MO KNOWS

Once used as a motivational tool, the “that girl” trend on TikTok has become a toxic fad that is causing discontent and hyperproductivity in young adults.

She wakes up at 4:30 a.m. every morning and heads to the gym in her matching outfit. She pampers herself, then drinks an iced coffee and sits down to read a book with the natural sunlight streaming through the windows in her New York City apartment. Her life is a Pinterest board. This idealized way of living is known to many as the “that girl” trend. Though it has always been around, the idea of being "that girl" rose in early April 2021, according to an article published by Bustle, an online women's magazine, in August 2021. The hashtag “#thatgirl” had nearly 800 million views on Instagram and TikTok by August of the same year.

The trend began as a way to motivate young women to eat healthy, work out and live life to their full potential. While this may not seem inherently harmful, it can cause young adults to develop unhealthy relationships with food.

It has also become a harmful instigator of toxic productivity and hustle culture. An article by Global Health and Pharma stated that hustle culture is “the collective urge to work excessively; to be better than everyone else and work longer and harder to be at the top of our game.”

When caught in a cycle of hyperproductivity, it can be hard to rest under the pressure to keep working hard. The “that girl” trend can cause young adults to feel as if they are not living up to expectations if they take time to rest.

Because this trend only shows the high points of “that girl’s” life, it can be

easy to fall for the lies. “The (trend) is harmful. Honestly, I've cut way back on Facebook because you just get bombarded with this (content) and you actually start to believe that everyone's life is perfect and yours isn't,” Clarke County School District school psychologist Dr. Marcia Page said. Along with this, the “that girl” trend has also encouraged disordered eating and orthorexia, a term for the unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food, according to WebMD. BY MOLLY HARWELL “The 'that girl' aesthetic is comparable to the clean-eating, wellness gurus of Viewpoints Editor the 2010s -- presenting extremely low-calorie, carb-lacking meals as aesthetically beautiful, all the while masking and spreading a fear of ‘unhealthy’ aka enjoyable, joyous food,” according to a July 2021 The “that girl” trend makes article by Refinery 29. While the "that girl" trend has its faults, young adults feel as if they are it isn’t entirely negative. Learning to look at this content in a different light can help not living up to expectations if they take time to rest. change teenagers' perspectives. “I think that if you yourself post things, you can kind of count your blessings,” Page said. “But it all has to be taken in with this lens. This isn't everything about this person's life, only what they want (viewers) to see.” To combat the effects of the trend, consumers of social media can unfollow content creators who create “that girl” videos on TikTok or press the "Not Interested" button on Instagram. There is nothing wrong with re-inventing one’s lifestyle or making healthier choices in order to live and function better, but that crosses a line when those ideals cause harm to others, even by accident. While the “that girl” trend doesn’t need to completely die off, it does need to be re-invented to be more inclusive and create a safe, healthy environment for all. O

Featured: BECOMING THAT GIRL: An illustration of Viewpoints Editor Molly Harwell, a sophomore, depicts her as “that girl”, surrounded by various elements that make up the trend. The “that girl” trend, which was once used as an inspirational tool, has since become a promoter of disordered eating and hustle culture, causing unrealistic expectations in the lives of young people. "There is nothing wrong with re-inventing one's lifestyle or making healthier choices in order to live and function better, but that crosses a line when those ideals cause harm to others, even by accident," Harwell wrote. Illustration by Eleanor Robinson

HOMING IN ON HOMELESSNESS

While homelessness is a problem, many conflate homelessness and homeless people to both be problems to deal with.

BY ANTONIO STARKS Viewpoints Staffer

When thinking or talking about homelessness, it is important to take into account all the factors that make a person homeless by listening to their stories or volunteering at a local shelter. When this doesn’t happen, homeless people can become dehumanized by society and the discrimination that occurs makes it difficult for homeless people to acquire proper care, thus furthering the problem of homelessness.

Additionally, the stereotypes society projects onto homeless people can affect laws by disproportionately discriminating against homeless people and essentially criminalizing the state of being homeless.

One such law is Austin, Texas’ Proposition B. According to austintexas.gov, this law makes it a criminal offense for anyone to sit, lie down or camp in public areas. It also prohibits the solicitation of money or other items of value at specific hours and locations.

“Anti-homeless policies target a range of activity related to homelessness, often interfering with vital activity like sleeping, eating and maintaining

The negative ideas associated with personal hygiene,” an article in the New York University Review on Law and Social Change stated. According to Wise, conversing about and with homeless people homeless people requires more empathy. by the majority of “For some reason, (homeless people are) stigsociety are prob- matized, but I believe that's why we're here, to have lematic.From a local these (conversations). We're able to look past that perspective, Athens and look at the human being and where their heart has an immense is,” Wise said. “That’s something I'm able to see homeless population, every day and that's what I encourage other people with the Athens Homeless Coalition having served to do, as well.” 226 homeless families in 2020 and 2021 There are many practical ways for as of March 12, 2021. Unlike common stereotypes, people There are many practical someone to help those who are homeless. Making care packages that have who are homeless aren’t nuisances, bums or lazy by virtue of being homeless. The common prejudices held against them ways for someone to help those who are homeless. clothes, water and food, volunteering at or promoting local shelters or being an advocate for better treatment of homeless warp society’s perception of homeless people are a few ways that contribute to people as being less than. homelessness relief.

The Sparrow’s Nest, a local homeless shelter, When taking these steps, it is important to keep helps clients receive proper documents, medical in mind that while it’s important to talk about prescriptions and referrals to jobs and permanent homelessness, it’s equally important to take action. housing options. According to Sparrow's Nest Whether it be mental health issues, disabilities Administrative Assistant Hannah Wise, the struggles or unfair labor wages, there are many circumstancfaced by the homeless population of Athens-Clarke es that create homelessness and not one of them County are under-recognized. deserves to be judged. Homeless people are simply

“We're dealing with a population that is under- people. They must be treated fairly and need to be privileged, underserved and that may have mental accepted. O health issues (and) may have (an) addiction,” Wise said. “There's a multitude of things that could be going on."

Above: HARMFUL TOWARDS HOMELESS: A homeless person sits against a wall while being ridiculed as a social outcast due to their economic status. Conversing and volunteering with homeless people can sway negative biases toward said homeless people. “I think reaching out in the community and asking questions and having conversations, educating yourself and going in with an open mind and an open heart (is) the best way to (check negative one’s biases on homeless people)," Sparrow's Nest Administrative Assistant Hannah Wise said. Illustration by Antonio Starks

OUR TAKE

In order to improve CCHS students’ education, the CCSD Board of Education must make an effort to reduce teacher turnover by incentivizing teachers to stay.

It’s the same every year. A teacher will come in, form relationships with the Clarke Central High School community and become a crucial part of many students' education, but by the start of the next school year, they’ve work place better than one who has worked less. When almost half of teachers in Georgia have taught for less than five years, students aren’t receiving the best educational experience for them. been replaced by another and the cycle starts anew. To ensure that students are learning in a more consistent environment, the

This phenomenon of teachers leaving and being replaced is known as Clarke County School District must make teacher retainment a priority. Teachteacher turnover, and the inconsistency in staffing is undermining students’ ing isn’t an easy job and as such, the CCSD has to incentivize teachers to stay. education at CCHS. One way to do that is by increasing teachers’ salaries. Based on the 2021-22

“One in four teachers were considering leaving their job by the end of CCSD teacher salary schedule, a teacher with a bachelor’s degree and two or the school year," RAND Corporation reported after conducting a nationwide fewer years of teaching experience is paid just over $40,000 a year pre-tax. A survery in early 2021. substantial pay raise must be implemented in order to convince teachers to stay

That rate was closer at CCSD schools. to one in six before the pandemic, showing dra- With every teacher that leaves their school, Outside of pay, teachers in the CCSD with less than five matic growth in teacher dozens of student-teacher relationships are years of teaching experience turnover. While that’s severe, severed and with each one, students are set are only given three days of personal leave. Increasing that the turnover rate is even worse in Georgia. Accord- back a little bit more. number would be another great way to convince teachers ing to a 2015 Georgia to stay in Clarke County. Professional Standards Commission report, 44% of teachers in the state leave Teachers do so much for the student body, but with little incentive given for within the first five years of employment. them to stay, who can blame them for wanting to leave such a difficult profes-

This current turnover rate has a massive impact on students. With every sion in the trying times of a pandemic era? teacher who leaves their school, dozens of student-teacher relationships are It’s the CCSD's responsibility to give teachers a reason to stay, but the memsevered and with each one, students are set back a little bit more. bers of the board aren’t the ones being hurt by this teacher retention crisis.

New teachers won’t be as familiar with the material and the school culture. It’s CCHS students who need teacher stability and the CCSD needs to find a Additionally, a teacher who has worked for ten years will naturally know their way to keep teachers, lest students’ education is irrevocably harmed. O

Featured: INSPIRING CREATIVITY: Clarke Central High School freshman X'Zander Davis shows former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey a poem he wrote after the author's visit in the CCHS Media Center on April 21. According to CCHS English department teacher Dillon Shelton, who teaches Davis in ninth grade Literature/ Composition, the visit was inspiring to students who were able to attend. "I've seen differences in motivation in the classroom," Shelton said. "It was all awesome to students to start with who were going to see it, but they came back even more committed, even more dedicated, wanting to do more work." Photo by Aza Khan