America has an undeniable obsession with celebrities. Thousands of news sites and magazines trace the movements of movie and TV stars, publishing them doing mundane activities like walking down the street and shopping for groceries. Our obsession with fame and famous people, however, does not need to—and should not—leak into our political system. Celebrities tend to be charismatic and know how to appeal to a specific audience, which is wonderful for a TV show in need of ratings, but not ideal for the chief executive of a diverse country. As junior Revati Mahurkar says, a “lot of [celebrities’] success depends
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Every single GDS student knows a peer struggling with their mental health, whether or not they are aware of it. Although mental illnesses do not always have obvious physical manifestations, mental health issues can affect people in a variety of seen—or invisible–ways. Still, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, at least one in five high school students around the country battle with a mental health illness—and GDS students are no exception. While recent student-driven actions have begun to shed light on mental health issues in our community, the school itself needs to step up and meet its students
At this point in Washington Nationals history, it almost seems normal to watch the divisional competition come to a stop while the Nats sprint away from the pack in hot pursuit of yet another 90-plus win season. Despite offseason improvements made by divisional foes Atlanta and Philadelphia, the Nationals, especially Stephen Strasburg, observed as 2017 National League Most Valuable Player, Giancarlo Stanton, who has a career .313 batting average along with three home runs against the Nats pitcher, departs for the New York Yankees as just one of many casualties of the Miami Marlins’ fire sale. Unlike the Yankees, the
Don’t sleep on freshman Ellie Sepúlveda. She is quietly one of GDS’ most elite and top-tier athletes, even though most GDS students don’t know it. In fact, most people don’t fully understand the nature of her sport, rock climbing. But Ellie doesn’t let this lack of recognition discourage her. As a member of the Sportrock Alexandria climbing team, and part of GDS’ own rock climbing team, she trains for over 20 hours a week. She also competes year-round in the USA Climbing youth program, in all three categories of competition: bouldering, lead climbing, and speed climbing. Still, Ellie aims even
When one thinks of video games, they usually think of immersive, fantastical worlds and stories so outlandish as to only be possible within the digital world. Sports video games, however, occupy a niche for gamers hungering for a more realistic experience without sacrificing any of the immersiveness provided by other video games. For many years the sports gaming scene has been dominated by EA (Electronic Arts) Sports. The company’s long-running franchises include FIFA Soccer, Madden NFL football, and NHL hockey. In addition, EA produces a line of basketball titles under the name NBA Live, but California-based 2K Games prevails as
Ask anyone what the most important part of a winning team is and you’ll likely receive a few different responses. Some will immediately say that a strong defense is essential to success. Others will counter with the classic (paraphrased) George Washington quotation that the best defense is a strong offense. But what if even the combination of these two factors isn’t enough to propel a team to victory? Meet the 2017 GDS varsity volleyball team, where a culture of teamwork and supportiveness is preached above all else. Of course, pretty much all team sports are based around the concept of
GDS students honor the lives of all lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. As they observed seventeen minutes of silence, the names of those whose lives came to a tragic end were read aloud, and they were remembered.
On February 28, dozens of GDS students from the middle and high school marched to end gun violence and show their support for gun control. All Photos by Derek Oliwa.
Juuling has taken the GDS administration by storm and students want in on the action. A juul, as defined by Urban Dictionary, is a small godly device that “gives u the best buzzes of your life.” As it turns out, the GDS faculty has been taking quick hits off the juul all first quarter. Quinn Killy confirmed these juuling accusations by officially declaring GDS a safe space for juuling. “You will not be expelled for juuling on the GDS campus,”he declared at his pro-Juuling rally. After Quinn’s “assembly”, Chris Levy created the “Don’t Juul if you aren’t Cuul” campaign. Juul
In the last edition of the Augur Bit, my colleague Alexander “Thomp” Thompson met with Physical Education Department Head, men’s varsity lacrosse Head Coach, and chicken connoisseur Taylor Brown. After a thought provoking conversation that left Alexander and the rest of our community speechless, I knew it was my destiny to trek down to the Level One Fitness Center and delve deeper into the identity of the man, the myth, the legend: Taylor Brown. Q: What were your thoughts on the New England Patriots being crowned Super Bowl 51 champions this past year? A: As a small tear crests his
Living in one place or community your whole life can mean you get to know the world around you: the culture, traditions, and habits that influence your beliefs and perspectives. Living abroad exposes you to a variety of different viewpoints and interpretations of life, which helps you understand a new perspective, and perhaps even question your own pre-existing ideas. As an American living abroad, it can feel like you are an outsider looking into what is happening in America. History teacher Marjorie Brimley lived in Japan during events that were critical to the U.S. “Living abroad showed me that the
Violence can be very tempting, especially when those you are fighting against are spewing hate and intolerance. But more often than not, violence just makes things worse. It can cause the other side to use more violence, and further magnify the conflict. Right now, across our country, a group of anti-fascists who refer to themselves as Antifa have caved to the pull of violence. The political unrest in America right now is causing many people to join Antifa. The far-left group believes that the terrible and violent history of those on the far-right requires violence in order to stop them