Just like any other school day, I brushed my teeth, showered, reluctantly got dressed and sluggishly trudged downstairs. But instead of stumbling straight out the door as usual, I spent the next 15 minutes…

Several thousand students, including about 100 from Whitman, walked out Thursday from middle and high schools around the DMV area to demand stricter gun safety laws, specifically urging the Senate to pass…

Laughing along to a Comedy Central bit playing on the radio, gym teacher Joe Cassidy sits in his car on the ride from his home in Clarksburg to school. He’s been stuck in traffic on I-270 for an hour…

I make bizarre comments to people I barely know, break into uncomfortable dance moves several times in an hour and greet my friends in the hallway with a heel click. I embarrass and confuse myself and…

When I reached out to girls basketball coach Peter Kenah about shadowing his team for a week, he responded with “A week following the team! Get ready for laughter & crazy high volume!”

The girls…

The first time point guard Lexi Fleck heard basketball head coach Peter Kenah’s pre-game talk in the locker room, she was only in third grade. When Fleck joined the team as a sophomore this year, she…

When thinking of great stories, the minds of some people jump to classic books like “The Catcher in the Rye,” “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Slaughterhouse-Five,” arguing that they are the heart…

Junior Riya Kumar struggles to breathe in the passenger seat of her car as she enters anaphylactic shock. Her dad tries to weave through the congested rainy-day beltway traffic as they rush to the hospital,…

Every year around Veteran’s Day, my elementary school music teacher would print out the lyrics of “God Bless the USA” for us to sing in class. My friends and I would belt out, “I’m proud to be…

In late August or early September of 2019, the popular Bethesda Bagels franchise will open a fifth store near Montgomery Mall, the company announced Dec. 21. The Fleishman family, who started the company…

Here’s the thing: I was wrong about Idaho.

If you know me, you’re probably really confused. You’ve heard me kick the dead horse that is my love of the Gem State ever since I moved to Bethesda…

Walking through the hot and vibrant streets of Istanbul this past summer, junior Sophia Kotschoubey held her small leather journal close at all times. She glued train tickets to the unlined pages, wrote…

Junior Izzi Aronin used to be insecure about her chances of a music career. But after being accepted into the National Youth Symphony Orchestra freshman year—getting the opportunity to see the internationally…

When principal Robert Dodd sent out an email late Tuesday afternoon notifying students that athletic director Andy Wetzel would be selling the remaining parking permits the next day on a first-come, first-served…

When special education teacher Stephen Sutherland arrived at Whitman 13 years ago, he had never heard of bocce before. But four years later, when former principal Alan Goodwin asked if he wanted to coach…

Alexandra Robbins is a celebrated investigative journalist, author and Whitman alum. She has written many best-selling books, most notably “The Overachievers,” an inside look at several Whitman students’…

It started with a sprained ankle. Then another. And another. By the time senior Caroline Macdonald was 18, she had suffered three sprained ankles, a stress fracture in her foot and a torn ACL. Her injuries…

“Beat L-A, beat L-A, beat L-A!” Swarms of Patriots fans chanted a phrase that has been dear to Boston sports since the 1980s rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. As a Patriots fan…

When senior Natan Rosen scored the goal that tied the boys soccer state championship game Nov. 16, tiny blue beads went flying. His dad, Gil Rosen, had been making bracelets—hundreds of beads were attached…

The crisp crunch of potato chips, the soft crackling from a knife cutting through sand and even the subtle sound of a quiet voice whispering into a microphone: to some, autonomous sensory meridian response…

Rewind to the beginning of the year: it’s time for teachers to pass out textbooks, and we all know the routine. Teacher after teacher hands out a ridiculously heavy book to lug around all day, and when…

In a cozy Bethesda living room, 15 parents from eight different countries gathered in a circle this November. Sitting on sofas and chairs, they laughed, drank homemade lemon tea, ate fruit cake and discussed…

Junior Olaf Hichwa hates gravity. He can’t remember a time when he wasn’t interested in aviation. As soon as he could talk, he told his parents he wanted to be a pilot when he grew up. So when he was…

For most people, paying no college tuition is unimaginable; even with the best scholarships, few students get full rides. But for junior Qiu Appel, a college education could be free of charge. The only…

Senior Alex Lewis taught students how hip-hop artists express disenfranchisement, frustration, identity and empowerment through their music in his interactive project for his Media in Society class Dec….

The current government shutdown—now in its 30th day—is the longest in U.S history. The shutdown has kept around 800,000 federal employees from receiving pay, including many parents in the Whitman community.
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I’ve seen a lot of weird things in this country since I moved here from Italy. The constant optimism and cheerfulness, the intense patriotism, the freezing air conditioning in the summer and overpowering…

Maryland soccer referee Dan Heldman watches closely as a player slides studs up into a dangerous challenge, and his opponent crashes to the ground in pain. Heldman blows his whistle and reaches for the…

After a man opened fire at The Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh Saturday, killing 11, the country and Jewish community mourned. My old Hebrew school group chat lit up with messages of support. Facebook…

This story was originally published on The Black & White on October 10, 2018.