November 2023

November 2023 Volume 16 Issue 2 2840 E Orange Rd, Lewis Center, Ohio, 43035 CENSORED THE COURIER November 2023 Volume 16 Issue 2 “As an educator in general, I find it dangerous. The ‘resources’ of PragerU are not vetted or academically grounded. The fact that these materials are now being offered as legitimate curriculum is harmful.” -Brooke Sandy “Parental rights do not cease to exist at the classroom door and many parents do not wish to co-parent with their school district. Parents would like public schools to focus on ELA, math, science and history and leave the rest to the parents.” -Jennifer Feucht

2 NOVEMBER A D S DESIGNER | MAKENNA SHRAGER

TABLE OF CONTENTS STAFF EDITORS TAYLOR GOUDIE | WRITING NICK WOOLARD | WRITING MAKENNA SHRAGER | DESIGN KARI PHILLIPS EDITORS IN CHIEF ADVISER NOVEMBER 3 AVA VALENTIK | NEWS & CULTURE ADAM WELCH | SPORTS & COLUMNIST MOLLY SULLIVAN | OPINION LUNA PEREZ DELGADO | FEATURE ABI WYKOFF | COPY EDITOR NATALIA FAVILA INACUA | BUSINESS NATHAN STATEN | BUSINESS CAROLINE ALBERT | PROJECTS AUDREY SELSOR | DESIGN & PHOTO LILLY WOOD | DESIGN & PHOTO VALENTINA URBAEZ | COLUMNIST MALAK CHAHBOUB ZION CLIFTON CHAYCE GIDDENS LINCOLN HAKE ELLA KIRK ABBY KUILAN SHIV MAJMUDAR MACKENNA MILLER REEMA MOHAMED RAFIQ HIYA PATEL REBEKAH RICHTER SAVANNA SMITH THE SCENE P. 16 P. 12 BIG ABOUT BOYER P. 21 WAR IN GAZA P. 7 LOCO FOR HOCO P. 18 THE AGE OF POLITICIANS P. 24 TOC DESIGNER | MAKENNA SHRAGER CHECK OUT THE COURIER’S ONLINE SITE! ALL YOUR FAVORITE WRITERS AND DESIGNERS GO DIGITAL. SCAN THE CODE WITH YOUR CAMERA TO BE TAKEN DIRECTLY THERE! COVER DESIGNER | MAKENNA SHRAGER 3 CENSORED PICTURED ON COVER | SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER BROOKE SANDY

STAFF EDITORIAL S T A F F E D I T O R I A L the effects of echo chambers WRITER THE EDITORIAL STAFF | DESIGNER HIYA PATEL 4 NOVEMBER 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. Democrats and Republicans are the furthest apart in ideology than they have been in 50 years, according to Pew Research Center. This has led to 65 percent of Americans feeling exhausted at the thought of politics. Over the past decade, political polarization has reached all-time highs with events such as the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, the overturning of Roe v. Wade and three government shutdowns in the span of five years. Evidence of polarization can also be seen through the past two presidential elections as candidates and platforms from each political party have become more consistently liberal or conservative. A lot of questions have come up regarding the cause of an exponential increase in political division. We believe that modern media and social media have played the biggest role in the vast growth in ideological divide. With the growth of the internet and mass communication, a vast variety of media outlets have developed. In order to stand out, each media outlet began catering its reports and stories to its audience, significantly increasing bias to its previously journalistic and objective information. People started to gravitate toward media outlets that aligned with their opinions and point of view. As a result, political echo chambers quickly formed, further polarizing Americans on issues that already created division. U.S. citizens recognize this as 66 percent agree that political views of media outlets affect the ability of news organizations to treat all sides of an issue fairly, according to Pew Research Center. In addition to the development of echo chambers in media outlets, social media echo chambers also contribute greatly to the polarization in politics in the United States. Social media users typically look for their feed to give them information and ideas that they are interested in and agree with. This easily becomes an opportunity for echo chambers to develop. However, social media echo chambers have the difference that they are created both consciously and subconsciously. Social media algorithms show the user content that it thinks the user will agree with (some of this content being radicalized arguments of their personal opinions) creating more extreme point of views, according to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Over time, these issues have become significantly worse as extremist ideologies rise above all others. Political extremists find confirmation of their arguments in their own echo chambers, which leads to further radicalization of their ideas. This radical extremism creates a disproportionate representation of political views within the political debate in America. This not only creates further polarization between opposing parties, but distrust of traditional journalism and government provided data as well, according to Wired. If the development of echo chambers continues, the country will fall into an impossible divide in which agreements will never be reached or accepted. We, as dutiful citizens, need to take responsibility for ourselves and break out of this extremist cycle. We believe that media literacy education is the key to breaking the cycle. By learning how to analyze information from media and social media and assessing its validity, we can start to understand the opposing side’s arguments and come together to reach an agreement..

GOING HAM E D I T O R I A L the real beef of thanksgiving WRITER NICK WOOLARD | DESIGNER HIYA PATEL NOVEMBER 5 I t’s an experience that most people have gone through: sitting there at Thanksgiving dinner, listening to one's uncle ramble on about the election, while Grandpa argues that the Steelers are going all the way this year. It’s a truly normal holiday experience. While the holidays are seen as a time to catch up with family in a peaceful and friendly way, in recent years it has seemed to become the opposite. They have evolved into a day to debate, argue and get true emotions out. But all this useless blabber about politics and sports has seemed to overshadow what the true debate of the holidays should be. Thanksgiving is a time to reconnect and give thanks to family, friends, jobs, privilege and more. But, most importantly, Thanksgiving is a time to eat. The people of America need to realize that Thanksgiving shouldn’t be about politics, or the sports; it should be about the meat. Now, of course most people would assume the cliché opinion about Thanksgiving meat. Everyone has always seen the turkey as the icon and star of this holiday. But it’s time people finally move on from the overrated and overeaten meat and begin their lifelong relationship with ham, or the delicacy that I like to call it. For starters, ham just straight-up tastes better. It is so much juicer than a dry-piece of burnt turkey, which improves its overall taste. As well as this, it has a texture that gives more pleasure to the mouth. It’s smooth and keeps its form, unlike turkey, which dry qualities make it easier to break and crumble. Adding to that, ham also has much better customizations, compared to turkey. Every single year, my family goes to Honey Baked Hams and buys a cinnamon and honey glazed ham to eat on Thanksgiving Day. This impeccable meat is the staple of the season for me. Each piece is skillfully glazed with just enough cinnamon and sugar to improve its taste; each bite will perfectly hit the taste buds and send the feeling of heaven throughout the body. But more than the glaze, the ham is cooked and prepared to perfection, whether it’s the perfect pink color or its ability to rip so easily, it can easily be identified as a masterpiece. For my house, the turkey stays untouched. Even when freshly pulled out of the oven, all of the family still gravitates to the formidable chunk of meat that is the honey glazed ham. The pathetic piece of turkey stays untouched, even when it is considered a leftover. Now, there is a strong argument from the other side, giving real, scientific data that turkey is the superior meat. Turkey meat has much higher content of protein, vitamins, copper, magnesium and phosphorus, and a much lower level of sodium, according to Yahoo Sports. But one has to remember that Thanksgiving is not about staying healthy. The whole point of Thanksgiving is to eat all that the heart desires, and a major part of that is the less healthy foods. So while ham may not be as healthy, the mental and emotional benefits that it gives a person overpowers the extra sodium found in the meat. Don’t feel ashamed picking up that extra piece of ham; it’s the reason for the season!. 35 percent of students prefer ham over turkey acording to a poll that was done on The Courier’s Instagram page. 65% percent of students prefer turkey over ham acording to a poll that was done that was done on The Courier’s Instagram page.

N E W S writers’ strike halts hollywood WRITER TAYLOR GOUDIE | DESIGNER NATALIA FAVILA INACUA 6 NOVEMBER These past few months, Hollywood has experienced a shutdown as writers went on strike with goals to receive higher pay and other important values to their work. On May 2, writers as a part of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began their strike with support from actors as a part of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), which put a halt to all their work. Writers were striking for higher wages, a restriction on the use of artificial intelligence (AI), a shift in standards for self-taped auditions and eliminating the usage of mini-rooms, which create a lack in job security, according to The Washington Post. “The most recent advancements in AI caused the strike to finally happen because writers are fearful that their jobs will be replaced, and the replacement will be due to AI using their work to produce new work, which is essentially plagiarism,” Library Media Specialist and Film Club Adviser Glenn Nunn said. “However, the issue spans much further back. The change to streaming services resulted in many writers being paid less while series budgets increased. So, like most things in life, the short answer is money.” Because writers are the backbone of many shows, movies and other forms of entertainment, these productions were stopped. Shows such as “Saturday Night Live” and other late-night talk shows canceled episodes and paused production following the strike. Even the production of the new “Wicked” movie had to be shut down just a few days before they were set to finish shooting due to following striking rules and guidelines. “Writers and actors were unable to do their jobs, and nonwriters were asked not to take writers’ jobs (be scabs) so that their strike was valuable. Some shows (the ‘Drew Barrymore Show’ for example) decided to use scabs anyway and were very quickly socially rejected,” junior and President of Film Club Khushi Gagrani said. There were various rules that writers and actors had to follow in compliance with being members of the WGA and SAGAFTRA. Some main rules included that WGA members were not allowed to produce any writing, whilst SAG-AFTRA members were not allowed to act or promote their projects, according to NPR. This inability for writers to write scripts will cause a delay in many shows and movies being released in the future. The strike affects the average person who wants to enjoy more shows and movies, yet nothing can be released. “The strike definitely had effects on delaying many shows and programming. As consumers we experienced this already with shows that are nightly live shows, but most of us and especially young people will start to see the effects now because of streaming services,” Nunn said. “Many of these series would be airing about now but won’t be because everything was pushed back.” Strikers tried to reach an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which is a trade association that represents hundreds of different film and television production companies around the country, according to the AMPTP. On Sept. 24, an agreement was momentarily reached for the WGA with the AMPTP. A tentative deal included a pay increase, AI restrictions and smaller writing staff, amongst other ideas, according to the LA Times. “The writers’ minimum wage will rise and there are various other compensation packages with extra benefits as well,” Nunn said. On Oct. 10, the agreement went on to be ratified, which put an end to the strike that had gone on for over five months. This three-year contract will be effective through May 1, 2026, according to AP News. This agreement will set standards of overall better treatment for writers and put more value to all the work that they do. Actors are continuing to strike, though, as their agreement fell through on Oct. 11. They demanded viewership bonuses that would “increase compensation for performers whose projects are very successful, a measure that would require the studios to make public the viewership for streaming content — something they’ve resisted,” according to Vox. The talk of agreement between SAGAFTRA and AMPTP has now been suspended. According to AMPTP’s statement, they said, “It is clear that the gap between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA is too great, and conversations are no longer moving us in a productive direction.” Writers have received support to get the treatment that they deserve in their industry. However, the effects of this strike will still be felt for months and years to come. “I think for now it is a win and will protect writers. However, long term is hard to say due to the use of AI which isn’t going anywhere,” Nunn said. WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA ON STRIKE! FROM MAY 2 TO SEPTEMBER 27, 2023 WGA WENT ON STRIKE DUE TO DISPUTES WITH AMPTP! THE DISPUTES CAME FROM DISAGREEMENTS OVER WAGES, PROTECTION FROM A.I., AND HIGHER ROYALTIES. PUTTING DOWN THE PEN .

WAR IN GAZA N E W conflict in israel and palestine S WRITER CAROLINE ALBERT | DESIGNER & ILLUSTRATION NATALIA FAVILA INACUA The ongoing conflict between what is modern day Israel and Palestine is long and complex. Throughout history, the war-fare has caused thousands of deaths on both sides. Recently, on Oct. 7, the conflict escalated when Hamas launched an attack on Israel. For context, Hamas is a militant Islamist group that has held control over Gaza, a narrow piece of land on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, since 2006, according to Global Conflict Tracker. Along with this, it is a common misconception that Hamas and Palestinians are one in the same. The people of Hamas and Palestine “are not necessarily interchangeable. It is important to distinguish between the two that not all Palestinians are a part of Hamas and not all Hamas members are Palestinians,” Social Studies Teacher William Mathes said. On the other hand, Israel was created when the United Nations voted to partition land in the British mandate of Palestine into two states - one Jewish, one Arab- following the events during the Holocaust, according to the Guardian. There is a lot more to both nation’s history than what is stated here. The conflict between modern day Israel and Palestine has been going on for over a century. The complexities of those past encounters are what has led to what happened at the beginning of October. Oct. 7 was when Hamas fired thousands of rockets towards Israeli towns before breaking through the heavily fortified border fence that separated the two nations. From there, Hamas sent gunmen deep into Israeli territory, and they killed more than 1,400 people, including civilians and soldiers, and took more than 200 people hostage, according to Israeli authorities. It has been described as the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, according to CNN. After the attack, Israel officially declared war on Hamas, and a directive from the defense minister was sent to the Israeli Defense force telling them to carry out a “complete siege” of Gaza, according to Global Conflict Tracker. “Israel retaliated against Gaza, particularly Gaza City, which is the most densely populated city in the world. Not the most populated, the most densely populated city. Even if Israel is trying to do targeted attacks they are going to kill civilians in the process,” Mathes said. In addition, Israel released a statement ordering Palestinian citizens in Northern Gaza to evacuate before a possible ground assault. Israel gave specific terms of a grace period they would give to let the people of Northern Gaza get out of the area. However, many are saying that there is nowhere else for Gazan citizens to go due to crossings out of Gaza being shut, according to CNN. On top of that, Israel made the decision to block supply lines for basic necessities, such as water and fuel into the Gaza population. The UN warned that the lack of water and fuel in Gaza “became a matter of life or death.” However, negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and the United States President Joe Biden, caused Israel to decide to renew water supplies to parts of southern Gaza, according to CNBC. Due to blocking these supply lines Gazans are also running out of food and medicine, causing them to be in desperate need of aid. There are some aid convoys that have been allowed into Gaza but they are only bringing in a fraction of the supplies needed. Additionally, the UN said that distribution of the supplies from the aid convoys will have to stop if there is no fuel for the trucks, according to PBS. The controversy, the complexity, and the questions of morality is what has been bringing the war between Israel and Palestine so much news coverage from around the world. Many people know and are having discussions about what this conflict will mean for all parties involved. “This is an extremely important conflict that people need to be aware of. Not only because thousands of innocent people are dying, but also to understand global politics and the roots of them,” senior Iniyal Ramamoorthy said. There is so much more to the complex relationship between these nations, whether that is historically or recently. As viewers watch this conflict continue to play out, the complexity tied to this conflict will cause Israel, Hamas and Palestine to continue to be a major political topic and topic in the press. NOVEMBER 7 . ISRAEL EGYPT WEST BANK JORDAN LEBANON GAZA MEDITERRANEAN SEA PALESTINE

ROOTING FOR RUGBY S P O R T S the olentangy blues WRITER CHAYCE GIDDENS | DESIGNER MALAK CHAHBOUB | PERMISSION TO PRINT CHEECH RAMIREZ The Olentangy Blues rugby team, which plays under the non-profit organizations USA Rugby and Rugby Ohio, has been rebuilt since 2019, and the players are now approaching their upcoming season. The Blues had many successful wins last season, having an overall record of 11-13, as well as winning their second state title, defeating Hudson 29-7 in the Division I club final. There are two different types of rugby: fifteens rugby, where there are eight players in the front and seven players in the back, and sevens rugby, which is when both teams have seven players on each side; all games are played in the span of 80 minutes consisting of two 40-minute halves. From a distance, rugby resembles American football, but the rules, uniforms, field playing and more, all differentiate. “The tackling and blocking techniques differ; in rugby you can grab onto a player’s jersey to tackle them while in football you can’t,” senior player Camden Belinger said. “It depends on the style of rugby you are playing. In sevens rugby, yes, but fifteens not so much.” In fifteens rugby, each player has their own specific playing role; the eight players in the front (forwards) make up the scrum and in the back, the players are divided into groups of three, halfbacks, three-quarterbacks and full backs. Each of these roles are very important and vital for the team to pull off a win. “The importance in the position I play is definitely getting the ball out and hammering the ball over and over again into the other team, so jukes or nothing just straight head on into the team to help get us down the field,” senior player Brock Fisher said. “Also, the biggest part is tackling when it comes to the position. You can’t second guess yourself once, or it might be game over.” A major key to the Blues’ success will be how they support each other on and off the field. Players need coaches and teammates who will push one another and still stick together. “The culture of the team I play on is something that’s hard to describe unless you’re within the team. We have all been playing together for six years so it’s definitely something special to be a part of, and they are family for sure,” Fisher said. “We push each other to the max every practice, and we get mad at each other sometimes, but at the end of the day we are all brothers.” The Olentangy Blues are in pre-season currently, meaning the players are working toward the new rugby season by conditioning and basic practice at Olentangy Orange Middle School. The Blues is an alldistrict club team; rugby isn’t yet recognized as an OHSAA (Ohio High School Athletic A s s o c i a t i o n ) sport. However, the Olentangy district and other schools like Dublin and Saint Ignatius all have club rugby programs as well, so the Blues compete against those teams. The team has only four months until the first game, and it has already outlined some goals to accomplish. “The one team goal we have as of right now is winning another state championship,” Belinger said. Last season, the Blues won their second title on June 3 at Fortress Obetz. For a sport like rugby, communication is extremely vital. If something is miscommunicated, it throws off the team’s game, but that’s what drives these players. “The driving factor for our team to come out with a victory is definitely without a doubt our preparation leading up to the game,” Fisher said. “We are always confident in what our assignments are and our jobs that when it comes to the game there is no confusion whatsoever and no question in what we are doing on the field.”. 8 NOVEMBER Fom left to right can be seen Semus Bonte and Cheech Ramirez on the St. Charles Rugby team. From left to right in blue is Senior Camden Bellinger and Ethan Spaulding from the Olentangy Blues.

CRAVING COMPETITION S P O R T S school introduces competitive cheer WRITER REBEKAH RICHTER | DESIGNER MALAK CHAHBOUB | PERMISSION TO PRINT LILLY WOOD For at least the past five years, the school has only offered sideline cheer and didn’t offer a competition cheer squad. However, all the other Olentangy high schools had competition cheer teams. Therefore, the school looks to level the playing field with bringing back the competition cheer team. The competition cheer team started its season with its first appearance on Oct. 29 for the UCA Ohio regionals following with their first competition on Nov. 12 for the OASSA internationals. “Coach Salupo and I decided to start a competition team this year due to our athletes’ skill levels. Over the past four years, we have watched our program grow tremendously and feel it is time to showcase that growth on a competitive level,” Competition Cheer Coach Darin Billiter said. Cheerleaders who participate in sideline cheer were told about the opportunity of having and joining a competition cheer team. Not all the girls who do sideline cheer joined, but the 26 who did are very excited about the opportunity to cheer competitively. “I’m really excited about seeing how our team places and traveling to different places to represent our school,” senior sideline and competition cheerleader Sidney Figuly said. The competition cheer team opens many opportunities for cheerleaders who love the sport and want to learn more choreography at higher skill levels. They get to deepen their skill level more than sideline cheer allows them to. “There are two types of competition cheerleading in high schools: traditional and game day. We are participating in the game day division, where we can showcase our skill development, but also our game day tradition,” Billiter said. Competition cheer is in many ways vastly different from sideline cheer. Competition cheer is more intense and focuses more on a skills base, whereas sideline cheer is more focused on getting a crowd excited and supporting other sports teams. “Sideline cheerleading requires us to be present supporting another athletic program within our school. While skills are involved, our focus is creating a fun atmosphere where all students and families feel a part of the community. Competition cheerleading focuses on showcasing our skills, such as tumbling, jumping and stunting,” Billiter said. Cheerleaders are judged by their skill for competition cheer. A cheer competition will be an opportunity for the cheerleaders to showcase what they have learned and compete against other teams instead of just cheering for them on the sidelines. “At competitions, we will compete against several other teams across the state and will be given a score by a panel of judges. A game day routine is three minutes long and will have a band dance, sideline chant, cheer and our fight song,” Billiter said. To get ready for the first cheer competition, the team practices after sideline cheer practice for about an hour and a half to two hours. The cheerleaders are currently working on different parts of the routine and working on running it all the way through. “We go over new ripples with the fight song. You have to be a quick learner and catch on quickly because the coaches change the dance every practice. You really have to lock in at practice,” junior competition and sideline cheerleader Alex Montoney said. With being a new competition cheer team, comes a lot of pressure to compete well, especially with the fact that every other Olentangy school has already had competition cheer teams in years past. The coaches and cheerleaders are both ready to showcase their knowledge. “We are confident that our cheerleaders’ hard work these past four years will translate well in a competitive setting. We as a coaching staff have a lot of experience working with competition cheer teams, so we understand what judges want to see from a routine,” Billiter said. The new competition cheer team is ready to start its season off strong and aims to go far this year. They are excited and ready to compete for the sport they love. . NOVEMBER 9 New OOHS competitive cheer team practces after school.

VON DER SEITENLINIE S P O R T S nfl in frankfurt COLUMNIST ADAM WELCH | DESIGNER MACKENNA MILLER Fans of historic German Soccer Club Eintracht Frankfurt, will see a different version of football than they are accustomed to this November, as Duetsche Bank Park transforms its pitch into a field. Starting in 2007, the NFL hosted its first regular season game in Europe with the New York Giants facing off against the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Now, 16 years later, the NFL will be playing in its second German venue, after Tom Brady beat the Seattle Seahawks in Munich last season at FC Bayern Munich’s Allianz arena. The NFL has hinted for years of an expansion team coming to London for a 33rd NFL team. Even recently in the past year, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that the city could hold two expansion teams due to the growth of the sport in England from a commercial and media standpoint, according to Sky Sports. However, the NFL might have to take a double take due to Germany’s newfound obsession with American football. In a 2022 marketing conference in Düsseldorf, Head of NFL U.K. Brett Gosper, announced that Germany had passed England as the NFLs largest European market. Gosper said that game pass had more subscribers, consumer products sold better and the Madden video game sold better in Germany, according to AP News. While the expanding development of an American sport abroad is great commercially for business in the NFL, I don’t see the league rushing to add a team in the European continent any time soon. For one thing the majority of NFL players hate playing overseas. Players have to reroute their practice schedule while in Europe due to the sixhour time difference in England and Germany and as a result they must overhaul their weekly routine, according to Bleacher Report. Unfair advantages have also emerged from playing in Europe. This season the Jacksonville Jaguars played two regular season NFL games in England and therefore had two weeks of practice in the country. Having an entire extra week to accustom to the time zone and new playing conditions was unfair to the Buffalo Bills, who had only one week to acclimate playing a game in London. It could be argued that this factored into the Jaguars 25-20 victory over the Bills. If I was Commissioner Roger Goodell, I would look into a Canadian based NFL team first before a European expansion. According to Statista almost nine million Canadians watched last year’s Super Bowl, and it would be interesting to see a game played in Vancouver or Toronto as a testing site. BC Place Stadium, home of the Vancouver Whitecaps is fully capable of sizing an NFL team with its 54,000 seat capacity. Time would also not be an issue for the players travel wise, as Canada falls into the same time zones as America does. American pro sports leagues have already been successful in Canada with the massive popularity of the Toronto Raptors NBA team, along with the Toronto Blue Jays MLB team The NFL is already at a perfect 32 even league number with 16 in the AFC division and 16 in the NFC division. If a European team were to be added not only would they disrupt the balance in each division, but they wouldn’t even make sense to play in the AFC which literally stands for American Football Conference. So while the NFL playing abroad is a cool opportunity to connect with fans who get to watch a game for the first time, these games should stay strictly as special event games rather than viewed as possibilities of expansion. 10 NOVEMBER .

NOVEMBER 11 A D S DESIGNER | MACKENNA MILLER 2023 SAG-AFTRA Writers Strike

CENSthe extreme changes tWRITERS NICK WOOLARD, LUNA PEREZ DELGADO, AVA VALENTIK & CAROLINE ALBERT | DESIGNER AUDREYAre banning topics from being taught in schools against freedom of speech or teaching biased viewpoints? In recent years, controversy has surfaced about whether specific topics are appropriate to be discussed in a school setting. Many citizens feel strongly one way or another about the concept of teaching or talking about topics such as critical race theory, certain parts of history and gender identity in schools. In recent months, states throughout the country have decided to implement laws banning and restricting educators from teaching these topics. This decision has caused a lot of conversation around what should or should not be taught in a school setting, along with what actions other states and school districts should be taking for their schools. Florida is one of the states that has recently decided to implement laws banning educators from teaching certain subjects in schools. Due to these new laws, certain Advanced Placement courses, including other content, are no longer allowed to be offered as a course for students in this area. At minimum, nine school districts in Florida will not be offering Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology as a course at their high schools this year. This is due to the conflict the course has had with new state laws, according to The Hill. The laws in question include bans and restrictions on topics being taught in schools such as race and gender Identity. These changes have also caused many teachers to be reluctant to teach the course in Florida because of the controversy the course has had lately. However, this course isn’t the only change in social studies curriculums in Florida. In addition to the AP Psychology ban and reversal, the Florida Board of Education changed the standard of black history education and is looking to block the implementation of AP African American Studies. The AP African American Studies course was also dropped by the Arkansas Department of Education. The reasoning behind scrapping the course was that it contains possible elements of Critical Race Theory as well as indoctrination, according to NPR. Another addition to Florida’s history curriculum has been the endorsement of PragerU, a nonprofit media organization that promotes conservative viewpoints, as an educational resource by the state board of education. However, Florida isn’t the only state implementing this addition to their education department. Oklahoma announced it would also be incorporating PragerU into their state educational resource list, according to The Hill. PragerU touches on many topics taught in schools such as American History, Economics, the U.S. Government, and more. The organization has content for students ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade and up. The concern with the nonprofit media organization is that it is too biased to be a reliable source of information to teach a wide range of students, according to the Hill. These states making these vast changes, specifically Florida, have raised a lot of conflict and criticism regarding what is appropriate and acceptable to be banned or taught in schools. It also raised the concern of at what point legislation begins promoting personal beliefs and political views. One of the groups that has the most to say and is largely affected by these new changes are teachers. The new history standards have raised concerns for teachers at the school such as World History and AP Psychology Teacher Brooke Sandy. “As an educator in general, I find it dangerous. The ‘resources’ of PragerU are not vetted or academically grounded. The fact that these materials are now being offered as legitimate curriculum is harmful,” Sandy said. Sandy shares the same concerns as teachers throughout the nation. Many of whom are living in Florida and therefore are either forced to ignore their concerns and continue teaching blindly or give up their career in their residential s t a t e and find other options. “I have many friends and colleagues who are genuinely 12 C O V E R NOVEMBER

SORED to public school curriculum Y SELSOR NOVEMBER 13 C O V E R said, according to PBS. Citizens with similar viewpoints as DeSantis argue that parents should play a role in what is being taught to their children. They are concerned that some topics are not appropriate and would like to be informed about what is being taught to their kids. “Parental rights do not cease to exist at the classroom door and, many parents do not wish to co-parent with their school district. Parents would like public schools to focus on ELA, math, science and history and leave the rest to parents. We are a very diverse community with diverse family values that should be considered and respected by our local school board leaders when determining curriculum. “I am an advocate for transparency of curriculum, allowing parents to have full access to review what is taught to their children and request an alternative lesson if they feel the content could be harmful to their child or violate their First Amendment freedoms in any way,” said former Olentangy School board candidate and parent Jennifer Feucht said. There is a lot of uncertainty around these new curriculums, especially with which states will follow Florida, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Though one thing is for sure, there will continue to be numerous news and headlines regarding these educational debates in the future. As news and headlines keep coming out about this conversation, a topic that will most likely be brought up is Critical Race Theory, also known as CRT. This topic is one of the most prominent topics that comes up when discussing what topics should be taught in schools. While CRT is one of the largest topics talked about, much of the population of the United States doesn’t actually know what CRT means. Studies show that seven out of 10 U.S. residents are unable to describe what CRT is, according to Northeastern Global News. The first step into understanding what CRT is, is to examine what a critical theory is. “All critical theories are intense examinations of any given subject,” AP lack of availability for the course. “It’s just upsetting because the class is beneficial since it gives insight into your brain and society. For students not to have access or be less encouraged to take the class sucks,” Tanjavur said. With so much discontent over the new curriculums, questions are quickly arising. The main purpose of the new education standards in Florida is to follow the government’s more conservative approach to learning and their legislation on LGBTQ+ education. “The controversy over AP Psychology in Florida arose because of the Parental Rights Legislation Bill passed in Florida and over the ability of teachers to instruct students on issues of sex and gender,” AP Psychology teacher Jamie Paoloni said. “In the AP Psychology unit on development, we cover a number of developmental topics, and that includes defining the terms, sex, gender and gender typing and discussing the nature verses nurture debate in psychology, and how that may apply to various developmental topics.” Though many people like Sandy and Tanjavur are frustrated with both the new curriculum and the reasoning behind it, there are also large groups of people in favor of it. Many conservative leaning citizens and politicians such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are both proud proponents and supporters of the new curriculum standards. DeSantis expressed that his main concern about AP African American Studies is the addition of queer black history. “Now, who would say that an important part of Black history is queer theory? That is somebody pushing an agenda on our kids. And so, when you look to see they have stuff about intersectionality, abolishing prisons, that’s a political agenda,” DeSantis afraid,” Arian Dineen said, a middle school teacher from Stuart Florida. These teachers are afraid of being accused of teaching certain topics, such as critical race theory, that are now banned or restricted in Florida, according to an article by the Guardian. Though teachers are greatly affected by the new standards, past AP Psychology students like junior Ananya Tanjavur express their concerns for the growing

Government Teacher John Carmichael said. “It’s just a way of systemically looking at the subject that typically is done at the graduate or doctoral level.” With this definition in mind, adding race to the phrase should explain the definition at its best. CRT is the idea that race is a social construct, and that racism is more than just interactions between people; it is built into our very own legal systems. “CRT is controversial because it is something that is difficult to face as a society because you’re having to look at societal and governmental decisions that have impacted demographic groups within the population,” Carmichael said. The main argument of CRT in public education is the concern of if it should be taught to students. The debate is mostly two sided, with each side of the American political spectrum tending to lean one way. On one hand, many Republicans view CRT and teaching the subject as a way to make white people feel like they are all inherently racist, according to PBS Newshour. Many citizens with more conservative viewpoints generally agree that teaching CRT at a high school level is not appropriate. “There are significant disagreements even among education experts about the precise definition of CRT as well as how its tenets should impact K-12 education efforts. The basic tenets of CRT emerged from a framework for legal analysis in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It is a complicated subject and might be better explored at the college level,” Feucht said. But, on the other side of the spectrum, many see that CRT is important to teach in schools to learn from Americans’ mistakes, in order to prevent more similar discrimination in the future. “In my opinion, trying to block the teachings of America’s slave-holding past and racist roots is censorship,” senior Iniyal Ramamoorthy said. “Students must be taught about the injustices carried out by America to not only see how far our society has come but to also ensure those things never happen again. While the main argument of CRT floating around in the media now is the teaching of the theory in schools, the theory does not have a very large presence in the school, or any other in the district. “As sad as it is, many kids my age in high school have no clue what critical race theory even is, at least in my experience,” Ramamoorthy said. “Because of this, I don’t find students debating this topic with other students regularly.” According to Carmichael, CRT is not being taught in the Olentangy School district, which means that there is really no effect on students, or teachers in the school. “It certainly is politically talked about in the news, but there’s really no application; there’s nothing to stop or start teaching,” he said. And while there may be no direct effects of CRT in the high school, or other schools in the district, there are still some parents or members of the district that take their thoughts on the theory to the Olentangy Board of Education. “I will say that a lot of these conversations are happening at school board meetings, specifically between parents and school officials. Many parents have very strong opinions on the teaching of CRT to their children in schools, and many of them take their concerns up with school board members. So although I don’t see as many students debating this issue as I would like, I do know that very convincing parents do take up many of these issues with higher ups in our district,” Ramamoorthy said. With this large debate engulfing national and local news, it is important to remember that this theory and argument is complex and requires one to view it from all angles of the argument. This is a debate that will continue for years and is not one that will come to one simple conclusion. Another very complex argument is how gender, gender identity, and other related topics should be approached in a school setting. Many citizens believe that topics in relation to gender should not be discussed or taught in schools while others may disagree. This topic of conversation is another issue that Florida has decided to address by making a law banning and restricting topics related to gender and gender identity. Many people have responded to the bill very differently, either in support or in retaliation. Thousands of students across Florida participated in a walkout last April protesting their rapidly changing education policies. Students from Miami, Jacksonville, Orlando and Sarasota all left class with one common goal; to stand up to their Gov. Ron DeSantis, and his policies concerning higher education. While it may seem surprising, these kids from Florida have not been the only ones struggling with people in authority making controversial decisions regarding school and education. In some places, classes are being revoked, new bills are being passed and new policies are being introduced. One of the more recent bills that was passed in May 2023, by DeSantis, was the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Expansion. This bill expands on the measure by forbidding classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender 14 C O V E R NOVEMBER Oklahoma Florida Arkansas

NOVEMBER 15 C O V E R even making them more willing to express themselves in a deeper, more authentic manner,” English Teacher M. Williams said. During a press conference ahead of signing the law, DeSantis said teaching kindergartenaged kids that “they can be whatever they want to be” was “inappropriate” for children, according to npr.org. Many other people also have similar viewpoints as DeSantis and believe that teaching kids about gender and gender related topics is inappropriate in a school setting. “The correct title of the bill from Florida is ‘Parental Rights in Education’. Opponents framed this bill as,‘The Don’t Say Gay Bill,’ in their efforts to defeat this bill. The bill states,“classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate for students in accordance with state standards,” Feucht said. Generally, citizens with this view point, would like a say in what is being taught to their kids in school. A lot of these topics that they are uncomfortable with are usually complex societal issues that they believe should be talked about in higher education, or outside of a school setting. “I am an advocate for parental rights in education and believe that parents deserve to identity in all grades, K-12 according to people.com. “I mean look how students are responding: they don’t feel included, and it is so important that every student feels included and every student feels safe,” Principal Monica Asher said about the Florida bill. “If there is something that makes students not feel safe and not feel like they belong, I don’t know how it could be beneficial.” Students all over social media have been posting about this bill and how it makes them feel. Many say that it is overstepping boundaries and promoting homophobia, while others argue it just gives parents more control over their child’s education. 56 percent of LGBTQ+ parents have considered moving out of Florida due to the bill’s passage. Many are concerned that the bill will not only result in restricted or nonexistent education about the diverse sexual and gender identities, but it will result in a hostile school climate for LGBTQ educators, students, and families because it suggests that something is wrong with LGBTQ identities, according to williamsinstitute.law. “The more people who are aware of different gender expression and gender identities would allow people to be more open and accepting. It would cause people to reflect on their own gender identity and how they want to represent themselves. Maybe be the largest voice in their own child’s life and shaping of their education. Many parents and taxpayers, who support their local school districts, are opposed to introducing these topics at such a young age. Children as young as kindergarten typically do not have the cognitive skill set to digest instruction focused on complicated sexual topics regarding sexual orientation or gender identity. “These young learners believe in things such as Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy and are not equipped cognitively to tackle more advanced concepts such as this. School policy should support education efforts that are age appropriate, support state standards and teach treating all peers with kindness and inclusivity,” Feucht said. On the other side of the argument, these topics that are deemed as “inappropriate” for kids are thought of as basic rights to others. “A lot of people mix up different terms. Sex, sexual preference, gender identity, and gender expression are all four different things. For example, sex is what you’re born with, and sexual preference is who you like. Those are both very personal things and very inner things, compared to gender which is more of a social construct. Essentially, gender identity is how we feel, and then gender expression is what you show to others. Where sexuality is very personal, gender is more social and more how you express yourself when you interact with other people,” Williams said. The bill not only has ideas on teaching LGBTQ+ ideas in the classroom but also in other areas of schools. Transgender students’ bathroom access at school has been restricted as well as clarifying to teachers that teachers don’t have to use pronouns that align with trans students’ identities. “The last thing I want to do is tell a student that their identity or who they are as a person isn’t important to me. There’s one way to shut somebody down and that is by saying ‘Hey, I recognize this is part of you but I’m not willing to talk to you about it or see you in a compassionate way.’ That would be pretty awful,” Asher said. The controversy surrounding whether these topics should be taught in schools causes a reason to believe that this will be a topic frequently discussed in the future. There is a lot of uncertainty with what school districts and states will start to implement in their schools. Some might follow what Florida has done, while others might not change anything at all. However, as time goes on, citizens will see how this argument affects schools across the country and the students that are a part of them.. According to Education Week, 44 states including Oklahoma, Florida, Arkansas and Tennessee have introduced bills to limit or completely eliminate critical race theory from their school’s curriculum. Tennessee

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NOVEMBER 17 T H E S C E N E THE SCENE WRITER LILLY WOOD | DESIGNER LILLY WOOD “My favorite part about being a pit leader is being in a leadership position where I can influence others to have fun and participate in school spirit activities and games. I love getting to know so many people while being at all the games,” senior Surraiya Mahmud said..

LOCO FOa recap of homecWRITER ABI WYKOFF | DESIGNER AND PHOTOS ABBY KUILAN | PHOTO PERMISSION TO PRINT SOPHIA RODENFELThe lights, the music and the dancing: homecoming is an annual event that students and staff alike wait for, but more work goes into it than most people know. The Sophomore Class Cabinet begins homecoming planning before the previous summer even begins. During this time, they pick a theme and begin to plan a layout. “It is always a challenge to pick a theme. Many people have differing opinions, and it is hard to find a compromise sometimes,” Sophomore Cabinet Adviser Lori Cornett said. It is a pretty big process, narrowing down a theme that everyone agrees on; it is one of the bigger challenges that the cabinet faces in their planning process. The theme needs to be a common liking of the student majority. “We put 20 ideas on the board, slowly narrowed to three, and then we voted. We had everything from Disney to an enchanted garden, but we decided on masquerade because we saw it as something the school hasn’t done and something we could be really creative with,” Sophomore Class Cabinet member Abigail Curry said. Once the theme is decided, the planning really begins to pick up speed. Over the summer, it can be busy for the cabinet to meet due to scheduling issues. “A lot of people do not want to work over the summer and that was hard because homecoming is so early in the year,” Curry said. This means that once the school year starts, it’s time to hit the ground running. Class cabinet starts off the school year working hard on the perfect homecoming, but that isn’t to say that the planning process is perfect. “Some of the struggles we faced in the planning process were related to our lack of dimensional awareness and deciding the decorations for the event,” Sophomore Class Cabinet member Sid Sivakumar said. Cabinet wasn’t the only group putting their all into these events. Student Council pulled its weight to design and orchestrate new events to get everyone involved during 18 T R E N D I N G NOVEMBER the ho“OcommcompeSocial Threnewback pa lot to“I they mreally dance.favoritof thedecoraSophomore class cabinet member Ayana Mehta makes a candelabra for homecoming. Sophomore class cabinet memberSamira Kandhari makes a poster for homecoming decorations. Sophomore class cabinet members Sid Sivakumar and Pratheeka Koyada bulid a silhouette cutout for homecoming. At the school’s first ever homecoming parade, our student section leaders thow candy to the ground.

OR HOCO ecoming week events NFELS NOVEMBER 19 T R E N D I N G accomplish,” Curry said. After the dance, students had the overall opinion that the whole of homecoming week was a success. “I loved it as my last homecoming, though I still can’t believe that’s true. It was so nice to take a break from reality and just have the night of my life with my friends, and I will always remember this homecoming, and it will always hold a special place in my heart,” Kavedia said. With events both new, old, and traditional, this week truly embodied the spirit of a homecoming. All this year’s homecoming events were a perfect way to celebrate students, staff, graduating class, alumni and community. Kavedia said. In the end, all members of the Pioneer community had a way to be part of the festivities; students, staff and parents alike. “I was overwhelmed by the turnout we had at the parade and community night. We had more people participate than we had anticipated. Students really came through on the hallway decorating as well. I’m thrilled with the success we had during homecoming week,” Whitney said. Class cabinet members were also proud of all their work and the overall homecoming turnout. “I feel really good about it. People really liked what we did, which was the biggest goal. I’m really proud of all we were able to he homecoming week. “Our new events included a parade and ommunity night and hallway decorating ompetition,” Student Council Adviser and ocial Studies Teacher Rebecca Whitney said. This school year, both new, old, and enewed events took place. From bringing ack powder puff, to a new parade, there was lot to do this homecoming week. “I loved this year’s new events. I thought hey made the week more celebratory and eally created a better build-up for the actual ance. This year was definitely one of my vorite dances. It was also just so fun because f the build-up from the week and the ecorations at the dance too,” senior Janhavi mber oster . Class cabinet decorates the world language hallway for Orange’s hallway decorating competition Before Orange’s homecoming football game. the school’s homecoming court was announced and senior Megan Cole and her escort Aiden Ranft won one of the two homecoming royalty positions. . Photo above is Tallulah Conforti, Brianna Panzica, Madelyn Drayer, Hailey Marrero and Cat Gilles at the school’s homecoming dance.

UNDER THE INFLUENCE F E A T U R E the dangers of drunk driving WRITER NICK WOOLARD | DESIGNER LINCOLN HAKE I t’s only one drink,” he said to himself. “What’s the worst that could happen?” A few minutes after that, the worst thing that could’ve happened, happened. Driving under the influence of alcohol is an activity that affects all people in the United States. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), 37 people die every single day in the United States from a crash caused by a drunk driver. That would account for one death every 39 minutes. As well as this, the most recent statistics show that in 2021, there were a total of 13,384 deaths due to a drunk driver, which was a 14 percent increase from 2020, according to the NHTSA. In Ohio, in order to be charged with a DUI, blood alcohol levels must be over .08 percent, according to Columbus Criminal Attorney. And for those underage, this threshold is even lower. “I just arrived at the party so I only had a couple of drinks, and my friend was super plastered. When kids started fighting and someone called the police, I wasn’t feeling the full effects of the alcohol and decided to get me and my friend out before it got worse,” an anonymous Instagram poll respondent said. It is many decisions, similar to this, that end up killing many people. And it is important to keep in mind that drunk driving isn’t just dangerous to the driver, it’s a danger to everyone else on the road. While the majority of deaths from drunk driving are to the driver themselves, an estimated 40 percent of all deaths are those who aren’t under the influence, according to the CDC. This epidemic causes more than death as well; many people have been left with irreversible scars that affect them every single day. “As soon as I got to the top of the hill, I saw headlights c o m i n g right at me in my lane. I managed to avoid a head-on collision, but she hit my front fender and kept digging in until our wheels hooked and both ripped off,” Amy Gordon, the admin of the Victims of Drunk Driving Facebook page said. “It sent me into a spin that seemed to last forever.” Many people on the Facebook page shared many similar stories to Gordon. Whether its themselves or their loved ones getting injured, or getting killed, these drunk drivers seem to have a never-ending impact on their life. “Three years later, I go less than a mile from where I work on my lunch break. I always think of the chance that I get hit by drunk drivers again on my lunch break and that I won’t return to work,” Victims of Drunk Driving member Katie Castleton said. Castleton got hit by a drunk driver in January 2020 and now lives with a traumatic brain injury, as well as losing her tricep muscle. One thing very common in these accidents is the fact that the drivers are repeat offenders. According to Graham Donath Law, around one-third of all incidents in the United States start from repeat offenders. “My life changed in so many ways because one person, a repeat offender, decided to be selfish,” Castleton said. “He was heading to get more liquor at 1 p.m. on a Friday, when he shouldn’t have been driving in the first place.” But looking to the future, the United States is looking to prevent many more incidents like this. Government action looks to start a new method of prevention, starting in 2024. President Joseph Biden’s infrastructure bill of 2021 contains a provision, which calls for all new models of cars to be equipped with sensors that will monitor and detect if the driver is impaired. This detection can prevent the driver from even starting the car, according to Mother Jones. So next time you put down that drink, remember those who have been affected by drunk drivers, but also those who will if you get in front of the wheel. “Put your keys away!” You have the right to have a good time, but you don’t have the right to ruin someone’s life at the end of the night,” Gordon said. 20 NOVEMBER “ . More than 14 million U.S. adults have an alcohol use disorder and excessive drinking is linked to 95,000 deaths every year, according to Singlecare. Alcohol is involved in about 40% of all fatal car crashes, according to ca.gov. Alcohol-related crashes in the U.S. cost about 51 billion dollars each year, according to ca.gov.

BIG ON BOYER F E A T U R E the school’s new band director WRITER NATHAN STATEN | DESIGNER LINCOLN HAKE | PERMISSION TO PRINT NICK WOOLARD & LILLY WOOD After seven years of directing the marching band, Dr. Ishbah Cox left the school after last school year to accept the position of Director of Wind Ensembles at Capital University. Taking over the role of band director is Joshua Boyer. Before becoming the school band director, Boyer was the assistant director of the Ohio University athletic bands. “My job at Ohio University evolved into largely administrative work with scheduling and technology support. Having a much more hands-on job has been very rewarding,” Boyer said. Boyer is educating and leading his students while still giving an effort to create personal relationships with individual students. “Boyer is a very lighthearted guy and genuinely very fun and easy to talk to. However, he keeps us in check when needed and knows how to get stuff done,” senior saxophonist Kyrie Kagy said. The upperclassman band members have been working under Cox for years now,. With that time, comes a lot of memories and traditions formed with him. “He is really understanding of our traditions we’ve had for all the three years of band. While he has changed things, he very much gives us more opportunities in being a senior in the band,” Kagy said. Although planned under Cox, Boyer is excited to take over the band’s Ireland trip next year. “The trip to Ireland is going to be the highlight of the year. Although I have been to Ireland with a band before, this will be my first time doing so in March for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade,” Boyer said. The band celebrated senior night on the same night as the football and cheer teams while also taking time to honor and appreciate the seniors’ hard work at the band’s yearly Friday Night Lights performance. “We honored our seniors prior to the football game against Dublin Coffman. Then, at our final home game on Oct. 13, we had the opportunity to feature our seniors with a senior drum break during halftime,” Boyer said. Since the school opened in 2008, the marching band has only had two directors. With the band program’s close relationship with the Ohio University band program, Boyer has had opportunities to know both the previous school band directors and learn from them. “Knowing the program and the past directors, there is most definitely a high standard that we strive to continue to achieve each and every rehearsal and performance. My goal is to take what has already been built here at Orange and continue to lead the program to the next level,” Boyer said. Freshmen and new members often face a learning curve in the band, so Boyer is working on improving his students’ talents in positive ways. “Mr. Boyer is including his students, and he allows them room for improvement and mistakes and helps them along the way while also disciplining them,” freshman saxophonist Ezra Fouss said. The band has daily rehearsals during and after school during the fall, but they begin preparation over the summer. So while freshmen have only been in school since August, they’ve been building connections in high school all summer through the band. “Through these rehearsals, the freshmen not only learned and refined their skills but also began to build relationships with the upperclassmen,” Boyer said. However, Boyer isn’t afraid to change things up and teach the band his way. Boyer changed the ways that the band learns, practices, and the amount of halftime shows. “Boyer has changed the way we learn music and drill. While keeping it fun by giving us long water breaks and giving us choices in music for a show,” Kagy said. One of Boyer’s accomplishments in his first year as the school’s band director is leading the band to perform the most halftime shows the program has ever done in a single football season. “The system of teaching and rehearsing drill I’ve brought to the program is exactly how I approached it with the Marching 110. For the first time in history for the Orange Band, we put four completely different halftime shows on the field,” Boyer said. Alongside becoming the school’s band director this year, Boyer is also becoming a member of the community. “It’s been great to see how involved and energetic the student section has been at football games. That type of school pride doesn’t happen everywhere for sure, and it’s great to see it happening here at Orange,” Boyer said. NOVEMBER 21 . The Band Director Mr. Boyer at the Homecoming Parade Mr. Boyer in front of his band at the Homecoming Parade

FRIENDS OVER FAMILY C U L T U R E why people choose friendsgiving WRITER LUNA PEREZ DELGADO | DESIGNER ELLA KIRK | PHOTO PERMISSION TO PRINT LUNA PEREZ 2 7 percent of U.S. families are immigrant families, according to Migration Policy. Most of these families do not have American traditions or extended family to celebrate with. As a result, these families begin to celebrate holidays and traditions with friends instead of family. This is especially true for Thanksgiving. Friendsgiving became popularized around 2007 when a tweet began the use of the word, according to Merriam-Webster. Many claim that the start of popularity in Friendsgiving was caused by the popular television show “Friends”. Friendsgiving became a way to describe the celebration of Thanksgiving with friends to replace or in addition to the typical Thanksgiving with family. Friendsgiving is mostly celebrated by teenagers and young adults since they don’t have their own kids or spouses to celebrate with. Junior Caitlin Layne loves Friendsgiving and has hosted one two years in a row. According to Layne, it’s a great opportunity to get together and have fun with friends that one hasn’t seen in a while. “This tradition started during my freshman year, when one of my friends had the idea to have Friendsgiving. I, of course, said yes because I love hosting events like this,” Layne said. Thanksgiving time gets extremely busy for most people; with traveling, hosting family or cooking various Thanksgiving meals, it gets difficult to find time to spend with friends. Friendsgiving gives people an opportunity to gather with friends despite being busy. “I like celebrating Friendsgiving because I love hanging out with people I care about during the holidays, and usually, one can’t have all their friends over during actual Thanksgiving. So, it’s a way for me to make sure I get to celebrate this holiday with them and my family,” Layne said. Another student who celebrates Friendsgiving, junior Sophie Rogers agrees that this is true for most people who celebrate Friendsgiving. “To celebrate Friendsgiving, I normally have a huge potluck with my best friends and celebrate our friendship,” Rogers said. Apart from getting together with friends, many people also find Friendsgiving as an opportunity to express themselves more and try new things. This can be done through clothing, food and music. “My Friendsgiving celebration differs from my ordinary Thanksgiving celebration. My friends and I bring food items that aren’t technically Thanksgiving food, like brownies and chips with guacamole. We also sometimes get food from the different cultures my friends are from,” Layne said. “We also like to hang out in my living room, singing and dancing to music before we eat.” In Friendsgiving celebrations, potlucks and festive activities are always a common way people express themselves. But that’s not the only case for certain people. “I feel free to say what I want and wear what I want,” Rogers said. In lots of instances, such as Rogers’ family, Thanksgiving can be more stressful than enjoyable with concerns of being judged or not being able to be. This is why they opt for an option like Friendsgiving where they know they’ll be accepted for who they are. Overall, Friendsgiving can be a great time to get together with friends, eat some delicious food, dance to some music and watch some holiday movies. It’s also a chance to try some new foods and express yourself with your friends. 22 NOVEMBER . Group of Olentangy Orange students sit around a table together as they enjoy their friendsgiving celebration.

ABOUT THE ACTION F E A T U R E changes to college admissions WRITER SHIV MAJMUDAR | DESIGNER LILLY WOOD I n the summer, the Supreme Court overturned Affirmative Action after 45 years of the policy. The decision ignited discussion and discourse across the country. And while the ruling may have been decided within the walls of the Supreme Court, it directly impacts the people within the walls of schools nationwide. Back in the 1960s, when the Civil Rights Movement was making tremendous strides in cities all over America, Affirmative Action was first conceived. In times when African Americans and other minorities did not have the same rights as whites, Affirmative Action sought to generate racial equality, according to The Education Trust. Affirmative Action is widely known as “positive discrimination.” Its supporters argue that to make up for centuries of racism and discrimination against people of color, institutions must take active measures to include them in today’s world, according to Forbes. This extends to the workplace, government, and perhaps most controversially, schools. Many question whether this is fair. “It definitely depends on who you are talking to,” senior Taanishi Gulati, a student who went through the college application process, said. “The wide range of students applying to college differ in race, sexuality and other backgrounds would have different opinions.” For years now, college applicants have been required to tell schools their race. That ended with last summer’s ruling. “The absence of affirmative action allows all students to equally showcase their abilities and eligibility to college, regardless of background, which can be seen as a positive thing to most,” Gulati said. However, the debate is still alive. Supporters of Affirmative Action strive for equity. Equity has a different meaning than equality, the word it is often associated with. According to The George Washington University, “equality means that every person has the same resources or opportunities.” Equity, on the other hand, recognizes that everyone comes from different circumstances and those must be taken into account to level the playing field. To achieve equity, measures must be taken. Measures like Affirmative Action. In short, it is designed to help marginalized groups climb the socioeconomic ladder and receive more opportunities. But some are not convinced that it does that. “I am not convinced that it helps as much as people think or hurts as much as people think,” professor at Cedarville University, Mark Smith said. “The biggest way it helps is to create opportunities for people where none may have existed before, but it is up to the individual to take advantage of the chance they are given.” According to Data USA, Harvard University is 34.6 percent White and 13.6 percent Asian, while only 6.21 percent are Black. When reading these statistics, many supporters of Affirmative Action think of these numbers as fuel for their argument. To correct these inequities, they reason, admission officers need to increase the number of students of color in the school. In the particular case of Harvard, inequality runs deep. For a long time, Harvard had “legacy admissions,” which were gifted to the children of wealthy lineages. Of course, the children benefitting from these privileges were invariably White, according to TIME Magazine. But according to Reform Education Now, more than 100 colleges and universities have disposed of legacy admissions since 2015. This policy is to make college admissions more fair. But when do these corrections cross a line? What is the best approach to achieving equality? “I think the fairest approach to affirmative action is to discriminate on the basis of non-racial factors like parental income or wealth, the location or quality of the school attended, parents’ levels of education and things of that nature,” Smith said. Affirmative Action has been applied not only to college admissions but also to the workplace and government. The Supreme Court’s decision is only one chapter in a longer story. For now, with the policy out, the world of college applications may look different. “It means colleges will continue to discriminate but not as obviously on the basis of race,” Smith said. “Race, in my mind, is too crude of a measure and does not always measure student need. Students should apply broadly, just as always.” The debate will continue. Affirmative Action has been applied not only to college admissions, but to the workplace and government. The Supreme Court’s decision is only one chapter in a longer story. Many will continue to discuss whether Affirmative Action is needed, but in the end, both sides on the issue argue on the basis that their position leads to a more equal society. So in a world as divided as ever on issues like these, it is reassuring to know that the same thing is wanted by all. NOVEMBER 23 . “I think the fairest approach to affirmative action is to discriminate on the basis of non-racial factors like parental income or wealth, the location or quality of the school attended, parents’ levels of education and things of that nature,” Professor at Cedarville University Mark Smith said.

4,374 recorded deaths by the electric chair, 84 of them being botched. During its use, the individual sentenced to death is securely strapped to a specifically designed wooden chair and electrocuted via strategically positioned electrodes affixed to the head and leg. Fatal electrocution is usually a result of the current passing through the body or head causing cardiac arrest or damage to vital centers in the brain according to Science Direct. There are only eight states that authorize this method, which are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee. That is eight states too many. In 1999 in Florida, Allen Lee Davis was executed by the electric chair. “Before he was pronounced dead, the blood from his mouth had poured onto the collar of his white shirt, and the blood on his chest had spread to about the size of a dinner plate, even oozing through the buckle holes on the leather chest strap holding him to the chair,” according to an excerpt and others were written by Michael L. Radelet, a professor at the University of Colorado from Death Penalty Info. While there are other forms of punishment that fall under the “death penalty” umbrella, death by lethal injection and death by electrocution are the two most renowned. Currently, 27 out of the 50 states allow the death penalty as a form of punishment. 27 states believe that these forms of punishment are OK, but they are incorrect. The death penalty needs to be outlawed in all America, and should be classified as cruel and unusual, as explained in our Eighth Amendment rights. . CRUEL & UNUSUAL end the death penalty WRITER AVA VALENTIK | DESIGNER ZION CLIFTON Cruel and unusual punishment methods have been around for decades. From boiling to slicing to impalement, sick punishments are nothing new. Although these methods are now illegal due to the addition of the Eighth Amendment, there is still one form of punishment that people claim is cruel: the death penalty. The Eighth Amendment passed in 1791 outlaws the use of excessive bails or fines in criminal trials, as well as punishments considered “cruel and unusual” according to Rebecca Whitney’s Government class. When this amendment came about, the punishments that were outlawed were those like beheading and public dissecting. But now, the punishments in question are lethal injection, the electric chair, lethal gas, hanging, and death by firing squad. The death penalty, by any method, is unjust, and unreliable and should be outlawed. This is not to say that criminals don’t deserve to be punished, because they absolutely do. Rather, I’m saying that there are too many problems and difficulties each year involving these punishments, and we have reached a point where they are not worth it. Since 1976, 1,392 executions have been conducted through lethal injection alone, according to Statista. In that same period, 75 “botched executions” have taken place. Botched executions occur when there is a breakdown in, or departure from, the “protocol” for a particular method of execution, according to Death Penalty Info. Death penalties need to be outlawed solely because botched executions still happen. Failed executions are so unjust. Again, I do not believe that criminals shouldn’t be charged, but these methods are too risky. During a botched lethal injection attempt, criminals experience unimaginable pain during the hours following being injected. The drug injected into them, Pentobarbital, is intended to kill people, so when it’s unsuccessful, they are stuck for hours with a deadly drug circulating in their bodies. In 2009, Ohio’s Romell Broom was sentenced to lethal injection. His attempt failed and was considered botched. “Efforts to find a suitable vein and to execute Mr. Broom were terminated after more than two hours when the executioners were unable to find a usable vein in his arms or legs. During the failed efforts, Mr. Broom winced and grimaced with pain,” according to Death Penalty Info. “At one point, he covered his face with both hands and appeared to be sobbing, his stomach heaving.” Statistics from Death Penalty Info report that over 120 years, 8,776 people were executed and 276 of those executions, approximately 3.15 percent, went wrong in some way. Lethal injection had the highest rate of botched executions, while electrocution had one of the least. The punishment that is the most unjust is death by electrocution, better known as the electric chair. There have been 26 NOVEMBER 24 states in the U.S. have an active death penalty as of 2023 23 states in the U.S. have no active death penalty as of 2023 3 states in the U.S. have goverrnor imposed moratorium O P I N I O N

At the end of the day, every single person will benefit from reduced emissions. Right now, the country is watching as problems continue to recycle themselves. Groups that are low income, people with health problems, the elderly and children are most at risk of the climate crises the healthcare sectors are feeding right back into. The cost of going green has been made out to be extremely counterintuitive. Companies have a very purposeful tactic of maintaining unsustainable models for the sake of being “cost effective.” The system tries to hold people accountable for their carbon footprint, offering solutions that are out of the price range of the average American, keeping them sick and all the while shaming the decision to not go green. As more and more citizens and hospitals have caught onto this idea, they’ve begun to fight the pattern.The success stories have shed light on the fact that in the long run, establishing sustainable practices in the industry saves the healthcare system billions. This cost saving goes back into funding practices that help those impacted by climate change and pollution. Dollars that can help reduce the cost of healthcare. According to the business journal from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, many hospitals found success in reusable materials that eliminate hundreds of pounds from the waste cycle. These hospitals used non profit organizations that focused on sustainable transportation and saved 40k coolers from the waste stream. Manufacturers are now going through impact screenings; and it’s not just healthcare, but every industry are the ones doing the most damage. All the tools people created that sparked these issues in the first place can be the exact antidote they need to reverse our effects. C O L U M N the heat around healthcare COLUMNIST VALENTINA URBAEZ | DESIGNER ZION CLIFTON When Big Oil slewed together the idea of the carbon footprint, it made it with the idea of wagging the finger at individuals rather than themselves. The idea that individual people drive climate change has been enough to not only send those individuals but also big corporations and industries into denial. It’s always the next person’s problem to clean up or an accident for the next generation. However, the industry built around saving lives is typically excluded from the finger pointing. Little by little, hospitals were found on the table of culprits to consider. As healthcare systems carry the burden of treating those most affected by climate change, they’re simultaneously contributing to it. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center found that the anesthetic gas, desflurane, is 3,700 times more potent than carbon dioxide, sparking a reduction in cafeteria food waste and the formation of Clinicians for Climate Change. When the residents working within hospital walls are calling attention to how they’re making an unfortunate contribution, it’s best to listen. Although a lot of the hospital waste is found in the hands of staff, they cannot be seen as the major culprit. The CommonWealth Fund found 82 percent of greenhouse gas emissions within hospitals are attributed to the supply chain including waste, energy, transport and manufacturing. Because when you strip off the beds and the people who do the saving, one can only find that the machines and bare bones of the actual building are the things left over. Though collectives like the Clinicians for Climate Change group have made headway in sustainability and cost effectiveness, this largescale problem continues to prove that a global problem can hardly be solved on an individual level. Hospitals can take on greener models for care and transportation, or invest in renewable energy, but those models must include greener tools, food and disposal. Sacrificing the environment to maintain sterilization and feeding a massive population are factors that hold weight and should be at the top of things to consider. NOVEMBER27 STAYING CURRENT with valentina . RUBBING ALCOHOL

“. . .prohibiting classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels or in a specified manner. . .” “The procedures must reinforce the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of their children by requiring school district personnel to encourage a student to discuss issues relating to his or her well-being with his or her parent or to facilitate discussion of the issue with the parent.” FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HB 1557 DESIGNER | MAKENNA SHRAGER