The Trinity Voice - March 2022

THE

TRINITY VOICE

March 2O22 Volume 24 Issue 5 Trinity Preparatory School 57OO Trinity Prep Lane Winter Park, FL 32792

CONVERSING IN CARS Distracted driving is not only caused by cellphones.

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NEWS

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announces retirement.

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LIFESTYLES

Students and faculty play the trendy new word game, Wordle.

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FOCUS

Digital detoxes can positively affect mental health.

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OPINIONS

The education system should encourage, not inhibit, critical thinking.

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SPORTS

Trinity athletics face supply chain issues due to COVID-19.

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Table of Contents

March 2O22

TABLE OF CONTENTS News

Justice Breyers Retires O4 Xenotransplantation O5

Lifestyles

Wordle O6 Distracted Driving O7

Focus

Sleep Disorders O9 Digital Detox 1O Athletic Injuries 11 Alternative Medicine 12-13

Opinions

Lead Ed 15 Online Radicalization 16-17 Child Prodigies 18-19 Gene Editing 2O-21

Sports

Sarah Lin

Pages 16-17

New Head Tennis Coach 22 Supply Chain Shortages 23

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 Jaidyn Holt

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Staff/Focus Topic

March 2O22

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), David Bryskin, Iris Lei, Victoria Berube, Julian Sealy Opinions Department: Jack Ververis (Editor), Maddie Peckham, Abby Hernan, Ella Norman, Reese Taylor Focus Department: Marcos Membreno (Editor), Aetant Prakash, Sreekar Nagulapalli, Angel Zheng, Peyton Alch, Alec Diaz Lifestyles Department: Sarah Zehnder (Editor), Kaylee Ortega, Taylor Riley, Amy-Ruth Gyang Sports Department: Boaz Kim (Editor), David Hull, Carol Marques, David Steinberg, Cate Williams Graphics Department: Jaidyn Holt (Editor), Sarah Lin Photo Department: Anuha Tatineni (Editor), Ella Craghill (Editor), Anna Miliotes Fact Checker: Julian Sealy Business Manager: Sarah Zehnder Adviser: Erin Miller

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This Month’s Focus Topic:

Health and Wellness Blurb by Marcos Membreno and Aetant Prakash Graphics by Sarah Lin and Jaidyn Holt

To promote healthy habits, share insights on mental health stressors, and explore new discoveries in high school injuries, this month’s Focus topic covers Health and Wellness.

We spoke with 7O-year old marathon runner, Neal Ater, who has mastered the art of keeping a healthy balance in life, something we all long for. Recently retired, he has started running 7O miles a week, pushing himself to new levels and maintaining his health along the way.

Podcast

Tune in this month to hear from our special guest, Neal Ater!

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News

Article by Ava Savino Graphic by Sarah Lin On January 27, Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement from the Supreme Court after over 27 years in the position. The decision opens up a spot for President Joe Biden to place a justice that aligns with his party’s political views that, depending on the justice’s age, could serve for a very long time.

Biden announced that he plans on replacing Breyer with the Supreme Court’s first Black woman, a historic first and attempt to diversify the United States’ top court.

Breyer became interested in law early on during his childhood and was exposed to his legal counsel father and public service mother, according to his biography on Oyez.org, Cornell’s online legal resource. He graduated Stanford University in 1959, furthered his education at Oxford University and pursued law at Harvard Law School. He then became a law clerk for former Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldburg, and held many other prestigious titles until finally being nominated for the Court himself by former President Bill Clinton in 1994.

While on the court, Breyer’s reasoning was described as pragmatic, always taking into account how laws will impact those for whom they were written. Social Science teacher Brandon Burmeister also described Breyer’s reasoning as practical and beneficial to the court.

“Breyer was great at reminding people that these decisions are not just philosophical, and they affect the lives of Americans,” Burmeister said.

His position on the court also influenced many pivotal cases in U.S. history. As one of two Jewish justices on the bench, Breyer held a different perspective from the majority Catho-

March 2O22

lic group. He uses a practical interpretation of the law that changes over time and measures the real life impact of decisions. On multiple cases regarding religion, he sided differently depending on the consequences and legal precedents because of this ideology.

“That type of pragmatism or pragmatic voice, I think, is really important on the bench,” Burmeister said.

The process of replacing a justice typically takes about three months, although some recent nominations were rushed due to a high number of justices leaving in the previous president’s term. According to Burmeister, it typically starts with the current president unofficially leaking potential names to the press to gauge the general reaction of the public.

Once a single nominee has been determined, the president will announce the nominee’s name in an official speech.

This nominee then goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which leads to individual questioning by members of the Senate and then a live round of questioning. Burmeister said that the attitude of the questions varies based on whether or not the nominee is changing the political majority of the court.

“If you have this [Senate hearing] where it’s really not going to change the power dynamics on the court, you might see a little bit more bipartisanship about philosophy and judicial [questions],” Burmeister said.

The questioning during this Senate hearing is important because the only way to remove a justice once they are nominated is by impeachment, which is extremely rare and difficult to do. Burmeister said that because of this, some questions do not relate to the job at all and rather aim to attack a justice’s personal life.

“They go into all of it,” Burmeister said.

“Personal issues, they’re looking for red flags,

they’re looking for everything. This is a serious [process], and it’s a really arduous process.”

The nominees that were leaked for this new opening include Black women, all of which are highly qualified according to Burmeister.

Eighth grader Nikhil Daniel is a debate competitor who is well-versed in current events such as this nomination. He said that he is looking forward to the new representation in the court system to show off a more realistic representation of the diversity of the American population.

“By issuing in somebody that is a woman of color, it does help show the diversity of the court system and the diversity of Americans since our court should show the values of the people of the United States,” Daniel said.

Daniel also believes that specifically choosing a justice with race and diversity in mind is important and that all candidates are always selected based fully on merit.

“Merit is always there when you’re selecting a Supreme Court justice, but also showing the melting pot that is America within our court system is necessary,” Daniel said.

The Supreme Court of the United States is supposed to be a representation of the country’s diversity in the population. Yet the current court is 80% white, 66% catholic, and 66% conservative, but the population of the United States is less than 62% white, 20% catholic, and about 50% conservative. Burmeister believes that this disproportionate amount of representation is not how the court should look if its goal is to represent the American people.

“If our job is to create a judicial court that looks like America, then it should have these different groups represented,” Burmeister said.

Altered photos taken from Wikipedia Commons. Photos courtesy of the U.S. government, The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia and Chuck Kennedy. Liscense: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

March 2O22

News

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ANIMALS: AMERICA’S ORGAN SHORTAGE SOLUTION Article by David Bryskin Graphic by Jaidyn Holt

On Jan. 7, David Bennett became the first human to receive a pig heart. The heart had received 10 genetic modifications, including the removal of four pig genes and the addition of six human genes. According to Medical News Today, this transplant was done by faculty from the University of Maryland School of Medicine under emergency FDA authorization for the procedure.

Bennett’s revolutionary transplant is also known as a xenotransplant, which is the process of transplanting nonhuman organs, tissues or cells into humans. However, the idea of xenotransplantation has been around for centuries, dating back to the 17th century when Jean Baptiste Denis tried blood transfusions from animals to humans.

Despite having been around for so long, xenotransplantation is not widely practiced because it’s highly complex. It comes down to a challenge that exists in both regular and animal transplants, and that’s getting the body to accept the organ. In normal transplants, sometimes the body will identify the transplanted organ as alien and make antibodies to break it down. This is known as a “rejection” and causes the organ to have reduced function or even fail.

According to anatomy teacher Anthony Palumbo, xenotransplantation has an even higher risk of rejection. This is because xenotransplantation is essentially inserting a genetically foreign animal organ into the human body, so our own immune system is even more likely to acutely reject the organ, registering it as a threat and fighting against it as an invader.

However, Bennett’s transplant

shows that through use of CRISPR gene editing and immunosuppressant medication, xenotransplantation can become a reality, which would have a great impact on science as a whole. “[Xenotransplantation] opens up a brand new branch of science, gets more jobs, more research,” Palumbo said.

The reason this milestone is so significant is because it puts scientists closer to solving the worldwide organ and blood shortage.

According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, as of October 2021, in the United States alone there were over 106,000 people on the waiting list who need an organ. Every 9 minutes, another person is added to the list, and every day, 17 people on the waiting list pass away waiting for an organ.

The United States is facing its worst blood shortage in a decade, according to the Red Cross. This organization supplies 40% of the nation’s blood supply, but a lack of donations has led to one in four hospitals missing the blood products they need.

However, once scientists reach a point where they can use gene editing technology to create animals that have any human organ or blood type, they can circumvent human donors entirely to create a more accessible future of organ donation.

Although xenotransplantation is a revolutionary medical invention, it still has a host of issues that need to be addressed, the first of which is xenogenic infections. These are

infections that are transferred from an animal to a human through xenotransplantation.

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) consultation on xenotransplantation-associated infectious risk, xenogenic infections could potentially lead to a wide variety of animal pathogens infecting humans.

Furthermore, these animal borne diseases could also lead to serious complications for the transplantee due to the immunosuppressants they are taking.

“As a human race, we have not done well with animal disease,” Palumbo said. As a result, he thinks we shouldn’t try xenotransplantation and run the risk that it could create even worse zoonotic diseases.

Furthermore, xenotransplantation is also accompanied by a host of ethical concerns, especially from animal rights activists. By trading animal lives for human lives, many argue that scientists will not know where to draw the line and will end up exploiting animals without a useful purpose.

Though, according to ethics teacher Benjamin Gaddis, if the animal’s death serves a purpose in saving someone’s life through xenotransplantation, then it’s justified from both a utilitarian and self-preservation perspective.

“Which creates the greatest benefit, another pig or cow alive, or a human being that’s really adding to our society?” Gaddis said.

Even in the face of all its issues, if humanity uses the emerging science of xenotransplantation conservatively, it can solve the organ shortage plaguing the world without needlessly abusing animals.

“It comes up to this idea of purpose: are the animals being abused and raised just to provide organs, or do they get to be an animal until an organ is needed?”

Gaddis said. “If we are driving this in such a way that these organs are here and these animals are also here, then let’s use them.”

Lifestyles

March 2O22

The internet’s daily obsession Article by Victoria Berube Photo by Ella Craghill Wordle: the new once-a-day word game that “I like Wordle for yet another reason: it’s The rise of Wordle began on Twitter in Janhas the internet in a chokehold. The New York uary 2022, where players shared their results comforting duality,” Lewinsky said. “I like it Times, who recently purchased Wordle, say on the app. It gained popularity amongst the for the action and the stasis, the suspense and over 300,000 people play daily. The game was community, and players began bonding over the sameness.” created by Josh Wardle in October 2021 for their Wordle wins and losses. Recently, “PuzIn addition to celebrities, fans have been his word-fanatic girlfriend. The objective of zle 233” has been trending on Twitter for its making their own versions of Wordle having Wordle is to guess a random five-letter word in difficulty. the word pertaining to the specific celebrity. only six tries. The game provides color coded For example, “Tay“The students were clues to help players find the word of the day. playing [Wordle], and “Since Wordle has a new level ev- lordle” has been Wordle is currently web-based and does not I was aware that they ery day, I feel inclined to come becoming viral on have an app, which raises the question of why were excited about the TikTok with fans of people continue to come back. game. Some of them back to see the challenge of the singer Taylor Swift “Since Wordle has a new level every day, I started asking me day.” sharing their results feel inclined to come back to see the challenge about it.” Boerth said. of the word of the - Morgan McCreary, Freshman day relating to Swift. of the day,” freshman and frequent Wordle Wordle has not just player Morgan McCreary said.

Many are begincaught the attention The psychological answer comes from Brit- of Trinity students but also celebrities. “The ning to compare Wordle to other popular ish psychologist Lee Chambers in an inter- Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon even took mind-teaser games. Eighth grader Allison Wilview with Big Think, a multimedia web portal Wordle on his show. In a recent article with liams, who enjoys strategic mind games, comwhich contains a collection of interviews Vanity Fair, public figure Monica Lewinsky pared Wordle to Sudoku.

“The dopamine reward we get as we beat shared her love for the game.

“I like [Wordle] better because everyone or win the game is blissful,” Chambers said. knows different words, but the numbers in Su“Most of the things doku are harder,” that we do for pleasure, Williams said. as well as all of our adGames come dictions, are simply for and go, eventually the want of dopamine.” there will be a new Wordle generates a game to consume new word every day at the world’s attenmidnight, leaving playtion, but Wordle ers with a comfortable will forever be in repetitive routine which the back of our is pleasant to those who minds rememberdo not need a game to ing the dopamine be overly complex. it gave us.

“I think [Wordle’s] “I don’t think attraction is that it’s a this will go away fun game, it takes you anytime soon,” a few minutes, to work Boerth said. “It’s your way through one gotten enough of them and then you popularity that it’ll can be on your way,” always probably be English teacher Robert around as a kind of Boerth said. “Generally, classic word game.” you’ve had success, so it gives you that kind Across campus, students play the daily Wordle, which is a new game that has become popular of reinforcement.” among all generations.

March 2O22

Lifestyles

PASSENGERS ON DO NOT DISTURB Article by Sarah Zehnder Graphic by Sarah Lin

There’s more to distracted driving than your device

However, the remaining four states including Florida have no teen passenger restrictions.

At Trinity, where the parking lot is filled with novice drivers, safety is a must. Trinity’s Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) club hosts and organizes many events around campus, including the Drunk Driver Simulation held every four years. This is an upper-school only event that mimics the causes and effects of a violent DUI crash. SADD club centers around encouraging students to make responsible decisions, not destructive ones, specially when it comes to driving.

“We work to ensure that you, as well as the school as a whole, is raising awareness about drunk driving and distracted driving,” SADD club Faculty Sponsor Byran Moretz said.

Junior Morgan Cox’s family set restrictions for her first few months of having a license to ensure her driving safety. Similar to the AAA recommendation, her parents’ guideline was that Cox was not allowed to drive her friends around for the first three months of her driving. Her parents wanted Cox to gain seat time on the road by herself before bringing passengers, that is another potential danger, into the vehicle.

Cox said her family has always prioritized safety behind the wheel.

“Safety is a priority for me and my family because when my mom was 16, she was driving with one of her friends and they got in a car accident, affecting her for the rest of her life,” Cox said. “She was injured in that car accident, and is still injured today so it is really important to me to be safe on the road.”

Cox said she always stays off her phone while

driving and never forgets to wear her seatbelt.

“They told me that I cannot rely on other drivers and that I have to rely on myself to stay safe,” Cox said.

Although Trinity can not control how students act behind the wheel, the school does its best to encourage students to make responsible decisions when with peers and by themselves.

When it comes to school-wide events like prom and Homecoming dances, encouraging safety behind the wheel becomes even more important.

“As we get closer to Prom, we will be doing more activities to promote safe driving and to ensure that students are driving to and from Prom and other school activities in a respectful and safe manner,” Moretz said.

Even when students are driving to off-campus events, there are several rules of the road that they can follow for a safest possible ride.

When driving, Moretz recommends taking certain safety precautions in order to maintain a safe driving experience, especially with phone usage, the most common form of distraction for a driver who is alone in the car.

“What you are trying to do is decrease the level of access to the device,” Moretz said. “The easiest way to prevent becoming distracted is by either turning off your phone or putting your phone away. I also recommend using the “Driving, Do Not Disturb” mode on your phone. Also Apple Carplay can help prevent the need for a distraction to occur.”

As a passenger, that means you are responsible as the “co-captain”, Moretz said. Although you are not in control of the wheel, the passenger should always be in charge of secondary controls like the radio and temperature.

“The most important thing to remember as a passenger in a vehicle is to not become a distraction whether you are in the passenger seat or in the third row,” SADD President and junior Carlos O’Connor said.

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When you hear the term “distracted driving,” many think of their phone. Everyone knows about the dangers of texting while driving and the shocking reports that prove it. Perhaps then you put the device on ‘do not disturb,’ thinking you have solved the problem. And certainly you’ve made some progress, but that’s not the only thing in your car that distracts, in fact passengers can be just as distracting.

With teenagers behind the wheel, the risk of a crash caused by distracted driving is high to begin with. In fact, according to the American Automobile Association, driver distraction is responsible for more than 58% of teen crashes, and texting while driving takes up a large percentage of that statistic.

However, we fail to discuss what else a driver might be distracted by and why these drivers are getting distracted in the first place.

According to the CDC, crashes where death occurred were more likely to be by drivers 1519 year old distracted drivers than by 20 year old distracted drivers. Nine percent of all teens who died in crashes were killed in distraction-affected crashes.

Furthermore the AAA Foundation reported that from 2007-2012 the top distraction in the moments leading up to a crash is “talking or attending to other passengers in the vehicle,” which appears in 15% of the recorded crashes.

AAA recommends that “no more than 1 non-family passenger under the age of 20 for at least 6 months of licensure” should be in the car. States like Oregon meet this recommendation for passengers driven by teenagers.

Eighteen states in the U.S. promote teenage driv3+ passengers er safety by meeting these recommendations through the passage of state laws.

Twenty-eight states in the US have some precautions, however, AAA recommends 2 passengers strengthening those states’ laws.

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March 2O22

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March 2O22

Focus

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SLEEP DISORDERS DISRUPT DAILY LIFE

Article by Angel Zheng Graphic by Sarah Lin

In a normal morning class period, a teacher starts explaining a particular subject material on the whiteboard in front of the class. Senior Levi Kaplan finds his attention wavering as his eyelids begin to feel heavy. The teacher’s voice starts fading and becomes softer. He decides to lower his head on his desk and close his eyes.

Someone calls his name. He wakes up with a jolt, his focus centered on the teacher looking at him with concern.

Most people will interpret this scenario as a typical high schooler without sufficient sleep.

After all, many middle and high school students struggle to make time for sleep. Despite having heard of the importance of sleep and how it affects people physically and mentally in their daily lives, around 57.8% of middle schoolers and 72.7% of high school students get less than the recommended amount of sleep for their age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

What if the problem isn’t that people find it hard to catch up on sleep, but that they are not able to get a good night’s rest? Problems with the quality, timing and amount of sleep may be a sign of a sleep disorder, which negatively affects the normal sleep pattern in an individual.

Dr. Karen Baker, a sleep medicine specialist for the AdventHealth Center for Sleep Disorders, states that there are six major categories of sleep disorders: insomnia disorders, sleep related breathing disorders (e.g. sleep apnea), central disorders of hypersomnia (e.g. narcolepsy), circadian rhythm disorders (e.g. delayed sleep phase), parasomnias (e.g. sleep walking) and sleep related movement disorders (e.g. restless leg syndrome).

According to Baker, sleep disorders are usually correlated with both genetic and environmental factors. Certain hereditary conditions and daily habits may increase the chances of having the disorder.

“Some disorders, like insomnia, may also be associated with other psychiatric problems like anxiety and depression,” Baker said. “But then there’s also other medical

problems that may further contribute to our sleep disorders.”

Kaplan was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea towards the end of 2020. This condition occurs when the muscles supporting the tissue in the throat temporarily relax, narrowing or closing the airway and cutting off breathing during sleep. Kaplan recalls his daily experiences with this condition.

“Getting tired during the day, falling asleep during the day … that just comes from the fact that the lack of breathing throughout the night … disrupts your REM sleep, and just makes the quality of sleep throughout the night worse,” Kaplan said.

Since the effects of sleep disorders and a

INSOMNIA SLEEP APNEA NARCOLEPSY PARASOMNIA

general lack of sleep are similar, it brings up an assumption that they are likely to be the same. But there is a line of difference between the two.

“When you have a sleep disorder, you’re not going to get sufficient amounts of sleep … as the end result,” Baker said. “For example, if you have sleep apnea, when you’re sleeping at night you’re not getting good quality sleep … so then you don’t get enough sleep.”

Kaplan’s main struggle with sleep apnea was not the physical aspects, but rather the mental aspects, mainly the stereotypes that surround this disorder.

“That popular held belief of ‘oh, well only people who are like morbidly obese get sleep apnea’ … that’s just not the reality for everyone,” Kaplan said. “I think just getting my head around that idea initially was probably the hardest thing.”

Fortunately, people with sleep disorders can learn how to keep the symptoms under control by engaging in habits that help with getting more sufficient sleep.

“Your average high schooler or teenager needs approximately nine hours of sleep,” Baker said. “Having healthy sleep habits is always important for any sleep disorder… consistent sleep schedule, allowing sufficient hours of sleep, appropriate wind down bedtime routine … not doing your homework in bed and just suddenly turning off the lights.”

Despite the challenges that come with sleep apnea, Kaplan has found ways to handle and work with his condition.

“I think with the help of getting into more routines, and just learning how I work and learning when I need to give myself a break… has been the most helpful.

And I think I’ve seen a definite improvement,” Kaplan said.

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Focus

March 2O22

DEBRIEF OF THE DIGITAL DETOX Article by Alec Diaz Graphic by Jaidyn Holt

This past June, as junior Raheel Patel got ready for bed, he desperately wanted to check social media, but he realized that he could not: he was taking a social media detox for three weeks. A digital detox entails stepping away from electronic devices anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of months, so everyday tasks such as checking social media, emails and watching Netflix would all be avoided.

According to an article by Cleveland Clinic, participants of a digital detox are more likely to have sharper focus, less stress, better social interactions and more control of their time.

Patel participated in a social media detox with some of his friends. They realized that they were spending too much time on social media and couldn’t finish the things that needed to be done, such as working out, starting a new hobby and studying for the SAT. Despite Patel’s attempts in the past to limit his time on social media, they were all ineffective as he would eventually end up redownloading the apps he had deleted.

Raheel’s attempts to get his friends to join his detox were often ignored and his experiences reveal many teens’ reluctance to take

part in this. Although teenagers are reluctant to particpate, social media seems to be doing them harm. According to The Small Business Blog, almost 27% of teenagers who use social media for more than three hours a day deal with psychological issues, along with an increased rate of suicidal thoughts.

Instructional Design Specialist Natalie Galed attempted a digital detox years ago, and it didn’t go so well. Because she uses social media as a way to connect with people who have moved away, a digital detox significantly impacted her social life.

“I found that I had depended so much for my social life, to be connected to people through social media, that when I got off of social media, I was actually stopping talking to people,” Galed said.

Galed also said that while being on social media, there are the added possibilities of figuring out whether or not you need to attempt a digital detox, due to the harsh environment that social media can be at times.

“I don’t think that social media is the bad entity and it’s more about what we’re exposing ourselves to,” Galed said. “I think that if you’re interested in a detox, or getting off completely, that part of it is realizing what you like about being on social media.”

An article by Boys and Girls Clubs of America says that about 22 million teens log onto Instagram each day and that teens who struggle with mental health often feel obligated to go on Instagram, as they don’t want to get behind on social media “trends.”

“Going through [the digital detox] with three other guys, [the digital detox] was way better,” Patel said.

Without social media, he worked out more, read more, spent more time outside and spent more time with his family.

Patel said that in the future, if needed, he would try a digital detox again. He also said to make sure that you’re always occupied, as it was tempting to give in at night. “[The digital detox] definitely made me realize that I gotta limit my social media usage,” Patel said. “So I would say it was successful.”

March 2O22

Focus

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ROAD TO RECOVERY

Trinity athlete overcomes ACL injuries despite obstacles

Article by Sreekar Nagulapalli Graphic by Sarah Lin

Trinity point guard Elizabeth Bias sinks a three-point shot before backpedaling to get back on defense, but before she can get there she stumbles and hears a pop. She has torn her ACL for the third time on her right leg.

Bias, a player on the girls varsity basketball team, has had multiple ACL injuries and has received multiple surgeries, but she is not alone in her struggle with knee injuries.

“ACL sprains and tears are common knee injuries, with a reported incidence of 100,000 to 200,000 in the United States every year,” Jeffrey Nielson of Grandview Medical Center said in his study on ACL injuries.

Anterior cruciate ligament tears, also known as ACL tears, are a type of severe knee injury where the ligament is torn because too much stress is placed onto it. Unlike other injuries, a majority of the time it is only able to be completely repaired through surgery, as torn ligaments like the ACL are unable to heal on their own. As a matter of fact, in a 2013 study of ACL injuries in high school athletics, a reported 76.6% resulted in surgery.

The weight surgery bears on an ACL complicates the recovery process, which is a crucial factor in whether or not a student-athlete can return to physical activity.

“There are milestones and all types of restrictions throughout the entire process,” athletic trainer Jeff Feroglia said. “Early on, the biggest issue is trying to get the athlete’s knee as straight as possible, and then working range of motion and quad strength, which is lost pretty quickly after surgery.”

These obstacles delay the process, as most athletes take upwards of six to nine months to recover, according to Cleveland Clinic.

For Bias, she will have to wait upwards of 16 months as she had a tibial osteotomy, or knee realignment surgery, which has a recovery time of an additional four to six months along with an ACL reconstruction surgery.

These surgeries, along with their recovery methods, have been refined over time, with the surgery becoming minimally invasive and new medical technology emerging in the re-

covery process, according to UCHealth. However, even with these novel methods, medical professionals have still not been able to curb injury rates.

In fact, the rate of the injury has skyrocketted, particularly among high schoolers, increasing by 147.8% over the last 10 years from 2.74 per 100,000 population in 2005 to 6.79 per 100,000 in 2015, and continues increasing 2.3% annually, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“I can definitely see how injury rates are increasing right now,” said junior Anthony Miceli, who tore his ACL playing varsity football. “More and more athletes are not taught proper technique, and more and more athletes are lacking year-round training and conditioning, which makes them more suscetiple to [injury].”

This is extremely detrimental, as new studies have shown a significant correlation to early age arthritis, as Dr. Nicole Friel said in her study on the long-term effects of ACL injuries.

Effects of serious knee injuries do not just influence physical well-being however. It has a plethora of other negative impacts, with a domino effect on other aspects of a student athlete’s life, including their education, mental health, and social life.

For Bias, this was exactly the case, as she was

put behind in her classes due to missed days of school and her main outlet from her everyday stresses, basketball, was taken away from her.

“My life typically revolves around working out and playing basketball and not being able to be active destroys my mental health,” Bias said. “Thankfully, my teachers have always been very understanding and I have good friends that have always been supportive of me throughout the entire process.”

With her positive attitude, Bias looks at her ACL injuries as a lesson for her life, rather than a hindrance to it.

“I think my ACL injuries have taught me the importance of continuing to put in effort, no matter what the circumstance,” Bias said. “My experience will carry me through the rest of my life.”

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March 2O22

Sugar causes hyperactivity

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Reading in the dark ruins eyesight

Infographic by Sarah Lin and Jaidyn Holt

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The 5 second rule (eating food off the floor)

March 2O22

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Drink coffee for a better nap

ZZ

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HYPE Z

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six health Z tidbits ZZ

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Drink a hot beverage to cool off

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Don’t brush after eating

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Sources: Business Insider, Live Science, Time

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March 2O22

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March 2O22

When in school, students are encouraged to explore, to be curious. “There are no stupid questions,” the saying goes.

Except there are — at least, according to the lawmakers who have introduced over 137 bills nationwide to restrict discussions in classrooms and punish teachers who “push their own biases.” According to free speech organization PEN America, these topics include a short and inconclusive list of: slavery, race, religion, political affilation, facism, antisemitism, free-market economies, gender, abortion, Black Lives Matter, pronouns, socialism, sexual orientation, Janurary 6th, any “negative” depictions of America and any other topic lawmakers deem sufficiently “controversial.”

If it sounds vague, that’s the point. Lawmakers and parents who say that they want politics out of our classroom don’t really mean that — they mean they want politics they disagree with out. Schools, including Trinity, have become a political battleground for politicians and parents, with teachers and students caught in the crossfire.

Most of the recent national outrage is founded on a base misunderstanding of what schools do. Schools, from middle school to university, are designed to present students with a variety of viewpoints and perspectives. They provide a safe space to explore these ideas, where students are encouraged to express their opinions.

Teachers, in moderating and encouraging these debates, help make sure students’ views are respected and heard.

Besides, a 2016 study from the Journal of Curriculum Theorizing found that teachers disclosing their political beliefs has little influence on their students. In fact, the study found that most students, regardless of political beliefs, appreciated their teacher being involved; it meant the teacher was treating them as an adult who was able to understand differing opinions and personal bias. If you treat children as immature and impressionable, then that’s what they’ll be. The opposite is true as well.

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FROM CONCERNED TRINITY STUDENTS “Teachers have a right to express their political opinions to the extent where it’s not encroaching on their students and making their students feel bad about their own political opinions,” eighth grader Lucy Chong said.

Whether parents like it or not, their students are going to be exposed to politics and have questions. If teachers are forbidden from discussing even objective facts about topics and discussions, this won’t make the students stop. It’ll just turn their sources from the classroom, where they can develop critical thinking and their own opinions, to the internet, where echo chambers and misinformation abound.

“Sharing and forcing are very different,” eighth grader and middle school history bowl captain Misha Choudry said. “So I think if they’re just sharing, it shouldn’t really matter.”

And when vague and poorly-written laws try to control this dynamic, most teachers avoid politics entirely. A recent EdWeek study found that while a majority of teachers refrained from talking about former President Trump’s factually incorrect claims of voter fraud, over a quarter avoided the topic not because they thought it was inappropriate, but because they feared complaints from parents.

Under two separate laws currently being debated in the Florida legislature — the Individual Freedoms Bill and Stop WOKE Act — parents would be able to sue if their child’s teacher used lessons that might cause “discomfort” to students. Teachers would also be unable to teach that any historical individual is “inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive.” Students would have to learn about the civil rights movement, the Holocaust, slavery, all while ignoring or obscuring the actual events.

“If we don’t teach what’s uncomfortable, we’re living in a bubble,” eighth grader and middle school student council president Nikhil Daniel said. “It’s going to be burst in the real world. So by learning about things that are uncomfortable, it’s better to learn in a safe school environment rather than going out in the real world and experiencing it.”

Some of these issues, raised by legislators and parents alike, are, for many, not political.

Rainbows flags in classrooms are not political.

Allowing students to pick their pronouns is not political. Calling these topics as such reduces identities into something that can be debated, regulated and removed.

On the issues that actually involve politics, teachers should never instruct students on how to feel, or whom to vote for. But accusing teachers of indoctrination when they’re just doing their job is an insult not just to them, but the students as well. Trinity is founded, above all else, on preparing students for college and for life. We cannot ignore politics as a part of that.

“Letting kids understand the views of both parties and letting them make their own decisions, and giving them sources to decide for themselves rather than their parents dictating their policy decisions of the party they support is good,” Daniel said. “Allowing teachers to support kids and give them the resources to understand the political party system will allow us as a society to progress and the children to actually have their own values and standpoints.”

Parents say that they are protecting their independent “family values” by controlling what is taught in the classroom. Teachers are a threat to those values, not because they are indoctrinating students, but because they are teaching students to think on their own. If students are able to form and articulate their own opinions, even when they may disagree with those of their parents, that’s not a failure of our education system. That’s a success.

The lead editorial expresses the opinion of the Trinity Voice editorial staff. Please send comments to voice@trinityprep.org.

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March 2O22

DOWN THE RABBIT Article by Jack Ververis Graphics by Sarah Lin

In many ways, political servers on group messaging platform Discord are just like any other group chat. On one server, 4,000 active users share memes, play games and join voice calls together. It is a standard friend group.

That is, until someone brings up politics.

As teenagers increasingly rely on online spaces for community and connection, extremist groups are sensing an opportunity.

During the pandemic, these spaces boomed; according to the New York Times, Discord increased its active user base to 140 million active users, the primary base of which are ages 12-23. On its 6.7 million “servers,” or largescale group chats, these teens organize around interests ranging from mainstream music to the most obscure topics.

The most popular interest by far though is video games. And while gaming platforms have taken some steps in recent months to curb hate speech in the medium, it’s still widespread. In a 2021 survey by the Anti-Defamation League, 10% of gamers aged 13 to 17 had interacted with white supremacist ideology, with 60% experiencing harrassment. Tech magazine Wired found that the large, organized groups are overwhelmingly alt-right, and have been allowed to grow with little oversight on popular platforms like Steam and Discord.

As explained by activist group Tech Against in extreme right-wing Discord communities Terrorism, members typically introduce them- was 15. selves through a slightly edgy joke or off-col“More than a server about politics, it’s a or comment. This can be especially prevalent server where you can make friends,” the modon popular sites like Roblox, of whose 43.2 erator told me. million active users, 54% are under the age But past the server’s welcoming stateof nine. Most of the time, this goes nowhere. ment, threads titled “conspiracies” and “deHowever, if a player is interested, they are in- bates-and-politics” contain a strange mix of vited to join up on private servers and chats.

Christian theology, bad Donald Trump pho“In students’ minds, there really was never a YOU’VE BEEN INVITED TO JOIN A SERVER time before the internet,” Director of Network and Join Support Services Chad Griffith said. “Just like with any tool that can be used for good, it can also be used for bad. And I think that when teens are young, they’re impressionable, toshops and virulent antisemitism. It’s often they have a strong desire to fit in, to belong, hard to tell what’s serious and what’s a joke. to be a part of something. And if those needs Next to a meme from Shrek might be a dearen’t met, there’s ways on the internet to find bunked study on African American skulls, and those avenues.” calls for violence against trans people could be One non Trinity affiliated Discord mod- done by a user with a Sonic avatar. Many userator, who asked that their username not be ers feel disillusioned with mainstream politics, published, spends six to eight hours a day run- and often hold contradictory views. ning a political Discord server of about 2,000 “Am I actually a national socialist? No,” one people, most of whom age 13-24. This match- user told me. “Am I whatever the hell normies es with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue’s think is a Nazi? Maybe.” study, which found that the average user age The connecting theme was anger. Despite Discord recently taking meaningful efforts to contain hate speech on its platform, users have still figured out ways to bypass the Terms of Service (one user advised me that, as long as I didn’t type phrases like ‘The Jewish Question’ outright, I wouldn’t be banned). Oftentimes, this hate speech can spread through “raids,” where users coordinate on flooding another server with hateful images and links in order to get new followers or shut the server down.

“It’s very tough sometimes,” the moderator said. “We have raids on a daily basis, sometimes a single raid, sometimes up to 6 in a day.

We have had raids of any kind, from single raiders, to hundreds of bots, to spam links and invites to the users.”

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The majority of these servers are unorganized in both structure and rhetoric, but far-right streamers are a common topic. While major streaming locations like Twitch and Youtube deplatformed most extremist streamers after the Jan. 6 riots, a constantly-growing network of sites has emerged to fill the gaps. Sites like Odysee and Bitchute provide thousands of audience members for commentators, as well as a fundraising opportunity; the Global Misinformation Index recently found over 200 incidents of white supremacist groups using online streaming platforms to raise money, with some making over $100,000 a month.

Despite sites often banning streamers quickly, it’s nearly impossible to completely remove them. For as long as white supremaicst and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes has been streaming, he’s been on the move. Fuentes and his generation Z following has been banned from Youtube, Twitch, Spotify, Twitter, Paypal, Venmo and even infamously unmoderated sites like Gettr and D-Live. Even some members of his own party have split with him, due to his self-quoted attempts to “be on the right, dragging [moderate Republicans] kicking and screaming into the future.”

Despite this, Fuentes remains. Republican congressman Paul Gosar and pundit Michelle Malkin have given their support, and he currently hosts a show on Alex Jones’s network.

In February, Fuentes will host the America First Political Action Conference in Orlando. And when a user gave me a link to an unlisted white supremacist streaming site, there Fuentes was, broadcasting to 12,500 viewers.

That’s not to say that forcing provocateurs off of highly visible sites is ineffective. Taking away their reach to new audiences and attention is crucial to scattering the movement. But as Axios reports, the

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In online servers and games, the altright is finding a new audience

new alt-right isn’t just a base of leaders, but an online ecosystem. Alt-right groups are creating their own niche echo chambers, spending millions of dollars on insular online communities. Once you’re in, so the plan goes, you’ll never need anywhere else.

That’s an enticing pitch, especially when it comes to LIVE teenagers. White supremacist groups have always provided simple, fake answers as a solution to personal problems. It’s hard to improve, but easy to blame.

And that’s why it’s more important than ever to reach out to students. More than 2,000 schools already use the Anti-Defamation League’s materials on recognizing and reacting to hate speech online, and the National Education Association provides resources for educators who want to provide more diverse viewpoints on real-world topics.

“If you block one site, then another one pops up, so it’s just a never ending thing,” Griffith said. “I feel like the only real way to combat that is with education, teaching students and teaching faculty and signs to look out for and things like that.”

Griffith hopes professional development will be made in the classrooms by both teachers and administrators in order to broach topics like these and make students more aware.

However, the most effective approach is

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often the most personal. Parents are the first and last safeguards against radicalization for teenagers. Numerous resources exist to help parents recognize signs, including the Southern Poverty Law Center’s 7-minute guide to both understanding and dealing with child’s radicalization.

It’s difficult to draw a clear line between what’s extremism and what’s just talking, and even harder to tell who’s a true believer. But just because the intent changes doesn’t mean the words do, and as teens are drawn further and further into these virtual groups, they’re isolating themselves in a world of hatred, violence and anger. Part of the danger of the rabbit hole is that you can’t see a way out. We need to throw teens a lifeline.

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March 2O22

Article by Abby Hernan Graphic by Jaidyn Holt

Hunter College Elementary School in New York is one of the most prestigious and selective elementary schools in the country, requiring every child admitted to have an IQ of 155 or above. The school was founded to train kids to become the country’s intellectual elite. However, when a study followed the school’s children into adulthood, they found that as adults, the child geniuses were not the exceptional overachievers they had predicted. They were happy with good jobs and graduate degrees, but none of them had won a Nobel Prize or become nationally recognized in their fields. The child geniuses were simply normal adults.

The children at Hunter College Elementary School are just one example of high-IQ children being trapped by one label. Once a child receives the title “genius,” an expectation is created that they are expected to meet. They must do what the average student does but better and faster. However, this false expectation doesn’t motivate the child, it just breaks their confidence.

On average, children receive their first IQ test at age 5. An IQ test consists of multiple components such as spatial recognition, shortterm memory, mathematical ability and analytical thinking. All these components are combined into one number normally between 85 and 110, with over 140 being considered genius. Many people are tested for IQ at a young age, especially if their parents think they will yield very high or very low results.

When a child is given an IQ, their intelligence is permanently defined: a quantitative value for a qualitative trait. But it is important to remember that while a high IQ can lead to many benefits in life, it is not the only factor in determining success.

“I think that [IQ tests] have very little actual weight in terms of when a child is capable of doing,” clinical therapist David Martin said. “It simply shows us where they

should fall based on the appropriate conditions of their education.”

High IQ children have abilities that an overwhelming majority of the population don’t. A child that has all the countries memorized on a map or who can do high-level math problems with ease fascinates people who can’t even as adults. They are thrown onto news articles or daytime talk shows, all saying that they are geniuses and need to be praised for their talents.

In 2015, a show named Child Genius discovered high IQ kids through Mensa, an organization of people with IQs in the 98th percentile, and placed them into a competition to see who was the smartest. Former Trinity Prep student Ashley Headrick was a contestant on the premiere and would make it with her team to the season finale.

During filming, Headrick and her team would wake up at 4 a.m. to begin their competition. Headrick remembers the first episode of the show as one of the most stressful moments of her life. She and her team had to memorize a deck of cards and recite them faster than the other team. If they could not do it, they risked being eliminated.

“The other team went first and got every single one of their cards right in record time,” Headrick said. “I was shaking and I was like I’m ready for this. But then, they took a commercial break. I had to stand there with my teammates, just shaking with nervousness. Everyone is drinking their water and having chips and I’m having a crisis. They started filming again, and I was like we got this. We ended up beating their time, and that’s how we moved forward. But that moment before was just the most stressed I think I’ve ever been and I was 11 years old.”

For the six weeks of filming, Ashley and her team did not get a break from the show. Even when the cameras were off, the show was not over. Ashley and her team had to always be preparing.

March 2O22

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“On the days that we weren’t filming, my teammates and I would meet up, and we would just drill the things that they said they would ask us on,” Headrick said. “For example, they told us that they are going to be testing us on different nerves in the human body, and you had to learn those very quickly. It was a lot of memorization. I would wake up, get breakfast and just start memorizing and we would drill.”

Child Genius is more than just an entertaining TV show; it is what genius kids experience every day. They are told they should be getting good grades or they should be in the hardest classes. The kids begin to overwork themselves, and when they eventually get too tired and do not perform as well, they blame themselves.

Gifted children are placed into a strictly linear path with the end goal of gaining the highest success. They are supposed to exceed their peers, earn the highest grades and do it effortlessly. However, life doesn’t happen on a linear path; no number on an IQ test can prevent adversity. The ability to fail and grow from your actions creates a stronger and healthier relationship with working towards success. However, gifted children do not have this luxury; they are not meant to make mistakes.

Any simple mistake is a threat to their identity. Something as trivial as a B on a quiz can make them question who they are supposed to be. They are told they should be earning the best grades with ease, so when they try their hardest and still can not reach a basically unachievable standard, they lose their confidence.

They are also conditioned to believe that they “should” outperform their peers.

Being outperformed by another student does not motivate them to try harder, it instead destroys their confidence. The ability to handle competition and losing is what makes someone a hard worker and more successful than before. However, when you are told you do not have competition, you can’t handle the possibility that you actually do.

“There’s not a lot of wiggle room in terms of being funny or even making mistakes,” Headrick said. “Or just having bad days like making simple calculation errors, spelling errors, grammatical errors over text, even little things like that, I always get so embarrassed. I think I’m supposed to be acting like a genius, and I can’t spell over text. In general, when you speak to people, they always expect something from you. And I had never really experienced that until after I kind of had that label.”

The pressures and expectations that genius kids face can manifest themselves into mental disorders that will carry on into adulthood. A study that surveyed 3,715 members of Mensa found that Mensa members had significantly higher rates of varying disorders, such as ADHD, depression and even asthma. For example, while over 10% of the people in the United States are diagnosed with some form of anxiety, that percentage is doubled in Mensans.

However, taking IQ tests can be beneficial.

An IQ test ultimately tries to give an approximate value to how someone’s brain works. It can help decide how they learn or even how they should be treated for certain disorders.

“If there is a possibility of a kind of disorder of some variety, whether it be high or low, or some type of personality disorder, IQ also serves as a kind of a good marker as to where different disorders might lie, and then how best to treat them,” Martin said.

It is important to remember that high IQ is a valuable trait to have, but it is not everything. Success follows hard work and perseverance. Instead of praising a genius child’s IQ score, praise their ability to overcome and work through adversity. There is no need to stop administering IQ tests but, when evaluating an IQ test, it is important to remember that IQ does not define intelligence; it merely tries to quantify it.

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March 2O22

YOUGENICS Article by Maddie Peckham Graphic by Sarah Lin

As science marches ever forward, we begin to teeter on the edge of right and wrong. Science fiction becomes reality, and the ethics and legislation of our societies have to scramble to keep up. However, ethics are subjective, especially when it comes to parenting. Each parent wants what is best for their child, but some parents will cross a line.

Genetic manipulation and editing has been hotly debated for decades. But in the last ten years, Crispr-Cas9, a gene editing program that uses natural enzymes to target and cut genes with extreme accuracy, has made headlines for successful procedures in editing out diseases, predominantly for sickle-cell anemia.

Crispr has lately begun to be used for a different purpose: cosmetics. Clearly, a medical treatment that is even potentially lifesaving, which Crispr has proven itself to be, is a great idea. Saving lives is a noble and valiant purpose, but that isn’t the problem. The problem is this new cosmetic appeal that has left bioethicists reeling — the social ramifications are unbeknownst to all (along with us not knowing nearly enough to understand possible health risks). The possibility of an awfully dystopian way to make a person more “ideal” has concerned both experts and the general public. Crispr is advancing to the point of enabling parents to make an investment in their child; pay for gene editing to increase athletic performance, a higher chance of an increased IQ, and so on. Legislation is also still slow; since we’re not close enough for a “perfect” eugenics situation, all legalities fall more into technicalities.

“In the US, it is technically against the rules to genetically modify humans just for an aesthetic benefit,” microbiologist and AP Biology teacher Scottie Smith said. “At this time, technically, humans are only supposed to be manipulated for treatment of disease and this has to be an informed consent situation, where they have agreed to be basically experimented on.”

However, a “technically” really isn’t enough

to stop a parent desperate for an Olympian child. With Crispr allowing parents to possibly select traits formerly uncontrollable, like athletic prowess and chances of having a higher IQ, ethics are truly called into question.

“The greatest concern, obviously, is genetically manipulating humans to be whatever the ideal of perfection would be, not to treat disorders or genetic diseases, or easily treated inherited disorders that we could treat with these techniques, but that might be misused in an ethical fashion,” Smith said. “Eugenics is a great example of this, it’s a huge concern when it comes to using any of the genetic recombination therapies and treatments.”

Is it ethical to change the entire trajectory of someone’s life? The tiniest change in someone can completely alter their personality, and with complete gene editing, who this person could have been, if allowed to develop naturally, will have never been known. To make changes they cannot consent to, changes simply based on parental preferences?

As a society, we need to be sure that we’re not creating a new class of superior children — ones that are genetically altered to simply be better.

The baby in question will one day be a full fledged person, yet their life is facing a sort of parental Calvinism, a predestined existence that these children didn’t consent to. These children that are engineered to be more intelligent, more beautiful, more athletically inclined and simply superior to others aren’t allowed the freedom of choice another child has. They were literally born for this. But who are these parents to decide what their child will and will not have? While they don’t have to pursue whatever field their parents decided for them when designing them, they will always ask themselves: who could they have been, if nature was allowed to take its course? Parents are making something like a business investment. They’re putting down the money for the editing on the assumption that the child will later on be successful in the field they’ve been

designed for. This creates a whole new host of problems, especially in that of self-worth.

When a child is designed to be artistic, athletic, or astute, and they don’t “fulfill” that destiny, that will have extreme consequences on the child’s mental health and relationships with their parents. These children will be stripped of all self-worth and left with a gaping hole so large and all-consuming that no genome editing could possibly fix.

This new editing could have a complete snowball effect; editing could very quickly build up to eugenics, a practice intended to take favored inherited traits and breed them into future generations with the hope of improving the next generation. For regular people who don’t hold the favored traits, it can mean the end of the line. When the government or labs are allowed to take the reins of traits and inheritance, people begin to worry what will happen to them, or their “undesirable” offspring.

History already tells us the violent story of how eugenics affected society in World War II, Adolf Hitler’s journey in trying to create his human ideal, the Aryan race. With genetic manipulation, and this idea of “perfection,” those who don’t fall into the perfect standard may face a lifetime of horror, hate and bigotry.

Once these children are born, there could be social ramifications to deal with. When it comes to later life, genetically engineered children will always have a better chance of success. For parents who may not be able to afford genetic manipulation in their children, if it ever becomes widely available, society could warp into an entirely different thing.

With waves of genetically engineered children all growing up and coming into the world at once, a new social class could be seen. At first, in school, “natural” children would be on the same playing field as engineered children, an unfair comparison. Though there would be the odd natural child that is more talented, the vast majority would be at a significant disadvantage. Eventually, if schools are separated,

March 2O22

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Advances in gene editing will violate basic human ethics. schools for engineered children may have more time and resources poured into them, knowing these children are bound to succeed. Furthermore, this would spread to the workplace, until finally, generations removed from the first wave, it would become the norm; engineered children superior to the natural children, and society repeatedly treating them as such.

When it comes to embryos, the concept becomes even more complicated. If an embryo is unfavorable, or doesn’t have the desired traits a parent wants, and is subsequently edited, what happens if the editing doesn’t work, and the child isn’t the perfect baby the parent had in mind? Crispr, though a miracle technological innovation, isn’t perfect. Crispr was first tested on humans (human adults, that is) with sickle-cell anemia in 2019. As of an NPR article in December 2021, the patient is still doing well and is no longer experiencing the extreme symptoms of sickle-cell. Although the patient hasn’t had any major complications, three years still might not be enough time to see if it’s a truly safe operation for such a radical change.

Embryonic development is far different than an already stable adult human. Also occurring in 2019, three embryos were illegally edited to prevent possible, not definite, HIV in China. A doctor forged ethical documents and it led to two women being implanted with the genetically manipulated embryos — all without knowing. This has encouraged some scientists that think that since the procedure went well, they too can edit humans.

Luckily, the science is complicated, and still a ways off, but we are growing rapidly in the area of genetic engineering and manipulation.

“For actually pinpointing all the genes that would be necessary for intelligence, or perfect symmetry for the most beautiful face, or whatever your eugenic need is, we’re not there yet, just because we haven’t learned yet,” Smith said.

Regardless of when, we still need to be ready as a society; ready with laws and medical morals that can’t be violated. Legislation needs to be ready for this new innovation. These children, engineered solely for the purpose of superiority and not vitality, cannot happen.

Crispr needs to be contained to use for health purposes only, such as the sickle-cell patient.

A new biological classism will devour basic human democracy if not stopped now, before it’s too late. Kids aren’t an investment opportunity — they’re people.

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March 2O22

NEW HEAD COACH SWINGS INTO THE NEW SEASON Article by Boaz Kim Photo by Anna Miliotes

With the retirement of Coach Richard Bab- if I’m doing a lot of things in the same manner Needelman has also brought in Ilja Semyak, the boys and girls varsity tennis program that I did when I was coaching a top 20 Divi- jonovs to coach the junior varsity program. is in new but familiar hands. Gary Needel- sion I men’s program and a top 40 Division I Needelman said that he and Semjonovs were man, who was previously the assistant coach women’s program.” trained by the same person when they were alongside Babyak for three years, is now becoming tennis coaches. the new head coach of the varsity tennis “So we were both trained in the same program. Needelman has also brought system and so we both understand the in a new head coach for the junior varsisame science behind a lot of things in ty tennis program, Ilja Semjonovs. tennis,” Needelman said. “I can’t think of Needelman was an assistant coach any better representation for the culture for two years at the University of South I’m trying to implement here at Trinity Florida for the women’s tennis program. than coach Ilja.”

He said that he has gotten a lot of expeSemjnovs who is originally from Latrience from his years as a coach so the via started playing tennis when he was transition to head coach is not a big adfive years old and has also been coaching justment for him. since 2003. Semjonovs said that he has “I’ve coached everyone from five-yearonly coached private clients before and olds to people who are top 200 in the never a team. world,” Needelman said. “And what re“This is a new experience for me as far ally sets me apart is that I am still pretty as teaching a team and so far all the kids much doing all that. I’m still currently are great and they seem very motivated teaching private clients.” to get better,” Semjonovs said.

After Needelman’s time coaching at Semjonovs said that he is trying to imUSF, he focused on private coaching plement the mindset of teaching valuable lessons. Needelman said that he wantlife lessons to his players. ed to spend more time in Orlando and “In the end it’s all about your charwas looking for coaching opportunities acter, ‘’ Semjonovs said. “You can have when he was introduced to Trinity’s tenthe technique and the tactics, but it is nis program.

90% character. I’m going to teach things “Someone from Rollins College introthrough tennis that they can use in life.” duced me to coach Babyak who was here Players such as junior Thomas Garat the time, and he contacted me saycia on the boys varsity tennis team are ing he needed an assistant,” Needelman excited for the season and think the new said. “I just honestly thought it’d be a coaching staff wil be helpful. fun thing to do. I did not think I would “I am ready for the season because I stay coaching at the high school level, New head coach Gary Needelman talks to upper schoolers think that the new coaches will give us but I really enjoyed it here. The people about their upcoming tournament during practice. He has a winning culture and they have already were nice, and Coach Babyak and I be- been coaching for three years, but this is his first as head provided insight into the mental aspect came pretty good friends. Next thing coach. of tennis,” Garcia said. you know, it’s three years later.”

Needelman has high expectations Needelman said that he is looking to change Needelman has been focused on expanding and goals for this year’s team. His goal for the the culture of the tennis program. He said his his players’ knowledge of the game of tennis, boys is to be the first tennis team to make it plan is to base his coaching style around a col- which he accomplishes in part by doing film to the final four in the state tournament. For legiate style of coaching to get his players ready study with his players. the girls, his goal is getting past districts, where for this season and beyond, for those who hope “It’s a long season and I know it goes fast, their season has been cut short in past years. to play in college. but we have room to increase our knowledge “If people buy into the culture and they “So, I am instituting a culture that is based of the game and certainly want to set it up so handle the training, well, I think by the end of on the rules, the discipline, the commitment, that every player has a chance by the season’s the season we will be able to fight with all these the training and the fitness all based on a col- end to be just far beyond where they are now,” other teams,” Needelman said. legiate model,” Needelman said. “It’s almost as Needelman said.

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COVID-19 CAUSING SUPPLY SHORTAGES IN SPORTS Article by David Hull Graphic by Jaidyn Holt

Ever since the first COVID-19 lockdown began in 2020, stores and vendors around the world have been in short supply of merchandise. Schools, including Trinity, have struggled to restock supplies and sportswear. As a result, many teams have had to resort to using old gear.

Although shortages did not affect the teams’ ability to play, they did present some significant. One of the most egregious examples of delayed deliveries was when the football team received their pride pack clothing after the season had already finished.

“Anything with pride packs and even equipment, all of it has delays in shipment, just like everything else worldwide,” Athletic Director David Langdon said.

Trinity was able to cope with the delays by going outside of their original vender, Baker’s Sports, and sometimes out of the Under Armour brand.

“The supply chain issue made it so we couldn’t get all our products that were Under Armour,” Langdon said. “So, sometimes we would go outside our vendor to get things that they did not provide. You will sometimes see on a shirt the brand Holloway or Badger, which are all good things as well, they just didn’t follow underneath the brand.”

The original plan to work around COVID-19 was an online store where athletes can order all Trinity clothes and sportswear and have them delivered directly to the recipient’s house.

The home store had to close after fall because the majority of the

fall athletes did not receive their orders until the end of their season.

According to Langdon, Trinity would like to reopen the online store in the future but it looks very improbable this will happen anytime soon. To ensure students do have sportswear for their sport when it finally arrives, all sizes are ordered and estimated so that everyone should have what they order.

Assistant Athletic Director Rita Kienle said in an email that preordering for the winter sports was necessary after what happened in the fall, but it also caused many issues like overstock and athletes not receiving their preferred size.

“For the spring, we did the same thing as the winter season except that we ordered a month earlier and had the vendor double-check the stock on the items we wanted to ensure they would arrive in time for the season,” Kienle said. “The spring season just began, and we are only short a couple of things, and the items we are missing should come before the first game.”

Unlike most sports, the archery team was forced to cancel its inaugural season due to the late shipments. Head Coach Ann Skippers said that her supplier, Lancaster, continuously postponed the arriving date from December back until March.

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“Even if I had received all of the equipment in March, it was past the point where I would be able to assemble all of the equipment and get it into the students hands,” Skippers said.

Langdon said a good reminder of how long this has lasted was the resurfacing of the track.

Many of the companies contacted were unable to get their product ready until the end of spring after the season had already started.

“I don’t know if anybody knows when we’ll get back to where it used to be,” Langdon said. “It’s going to take a long time, and we take it for granted how great it used to be.”

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Photos

March 2O22

PHOTOGRAPHY EXPOSITION Latest Events on Campus

Anuha Tatineni Eighth grade students particapted in the TPS Regatta on Feb. 16. They made boats and raced their classmates in the pool.

Anna Miliotes Professor John French from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University spoke to students to bring science awareness to our campus during “Saints Talking Science” on Feb. 10.

Ella Craghill Senior Alexia Steinberg decorates Valentine’s Day cookies with her sixth grade “little sister,” Sophie Matusiak, during a bonding activity on Feb. 14.