Arlingtonian vol. 6 2021-2022

MARCH 31, 2022

VOLUME 85, ISSUE 6

ARLINGTONIAN E X T R A! E XTRA! CUR R ICULARS: UAH S S TUD E NT L IFE READ NOW ON PAGE 14

TO MASK OR NOT TO MASK READ NOW ON PAGE 8

IT IS TIME TO ACT

READ NOW ON PAGE 28

IN THIS ISSUE FEATURES, NEWS & NOTES

Norway to UA Norwegian foreign exchange student adjusts to school in UA.

Word(le) on the Street Observing the obsessive nature around the new linguistic puzzle, Wordle.

The Friday Melody

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An inside look into Music Fridays at UAHS. Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My! Two students toggle between UAHS and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

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A Lot on the Plot Despite delays, the construction projects south of UAHS continue to make progress.

SPOTLIGHT

Extra! Extra! Curriculars

SPORTS

It Is Time To Act

Sports at a Glance

Columnist shares his opinion on the war in Ukraine.

An Oscar for the Ages

Two columnists watched every movie nominated for Best Picture; here are some of the best and the worst.

Lou’s Reviews: Forno

Columnist deems Forno Restaurant, “a slice of Italy.”

ON THE COVER

GRAPHIC AND DESCRIPTION

BY LUCY O’BRIEN, ’22.

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F

26

ARL Athletes

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EDITORIAL

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or this issue of Arlingtonian, I drew the cover in a completely different style than I had been projecting this entire school year.

I took elements of the spotlight, centering

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Caroline Langmeyer and Leah Meyer

A School of Many Talents

Let's appreciate the array of activities UA students do.

around academic and musical programs at the high school, and applied a sketched and roughed style to create three different people, each involved in their own club (band, debate and

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A look into the balance between academics, athletics and the arts within UAHS. OP-ED

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orchestra). In the back, I created a simple pattern of a text bubble, music note and ribbon, to add more to the illustration without taking too much away from the portraits in the center.

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EDITOR’S NOTE

P

ost plane rides and road trips, beach Instagram photos and family Snapchats, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and stayat-home spring break plans, quarter four is here. In the past couple of weeks, we have heard “finish strong” sentiments from teachers and gotten back into our routines of school, homework, sleep and repeat. That is, of course, with the added pressure of looming AP/ IB exams, college decision letters and finals.

But in the midst of this new round of assignments and due dates, I ask that you find time in your life to play. This time can look different for everyone. Some students run on the track; others build robots. Some draw in Art Therapy Club; others dance at BalletMet. Some solve the daily Wordle with their friends; others binge Euphoria on HBO. I encourage you to dive into an activity that gets your creative juices flowing or simply gives you a chance to feel relaxed and present. These activities are important to our mental health as we head to the finish line.

In this issue, we explore some of these activities. On page five, writer Gracie Helfrich discusses the Wordle craze, and on page 10, writer Ellie Crespo shares how two students split their time between UAHS and the zoo. On page 14, writers Brooke Mason, Greta Miller and Safia Malhotra explore how students in all types ARLINGTONIAN EDITOR IN CHIEF of activities at UAHS are celebrated. As you read about these activities, I hope you think about the ones that bring you the most joy in life regardless of how they build up your resumes and college applications, and I hope you appreciate all of the unique talents of your peers. Even if you can’t cheer on the debaters in the same way as the basketball team or dress up to watch an orchestra concert the same way you can for a football game, I encourage you to send well wishes and congratulations to the students who are not involved in athletics but pursuing similarly awesome activities. Go Bears!

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ARLINGTONIAN VOLUME 85 | 2021-2022 March 31, 2022, ISSUE 6 EDITOR IN CHIEF

Callia Peterson MANAGING EDITORS

Matthew Doron James Underwood COPY EDITOR

Brooke Mason ARTS EDITOR

Lucy O’Brien MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

Ava Adamantidis WEBSITE MANAGER

LAYOUT MANAGER

Greta Miller

Ellie Crespo

STAFF WRITERS

PHOTO MANAGER

George Bernard Antonia Campbell Luke Eriksen Elena Fernandez Fia Gallicchio Gracie Helfrich Safia Malhotra Iris Mark Lucy Miller Carly Witt

Bella VanMeter

BUSINESS ASSOCIATES

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Austin Henley Hayden Kegg Lauren Leff Krish Mawalkar Alexander Wilkins Zac Yoakam

SPORTS CORRESPONDENTS

Jack Diwik Julia Molnar

Jayden Banks Héloïse Dutel Sarah McCulloch Bridget Mitchell Jack Tatham GRAPHIC ARTISTS

Daphne Bonilla Ryn Card Molly Hench Caroline Kegg Megan McKinney Ava Neville

BUSINESS MANAGER

Parker Badat

MULTIMEDIA CONTRIBUTORS

Lauren Buehrle Elizabeth Goth Grant Overmyer

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Arlingtonian is provided free to all UAHS students and staff with contributions from the generous people and businesses below.

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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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Norway to UA

Norwegian foreign exchange student adjusts to school in UA.

BY SAFIA MALHOTRA, ’24. GRAPHICS DAPHNE BONILLA ’22.

T

he “Gateway to The Arctic” refers to the city of Tromsø, Norway, that rests on the coast of the Arctic Ocean, just outside of the Arctic Circle. This mystical Scandinavian city has a polar night period in which the sun does not rise, allowing for the infamous northern lights to dance across the vast arctic sky. While Tromsø seems rather transcendent, for junior Eskil Ringkjøb it is simply home.

Ringkjøb moved to UA on Aug. 11, 2021, and currently lives with Rachelle and Dave Nowlin as well as their two children Brody and Adeline Nowlin. The family hosted Ringkøb’s older brother in the past. Ringkøb worked through the AFS Intercultural Programs not-for-profit organization in order to spend his junior year of high school in the US, and those costs were covered by the Norwegian government.

To reach his final destination of UA, he embarked on a 40-hourlong journey, in which he traveled from Tromsø to Columbus, with layovers in Oslo, Amsterdam and Detroit. This trip covered a distance of approximately 5,982 miles.

“When I first got here it was very emotional because I had just traveled 6000

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miles away from my family and my home,” Ringkjøb said. “As exciting as it is, you know, it’s hard.”

With the Nowlins having hosted Ringkjøb’s older brother during the 20172018 school year, the families became friends, and for Ringkjøb living with them was not the daunting experience one might expect from an exchange program.

“It’s kind of weird because it doesn’t feel like they’re my family, but yet at the same time I love them and stuff because I’ve known them for so long,” Ringkjøb said.

Despite this, Ringkjøb was still faced with new cultural experiences, especially within his new home.

“My host mom is super extroverted,” Ringkjøb said. “And that’s really weird for me because, like, on a normal day in Norway, the only time I would talk to my parents was when we were eating dinner.”

Eight days after his arrival, Ringkjøb started as a junior at UAHS, taking on a bountiful course load with classes such as AP Biology, Honors Chemistry and Precalculus; his credits will transfer back to Kvaløya Videregående Skole, his school in Norway.

“It’s odd, doing school in America,” ◀ FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL Ringkjøb said.

“Because to pass Ringkjøb poses school in Norway in front of the Nowlins’ house is much easier on his first day of but to get good junior year. grades in Norway PHOTO COURTESY is much, much ESKIL RINGKJØB harder.”

This is one of many “cultural clashes,” as Ringkjøb describes them, that he had to face upon his arrival to America.

“I think for me the weirdest cultural clash was driving. That’s not something we do in Norway; we use public transportation,” he said. “And if we drive, we have electric cars, like you look down the road and it’s just Teslas.”

For Ringkjøb, one of the hardest parts about living in the USA is being thousands of miles away from his friends and family back in Tromsø. To mitigate this, Ringkjøb has taken advantage of different social media platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram and Discord to stay in touch with people in Tromsø.

“I think that my relationships with people back home have gotten better, stronger,” Ringkjøb said. “Because, like, now they miss me, and they wouldn’t miss me if I were still there.”

Now, although three quarters through the 2021-2022 school year at UAHS, Ringkjøb will be returning home within the next few months to finish his senior year.

“I came to the States because I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn about culture and stuff,” Ringkjøb said. “And I get to use Amazon. I think Amazon is the best part about America.”

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Word(le) on the Street

Observing the obsessive nature around the new lingustic puzzle, Wordle.

BY GRACIE HELFRICH, ’23. GRAPHICS BY MEGAN MCKINNEY, ’22.

K

eeping people’s minds occupied is not a challenge in today’s world; devices at their fingertips present countless possibilities for entertainment.

A recent phenomenon among students is a new online game, Wordle. Wordle is a linguistic puzzle game where players attempt to guess the daily word through trying different words until the right answer is found. The player enters a word, and each letter lights up to indicate whether or not that letter is in the final word and whether or not it is in the right spot. The catch is the player has only six attempts.

Daily loyalty is a pattern that is familiar to the Wordle fan base.

“I do [Wordle] every morning,” sophomore Mac Igoe said.

The ability to consistently play Wordle may be halted in the future. Wordle was recently purchased by The New York Times for $1 million dollars which has sparked conversations regarding the future of Wordle. In a statement from The New York Times, the news organization said Wordle would remain free initially.

However, there has been speculation regarding the future of Wordle.

“I did hear the New York Times might make it a subscription or something,” Igoe said.

This uncertainty leaves Wordle players with a lot of unanswered questions, mainly raising concerns over whether the game would continue to be free to play.

However, considering The New York Times offers other free games, paying for Wordle may not be cause for concern for Wordle players.

“It should be free to play,” junior Clark Pabst said. “That would suck if we had to pay to play a simple game like Wordle.”

Some speculate The New York Times has made the game more difficult as well.

“The New York Times bought it and ever since then it’s so hard,” sophomore Gabe Miller said.

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Other students feel the same way.

“People are just saying like, ‘Since The New York Times bought it, it got like five times harder,’” Igoe said.

Some days the correct word is more challenging than others.

“Like recently there was a hard one. It was like ultra. I almost failed. It was hard,” Igoe said.

The challenging nature of some puzzles causes the game to be more time consuming than intended. Josh Wardle is a software engineer who created Wordle.

According to Wardle, a Wordle isn’t

supposed to take more than three minutes.

However, Miller said it takes him longer than that. “[It takes] five minutes [to] 10 minutes,” Miller said.

Despite how non-arduous the game is, the player is limited to one round a day.

Most online games do not have a limit, let alone a limit of one round a day. This makes Wordle different from competing games. However, some UAHS students are still interested in similar alternatives.

“Sometimes I’ll be dabbling in some Words With Friends,” Igoe said.

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The Friday Melody

An inside look into Music Fridays at UAHS.

BY CARLY WITT, ’23. GRAPHICS BY CAROLINE KEGG, ’24.

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very week, students walk the same paths to their next classes, but on Fridays, there’s music flowing through the air in the halls. Junior Sammie Hart walks among them, but she and fellow junior Leela Mullins have the responsibility of selecting and preparing the music every week.

The Friday tradition began this year with Hart and Mullins being elected as student council class officers.

“Mrs. Brown asked Leela and I one day if we would help picking music,” Hart said.

At first, Hart said the idea was exciting and felt extremely special; however, her thoughts started to change once she and Mullins began the actual process.

“We were like, ‘Oh my God, we get to make the music. This is such a big deal.’ As times gone on, it’s super time consuming, and we get a lot of hate for it,” Hart said.

The process of finding songs that

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meet the lyric and time requirements of the school’s rules as well as downloading them as MP3s in order to be loaded into the bell schedule has proven to be a harder challenge than they had originally anticipated.

“We’ll text back and forth, kind of like ideas for songs we want to do. And then we ourselves check the songs. There cannot be any references to sex, drugs, alcohol, anything illegal or sexual,” Hart said.

However, a lot of modern music has lyrics with these themes. Hart and Mullins are also not allowed to choose songs with religious affiliations, prematurely ending the holiday theme they were planning.

“We wanted to do Christmas music.

And we’re like, ‘This week is going to be so easy.’ We had so many Christmas songs picked out. One of them was ‘Let It Snow,’ but you can’t have any songs referencing holidays like Christmas,” Hart said.

Mullins has experienced some positive feedback from students and staff; she has also seen people singing along or dancing to the music.

“To our faces it’s always nice things. The student council and our friends always tell us when they like a song,” Mullins said.

Some students believe the Friday music serves as a fun motivator at the end of the week.

“I think [Hart and Mullins] add to the school environment,” sophomore Helen Harder said. “It’s a unique thing UA does, and

it’s fun to see kids and teachers kind of dancing around to the music in the halls and classrooms.”

However, the two juniors have also experienced negativity and criticism.

“So we would hear like, ‘Oh my god, this song makes me want to like jump out of the building,’” Hart said.

Although they receive and experience different sorts of feedback, they said they still enjoy the independence and choice to pick the mood and theme for different weeks. In the future, Hart said she hopes to incorporate more themes and student suggestions into the song selections.

“We wanted to start doing like a 1970s week, 2000s week, songs like that,” Hart said.

“We also want to plan some special music for the seniors for the last couple weeks of school,” Mullins added.

Some other students enjoy the addition of themes and different styles of music as well.

“My favorite theme they did was when they played a bunch of oldies,” Harder said. “I would play anything by Taylor Swift or the Lumineers if I had the choice.”

Some view the Friday music playing in between classes as adding an enjoyable, upbeat atmosphere to hallways normally just filled with student conversations.

“It definitely gives everyone a pickme-up. I mean, it’s funny to see people singing; you’re dancing in the hallways.

And I think the music just kind of gets you ready for the weekend,” Hart said.

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To Mask or Not To Mask Students and staff can now choose whether they want to wear a mask or not.

BY GRACIE HELFRICH, ’23. GRAPHIC BY MEGAN MCKINNEY, ’22.

O

n Feb. 28, the COVID-19 mask mandate was lifted from UA Schools; students and staff now have the option not to wear a face covering in school buildings. The school board voted to revoke the mandate on Feb. 8 in a 4-1 decision. The sole opposing vote was from board member Nidhi Satiani.

Despite masks not being required, some UAHS students still opt to wear them.

“I would say like some classes it’s as much as 90% [wearing masks] but other classes it’s more like 30[%], so it just depends I guess,” junior Katniss Weisberg said.

Freshman Grayson Campbell chooses to wear a mask.

“I think it’s your personal choice of whether or not you want to wear a mask,” Campbell said.

He is not the only mask-wearing student who has this opinion.

“I don’t really care if people wear them or not,” junior Katie Sims said, along with junior Gillian Clark.

“I think it’s fine that people choose to not wear masks, but personally I just feel more comfortable wearing mine,” Clark said.

According to Dr. Joseph Allen, director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard University’s T. H. Chan School of Public Health, an N95 mask on one person protects that person more than two people each wearing a surgical mask. 95% of airborne particles are filtered through one N95 mask on one individual, compared to 91% filtered through one surgical mask each on two separate individuals. Therefore the effectiveness of masks depends on the type of mask and whether a person wears one at all. Still, the more people who wear masks, the more overall protection there is. That belief is echoed by numerous UAHS students.

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“I think that I do believe that [those not wearing masks are] making the wrong decision, but I don’t think that’s a reason to hate people. I’ve been seeing a lot of hate around non-maskers, but I feel like instead of the hate we should just be positively encouraging people to wear masks,” Weisberg said.

Freshman Noah Dombrowski had a similar sentiment on anger surrounding people’s decisions to wear or not to wear masks.

“I also think it’s a personal choice. I kind of wish people would, but honestly I won’t be mad if they don’t [wear a mask],” Dombrowski said.

Wearing a mask is not a fluid decision.

Each student chooses to either wear a mask or not to wear a mask, but this decision is made based upon each student’s various perspectives and needs.

Sophomore Lucy Devine opts not to wear a mask at school.

“It’s easier to breathe, and they haven’t really been helping with COVID or anything, so it’s no different,” Devine said.

Devine also said wearing a mask is physically uncomfortable as it hurts her ears.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The World Health Organization have both released information that contradicts Devine’s statement regarding the effectiveness of masks in preventing COVID-19.

Senior John Pritchett shares similar

reasons to Devine as to why he doesn’t wear masks.

“I just don’t like something being on my face all the time,” Pritchett said.

Senior Riley Shrimp concurs.

“It’s kind of just physically uncomfortable. I mean it’s not the end of the world but,” Shrimp said.

Those who wear masks have various reasons why they choose to wear one during school. A common theme among these students is that they wear masks for the benefit of others.

“I know there’s kids at our school that are immunocompromised, and I want to create a safe environment for them,” Weisberg said.

Other students who choose to wear a mask do it for their family members, whom they live with.

“There’s someone in my household that has a condition, so if they get it, it’s not good,” Sims said.

While Sims wears a mask to protect others, some students wear masks in order to have the opportunity to participate in activities that couldn’t be completed if you had COVID-19.

“I’m going on vacation which got canceled last year because one of my sisters got COVID, so we’re just taking extra precautions, so we can actually go this year. If we didn’t really have to worry about that I maybe might not be wearing it,” Dombrowski said.

Despite UAHS formerly having a mask mandate in place, some students disregarded the mandate. Freshman Ryan Lider was one of those students.

“I hate wearing them so much, and I barely wore mine when we were supposed to so why would I wear it when we don’t have to?” Lider said.

Every student has their own opinions, experiences and thoughts that shape their decision making. The decision of wearing a mask is not an exception to this notion.

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Marching for Masks

A group of UAHS students protested last month against the school board’s decision to repeal the mask mandate.

STORY BY JAMES UNDERWOOD, ’23.

PHOTO BY BELLA VANMETER, ’22.

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Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Two students toggle between UAHS and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

BY ELLIE CRESPO, ’22. GRAPHICS BY MOLLY HENCH, ’22.

E

very morning, seniors Sam Wilson and Tova Stewart put on their khakis, pack their backpacks and temporarily abandon UAHS’s traditional learning style as they head to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium to join their roughly twenty Zoo School classmates.

Zoo School is a vocational program for juniors and seniors in high school who have a special interest in zoology, research, statistics, technology and the animal kingdom. Students conduct research projects, take zoology courses, assist animal caretakers and look after animals in one of 10 internship locations at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium: North America, Asia Quest, Heart of Africa, Australia & The

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Islands, Animal Encounters Village, Pachyderms, Manatee Coast & Shores, Mussels Facility and the Ohio Wildlife Center. Depending on the day, Wilson and Stewart may spend their mornings attentively studying goats, giraffes, rats, birds or a variety of other animals.

Currently, Zoo School senior students are training goats.

“We have teams to train the goats, and my team is [training] Ginseng. He’s one of the older goats, so he already knows his name, [how] to come when called, and he knows how to [touch his nose to a] target,” Wilson said. “We’re going to have a goat Olympics at the end of the year to see whose [goat has] gotten the farthest [in progress].”

When Wilson isn’t in their zoology class or training Ginseng, they’re at the Ohio Wildlife Center, an off-site internship location. There, they care for rats, snakes, box turtles, frogs and birds.

“I was interested in the Ohio Wildlife Center because I really want to work with wild raptors and rehabilitation and conservation research, that kind of stuff.

And I thought that would give me a good base for the kind of animals that I want to work with personally,” Wilson said.

“It’s been a lot of fun.”

While Wilson is at the Ohio Wildlife Center, Stewart stays at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

“I work with the giraffes in Heart of Africa, which is really fun,” she said.

The Zoo School program is broken up

into two years, the first being more research-oriented than the second.

Students complete their minor and major theses during the first year of Zoo School.

“We have to pick an animal we want to write about, and we have to do a lot of research. It takes about six months to do that, and then, we have a big presentation at the end of it,” Stewart said. “I did a sand cat; it’s like a really sweet little cat. I wrote about how they use their area… and what they can do to improve it.”

Wilson did their first research project on river otters to see if there’s a significant relationship between weather and their activity level; however, the paper was inconclusive. Wilson’s second project was centered around tree kangaroos.

“We came up with our own study that we wanted to do and [we] proposed this study to the zoo, saying like, ‘This is the study that I want to do [and] this is how I plan on doing it.’” Wilson said.

“A second part of the study, which was conclusive, [was] to see if there was an area of the habitat that they used more than others. There was, and they tended to favor [certain] areas [in the enclosure] which is beneficial to the keepers because then they can know where to put enrichment items to make them use other parts of their enclosure.”

As mentioned, Zoo School isn’t just an experiential learning program; students take courses, similar to how UAHS classes are structured.

“It’s like biology but harder,” Stewart said. “It’s a lot of fun—very challenging, but I love it.”

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▶ WILSON IN ACTION Senior Sam Wilson works with animals at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

PHOTOS COURTESY SAM WILSON

two letters of recommendation from their teachers, take a test on statistics, basic genetics and zoology and write an essay explaining why they were qualified to be a member of Zoo School.

Despite the rigor of Zoo School, it still has a negative reputation due to its status as a career tech program. Wilson dislikes the stigma around vocational programs like Zoo School. “[There is] the idea that career tech programs are somehow lesser than regular high school programs when in reality, they’re just different. They’re better for some people, worse for others.

If they work for you then like, that’s great. You should absolutely do it,” they said. “I feel like a lot of people would benefit from them once the stigma [is gone].”

The program isn’t just for aspiring zookeepers; Zoo School is offered to students who want to pursue a career in animal behavior, conservation, ecology education, field research, genetics, marine biology, multimedia production, veterinary science, zoology or human/ animal medicine.

“I know several Zoo School alumni who are in engineering or chemistry [or] research and stuff,” Wilson said. “Just because they figured out through Zoo School that like, yeah, that wasn’t their jam, but they really enjoyed research.”

Similarly, Stewart is unsure of whether or not she wants to continue a career at the zoo.

“I think [Zoo School] helped me see what the zookeepers get to do,” she said.

“So I get to see what they do every day, so I’m like ‘Do I really want that? I don’t know.’”

Overall, Wilson recommends that students should apply to Zoo School.

“Don’t be afraid to apply. If you get in you can always decline if you change your mind. Look at it like, it’s not quitting high school,” Wilson said.

“Apply if you’re interested in animals or research. If you’re interested in Zoology come to this program.”

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A Lot on the Plot Despite delays, the construction projects south of UAHS continue to make progress.

BY MATTHEW DORON, ’23. GRAPHICS BY MOLLY HENCH, ’22.

O

nce the previous high school building was demolished and the grounds excavated, the UA School District and Ruscilli Construction began the next step of the district’s “Building Our Future” campaign: building two parking lots, two multi-use athletic fields, a baseball field, a softball field and an outdoor area south of the high school called the Pleasant Litchford Plaza.

According to the district’s website, once these construction projects are finished, “the new high school site and first phase of the community-developed master plan will be completed.”

For many, these projects present exciting new opportunities.

“We’re super excited and really thrilled for the new field. It’s going to have a turf infield which is going to add

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tremendous value to our program,” varsity baseball head coach Sam Clark said. “Being an Ohio school, we [will have] the opportunity to play and not get rained out, which in the springtime, there’s just so many rainouts of games, but more importantly, [of] practice time. So if we don’t have rain-outs as frequently because we have that turf infield, we’ll be able to practice more often… we’ll be able to get outside even if it is raining.”

Clark said the original completion date for the baseball field was March 1, but weather conditions and waiting to receive the turf materials delayed construction.

S LOW LY B U T S U R E LY District Chief Operating Officer Chris Potts said that while the construction projects were making progress in December, issues in January and February halted them.

“I think any time you try to get stuff done during those months, you just don’t know what’s going to happen… The weather has [been awful], whether it’s been frozen ground or torrential rains,” he said. “There’s been really no work happening out there.”

In addition to weather, the construction projects have faced other roadblocks. “[In January] we also had an issue; we [were] dealing with a gas line that was coming into the building where… it wasn’t at the right elevation, and so Columbia Gas had to come back out and [re-install] it back in for this building,” Potts said.

“We recognized that [the gas] line wasn’t low enough. And so that’s why

we didn’t want any work happening out there until that gas line got put back in at the proper elevation.”

With the parking lots specifically, Potts said, the availability of materials is another obstacle.

“We’re waiting for [the parking lots] to dry a little, but asphalt plants don’t open until [the] end of March anyways,” Potts said. “So that’s why there’s been this big pause because we can’t do anything.

We’ll need [to] have concrete curbing and sidewalks and things that need to happen.”

Despite these delays, construction on the new parking lots is scheduled to be completed prior to summer break.

“And there’s a lot of work [to be done], so as the weather gets better, you’ll see a lot of work happening but definitely nothing with parking until end of April [or] beginning of May,” Potts said. “We have some things we have to get done with sidewalks and [making] it accessible for people besides a big muddy mess that it is right now, but that’s what we’re shooting for.”

Potts said he expects all construction to be completed by the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year.

A P L AC E O F R E F L EC T I O N One of the most prominent of the construction projects is the Pleasant Litchford Plaza, an outdoor plaza and green space located on the grounds of the Pleasant Litchford Cemetery.

“Over the last several years and working with the [Litchford] family, doing all the excavations and things that we did on that site, [the cemetery] is really considered sacred ground and the right thing to do [is] to not pave back over and make a parking lot over that area,” Potts said. “Our Board [of Education] in March of 2021 committed funds to really construct an outdoor learning plaza area to honor that cemetery site and honor the history of Upper Arlington… then the City [of Upper Arlington] came on board and wanted to be a part of it as well to honor the family, and so they are contributing funds as well to construct this.”

Potts said that the plaza will be for both learning and reflection as well as for FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @UAARLINGTONIAN

community use.

“Students, staff, community members can reflect in that spot, hang out in that area,” he said. “It’s going to be a combination of concrete and picnic tables and grass and some signage that will tell the story [of Pleasant Litchford].

And so we’re working right now on that signage with the City and with the [Litchford] family.”

Potts also said that the location of the plaza directly on the former cemetery grounds is an important aspect of honoring the Litchford legacy. “[The plaza is] located in that south parking lot so it does impact 85 parking spots, but we just felt honoring our history and our past and telling the story of that sacred ground was important as well.”

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“A H O M E B AS E ” According to Potts, the varsity baseball and softball teams have not been able to host a home game since 2018. Clark said this loss of a home field impacted the varsity baseball team’s culture.

“I think the biggest thing that not having our own space is there’s no room for the guys to hang out and build that relationship and that culture piece which we’re so big on as a program,” he said.

“I think having a home base, no pun intended, gives our guys something to kind of take pride in, their spot to hang out. Building those relationships [between players] and that big piece of building our culture together by them being around each other all the time.”

▲ PLAZA AND PARKING Pictured above is one of two new parking lots being constructed, with the Pleasant Litchford Plaza at the lot’s center. The dotted red line marks the Litchford Cemetery limits.

Potts emphasized that progress still needs to be made before all of the projects are complete.

“Of course the landscape and all those types of things will take time to mature and grow in, so it won’t look as pretty as the renderings when we start, but it will be,” he said. “I just think like everyone else, we’re excited to get parking done for the students and the staff.”

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LIVE IN CONCERT The UAHS orchestra performs their fall concert in the new auditorium.

PHOTO BY BELLA VANMETER, ’22.

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EXTRA! EXTRA! CURRICULARS A look into the balance between academics, athletics and the arts within UAHS.

BY BROOKE MASON, ’22; GRETA MILLER, ’23; AND SAFIA MALHORTRA, ’24.

GRAPHICS BY MEGAN MCKINNEY, ’22 AND DAPHNE BONILLA, ’22.

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EXTRA! EXTRA! CURRICULARS

S

enior Nathan Mark spends most of his time within the walls of UAHS, leaving school later than 8 p.m. most nights. He spent his first semester captaining the UA Men’s Varsity Cross Country team and preparing for the upcoming FIRST Robotics competition season. His second semester is just as busy as it overlaps with both the FIRST Robotics competition season as well as the track and field season. He has dedicated his senior year to making this year’s UAHS FIRST Robotics BearBots team more successful than ever, putting hundreds of hours into developing a robot to get them past regionals and to the 2022 FIRST Robotics Championship.

“Typically I go to track right after school until 5:30, then I go straight from track to robotics until around 8 p.m.,” Mark said.

“When I was a freshman and a sophomore, robotics would go till 9 p.m., and I would often be at school longer than I would be at my own house any given day.”

With the many opportunities that UAHS has to offer, high achieving students who manage rigorous schedules are not a new development. Mark represents one of many who balances his time between athletics, academics and other extracurriculars. However, he and others like him may not receive sufficient recognition or support for their efforts depending on what extracurriculars they partake in.

THE SCHOOL SCENE According to Assistant Director of Student Life Jacob Ramsey, roughly 70% of students at UAHS participate in sports and/or some sort of extracurricular activity. Students at UAHS have the opportunity to participate in any of the 33 sport programs, art programs, choirs, bands and orchestras and the roughly 50 clubs.

With more sports programs than any other high school in Ohio and over 147 state championships, athletics play a large role in the UAHS scene. Director of Student Life Spencer Smith believes that the history of UA’s athletic programs contribute to the popularity of various teams.

“Arlington is one of the oldest schools in central Ohio, so there’s a lot of tradition in sports,” Smith said. “I would say Arlington takes a

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lot of pride, and they grow up, and they love sports and athletics.”

All of the pride and tradition within athletics at UAHS contributes to students’ love of attending games and watching their friends play.

Additionally, the school’s spirit club—the Bear Den—helps bring attention to and support for the various teams.

“Our mission is building Golden Bear spirit [and] Golden Bear pride within our building by means of our athletic program,” Bear Den founder and adviser Chris Hayes said.

With the Bear Den, students are not only showing up to the games, but they are also actively engaged through dressing up in theme, participating in stunts and cheering to support their fellow students Academics is another area of UAHS which students can choose to delve into. With a broad array of options, students are able to choose from on-level, honors, AP, IB, College Credit Plus or career-focused courses. Further, academic options at UAHS are constantly evolving.

Students who enjoy academic-based competitions have the opportunity to participate in a variety of teams at the high school, such as Science Olympiad, Academic Team (In the Know), FIRST Robotics or Speech and Debate. Academic teams and clubs offer a sense of community, collaboration and connection for many students at UAHS. “You know, back when I was in high school, there were athletic teams, and then there really wasn’t a niche for kids who weren’t athletically inclined, so it [In the Know] was a great kind of setting to get to know people and have fun,” adviser of the In the Know Phil Lampe said.

Finally, UAHS offers a variety of music and visual art programs that have different options based on students’ experience.

“We have a wide range of offerings from Digital Design to Ceramics to theater, choir, band or orchestra. Students are able to try out new courses or really delve deep into a medium of their choice,” counselor Heather Peebles said.

Additionally, various arts programs offer unique opportunities that may be lesser known among the student body, including orchestra’s trip to Disneyland and band’s trip to Cedar Point.

“I’m not sure everybody knows the opportunities that they can have like going to New York [with Vocal Ensemble] and stuff like

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EXTRA! EXTRA! CURRICULARS that,” Vocal Ensemble member Grant Overmyer said.

Ultimately, UAHS aims to provide as many opportunities to its students as possible. And if none of the roughly 50 clubs already established at the high school fits a student’s interests, any student at UAHS can start their own club with the help of an adviser or superviser.

“I always encourage students to find their interest and get involved.

High school is a combination of the classes you take, the people you interact with as well as the sports or activities with which you chose to be involved,” Peebles said. “Getting involved is an important way to be connected to our community as well.”

COMMUNITY ENCOURAGEMENT From professional sports to local high school teams, athletics are a huge part of American culture. Fans love attending games, watching athletes play and rooting for their favorite teams. According to Hayes, this peer support for athletics is beneficial for many athletes’ confidence and performance on and off the field, court or pool.

“If I’m taking athletes’ feedback, they love [the support] … You want to perform well because you got your friends watching you and everyone’s eyes on you, and you just perform better,” Hayes said.

UAHS athletes can also attest to the great feeling of support during competitions. Senior Golden Bears Varsity Basketball player Owen Gawel has experienced student sections and acknowledges the positive effects of them.

“Games are always fun, but when there’s a great atmosphere it just

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elevates the level of the game,” Gawel ▲ FALL FOLLIES said. “I feel like we play better when Choir students perform there’s a big crowd, and it definitely a song during the Fall makes things more exciting.”.

Follies program. The Additionally, Emma Morris, one of program took place the the five Bear Den presidents, said the weekend of Oct. 30.

Bear Den encourages overall school PHOTO BY SARAH spirit.

MCCULLOCH, ’23.

“I love going to games and seeing people there supporting their peers and dressing up as the theme with their friends while also being at a school event,” Morris said. “Because I know not every school has the spirit that we do.”

Support from peers and the community can be important for motivation, confidence and performance of players during competitions, according to student athletes interviewed for this story.

As the Bear Den is heavily focused on athletics, there are other areas

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EXTRA! EXTRA! CURRICULARS of the school that tend to get less support during their competitions and events.

When asked about attendance, academic team members and advisers as well as students involved in the arts mentioned a lack of attendance from fellow UAHS students and staff.

“I mean people come watch [FIRST Robotics competitions], but usually they’re just, you know, some other team members or like parents,” Mark said.

Musical performances draw similarly small audiences.

“Sometimes people’s friends come to concerts, but yeah most of the time it’s just parents and siblings,” orchestra member Lydia Britton said.

However, some students who participate in lesser known activities also acknowledge that it is understandable that not as many students come to their events and performances.

“It’s just different because it’s not like, ‘Oh, it’s Friday night. Let’s all go to a choir performance,’” Overmeyer said. “It’s not a football game. It’s just not going to be super exciting. So I mean, we can’t expect to have, you know, the same numbers of attendance and the same level of excitement.”

The Bear Den has considered broadening its scope of support; however, Hayes believes that if Bear Den were responsible for

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supporting and promoting all activities at UAHS, the club could potentially grow to be too big.

“I just feel like if [Bear Den] gets so big to where we are the supporter system for everything, then it’s just kind of like that’s the one club; there is no opportunity for those [non-athletic] clubs to create their own little bit of buzz,” Hayes said. “But I would like to see other students, leaders and potential leaders create similar groups for these types of things.”

HIDDEN ACHIEVEMENTS In addition to receiving less support during events and competitions, the achievements of non-athletic groups may receive less recognition.

“I don't think that many people care about orchestra that much, which is unfortunate because it’s a really good program, and it’s been going on for so long,” Britton said.

All areas of UAHS, including arts and academics, boast impressive achievements. The Speech and Debate Team attending states the weekend of March 5, 2022, is just one example.

“The Speech and Debate team is just a really great group of kids…

Individually, we have a lot of success…” Speech and Debate adviser Adele Vergis said. “We have had Lincoln Douglas debaters in the past

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▶ BEARBOTS IN ACTION

year make the national tournament.

Senior Kun Bai and junior One of our Lincoln Douglas debaters Elliot Snyder collaborate was a state semifinalist last year. during a FIRST Robotics We have a Public Forum [Debate] Team worknight. team that has won a handful of PHOTO COURTESY tournaments this year, and we have ANGELA HATTMAN an Extemporaneous speaker who has won a couple of tournaments too.”

Additionally, Mark and the rest of the UAHS FIRST Robotics BearBots team won the Engineering Inspiration Award at the Buckeye Regional competition and qualified for the 2019 FIRST Robotics Championship during the 2018-2019 school year.

The UAHS orchestras, bands and choirs also attend various competitions; however, less often in the past few years due to COVID-19.

“In sophomore year, we went to districts… we went with the Class A [highest level] piece, and we ended up getting a one, [the highest possible score],” Symphonic Band member Isaac Lute said.

The UAHS Science Olympiad teams have qualified for states about every other year, according to Science Olympiad adviser Bryan Wenger.

In the Know has also had success within the past few years, even winning small scholarships to The Ohio State University.

“We won the tournament one year; those come with scholarships.

The WOSU competition comes with different levels of scholarships to Ohio State,” Lampe said. “We have done well over the years, and I have gotten to know a lot of kids.”

These examples represent only a handful of the many successes within academics and arts at UAHS. All extracurricular activities, including dates and times of when they meet, are posted on the UAHS calendar on the UA Schools website. As seasons continue, both student and administrative attendance is welcomed and appreciated.

FINDING A BALANCE The administrators of UAHS have attempted to keep a balance between athletics, academics and the arts within the school, but for some, there is a perception that this balance is not always intact.

“To be honest, I’m a little disappointed in the lack of focus on STEM resources in the high school compared to athletics and other stuff,” Mark said. “I feel like the administration might be able to give us more in terms of recognition as an organization.”

There is also a sentiment that not only STEM extracurriculars are overshadowed by athletics but the arts as well.

“I think there’s a lot of stress put on mostly athletics whereas the arts department, like theater and band and orchestra, are mostly seen as hobbies instead of like a part of the actual school,” Britton said.

Symphonic band member Issac Lute said that he thinks “the arts are treated a little less fairly than the sports” as well.

The UAHS administration has acknowledged the emphasis of the athletic department, and when building the new school, consulted with students, teachers and out-of-state experts in order to create the most effective and balanced building possible.

The total square footage of the building is approximately 400,000 FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN

square feet with roughly 119,000 of that dedicated to classrooms and other academic areas, 84,000 to athletics and 35,000 to the performing arts department (the remaining 171,000 square feet represents stairs, corridors, bathrooms, administrative offices and nutritional services).

“We spent a lot of time talking to staff members, talking to students and talking to community members,” UAHS Principal Andrew Theado said. “When you think about areas like the Performing Arts Center, a lot of time was spent with the teachers using that space as well as experts who design auditoriums.”

With the new school also comes improved extracurricular facilities.

“They’ve upgraded the band room, the orchestra and choir room and the new Performing Arts Center. It’s very nice to get the new Black Box Theater for the acting and performing arts,” Lute said.

“So they’re definitely, I think, moving towards a more balanced direction.”

Further, the administration intentionally updated Smith’s previous assistant athletic director role to a more inclusive director of student life role at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year.

“Not only is that department overseeing athletics like they have in the past, but also the other extracurriculars, so they can get the same types of support that the athletic side has gotten for a long, long time,” Theado said.

With conscious changes to encourage a balance between the arts, academics and athletics of UAHS, all of the departments can excel, be appreciated and be celebrated.

“Very rarely do you see schools that excel in academics, performing arts and athletics,” Smith said. “And UA is one of the few schools that can say they are at the upper echelon of all three.”

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A R L SPORTS

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SPORTS AT A GLANCE

COMPILED BY JACK DIWIK, ’22 AND JULIA MOLNAR, '22.

UPCOMING GAMES 3/31 - Boys Lacrosse vs.

Saint Charles 4/1 - Boys Lacrosse vs.

New Trier (ILL) 4/1 - Baseball vs. Canal Winchester 4/2 - Softball vs. New Albany 4/2- Boys Volleyball vs.

Bishop Watterson 4/2 - Varsity Track and Field UA Invitational 4/5 - Girls Lacrosse vs.

Olentangy Orange 4/5 - Baseball vs.

Olentangy Berlin 4/6 - Varsity Track and Field @ Westerville North 4/7 - Softball vs. West Jefferson 4/7 - Boys Lacrosse vs.

Olentangy Liberty 4/8 - Baseball vs. Hiliard Bradley

COMMITTED ATHLETES Avery Catalano: Miami University Swim Sam Burns: The Ohio State University Lacrosse Leo Caine: University of Richmond Lacrosse Chris Mazzaferri: University of Richmond Lacrosse Megan Basil: The Ohio State University Tennis Rian Adkins: University of Louisville Lacrosse Ella Devine: Eastern Kentucky University Lacrosse Camryn Callaghan: University of Cincinnati Lacrosse

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UAHS VS. OLHS

On March 5, the Ice Bears got revenge on the number one seeded Olentangy Liberty Patriots, winning the Columbus District Finals 3-2. During the game, the Bears were tied until senior Max Robins scored a last-second goal for the win.

BY JACK DIWIK, ’22. PHOTO BY BELLA VANMETER, ’22.

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◀ THE MIT COMMIT IN ACTION Senior Caroline Langmeyer rounds first base in a game against Westerville South High School.

PHOTO COURTESY FRANK TUTTLE.

ARL ATHLETE

CAROLINE LANGMEYER

BY ANTONIA CAMPBELL, ’22.

M

erely months ago, senior Caroline Langmeyer never would have thought that she’d be where she is now in her softball career. It started when she picked up a glove for the first time 10 years ago.

“I started playing softball when I was seven when my dad signed me up for rec league,” Langmeyer said.

Today, Langmeyer is entering her third season on the UAHS Varsity Softball team, and on Feb. 2 she officially signed to play collegiate softball at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she plans to major in civil engineering.

While Langmeyer has had both highs and lows during her high school softball career, she said COVID-19 was one of the biggest obstacles she and the whole team had to face as she missed her sophomore season in 2020 due to the lockdown.

“It was kind of a big barrier to not have my sophomore season because that would have been my starting varsity season. I feel like we missed out on a lot of time,” Langmeyer said. “Luckily, this past season, my junior season, we did really well and really picked up where we left off.”

In addition to the cancellation of her sophomore season, the pandemic got in the way of Langmeyer’s college recruitment process, since many college recruitment camps were canceled during the summer of 2020. However, she found a silver lining in the cancellations.

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going to a lot of camps the summer after my sophomore year, but since I wasn’t going to a bunch of camps, I had a lot more time to look at schools and really research them,” Langmeyer said.

With the new vaccine and a decrease in COVID-19 cases, Langmeyer was able to attend camps this past summer where she met the MIT softball coach by chance.

“I had been talking to a few coaches and I knew I wanted to go to a good academic school, but I did not think MIT would be an option for me,” Langmeyer said. “I went to a camp in June where my top school [at the time] was, and MIT happened to be there, so I ended up introducing myself to the coach because my dad told me to.

Then, we started emailing.”

Langmeyer took around two months to decide that MIT was where she wanted to spend the next four years. Multiple visits were required to come to that decision.

“I went to a camp that was just for MIT Softball in July and that’s where I got to talk to the coach more. It’s funny because the first time I went there, I didn’t think I liked it, but then I went back for a visit in September to see the school. I got to follow a student around for a day and see what life was like there,” Langmeyer said.

“That’s when I realized how much I liked it there and that it was the right school for me.”

As for this upcoming season, the UAHS team has a vast majority of their players coming back since only three seniors graduated last season.

“We’re very excited because last year we were a pretty young team, but this year we’ve kind of matured as a team and we’ve got good chemistry on the field. Also, we get to go to Myrtle Beach for the first time in three years, so we’re very excited about that,” Langmeyer said.

Although they haven’t been able to attend because of the pandemic for the past two seasons, the baseball and softball teams go to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina over spring break for a tournament. However, due to the pandemic, the trip has been canceled the past two seasons. Langmeyer expressed her excitement for the trip and reflected on the time she went her freshman year.

“We go and, obviously, it revolves around softball, but most of the time we aren’t playing and we’re just bonding as a team. We go to restaurants, hang out, play a lot of Euchre, and go to the beach and have fun,” Langmeyer said.

Overall, Langmeyer said she’s thankful for what playing softball has given her.

“I love all of my teammates, I’ve gotten to meet so many great people through the sport. I also get to go to a school that I love and go to an entirely new place,” she said. “It’s given me new opportunities that I wouldn’t have had without the sport.”

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ARL ATHLETE

LEAH MEYER

BY ELLIE CRESPO, ‘22.

S

enior Leah Meyer grew up a distance runner by way of her marathonrunning father, often going on fivemile jogs with him when she was younger.

Since then, Meyer has abandoned her fondness for distance running; however, her passion for track and field has remained.

“When I was younger, I tried every sport imaginable, and [track] has been the only one that’s stuck,” she said.

In seventh grade, Meyer graduated from solely running with her dad to being a part of the Jones Middle School’s track and field team. There, she discovered her love for running 100, 200 and 400 meter sprints.

Two years later, she tried out for and made the Varsity UAHS Track and Field team and was immediately surrounded by more experienced runners. “[All] freshmen are timid and, you know, a little bit more shy, but I think I got out pretty well,” she said. “A lot of my friends were seniors [my] freshman year, so I think that helped a lot with getting the coaches to know me.”

The following year, she became a varsity captain, but her season was struck

by COVID-19 causing its subsequent cancellation. At the time, the upperclassmen captains sent out regular emails to the runners including workout plans to ensure their readiness to return to practice after the expected two-week break; however, they never returned.

“It all happened so fast. There was no time to really prepare for it,” she said. “I had like really good friends on the team that year; all like seniors, older girls… I was hoping to have the season with them.”

When she came back her junior year, Meyer was met with the responsibility of leading an entire track team alongside her fellow captains after a year without participating in the sport.

“It’s a huge team; there’s like 200 kids,” she said. “For captains, you need to be loud and assertive and helpful and patient FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN

RUNNING THE RACE ▶ Leah Meyer races to the finish line as the anchor of the 4x100 meter relay.

PHOTO COURTESY LEAH MEYER

because there’s some people that don’t know what to do.”

As an underclassman, Meyer formed strong relationships with her older teammates who taught her how to be a good captain. Meyer credits them for her leadership skills, including 2019 UAHS graduate Elizabeth Schueler.

“She was awesome. She was so just like tough, and she was just so strong,” Meyer said. “She was intimidating but nice, you know, and I think that’s how I want to be.”

Meyer applies the skills she learned from her past teammates as a captain while also staying true to her own personality and leadership style.

“Energetic, assertive,” she said. “I talk a lot at practice, and I think I keep everyone like hyped up and energized. I think that’s how [my teammates] would describe me.”

To Meyer, building friendships and bonding with her teammates are the most important aspects of track.

“I love track,” Meyer said. “I love all my teammates; I love my girls. They’re awesome. And our girls team is great. It was great last year. I’m hoping it’ll be even [better] this year.”

Since Meyer is just two months shy of graduating high school, this is her final season of track at UAHS. After high school, Meyer is planning to attend University of Colorado Boulder and will not be able to be a student-coach for the UAHS Track and Field team. So, in her last track season, Meyer wants to make every minute count.

“This season I am excited to have fun as a senior,” Meyer said. “I’m excited to have fun with my good friends and do as best as I can while also enjoying all of it and not being too stressed out [or] getting anxious before races.”

Although Meyer doesn’t plan on continuing her running career in college, her high school track experience will leave a lasting impact.

“Track, to me, is a sense of community at the school,” Meyer said. “You have your track friends, and you build relationships with them, and you become close…

Building [those] relationships is what it means to me.”

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OPINION

Laurel Heaven Columnist reviews singer Mitski’s new indiepop album and comments on its importance.

BY ANTONIA CAMPBELL, ’22. GRAPHICS BY MOLLY HENCH, ’22.

W

hen I arrived at the Schottenstein Center around four years ago with a couple friends, I had one thing on my mind: the fact that I get to see Lorde perform live.

It was Lorde’s 2018 tour for her second album, “Melodrama” (2018), and as a huge fan of hers, I wasn’t particularly interested in who was opening for her show. We found our seats and as I cheered when the lights began to dim, I realized I had never even heard of the singer performing in front of me and neither had any of my friends. It was singer-songwriter Mitski Miyawaki. Her performance was incredible, yet by the time the concert was over, her name became but a deep memory hidden away in my mind.

Years later, I’m now a high school senior scrolling through TikTok, and I noticed there is one recurring song all over my “For You” page: a catchy song titled “Nobody.” I looked at the artist and saw the name “Mitski” on my screen, and it wouldn’t be the last time I came across her music on the app. With the help of TikTok, Mitski’s music from her older albums, mainly “Be The Cowboy” (2018), gained a lot more traction than it had when it was released, and her music became more mainstream as a whole.

Mitski’s fanbase skyrocketed and her fans, old and new, were longing for new music from the indie singer who had announced a break from making music in 2019.

Shockingly, Mitski granted her fans’

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wishes in November 2021 when she announced her new album “Laurel Hell” would be released in February 2022. I was particularly interested in this album as it would be her first album since her new level of fame from TikTok. The moment the album was released, I pressed play.

I’ve listened to the album all the way through multiple times now, and I can say that she gave her fans what they wanted for the most part. The album opens with the song “Valentine, Texas,” which is one of my favorites. It features the iconic Mitski style of slow build-ups from soft, fading sounds to an explosion of instruments and intense synthesizer that creates a feeling of euphoric emotion in the listener. The song is a strong opener and it drew me into the album immediately as I knew I was experiencing the Mitski sound that I could never get enough of.

However, not every song on the album matched the energy of “Valentine, Texas.”

Mitski played with many instruments and sounds on the album which added variety and nuance to the album. This kept my listening experience interesting as not every song sounded the same, and each held their own uniqueness.

Her use of different instruments wasn’t always completely pleasant though; for example, the third song titled “Stay Soft” featured instrumentals that felt out of place and alarming at times. Moreover, I found the entire tone of the song strangely

out of place in the album. It’s possible that this was done purposely though. I could imagine other fans enjoying this song, but it didn’t fit my taste.

Speaking of purposefulness, in an interview on The Zane Lowe Show, Mitski revealed that the name “Laurel Hell” is “a term from the Southern Appalachians in the US, where laurel bushes basically grow in these dense thickets. When you get stuck in these thickets, you can’t get out.

Or so the story goes.” It’s been inferred that the album is based on Mitski’s experience practically leaving the music industry, along with social media, in 2019 but then realizing she was contractually obligated to make a sixth album. The album is meant to discuss her relationship with fame and the darkness associated with it; the industry is the laurel bush and Mitski is stuck in it.

Mitski did an exceptional job creating and exploring those feelings of suffocation in this album, and it is one of those albums where you can hear the amount of effort and pure soul that the artist put into the work.

It is currently unclear on what Mitski’s plans are going forward with music, but whether “Laurel Hell” was her official return, her parting goodbye for good or even something in between, Mitski fans should be grateful for the beautiful, powerful and soul-stirring work of art Mitski gave us.

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OPINION

An Oscar for the Ages

Two columnists watched every movie nominated for Best Picture; here are some of the best and the worst.

BY CARLY WITT, ’23 AND FIA GALLICCHIO, ’22, GRAPHICS BY LUCY O’BRIEN, ’22.

LICORICE PIZZA: 2/5

CODA: 4.5/5

efore “Licorice Pizza” was nominated for any Oscars, it was viewed as controversial due to the disturbing relationship between its two lead characters, the 15-year-old Gary Valentine (played by Cooper Hoffman) and the 25-year-old Alana Kane (played by Alana Haim). At first, Gary has an innocent crush on an older woman, and Alana doesn’t seem to reciprocate.

However, as the movie progresses, Alana shows a mutual display of possessiveness and acts inappropriately.

Some have argued that this is the point of the movie, and the relationship is supposed to be uncomfortable; however, Alana is never treated as if what she is doing is wrong. None of the characters ever call her out and she’s never punished. Additionally, the resolution of the movie suggests that Alana and Gary end up together, as heartwarming music swells.

Regardless of whether this criticism is valid or not, Licorice Pizza is not an enjoyable movie to watch.

Multiple plots and characters are introduced, and then subsequently dropped without a satisfying resolution.

It felt as though the writers didn’t know what plot they wanted, and instead of developing one or two, they tossed them all in. The minor characters appear, with most of them never reappearing again, leaving you to wonder, “What was the point of that?” This creates an indifference towards the movie as time goes on, since the audience knows any new character or plot point will likely end up being unimportant. There were multiple points in the movie where I thought it would end, only to be disappointed as I realized that I was trapped in this eternal hell.

Despite these criticisms, there are some good aspects of the movie. The actors are all exceptionally talented, almost making the bland characters seem interesting and charming (although Alana and Gary do not have even a snippet of romantic chemistry with the disturbing age gap). The movie also takes place in the 1970s and makes sure the audience understands this. The entire movie is filmed with a filter that makes it look like it was filmed in the ‘70s which is admittedly quite neat; however, the movie relies on nostalgia at times, limiting who can connect with the film. Overall, “Licorice Pizza” is an overhyped, boring movie that isn’t worthy of an Oscar.

ODA isn’t only the name of the film, but also an acronym that stands for Children of Deaf Adults.

Ruby, played by Emilia Jones, is just that. She’s the only hearing person in her Deaf family. This leaves her in a predicament where she acts as their interpreter since her family doesn’t have enough money for a professional one. However, Ruby desires to leave for college, and to pursue her passion of singing.

The movie isn’t all about Ruby, but also fleshes out the rest of her family, most notably her father and brother. Leo, her brother, played by Daniel Durant, feels constantly infantilized, and doesn’t want to rely on his sister to get around in a hearing society.

Throughout the movie, he uses other methods of communication, such as texting, and he develops his skill in lip reading. Meanwhile, Ruby’s father, played by Troy Kotsur, is struggling to provide for his family with his job of selling fish that he catches with Ruby and Leo. All of the Deaf characters are played by Deaf actors. This is due to Marlee Matlin, who plays Ruby’s mother, refusing to be in the movie if hearing actors were cast as Deaf characters.

The movie is an absolute joy to watch, with a strong emotional core. During specific scenes, all of the sound is muted to replicate what the Deaf characters are hearing, letting the audience see through their eyes, and hear through their ears. In all other scenes, the ambience is louder than it would be during a typical movie, making the shift more jarring, but in a good way.

As this movie features prominent Deaf characters mostly communicating through ASL, it has built-in subtitles for the ASL. However, on some occasions these subtitles moved too quickly. While this didn’t hurt my ability to follow the plot, some might find it annoying. Ruby’s romance subplot is also underdeveloped and not very interesting. However, this doesn’t hurt the movie at all, and the romantic interest isn’t terribly unlikable. There are far more things right with CODA than there are wrong with it.

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C

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POWER OF THE DOG: 4/5

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was first introduced to this film by my film analysis teacher, Dr. Miller, who had watched and recommended the movie. I had seen ads for it, but it didn’t really look interesting; however, somehow I found myself sitting on my basement couch one Saturday night pressing play on Netflix.

I’m not normally a fan of slow burn Western films, but I was thoroughly impressed with the film’s cinematography and lighting. The

plot didn’t stick out to me much, however it’s a beautiful film to look at, and the acting was incredible as well.

Benedict Cumberbatch led the movie with an incredible performance. This role seemed a little different than some of his other work, but he was phenomenal to watch. The film’s landscapes and wide shots were some of the best I’ve seen out of the Best Picture group, which gives reason to why it was also nominated for Best Cinematography at this year’s Oscars. Although it is a slower movie, it is stunning to watch and has amazing acting. It is a real contender to win Best Picture.

BELFAST: 4/5

“

Belfast” is a historical movie about Northern Ireland in the 1960s told mostly through the eyes of a child. The plot focuses on Gang wars between Protestants and Catholics that have been breaking out in the Irish town of Belfast; however, nine year old Buddy, played by Jude Hill, is mostly concerned with impressing a girl in his class and getting matchbox cars for Christmas. Most of the movie has a black and white filter over it, emphasizing that the movie takes place in the ‘60s.

The only scenes that are in color—aside from the opening— are the family watching a film and a play. No matter the color, the cinematography is incredible. There were many shots that had me staring in awe, specifically one in the beginning when Buddy first encountered the rioters. Even though the movie follows the perspective of a child, the plotlines are not

DON'T LOOK UP: 3.5/5

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movie about our evolving world and the effect of social media on natural disasters, “Don’t Look Up” is a satirical, dark comedy about what could happen if an asteroid were to head toward Earth in today’s society. The cast is packed with some of the most prominent actors and actresses of our time, including Leonardo Decaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Timothée Chalamet and Cate Blanchett. When an astronomy professor and his student discover an asteroid is headed toward Earth, they set out to alert the world, talking with the President (Streep) and TV outlets alike, only to realize that no one believes them, and the media makes an absolute joke out of the entire situation.

The film ends in a heartbreaking apocalyptic

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hard to follow, and the ending is emotional yet satisfying.

Additionally, the movie can be funny when it wants to be.

It’s not a comedy, but all of the jokes did get a chuckle out of me, even if there weren’t many of them. The writing is witty, which when paired with stellar actors makes for a great combination. Although there were scenes that made me bored and distracted, this was likely due to watching the film at home instead of in a theater. You might laugh; you might cry. You should watch “Belfast.”

sense, making the entire premise feel realer than ever before. While watching, you’re laughing and thinking of how ridiculous the reactions of the world are, but by the end you’re left thinking about your own choices and what you would do in that situation. I wasn’t expecting to see this movie nominated for Best Picture, but I think it provides good lessons for our society. It definitely made me think not just about the world today, but how climate change is an inescapable part of our future, and what could happen if this movie became a reality.

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OPINION

It Is Time To Act

Columnist shares his opinion on the war in Ukraine.

BY GEORGE BERNARD, ’23. GRAPHICS BY CAROLINE KEGG, ’24.

F

or weeks now, I have been glued to the news coming from Ukraine.

After months of warnings from the Biden Administration, on Feb. 24, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The army and people of Ukraine have fought heroically, slowing the onslaught of the Russian Army, but just because Ukrainians are putting up a good fight doesn’t mean that they can or will win. They are outnumbered and underequipped, and pure bravery cannot solve those problems. This is where America and our allies can help. We have been providing weapons to Ukraine, but it is still not enough. We have the resources and logistical capabilities to help Ukraine, and we need to act now because time is of the essence; the Russians are capturing more cities and villages every single day without any evidence that they will stop short of full scale occupation and toppling the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky no matter the bloodshed required to achieve victory.

I am aware America has a history of getting dragged into unwinnable “forever wars”—Iraq and Afghanistan come to mind—but this is different. The people of Ukraine are actively fighting an aggressor, and they have sought closer ties with the West. The enemy is a country rather than a loose organization of extremists, and there is a clear objective to fight for: the sovereignty of Ukraine.

While I am not qualified to dictate

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the exact strategy that the United States Armed Forces and our allies should take, I can tell that the current situation is untenable. The sanctions from the Biden Administration and our allies will hurt Russia, but they are not a sufficient response to the war crimes being inflicted on the citizens of Ukraine. Economies are large and slow moving systems, and as a result, the sanctions will take time to truly inflict pain on the Russian economy.

We need to punish the people responsible for these atrocities now.

Russia’s complete disregard for rule of law, national sovereignty and human life needs to be met with the full force of the U.S., U.K., NATO, Japan, Australia and other allies, not sanctions that exempt energy products and may take months to have a significant impact. Failing to do so would betray everything we stand for and send a dangerous message to dictators, tyrants and authoritarians around the world.

If we are too wary of the consequences of high gas prices, will we fail to stand up for Taiwan for fear of harming our trade relationship with China?

I understand the hesitancy to directly involve our military or NATO and risk direct war with Russia (which could quickly escalate to large scale nuclear war), but there are other viable options that wouldn’t trigger Article 5 of NATO’s charter, the part that states that an attack on a member state will be treated as an attack on all members. These include allowing active members of our military to join the Ukrainian Army without consequence, sanctioning Russian oil and natural gas exports, charging Vladimir Putin and his military advisers with war crimes in the International Criminal Court and revoking the visas and passports of Russian oligarchs.

On the other hand, there may not be any advantage to trying to avoid a confrontation with Russia. Who’s to say that they stop at Ukraine? If we don’t put up enough resistance, they might try to take the Baltics next, using Kaliningrad, Russia, as a forward base.

My message to those in power: I sympathize with your honorable quest for peace, but history is not kind to those who appease war criminals.

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FORNO

Columnist deems Forno Restaurant, “a slice of Italy.”

BY LUKE ERIKSEN, ’22. GRAPHIC BY LUCY O’BRIEN, ’22.

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f I had to describe the Forno Kitchen + Bar in a single word, I would say cheesy. Not cheesy as in unpleasant, but cheesy as in gouda, mozzarella, fontina, Parmigiano-Reggiano and provolone.

Forno is an Italian restaurant located in the Short North on High Street.

The environment was extremely lively.

The restaurant was enormous in size with multiple large parties. Forno seems like it’s an ideal restaurant for any large group. The tables were white marble with candles and a pizza stand. I noticed birthday parties, bachelor parties and date nights across the restaurant.

For appetizers, I ordered the arancini, balls of fried risotto and creamy fontina cheese. Risotto is a thick, smooth and rich Italian rice that resembles mac and cheese. The arancini sat in a red sauce.

They were crunchy on the outside while the inside melted in my mouth; the creamy and cheesy inside contrasted the crunchy fried crust. The arancini was

a delicious appetizer, and my biggest complaint is that I didn’t order more.

Next came the pizza. There was a vast selection of pizza, but I decided to keep it simple with pepperoni. The pizza was thin with oily cheese that dripped off each slice when cut. The blend of cheeses felt authentic, and I found myself scooping up the leftover cheese that fell off the crust. The crust underneath didn’t quite give the crunch I was hoping for, but it had a charcoaled wood-fired pizza flavor. The pizza was topped with basil and parmesan cheese. Although I don’t always enjoy greasy pizza, I loved the pizza from Forno.

The main courses came out exceptionally fast; it was almost too fast.

Expect the main courses to arrive very shortly after appetizers. If you aren’t into small talk with the people you are eating with, then Forno is for you!

I ordered the baked lobster rotini.

The baked lobster was in large pieces.

There were basically four enormous bites of lobster, which is less than ideal. The rotini pasta was covered in a thin cream sauce and topped with breadcrumbs.

Excluding the lobster, the pasta was okay but nothing special. I was slightly disappointed by this dish. It looked like the lobster meat was just ripped off and thrown into the bowl, and it didn't taste fresh either; it was chewy and tough.

Finally, the Pasta Forno. In my last column, I reviewed Mr. Hummus but didn’t order hummus, so I did not want to make the same mistake twice by not ordering Pasta Forno! The Pasta Forno sat in a red sauce with mushrooms and a large piece of fresh mozzarella cheese.

Although simple, the dish was satisfying.

The fresh mozzarella cheese was silky when combined with the red sauce. The Pasta Forno is likely the safest option on the menu; I can guarantee if you like pasta you will enjoy this dish.

Forno is a high-quality Italian restaurant. I would certainly recommend it, especially if you have a large group. Il ristorante Forno è Lou Approved.

Forno Kitchen + Bar is located on 721 N High Street.

◀ PASTA FORNO Pasta Forno is a red sauce pasta with mushrooms and a large piece of fresh mozzarella cheese.

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By the Numbers

Explore this issue through statistics. COMPILED BY ELLIE CRESPO, ’22. GRAPHICS BY MOLLY HENCH, ’22 AND MEGAN MCKINNEY, ’22.

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49 2

movies are nominated for Best Picture for the 94th Oscars, including “Dune,” “Licorice Pizza” and “West Side Story.”

students participate in Zoo School. There are 25 juniors and 24 sophomores.

weeks after Mitski’s “Laurel Hell” was released, the album reached #5 on the Billboard 200s chart.

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Lucky Charms

18-60

is the age range of male Ukrainian citizens who are banned from fleeing the country. This decision was made to encourage men to join the armed fight in Ukraine.

of January is when The New York Times announced they had bought Wordle.

Arlingtonian staff members share their lucky charms. COMPILED BY ELLIE CRESPO, ’22.

GRAPHICS BY MEGAN MCKINNEY, ’22.

LAMB STUFFED ANIMAL

MOM’S WEDDING BAND

LOCKET WITH A FAMILY PICTURE

EVIL EYE NECKLACE

—Safia Malhotra, staff writer

—Gracie Helfrich, staff writer

—Antonia Campbell staff writer

—Lauren Buehrle, multimedia contributor

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EDITORIAL

A SCHOOL OF MANY TALENTS Let’s appreciate the array of activities UA students do.

BY EDITORIAL BOARD. GRAPHIC BY MEGAN MCKINNEY, ’22.

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rlingtonian is just one co-curricular among the smorgasbord of activities at UAHS. Furthermore, staff members are involved in more than just journalism. We have artists who play sports, writers in service clubs and photographers in the performing arts.

Despite our shared dedication to this newsmagazine, we struggled to reach a consensus for this editorial but eventually decided to explore the different ways various clubs, sports and groups contribute to our school and appreciate all of their contributions.

Upper Arlington students are notorious for balancing (or trying to balance) many different aspects of their lives: classes, academic extracurriculars, creative pursuits, and athletics. However, not every student wants to participate in every area of interest. Some exclusively spend their free time in the theater FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN

or studio, others on the field or in the pool. Some wish to develop their skills over time, while others pursue different interests every year.

We, as a school and as a larger community, should be proud of all of the students who dedicate time to a craft, a project, a skill or a sport, whether they win awards or gain visibility or not.

Students spend hours honing their skills and collaborating in different areas, but many of their efforts are never noticed.

This editorial originated from a desire to appreciate non-athletic extracurriculars along with sports, but it is important to remember that even the work student athletes do may not fully be appreciated.

Every activity has behind-the-scenes preparation and coordination because the work isn’t just on the field or the court; it is also in the practices and exercise routines.

Many non-athletic activities share this struggle: the visible outcome is the product of hours of work, such as the months of rehearsal for the musicals or plays or weeks of practice for academic competitions like Mock Trial and Speech and Debate.

There are also activities that focus on continuous work, such as the clubs dedicated to the fine arts or the multiple service and community clubs such as Key Club and Students for Change, as well as identity-based clubs like Asian American Pacific Islander Club or the GenderSexuality Alliance.

No matter how students choose to participate, we must appreciate all who take the time to learn, to create, to perform, to compete and to connect.

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