Vol 3. Issue 3

ISSUE 4

RACE

FREE/MARCH 2019

let t er from t he

EDITORS

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elcome to this year’s third issue of The Chariot! After nearly two months of writing, photoshoots and creating designs for spreads, we are finally ready to show JCHS our work and we are so proud of what we have created.

This issue is focused on breaking the stigmas associated with race. The conversation of race is often is confined to black and white while there are so many other cultures and races that are vital to the topic and to diversity. The cover depicts a black and white photo, a common representation of race, while the text displays the varying aspects of race that are often forgotten from the conversation. Editor-in-Chief Rohan Lalla and staff writer Jeffery Shen explore this with insight from Johns Creek High School’s Ms. Teela Clowe and senior Jason Ling.

Also in this issue, copy editor Brooke Halak and staff writer Drew Peljovich explore the topic of affirmative action in the faceoff on page 27.

Additionally, managing editor Maren Stevens describes the rising prevalence of “culture stealing,” primarily in celebrities, and how their fame makes the problem so much greater (page 20.)

At the end of last year, The Chariot attempted to start a sports journalism team to go and report local games and their results for the school.

Unfortunately, this program was not able to take off, so the boys on the staff were brought onto the magazine to help write in the sports section. Adding eight additional staffers proved to be tricky, but the boys took it in stride. Welcome to the team Ben, Brittain, Jack, Aaron, Eli, Justin and Coln! A special thanks also goes out to the sports editors Matt Press and Sam Beagle who helped our new staffers with any and all questions they had regarding articles, interviews and more.

Our Education Issue, meant to come out in January, was unfortunately pushed back due to printing issues. Now, this issue will be coming out in May with a few changes to ensure its content is as current and relevant as possible.

Before that will be the 2020 issue, focused on the upcoming election and the many contenders for the next leaders of government. It seems 2020 has always been a year of hypothetical and joke candidates including Kanye West, Oprah and Cardi B, all of whom have denied the allegations for their candidacy. We will explore the many options presented thus far and the impact they could have on our futures as college students.

We are so glad to finally share another issue with you all. We are very proud of the design and articles, and hope to have some sort of impact, no matter how big or small, on the life of Johns Creek students.

MAURA MCLYNN AND ROHAN LALLA

Edit ors -in-Chief 2 | COVER BY EDWARD CHO

contents 04. news 4. ROUNDUP 6. ANCESTRY TESTS 7. UBER CONTROVERSY 8. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Production Manager Dani Blank explores the allegations of racism and discrimination against Uber in recent months. Page 7

10. sport s 10. RACISM IN EUROPEAN SPORTS 12. MALE CHEERLEADERS 13. SUPERBOWL IN ATL

16. feature s 14. COVER STORY: RACE 19. MORALITY TESTS IN CARS

Staff writers Brittain Lee and Kolin Brandeis discuss the February Superbowl and the impact it had in Atlanta this year. Page 13

20. CULTURE STEALING 22. 1 DAY WITHOUT TALKING 23. LOCAL RESTAURANTS 24. MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT

26. opinion 26. FACE-OFF: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 28. BEST FROZEN PIZZA 29. MUSIC FESTIVALS 30. RIGHT WING POPULISM

Staff writer Emily Miller ranks the best music festivals around the US in the upcoming festival season. Page 29 THE CHARIOT | 3

NEWS

10,000 torches light up the Tower of London as volunteers try to hold a collective remembrance of 100 years since the end of World War I. Volunteers and supporters are trying to remember the lives lost in such a momentous part of history.

The longest partial government shutdown in U.S history lasted 42 days starting December 22, 2018, and many government workers have gone without pay. Though the employees are promised compensation, many of them live check to check and currently struggle to provide for their families, let alone make ends meet.

Jair Bolsonaro is Brazil’s new far right president, and his plans threaten indigenous people’s rights and the environment.

This is because he plans to transform Brazil into an economic power in South America, touting the name ‘New Brazil’ and promises to become tough on crime and stop political corruption, despite being involved in several scandals himself.

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Americans are flocking across the Pacific in record numbers as well to study, travel, work and even settle down permanently.

Asia is becoming more and more attractive for American citizens for a variety of geographic, economic and political reasons. With the world’s lowest taxes in Asia, there has been no better time than now for Americans to make the move to Asia.

The Australian Open 2019 ended on January 27th, concluding the two week long grand slam tennis tournament. The winner of the women’s singles is Japan’s Naomi Osaka, beating the Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova. Osaka previously had a controversial victory at the 2018 U.S. Open in September when she defeated the famous Serena Williams after the referee gave Williams several penalties due to an on-court dispute. Despite this bitter win, Osaka has proven that she is indeed worthy of her tennis all-star title at the Australian Open.

A terror attack on a luxury hotel compound in Nairobi, Kenya was committed on Tuesday, January 15th. At least 21 people were killed, 28 injured and admitted to the hospital, and 19 people still missing. The attack was committed by the Islamist group al-Shabab, who has been targeting Kenya since 2011. In a televised statement, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said “every person that was in involved in the funding, planning and execution of this heinous act” would be “relentlessly” pursued.

ROUNDUP ELI HIRSHBERG, staff writer EMMA BUONI, staff writer

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NEWS

The Rise of D.N.A. Testing TESSA PAUL, staff writer

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gaps, and some may be looking for family members.”

While the main goal of the users is to discover the countries their family emigrated from, many receive the unexpected benefit of coming face t o face

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he popularity of DNA ancestry tests has exploded over the past three years. Companies such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe have received over 15 million customers interested in discovering their family’s cultural heritage. But as this business continues to boom, stories of its successes, and subsequently, stories of its failures are coming to light.

“Some don’t know their family background and want to learn where in the world their DNA is from,” said Andy Kill, a spokesperson for 23andMe. “Some may have a general idea about their heritage but are looking to fill

with u n known family members. Take Jordan Carroll for example, one of the numerous stories featured on the 23andMe website. For Jordan, his entire family was African-American and yet he had always heard stories about having a white ancestor.

“I started looking through all census records, but for a lot of African-Americans we do not have paper trails because slaves were not included on census records before the mid-1800s,” Carroll explains.

After taking a DNA ancestry test and using the linking relatives tool, Jordan realized those stories were in fact true and that his great-great grandfather had a Caucasian half brother when he matched with a fourth cousin online. He was able to find and connect with his newfound family and learn more about his family history.

On the other side of the spectrum, many families have split up and faced emotional turmoil after uncovering disturbing results.

Numerous stories have been published in the

past year of children discovering their father is not their biological father through the DNA tests. Suspicions arose when the results came back with vastly different results from the predicted ethnic breakdown or by matching with unexpected family members. Many results have led to divorces and estranged relationships between the mother and child, while others have led to positive connections between one’s biological father and their family.

The ancestry companies often market the tests as a way to embrace cultural diversity and increase racial tolerance, but have instead faced reports accusing them of increasing racial tension. Some complaints have arisen noting that these tests are more detailed for people of European ancestry given that these companies have a larger sample pool from European countries to use as the testing control group. The tests give detailed reports of ancestry from specific countries in Europe, while people of African or Asian ancestry are relegated to finding only the general region of the continent they are from.

The tests also increased racial tension when some Caucasian people proudly claimed to belong to marginalized ethnic groups based on small percentages in the ancestry results.

Representative members of those ethnicities felt disheartened and unnerved by the new ‘discoveries’ as people in the ethnic majority ignored or overlooked the prejudices they had faced for being a person of color.

“Heritage is not just who you are biologically,” Brandon Scott, editor of Cherokee Phoenix said. “Our identity isn’t present in a faux-buckskin outfit or a made-in-China headdress. It is in our communities, it is in the words of our elders and the faces of our children.”

DNA ancestry tests can be a potent tool for racial relations in the future, whether bringing people closer together as they embrace their cultural diversity, or straining the relationship between marginalized groups and the majority as histories and identities are ignored.

UBER CONTROVERSY DANI BLANK, managing editor

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SAM MONCKTON

hether they are catching a ride home from an event downtown or just meeting friends for lunch, teenagers often find themselves in need of a safe and convenient method of transportation. Instead of breaking the law and driving each other without their six months or taking the crowded MARTA, using Uber has recently become a game changing substitute for public transportation. Along with other online location-based taxi services, uber has gained popularity due to its user-friendly app and 24/7 availability. It is used in over 60 countries and 400 cities, and is recognized worldwide for its reliability and safety. Uber, Lyft, Curb and other services have completely changed the workings of inner-city transit systems. However, not everyone would argue that this change is beneficial.

These ride-hailing services have recently been accused of discriminating against certain ethnic groups. Statistics prove that a multitude of drivers clearly favor white riders over other ethnicities. One study found that drivers cancelled on riders that they assumed were black, based on their names, twice as often as they did for those with first names like “John,” “Will” or the last name “Smith.”

On average, African Americans also had to wait nearly two minutes longer than whites for a ride, which, in today’s high speed world of technology, is a significant amount of time. However, discrimination itself is not Uber’s only issue; regulating it has also proposed a debatable legal issue.

Under the Commerce Clause, Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce. They have historically stretched this definition of “commerce,” extending Congress’ implied powers -- allowing them to carry out what is necessary and proper to upholding the law. For Uber’s situation, the issue is whether or not racial discrimination can be regulated. The business itself is public, but the cars are still each driver’s private property, therefore the ability of Congress to interfere is vague. Congress is trying to claim that credit cards, which are used across state lines, can be regulated under interstate commerce, creating a loophole for regulating Uber. Therefore, if Uber’s transactions are carried out via credit card, the company crosses state lines and falls under the “interstate” category. Although this theory is completely viable, many counter this argument with the claim that an Uber driver uses his or her private car and he or she has the right to do or say anything under the roof of that private car.

Uber was sued at the Federal District court in California under terms of “sexual harassment and race discrimination” about a year ago, and they paid $10 million in compensation to settle the suit. They claimed to have made steps to sort out the discrimination in their business, but findings in the last year have clearly proven otherwise. Just a year later, today’s legal issues stem from the company’s inaction of following through on the terms of their original case. Whether Uber will ever fall under the Commerce Clause is unknown, but the debate continues.

Should Uber be regulated under interstate commerce, or do drivers have personal rights in their private vehicles?

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NEWS

The Dilemma GRACIE KWON, staff writer

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a in Washington T

he longest government shutdown in the history of the United States began on December 22, 2018 and has left federal workers devastated. It exceeded the previous record of 21 days in 1995 to 1996 when President Bill Clinton clashed with former House Speaker, Newt Gingrich, over domestic spending cuts.

Tension first arose on December 11, 2018, when Democratic Congressional leaders held a meeting with President Trump to negotiate key budget points. President Trump reiterated his threat to close down the government if Democrats did not include $5 billion to build a wall on the border of the United States and Mexico. In response, Democrats said the wall would be ineffective and provided $1.3 billion to continue the current security on the border, including border fencing and levee walls. However, President Trump declared that he would not sign a bill without the inclusion of $5.7 billion for the wall. Senate leaders tried to renegotiate and pass a new spending bill, but their attempts were unsuccessful. On December 22, the government officially shut down leaving millions of workers without pay, while the two parties debated over a solution.

On Twitter, President Trump blamed Democratic leaders—Senator Charles Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—for the shutdown because they didn’t sign off on his wall plan. In retaliation, Senator Schumer and House Speaker Pelosi noted that he rejected all compromises that could have reopened the government. Instead of tweeting back to Democratic leaders, President Trump recapitulated his warning of calling a national emergency which would essentially grant him the authority to build a physical barrier between the United States and Mexico without congressional approval.

Due to the conflict between the divided Congress and White House, the government fell into a partial shutdown. A partial shutdown is when most of the government has already received its funding; however, nine federal departments and other agencies, roughly 800,000 federal employees, were struck by the repercussions. More than half of the federal employees were forced to work without income while

the other half was furloughed or laid off.

On January 4, 2019, President Trump threatened to keep the shutdown going on for months or even years until Congress included funding for a wall in the budget. However, if the government remained stuck in a partial shutdown, more federal employees would be laid off or working without any pay, and agencies and departments would have no money to carry out their own agenda.

If the government remained closed, the impacts of the shutdown would only worsen, affecting more lives and ultimately causing a bigger governmental deficit. The Food and Drug Administration did fewer inspections than before the cessation.

Furthermore, federal workers had been protesting against the shutdown; employees of the Transportation Security Administration had increasingly called in sick at airports across the country, and the Environmental Protection Agency had planned on calling a “national sick day” in protest.

Air traffic controllers at the Federal Aviation Administration and commercial pilots, both required to work without pay, have rallied outside the Capitol in Washington, calling for an end to the shutdown.

After the government officially closed, President Trump’s disapproval rate had risen and currently sits at a 37 percent approval, and 55 percent of the public is more apt to blame the president, while 32 percent says that the Democrats are to be blamed.

Clearly, the longest government shutdown has left thousands of federal workers, agencies, and departments devastated.

While employees were being dismissed or working without income, President Trump and Republicans continued to clash with Democrats. If the cessation had continued, the consequences of the shutdown would only intensify; however, on January 25, President Trump agreed to a temporary opening of the government after a 35-day shutdown. At the State of the Union Address on February 5, President Trump failed to address federal workers or the government shutdown. Unfortunately, if lawmakers do not reach a border security deal or an agreeable budget by February 15, a second shutdown will be inevitable.

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racism in european soccer SPORTS

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MATT PRESS, sports editor JACK LEE, staff writer

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occer, football, futbol, whatever the terminology may be to the fans, one key similarity is that the sport has always been known as “the beautiful game”. But what was once a match between champions where fans bled their team’s colors has recently plummeted into a hub for racist remarks towards the players. Fan is short for fanatic, and while passion can be negatively misconstrued, the reports of racism around the world are simply disturbing, and are by no means a positive look for the most popular sport in the world, especially considering the vast number of young fans.

The French national team, commonly referred to as “Les Bleus” has had stories of racism for the last two decades. A myriad of players to see the national stage for France have had some form of African descendance, and this was particularly prominent in the World Cup last summer. Fourteen of the twenty one players that traveled to Russia had African roots, and the team was torn to shreds by the racist spectators in the stands and even by coaches of African teams who believed the players belonged to them. Nineteen year old wunderkind Kylian Mbappe (Cameronian father and Algerian mother) and world class midfielder N’golo Kante (both parents from Mali) are two players who have experienced torment from fans of both opposing teams and their own. Despite their heroic and widely praised performances in the tournament, the same notion is constantly reinforced that they are accepted into French society amidst triumph and seen as immigrants in defeat.

“France’s emphasis on stomping out African identity in favor of “Frenchness” shows that when Europe speaks of integration, it is really rejecting multiculturalism in favor of assimilation, in which those who desire acceptance must abandon their roots” said Karen Attiah of the Washington Post.

Players of African descent have long been striving for equality in France, and even in the 1990’s and 2006 World Cup victory, radical French right wingers have been tainting the beautiful game with their racist remarks. As acceptance in society grows in 2019, these antiquated beliefs should be preposterous, but as Karen Attiah said, they continue to be pervasive in French society. Even though the stories of racism were more significant in the World Cup given the magnitude of the stage, the local matches are still an extremely toxic environment for the players. There is no place in the sport for these type of denigrations towards African French players, and FIFA and other organizations alike need to make sure there is absolutely zero tolerance for racism to once again render the sport as “the beautiful game”.

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SPORTS

male cheerleaders in the N.F.L. BEN GONZALES, staff writer AARON BASHUK, staff writer

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heerleading has historically been a female-dominated sport at both a competitive level as well as sideline cheer. In high schools across the country, there has historically been very low participation of male cheerleaders. This is due to the lack of opportunities, the physical rigors and public perceptions of male cheerleaders.

In the collegiate level, however, males make up nearly 50% of sideline cheerleaders. This is a drastic increase from high school.

This is likely due to the bad stigma that many male cheerleaders receive, being called “not masculine” or “weird” for participating in an untraditional sport. The societal standard of gender is rapidly changing and has led to a new development in NFL cheerleading.

The Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints have recently been seen as a catalyst in the department of male cheerleading with them being the first men to cheer in the NFL. Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies have shattered societal standards of men and how their masculinity should be represented. Quinton reinforces his motive for becoming a cheerleader by stating that

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he and other male cheerleaders are “doing this for us and for the boys,” or in other words, he is not in it for the fame; he is in it show other men that they can also be cheerleaders without being berated for their unconventional lifestyle. These men deserve respect since they have single-handedly changed the NFL by showing people that their brand is inclusive of all people from any side of the spectrum.

These thrilling new developments in the NFL may be a tipping point in the scale of male cheerleading.

According to a 2017 study, the number of young male cheerleaders is low but has been on a slow rise for the past couple of years.

The new Rams and Saints cheerleaders in the spotlight are expected to create rapid growth in the amount of youth male cheerleaders.

The recent support for male cheerleading shows that society is changing into a more accepting place. The inclusion of male cheerleaders into an organization as big as the NFL, a multi-billion dollar company, shows that being different is not frowned upon anymore.

People can now be unique and diverse without receiving hatred from others.

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R E B P OW U S E L H

BRITTAIN LEE, staff writer KOLIN BRANDEIS, staff writer

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ach year the football season comes to a close, and playoff season begins. Super Bowl LIII was hosted in the city of Atlanta this past February.

It is the first Super Bowl that has taken place in Mercedes Benz Stadium and the third ever in Atlanta. The city estimated that 110,000 travelers flew into Atlanta throughout the weekend. There were many concerns about airline travel out of Atlanta, as people feared the government shutdown would still be in effect and alter travel plans for thousands of visiting people on the Monday after the big game.

Patriots vs. Rams, East Coast vs. West Coast, old vs. young. This was one of the most hyped up Super Bowls between rivals. The Rams are led by 3-year quarterback, Jared Goff, and 33 year old coach, Sean McVay. From the AFC, the Patriots are in the Super Bowl for an 11th straight time led by good old Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. To the naked eye, it would seem as if the Los Angeles Rams have a clear advantage in the game due to Todd Gur-

ley, one of the MVP frontrunners that led the league with 17 rushing touchdowns.

Unfortunately, Gurley has been recently sidelined for some of the playoff games and practice for an unknown reason.

When asked about the star running back, coach Sean McVay won’t seem to give a clear answer with what is going on with Gurley. On the contrary, the Patriots seem cool and collected entering Super Bowl Sunday. But who wouldn’t with 5 time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady leading them to Super Bowl Sunday?

In the end, what mattered Sunday night? Experience? Talent? Coaching?

With lack of a better term, Super Bowl LIII was a dull, defensive game. There were no scores throughout the first 53 minutes except for 2 field goals from both teams, and the Los Angeles Rams failed to reach the red zone even once. The touchdown drought ended with about 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter, with a 2 yard touchdown run by the New England Patriots running back, Sony Mi-

chel. Both teams quarterbacks struggled against the opponent’s outstanding defenses, as neither quarterback threw for a passing touchdown and threw uncharacteristic interceptions. Despite a struggling Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots defense rose to the occasion and allowed only 3 points to the 3rd ranked offense in the NFL which ultimately won the Patriots the game. Patriots wide receiver, Julian Edelman, also shined with 10 receptions for 141 yards, which gave him the Super Bowl MVP. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re a fan of defensive football, then this was your kind of game, but most browsed their phones as the two defenses battled it out. All in all, the Patriots took the cake and gave Tom Brady his 6th Super Bowl, the most of any player of all time in the NFL. While the Rams did not play their best game, their budding, young team indicate promising outcomes in the years to come, and no one would be surprised if the flashy, youthful Rams show up in Super Bowls to come.

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RACE

COVER

14 | COVER BY EDWARD CHO

ROHAN LALLA, editor-in-chief JEFFERY SHEN, staff writer

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mass of people slowly crawls around the corners of urban Atlanta with the ubiquitous call “Black Lives Matter” brazenly reverberating in the streets. At the other end of the spectrum, torches are lit in Charlottesville, Virginia, a response to a roar of White Nationalism and right-wing populism, as a new faction of the American political identity is forged from hate and xenophobic fears of the “other.” Both of these movements, despite their fundamental philosophical disagreements, stem from an elusive and relatively misunderstood component of our society: race. In the same breath, the race’s omnipotence both unifies vast groups of people under a common culture and creates chasmic power dynamics between the privileged and the underprivileged.

Race presents itself within every corner of our culture—between racial stereotyping, discrimination and the intersection of class and race, it is an intrinsic element of all interactions from the micro to macro level. However, there is an underlying disconnect between what we perceive race to be and what it actually is. In contemporary scholarship, race is regarded as a social construct, a symbolic identity only defined by the society that circumscribes it—it is not qualified as a physical or biological characteristic. This highlights the failure of many attempts to differentiate races by broad-brushed physical and behavioral traits when there is no biological precedent to tether these perceived differences to. This is best exemplified by the advent of social darwinism, an imperialistic ideal held by white Europeans that applied Darwinian theories of natural selection to humans and racial classifications, typically coming to the conclusion that the mental capabilities of colonial indigenes were less than that of the white race. An insidious manifestation of this logical fallacy in the modern age has become the recent revival of “race science,” as a small group of IQ scientists and anthropologists try to prove that certain races are inherently more intelligent than others. This elemental misunderstanding is the root of racial otherization and tribalism, a gateway to racism and discrimination. Many scholars and philosophers have attempted to under-

stand and define race’s relation to society and culture, the most developed of which has become critical race theory.

Critical race theory is a branch of critical literature and academic studies that focuses on race and its relation to people’s position in the world. In this theory, many prominent authors focus on the relations between the American government and its structural antagonisms toward specific groups of people. Focusing on the African American ontology, scholars traditionally consider two camps of broad philosophies: Afro-Pessimism and A f r o - O p t i m i s m .

While both theories deal with the African American’s relationship to society, the ontological position of Black bodies in America is important to understand.

Ontology is a state of being; just as a teacher’s position in the classroom to students, critical race theory proposes race as a feature that defines who you are and what you can do in life. Using ontology in combination with race, theorists believe that race places people in certain categories that affect how the world sees them.

Afro-Pessimists believe that it is impossible for African Americans to orient themselves effectively towards the government or society in general. Historically, the U.S. has disenfranchised African Americans, exemplified by structural disadvantages and inherent societal discrimination, and has been built up on a foundation of anti-blackness and slavery.

According to Frank B. Wilderson III, an eminent philosopher at the forefront of Afro-Pessimist thought, the vestiges of slavery remain in the ontology of black bodies, so much so that it is an intrinsic element of blackness.

“Slave-ness has consumed African-ness and Blackness to make it impossible to dissect and divide blackness from slaveness. …When we recognize that we cannot be recognized and move on with that, [Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman, Black Liberation Army, etc.] the response to those moments is so overwhelmingly violent that it doesn’t seek to end the conflict. It seeks to crush us to the point that nobody gets that idea in their mind again,” said Wilderson III. There are always going to be winners and losers in society, and because of the THE CHARIOT | 15

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government’s institutionally antipathetic propensities, those losers have frequently been African Americans.

In the eyes of Pessimism, there is no future for the Black body within the world’s current structure. Theorists advocate for different futures, but perhaps one of the most radical alternatives is the end of civil society itself.

“Two hundred years ago, when the slaves in Haiti rose up, they … burned everything because everything was against them. Everything was against the slaves, the entire order that it was their lot to follow, the entire order in which they were positioned as worse than senseless things, every plantation, everything,” said Afro-Pessimist scholar Anthony Paul Farley.

The dichotomy between Afro-Pessimism and Afro-Optimism is most simply explained by the interactions between two immensely influential leaders in the Civil Rights Movement, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. While Malcolm X advocated for violent resistance against white aggression as the only way to break down systemic racism, MLK Jr. saw a world that was only getting better for African Americans.

“We’ve broken loose from...slavery and we have moved through the wilderness of legal segregation. Now we stand on the border of the promised land of integration.” said MLK Jr. in his famous I Have a Dream speech.

Malcolm X however, is on the polar opposite of the spectrum. Following the ideals behind Afro-Pessimism, he called for a more radical movement against institutions like the police, especially using violent means.

Critics of critical race theory point to an emergence of a perceived blackwhite binary in race, one they see perpetuated by the philosophies and authors of Afro-Optimism and Afro-Pessimism. The black-white binary is a viewpoint defined by seeing race, especially in America, as two sides of a coin, only consisting of the Caucasian and African American experience. Race

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instead is a spectrum spanning different cultures, ethnicities and societies—to ignore that is to ignore the voices of those falling on the periphery of this binary.

“I think [the black-white binary] is extremely toxic to experiences of people who aren’t included. Like growing up I actually thought I was white. Just because that’s what I understood as race, its either you’re black or white.

I assumed that I could be white and Chinese, which just comes to show how race itself is very diverse or a lot more complex than what is discussed today,” said senior Jason Ling.

The implicit eviction of races outside of the black-white binary from the discourse surrounding race relations directly impacts the largest minority population in Johns Creek, Asian Americans. This cultural neglect has translated to a patronizing, docile image of Asian Americans throughout the history of the United States and an air of ignorance toward discrimination against Asian Americans.

“Our voices are almost never listened to. We’re stereotyped as quiet and obedient, we never express our complaints, we just work through it,” said Ling.

From this portrayal of Asian Americans stems an even larger and more harmful generalization: that Asian Americans are the “model minority” of America’s contemporary ethnic and racial landscape due to their unparalleled economic prosperity and educational eminence. Largely discounted as a myth, those who perpetuate this concept of the model minority often homogenize a wildly diverse racial group, with ethnicities spanning from the Middle East to East Asia. The image of an Asian American for many, however, singularly remains a strawman depiction of an East Asian student hunched over and fervently toiling over math problems, despite abyssal socioeconomic disparities between Asian groups. This monolithic portrayal of Asian Americans has not only submerged them under an inescapable and largely inaccurate ste-

reotype; the model minority is also often employed as a wedge between racial minorities, especially African Americans, as the success of Asian Americans and “failure” of other races are depicted to be not results of inequality, racism and incomparable migrational conditions, but of inherent laziness and indolence among African Americans and other racial groups.

This pardons the privileged in our society from their responsibility to confront the root cause of African American socioeconomic plight because, according to the logic of powerful elites, if Asians can succeed, why can’t African Americans?

“It’s because the U.S. has practiced these immigration tactics where they’re fishing the best out of Asia, putting them on this pedestal in America and then pointing at other minorities who are either already here or who are migrating in the same way, saying if you’re not this expectation that we’ve hand-groomed, then you are not valid in our country.

That’s what the myth is,” said Ling.

Beyond Johns Creek High School, race plays a distinct role in schools, serving as a haunting reminder of race’s historically inextricable entanglement with class and socioeconomic welfare. Take Banneker High School, located in College Park, Atlanta.

“It was predominantly a black school, and in that case you have parents who were working multiple jobs or going to school for higher education for the first time at that time. So you had students who were left to their own devices after school. There was also a large population of kids who were in group homes, who had no strong family system for support.

That impacted a student’s ability to focus on school, because it was more about basic needs and survival,” said former Banneker English teacher Mrs. Clowe.

At Banneker, 100% of the student population is economically disadvantaged and on the national free lunch program, and 96% of the student population is African American. When compared to the pillar of affluence that is Johns Creek, boasting a significantly lower minority population and rate of economically disadvantaged students, our society’s

mendacious guise of racial egalitarianism is thrown into question. Numerous institutional forces—urban housing and the governmental subsidization of suburbs on the c ont i ng e nc y that homes would not be sold to nonwhites—have contributed to these towering wealth discrepancies between classes and races, but we as culture seem to accept these purposefully discriminatory policies as a sort of natural law. For many of us, the north side of Fulton County is rich and the south side is poor; that is how it is and that’s how it will always be.

The day we begin to question our inherent assumptions and these robust structures of racial inequality that are steadily fortifying in our society is the day we pave our way towards equality.

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ethnic eats AROUND JOHNS CREEK CARLY BLANK, staff writer

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ometimes it seems like we are surrounded by only fast food and Americanized chains, but here in Johns Creek, there are many delicious ethnic restaurants that stay true to their global roots.

Armando’s Caribe is a Duluth favorite for its range of genuine Latin American dishes and drinks. The large, casual shopping center style restaurant and friendly staff create a down-toearth environment. The menu features a variety of exciting and diverse dishes. The traditional cuban sandwich contains ham, sliced roast pork, mustard, mayonnaise, pickles and swiss cheese, all on top of freshly baked Cuban bread. Another house specialty from Spain is Pollo a Parrilla, a half chicken marinated in mojo sauce and grilled over hickory wood. Armando’s also offers several authentic caribbean cocktails including margaritas, homemade sangria and mojito cubano.

Biryani Pot is an Indian chain that brings high quality dishes straight from the city of Hyderabad, India to our community.

Through their appreciation of Indian culture, the chefs have perfected the methods of traditional cuisine.The specific herbs, spices and condiments are carefully selected and provide a distinct taste, making every

18 | SAM MONCKTON

dish Biryani Pot offers unique.

Hyderabadi dum Biryani is a crowd-favorite dish made with aromatic basmati rice, optional chicken, goat, or shrimp and the secret ingredient: slow roasted over a low flame and served with mirchi ka salan, or curried chili peppers. The restaurant also offers many vegetarian options like aloo-gobi masala, or potatoes and cauliflower stewed with tomatoes and a blend of spices including cumin and ginger.

Cafe Songhai serves traditional, hearty dishes of West Africa and the owners create a cozy, welcoming atmosphere. The friendly staff is well-versed on the unique menu and can help you decide on the perfect dish.

Join in on the Jollof rice debate over whether the Ghanaian or Nigerian style is better. The cafe makes both—the Nigerian version with parboiled rice and the Ghanaian version with jasmine rice—each cooked in tomato sauce and your choice of chicken, beef or fish. A popular drink you can enjoy with dinner is palm wine, imported directly from Ghana. It is made from the sap of palm trees with a bit of a kick.

Next time you are looking for a new place for dinner, try out one of these restaurants! You will be sure to love the food and expand your taste buds while indulging in many delicious, ethnic dishes.

24 HOUR CHALLENGE: SAM BEAGLE, sports editor

G

oing from being pretty sociable to not saying a word for an entire day was no easy task, but it was one I decided to face. The challenge that I embarked on one Friday morning was to not speak to anyone the whole day, an activity I initially viewed as relatively easy.

The realization that I had a hard road ahead occured to me as soon as I woke up; walking into the kitchen, I was compelled to greet my family and ask about their plans for the day, but, of course, I could not. I had to find some way to communicate with my peers, so I wrote a brief message on my phone for everyone who would confused about my actions.

As soon as I got to on the bus, not even school, I was receiving confused glances.

My awkward eye contact with the bus driver and my friends did not seem sufficient, so I showed them the message on my phone. This was one of the few times I would whip this general explanation out, as it burdened me constantly. When I got to school, I either nodded my head or waved an awkward ‘hello’ to my class-

no speaking

mates passing by me in the halls. A few stopped me and tried to shake some sense into me, something I wish had worked.

Some others shook me off assuming that I had broken off our friendship, something that would be a challenge for me to fix the next day. I usually excitedly converse with my friends and classmates, but now I did not have the slightest method of communicating with them.

Surprisingly, the hardest part of the day was not even facing my peers but rather figuring out how to communicate with my teachers. Telling them the day before might have been a good idea, but I had my head in the clouds in angst.

I was definitely wrong. Walking into Coach Bowler’s room was hard to do, for I had to receive some news about my soccer schedule. Rather than asking, he had to assume I was in there for the reason he suspected, which he luckily did.

I received my news on the backhand of an awkward handshake and head nod, something I never ended up explaining to him. In my classes, I was egged

on by teachers to answer a question, but I reluctantly nodded each time. In some instances, I had to go up and show them the explanation. My classmates’ responses were confused expressions and awkward side conversations, but hopefully it was not too big of a conflict.

Next, lunch was even worse. Asking for my meal from the line turns out being a bit rough when you just rudely point. As I headed back to my table, I engaged in more of my head nods and watched my friends pass around my phone which had my excuse for being silent. They amused themselves by making jokes and comedic inquiries, often saying, “If you don’t talk, then…”.

Overall, my experiences with the inability to talk for 24 hours were pretty negative. Though the day-long challenge taught me about the taxing demand of sociability standards and the how fortunate I am, the fact that I needed a whole day to explain what I was doing for a whole day proved to me the difficulty of taking on this struggle.

THE CHARIOT | 19

MAREN STEPHENS, managing editor JOSH KIM, staff writer

I

n a time where political correctness has become increasingly relevant in many people’s day to day lives, worries of cultural appropriation have also emerged. Appropriation is, by definition, to take or make use of without authority or right. When appropriation is of culture, it can be both profitable, whether in fame or fortune, but at the same time, is often offensive to the initial culture. Recently, its prevalence in the news has been due to its vast usage by celebrities.

Cultural appropriation has risen to such a high point of relevancy particularly due to its persistence in popular culture.

Celebrities such as Kylie Jenner, Ariana Grande and Katy Perry have been accused of cultural appropriation for everything from beauty campaigns to music videos. Many celebrities often focus on East Asian and African cultures, which seep into both their styles and project concepts.

Katy Perry has come under fire for this many times, from her mish-mash of East Asian culture at the American Music Awards in 2013 to her cornrows in her “This is How We Do” music video. Katy Perry’s repeat offender status begs the question: what don’t people get? After being called out for offensive behavior multiple times, one would think that celebrities would begin to understand the problem with borrowing culture, but unfortunately that is still far off.

In addition to pop culture icons, the issue spreads to the world of fashion. Marc Jacobs, a famous designer known for luxury handbags and beauty products, is another creator consistently under fire for cultural insensitivity, most notably on the runway. In his SS17 20 | EDWARD CHO

show, Marc Jacobs’ models donned dreadlocks to walk the runway. After facing criticism, Jacobs brushed off the allegations while at the same time dismissing the concept of cultural appropriation as a whole.

Cultural appropriation, especially in popular culture, often stems from a disrespect, or even a mere misunderstanding of another group of people.

This misunderstanding is usually something easily accessible, however, which again calls for the questioning of many celebrities’ respect of another culture.

As more and more people are piled onto the list of offenders, it seems unreasonable that no one has checked the news, Twitter or even their email.

However, cultural appropriation spans beyond the confines of the A-List and music industry. Just last year, high schooler Keziah Daum attended prom in a dress that sparked controversy across the internet and skyrocketed her dress to a new level of infamy. After wearing a dress emulating Chinese culture, the Utah teen was attacked via networks like Instagram and Twitter. She later defended herself by claiming to merely appreciate the culture through the dress, but in a world where cultural appropriation is a hot topic, merely claiming appreciation has become unrealistic and simply irresponsible.

As cultural appropriation persists in modern society, it is not only important, but vital to be aware. Repercussions of cultural appropriation and insensitivity have been as serious as job loss and as trivial as twitter backlash. Even though some claim it is an unnecessary precaution, cultural appropriation can have real effects.

cultural appropriation

FEATURES

THE CHARIOT | 21

FEATURES

frozen pizza battle HANNAH ROSE FRAZER, features editor

C

hoosing which soft drink to enjoy with dinner may not seem troublesome, yet it can often be a decision putting many friendships in jeopardy. A person is either a Coke or a Sprite drinker. Sprite is beneficial for all the calorie counters, Shirley Temple drinkers, and is a delicious refreshment for the partiers. Without a doubt, Coke is definitely a dinner essential, but given the choice most teenagers would choose team Sprite over Coke.

Now that the drink has been decided, let’s move into the real debate.

Can someone please explain to me why Totino’s is still sold in grocery stores? First off, the sauce smothered on the pizza was so spicy, it could make one’s throat burn. It tasted like the only ingredient used in the sauce was a flaming hot pepper.

Along with the sauce being repulsive, the cheese was faker than Kylie Jenner’s implants and had no taste. The bottom of the slice- holding all the piled on ingredients- was disappointingly a paper thin crust. There was such an abundance of toppings that the thin crust was nonexistent in comparison to the flavor of the pizza overall. The only possible way to eat this pizza is to dab at it, because of the tremendous amount of grease sitting on the pizza. Clearly, Totino’s pizza is offensive to the senses and is coming in last place for frozen pizza.

Tombstone pizza, with the description in the name- tombkilled almost all of my tastebuds, yet there were certain qualities of the pizza that made it a slight step up from the horrid Totino’s pizza. Unlike the abnormal cheese from Tot-

22 | SAM MONCKTON

ino, the cheese on the Tombstone pizza was savory and with each bite the cheese would melt in your mouth. Sadly, the cheese was the only part of the pizza that was tasty. Despite its mouth-watering appearance, one bite into the pizza and you would lose a tooth, because the pizza was as hard as a brick. What’s the point of making pizza if it’s inedible? So, Tombstone can thank the cheese for saving it from last place.

Officially moving onto the somewhat average category, introducing the Trader Joe’s pizza. The pizza had a thin, delicious crust, layered with the perfect amount of pepperoni. However, the good come with the bad, and this pizza sauce tasted a lot like spaghetti sauce. The theory is that the chef got lazy and instead of making a gourmet sauce, the chef decided to dump a can of spaghetti sauce, and the difference is definitely quite noticeable. Although the sauce tasted unappealing, the pizza certainly had all the aspects of a typical frozen pizza.

Digiorno came in 2nd place. What a plot twist that everyone’s favorite pizza was not first seed. Honestly, there was nothing really to whine about on this pizza. The crust was thick and fluffy.

The sauce was delicious and the cheese was stringy with every bite. So thank you Digiorno for creating a finger-licking pizza.

Drumroll please. The 1st place pizza with its mouth-watering, wholesome goodness was the Freschetta pizza. The thick and slightly seasoned crust is a recipe for excellence. Every bite had the ability to put one’s mind in a dreamy pizza coma. There was absolutely nothing about this pizza to complain about, even those on a diet would not be able to resist.

mechanic morality ANNABELLE BUCHANAN, staff writer

P

icture this: a bus is cruising along according to its typical routine when its brakes suddenly fail.

There are five people who have illegally crossed the road and may potentially be hit and killed as they stand in the bus’s direct path. The driver has the option of steering the bus in another direction, but this maneuver would kill an innocent person. Which situation is more ethical? Does the bus hit a group of guilty jay-walkers or one innocent bystander? This scenario has posed a large moral debate. Another scenario would be a car driving towards ten people who had broken the law and jaywalked, while one person close by stands on the correct side of the road.

The car has no time to stop and no choice but to hit the guilty group or the innocent bystanders. Is it more ethical to hit the ten guilty people who broke the law or swerve and hit the one innocent pedestrian who did nothing wrong?

This moral dilemma stems from a Trolley Problem introduced by Philippa Foot in 1967, inspiring arguments over whether a trolley whose brakes have failed should hit five people straight ahead or switch tracks to hit only one person on that track. There is no real correct answer to this situation and intense debates often surface when individuals suggest their own values and ethics in relation to what action they would take. But what happens when the decision is left to self-driving cars?

It is no secret that self driving cars are the future of transportation. Tesla and other companies have released models that are already in circulation, but along with new innovation comes new room for the surfacing of controversial issues. These companies face the dilemma of how to program self driving

cars in order to make these life threatening decisions that can be fatal to both passengers pedestrians. Unexpected events can happen on the road and programming an autonomous car for difficult situations is uncharted territory. Dogs, children, bikers, fallen trees, jaywalkers or failed brakes can happen.

Driverless cars are not manufactured with morals, yet they have to be made to decide whether to prioritize the lives in the car or the lives outside the car if something life threatening were to happen. Many self driving car manufacturers have studied this issue in an effort to make the most ethical decision.

Some people have sided with the decision of saving the driver and passengers before any other person involved.

“If you know you can save at least one person...save the one in the car.

If all you know for sure is that one death can be prevented, then that’s your first priority,” said Christoph von Hugo, a Mercedes Benz executive about their self driving cars.

This was controversial to the public eye as it could hurt those outside the car, while another automaker said they would aim to hit the smallest thing. What if the smallest thing was caused when hitting the law-abiding non jaywalker or even hitting a child? Is this better than hitting a large group of illegal jaywalkers?

Generally, autonomous vehicles will save thousands of lives a year and prevent numerous crashes, but there are many hypothetical and unexpected life threatening situations that could occur which lack a clear solution. While trolleys are no longer used, jaywalking still occurs, so is it right to hit that one person or the five people? What if it was a loved one?

THE CHARIOT | 23

FEATURES NEWS

music

Seasonal Depression In the season of relentlessly moody March days, we at The Chariot tasked ourselves with curating a playlist whose songs perfectly encapsulate the sentiments of a day spent inside watching the rain.

1. PROVIDER frank ocean

2. U TURN mick jenkins

3. DECEMBER 24 earl sweatshirt

4. SWEET MARIE the walters

5. GUNS quelle chris

6. SOUTH DAKOTA tabby

7. MY FAVORITE FISH gus dapperton

8. ONLY CHILD tierra whack

9. HARMONY HALL vampire weekend

10. WHO HURT YOU? daniel caesar

11. WOOL IN THE WASH crying

24 |

The R. Kelly Controversy ALEC GROSSWALD, staff writer

R

obert Kelly began his singing career as R. Kelly in the early ’90s. He released many hits, lots of them popular today, and was later crowned the King of R&B by people all around the world. Despite this success, the public has found reasons to dethrone him.

Recently, Lifetime released a documentary series accusing R. Kelly of a multitude of sexual assault cases, threats and even a claim of a sex cult being held in his home in Johns Creek, Georgia.

In this docuseries, many women “come out of the shadows,” and shared their tormenting experiences with the singer. Many women say Kelly took them in when they were underage and “trained” them psychologically to be quiet about his actions in public by abusing them if they acted out. Some of the people who appear in Surviving R Kelly include his ex-girlfriend Kitti Jones, exwife Andrea Kelly, musicians John Legend and Sparkle and talk show host Wendy Williams.

In response to these allegations, many artists and companies are starting the “Mute R. Kelly” movement in which they will no longer play his music in acknowledgment of his misdeeds. However, it does not appear to be working in their favor. By the end of Lifetime’s first broadcast of “Surviv-

ing R. Kelly,” daily streams of his songs in the United States more than doubled, according to Nielsen Music, a music analytics company. His plays increased from 1.9 million the day before the series began to 4.3 million on its last day.

Many people oppose this movement, claiming that people are accusing him of these allegations because he is a successful black artist. Other companies have canceled concerts including R. Kelly, and his record label, Sony, even released him from the company.

The singer and his lawyer completely deny these allegations, with his lawyer even going so far as to call them defamation. He believes that Lifetime published these claims for the sole purpose of making money, and has made a website dedicated to proving these girls wrong. ​The R&B singer has a decades-long history of alleged sexual misconduct, usually with a minor, settling numerous lawsuits out of court. It started in 1994 when Kelly, 27, married a 15-year-old girl, but lied about her age on the marriage certificate, and now the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into the case. Somehow, R. Kelly was acquitted despite overwhelming evidence, but it is unclear if he will face charges for the recent allegations made against him.

Green Book

Must Watch:

entertainment HARRISON BLANK, staff writer

E

nter the world of Dr. Don Shirley, a worldclass concert pianist, who begins a tour throughout the Deep South in the throes of segregation and civil rights movements. Then, meet Tony Vallelonga also known as Tony Lip, a hard nosed bouncer from the heart of Little Italy in the Bronx. Join Don and Tonya as they advance down the Eastern Seaboard and into the South and experience the trials and tribulations of a black man in the Deep South struggling to scrape a penny. Watch the delicate friendship between Dr. Don Shirley, concert

pianist, and Tony Lip, bouncer, evolve into a brotherly bond.

Their relationship presents a contrast between white and black, sophisticated and unsophisticated and provides a link between two completely different perspectives on life. As Tony protects Don from the horrors and injustices of the Jim Crow South, Don teaches Tony the intricacies of romance and society. This interesting symbiotic relationship produces many hilarious and gripping conversations and displays a compelling storyline that is sure to make one laugh or shed a tear.

BANDERSNATCH COLN RAAD, staff writer

B

lack Mirror’s film, Bandersnatch, was released internationally on Netflix on December 28, 2018. The film, which follows a choose-your-own-adventure scheme, allows the viewer to select decisions for the fictional main character, Stefan Butler, as he attempts to successfully launch his own choose-yourown-adventure video game of the same title.

The film incorporates themes such as fate versus free will, and has opened up the minds of creators, as more groundbreaking projects like this will continue to rise for years to come.

As Netflix begins its new year of television, Bandersnatch remains one of the highest rated Netflix releases of 2019, as a multitude of viewers strive for the best outcomes for Stefan.

Throughout the film, the viewers are given choices to decide for Stefan. Whether it’s deciding to eat Frosties or Sugar Puff cereals for breakfast, or whether or not his mentor should jump off his balcony, the viewers are given the free will to make the choices for Stefan as he tries to release his game on time.

With alternate endings and different choices given due to various selections, the viewers can see how their choices control Stefan’s fate, and ultimately relinquish his own “free will”. As Bandersnatch continues to break standards for its creativity and thematic relevance, Black Mirror will continue to make viewers question their society and themselves with more projects like Bandersnatch to come.

THE CHARIOT | 25

OPINION

FACE O FF

should race be considered in college admissions?

26 | ERIN LEE

yes BROOKE HALAK, staff writer

I

n 1961 Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson and Hobard Taylor Jr., a young black attorney, combined the words “affirmative” and “action” to create Executive Order 10924, which would change the playing college applications and employment. President John F. Kennedy signed this executive order, requiring contractors and colleges to take race into account when hiring people or accepting students. Americans were insistent on removing this form of “oppression” against the majority, despite only 5% of college students being African American. Some might argue that affirmative action is unfair because it doesn’t establish acceptance through merit, but rather based on race. For instance, Asians have the highest national average on standardized tests, followed by whites, followed by a significant gap with African American and Latino scores. Nevertheless, this disparity between the standardized test scores of Asians and Whites compared to African Americans and Latinos only further accentuates the racial and class inequalities within American society. Studies found that in 2016, the median

no

household income for Asians was $81,431, Whites $65,041, African Americans $47,675 and Latinos $39,490. With SAT and ACT tutoring packages costing thousands of dollars, it is no suprise that wealthier families can afford these advanced prep courses, whereas less economically stable families are left to take the test with no prior test prep or tutoring. Ironically, standardized tests are administered to ensure fairness, yet they more accurately reflect the income disparity between race groups in contemporary American society, where inner-city and even middle-class minority students are competing against the majority who don’t face systematic racism.

Julia Sass Rubin, a visiting associate professor at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, said, “The strong correlation between income, education and race/ethnicity translates the economic and educational bias of standardized tests into a racial one, giving an advantage to Asians and whites.

Although substantial poverty exists among both groups, on average, Asians and whites

in the United States are much wealthier and have significantly higher educational attainment than blacks and Hispanics.”

Critics of affirmative action promote “color-blind” college acceptance, believing that by ignoring race entirely this will solve the discrimination problem once and for all. This assertion brushes aside the persistent oppression and discrimination minorities have encountered throughout American history.

Critics demand the eradication of affirmative action because “How is it fair to deny students based on their race? Doesn’t this put the majority at a disadvantage by saving spots for minorities?” What is truly unfair is the years of discrimination against minorities who were denied success because of their race, thus left without the resources to excel in school or in a stable career. As President Johnson said, “You do not take a man who for years has been hobbled by chains, liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race, saying you are free to compete with all the others, and still justly believe you have been completely fair.”

DREW PELJOVICH, staff writer

A

ffirmative Action is the process of discriminating against a majority race or ethnicity in favor of the minority. When applying to colleges, most schools look for race as a factor to accept the application or not. This causes reverse discrimination to the majority, namely whites, who receive higher grades than their minority counterparts, but are denied entrance into schools because of their race.

This notion was argued in the Supreme Court case Grutter v. Bollinger where a white girl was denied admission from The University of Texas because her grades were not high enough. However, her credentials exceeded the academic standards for African American and Hispanic children. This system enforces a hereditary social hierarchy of sorts where hard work and merit are not good enough to get into

a college; ethnicity is. In the book, Increasing Faculty Diversity, the authors assert that colleges with Affirmative Action preferences see minority students in the lowest quarter of their class academically. As a result, they lack the self confidence to pursue their original dream and instead work towards easier majors that result in lower salaries. On the other hand, African Americans attending schools without Affirmative Action tend to enjoy school and strive to achieve their dreams. For example, A study by University of Virginia psychologists has shown that minority students with academic credentials that place them in the middle or top of their class are more likely to succeed than their students at more prestigious colleges with the same credentials, but ranked in the lower quarter of the class. The results show that 45%

of minority women and 35% of minority men attending elite engineering or science based schools would have succeeded graduating if their credentials were about average in a non-elite school. As James David, a University of Chicago Sociologist writes in his study, The Campus as a Frog Pond, minority students can be fairly sure they will end up in the bottom ranks of their class. It is clear; Affirmative action policies allow minority students to attend more prestigious colleges where they will be less successful, lose confidence, and switch to lesser majors. In addition, Affirmative Action has shown to cause reverse discrimination while fueling racism towards minorities. Now is the time to reform college admissions in order to give every student an equal opportunity to succeed not only in college but after as well.

THE CHARIOT | 27

OPINION

EMILY MILLER, staff writer The new year marks the beginning of a new festival season full of dreamy festive culture: glitter, outfits, pictures. From Coachella to Atlanta’s very own Music Midtown, there are many festivals worth attending. Here are some of the most influential and highly regarded festivals which you do not want to miss out on.

1. Coachella

Coachella, the popular and lively festival everyone dreams of going to, is located in the Inland Empire’s Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert on April 1214 and 19-21. Coachella has a charming reputation attributed to the glamorous celebrities and trendy attendees. Because of its high status and popularity, passes begin at a whopping $429, with that being the most basic package. This festival offers an experience where fans are guaranteed to be able to party and sing alongside with famous artists from inside the crowd. This year, the lineup features top artists: Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Khalid and Childish Gambino. With it being the most hip and extravagant music festival in the country, it accumulates a large crowd, and therefore takes place on two separate weekends following each other. Coachella is a once in a lifetime experience that everyone should have on their bucket list. erience that everyone should have on their bucket list.

2. Lollapalooza The famed Lollapalooza is one of the largest music and entertainment festivals in the country that includes an assortment of alternative rock, heavy metal, hip hop and electronic music. Artists including Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Travis Scott and Post Malone performed last year. Annually, the festival is located in Grant Park, Illinois during the first weekend of August. A major pro to this festival is how tickets are sold for each individual day, as well as for the full 4 28 | EDWARD CHO

days, allowing you to be flexible with your purchase and chose the specific days you may or may not want to attend. For the individual days, tickets range from $175-$132, and If you plan on attending for the full 4 days, tickets cost $399. And while you are in Illinois, you might as well treat yourself to the famous Chicago deep dish pizza, an exclusive bonus that comes along with attending this thrilling festival. It is by far one of the best music festivals in the country, year after year it never fails to disappoint the fans.

3. Bonnaroo

In less than 3 hours from Johns Creek, you can be on your way to this year’s Bonnaroo Festival, located in Manchester, Tennessee. This particular festival is so spectacular that tens of thousands of people gather and stay in tents overnight on the festival grounds for the full 4 days. With the purchase of a ticket, you receive free general admission camping. Because this festival becomes your home for 4 days, you are able to connect with and meet so many different people.

This year’s very own 2019 lineup features top artists including Childish Gambino, Post Malone, The Lumineers, Odesza, as well as 150 plus other incredible performers. The festival begins June 13th, and the party does not stop until June 16th. Tickets average around 300-400 dollars -- a steal for such an extravagant event. Overall, the vibe and atmosphere of this festival is unreal, giving you the adventure of a lifetime.

Be sure to check out Bonnaroo this year!

“”

IS HATE SPEECH FREE SPEECH?

ETHAN MINGOIA, staff writer

T

here is no legal definition under federal law for any constitute of speech that is widely generalized as hateful. However, Kenneth Ward in the study of Controversies Involving Hate Speech, categorizes hate speech as general instances where speakers “intend to vilify, humiliate, or incite hatred against a group or a class of persons.” The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the freedom of speech a majority of the time, no matter how offensive it may be, yet it doesn’t protect threatening behavior that “crosses the line” and may induce a hostile environment. Determining what exactly “crosses the line” is the big jurisdictional question and varies on a case-to-case basis. While the Constitution gives latitude to hate speech and offensive rhetoric, several court decisions in the last century have exposed subtle exceptions to free speech. In Virginia v. Black, a Supreme Court decision on cross-burning, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor describes “true threats” as a declaration to which “the speaker intends to publicize a serious expression to commit an act of unlawful violence to a specific person or group of individuals.”

Hate itself is not a crime. The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines a hate crime as an “offense against

a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.” Of course, the Supreme Court upholds laws that criminalize these acts, but it has been questioned whether the United States is doing enough to prevent these hate crimes by continuing to allow the freedom of speech, specifically that of a negative intention. The FBI reports that over 7,715 hate crimes were reported from close to 16,000 local law enforcement agencies in one year.

Evident in the growing movements against bullying, harassment and sexual allegations growing over around the world in the last decade, people have begun to view innocuous speech as hateful and offensive.

This trend began with the landmark case of Tinker v.

Des Moines Independent Community School District.

High-school students decided to publicly show their support of truce in the Vietnam war via black armbands. The students were suspended and families sued the school district for violating the students’ right of expression rather than derogatory speech. This case laid the framework for free speech movements and the ability for students to voice their opinions to their peers.

As time progresses, the outlets that used to publicize hate speech have become more modern and the topics they cover continue to become more complex in a technological standpoint. The newer channels of mass communication like Facebook and other social media platforms have developed to become mediums in which people may express their negative ideas.

Hate speech has been and continues to be a major struggle in American politics and culture because it pits free speech and equality (deeply held American values) against one another. A century ago, censorship was justified to preserve morality and public safety, with both of these priorities infused with concerns of racial justice at that time. Today, hate speech is all over the internet, fueled by trolls, extremists, false information and a group mentality that has reached a “fever pitch” in people’s everyday lives.

THE CHARIOT | 29

OPINION

YOUTUBE’S UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: the rise of right-wing populism MORAYO OGUNBAYO, opinion editor

W

hen Youtube was created in 2005, the founders had no idea of the “influencer-industrial complex” that would be born out of it. They were mostly looking for a way to watch the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction on the internet. However, in 2019, Youtube is much more than that, and many people spend hours every day on the site, video after video in their recommended feed. Sometimes that algorithm is helpful, and connects people with new, interesting creators. Other times, the algorithm takes its viewers down a ruinous path.

In recent years, especially since the most recent Presidential election, a lot of Youtube content has focused on politics on both sides of the aisle. Youtube’s political content can be split into two boxes, corporate sponsored and “grassroots.” Corporate sponsored is usually how people are exposed to Youtube’s political content.

Whether it be Stephen Colbert or a PragerU video, this content is easy to fall into because there are usually many videos by the same creators.

Those videos are less likely to cause harm, as besides their tendency to be an echo chamber, most of their ideas are considered pretty normal. The danger comes from the more “grassroots” side of Youtube. These are videos that present more radical ideas and have no obligation to use facts, unlike the corporate sponsored videos. This difference has become readily apparent in the rise of right wing extremist ideas in young people, which many scholars have directly attributed to YouTube.

The YouTube algorithm does not take these boxes into

account. It sees all political content as one and the same, and pushes it with vigor. Many young people start on one side of political videos, and after one evening of clicking through their recommends, will end up a completely radicalized person. That radicalization can manifest into overall antagonization of women, minorities and all those who are different. This most clearly seen within the growing incel community, a community that thrives off of Youtube and internet culture.

Incels are most easily described as men who are “involuntarily celibate” and base their hatred of women on that. Their message often resonates with young men, who feel rejected by the women around them.

While their message can seem harmless at a first glance, they have proven themselves to be rather dangerous, with at least two mass killings committed in their name. Both perpetrators found inceldom through Reddit and Youtube, which shows how accessible dangerous ideas are to young people.

YouTube was not created to be a danger to society, but Facebook was not created to steal people’s personal information and they did not create Instagram to make us insecure. Although those were not the reasons behind those sites, we still have to reckon with them. As terror suspects get younger and younger, with larger and larger online presences, the reckoning is coming. We just have to make sure it happens in time.

“

These are videos that present more radical ideas and have no obligation to use facts.

30 |

”

masthead

PUBLICATION

“The Chariot” is a student-run publication printed for and distributed to the Johns Creek community. The statements and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the entire staff or those of Johns Creek High School, its students, faculty, staff or administration. Content is edited and controlled by staff editors, in collaboration with the staff adviser and the administration.

The staff will publish only legally protected speech, adhering to the legal definitions of libel, obscenity and the invasion of privacy.

ADVERTISING “The Chariot” publishes ads with signed contracts provided that they are deemed appropriate by the staff for the intended audience.

For more information about advertising with “The Chariot,” please contact the staff e-mail.

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

SPORTS EDITORS

MANAGING EDITOR

OPINION EDITOR

PRODUCTION EDITOR

STAFF WRITERS

Rohan Lalla Maura McLynn

Sam Beagle Matt Press

Maren Stephens Dani Blank

COPY EDITOR Brooke Halak

DESIGNERS Erin Lee Madhu Ravi

PHOTOGRAPHERS Sam Monckton Edward Cho

NEWS EDITOR Hannah Frazer

Morayo Ogunbayo

Carly Blank Harrison Blank Annabelle Buchanan Kolin Brandeis Emma Buoni Alec Grosswald Joshua Kim Gracie Kwon Emily Miller Ethan Mingoia Tessa Paul Drew Peljovich Jeffery Shen

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crossword

across The heaviest dinosaur recorded 3. The world’s richest man in 1918 for his oil monopoly business 10. 1 in 200 Asian men are direct descendants of this Asian conqueror 11. Surpassed Bill Gates as World’s Richest Man 2018 12. The Egyptian god of felines 13. Company to produce the most expensive car at $13 million 15. U.S. State that has a law system based off the Napoleonic Code 18. This world wonder is located near Salisbury, England 21. The first company to produce a mo-

bile phone 22. Opened in 1958, the first pizza chain in the U.S. 23. Popular fast food restaurant; “Live mas” 25. Actress with most academy awards 26. Won world’s handsomest man in 2017 27. Most visited city in the United States with 59.7 visitors in 2016 29. Store whose logo is a bullseye 31. Spanish word for apple 32. The only planet tilted at 90 degrees 33. Continent with the most countries 34. The bird with the largest eye

down 2. The instagram handle of Johns Creek High School’s news magazine 4. The country to first adopt time zones 5. President on the 5 dollar bill 6. This TV cartoon started in 1989 and is currently on its 30th season 7. The smallest island in Hawaii 8. This acid makes lemons sour 9. Period element with atomic number 11 12. Capital of Romania 14. One of the two countries in the world without red white or blue in its flag; located in the Caribbean 16. Month with the least birthdays in America 17. This Swedish youtuber has the channel with the most subscribers as of January 2019 19. This country’s national animal is an unicorn 20. This bombing was brought to public’s attention through the book Slaughterhouse Five, although it is not mentioned in most history books 22. Spongebob’s best friend 24. The term for a baby swan 25. This Cali cartel leader was publicly gay 28. The world’s longest bridge is located in this country 29. Lowest part of a wave 30. Clothing brand founded brothers Paul and James Van Doren 31. Pigment that gives human skin its color