25 have not been
able to quit human hibernation.
If teens keep up this trend, we all
may be faced with the decision to
grow a thick coat of fur.

Following the wild success

achieved by the Field of Screams
during the Halloween season,
Terry Benson and Toby Lewith,
two Sherwood seniors, decided to
create their own institution called
the Field of Dreams. The students
noted the disgusting and disturbing aura of the Field of Screams,
which evoked fear and panic
in innocent children, as reason
enough to begin their corporation.
So basically, began Benson, I went to the Field of
Screams for the first time in October and I was instantly appalled
by all of the devilish decorations
and creepy characters jumping
out to scare people. Yo, after
our first visit, I looked at Toby
directly in the left pupil and we
immediately pinky swore that we
would create a more comforting
and welcoming environment for
pre-pubescent kids to enjoy.
The Field of Dreams, which
is open year-round, follows the
same structure as its Field of
Screams counterpart, but with
a completely divergent theme.
Whereas the Field of Screams
leads its visitors on a long and
dark trail of terror, Lewith made
it a point to emphasize that the
Field of Dreams takes its customers through a sweet n salty
trail, where workers dressed in
unicorn costumes pass out sweet

chocolate candies to children.

Likewise, while the Field of
Screams workers carry chainsaws and weapons to intimidate
their visitors, the Field of Dreams
workers only hold open arms,
inviting love and camaraderie to
visitors at all times. When later
accused of being soft, Benson
and Lewith shook off the allegations while embracing each other
in tears.

The Field of Dreams has also
seen a dramatic increase in job
applications. I have a couple of
friends who work there, and they
told me all you have to do is smile
and pass out candy, said junior
Chad Hershey. So I thought,
why not exploit these clowns of
their money while barely working
at all? It seemed too easy.
The two students organization has been received well by
the Sandy Spring community,
as seen by the enormous profits theyve made. Although they
have only made $1.50 in total
revenue from actual community
members, a wealthy parent-donor who wished to remain anonymous invested $2 million in the
organization, stating he initially
saw potential in both Benson and
Lewith as businessmen. I immediately regretted my decision to
help those boys out, the donor
later stated. Ive actually gotten
negative returns on my investments Im struggling to feed
my family now.

AP Literature Analyzes Rap Songs

about drugs and alcohol. Instead,

they note a Hamlet-like, existentialist contemplation of life,
In an effort to make their
especially in the repeated line I
poetry unit more engaging for
cant spell sober. This parallels
students, AP English Literature
the critic D.G. James analysis
teachers came to a bold but conof Hamlet, stating, Hamlet does
troversial decision: incorporate
not know; and he knows no way
rap lyrics into the curriculum.
of knowing. Keef cant even
Although most people dont norunderstand how to face the evils
mally associate rap with the kind
of the world sober, much
of literary excellence reserved for high school Ive got plaques on my walls, youve less actually do so while
intoxicated. These lyrics
English courses, these
got gingivitis.
embody the philosophical
teachers contend that such
~ Renowned Poet 2 Chainz and poetic brilliance that
music is indeed worthy of
characterizes the vast masuch consideration.
I have to admit I was skep- izes the downsides of that suc- jority of what was once thought to
tical at first, and even after Id cessexcessive attention, lack of be ignorant rap music.
heard the songs a few times, I still privacy, false friends, etc. While Unfortunately, many parents
didnt get it. They just seemed so 2 Chainz does prefer his position dont share Meushaws high reinane and meaningless, said AP to that of the average person (he gard for rap. They instead prefer
English Literature teacher Mau- does not want to have gingivitis), words like inappropriate, obreen Meushaw. But after exten- his lifestyle nonetheless presents scene, asinine and crap to desively listening to the songs and its own unique challenges. This scribe the genre. These parents
poring over the lyrics for several perceptive and insightful view- maintain that rap has no deeper
hours, I started to find all sorts of point also serves to humanize value beneath its surface, only
subtleties and nuances and won- rappers in general, allowing or- the literal meaning of the lyrics.
derful hidden meaning. It was dinary people to empathize with Meushaw fervently disagrees,
arguing, If you take the lyrics
like peeling an onion, each suc- them in their difficult situation.
cessive layer uncovering a more Students and teachers alike at face value, then yes, theyre
profound significance than the have recognized rappers ability clearly nonsensical. But thats
last. And I did cry a little, it was to endow their songs with im- the whole pointno assemblage
just so beautiful.
pressive overall themes, with a of words could be so absurd and

Teachers have been fascinat- particular affinity for the works of senseless, it just isnt possible.
ed by rap artists remarkable ca- Chief Keef. In Keefs Hate Be- There has to be a greater meanpacity for wordplay. Consider this ing Sober, students and teachers ing, a reason why, right? Otherfrom 2 Chainz in Hijack: Ive see more than a simplistic song wise it would just be garbage.

by Leo Corman 15

got plaques on my walls, youve

got gingivitis. At first, this line
contains the obvious dental pun.
Upon further observation, however, these lines provide a powerful
commentary on the dual nature
of fame. 2 Chainz has physical
plaques that commemorate his
rapping success, but he also has
metaphorical plaque that symbol-

food

Hab

Unh

for t

houg

eatin

ealth

ht

g hab

its

k
s
s
i
U
R
n

c
s
l
d
e
a
o

nd
a
e
t
s
a
t of t
r
a
e
odie!
h
t
o
f
h
t
a
i
be
ve w
n
o
a
l
c
n
e
i
nyon unity.
ately
a
m
,
i
s
t
l
d
du
oun
mm
s
n
o
a
c
t
a
e
d
i
e
h
l
t
d
as
foo
hral
t
e
n
i
n
h
t
t
e
u
,
l
n
essed As highfa
nd i
s
u
b
o
o
f
e
e
to b
ns.
an b
s
o
i
c
i
t
t
e
t
i
a
a
i
d
h
r
didn
o
c
t
a
i
o
u
s
f
v
o
n
e
Y
l
a
p
a
.
you? The Org st be organic nic Cheetosy
To be s wonderfu onplace ty
e
r
a
u
ga
er
m
it
h one
ing m ing as or anic in ev t
c
h
t
i
y
h
all of e a few com
n
h
W
da
at
ldn
Org
r
ing an was such told you. odies wou hat
a
h
t
e
y
r
r
t
e
d
o
He
Ev ow there re frien takable f ention of ic

f
a
s
i
t
a

wh

o
nts,
en kn organiv ese unmis Just the m heir organ l
a
v
r
e
u
a
t
r
ft
tel
res
ou
d.
, th
ntil y the word processe ump out o e foodies t
ciest ng is for
u
n
a
f
j
s
n
ti
he
of
ng
them much the e, you ca
ense ch anythi
n at t eating; ea rom some
e
s
e
k
e
a
s
m
f
am
ow
be
t
o
e
tou
ugh t o matter h taste the s nner.
dare
often (never jus imported itchen, th
o
n
n
e
a
c
i
n
t
is
silese
pt
ng
wn k
word chair. But es they ea the real w
Th ely savori ar-topped sing his o him on a is
i
r
i
k
t
u
i
to
im
leathe t the coo oll House
delica their cav er used to be handed ingly int ly.
a
T
h
odie
s
v
s)
em
o
you t t feel like
F
These
.
plebe y land. Ne licacies to though se too seriou
r
e
e
u
m
t
b
sa
l
n
a
de
nd
st
ips
help
H
ll the ndergrou r
faraw pects his literally. A nt be take make toa
a
e
t
e
y
a
Th
e
ex
tu
e
o
t and t the lates the Hipst
snob tterquit e foodies c ow how t
n
e
r
e
s
f
s
n
la
ll dif re all abou r nutella, en it come
a
ver p at first, the t even k r them.
e
r
o
a
a
h
s
o
on
g
They ry experts ale chips e curve w ter prefer
datin ll, they d lers do it f

k
s
th
a
a
ut
culin ether its ahead of es, the hip pice latte.
chutr
p
After ve their b
i
e
y
h
r
r
Y
e
h
g
e
I
a
D
s. W s has to b r bevera pumpkin-s wonderranb rself-er
d
c
e
n
e
they h
e
r
d
t
Th
irs
ema
-you
alway od-fad. Fo instream
t
m
i
y
e
o
r
i
, it pa
t
o
h
d
e
d
s
o
s
n
a
y
i
i
o
o
a
f
a
f
e
h
m
t
f
s
e
e
lw
f
xt
af
me o many lin oks are a home
he ne f tea to th form of c
o
t
s
o
t
y
f
r
o
o
t
t
t
c
o
a
p
anna
a grea
ative
.
ishes
t one
their
ot cu
W his is jus . These cre staurant d to spend hat a h nly is this nd a book
T
o
e
a
t
e
e
r
t
t
ney? ) might us ir favorite
choos e spending ion No with a ca
y
a
m
r
t
e
y
r
e
l
u
(DIY e-create th hile some t, DIYers a ord of ca (or ful
r
e
w
W
s
ing to any cost.
ie tick re flour. A r kitchen
v
o
m
i
t
and a hange on a pice or mo expect the
s
c
spare on a new esdont an.
le
y
di
mone these foo er) to be c
tt
about or that ma
f
hands

nob
S
e
Th

GM

Fo

i
Eati
Univ t: Mind
ng H
less
ersit
y fo
the l
E
a
abit
tin
o
a
s
unkn rger the d psycho g. In a
plate
owin
logis
rece
The
n
caus
e we gly cons or bowl t Brian W t study,
Cost

r
y
u
cont
s
aine e hungry me. Mo ou eat f asink fo Cornell M
r we
rom,
, but
und
s
o

t
o
o
d
f u
are
th
th
be
S
by D
out y Solution eating f cause w s dont e more y at itive m wings: T
alton
o
e
h
r
o
:
our
o
o
e che
u nutr
are d
vere
d
Sanc
s
,
large Eat fro om.
strai
s
at b
ients
mica
uch
istra
hez
ght f
m
e
d
a
c
ls in
- drat
15
inne
s ser
for p
smal
ted b
rom
e
y
r
o
ler d
s thr
y the
rope
our b
t
plate
o
a con
n
i
n
r
o
eatin
r
for a ishes.
taine
Hab
g ca ughout function and dop ain that
T
r
s
r
o
a
y
i
n
t
t
prom
a
p
r
l
h
.
ad p
mine
swap
ositi
e da
pack
inter
Skip
brea : Skipp
ote p
l
v
y
a
,
f
p
a
p
e
e
t
r
g
i
kfas
e
i
i
r
e
c
ng
ng c
moo
e.
ng b
. Ne
e wi
l
a
y
osn
o
t is
c
is. B
n
a
d
v
t
ause
h blo
lorie
s.
er ea
f
o
the m reakfas
o
reak
d
s
d
od s
t Poor
t. I
os
fa
throu
ugar epressiv and car and
S
l
e
ghou st provi t import t has alw
e
e
c
can
p: G
ontro
moo bohydes
socia
ant m
t the
ays b
d
o
e
i
l
n
,
t
y
whic ds. Ov
t
effec ract fro g to be
class ion, chil day. Acc our body eal of t een said
e
h ca
d
t
m
so
hu
d
h
n dis rr
skill oom wit ren who ording to with en e day, a that and exe f an unh sleep. Po ngry or
rupt
s.
over
n
e
h be
rcise
or sl
ealth
tter c eat break the Am rgy to u d it
e
e
y

c
e
a
p
d
p
e
i
fast p
once
abili
tilize P
et, s
can ating rig
rican
S
o
o
t
ht be
u
c
n
lu
ies.
erfor
or E
ch a
ause
cons
tratio
Diet
fore
s
x
m
ume tion: H
A
o
n
e
w
r
a
r
bette
sand
rgy,
cise
eigh
w
ave
as fr
on th
o
r
p
r
sen bedtime
Cap
t gai
fatig
roble
in th
uit, y
heal
e run
shor
a
a
n
u
ls
e
b
m-so
e an
th
and

ogur
t
d oth ilities: E
lving o cause
r
t or s . If you y break
e
duce -term
p
a
e
r
f
h
m
t
r
e
a
i
y
Hab
d br
s
n
effec
r
ooth
sical
ain
ies. ushed, t t foods
ts th g too mu
Obe
w
e
whe it: Eatin
a
r
y
a
c
y
k
s
t
o
h
i
n
t
e
u
h
ess a
y
o
asy i
th
nd fa inder ph r too litt
tems can dition : Overea
your er your g too qu
le ca
o
y
t
i
such bo
i
nting
f
sical
e
n
dy a being f ng or ea
ach. brain en snackin ickly. S
,
a
m
c
tivity cause le
ore s
n
t
carfi
a
ough
i
If yo
g or
t
d
n
g
o
h
i
n
r
eart
th
.
o if y
ng d
less,
u gu
disea creases overwe unhealth
own
ou e Dieting lp do time to eating a
you
i
y
y
s
g
xerc
c
our r
e.
h
coul
c
need
ise d an
isk o t. Obes foods ca
d end wn you atch up meal, do your foo
to.
a
i
r
n
f
t
i
d,
es
w
y
ly.
m
up ea
deve
l

lopin puts stre ead to ob
ting eal in te ith your nt give
Solu
muc
g ma
e
s
eatin
t
h mo n minut stomjor h s on eve sity, the
g by ion: Phy
e
r
s
conry pa
ealth
e tha
p
s
bites
n yo or
r
p
t
. Tak utting yo ically slo
r
o
o
f you
blem
u
e sm
ur fo
w do
chew
s
,
i
a
r
n
w
k
l
clud r
ing w each bite ler bites down b n your
ing
etwe
thoro
and
ater
en
slow
b
th
u
you roughou ghly. Al e sure to
)
do
so
little
t
Genetically Modified (GM
fulle wn and your m drinkcrops
the
e
nt of
mak
r as

foods account for 90 perce
you
e yo al will
u fee
go.
process of genetiHab
in the United States. The
wn
l
gro
a
it
nes in foods with desirable
food : Eating
difying is used to alter ge
mo
lly
ca
ulting in su.
them with other crops, res
ine
mb
co
d
an
t
ec
junk Everybo too muc
sel
of
to
traits
ntal stress, such as periods
dy n
h ju
me
on
food
vir
en
re
mo
d
tan
ths
wi
n
e
cont
.
per-crops that can
inuo once in eds a lit k
tural, non-GM variety could
t
usly
awh
heat or drought, than the na
l
d
de
e
unhe
ten
ex
ile,
eat
a
use consumers
ties should be labeled beca
lem lthy. On ing it is but
rie
va
GM
se
the
say
foods
rts
e
w
v
Some expe

Creating new varieties of GM
g.
yin
bu
are
y
peop ith junk main p ery
the
at
wh
ow
being made rero
le
fo
should have the right to kn
ls and conditions they are
ica
em
ch
the
of
ety
eatin still fee ods is t bsaf
cans
the
l hun
has some concerned over
hat
se a health risk, some Ameri
g the
po
ds
foo
se
the
t
tha
e
nc
ide
gr
m
entific ev
to ov
t by inserting
sistant to. Despite little sci
lab. Some experts argue tha
a
erea , which y after
in
ed
difi
mo
en
be
ve
duce
ha
t
ting.
can

plant has the potential to pro
are wary of eating foods tha
GM
a
lead
ng
ati
cre
of
ss
ce
other, the pro
g of these
Solu
genes of one species into an
ecially if there is little testin
elim
esp
s,
cie
ien
fic
de
l
na
tio
t
tri
nu
lunion
in
ns and
tration (FDA) only had vo
nis
mi
toxins, allergens, carcinoge
Ad
ug
Dr
d
your ate junk : Do
an
od
Fo
years, the U.S.
A reviews
n
d
f
new varieties. In the past few
ng GM foods. Today, the FD
wi
gro
tes
Sta
d
ite
dese iet comp ood out t
Un
the
farmers in
A may still not be
rv
le
o
tary safety assessments for
researchers are wary the FD
me
So
.
ds
foo
GM
once e to trea tely, peo f
in
mass
els
t lev
ple
GM varieties before they are
w
t the
data on toxicity and nutrien
ne
th
wi
ed
iat
i
oc
n
ass
ks
msel
y reduce any ris
wha
doing enough to adequatel
t you awhile.
ves
Id
re
and
produced.
indu ally wa entify
of develop
and changing food sources
n
l
ge
an
g
ch
t
te
ite f
ma
e
cli
h,
t
wt
o
gro
ion
tes,
in y
eat,
oods
When factoring in populat
demand. In the United Sta
s
thi

o
et
me
to
u
d
ifie
od
r
m
spec
i
foods can be
e access.
ial tr n mode favoring countries worldwide, GM
rld does not have the sam
wo
the
of
t
res
the
r
t
e
bu
a
le,
ats. M
key.
tio
availab
be engineered
both non-GM and GM are
because of the flexibility to
oder n as
ps
cro
GM
on
re
mo
g
yin
ation
Other countries will start rel
is
pulations.
wing po

for harsh conditions and gro

longer in flooding
n be engineered to survive
ca
s
ne
ge
e
ric
ia,
As
dst
ea
In South

p yields in seasons of exten
cro
h
hig
re
su
en
to
ry
ssa
rieties to
conditions. This is nece
tically modify these rice va
ne
ge
to
y
ilit
ab
the
t
ou
ith
ed flooding. W
ly would not
itions in Asia, the food supp
nd
co
g
gin
an
ch
se
the
d
tan
withs
50, there
e food to the region. By 20
be stable enough to provid
ich
n people on the planet, wh
lio
bil
9
n
tha
re
mo
be
ll
wi
nd on the accessibilwill put an increased dema
.
ity of GM crops worldwide

by
Jac

kA

rm

str
on

15

?
e
i
d
o
o

ma

by Em

r 15

olze
Hierh

t
o
n
i
l
e
n
r
e
a
t
n
u
ce
l

by Marie Moeller 15
It seems like going gluten-free is the new peanut allergy for teens. For some, a gluten-free diet is just a fad
for losing weight, but for others this diet is a life altering reality due to their gluten intolerance. At Sherwood,
several students have been diagnosed as gluten intolerant
within the past year and have been working to overcome
the challenges presented with adjusting to their diet.
Gluten intolerance is a broad term used to describe a condition in which the body reacts to gluten, the proteins responsible for the elastic texture of dough. People suffering from gluten
intolerance cannot eat anything with gluten, which is found in barley,
rye and wheat.
These foods and their derivatives are a significant part of the American
diet, so many initially struggle with a total shift in diet. I was scared I
would have nothing to eat, said gluten intolerant freshman Katish Sussman. It is because you start to miss the flour in your life, like not being able
to eat real pizza or bread, but almost everything that is made with flour can
be made without it.
Gluten intolerance encompasses a series of gluten-related health problems, including gluten sensitivity, celiac disease and wheat allergy. Many
teenagers, who were previously undiagnosed, tend to suffer from gluten
sensitivity as opposed to celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that damages the lining of the small intestine, or wheat allergy, which is caused by
the immune system overreacting to proteins in wheat, usually resulting in
hives. People with gluten sensitivity experience nausea, pain in joints, and
fatigue.
However, an uneducated audience often believes that anyone with an

actual gluten intolerance would have

been diagnosed at a young age rather than later in life. As a result, these
people fail to recognize the legitimacy of the first-time diagnosis of teens,
claiming that the adverse symptoms
gluten intolerant teens experience are
more imagined than real.
Its really annoying because it feels like
theyre telling me that I dont know what my
body is feeling Its not something I would do to
get attention because if I could, I would eat gluten, commented senior
Lianna Lieberman on her experience when she first shared her diagnosis as gluten sensitive.
In addition to these challenges, Liebermans gluten sensitivity significantly impacts her personal lifestyle. As an avid baker, she faced the
possibility of giving up her passion since she cannot eat the flour-based
goods she bakes for friends. I had to make the choice between sharing
what I make and being able to eat what I make, said Lieberman.
Luckily, Lieberman can share and eat her food in the gluten-free
club created by Sussman and freshman Danielle Russell. In the club,
which meets every Wednesday in E148, gluten-intolerant students can
meet to eat a gluten-free lunch and exchange recipes. We both thought
about how we are probably not the only people in the school who are
gluten free, said Sussman. So we decided to make a club to share
knowledge of different ways people are gluten free and show people
that being gluten free is not as hard as it seems.

The WarriorOpinions
12

December 5, 2014

Staff Editorial:

In Our Opinion

How Valuable Are Honor Societies?

Why do the majority of students join NHS?
Do tutoring hour policies need
to be changed?
rence in
ffe
di
a
of
e
or
m
e
ak
m
Should it
the Community?
Students in the National Honor Society (NHS)
are certainly academically talented students. To
be considered for admittance into Sherwoods
NHS, students must have a 3.7 unweighted or 4.0
weighted GPA and provide evidence of strong
leadership positions. They are also required to
submit a list of activities, an essay and four teacher
evaluations. However, this nationally recognized
organization aims for more than just good grades.
On its website, NHS states that members participate in community service projects and serve as
ambassadors to their schools and communities.
Unfortunately, Sherwoods chapter falls short in
fulfilling these missions, caused by a lack of student motivation and flaws in the honor societys
system.
The majority of the students who have the eligible GPA become a member of NHS, resulting in
a massive organization of currently 183 students.
Most students readily admit they join NHS solely
to impress colleges and make their applications
stand out. NHS members primary motivation to
garner a bundle of college admittance letters in the
mail greatly diminishes their willingness to participate in school-related community activities and
weakens the schools NHS as a whole.
To make the society stronger, the leadership
needs to be redefined. Officers should take an active role in positively shaping the society by setting
up volunteer activities, enforcing tutoring hours,
and serving as academic role models to both the
society and the school. To ensure that officers are
committed and serious about the position, mem-

bers should be nominated and then interviewed

prior to the democratic elections, guaranteeing
NHS to have true ambassadors who are dedicated
to the mission.
One of the tasks that NHS is currently responsible for is the tutoring of students who need extra
academic support. However, a significant number
of members do not take their tutoring obligations
seriously enough to help students who are academically struggling. One solution is to designate
specific classrooms where NHS members can tutor others. Teachers would then oversee the tutoring to ensure that the hours are legitimate.
Currently, the only tasks NHS members need
to fulfill are getting their tutoring hours and attending monthly meetings. To make the society
more distinguished and helpful in the community,
members should be required to participate in charitable fundraisers and volunteer events once every
semester. Specifically, NHS should focus on encouraging education in the community. NHS has
recently started an elementary school mentoring
program. While this is a step in the right direction, it needs to be enforced that society members
participate so that the program makes a concrete
impact.
Before applying to NHS, prospective students
should educate themselves about the serious commitment they are undertaking. Perhaps by raising
the standards to become a member and the expectations once a member, NHS will become the prestigious and well respected organization it should
be.

Warrior
P

the

ublished seven times a year, The Warrior
serves as Sherwood High Schools premier news
source. Over the years, it has received numerous
state and national honors. With a staff of 35
students and one advisor, The Warrior keeps
the Sherwood community
apprised of local and national events.
All opinion articles represent the
viewpoint of the writer. The unsigned staff
editorials solely represent the opinions of the
newspaper staff. These articles do not necessarily
represent the views of
Sherwood High School.
The Warrior welcomes Letters to the
Editor of 250 words or less. They may be
submitted to room C268 or emailed to
thewarrioronline.shs@gmail.com. Letters must be
signed, and all content received by the newspaper
is subject to editing.
The Warrior staff invites feedback and
corrections to printed inaccuracies.
The Warrior reserves the right to
refuse advertisements.

Staff
Print

Layout and Production Directors ................. Marie Moeller 15

Betselot
Wondimu 15


News Editors .............................................. Connor Loughran 15
Samantha Schwartz 16

Specials Editor ................................................ Steven Witkin 16

Features Editors ............................................
Annie Feinroth 15

Allie Pino 15
Humor Editor ................................................. Hunter Moore 15
Spotlight Editor ......................................... Emma Hierholzer 15
Opinions Editors ................................ Julia Gajewski-Nemes 15
Will Van Gelder 16

Wondering Warrior Editor............................. Lauren Cosca 15
Entertainment Editors ................................. Ketki

Chauhan 16
Ryan
Deal 16

Sports Editors ............................................... Jack Armstrong 15
Sammie Spillman 16

Online
Online Managing Editor ................................ Brian Hughes 15
Online Page Editors......................................... Catherine Jou 15
Ashley Nnabue 16
Stacey Wells 15

Content and Copy

Managing Content and Copy Director ....... Meagan Barrett 15
Content and Copy Editors ............................... Leo Corman 15
Madison Dymond 16
Ankur Kayastha 15
Kira Yates 16

Managing Photo Editor ................................... Haley Whitt 15

Photographers .............................................. Jack Armstrong 15

Chase Wilson 17
Cartoonist ....................................................... Helen Schmitt 15
Pollster .......................................................... Kaleigh Homer 15
Morning Announcements Script Editor............. Allie Pino 15
Staff Reporters ............................................ Gianna Bartolini 15
Emily Gilburt 16
Emma Izzo 15
Stephen Luckey 15

Business and Publicity Directors................. Dalton Sanchez 15

cartoon by Sidney Brown 17

Zach Stubblefield 15
Advisor.......................................................................... Peter Huck

The WarriorOpinions
December 5, 2014

13

Should MCPS Change College Curriculum?

The current MCPS agenda is designed to steer students towards college life. This curriculums emphasis on
college-readiness is believed to help create efficient and productive students who will be well-prepared for a
higher education. However, not all students are fit for a life on a college campus, and MCPSs curriculum may
not be preparing them for the real world. Should MCPS amend its curriculum or continue to operate as if all of its
students are college-bound? The Warrior debates the issue.

Pro
by Ryan Deal 16
Among the most important decisions
teenagers will make in their life is where
to go to college. However, college is just
not right for some students. Whether this is
due to a lack of money or a lack of interest,
there is a large chunk of students in MCPS
that will not attend a college in the fall after their graduation. According to MCPSs
own collected data, more than one in four
of its high school graduates will not attend
a college of any kind. Only about half of
MCPS students will earn a bachelors degree from a four-year college or university.
With this in mind, MCPS should
re-evaluate its agenda which operates as
if all students will go to college. Although
the current agenda has the best intentions
in mind, its bar is too high to reach.
Under the current college-focusing
curriculum of MCPS, students with little
income are in a bind. For the state of Maryland, the average in-state and out-of-state
tuition is $24,414 and $44,507, respectively. Not every family can afford such steep
costs year-in and year-out. Even though
there are financial aid programs available,
the burden is just not worth it for students
who have no desire to attend a university.
Even for students who can afford college but do not want to go, MCPS is leading them into a brick wall of sorts. Such

Con

students are cast out into the workforce

with little-to-no skills on how to adjust to
such a life. Rather than continually forcing algebraic formulas or periodic tables
down the throats of workforce-bound students, MCPS should adjust the curriculum
to include more classes or clubs designed
specifically for certain jobs or positions.
Programs such as the Edison Program
touch upon this idea, and its popularity
and success in creating the Future Scientists and Engineers of America should
indicate the desire for more such occupationally-based clubs or courses. With more
workforce-based programs available such
as the Edison program, many students will
be given more opportunities to explore
life without college. The inclusion of this,
along with a more specialized curriculum
that does not pressure all students into a
college-life, will allow MCPS to lead the
charge for a stronger, happier and more efficient workforce.
MCPS should take a step back and focus less on the futures of the college-bound
students. A school systems main goal
should be to put enrollees in a position to
succeed. The best way to do so is by stopping the belief that all students must attend
college to be successful and by promoting
more occupationally-based programs for
the thousands of MCPS graduates who will
never receive a college degree.

by Annie Feinroth 15
You were in elementary school for six
years, preparing for middle school. You go
to middle school and all the teachers talk
about is the rigor of high school. And now
youve made it to high school, and now
they are preparing you for . . . wait, what
are they preparing you for? Oh yeah! Life.
But will every students post-high school
life look the same?
For the majority of students in Montgomery County, college is the next step.
MCPS has a graduation rate of 90 percent,
one of the highest in the nation. Eighty
percent of MCPS high school graduates
enroll in college within 16 months of graduation. MCPS is correct in preparing all of
its students for college or university, and
it shouldnt change the way it operates to
accommodate the minority of its students.
Planning for college early can help ensure
that students are ready come graduation
day.
As a freshman, its hard to know what
youre going to do after high school. You
dont know if you are going to Montgomery College or attending Cornell. MCPS
shouldnt set low expectations and standards for students, when students havent
reached their full potential. Yes, not all students will head off to college or graduate,
but that doesnt mean that MCPS has the

power to decide who will and who wont.

If MCPS decided to operate as if not
every student is going to college, it would
need to change the curriculum to expand
programs for students who arent college
bound. This would be extremely expensive. Creating more space for these classes
and the equipment needed would be more
money on top of that. The stoves and tables for the food industry. The computers
and the necessary programs for the graphic design group and then the equipment
and cars for the car industry. MCPS does
not need to take on that investment. Also,
if MCPS added these classes for the students who arent going to college many
questions arise including, will they make
taking these alternative classes a graduation requirement? For every student to
take? That would make graduation harder
for students that do plan on college. Plus,
it would be unrealistic to expect that the
school system could find qualified teachers
for the specialized fields.
Whether students decide to go to college or not, college preparation doesnt
hurt anyone. The only people it affects are
the students in high school. Even if students dont head to college right after high
school, they might go back later in life,
and still use what they learned at MCPS
schools, and come to the realization that it
was very beneficial.

To The Point
Dancing around the Issue

Black Isnt Derogatory

Print with Caution

by Betselot Wondimu 15

by Zach Stubblefield 15

by Steven Witkin 16

On November 11, MCPSs Board of Education voted 7-1 to only list days of school closed for the 2015-16
school year while not relating those days to any holidays.
The vote came after outrage from the countys Muslim
community, whose protests to close schools on two of their
main holidays were rejected with a Board vote of 52 last
year.
The Boards most recent vote represents a major failure for two reasons. First, the Board is insinuating that removing the names of respected Christian and Jewish holidays is equivalent to recognizing Muslim holidays. This
is a miserable attempt by the Board to avoid the actual issue and appease a cognizant Muslim community. Second,
the rationale for not closing school on Muslim holidays is
that, considering the small Muslim population in MCPS,
it would be unfair to close school for its holidays and not
for other religious minorities. This argument is terribly
flawed; it is based on census data from the 1970s and does
not take the changing religious demographics of the Washington-Metropolitan area into account. No progress will be
made until the Board stops flaunting a facade of harmony.

Do not be afraid to use black as a descriptor. Far too

often people tip-toe over someones skin color like it is
sacrilege to point it out. They fear that if they refer to
someone by their skin tone and ethnicity, theyll be labeled
as racist. That is such as unnecessary taboo; all it does is
complicate things. It is perfectly fine to say someone is
black; it is a defining characteristic that lets someone know
who you are talking about right away. Whether black or
African American is the right term when referring to me
and my ebony brethren has also been a subject of debate
among many people.
I believe that black is the proper term to call us; not
African American. African American implies that we still
have close ties to Africa. The fact of the matter is that most
black people in America have not had ancestral ties to
Africa for more than four generations and have created a
completely divergent and unique culture than those of African countries. So why would we consider ourselves African when our families have not been there for hundreds of
years and have no direct relations with Africans? So do us
all a favor and just call us black.

Recently, global resource sustainability has evolved

from a casual consideration to an urgently relevant issue,
spawning government agencies and studies dedicated
to finding out how to delay the exhaustion of resources.
There have been numerous efforts to reduce resource consumption, yet most of these developments and attitudes
have not reached schools, especially involving the consumption of paper. The amount of paper that teachers print
in a year is enormous. An average students binder fills up
each quarter. Sherwood consumes over 4 million sheets
a year, not including test booklets. Every week, students
receive papers that could have been class sets and packets that could have been double-sided. Many students just
take a few notes and recycle them. Promethean Boards
were supposed to slow the constant flow of handouts, yet
many teachers still print out unnecessary copies of Power
Points and sheets that need only be accessible on Edline.
Unless the school switches to electronic distribution perhaps involving tablets, teachers and students need to become conscious of the paper they use, because every sheet
adds up.

14

The WarriorOpinions
December 5, 2014

The parenting style of an adult

has been proven to affect the
way in which a child develops
emotionally, physically, socially,
and intellectually. The Warrior
conducted a survey of students
opinions on the parenting styles
of their parental figures.

way both of their parents/guardians parent them

51%

But only
of respondents plan to have
a similar parenting style as both of their
parents/guardians if they have children

50%
of all respondents

Authoritative - a parent that

communicates in a warm,
accepting, and nuturing
manner, while maintaining
firm expectations and
restrictions on their childrens
behavior.

6%

5%

59%

10%

Only
consider
their dad more involved
than their mom.

4%

19% think that their

mom is too involved

22% think that their dad
is not involved enough

No

75% 4%

12%

1%

Mom

Would you say that you have a good

relationship with your parents/legal guardians?
Yes

12%

Dad

consider their mom

more involved in their
lives than their dad.

Permissive - a very relaxed

approach where parents are
generally warm, nurturing,
and affectionate. However,
they are overly accepting of
their childrens behavior, good
or bad.
Passive - the parent is totally
disengaged and emotionally
uninvolved in his or her childs
life. There is little, if any
expression of love and
affection.

What parenting style

best describes the way in
which your parents/legal
guardians parent you?

18%

Authoritarian - a very strict

form of parenting that expects
a child to adhere to rules and
regulations set out by the
parents with little to no
communication and input
from the child.

63% of respondents generally agree with the

17

Four main styles in which

parenting is categorized ...

Parenting

Mom, not dad

Dad, not mom

Unsure

10%

5%

6%

66%
Authoritarian

Permissive

Authoritative

Passive

*211 students surveyed

Does Not Apply

Graduation Standards Need Critical Changes

by Meagan Barrett 15

For 13 straight years of

American schooling, whether you
truly understand and retain the
content or not, you are pushed
through classes that you may or
may not excel at in order to keep
up with the ever-competitive
standard. As the United States
education system has progressed,
it has developed this obsession
with encouragingor pushing,
reallystudents to take classes
that they struggle in or are simply
disinterested in.
Enforcing a rigid, set standard may have once made sense.
When the British government was
first developing the public education system that they would implement throughout its colonies,
it needed to teach inhabitants of
their colonies three basic things:
how to read, write and do basic
arithmetic. And thus, on-level algebra was born. But in the current
American social structure, what
is such standardization really

worth? The school system stress- for colleges approval. Theres sentially turns them off from the
es that kids take more challenging no argument that students should subject. And having requirements
classes in the subjects they dont definitely learn both math and for a certain number of credits in
succeed in, solely because it English, but to what level and at a designated subject in order to
makes the student more appealing what intensity they should learn graduate perpetuates the disdain
to colleges. Their strengths and at is debatable.
they have for that subject. Now,
weaknesses have no weight in In high school, students have not only is it difficult, but it is
their educational career, and their reached a level at which they are also an obstacle standing between
academic interests,
them and graduation.
desires and goals

It would be
are boiled down to It would be more effective if a new system more effective if a
nothing more than a
system were in
were in place, one that didnt have a require- new
bundled up pre-deplace, one that didnt
termined act. We no ment for credits by class subject. Instead, a have a requirement
longer live in a soci- new requirement to have a certain number of for credits by class
ety where it is necessubject. Instead, a
overall credits should be implemented.
sary to have lots of
new requirement to
people who can all
have a certain number
do the same thing. And as high self-aware enough to know what of overall credits should be impleschools continue to encourage interests them, what they succeed mented. In this system, more rigstudents to start thinking of their in and what they simply cant do. orous courses would have more
future careers earlier, its hardly Of course learning basic math and weight, and a certain number of
necessary to continue exposing a English is necessary to function in rigorous courses would be restudent who truly struggles with society. But forcing those who ar- quired in order to graduate within
math to high level-calculus. At the ent proficient in English or math four years. However, the student
same time, if a student struggles to continue taking the subjects in could pursue rigorous courses in
with basic grammar rules, theres which they struggle until twelfth any subject they choose. And beno need for them to be persuad- grade simply makes that part of cause having English and social
ed to take AP English classes just their education a chore, and it es- sciences as well as math and nat-

ural sciences make for a balanced

education that is healthy for the
brains development, it would be
required for a student to take less
rigorous electives; however, passing or failing these classes would
not dictate a students eligibility
to graduate. It could be possible
to showcase proficiency in extracurricular classes to colleges as a
bonus, but it would be optional.
Because these classes essentially
would not affect students grades,
they could truly try any class they
choose.
It would be much more effective to allow students to take
the classes in which they excel,
and let them choose to challenge
themselves without the weight
of graduation bearing down on
them as theyre trying to branch
out. It isnt necessary to force
kids to struggle in subject they
simply arent interested in just
to meet some elusive, unrealistic
standard. A fish should be judged
on its ability to swim, not on how
well it climbs trees.

The WarriorWondering Warrior

15

December 5, 2014

Who was your favorite

Do you listen to music
band/artist when you
when you study?
were in middle school?

What
musical
artist is your
guilty pleasure?

All American Rejects.

-Michelle Tolson 15

Fall Out Boy.

-Diane Trieu 16
Demi Lavato.

-Dani Banda 15
Green Day.

-Claire OConnell 16

33% said no

Wiz Khalifa.

-Julie Swarr 15

Music

Taylor Swift.

-Marisa Bouey 15

11% Rock

19% Other

19% Pop

h
at
W

Stu
d

7% Indie

55%have a playlist
the radio

en

ic

In the car, do you listen

to the radio or do you
have a playlist?

ite Decade
r
o
v
0f
Fa
s
M
t

us

li ge
st nr
en e
to of
th m
e us
m ic
os d
t? o
y

ou

Black Keys.

-India Wilson 15

45%listen to

67% said yes

21% Country

23% Rap

1960s........................................5%

Do you buy your music on

iTunes or download it for free?
76%

1970s........................................4%
1980s........................................9%
1990s......................................20%
2000s......................................32%
2010s......................................24%
Other.........................................6%

24%

iTunes

Free

*100 People Surveyed

compiled by Lauren Cosca 15 and Kaleigh Homer 15

The WarriorEntertainment
16

December 5, 2014

Cinderella Captivates for a Magical Night of Theater

by Zach Stubblefield 15
The autumn play, Cinderella, was a huge success. It was
shown on November 14, 15, 21
and 22. Despite its origins as a
simple childrens tale, the cast
managed to spice it up with some
clever dialogue, special effects
and great set pieces.
The cast did a great job of
keeping the audience engaged
throughout the play. The stepsisters (seniors Nicole Lado and
Sophie Mezebish) and stepmother (senior Jessi Alperin) stole the
show. They did a superb job of
bickering and babbling whenever
they were on stage. It was a joy to
watch them argue with each other
and watch their comical attempts
at being graceful.
Another standout was Prince
Charmings (senior Will Goniprow) right hand man, Lionel (junior Joseph Hunt). He was often
the voice of reason throughout
the play, and he usually got a lot
of flak when he used that voice
with Cinderellas whimsical fam-

photo courtesy of Lianna Lieberman

The stepsisters and stepmother show their flamboyant nature upon receiving an invitation to the ball.
ily. Also, it goes without saying
that all of the singing parts in the
musical were fantastic.
The tech crew made sure the
special effects used in the show
were top notch. The light work
was especially noteworthy. The
crew went beyond using simple

techniques to show characters on

the stage; they used lights to enhance the overall experience. The
light work was really on display
during the ball scene. The tech
crew made the iconic clock out
of lights which was much better
than finding a regular old grand-

father clock to do the job. Another

thing that stood out was the fairy
god mothers magic. I was flabbergasted as smoke started filling
the stage when she started using
her magic and Cinderella come
out in full regalia when the smoke
dispersed. The transition was so

smooth I forgot I was watching

a high school play for a second.
Overall, the tech crew did a great
job of making the play look professional.
The play also had some killer
set pieces. Many seemed average at first, but when one starts
noticing all the little details put
into them, the sets start to show
how magnificent they really are.
Whether it was the fire place
lighting up, the mural in Cinderellas house being an actual picture
of her dysfunctional step family,
or the pumpkin outside the ball
room after Cinderella leaves prematurely, the small touches of
detail really helped elevate the set
pieces.
I feel sorry for all the Sherwood students who didnt take
time out of their schedules to see
this years fall production, because they missed a helluva show.
Rock n Roll has to be great this
year if it plans to meet the standard Andrew Dodge, the plays
director, has set with his fantastic
rendition of Cinderella.

A Very Fitting Farewell

by Madison Dymond 16

Inherent Vice

Dec. 12

Shows
N
Shindigs

Movies

The Interview
Dec. 25

Annie
Dec. 19

Concerts
Hot 99.5
Jingle Ball
Festival

O.A.R
Dec.13

Towson

Dec.15

Dec.5

Echostage

Rick
Ross
Verizon Center

On November 11, classic

rock band Pink Floyd released
The Endless River, their first
album since The Division Bell
in 1994. Although this album,
which the band has announced
will be their last, is almost entirely instrumental, its unmistakably
and completely Pink Floyd and
its an ideal goodbye to the bands
extremely devoted fans.
Pink Floyd began in the early
60s with five original members,
but with drama such as original
vocalist and guitarist Syd Barretts mental instability caused by
drug addiction, members came
and went over the years. The biggest cause of drama in the band
was various disagreements between later vocalist and guitarist
David Gilmour and bassist, lyricist and vocalist Roger Waters
that ended in Waters suing the
band to prevent them from performing with the name Pink
Floyd. Along with iconic bands
such as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, Pink
Floyd changed rock music and
influenced many bands that followed. Through such albums as
The Wall and The Dark Side
of the Moon, Pink Floyd became
one of the most famous rock
bands of all time.
The band last performed live
in 2005 at the conclusion of what
would be their final world tour.
In 2008, keyboardist Richard
Wright died of cancer. Its remaining two membersGilmour and
drummer Nick Masonstruggled to create an album without

him, but they very successfully

produced The Endless River
as a tribute to and a celebration
of his immense talent, as well as
the bands goodbye to fans. The
twelfth song on the album, Autumn 68, features Wrights organ playing.
Even with little vocals, the
album has the psychedelic sound
of the 70s that Pink Floyd was so
well known for. The few lyrics on
the album are about simple communication between humans, and
what can be accomplished by it.
Without being very complex, the
lyrics seem to deliver a straightforward message to listeners.
Although Gilmour only actually sang for one song on the album, his voice sounds almost as
flawless and crisp as it did in the
bands earlier years.
The music ranges from melancholy soft rock to upbeat hard
rock. Some songs on the album
are made to parallel songs from
other Pink Floyd albumsspecifically The Wall. The music is
not very original, but summarizes
the best of Pink Floyd. This will
very likely not be considered one
of the bands best albums, and it
was not expected to be. It is still,
however, a great finish.
The songs are short and flow
together perfectly. This album
may not be pleasing to all fans
due to its lack of vocals, but its
definitely worthy of their pleasure
because, not only is it a sentimental thank you and goodbye from
the almost 50-year-old band, but
the instrumentation is just as incredibly Pink Floyd as it always
has been.

The WarriorEntertainment
December 5, 2014

17

Sequels Stand Their Ground

Mockingjay Movie Catches Fire

by Chase Wilson 17

by Stacey Wells 15

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare was released at midnight on November 4 with more than 300,000 pre-orders. Available for the Xbox
360, Xbox one, PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation 4, this is the eleventh installment in the Call of Duty (CoD) franchise. The developing
studio, Sledgehammer, stated that one of the most difficult things they
had to consider in the months leading up to the release was trying to
keep the fans interested with new and fresh content from the game.
Sledgehammer succeeded, releasing snippets of content every couple
of months along with pre-order incentives for the game that gave fans
a taste of what could be in the game, such as the gold exo-suit with a
per-order edition of the game.
The storyline follows a soldier, Jack Mitchell, who begins as a
private for the United States military but joins up with Atlas, a private military corporation, after he loses his arm and his childhood best
friend in an explosion while fighting in Seoul, Korea against the KVA,
an unidentified terrorist organization. The president of the corporation,
Jonathan Irons, slowly turns into the antagonist of the game through a
few unexpected twists. The big, new enhancement to the game is the
introduction of the exo-suit, a specially designed suit which gives
the wearer more maneuverability than ever before. The exo-suit is a
huge improvement to the game and enhances the players strength and
adds a boost ability which makes the player able to jump higher and
dash away from threats in battle. New maps are always a big factor in
a game, and Advanced Warfare has a perfect blend of smaller to medium sized maps with one or two long ranged maps. Overall, the game
blends the older installments ingenuity with new graphics, engines and
technology.

The release of Far Cry 4 surpassed its expectations with what I

believe is enough potential to win the Shooter of the Year award of
2014, just as Far Cry 3 did in 2013. The game is out on PC, Xbox 360,
Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. The game has many of
the same mechanics as its predecessor, but the graphics surpass those
of any of the other games I have seen on the next-gen consoles. Also,
there is a new feature called auto drive which makes the vehicle the
player is driving follow the road by itself, giving the player the ability
to accurately aim out of the side of the car.
The campaign starts off with Ajay Ghale, our main character, trying to fulfill his mothers dying wish: for her ashes to be spread across
Lakshwana, a mysterious temple in the northern part of Kyrat. Upon
entering Kyrat, the bus Ajay is riding in is promptly attacked by Pagan
Min, the psychotic ruler of Kyrat, and his troops, and then saved by
a resistance force called The Golden Path. Ajays deceased parents
started the resistance force.
Throughout the game, the player finds him/herself in the middle
of the Kyrati civil war, which is based on Nepals Revolution, torn between focusing on helping the rebels in their revolution or on spreading Ajays mothers ashes. The variety of decisions a player must make
throughout the game contributes to the depth of immersion one feels
when playing the game, which rockets the game past all other competitors.

The
highly
anticipated
Mockingjay: Part 1, the third
movie in the Hunger Games series, opened in theaters on November 21. Though many mumbled and grumbled over the fact
that the final book-to-movie
adaptation is split into two, the
separate films will allow for each
and every event in the book to be
thoroughly portrayed on the big
screen. Almost no aspect of the
novel has been overlooked, filling
the movie with tremendous detail
and drama. This most recent installment may just be the best
movie so far of the franchise.
Overall, the casting is strong
and almost everyone is well suited for their roles. Jennifer Lawrence, cast as the female protagonist Katniss Everdeen, puts on
a spectacular performance. She
morphs into the Girl on Fire,
portraying Katniss increasing
mental instability while simultaneously showing her determination to keep fighting. Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark) does not
appear for an extensive amount
of time in this film, but acts extremely well when onscreen, perfectly capturing how his characters composure and sanity ebbs
away as he is continually tortured
by his captors. The only minor
disappointment appears in Elden

Henson (Pollox), a mute man.

Henson appears overly happy
and animated during a serious
moment, distracting the audience
from what is actually happening
in that particular scene.
In addition to the well-chosen, talented cast, Mockingjay
is also filled with heart-pounding
action. In one scene, Katniss safe
hold is being bombed by the enemy, forcing all of the civilians underground. The audience witnesses the bombs shaking the structure
underground, hears a frightening
siren, sees panicked people trying
to reach safety, and watches as
Katniss sister (played by Willow
Shields) desperately tries to reach
the safe area before the doors
close. The tension builds, making
even the most stoic movie-goer
concerned over this 13-year-old
girls life. In between the continued action, there are brief respites
of calm, such as when Katniss admires the beauty and innocence of
the quiet forest with Gale (played
by Liam Hemsworth). They share
an intimate moment in the forest and kiss later on in the film,
building even more conflict over
who Katniss is ultimately in love
withPeeta or Gale. Although a
large part of the series is centered
on the romance, the love triangle
does not overtake the central storyline of the film.
The cinematography com-

petes as one of the best parts of

this breathtaking movie. Katniss
is in a variety of environments
from skeleton-filled District 12
to the rubble left over from the
bombing. Each environment perfectly encapsulates the emotions
of the specific scene. For instance,
when Katniss and Gale wander
through the forest, the audience
can admire the beauty of the light
rays appearing through the trees
and the stunning, peaceful deer.
However, one issue with the cinematography is when the coveted
Mockingjay is finally shown. Its
appearance is obviously CGI and
needed a little extra work to appear more realistic. But this film
exceeds expectations and truly
excites the crowd for Mockingjay: Part 2.

Going Beyond Fame To Find Love

by Allie Pino 15
Hollywood has long embraced the story of the suffering
superstar. You know the tale,
dont you? A talented but misunderstood singer or actor struggles with the downside of living
in the spotlight. Often there is a
parent trying to live his or her
own dreams through the childs
adult career. There might even be
a hero who will appear to protect
the artist from the perils of fame
and fortune. This narrative idea
is explored in the film Beyond
the Lights. Thanks to the clever
direction of Gina Prince-Bythewood, however, the film shatters
these clichs and turns into an
unexpectedly electric and moving
romantic drama.
Noni Jean (Gugu MbathaRaw) is a hot new artist who just
won a Billboard Music Award and
is primed for super-stardom. Noni
should be on top the world, but in
reality shes not in a good place.
Being positioned as the object of
male sexual desires in the media,
dressed in close to nothing outfits
and accessorized in a mountain of
purple hair extensions is not what
she envisioned her life to be.
In Mbatha-Raws capable
hands, shes a real, damaged human being navigating extraordinary circumstances over which
she has little control. Many of
those situations are because of
Nonis mother and manager,
Macy Jean (Minnie Driver). No
question, Macy Jean is plenty un-

likeable in her cruelty, especially

when turning a blind eye to her
daughters clear discomfort at being told to remove her top during
a photo shoot.
The pressures of success
compel Noni to nearly end her
life. Returning to her Hollywood
hotel after the awards show, Noni
climbs over the balcony banister, ready to jump. Her plan
is foiled by the grace and good
grip of LAPD officer Kaz Nicol
(Nate Parker). I see you, Kaz
says with the kind of empathy
and emotion Nonis life has been
sorely lacking. Then he pulls her
to safety. Where she goes from
there is the driving storyline of
the movie.
Drawn to each other, Noni
and Kaz fall fast and hard in
love, despite the protests of those
around them who urge them to
put their career ambitions ahead
of their romance. But it is ultimately Kazs love that gives Noni

the courage to find her own voice

and break free to become the artist she was meant to be.
Director Prince-Bythewood
does a nice job sketching both
Noni and Kazs contrasting environments: her stifling affluence
with its many paparazzi and exploiters of all stripesversus his
modest blue-collar existence.
The script has a distinctly
modern angle that smartly incorporates the current entertainment-industry climate, as well as
the intersection of social media,
tabloids and celebrity, which is
rarely portrayed with the accuracy and insight its given here.
A star-crossed love story is
only as good as its Romeo and
Juliet. Both Noni and Kaz have
a sweet, smoldering chemistry
thats a joy to witness. This is
feel-good entertainment at heart
that creates an element of wish
fulfillment to how the duos romance plays out.

The WarriorSports
18

December 5, 2014

Student Athletes Cope with ACL Injuries

by Hunter Moore 15

On September 12, senior Tim Kresss

season came to a sudden end in a football
game against Blair while making a sack.
As Kress was on the ground, a Blair offensive lineman landed on his awkwardly positioned knee and caused him to tear both
his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and
his meniscus.
The pain was like no other pain I have
ever felt. It was excruciating, said Kress.
Whats even worse was the devastation
I felt when I got the news that my senior
year of football was over. I had worked so
hard and had so much riding on the season,
and it was taken from me in an instant.
In all levels of sportsprofessional,
college and high schoolthere have recently been problems with the tearing of
the ACL. There are about 200,000 ACL
injuries in the United States per year. At
Sherwood alone, several students have torn
their ACL, and it seems that every six to
eight weeks, a new student-athlete suffers
an ACL injury.
ACL tears are relatively common because the human body is not built to make
the jumps and cuts athletes now make,
according to various reports. The ACL is
located inside the knee joint, connecting
the underside of the femur to the top of the
tibia. Its main role is to prevent the tibia
from sliding in front of the femur and out
of the joint. The dynamic forces created by
jumping and making side-to-side cuts tend
to stress the ACL by pushing the tibia out
of position. When the ACL tears, it is usually because the athlete rotated his hips at
the wrong moment, adding too much force
to the ligament.
Senior Christopher Chiogioji was
forced to miss this years football season
due to a devastating injury suffered during
a scrimmage against Howard weeks before last years lacrosse season. He tore his
ACL making a cut that caused his knee to
give out and the ligament to tear instantly.

This injury will also force him to miss the

basketball season opener against Magruder
as a part of the rehabilitation process.
Chiogioji found the next couple of
months much harder than the days immediately following his injury. The process
of surgery and rehab was long and hard;
if you dont work it out every day then it
wont get any better. Ive been working
hard to get back into shape and get my
knee fixed, but one of the most difficult
tasks was overcoming muscle atrophy [the
weakening or loss of muscle tissue]. Im
happy the process is almost over to say the
least, said Chiogioji.
Senior Alex Kozlowski has torn both

Boys' basketball

girls' basketball

Source: The Gazette

MOMENT OF IMPACT Seniors Tim Kress and Hunter Moore sacked Blairs quarterback in a game on September 12, moments before
Kress tore his ACL. The tear ended his high school football career. However, he is expected to recover before the baseball season begins.
of her ACLs, tearing the first one while
playing basketball and the other during the
powder puff football game last year. Tearing my ACLs wasnt incredibly painful
when it actually happened, but the next day
was dreadful, said Kozlowski. Walking
down the stairs was out of the question and
walking itself was a horrible task.
According to recent studies, female
athletes are five times more likely to have
an ACL injury. Women have a wider pelvis, different thigh bone structure, different
muscle maturation and different hormonal
changes than men, which make women
more susceptible to an injury.
Kozlowski has been in rehabilitation

for five months, and still has about three

more weeks to go. Fortunately, she will be
able to return to the basketball court for her
senior year, though she will be required
to miss her first few games, including the
game against rival Magruder. Kozlowski
can officially begin playing on December
29.
While ACL injuries have become more
common, there have been advancements
in medicine to not make it the devastating
injury it was a few decades ago. Thirty
years ago an ACL tear was career-ending,
but now, with a surgery and rehabilitation
period, there is a 96 to 98 percent chance of
returning to the sport.

WINTER SPORTS PREVIEW

BIGGEST GAMES

12/5/2014 Fri. 5:15 PM

Magruder (A)
2/6/2015 Fri. 7 PM
Springbrook (H)
2/13/2015 Fri. 7 PM
Gaithersburg (H)
TOP ATHLETES

Xavier McCants
Hunter Moore
2013 RECORD

13-11

BIGGEST GAMES

12/5/2014 Fri. 7 PM
Magruder (A)
1/6/2015 Tues. 7 PM
Blake (H)
1/26/2015 Mon. 5:15 PM
Paint Branch (A)
TOP ATHLETES

Nicole Stockinger
Taylor Andrews
Amanda Allen
2013 RECORD

10-13

wrestling

BIGGEST GAMES

12/20/2014 Sat. 1 PM
Northwest, Poolesville (H)
1/24/2015 Sat. 2:30 PM
Magruder (A)
1/31/2015 Sat. 1 PM
Springbrook (H)
TOP ATHLETES

Andrew Frumkin
Charlie Siarkas
Sean Levey
2013 RECORD

13-1

indoor track
BIGGEST MEETS

1/10/2015 Sat. 9 AM
Montgomery Invitational
1/24/2015 Sat. 8:30 AM
Last Track, Philly Invitational
1/30/2015 Fri. 4PM
Virginia Tech Invitational
TOP ATHLETES
BOYS
Jefferson Ruiz
Junior Settles
DeVonte Doward

GIRLS
Lauren Woods
Tiffany Woods
Molly Hierholzer

swim and dive

BIGGEST MEETS
12/6/2014 Sat. 11:30 AM
Damascus (Olney Swim)
1/10/2015 Sat. 9:15 AM
Northwest (Olney Swim)

2013 RECORD

TOP ATHLETES
BOY SWIMMERS
Jake Ryan
Austin Kong
Declan Black

GIRL SWIMMERS
Morgan Hill
Margarita Ryan
Christina Kolanowski

DIVERS
Caroline Graves
Cody Carlson

GIRLS
5-1, Regional Champs
BOYS
1-5

The WarriorSports
December 5, 2014

Warriors Season Ends

After State Semi-Finals
by Will Van Gelder 16
The Warriors advanced to the
state Semi-Finals before being
defeated 3-0 by Severna Park on
November 12. The team had gone
undefeated during the regular
season and ended the season with
an astonishing 23-1 record, with
their only loss coming against
Severna, 25-17, 25-18, 25-18.
Severnas attack was led by
6-foot-4 Mary Smith, who recorded 14 kills and 8 blocks. Severna
managed to limit Sherwoods
duo of sophomore Kaiya Heyliger-Powell and senior Kerra Tirado to combine for only 19 kills.
The game, which was played at
the University of Maryland, was
a showcase of some of the states
most promising prospects in volleyball.
You cant measure an entire
season by a single game. If you
look at where we started and how
far we have come, that progress
is the real measuring stick, said
Coach Ben Sanger. It is unfortunate we lost, but Severna Park
was the better team on Wednesday night. I look at this season as
a success, as these 17 girls continued to push each other every
day. Im going to miss this group
a lot.
In addition to Sanger, assistant coaches Brian McCarty and
Joe Moyers also heavily contributed to the teams success. The
captains, Tirado, senior Dalton
Sanchez and junior Ariella Rodriguez, played a significant role
in motivating players and maintaining the teams focus in practices and matches. As a result, the
Warriors dominated nearly every
opponent they faced and won
seventeen of their twenty regular
season matches in straight sets.
After a relatively easy

19

Four Playoff Games

Should Be Just a Start
by Stephen Luckey 15

Jack Armstrong 15

GOING UP FOR THE BLOCK Senior Kerra Tirado and sophomore Kaiya Heyliger-Powell jump in an attempt to double-block the Falcons.
first-round match against Paint
Branch, the Warriors exacted revenge against Howard, who beat
Sherwood in the state semi-finals
last year; in this years duel, Sherwood won 25-19, 25-15, 25-10.
The girls then defeated the reigning state champions, Dulaney
from Baltimore County. Sanger
noted that the coaches scouted
Dulaney to find weaknesses to
exploit. The Warriors were helped
by senior Julia Gajewski-Nemes
ability to make smart plays and
hit around the blocks, as well as

strong serving from seniors Alison Sarver and Kristen Stitzlein.

The Warriors consistently kept
Dulaney off balance in the 25-16,
25-20, 25-20 victory.
We were faced with a lot of
difficult things this season and we
came together as a team to overcome the hardships and make it
to the state semi-finals. I am so
proud of my team and couldnt
have asked for anyone better to
spend my last season of girls volleyball with, said senior defensive specialist Sarver.

College football is the one

of the most viewed sports on
television. The fan bases for top
teams are loyal to their core but
in years past, fans of only two
teams can root for a big championship after the regular season. This was because of the old
Bowl Champion Series (BCS)
system, in which the No.1 and
No.2 teams duked it out on the
gridiron for the national championship. Through this system,
teams ranked anywhere below
the two top spots were designated to a lesser bowl game.
The argument grew louder in the past decade that some
lower ranked teams were overall better than the higher-ranked
No.1 and No.2 teams. Anything
can happen in college football
and some of the other teams in
the top ten truly had the potential to beat the national championship contenders. And so, this
year is the first time that there
will be a playoff system. The
top four selected teams will go
head-to-head to see which two
advance to the championship.
Still, this years playoff system doesnt go far enough. TCU
is ranked No.3 after leapfrogging undefeated Florida State,
who sits at No.4. If things hold
this weekend No.5 Baylor and
No.6 Ohio State will be left out
of the playoffs even though they
each have only lost one game.

Ohio State also plays in the

Big Ten, including a game this
weekend against surging Wisconsin. The NCAA should have
an eight-team playoff so all the
deserving teams have a chance
at the championship title.
This would obviously extend the process, but it would
allow for a system more like the
NFL. To accommodate the addition of games, the trivial bowl
games could be cut out. Make
it all about the big kahuna, the
main event, the national championship.
Regardless of what happens
with the four-team playoff system, there will still be arguments
over what actual improvements
were made. Let the top teams
have a chance and show the nation what they can do. Yes, Ole
Miss has three losses, but the
Rebels beat newly No.1 ranked
Alabama, as well as previously
No.4 ranked Mississippi State.
An eight-team playoff
would settle the debates about
the best college team in America. The NCAA should use this
years playoff as a first step to
going to eight teams in 2015.

For more sports stories, visit

www.thewarrioronline.com
Follow us on twitter at
@SHSWarriorPress

The WarriorSports
20

December 5, 2014

DOMINATING
THE COURT
Xavier McCants accepts

leadership role on the team

by Leo Corman 15

FOR AN INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE, DOWNLOAD AURASMA

IN THE APP STORE. THEN, FOLLOW THEWARRIORONLINE AND SCAN THIS PHOTO

enior shooting guard Xavier (zah-vee-ay)

McCants started playing basketball when he
was 8 years old, following in the footsteps of
his older siblings. Now entering his third season on the varsity squad and returning as the
teams leading scorer from last season, McCants
will look to establish himself as the number one
player on his team and one of the countys best.
McCants plays basketball for the competition. What I find enjoyable about basketball is
the competitiveness and the adrenaline rush I get
while I play. Naturally Im very competitive and I
love to win, said McCants. The most challenging thing about basketball is trying to stay consistent with scoring, defense and taking care
of the ball.
McCants recognizes the positive influence
his coaches have had on his development. He
credits his Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)
coach, Kevin Harris, for pushing him to achieve
his full potential and never sugar-coating anything. McCants also appreciates the guidance he
has received from varsity Coach Tim Gilchrist
and former NBA guard and assistant Coach Walt
Williams, who have both helped to teach [him]
whats going to be needed at the next level.
McCants is currently being recruited by several
colleges.
McCants has a very aggressive playing style,

especially in his ability to attack the basket and

score through contact. His speed and ball-handling allow him to beat defenders up the floor,
and his athleticism and body control help him
absorb contact and finish at the rim. While McCants relies mainly on getting to the basket, his
improved outside jump shot will likely be an offensive threat that defenses will have to respect
this season.
McCants expects to be one of the leading
scorers in the county this season and possibly
earn first team All-Met honors. Coach Gilchrist
has high leadership expectations for McCants as
well. We want Xav to grow as the season goes
on, and we want him and fellow seniors to guide
this team through the playoffs to Comcast, said
Gilchrist. I expect hard work in practice everyday, and expect Xav to not allow any of his teammates to slack at any moment on or off the court.
We expect the highest level of quality of work.
Anything less is not the Sherwood Warrior way.

The most
challenging
thing about
basketball is
trying to stay
consistent.
-Xavier McCants 15
According to Gilchrist, McCants success
stems from more than just natural talent. He is a
tireless worker in the gym, the classroom and the
weight room, said Gilchrist. Xav is very coachable and listens attentively; he executes the teams
game plan and also has the support of his teammates. He is a special player, but is very humble
and wants to see his teammates do just as well as
he is hoping to do this winter.
Gilchrist added that he hopes to have a balanced offense with strong ball movement, making it difficult for opposing coaches to double-team McCants or deny him the ball. The
Warriors open the season today against rival
Magruder.