Celebrating Another Championship

By: Devin Munroe '16

To celebrate the men’s varsity soccer team’s amazing season, it seemed only fitting to interview their senior team captain, Doug Hill. Here are some of his thoughts on the season.

Question:       What words come to mind when you think of your team?

Doug Hill:      Energetic, fun, composed, and hard working.

Question:       What do you think made your team so successful this season?

Hill:                Our team was so successful primarily because we showed up to practice each day ready to compete with one another and work hard. It was clear that this kind of work ethic paid off in each game. Also, everyone had each other’s backs and was always there to support one another on the field. Coach McCarthy’s coaching was great and he always knew where to position us on the field so that we could be successful. Overall, this team was just incredibly talented.

Question:       Who are your team’s unsung heroes?

Hill:                Our unsung hero this year was definitely Henry Creamer. In my opinion, he was the huge reason we had as much success as we did this year. After our first few games it was unclear who our starting defensive four would be.  We wanted to move up Everett Cortez to striker but were unsure about who would fill his place on defense. Henry came in and proved to be a key component on the team and did a tremendous job.

Question:       What is your favorite memory from this season?

Hill:                My personal favorite memory from the season would have to be the championship game versus Boys Latin. We had lost to and tied the Lakers during the regular season and I was thrilled to know that we were playing them again in the championship. Playing Boys Latin is always a bloodbath regardless of the sport; our schools just don’t get along very well on the field. However, it was a great experience to be in the championship game and even better to win it. Our team played well and possessed the ball for most of the game and got plenty of scoring opportunities. The back four defended well and we limited Boys Latin to very few scoring chances. It was a competitive game that I will never forget.

Question:       Most intense game?

Hill:                The most intense game of the year was against Severna Park early in the season. The Severna Park game is always highly competitive mostly due to the fact that both teams know each other so well. I for one knew every single player on their team and their coach used to coach me when I was younger. The rivalry between Severn and Severna Park goes back decades, which adds to the intensity of the game. This year we got the 1-0 win over them for the first time in seven years. The last forty seconds of the game were the most intense seconds that I have ever experienced in a soccer game. They hit our crossbar and then the ball was bouncing around our box. Bodies were bouncing all over the place as they kept shooting the ball and finally we were able to clear the ball out to end the game.

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Third GOP Debate Recap

By Neel Lakhanpal '16:

The third Republican party debate took place in Boulder, Colorado Wednesday night. It was broadcast on CNBC. Overall, I think the candidates kept their composure in the face of difficult and incendiary questions. There was, in my opinion, a surprisingly even distribution of speaking time among the candidates despite multiple candidates polling well below five percent. I don't think this debate really clarified much. I don't think anyone did bad per se, other than maybe Bush, who looked resigned and seemed to have little energy left in him.

At center stage were Donald Trump and Ben Carson, who are both polling in the twenties and leading the pack. Neither stood out to me; Donald Trump seemed to act normally, albeit a bit toned down compared to a few months ago. Carson was quiet and didn't say anything too surprising. He kept his rhetoric on social issues unsurprisingly conservative, making remarks such as "I am not homophobic because I think marriage must be between a man and a woman."

A few other candidates stood out, notably Ted Cruz. Although I don't think he is a very serious contender, he made an apt remark on the media today. He said that the moderators were attacking each candidate's individual record instead of talking about "substantive issues," which was true to a certain extent. Ohio governor John Kasich also made his name heard, standing out in the first few minutes by escalating his attacks on the frontrunners Carson and Trump. Kasich was quite aggressively shut down by Trump thereafter, though.

All in all, the debate did not settle much. I think it may have brought some candidates such as Kasich a bit more into the foreground. But the two frontrunners remained calm and did not raise any eyebrows. We will look forward to debates in coming weeks to see how they shape the upcoming election cycle.

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What I Learned from Shakespeare

By: Zachary Rosen '16

I need coffee.

Do not do handstands when your pockets are full of flour. Please don't. I've already swept that floor twice. Just don't do it.

Wear a second pair of boxers under your first pair of boxers. It may save your life one day. Or your dignity.

Make sure to fall off of things gracefully. And, if you cannot, try to avoid hitting your head or getting dirt in your mouth.

LOUDER!

Making sure your eyeliner/wings are symmetrical is more difficult than open heart surgery.

You do not look cool with a mohawk; you look like a Doctor Seuss character.

I need more coffee.

Do not paint yourself with ink. It will not come off and you will have weaponized abs for the rest of your life.

You can, in fact, improv Shakespeare! We didn't do it during the performances, obviously... but no one said anything about rehearsals!

Daddy long legs do have souls. And they are all going to hell.

It is best to avoid spilling Ginger Ale on you costume designer's mother's wedding dress. It won't stain, but she'll secretly resent you and plan your demise.

How are these wedding pants getting dirty?! We literally wear them for one scene and sit down the entire time!?!?

BRING. ME. MY. COFFEE.

Despite all the difficulty, putting a play together is worth it. You create something beautiful, and the cast becomes a second family. It's fun, it's empowering, and we will all miss it.

Also coffee...

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Editorial: Our Nation's Broken Food System

By: Jack Zuschnitt '16

The American food system is broken. It is corrupt, defective, unjust, and failing. A bag of

deep fried potato chips costs as much as a good piece of fruit. Independent family farms have shifted from being the norm to being a rarity. Corn byproduct can be found in toothpaste, soda, and milk. The vast majority of the miracle drugs, antibiotics, are fed to slaughter bound animals instead of humans. An obsession with efficiency and money has driven the American food system from greatness to embarrassment. The American food system is broken, as evidenced by how industry dominates agriculture, government is consistently ineffective, and consumers are uneducated in regard to food as a whole.

Over the last half century, corporate industry has taken over agricultural trade in what is now called agribusiness. Agriculture is no longer controlled by independent farmers; ​r​ather, it is controlled by mammoth companies, bringing in billions of dollars every year. The natural goal of business is to make as much money as possible, while spending the least amount of money possible. This philosophy is appropriate for most business practices. But in regard to food, it is unacceptable. Food production should focus on quality, not quantity. Food of higher quality tastes better and is better for health. As the documentary Food Inc. asserts, the stated goal of the current food system is to "produce a lot of food, on a small amount of land, at an affordable price.” While this goal may sound acceptable, when our health and that of our environment are severely degraded, a problem arises.

When profit is the only impetus to farm, many sacrifices are made in production and many unorthodox farming techniques must be used. To keep crops healthy, fertilizers are dumped onto crops,​ w​hile all of the extra nutrients run off into nearby water during rain storms. Pesticides are sprayed to kill weeds, fungi, and insects. These pesticides can poison wildlife and wreck havoc on biodiversity. As of 2007, the U.S. was responsible for the use of over a billion pounds of pesticides per year. The theme is clear. As farming becomes more efficient, our environment constantly takes a hit. Another ugly aspect of industrial agriculture is the rising regularity of concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs. CAFOs are places where animals are crammed together, fed unnatural diets, and pumped with antibiotics, maximizing profit while also violating any imaginable animal rights. It is estimated that 80% of antibiotics used in the U.S. are fed to animals. To make it worse, most antibiotic fed animals are not sick at all. This use of antibiotics creates resistant bacteria that could prove to be detrimental to human health. When money is the sole goal of the food industry, an abundance of negative impacts are created. The United States’ government has continuously failed the American food system. Washington has done everything to help out farmers who grow commodity crops (mainly through subsidies) but almost never supports the farming of fruits and vegetables. As David Wallinga, an expert on the food system, notes, “For more than a century, U.S. policy has promoted U.S. farmers’ capacity to increase production, generally of the kind of commodities, ­­like corn, wheat, cotton, rice, milk, and later soybeans,­­ that lend themselves to large-scale production, easy storage, and long­ distance shipping.” He later stresses, “U.S. agricultural policy has generally not offered incentives or supported farmers to grow fruits and vegetables.” In a country where the average adult eats half the amount of daily recommended vegetables and almost double the amount of daily recommended grain, the government must shift its focus to the healthier options of fruits and vegetables.

Along with behemoth industry and a negligent government, America’s food system suffers due to the uneducated consumer. Sometimes, lack of education is to blame. For example, consumers often purchase genetically modified food without knowing so, for labels are not required on GMO products thanks to strong lobbying from big business. In most cases however, consumers only require a quick lesson to see the impacts of the food system. One must simply think about his most recent meal to begin seeing the flaws in the system. Here is an example. Last night, Sam and Sally ate a steak dinner with mashed potatoes and green beans. They purchased said items from their local grocery store, picking the meat and veggies from an open refrigerator (which was a terrible waste of energy). Before making it to the store, the steak, potatoes, and beans were shipped from Texas, Idaho, and California respectively. It takes every meal thousands of miles to make it to the average American’s plate, and most Americans have never even given this idea a thought. Here is another quick statistic: it takes 2,000 gallons of water to process a single pound of beef. As a country, we need to educate ourselves on the basic practices and negative aspects of our food system.

While the American food system is broken, there is a fix. The fixes will not be cheap, easy, or quick, but as issues worsen, the fixes will become necessary. There is no one final fix to the problems of the food system, rather many smaller fixes, but this is irrelevant without the help of the public. As a country, every citizen, business, and government official needs to accept that the food system is flawed and work together to fix it for a common benefit. Citizens’ voices matter, for without the individual, the whole is nothing. Without universal support, the American food system will never recuperate. 

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Exciting New Club at Severn - SWAG (Supporting Women Across the Globe)

By: Katie Dubinski '18

Every year at Severn, there are dozens of new clubs that pop up at the club fair, on a very wide range of interests. One new club in

particular has piqued the interest of many students: SWAG, or Supporting Women Across the Globe, a feminist based group focused on advocating women's rights. I sat down with the club’s co-leaders, sophomores Yasmeen Meek and Sophie Connors, to learn more about it.

KD: What brought you to start this club?

YM: Well, the issue has always been important to me, for one thing. I've been greatly influenced by my grandmother as well: She was the only girl to go to middle and high school in her village in India, and was one of the only people, male or female, to go to college. She graduated with a PhD in physics. I also am bothered by the way the media portrays women. An article should not be about what a women is wearing but what her ideas are.

SC: At Severn, we have different groups for multiple different aspects of diversity: LGBTQ, racial diversity, etc. However, whenever feminism has been brought up in the past, eyes have been rolled, and for the most part, people tune out. I wanted to raise awareness and educate on the true

meaning of feminism and more importantly, on the violence that women

around the globe face daily.

KD: How would you define feminism?

YM: The dictionary definition is "the advocacy for women's rights on the grounds of social, political, and economic equality to men."

SC: I think that feminism is really about 100% equal opportunities for all genders.

KD: What is SWAG trying to achieve this year?

YM: This club mainly wants to spread awareness through discussions and dialogues and expose people to the problems that women and men face globally due to sexism.

SC: I want to clarify the meaning of feminism and also bring attention to the women across the world who deal with unimaginable suffering because of sexism.

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Severn Runs

October 17th marked the 14th anniversary of the Baltimore Running Festival. There were over 24,000 participants, whether running the 5k, the relay, the half-marathon, or the full-- and over thirty of them were from Severn. Every year, the Severn Cross Country team trains for and participates in the half-marathon, doing long runs every Friday and building up mileage to get to 13.1.
Training for the half can be difficult. Running is a mental sport-- runners have to push through the pain of injuries like shin splints and tendinitis in order to finish. But it's all worth it. Senior Erica Mott says that running the half-marathon was, "the highlight of my athletic career. It was the most fun I've ever had. People were lined up on the side of the road the whole time, cheering us on."

Although the cross country team has run the half for nine years now, this year was slightly different. Three runners, seniors Archer Willauer and Neel Lakhanpal and junior Camryn Rosen ran the full marathon -- 26.2 miles. To prepare, they increased week by week from fifteen up to eventually twenty-two mile weekend training runs, building up stamina and running for about four hours at a time. "The early Saturday mornings spent training were all worth it. I've never felt so accomplished," says Camryn of her commitment to the extra long runs. Archer Willauer ran the marathon in under four hours-- a hugely significant accomplishment for any marathon runner, let alone for a first-timer.
Whether it's the half or the full, running at that distance is an amazing thing, and Severn congratulates all of the teachers and students who participated.

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Theatre Goers Club: An Inspector Calls

By: Zachary Rosen '16

A few weeks ago, the Severn Theatre Goers club went into Baltimore to see An Inspector Calls at the Everyman Theatre. The play was written in the mid 1900's by J. B. Priestley and follows the story of an Inspector Goule as he questions various members of a family about their involvement in the life of a girl who had just committed suicide (or did she? Do we know? We seriously aren't sure. This play messed me up and I no longer have a full sense of reality).

The play is heartbreaking in its revelation that we all affect those around us, even in the most little of ways that we do not think of. It encourages all of us to respect and love our fellow man and to be careful of what we say and do to others. The acting was superb and the characters were compelling (even the maid, who only spoke once but she had a quietness about her that was horrifyingly unsettling), and it leaves you wondering what kind of person you are.

And the tech was amazing! At the end, the walls pulled up and there were a ton of mirrors everywhere and everyone was looking at themselves and realized what horrible people they all were.

The story ends in a way that is open to interpretation and we really weren't sure what we were supposed to think. Everyone spent the entire bus ride home debating and arguing and it still haunts me.

In any event, the play is no longer being shown at Everyman. However, the Theatre Goers Club is going to Everyman to see a new play, Fences, this November. And if the new show is anywhere near as good as An Inspector Calls, and I imagine it will be, then I encourage you all to go.

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The Mourning Meating: Horoscopes October 20

By: Zachary Rosen '16

Aries: Prepare for battle. Bring knee pads and duct tape. Do not worry about heavy clothing; Argentina is warm this time of year.

Taurus: Congratulations on running your marathon, Taurus. Your brother is very proud of you.

Gemini: You move, slowly but steadily, across the cooling earth, the dried mud and the forms of dying leaves. You crawl without thought and without malevolence. You are a daddy long leg. Take care.

Cancer: Remember to brush your teeth and brush your hair and brush and brush and brush. The underbrush catches fire and the animals run across the savannah. Look at that gazelle go! She’s late for work.

Leo: Be careful. You are being watched. We shall meet under the dying light of sunset beneath the eaves of the Lincoln memorial in three hours. This is of the utmost importance; do not forget.

Virgo: Your fashion sense is impeccable, and you should feel very good about yourself. Also, can I have five dollars... Panera Bread is expensive... I’ll pay you back...

Libra: Are you ok Libra? You look tired. Are you getting those eight hours? You know sleep is very important. Sleep and keeping yourself hydrated. Gatorade®! It’s got electrolytes!

Scorpio: The stars seem to be saying that you shouldn’t try any strenuous activity this week. Also, you did really well on that math test you were worried about. Upper 80s to mid 90s, somewhere in between. The stars aren’t sure.

Scorpio: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233

Sagittarius: Do you know the muffin man? The muffin man? The muffin man? Do you know the muffin man, who lives on dreary lane? Please... I’m begging you. I’ve been looking for him for weeks.

Capricorn: Lobsters make great pets. 

Aquarius: Get a hold of yourself. This is no time to be hysterical. Aliens might be invading, but whining won’t do anything about it.

Pisces: Я быстро иссякают идеи . Что я делаю со своей жизнью? Какой смысл в чем больше ?

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The Mourning Meating: Severn Classes

By: Zachary Rosen, '16

Hello Severn students. Now that school has been going on for a while, many of you have probably gotten back into the thick of things with your classes. However, there have been a few modifications to the curriculum of many courses. The changes are as follows-

All Chemistry classes will hereby be studying alchemy with a focus on transmutation of mercury and lead to gold and platinum (respectively). The AP chemistry classes will, for their final exam, be expected to reproduce Nicholas Flamel’s philosopher’s stone in under three hours.

All 10th grade English classes will be studying the untranslated works of the brilliant Russian short story writer Nikolai Gogol. 

All 9th grade English classes will now devote their time to the study of the as of yet un-decoded Harappan language.

All United States history classes will now be studying Alternative US History, which details the rule of our vampire overlords.

All biology classes will create life using a 2006 Macintosh computer, a pack of chewing gum, and a blowtorch.

AP Physics will now build a nuclear warhead. The purpose of this nuclear warhead is as of yet undecided. Do not cross the AP Physics students.

Math students will count. They will count... and count... and count. There is no god. There is no Severn. There is no you. There is only the counting.

The Civil Rights class will determine, through a rousing debate, whether corporations are people. They are not.

New Business Ventures will, for their final project, be asked to destroy the US economy using only a Motorola Razor, a stop watch, and some kale.

Yearbook will, in addition to their normal duties, also be studying that strange new book that recently turned up in the Severn library. Nobody remembers ever purchasing it... it seems to be wrapped in barbed wire and bound in human skin. There was a message tucked into the barbed wire that read, in violently unsteady handwriting, 'DO NOT OPEN!' But what can go wrong?

The Anatomy and Physiology class has a new component; they will build a whole human being from scratch (using the new 3D printers available in the innovation lab).

International Relations will now be taught from the perspective of North Korea.

The following language classes have been added to the Severn school curriculum: Chinese, Basque, Norwegian Arabic, Esperanto, Klingon, and Fear.

All art classes have been canceled, because art is dead.

If you have any questions about scheduling or classes, please direct them to the corpse of the monkey buried under the pendulum in the Creeden spiral staircase.

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Midsummer Madness

By: Yasmeen Meek '18 and Jimmy Diamondidis '18

With the opening day of A Midsummer Night's Dream just around the corner, it will be the first time in twenty years that The Water Street Players present one of Shakespeare's classics. This show also marks Severn's first outdoor production, which adds a new and exciting element to the performance. As Jane Huang '18 stated, "Performing outside and in multiple locations, in a way, breaks the fourth wall. I think it's really interesting to see how the audience follows the storyline, adding a level of intimacy between the audience and the performers." Director Ron Giddings, who first envisioned taking this production outdoors, reflected, "The amphitheater has provided so many challenges and opportunities for performance outside. From the beginning, it's been a lot of fun working on all of the pieces of this show. Shakespeare's never been so much fun to rehearse."

The cast's chemistry off stage contributes to the success they find on stage. Speaking with the actors, they all seem to agree that the fun they have rehearsing the play is what truly makes it outstanding. Especially Alanna Sokoloff  '16: "This year, I have found we are closer than ever. I can honestly say some of my favorite people are in the cast and I think that translates really well to the stage." This fall, The Water Street Players welcome newcomers Jared Reilly '19, Madeline Iazzetta '19, Quinn Roes '19, Kendall Jacobsen '19, and Charlie Olmert '17. When Charlie was asked about his decision to officially become a thespian, he said, "Whilst on vacation in late August, I got a text asking if I wanted to be in the play. Going a bit out of my comfort zone, I said sure, and came out to auditions. It was the best decision of my life. Walking about my house, my parents are constantly being bombarded by my outbursts of 'Odors, man, odors!'"

The cast and crew of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" have had a fantastic time working together to put on a hilarious and memorable show for the audience. The Thursday and Friday shows are sold out, but go online today to get your tickets for Saturday! Hot beverages and snacks will be provided, but be sure to bring blankets as the majority of the performance will take place outside. Enjoy the show!

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Ask The Admiral! Beware of Spring Fever.

Dear Admiral, 

How do I stay away from Spring Fever?

*********************************************************************************

Springtime is always the best time of the school year! It seems like just about everyone is playing a spring sport, looking forward to the warmer weather, and buying a refreshing Italian-ice at Rita’s. With all of the outside distractions beginning to take a toll on us, we can’t let spring fever get to our heads and forget about what’s most important: SCHOOLWORK. 

With the plentiful snow days and extended spring break, it seems that many of our assignments and tests have just been pushed further and further back-- until now. This first week back from break has been stressful on all of us and doesn’t seem to be letting up. 

If you are feeling overwhelmed while doing your homework, take breaks and maybe exercise outside or simply grab a snack from the pantry. These tricks have been proven to relieve stress, focusing on something more lighthearted and fun. Although, when giving your brain its needed breaks, make sure you are also giving yourself enough time to complete your work as well. 

I know seniors are already catching spring fever, but for the rest of us, we need to try our best to stay motivated for the “final push” of the third quarter and keep that same motivation alive until the end of the year! 

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The French Exchange

By: Carley Thorne '17

After a long two weeks in which many Severn students were either relaxing on the beaches of Mexico or skiing down black diamonds in Utah, fifteen families are preparing their homes for the weeks after spring break. 

These small few will act as guides and hosts to the French exchange students traveling on the eight and a half hour flight from Brest, France to JFK in Washington, D.C. 

Elizabeth Grund, sophomore and returning guide for the French exchange program, says that she joined because it was not only an opportunity to expand her language skills outside of the classroom, but also a great way for her to learn about other cultures without having to travel outside the States. “I loved how excited the all of the students were about everyday American things, like fast food, things that I take for granted.” 

Casey Boldt, a junior here at Severn School, said that one of her favorite things about the French exchange was seeing how her student reacted to everyday norms that she didn’t think twice about. “My student was surprised how early we ate dinner and went to bed, in France they eat dinner around ten o’clock.” Casey’s also liked meeting people from around the world and finding out that they aren’t very different from us. 

So this week in school, keep an eye out in the hallways for our foreign travelers and maybe even ask them a few questions about their home-life in Brest, you never know what you might learn.

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A New Leaf

By: Annie Mott '16

When April rolls around, everyone on the Severn campus is excited about two things: warm weather, and Prom (and, if you're a senior, the fact that this is your last month of high school -- ever). With flowers blooming and prom dress registries booming, the last thing on anyone's mind is Wednesday, April 22nd. Or, as it is more widely known, Earth Day. 

Earth Day, born out of a response to a ravaging oil spill in 1969 in California, has been a remarkable testament to the changing attitude towards the environment in the last 50 years. Just five decades ago, we Americans were sucking up lead gas like we were dehydrated marathoners, pouring smoke into the atmosphere from factories with little regard for consequences, and marring the Earth's surface irrevocably with deforestation and displacement of wildlife. Populations of species decreased at a rate never before seen, and to this day 16,928 species are still faced with the threat of extinction, while 785 species are extinct. 

Earth Day has come to represent America, and the world as a whole, turning over a new leaf (so to speak) and starting the modern environmental movement. 

This year, Severn School is taking full advantage of Earth Day, turning it into an "Earth Week," with a separate activity for each day to make the school more aware of the environment and what is being done to combat the effects of pollution in our ecosystem. 

Specific details of each activity will not be revealed until April 10, during a Morning Meeting presentation, but each day will be something new and different than what we have seen in past years.
For those students who have not yet completed their service-learning hours, a service opportunity over that weekend may prove to be exactly what you're looking for. 

The Earth Week festivities will prove to be a fun way to celebrate and protect our Earth, as well as a showcase for a new, greener, Severn School. 

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The Adventures of Agent Sot; Chapter 9: The Kleindog

By: Zachary Rosen '16

      The Victor-wolf has brown fur with black streaks running through it. He creeps around and leaps, but Sot jumps and kicks him in the throat, landing with a backwards barrel roll. She never realized she’d be using Krav Maga to fight oversized dogs. “Now would be a good time to fire at them. If we keep kicking them, their parents will sue us.”

      “It takes a minute for it to warm up. Keep them at bay,” Klein replies.

       The assumed Jordan-wolf, with sand colored fur and red spots, starts to creep forward. Sot picks up a chair and starts beating his head with it. He yelps and jumps back. “I would like, just once, to have a normal day here,” Sot sighs. Klein snorts.

       Klein’s cure gun finishes warming and he begins firing. Victor and Jordan go down. Their bodies start convulsing as their bones shift and bodies twist. In seconds, they are once again teenagers, dressed in maroon singlets. Two down, one to go.

       Perreten leaps onto the figure of Klein before he can fire a third time. His jaws clamp around his arm and Klein grunts, trying to force him off. He twists the gun around and fires, catching the Tyler-beast on the back of his head. He detaches, collapsing on the floor, slowly transforming. Klein drops the gun and falls onto the floor. Sot runs to him. “Klein! Klein! Josh?!” She shakes him but he doesn’t move. Darkness spreads in veins from his wounded arm up the rest of his body. Klein convulses, throwing Sot ten feet. She sees stars and blinks, looking back at her infected friend. In his place is a jet black Pomeranian, growling violently. Sot notices someone running towards her out the corner of her eye. The Kleindog leaps, but is kicked to the side with a yelp by the unknown being. Sot crawls towards the cure-gun and shoots at the tiny animal, breathing a sigh of relief.

       She looks back and gasps. It is the image of Howes, one of the many sad ghosts doomed to walk the haunted halls of Severn for eternity. He smiles wanly and fades into oblivion.

                                                                              ---

       The school is empty as the clock strikes midnight. Faint moonlight filters through the window into the otherwise dark Creeden Commons. Slowly, steadily, a figure lowers from the ceiling suspended by steel wire. His shiny baldness glimmers in the moon’s rays. He swabs a small dab of blood from the carpet. Gvozden chuckles, returning to the ceiling.

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The Life and Times of Agent Sot; Chapter 8: The Dog Days

By: Zachary Rosen '16

      “What do you mean that was Victor Martinez?!” Ms. Sot tears some fabric from her sleeve and makes a tourniquet with it. In a few moments the bleeding stops. 

      Klein hands her a vial and a needle. “He didn’t bite you or anything?” Sot shakes her head. “This will prevent you from getting rabies or anything like what infected him.” Gritting her teeth, Sot stabs into her stomach and breathes in. She looks at Klein expectantly. “There is an unexplainable rash of outbreaks amongst the wrestling team. They’re all turning into werewolves. We think it’s pathogenic. That vial should prevent you from being infected.”

      “How is that even possible?"

      “It’s probably a top secret, fast acting retro-viral enhancement created by the French Secret Service for biological warfare. An unnamed agent passed it along to us during the French Exchange. It’s been hidden in a high security refrigeration unit in the Chemistry department for use during the Severn-Saints game. The unit was compromised and passed onto a member of the wrestling team, who in turn spread it from person to person. There were seven infected total. Using an emergency cure, we’ve been able to secretly take out four of them. Victor, Tyler Perreten, and Jordan Leiken are still out roaming the halls.” Klein takes out his cellphone, which starts to beep. “I got a tracking device on Victor. He’s in the Creeden Commons. We better head out.

      “Is it really safe that there is a trio of werewolves roaming the halls and the students don’t know?”

      “They didn’t know when the History and English departments accidentally started a nuclear war, but that turned out ok.”

      “Isn’t that what really happened at Chernobyl!?” 

     “Touché. Let’s go.” The two start sprinting and in minutes they are in the Creeden Commons, all but abandoned except for a violent canine thrashing in the center. Klein pulls a fog gun out of his coat and the barrel starts to spin.

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NCAA March Madness: Your Bracket Is Busted.

By: A.J. Gersh '15

If you aren't following the craziness that is circulating around the 2015 Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament, you are definitely missing out.

The Round of 64 is always home to the wildest upset match-ups and this season's games did not disappoint. Georgia State, a 14 seed led by Kevin Ware (formerly of the Louisville Cardinals...he gruesomely broke his leg in the 2013 Championship Game) and R.J. Hunter (the son of the head coach, Ron), defeated the Baylor Bears, a 3 seed in the West.

In the South, both games played in Louisville were huge upsets. UCLA, a bubble team that all analysts believe did not deserve a tournament berth, defeated a highly regarded SMU team by a final of 60-59. UAB, a 14 seed, took down Iowa State (another 3 seed). ISU was a common pick to make a run to the Final Four in many brackets, so this loss generated plenty of angry fans.

UCLA and UAB met in the Round of 32. The Bruins blew out UAB by a score of 92-75. Only 7.1% of on-line "bracketeers" had either team in the Sweet 16.

After the Round of 64, only one bracket remained perfect on ESPN's Bracket Challenge. That bracket, too, was busted the next day with an Ohio State loss to Arizona.

As we head into the Sweet 16, There are no perfect brackets remaining IN THE WORLD. Only fourteen brackets have correctly predicted all 16 remaining squads, while another 482 have 15 out of 16 teams right.

The questions that are on everyone's minds still loom: Will John Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats follow the likes of UCLA and Indiana in the 1970's and go undefeated, or will a surprise cinderella team (Witchita State or NC State) shock the world?

The last rounds leading into Indianapolis for the Final Four will certainly be enticing.

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Orioles Preseason

AP Photo, 2013

By: A.J. Gersh '15

Orioles fans, get ready...Baseball season is just around the corner! The Birds open their 2015 campaign on Monday, April 6th in Tampa Bay. Buck Showalter's team is looking to repeat their American League East title after winning the division by a whopping twelve games and finishing with a 96-66 record in 2014.

However, this task is more simply said than done. The Orioles have lost some crucial players this offseason. Most notably, Andrew Miller, perhaps the team's most reliable bullpen arm last season, signed a 4-year, $36 million contract with the rival New York Yankees and Nelson Cruz, the AL home run leader of 2014, signed a 4-year $57 million dollar deal with Seattle.

There are also a few big questions heading into the season. Will Matt Wieters be able to stay healthy and produce at a level similar to his first month of last season (>.300 BA)? Can Manny Machado recover from two knee surgeries in two consecutive seasons? Will Steve Pearce be able to replicate his power numbers in 2015 (21 HR)? Is Chris Davis really capable of hitting anywhere near the 53 home runs he slammed in 2013? Is the Orioles pitching rotation actually reliable enough to win the division again, or was last year's squad simply hot at the right time?

All of these questions will begin to be answered on April 6th. So, if you want to see a playoff team compete in the toughest division in baseball, tune into MASN on Opening Day!

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Big Fish Recap!

By: Ben Carsley '18

Now that we have returned from a refreshing spring break, let us shortly recap the Water Street Players' musical, Big Fish. 

It may surprise some of you to know that no less than a week after the curtains closed on the fall play, The Illusion, rehearsal for Big Fish began. After auditions, the cast began work on blocking the show, memorizing lines, working dance numbers and, of course, singing. 

At this breakneck rate, the cast quickly became masters of song, dance, and comedic stilt walking. After working night and day, the cast and crew of Big Fish were at last prepared to open for their adoring fans. 

For those few who did not attend the show, here's a quick synopsis: Edward Bloom (played by AJ Gersh '15) loves to tell stories... a lot. He tells his son, Will Bloom, (played by Adam Needle '16) tall tales about his life. Edward tells Will of a mysterious witch (played by Ella Green), his best friend the giant (played by Jack Maniscalco '15), and a host of other hilarious characters. Will at first embraces these stories in his youth, but as he grows he becomes skeptical of his father and feels as if he doesn't really know who he is. Will thinks his father tells him these stories to hide the truth. Edward is then diagnosed with cancer and Will tries to spend time with his father to find the truth behind the stories. Can Edward and Will become close once again? Is Edward hiding a dark secret? Will Jack Maniscalco fall off his stilts? If you want the answers to those questions you should of come to the show! 

On one hand this show is a serious drama between a father and son in modern times. On the other hand it's a quirky, upbeat comedy as Will and Edward reminisce back to the days when Will was younger. I heard rave reviews from everyone who saw it. 

Thanks to Mr. Giddings, Severn has enjoyed another great show and is looking forward to the next, The Lord of The Flies.

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Severn Varsity Girl’s High Preseason Hopes and Interview with Coach Sot

By: Devin Munroe '16

On February 20^th the Severn Varsity girl’s lacrosse team received some exciting news. According to the USA Today Super 25 Preseason Girls Lacrosse rankings Severn held the rank of number 4. This preseason ranking has been the highest in history and gives hope for a promising season after only losing to the number one ranked team McDonogh by one in the semi-final playoff game last year. The article stated the expected success is due to the return of several key players from last year. Seniors Caroline Steele and Hayley Norris are projected to lead the team this year on both ends of the game. After reading this article I decided to go to Coach Sotiropoulos to get her opinion on the article and her thoughts of the upcoming season.

DM: Do you see a difference in the level of play compared to past preseasons?

SOT: In the sense of basic stick skills I feel we are generally ahead of where we generally have been in the past. I have been impressed with the team’s fitness level so far.

DM: What components do you find most important for a team to be successful?

SOT: I think the most important is unselfishness. Great teams consist of players who love playing as a team and understand that no matter what they contribute as individuals the team is what matters most.

DM: Do you feel this team is capable of living up to their high expectations?

SOT: I feel we are capable of living up to these expectations. Although we should not care of what others expect but focus on exceeding the goals that we set for ourselves. 

DM: What made your team so successful last year?

SOT: Our success last year rooted from unselfish play. Every person out there did their job at practice and on game days. Also, the upperclassmen just loved to play, which made a huge difference.

DML What strengths do you think this years team strengths will have?

SOT: This year our strengths will be our speed in the midfield, quickness on attack, and a strong one-v one defense.

***

Make sure to follow the Severn Varsity girls lacrosse team this season!

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Crowd Sourced Language Learning

By: Zachary Rosen '16

     The world today is incredibly globalized, a result of both the international economy and the world wide web. Social media can let people from different continents speak casually to each other. One can read the news from papers of any number of nations. Agricultural products and industrial goods, the tech gadgets and designer clothing, can all be moved between different countries, providing to consumers the most of what they want for the lowest costs.
     The problem this presents is that now, for those seeking careers in any professional field, but most importantly government and business, foreign language ability is a necessity. The problem is that learning a new language, if you aren't raised in a multilingual household or spend a month in a a different country, is exceptionally difficult. This is exacerbated by the fact that many people don't practice when they aren't in school, that we don't live in an immersive environment, and that some people just don't like language learning. Even with the mandate that Severn students take three years of a consecutive language, few will graduate being truly fluent.
      One new language app/website, called "Duolingo", might help fix this problem. Duolingo is a free language learning resource, invented by Luis Von Ahn, the creator of Captcha. The app works by teaching users the basics of the language of their choice with a variety of relatively entertaining games. It then provides users with articles, websites, and other texts in the language of study for the student to translate. Because so many different people are translating the same article, eventually, algorithms determine an incredibly accurate translation, which is then sold to the company seeking the translation (this is how the website is able to keep itself free).
      Of course, this is no way to achieve fluency. However, it does offer a great chance to start learning a language your interested in, and it's incredibly easy to stick with compared to normal independent study. The creators of the website intend to eventually put every language up, but for now, they have Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Irish, Danish, and Swedish. Hungarian, Turkish, Esperanto, Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, and Polish are coming soon. This is a perfect opportunity to augment study in your current language class or to start looking into something you've always been curious about. Viel Glück!

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From Paris with News

Photo by the Examiner.com

By: Zachary Rosen '16

Most everyone has been made aware, in some form or another, of the terrible events in Paris not long ago. A group of armed men attacked a small satirical newspaper (Charlie Hebdo), killing a total of ten editors and two security guards and sparking the popular tweet "Je Suis Charlie" (or the English equivalent, "I am Charlie"). They were pursued over the course of a few days into the North of France, where they were eventually killed by police forces. A separate individual working with them killed a policewoman in Paris. He was later killed after taking control of a Kosher deli and killing several shoppers. Charlie Hebdo was originally an incredibly small paper that produced around 60,000 copies per circulation, and was in danger of closing because of such a low circulation amount. In light of the shootings, they ran out of the first three million copies they printed in a manner of hours and are now printing more. The paper had actually been fire bombed by extremist several years ago for printing an issue many muslims considered insulting.

There have been a few developments since then. France has moved to deploy a total of 10,000 troops domestically to protect Jewish schools, synagogues, and mosques throughout the country (in fear of both terroristic and retaliatory actions). For some background, France has the highest Jewish population in Europe (around 500,000), yet has been dealing with a huge immigration problem whereby Jews are moving out of the country (many to Israel); hopefully, this move might provide a sense of security to counteract this outward flow.

The attack itself has been claimed by Al Qaeda Yemen, a Yemeni offshoot of the famous terrorist organization, though there is some curiosity as to the truth of that statement. It is also believed that the girlfriend of one of the shooters made her way to Syria several days before the attack (by way of Turkey).

Overall, the actions of these shooters have been decried by press and governments the world over, including the vast majority of Middle Eastern groups. There is also quite a lot of fear that these actions might exacerbate the already elevated levels of anti-Islamic sentiment prevalent in Europe. The Pegida movement in Germany is a good example, opposed to what it considers to be the islamization of Europe. In the wake of these shootings, leaders of many nations have joined marches for toleration and unity in an event to quell public anger or any retaliatory actions against Muslims (i.e. Angela Merkel joined an anti-Pegida protest a few days ago).

In the most recent news, there was a police standoff between suspected terrorists in Belgium; both the suspects were killed after opening fire on police. There is still an investigation as to whether they were connected to the Charlie Hebdo shootings.

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