Arlingtonian Volume 86 Issue 3 (2022-23)

ARLINGTONIAN

The Costs of Competition

A look into the pressures of high school sports on student-athletes.

READ NOW ON PAGE 16

Amidst the chaos, what are some good things in the world?

Cello Champion

A look at UAHS cello player Lucy Cheng’s successful orchestral career.

The Black Box’s newest show, behind the curtain.

A look at how students’ online and offline activity is monitored.

A look at current and past recycling policies.

Reaching the Summit

Last month, UAHS students and coaches came together with sports medicine experts to learn more about what it means to be a female high school athlete.

An investigation into the importance of names.

UAHS student-athlete Jack Lowe has had a successful high school athletic career.

A look into the pressures of high school sports on student-athletes.

Columnist looks to Obama’s 2004 DNC Speech for a path forward.

Columnist discusses the flaws of gun control legislation.

Columnist leaves Columbus via Peruvian cuisine.

EDITOR’S

As we enter the mature weeks of fall and the leaves trade their vibrant red and gold hues for more subdued shades of brown, a long-awaited holiday approaches: Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving brings with it an excuse to gorge on turkey and stuffing, plus a much-needed respite from The Grind. But this day is about more than that: as the name suggests, what Thanksgiving is really about is giving thanks. It’s about gratitude.

I, for one, have much to be grateful for. To take one example, I’m grateful for the privilege of working with a power team of 36 writers, editors, graphic artists, photographers and business associates, all working together to share independent student journalism with the UAHS community.

These rockstar student journalists have written a multitude of informative and thought-provoking pieces for this issue, which focuses on athletics at UAHS.

On page 12, Katie Messner reports on a recent summit for female athletes, and Gracie Helfrich profiles a student athlete on page 14. On page 16, Emily Ayars, Safia Malhotra and Adelaide Petras take an in-depth look at the athletic culture at UAHS and the competitive pressures it imposes. Flip to page 31 for our editorial board ’s views on the topic.

And if you’re looking for something to be grateful for this Thanksgiving, check out Ryan Cho’s piece on page 4 describing four positive news items you may have missed amidst all the doom and gloom. In tumultuous times, gratitude matters more than ever.

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EDITORIAL POLICY

Arlingtonian is a studentproduced newsmagazine published by Journalism III-Arlingtonian students at UAHS. The publication has been established as a public forum for student expression and for the discussion of issues of concern to its audience. It will not be reviewed or restrained by school officials prior to publication or distribution.

Arlingtonian welcomes letters to the editor, guest columns and news releases from faculty, administrators, community residents, students and the general public. The Arlingtonian

editorial board reserves the right to withhold a letter or column and return it for more information if it determines the piece contains items of unprotected speech as defined by this policy.

The Arlingtonian staff raises and pays all printing and production costs through advertising sales, donations and fundraisers.

The Editor in chief shall interpret and enforce this editorial policy.

To read our full editorial policy, visit our website at arlingtonian.com.

ARLINGTONIAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

On a Positive Note...

Amidst the chaos, what are some good things in the world?

BY RYAN CHO ’25

MENDING HOLES

As of 2022, the National Oce anic and Atmospheric Admin istration (NOAA) declared that the ozone layer’s hole will close by 2070. Since the United Nations signed into action the Montreal Protocol in 1987, the production of chemicals that created the hole in the ozone layer has been reduced by 50%. The NOAA has concluded us ing this data that the hole is shrinking every year, and with the current rate, it will be closed by 2070.

A CRASH TO SAVE THE EARTH

The Double-Asteroid Redirec tion Test, or DART, was an experiment done by NASA to see if they were capable of re directing an asteroid that could be heading toward Earth. DART is a spacecraft planned to hit Dimorphos, an asteroid orbiting around a bigger aster oid, Didymos. Starting on Nov. 24, 2021, the spacecraft suc cessfully impacted Dimorphos on Sept. 26, 2022. Although the asteroid pair was not on its path to collide with Earth, this experiment shows that NASA is capable of handling such situations.

THE FIGHT AGAINST ALZHEIMER’S

On June 7, 2021, the FDA ap proved the commercial selling of Aducanumab, a drug created by an American biotech com pany, Biogen. This drug is the first major step forward in the fight against Alzheimer’s, as the third trial showed that it slowed Alzheimer’s effect on the brain by 27%. The drug proves the hypothesis that the abnormal accumulation of amyloid in the brain is one of the main caus es of Alzheimer’s disease. Some researchers say that amyloid is only a small component of Alz heimer’s; however, that does not mean it is ineffective, as it is the first drug since 2003 to slow Alzheimer’s effects successfully.

CARBON CAPTURE

A partnership between a dozen airlines formed in order to fund a new carbon capture project. They teamed up with Carbon Engineering who are the pioneers of a new direct carbon capture technol ogy that can cancel out enterprise levels of carbon emission. The benefits of this capture technology are that they can offset emissions from anywhere in the world at any time. The partnership agreed to negotiate the possible pre-order starting from 2025 to 2028. This means that the technology will be open to multiple airline companies, providing them with the opportunity to prevent more of their carbon emissions, and help them learn what they can do to produce less.

Cello Champion

A look at UAHS cello player Lucy Cheng’s successful orchestral career.

BY CARLY WITT ’23

One of the most important aspects of UAHS is its music programs, such as choir, band and orches tra. The orchestra department is a large contribu tor to our school’s community, and within that program is senior Lucy Cheng, a member of the Chamber and Symphony orchestras at UAHS, and a member of the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra. On Oct. 11, she was chosen to represent Ohio and Upper Arlington in the Ohio Music Education Association’s South-Central All-Region Orchestra.

Lucy began her cello career back in fourth grade at Wickliffe Elementary School, her favorite memories be ing learning all the basics.

“I remember learning the little songs they taught us in orchestra. So with our bow holds about these llamas... And then up ‘bow down, bow orchestra rocks’ just kind of stuck with me,” she said.

Cheng also said she didn’t immediately fall in love with playing, it was a growth.

“I didn’t want to practice at first, my parents made me for sure. And then probably around eighth grade, I started to want to practice for myself. And especially over the pandemic, and quarantine, you know, not having re ally a lot of other things to do. I spent a lot more time on the cello,” Cheng explained.

There are various differences among the four com mitted orchestras of which Cheng is a part.

“School orchestras, obviously, are just Upper Ar lington,” Cheng said. “Then with Youth Orchestra, there’s a couple of schools feeding into that, and it’s au dition-based. So sometimes the repertoire will be a little more challenging. Also, it’s a full symphony orchestra. So you’re playing with woodwinds and brass and percussion, or a school is definitely more learning focused.”

Having started cello from such a young age, Cheng has gained many skills that have helped in life outside of music.

“[I’ve learned] how to communicate with others and take cues from other people, especially staying together and staying in time,” Cheng said.

Because of the many years of experience, Cheng also has many favorite memories and stories surrounding her orchestra career.

“With chamber music connection, which I’ve been in for a couple of years, they’ll have senior solos. So when I was younger, getting to see the seniors, and they get all dressed up to play their song, I was like, ‘wow, they were so amazing.’ It was really cool to watch. And then the past couple years, being able to play alongside them and accompanying them was a really fun experience.”

Looking to the future, Cheng said she wishes to continue cello after high school.

“I’m currently working on getting ready for audi tions, so it may not be in the cards. But I definitely would love to.”

Cheng is optimistic, and believes that everyone has the ability to start playing.

“It’s never too late to start. And if you want to join an ensemble outside of school, there’s definitely so many opportunities for that, of varying commitments. So there’s a place for everybody. And yeah, I think there’s no harm in giving it a try,” Cheng said.

PHOTO BY HAILEY HOFFMAN

The

Whodunit?

Black Box’s newest show, behind the curtain.

BY THEA POSTALAKIS ’24

The classic murder mystery play Clue was performed by UAHS students in the Black Box theatre on November 4, 5 and 6 this year.

The Black Box theater is known for doing smaller shows, such as the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, which was performed last year. Clue, with its 17-person cast, perfectly fits this standard.

The show is a comedic take on the murder-mystery movie based on the board game Clue.

Director Greg Varner noted how Clue differs from past shows in that students have more control over their characters.

“One of the conversations I had early on with the cast is when you’re looking at the stage directions for the printed script, you can ignore that because you’ll decide how we’re going to do things,” he said. “That’s what gives so much authority to the students who are in the show.”

As well as giving students more authority, Clue opened up a new wave of audience reactions.

“It’s just nice to go to a show where you can laugh and it’s very funny. And the kids are really finding the places to underscore that humor.

If you have a show where you can go to enjoy yourself we need more of that,” Varner said.

Comedy was a main part of this show and allowed many students to expand their genres of acting.

“Comedy is a whole new level of challenge for students. My goal this year was to really up our game, give them authority over what they’re doing, and give them a challenge to do more than just phone it in,” Varner said.

The central part of this show is the set. The show was told in a proscenium: the audience is on one side, and they are facing toward the set. While that is more typical, there are still some surprises in the set design that were seen later.

“[The set] is something they’ve never done before, and it’s really new,” junior Michelle Fernandez, who played Ms. Green, said.

Marcus Black, who was the assistant stage manager and also helped manage the run crew for the show, commented on how the plot of Clue fits into the set.

“Clue has a lot of different rooms in it. And with those different rooms, we needed a way to make them all work on stage. So some of our sets right now are on wheels and we can change them out in between scenes,” he said.

The elaborateness of the set also adds to the plot points.

“The ultimate goal is to make the audience feel that there really are multiple different rooms all just contained within the box,” Black said.

The run crew for this show is a group of six people, who have the role of moving all the sets, and helping getting props off of the stage.

“Theres a few very quick changes right towards the end of the show, like room changes that I think will look really good. The goal is really just for the audience to forget that we even have a run crew behind the scenes doing everything,” Black said. This dynamic of a set, however, will affect the actors as well.

“My role is very active. I have to move around a lot. I have to fall down a lot. And so having a set there is both really fun to know how you’re going to move and be able to plan that out, but also just really different because rather than having theater take over and have it be left up to the imagination.., having this literal of a set is really different,” senior Azrael Hudson, who played Wadsworth, the lead, said.

“It’s an incredibly intricate show. The tech crew is doing a lot. Hitting all of the scene transitions there’s definitely some growing pains with it, but I think by the time we have our shows, I think it will be tremendous,” Hudson said.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT ▶

The cast of Clue practice their parts. The student play showed earlier this month.

PHOTOS BY EMERSON KATZ ’23

Online Oversight

BY EZRA LIU ’24

In 2015, a new Digital Conversion Plan was presented to the Upper Arlington Board of Education. It was the start of a new policy, one that greatly expanded the technological offerings of the district and introduced a new “One Student One Device” policy. Later that year, students in grades 6-12 would receive laptops for the first time; and those laptops, like any other school offer ing, came with specific regulations and rules to follow.

Today, some rules can be found in the Student De vice Handbook. It includes a myriad of different warn ings: don’t put stickers on your iPad itself (although the case may be decorated), keep the device out of extreme temperatures and keep it off the floor, where the device may be tripped over. A majority of the rules are to clarify how iPads should be used — particularly in cases which could potentially involve damage where the school may be required to replace a broken device. A different set of regulations, however, can be found in a separate docu ment called the Technology Acceptable Use Policy For Students.

THE HANDBOOK

This document, implemented eight years before personal technology was introduced to students, ap plies to a broader range of what the district defines as “Technology Resources.” This category includes every thing from iPads and laptops to copy machines, as well as school provided internet and information storage devices, and is under an additional set of regulations. According to the Acceptable Use Policy, “the School District reserves the right to monitor, inspect, copy, re view and store at any time and without prior notice any and all usage of Technology Resources and any and all [additional communications and content] received or stored in connection with this usage, and to use such content for any legal purpose.” Later, it also gives power to network administrators to review and intercept files in order to ensure that technology is being used appro priately.

SURFING THE WEB

Lutz is the Chief Technology Officer for

UA Schools and one of the network administrators described in the Acceptable Use Policy. One situation where she reviews student files is when an alert system powered by Lightspeed Relay (a program which is also responsible for filtering online websites and content), sends her a report when certain keywords appear on a device in the network.

“Whether it’s in the Google environment, in an email, in a Google Doc… when there’s talk about maybe dying, or talk about suicide, or talk about killing, those red flag [words] are picked up by the system and I get an alert,” Lutz said.

Lutz said that a vast majority of the time the alerts were part of a school related activity, in which case the report is filed away. If not, she sends it to the school administration and family to ensure the safety of the student.

Recently, parents were also given access to the Lightspeed Relay system. They receive an email each week which allows them to view students’ history over the last week. This includes a description of search his tory and actions on the internet. They are also given an option to create an account which allows them to view information on their children from the Lightspeed Re lay system live.

Apple Classroom, an Apple product which allows teachers to monitor students’ screens in the classroom, is also a way to monitor student activity. Teachers can view, redirect or lock student screens though the app, which works off of Bluetooth connections. When this connection is severed, usually around 30 feet away from the connecting device (or outside of a classroom), teach ers lose access to the tool. Use of Apple Classroom is designated by a blue indicator in the upper right corner of the iPad screen for students.

The final way the school can monitor student de vices is through network tracking. Lutz said that service is used sparingly, usually only in instances where a de vice was lost. In that case, the school can use its mobile device management system, which allows the school to see the last time an iPad was connected to a network. This can give them an understanding of the last time the iPad was used, judging by the type of connection.

Denise

A look at how students’ online and offline activity is monitored.

TECH THE HALLS

In the last few weeks, E-Hallpass came to light as another example of one way the school uses technology to attempt to improve an older way of keeping track of student activity. E-Hallpass is an app found inside Classlink for students, which can be used by students and administrators to write passes for students to be out of class. It attempts to replace traditional means of a paper and pencil system or passless excuses.

E-Hallpass off ers several diff erent features, including diff erent types of passes. Teachers can set up systems to allow students varying levels of freedom, including allowing students to self-select a pass and leave the class without asking the teacher at all. Other options range from a specific teacher written pass to use a communal space, or a student written and teacher approved pass for a variety of diff erent locations. Students, teachers and administrators can also select ‘favorite’ locations which students frequent. Teachers and substitute teachers will be given a pin number to dismiss students on student devices, while teachers of a specific class will be able to dismiss their students from their personal device.

The app also off ers administrative features, including limiting the amount of students that can be in a certain area at once, or preventing certain students from being dismissed to the same area at once. Vice Principal Nikole James described the feature as an addition to steps the school already takes for specific students.

“There’s things we do here administratively with scheduling, to make sure that they’re in diff erent classes, but this would then also give us the ability to ensure those kids never have a pass at the same time,” she said.

James said the reason for implementing the program was a response to a “strong demand from staff to get some clarification on if a kid has a pass, and how do we know if that kid has arrived [at their destination] or is just wandering the halls.”

Security was also an important consideration, James said: “There’s some safety concerns there as an administrator, that we just want to ensure we know where our kids are.” She also cited benefits of the program, such as clarification for use of huddle spaces and easier ways for students to set up scheduled passes. James said a planned student rollout and training would begin on Nov. 9.

“Our goal is that this is the universal system starting second semester, and we know that when kids are trained Nov. 9 we hope there’s going to be an increase of usage after that… but we want to be mindful, we know

it’s a big change so we want to give [students and staff ] time to ease into it,” James said. “There’s going to be time before it gets into a rhythm of use.” She also said that in her previous experience with the program, students often found it easier to use than the traditional system.

James also said the program is a way to add on to the many other ways the school aims to protect students. “When we think about all of our district initiatives of ways to keep kids safe, ways to incorporate technology into our infrastructure and our building and [incorporate] innovation, this is where this platform really brings in all those things and brings us to the modern day era. I think it solves a lot of problems we’ve had,” she said. The sentiment was also echoed by Lutz, who described the role of the technology department in defending students. “Our department is focused on protecting our network [for students]... just making sure that everyone stays safe.” She reiterated that it’s important to be careful, particularly for students on the internet, and to be vigilant of how their information is used.

Rumor and Reform

A look at current and past recycling policies.

BY IRIS MARK ’23

As the world opens its eyes to the extent of human impact on the environment, students look towards sustainable solutions to quell their anxieties and fears about climate change, pollution and general envi ronmental destruction. One such solution seems obvious. A staple of the three “Rs,” recycling is a practice that is assumed to be easy, tenable and accessible. However, the common understanding among the UAHS community contains apprehension surrounding the integrity of the practice, including skepticism about the worth of recy cling at all.

Last April, the UAHS Environmental club purchased seven blue recycling bins to be placed evenly throughout areas where students eat lunch. After seeing discrepancies in the way recycling was being handled, members wanted to improve a situation they thought should already have been taken care of.

Senior Liam Martin explains the process.

“We start up in the mezzanine where study hall is, and we go around to the four recycling bins there. [We] take the bag out with the [recyclables], we sift through it, take out any non-recyclables or stuff with liquid still in them, then we empty the liquids in the pail and then we re-bag the recycling bin. [Then] we go downstairs and do the exact same for the three that are down there,” he said.

Members typically find a scene in which more trash is placed in the recycling than actual recyclables.

“I would probably say the most frustrating is just opening a bag that’s supposed to be recyclables and just seeing someone’s half eaten lunch, because one, we have to go through that and [it’s disgusting], and second of all, [that] just disregards the point of those bins, like why we put them out there,” senior Emma Coppola said. Both Martin and Coppola would like to see improvements made in the future, both with how the system works

and how students cooperate with the program.

“We are all affected by the environment we all share [and] just because you might think, ‘Oh [it’s] just a bottle, it’s not a big deal’, but [that could] really add up. It is a big deal because it affects so many things. It’s just good to keep in mind, and it’s something easy that you can do, it’s a daily mindset and [doesn’t take long],” Coppola said. With a student-led system in place for now, the question still remains about where misunderstandings between recycling and what students believe it to have originated from. An understanding of how UAHS has handled recycling in the past is needed in order to understand the negative rumors surrounding the practice. Transitioning between old and new buildings posed changes to waste management, as well as an uptick in the amount of waste generated per day. Scott Moon, a member of the custodial staff, describes some of the differences and inevitable frustrations about recycling and the way it has been dealt with.

“When we got here, of course, we got more dumpsters. [At] the old school, we used to have a compactor. …And then, we transitioned from crushing the boxes down for recycling to actually putting trash in there, crushing the trash down. [Then] we came here [and] now we have three regular trash dumpsters and a recycling dumpster,” Moon said. In the new building, the biggest challenge comes from a lack of understanding among students about how and what to recycle.

“I think the biggest issue that I see for recycling, is you have [people] that want to do it, right? But everybody doesn’t want to do it. So then what you have is, you have your recycling bins out, but instead of putting recycling in them, they’re putting trash in them. [Then] you end up getting fined when it goes to the recycling dump.”

More than just frustrations with students, Moon also said that he has noticed a lack of effort on the part of the administration when dealing with recycling, which is why it has not been as efficient as it should have been in the past.

“It’s almost like, I feel that when it comes to recycling, it almost seems like, they’ve put [it] off on a different organization. Like whoever wants to tackle it,” he said.

One of the more commonly circulated rumors about recycling at UAHS, is that despite the appearance

of recycling bins, all recycled waste gets thrown in the trash. Moon explained that there is merit to this rumor. However, it is important to note that it was not done on lack of a place to recycle, but rather an absence of active initiative to collect it; an absence that custodians were not tasked with to make up for.

“[It] was a situation where we were told that this group would handle it. (Whatever school organization decided to take it.) So, when that didn’t happen, the custodians were like, ‘okay, we only have like one, recycling can, so we’re going to put all that stuff in the trash, we just throw it away.’ Because their whole thing is, if you don’t want to recycle, you’re not going to do it, then we’re not going to do it,” Moon said.

To be clear, UAHS has both the capacity and space to recycle, and not everything gets thrown in a dumpster “out back,” as some have been led to understand. But this capacity does not guarantee a clean system. Currently, the container labeled recycling gets picked up by a dump truck and taken to a facility where it is sorted and cleaned. Meanwhile, the only places available to students to recycle are in the common areas and Golden Bear Boulevard.

“So basically you have the trash cans, and you have the blue recycling bins. And then the kids decide what they’re going to put and where, and most of them, 90% of them, [just] throw their trash [and recycling] in the trash can, and that’s just it. So, I think, if you look at that you would say, ‘Oh they don’t recycle,’” Moon said.

“I don’t think we were consistent in any way last year. The containers were all different and the signage of what could be recycled was not clear,” Chris Potts, chief operating officer of the district, said.

He explained that even though there were inconsistencies, steps have been made to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of recycling, a major difference between current and past initiatives.

“The big difference in working with our hauler is getting them to change all signage across the district on containers so they are all consistent and clear on what can be recycled. The past said cardboard only, and that is not the case. We are single stream recycling and can recycle many more things. We are also changing out containers so they have side loading capabilities. They do not have that now. This will make it easier for our custodians and students who are helping to unload recyclables,” Potts said.

The district is planning to partner with the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO), in order to implement a consistent recycling program across all levels of school, one that can also be sustained throughout the

coming years.

“We are trying to create a consistent program that can be learned from pre-school on. The same signage, the same containers, the same process so it becomes part of the daily routine no matter what grade level of school,” Potts said.

In terms of rumors, Potts said he couldn’t speak to past perceptions, but “the goal is to improve our recycling habits across the district and to make sure everyone is working together to achieve this.”

Regardless of future or past plans, one common theme can be drawn from this example of sustainability in schools: unless collective action is taken towards making a change, very little will actually happen.

“If they can see the change, then they’re more willing to make the change. And I think that’s where the disconnect is, because some kids just don’t care, and some kids care a lot, but the ones that care a lot, are way outnumbered,” Moon said. “So until that number evens out, you’re going to keep having the same frustrations all the time.”

Reaching the Summit

BY KATIE MESSNER ’24

In 1972, there were fewer than 300,000 female athletes participating in high school sports. Now, there are over three million. This is how the Female Athlete Summit began, with Kasey White, assistant strength and conditioning coach at UAHS through Ohio State Sports Medicine, emphasizing how far female athletics have come since then. 1972 also brought one of the largest milestones for female equality in schools: Title IX.

Female athletes across sports and seasons at UAHS came together on Oct. 8 in the auditorium for the Female Athlete Summit. Ohio State Sports Medicine experts presented on five main topics: sports nutrition, strength and conditioning, injury awareness, sports psychology and hormone health.

White was a main proponent of the summit.

“I started my journey back in high school with a lot of anxiety and a lot of issues that [weren’t] necessarily present for other people to be able to see,” White said. “And I really felt like there were so many other girls and female athletes in general that were coming to me with the same kind of narrative. And I really wanted to be able to help them have an outlet and help them understand that there were other people out there just like them. That others were feeling the way that they were.”

The summit aimed to give strategies to enhance female athletes’ performance while also being empowering and educational.

Jackie Buell, a sports dietitian for Ohio State Sports Medicine, spoke about nutrition and how athletes should fuel their bodies during off season and on game days. Being adequately fueled is a major factor in maximizing performance and for scoring that final goal or point.

Buell mentioned the Female Athlete Triad which is a combination of three often overlooked conditions associated with athletic training: disordered eating, amenorrhea and osteoporosis, according to the American Family Physician. Without proper nutrition, female athletes can quickly damage bone health. Over exercising, which is common with athletes, can also lead to these same effects.

According to the National Eating Disorder Association, in a study done of Division 1 NCAA athletes, over one-

third of female athletes reported symptoms of disordered eating. There is little data on how these results affect high school female athletes. Athletes may be less likely to seek treatment for an eating disorder due to stigma, accessibility and sports specific barriers, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.

White talked about what building muscle and healthy exercise looks like for female athletes. Injury awareness and hormone health were presented by Ohio State Wexner Medical experts, honing in on issues that directly affect female athletes.

Marcia Edwards, a sports psychologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, spoke about mental health and coping mechanisms. Athletes are often placed in stressful situations, whether it be on the field, court or in the pool.

Edwards along with Jen Carter, a sports psychologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, emphasized the idea of ‘mindfulness’ or having awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions or experiences.

According to Edwards, the best strategy for dealing with mental health is putting yourself first and being mindful about what you eat and social media consumption.

“Everything around you has an impact on you,” Edwards said. “So, as long as you’re doing what you can to fuel yourself with the things that you need. I think that’s most important. Self care. You take care of your mind, your body [and] figure out what it needs. And you just keep going, right?”

Future Female Athlete Summits are already in the works at other schools. In addition, White hopes to expand their reach even further.

“We’re definitely in talks with doing a younger age group as well, doing a middle school group, doing a high school group, [getting] parents into it, coaches, all that kind of stuff, really hoping to boost the female athlete understanding and experience,” White said.

When asked what White hoped the main takeaway was for female athletes, White said, “That they’re not alone. That [they know] there is always somebody that is feeling the same that they’re feeling and that it’s okay to be scared and nervous by that feeling, but it’s not okay to shut down. It’s not okay to hold it in.”

Last month, UAHS students and coaches came together with sports medicine experts to learn more about what it means to be a female high school athlete.

What’s in a Name?

An investigation into the importance of names.

BY GRETA MILLER ’23

Olivia, Liam, Emma and Noah are some of the most popular U.S. baby names of 2022. Mary, John, Dorothy and Robert were popular in 1922. Mary, John, Anna and William were popular in 1822. Humans have been naming their children for thousands of years. A name has obviously been a way to distinguish a person from another, but is it that simple? Is a name just a name, or is there more to it?

A name is actually everything. According to Harvard Business Review, a name is more than a moniker. It is your identity and has great meaning to you. It's what people call you. It's what you respond to. From the day people are born, they are assigned this identifier. While some people receive nicknames and others use their given names, the common thread is that whatever that name is, it identifies you. Some might say that your own name is the most important word in the world to you.

Given this understanding of the importance a person’s name is to them, using names can only bring positive results with interpersonal relationships. When you use a person’s name, it shows a greater connection to who that person is. It is a sign of courtesy and a way of recognizing a person. Remembering someone’s name makes a person feel seen, valued and respected.

“I do personally notice it when others use names,” Shannon H. Johnson said, a licensed clinical psychologist in Columbus. “I think it helps to feel more connected and is a more personable approach to interactions.”

Using names in group settings also can be beneficial to everyone involved. People tend to notice when a particular person is good with names. It stands out. Someone who uses names often appears welcoming and interested, especially when that person remembers the individual names of groups of people.

“I have been making a point of learning students' names since I became a teacher,” Adele Vergis, a UAHS social studies teacher, said. “I know that when people show me that they know my name, I feel more welcome in conversation with them. I hope my students find my class to be a welcoming place for a va-

riety of reasons – one of which is that I know their names. I would also like the students in my class to know each other's names so that we can build a community of learners where we can all have fun and learn.”

Sometimes a person’s name is not common to a particular culture. Making an attempt to correctly pronounce a name can actually make a difference in that person’s life. Those with unusual names already know that their names are difficult for some cultures, and when they encounter a person who makes a genuine effort to pronounce their name, they notice it. UAHS student Lilja Reynolds (pronounced “Lili-a”) deals with her name being mispronounced frequently.

“There are people who actually care about getting it right. Then there are others who will just call me whatever they want, which has happened so much I don’t seem to care. But, when there are people who ask how to pronounce it and then ask the heritage of it and seem interested, it makes me feel like they actually care,” Reynolds said.

While human personal names have changed over thousands of years, their importance has remained the same. A name is powerful. It means a lot to a person. Using names and attempting to correctly pronounce names can create stronger interpersonal relationships and more welcoming environments. The benefits of using peoples’ names are endless. So to simplify it: everything is in a name.

ARL ATHLETE

The Lowe-Down

UAHS student-athlete Jack Lowe has had a successful high school athletic career.

BY GRACIE HELFRICH ’23

Spending four years balancing academics and athletics is a challenge. UAHS senior Jack Lowe is in the homestretch of realizing that achieve ment. Lowe is the 2022-23 UAHS soccer scholar ath lete. Lowe is also a varsity basketball player. He has been nominated to captain positions in both sports.

Lowe got his start with athletics long before reaching these accomplishments. His soccer career began early on.

“I’ve played soccer my whole life, so probably about when I was four or five playing in the Kiwanis leagues [is when I began],” Lowe said.

Lowe was introduced to basketball even sooner.

“I came back from the hospital when I was born and my dad had a basketball in my crib,” Lowe said.

His journey with athletics has come a long way since then. As he has aged, new challenges have aris en, such as finding a balance between academics and athletics.

“I’d say athletics keep me academically motivated because I know I have to do good in school to even be allowed to play,” Lowe said. “I also know now that my grades determine a lot more than athletics right now. I definitely prioritize academics and I know that my grades do a lot more for me and my career in the future than athletics.”

His attention to scholastic success has not gone unnoticed by his coaches. Lowe’s basketball coach, John Staley, has observed this.

“I could tell right away that he was not just going to be a good basketball player, but a good student as well. I didn’t know he was gonna be quite the student that he was, so he’s very bright,” Staley said.

Lowe’s academic abilities have proven useful in games.

“If either myself or coach Casey asks something of him, talking over plays, he picks them up really quickly,” Staley said. “That’s a benefit obviously in the classroom, his intellectual ability, but on the court as well.”

Lowe’s senior soccer season has been successful.

“We’re the five seed going into the tournament. We have a pretty good draw, so it’s been a good season,” Lowe said. His opinion of this year’s performance is positive, even compared to past seasons.

Lowe has been playing on the varsity soccer team since his

◀

JACK OF ALL TRADES

Jack Lowe has played basket ball since a young age.

PHOTO COURTESY CATHERINE STRAUSS

▲ LOWE IN ACTION

sophomore year. These past years are where he has cre ated lasting relationships. UAHS alum Alex Triffilous played soccer with Lowe during his time at UAHS.

“I think Jack is someone everyone would remem ber because he’s the kind of person who will walk up to you and introduce himself and he’s also just a leader which makes him stand out and gives people respect. If someone was struggling in practice, or if something happened in a game and someone messed up, he’d be the first person who’d pick your head up and encour age you to keep going. And he’d help you out and he’d reassure you,” Triffilous said.

Soccer is not the only place Lowe has found teammates that he clicks with. Junior Nate Schoney

has played basketball with Lowe throughout their time in UA schools.

Schoney has noticed various qualities in Lowe. “He’s very competitive, and he’s a good supporter to be around,” Schoney said.

Lowe reflects this narrative.

“I like playing against guys I don’t like, it defi nitely makes me play better and it motivates the whole team,” Lowe said.

Lowe’s competitiveness is not only positive in games. His combative nature is responsible at times for improving other UAHS basketball players’ perfor mance.

“What I think he does very well is that defen sively he gets after guys. When someone’s bringing up the court [in practice], maybe one of those young er guys, he defensively is right up in them and if he does that and pushes them that hard they either gotta get better, or he’s going to turn them over the whole time and take the ball from them,” Staley said. “So he gets those guys better with his effort and how hard he plays defensively.”

Lowe looks forward to his upcoming basketball season. He has goals set, and achievements in mind.

“Well I’m looking forward to just being with the guys and hanging out everyday but we’re trying to win an OCC championship. We’re in a really tough con ference so it’s always a big deal, then after the OCC’s we’re trying to make it to Ohio Dominican again and play for the district final like we did last year, so if we can do that, that’d be a good season. But beyond that just defending our home court, [and] winning 11 games at home,” Lowe said. He also has plans set for success in terms of his final soccer season.

As soccer continues to unfold Lowe has his mind set on the future. “Right now we’re really focused on winning a district championship,the program has lost three straight and I think this is the year we can break through and go on to regionals and then states. There’s a chance we play Coffman in the district final, so that’ll be a big game,” Lowe said.

Senior Jack Lowe plays at a recent soccer game. Lowe has played soccer and basketball for virtual ly his whole life.

PHOTO BY VIOLET HOUSER ’24

ALL PEPPED UP

Students watch a pep rally. The event was held earlier this month and highlighted different fall sports at UAHS. Pep rallies are an important way in which students connect with athletics.

PHOTO BY JULIA OAKLEY ’25

THE COSTS OF COMPETITION

A look into the pressures of high school sports on student-athletes.

BY EMILY AYARS ’24, SAFIA MALHOTRA ’24 AND ADELAIDE PETRAS ’24

Upper Arlington High School has 33 varsity teams and 148 state championships and is ranked #85 of 998 in terms of best high schools for athletes in Ohio. With more sports programs than any other high school in Ohio, athletics play a large role in the Upper Arlington High School scene.

During the 2021-22 school year, 53% of students (1,389 students) participated in athletics at UAHS. As of the 2022-23 school year, 34% of students (650 stu dents) have participated in athletics so far, with this data only including the fall season. Additionally, the athletic wing of the UAHS building is approximately 21% of the total square footage (84,000 out of 400,000 square feet), amassing a significant portion of the school overall. Athletic culture itself is quite prevalent in the UAHS community; many students find pride in their peers’ athletic success.

Athletics are complicated. There’s more to the life of a student-athlete than constant success and cele bration, and many struggle to balance their massive commitment to their sports with the rest of their life. Students face enough pressure in high school as it is, without the pressure to exceed in yet another aspect of their lives. Upper Arlington has always held pride in its athletic success — but at what cost is the school maintaining that success?

A MENTAL GAME

Children are introduced to sports at a very young age, and are consistently told throughout their life that the physical activities build character and leadership skills. But as technique and competitiveness escalate, so does the pressure applied on athletes to perform.

“I don’t come across too many student athletes that are participating in sports just for fun,” Ohio State University sports psychologist Marcia Edwards said. “They seem to be so competitive, striving for perfec tion and afraid to make mistakes.”

This pressure of perfectionism can be alleviated by coaches, family members and most of all, the ath letes themselves. Within sports at any level, there are many expectations and stressors to balance.

“Being an athlete comes with a certain level of pressure, internal and external,” Edwards said. “I think it is key to find balance and work to maintain balanced thoughts because when [our] thoughts or goals be come too rigid we might encounter problems.”

Mental health often has a stigma among stu dent-athletes. In many cases, this stigma is fueled pri marily by the marginalization of athletes seeking help. This can stem from the anxiety of disappointing and failing teammates or coaches.

“There’s internal pressures that students have to do a lot of things right,” UAHS Student Life Director Spencer Smith said. “[As mental health] becomes more prevalent, I think it’s on us as adults and educators to help student athletes when they’re asking for it.”

Senior Leela Mullins, a volleyball player, had an experience of her own with interconnecting mental health and sports. As a junior, Mullins decided to take a step back from the sport to focus on herself and her academics.

“I was just having trouble with my mental health and volleyball was just causing me a lot of anxiety. I still am figuring out why, but I just didn’t want to go back,” she said. “But with talking to my mom and fig uring stuff out, I was able to realize that it’s okay to just not do something because everyone thinks you do it.”

There is often a stigma surrounding mental health and student athletes, and there are procedures that can be taken to help reduce the toxicity within the concept. Coaches play an important role in a student-athlete’s life with the power to use their authority to generate change in behavior and technique.

“Sometimes coaches are so focused on winning, which is often how their job is defined, that they forget

mental health equals performance,” a sports psycholo gist from The Ohio State University, Jennifer Carter, said.

Edwards adds to this sentiment, suggesting things coaches can do to help break the stigma and allow ath letes to feel more comfortable in approaching others for help.

“I believe coaches could show more compassion. Let athletes know mistakes and setbacks happen and that is okay,” Edwards said. “Work to build resilient athletes who can learn from challenges and be okay with making mistakes or not being the best.”

The culture around student athletes has changed generationally as well. Mental health was not a prom inent topic 40 years ago and that history also impacts how today’s athletes view the concept.

“Of course student athletes had mental health is sues in the 1980s, but nobody discussed them. ‘Suck it up’ was a common mentality,” Carter said.

As a multi-sport athlete, Carter spent her high school years swimming and playing volleyball, on top of playing slow-pitch softball for two years and throw ing shotput and discus for one.

“It was unheard of for high school teams to prac tice or compete outside of their competitive season, and athletes weren’t forced to specialize in one sport early on,” Carter said. “There seemed to be less pres sure in high school sports then.”

Mental health is a key piece in athletes continuing their sports and the stigma surrounding it has proved to serve as a barrier for many individuals.

“Coaches should advocate for their athletes and their needs,” Edwards said. “And sometimes that in cludes allowing them to be in the moment and feel their emotions instead of telling them to suck it up.”

TIRESOME TRADEOFFS

The commitment required of student-athletes to their sports extends past practices and games, often having a large impact on their lives outside of their sports. Time demands are a frequent source of stress for student-athletes, who often have to sacrifice other aspects of their lives in order to fully commit to their sport.

“The pressure to sacrifice things in my life for sports is definitely there. I’ve definitely had to do that in my life a lot in the past and I’m sure as I continue I will have to do it more,” varsity girls soccer goalkeeper Sally Patton said. “The commitment of school soccer

is quite a lot actually: practices almost every day after school, lifting before school and sometimes after, dou ble headers with lifting and practice in one day, and then games every week. We probably practice five to six times a week, and sometimes in the beginning of the season we will have three or four games a week.”

Former wrestler and current varsity boys golfer Jack Mangas shares that he, too, experienced aspects of his life being negatively affected by his commitment to his sports.

“Last year… during golf season my schoolwork fell down a little bit because I was missing school to play golf and trying to stay at the top of my game and work on it, and schoolwork can falter because of that,” he said.

The balance of school life and athletic life is something many athletes struggle with. Mullins spoke to the difficulty of balancing her athletic life with her academic life.

“It’s actually really hard, especially senior year,” she said. “It’s really stressful. But honestly, I just try [to] plan each week ahead of time. So if I know I have practice instead of a game, I’ll have a couple extra hours and I can get some stuff [done] earlier in the week.”

This difficult balance is not an uncommon experi ence. Because of this, there are often ways of handling it and asking for help within the school.

“Balancing school and sports is actually very dif ficult,” Patton said. “I definitely struggle with it some times, but having one of my coaches also be a teach er here is really helpful because he always makes sure we’re up-to-date with our stuff. And if I really need

GRAPHIC BYCHLOE HARRIS’24

help I know I can talk to any of my seniors.”

There are also pressures outside of academics that student-athletes struggle with. Physical health is an obvious priority within athletics that, at times, comes at a cost. Something that is often discussed is the cul ture surrounding weight in sports in which athletes are categorized based on their weight, such as wrestling.

Wrestler Daniel Jang shared his encounters with weight loss within the wrestling parameters and re flected on his experiences pertaining to weight loss in the past.

“I didn’t lose my weight the healthiest way, I guess,” he said. “I would skip a lot of meals. I would do really unhealthy things to lose weight, [trying not] to eat or drink the last two days leading up to weigh-ins, which, I mean, definitely wasn’t the right thing to do.”

Mangas states that, while he felt little pressure to lose or gain weight from his coaches and teammates, it

was something he was conscious of.

“My parents did not want me to gain or lose a significant amount of weight and they would make sure that I was eating enough at all times,” he said. “Sometimes I would sacrifice what I would like to eat for dessert to stay at a certain weight.”

Jang reiterates that he feels little pressure from others to lose weight.

“No one ever forces another person to cut weight or lose an unhealthy amount of weight. Honestly, it’s all about the individual — how well he wants to do,” Jang said. “Like, I know I’m going to cut some weight just because I want to perform well. It’s my senior year and I want to do well in wrestling.”

However, not all aspects of the student-athlete life are particularly negative. Community is built with in teams, and valuable lessons are taught through in teractions with others that one may not get outside of sports.

“It’s given me more than I could ever give back. I know it’s kind of cliche and a lot of athletes say it, but I really believe it. I’ve made so many good friends off of wrestling,” Jang said. “It’s helped me come out of my shell, helped me open up as a person. It’s given me so

▼ SPORTS AT SCHOOL

UAHS cheerleaders perform drills with the football team in the background.

PHOTO BY HANNAH HEAVNER ’23

many great role models to look up to, [and] it’s taught me the value of hard work and effort.”

And while sports can certainly be stressful, stress isn’t necessarily always a bad thing. Depending on the situation, it can be rewarding or otherwise have a positive impact on one’s life. Senior Simone Mc Craw stated that this applied to her own experiences in UAHS athlet ics.

“I get stressed out at practice, when we’re doing a drill that I’m scared of messing up on, or during the season during games and stuff, but I also feel like it helps me if we have a hard practice or something — after it’s over, I feel accomplished,” McCraw said. “Even though in the moment it wasn’t very enjoyable, it just makes me feel like I’m improving — but in the moment it’s normally pretty stressful.”

Smith advises student-athletes to try to manage this stress by balancing their workload.

“I think they have to be intentional about what they decide to do… you have to take a look at your whole load and everything you want to do and be very intentional about not overdoing yourself because it’s impossible to do everything and not have stress, in my opinion,” Smith said. “And so I think what would be beneficial for students is to figure out what’s most im portant and then build around it, but also give yourself time to be a kid.”

CLOSE TO HOME

The emphasis placed on athletics in Upper Ar lington has given the school a reputation for being competitive. High-level sports produce disciplined and talented athletes, but can also come with an overly competitive environment.

Students who participate in more individualized sports report feeling as though they are being pitted against their own teammates instead of other teams. McCraw, who participates in both lacrosse and cross country, shares this sentiment.

“I don’t think I’ve ever done a sport or known of a sport that makes you so competitive with your own teammates,” McCraw said. “Everyone is just trying to compete with each other, and it’s good to be compet

itive, but it’s to the point where everyone cares more about beating each other than other teams… Every one’s just trying to secure their own spot on the [cross country] team.”

Junior Addie Darding, who participates in swim ming and cheerleading, concurs.

“With swimming, sometimes that individuality makes you kind of lose sight of [the fact] that at the end of the day, we want to be a team that wins states,” she said. “And I think sometimes everyone gets a little bit sidetracked from that common goal and focuses on themselves, and it becomes a little bit isolating.”

However, not everyone sees internal competition on sports teams as a negative aspect, as it can motivate athletes to perform better. Mangas observes similar patterns on the golf team, but he points out that it may not be entirely detrimental.

“I’d say one thing about golf that might be slightly different than others is [that] you are directly compet ing against one another in almost every event,” Mangas said. “It’s not directly an antagonistic competition; it’s more of a competition to see who can play the best.”

Beyond intra-team competition, Upper Arling ton’s competitiveness against other teams creates high expectations for athletes. This may lead some to have anxiety or stress in anticipation of sporting events or if they do not perform as well as expected.

“They’re pretty big on us trying to uphold our tra dition of winning, especially after we won, like, five years in a row or something. And then we lost two years ago, in like the regional finals. We lost the cham pionship last year,” McCraw said in reference to the lacrosse team. “It’s a lot of stress to know that we have

to have a perfect tournament season, and it’s scary to think that if we mess up, we’re done.”

Junior Abbie Dunlap agrees that this issue is es pecially prominent in sports that are extremely com petitive statewide, including lacrosse.

“There’s obviously going to be pressure and stress. It’s definitely one of the most competitive sports I’ve played at the high school because I played field hockey, and I played basketball. Both of those were relatively stressful, but it wasn’t as stressful as lacrosse, just be cause we are super good, and everybody’s kind of com peting for a spot,” Dunlap said.

Ava Stummer, another member of the lacrosse team who is committed to Pennsylvania State, sees the high caliber of the team as motivation to improve.

“[The pressure] kind of makes us get better be cause everyone’s competitive,” she said. “But we all know we can like, be there for each other and support each other.”

Another potential stressor for anyone involved in high school athletics is the nationwide referee shortage. According to the National Federation of State High School Association, throughout the United States, approximately 50,000 referees and officials have been lost since the 2018-2019 sports season. This shortage has affected athletes at all levels, ranging from youth leagues to professional sports.

“There’s a generation of officials that are retiring or that, during COVID, just never came back. [Also], there’s a lack of supply of young people becoming of ficials. And so there’s this squeeze on officials,” Smith said.

The shortage can be attributed in part to an emo tionally and even physically taxing work environment. Spectators often exhibit poor sportsmanship, yelling at officials and sometimes going as far as to assault them.

“There’s a little aspect of sportsmanship, fan in teractions — just that culture piece of competition and sportsmanship where officials just don’t want to be

screamed at or yelled at or questioned on every call,” Smith said.

Another possible cause of the shortage is a lack of fair pay. Referee salaries are currently on the rise, likely as an attempt to mitigate the referee problem. Smith says that the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) as a conference has addressed this issue by increasing rates for sports officials.

The official shortage has had a major impact on sports at UAHS, leading to the cancellation of numer ous games. This creates scheduling issues and leads to immense pressure on coaches.

A CRUCIAL DECISION

Upper Arlington is home to countless sports teams, with 29 state titles in the last decade alone. These achievements attract colleges from all over the country and draw attention to sports like lacrosse and water polo, which have been extremely successful in the past few years.

This success leads many students to commit to play in college and take their careers beyond high school. But for some athletes, committing can feel forced upon them because of their sport and its success history.

“There’s definitely culture and tradition that’s set for certain sports over others that just have a track record of having incredible success,” Smith said. “So there might be some natural pressure or a standard, right? That is there just because it’s always been there.” Mullins agrees that athletes tend to commit more frequently for some sports than for others.

“I think for certain sports, there definitely is [pres sure],” Mullins said. “I honestly think, like, lacrosse. So many girls and boys will commit for [it]. So I feel like there’s definitely a pressure on those varsity teams.”

Dunlap verbally committed to continue her la crosse career at the University of Louisville on Oct. 8th.

“It was really stressful,” Dunlap said. “Throughout the entire process… nobody really explains the process to you until you’re in it and then you kind of just have to make it your own.”

The procedure to commit is lengthy, span ning across months of emails and at tending camps to get an au dience with coaches. Having a support group to advocate for an athlete’s career proves

GRAPHIC BY MALLORY JOHNSON ’24

to be a large help for individuals.

“I have a recruiting coach,” Dunlap said. “And she helped me literally the entire time. She would text me every day and be like, ‘ Hey, like these are the coaches who are interested in you. ’”

Patton, although not yet committed, is another athlete who is interested in furthering her athletic career in college.

“I decided to play [college soccer] because, as I’m getting through my high school experience, I realized I’m just not ready to quit playing yet,” she said. “I love the sport and I love playing for school. It’s so fun, and I have a family when I’m playing.”

Another factor in committing for athletics is the divisions. Th ere are three NCAA divisions throughout colleges across the country: Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3 (D1, D2 and D3 respectively). D1 schools are widely considered to have the best athletic programs compared to D2 and D3 schools.

“Th ere’s pressure to go D1,” McCraw said. “I feel like I thought that if I went like D2 or D3, then people would be like, ‘Oh, she’s only going D2 or D3,’ like, ‘she’s not going D1.’”

On top of these components, exactly when to commit is something else athletes take into consideration. Many choose to commit during the beginning of their senior year while others pursue early commitment and can commit as early as their freshman year. But is there an emphasis on committing as early as possible?

“Yes and no,” Dunlap said. “I chose to commit [early] because… [Louisville] had everything that I was looking for.”

But for many individuals, commitment to a school for their athletic careers is not a priority. Mullins, for example, has decided not to continue her volleyball career beyond high school.

“I think I just want to focus on establishing myself at a college rather than putting all my time into college sport because that’s a lot,” she said.

Most student athletes end up following Mullins ’s path, by choosing to prioritize their academics over attempting to balance them with a sport.

Th e number of pressures regarding college commitment is large and scholarships factor into that as well. For student athletes looking to participate in college athletics, scholarships can be an athlete’s goal but in order to receive one, they must be good enough both academically and athletically.

“In youth sports, I believe we overemphasize outcomes like college scholarships,” Carter said. “Only 1% of high school athletes earn a college athletic scholarship.”

Despite all these factors, sports continue to play a large role in the world. Many people use these activities as an opportunity to gather and socialize but there are prices that the athletes must pay at their expense.

“Point is, there is no one sport and no one factor that contributes to toxicity in sports,” Edwards said. “It’s a multifaceted issue.”

Skoracki

BY ARLINGTONIAN CARTOONIST LUKAS SKORACKI ’23

number of varsity teams offered at UAHS

billion are spent yearly on po licing in the United States

number of state titles won by UAHS athletes in the last decade

blue recycling bins were purchased by the UAHS Environmental Club last April.

is the number of Senate seats currently projected for Democrats. Thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote, this gives Democrats control. A December runoff election in Georgia will give the party an opportunity to pick up an additional seat.

Eight students respond to a question in eight words

What are you thankful for? EIGHT IN EIGHT

Everyone in my life, my parents, friends, teachers.

— Freshman Emily Lin

I’m thankful for the opportunities at this school.

— Freshman Elijah Liu

I am very thank ful for super delicious pie — Sophomore Gabe Hoffman

I am thankful for my friends and family — Sophomore Addison Smith

I’m thankful for the new school and friends — Junior Lula Lee

Family, friends, my phone, cal culators, water, airplanes, McRib — Junior Wil Robertson

Dog, car, money, family, Chipotle, Florida, LGBT rights — Senior Carson Colombo

The opportu nities I am pro vided at Upper Arlington — Senior Lauren Talarzyk

PHOTOS BY CAMRYN JOHNSON

Take the Red Pill: Feminism vs. The Manosphere

Columnist discusses feminism and the men’s rights movement.

BY SAFIA MALHOTRA ’24

“Inever doubted that equal rights was the right direction. Most reforms, most problems are complicated,” the American women’s rights activist Alice Paul once said. “But to me there is nothing complicated about ordinary equality.”

I often see the word feminism defined incorrectly. So let me establish one thing: feminism is the belief in the equality of all genders. Not the belief in females being the superior gender.

I believe that this misinterpretation is what has led to the stigma surrounding feminism. If that is so, I can understand why men fear the word feminism. I can understand their apprehensiveness and their resistance to pursue feminism if they fear that female rights come at the cost of their own. At least, I choose to believe that this is why people are reluctant to embrace feminism, because otherwise would mean that humanity possesses an amount of cruelty that far surpasses my imagination.

For men, feminism is a privilege. For everybody else? Feminism is a necessity.

I am not a feminist out of choice, but rather out of need. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t be fighting for the ability to have the same quality of life as my male counterparts. If I had a choice, I would not choose a life of inferiority.

However, not all understand this. There has always been pushback against feminism — for as long as women have fought for equality, there have been others to fight against them. Recently, however, that pushback has gained traction with the advancements of technology and online anonymity. I present to you: the manosphere.

The manosphere is an umbrella term that refers to a number of interconnected misogynistic communities. It encompasses multiple types and severities of misogyny – from broader male supremacist discourse to men’s rights activism and other violent factions.

The Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW) movement, Pick up Artists (PUAs), and “involuntary celibates” (incels) are three subcategories of the manosphere that I feel deserve their own explanations.

First: the MGTOW. The MGTOW is a misogynistic and anti-feminist movement that believes feminism makes women dangerous to men, and therefore, male self-preserva-

tion calls for complete disengagement from women. There are four different levels for MGTOW involvement; the men in level four have shunned all involvement with women and thus are believed to comprise the most actualized members.

Secondly: PUAs. PUAs are a community of men that study seduction in the hopes of improving their success with women. The PUA community often views women as one-dimensional and easily manipulated, and their tactics range from emotional abuse to sexual assault.

And finally: incels. Incels are heterosexual men who blame women and society for their lack of romantic success. The incel ideology is rooted in the belief that women have too much power in the sexual/romantic sphere and ruin incels’ lives by rejecting them. They are the most violent sector of the manosphere, and have perpetrated a range of deadly attacks against women.

One of the central tenants of the manosphere is that there is a red pill/blue pill dichotomy permeating the world. This theory was borne from The Matrix in which Morpheus states: “You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”

This was adopted by the manosphere to state that the red-pill truth is that men have been victimized by a contemporary culture that is biased towards women, and has conspired to destroy Western civilization and culture.

The manosphere believes that women are inferior to men: their subordinates. But in reality, women are not responsible for, nor do they need to be victims to, a man’s self-entitlement. Feminism is the equality of genders, and the manosphere threatens to not permit that equality. The identity of feminism exists because of things such as the manosphere, and the notion of feminism needs to exist to counteract that of the manosphere.

So, in the purest form of its meaning, take the red pill: feminism is not dangerous. What is dangerous are men who are afraid of feminism. When it comes down to it, they are afraid of women being their equals. People act rashly out of cowardice, and what is more cowardly than being afraid of equality?

The Audacity of Hope

Columnist looks to Obama’s 2004 DNC Speech for a path forward.

BY GEORGE BERNARD ’23

After Democrats’ strong performance during the midterms, I found myself returning to the same place I always do when I need political inspiration: Obama’s 2004 address to the Democratic National Convention. The speech wasn’t televised at the time, but nevertheless it was very impactful, introducing a young Barack Obama to a national stage. While some parts of the speech are clearly dated, such as calling on people to vote for John Kerry, a vast majority of it remains relevant today. He covers a wide array of topics such as immigrations, race, support for the working class and patriotism all with his charismatic charisma and hopefulness.

With today’s fragmented 24/7 news, there is always someone competing for your attention and the media has discovered that feeding people’s fears and constantly being negative is very good at getting clicks. Gone are the days when Walter Cronkite would tell America the hard facts and political debates were over solutions to problems facing our country. Now we argue over basic facts and quarrel over meaningless culture war issues, ignoring the real problems facing our country. I believe that this disconnect between Washington and the rest of America is the reason we are so pessimistic, it can feel like nobody wants to make change for the better. Both parties, although Republicans are more guilty of this, seem to have no interest in solving problems if they aren’t in power because that would give the opposing side a victory. This is evident in polling that indicates that 71% of Americans believe that the country is going in the wrong direction.

even if it’s not my child. If there’s a senior citizen somewhere who can’t pay for her prescription and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it’s not my grandmother... It’s that fundamental belief — I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sisters’ keeper — that makes this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family.”

This is even more true today. When democrats and republicans are increasingly geographically divided, it is important that we don’t dehumanize the other side and remember that they have sincerely held beliefs and want what they believe is best for our country. He points out that “E pluribus unum” , the Latin phrase on every coin and dollar bill, translates to “out of many, one”.

“Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America — there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too…We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States…We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.”

In my last column, I called for the Democratic Party to moderate its messaging and pivot away from identity politics, and today, I am calling on everyone to be more hopeful for the future. All of us need to make a concerted effort to undo the toxicity of politics. I believe that the ideals layed out in this speech offer a path forward.

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“For alongside our famous individualism, there’s another ingredient in the American saga. A belief that we are connected as one people. If there’s a child on the south side of Chicago who can’t read, that matters to me,

At the end of the day, we should all keep in mind that as flawed as America is, it is still one of, if not the greatest nation in the world. We all need to avoid the monolithic narratives that are reductive such as how the left tends to view America very cynically, viewing social democracies such as Norway as far superior while failing to recognize that Europe is much less hospitable to immigrants than we are or the immense amount of humanitarian work we do. The right is also guilty of this, promoting America as perfect, ignoring the ramifications of our history and turning a blind eye to our support of nations that abuse human rights.

Power to the People

Columnist discusses the flaws of gun control legislation.

BY ADELAIDE PETRAS ’24

“Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.”

This is an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence that I think perfectly encompasses the need for the American people to be treated as equals to their government (although I would argue that that hasn’t happened as of yet). I typically take the words of the wealthy, white male politicians of the 18th century with a grain of salt, but this idea is something that shapes the foundation of my beliefs.

Gun control is a subject that I feel is often not viewed with the complexity and nuance it truly possesses. So to simplify, I’ll begin with a fact: The United States spends approximately $100 billion per year on policing. A portion of this budget goes to weapons for law enforcement officials, including lethal handguns. In other words, government officials possess deadly weapons, which they are allowed to use at their own discretion and judgment as someone in a position of relative power.

Especially after the events of the last few years and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, most people have become somewhat aware of issues regarding corruption in law enforcement and police brutality. Police have killed over 1,000 people in the U.S. in the past year, with Black and Hispanic people making up a disproportionately large number of them. From this I can conclude that racism clearly pervades police departments, and that their judgment is not to be trusted.

It is astronomically important for marginalized people to have the ability to protect themselves against their oppressors, who, in this case, are the police. For people to be left powerless against an armed government is contrary to every value many Americans and their government claim to hold dear. So, I return to the excerpt from the Declaration of Independence and pose this question: How can the people overthrow a destructive government if they are not supplied with the resources to do so?

It is not a remotely new idea among the political left that guns can be used as a way for the people to protect their rights. The Black Panther Party, a crucial element of the civil rights movement, held that African Americans have the right to bear arms as a means of protection against an oppressive government. Similarly, progressive voting rights

and anti-lynching advocate Ida B. Wells said, “A Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every Black home, and it should be used for that protection which the law refuses to give.”

Additionally, gun control legislation naturally involves restrictions, and actions involving restriction have been historically discriminatory. For example, these practices predate the Civil War with “Slave Codes” that prohibited enslaved people from owing guns and developed into high taxes imposed to bar Black and poor people from purchasing guns. Similarly, a 1640 Virginia law outright banned all Indigenous and Black Americans from possessing firearms. Discriminatory ideologies such as these inevitably seep into modern gun control legislation, as it’s impossible to completely eliminate the ideas a system has been built upon.

Gun control measures often involve background checks, which are also known to be discriminatory. A person can fail a background check due to nonviolent offenses and minor drug charges, and Black people are almost three times as likely as white people to be arrested on drug charges, despite similar rates of use. This allows white people to acquire guns and leaves Black people with an equivalent criminal history unarmed.

It would be wrong to fail to address the prevalence of gun violence in America, but I don’t believe that gun control alone can reduce gun violence. Instead, I propose an increase in research surrounding perpetrators and victims of gun violence. The lack of research partially exists due to the 1996 Dickey Amendment, which banned the CDC from researching gun-related deaths and injuries. Additionally, increased research about the psychology of shooters would help find the root causes of shootings and provide clues on how to take preventative measures.

All that being said, guns wouldn’t exist at all in my ideal world — the best-case scenario would be for neither the government nor the people to have the need to possess firearms. Of course, I don’t have the ability to wave a wand and create a perfect utopian society, so I argue instead for what I believe to be the next best option: for people to have sovereignty over their government, which in this case involves the right to be armed. The bottom line is that in either scenario — utopia or reality — the people should have equal, if not more power than their government.

Si Señor!

BY ALI ABUBAKR ’24

Machu Picchu. Rainbow Mountain. The Andes mountain range of Peru. Impressive stuff, but all of these things shrivel in comparison to the dangerous peaks and slopes of Mad River Mountain, Ohio. I’m kidding. If you want to leave Central Ohio, like most of us do, you can do so through the Peruvian style sandwiches at Si Señor located on West 5th Avenue in Grandview.

Walking in on a quiet Saturday around noon, I wasn’t expecting it to be as busy as it was. The reason for this is their irregular times. Tuesday through Friday, they’re open from 11-3 p.m., closed from 3-5 p.m, then open again from 5 until 9 p.m.. On Mondays and Saturdays, they’re only open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.. So make sure you know what day of the week it is. I often strug-

TRIP TO PERU

gle with that.

There were a good amount of people, but the small space was used efficiently. When you walk in, you’re greeted with the filling smell of meat cooking on a grill. On the wall to your right, there are enormous menus that are easily readable. To your left, a large cartoonish mural painted black on the yellow wall depicts a city street in Peru. Within five seconds, I was transported into the welcoming air of a small restaurant in Peru. Then I turned around and saw the Big Lots across the street and my illusion was shattered.

I ordered the Latin Style Turkey Breast sandwich with jalapenos. It comes with oven roasted turkey, caramelized onions, fresh jalapeno relish, manchego cheese, tomatoes and lettuce on fluffy bread. I knew the food would be bussin' when the cashier turned around and yelled out my order in Spanish to the chef. Hearing them speak in Spanish let me know that this place was authentic and that they knew what they were doing. To say the food was good is an understatement; I’d have to say it was muy bueno. I didn’t know what caramelized onions or manchego cheese were prior to this experience, but I can say wholeheartedly that I am now a big fan. The caramelized onions, which are cooked for longer periods of time on lower heat, were juiced up and amazingly flavorful and the manchego cheese was tastefully strong. Usually when I can taste the cheese on a sandwich or burger, I don’t really like it, but this time it was different. There was also a very generous amount of turkey, and the jalapeno relish brought in a sweet and a spicy flavor that I didn’t even know

CAROLINE KEGG

I was yearning for. This was all densely packed between two sub-like pieces of white bread that soaked up the juices. I munched it all down quickly. The only problem was that it was too small, and I wanted more. So with greasy fingers and bits of Latin food around my mouth, I walked back up to the counter. My plan was to just get the same sandwich again. But as I was walking back up, I saw written on the far side of the counter that there was a special spicy tomato and chicken soup available for the day. Oh yeah. I returned to my table with a delectable dark red soup, with shredded bits of chicken, greens and other things that looked like onions and jalapenos. It wasn’t a menu item, so I didn’t know exactly what was in it. But it was pretty spicy. Now, I don’t usually handle spice well, so it probably wasn’t as spicy as I thought it was, but I was struggling. I started getting really hot, drooling out of my nose, sweating. I could feel where the hair follicles came out of my scalp. The chicken soaked in the soup was great, and the soup itself was mildly thick. But I was defeated. It was too spicy for me. I couldn’t even finish it. With my head down in shame, I threw away what was left of the soup and walked out of Peru to make my way back to Central Ohio, vowing that I would someday return and finish that soup.

However, I could truly say that I had a wonderful dining experience. I spent less than $15 overall on the sandwich, soup and a drink and my belly was satisfied and sufficiently bloated. Por eso, Si Señor es Ali Approved.

Columnist leaves Columbus via Peruvian Cuisine.

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Si Senor is located on 1456 W 5th Avenue.

PHOTO BY ALI ABUBAKR ’24

GRAPHIC BY CAROLINE KEGG ’24

The Struggle to Juggle

BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Sports permeate every aspect of the high school experience.

From Friday game days to trophies lining the hallways, sports are an omnipresent aspect in the life of American teens, whether they participate themselves or not.

For those who do partake, sports can be a major stressor. Competitive pressures make victory the ultimate goal, at any cost. Devotion to the game trumps other considerations, making balance in life difficult. Work-outs and games must be juggled with school, sleep and downtime.

Given the problems that high school sports can engender among students, we must take action to improve the athletic culture at UAHS.

The unique structure of youth sports in America, in which athletics are run through schools, means that schools bear a share of responsibility to address these problems.

To that end, we call on school and district officials to implement policies conducive to healthier relationships between students and their athletic activities. Counselors should be given further training in helping students to deal with the pressures of athletic performance, college commitments and other items student-athletes deal with. Coaches should empower students with the tools and resources needed to have healthy balance between athletics and academics, mental health and other aspects of life.

Students, too, have a role to play. Captains should aim to foster a team culture that emphasizes boundary-setting and healthy habits over a ruthless, win-at-all-costs mentality.

Students should also question the role sports play in the broader context of high school. For example, they should consider ways in which other activities, from robotics to mock trial, can be incorporated into UAHS life and culture.

It is not a bad thing that sports play such a large role in the high school experience. It is only out of an appreciation for the value of athletics that we suggest these reforms. These ideas have the potential of making high school athletics more inclusive, healthy and balanced.

EDITORIAL

PHOTO BY EDITH LEBLANC ’23