Sherwood High School

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

www.thewarrioronline.com

Warrior
38th Year, Issue No.3

January 14, 2016

the

Inside: News: 1-5, Hidden Talents: 6-7, Features: 8-9, Humor: 10-11, Spotlight: 12-13, Opinions: 14-17, Wondering Warrior: 18 Entertainment: 19-20, Sports: 21-24

Head Injuries on the Field Lead

To Major Fallout in Classrooms

Bathroom Parties:
Students must find
new ways to show
spirit after chaotic
incident


pg. 2

Hidden Talents:

Students and
staff display their
unique abilities

pg. 6-7
The Real Housewives of Olney:
The reality show introduces new spinoff in Olney by Bryse Thornwell 16
pg. 10 Freshman Haley Allen

Generations:

A closer look at the

different age groups
today


pg. 12-13

blocked a girls pass on the lacrosse field and received a blow

to the head during a Saturday
tournament. Senior Lauren Alexander was supervising a group
of kids at work when she collided with a man playing basketball
nearby and slammed her head on
the floor. Sophomore Alhaji Turay
was hit in the face with a soccer
ball during a school game in September. After experiencing various symptoms, Allen, Alexander

a n d
Turay
joined
the 40 students that
have been diagnosed with
a concussion at
Sherwood
this
school year alone.
A concussion,
according to the Center for Disease Control
(CDC), is a brain injury,
caused by a bump, blow or
jolt to the head, that changes the way the brain usually
works. The most common
symptoms include fatigue and
headaches, weakness, numbness,
decreased coordination, nausea,
seizures, memory difficulties or
even loss of consciousness.
Concussion counts have
steadily increased over the past
couple of years. More awareness
and therefore more recognition
has brought the number of concussions up significantly, said
Dr. Christopher G. Vaughan, a
pediatric neuropsychologist who
has treated Sherwood students at
Childrens National Hospital.
Sherwood documented 108
concussions last year and on aver-

age sees four to six head bumps

to the health room daily. I think
its mostly due to our documentation and more awareness of the
seriousness of the injury. Before
we werent required to document
concussions to the county; now
we are, said school nurse Jennifer Jones.
Students suffering from a
concussion follow the Return to
Learn protocol. We give them
a little bit of work and wait until they are almost symptom-free.
If symptoms dont decrease, we
lessen the workload, but if they
do decrease, we add more work
until they are back at the normal
classroom level, added Jones.
The list of restrictions described on the Acute Concussion
Evaluation document, sent by the
doctor, includes a list of accommodations that last as long as
symptoms persist. Common accommodations include multiple
rest breaks, reduced homework
and/or classwork, extended due
dates, modified testing and a pass
to the health room should symptoms worsen. Accommodations
could even result in a more intensive 504 Plan which provides
disability accommodations for
concussions over a long period of
time.
In order to accommodate stu-

dents diagnosed with a concussion, the counselors, nurse and

administrators all meet to gather
more information and discuss the
best course of action. I provide
the medical background needed,
while the administrators look at
coursework Ultimately we all
agree on priorities for the student, stated Jones.
Despite the current protocol
in place, concussed students seem
to have different opinions about
how well they felt they were accommodated. Allen stated that all
of her teachers were understanding of her condition, and she did
not feel rushed or overwhelmed
once she was fully healed. Turay
seemed to find himself in the middle where most of his teachers
were helpful, but he found he had
to find out and learn many things
on his own. Alexander found that
some teachers were more helpful
than others in her recovery process. Teachers definitely forget
sometimes that in addition to the
work I have to make up in their
class, I also have work to make up
in four other classes, said Alexander.
While Vaughan explains
there is still a lot to learn, he stated the best treatment for concussions is relaxation, hydration,
and good sleep.

Picking the wrong

word:
An emoji was the
worst choice to
represent 2015
MCPS has dramatically shifted away from suspending students. High schools have instead been mandated to rely


pg. 16 on In-School Interventions (ISI). At Sherwood, students in ISI spend a day or more in a room in the Main Office.

Students Who Do the Crime Do the Time

Money:
How students make
and spend it
pg. 18

Cava Mezze:

A review of Olneys
newest restaurant
pg. 19

Swimming:

Strong season
attributed to talent
and leadership
pg . 24

by Danielle Tobb 17

As a result of efforts to keep

students in school, the number
of out-of-school suspensions at
Sherwood has remained at an
all-time low over the past two
years. There were six suspensions during the first quarter of
this school year. During the first
quarter of 2014-2015 school year,
there were just three suspensions.
The school, instead, has relied on In-School Interventions
(ISI) and other measures such as
peer mediation and community
service. As suspensions decline,
the number of students placed in
ISI has greatly increased, and 39
students were given ISI during
the second quarter of this school
year, according to data pulled by
Assistant Principal Sandi Williams.
Starting as early as February of 2012, the Maryland State
Board of Education passed a new
initiative to cut the number of
students suspended from school
because of the belief that those
students were missing too much
class time. The report that the
board drafted concluded that there

Maya Koeppen 17

Students that are given in-school intervention spend their hours in this room in the Main Office. The room
provides a workspace for students to complete assignments due to their absence from their classes.
was little to no evidence that removing students from school for
misdemeanors improved student
behavior or the schools safety.
After the Maryland State
Board of Education finalized
new regulations on suspensions
in 2014, MCPS followed suit by
adjusting its own policies. A new
code of conduct includes a 10-

page matrix of different wrongdoings and detailed levels of

punishment for each. These new
MCPS guidelines led to an increase in ISI at Sherwood to 15 in
2014 from four the previous year.
This comes a year after suspensions at Sherwood in 2013 were
at an all-time high of 49, according to Williams.

The In-School Interventions

typically take place in a room located in the main office. Posted
on the wall includes a set of rules
that students in the room must
follow. These guidelines include
securing cell phones, following
directions of staff members, and

see SUSPENSION, pg. 3

The WarriorNews
2

January 14, 2016

Court Reviews Affirmative Action

by Ketki Chauhan 16
This legal year, the Supreme Court is reviewing Fisher v.
University of Texas at Austin which deals with affirmative action
and the use of racial preference in undergraduate admissions at
universities across the country. The oral arguments for the case
were heard on December 9. The plaintiff, Abigail Fisher, filed
the case in 2008 after being denied admission to the university
because of its race-conscious admission policy. If her claim is
proven true, not only could the university be in violation of the
Equal Protection Clause of the fourteenth amendment, but analysts believe affirmative action, as a whole, may be removed
from college admissions nationwide.
The case has the potential to become another landmark case
like Regents of the University of California v. Bakke and Grutter
v. Bollinger which have provided precedent for Fishers case as
both decisions legitimized race-conscious admission policies in
order to promote a diverse student body; however, the latter case
established that race has a limited role in the admission decisions
made by public universities.
The topic of affirmative action raises all sorts of debate
because some believe that affirmative action is equivalent to
reverse racism while others believe that affirmative action
is essential because of a centuries-long legacy of racism in the
country, which has been stirred up again by tragedies like the
Charleston church shooting and the deaths of black men and
women at the hands of police officers. Affirmative action has
provided effectiveness as a way of having a more diverse student
body on college campuses.

Rumors on the Rise for iPhone 7

by Bryse Thornwell 16

Its the year 2016, which officially ends the S year for Apples iPhone and paves the way for the iPhone 7 tentatively set
to be released this fall. While Apple has not yet stated which
changes are absolutely definite, USA Today has released some
of the modifications that reportedly will be incorporated into the
new design. Some of the biggest changes include removing the
standard 3.5mm headphone jack, making the phone compatible
with gloves, and protecting the phone by adding more water-resistant materials.
USA Today speculates on these changes based on Apples recently received patents for Glove Touch Detection, Electronic
devices with housing port shutters, and an informant from the
Japanese blog Macotakara.
The most controversial change would most likely be the
removal of the headphone jack. Removing the headphone jack
would allow Apple to make the iPhone even thinner, and the
standard 3.5mm plug would be modified to fit the charger port.
While at first this change seems similar to when Apple changed
the charger ports from the old (30-pin) charger to the new, thinner lightning cable, headphones include a market that expands
further and would lead everyone to modify their headphone products, not just Apple.

Radon Retested Across MCPS

by Samantha Schwartz 16

After 26 MCPS schools tested for dangerously high levels

of radon, all schools and other buildings within the district have
been scheduled to be retested. Sherwoods radon levels were
tested from December 21 to 24 and are awaiting results.
Radon is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that often
seeps into buildings through cracks in the foundation. This
seemingly harmless gas is linked to lung cancer and thus regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA
says radon should be tested for and should not exceed four picocuries per liter (pCi/l), in order to protect peoples safety and
well-being.
Interim Superintendent Larry A. Bowers has directed staff to
review the MCPS radon program and to establish a new baseline
set of data of radon levels in MCPS facilities with the retesting
data. The new radon monitoring program will be developed with
guidance from the EPA to ensure an effective and accurate new
policy.
The upcoming testing schedule and future test results will
be accessible on the MCPS website (http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org).

Administration Hopes To Redirect Spirit

by Ashley Nnabue 16
It is difficult to attend Sherwood and not be aware of the occasional bathroom party. Hordes
of students, numbering from a
dozen to more than 50 people,
screaming and yelling in a hallway as they tramp into a boys
bathroom together is hard to
miss. What may seem like fairly
innocent fun to the participants
has proven to have the potential
to become an uncontrollable and
dangerous event.
Bathroom parties at the
school are a fairly recent phenomena of the past four years where
students, usually males, gather at a specific school bathroom
between class periods to chant,
jump, and build excitement for
a much anticipated sports game
later that day, or simply to blow
off steam. The occasion tends
to occur on the days of important football or boys basketball
games, but also has taken place in
past years in the late springtime
as students anticipate the end of a
school year.
Word gets around through
mass text messages that reach
nearly every individual within
the school. The message sparks
encouragement by highlighting
the importance for everyone to
participate if he or she has school
spirit. Although it is meant to be
fun, students fail to realize the
danger and damage that bathroom
parties can cause.
For the most recent bathroom
party on November 13, students
were encouraged to get hyped for
the football playoff game against
Howard. A first bathroom par-

Chase Wilson 17

A rowdy bathroom party damaged the C hall boys bathroom on November 13. Students messed with ceiling tiles and soap dispensers.
ty that day took place between
6th and 7th periods in the upper
C-hall. A second and larger party
took place again between 7th and
8th periods in the same location.
In the frenzy, a student accidentally injured security guard Andy
Blasher. As Blasher tried to prevent students from leaving the
bathroom, he was shoved in the
shoulder, causing an injury for
which he received surgery on December 16. Blasher is scheduled
to return to Sherwood in March,
but will be taking legal action regarding the incident. For the time
being, security guard Gabriel Palamo will be filling in.
If people are getting hurt,
it is not school spirit but unorganized chaos that detracts from it,
said Pat Rooney, the head of the

schools security team. It is always boys because girls are smart

enough not to go into dirty bathrooms and be stupid.
Principal Bill Gregory angrily made a public announcement to the student body during
8th period on November 13 and
sternly made clear that he will
not tolerate the reckless behavior that occurred during the two
bathroom parties that day. He
also stressed that he appreciates
students school spirit and wants
that spirit to continue, but that
students need to channel it in appropriate ways. Activities such as
a flash mob would be acceptable.
Gregory said that there will be
severe consequences for students
who participate in any bathroom
parties in the future.

Uber Car Service Increases in

Popularity with Strings Attached
by Naomi Lawrence 17
Since 2010, Uber increasingly has been used by many across
the nation and other countries
worldwide. This smartphone app
allows users to request a car with
the tap of a screen. Payments are
made through an account on the
app, which makes the use of cash
unnecessary. In addition, drivers
are given the customers location
upon request, so there is no need
to wait around for a cab to hopefully swing by. Used for nearly
any occasion, users can be taken
virtually anywhere.
Drivers also experience
many perks. Though they are responsible for wear and tear on
their car, as well as having to pay
for gas, they do get to set their
own hours. Although drivers are
not permitted to receive tips, they
are not subject to the same rigid
regulations and fees that traditional taxi drivers are. One feature of Uber allows passengers to
rate their drivers and vice versa.
If anyone, driver or passenger,
receives too many poor reviews,
the company will de-activate the

account.

Its no wonder Uber is regarded as a leading company of appbased services. However, as the
hype about the company grows,
more concerns have popped up.
Earlier this year in August,
district attorneys in California pressed charges against the
company, accusing Uber of not
completing adequate background
checks on its hired drivers. San
Franciscos District Attorney,
George Gascon, pointed out that
the database Uber uses to check
the records of potential drivers
overlooks former criminals. He
found 30,000 Uber employees
who are registered sex offenders,
and were not found in the database. Registered cab companies
use a database called Livescan
that checks against the sex offender registry, thereby eliminating the possibility of hiring criminals.
In addition, many Uber drivers arent considered employees
by state law. While claiming employee status, one can be entitled
to government benefits. However,
if drivers refer to themselves as

an independent contractor, they

avoid having to pay income taxes.
There have been several
cases where people have been
overcharged by Uber drivers. For
instance, a woman in Baltimore
was charged $362 for a 20-minute
ride. Taxis would have charged a
fraction of that price.
Ubers policy also states that
they prohibit drivers from giving
rides to minors. However, many
teenagers use the car service to
get home from parties and clubs,
rather than driving themselves,
or having their parents come and
get them. While providing an alternative to prevent drunk driving, common practice contradicts
Ubers own policy.
The Uber policy on accounts
states that users must be above the
age of 18 and that all information
given through the account must
be accurate. While this is legally appropriate for the protection
of the company against liability,
Uber has no methods of checking
that all information is correct, and
end up giving rides to minors and
other people who have accounts
under false names.

The WarriorNews

January 14, 2016

Illustrated by Tyler Ruth 16

Increase in Students in ISI

from SUSPENSION, pg. 1

The SHA-proposed sidewalk would stretch from New Hampshire Avenue to Brooke Road. The GOCA
wishes to extend the sidewalk from Brooke Road to existing sidewalk in front of Sherwood towards Dr. Bird

Greater Olney Civic Organization

Proposes Sidewalk along MD-108
by Tyler Ruth 16
The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) recently created a plan to install
a sidewalk that extends from
MD-650 (New Hampshire Ave)
westward to Brooke Road next
to the Sandy Spring Post Office
to comply with requirements set
in place by the Americans with
Disabilities Act. The Greater Olney Civic Association (GOCA)
has recently sent a resolution to
the SHA which slightly revises
the original plan and hopes for a
westward extension to Dr. Bird
Road, which would allow the
connection of Olney and Sandy
Spring and make it easier and
safer for walkers to commute to
and from school.
Olney and Sandy Spring are
two towns that are home to many
Sherwood students.
Current-

ly, there is no way to commute

from one town to the other without driving or walking along dirt
paths, made from the footsteps
of hundreds of students over the
years.
The current plan by the SHA
would leave no connection to
Sherwood Elementary School
and thus no connection to the
sidewalk that starts to the east of
Sherwood Elementary and extends to Marden Lane (.4 miles
west of Dr. Bird Road). The
GOCA argues that the current
plan does not account for requirements put in place by the Americans with Disabilities Act as there
is no connection for walkers and
people in wheelchairs to make
their ways across, and the whole
point of the original plan by the
SHA is to account for ADA requirements.
To add to the plan, the GOCA

also argues that the short trail that

extends from Sherwood Elementary to Marden Lane should be
extended an extra 2,000 feet to
connect to Dr. Bird. They assert
that this section of road is narrow, winding and without any
safety shoulder and that it is in
the best interest of all people,
drivers and walkers, to extend the
sidewalk through this area.
The current proposed plan
has the sidewalk as a shareduse path, which entails a 10-foot
wide sidewalk separated from
the street. Shared-use paths are
used by bikers and walkers alike,
which will also ensure safety of
not both students and drivers, as
one will not need to pass bikers on
the left and put themselves at risk
of being hit by oncoming traffic.
The current plan for the sidewalk
is to be built on the north side of
108, across from Sherwood.

completing all assignments given

to them. Williams explained that
during ISI, a student is provided
with a reflection sheet in which
the student answers questions
to reflect on his or her behavior,
what caused that behavior and the
appropriate response in the future.
According to Principal Bill
Gregory, there are few repeat
offenders in ISI for behavioral
issues due to its monotonous nature, and Gregory believes that
ISI therefore deters students to
a great extent from misbehaving
again.
Social studies teacher Todd
Rubinstein has had multiple students placed in ISI on more than
one occasion. For those students, the lesson is clearly not being received. These students are
missing a significant amount of
instruction in all of their courses.
Rubinstein said that while the
boredom of ISI has the potential
to be worse than an out-of-school
suspension, he has seen students
in the ISI room sleeping and playing on their cellphones.
At Sherwood specifically, para-educators are in charge of taking shifts to look over the students
in ISI. One para-educator noted
that the students in the program
oftentimes stare into space. Some
teachers do not provide them with
any homework to do while in the
program.
The main goal of the ISI
program is to increase classroom instruction for students
who would otherwise be losing
substantial learning time if suspended. ISI is also intended to
address the fact that studies and
reports consistently have found

that black and hispanic students

are disproportionately suspended
out-of-school. However, minority
students continue to make up the
greatest share of students placed
in ISI at Sherwood. Unlike outof-school suspensions, the racial
and gender demographics of students in ISI are not reported to
MCPS or the state of Maryland.
Gregory explained that students sleeping and playing on
their cell phones during ISI was
a problem that needed to be resolved. The role of the para-educator is to help students with their
schoolwork, and Gregory added
that the para-educator should
contact an administrator if a student in ISI resists or refuses to
complete school work.
Gregory says that there is
an important distinction between
the term ISI, which is to make
sure students get their work
done, and ISS, which is a punishment for students to just sit
there. Sherwood does not have
ISS, according to Gregory. On
the rare occasion when a student
is given an out-of-school suspension, it often results from a more
serious behavior and involves the
police.
One male junior recently
was put in ISI for two days after
bringing a knife to school. He
said that he intended no harm and
that he simply forgot that it was
in his backpack. The incident led
to his first time placed in ISI. His
teachers gave him homework to
do while in the program, but not
enough to keep him occupied for
an entire school day. When he ran
out of homework, he proceeded
to sleep for the rest of the day. He
believed that it did not teach him
a lesson and felt that the ISI room
was akin to a jail cell.

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The WarriorNews
4

January 14, 2016

Most Popular Majors at Many Colleges and

Advisory Approaches Are
Universities Not Seen in Highest Paid Majors Different among Teachers
by Jacob Golomb 16

It is winter time and seniors

are waiting for college admission decisions and thinking about
their educational futures. As they
consider their options for college
studies, they also must consider how their educational choices
will benefit their job prospects.
With a variety of fields to choose
from, students are faced with the
decision of what to study. Here
are some of the most popular majors that students choose to specialize in:

Business

Students studying business

take classes including finance,
marketing, sales, advertising and
more related areas to learn skills
to successfully run and manage
businesses. With most entry-level jobs in business only requiring
a bachelors degree, the average
starting salary for recent business major graduates is around
$37,000.

Psychology

Studying the human mind

and behavior, psychology majors
go into a variety of fields after
graduation from college. Those
who want to become psychologists or counselors further their
education in graduate school,
while others decide to pursue entry-level jobs in other areas such
as education or human resources. Unfortunately, psychology

The best-paying majors by starting salary are:

Engineering (various disciplines) $62,000

Computer Science $61,000
Actuarial Mathematics $60,800
Dental Hygiene $65,800
Finance & Economics $55,700

Source: http://www.payscale.com

majors have an above-average

unemployment rate with around
9 percent of recent graduates unable to find a job.

Nursing

Important members of the

healthcare industry, nursing majors learn to provide care and
assistance to patients. The vast
majority of nursing jobs require
a Bachelor of Science in Nursing
(BSN), while certain advanced
nursing specialties require a Masters degree or Doctorate in nursing. A consistently in-demand
job, BSN graduates have one of
the highest average starting salaries at around $50,000 and employment opportunities for nurses
are projected to grow faster than
average in the next decade.

Education

Education majors learn child

psychology, curriculum development and other related skills to
become teachers. These future
educators gain hands-on professional experience during college by being student-teachers at
schools for a semester. Students
can specialize in one of the differ-

ent fields of education including

elementary, secondary, and special education. Those wanting to
teach a certain subject for high
school can major in that subject
and complete the coursework to
become a certified teacher. Many
education majors pursue graduate
degrees in education for higher
salary and job security, as well as
enhanced teaching skills.

Biology

Biology, which is the broad

topic of the study of life, offers
an equally diverse range of career
paths for students. Though many
think of biology majors as being
pre-medical, they also go into
many other fields such as zoology, science journalism, marine
biology, dentistry, biotechnology,
teaching, and research. Many biology majors develop scientific
skills in college interning at hospitals, labs, and other research
facilities. While many jobs in the
field of biology require graduate
or professional education, biology majors can get entry-level jobs
as lab assistants, nutritionists, and
educators.

by Emily Gilburt 16

Upon observing various Advisory classrooms, it is apparent

that there are differences in the
content taught from teacher to
teacher. To a certain extent, this
variance is intentional.
This year, advisory was designed to center around the needs
and responsibilities of each grade.
With two pre-designed lessons,
a lesson of the teachers choice,
and a lesson to review individual
academic progress, the purpose
of Advisory is to ensure every
student is introduced to a comfortable environment in school
and provided important information and skills regarding their
education. The one advisors
choice [lesson] was something
that came out of staff. They said
cant we do what we want to
do, explained Karen Rose, the
10th grade administrator and the
director of the Advisory program.
The prearranged lessons regularly offer the teachers the options for activities, such as worksheets, videos, discussions and
role-playing exercises. However,
some teachers completely deviate
from the lessons that they have
been given. In some cases, students are given free time in Advisory while the teacher grades
papers or completes other tasks.
The negative is that Adviso-

ry lessons are inconsistent in each

class, said an anonymous teacher.
The aim of the Advisory program is not that every teacher
does the exact same lesson, but
that certain skills, knowledge and
materials are passed along for students. I personally think advisory is really valuable because were
trying to make sure every kid has
access to the same information,
said Sandi Williams, the 12th
grade administrator. Now, what
students choose to do with that information is where they may drop
off. Or how the information is deliveredbecause I may deliver it
one way and you may deliver it
another waybut the overarching goal is every kid has access to
information.
She noted that staff members
are going to put together a survey for both staff and students to
complete so that the school can
receive feedback about Advisory.
Williams also pointed out that it
is important that students do their
part to come to Advisory with a
positive attitude. Ive randomly
talked to kids about doing things
about their advisors who dont deliver a lesson and then Ive gone
to those classes and their advisor
is delivering the lesson, she said.
Sometimes the kids are sitting
by the back door and laughing. So
they choose not to participate.

The WarriorNews
January 14, 2016

ESOL Finds a Solution

To Overcrowded Classes
by Morgan Hill 16

courtesy of Sapna Chaudhry

Administrator Sapna Chaudhry stands outside of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services building
after passing her citizenship test. After months of preparing, Chaudhry can call herself an American citizen.

Chaudhry Becomes a U.S. Citizen

by Maddie Peloff 16
On December 18, after
months of preparation, Assistant
Secondary Administrator Sapna
Chaudhry became a U.S. citizen.
Chaudhry, who was previously a
permanent resident in the United
States maintained her Indian citizenship but is finally able to call
herself a U.S. citizen as well.
The process for obtaining citizenship began for Chaudhry in
July of 2015 when she filed for
citizenship. Two months later, she
was called in for fingerprinting
and photographing. There, they
gave her a booklet and CD with
100 questions to study for her
interview. Chaudhry reviewed
constantly, listening to the CD

again and again on her way to

and from work. She reached the
point where she knew every answer to every question. On December 4, Chaudhry attended an
interview where she answered ten
history and civics questions and
completed a reading and writing
section. By the end of the interview, Chaudhry had successfully
passed the citizenship process and
her oath ceremony was scheduled
for December 18.
Today, Chaudhry is a proud
American citizen. She has her
American flag from her oath ceremony proudly hanging on her
office door and cant wait to take
advantage of the benefits of citizenship. I am excited to be able
to vote in the upcoming 2016

SHS Scores Poorly on PARCC

by Megan Werden 17
Last year for the first time
Sherwood students, along with
other MCPS high school students,
took the PARCC assessment for
Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and English
10. Sherwood test-takers did significantly worse than the MCPS
average.
In Algebra 1, only eight percent of the schools test-takers
received a passing or excelling
score, 19.8 percent for Algebra
2, and 25.3 percent for English
10. These scores were lower
compared to MCPS, which had
average scores of 40 percent in
Algebra 1 passing or excelling,
34 percent in Algebra 2, and 44
percent in English 10.
The overall view of the
community was that students do
not need to take these tests seriously since they dont count,
said Assistant Secondary Administrator Sapna Chaudhry, who is
the schools testing coordinator.
This was the first time students
took this full-fledged PARCC.
The curriculum and ways the
questions were asked also were
different from what the students
had been learning in their classes. Students will absolutely do
better on the PARCC this year.

Teachers can adapt their instruction, said Chaudhry. She also

added that teachers hands are
often tied because of the amount
of content that they are required
to cover for their curricula. There
was little time last year to do any
preparation for the state-mandated PARCC.
The schools testing schedule
also may have not been effective,
as students were trying to finish
the tests very quickly in order
to return to their regular classes.
One idea for the PARCC scheduling this year is to have a block
schedule during testing time so
that students will not miss instruction in multiple class periods.
Administration wants Sherwood students, staff and families
to know that last years scores
were skewed. Since the students
all knew that earning a passing
grade on these tests was not a
graduation requirement, scores
were less than what they could be
if the tests had been taken more
seriously.
This is not a reflection of
our rigor or what is being taught
in class. It was more the student
and teacher mindset of knowing the test did not count, said
Chaudhry.

election, said Chaudhry. And

also apply for a U.S. passport
so that I can travel, because I love
to travel.
Chaudhry is also excited
about the opportunities her citizenship opens up for her two sons.
One of whom is 18 and must file
for citizenship on his own, but the
other, who is 16, receives citizenship status under her name.
Chaudhrys citizenship process was very smooth, efficient
and relatively quick. However, it
did require a lot of work and time.
Despite this, it really feels good
to be at this point where I can call
myself a U.S. citizen, she said.
All the struggles and the hardships that we went through as a
family [were] worth it at the end.

At the beginning of this

school year, the Level 1 ESOL
class had 15 students enrolled in
it, following the recommendation
to have 15 or fewer students in
ESOL classes. Yet, by the month
of December, the number of students in the class had more than
doubled, and there were 37 students enrolled in the class. Accordingly, the class was split in
two after long-term sub Fatin Abdal-Sabur was hired in December.
ESOL classes customarily
have continual enrollment, in
which new students are able to
join the class at any point in the
semester; whereas in other departments, students must wait until the start of a new semester.
At the end of each school
year, every department makes a
prediction regarding the number
of students that are expected to
be in each class in order to ensure
that there are sufficient resources,
including teachers, to accommodate those students. However, due
to the continual enrollment policy, there is no accurate method
of predicting the total number of
ESOL students that will enroll in
a given school year.
The constant enrollment policy always leaves questions for the
department regarding the number
of students that will enroll at each
level. Mostly ESOL 1 students
have been enrolling as of late, a
trend unique to this school year.
We usually have constant enrollment, but its more evenly spread

across the levels, said ESOL

resource teacher Laura Bernard
Sanchez. In past years when multiple sections of the class had
been initially scheduled, each
section had minimal enrollment
and an undersized class.
The department also faced
budget cuts at the end of last
year. After being forced to cut a
full-time teacher, the department
started off this school year understaffed, which obviously proved
to be problematic as large numbers of students continued to enroll throughout the year.
Although the overcrowding
of the class was a big problem,
the ESOL teachers and students
worked to ensure that the class
ran as efficiently as possible. Im
very happy with my students as
theyre a great group, said ESOL
teacher Aileen Coogan. Theyre
motivated and really want to
learn. The class contains beginner English learners.
The problem with the overcrowding in the ESOL 1 class was
not an outlier. The ESOL department is still looking for ways to
solve problems with overcrowding in other level ESOL classes.
We still have other large classes
that could use some paring down,
Bernard-Sanchez said. The department hopes that the teaching
allocation will eventually be increased so that Abdal-Sabur will
be able to teach for additional periods. If the allocation in changed
in their favor, the department will
be able to split two or three other
overcrowded classes.

The WarriorHidden Talents

6

January 14, 2016

Freshman Competes in Acrobatic Gymnastics

by Tate Harrop 17
While most teens play the
normal sports such as basketball, soccer, lacrosse or football,
freshman Emma Bartoo could
possibly be the only acrobatic
gymnast at Sherwood. It started
with the ordinary sport of gymnastics that got her interested.
Bartoo liked the idea of doing something different than just
gymnastics. It was unlike any
sport I had ever seen or tried
before, and I immediately got
hooked, said Bartoo.
Acrobatic gymnastics is a
competitive gymnastic discipline
in which partnerships of gymnasts work together and perform
figures consisting of acrobatic
moves, dance and tumbling, set
to music. There are three types
of routines including dynamic,
balance and a combined, which
includes both aspects.

The sport can be done in pairs
or groups. Acrobatic gymnastic
trios include a base, middle base
and a top. Bartoo is a part of a trio
at Xtreme Acro in Rockville. She
contributes to the trio by being

the base, which includes holding

the two other gymnasts up and
throwing them upwards. Bartoo and
her trio are in level eight of acrobatic gymnastics in the age group of 16
and older.
Bartoo practices for months before the competition season starts.
She practices for three hours, four to
five days per week, learning a routine
that is put together by professional
choreographers. Practices consist of
strength training and making sure the
routine is perfect. The competition
months start in February and go until
the summer. Her competitions take
place two weekends every month.
The gymnasts get rewarded for
the performances based on different
aspects that is scored out of 30. Bartoo has been to two national championships. Two years ago her trio
received 1st place and last year they
received 2nd place.
All the hours of stress, hair and
makeup, practice and preparation
leading up to each competition all
get forgotten as soon as I step foot on
the competition floor knowing I have
only two minutes to wow the judges, said Bartoo.
Although acrobatic gymnas-

Kayla Cohen 17

Walsh receives thousands of likes and revines on many of his Vines.

Freshman Vine Star Is Verified

by Alleigh Keyes 16
courtesy of Emma Bartoo

Bartoo (bottom) performs at a

national championship with team.
tics is not an Olympic sport, it
does have its own acrobatic gymnastics world championships held
in even-numbered years. Bartoo
plans to keep doing acrobatic
gymnastics and is already looking at colleges that give her the
chance of continuing her passion.

Sophomore Duo Perfects Their Magic Act

by Alleigh Keyes 16
After meeting at a Super
Bowl party in 2014, sophomores
Jesse Gun and Sam Hull realized
that they both have a passion for
magic. They showed each other their impressive repertoire of
magic that ranges from card tricks
to balloon art. Eventually, they
developed acts and performed at
local nursing homes before regularly having gigs. Today, Hull
and Gun, known as the Masters
of Mystery, team up to practice
magic by doing shows and birthday parties.
Even though they specialize
in show magic, the Masters of
Mystery are acquainted with other types of magic including street
magic and close-up magic. Since
they have an agent who owns a
magic shop at Savage Mill, the
Masters of Mystery perform gigs
in the malls shop almost every weekend. More information
about performances can be found

at their website, masters-of-mystery.com.

Gun said he loves magic because it allows someone to think
about a trick even after the show.
For instance, an acrobat may
have a really cool act, and you
may think about the act afterward.
With a magic trick the audience
member has the trick playing over
and over again. Hull agrees that
reaction is one of the biggest reasons why he performs magic.
The duo performs shows
that usually last about an hour in
the magic shop. Viewers receive
balloon animals and get to view
a plethora of tricks that include
juggling and plate spinning. We
have many different tricks, ranging from simple card tricks to
tricks involving fire and swords,
said Gun. One of their crowd favorites is known as the Swords of
Death. In the trick, Hull puts his
head in a box. Then, Gun rams 15
swords in the box. After that, Gun
allows an audience member to

courtesy of Sam Hull and Jesse Gun

Hull and Gun perform Stoplight.

randomly pick a card, which ends
up in Hulls mouth.
We love what we do right
now and have a good time doing it, Hull explained. Their
work as magicians has helped
them gain real-world experience
in the fields of communications
and marketing, which will prove
useful as Hull and Gun are both
interested in business.
Although not many are able
to make a career out of this, these
talented magicians aim to do so.
They plan on auditioning for the
hit-TV show, Americas Got Talent.

After watching edits on Vine,

an online social media platform
where people share six-second
videos, freshman Liam Walsh
decided to experiment with editing and posting Vines. Once he
thought of ideas and worked on
videos using iMovie, Walsh began his journey in early November of 2014. Using the skills he
learned from filming family videos and editing them through the
app Splice, Walsh was prepared
to take on Vine.
On Vine, some teens may
post videos of themselves goofing off with friends. Others might
fill up their profiles with an endless supply of singing or dancing. Instead of uploading clichd
content, Walsh takes Vines and
changes them up by adding clips,
audio or effects to entertain viewers. As a result of his creativity,
Walsh now boasts 163k followers
and has achieved a verified status,
which indicates the authenticity
of his identity.
As a young social media mogul, honors student and Class of
2019 SGA Vice President, Walsh
is certainly busy. When he is not
hitting the books, he can be found
preparing ideas for Vine, making
edits, or playing sports including
soccer and basketball.
Vine is really important, but
school is a priority. If I need to
focus on my schoolwork, I postpone my Vine schedule, Walsh
said.
Although having a prominent

social media presence can be demanding at times, Walsh keeps

himself grounded by surrounding
himself with supportive family
and friends. His sisters Nicole and
Delaney give him advice on when
to post videos. Walshs close
friend, freshman Zachary Weisenthal, is a web designer who created Walshs website, zachswebdesigns.com/liamwalsh.
[Walshs] Vines are hilarious! I laugh at every single one
he shows me, freshman Savannah Showman exclaimed.
With the future in mind,
Walsh plans to attend VidCon
2016, a web convention next
summer and meet other prominent Viners. As he is approaching
a tipping-point, he will eventually expand to YouTube in order to
reach more viewers. His creative
skill set will come in handy as he
plans on majoring in engineering.
Its always been my dream
to entertain others and make them
happy. Video editing and comedy has always interested me,
and I seek a career in that field.
Ive always had a creative drive
to inspire and make new things,
and this is my way of doing so.
Its a really fun opportunity that
I have and hearing that I made
someones day is the highlight of
it all, said Walsh.
Dedicated to his budding
stardom in the Vine world, Walsh
has no intentions of stopping. To
him, Vining is more than merely posting short videos online;
Walsh aspires to inspire others to
pursue their passions.

Involved Student Musician Sounds Like Teen Talent

by Alleigh Keyes 16

Senior Tyler Golsen started his musical journey at the

tender age of nine when he first
picked up an instrument. He was
immediately hooked. With his
supportive parents as inspiration
to follow his dreams, he played
the trombone and drums by the
time he was 11. Since then, the
multi-talented Golsen has learned
how to play bass, guitar, piano,
mandolin and ukulele. Although
many recognize senior Tyler
Golsen as a musician, few know
about the depth of his talents.
I became obsessed with
music at the start of high school

when I stopped sports and other

superfluous activities to really focus on being as good a musician
as I could, Golsen said.
He joined his first band when
he was 12 and performed in various bands. In the fall of his junior year, he started his own band
known as The X-Rays. [The
X-Rays have] been my personal
music outlet since, he said, and
they have performed in various
events including Project Change
Coffeehouses at the Sandy Spring
Museum, Oakdale Emory Coffeehouses and Olney Relay for Life.
As an active member of the
schools music department, Golsen is president of the music hon-

or society, Tri-M. His schedule

is filled with music classes including symphonic band and jazz
band. He is also in AP Music Theory and believes that it is important to learn the finer aspects of
music. Additionally, he has been
a part of jazz ensembles, school
plays, recording projects and jam
sessions. Since freshman year,
Golsen has participated in Rock
n Roll. Currently, this years
show is his main focus as he is a
returning soloist and band member.
Certainly a musicians musician, Golsens numerous talents
and passions have been praised
from peers and musicians alike.

You can see it on his face, when

you bring up music or something
he is working on; a cool smile
shows up, said senior and musician Joseph Hunt. He works
hard and inspires a lot of people
to do the same. Im glad Ive gotten to know him and be inspired
by his passion for music.
Golsen plans to continue
with music into college. He hopes
to combine music with other aspects of his interests, which deal
with numerous forms of media
including film making, journalism, plays and musicals.
Music is what make me happy, more than anything else, said
Golsen.

courtesy of Tyler Golsen

Golsen plays a solo in Rock n Roll.

The WarriorHidden Talents

January 14, 2016

Encouraging Students to LVYRSLF

by Steven Witkin 16
Poor body image. Insecurities. Self-harm. Most students
know someone who has struggled
with at least one of these side-effects of growing up, but there is
very little conversation in school
on what to do about it. Junior Jack
Rubin is trying to fix that.
In December, Rubin announced his solution, a schoolbased
organization
called
LVYRSLF. Intended to promote a
positive body image and prevent
suicide, LVYRSLF plans to be a
community of students helping
others through positivity. The
idea is inspired by Rubins own
experience with negative body
image. Afflicted with severe acne
in his sophomore year, Rubin
felt firsthand how negative body
image can cripple everyday life
and social interaction. I went
through hell, essentially, Rubin
said. If I can take what I had to
go through and use it to help others, Id be beyond happy.
The main obstacle an organization like LVYRSLF faces is
that body image issues are very
specific to the individual, and
some people who are struggling
with them and even depression
and suicidal thoughts may not be
willing to express that to a larger
community. Rubin has plans to

Chase Wilson 17

Rubins club LVYRSLF encourages positivity to help other students.

combat negative body image and
prevent suicide on both an individual and community scale. At
the first meeting of the organization, sponsored by English teacher Beth Dibler, ideas and future
plans were suggested. To spread
the message to the community, there are plans to sell t-shirts
with positive quotes on them and
donate the proceeds to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention. On the individual level,
plans were discussed to create a
safe room for helping other people feel good about themselves.
Through this kind of non-judgmental positivity, LVYRSLF has
the potential to become an active
force in making the high school
experience better for all involved.

Even before LVYRSLF has

made any steps toward their
goals, the organization has wide
support. The first meeting on December 18 packed Diblers room
with students, mostly juniors and
underclassmen, who are on board
with the idea of supporting themselves and others through positivity. The massive group hug
that ended the meeting showed
the kind of strong community that makes a movement like
LVYRSLF successful. Building
off this community energy, Rubin
is excited for the organizations
future. Id love to see it spread
to other schools and perhaps become an official non-profit, he
said; Id just like to help someone.

Junior Travels to Ends of Earth with GoPro

by Nicole Reich 17

Junior Elena Gajewski-Nemes

has been to 20 different countries
around the entire world, making
GoPro videos of her incredible
adventures along the way.
To capture the amazing moments and her overall experiences, Gajewski-Nemes uses a Hero
3 Silver Edition GoPro, a camera
for extreme action videography.
She takes videos and pictures
from the beginning to end of her
trips, editing them together into
montages with iMovie software.
The videos average three minutes
and include fun and upbeat music
that differs for every trip.
Gajewski-Nemes started making GoPro videos in April 2015.
While around the world, she records most of the activities and
aesthetic sights. The second Puerto Rico video is her favorite she
has made so far. I enjoy making
these videos to share what I do,
and Im excited for in the future
to be able to look back at them
and see all my trips, said Gajewski-Nemes.
Once is often not enough for
Gajewski-Nemes and her family, as she has visited the Dominican Republic and Bahamas
three times, Mexico and Germany four times, as well as France
and Switzerland twice. Her single
trips include Costa Rica, Brazil,
Peru, Panama, Spain, Austria,
Luxembourg, Belgium, England,
Netherlands, Italy and Jamaica.
I want to go everywhere in the
world. I like seeing new places,
and being able to do new things,

Tech Teacher Bakes on the Side

by Elizabeth Kronlage 18
Breaking stereotypes, Jason
Braverman is a male technology
teacher who loves to bake. Years
ago as a student at Hobart and
William Smith College in New
York, Braverman discovered
his interest in cake baking while
working in the school cafeteria.
I made main courses, I ran
the omelet station, but first I
worked for a period of time in the
cafeteria and moved my interest
towards the bakery. I had made
cakes before taking classes,
Braverman said.
After developing his skills in
baking classes, Braverman found
that the best way to get people
together in college was to offer them free desert. Braverman
thinks of cake baking more as a
hands-on hobby with an edible
component.

I am more into the sculpture
aspect of it than the experimenting with the recipe side of things,
so I typically just follow the directions on the back of a funfetti
cake mix, Braverman explained.
The students in his tech classes
are assigned to do a project each
semester, and he bakes a cake
at the end relating to that topic.
Braverman still bakes cakes for
his students as well as for special
occasions outside of school.
Not only does Braverman
bake cakes, he even helped design the floor plan for Fraiche
Cupcakery, a cupcake shop located in Bethesda, which has recent-

ly closed. Braverman sill bakes

cakes for his students as well
as for special occasions such as
Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays and so on. On Thanksgiving,
he didnt bake a cake; he baked
cupcakes shaped like turkeys.

My favorite cakes have been
ones in silly shapes, said Braverman, who owns every book in the
Hello Cupcakes series and has
baked most of its recipes. He also
watches shows such as Cake
Boss and Ace of Cakes to
see what cakes stand out to him.
Braverman has a very big imagination, and likes to make desserts
for his students and family so
that it can help them connect and
make memories with his creative
cakes.

Kayla Cohen 17

Braverman loves to bake cakes

for his family and for his students.

Junior Rises in Beauty School

by Kayla Cohen 17

For An Interactive Experience, Download Aurasma

In the App Store. follow thewarrioronline and scan this photo

courtesy of Elena Gajewski-Nemes

Gajewski-Nemes goes snorkeling at Playa El Escambron in Puerto Rico.

Gajewski-Nemes said.
She loved every single one
of her nine visits to Puerto Rico,
which is where her mom grew
up. She is very familiar with the
country, and its her home away
from home. She also has been to
13 of the 50 U.S. States, with her
favorites being California, Florida and New York.
Gajewski-Nemes adventures
vary from scuba diving, kayaking, hiking, exploring cities on
a whim and tons more. Some of
her best experiences were when
she visited a night bay in Vieques Island, Puerto Rico where
the fish glowed and sharks swam
brightly in the black waters. Gajewski-Nemes drove a Jamaican
bobsled in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
In Montego Bay, Jamaica, she ate

at an interactive Margaritaville,
where after dinner she slid down
a slide ending in the ocean and
completed a trampoline obstacle
course. Gajewski-Nemes got the
chance to water raft on the Martha Brae River in Jamaica, zip
line and jet ski in Cabo, Mexico,
and swim under remote waterfalls
in Vieques Island, Puerto Rico
Gajewski-Nemes is looking
forward to traveling more in her
life, especially to New Zealand,
the perfect spot for bungee jumping. Im just happiest when Im
traveling, and I think its important to experience other places and
see things in a new way, Gajewski-Nemes commented. Plus,
its great to make memories and
try new things you never think
youd do.

Junior Paris Holbrook is

currently in beauty school and
working to fulfill her dream of acquiring her cosmetology license.
She goes to Montgomery County
Beauty School in Silver Spring on
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and
Saturday for four hours on weekdays and up to eight hours on Saturday.
Obtaining a cosmetology
license includes training in styling hair, applying makeup, and
making acrylic nails. The process
is long, and requires up to 1,500
hours of training at beauty school
before getting the license. Holbrook currently has approximately 430 hours and will likely finish
beauty school between 2017 and
2018 by the age of 19 years.
Ever since she was a young
child, Holbrook has been fascinated by different makeup and
hairstyles. I not only wanted to
do my own [hair], but also other
peoples so that they felt confident in their own skin, she said.
Cosmetology gives me an opportunity to help others improve
themselves in a beautiful way.
In the future, Holbrook plans to
open her own salon in New York
for men and women so that she
can bring out their inner beauty
and make them feel more confident about themselves.
This past year, Holbrook
participated in the Miss Mary-

land Teen USA pageant, where

she did her own hair and makeup. Pursuing a profession as a
cosmetologist helped Holbrook
be more independent in putting
together her look for the pageant
rather than relying on the stylists
there. I also want to continue doing my own hair and makeup in
Rock n Roll this year, but this
time with more knowledge and
experience, said Holbrook. [If
there is] anyone else who would
like me to help with their look for
the stage, [its] twenty dollars.
Currently, Holbrook works
at Symmetry Salon Studios in
Bethesda twice a week. She does
shampooing, clean-up and learns
new techniques from a renowned
woman who has styled hair for
a variety of famous people and
has helped with many local fashion shows. With this experience
that Holbrook gains, she hopes
to help bring the beauty out in
others mentally and physically, so
that there is as much positivity in
this world as possible.

Kayla Cohen 17

Holbrook does a students makeup.

The WarriorFeatures
8

January 14, 2016

Ever wonder why
those two teachers
are always hanging
out? Many teachers
are good friends with
others both in and out
of their department. The
Warrior took a closer look
at some of Sherwoods most
popular and longest lasting
teacher friendships.

Erdman, Frensilli, and

Baldwin

Kayla Cohen 17

by Kira Yates 16
AP Biology teachers Christina Baldwin, Allison Erdman
and Janet Frensilli have worked together for 15 years. When
they first met, the trio found each other welcoming, interesting, and fun, said Erdman. The three often get together at
each others houses to hang out and relax. Their favorite memory together occurred at one of these hangouts, when Frensillis
cat, William, knocked over a full glass of grape juice onto her
white carpet, which resulted in a night full of attempting to
clean the stain with salt and laughing hysterically.
The group feels that the word mutualistic perfectly describes their relationship because they constantly make each
other laugh, help one another with problems, and organize
shared materials. They also feel that this word represents their
senses of humor, since they each teach about symbiotic relationships in their classes.
If they had any pet peeves about each other, it would be
that they are each too perfect in their own ways. They appreciate that they complement each other well, like ying and
yang, but three, so three peas in a pod, said Baldwin. The trio
doesnt know what they would do without each other, as they
each hear out others problems, help brainstorm solutions and
understand what they are going through.

Woolley and Allen

Chase Wilson 17

Cohan and Winiarz

Maya Koeppen 17

by Steven Witkin 16
Most of their students know that math teachers Thomas Cohan and
Kevin Winiarz have a connection, but how close are these two buddies?
For one thing, they spend most 6th periods together, talking while drinking coffee and grading papers. It was not always that way. Cohan admits
that when he first saw Winiarz, I thought he was nerdy, because he had
the short hair and the glasses.
Winiarz, however, had a different idea. He recalls that his first impression of Cohan was that, Tom seemed pretty interesting but he
kept ignoring me and everyone else. So I had to get his attention somehow. He did just that, in a rather memorable way. Winiarz recalls telling
one of his students, a previous student of Cohans, to tell Mr. Cohan hes
a total fraud when it comes to teaching. It worked, and at the end of that
day, Cohan came to his classroom and asked, Did you call me a fraud
today? Youre the first one to figure me out.
Ever since that day a few years ago, their friendship has thrived off
of cynicism and caffeine. So much so that Cohan is convinced that there
are two reasons why Mr. Winiarz likes me, my coffee machine and because I laugh at his stupid jokes. Their relationship extends out of school,
as Winiarz visited Cohan in the hospital, but its the time during school
that counts. It helps to have an adult to talk to during the day, Winiarz
said, He typically is stained in food but Tom is one of my best friends.

Aguilar and Kenyon

by Morgan Hill 16
The collaborative relationship between Foreign Language teachers Moira Kenyon and Tanya Aguilar is, surprisingly
enough, based on their opposing personalities.
When they first met, Aguilar saw Kenyon as a no-nonsense, friendly person. Kenyon saw Aguilar as a fun-loving and
friendly teacher. When they got to know each other better,
their personalities started to become clearer. Kenyon is more
insistent on organization while Aguilar is more of a go-withthe-flow style teacher. Id compare it to OCD vs. not OCD,
Aguilar said. She keeps me in check for sure and its fun to
work with her since were so different and have different approaches to things.
The duo teaches Spanish 4 and depends on each other
for much more than just lesson planning and grading. They
share the tradition of meeting at Passion Bakery for lunch to
discuss their plans for their classes, but they also enjoy each
others company during these meetings and appreciate spending time together. Its important to have a friend at work for
vents, support and for fun. Kenyon said.

by Kayla Cohen 17

Social Studies teachers Aileen Woolley and Scott Allen are quite the dynamic duo.
Whether its planning the lesson for their classes or sharing their day, these two always
enjoy each others company. When Woolley and Allen met for the first time, Woolley
could tell that Allen was a true historian.
Allen describes Woolley as the mom of the group, always looking out [for others]. They both agree that the best memory they have is together coaching Sherwoods
Its Academic team for three years. [With] any problem that came up, it was so nice
to have someone to balance [ideas with] and collaborate to solve [the question], said
Woolley and Allen.
Woolley recently started working part-time, and Allen wishes he could see her
more often, which is the most he could offer as a pet peeve. As for Woolleys pet peeve,
Allen puts in so many extra hours lesson planning for his students that he makes her
feel guilty sometimes.
Allen defines his relationship with Woolley as the buddy-system, and Woolley
considers him her person, whom she always turns to first at Sherwood. Woolley likes
that Allen loves what he does and is very dedicated to teaching. Allen feels that Woolleys commitment and concern for her students is incomparable.

Allen thinks that it is important to have a friend at work because, often times, one
feels isolated teaching in a high school and does not have much interaction with the
other teachers in the same department. It is important for me to have someone I can
get honest feedback [from], said Allen.
Woolley enjoys how she and Allen learn from each other every day. We have one
priority, and its the same priority. And that is to make the classes we teach better, said
Woolley.

Chase Wilson 17

Kinnetz and Games

Maya Koeppen 17

by Milan Polk 16
In the social studies department, Michelle Games and Josh Kinnetz are wellknown for their sibling-like relationship. Hes like my brother, Games said. They both
teach AP World History and as Games said, have a ritualistic habit of back and forth
joking. Most notably, Kinnetz says he likes to poke fun at [Gamess] old age.
When the two first met, their initial thoughts of one another were not exactly
complimentary. I thought he looked like Dennis the Menace, Games said.
Kinnetz felt that Games was a mystery when he came to Sherwood . I thought
she was a very reserved, if not uptight individual who intrigued me, said Kinnetz. It
kind of pushed me to get to know her.
Although they pick on one another, they really do enjoy spending time together.
I grew to enjoy his vivacious personality and his intellectual curiosity, Games said.

Kinnetz also finds Gamess intellect a trait that stands out. Shes somebody who
digs beneath the surface and really gets at the heart of things, said Kinnetz.
Although they do not spend much time together out of school, the pairs favorite
memory was during this years National Gallery of Art field trip because they were
able to learn more about one anothers artistic tastes. They are awaiting the chance
to make even better memories during their upcoming Spring Break trip to Spain next
year with students.

The WarriorFeatures
January 14, 2016

Students Honor Winiarz Through Social Media

Ketki Chauhan 16

You can get

hypnotized?

Maddie Peloff 16

When people think of hypnotism, they tend to think of

a soothing voice repeating the
phrase, you are getting very,
very sleepy over and over.
Maybe they imagine a pendulum
swinging or the typical black and
white image of a circle spinning.
Pop culture tends to show hypnotism in this magical, unreal fashion. However, few realize the
scientific aspects of hypnotism.
Hypnotism is a state of consciousness in which an individual
is less aware of surroundings and
more susceptible to suggestion.
While some hypnotists perform
at large arenas in Las Vegas or at
parties, hypnotism is more than
just entertainment. In fact, hypnotism is a widely accepted psychological technique and studied
in many psychology courses, including AP Psychology.
Hypnosis begins when an
individual is put in a hypnotic
trance. Usually, a hypnotist induces an individual into a trance
by asking him to focus his eyes
on a specific image or by leading him into a relaxed state of
mind in which he is more open
to suggestion. Then, the hypnotist is able to guide him in certain
behaviors. In a live show, hypnotists might ask individuals to
respond to certain triggers, like
every time the individual hears a
bell ring, he must clap his hands.
They might ask individuals to
forget their own names or believe
they have developed super powers.
Along with these entertaining applications, hypnotism can
be used for many practical purposes. Some therapists use the
power of suggestion under hypnotic state to aid individuals with
addiction or mental disorders.
While in a hypnotic trance, indi-

viduals are more susceptible to

suggestion, making them more
likely to alter their behavior and
future actions. If a therapist suggests an individual cease smoking or eat healthier, they are more
likely to do so. Hypnotism can
also be used to make individuals
feel less pain, gain self-confidence or overcome certain fears.
Despite these practical applications, many have misconceptions about hypnosis. Some
people feel its a mind control
process, which is not true at all,
said professional hypnotist Patti
Sapp. A hypnotist guides a person to control their own mind,
after having a complete consultation with clear goals that have
been set and discussed. Sapp
owns a small business in Ellicott
City called Quiet Time Hypnosis where she works with individuals, helping them overcome
addictions, lose weight or solve
other mental health issues.
While many might believe
that they cannot be hypnotized,
chances are, they can. According
to the Stanford scales, which determine an individuals level of
response to hypnotism from zero
to 12, only about five percent of
the population responds with a
level of zero or no response. If
you have ever driven down the
road and become so absent-minded that you miss your turn, you
have experienced a slight level
of hypnosis. Even crying during
a movie or television show is due
to a slight hypnotic state. The
actions on the screen arent real,
but youve convinced yourself
they are and have become emotionally invested. While these
actions arent quite the same as
the hypnotism in flashy Las Vegas shows, they demonstrate that
even the most strong-willed individuals can usually be hypnotized.

Social media has added to

the growth of communication
for students across the globe. Recently at Sherwood, social media
has also been used for students to
honor their favorite teachers. Students in teacher Kevin Winiarzs
math class have created an account dedicated to him under the
Twitter handle @WiniarzRox.
The creators behind the account
tweet comments made by Winiarz, boasting a follower count
of about seventy, which includes
upperclassmen, underclassmen
and even some teachers.
I got an anonymous tip from
someone to make an account
[for Winiarz] because I had been
tweeting so many quotes from
him, said the creator of the Twitter account. The senior is one of
two who have the password to
the account; however, the tweets
made by the account include submissions from other students in
other periods. This way we can
get the funny from all the periods.
Alongside the Twitter ac-

An example of the various witticisms posted on Things Winiarz Says

count is an Instagram account although most of what is sent will
honoring Winiarz. It is run by a be posted.
different senior and is under the Most kids think its funny.
handle @FlatWiniarz. I made Some think its creepy, probably
the account because Kevin Win- because it is, but as Kevin Winiarz was giving away copies of iarz has said, (via @WiniarzRox
his yearbook picture to his fans, on Twitter) I have not done my
and I thought it would be fun to job unless you leave with a headturn it into like Flat Stanley (goo- ache, the creator of the Instagle it) and take pictures of the gram account explained.
picture doing different things all Winiarz knows of the acaround the school.
count, claiming that his prophet Creators of the account en- ic vision led him to the account.
courage other students to slide Although his initial reaction when
in their DMs to submit tweets learning about it was #whatstand pictures to the respective ac- witter, he now understands the
counts. Both creators also have social media platform, responddiscretion over what is submitted, ing #ohthatstwitter.

Exploration of Memes
Madison Dymond 16

A word that gets thrown

around quite often is meme.
All teens know what memes are,
but when asked the actual definition of a meme, the response
is a vague answer, such as: Its
a thingLike a thing on the internet that becomes a thingAn
internet joke... Teens see things
classified as memes and think that
an example is the same thing as a
definition.
The reason few people question memes is that humans want
to feel included. Memes are
things one is just supposed to
get. People want to feel in on
the joke. If one asks what a meme
is, he/she will be frowned upon
for not getting it.
Google defines memes as an
element of a culture or system of
behavior that may be considered
to be passed from one individual
to another by nongenetic means,
especially imitation. This definition is very broad, and gives us
no information on why or how
something becomes a meme.
According to a research paper titled Makes a Meme Instead: A Concise History of Internet Memes by Linda K. Brzsei,

memes were born in The Selfish

Gene, a book by Richard Dawkins, in 1976. He coined the term
meme and used it to describe any
cultural ideas passed from person
to person. The term was then popularized in the early 80s, as the internet became more accessible.
It is nearly impossible to
identify the first meme. Many say
it was the emoticon. Today, most
of us wouldnt think of that as a
meme, but it fit the definition. If
we go by Dawkins definition, we
could conclude that memes have
always been around, even before
the existence of the internet.
Memes are primarily spread
through social media, and at the
top of the social media hierarchy
for memes is tumblr. Tumblr has,
in a sense, become a sort of headquarters for memes. The website
is characterized by its popularity among countercultures and
internet people. Tumblr is a
corner of the internet that has
somehow managed to not become
mainstream, and the main humor
of its users is exactly what memes
need in order to thrive: irony.
Due to the sarcastic and dark
humor of the majority of the websites users, things that one can
like ironically instantly become

popular. The meme will be created on any social media site, and
will be spread across the internet
in a series of gifs, videos and text
posts.
A perfect example is the
mmm watcha say meme. It
started with a Saturday Night
Live skit. The scene presented a
series of over-dramatized events.
Each time one of these events
occurred (specifically the shooting of a gun), Jason Derulos
song Watcha Say would start
playing. This song was so inappropriately used and ironic that
it instantly became an extremely
popular meme.
The sad truth about memes,
however, is that, just like everything else, memes die. Some people will take a meme too far and
drag it out to the point where it
is no longer ironic; it becomes
annoying. The internet is always
changing and people are always
looking for the next thing. Attention spans are short. And so
whether it is Why You Always
Lying or John Cena, it will
eventually die out. The only
consolation is that, with all of
these dying memes and changing
times, Rickrolling will always be
around.

The WarriorHumor

10

January 14, 2016

MCPS Closes
School Due
To Forecast
Of Snow
by Madison Dymond
and Milan Polk 16

www.starfm.com

The Housewives Are Coming to Olney!

by Will Van Gelder 16

The sensation known as The Real Housewives is coming to our very own
town of Olney. The Olney edition will be an offshoot after the newly airing Real
Housewives of Potomac. Olney was an obvious choice as it exudes class and
style, which of course is necessary for any reality show. The show airing in February stars five spectacular women so here they are:

Margot Phillips (age 56)

Margot is a sassy four-time divorcee, who is engaged to the love of her life, Brian
Marks, the owner of the local McDonalds franchise. Margot has six children, who
are all very involved in sports and after school activities, and Margot is the coach of
one of her sons soccer teams, despite the fact that she doesnt know how to play.

Karen Wilcox (Age 37)

Karen is a successful entrepreneur who hasnt been working since the closing
of her theater, Olney 9 cinemas. She scrapbooks in her spare time, but she has had
to drive all the way to Michaels in Rockville ever since Olneys Craft Country closed.
Shes on her third marriage, but her husband has been on a business trip in D.C.
for the last six months.

Sage Stonewell (Age 27)

Sage is the youngest of the group. Shes an entrepreneur who runs a jewelry
store out of her house and has sold three necklaces! Her husband, Rod Stonewell,
is a retiree who loves to travel despite being 70 years old. They met three years
ago at a party at Grillmarx and Rod immediately moved her into his house. Sage
and Rod have been trying to have kids for a year now without success. Sage loves
her husband, her jewels and her friends.

Jackie Bradley (age 57)

Jackie is a great lover of the arts and is a patron at the world-renowned Sandy
Spring Museum. She has three rescue dogs that she loves more than anything.
She is a devoted activist who sends her daughter to Sandy Spring Friends School
and has a part-time job as a professional protester.

Felicia Cashmere (Undisclosed)

Felicia is an Olney girl through and through. She has lived off of Prince Philip
Drive her entire adult life. She is a devoted member of the Norbeck Country Club
and is an avid Cadillac Escalade driver and latte drinker. She works out with her
young personal trainer, Chandler, every Wednesday. Her go-to outfit is yoga pants
and a white zip-up sweatshirt. Her husband is Olneys most wealthy orthodontist,
and Felicia always makes sure her teeth are straight and clean.

Yesterday, Montgomery County

officials decided to close schools next
week due to a 70-percent chance of one
inch of snow. Fairfax County in Virginia canceled, making the decision to
cancel classes two days earlier. In the
past, MCPS has been met with opposition to its late cancellations and poor
judgment in the face of snowfall while
Fairfax County has received nothing
but praise.
Last year, MCPS was sued by a
family after their son, second-grader Alex McDowell, skateboarded on
the ice and bruised his tail bone. Its
completely unacceptable that MCPS
didnt cancel after hearing of my sons
injury while waiting for the bus, said
Nancy McDowell, the mother of Alex.
The family was compensated and now
MCPS is attempting to alleviate the
situation by canceling school even
before the first snowfall of the new
school year. The compensation came
in a large lump sum, with the check
delivered with a fair amount of press
coverage that appreciated MCPS efforts. This new story gives the county a
small increase in ratings in regards to
snow days.
The process of deciding whether or not to cancel is up to a team of
litigators hired by MCPS. One of the
members, Terry Gersht, explained the
careful consideration the group takes
to keep students safe. After we hear
of the forecast, we all sit together and
try to predict the possibility of lawsuits, I mean, injuries that could result
from the inclement weather. There are
no students or parents allowed in the
meetings. Gersht says it would be a liability as the citizens are biased and do
not know how to make objective decisions that will affect the entire county.
Gersht and his colleagues usually take
up to a full night of deliberation. He
says that the county cannot afford to
waste money on frivolous lawsuits,
and has to seriously consider the status of schools during the harsh winter
months. With the terrible economy we
dont want to take any risks. It would
be unfair to the people of Montgomery
County and the hard working students
and faculty of these schools. If we have
to spend money on lawsuits, theres
less to go towards my associates, and
so we cant keep working for you,
Gersht said.
Gersht admits that the group has
already made plans for the next school
year. The new policy is called Endless Snow Days. The policy will ensure that the county can make as many
cancellations as necessary without being penalized in any way, and instead
focus more funds towards education.

The WarriorHumor
January 14, 2016

11

Drones To Land in the Fast Food Industry

by Chase Wilson 17
Starting January 19, Papa Johns
Pizza will offer a delivery service to
the citizens of the greater Olney area
via quadcopter drones. We are very
excited to offer this method of delivery to our many customers. Its been
a long, hard trip but this revolutionary
technology will change the future of
food as we know it, stated founder
and CEO John Schnatter in a company
press release. Two Papa John locations
in Montgomery County are among 27
stores nationwide that will offer delivery by drones.
Papa Johns hopes that the drones
will offer superior delivery times over
other competitors, chiefly Dominos.
Many students are looking forward to
the idea of being able to eat a hot meal
dropped right off at Sherwood via air
delivery.
Beginning with the new year on
January 1, Papa Johns began running
a trial period of the service that made
drone delivery available only to selected loyal customers. One of those
selected to participate was junior Robert Hading. He is a resident of Shallow
Hole, a housing community next to
Sherwood, and frequently orders pizza
for his friends at gatherings or just for
dinner. Ordering was easy using their
new app. Just pick the pizza that you
want just like its a normal order and
take a picture of where you want the
drone to drop it. Somehow, the drone
figures out your coordinates. The little
bit extra in the delivery fee is totally

www.supplymanagement.com

A drone carries 3 large pepperoni pizzas to their destination, the customers picked location. In most cases, the pizzas make it safely.

worth watching your food get dropped

off on the hood of your parked car or
on your front landing, said Hading.
But not everyone is in favor of the
innovation. A house neighboring the
takeoff hanger of Papa Johns is inhabited by 53-year-old resident Arevalo
Dilito, who is spearheading the movement to stop drones from being utilized
as a commercial tool. He first got involved with the fight against the use

of quadcopters after he was flying one

of his many professional kites in his
backyard when suddenly, one of those
drones flew right up into my flying area
and cut my lines. Dilito called the
restaurant and stayed on the line for 20
minutes waiting to speak to manager,
before he gave up. I couldnt believe
it. I even tried filing a complaint with
the restaurant, but I didnt get anywhere.

At a community meaning that he

organized, he proclaimed that he is not
against the idea of air delivery completely but that he doesnt want people
to use drones. Why does it always
have to be about the next big thing of
the future when there have been other
ways for thousands of years? I think
Papa Johns could be just as effective
with it delivery with the use of a big
slingshot.

Cartoon by Sidney Brown 17

Past
Traditionalists
Born During: 1900-1945
Current Ages: 70-115
Core values:
Conformity
Hard work
Respect for authority
Trust in system and in government
Duty before fun
Individualism is not valued
Value dedication, sacrifice and hard work
Stereotypes:
Reminisce about better days
Have a hard time adapting to change
If it aint broken, dont fix it

Baby Boomers
Born During: 1946-1964
Current Ages: 51-69
Core Values:
Anti-war and government
Anything is possible
Question and challenge everything
Trust no one over 30
Challenge authority
Dislike conformity and rules
Loyal to the team
Value equality, collaboration and ambition
Stereotypes:
Dont know how to have fun
Hate the man

Generation X
Born During: 1965-1980
Current Ages: 35-50
Core Values:
Diversity
Lack loyalty to the organization
Entrepreneurial
Informality
Balance with work and life is important
Suspicious of Baby Boomers
Value self-reliance, independence, fun
Stereotypes:
Have little respect for the rules
I can do it better than the man
compiled by Sara Casareto 16

Generations
Present

How to Spot the Next

Generation: Generation Z

Millennials

by Maya Koeppen 17

Born During: 1981-2000

Current age: 15-34
Core Values:
Civic Duty
Fun!
Highly tolerant
Membership of a global community
Sociable
Avid Consumers
Value confidence, diversity, and realism
Stereotypes:
Are lazy and selfish
Are extremely technology oriented and obsessed
Everyone should get a prize!

All Generations Endure Youth

by Chris Sung 17
Millennials might appear an inherently flawed group of
individuals. They are seemingly idealistic to the point where
they are unrealistic, self-confident to the point of arrogance,
empathetic to the point where they feel too much but think
too little and optimistic to the point of narcissism.
However, Millennials disproportionate share of negative
values does not mean that they represent the so-called worst
generation in history, as espoused by many critics of this
group of individuals. Rather, Millennials disproportionate
share of these character flaws only emphasizes that they are
normalthe same as every other generation that has been
and will be. After all, Millennials are only human and more
importantly, young.
Although this generations problems have been greatly
emphasized, the same, if not nearly identical, things have
been said about generations preceding Millennials. At one
point in history, Baby Boomers, those who often criticize
Millennials, were also once called the most selfish generation
in the history of the United States. In addition, from the Baby
Boomers, Generation Xers were labeled as a uniquely entitled and coddled generation. Similar to the Baby Boomers
and Generations Xers of the past, Millennials are no differ-

Future

ent from the once young and equally nave generations of the
past.
Despite what they were called in the past, todays Baby
Boomers and Generation Xers are no longer the selfish generation because over time, the people of these generations
grew older and much more mature. In fact, from once being
seen as rebellious and selfish youths by their parents generation, the people of these two older generations have gained
the respect of many Millennials who look to Baby Boomers
and Generation Xers as a wiser and more experienced group
of adults. Similar to Baby Boomers and Generation Xers
period of naivete, Millennials are going through this same
phase of adolescence. With time, Millennials will also one
day grow into maturity and be viewed as wise individuals by
future generations.
Millennials are going through their own bildungsroman,
a story of maturity and coming of age. Rather than criticizing
Millennials for their inherent character flaws, problems that
arent unique to just Millennials, Baby Boomers and Generations Xers should cut them some slack. All generations go
through their own period of immaturity. Unrealistic, arrogant, impulsive, and narcissistic. One might be able to say
these things about todays youth, but one could also say it
about the adolescents of any other era.

After a generation criticized for being

lazy, self-absorbed and entitled, many anxiously await what a new generation, those
born during the mid 2000s, will bring.
Although they have yet to be officially
named (at most, theyre tentatively called
Generation Z), this generation is slowly
beginning to define themselves through
their ideologies and their dependence on
technology and science. So heres what to
expect of this new generation as they step
into the societal spotlight.
Open hearts and open minds: Growing up in the shadow of economic crises
and a War on Terror, members of this
generation are more aware of the world
around them. Going through these events
have helped members of this generation
slowly become more and more pragmatic
in their views of the world. Members have
grown up accustomed to the sometimes
cruel realities of the world, and are ready
to work towards a change. Consequently,
they are also more likely overall to accept
ideals that up until now were widely unpopular and subdued. After all, members
of this generation have witnessed widespread support for same-sex marriage
and have lived through two terms of an
African American president. Rather than
sitting around and waiting for change to
occur, these Forbes-proclaimed rebels

with a cause will be making headlines in the

near future.
Phone glued to the hip: A generation
born in the era of smartphones, members are
quickly taking the place of the Millennials as
the poster children of the digital age. They
are dependent on technology in every sense
of the word- from a news source, to a form of
communication, to daily entertainment-their
phone is everything and they are unlikely to
be seen without it. In terms of social media,
they tend to gravitate towards more secretive
platforms such as Snapchat and Whisper.
Digital privacy is also a generational preference as they learn from the mistakes of their
predecessors. If you try to communicate with
this generation, your best bet is via text because they probably wont answer the phone.
Dressed to Repress: Members of this
generation prefer the effortless look when it
comes to style. The unisex fashion trend of
NormCore has been gaining popularity as
members look to celebrities for the new it
look. At the forefront of this new trend are
stars such as Kylie Jenner and Kanye West,
whose semi simplistic looks are attracting
the attention of this new generation and the
media alike. Combining normal and hardcore dress, outfits usually consist of average
clothing that aims to be non-pretentious and
seemingly bland. At this rate one can expect
the tourist look of dad jeans and old baseball
caps to make a comeback in the near future
from this new generation.

The WarriorOpinions
14

January 14, 2016

Staff Editorial:

In Our Opinion

Free Speech in College Remains Controversial

What constitutes free speech and
hate speech?

tected
Is hate speech pro
mendment?
under the First A
While it may not affect us high school students at the moment, what students can and cannot say on college campuses is a pressing matter in schools across the country. Controversial
event after controversial event, from a school
newspaper criticizing the Black Lives Matter
movement to a lecturer at Yale saying that administration should not dictate what Halloween
costumes are too insensitive for students, constantly intensify the debate over whether certain
acts of hate speech should be prevented on
college campuses. Even the Warrior staff has a
difficult time deciding on definitive grounds of
what speech is protected under the First Amendment in colleges.
One thing is absolutely clear. Whether or not
it is permitted on college grounds, hate speech
is comments that are blatantly racist, sexist or
homophobic, directed at a specific individual or
group, and exists for the sole purpose of being
offensive. These hateful comments may also incite violence. The controversy lies in how the
colleges administration should react to instances of offensive or hateful speech. While some argue that administration should prevent offensive
speech in order to ensure the safety of students
and maintain a respectful environment, others
believe that schools should do nothing at all, as
that speech is protected under the First Amendment and that students should not be sheltered
from speech that makes them feel uncomfort

What should studen

ts do if they
find speech offensive
?
able. Administration should possibly step in
only if there is a credible threat of violence as a
result or if the learning environment is disrupted.
Given certain hypothetical examples of hateful speech, there is a controversy over how the
school administration should respond. For example, if a group of students chant Islam Kills
at a rally, some believe that the school should
immediately shut down the rally and punish the
students involved. On the other hand, others argue that the school should do nothing because
the rally is protected under free speech, and they
have every right to chant, as wrong as the speech
may be. It may also be best to meet halfway by
closely monitoring the rally, stepping in only if
there is violence as a result.
Current seniors will very soon find themselves in the college students positions, so it
is important for them to understand the debate
over free speech, and what they should do when
they find a case of hurtful speech on their future campuses. When faced with a racist, sexist,
or otherwise hateful comment, there are many
things college students could do in response. If
they feel that the safety of the school is at risk,
they may choose to report the offensive speech
to a teacher or administrator, or possibly start a
peaceful, non-accusatory protest of the overall
issue. Otherwise, it may just be best to ignore
the hate and move on.

Warrior
P

the

ublished six 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 ..................Steven Witkin 16
Kira Yates 16

News Editors .................................................. Ketki Chauhan 16

Samantha Schwartz 16

Specials Editors ............................................ Meghan Proctor 16

Megan Werden 17

Features Editors ..............................................

Sara Casareto 16

Lauren MacFadden 17

Humor Editors .............................................Noah Rosendorf 17

John Sutherland 16

Spotlight Editor .............................................. Amanda Allen 17

Opinions Editors ................................................ Ben Cooper 16
Chris Sung 17


Wondering Warrior Editor.................................Lexi Paidas 17
Deal 16
Entertainment Editors .........................................Ryan

Tate Harrop 17

Sports Editors ................................................... Nicole Reich 17

Sammie Spillman 16

Online
Online Managing Editors .............................Ashley Nnabue 16

Milan Polk 16

Content and Copy

Content and Copy Editors ....................... Madison Dymond 16

Morgan Hill 16
Maddie Peloff 16

Managing Photo Editor ................................ Maya Koeppen 17

Photographers .................................................. Kayla Cohen 17
Chase Wilson 17

Cartoonist......................................................... Sidney Brown 17

Pollster ............................................................. Emily Gilburt 16
Staff Reporters ............................................... Jacob Golomb 16

Alleigh Keyes 16
Elizabeth Kronlage 18
Tyler Ruth 16
Bryse Thornwell 16

Business and Publicity Directors.................... Danielle Tobb 17

Will Van Gelder 16

cartoon by Kaitlyn Davis 17

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

The WarriorOpinions
January 14, 2016

15

-SOCIAL MEDIAIn todays technology-driven world, social media has been both
praised as a powerful medium of global communication and criticized as a
harmful application that promotes cyber-bullying. Two writers from the Warrior
debate whether social media is as harmful as thought to be.

Dislike the Users, Not the Site

by Milan Polk 16
Social media generally gets a
bad wrap. Teachers, parents and
anyone else with an aversion to
technology often roll their eyes
when social networking is mentioned. However, most opponents
fail to recognize the benefits of
these online communities and
would rather focus on the negative.
Popular social media sites such
as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
are generally used by teens to connect with their friends and share
little details about their lives when
they are apart. Opponents criticize
the practice, saying social media
is cutting into face to face interactions. However, there are more
positives than negatives when social media is used correctly. This
sharing of information is not wrong
or dangerous if it is done wisely.
Users tend to get shamed because
of the few, less conscientious peers
who tend to overshare or are heavily obsessed with social media for
all of the wrong reasons. Social
media is inherently good; teens are
able to stay close with their friends
and family even when they are far
away, and reach out to people with
mutual interests on the other side
of the world if it happens they are
alone in their physical settings.
Without social media, students
would not be able to connect with
their friends from other schools
and would find it hard to keep in
touch with those they cannot regularly visit. After a spring break in
another country with relatives or in
an exchange program, it is tough
for students, with little money or
resources, to send packages or let-

ters. Social media means an easy

international connection to anyone.
People can send pictures and video
to one another on apps like Snapchat and immediately share short
personal messages to one another.
That daily correspondence is usually only allotted to those closest
to someone. With social media,
distant friends and family can feel
close.
These apps also increase education of current events. Teens and
other avid users constantly scroll
through articles and pictures that
quickly summarize news and world
events. Celebrities and famous personalities also tend to voice their
opinions on these subjects, and users will want to keep up with news
and scandal to be able to evaluate
if they agree with their favorite celebrities.
The misuse of these applications
are done by only some, but not
many. Social media, just like any
other form of entertainment, can
become an obsession if not used
correctly. One should not discourage the use of an item simply because certain people cannot discipline themselves into using social
media responsibly. The man should
never be punished for the actions
of the few. Social media is a great
addition to ones life. It connects
those who may be lonely and educates audiences that may otherwise be uninterested in the news.
It is the responsibility of the user
to be respectful and open-minded
individuals when using such technology. The heart of social media is
the indivuals who create and modify the content that is displayed on
these sites.

Social Medias Negative Effects

by Kira Yates 16

Many young adults claim that

sites such as Facebook and Instagram are harmless towards ones
health. However, as much as millennials and others want to believe
social media is not harming them, it
is. From lowering self-confidence
to having adverse mental health effects, the reality of social media is
that it has countless negative consequences on ones well-being.
An effect of social media that
has been widely publicized is that
it leads to people having negative
body images. When people see celebrity pictures on Instagram, they
subconsciously aspire to imitate
this practically unattainable body.
These unrealistic pictures, many of
which have been altered with Photoshop, have been shown to make
many teens feel substandard and
less confident about their bodies.
Cyberbullying is another consequence of social media that is
demeaning and contributes to lower self-confidence. Social medias
provide a perfect outlet for cyber-bullying, which has increased
with the rise of social media. The
Internet facilitates cyber-bullying
by emphasizing dehumanization
and a lack of emotional connection,
allowing users to say abhorrent
things they would not say in person
as they can not see the persons reaction.
The large number of negative
mental health repercussions is yet
another unfavorable effect of social media. Being able to create
many profiles on many social networking sites can lead people to
having identity crises and double

lives. Social media can also lead to

the condition fear of missing out
(FOMO). This is a medical phenomenon in which people become
anxious that they are missing out
doing something with friends and
is enhanced by peoples ability to
constantly publicize their plans.
Social media also diminishes
understanding and thoughtfulness
while facilitating laziness. One
site that emphasizes this is Twitter:
while only permitting 140 characters at a time, the site forces people
to use short cuts such as abbreviating words and phrases, using numbers to replace text and utilizing
symbols to make tweets as short as
possible.
Finally, social networking
is highly addictive, as proven by
many studies including one by the
National Institute of Health, which
concluded that Internet Addiction
Disorder ruins lives by causing
neurological complications, psychological disturbances and social
problems. An addiction to social
media has many disadvantageous
consequences. For instance, an
increased use of social media has
been linked with an increased likelihood of obesity and many studies
show that teens who spend more
time on social media tend to have
lower test scores and do not perform as well in school.
The constant use of social media by young adults is an epidemic that is negatively affecting its
users mental, physical, social and
emotional well-being. While the
majority of people who use social
media will not admit it, the facts
show the detrimental effects that
social medias have on users.

Solving the Crisis: Developed Persian Gulf States Should Take Syrian Refugees
With a refugee crisis in the Middle East, wealthy Persian Gulf states should accept refugees to alleviate the vast amount fleeing to other countries.
by Josh Averbach 18
Syrias ongoing civil war
has prompted more than 11 million people to flee the war-torn
nation, according to the humanitarian organization Mercy Corps.
Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey have
received more refugees than any
other countries because they border Syria, while various European
countries are taking in fewer refugees. The crisis, however, is by
no means resolved, as millions of
refugees are still stateless.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the
United Arab Emirates (UAE),
Bahrain and Oman compose
the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC), a partnership between
the Persian Gulf States excluding Iran and Iraq. What, if any,

effort these countries have put

into helping Syrian refugees is
unclear as none of these nations
have officially received any refugees, and they have offered little
explanation about why that might
be the case. A Saudi foreign minister, however, made claims that
about 2.5 million Syrians have
entered the country since the war
began in 2011, and a UAE ambassador claims that the country has
accepted 100,000 refugees during
that time period. Both of these
claims are unverifiable.
This lack of clarity stems
from the 1951 United Nations
(UN) convention which defines
refugees, and obligates countries
to take them in. No GCC country signed the agreement, so they
have no legal obligation to take

in refugees. It is unclear whether

GCC countries have turned away
refugees or accepted them under a
title other than refugee.
The GCC countries are well
developed, all with top 50 world
rankings in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. They share
the Arabic language with Syria. These factors make the GCC
countries the best equipped to
take Syrian refugees because refugees would be given an elevated
chance to succeed there. These
countries therefore deserve praise
if they have been helping refugees, and condemnation if they
have not.
Because the language of both
Syria and the GCC is Arabic,
refugees who were successful in
Syria before it descended into

chaos could put their skill sets to

use in the GCC, and earn good
livings. In non-Arabic-speaking
countries, even refugees who
were doctors, lawyers or CEOs
would be forced into menial work
because of the language barrier. Refugees, like everyone, are
clearly better off if given a chance
to succeed.
One reason why countries are
often reluctant to accept refugees
is the strain that an influx of poor
immigrants puts on economies.
Refugees come with virtually
no assets, so governments must
spend money on social programs
to meet refugees needs. To pay
for this, countries must borrow
money or increase taxes, both of
which put stress on economies.
Because Syrian refugees could

succeed in GCC countries, however, this effect would be lessened as refugees could work their
way out of poverty, and no longer
depend on the government. This
would allow GCC countries to be
less economically burdened by
Syrian refugees than any other
countries.
Because Syrian refugees are
in dire need of assistance, the
community of nations has an
obligation to assist them. GCC
countries are both the best home
for refugees, and the least burdened countries by their presence. While their populations
are not large enough to solve the
crisis by themselves, GCC countries should accept more refugees,
relative to their populations, than
any other countries on Earth.

The WarriorOpinions
16

January 14, 2016

The Emoji Language: at a Loss for Words

by Isabella Pilot 18
If you could describe 2015 in
one word, what would it be? For
the staff of the Oxford dictionary,
the words lumbersexual, refugee,
and on fleek came to mind, but
the word that triumphed over
them all isnt a word at all.
With over 171,000 words in
the English language, the Face
With Tears of Joy emoji was
crowned 2015 Word of the Year
on November 16. This emoji
made up 20 percent of all the
emojis used in the U.K. in 2015,
and 17 percent of those in the
U.S., according to Oxford University Press.
To understand this problem,
we can first look at emojis as a
whole. 845 of them are home to
the keyboards of nearly every
smartphone in the world, ranging
from images of faces, food, flags,
symbols, clothes, animals, structures, and even a pile of smiling
poop. At times they are helpful;
its much easier to send a heart
emoji at the end of a message
than typing out I love you. But
is convenience enough to qualify
a symbol as word of the year?
At a certain point, emojis
surpass ease-of-use into pure laziness. I love you is eight finger
swipes; more than that, I love
you is a personal connection.
A picture of a heart, sent off in
two taps, is often too quickly duplicated, watering down this expression of human emotion into
little meaning anymore. Before,
I love yous were saved for perfect, meaningful moments, spoken out with sweaty palms and
jittery nerves. Today, heart emojis
are slapped onto the end of messages about the weather without a
second thought.
Its not that emojis suddenly

Lets Talk About It

Even in todays society, birth control, also commonly

known as the Pill, remains a controversial subject.
by Samantha Schwartz 16

www.emojipedia.org

The Face with Tears of Joy emoji, shown in the picture above, was recently chosen as the Oxford Dictionarys Word of the Year for 2015.
help us feel more, either. Adding
a laughing face to the end of a
message does not suddenly make
it funnier. Emojis simply provide
another outlet for todays society
to express their overly drawn-out
feelings to each other; except, instead of reading about how your
one friends day is yet again the
worst day of their life, you have
to suffer through 34 rainy cloud
emojis as a caption on their latest
post. Its not an improvement, just
the same story in new words.
In addition to its convenience, Oxford staff cited the
universal understanding the
emoji offers to its viewers. Anyone of any language can understand that a laughing face indicates humor. However, none of
the other honored words are easy
for all languages to understand,
but instead celebrate the uniqueness of the English Language.
The word lumbersexual, describing one attracted to men who
sport hipster beards and flannel
tops frequently, while a bit arbi-

trary, is extremely interesting.

The reduction of words to
symbols is just something one
struggles to grasp as revolutionary. It seems that after all these
years of beautiful literature, informative publications, and provocative poetry under the complexity
of our growing vocabulary, we
would only want to expand it even
more. But, as emojis demonstrate,
this is not the case. Instead, we
devolve to cavemen, with emojis
being our own form of drawings
on stone walls.
Most perplexing of all has to
be the specific choice of emoji.
It is hard to pick an exact feeling
to describe 2015, but the humor
attached to the laughing face
emoji seems to miss the mark.
Perhaps a gun, a police car or a
fence to symbolize some hot-button debates encompassing the
western world. Or, better yet, a
skull to symbolize how doomed
we are as a society for actually
picking an emoji as word of the
year.

Birth control is a taboo. It

is embarrassing for many young
girls to ask for, talk about and
take. But why? Why is birth control something that is talked about
in a whisper?
Birth control is different
methods used to prevent pregnancy, but it can hold other benefits
such as lower cancer risk, clearer
skin, lighter and less painful periods and more. The only negative,
aside from minor side effects, is
its negative connotations.
Because birth controls main
purpose is to prevent pregnancy, it
is immediately linked to the controversial topic of sex. Sex will
always be a taboo because almost
all cultures, religions, families,
and so on have varying opinions
surrounding the topic. But birth
control should not be at fault just
because of its association with
sex. Birth control prevents the
risk of being a teen mother and
allows women to make the decision of when they should have a
child. And it has countless other
benefits unrelated to sex.
According to Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit organization
that works to advance reproductive health through birth control,
14 percent (1.5 million women)
rely on contraceptive pills exclusively for non-contraceptive purposes.
Along with birth controls
reputation comes the whispers
and shame. Young women typically are embarrassed to talk
about the fact that they are on
birth control because it is immediately assumed that they are

having sex, even when there are

other reasons. But even if women
are using the Pill for contraceptive purposes, why should they be
shamed for protecting themselves
against having a child too young
or at the wrong time?
Health organizations, different publications and media understand the correlation between
birth control and its negative connotation. The Center for Young
Womens Health is an organization women can turn to for information about health and wellness.
One question on the FAQ site of
the Center for Young Womens
Healths website reads, Should
I tell my friends that Im taking
birth control pills? The answer
given encourages women to just
think about whats best for you
because someone hearing that
you are taking the Pill may assume its because you are having
sex. The fact that this educational institute accounts for the negative connotation associated with
birth control on its frequently
asked questions site is alarming.
This organization understands
that people are too quick to judge
someone who is on birth control.
However, the way society reacts
to the Pill should not be the deciding factor for a young woman
to be on the Pill or not.
People should be more proud
and supportive of birth control
and its users because it is incredible to have control of your own
life, whether it be planning to
have a child or just regulating a
period. A girl should never have
to choose between health, safety
and protection because of fear of
embarrassment and shame.

To The Point
Lack of Motivation Is Bad No Limits, No Personality

A Creative Outlook

by Madison Dymond 16

by Ryan Deal 16

by Maya Koeppen 17

With exams coming up, there is one thing that is vital

to ensure students success: motivation. It is the thing they
need the most and the thing they can never seem to get.
The brain capacity of a student means nothing if they are
not motivated to learn and study the material.
Exams are memory tests. Memorizing and remembering takes effort, effort takes energy and energy stems
from motivation. Therefore, if students are unmotivated,
whether it be in the class or during the exam itself, they
cannot reach their full potential.
This occurs because by the time teens reach high
school, they generally have little to no intrinsic motivation. Humans are all born with a natural curiosity. They
want to learn, especially at a young age. Somewhere
along the journey through grade school, however, this
love for learning is lost. Students then learn for grades or
the multitude of extrinsic motivators schools provide.
Somehow, students must channel the curiosity they
had as children and realize that one cant go through life
merely using outside factors to motivate themselves.

Everyone knows of Twitter, the hugely successful

social media site that connects people worldwide all in
a Twittersphere. Twitter largely came to be known for
its brief tweets, publicly displayed messages from a
user that capped off at 140 characters. The character limit
was unique, and these quick-hitting messages provided a
speedier fix for todays hyperactive society.
However, as the technology site Re/code reported,
Twitter is currently considering an update that would elongate the character limit to ten-thousand. Advocates for the
change, like Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, state that by allowing for longer tweets, a user would not be forced to use a
screenshot or a series of tweets to get a message across.
Twitter prides itself on its conversational way of interaction. This advantage is gone should the limit be extended. Giant globs of text would clog up ones stream, and it
would make Twitter no different from Facebook, which
also has no character limit and uses likes as an approval
of ones post. Twitter was once an original network which
influenced social media; it has no reason to change.

Every high school student in MCPS is required to take

a credit worth of art, but quite frankly, it should be a little
more than that. The average student spends hours in a single school day listening to lectures and reading from textbooks, all the while absorbing the thoughts of others rather
than cultivating their own. Therein lies the problem. Art
classes enable students to not only demonstrate a medium
of self-expression but to think in a way that is mentally
refreshing. Whether its writing a poem or taking a photograph, your mind, not your peers or your teachers, plays
the creative role in your education. Such courses embody
a fully immersive education where all outcomes are selfmade and restrictions are limited.
After all, does this not parallel what the real world expects? Sure there are rules and expectations in the work
force, but at the end of the day, what one has to show for
is persistently self-reflecting. Today, after high school, everyone wants to know what you can do to benefit society.
Knowing the quadratic equation wont better the world,
but creative thinking will.

The WarriorOpinions

17

January 14, 2016

THE PULSE GUN CONTROL

In 2015, nearly 12,500 people died in the United States as a result of gun violence. An estimated 82% of guns used in shootings are bought legally. Some believe that the U.S. government should have tighter gun restrictions to prevent potential
criminals from buying guns, whereas others believe restricting guns would violate the Second Amendment.

28%

18%
Do you support the NRAs
proposal to arm
82%
teachers with guns?

72%

YES
42%

In your opinion, does the

Second Amendment allow
64% anyone to purchase and
carry guns?

Does anyone in your

household own a gun,
rifle, or pistol?

Are you comfortable with people lawfully carrying concealed

handguns in public?

36%

Are you comfortable with people lawfully carrying their

weapons openly in public?

NO
58%

YES
26%

NO
74%

Is it more important to control gun ownership or protect gun rights?

YES
18%

NO
82%

VIEWPOINTS

What do you think is a solution to reducing the number

of gun-related deaths in the United States?
Extremely strict background
checks. Our current checks
dont even require the buyer to
provide a reason.
-Matan Raphael Admi 18

Lets arm the good guys to protect the

people who cant protect themselves.
-Nick Costa 18

Firearms are meant to be a form of self-defense. No one needs

an automatic assault rifle for the sole purpose of self-defense.
-Thomas Reed 18

Its important to know who has the guns and who

is in contact with them. There should be background checks with more depth, but also a check
on who lives with the gun purchaser.
-Noah Corman 19

The U.S. should follow the lead of most of the worlds Democracies and
have strict laws regulating gun sales and usage. It is unconscionable to
permit the NRA to have such outside influence on Congress. While the
NRA is within its rights to advocate for its positiona reflexive opposition to any gun restrictionsCongress should find the will to enact
sensible, protective gun laws.
-Social Studies Teacher Joyce Saadi

Gun control should be handled with a

moderate ideology. Background checks
should be highly enforced, but carrying
a lawful weapon should be allowed.
-Paul Lee 16

I feel that if more states pass concealed

carry laws, or even open carry, shooters
would be less likely to kill people.
-Michael Gorogias 19

I really dont know what the solution would be.

Maybe spending time in an ER so that
individuals can see the results of gun violence?
-Science Teacher Emilia Gonzales
*137 students surveyed

18

The Warrior Wonders...

What do you spend the most money on?
Entertainment

Food
36%

16%

Clothes

Gas
14%
Other
14%

20%

Do you get an allowance?

What is the primary

way you spend your
money?

Yes

19%

Going out with friends because

I usually end up spending all my
money on dinners and gas to get
there
-Ashley Lakey 16

No

Or

81%

How much do you make per

month during the school year?

I make...

Buying random things at the store

that I dont need but at the moment
I think I need them
-Heather Taylor 16
Most likely through either new
novels or video games
-Pooja Ravi 18
I waste my money by always
buying clothes that I wont
wear
-Jane Peuser 16

$0

$1-100
33%

20%

$100-200

$200-400

17%

17%

$400-500

More than
$600

4%

9%

The primary way I waste money is by

eating out when I cant find anything
in the house
-Devonte Doward 16

If college was suddenly free, what would you spend your college savings on?
Invest it in either
the stock market or
property in order to
make more money
-Daniel Laguna 17

I would travel the

world because I love
learning about new
cultures
-Chloe Djomessi
Siakam 17

I would buy the

friendship of Kanye
West for the day
-Lizzie Boscolo 16

*127 students surveyed

compiled by Lexi Paidas 17

The WarriorEntertainment
January 14, 2016

19

Head to Cava for a Magnificent Meal

by Lexi Paidas 17
Opening the heavy wooden
doors and stepping into Olneys
new Cava Mezze is like walking into another world. The delicious smells and the inviting
atmosphere welcome you as you
are quickly led to your seat by
smiling hostesses. Standing out
among the numerous fast food
chains that populate the strips
malls of central Olney, Cava has
the potential to become a popular
attraction at its location in the Olney town center, located next to
Starbucks.
The inviting atmosphere only
continued as I sat down at my
table with my party of four. The
low lighting provided by uniquely crafted fixtures and the decorative walls, floors and dividers
provide a very classy feeling to
the restaurant. While the aesthetics of the place were very visually
appealing, the noise level was exactly the opposite. The loud music, combined with restaurant-goers boisterous talking, made for a
very noisy dinner that made normal conversation difficult.
Still, the inviting atmosphere
makes Cava a restaurant suitable
for anything, from a family dinner to a business lunch. The dining experience is helped as well
by the excellent service. Almost
immediately after sitting down, a

photos by Lexi Paidas 17, dc.eater.com, cavamezze.com

Cava Mezze opened in December at 3122 Olney Sandy Spring Road to positive reviews. Cava is usually a fast food restaurant similar to that
of Chipotle, but Cava Mezze is a sit-down restaurant, giving it a formal feel. It serves Greek and Mediterranean foods such as tapas and gyros.
waiter came to take drink orders.
Such impeccable service continued throughout the meal as both
entrees and dessert were brought
out quickly at the appropriate
times. The waiters were efficient,
friendly and always topped off
my glass.
Cavas menu is centered
on serving small plates of food.
The slightly higher prices, which
range for small plates from a small
plate a hummus, costing $6, to a

flat iron stake, costing $14.50, are

well worth it as your steaming hot
food comes out and is set down
on the table. The Saganaki (fried
cheese covered in honey) is sweet
and soft, the braised short rib is
succulent, and the warm crab
cakes are especially noteworthy.
Its safe to say that the rest of
the menu holds the same quality
food.
Dessert, however, was an anticlimactic ending to an otherwise

All Love for The Hateful Eight

by Ryan Deal 16
You got room for one
more? This ambiguous question opens Quentin Tarantinos
eighth film, The Hateful Eight,
a suspenseful, violent and utterly
captivating tale of trust, deception
and prejudice amidst post-Civil
War society. The line, coolly delivered by bounty hunter and former Union Major Marquis Warren, played by the always terrific
Samuel L. Jackson, acts to break
the fourth-wall, for 2012s goodnot-great Django Unchained
left some Tarantino fans wondering if the director truly had room
for one more great film. Tarantino answers doubters with a film
that belongs on the same echelon
as classics Reservoir Dogs,
Pulp Fiction and Inglourious
Bastards.

Tarantino recently has floated the idea that his movie-making
days may soon reach an end. He
has been quoted as saying that he
may plan on only making 10 movies in his career, as to not overstay
his welcome. If this is the case, as
unfortunate as it may be for cinema buffs, it is still refreshing to
see that he puts just as much heart
and effort into his films in 2015 as
he did in 1992.

As the film begins, viewers are immediately enthralled
by the beautiful 70mm shots of
the snowy frontier. The use of a
70mm Panavision camera was
a bold decision, considering the

technology has not been used in

a major film since 1966, but it
pays off in a big way. As a blizzard rages, Warren waves down a
Red Rock-bound stagecoach. The
stagecoach contains bounty hunter John Ruth (played by an outof-place yet game Kurt Russell),
otherwise known as The Hangman due to his fondness for
bringing in victims alive so that
their necks snap. He is chained to
captured killer Daisy Domergue
(Jennifer Jason Leigh, who may
have an Oscar nomination coming her way). Suspicion heightens
when they pick up Chris Mannix
(Walton Goggins, who does the
best job of anyone in the film),
a racist son-of-a-rebel who also
happens to be the new Sheriff of
Red Rock.

As the blizzard intensifies
so does the paranoia of Ruth,
who desperately wants the bounty that Domergue yields, and the
racial tensions between Warren
and Mannix. These traits reach a
memorable boiling point as they
settle down at Minnies Haberdashery, a tiny inn in which they
must stay until the blizzard passes
through.
At Minnies, the audience
is introduced to more electric
characters. There is Bob (Demian Bichir), a mexican Minnie
instructed to watch over the
haberdashery, Oswaldo Mobray
(an energetic Tim Roth) who is
a hangman, quiet cowboy Joe
Gage (Michael Madsen), and for-

mer Confederate General Sandy

Smithers (Bruce Dern). It is here
in which the majority of the film
takes place. At times, this gloriously claustrophobic location is
reminiscent of the warehouse in
Reservoir Dogs, the first film
that gained Tarantino exposure.

The Hateful Eight is a nonstop thrill ride. As one navigates
through each characters past
and story, there is equal reason to
believe that any one of the men
could be the liar. Tarantino, with
a razor-sharp screenplay and intense scenes (in particular one
shocking sequence involving
Warren and Smithers), creates a
true whodunit that has not been
seen in quite some time. Each actor thrives in their respective role,
and it makes for a passionate film.
In an era in which original
ideas seem to be pushed aside in
favor of big-budget remakes and
prequels, it is refreshing to see
that there are still creative films
being made which truly break the
mold. Although it may get underrepresented at the Oscars due to
a crowded field, there is no doubt
that with its blend of complex
characters, tremendous acting
performances and intense scenes,
The Hateful Eight will go down
as one of the years most memorable films.

Grade:

A+

amazing meal. The loukoumades

failed to impress as the usual soft
honey and sugar-covered donuts
were downgraded into at best
what can only be described as
mushy sweet balls of dough. The
Greek yogurt cheesecake didnt
do the rest of the menu much
justice either. The congealed
mix coated in sauce was hardly
appealing, though the attempt at
a healthier alternative to cheesecake was appreciated.

Despite the shortcomings at

the end of the meal, my trip to
Cava was fantastic. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for
sit-down meal with Mediterranean food as it was possibly the
best restaurant Ive been to in a
long time.

Grade:

A-

The WarriorEntertainment
20

January 14, 2016

W h a t N o t t o We a r
So Long, Leggings

by Morgan Hill and

Samantha Schwartz 16

Concerts (At Fillmore)

Lamb of God - January 17

Fetty Wap - February 5

Dustin Lynch - February 13
Bryson Tiller - February 21

SHOWS N SHINDIGS
Movies
The 5th Wave - January 22
Jane Got a Gun - January 29
Hail, Caesar! - February 5
Deadpool - February 12
Zoolander 2 - February 12

graphic by Tate Harrop 17 and Ryan Deal 16

After 17 years of never

matching navy blue with black or
polka dots and plaid, we, as lovers of fashion, are here to share
our opinions with the students of
Sherwood. In each issue of The
Warrior, we will choose a different fashion faux pas to critique.
This time we tackle the over presence of leggings in everyday outfits.
Leggings. They are stretchy
and comfortable and easy to just
throw on. But, like all articles of
clothing, they have a time and a
place to be worn. Leggings were
originally made to be worn as
workout pants or lazy-day pants.
They look great with an athletic
style outfit, such as a t-shirt with
a pair of colorful running shoes.
Yet, when people try to incorporate them every day, a line is
crossed between comfort and
style. You wouldnt wear sweatpants or pajama pants with booties or a sweater, so why would
you pair those with leggings?
We want to clarify a common misconception that there are
not good alternatives to leggings.
If you are looking for an outfit
that combines elements of comfort and style, you have plenty

of options as far as bottoms go.

We have heard the same excuse
far too many times. Jeans are
uncomfortable. Or Jeans are
restrictive. These statements are
false. With careful searching and
consideration, finding a pair of
comfortable jeans isnt really all
that hard. Hint: a pair of comfortable, durable jeans are worth the
extra bucks.
We are surely not ones to say
that jeans should always be worn
in place of leggings. Theres a
happy medium between leggings
and jeans, and theyre called
pants. By pants we mean the
strong cotton-like chino pants
that are greatly under-appreciated. They provide endless possibilities. Our personal favorite is the
solid black pant, similar to what
you can get from black leggings,
that goes with absolutely everything. The even better news is
you can find these versatile pants
as comfortable as leggings, just a
whole lot nicer. They add that pizazz that is lost with leggings.
Far too many stylish outfits
have been ruined by the inclusion
of leggings. By swapping out leggings for a pair of jeans or pants,
your outfit automatically becomes
more stylish, attractive and even
comfortable.

Sherlock Goes Victorian Tell Me Im Pretty Strikes Morbid Chords

in The Abominable Bride by Milan Polk 16
by Meghan Proctor 16

When people hear the name

Sherlock Holmes, they might
think of the intelligent fictional detective from Arthur Conan
Doyles stories set during the Victorian era. Others might picture
the overly dramatic yet equally intelligent detective from the BBC
drama Sherlock set in modern
times. However, a 90-minute
special of said drama combines
both periods of the story almost
perfectly in The Abominable
Bride.
The special begins with a
brief flashback of highlights from
the show itself before presenting
an alternate timeline. Set in the
1890s, the first scene where John
Watson (Martin Freeman) first
meets Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) acts as both a
storyline set-up and a nod to fans,
for it parallels the same scene
from A Study in Pink, the first
episode of the series, as well as
A Study in Scarlet, one of the
original stories from Doyle.
After introducing the main
characters and their relationship
to each other, the story begins to
present the case. According to recent reports, a woman dressed in a
wedding gown killed her husband
a few hours after she supposedly
committed suicide. With many
people speculating the work of a
ghost, Holmes and Watson investigate by observing the estate of a
man who may be her next victim.
As the duo try to solve the case,

they attempt to find the people

who are behind the killing.
The plot of the episode is
complex and engaging to keep
viewers constantly interested in
the story. However, its constant
references and parallels with
previous seasons, especially a
surprising twist that connects
the plot of the 1890s case to the
present-day events of the series,
is more geared towards fans than
first-time viewers. Even fans can
find the plot somewhat confusing
if they dont pay close attention,
but the complexity of the story
adds to the mysterious and somewhat dark tone, and the special
episode works really well as a direct tie-in with the show.
The characters from the Victorian era slightly differ from their
present-day counterparts, but
only in mannerisms and speech
patterns. Sherlock is still the arrogant, fast-talking detective and
Watson is the same loyal army
doctor from the show. Both actors
do a fantastic job translating their
roles into a different time period,
as do the rest of the cast reprising
their roles from the series.
This episode is not friendly to
newcomers, but its an engaging
story with memorable characters
played by talented actors. Newcomers should watch the show
first, which is nine episodes and
is available on Netflix.

Grade:

A

Cage The Elephant, best

known for their anthemic song
Aint No Rest for the Wicked,
released their fourth studio album
on December 18. Tell Me Im
Pretty retains the varied sound
the band is known for, sometimes
ranging from sixties rock to modern indie flair. Not to mention
the albums producer was Dan
Auerbach from the popular rock
duo The Black Keys, which ensures a solid piece of work with
precise artistry behind the scenes.
At times, one can even hear the
influence Auerbach no doubt
weaved into the record.
The album begins with Cry
Baby, a tambourine and guitar
filled song with notable lyrics that
speak of death, a recurring theme
throughout the record. The same
idea is expressed in Cage The Elephants previous albums, but unlike before, Tell Me Im Pretty
makes no attempt to hide the dreary motif with catchy noise that often drowned out the meaning of
each song. The instruments on the
current record instead accentuate
the words and that tell stories of
love lost or desired. It is a welcomed improvement from 2013s
Melophobia, which started and
ended with memorable sound, but
repetitive lyrics. The new album
exemplifies a group perfecting
their music.
A bands goal is to keep up
with the times and continuously
change their sound while keeping
their old fans and gaining new
ones. Cage The Elephant does

www.pastemagazine.com

Cage the Elephants album reached twenty-sixth on the Billboard Top

200. Their last record was 2013s Grammy-nominated Melophobia.
just that, using generally seventies rock undertones and channeling The Rolling Stones and
The Who, especially in Cold
Cold Cold and Thats Right,
using what the band knows was
successful in the past while simultaneously experimenting and
creating songs that fans cannot
help but wonder why they have
not yet been produced.
Lead singer Matt Shultz delivers
with brilliant vocals that rise to
the occasion for each track that
have their own individual sound
yet somehow work well together.
There is clear cohesion in the record, and just enough so that the

tracks do not sound repetitive.

Tell Me Im Pretty is a presentation of Cage The Elephants
growth as a band and desire to
continue to be unique and iconic in the alternative music scene.
Despite the many influences one
can pick out, the record manages
to sound unlike others and therefore set itself apart. Fans will find
themselves playing this album on
repeat, memorizing each poetic
line and enjoying the rhythms.

Grade:

B