Tues. Feb 25, 2020 Vol. 65 Issue #6 Annandale High School’s “ONE LAST PUSH FOR GLORY” Read more about each winter sports regional run TTHE4700 MedfordH Dr. Annandale,E VA 22003 A BBLASTLInformingA the AtomsS sinceT 1954 SPORTS www.thea-blast.org 17 Talent Show wows VIRGINIA audience BBYY SSUADUAD MMOHAMEDOHAMED Co-Editor in Chief

Last Friday, ten acts competed to be deemed the Most Talented Atom in GOING AHS’s fi rst annual Talent Show. Talent Show replaced the Mr. Annandale competition, which was essentially a beauty pageant for male seniors. This decision was made in an BLUE attempt to be more inclusive and show- case all talent, regardless of grade and gender. Hosted by Leadership, the event included a wide variety of acts, which included singing, dancing, and rap- ping. Senior Makayla Collins and juniors Nia Collins and Mariam Sesay walked away victorious after winning fi rst place for their rendition of a spo- ken word piece, titled “Somewhere in America.” “The message of our piece is that everyday, there are injustices, but every day, people continue to do noth- ing. That needs to change,” Collins said. “I hope that some people were Recent bills that have been passed by the Democratic majority in Virginia include the LGBTQ non discrimination act, clean energy bills and gun restricting bills. shocked by our message, and I feel proud because I’m glad that our mes- sage was able to get out there.” Second place went to junior Camily VA lawmakers making big changes in the state legislature Salvador for her performance of Rihan- na’s song, “Love on the Brain.” These two positions were voted amendment. courthouse where they watched histo- statues, transform the energy land- BBYY MMANNYANNY PPRECHTRECHT on by the judges which were theater The amendment was approved ry take place. scape in response to climate change teacher Katherine Brunberg, principal Co-Editor in Chief 59-40 in the House and 28-12 in the “For the women of Virginia and the and grant legal driving privileges to Shawn DeRose, STEM teacher Phil Senate. women of America, the resolution has undocumented immigrants were all Harris, administrator Brent Roberson, In a political climate like the one The victory was a huge win for fi nally passed,” Filler-Corn said, in a passed by the House of Delegates. and football coach Michael Scott. we live in today, any strides towards many in the state who had been push- Washington Post article. Incredibly, all of the bills passed on Audience members got a chance to bettering our democracy and build- ing for a constitutional guarantee of The amendment’s approval not only a single day, Feb. 10. vote for Fan Favorite at the end of the ing the equilibrium between different legal rights regardless of sex. marks history in Virginia, but sets the In addition to the new bills, old show, an honor which went to fresh- races and sexes is a step in the right Although the decision itself does not standard for Southern states across the Conservative policies are being dis- man Bastian Olivi-Gonzalex for his direction. ratify the amendment in the Constitu- nation, some of whom have already see mantled within the state. freestyle rap, which was in Spanish. With the Virginia primary elec- tion, it’s approval was symbolic none- a surge in Democratic support. For one, Virginia legislature is The Talent Show was preceded by tions arriving soon on Super Tuesday, theless; representative of the changing “What happens in Virginia impacts now cutting back abortion restrictions a preview of the Annandale Theatre which way the state will lean might political climate in the entire like mandatory ultrasounds and the Company’s spring musical, the “Sis- not be that diffi cult a question. what was formerly country and 24-hour waiting period. This is a huge ter Act.” For one, in the recent Virginia the heart of the Con- “This is a bill will reverber- change from previous legislature that The fi rst act of the show includ- statewide elections, Democrats won federacy. ate across the required transvaginal probes before ed the “Cupid Shuffl e” dance by the big; earning control of both the Sen- about civil The E.R.A. prom- globe,” said abortion. Best Buddies Club, a cover of Rihan- ate and the House of Delegates for the ised equal rights to society. It’s Betty Folliard, Virginia lawmakers have also na’s “Stay” by senior Tina Nguyen, a fi rst time since 1994. women, and was the founder passed a LGBTQ nondiscrimination dance number titled “Michael Meets “The Democrats have taken con- about what aimed at improv- of ERA Min- bill, becoming the fi rst southern state Dubstep” by juniors Prince Agyeman trol of the majority of the population ing pay equity for we do in the nesota, in an ever to do so. and Miguel Orozco, “Hula-Hooping” by areas: Northern Virginia, Richmond them, strengthen- article from The bill is groundbreaking, adding senior Hakim Idris, and a rendition of and the Hampton Roads area,” Histo- civil world.” ing domestic violence the New York sexual orientation and gender iden- Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” by soph- ry teacher Jonathan York said. and sexual harass- --MARK SICKLES Times. tity as protected classes in housing, omore Sydney Long with background “It’s the will of the people, I might ment protections, VIrginia House of Delegates The success employment and public accommoda- dancing by sophomores Limia Bahar not agree with all of the bills and leg- and blocking dis- of the E.R.A tions. and Eldana Mengistu. islation they proposed but the majori- crimination against was not the It also establishes a new frame- The second act began with a cover ty of the people want them so give the pregnant people and only push for work for people who feel they’ve been of Radiohead’s “Creep “by band 4-Sale, people what they want,” York said. mothers. liberal policy discriminated against to take legal which includes seniors Kanoosh Solo- In addition, in recent months, the Not only was the victory itself a in the state, a majority of Virginia state action against the offending party. ki, Gabe Mills, and Declan Faris. Fol- state government has passed ground symbolic moment in Virginia history, policy was effectively reshaped at the The discrimination is far reaching lowing them was a performance of the breaking legislature; all of this legis- but the support behind it was a testa- beginning of February. as well, adding LGBTQ discrimination “Cup Song” by juniors Alexis Granados lature falling along the lines of liber- ment to the changing political climate Decade old bills were dismantled to a list ranging anywhere from race to and Natalie Nguyen, and a freestyle al beliefs. in the state. with a large sweep of new, progressive vetern status. rap titled “Crank” by seniors Tarik To start, the Virginia House of Del- Led by a woman for the the fi rst replacements. Despite the seemingly all positive Darwiesh and Kaleab Mengistu. egates approved the Equal Rights time in 401 year old history, House of Bills to raise the minimum wage, let “I think that the Talent Show Amendment on Jan. 15, making Delegates leader Eileen Filler-Corn local governments remove Confederate turned out to be a huge success,” Lead- Virginia the 38th state to pass the and many other women fi lled the CONT. Page 5 ership president Abby Kitila said. “I am really happy that our planning and hard work produced something great, and I am glad that so many people FCPL announces enjoyed it.” program for Heritage Night and Just World return adult students Students cele- BBYY SSUADUAD MMOHAMEDOHAMED brate and appre- Co-Editor in Chief ciate cultures for Fairfax County Public Library has teamed up with Career Online High the unique school School to create an education system for adults. event It allows adults to earn a high school diploma and a workforce read- BBYY MMANNYANNY PPRECHTRECHT iness certifi cation from the comfort of Co-Editor in Chief their home and through an accredited county high school. Heritage Night, accompanied by Applicants must be at least 20 the Just World Festival, will return for years old, have at least an eighth another year at AHS. grade education, have a library card, Both events will be held on Friday, and have access to the internet. March 6. Career certifi cations that are avail- In previous yeras, both events have able include a variety of topics rang- been very successful. ing from child care education to one for The night starts with all clubs, hon- those who want to be a certifi ed protec- ors soieties and other organizations tion offi cers serving food or items of their choice at

This program will prove to be ben- the Just World Festival. TARIK DARWEISH efi cial compared to most programs for AHS students, families members Seniors Tarik Darweish and Kaleab Mengistu perform their original song inspirired by the cultures represented at last adults that are already out there. and all others are welcome to enjoy the year’s Heritage Night. “That was one of the best part,” senior Mitchell Eggert said. “It went hard.” A high school diploma is more wide- booths and what they have to offer. ly accepted than a GED by colleges. The Just World Festival will cost $5 Additionally, having a career cer- and the fee will cover admission to the McElveen illustrates how important of tifi cation means that the student has Senior Tarik Dar- Heritage Night event as well. an event Heritage Night is. more skills in the workplace, facilitat- weish performs at Heritage Night is one of the unique This year, both the Just World club ing better employment. last years’ Heritage events that AHS holds every year. and Leadership are hoping for another Also, the class is online and self- Night, represent- The night is important for many dif- success in both events. paced with the help of an academic ing Palestine. Dar- ferent students for a variety of reasons. “I’m looking forward to seeing the coach, so the students are able to work weish and his part- For one, many students enjoy the new countries that joined this year,” at their own pace and time as they jug- ner sent a power culturally enriching songs and dances Heritage Night coordinator Laila Elba- gle their day-to-day lives. message with their that are on display at Heritage Night. hy said. “I think that it is great that they performance, pro- For performers, the night is an In addition to the coordinators, past are giving adults this opportunity,” moting the peace empowering experience that allows the performers are ready to come back for junior Anjum Ashraf said. “There are and freedom of celebration of many different cultures. another performance. many adults that never got the chance Palestine from the In addition, Heritage Night is a tes- “I plan on performing again and rep- to complete their education and now country’s confl ict tament to the diverse student body at resenting my country,” senior Tarik that they have kids and a job, but this with its neighbor AHS. Darweish said. program should help them out.” Israel. “I enjoyed going to Heritage Night The celebration of cultures is impro- To apply, those who are interest- last year,” senior Zak Belkayat said. tant to all students and atendees of ed must take a self-assessment on the “My favorite part had to have been Heritage Night. Fairfax County website to test eligibil- watching the different cultural dances ity. They will then be contacted by a or meeting Ryan McElveen.” librarian. An appearance from Ryan 2 EDITORIALS Tues. Feb. 25, 2020 Should Sanders be the nominee?

BBYY AADAMDAM SSHAWISHHAWISH AHS student survey results Editorials Editor This survey was distributed through W4 and English classes on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20. A total of 224 were collected: 75 seniors, 54 juniors, 42 sophomores, and 53 freshman Standing strong after three replied. The candidates are listed in order of popularity by the senior class. victories in Iowa, New Hamp- shire, and Nevada, Bernie Sand- ers is a main contender for the 9th 10th 11th 12th Democratic nominee. Bernie As of Feb. 24, Sanders is Sanders 30.1% 50.0% 51.8% 44.0% in the lead with 28% nation- al polling average. However, he is behind Pete Buttigieg in the Michael number of delegates. Buttiegieg 24.5% 7.1% 14.8% 21.3% has 22 and Sanders has 21. Bloomberg Most of the candidates are the same. They all have slightly different variations of the same Donald 5.6% 4.7% 11.9% 9.3% ideas, but their main points are Trump the same. However, there are only three candidates that have a chance to be the nominee. These Pete 1.8% 9.5% 1.8% 6.7% are Sanders, Biden, and Bloom- Buttigieg berg. They are polling the highest and have the most name recog- D o n ’ t nition. Although this is all based 16.9% 16.7% 11.1% 5.3% on The New York Times data Know from Feb. 24. BERNIE SANDERS 2020 CAMPAIGN Sanders should take the Senator Bernie Sanders is running for the Democratic Presidential presidential nominee and move Nominee so he can face Trump in the general election. Elizabeth 7.5% 4.7% 3.7% 4.0% on to the general election to face Warren Trump. He has had the most news coverage and he has had the only one that has been con- Latino, Asian American and the most individual contribu- stantly fi ghting to help. Native American votes than Joe tions. Sanders has the money Biden and Bloomberg are Donald Trump and Hillary Clin- and know-how to win this elec- major competitors. They are ton combined according to Polit- Biden 9.4% 4.7% 2.3% 4.0% tion. very close to Sanders in the polls ico. Sanders has also struck a and have individual contribu- This means that he will be chord with young voters. They tors. What they lack is the del- able to win votes against Trump egates. in areas that have a large per- believe Sanders will fi ght for Amy their future. Biden is past his prime. He cent of minority voters. 0% 0% 1.8% 2.6% Klobuchar He is focused on issues that might have been able to win in Sanders is one of the best matter to this demographic. 2016, but not now. candidates and will help the Some of these issues are college What every candidate needs United States become a better costs, debt, and climate change. is the young and minority vote. and stronger country. Tom In New Hampshire, Sand- While many candidates also Steyer 3.7% 2.3% 0% 0% focus on these issues, Sanders is ers gained more black, white, Virginia begins dismantling Confederate symbols and names

BBYY FFATIMAATIMA SSAYEDAYED EELTAYEBLTAYEB Staff Writer

Almost 160 years ago, the American Civil War took place and changed the world forev- er. Virginia played a large role in the war. After the war, schools, parks, and statues were named after confederate generals and offi cers. With Virginia becom- ing a blue state in recent years, these names have caused many problems, especially in South- ern Virginia. Washington-Lee High School was named after Robert People who were offended E. Lee. It was recently changed to Washington-Liberty by the statues of Confederate High School in 2019 in an effort to erase Confederate soldiers such as Robert. E. Lee symbols and names from Virginia. and Stonewall Jackson peti- tioned to have them removed. This angered many people who still shared Confederate beliefs and caused extreme tension. The naming of these schools is extremely offensive and J.E.B. Stuart High School was named after Confederate it can make many students Robert E. Lee was a Confederate general during the general, J.E.B. Stuart. It was renamed to Justice High uncomfortable, especially stu- civil war. He fought for Virginia and had many schools School in 2017. dents of color. The Confedera- and parks named after him. cy is a negative representation of America’s history and was in support of owning slaves. This is why it’s such a huge contro- Robert E. Lee High School was named after Robert E. versy. Lee. Fairfax County Public Schools plan on changing People have been fi ght- the name to something more inclusive. ing for the removal and name changes of Confederate statues people who want to keep them Back in October of 2017, the of white supremeascists that school names should be changed. Confederate named schools. and schools, but there are some are older. Fairfax County School Board occured in Charlottesville, Vir- As stated previously, it is argu- People shouldn’t view the who argue that the removal of Northern Virginia, many of voted to rename J.E.B. Stuart ginia. In recent news, the Fair- able that renaming schools, Confederacy as “southern pride.” these statues and school names the Confederate named schools to Justice High School. Wash- fax County School Board voted parks, and statues is “eras- It is impertinent and reminds is wrong because it’s a part of are being changed. Schools ington-Liberty High School, for- unanimously to discuss the plans ing” history. Virginia’s histo- people of the pain and suffer- our history. such as Washington-Lee have merly known as Washington- of potentially renaming Robert E. ry has been embedded in many ing that African American slaves Typically, the ones arguing renamed Washington-Liber- Lee also voted for a renaming of Lee Highschool. ways. There are other ways to faced during their fi ght for free- to change the names are of the ty and Justice High School had the school. According to WUSA9, Since Northern Virginia is a remember the history of our dom. younger demographic while the been known as J.E.B Stuart the idea for the renaming came diverse and versatile part of the state, it doesn’t have to be some- High School. about after the deadly protests state, many people believe that thing that’s negative such as Post of the Month TTHEHE A BBLASTLAST STAFFSTAFF The best Instagram post on The A-Blast page.

CO-EDITORS IN CHIEF LIFESTYLES EDITOR VIDEOGRAPHERS Suad Mohamed Thonny Anwar Himran Kamara Manny Precht Kaleab Mengitsu PEOPLE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR Karla Mercado-Dorado STAFF WRITERS Follow The A-Blast Khadija Ahmed Lilliana Alaniz ARTS EDITOR Cyrus Assadzadeh Annandale High School Mia Antezana Garcia NEWS EDITOR Limia Bahar Vol 65. Issue No. 6 Suad Mohamed Nardos Bekele 4700 Medford Dr. Manny Precht INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Insaf Bouzana Annandale, VA 22003 Brooke Fekru Allison Cespedes EDITORIALS EDITORS Sereene Darwiesh The A-Blast is an award- Jane Elkins HEALTH EDITOR Aminata Dia winning newspaper that Adam Shawish Jamie Hamadeh Fatima Sayed Eltayeb strives to inform, educate Mariamawit Endalkachew and entertain the student IN-DEPTH EDITORS ACADEMICS EDITOR Tyler Foti body and community. Frances Montevilla Nathan Ferson Siryet Girma Published monthly, The Marian Osman Uyen Huynh A-Blast will not print any SPANISH EDITOR Maram Ibrahim material that is obscene SPORTS EDITORS Brenda Huamani Cerys Jones or libelous; or that which Jensi Ralon-De Leon substantially disrupts the Evan Burita school day, or invades an Tyler Plank SPANISH ADVISER Sydney Long Maureen Hunt Eldana Mengitsu individual’s right to priva- Duc Ngo cy. The A-Blast is an inde- SPORTS X-TRA EDITOR pendent, open forum for dis- Eyob Dagnachew WEB EDITOR/MASTER Marian Osman Cynthia Nguyen Ernest Owen cussion that is printed at Rylie Zimmerman the Springfi eld Plant of The Alondra Obando Pereyra Washington Post. AD MANAGER WEEKEND EDITOR Vivian Phan Signed letters to the edi- Elena Leopold Suad Mohamed Jared Piza tor of 250 words or less may Manny Precht Cassandra Quach be emailed to theablast19@ PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Kristina Regmi gmail.com or submitted to Daniel Vo SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER room 262 or mailed to the Frances Montevilla ADVISER school. The A-Blast reserves ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS Alan Weintraut the right to refuse adver- Alex Burita CIRCULATION MANAGER tisements. Dylan Gill Erik Rivas-Martinez All submissions become Henry Hoang Rylie Zimmerman property of The A-Blast, Erik Rivas-Martinez Copyright, 2020. Tues. Feb. 25, 2020 EDITORIALS 3

How do you feel about HOW MUCH IS Trump being acquitted? TOO MUCH?

MICHEAL BELEKE sophomore “I think he needs to go. I was watch- ing the State of the Union Address for my government class, and I don’t like the way he was stating things and attack- ing other people. He needs to get out of the offi ce for the government to be functioning in a correct manner.”

PEYTON BUCKELEY junior “I don’t like that he was acquit- ted because what he did was uneth- ELKINS JANE ical. It was wrong, and although he didn’t break a specifi c law, that type of bribery Are students spending too much time on screens? just looks bad on a president. He should have been removed from offi ce.” However, while parts of technology “Our eyes need breaks from close-up to further education and development, BBYY CERYSCERYS JONESJONES ANDAND in the classroom can be very benefi cial, focus,” Malik said. “While people are on not hinder them. GRACE JJANEANE EELKINSLKINS some ponder if the addition of school their devices, their eyes are adjusting The issue that we should be KLIEWER Staff Writer and Editorials Editor computers causes students to spend too to having that screen close to their face worrying about is the new generation junior much time behind a screen. and this causes additional strain on of kids growing up with smartphones, “I don’t think he In recent years, technology has A study from Common Sense Media their eyes.” tablets, and other internet-enabled should have been become a necessity for education. reported that the average teenager In fact, extended screen time electronic devices and becoming acquitted. There Students watch videos, take tests, spends almost eight hours a day on is linked to nearsightedness as a dependant on them. was so much evi- complete assignments and use sites like their phone, which is approximately recent study by Children Hospital of There is no good reason to have kids dence proving him Google Classroom and Blackboard in a third of their Philadelphia has glued to electronics if it is not for an wrong ,and the fact almost every single class. entire day. That shown that that educational reason. that there were no witnesses only helped his Computers have become such a combined with “When kids strain on people’s It is not fair to put the blame on case.” crucial part of a classroom that it is now computer use eyes over a long school-issued computers when there normal for high school students to have substantially are using period of time are children who spend all their time on ARIS HILL their very own school-issued laptops. raises that devices, slowly wears them the electronic devices that are given to sophomore This gives students a great tool number. down. them by parents. for fi nding the information they need their eyes “I don’t think he Now there is Another aspect Some kids refuse to eat or use the throughout their time in the classroom should still be in no exact amount cannot take to consider is the bathroom without having their eyes and while at home. offi ce anymore. of hours that is effect of screen and hands glued to a phone or tablet. Along with that, technology greatly the strain over long peri- He made a lot of recommended time on the brain. If students truly care about their benefi ts teachers. They can use bad decisions that but the general ods of time.” It is said to health they will reduce the amount hundreds of different sites and online affected many peo- consensus of -Ayesha Malik, have caused a of time they spend on screens doing resources to improve their methods of Pediatric Optometrist ple and should be all medical decrease in literacy unnecessary internet searching and teaching and help keep students more held accountable for his actions.” professionals skills and brain social media use. involved. is the less the processing speed Implementing technology into our Other online tools like grading better. due to its effect on education system has greatly improved software and online assessments can BRENDA This is because it can be detrimental the frontal lobe and subcortical parts of how we learn as students. help teachers save a lot of time that AREVALO to the brain and eye development. the brain. We are in the age where the time can be used for more valuable freshman Ayesha Malik, a pediatric However, all these statistics addiction of cellphone is accepted by learning experiences like working with optometrist at Children’s Hospital in show how bad screen time is, school society even though it can cause serious “I feel like he students who are struggling. It helps Philadelphia, helps people understand computers are not to blame. health risks, so why put the blame on shouldn’t have facilitate teaching by making things more about the possible dangers of long For one, they are used for school-issued laptops? been acquitted more accessible. screen use. educational purposes and are only used because even if he wasn’t for those crimes, he has still been disrespectful to a lot of people. The fact that he did get acquitted doesn’t make him Trump’s acquittal serves as proof of a divided country any better of a person. He’s still a bad person, Another concerning aspect of this in my opinion.” BBYY JJANEANE EELKINSLKINS Senate voting results situation was Trump’s unwillingness Editorials Editor to participate in the proceedings. From Article 1: Abuse of power the beginning, Trump immediately EMMA TLUSTY Feb. 5th, 2020 marks the date attacked the whistleblower who junior where President Donald Trump was 48 voted YES 52 voted NO reported his actions and the Democrats “I’m not sure why offi cially acquitted of both articles of who started the investigation instead he was found inno- impeachment by the Senate. Article 2: Obstruction of Congress of trying to prove his innocence. If the cent on all charges For the fi rst article of impeachment, President had a legitimate reason for when the evidence abuse of power, only 48 senators out the phone call with Ukraine and truly is there, and he lit- of 100 voted for impeachment and as 47 voted YES 52 voted NO had nothing to hide then he should erally admitted to it for the second, obstruction of congress, have refuted the claims with his own without even know- only 47 out of 100 senators voted to reasons and evidence. ing. If the senate allowed witnesses and evi- convict him. In order to remove a To make matters worse, the only dence and held a fair trial, then things would President, at least 66 votes are needed. unless Ukraine provided information The Republicans ignored this Republican who voted to convict have been different.” These results where unsurprising about Hunter Biden, the son of evidence and spun the whole situation Trump is now being blackballed by considering how each Senator, except presidential candidate Joe Biden, who back on the Democrats and the media. the Republican community. This just for Senator Mitt Romney, voted along had previously worked in Ukraine. In fact, Trump and his defense team shows how Trump’s tweets and the party lines. The phone call is an impeachable have only claimed that the phone current posture of the Republican party PHILIP BIRD The articles of impeachment offense because Trump urged the call was harmless and then made the have created a hostile environment junior were brought by the House Judiciary Ukrainian President to look into whole situation seem like some sort that forces Republican senators and “I do not know Committee and were later passed in the family member of a current of bipartisan witchhunt. This only Congressmen to vote along party lines enough about the the House of Representatives, where presidential candidate. Trump even furthered Trump’s agenda of claiming or risk their political futures. entire situation. I do Democrats currently hold a majority. suspended $400 million in military that the Democrats have been out to When violations of basic standards know that Trump’s The House Judiciary Committee aid pending Ukraine’s promise to impeach him ever since he was elected. of democracy are alleged to have taken actions sound very originally started investigating the investigate Joe Biden’s son. This is The Republican Senators and Trump place, politicians must stop voting shady.” issue because of a phone call between a clear example of soliciting foreign supporters chose to ignore the evidence along party lines and start doing what Trump and Ukraine’s president, infl uence in an election, an action that that the President used the power of is best for the country. Volodymyr Zelenskiy where Trump clearly undermines the democratic his offi ce to pressure Ukraine and are said he would withhold military aid process. only focused on dividing America. MAKIN’ THE GRADE Cartoonist Corner DC Defenders shock fans

The new XFL team the DC Defenders has amazed football fans all over the DC area. The XFL is a somewhat new professional football league that just started their inaugural season. The league has 8 teams all over the country and the DC Defenders so far have a winning 2-1 record, which is pretty good start considering the record of the other football team in DC, the Redskins, A constant losing record. Spring season tryouts start up

Winter sports district and regional tournaments are fi nally coming to an end in the next few weeks. With that comes the spring sports season, and more importantly, their green days and tryouts. Spring sports bring soccer, lacrosse, tennis, and outdoor track, which are our most competitive and popular sports A with almost 90 kids trying out for boys soccer last season. Potential coronavirus vaccine is announced

A biotherapeutics pharmaceutical company named Valix has announced a potential vaccine for the coronavirus. The coronavirus has affected thousands all of the world and a vaccine to this awful virus would help millions. The chairman of the company has said that they have isolated and identifi ed a certain strand of the virus that could be a great candidate for an effective B vaccine. Gun girl causes protests at colleges

Kaitlynn Bennet has gone viral all over twitter for being a “conservative media personality” and a “strong believer in the second amendment.” She became well known for her YouTube videos where she goes to college campuses and tries to prove to students on why the right to carry a gun at all times is necessary. When she announced that she would be going to Ohio University to F fi lm a video, hundreds of students showed up in protest of what she stands for. OWEN ERNEST 4 NOTICIAS DESTACADAS Martes, Febrero 25, 2020

Celebrando el Festival de Just World y Heritage Night

Just World es un evento anual organizado por el Just World Inter- act Club aquí en AHS. Pasan todo el año preparándose para este evento que tiene diferente comida y música. Este año ellos organizan su even- to el viernes 6 de marzo de 4-6pm. Su tema de este año es “Sé el cambio que deseas ver en el mundo”. El mismo día, a las 7pm, habrá Heritage Night en la que se mostrarán diferentes culturas a la escuela con ropa cultural, bailes y discursos. Se presentarán países como Bolivia, Etiopía y Vietnam. Estos dos eventos solo se cel- ebra una vez al año y es algo en cual todos deben atender. El evento entero será de las 4 a 9 de la noche. El festival es gratis pero el show tendra boletos de cinco dolares. TWITTER Numero de homicidios femenino sube en Mexico “La Prensa”, después de publicar una cada año y todavía no han dado cuen- a su gobierno por no hacer lo sufi cien- daño y creo que la seguridad es algo de BBYY BBRENDARENDA HHUAMANIUAMANI fotografía de la escena del crimen en su ta de una razón para ello. Los alborota- te, específi camente, a su presidente, que nadie debería preocuparse.” Editora de Noticias portada. dores también han estado culpando Andrés Obrador. La mayoría de veces, la razón detrás Un par de días después de que se Ha habido personas de diferentes de los movimientos es porque la gente Según estadísticas recientes dadas anunció la muerte de Escamilla, Fati- países que comenzaron a compartir está cansado de cómo se está desarrol- por el gobierno mexicano, el número ma, de 7 años, fue reportada como desa- hashtags para seguir difundiendo con- lando su nación. En este ejemplo, vemos de mujeres asesinadas en México se ha parecida. Se había ido con una mujer “Nos dicen ciencia para evitar que ocurran eventos miles de mujeres mundial viniendo aumentado en gran medida a lo largo desconocida el 11 de febrero y fue encon- que llevemos como estos. juntas a protestar sobre cosas como el de los años. Recientemente, la gente se trada muerta un par de días después. cosas para “El otro día estaba en Twitter y vi abuso, desigualdad y juicio con cual suf- ha reunido y comenzó a protestar por la Su asesinato fue tan espantoso, y cuan- ‘Fatima,’ algo de quien todos estaban ren en sus propias comunidades. muerte de Ingrid Escamilla, de 25 años, do el público fue informado, estallaron protejernos hablando en la nación. No sabía a qué “Dicen que tenemos igualdad, pero y Fatima, de 8 años. disturbios en toda la nación. pero creo la se refería hasta que leí varios artículos socialmente no es así,” dijo senior Según CNN, Escamilla fue asesi- Cientos de miles de dólares se ofre- hablando de una niña fue brutalmente Eilleen Ngo-Tran, “Las chicas tienen nada por su pareja, Gustavo Madero, cen a cualquier persona con infor- seguridad es asesinada en México,” dijo senior Chris- que hacer todas estas cosas para prote- después de que afi rmó que Escamillia mación sobre la mujer desconocida y algo de que nadie deberia tine Trieu, “Esto me asustó porque gerse del peligro que ni siquiera debería lo había amenazado y atacado. La apu- la familia de Fátima sigue culpando a incluso en Estados Unidos, como niñas, existir.” ñaló hasta la muerte, la despellejó y le la policía por el incidente. Creen que la preocuparse.” se nos dice que estamos en más peligro En México, la razón por cual a gana- quitó los órganos para esconder cual- policía no hizo todo lo posible para sal- que los chicos. Nos dicen que llevemos do tanta atención es porque el gobierno quier evidencia posible. Los ciudadan- --CHRISTINE TRIEU varla. Asesinatos como estos han estado senior cosas como spray de pimienta y otras no está haciendo nada para ayudar la os se enfurecieron con el periódico local, sucediendo en toda la nación de México cosas que nos protegerían de cualquier situación. Celebrando el Mes de la Historia Afroamericana joven. En su vida, él llegó a estudiar en vidas afroamericanas que han avan- Historia Afroamericana. Algunas per- aprender más sobre el evento antes de BBYY BBRENDARENDA HHUAMANIUAMANI Harvard para obtener un doctorado en zado en la sociedad estadounidense. sonas creen que es una buena cantidad que decidamos ayudar a ejecutarlo en el Editora de Noticias Historia y desde ahí comenzó el proce- Esto incluye cosas como una fotografía de tiempo para celebrar y reconocer a futuro”, dijo Kadijah Janneh, Presiden- so de llamar atención a su comunidad. de Althea Gibson, quien fue la primera todos los afroamericanos y sus logros. te del Black Student Union. El mes de la Historia Afroamerica- La celebración comenzó con sólo una afroamericana en ganar un gran título Otros creen que es demasiado corto También llevarán a cabo otros even- no comenzó hace casi un siglo. Se inició semana, pero con tiempo, ganó tanta en el Campeonato de Francia de Tenis para el reconocimiento después de todo tos como “Chill and Paint” que se cele- sobre la idea principal de que los logros atención y popularidad que se extendió y un leotardo usado por Gabby Douglas, lo que tuvieron que sacrifi car y vivir. brará a principios de marzo. “También de los afroamericanos no se apreciaron a todo el mes de febrero. Este año será una gimnasta afroamericana muy exi- AHS organiza el Black History Bowl vamos a tener días en los que todos los cómo deberían ser. celebrado un día extra debido al año tosa. durante la clase W4 en el mes de febre- miembros del club llevan atuendos que Es una celebración anual que se bisiesto. Otras personas que contribuyeron ro, pero este mes aún no se ha anuncia- representan la cultura afroamericana, celebra durante todo el mes de febre- Este evento se inició en los Estados en gran medida a los avances dentro de do. Consiste en un grupo de 5 estudi- como los dashikis y otras modas asocia- ro. Este año se celebrará del 1 al 29 Unidos, pero también ha sido recono- la comunidad afroamericana son perso- antes de cada grado. Memorizan varios das con la cultura afroamericana”, con- de febrero. Según varias fuentes, este cido en países como Canadá y recién nas como el Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. datos de un paquete que se relacionan tinuó Janneh. mes fue elegido específi camente debi- ha comenzado a llegar al Reino Unido, y Rosa Parks. con la historia afroamericana y dicen AHS no tiene ninguna celebración do a los cumpleaños de Abraham Lin- entre otros países. Dr. King dedicó su vida al avance las respuestas cuando se hacen las pre- para eventos como este, pero los estudi- coln y Frederick Douglass, dos hombres Este mes se celebra de diferentes del Movimiento por los Derechos Civi- guntas. El grupo que responde con la antes tratan lo mejor que puedan para quienes fueron celebrados por la comu- maneras. En Washington D.C., hay les. Promovió su método de no violen- respuesta correcta primera obtiene el representar sus culturas. Otro ejemp- nidad afroamericana por varios años . recorridos, conferencias y muchos otros cia y desobediencia civil y con él tuvo punto. lo de esto es Heritage Night en donde El comienzo del mes de la Historia eventos. También está el recién inaugu- mucho éxito. A día de hoy, su discur- Este año, el Black Student Union varios estudiantes saldrán en grupos Afroamericano está acreditada a Carter rado Museo Nacional de Historia y Cul- so “I Have a Dream” es uno de los más espera ayudar con los preparativos. para representar sus culturas. G. Woodson, quien quería que su gente tura Afroamericana que abrió en sep- famosos debido al Movimiento por los “El Black History Bowl siempre es tuviera una voz en el país después de tiembre de 2016. Derechos Civiles y la historia general. organizado por National Social Stud- ser silenciada durante tanto tiempo. Este museo tiene varias exhibicio- Hay dos lados diferentes en la ies Honor Society, pero nuestros spon- El nació de padres que habían sido nes destinadas a enseñar sobre las forma en que se celebra el Mes de la sors son nuevos a Annandale, y quieren esclavos y trabajó desde una edad bien

¿ Crees que un mes es sufi ciente? Humanos de Annandale

Señora Herman Profesora de Ingles

¿Por qué enseñas ingles? Obviamente, la mayoría de las perso- YEABSERA SHAWNTAE DAWUD BUNDU JASON REYES ELIZABETH DULA KALUNGA NSEKA nas se convierten en profesores de inglés ABABU JACKSON junior senior senior senior porque les encanta leer y quieren compar- freshman sophomore tir ese amor con los demás, específi camente No, porque no creo que No creo que es sufi - No porque sólo tener Sí. La razón por la que Creo que si es sufi ci- Sí, es sufi ciente tiempo la historia de alguien un mes hace que parez- creo esto es porque con los jóvenes. Esto es muy cierto para mí. ciente porque la his- Sin embargo, también elegí enseñar inglés ente porque muestra porque es un gran mes deba estar confi na- toria afroamericana ca que sólo un mes es la tierra ha existido todas las cosas que los para que afroameri- da a un mes. Deberían sufi ciente para celebrar durante mucho tiempo debido a mi carrera anterior como publicista. En esa carrera, me encarga- es demasiado amplia ron escribir una variedad de materiales de prensa y marketing para mis cli- afroamericanos han canos como yo poda- ser los doce meses como para limitarla a el logro de la historia entonces hay muchos logrado a lo largo de mos darnos cuenta de del año. afroamericana y es algo eventos importantes entes, incluyendo comunicados de prensa, entradas de blog, artículos for- un mes. También creo rados, publicaciones en redes sociales, etc. Rápidamente descubrí que los que han sido tratados lo lejos que hemos lle- que las compañías se que debe celebrarse que han sucedido. Por tan mal y cosas asi por gado a través de la his- durante todo el tiem- eso yo diría que un mes tipos de escritura que mis maestros me pedían que escribiera en la escuela aprovecha de la comu- secundaria no se alineaba con la escritura que se me pidió que hiciera en el respecto. toria nidad durante este po y no debe reservarse está bien. durante un solo mes. mi carrera. Cuando me di cuenta de que quería ser profesora, elegí inglés tiempo. porque quería ayudar a los jóvenes a aprender a escribir de maneras diver- sas (es decir, no sólo ensayos) para prepararlos mejor para el lugar de tra- bajo.

¿Quién es tu inspiración (s)? Bajo cuarentena federal por el virus Hay tanta gente que me inspira que no podría elegir sólo uno! Hoy en día, tenemos la suerte de tener muchos ejemplos de mujeres fuertes que usan su voz para abogar por lo que es correcto, en lugar de aceptar pasiva- BBYY BBRENDARENDA HHUAMANIUAMANI mente lo que es fácil o lo que siempre se ha hecho. Esta gente me inspira. Editora de Noticias Sin embargo, cuando veo a un estudiante trabajar tan duro en algo y fi nal- mente “conseguirlo”, o llegar a una idea increíblemente creativa o una inter- En semanas recientes, varios se han pretación lista para usar de algo que estamos leyendo, me inspira trabajar estado enfermando y el epidémico que más duro y ser mejor como maestro. empezó en Wuhan, China tiene a algu- nos preocupados que su gripe anual sea ¿Cuál es tu parte favorita de venir a la escuela todos los días? algo más grave. Me gusta que cada día es diferente, en términos de lo que estoy enseñan- Esta enfermedad se llama coro- do y lo que obtengo de mis estudiantes. A veces esto puede ser estresante, navirus y es más común en animales pero el cambio constante hace que mi trabajo sea más interesante. como perros y gatos. Lo que muchos no entienden es que hay varias variedades ¿Estás orgullosa de la diversidad en Annandale High School? de este virus. Por supuesto! Elegí trabajar en Annandale, a diferencia de otras escuelas El que está pasando de persona secundarias de FCPS, porque quería enseñar a estudiantes que venían de a persona es una nueva variedad del una variedad de orígenes diferentes, muchos de los cuales eran diferentes de virus y los médicos todavía no entien- los míos. Estoy orgullosa de que, debido a la diversidad de Annandale, estoy den de dónde empezó ni el efecto que va CDC.GOV constantemente aprendiendo de las experiencias e historias de mis estudi- tener ahorita y en el futuro. Es probable países es que han estado poniendo a la de cuarentena en bases militares por antes. Mis alumnos me dan la oportunidad de crecer y aprender con ellos, y que vino de un animal, pero ahora que gente debajo de cuarentena. un periodo de catorce días o hasta que de desafi ar mi propio privilegio. se está pasando entre persona, es algo En Japón, un gran crucero con más todos salgan negativo con el virus. más grave. de tres mil personas fue puesto debajo Una cuarentena federal no ha ocur- El virus puede causar síntomas de cuarentena por varios días. Es uno rido en los Estados Unidos hace más de como la fi ebre y problemas respira- de cuatro cruceros que fue puesto deba- cincuenta años. La última vez que pasó Why is this page translated in Spanish? torios, síntomas igual a la gripe que jo de cuarentena pero el único que ha fue por la epidemia de la viruela. Ahora le pasa a la mayoría en el invierno o tenido casos del virus en donde también que esta pasando otra vez, esta causan- también puede tener ningún efecto. El hay norteamericanos. do caos entre la gente. This section was created with the intention of expanding our reach as a número de las muertes que ha causado Los otro cruceros que no han tenido La vida de los que están debajo de publication towards the growing population of Spanish-speaking students. As este virus no puede comparar al núme- casos confi rmados no han tenido acceso cuarentena no es ideal. La mayoría son one of the most diverse schools in Fairfax County, Spanish has become the ro de víctimas que ha tenido la gripe. a ningún puerto por miedo y por segur- encerrados en cuartos para prevenir second most spoken language at our school, accompanied with an extensive Este virus ya ha pasado la frontera idad. Las personas en estas situaciones que estén en contacto con otra gente. ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) program. de varios países, incluyendo la de los se tienen que quedar en el crucero por En este tiempo, el Centro para el The goal of The A-Blast is to inform and entertain the largest possible Estados Unidos. Según CNN, más de varios dias hasta que digan que es segu- Control y la Prevención de Enferme- group of readers. Las Noticias Destacadas is a collection of articles of relevant mil personas han muerto por el virus, ro que salgan de ahi. dades, ha estado distribuyendo toda la news affecting the hispanic community, written in Spanish. We hope that this la mayoría en China, y ha habido más Los que vienen en aviones de Wuhan información que sabe y está tratando de section will allow the A-Blast to be a more inclusive and diverse newspaper. de cuarenta y cinco mil casos mundial. o lugares cerca a Wuhan a los Esta- prevenir la contaminación a otra gente Ahora lo que están haciendo varios dos Unidos, han estado puesto debajo Tues. Feb 25, 2020 NEWS 5 News Briefs Band Pyramid Concert The Band department will be hosting a concert featuring players from the schools that feed into Ananndale on Wed. Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium.

Chorus’ “Considering Matthew Shepard” Concert The chorus department will be holding a concert honoring Matthew Shepard, the victim of an anti-gay hate crime, on Thurs. Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. in the auditorium.

Basketball Regional Championships Both Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball teams will be playing their championship games at Fairfax PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SUAD MOHAMED SUAD BY ILLUSTRATION PHOTO HS on Sat. Feb. 29 at 6 and 7 p.m, A lot of students have been calling for the opportunity to take mental health days so they can miss school, which can make them feel even more overwhelmed. respectively.

Indoor Track State Should students take mental health days? Championshi[s The Indoor Track team will have Counties in Oregon and Utah start- like depression and anxiety. Some who do not totally agree with BBYY SSUADUAD MMOHAMEDOHAMED their state championships on Sat. ed implementation of these laws, while “If someone were to break their leg allowing mental health days argue that Feb. 29 in Hampton, VA at 9 a.m. Co-Editor in Chief states like California and Florida are or start vomiting, no one would force some students may take advantage of still working on these legislations. them to go to school,” senior Safi a this opportunity in a negative manner. According to the Centers for Dis- In Virginia, Montgomery Coun- Ahmed said. “So I don’t understand Specifi cally, they claim that there Super Tuesday ease Control, mental health issues ty, which includes Blacksburg, lobbied why people who are suffering through may be students who use mental Virginia, along with other states, have been increasing more and more their local school board to allow them to something like anxiety are not being health days to just slack off and skip will be holding the presidential every year amongst young people. take mental health days as well. given the same leniency and time to class. primaries on Tue. March 3. There As reported in 2018, 7.1 percent of The vote went through and now stu- recover.” To resolve this, some say that this will be no school on this day. school aged children have been diag- dents have the opportunity to take days This argument is valid especially freedom should be limited. Some say nosed with anxiety, while 3.2 percent off when they and their parents feel like when it is considered that most of the to a certain age group, and some say it Just World Festival have been diagnosed with depression. they are mentally unwell. time, the root cause that makes young should only be permitted if a student In 2019, another CDC report noted The Just World club will be hosting The number of absences allowed students feel so overwhelmed is school has a doctor’s note. its annual Just World Festival that 70 percent of teenagers see symp- range from one day per semester to an itself. “I think that if mental health days toms of both illnesses in their peers on Fri. March 6 from 4 to 6 p.m.. unlimited number. FCPS offers one Students have hours of homework were to exist, they should only be for Admittance is free. and themselves, too. mental health day per year. at a time and could possibly be facing high schoolers,” senior Anoosh Tauq- These rates are the highest they The basis behind these rulings and bullying. ir said. “I don’t want to say that young- have ever been since the CDC began opinions is that there should be no stig- Adding these stressors to those that er students don’t deal with issues, but Heritage Night recording these statistics. ma around mental health issues, which come from things like diffi culties at they sometimes confl ate things, and Leadership will be hosting its It is predicted that the numbers are should be treated the same as physical home only worsens a student’s men- need to use that time to fi gure out how annual Heritage Night right after even higher for children who have not illnesses. tal state. to deal with issues.” the Just World Festival at 7 p.m. on been diagnosed yet. Using this logic, proponents of these “Going to school and having to deal Regardless of the differing opinions Fri. March 6. Food will be served to In order to tackle this issue, many changes argue that if students are able with more pressures will just make on the topic, it should be something attendees from 6 to 7 p.m. Tickets districts around the country have to take a sick day for something like things worse,” Ahmed said. that is discussed within all school dis- will cost $5. begun allowing students to take days the fl u, then they should have the same However, several concerns can be tricts to determine its value and how it off of school in order to deal with their opportunity if they are battling things raised regarding these legislations. could help or hurt students. mental health. Conservative policies dismantled by Democratic majority CONT. Page 1 Although the bill might overshadow energy effi ciency. to offer these services, it would benefi t Democrats, it was clear that the others that were either passed or set in The massive fl ow of bills will also girls who are a part of low income fami- political spectrum was leaning left in motion in the second week of February, affect school communities like ours at lies who can’t afford the products them- Virginia. aspects of the bill, it still faces some dis- the others still follow the trend of liber- AHS, as a bill for schools to provide selves,” senior Dani Villaroel said. However, without action, it was agreement from those like Delegate al ideals. menstrual products was approved in In addition to their access in schools, unsure whether the liberal agenda Dave LaRock who claim that the bill Bills to impose new restrictions the Senate. the tax on menstrual products has been would succeed in the state. infringes on religious freedom. on fi rearm access including universal The parameters of the bill require totally eliminated with another new bill. With the amount of historic bills “There are many people in this com- background checks and a red fl ag law free menstrual products in all public “I think it’s a good idea because the and sheer amount of bills that have monwealth who would say that their also headlined the action earlier this school bathrooms. way that we [females] have to pay for been passed or are in the works, it is religious convictions are part of who month. The bill applies to 5th through 12th our own products is unfair because it’s clear that Virginia has turned into a they are,” LaRock said. Another bill moving forward was the graders which, according to the Virginia just a part of our life,” senior Guinevieve solid blue state. Regardless of disagreement from the Virginia Clean Economy Act which has Department of Education, includes 132 Tran said. “I think the products should opposing political party, the LGBTQ the goal of eliminating electric power school districts and almost over 630,000 be completely free.” nondiscrimation bill has made histo- sector carbon emissions and promot- female students. With both the House of Dele- ry, furthering a liberal resurgence in ing distributed renewable energy and “I think that if schools are going gates and the Senate controlled by the the state. 6 ACADEMICS Tues. Feb. 25, 2020 Are plagiarism checkers worth the hassle? deterring students from taking the BBYY NATHANNATHAN FERSONFERSON work of others. Academics Editor In recent years, Turnitin has become the most widely used of all You’ve seen it before. Last night the plagiarism checking programs. was the night everyone crammed in Universities and high schools all all their work for the big project. around America and even interna- You overheard some students talk- tionally use the program, but it is not ing about sharing work, but you decid- without controversy. ed to stay away from it. A few min- Many students (mainly in Amer- utes into class, the teacher calls some ica) have accused Turnitin and pro- students out into the hallway. They’ve grams like it of burdening them with been caught plagiarizing. a “presumption of guilt” due to the Although this isn’t a common fact that they have to submit their occurrence for most students, peer- work regardless of whether or not to-peer plagiarism along with other they’re suspected of plagiarism. forms of plagiarism are a real problem Other students have accused Tur- in schools today. nitin of using student’s submitted Plagiarism comes from the Latin work for commercial purposes, as word “plagiarius” meaning thief or Turnitin keeps every piece of sub- burglar. Copyright laws that protect mitted work stored in their perma- against plagiarism have not existed nent database. In 2006, Mount Saint for most of human history, with the Vincent University banned Turni- fi rst primitive sets of laws coming to tin amid controversy that the govern- fruition in the early 1700s in Europe. ment could access papers turned into FERSON NATHAN BY CHAREST OF RYAN ILLUSTRATION PHOTO These laws were mostly in regard the program. Although Turnitin is the most plagiarized. though, as many students believe to things that involved large sums of Some teachers at Annandale fi nd popular plagiarism checker, Annan- However, this number is not accu- that SafeAssign is an inaccurate money, tending to be more ambiguous plagiarism checkers to be quite use- dale uses programs like SafeAssign rate due to student’s quoting of sourc- assessment of a student’s level of pla- with creative protection. ful. and the built-in Google classroom ing throughout the paper. giarism, as a mathematical equation In the modern era, plagiarism is “I mainly use SafeAssign for my checker to check for plagiarism. Safe- “I feel like SafeAssign is used cannot determine whether or not a highly regulated in schools and the early level students and it helps me Assign requires students to submit mainly for student’s to check them- student intended to plagiarize. workplace. It is an offense punishable root out essays that have too much their essay to a checker that takes selves rather than for teachers to Regardless of opinion, the use by law but is usually dealt with extra- copy and paste material or are fully several hours to scan the document. punish students,” senior Alieu Kama- of Plagiarism checkers is likely to judicially in schools. plagiarized,” Digital Arts teacher The checker then gives the student a ra said. increase in the coming years. Some businesses have even Carmen Lucas said. percentage of their document that’s SafeAssign is not without critics been created for the sole purpose of Mutiny on the Bounty Librarians recommend books Recommended by: Ms. Brown Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1932 historical dramati- zation novel written by Charles Nordhoff and James Veteran librarians Pat Brown and Jane Norman Hall. The novel follows the true story of the Scharankov have transferred their love for mutiny against Lieutenant William Bligh, the com- reading into an engaging and fulfi lling career. mander of the Royal Navy vessel, the Bounty. Bligh’s vessel sets out in 1787 to deliver fruit from Tahiti, In this issue, they give their picks for some of but suffers a mutiny by the crew who are displeased the top books that they would recommend to with Bligh’s aggressvie and unfair leadership. “This is a swashbuckling, well written novel, which is why Annandale students along with some of their it is one of my all time favorites,” said Brown. Mutiny favorite books currently and of all time. on the Bounty is available to rent at the library or on Amazon for $15.54. Lab Girl King Hereafter Recommended by: Ms. Brown Recommended by: Ms. Scharankov and Ms. Scharankov King Hereafter is a 1976 historical fi ction novel Lab Girl is a 2016 memoir written by written by Dorothy Dunnet. The novel follows the geochemist and geobiologist Hope Jahren. story of a young Macbeth, a Scottish earl in the 9th Jahren’s memoir is separated into three century who’s taste for intrigue preceeds his situation. parts: one details her younger years, the MacBeth starts off with a small amount of land as a second is the account of the beginning of young boy, then transforms into a warrior that boasts her science career, and the third an fi nal his own empire as he grows older. “This is a very dif- section is dedicated to the advancement of fi cult read, so I wouldn’t reccomend it to everyone, her science career up to present day. The but it’s fi lled with rich Scottish/English history and is chapters alternate topics, with one chapter very well written,” Scharankov said. King Hereafter is being about the life of Jahren and the other available on Amazon for $16.40. being about her research in the biologi- cal fi eld. The book is mainly about the life Children of Blood and Bone and research of Jahren, but has undertones of perserverance despite mental illness Recommended by: Ms. Brown and mysoginy in the science fi eld. “This Children of Blood and Bone is a 2018 fanta- book is great for girls with an interest in the sciences, but it can also be a sy novel written by the young African American great read for people who are on the spectrum, as it demonstrates that you author Tomi Adeyemi. The novel follows Zélie can still live your life to the fullest regardless of your negative thoughts,” Adebola, a young girl who seeks to restore magic Scharankov said. Jahren, who has autism, has excelled in the scientifi c to her her once great kingdom of Orïsha, which fi eld, opening labs and winning multiple geoscience awards. “I like Lab Girl is now oppressed by the starkly anti-magic rul- because it has a strong female main character and shows a woman suc- ing class. “I love this book because it has a strong ceeding in a fi eld that they are underrepresented in,” Brown said. Lab Girl female lead, takes inspiration from West Afri- is available for check out at the library or to be purchased on Amazon for can culture, and picks up very fast,” says Brown. $8.54. Children of Blood and Bone is available to rent at the library or to buy on Amazon for $10.43.

Senior Elizabeth Dula powers through IB SUDOKU

BBYY NNATHANATHAN FFERSONERSON Academics Editor

Q: What clubs are you in? A: I’m in French Honors society, National honors Society, Math honors Society, Science Honors society, and atoms writing center.

Q: What is your favorite IB subject? A: My favorite subject is IB Biology.

Q: What made you decide to do the IB diploma? A: It seemed like an interesting program and I wanted to challenge myself because colleges always recommend taking the most advanced coursework available, and the IB diploma has a reputation for being very rigorous. Q: What skills do you IB Spotlight: think the IB program has taught you that can Profi les of help you later in life? Diploma A: How to handle multiple things at once. The amount Candidates of times I’ve had tests in every single class, or projects due back to back across multiple classes taught me the importance of planning out my week ahead of time and focusing on knocking out the easier homework fi rst so I have time for the bigger things. ELIZABETH DULA Dula, in her fi nal year of IB candidacy, continues to excel in her rigorous set of IB classes while Q: What is your extended essay topic? balancing them with multiple honors societies A: I analysed the 1996 Tokyo Sarin Gas Attacks and other after school activities. and the 2001 Anthrax attacks and the effect they had on policies concerning public health and Q: Where do you see yourself in ten years? Safety. A: In ten years, I hope to be working a job that I have a passion for while leaving room for travel Q: What lasting impact do you want to leave and leisure. on this school? A: I want to leave behind the idea that you should Q: What advice do you have for future IB encourage students to be supportive of their candidates? friends. if they have a game, concert, performance A: My advice to future IB candidates is to invest SOLUTION: etc, show up and support them. If they start a in a good planner, either physical or online, and new club, spread the word, go to meetings to help put in all your assignments and activities so them. you know what your week is going to look like. This lets you know if you need to fi nish all your Q: What colleges have you applied to/plan to hw earlier so you can work on a project or study LEVEL: EASY apply to? for a test or if you have a day with a lighter A: I’ve applied to George Mason University, workload so you have time to do something else. University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth SET NUMBER: 26 University, George Washington University, Boston University, and Virginia tech Tues. Feb. 25, 2020 HEALTH 7 DANIEL VO Junior Idrissa Kargbo used to wear a medical mask as protection from possibly contracting the Coronavirus. He stopped soon after because people thought he had the virus. Should students fear the Coronavirus? What is known is that the Coronavirus, like Coronavirus had already spread to the United they can take some of the worry away from some BBYY JJAMILEHAMILEH HHAMADEHAMADEH many other viruses, spreads through close contact States,” junior Idrissa Kargbo said “I used it to of the people who are truly concerned.” Health editor and also “via respiratory droplets produced when protect myself, but instead people thought that Many social media users on popular platforms an infected person coughs or sneezes,” according I had already been infected with the virus, so I like Instagram and TikTok have been posting The Coronavirus has spread drastically in a to the Centers for Disease Control. stopped wearing it.” viral memes and videos about the Coronavirus. short period of time, infecting over 75,000 people FCPS has been monitoring and being very This fear can be seen in other students as well. “When people make fun of the Coronavirus since the outbreak started in December. cautious about the situation to ensure the health “I’m afraid of the virus because it has caused itself, it is not really a big deal, but once they start The virus was fi rst detected in a market many deaths. I would not want it spreading to my bringing race into it, that’s where it gets really located in Wuhan, China. Wild animals like birds, family or friends,” sophomore Hana Wasuge said. rude,” Granadoz and her friend, junior Miriam snakes and bats were being illegally sold and Esquivel said. traded to thousands of civilians in China. “I am not too Many people have responded to these viral Health offi cials say that the virus was Most affected countries: videos begging them to stop posting. transmitted from animal to human when the concerned This does not limit the fear though. trading and buying took place at the market. The about the • China: 74, 251 “I am scared of the virus because after seeing Coronavirus is typical among animals much like videos on Twitter of people who have been the ones that were being sold, which is part of Coronavirus • Singapore: 81 infected, it really came to my attention that this is why tens of thousands are infected today. because serious,” Esquivel said. Although students should be extremely • Japan: 74 Although the student who was being tested concerned of the virus infecting them, some we have • Thailand: 35 from George Mason University has been cleared worry about their families in the affected not seen from having the virus, there are still a couple countries. Sophomore Anh Nguyen has a lot anything in our area so • South Korea: 31 pending results in our area. of family who live in Vietnam, which is one of “Hearing about the student from George the countries that have been infected by the far. Still, some students • United States: 29 Mason University really worried me because it is Coronavirus. His uncles and aunts say they have concerns regarding so close to us, even though it was not actually a are afraid of the virus possibly infecting his the virus.” • Taiwan: 23 case,” Esquivel said. grandparents since it is more endemic among According to DChealth.gov, there were fi ve elderly people. --AMY WEIK • Malaysia: 22 people being closely monitored for the virus in the School Health Aide “My aunts have told me that in Vietnam there area. is no one out and about in the streets like usual,” • Germany & Vietnam: 16

As of 2/19/20 WASHINGTONPOST.COM Four people have come back negative and one Nguyen said. “Usually, it is super busy outside, result is still pending. but now people are staying inside and avoiding and safety of the community. However, that does While this is not a deep concern for students going to markets or anywhere outside in public.” not stop the fear of some students. The symptoms of the Coronavirus are much in FCPS, it still worries several students and staff Nguyen has been keeping in touch with his “We have had some students come into the like those of the common cold. The most common since this is a spreading epidemic. family over in Vietnam to ensure that they are clinic having some concerns and questions about symptoms to be recorded are fever, cough and Here at AHS we have a 24 hour rule, which safe. the Coronavirus,” School Health Aide Amy Weik shortness of breath. essentially states that if you have a fever or have The virus has now spread to over 25 countries said. “They come in with a fever or cold symptoms Since the Coronavirus has already reached the been vomiting, you are not permitted to attend like the United States, Canada, Germany and wondering if they have the virus.” United States, it has now become a new health school for the next 24 hours. more, and has infected thousands in China alone Walking in the hallway, students have been precaution for many people, while others simply “If the case is a fever, you must be fever free with a climbing death rate. spotted wearing medical masks, much like the brush off the entire situation with no concerns. with no medication,” Weik said. Not much is known about how the new way people are doing in China to help prevent the “Personally, I am not too worried about the The 24 hour rule is a very effective way to Coronavirus spreads, however medical experts virus. virus,” junior Evelyn Granadoz said “I feel like prevent the spread of any colds or viruses and are providing information based on what they “I wore a mask because I heard the people make the jokes that they make so that should be used by everyone. know from past Coronavirus strains. Five ways to steer clear of a spreading virus Digital body Cold medicine Hand sanitizer thermometer Hand sanitizer is an easy and When you feel Once you begin to feel a like you are effective way cold coming on to to keep your coming down with you, it is important a sickness, be hands clean to take immediate and eliminate sure to check your action. There are body temperature germs. This is many cold and fl u a cheap and to ensure that you medicines as well are not catching helpful item as other medicines to keep with a fever. Your that can help prevent average body you and works your cold from becoming especially well temperature progressively worse. should measure in schools and around 98.6 degrees work places. It is important that Fahrenheit. you wash your hands with soap and water, but hand sanitizer is a great alternative. Vaccines Keeping up with your vaccines is a very important Disinfecting wipes thing to do Wiping down your annually. Most of work space and them will prevent your phone can you from catching eliminate germs any sicknesses almost completely. and keep your Your belongings carry immune system bacteria throughout strong enough the day, making them to fi ght away some of the dirtiest any virus. The things that you touch fl u shot is highly in a day. Your phone recommended during fl u season. carries all types of bacteria. too soon.” bitter sweet becauseIlove playing withtheguys butit’sending ship andtoseehow we grew fromlastyear,” McGraw said.“It’s foradistrictchampion- tice. “I’mlookingforward tocompeting duringabaseballprac- McGraw preparestopitch Senior Carter grade tocomeoutwatch usplay.” said. “Iwant my familytocomeoutandsomepeoplefromour soit’sgoingtobefun,”Hernandez good teamsthisschedule, teammates duringasoccerGreenDay. “We’re playing some Senior Walter Hernandezpassesaballaroundwithfellow 8 PHOTO 8 PHOTO

PHOTOS BY DANIEL VO coaches andplayingcoaches withmy teammatesthemost,”Keyes said. “I’llmissthe has played allthroughouthighschool. thesport Senior Lindsey Keyes beforesoccerpractice.Keyes streches mates.” not misstheexperience, andshredupthefi son,” Kimsaid.“Beingmy lastseason,Iplantogoreallyhard, is lookinggreatandwe’re seeingapositive wintolosssea- good, thoughourdefense hasmorework todo.Ourschedule a boys lacrosseGreenDay. seasonislookingreally “This LEFT: SeniorJaeSungKimpractices shootinggoalsduring made.” this ismy lastseason,butI’mhappy aboutallthefriendsI whatwe didlastyear,”off Hermannsaid.“I’mreallysadthat one seniorsoit’sgoingtobethesameteamandwe canbuild practice. “Ithinkthisseasonwillbeprettygood.We onlylost HermannpreparestoreceiveSenior Umi aballduringlacrosse a teamthisseason,”Kimsaid.“We had6-10 recordlastseasonandIhopewe canbringhomemorewinsthistimearound.” Senior MaddyKimpracticeshershootingskillsduringasoccer warm-up. “I’mexcited forthenew memoriesthatwe aregoingto Spring Sprinting into eld withmy team- school sports school season ofhigh prepare fortheirlast Class of2020athletes every year.” because we played competitively themvery lastyear like we do Harrison said.“Ontopofthat,I’mreallyexcited toplay T.C. Williams excited forthisseason,especiallythenew fi practice.“I’m Senior AllaunaHarrisongetsuptobatduringsoftball “I have afeeling thatI’lldomy bestgiven it’smy lastyear playing.” isgoingtobeagoodseason,”Luu said. girls lacrossepractice.“This Senior VyLuu prepares topasstheballanotherteammateduringa Tues. Feb. 25,2020 eld, with it being last,” eld, withitbeinglast,” make as make as Tues. Feb. 25, 2020 ARTS 9

Senior Jack Dalrymple as he leads the Sister Act cast in their dance routine. ATC hard at work for the spring musical

BBYY MARAMMARAM IBRAHIMIBRAHIM Staff Writer

The Annandale Theatre Compa- ny has been hard at work for the 2020 Spring musical, Sister Act, since Feb. 3. ALL PHOTOS BY MIA ANTEZANA BY ALL PHOTOS “All of our rehearsals have been pro- Junior viola player Freddy Henriquez-Pinzon and sophomore viola player Matthew Kim practicing Waltz No. II by Dimitri Shostakovich, Arr. By Paul Lavender, before per- ductive,” musical director and theater foming on stage. “I like Waltz No. II because it’s a very technical piece and it’s fun to play,” Henriquez-Pinzon said. teacher Katie Brunberg said. “We have a really great cast, and I know this show is going to be fabulous.” Orchestra prepares for assessment Brunberg is excited to display the talent of the school and called it simply “We hold four concerts every year,” One last thing the orchestra does to are going to focus on little details,” “extraordinary.” BBYY EERNESTRNEST OOWENWEN “This show is sure to be a blast,” she Staff Writer Marian said. “The purpose of our con- prepare itself is listening to videos of she said. “Things that will make the certs is to have a real-life goal for the stu- other orchestra’s play the same pieces music really come to life.” said. “The music is, as the kids say, ‘a whole bop.’” The orchestra held their pre-assess- dents to look towards as well as to serve and ass them. With assessment coming up in our school and community, by providing The orchestra then proceeds to grade three weeks, Marian feels very con- According to Brunberg, there is ment concert on Thursday, Feb. 21, to incredible enthusiasm and dedication to prepare for their annual assessment con- music for our community. But specifi cal- them by using the VBODA grade sheet, fi dent in the orchestra and strong- ly, assessment is unique in that in addi- the same rubric the judges use during ly believes they are in good shape for the musical. cert taking place on March 13-14. “People are coming in having done Something that is unique about the tion to a concert, we are also going to be assessment. assessment. judged.” The orchestra also uses this tech- She has praised the orchestra for work on their characters, which makes pre-assessment concert is that, with the rehearsals much more fun,” she said. exclusion of the masquerade concert, Another way the orchestra pre- nique to grade themselves by recording their hard work on preparing for the pares is by having and listening to pre-assessment concert. “The more work the actors do ahead of middle schoolers are invited to perform time, the more discoveries we are able alongside them. warm-ups related their own perfor- Now she intends to focus on the to the music that “There is mances. musicality of their pieces and taking to make in the rehearsal room. We still “Having the middle schoolers join have a lot of work to do, but I am confi - us is a big deal for them, especial- is being played always some- “Music is an their artistry to the next level with and bringing in ongoing art,” the time left. dent we will get it done.” ly,” Orchestra conductor Larissa Mari- The students also agree with this an said. “They get to perform in a high sectional coach- thing to Marian said, “[I Orchestra students are also es for each instru- am such a big ready to get everything perfected for statement. school stage, interact a little bit with improve on, “We have accomplished a lot dur- high school students, get to see the set- ment that will advocate and sup- assessment. allow the players and that is porter for the Junior and Philharmonic violin- ing the past few days,” student chore- ting and they get to know our environ- ographer for the musical Miguel Oroz- ment a little bit better. to have a better the exciting orchestra because ist Jason Escobar agreed that the understanding of it unifi es the left orchestra now needs to focus on the co said. “These students put their best Marian said that it kind of brings thing about music.” into this show. I can’t wait for everyone home to them that “oh, this is what I am their music. and right side of little details of the music to be ready “Around this the brain, and for assessment. to see it.” going to be doing next year.” --LARISSA MARIAN The spring musical will have its red That isn’t the only thing that makes time, students Orchestra conductor it addresses the Individually, he is planning have experienced whole person.” to focus on his intonation and his carpet premiere on Wed. April 22 at 7 this concert unique, however, as the pre- p.m. while the rest of the show will run assessment concert also serves as a sim- growth,” she said. Marian rhythm, hoping to perfect in the “They’ve been believes that no next couple of weeks. on Fri. May 1 and Sat. May 2 at 7 p.m, ulation of sorts. and Sun. May 3 at 3 p.m. Marian invites teachers from differ- playing for a while during the school matter the person, there is always room This is one of many examples of year and they’ve been practicing, so real for improvement. orchestra students doing their part Any questions should be directed to ent schools within the county to serve as Brunberg’s room. mock judges and provide feedback that growth starts to happen.” The orchestra has been focusing on to make the program better. will help the orchestra better prepare for Marian believes this is the right time things such as tempo, pulse, rhythm and “I am feeling pretty good about assessment. to bring in guest artists to work with the intonation. this concert and about assessment,” students in a small group setting. “Coming back from this concert, we Marian said. Students audition for the pit

BBYY IINSAFNSAF BBOUZANAOUZANA Staff Writer Most people believe that to be in the musical they D’yontae Jackson, 10 David Miller, 10 Savannah Jones, 11 Ilson Guevera, 12 Janine Impat, 12 must be able to sing or dance. Bari Saxophone Tenor Saxophone Violin There is a third option, however, and that is by joining Violin Clarinet the Orchestra/Band Pit. It is taking a different direction “I am auditioning to “I am auditioning because “I want to audition because “I’m auditioning for pit “I want to audition for the this year by making students audition to perform. I enjoyed it last year, and I because I’ve done it for pit because it’s a great “We wanted to give the students a chance to prepare become a better play- it is a great experience to ahead of time and we wanted to make sure we had the er. I want to get better at make music alongside peo- like playing outside of our the past two years and opportunity for me to best players we could for each part,” band and pit director orchestra with the other have enjoyed it immense- expand on my musical Joseph Witkowski said. my instrument because ple that are acting and to The auditions were held on Feb. 21, and students were after high school, I plan improve in music. I think, instruments. It’s a different ly. If I make it in, I think skills. I think being in pit also required to fi ll out a Google form to audition, which on becoming a profession- by doing the pit, I will have experience. I really hope to I’ll be able to continue to will help me be able to play just asked about availability and what instrument was being played. al saxophonist. I’ve never a lot more knowledge of my get experience from playing expand my horizons and it with other instruments and For the actual audition they were required to perform done the pit before, but I’ve instrument and the sound with other people and prac- will help be able to have an how to phrase very well on four excerpts from the musical and a scale of Witkowski’s choosing. heard from others that it is around me when I am play- ticing with my friends.” idea on how to make future the violin. Witkowski looked for great musicianship along with a good way to improve.” ing.” pieces I’d like to compose.” accuracy for each individual player.

Artist Spotlight: Senior violinist Jocelyn Blas Why did you choose the violin? I wanted to play it freshman year but they said it was full, so I did it sophomore year. I wanted to play in the orchestra because both of my siblings played orchestra and my brother did band in high school.

How has your experience in orchestra been? It’s actually been really fun. We make a lot of great memories together and [Marian] is a great teacher.

How do you feel you have improved since sophomore year? I think I improved a lot. I was a shy girl, but I have become more confi dent by playing.

Do you plan to continue on with music after ABOVE: Blas, along with senior violinist Leena Jahed, tunes her instru- you leave high school? ment before going on-stage for after school rehearsals. BELOW: Blas I feel like I might continue it as a hobby. I actually practices Sahara Crossing after school. want to buy a violin myself and [continue to] teach myself.

What do you want to improve on as a violinist? I want to improve on intonation, dynamics, and con- fi dence.

How had being in orchestra changed your life? I have been able to make more friends because orchestra is like a big family. We do events togeth- er like bake sales and performances at retirement homes, and that helped a lot with performing in dif- ferent audiences. Jocelyn Blas practices Amazing Grace before going on stage. 10 IN-DEPTH Tues. Feb. 25, 2020 Tues. Feb. 25, 2020 IN-DEPTH 11 AHS EMBRACES BLACK HISTORY MONTH Growing up black in white America What happened to the

the booth said something along the lines of trend nowadaysadays yetyet blackblack peoplepeople are BBYY KADIJAHKADIJAH JANNEHJANNEH of, “You must have the wrong hotel, I still marginalized.ized. I see my Afrocentric Black History Bowl? Special to The A-Blast don’t think people like you could afford a features such as my big lips and darker place like this.” skin celebrateded on caucasian and lighter new sponsors were assigned to BSU, which has Growing up the concept of racism My mom caused a scene and com- and skinned wwomen,omen, but black women BBYY BRENDABRENDA HUAMANIHUAMANI & complicated the status of having a Black Histo- was complex and odd to me at fi rst. I plained to the manager and the staff are still held toto EurocentricEurocentric beaubeautyty FFRANCESRANCES MONTEVILLAMONTEVILLA ry Bowl. “Our sponsors are new to Annandale, so knew that for reasons beyond my con- apologized to us many times, but that standards suchch as having looser curl Spanish Editor & In-Depth Editor they want to learn more about the bowl before we trol, I would be treated a little different- didn’t make it any better. On the drive patterns or straightraight hairhair and a small- decide to help run it in the future,” senior Kadi- ly from time to time, but that was all my back to Virginia the whole car was dead er nose. I am ttoldold by people who don’t If there is one in-school event that many people jah Janneh, president of the Black Student Union, little brain was able to grasp. As I grew silent. I was thirteen years old then. experience thingsings such DORADO KARLA MERCADO forward to, it is the annual Black History Bowl. said. up though, these concepts became more Being black in white America is as what I describedcribed As a unique tradition held by AHS, the Black “The Black History Bowl is going to be held, apparent and familiar to me. such a funny thing. Blackness is a sort above that I shouldhould History Bowl is a quiz bowl that tests students I just don’t know if it will be held in the month One day I was sitting in class and “get over it” orr “stop on their knowledge of black history topics, which of February, which it should be,” Phillip Harris, a girl next to me screamed because my complaining,” but range from music to science to civil rights. Par- who is the regular Black History Bowl host speak- hand accidentally brushed against hers. these same peo-eo- ticipants consist of four groups representing each er, said. “I would prefer the history teachers to I was confused as to why she would ple bump to rapap grade level, each one consisting of fi ve students. be involved to review the freshman, sophomore, scream over something that little, but music talk- By committing to participate, the students must junior, and senior classes, just like we’ve done in she soon began screaming that “black ing about memorize several facts from a packet provided by the past. But, I do believe that the pictures and the people are dirty” and she then said the strug- the event organizers and compete against other music should be much more lively and correspond something along the lines of “that’s why gles of Black grade levels for fi rst place and a prize of $100 for to what we’re doing with the computers now.” their skin color is like that, it’s because Americans. their class with an additional $100 for the winning Nonetheless, BSU still hopes to help out with they don’t wash.” At this point she was Being black group. any preparations that may come up if it is decided crying hysterically and I soon too began in “white” The event is usually held towards the end of that there will be a Black History Bowl. Regard- to cry. I was seven years old then. America, moree February during an extended W4, as Black His- less of the decision, BSU will also be holding other Fast forward a couple of years. My specifi cally a blackblack tory Month comes to a conclusion. However, the events such as “Chill and Paint,” which will be mom and I go to New York in the sum- woman, is beingng con- fate of this year’s Black History Bowl remains held in early March. “We are also going to have mer and we were staying at the Waldorf stantly remindedded ofof unknown. days where all club members wear attire that rep- Astoria. It was a beautiful and expensive residual societaltal Usually, the organizers for the Black Histo- resents black culture, such as dashikis and other hotel that my mom had always want- effects of the ry Bowl are the National Social Studies Honor fashion associated with black culture,” Janneh ed to take me to because it is shown in enslavement ofof Society with the help of the Black Student Union said. her favorite movie, Coming to America. people who lookedoked (BSU). However, from the beginning of the year, That was one of the best trips I had ever like me and con-on- had. I knew that when I grew up, I’d live stantly being silencedsilenced in New York just because of that experi- JANNEH KADIJAH because if I speakpeak up ence. The trip went sour just as we were Kadijah Janneh poses in her traditional cloth- I’m stereotypeded as an about to head back to Virginia. My mom “angry black woman.”woman.” went up to the valet parking booth in ing on Eid. The picture was taken after she fi n- ished doing henna on herself and to the mem- Kadijah Janneh performs a cultural Sierra Leon dance in tradi- order to get her car back and the man at bers of her mosque as a free gift. tional clothing during Heritage Night in 2019.

Why is celebrating Black History Month important to you? JUDE NANAW JUDE NANAW Class of 2019 particapnts from the 2019 Black History Bowl introduce themselves at the start of the event.

MIKU DELINA YUSUF ANDREA OMIAR PRINCESS ABBY PHILLIP MENGESHA GEBREHIWOT NOORE SEGOVIA AHMED AGYEMAN KITILA HARRIS freshman freshman sophomore sophomore junior junior senior STEM teacher FRANCES MONTEVILLA AND MARIAN OSMAN BY ILLUSTRATION PHOTO “I think it is important “I think celebrating “Because I’m black and “I think it’s important “It’s important to cel- “Because I am a black “I think it’s important “I think it is important to celebrate Black His- Black History Month Martin Luther King Jr. to celebrate all cultures ebrate Black History female, I think celebrat- to recognize the infl u- to celebrate because tory Month because as is important because wants us to celebrate and it’s important to Month because it gives ing how far balck peo- ential historical fi gures, blacks have contribut- a black person, I fi nd it it allows people to get what he did for us and I celebrate different cul- me a chance to show ple have gone is impor- like during the Civil ed a lot to our nation. 5 movies important to celebrate together to learn about am a proud black per- tures.” poeple that I am proud tant to recognize.” Righs Movement, and With all these things our culture.” the culture.” son and love to cele- to be black.” also to recognize black being celebrated in our brate my culture.” culture.” nation, to me, when we go to our history class- led by black es, we just don’t learn about it.” actors BBYY KRISTINAKRISTINA REGMIREGMI Staff Writer Incredible inventions you didn’t know February is known as Black History month, and Hidden Figures Black Panther Malcolm X (1992) Loving (2016) 42 (2013) what is a better way to celebrate black history month than watching movies that represent African Ameri- (2016) (2018) Genre: Romance, Genre: History, Drama Genre: Sports, Drama cans in the fi lm industry? Black History Month has been celebrated on Feb- Genre: Historical Fiction, Genre: Sceince fi c- Historical Drama This movie shows the inter- The movie revolves around were by African American innovators ruary by presidents of the United States since the Drama tion, Fantasy, Action, This movie is a biography racial couple Richard and Jackie Robinson, an Afri- late 70’s. This movie revolves around Superhero This meant that CARBON-FIL- Movies like “42” and “Loving” display and pres- about Malcolm X, who is Mildred Loving, played by can American in a base- BBYY MMARIANARIAN OOSMANSMAN anyone could take your AMENT LIGHT ent how life was diffi cult for African Americans back three African American The movie takes place in played by Denzel Wash- actors Joel Edgerton and ball team where he goes In-Depth Editor then. stuff and that weath- 4BULB women, Katherine John- Wakanda, a well developed er could damage what Whenever most Most of these movies are connected to history and ington. The movie starts Ruth Negga, who got mar- through many confl icts and There are many products that many people use on a you were planning on people are asked about are not talked about in most history classes. son, Dorothy Vaughan, and kingdom in Africa. It looks off about his childhood in ried in Virginia and were racism, who is played by day to day basis that were created by an African American. sending. who created the light- It gives us a perspective and viewpoint on black Mary Jackson who were different from the outside, Nebraska, where his dad Most of these products are mistaken to be created by If you were send- bulb, they answer with lives as it focuses on their struggles and complica- arrested for it. They took actor Chadwick Boseman. another individual. Some were used for special occasions ing any important or Thomas Edison. Actu- tions as growing up black. the true women behind but once inside it has devel- gets killed, and his mom their case to the Supreme The movie starts in 1945, and could have saved someone’s life if it did not exist. expensive gifts, you ally, there was a team Here are the top fi ve movies that show different the launch of John Glenn oped technology. T’Challa gets put in a mental insti- Court (Loving v. Virginia), where Jackie Robinson gets Since it is Black History Month, it is time to give credit would not know if your that was working with black actors and actresses in different types of mov- to those responsible for these inventions. money would go to Thomas Edison to cre- ies. into orbit. In the beginning has to save and protect his tution. The movie then which eventually allowed an invite by Branch Rick- Here are fi ve inventions that were created by black peo- They are of all different genres, from science fi c- waste, as you would ate the light bulb. One they were treated different- country while being both switches to his teenage life interracial marriages to be ey, played by actor Harri- ple and are an important factor to the U.S. history and our not know if the recepi- of those members was tion to sports and historical fi ction. lives. ents would get them. Lewis H. Latimer. He If you are interested in learning more about Black ly and were denied basic the king and the Black then his adulthood. The legal. son Ford, to the Brooklyn With Downing’s fi rst worked with Alex- History Month or learning about things that you BLACKPAST.ORG rights such as using the Panther. movie shows his death as Dodgers, a Major League

CALIFORNIA BLACK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BLACK CALIFORNIA never knew about then you will enjoy these movies. GAS MASK invention, it was now This is a picture of a modern day ander Graham Bell in Lewis H. Latimer is pictured next same bathroom as white well as the events after his baseball team. As most safe for people to send mailbox that was created from creating the telephone. to a carbon-fi lament light bulbe 1people who mail across the U.S. and Phillip D. Downing’s original pro- Edison created a light that he invented. women. death. have taken history not be scared that the tective mailbox. bulb that would die class know, during person would not receive out at most in 15 minutes, which would make it expensive World War I there it in perfect condition. for it to buy because people would need to buy multiple of were new inven- He created an outer door and a safety door that pre- them to light the house for a day. Latimer made improve- tions. Some exam- vented anyone from opening the public mailbox and from ments to the light bulb and used carbon instead, since it Recognizing infl uential African Americans ples of these inven- weather damaging it. would last longer. This helped lower the production costs, tions include tear gas and this gave everyone a chance of being able to light up and even signed the Declaration of Sen- the Harlem Renaissance, which was MARTIN president of the United States from BLOOD BANK their house even if they couldn’t afford it at fi rst. BBYY KRISTINAKRISTINA REGMIREGMI timents at Seneca Falls. the turning point for black history.One LUTHER KING 2009 to 2017 and served as an Illinois and other poisonous Staff Writer gases. These gases of his most famous poems is “Harlem”, 5JR. (1929-1968) senator before he became president. He 3 Charles Rich- SHOE LASTING HARRIET TUB- which aims attention at the dreams of Martin Luther was also the fi rst president to be born were being thrown ard Drew was a sur- MACHINE February is dedicated to honor Black MAN (1820-1913) at enemies to kill the African Americans during the 1950s. King Jr. is one of the outside of the contiguous United States, geon who received his Jan Matzeli- History, and many African Americans, This poem is also referred to as “Dream most important and as he was born and raised in Hawaii. BANTHENWORD.ORG 5 2 soldiers and make This is a picture of Garret Mor- degree from Columbia ger was born in Suri- particularly those who helped shape the Harriet Tubman Deferred.” Hughes used his play and famous civil rights As president, Obama signed the Afford- them suffocate to gan’s gas mask, which was orig- University. He want- nam but came to the society we have today. They fought for was born into slav- death. Soldiers never novels to promote and advocate racism leaders. He was a Christian minister able Care Act (2010) or simply known inally called a safety hood and ed to fi gure out if there United States when he civil rights, freedom, and racial equali- ery but escaped to the and injustice for being black. and activist who used nonviolent pro- as Obamacare, which helped millions knew what could be patented as a breathing device. was a way to separate was 21 and worked at ty for colored people so Africans Amer- North for freedom. thrown at them or tests during the African American Civil of Americans that were low-income, get red blood cells from the a shoe factory in Mas- icans now can have the freedom they Tubman is famous for being the “con- ROSA PARKS Rights Movement. In 1955, King and lower costs for their health insurance. when they could be attacked, so having a gas mask was plasma, and if it could sachusetts. Hand last- have now. Here is a list of individuals ductor” of the underground railroad, (1913-2005) an important part of staying alive when you were in the many other African Americans boycot- be stored. He fi gured ers were the ones who who made a signifi cant difference to our where she helped hundreds of slaves 4 Rosa Parks is ted a bus in Montgomery, Alabama that trenches. In 1912, Garrett Morgan created a safety hood, out that he could store put shoes together. country: escape from the South to the North for famous for not giving prohibited African Americans from sit- which was later called a gas mask. This prevented fi re- blood for a long time, Hand lasters had one NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE LIBRARY NATIONAL freedom. She was given the nickname up her seat to a white ting in the front seat of the bus. This fi ghters from dying when they had to enter a fi re to save helping with blood of the hardest jobs on FREDERICK “Moses” for never losing a “passage”. passenger on a pub- people. The safety hood, had tubes that acted as fi lters to Charles Richard Drew is pictured event led to a change in bus laws and transfusions. This was working in a lab observing blood the assembly line, but DOUGLASS. She also helped the Union Army during lic bus in Montgom- bring in air that was breathable. Morgan also used his gas (1818-1895) prevented segregation on busses. In a the stepping stone for cells under microscope. they got paid the most. MASSMOMENTS.ORG 1 the Civil War by working as a nurse, ery, Alabama, and getting arrested for march for civil and economic rights in mask to save workers who were in a tunnel explosion and the Red Cross, which At this time, shoes Jan Matzeliger is pictured work- Frederick Douglass cook, and a spy. Tubman also supported that matter. This event helped start were having trouble breathing, as they would not exit the was born into slavery, Washington D.C., King delivered a leg- comes to schools like AHS to collect blood to help people were expensive to pur- ing on his shoe lasting machine the women’s suffrage and helped Eliza- and inspire the Montgomery Bus Boy- endary speech “I Have a Dream” that tunnel. He later went on to work on traffi c signals, as he who get in accidents and need blood transfusions imme- chase and took a long invention. and soon later escaped beth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Antho- cott. Rosa Parks became active in many realized there were too many car accidents happening. from slavery. Douglass became an became well known to everyone across diately. Blood banks also played a big war during World time to make. Hand laster’s that were skilled would usual- ny raise funds. There have been talks to organizations that were created to end the country, and called for change in War II when Drew began to work for the military and set ly complete about 50 pairs of shoes a day, which was still important leader during the abolition- replace U.S. president Andrew Jackson racial discrimination and inequality for PROTECTIVE MAILBOX ist movement. He helped convince Pres- America. Whenever you want to send mail and you make up blood banks for the Navy and Army. He later quit from slow. Matzeliger didn’t know how to speak English, so he on the $20 bill with Tubman. African Americans. She was also part this job because of the segregation that he faced, as he was began to attend school so that he could start up a machine ident Abraham Lincoln to let slaves of the Montgomery National Associa- BARACK 2your way to a public mailbox and drop your mail serve in the Union army during the LANGSTON told to give white soldiers blood that was only donated that would create shoes in a faster and effi cient way. Years tion for the Advancement of Colored OBAMA(1961-) in one, you are hoping that everything you sent will be Civil War, and he made sure that the HUGHES (1902- LOC.GOV received the way you sent it. from white people. later, he created a shoe lasting machine that could produce People (NAACP), which still exists and 6 Barack Obama 150 to 700 pairs of shoes in one day. abolition of slavery was the main goal 31967) serves people of color today. In addi- made history when This is a picture of African Americans protest- Before Philip B. Downing made a secure mailbox, it was of the war. Douglass did not only sup- ing for the rights and equality that they were Langston Hughes tion to organizations, she participated he became the fi rst unsafe to use a public mailbox because most of the mail port rights for African Americans, but denied during the Civil RIghts Movement. was a poet, social in many marches like March on Wash- African American to boxes were open and easy to get into. he called for rights for women as well. activist, and play- ington, which was a march for jobs and become the president Douglass supported women’s suffrage wright. He was an active leader during civil rights for African Americans. of the United States. He was the 44th 12 INTERNATIONAL Tues. Feb. 25, 2020

Around the world Germany Shooting A far-right extremist killed nine people on Wednesday, February 19th in Germany. The shootings took place in Shisha bars which were delib- erately chosen by the suspect as Middle Eastern and other Asian immigrants are custom- ers there. Five among the nine dead, have been identifi ed to be Turkish citizens. The sus- pect was found later that night dead alongside his mother, after hours of manhunt.

Murder in Lesotho Prime Minister of Lesotho, Thomas Thabane, is to be A mosque pictured at nightfall by senior Lamis Osman in Khartoum, Sudan, which is the capital of the country. "It was beautiful to see in person," Osman said. charged with murdering his former wife Lipolelo Thabane. Lipolelo Thabane was found dead in 2017, just days before Taking a trip to the homeland Thomas Thabane took offi ce. His current wife Maesaiah Although the main reason for our Throughout my stay, I took many boat Thabane has already been BBYY LLAMISAMIS OOSMANSMAN trip was reuniting with family, another rides in the river and was able to look Special to The A-Blast reason was to visit and sightsee Sudan. at and enjoy the various beauties that charged with murder charges Going to Sudan, I had this preconceived lay in Sudan. of the former fi rst lady. She is This winter, my sister and I took a image of Sudan based on my visit seven The most memorable night of my now out on a bail of just $67. trip to Sudan. It has been seven years years ago. trip was actually by the Nile. When we since we last visited, and the most excit- Upon arriving, however, I noticed fi rst arrived it was around the evening ing part of the trip was being reunit- a vast difference from what I remem- and the sun was getting ready to set. ed with family we have not seen for a bered. The city has completely trans- We then got our coffee and sat along- long time. formed. I found that there was a lot side the river and watched the sunset. Brazilian Senator It is a very diffi cult thing being so that was new and different. It was an extraordinary moment that I Brazillian Senator Cid Gomes far from people who love and care for I could see that there were a lot of will cherish for my life. was shot in the chest in a you, but when reunited, the feeling can constructions of new buildings, and ren- In addition to that, I also spent my standoff with military police. not be compared to anything else. Fam- ovation of older buildings that I did rec- time going out with my cousins to var- ily is the most important thing to us The standoff came after Gomes ognize from my previous trip. ious festivals and concerts. We always tried to intervene and stop a and being able to reconnect with every- There were also a lot more new res- strived to make the most out of every one was so heartwarming. taurants and cafes throughout the cit- day as our time there was short. strike by driving a bulldozer The trip to Sudan was about a ies. My favorite restaurant was called My trip to Sudan made me feel into a crowd of military police 13-hour fl ight, which was extremely Root’s, which was an Italian restaurant. at home, and I felt I was welcomed protesting low wages. After exhausting. Although I was tired from I frequently visited this restaurant as because I was surrounded by people being shot, Gomes was rushed the night before, I was too anxious and they served a variety of pasta, which I just like me. excited to fall asleep. to a nearby hospital, where he really loved. Although we had only stayed a is now in a stable condition. Upon arriving at the airport, we Another place I frequently visited short time of three weeks, we managed were greeted by all my uncles, aunt, during my trip was the Nile River. The to make the most of it. All my friends Following this, Pubic Safety and cousins that we have not seen in Nile River is a tourist attraction site, as and family enjoying all the aspects of Minister Sergio Moro has is- the past seven years. I was overjoyed, it is considered to be the longest river this beautiful country and had a great Lamis Osman, far right, is out with her sued the deployment of federal and everyone was beyond happy to see not only in Africa, but also in the world. impact on me and it's a trip for the friends and sister to visit Sudan's many security forces where the strike each other. books. sceneries. is being held.

Locusts infest East Africa Venice Carnival Annual Carnival that is held Fortunately, Ethiopia and Kenya, in Venice, Italy has been cut BBYY DDUCUC NNGOGO along with the UN are taking charge in short in an attempt to control Staff Writer controlling this problem. The two coun- an outbreak of Coronavirus tries made a plan to spray pesticides In rural areas of East Africa, in that has been growing within from airplanes, to maximize the effort the country. The number of countries such as Ethiopia, Somalia to eradicate the swarms. The UN has and Kenya, there are dark clouds of asked countries and organizations to people reported to have been buzzing locusts. These dark clouds will help raise $76 million in aid that would infected with the virus in Italy spread and grow into a plague unless be used to further exterminate the has now reached at least 133. something is done. locust swarms and help affected farm- Prime Minister Giuseppe The swarms of desert locusts are ers in the Horn of Africa. Conte has ordered a quaran- quite huge in size, with the largest So far the UN has only been able to NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.GOV PARK NATIONAL tine of towns in Northern Italy swarm in Kenya being 37 miles long Locusts, pictured above, are responsible for ravaging East African communities. raise about $20 million in total. With such as Veneto, where the and 25 miles wide, as reported by the estimated that the swarm could grow $10 million released by Lowcock from farmlands on its path a barren land. A festival takes place. Universi- Smithsonian Magazine. These swarms 400 times by June. This will then be the United States U.N. Emergency are also affecting neighboring coun- medium-sized swarm is estimated to be able to eat the same amount of food as categorized as a plague, which could Relief Fund, $3.8 million from HOA, ties and schools have also been tries of Kenya such as Ethiopia, Soma- last for a decade or more. So the clock and 1 million euros from the Europe- suspended until further notice. lia, Eritrea, Sudan, and Djibouti. This the population of Kenya. Experts have credited this outbreak is ticking and it is critical to deal with an Union. is not just some nightmare for entomol- this problem before there is a dire con- In addition to the lack of aid, since ogy, but could quickly translate to a to an increase in numbers of cyclones in this region, giving East Africa more sequence. Ethiopia and Kenya only possess fi ve Earthquake in Turkey severe case of famine. pesticide planes, the prospect of keep- rainfall and fairer weather. Last fall, “I hope that President Sahle-Work Nine dead and 37 injured after “The fact that I didn’t know any- ing the ever-growing swarms under this region received the highest amount Zewde of Ethiopia will speak up more an earthquake that took place thing about this, and I don’t hear any of about this topic, since she promised the control is unlikely. In addition to this my friends talking about this is shock- of rainfall in recent years (120% to 400% increase compared to normal), nation to promote and raise awareness studies are now showing that the pes- on Sunday in Eastern Turkey. ing to be honest,” senior Hakim Idris for the farmers in the region,” freshman ticides themselves may be harmful to The magnitude-5.7 quake cen- said. therefore fueling this growth of locust populations. Ruftana Beyene said. humans if sprayed in large amounts. tered on Iran's west province, Each square kilometer of a swarm “Because more than half of Ethio- “I just want to tell the farmers in the contains as much as 40 to 80 million Keeping in mind the destructive but the impact was largely in power of the swarm, it also happens pia is rural, the people tend to get their region that they will get through this its western neighbor Turkey. locusts, and each swarm can cover 150 foods from village farms that the locusts no matter how bad it gets, and to place kilometers in one day. Since each locust that the region they are wreaking havoc Among the nine dead were in has been in is home to 20 million peo- are decimating, and I could only imag- faith in God because he has a plan for can eat as much as their body weight in ine that this will increase the food inse- what is to come,” Malefi a said. three children. plant materials, a swarm can turn any ple who have already been facing food insecurity. If left unchecked, it’s been curity,” junior Kalkedan Malefi a said. Immigrant stories: Coming to America How sophomore Michael Bekele made his journey from Ethiopia to the United States

what was going on,” Bekele said. In fact, his cultural identity. “It was hard to fi t in BBYY BROOKEBROOKE FEKRUFEKRU it was not until his mother and sister because everyone had their own cultures International Editor began to cry Bekele knew he was leaving and languages,” Bekele said. that night. However, as he began to grow up Sophomore Michael Bekele fi rst came The fl ight to the U.S. took 14 hours, he learned the value of appreciating to the United States from his native and only had one stop in Italy. the diversity that was present in the country, Ethiopia, when he was just ten Recounting his fl ight experience community while still connecting with his years old. Bekele said, “at fi rst I was anxious Ethiopian identity. Bekele’s father decided to make a and scared, however, because I was so “I attend an Ethiopian Orthodox monumental decision and come to the exhausted from the previous day I fell church, which is a great way to interact U.S. in hopes of providing a better future asleep quickly and was not awake for with the Ethiopian community here,” for Bekele and his siblings. most of the fl ight.” Bekele said. “My father came to the U.S. fi rst and Bekele arrived in January , and says it In addition to that Bekele says that started the process to bring my mother, was snowing really hard that winter. attending Annandale, which has a large my sister and me,” Bekele said. “Coming from Ethiopia, where it just population of Ethiopian and Eritrean It was not long after his father came hailed ice, which happened rarely too, it students, he is able to have a sense of to the U.S. that his mother, sister, and was shocking for me at that moment,” community within the school. Bekele got news about their visas being Bekele said. “I run cross country, which has a lot of approved. Getting accustomed to life in America Habesha runners,” Bekele said. Following this news, however, Bekele’s was not extremely hard for Bekele. Bekele is also taking part in the mother decided to stay back with his “I attended an international school upcoming Heritage Night as part of the sister and send Bekele to the U.S. fi rst. while I was in Ethiopia, which really Habesha group representing Ethiopia “My sister was just fi nishing her helped me to learn English and to an and Eritrea. last year of high school and my mother extent learn about America in general,” “I am really excited and have invited wanted to wait until she graduated Bekele said. all my friends and family because I want instead of moving,” Bekele said. One thing that Bekele did grapple to show how I can represent my culture,” So at the age of ten Bekele was booked with however is the diverse community Bekele said. a one-way ticket to America. present within America. “Growing up, I After completing high school, Bekele “I was extremely scared because I was only interacted with people from my own plans to attend college and major in alone, and did not really know anyone,” culture and ethnicity, but coming here it international business or international Bekele said. was very different,” Bekele said. relations while minoring in photography. Bekele recalls the night he departed. This was especially hard for Bekele as In the future, he hopes to move and live “I remember the whole night just he was in elementary school and made the remainder of his life in Ethiopia.

being confused and not really knowing him feel isolated and disconnected from MICHAEL BEKELE Tues. Feb. 25, 2020 LIFESTYLES 13 Talkin' with Fashion around the world Thonny Anjum Ashraf, Bangladesh, 11 Kelly Tieu, Vietnam, 11 BBYY TTHONNYHONNY ANWARANWAR Lifestyles Editor Q: How would you describe Q: How would you describe Bangladeshi fashion? Vietnamese fashion? I just fi nished presentations in my IB Literature class. At the A: It is very extravagant. Clothes A: My Vietnamese heritage traces end of every presentation, my are fi lled with a lot of sequins and back to the south, the warmer parts teacher requires the class to give one compliment and one gorgeous, detailed patterns. of Vietnam. There, common folk can suggestion. I am worried about Q: What is the most unique piece be found with loose fi tted clothing giving a suggestion though. of clothing from Bangladesh? and bright, breathable fabrics. I’m afraid my teacher will dock points from the student A: A unique piece of clothing in Q: What is the most unique piece if it's something that she didn’t Bangladesh is the lungi. It’s worn by of clothing from Vietnam? notice before. What should I men as casual clothing. It’s a piece A: Nón lá, which translates to leaf do? Sincerely, of cloth in the shape of a long skirt hat in English, is a commonly worn A concerned student that’s knotted at the waist. hat by farmers and other civilians to Q: What is your favorite piece of provide shade from the harsh sun. Dear concerned student, I also take IB English, and I clothing from Bangladesh? It’s a Vietnamese trademark. also wonder if the criticism we give A: Urnas are my favorite piece of Q: What is your favorite piece of to our fellow classmates results in possibly getting points taken away clothing because they add a lot to clothing from Vietnam? from their presentations. an outift. An urna is basically a long A: My favorite piece of clothing Personally, I think giving scarf and I usually drape it over my would have to be the traditional criticism is just going to make someone get better and help them shoulder. ao dai with long sleeves and high in the long run.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KELLY TIEU OF KELLY COURTESY PHOTO To get a defi nitive answer, PHOTO COURTESY OF ANJUM ASHRAF COURTESY PHOTO necklines. I asked IB Literature I teacher Stephanie Hanson about it. She was quick to say that other students' criticism defi nitely doesn't Najma Abikar, Somalia, 11 Litzy Ramirez, Mexico, 12 impact student grades even if it's something she hadn't noticed at Q: How would you describe Q: How would you describe fi rst. Somalian fashion? Mexican fashion? The organization aspect for IB A: Fashion in Somalia is very unique. A: Mexican fashion is very vibrant rubrics is very minor. If you already got points taken off for a small Women wear a lot of long dresses and fun. The colors in each piece of reason, one more thing isn't going and cover themselves. Sometimes, clothing stand out. A lot can be seen to make a difference. they wear long veils to cover their from a distance. Now you know that you are free to give suggestions to your faces too. Q: What is the most unique piece classmates after presentations. Q: What is a popular fashion of clothing from Mexico? Don't worry about hurting their feelings either because it's likely trend in Somalia? A: A unique piece of clothing would that they're as eager to move on as A: Colors like orange and red are a be a huipil. A huipil is a common much as you are. really big trend in Somalia. traditional handmade top or dress Q: What is the most unique piece that usually has many colors. This Valentine’s Day, I received of clothing from Somalia? Q: What is your favorite piece of a lot of treats and gifts from my A: It is very hard to choose one thing clothing from Mexico? friends. I am really thankful that my friends cared so much that is very unique when all the A: The typical Mexican handmade to get me things and make me clothes in Somalia are one of a kind. dresses have always been my feel special, but I can’t help I believe all the clothes in Somalia favorite. They are very comfortable but feel bad. I had nothing prepared to give them because are unique because they have and I love wearing them. I didn’t know we were giving patterns that are made to stand out. out treats. Does receiving these gifts from my friends and not PHOTO COURTESY OF LITZY RAMIREZ COURTESY PHOTO PHOTO COURTESY OF NAJMA ABIKAR COURTESY PHOTO giving anything back make me a bad person? Sincerely, Elizabeth Dula, Ethiopia, 12 Sadaf Khan, Afghanistan, 12 A worried valentine Dear worried valentine, Q: How would you describe Q: How would you describe Just because someone gives Ethiopian fashion? Afghani fashion? you a gift does not mean you have to give them something in return. A: Ethiopian fashion is very diverse A: I would describe Afghanistan’s Your friends chose to get you treats because there are so many tribes fashion as very pretty, modest, and for Valentine’s Day. and groups, but overall it’s very unique. A lot of people choose to believe that it is common courtesy to give vibrant, colorful, and unique. Q: What is a popular fashion something back just because they Q: What is the most unique piece trend in Afghanistan? give you a gift, but I personally of clothing from Ethiopia? A: A very popular fashion trend in think that gifts are given with the intent of showing love and how A: A kemis (traditional dress) Afghanistan is two-piece tops and much you care for someone. almost always has a scarf called a pants. Both men and women can They can also be given as a netela, which covers the back and wear them. way of showing how grateful you shoulders. When attending church, Q: What is your favorite piece of are, but they are certainly not given to repay people for receiving the two layers of the netela are clothing from Afghanistan? something from them. opened and can cover your hair. A: My favorite piece of clothing from There’s no need for you to feel Q: What is your favorite piece of Afghanistan is called a Chapan. It is bad about receiving these gifts, and I don’t think you are a bad person. clothing from Ethiopia? like a jacket or vest with beautiful Instead of worrying, be grateful A: My favorite piece of clothing is and intricate designs all over. It was for your friends and how much they called kaba. Usually worn during originally designed for men, but love you. Remember that friendship isn’t transactional. weddings by a bride and groom, it many women wear it now. reminds me of royalty. PHOTO COURTESY OF SADAF KHAN OF SADAF COURTESY PHOTO PHOTO COURTESY OF ELIZABETH DULA COURTESY PHOTO Fashion Spotlight: Hunter Duggan, 11

Q: Where do you like to shop? Q: Do you dress to impress or for A: I have decided to quit supporting the yourself? fast fashion industry, which means I don't A: I dress for both. If I’m by myself at shop at any stores you would fi nd in the my house, I won't dress up and I'll stay mall. I only shop at second-hand stores or comfortable. At the same time, I also don't from independent designers. really care if people in public don't like what I wear. Q: What is your favorite accessory? A: I really need to get better at Q: What is your favorite pair of shoes? accessorizing, but I would have to say a A: My favorite pair of everyday shoes is a belt or a choker can do a lot for an outfi t. pair I thrifted of old, brightly colored high top Nikes. Q: What’s your favorite season to dress for? Q: What is a fashion trend you dislike? A: Spring is the perfect weather for my A: I’m generally in support of any trend style. I can layer one shirt on top of another that makes people feel good about without sweating, but I can also wear a themselves, although the whole "sagging" skirt without freezing. thing never grew on me.

Q: What do you wear on bum days? Q: Who is your fashion inspiration? A: I wear sweats or pajamas but in the A: My fashion journey began with Melanie summer, my bum days are more like Martinez, but I’ve grown a lot from that. shorts and a t-shirt just because it's easier. Notable names would have to be Grace Recently, I’ve been trying to at least wear Vanderwaal, Jessie Paege, and Stella Rose

PHOTO COURTESY OF HUNTER DUGGAN COURTESY PHOTO jeans on my bum days. as well. OF HUNTER DUGGAN COURTESY HOTO Junior Hunter Duggan wears a pastel pink turtle neck Duggan wears a knee length navy dress paired with a with a teddy bear zip up and oversized light wash jeans. petticoat and tan high heels. 14 PEOPLE Tues. Feb. 25, 2020 Should community service be required in school?

JASSON RODRIGUEZ freshman "In some cases, yes, because it allows stu- PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KARLA MERCADO DORADO KARLA MERCADO BY ILLUSTRATION PHOTO dents to actually get out from home and do Senior Kathleen Lewis works as a tutor and helps her fellow peers study and prepare for school assignments. "I fi nd it fulfi lling when I help other people out," Lewis said. something productive for once, like help with church, help with schooling, or fundraisers. It can also help build more on the school so we Senior volunteer helps out can do more things on school grounds." around the community

KKARLAARLA MERCADOMERCADO DORADODORADO High schools in Fairfax Coun- something, it's always best to offer it," There, she spends time with kids playing People Editor ty offer a graduation cord and a Civ- Lewis said, a philosophy by which she games, doing puzzles and crafts, and read- ics Seal as incentive to complete com- tries to live every day. ing to them during storytime. munity service hours during a student's "I recognize that I am able to have Thursdays are super busy, as she ded- While students are expected to work sophomore year, and then continue to things. Don't be afraid to offer it help icates her afternoon fi rst to kids at nearby hard in their classes and get involved in DANIEL DIAZ promote the importance of civic engage- because you can always have a second Braddock Elementary through National extracurriculars, there is one other aspect sophomore ment the remaining years. chance or more food, access to cloth- English Honor Society's Atoms and Eagles to the ideal profi le of a student: communi- For many kids, this incentive is seen ing or a warm house, while some people progam, and then to other members of the "No, not really, because if people don’t want ty service. as more of an inconvenience, as teach- don't have those same opportunities," community at a food bank sponsored by to support the community, that’s their prob- While most high schoolers may be at ers constantly push their students to Lewis said. the local United Methodist Church. lem, and if they do support it, they should home sleeping or only working on school, meet the minimum amount of hours It is this mindset that has inspired Every last Sunday of each month, get something out of it. So no, I don’t think senior IB Diploma candidate Kathleen required. Lewis to partake in number of com- she visits the Leewood Healthcare Cen- it should be required, but the Civics seal is a Lewis fi nds time in her busy schedule to Lewis is one of the students who munity service projects throughout the ter nursing home with her youth group pretty cool goal to strive for." think about others fi rst. views it as another opportunity to do neighborhood. at Ravensworth Baptist Church. There, Students of all ages are becoming more what she most enjoys, which is helping Lewis' week begins on Monday, they sing hyms, read scripture, and just involved in their communities, assist- those in need. with a trip to the Bright Horizons Early sit down and chat with the residents to ing with fundraising events for different "My mom always told me that Education & Preschool Daycare Center brighten their spirits. organizations or helping out underserved if someone is hungry or in need of located near the Inova Fairfax Hospital. During the day, she's a Teacher Assis- groups in their neighborhoods. tant for IB Business teacher Howard Dwyer, and also sets aside time to peer tutor friends in different subject areas. Lewis cites her desire to become an educator as one of the main motivators for her work with kids and education, as well as her experience with her grandparents as the reason why she helps older adults with special need at the nursing home. ALEJANDRO ERAZO Outside of physical service, Lewis likes to keep the kindness going with donations junior to non-profi t organizations such as The "I think community service is an important Wounded Warrior Project, St. Jude's Chil- part of developing as a person, and it has dren's Research Hospital, and the Trevor become a natural part of high school and col- Project whenever she is able. lege life, so making it a requirement would not When asked about how she maintains change much about the current system, other such a busy schedule, she said she uses a than adding a bit more pressure." timing system to space out tasks, trying to use her time as wisely as possible. "If you want to do something, you’re going to make time to do it. So that means staying up a little bit later than normal or not talking to your friends when you’re doing homework. Utilizing your W4 time is also important," says Lewis. Her work for the community is impres- sive, but could be intimidating for some students who may want to start helping out but are concerned about schedule con- fl icts or burn out. Here's what Lewis has to say to students who may be hesitant about adding regular volunteering to their ZAHIN HOWLADER daily lives: senior "Any chance you get to be happy, or "Community service is important because give a compliment, or make someone else’s it helps people become better citizens, but I Senior Kathleen Lewis poses in front of Bright Horizons Early Education & Preschool Daycare Center with friends and fellow vol- day, you should take it. Change is change, don't think it should be required because it unteers, Christine Trieu and Kani Khaled, who are also seniors. no matter how small." adds extra stress for some students."

HUMANS OF WHO AM I? ANNANDALE

I went to school at… New York University My freshman year I participated in cross country and made it onto the varsi- I was born in… ty team. The following spring I ran spring Scranton, Pennsylvania track. One of my strongest events is the 800 meters. This year, I did cross country My favorite book is... again and I am anticipating doing spring To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee track once again this coming spring. I felt like doing sports as a freshman My favorite author is... really expanded my friend group and Ernest Hemingway helped me know more upperclassmen, which came in handy because they gave My favorite movie is… amazing advice. "Rocky" Also, the track and cross country coaches are unbelievable. They are so Before teaching at Annandale…. understanding and they know how to I was teaching at Sandburg Middle school in push you just enough for you to excel as Alexandria. an amazing runner. I would defi nitely JENNA CAPPELLO encourage taking up track or cross coun- My favorite topping... sophomore I chose teaching because… I like it just plain with cheese try because it's such an encouraging, posi- I loved English as a student and I wanted to tive community of people. is where you were meant to be led. pass that on to future generations and infl luence In my free time… Something you may not know about Your life isn't going to be perfect, but in young readers and writers. me is that I suffered with severe anxi- your fl aws is what makes your life yours. I I like to do yoga, I like to read, and I like to write. ety and depression in the beginning of my also had to learn how to love myself even on My greatest fear is… sophomore year. I even had to stop sports the bad days when I didn't even want to get snakes! for a while and I felt like I was losing all out of bed. I had to learn to embrace the now the things that made me, me. and stop doubting myself and my strengths. I chose to teach at Annandale because… I felt very lost and confused why I was I had to keep going despite the strug- of its diverse population. I had also heard really Use a QR fi ghting a battle that I felt so defeated in. gles and let me tell you, you won't believe the good things about the English department here. Code scan- But as I kept working on myself, slow- amazing, more resilient person that comes ner to reveal ly but surely, I saw myself coming back out of all the suffering. I am alway here if you My favorite food is... Who Am I? as the stronger person I didn't know was ever need advice. pizza! underneath all the pain. I had to remind Remember to love yourselves and be kind myself daily that you have to just let your to yourself everyday. Also remember seeking life unfold itself and where life takes you help doesn't classify you as weak. Tues. Feb 25, 2020 SPORTS X-TRA 15 Game over? Esports club canceled

BBYY DDUCUC NNGOGO Staff Writer

The hype was growing within the walls of AHS leading up to the debut date of the Esports club earlier this month. Ultimately, there was no debut of the Esports club. In fact, the after school activity will have to be delayed until the next school year. This is because of the new deci- sion by Fairfax County Public Schools to ban Fortnite from all high school esports events. FCPS made this decision right after Kentucky schools made similar rules for their students. Kentucky schools made this decision based on the agreement that Fortnite is too violent to allow students to play the game on school grounds. The company that outsources and provides the game was also banned. The Kentucky High School Athlet- ics Association stated that “there is no DUC NGO DUC NGO place for shooter games in schools,” as reported by the Lexington Herald Lead- Senior Ryan Charest enjoys playing video games any chance he can get even if that means playing during school. er. PlayVS, which FCPS and many They established the live streams, January. a long-running concern over school “This doesn’t quite come as a com- other schools contracted for their esport the venues, and the organization of The second spring season lasts from shootings that many offi cials arbitrarily plete surprise for me, since video games program, added Fortnite without autho- tournaments. February to May. Each season has an linked to violent games featuring guns. have always had a bad reputation to rization. Founded in 2018, by Delane Parnell, initial two weeks of preseason, after- Games like CS: GO (Counter-Strike: some people, especially adults.” senior This action without authoriza- the company organizes League of Leg- ward by eight weeks long regular sea- Global Offensive), PUBG (Player’s Ryan Charest said. tion most likely added more fuel to the ends, Smite, and Rocket League tour- son, followed by the playoffs. At the end Unknown Battleground), alongside the Fortnite is a cartoonish approach fl ame, and thus resulted in the delay of naments, with its latest addition being of each season, one team will receive Call of Duty, and Battlefi eld franchise TPS (third person shooter), battle- Annandale’s proposed Esports Club. Fortnite. the title of champion. is looked upon as inspiring such violent royale game. “Within a day that this article had “I think it’s kind of strange that “We had a full roster, a full seven acts and would have little chance to be The game features no gore and come out, FCPS followed suit and they make a case against Fortnite, but teams worth of students ready to go,” accepted into school organized esports incorporates quirky, brightly natured immediately barred the company,” ignores the other games like League of Merker said. “That makes it 21 stu- tournaments. characters. Elliot Merker, who would have been the Legends and Smite,” senior Mitchell dents that were selected, that signed “This disappointment is not only In Fortnite, players can either join a club’s sponsor, said. Eggert said. “All of them still have vio- up, and the day before the registration from the students but there is actual group or play alone, surviving through PlayVS is a private, California based lent aspects within their gameplay.” date, FCPS announced that we are not school staff that were very excited about skirmishes, eliminating other players company that gives high school stu- PlayVS organizes each school year allowed to participate.” this, myself included,” Merker said. “It’s with fi rearms until their team or them- dents all over the United States the to have two competition seasons. The Aside from PlayVS’s lack of con- sad to say it, but if the county made a selves becomes the last one standing. chance to compete in esports events. fi rst fall season lasts from October to cern for authorizations, there has been decision, then it is what it is.” Students weigh in on the upcoming XFL season First, they set down the play clock Hamilton as the head coach.The team BBYY CCYRUSYRUS AASSADZADEHSSADZADEH to 25 seconds, unlike the NFL, which has also made history by winning the Staff Writer has a 40-second play clock. fi rst game in XFL history. There are 8 In addition to shortening the play teams in the XFL that play. With the NFL playoffs coming to clock, the XFL had also shortened the However, there is now an addition- an end, football fans are excited for halftime to be 10 minutes long. al team called “Team 9” that includes the return of the XFL. The XFL has also made many a roster of players in different posi- “I’m ready for the season to start other various changes to the rules tions that can be used to fi ll up roster and more football,” freshman Robel of football that have made the game spots on other teams in case of injury. Asefa said. more unique and enticing. “I think that the addition of Team While some students may be excit- Teams can go for 3 point conver- 9 is good,” freshman Malcolm Kent ed for XFL, others may not be as inter- sions after scoring, there can be two said. “When there’s a missing player ested but are happy that there is more forward passes behind the line of from another team’s roster because football to watch. scrimmage. of an injury or something like that, “It’s not that interesting to me,” The XFL offi cially debuted in 2001 other players who want a chance at freshman Moe Ibrahim said. “But I and initially had good reviews, but the spotlight will have the opportuni- like that, thanks to the XFL, there’s eventually declined later on in the ty to play and to prove themselves on more football to watch after the NFL fi rst season as fans lost interest. the fi eld.” season is over.” Some causes of the loss of interest It seems like football fans are excit- The XFL is a televised football were poor quality commentators and ed and intrigued by the XFL and league, similar to the NFL, but has performances of the teams. the season is only getting started. some rules that are changed to make Something that may be a boost to This alternative to the NFL has fans the game more fast-paced and unique. the XFl’s popularity in the D.C area thrilled and optimistic about it. DAGNACHEW EYOB There are many ways that the XFL Bradley Sylve (left) and Cardale Jones (right) are two of the most popular is the addition of a new Washington XFL games are showcased on Sat- players who have agreed to have joined the DC Defenders. has changed the rules to make foot- based team.The D.C defenders explod- urdays and Sundays on ABC, Fox, ball faster paced. ed on the scene with the hiring of Pep ESPN, and FS1. Do you think the XFL will be OMER MOHAMMED ROBEL ASEFA HAMZA HUSSEIN KARLYN FLORES-ORTEG PIERO VERNAZZA-CORTEZ- LEUOLE YARED freshman freshman freshman freshman sophomore sucess- freshman “I think that the XFL will kind of be “It’s cool that there’s anoth- “I’m excited for the DC Defend “I think the DC Defenders and the “I think the XFL won’t do good like the AAF, and won’t do good “I don’t think that the XFL will be er professional football league, ers and the XFL because it will be XFL won’t do very good, especially because it will always just be in the and maybe go bankrupt.” as successful as the NFL because ful? and it gives other talented foot- cool to see another local profes- since the Defenders are playing at shadow of the NFL and will proba- the NFL has all the stars, unlike ball players a chance to play in a sional football team other than the Audi Field, which is a very big sta- bly never be as popular either.” the other professional football high-quality football league.” Redskins.” dium, so there probably won’t be a leagues.” lot of fans.” Feburary sports trivia! Can you get them all right?

Q1: How many total Q4: Who wore jersey num- Q8: Which NFL team drafted Q11: What year did baseball Q15: Which player supposed- Q18: What was the fi rst NHL career goals does NHL ber 45 for the Chicago Bulls Drew Brees? become an Olympic sport? ly put a fi fty year curse on the team to win back-to-back Stan- Hall of Famer Wayne in 1995? A.L.A. Chargers A.1992 Detroit Lions? ley Cup titles? Gretzky? have? A.Micheal Jordan B.New Orleans Saints B.1995 A. Dutch Clark A. New york Rangers A.894 B.Scottie Pippen C.Dallas Cowboys C.1996 B. Greg Candry B. Montreal Canadiens B.1,005 C.Steve Kerr D.New York Giants D.1999 C. Bobby Layne C. Ottawa Senators C.726 D.Ron Harper D. Earl Morrall D. Vancouver Canucks D.668 Q9: What NBA team relo- Q12: What year was NAS- Q5: Which Washington cated to Oklahoma City in CAR created? Q19: Which sport made its Q2: Who broke Joe Theis- National player hit a home 2008? A.1979 Olympic debut during the 1920 mann’s Leg? run in his MLB rookie A.Baltimore Bullets B.1948 Summer Olympics? A.Roger Staubach Debut? B.Seattle SuperSonics C.1930 A. Figure Skating B.Lawrence Taylor A.Ryan Zimmerman C.San Diego Clippers D.1970 B. Soccer C.O.J. Simpson B.Trea Turner D.Vancouver Grizzlies C. Tennis D.John Riggins C.Spencer Kieboom Q13: What is the name for D. Ice Hockey D.Carter Kieboom the left side of the tennis court for each player? Q20: Which two countries par- Q6: Who won the 2019 NCAA A. Ad court ticipated in the fi rst interna- softball world series? B.Od court Q16: What country was home to tional soccer match? A.Florida State C.Duce court the world’s fi rst soccer league? A. France and Italy B.Florida D.Base court A. Scotland B. Germany and England C.UCLA B.Italy C. Scotland and England D.Oklahoma Q14: What is the record for C.Germany D Portugal and Spain Q3: What was the name red cards given in a single D.England of the minor league team Q7: Who won the XFL cham- soccer game? Q21: Who holds the best rookie Tim Tebow played on in pionship in 2001? A. 36 Q17: What team owns the lon- passer rating in NFL history? 2019? A.D.C. Defenders Q10: Who Coached the 1981 B.16 gest winning streak in NBA his- A. Drew Brees A.Jacksonville Jumbo B.San Francisco Demons US Olympic Men’s Hockey C.6 tory? B. Dak Prescott Shrimp C.L.A. Extreme team? D.34 A. Los Angeles Lakers C. Tom Brady B.Hillsboro Hopps D.Houston Roughnecks A.Jim Craig B.Miami Heat D. Dan Marino C.Syracuse Mets B.Mark Pavelich C.Chicago Bulls D.Binghampton Rumble C.Mike Eruzione D.Golden State Warriors

Ponies D.Herb Brooks

(A) Q12: (B) Q13: (A) Q14: (A) Q15: (C) Q16: (D) Q17: (A) Q18: (C) 19: (D) 20: (C) Q21: (B) Q21: (C) 20: (D) 19: (C) Q18: (A) Q17: (D) Q16: (C) Q15: (A) Q14: (A) Q13: (B) Q12: (A) Q11: (D) Q10: (B) Q9: (A) Q8: (C) Q7: (C) Q6: (D) Q5: (A) Q4: (D) Q3: B) ( Q2: ) (A Q1: Key: Answer 16 SPORTS Tues. Feb. 25, 2020 COURTESY OF ATOMS ATHLETICS OF ATOMS COURTESY Junior Glory Nseka (285 lbs.) beats West Potomac opponent to push into State Tournament. He was the youngest Atom that qualifi ed for the tournament. Wrestling triumphs in playoff season 22, the Atoms were preparing at high intensity As for the physical training, they kept it the they were all diffi cult opponents; if anyone got BBYY TTYLERYLER PLANKPLANK with a simple mindset. same as they had all season with simulated taken lightly, that’s when upsets happen.” Sports Editor “For the state tournament, we’re telling the matches. It’s worked so far and they’re keeping The season for the Atoms has been very suc- wrestlers to win the next point or win the next the same method. With weight issues not being a cessful and it’s paid off in everyone’s eyes. They’ve The Atoms have closed the season in a success- position,” said Damico. “We’re trying to get the problem, they’ve been able to practice strictly on had their share of setbacks, but were able to keep ful manner, even if it hasn’t happened the way wrestlers to place as high as possible and by focus- wrestling. moving and keep a winning attitude. they’ve hoped. ing on the next point and next position they will do “Drilling, situations and live wrestling. None “I feel the team performed well; we fi nished The Atoms fi nished second in the districts but just that.” of the wrestlers have weight issues we need to 11-9 as a team and were wrestling well all year. were able to pass on four wrestlers into the region- The strategy worked really well, and Weaver focus on, which is great because they were able to We were hit with a bit of injuries, illnesses, and al tournament. took second place in the state tournament. Michee focus on doing what they needed to do to go 1-0 for quitters throughout the year that prevented us Seniors Patrick Lee (182 lbs), Ryan Fowler (152 Nseka also took fourth place in the tournament. regionals,” said Damico. “They could focus on the from reaching our full potential,” said Dami- lbs.), Dylan Weaver (170 lbs.), Michee Nseka (285 Michee won his fi rst match but lost the next goals of winning the next point and next position co. “But the starting 13 who wrestled at districts, lbs.), and Junior Glory Nseka (220 lbs.) all repre- one which set him back to fourth place. for the state tournament.” wrestled their best when it mattered and it helped sented AHS in this year’s regional tournament. Weaver won his two matches to get into the Even though the team had worked hard and us have a successful season.” Weaver and Lee both took the regional champion- state championship and lost a close match in the been successful, there are still challenges they ship for their weight classes. championship round. have to face. The primary focus was to build confi - Every wrestler fi nished within the top ten and At one point, Weaver had a 7-1 point advan- dence and be more mentally prepared. It paid off Season Recap were anxiously waiting for the state tournament. tage in his fi rst match and won by pin in his sec- in districts and they wanted to carry it into states. “The mentality was to literally take it one ond match. “For regionals the toughest opponent I felt for 2nd In Disticts match at a time and not look ahead,” said Coach Even the wrestlers who didn’t place did a good some of our wrestlers were themselves; some wres- Joshua Damico. “The goal was to get our fi ve dis- job during the tournament. Lee came back from tlers had a bad regional tournament last year Top Ten in Regionals tricts champions to the State Tournament, and we being behind by fi ve points in his match, but still and we wanted to make sure that didn’t happen did that by having them focus on one match at a wasn’t enough to place. again,” said Damico. “At some point, they had to Placed 4th and 2nd in states time.” The training for the tournament was at the tell themselves that they were the better wrestler As the state tournament fi nished up on Feb. same level as it had been all season. and go out and show it. For the state tournament, Lady Atoms struggle to fi nd hope in regionals while balancing time with fam- gotten better in multiple categories, not BBYY TTYLERYLER FFOTIOTI ily, friends, grades, homework, just with basketball. Staff Writer school and for some extracurric- “We have improved on working bet- ulars. ter as a team which has led to us stay- The Lady Atoms have had a “We struggled this season to ing connected on the court better,” very rough season as they ended fi nd our balance on both ends of Salisbury said. the long winter season with a the court,” Fawn Tucker said. Head Coach Fawn Tucker shared a record of, 1-21. “However we continue to show similar perspective on the Lady Atoms On Feb.14, the Lady Atoms resilience and as a coach, that’s season as well. fell in the Gunston District quar- something you must always be “Our team has grown not only as terfi nals to the, 6-16 Mount Ver- grateful for.” basketball players but also as young non Majors, by a score of 37-25. Taking away from family ladies,” Tucker said. “Going through a With the loss, it now offi cial- and relaxation time, during win- tough season will either make you or ly ends their chance at a district ter break the Lady Atoms girls break you, and this season has certain- title. went out and practiced multiple ly made the Lady Atoms tougher com- The Lady Atoms have worked times with the team to improve petitors on and off the basketball court.” all season on improving on their not only as individuals but also For the seniors, this was their last basketball skills and knowledge, as a team. year of eligibility for high school basket- through it all they have only won “This season has been rough ball, so the closure of winter sports also one game but they worked as a for us but we have tried our brings around a wave of sadness for team and they know they did best to keep playing as hard as those girls. their best. we can even if we are playing a Now that the 2019/20 girls basket- During the long winter sports better team,” freshman Aman- ball season is over many of the ath- season, the Lady Atoms girls da Salisbury said. “If we can letes are now transitioning to spring have dedicated so much of their improve on fi nishing and getting sports, but now with all, they’ve learned time and put forth so much effort the little things right we will be from the season and everything it had into their basketball season. OF RICH FINK COURTESY a much better team next year.” to offer. Freshmen Hailey Garrish gets shot blocked against Westfi eld. Garrish was one of the four They have stayed after But not everything this year freshman girls who played on varsity this season, she also started in a handful of games. school every day and prac- has been bad for the Lady Atoms ticed for two hours at a time all as everybody on the team has Track team fi nishes playoff run 2nd in district tournament at regionals for the hope of having a and we’re going to end off great. BBYY CCYRUSYRUS AASSADZADEHSSADZADEH few state qualifi ers. Improvements are still needed but Staff Writer The team did fairly well as the there are great things to come.” boys managed to take 3rd place in With states coming up, on Feb. The track season is coming to the near shot put. 28, the Atoms have been working to end after the highly successful Gunston Meanwhile, the girls had a great maintain athleticism but to also work Hall Divisional Tournament and regional tournament, placing 2nd in the 55 on being mentally prepared. As of championship. meter hurdle, 3rd place in high jump, now, they’re taking it easy to prevent On Feb. 1 at the divisional tourna- and 4th place in shot put. their qualifi ers from getting injured ment, AHS took fi rst place in the boys Throughout the entire season, the before the competition. 3200 meter run, girls 1000 meter run, AHS indoor track team has worked “We’re running and training of girls 55 meter hurdles fi nals and prelims. hard to dominate other schools since course, but we’re tightening up for the AHS also took second place in the boys the beginning. states. We’re not trying to do any prac- 1600 meter run, boys 4x800 meter relays, They’ve had their fair share of ups tices that are too hard but we’re still boys high jump, boys shot put, girls 300 and downs but they managed to pull working to maintain our conditioning,” meter dash, girls 1600 meter run and in together throughout the season. said coach Julian Scarbrough. “We’re the girls high jump. They would fi nish “We’ve performed a lot better than trying to prevent any injuries.” 2nd in the district. expected. We’ve had a lot of improve- It’s been a relatively quiet season The team was still trying to prove they ments in athletes after a rough start for the track team, but they do tend to could continue their success just a short at the beginning of the season,” heighten the intensity for the spring nine days later at the VHSL Region 6C season and plan to addistrict champi- COURTSEY OF CYNTHIA NGYUEN COURTSEY Senior Omar Avenando said. “While Senior Cynthia Nguyen runs the 400 at the Gunston Hall tournament on Jan.31 Championship in Landover, MD. the season continued, we improved onship to the record book. . From Feb. 10-12, the team competed Spring Sports begin to heat up AHS upcoming sporting season. Freshman Emmanuel Adomakoh BBYY TTYLERYLER FFOTIOTI Staff Writer Many athletes won’t even start on said. “I think at fi rst it will be hard to their new sport until they’re fi nished transition to track but once the sea- As the temperature rises and the with playoffs overlapping from winter. son gets started I think it’ll be fun.” layers of clothes decrease, it is evi- For some athletes around the school But there are other athletes who dent that the seasons are changing the transition from winter sports into just cannot wait to get into the swing once again, not only with the weath- spring sports will be hard for them. of spring sports and have been pre- er but also with the sports here at This could be for several reasons, paring for it to start. AHS. some athletes, especially seniors, will “In order to get ready for soccer in As winter sports are ending, it just miss their winter sport as it will the spring I’ve been going out to prac- means that athletes from across the be their last time playing that sport in tice with a coach,”said freshman San- school are transitioning into a new high school. tana Florero. “We do different ses- sport and season to try and earn a Also, that sport could be their favor- sions where we practice dribbling, spot on their desired team. ite, so moving on to a separate sport passing, shooting, etc.” Tryouts for softball, baseball, that they might not like as much could One thing is for sure though, lacrosse, tennis, track and fi eld, and be diffi cult. whenever a new sporting season is soccer begin on Feb. 24. “I’m gonna miss basketball season. starting up it always brings a little There are plenty of options for I had a lot of fun and made a bunch of excitement to the students and the Senior Vy Luu practices lacrosse skills to get ready for tryouts students to choose from with this new friends and memories during it,” school. Tues. Feb. 25, 2020 SPORTS 17 Varsity team prepares for regionals Annandale matches up against Fairfax for the fi rst playoff round

skills they showed during their games The T.C. Williams players were BBYY EEVANVAN BBURITAURITA on the JV roster. They are expected to very quick and strong, which was Sports Editor contribute to the varsity Atom’s suc- too much for the Atoms to handle at cess for regionals. times. As the Atoms’ regular season “It is an honor to be moved up to The Atoms ended up losing the comes to a fi nish, the varsity team varsity,” said Nields, who averaged game with a score of 68-77. will compete in the regional tourna- around 20 points per game this sea- On Feb 14, the Atoms rematched ment after qualifying from the district son. “I get to work with new guys and Mount Vernon in the fi rst round of playoffs and fi nishing with a record of try and help the team win. The oppor- the district playoffs. 11-13. tunity is helping me improve as a Once again, the Atoms completely They played an away game player. I can contribute to the team by dominated their opponents and won against the Fairfax Rebels in the fi rst spacing the fl oor and knocking down the game 81-66. round on Feb. 24. The tournament is shots.” This pushed the Atoms on to the single elimination, meaning the Atoms The Atoms fi nished their regu- next round of the Gunston District must win the game to advance to the lar season very strongly, as they won playoffs, the semifi nal. next round in the playoffs. The fi nal several games and performed well on The Atoms played West Potomac, score of the game was not available senior night. which fi nished the regular season at during press time. The team hosted senior night on the top of the district. The Rebels fi nished the season Feb. 6, where players were recognized The Atoms lost 53-44, but their with a record of 17-7. They dominat- for their commitment for the basket- overall performance at districts ed West Springfi eld in their district ball program and got to play in their earned them a spot in the Occoquan quarterfi nals, 63-36. Fairfax was then fi nal home game. The freshman, JV, Regional Tournament. defeated by Lake Braddock in the dis- and varsity teams all cruised to victo- Overall, this has been a great sea- trict semifi nals with a score of 85-68. ries against Mount Vernon, with the son for the Atoms and the players Overall, Fairfax had a strong sea- varsity team winning with a score of have improved greatly. The coach- son and need to be taken seriously. 79-50. es learned a lot about the team and The Atoms wanted to focus on Senior Ryan Adams scored 31 what needs to be done to prepare for small details that need to be fi xed points and converted 8 of 10 free next season. The team hopes to per- ahead of their matchup in order to throws. Freshman Joede Mebane form well in the regional tourna- RICH FINK PHOTOGRAPHY have a chance at victory. scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds. ment and believe they have the tal- Freshman Joede Mebane jumps for a layup in the Atoms district win against Fairfax is a very dangerous team John Awoke scored 8 points and ent and determination to make a Mount Vernon. with speed and physicality. AHS need- had 6 assists. He converted 6 of 6 ed to pay attention to their opponent’s freethrows. strengths to stay in the game. The freshman and JV teams also “We have to grab defensive played extremely well. The freshman rebounds and get back in transition team beat Mount Vernon 60-57 off of a and stop any early offense,” sopho- game winning 3 and set of free throws more guard Leoule Yared said. in the fi nal minute of the game. Also, the players all agree that it is During the JV game, the players necessary to play well with one anoth- played great defense, forced turnovers, er and put forth maximum effort. and the offense shot effi ciently. “For the team to be succesfful in The fi nal score was 76-53, as they regionals, we have to really play with destroyed Mount Vernon. and for one another,” sophomore for- Sophomore Aris Hill fi nished the ward Amanuel Tucker said. “We also game with a season-high 23 points. have to pay attention to details and The team’s next test was against make sure we do all the little things T.C. Williams, which is among one right. Most importantly every single of the best teams in the region. The player has to give one hundred per- Atoms fell short of victory as the JV cent effort.” team lost by 2 points after being on The talented varsity roster will the wrong end of a controversial foul recieve several players from the JV call, which denied them of game-tying team for the tournament, includ- free throws. ing freshman shooting guard Andrew The varsity team played in a low Nields, freshman guard Davida Raha- scoring defensive battle in the fi rst rinaivo, freshman forward Emman- half, which ended with the Atoms uel Asante, and sophomore forward leading 25-21. In the second half, the Aris Hill. game opened up and both offenses These players were moved up to scored more. varsity due to their hardwork and RICH FINK PHOTOGRAPHY Senior Lukas Tabja-Diaz guards the Mount Vernon guard near half court during a game on Feb. 14.

Atoms send several swimmers to Swim season comes to an end regionals such as their 149-131 win in a dual BBYY EEVANVAN BBURITAURITA meet against Robert E. Lee. Sports Editor Many of the swimmers dropped time and showed good team spirit, The swim season has come to which the team believes is necessary an end, and the Atoms had many to be successful in future meets. positive achievments. A large portion of the team will Twenty-two swimmers and continue to train with summer swim divers were sent to regionals due to teams during the offseason to improve their high placements at districts. their technique and gain strength for The regional meet took place on next season. Feb. 8 and 9 at the Oak Marr Rec Both the boys and girls squads Center. have very few seniors graduating, Some important performances meaning a large amount of talented include Nathan Tran placing 16th swimmers will be returning to the for 100 meter butterfl y and 8th for team next year. dive, Rachel Tran placing 13th for The freshman and sophomores will dive, and Madison Cruz placed 16th become more developed swimmers for 100 meter breast stroke. with better technique and the rising “Personally I didn’t do as well as seniors will help lead the team and I could have for dive, but for swim help the underclassman be better I did alright. I was hoping to go to swimmers. states for dive but I messed up on Olivia Cruz, Eleanor Stenberg, Chelsi Lilli, and Maya Mann all swam at regionals on The Atoms swim team has built a two dives.” Feb. 8 strong reputation for developing great The swimmers also refl ected on dropping of times. The swim team has recorded swimmers and needs to work hard to their seasons, both as a team and “The season went really well,” losses against many talented make the team the best it can be. individually. Chelsi Lilli said. “It was super fun regional teams, such as Falls The team hopes to send more Although the Atoms fi nished because I made a lot of new friends Church, Oakton, and Woodson. swimmers to regionals next year and with a losing record, they can take and became closer with others. I Despite some of these losses by improve their record against other away many good things that may dropped a lot of time throughout large margins, the Atom swimmers teams in the Gunston district. help them for next season, such as the season, so I’m happy I didn’t showed a lot of promise and their increase in team bonding and disappoint myself.” potential in some of their meets, Athlete Spotlight: Joede Mebane

BBYY EEVANVAN BBURITAURITA Sports Editor Q: How does it feel to be playing varsity as a freshman? Freshman Joede Mebane plays basketball A: “It feels amazing to have this opportunity for the Atoms varsity team. He is 6’3 and plays at a young age. My game grows a lot when I power forward. He has taken on the challenge play on the varsity level. The experience really of playing varsity as an underclassman with helps my game, and I feel blessed to have the great confi dence and has had tremendous opportunity.” improvement as a player throughout the season. Although play time is always up for grabs on the talented roster, Mebane averages Q: What is your favorite memory of 5.5 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per playing for Annandale so far? game. He looks forward to working with the A: “The best part of the season was playing basketball program for years to come and looks with my teammates and making new to get even better as a player. friendships. My teammates and I went through the ups and downs of the whole season, and that is something special.” Q: What is your favorite part about basketball? A: “My favorite part about basketball is when Q: What game did you perform your best ever I’m down or not in the mood, I always get in? happy when I’m in the gym and get things off A: “The game I performed best at was the T.C. my head.” RICH FINK PHOTOGRAPHY Membane protects the ball from the Mount Vernon defenders as he drives to the basket. Williams game at home. That game I had my fi rst ever double-double on varsity. I had 12 points and 10 rebounds.” Q: How did you discover your interest in basketball? Q: What are your strengths as an athlete? Q: What are your goals for the remainder A: “As an athlete I’d say my athleticism is very of the season? Q: Do you plan to play basketball in A: “My mom made me play recreational in 4th college? grade, then I hated it, and in 7th grade all my good, and I play very hard. My fi nishing when A: “I think our team has the potential of it comes to practice is really not that good, but winning states. Our roster has the talent to go A: “Yes, I plan to take my skills and friends were really good at it, and I wanted to encouragement to college.” be better than them, and then I started taking in a game, my fi nish is key to what I think is all the way. We need to focus up, and we’ll be the game seriously.” our successful team.” unstoppable once we reach our full potential.” 18 ENTERTAINMENT Tues. Feb. 25, 2020 Music world loses yet another young artist they have not yet been identifi ed. BBYY AALEXLEX BBURITAURITA The likely motive was jealousy or Entertainment Editor personal beef with Jackson. Similar to the death of Juice WRLD, In the late morning on Feb. 19, fans Pop Smoke’s death brought grief from were shocked when they read alerts other famous fi gures in the rap world informing the death of Bashar Jackson, such as Nicki Minaj, 50 Cent, Gunna, better known as Pop Smoke. and Chance the Rapper. At the age of 20, Jackson was unex- His death came just a day after his pectedly shot to death by four masked new mixtape: Meet The Woo, V.2 hit fi gures during a home invasion of the number 7 on the Billboard 200. Los Angeles residence he was staying His most famous productions came at. during his collaborations with artists “It is another tragic lost Pop Smoke such as: Lil Tjay, Travis Scott, Callboy, will never be able to live up to the poten- Jackboys, and Nicki Minaj. tial he had,” junior Alex Seok said. The week following the release of It is suspected that this occurred the mixtape, a deluxe edition was added because he posted his uncensored that featured remixes with Nav, Gunna, address publically on social media ear- and PnB Rock. lier on the day he died. This would have been the beginning This was most likely inadvertent as of Pop Smoke’s lucrative career, as he the post thanked fans for sending gifts. was planning to go on tour starting in This tragedy again brings world Washington D.C. not even two weeks attention to a trend that has been later. increasingly plaguing young rappers on “I believe we need to start knowing their rise to success. more about these upcoming rappers This rise was also highlighted by the before others are taken too soon,” junior deaths of Lil Peep, XXXTentacion, and Isaac Nebyu said. Jimmy Wopo, who were also shot on Although Pop Smoke only had a two their rise to fame. year career, he will be remembered as a As for the men who shot Pop Smoke, GETTY IMAGES talented artist that rose to fame quickly. Pop Smoke was killed during a home invasion at age 20 in his home. His career as a rapper was just getting started. Netfl ix comes out with second season for Narcos: Mexico

discovered the profi tability of drugs and BBYY SSUADUAD MMOHAMEDOHAMED started his drug trade, turning it into a Co-Editor in Chief big operation which came to be known as the Guadalajara cartel. Earlier this month, Netfl ix released The season ends with Felix killing the second season of its crime thriller, the main DEA agent coming after him, Narcos: Mexico. known as Kiki Camarena, and leverag- Originally, this new season and the ing the government to give him protec- one before it were supposed to serve as tion. fourth and fi fth seasons to the original However, the second season sees the show, Narcos. fall of the drug kingpin’s success. Based in Colombia, that show chron- He faces many struggles, with most icled the life and dealings of Pablo Esco- of his companions becoming disloyal due bar, the infamous drug cartel leader in to pressure from other cartels and the Colombia. Mexican government. However, Narcos: Mexico was even- Eventually, he builds ties with tually developed to be its own show. Colombian cartels, who need to use “I think that it was smart of the pro- Mexico’s proximity to the U.S. to smug- ducers and directors to make it its own gle drugs across the border. separate show,” junior Sumaya Ahmed However, this leads to the U.S. and said. “Even though the concepts of the the DEA applying more pressure on the two shows are similar and they attract Mexican government, who want to join the same audience, there is a big dif- NAFTA and build an alliance with the ference in the plot and focus of the two U.S. shows.” Overall, the second season gar- Narcos: Mexico explores the growth nered a lot of good reviews. It was just and confl icts of drug cartels in solely as good as the fi rst season and was easy Mexico, as can be inferred by the title. to watch. In the fi rst season, the show cap- tures how Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo Boogie returns with new album

January BBYY ERIKERIK RIVASRIVAS A Boogie, however has not released Entertainment Editor an album since 2018 which was Hood- ie SZN, and it topped the Billboard 200 Julius Dubose, popularly known albums chart. has A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, has now “He is very catchy and his music is released another album, titled Artist relatable, he writes about stuff we all go 2.0. through with heartbreak and about his This new album, which was released dad,” junior Elizabeth Ortiz said. “He last week, marks his third ever. also stays humble unlike other rappers.” His previous albums were The Big- ger Artist and Hoodie SZN, which were released in 2017 and 2018 respectively. The album contains 20 songs and has features from other well known art- ists such as: Young Thug, Roddy Ricch, Gunna, DaBaby and Lil Uzi Vert. “Some of the songs on the album are good, as I enjoyed listening to them,” junior Nalin Rawat said. “Of the albums I have listened to from A Boo- gie Wit Da Hoodie, Artist 2.0 is one of the better ones.” The albums title is Artist 2.0 Fast and furious on another ride because it sequels his 2014 debut mix- tape, Artist. the trailer and was predicted by many series goes on, the movies have started One of the more notable songs on BBYY ERIKERIK RRIVASIVAS fans to die was Han Lue. to include more action than cars.” the album is one of his singles, “King Entertainment Editor “The few recent ones have been more The trailer starts with Vin Diesel’s Of My City, which was released in late repetitive in what they do now, junior character, Don Toretto, saying he can’t For many Fast and Furious fans, it Evelyn Granadoz said. “At this point I live his life a quarter of mile. was safe to say that The Fate of the Furi- know what to expect and what will hap- Toretto says that no matter how fast ous would not be the last ride. pen.” they are, the past will catch up to them This was proven correct with the Overall, the main concensus by and that he just did. Key events release of the trailer for F9 which is set many fans is that the series should come At this point the gang has already • Post Malone with Swae Lee Thurs. Feb. 27 at Capital One Arena to release in May of 2022. to an end, as it has been over 19 years reunited. Many got tired of the franchise after since the fi rst release. Toretto claimed the past was his • Billie Eilish Wed. Mar. 18 at Capital One Arena the seventh movie and thought it would The main idea of the newer movies abandoned brother. be the last one since the death of star has simply changed. “I am really looking forward to this • Aventura Mar. 3 and Mar. 5 at Capital One Arena actor Paul Walker. “I have always been a big fan of the movie, and I can’t wait to watch it,” Walker’s character Brian O’Connell fast and furious series. When the fi rst sophomore Trisha Tran said. • Nick Cannon with Wild ‘N Out live Fri. Mar. 13 at Capital One Arena is said to make a surprise return, as it movie came out, it was based on cars However, it seems like the new Fast has been six years since he passed away. and more racing than anything else,” and Furious movies are just giving char- • Broccoil City Festival Sat. May 9 in Washington, D.C. A character who made a return in junior Isabella Rodas said. “As the acter siblings we did not know about. Free apps of the issue

Facetune2: Best Selfi e Geev: The Zero Waste HomeCourt - The Basketball Draw Climber Roblox Facetune is what you An app for donating Use your iPhone to cap- Funniest race game. Roblox is the ultimate need for the perfect por- objects and food between ture and analyze how Draw your own legs and virtual universe that lets trait. Incredible features individuals. You can join you play. You will learn anything will make you you play, create and be include smooth skin, the fi ght against food skills in a way that feels run, and if you get stuck, anything you can imag- artistic tools, shiny eyes waste. You can also give less like training and draw something else. ine. Millions of worlds to and bright smiles. away your stuff. more like a video game. explore and play togeth- er anytime, anywhere. Tues. Feb. 25, 2020 ENTERTAINMENT 19 Which streaming service gives more?

Apple Music AmazonAmazon MusicMusic GoogleGoogle Play Play Music Music LiveXLive With Siri and Apple Watch For an ad-free, on-demand For those that have down- Previously known as Slacker compatibility, Apple Music service, Amazon Music loaded music from the inter- Radio, LiveXLive gives you is a well-rounded streaming Unlimited can give you net, Google Play Music is access to a variety of stations service that complements the access to over 50 million right for you. With both free and the usual music genres user’s needs in music, and songs. You can also summon and paid versions, you can that other stations have. how they listen on an Apple Amazon music with Alexa upload over 100 thousand Device. as well. audio fi les and stream it as well. Benefi ts Benefi ts Benefi ts Benefi ts • Three plans, family, student, and • Large music library • Good quality for audio • Excellently stations individual • Playlists curated to the user • Huge library to choose from • Fun playlists • Siri and Apple watch integration • Cool lyrics • Affordable plan • Informative DJs • Over 50 million tracks • Alexa-specifi c features • Easy-to-access music locker • News updates from time to time • Human-curated Beats 1 radio station • HD and Ultra HD sound quality for • Option to buy from Store • Nice design • Personal playlists headphone users

“Apple Music “There are a “I used this “When it is really easy lot of songs app when was Slacker to use, but that is easi- my Apple Radio it was sometimes ly accessible Music was at it’s peak, it acts up. and Amazon canceled. At but with all I hope that gives you fi rst it was of the adver- they let us have more a lot of features when easy to use but you can tisements, the app is basi- personalized features.” using prime as well.” only upload music.” cally useless.” --CHELSI LILLI --JON MILIAN --WILMER LOPEZ --EMILY CALLAO freshman sophomore freshman senior

SiriusXM AmazonSpotify Music GoogleTidal Play Music YouTube Music For those that loved listen- Those that love to hear a Tidal has different prices Once purchased, YouTube ing to the radio inside a car, variety of music on different ranging from $10-20, music Music gives you music with- SiriusXM has now launched devices, have playlists curat- lovers that want high-quali- out any ads and you can an “Outside The Car” pack- ed for your taste in music, ty audio should choose Tidal fi nally play it with your age that lets users listen in and also free, Spotify is the if you don’t have the excellent phone turned off. Google on an app or a web browser best well-rounded choice. audio equipment users that like to listen to music should purchase this Benefi ts Benefi ts Benefi ts Benefi ts • Numerous live talk, sports, and channels • Up to several profi les for premium • Excellent sound quality • Decent library of music accounts • Able to rewind tracks • Themed playlists • Integrates well with Google applications • Select albums before they’re released • Recommends songs for you • Exclusive content • Convenient service • Store audio fi les on desktop • High-profi le and exclusive content • Early access to select tickets for concerts • A lot of artists and songs to choose from • Over thousands of playlists and games as well

“This service “Spotify “It’s kind of “I stuck with is so useful is always expensive YouTube when I was better than at fi rst, but because in the car Apple Music, if you want every artist without any but some- good quality uploads on radio. It times the music, Tidal this and it is connected instantly and I personalized playlists are is a good choice.” pretty cheap as well.” was fi ne.” creepy.” --SUMAYA AHMED --HAMID KAMARA -EMILY MARTINDALE --MOISES MARQUEZ junior junior sophomore senior

Watchlist of the Issue Playlist of the Issue BLUEBERRY FAYGO Lil Mosey Single (2020) The Seattle rapper puts out a hot single before the release of his fi rst album of the year.

I DO IT (FT. BIG SEAN, LIL BABY) Lil Wayne Funeral (2020) Lil Wayne releases his fi rst album in two years and this trio makes the highlight.

KING OF MY CITY Inception (2010) The Lion King (2019) Narcos: Mexico (2020) 6 Underground (2019) A Boogie Wit da Hoodie Dom Cobb, a theif, enters A young cub, Simba, gets Following the death of A billionaire fakes his Single (2020) people’s dreams to steal banished and struggles Kiki Camarena, the DEA death and recruits a team The NYC rapper tells us all about secrets, which proves to be to get back to his king- tries to take down the of operatives to take down his home city in a classic A Boo- dangerous (Netfl ix). dom (Disney Plus). Mexican Cartel (Netfl ix). a dictator (Netfl ix). gie banger.

YELL OH (FT. YOUNG THUG) Trippie Redd Sing;e (2020) Trippie and Thugger team up for his fi rst single since his album.

INTENTIONS (FT. QUAVO) Justin Bieber Single (2020) Justin releases his second single with the hit Atlanta rapper a week before his album debut.

Toy Story 4 (2019) The Mind Of Aaron Arrow (2020) To All the Boys I’ve QR CODE Woody and friends Hernandez (2020) In season 8, Oliver Queen Loved Before (2018) Scan the QR code to access the embark on a road trip, Through a series of inter- looks to help the greater A quiet girl’s life is turned Playlist of the Issue with addition- but a detour shows Woody views, this documenta- good and tries to save the upside down when her al songs on Spotify. what he really wants his ry shows how Hernandez multi verse from aliens love letters are mailed to life to be (Disney Plus). turns to a convicted killer (Netfl ix). her crushes (Netfl ix). (Netfl ix). 20 WEEKEND Tues. Feb. 25, 2020 FOUR FUN WAYS TO EXERCISE SPORT ROCK CLIMBING CNTER ROCK SPORT ELENA LEOPOLD Rock climb at Sportrock Go crazy at Kazaxe If you’re looking for a unique way to available for rent at the front desk. The Kazaxe dance class in the instructor will pause and let everyone exercise with a little bit of thrill, rock If you want more freedom and are Springfi eld is a mix of latin inspired get a quick water break. climbing at SportRock may be perfect willing to try climbing without a harness, dancing and cardio that is aimed to give One of the best parts about Kazaxe is for you. there is a free climb boulder and wall, participants an aerobic based workout. the environment. Sportrock Climbing Center in which are closer to the ground and have When you fi rst walk into the People taking the class are there to Alexandria has 60 foot climbing walls, soft matts underneath to help prevent warehouse where Kazaxe is taught, you have fun and get a unique workout in, boulders to free climb and a regular injury. see a huge stage where the instructor and the energy in the room is very high. S gym that overlooks the center. The best part about rock climbing is dances. easoned dancers often help the You can choose to climb a route on that it really doesn’t feel like exercise. Classes start with a warm up to newbies get a grip on the complex dance the smaller 20 foot walls, or challenge In the moment, you’re thinking more medium/fast paced Latin music. Y moves. yourself on one of the 60 foot ones. about where to place your hands and feet ou’re joined in the huge room with Everyone is very friendly and taking Regardless of your knowledge and and focusing less on how hard your body 40 plus other people, all dancing to the the Kazaxe class is one of the best ways experience, there is something for is working out. same music. to have a fun workout. everyone. Website: https://sportrock.com The dance moves and cardio Website: https://kazaxe.com/ Climbing shoes and harnesses Address: 5308 Eisenhower Ave, exercises are very fast paced and Address: are required to climb walls and are Alexandria, VA 22304 dynamic. At certain points in a song, Prices: $30-50 per session Prices: $15-40 per session SPARK YOGA STUDIO YOGA SPARK ZENGO CYCLE Stretch out at Spark Yoga Go for a spin at Zengo Cycle

Yoga is one of the most relaxing In a class, you learn different One of the most underrated ways to Music and the instructors directions ways to exercise. sequences of poses that are aimed to exercise, cycling is a full body workout fi ll the room while you cycle. It helps increase fl exibility, better strengthen and heal your mind and body. that anyone can enjoy. Unlike riding a normal bike, you don’t your blood fl ow, strengthens your Even though they specialize in At Zengo Cycle, classes are aimed to face any obstacles and ride a nice smooth muscles and overall helps to calm you yoga, there are also classes that teach strengthen every muscle you have. cycling session. down. meditation, arial and barre skills if yoga When you arrive, tons of stationary The instructors and people around you It’s a perfect activity to do with a isn’t your activity of choice bikes are set up in rows, facing on bike are very motivational and push you to be group of friends, or even to do alone if Overall, Spark Yoga is a great place to in the front, one which the instructor your best. you want some peace and quiet. workout and relax your mind and body. teaches. Website: https://www.zengocycle.com/ Spark Yoga, located in Mosaic is one Website: https://www.sparkyoga.com/ Everyone picks a bike and starts Address: 2905 District Ave, Fairfax, of the best yoga studios around. Address: 2987 District Ave #120, a small warmup dictated by the VA 22031 The family owned and operated Fairfax, VA 22031 instructor. Prices: $20-50 per session studio teaches classes for people of all Prices: $20-45 per session ages and skill levels. Upcoming events How should you workout 10. Your favorite clothing brand is... in the D.C. area a. Nike b. Supreme Concerts this weekend? c. Lululemon d. Forever 21 Post Malone-Runaway Tour 1. How do you like to de-stress? 6. If you’re outside you are most likely… Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. a. Watching your favorite show a. Going on a walk or run Capital One Arena b. Hanging out with friends b. Walking around the city If you picked mostly A’s: c. Doing something active c. Having a picnic with friends or family Go rock climbing Billie Eilish- Where Do We Go? d. Eating food d. Dreaming (because who spends time outside) (See above for more information) World Tour 2. Where do you like to spend most of 7. At a sports game you would be… Mach 18 at 7:30 p.m. your time? a. On the fi eld/ court Capital One Arena a. Indoors b. Cheering your favorite player on b. At sports practice c. Walking around with friends If you picked mostly B’s: Lauryn Hill c. Outdoors d. At home Take a Kazaxe class March 7 at 9 p.m. d. Your bed/couch (See above for more information) The Kennedy Center 8. What is your dream job? 3. On the weekends you fi nd yourself... a. Actor/actress a. Binge watching Netfl ix b. Doctor The Lumineers b. Doing something active c. Stay at home spouse Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. c. Spending time with friends d. Librarian If you picked mostly C’s: Capital One Arena d. At the mall Take a Yoga Class 9. When going through your camera roll, you (See above for more information) Sport games 4. When you fi rst wake up you... mostly see... Washington Wizards vs. a. Do your morning routine a. Screenshots of funny tweets b. Pictures of nature Brooklyn Nets b. Check your phone c. Make coffee or tea c. Pictures of you and your friends Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. d. Check the time and go back to sleep d. Pictures of cute animals Capital One Arena If you picked mostly D’s: 5. Pick a dessert 9. What is your dream vacation Take a spin class at Zengo Cycle Washington Capitals vs. a. Cake a. Hiking in the Grand Canyon (See above for more information) Philidephia Flyers b. Ice cream b. Scuba diving in the Bahamas c. Sightseeing in London March 4 at 7 p.m. c. No dessert for me d. Cookies d. Visiting Disney in Florida Capital One Arena South Block surpasses expectations BBYY EELENALENA LLEOPOLDEOPOLD My only complaint with the menu is Weekend Editor that some locations offer certain foods while others do not. As healthier and more organic foods Breakfast items and sandwiches are are becoming more popular, juice bars, the main options that differ from place like South Block are popping up all over to place, so looking at the menu on the the country. South Block website before you go is a South Block offers a wide variety of good idea.

juices, sandwiches, smoothies and acai In terms of service, orders are JUICE CO. SOUTH BLOCK ELENA LEOPOLD bowls. prepared fairly quickly. It took roughly The PBJ bowl and Cali bowl available at South The extensive menu at South Block features smoothies, acai bowls When you walk in the door, the fi rst 15 minutes to make one PBJ bowl and Block for $11. and other breakfast foods. thing you see is the huge menu and two Cali bowls, which was very timely. ordering counter. The juice bar has a The employees working at the menu, inconsistency and prices. rustic yet modern vibe with wood and Westmoreland St. South Block were As long as you aren’t a frequent metal accents scattered around the very friendly and helpful. I ordered the visitor of the South Block, you shouldnt room. Warrior Bowl, and was customized to be breaking your bank to buy smoothies After you choose from the huge fi t some fruit allergies and had a lot of and bowls. selection of foods, drink and bowls, you specifi cations. Even the, the quality and get to watch as your order gets prepared. Everything came out superbly and deliciousness of the food is well worth One of the more popularized items tasted amazing even though I changed the price. on the menu are acai bowls. a lot. Ranging from healthier options like The prices at the south block are not Key Information the warrior bowl that has fruit, granola as amazing as the food. You get a good and protein powder, to sugary options amount considering how much you pay, Address: 2121 N Westmoreland St, like the nutella bowl. but $9-$13 per item can get pricey very Unit B, Arlington, VA 22213 You can also choose to make your own quickly. Hours of operation: acai bowl if you want something more All things considered, South Block is Mon-Fri: 7am – 7pm specifi c. The smoothies, sandwiches and a great place to get a healthy snack. Sat-Sun: 9am– 5pm The food is very good, and the only JUICE CO. SOUTH BLOCK other items on the menu can also be *Accepts Apple Pay The modern exterior design of South Block. There are benches available to sit at few things that disappoint are the customized. when the weather is nice.