Monthly Archives: January 2020

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Let’s Reduce our Litter with Literati

By: Ansuman Rath

The constant growth of Litter in the United States is gradually getting worse. Over 51 billion pieces of litter land on U.S. roads each year. The threat of waste is detrimental to the environment, health, and safety.

Literati is an app that offers challenges to pick up certain amounts of trash in specific areas to help clean them. The total trash count for the app as of now is 4.8 million pieces. This app also offers global and local challenges and sets a goal amount of trash. It also explains how each project will help the environment.

#Loudoun Litterbugs is a group composed of students at the Academies of Loudoun. The goal of this group is to raise awareness for the emerging  issue  of litter and to pick up 10,000 pieces of trash by the end of the school year. So far, through the first 2 months, this group has collectively picked up 651 pieces of trash. Encouraging others in Loudoun County to pick up and document trash that they see is also a priority of Loudoun Litterbugs.

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Academies of Loudoun Pond: A Modern Masterpiece of Stormwater Management

By Chief Investigative Journalist Jack Dunleavy

The pond at the Academies of Loudoun, built approximately two years ago, serves as a key element in stormwater management on campus. Ponds like these serve to provide a middle point between storm runoff and major watersheds and ecosystems. These ponds collect sediment and other pollutants and allow them to settle before being put back into the water supply and are a reservoir of water to prevent flooding during times of intense rainfall. The pond at the Academies of Loudoun can be described only as the Mona Lisa of stormwater management ponds. With beautifully integrated sewage pipes pictured above, and a stunningly put together dam pictured below, one could only stand in awe at the amazing work done by the engineers who worked on the ACL campus. The pond today still stands as a representation of the Academies of Loudoun as a whole. The pond life, rich with diversity, is almost a physical metaphor of the students on the campus. While as individuals we all have a purpose, together we create a wonderful synergistic system.

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Escape the Vape

Since 2014 there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of youth and teens utilizing vapes and electronic cigarettes. This increase is primarily attributed due the variety of flavorings available, its portability and discretion in use, as well as its over accessibility and ease of use. So, what can be done to stop this trend? When a poll was conducted amongst teens in Loudoun County by MATA students Rohitha Akkaraju, Sabrina Sokol, Rhea Sarang, and Afrah Nirar, it was found that 69% of students were unaware of resources to seek help to stop vaping. This overwhelming statistic promoted them to write to the US Surgeon General in addition to state and local legislature about the need to promote these types of resources.

On January 24, 2020 Dr. David Goodfriend, the director of the Loudoun County Health Department and Shannon Raines, the coordinator of Northern Virginia’s Tobacco Control joined these students to present to the Academies of Loudoun the dangers of vaping.

According to the FDA vapes are classified as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). The primary function of a vape is to deliver nicotine. Flavoring and additives are added to the solution to mask the nicotine (nicotine’s primary function in the tobacco plant is to act as a natural insecticide and has an off taste.

So, what is the danger with vaping?

Vaping isn’t just water vapor. The method of delivery for vape is more equivalent to that of an aerosol product than that of a cloud. This increases the amount of risk for lung infection and disease.

Nicotine is an addictive substance the impacts impulse control. Because the brain isn’t fully developed until roughly age 26, exposure to nicotine at younger ages has a huge impact on brain development.

1 JUUL pod is equivalent to 20 cigarettes. While JUUL was originally marketed as a device to stop smoking, ease of access may actual be increasing the amount smoked.

5700 new youth and teens start vaping every day. This is over 5 million teens nationwide – significantly more than teens who would have been smoking.

Ready to Quit?

One of the leading programs is This is Quitting, which can be reached by texting DITCHJUUL to 88709. This program works to provide text messages and set up a support network to help you ditch your vaping habit.

Local resources include the Loudoun County Health Department – Dr. Goodfriend can be reached 703 771-5829 or health@loudoun.gov

 

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The Past, Present, and Future of The Menuhin Competition

By Keerthi Selvam

In May of 2020, a new era of classical musicians will try their hand at winning one of the most distinguished competitions in the world. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, don’t stress. The Menuhin Competition is a prestigious competition for young violinists, specifically those under twenty-two. The competition is held every two years, and some of the most sophisticated players from all over the world have participated.

So, where did this competition come from?

The story starts in 1916, where a child by the name of Yehudi Menuhin was born in New York. He picked up the violin at the age of five and displayed incredible skill, leading to his debut at the age of just eleven. Labeled a prodigy, Menuhin proceeded to travel the world. He began to study in Paris, but spent most of his career playing in England. Simply put, Menuhin had numerous spellbinding performances, including one at Lake Placid, USA for the Winter Olympics. However, he also founded the Menuhin Competition in 1983. Yehudi Menuhin died in 1999, leaving behind a legacy. Some of the most well-known musicians that have competed in the Menuhin include Ray Chen and Julia Fischer. In 2018, however, was a ten-year old by the name of Chloe Chua.

Chloe Chua (above) playing at the Menuhin Competition at Geneva in 2018

Her repertoire included Vivaldi’s popular ‘Winter’ from Le quattro stagioni, or ‘the Four Seasons’ and Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 8. Last year, the competition was held in Geneva. This year, however, the Menuhin is taking place in Richmond, VA, making it accessible to those of us who
live nearby.

For those of us who don’t quite fancy classical music, why not give the Menuhin a try? It may just
shatter your vision of classical music being played solely by men from the 18th century.

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“Metal Memories” by Saanvi Gutta

A whisper blew through the bare trees as a foggy, lonely mist settled around the forest. Small creaks and hollow moans echoed across the empty playground as the breeze drifted by. A summer taste lingered in the sky, contrasting the cold sweat the mist left behind.

Whirrrrr. A small robot rolled into view, clean and white. Little lime and cyan lights flashed on its body as it traveled around the rusted, brittle metal playground equipment.

“Rover!” called a young voice. A girl came running after the robot, wild black hair rustling in the wind. A blush crept over her ears, cheeks, and nose, bringing out her pale complexion.

The girl stopped short, glancing around the clearing. Her eyes widened.

“Rover! Avoid the metal!” She pulled her shirt up to her nose to prevent inhalation. Cautiously, she approached the slide.

Remnants of red paint hung from the rusted metal, clinging for dear life. The metal was all bent, and though the metal must have been smooth before, it was all rough now.

“Detecting uranium,” said the robot. “117 years.”

The girl shook her head in dismay. How would she search in this contaminated place?

Closing her eyes, she envisioned a little boy sliding down the polished red slide, squealing with laughter. A little girl, straining from the effort, would be hanging from the sturdy blue bars. And a little babbling baby with a cute pink dress, pushed by her tired but happy mother, would be on the creaky swing. A few kids by the colorful swinging horses mimicking neighs and shouting cowboy phrases as they rocked back and forth, and there’d be some older kids digging in the dirt, getting it all over their fingers and pants.

All these people would be spending time in this playground. But they can’t anymore. Sighing, she turned back around, pulling her shirt back down.

“Rover! Let’s go! It’s not here.” With that, the girl began walking to where she came from, with the little robot following closely at her heels.

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“Faceless” by Saanvi Gutta

I can’t see their faces.

Blank heads without features,

Without eyes,

Without ears,

Without a nose,

Or a mouth.

They can’t see me.

They can’t hear me.

They won’t be able to catch a whiff or feel my aura.

They won’t be able to speak to me.

Although,

It’s hypocritical to ask for them to,

When I can’t do the same.

I can’t see, hear, feel, or speak to them,

Because just like I can’t see their faces, they…

They can’t see mine either.

They can’t see my face.