Edition 14.2

Vol. 14, Issue 2 | William Mason High School | 6100 Mason Montgomery Road Mason, OH | 10.21.16

THE

Doyle Burke Jeff Burson

Chief Investigator Lieutenant
Warren County Mason City Police Dept.
Coroner’s Office

HEROINLACEDWITHTRANQUILIZER

COUNTY CORONER’S OFFICE
CONFIRMS 42 OVERDOSE DEATHS
IN WARREN COUNTY THIS YEAR

[See cover story, page 2]

Photo Graphic by Ryan D’Souza
Photo contributed by Doyle Burke
Photos by Ashton Nichols, Jessica Sommerville

cover story

Death toll on the rise as lethal brand of heroin hits Mason

Ashton Nichols | Staff Writer the toxicology report is what is of interest “ By the time we get the toxicology
here. That can take eight weeks, some- report back on what we have in
Heroin addicts are dying to get their fix. times even longer. We have had 42 con- the lab timeline, we will probably
Literally, they are dying. firmed overdose deaths this year. By the
time we get the toxicology report back on have about 56 (overdose deaths).
It starts with shallow breathing, confu- what we have in the lab timeline, we will
sion, loss of consciousness. Respiration probably have about 56, which is a lot for The vast majority of it is heroin
stops, the lungs stop, the heart stops, then Warren County. The vast majority of it is
death. heroin and fentanyl.” and fentanyl. ”

In search of that next euphoric high, Financial nightmare – Doyle Burke,
heroin users have encountered something
they didn’t bargain for when they inject Burke said heroin, fentanyl and carfen- Chief Investigator for the
themselves with heroin laced with carfen- tanil have a residual effect on Mason, Warren County Coroner
tanil, a synthetic opioid approximately such as increased crime rates and the use
10,000 times more potent than morphine of valuable community resources. In or- and Medical Examiner
and 100 times more potent than fentanyl, der to combat the problem, autopsies of
2 a strong opioid pain medication. Recently, overdose deaths are needed to prosecute
drug dealers have been cutting heroin and the people dealing heroin. An average
lacing it with carfentanil. Carfentanil – of- autopsy costs $1,500, and with 56 deaths
ten used to tranquilize large animals such expected this year, around $84,000 will be
as elephants – is lethal to humans, said spent on overdose autospies alone in 2016.
Mason Police Lieutenant Jeff Burson.
“It affects all areas, especially urban ar-
“It’s everywhere,” Buron said. “It seems eas, in a way people don’t realize,” Burke
to be like the drug of choice right now, said. “The average Emergency Medical
and hopefully we will get away from it. It’s Services run has four medics that go;
a big issue.” they always send a (Halligan bar, an iron
tool) out as well in case they have to break
Burson said carfentanil gives the same down a door to get to the person. That’s
type of effect as heroin, but is incredibly not free. That costs a lot of time and re-
potent and cheaper to buy. sources. There is crime involved with this
because the narcotics trafficking is illegal,
“It’s only been here for a very short but I’m talking about the residual effect
amount of time, but the problem is that of theft. Even though heroin is relatively
it’s thousands of times more potent than inexpensive, it’s not free. It creates more
heroin,” Burson said. “If a user uses the crime, it creates more loss, it creates a
same amount that they would in heroin, high usage of resources in a community.
then it’s going to shut down the body. It costs a lot of money.”
Respiration stops, lungs stop, and then
once the lungs stop, the heart stops and it Saunders said the introduction of
causes death.” carfentanil has led to increased overdose
runs throughout Cincinnati.
Cincinnati Police Department Public In-
formation Officer Lieutenant Steve Saun- “It’s really brought to the surface how
ders said the introduction of fentanyl and big the heroin addiction in this area really
carfentanil has been a fairly new phenom- is,” Saunders said. “When we were having
enon to the Cincinnati area and the sur- an average of four overdose runs per day,
rounding suburbs. we had a period where we were making
20 plus overdose runs a day. When you
“I think drugs being an inner city thing compound the problem that much, it re-
may be more of a myth, especially when ally identifies a lot of people are using
it comes to heroin or opioid addiction,” and when they start using something as
Saunders said. “A lot of people seem to get dangerous as fentanyl or carfentanil, it
hooked on opioids through prescription magnifies the problem because a differ-
drug medications. When those (prescrip- ent mixture of the drugs on the street are
tion medications) are no longer available, now being used.”
people turned to other forms like heroin.”
Burke said with increased overdoses,
Death by overdose the police and fire departments have to Infographic by Dalton Craven
allocate their resources in different ways.
Doyle Burke, Chief Investigator for Information from the Warren County Coroner’s Office and the Drug Enforce-
the Warren County Coroner and Medi- “Mason is fairly affluent; Warren Coun- ment Administration.
cal Examiner, said up until 2015, heroin ty itself is fairly affluent,” Burke said. “But
deaths lagged far behind prescription it’s only so much. You get other areas that
drug deaths and cocaine deaths. Now with are not as quite affluent and have two
carfentanil added to the mix, Burke said medic units in a township, and one of
more heroin and carfentanil deaths are them is tied up on an overdose, and the
expected. other goes out to a traffic accident. Then
grandma drops over from a heart attack,
“People are used to taking heroin with a and there is no one available. They have
modest degree of fentanyl in it, but then to come from another area and take even
they get (carfentanil) and it’s much more longer, and those are the things that peo-
deadly,” Burke said. “We have not seen that ple don’t think about. It affects everyone.”
much carfentanil in Warren County; we
have two cases that are pending. What oc- [Continued, page 3]
curs is when there’s an overdose death like
this, we typically bring them in for autop-

10.21.16 sy – that initially takes a couple hours. But

Heroin laced with carfentanil costs Mason lives and money cover story

[Continued from page 2]

Drug use fuels crime tanil and heroin could also be spread transder- A heroin user will do
“mally, or through the membrane of the skin. anything it takes to get
Burson said heroin and carfentanil are shipped
out of Mexico and South America, then transported This could easily affect an officer just as it would
to larger cities. From the larger cities, it makes it the drug user.
way to the suburbs where it’s destructive impact is
felt throughout the community. Saunders said that police dogs are also now at their drug. If that means
risk when brought onto drug scenes, because if a
“Carfentanil has been (in Mason) within the last
few months,” Burson said. “Its shipments have come dog sniffs carfentanil, it could die. stealing from their own
out of Dayton and Cincinnati and have been adul- “We have received a great deal of training
terated, or cut, with (heroin). A heroin user doesn’t family, they will. ”
operate just in a vacuum. A heroin user will do any- from the Drug Task Force, and then also from
thing it takes to get their drug. If that means steal- the State Attorney Generals Office on handling
ing from their own family, going out and stealing precautions,” Burson said. “We used to do field
to get money to buy heroin, (they will); you hear testing, where we would take test kits to take a
about people who are driving around drug-impaired
with their kids in the car; they leave their kids with small sample, but we don’t do field testing any-
people they don’t know to go buy heroin. It’s destruc-
tive to the community as a whole. We’ve had cases more. Lots and lots of precautions are taken be-
here recently, and a drug-related death yesterday. It’s
been one day since we had our last (death). Here in cause it can be deadly for us too.”
Mason. We’re a relatively small community, but no
one is immune from it, and we are definitely suffer- Police officer and law enforcement are now at
ing our losses from it as well.”
threat, Burson said, because sellers will do any- – Jeff Burson,
Photo contributed by the Cincinnati Police Department thing they can to protect their product, and users
The Cincinnati Police Department confiscated 220 grams
of heroin on Sept. 27 following the arrest of Samuel Gray. will do anything they can to get their next high. Mason City Police
“Heroin-impaired people are usually docile Department
Law enforcement at risk Lieutenant
and passive, but because they’re willing to do
Police officers are aware of the impact of carfent-
anil and heroin, Burson said, and take extra precau- anything to get their drug, it becomes dangerous
tions when dealing with drugs. All police officers
must use gloves for any contact with drugs, and all for us if it is mixed with anything like fentanyl or ber 13. This law, commonly known as the “911 Good
drugs must be packaged in multiple layers. Carfen- carfentanil,” Burson said. “It becomes fatal to anyone Samaritan Law”, exempts witnesses from arrest and
who comes in contact.” prosecution for minor drug charges and alcohol law

Time for a change violations. Good Samaritan Laws, however, do not
protect people from arrest for other drug-related

charges such as drug-impaired driving or drug traf-
Burson said that because traditional law enforce- ficking. Twenty states and the District of Columbia
ment is not working, he believes there should be a currently have policies regarding the protection of 3
change to help users receive treatment.
drug overdose witnesses.
“We as a law enforcement community are going

to have to come up with better ways to enforce this,” The real danger

Burson said. “The traditional arrest and prosecution

isn’t working; it’s not going quickly enough. We’re Burson said the law enforcement has hopes to
going to have to come up with a treatment to help help control the outbreak, but is aware this drug
people.” may not go anywhere anytime soon.

Burke said combating this epidemic is going to “It’s everywhere,” Burson said. “It’s really through-
take time, and will require help from all forms of out the entire country right now. It’s a big issue. The
law enforcement. danger is obvious because humans cannot handle
that kind of synthetic opioid. ”
“We’re doing everything we can,” Burke said. “Ev-
ery year, a third as many people are dying because Saunders said the law enforcement is trying to
of this. Look at what the residual effects would be. find the source of incoming illegal drugs, but in the
Something has to be done. We’re offering treatment, meantime, he said he urges students to be aware and
but it’s a tough war to fight. This is not going to be realize the true power of heroin, fentanyl and carfen-
an overnight fix – it’s going to take a lot of time. tanil.
Everyone is used to identifying a problem, targeting
it, and dealing with it, and eradicating it and being “Carfentanil is illegal in the US,” Saunders said.
done. This is not that simple. It’s going to take a lot “If we can identify the source of where these drugs
of work, a lot of time, a lot of effort by a lot of differ- are coming in and then shut that off, we can prevent
ent agencies, not just the police.” more harm to come this way. It’s a dangerous drug
and we hope that anybody, including high school
The Drug Policy Alliance said Ohio House Bill 110 students that might consider using drugs, will see
is a new law which encourages witnesses to overdos- how dangerous and potentially lethal they are (and)
es to call 911 for help and went into effect on Septem- that they would not even go down that path.”

The Chronicle’s Policy The Chronicle Staff
Editor-in-Chief
The Chronicle is the official student The Chronicle is published monthly. The Chronicle is a member of The Jessica Sommerville Online Editor Staff Writers Eric Michael
newspaper of William Mason High Call 398-5025 ext. 33103 for infor- Columbia Scholastic Press Association, Managing Editor Asia Porter Calista Busch Ria Parikh
School. mation regarding advertising in The The National Scholastic Press Asso- India Kirssin Multimedia Editor Joey Deaton Meghan Pottle
Chronicle. The Chronicle reserves the ciation, Quill and Scroll International Associate Editor Alyssa Brooks Juliana Discher Asia Porter
The Chronicle promises to report the right to refuse advertising it deems in- Honorary Society for High School Jour- Arnav Damodhar Business Manager Jacob Fulton Alekya Raghavan
truth and adhere to the journalistic appropriate for a high school publica- nalists and the Ohio Scholastic Media Sports Editor Ashton Nichols Bryan Hudnell Lauren Thomas
code of ethics through online and print tion. Association. Eric Miller Graphic Designers Luke Hutchinson Joann Tsai
mediums. Ryan D’Souza Alexandra Lisa Delaney Turner
As an open forum for students, let- Contact Information Dalton Craven Charlie MacKenzie Freddie Wilhelm
The Chronicle is produced by students ters to the editor are welcome, but are The Chronicle Duncan MacKenzie
enrolled in Journalism I, II and III. subject to be edited for length, libel, ob- William Mason High School Isabel Marotta Adviser
scenity, clarity and poor taste. Letters to 6100 S. Mason Montgomery Rd. Jonathan McCollough Dale Conner
Editorials reflect the staff ’s opinion the editor may be dropped off in room Mason, Ohio 45040
but do not necessarily reflect the opin- C103 and must be signed. (513) 398-5025 10.21.16
ions of the school administration or the
Mason City School District.

news Mass hysteria forces schools to shut down

Clown sightings and istrators, law enforcement, and mental health School Threats
empty threats affect professionals) to develop comprehensive 2015-2016
school function emergency guidelines for managing threats,”
Carson said. “These guidelines help us make
data-based decisions focused on the facts of 20 percent of
the actual threats.” Mason High
Schools
Delaney Turner | Staff Writer Oct. 20, 2015 students skip
after
Clowning around is now a crime. “Schools lose threatening
On September 9, Mason Football was sched- valuable note
uled to take on Moeller during the annual com- learning time,
munity tailgate event. Approximately 30 min- police are Photo by Delaney Turner April 2, 2016 Springboro
utes prior to kickoff, Dwire Field was evacuated wasting High School
due to bomb threats. The game was cancelled resources, Public Information Officer closed due to
and, later that evening, Colerain High School children are Tracey Carson bomb threat
was evacuated due to threats from the same frightened,
group. and parents
On September 30, the Cincinnati area began are alarmed.”
to see an increase in a new kind of criminal.
4 People dressed as clowns followed citizens to The district has also reached out to federal May 3, 2016 Lebanon High
their homes. An early morning clown encoun- public safety organizations to aid in training. School
10.21.16 ter caused Reading Community School District, evacuated due
just 30 minutes from Mason, to call off school. “Last spring, the FBI conducted a joint table- to bomb threat
Reading Superintendent Chuck Lafata said top exercise with every district administrator
that it was a matter of student safety that led and members of the Mason Police and Fire De- Sept. 9, 2016 Mason v.
him to decide to close the high school. partments,” Carson said. Moeller
“At 5 a.m. I received a call from the police football game
saying a resident had been assaulted by a per- The Mason Police Department has been cancelled due
son with a clown mask on and the police did working closely with Mason City Schools to be to bomb threat
not catch him,” Lafata said. “I was concerned be- proactive. Officer Nate Ketterer works at Mason
cause all of our students either walk, ride their Intermediate as a resource officer. He said that Sept. 14, 2016 Threat
bikes, or drive to school (and) we do not have the police department is prepared.
buses.” forces
Despite the unexpected day off, Reading’s “We’re kept up to date with other schools and West
homecoming football game and dance sched- other cities, but we aren’t changing anything Clermont Local
uled for that weekend were not affected by the we’re doing,” Ketterer said. “We have plans in District to
threats. place for any situation that might occur wheth- evacuate
Decisions like these result in the loss of cru- er it be a bomb threat or a threat that you’re
cial learning time. However, Mason’s Public In- seeing with the recent activity with the clowns.” Sept. 30, 2016 Reading
formation Officer Tracey Carson said that too Community
much is at stake for a potentially dangerous The school district and police department School
situation to be overlooked. work diligently to ensure that the schools are District closed
“While the vast majority of these threats are safe at all times by collaborating with each oth- due to clown
anonymous and turn out to be hoaxes, they er to discuss various methods of action. sighting
have to be investigated and taken seriously,”
Carson said. “This can mean that schools lose “The police department also meets with the
valuable learning time, police are wasting re- school every couple months and we’ve been do-
sources, children are frightened, and parents ing this for years and we talk about safety, plan-
are alarmed.” ning, current events, concerns in the school
When situations like these occur, the district district, concerns in the local area and we keep
strategically releases information to the public a very open dialogue about what’s going on, so
to ensure a calm reaction. Carson said alerting we can always be on top of situations,” Ketterer
community members over social media helps said.
to avoid a frenzy.
“We immediately put out basic information Ketterer said that many people see situations
on social media, and then followed up with and fail to report them, but he encourages any
more detailed information on our district social suspicious activity to be reported directly to the
media channels, media releases, and emails to police department.
families,” Carson said.
Despite the recent hysteria, the district has “If someone sees something, whether they
trained for unusual events. Carson said that the know if it’s a threat or not they’re not sure, we
district uses various methods of training. encourage them to call 911 and have it reported
“We have spent a great deal of time working so that we can investigate it,” Ketterer said.
with our law enforcement partners and mem-
bers of our Safe and Inviting Schools team Tracey Carson said that students can also uti-
(which is made up of parents, teachers, admin- lize the SafeSchools Hotline if they feel uncom-
fortable with any actions.

“See something, say something,” Carson said.
“That attitude is something that has become in-
grained in our Mason DNA, and I have no doubt
that people who have reported tips have made
our school community a kinder, safer one.”

9/11 Victims Bill passes in Congress after Presidential veto news

Arnav Damodhar | Associate Editor beyond within occurring to U.S. to things occur- up old worries and scares that were present in this 5
ring outside of the U.S. This says if the assistance country at the time.”
The echoes of the September 11 attacks are still or help happened outside of the United States, they
being heard, even after 15 years. can still be sued.” Mason resident Lynn Faulkner, husband of Sept.
11 victim Wendy Faulkner, said the action to pass
A federal commission assigned to investigate Griffith said that the Congressman’s vote is re- the legislation is belated.
the planning and execution of these attacks found flective of the will of his constituents.
ties between Saudi Arabia, a long-standing U.S. ally, “It was long overdue,” Faulkner said. “15 years of
and the terrorists responsible. The Saudi govern- “We have only heard from the people in support families of people who were murdered in Sept. 11
ment, however, denies any involvement. of the bill,” Griffith said. “Most of the people in fa- have been waiting for the opportunity at least be-
vor of it tend to be police, firefighters, and emer- gin the process of at least trying to determine who
On September 28, Congress voted to override gency responders who see this as important for was responsible, who financed it, who facilitated it,
President Obama’s veto for the first time and pass their professions.” and up to this point, we have been prevented from
the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act with doing that.”
a 97-1 vote in the Senate and a 348-77 vote in the American Government teacher Chip Dobson
House. This Act allows U.S. courts to hold the Saudi said the bill was a strategic move. Faulkner said that his family is one of the many
government responsible for Sept. 11 if Saudi gov- families that have pending cases regarding the at-
ernment officials is found guilty. The legislation “I think that because Obama is in a lame duck tacks.
also grants the U.S. judicial system permission to period, his opinion polling is not tremendously
seize Saudi assets and pay it to families of victims strong,” Dobson said. “It is easy for Republicans “There are many hundreds of family members
for compensation. to go against him and some moderate Democrats who in the past have attempted to file actions,”
on something at a visceral level most Americans Faulkner said. “We are one of the hundreds of
Congressman Steve Chabot, Representative would concur with. It is a slam dunk politically.” people. We discussed as a family whether or not
from District 1, voted in favor of the bill. Commu- we were willing to put ourselves at risk. The idea
nications Director from Chabot’s office in Cincin- Dobson said the passage of the bill will affect of the time was that we might be endangering our
nati Brian Griffith said that bill expands the scope U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia. lives even by doing it.”
of the Sovereign Foreign Immunities Act passed in
1976. As a result of this expansion, families have “The fact that President Obama vetoed it tells me Faulkner said the judicial system is failing to get
already started the process. that (he) knows that we don’t really want to upset justice for families of victims in a timely manner.
the Saudis too much,” Dobson said. “We’re really
“Foreign governments can’t be sued by U.S citi- connected with them through the oil trade.” “One of the concepts of being a citizen is that we
zens in U.S courts except in nine circumstances are supposed to seek speedy redressals and griev-
that were included in the bill,” Griffith said. “What Junior Zaid Hamdan said reflecting back on Sept. ances,” Faulkner said. “Yet nothing about (this)
(JSTA) does is that it actually clarifies one par- 11 would spread panic and worry. has been speedy. There are four known terrorists
ticular exception, which is a tort (personal injury) in Guantanamo Bay who admit they participated
performed entirely within the U.S. It expands it to “I feel that the people do deserve homage for in what happened. 15 years later, our legal actions
what has happened, but I do believe that it opens against those four people are still in pretrial hear-
up a wound that doesn’t need to be opened,” Ham- ings. This is something contrary to justice.”
dan said. “I do believe that coming back to the situ-
ation will open up a lot more new topics and bring

10.21.16

news Feminine hygiene products taxed under “Tampon Tax”

Juliana Discher | Staff Writer

Women can purchase lip balm, breath mints,

dandruff shampoo free of sales tax, but not pads

or tampons.

The “tampon tax” or “pink tax” is the name giv-

en to the sales tax on feminine hygiene products.

Tampons and pads are not given an additional tax,

but they do not fall under the medically exempt

tax bracket like products such as throat lozenges

and medicated lotions. Ohio still currently has

the “tampon tax,” but House Bill 272 sponsored

by Representative Greta Johnson is attempting to

repeal it.

Johnson said that menstruation should not be

a taboo topic in society and that repealing the tax

is a step in reinforcing that periods are a regular

body function for women.

“This is an issue women deal with every single

month of most of their adult life,” Johnson said.

“It’s not a shameful condition. If you’re out with

your friends and need a breath mint because your

breath is foul, Tic Tac mints are tax free. If you’re

out with your friends and need a tampon, it’s a

whole different problem and those tampons are

taxed. We are talking about putting money back

into the pockets of women and families; that im-

pacts the bottom line for everyone.”

House Bill 272 was first introduced in June 2015.

6 Johnson said it is unlikely that Ohio’s legislatures

10.21.16 will pass the bill in 2016. The sales tax has been

repealed in 11 states so far, and a lawsuit was filed

in Cleveland during March 2016 claiming the tax Photo by Juliana Discher

is unconstitutional. Sophomore Olive Guess pays the tampon tax when buying feminine hygiene products.

“No Republicans have joined as co-sponsors of more in support, it would be nice to have a corre- Currently, Mason has pad and tampon dispens-
the bill and without that, it will be very difficult to sponding reduction in spending to show some fi- ers in their restrooms at a price of $0.25 each. On a
get it to move,” Johnson said. “It’s unfortunate be- nancial discipline around that – that way it helps college level, health teacher Gary Popovich com-
cause it has passed unanimously in New York, Cali- support the reduction in taxes.” pared the situation to some universities giving out
fornia, and Indiana in a very bipartisan manner. free condoms.
I’m hopeful that the lawsuit is successful because if A woman’s period will cost an average of $18,171
the court finds it unconstitutional, the legislature over her lifetime, said the Huffington Post. This “Certain colleges have health care clinics that
will have no choice but to act.” cost is compiled of charges for birth control, tam- give out free condoms,” Popovich said. “What the
pons, and chocolate, among other needs. The Huff- heck, if they’re giving out free condoms, why can’t
Johnson said that although the sales tax seems ington Post also reported that the average woman they give out free tampons and pads?”
like a few pennies per purchase, it makes a differ- endures around 456 total periods over 38 years,
ence in the long run. meaning 2,280 days with her period or 6.25 years Popovich said he believes states are holding back
of her life. on passing the law to repeal the sales tax because of
“I think there are people who look at this as the profit they earn from it.
silly or not going to make a difference,” Johnson Junior Mallika Madugula said she finds the sales
said. “When you start talking to women who make tax ridiculous, especially given the already high “It’s going to cost them millions of dollars over
$0.77 on the dollar and they have their period for price of feminine hygiene products. time,” Popovich said. “I like that people are looking
30 years of their lives, those are real numbers that into the law and where their money is going. Tak-
start to make a big difference when you add them “There should be cheaper options for women,” ing leadership by writing letters, raising awareness,
up. Most men in the legislature are white men who Madugula said. “I understand businesses and the and making phone calls will get the support for the
are making the full strength of the dollar, so they state want to make a profit, but we should look repeal.”
probably have never thought of the impact.” ahead of money and focus on the issue at hand,
which is that women are spending way too much Sophomore Mitchell Bilo said that the tax should
Representative Paul Zeltwanger of District 54, money on a necessity.” not be repealed in order to continue the money in-
the district to which Mason belongs, said he under- flow for the government.
stands the logic behind the tax repeal, but believes Brown University is offering free tampons and
before the bill can be passed, the government sanitary pads to its students for the 2016-17 school “I think it’s over exaggerated because it’s not that
needs to cut their spending in some area in order year. Brown wanted to help promote tampons and big of a difference for a woman, so there is no need
to compensate for the money lost from the tax. pads as not a luxury item, but as much of a bath- to make a fuss,” Bilo said. “Our government is so far
room necessity as toilet paper or hand soap. Madu- in financial debt so women are helping the cause
“I understand the rationale behind why they’re gula said she believes Mason should follow suit in through the tax.”
proposing House Bill 272,” Zeltwanger said. “We providing free feminine hygiene products in rest-
need to be careful when it gets to defining things rooms. Sophomore Olive Guess said reducing the stig-
as a necessity – diapers for example have sales tax. ma of menstruation is a part of the reason why the
The government does need to provide necessary “The school should offer free pads and tampons bill is necessary.
services like road management, infrastructure, to students,” Madugula said. “The nurses offer a
emergency services and there needs to be tax rev- free one, but how do you make it to the nurse’s of- “Every part of me feels this tax is unnecessary,”
enue to support those. In order for me to be even fice? It would be good to have a backup provided by Guess said. “It’s not a luxury; it’s a necessity. Hope-
the school in case you forget.” fully repealing this tax will reduce some of the
stigma and open people’s eyes that menstruation is
a part of life for women.”

politics

Statistics as of October 17
from a RealClearPolitics Poll.

Jonathan McCollough | The Clinton
Ground Game
Staff Writer
The significance of Ohio Clinton and Trump 7
As Ohio goes, so goes the nation. makes it a target for both major party have been taking ad-
Ohio has voted for the winner of every campaigns. The Columbus Dispatch reported
Presidential election since 1960, the longest that as of September 26, Clinton has spent $26.6 vantage of differ-
streak in the country. It has also voted for million on media in Ohio and Trump has spent ent strategies this
the winner of 28 out of 30 elections since $7.1 million. That makes it the second highest election season.
1896, the best record of any state with a state for political ad spending, just trailing behind Clinton’s camp is
93 percent accuracy. Florida where Hillary has spent $37.7 million and taking a much more
Government teacher Chip Dobson said Trump has spent $9.2 million.
this can be attributed to the state having a Illustration by Ryan D’Souza traditional approach,
similar makeup as the rest of the country. Traditional vs. Technology spending lots on ads
“If you look at the demographics of Ohio, we
have a pretty good mix of minorities, we have a Senior Gabe Shepherd said that money isn’t and building a large network of offices across im-
pretty good mix of different ethnic groups, mix of everything when it comes to winning an election portant states to have a strong ground game.
economic groups and all that together allows for and that Trump has done a good job personally
it to be kind of a microcosm of America,” Dobson reaching out to voters instead of spending money Rachel Harvey-Katz, the regional Press Secre-
said. “While it might not represent the extreme on ads. tary for Hillary Clinton’s campaign, said that hav-
left of the extreme right like some of the other ing a strong ground game and local connection
states do, it’s that middle ground, so it becomes “When you look at where (Hillary) spends her to voters rivals Trump’s presence on social media.
a representative bellwether (trendsetter) state for time, she has an office in Mason, but she has not
the country.” been touring in Ohio since September 5 while “We are focused on getting out the vote all
FiveThirtyEight, an opinion poll analysis web- Trump has made nine stops since Sunday,” Shep- across Ohio,” Harvey-Katz said. “We have more
site created by statistician Nate Silver, gathers herd said. “So it’s not a money thing because than 60 offices like the one you have on Main
polling data and runs analysis to predict the win- Trump is winning in Ohio by about 2 percent Street in Mason. I think the way people win elec-
ner of elections. The site has rated Ohio as the right now (said RealClearPolitics), and he’s only tions in Ohio is by having a strong organizational
fourth most influential state in the 2016 election spending about 25 percent of what she’s spending. capacity. It’s really about getting out the vote on
with a 9.4 percent chance of tipping the election. I would say it’s more the face-to-face interaction election day. There’s a difference between having
Ohio would be a crucial part of Trump’s best he’s done with students, with adults, and with peo- a really strong ground game and having a strong
path to the White House, being one of a handful ple from the other side.” Twitter feed. In Ohio what we see is the impor-
of swing states with very tight polls. tance of talking to neighbors and getting out the
Florida and North Carolina are also important, Junior Charlie Paul also said that the traditional vote and that’s what makes the difference in a
but in order for Trump to pass the 270 electoral campaign strategy and using social media heavily close state like Ohio.”
vote mark, he would need to flip a state like Vir- both have merit, but they reach a different target.
ginia, Pennsylvania, or Michigan that are current- The Trump Connection
ly polling strongly in favor of Clinton. “The old way definitely still does have an ef-
fect because there are many generations before Trump’s camp has a smaller overall ground 10.21.16
The Fight for Ohio the millennials that don’t use social media and game and is spending less than Clinton’s, but they
the internet as avidly,” Paul said. “The difference are using the news media and social media more
Dobson said Ohio will play an important role between the traditional way and the social me- to attract voters.
once again and could be a deciding factor if the dia approach is your target audience and the dif-
election stays close. ference in demographic. When you’re going the The Trump campaign opened 25 field offices
traditional way, you’re going to reach out to a lot during August in Ohio and plans on expanding its
“I still think Ohio will be pretty significant,” more Americans because you’re going to be going ground game as the election gets closer.
Dobson said. “Even with all the talk, I don’t see door to door and making phone calls. When you
Pennsylvania going Trump; with all the talk, I put things on the internet, the whole world sees it. Seth Unger, Ohio Communications Director for
don’t think Michigan goes Trump. I think Florida So you’re not just touching base with the country Donald Trump, said that the Trump campaign is
might go for Donald Trump, and if that’s the case, you’re running for President for, you’re touching working hard to connect with voters to get out the
then the only path to victory for him is Ohio, if base with the whole world.” vote this election.
he picks up the other ones that he traditionally
would. So Ohio seems to me to be pretty dra- “The Trump campaign in Ohio is running at
matically important again. But once again if the full speed, fueled by enthusiasm from thousands
Republicans lose Florida and they lose Iowa and of supporters and volunteers who understand
they lose North Carolina, then it’s over, so Ohio how important winning this critical swing state
wouldn’t be as important in that regard if that hap- is in order to Make America Great Again,” Unger
pens.” said. “Our campaign has a sophisticated effort to
encourage newly registered voters to request and
cast absentee ballots, and to vote early, because
that lets us focus our Get Out The Vote resources
on others. We will continue to connect with voters
through election day.”

Third party candidate Johnson attracts dissatisfied voters

Freddie Wilhelm | Staff Writer Photo contributed by Johnson Weld currently representing about eight percent of the to its security. Trenamen said that Johnson’s foreign
popular vote in the United States. policy is a key reason of why he supports Johnson.
8 He’s a candidate
for president. He’s AP European History teacher Charles Dugan said “I like that he’s non-interventionist,” Trenamen
not Donald Trump. that the Libertarian Party is finding its recent suc- said. “We’re too concerned with the outside world
cess because of the party’s platform and Johnson’s and we need to focus on the inner problems.”
Libertarian Party relatable personality.
candidate Gary Third parties across American history have not
Johnson has flown “The Libertarian platform is the middle ground, had much success in winning elections. In fact, in
under the radar you take a bit of both parties,” Dugan said. “You’re 2012, Gary Johnson received less than one percent
this election, with looking at people who are fiscally conservative, yet of the vote. The highest ever third party vote was
current polls of socially liberal. Part of Johnson’s appeal is that he Ross Perot in 1992, when he received 19 percent of
less than 15 percent is a real person; Donald Trump is like a caricature the vote, though he was entirely self-funded. Third
of the vote, which and Hillary Clinton has been an establishment poli- parties can have decisive votes in states with high
inhibits his ability tician for a long time.” support for the candidate to keep a president from
to particpate in the Presidential Candidate winning a state’s electoral votes. They can also force
presidential debate. Gary Johnson Johnson remains fiscally conservative with ideas a major party to change platforms in order for the
to cut certain government programs, such as med- major party to receive those votes. Dugan said John-
Many third party candidates do not appear on icaid, in order to decrease the taxes used to pay for son could have a huge impact on a state level.
the ballots in all states, as they do not have enough these programs. Johnsonweld.com said Johnson
support to petition to be on them. This often makes plans to leave programs like this to state jurisdic- “In states like Colorado and Nevada with a Liber-
it difficult to receive votes and support for a third tion. tarian blend, Johnson could pull bigger numbers,”
party candidate. Dugan said. “It only takes a couple of states; that’s
Some of Johnson’s policies, however, have caused what Ralph Nader did in 2000 in Florida which led
This, alongside the lack of federal funding and concern; junior Noah Trenamen said he does not to Gore losing.”
Political Action Committees to help them, presents support his radical economic ideas.
a challenge, but Southwest Liaison for the Libertar- With the election getting closer, the Libertarians
ian Party Andrea Byron said the party is working to “His goal is to eliminate income tax and abolish will soon face off against the Democrats and Repub-
make sure Johnson has as big an impact as possible. the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) and privatize licans. With many people fearing the worst of two
certain functions of the government like the FDA evils, Byron said she would urge voters to vote what
“Our main goal is to get Gary to poll around 15 (Food and Drug Administration),” Trenamen said. they feel.
percent,” Byron said. “Another goal is to make sure “I feel like it would be something impossible to get
that Gary is on the ballots in all 50 states plus Wash- through Congress and could be dangerous.” “People need to vote their conscience,” Byron
ington DC in the upcoming election.” said. “Vote for somebody you actually believe in
Johnson is also non-interventionist and believes rather than fear of the other candidate; give Gary
FiveThirtyEight.com said the Libertarians are the country should not have so many troops over- a shot.”
seas but that its focus should be on direct threats

10.21.16

Social media battleground pulls politics
younger generation into election

Students express political “I think they do serve an overall purpose,” Orte-
opinions on Twitter
ga said. “They educate and bring awareness to what
Alekya Raghavan | Staff Writer
the reality of this election is. Four years ago, I don’t
Whether you’re #I’mWithHer or #MakeAmeri-
caGreatAgain, social media is the place for you. think there would’ve been political memes, but

Statistically, the 2016 presidential election has with how popular social media is and how wild this
the most social media presence of any to date, said
Government Technology magazine. Candidates election is, they’re good for people to be looking
are using social media to cater to younger audienc-
es, especially the 18-24 year old demographic, said at.”
Ipsos Mori, a market research organization. More
than 34 percent of this group indicated that reading Students also post material such as videos,
something on social media would influence their
vote. quotes, and articles promoting a preferred candi-

Many students, even those who are not eligible date. Senior Noah Harrison uses social media to put
to vote this November, are taking to social media
to express their political views. Senior Brock Den- Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson into the spot-
niston said he believes there is no age limit when
expressing one’s political opinions. light.

“I am not eligible to vote this election,” Dennis- “I’ve actually always considered myself more of
ton said. “But does that mean I can’t express my
views? Do I have to be 18 in order to have a say in a Libertarian, so if I had to pick right now, I’d say
something? No matter what age you are you can
express your ideas, there is no age limit. When peo- Gary Johnson,” Harrison said. “I think they need to
ple try to say I can’t have a say in something about
Trump or Hillary because I can’t vote, it makes me let him debate; I think he makes the most sense.
even happier to debate with them.”
The last thing I posted (on social media) was for
By utilizing social media to get information out
to the public, candidates are able to express their Gary Johnson, just trying to get him on the stage to
opinions and receive an immediate response. A re-
cent survey by Fluent, a college insights and mar- be able to have a debate.”
keting firm, shows that social media is the primary
method through which high school students get The presidential candidates are also utilizing
their information on the election and 41 percent of
youth ages 15 to 25 engage in some form of partici- the power of social media to reach their audiences.
patory politics online.
With a total of 11.9 million followers on Twitter, Re-
Senior Danny Mackzum said that expressing
opinions could help others decide where they stand publican presidential nominee Donald Trump has
on the election.
been the most talked about person on social media 9
“Even though I can’t vote, I still like to express since January, said SocialFlow, a social media op-
my opinions,” Mackzum said. “People on social me- timization platform. Democratic nominee Hillary
dia are going to see my opinion and be like ‘Yeah, Clinton has 9.3 million followers and tweets several
he’s right’ or ‘No, I totally disagree with him.’”
times a day. Gary Johnson holds 359 thousand fol-
Among popular mediums of political expres-
sion is the meme. Through every step of the race lowers. Through social media, the candidates have
to the White House, memes have documented the
candidates’ best and worst moments. Recently, the covered topics such as terrorism, the economy and
Anti-Defamation League, a civil rights and hu-
man relations agency, has declared certain memes race.
– including the popular “Pepe the Frog” internet
meme – symbols of hate. This comes in response to Denniston said people are often swayed by anti-
the increasing propagation of the Alt-Right Move-
ment, a movement that represents right-wing ide- Trump sentiment on social media.
ologies as an alternative to conventional conserva-
tism, online. “Don’t listen to the liberal and anti-Trump social

Junior Millie Ortega said that memes educate media, make your own decisions for yourself, do
and help lighten the mood of this controversial
election. your research and decide what your opinion is after

that,” Denniston said. “Too many people have no

knowledge of this election. I will continue to ex-

press my views and can’t wait to vote for Trump

when he’s running for his second term.”

With the presidential election coming up on No-

vember 8, Ortega said that she feels a responsibility

to be aware and make others aware of political is-

sues, even though she can’t vote.

“A lot of people are like ‘You can’t even vote,

why do you even have political views?,’” Ortega

said. “But I think it’s so important to be educated,

because decisions that they’re making now will af-

fect us in the next four years. Honestly that’s why

I tweet. I have 600 and something followers and

that’s 600 people that go to our school and see that

on their timeline.”

Harrison said that freedom of expression on so-

cial media is part of a person’s rights as a citizen.

“Whoever you support, you have a 100 percent

right to put that wherever you want,” Harrison said.

“You should be able to believe in what you want

as long as it’s not harming (others) in any way. As

you get older, it’s part of your rights as a citizen to

contribute to society and do whatever you think is

Photos contributed by respected users best.” 10.21.16

feature Going gluten free a fad for some, necessity for others

10 Alyssa Brooks | Staff Writer Photos by Alyssa Brooks
Graphic by Ryan D’Souza
10.21.16 Most food fads like the pumpkin spice latte and frozen yogurt
determine what is trendy to eat. In contrast, the newest dietary
trend is based off of what not to eat.

The Celiac Disease Foundation said 30 percent of people world-
wide find gluten free diets appealing, and 22 percent of people are
actually on a gluten free diet. People with celiac disease, a disease
that inhibits the body from digesting gluten, make up one per-
cent of the human population, said celiac.org, and other forms of
claimed gluten intolerances make up anywhere from 0.6 percent
to 6 percent. Of the percentage of people who claim they have a
gluten intolerance, 86 percent are not actually intolerant.

These data suggest that the majority of people on gluten free
diets don’t need to live gluten free – including Mason High School
students. Junior Lily Thieken and senior Claire Murray have gone
gluten free in the past for the sole purpose of feeling better.

“I went gluten free because I would frequently have bad stom-
ach aches throughout my day and a loss of sleep,” Thieken said.
“It took a while to notice any change but I finally began to feel
better when I cleared it all out of my system. I would say there was
a significant difference; it didn’t help 100 percent, but it made me
feel noticeably better.”

For Murray, going gluten free didn’t help fix her severe stomach
aches. After doing research, she concluded that a gluten free diet
does not have any health benefits and, for people who aren’t intol-
erant, it limits what you can eat.

“While gluten free, I did not notice any positive changes,” Mur-
ray said. “My stomach was still having issues and I felt more le-
thargic than ever. Gluten-free options are not as good and are lim-
ited, you may be missing out on some key nutrients that you get
from whole grains, and gluten and other grains are natural crops
so (I don’t understand why people) think it is so bad for you.”

Thieken often ate pasta and bread containing gluten before
cross country, so while her diet reduced the amount of gluten she
consumed, it didn’t completely eliminate it. For gluten-sensitive
people, this is often the case. But, for people like senior Caroline
Wolf, consuming any gluten can have serious consequences.

“I have celiac disease, so I am allergic to gluten,” Wolf said. “It’s
when the cilia in your stomach is destroyed by the gluten so you
can’t digest anything with gluten in it. (Six years ago), I stopped
growing. I was in the 98th percentile for growth then I fell really
far down so they did all these tests and it turned out I had celiac
disease.”

Although Wolf has adjusted to her disease and diet, she doesn’t
understand why students would go gluten free when they don’t
have to.

“I don’t think it’s annoying, but it is just weird that people would
chose not to have bread all the time,” Wolf said. “When I see other
people eating (what I can’t eat) it doesn’t affect me. I’d want to eat
it if I could.”

Having a gluten intolerance also restricts people from eating
large amounts of gluten. Sophomore Angelika Geogestathis can
eat small amounts of gluten along with foods that are processed
with gluten and have no reaction, unlike Wolf, but even a slice of
bread can cause skin rashes and stomach aches.

“For people with celiac disease, a little bit of gluten is the same
as a whole loaf of bread,” Geogestathis said. “But I am intolerant,
so the amount I eat dictates whether I have reactions to it. Any-
thing more than a slice of bread would make my stomach hurt.
People with an allergy can’t eat (foods that are processed with
something containing gluten), but I’d be fine.”

Murray said she does not avoid gluten now that she knows it
does not have any positive effect.

“I am not gluten-free; I am actually very far from it,” Murray
said. “Bread, pasta, and pizza are my best friends. Don’t fear gluten
– embrace it.”

High Schoolers not feature
afraid to get their
hands dirty to make
some cold hard cash

Duncan MacKenzie | Staff Writer take me up on the offer, but it’s not too bad at

most times.”

It does not take Mike Rowe to know that While the average Kings Island ride operator

high schoolers have some of the dirtiest jobs makes Ohio minimum wage, $8.10 per hour, a

on the planet. beginner park services worker makes two dol-

While the host of the popular TV show lars more than that. Junior Nate Devore said

Dirty Jobs has witnessed countless un- that this added bonus and the irregularity of

thinkable occupations, some students vulgar deeds make the job valuable.

also find themselves scraping the bot- “You usually don’t have anything gross,” De-

tom of the bucket, and toilet, for a few vore said. “95 percent of the time, there’s noth-

extra bucks. Senior Matthew Nesbit ing to do. Four percent of the time you’re do-

has been working at Bear Paddle ing some work. There’s that one percent where

Swim School for almost two years, there’s diarrhea all over the walls.”

and within those two years, he has Senior Jake Parsons worked as a counselor at

experienced a few shocking mo- Camp Kern for 10 weeks over the summer. Par-

ments. sons said that a camp counselor is an extremely

“A kid puked in the pool and it versatile position, which requires him to fre- 11
quently deal with the unconventionally gross.
was all over the place,” Nesbit
“I got traditional nasty and I got you wouldn’t
said. “What we have to do think it’s nasty but it is,” Parsons said. “One time

is we have to sift it all

out and get it into a it was 95 degrees outside and we were like, ‘Let’s

confined area, so we make a Thanksgiving slip and slide.’ It was super

have do all that and disgusting. We filled up these nasty buckets that

it’s nasty because we found in a ditch and we put mashed potato

you’re in it. You’re mix in them. We piled that at the end of a tarp,

swimming in puke and then we made gravy with the same instant

and there’s nothing gravy mix stuff in a bucket and splashed that on

you can do because you there. We had water balloons full of gravy too.

have to get it out of the If you slid into it, you’d be covered in it. There

pool to shock the pool.” was a big pile of potatoes at the bottom, so you

Many students find would hit that and you just ooze into it.”

work across town at As far as the conventionally gross, Parsons

Kings Island – last year said that he dealt with a lot of sick campers.

they received “Then you’ve got your classic nasty, like kids

more than puking up bits of hot dogs,” Parsons said. “One

300 applica- time the hot dogs that they ordered were really

tions from gross and my whole cabin of kids all puked. One

Mason High kid goes, ‘Jake, my stomach hurts.’ I was like, ‘Al-

School students right, lie down man.’ Then he just gets up and

alone. Jobs can looks at me and projectile vomits chunks of hot

range from ride operators dogs. Then all the others saw him puke, so they

to food service, but the em- started puking. In the course of 20 minutes, I’d

ployees assigned the task of say four of five kids puked.”

cleaning restrooms are called Senior Todd Borgerson worked at the Regal

park service employees. Senior TJ Deerfield Towne Center Stadium 16 for three

Hensley has been working in park ser- months between his sophomore and junior

vices at Kings Island for about two and a half years. The job involved scrubbing restrooms,

years, and said that while the job can be disgust- cleaning theaters, and compacting trash – some-

ing, his coworkers keep him coming back. times until one in the morning. Although he did

“One time I had two toilets overflow and I had not enjoy his job, Borgerson said that it forged a

to take care of that,” Hensley said. “That wasn’t new respect for people with dirty jobs.

too fun, but I think the job is worth it. I don’t “You’re doing things that no one else wants

like the job itself too much at times, but I really to do and it’s something that I would never ever

like the people I work with, so it makes it worth- want to do again,” Borgerson said. “But you re-

Photo by Duncan MacKenzie while. I actually do recommend it spect people who do those jobs because they are
to my friends; a lot of them don’t
Senior TJ Hensley cleans restrooms as part of his job at Kings Island. genuinely difficult and awful.” 10.21.16

feature Pressures of Islamaphobia affect local Muslims

Calista Busch | Staff Writer not doing what Islam is telling them the Middle East). It has to do with In 2015, the Muslim Student As-

to do.” how people in the Middle East have sociation in Mason attempted to

Not even Mason is immune to Is- With the attention also comes been brought up. Men make all the put on a Covered Girl Challenge

lamophobia. prejudice and Islamophobia, or a money, so women should be like in which participants would wear

Sophomore Nora Elkady said she hatred or fear of Muslims and their that (oppressed).” a hijab for a day and then discuss

is conscious of her religion while at culture. Sophomore Zara Kabir said Hate crimes, a crime motivated by their experience. The event was can-

Mason High School. few at Mason understand the reli- a prejudice, are sometimes directed celled, however, when upset parents

“I think you’re just more aware of gion. towards Muslim people. Elkady said emailed the school to protest the

it,” Elkady said. “I want to represent “Some are very prejudiced against that she doesn’t fear this in Mason, school supporting the religious proj-

the religion right.” Islam because of the way the media but she might in other places. ect. Soliman, whose sister was one

Islam has recently been put in the portrays everything,” Kabir said. “I don’t fear hate crimes in Mason, of the members who planned the

spotlight. In the Middle East, terror- “They show so much negativity; but downtown maybe,” Elkady said. event, said the negative reactions to
ist groups such as ISIS and Al Qaeda that’s all people know. It doesn’t por- “Mason’s pretty diverse. Because ev- the challenge opened her eyes.
claim their actions are for their Is- tray the positivity of what Islam is. eryone has a different background, “My sister was part of the people

lamic faith. Since ISIS was brought People think Muslim women aren’t they’re open minded. As you go who organized it,” Soliman said. “A
to attention in 2014, there have been given a lot of freedom when they more down south or (to) big cities, lot of parents were very negative.
many attacks inspired by or directed are. It’s not the religion the makes people are less open-minded.” That’s when I knew this actually is

by ISIS. them oppressed but the culture (in a problem.”

In America, the Orlando Islam is made up of the five basic

shooting was made in the tenets of faith: Shahada, which

name of the Islamic State. is the declaration of Allah

Junior Salma Soli- as God; Salat, which is

man, who is one of prayer, which includes

the leaders of the praying in the direction

Muslim Student As- of Mecca; Zakat, which

sociation, said the is giving to charity;

extremists do not Sawm, which is fast-

portray the reli- ing from sunrise to

gion correctly. sunset during the

12 “It’s a re- month of Rama-

ligion that dan; and Hajj, a

wants fair- pilgrimage to

ness and Mecca. Soliman

peace for ev- said the religion

eryone,” So- is peaceful.

liman said. “Being a nice

“I don’t person is all (Is-

think they lam) asks of us,”

represent Soliman said. “It

that at all. asks us to treat

This is a ter- others how we

rorist group. want to be treat-

It has noth- ed. You look at

ing to do with the world in a dif-

Islam. They’re ferent way.”

Sophomore Nora Elkady feels the social pressures of being a Muslim. Photo Graphic by Ryan D’Souza

10.21.16

13

10.21.16

feature

Seniors make mockery of school identification photos

14 Meghan Pottle | Staff Writer Senior Abby O’neil said she did a goofy senior “Every time we would go buy food, they wou
picture because she thought it was funny. like ‘Wait, this isn’t you’ or it would trip them
These pictures will hang in the halls of Mason it was kind of funny to see them be all conf
High School forever, administration warned se- “I wore my mom’s ugly sweater and I had my Deskins said. “We thought it would be funn
niors who decided to mock their school pictures. hair up in pigtails,” O’neil said. “In previous school small, kind of stupid senior prank.”
pictures, I tried really hard and woke up early to
Because they are only used for student IDs and get ready. For this year, I just woke up, put my hair Deskins said that he and Center did no
profiles on Schoology, several seniors arrived for in some pigtails, put on my sweater and ran out the caught switching tickets on picture day, bu
their photographs in costume. Senior Andy Grimes door.” now in trouble after misplacing their IDs.
decided to make his shirt the center of attention.
Several administrators asked students to remove “Now I am (in trouble) because my ID go
“It was almost picture day and seeing that I had the accessories and clothing before they posed for but I have his, so neither of us have an ID a
already taken my senior pictures halfway through their picture. Student Activities Director Lorri Fox have to go back for retakes,” Deskins said. “C
the summer, I knew this could just be something Allen said administrators did this because these Muff is kind of mad, but she knows it didn’t
absolutely stupid,” Grimes said. “At the time, all the photos will be permanent. anything and it was just for fun. I just have
Harambe memes were exploding on the scene, so get retakes and use a piece of paper for my h
I was like I’m just going to take a white t-shirt and “It would be one thing if this photo was only on coming ticket that I can’t lose or I won’t be a
write something on it in regards to Harambe.” their student ID, but this is the picture that will get into homecoming.”
hang on the walls of MHS for years to come,” Fox
Grimes said he did not have any trouble wearing Allen said. “Seniors should walk through the MHS Fox Allen said that seniors’ pictures were
his Harambe shirt with administration, but teach- walking history and view the older pictures of Ma- unimpressive, and they will regret the choice
ers asked Grimes if he really cared and was passion- son Alumni. They look impressive and intelligent. made in these pictures in the years to come.
ate about Harambe. Graduates that must certainly have respected them-
selves and Mason High School.” “When future students look at the class o
“At the time, it was a joke because people cared composite photo, the class will look like fool
so much about it,” Grimes said. “But then, I was Senior Matt Deskins switched tickets with senior totally disrespectful of themselves, their
thinking either I was just going to be a floating Brandon Center on picture day, so Deskin’s face is mates, and their school,” Fox Allen said. “I’m
head in my ID, which is fantastic, or in a Harambe with Center’s name and vice versa to do something this all seems like fun now, but as people m
shirt. When it actually came out with the Harambe, funny for their pictures without losing the privilege they will most likely wish they had taken a re
it was just top notch. I was so happy with that. of walking at graduation. ful photo.”

10.21.16

feature

s 15 Photo by India Kirssin

uld be Student Activities Director Lorri Allen points to the senior pictures on the 2016 senior composite. Many students don’t realize
up, so that the photo on their student ID is also the same photo that will be preserved in the history of Mason High School on the
fused,” composite photo.
ny as a

ot get
ut are

ot lost,
and we
Coach

mean
to go
home-
able to

e very
es they

of 2016
ls and
class-
m sure
mature
espect-

Photos by Meghan Potle 10.21.16
Photo Illustrations by Dalton Craven, Ryan D’Souza

16

10.21.16

a&e

Juniors Saba Setegn, Mallika Madugula and Chutine Wei recreate the Stranger Things title poster. Photo Illustration by Ryan D’Souza 17

Netflix original series brings back 80’s sci-fi fantasy genre

Asia Porter | Online Editor Eleven solidified the stranger things to come. “I always tell people that want to watch it, ‘Well 10.21.16
When viewers are first introduced to Eleven, it’s kind of like the Goonies meets E.T.,’” Post said.
A boy vanishes. A girl uses her mind as a weap- “You’ve got the Goonies aspect, which was like a
on. A monster comes out from a mysterious world. they see a variety of flashbacks of her being test- bunch of younger kids kind of going on this ad-
Stranger things have yet to happen. ed on by men in black suits. Hooked up to brain venture or investigating and just that childhood
monitors, scientists observed Eleven in a series of interest of finding something out. Then you’ve
Supernatural fiction series Stranger Things has tests including her attempt to crush a can through got that E.T. part of it with obviously that whole
followed in the footsteps of the Netflix Originals, psychokinesis. sciencey extra-terrestrial possibility part to it. Ev-
such as Orange is the New Black, House of Cards eryone loves the Goonies and everyone loves E.T.
and the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, to gain na- Senior Amani Ashraf finished the first season because it’s a classic, so together it’s a great show.”
tional and student attention. of the show in four days and said she appreciated
how creators of the show blended science with the As the show develops, what initially seems like
The drama begins in Chapter One: The Van- supernatural. a fun psychological power with which Eleven can
ishing of Will Byers, when a child’s bike is found crush cans is quickly realized to be much more
abandoned in the forest, and the boy mysteriously “I liked how they blend sci-fi with fantasy,” dangerous, and the disappearing of more charac-
disappears. Fictional town Hawkins’ Chief Hopper Ashraf said. “A lot of it was based on science, but ters builds suspense and mystery into the plot line.
said 99 out of 100 times, when a kid goes missing, since it was explained by 12-year old boys, they had
the kid is either with a parent or relative. Stranger many Dungeons and Dragons and Star Wars refer- The series has been picked up for a second sea-
Things is the story of that other time. The plot ences. So, the fact that they could blend fantasy son, which is set to debut sometime next year.
follows three boys, Mike, Dustin and Lucas, who and sci-fi together pretty seamlessly was cool.” Producer Shawn Levy has teased that viewers will
decide to take matters into their own hands and see a whole new level of craziness in season two
go looking for their friend, Will, without the help Junior Mallika Madugula joined the fandom but assured the original authenticity of the show
of the police. after hearing all the buzz surrounding the show. would still be present. The news of a second sea-
son excited Ashraf, Carroll, Jagtap, Post and fans
Junior Lily Carroll said her favorite part of the “I got into the show because of the amount of around the nation. Post said the show is able to
series is seeing the chemistry between the three people talking about it,” Madugula said. “I defi- reach such a wide audience because it has some-
friends unfold in their search for Will. nitely wasn’t the type of person waiting for it to be thing in it for everyone.
released but after I heard a ton of people talking
“I started watching a week or two ago, and I’ve about it and all of the memes on the internet, I “I think first and foremost those kids are ador-
watched the whole season,” Carroll said. “A lot of thought that it was a pretty good show to get into. able and I think anyone that watches the show for
people were suggesting that I watch it, so I finally The reason why I like the show so much is because one episode is gonna find them super adorable
said ‘Ok’. My favorite part is probably the dynamic of how unique it was and how it combined an 80s and want to watch those kids, because they do a
between the three kids. It’s just three kids having theme with futuristic aspects.” great job,” Post said. “The parents probably know
fun and going around and fighting monsters.” who Winona Ryder is–the mom–so that probably
To younger audiences, the show is a fresh take brings them in. It’s just this whole idea of it’s not a
In Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street, a on science fiction, the supernatural, and mystery, scary TV show, but it’s got that thriller aspect with
new character is thrown into the mix. Her name: but to adult viewers, such as Government and AP open-ended questions. It’s just intriguing.”
Eleven. Mute, dressed in a hospital gown, her head American History teacher Katie Post, the show
shaved bald, her name a number, the arrival of creates nostalgia due to its similarity to popular
80s hits.

feature Peter Pan prequel takes flight in Black Box Theater

Luke Hutchinson | Staff Writer all guys and one woman,” Kenniston
said. “This was sad because some of
18 Tonight, Drama Club will enter the funniest people I know are wom- Photo by Luke Hutchinson
Neverland with the production of en and some of the funniest mo-
10.21.16 Peter and the Starcatcher. ments in Broadway are in this show. Senior Katie Kenniston, who plays Black Stache, rehearses as Spencer
Theater is all about telling a story, Walsh, who plays the character Smee, looks on.
The show is a prequel to Peter and gender isn’t relevant to telling
Pan, and it became available to high this one. When people ask me what
school drama this past March. Dra- it’s like to play a man, I think they’re
ma instructor Allen Young request- strange for asking. I’m just personi-
ed rights to the script three days fying what’s on the page.”
after its release, making Mason the
first high school to perform it. Junior and Stage Manager Jazmin
Tangi said that backstage protocol
“It was a huge Broadway hit, win- is different, because there is an in-
ning a lot of Tony awards,” Young tense focus to earn Cappies awards:
said. “I instantly knew that I would awards bestowed to high school per-
put in the rights to do the show once formances.
it became available.”
“The set changes have been ran
The show is about 13-year-old girl through a million times; everything
Molly, a starcatcher who is on a mis- has to be on point, which goes for
sion to deliver the queen’s magical every show, but more so on this one
treasure. Peter ends up imprisoned because it is a Cappies show,” Tangi
on the same ship as her, which is at- said.
tacked by the quirky and relentless
Black Stache. The ship crashes, and Members of Drama Club try to
the characters wash up on a nearby perfect their shows in attempts to be
island, where they outrun Black recognized said sound is an impor-
Stache and natives of the island tant component taken into the rec-
along with their giant man-eating ognition.
crocodile.
“There are more sound effects all
Young said he is excited to debut together throughout the play and
this play because of the specific style intermission; there is a pirate theme
that it displays. and it’s extremely quirky,” Thomp-
son said. “For example, there’s box-
“It’s interesting that students are ing bells and mostly just funny
less familiar with the play than old stuff.”
classics that we’ve done,” Young said.
“It’s definitely a different style of Senior and President Natalie Du-
theater. It’s really built out of imagi- pre said the play’s inclusion of sing-
nation, and so all the actors stay on ing is an added difficulty.
stage for most the time and form
hallways, or parts of the ship, or even “It’s not usual for the cast to be
doorways.” singing in our plays because we usu-
ally have musicals in the spring,”
Drew Stidham, Peter Pan, said the Dupre said. “The cast is only 20
play’s fast pace keeps it entertaining. students and they have to learn the
songs in a really short time, and they
“High schoolers are used to a fast also don’t have Mr. McKee, our usual
pace, and this show has that pace,” music director, to help out.”
Stidham said. “There is almost no
gap between lines. Someone is al- Dupre said she expects a more
ways yelling, or getting pushed off student-oriented audience, solely be-
something.” cause of their interest in the play.

Stidham said the playwrights sure- “As house manager, I deal with
ly knew what aspects of a play make ticket sales, but I’m not worried
the audience laugh versus what about selling out, because we usually
makes them bored. do,” Dupre said. “I just hope the audi-
ence is mostly students that want to
“It’s hilarious to see how seriously see the show, not like Romeo and Ju-
these characters take themselves and liet last year when we had freshmen
each other when what they’re doing who came for extra credit.”
is totally ridiculous,” Stidham said.
“It’s just a lighthearted tone that will Stidham said the show places an
immerse the viewers.” importance on the superiority of
theater over film, because theater
Senior and Vice President Katie enables limitless boundaries for the
Kenniston said that another aspect actors.
of theater being introduced in this
production is gender neutrality. She “Theater is very different from
said she was not affected by the gen- film,” Stidham said. “Peter and the
der change with her role as young Starcatcher represents everything
Captain Hook. that can be done in theater that can’t
be done in film.”
“The play was originally cast with

! Trending Now a&e

Students ‘fall’ for Niederman’s Farm

Isabel Marotta | Staff Writer hayride, the jumping pillow, the animal exhibit, “It’s kind of a game like Clue. The answer to that
and all the activities around,” Garver said. “We changes weekly, so if somebody came last week
Niederman Family Farm, located in Liberty have tug-of-war, human foosball, and all kinds and figured it out the game, then it would be a
Township, provides fun fall entertainment for of other activities around during the fall festi- new person this week. That’s a lot of fun. After
people of all ages. The farm includes several at- val.” dark the corn maze becomes a little bit more dif-
tractions, as well as bonfires open for rent. Their ficult because it’s so dark.”
Fall Festival runs from September 23 to October This year, there has been a new addition to
30. the farm, which adds a different element to the Not only is the farm a place to hang out with
corn maze, said Garver. friends, Garver said, it’s also a longstanding fam-
Farm manager Brian Garver said there are ily tradition.
many festivities available during the fall time. “Our maze has a game in it this year where
you try to figure out who’s committed the crime “The farm is 165 acres,” Garver said. “It’s been
“Right now in the fall, we have our fall fes- against the farmer with what animal, what loca- in our family since 1948 when my great grandfa-
tival available, which is our 14-acre corn maze, tion, and what tool did they use,” Garver said. ther bought the property.”

“All 50 cheerleaders go to Niederman’s Farm “They have a corn maze, a petting zoo, a 19
every fall as team bonding. We sit around a trampoline, pumpkin picking and they have

campfire, where we roast caramel apples. We have
hot dogs and s’mores. the NHS social there.”
It’s always been so fun,
everyone looks forward to
it every year.”

- Senior Sophia Boden

- Junior Uma Mylavarapu



“It was very family oriented, but for teenagers “It’s a lot of fun. They have the pumpkin patch,
it was still a fun place to go and hang out with and a hayride, and a corn maze, and a lot of

friends. I’d say it was a food. I would recommend
good experience and that that everyone should try to
other people should go go there.”
there.”

- Junior Charlie Woolson

- Junior Sydney Keuffer

10.21.16Photos by Isabel Marotta and Duncan MacKenzie

sports Volleyball
team runs
#GAMEDAY impressive
win streak
Mason vs. Princeton to 46 sets
en route to
The 5-3 Comets play host to the 5-3 Princ- GMC title
eton Vikings on senior night. The resurgent
Vikings look to rebound after a tough 49-14 Joey Deaton | Staff Writer Photo by Luke Hutchinson
home loss to the Sycamore Aviators. The The girls volleyball team re-
Comets look to bolster their playoff resume Kyra Simmons (9) and Anna Brinkmann (12) attempt to block a spike
coming off of a hard-fought 21-17 loss at claimed the Greater Miami Confer-
Lakota East. Junior QB Jake Harris looks to ence (GMC) title October 13 with a against Oak Hills on October 13.
continue his hot stretch of play after throw- win over Oak Hills, finishing with a
ing for a combined 276 yards and 3 TD’s in conference record of 9-0. done better. That was our focus seniors and this year it’s a lot differ-
his first two career starts. point: we have got to learn from this ent.”
The team dominated GMC play, part of the game, and they did a re-
Junior RB winning all nine matches in straight ally nice job doing that. We just re- Sophomore Maggie King said that
Matt Sora set victories. The team’s lone loss ally strive on perfecting our game, although they don’t have any se-
leads the against Ursuline Academy came on and every day in practice that’s one niors on the court, they still have a
high powered September 1. This means the team of our goals is to get better.” lot of varsity experience.
did not drop a set in the last 45 days
20 Mason of the regular season, from its loss After the loss, the Comets surged “This year we have people like
rushing on September 1 to the last game of forward on a dominating streak, Anna Brinkman, Sammie (Puisis)
attack into a the regular season on October 15. winning 46 straight sets en route to and myself; we were on the team last
pivotal GMC a 21-1 regular season record. The 21 year,” King said. “I feel like we have
contest Head coach Tiann Myer said the wins is the most in Cincinnati and really good leadership and we look
against loss was a turning point for the team earned the Comets a number two up to all the leaders on the team. I
Princeton. and reinforced what it needed to seed in the postseason tournament. feel like everyone’s stepped up this
change in order to get better. year. Even if they weren’t on varsity
FAST FACTS Myer said the team’s success can last year, they just really stepped
“Losing to Ursuline was a huge be most attributed to the players’ up into the role and they’ve done a
Match Up: Mason Comets 5-3, Princeton 5-3 wake-up call,” Myer said. “We played love for the game and how they can great job throughout the season.”
Mason Key Players: Matt Sora (756 yards rushing, well for the most part; we know rally if they find themselves in a
8 TD), Austin Croy (21 receptions, 429 yards, 3 TD), there are things that we could’ve hole. King said that even though the
Michael Kopaygorodsky (459 yards rushing, 6 TD) Zaid team relies on a lot of sophomores,
Hamdan (4.5 sacks) Photo by Luke Hutchinson “It’s mostly their love for the she feels like everyone gets along as
Princeton Key Players: Solomon Reed (1,476 yards game,” Myer said. “I just think it’s if they were all the same grade.
passing, 17 TD), CJ Henderson (29 receptions, 514 Sophomore Sammie Puisis rejects working well together and stay-
yards, 4 TD), Raymond Kozlowski (19 receptions, 435 an attempted kill against Oak Hills. ing strong and tough. At times I’m “I haven’t thought about it that
yards, 5 TD), Tyree Mills (445 yards rushing, 4 TD) shocked that we are (this good), but much, but I guess it’s kinda cool to
they do a lot of great things for me. have someone look up to you even
SHOUT OUT They’ve dug themselves out of some though they may even be older than
holes, which in the past maybe that’s you,” King said. “But it doesn’t feel
BOYS SOCCER UP TO THIRD IN THE STATE not always happened and they’ve let that way because I feel like everyone
a few points go, but this team really on the team is the same age. We all
The Mason boys soccer team has enjoyed another digs in and pulls themselves out if get along so well so it doesn’t feel
extremely successful year under head coach need be.” like they’re older than me.”
Paul Reedy. Reedy’s Comets finished the regular
season with an unblemished 12-0-3 record that The team has also achieved this Myer said that the youth of her
includes a 2-0 win at Anderson, a 1-0 senior day success without playing a single team can be visible at times, but that
win against St. Xavier and a 2-1 home conference senior on the court. Junior Anna they always make up for it with their
win against the Lakota West Firebirds. Brinkman said the team lost a lot of exceptional performance on the
leadership from the team to gradu- court.
Senior Joseph Grimes spearheads the Comet’s ation, but this year’s team is not far
offensive attack with a team leading nine goals. behind. “It’s a completely different team
Grimes has no trouble sharing the ball either, as when it comes to that chemistry-wise
he is tied for second on the team with four assists. “Our senior leadership last year and dynamic-wise,” Myer said. “Last
Fellow senior Max Mitchell leads the Comets and was incredible,” Brinkman said. year, I had seven seniors and three or
is second in the GMC with nine assists. Mitchell “But I feel like the people who have four that had played a couple years
has also been very efficient, scoring seven goals stepped up have done an amazing already on varsity so things got
on only fifteen shots on goal. job and even though we weren’t as done. But overall, (this team) makes
successful last year as we are this up for (their youth) on the court,
The Comets have risen to third in the State in the year, I feel like it’s hard to compare because they know what they’re do-
latest Division I coaches poll behind only the two because last year we had ing. They’re very good in that aspect;
Cleveland St. Ignatius and Columbus St. Charles they get the job done on the court.”
Prep.

10.21.16

BEAST MODE THAT’S sports
JUST SICK
Freshman Ananya Aggarwal
has taken this tennis season Senior Ethan
by a storm. Playing first sin- Tremblay
gles, Aggarwal finished the
regular season 13-5, only los- “My leg was snapped in half at a
ing to players ranked in the ninety degree angle. I felt a really
top five of their district. Ag- big popping and cracking sensa-
garwal dominated St. Ursu- tion throughout my leg. I tried to
line’s Lynn Ahrens 6-0, 6-1 in get up and it didn’t work. I lifted
the team state quarterfinals, my leg up and then my leg flopped
sending the Comets to the around a little. The first coach
final four after a two year hia- that came up to me tried to help
tus. In sectionals, Aggarwal me up, and he told me later that
placed third in singles. he couldn’t be by it because it
was so bad.”
DIGITS GETTIN’ SCHOOLED -- Senior football player Ethan 21
Tremblay
303 “With a golf swing, the judgement you
have to make is distance. Whether you FUNNY FACE
Number of wins boys soccer want maximum distance with a driver, or Grimes looks to make a pass downfiel
coach Paul Reedy has accu- minimum distance with a chip or putter. Senior Joesph d
mulated (as of October 16) in These clubs are different lengths which
more than 20 years of coach- has something to do with what we call Photo by India Kirssin
ing in the Cincin- the centripetal acceleration. The further
nati area. Reedy you are from the center of motion when WHO’S HOT
earned his 300th you bring the clubhead to your shoulders,
career victory the faster the club speed. This creates The girls cross country team cap-
with a 3-0 win a larger center of rotation over the golf tured its seventh consecutive GMC
over Colerain ball. If you are using a chip or a putter, championship at Voice of America
on you want to control that speed so the Park on October 15. The Comets
September ball travels a steady path. All of these earned the low score of the day,
29. decisions are what a golfer has to make coming in with 41 points, outdis-
tancing second place Lakota East
before every stroke.” by a staggering 40 points.

WSeo noiodr Garret AP -P-BhyrisaincsTtheoamchaesr

THEY SAID IT

“I used to be intimidated by
Catholic schools because they pull
a lot of Mason kids themselves, but
I’m starting to get a lot of kids to
stay here. Do I think like I used to
about Catholic schools? No.
Because I’m ready to pound them.”

- Head Volleyball coach Tiann Myer Photos by Jonathan McCollough and India Kirssin 10.21.16
when asked about Mason competing with local
Catholic school powerhouses

Complied by The Chronicle Sports Staff

sports Bond between horse
and rider requires
caring approach

Alexandra Lisa | Staff Writer

For a select few students horse riding is more Photo by Alexandra Lisa
than just horsing around.
Senior Allison Morua guides her horse, Madge, during a recent practice at the Dancing Horse Farm on
Equestrian riding encompasses all forms of Weisenberger Road in Lebanon.
horseback riding, including western style, eastern
22 style, jumping, dressage, and eventing, which has reputation,” Morua said. “We’re all on a level play- “A horse is a living, breathing creature, and you
three stages: dressage, stadium jumping, and cross ing field, and honestly you worry more about the have to make sure it’s healthy,” Narouth said. “In
country, or wide, open field racing. While each area horse-to-human relationship. It’s less of a ‘I’m other sports, you pick up your equipment and use
of competitive riding requires different training going to beat you’ sport, and more of a personal it and that’s it; it’s not a real creature. If you’re rid-
and different skills, most aspects of the sport are sport.” ing a horse you’ve known for years, it goes smooth-
consistent through all forms; even pleasure riding ly, but you can’t get on a random horse and expect
demands many of the same techniques that are re- In equestrian riding, Morua said, athletes can’t to compete well.”
quired in competitions. As Mason doesn’t have an be as aggressive as in other sports.
equestrian team, riders look to practice and com- Equestrian competitions take extremely strict
pete in their sport at barns outside of school. “Our number one priority is the well-being of precautions because of the dangers of riding a 900
the horse,” Morua said. “They sense your emotions pound animal. Thousands of riders are injured
Junior Tanner Gorman said he has been riding when you’re on them, and if you’re too aggres- every year, with 60 percent of those injuries dam-
with the rest of his family for years. sive, they won’t cooperate. They’ll refuse to jump, aging the spine, neck, and head, Nature.com said.
they’ll jerk the reins, and that all has potential to Gorman said riders must be aware of such dangers.
“I’ve been on a horse since nine months old,” end badly.”
Gorman said. “We have seven horses, and my sister “If a bird, or a crunch of leaves, or something
and I enjoy riding, even if it is just for fun and not Senior Sarai Narouth competes in western style small startles (a horse), some won’t react, but oth-
competition.” and said taking care of the horse adds many chal- ers will start jumping and kicking,” Gorman said.
lenges to the overall sport. “A lot of the time, it’s pretty unpredictable.”
Gorman said he has not gotten into heavily com-
petitive riding, though his sister, Sophie, is begin- Morua said the biggest threat when riding is
ning to enter shows. Genderleisureandsport.com falling, or being thrown, from the saddle.
said only 25 percent of equestrian riding is made
up of male competition. Gorman said he isn’t “Riding is definitely one of the most danger-
phased by being the minority. ous sports,” Morua said. “The horse isn’t trying to
hurt you, but accidents happen all the time. There
“I’ve been to horseshows, and there’s a fair num- are improvements being made in safety, now that
ber of guys there, as well as the girls, so I think it’s we’re realizing which falls are the most common
just a stereotype that girls like horses more than and most dangerous, and it’s because of that that
guys do,” Gorman said. better helmets, better stirrups, and just better
equipment is coming out.”
Senior and eventing rider Allison Morua said
guys love horses just as much as girls. She also Students receive few material benefits from
said when she competes against guys, she hardly equestrian riding. In addition to danger, the sport
notices who’s sitting in the saddle. comes with high expenses: owning, maintain-
ing, and riding a horse costs about $15,000 a year.
“When you’re out there, no one really has a Scholarships are unlikely, as there are only two
colleges in Ohio offer equestrian scholarships.
10.21.16 There is little to no off-season, as well, as the hors-
es have to be trained year round to keep them in
shape. Morua said, however, that she rides anyway
because she cannot imagine not competing.

“The sense of adrenaline, and knowing that this
animal can hurt you so badly, but the partnership
is so strong that they wouldn’t, it’s incredible,”
Morua said. “Because I do believe they get to know
you as a person, just as you get to know them. I
wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Tennis team dominates regular season, turns attention to state tournament sports

Bryan Hudnell | Staff Writer The team is filled with talent from top to bot-

tom, including freshman Ananya Aggarwal, who

In a majority of the girls’ tennis team’s matches has a team-high 12 wins.

this season, the players have experienced nothing Huser said she believes Aggarwal is able to stay

but success. calm in critical situations.

The Comets head into the postseason with a “She’s has a really good mental attitude and that

whole season’s worth of momentum after securing helps her win against the tougher players,” Huser

their second straight Greater Miami Conference said. “She doesn’t get as nervous as you think a

title with a 18-1 overall record and an undefeated freshman would be.”

conference record. Aggarwal also said playing amongst juniors and

After losing their first match to Hathaway Brown, seniors doesn’t bother her.

the Comets finished the regular season winning 18 “Obviously there are a lot more juniors and se-

straight matches and only losing five courts during niors so it’s a little intimidating at first,” Aggarwal

that streak. said. “I didn’t let that get in the way in the matches

Senior Amanda Huser said the team’s chemistry I played this year.”

was a major key to its success. After their win against Ursuline Academy on

“Our team chemistry and how well we get along October 4, the Comets advanced to the state team

with each other is a big reason for our success this final four which will take place on October 21 in

year,” Huser said. “We are all very supportive of Columbus. Reid said that his team’s resilience will

each other which helps us in our matches.” help them bring their first team championship

Outside of two close matches against Indian Hill back to Mason.

and Turpin, the Comets were able to dominate “We’ve never won a state championship in Ma- Photo by Bryan Hudnell

their competition and beat archrival Sycamore son before as a team,” Reid said. “They’ve all been Junior Nicole Reid serves during a doubles match
twice without losing a single court. Head coach through many ups and downs together on the at the Linder Family Tennis Center on October 15.

Mike Reid said his team has been very successful court and they’re all really close friends and help mindset of winning the tournament is still there,”
against the Aviators. support each other.” Reid said. “This helps keep our practices a little
more spirited and keeps everyone more excited for
“They’ve got a quality program,” Reid said. With the state tournament on the horizon, Reid the rest of the season.”
“We’ve beat them pretty soundly the last few years, said the team will need to rally around each other
and we are looking forward to see them again next even more against tougher competition.

year.” “The team is all still involved and the team

Multisport athletes feel unspoken pressure to specialize in one sport 23

Lauren Thomas | Staff Writer playing time. pen if basketball doesn’t finish until April.” 10.21.16
Fluker said he was never urged to give up foot- Wright said that if he were to be put in the
The Los Angeles Times said 87 percent of the
picks in the 2015 National Football League draft ball by head baseball coach Curt Bly, but he was same position that student athletes are today, he
played multiple sports in high school, but ath- told to look at the complete picture. would also choose to focus on his strengths.
letes at Mason High School still feel pressure to
play just one sport. “Coach Bly would talk about all the time I “If I wanted to excel in one or two of the sports,
spend playing football, like it would just take I would probably pick the one where I was least
Intense year-round off-season workouts and time away from when I could be hitting or work- likely to be successful at and drop that sport,”
increasing competition for varsity roster spots ing on my defense or something like that,” Fluk- Wright said.
are just some of the factors that go into a high er said. “I want to play baseball in college, so I
school athlete’s decision to fixate on one sport. just wanted to focus in on baseball and better my Bly said he believes coaches should not dis-
The unspoken pressure piles on to teenagers un- skills at it rather than risk getting injured playing courage athletes from playing multiple sports
til there seems no other option but quitting. football.” but should instead be supportive.

Senior DJ Fluker said he felt this pressure after Sophomore Niraj Komantineni played both “If you are capable of competing at a high level
spending hours at workouts for multiple sports. soccer and tennis and said head tennis coach in multiple sports at MHS, then you have that
Mike Reid felt soccer improved his endurance drive and that desire to do it,” Bly said. “As coach-
“I would come from football practice not re- but hampered his development as a tennis player. es, we should be helping you and not creating
ally wanting to go to baseball and go hit,” Fluker Komantineni quit soccer this year to focus solely obstacles. Athletes tend to see that and choose to
said. “I would go to both practices sometimes and on tennis. go after excelling in maybe their most passionate
that would just be too tiring like it would just take sport because they’re afraid they’ll fall behind.”
time away from when I could be hitting or work- “My coach always said that soccer improved
ing on my defense.” my endurance but he said I would get better at Senior Nick Bosticco plays football and la-
tennis because I would have more time to focus crosse. Bosticco said playing multiple sports
Fluker faced a difficult decision that many ath- on it,” Komantinei said. helps to keep him in shape year round.
letes at Ohio’s largest high school often face: the
decision to become a one-sport athlete. Aaron Wright, director of Ohio University’s “Whether it’s in the weight room with football
Master’s Degree program in Athletic Administra- or conditioning with lacrosse or even basketball,
“It was definitely hard because I have played tion, said it is logistically difficult to play mul- you’re conditioning in the offseason,” Bosticco
football since sixth grade, and I just love being tiple sports in Ohio. said. “(It works) as long as you’re doing some-
around all my teammates,” Fluker said. “But I thing to better your body.”
know baseball is for the better because it was the “Today if you were a three-sport athlete in the
first sport that I actually loved and excelled at.” state of Ohio, and you’re on the football team and Bosticco said he was glad none of his coaches
the football team advances to semifinals, if you’re discouraged his multisport participation.
While coaches may not overtly tell their play- still doing well in November, by that point basket-
ers to focus on one sport, the implication grows ball has been going on for possibly two months “Any coach I’ve had encouraged multiple sports
with off-season requirements and the amount of already,” Wright said. “If you make it to Decem- because it keeps you busy in the offseason, and it
athletes participating for a limited amount of ber, games have started. Same thing would hap- keeps you disciplined,” Bosticco said. “My grades
were better; I was better conditioned. I was more
focused in school, more focused overall.”

opinion Staff Editorial

to the editor Trainwreck Election

24 Clinton and Trump worst presidential

10.21.16 nominees in American history

The September 26 presidential debate was the most-watched in history, raking
in approximately 84 million viewers, media research giant Nielsen said. This only
includes viewers who watched at home, not at offices or parties, so the actual num-
ber of viewers may have been even higher. The Clinton-Trump face-off bested not
only the prior debate record-holders – Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan’s one-time
debate in 1980 – but also Monday night football.

Sports Media Watch said the Falcon-Saints game received only a 5.7 rating, the
lowest in National Football League history, whereas the debate received a 46.2 rat-
ing. For comparison, Fox Sports cites the 2016 Super Bowl as having received a 49.0
rating.

The Super Bowl, which has long been the most watched television event, is not
too far ahead from what NBC intended to be a presidential policy debate but in ac-
tuality, was a reality television spectacular. While we may hope the record-breaking
debate viewership was the result of our increased political awareness or readjusted
priorities, our true motivation is this – everybody loves a trainwreck.

We put an establishment politician with a spotty record, including catastrophe
in Benghazi and ill regard for the law, next to a reality TV star with zero political
experience and unfathomable sexual assault charges.

Watch now as train cogs litter our highways, its compartments go up in smoke,
and we just drive by. Our gaper’s block stalls all travelers behind us, including the
newly eighteens who line up at the voting booth to choose the lesser of two evils,
the sanest criminal, and walk away ashamed, regardless of party and the vote cast.
Their first act of political participation will be to discern which candidate will do
the least damage or which candidate Congress may gridlock most effectively.

We could, of course, vote for the third party, but few of us are willing to leave
behind the red and blue straight-ticket voting. Even if we were, Libertarian Party
candidate Gary Johnson does not know what Aleppo, the center of conflict in Syria,
is and cannot name a single foreign leader. Johnson’s best chance is that enough of
us will act out of exasperation and mark his name in a desperate attempt to avoid
any affiliations to either Clinton or Trump.

Our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, however, could walk out of
the voting booth proudly with America-striped “I voted buttons” and declare they
had cast their ballots for John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Barack Obama – presidents immortalized by history.

Obama may have ran for office on a platform of hope, and as a result reached
an approval rating of 55 percent, but his successor will stoop to no such level. Both
who vie for that position will also be immortalized, but not for their policies.

These are the most unfavorable candidates in history, ABC said, as its ABC News
/ Washington Post poll reports 56 percent of adults view Clinton as “unfavorable,”
and 63 percent view Trump the same way. Neither candidate has even a half of our
country which does not despise them.

But how entertaining was that debate, and the second? From them, we reap glori-
ous GIFs of Clinton sour-facing Trump and grainy TV photos of Ken Bone, his red
sweater, mustache, and unassuming demeanor reason enough for us to catapult
him to Twitter’s front lines. We have tweeted about him “far, far more than Justice
Scalia,” the Independent said, though our trainwreck survivor will get to name the
Supreme Court Justice’s successor.

Saturday Night Live, too, capitalizes on our “interest”: comedic powerhouses
Kate McKinnon and Alec Baldwin transform into Clinton and Trump, respectively,
but they need only to repeat the true candidates’ lines before we roar with laughter.

After the debate and the late night comedy, we did not host a civil discourse
about trade deals or tax plans; instead, we compared Clinton and Trump’s ability
to insult each other and judged them by personality not policy. We ignored their
plans to create jobs and looked past their pitches to fight ISIS to focus on screen-
shots of them brandishing microphones and singing “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” or
so we caption.

Reality for us is too humorous, but what happens when we cannot turn off our
televisions once we have had enough? November 8 is nearly here, so get comfy,
America. Make popcorn and tighten that star-spangled Snuggie because we have
just pre-recorded the next four years of American Trainwreck. It is going to be a
long show.

One-click search Editorial Cartoon opinion
engines create
false experts America’s founding father

Alexandra Lisa | Staff Writer

We see the world through smartphone screens. We have end- 25
less cyber libraries in every subject, every country, every time
period, gorilla-glued to our eye sockets. Have a question? Look Yesterday’s Gap Band for “Uptown Funk.”
it up. pop hits not
up for grabs Billboard reports both these songs won re-
There is nothing wrong with a thirst for information. In fact,
I find it commendable that people have a natural drive to learn. Jessica Sommerville | cord of the year at the Grammy’s. The most
Whether it is the race of insanities that are today’s politics or the Editor in Chief
latest iconization of a formerly tragic loss of endangered wild- recognizable music of our time is, essentially,
life, people become interested enough to look into it for them- Our favorite pop song is bubbly, infec-
selves. tious, and – possibly – illegal. plagiarized. While it would not be so terrible

For all of the intelligence this robotic era has inspired, howev- Billboard’s latest number one, “Closer” by if the power duos had merely collaborated, or
er, it has also promoted neglect of social relationships, people’s The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey, is a dance-
oblivious nature, and a false sense of all-knowing arrogance. Re- hall grind peddling nostalgia, that “we ain’t if permission had been granted in advance,
cords of car accidents while phoning and driving have only in- ever gettin’ older,” but its melody has gar-
creased as electronic usage grows. Aimee Eckert nearly died in a nered attention not only for its breeziness the frequency of copyright infringement
car accident in Mason just five years ago when a driver, speeding but its similarity to The Fray’s 2005 hit “Over
at 75 mph in a 35 mph zone, hit her from the side without warn- My Head (Cable Car).” hints little effort is made to circumvent such
ing, killing her unborn child. The driver was on facebook while
driving, and lost control of the vehicle. Social media itself has Two of the band’s members are now credit- “similarity.”
potential to harm others. Despite its intent to connect and build ed as songwriters on the track, in an attempt
relationships, it has driven people to suicide through the loneli- to retroactively prevent such lawsuits as that The defense for such behavior is that “mu-
ness and embarrassment to which users are subjected. Each time by Marvin Gaye’s children against Robin
I go out to eat there is a family sitting in silence, noses buried in Thicke and Pharrell for “Blurred Lines,” sic simply isn’t made that way anymore,”
snappy phone cases. which Gaye’s children claim was derived
from Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up.” The court “that way” referring to a songwriter and a
Computers are everywhere, now that they are in your pocket. slapped the producers of the former number
With such a flash-flood of devices soaking the country, aspects one with a $5.3 million fine, cut from an ini- pencil. Now synth-pop and electronica cred-
are bound to get out of hand. Opinions mistaken as facts, per- tial sum of $7.4 million.
sonal viewpoints as evidence, and reading an article is enough its kids with laptops as the primary creative
to convince people they are masters of the topic they dove into It has made the modern musician tread on
minutes ago. his toes – better late credit than never, as in geniuses on tracks – Calvin Harris, Avicii, DJ
the Chainsmokers’ case, than to drown in le-
How many claim to understand where terrorism “comes gal fees. Sam Smith gave credit to Tom Petty Snake, The Chainsmokers.
from” without looking beyond ISIS into the Lord’s Resistance for “Stay With Me.” Bruno Mars gave credit to
Army (LRA) in Africa, the New People’s Army (NPA) in the Phil- They churn digi-beats to optimum dance-
ippines, or the separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA)?
94 percent of terrorist attacks are committed by non-Muslims. It ability, lace sky-high female vocals over the
took me five minutes to confirm that statistic on three sources,
yet I doubt anyone spends time finding this information. De- top, and sit back and wait for that Number
spite the screens illuminating our faces 24/7, our research only
goes trend-deep. People are uninterested with authentic truth, One hit. It is not poor practice – we all crave
conversation is all that matters; if it is not discussed, it is not
researched, making the public unintentionally ignorant. the upbeat, and a confessional lyric is better

I recently overheard a conversation between my peers. I have than a violence-condoning one – but the le-
heard it many times, but for some reason this occasion made me
want to slap my likely-unwanted two cents on the desk. gal and moral looseness of digitally enhanc-

“Why do we have history classes? They’re all dead anyway, and ing someone else’s melodies is inexcusable.
Google is right here,” she said as she waved her phone. I know
this is a complaint high schoolers make across the globe. The While an already beloved melody may be
statement does not concern me. The fact that this argument is
being taken seriously does. an easy way to ensure monetary success, the

To suggest that Google can replace lesson plans, can replace originals of prior eras – Gaye’s “Got to Give It
teaching, is insane. I will not preach about history repeating it-
self, but a society will crumble if its members refuse to look at Up,” Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” Gap Band’s
the world around them. History is a measure of how the world
has evolved into what it is right now. Just as a frog does not pre- “Oops Upside Your Head” – were risks once.
tend it was never a tadpole, we cannot pretend that the ground
beneath our feet did not evolve from another time. We have Distinctive voices sell too, but only if they are
to look at what our world was before we can appreciate what
our world is. That appreciation is not in your computer; it is in produced. 10.21.16
hands-on experience.

There may be seas of knowledge at the touch of a square of
glass, but we have our world surrounding us. Don’t look it up.
Look up.

PARTING SHOTS

Good You Tell Us Compiled by Staff Writer Meghan Pottle

1. Slimmer design than For whom are you voting (or for whom would Senior Jack Davidson is the founder of
Charge devices you vote) in this year’s presidential election? the Record Club.
2. Battery lasts up to five days
3. Has “move reminders” Hillary Clinton 44 % Q: What prompted you to start
4. New feature called Sleep Record Club?
Schedule helps users achieve Donald Trump 33 %
goal of consistency in sleep Gary Johnson 23 % A: I was surprised that we didn’t
5. With a price of $129.95, this have one already because it seems
is one of the cheaper Fitbits Results from the 365 voters on the Chronicle twitter poll. Follow like a cool idea. It is a good way
@mhschronicle to find out when our next poll will go live.
Not so Good to stimulate interest in a greater
variety of music. That’s a thing
1. Not waterproof that I consider to be a big part
2. No button to let user start or of my life, so I want to share
stop an exercise session it with people who might not
3. App is still the same
4. No altimeter (stairs climbed) already have that. Also, I
sensor think the physical mu-
5. Doesn’t track heart rate sic is something not
a lot of people have
Compiled by Isabel Marotta had experience
with, so I want to
Word for Word spread that. Buy-
ing records, buy-
26 “I have read all the books, so I am hoping it gives ing CDs is not
me more information. I am just hoping they do a something that
good job with it because from what I’ve heard, the is a big part of
our culture now,
musical isn’t doing too good. I am hoping that the but I think it
should be.
movie does a little better. ”
Q: What do
– Sophomore Corinne Mattingley, you do in Record
Club?
on the November 18 release of Fantastic Beasts and
A: At the beginning of
Where to Find Them, the latest film from the Harry every meeting, we have
people submit songs that
See our November 18 issue for full coverage. Potter franchise they have been listen-
ing to during the week
Photo Bomb and then I make a Spo-
tify playlist everyone can
listen to. Sometimes we
discuss different albums.
The other day we played
a game where I listed a
bunch of obscure bands
and people had to guess
what they sounded like and
where they are from and
stuff like that. At the end
of every month, we vote
on an album to listen to
during the listening party
outside of school.

Q: When and where
does Record Club
Meet?

Photo by Jonathan McCollough Jack Davidson, A: We don’t really have
senior a set schedule right now
The band practices on Dwire Field with the globes added to its 2016 competition show titled “A
World Out of Balance.” because our teacher
advisor has soccer
10.21.16 that he coaches. We
meet in Mr. Roach’s
room, Z211.

27

10.21.16