March 2025

THE TRINITY VOICE Luau Lights

Up Night

On Feb. 28, student council hosted a luau featuring traditional fire dancing, food and live music.

OPINIONS

NEWS LIFESTYLES

Students compete in the Student Astronaut Challenge at NASA.

Tipping culture puts pressure on consumers.

STEM

Artificial inteligence helps protect and preserve endangered languages.

Freshman Simar Kang records planets and stars through astrophotography,

SPORTS

Supersitions act as double-edged sword for studentathletes.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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

Te Trinity Voice is produced by the newspaper/journalism class at Trinity Preparatory School of Florida. Editorials represent the opinion of Te Trinity Voice writer and are not necessarily the views of the administration, faculty, or Board of Trustees of Trinity. Te Voice welcomes letters to the editor and freelance articles or photography. All submissions become the property of Te Voice. Please send all correspondence to 5700 Trinity Prep Lane, FL 32792. Te 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 Te 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).

Graphic by Natalie Baron

STAFF

Editors-in-Chief: Peyton Alch, Carol Marques

Non-Print Editor-in-Chief: David Steinberg

Managing Editors: David Hull, Zach Kleiman, Amanda Rose DeStefano, Lucy Chong

Copy Editors: Aarav Gupta, Jack Aaron

Layout Editors: Laziza Talipova, Fay Zhao

Social Media Department & Broadcast: Ana Herrera [Editor], Olivia Agnew, Sarah Currie

News Department: Sofia Haddadin (Editor), Krish Gupta, Janav Ramprakash, Sami Haddadin

Opinions Department: Nikhil Daniel (Editor), Ashwin Anand, Karl Loiseau

Focus Department: Mila Taylor (Editor), Mia Prince, Taylor Grifth

Lifestyles Department Sammy Lou (Editor), Bowen Dong, Aarav Gupta, Jack Aaron, Lila Choudry

Sports Department: Emily Lopez (Editor), Ben Kleiman, Thomas Bonos

Podcast Department: Gustavo Membreno

Graphics Department: Caden Liu (Editor), Maxi de la Fuente, Natalie Baron

Photo Department: Jackson Napier (Editor), Aksel Williams, Ally Williams, Julia Hoskins, Eden Kiger

Fact Checking Editors: Taylor Grifth, Mia Prince

Business Manager: Jack Aaron

Adviser: Erin Miller

Saint Talk

Blurbs by Jack Aaron and David Hull

This Month’s Podcasts: Ep.5 - Fantastic Foreign Foods

Do you like food? So do we!

Listen in to Jack Aaron ‘26 and Sammy Lou ‘26 as they discuss the top 1O most underrated yet delicious foods. Spanning from Hawaiian desserts to Italian rabbit ragu, this podcast ofers some of our most highly recommended foods.

Pardon the Interruption

Tune into this month’s edition of Pardon the Interruption with David Hull ‘25, David Steinberg ‘25, Jack Aaron ‘26, Nikhil Daniel ‘26 and Thomas Bonos ‘26 as they discuss blockbuster NBA trades, predictions for the upcoming F1 season, and much more!

NEWS BITES

Spread by Sami Haddadin and Janav Ramprakash

Graphic by Natalie Baron

Nochur Sankar Science Center: The Monthly Update

“We anticipate that the next month will include the drying-in of the building. That means that the roof, windows and doors should be installed over the next 3O days. Interior walls are going up as well.”

- Mr.

Lawson,

Head

of School

This Month: By The Numbers

1OO,OOO

Number of eggs stolen in a Pennsylvania heist. Police have yet to determine who did it.

7 trillion

The tons of glaciers lost in the last 25 years as climate change has shrunk them.

St. Patrick’s Day Fun Facts

Records show the first ever St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in St. Augustine, Florida on March 17, 16O1

The New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade is the world’s oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States.

The length in years of Juan Soto’s deal with the New York Metsthe largest in MLB history. 15

Source: AP News

It wasn’t until 1798 that the color green became ofcially associated with St. Patrick’s Day, according to Time Magazine. Before then, it was originally blue.

Source: Parade, Gainesville Sun

TRUMPS TARIFFS: A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Article by Sami Haddadin

Graphic by Caden Liu

Te average cost of a car according to Kelly Blue Book is $49,740, but under President Donald Trump’s new tarifs, the average price could rise by at least $3,000, with some trucks seeing an additional $10,000 spike. Although the tarifs, which are a tax on imported goods, are focused on reducing the trade defcit and protecting American industries, they have sparked a signifcant debate on the global stage. One side argues that the tarifs could strengthen America’s economy, while the opposing view warns that they infict greater harm, undermining the nation’s prosperity.

Trump is fond of using tarifs for one key reason.

“Te tarif concept is something that he can do unilaterally … without congressional approval … and maybe that’s why he’s more willing to go towards it,” social science teacher Brandon Burmeister said.

For now, Trump has backpedaled on the

he is doing the reciprocal tarifs. According to a Feb. 13 White House Fact Sheet, U.S. trading partners have repeatedly placed disproportionally large tarifs on U.S. exports, but the U.S. doesn’t do the same. Tis is a major component of the growing trade defcit, currently at $98.4 billion.

Furthermore, tarifs could be a motivating factor for American industries to become more self-sufcient and not rely on other countries.

“[Tarifs are] going to increase the domestic price that consumers pay,” social science teacher Caralyn Saldarraiga said. “But then there’s going to be pressure on the domestic producers to produce either a substitute or increase their own supply … We could possibly achieve the same prices given enough time, and then we don’t have the risk associated with being dependent on another country.”

However, there are some drawbacks to how the tarif works, and the undisputable truth still remains: infation will go up.

“Ultimately, the prices are still going to be up because there’s a reason that these goods are produced overseas, because labor and supply

the U.S. from all countries.

Further, tarifs could destabilize the already volatile housing market in Central Florida and drive up prices for goods made with aluminum and steel.

“Te tarifs on aluminum and steel are going to cause soda, automobile and housing prices to go up,” Burmeister said. “You’re going to see prices go up across the board for people that are just day-to-day buying and selling things. We have a real estate market that is already really infated, it’s going to be even more infated now. So, buying a house and moving things are going to be really difcult in Central Florida.”

Te tarifs could also impact Trinity students looking to get into sports.

“I think the biggest way that the tarifs would afect Trinity students is the price of sports equipment,” senior James Hawley said. “I know football uses Riddell, which comes from China, and basketball uses Wilson and Nike shoes, and both of those are manufactured in China, so those are all going to become more expensive for students who want

to get into sports.”

Looking to the future, the tarifs a positive efect negative efect niors at Trinity. “ said.

s could have ect on the job landscape, but a ect on the cost of living for the se-

nitely going to be protectionism for manufacturing jobs, but while this is going to add more jobs to the market, the price to then pay for all the needed goods to live is going to increase,” Hawley

With this in mind, s imposed by President Trump have exposed the fragility of the global economy, and world leaders will have to

ere are a lot of big landmines sitting out there that could easily blow up into a pretty bad economic situation,” Burmeister said. are cheaper,” Burmeister

the tari

said. “Terefore, the products can be sold at a cheaper price. When you start putting that inside the United States, the labor, time and supplies are more expensive, so the prices are going to go up.”

take their next steps very carefully.

“Tere

Students triumph in recent Student Astronaut Challenge TRINITY ROCKETS TO SUCCESS

Article by Krish Gupta

Picture long hours of intense work, meetings and preparation, fueled by a passion for space exploration. Tis is exactly what Trinity students recently undertook, navigating their way to success in the Student Astronaut Challenge. Composed of 25 total teams from freshmen to seniors, this aerospace-related competition occurred from Feb. 3-5 with an initial qualifying exam as well as four challenges each consisting of varying objectives: design, engineering, landing and space-fight simulation.

Te design challenge included the creation of a mailbox that incorporated several spacethemed elements as well as a 30-minute presentation. Te landing challenge, on the other hand, focused on safely landing a simulated shuttle, while the spacefight simulation challenge involved the team running through a checklist of procedures. Lastly, the engineering challenge, in which Trinity received the third-place award, required teams to control a blind rover on Mars and collect minerals of the most value.

“Te Student Astronaut Challenge ... [is] meant to test problem-solving and group work,” team coach and science teach- er Michelle Chicas said. “Tose are things that are emphasized in all of the challenges. Teams that work well together typically will do better on a lot of the challenges.”

Tis focus on collaboration and teamwork proved essential as the team faced various unexpected obstacles both during preparation and throughout the challenges, including their lack of experience and dissatisfaction with the mailbox design, prompting a collective efort to rebuild it.

“When you’re a new team like this, you need people that are willing to really try and make mistakes, because that’s how we learn,” senior and team member Nicholas Saraiva said. “No one was really shy about anything [and] we were all very upfront with our ideas.”

Tis willingness to be open-minded and collaborative, however, was not simply an inher-

ent skill between the team members. Rather, it

“Te biggest challenge was that we didn’t have all of the technical hardware we needed, so we practiced at Te Geneva School where they have a more complete setup of the simulator,” Chicas said. “It’s not on campus here, so it was harder for us to practice more like the real thing as opposed to just the paper version.”

Understanding the intricacies of the competition was something that the newly established Trinity team was also challenged with. Although they qualifed for the upper league through the qualifying exam, they were advised to compete in the lower league due to the unwritten rules and guidelines embedded in the competition.

Collage of photos including senior Nicholas Saraiva presents his team’s mailbox for the design challenge (bottom right).

“Tere are a lot of things that, if you just follow the base instructions, you’re not even going to place,” Chicas said. “Tere are a lot of unwritten things that you only learn once you’ve competed there.”

Despite this obstacle, the team remained resilient and excelled in the engineering challenge, which participants were unaware of preceding the convention.

“In the other challenges, we didn’t score as well because a lot of them are routine [and] every other team knows about it,” Saraiva said. “Because we’re the new guys, we can’t be as competitive because we don’t know the ins and outs of everything yet. [Te engineering challenge] shows raw intelligence and strength and I think that’s where it shows how strong our team really is.”

Teir success at this year’s Student Astronaut Challenge is a testament to their hard work as well as a bright future for next year.

“[Our win] really gives me a lot of pride because it shows that we know how to execute together and have a lot of good chemistry,” Saraiva said. “It makes me excited and hopeful for my future because I know that, if I can fnd a good team and people that I have good synergy with, I can really do a lot.”

Photo courtesy of Michelle Chicas

HELP IS N THE WAY

Jennifer Weiser joins Trinity as our new school nurse

Article by Yizhao Chen

Photo by Jackson Napier

Ever since she was 6 years old and her father was diagnosed with diabetes, Trinity’s new school nurse, Jennifer Weiser, knew she wanted to work in the medical field.

“[My dad] included me in the process of learning how to manage his diabetes,” Weiser said. “He would let me help him with his shots and things like that, so I always thought, ‘I’m going to take care of my family.’ I feel like I had a natural inclination to take care of people.”

During nursing school, Weiser explored a variety of medical fields through rotations in areas like women’s health, pediatrics and longterm care.

After graduating from the University of Central Florida, she joined Orlando Health as a surgical oncology nurse.

“Tey did these amazing surgeries there called flap surgeries,” Weiser said. “Tey could take an area of skin from one part of the body and rebuild another part after they removed the cancer using the patient’s own skin. To me, that was the coolest thing ever.”

Inspired by her newfound passion for wound care, Weiser pursued a program in Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing at the Cleveland Clinic.

“Tat’s the good thing about nursing,” Weiser said. “It’s versatile, so you can try any area that you have an interest in.”

Later, she moved to Advent Health and worked with bone marrow transplant

patients. However, the long 12- to 13-hour shifts were hard to manage as a mother of three.

“It really wasn’t a good fit for me,” Weiser said. “I had some patients who weren’t going to make it, which was very emotionally difficult to deal with.”

Tat’s when Weiser discovered school nursing as a possible career path.

“I like giving information and teaching things that the kids can take with them and use through their life.”

- Jennifer Weiser, Nurse

“I like teaching, and I like nursing, so I thought school nursing would be appealing,” Weiser said.

Weiser then took a job at United Cerebral Palsy of Central Florida charter school, working with a population of about 300 students.

Weiser’s favorite aspect of school nursing is the opportunity it presents to teach children how to take control of their own health and learn more about their bodies.

“[Children] remember things that they learn through experience,” Weiser said. “If you come in with an injury and learn something about your body or about healing that you didn’t know before, you take that with you. I like giving information and teaching things that the kids can take with them and use through their life.”

Her journey eventually brought her to Trinity when she researched the school and found that their mission aligned with her own.

“When you think, ‘What is one of the most difficult things about the human experience?’ it’s pain and suffering and illness,” Weiser said. “So, the common factor is just helping people get back to their optimum, just facilitating that resiliency and helping people be better again. Tat’s what’s done here on a broad, educational, holistic level.”

School nurse Jennifer Weiser helps a student bandage her wound. Weiser discovered her passion for wound care as a surgical oncology nurse.

Years of flling out Trinity’s “Student Feedback Form” have revealed one truth: Te thing most in need of feedback is the form itself.

Te Google Form consists of two broad sections: a list of statements about various aspects of the class to be rated and three open-ended questions about the student’s experience. According to Head of Upper School Tracy Bonday, the former is compiled graphically for administrators to analyze, and the latter is used to identify more specifc areas for improvement.

School policy requires the form to be used at the end of each semester for new faculty members and semester-long courses but only at the end of the school year for all others. Tis means many teachers only have the chance to gauge how students are feeling once a year — too late for them to course-correct for possible student critiques.

“It’s important to change your approach based on who’s in front of you, and students change year to year,” Science Department Chair Romina Jannotti said. “You can’t do that if they’re not giving you feedback. Ten you’re in an echo chamber.”

Because teachers cannot see what works for their students until they are already out the door, many students fnd no tangible impact from their responses and thus give the form little thought.

“I feel like these only apply to future students, not really my experience in the class,” junior Maddox Langston said. “I fll it out like it’s not for me, because it probably isn’t.”

Tis apathy is the biggest threat to any hope of progress. Students’ belief that the form is futile in turn makes the form more futile.

Bonday stresses that any implementation of the feedback at the administrative level requires evidence of a pattern. A pattern is only credible if the pool of respondents is large enough to show that the concern is signifcant to the overall student populace.

“If you want to have a certain level of voice, then the voice has to be … refective of a larger

FEEDBACK REFORM

Student feedback is essential, but our current system fails to foster efective discussion

number of kids,” Bonday said. “You want to see a preponderance of the feedback indicating there’s something there.”

Even when feedback is provided, it is not always usable. Former English Department Chair Steve Krueger has noticed that students occasionally use the form to vent personal grievances in a way that obscures more objective critiques.

“Students need to be aware that they play a role in this process of being either constructive or not,” Krueger said. “We should totally have [criticism], but it should be couched, just as I would hope that teachers [do] when they give you feedback on the other side.”

Te anonymous form provides a safe space to express concerns free of perceived power dynamics or judgment. However, since the feedback collection is one-sided, it does not facilitate open, balanced discourse between student and teacher, emboldening some respondents to toss out decency.

“With the [anonymity] sometimes comes someone who wants to go into a non-constructive ‘attack’ mode,” Krueger said. “Ten there’s no give and take, and so there’s no opportunity to clear up any misunderstanding that may exist between you and the students.”

Regardless of the setup, student feedback has inherent faws. A 2020 study by Wake Forest professor Justin Esarey and research fellow Natalie Valdes found that student evaluations are frequently biased by perceptions of a teacher’s gender or race. In another study from 2020, psychologist Wolfgang Stroebe found a strong correlation between grade infation and better student ratings.

Students who approach the feedback system as a way to improve their grades or exact vengeance are degrading an invaluable tool that could help both them and their teachers come away more successful, educated and satisfed.

“It really shouldn’t ultimately be about what makes the class easier,” Bonday said. “Te takeaway needs to be on what’s best for help-

ing students to learn … because we all need to be learning and improving if we’re going to be able to continue to meet the needs of a changing larger global context.”

To encourage a more productive feedback loop, the form should be flled out at least once a semester, if not quarterly. A more frequent touchpoint would ensure students’ concerns are being heard instead of pent up.

Tailoring the questions to specifc departments or courses would make feedback more relevant to implementation. A broad question like “What did you enjoy most about this class?” can leave students scrambling to provide something useful. Instead, ask, “How efective were the labs in aiding your understanding?” for science or “How did you feel about the frequency and variety of writing assignments?” for English.

Additionally, teachers should ofer students individualized feedback outlets that best serve their classroom’s needs. For example, Krueger has his students fll out smaller surveys at different points in the course, giving him a constant update on how he can help them. Tese forms are not always anonymous, but he hopes his students feel comfortable enough to share their honest thoughts.

“Years back, there were enough students that had mentioned that additional work in the area of research would have been helpful,” Krueger said. “I modifed the curriculum personally in light of that, and I had a broader conversation within the department because I was not alone in seeing this suggestion.”

Tat success is what all of us — students, teachers and administrators — want to see on our campus. Constructive feedback creates constructive change. Both are long overdue.

Te lead editorial expresses the opinion of the Trinity Voice editorial staf. Please send commentstovoice@trinityprep.org.

REACHING A TIPPING POINT

Tipping expectations are putting pressure on consumers

Article by Amanda Rose DeStefano

Graphic by Caden Liu

Going through a drive-thru used to be quite simple. You would pay, receive your food and leave. Now, you can’t make it out of line without the dreaded screen turn. Whether you smash the “No Tip” button or you’re feeling extra generous with a 20% tip, it’s easy to notice the pressure consumers face to tip, even in situations where it might not be necessary.

TIP SCREENS

I remember how simple tipping used to be. My mom would dig up loose change from our car and drop it in the tip jar after going through the drive-thru line. Now, however, tipping screens have infltrated these transactions.

With each item you purchase —– whether it’s a coffee or a carwash —– the infamous “tip screen” pops up. Although it is explained as being “totally optional,” it doesn’t feel this way to most people.

Tipping screens, as an alternative to traditional jars, require users to actively engage in choosing whether or not to tip. Instead of passively overlooking a jar sitting on the counter’s corner, you must stare at the iPad and uncomfortably click “No Tip” as the employee oversees your decision.

motivation for tipping changed entirely. Consumers banded together to keep businesses afoat. Whether it be local cofee shops or big chain restaurants, all businesses were hit by the pandemic, and consumers took to tipping as a means of saving them.

According to a 2023 poll conducted by Pew Research, around 72% of U.S. adults say tipping is expected in more places today than it was fve years ago, confrming consumer’s fears that tipping hasn’t gone away after the pandemic died down, with expectations to tip only increasing.

ment of Labor classifes any employee working a job that “customarily and regularly” receives more than $30 a month in tips as a tipped worker.

Understandably, consumers feel obligated to tip after seeing how difcult the jobs of many tipped workers are.

“Now that I’ve started working food service, I always tip,” junior and Chick-fl-A employee Chloe Nieves-Ramos said.

THE LARGER ISSUE

Tese screens also exhibit a lack of transparency, where you are unable to see whom your tip is really going to.

“Tere’s no way to really tell if you’re tipping the person that checked you out,” senior Connor Nanus said. “It seems like more of a donation to this giant mega-corporation.”

COVID-19’S INFLUENCE

Traditionally, tips served as an incentive or reward for an employee’s good performance. With the onset of COVID-19, though, this

Te bottom line is that tipping culture, although working to help underpaid employees, does not tackle the root of the issue. Food service workers and most other “tipped workers” are underpaid, causing workers’ fates to be left in the hands of unreliable consumers. Instead, it is the employer’s obligation to ensure that workers who run dishes back and forth for fve hours straight or stand in the hot sun all day to work are paid a liveable wage.

Tipped workers make up roughly 5 million employees in the United States, as the Depart-

Unfortunately, this tipping culture defects blame away from corporations who have historically profted from underpaid labor. In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act excluded restaurant and hospitality workers from a minimum wage entirely, leading to the onset of tipping. In 1966, a “subminimum” wage was created mandating that tipped employees made $2.13 an hour. Now, in Florida, the minimum wage for tipped workers is $8.98, a clear sign of progress, but still less than non-tipped workers’ wages. Te U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics terminalizes this disparity, with food preparation and serving-related occupations making the lowest median annual wage across all listen occupations at just $32,240.

“It’s basically just an excuse for them to pay their workers less, which is just completely nonsense,” Nanus said.

HERE’S A TIP

An important rule for navigating tipping culture is asking yourself “What am I even tipping you for?” Did you get exceptional service? Leave your server a nice tip. Are you feeling extra generous this morning? Drop some cash into the tip jar at Starbucks. If you don’t feel as though the extra 20% is earned for a job that requires no real service, then there is no need to tip.

BEYOND THE BARS

Article by Sarah Currie

Graphic by Caden Liu

In December, Luigi Mangione captured the focus of news pages, social media feeds and everyday conversation. Te suspected killer of CEO of UnitedHealthcare Brian Tompson, Mangione will face the death penalty if found guilty. As his sentence looms, Mangione’s potential fate reignites the question of whether or not capital punishment is just. Death row inmates endure a slow, agonizing psychological death long before their execution is even carried out, making death row an inhumane sentence.

ing multiple alibi witnesses. His conviction relied on coerced testimony from a jailhouse informant and systemic racism. Tankfully, he was exonerated in 1993 after the Equal Justice Initiative uncovered suppressed evidence and recanted witness statements proving his innocence.

Nonetheless, a wrongful conviction that leads to execution is murder at the hands of institutions that claim to protect us. Angela Drake is the ex-wife of Scott Dozier, a previous inmate on death row. To this day, Drake believes

“I hired the attorneys…we proved without probable cause that he [Scott] was innocent… I spent $35O,OOO… And Maricopa county did not reopen the case. I know for a fact with my whole soul that we proved his innocence.”

- Angela Drake, ex-wife of Scott Dozier, inmate on death row

While capital punishment in the U.S. is performed by acts of either lethal injection, electrocution, hanging, or fring squad, the real brutality lies in the waiting.

Many people believe that an inmate’s treatment on death row is justifed because of the crime they committed. Unfortunately, this logic does not account for our imperfect justice system where mistakes not only happen but happen repeatedly.

“With the backload of cases that we have, we don’t have time to look through every case deeply,” Leticia Feliciano, a Trinity Prep Mock Trial member said, “Tere’s a chance they could die and they did absolutely nothing wrong… Historically we have seen that afect minorities and Black people disproportionately.”

For example, Walter McMillian, a Black man from Alabama, was wrongfully convicted of the 1986 murder of Ronda Morrison and sentenced to death based on false testimony and prosecutorial misconduct, despite hav-

that Dozier was wrongfully convicted.

“I hired the attorneys…we proved without probable cause that he [Scott] was innocent… I spent $350,000… And Maricopa county did not reopen the case,” Drake said. “I know for a fact with my whole soul that we proved his innocence.”

With a notoriously imperfect justice system, we have to be mindful of how we treat those on death row. Tat said, no matter the circumstance, human rights should be extended to all humans – imprisoned or not.

According to a survey conducted by the ACLU, 93 percent of states lock up their death row prisoners for 22 or more hours per day. Prisoners receive medical attention and food through a slot in the door, and most death row prisoners will never hug a family member or loved one again, as 67 percent of states mandate no-contact visitation.

How death row can destory the mind

“Humans thrive on contact comfort…it’s hardwired into our biology… that security, that safety you get from a loved one —a touch on the shoulder, a hug— we are built to desire that,” AP Psychology teacher Michael Brown said “[Te lack of contact’s] gotta hurt them that much more.”

In addition to being void of all human contact, a death row inmate’s cell is on average the size of a parking spot. Te cell has no natural light and little to no artifcial light. Being confned is one thing, but being put into the darkness and not being able to

touch another human is cruel and unusual. Death row conditions blatantly deprive prisoners of their human needs for years.

“[Te state penitentiary in Nevada] locked him up naked for 14 days, and they never came for him,” Drake said. “Tey didn’t give him back his music, because they wanted him to go crazy.”

Te conditions on death row push inmates over the edge, and it seems as if the system wants them to end their lives themselves.

Death row inmates have negative physiological and psychological reactions to these barbaric

Opinions

cally spend more than a decade on death row before execution or exoneration.

But after seven days of solitary confnement, prisoners will have lower levels of brain function, as there is a decline in EEG (electroencephalogram, a test that measures and records the electrical activity of the brain) activity.

At the end of the day, no life should be valued above another. Every person deserves to be seen as a human being, and hatred is countered with humility, not vengeance. While

“There’s a chance they could die and they did absolutely nothing wrong...Historically we have seen that afect minorities and Black people disproportionately.”

- Leticia Feliciano, a Trinity Prep Mock Trial member

conditions, and they often resort to self-harm. While

Dozier was on death row, the penitentiary had slipped him a straight blade, accordingto Drake.

“[Te penitentiary and state of Nevada] were really pushing for him to end his life,”

Drake said.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, death-sentenced prisoners in the US typi-

incarceration is necessary to protect society, inficting psychological pain as a form of punishment has no place in a just system and must be abolished entirely.

We need to acknowledge the humanity of people who are too often ignored. To stop potentially innocent people from being psychologically tortured, you can fnd an inmate on Florida’s death row, learn about their case, and write to your state senator. Additionally, you can go to the Floridian’s Alternatives for the Death Penalty website and sign petitions to remove inmates from death row. While Mangionie’s actions are not justifed, we have to recognize his humanity and frustration with our system. We must realize that no person deserves to have their basic human rights taken away, no matter what they have done.

REPRESENTATION MADE REAL

Article by Karl Loiseau

Graphic by Maxi de la Fuente

Disney has been, albeit very gradually, making progress in representing all peoples through their princesses. We did get a sh before an Indigenous princess, or Black princess, or an East Asian princess, but at least most of our generation was able to grow up seeing princesses that look like them. However, the purpose of representation is undermined when it ignores the true history of a group. In the case of Pocahontas, the myth of a kind and generous colonizer became a reality for the millions of children and adults who watched the Disney lm. Regardless of intention, poor representation can often worsen the situation for the very groups of people that it is supposed to help.

Significance

Representation on and behind the screen matters. e choice to not cast Indigenous actors, hire Indigenous screenwriters or platform Indigenous producers is just that — a choice made by those in power. A USC Annenberg study from 2023 that examined patterns of Indigenous representation in Hollywood reported that after analyzing 16 years and 62,000 speaking roles, only 99 of the roles, or 0.001%, were portrayed by Indigenous actors. Whether intentional or not, the message is clear: e industry does not care to portray Indigenous stories.

ese are not just numbers, but a representation of a system that continues to attempt to erase the lives of millions of people in the United States and deny their right to exist in the public conscience.

“ at invisibility had a big impact because it’s like if I don’t see myself, then do I really ex ist?” said Kimberly Guerrero, actress and pro fessor of theatre, lm and digital production at the University of California Riverside.

Indigenous people are then put in a posi tion where they have to justify their existence on screen.

“I’ll never forget that … my the room with HBO … out of my 15-minute pitch I had to include at least ve minutes of helping them understand why Native stories were important and why there was an audience for them because we got told so many times [that] … people don’t care [about Indigenous people],” Guerrero said.

Such conditions create a cycle where Indige nous actors are not hired for major or even mi nor roles. eir stories never enter the public consciousness, so there is no push to see their lives represented. As a result, Indigenous actors are hired even less, making the likelihood of substantive change even lower.

“A lot of Native scholars and also Native community members talk about the impor tance of representation and representational sovereignty,” said Dr. Mandy Suhr-Sytsma, professor of Indigenous Studies at Emory Uni versity. “ e realm of representation being one of many in which native people need and want to assert their sovereignty and to have self-de termination over.”

Looking Back

e representation that does exist carries its own issues.

“To fight dehumanization with story is paramount because story is medicine. It can be good medicine, or it can be bad.”

- Kimberly Guerrero, Professor at the University of California Riverside

“I feel like it gets really stereo typed, and we see more of old Na tive American culture like the one that everyone thinks of, big head dresses, stu like that, and less of just normal people,” junior Chloe Nieves-Ramos said.

e earliest portrayals of Indig enous people in American came in the form of Bu shows. At best, the shows were

Accurate representations of Indigenous identity fight dehumanization

“We see more of old Native American culture like the one that everyone thinks of, big headdresses, stu like that, and less of just normal people.”

- Chloe Nieves-Ramos, Junior

push a message that love conquers all, misrepresented the true story of Pocahontas. Amonute, or Matoaka, was 10 years old when John Smith, at 27, originally came to her village.

eir interactions never extended past diplomacy between the colonizers and the Powhatan tribe. After a few years of this dynamic, Smith died on a voyage back to England.

In what people viewed as one of the landmark movies for Indigenous representation, real people’s lives fell to the wayside and a myth was immortalized.

cultural consultant.”

Knowing how to write and accurately portray Indigenous people is just as important as having them play the lead role. Actors should not be the only source of representation in the industry. Likewise, the roles themselves should not be con ned to just correcting historically inaccurate portrayals.

“My great grandma was a Cherokee Indian, and she wasn’t like what everyone thinks of when they think of a Native American person,” Nieves-Ramos said. “She was just a normal lady, and I feel like we don’t see as much of that.”

propaganda, and, more often than not, at worst, they were blatant

e shows featured battles between stereotypical Indigenous tribes and the “heroic” cowboys where the cowboys always seemed to win, sometimes even ending in the extermination of herds of bu alo.

ose same images were advertised to families as a fun after-

e issues with the Buffalo Bill shows are clear to people now. Romanticizing a culture of murder and brutality to children will only leave them with a skewed perception of reality. So why did people like “Pocahontas” so much?

Disney, out of a desire to

“ at’s a powerful form of misrepresentation,” Suhr-Sytsma said. “ at might seem annoying … but actually [it] has lots of ideology behind it and material consequences attached to it.”

Looking Forward

Good representation is simple. When discussing Indigenous representation, Indigenous voices should also be platformed and heard. Non-Indigenous voices should take the backseat and simply listen.

“It’s important to spend … time … on Indigenous created-texts and stories, because I think there’s so much richness there and the work of foregrounding those voices is so important,” Suhr-Sytsma said.

On a larger scale there is obvious room for improvement in the lm industry.

“ e biggest issue has been they haven’t included us in … above the line positions,” Guerrero said. “ at means producers, directors and writers in particular … so you’ll have a situation where they will, at best, bring in a

While tackling the issue of a lack of representation on an individual level may seem daunting, it can be as simple as picking up a new TV show. On Hulu, for example, “Reservation Dogs” is the rst TV show to be written, directed and produced by a solely Indigenous cast. Supporting shows and movies like that demonstrate that people do want to see actual representation for Indigenous stories.

Outside of supporting the media, people should take the time to do research and understand the history, and more importantly, the current-day standing of Indigenous people. It is important to recognize that the education someone may have received is wrong.

“It happens with every culture where people think they’re being socially aware and politically correct, but actually they’re taking it in a totally di erent way because everyone’s only seeing it through the lens of what’s been presented to them,” Nieves-Ramos said. “So once again, that’s a big education thing.”

Platforming Indigenous stories and voices outside of media is just as important as within the lm space. Fictional stories are not the only stories people have to share with the world. ey also have their lives.

“To ght dehumanization with story is paramount because story is medicine,” Guerrero said. “It can be good medicine or … bad.”

HT TOPIC

America politicizes climate change, leaving Earth as the casualty

Article by Ashwin Anand Graphics by Jack Aaron

In an executive order titled “Unleashing America’s Energy” on his frst day back in offce, President Donald Trump declared that America would be free of the Green New Deal and all of its “burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations.” With the path we are on, America might soon be free of its home planet, too.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2024 was the warmest year recorded on Earth in modern history. Tis time last year, so was 2023. It seems that at such a pivotal moment in our planet’s life, we are purposely turning a blind eye to its treacherous future.

Trump’s branding of climate policies as “ideological” epitomizes the problem: Climate change has gone from a scientifc topic to a political one. As global temperatures have risen, so have tensions over the issue.

“When I was a kid and something happened, the frst people they’d go to was the scientist to fgure it out,” science teacher Scottie Smith said. “Te scientists were the good guys. And in the last 20 years, scientists and scientists’ understanding of how things work are actively rejected … Most developed nations do not struggle with this problem, mainly because the populace is educated in science and understands it.”

Tis placing of politics over fact has manifested as a war on all green policies. Trump has made clear his plans to remove any sort of incentive toward renewable energy and invest solely in traditional oil power. Tough burning fossil fuels may have an immediate economic advantage, actively resisting alternatives simply limits the choices available to the American people.

choice to install solar panels on their homes or wind turbines on their farms is more freedom … It feels like it’s a move that can only be made out of spite and [one] that is indicative of a broader politicization of climate.”

Furthermore, as of Feb. 10, Trump’s administration has told NOAA to review all of its grants for words such as “greenhouse gas,” “carbon” and “climate.” Tough we have yet to know the directive’s ultimate purpose, recent scientifc censorship at the National Institute of Health and the purging of diversity-related language within the government have ofered little comfort.

Whatever his true intention, Trump has “drill, baby, drill[ed]” a huge hole in our climate protections in what he couches as an attempt to help the United States become more competitive in the global economic sphere. Te same rationale underscored his decision to once again withdraw from the Paris Agreement, a global treaty comprising over 190 world nations with the goal of limiting global temperature increases.

“I think Trump perceives it as a prisoner’s dilemma, where if we commit to climate action, he views us as then being outcompeted by countries who don’t commit like India or China,” McKenzie said. “It’s a self-fulflling cycle. When America pulls out, China and India can go, ‘Oh, well, if the U.S. isn’t going to do it, why would we commit to it?’”

coming from the American citizens. If your people are placing the burden upon you, it’s probably not an unfair burden.”

Despite a 2024 Pew Research Center survey fnding that 76% of Americans are saddened by climate change, the American people ultimately place other, seemingly more pressing matters over climate without consideration for how climate can directly afect them: If droughts impede food production, grocery prices will go up. If natural disasters disrupt mining sites, gas prices will go up. If people’s ways of life are destroyed by an ever harsher climate, “climate refugees” will be forced to migrate to survive.

Te responsibility lies frst and foremost with schools to instill the knowledge of climate change’s tangible impact in people as early as possible. Smith believes Trinity does a phenomenal job through courses such as AP Environmental Science or Human Geography, but other Americans may be less lucky.

“If we start with the kids, explain to them the problems, I do think you grow up to be a better environmental steward,” Smith said. “I do think that adult humans who have decided based on some 20-minute Google searching that they’re right are very difcult to convince. It took me 25 years to convince my mother that climate change was, in fact, real.”

“It’s a virtue signal to remove tax credits on solar and wind to prove that you stand against climate proponents, not one made out of economic, rational thought,” social science fellow Quinn McKenzie said. “Americans having the

Trump’s belief that America has been given an unfair burden to tackle climate change is antithetical to his idea that America leads the world. If China’s population does not encourage its government to act on climate, America — which has for centuries been an example and beacon to other nations — should not hold itself to the same low standard. We must set the pace in fghting for our planet instead of joining the rest of the world in neglect.

“To say we’re being unduly burdened is untrue,” McKenzie said. “Most of that burden is

Whether or not we are able to educate the masses, the government still bears a responsibility to protect the Earth. A republic should produce leaders who will make educated decisions in their citizens’ best interest, and — however radical it may seem — having a planet to live on may just serve our interest.

“Te purpose of the U.S. as established in the preamble of the Constitution is to establish an enduring union for ourselves and our posterity,” McKenzie said. “And I think that part of ensuring a brighter, better world for our posterity is making sure that the place they live is habitable.”

MALKIN’S MASTERPIECE

Ceramics develops a safe and creative environment

Article by Mia Prince

Malkin

From Moscow, Russia, to Brooklyn, New York, and Orlando, Florida, ceramics teacher Vadim Malkin has taken a long path with many twists and turns that led him to teach at Trinity Prep.

Growing up in the Soviet Union led to a hard childhood for Malkin. Unlike the United States, he was unable to go outside and walk the streets, or have a bag of candy readily available. However, at the age of 9, Malkin and his family moved to Brooklyn, New York. His eyes were opened to a new world full of fresh adventures and diverse cultures to explore.

“I grew up in the Soviet Union when I was in Russia, so [my childhood] was a little diferent,” Malkin said. “Te Soviet Union was very much like America was in the 1960s, but this was the ’80s.”

From a young age, an appreciation for the arts was instilled in Malkin. Both his father and grandparents were artists and encouraged him to follow in their footsteps.

“We did art lessons every Saturday, so [different techniques were] the kind of thing I always did [growing up],” Malkin said.

Early on, Malkin learned traditional drawing and painting techniques. However, he majored in ceramics at the University of Central Florida. He had always done a little bit of ceramics, but he decided he had a true passion for it and could see it as a job.

“I was originally planning to do graphic design in college, but one of my art history professors talked me out of the idea of sitting in front of a computer all day and said that would be extremely boring, and I agreed with him,” Malkin said. “I changed to ceramics as a major and from there just kind of spiraled into it. I really loved it and here I am.”

After college, Malkin became a full-time artist doing ceramics while still continuing his love for all art forms like painting, drawing and portraying still-lives. He continued to different art techniques on the side with a main focus on ceramics.

After college and working for a while, he was

ofered a job at Lake Howell, where he became a full-time ceramics and art teacher. Six years later, he came to teach at Trinity Prep.

“My favorite part [of teaching is] seeing students grow, like when you start with a student and they’ve never touched clay, and then by the end

his students feel the same joy for ceramics and an appreciation for art after they leave his class.

of the semester, they’re completely transformed,” Malkin said.

Ceramics allows for students to be introduced into new topics and concepts of art that they previously did not know.

“I feel like [ceramics] has opened new ideas for me, giving me ... a deeper perspective of art and understanding hard work,” sophomore art student Kinsley Wood said.

Not only does teaching bring Malkin joy, but

“Ten you found this love for clay and you made that little diference in their life, and they’re always going to enjoy that no matter what they do in their careers,” Malkin said. “Tey’re always going to have that little hankering for clay, and I love to see my students that have graduated, and they’re still involved in clay.”

Ceramics and all other art forms allow students to show their creativity and take a break in the day from their other stressful core classes.

“I fnd that my little corner of the world is a little haven for creative freedoms, and I’ve really enjoyed being that little bit of creativity for students,” Malkin said.

Malkin also enjoys creating his own pieces like “Te Score,” which is a squirrel on an acorn. Malkin described the piece as a culmination of strategy, instinct and luck that all come together.

Malkin works hard to achieve a comforting space for all students to achieve their creative potential.

“[Te classes are] fun and uplifting,” Wood said. “Tere’s always music and you’re free to just be yourself and work while talking to others or just keep to yourself, but you can basically be, however you want in the room.”

While many students love the ability to express their creativity through their ceramics, many also fnd it an outlet where they can destress and relax from their other issues at home or with school.

“[One student of mine sent] a letter [saying] this class had prevented her from committing suicide because it made her want to continue [living], so that was like, wow, this does matter,” Malkin said.

Photo courtesy of Vadim

Ceramics teacher Vadim Malkin teaches students different pottery techniques in class.

CABAL CRUSHES CAREER

Teacher has a secret past of being a colligete level wrestler

Article by Taylor Grifth

Photo Courtesy of Isiah Cabal

Like many young athletes, AP World History teacher Isiah Cabal dreamt of growing up and playing in the NBA.

“When I was younger, I was pretty good at basketball, and then when I was in middle school, I was convinced I was going to be the frst Filipino to make it to the NBA,” Cabal said.

Although he trained every day to become the next Michael Jordan, his plans took an unforeseen halt when he realized the other boys were twice his height. He turned to football and succeeded because he was speedy and small, but as everyone grew up, he was left behind.

“Everyone had grown, and I’m Filipino and I had pretty much stopped growing,” Cabal said.

Instead, with the advice of Cabal’s football coach, he found wrestling as a viable option where height was not an issue.

Leaving behind the team-based sports of football and basketball, he changed to wrestling which focused on the one-on-one aspect — something he ended up loving. Soon, Cabal’s athletic goals completely shifted to wrestling.

out I can be better than this other person today.”

As he continued wrestling, he won a lot and gained attention from a lot of colleges. At a massive wrestling tournament that he attended, he beat the state champs. He then

His wrestling background led him to his teaching and coaching career. Cabal became the frst-ever wrestling coach at Hagerty High School, where he coached both wrestling and football for 13 years. Ten, he moved to Lake Howell, where he was also the head wrestling coach.

AP World History teacher Isiah Cabal referees the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in December, focusing on the mixed martial arts (MMA) section. He refs 2-4 times a week ranging from UFC fghters to more advanced pro fghters.

“Te times that I did win, those were always great,” Cabal said. “Te feeling of all that hard work fnally paid of Tere’s just something that you get from wrestling that you cannot get from anything else, and that is one-on-one competition and just fguring

committed to the University of Missouri and then transferred to the University of Central Florida, where he wrestled for all four years.

“So I wasn’t a great collegiate wrestler,” Cabal said. “I was fne for high school, but college was a whole diferent beast.”

“Te best part of coaching was taking the kid who’s never wrestled before and seeing them grow and mature and fnd success,” Cabal said. Cabal’s love of coaching extended to the classroom.

“I think a good practice plan is structured the same way a good lesson plan should be structured,” Cabal said. “Tere are diferent components, and just like teaching and coaching, you analyze the results.”

He moved to Trinity in 2018 after he heard the AP World History spot was opened. He found great love in teaching this class and moved to refereeing instead of coaching.

“My favorite times of refng is for UFC because I referee people from the UFC and see as they grow and go into profghters,” Cabal said. He refs mixed martial arts and kickboxing two to four times a week.

“Tere’s a quote from Dan Gable,”Cabal said. “‘Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy.’”

A SCIENTIFIC DEBUT

Article by Peyton Alch

Photos by Peyton Alch

On Feb. 13, 16 upper school Trinity students showcased individual research projects at the Ying Expo, a science competition that encourages students to fnd ways to beneft humanity through science. Troughout the school year, these students developed their projects using various research methods and applications, with the common goal of trying to solve a real-world issue. With projects ranging from the impact of energy drinks on tooth decay to using quantum cascade lasers to search for environmental solutions, there is no limit to what can be explored.

Slide and See: Can a VR Slicing Game Sharpen Peripherial Vision?

Senior Rianna Patel’s project uses Beat Saber, a virtual reality slicing game, to test if the peripheral vision of 27 participants improves over time.

“I’ve always been interested in vision and ophthalmology and wanted to see if new technology could be utilized, especially concerning peripheral vision, to improve this,” Patel said. “I want people to learn that they can use diferent types of visual training to improve their peripheral vision, especially those that are accessible to them.”

Patel placed frst in Biomedical & Health Sciences and was a grand prize alternate, meaning that she will move onto the State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida in March.

Fresh or Foe: Te Impact of Body Deodorants on Lactobacillus

Junior Lucy Chong researched the impact of whole-body deodorants on the vaginal microbiome by examining their efects on Lactobacillus, the dominant bacteria of the vagina which plays an essential role in maintaining the region’s health.

“I knew I wanted my research to involve women’s healthcare as it’s a chronically underresearched industry,” Chong said. “I chose whole-body deodorants due to their recent resurgence, I wanted to draw attention to how some of these products that are promoted by the beauty industry as having health benefts may actually be endangering women’s health.”

Chong won frst place in Microbiology, was a Ying Scholar grand prize winner, and a recipient of outstanding achievement for ability and creativity in In Vitro Biology. She will move on to the International Science and Engineering Fair, taking place in May.

How do People with Higher Emotional Intelligence Handle Frustrating Situations?

Junior Kelly Wentz wanted to research the correlation between emotional intelligence and mental disorders by using Braille. She gave her subjects 10 minutes to learn the frst 10 letters of Braille and then tested them on how much they remembered. In the simulation, subjects were placed into a stressful situation to measure their frustration and sweat levels, in order to determine a correlation between stress levels and emotional IQ. Wentz’s projects earned an honorable mention in Senior Behavioral & Social Sciences.

“Te goal of my project was to have people develop a new method to test for mental illness,” Wentz said. “Right now, the testing for anxiety and depression happens later in adolescence, so the goal is to see if there is a correlation to try to speed up the diagnosis process so psychiatrists can help people earlier in life.”

Saints present independent research projects at Ying Expo

Unseen Light: Revolutionizing Python Detection Technology with Near Infared Cameras

Juniors Connor Brady and Victor Fang (not pictured) researched practical applications of NIR imaging to identify Burmese pythons in the Everglades. Tey used specialized cameras and illuminators to take pictures of snakes. Te pair placed second in Senior Environmental Engineering.

“We want people to learn that there is an alternative to the largely ineffcient boot-on-the-ground searches in regards to Burmese Python identifcation and capture,” Fang said. “Hopefully we will be able to help the biodiversity of the Florida Everglades recover from the invasive species of Burmese Pythons.”

Utilizing Quantum Cascade Lasers for Precise Methane Detection and Environmental Solutions in Polluted Air

Juniors Jia Sood and Katia Lykah constructed an experiment that addresses the issue of gas leaks by measuring methane levels using quantum cascade lasers. Tey simulated a pipe leak using a PVC pipe to replicate an enclosed methane chamber. Tey shot a laser through the pipe, refecting onto a spectrometer that measured methane levels. From there, they were able to understand how methane can be detected and came up with ways to use it on a larger scale in everyday life, like with a drone. Te pair earned third place in Senior Environmental Engineering.

“Because methane is odorless, it is really difcult to detect,” Lykah said. “It is a really big pollutant in the environment so the goal of our project was to show that fnding solutions to climate change doesn’t have to be expensive. Tere are inexpensive ways to focus on individual factors that can address the issue.”

Energy Drinks vs. Enamel: Testing Tooth Erosion

Senior Danika Senekal (left) investigated how energy drinks as compared to water and club soda contribute to tooth erosion on human teeth. To demonstrate the demineralization of teeth, she calculated the average rate of change in mass for each solution. Senekal also took pictures to document the progression after the total exposure period in each solution.

“I want people to learn that energy drinks are just as harmful to your oral health compared to sodas,” Senekal said. “Tey can stain and demineralize your teeth.”

Senekal placed second in Chemistry and hopes to expand her research during her undergraduate studies. Beyond her project, Senekal wants to continue to advocate for dental health and spread awareness to ensure her experiment won’t become someone’s reality.

BACKBONE OF EDUCATION

How students are damaging their backs to succeed in school

Article by Lila Choudry

Photo by Julia Hoskins

Backpacks slung over shoulders, hours hunched over desks and the pressure to perform academically — all these factors contribute to a growing yet often overlooked issue among students: back pain. While it might seem trivial at frst, back pain can signifcantly impact a student’s daily life. Yet, the conversation surrounding this issue remains largely unspoken.

HIDDEN CAUSES MENTAL TOLL

One of the most common culprits behind student back pain is the muscle strain that comes from carrying heavy backpacks. However, the problem is more nuanced than simply hauling books across campus.

“Heavy backpacks are probably not healthy for the spine,” Pain Management Doctor at Orlando Health Bruce Dixon said. “It’s not just about the weight but how it’s carried. If a backpack looks too heavy from a spectator’s perspective, it probably is.”

Tis issue is especially pronounced in younger students, whose developing spines are more vulnerable to injury.

“My backpack was pretty heavy, so I get back pain a lot towards the end of the semester, but also when I start playing lacrosse it gets worse,” senior and student athlete Charlotte Davis said. “I take stuf out of my backpack and clear my papers from my bag every semester, but it doesn’t really help.”

But heavy backpacks are only one piece of the puzzle. Prolonged sitting and poor posture compound the problem.

“A sedentary lifestyle is a risk factor for back pain,” Dixon said. “Good posture can combat this, but slouching is a bad habit.”

In classrooms designed for efciency rather than comfort, students often fnd themselves sitting for extended periods, leading to muscle fatigue and spinal misalignment. Tis discomfort can easily escalate to lifelong chronic pain if left unaddressed.

Sports, too, play a signifcant role in student back pain by predisposing students to specifc back injuries.

“Students are most likely to have back pain

due to muscle strain or a disc bulge,” Dixon said. “Other causes could be a pars interarticularis defect (a small break in a section of a lumbar vertebra that can cause lower back pain), particularly in those involved in high-impact sports.”

Back pain is more than just a physical inconvenience — it impacts every aspect of a student’s life. Chronic pain can lead to a vicious cycle of discomfort, stress and anxiety.

“Pain can interplay with things like depression, and they can kind of feed of each other,” Dixon said. “Tis becomes a long-term problem, afecting productivity and overall well-being.”

Students experiencing persistent pain often struggle to concentrate, leading to reduced academic performance and heightened stress levels. Te emotional toll is compounded when students feel isolated in their pain, unable to articulate their struggles to peers or teachers who may not fully understand the severity of the issue.

LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES

ful of how they sit and carry their backpacks.”

In addition to physical adjustments, stress management techniques can alleviate the mental burden of chronic pain. Practices such as stretching and regular exercise can help reduce tension and improve overall well-being.

“When I start playing lacrosse, it gets worse,” Davis said. “I don’t really stretch a lot when it’s not lacrosse season, so I think if I did that more, it would be better. But I know when I do stretch on the feld, it feels so nice.”

TAKEAWAYS

Te prevalence of back pain among students demands a shift in how schools and families approach the issue. Rather than dismissing complaints as minor aches, it’s essential to recognize the long-term implications and address the root causes. Tis means creating supportive environments that prioritize physical health, mental well-being and educational success.

Back pain is more than a temporary discomfort; it’s a silent barrier to student achievement. By fostering awareness and implementing preventive measures, schools can help students carry the weight of their education — without carrying the burden of pain. and

If left untreated, back pain in students can lead to chronic conditions later in life. While some cases are self-limited and resolve with conservative care, others can persist and worsen over time.

“Back pain doesn’t always resolve,” Dixon said. “It could become a chronic issue, leading to long-term complications.”

levels,

Chronic back pain can impact sleep, mood and energy levels, creating a ripple efect on all aspects of life.

PREVENTIONS AND SOLUTIONS

approach, beginning with awareness. Schools

Preventing back pain requires a proactive approach, beginning with awareness. Schools can play a pivotal role by ensuring ergonomic classroom designs and encouraging regular movement breaks. Educating students about proper posture and backpack safety is as equally crucial.

“Keeping the spine in good alignment is key,” Dixon said. “Students need to be mind-

Charlotte Davis demonstrates the efects of slouching at the desk, with red marks indicating areas at risk of spinal damage.

PROJECT: PRESERVATION

Artifical Intelligence protects endangered languages

Article by Aarav Gupta

Graphics by Natalie Baron and Caden Liu

Typically AI is seen as something to be feared. As Elon Musk said, “With arti cial intelligence, we are summoning the demon.” Instead, AI is being used as a way to preserve endangered languages through documentation and translation.

Despite endangered languages facing incredible risks, arti cial intelligence is providing powerful tools that preserve languages.

“When [linguists] collect data from a speaker of an endangered language, they might have hours and hours and hours of recorded speech,” linguistic professor at the Universi ty of Washington Andrew Hedding said. “I know of some people that have used automatic speech recognition tools to try and take a sample of a language and then use that to train a model that could recognize the speech of additional data that you’re giving it.”

Other than automatic speech recognition tools, large lan guage models (LLM) are trained to perform translations among many languages. In fact, Google launched a program to build AI models that help younger generations explore linguistic her itage by learning indigenous languages.

Languages become endangered from the changing demographic factors and limited speakers, speci cally children.

“Latin itself is no longer spoken due to the governing structure that propagated Latin,” Latin teacher Kyle McGimsey said. “With no more central government structures in Rome, you have all of these places where Latin was spoken, starting to evolve independently.”

Usually, languages pass from generation to generation but limited communication can put a language at risk of extinction. However, certain methods allow for the preservation of these languages.

“In endangered languages that transmission is starting to be broken

languages because it’s being seen as a shared inheritance of Western Europe.”

potential, these AI models have encoun tered privacy issues, inaccurate conclusions and lack of trust among users.

access to that data and are the AI companies able to use that data to train other models,” Hedding said. “Another issue that might come up … is AI making untrue statements. Also … some communities might be skeptical about a non-community member machine generating data and that being taken as a source of data.”

“ e main thing we look for to determine whether a language is endangered is how many children are learning the language,” Hedding said. “Children are learning them in the home and speaking them with their families and then they’re also speaking them out in the community.”

According to language database Ethnologue, 3,170 languages are endangered worldwide. Languages go extinct because of the use of English and other dominant languages, due to colonialism as well as other factors.

“For some languages that are severely endangered, linguists will make recordings of stories and then preserve those.”

Preserving endangered languages plays a signi cant role in promoting the diversity of languages worldwide, important markers of identity and crucial for preserving one’s identity.

“[Latin] can be a uni er of that people as a way to hold onto a history or a culture that helps them feel that sense of identity,” McGimsey said. “ e study of that dead language does have the potential to stamp out other

While tools like AI can make understanding endangered and extinct languages easier, they still remain challenging to learn, especially for the younger genera-

“All these languages are heavily inected, meaning that they have cases and endings and are much less dependent on the order of words in a sentence than they are on what those words look like,” McGimsey said. “Another challenge can sometimes be that … you’re not always learning the words that feel like you’re relevant

Still, speakers have recognized the great potential of AI for preserving endangered languages that are at serious risk.

“Documenting endangered languages is a bit of a race against the clock,” Hedding said. “If these tools are able to increase the speed at which linguists and community members are able to document languages … it might allow us to improve our analysis of languages.”

It is only a matter of time before these endangered languages go extinct. e development of these advanced AI tools will ensure that such progress will not be lost.

BEYOND THE BURN

Article by Sofia Haddadin

Photo by Julia Hoskins, Graphics by Caden Liu and Natalie Baron

Shortly after her son’s frst birthday, melanoma survivor Leah Koskinen noticed a small spot on her shoulder and thought nothing of it. After her mom encouraged her to get a skin check, the seemingly innocent spot fipped her life upside down as the doctors told her the diagnosis: she had stage three melanoma.

With the cancer spreading to her lymph nodes, scans and frequent checks became her new norm. Countless doctor appointments and surgeries later, Koskinen has been in remission for six years. However, her story is far too common for millions of Americans, emphasizing the importance of raising awareness about sun safety and skin cancer.

Skin cancer can be classifed into three main sub-categories: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. While all three are deadly, melanoma is the most fatal due to its tendency to spread to other parts of the body. Just two sunburns before the age of 18 can increase the risk of getting these cancers by over 50%. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, more than 9,500 people are diagnosed with skin cancer every day, and more than two people die of the disease every hour. On the bright side, when melanoma is detected early, the fve-year survival rate is 99%.

“Te cancer can go anywhere when it’s melanoma, but it really depends on the type of skin cancer,” Koskinen said. “But it’s not just as simple as getting a mole removed. If we didn’t catch it as quickly as we did, that cancer could have gone throughout my whole entire body.”

While many are aware of the dangers the sun poses, most are oblivious to the indoor danger that is even more deadly than the sun’s UV rays: indoor tanning. While seemingly harmless and even marketed as a safer alternative to the sun, tanning beds pose a threat to anyone who decides to use them, especially to teenagers. MD Anderson Cancer Center warns that using a tanning bed before age 20 can increase your chance of developing melanoma by nearly 50%.

Unfortunately, despite such deadly statistics, there are popular misconceptions plaguing society. To debunk such myths, it is important to be well-informed to be able to differentiate between fact versus fction.

“ e vast majority of my peers perceive sun safety as an unnecessary precaution and ignore the risks of skin damage to prioritize looking tan,” eighth grader Collette Baum said. “Tanning beds emit ultraviolet radiation ten to than the sun at its strongest intensity, and individuals who have used a tanning bed before they’re 35 are 75% more likely to develop melanoma.”

Despite these risks, the desire to achieve a tan remains prevalent, especially among teenagers, who are particularly susceptible to peer pressure and societal beauty standards.

Eighth grader Collette Baum applies sunscreen to protect herself from the sun’s UV rays.

The truths about sun safety can combat common misconceptions

“Another misconception is that you only need to put on sunscreen once per day,” Koskinen said. “You should really be reapplying every two hours. I like to set an alarm on my phone so that I don’t have to think about remembering when the two hours are to make it easy for [myself].”

Setting alarms or daily reminders on phones are easy ways to remember to apply and reapply sunscreen. While sunscreen works ecting or absorbing UV rays, it is not invincible.

Lauren Muench, a dermatology physician assistant at Re ections Dermatology, encounters social media conspiracies and myths regarding sun safety on a daily basis through interactions with patients. She commonly hears her patients say that they do not have to wear sunscreen every day since they rarely go outside, but she warns that this could not be farther from the truth.

“In reality, even the best sunscreens wear after about two to three hours, and they deteriorate even quicker if you are sweating or swimming,” Baum said.

By being diligent about sunscreen reapplication, we can protect ourselves from the dangers of skin cancer. Constant reminders build healthy habits to make sunscreen application a no-brainer. Consistency is key to success, and this is especially true regarding sun protection.

“I inform my patients that the sun has a cumulative efect and that 10-15 minutes in the sun each day adds up,” Muench said. “It may not seem like much at the moment, but 10 minutes every single day is a lot of UV exposure, which can put individuals at risk for sun damage — including skin cancer and premature aging. Tis is why it is important to apply SPF each day to protect ourselves from the harmful efects of UV radiation.”

Te compounding efect of the sun means that even if you occasionally go outside and are exposed to the sun, you will still feel the efects over time. Sunscreen application and general sun protection, like wearing UPF clothing or staying in shade during the peak hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to Northwestern Medicine, are critical to staying safe.

Social media has a tight hold on teenagers in today’s society, making it the best method for instilling sun safety habits. With #tanlines having over 430 million views on TikTok, the sunscreen narrative should and can be changed.

“If infuencers and other celebrities celebrated their natural skin tones and sent a message that beauty isn’t only skin-deep, it could be revolutionary to skin-cancer statistics, causing a signifcant positive change,” Baum said. “Tere are so many individuals online boasting tanlines and romanticizing a burnt complexion, which has had a monumental impact on teens around the world.”

It is important to protect the face, ears, neck, chest and arms as they are exposed to the sun’s harmful rays on a daily basis. While sunscreen is one of the main aspects of sun safety, other important forms of sun safety cannot be forgotten.

“Another thing that is helpful is wearing protective clothing — such as UV shirts or hats whenever outside for long periods of times,” Muench said. “Also, fnding shade whenever possible to prevent direct sunlight is an easy thing to do to minimize excessive sun exposure.”

It truly is the little things that add up to have the greatest impact when it comes to building healthy sun safety habits.

“Just do the simple things, you know, have a hat to keep it in your car, keep a little bottle of sunscreen in your purse and make sure your makeup has SPF,” Koskinen said.

While simple practices like carrying sunscreen or wearing a hat can help prevent skin damage, advancements in technology are enhancing the ability to detect skin conditions at earlier stages. New artifcial intelligence (AI) technologies are becoming key components in early detection, which can, in turn, increase survival rates.

“Tere are currently AI-powered apps and tools that patients and providers can use to perform more accurate exams and potentially detect concerning lesions at an even earlier stage,” Muench said. “Tere are also non-invasive biopsy techniques such as DermTech — which is an adhesive sticker test that you can apply on a skin lesion to assess certain genetic properties, indicating whether or not a biopsy is warranted.”

Baum, Muench and Koskinen all echo a similar message: start early and prioritize consistency when it comes to building healthy and sustainable sun safety habits.

“It’s so easy to live in an all-or-nothing mindset, but what typically happens is that teens abandon their sun care routine early on and let their skin pay the price,” Baum said. “Making sure to apply sunscreen every single day, even if it’s only a little bit, is what has the greatest impact over time.”

MANATEE MISSION

Berchem finds her life’s purpose among manatees

Article by Fay Zhao

Photo by Julia Hoskins

It was 2011 when Cora Berchem arrived at a hotel in Miami, FL, to attend a conference with her flm and television company. Berchem, who came from Germany to the States to pursue a career in communications and flmmaking, was used to traveling to diferent places. Little did she know, this trip would change her life.

It all began when she visited a promotional stand in the Miami hotel lobby and saw a cuddly gray plushy of an unfamiliar sea creature which at frst she thought was a whale.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s so cute,’” Berchem said. “I was told it’s a Florida manatee ... I had never heard of a manatee before we bought the toy.”

Interested in all kinds of wildlife, Berchem started researching what a manatee was.

“Tey’re well studied at this point, but they’re not as well known,” Berchem said. “I think they fascinated me because everybody knows what a dolphin, a seal or sea lion is. But a manatee, there’s still a lot of people who don’t know a lot about it.”

Inspired, Berchem found her new passion project: a documentary about these gentle giants. She interviewed many professionals around Florida, featuring the eforts of Save the Manatee Club and local zoos.

“One of the ladies I interviewed at Zoo Tampa … I heard her talk and realized how passionate these people were,” Berchem said. “So when I went back up north, I had a job there and I said, ‘What am I doing here? Where are these people? Tey’re saving lives down in Florida.’”

Berchem, already familiar with Save the Manatee Club from almost two years of collaboration in bringing the documentary to life, took the frst opportunity to work with them for a short period of three months. Eleven years later, Berchem is still with the manatees, working as the communications director for spreading awareness on these gentle creatures.

“I think about fnding ways to communicate that knowledge, because there’s a lot of these scientists out there that have this amazing

body of knowledge, but if you want people to care and make a diference, you have to communicate it on a level that they can relate to and understand,” Berchem said.

Along with her job running the social media, digital web cameras and other educational events, Berchem shadowed the park’s manatee researcher of 40 years, Wayne Hartley. Tere, Berchem worked hands-on with manatees in participating in morning roll calls — a head count and documentation of all manatees in the spring each morning — and rescues. Troughout the years, she created countless unforgettable memories of seeing manatees recuperate from injuries and their total rise to a record number of 827 — each success story a testament to their conservation eforts and the manatee’s resilience.

“Te most rewarding thing is if you see an animal that you rescued and released comes back,” Berchem said. “Especially an animal that wasn’t doing well the season before and now you see that it’s all healed up and doing great … you get the feeling that you are making a diference for them.”

Now during the winter season, Berchem fnds herself on a canoe every morning spending time with these manatees, recognizing each of them. Occasionally, she will see her favorite, Annie, whose calf was frst spotted by Berchem right after its birth. Other times, she will spot Mampee, the manatee named after the frst little stufed animal she got at the hotel lobby in Miami.

“Sometimes you just never know,” Berchem said. “If you had told me when I was in college that I would be working in Florida right now with manatees, that was not something I would have ever considered. You never know, and if you have a passion for something, go with it, even if it’s not the direct path of getting somewhere.”

March 2O25

Learn more about the roll call:

Berchem paddles slowly in the water, watching for manatees resting at Blue Spring State Park.

CAPTURE THE COSMOS

Freshman records stars and planets through astrophotography

Article by Fay Zhao

Freshman Simar Kang fnds his usual spot in the darkness of the surrounding park and sets up his barlow lens, telescope and camera. Although he can not see much around him, the darkness is his friend, illuminating the faraway dance of stars and planets in the night sky.

“[When] I looked through it, I saw craters on the moon, the rings of Saturn and Jupiter’s moons,” Kang said. “And I [was] like ‘Wow.’”

Recording pictures of the night sky is a frequent occurrence for Kang. But even before discovering astrophotography, he was fascinated by space.

“My frst interactions with space pretty much began when I was around 6, and I saw a lunar eclipse,” Kang said. “It was super cold out that night, and I looked and saw the moon turning. I thought that was really cool.”

Interested in anything involving space, Kang stumbled upon a YouTube video by astrophotography channel “AstroBiscuit.” Te video opened a new world for Kang as he began exploring the ins and outs of capturing these celestial objects — frst with the purchase of his own professional Dobsonian telescope.

projects over the span of these three years and established his own techniques. Along with the Dobsonian telescope, he uses a dedicated astronomy camera (ZWO ASI 585 MC Pro), which attaches to the telescope. On top of his main equipment, a feld fatter, which ensures no stars are stretched or blurry, and a derotation device are necessary to accommodate for the rotating nature of Earth. With plenty of practice, dealing with these complex devices became routine.

“I’ve mastered processing techniques and such to really get what I want and keep all those [unnecessary] artifacts out,” Kang said. “In general, set-up time has gotten a lot lower since I frst started because you have muscle memory. As to what goes where, how to do everything, you pretty much have that all set in your brain.”

Each project begins with Kang looking for targets on the astronomy app Stellarium. Usually, he has a period of two to three months in which he can best capture the target.

“I pretty much discovered it on my own,” Kang said. “I looked at their videos since they have quite a few tutorials. I took inspiration from those projects and also looked things up.”

Since then, Kang has completed several

After scheduling the day, he heads out around 9 p.m. and images for around two to three hours; during which, the camera captures around 500 frames. From there, he transfers the information onto his computer, using a stacking software to combine them into one cohesive image.

— a supernova remnant of a star that exploded in the 10th century — which will take over three nights in a total of nine hours to capture.

Along with the skill of shooting these frames, Kang found that the entire process of astrophotography also helped him embrace subjects that he never found much interest in — including math.

While some photos come out well, others may feature an unexpected appearance of a white trail seemingly made by random satellites, rocket boosters or meteors captured in the moment.

“You can see all that data,” Kang said. “I’m either like ‘Really? Is that really all I got?’ or ‘Wow, that looks great.’ I was amazed that I got that data, especially from a light polluted sky.”

Sometimes in order to capture all the sufcient data, the capturing process may take days.

In this photo, Kang captured the “Horsehead and Flame Nebulae” in the winter of 2024.

In Kang’s upcoming project, he plans to capture the Crab Nebula

“I’m not someone that likes math, but some of this stuf requires an ethos, FOB calculating and seeing if your pixels are going to line up with the telescope,” Kang said. “Tere’s a bunch of formulas you have to do, and yeah, I stopped hating math.”

But no matter how complicated the process is, Kang fnds astrophotography as a labor of love in which he unearths the remarkable place that is space.

“Just simply looking at people’s pictures, seeing how beautiful space is, what sorts of objects are just in the sky waiting to be seen and overall seeing those objects like the planet craters on the moon cemented the whole thing in my brain,” Kang said.

Te “Helix Nebula” was Kang’s most complex shot, taking three hours to image.

Photo Courtesy of Simar Kang

SOLO LEVELING: A MUST WATCH

Article by Sammy Lou

Poster Courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes

Boasting breathtaking animation and intense fght scenes, Solo Leveling’s action is unparalleled. While somewhat lacking in complexity, Solo Leveling is the perfect show for those who love watching powerful characters clash on the battlefeld. Tis thrilling series is a non-stop adrenaline rush that makes 23 minute episodes go by in the blink of an eye.

Te concept of Solo Leveling is simple: the main character, Sung Jinwoo, lives in a world where people awaken magical abilities to fght powerful monsters. While most hunters’ abilities cannot improve after they “awaken,” Sung Jinwoo discovers that he can use a “player system” that allows him to level up his power endlessly as if he were in a video game.

Season 1 of Solo Leveling fnished releasing on March 31, 2024, and season 2 began airing on Jan. 4, 2025, which is when the show hit mainstream popularity. Te season 2 hype was sensational: the release of several episodes crashed streaming websites like Crunchyroll due to high demand. In a display of the show’s universal appeal, one viral video shows Liverpool soccer stars watching Solo Leveling while on a fight. Fans have had very high expectations for Solo Leveling’s animation studio, A-1 Pictures, which also has produced big name shows like “Sword Art Online,” “Erased,” “Your Lie in April” and “Te Seven Deadly Sins.”

Te animation in Solo Leveling is by far the best aspect of the show. Many of the frames in the fght scenes could be displayed as artwork on their own. Te animation easily exceeds other well-budgeted shows like “Demon Slayer.” Solo Leveling’s characters are incredibly powerful,

which makes it challenging to bring them to life convincingly. Still, the animation team nailed it, and I was wowed by the complexity of each character’s powers. Te animation includes subtle details and movements that make seemingly difcult actions look efort-

side characters. Te detail put into side character Choi Jong-In’s “S-Rank” fre tornado that wiped a cave clean of monsters was equally as terrifc to watch.

Solo Leveling’s storyline is also engaging. Its simple yet compelling nature keeps the audience hooked to the series. As Sung Jinwoo gradually levels up his power, the story presents various monsters that he must defeat. In these battles, he showcases his newly improved power in a beautifully animated fght scene. Tis cycle keeps viewers like me yearning to witness the next stage of Sung Jinwoo’s power development.

However, the “overpowered main character” concept isn’t for everyone. Viewers who are looking for shows with hidden meanings and underlying themes will walk away from this show unsatisfed (check out my “Te Boy and the Heron” review if this is what you are looking for!). Additionally, those expecting character nuance and depth on something similar to an “Attack On Titan” level masterpiece will be disappointed. Te focus of the show is to portray Sung Jinwoo’s journey of “Solo Leveling.” Still, for those that love a good comeback underdog story or high-octane action shots, Solo Leveling is the perfect show to go watch.

less. For example, you can sense the calm, John Wick-esque confdence of Sung Jinwoo when he casually dodges back-to-back attacks with a straight face. Impressively, A-1 pictures also did a brilliant job animating each detail for the

Plot aside, Solo Leveling’s animation is an absolute masterclass. Its simple yet efective plot and detailed fght scenes make for a captivating, binge-worthy show. If you enjoyed other shows like “Jujutsu Kaisen” or “Demon Slayer” or if you are looking to jump into the world of anime, Solo Leveling is the perfect show for you. “Solo Leveling” is available on streaming services Crunchyroll and Amazon Prime Video. You don’t want to miss out on one of the most awe-inspiring animated series of the year.

MARVEL’S BRAVE NEW STEP

Marvel releases new movie “Captain America: Brave New World”

Article by Janav Ramprakash

Graphic by Maxi DelaFuente

faces challenges that test his ability to take on the mantle of Captain America. Eventually, his heroic triumph over these obsta- cles secure

It has been no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been in a confusing state lately. Ever since the introduction of the Disney+ streaming service, Marvel Studios has produced an excessive amount of content, with four movies and fve T.V. shows produced in 2021 alone. For comparison, before 2021, Marvel only released an average of two movies annually, with no T.V. shows in the mix. Because of this new focus on quantity, the infux of entertainment has sufered from a lack of coherent storytelling and overall quality.

thought he had his humor going on too. Overall, I thought he did a good job of Sam Wilson and making the character likeable.”

“It’s been a rough time,” Co-President of Marvel Studios Louis D’Esposito told Empire in 2024. “Maybe when you do too much, you dilute yourself a little bit.”

Tough movies like 2024’s “Deadpool and Wolverine” and 2023’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” found success, others such as 2023’s “Te Marvels” and 2021’s “Eternals” came up short at the box ofce in recent years. With the release of “Captain America: Brave New World,” however, Marvel is fnally taking a small step towards success. At the conclusion of 2019’s “Avengers Endgame,” Steve Rogers (formerly Captain America) gave his shield to Sam Wilson (formerly Falcon), establishing Wilson as the new Captain America. Now, the studio is aiming for audiences to accept his new position with the release of this movie.

“Tat shield has been passed, and it feels like the audience knows it was passed to the right person,” President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige told GamesRadar+. “I think this movie will solidify that more.”

Since this is Sam’s debut as Captain America, the flm does incorporate several themes of an origin story. One prominent theme is the struggle that it takes to prove oneself worthy

his place as the new Cap- tain America. Even for those who haven’t seen the lms, this theme

Alongside this provides

Additionally, the movie provides a compelling explanation of the diference between Sam and Steve Rogers.

“Tere was a really good quote [from the movie],” Castro said. ey said, ‘Steve Rogers gave people someone to look up to. Whereas you, Sam, you are giving people something to aspire to.’ I think that’s [a line] that kind of drives the diference home between the two characters for sure.”

“Tey

nate with many deeply, making it a worthy watch for those who haven’t seen it yet.

However, this is not to say that the flm is without its imperfections. One recurring issue is the inclusion of too many subplots, like the Serpent Society, which ended up playing a smaller role than fans had anticipated.

“I think the [Serpent Society] is fne,” freshman Marc Wang said. “I think they didn’t give [them] as much time as [they] should have been given in terms of plot though.”

“It stayed true to what the main confict has been,”

rick Castro said.

Another issue the movie faced was the noticeable reshoots made in June 2024, which lasted for 22 days. Tough these reshoots aimed to adjust key events in the story, it also led to some poorly edited scenes.

“How is the world gonna react to Sam Wilson now being Captain America? How is Sam Wilson dealing with the weight of being Captain America? So I thought that they did a good job on touching on all of that.”

ny Mackie’s portrayal of Wilson added much-needed depth to the character too.

“I thought Anthony Mackie had a good mix of that empathetic character that’s trying to connect with people because he’s been in those traumatic situations before,” Castro said. “I of a signifcant title. Troughout the flm, Sam

“‘Brave New World’ had an infamously tumultuous reshoot process in which massive swaths of the flm were reworked and patched together,” critic Caroline Siede told Girl Culture in 2025. “And you can defnitely feel that in the choppy editing.”

Currently, “Captain America: Brave New World” has received mixed reviews online, with a 48% critic approval rating and an 80% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it does outperform many recent MCU flms like “Te Marvels” and 2023’s “Ant-Man and Te Wasp: Quantamania,” both of which have IMDb ratings below 6/10, while Brave New World scores above 6/10. While not a huge leap in quality for Marvel, the flm does represent a small step in the right direction.

COMMENTAAR N

In Da Club

Dearest applicant:

Welcome to Commentaaron College! It is with the utmost pleasure that I write this satirical article to congratulate you on your admission to our class 2029! It was a pretty tough decision between you and 78 million other students, but we are happy to inform you that you made it into the 0.03% students we are admitting.

Being such an outstanding accomplishment on your behalf, we wanted to inform you of the factor (yes, only one) that went into our admission decision: your club.

While it’s great and all that, you have a perfect GPA, are the captain of three diferent varsity sports and have more community service hours than x2VOL is able to log, we really care more about that cute thing you run during the 25 minute break your school has once in a millennium.

We are glad to hear that you founded your very own prestigious institution, Breakfast Club (a pretty good ’80s reference if I do say so myself), a club for all foods served during any time from sausages at senior sunrise to middle block mozzarella sticks. Since your school only has 200 clubs, we are sure that starting a club must be a very high honor for you.

Furthermore, we were exceptionally ecstatic when reading about all of your club’s prolific accomplishments: writing cards on colored paper and sending them to people who don’t have access to french toast and eggs benedict. Kudos, by the way, for delivering a three-slide presentation on how the lack of such foods negatively impacts mental health during an Upper School assembly.

While we regret to hear that your school still utilizes such an archaic form of capital punishment to force students to hear information they could easily get from an email, it is just absolutely fantastic that your Breakfast Club is informing fellow students on such a crucial issue.

For this reason alone, we are happy to let you and the Breakfast Club’s accountant, secretary, historian, activities manager and two members — who show up to meetings as often as our school wins a state championship in a sport — all into our college with a full ride. Congratulations and welcome to Commentaaron College’s School of Computer Science.

RED, WHITE AND WOAH American patriotism is overwhelming

Article by Yizhao Chen

Yizhao is an exchange student spending a year at Trinity through the ASSIST program. In this column, she documents her unique experiences and observations on American Culture.

I pledge allegiance to the fag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Every time I recite the pledge alongside my fellow Saints during assembly, I fnd myself in a mini existential crisis. Do I place my hand over my heart? Is it weirder if I don’t blend in or if I pledge allegiance to a country I don’t belong to? Amidst my dilemma, one thought keeps echoing in my mind: I still can’t quite grasp the sheer scale of American patriotism.

Take the pledge of allegiance for example. Due to Austria’s history with Nazism and the rhetoric that was perpetuated during that time period, showing any strong passion for the nation is very problematic. Honestly, if I heard of a school that made its students pledge their allegiance to the Austrian fag once a week, I would be worried that the education system was failing us. But in the U.S., it’s just standard operating procedure. Every Tuesday, without fail, the entire school stands and recites the exact same words, with their hand placed frmly over their heart. And honestly, it’s impressive. It’s like this weirdly synchronized performance art, a group of 500 students simultaneously swearing loyalty to a rectangle of fabric.

ers. Sure, in Austria, the national anthem plays before our national team plays against other countries. But not at a high school soccer game. And here, it’s not just the people involved in the game that participate. Anyone who just happens to be close to the feld stops everything they’re doing, takes of their cap, places their hand frmly on their heart and stares at the nearest fag with pure devotion. Te frst time that happened to me I thought I’d been bewitched and stumbled into some kind of seance.

“Honestly, it’s impressive. It’s like this weirdly synchronized performance art, a group of 5OO students simultaneously swearing loyalty to a rectangle of fabric.”

- Yizhao Chen, Writer

Ten there’s the actual fag itself. It’s everywhere. On campus, in every restaurant parking lot and even in the driveway at home. I mean, I understand if the fag is fying next to a government building. After all, it’s a democratic institution. At school, you can argue that American ideals are being taught. But Publix? Te only store that embodies America well enough to deserve a gigantic fag fying in the parking lot is Bucee’s. In Austria, you might see the fag fying during special occasions like an important holiday or a soccer game, but other than that, it’s kind of a rare sighting.

Before I came here, I thought patriotism was reserved for July 4th, but I’ve come to realize that it’s not just a yearly performance; people really live by it.

Don’t get me started on the national anthem. Before soccer games, everyone, from players to coaches to parents, turns towards the fag while the anthem blasts from the speak-

So, while I still don’t quite know whether or not I should place my hand over my heart during assembly, I am starting to understand American patriotism. I mean, if I belonged to the only country that had Chick-Fil-A, Chipotle and Crumbl, I’d bow down to a rectangular piece of fabric too.

PRIDE ON THE PITCH

Sophomore Victoria Moore competes with the Puerto Rican national team to qualify for the U17 World Cup

Article by Lucy Chong

On Jan. 31, the Puerto Rican U17 Women’s National Soccer Team clinched a 2-1 victory over Bermuda, qualifying them to compete in Panama this March for a spot in the upcoming U17 World Cup. Among the team’s players was sophomore Victoria Moore — Trinity’s very own star goalkeeper.

Earlier this year, Moore received the callup notifying her that she had been selected to play on Puerto Rico’s U17 national team. Shortly after, she traveled to Puerto Rico to aid the team in three straight victories over St. Vincent, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.

Since the team is made up of players from all over the world, but primarily the U.S. and Puerto Rico, they are given extremely limited time to practice together before games — expected to practice and play with one another for the frst time all within the

As the top-ranked team from their group, Puerto Rico will be one of the twelve teams competing in the fnal round of quali this March.

ers in Panama ere, the teams will be

split into three groups of four, with all the group winners and the best second-place the U17 World Cup in the fall. Having played for her club and school most of her life,

nisher advancing to

stincts. I like the pressure.”

Shortly after she began soccer, Moore joined a competitive travel team. From there, she has only continued to improve, making Trinity’s varsity team in eighth grade and playing internationally in ninth for Florida’s state team.

Despite her busy schedule with club and now international play, Moore is still an integral part of Trinity’s own team. According to

Moore catching high balls while warming up before a game in Puerto Rico.

“Vic is the best goalie on the field, and perhaps even in the state, but also a leader. She’s a critical piece, and without her, we would really struggle because she bails us out of a lot of tough situations.”

- Sebastiaan Blickman, Varsity Girls Soccer Head Coach

but she describes

her experience playing for Puerto Rico as a unique turning point in her career. erent than club because you [are] representing something way bigger than yourself,” Moore said. “Everyone there was representing the islands.”

Varsity Girls Soccer Head Coach Sebastiaan

Blickman, Moore has one of the best work ethics on the team, often running before practice or working, even though she should probably be resting.

Moore began her soccer career in elementary school, playing at her local YMCA, where she fell in love with the sport and discovered the position of goalie — the position she has

“It was diferent was played ever since.

“When I was little, my coach [asked], ‘Who wants to play goalie?’ and I raised my hand,” Moore said. “I fell in love with the position, and I don’t ever want to play on the feld. Tis is where I want to play. I see the feld diferently than everyone, and I have to react of of in-

“Vic is the best goalie on the feld, and perhaps even in the state, but also a leader,” Blickman said. “She’s a critical piece, and without her we would really struggle because she bails us out of a lot of tough situations.”

Post high school, Moore hopes to play at the Division I level in college, and after that maybe professionally.

“If she maintains the same trajectory she’s on now, the sky’s the limit,” Blickman said.

Photos provided by Victoria Moore

Sports PUTT-ING A NEW SPIN OF GOLF

TGL looks to transform the golf world and expand the sports appeal

Article by Thomas Bonos

From Arnold Palmer to Tiger Woods, professional golfers have teed of into the wide and vast land that made up the fairway. In TGL presented by SoFi, modern-day golf superstars — including Justin Tomas and Rory McIlroy — tee of staring at a 64-foot screen, displaying a virtual golf course with 30 unique holes and a rotating green. TGL was frst established in August 2022 by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and the TMRW Sports Group. Te simulator-based golf format took the concept of virtual golf and scaled it into a large arena that looks to challenge even the best of the best. Much innovation and development was needed to take TGL from concept into a live, working hit.

“We had to advance [TGL’s] technology, making it so precise that it lived up to the expectations of the best players in the world,” Vice President of Digital Media atTGL and Trinity Prep parent, Jon Kropp said. “Te challenges were one: taking existing technology, putting it into a bigger platform, and two: integrating the individual pieces [of the technology like the] transforming green, large simulator and the stadium atmosphere.”

of golf and still respecting the long-standing traditions associated with the game; venues such as PopStroke and TopGolf have targeted people looking for a more fun take on golf.

“It’s smart of TGL to try and bridge that gap between conservative golf fans and ones of the new era,” Stanford Men’s Golf Head Coach Conrad Ray said. “TopGolf and other similar simulator-based golf interests people and provides a casual outlook to the otherwise often serious game of golf.”

“It’s more close up and smaller scaled golf airtime,” Lebioda said. “It gives PGA stars the opportunity to play at a high level and showcase their game but [allows golfers] more timeto show their personality and unique [traits].”

Recently, golf has seen a rise in popularity on social media as golf content creators, celebrities and professional golfers used the platform to extend to new audiences. Tis can work in tandem with TGL as it can both market it and include big names within the golf media space. Sophomore Luke Kang, member of the Trinity varsity golf team, expresses his eagerness in seeing this new generation of golfers in TGL.

Te TGL arena holds a 64-foot simular, rotating greens and bunkers with sand from Augusta National.

Traditional golf has always been popular among older generations and people who appreciate the long-standing traditions of golf. Alum Hank Lebioda, who played golf at Florida State University and is a PGA Tour Pro, sees TGL as a modern spin on the traditional game of golf.

“It is a very unique and diferent way to broadcast and in turn digest golf,” Lebioda said. “Not everyone’s going to sit down and watch golf on the weekend for hours. It attracts a diferent type of audience, other than die-hard golf fans that bring even more eyeballs to the sport.”

Similar to TGL’s goal of innovating the game

Golf media and content has favored a longer and slower style of advertising tournament play. Tis causes certain types of viewers to become deterred from the slow-paced broadcast, specifcally younger audiences who are among the growing audience of golf.

“[TGL] looks to change trends in media, behavior and entertainment, particularly for younger demographics,” Kropp said. “Golf is a really good business, we wanted to capitalize on viewership in shorter bytes and try to break down some of the inherent challenges that the traditional golf broadcast [brings].”

With bringing increased attention to golf, PGA stars have the opportunity to highlight more than just their golf skills on TGL.

“Te potential for these golf content creators to market TGL and somehow become a part of the competition is exciting to see,” Kang said. “Bringing celebrities or big names that are involved with golf like Josh Allen will generate [more] popularity.”

Although TGL only applies to PGA Tour pros and special guest appearances, there is a possibility that it will reach diferent levels of golf in the future.

“TGL could have a trickle down efect as it furthers [in] technology and [mainstream] appeal,” Ray said. “It could be a fun way to have college teams compete out of season, celebrities interested in golf and even amateurs in some capacity.”

Te rise of alternative tour events — including LIV Golf — outside of the PGA has sparked controversy; with golf purists arguing that nothing should get in the way of the major championships and the PGA Tour. While TGL provides an alternative pathway for golf’s superstars, it serves as a complement to the PGA tour and major championships.

“[TGL is] an opportunity to showcase the world’s greatest players, and by no means does that take away from the PGA Tour,” Kropp said. “It’s purely additive. We’re creating a new avenue for these players to reach new fans.”

Photo courtesy of TGI presented by SoFi

MYTH OR MINDSET

Superstitions become performance tools for student-athletes

Article by Ben Kleiman

Graphic by Caden Liu

Before every football game, junior Orion Ratanasirintrawoot follows the same ritual before every game: praying. Ratanasirintrawoot’s praying is a habit rooted in faith, but to him, his superstition is more than just a pregame tradition; it’s a precaution. Consequently, the few times he skipped it, he paid the price.

“I kind of got this feeling when I was playing that day,” Ratanasirintrawoot said. “I felt like I just shouldn’t be out there playing.”

In the two instances when Ratanasirintrawoot skipped his pregame ritual, he tore his ACL and sufered a triplane ankle fracture.

For athletes like Ratanasirintrawoot, every game starts long before the frst whistle blows. Success is not just about skill or strategy; it’s rooted in superstition. Many believe that specifc actions, objects or sequences of events infuence the outcome of a game.

Pre-game rituals can range from physical routines, such as tapping a specifc spot before entering the feld, to mental practices, like visualizing success before stepping onto the court. Some athletes refuse to step on cracks, believing it brings bad luck, while others always put on their gear in a specifc order.

Twenty-two-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal is known for his meticulous superstition of arranging his two water bottles in a specifc position, alternating drinking between each bottle, a routine that gives him a feeling of stability. Rituals like this provide athletes like Nadal focus, which can be essential in high-pressure situations.

“I have been through difcult career situations, but I managed to overcome them.” Nadal said to Tennishead in a 2020 interview.

“If the bottles aren’t right, I can’t concentrate on the game. Tis way, I make them the same each time so I can concentrate solely on the game and what lies ahead.”

Rituals also serve as a psychological tool to help athletes feel prepared before competing.

AP Psychology teacher Michael Brown believes that routines can afect how well athletes perform by putting their minds at ease.

“[Athletes] rely on comfort,” Brown said. “[Routines] actually put you in the right head-

space and right mindset. We, as humans, thrive of of superstitions. Whether that’s a sleep routine or an eating routine, our physiology likes routine. It likes balance. It likes consistency.”

Superstitions derive from the brain’s desire for stability and control. Te need for structure also explains why superstitions have remained prevalent in society, ofering comfort and a way to manage the unknown.

perstitions can negatively afect performance, planting uncertainty in an athlete’s mind.

“If you don’t do your routine, can you no longer perform as well?” Brown said. “Can you no longer make that free throw? [Having] superstitions could impact you both positively and negatively.”

Te placebo efect plays a signifcant role in the power of superstitions. If an athlete believes that their unique routine will help them play better, they are more likely to perform with confdence and reduced anxiety. Even when an action has no direct impact on physical performance, the belief in its efectiveness can lead to improved results.

According to an article in Medical News Today, superstitions can have a soothing efect, relieving anxiety about the unknown and giving people a sense of control over their lives. Once a routine is ingrained, breaking it feels unnatural, even dangerous. Rather than questioning their efectiveness, people continue to do their superstitions because it has always been a part of them.

“[Athletes] probably just feel comfortable,” Brown said. “If we’ve done them for years, we can easily trick ourselves into believing it does help. We are creatures of habit. We like to do what feels right.”

Superstitions can be a double-edged sword, ofering comfort and confdence, but also creating doubt when they are broken. For some athletes, missing a ritual can feel like a bad omen, leading to hesitation. Forgetting su-

“Our brain is super powerful and it can make things come true,” Brown said. “It’s the idea of manifesting something. If you say it’s going to happen, it’s more likely to happen. Tat optimism does have a signifcant impact on us as humans.”

Sports are as much mental as they are physical. Anxiety can interfere with performance by causing hesitation and doubt. Rituals and superstitions act as coping mechanisms to combat nerves. By engaging in a familiar routine, athletes create a sense of control over an unpredictable situation. Tis is why many athletes refuse to break their rituals, even if they may seem irrational to others.

“We can really trick ourselves into feeling good about stuf,” Brown said. “Once we feel good about something, we generally perform better than when we feel bad about it. Te athletes perform better if they truly think this thing is working.”

Tat mindset is exactly why many athletes hold onto their routines. Whether they believe in superstition or not, the comfort of a ritual can be powerful. For some, it is about feeling prepared. For others, it is about avoiding the unknown consequences of breaking a habit.

“I forgot to pray, and then I got hurt, twice,” Ratanasirintrawoot said. “Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but after that, I wasn’t willing to take the risk anymore.”

STRICTLY BUSINESS

Luka Dončić trade headlines the harsh reality of professional sports

Article by David Steinberg

Graphics by Caden Liu

On Feb. 2 at midnight, sports fans around the world received unthinkable news: the sudden trading of generational talent and fvetime NBA All-Star Luka Dončić. Despite leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA fnals just seven months prior, the 25-year-old was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers, leaving fans, players and ownership in disbelief. Tough shocking, the deal reinforced a brutal truth about professional sports — they are, above all else, strictly a business.

Since 2000, the volume of trades in the “Big Four” (NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL) has remained fairly constant. However, the magnitude of these deals has skyrocketed, with high-profle players being dealt at an increasingly frequent rate.

In professional leagues where roughly 40% of revenue — $4.5 billion in the NBA — stems from merchandising, ticket sales and sponsorships, the movement of star players can result in signifcant fnancial gains according to Visual Capitalist. Te trade of Dončić, a player in the prime of his career, was no exception. According to Yahoo! Sports, the superstar’s Lakers gold jersey sold out in under 48 hours on Fanatics, generating millions for both the franchise and the NBA. Additionally, the average ticket price for Lakers home and away games has surged by 19% since the deal — a clear display of the skyrocketing demand to watch, what many are calling, the “Luka Lakers.”

star, [let alone] a top 3 player in the league, being traded in his prime.”

Not only were fans like Mathow caught of guard, but several NBA stars — including former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and AllStar Bam Adebayo — voiced their opinions on X, realizing that not even the league’s best players could feel secure in their current situations.

For professional athletes, a team is more than just a job; it impacts entire families. Every time players are traded, families buy new homes, children change schools and players must adjust to entirely new environments — all in an instant.

basketball camps, hosted local children at the Mavericks games and organized seasonal food collections for the holidays. When traded, the city of Dallas didn’t only lose a remarkable player, but an even better neighbor.

“I saw a video of fans [in Dallas] holding a

While the nature of being a professional is unpredictable, athletes must rely on the teammates and organization around them in order to perform at the highest level. Gaining trust in a locker room is a common characteristic of championship rosters, and nobody knows that better than Orlando Magic Assistant Coach Jesse Mermuys, who has worked in the NBA for over 17 years.

Senior basketball captain Neil Mathow was lying in bed when he frst got the update from ESPN Insider Shams Charania. Initially, he thought the deal was fake, but after opening Instagram and seeing several posts pop up on his feed, he knew it was a reality.

“I thought Shams was hacked,” Mathow said. “Even after it was confrmed, I still couldn’t believe it. You never expect to see a

“At the Magic, we work to build a culture that extends from the players, to the coaches, to the trainers, to the fans, all the way down to management,” Mermuys said. “Team chemistry is of the utmost importance, and it shows on the court just as much as of of it. We’re a really tight-knit group, and that starts with trusting your brother next to you.”

For many fans, watching their favorite players leave a franchise is difcult — not only because of their impact on the team, but also because of the character they display of the court. In multi-billion dollar industries like the NBA, where a franchise’s identity is deeply connected to community outreach, players often form strong bonds with the cities they represent. For instance, the Luka Dončic Foundation in Dallas organized countless youth

fake funeral for Luka, with a casket and all,” Mathow said. “For these people, losing him was like losing a family member.”

While the blockbuster deal wasn’t the frst time a superstar was traded in professional sports, its unexpected timing left fans stunned. Te shock only intensifed when Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison defended the decision by citing concerns about Dončić’s conditioning and weight maintenance. Te rapid shift from celebrating Dončić as the “franchise player” to questioning his commitment sparked heated controversy, leaving many feeling betrayed. Yet, for every heartbroken fan in Dallas, there’s a young Lakers fan proudly wearing a gold jersey, dreaming of a 17th championship. Tis duality is exactly what makes professional sports both thrilling and heartbreaking — and what fuels the industry’s multi-billion dollar valuation.

While the trade was incredibly challenging for Dončić, who reportedly purchased a $15 million home in Dallas just days before the deal, Mermuys believes that adversity ignites a fre in the best players — and expects Dončić to be no exception.

“Tere’s always going to be movement in the league, it’s the nature of the game,” Mermuys said. “How you respond to those difcult situations is what separates the good from the great. Are you going to let the [tough times] afect you, or are you going to work harder to prove people wrong?”

SAINTS TALK LOCAL

Broadcast by Nikhil Daniel

I’m a doer. I look around, and if I see something that needs to be done, I want to get it done. I want to make Winter Park the very best place to live in now and for the future.

EPISODE 1- WINTER PARK MAYOR SHELIA DECICCIO

Junior Nikhil Daniel sits down with Winter Park Mayor Sheila DeCiccio to discuss her life story, day-to-day as mayor, and her ongoing projects. DeCiccio ran on a platform of getting things done and discusses her goals in the sit-down interview.

EPISODE 2- OUTGOING ORANGE COUNTY SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS GLEN GLIZEN

Nikhil sits down with the outgoing Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean to discuss his background, position, and new initiatives including the Youth Pollworker Initiative. Gilzean was appointed to the role by Governor DeSantis in March 2O24 and left ofce in January 2O25. This conversation provides unique insight into the inner workings of election ofces and the 2O24 cycle in Orange County.

- Shelia Deciccio, Mayor of Winter Park

Puzzles by Mila Taylor

ANSWERS Puzzle

ACROSS

6.

7. Imagine; or the name of a Marvel superhero.

DOWN

1. the second-largest country in the world.

2. Taylor Swift album released during the COVID-19 pandemic.

3. a change or development.

5. chance or luck as an external, arbitrary force affecting human affairs.

4. Winners of the 2025 Super Bowl.

Popular singer with 99 Grammy nominations and one Album of the Year award.

PHOTOGRAPHY EXPOSITION Campus Activities

On Feb. 5, Sports 4 the Kids Club hosted a dodgeball tournament to raise money for the Sports 4 the Kids organization. All of upper school was allowed to watch or play in teams of fve. In the fnals, the seniors ended up beating the sophomores to win a casual day.

Rollins professor Dr. Jennifer Queen (pictured top right) joined the Girls in Stem Club meeting on Feb. 12 during middle block to share a powerful message about inclusivity in science. Te discussion included messages about important roles in jobs, schools, and everyday life.

Senior Aubrey Ott stands as she wins a round of bingo, hosted by seniors’ parents on Feb. 12. She said, “I am thankful to have had a great time with friends and am happy the parents organized this for us.” Seniors got to enjoy prizes such as candies and gift cards to various places.

During the frst-ever Match Game on Feb. 20, senior Connor Nanus (right) questioned junior Isabella Moore (left) about junior Owen Rafa (not pictured). Teams were asked personal questions about their partners, and seniors Jose Quiros and Anabel Duggan won.

Aksel Williams

Ally Williams

Jackson Napier

Eden Kiger