The Trinity Voice - May 2021

THE

TRINITY VOICE

May 1O, 2O21 Volume 23 Issue 5 Trinity Preparatory School 57OO Trinity Prep Lane Winter Park, FL 32792

LIGHTS FLICKER ON BRIGHT FUTURES Changes to Bright Futures threaten to devalue education Pages 6-7

NEWS

Recent hate crimes put spotlight on ongoing racism against Asians.

Page 5

LIFESTYLES Diet culture contributes to unrealistic body expectations.

Pages 8-9

FOCUS

Student entrepreneurs create and run successful businesses.

Pages 16-17

OPINIONS

Transgender athletes should not be kept out of sports.

Pages 2O-21

SPORTS

Supreme Court case opens possibility for college athletes to receive compensation.

Page 28

Table of Contents

May 2O21

TABLE OF CONTENTS News

Opinions

Lifestyles

Stereotypes of Asian Women 25

Drug Price Gouging O4 East Asian Hate Crimes O5 Bright Futures O6-O7 Diet Culture O8-O9 Ivy League Prestige 1O Morning Routines 11 Intersectional Feminism 12 WandaVision 13 Females in Forensics 14-15

Lead Ed 2O-21 Simulation Theory 22-23 Post COVID-19 Analysis 24 Georgia Voting Laws 26 Letter to the Editor 27

Sports

College Athlete Pay 28 Boys Weightlifting 29 College Commitments 3O-31

Focus

Student Entrepreneurs 16-17 Small Businesses 18

The Trinity Voice is a member of the Florida Scholastic Press Association and the National Scholastic Press Association.

The Trinity Voice is produced by the newspaper/journalism class at Trinity Preparatory School of Florida. Editorials represent the opinion of The Trinity Voice writer and are not necessarily the views of the administration, faculty, or Board of Trustees of Trinity. The Voice welcomes letters to the editor and freelance articles or photography. All submissions become the property of The Voice. Please send all correspondence to 5700 Trinity Prep Lane, FL 32792. The 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 The Voice contact us by one of the methods mentioned above. The Voice is a monthly publication during the school year (with the exceptions of November and January).

VOICE@TRINITYPREP.ORG Henry Van Voorhis

Page 25

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Staff/News Bites

May 2O21

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NEWS SPOTLIGHT

STAFF

Editors-in-Chief: Emma Kim, Deniz Bölöni-Turgut Managing Editor: Jack Ververis Copy Editor: Cate Williams Layout Editors: Amy-Ruth Gyang, Jaidyn Holt Online Editor: Cate Williams News Department: Ava Savino (Editor), Evan Huang (Editor), Andrew Bachrach, Julian Sealy, Alec Diaz Opinions Department: Jack Ververis (Editor), Connor Raffa, Maddie Peckham, Jake McCreary, Ryan Zehnder Focus Department: Marcos Membreno (Editor), Deniz Bölöni-Turgut, Matthew Mapa Lifestyles Department: Sarah Zehnder (Editor), Sidney Seybold, Amy-Ruth Gyang Sports Department: Boaz Kim (Editor), Oliver Johnson, Cate Williams, Jake Raffa, Matthew Halpin Graphics Department: Jaidyn Holt (Editor), Henry Van Voorhis Photo Department: Anuha Tatineni (Editor), Ella Craghill (Editor), Mateo Membreno, Kayla Alexandre, Jessica Dorrien Fact Checker: Julian Sealy Business Manager: Sarah Zehnder Adviser: Erin Miller

This Month: By the Numbers 19000

31%

2030

migrant children stopped at the U.S.-Mexico border

Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19

the year set by President Biden to cut U.S. emissions in half

The Headlines Prince Phillip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, is dead at 99

The U.S. and its allies look to coordinate withdrawal from Afghanistan CDC vaccine advisers set to review Johnson & Johnson shot after reports of rare blood clots

Quote of the Month It will not take away the pain of the communities, all communities, regardless of their color or geographic location, that felt sadness and anger in what they witnessed in that video.

Vice President Kamala Harris, in response to the guilty verdict on all three counts in the State of Minnesota v.

Derek Chauvin trial

Local Spotlight Universal’s Islands of Adventure announced its new Jurassic World VelociCoaster opening on June 10th.

Hail the size of golf balls pelted Central Florida in severe thunderstorms.

News

May 2O21

PHARMACEUTICAL FALLOUT

Drugmakers continue raising prices beyond what Americans can afford Article by Ava Savino Graphic by Jack Ververis At the start of this year, major drug companies Sanofi, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline announced plans to increase drug prices by as much as 10%. This statistic continues to climb as most drug manufacturing companies blame COVID-19 to justify price hikes.

“These early reports of price hikes are just the beginning of cost increases that Amerians can expect in 2021,” executive director of the Campaign for Personal Prescription Importation Jack Pfeiffer said.

One of these major drug companies, Pfizer, has recently gained recognition because of its widely used COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. In its report for 2021 prices, Pfizer said it plans to raise the prices of more than 60 drugs by 0.5% to 5%, with the highest increases on the more popular medications.

“This modest increase is necessary to support investments that allow us to continue to discover new medicines and deliver those breakthroughs to the patients who need them,” Pfizer spokeswoman Amy Rose said.

With a doctorate in molecular pharmacology, Science Department Chair Romina Jannotti said that one of the ways U.S. pharmaceutical companies justify the increases in price is through advertising.

In more recent years, the number of advertisements for medication brands has increased, leading to more expensive advertising that raise costs. But instead of using the profits from those advertisements to fund the advertising, Jannotti said that drug companies actually make consumers pay for the costs of advertising.

“The company is not going to absorb those [adver-

tising] costs,” Jannotti said. “They always pass those costs on down to the consumer, so that has added to the price of drugs.”

Jannotti also explained another way that drug companies deceive consumers into thinking that certain price increases are justified.

She said that oftentimes universities will work with pharmaceutical companies to patent their work. While the company owns the patent and also its information, the research, which is conducted by the university, is funded by the taxes funneled to that university. The company uses the university’s research which is funded by taxes, not by drug price increases like they sometimes claim.

“The pharmaceutical industry claims to jack up prices for consumers because they claim that they’re spending all this money in research and development, but the truth is that a large proportion of the drugs that make it to market are actually from taxpayer funded research,” Jannotti said.

With drug prices so high and continuing to rise, people who have life-threatening conditions often struggle to afford their medications. Freshmen Sofia Malik and Lauren Lemieux both have severe peanut allergies, so they have to always have medication on hand.

“Without the EpiPen, my throat would close and I’d probably die, so it’s important that I carry it at all times,” Lemieux said.

The price of EpiPen rises every year, and since the drugmaker Mylan came out with the drug in 2007, the price has increased from $94 to $609.

According to Malik, insurance doesn’t cover this cost, so every year people with allergies have to pay this price out of pocket twice for the two doses required

to keep on hand.

“A lot of people in America today have a lot of allergies, so [Mylan] is monopolizing the production and increasing the price because people need it,” Lemieux said.

With Mylan being almost the sole producer of this drug, the company can raise the prices every year and force people to buy EpiPen out of necessity.

“I just think that it shouldn’t be monopolized,” Malik said. “You need it. The price shouldn’t be as high, but I don’t know what you can do about that.”

Many people who can’t afford their medications are forced to go without it, and because of this, programs have been put in place to make medications more affordable. Pharmaceutical companies offer a rebate program if you qualify under certain conditions where you can get medications for less money or even for free.

But Jannotti said that this creates large differences in prices depending on who’s paying.

“You’re looking at a patient and saying, ‘you can afford it so we’re going to charge you 10 times as much as the person who can’t afford it,’” Jannotti said. “Why not just get rid of all these programs altogether, figure out how to get rid of expenses in the process that are unnecessary, and bring the cost down for everybody and charge everybody the same.”

As recently as Feb. 12, new bills have been proposed to help stop these rising drug prices by going after the drugmakers themselves. In this non-partisan effort, the bills would put an 80% tax on the drug price increases that aren’t justified by improvements made. With the taxes from this proposed bill, programs to help more people afford their medications would be put in place rather than these new taxes going to the government. The goal of these taxes is to force drug companies to really evaluate how much they are increasing their prices each year for legitimate versus unreasonable reasons.

“The pharmaceutical industry does great things, [especially with] the COVID-19 vaccine,” Jannotti said. “But I think these companies can still make profits and put the patient’s interests in mind first.”

May 2O21

News

UNCOVERING A LONG HISTORY OF RACISM Atlanta spa shootings draw attention to East Asian hate crimes Article by Evan Huang Infographic by Evan Huang There’s a Chinese proverb that says 一个可 以吞下侮辱的人是一个男人 or “One who can swallow an insult is a man.” In light of the East Asian hate crimes this past year, this phrase represents the silence and backlash that Asian Americans have taken. And the victims of these hate crimes are everywhere: a teacher at a school, a neighbor down the street, a highschool student, and even an 8-year-old boy who just started elementary school.

Inny Kim, a long-term sub for social science, was standing in the checkout line at Costco when she remembered she had forgotten to buy some eggs. She dropped out of the line and ran toward the produce section when she heard someone call out, “run back to Asia while you’re at it.”

Like Kim, another Asian American who asked to remain anonymous, was shopping at Walmart at the beginning of the pandemic last year when an old man stopped her. Rather than introduce himself, he started shouting racial slurs and eventually, coughed on her before walking away.

These two experiences make up only a fraction of the number of hate crimes against Asian Americans this past year. And ever since the Atlanta spa shooting on March 16, Asian American racism is finally being discussed on a national level.

A study done by Stop Asian American Pacific Islander Hate (AAPI) revealed that, despite an overall decline in the total number of hate crimes since the pandemic began, there has been a 150% increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans in 2019-2020 in major cities of the U.S. alone.

But the target for the majority of these hate crimes is not random either. The study found that out of the 3,800 cases, 68% of these hate crimes were reported by women.

“How come a lot of white people think [that] Asian women are [more] approachable and that they represent the temptation?” said the anonymous speaker who was verbally harassed in Walmart. “I think it’s the media that shapes Asian women into [a] weaker and a more approachable group.”

Women like Kim and the anonymous source believe that many people stereotype Asian women as docile and non-confrontational, thereby making them an easier target.

But these hate crimes didn’t just start with the COVID-19 myth. A long history of discrimination against Asians in America has largely been undermined by the “model minority myth.” The stereotype that paints Asian-Amerian immigrants as the minorities who made it or achieved the American Dream is used as a defense mechanism that does not give Asian Americans the chance to fight back.

Historical events like the Chinese Exclusion Act, where the United States barred immigration solely based on race and Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 that incarcerated people under suspicion as enemies to inland internment camps, where a mass majority were Japanese, are representative and similar to the racism towards Asians today.

“There’s always been an acknowledgment of racial differences, and I don’t think it’s changed, the image that Asian Americans have [as] an outsider,” Kim said.

But the victims of the COVID-19 Asian myth are not just those who have been subject to these hate crimes. It has affected every Asian American. Sophomore Tyler Principe who is part Vietnamese, has always taken pride in his Vietnamese culture. However, ever since the pandemic struck, he has been reluctant to reveal his Asian race as he would often hear racist jokes about COVID-19 and Asian Americans.

“I’m not afraid of how people would judge

me,” Principe said, “but it’s the actions that could result from it that scare me.”

And the hatred does not account for age either. Kim’s 8-year-old son is the only Asian boy in his class. Kids at his school would make fun of him for his appearance and crack jokes about the COVID-19 pandemic and Asians.

“The other day he was looking in the mirror and said ‘Mom, I wish I had blue eyes’ and ‘Why do my eyes look like this?’” Kim said.

“Seeing it through the eyes of my kids really breaks my heart ... [because] it’s a deeper struggle they have.”

In hopes of combating these issues, President Joe Biden proposed allocating $49.5 million from the American Rescue plan to programs like AAPI. Additionally, the Department of Justice has created a whole agency initiative, whose responsibility it is to address and solve these hate crimes.

This department plans to establish an interactive hate crime page monitored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to help give the public accurate information.

Kim and the anonymous speaker believe that the only solution is education. In her classroom, Kim brought foreign foods from Korea to share with her class. She said she was shocked to see the lack of knowledge her students had about Asian culture.

“You’ve got to stand up for your culture and help educate people around you about the differences” Kim said. “You’ll see at the end of the day some similarities.”

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News

May 2O21

A DIMMER FUTURE Article by Andrew Bachrach Graphic by Emma Kim

up in arms over sweeping changes proposed to the program, including removing the Florida For the past two years, nearly 75% of each Lottery as its main source of funding. While Trinity graduating class qualified for the Bright the bill has largely been scaled back over the Futures Scholarship program, one of the most past few weeks, Senate Bill 86 passed the Florintegral pathways students in Florida have to ida Senate by a vote of 22-18, without a single attend college. For over 20 years, Bright Fu- Democrat in support. With Bright Futures tures has utilized funding from the Florida now thrust into the spotlight, it is incredLottery to provide high-achieving high school ibly important to understand exactly what Bright Futures does and why politicians in Tallahassee want to change the status quo.

In 1997, the Florida legislature created Approximately 75% of Trinity Prep the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship seniors have qualified for Bright program to curb Futures since 2O18 the “brain drain,” a phenomenon where highly talented and educated students leave for cheaper or more prestigious options elsewhere. According to GoBankingRates, a personal finance research tool, Florida is still ranked as the 47th best place for a college graduate to start their life due to the state’s increased real estate prices and low wages.

students with the opportunity to attend a Florida public college tuition-free.

However, in early March, students, parents and teachers across the state of Florida were

The latter covers 100% of college tuition if students achieve a 1330 on the SAT or a 29 on the ACT, coupled with a minimum weighted GPA of 3.5 and 100 community service hours throughout high school. In 2019, 111,973 students received Bright Futures scholarships, costing the state $618.6 million, according to the Florida Department of Education.

“Our students are able to go to university tuition-free to fabulous schools,” college counselor Christine Grover said. “Some people even move to Florida to have that opportunity for their children.”

Social science teacher Robin Grenz said that Bright Futures can often be a lifesaver for low-income families.

“I’ve seen students in my career where the only way they were going to go through college was to get Bright Futures because their families couldn’t afford elsewhere,” Grenz said.

“It’s their saving grace.”

Although the Bright Futures program has remained largely unchanged since its inception, a new bill passed by the Florida Senate aims to make sweeping changes and cuts to the scholarship. In its original form, SB-86 would have required the state to create a list of college majors that would lead to employment soon after graduation. Full-tuition scholarships would have only gone to students majoring in those areas. The Orlando Sentinel further detailed in March that the bill would have also reduced funding for students who earned college credits in high school through AP courses, IB courses and dual-enrollment. Although these proposals were removed after intense backlash, the bill still maintains that its goal was and If it passes, there’s the potenis to “assist students tial that students studying at and families in makuniversity will choose careers ing better-informed decisions about edufor money instead of passion. cational options and - Christine Grover, College Counselor future employment opportunities.” However, many disagree.

Bright Futures aimed to fix that by award“Our society as a whole needs people that ing two levels of scholarships: Florida Medal- can think, collaborate, write and innovate,” lion Scholars and Florida Academic Scholars. Grenz said. “Often, that doesn’t necessarily

May 2O21

News

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Proposed changes to Bright Futures create uncertainty come from one particular college degree that ing Florida State University this fall as a Me- is simple: what is the end goal of college? Is it leads directly to employment. A society never dia/Communications major with the help of a to prepare you for a successful and lucrative loses if their population is educated.”

Bright Futures scholarship, cautioned students career? Or is it to provide you with the tools of After sudden and uproarious pushback from against letting future earnings take precedence knowledge? That question will be answered by students, teachers and parents across the state, over their passions. the Florida House soon, and whichever choice State Republicans rolled back many of the con“I chose my major because it was something they make will reverberate for generations to troversial aspects of the bill. According to the I am genuinely interested in and that I thought come.

Tampa Bay Times, the bill currently mandates I would enjoy,” Cochran said. “Personally, “By thwarting [the ability to choose], we’re that the total amount of money available for I would not feel comfortable applying to a creating a society that says the meaning of edscholarships would fluctuate according to the major that I know I state’s annual budget, rather than come direct- don’t enjoy just to ly from Florida Lottery proceeds. This means receive Bright Futhat funding could vary wildly each year, and tures.” legislators get to choose how much aid they There is no doubt want to provide students with. that Bright Futures “Based on their budget, they can change this has succeeded in its Just 23% of Florida high school annually, which essentially means that Bright mission, with hungraduates were eligible for Bright Futures is up for debate every year,’’ Grover dreds of thousands said. “You have to consider whether or not you of low-income, Futures in 2O2O want to stay in-state when there’s this uncer- first-generation, Source: Florida Department of Education tainty over your future.” and racial minority The form of the bill currently heading to the students receiving Florida State House still mandates the creation the opportunity to of a career dashboard, which will include help- attend university ful information on post-graduation salaries, without the threat average student loan debt, debt-to-income of student loans ratio and much more. But, the most controversial aspect We are placing the value of eduhas been eliminat- cation in the market, rather than ed, as in it’s current its value to the human experiform, SB-86 will no longer limit schol- ence. It’s a lens of education arships based on being a market commodity, and it college degrees.

Grover explained shouldn’t be. that the changes - Robin Grenz, Social Science Teacher and uncertainty will still have a pronounced impact on the thought and crippling debt. process of students as they create their colle- As the bill heads to giate and career plans. the Florida State “If it passes, there’s the potential that stu- House, questions dents studying at university will choose careers are still being asked for money instead of passion,” Grover said. of legislators and “You’re equating money with happiness. Are their intentions. you doing a job because you love it, and you “Education is important, and families de- ucation is to get a job,” Grenz said. “We are feel like you contribute to society every day, or serve to know what it will cost,” Orlando Sen- placing the value of education in the market, are you just here for the paycheck?” tinel Columnist Scott Maxwell said. rather than its value to the human experience.”

Senior Gabby Cochran, who will be attendIn the end, the question that is being posed

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Lifestyles

May 2O21

THE TOXICITY OF DIET CULTURE Article by Sidney Seybold Graphic by Henry Van Voorhis

This article contains potentially sensitive material concerning dieting, weight loss, body image issues and eating disorders.

It seems like every year there’s a new diet trend that has gained popularity or a food that has been deemed “bad.” The Atkins diet, the cabbage soup diet, the grapefruit diet, the raw food diet, juice cleanses, meal replacement shakes, Whole 30 — there are just so many.

And most of them are no longer prevalent and have been proven ineffective for healthy and sustainable weight loss. So why were they even popular in the first place if they lacked scientific evidence? Simple — diet culture. It promises people a quick way to become skinny, which is then equated with happiness. Diet culture is driven by the same force as any marketing campaign, and the way to defeat it is by raising awareness and recognizing how ingrained it is in society.

First, there’s a difference between promoting diet culture and promoting a balanced lifestyle. The Harvard Chan School of Public Health firmly states that “research has shown that individuals following five key habits—eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, keeping a healthy body weight, not drinking too much alcohol, and not smoking—live more than a decade longer than those who don’t.” Diet culture doesn’t take this same holistic approach, however. Instead, it offers one fix — sometimes an unsafe one — towards being skinny, which is not the same as healthy. It disregards each body’s unique needs and creates a trend of body dysmorphia, off of which companies can then profit.

Worth about $72 billion according to The Associated Press, the diet and weight loss industry reinforces people’s insecurities that they are overweight to then persuade them to use some product or try some diet that will supposedly make them skinnier. It is a larger part of American society than many realize and manifests itself in various ways, whether it be through media, film and television or just everyday life. The National Eating Disorders Association claims that by 6-years-old, young girls are already distressed by their body size, and 40-60% of girls between the ages of six

and 12 “are concerned about their weight or about becoming too fat.”

Physical education teacher Amanda Dean acknowledges this trend and teaches nutrition in health and wellness class from a standpoint that emphasizes the individual needs of every body and its responses to food.

“There’s so many different diet plans out there, and if you asked 100 different nutritionists what the perfect diet was, you’d probably get 100 different answers,” Dean said. “So I don’t try to tell them how to eat. I want them to understand what the nutrients are and what different types of food are giving them as far as nutrients go, and then you can make those decisions for what and how you want to eat on your own.”

The mentality of diet culture, that skinny equals healthy, healthy equals better, and therefore skinny equals better, is further perpetuated by social media, where people, especially celebrities, can use filters and photoshop to alter their appearance. For example, the Kardashian-Jenner family is known for accepting sponsorships for and promoting different weight loss remedies. In 2019, Khloé Kardashian was criticized for advertising products from the company Flat Tummy Co, which included meal replacement shakes, detox teas (laxatives) and appetite suppressants. The diet industry was able to reach her over 100 million Instagram followers, many of whom are young people, to convince them that in order to look like a megastar, who in reality has a personal trainer, styling team and editing software, they need to basically starve themselves of the nutrients their bodies’ need.

“What they’re doing is feeding off of you feeling like you don’t meet up to societal standards, and that’s horrible,” student Meredith Swift said, who asked that her name be changed for privacy reasons. “All you should be focusing on is am I getting enough nutrients and am I getting stronger. Or am I moving? Am I taking care of my body? Am I making myself better, mentally, and making it better doesn’t mean skinnier at all. In fact, in some cases, it means getting bigger.”

Swift has struggled with an eating disorder since November 2019 and said that it was mostly caused by social media.

“I think social media was a giant part of it,” Swift said. “I constantly felt like I wasn’t skinny enough … It started as I thought I was being healthier because I went through Instagram, actually, is

May 2O21

Lifestyles

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How it has not so subtly taken over American life and how to stop it where it all spiraled because I was looking for healthy recipes, and so I would find healthy recipes. The only problem was their version of healthy was low-calorie, and I bought into it, I totally bought into it. I was convinced that rice wasn’t okay. Instead [I thought] you had to eat cauliflower rice because it’s 10 times less calories.”

Swift said it got so bad that she could outline the bones in her hands and feel her bones on the chair when she sat down. Swift was never medically overweight but admits that she gave into societal standards, as even before her eating disorder, she was still dissatisfied with her body image.

A study performed by the National Center for Health Statistics under the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that many Americans can relate to Swift’s mentality. Between 2013 and 2016, the study found that 26.5% of underweight or normal weight Americans ages 20 and older attempted to lose weight, 14.4% of men and 35.6% of women.

Of the adults in all weight categories, 16.4% said they skipped meals in order to reduce weight, which is not safe and actually has the reverse effect of weight gain, according to the University of Louisville.

In 2003, the American Journal of Public Health analyzed “five episodes of each of the 10 top-rated prime-time fictional programs on 6 broadcast networks during the 1999– 2000 season.” It estimated that 31% of the series’ female main characters and 12% of the male main characters were underweight, compared to 5% and 2% of the American population respectively. Overweight people on the other hand were underrepresented, with only 13% of the female characters being categorized as overweight or obese, compared to 51% of the female American public.

That same study further asserted that larger characters were less likely to provide helpful assistance when characters were doing tasks, less likely to have a romantic exchange with another character and less likely to be thought of as attractive than their “normal” and underweight counterparts.

Subsequently, people subconsciously internalize what they see in the media, according to an article published in the National Library of Medicine. The article outlines a study conducted in three Nicaraguan villages — one urban, one rural with access to television and one rural with some access to television. It found a correlation between increased television use and lower BMI preferences for women.

Similarly, guidance counselor Rylan Smith has seen an increase in body image issues coincide with the development of social media.

“We’re so absorbed with how we look that I think it’s [being concerned with how oneself looks] a little bit more [present] than it used to be,” Smith said. “I think some of it’s very normal because growing up we all want to be our best, look our best, do our best, but I think having the technology of the cell phone and having the social media to compare ourselves to has definitely made this a bigger concern.”

She believes that one way to combat this problem is to appreciate the differences and strengths that are unique to each individual.

“I think the biggest thing we can do is to continue to have dialogue that normalizes the concept that you are enough in your own skin and that you don’t have to compare yourself to other people and that everybody’s different,” Swift said. “By normalizing that conversation, it’s going to have to happen over and over and over and people are really going to have to buy into that, and that’s hard.”

Against all the still ever-present diet culture, it seems like there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Dean has noticed an increase in representation of plus-sized models and actors.

“I think that there’s been probably in the last five years a bigger push, in the general media, about loving the body that you’re in and [there’s been a] backlash against the body shaming,” Dean said.

Swift recognizes the importance not of body positivity, but body neutrality.

“Yes, body positivity, but that still puts emphasis on what you look like,” Swift said. “That still says ‘even though you have fat, you’re still okay.’ Like no, we all have fat, and all bodies are kind of irrelevant. We should be judging each other based on our actions, our words, not the bit of fat we have on our thighs or the bit of fat we have around our waists. What does that tell you about the person? Nothing!

Literally nothing. It doesn’t measure worth; it doesn’t tell you how well you’re going to succeed at your job or life or whatever; it doesn’t tell you how happy someone is. It’s just a little bit of fat.”

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Lifestyles

May 2O21

ARE IVIES ALL THAT THEY SEEM? Article by Amy-Ruth Gyang Graphic by Jaidyn Holt

With its warm days, blossoming flowers and a variety of festivals, springtime is known as the season of new beginnings, but for thousands of seniors, it is also one of the most stressful times of their high school careers. It marks the beginning of what is known as “Ivy Day” on which thousands of students receive their admission decisions from the “world’s most prestigious universities.”

This year, all eight Ivy Leagues briefly suspended their mandatory test requirements due to the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in a spike in applications. Although Ivies have long been known for their low acceptance rates, many expected acceptance rates to rise during the pandemic, but this was not the case. Acceptance rates dropped to new lows of 3 to 5 percent continuing the trend over the past decade, even though applications have increased year after year. According to a Forbes article, low acceptance rates, combined with high scores, grades, and other characteristics, increase the ability of more students to apply for the increase in status and exclusivity.

Given that six of the eight Ivy League schools enroll less than 5% of all college students in the country, they receive disproportionate media attention, providing many misconceptions about the college admissions process. For many kids who grew up in the early 2000s, the college admissions process was popularized through networks such as Disney Channel and CW. According to The Crimson, there was a 5,000-student increase in applications following the release of movies and shows centered

on Ivy Leagues. Many of these “Ivy qualified,” on-screen characters talk of their near perfect grade point average. However according to US News, 54% of students admitted to Harvard had a 4.0 GPA. On many other Ivy websites, some Ivies have accepted students with gpas as low as 2.5.

“Grades are still the most important factor in admissions, but extracurriculars are also extremely important too,” college counselor Russel Althouse said.

Ivy Leagues, for decades, have been held up

for their high academic achievement, however these schools didn’t always come from this high academic premise as they were originally collegiate athletic schools that were known for their high sport performance. In the mid1940’s they began to shift attention to their academics and admissions process. According to Forbes the influx in applicants is a result of more international applicants and the internet.

However many these “top” schools are outshined by colleges and universities that have similar — or even better — facilities, teachers and opportunities.

The term “Public Ivy” was created by former University of California dean of admissions Richard Moll who described them as schools that provided an educational experience on par with the Ivy League, often at a fraction of the price. These schools include many public universities such as University California, UCLA, University of Michigan, and University of Chapel Hill. According to the Washington Post, public ivies have a wider range of academic topics, larger student bodies and lower tuition rates.

Researchers found that students who were accepted to selective universities but chose to attend less-selective colleges received the same amount as students who attended selective schools in a 2019 study of 30 schools. It was concluded that a college’s selectivity had little to no bearing on a student’s salary.

In working environments, an elite education does not automatically lead to success.

According to a 2019 Business Review study, Ivy League graduates were found to have less interpersonal skills than their colleagues.

When selecting a university, students must weigh a number of factors. Although an Ivy League education is often portrayed as superior, there are many things to take into account as well.

May 2O21

Lifestyles

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MORNING ROUTINE DOS AND DON’TS How can your morning routine affect the rest of your day?

Article by Sarah Zehnder Graphic by Jaidyn Holt

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommends that teenagers need 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night to maintain optimal health.

How many of us can claim to have logged that many when our alarms buzz on a school morning? The CDC reports that 72.7% of highschoolers do not log the recommended amount of hours on school nights. For those who don’t jump out of bed ready to “carpe diem,” there are some best practices to follow and pitfalls to avoid to ensure a successful day.

Budget your time Everyone is familiar with hectic mornings where you lose track of time and have to rush out the door. However, this can easily be avoided if you plan ahead and budget your time.

Making use of the night before is crucial for a smooth morning schedule. Once all school work is finished, take the time to pack your backpack. This will save time and effort in the mornings trying to hunt down assignments from the night before. Also, try packing your lunch the night before to avoid wasting morning time deciding on and preparing the day’s lunch.

Sophomore Mia Parker believes that getting things done the night before gives her more time to herself in the morning.

“When you are rushed and stressed in the morning, that’s how you are going to feel the rest of the day,” Parker said. “That’s why I get things done the night before.”

Make your bed To some, making your bed feels like a pointless task. However, taking a few minutes each morning to make your bed can leave you feeling motivated and organized. Performing a task as simple as making your bed sets a productive tone for the rest of the day.

“Above all, I always try to make my bed because it makes sure I feel productive and makes sure I don’t get back into bed,” Parker said.

In fact, making your bed provides significant improvements to mental health. Completing a simple and achievable task first thing in the morning promotes a productive attitude for the rest of the day.

Get enough sleep A productive morning and school day all depend on the amount and quality of sleep you get the night before. An average of eight to ten hours of sleep is recommended for teenagers each night. Obviously, this takes willpower and organization. But the benefits of waking up well-rested are invaluable.

Hit snooze Although hitting snooze when the morning alarm sounds can be tempting, it actually does more harm than good. Not only could hitting snooze make someone potentially late for school or work, but it also negatively impacts the REM sleep cycle. This can lead to a deprivation of sleep and fatigue later in the

day. In severe cases, hitting the snooze, and therefore disrupting REM sleep, can lead to greater health problems including cardiovascular complications.

According to a survey of 274 Trinity students, 28% consistently hit snooze every morning or very often. Trying to squeeze in at least another 15 minutes of sleep is not beneficial. Instead, going to sleep 15 minutes earlier the night before provides more restful sleep.

Check your phone According to a study from IDC Research and an article by the Huffington Post, 80% of smartphone users look at their device within 15 minutes of waking up. Trinity students have a similar statistic. According to a school-wide survey, 46.5% of students check their phones immediately after waking up. Of those, 62.3% pick up their device to open social media and 26% check Canvas or schoolwork.

Checking the news and social media can induce stress early in the morning, leading to a more stressful day. Looking at social media immediately after waking up can be overwhelming and can even negatively affect learning later in the school day.

In an article by Elite Daily Dr. Nikole Benders-Hadi says, “the information overload that hits [you] before you’re fully awake interferes with your ability to prioritize tasks.”

In addition, the blue light emitted from your screen can strain your eyes while you are still adjusting to the morning light.

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Lifestyles

May 2O21

FEMINISM ISN’T A WHITE THING Intersectional feminism explores overlapping discrimination Article by Taylor Riley Graphic by Jaidyn Holt The feminist movement, which advocates for equality of the sexes, has accomplished much throughout the course of history. One notable achievement was the enactment of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which gave women in the United States the right to vote.

Despite popular belief, the 19th Amendment didn’t actually give all women in the United States the right to vote. Asian Americans weren’t allowed to vote until 1952, and Southern practices such as poll taxes and literacy tests prevented many Black and Native American people from voting until 1965. In actuality, the 19th Amendment only gave white women the right to vote.

In the book, “Bad Feminist: Essays,” feminist writer Roxane Gay talks about why women of color are customarily left out of the conversation surrounding gender equality.

“Feminism has, historically, been far more invested in improving the lives of heterosexual white women to the detriment of all others,” Gay wrote in her 2014 collection of essays.

Feminism’s failure to address the oppression of ethnic minority women is often referred to as “white feminism.” “[White feminism] was built on the foundation of suppressing other women, especially people of color. And we still see the legacy of that today,” English teacher JayJay Stroup said.

According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, white women are paid 79 cents for every dollar paid to men. This statistic is widely known, but it leaves out the pay disparity that women of color face.

Black women are paid 63 cents for every dollar paid to men. Native American women are paid 60 cents. Hispanic women are paid 55 cents, and Asian American and Pacific Islander women are paid as little as 52 cents for every

dollar paid to men.

Those statistics aren’t as commonly known.

White feminism ignores the fact that women of varying race, class and sexuality all face different levels of discrimination. This is countered by intersectional feminism, a form of feminism that focuses on acknowledging that sexism, racism, homophobia and other prejudices overlap.

In an interview with Vox, Kimberlé Crenshaw, the professor who coined the term “intersectionality,” expanded upon this concept.

“We tend to talk about race inequality as separate from inequality based on gender, class,

sexuality or immigrant status,” Crenshaw said.

“What’s often missing is how some people are subject to all of these, and the experience is not just the sum of its parts.”

World language teacher Rita Daugherty said she has experienced discrimination for being an immigrant from Panama as well as for being a woman. After becoming a mother, she felt pressure from her parents-in-law to quit working and stay at home to take care of her kids.

Ultimately, she continued working, proving that women can successfully balance a career and a family.

“I wasn’t playing the role that they wanted

me to play as a woman in that family,” Daugherty said.

Social science teacher Tatiana McKinney said that she has been subjected to prejudice against African Americans and women throughout her career and life.

“People have questioned my intelligence or questioned my ability to be able to do my job, or assumed because of my race that I could not,” McKinney said.

McKinney felt that this discrimination intersected with sexism, as she was often left contemplating if her intelligence was being challenged because she is a woman or because of her race.

“I’m not just African American, I’m also a woman; those are two distinct groups that deal with a lot of issues of discrimination,” McKinney said.

Both McKinney and Stroup believe that intersectional feminism and the recognition of white privilege are crucial in order to fully understand the issues surrounding inequality.

“Being able to look at the fact that things operate together and that people are distinct individuals with different issues is really importawwnt,” McKinney said.

Stroup feels that intersectionality brings distinct and diverse perspectives into the feminist conversation.

“It [intersectionality] demands more voices at the table. And it demands that you take everything within context, and that things don’t happen in a vacuum,” Stroup said.

White feminism operates on a limited viewpoint of issues, so intersectional feminists strive toward honest education surrounding discrimination and diversity.

“Educating yourself, listening, and being an ally is really important,” McKinney said. “In order to be able to change the system, we need allies.”

May 2O21

Lifestyles

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FRIDAY NIGHT DATE WITH WANDAVISION Article by Sivi Ward Graphic by Henry Van Voorhis

For sitcom and superhero lovers alike, the new Marvel show “WandaVision” captivated audiences this year.

“WandaVision” follows the lives of a superpowered family: Wanda, her husband Vision, and their two sons Billy and Tommy.

Wanda, otherwise known as the Scarlet Witch, has many powers including chaos magic, or the ability to reshape reality.

“Wanda is my favorite overall in the entire MCU [Marvel Cinematic Universe] because her powers and her story are super cool,” freshman Rhea Choksey said.

Vision is a super-powered artificial intelligence, created by Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man, and Dr. Bruce Banner, or the Hulk. Middle School Dean Jeff Wilso, a comic book enthusiast, was interested in the character Vision from his first appearance, and was excited to see his development throughout the show.

“In Infinity War, [Vision] sacrificed himself, the ultimate heroic attribute,” Wilson said. “Sacrificing himself for humanity, even though he’s not human. I’m a big fan of [that] kind of nobility.”

The MCU is most commonly known for its thrilling action movies and gripping battle scenes.

“WandaVision” is different because it models each show after popular sitcoms from different eras.

“I like that Marvel is moving into different types of entertainment, and so this is a welcome change,” Wilson said. “It’s a chance for Marvel fans to get some more character development over the course of a nine-episode series rather than just a two-hour block.”

Executive Producer Jac Schaeffer said the use of sitcoms was actually the idea of her co-Producer Kevin Feige.

“Sitcoms are so seemingly innocuous, but they speak volumes about who we are and who we want to be and these elemental truths about family and connection and love and parenthood,” Schaeffer said in the podcast ‘The Treatment.’ “It seems like this almost pedestrian way into a show that has

very large emotional stakes and themes.”

For example, the first episode was modeled after “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” From “I Love Lucy” to “Bewitched” to “The Brady Bunch” and even “Modern Family,” “WandaVision” has presented itself in several different styles that have intrigued spectators.

“As the first new content that we’ve seen from Marvel in two years, it was an interesting way to get people back into the MCU that we haven’t seen before,” Wilson said. “So WandaVision was kind of a cool hook and gave people the chance to see things from a new perspective.”

According to Choksey, the sitcom format was deliberate and cleverly incorporated. Furthermore, the sitcom style ties into Wanda’s development and backstory.

“It worked really well for WandaVision because later we found out Wanda’s love for sitcoms has been consistent throughout her entire life,” Choksey said.

However, as the season progressed, the show slowly moved away from the sitcom format.

“But ultimately it still ended up being Marvel,” Wilson added. “It started with the sitcom and ended with a big action battle at the end.”

The making of “WandaVision” began in November 2019, and to the fan’s dismay, was abruptly stopped by the pandemic in March 2020.

“I think it was supposed to be 10 episodes, and I think what happened was the pandemic shut down and so they had to truncate and move everything into episode nine, which was supposed to be spaced out over two episodes,” Wilson said. “I think we lost some of the motivation so that’s the only thing I wish we would have gotten more of.”

Due to the show’s popularity, there is a lot of desire for a second season. Yet, thus far, there are no reported plans for a second season of “WandaVision.” However, Feige did confirm that “WandaVision” will lead into the Doctor Strange sequel, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.”

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Lifestyles

Article by Sarah Currie Graphic by Jaidyn Holt

May 2O21

SPEECHLESS:

Junior Lillian Nguyen competed for the petitor expressing their views on a topic and Speech and Debate team on February 13 at hoping to persuade, while most debate events Harvard. As a petite person, Nguyen said it’s consist of multiple competitors sharing their hard to find suits that fit her, so at Harvard, views and expecting a rebuttal. she rolled up her skirt to ensure it wouldn’t fall “It’s different for the speech side … and down. After being on her feet all day walking the debate side of the circuit,” Nguyen said. the campus, she decided to take off her high “Speech is all about inclusion. I think we’ve heels and put on flats before her next round. taken great strides in achieving equality to all Like any speech and debate hopeful, Nguyen races, all genders, all religions. Debate is a difexpected to receive concrete, professional feed- ferent scene. Judges’ perspectives on how legitback. imate female debaters [are] … is still antique.”

“Your skirt is ill-fitting and a little short,’’ Director of Forensics, Benjamin Gaddis was the feedback Nguyen received. “It is un- said that some females feel more comfortable professional for a woman to wear flats.” in certain events than in others.

Nguyen felt that her ballot, a sheet of paper “I would say they [females] find it easier to used to judge, was anything but professional. be rewarded [in speech],” Gaddis said. “In deAccording to Nguyen, this experience with bate, females get talked over, and they have a exclusionary behavior was just one of many lot of things happen to them that are inherentthat other females like her have faced in speech ly or what I would call structurally sexist, that events. occur all the time.”

“I’m always happy when I get a female According to Shraddha Bhatia, a junior judge, but it doesn’t mean that all male judges on the Speech and Debate team, there are are bad,” Nguyen said. improvements to be made in the speech comTrinity alumni and debater, Alexis Huang, munity as well. Bhatia competes in extemporathinks the problem neous speaking, an goes beyond male event where com“Speech is all about inclusion. I think petitors are given a judges.

“It’s not just we’ve taken great strides in achiev- topic and create a from male judgspeech with limited es,” Huang said. ing equality to all races, all genders, preparation.

“Sometimes fe- all religions. Debate is a different “[Extemporamale judges can be neous speaking is] scene. Judges’ perspectives on how a very male-domisuper sexist. A lot of the comments legitimate female debaters [are] ... nated event,” Bhathat I got [were] is still antique.” tia said. “People about what I was believe, especially wearing, or the - Lillian Nguyen, in extemp, that way that my voice women aren’t as Junior k n o w l e d g e a b l e or tone sounded was actually from a or as confident as lot of mom judges. A lot of moms would be men. There’s that stigma that women just can’t like, ‘I would never let my daughter wear that be as good as men … about current events.” in round.’ or ‘You don’t look professional.’”

Bhatia explains how she deals with the stigCompetitions will ask parents of the com- ma around women in this event. petitors to volunteer as judges, so it is common “I just do my own thing and give my own to see older people judge. Parents can judge speeches,” Bhatia said. “I don’t try to get on any event in speech and debate, and within the bad side of a lot of these guys. A lot of the speech and debate there are multiple events. time … you have to have a constant smile …

Most speech events consist of at least one com- to draw them in so they don’t think you don’t

You sound so competent!

Love the suit! It looks so professional!

May 2O21

Lifestyles

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Female competitors in forensics face double standards

Try to have a deeper tone.

Flats are unprofessional!

Women should wear heels.

know what you’re saying.” we were kind of just discussing the issues and Gaddis attributes some of the problem to started brainstorming.” social media, and he said competitors don’t feel Beyond Resolved is a student-led organizaempowered to speak out about the unequal tion that advocates for all marginalized groups treatment they see. in high school speech and debate by raising “It’s a social media awareness of ofgeneration,” Gaddis “I think what is considered flirty, in ten overlooked said. “And we’re good disparities, creatabout calling out our congressional debate, for instance, ing inclusive spacfriends, but we don’t is considered good politics if a man es and building really like to point out does it. I think when a girl in debate resources for the when stuff affects us, debate commuwhen there feels like a really asserts herself, we say things nity. Beyond Repower dynamic, when about women that we wouldn’t say solved also acts as it feels like that per- for male debaters.” a place for people son’s more important.” to share their perHuang, Nguyen - Benjamin Gaddis, sonal experiences and Gaddis have all Director of Forensics with this double expressed that there standard. are double standards Huang and her in forensics. According to Gaddis, males and co-founders act as an advisory board for the females may present themselves in a similar organization and each take on different roles to way, yet still be perceived very differently. maintain the website and resources.

“I think what is considered flirty, in congres“There would be girls that would set up stasional debate, for instance, is considered good tions [to spread the word about Beyond Repolitics if a man does it,” Gaddis said. “I think solved] at tournaments, and they would hand when a girl in debate really asserts herself, we out flyers or give a little speech [talking about say things about women that we wouldn’t say Beyond Resolved] at the end of tournaments for male debaters.” … and we started to expand more and more Huang has witnessed firsthand how this after,” Huang said. double standard ensues.

Throughout the summer, speech and debate “When guys get louder and louder, people camps are held all over the country. Huang are like, ‘ooh, yeah! That’s really good. You said in the future, she would love to make that sounded really competent,’” Huang said. “But an addition to Beyond Resolved. when [women] do it, it’s like, ‘Can you stop “A lot of the issues that occur in debate raising your voice and being so emotional?’” come from the inequity of resources,” Huang Nguyen said the hesitancy to speak out said. “I wish that Beyond Resolved had larger about inequalities in forensics is no different camps. By bringing more people to camps like than other situations in society. these, I think it helps us to create a more inclu“We antagonize people who speak out, and sive community.” that rings true with any situation,” Nguyen By spreading awareness and suggesting resaid. “It’s like we’re not allowed to talk about sources, Nguyen thinks she and others have it.” the potential to overcome such disparities that After witnessing these inequities herself, have gone on for far too long.

Huang started an organization to address the “We’re getting there, slowly,” Nguyen said. problem.

“But we’re getting there.”

“We started the program Beyond Resolved at the end of my sophomore year,” Huang said. “I met some girls at a debate camp, and

Focus

May 2O21

STUDENTS VENTURE Article by Marcos Membreno Photo Courtesy of John Pallard

“We just want to do the work, and if that means we have to compromise our price, that’s fine,” Nepple said. “We are going to work as much as we can while we are here and make as much money as we can, and if that means we have to sacrifice our pricing just a little bit, so be it … in the position we are in, it makes more logical sense for us to land every job.”

Covering a 50 mile radius in the Orlando area, the strategy has proven useful as they After months of pushing each other to im- have a 95% conversion rate for every potenprove, staying up late nights, learning about tial customer approached. They believe that advertising and financing, finding new jobs, presenting themselves as highschool entrepreworking every lunch break and every study neurs has been “a good look” for them.

“It’s very sporadic,” Katz said. “Some weeks hall, seniors Tyler Nepple and Carter Katz have you’re going to have 20 jobs and you’re going established themselves as young entrepreneurs to be overflowed and others there’ll be two.” in the Orlando area. Making around $350-400 Having made $3,000 on their best week, per job, they’ve created a steady cash-flowing Nepple hopes to target power washing business that as their average that will end up lasting “We are going to work as much for this summer. To do them for years — Premium Pressure Services as we can while we are here so, they are increasing their forms of adver“To be honest, I didn’t and make as much money as tising. know this could happen we can, and if that means we As of now they use 6 to 7 months ago,” Katz Facebook marketplace said. “A year ago, I wasn’t have to sacrifice our pricing ads, yard signs, Nexeven thinking about any just a little bit, so be it.” tdoor, door hangers of this.” and other open marAlthough their curTyler Nepple, Senior ketplaces.

The biggest rent focus right now is step will be SEO, or the pressure washing search engine optimization, for Google which, company, this adventure began by putting up if done correctly, will allow them to rank highchristmas lights last December. Calling their er on Google search results. business Carter and Tyler’s Christmas Lights, In the future, Nepple and Katz plan to open they put up 250 flyers in the Winter Park area, branches near their future colleges in Miami and asked customers to pay whatever they beand Tallahassee respectively. There, they plan lieved was just. With this open fare payment, to study business and finance to get a better they managed to make a few thousand dollars. grasp for their long term goal — real estate.

However, as sales were seasonal, they used the “A lot of this motivation that we have comes profits to transition onto their next venture — from starting a healthy lifestyle,” Nepple said. one that would be sustainable year-round.

“Once you’re out there working out every day, After doing some research and deciding they eating healthy, you’ve already jumped the first wanted to stay with manual labor, the duo hurdle — improving yourself.

So why not take landed on power washing. Investing in new it to every aspect of your life?” equipment with their previous profits, they The duo believes that if anyone wants to used their previous clients to roll into busistart their own business the first obstacle just ness. They kept their original pricing tactics to taking the first step. attract more jobs.

In the midst of a pandemic, few students were able to pursue their goals, much less make them a reality. However, those who did were able to come back with newfound knowledge and a lucrative business.

Tyler Nepple & Carter Katz

“Just do it,” Nepple said. “If you’re talking about doing something and interested in that something or you want to make money, then just put your foot in the door. It doesn’t matter what happens. I drive around all day with a trailer attached to my little Chevy Volt and I don’t care.”

Nathaniel Cohen-Neamie Toward the end of quarantine, junior Nathaniel Cohen-Neamie stumbled across the “The Florida Project,” a movie about poverty in the Orlando area and its effect on children.

The film inspired Cohen to pursue his passion for community outreach and betterment. In no time, he set out to create Nate’s Tutoring, a free tutoring service to help those who don’t have the means of hiring a tutor. However, like many first businesses, it fell short. Undeterred, Cohen continued his efforts in helping the community and, finding success after failure, started a tennis foundation that gives free lessons to players in the community.

To share his experiences and grow his business and financial aspirations with the school community, Cohen then started the Investing and Business club.

With 10 members, the club mainly focuses on investing, more specifically with stock market challenges — a way students can learn by simulating trading without risking real money.

“I think it all started from the club and the [movie’s] inspiration,” Cohen said. “This year, after taking time off from tennis, I was given more time to work on these other ventures.”

Cohen was able to develop two unique businesses, the Orlando Tennis Foundation and a social media marketing agency, Stallion Media.

The Orlando Tennis Foundation was launched solely by Cohen. Teaching out of local parks, he quickly established roots within the community. Garnering the attention of friends and other tennis players willing to volunteer, Cohen has given free lessons for the last three months.

“We just want to help and give back,” Co-

May 2O21

Focus

INTO BUSINESS hen said, “Together we’ve been able to pool our resources and equipment to make these lessons possible.”

The second company, Stallion Media, is still under development. Launched with former Trinity student Jacob Aragon, the agency is centered around helping local businesses and restaurants with advertisements. Reaching out through cold calls — a communication tactic of calling local businesses without having prior contact — Cohen has already developed partnerships with local business owners for future advertising. The agency aims to produce ad campaigns and products to increase foot traffic, customers and Google reviews.

“All these projects are sustainable,” Cohen said, “That’s one of our main goals: to be able to hand these off to students who are also looking for business opportunities.”

After graduation, Cohen plans to hand off the tennis foundation to his volunteers and the club to its members. However, he will continue to build Stallion Media as he transitions into college.

Starting these ventures with no previous experience, Cohen has learned valuable skills that will continue to help him in the future: community outreach, social media marketing, website creation, communication tactics, and general organization and planning.

“These ventures have helped me grow as a future entrepreneur and channel my interests in businesses,” Cohen said. “There are so many options that this can bring me in the [business] field.”

John Pallard The first step was realizing what he wanted.

Then came taking action.

“I originally had a job at Publix and was investing a little bit — looking into starting businesses — and I was like, ‘this isn’t cutting it,’” junior John Pallard said. “So I started trading … At first it was rocky, but after finding my way and finding success, that’s when I decided I’d help other people do this.”

After Pallard’s stable success in the stock and newsletters — they plan to actively teach market, he brought together fellow juniors members and listeners through such mediums.

Leo Joshi, Sam Meads and former Trinity, As of now the team is recording Youtube now Hagardy student Kush Mathow with the content, branding through merchandise, and intent of achieving their personal goals and setting up courses consisting of videos and leshelping other students do the same all under sons informing viewers about building brands, one platform. investing and financial prosperity. These are all Mathow is an experienced trader in the stock sourced through their website. market. Having grown an initial investment of The next step will be to sell their products $25,000 into an astounding $2.5 million in and grow their revenue streams, ultimately the previous calendar year, he was no novice growing a large community of like-minded when it came to knowledge about the industry. entrepreneurs and having all members conCombining the group’s talents — Mead’s necting one-on-one. proficiency in recording, editing, and phoLearning the process of starting a business, tography and Joshi’s dropshipping ventures networking and managing different sources of — they were able to advertise well credited mentorships and relationships for their community.

Then came “The Hustlers.”

“We provide a community, based around people who want to better their mindset and lifestyle,” Pallard said. “A lot of people can’t do what they want because they can’t afford it or don’t know what to do.

There are some who can’t afford to start a business so we show The Hustlers have started branding through advertising their apparel. them how to make (Left to right - juniors Sam Meads, John Pallard, Leo Joshi and Kush money. Some have Mathow) fitness goals and they have no idea where to start so we are there to revenue, Pallard hopes to build the brand in give that boost.” the most efficient way possible, helping any According to Pallard, any viewer, listener or kids along the way. follower of theirs is a part of “The Hustlers.”

“We just want to grow it as big as we can, The brand is there to help and unify all types try to get as many people involved in as we can of people, ranging from those already mak- and teach as many people as we can — that’s ing millions in the stock market to those who our goal,” Pallard said. don’t even know what stocks are.

Having started the process of building their presence across several platforms — Youtube, Instagram, Discord, their personal website

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Focus

May 2O21

Article by Deniz Bölöni-Turgut Graphic by Jaidyn Holt

An Amazon cart waits on a screen, laden with books that could also be purchased at the independent bookstore down the road. A student taps her fingers on the table, weighing the pros and cons of driving to the store. In the end, convenience wins and the student sits back, confident in Amazon’s two-day shipping.

Whether it’s because of lower prices or free shipping, large online retailers are continually growing larger and putting many smaller stores out of business. Even Barnes & Noble, a once giant corporation which put many independent bookstores out of business, is losing profits as eBooks and cheaper priced books grow more common. Yet, librarian Reba Gordon says that small businesses offer more than just products and deserve continued support.

“I think [small businesses] ... create a more diverse marketspace,” Gordon said. “You have more people, more insight, more voices contributing to what it is that you can purchase and you are also helping your community.

Amazon doesn’t live here. They’re not necessarily contributing or improving in terms of having activities or book signings or sponsoring events here, but a local bookstore is.”

When individuals shop, many factors go into choosing to purchase from local or large businesses whether it’s safety concerns with COVID-19, convenience or price. For some, shopping locally might not be the most practical choice.

“We used Kizzy Books and More for the Author Fest, and they sold a decent amount of books,” Gordon said. “I did hear from several people, and several parents, that they chose not to purchase from them because they could

get free shipping from Amazon. So it just depends on what people are willing to exchange for convenience.”

Despite the multitude of advantages that large retailers offer, individuals can miss out on personal interaction and a greater sense of community when they don’t shop local.

“I think they [small businesses] compete with authenticity,” fine arts teacher and small business owner Irina Ashcraft said. “They are more relatable. … Small businesses usually have small staff, or a staff of one, so it’s very personal. If I shop at a small business, I usually know the owner. I can reach out to the owner and make a connection versus [with] a huge corporation, it’s hard to do.”

The COVID-19 pandemic only served to motivate more consumers to purchase items online, often from huge corporations. According to an article in Forbes, Amazon had an annual revenue of $386 billion in 2020, a 38% increase from 2019. At the same time, many small businesses struggled to stay afloat without in-person traffic or many of the events which were opportunities to advertise and connect with possible customers.

“I know how to paint but I don’t enjoy necessarily posting about myself online,” Ashcraft said. “But I have to overcome it in order to spread the word. … I was supposed to participate in the Winter Park Paint Out. … That went away last year completely, and this year it’s been pushed to later in the year. … So I had to reconsider my presence online [as] a new way to reach some customers.”

According to an article from the LA Times, although many small businesses suffered finan-

cially, way fewer than expected had to close permanently due to COVID-19. Part of this was due to federally funded stimulus packages which provided some relief.

“I think small businesses also have [the ability to] pivot; it’s harder to steer a huge ship,” Ashcraft said. “I am a one woman show. I can pivot very quickly. It might be an advantage which will keep [small businesses] around because they are going to respond faster.”

Ashcraft said that she believes that small businesses will stay around.

“With COVID, I know that some small businesses kind of suffered because there’s not a lot of financial backing,” Ashcraft said. “A small business a lot of times is operating on a shoestring budget, so that has been a challenge. But, I don’t think they will go extinct.

I feel like the more people will appreciate and support those businesses, the more of them will survive and stick around.”

The best way to support local businesses is by purchasing from them, and, if that is not possible, spreading the word on social media about local stores. Gordon said that she usually discovers new local gems through social media, especially recently as she doesn’t travel as often due to COVID-19.

“I’ve certainly learned a lot about local businesses right now because of the push to help support our community through the pandemic,” Gordon said. “When I’m leaving my house, I do think it’s going to be more important and I feel more of a pull, like we’re all in this together, to support local businesses.”

May 2O21

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2O

Opinions

May 2O21

EVENING THE Lawmakers must let

On March 31, activists and communities across Florida celebrated the 12th annual International Transgender Day of Visibility. In Orlando, City Hall flew the trans pride flag for the first time, a step forward in a city which five years ago suffered the single deadliest incident of violence against LGBTQ people in U.S. history. It was announced that later this year, the city will host the National Trans Visibility March, the first time it will take place outside of Washington, D.C. March 31 was a day of victory.

It was also the day that the Florida Senate Committee on Health Policy voted to push forward the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, eventually leading to its passage in the House. The bill would “require that anyone participating in girls and women’s sports at the K-12 and college level be biologically eligible to do so,” and “if challenged, they would have to get confirmation from a health care provider that they are female” through “medical inspections.” In short, it would ban trans women from competing in school sports, arguing that the higher levels of testosterone gives them an unfair advantage.

It’s also a lie. This bill, and the others like it that have been introduced in around 30 states over the past few months, is a travesty.

It is a direct attack on our most vulnerable citizens, built on a tower of misleading lies and ludicrous examples. It is a trojan horse, an argument with just enough sliver of reality that lawmakers can justify themselves voting against the lives of our schoolchildren. And it is, as trans woman and journalist Emily VanDerWeff writes for Vox, “an attempt to kill us through the indifferent cruelty of bureaucratic measures.” Allowing trans women to play

sports isn’t a political debate — it’s a human ence lawmakers have used to exploit general rights one. ignorance about transitioning. Core to this is A large part of why these transphobic bills the idea that testosterone confers an automatic have been able to gain ground nationwide is advantage — an idea that, as Scientific Amerbecause of the flashy examples that lawmakers ican explains, is “unscientific.” The magazine use, such as two trans girls in Connecticut who explains that, not only up to 10% of all womwere sued by three of their cisgender compet- en have elevated testosterone levels, but the itors, alleging that the “male athletes” had sto- advantage the hormone confers is doubtful. len championships from them.

And not only do many young trans women But that narrative doesn’t hold up. Transi- take hormone blockers and estrogen, but Scitioning isn’t a “choice,” and mischaracterizing ence Magazine reports that even adult athletes it as such belittles what trans youth go through lose any major advantage they had soon after every day. No one is going to go transitioning. through a life-altering process just “Every sport requires different talents and to not place last at their local anatomies for success,” Olympics and NCAA track meet. advisor Dr. Eric Villian told NPR. “We should The narrative also doesn’t focus on celebrating this diversity, rather than have any real world ex- on relative notions of fairness.” amples. The Florida High But these bills are never based on fairness.

School Athletics Associa- They are based on fear. It’s questionable whethtion has allowed transgen- er a single lawmaker supporting these bills der students to participate actually cares about protecting high school in the sport of the gender women’s sports — if they did, they wouldn’t with which they identify since leave women’s sports criminally underfunded 2013, and there has never been and ignored. Instead, lawmakers are using a even a single complaint from athletes, a nonexistent issue to enact very real discrimifact which Florida lawmakers were forced to nation. acknowledge. As many activists and doctors Roughly half of the bills currently introhave said, these bills are a solution in search of duced nationwide, and which passed in Ara problem. kansas and Alabama, “They’re acting like would ban gender-afLeBron James is go- “In reality, you’re talking about firming medical care ing to put on a wig little kids who just want to play for trans youth. In and play basketball addition, many of with fourth graders,” rec sports. They just want to get these bills hope to trans man and ACLU through life.” classify trans women lawyer Chris Strangio as male under law, told the New York - Chris Strangio, ACLU Laywer opening the door to Times. “And not one future legal and legLeBron James, 100. In islative discriminareality, you’re talking about little kids who just tion. Lawmakers aren’t debating whether trans want to play rec sports. They just want to get youth should be in sports — they are debating through life.” whether they should have the right to exist.

Far more threatening is the fraudulent sciAnd there is only one way to say this: these

May 2O21

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Opinions

PLAYING FIELD trans youth play sports policies will result in adolescent deaths.

By restricting proven-safe medical care such as puberty-delaying treatment and hormone therapy, lawmakers are robbing trans youth of their adolescence and exposing them to systematically higher rates of bullying, anxiety and depression 5.9 times higher than the national average, according to LGBTQ youth advocacy group The Trevor Project.

When prevented from transitioning, the attempted suicide rate among trans youth is as high as 40%, reports by the National Institute of Health show. Giving trans youth the ability to tran-

sition essentially eliminates those depression rates and drops the suicide rate to the national average.

Intially, it looked like government bureaucracy might have prevailed against the bill.

Florida law requires identical bills to be passed in the House and the Senate before being signed into law by the governor, and senators seemed unable to agree on a compromise before the end of the session on April 30.

But two days before the deadline, Republican leaders amended it onto a charter school bill with wider conservative support. Amid cries of procedural fraud and lawsuits, the bill passed in the Senate bare-

High Gender Identity Policy Tally (Most trans friendly)

7

Medium Gender Identity Policy Tally

Negative Gender Identity Policy Tally (Least trans friendly)

1

1

4

1

2

2

4 4

3

12

The Gender Identity Policy Tally measures the number of laws and policies in a state helping drive equality for trans and nonbinary people, including recognition, health care and nondiscrimination enforcement. Sources: Transgender Law Center and Freedom for All Americans

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1

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Fair Gender Identity Policy Tally Low Gender Identity Policy Tally

ly a day before the deadline, all but ensuring its enactment.

Fixing our laws starts with fixing the conversations surrounding them. Everyone should be part of the fight for trans rights, but we must also ensure that trans people are the arbiters of their own lives and their own laws.

“Every day that cis people guide most of the conversations about trans people is a day that further suggests our lives are not worth living as they are,” VanDerWeff writes. “We are not aberrations. Being trans is just another way to be human.”

Lawmakers blame trans women while simultaneously taking away the tools to help them. The game is already rigged against trans youth — keeping them out of sports doesn’t even the playing field.

9 6 3

1

2

3

1

5

2

1

1

9 3

2

4

4

3

Numbers inside each state denote the number of anti-trans legislation introduced in the state in 2021.

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Opinions

May 2O21

WHY WE MIGHT BE LIVING IN Article by Connor Raffa Photo by Anuha Tatineni Graphic by Jaidyn Holt

Why are we here? No single question has had a bigger impact on Earth today. It has undoubtedly changed the lives of billions (it’s the foundation of nearly 4300 religions) and has stumped even the most brilliant people of all time. In 2003, philosopher Nick Bostrom sought out to solve this question for himself.

And, out of all the possible answers, his simulation hypothesis — as crazy as it sounds — is the best explanation yet.

The theory, sounding straight out of The Matrix, proposes that our entire universe is a computer simulation. As explained by Elon Musk and other proponents of the theory, if you assume any rate of improvement in our technology from now until the ultimate heat death of the universe, 1 Googol (10100) years from now, mankind will eventually be able to simulate our own existence.

This makes sense considering developments thus far. Writing was only invented 5,500 years ago, and innovation since then has followed an exponential progression. In the past 20 years alone, we have seen the evolution of smartphones, and have even developed complex virtual reality gear like the Oculus Rift.

Just as technology has improved, so has our understanding of the universe and the human body; we have made vast improvements in the realms of physics and anatomy, respectively. Plus, this current trajectory of innovation doesn’t even consider the idea of technological singularity and an intelligence explosion (that’s a topic for another time). Needless to say, the notion that we can one day simulate our own existence is not as absurd as it seems.

Given this context, Bostrom infers that one of the following three situations will occur: 1. Humans will die out before we are capable of running high-level simulations.

2. Humans will have no interest in developing or running high-level simulations.

3. Humans will develop and run high-level simulations indistinguishable from reality.

Out of these three possibilities, number three seems by far the most plausible. Though fears of a nuclear war or other doomsday

events remain, it’s difficult to imagine the entirety of the human race being wiped out anytime soon. Furthermore, human curiosity has proven to be powerful, and given the benefits of running simulations it’s not hard to see all ethical concerns being tossed to the side.

This leaves us with situation three. If this the case, what’s to say we’re not already in a computer simulation ourselves, one created by a higher reality in which humankind has already reached that level of advancement?

Preston Greene, who received his doctorate in philosophy from Rutgers University, estimates that a computer could simulate the entire history of humankind a million times over every second. With only one “base reality” and an almost infinite amount of possible “ancestor simulations,” if humans become able to run high-level simulations, the chances that we are the original reality is not great. We could very well be a simulation, within a simulation, within a simulation and so forth.

May 2O21

Opinions

A COMPUTER SIMULATION

A more contemporary analysis of the hypothesis done by Columbia University astronomer David Kipping combines situations one and two, condensing Bostrom’s trilemma into a dilemma, a statistical approach known as a Bayesian analysis. According to Kipping, this yields about a 50/50 chance we’re living in a simulation, and as mankind gets closer to being able to run high-level simulations, and time goes by without us wiping each other out, this will only increase.

Certain observations about our universe as it is today could also tip the scales in favor of Bostrom’s theory.

“If you look around us, you’ll see a lot of laws and rules that govern the physical world that seem almost arbitrary and in tune with the same limitations of a program,” senior Rom Peles said, who has explored the theory himself. “For example, proponents sometimes say that since speed of light limits the speed at which something can move, it resembles a type

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of limitation that is currently used in computer programs. Perhaps it exists because the rest of the universe hasn’t loaded yet.”

Though she doesn’t personally subscribe to the theory, physics teacher Dr. Elmaire Mortimer likens the theory to other questions elicited by the study of physics.

“There are constants in physics that we don’t understand why they’re there,” Mortimer said.

“Why is the speed of light fixed? Why is the cosmological constant a certain value? Why is the Higgs boson a certain value? Those questions we do not yet have answers for. So, I think one of the takes of the simulation theory is ‘oh, maybe the answer is that it’s a simulation.’ But you can’t test that answer.”

Mortimer highlights that the two major issues with the theory are that it is unverifiable, but also unfalsifiable.

At this point, we’re left with the same question philosophers have been toying with for centuries: if we’re living in a simulation, then what is our purpose? Why are we here? Greene writes that there are two main possibilities: entertainment or research.

In regard to entertainment, there is a chance that we all live in a higher universe and have paid to live a more interesting life in this simulation. If that’s the case, we might wake up one day to find out we have an entirely different life on the outside.

However, Green argues that most likely, our simulation is for research purposes. He argues that, for example, if one were to study the causes of war, they would need to run a large number of simulations to be sure and could even run an infinite amount. Thus, if mankind does become able to run high-level simulations, there will likely be more for research purposes than there are for entertainment purposes, so we most likely inhabit the former.

Even if it turns out that we are not living in a simulation, there has yet to be an explanation for our existence better than this. Though this theory is far from certain — it’s difficult to fathom any idea of this magnitude ever being so — it at least poses a plausible explanation for us being here and deserves much more mainstream attention.

Opinions

May 2O21

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? COVID-19 shocked the world, what comes next?

Article by Ryan Zehnder As nationwide vaccination rates climb, Americans wait with baited breath for the day when they can officially “move on” from the pandemic. No one knows for sure when mask-wearing will fall out of ubiquity, or when mass gatherings will return to full capacity.

Many, vaccinated or otherwise, live today as if the pandemic were over, but undeniably, the aftershock of COVID-19 remains, and the consequences for many Americans only continue to multiply.

The notion that there exists a definitive conclusion to the pandemic is attractive, but it may not be realistic. There will be a last time each and every one of us dons a mask to leave the house. But structurally, COVID-19 has permanently altered the fabric of our everyday lives, in schools, the workplace and the marketplace.

The Virtual Generation Nationwide school closure represents an enduring controversy of the pandemic. Initial criticism of the policy was almost entirely cynical, originating from bad actors of the libertarian right who associated the development with totalitarian control. In Spring 2020, there existed a clear imperative for sweeping, unprecedented lockdown measures, and precisely because of the urgency of the situation, the effectiveness of remote learning was completely unknown.

School closure has been undeniably effective in combating viral spread, but the negative externalities for disadvantaged students have been substantial. In practice, virtual school has deepened socioeconomic inequities in education, an example of how the pandemic has allocated its suffering explicitly through class. A Yale study, in an analysis of the effect of online schooling, estimated that students from the poorest 20% of communities stood to lose up to 25% of their future earning potential. Students from the richest 20% of communities expect to suffer “no substantial losses.” For the impacted students, this loss is permanent, and

a mere “return to normalcy” won’t be enough.

In the case of the pandemic, school closure was unavoidable; the least we can do is recognize that inequity in education is not an issue of individual effort, but a systemic problem exacerbated by child poverty.

Economic Oxymorons In February 2020, global markets collapsed, fearing the oncoming pandemic and the inevitable crises of consumption that were to follow. Over the next month, American labor suffered a similar shock to investors, over 10 million filed for unemployment benefits, dwarfing records set during the Great Depression. Joblessness and general economic insecurity has put more Americans on a razor’s edge than ever before. A survey found that over half of respondents were not prepared to make an emergency payment of $400. Breadlines continue to make national news, and tens of millions fear eviction on top of food insecurity and continued joblessness.

During the ongoing humanitarian crisis the pandemic has spawned among working Americans and the global poor, billionaires collectively increased their wealth by almost $4 trillion, according to Oxfam. The markets mirror the growth seen amongst the richest, as April 2021 marks a consecutive year of bullish returns across indexes.

The described trend deserves to reach mass consciousness, as it should be understood that the pandemic caused no net loss of resources, wealth or prosperity. Instead, the pandemic facilitated an upward transfer of wealth from the class of essential workers and the newly unemployed to the richest of our society.

Federal and State Failures Today, the majority of pandemic-related headlines are relatively positive. Cynical trendlines and horrifying anecdotes dominated months of the news cycle, until eventually, the journalistic ethos shifted from “‘At War With No Ammo’: Doctors Say Shortage of Protec-

tive Gear Is Dire” to “Vaccinated Americans, Let the Unmasked Gatherings Begin” (both New York Times front pages, a year apart).

That we have crested the hill of the pandemic is worth celebrating to be sure, but failing to consider how we got here—here meaning with 570,000 Americans dead— is folly.

The absence of a coherent, centralized federal strategy is most obviously to blame. While the former president’s rhetoric and general disinterest in managing the virus certainly did not help, the problem goes beyond the executive branch. Trump drew attention, but the real decisions concerning reopening, mask mandates, quarantine orders and contact tracing largely occurred at the state level.

Florida is a perfect example. In October, Governor DeSantis vowed the state would never re-enter lockdown. Tallahassee removed all statewide restrictions, and, by executive order, prevented municipal governments from enforcing local restrictions. October saw daily cases sink to between 2,000-3,000, down over 70% from the previous peak in July. But by January, after four months of inaction, daily cases skyrocketed to new highs, with January 8 setting a new record for infections in one state in a day (19,530).

The emergent theme of American pandemic policy, at both the federal and state level, is the government’s unwillingness and repeated inability to take responsibility for the health and safety of its citizens. The federal government deferred authority to states, and states such as Florida passed the mantle to the individual, offering no statewide testing or vaccination infrastructure let alone restrictions of their own.

Going forward, we must consider the efficacy of a federalist structure in responding to national crises, and demand that governments take responsibility for their failure.

Now is the time, in the wake of widespread institutional failure, to advocate for sweeping changes to the way we perceive government.

This pandemic may be drawing to a close, but the next national crisis could be right around the corner, and without a strong, organized response that prioritizes health and safety, history is sure to repeat itself.

May 2O21

Opinions

25

ASIAN OBJECTIFICATION IS DEADLIER THAN YOU THINK

Submissive stereotypes make Asian women more vulnerable to hate crimes Article by Amy Qiao Graphic by Henry Van Voorhis On March 16, a white male shot up three spa salons in Atlanta, murdering eight victims — six of whom were Asian women. The shooter’s reasoning for doing so? He needed to subdue his “sexual addiction.” The local sheriff’s office captain’s justification for the shooter’s actions? He was having a “bad day.”

Preceding this unfortunate event was a spike in hate crimes against Asian Americans across the entire country. The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism revealed in February that while hate crimes in 2020 decreased by 7% generally, anti-Asian hate crimes rose by 150%.

While all Asians alike must suffer this hateful reality, Asian women are forced to bear the brunt of these hate crimes. In fact, out of all reported anti-Asian hate crimes in 2020, 68% were attacks on women, while 29% were on men, according to NBC News.

Although the shooter stated that his heinous crimes were not racially motivated, scholars are not ruling out the possibility due to Ameri c a’s long history of Asian objectification.

It is imperative to point out that Asian preference is drastically different from having a “type” in a potential partner, since it is often linked to racial fixations and sexual abuse motives.

“The objectification of Asian women has become a societal norm,” senior Samantha Nguyen said. “But the worst part about it is that we are stereotyped as ‘sexually submissive’ … so [men] feel that it’s okay to be rough and sexually abusive with us unlike other females. It’s dangerous for our bodies and mental well-being.”

Nguyen has advocated for the protection of Asian women by competing in local and national speech and debate tournaments with her 2019 Program Oral Interpretation piece: “A Submissive Streak.”

Before the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the United States passed a ban on the immigration of Asian women in 1875 because citizens feared that they were prostitutes and temptations for white men. According to Nancy Wang Yuen, a sociology professor at Biola University, American soldiers would often partake in the sex industry in Asian countries when at war; U.S. Military Camps even sanctioned parts of their bases for Asian sex workers. Thus, with the onset of US-led wars

in Asian countries, the infamous archetype of the submissive — yet exotic — Asian woman emerged.

This trope is most notable in the famous Broadway show ‘Miss Saigon,’ which features a 17-year-old Vietnamese girl, Kim, falling in love with an American soldier during the Vietnam War. In the end, Kim commits suicide after finding out that she can never be with the American even after she raised their child by

herself. While on the surface it seems like the typical heartfelt story of two lovers who meet in rough circumstances, the romanticization of such a tragic suicide feeds into the overused stereotype that women are too weak to care for themselves and cannot control their emotions when dealing with men. Even further, it strengthens the prevalent “white savior” narrative as the story assumes whites are the sole saviors that can save weak Asians — a notion long enforced since colonization.

Unfortunately, this media trope is all too familiar in Hollywood. Consider ‘Madame Butterfly,’ another movie where the heartbroken female Asian lead commits suicide after her white lover leaves her. Or even consider the “Dragon Lady” archetype, a hyper sexualized Asian woman who uses her promiscuity to manipulate men.

Perpetuating the justification of Asian objectification through films, stories, America’s history and even conversations is a threat to all Asian women. The idea that Asian women are submissive and quiet makes them more vulnerable to vicious hate crimes like the ones America has unfortunately witnessed in the past few months.

“There will always be media sexualizing all races, whether it be Asian or any others,” Nguyen said. “However we can teach our generation and the latter generations about respecting women of all races as human beings rather than objects.”

If we truly want to dismantle Asian hate, we must consider the cultural factors that perpetuate and normalize such injustices.

Nguyen recommends teaching more sociology classes about these seemingly ‘taboo’ topics, such as sexual assault and racism, in high school. Exposure to such topics at younger ages can help reconstruct how men should responsibly treat women. Instead of focusing on curing the short term consequences of anti-Asian apathy, we must focus on eliminating what breeds such hatred in the first place.

Opinions

May 2O21

THE ELECTION INTEGRITY ACT AND ITS POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES An analysis of Georgia's newly proposed voting bill Article by Jake McCreary Graphic by Jaidyn Holt Georgia was entering the 2020 election off of the heels of six preceding consecutive conservative victories in the state — a statistic that amazed everyone even more when Biden won the state by a tight margin of 12,000 votes.

Following Biden’s victory, as well as other notable events like Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff winning the senate runoffs, conservative Georgian politicians sought to reform the state election process via the Georgia Senate Bill 202, or the Election Integrity Act of 2021.

Ironically, this legislation undermines the integrity of state elections by making it more difficult for certain locations and ethnicities to cast their votes effectively.

The bill has received a great deal of backlash not only from citizens nationwide but also a surprisingly extensive list of corporations. The companies, who all signed an official statement, are no small businesses either. Signatories include massive conglomerates, including Apple, Google, IBM, Under Armour, Coca Cola, Microsoft and dozens of others.

“Our elections are not improved when lawmakers impose barriers that result in longer lines at the polls or that reduce access to secure ballot drop boxes,” the statement said. “There are hundreds of bills threatening to make voting more difficult in dozens of states nationwide.”

While the backlash is somewhat justified, a lot of complaints and criticisms aimed towards the bill are misguided. However, other aspects of the bill are problematic and do demand a discussion.

For instance, a common misperception of the act is that it will restrict voting hours, or when citizens are allowed to cast votes. Specifically, many are under the belief that voting hours now begin at 9 a.m. and end at 5 p.m., right at the time the majority of citizens likely just begin to leave their jobs.

Even President Biden voiced his discern with this supposed change.

“What I'm worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is,” Biden said. “It's sick. Deciding that you're going to end voting at five o'clock when working people are just getting off work."

However, what the law actually enacts is the 9-5 window as a minimum. Counties are allowed to set their own hours for their citizens anywhere within the window of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The only change that occurred was taking the original law, which stated that voting had to at least take place during “normal business hours,” and revamped it to the 9-5 window.

This change will most likely have a negligible overall impact.

Another complaint is that the law removes or severely restricts access to the drop boxes that facilitate mail-in voting. This criticism is another one that’s slightly misguided. While there will be fewer drop boxes as compared to the 2020 election, the context around the decision is important.

Drop boxes were completely absent from Georgia prior to the COVID-19 outbreak and were only instated via emergency rule. While the number of drop boxes is being reduced, the bill does make them a permanent option for future voters. Many may still rightfully disagree with these changes, but it’s important to remember that mail-in voting is not being removed altogether.

There is one key change, however, that does make the overall bill severely unappealing, and that is the decision to outlaw non-poll workers from handing out water, food and an array of other items to those waiting in line.

This change initially seems more annoying than problematic, but some key statistics reveal potentially shady intentions hiding behind the legislation. What many have pointed out is that long lines are far more common in counties and districts with much higher nonwhite populations, which means that these areas will be disproportionately affected by the change.

Georgia has gradually experienced a reduction in polling locations, causing the number of people crammed into one station to rise steadily. This change has occurred in predominantly white neighborhoods as well, but, according to the U.S. census data, people of color are far more likely to vote in person than through mail or other means. This leads to predominantly nonwhite county polls having far longer lines, which leads to much longer wait times.

“The clogged polling locations in metro Atlanta reflect an underlying pattern: the number of places to vote has shrunk statewide, with little recourse,” Stephen Fowler of the National Public Radio said. “Although the reduction in polling places has taken place across racial lines, it has primarily caused long lines in nonwhite neighborhoods where voter registration has surged and more residents cast ballots in person on Election Day. The metro Atlanta area has been hit particularly hard. The nine counties — Fulton, Gwinnett, Forsyth, DeKalb, Cobb, Hall, Cherokee, Henry and Clayton — have nearly half of the state's active voters but only 38% of the polling places, according to the analysis.”

Thus, this particular law disproportionately affects minority voters. While this doesn’t immediately point to hidden discriminatory intentions in the state government, it certainly makes the bill in its entirety look, at the very least, severely flawed.

Other changes have been attacked as well, like the new requirement for identification, which critics say will heavily affect minorities who are less likely to have said documentation.

Overall, while many critiques of the bill may not have a solid foundation, it’s clear that further discussion and revisions must be made to the act to ensure that voting is fair and accessible for all.

May 2O21

Opinions

27

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: ACCEPTANCE Letter by Brooke Beers Photo courtesy of Leonard’s Graduating high school is a rite of passage as their own and offend for the American teenager. It means taking a others by accident due to a step into the real world, maturing from a high lack of knowledge of culturschool senior to an adult. For many Trinity al norms. The bubble they students, we have walked these hallways for grew up in never protectthe past four years or more. And as much as ed them, it only hindered we might be ready for a change of scenery, I their ability to understand often wonder if the transition to college might the world around them. be a shocking awakening that the world is not Perhaps they drop out of what we have experienced within the confines school, or just struggle without enjoyment for their of Trinity.

As a college preparatory school, Trinity does college years.

This isn’t including the an excellent job of teaching teenagers to integrate, titrate acid-base solutions, and read nov- other students of Trinity, els such as “Americanah” and historical declara- those who might have years tions of rebellion (two examples that ironically of confusion and a feeling have given students like me the knowledge of not belonging for their and inspiration to write this article). However, seven years at Trinity.

Often, they wish their Trinity has not exposed us to the type of environment prevalent in colleges, universities, school would step up and and the workforce. I know the school wants acknowledge this group of the best for its students of all backgrounds, no students who would love matter their gender, race, religion, or sexuality. to feel like they can exist as I write this article because I know Trinity cares they are, without altering themselves depending on enough to listen.

For instance, imagine your “typical” high- whether they are on or off school student attending school from sixth campus— or perhaps even through twelfth grade, partaking in clubs, be able to find their group who will help them be sports, and at all, since student govTrinity needs to make it clear that themselves their off-campus life ernment.

They be- they support all of their students by might not be accepting, friend many allowing student clubs and acknowl- either. It would be nice to know my school supother students and edging these students they have ig- ports me as I am, they are generally nored in the past. We are here, we think to themselves. graduating this considered aren’t going away, and we would like yearI am and I will never step well-liked back onto Trinity’s camand popular. to feel welcome. pus as a student. I hope Then, they enroll in a large university. There, they strug- to leave the school better than I found it, to gle to communicate with other students who ensure every student has their “college prepadon’t share the same background and beliefs ratory” education and experience to succeed

after they walk across the stage and flip their tassel to the other side. Trinity Prep always says they have their students’ best interests at heart, and so I believe that we can take this step to ensure every child 6-12th grade can thrive: Trinity needs to make it clear that they support all of their students by allowing student clubs and acknowledging these students they have ignored in the past. We are here, we aren’t going away, and we would like to feel welcome.

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Sports

May 2O21

COLLEGE ATHLETES RECEIVING PAY FOR PLAY Article by Boaz Kim Graphic by Jack Ververis

In the beginning of April, the U.S. Supreme Being a college athlete can bear a lot of reCourt began hearing arguments for a case that sponsibility. During the day, they are studying will decide whether or not college athletes and working towards their academic success. should get paid. This has been a hot topic in But after that, they have a long hard practice the NCAA world, after a day of and this court appeal school. Athletes “I think the athletes should be get- such as senior is trying to get college athletes to be granted ting paid for the use of their name Cole Best, who some compensation will be attending for their name and and likeness because it is unfair the University likeness. A final de- for athletes to be risking injury and of South Floricision has not been next year for training 4O+ hours a week, generat- da made however. football, feel that This court case is ing profit for their college, and not there should be not deciding if play- get any money for themselves.” some method of ers should be receivpayment for the ing a “salary” but it - Charles Ahl, Senior athletes. would be deciding “I think it is if players should get something that paid for things such as being in video is very fair and necessary because it would games, advertisements, jersey sales, etc. help out the players a lot and mean that play“I think the athletes should be getting paid for the use of their name and likeness because it is unfair for athletes to be risking injury and training 40+ hours a week, generating profit for their college, and not get any money for themselves,” senior Charles Ahl, who will be playing soccer for Stetson next year, said.

One might say that colleges do not have the funding to pay all these athletes at their school who are already being given a scholarship and living conditions paid for. However, one statistic shows that on average colleges spend 34.1% of their money on coaching, 14.0% on scholarships, 15.0% on facilities, and 36.9% of what is left is used for any additional funds.

“I think if it were to pass, athletes that would be getting paid would be from revenue generating sports, which in my opinion would mainly be men’s basketball and football,” Ahl said. “However, it would still be a big advance for college athletes because it has been a topic of discussion for awhile now, and in my opinion it is unfair to athletes who generate revenue for their schools, get nothing in return.”

ers would not have to be working side jobs for money,” Best said. “For example, if athletes were to receive pay, this would help out players who come from low income families to help pay for any bills back home, also if athletes get injured or don’t go pro in their sport, they would have money saved from college to use.”

As of now, based on how the hearings have been going, experts say the Supreme Court will likely be in favor of athletes receiving some form of payment for college athletes’ names and likeness, but the final decision is yet to be announced.

“I think that this would definitely increase team morale and encourage players to work even harder because it would add a lot of extra motivation for players to play and practice their hardest,” Best said.

May 2O21

Sports

SENIORS STRIVE FOR STATES

Article by Cate Williams Photo by Anuha Tatineni

The best feeling comes when hard work pays off. Two seniors on the varsity weightlifting team, Wes Kim and Liam Swanson, can agree.

After their junior season was cut short, both athletes sprung into the year with a new sense of motivation and a particular goal in mind: making it to the state competition.

After a long off-season of training, the boys returned with a new level of strength.

“I focused a lot on how my body looked this off-season rather than strength, but gained a lot of weight, so I became stronger as a result,” Kim said.

Even though seeing results in his physical appearance was Kim’s main priority, the strength he gained in the process made him a top competitor. Placing first in the district and third in the region, Kim was set to make it to states.

Swanson, on the other hand, was originally focused on gaining strength to prepare for the upcoming season.

In the past, Swanson had been part of both the varsity lacrosse team and varsity weightlift-

ing, but decided to quit lacrosse in order to focus on weightlifting.

“This year I switched up my training to only weightlifting,” Swanson said. “I devoted most of my time to lifting, eating right and recovering.”

Swanson’s dedication paid off as he placed first in the district and later became the school’s first regional champion.

After being on the weightlifting team for four years, Kim and Swanson ended their final year on a high note.

“Going to states really became a serious goal junior year, but it got cut short which is why making it this year is such a big deal to me,” Kim said.

Swanson had similar goals.

“Ever since my first year it has always been my goal to make it to states,” Swanson said.

“This year I made it my goal to finish [in the] top three.”

And he did just that. On April 23, at Port St. Joe High School, the state weightlifting meet was held. Both boys competed against the top athletes in the state, Kim placing 11th and Swanson placing third.

“This was my first time making it to states, and I was excited to compete at such a high level against other athletes who are just as devoted as I am,” Swanson said.

Both Kim and Swanson consistently supported one another throughout the season, along with their other teammates and coaches.

“My coaches pushed me incredibly hard this year by telling me what I need to do to achieve my goals,” Swanson said. “My teammates also pushed me by constantly showing their support.”

Although both Kim and Swanson received a great deal of encouragement from their coaches, Kim said he owes a lot of his success to his teammates.

“My coaches definitely kept pushing me, but my friends were the ones who really pushed me to my limits, especially Liam Swanson,” Kim said.

The boys’ devotion to the sport will leave a lasting impact on not just the coaches, but their teammates as well.

“I hope I inspired my teammates to work just as hard as I did in their last couple of years on the team,” Swanson said.

Senior Liam Swanson placed first in the district weightlifting meet on March 31, which secured him a spot in the state competition. He then went on to place third at states to mark the end of his senior year.

3O

Sports

May 2O21

TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL Article by Jake Raffa and Matthew Halpin Photos by Kayla Alexandre and Anuha Tatineni

LAZIZ TALIPOV Basketball

George Washington University

COLE BEST Football

University of South Florida

JORDAN HARDY Volleyball

Bucknell University

ALAINA PISELLO Cross Country and Track Pepperdine University

CHARLES AHL Soccer

Stetson University

“Moving on to play football at the top level has been a dream of mine for a long time.

It’s amazing and a relief to see all the hard work and long hours pay off. I’m excited for what the future holds and hope that I can achieve my life-long goals at this level.”

- Cole Best

May 2O21

Sports

31

Saints commit to play college sports MATTHEW HALPIN Football Gettysburg College

JULEE SHARMA Lacrosse Wellesley College

KAYLA ALEXANDRE Softball

Florida International University

ROMIE LLEWELLYN Soccer Lander University

Not pictured: Taitem Turbyfill - Davidson College (Cross Country and Track) Jake Gobel - Rhodes College (Lacrosse)

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Photos

May 2O21

PHOTOGRAPHY EXPOSITION HEADMASTER’S DAY SHOWCASE

Anuha Tatineni Seniors huddle up before their game of Ultimate Frisbee.

Kayla Alexandre

The junior vs. sophomore game of Ultimate Frisbee takes place on Hubbard Field.

Mateo Membreno Senior Wes Kim goes in for the catch during the water balloon toss.

Anuha Tatineni Juniors Jaiden Bigney, Maiya Martin and Isa Otero cheer on their teammates from the sideline.