Designer of the Year 2020-2021 Submission

Aviva Bechky

Design this year started with a scramble—I emailed the county tech specialist, got Adobe
InDesign access for our newspaper staff, and then spent hours on Zooms with my fellow design
editors reinventing the format of the paper. Every resource and InDesign file from previous years
was locked our closed school building. I’d spent the previous year becoming familiar with InDesign,
but this year presented a whole new challenge: How to coordinate 32 pages designed by 15 or so
staffers with elements coming in from many others, without being able to be in the same room or
share a computer system? It’s certainly been humbling, but I’ve also gained so much.
I’ve become so much more familiar with InDesign. I and two other editors created a CC
Library from scratch to standardize parts of Silver Chips’ design. Our changes are apparent in a
more streamlined sidebar format; in new window quotes with bolder, simpler lines; in a new header
for our Spanish section, La Esquina Latina, which fits more cohesively with the entire paper. With
front pages specifically, photos in the past had often been utterly unrelated to the most important
stories. When I became design editor, I wanted first and foremost to ensure that eye-catching
designs served a story, that as much as they offered visual interest they also provided news coverage.
More generally, I learned how to use color and elements and white space to balance out each
page—and how to piece together a page when elements come in hours before we go to print.
Beyond my own designs, I learned to communicate and organize to ensure that everything
got done. Where last year, I managed one or two pages, this year I designed several while also
offering edits on everyone else’s pages and checking in with artists, photographers, and
graphic-makers in order to get each element on the page in time. (Juggling various color-coded
spreadsheets ended up occupying a lot of my time.) I learned to share responsibility, giving advice
and trusting other designers to make edits accordingly, and I learned to collaborate. When
previously, designers worked with whatever artwork and photos they were given, this year I and
our art and photo editors called and planned each design-heavy page together, creating far more
deliberately constructed designs.
Most gratifying of all was teaching new staff members to use InDesign. While this is
ordinarily a learn-by-example process, that wasn’t possible this year because of COVID-19 closures.
Instead, I and one other editor recorded 37 videos showing various InDesign skills in order to teach
new staffers. Using those videos, we guided staffers first through practice pages and then through
real page designs, and I’m incredibly proud of the creativity that they’ve shown. This was my last
year on the paper, but I can see that I’m leaving design in excellent hands.
Design descriptions

COVID-19 cases climbing (A1; December 9, 2020)

I wanted this page to highlight increasing COVID-19 case numbers. To do that, I manually
cropped COVID-related photos to match the curve of a graph of daily coronavirus cases, which
was spiking dramatically. The most recent daily case numbers is in a bold font which matches
the headline—designed to call attention—and the art on the bottom reflects some of the spiking
curves of the graph while also illustrating a more human-interest-driven piece.

Small businesses, big hearts (D3/D4; December 9, 2020)

With this page, I wanted the products of the businesses we highlighted to shine, so I used
images of the textiles produced by one of the businesses as backdrops for the story. The top and
bottom of each textile are in bold color that fades out in the middle, which highlights the
vibrancy of the patterns while ensuring the text is still readable. Circular photos of each business
adds a whimsical air, while the larger rectangular photos ground each section.

Winter wonderland (E1; December 9, 2020)

We’ve been told our newspaper skews towards grim; this page was designed to be fun. I cut out
the subjects of two photos of Santa and Christmas trees and inserted them inside a drawing of a
snowglobe, curving the text inside to fill the globe. While it was challenging technically, I feel
like the page succeeds in screaming winter holidays.

We, the people. (A1; January 27, 2021)

Going to print only days after President Biden’s inauguration and a few weeks after the
right-wing terrorist attack on the Capitol, we knew those events had to be the central theme of
our paper. In the design, a calmer photo of the Capitol is mirrored by a drawing of the riots—a
visual indication that both images are a part of the US’s current political reality, with neither
being distant from the other. The art and photo fill the entire page and serve as a backdrop for
all of the text—our boldest front page yet.

‘It was supposed to be a hospital, but it basically was a prison.’ (D2/D3; January 27, 2021)
Bright and bold colors here highlight uncertainty, lack of control, and fear for students in
residential mental institutions. On many of the pages I edited for Chips, I encouraged balance,
and that was one of my guiding ideas here. The window quote headers distribute a bit of color
throughout the layout; the pie chart is in a clear and easy-to-read spot while also offsetting the
concentration of color on the bottom and left; the colorful headline and second deck reflect the
colors of the art at the bottom of the page.
 silverchips A public forum for student expression since 1937
Montgomery Blair High School
subscribe online
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December 9, 2020 SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND VOL. 84 NO. 2

COVID-19 cases climbing

COURTESY OF ISABELLE MEGOSH

The graph below shows the rolling seven-day average of new reported COVID-19 cases in Mary-
land each day from March 18 to Dec. 6. From left to right, photos show a worker stocking shelves
at the Silver Spring Whole Foods Market in April, the family meal distribution service at Blair in
December, and a doctor overlooking a crowd at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda in April.
ROBERT PADMORE ROBERT PADMORE

seven-day
average of con-
firmed cases,
1,090 Dec. 7
seven-day average of
confirmed cases, May 7 940
seven-day average of
confirmed cases, July 31
2,708
In the absence of further Until vaccines and treatments are widely available, we,
COURTESY OF TRAVIS GAYLES

actions, the hospitals will run out of space, the people, are the only ones who, through our actions,
COURTESY OF MARC ELRICH

and we may not have room to take care of can stop COVID-19’s spread. Please, keep physical
people... To get to a lower level of community distancing, wear masks when outside your house, and
transmission [and] to open up schools... we
may have to put some restrictions on other avoid any gathering of more than 10 people, and, yes,
activities that we are not necessarily ready to that means through the holidays. Keep everyone safe
let go of. now, so we can celebrate together next year.

TRAVIS GAYLES, Montgomery County Health MARC ELRICH, Montgomery County Executive, in a Nov. 25
Officer, in a Dec. 2 media briefing email to Silver Chips

MCPS plans reopening Vaccinating MoCo

By Sean Li and Sofia Roehrig ning on Feb. 1—if the health met-
Staff Writers rics outlined in the framework are
met.
On Nov. 6, MCPS staff pre- An updated version of the plan
sented the Board of Education was tentatively approved by the
with a preliminary plan to be- Board on Nov. 10, with plans for
gin a phased hybrid model of further discussion during a meet-
in-person and virtual learning ing on Nov. 17 and final approval
as soon as next month. The on Dec. 3. However, the Board
Board’s plan could allow delayed final action to their next
students in special educa- meeting on Dec. 15.
tion programs to return to On Nov. 6, Derek Turner,
physical buildings on Jan. Chief of Engagement, Innovation
12, with all other students and Operations in MCPS, outlined
following in phases begin- the seven-day average number of
cases per 100,000 residents and By Rekha Leonard clear timeframe of when the vac-
the 14-day test positivity rate as Senior Writer cine will be approved or knowl-
the key metrics used to determine edge of what exactly distribution
the safety of the hybrid mod- As the release of a COVID-19 will look like, public health officials
el. The county is using a 14-day vaccine in the United States by and leaders nationwide have been
case positivity rate of five percent the end of the year becomes more unable to adequately plan and pre-
as the threshold to start bringing and more likely, the public health pare.
students into physical buildings community is preparing to begin Experts may realize some de-
based on guidance from the distributing a vaccine as soon as gree of clarity soon, as pharmaceu-
Maryland Department of Health one is deemed safe and effective tical company Pfizer—along with its
(MDH). by the Food and Drug Adminis- partner BioNTech—and biotech-
As of Dec. 6, there were 39.4 tration (FDA). nology company Moderna both
confirmed COVID-19 cases per However, many questions re- recently achieved major milestones
main, including how the vaccine
see REOPENING page A2 will be distributed. Without a see VACCINES page G1

A WAP-ing success
Black women transform the rap scene
By Leila Faraday
Staff Writer
Many of us remember memo-
rizing the lyrics to songs like “Su-
per Bass” and “Starships” by Nicki
Minaj before we even hit double
digits. Allison Swann and Yama-
rie Sarr, two seniors at Blair, re-
member her as their first intro-
duction to female rap, along
with a few other prominent
women in the genre. Now,
SHASHI ARNOLD
in 2020, we are in a new age of
female rap, in which a myriad of
talented women are changing the
previously male-dominated world
of hip-hop forever.
Double standards
This summer, the song “WAP,”
performed by rappers Megan Thee
Stallion and Cardi B, became the
first female rap collaboration to
debut at number one on the Bill-
board Hot 100 chart after receiving
93 million streams within its first
week—making it the most streamed
song during its first week of release
of all time. The song quickly went
viral on TikTok and became a cul-
tural staple, with creators perform-
ing their own versions of the music
video’s dance.
Despite its phenomenal success,
the song was also heavily criticized
as inappropriate and obscene. In
reaction to hearing the song, con-
see RAPPERS page E3

insidechips Boundary analysis

MCPS launches Phase Two
Negocios locales
Los negocios latinxs locales
Behind the curtain
How theaters are adapting
Copaganda
The perils of portraying
A2 News of the process toman nuevas precauciones to virtual performances cops on television
B1 Opinions A5 para sobrevivir la pandemia D6 E4
C1 La Esquina Latina
D1 Features Localize civic education de COVID-19 y ayudar a The winter dilemma Recruiting in a pandemic
E1 Culture MCPS must prioritize los trabajadores de la prim- Having socially-distanced How athletic scholarships
F1 Sports real-world civics curricula era línea. fun as temperatures drop are affected by COVID-19
G1 COVID-19 B3 C1 E1 F1
silverchips Dec. 9, 2020 Features D3/D4

Small businesses, big hearts

How Black-owned businesses connect their communities

Many small businesses have suffered during the
long months of the pandemic and are relying on
their most loyal customers to retain an income.
However, in the midst of a racial reckoning in the
Excellence in
United States, some Black-owned businesses are
attracting new customers, with creative offerings
like popcorn, sustainable streetwear, and hand-
made fabrics.

every stitch
For Cecily Habimana, the most rewarding part claiming “Black Lives Matter.” Three stripes of
of running Sew Creative Lounge, a black, red, and green adorn the sides, represent-

A truly popping business where she teaches oth-

ers to sew, is watching custom-
ers complete a project. “The
best part is that moment
ing the Pan-African flag. Habimana also makes
two versions of a “Black Beauty” fabric, which
features multi-colored silhouettes of a woman’s
head with an afro puff ponytail.

business when someone has finished

their project and they’re
just like, ‘Oh, I’ve made
it!’” she says.
Habimana says that
making clothing and
fabric that reflects
her experience
As Sew Creative Lounge is important to
began to outgrow its humble her. “I was look-
When Renette Dallas noticed her favorite “If I couldn’t beginnings as a sip-n-sew pop-up ing for fabric that
brand of popcorn was no longer sold at her local get people to class, Habimama and her business connects to the
health store, she was shocked. She took to the be fasting… partner, Tisha Thorne, decided to settle down in African Ameri-
kitchen, exercising her fitness experience and doc- because their current studio space in Mt. Rainer, Maryland. can experience,
torate degree in naturopathy—a form of alternative they felt For them, it was a matter of convenience. “Both of versus the African
medicine—to make her own healthy, home-made like they our husbands were tired of lugging thirty-five sew- experience, versus

Reduce, reuse, resew

popcorn. Just like that, True Pop Popcorn, also had to ing machines to do classes,” Habimana says. the American expe-
known as Dallas Popcorn, was born. Spreading be chew- Like many other businesses, everything rience, and I found
first through her fitness classes, her product quick- ing or changed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Now, that there was a gap in
ly expanded to health food stores all over the Na- crunch- Habimana and Thorne are busy teaching virtual that,” says Habimana.
tional Capital Area. ing on classes and selling fabric online. Online classes, Many Black-owned businesses, like the Sew
Dallas prides herself on the health benefits asso- something, Habimana notes, are not the same. “It’s not the Creative Lounge, experienced an increase in sales
ciated with her vegan popcorn, which is free from I figured that most ideal learning environment; sewing is very during the height of the Black Lives Matter pro-
genetically modified products and artificial preser- I would create Justis Pitt-Goodson, the chief executive offi- ing a myriad of patches, occasionally accompanied hands-on,” she says. tests. Now that this spike has somewhat faded, Ha-
vatives—according to her website, the popcorn is a snack that was cer and co-founder of BrownMill Company, has by a clean white logo cutting through the chaotic But Habimana still loves her job. “I couldn’t bimana needs to purchase many advertisements to
a good source of fiber, protein, good for people,” Dallas been an entrepreneur since the eighth grade. After bursts of color. imagine working someplace outside of this during direct attention to her website and keep revenue
folic acid, and ni- says. She wanted to make her popcorn deli- making neckties and bow ties in middle school, Other pieces from the brand’s recent “Think COVID,” she says. “This place brings a lot of joy up. “I didn’t really have to work as hard [during
acin. “When cious without adding high fat ingredients like but- Pitt-Goodson created BrownMill Company with Bigger” collection include vibrantly colored shirts for me, and I couldn’t imagine working someplace the summer] as far as getting those sales,” she says.
you look at a ter and cheese. his friends Taha Shimou and Kwaku Agyemang and sweatshirts with “Think Bigger” emblazoned where I wasn’t happy.” BrownMill Company and TruePop Popcorn
list of foods The popcorn comes in three flavors: “Original in 2009, when he was in high school. In- across the chest in slightly curly letters. Their As some start to feel the pull of boredom during also shared in this phenomenon. In an email, Dal-
that have Crowd Favorite,” “Garlic Overdose,” and “Just stead of selling neckties, sweatpants are vivaciously colored as well, with the the pandemic, Sew Creative Lounge offers an out- las from TruePop wrote that contracting
the highest Plain Good.” The “Original” flavor is anything but however, they created same slogan over the hip. let. “Some of our more advanced students, we opportunities have increased for her
amount normal—it stands out with a blend of herbs, spices, a streetwear brand Another design in the shop is the “Piscataway,” haven’t seen in a while, but we definitely since the start of the Black Lives
of dietary sea salt, and nutritional yeast that simulates a but- known for stand- which is featured on shirts, sweatpants, and a have gotten an influx of new, beginner Matter movement this sum-
fiber, pop- tery and cheesy taste without the dairy. Retailing out pieces made jacket. It displays a Native chieftain. The design students,” Habimana says. mer. “It has allowed a few
corn is at for $25 for a pack of six bags, the popcorn can be from recycled is based on the founder’s high school mascot, ac- Habimana also sells clothing from more doors of contracting
the top of purchased at stores across the capital beltway re- materials. cording to Agyemang: “We wanted to pay homage her brand Simply Cecily, and her [opportunities] to open as
that list,” gion, including in the Takoma Park Silver Spring In high to what we grew up in and our community that African prints and unique styles no one wants you to sug-
Dallas says. Co-op. school, supported us.” have earned her international ac- gest there may be a hint
Pitt-Goodson, BrownMill recognizes that issues that could claim. Even after working with [of] racism,” Dallas wrote.
Shimou, and arise from using an Indigenous person’s image in singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige and Not only has Brown-
Agyemang relied that way. “It’s still an ongoing conversation for us, holding fashion shows in Prague, Mill Company gained an
on their commu- the ethics behind it, and how we can offset that,” the capital of the Czech Republic, influx of new customers, the
nity to support their says Pitt-Goodson. she keeps a cool head. “I just enjoy company believes that they
fledgling business. Not only does BrownMill make unique cloth- the moment,” she says. are here to stay. According to
Now that they have grown in ing, but they also have a unique approach to ed- In tribute to George Floyd after his Shimou, “I definitely don’t see
popularity, they are returning the favor. Before the killing this summer, Habimana created a the support going away once peo-
COVID-19 pandemic, BrownMill Company host- ucation. Through their social media feed and
community outreach, BrownMill Company aims “Black Lives Matter” fabric. The fabric’s fea- ple start to go back to their regular lives.
ed community basketball games in their home- tured item on her website is a jumper with a black I think this is always something that we’re going to
town of Piscataway, New Jersey. These games were to promote more race-conscious education about
U.S. history. “For us being Black people living in background and slanted words covering it, pro- have.”
a place for community members to ward off sum-
mer boredom, meet with friends, and connect with America, there’s different fun-
the rest of their community. “[The games let peo- damentals that we should
ple] come, socialize, see people they hadn’t seen know ourselves. And
before, and also stop people from doing some- I think BrownMill
thing that’s probably not going to be the best does a good job of
idea,” Shimou says. Periodically, they also teaching people
host pop-up clothing shops in Maryland. about it,” Shi-
In addition to community, sustainability mou says.
is a crucial part of BrownMill Company’s Supreme
business design. They aim to become a ful- feels that the re-
ly sustainable business by 2022 and already lease of Brown-
craft some of their pieces from pre-owned Mill’s “Think
Story by fabric, which makes for one-of-a-kind cloth- Bigger” collec-
Maybelle Patterson ing items. “Something that we’re known for tion just before
is our ‘one-of-one’ pieces,” public relations the pandemic
Photos courtesy of True Pop director Johana Supreme says. “That’s really couldn’t have been
Popcorn, BrownMill Compa- what people go for because they’re like, ‘Yo, I more timely. “It re-
love this jean jacket, it has all these patches, it has ally was amazing to see
ny, and Sew Creative Lounge all these cuts, this logo that somebody else doesn’t how it correlated directly
Background fabric patterns have,’ and they go crazy for it.” with what was going on,” Supreme says.
BrownMill’s one-of-one pieces, which range “Everyone was forced to think bigger as soon as
from Sew Creative Lounge from hats to shirts to jackets, are usually pieces COVID hit: bigger than yourself as a brand, bigger
Design by Aviva with a solid background that are reworked by add- than yourself as a person.”
Bechky
E1 Culture Dec. 9, 2020 silverchips

te r wond er l an
in d
W
during the-
her own free time aters is simple,
without the club. “[I will] may- she explained. Movie-
be try and go with my family a little, goers purchase one ticket per
but it will be different,” she said. car online and, upon arrival, tickets
According to Whitetail’s website, are scanned from the outside of the car.
This face coverings will be mandatory at all Employees then direct patrons towards
winter, times while at the resort, and payments a parking spot in a row of the lot of their
one big chal- will now be completely cash-free. choice. “You never have to leave your
lenge for us all Due to these COVID-19-related re- car unless you want to use one
will undoubtedly be strictions, Gagnon foresees a decrease of the porta-potties,” Creekmore
finding fun activities in activity at the resort. “There’s going said. “You never come in con-
to do in the cold while to be a lot less people,” she said. tact with other people.”
staying COVID-safe. Junior Kiah Beachler explained that Creekmore’s drive-in
Here’s how some Blazers the Takoma ski club, which she partic- theater of choice, located in
plan to stay warm—and six feet ipated in for four years, doesn’t lend it- Arlington, even has snack
apart—while still having a blast. self well to social distancing. “When we options, just like tradition- the
For junior Caroline Gagnon, go, we ride on these big, huge tour bus- al movie theaters. At the Arlington
wintertime usually means wait- es, and oftentimes, if I’m being honest, entrance, moviegoers receive a theater, said
ing eagerly for Saturdays so she they’re over capacity,” she said. “That in packet with instructions on how that while the ex-
and of itself would be really problem- to order food from a selection
can hit the slopes at Whitetail and atic, and I don’t think social distancing perience wasn’t an
of food trucks.
Liberty Mountain Resorts with the would ever really work for the club.” Even the biting winter cold exact substitute for
Takoma Park Ski Club. This year, Instead of skiing, Beachler plans on isn’t a problem at drive-in the- a traditional theater,
however, the club was canceled due to seeing friends outside in other ways. “If aters, Creekmore added. “It she still had a great
the COVID-19 pandemic. “I was disap- we can’t ski, we’ll just take advantage of was super easy to stay warm, time. “It was defi-
pointed,” Gagnon said. “I’ve just the wintertime and maybe hike. [I’ll] still too. You can bring blankets… nitely different than
done it for so many see the people who I would ski with nor- and put the car heat on,” being at a real mov-
years, and it’s some- mally but under safer circumstances,” she said. ie theater,” she said.
thing I look forward she said. Creekmore, who re- “But I’d say it’s the
to in the winter.” Beachler also recommends gathering cently watched a hor- closest thing that
This winter will outside around a fire as a way to both ror-adventure film called I’ve found since
mark the first stay warm and keep safe . “It’s been re- “The Mum- COVID started.”
time since Gag- ally nice having fire pit get-togethers with my” at Creekmore de-
non joined the family friends,” she said. “It’s the new
substitute for hanging out like we nor- scribed the whole
club in sixth
mally would.” experience as fun,
grade that she
won’t be able One of senior Lily easy, and—most
to participate. Creekmore’s favorite importantly—
Despite winter activities is safe. “It’s really
the cancella- going to the movies, good, really
tion, howev- but with most near- great, for
er, Gagnon by movie theaters COVID,”
predicted completely shut she said.
that she down, Creekmore
will still has found a social-
ly-distant alterna-
return tive: outdoor drive-
to the in movie theaters.
ski re- The process at
sorts drive-in

International News Briefs By Ashley Thommana

Culture Columnist

Prominent Hong Kong
journalist arrested
On Nov. 3, Choy Yuk Ling, a
journalist and producer with Hong
Kong-based public broadcast net-
work Radio Television Hong Kong
(RTHK), was arrested by Hong
Kong police. She was arrested
because last year, she accessed a
public database of car registrations
while conducting research for a
documentary.
The documentary investigat-
ed the Hong Kong police force’s
failure to respond to a mob attack
on anti-government protesters that
took place on July 21, 2019 in the
western town of Yuen Long. Sever-
al men armed with bats and metal
rods attacked pro-democracy pro-
testers returning from a demon-
stration in a transit station. Various
reports surfaced after the attack
suggesting that the police force may
have colluded with the attackers.
In the aftermath of the arrest,
the Hong Kong Journalists Associ-
ation and a number of other organi-
zations issued a joint statement on
Facebook condemning the arrest,
stating that providing journalists’
access to public records is essential
to the preservation of the freedom
of the press.
Protests in Guatemala
against new budget
On Nov. 21, protests erupted in
Guatemala City, the capital of Gua-
temala, in response to a $12.8 bil-
lion budget passed by the country’s
congress. The proposed budget
would cut funding for education,
healthcare, the judiciary, and vari-
ous human rights agencies while in-
creasing lawmakers’ meal stipends.
Most demonstrations in the cap-
ital city were peaceful; however,
according to the New York Times,
a video shared on social media
showed a group of protestors set-
ting fire to part of the congress
building. Firefighters were able to
put out the fire before it spread to
other parts of the building. Accord-
ing to BBC, Guatemalan president
Alejandro Giammattei’s adminis-
tration called the event an “act of
terrorism.”
Local media reported incidents
of police using excessive force
against demonstrators during the
protests, including spraying pro-
testers with tear gas, leading various
human rights groups to condemn
police violence and call for an in-
vestigation.
After one day of protests, Allan
Rodríguez, the Speaker of Con-
gress, announced on Nov. 22 that
the congress would not send the
budget to Giammattei for his signa-
ture, which signifies that the budget
will not be implemented as written.
Rodríguez did not address if the
congress would edit the budget or
draft a new one to pass into law be-
fore the December deadline. As of
Nov. 28, according to Al Jazeera,
protests were continuing in Guate-
mala.
Hungarian government
proposes ban on adoption
by same-sex couple
On Nov. 10, the Hungarian gov-
ernment proposed a constitutional
amendment that would effectively
ban child adoption by same-sex
couples. According to the BBC, the
proposed legislation requires that
children be raised with a “Chris-
tian interpretation of gender roles.”
In addition to same-sex couples,
single parents and non-married
straight couples would be affected
by the legislation; they would need
special permission from the coun-
try’s Minister of Family Affairs be-
fore adopting.
The legislation was proposed
by the right-wing Fidesz party. This
month, the country’s parliament,
which sports a two-third Fidesz ma-
jority, will likely vote the bill into
effect.
This proposition follows several
other constitutional changes imple-
mented since 2010, when Viktor
Orbán was elected prime minister
for the second time. For example,
the constitution was amended in
2012 to redefine “the institution of
marriage as between a man and a
woman.”
Many human rights groups,
like Human Rights Watch and IL-
GA-Europe, which is an European
rights group, have condemned the
recent legislation. According to
NBC News, the European Union
has also proposed a formal strategy
to protect the rights of queer citi-
zens in response.
 silver chips
A public forum for student
Montgomery Blair
expression since 1937
High School
subscribe online
tinyurl.com/subtochips21

January 27, 2021 SILVER SPRING MARYLAND VOL. 84 NO. 3

We, the people.

From
terror to
transfer
of power
By Maia Egnal and Sofia Roehrig
Staff Writers
On Jan. 6, terrorists stormed the
U.S. Capitol. On Jan. 20, exactly two
weeks later, Joseph Biden was sworn
in as the 46th president of the United
States. Governmental responses to
the riot exposed racial biases in fed-
eral security approaches and continue
PHOTO BY ROBERT PADMORE ART BY SH
ASHI ARNOLD
to broadly impact Washington, By Anika Seth
D.C. and the surrounding ar- Editor-in-Chief
eas, with troops set to remain
through mid-March. “[Tommy] wanted to defend
democracy and freedom,” Jamie
D.C. under attack Raskin told me on Jan. 21. “[He]
would never forgive me if I didn’t
As right-wing terrorists entered
the Capitol building, Capitol Police do whatever I could to meet this
occasion.”
see INAUGURATION page A3 Three weeks earlier, Raskin—who
Raskin
reflects
Trigger warning: This article
discusses suicide.
represents Maryland’s 8th Congres-
sional District in the U.S. House of
Representatives—lost his 25-year-old
son, Tommy Raskin, to suicide.
Then, at around 2:30 a.m. on
Jan. 7—the morning after terrorists
breached the Capitol—the congress-
man rose to speak from the House
see RASKIN page D5

insidechips Graduation
Blair schedules June 2
Abolish-
ing the Vir-
Latinx y
latine
Child development
during COVID-19
Chips’ Grammys
Blazers weigh in on
A2 News graduation date ginian death La intersec- Children are facing the Grammys
B1 Opinions A2 penalty ción entre la an abundance of new E1
C1 La Esquina Latina Jack Smith announces A look into the lingüística y challenges due to the
D1 Features retirement inhumanity of a creando una pandemic. How are WNBA in Georgia
E1 Culture MCPS superintendent to broken criminal cultura más in- they handling the Athletes help War-
F1 Sports retire at school year’s end justice system clusiva extra stress? nock win Senate race
G1 COVID-19 A4 B3 C2 D4
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‘It was supposed to be a hospital, but it basically was a prison.’
Maryland students describe abuse within residential mental institutions
Trigger warning: This article contains
information about and somewhat graphic
descriptions of physical violence, suicidality,
sexual abuse, and substance abuse.
W hen 15-year-old Alexander Sanderson
stared down the former St. Peter’s Sem-
inary building in southwest Baltimore,
he had no idea what the next eleven months would
have in store. It was July of 2016, and the state had
just referred Sanderson to the Baltimore
facility of the Regional Institute for
Children and Adolescents (RICA)
due to school truancy. He would
then spend almost a full calen-
dar year in a residential mental
health treatment program.
The two-story red brick
building hidden inside the
brush of Baltimore was
founded in the late 1950s
during the peak of a nation-
al shift in attitude around
mental health treatment.
This approach, called dein-
stitutionalization, emphasized
the importance of transitioning
individuals diagnosed with acute
mental illness into life outside of
residential care—and RICA em-
blemizes that newer concept.
Originally housed at the
former Rosewood state hospi-
tal, RICA Baltimore became a
state-funded residential treat-
ment facility in Maryland in
the 1950s and then moved to
St. Peter’s Seminary near the
U.S. National Cemetery in the 1970s. While there
are several privately-owned mental treatment organi-
zations, a second publicly-provided facility emerged
in Rockville in 1980.
Both facilities serve as both behavioral and aca-
demic treatment programs, with associated residential
schools, for Maryland students struggling with men-
tal illnesses, autism, specific learning disabilities, and
other mental health impairments.
The RICA vision, as stated on the MCPS website
for the Rockville campus, is to provide a space where
They had thrown me
into a restraint chair,
so I was strapped into a
chair. No movement, no noth-
ing. They had drugged me, and I
was nodding out… when I woke
up for a little bit, all the staff
were freaking the f*** out.
ISABELLE PEREIRA
“students will learn and grow academically, socially
and emotionally in a safe, secure and nurturing en-
vironment.”
But it didn’t take long for Sanderson to realize that
the facility was far from being a mental health haven.
“It was supposed to be a hospital, but it basically was
a prison,” he says.
Abusive environment
“We were essentially being kept isolated from the
outside world and our family members,” Sanderson
recalls. He was monitored during 15-minute phone
calls with his parents and was once forced to hang up
when he brought up the unfavorable living environ-
ment at the facility. He remembers many students,
including himself, collectively wondering how long
they would live in a foreign environment under heavy
surveillance. “There was no real answer.”
Some students felt more unsafe at the hands
of staff rather than fellow students. Sanderson re-
ports that staff members often exhibited unnec-
essary physical force, cruel taunts, and racist
remarks. Sanderson notes that violence was
more prevalent from staff than it was from
students. “There were fights sometimes
and stuff like that… but it was the staff
who were mainly at times very violent,”
he remembers.
One specific example he offers was
watching in horror as one of his friends
was abused by a staff member.
“I saw one of the staff
members, just with his
hands around
[my friend’s]
neck…
choking
him.”
According to Sanderson, this incident did not yield
any real consequences for the staff involved.
He also describes a personal story of staff-perpe-
trated abuse after he was placed on suicide watch. “At
one point, I became suicidal… because I wanted it to
be over. And so I wasn’t allowed to do much,” Sand-
erson says. “I went into the kitchen because I wanted
to snack, and apparently I wasn’t supposed to be in
there without supervision. [A] staff member followed
me in there… he grabbed my arm and just twisted it
really hard up behind my back… and he just marched
me out of the kitchen.”
Sanderson was then asked to remove his cloth-
ing so the staff members could check for danger-
ous items. He initially refused. “I’m not doing that,
I’m not exposing myself in front of all these people.
That’s not appropriate,” he recalls. But he says the
employee would not take no for an answer. “[The
staff member] puts [their] knee into my back, strips
me completely naked… [and then just] leaves me in
there, closes the door, locks it. Then I was in there
naked for, like, two hours.”
Sanderson did not struggle alone. Another former
resident, 17-year-old Isabelle Pereira spent a year
and a half in the residential program at the Rockville
RICA facility, while Sanderson was housed in Balti-
more. Though their reasons for institutionalization
differed—his for truancy, hers for mental illness and
substance abuse—Pereira described a similarly bleak
experience, with abuse ranging from violent disci-
plinary measures to neglect.
“It was really hard being there and being gaslight-
ed into believing that I needed this treatment: being
physically abused, sexually abused, psychologically
abused, and being gaslighted to the point where I
thought that I was crazy and… that I deserved it,” she
says.
The RICA Rockville Director of Community
Resources and Development, Marlayna Proctor, de-
clined to comment on the allegations of abuse.
Pereira partially credits these aggressive methods
to the background of Rockville RICA founder John
L. Gildner, who also served as the facility’s CEO for
twenty years after retiring from his position as an Air
Force Colonel and hospital administrator.
Pereira believes his military background impact-
ed the facility’s disciplinary tactics. “There’s a lot of
army style types of treatments and discipline… [but]
if you’re going to be in a place to attack those mental
health issues, you shouldn’t be treated like a crimi-
nal,” she says.
Admissions
Pereira experiences a range of emotional diffi-
culties as a result of her borderline personality dis-
order—a mental disorder characterized by unstable
moods, behavior, and relationships. However, she
feels her condition was aggravated by an oppressive
environment at RICA and does not believe her
institutionalization at the Rock-
ville facility was appropriate for
her needs.
“I don’t think I ever met
the requirements for
being in such highly
intense care; I don’t
think many kids
do,” she says.
“The people who
truly needed the
residential treat-
ment were bene-
fited by it… But
a lot of the chil-
dren there, they
didn’t [need it]—I know I didn’t.”
According to their website, RICA admits adoles-
cents who “chronically exhibit behavior, which is un-
acceptable at home in school, and in the community;
and for whom community resources have not been
helpful in the past.” Each case is evaluated based on a
series of specific emotional challenges.
According to Pereira, many admitted patients—
like herself—suffer from acute mental illness, and
many are also on the autism spectrum. In the 2019-
2020 school year, over 95 percent of the 112 students
enrolled at the affiliated school had needs requiring
special education services, per MCPS-provided de-
mographic data.
Based on both Sanderson and Pereira’s testimo-
nies, despite the vast differences in the specificities of
each individual case, the approaches and tactics used
in patient treatment are standardized and largely con-
gruent across the board.
Treatment approach
According to the RICA Baltimore website, their
primary methods for treatment are various kinds of
therapy—individual, family, group, recreation, art, and
movement—behavior medication, and psychophar-
macology.
However, Sanderson feels a large number of the
residential staff members were not adequately trained
to handle students with mental health issues. “The
majority of the time, the kids spent their days with just
regular staff hires who had barely any mental health
experience,” he notes.
According to a 2014 study by Louisiana State Uni-
versity, substance abuse treatment efforts are most
effective through long-term therapeutic residential
care and intensive outpatient mental health aftercare.
However, both Sanderson and Pereira described an
overreliance on medication to treat patients’ mental
illnesses. “[Therapy] would just be like throwing a
medication at somebody,” Sanderson says.
Charles Gischlar, Deputy Director for the Mary-
land Department of Health, explains that the process
of prescribing medication at RICA facilities is multi-
pronged. “The Maryland Department of Health oper-
ates the RICA facilities in accordance with Maryland
statutes, regulations from the Centers for Medicaid
and Medicare,” he writes in an email. “Policies for
medication fall within the regulatory guidance from
these same entities.”
Medication impact
While often beneficial in appropriate dosages,
when used as replacement of therapy or in excess,
medication can interfere with recovery and exacer-
bate emotional distress. Moreover, since some RICA
patients already struggle with drug or substance abuse
when they enter the facility, overuse of sedatives while
in residential treatment could exacerbate a student’s
pre-existing condition.
According to Paul K.B. Dagg of
the British Columbia Medical
Journal, when patients have anti-
psychotic medications or other
prescription drugs in their sys-
tem already, “the addition
of a [sedative] does abso-
lutely nothing other than
increase the risk of side
effects and toxicity.”
Despite evidence—
like the 2014 study—
that residential treat-
ment should focus
more on effective ther-
apeutic methods than
Jan. 27, 2021 Features D2/D3
medicine, Pereira and Sanderson feel that RICA ob-
RICA Rockville 2019-2020
serves a strict reliance on sedative medication. Pereira
describes in detail one terrifying encounter that she
had with sedation while in the care of RICA.
demographic breakdown
“They had thrown me into a restraint chair, so I
was strapped into a chair. No movement, no nothing.
They had drugged me, and I was nodding out… when
I woke up for a little bit, all the staff were freaking the
f*** out,” she says.
In Maryland, the use of restraining chairs with
emotionally distressed patients must be “appropriate
to the developmental level of the student” and must
not exceed 30 minutes, according to Maryland Seclu-
sion and Restraint Statutes. After her incident, Perei-
ra learned that she had been kept in the restraining
chair for 2.5 hours.
Other students described similar traumatic en-
counters with sedation and medication. In a Goo-
gle review of RICA Baltimore, one former student
writes, “therapy here is really just shoving pills down
the throats of patients. I still have nightmares from
this place.”
Transition into independent life
Though Sanderson thought his emotionally tu-
multuous experience would conclude after he was
discharged, he soon realized his struggle was far from
over.
After his eleven months living at the Baltimore
facility, he developed severe post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), which impeded his ability to enjoy
and be productive during his final years at Winston
Churchill.
“I was getting panic attacks, flashbacks, night-
mares,” Sanderson says. He was forced to miss school
and had difficulties with administration as a result of
the lasting emotional traumas he was still processing.
“I explained to a lot of the school district what I was
dealing with… at that point, they provided me zero
support.”
According to the Maryland Department of Health
website for JLG-RICA, “The child’s eventual return
to the home, community, or other less-restrictive set-
ting is an integral goal of treatment from the first day
of admission to the residential program.” However,
students like Sanderson and Pereira feel that RICA DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN According to MCPS
does not offer enough support to students during this school data, 122 students were enrolled at the Rock-
transition. ville RICA facility in the 2019-2020 school year. The
Pereira reported that the staff at RICA Rockville largest racial group was comprised by Black students
did next to nothing to help her transition back into at 36.6 percent of the student body, followed by white
independent life. “I have had a lot of issues with find- students at 31.3 percent and Latino students at 22.3
ing myself again, and kind of regrouping… because of percent.
how I was treated,” she says.
She adds that many of the people she met at the
facility returned to engaging in self-destructive behav-
iors once they left as a result of the lack of followup
that RICA provided. “The majority of people I know
who were there who got abused, they went back to
gangbanging, they got hooked on dope again, they
started on the wrong path as soon as they got out of Story by
there,” she says.
While information about students’ experiences Leila Faraday and
within residential facilities like RICA remains widely
obscured, the accounts given by Sanderson and Perei-
Sofia Roehrig
ra attest to the contrast between the program’s written Art by Shashi Arnold
objective and their lived reali-
ty—from staff abuse to treat- Photos by Esther Tang
ment methods to life Design by Aviva Bechky
after discharge.
and Grace Walsh
Graphic by Anika Seth