‘Black’ Isn’t Derogatory

By Zachary Stubblefield ’15 Do not be afraid to use black as a descriptor. Far too often people tip-toe over someone’s skin color like it is sacrilege to point it out. They fear that if they refer to someone by their skin tone and ethnicity, they’ll be labeled as racist. That is such as unnecessary taboo; all it does is … Read More

Dancing around the Issue

By Betselot Wondimu ’15 On November 11, MCPS’s Board of Education voted 7-1 to only list days of school closed for the 2015-16 school year while not relating those days to any holidays. The vote came after outrage from the county’s Muslim community, whose protests to close schools on two of their main holidays were rejected with a Board vote … Read More

Covert College Admissions Officers

By Julia Gajewski-Nemes ’15 As high school seniors around the nation continue to perfect their early applications for colleges, many do not realize that social media activity can hinder their chances of being accepted. In a Kaplan survey of college admissions officers from 381 different institutions, it was found that 31 percent of the officers visit applicant’s social media pages … Read More

Too Many Warning Signs Ignored

By Kira Yates ’16 Texas native Omar Gonzalez, who jumped the White House fence on September 19, should have been monitored more closely after previous run-ins with police. On July 19, Gonzalez was arrested in Virginia with many weapons including four handguns found in his car along with a map with a line pointing to the White House. On August … Read More

Bathroom Parties More Annoying Than Fun

By Connor Loughran ’15 In the last couple of years at Sherwood, a new phenomenon has emerged—the “Bathroom Party.” This is when a group of popular boys run into one of the many bathrooms at Sherwood, usually chanting “USA! USA!” Not only is this an annoyance to many students in the hallways attempting to get to their classes on time, … Read More

Blame Who Deserves It

By Haley Whitt ‘15 I recently saw the new comedy “Neighbors” that is based around the shenanigans and tensions that occur when a rambunctious frat house becomes the new neighbor of a married couple. Let’s just say that the movie was rated R for a reason. It includes scenes with violence, excessive drug and alcohol usage and vulgar language. In … Read More

Girlfriend Slut-Shames

By Marie Moeller ‘15 After witnessing a confrontation between two girls, I started thinking about crazy, psycho girlfriends who are overly possessive of their boyfriends. Like many others, I thought such events were only plausible in a movie or book setting; I was rather unpleasantly proven wrong. Just like the movies, the girlfriend was verbally attacking another girl, targeting her … Read More

Profanity is Part of Life

By Betselot Wondimu ‘15 Sometimes, moral sentiments get taken too far. Shortly before Memorial Day weekend, Ocean City Councilwoman Mary Knight organized the posting of signs reading “No Profanity Please” along the beach’s boardwalk. Although she may feel righteous, Knight’s decision was misguided, as many individuals disobeyed the message. Knight did not consider that swearing has been embedded within American … Read More

NLRB Decision a Win

By Mike Crooks ‘14 On March 26, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 13 director Peter Sung ruled that Northwestern football players had the right to unionize, finding that the players are employees of the university. The ruling comes in the midst of the holy grail of college sports, March Madness. The ultimate effect of Sung’s ruling is currently unforeseeable, … Read More

Save Ink, Save Money

By Jack Armstrong ’15 You wouldn’t think that changing a font to one slimmer and lighter would significantly save ink and paper costs; however, 14-year-old Suvir Mirchandani recently found if the U.S. government changed the font on thousands of documents from Times New Roman to Garamond it could save close to $234 million. Mirchandani’s findings also show paper use would … Read More