The Searchlight Staff Writer.

MD-011, the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps unit based at Oxon Hill High School, has consistently been recognized as an exceptional JROTC unit nationwide. Many of  the cadets have received millions of dollars in scholarships. MD-011 is an exceptionally large JROTC unit with around 750 Cadets and 6 instructors, and in addition to that, around 55 cadets joined MD-011’s Aviation program in order to obtain their own private pilot license.

Along with AFJROTC successes, MD-011’s Drill Team has made MD-011 a powerhouse unit in this region, consistently placing in the top five of all competing schools in any High School Drill competition since its inception 29 years ago. In order to achieve this level of excellence, MD-011 must have exceptional leadership, and one of those leaders is senior, Billy Bautista.

“Oh he’s a great guy!” said Tech Sgt. Pace on Bautista. “He’s going to go far because [he] is ambitious.”

As a freshman, Bautista joined both AFJROTC and Execution Drill Team. After that, his desire to succeed and constant drive landed him in the position of  inspector general his junior year. Then, in his senior year, Bautista was chosen to be the Wing Commander of all of MD-011.

“Billy was probably chosen [to be Wing Commander] because he has great leadership skills,” said Pace.

“I think I was chosen to be Wing Commander of this JROTC unit because I wanted the job, I really really wanted the job… and I tried hard,” was Bautista’s own explanation on why he believes he got the job. “Plus a lot of people had faith in me.”

His peers laud Bautista over his dedication to his job and the seriousness he maintains while he’s in charge.

“He’s a nice person, but is really serious about his responsibilities,” said junior Jayvelyn Cristoria.

“He’s one of the best Wing Commanders we’ve had,” said Pace. “He gets things done, he really loves ROTC, he cares about his cadets, he’s very good.”

Leadership like this is vital for such a large unit; in order to command them effectively as well as make an impression on subordinates to build future leaders not only in ROTC, but in life as well.

“My relationship with the people I command can be described as mutual respect; those are two words I can sum it up to,” said Bautista when asked about his relationship with his subordinates. “We respect each other’s position.”

“Billy is really serious about his position,” repeated Cristoria, “and I really look up to him every time I have to step up to lead, myself. He has made the unit more organized and made everything we do more precise.”

As can be seen by Cristoria, Bautista’s dedication to his position has had quite the positive effect on his cadets. But if we’re talking about Oxon Hill’s JROTC unit MD-011, we must mention their elite Drill Team. Bautista is currently on Execution and has been since his freshman year. He was intrigued by the Drill Team’s rich history, and that coupled with his desire to learn more about military drills drove him to join.

“Through Drill Team, I was able to have a family; it’s a family,” said Bautista about Drill Team. “As brothers and sisters, we’ve been through alot together.”

Since Bautista’s membership, the Drill Team has grown more and has gotten “alot alot” better  in his words.

“We went from being average [my] Freshman and Sophomore year to winning…It’s not because of me, it’s not because of one person, it’s because of the team as a whole.”

While Bautista’s prowess as a leader cannot be denied, he has made it very clear that he is not the only one at work improving the the Drill Team and MD-011 as a whole.

“It is not just me, I cannot take full credit for this,” responded Bautista, “All of us as a team, all of us as a unit, all of the wing staff, they all have a part.”

But despite his humble demeanor, Bautista still knows how to give credit where credit is due. When asked about the Drill Team’s improvement, he responded, with a chuckle, “…performance-wise, we’re best in the state.”

On May 2nd, 2012 Oxon Hill was visited by David Lacks, son of the late and famous Henrietta Lacks. Students in English 12 with Ms. Hillian and genetics with Ms. Bourne have learned about Lacks’ life and importance in class, and this was their opportunity to meet a member of the famous family.

Ms. Lacks’ cells also known as HeLa cells have become so famous in the scientific community because of her cells contribution to science. HeLa cells have been used to work on over three vaccines and many medical procedures that people use today. She single handedly or should we say single celled-ly changed science.

The students who were invited along with Dr. Cadet were able to watch Mr. Lacks discuss the effect his mother has had on modern medical science and the legal issues that followed. After he spoke, a question and answer session took place.

Class of 2012 Seniors show off their class spirit.

By Marcel Adams
Searchlight Reporter

Thursday, March 8 reamped the battle between the classes of 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

The battle began on Twitter, carried out all throughout the day up until the pep rally.  All classes showed class spirit whether it was through chants at lunches, starting chants throughout and around the school, tweeting, or even just by wearing their class colors.

“Days like these make me appreciate school,” said sophomore Student Ambassador Bria Townsend. “and how it’s supposed to be fun.”

Although  it is their first year at Oxon Hill, the Class of 2015 took pride in their class and displayed acts of class spirit.

“It may be our first year, but we are here and ready to be heard.” said freshman Jacquelline Castillo.

Dr.Cadet was actually accused of starting the rivalry by posting a controversial tweet, but he denied those accusations.

“There has always been a rivalry, I didn’t even have to say anything, all I did was shout out class of 2013, which is my class since we all came in together,” said Cadet.

Administrators tried to argue that things went too far, particularly between the classes of 2012 and 2014 which were the main two classes who were feuding during C Lunch. Tenth grade administrator Ms. Pope-Brown had to settle things down by threatening to cancel the pep rally scheduled for March 9th if students did not calm down, but Cadet said that people did not go too far and was “proud everyone was able to be a part of a class”

“I felt that the pep rally really did bring a lot of school spirit to my class, students that are usually shy and quiet were up and cheering for our class.” said Junior Class Vice President Trezur Corbin. “ I was so filled with joy it was hard to explain.”

The winners of the pep rally as announced by Cadet was the Class of 2012.

“I feel today was needed, and it is clear that 2012 is the best class.” said senior class Secretary Jamal Washington who also wrote and sang the Clipper Motto.

As he says in his song, “Whether green, orange, purple, red, all my CLIPPERS wassup!”

Books are the foundation for students at a learning center like Oxon Hill High School. They make us laugh, they make us cry and they take us on journeys in the imagination. But if you’re an avid reader and have already read everything there is in Oxon HIll’s small library, what do you do next?

The school library has a narrow variety of books. When the library wants a new book to add to its collection, books are bought with the use of school money or books are donated from other libraries including the Library of Congress. Unlike newer schools like Wise or Roosevelt, Oxon Hill doesn’t have such a vast collection. Buying new books  may seem like a very small percentage of the school budget, but still Mrs. Crocheron, the school media specialist buys some of the books herself.

“When I do have enough money,” according to Crocheron, “I buy a few [books] from a catalog and pre-read them before I put them on display in the Media Center.”

From the online public access catalog database, 10,058 titles are registered under Oxon Hill High. A total combined with books, VHS cassettes and DVDs, it amounts to 11,074 items. 199 items are missing, totalling to less than 150$.

Students couldn’t be less concerned with the library’s situation. Books can be downloaded onto smartphones easily, and with the library only containing a few ebooks, the library isn’t the first place students turn to. Students also may not go to books for research on school projects either, with the Internet providing information more quickly, they are likely to turn to it first.

“I go to the library for research books or for typing,” said 11th grader Lamar Nero. “I go to the library maybe once a month. It could use more fiction books. I’d like to see Mac’s here too.”

Sometimes, students find something appealing in the library’s collection. “I found a ‘Wii For Dummies’ in there,” said 11th grade student, Haja Kanu.

Crocheron controls the book flow for the library’s collection. Since the new Oxon Hill is going to be finished soon, she hasn’t brought in as many new books. “When we get the new building, we’ll have a new collection, so I’m trying to put in the money for that instead of books [now] that would be replaced,” Mrs. Crocheron said.

The library is looking forward to expanding its small collection when the new school is finished, and students will have a chance to see a bigger collection with the new school, with new books and even donated books for them to use.

Regardless of how students may feel about it, Peace Week is cancelled. Students can either learn from this unfortunate event, or they can continue to act “inadequate” and continue to get events cancelled. The choice seems easy, if only it were that easy in reality.

Searchlight Staff

The Oxon Hill girls lacrosse team had their first game of the season, but was it everything they had expected it to be?

March 20th marked the debut of the girls lacrosse team against Bishop Mcnamara. Their first game didn’t bring in good results as they were defeated 0-10. “I think the first game went pretty well,” said team manager Veronique Manga, “The girls played their hearts out and made history as being the first girls lacrosse team of the school.”

“My expectations going into the game… To be honest I didn’t really think we were going to win,” said lacrosse player and Junior Haja Kanu. “I thought maybe we can win, I didn’t think we were going to.” The team didn’t have high expectations as it was only their first game of the season.

“With the practice that we had, since we weren’t training that long, I feel like we did really good,” said Kanu. “The team we played against was really good. I talked to a few of the girls on the field and some of them said they’ve been playing for 3-6 years.”

All though the team did not end up victorious, they do claim that they were proud. “They were so happy that they played their hearts out. I don’t think that they even expected to win,” Manga said, “They had just started practicing and learning the game, plus we played a really tough team.”

His plan includes several private industry companies such as AT&T, Bank of America, CVS, and Starbucks to help employ youth.  Along with these private industry companies, the Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, and the Department of Health and Human Services all plan to help hire many low income youth. For teens who have been having difficulties finding summer jobs, this is a big deal.

“I haven’t really gone out to find a job, because I know I can’t really get one because of my age.” said Augustine Manga, Sophomore.

Even with such a program, about one out of every ten students asked did not know about the program.  However, those students who do not qualify are still stuck with the difficulty of finding a job.

“I applied three times, and each time I contacted the manager, she said she was going to do interviews every week.The manager ended up hiring the 18 and 19 year old graduates instead of the 16 and 17 year old students,” said 16-year old junior, Amber Gaines.

Difficult or not, some students that are not eligible for the initiative have found work and are planning to work this summer. Bria Townsend, Sophomore, had trouble finding a summer job, but managed to find one at her church.

“When I went to apply for a job, they would normally explain to me that because my birthday is so late, and that I am still under age, they would not hire me, except for when I went to Southeast DC and became a counselor at the Emmanuel Baptist Church Performing Arts Camp.” said Townshend.

Even though everyone is looking for a job now, you still have time to find one by the summer time. For more information about the Summer Jobs + initiative www.dol.gov/summerjobs or visit www.usajobs.gov for up to date information on federal jobs and internships.

Dr. Cadet's Twitter received mixed responses from students

In today’s society, social networking is mqore prominent than ever. In a world where technology forces you to keep up or get left behind, everyone is turning to Twitter; even the principal of Oxon Hill High School, Dr. Jean-Paul Cadet.

Twitter is the current social phenomenon in the social networking world, with over 175 million users worldwide. Many students at Oxon Hill High School take to twitter to vent, express themselves, and converse with other students; so when “@drcadetprinohhs”(Dr. Cadet’s Twitter handle) was found on twitter, students had mixed feelings.

“I was impressed,” said sophomore Zakee Martin. “I think it’s a great way to keep up with what students think of him and the school; it’s also a good way for students to keep in touch with him.”

With over 150 followers, Dr. Cadet uses his Twitter account “to communicate with students and other supporters of Oxon Hill HS.” “Also to keep people updated on our events, achievements and overall school climate,” he added.

Recently, OHHS students took to Twitter to push the Kony 2012 initiative to Dr. Cadet in an attempt to raise money and bring more awareness to it. Dr. Cadet heard the students loud and clear, tweeting “I got it already…This is important…You know I love it when scholars get amped for Social Activism!”

Some students like the idea of Dr. Cadet having a Twitter.

“Every time he tweets, it sparks our clipper pride,” said freshman Nancy Sierra.

While some students are embracing this new found way of communicating with their principal, some aren’t quite as thrilled about him being on twitter.

“I feel like he does too much with it,” said senior JaWaune Long. “I feel like he twatches the kids and then comes to school ranting about what he saw on twitter.”

Like everything else, twitter has it’s downfalls. With everything being so open to the public, people often take tweets the wrong way and assumptions are often made, leading to conflict and fights in the school. Claims of people “twatching,” or constantly checking someone’s tweets have been made quite often, according to Brooke Tate, 12th grade peer mediator.

“I believe Dr. Cadet twatches daily,” said senior Aaron Proctor.

“I can’t “twatch” since I’m not following any students in the building,” said Cadet. “I can only see what is sent directly to me. The majority of information I see is what someone has retweeted to me or sent directly to me. I had no idea how big the “Twitter War” was the night before the Pep Rally. I received one or two  post asking if I knew what I had started.”

On March 17, Oxon Hill High School held its 2012 Multicultural Festival at the Gymnasium. It was a phenomenal event. They had a tremendous amount of different activities including a variety of games, different cultural dances, and customs, and many more. Many came out and attended this successful festivity.

Many parents, family members, students and staff participated in this festival. Many of the organizations at Oxon Hill High School also had their share to this too. There were plenty of different organizations, one in particular was FAYA (Filipino-American Youth Association). They represented the country of Philippines.

“During our meetings we teach members Tagalog words, and other cultural traditions we do. During many events, we try to influence our members to participate in traditional Filipino folk dance, provide food and many more,” said Aileen Paraon, President of FAYA.

Moreover, there were other organizations that represented other countries like the French Honor Society. They had their share to the festival by offering some of the cultural pastries and other handouts from all the French speaking countries.

In addition, the SGA (Student Government Association) class also had their contributions in the multicultural festival. They had to pick a country of their choice and speak about that country. Senior Kamaraa Lucas, who represented the country Brazil said, “Brazil’s language is Portuguese. Their cultural dances are samba, capoeira, and many more. And their national sport is soccer.” There were plenty more of students  that represented the other countries including Senior Paul Amaya and Senior Gizelle Hernandez, both represented El Salvador.

“I am representing the country Jamaica. Some cultural foods they eat are banana chips, peanuts, and Tamarind balls. And their official language is English,” said Junior Tre’zur Corbin, that represented Jamaica.

People who went to the festival had the opportunity to sample food from all over the world. Hispanic, Filipino, and Caribbean food were featured. .

There were plenty of fun activities that kids enjoyed as well as parents, including zumba, Tae Kwon Do, and face painting. Junior Joali Moreno, who was one of the face painters said, “This is fun. I love drawing on people, especially for the little kids.”

Many kids loved the zumba with the zumba instructor, Mrs. Thompson. She had everybody moving including the parents, students, and kids with her breathtaking movements. One participant, Junior Stephanie Chisley said, “It was fun. It worked up a sweat.”

Overall the event was successful.

It’s that time again! The most hectic week of the quarter, the week before grades go in for report cards. Between students scrambling to turn in make up assignments, and teachers making sure they meet the amount of grades needed for that quarter, this week is stressful for many.

“Students think it’s only stressful for them,” said computer graphics teacher, Mr. Young. “They don’t realize that it’s just as, if not more stressful for teachers.”

There were a few students in agreement with Mr. Young. “Teachers have a curriculum that they’re following,” said senior, Taisha Bowman. “If a student decides to procrastinate, that’s their fault. Unfortunately, that’s a majority of the student body.” However, a lot of students feel differently.

“A teacher is supposed to give work, grade it and put it in a computer accurately; a minimum of two times a week,” said a person who wished to remain anonymous. “A very high percentage of them can’t do that and that’s making everybody’s life harder and more stressful.”

“Some teachers will start to give extra assignments and overload students just to meet their minimum requirement of grades they have to have in,” Junior Shannon Kirkland added.

Seniors are no strangers to the pressure of this week. Still, some aren’t stressing as much now compared to the past. “I’ll admit I’m not as stressed as I was prior years because I’ve already been accepted into my top school,” said senior Rugie Jalloh.

However, others are stressing more than ever. “I’m worried about getting into my dream college, saving enough money for it, and making sure my grades are phenomenal,” said Bowman.

From whatever aspect you choose to view the last week of a grading quarter, the stress factor is inevitable. From every aspect, people are stressed and people are tired. There are arguments for both sides of this story and who’s to say either side is right or wrong? One thing a majority of people can agree on, is the statement “I can’t wait until this week is over.”