The Severn Anchor

Friday, May 6, 2016

Mourning Meeting: Graduation

By Zak Rosen '16

Well, it’s over. The classes have been passed. The homework has been shoddily done. The finals have (not) been taken. Soon the hugs will be had and the tears will be shed and the promises to friend teachers on Facebook now that it is considered socially acceptable will be made. That’s right everyone--graduation is upon us.

This is a moment to reflect on all that Severn has offered in the last four years: the good and the bad. There have been classes on less interesting topics (like Honors Paint Drying and the History of the Button) and classes on fascinating topics as well (Conquests of the Holy Neptunian Empire). There have been highs and lows, ups and downs, sidewayses and standing stills. But we have survived everything, from the freshmen-sophomore picnic to the discovery of Yik-Yak to the Soviet invasion of 2015. We made it.

The last four years would have been quite different without the combined influence of dozens of teachers and hundreds of students all contributing in their own special ways. And there have been many changes as well, to the school and to us as members of the community. The Mourning Meating remembers when it was just a shy little article; now it’s a big weekly update (it’s definitely weekly, and don’t you dare contradict us), and we’ve never been prouder. So from all of us at the Anchor, we’d like to thank you. You’ve made it worthwhile. And remember, crying at graduation is perfectly socially acceptable. Goodbye!

College!

By: Annie Mott '16

After the momentous May 1st decision day, seniors at Severn School had finally made their decision: what college they will attend in the fall. For some students, like Maddie McDaniel or Eric Hall, their decision had been known long before the deadline-- long before the application date, even-- but for others, it came down to that very last day. Throughout the third and fourth quarter countless seniors were taking off school for official college visits, traveling across the country to see where they wanted to attend. When the morning of May 2nd arrived, seniors showed up in their college t-shirts, gathering at the Teel Rotunda for pictures and celebration. Here is an unofficial list of the colleges that Severn, Class of 2016, will be attending:

Ithaca College
Naval Academy
University of Alabama
Clemson U
U of South Carolina
Auburn U
Wake Forest U
U of Southern California
Bucknell
Fordham College
University of California, Berkeley
Yale U
Duke U
Virginia Tech
UVA
U of Tampa
Towson U
U of Maryland
U of Mary Washington
U of California, Santa Barbara
Franklin and Marshall College
Washington College
Virginia Commonwealth U
James Madison U
Northeastern U
Middlebury College
Emerson U
Emory U
Wofford College
Howard College
The Citadel
Boston University
Villanova U
Miami of Ohio
Lehigh University
U of Vermont
Colorado College
Rochester Institute of Technology
Wellesley College
Trinity College
College of Charleston
University of Colorado, Boulder
Ole Miss
MIT
College of William & Mary
Merrimack College
Coastal Carolina U
Carlton College
McDaniel College
Goucher College
Eastern
Loyola University

2015-2016 Sports Round Up

By Devin Munroe '16

The school year of 2015-2016 has been one of great success for the Severn Admirals. Of the 30 varsity and junior-varsity teams that compete throughout the year, several teams have had tremendous individual and team accolades. The fall started off strong as the varsity men’s soccer team defeated Boys Latin in the championship to win their second MIAA B Conference title in a row. The JV men’s soccer team followed in the varsity’s footsteps as they won their conference as well. The Cross Country team completed their notorious half marathon with three runners, Neel Lakhanpal, Archer Willauer, and Camryn Rosen, taking on the daring task of completing an entire marathon. The varsity women’s tennis second in the very competitive A conference. Even when the Admirals thought that the fall season could not get more exciting, the football team came out on Halloween and beat St. Mary’s for the first time in 9 years.

The winter season was able to carry on the wave of athletic success in the Severn community. The boy’s varsity basketball team finished with 19-10 record and made it to the semi-finals of their conference for the first time in four years. The varsity girl’s basketball team also had an incredible season as they received the #1 seed in the conference and made it to the championship of their division. Maddie McDaniel made school history as she broke her 1,000^th point and, by the end of the season, held the school record for most points scored and rebounds. The wrestling team also proved to be a major force in their conference as they became the B conference state champs.

Even though the spring season is still in progress, there have already been monumental successes. The varsity men’s lacrosse team started off their season strong with two in-conference wins over Gilman and Mount St. Joe’s. The win over Gilman was the first time in 25 years that the Admirals had come out on top of the Greyhounds. The boy’s team has followed their two in-conference wins with very close games against some of the top-ranked teams in the nation. With the rivalry game against St. Mary’s on May 6, the Admirals are vying for a playoff spot. The girl’s varsity team has had one of their best seasons in decades as they coined the number three title in their division, the highest ranking they have had in nine years. The Lady Admirals will play their first playoff game on Tuesday, May 10. Men’s varsity tennis continues to be a force in their conference as they stand 6-0. The varsity baseball team has also had a strong season, as they remain a dominant opponent in their conference.

As the year comes to an end, it is incredible to look back on all the success that have been achieved on the field, in the pool, on the wrestling mat, and on the track. Severn athletes have made outstanding impacts in their respective conferences. All this success could not come about without the support and encouragement of the coaches, athletic trainers, and parents. The Admirals have brought a great name to Severn this year, and hopefully the upcoming school year will be filled with the same amount of hard work and accomplishments!

The Malone School’s Journey to Severn: An Interview with Headmaster Lagarde

By Madison Akers '17

Severn students recently took a dive into the pool of course selections. Fully submerged in the variety of academic and fine arts classes, they must take the next step to finalize next year’s schedule and choose their desired courses. But there is more to Severn’s curriculum than what may appear to the naked eye. In my previous article on the Malone School Online Network, I sat down with Ms. Charlier to ask some questions about the essence of the program here at Severn School, but my expedition didn’t stop there. Shortly after, I talked with Headmaster Lagarde to decipher the Malone School’s journey to existence here at Severn.

Q: How did Severn become part of the Malone School Family Foundation?

Mr. Lagarde: It’s an interesting process. John Malone’s Family Foundation is very different from any other non-profit foundation or fund in that it has to specifically seek out your school. As a child, John Malone went to the Hopkins School in New Haven, Connecticut with the help of financial aid. He eventually went on to Yale and later became a very wealthy man. He wanted to give back in a way that his fortunes would reach and impact a school such as Hopkins. His idea was to give two million dollars to one school in every state so that there would be fifty Malone Schools. The money would be put into an endowment to be used as financial aid for a gifted student that would be considered a Malone Scholar. So, Severn School received an email from the Malone School Family Foundation asking Severn to apply for the program. Seven other schools in Maryland were asked to apply for the two-million-dollar grant. Severn was selected and accepted in Maryland. What Severn School agreed to do was have a Malone Scholar in each grade starting with seventh grade through twelfth grade.

Another school that is part of the Malone School Network is the Stanford Online High School. It’s basically a high school that is executed directly online. The school was using Stanford’s infrastructure to deliver what was a pretty high-end experience for their students because it allowed face-to-face interaction with the teacher and his/her students around the world. The heads of Malone Scholar Schools come together every summer for professional development at Stanford, and a question that surfaced one summer was, “Can we take the Stanford Online High School, model it, replicate it, change it so it can personally accommodate our own students, and deliver content synchronously so that we can mimic the face-to-face interactions that are found in independent school classrooms?” We started with the goal of developing relationships, and then we focused on the goal of developing content. Although most online learning is about content, we first wanted to focus on establishing a foundation and a structure that replicated a small independent school classroom. And then, of course, we wanted to focus on extending our curriculum.

There are fifty Malone Schools, and only twenty-one of them are part of the Online School Network. The Malone School at Severn has gone so well that we continue to broaden the range of classes. What’s important to remember is that none of this was to make money. We simply wanted to create something that replicates an everyday classroom scenario, extends our curriculum, and provides a better experience for our kids. I think the Malone School adds a neat wrinkle to the curriculum. In the future, there will be more content delivered online, so to be familiarized with that type of learning at this level allows Severn kids to have a bit of a step up as they move forward in their lives.

Mourning Meating: AP Exams

By Zak Rosen '16

Hello students. We find ourselves, again, in the midst of AP Exams. Those wonderful culminating assessments that truly demonstrate your mastery of a variety of subjects, from multiple choice guessing to writing an essay in 40 minutes. A few last minute tests have been added by the benevolent and all powerful college board.

These tests are as followed:

AP Crying (tears will be provided for you)
AP Physics Q: Weird Physics
AP Sport (aquatic, terrestrial, of aerial)
AP AP (a score of 5 immediately provides a bachelors, disqualifying one from needing college)
AP Poisonous Animals (reptiles will be provided, but you need to bring your own amphibians)
AP Existentialism
AP Capitalism
AP Authoritarianism

Good luck everyone, and remember: your scores on these tests directly determine your success, happiness, and the meaningfulness of your life during and after college.

Maryland Primary Races Bring No Surprises; Baltimore Mayoral Primary Incomplete

By Neel Lakhanpal '16

Maryland was among a string of Northeastern states last week to solidify the leads of the two respective presidential front-runners. With Donald Trump now running uncontested and Hillary holding a commanding lead (despite her loss in Indiana), we are all but assured of who will be our presidential candidates this cycle. Additionally, primaries were held for the new Senate vacancy left by the outgoing Barbara Mikulski, as were mayoral primaries for Baltimore.

Maryland was a classic state to support Clinton and Trump in the primaries. Clinton was benefitted by our large African-American population and our other similarities to more Southern states, in which she has done very well this year. We were also the archetype of a state in which Trump does well. He has flourished in blue states during the primaries because the Republicans that live in them tend to be even more “angry” and thereby politically energized to vote for him. Maryland being such a blue state, Trump had a distinct advantage. Additionally, Maryland Republicans have recently been even more galvanized due to the surprise victory two years ago of Larry Hogan. Although still dwarfed in number by Democrats, Maryland Republicans are feeling more relevant than before with Hogan in office. These factors combined to have us elect Trump and Hillary by wide margins.

The Senate Democratic primary ended in a victory for Chris Van Hollen, who soundly defeated Donna Edwards 53% to 38%. Both are current Maryland representatives in the House; Edwards represents Severna Park, Pasadena, and parts of PG country while Van Hollen represents the DC suburbs of Bethesda and Rockville. Van Hollen relied on the strong support of his district’s constituents. Edwards, however, largely failed to mobilize the black vote on which she was relying despite being an African-American woman. Many African Americans instead voted for Van Hollen. Since Maryland will almost certainly elect Van Hollen over the Republican primary winner Kathy Szeliga, we can count on Van Hollen replacing Mikulski’s seat this fall.

Lastly, and most interestingly, the primaries did not settle the Democratic primary for mayor of Baltimore. As of now, political outsider Catherine Pugh holds a lead of a couple thousand votes over former Baltimore mayor Sheila Dixon. However, there are still provisional and absentee ballots being processed, and there is no official count as of yet. It is also possible that Dixon will request a recount when the final number arrives because of just how close the numbers are. We will have wait and see who Baltimore ultimately elects.

Image courtesy of The Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore Mayoral Race Approaches; Voters Look for Change:

By Neel Lakhanpal ‘16

I think it is safe to assume that you either have not heard anything about the upcoming Baltimore mayoral race or have heard it mentioned once or twice but know nothing about who’s running. Among these reasons is certainly the presidential race casting a shadow over all over politics in the nation, especially several key Congressional races. Not only is this election cycle very different than previous ones, but it is also one that has dominated news outlets, easily grabbing the attention of readers and watchers around the country.

Nonetheless, this election is an important one. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the current mayor, decided months ago not to launch a campaign for re-election after the racial unrest that rocked the city last April. Her handling of the situation itself and the internal personnel switches that she made in the wake of the unrest tarnished her reputation and made her candidacy unviable. The next mayor, whoever it ends up being, will be presented with a tough bill to alleviate racial tension in this new era of the Black Lives Matter Movement and increased scrutiny of police brutality.

However, voters are aware that this mayor must also tackle the roots of these problems. In a recent poll conducted by the Baltimore Sun, the most cited “biggest concern” was “crime, ”after which were “youth and education” and “job creation.” As such, Baltimoreans want a mayor who will handle both the crime that plagues the city and the systemic causes of poor education and joblessness that drive it.

As of now, there are two leaders and over a dozen others behind them. Former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon and State Senator Catherine Pugh are currently tied for top place in most polls. While Dixon is warmly received by Baltimoreans because of her successful tenure as mayor years ago, she is still suffering somewhat from a conviction of misdemeanor perjury during her time in office that forced her to step down. She is pitching herself as a seasoned politician who made a mistake, and is so far benefitting from that approach. On the other hand, Pugh is making the case that she is a more energetic political outsider. In this year of the outsider, that aura is benefitting her, too. The rest of the candidates are little known but incredibly diverse. They range greatly in age, political experience, and political affiliation. Rounding out the 21 total candidates are five Republicans and surprisingly three Greens. A majority of the candidates are African-American, as is the population of the city.

All parties’ primaries are held on April 26^th, as will the primaries for the presidential and Congressional elections for Maryland. Since Baltimore is so heavily blue (there are 10 Democrats to every Republican), the winner of the Democratic primary all but decides who will be the next mayor of Baltimore. Barring any surprises in the general election come November, we can be pretty certain of who the mayor-elect will be in just a few weeks.

Information and image courtesy: www.baltimoresun.com

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