The Hill - February 2023

Possible 2024 Presidential Candidates

by Brandon Li ‘26

Donald Trump

Being a former president with a huge name and a large following, Trump is currently the primary contender for the Republican bid in the 2024 presidential elections. However, public support for Trump has decreased considerably following his departure from the White House, and it appears that he no longer has the foothold on the Republican party that he used to have. There could be many reasons for this, although a few stand out.

One possible explanation is the disappointing result of the 2022 midterm elections, in which Republican candidates underperformed. Prior to the election, polling suggested that Republicans were largely favored to control both the House and the Senate; however, they ended up only taking the House, and narrowly missed the Senate with a 49-51 split. Many attribute this loss to Trump, as they believe that he endorsed underqualified candidates in the Republican primaries, who would then go on to lose the independent vote and consequently the entire election. The midterm fiasco has been the final straw for Republican leaders, who are now looking to gradually shift the Re-

publican party away from Trump and his brand of politics.

summer, during which his approval ratings dropped down to 37.5% at their lowest point. Now, faced with positive midterm results and decreasing gas prices, Democrats are increasingly optimistic about a Biden run for reelection in the 2024 elections.

his ability to accomplish things. If he does not use the rest of his term wisely, he may struggle to win back the presidency; early polling suggests that an election against Trump or DeSantis would be tight.

However, despite his recent setbacks, Trump still has a lot going for him. His cult of personality continues to attract diehard Trump loyalists, and beneath the scandals that have tainted his image, he still holds the populist appeal that helped him ascend to the presidency in 2016. For Trump, the main challenge will now be to regain the trust of independent voters and convince Republican leaders that his best interests lie with the GOP.

Joe Biden

As the incumbent, Biden would be the primary choice for the Democratic bid in the 2024 presidential elections. He seems to have recovered from his slump over the

To add to the optimism, the Biden administration accomplished a lot for both the Democratic agenda and general American objectives in 2022, which has helped to dispel earlier portrayals of him as a weak leader incapable of pulling political strings necessary to accomplish things. To name a few, Biden has signed into law bills that help to reduce emissions, decrease gun violence, codify same-sex and interracial marriage, reduce American dependence on semiconductors, and prevent attempts to overturn valid election results. These results have become integral to the Biden administration’s public messaging strategy, where he presses that he can “get things done” to cast aside doubt of his capabilities as a leader. A quick glance at either of his Twitter profiles can verify this.

However, these doubts about his competence as president can be traced back to one unfixable problem that he will have to come to terms with – his age. He will be 82 during the 2024 campaign season, and a complete second term would put him at 86 years old. With his seniority being a major point of discussion, Biden will have to energetically persist in his strategy of convincing voters of his competence by marketing

Ron DeSantis

Ron DeSantis, the Republican who barely scraped by in the 2018 Floridian gubernatorial election, has now exploded into the political scene and is seen as a major contender for the Republican presidential bid. He first made headlines in 2020, when he was derided for not implementing widely-accepted pandemic policy guidelines, opting instead for a more laid-back approach. One year later, he was seemingly proven right: Florida had it no worse than any other state and residents were able to enjoy relaxed restrictions. This early success has inspired DeSantis to market himself to voters as a culture warrior for conservative beliefs. Through this persona, DeSantis has quickly become a favorite among Republican leaders, who view him as the best candidate to lead the GOP out of the era of Trump.

Following the coverage he received due to the pandemic, DeSantis has sought to strengthen

Pete Buttigieg Joe Biden Donald Trump Ron DeSantis

this “culture warrior” persona. In preparation for a 2024 showdown, he has used his platform as governor of Florida to market this idea to voters across the nation. There are many examples of this; to name a few, his signing of the infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bill, preventing discussion of sexuality in early schooling in Florida, his widely-publicized attack on Disney for its increasing alignment with liberal objectives, and his controversial sending of a group of undocumented migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. These political stunts have resulted in outrage from Democrats and applause from Republicans, allowing his name to constantly fill newspapers.

DeSantis’ carefully crafted public image appears to be preparation for a fight against Trump in the 2024 Republican primary, in which he will have to overcome legions of Trump loyalists to secure a race against the Democratic contender. All things considered, it will be interesting to see how DeSantis’ campaign strategy progresses as he enters his second term as governor of Florida.

Pete Buttigieg

One possible challenger to Biden in the 2024 Democratic primaries is Pete Buttigieg, whose political career began as the mayor of South Bend in Indiana. Buttigieg first rose to national prominence when he ran for president

in 2020, where his solid debate performance allowed him to make it to the final rounds even though he held a relatively low-level office before he began campaigning. Although he eventually dropped out of the race, Buttigieg ultimately accepted a position in the Biden administration’s cabinet as Secretary of Transportation.

Buttigieg’s appeal to voters during the midterm campaign season came from his public persona of an intelligent, composed, and eloquent politician. Many factors have assisted him in building this image, including his polite responses to antagonizing questions, his ability to speak eight languages, and his frequent appearances on Fox News to discuss political affairs (which have resulted in numerous clips on social media with titles such as “Pete Buttigieg Destroys Fox News Anchor on Live TV”). This public persona seems to be extremely appealing to voters nowadays, possibly because he appears more stable than Trump and more artic-

ulate than Biden, or maybe simply due to his politeness in a time of widespread political polarization. His popularity, at least among Democrats, was apparent on the midterm campaign trail; he received requests to speak on behalf of candidates even more than Vice President Kamala Harris despite his relatively low-ranking position in the White House.

However, it might be awkward if he runs again in 2024, as he would face Biden, his former boss in the White House. Either way, the public image that Buttigieg has built has largely been successful in bringing his name into the national spotlight. Even if he chooses not to run in 2024 out of respect for the president, Democrats will certainly keep an eye on him for 2028 and beyond.

Milk and Cookies: A Breakdown

by Jaiden Lee ‘26 and Brandon Li ‘26

Although we’re sure that everyone has some general idea of what’s in demand at milk and cookies and in what proportion, who knows for certain? So, we decided to do a poll to see what exactly BH thinks about the snacks offered during this age-old tradition.

The only competitive vote in this poll was over how satisfied people were with the number of cookies put out every day. This was about a 50/50 split, suggesting that half of all students would prefer having at least one more cookie every day. These relatively high dissatisfaction ratings could suggest that more cookies need to be available every day so that all students, even if arriving late, can grab fistfuls of cookies to their hearts’ content.

Surprising to no one was the overwhelming majority that reported liking soft cookies as opposed to crunchy or medium-soft. Only four people stated (probably as a joke) that they enjoyed crunchiness in cookies. Actually, after researching for a while, we discovered that there are two main reasons why cookies end up crunchy. Either (1) they become stale after the moisture inside them evaporates over the course of a few days or (2) they are overcooked while in the oven. Neither of these options sounds very appealing.

Things get more interesting with the other polls. Cookies that only show up once in a while, like chocolate batter cookies and M&M cookies, actually turned out to be less popular than regular cookies, which dominated with 64.2% of the vote. The majority also preferred chocolate milk over regular milk in about a 2:1 ratio, which makes sense because there are usually two cartons of chocolate milk and one carton of normal milk at milk and cookies.

NBA All-Stars Announced

by Henry Ramanathan ‘26

The NBA has released its 2023 All-Star starters, with Lebron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks being named the two captains. While this will be Giannis’s seventh time competing in the event, James has now been selected for his nineteenth time, a feat only matched by the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. James is also nearing another prestigious achievement that Abdul-Jabbar holds, which is the all-time points record. Only 157 points from the record, the All-Star Game could potentially also serve as celebration for such an accomplishment.

Joining the two captains on the starting floor of the game are Golden State’s Stephen Curry, scoring leader Luka Doncic, reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, New Orleans’s Zion Williamson, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, and Boston’s Jayson Tatum. Curry, KD, and Kyrie all have eight or more selections, but the rest all have five or less. An interesting note is that Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid did not make the starting team in the East as a frontcourt player over either KD, Tatum, or Giannis. Embiid, having a career year and even improving from last year despite being an MVP player, is averaging the second most points in the league as a center. Many fans are using his absence from the team as an example of why the NBA should make the All-Star teams positionless, as it is not fair to have Embiid miss out. The starters will be chosen in a draft by the captains the day of the actual game itself, a twist the NBA decided to add this year. None of the players will be able to know which team they will be on before the draft. This is James’s fifth time as an All-Star captain, being chosen all five times since the new format was presented; he has won all five of the games when drafting, which is a testament to his great GM skills. This is Antetokounmpo’s third time as captain, and the two faced off as captains before in 2019 and 2020, both games coming down to the last fiery moments. All eyes will be on the two on February 19th when they choose their teams and face off in Salt Lake City.

Best Players of the World Cup

By Benjamin Gong ‘26 and Ethan Xie ‘26

1. Lionel Messi- Argentina

Lionel Messi cements his legacy as the greatest player of all time by winning the FIFA World Cup. He was criticized for his lack of international achievements, and now he’s finally achieved the greatest glory any player could dream of. Messi scored 7 goals in the tournament, bested only by France’s Kylian Mbappé. Messi had the tied most assists of the competition, along with 5 man of the match awards- a record number. Messi won the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball award, an honor presented to the best player of the tournament.

2. Kylian Mbappé- France

Mbappé has been a remarkable player during his progressing career. Still only 24 years old, Mbappé was everything for France up front: speed, dribbling, and finishing. Mbappé won the Golden Boot after scoring 8 goals in the tournament. Despite scoring a hat trick in the final, his team came short of the World Cup title.

3. Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez - Argentina

Emi Martinez, despite not having the highest save percentage, came up clutch for Argentina when they needed him most. His most noteworthy save was the one in the final when he denied Kolo Muani a one-on-one opportunity with a brilliant kick save in the 123rd

minute of the game- the greatest save of all time. Additionally, he made a save in the penalty shootout, helping Argentina win the World Cup. His performances were recognized with the Golden Glove award- the award presented to the best goalie of the tournament. He celebrated this honor fittingly by putting the trophy on his crotch.

4. Joško Gvardiol - Croatia

Gvardiol put in consistent, solid performances throughout Croatia’s incredible run to the semi-finals. His most notable performance was his incredible defense against Brazil, holding them to a 1-1 draw that resulted in Croatia advancing on penalties. He also scored in the 3rd place playoff game against Morocco, securing Croatia’s 3rd place finish in the World Cup. However, in Croatia’s semi-final run, Gvardiol was finally beaten by Messi in a moment to forget for him, as Messi’s quick change in direction left him lost.

5. Julián Álvarez- Argentina

Alvarez took Lautaro Martinez’s position as starting striker for Argentina in the group stage. He scored the 3rd most goals in the competition, two of which came in the semi-final against Croatia. On top of his composed finishing, his relentless work rate was also vital for Argentina’s success.

Honorable Mentions:

Enzo Fernández- Argentina

Enzo Fernandez came onto the scene in Argentina’s second group stage game, scoring a crucial top-corner curler against Mexico to secure the win. After his goal, his spot in the starting eleven was solidified- he started every game after that. His tireless performances in midfield were one of the key factors in Argentina’s success in the World Cup. His outstanding displays were rewarded with the Best Young Player award at the World Cup.

Antoine Griezmann - France

Griezmann was a crucial component of France’s midfield. He led the tournament in chances created and had the tied-most assists (3). Griezmann’s work rate and passing were instrumental to France’s road to the final.

Sofyan Amrabat - Morocco

Amrabat was the engine of Morocco’s midfield, and possibly the reason they were able to achieve their extraordinary semi-final run. Up until the semi-finals, Morocco had only conceded 1 goal.

Luka Modrić- Croatia

The veteran led Croatia to another World Cup medal. The 2018 World Cup best player was the key to Croatia’s 3rd place finish.

A New Era in Soccer

by Declan Carroll ’27

For the longest time, The World Cup has not been about the world. It was about Europe. Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, England, and Italy. After exporting the game, South American countries like Argentina and Brazil began bringing more popularity to the game. After a few World Cups, it was clear that European and South American soccer was dominant. However, the last few World Cups have hinted that the tides are turning. European soccer powerhouses like Germany, Denmark, Belgium, and Italy fail to get past the group stage, while countries like Morocco, Japan, and Australia shine. Morocco beat Belgium 2-0 in the group stage, Spain on penalties, and Portugal 1-0. Very few predicted Morocco to get past the group stage with a tough group between Croatia, Belgium, and Canada. Morocco is the first African and Arab team to advance to the World Cup semi-finals.

Japan, although losing on penalties to Croatia in the round of 16, got out of one of the most challenging groups in this World Cup, consisting of Germany, Spain, and Costa Rica. Japan even beat Germany (2-1) and Spain. (2-1) The most significant upset in this World Cup came from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia beat Argentina (2-1), being the only nation in this World Cup to beat the now World Cup winner, Argentina. Some nations, however, who have already won the World Cup, fail to progress to the knockout stages. Italy, who won the World Cup in 2006, didn’t even qualify for this World Cup. They haven’t qualified for the World Cup since 2014 and haven’t made it out of the group stages since their win in 2006. Germany also has yet to make it out of the group stages since their win in 2010. The 2026 World Cup will be held in the US (some games are projected to be played in Boston), Mexico, and Canada. The 2026 World Cup will host 48 teams, which makes the World Cup more complicated but more about the world.

Third Hockey Season Review

Third Hockey started off their season hot, with an impressive 6-1 win over Hillside, accumulating over 50 shots in the first 2 periods by the dominating group of forwards, Matty Caroline, TZ Snail, Nolan Sullivan, Rylan Dean, AC Cotter, Cam Nacar, Colby Rice, and Will Jones. However, the team soon faced a tough  Eaglebrook team in the Holiday Jamboree who handed them their first loss. The boys bounced back in the next game, crushing Sebs 5-0, a shutout win secured by the lockdown D-men, Louie Marobella, Will Broderick, and Jack Santonelli, ending 2022 on a high note. Over the first 3 weeks of 2023, Third Hockey improved

by T.Z. Snail ’26

their record to an incredible 10-3-0, with their most recent win over Phillips Exeter at home, winning the 5th game in their last 7. In net, Eric Willi, and Nicky Jones have been in peak form, providing a winning chance for the team in every game. Special shout-out to Cam Kelley and Mason Iandiorio, who have played both forward and defense, strengthening the depth of the team. Over the course of the season, 8th graders Rylan Flynn, David Bosco, Liam Boyle, Andrew Sousa, John Lynch, and Nick Fantasia, have stepped up to answer the call by playing a critical role in all of their games. This weekend the boys will face off against

Sebs once again, at home, and over the weekend will take a trip up to Cardigan Mountain to play their Varsity team. There’s no doubt that the boys have found their rhythm, moving the puck well, buzzing in the O-zone, back-checking hard, and having quick break-outs. In the locker room, coaches O’Connell and Hargrove emphasized that in order to continue to be successful the boys will have to maintain this level of intensity. With this in mind, the boys are looking at a full week of hard practice to get prepared for their upcoming games.

Avatar: Back in Business

by Benjamin Gong ’26 and Willaim Achtmeyer ’26

After a spectacularly long decade, James Cameron’s sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, finally succeeds his groundbreaking movie Avatar, released in 2012, with the forefront of computer graphic imaging technology and pulling in a record-breaking 1.7 billion dollars, which means it has surpassed Top Gun: Maverick’s box office haul in just its first three weeks in theaters. The figure makes it the highest-grossing release of 2022 and has allowed it to leapfrog 2015’s “Furious 7” to become the tenth highest-grossing film of all time. Avatar’s sales abroad have contributed greatly to its record-breaking success. While

Top Gun: Maverick earned $718 million in the United States and $770 million abroad, $1.05 billion of Avatar’s ticket sales have come from overseas, with American audiences contributing a comparatively modest $464 million as of January 6.

The first two Avatar movies had a combined cost of 500 billion dollars, and the entire franchise has an estimated cost of between $1.337 and 1.447 billion. The first film, Avatar, is set in the distant future on a moon called Pandora and tells the story of a paraplegic Marine who is sent to the planet as an avatar, a body controlled remotely by a human. The Marine, played by Sam Worthington, falls in love with the native Pandora inhabitants, the Na’vi, and must choose between his loyalty to his own kind and his growing connection to the alien world. The film was a massive success, grossing over $2.8 billion worldwide and winning three Academy Awards. It also revolutionized the use of motion capture and 3D technology in filmmaking, a major part of its success (also where

Avatar 2 continues the story of the first film and explores the ocean of Pandora– the main character, Jake Sully, must protect his family and the Na’vi against the humans once again, who seek to use their home to extract resources and hunt the “traitor” down. Although the first film in the series focuses solely on Jake Sully’s experience as a human trespassing on the home of the Na’vi, this films broadens out their protagonist targets and focuses more on his family and each unique member of Sully’s family. The remaining sequels have already been filmed, and await release: Avatar 3 is set to come out on December 20, 2024, Avatar 4 on December 18, 2026, and Avatar 5 on December 22, 2028.

Avatar Makes Waves

by William Achtmeyer ‘26

Avatar: The Way of Water is a 2022 action-adventure sequel directed by James Cameron and set over a decade after the events of the first film. It follows Jake Sully, his wife Neytiri, and their children in their fight against the “sky people” (humans) who are ravaging the resources of their planet Pandora. This time, however, they fight alongside the water nations of Pandora that Sully has escaped to while being pursued by the cloned Col. Quaritch (the antagonist of the first film). The Way of Water is likely one of the most incredible theater experiences I have ever experienced; it is visually stunning and truly a feat of film technology. In entertainment value, the film excels, providing something stunning to look at in every scene. The fights are exhilarating, and even when action sequences aren’t taking place, there’s always something to catch the eye.

The only criticisms of the film lie within the story itself: the characters and the dialogue. As a disclaimer, none of the things I am about to mention make the film unenjoyable or bad in any way. They are simply things I thought they could have been done better. However, like I said, the point of the movie is pure entertainment and at that it succeeds.

The first small issue I have with the film is in its characters, especially Jake Sully and his family. There are two members of the family who have discernable character arcs. The rest are just… there. This goes for Jake and Neytiri. Both of them completed arcs in the first film but don’t really get much development here. My hope is that in future installments, Cameron will be able to introduce new elements into the story and use elements introduced in this film to further develop Jake and Neytiri, just so that they have something to do other than just fight and be parents. However, there was one character in particular that The Way of Water actually improved upon, Col. Quartich.

In the first film Quartich was just evil without any backstory as to why. He works for a large corporation but it is never explained why he is so loyal to them. In the first movie he’s just evil to be evil, and his character doesn’t get much deeper than that. The second movie’s antagonist is a clone of this character (literally). Essentially, his memories have been uploaded to an Avatar (a bodily replica of the native Na’vi). This opens up a door for some

good development to happen in the future; maybe we can get some memory flashbacks explaining Quartich more. Even if this doesn’t happen, there is still the subplot of Quartich’s son. Yes, he had a son. It’s never explained when or how this happened; it just did. Regardless, the son is on the side of the people of Pandora: Quartich’s enemy. This provided good conflict for both characters which I hope to be further expanded upon in future sequels.

The second issue is the story. It replicates the plot of the first film, but Jake and Neytiri don’t have arcs. It’s the same basic plot where Jake and his family have to adapt to a new landscape while the evil humans do evil things and the good Na’avi (people of Pandora) do good things. The climax of the first film felt a little bigger than the ending of this film, but it wasn’t necessarily better–both are very entertaining.

The third issue: the dialogue. Characters say things that the writers thought “kids” say. People say “bro” a lot, people say “cuz” a couple times. In the end, it’s something that can be easily looked over and it’s not too annoying.

The last thing I’ll mention is that Avatar has a great message attached to it, and I’m not just talking about the environmental aspect (that’s fine too). What I really want to discuss is the message about family and the importance of it. It’s a moral that we’ve all seen before but has been missing recently, and the modern films that have tried to depict it haven’t really hit the spot. A critic mentioned that this is the first nuclear family in a film he’s seen in quite a while, and I couldn’t agree more. I praise James Cameron for bringing the family back and doing it in such a poignant and effective way.

In the end Avatar: The Way of Water is a fantastic film with some very small flaws that most probably won’t even notice. It’s extremely entertaining and I can’t wait to see what the next films have in store. If you liked the first, you’ll definitely like this one, and I recommend you see it in 3D for the best quality.

Final Rating: 7.5/10

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE TRIVIA

by Benjamin Gong ’26

1. When was Belmont Hill founded?

a. 1823

b. 1923

c. 1945

d. 1932

e. 1922

2. When did World War II end?

a. 1938

b. 1942

c. 1944

d. 1945

e. 1954

3. Which team has lost the most superbowls without winning a single one?

a. Bengals

b. Lions

c. Jaguars

d. Browns

e. Bills

The Hill

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Benjamin Gong ’26

Jaiden

Lee ’26

EDITORS

4. Which person has the highest net worth in the world?

a. Jeff Bezos

b. Bill Gates

c. Warren Buffett

d. Elon Musk

e. Larry Ellison

5. What is a group of ravens called?

a. A murder

b. A flock

c. A herd

d. A kindness

e. An unkindness

6. How many dots appear on a pair of dice?

a. 24

b. 42

c. 32

d. 21

e. 64

Brandon Li ’26, Ethan Xie ’26, Nathan Zhang ’26

STAFF WRITERS

T.Z. Snail ’26, William Achtmeyer ’26, Declan Carroll ’27, Henry Ramanathan ’26

Faculty Advisor

Mr. Conway

KEY:

B.

D.

E.

D.

E.

B.