Reading the local book scene

By Holly Adams

May 23, 2020

Since the Barnes & Noble in Bethesda Row — a staple of the Bethesda downtown area — closed its doors in Jan. 2018, many community members have missed having a local bookstore. To replace these larger chains when they close, independent bookstores have grown in popularity, with sales growing ...

I was a top-secret, paid meme expert for Facebook

By Jocie Mintz

May 23, 2020

Working for Facebook would be a career highlight for most. For me, it was a side hustle.  Every week for three months, Facebook paid me to tell a data researcher whether or not the memes he shared were funny. It was the best and most bizarre job I’ll ever have. Most teens see Facebook as an ap...

Creativity is contagious: A showcase of student artwork

By Sam Mulford

May 23, 2020

FAIR Girls fights to end human trafficking, supports survivors

By Sammy Heberlee

May 23, 2020

“Human trafficking” and “modern day slavery” aren’t words you hear every day in Bethesda —  we often think they’re concentrated in international communities. But the reality is more grim than many would expect.  The International Labor Organization estimates that there are at least 40....

First-time African American history, literature classes no longer offered due to lack of enrollment

By Meera Shroff

May 23, 2020

Mary McLeod Bethune was one of the most influential African American educators and political activists of the 1900s. She was a successful businesswoman, a political advisor to President Franklin Roosevelt, a teacher who opened a boarding school to educate African American girls, the vice president of th...

Students need to be more politically involved in choosing their SMOB

May 23, 2020

If you ask any MCPS student to name the current Student Member of the Board of Education, they will probably give you the correct answer. Ask them to explain how the SMOB is chosen, though, and they’ll probably draw a blank.  The SMOB is the most prestigious and powerful student political position i...

Controlling the narrative: The evolution of birth control in teenage users

By Holly Adams

May 23, 2020

Some students’ names have been changed to protect their privacy.   The day after President Trump’s inauguration, the phones at Potomac Family Planning Center were ringing off the hook. People were calling the women’s health and abortion services clinic to ask if they would still prov...

Roundtable discussion about mental health

By Jocie Mintz and Emily London

May 23, 2020

Mental health programs at Whitman have expanded significantly over the last decade. In 2014, former Principal Alan Goodwin created Stressbusters, a council of parents focused on reducing student stress. The next year, staff and students implemented Sources of Strength, a youth-led suicide prevention pro...

Whitman students go “all-in” on sports gambling

By Matt Mande

May 23, 2020

Students’ names have been changed to protect their privacy.   The first time junior Colin placed an online bet, it was before British Youtube celebrity Olajide Olatunji, more commonly known as KSI, took on American Youtube celebrity Logan Paul in an amateur boxing match in November. He bet $...

How being an EMT burst the “Bethesda Bubble”

By Sammy Heberlee

May 23, 2020

Everyone knows about the “Bethesda Bubble,” that invisible barrier that separates Bethesda from the “real world.” It distances residents from the opportunity gap and diversity that exist elsewhere. But even though this bubble can be insulatory, it might not be as bulletproof as we may think....

Q&A with Microsoft Director of Sustainability Michelle Patron

By Jocie Mintz

May 23, 2020

In January, Microsoft announced that it would become carbon-negative by 2030, meaning that annually, they plan to absorb more carbon than they emit. In the same plan, the company announced that it aims to remove more carbon from the atmosphere than it has emitted in all its 45+ years of operation by 2050. T...

The potential of female voice

May 23, 2020

In 1963, Judith Welles walked into The Washington Post’s offices, a collection of writing samples in her hand. She had just graduated from Vassar College and was hoping to land a position as a beat reporter. After writing obituaries for the local newspaper while in college, the chance to tell the stories ...