The Trinity Voice - February 2022

THE

TRINITY VOICE

February 2O22 Volume 24 Issue 4 Trinity Preparatory School 57OO Trinity Prep Lane Winter Park, FL 32792

WATCH YOUR WASTE

Individuals and businesses take steps towards reducing food waste Pages 12-13

STATE SANCTION OVERSHADOWS SAINT SAFETY FHSAA bans Trinity football program from playoffs for three years Page 19

NEWS

The No Surprises Act was recently passed to prevent unexpected medical bills.

Page 5

LIFESTYLES

New Year’s Resolutions are hard to maintain, but there are ways to keep them.

Page 6-7

FOCUS

Supply chain issues affect the Trinity Grille.

Page 11

OPINIONS

Dress codes can repress Black hair and its years of history and culture.

Page 22

SPORTS

Trinity welcomes two new lacrosse coaches to the athletics department.

Page 25

Table of Contents

February 2O22

TABLE OF CONTENTS News

Holmes Scandal O4 No Surprises Act O5

Lifestyles

Opinions

Theaters vs. Streaming 16-17 Veganism 18-19 Transracial Adoption 2O-21 Black Hair 22-23

New Year’s Resolutions O6-O7 Virtual Learning O8 Sports Skin Care O9 New Athletics Staff 25 Media’s Hold on Fashion 1O Track Resurfacing 26 Tennis Champion 27 Focus Food Shortages 11 Corporate Food Waste 12 Food Reduction at Home 13 Exotic Foods 14

Sarah Lin

Pages 2O-21 TICKETS CLOS

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

The Trinity Voice is produced by the newspaper/journalism class at Trinity Preparatory School of Florida. Editorials represent the opinion of The Trinity Voice writer and are not necessarily the views of the administration, faculty, or Board of Trustees of Trinity. The Voice welcomes letters to the editor and freelance articles or photography. All submissions become the property of The Voice. Please send all correspondence to 5700 Trinity Prep Lane, FL 32792. The Voice may also be contacted via phone at 407-671-4140 and via e-mail at voice@trinityprep.org. For information regarding the purchase of advertising within The Voice contact us by one of the methods mentioned above. The Voice is a monthly publication during the school year (with the exceptions of November and January).

VOICE@TRINITYPREP.ORG Sarah Lin

Pages 16-17

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Cover Photo

Staff/Focus Topic

February 2O22

STAFF

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

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This Month’s Focus Topic:

Blurb by Marcos Membreno and Sreekar Nagulapalli Graphics by Jaidyn Holt and Sarah Lin

This month’s Focus topic of food brings in articles covering recent food shortages, exotic foods and food waste.

To get an inside look into the restaurant business today, we spoke with Master Sommelier and Trinity alum George Miliotes. Holding high positions at Seasons 52, Eddie V’s, The Capital Grille, and California Grill, Miliotes now runs his own wine bar out of Disney Springs, Wine Bar George.

Podcast

Tune in this month to hear from our special guest, Master Sommelier George Miliotes!

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News

February 2O22

HEALTH TECHNOLOGY COMPANY THERANOS UNDER FIRE Article by Ava Savino Graphic by Jaidyn Holt Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of defrauding investors to her company, causing losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Her company promised a small device that would be able to run hundreds of medical diagnostic tests with a single drop of blood compared to the traditional intravenous blood draw. If it was possible, this would have had the potential to revolutionize the medical testing world, which is part of the reason why Holmes and her company were put in such a large media spotlight.

Holmes started her company, initially named Real-Time Cures, at 19 years old after dropping out of Stanford University. According to former dean of Harvard Medical School Dr. Jeffrey Flier in an interview with BBC News, he said that when speaking with Holmes in 2015, she did not seem to know much about her technology but seemed self-assured otherwise. Flier said that her lack of knowledge was odd coming from the CEO of the company, but he didn’t suspect anything fraudulent.

Computer science teacher Brenda Berube received her master’s degree in biomedical technology and management which led to her becoming a certified clinical laboratory scientist.

She explained that before a device like Theranos’ blood testing machine, named the “Edison,” could even receive its first drop of blood, many extremely controlled and precise experiments must be run to ensure that the machine worked as intended.

“You have to go through and make sure that somebody is checking the temperature in the room at the same time, checking the electrical current at the same time, [and] between each shift do the calibration,” Berube said.

In order to have her product eligible for human use, Holmes would have to subject the Edison through this testing on all 240 of its different tests, a process that Berube said was already tedious with just one test. But the Edison did not actually do 240 tests. According to USA Today, only 15 of the tests were actually conducted on the machine while the others were sent off to other laboratory equipment.

Because Holmes did not share this information to investors, they were misled on how

the product actually worked, leading to the multiple counts of investment fraud in the trial.

While Holmes was found guilty on four charges of defrauding investors, 11 total charges were brought against her in the 15 week trial. The charges that she was found not guilty on were relating to defrauding her patients.

In addition to Berube’s experience in biomedical technology, she has also served as a DNA forensic expert witness. As part of her job, she advised lawyers on what kinds of questions they could ask relating to the forensic evidence and how to present that information to a jury.

She explained that one of the difficulties of the Holmes trial was explaining both the familiar investment and business information and the complicated biomedical information to the jurors.

“It is difficult enough, in my experience, to have shared [the trial information] with lawyers, and think of the level of education and level of reading ability that they have,” Berube said.

“So to be able to share [the trial information] with them compared to jurors of all different backgrounds, it’s very difficult.”

Berube also said that since the jury only found Holmes guilty of charges related to these more familiar financial issues, they may have been more comfortable and familiar with that information compared to the more complicated science-related charges.

According to Berube, the trial brings up the concern of what should and should not be shared by companies to the public versus stakeholders.

“My concern is that [when] you’re a CEO of

a company, you can have privacy of your product…but you do have a responsibility to share that with your board or your stakeholders and people investing,” Berube said.

She also said that the public perception of the biomedical field is being altered by the trial, making it harder for people to trust these biomedical companies with their health. This skepticism and push for faster and easier medical testing devices is not a new concept. In 1988, Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) were passed that dictate federal regulations of who can use different kinds of testing equipment.

The most recent decisions CLIA has made are relating to COVID-19 testing, which is a subject that most people are eager to get involved in and understand because of its impact.

Berube said that while this case does bring many concerns to the general public about the biomedical testing industry, there may have also been some good things that came out of the trial.

“This is probably the first time ever that this field, I believe, has a public voice,” Berube said. “I think it is because of the general public trying to be educated on companies, and in vaccinations and approval processes.”

Altered Photo Citation: Morse, Max. Cropped Photo of Elizabeth Holmes Backstage at TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2O14. Photo by Max Morse for TechCrunch. 8 Sept. 2O14.

Wikimedia Commons, 13 Dec. 2O15, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index. php?curid=456O9O23. Accessed 13 Jan. 2O22.

Statistics from The New York Times article “The Holmes Trial By the Numbers” by Erin Griffith and Erin Woo.

February 2O22

News

5

BEYOND THE BILLS: A NEW YEARS CHANGE Effective Jan. 1, a regulation protects patients from unforseen medical bills

Article by Iris Lei Graphics by Sarah Lin The past years were full of surprises, but a new regulation has made sure that unexpected medical bills do not have to be one of them.

The No Surprises Act (NSA) of 2022 is a new improvement for Americans struggling with unexpected additional medical costs.

The NSA was implemented to protect patients from receiving surprise bills because of care from a hospital or doctor not associated with their insurance plan.

It was put into effect on Jan. 1.

According to an article by Kaiser Health News, the act also fines doctors and hospitals with a penalty of $10,000 for each violation if they bill the patient more than the cost-sharing amount for their insurance plan. Cost-sharing refers to the portion of a patient’s bills that is covered by their healthcare plan.

Orlando Health Hospitalist Ling Zhang has seen how unexpected bills start.

“If [a patient] goes to a hospital, the hospital may be in their network, but there may not be an in-network doctor,” Zhang said.

Before the act was implemented, Zhang had heard about insurance conflicts due to out-ofnetwork care. Her team had many private doctors, which resulted in some

insurance issues. According to Zhang, the patient can think that the hospital or caretaker is part of their network when the provider is not.

The hospital would bill the patient for their regular medical costs and out-of-network service, and it is costly.

Surprise billings can occur in both emergencies and planned care, although emergencies are more common. Zhang frequently saw patients admitted to their hospital who got outo f - n e t w o rk care.

“The company’s case manager will inform me that [with] this patient, the insurance doesn’t work with us,” Zhang said. “So, I will need to transfer this patient. So, I will initiate a transfer to another hospital. It happens quite a lot.”

Science teacher Scottie Smith has had experience with expensive medical bills for her injuries.

“My knee replacement was about $75,000,” Smith said.

“A few years ago, I coughed so hard that I shattered a disk in my neck, and that one was very expensive. Ran about $85 [thousand] or so.”

Smith also knows someone with the same experience in injuries and costly bills.

“Lainey, my daughter, has a coach

that just had to undergo a long-liver transplant, and he was in the hospital for two months,” Smith said. “So yes…very, very expensive for sure.”

A survey by Bankrate reported that only four out of ten Americans have savings to rely on in an emergency. Those savings encompass all sorts of unanticipated expenses, and the most common are car troubles, home appliance repair, and sickness. According to Smith, she never had problems with insurance, but if she did not have insurance, her bills would have increased the cost.

So far, there are no issues with the NSA beyond speculation about the future. The Congressional Budget Office approximates that the NSA will decrease insurance premiums, which is the amount of money someone pays for an insurance Of plan, between 0.5% and une xpe 1%, saving taxpayers cte db ills $17 billion over ten years. <$

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Source: Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker

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February 2O22

Lifestyles

SAME NEW YEAR, NEW ME Article by Sarah Zehnder and Kaylee Ortega Graphics by Sarah Lin

Although Jan. 1 seems like the perfect day realistically achieve her desired goal without a to start fresh, the expectation of instantaneous plan in place. results that comes with New Year’s resolutions Setting big picture goals without first breakis not the most effective way to set goals. ing them down into smaller, more manageable For instance, reflect on a past resolution that targets is often overlooked due to the mentalyou have set for yourself. Did you stick to it? ity that immediate results will follow. Starting If not, how long did with small changes it take for it to fail?

“Celebrating your successes with in your daily life can Maybe you had to bigger your resolutions is key. And when lead no trouble keeping changes long up with that reso- you are not successful, reflect- term. lution and it has be- ing on why that is and how you can “You cancome a permanent not put an emaddition to your change and improve.” phasis on one day everyday lifestyle.

[New Year’s Day],” But, more likely - Rylan Smith, Guidance Counselor guidance counselor than not, you startRylan Smith said. ed out confidently “Take it one day at for the first week and then lost interest which a time and realize that it takes time to make eventually resulted in failure. changes.”

Research conducted by Edward-Elmhurst Healthline reported that it takes anywhere Health Hospital found that 80% of people from 18 to 254 days for the formation of a who make New Year’s resolutions will have new habit and an average of 66 days for it to failed them by the second week of February. become automatic.

In fact, they found that most give up by Jan. 19, which has now been deemed quitter’s day; the basic existence of which proves that you cannot change your entire life overnight.

So, how do we set and keep productive resolutions?

“I’ve been thinking about cutting down on social media since school started, but I didn’t really know how I could,” junior Bianca Whatts said.

Like many others, Whatts was struggling to

“If you look at gym memberships, for example, in the first two to three weeks of January, the gym is packed because everybody says ‘This year is going to be different,’” Smith said.

“But after two to three weeks, we do not maintain that.”

Smith said that one of the biggest downfalls when setting resolutions is jumping in way too deep at the beginning without a plan.

One popular yet simple method to build habits is the 21/90 rule.

To do this, you must commit to a personal or professional goal for 21 consecutive days. After these three weeks have passed, the objective of the goal should have become a habit. Once the habit is established, it is continuously performed for another 90 days. If you can consecutively perform this routine for these 111 days, it will likely become a permanent lifestyle change.

According to Smith, you must realistically envision yourself achieving your goals before you create them since the root of the problem comes from the formation of resolutions themselves.

“Focus on setting goals that make you a better person,” Smith said.

“Identify unhealthy habits in

Self Help

February 2O22

Lifestyles

7

Inadaquate planning often leads to ineffective resolutions

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your life and set goals that help you to form healthier habits in a way that is.”

In an interview with BBC, Per Carlbring at Stockholm University said that most people create two kinds of goals: avoidance goals and approach goals. An avoidance goal is something that involves giving up or quitting a habit like stopping eating junk food, stop staying up too late, etc. while an approach goal is adding a habit into your life like start reading more or learning French.

“Instead of stopping things, you should start doing things,” Carlbring said in the BBC interview.

Another usual practice when setting goals for yourself is to write them down. Psychology professor Dr. Gail Matthews, at the Dominican University. found that you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you put them on paper.

However, failing or stumbling on a goal is okay. Social science teacher Michael Hopkins, for example, set a New Year’s resolution to cut down on his coffee consumption. And although he is proud of his overall success, he still faces struggles occasionally.

“I have moments of weakness, especially with the cold days that we have had in the past few weeks,” Hopkins said.

According to Carlbring, struggling is part of the process of longterm habit building.

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“If you face a setback, then you might think that you will never be able to achieve your goal,” Carlbring said. “But you can try to view it as a lesson to be learned.”

Rather than quitting for good, figuring out what works best for your own lifestyle using trial and error.

Quitting could be a positive motivator but it also makes it easier to quit in the future “But quitting can sometimes be the motivating factor for the next year,” Smith said. “If you didn’t reach your goal last year that

s n o i t u l e o s i s c e r R e x 1. E 2.

could inspire a second try. Quitting could be a positive motivator but it also makes it easier to quit in the future.”

Everyone has different habits they want to build and different methods that work uniquely for you.

“Celebrating your successes with your resolutions is key,” Smith said. “And when you are not successful, [reflect] on why that is and how you can change and improve.”

No matter what, if there is a new goal you really want to accomplish, why wait for the new year? Plan realistically and start while you are inspired.

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February 2O22

Lifestyles

VIRTUAL LEARNING ISOLATES STUDENTS Article by Taylor Riley Graphic by Sarah Lin

March 2020 is remembered as a chaotic, confusing and stressful time for pretty much everyone alive. In-person events were suddenly switched to online, companies had to quickly develop plans on how to conduct business virtually, and schools had to figure out an alternative to in-person education, since over 1.2 billion children were now expected to learn from home.

Although Trinity is no longer fully online as it was in the second semester of 2020, for the health and safety for both students and staff, it still operates virtually after long breaks and sends students who have been contact-traced to do school remotely. While students’ time online is usually brief, it can be very difficult for some students, especially those with learning disabilities and mental illness.

Sophomore Eleanor Henderson, who is diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety, is one of the many students who struggle to focus while learning virtually.

“I usually ended up zoning out, because without having a work environment, it’s a lot harder for me to focus,” Henderson said.

A paper co-written by Michael S. Kofoed and other authors titled “Zooming to Class?: Experimental Evidence on College Students’ Online Learning during COVID-19” explores the correlation between learning online and academic success. Their work confirms that students who are attending classes virtually of-

14.1% of students have a learning disability

ten experience difficulty concentrating on the material and feel isolated from their peers and course instructors.

According to the US Department of Education, 14.1% of students ages 3-21 are recorded as having a learning disability. A study done by the National Survey for Children’s Health, shows that 16.5% of school-age kids have at least one mental health disorder. These are students who benefit from structure and community, both of which are often lacking in online education programs.

Sarah Hill, who teaches Upper School Academic Support, agrees that being off campus can cause students to feel isolated because they lack in-person connection with peers. She also

says that some of the resources that Trinity’s campus provides are difficult to replicate for online students.

“I do think it is better for the students to be in-person because they have more access to resources on campus like study period after school and being able to talk to a teacher during lunch or break,” Hill said.

Henderson said that getting good grades was much harder for her during her time online, both because of the difficulty of focusing and the inability to directly ask and use the on-campus resources.

“I can’t ask [teachers] questions and stuff like that, because I can’t unmute which makes it a lot harder,” Henderson said.

The lack of an academic environment isn’t the only challenge; when at home, in your bedroom or at your kitchen table, it can be easy to be distracted because it doesn’t feel like you’re at school.

“It’s all easier when I have a real work environment that allows me to focus, because when I’m at school, my brain goes into school mode,” Henderson said. “But when I’m working at home, [my brain] is like, ‘let’s not do any work at all.’”

Henderson also said that learning virtually worsened her mental health.

“The stress of being online and not having a regular routine just made everything so much worse,” Henderson said.

16.5%

of school-age kids have at least one mental health disorder Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Reuters Health

Feburary 2O22

Lifestyles

9

SKIN CARE MAKES UP FOR MAKEUP The skin care market dominates over the beauty industry Article by Victoria Berube Graphic by Jaidyn Holt Recently, skin care has taken over the beauty industry by removing its blemishes both figuratively and literally. In 2021, Statista, a data based statistics portal, compiled information from the US Census and the Simmons National Consumer survey and confirmed the average American spends $322.28 on skin care products per year. Sophomore Giselle Pfeifer said that investing in skin care will be worth the expenses in the distant future.

“I feel like skin care is more important in the long run than makeup,” Pfeifer said.

“High-quality skin care products are extremely expensive so I definitely invest a lot of money in them.”

A report from Grand View Research suggests that the skin care market size will be worth about $188 billion by 2028 in comparison to the $129 billion the skin care market was worth in 2020. Now more than ever skin care companies are investing in dermatologists to promote their brand.

“Skinceuticals was the pioneer in topical antioxidants for anti-aging,” dermatologist Caren Campbell said in a recent interview with “WELL + GOOD,” a popular skin care website.

The anti-acne market is typically targeted towards teenage consumers by hiring well-known influencers to promote their products. Some examples are Emma Chamberlain promoting Curology and Skin Care by Hyram promoting his own brand called “Selfless.” With the influence of social media, the anti-acne cosmetic market alone is expected to increase to $4.2 billion by 2027.

“My investment in skin care is definitely more recent especially with the influx of social media and skin care influencers,” Pfeifer said.

“Influencers like Skincare by Hyram have definitely inspired me to take my skin care more seriously and pay more attention to things like my skin care routine and the products that I use on my face.”

In addition to the anti-acne market, the interest in male skin care has gone up 400% over the past 5 years. Recently the male grooming industry has gone past the limits of shaving products, and now facial cleansers are the most popular product among men according to “The Skincare Report.” Even though the market is growing, there is a lack of conversation surrounding male skincare.

“The market is underserved right now and there is an opportunity to really educate men on skincare routines that are important for them,” said vice president of skincare brand Shiseido Jessie Dawes in an interview with Vogue.

“Influencers like Skincare by Hyram have definitely inspired me to take my skin care more seriously and pay more attention to things like my skin care routine and the products that I use on my face.”

- Giselle Pfeifer, Sophomore In recent years, the “no makeup, makeup look” has become popular amongst public figures. Influencers like Carli Bybel and Haley Kim began showing tutorials on how to nail their “no makeup, makeup look” to achieve society’s idea of what natural beauty is supposed to look like. Brands like Glossier have been created to give consumers the tools to achieve the look.

“My favorite makeup brand would be Glossier because the makeup feels really light on my skin, and I feel much more natural than I do with other brands,” Pfiefer said The skin care industry is continuing to flourish, and in 2022 the skin care market will be worth around $20,000 million.

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Lifestyles

February 2O22

SOCIAL MEDIA: FASHION’S FINAL FRONTIER Article by David Bryskin Graphic by Jaidyn Holt

The hold social media has on the fashion industry is undeniable. We’ve reached a point where Vogue, the top selling fashion magazine, is attributing the current twee craze to TikTok and claiming micro-influencers will have a major impact on buyers this year. But, social media’s influence goes much deeper than trends.

The biggest impact of social media on fashion is that it has led to a increased awareness about various styles, and by extension gives individuals the power to explore and express themselves through their own personal style. “[Social media] encourages people to try something new and be bold when it comes to fashion,” said Hayden Lehr, Trinity alumna and fashion student at Parsons School of Design.

This rise of individualism in fashion is caused primarily by social media algorithms, which work to fill your feed with posts relevant to you. These algorithms help develop your style by suggesting posts that expand your taste or provide inspiration for new outfits.

“Everyone has their own algorithm with suggested posts to them,” Lehr said. “Their algorithm might pop up with some clothes or models and celebrities that can influence their style.”

Social media’s benefit to personal style doesn’t just stop at inspiration. Some people will dedicate their pages to providing fashion advice that can range from more general tips to tutorials on dressing a certain way, which provides welcome help to people breaking into specific styles or even fashion as a whole.

“It’s a smaller group of people on social media that will actually help people find their own style, but there’s still a substantial amount of people doing that,” senior Elaine Peng said.

However, social media also gives many fast fashion brands a platform to capitalize off of trends and sell environmentally unfriendly, poor quality products made using unethical labor. The most notorious example of this harmful social media fast fashion is Shein.

Shein is an online-only clothing outlet that gained its popularity through social media by releasing thousands of trendy pieces weekly for a fraction of the price. However, the way Shein is able to maintain these prices is through abusive sweatshop labor and environmentally unsustainable clothing production.

“BOGO fast fashion encourages people to buy the newest trend as quickly as possible, as cheap as possible and really they hurt the environment and the people who make the clothes,” Lehr said.

Social media also plays a role in preventing this harm. Widespread access to the internet makes it easier than ever for the consumer to become informed and avoid fast fashion companies that hurt the environment or use unfair labor practices.

“In this day and age of information being at our fingertips,

I think now it’s really up to us to do our research and choose where we buy from,” Lehr said.

And, this widespread consumer outcry against harmful practices has made its impact. Many fast fashion brands like Uniqlo and H&M have strived for more ethical labor and improving their environmental footprint through use of recycled and organic materials.

Consumer criticism has also spurred environmentally beneficial innovations like Mylo leather and Modern Meadow’s Bio-Alloy which allow for animal free synthetic leather creation using mycelium and DNA editing. These innovations, along with the rise of sustainable clothing production through upcycling and recycling fabric are proof that a vocal consumer base can lead to real innovation and change.

“We are the driving force for these brands,” Lehr said.

“Their goal is for us to consume, so if we demand something beneficial, they change to meet those demands.”

February 2O22

Article by Aetant Prakash Graphic by Jaidyn Holt Everyday, on the way to work, Trinity Food Director and Head Chef Chris Behrens wheels a cart out of Walmart with $500 worth of juice and chips. Over the last year, he has started to make this trip because there simply is no other way to fill the school’s cafeteria. The scheduled truck delivery is no longer bringing these snacks, so the demand has to be met somehow.

Behrens picks up an assortment of snacks and drinks that he can no longer get from the usual US Foods or Coca Cola Company truck deliveries. This ranges from snacking cookies, Miss Vickie’s chips, to Coca Cola drinks and Minute Maid juices.

Even with Behren’s best efforts, some foods still remain low in supply or are gone all together. Junior Max Balon, a frequent diner at the Grille, has begun to notice that some of his favorite snacks disappeared.

“I used to run into the Grille and grab an Uncrustables, [and] maybe something like a Sabra hummus and chips, for a bit of a heavier snack […] I walked in there the other day and none of my favorites were there,” Balon said.

On top of the snacks, some main ingredients used at the Grille have also been low in supply, causing a dramatic increase in the prices of many common foods. For example, the same 40 pound portion of chicken has soared from $40 to $110, a case of bacon from $45 to $75 and sausage from $25 to $40.

While this is quite drastic, Behrens said the price fluctuates within the range from week to week, lessening the effect.

Although prices have increased, Behrens has made sure to not let this affect

Focus

students at the Grille. He said that he hasn’t changed the cost of the food since the Grille is really the only option for students to eat at school, so he does his best to keep everyone happy. In turn, the losses are suffered by Metz Culinary Management, the company that runs the Grille.

Not only is it just food products, but Behrens has also been struggling with the food containers themselves, including paper cups and plates. This has required him to resort to anything he can get his hands on, from cups of different sizes and shapes to considering ones from White Castle.

“As the global economic recovery continues to gather steam, what is in-

creasingly apparent is how it will be stymied by supply-chain disruptions that are now showing up at every corner,” Tim Uy of Moody’s Analytics, a financial services and research company, said in a CNBC interview. “Problems will likely get worse before they get better.”

The effects of COVID-19 are still lasting as we head into 2022. With the new surge of the Omicron variant, the full recovery of our food supply chain is only prolonged. All aspects of supply chains are being heavily disturbed, from the distributing company’s communication with clients to the unavailability of a range of products. The food supply chain is simply broken as of now.

In a TheStreet article on food shortages because of Omicron, they cite the lack of workers “in every part of the food system, from farms to manufacturers to distributors.” Due to a number of reasons from contracting COVID-19 to the fear of the virus, there just are not enough workers to keep the system running. But there is hope — experts at federal agencies report in a CNN article on Omicron that they believe cases with Omicron will peak soon and fall off right after.

This will hopefully mean that the employees in the food supply chain will be back at work and it will be back to a full-functioning system.

At Trinity, Behrens believes that the same trend will follow, predicting that around this time next year, everything should be back to normal.

But for now, the price fluctuations and food shortages will continue to affect the Grille.

And while Behrens is taking the current situation seriously, he tries to not stress about it too much.

“You know, everybody has to work through it and you live life on life’s terms and you have to just go with it,” Behrens said. “It really gives us something to sit down and chat about for 20 minutes.”

Focus

February 2O22

The impact of food waste in our community Article by Alec Diaz Graphic by Jaidyn Holt According to an article by waste management company Recycle Track Systems (RTS), about 1.4 billion tons of food is wasted every year, and the United States is responsible for about 40 million tons of it. RTS also said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount of people who suffer from food insecurity will rise. It was previously 35 million people, and it is now estimated to be around 50 million people. According to an article by Food Rescue, the pandemic will cause the rise of methane gas being released into the air, which is a greenhouse gas that is created due to food being wasted, as the food’s energy and water are wasted.

According to an article by Waste 360, some fast food restaurants are also hiring dedicated diversion coordinators and are making changes to help reduce food waste. In the case of junior Jeffrey Wang, who worked at Burger King this past summer, his boss had implemented a timer.

“There was a timer, and if the timer went off, then food had to be thrown out,” Wang said.

This ensures that the employees are constantly checking in and are aware that there is food ready which was already cooked. Any cooked food that is not sold by the end of the day is thrown away, as Burger King considers that food waste.

“We had to throw away all the food that was wasted, for food safety,” Wang said. “Also, the least popular menu items had to be thrown out. I was concerned about the amount of food being wasted, but it’s for public health so I can’t do much about it, the rules are the rules.”

Junior Anthony Miceli, who used to work at Jeremiah’s Italian Ice, says that if an order was wrong then that order would be thrown out.

However, in order to prevent total food waste, sometimes whatever was servable would either be kept in the coolers or could be taken home by the employees. Jeremiah’s would also do its best to prevent the ice from going to waste as well.

“We would take the buckets of ice at the end of the night that were in the front coolers and we would bring them back into the blast,

which is like a giant freezer, and that’s colder than the coolers and that keeps the ice frozen, frozen,” Miceli said.

Companies, like Whole Foods, are trying to do their part in helping reduce food waste. Altamonte Springs Whole Foods manager Jason Fontana said that whatever leftover food is safe to eat, Whole Foods donates to food banks, so that the food will not go to waste. Also, whatever food is not safe for humans to eat, Whole Foods donates the food to local farmers, so that they can use that food to feed their animals or use for composting when possible.

Not only does Whole Foods help reduce food waste, but they promote healthy eating as well, by going to schools and promoting eating salad. They also take old cell phones and they do a lot of recycling as well.

Whole Foods established a nonprofit organization called the Whole Planet Foundation, which is an organization that helps people who are in need.

“We do things like raise money for nations that are in poverty through our Whole Planet Foundations,” Fontana said.

February 2O22

Article by Peyton Alch Graphic by Jaidyn Holt As Trinity students load french fries onto their plates, many seem to overlook the growing pile of fries on the floor. Something that seems like no big deal is actually a huge source of food waste for the Grille. Food Director and Head Chef Christopher Behrens estimates that around 5 pounds of fries are wasted every day from falling on the floor alone.

At the Trinity Prep Grille, there is a huge variety of food that students can get every day.

An estimated number of 400 students go in and out everyday. However, oftentimes a lot of the food goes to waste. Behrens believes that food waste is an important problem. Along with the Grille staff, Behrens works hard to be conscious of how much food they make and order each week.

“We usually utilize everything for different aspects,” Behrens said. “We make sure to use extra food in creative ways. For example, we use Fridays as a day to ‘clean out the fridge,’ where we use any leftover food from the week.

This helps us reduce our weekly food waste.”

Throughout his years as a chef, Behrens has learned how to manage food waste in the kitchen. He has figured out how to order food for each week without ordering too much.

“The longer I’ve worked here the easier it is to work out how much food to get for the week,” Behrens said. “We use production records to help us determine how much food we will need to order. These records help us reduce the amount of food waste we produce by having a set number.”

Focus

One of the main issues that the Grille faces regarding food waste is portion control. Many times, students will take more than they will actually eat and in turn, end up wasting a lot of food.

“I think we are consumer-oriented,” Behrens said. “Everybody wants bigger portions, and many times when they have so much food, they don’t eat all of it. Reducing portion sizes can help prevent food waste.”

Portion sizes are not only an issue in the workplace, but in the household too. People find themselves buying too much food, and then eventually getting rid of it. According to Recycle Track Systems Incorporated, the United States produces 1.4 billion tons of food waste every year, 43% of that food waste coming from households.

One way to reduce household food waste is by composting. Composting is a method of decomposing waste materials to make it into a natural fertilizer. Biology teacher Bryan Moretz is an avid composter, who has been composting on and off for around 25 years.

“I started composting with my father — he was an avid gardener,” Moretz said. “For me, composting means that I’m able to take those leftover foods and essentially put them back into the environment.”

Composting has a huge impact on the reduction of food waste. The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 2.6 million tons of food was composted in 2018, which is around 4.1% of wasted food.

“Composting means less waste in landfills,”

Moretz said. “We try to conserve as much as we can. If we take waste material like fruits, plants, and organic substances and put it back into the soil, we’re making sure that we don’t fill more landfills over a longer period of time.”

Composting isn’t the only way to help reduce food waste. There are numerous ways to reduce personal food waste that require little effort. Awareness is a big step. It’s important to think about things like how much food you are taking, or how throwing away a full plate might be harmful.

“It’s always easier to add more than take it away,” Behrens said. “We always encourage students to come back for seconds rather than get way too much and never finish it.”

While there are so many ways to easily reduce personal food waste, why aren’t more people aware of it? A study from JAHR bioethics states that people don’t see food as something valuable, but as a given that’s accessible.

Food waste due to excessive consumption by households is becoming more prevalent as the amount of food produced has brought society to a point where food is being taken for granted in many developed countries.

The more food waste is being produced in households, the more it is impacting people who don’t have regular access to food. According to the World Food Program USA, mass food waste is one of the main causes of worldwide hunger.

“So many people are going hungry because of [food waste],” Behrens said. “I know you can’t solve all of the world’s problems, but it helps to be conscious of things like that. Contributing to an already big problem when you can help is just hurtful.

It really is.”

Focus

February 2O22

Students and faculty travel and taste unique foods Article by Angel Zheng Graphic by Jaidyn Holt During a trip to Italy, history teacher William Milsten pulls up to the side of a road. He sees an old lady holding a big plastic tub full of giant balls of buffalo mozzarella in bags filled with water. Milsten tries one, squeezing the juice out of the fresh, soft mozzarella ball as he bites into it.

“It’s so fresh and delicious … juice runs out like milk,” Milsten said.

This is one instance of the unique food cultures found in different parts of the world. For most of us, food is one of the most notable memories we have of a trip to a different country. Not only is it a crucial source of nourishment, but each country in the world possesses certain meals distinct to their region and culture, making food all the more significant to recall. Beyond the American borders, there are a wide variety of cuisines and dishes that often surprise foreign tourists.

One of the most popular countries to visit in northern Europe is Iceland. A traditional Icelandic food is Hákarl, a type of fermented meat from the Greenland shark. The reason for fermentation is that the meat of Greenland sharks are toxic, so fermentation is needed to make it safe to consume. Milsten visited Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland, and described his experience with this unique treat.

“It’s really chewy, like a piece of rubber,” Milsten said. “It’s nasty … almost like rotting sour.”

Aside from marine animals, a country that utilizes wild land mammals is Norway. Norway’s cuisine involves a more traditional method of cooking,] and hunting for game meats is common. This is especially true since more than 500,000 people in Norway are registered in the Norwegian hunting register. Milsten recounts his experience in Norway, where he tried reindeer.

“It was like a little steak, but it tasted way different … very full flavor, very rich,” Milsten said.

Northern Europe’s cuisine is more filling and higher in calories compared to southern Europe due to the contrast in climate, ac-

cording to English teacher Steven Garnett.

The colder weather calls for more energy to be obtained from food sources. Meat helps solve this problem, making it a staple in these northern countries.

During Garnett’s visit to northern Europe, he tried a dish called schnitzel, which is a thin slice of meat commonly breaded and fried before serving. He stated that it was boneless and tasted like “lightly fried American chicken.”

“It was also kind of very filling … but the fact that it’s so thin is kind of interesting,” Garnett said.

Hungary is located in central Europe, and typically features food heavy on dairy, cheese, and meat. The people of Hungary often refer to themselves as a “nation of soup eaters,” and their cuisine reflects this idea in the form of goulash, one of the national dishes of Hungary. Garnett encountered this famous dish during his visit to the country. “[Goulash is] a stew heavy on meat and potatoes and the seasoning paprika … it was ubiquitous,” Garnett said.

As you travel southeast of Europe, you will reach Greece, a country made up of over 6,000 beautiful islands. Milsten has travelled to Mykonos, Greece, where he discovered the scrumptious squid ink pasta. What makes this dish unique is that the pasta is colored licorice black from the squid ink.

“It actually has a little tiny bit of a metallic taste to it,” Milsten said. “But that’s not why it was good. It was the sauce that they put on it.”

Not only is meat and starchy ingredients the primary cuisine in Europe, but it is also the staple in Central America along with corn, beans, and squash.

However, financial stability isn’t evenly distributed, im-

pacting food options for the poorer population. During Garnett’s trip to Panama, he had meals with good hearted local people working on a church construction. He recalls a particular food that stood out to him.

“Ketchup on white bread was a sandwich,” Garnett said. “The least nutritious bread in the world with ketchup … was a normal lunch food.”

The northern part of South America features Colombia. Known for their world- famous coffee, Colombia is also home to many exotic fruits such as pitaya (dragon fruit), guanábana (soursop), mangostino (mangosteen), and the country’s beloved maracuyá (yellow passion fruit). Eighth grader Maiori Butz remembers an assortment of fruits at a hotel in Colombia, where she tasted the maracuya.

“It was sweet and sour and really easy to eat,” Butz said. “I had one for breakfast every day.”

Another exotic fruit in Colombia is the Lulo, an orange fruit with the inside resembling a green tomato. Eighth grader Brooke Kalmanson recalls trying the juice of a Lulo at a traditional Colombian restaurant.

“It’s sort of like a passionfruit … a little bit more sour than what a kiwi would taste like,” Kalmanson said.

In the west part of South America, you will find Peru. An interesting staple in Peru is the cuy (pronounced “kwee”), also known as Guinea pigs. Not only is the cuy a native animal to the country, but is also in the Peruvian diet for millenia. Kalmanson tasted the unique dish during her travels.

“People would come out [of a little store] with the guinea pigs on a stick,” Kalmanson said. “I tried guinea pigs where it wasn’t on a stick, … and surprisingly, it just tastes like chicken.”

Despite the variance in cuisines that countries outside of America presents, it’s important to note that these unique foods are a normal part of their culture. Most of these dishes date back to the past, so it’s deeply rooted in tradition. The next time you travel to a foreign country, it’s a good idea to try dishes you haven’t seen before. You might find it delicious!

February 2O22

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February 2O22

FROM THE SILVER SCREEN Article by Maddie Peckham Graphic by Sarah Lin

The box office, the concession stand, popcorn, slushies. Even the lines you wait in leading up to the movie are special. Whether you know what you’re going to see or deciding as you work your way up to the window, there’s a build-up that’s unparalleled.

Then, you work your way to concessions, sparking another excited discussion.

And then, finally, to your seat. The trailers, the opening credits, and then the movie. Every twist and turn is a shared experience, and not just with who you went with. The whole crowd, every row, every person shares each moment, start to finish. When a fan favorite character makes a return right in the nick of time, the crowd bursts into a collective cheer.

Or when a hated villain isn’t actually dead, a gasp of surprise. Every scene is a communal experience.

But with so many streaming services skipping the box office and going straight to streaming, will this shared experience disappear?

“We have big film premieres for a reason: to get all the people into one theater so they can enjoy it all together,” senior TPS Film Fest president and filmmaker Isabel Tongson said.

“I especially love the audience’s reactions.”

Disney+, which has seen a surge of popularity over the last couple of years, has also increased its localized releases. These streaming-only releases have faced fan frustration and even legal backlash from actors because of their new release tactics. Some films, like the Pixar movie “Luca,” have been released on streaming only, entirely skipping the box office. While “Luca” was successful on Disney’s service, people who don’t have Disney+ were unable to see it. Disney also plans to release its upcoming animated film “Turning Red” on Disney+ as well.

Although the increase in stream-only releas-

es began as a response to COVID-19 safety concerns, it shouldn’t become a permanent practice. Currently, with many theaters and states rolling back their mask mandates and other requirements and precautions, not everyone can take the risk to watch movies in theaters, even with the rollout of vaccines and boosters. Slowly, life is becoming more normal for some, but not all, people. In terms of entertainment, on the other hand, will so many changes mean that there will be nothing left from a time before?

Movie theaters are suffering right now; attendance is low when COVID-19 cases are high, and if there are no movies released in theaters, there are no moviegoers. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, a total of 1.28 billion tickets were sold, according to Numbers.com.

In 2020, however, a total of just over 223 million tickets were sold, a whopping 1.05 billion

movie posters from IMDB

less than 2019. Movie theaters in 2021 fared a little better, with no full lockdown and the vaccine becoming more available. 2021 had a total of 498 million tickets sold — still 729 million less than 2019.

Streaming isn’t entirely bad by any stretch.

Movies which would not have had the opportunity to have a large theater release, and thus probably not be widely released at all, have turned to streaming. This has allowed for a wider range of films to be produced in recent years. High-risk individuals who may not be in good health have still been able to experience new releases without waiting the traditional amount of time between theatrical releases and streaming releases. Nevertheless, companies releasing these movies via streaming services aren’t protecting your health; they’re protecting their revenue. Companies and studios spend millions releasing a film in theaters.

February 2O22

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TO THE SMALL SCREEN Between advertising and getting people in the doors, along with paying cast, crew, and distributors, even small releases can burn a hole in the studio’s pocket. But for huge companies like Disney, this isn’t as much of a problem — they know people will go. Owning huge franchises and fan favorites allows them to take gambles other studios can’t when it comes to theater attendance. With a volatile theater environment because of the pandemic, a movie almost needs to be a sure success for a box office release. They still need to advertise and cut deals, but at the end of the day, with how many characters Disney owns the rights to, and the staunch loyalty to Disney, it can be almost guaranteed people will watch. Of course, there are mitigating factors of a pandemic

right now. But Disney isn’t necessarily releasing on its own platform so fans don’t contract COVID-19. Skipping the box office puts more profit in the pocket for them. It costs roughly $35 million (on average, according to Investopedia) for marketing and distribution. When studios skip the box office, cut out distribution, and just foot the marketing bill, it’s one less price to pay, and that much more profit it in the pocket.

While the big studios are laughing to the bank, the actors and actresses are waiting empty-handed for their cuts that aren’t coming. Contracts with fineprint explain that how much these actors will make depends on box office release success. If the movie is a dual-release, like seen with “Black Widow,” the actors are seeing a significant deficit in what they take home. Along with contracts directly leaving actors out of money, the movies themselves are taking a huge hit.

Movies that have limited releases in theaters and then switch to streaming only have also suffered artistically. Other films that are released in theaters and have a streaming release a couple weeks later are replaced quickly in theaters with movies that are completely theater-only releases. The result of this is some fans missing the in-theater experience and then they have to go to the streaming release anyway.

Many fans complained that viewing “Dune” at home was anticlimactic. Theaters are designed to show movies with a big scale like “Dune.” They have the equipment; the massive speakers and subwoofers,

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a large screen to show those huge panoramic scenes of a new planet. Most people don’t have the at-home system to cater to these movies, and the first impression the movie leaves is less than what it’s meant to be. The experience altogether suffers.

“I watch movies with my family at home and almost everybody’s going to be on their phone and not enjoy the movie anyway,” Trinity fellow Chris Newman said. “And there’s much less of this mindful experience.”

The experience of viewing is completely changed by at-home viewing.

“I hit that pause button so many times and so the flow of the narrative, that kind of emotional arc sometimes gets disrupted,” English teacher and TPS Film Fest faculty sponsor Steve Krueger said.

The constant whirlwind of distraction at home disrupts the viewing experience. In theaters, you’re almost guaranteed an uninterrupted viewing experience. If movies switch entirely to streaming, some people will never get the experience.

The film community is suffering and will continue to suffer as long as streaming takes the biggest cuts of profit and fail to cater to the community. There will be no more packed theaters or communal gasps at a big plot twist.

It’ll just be more of the new normal; alone, at home, inside again. No outing, no overly expensive fresh popcorn, just you. For a society who wants to get back to normal so badly, we’re doing ourselves a disservice by killing all of our traditions and shared experiences.

“But what you miss from the movie theater experience, is the before and after thinking about ‘oh, I can’t wait to go see Spider-Man when it comes out,’” Newman said. “And then you’re talking about it in the car on the way there. The anticipation is building, [and] there’s this whole experiential thing. [There’s this] participation, [this] reflection. I think it all boils down to mindfulness.”

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February 2O22

THE VALUE OF VEGANISM Article by Abby Hernan Photo by Anuha Tatineni

When a vegan wants to eat something as simple as lasagna, they must make numerous changes to the ingredients. They have to make the pasta without an egg, find vegan cheese to add and use tofu as a meat substitute. Many vegans go through these extra steps so that their diet can be environmentally conscious. The only problem is those changes are not enough to affect the environment. No matter how many individual ingredients are swapped out — or how many individual people change their lifestyles — everything must work together to make a meaningful difference in what is served on the global table.

Veganism is the practice of abstaining from any animal products.

Often confused with vegetarianism which avoids eating meat, veganism takes the diet to a further extreme.

A typical vegan avoids meat, dairy products, eggs and sometimes honey. A very dedicated vegan might even avoid wearing leather, using certain cosmetics or decorating with leather furniture.

A common reason people are encouraged to become vegan is the belief that it will help the environment and combat the inhumane practices of the meat industry. While veganism can help the environment, the benefits are too minimal to be considered truly impactful.

The basis of the belief is correct — the meat industry hurts not only animals but also the environment as a whole. A third of the Earth’s ice-free land is currently used to produce meat, and this land is obtained largely through mass deforestation. The space necessary to produce meat far eclipses what’s needed for produce.

For example, the same acre can produce 250 pounds of beef or 50,000 pounds of tomatoes, 53,000 pounds of potatoes or 30,000 pounds of carrots.

The meat industry then uses these lands and places fertilizers, pesticides and other harmful chemicals on them. Currently, meat accounts for 60% of all greenhouse gases produced from food emissions. Even the manure of an animal can release emissions including methane, ammonia and carbon dioxide. In fact, cows collectively produce 150 billion gallons of methane per day.

The meat industry also overuses resources for their cattle, most notably water. To produce one pound of beef, 2,400 gallons of water is used. That means one pound of beef requires the same amount of water as showering for six months. Recently, a NASA study projected that the likelihood of megadroughts, a drought that lasts ten years or more, is likely to increase from 12% to 60% in the years following 2021.

As water becomes more scarce, it is vital that it is being allocated to the right places and preserved properly. The meat industry cannot keep using up water while droughts keep plaguing ecosystems.

The meat industry knows the pain they are inflicting on the environment, however, they are more concerned with placing money in their pockets than preserving the planet. According to the New York Times, in order to avoid accountability for their practices that violate USDA regulations, meat industry lobbyists have been pushing for “Ag-gag” legislation. This legislation will make it illegal to document any activity within meat processing plants, therefore, making it impossible to hold the meat industry accountable for their inhumane actions.

“One of the biggest things with red meat production specifically is that you have to allocate resources to grow crops and to feed cows, and that takes up land and that takes up water and nutrients,” honors biology and AP Environmental Science teacher Emily Massey-Burmeister said. “And then, you have to take up space to actually have the cattle and that is going to require a land space. So on face value, veganism would reduce the amount of space needing to be put into agriculture.”

While meat production is clearly hurting the environment, going vegan is not the best solution to ending it.

After all, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the average American consumes around 144 pounds of meat a year. Meat is a staple of the American diet, and a small minority going vegan is not

February 2O22

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There are other ways to change the meat industry going to make enough of a difference.

Veganism is not blind to its lack of effect on a small scale. For its success, it is imperative that a majority of the population make the drastic shift to their diet. This is why vegans are typically stereotyped as pushing veganism on everyone.

However, convincing people who find meat necessary to their diet to suddenly cut it out is unrealistic. Veganism is a drastic life shift that requires a lot of motivation to be successful, and trying to find that passion in a majority of people when it doesn’t exist is futile.

Also, even if a majority of people could be convinced to make a shift to veganism, it is not accessible for a majority of people. According to the USDA, 10.5% (13.8 million) of U.S. households were food insecure at some time during 2020.

Not only do vegan meals tend to be more expensive, but they also tend to take more effort and time than a regular meal. Most people do not have the resources to put that much effort into eating vegan meals, rather their effort goes into simply finding a meal to eat.

To create real change in helping the environment, meat production itself has to change, not the people consuming it. By encouraging the implementation of a sustainable supply chain and encouraging suppliers such as restaurants and grocery stores to only source sustainable products, an actual reduction of greenhouse gases will occur. Some aspects of a sustainable supply chain include incorporating diverse crop rotations for soil health, policy against clearing native ecosystems, creating a nutrient optimization plan in order to prevent

excess fertilizer use and creating time-bound goals to reduce carbon emissions.

People can advocate for this by joining protests, demanding that the meat industry be transparent with its production and making sure that politicians pass legislation regulating the industry. Also, spreading information about the unjust practices of meat companies will expose the secrets that they desperately try to hide.

“I think that farming can be done in a sustainable way, but I think that a large part of the farming that happens, especially in the United States, is more of what we call industrialized agriculture, which could [still be done] sustainably within reason,” Massey-Burmeister said. “But a lot of it, unfortunately, I feel like is done in a non-sustainable way.”

However, while veganism will not fix the meat industry, that does not mean it does not have its benefits. Veganism requires the follower to put time and attention into their food choices which can result in great health benefits. Veganism can promote weight loss, reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol levels, lower chances of getting certain types of cancer like colon cancer and manage diabetes by lowering A1C levels.

While veganism is a great diet for people who struggle with their health, it is important to remember that the diet is a big lifestyle change and should be done slowly and with research. If vegans are not actively making sure that they are taking supplements or eating certain foods to guarantee they are getting the proper nutrients, then they face health risks such as strokes, weaker bones, and depression.

“I recommend that people start slow and transition slowly. It is really hard to become vegan if you completely switch in a day, and it can mess up your body,” junior Levi Simara, who became vegan for its health benefits and has been vegan for eight years, said “I also think a lot of people think that there is not a lot of protein in a vegan diet but that isn’t necessarily true.

Beans, legumes, tofu, seitan and tempeh are all good sources of protein.”

While veganism is a wonderful diet, it is important not to be tricked into believing that a change is being made while the meat industry continues to profit off the destruction of the environment. It’s not about whether you are willing to eat meat or not — it is about whether the meat industry is willing to change.

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February 2O22

COMFORTABLE IN THE

Article by Reese Taylor Graphics by Sarah Lin

Sarah Andersen was born in 1993. In 2011, she met her mom. Sarah’s mom immigrated to the United States from Jamaica, though Andersen wouldn’t begin the search for her until she was 18. Andersen’s experience growing up Black in a white family was not an easy one, but her story of transracial adoption isn’t an outlier.

Adoption falls into two categories: public adoption, also known as foster-toadopt, and private adoption, or independent voluntary placement. In the foster care system, the eventual goal is to return children to their biological families. However, if returning to their biological parents is no longer possible, the legal rights of the parents are terminated and the child becomes open to adoption.

In the ideal private adoption, the birth parent voluntarily places their child for adoption and waives their legal rights, but this isn’t always the reality. Often, especially when there’s a language or cultural barrier, parents are pushed to put their child up for adoption without understanding that they are permanently waving their parental rights.

Both private and public adoption is divided into open and closed adoption. In open adoption, there are clear channels of communication between the adoptive and birth family.

However, in closed adoptions those channels are permanently and legally closed.

Children of closed adoption often lose

Transracial adoption

access to important family history and medical records.

But it’s private transracial adoptions that become the source of contention. In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau cited that 78% of transracial adoptions take place between white parents and children of color. Transracial adoptees are forced to confront a racialized world without the guidance and support of being raised by parents and often communities who look like they do.

Sarah Andersen, now a social media influencer and medical student, said that adoption is often represented as a triangle overlayed with a heart — each of its corners standing in for the birth family, adoptive parents, and adoptive child. Each party enters and often leaves with trauma, but it is in their unity there is strength and hope.

Melissa Guida-Richards, author of the article “My Adoptive Parents Hid My Racial Identity From Me for 19 Years” and the

book “What White Parents Should Know About Transracial Adoption,” said that being comfortable in the uncomfortable means adoptive parents need to learn to love the cultures and racial identities of their children just as much as their child.

“When you’re in a transracial family, it’s a whole other ball game … parents might be uncomfortable walking into a Black church or an Asian grocery store but they don’t realize, for their kids, that’s their experience everyday,” Guida-Richards said.

“We walk into these spaces and adoptive

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February 2O22

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UNCOMFORTABLE

demands an open dialogue parents need to be willing to go that extra mile to be uncomfortable too.”

The cultural disconnect in transracial adoptions isn’t the only point of concern.

Transracial adoptions have financial implications. According to the National Council for Adoption, adoption is a multi-billion dollar industry. And it’s an industry that exemplifies the worth assigned to people of color.

Out of the three parties involved in an adoption, only one is financially responsible for the practice: the adoptive parents. Because of this, the industry is built upon catering to them. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 77% of adoptive parents are white and according to the US National Library of Medicine so are nine out of ten adoptive parents in international adoptions.

In 2013 NPR reported the rates of various adoption agencies, white babies were cited as $35,000 to adopt then between $24,000 and $26,000 for biracial babies. During the NPR interview, a fully

African-American baby was then cited at $18,000.

When privatized adoption is an industry whose consumers are mostly white and whose “products” are people of color, there is an economic incentive to cater towards pre-existing societal standards that value whiteness and a proximity to it above all else.

There has been a decades-long fight for radical acceptance of all races and cultures; transracial adoption not only exemplifies the persisting problem of commodifying people of color but proves that there is a need for adoptive parents to become comfortable in the uncomfortable. The racial and ethnic backgrounds of adoptive children need to be met with the same acceptance and unconditional love the adoptees themselves receive.

Guida-Richards said that white saviorism permeates throughout adoption and hinders the ability of adoptees to communicate with white adoptive parents. Online adoptee influencer and transracial adoptee

Lydia Berkey noted the same concept.

“We live in a world where adoptive parents are held on a pedestal,” Berkey said.

“Where a savior complex is applauded.”

Guida-Richards said that when trying to advocate for transracial adoptees she’s often met with hostility from white adoptive parents.

“Adoption is seen as a happily ever after, and so to discuss something more complicated and much more nuanced, people can get a little defensive of that,” Guida-Richards said. “If we don’t talk about the flaws, if we don’t talk about the issues, we’re not going to be able to improve the system and help adopted children.”

Years later, when Sarah Andersen asked her birth mother whether she was glad she was adopted she said that she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“So I’m 29 now and over the last 11 years I’ve learned a lot and will continue to learn a lot,” Andersen said, “I definitely continue to shape and regain my identity.”

Transracial adoption is a multifaceted process and its problems and solutions are just as dimensional. However, many of them boil down to the same issue. If an open and honest dialogue can be created between white adoptive parents and transracial adoptees, old and young, we can work together to create a system that serves every party involved.

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February 2O22

MORE THAN JUST HAIR The portrayal of Black hair in society requires change

Senior Danielle Owusu at All Saints Academy woke up before her alarm, excited for the start of a new school year. Instead of spending time doing her usual morning routine, she chose to spend it making sure her hair was in the perfect hairstyle, a part in the middle with two afro pigtails, that she thought followed her school dress code.

“New school, new hairstyle,” she said to herself as she grabbed her backpack and climbed into the car. When she arrived on campus, classmates told her that her hair “didn’t follow the dress code.” That moment would stick with Owusu each time she made the decision to wear her hair natural.

While Owusu didn’t experience this at Trinity, for some Black students who wear their hair natural, experiences such as these aren’t uncommon. According to a 2021 Crown Research Study for Girls where 1000 girls (500 black and 500 white) were surveyed, 66% of Black girls in majority-white schools reported experiencing hair discrmination.

The dress codes that are supposed to protect their hair often do the opposite; they uphold the anti-black hair sentiments that have existed for centuries. However, if school dress codes, rather than being made for one group of students, represented the entire student body, then the question of whether Black hair fits into the dress code would no longer have to be an issue.

For the past decade, media outlets have covered hundreds of stories of black students being expelled, suspended, or banned from partaking in school activities for wearing ‘Black hairstyles’. Typical ‘Black hairstyles’ include weaves (artificial or natural hair sewed or bonded into the hair), natural afro textured hair and extensions.

Most dress codes try to adhere to a set list of rules that all students must follow, yet in recent years there has been greater emphasis on the regulation of Black hair. When Black hair is discriminated against in a dress code, the lack of perspective and stereotypes typically play a large role, especially when black people are not “sitting at the table.”

At Trinity, the dress code states that “unnatural color or distracting hair styles” are prohibited. However, the term ‘distracting’ is highly subjective and is largely up for personal interpretation.

If schools like Trinity had greater inclusion of students of color then teachers and administrators would be more circumspect to the editing and creation of dress codes, thereby removing vague words like ‘distracting.’

The discussion over Black hair has not been limited to schools, but has sparked debates all around the world due to its textures and preferred style. However, it wasn’t always this way.

In Ancient Africans tribes, Black hair was celebrated and used to symbolize one’s social standing, tribe, spirituality and even fertility.

The Nigerian Yoruba tribe described it as ‘ade dudu ori,’ ‘the black crown of the head.’ Tribes developed a wide range of hairstyles, including bantu knots, dreadlocks, braids and beads, and equally women and men would spend time styling each other’s hair.

Hundreds of years later, the beginnings of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade would warrant a shift in the portrayal of Black hair in society. Europeans who arrived on African coasts frequently compared Black hair to animals and labeled it as ‘wooly,’ not only to highlight their Eurocentric qualities but also to convince Africans that they were not equal. Slave masters established a hierarchy that favored lighter-skinned Africans with whiter features and straighter hair over those with curly, kinky hair, typical of African attributes.

Simpler hairstyles like cornrows, braids and afros replaced the complex hairstyles that had been an integral part of their expression and history. Some slave masters demanded that their slaves cover their hair while working. In Louisiana, laws were established that prohibited Black women from wearing their natural hair and enforcing that scarves be worn over their heads at all times.

“There was and is so much attention drawn to what black people do with their hair, and a lot of people think they can infer certain things about them from that,” junior Kyra

Alston said. “If you had natural hairstyles, it was looked down upon because it didn’t look like their hair.”

The term ‘good hair’ has been used to describe hair that is long and straight. During the early 1900’s, the first straightener for Black hair was created and in the following years, the first perm was created that chemically straightened or relaxed hair.

“A lot of times people have told me to straighten my hair because they don’t like it curly or think I look better,” seventh graderJayla Diggs said. “I think they just want me to be more like them.”

Now, ordinary people and governments are working to eliminate hair prejudice, whether it’s in the form of passing remarks or blatant statements about Black hair, with the belief that it should only be worn for the person who wears it and no one else.

In 2019, the CROWN Act (“Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair”) was created by Dove and the CROWN Coalition to end the discrimination of Black hair in schools and in the workplace. The Act has already been passed in 14 states, and while it appears to have made some progress, more must be done to prevent further prejudice.

“There needs to be an education piece of why some students wear their hair like this and of different groups as well because we’re not the only ones with hair issues,” Mckinney-Stokes said. “If you’re not informed then you’re going to be ignorant and not going to be able to help effectively.”

For many Black people our hair is not just something on our head, it allows us to tell a story through its intricate details and varied forms of expression. Despite our past, our world is changing and so is the acceptance of Black hair today. Although it will take time, we’re getting closer to a future when Black hair will be welcomed in whichever shape it takes.

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

February 2O22

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February 2O22

February 2O22

Sports

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LACROSSE TEAM GETS NEW PERSONNEL Article by Boaz Kim Photo by Ella Craghill The boys varsity lacrosse team has brought in Travis Sanders as their new assistant coach.

Sanders has also taken the role of the new Assistant Athletic Director as well as the head coach for the middle school boys lacrosse team.

Sanders was drawn to coach at Trinity because coaching and lacrosse have always been a part of his life. He has 19 years of lacrosse coaching experience and was also a collegiate lacrosse player at Bethel College in Saint Paul.

He also played for a post college men’s lacrosse travel team.

“One of the reasons why I was initially drawn to Trinity was the lacrosse program here, and that’s probably one of the first conversations that I’d had before I took the current role I’m in now as assistant athletic director was to kind of do this combo thing of helping in the athletics department and also then coaching boys lacrosse,” Sanders said.

Sanders has been involved with the boys’ pre-season training to get ready for the upcoming season. According to Sanders, the team has been focused mostly on strength and conditioning.

“Our guys are practicing right now five days a week with no sticks,” Sanders said. “We’re just focused on getting the guys moving and getting stronger and getting in shape for tryouts.”

Sanders hopes his role as the head coach for the middle school boys lacrosse team will allow him to achieve his goals of strengthening the lacrosse program as a whole.

“I’ll be the head coach of the middle school team, getting that going so then that will help feed our varsity program and hopefully we can even add in a JV program,” Sanders said. “I think there is a really really strong base here in the lacrosse world at Trinity and so I’m really just hoping to bring some of my background and expertise, and then help in any way I can.”

Alongside Sanders, Christopher Newman has also stepped in to be another assistant coach for the boys varsity lacrosse team. Newman said that he sees a bright future for the lacrosse program. He is hoping to be a big part of that and contribute what he can.

“Now the school has really put its weight behind the program and invested in the program

Travis Sanders is the new assistant coach for the boys varsity lacrosse team. At the boys’ preseason workout he demonstrates a practice drill.

by bringing on myself and Coach Sanders,” Newman said. “I see the program, hopefully leveling up and going to new heights because there’s a lot of interest from the players and lots of support from the families.”

Sanders is also taking it upon himself to not only better the athletics from the field, but also behind the scenes, which is where his role as assistant athletic director comes in.

“It was sort of a process of figuring out what are the needs that the school has and what are the skill sets that I have in my professional life, and that was where this combination of coaching and being assistant athletic director came in,” Sanders said. “I’m really just in a learning phase right now of trying to figure out how things are done, learning the Trinity mindset of doing things and what’s important to Trinity.”

Just like his lacrosse and coaching experience, Sanders has sufficient experience in working in the athletics department. Sanders said that at his old university his primary role was being the head lacrosse coach but he also had a secondary role of being a game manager for soccer and other sports as well. On top of

that he had a third role of being in charge of a recruiting plan for all of the varsity sports.

“So I was connected to all these things in athletics so I think that my background in that specifically helps with my role here because it all makes sense to me,” Sanders said.

Players have high praise for the new coaches who have stepped in and made an immediate impact before the season has even started.

“I think that it will help us a lot this season with the addition of two new coaches who have lots of experience in coaching and lacrosse, they’ve been helping us out a lot already during our pre-season workouts,” junior Jordan Acker said.

As the team gets closer to the season, Sanders and Newman are both looking forward to helping the team achieve a winning season.

“We have some real heavy hitters that we have to go up against but at the same time we’ve got the desire and the drive from a lot of the players to excel,” Newman said. “I don’t see any reason why we can’t have a winning season.”

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February 2O22

TRACK RESURFACED TO HELP RUNNERS

Article by David Hull Photo by Anna Miliotes

As runners return back to the track for the new season, they look to break records on a new surface. Over winter break, the track underwent modifications after 15 years of deteriorating during countless meets and practices.

The resurfacing was a four to six week process where the new crushed rubber surface was placed on top of the old track and given a fresh coat of paint. The soft surface gives runners a boost on and off the track with better times and more support.

“It’s probably one of the nicest tracks in the area right now,” Athletic Director David Langdon said. “What they’re going to do with this will be phenomenal, both aesthetically and functionally.”

Along with the new track comes a new Head Coach, Mike Rogers. Rogers has been a track coach at Trinity for the past 12 years. He has mainly focused on hurdles amongst other jumps, but Langdon said he has complete confidence in Rogers after watching him for the past eight years.

The majority of tracks regularly last between ten and twelve years. The track has been in use for over fifteen years and Rogers said it was in dire need of a renovation, given that he has

Senior Hannah Yared tests out the brand new track. As a hurdler, she is excited for the upcoming season and running on the track during practice and meets.

seen the track decline over his time as a coach. ceive the uses of it, as far as going on and off “It was definitely starting to show its age,” of it, even the training carts have to enter a Rogers said. “We started getting some cracks certain place and stay on the grass, things of and holes, and it was hard to read some of the that nature.” markings on it.”

Langdon said that the track will help keep The signs from the aging track heavily af- runners’ joints healthy after running long disfected runners’ health and performance. Junior tances. Rogers thinks that it will not only have Carlos O’Connor was especially excited to get a physical effect on the athletes but also a menout on the new track and was thrilled with the tal effect. improvement.

“I think it’s psy“During practices “It’s probably one of the nicest chologically going there were holes in to help pump them the track so it was tracks in the area right now. What up,” Rogers said. easy for your ankle to they’re going to do with this will “There’s definitely get tweaked or slip,” to be some be phenomenal, both aesthetical- going O’Connor said. “But changes with how running on the new ly and functionally.” things feel and how track is super comthings look. Overall - David Langdon, Athletic Director it’s going to be a great fortable and cushy.”

There will be new experience.” rules implemented to ensure that the track Rogers has enjoyed getting to see the sturemains in great condition. A major change dents he trains succeed and is looking forward will be keeping vehicles like training carts to a great future on the new track. and maintenance off of the track. According “Seeing kids get better and reach their goals, to Langdon, some regulations are still being whether it’s something small or something debated, such as how cars will remain in the big,” Rogers said. “Some kids I work with from homecoming parade. the time they’re in eighth grade all the way to “There’s gonna be a lot more paying atten- graduating seniors, seeing that progression has tion to where you go on and off the track,” been really fun.”

Langdon said. “So it’ll change how people per-

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NATIONAL TENNIS CHAMP TAKES NEXT STEP IN CAREER Article by David Steinberg Photo courtesy of Kian Vakili Senior Kian Vakili sets up for match point that side of tennis. I have a lot of rituals that just being able to feel the ball and being menin a third-set tiebreaker at the U.S. Tennis As- help me when things are not going my way. I tally strong in the moments when he needs to sociation (USTA) National Championships. just try to stay calm and not get too negative.” turn the match around.”

He serves the match-winning ace while parAccording to Lee, what sets Vakili apart Vakili began getting recruited in July of ents, coaches and spectators cheer. Winning is from the thousands of other players in the 2020 in the midst of COVID-19. The pannot new for Vakili, but being celedemic affected his recruitment brated as the best U18 boys tennis process significantly, forcing player in the country is a moment him to tour campuses and fahe will never forget. cilities exclusively during onVakili first touched a tennis line tours and Zoom meetings racket when he was only 3 years with coaches. old and immediately fell in love After receiving interest from with the sport. Fifteen years later, many NCAA Division I prohe still holds the same excitement grams, Kian committed to play when stepping foot on the court. tennis in college at the Uni“Tennis is my life, it’s my pasversity of Pennsylvania. He is sion,” Vakili said. “I train every looking forward to competing day for three to four hours and against some of the best colplay in tournaments almost every legiate players in the nation. week. It means a lot to be able to Vakili said the school’s academcompete with some of the best in ics and top tennis program are the world.” what made his choice clear.

Vakili has trained with many After college, Vakili looks to coaches throughout his tennis earn a top-notch education at career. He now practices at the the Wharton business school USTA national campus with and ultimately go pro in tennis.

Head Tennis Professional Tina “My plan is to do four years Lee. Lee began coaching Vakili of college and then hopefully four years ago and has seen masgo pro,” Vakili said. “Or if I’m sive progress in all aspects of his good enough after two years, I game, especially in his technique. will then try. We’ll see how it “In tennis, you don’t work goes, but going pro has been a more on one thing than anothdream of mine for as long as I er, you have to kind of work on could imagine.” everything,” Lee said. “For Kian, Being a four year starter in it was just a lot of pushing him college is a likely possibility to the higher level, especially with for Vakili, who has already imhis footwork and committing to pressed coaches at Penn with each rally.” his talent. Men’s tennis head Tennis is a sport that requires coach at Penn David Geatz beheavy conditioning and practice, lieves Vakili will excel during but what makes it even more difhis time playing at the colleficult is the mental aspect of the giate level. game. During a match, players are Kian Vakili sets up to hit a forehand in a summer tournament.

“We are expecting big things out there all by themselves without from Kian,” Geatz said. “When coaches or teammates to guide them. Vakili country are his height, size and touch. Kian is I was recruiting the top juniors in the nation, deals with the stress and pressure by remaining taller than most tennis players his age, making Kian really stood out with his tremendous ball positive even when he is down in the match. him a very tough competitor for opponents. striking ability, huge forehand serve, as well as “Obviously, there’s a lot of things going on “He is extremely talented, he has an amaz- a nice feel for the ball. I have high expectawhen you’re playing a match,” Vakili said. “I ing touch and he’s a very good competitor,” tions for Kian to be a 4-year starter and the Ivy have a mental coach that helps me deal with Lee said. “His main strengths I would say are League freshman of the year.”

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Photos

February 2O22

PHOTOGRAPHY EXPOSITION Latest Events on Campus

Ella Craghill

Anuha Tatineni

On Jan. 21, student council held the annual TPS Singz event in the Fleur The student-run SADD Club partnered with One Blood to bring De Lis Plaza, which is a karaoke party where students have the opportunity the Big Red Bus on campus for students to donate blood during the to sing and jam out to songs with their friends. school day on Jan. 18.

Anna Miliotes Trinity alum Collin Outerbridge was the guest speaker at the Martin Luther King Jr. chapel on Jan. 20. He spoke about Dr. King’s legacy and explained the significance behind the special day.

Anna Miliotes Soccer coach Ray Sandidge greets Stevie Kowalchuk post-game at the senior night celebration on Jan. 20, in which seniors are honored at their last home game and recognized for their dedication and comittment to the team over the years.