Ethan Gotsch and Jacqueline Lutz On June 8, Alexandria City voters will head to the polls for the Democratic primary election to choose the Democratic mayor and City Council candidates. The winners of the primary will appear on the ballot in November along with Republican and Independent candidates running for office. All registered voters in the City of Alexandria are permitted to vote in the primary at their assigned polling place on June 8. Voters can choose one mayoral candidate and up to six City Council candidates. Also on the ballot are the Democratic candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and House of Delegates for the 45th district. Theogony…
-
-
ACPS School Board Changes Distancing Requirements
Ethan Gotsch Going against the guidance of Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, the ACPS School Board passed a motion on April 8 that will change the physical distancing requirements between students to three feet from six feet when other mitigation strategies are being used, following new guidelines released by the CDC in March. School Board member Michelle Rief made the motion that ACPS move to three feet between desks “to the greatest extent possible” for the rest of the 2020-21 school year, adding, “I am committed to returning as many students as possible to in-person learning this school year.” This motion passed unanimously. According to Julia Burgos, Chief of School and Community…
-
The End of an Era: Alexandria City High School Chosen as New Name
After months of discussion and debate, on the evening of April 8, the ACPS school board voted unanimously to give T.C. Williams High School a new name: Alexandria City High School. This name will be effective beginning July 1. On November 23, 2020, the ACPS school board made the decision to change the name of T.C. Williams High School, named after former superintendent Thomas Chambliss Williams, a staunch segregationist “whose views could not have been more inconsistent with with the vibrant, diverse, and inclusive place we know today,” as stated on ACPS’s “Identity Project” website. Students, teachers, parents, and other community members were given a chance to suggest new names…
-
Amazon Buys ACPS for $99/Year
Amazon announced that they will be increasing their presence in Northern Virginia with the purchase of Alexandria City Public Schools, effective Fall 2021.
-
Student Opinions: Raising the Minimum Wage
Ethan Gotsch On March 5, seven Democratic senators and one independent senator joined Senate Republicans to squash an effort to increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by the year 2025. While this increase didn’t make it into the final version of the most recent COVID-19 relief bill, it continues to be debated by Congress and state legislatures across the country. Theogony reached out to students, many of whom are part of the workforce or have parents whose jobs are affected by the minimum wage, to hear their opinion on the matter. Many expressed strong support for the increase. “With an increasingly competitive economy, anything less…
-
Titan Underground Vol. 4: Ben Tufts
Ethan Gotsch While working as a professional musician can be a rewarding experience, it is not an easy career. Now more than ever, professional musicians are expected to be knowledgeable in most or all aspects of music, skilled at one’s instrument(s), savvy when it comes to the business side of the industry, and able to work day or night. A prime example of the workmanlike attitude found in the modern musician is the D.C. area’s very own Ben Tufts—a drummer by trade who has expanded his musical horizons to do just about anything thrown at him. Volume 4 of the Titan Underground will examine how Tufts evolved into a musical…
-
Titan Underground Vol. 3: Crooked Beat Records
In Volume 3 of The Titan Underground, we venture to 802 North Fairfax Street in North Old Town to explore Crooked Beat Records, which carries a variety of vinyl records, CDs by local artists, record players, and music-related merchandise. To some, this small shop is a relic of the past. After all, when people have access to a seemingly infinite amount of music on their phones, why buy a physical record?
-
A Witness Tree Carol
The T.C. Williams Witness Tree was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. It had lived for more than 100 years, but now it was as dead as a dead daffodil. The Mayor of Alexandria knew it was dead? Of course, he did. How could it be otherwise? He and the City Council had been working for years to eliminate that tree. Despite months of pleading and petitioning by Alexandria citizens to save the tree, all Mayor Justinezer Schmooze had to say was, “Bah Humbug!” After all, trees make paper, and paper makes money, and there was nothing in the world Schmooze loved more than money.
-
The Titan Underground Vol. 2: Ariana Harbin
This second edition of The Titan Underground features a musician who grew up in Alexandria and graduated from T.C. Williams in 2013. Ariana Harbin, a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has established herself in D.C.’s music scene, is the vocalist and bandleader of jazz-soul ensemble Sweet Something as well as a solo artist.
-
ACPS Executive Chef Resigns, Shares Food for Thought
In the fall of 2019, Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) announced the hiring of Isaiah Ruffin, the first-ever executive chef in the school district. From the beginning of his employment with ACPS, Ruffin made it clear that he was not content with the standard quality level of cafeteria food.
