By Khawar Areeb

The school cafeteria is infamous for its leftover, cold, undercooked, grotesque food, which is served by cruel lunch ladies who are as gross as the food they are providing. But does the DuVal cafeteria fit this stereotype? Or does it shed light on the bad reputation that most school cafeterias are plagued with by giving better food and service?

Dear Editor,

I would like to comment on the front page article of January 08's edition of the DuValian. Are we too overcrowded? A student perspective by Yan Boateng and Chris Stevenson.brings to light a few good issues.
One of them is not that DuVal H.S. is overcrowded, (we are actually under capacity for our building), but because we have too many students who linger the hallways.

By Ronnia Sawyer

On January 15th the Duval Varsity basketball team played in a game against Wise; the end result was a loss for DuVal with a score of 80-68. They began by preparing in pre-game warm-ups.

After preparing themselves you could tell they were motivated to play their best against Wise. The first quarter began and Wise shot the first basket leading 2-0. By the end of the first quarter the score was 13-12, with Wise leading by 1.

By Abubakarr Bangura
Editor-in-Chief

Black History Month, a month many students perceive as a month of more work, research, and studying. Many of these students are oblivious to its real meaning, significance, and the tribute to the sacrifices of African-Americans.

We all know that black history is mindlessly shoved at us year after year. Most of the time, all of the information is repetitive and recited over and over. But was it all for nothing? We were all taught of the notorious 'N' word, its degrading meaning, and the severity of its use, yet people of our generation throw around the world so loosely, as if it were a magical word necessary to take each breath. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up on greeting cards. With phrases such as "wat up my nig--" "dats my ni---" and "ni--- please!" is it too far off to see a card saying "Get well soon ni---"? But I digress.

By Melissa Wood
When you see a person with a tattoo, what do you think of them? Whether or not you're aware of it, before you can even make out exactly what the image is, you have already began to form an opinion of that person in your mind. Nowadays, and especially among the younger crowd, tattoos are proudly displayed and explained. Others (often those without ink of their own) stare with rapt attention. In a bustling sculpture class, at a table off in the corner, friends gather around a football player. One girl ventured forward to lift up his sleeve, revealing an intricate pattern inked high on his shoulder. It is not long before all at the table are staring. He explains the image of each piece with good humour, and then goes on to explain just how to pay for a tattoo. He explains the process of having images permanently inked onto his body as arbitrarily as he might talk about the weather.

By Catherine Llamido
Layout Editor
On November 1, 2007, the American Legion #60 in Laurel, MD had the honor to present DuVal's own Deputy Coward for the Public Safety Officer of the Year in Sheriff Office.
Coward has been working at DuVal High School for two years. She has helped with the security of the students and staff as well as the safety around school campus.

By Kimberly Richmond
On top of getting a new principal, this year, Duval has also received many new administrators. Some students know administrators very well and others are still getting used to them. One new comer that most of the students have probably seen but do not know is Ms. Wilson. Ms. Wilson is ready to help Duval with a fresh new start.
Ms. Eileen S. Wilson comes to Duval from Fairfax County and is the 12th grade administrator. With an undergrad degree in Mathematics (7th-12th) and a Masters Degree from Virginia Tech in Administration (1st- 12th), Ms. Wilson was a former Math teacher at Herndon High School in Fairfax, Virginia and specialized in Algebra 2, Trigonometry, and Calculus. She taught at Herndon High for six years and then decided to become a High School administrator.