Style – The Black and White

Appreciate, don’t appropriate

November 4, 2019

Growing up, I loved Saturday mornings. I bounced with excitement every time I watched my mom swirl out the familiar dark brown paste of henna, and I’d stand on my tiptoes to watch her pick out a raw, unbroken piece of spaghetti to help her with the design. A few quick squiggles would turn into intri...

In U.S., art opportunities draw a senior’s passion

By Afsoon Movahed

October 30, 2019

When senior Anna Bedratenko lived in Ukraine, she didn’t have much time for creativity. She had always liked drawing and painting, but the Ukrainian art curriculum in her school taught art as a skill rather than an outlet for imagination, she said. So, when she moved to the United States her freshm...

The ultimate team: “Poets and Pitchers”

By Eve Titlebaum

October 25, 2019

In 2012, a 13-year-old Josh Strauss (‘17) fell in love with an activity at his summer sleepaway camp. However, he wasn’t doing the typical camp activities like kayaking or roasting marshmallows; he was playing ultimate frisbee every day. When he returned home, he missed the sport. He needed his “fri...

Students spend a week in Peru, teach English at local school

By James Marzolf-Miller

October 24, 2019

It was quiet while junior Defne Aslan waited in front of the Yanapay school’s front gates in Trujillo, Peru with 16 other MCPS students. But once the gates opened, sounds of chatter and laughter escaped from the building. Teachers welcomed the Whitman students, and a line of elementary school child...

Homecoming pep rally moved from main gym to stadium

By Ben Stricker

October 23, 2019

This year, the SGA will hold the homecoming pep rally outside in the football stadium, rather than in its traditional location in the gym, Oct. 25. After receiving feedback from students and teachers about previous years’ pep rallies, the SGA and administrators agreed to move the pep rally outside f...

A craft for a smile: Whitman club creates crafts for children battling cancer

By Heather Wang

October 22, 2019

Glue bottles, beads and shreds of fabric are scattered across the art room tables. Crafts for Smiles club members make themselves busy by weaving bits of yarn into necklaces and bracelets, with their hands covered in dried glue and markers. Talking and laughing together, Crafts for Smiles members creat...

Senior wins End Family Fire contest with striking video

By Meera Shroff

October 20, 2019

On a Monday in late July, senior Amelia Montagnino headed to her summer internship at the Brady Campaign — a nonprofit organization aimed at preventing gun violence. As usual, she attended the all-staff meeting, listening as the top staff of Brady shared news and plans for the upcoming week. The...

MSDE cuts DECA, Whitman DECA members frustrated

By Ben Stricker

October 17, 2019

The Maryland State Department of Education informed Maryland DECA last spring, without any advanced warning, that they will no longer charter the club beginning this school year. This is the first time in around 60 years that the state hasn’t funded DECA. Recently, MSDE announced that they wouldn’...

REACHing toward modern art

By Lexi Fleck

October 15, 2019

Vibrant, electric purple hands the size of houses flop to the beat of blasting music, stopping outdoor festival-goers in their tracks. Performers sing lively African music inside, grabbing the attention of many community members. After witnessing the scene, a festival-goer added “cool” to ...

Poms perform in Redskins’ halftime Spirit Explosion

By Matt Mande

October 15, 2019

Blaring music, screaming fans and HTTR posters are only to be expected at a Redskins game. Less typical is what fans saw on October 6. Twelve members of Whitman’s Poms team performed alongside professional Redskins’ cheerleaders as well as members from the Redskins’ All-Star and Junior cheerleadin...

Making dough: Cookies by Drew stirs up success

By Sammy Heberlee

October 14, 2019

A dash of flour, a dozen eggs, six bowls of batter, five batches of cookies baking in the oven and a sprinkle of Instagram to finish it off: senior Drew Haas had finally concocted the recipe for her new business, “Cookies by Drew.” Drew has been baking cookies with her grandma for years, and at ...

Portables added to parking lot, students find alternative parking methods

By Ben Stricker

October 13, 2019

With portables in the parking lot and the upcoming Whittier Woods renovations, only 150 parking spaces are available this year; there used to be 289 spaces available to students. Several students have around found alternative parking methods in response to the new policy. Some seniors without parking pa...