November 2018

COURIERTHE Volume 11

Issue 3

the race

for college

admissions

explaining the process

of affirmative action

take a look page 8 page 23 page 26
inside!
make it official she’s one in ten tha carter v
thousand
students commit to a critique
collegiate sports lindsay urich really
is pitch perfect by cole robb
by alexa berisford
by tatum bardash

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2 | november 2018

staff | toc

TABLE OF 6 The sixth mass extinction news
Blood drive
CONTENTS
design brooke little Make it official sports

editors-in-chief 9 Striding into states
Time out with Logan
design: brooke little
writing: livie mauger 12 The race for college broader
admissions: Explaining scope
editor staff
the process of
design: maddie shrager & afirmative action
gwen throckmorton
photo: zaida jenkins
news: alaina beekman
opinion: zaida jenkins

feature: hannah mcdavid
sports: logan sigler
culture: erin jerig

broader scope editor: jacob fulton
business manager: sophia rores
asst. business manager: jessa nelson
columnist: angelica dzodzomenyo

web: jacob fulton

writing staff 19 Join medical club ‘stat’ feature
Media monopoly
katy schroeder Racial profiling
easton fendru
zaida jenkins She’s one in 10,000
bethany jones
savannah larsen 24 The Republican Party culture opinion
jessa nelson Passing the plate
‘Tha Carter V’
cole robb
cole lewis Royally obsessed
sophia rores
walt campbell 27 The debate on uniformity
samantha mcmanus Politics at the dinner table
shivani rajesh Sidetracked with Angelica
maddie miller
tatum bardash cover illustrations brooke little november 2018 | 3
olivia dieckmann
raymie shields
jack almond
alexa berisford

design staff

darius butler
sophia leonetti
mckenna dunn
hannah logan
kortney reed
alyssa wallace

jacob fulton
athena heckman

julie kilpatrick
taylor staab

editorial | opinion

staff editorials
writing editorial board | design kortney reed

the pressure’s on: college, classes and chaost’s kindergarten. The teacher is going around the class and asking
Iprofessions—veterinarian, teacher, doctor and astronaut—echo around students spend their K-12 education trying to get the best possible grades
For many seniors, these scenarios are scary but realistic. The pressure

each student what they would like to be when they grow up. Classic on students to decide on a major and pick a college is ever-present. Many

the classroom. When the teacher gets to one student, she says she doesn’t with the intention of getting into college so that eventually, they can get a

know, and she becomes the only kindergartener who doesn’t have a dream good job.

job. Despite pressure from teachers and guidance counselors who use every

It’s seventh grade. The teacher told the class that this year’s English class accessible tool to assist students in making such life-altering decisions, some

would be different—longer novels, book reviews and grammar review. He students are left with no clue about what they want to do in the future.

didn’t say one of the assignments would be to complete an online personality Whether this is the result of being unable to narrow down interests to just

test that should tell students what future job would fit them best. The same one field or feeling like the right career is inaccessible or unrealistic, students

kindergartener, just a little older now, fills it out, but she doesn’t look at the still face the pressure of balancing schoolwork, college planning and future

result. life goals.

It’s senior year. The guidance counselors have met with all of the seniors However, it will be OK. The seniors on The Courier staff are familiar with

including the same girl. She’s toured a few colleges and her Common .this pressure. Throughout high school, we’ve had periods of knowing exactly
Application is pretty much finished. There’s only one question left: What is
your career interest? She’s left it blank for the past three months, refusing what we want to do with our lives, and we’ve had periods of being so terrified
to scroll down and choose “Undecided.” She’s supposed to know what she that we’ll never be happy with the career we end up in or the college we will
wants to do with the rest of her life. What’s happened? eventually attend. Some students do know what they want to do with their
lives and that’s awesome, but not knowing is OK too.

rising college prices necessitate more scholarships
In today’s society, it seems that everyone goes to
college and that it’s the standard. This has given 2018-19 school year. For private schools, the price
way to all kinds of scholarships being available to has risen from an average of $28,440 to $35,830 per
year, and the price of public schools has risen from an

high school graduates that range from full ride athletic . average of $7,560 to $10,230 per year. This increase
scholarships to a tall person scholarship. We think it’s in price makes the scholarships that may sound weird
important to take advantage of these scholarships and or unusual more valid, and we believe they should
also support the idea of having even more of them. be increasingly offered to help college become more
College is becoming increasingly expensive, so these affordable.

scholarships would provide students with the extra Additionally, these scholarships are helpful

financial support they need. because of the way they promote people getting

There are many unusual scholarships that makes involved in the community or showing off how unique

us wonder why and how these scholarships came they are. Basic academic scholarships do not show off

about. The Asparagus Club scholarship is available for how special each person is. Each person that gets one

students to get $8,000 over four semesters for people of the weird or wacky scholarships is showing their

going into the food management service, according to university that they are unique, and no one else is like

scholarships.com. The parameters for this scholarship .them.
are very specific and only for a select few applicants. The weird and wacky scholarships are helping
many students pay for the increasing price of college
According to the College Board, the price of and work to help eliminate student loans, even if just
private universities as well as public universities has a little.
gone up since the 2008-09 school year to the current

EDITORIAL STATEMENT
The Courier is the official student-produced medium of news and information published by the Advanced Newspaper Journalism students of Olentangy Orange High School. The Courier

has been established as a designated public forum for student journalists to inform, educate and entertain readers as well as for the discussion of issues of concern to their audience. It will not

be reviewed or restrained by school officials, adults or sources prior to publication.

The content of The Courier is determined by and reflects only the views of the student staff and not school officials or the school itself. The Courier will not publish any material, determined

by the staff or adviser, that is libelous, obscene or disruptive to the school day.

The adviser is Kari Phillips. Readers may respond to The Courier through Letters to the Editor. Letters may be mailed, e-mailed to [email protected] or dropped off to room 2213.

The staff asks that submissions be 300 words or less and contain the author’s name and signature. Editors reserve the right to edit or withhold publication of letters.

The Courier strives to uphold the Canons of Professional Journalism, which includes accuracy, impartiality, etc. Therefore, major errors will be corrected in the next issue. Distinction will

be marked between news and opinion stories.

4 | november 2018 illustration kortney reed

identity | editorial

college and the question of identity

Awriting livie mauger | design kortney reed editors brooke little & livie mauger
ny senior who is alive and breathing (though sometimes it doesn’t feel iIllustration senior agalia christophi
like it) has probably asked themselves the quintessential questions of working with kids, learning for the sake of learning, writing and asking
identity: Who am I? What am I good at? What do I care about?
Before this year, I never really had to ask myself these questions. I rolled challenging questions.
with the waves of high school. I took a “challenging schedule,” joined as many
clubs as possible, played a sport; I did everything I could to check as many .There are still things about myself I have yet to explore, but I have a sort
boxes as possible, all with the goal of getting into the college of my dreams.
Tunnel vision. of definition of Livie, even if it still a work-in-progress.

As I began to fill out the Common Application, I thought it would be a For those who have yet to hit “submit” or those just starting to think
breeze. After all, I worked tirelessly for three years to build what I thought
would be the perfect resume. I just needed to transcribe it onto the application. about college, the best piece of advice I can give is to not resist asking yourself
However, as soon I started reading the essay prompts, I had a sinking feeling
that I would need to think deeper than remembering what classes I took my these tough questions, and to take the time to slow down and answer them.
freshman year. And it sucked.

Almost every school required me to write about my passions beyond the
classroom. I spent countless nights laying on the floor of my bedroom, eyes
glued to the ceiling, “introspective” music pulsing through my headphones.
There must be something that makes me tick outside of school and sports.

But it seemed the harder I thought about it, the fewer and fewer
interesting things I came up with. Then, it hit me.

I couldn’t come up with an answer to the question because my busy
schedule never allowed me to ask it. I was so bogged down, going through the
eternal cycle of two to three hour tennis practice, shower, dinner, three plus
hours of homework, minimal sleep, repeat. There was no time for breathing
or daydreaming about the elusive definition of “me.”

As much as I complained about and resisted (and procrastinated) trying
to define myself, the whole application process forced me to press pause on
my whirlwind of a life and truly think about what brings me joy or allows me
to be truly content and passionate.

At times, it felt like it wasn’t fair; three months was not enough time to
narrow and define my sense of identity and all of my diverse interests. But
then again, is there ever really a “right time?” There was nothing I could do to
change the Nov. 1 application deadline, so I decided at the very-last minute
(though I recommend starting sooner) to rise to the occasion.

It was frustrating at times, and I often spent a good hour or two staring at
my computer screen, but in the end, I gained a greater confidence in myself,
something essential to starting college next year.

Through this somewhat forced introspection, I was able to define what
is truly important to me: service, connecting with other people, empathy,

illustration kortney reed november 2018 | 5

news | climate change

the sixth mass extinction

what the environmental club is doing to help

Awriting walt campbell | design julie kilpatrick climate warms, we will see insects spread,” Timmons said. “We’re also going
recent United Nations study stated that humans have 12 years to limit
their ecological footprint before the effects of global warming become to see famine because areas that have a lot of water and grow tons of crops
irreversible. The UN relays that if people don’t make some drastic
aren’t going to have water, and people will starve.”

changes to their current way of life, there will be devastating effects on the Global warming will still present a problem even after humans are gone,

planet. and these effects will span farther than the current generation, according to

According to AP Environmental teacher Jessica researchers at The National Academy of Sciences.

Timmons, the population can expect to see “I hope that people all around the world, and especially at Orange, will

“mass extinction on a global scale.” realize the gravity of what’s happening and try to do something to help,

There have already been five mass even if it’s small,” AP Environmental student

extinctions in Earth’s history, like and senior Megan Bernard said.

the Cretaceous that took out the “It doesn’t take a whole lot of

dinosaurs, but according to changes for us to make a

TIME Magazine, the Earth difference; it’s just changing

is currently in the habit,” Timmons said.

middle of a sixth. To many students,

A mass is it’s not easy to change

extinction is habits. However,

characterized students in the Olentangy

by the extreme Orange Environmental Club have

loss of species expressed that the ecological

over a relatively advantages usually outweigh

short period of the economical and personal

time, according downsides of living a green

to National lifestyle.

Geographic. According to

Scientists co-president of the

have already Environmental Club,

seen hundreds of senior Mekenzie Altman, a

species go extinct in possible solution for global

the past century, like warming is to pay more

the baiji dolphin and attention to where one

the pinta tortoise, due to spends money.

overconsumption of Earth’s “There are people

resources. Now several other who have a lot of money

species, such as the Asian tiger and the polar bear, are but they think they have to spend

on the brink of extinction due to human activity. i t on commodities rather than better

According to National Geographic, people can expect the things, like environmental organizations,” Altman said.

extinction of hundreds of species as well as the destruction of The Environmental Club encourages students to take

Earth’s oceans and forests. action.

With president Jair Bolsonaro recently elected in Brazil, one “We’re trying to get rid of the Styrofoam plates because

can expect to see massive amounts of deforestation. According that’s a big problem in our school. We’re also going to put more

to Business Insider, Bolsonaro plans to privatize the Amazon recycling bins around the school,” Altman said.

rainforest for commercial logging, as well as build a major The Environmental Club meets after school in Timmon’s

highway. room every other Monday and plans to make more

Timmons said people should be worried about “the .changes to the school throughout the year.
“Anybody can show up,” Altman said. “We
impending doom and problems that are going to just talk about what’s going on around the
school and what we can do to help in the
be developed because of (global warming).” future.”

The possible effects of this mass extinction

are “terrifying,” Senior Miranda Bingham said.

“We’ll see lots of disease because as the

6 | november 2018 illustration julie kilpatrick

blood drive | news

nhs blood drives:

not for the faint of heart

Bwriting raymie shields | design julie kilpatrick also been my third time donating, and I would
lood drives can be a great way to give back blood. Only 37 percent of people are able to be getting the red cord,” Mallet said.
to the community, especially for high school donate blood, so if a person is able to, they are
students. Dozens of students signed up to encouraged to do so. Other students wanted to donate but
donate and each one of them saved up to three Several students, like junior Shianne Barret, ultimately had to stop in the middle of giving
blood from passing out. Senior Megan Masciola
lives. got turned down because of their weight or was one of the students who passed out.

For some students, giving blood can be a big body temperature. “I wasn’t necessarily scared “You know what it feels like when you
stand up too fast and your vision gets blurry?
deal, and when they finally get the courage to to give blood, but the thought of a needle in my I felt like that for a few seconds. Then I woke
up hot, laying down, and confused. People were
actually give blood, they could get turned down or arm did make me a little nervous. But, I wanted yelling my name and I didn’t know where I was.
It was really scary,” Masciola said.
even pass out while trying to do something good. to do it regardless,” Barret said.
When people pass out from donating
Donating blood is important because one in Barret was turned down because she didn’t blood, it could be from a number of reasons
according to Registered Nurse with American
four people will need a blood transfusion at some weigh enough, and she wasn’t expecting that at Health Networks Pediatrics Malinda Woodard.
“It’s fairly normal for people to pass out,
point in their life. Every two seconds someone in all. “I walked in expecting to give back, and I especially if it’s their first time donating because
their body doesn’t know what’s going on. They
the United States n e e d s was disappointed when I wasn’t able to,” Barret could also pass out from the sudden drop in
blood pressure or blood sugar levels or just
said. In order to donate blood, one must weigh being anxious about donating in general,”
Woodard said.
over 110 pounds so they have enough blood
To help prevent this, anyone who donates
volume to withstand donating an entire pint of blood should make sure they’re staying

blood. .hydrated for multiple days before they give

If a student donates blood three times blood and should be sure to not only eat before
donating but also eat lots of proteins and sugars,
before they graduate, he or she are eligible to according to Woodard. The next blood drive will
be in January.
receive a red cord to wear on graduation day.

This cord recognizes students who work to

give back to their community.

For junior Zach Mallet, this is one of the

reasons he wanted to donate blood, but he

was turned down due to having a temperature

over 99 degrees.

“I wanted to give blood because

not only is it a great way to give

back, but this would have

illustration julie kilpatrick | photo payton kaufman

Junior Lilly Exterovich gives blood at the NHS fall blood drive. The blood drive took place on Oct. 12 in the aux gym. “I wanted to do it because I wanted to
make a difference, even if it was a small one,” Exterovich said.

november 2018 | 7

sports | signing day

make it official

students commit to collegiate sports

Swriting alexa berisford | design jacob fulton to run cross country and track. In order to make this decision, she focused
weat drips from his forehead, and his hands tremble nervously as he on finding schools that had her major in art education, along with a good
signs a document that will change his life for the next four years. He has running program.
spent months and months trying to decide which school is the best fit
for him. His decision was made, and now it is official. “I chose Ohio State because of the academics and the team. The coaching
staff has been really supportive and believed in me even when I was struggling
Signing a National Letter of Intent is a big commitment for most athletes; with injury. The team is super sweet and nice, and I really felt like I belonged
since 1964, this letter ends the recruiting process for colleges and binds an there when I went on my official visit. And another bonus is it’s super close to
athlete to a school for one academic year. This recruiting process begins
with contact and evaluation of a player and is later followed with a verbal home, so I can still see my family,” Guagenti said.
commitment, which is when an athlete commits to a school before “I chose a school that I would be happy at even if I wasn’t running
signing a letter of intent.
because you never know what may happen injury-wise that could
The “National Letter of Intent is signed by a college-bound end your career. My biggest piece of advice to someone looking at
student-athlete agreeing to attend a Division I or II college for one colleges for athletics is pick a school where you will be happy if you
academic year,” NCAA.org said. are not able to compete,” she said.

However, this verbal commitment is not required. If the In the water, senior Luke Cheetham committed to
National Letter of Intent is not fulfilled, the student athlete “has University of Cincinnati for swim and dive. “I chose my school
to serve one year in residence (full-time, two semesters or three because it’s close to home. I love the campus and the athletes on the
quarters) at the next NLI member institution and lose one season of team. On all of my official visits, Cincinnati felt most like home to
competition in all sports,” according to nationalletter.org.
me,” Cheetham said. He also was “looking for a strong athletic
This year, the first signing period runs from Nov. 14 - 21 and academic school that was very focused on their athletes’
for all sports except football, according to NLI. Therefore, grades and the success of their athletes after college.”
the school’s first signing day took place on Nov. 15 in the Senior Natalia Sompolvorachai, who has also
library. Football signees will be able to start the signing committed to University of Cincinnati for women’s
process on Dec. 19. golf, has decided to focus more on her athletics
than her major though. “I’m planning to major in
Students attending a Division III school do English,” Sompolvorachai said. “I was recruited by the
not receive any athletic scholarships, only merit coach and decided the program was right for me when
scholarships. Therefore, they do not need to sign I went to visit their facilities.”
a letter of intent. Other athletes signing on Nov. 15 are Grace
Weidenhamer to Saint Francis University for soccer,
According to Athletic Director Buck Weaver, Lauren Cheetham
athletes signing to a Division III school will still be to University of
included in the last signing Michigan for dive,
day in April along with Carrigan O’Riley to
any student athlete Xavier University for
who is “competing volleyball, Ashley Au
at the next to Yale University for
level” even if golf, Riley Dean to
they are not Akron University for
a part of a golf, Taylor Metzler to
program at Lake Erie University
Orange.
.for volleyball and
Senior
Allison Brooke Little to
Guagenti Indiana University
committed to of Pennsylvania for
the Ohio State volleyball.
University

VISIT OOHSCOURIER.COM FOR A PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE EVENT ON NOV. 15!

8 | november 2018 illustration jacob fulton

state championships | sports

striding into states

orange athletics advances in state tournaments

Uwriting savannah larsen | design jacob fulton
sually around the time of Nov. or Oct., together. We put the team first,” Au said. contributed to our success this season, but the
bond that most of the girls built to work together as
high school fall sports tend to wrap The team has made immense progress in such a team was one of the key factors; in addition, the
players worked harder than ever in the preseason,
up. However, for many sports, the real a short time. Just four short years ago, the team and that really showed,” Storrer said.

competition is just beginning, as many of the had only placed 13th in the state competition. For cross country, both the girls and boys
teams ran at the regional meet to just fall short
teams were able to work their way into states. “I’m so happy and proud that we made it to of qualifying for states. However, seniors Allie
Guagenti and Andrew Schroff managed to make it
Girls golf made history once again by going states again this year. We knew it would be a tough individually.

to the Division 1 State Championship for the third challenge to do so, but we did our best, and it paid “States is a very hard thing to qualify for.
Staying healthy and in good shape is a hard thing
consecutive year. They finished second, after being off; getting to go to states all four years with the to do for a whole season starting in June. I’m very
thankful to have a good coach that has trained me
state champions the prior two years. team was a dream come true,” Au said. for this race the whole season, and I couldn’t be
more excited to run in it,” Schroff said.
“The path to states was fun yet challenging. Another team that worked its way to the top
Guagenti qualified with a time of 18:58
The team faced a few injuries and there were many was the girls tennis team. For the first time in the minutes and placed sixth overall at regionals.
Schroff qualified with a time of 16:06 and placed
matches where the whole team didn’t get to play 10 years since the school opened, a tennis team
.fifth overall at regionals.
together, which put us at a disadvantage. However, went to states. It placed fourth overall in the state “Going to states is something that you have to
work for the whole season. It will be the first time
every time we were together, we had so much fun championship. I am running there, so I’m excited to go compete
with some of the best,” Schroff said.
and had many memorable experiences,” senior “We had two team goals, and they were to win

girls golf player Ashly Au said. the OCCs and to make it to team states. The girls

The team had an incredible season, with some were also working towards making it to states as

even more notable achievements being that the a doubles team or individual,” head girls tennis

team won OCCs. It placed in a podium spot in coach Susan Storrer said.

every match but one this season. Additionally, the team had many other

“I believe that the reason we were such a achievements throughout the season, including

successful and great team in general was because beating long-standing rival Liberty to win OCCs,

of our team chemistry. All four years everyone the second time ever for the girls’ program.

was able to get along, and we had so much fun “I think there were multiple factors that

photos jacob fulton and savannah byas november 2018 | 9

TIME OUTsports|column
with logan sigler

snooze so you don’t lose

Wwriting logan sigler | design alyssa wallace seizures on unconsciousness. This is caused by abnormal activity in the brain.
aking up to a blaring siren and an IV jabbed into one’s arm is not a I was told that I may or may not ever have a seizure again in my
very pleasant sight or feeling.
Since birth, kids are taught that one of the key things to success entire lifespan, but for the time being, I wasn’t allowed to participate in
in life is sleep. Sleep is such a beautiful thing. It allows people to reboot so any major physical activities for several weeks, including track. In
they can function to their fullest potential every day – only if they get enough addition, I have to take medicine for the next two years every
sleep, that is. single day.
During these weeks, I was unable to do hardly any
Some people believe a lack of sleep isn’t very severe and causes minor physical activities which made me more prone to
or temporary side effects such as fatigue, loss of focus and a minor headache. injury. I was also still recovering from nearly a year of
However, the reality is a lack of sleep can become extremely dangerous. horrible sleep habits, so I still felt lethargic.
Not engaging in any physical activities, besides
One day, I experienced the dangers of sleep deprivation first everyday walking, made it extremely difficult to get
hand during the summer of 2014 when my lack of sleep back into running during the track season, and I
finally caught up to me. often ran poorly compared to my old personal
records.
I fell asleep on the couch for only a few minutes to I was also unable to run alone due to my past
immediately be woken up startled and scared. I was seizures, so I often had to go faster than my actual pace
unaware of my surroundings, strapped to a bed in just to keep up with my friends, which made me feel even
a vehicle with a random stranger next to my mom more tired and hurt even more.
and a needle in my arm. After two years of medication and meeting with my
neurologist, I managed to get my sleep habits under control
I was constantly moved around until I gained and haven’t’ had a seizure in over four years and
full consciousness and realized where I was: the hopefully won’t in the future.
hospital. So athletes, don’t make the
mistake I made of staying up
The entire night and early morning were an extra thirty minutes to
a blur to me. I spent several hours in a hospital text someone or watch
room with my parents and a doctor who floated in a movie. Instead,
and out of the room. athletes should
listen to their
They poked and prodded me in order to take coach and parents
what’s called an electrocardiogram to measure my heart’s
electrical activity and make sure it was normal. It wasn’t. .in order to get

After seven or so hours of interrupted sleep in the hospital, the sleep they
I was finally released. absolutely need;
their health
The weeks following my seizure were the worst depends on it.
weeks of my entire life. I spent days in and
out of germ-infested hospital waiting
rooms and doctors’ offices, still
clueless as to what was going on
with me.

After a few abnormal tests,
infested rooms and meetings
with doctors later, I was told
there was a chance that I had
epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a neuorogical
problem in which victims
have recurrent episodes of

10 | november 2018

quick facts | trending

black SALE
friday

SURPRISING STATISTICS
writing cole lewis | design alyssa wallace | sources the fact site, penny hoarder, us news

In 2016, 102 million Americans went shopping during Black Friday
weekend, which is about 30 percent of Americans.

black friday

used to be called “big friday”...

The New York Times reported that it was renamed Black Friday based on Philadelphia slang, due to the
large amount of smog created by the high number of shoppers.

Black Friday was NOT called the BUSIEST shopping day during the year
until 2001. Christmas Eve was at one point busier than Black Friday.

1 shark attack = approximately
6 injuries during black friday

More people are injured while shopping on Black Friday than injured from shark attacks annually, with an average

of 16 shark attacks each year and 98 people being injured since 2006 due to Black Friday shopping accidents; this

is an average of 11 injuries per year on Black Friday (as of 2015).

Monday online shopping

26 Some stores are starting to make their sales not just limited to Friday.
Some stores are opening up at 3 p.m. on Thursday, as well as continuing
through Cyber Monday.

illustrations alyssa wallace

november 2018 | 11

broader scope | affirmative action

12 | november 2018 photo maddie shrager

affirmative action | broader scope

the race for college admissions

explaining the process of affirmative action

writing hannah mcdavid, shivani rajesh & easton fendru | managing jacob fulton

Sdesign maddie shrager & gwen throckmorton percent is both African Americans and Latinos
enior Jason Hong sits in front of his have access to opportunities they were previously combined, according to CNN.

computer, a web browser open to the denied, such as attending college. “The primary claim is that Harvard has set an

Common Application website. He looks at “The use of race in admissions was first codified

his applications and begins to sift through all the in law through the Regents of the University of unofficial quota on the number of Asian students it

necessary information colleges are asking him to California v. Bakke decision and recodified (with admits, which would be illegal under the University

provide. The questions share a similar monotony limitations) more recently in Grutter v. Bollinger of California v. Bakke ruling,” Bolter said.

that quickly becomes tiring: Why are you the best and Gratz v. Bollinger,” Blackburn-Smith said. According to Business Insider, Michael Wang,

choice? What can you bring to the university? What According to the NSCL, the Regents of the a proponent of Students for Fair Admissions,

experiences do you have that would make you a University of California v. Bakke decision from presents a personal reason for joining the coalition.

great asset? And then, his eyes drift to the very last 1978 outlawed racial quotas but upheld the Wang was rejected by every Ivy League school

inquiry at the bottom. consideration of race in college admissions to he applied to, which is shocking considering

What is your race? achieve a diverse student body. This set the his perfect ACT score, 2230 SAT score and 4.67

As a kid, the man-made walls of division precedent for using race in admissions decisions, GPA. Wang also sang at Barack Obama’s first

have yet to be built. The borders of what make according to Bowling Green State University inauguration and participated in national speech,

people different—age, gender, race—are yet to be political science professor Kathleen Bolter. debate and math competitions.

imposed. As one grows older, however, it is hard In Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger, Wang is just one of many Asian-Americans

to ignore the categories society boxes people two Supreme Court cases, the plaintiffs alleged that who feel that Ivy Leagues, especially Harvard, have

into. No matter the differing views on it, the the University of Michigan unfairly discriminated discriminated unfairly against them. As a result of

words “Affirmative Action” ignite a blaze of various against students on the basis of race. Barbara the case, Harvard revealed that it uses a ranking

opinions and emotions. As one of the many hot Grutter and Jennifer Gratz, both caucasian, system to compare prospective students in a

button topics in politics, being informed on its applied to the University of Michigan at different variety of subject areas.

origin and application to the modern day can help times but were rejected. Grutter and Gratz both The personality ranking test Harvard

ease the tension. felt as if they were qualified for the university and utilizes has five categories of ranking: academic,

THE CURRENT STATE OF cited the school unfairly considered people of extracurricular, athletic, personal and

color over caucasians. The court ruled to uphold “overall.” They also take into account teacher

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION Affirmative Action, but it may not be the “deciding recommendations and an alumni interview if it

factor,” according to Bolter. is present. The investigation prompted by the

Defining factors such as race, gender or “Those decisions said race-neutral efforts to case revealed that Harvard admissions ranked
sexual orientation may seem irrelevant to one’s achieve diversity are best, but when they don’t Asian-Americans highest academically but lowest
qualifications for a job or college application, but work, race may be considered if done in a holistic personality-wise, according to CNN.
in the United States, taking them into account is a review process,” Blackburn-Smith said.
practice referred to as Affirmative Action. The personality category includes traits
Although Affirmative Action was created such as courage and likeability, according to the
Affirmative Action is when “an organization for places of work, colleges began to adopt the Associated Press (AP). Students can receive scores
takes specific actions to meet the needs of policy to increase campus diversity. It was an from one to five, one being “outstanding” and
individuals who come from classes of people effort to provide education for socioeconomically- five being “questionable personality traits.” The
who have been historically discriminated disadvantaged minorities who may have been rating system is loosely defined by Harvard, which
against, or who are under-represented because denied an education in the past, thus increasing prompts more speculation, according to the AP.
of discrimination,” Otterbein Vice President for the opportunities available to them.
Enrollment Management Jefferson R. Blackburn- “Low Asian-American scores arise from
Smith said. In other words, Affirmative Action is a “Historically, how Affirmative Action should a thinly veiled racial stereotype about Asian
government-sanctioned procedure that allows for be implemented was quite fuzzy and much of it Americans,” the Students for Fair Admissions said
the extra consideration of a person who may be was left up to the interpretation of workplaces and in an interview with CNN.
subject to discrimination. universities,” Bolter said.
Hong, a potential Harvard applicant, said that
Originally, Affirmative Action was created to The lack of clarity on how to enforce he feels the personality rating is too subjective for
desegregate colleges and workplaces to better Affirmative Action has created much debate. it to be truly representative of a student.
represent the diversity of the general population. Recently, the act has come under fire from Asian-
President John F. Kennedy signed the executive Americans who allege that Harvard discriminates “I can’t say it came as a surprise really. I
order in 1961, during the Civil Rights Movement, against them, and Students for Fair Admissions is mean, I knew that they were always considering
that established Affirmative Action, according to the group bringing the trial to the United States race as a factor, but with the recent case, what
the National Conference of State Legislatures Federal District Court. For instance, at Harvard, 23 came out with the personal rating system was
(NCSL). This would allow for more minorities to percent of students admitted are Asian-American, pretty surprising,” Hong said. “It doesn’t feel very
50 percent white or other and the remaining 27 accurate to me. You have some interviews being
conducted but not for all students, and most of

november 2018 | 13

broader scope | affirmative action photo maddie shrager

The Otterbein Vice President of Enrollment
Management was interviewed for this story.
The University follows all proper admission
requirements.

the personality traits ware coming from counselor Conference of State Legislators website, only five in place for decades, black and Hispanic students
descriptions and recommendations. If you spend percent of undergraduate students, one percent of are more underrepresented at the nation’s top
eight minutes per student, you’re not going to get law students and two percent of medical students colleges and universities than they were 35 years
a good image of what one person is like. So a lot were African American in 1965. As a result, the ago, according to the New York Times.
of these descriptions can be skewed one way or executive order decreed government contractors
another without actually factoring in the person.” to use Affirmative Action policies in their hiring to “Historically, rich, white males have always
increase the number of minority employees. used their privilege to practice their own unnamed
As a result of this new information, Hong version of Affirmative Action. This is called legacy.
has re-evaluated how he portrays himself on his According to American Progress, women This gave preferences to people applying for
college applications. make up nearly half, and African Americans make college whose fathers and grandfathers had gone
up nearly one-third of the modern day workforce. to elite institutions,” Fitrakis said.
“With the personality rating being factored in, However, some still feel Affirmative Action can
colleges want to value either extroverted traits or address the socioeconomic disparities minorities Other scholars follow the “mismatch” theory
more recently they’re now focusing on maturity experience in the country. Research from Wake proposed by Supreme Court Justice Clarence
and the ability to reflect on yourself. So I’m trying Forest University sociology professor Joseph Thomas, which states that Affirmative Action may
to show colleges that,” Hong said. Soares has found that every family not in the top 10 disadvantage the minorities it was set to help by
percent of income distribution are disadvantaged placing them in schools and jobs that are higher
The case was heard in the Boston Federal by standardized testing. than their ability, thus giving them a hard time.
District Court, and ended on Nov. 2. The judge
presiding over the case, Allison Burroughs, is “The test is a more reliable predictor of “A student who gains special admission to a
expected to release her opinion in early 2019, demographics than it is of academic performance. more elite school on partly non-academic grounds
and both sides have announced they will appeal High school grades are not as compromised by is likely to struggle more. The question is how large
the decision—opening up the path for the case to social demographics as test scores and test scores these effects are and whether their consequences
make its way to the Supreme Court. correlate with family income, which means the outweigh the benefits of greater prestige,” UCLA
higher one’s family income, the higher one’s test Law Professor Richard Sander published in a
THE HISTORY OF score,” Soares said to NC Policy Watch. Stanford Law Review article.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION Currently about 78 percent of universities Junior Rafee Zafar said he believes that a
consider standardized test scores as important person’s capability is more complex than any
Though Affirmative Action has been hotly factors in admission, according to Petersons.com. one characteristic, and therefore he feels that
contested in the current political climate, it has a Paired with Soares’s study and the fact that race/ Affirmative Action can be harmful to students.
historical basis. ethnic minorities are 47 percent more likely to
be low-income, this puts many of the minorities “If people want equality and equal opportunity,
“Affirmative Action was developed to overcome affected by Affirmative Action at risk. As a result then colleges should not be looking at income and
a long legacy of racial oppression, including of this, many believe that Affirmative Action is race or any other determining factors. What should
slavery, discrimination and apartheid, as well as needed. matter is a person’s work ethic, their personality
discrimination against people because of their and what they have done in a proven record. If you
nationality or religion. It was intended to promote “No one claims it’s a perfect policy, but want true equality, then colleges should be blind
equal opportunity for minority groups who were ignoring facets of a person’s identity or pretending to all these factors,” Zafar said. “If we try to look
competing against the majority white population that those factors do not affect a person’s life is for commonalities among each other, then why
in employment and education,” Columbus State problematic,” Dr. Abigail Matthews, an Assistant are we separating people by their differences and
Political Professor Robert Fitrakis said. Professor of Political Science at Miami University, giving them different opportunities?”
said.
In a nutshell, Affirmative Action was intended Due to Affirmative Action being a loose
to level the playing field for those historically While some support Affirmative Action, others amalgamation of different institutional and
setback due to factors such as race, color, religion, question its effectiveness. Despite the policy being employer practices, gathering proper factual
sex or national origin. According to the National data on its effectiveness is difficult. Factors like

14 | november 2018

socioeconomic status have to be taken into meaning we are looking at each application and affirmative action | broader scope
account. However, the general consensus has been every student as a whole,” Dorelien said. “Race
that women and minorities have benefited from and ethnicity are not the first thing viewed on a cultures and groups interacting and such. No
Affirmative Action. Whether it is at the rate that was student’s application, though it is noted.” doubt there’s going to be misconceptions that
hoped or the best way for success is up for debate. people will make about other groups. You’re
One way colleges encourage diversity outside not going to know everything at first, or you’ll
“Certainly it could be more effective. The of admissions is by offering scholarships to eventually assume wrong. That’s where programs
United States could adopt the policies of the minorities based on characteristics such as gender, promoting diversity come in. These programs
European Union, which has approved a plan to race and sexuality. promote diversity through exposure, awareness
ensure that 40 percent of corporate boards in and education and lessen the amount of prejudice,
Europe are women by the year 2020,” Fitrakis said. “We do offer an Ammons-Thomas Award, ignorance and discrimination seen on campus.
which can range from $1000-$5000,” Dorelien They also promote curiosity to learn about other
Affirmative Action is a polarized subject both said. “It is offered to multicultural students who cultures and improve relationships between
socially and politically. Taking a look at the right demonstrate strong scholarship and leadership.” different groups.”
numbers and staying as up-to-date as possible can
help one develop informed opinions, no matter Otterbein also has an Urban District Initiative The benefits of Affirmative Action extend
what they may be. where the university works with Columbus City beyond the boundaries of the college campus.
Schools, Southwestern City Schools, Westerville
UNDERSTANDING THE City Schools, Whitehall Yearling High School “In my opinion, everyone is able to benefit
and Cristo Rey High School in making Otterbein from Affirmative Action because not only are
ADMISSIONS PROCESS affordable for all families that demonstrate underrepresented groups given the chance to
financial need. succeed, but they are also able to contribute
It is safe to say that both the proponents and new ideas to the greater group of people, which
the opponents of Affirmative Action know that Other schools, such as Ohio Wesleyan, have therefore benefits all of society,” senior Kara
its definition and implementation are constantly such small numbers that they don’t have any LaPaglia, who recently applied for college, said.
evolving and elastic. admission quotas.
Contrarily, there are eight states that have
To understand why Affirmative Action “Since our numbers are so small, we review altogether banned race-based Affirmative Action,
breeds a plethora of perspectives, one first needs every single application on an individual basis,” according to The Century Foundation: California,
to acknowledge how colleges go about the Director of Admissions Operations at Ohio Washington, Michigan, Nebraska, Arizona and
admissions process. Lydie Dorelien, an admissions Wesleyan Alisha Couch said. “We pride ourselves Oklahoma. This makes up 29 percent of all college-
counselor at Otterbein University, deals with this on the diversity of our class and welcome students attending students.
process on a daily basis. from all over the world.”
Despite this ban, colleges in those states make
“We look at grade trends, whether a student The Ohio State University has a sector called up for the lack of diversity by focusing primarily on
is taking ‘college prep classes,’ the rigor of those the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, which, socioeconomic factors and financial aid.
classes, involvement inside and outside of school according to their website, was founded in 1970,
and test scores (ACT and SAT). The essay is used with a mission to help shape Ohio State into a Even with the controversy surrounding
to see if the student is writing at a college level. model of inclusive academic excellence. Affirmative Action, supporters still feel it is a
We do look at class rank, your high school profile necessary part of the college admissions process in
and where a student may fall among their peers,” The Office of Diversity and Inclusion offers order to create a more diverse community.
Dorelien said. “We pride ourselves in accepting scholarships, such as the Morrill Scholars Program,
students we feel will thrive at Otterbein and which rewards academically-talented students “Affirmative Action is needed because
become a great members of our community.” who champion diversity and inclusion, as well as equal opportunities are needed for all groups.
participate in diversity-based service. America was built on the marginalization of one
Otterbein’s fall 2017 acceptance rate was 76 group over another, and we still see this present
percent, according to US News. “Financially speaking, OSU was the best
choice. If I didn’t get the (Morrill) scholarship, I .today,” Dorelien said. “As a Haitian American, first
“Otterbein takes the holistic approach, would’ve gone to the University of South Florida,”
2014 graduate Vincent Sansait said. “The amount generation college student and American, I have
of diversity is huge at OSU, with all these different seen this my entire life. My hope is to encourage
all high school students to go to college and be
educated.”

support for affirmative action parties’ view on affirmative action

1996 2014 against for

37% white 57% republican 50% 43%

76% african 81% democrat 15% 78%
american 83%

74% latino

61% asian 69% independent 30% 62%
american november 2018 | 15

illustration maddie shrager | sources nbc news, pew research

design zaida jenkinsthe scene | turtle time
16 | november 2018
the scene

turtle time | the scene

junior alex carter gets to know teddy, an eastern box turtle
living in science teacher jessica timmons’ room. “having
a class pet beyond simply using them for observations
and research allows me and my students to reach and
interact with whole groups of kids that may never take ap
environmental science or anatomy,” timmons said.

november 2018 | 17

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18 | november 2018

medical club | feature

join medical club ‘stat’

rising doctors get informed about future careers

Mwriting olivia dieckmann | design athena heckman other high school clubs available to the student body. The club is the pioneer
edical Club, which is new this year, brings together students as the of future clubs to advance student knowledge in a variety of fields.
future doctors, dentists and surgeons of this generation during its
monthly meetings. Medical Club allows students to advance their Medical Club is designed to be creative and outside-the-box. Very few

knowledge of the medical community. clubs, if any, have made the jump to having professionals speaking at their

Seniors Daniel Shpil and Simran Rai decided to build their club from events.

the ground up this August with the help of their “We host professional healthcare guest speakers

adviser and science teacher Tammy Sensibaugh. “we host professional on a regular basis, which is not something a lot of
Both Shpil and Rai have a passion for medicine. clubs do,” Shpil said.

They each hope to shape their career paths healthcare guest speakers, Shpil and Rai intend to focus on the medical
around a medical specialty or the healthcare field professionals as the center of their club. The main
in the future. which is not something a idea for medical club is to “bring in guest speakers

With over 200 members, students meet lot of clubs do.” to cover various medical fields,” Sensibaugh said.
approximately once per month to hear from guest The club is still accepting new members and

speakers from different specialties within the -daniel shpil anyone interested can text @oohsmed to 81010

world of medicine. For example, the club hosted to find out when the next meeting is. All members

a dental assistant at its most recent meeting. The must attend five meetings throughout the year to

club’s main goal is to give students a perspective on what a day in the life of a continue their membership within the club.

medical professional would look like for students’ future careers. .The leaders of the club are striving to create an environment where
The drive behind the commencement of the club was, “We wanted to
learning new things is fun. Medical Club’s goal is to introduce the student
provide an opportunity for students to learn about what various careers body to new careers that may help them in deciding their futures.
within healthcare may entail,” Shpil explained.
“We want to help people find their passion in medicine while being able
The Medical Club is not only new but also rather unique in contrast to to share their enthusiasm with their peers in the community,” Shpil said.

november 2018 | 19

feature | monopolies

media monopoly

the effects of domination in the entertainment industry

2writing erin jerig | design athena heckman of Facebook users, and Facebook knew it was
.34 billion people worldwide have at least media user and senior Yusra Shegow said. happening for two years, according to CBS News.
Facebook never let users know that their data was
one social media profile. That includes English teacher Laurie Repko teaches her being used without consent. If something like this
were to happen with another social media giant
77 percent of people in the United States, sophomore English students to consider what such as Google, which owns applications such as
Google Maps and Instagram, people could have
almost a third of whom are teenagers, according corporations certain companies are associated their data used without their consent.

to Statista. On top of that, the average American with in order to determine if a source is biased. In the case of Cambridge Analytica, the
data was used to target users with political
teenager spends at least two hours watching “Monopolies are always a threat to limiting both advertisements, but users are also targeted with
personalized advertisements, which are legal.
television a day, according to Business Insider. financial diversity and opportunity. However, we
“I think personalized ads can sometimes help
American citizens willingly give their trust to the are in greater danger in limiting individual voices people find what is specific to their interests, but I
don’t think it’s necessary all of the time,” Shegow
media, but the growth of media corporations and cultural perspectives as those companies are said.

such as the Walt Disney Company and Facebook engaged in media distribution,” Repko said. As media corporations grow, the risks
only seem to amplify. Users are seemingly
threatens to betray them. Companies are less likely to produce content left defenseless against the dangers of media
monopolization. However, there will most likely
Media corporations are becoming increasingly that does not directly impact them in a positive be more safeguards against the misuse of data

monopolistic as they continue to consolidate. As of way. Similarly, they will be more likely to put .because of what happened with Cambridge

now, there are only a few major companies in the out content simply because it benefits their Analytica. Furthermore, the government guards
against monopolies using the Anti-Trust Act, so it is
entertainment and technology industries, meaning conglomerate in some way. “This kind of locus of unlikely these monopolistic tendencies can grow
much further.
there is less competition. control inevitably leads to an insular vision. There

Companies with less competition in their is no way to maintain diversity; companies do not

industries can increase the prices of their self-regulate their vested interests. What obligation

products, but they also may be biased on the do they have to engender broad representation of

content they produce. For example, Amazon owns ideas that do not line their pockets?” Repko said.

the Washington Post, and which could influence However, there are even more factors that

it to produce content that portrays Amazon more put media users in danger. Specifically, with

favorably. social media, the illegal use of consumer data has

“Media monopolization can be dangerous recently become more prevalent, after Cambridge

because it can cause people to live in a certain Analytica was found collecting data from Facebook

bubble of information, and they’re unable to profiles in spring 2018.

see outside of their scope of information,” social This data was taken without the authorization

visualizing the effects of media domination

77 percent of people in the United Almost one third of social media users in 90 percent of American media is
States have at least one social media the United States are teens. controlled by only six companies.

profile. source statista source business insider
source statista
illustration athena heckman
20 | november 2018

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november 2018 | 21

feature | racial profiling

racial profiling

the unspoken truth

“writing mari kebede | design taylor staab
I’ve experienced racial profiling before. I would apartment, and you need to get out.” something” Colotto said.
When talking about racial profiling, there are
always go to the gas station that is right by my However, instances of racial profiling are
two terms that people need to understand: explicit
house to grab some snacks. One day there was not always limited to black and white conflict. and implicit profiling.

a new white lady that worked there. We talked and Argentinian Spanish teacher Camilo Colotto According to Lewis, explicit racial profiling
occurs when someone takes actions against
everything, so we were good. When I went to go get experienced profiling based on assumptions about another person or person, without provocation
or cause, simply because of that person’s ethnic
my snacks, I turned around and I saw the lady out of his nationality. characteristics and/or stereotypes about the person
or group. An example would be a black shopper
her cash register area to come and watch me. I am “It usually happens in the airport; every time in a store who is followed around throughout the
store by someone else for no apparent reason. The
pretty sure she thought that I was going to steal the I would go through the security line, they would person following does not follow anyone else, nor
offers any assistance.
items,” junior Elijah Payne said. always take me to the side, away from everybody
Implicit racial profiling is more difficult
According to business finance teacher and else and scan me even more than everyone else. to detect because a person’s actions towards
another, although without provocation or possible
Black Empowerment Club (BEC) adviser Stephen It also happens when I am in the store and people stereotype, are subtle and not so obvious. An
example would be a black person walking down the
Lewis, racial profiling is an action taken by a person hold on tight to their purses and keep their distance street in one direction and a person walking towards
them in the opposite direction decides to cross the
or group of people towards another person or away from me,” Colotto said.
.street to avoid close proximity to the black person.
group of people based solely upon the ethnic On a smaller and more local scale, students While it is important to look at each situation
on an individual basis to avoid misunderstanding,
characteristics and/or stereotypes associated with and families in the community have had similar there is still value in being aware of the instances of
profiling not only nationally but locally.
or about that person or group of people. experiences.

Nationally, most cases of racial profiling “Whenever I go to the grocery store and start

reported follow white and black people. speaking Spanish, people would always look at me

According to NBC news, also in October, up and down and walk away immediately because

a young black man living in St. Louis, Missouri they were scared,” sophomore Lucia Garcia said.

was followed by a white woman in his apartment Colotto has also felt the effects speaking a non-

complex because she assumed that he didn’t live English language in public.

there. When he was filming her she said, “When “I’ve also experienced in public places like

I opened the door to the complex, you ran in,” different stores. People just look at me differently

assuming that he was trying to break in. When they and start acting up. Especially when I start speaking

got to his apartment, he showed her that he had in a different language, people start to get up or

the keys to the place. However, she still questioned move away. I can just tell that they were terrified,

his reason for being there and said, “This is my probably thinking that I could hurt them or steal

photo illustration taylor staab

22 l november 2018

student profile l feature

she’s one in 10,000

lindsay uhrich really is “pitch perfect”

Twriting sophia rores | design taylor staab Despite all the benefits having perfect pitch seemingly
alent finds a home in many people, especially in students. has for a music student like Uhrich, she considers it a blessing and a
This year’s graduating class is made up of winning athletes, curse. There are even moments when it doesn’t kick in, and Uhrich is left
entrepreneurs and art prodigies. But a rare few are pitch perfect
musicians like Lindsay Uhrich. According to The Creativity in the dark, unable to distinguish the right notes.

Post, only one in 10,000 people have this talent. “I can always tell when the choir is out of tune, and it drives

A senior this year, Uhrich utilizes her rare skill in me crazy. Sometimes, they’re in a gray area where I don’t know

the choirs that she participates in. The acapella if they’re in tune or out of tune, and I never know what note

group, Above the Noise, is where she to sing,” Uhrich said.

has found her talent is needed most. No matter, Uhrich’s contribution to the choir is

The choir director, Cheryl Brooks, said invaluable, and she has become a real leader in the

Uhrich is a valuable contribution to the music department. “We can rely on Lindsay. She is an

choir for she acts as a “human pitch pipe,” outstanding musician, so she is a rehearsal lead. She

leading each rehearsal by humming the can lead a sectional and know other parts easily,”

exact pitch the choir needs to follow. Brooks said.

According to Brooks, perfect pitch On top of helping the choir as a whole, Uhrich

is something a person is born with. If a also uses her talent to help identify whether

student isn’t born with it, they can only another choir student has perfect pitch. “Another

ever train themselves to have relative student started showing signs of perhaps having

pitch. “Perfect pitch is when someone the same gift! Lindsay is putting her through

can, without any coaching/practicing/ some rigorous testing. [Lindsay’s] a natural

training, identify different pitches singer, performer and teacher,” Brooks said.

completely by ear,” Brooks said. As Uhrich finishes her high school career,

Uhrich has lived with this keen s h elooks towards the future, curious as to

awareness of musical notes since the how she’ll make use of her perfect

second grade. It all started with a child’s pitch.
.kids were playing on the piano, and I named each key they played. perform professionally,” Uhrich said.
game between friends, all completely “I probably will [use perfect pitch] without

unaware of the skill within Uhrich. photo credit taylor staab even knowing it. I might be the pitch pipe for

“My music teacher used to babysit me. One day her choirs in the future, but I don’t know if I’ll use it if I

I didn’t think it was that big of a deal until my teacher told me that I had

perfect pitch,” Uhrich said.

1 in every 10,000 are “perfect”or
absolute pitched

inforgraphic taylor staab source creativitypost.com

november 2018 l 23

opinion | trump painting

the republican party
a critique by jack almond

E writing jack almond | design mckenna dunn is tacky and relates to the famous “dogs playing
very president since our country’s represent the first female president of the United poker” series by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge. I can
beginnings has held a place in the National States. She is not at the table yet, but she is understand this perspective. The painting is very
Portrait Gallery for their official painting. approaching it and will be there soon. cut and dry, but I think that is how it is supposed
Following his predecessors, President Donald Although many art critics have found this to be. It is a simple representation of the honor
and class that comes with becoming president and
Trump will as well… but this is not it. painting to be tasteless, I quite enjoy it. With all nothing more.

On Oct. 14, 60 Minutes broadcasted an the media attention that surrounded this past Another part of the painting that received
attention on social media is Trump’s smile. While
interview with the president. The interview took election, Trump is sure to be one of the most well- he appears to be looking at Lincoln, he is giving a
very proud smile. Honestly, I do not blame him.
place at the White House, and many viewers were known Republican presidents in history, so why I too would be proud to be at the same table
as Abraham Lincoln, and hats off to Thomas for
drawn to a painting hanging on the wall in the not put him up there with Lincoln and the rest portraying it so well.

background. regardless of how one feels about him? Overall, I like what the painting is doing. With
all of the wild politics that go on nowadays, it is
The painting, titled “The Republican Club” This painting made a big splash on social nice to have a painting like this to ease the stress

by Andy Thomas, depicts Trump sitting at a table media, as does everything associated with Trump, .in a way. Rather than criticize Thomas, I respect

with former presidents of the Republican Party, and many people simply used their political his ability to paint a picture that is now hanging
up in the White House. A painting does not always
including Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. opinions to decide their attitude towards the have to have some double meaning. Sometimes a
painting is just a painting.
They all have drinks of their choice; Trump’s is a painting. In reality, a person’s political stance

Diet Coke, according to Thomas. should not determine how they feel about this

In an interview with The New York Times, painting, or about Thomas.

Thomas said, “One thing (Trump) specifically Thomas has also painted “The Democratic

mentioned was he didn’t usually like portraits of Club,” which pictures Former President Barack

himself, but he said he really liked that one.” I Obama in the company of past Democratic

guess when one is sitting with the greats, there is presidents like Bill Clinton and John F. Kennedy.

not much to complain about. He also painted a series that showed Obama

Pictured in the background is an image of playing pool with past Democratic presidents.

a woman without a clear face. This is meant to Many people are saying that the painting

photo credit: mckenna dunn

24 | november 2018

thanksgiving celebrations | culture

passing the plate
students of different cultures celebrate thanksgiving

Mwriting samantha mcmanus | design mckenna dunn the meal is extremely large and takes a lot of effort
ashed potatoes, gravy, rolls and freshly but the women typically wear traditional Indian to make so it is eaten very rarely,” Fernandez said.
baked pumpkin pie. That’s the traditional clothes,” Rai said.
Thanksgiving meal, but there are individuals in the azer family

the school who don’t think of turkey and green Junior Carol Azer finds herself looking
forward to Thanksgiving all year. In fact, Azer only
the fernandez familybean casserole when Thanksgiving comes to mind. has one criterion for her Thanksgiving meal. “I
really don’t care what culture the food is from as
These people and their families share unique Like much of the school, junior Joseangel long as I get to eat something good,” Azer said.
traditions that often go unnoticed. Fernandez, has heritage from multiple locations
Although Azer doesn’t care where the food
the rai family around the world. “My mom is from Medellin, comes from, her parents prefer Egyptian cuisine
Colombia, and my dad is from San Jose, Costa and continue to make the traditional food they
grew up eating. “My parents both grew up in
The Rai family is one of many that celebrate Rica,” Fernandez said. Egypt, so most of the food we eat for everyday
Thanksgiving in a non-traditional fashion. Having While Rai celebrates Thanksgiving with her dinners is traditional Egyptian cuisine. So every
celebrated Thanksgiving with New Delhi cuisine year when Thanksgiving comes around, that’s just
all her life, this non-traditional Thanksgiving meal traditional Indian cuisine, Fernandez doesn’t eat what makes the most sense to eat,” Azer said.
is the norm for senior Simran Rai. his culture’s traditional meal. “We tend to eat
at a friend’s house, and we eat the traditional Other than the ethnic food, the Azer family’s
“For Thanksgiving, my family eats a variety of Thanksgiving meal,” Fernandez said. Thanksgiving traditions are very similar to the
ethnic foods made of rice, vegetables, spices and most practiced. “We always eat a lot more food
curry,” Rai said. While Fernandez and his family don’t than normal and eat earlier than usual, around 4
eat traditional Colombian food on Thanksgiving p.m.,” Azer said.
Many may wonder: “Doesn’t she miss the they like to enjoy a traditional dish on other
amazing smell of apple pie?” Rai makes it clear that special occasions. “On special occasions we eat Whether the food one eats originates from
that is not an issue to her. the traditional meal, Bandeja Paisa, from Medellin,
Colombia where my mom is from,” Fernandez .Asia, Africa or North America, Thanksgiving is
“I enjoy eating my own culture’s food,” Rai said.
said. about spending time with family, being thankful
Like Rai, Fernandez would rather eat his and of course stuffing oneself with great food. “A
While the food they eat is different, the culture’s traditional cuisine on Thanksgiving. tradition we have is to say what we’re thankful for.
day consists of the same sentimental value any “Bandeja Paisa would definitely be my prefered My usual response is the food,” Azer said.
tradition brings to a family. Thanksgiving meal,” Fernandez said.

“In the evening, we gather at a family Unfortunately eating traditional Medellin
friend’s house for dinner, which is typically eaten cuisine is out of reach because the meal is very big.
somewhat late at around 8 p.m. The men and “We would eat Bandeja Paisa on Thanksgiving but
children normally wear regular American clothes,

Olentangy Orange students Simran Rai (left) Joseangel Fernadez (middle) and Carol Azer (right) all have unique
celebrations of the beloved holiday, Thanksgiving. Many of their traditions stem from their culture, such as food and garb.
Although it may be different than the traditional Thanksgiving many of their peers celabrate, it is still a fun holiday where
they can express their gratitude and thanks.

november 2018 | 25

opinion | album review

‘the carter v’ a critique

writing cole robb | design darius butler “Dedicate” is also an honorable mention at song number three, with
Wayne not holding back from throwing as much word play and delicate
After seven years of waiting, Lil Wayne has finally come out with the fifth verses as he can at his audience. Lines like, “Billion dollar smile, I sell myself
installment of his Carter projects, dubbing it “Tha Carter V.” The series short if I grin, I’m bargaining then,” fit Lil Wayne’s style perfectly with how
of albums first started in June 2004 and continued into the fourth proj-
ect ending in August 2011. Ever since, Lil Wayne has been in legal battles with he’s able to mesh words together to make funny and
his label for the rights to release “Tha Carter V,” thoughtful pieces of work.
which gained a massive amount of media atten-
tion and talk in the music industry, according to Tracks four to 14 were a lot slower song beats
complex.com. that cater to Lil Wayne speeding them up with some
of his lyrics. “Let it Fly” featuring Travis Scott was no
Over the years, this series of has gone to disappointment, with high energy flows and a steady
gross in 8.7 million copies. With the release of beat. Not to mention songs like “Can’t Be Broken”
“Tha Carter V” on Sept. 28, fans all over were and “Open Letter” do a lot to prove to me that Lil
more than excited to see what it had to offer af- Wayne can still hold his own and isn’t reliant on fea-
ter such an anticipated wait. After listening to the tures.
entire album more than multiple times, I can say
I’m glad I waited. The rest of the album seemed to be a little more
filled with hints of solid beats like the songs “Used
The tracklist consists of 23 songs with four To” and “Let it All Work Out”. Although there wasn’t
features from big name artists Travis Scott, Nicki anything crazy special about these tracks, that’s not
Minaj, Nivea and xxxtentacion, who died earlier saying Lil Wayne was lackluster until the end of the
this year. Although the album doesn’t have a lot of album-- especially since “Tha Carter V” had a record
guest features, I think Lil Wayne’s raw talent picks tying 22 (out of 23) songs on the album making it on
up anything the album is lacking. Billboard’s Hot 100.

The first three tracks on the album were defi- .Overall, Lil Wayne fought for seven years for this album to be released.
nitely meant to be there, as they do a lot to start off the album with some en-
ergy. The xxxtentacion feature in the leadoff track “Don’t Cry” serves more as The first half of the project is outstanding and does nothing but show how
background vocals more than anything. However, it still gives a lot of emotion even at 36, Lil Wayne still has his place in modern music and will go down as
to a song that was already empowering with Lil Wayne’s slow but steady flow one of the best of our time. While the rest of the album is nowhere near bad,
throughout the song. it just gives more of the Wayne people were missing out on all of these years.

26 | november2018

royal family | opinion

ROYALLY OBSESSED
why love the monarchs when we have moguls?

Pwriting maddie miller | design darius butler
antyhose, exquisite weddings and diamond In contrast, the United States’ pop-culture, that it’s OK to overtly and horribly hate on these
celebrities, and on not-so-celebrities, whether it be
rings: what is it about the English royals instead of charity galas and pristine fashion, focuses out of jealousy, spite or just pure negativity.

that captivates our attention? From Princess more on social media and reality stars, especially Everyday, hate comments and false scandal
stories spiral around the internet, making it a
Diana’s acts of charity, to Duchess Meghan Markle’s the iconic Kardashian/Jenner family. Piles of news normal occurrence for people to be hateful and
hurtful towards others.
pregnancy announcement, the American attention sources, American and foreign, have dubbed the
With this atmosphere of hate and degradation
towards the royalty has been proven time and time Kardashians as “America’s Royal Family”. that we’ve curated, I believe that it plays a part in
why so many have become so obsessed with the
again, through news stories, social media or simply While there’s no denying the often scandalous royal family. The family puts their charity and
elegance into the spotlight, which not only puts
a discussion at the dinner table. lifestyle of the family, it’s difficult to denounce the the competitive nature of social media on pause,
but also reminds us of kind-hearted values.
The royals serve as elegant and admirable role empire that the Kardashians have built, from their
Of course there’s nothing wrong with looking
models for many Americans and allow us to have show “Keeping up with the Kardashians” averaging up to one of the Kardashians or another media-star
as your personal ‘royalty,’ but it’s no secret that
some escape from the envy-stirring, media-driven two million views, to mogul Kylie Jenner gaining a the Kardashians aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. The
royals offer something for everyone, whether it be
atmosphere we live in. worth of $900 million dollars before the age of 21, high fashion, charitable values or simply just a less
controversial family to be entertained by.
The royals have historically kept a somewhat according to Forbes Magazine.
So overall, our obsession with the English
mysterious and regal air about themselves; However, with all of this wealth and
.monarchy is nothing to be ashamed of because
however, the addition of Princess Diana into the popularity being displayed, there comes a
it offers a different reality than social media and
royal family in the 80s and 90s created a new idol downside. The hyperactive and high-standard scandals. Is social media bad? No, it offers so many
ways to keep us interconnected. Can the culture
for many to admire. social media that surrounds the Kardashians and
we’ve created from it be improved? Absolutely.
Diana, known as the “Princess of the many other role models creates an extremely

People,” introduced a spirit of service and social competitive and sometimes hateful environment.

awareness to the public eye with her involvement The constant footage of high-end cars, new

in dozens of charities and advocation for HIV/AIDs fashion looks and the illusions of perfect lifestyles

prevention, cancer treatment and mental illness leads many to compare themselves with media

research, according to Harper’s Bazaar. Carrying icons. For some, these comparisons can lead to

these characteristics on through the generations, lower self-esteem and the feeling that you need

Diana’s son Prince Harry and his wife, Duchess to constantly be updated with the coolest clothes,

Meghan Markle, have continued the charity-work cars or simply just the coolest media feed.

and good spirit. And what’s worse, it also gives people a notion

photo illustrations darius butler

prince william and princess members of the famed, and prince harry and meghan markle
catherine controversial, kardashian family

november2018 27

opinion | through different lenses

through different lenses:

uniforms establish common ground
Iwriting katy schroeder | design hannah logan
roll over in bed, peek at my clock and it says… colors. Now I need my shoes, but it’s cold out so I season and replace clothes as the year goes on,
7 a.m.?!?!? I have to be at school in 20 minutes! need my boots. But these boots don’t match these because who wants to wear the same outfit twice?
I jump out of bed and scramble through my jeans so now I need to find my leggings, but not
Also, uniforms would help administration avoid

room looking for something to wear. I found my the athletic ones, the ones with the mesh designs conflict with dress codes. How many times have

jeans, but now I need my sweater. This sweater in them. students walked into the school and had all eyes

doesn’t match these socks though so I need different This rushing and stressing in the morning on them, not in a flattering way though? Overly

to find an outfit and make it to school on time is exposed bodies in general is not appropriate for

unnecessary for young teenagers. It would be much school, for both male and female students. With a

easier for parents and students if students wore simple code that students have to follow, breaking

school uniforms. the code would be more of a black and white

Back to school shopping is concept with no exceptions or wiggle room. High

something a lot of parents dread. It’s school should be about grades and making plans

expensive and very time consuming. for the future, unfortunately, wealth and popularity

Each student wants to find the takes over priority at times. Your style puts you into

cliques that may not

“school uniforms necessarily match
your personality.

would create a Clothes and name
sense of unison brands can make
others seem on a
higher or lower social
scale than their peers.

throughout School uniforms
would create a sense

the school and of unison throughout
the school and

eliminate the eliminate the bias of
looks. Now, not all

bias of looks” students are worried
-katy schroeder about how they
look and if they’re
considered to be in
the “in” crowd, but

if they are, student

perfect new outfit that they’ll probably only uniforms would release the tension from some

wear once for the first day to school. But if we students.

had uniforms, back to school shopping would only .So next time you’re out doing your back to
include ordering a few items of clothing, in larger
quantities, saving time and money. According to school shopping, think about how much easier it
TheStreet, parents will spend an average of $284 would be to if you only had to buy one outfit. You
could roll out of bed, throw on your button up and
on each child for back to school clothes in Sperrys and be on your way to school.

2017. However, the average cost of school

uniforms is $249. Keep in mind, once the

school uniforms are purchased, the

families are done buying for the year.

One only buys one set of outfits

per year. But when families buy

regular clothes, they have to

buy something for each

photos hannah logan

28 | november 2018 photo illustrations hannah logan

through different lenses | opinion

the debate on uniformity

modern times call for free expression
Iwriting bethany jones | design hannah logan
, wake up at 6:30 a.m. to my alarm for school flatter or feel comfortable to everyone. Someone Ultimately, although there are some

going off. When I finally muster the courage should not be required to wear something that valid points for the implementation of school

d to get out of bed, I walk over to my closet they are not comfortable wearing. In addition, uniforms, students should have the right to
e and go through the same routine as I do every most schools have one uniform for boys and one wear what they want when it comes to school.
s day. I find the boring old uniform I have to wear for girls. However, this could pose an issue for Research suggests that uniforms do not have
.g
y every day instead of the new outfit I got over the people who are transgender. Students shouldn’t a large effect on reducing negative concepts
weekend, and that’s it; I’m ready for school. be forced to wear clothes that correspond with a that schools would prefer to eliminate, which
r
a For an extended period of time, issues gender they don’t identify with. diminishes much of the argument for school

concerning the clothing students wear to school One concept many supporters of school uniforms.

e have been a recurring topic of debate. One uniforms tend to push in this debate is that
h commonly proposed solution is for schools school uniforms reduce bullying, any existing
s to adopt uniforms. According to the National socio-economic divides, and improve
Center for Education Statistics, in the 2015–16 concentration. However, according to

o school year, 21 percent of public schools in the Education Week, David L. Brunsma,
t United States reported they required students researcher at the University of Missouri-
h to wear uniforms. However,
. there are a multitude of
e reasons why letting students

“students shouldwear clothing of their choice

a is the preferable option.

not be required tol Students select the
outfits they wear to school
wear somethingas a form of expression.
School uniforms would
that they aret restrict a student’s ability
d to be creative and express

not comfortablef themselves through their

l outfits. Furthermore, most
d careers require a college

wearing.”y degree. Some high schools
prepare students for college
n in order to get such a -bethany jones

t degree. Instead of requiring
t students to wear a uniform,
professional dress is required instead. This offers Columbia, writes in “The School Uniform

an opportunity for students to develop their Movement and What It Tells Us About American

professional style, and find out what works for Education”, “despite the anecdotal meanderings

them when it comes to future job-appropriate of politicians, community members, educators,

u clothing. board members, parents and students, uniforms

d Uniforms can also have a negative effect on have not been effective at attacking the very
students’ self-image. One style ofclothingdoesnot outcomes and issues they were assumed to aid.”

School uniforms also promote conformity

and lessen individuality. With the school telling

students what they can and cannot wear, it takes

away a student’s freedom to make their own

decisions. Some may see this as a violation of

a student’s First Amendment rights, since

expression is similar to the freedom of

speech, and every individual has the

right to freely express themselves.

november 2018 | 29

opinion | politics at dinner

the elephant and the donkey in the room

avoiding political battles at the dinner table
writing olivia dieckmann | design sophia leonetti
with the rule of “If they’re not invited, they’re not a topic of conversation.”
You sit down to a chaotic Thanksgiving dinner. Your uncle, seated at the
head of the table, is passionately teaching your 6-year-old nephew the Unless guests find themselves sharing a bloodline with Hillary Clinton or
best technique for polishing a gun; even having him practice on his
Nerf gun. On the opposite end of the table, your 20-year-old cousin is making Donald Trump, the party should be in the clear.
plans with the ‘cool aunt’ of the family to attend an upcoming rally in D.C.
over New Year’s. You glance at the watch on your wrist and calculate that you Many families or groups on Thanksgiving come from near and far to share
have about eight minutes before their annual political match. Is it really too
much to ask to eat in peace? a meal and take part in tradition together. Personally, my family drives almost

Simply put, talking about politics is one of the few topics that two hours and 30 minutes for our annual event. Others that join us drive
should be left off the table. Instead of focusing on such
a controversial genre of conversation, families and anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours as well. With many different views
friends should give attention to the meaning
of the day: giving thanks for everything and perspectives reflected by the range of those attending,
they have and enjoying a day with the
people who are the most important. a political war could easily erupt. Everyone takes great
There’s nothing more awkward
than a couple of family members, effort in making Thanksgiving happen, so everyone
whom are both loved dearly but
disagree, going at it, especially over should adopt the mindset of not spoiling the night by
the holidays. While one may not agree
with all of the views and beliefs at getting into a fight.
their Thanksgiving table, everyone is
entitled to their opinion, and there If everyone makes such an effort to get
is certainly a time and place for a
(hopefully) civilized disagreement. together, the last thing anyone wants to
The holiday season is not such a time.
Most children, from a very young deal with is harsh words or
age, are taught by their
parents not to talk about offended family members and
someone behind their
back. As adults, this can guests who feel awkward.
be easily implemented
into one’s holiday dinner It’s similar to the feeling of

being at a friend’s house,

and they’re getting yelled

at by their parents. Unsure

of what to do, an unpleasant vibe drifts into the

room. This wave is exactly what every family should

aim to remove from their November feast.

It is certainly no one’s goal to hurt or upset

another person, but unfortunately it is relatively easy

to do. The easiest way to keep the calm, cool and

.collected atmosphere of your get together? Withhold

opinionated comments that could be harshly disagreed
with, taken in a way that wasn’t intended meaning
or create a cloud of intense awkwardness over an
otherwise sunny 4p.m. dinner.

politics at the dinner table illustration sophia leonetti

source pbs In 2017, PBSNewsHour

constructed a poll on political
talk at Thanksgiving.

58% of Americans dread talking politics
31% of Americans are eager to talk politics
11% of Americans are uncertain

30 | november 2018

column | opinion

Sidetracked
with Angelica Dzodzomenyo

the other side of black friday

Ewriting angelica dzodzomenyo | design sophia leonetti Retail stores commonly offer 40 percent off or
very year the day after Thanksgiving, Workers and shoppers can get trampled in the buy two get the third free deals, which can actually
millions of Americans (including me) go early morning rush or hurt by people who want be found at other times in the year. Besides, the
Black Friday shopping. According to USA the last item on the shelf. Since 2006, 10 people best way to save money isn’t to look for a sale: it’s
Today, 164 million Americans leave their homes have died and 105 more have been injured while
“because only in
early Friday morning to score deals from major going Black Friday shopping. america people
trample each other
retailers. What fuels the need for Black Friday is for sales exactly
one day after being
One year in particular, my siblings and I went understandable. People want to save as much thankful for what
they already have”
extra early to the shops, arriving at about 8 a.m. money as possible, especially with -unknown

We went to the Polaris Mall, and then to Best Buy the holidays to not buy anything at all.
In the months leading up to the holidays,
and Target. In reality, I wanted to go more for the coming up.
it’s easy to get caught up in a consumerist frenzy,
experience than to buy any particular item. especially when there are still Christmas presents
to be bought (and companies look to boost their
I saw people stacking their cars with fourth quarter earnings). On the other hand, it’s
important to remember the intent of all these
anything from 60” TVs and tens of Bath and holidays.

Body Works candles, to endless amounts Thanksgiving should be an opportunity to
simply be grateful for all the wonderful people
of clothing and countless pairs of shoes. and things in ones life and to spend time with
loved ones. If anything, the holiday season should
The most aggressive shoppers came at the
be a time to take a break from our fast-paced
beginning of the day, and the shops were left
.consumerist society, not further it.
bare by mid afternoon. Although it can be fun, this year, I’m
going to skip Black Friday shopping to
By the end of the day, I had purchased focus on what Thanksgiving should be
all about.
some clothes, accessories and cosmetics, none
november 2018 | 31
of which I still use now. It was fun but also

exhausting.

Looking back on that experience makes

me question Black Friday. Although the day can However,

be exciting and there are plenty of deals, the Black Friday

whole affair strikes me as ironic. deals aren’t

The day after we are thankful to God and all that

celebrate our appreciation for what we have with impressive if

our families, we go out and buy millions of dollars’ you take a

worth of consumer goods. One could even say deeper

that Black Friday is hypocritical. If we were really look.

thankful, we wouldn’t have the need to go out and

buy more.

Many of these items aren’t even

things that we truly need. The coveted

technological gadgets that people wake

up at dawn for will be replaced by

newer, shinier models the next year,

and the vast majority of fast fashion

won’t last more than several

washes.

Still, people are

convinced these items

are necessities,so much

so that they are willing

to fight for them.

Olentangy Orange High School 2840 East Orange Road Lewis Center, Ohio 43035