A new mural covers the wall by the Student Help Desk in the E Hallway on the second floor. The mural was created by Sarah Kiyak’s Block Two senior English class to bring awareness and raise money for sex trafficking prevention. The mural is surrounded by student handprints and includes a quote from Elie Wiesel: “Let us remember: what hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander.” The handprints were purchased for three dollars and the proceeds were sent to Courtney’s House, an organization committed to the prevention of sex trafficking in the D.C. area.

The students’ experience with the book, Sold, by Patricia McCormack, inspired them to create the mural. McCormack’s Sold chronicles the life of a young girl sold into the sex trafficking industry. The book inspired the students to take a stand against human trafficking.

Erin Neff, Assistant Project Manager of Courtney’s House recently visited Kiyak’s class and spoke to the students about the charity and sex trafficking. Courtney’s House was founded by Tina Frundt, a sex trafficking victim and T.C. graduate. Courtney’s House is named after Frundt’s oldest daughter, and allows victims to say they are just, “going to Courtney’s House,” said Neff.

Sex trafficking occurs when older men or women coerce, force or deceive minors into performing commercial sex acts for money. This process is commonly known as prostitution or “pimping.” The “pimps” involved in sex trafficking force young women, men and transgender people into prostitution often by raping and beating them into submission. These victims become known as “hookers” or “sluts.”

“The girl becomes nothing more than a ho,” said Neff.

Courtney’s House helps girls, boys and transgender minors to overcome the process of “pimping.” It also provides services for adults on an emergency basis. The charity, located in Washington D.C., provides case management, counseling, group therapy, medical treatment, food, clothing and toiletries to victims of sex trafficking. Courtney’s House also helps provides a support group and helps victims acquire their GEDs or find lawyers. There is a street outreach program where volunteers go to high trafficked areas of D.C. and provide emergency information. There is also a 24 hour survivor hotline open seven days a week (1-888-261-3665.)

As Kiyak’s students read about sex trafficking, they were appalled by what they discovered. Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry according to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC.)

“The adults involved in sex trafficking are disgusting, immoral human beings who attempt to destroy innocent children’s lives,” said Kiyak.

While illegal in the United States, the laws against sex trafficking are dormant and not as effective when prosecuting the offenders. While the law attempts to catch up with the growing rates of sex trafficking victims, many organizations have begun providing important services to help victims overcome their abuse.

Safe houses, community centers, free clinics, domestic abuse hotlines and the police have worked to provide victims with the resources they need to “get out of the life.” Social services, prosecution of “pimps” and healthcare services are provided to victims.

“We have worked with T.C. kids who have been trafficked. This is something that’s happening in your backyard,” said Neff.

Neff discussed the importance of sex trafficking awareness in the community with Kiyak’s class. Neff said that the media has desensitized the issue of sex trafficking by turning it into something cool.

“A pimp is something cool [in our society],” said Neff.

Songs such as P.I.M.P by rapper 50 cent have glorified the sex trade. MTV has also popularized the act of “hooking” or “gold-digging,” all common occurrences in the sex trafficking industry.

“That song [P.I.M.P] is about child abuse, is about rape and is about sex trafficking,” said Neff.

Neff continued to ask the students what they believed defined a pimp. The students stated that a pimp was a man who could “get” any girl he wanted. These girls were then classified as a hooker, a hoe or a slut. Neff then urged the students to reexamine their view of the word “pimp.” She said that is was okay 50 years ago to call someone the N word, but now it is offensive. Neff told students that the same thing needs to happen to the word pimp.

“[People think] a pimp is something cool. A pimp is a pedophile and a pimp is a child abuser. No one can justify being a pedophile,” said Neff.

For more information about sex trafficking visit: http://www.polarisproject.org/, and for additional information about the non-profit organization Courtney’s House, visit: http://www.courtneyshouse.org/

Emma Beall also contributed to this article.

A recent Theogony study found in one Blue day math class that out of 22 students, 10 had their laptops open and 7 were on Facebook. At T.C., the Internet has become a resource that many students use every day to do their homework and socialize. However, the online world has quickly become a venue for both good and bad Titan behavior. “Facebook is taking over many people’s social lives,” said sophomore Kamera Bracey.

T.C. junior La’Shawn Moultrie said, “Facebook [causes] drama [and] fights,” while sophomore Ben Khaki noted “Facebook is a beautiful thing.”

While Moultrie and Khaki have different opinions, they are both devoted Facebook users. Many students use Facebook for school associated activities, including T.C. junior and aspiring choreographer, Leah Valtin-Erwin, who uses Facebook to communicate with the dancers in the T.C. Modern Dance Society. Other groups at T.C. that use Facebook to communicate include the Sophomore Honor Society, French Honor Society, The Red Cross Club, and the Drama Department. The Red Cross Club used Facebook to advertise its Valentine’s Day Auction, and the T.C. Williams Drama Department has used the social networking site to publicize upcoming shows. Theogony is also an avid Facebook user.

However, Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) parent Karen Helbrecht said, “Any tool can be abused.” Recently, a controversial Facebook page, “T.C. Hoes,” was created anonymously with photos of students followed by inappropriate captions.

Sophomore Ariane Jaffe said “[“T.C. Hoes” is] really just stupid, because you can’t post stuff like that; it’s disrespectful.” However, not every student found the page offensive.

Junior Eugene Abbey said “It’s messed up, but funny.” The page made local news and many T.C. students friended the page before the T.C. administration, in association with Facebook, removed the site.

Shortly after the removal of “T.C. Hoes,” “T.C.’s Beautifulest” was created. “T.C.’s Beautifulest” was anonymously made and asked T.C. students to submit names and photos of the most beautiful people at T.C. to be posted on the site. “There’s nothing wrong with “T.C.’s Beautifulest,” said Moultrice.

While the author of “T.C.’s Beautifulest” may not have meant to offend students, the general consensus for the site was distaste. “It’s stupid,” said Bracey, “and [though] it may seem [that it’s] anti- “T.C. Hoes,” it’s still discriminating against those students not on the site.” Sophomore Hannah Drexler agreed. “It’s a form of cyber bullying to everyone who isn’t on it.”

Currently, “T.C.’s Beautifulest” has evolved into Alexandria’s Beautifulest and now includes George Washington and Hammond Middle School students in addition to T.C. Titans.

“People should own what they say and if they post things anonymously, they’re bullies and immature,” said Helbrecht, referring to ACPS Underground, a recent anonymous blog attacking ACPS Central Office administration. “They should state who they are if they making something. They shouldn’t hide behind screen names.”

The page, written by anonymous blogger, “Voltaire,” at one point compares the protesters in Alexandria, Egypt to ACPS.

The blog also warns viewers that it will soon be blocked by the administration, stating that it is sad that the first amendment stops at the administration’s doors. “I think, although it’s not much better, that ACPS Underground seems to be a bit more intelligent than ‘T.C. Hoes,’”  said sophomore Ben Ribler. “That could be due to the group of people running it.”

Drexler did not think how well written a site is mattered as much. “People are still going to make a big deal about whatever it is.”

Ribler noticed the differences between the blog and the Facebook pages. “‘T.C. Hoes’ was to humiliate and ‘showcase’ girls in our school. ACPS Underground, while still a little mean-spirited, isn’t directly attacking anyone [in terms of sexuality],” said Ribler.

Lataillade agreed, “I think [“T.C. Hoes”] turned into something that just got out of hand and was [trying to] start drama.” Neither Lataillade nor Ribler saw a reason for ACPS Underground to be shut down.

They agreed that people should have the right to complain about the administration. Lataillade even saw the page as a message to the administration. “Those in charge should be aware of [the blog] since it’s obviously something they’re doing that people don’t agree with.” Ribler and Laitallade agreed that ACPS Underground, if taken seriously, could potentially improve the administration.

At press time, “T.C.’s Bait” was added to the list of anonymous Facebook pages. “Who has the time to make all these anonymous pages?” said Bracey. The anonymous pages continue to be a part of T.C. life. As the Internet becomes more prominent in student life, many parents are starting to place restrictions on internet and Facebook use. “I think we monitor the sites that [our children] go on, [and] we have some restricted sites,” said Helbrecht. Even though there is bullying carried out using the Internet, Helbrecht said, “Other peoples’ perception [of you] whether verbal or cyber shouldn’t affect how you feel about who you are.”

Jennifer Veech, an ACPS parent with children in elementary and middle school makes sure her children use the Internet safely. Although her children who are in second, fourth, and sixth grade do not use social networking sites or email, they do play games online.  She said her children do not have access to games that allow communication with strangers.

The idea of them talking to strangers…that makes me uncomfortable” said Veech, “It [the Internet] is just like fire.”

Emma Beall also contributed to this article

Molly Freitag teaches AP World History

“It’s easy,” “it’s hard,” and “I don’t care,” were some of the students’ responses when asked about their World History class. T.C. offers three levels of World History: Advanced Placement (AP), honors and general education. Many students spend time weighing each individual opportunity of each class, keeping in mind that the school recommends each student take at least one AP class before graduation. Students want to be in the right level and work toward an attainable goal, but many of us are stuck wondering if we are getting all we can out of our history course. Is each course challenging each student, and is each level of World History comprehending the subject at the same level?
The student population is dispersed between the three levels for many reasons. Their opinions on their classes are just as varied. Some students currently taking general education said that they took it because history is not their strongest subject, and/or that history is boring. Some students find general education hard enough to pass. They want the extra teacher support and the general education curriculum so they can pass. “I took Pre-AP last year [ninth grade] and it was harder than I thought,” said sophomore Courtland Chavis who is in World History II and teacher, Stephen Bertetti’s general education class. Some students in general education, however, chose the class for the same reasons some students chose honors—they want an “easy A.”
Students in the honors classes were divided on the actual difficulty of the class. “I have over 100 percent in World Civ,” said sophomore Emily Dooley. “I was too much of a slacker to take AP. Honors is an easy A.” Sophomore Brian Comey said, “I thought it [honors] would be really easy, and it is really easy.” Comey said that the class provides less homework and makes him “feel smart.” Dooley said, “The class [of students] does [find it hard;] I don’t,” while sophomore Felix Tanyr said that the class is not as easy, nor as hard, as some students say it is. “It’s not easy, but it’s do-able,” said Tanyr. Some students say that the honors class is hard for them, and AP would have been nearly impossible.
“I’m really bad at AP,” said sophomore Alexandra Daniels, who is in AP World History with teacher Molly Freitag. “I needed to take an AP class,” said Daniels. The general consensus of AP students is it is a lot of work, sometimes more than they think they can handle. “During the summer, I had those moments where I was like, I’m going to fail this class” said Daniels, referring to the AP summer assignment. Sophomore Jazmine Calderon said that she experienced the same feelings as Daniels her first week of AP classes. “Right before the [unit 1 exam] I was freaking out,” said sophomore Caroline Chamberlain. Students think that the homework load is an annoyance, but necessary. “If you don’t study at home, you won’t be prepared,” said Calderon. “You can’t possibly learn everything you need to know in class.” Students are required to read chapters from the AP text book for class. “Online activities definitely help [with comprehension],” said Calderon. “They cover things you haven’t learned yet.” Students in AP classes say that they took the class because they want to be prepared for college, enjoy world history, or know that they need one AP for graduation.
While student opinion is varied, the consensus of world civilization teachers is that each class is feasible, but the differences between levels are important to comprehension and student pacing. World Civilizations II and Peace Studies teacher, Chris McGill says that his honors class is, “more writing intensive,” than his general education class. Mr. McGill also said that switching from general education or honors to AP is difficult because the classes do not parallel. The classes start at two very different points, and a student who wants to switch out of AP, for whatever reason, will be months behind. Mr. McGill said, in reference to general education, “it’s easier to just regurgitate, AP is not that simple.” However, Mr. McGill tries to make his honors classes more like AP to help bridge the gap.
Ms. Freitag said that she uses similar lesson plans between her honors and AP class, but that AP is not honors. “Honors was created as a bridge [between AP and general education],” said Ms. Freitag. Honors classes do not exist in the upper class levels of history and may be removed from the history curriculum next year, eliminating any middle ground available to students.
Mr. McGill and Ms. Freitag maintain that students who take AP will have a better understanding of world history. This better understanding will inevitably help students to achieve higher SOL scores, while the AP class is not structured for the SOLs. General education and honors classes, which are based on the knowledge needed for the SOLs, should be allowed to use more AP material and patterns of thinking so those students can gain better comprehension of the subject, and score higher on the SOLs. The students taking honors and general education because AP is too much, but are not challenged will never have a chance to gain the understanding AP students will. Supplementary material should be supplied to students who are doing well in their level of world history, so they can prepare themselves to move up to the next level in history next school year, if they choose to do so. Steps need to be taken to bridge the gap between students’ understanding of world history. The discrepancies between the levels, some small and some big, should be pointed out when students are making scheduling decisions. Each student should leave high school understanding world history as thoroughly as possible.