Amid national food safety outbreaks, The Grille remains committed to ensuring health standards. On-campus fundraiser pause limits student service.
Teachers share experiences that inspired their career.
Sixteen students play concurrent matches with chess grandmaster Aryam Abreu Delgado.
LIFESTYLES
Social media has both positive and negative impacts on the world of sports.
e Trinity Voice is a member of the Florida Scholastic Press Association and the National Scholastic Press Association.
e Trinity Voice is produced by the newspaper/journalism class at Trinity Preparatory School of Florida. Editorials represent the opinion of e Trinity Voice writer and are not necessarily the views of the administration, faculty, or Board of Trustees of Trinity. e Voice welcomes letters to the editor and freelance articles or photography. All submissions become the property of e Voice. Please send all correspondence to 5700 Trinity Prep Lane, FL 32792. e Voice may also be contacted via phone at 407-671-4140 and via e-mail at voice@trinityprep.org. For information regarding the purchase of advertising within e Voice, contact us by one of the methods mentioned above. The Voice is a monthly publication during the school year (with the exceptions of September and January).
STAFF
Editors-in-Chief: Peyton Alch, Carol Marques
Non-Print Editor-in-Chief: David Steinberg
Managing Editors: David Hull, Zach Kleiman, Amanda Rose DeStefano, Lucy Chong
Copy Editors: Aarav Gupta, Jack Aaron
Layout Editors: Laziza Talipova, Fay Zhao
Social Media Department & Broadcast: Ana Herrera [Editor], Olivia Agnew, Sarah Currie
Sports Department: Emily Lopez (Editor), Ben Kleiman, Thomas Bonos
Podcast Department: Gustavo Membreno
Graphics Department: Caden Liu (Editor), Maxi de la Fuente, Natalie Baron
Photo Department: Jackson Napier (Editor), Aksel Williams, Ally Williams, Julia Hoskins, Eden Kiger
Fact Checking Editors: Taylor Gri th, Mia Prince
Business Manager: Jack Aaron
Adviser: Erin Miller
Andrew J. Schneier, M.D.
Justin D. Marsh, M.D.
Lynda Z. Kleiman, M.D. Jerry N. Shuster, M.D Kris-Ann S. Hum
sabella L. Herrera, M.D.
L. Shoss, M.D.
Spread by Sami Haddadin
NEWS BITES
Sankar Science Center: The Monthly Update
“Exciting times. If all goes according to schedule, we will have exterior walls up the first week in December.”
- Mr. Lawson, Head of School
The amount of money in billions that the James Bond films have grossed at the global box o ce. 7.6
This Month: By The Numbers
The number of monkeys that escaped from a South Carolina medical lab on Nov. 6. 43
212
The amount of money in millions in potential economic damage after fake Warhols, Banksys and Picassos were sold at an Italian art market.
Source: AP News
Saint On The Street: What Is Your Favorite Holiday Movie?
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” - Pierce Bryan, sophmore
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” - Mrs. Massey-Burmeister, social science teacher
“Home Alone” - Beckham Brunner, junior
Graphics by Caden Liu, Photos by Julia Hoskins
ELECTION T NSION
Article by Krish Gupta
Photo by Julia Hoskins
Tensions, polarization and the stakes of the nation’s future were at an all-time high. Democracy was on the line. As the clock ticked down, votes were counted. From immigration to the economy to climate change, the presidential candidates clashed until Donald Trump was declared victorious on Nov. 6.
In an attempt to foster political awareness and engage students in one of many important civic duties, this iconic battle was also mirrored on Trinity’s campus with a mock election organized by Voters Club, led by senior Amanda-Rose DeStefano and junior Nikhil Daniel.
“Mr. Lawson had said previously to me that he wanted something like that to happen on campus,” Assistant Head of Upper School Sebastiaan Blickman said. “I think it is an opportunity for kids to practice and learn about how to vote.”
is faux election was generally met with positive feedback, with students and faculty praising it as a meaningful learning experience that encouraged engagement.
“[ e mock election was] a great thing to do,” AP Government teacher Brandon Burmeister said. “I think it’s incredibly constructive and an incredibly valuable experience, and I think it went well.”
e results themselves, with Harris receiving 168 student votes in comparison to 109 for Trump, partially re ected local trends. However, the national election saw Trump’s victory, with discrepancies in surrounding counties.
“Orange County was overwhelmingly for Harris and so too was here at Trinity Prep,” Blickman said. “Seminole wasn’t, Osceola wasn’t [and] Polk wasn’t.”
Voter turnout, however, was almost identical, with Trinity’s turnout just 0.58% above the national turnout.
“ e voter turnout [was] mirrored almost perfectly,” Blickman said. “ e write-in candidates or the third-party candidates and their percentages [were] mirrored pretty well.”
With close to 158 million voters making their voices heard nationwide during the past few months, the election also highlighted deep divisions within the country.
“ e elections have been getting more divisive every cycle,” Burmeister said. “It was incredibly divisive, and I think that has to do with the candidates running ... Anytime Donald Trump is on a ballot, it’s polarizing.” is disagreement among Americans highlights not only increasingly di ering ideologies among political parties but also the growing in uence of social media on the election.
“Ultimately, what social media does as far as the dialogue is, it exacerbates the polarization of the American public,” Burmeister said.
It is no secret that social media has become one of the deciding factors in presidential elections including this one. Whether it’s TikTok, Instagram or Facebook, political candidates attempt to in uence the election results by using these platforms to reach younger voters.
“I feel like social media sways one way or another,” senior Wilder Judelson said. “I’ll be scrolling on TikTok and there’ll be a highlight reel of Donald Trump’s recent campaign ... It’s appealing to that younger generation, while the actual thing at stake is the economy and how the US is going to come together rather than separate.”
political sector also contributes to the spread of opinionated information.
“Social media has made it to the point where people that get most of their news on TikTok or X or Facebook are living in a di erent world than I’m living in,” Burmeister said. is transmission of biased content, in addition to students’ inadequate historical knowledge, hinders their abilities to base their decisions on factual information, further deepening political polarization.
“I think there’s a lack of basic historical understanding for many young voters about the cyclical nature of American elections,” Burmeister said. “Before people draw into the ideas of nationalism, isolation and integration, we need to take a step back and look at the history and the experiences that America had before with many of these same issues before we make an evaluated decision.”
However, courses such as AP Government assist students in better understanding these knowledge de cits and the election.
separate.”
Judelson’s decision to vote was also partially a social media platforms, with their pervasive nature playing a large role in shaping his perspective of the candidates and election.
“Social media de in uenced my decision [to vote],” Judelson said.
“[AP Government] has de nitely informed me about the policies at stake, the amendments and how this would change the economy in either way,” Judelson said. “I’ve never been that involved in politics until AP Government, so it’s introduced me to those things.”
Overall, education plays a key role in preparing students not only for future careers and lifestyles but also for participation in civic activities.
“All around the internet on TikTok and Instagram, you see advertisements and people posting bias toward one side.”
e prominence of these digital platforms in the
“At its core, schools were designed to prepare students for civic engagement [and] to be members of the civic society,” Blickman said. “We have a duty to teach them civics, government and to have them understand history [and] economics.”
ected by nitely
Senior Jake Hickok holds up the sticker he received after voting for the rst time.
SERVING UP SAFETY
The Grille commits to food safety among national outbreaks
Article by Sofia Haddadin
Photo by Julia Hoskins, Graphic by Caden Liu
A customer walks into a McDonald’s expecting to buy a Quarter Pounder for $6.39, but this simple burger ended up costing much more: their life.
are going to come from.”
In light of an increased push to ensure food safety, Metz Culinary Management, which oversees e Grille’s food service, has recently instituted new equipment to assist with accurate temperature monitoring. is addition includes a new $1,000 thermometer that automatically logs food temperatures periodically, giving the sta one less thing to worry about.
Don Scha ner, a professor of food science at Rutgers University, in an NBC article.
As of Nov. 5, an E. coli outbreak has a ected at least 90 McDonald’s customers, led to 27 hospitalizations and killed one after eating the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder, in which its prewashed, slivered, raw onions have been the culprit of spreading a deadly strain of the disease. Certain types of fresh produce have been affected across the country, including packaged salad greens, cantaloupe and other raw fruits and vegetables, which are at a higher risk of contamination.
e thermometer is scheduled to be installed
e Grille sta understands that E. coli is a particularly dangerous pathogen because of its very low infectious dose, taking only a few cells for someone to become very sick. Maintaining a safe temperature at 41 F or below for all refrigerated foods, including fruits, deli meats, cheeses and other raw products is essential to ensure food safety around the clock.
With an increased number of E. coli outbreaks tied to produce in the last 15 years, e Grille utilizes multiple methods to ensure incoming produce is free of contaminants.
“Fever, diarrhea and abdominal pain are the most common symptoms seen in these two pathogens,” said Dr. Christopher D. Cooper, infectious disease specialist. “Some patients with listeria can get meningitis, causing headaches, a sti neck and altered mental status.” is outbreak a ects more than just the fast-food industry. e Boar’s Head Listeria outbreak resulted in 59 hospitalizations, including 10 deaths across 19 states, a factory shutdown and a government investigation. From E. coli to Salmonella to Listeria, the food industry is going through a whirlwind of food saftey issues.
Amid the recent rise in outbreaks, food safety is a critical concern. As a result, Trinity Prep’s Grille sta has put new protocols in place to prevent health issues on campus. ey work diligently to ensure the quality of food provided to students, maintaining strict adherence to health protocols. One key way this is done is through continuously taking the temperature of, known as temping, foods.
“ e main thing is temping,” Grille Head Chef Chris Behrens said. “ at’s the most important and the rst thing the health problems
“We have a sink in the back, and it has the chemical wash for fruits and vegetables,” Behrens said. “So we use that with watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapples, apples and strawberries. We wash
Ensuring food safety also involves sta expertise and training. All Grille managers hold food handler certificates, emphasizing commitments to following safety procedures.
ly checked and logged temperatures throughout the day to maintain safe food standards for faculty and students, but this only applies to manipulated produce.
e Health Department does not require a temperature check for whole cherry tomatoes but does for sliced tomatoes since they are manipulated. Manipulation not only impacts temperature recording and logging but also opens up a pandora’s box of health issues.
“ e more manipulation you do, the more places there are for things to go wrong,” said
e certi cation e Grille’s consistent approach to handling, preparing and serving food to in a safe manner. Frequent informational emails sent out by e Metz Company regularly update e Grille sta on any supply changes or food safety concerns, prompting them to discard any contaminated batches before they are used.
“If there are recalls, I will take [batches] out,” Behrens said. “We’ve had one since I’ve been here in over seven years ... I had to throw away a case of romaine lettuce.”
Regardless of recent food safety scares, experts say not to stop eating all foods linked to outbreaks, but to be more mindful of what you eat and to stay up to date with news regarding food safety issues.
Letter by Miles Johnson
I write in response to the article “Language of Privilege” by Karl Loiseau, which appeared in e Trinity Voice. I am grateful to have been interviewed for this article and thankful it included a representation of my perspective; however, I found it necessary to address an incorrect portrayal of my statement.
My quote was, “It’s encouraging; it can also be upsetting for some people who may not share the hardship of the people that speak AAVE.” A quote, without showcasing the context in which it was spoken, has derailed the intention and in ection of my words that were to further a positive and teachable dialogue about AAVE.
AAVE is a dynamic, culturally eclectic dialect with a rich historical underpinning. What I tried to convey in the interview was uniqueness and the added value it brings about to language and culture, not blame or exclusion of those who engage in this variety. For the sake of clarity, what follows are my original responses to Karl Loiseau’s interview questions with the intent of giving a more comprehensive understanding of my perspective:
Why is AAVE so popular?
AAVE holds its own in terms of rhythmic quality, grammatical sophistication, and organic links to Black art forms like rap, hip-
RE: LANGUAGE OF PRIVILEGE
hop, and spoken word. It is not an anytime, anywhere language that happens; it is a form of creativity, identity, and strength. Its widespread appeal comes in the form of the language’s dynamism and expressiveness among other things which are vital to shaping mainstream culture.
Where have you seen AAVE used on campus or online?
I have seen AAVE in colloquial use among conversations, mostly through memes and social media trends. While some may not take the time to consider its cultural origin, that simply opens a door for an education in it. Learning the roots of AAVE and the context in which this language is used allows people to approach it in ways that are much more authentic and respectful.
Does AAVE usage by a non-Black person involve cultural appropriation?
In my head, it is a question of intent and context whether it falls into a category of cultural appropriation. Appreciative usage, while knowing the origin of it, can be a form of respect. Careless use, though-especially for pro t and trend-is risking cultural importance regarding AAVE.
What does that say to the Black community with non-Black usages of AAVE?
It re ects the huge popularity of Black culture but can be quite an emotional rollercoaster. Sure, it is great to see AAVE appreciated, but at the same time, it can be dispiriting when one nds its use lacking insight or acknowledgment of its cultural and historical origins.
AAVE itself is not a slang nor trend; it is born of the resilience of Black communities as a linguistic system. It emerged during slavery when African linguistic traditions mixed with English to form one powerful tool for cultural expression and identity.
It was linguists like Geneva Smitherman (“Talkin at Talk: Language, Culture, and Education in African America”) and William Labov (“Language in the Inner City: Studies in the Black English Vernacular”) who recognized its legitimacy as a rule-governed dialect and presented its historical and social importance. is letter should make my point of view clear and give readers a chance to discuss AAVE with thought and respect. I would be grateful for the opportunity to collaborate on further discussions, which can allow for a deeper understanding of this topic.
In an editorial last February, e Voice fought for something to be done about the “fundraising fatigue” on our campus. A semester later, the school, in classic Trinity fashion, has overachieved.
Student fundraisers have been almost entirely paused. e moratorium came in response to worry that fundraisers had become too frequent — practically every week — and lost their potency.
“As an institution, as tuition has become more expensive, the concern is that families and/or students [felt] compelled to participate in all of these events,” Head of Upper School Dr. Tracy Bonday said. “It [became] sort of a, for lack of a better phrase, nickel-and-diming of people.”
e scope of fundraising events is now limited to just those with an established history, such as the sophomore student council’s campaign for cancer awareness or the senior student council’s Canstruction. Going forward, the administration hopes students take a more service-based route.
“If we go back and look at our mission and our goals of what we want to educate students to be able to do when they leave here, there’s a reason to create a di erent level of exposure,” Bonday said. “What we deem [to be] service work … isn’t necessarily just ‘I get to come in jeans and pajama pants.’”
Of the fundraisers we still have, most include a competitive aspect, which is fun but does nothing to further service. In fact, this year’s cancer awareness week centered wholly on rubber ducks — a step down from previous years, when cash collection was bolstered by information about the cause.
By letting these somewhat gimmicky events slide on the basis of tradition, the school has created an unfair double standard. Furthermore, the lack of a clear policy confuses students about what is still on the table. Bonday, however, believes the nebulousness will help avoid unnecessary strife.
OUT OF SERVICE
Fundraiser pause hinders students’ ability to make a di erence
“ ere aren’t speci c criteria of why something would or wouldn’t [be allowed],” Bonday said. “I think we’re trying to not get in a situation where we’re constantly having to go, ‘ is one sounds good. is one doesn’t’ … I don’t think I want to be pitting student organizations against each other for that.”
Ambiguity does not solve con ict; it invites it. Flatly rejecting most fundraisers signals to students not that they must put more thought into how they serve, but that the service they are doing is unwelcome.
Senior Sallee Rosen is the vice president of the Florida Junior Classical League, a statewide organization for Latin students. In September, eight member schools across the state decided to host sock drives for homeless communities.
ough Rosen had the option to run the drive within Trinity’s Latin Club, she was prevented from taking it to the broader student body, shrinking her pool of possible donors tenfold.
“Every other school was able to do it except for our school,” Rosen said. “Putting a hard stop to the service we’re allowed to do … It just feels weird.”
Humanitarian projects like Rosen’s do not involve a direct transaction but are still discouraged under the blanket moratorium. In the school’s eyes, any e ort expecting students to donate results in undue pressure to contribute. Concern over families feeling slightly uncomfortable should not override concern for the less fortunate.
If a student sees a fundraiser happening and feels compelled to help, it does not mean the organizers have done something wrong. Rather, it means they are living out Trinity’s mission statement by being an “ethical, resilient leader” who “sel essly shar[es] the best of themselves.”
“[ e moratorium] comes across as not trusting the student body to … help out the community,” sophomore and treasurer for Trinity’s UNICEF Club Everest Lochbryn said. “I think it prevents a lot of good from being achieved [and] a lot of money [from] being raised for good causes.”
e administration worries for our education’s sake, too: Families could be less likely to
give directly to the school if they continue giving to individual causes.
“Trinity itself is a nonpro t organization that has needs to fundraise as well in order to support our programs and our new buildings,” Bonday said. “Constantly having students going out and supporting their organizations potentially has implications on the school’s ability to do larger-scale fundraising on behalf of our own needs.”
It is indeed important for the school to support its own endeavors, but we cannot use that as an excuse to step away from service. Enhancing our facilities and helping the underprivileged are not incompatible. Instead of choosing between them, we should be grateful that we are in a position to donate at all.
Despite these misdirected priorities, Trinity has worked hard to provide school-sponsored service occasions. Just last month, the Sophomore Day of Service yielded 25,000 packaged meals for the hungry. at is a great start, but one day of forced service means little if not followed through with contributions students are truly passionate about.
Some students have found great ways to involve our community more directly than donating. For example, Voters Club has made a tangible impact by fostering civic engagement through voter registration drives and political discourse. e middle school Builders Club has for years worked on individualized holiday gift baskets for families in need.
e administration should work harder to highlight these successes as viable fundraising alternatives. At the same time, they must understand that such e orts require resources not immediately available to everyone. If a dayslong competition or o -campus event is not feasible, a simple sock drive still helps. Any effort to serve the community is commendable, and students should never feel otherwise.
Fundraising fatigue is a real problem. So let’s ght the fatigue — not the fundraisers.
e lead editorial expresses the opinion of the Trinity Voice editorial sta . Please send commentstovoice@trinityprep.org.
TEACHER TIMELINE
Article by Fay Zhao
Mrs. Ann Skippers
When we have a question, we often turn to our teachers as a source of thought and inspiration. While they seem to exude knowledge in their subject and life, they were once our age and discovering the world. Ever wonder who their inspirations were?
Here are five teachers and how they found their passion in teaching:
For eighth grade English teacher Ann Skippers, it was at 8 years old in Mrs. Beverly Goldstein’s classroom when she decided she wanted to teach. Goldstein always found a way to keep her engaged despite Skippers being often ahead of the curriculum. When Skippers reflects on why she became a teacher, she always looks back to Goldstein.
Skippers, 22 years old student teacher, is surrounded by her class in December of 1992.
Mr. Thomas Berry
“It was a moment when I was sitting at my desk,” Skippers said. “It was 1978, [Goldstein’s] desk was up at the front of the blackboard. I was looking at her desk and thought I wanted to make someone feel the way she made me feel. I wanted to honor what she did by doing what she did … She gave me this love of being in school that ebbed and flowed.”
In becoming a living legacy of Goldstein, Skippers fell in love with teaching and the synergy that occurs behind the discussions and interactions in a classroom.
“My drive is to teach students how to learn and what to learn, regardless of the subject,” Skippers said. “It is more important to always be curious, and always embrace the learning process and understand how your individual brain works.”
Berry comes from generations of teachers: his grandmother taught Latin and history, his parents math and his sister chemistry. His mother ignored her mother’s advice of not becoming a teacher, and he followed suit. After all, Berry’s best memories were at school.
“From the time I was 5 years old, I spent every minute of every day at the school and just loved it,” Berry said. “It was a pretty small school, but I had 300 big brothers and sisters.”
Berry was working on his math Ph.D. when he realized that the main thing he loved about graduate school was the intro calculus classes he taught to teenagers. He found exitement in working with students.
“Every day is different and exciting,” Berry said. “Everybody’s always thinking about the future … Life can get stagnant for a lot of people and that never happens in schools. ere’s always motion.”
Most of all, Berry was drawn to the relationships he developed with colleagues and students, some dating back to the ‘90s. One student in particular from Berry’s very first class kept in contact with life updates, despite never liking math.
“She always loved writing, and even though I’ve never been an English teacher, she started sending me things that she was writing,” Berry said. “And so I ended up helping edit two or three of her first published books. [I was] able to help her even 15 years after, knowing that she would come to me for help in finding what she really wanted to do with her life.”
at student was Brigid Kemmerer, now a five-times New York Times bestseller for Fantasy Young Adult novels including “A Curse so Dark and Lonely” — a past summer reading book for eighth grade. It is relationships like these, coupled with the school atmosphere, that keeps Berry coming back.
Graphic by Fay Zhao & photos courtesy of Ann Skippers, Thomas Berry, Gregory Wedel, Romina Jannotti
On the left is Berry in costume for a play in 1988 and the right is Berry posing for his 9th grade cross country picture.
Five teachers tell their origin story
Mr. Gregory Wedel
Unlike Berry, social science teacher Gregory Wedel did not originally plan to be a teacher. Although he always loved to read history and literature, he was pursuing a pharmacy major in college before changing to a double major in history and English. During that time, Wedel was soundmixing for a Christian band called “Blanket” with their guitarist and songwriter who eventually earned a couple of Grammys for mixing Taylor Swift’s first three albums. ey also won the Gospel Music Association’s Talent Search for the Southeast. Although teaching initially supplemented his band work, his passion for history and teaching remained constant even after their disassembling.
“It is a love of content, but that’s also a combination of a love of teaching, sharing that knowledge and those intrinsic rewards you can get from students,” Wedel said. “It also keeps me young. I have found I’ve been maximizing my aura this year.”
Wedel poses with two of his former students on their graduation day.
Mr. Kyle McGimsey
Latin teacher Kyle McGimsey always had a love for linguistics, from mastering Latin since he was young, to self-teaching himself Greek and even learning Sanskrit and the Gothic language. McGimsey also had a passion for Taekwondo. When middle school football did not work out, he found the perseverance behind mastering Taekwondo moves to be incredibly fufilling. Although Taekwondo taught him the harsh realities of failure (some wooden boards just can’t seem to break), when he became an assistant instructor at his local Taekwondo gym as a high schooler, this sport also revealed another passion: teaching.
“ at really opened my eyes to the fact that I enjoyed showing people how to do something,” McGimsey said. “I found it rewarding when people hit a milestone. I found it really joyful ... I made the decision of combin[ing] those two things and go into teaching.”
With the combination of these two passions, McGimsey transferred the skills he learned from teaching the hook kick to translating Caesar’s courageous battles. In taking the chance on a random opportunity, McGimsey found the career perfectly suited for him.
“It’s a perfect storm of both, because I do enjoy the teaching, it really wouldn’t matter what it is, but I enjoy the topic so much that I think those two things combined somehow [make] the sum of those things bigger than the parts.”
Science Department Chair Dr. Romina Jannotti did not discover her love for her subject until college. After completing her Ph.D. in molecular pharmacology, Jannotti took a break from her research with radioactive and neurotoxic chemicals and returned to also her favorite part of graduate school: teaching.
“I enjoy seeing little light bulbs blinker on, and I love when someone asks me a question about how this applies to my daily life,” Jannotti said.
rough teaching AP Chemistry to inexperienced sophomores to her time as adjunct biology professor at Keiser University, Jannotti wanted to foster a learning environment of curiosity — one which she lacked in her own high school experience. She found that she was able to create an exponential effect in shaping young minds, something that research could never do.
“A couple of years ago, I was in an American Chemical Society meeting, and a guy tapped me on the shoulder, and it was an ex-student of mine who was now a chemistry professor at UC Seattle,” Jannotti said. “ at’s the stuff that drives you like, ‘okay I’ve had an impact on someone.’”
Jannotti’s main drive is to impact society as a whole through her role as an facilitator of science.
“All citizens and consumers need to be well versed in [science],” Jannotti said. “ at’s what keeps me coming back into the classroom because I know that it’s not just the teaching part. I have an impact on how people function in society.”
Although these teachers pursued different passions and followed different paths, each of these them arrived at the same destination: a passion in profession, education and people, uniting in a central message for a love for what they do.
“Try it all,” Jannotti said. “Don’t be afraid to fail. I failed chemistry when I was in high school. Just because it doesn’t sink in the first time, doesn’t mean that you won’t find someone else down the road who speaks to you at a different frequency that will make sense … Don’t give up. Do things that seem like [you] in your heart.”
15-year-old Jannotti
Dr. Romina Jannotti
In the photo, McGimsey talks about his Latin class in a 2014 interview at school.
dissected her first cat in anatomy class.
NEW TRENDS, NEW SPENDS
Article by Taylor Gri th
Photo by Jackson Napier
As sophomore Ilaria Bali scrolls through her TikTok page, she sees the influencers promoting a new lip product called Summer Fridays. Even after having more than 10 lip products, she excitedly goes to Sephora to purchase the new one.
“I usually get a new lip product when it comes out and I buy it right away if there are good reviews on it,” Bali said.
According to website Zero Waste Week, 120 billion units of beauty packaging made from paper, plastic, glass and metals become waste.
e influence from other popular celebrities has make the overconsumption of beauty products grow. Lip products are not the only thing that is facing a popular demand, makeup and skincare products continue to grow. As the influencers push their products onto social media, younger kids become influenced to buy these. Young kids try to be in the current trend and the ones that are not get the feeling of being left out.
makeup, and most of them are from Drunk Elephant,” Mogallapu said.
People buy these products because of the trend that is introduced, but once this trend dies down the product becomes unused.
“Sometimes I don’t use a lot of my products and they really are just for looks,” Mogallapu said.
Not only are excessive makeup and skincare products wasteful, but other trending items
to climate change and environmental degradation. e sustainable aspect of using water bottles is not effective when they are highly manufactured to meet the demands of overconsumers. However, there can be reasons why people buy more than one water bottle.
“I use them in rotation based on which one goes best with my outfit,” Earl said.
As trends change and new products gain popularity,old products are left unused. Hydroflask was extremely popular in past years but now has lost its luster, leaving old water bottles to waste as collectors move on to new trends. e unnecessary buying of products, such as the Owala can lead to an impact on you and the environment. Water bottles are supposed to help the environment by being an alternative to plastic water bottles, but now these metal water bottles are creating new issues.
Freshman Anjali Mogallapu has been obsessed with skincare and makeup products since she was a young teenager.
“I became obsessed with makeup and skincare because when I was younger I used to watch YouTube tutorials and wanted to follow them,” Mogallapu said.
According to the website Resolve, social media is catering these brands towards younger age groups like those from 10-12 years old, making this follow them as they get older. Brands push these products towards the younger age groups because they know that they will be buying them. Drunk Elephant, a popular skincare and makeup brand, is one of the brands that has been trending leading to this overconsumption.
“I have about 15 products of skincare and
prompt overconsumption in young people. Owala water bottles became a popular product with teens as they blew up on TikTok. As these water bottles grew in popularity, people began to buy multiple at a time.
“I have a huge obsession with Owala’s because they are so colorful and they look really nice,” sophomore Bella Earl said “I bought my first one last year when I saw how viral they went on TikTok.”
Although water bottles encourage sustainable practices, buying excessive amounts can have the opposite effect.
According to NBC News, metal water bottles emit greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss and pollution. ese categories lead
According to website Jack Central, suppliers are making too many of the same water bottle to keep up with the market and these high manufacturing increases more carbon emissions. Instead of buying multiple of the same popular water bottle, using one or two reusable ones is more beneficial for the environment. Overconsumption leads to many negative impacts on the environment but can be changed if people are able to limit the amount of products they buy.
“A lot of people get influenced by people to buy these products, and I do too but people have to be aware of what they are buying and not just doing it to be trendy,” Mogallapu said.
Sophomore Ilaria Bali uses multiple lip products a day, including the trending Summer Fridays.
Article by Mia Prince
Graphic by Maxi de la Fuente
Fandoms aren’t just fan groups but become a place where people can create and show off their talents. Junior Chloe Nieves Ramos created a dance group called Charisma Crew, where they do covers of K-pop songs and submit their dances to competitions. Doing this gave her a secure group of friends that she could always depend on. It created a group of people she could always rely on. Not only did this group give her friendships but it also gave her a chance to create and choreograph her own dances as well as edit dance videos to enter into dance competitions. All her friends and dance group all stemmed from fandoms.
Fandoms are art forms for many and are a way to express passions and portray them in a new light. We are so used to seeing art in a painting or a drawing but for many it is expressed in a collage or page about a show or artist.
“I do follow a fan page of Zach Bryan called Zach Bryan archives,” sophomore Victoria Moore said. “I like how Zach Bryan and Megan Moroney’s songs tell a story and display emotion or situations that I can relate to and I can connect to others who agree with me through the fan pages.”
Fandoms are a way that people can connect and share common interests, allowing them to form new friendships and feel as if they are a part of something. Many times people feel isolated and alone but creating a platform online builds a community where people can connect and form friendships.
“ ey’ve helped me so much, through so many struggles, they’re my best friends genuinely so when people judge that from an out-
FASCINATED BY FANDOMS
side perspective it looks really shallow on their part because in reality they don’t know much about the inner workings of that fandom,” Nieves Ramos said.
Tumblr is a popular social media platform that is used for fandoms. e platform allows followers to see what is trending and what might interest you or see other people’s posts and feelings on topics that interest others.
“What I like about the fan page is I can see the news about [Zach Bryan] and any recent updates,” Moore said. “I also enjoy seeing the stories of his content and sometimes there are also leaked songs that come out and get”
Another practice that can unite fans is merchandise. e creation and sales of merchandise allows people to have a physical sense of their fandom.
K-pop groups have albums which contain CD’s in them that have small cards within them that are trading cards or used as collector items. It is similar to baseball cards except for a player it is an idol on the card.
Not only do fandoms unite people but at times they can also help advocate for social or political change. Social media is often used to promote political changes people want to see, but fandoms can be another way. A majority of the time, people in the same fandom have similar views and can use that fandom as an example of change.
“I also think that artists can influence changes around the world and issues that are also relevant to me and topics that they can have a positive change in is always exciting to me,” Moore said. “I like knowing someone I enjoy listening to and watching perform has
the power to make such a big change.”
A big example of influences that social media had with fans is through the popular franchise Star Wars.
Despite the positive social and political impacts fandoms can have, they can sometimes prompt toxic behavior.
Star Wars fans objected to an Asian-American woman in the Star Wars universe. Kelly Marie Tran was bombarded by sexist and misogynist social media messages. Fandoms created a rally in 2018 called #RallyforRose to spread awareness about allowing Asian Americans to play leads in big franchise movies.
For many, this is the only way they feel they can get their voices heard. ose who are sometimes hidden by the shadows now have a way to express their feelings and suggestions in the world. Fandoms also have the power to get the word out about different causes to donate to.
“A lot of idols start campaigns for mental health, where they donate to a lot of organizations and they publicize that people should donate,” Nieves Ramos said.
Recently the idol named Kevin from the boys, is a Korean Canadian and he recently spoke out about the election and used his platform to get his message out to his fans.
According to the website, Pop Culture, “Fans spend their time developing, experiencing and advocating for alternative worlds. Who better to initiate change for a better society than those who spend a great deal of time reimagining worlds.”
A NEW ZYNSATION
Nicotine pouches gain popularity among teens
Article by Gustavo Membreno
Graphic by Natalie Baron
A small white pouch tucked discreetly in the upper lip has become the latest concern for parents and educators across America. ZYN, a smokeless nicotine product, is rapidly gaining popularity among teenagers while ying under the radar of most adults. Unlike the visible clouds of e-cigarettes or the telltale scent of traditional tobacco, this new nicotine delivery system is virtually undetectable– and that’s exactly what has health experts worried.
“Zyn uencers” make videos and posts about ZYN on TikTok and YouTube and talk about it on podcasts, often reaching millions of young followers.
e ZYN Phenomenon in High Schools
Health Concerns for Teens
Health professionals are concerned about its impact on developing young brains. Although ZYN may help smokers quit, the risks posed are on the same level. e University of Nebraska Medicine reported nicotine use during adolescence has been shown to impact learning, attention span and proneness to addiction.
e tobacco-free nicotine pouch ZYN is the agship product of a multinational tobacco giant, raking in billions and reshaping the future of smoking as we know it. e pouches come in avors like mint, co ee and “Mango Tango.” ey are typically sold in tin packs of 15 units and vary in strength from 3 to 6 milligrams of nicotine.
e rise of ZYN has not gone unnoticed in high schools across the country. According to its parent company, ZYN was originally intended as a smokeless nicotine replacement for adults 21 and older. However, its social media presence has launched uno cial
According to a meta-analysis of the nicotine pouch market, the global industry was valued at $5.4 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $119.2 billion by the end of 2034.
e FDA and CDC recently released data from the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) on youth tobacco use. Nicotine addiction among minors has been rising in alarming numbers since 2021– the rst year that questions on nicotine pouches were added to the survey. While e-cigarette use has shown a decline among teens, the number of middle and high school students who reported in the survey having used nicotine pouches in the last 30 days has signi cantly increased from 0.8% in 2021 to 1.8% in 2024.
It is easy to point the nger at Swedish Match, the Stockholm-based tobacco manufacturer of ZYN. We could also blame Philip Morris International who acquired it in 2022. However, the true culprits of this new Zynsation are “Zyn uencers,” social media users who promote ZYN products on their platforms.
“I’ll sometimes see Zyn uencers on Reels that advertise their favorite ZYN avors, even though I’m obviously under 21,” junior Olliver Polsinelli said.
marketing campaigns for underage users.
“Nicotine can a ect brain development in teenagers, potentially leading to long-term cognitive issues,” said Anesthesiologist Dr. Virgil Sanchez from HCA Florida Osceola Hospital. “It’s also highly addictive, which is particularly dangerous for young people.”
“I’ve seen people using ZYN in the bathroom, even which may in
during sports practice,” Polsinelli said.
“It’s so small that teachers don’t notice.”
e rise of ZYN has created new challenges for school administrators enforcing disciplinary policies. While the student handbook prohibits “drugs, alcohol, tobacco products, etc,” ZYN products are technically tobacco free but are derived from tobacco leaves which makes the classi cation muddled for disciplinary infractions.
Enforcement is particularly challenging due to ZYN’s discrete nature. Schools have implemented measures like cracking down on gum usage, as gum packets can be used to conceal ZYN. However, it’s di cult to catch individual usage.
“ ere are no visible changes really,” Assistant Head of School Sebastiaan Blickman said. “You don’t get the red eyes, the sleepiness, or manic behavior.”
Moreover, recent studies show that longterm use of nicotine pouches may lead to oral tissue decay which can increase the risk of oral cancer. Participants in these studies also experienced gum recession exposing the roots of their teeth.
Looking ahead
As ZYN continues to gain popularity, it’s crucial for students to stay informed about the risks associated.
“It’s easy to think ZYN isn’t a big deal because it’s not as obvious as smoking,” Polsinelli said. “But anything that can mess with your brain and health isn’t worth it. ere are better ways to deal with stress or t in.”
With school policies still catching up to this new nicotine trend and social media continuing to fuel its popularity, the ZYN phenomenon shows no signs of slowing down.
“Unfortunately, you guys are like the test subjects for pretty much all these products,” Blickman said. “Kids get targeted with the most media, the most in uencer content, the most suggestive ads.”
e question remains whether awareness of its health risks will be enough to counter its growing appeal among young users. For now, students like Polsinelli continue to see its presence in their daily lives, a reminder that the next generation of nicotine products doesn’t need smoke to spark concern.
WHEN ‘T S THE SEASON
Finding the perfect time to Deck the Halls
Article by Lila Choudry
Photo by Eden Kiger
As the air cools and leaves turn crisp, many holiday lovers find themselves facing a festive dilemma: finding the perfect time to decorate for Christmas. Some families lean toward an earlier start, eager to bask in the festive glow for as long as possible, while others prefer to wait until closer to the holiday, cherishing the anticipation. Each perspective brings its own joy and traditions, reflecting the diverse ways we choose to celebrate the season.
Ultimately, the timing of holiday decorating is a deeply personal choice, shaped by traditions and the unique ways families embrace the season. But, for those who favor an early start, the holiday spirit begins right after Halloween.
“Normally, we start decorating around November 1st,” said freshman Madison White, an advocate for early decorating. “Decorating for Christmas makes me happy, so I love to start the Christmas season right away.” is eagerness that extends beyond aesthetics reflects a desire to stretch out the joy of Christmas, allowing the festive spirit to permeate early decorators’ lives well before the holiday rush.
e anticipation of Christmas fills many people with excitement, and each early decoration acts as a countdown to the joy to come.
“I believe that decorating earlier lengthens the season, making me happier overall,” White said.
“If you leave your decorations up for too long, it loses its importance,” Matusiak said.
For them, a cherished part of the Christmas decorating experience is being able to decorate together as a family.
While both sides agree on its powerful influence, opinions differ on whether this impact is ultimately beneficial or overwhelming.
Early decorators, like White, often feel it’s a positive force.
Freshman Madison White’s beautifully decorated tree brings her family early holiday cheer when they decorate as early as one week after Halloween. Not all families decorate for the holidays as early as the Whites, opting to wait until after anksgiving.
On the other hand, those who prefer to wait until after anksgiving argue that delaying decorations enhances the distinct specialty of the holiday season.
Freshman and supporter of late decorating Sophie Matusiak suggested that anticipation adds to the magic of the holidays.
“ anksgiving time is when my siblings are back from college, so we can all decorate together as a family,” Matusiak said.
Social media plays a significant role in shaping decorating habits, driving trends and inspiring individuals to transform their spaces.
“It encourages people to start celebrating and get in the holiday spirit,” White said.
In contrast, late decorators worry that early exposure to holiday decorations can diminish the excitement as the season approaches. Seeing homes and public spaces decked out well before the holidays can lead to a sense of fatigue or make the actual celebration feel anticlimactic. ey argue that pacing the process preserves the anticipation and ensures the holiday retains its signature charm.
“By the time Christmas rolls around, I don’t feel the joy anymore,” Matusiak said.
Whether you prefer to adorn your home early in November or wait until just before Christmas, the goal remains the same: to cultivate an atmosphere filled with warmth, joy and connection.
“Although we decorate early, we can add to it throughout the season and enjoy it even more!” White said. is sentiment captures the essence of the holidays — each moment is an opportunity to enhance the experience, creating lasting memories that brighten the season.
It’s not about when the decorations go up; it’s about the memories made around them. Each ornament hung and the strings of lights draped serve as a reminder that the heart of the season lies in shared moments — cozy nights, laughter and traditions that bring us together. So, whenever your tree goes up, let it be a backdrop for all the joy that comes from being together and celebrating the little things that make this time of year so special. time
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS?
Travelling locally is still a joyful time this holiday season
Article by Julia Wu
Graphic by Caden Liu
When the holiday season pops up in your mind, you might think of powdery snow and cozy replaces. Although there are more swimming pools than replaces here, the sunshine state is a very merry place to travel. So, bring your sunglasses and SPF to visit these local sites to celebrate the holday season Florida-style!
Zipline at the Canyons
Erica Keckley, substitute teacher and owner of the Wildlife and Waters travel agency recommends visiting e Canyons to enjoy the adrenaline rush zipping down from 1,100 feet above ground.
Cozy up at Gaylord Palms Experience, ICE!
Gaylord Palms Experience, ICE!, has unbelievable artistry with over 40 world renowned sculptors carving a winter wonderland into ice. Zoom through this year’s Elf theme in chilly tunnels with Buddy the elf!
Explore White Sand Beaches at Longboat Key
Eighth grader Molly Johnson gets needed relaxation in Longboat Key, a small island west of Sarasota. Here, you can explore adorable towns and beaches before visiting the tree lighting at the town center.
PLAYDATES TO PAYDAYS
MS student rakes in steady income as a babysitter
Article by Avani Suri
Photo courtesy of Maggie Rose Zissman
While most eighth graders spend their weekends and holidays hanging out with friends or relaxing, Maggie Rose Zissman is busy earning up to $1,000 a week through babysitting while she also balances her a growing career as a brand ambassador.
Maggie began babysitting after she became closer to the younger kids at her previous school, e Jewish Academy of Orlando. Since then, she has had a significant salary as a teenager, gained valuable life skills and even had the opportunity to travel while babysitting with the families she helps.
“I found a good connection with a few of them, and they kept saying, ‘Maggie, can you please babysit me?’” Maggie said.
While taking care of a 5-year-old and a 7-year-old, she quickly discovered that being a babysitter involved more than just playing games and hanging out.
“It’s really a sense of responsibility because parents trust me with their kids,” Maggie said. “ ey’re not just like a little toy, they’re a person that needs to be cared for.”
Her parents, Heidi Zissman and David Zissman, are proud of how much she has learned through babysitting.
and it is usually a week long so there I would make $1,000 in just one week.”
Financial freedom is one of the main advantages of babysitting. Maggie and other teenage babysitters frequently have lower fees than
Maggie said. “It was in the middle of winter and it was snowing and all of that and I had never been in snow before, so it was a new experience for me.”
Whether it’s a fast weekend trip or a family vacation, Maggie enjoys the chance to connect with the children she looks after while making money and experiencing things she otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to.
“When she gets her money, she’s not just going out and spending it all on whatever,” Mr. Zissman said. “She’s saving a lot of it and wants to at some point buy a car. It just shows a sense of maturity that’s preparing her for the future.”
In November 2023, eighth grader Maggie Rose Zissman traveled to San Diego with the family she often babysits for.
older ones, which make them desirable choices for families.
Beyond babysitting, Maggie has shown an entrepreneurial spirit by pursuing brand partnerships with Bubble, a skincare company. is partnership has allowed her to further develop her abilities and expand on her leadership.
“In February, my friend and I created a ‘Get Ready With Me’ account on TikTok [where we did our skincare and makeup and getting ready for the day] … Bubble reached out and o ered me the opportunity to become a brand ambassador,” Maggie said.
Maggie is already beginning to develop a large variety of abilities that will be useful to her in the future. Babysitting and marketing have taught Maggie a lot about responsibility, problem-solving and communication.
For Maggie, it’s not just about earning money — it’s about taking care of the kids and showing leadership. In the process, she has also learned the nancial aspect of babysitting.
“My monthly earnings uctuate depending on how much or little I babysit that month,” Maggie said. “I charge $15 per hour and on average generate approximately $300 per month, but it can sometimes range between $250 and $1,000. When I’m on vacation with family [I babysit for], I charge $200 per day,
While Maggie is making $15 per hour, the average rate of an experienced babysitter is $20 per hour, according to Sittercity, a website about the average cost of babysitters per hour in certain areas.
Maggie’s hard work has paid o with more than just extra cash. Maggie has traveled with the families while babysitting, including trips to Utah and San Diego as well as an upcoming trip on a cruise during winter break.
“I was there for a week for both [trips],”
“Babysitting teaches you so many things that you can implement into a real job in the future, including cleaning up after people, cooking food and learning how to communicate with other people that are both older and younger than you,” wrote Mallory Reid in the article “Why Babysitting is the Best Job to Have as a Teen.”
is expands on the idea that Maggie can bene t from these important lessons in her future professional career.
“[Babysitting] is really good practice to manage my time and learn those skills at such a young age,” Maggie said. “So then when I’m older and more in my future, I’ll have those skills locked down.”
A NEW GENERATION OF CLUBS
Article by Sammy Lou
Graphic by Natalie Baron
Investing, fashion, origami, dance — there’s a club for that. Decades ago, schools dictated the kinds of clubs that were available for students to join. Most every school had the usual set: math club, chess club and Key Club to name a few. Now, schools — from middle schools to universities — are seeing a whole new range of student-created clubs that cover even the most niche interests.
e new variety can be seen clearly in college clubs. Cornell University boasts over 1000 student-led clubs, including some unusual ones like the Squirrel Watchers Club and even the Squirrel Watchers Watchers Club. Noted for its student involvement, e Ohio State University has over 1400 student-led clubs and organizations, offering everything from a breakdancing club to a cats and crafts club.
Trinity has 56 upper school clubs, which is impressive given the relatively small student population. e school has encouraged its students to further their passions through clubs and makes it easy for them to start one. Senior Yussuf Chakfe has noticed that Trinity’s variety of club offerings has grown over his five years at Trinity.
“ ere’s definitely a lot more clubs,” Chakfe said. “I think that’s a good thing. ere’s also clubs that I wouldn’t expect to exist, which I think is cool, like their concept is a little more niche. So I think that garners more and caters more to everyone.”
Students are also using the opportunity to create clubs that have personal meaning to them.
“I’m just going to use the autoimmune club as an example,” Chakfe said. “My sister has an autoimmune disease, which is not extremely common. So I wouldn’t expect that to be a club, but that is a club. So I just feel like everyone can find a club that relates to them or that’s meaningful to them.”
Director of Student Activities Sebastiaan Blickman is impressed by the service and giving aspect of some of Trinity’s new clubs.
more and bike with my friends and just share biking with everyone,” Chakfe said. e creation of so many new clubs does result in some overlap. Another downside to having a lot of clubs is that they have to compete with one another for members and program coverage. Senior Adi Burgos has encountered some new challenges as the president of Key Club.
“It’s a little bit frustrating to try and plan events when there’s so many clubs happening, because it takes away opportunities from pre-established clubs,” Burgos said. “ e voter registration drive used to be something Key Club would do, but now there’s a voter club that does it.”
Many students have started their own club to pursue their special interests and passions. Junior Jack Borgman co-founded the Game Development Club when he realized that one did not already exist.
“[My co-founder and I] just saw that there wasn’t really a club towards game development, which is an interest that we both share,” Borgman said. “ ere was a general programming club that was more for tutoring and that sort of stuff. So ours is more of a niche that we just enjoy a lot.”
most impressed with or excited about is the Happiness Project,” Blickman said. “[ e founder’s] goal is to spread happiness, and I didn’t really know how that was going to work, but the way the club runs is really, really tight and fun. And then I would also say the middle school mentorship is really great. ey work really closely with Ms. Smith to try to develop mentors for the middle school.”
Clubs are even expanding beyond academic and community service themes. Several students have started non-academic clubs to bond over a fun activity. One such club is Chakfe’s Biking Club, which he started with his friends.
Blickman sees both sides and hopes to help students navigate this new landscape of student clubs.
“ e rationale is that if there are people who are passionate about an area, to give them the platform to explore that is a win,” Blickman said. “But you’ve got one side that really wants to keep the traditional [and] one side that wants the uniqueness and the opportunity to create their own … We’re trying to explore what’s the best way for clubs to exist for the development of our student leaders and also for our school, community and culture.”
“I love that at Trinity, you’re able to do something that you’re passionate about, and if your passion can be furthered by starting a club, then you can go ahead and do it,” Burgos said. “ ere’s no one holding you back. I think that’s super cool.” “ e one that I’m
“Biking club gives me an excuse to bike
Still, the overall consensus about the increase in club variety seems to be positive. Despite the challenges, Burgos views the creation of clubs as a valuable opportunity for all high schoolers.
MO’ MONEY, MO’ (CORRECT) PROBLEMS
Students from a uent families tend to have higher standardized test scores
Article by Emily Lopez
Graphic by Caden Liu
Standardized test scores re ect three things for a student: natural talent, dedication and how much money their parents make. But unfortunately for students all over the world, socioeconomic status is not a choice.
While standardized test scores may be bene cial in indicating a student’s knowledge or ability, they also highlight disparities in resources and opportunities. A study conducted by Opportunity Insights at Harvard University found that children from the wealthiest 1% of American families were 13 times more likely than the children of low-income families to score 1300 or higher on SAT/ACT tests. is issue is becoming more prevalent as many colleges and universities are moving away from the test-optional policies that were adopted during COVID-19.
According to the College Board, the U.S. and 85 other countries use students’ SAT scores as a determining factor in admissions decisions. Director of College Counseling Christine Grover believes that there are better indicators such as the students’ academic record for how well they will do at a particular college.
“How [the student] has done in high school is the best indicator of how they will do in college as opposed to one test, one time, one day,” Grover said. “If you instead look at that student’s high school transcript, it will show years of data of how well they have been doing.”
Many students feel pressure to earn perfect or near-perfect scores on the SAT and ACT, which is often impossible without access to the right resources and the time to take advantage of said resources.
“Standardized tests cannot be gamed quite as easily as many people think,” SAT and ACT tutor Tim McDermott said. “Students still need to be willing to dedicate time and e ort to learning the material in order to reach their optimal scores.”
Organizations like Khan Academy are atempting to bridge the socioeconomic gap that impacts standardized test scores. Research conducted by the College Board shows that
students who studied for 20 hours with the free O cial SAT Practice on Khan Academy achieved an average score gain of 115 points.
Although this resource has been proven to be helpful, one-on-one tu toring is often signi cantly more bene cial than testprep resources that are made available to the general public, but it is also much more expen sive.
“Because tutors understand not just the content but also the format of the test, they can ad vise their students on strategies on time management and develop study plans tailored to students’ individual needs,” McDermott said.
Not only are students impacted by the availability of test prep, but other, less conspicuous factors can play a major role. For example, students from a uent families typically have highly educated parents who understand the value of higher education and who themselves attended prestigious colleges and universities.
“Parents [of wealthier families] are often more knowledgeable about the admissions process and are less constrained by nancial factors.” McDermott said.
ese parents are typically able to allocate funds for multiple test retakes, which is proven to improve students’ test scores. A study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that on average, students’ scores improved by 90 points when they retook the SAT. While it is evident that retaking standardized tests like the SAT and ACT are bene cial, it can be expensive — around $60 — per retake. Many parents are not able to a ord for their children to take the tests more than once, limiting their opportunities.
ey is not the only factor that can a ect a student’s performance. Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds may have familial commitments that limit the time they are able to dedicate to their academics.
“If you’re a student that needs to work after school to feed your family or go home to take care of all of your siblings, because both of your parents are working, you’re not going to have the hours and the accessibility to prepare in the way you might need to,” Grover said. ese socioeconomic factors greatly in uence students’ performance on standardized tests, which in turn a ects their college admissions opportunities.
“ e advantage of higher socioeconomic status is not merely a matter of nances but also of awareness, support and connections,” McDermott said.
ANTARCTICA SN W MORE
Rising temperatures contribute to Antarctica’s greening landscape
Article by Aarav Gupta
Graphics by Caden Liu
e population of Antarctica has just exceeded 100 million residents. Its climate has practically been converted into a tropical paradise. What was once known for its white crisp snow, intense winds, icy sheets and deserted lands is practically unrecognizable today. It’s a place to vacation, watch the sun illuminate the sky and gaze at the crystal blue oceans. It’s paradise like no other, but at what cost?
Recent satellite images have shown a complete transformation of the world’s coldest continent. According to a study by scientists at the universities of Exeter and Hertfordshire in England and the British Antarctic Survey, plant life has increased more than tenfold in the past decade. Vegetation covered less than 0.4 square miles of Antarctica in 1986 but reached almost 5 square miles in 2021 — just over three decades later. Another study by the World Economic Forum found that 150 billion tons of glacier are being lost annually.
Not only does Antarctica’s rising temperatures a ect its landscape but also plays a role in biodiversity and albedo, a measure of the re ection of solar energy from the surface of the earth. As albedo increases, the climate becomes cooler as more sunlight is re ected.
“ e melting of the ice caps … dilutes the saltwater concentration in the oceans,” science teacher Emily Massey-Burmeister said. “Another thing that is altered is the fact that having massive expanses of a lighter color on the pole region causes this phenomenon called
makes cavities and when that water comes out, it’s going to increase sea levels,” science teacher Scottie Smith said. “Antarctica is the whole circumpolar portion of the southern seas and that’s going to be a signi cant problem because the water in the seas spins.”
e direct exposure to sunlight has a ected the rate of Antarctica’s rapid melting, including the melting of permafrost.
“Permafrost and partially frozen ground that thaws out has pockets of air trapped in it,” Massey-Burmeister said. “Releasing the CO2 and those other greenhouse gasses causes even more warming.”
e melting of ice also contributes to the growth of vegetation where lush beds of green moss grow abundantly.
“Permafrost can hinder the ability for some things to set into those ecosystems,” Massey-Burmeister said. “Not having frozen ground is going to allow things to root in better into the system.”
Similarly, the warming up of Antarctica’s climate will expose the continent’s surface.
“At one time when [Antarctica] was part of Pangaea, there were plants and animals on it,” Smith said. “Potentially if the land is uncovered again and as it becomes warmer, you could have primary succession occur with the light ends and grasses and so forth.”
Until individuals begin to take the situation more seriously and come together as one, society will remain at a crossroad.
want to believe that driving two cars to school is a problem ... people don’t want to take accountability for their own actions.”
However, there is still hope to prevent Antarctica’s glaciers and permafrost from melting.
“Students can educate themselves because I think there’s a lot of misinformation that is out there about climate change,” Massey-Burmeister said.
ere are many little accommodations everybody can make that would go a long way in helping save our environment.
“Be a good environmental citizen,” Smith said. “Turn the light o in your closet [or] in your bedroom when you’re not in there. If it’s cold outside, put on a sweater … You don’t have to waste a lot of electricity to be comfortable. And yes, humans have to use resources … don’t be wasteful.”
In order to preserve the structural integrity of the atmosphere, international corporations and governments must reduce current fossil fuels emissions.
“ e atmosphere is a common resource meaning that one nation can’t make enough change to have any substantial e ects,”
Massey-Burmeister said. “It has to come from a lot of di erent nations and di erent corporations taking a stand and implementing e ective ways to limit greenhouse gas emissions.” e ability to end the planet’s rapid warmth lies in the hands of the people, however if proper precautions are not en-
Aura Oracle COMMENTAAR N
Aura. Need I say more? I will. We’ve heard of auramaxxing. We know about negative aura. But here comes a new fad heading towards Nanus Nation. Aura Ranking.
In this bodacious blurb of mine, I plan on doing two things: make administration chuckle and rank the aura of faculty.
1 million aura points: Nurse White
Healer of boo boos and provider of ice packs, Nurse White is a heavily underrated point-getter. Out on the dangerous blades known as grass, in the thunderdome known as e Quad, we have all borne witness to Billy the middle schooler sustaining a code red, ice pack-deserving injury. But in a lickety-split dash to the scene, Nurse White is ready and prepared for whatever scenario shoes without any traction leave for her.
6.02 x 10^23 aura points: Barry
Everybody knows him. We all love him. Ladies and gentleman, give a warm round of applause (inside voices, please) to Mr. Barry. Whether you’re an avid fan of security guards riding golf carts around a campus the size of a large swimming pool or an eager driver waiting to be let out of the pit of cluster and despair (the parking lot), Barry is a friend to all.
With an amiable personality, Barry gracefully protects the streets of Trinity day and night, rain or shine. No matter your GPA or favorite type of french fry (wa e-cut for life), Barry will make your day with his unconditional wave and resolved dedication to our school’s security.
In nite Aura: Chris from the Grille e man. e myth. e legend. Chris. Coming from a Jack, I can attest that he is in fact a Jack-of-all-trades. Indisputably, Chris is the boss of breakfast burritos, folder of quesadillas and master of extraordinary small talk.
To achieve the rank of in nite aura, one must truly embody the essence of a demure yet delightful outlook (i.e. literally just Chris).
Honorable Mention - Coach Sukup
Every Saint’s dream is to spend their entire life playing matball, dodgeball and kickball and, most of all, getting paid for it. But only one man gets to stand atop the height of humanity: Coach Sukup.
What he lacks in hair follicles, he more than makes up for in his massive calves and daft dad jokes.
My dear colleagues, I challenge you to use your inquisitive minds for good. Don’t go around comparing teachers in a degrading way, but instead, use your aura-radar to uplift and complement fellow saints.
STRANGER Americans are a little too friendly NGER D
Article by Yizhao Chen
Photo by Eden Kiger
Yizhao is an exchange student spending a year at Trinity through the ASSIST program. In this column, she documents her unique experiences and observations on American Culture.
My rst lesson in American culture was that friendliness is treated as an Olympic sport. e enthusiastic smiles, greetings and “How are you?”s are tossed around, regardless of whether it’s a friend or a stranger. At rst, I was charmed. Even the cashier at Publix wanted to know about my day. Coming from Austria, where we tend to be a little more reserved, this was like walking into a giant hug.
But after a while, the hug started to feel a little empty. “Good, thanks,” I replied to the cashier. As I expanded on my answer, the cashier just stared at me blankly, not bothering to process what I had said. I’m sure that even if I had said, “I’m doing great! Contemplating murder,” she would have kept smiling at me. en the conversation would end — just like that. e person who asked would go on with their day, and I’d be left wondering if they really cared about the answer at all. Did they want to know how it was really going? Or was it just part of the social script?
In Austria, friendliness isn’t immediate. Like the panini line in the Grille, it develops over time. If I were to ask the cashier in BILLA (an Austrian supermarket) checking out my schnitzel sandwich how their day was going with the same vigorous energy as the Publix cashier does, all I’d receive in return would be a confused glance and awkward silence. In fact, they’d probably think I was part of some hidden-camera show. It’s not that Austrians are deeply mistrusting, but customarily, you just don’t open with a question about someone’s day unless you’re willing to hear a sincere answer. We simply don’t pretend to care about things we don’t.
Here, I’ve been o ered more “How’s it going?”s than I can count, but when I pause to answer, I’m often met with a quick “Good! Okay, talk later!” before anyone even hears what’s actually going on in my life.
Maybe it’s the cultural di erence, or maybe it’s just that Americans value positivity so much that small talk becomes a performance. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for being nice! But here’s a tip from Austria: friendliness without depth is like an empty Starbucks tumbler: it looks nice, but it’s better when it’s lled with something real.
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Yizhao Chen, Sophomore
UNWELL:
Article by Mila Taylor
According to the CDC, in 2023, around 40% of American students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, especially among girls, LGBTQ+ students, and students of color. With suicide being the 3rd leading cause of death for adolescents from 15-19 years old, this national youth mental health crisis is alarming. It would be naive to assume that Trinity’s student body is immune to these same challenges.
Many teens have found refuge in social media, where Gen Z has ampli ed the conversation around mental health with posts and memes shedding light on mental health issues. at said, Assistant Head of Upper School Sebastiaan Blickman said social media can be a double-edged sword regarding mental health.
Trinity’s wellness initiative aims to provide students with the resources they need to thrive as young adults, including locking up phones for lowerclassmen and middle schoolers. Wilson says that Trinity has taken steps towards prioritizing student mental health by follow-
Assistant Head of School Tresa Wilson, who leads the school’s wellness department, is working with guidance, the nurse, and academic support to implement a wellness initiative to address the well-being of the student body to recognize the mental health crisis. e school has prioritized the wellness initiative because so often when students focus heavily on school, grades, and extracurriculars, it can be easy to overlook mental health.
“In the Western world, we have created an environment with the goal of college acceptance, being even more so here than in most other places,” psychology teacher Michael
Brown said. “ e pressure comes at the expense of other things like a healthy lifestyle, rest and positive social interactions.”
Many teens ounder to nd ways to cope with the stress of being a student and a teenager. Brown explains how many negative coping skills may worsen mental health.
“ e popularity of the topic has seemingly created this never-ending conversation around [mental health] that I don’t know if it existed prior, and that’s a good thing… because the stigma is starting to erase itself,” Blickman said. “ e bad is, that if you’re constantly talking about mental health it could lead you down a path of focusing only on negative things.”
“I want to teach people ways outside of the classroom they can positively influence their life. Because when we get older, the stresses only get worse. I feel like, now, if we tap into this early on, it will help better our life.”
Furthermore, conversations around mental health on the internet have lost their sensie dialogue has become so loud, that poor states of mental health have now become romanticized, with many idealizing their mental illnesses, creating unrealistic portrayals of
- Eva Wasyliw, Junior
ing the school’s strategic imperative. e strategic imperative aims to nurture the whole student beyond their academics. Although wellness encompasses many aspects including
“I also highly doubt we have positive coping strategies; generally that look like distracting yourself with the sport you’re playing, the work you’re doing, or just endless scrolling,” Brown said. “ at’s how we treat most of our diseases, which isn’t ideal.”
e allure of negativity, packaged in aesthetically pleasing edits and shared experiences, captivates young audiences, blurring the lines between universal emotions and genuine mental health symptoms,” the Nation-
Graphic by Maxi De La Fuente
“I felt like there was nothing at TPS specically that dealt with [stress],” Wasyliw said. “I think it’s just really interesting as well, that I can help create a positive environment and a comfortable space for students.”
Wasyliw said that in her rst club meeting, students focused on stress management, by writing down negative thoughts or things that cause stress on a plate. Students then took those plates and smashed them. Wasyliw said that many students expressed how relieving that exercise was for them. Clubs like e Happiness Project give students a safe space to relate to other students who might be feeling the same way.
logue about these topics.
School initiative takes aim at mental health Lifestyles
“People think they have to bottle up their emotions at Trinity because they will be judged
“It’s clear Trinity wants to help when you go to them but sometimes they don’t know how to help, and as students, we need to better understand how to express the help we want and need when we go to them...”
Blickman feels that the level of student engagement in activities like clubs or sports is a good sign of positive mental health, and the school attempts to monitor involvement in extracurriculars. Clubs and extracurricular activities are vital to students’ well-being, as some address the topic of mental health directly, while others o er ways for students to cope with the stress of day-to-day lives.
Gen Z has heightened discussion surrounding mental health, creating dialogues that may be foreign to older generations. Occasionally there is a gap in understanding between adults and students.
“It’s clear Trinity wants to help when you go to them but sometimes they don’t know how to help, and as students, we need to better understand how to express the help we want and need when we go to them,” Senior Madeline McBroom said. “For example, there are times I go to sta or admin to decompress and collect my thoughts, but sometimes they try to solve the problem when that’s not what I need.”
Mental health resources are readily available, as the counseling department is open to those who need assistance, and advisors function as support systems for their students. McBroom said that the resources provided by Trinity are not utilized by the student body enough. Yet, this problem is not speci c to Trinity; throughout Gen Z, competitive academic culture in high school can discourage open dia-
- Madeline Mcbroom, Senior
liw hopes that clubs like hers help students feel more comfortable addressing the topic of mental health.
“I want to see more people just be more excited about school and everything because I feel there’s so many negatives that we tend to focus on,” Wasyliw said. “I want to teach people ways outside of the classroom they can positively in uence their life. Because when we get older, the stresses only get worse. I feel like, now, if we tap into this early on, it will help better our life.”
FORCE TO FINESSE
Basketball has begun to favor flair over physicality
Article by Ben Kleiman
Photo by Julia Hoskins
In today’s fast-paced world where there is no time to stop, grabbing food on-the-go and getting same-day deliveries has become the new norm. Basketball is no di erent. e sport known for the physicality of players like Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan, admired for their height and aggressive nature, has taken a pivot to a completely di erent game. e game has evolved into a high-speed sport where deep three-point shots and ashy plays are typical, matching the quick speed of modern life.
e shift toward a less physical style has changed how the game is played and watched. Players have begun to favor nesse over physicality, showing a clear tradeo . To prioritize player safety, the league has introduced tighter rules on contact and a greater focus on keeping athletes healthy for longer careers. As a result, the game now includes more cautious plays and restrictions on rough contact. Varsity boys basketball player Rishi Bokkisam stresses the importance of these changes.
“ e most important thing in basketball is not getting hurt,” Bokkisam said. “Decreasing things such as contact cause[s] less injuries, leading players to play for a longer period of time.”
is softer approach is not just about keeping players healthy. It’s a calculated move to make the game a more skill-oriented sport.
Removing rules like the hand check, which happens when a defender initiates any contact with an o ensive player with their hands or arms, has reshaped the game, pushing teams to rely more on speed, spacing and shooting over pure physical play. Many traditional fans feel that this style abandons the sport’s roots.
For basketball fans like sophomore Eren Agsak, the high-scoring style is mesmerizing and makes the game more action-packed.
“I like the fast-paced [style] because there’s more action,” Agsak said. “I do wish it was a little more physical.”
Others argue that the shift in style has lev-
eled the playing eld, allowing smaller, agile teams to compete with dominant teams that once depended solely on their strength.
Undersized rosters can compete with bigger and more physically dominant teams because of speed, agility and chemistry.
“We’re pretty small, but our team chemistry is very important,” Bokkisam said. “It doesn’t
really matter what size you are, and most of these guys have been playing together for four or ve years.”
With less focus on scoring and defending, players with quick shooting abilities can make a much larger impact on their team. For one, modern NBA players like Stephen Curry have build their careers on the three-point shot.
In the 2015-2016 NBA season, Curry changed the approach to basketball. He made a record 402 three-point shots in a single season, breaking the previous record by a whopping 116 three-point shots made. From that season on, three-point shot attempts have skyrocketed.
According to Basketball Reference, the average number of three-point attempts per game in 1979 was just 2.8. In 2019, that number increased to 32, which amounted to an increase of over 1,000%.
While the three-point shot has made the game more accessible to people who are not as athletically gifted, Head Varsity Boys Basketball Coach Eric Schneider said it damages a player’s progression.
“[It’s] detrimental,” Schneider said. “Everybody goes out to the three-point line when they should be working on their [shooting] form.”
ough former players and coaches worry that the emphasis on shooting has shifted basketball from its traditional skills, Schneider still sees the basics of basketball at work.
“People are still setting screens to get each other open,” Schneider said. “I don’t think it’s all just about the ashy moves.”
Some feel that modern basketball leans more toward air than fundamentals, but core skills like dribbling, passing, rebounding and defense are still essential. Each generation brings something new to basketball. e 1980s emphasized teamwork and spacing on the court, while the 1990s were dened by intense physicality. Today’s game has shifted from the physical play of the past to the game of the future, focused on high-powered o ense, speed and skill.
Varsity basketball player Rishi Bokkisam warms up for a game against the Innovation Bulls with a three-point shot. is high point shot has become increadingly popular at all levels of the
BUILDING A BRAND
How social media has transformed the world of sports
Article by Thomas Bonos
Graphic by Natalie Baron
When a video of high school football star Marcus Stokes using a racial slur resurfaced on Instagram, he lost everything: his scholarship to play Division I football at the University of Florida, his opportunity to play anywhere else and his reputation, which was tarnished in the eyes of college football coaches and greater football fans.
Social media has transformed not only the world around us but also the world of sports. Athletes can use it as a tool to highlight and showcase themselves while also building a personal brand. While social media can open up opportunities for athletes in the world of marketing and college recruiting, it serves as a double-edged sword, as these platforms can potentially harm athletes in more ways than it can help.
“Social media is great in the world of sports because it opens up opportunities ... helping athletes on and o the eld, but it also a ects the same student-[athletes’] physical, mental and emotional well-being,” said Trinity Prep college counselor and former admissions ocer at the University of Florida Matthew Lisko.
With the loosening of regulations in the NCAA, college athletes have relied more on social media to market themselves as players and in uencers looking to build their brands. Student-athletes, either in college or applying to college, will likely bene t from Name, Image, and Likeness’s (NIL) profound impact on collegiate sports. College atheletes now use social media to help further de ne their brand, and pro t from the increase in attention.
Junior McKenna Hawley, who recently committed to the University of Central Florida (UCF) for softball, considers the e ect social media will have on her college career.
“I think increasing my social media presence to build a brand and market myself as a student-athlete beyond the eld will become vital as I enter college because promoting UCF and myself more will open up more opportunities such as NIL deals,” Hawley said.
Sports programs and organizations advertise
not only their players but the team as a whole. By advertising teams on social media, organizations can pro t further from partnerships and deals, similar to athletes.
“Running the girl’s soccer Instagram account has increased our outreach on campus and brought more fans and support,” Junior Caroline Ahl, who runs the girls varsity account said. “It highlights not only individual athlete success but also team success on a more public scale.”
Athletes also use social media as a tool in college recruitment. Posting highlights and game lms on platforms like Twitter or Instagram allow athletes to connect with college coaches or scouts, making the process even more streamlined. Hawley sees social media as critical to her recruitment to UCF.
“Whenever I nished a game or tournament, I would tag the UCF [softball coaches] on Twitter and talk to them about the games and how everything is going,” Hawley said.
“[Social media] plays a huge role because that’s how coaches initially see and start following you.”
the organization they belong to by posting appropriate content that promotes their image.
“[As an athlete] you’re under a magnifying glass within social media; if you mess up, you’re not only messing yourself up or your future, but you’re messing up the image of the university and people who are a part of the program,” Lisko said.
College counselor Katherine Dunagan has seen rsthand how damaging just one post can be to a student-athletes’s reputation and chances of being admitted to the school.
“I think people forget that your social media is a footprint, and it’s out there,” Dunagan said. “You don’t want to engage in something that you feel is cool at the moment but could be o ensive to certain groups of people ... it could come back to haunt you later ... such as the example of Marcus Stokes.”
Harach requires his players to sign a contract at the beginning of the season that includes guidelines regarding social media use and how players should conduct themselves on social media platforms.
Marketing oneself and posting highlights with hopes of getting noticed by a college coach or scout often go hand-in-hand. As an athlete posts more bene cial highlights or pushes the better parts of their personality, scouts can gain more insight into how the athlete is on and o the eld. Varsity Tennis Head Coach Martin Harach sees social media as a powerful tool in both areas.
“Limiting social media use is to protect the athlete,” Harach said. “Anything that’s done through social media should be kept under one
umbrella so that we can market them the best way possible.”
“You are your own business,” Harach said. “If you’re posting the right things on [social media], good highlights and even showing that you are doing community service or helping people, you’re someone a coach wants to have on their team.”
With the bene ts of having an increased presence and personal brand that all can see, athletes have a greater responsibility to themselves and to
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Puzzles by Mila Taylor
ACROSS
3. apple tablet
5. a feeling of deep-seated resentment or ill will
8. a way of approaching a problem or making progress toward something.
9. UF mascot
10. ____deng; beloved pygmy hippo
DOWN
1. Japan’s active volcano
2. upper chamber of the United States Congress
4. name of the Christmas snowman
6. The Princess _____; popular 2001 film
7. a club, or association formed by people with a common interest or purpose.
PHOTOGRAPHY EXPOSITION
Life on Campus
Julia Hoskins
On Nov. 19, (pictured left to right) seniors Aiden Stillman, Danika Senekal, Wilder Judelson and Victoria Hill signed their letters of commitment to continue their athletic career in college. “I am super excited to play D1 baseball for UVA next year,” Aiden Stillman said. “It really is all coming together.”
Ally Williams
Chloe Nieves-Ramos (center) starred as Nicholas “Nick” Bottom in “Something Rotten: e Musical,” which ran from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2. It is a comedy about two brothers competing against the famous William Shakespeare.
On Nov. 20, varsity boys’ soccer team competed against Seminole High School in an unfortunate loss of 4-2. Center defensive mid elder Gavin O’Brien passed the ball against defenders.
Aksel Williams
Justin Holcomb, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, gave a sermon during All-Saints Day chapel on Nov. 5. He preached about the guidance of faith during times of fear and anxiety.
