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The Student Newspaper of Jackson-Reed High School

The Beacon

The Student Newspaper of Jackson-Reed High School

The Beacon

The Student Newspaper of Jackson-Reed High School

The Beacon

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor

All content by Sophia Ibrahim

¿Un tigre? Mejor Pedro Pascal

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor March 25, 2023

Es posible que conozcan el actor, Pedro Pascal, por su trabajo en Juego de Tronos, El Mandaloriano, y Narcos. O tal vez, como yo, lo conozcan por el videoclip de la canción “Fire Meets Water” de la...

Sophia’s Playlist!

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor March 10, 2023

This playlist is exactly what you need for a good time. A collection of instrumentals ranging from South Asian psychedelic funk to African postcolonial jazz, these songs embody calm and steady good vibes,...

Photography club partners with the Phillips Collection for “DC is Beautiful”

Photography club partners with the Phillips Collection for “DC is Beautiful”

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor March 31, 2022

Jackson-Reed’s photography club’s exhibit at the Phillips Collection, entitled “DC is Beautiful”, is on display until Sunday, April 10. The club’s leaders, seniors Wengfay Ho and Olivia Biggs,...

Jackson-Reed senior joins Ward 3 council race

Jackson-Reed senior joins Ward 3 council race

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor March 29, 2022

Jackson-Reed senior Henry Cohen is officially the youngest person to ever run for DC Council.   Announcing his candidacy on March 9 via Twitter, Cohen is running to represent Ward 3. Cohen has...

Community receives delayed notification of COVID cases amidst Omicron wave

Community receives delayed notification of COVID cases amidst Omicron wave

Hadley Carr, Sophia Ibrahim, and Joanna Chait December 20, 2021

Wilson will be closed for virtual instruction on Wednesday, December 22.  In the past week, over 50 Wilson students have tested positive for COVID-19, however, the school community has only been notified...

La elección presidencial en Colombia desde la perspecitva de une profesora

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor November 9, 2021

Las elecciones presidenciales colombianas serán el 29 de mayo del 2022. Las campañas ya están en marcha. Debido a que los presidentes colombianos se limitan a un solo mandato, el actual presidente,...

This Hour: We need to recognize diversity within Blackness

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor June 28, 2021

There is a narrative that all Black people in the US are a monolith. It is assumed that we’re all of American Descendant of Slavery (ADOS) ethnicity and that all Black people subscribe to certain views,...

Sophia's playlist exchange

Sophia’s playlist exchange

Sophia Hosford and Sophia Ibrahim March 26, 2021

We were sitting in Mr. Besser’s AP Human Geography class, listening to our class playlist. While listening to the curated tunes,  an idea came to both of our minds: what if we make a playlist for each...

Invisible students: behind the blank screen

Invisible students: behind the blank screen

Leah Carrier and Sophia Ibrahim February 5, 2021

Sophomore Amina Vázquez has a lot going on in her household. She lives with seven siblings and attends virtual school from her dining room table, so it’s understandable that she rarely has her camera...

How COVID-19 helped me grow

How COVID-19 helped me grow

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor February 2, 2021

Before COVID-19, I was pretty much always happy-go-lucky. Being an academic overachiever and stuffed to the brim with extracurriculars allowed me to keep my emotions at a surface level and not dwell on...

"Residue" tells the plight of gentrification in DC

“Residue” tells the plight of gentrification in DC

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor January 5, 2021

When I first heard of “Residue”, a film following a young Black man encountering rampant gentrification in his neighborhood, I was torn. Was this movie going to be another “Black struggle” film...

Wilson ‘19 alum Ella Gantman unites Gen-Z to defend democracy

Wilson ‘19 alum Ella Gantman unites Gen-Z to defend democracy

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor November 1, 2020

Wilson Class of 2019 alum Ella Gantman has always been interested in politics, so when the election came around along with the unique challenge of COVID-19, Gantman knew she had to do something. And she...

We must rename our school after Reno City to ensure equality

We must rename our school after Reno City to ensure equality

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor October 27, 2020

Let’s review, shall we? Our school’s namesake was the 28th President of the United States. Woodrow Wilson’s term lasted from 1913 to 1921, during which he supported and passed many bills enforcing...

Back to school, sort of: Nina Skelly

Back to school, sort of: Nina Skelly

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor October 10, 2020

When she’s not requesting her friend’s opinions regarding her Kermit the Frog drawings, junior Nina Skelly is asking herself if and when she’ll muster up the concentration to work on her AP US History...

June 2020 100 WORD RANTS

Sophia Ibrahim and Ellen Carrier June 27, 2020

There’s no one way for a Black person to speak Written by Sophia Ibrahim A comment some Black people might get—especially if they grew up/live in a non-predominantly Black neighborhood—is that...

So… I got fired. Here’s what I learned from it.

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor June 25, 2020

High school is the time when many teenagers get jobs, whether they’re in the summer or during the school year. I’ve been working for two summers now, and I recently got a new job in addition to the...

Wilson students protest racism

Wilson students protest racism

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor June 14, 2020

For many Black Tigers, life is a constant teeter-tottering between trying to maintain their time as teenagers and recognizing that because of the color of their skin, they are forced to protest, grow up...

Graphic by Shirah Lister

Climate change is killing Somalia––and it’s not their fault

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor April 29, 2020

For the last 30 years, Somalia has been known as a “failed state.” It’s topped lists about countries most dangerous to travel to and has been seen as a hopeless cause; a land of pirates, war, and...

Virginia closes all public schools for rest of school year

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor March 27, 2020

As Virginia’s confirmed COVID-19 cases rose to 254, Governor Ralph Northam announced on Monday, March 23, that all public and private schools in Virginia will remain closed for the rest of the 2019-20...

February Albums of the Month

February Albums of the Month

"QPac by Quando Rondo Zach Isaacs 7.5/10 “QPac,” the debut album of Quando Rondo, a young rapper from Savannah, is instantly put to high standards and a lot of skepticism. Referencing one of the...

Two DC high schools closed following coronavirus concern

Two DC high schools closed following coronavirus concern

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor March 8, 2020

School Without Walls and District of Columbia International School closed on Monday, March 9th to limit the risk of exposure to COVID-19. A School Without Walls teacher was in contact with a coronavirus...

Three seniors, three different experiences applying to college

Three seniors, three different experiences applying to college

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor February 1, 2020

While the college application process is daunting for all high school seniors, the details are different for students of varying backgrounds and demographics. Seniors Selam Weimer, Sabrina Hevia-Lenckiwicz,...

Courtesy of Hamadi Belghachi

Staying Local: An analysis of DC college newspapers

Sophia Ibrahim, Executive Editor December 23, 2019

American University (AU), Howard, George Washington, and Georgetown: the most well-known colleges in our lovely city. Since they are right in the heart of the nation's capital, you would expect these college...

From Alicante to America: the Spanish roots of Victor Vela

From Alicante to America: the Spanish roots of Victor Vela

Sophia Ibrahim and Selam Weimer October 11, 2019

You might spot him running around the fourth floor with his bike in tow before class starts, or hanging out in the staff break room during his planning periods through a crack in the door. With his impeccable...

Summer Book Reviews

Summer Book Reviews

Anna Arnsberger, Olivia Biggs, Alex Holmes, and Sophia Ibrahim September 10, 2019

Freshmen: "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding Sophia Ibrahim If William Golding’s novel “The Lord of the Flies” was a song from the early 2000s, it would be “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers....

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