Arlingtonian vol. 3 2020-21 by Arlingtonian

ARLINGTONIAN

FEBRUARY 26, 2021

VOLUME 84, ISSUE 3

THE COVERAGE DOESN’T END HERE arlingtonian.com Featuring these stories and many more. READ NOW: DECISIONS, DECISIONS Three seniors share their experiences applying Early Decision. BY MEGHAN BEERY, ‘21.

THE OXFORD COMMA While there are debates when and where the Oxford comma is appropriate, what are the parameters for making that decision? BY GRACIE HELFRICH, ‘22.

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EDITOR’S NOTE

turned 18 two days ago. With my current narrow perception of the world, this seems like the scariest age I can reach. While 16 came with the ability to drive and 17 came with the ability to drive more than one person, 18 comes with the ability to vote, be thrown in jail and buy my own house. I don’t think my bank account could quite swing the whole house thing, and fortunately I don’t see myself committing fraud anytime soon, but I can say that I’m excited to not be scared of being pulled over after midnight and finally getting to choose a politician’s name at the local elementary school instead of just campaigning for them to my already 18-year-old friends. In some ways, 18 isn’t different enough. I still can’t serve alcohol at work, I’ll still be a dependent on my parents’ tax forms and besides actually voting, the responsibility of my own voice is far from gone. Arlingtonian, whether online or not, gives students aged 14 to 18 the same opportunity no matter what birthday we’re celebrating. While in these 32 pages our staff explores the importance of student opinion, nostalgia of the old school building, good television shows and even addictions to TikTok, we continuously hope for more people to join in this independence through writing and use the voice we’re all given. Even if you celebrate your birthday during its cold, dark 28 day run, February always seems to be the worst month. On the bright side, though, it’s a time for us to reflect on the resolutions we made in January to celebrate the two days we actually followed through with them and gives us extra time to celebrate and learn about Black history. Take advantage of your last two February days to learn and possibly savor the final at-home days of hybrid scheduling. We will all be together soon, and I hope for a safe return for everyone. My fellow 18-year-olds and I also hope that there haven’t yet been too many sixteenth birthdays celebrated yet—I really want a parking spot. ARLINGTONIAN EDITOR IN CHIEF arlingtonian.com FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN

@uaarlingtonian

ARLINGTONIAN VOLUME 84 | 2020-2021

FEBRUARY 26, 2020, ISSUE 3 EDITOR IN CHIEF

Josie Stewart CO-DIGITAL EDITORS

Noah Mizer Callia Peterson MANAGING EDITOR

Ben Rigney-Carroll COPY EDITOR

Ben Underwood STAFF WRITERS

SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Meghan Beery Matthew Doron Luke Eriksen Gracie Helfrich Sophia Hudson Lucy Miller Reese Plagenz Cameron Smith James Underwood Carly Witt

Michael Ballenger ARTS EDITORS

Morgan Plagenz Pierce Thompson PHOTOGRAPHERS

Penelope Clark Bridget Mitchell Bella VanMeter GRAPHIC ARTISTS

Lucy O’Brien Sophia Shen

BUSINESS MANAGER

Ava Adamantidis

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EDITORIAL POLICY Arlingtonian is a studentproduced newsmagazine published by Journalism III-A 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.

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A Unique Way to Learn

Tricia Fellinger, better known as Frau Fellinger, is a German teacher and leader of Ambassadors of Change. BY LUKE ERIKSEN ‘22. GRAPHIC BY LUCY O’BRIEN ‘22.

here aren’t many educators like Tricia Fellinger. Fellinger, a German teacher, has taught at Upper Arlington for all 23 years of her education career. She started as a German teacher at Jones Middle School but soon migrated to UA High School. Despite her long standing as a teacher, Fellinger originally had no aspirations to be one and never really liked school. “I didn’t feel like I fit in. I didn’t feel connected to any teachers. I just assumed that’s how school is,” she said. Fellinger admits that as a student, she didn’t want to spend any more time at school than was needed. “When I was in grade school. We had reading groups based on each level. I was the lowest. I was definitely treated differently than the kids at the highest level. We didn’t receive the same level of encouragement and support as the other kids,” Fellinger said. “As it turned out, it was that I needed glasses. I had trouble seeing; I was nearsighted. So once I had glasses, I really excelled. Once I started excelling, then kids made fun of me and called me names. It wasn’t cool to be smart or be in the lowest group. I really didn’t feel connected.” Fellinger said she believes her experiences throughout her time as a student influenced the way she teaches. She emphasized the importance of developing students as humans before anything else. She strives for students to realize the importance of being kind and welcoming to one another. Fellinger also explained the importance of a healthy class environment. “When I think of my role as an educator, before even preparing students to be communicators in German, I feel that my first responsibility is to help them develop as human beings. These are all really important skills that they need,” she 4 | ISSUE 3 | FEB RUA RY 2 6, 2 0 2 0

said. “It’s a sense of responsibility. Students are all over the place in the way that they learn. If there is not a safe environment in a classroom, then learning is more difficult. I truly believe students will learn better if they feel more comfortable.” Considering this emphasis on these values, her way of teaching is somewhat unique in Upper Arlington. In her classroom, there is scheduled time each week for students to share their thoughts and build relationships with each other which she refers to as “circle time.” During a normal school week, Fellinger dedicates one day to this time to create a community in class where students feel comfortable sharing with each other. “The most important part of circle is that you are building a community. Once you have that community, you can return to the circle to talk about something that’s happening—work together to find a solution,” she said. Fellinger was introduced to circle time while on a trip with FullBright, a cultural exchange program in New Zealand. “At the beginning of the class we would sit in a circle. There was a talking piece and we would pass it around. The person with the talking piece could share anything they wanted. I wondered if I could use this with my students,” she said. “They are officially called restorative circles. Restorative circles are based on many indigenous cultures.” The idea of a restorative circle in class excited Fellinger. She introduced the idea to her class as soon as she could. Although it wasn’t perfect, after some tweaks and adjustments, circle time was a hit with her students. ,kn“My teaching has improved so much because of circles. The number one thing I get is being able to gauge what needs you have, how you’re learning, how the workload is for you, so I can become a better

teacher by getting that feedback from you,” she said. “I also feel like it builds more trust among students. Nobody is afraid to ask questions. Trust has been built from the circles so students are more willing to speak up and practice.” ,knA few teachers have started using circle time during their classes, but it is still rare. Fellinger believes that every class should have some type of circle time. ,kn“I don’t think that everyone needs to spend every Friday doing circle time like we do. I feel like even five minutes a week could make a difference. I would encourage teachers to use circles as a curricular item. You can use a circle as a check in, practicing, discussing a novel or content questions,” Fellinger said. ,kn ,knWhile COVID-19 cases rose during the fall, Fellinger increased circle time with hopes of giving students a stressfree class period. She noticed that some students were having trouble focusing during class, too. Fellinger took it upon herself to write each one of her students a handwritten letter that was delivered during winter break. ,kn“I wanted to let each student know how much I appreciate them,” Fellinger said. “All teachers care about their students.”

The Music of Today’s Era Three politically motivated songs written during Trump’s presidency.

BY NOAH MIZER, ‘21. ALBUM COVERS COURTESY DIRTY HIT / INTERSCOPE, RCA AND REPUBLIC RECORDS.

n the “Decay of Living,” published in 1891, Oscar Wilde wrote “life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” This statement has been contrasted by musicians throughout the years as they take artistic inspiration from political strife. As this has been a reoccuring theme through the hippie movement of the ‘60s or the cold war era of the ‘80s, some artists are continuing the trend as political extremism and partisianship have reached a record high in the United States. With this in mind, here are a few of the songs to have come out of Trump’s presidency and political strife over the past few years. “I like America and America likes Me”—The 1975 While The 1975 frontman Matty Healy is British, he is outspoken with his opinion on American politics— specifically on gun violence on the band’s LP “A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships.” Healy begins the song with the opening lyrics “I’m scared of dying,” trying to mimick the possible response of a student faced with the prospect of school shootings. He takes a firm stance against the use of guns in a time when it has become a highly contested issue in America. He then continues with the lyrics, “will you please listen,” repeatedly throughout the song, which has widely been interpreted as a reference to the many youth marches across the country in response to mass shootings in recent years. Political turmoil surrounding the Second Amendment is not a new phenomenon, but activism surrounding gun violence has reached new heights due to a surge in mass and school shootings. The 1975 is accredited with trying to capture the emotions of some American high school students who fear school shootings happening in their own building. “This is America”—Childish Gambino While Donald Glover’s hit song of summer 2018 has a pop and R&B feel, it was acclaimed more for its darker undertones. The lyrics of “This is America” are superficial on the surface but FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN

have been interpreted in different ways surrounding the Black experience in America. Glover juxtaposed the party culture of successful Black artists with predominantly Black low-income communities. The change in tone between verses also has been accredited to the media’s perception of race in America compared to the actual reality faced by the majority of Americans. The “This is America” music video is also littered with symbols alluding to racism and politics in America. Glover can be seen posing as stereotypical Jim Crow character. Further, a cloaked figure riding a horse can be seen having a police escort in the background of the video, which has been considered a reference to police violence against people of color in the United States. “The Man”—Taylor Swift In the wake of the Me Too Movement, Taylor Swift wrote her hit 2019 song, “The Man” inspired by the hate she receives online for writing songs about exes and making money as a successful woman. Despite being a world renowned pop sensation, Swift has often been the center of criticism for life choices and quality of music along with being an outspoken advoate for women in her industry.. In “The Man,” Swift attempted to call attention to the double standard women face in the music industry. She sings, “Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man/ And I’m so sick of them coming at me again/‘Cause if I was a man, then I’d be the man.” In these lines, Swift wanted to address the idea that some men are praised for singing about ex-lovers, where she is often condemned for those same or similar actions. W W W . A R LING T O NIA N. COM | 5

Mightier Than the Sword The Upper Arlington Equity Project writes an open letter urging the district to consider student voices. BY BEN UNDERWOOD, ‘21. GRAPHICS BY MORGAN PLAGENZ, ‘21.

n the wake of Black Lives Matter protests last summer, several students and alumni founded the Upper Arlington Equity Project, a group that aims to foster equity and inclusion in the school district. While the group first formed through a petition to remove Student Resource Officers from Upper Arlington buildigns, the group soon began having conversations with district administrators and leaders about ways to make the district a more welcoming environment. The district enacted some reforms, such as forming an Equity Advisory Board (EAB) and hiring as Executive Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Matthew Boaz, whose hiring was approved by the Board of Education late last year. The EAB includes a leading role from Boaz, Superintendant Paul Imhoff, a small group of high school students, teachers from across the district, parents and two Board of Education members. With these changes, some students and alumni felt that not enough action was being taken. So, students in the UAEP

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wrote an open letter and posted it on their Instagram page with almost 400 followers. “That letter was just a culmination of all our frustrations, because we just felt like nothing was being done, even though [the district] said that they were going to do stuff,” said senior Erin Huang, a board member of the Upper Arlington Equity Project. The letter, which has eight demands, was posted on Jan. 27, and has since recieved 228 likes. UAEP also encouraged its followers to send a message in support of their letter to school board members, administrators and city council members. Since then, it has caught the attention of several city leaders, including a city council member, several members of the Board of Education, and Superintendent Paul Imhoff. While the letter has been discussed between UAEP and some members of the district, no direct response to the letter or its demands have been made to the public.

THE DEMANDS Implicit bias training has been a part of staff professional development workshops for several years at this point. In 2019, all staff members went to a workshop about it, and speakers trained in implicit bias have spoken at staff professional development workshops several times since then. Huang said that this does not go far enough to fix the problem. “Maybe they took the courses or whatever, but when there are still [white] teachers reading the N-word out of books and saying sexist jokes, they clearly have not been receptive to that course,” Huang said. “They’ve taken it, but they’re just not really taking it in.” As an alternative, the Equity Project’s letter proposes that the district carry out ongoing training for all faculty, club leaders and coaches. Another suggestion from the Equity Project is to revamp administrator’s responses to the SpeakUp! Hotline. (The SpeakUp! Hotline provides a way for students and parents to report bullying, drug abuse and other issues of that nature). The district’s web portal to the hotline assures those submitting the form that, “Your information will be reviewed and reasonable action will be taken to address the situation.” Huang says that, while this may be true, some students who used the hotline never got proper follow-up communication. “The [administrators] never contacted some students who [filled out the form] with a personal email or anything like that. It was just an automated message,” Huang said. “That was one of the things we were kinda concerned about because if a student is in trouble and they’re vulnerable, it would be nice if a teacher or administrator would be able to help them hands on.” FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), a 1974 law aimed at protecting student privacy, may be to blame. The act prohibits the district from disclosing student records, which would include information about any disciplinary action or follow-up action pursued by the district. Huang cautions against blaming any specific individual for the woes of the district. “We wrote this letter, not from a place of aggression or malintent, but just to say ‘here’s what we want,’” Huang said. “We weren’t trying to attack any teachers, because obviously a lot of them are doing really great things.” FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN

Since last summer and UAEP’s founding, some others have joined in on advocating for the termination of the contract with the UA Police Division for School Resource Officers (SROs). This was another demand listed in the letter. Since its release, the district is beginning plans to review the SRO program with input from students, parents and falculty in the district. Some other demands included in the letter detailed wishes for a more diverse staff, revitalization of curriculum for “students of all backgrounds” and transparency among the work on the EAB or with Boaz as the new director of diversity, equity and inclusion. IN THE FUTURE The eight proposals laid out in the letter, not all of which have been enumerated here, seem ambitious, but according to UAEP, they do not fully cover the changes that are needed. Huang believes that, with enough concerted effort, the future will look much rosier. “A lot of these attitudes and cultures are fostered at a young age, and so, if we start by changing the curriculum, changing the adults and the resources that are available in schools, kids will grow up and eventually, in the future, hopefully the culture of our schools will be a lot better and these kind of [prejudicial actions] won’t happen as much,” she said. Alas, as the letter acknowledges, “there is no comfort in change and no change without time.”

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New Memories for a New Building

The end of the current high school building and how it is being celebrated. BY CARLY WITT ‘23. PHOTOS BY PENELOPE CLARK, ‘21.

or the past two years, looming over Upper Arlington High School has been the blueprint of a new era: the new and updated building which will be in operation starting in the fall of 2021. With construction beginning in March 2019, students have seen the new building growing during fire drills, entering and exiting the school or just through simple glances out the window. The class of 2022 will spend their senior year in the new high school, making them its first graduating class. “I’m very excited to have my senior year in the new school, by the looks of everything it’s going to be very nice and a lot better than the building we’re in now,” junior Macy Schaffer said. This year’s senior class, the class of 2021, will be the last class to graduate from the original building with some seniors hoping to make their mark on the school. There have been multiple art projects and committees working to resolve the

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year and close out the building, to make sure students have left every mark they can on the original high school so many attended and made memories in. This includes the mural recently painted near the front doors in honor of Start with Hello Week, an annual initiative by Ambassadors of Change. The class of 2023 will have two years in each school, splitting their legacies between the past and the future. Sophomore Avery Golowin said, “I think it will be a fun experience to split my high

school education in half by being in the two buildings—I’m hoping it will be a good transition.” The class of 2024 will have three years of their high school experience in the new and improved Upper Arlington High School. “I don’t know [what I will miss the most],” freshman Helen Harder said. “I haven’t really even had a full year in [the building] because of [COVID-19], but I think I miss the memory of my freshman classes and the feelings of your first year of high school.” Even though many things are being left behind, an abundance of things are also set to come. The school will have updated technology and classrooms, giving students more engaging opportunities to grow and learn in. “It seems like just yesterday, they were talking about plans for the new school,” Harder said. “And now it’s really all happening.”

Uncovering Masks

Students and teachers share why they choose the masks they wear to school. BY LUCY MILLER, ‘22. GRAPHIC BY LUCY O’BRIEN, ‘22.

asks have been seen as both an inconvenience and necessity to some worldwide for nearly a year. Even though they muddle voices or may be easy to forget, students and staff at UA High School have found a way to make the most out of these facial coverings. Using them to express themselves, they have sometimes become something else entirely. While wearing a mask in the school is a requirement due to the circumstances of the past year, some make it another element of planned outfits or use it as a way to express interests or passions. On the other side, some students wear disposable surgical masks in the building. “I only wear disposable masks because I don’t feel the need to go out and buy cloth ones,” freshman Esmerelda Qemalli said. However, some wear masks that they find interesting or pretty preferring patterns and colors to show off their taste. “I have a variety of floral and colored masks that I picked out because they’re cute,” junior Ellie Watson said. She just enjoys, “seeing others and getting compliments on them.” Many students are seen wearing masks that show their involvement with sports teams. Junior Connor Swart, a member of the Upper Arlington Men’s Soccer team, often wears a mask he received for playing with the team. “I love the team and having a way to show everyone that I’m a part of something as great as our team, I don’t know why I wouldn’t wear it,” Swart said. “It’s a way for students to show their involvement in school activities and clubs without bragging.” In addition to sports masks, some are seen wearing facial coverings that FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN

express beliefs when it comes to politics or current events. Before the presidential election last year, some students would wear masks in support of either candidate. While political slogans may be controversial to some, those who wear them, often wear them with pride. “I wear them to start conversations. I think it’s entertaining to talk to people who think differently than me, and when I wear it, I always get some sort of comments,” senior Nick Eggleton said. Masks have become more than just a safety precaution. They can now be conversation pieces that weren’t around before COVID-19. For some teachers, these masks have still been more of an inconvenience than a fashion piece. Some have said they feel the need to speak louder than in a normal classroom and find it hard to project their voice to that level. The inability to read lips while speaking is also a difficulty. To help solve this issue, some educators like social studies teacher Scott Shinaberry

have started wearing transparent masks. These allow for students to see their teachers speak while still preventing the spread of the virus. “I thought that people could at least see you smile at them, or if you have hard of hearing students, they could see your facial expressions and read your lips,” Shinaberry said. The school encouraged these transparent masks for teachers who have deaf or hard of hearing students in their classrooms. While mask mandates became the norm in Ohio in 2020 and are in effect at UAHS, the CDC now recommends that people “double mask” or wear two masks on top of each other to further protect from the virus. Despite this update, students will not be required to do this in school buildings with the return to learning in-class five-days-a-week.

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Senior Send-Offs

The current plans for senior celebrations with COVID-19 restrictions.

BY JOSIE STEWART, ‘21. GRAPHIC BY MORGAN PLAGENZ, ‘21.

n Feb. 12, the Upper Arlington School District announced that students in the schoolbased pathway will return to school fivedays-a-week starting March 1. This switch comes after the vaccination of teachers in the previous weeks as well as a drop in the number of COVID-19 cases in Franklin County. Since leaving school in March of last year, this will be the first time that students will enter the building for the entire week since the beginning of the pandemic. With this switch, many questions about the changes in scheduling, staffing and safety precautions also came with questions from students about the planning of certain end of year celebrations. Last year, the Class of 2020 did not have a graduation ceremony, and instead, the high school hosted a parade around the building to keep a more socially distanced ceremony. This year, though, since students are returning to the building, many seniors are hoping to have an in-person graduation ceremony. Planning for this possibility began a few weeks ago in a meeting with administrators, class officers and senior representatives from student council and Ambassadors of Change. Senior and Student Council representative Thomas Wolfe attended the meeting and emphasized the wish to have the entire senior class together in one ceremony. “[If I were to plan graduation], I would

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choose to do something at a different venue [than the Schottenstein Center], but hopefully we can still have everyone together as a class,” he said. “If we want to do something outside, I think any venue where we can see all of our classmates would be good.” Although the ceremony is typically held at the Schottenstein, a decision has been made to now prioritize having it at the high school, likely at the Marv Moorehead Stadium. This includes having the entire Class of 2021 and having students walk across the stage to receive their diploma. Similarly to graduation, the possibility of prom has also been mentioned since it was also cancelled last year. So far, plans are in the preliminary stages. “We can’t promise everything since we don’t know what is going to happen, but as of right now we are most likely going to have prom,” junior class officer Kendall Crotty said. “We’re now in the stages of picking a date. We have a venue—no matter what it’s going to be at the school because we can’t really go anywhere with COVID-19. There are so many areas and it’s easier for social distancing. No matter what, everyone is going to have to wear a mask.” The dance at the school may include spreading students out among the cafeteria, varsity gym and auditorium lobby as well as holding the event at the Marv. “Since we have a fairly large budget this year since we’re not doing dinners, we want to do two themes since we will have different areas,” Crotty said. “We wanted to do a ball, fancy, royal [theme] and a Roaring ‘20s theme. Since [the Roaring ‘20s] was supposed to be the theme last year, we wanted to bring that back.”

The planning group, made up mostly of junior and senior class officers along with adviser Mark Boesch, is working to get a date in the last week or weekend of school approved. This is to ensure that the event would be as safe as possible and in hopes that more students or faculty members will be vaccinated by this time. Also in accordance with safety, administration is considering limiting the dance to only the senior class since they were unable to go the previous year. “Nothing is for sure for prom,” Crotty said. “We’re just trying to figure it out the best we can and if we can’t have an inperson prom, our back up plan is to have a drive-in movie theater prom.” Even with this, Wolfe believes that the in-person dance wouldn’t be the same due to changes in the pandemic. “It’s not really going to be prom with whatever they try to do. It’d be something, but I can’t think of any sort of experience that would parallel what prom is,” he said. Similarly, senior Lindsey Hjelle hopes to prioritize graduation over the dance. “I don’t really care about prom. I would hope for graduation, but if they can’t have it, that would be fine,” Hjelle said. “If it’s safe, I think we should at least have graduation but prom is more [up] in the air.”

Who is Created Equal?

Behind the anti-abortion organization that has gathered outside of the high school.

BY JOSIE STEWART, ‘21. GRAPHIC BY MORGAN PLAGENZ, ‘21.

uring the 2020-21 school year, an anti-abortion organization named Created Equal has gathered outside of the high school building after school three times. The group, which is headquartered in Columbus, believes that they are best known for campus outreach. “[We] go to most high schools in the Columbus metro area. We came to Upper Arlington High School for the first time last fall, and have been back two more times since then,” a representative from the organization, Ian Spencer, explained. “We go to multiple high schools and colleges each week.” Spencer accredited this outreach to two reasons: “high schoolers are having abortions” and students “know people who need help.” With this, they cited a statistic that 300 American teenagers have an abortion every day and that they intend to “share hope” with “students who are grieving aborted siblings” or those who may be considering the procedure. On their website, they say that they started after being “inspired by [their founder] Mark Harrington’s vision of uniting human rights defenders.” Now, this has become a team that is “committed to the defense of preborn babies and human equality.” While the argument between those for and against abortion are typically fueled by bodily autonomy or the belief that life begins at conception, Created Equal believes that “abortion is injustice fueled by ageism” as explained on their website. Besides campus outreach at high schools and universities, the group also campaigns through urban outreach, justice rides and signs such as jumbotrons in cities. The signs purchased by the group typically show graphic images of aborted fetuses which are also on their website. FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN

When the group came to the high school, they brought multiple sandwich boards with these images along with fliers that were handed out to students. Despite being close to students and a school building, the group is able to campaign on the sidewalks since it is not on the property. This means that while administrators may ask the group to stop, they have no legal right to make them leave. Senior Erin Murphy noticed the group standing on the sidewalk one day when driving down Ridgeview Road on the way home from school. After exchanging looks with her friend in the car behind her, the two looked into the organization online to understand why they were there. “I felt kind of attacked and uncomfortable [with the group outside the school]. I didn’t feel like they belonged there, and I didn’t like ideas being forced onto me,” Murphy said. “I think it’s absolutely a good thing to have your views challenged and questioned, but when there are people yelling and shaming other’s decisions—especially at a high school full of minors—I think a line needs to be drawn.” On the other side, pro-life advocate and junior Anneliese Johanni somewhat agrees with Murphy about the tactics they use. Although in the school-based pathway, Johanni has not seen the

organization at the building before or researched the group. “Although people need to understand the realities of what abortion is, I don’t know if scare tactics are the best way to educate. I think in some cases it make pro-lifers the enemy,” Johanni said. “We are about loving each and every human being, especially the ones unborn. But it can seem hypocritical when we can love those in the womb, but not those with the womb. So I’m slightly worried about how these people are coming across with their movement.” She believes that this applies to other situations other than schools as well. “Instead of standing outside of a Planned Parenthood and shaming people and telling them they will ‘regret it for the rest of their lives,’ come at it showing these women that they are seen, and that people care about helping them and their child. Showing these women that this is not the only way. We want to give women more options that don’t involve death.” Nonetheless, Created Equal believes that this campus outreach is an effective method of educating people about their beliefs surrounding abortion. “We take our team to high schools to speak with students,” their representative said. “If [students are] old enough to have abortions, they’re old enough to see abortion.”

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BLACKFACE, REDLINING AND

SILENT CLASSROOMS An exploration of systemic racism in UA. BY CALLIA PETERSON, ’22 AND JAMES UNDERWOOD, ’23. GRAPHICS BY LUCY O’BRIEN, ’22.

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oised at her desk during an American history lesson, sophomore Ceylone Reighard-Brooks watched as the student sitting in front of her leaned over to a friend and told them confidently that the statistic on the board about the wide scope of slavery was false. Reighard-Brooks is a student activist and co-founder of the Upper Arlington Equity Project (UAEP), a group that seeks to diversify UA Schools, restructure curriculum and spark conversations about racial injustice in the community. She also serves on the district’s Equity Advisory Board, where she advises district leadership. Throughout her childhood in Grandview and Upper Arlington, Reighard-Brooks has witnessed and experienced many acts of racism, including microaggressions, racial slurs and exclusion on the basis of her race. “I’ve had a girl tell me that her parents do not like Black people and that they are not allowed over at her house,” she said. “And as a Black person I was like, ‘Why are you telling me this?’” Similar incidents occur in various contexts. “I remember being asked for the N-word pass when it would come up in a book,” she said. “If you bring it up to [a teacher], they [just say], ‘Oh OK, well I’ll talk to them next time.’” These acts have followed Reighard-Brooks into the community as well. In grocery stores, for example, she said police officers follow her as she shops. “I can tell you stories for days,” she said. “And I know I’m not the only one who’s experienced that here in Upper Arlington.” Reighard-Brooks’s experiences speak to greater issues of systemic racism in UA, and they call into question what historical circumstances might have led to the racial injustices she and other students of color face every day.

The shows were popular across the nation throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Upper Arlington was no exception, and watching minstrels was a popular pastime in the city’s early days. Nor was UA Schools itself isolated from the practice; to the contrary, Arlingtonian archives indicate that these shows were popular among the student body and played a role in student life and culture akin to that of musicals and football games today. As a 1944 Arlingtonian headline proudly declared, “[UAHS] Has Part In Village Minstrel.” The shows were often held in what is now Jones Middle School and were performed and put on by students. Various school choirs sang, while students would audition for various roles. Endmen, for example, were stock characters wearing blackface who exchanged jokes. In contrast, the interlocutor character, who was not in blackface, led the endmen and bounced jokes off them. At times, UAHS minstrel productions were so popular that tickets came into short supply. “[A]lready the advance sale of tickets is hitting an all high,” warned Arlingtonian, then known as High Life, in 1944. “If you want a seat to view the best Minstrel ever presented at [UAHS] get your tickets now.” Even in the 1960s, when minstrel shows had long waned in popularity across the nation, UA residents continued

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Troubling traditions: UAHS students perform in a minstrel show in 1951. These shows played a role in student life akin to that of today’s musicals or football games. PHOTO COURTESY NORWESTER YEARBOOK.

to enjoy them as a form of entertainment. In 1963, a minstrel show made an appearance in the city’s Fourth of July parade. Senior Elena Reim, a co-founder of UAEP along with Reighard-Brooks, was first introduced to the history of minstrel shows in her IB Language and Literature class. “It was only briefly, but we discussed how that was something that everyone at our school was doing and was OK with—which is just insane, honestly,” she said. “I can’t believe that happened. It makes sense, but it’s just hard to wrap your head around sometimes.” Recently, in the 2016 UAHS production of Charles Dickens’ “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” students wore brownface to mimic darkskinned foreign characters. Alumna Kate Glaser was cast as an Englishwoman who takes on the appearance of a woman, named Helena, in the middle of the show. Glaser said that the directors gave her foundation darker than her natural skin tone for her to put on when she becomes Helena, a character of a different race. “I was just a little confused by it,” she said. “They were like, ‘Oh yeah, your first few scenes as an Englishwoman will be without the makeup and then you will put on the makeup when you become Helena.’” The directors told her that this was something English actors would have done when the play was originally performed centuries ago. They failed to mention to her that this was an act of brownface. “It absolutely is an inappropriate and racist use of makeup. The show is extremely outdated,” she said. Glaser said she didn’t understand the implications of this use of brownface. “At the time I don’t think I realized [what] we were doing because we kept getting reassurance from our directors that it was totally fine,” she said. “And as students, we felt pressured to

just comply.” Now a theater major at Indiana University, Glaser said that she regrets taking on the role. “I’m very sorry to anyone who felt hurt or attacked by that production, because I can totally see how they would be,” she said. “It’s definitely something that I’ve had to come to terms with.” Glaser said she would like to see change in the types of musicals the UA Vocal Music department decides to put on. “I hope that the program can learn to do better in the

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future,” she said. WHY SO WHITE? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 90.1% of UA residents are white, while only 0.3% are African American. This was by design. One way this was accomplished was through redlining, a practice whereby the federal government advised against or forbade property mortgages and community investment in “undesirable” areas. To do this, the federal government created color-coded

maps of American cities. These maps frequently warned of “encroachment” and “infestation” by minority groups. In the Columbus map, published in 1936, UA was marked as green, or “best.” While redlining was instituted by the federal government, other policies were homegrown. In fact, racist restrictions on homeownership were often hardcoded into UA property deeds themselves. Starting in the 1920s, a few years after the founding of Upper Arlington, most properties could not be sold to or occupied by “persons in whole or in part of the Negro race or blood,” according to deeds reviewed by Arlingtonian. This restriction was “for the benefit” of homeowners and their neighbors, the deeds stated. These deeds were undersigned by the founders of Upper Arlington, Ben and King Thompson, who in 1990 were inducted into the Upper Arlington Wall of Honor outside the municipal building for their “lasting benefit to the residents of Upper Arlington.” These covenants were set to expire in 1999, but in 1948 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark Shelley v. Kraemer case that these discriminatory provisions violated the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. Undeterred, the Thompson brothers effectively circumvented the Supreme Court’s ruling by establishing that same year the Northwest Homeowners Association. Prospective residents had to seek membership in the association in order to buy property. “Thus Thompson ensured that only the ‘right’ people would buy into the area,” according to the “Planning for the Private Interest,” a doctoral thesis by Patricia Burgess about the history of zoning and urban planning in Columbus. Only in 1971 did the practice end when a Black man who was denied membership—and thus homeownership— sued the association. The Franklin County Court of Common Pleas ordered that it be dissolved and that the man receive a settlement. CURRICULA & CLASSROOMS Some students, like 2018 alumna Cindy Tang, feel they were not adequately made aware of the redlining, deed covenants and other injustices in UA’s history.

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“I mean, I never learned about any of these things as a student,” she said. “I learned about all of those things after I left.” Matthew Boaz, the district’s new director of diversity, equity and inclusion, said that curriculum is important. “It definitely plays a huge role,” he said. “Students who don’t see themselves in any examples that are used in teaching practices, or don’t feel like the curriculum addresses their specific identity, are more likely to disengage in the learning process.” Beyond curriculum, A community affair: A minstrel show makes an appearance in Upper Arlington’s 1963 Reighard-Brooks Fourth of July parade. These shows were common in 19th and early 20th century America. acknowledged a lack PHOTO COURTESY UA ARCHIVES. of conversations about these issues in the classroom. “You could just see everyone else in the Learning Center “I do feel like we kind of tiptoe around it,” Reighard-Brooks kind of froze and wasn’t sure how to respond to that,” she said. “It went slavery, Jim Crow, and then it was all OK. We said. “The two people who were talking just continued their kind of sugarcoat it,” she said. “I get those conversations are conversation but everyone else around the LC just seemed sort uncomfortable, but I feel like it’s something that is a real world of struck and not sure how they should say something, how to problem, and once we get outside this UA bubble, it’s unfair to approach this topic.” the kids who go here because we aren’t preparing them for the She also noted that this wasn’t an isolated incident. real world.” “I think that it’s just very common to hear white students at To improve this, UAEP has been working to diversify the our school using racial slurs, and teachers don’t know how to curriculum. respond to that,” Reim said. “[We want to change] our curriculum to better allow for Misunderstandings and insensitivity when it comes to slurs conversations about race and ethnicities and gender equalities can start in the English classroom. and all these things that we feel have been brushed over,” Reim “When I read ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ our teacher told said. us that we were not to use the N-word, but when one student Tang emphasized that any curriculum change should be asked why we weren’t able to—they weren’t trying to be racist, institutional and not left to chance. they were simply trying to understand—our teacher just shut “If [a student has] one specific teacher, if they run into down that conversation,” Reim said. “In that moment there a specific type of friend, or they know specific people in was [a] missed opportunity. This was a student who was the district, they may hear about these things. But it’s not wanting to understand why the N-word was harmful and our something everyone’s going to learn about, because it’s not a teacher just didn’t allow for that.” part of the core curriculum—and that’s what it really should Reighard-Brooks said that she was brought to tears of be,” she said. happiness when one of her teachers engaged in a conversation Another sensitive topic comes with racial slurs. Last year, about the N-word that was being used in a book the class was for example, Reim witnessed a white student use the N-word reading. toward a Black student during her lunch period in the “When my teacher first brought that up, I literally cried,” Learning Center. she said. “It’s something that’s commonly missed, and FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN

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especially in a predominantly white school where it should be taught.” As recently as last year, some English teachers at UAHS allowed students to use the N-word in the context of reading assigned literature. Reim said this blurs the lines. “I think that anyone who isn’t Black shouldn’t be using that term because it is incredibly harmful,” she said. “If a teacher were to say it’s fine to say it in this context, it’s hard to draw that line.” Both Reim and Reighard-Brooks also expressed interest in educating students and teachers about racial slurs and encouraged teachers to have these conversations with their students when the N-word is used in literature. Reim said UAEP believes that more training would help encourage teachers to address the topic, despite its sensitivity. “We also wanted to see more support for teachers in having these conversations, because they are uncomfortable,” she said. “I think that there does need to be [an] added layer of training for teachers [for] how to talk about books that were written when racial slurs were more widely accepted, or when any book uses a racial slur.” D I V E R S I F Y I N G S TA F F Beyond curriculum changes, both Reim and ReighardBrooks said that meaningful conversations about the use of racial slurs and systemic racism as a whole can be achieved through diversifying the UAHS teaching staff. “I do think there are some conversations that white teachers won’t be able to hit on as much or that they aren’t comfortable talking about as much because they feel like it’s not their position to talk about,” Reighard-Brooks said. Reim explained that the current hiring practices of the district is one factor that prevents teachers of color from landing jobs in the district. Currently, anyone applying who is already in the district has priority over applicants who are not in the district. Since the district is predominantly white, the district is limiting its pool to mostly white applicants. This is something UAEP is trying to correct. “It’s very difficult to say that you are trying to diversify your school while you’re limiting the pool to mostly white applicants,” Reim said. Reim acknowledged that UA Schools Superintendent Paul Imhoff has been responsive to UAEP’s calls for systemic changes to the UA Schools hiring process, but that the hiring freeze due to COVID-19 has slowed change this year. According to Reim, another obstacle UAEP faces in diversifying the teaching staff is misunderstanding among the white administrators who are hiring new employees. “It’s been an issue trying to sort of bridge that gap of not trying to make people feel like they shouldn’t be here, but also trying to show that there is value to having more diversity,” she said. 18 | ISSUE 3 | FE B RUA RY 2 6, 2 0 2 0

Tang said that any plan to diversify the teaching staff shouldn’t stop at hiring. “I hope folks are hired and they’re not tokenized,” she said. “I hope they’re hired with good support systems.” After teachers have been hired, Boaz said that training and education are also important. “I think that would be a big piece, and that’s one of the things I want to work on in this district,” he said. UAHS German teacher Tricia Fellinger, who leads a student activism group called Ambassadors of Change, said that, in addition to teachers, students also have a role. “It’s a collaboration of the two, but student voice is the most important thing in telling us how to help,” she said. Boaz agreed, adding that students are the common denominator for everyone involved in the district. “Students are probably the most important piece,” he said. “The students have to be the key focal point of everything.” C O M M U N I T Y C O N V E R S AT I O N S Beyond UA Schools, these discussions have also found a place in the discourse of the broader UA community. Since last summer, for example, the community has been polarized about the issue of police brutality and school resources officers (SROs) present in UA schools. Even today, opposing yard signs displaying either “Enough” or “We love UAPD” continue to dot the city. In fact, UAEP was formed after a group of alumni sponsored a petition to remove SROs from UA Schools. It got over 600 signatures. Reighard-Brooks said that the presence of SROs in UAHS makes her feel unsafe. “It’s just something that’s extra intimidating, and it just kind of distracts you a little bit,” she said. Some students have complained that one of the school’s SROs has a “Blue Lives Matter” flag and a photo of himself and former President Donald Trump in his UAHS office. Even within the classroom, a teacher displayed a “Blue Lives Matter” flag in their Zoom backgrounds earlier this year. “Some kids [say], “Yeah whatever, that’s just his view, leave him alone,’” Reighard-Brooks said. “But for me, I’m like, ‘No, that’s either life or death for me.’” Equal UA board member Catherine Kennedy provided her perspective on the issue. “It never occurred to me that having cops in schools could make people feel less safe, because for me as a white person, safety aligns with police,” she said. “But [I didn’t understand] that people who don’t look like me might not see police as safe for them. And so I think it takes having that empathy.” In recent years, a patchwork of loosely affiliated community groups, including Equal UA, has been looking to further research and address issues of racism in UA as whole. “We want to build a community around equity and diversity and inclusivity and justice,” Kennedy said. To do this, the group has hosted open discussions and FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @UAARLINGTONIAN

seminars, organized book talks, sold yardsigns promoting messages of inclusivity and partnered with other city organizations. For example, Equal UA recently worked with the Upper Arlington Historical Society and UA Schools to research the story of Pleasant Litchford, a Black man who owned much of the land that is now Upper Arlington. Boaz sees this kind of coordination between UA Schools and the community as necessary. “The two have to work hand-in-hand,” he said. “That relationship has to involve open communication back and forth.” Tang feels that the community as a whole has been slower and less responsive than the school district with regard to racial justice issues. “I think there’s a headstart in the schools,” she said. To that point, Fellinger acknowledged that progress can be difficult for some longtime community members. “I would imagine when you have been a member of a community for so many years and possibly generations, and you love your community so much, [that] it’s hard to come to terms with the problems that exist,” she said. “There’s a lot of learning that has to happen.”

“We have a lot of work to do, just as human beings and the way we interact with one another,” he said. “I believe that the Upper Arlington Schools can be a leader in showing people how to do that.” Still, Reighard-Brooks said that the district has a long road ahead in making a more diverse, equitable and inclusive learning environment. “We’re still uncovering things that were put underneath the rug,” she said. “So I think that [2020] is a blessing and a curse. We’re seeing all this awful stuff happen, but we’re talking about it a little more.”

W H AT ’ S N E X T ? Moving forward, some students are optimistic about how UAHS will address issues of systemic racism. Reim said that the entire community has a role. “I think that Upper Arlington can change—it can become more diverse and more accepting—but that we’re all going to have to play our part,” she said. Boaz acknowledged the challenges ahead, but said he is hopeful that UA Schools will eventually become a leader in DEI work. FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN

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ARL ATHLETE:

LYDIA MULDOON

Senior athlete Lydia Muldoon is one of the Upper Arlington representatives for the Agonis Club cholarship. BY JOSIE STEWART, ‘21. PHOTO COURTESY LYDIA MULDOON.

hile celebrating her Senior Night, senior Lydia Muldoon received news that she had been nominated for the Agonis Club Scholarship. The group, which is a service organization that raises money for Central Ohio high school athletes, receives two nominations from each high school in Columbus. This year, swimmer and water polo player Lydia Muldoon represents UAHS alongside fellow water bear Avery Voss. Muldoon represents the school for recognition of her work as an athlete along with her outstanding academic performance. “I started competitive swimming in sixth grade,” Muldoon said. “Freshman year I played golf, and I varsity lettered there. I decided to switch to water polo, though, and I’m very happy with that decision. I’ve loved water polo.” This year, though, due to COVID-19

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restrictions early on in the 2020-21 school year, water polo was moved to the spring season. “Since polo got kicked to spring, it’s going to be weird having no break after swimming and just going straight into another season, but we will be in great shape,” she said. “Usually we’d never be in great shape during polo season, but now we’re going to be really fast swimmers which is great.” This change also meant that the team has essentially had two swimming seasons back-to-back being in the pool for about eight months consecutively. With less restrictions now, they are also able to compete against other teams. “Swimming is pretty normal [despite restrictions]. We just social distance in the lanes which is pretty normal. It’s a little different because we don’t all start on the same wall, and we just have to wear masks at meets and social distance sitting in the stands,” Muldoon said. “We’ve tried our best to continue cheering on each other without having any fans—just having our teammates as our cheerleaders. It still gets pretty loud.” In the time since Muldoon has joined both teams at the high school, they have seen many wins. “My sophomore year [the polo team] got second at states, and then my junior year we got first. That was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” she said. “It was a very relatively new sport for me. I kind of got into it, and it looks super scary— everyone always says that—but it’s so fun. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had and just being able to swim makes it even better because people can’t keep up with you.” During the swim season, she competes in the 100 freestyle and the 50 freestyle as a sprinter. During her four years, she has made it to Districts in both of these events and this year is hoping to compete at states. While Muldoon is waiting to compete for a spot there, she and Voss also will hear about the scholarship which will be awarded

in late April or early May. For her academic consideration for the scholarship, Muldoon has had to balance being an IB diploma student with swimming and polo. “It’s been interesting trying to do sports and the IB program. It was a lot last year, but obviously a lot less this year. I think it isn’t bad, but I also haven’t taken IB tests and been through the entire experience with COVID-19,” she said. “I’m very happy with taking the IB program, all of the teachers have been great and super helpful with extensions with sports if I needed them.” This year, in the IB Diploma equivalent of the capstone, Muldoon worked on her Extended Essay based on the psychology of psychopaths. “I’m very interested in psychology—I want to major in [it]. I want to be a child therapist, but I’m also interested in prisons and criminology,” Muldoon said. “[This year], I wrote about psychopaths and how they become those people and a lot about physical abuse in childhood and how it contributes to that.” Now that Muldoon has almost completed her senior year and season, she has been considering her options for education next year. “I’m still debating [which school to choose]. I have a few schools where I have the opportunity to walk on for swimming, and I have some schools where I would probably do club. There’s one school where I could walk on for polo, but I haven’t made any decisions yet,” she said. Despite this, she said she is still excited for her last season and remembers her past years fondly. “I’ve been swimming with the same people for seven years so it’s very normal for me now to have these people around me every single day for so many hours,” Muldoon said. “They’re what I contribute a lot of my success to and they’re probably why I’m still doing this sport—this crazy, rigorous sport all the time because of them. I’m surprised I’ve made it through.” FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @UAARLINGTONIAN

ARL ATHLETE:

JACOB SCHANKLIN

Senior captain and wrestler Jacob Schanklin celebrated his one hundredth win earlier this year. BY BEN RIGNEY-CARROLL, ‘21. PHOTO COURTESY JACOB SCHANKLIN.

espite restrictions placed on winter sports this year due to COVID-19, many athletes at UAHS have still seen success this season. Earlier this season, senior and wrestling team captain Jacob Shanklin achieved his one hundredth high school competition victory. In a meet against Marysville on Dec. 30, Shanklin beat his one hundredth high school opponent, adding his name to the list of 12 other grapplers in UA history who have previously achieved this milestone. Another senior, Jake Thomas, also achieved one hundred wins this year. From his high school experience and success, Shanklin plans on continuing wrestling in college to somewhat make up for his senior season. “[This season] definitely hasn’t been the same as I would’ve thought,” Shanklin said. “I’m just happy I get to wrestle.” FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN

The season was limited to matches that were not canceled by COVID-19, and attendance of fans was limited to family members of participating athletes. Considering the loss of some matches, the requirement of masks and some social distancing standards, the season changed from previous years unaffected by COVID-19. Even with the changes, it was good news to the team to even have a season this year due to the high contact nature of the sport. “It was super exciting after the state tournament got canceled last year, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t have a season and wouldn’t be able to [wrestle],” Shanklin said. This year, like many winter sports, the wrestling team is trying to form a “bubble” to protect against COVID-19 and to best ensure the continuation of their season. Many wrestlers have completely paused contact with friends

and family outside of their household to help with this effort. With the wrestling season already being a demanding and fast-paced ordeal, this further solidifies the commitment grapplers have had to show this year in order to keep their season going. Although Shanklin has been wrestling for 13 years, he said that this season has been a major moment for his time with the sport. As the season comes to an end, he said he is is “looking forward to getting to compete at the state meet.” Notably, due to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic this same time last year, last year’s state meet was canceled, making this year feel even more valuable. As this year comes to an end, and as many seniors focus more on the future than the present, Shanklin looks forward to wrestling after high school. “I just love wrestling,” he said. “Nothing I would rather do.” W W W . A R LING T O NIA N. COM | 21

WINTER SPORTS

LAYOUT BY JOSIE STEWART, ‘21 AND CALLIA PETERSON, ‘22.

▼ HOCKEY: Sophomore Charlie Linzell slides across the ice. PHOTO COURTESY RAFE MCCLURE.

▲ GYMNASTICS: Senior Hope Perry twists upside down

during beam routine. PHOTO COURTESY HOPE PERRY. ▼ BOTTOM LEFT: Goggles on, seniors Thomas Ray and

Hayden Jay prepare for a swim meet. PHOTO COURTESY ADDIE JAY. ▼ BOTTOM RIGHT: Ready to dive in, the UA Girls Swim Team

competes against Columbus School for Girls. PHOTO COURTESY ADDIE JAY.

▶ TOP PHOTO, THIRD COLUMN FROM THE LEFT: Junior Quinn Corna lifts the basketball to a basket. PHOTO COURTESY LUKE ERIKSEN.

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▲ CREW: The UA Girls Crew Team practices rowing in the

UAHS building in preparation for their return to the river. PHOTO BY PENELOPE CLARK, ‘21.

▶TOP RIGHT: Wrestlers pose for a photo at senior night. PHOTO COURTESY JACOB SCHANKLIN . ▶ MIDDLE RIGHT: Arms in the air, senior Hope Perry poses

during her gymnastics routine.

PHOTO COURTESY HOPE PERRY.

▶ BASKETBALL: Ball in hand, senior Deno Tzagournis

dribbles the ball away from an opponent. PHOTO COURTESY LUKE ERIKSEN.

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Rotten Tomatoes and Feminist Flicks

The two-sided reviews of female-led or directed movies and televison shows.

hen I discovered Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, I binged the entire first season in one night. After realizing how long I’d been sitting in bed, I went to sleep firmly in the decision to slowly watch the second and last season to appreciate every witty comment or plot point I might’ve missed the night before. Soon after, the second season also came to an end. Wanting more of Waller-Bridge’s genius, though, I scoured through reviews, analytical YouTube videos and talk show interviews to unsurprisingly find that most everyone fell in love with Fleabag, the Hot Priest and the show as a whole giving it a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes for both seasons. The critics raved about the show— this could be a review where I personally can draw connections to her themes of femininity, her incredible acting and possibly the best use of the fourth wall I have ever seen. When I turned to the reviews on Amazon Prime (where the

BY JOSIE STEWART, ‘21

show is streamed), though, I found quite the opposite. The reviews here, filled with people saying that they don’t like watching “sad people” on television or hold disdain for the use of women having casual sex for humor. Vulgar, immature, meanspirited, sad and disturbing were all adjectives used to describe the show. The question is, are these really fair assessments? I have often heard criticisms of feminists where they praise women even for work that is bad or not worthy of praise. I agree. We should hold women to the same standards as men in order to be seen as equal to men. In the questions of media that portray strong or feminist women, though, it seems that criticisms more lie in the category of obscenity rather than the content or talent of the show. In this case, the criticism of blasphemy may also be fair, though. This acknowledgement led to me checking reviews each time I finished a movie or show with even the slightest feminist themes. My obsession with Fleabag quickly turned over to Eliza Hittman’s 2020 film Never Rarely Sometimes Always which similarly earned a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes from the critics. From the audience—to my surprise— the film was rated at only 20%. This time, people complained that the movie was a waste of time, a waste of money and completely without a plot. I will admit that the movie is slow-moving with development, but just like other famous J.D. Salinger books, some of the greatest stories and lessons come from the characters told this way. In brief, the plot follows a teenage girl who travels to New York City to have an abortion. Along the way, though, it explores the

pressures and controversy of pregnancy and abortion (especially for a teen) and presents the subtle fears and experiences that many women have. Nonetheless, this didn’t deter Rotten Tomatoes commenters from saying “it’s the worst movie I’ve ever seen!!!!!!!!” and that there is “no point” to the entire film. I don’t want to be mistaken in the fact that we should be criticizing films with women the same way that we criticize them with men. Emerald Fennell’s 2020 film Promising Young Woman offers the perfect example for critiques. While the film was meant to be a story of feminist revenge, its tone and plot didn’t quite end up that way. In fact, despite a 91% from critics, many audience members felt the toxic masculinity presented in the film was not well addressed. Even so, we still see others describing the main character who is trying to support her deceased best friend who was a victim of sexual assault as sad, cynical, unrealistic, depressing and in need of psychological support. If anything, this proves the superiority of Carey Mulligan’s acting which was largely celebrated aside from various criticisms of the film. The irony here is always noticeable. While we have constantly been bombarded with female tropes and truly one-dimensional manic pixie dream girls from male directors and writers, truly real women written into films seem to be criticized far more than their male counterparts. While this isn’t always the case, noticing these differences shows the true criticisms of everyday women in reality. Maybe, though, Waller-Bridge and Hittman expected this all along having these comments prove the point they were attempting to make through film. W W W . A R LING T O NIA N. COM | 25

The People’s Gatsby How today’s copyright law stifles artistic and literary innovation.

GRAPHIC BY LUCY O’BRIEN, ’22.

hether we want to or not, we all read “The Great Gatsby” our sophomore year. And whether we want to or not, we read an edition authorized by the Estate of F. Scott Fitzgerald. But this won’t be the case for the class of 2024: last month, the book’s copyright expired, and “Gatsby” became a public domain work, meaning it now belongs

to humanity as a whole. Going forward, anyone with a printer or a pencil can alter, adapt or republish it, commercially or not, without having to get the green light from Fitzgerald’s heirs. It may come as a surprise that the book is only now, 95 years after first publication, losing its copyright. Indeed, this century-long delay speaks to greater issues with U.S. copyright law. To be clear, copyright has its place, 26 | ISSUE 3 | FEB RUA RY 2 6, 2 0 2 0

and artists and authors ought to have some legally enforced ownership over their work. I’m more likely to put time and effort into my book if I know my neighbor won’t be able to republish it and sell it under his name. But writing is no solitary pursuit, and inspiration, adaptation, allusion, parody and remix make up the bedrock of the modern American bookscape. If copyright is taken too far, authors cannot build off of each other’s work, hurting authors and hampering literary innovation. It is crucial, then, that we find the right balance between protecting creators and promoting this innovation. Perhaps the most important part of this equation is how long copyright should last, and that’s where today’s copyright law most transparently fails us. For example, a work created after 1978 remains in copyright even after its author dies—70 years after, to be exact. If J.K. Rowling or Stephen King were to die today, you wouldn’t see their works liberated from the shackles of copyright until 2091. (In the case of “Gatsby,” a hard 95-year copyright term was grandfathered in from the laws in place in 1925.) Of course, traditional property ownership also doesn’t end after death, as any old-money East Egg resident can tell you. But intellectual property is fundamentally different from other forms of property in that it can be reproduced and redistributed at no cost beyond that of the medium itself. Thus, copyright needs to exist only to incentivize authors to create their work in the first place. What, then, is the point of copyright if there’s no author around anymore? In the face of so many other problems

in America and abroad, copyright reform might seem like a trivial or inconsequential issue. Who cares if you have to wait a few years before being able to cash in on your Nick Carraway fan fiction? On a more fundamental level, though, our democracy relies on a rich, vibrant and, most importantly, free marketplace of ideas. A system of copyright as restrictive as ours only stifles and suffocates that marketplace. Copyright is, to be sure, an immensely complicated issue, and there won’t be any quick fixes. Still, change is possible. Donate to Creative Commons and other groups that work to expand the public domain. Call on U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers to push for meaningful reform the next time Congress revisits the law. Become a pirate. Make your voice clear: oppressive copyright law must go. In the meantime, though, we can only celebrate the years ahead for “Gatsby.” As Nick Carraway tells us, “we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

BY JAMES UNDERWOOD, ’23 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @UAARLINGTONIAN

Gambits, Glamour and Green Pills How Scott Frank’s “The Queen’s Gambit” turns a queen into a sacrifice.

GRAPHIC BY MORGAN PLAGENZ, ‘21.

ambit: “a device, remark, or opening action with a degree of risk that is calculated to gain an advantage.” “The Queen’s Gambit” is a popular Netflix miniseries written and directed by Scott Frank. Before becoming an online sensation, the captivating story filled all 322 pages of Walter Tevis’ 1983 novel of the same name. The Netflix adaptation, starring Anya Taylor-Joy as chess prodigy Beth Harmon, revolves around the themes of addiction, depression and genius. The series opens on Beth as a young girl in Kentucky’s Methuen Home orphanage. Surrounded by unfamiliar girls and

territory, she escapes to her refuge: the 64 squares of a chess board. Under the direction of Methuen’s janitor, Mr. Shaibel (Bill Camp), Beth quickly grows into a formidable chess player. It is at Methuen that both Beth’s passion for chess and her addiction begin. In typical 1960s fashion, the girls at the orphanage are fed two sedatives every morning: one green and one red. When taken before bed, the green pills unlock a new world for Beth: a world where she can envision chess wherever she goes. Her hallucinations, while carrying her to greatness, come at a cost. Throughout the series, her addiction and genius are locked in a complicated dance. Beth is later adopted by the Wheatley family, consisting of a distant husband and a traumatized wife. Shortly after the adoption, Allston Wheatley (Patrick Kennedy) abandons Beth and his wife, Alma (Marielle Heller). Left with an unstable adoptive mother and virtually free rein, Beth quickly moves through the chess ranks with a pill in one hand and a bottle in the other. Chess becomes Beth’s only focus and the Russian player, Vasily Borgov (Marcin Dorocinski), becomes her singular target. Aided by green pills and the occasional help of comrade Benny Watts (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), Beth defeats grandmaster after grandmaster. Her final face-off against Borgov is both the series’ climax and ending. The series stays true to its title. Beth is clearly the

BY MEGHAN BEERY, ‘21

queen, moving along the board as a lone, imposing figure. The show portrays her as a glamorized loner, a role typically reserved for men in cinematic depictions ( Jack Reacher, Batman, James Bond, etc.). A typical loner is isolated and does not play well with others, whereas a glamorized loner moves through the world independently, charming everyone they meet along the way. In this way, Beth’s standoffish behavior does not alienate her peers; instead it draws them to her. Whether purposeful or unintended, the aspect creates an interesting role-reversal. Gambit is also an apt description for Beth’s behavior and the entire series. Playing chess requires gambits: risky sacrifices to gain advantages. In chess, the queen’s gambit strategy involves risking a queen-side pawn to gain more control of the center of the board. Issues arise when Beth translates that idea into her life. To achieve genius, she believes that she must risk madness. Instead of sacrificing a pawn, she sacrifices herself. W W W . A R LING T O NIA N. COM | 27

My Name is Matthew After fifteen years, I am ready to be my true self.

GRAPHIC BY LUCY O’BRIEN, ‘22.

am transgender. If you do not know what that means, I will clarify. Being transgender means you do not identify with the gender you were assigned at birth. For example, I was assigned female at birth and given the name Mia by my parents. However, I now identify as a young man and go by Matthew instead. Looking back, the clues were there. There was something out of place, making me uncomfortable. Don’t get me wrong, I was not stuck in the wrong body or mentally tortured, despite how the media portrays transgender people. There was just something off. Due to the strict gender stereotypes in our society, it was difficult to navigate this. I possessed many typically masculine traits, but I also enjoyed many activities that are deemed to be feminine. I want to clarify that activities and traits are not gendered, society has just conditioned it as so. Nevertheless, these gender roles made me feel trapped. I realized that no one naturally fits these stereotypes, and that everyone is a different combination of traits and identities. Still, I grappled with myself, trying to figure out what was wrong. I eventually discovered the transgender community, but even then I doubted myself. Was I transgender enough? Did I fit the requirements? However, I realized; there are no requirements. There is no 28 | ISSUE 3 | FEB RUA RY 2 6, 2 0 2 0

checklist or quiz. There is no right or wrong way to be transgender. Even after realizing this, I was still hesitant. Some people, possibly even people I know, may reject who I truly am. I weighed the risks against the rewards and decided that living as who I truly am is more important than being rejected by others. As the saying goes, those who matter don’t care and those who care don’t matter. My parents, grandparents, brother and friends have

BY MATTHEW DORON, ‘23

been more supportive than I could have ever imagined. After 15 years, it’s not easy calling someone by a new name and new pronouns, but they are trying. People putting in effort to call me by my correct name and pronouns brings happiness to my heart. The key is to put in effort. It

means so much. I also want to take this opportunity to draw attention to the disproportionate rates of violence against Black transgender women. These women, along with Indigenious and Latina women, are the victims of the majority of the violence aimed at the LGBTQ+ community. On the occasion that their murders are reported on, they are typically misgendered and disrespected by the media while their murderers are often set free due to the legal strategy of “gay/trans panic” a defense strategy that uses the sexual orientation or gender identity of the victim as an excuse for violence against them, such as murder. I have, and always will be, an advocate for the transgender community. As I am now part of this community, it seems even more important that I use my privilege to help and protect others who are vulnerable. Despite changing my name, I still love the name Mia. I was named after my late aunt Mira to honor her. Instead of using my namesake to honor her, I am going to use my life. I am going to honor her by carrying my name, both first and last, throughout my life with my head held high. My name is Matthew Doron, and I am proud. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @UAARLINGTONIAN

Addicting Algorithms

The reason I can’t seem to delete TikTok.

GRAPHIC BY LUCY O’BRIEN, ‘22.

ikTok, a social media platform that allows users to share short videos, was originally released in September 2016. In January 2021, the app has still continued to grow to the point where there are around 800 million users on the platform, according to BusinessOfApps. The user base is clearly expansive, but it’s not only that the user base is large, it’s the amount of time that the users spend on the app. I am a user on TikTok and I often find myself spending multiple hours per day mindlessly scrolling through the multimedia platform. The average user spends about 52 minutes per day on the app, according to Omnicore, and the largest part of that user base is between the ages of 16 and 24. TikTok is more often than not for me at least, used as a procrastination tool or a distraction from productivity which can be a detriment to school work and minimizes potential in the classroom as well.

The app is not typically used just once in a day as 90% of users open the app more than once a day according to Omnicore. This causes users to continually use it as a distraction when they could otherwise be productive. I often would rather go on TikTok than do my work and that usually leads me to falling behind or just not doing the assignment and saving it for a later time which inevitably leads to the same situation where I just end up scrolling through TikTok again. UA High School senior Andrew Sexton shared some of the same thoughts that I have about TikTok. “I do think that TikTok is helpful as a form of entertainment or a platform for people who are looking to grow quickly on social media,” he said. “For me, though, it is often incredibly distracting and it can be difficult to get work done because I am spending way too much time on the app.” There’s more to the app than just simply being a distraction mechanism, though; the further I became curious about this topic and what the situation with the app was, I found that TikTok uses a form of psychology to entertain its users. They use random reinforcement which means sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. An article published by Forbes compared the formula on TikTok to a Vegas slot machine. Sexton also mentioned this as being one of the main reasons for the amount of time he spends on the app. “I feel that is what keeps me engaged. The videos that pop up on my for you page are things I am interested in and things I find funny so I never really got bored of the app. It does cause me to be

BY CAMERON SMITH, ‘21

distracted though.” This describes how I feel, too. The real reason I continue to scroll is because when I am drawn to a short video, it is engaging and then can lead me down a rabbit hole of looking further into that account and other short videos on that account from just watching one video. This means that I spend more and more time on the app, which is seemingly one of the app’s main goals. The app truly has something that everyone can enjoy with videos ranging from unusual life hacks to cooking videos to obscure memes. The videos that are posted on the app are the main contribution to the lottery system which TikTok thrives on. Sexton also said that the app is a “mix of both good and bad because it is great for entertaining and a good way to waste time, but often times I find myself wasting hours on it” There are pros and cons to TikTok, as there are most things, but limiting the amount of time on the app can help prevent lack of motivation while also providing some short term entertainment.

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By the Numbers

Explore UAHS through statistics. COMPILED BY MATTHEW DORON, ‘23. GRAPHICS BY MORGAN PLAGENZ, ‘21.

0.3%

8,000

of Upper Arlington is Black. This is according to the 2020 US Census Bureau which also stated that the city is 90.1% white.

1925

marked the year that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel, The Great Gatsby, was published. It entered public domain at the start of this year.

EIGHT in EIGHT

square feet of mezzanine space is in the high school building. The new building is well under way and will be open in the fall. This makes the Class of 2022 its first graduating class.

395,000

square learning will be dollars feet wereofallotted inspace 1955 to in the newbodies high school The excavate from building. underneath Student Innovation Team was able UAHS construction. This year, moretowere tour this space earlier thisthe year. removed with help from district.

pieces make up a chess set. The Queen’s Gambit, a Netflix series about a chess prodigy, became extremely popular upon its release.

Eight students respond to a question in eight words. COMPILED BY MATTHEW DORON, ‘23.

How are you handling the cold temperatures? Wearing sweatpants and hoodies and drinking hot cocoa. FRESHMAN MARIA GILLIE

Drinking hot tea, taking hot showers and naps. FRESHMAN MASON PAIDER

Nice boots, snow shovels and lots of naps. SOPHOMORE EDITH LEBLANC

Cold days feel cold. I dislike it significantly.

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SOPHOMORE CATO WEISBERG

I enjoy snow days but not the cold. JUNIOR AMANDA PETERS

Mostly well, but I almost got frostbite recently. JUNIOR SAM OZELLO

Huddling together like penguins—respectful of social distancing. SENIOR PAUL GONCIULEA

Fuzzy socks, fuzzy blankets, and dreaming about summer.

SENIOR ABBY VITALI

The American Way

Defining and discussing political and moral lines is imperative to our education.

we can still just power off our phones and avoid experiencing any more difficult conversations that make us question even our own actions. Unless we bring Parisian salons or English intellectual coffee houses into the new year, there are few opportunities to bridge political divides and bring back friendly civic debates about tax cuts, social services and military spending. That is, unless we bring these political discussions into the classroom, where teachers can create a conversation about diversity and where empathy can be taught. Even more, we must begin creating unity with mutual respect, and yes, that includes acknowledging each other’s pronouns and sexual orientation because identity shouldn’t be political. Maybe it’s the nostalgia from the 2012

mock presidential election held at Barrington Elementary, but it’s easy to miss the days when politics had little to do with government insurrections and more to do with the economy. Until we get back to that point, we can try our best to mend relations by just taking even a moment to attempt to understand each other rather than labeling each other as either a “liberal snowflake” or a “right-wing fascist.” As cliched as it might be, maybe the idiom, “walk a mile in my shoes” is overused for a reason. Now might be the perfect time for the country to come together, under a new president, facing polar vortexes and a seemingly never-ending pandemic because nothing is more unifying than a shared struggle. That’s supposed to be the American way, right?

EDITORIAL CARTOON BY MORGAN PLAGENZ, ‘21.

eing tasked with writing a staff editorial about racism is harder than you may think. While the obvious choice would be to write a couple of paragraphs about how we as a community need to overcome racism (which is a statement we at Arlingtonian all support), those who are reading this most likely also agree with us, and frankly, there’s no purpose in repeating what we already know. Therein lies the issue with this movement toward diversity, equity and inclusion—particularly in Upper Arlington: we’re only preaching to those who already support it. Everyone who attends seminars and discussions on racism and inclusion agrees that the culture in Upper Arlington needs to be changed. Since nobody wants to have their ideals proved wrong, those who disagree with a move toward inclusion aren’t going to be participating in these vital conversations. So that leaves us with one question: How do we reach across political lines to begin fostering these discussions? As unpopular as this sounds, maybe social media isn’t the great communication tool we as a society have been waiting for to solve our problems. Sure, reposting Instagram stories on political correctness can’t hurt, but it’s only informative to those who take the time to look at it rather than just scrolling or tapping to the next post. While criticizing our favorite celebrities for their mistakes may be entertaining for a day, the discourse in the Twitter replies only serves to create even more division between the far-left and far-right, leaving those of us in the middle at a loss. Although we have created a culture where being canceled on social media is a form of modern day exile, when things get too heated online,

BY EDITORIAL BOARD

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