The Black and White

Ten days of silence: Allison Hayes retreats to Thailand, practices meditation

Last summer, science teacher Allison Hayes practiced meditation for 10 days in Thailand. She had to remain silent the entire time.

October 10, 2019

It’s 4 a.m. in the remote forests of Southern Thailand. A bell rings and science teacher Allison Hayes wakes up for a session of early morning meditation. After, she heads to a sun-rise yoga session, and then a traditional vegetarian Thai breakfast. Aside from meals, Hayes meditates until 9:30 p.m....

The climate strike in photos

Students hold up a banner while chanting. The strike was filled with colorful signs with catchy but solemn slogans, mostly being held up by high school students.

By Chloe Lesser

September 23, 2019

Thousands of students from across the D.C. area gathered at the Capitol for the youth-led global climate strike Sept. 20. Protesters striking in front of the Capitol Building heard various speakers, including Rep. Jim McGovern and 16-year-old Tokata Iron Eyes from the Standing Rock Nation in North D...

Whitman: In the wake of Monday’s attack, stop suppressing and start reflecting

By Editorial Board

September 20, 2019

On Monday, two announcements told us to stay in our classrooms regardless of any bells. Then, a fire alarm sounded. Eventually, the events were reconciled—but in the meantime, students exchanged details and speculation. While false information and even jokes spread throughout the school, the fact remained...

Roundtable discussion about race

By Maddy Frank and Max London

June 5, 2019

Over the past two years, Whitman students have been involved in several serious incidents of racism. Last year, students attended a schoolwide assembly when multiple students experienced racism, and last month, two students were suspended after a photo of them wearing splotches of a black facial mask c...

MD General Assembly passes $46.6 billion budget, with $7 billion for public school education

By Max London

May 7, 2019

The Maryland General Assembly passed a $46.6 billion budget for the next fiscal year March 26. The budget includes $7 billion in funding for Maryland public schools, a 400 million increase from the $6.6 billion allotted last year. This is the most the state has ever provided for education funding. As pa...

Students angry over B-CC rating incident

By Meera Dahiya

May 6, 2019

The Washington Post reported that a group of male students made a list ranking teenage girls in the International Baccalaureate program at Bethesda–Chevy Chase High School March 26, upsetting Whitman students and sparking discussions about sexual harassment. The boys assigned 18 females scores based on thei...

Photo captioned with N-word spurs hate-bias investigation

Two students posted a photo on social media wearing splotches of a black facial mask captioned with the N-word. Police officials are investigating the photo as a hate-bias incident.

By Dana Herrnstadt

April 30, 2019

Two Whitman students posted an image of themselves wearing splotches of a black facial mask on a private social media account last weekend, captioning the photo with the N-word. The picture was widely shared online and reported to the Montgomery County Police, who are investigating the matter as a �...

Students discuss the Rep. Ilhan Omar controversy

By David Villani

April 4, 2019

My opinion: why criticisms of Israel aren't anti-Semitic Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has had an eventful first term in Congress. Since her election, the freshman congresswoman has been under near-constant attack for anti-Semitism. After her comments last month questioning the political influence that forces people to side with a foreign country—meaning Israel—critics have accused h...

Students, teachers frustrated over alleged college admissions bribery scandal

Fifty people were charged March 12 in an alleged college admissions bribery scheme. Many students in the midst of the college process said they felt cheated.

By Anna Yuan

March 18, 2019

When senior Evin McDonald, who is committed to play tennis at the University of Texas at Austin, found out that his college coach was set to be prosecuted for accepting an approximately $100,000 bribe in a college admissions scheme, he was stunned. “I was just in complete shock,” McDonald said. “I talked t...

College early applicant rates spike

By Anna Yuan

March 12, 2019

While early applicants to colleges across the United States have steadily increased over the past few years, many universities saw an unusually large spike this year. Of 32 highly ranked universities and colleges surveyed by The Washington Post, 26 had more early applicants than last year. Some changes were especially dramatic: New York University experienced a 42 percent increase. Whi...

What I learned from writing about affirmative action

By Anna Yuan

March 12, 2019

In the last Black & White magazine, I wrote a story on the community’s reaction to Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, a lawsuit involving an anti-affirmative action group who accused Harvard University of discriminating against Asian-Americans in college admissions. I’d been following ...

Behind the scenes of Ethan Lindenberger’s testimony

By Hannah Feuer

March 9, 2019

Ethan Lindenberger, a senior at Norwalk High School in Norwalk, Ohio, is known in his hometown as the “vaccine kid.” Strangers have written him death threats, friends have called him a government pawn and his mother publicly renounced his actions as akin to “a slap in the face.” But these atta...