Chronicle 20.5

An aerial view of Shadow Lake Mobile Home Village, the neighborhood Emerik Moser lives in. Volume 20 Issue 5 | William Mason High School | 6100 Mason Montgomery Rd., Mason, OH | 1.20.23 Artwork by Anna Matu “Connecting to Culture Through Artwork” See page 2

MHS artists use their talents to promote inclusivity Megan Lee | The Chronicle The National Art Honors Society artists strive to influence inclusivity far beyond the walls of Mason High School (MHS). Each year, students in the National Art Honors Society have the opportunity to participate in a movement called the Memory Project. This non-profit organization, based in Wisconsin, partners with different youth organizations to provide intercultural connections between children. This program has aimed to provide comfort to children through art since 2004. This year, the Memory Project has reached out to a group of children in Nigeria. Dan McKay, the advisor of the NAHS, assigns each volunteer a child’s portrait to design. Each year McKay receives the children’s names, photos of each as well as information about their upcoming interests. Their artists are given creative freedom on how to proceed. Some choose to paint their pieces while others choose to do graphic design pieces. “We establish a connection between a child and the artists,” McKay said. “It’s building a natural connection.” Although the high school artists are not informed of any specifics, they are told that each kid has been exploited to violence or harm. Most of these children have been in and out of poverty and have trouble finding a consistent place to live. McKay said he is proud of the amount of Mason students who are dedicated to promoting change and well-being. “A lot of these kids have had to be relocated,” McKay said. “Most as a result of terrorist groups or other violence.” Each artist participating in this project knows that their art provides hope for a child in need. McKay said that in each package given to the child, they provide the piece of artwork along with a picture of the artist who made it. This relationship formed from art between the artist and the child has given hope to each creator, and hopefully, the children involved. “The big thing with the National Art Honor Society is: how do we use art to benefit society?” McKay said. “And this project shows just that.” These artists take their talent to the next level by taking the goals of NAHS and projecting them into each piece of artwork. McKay said this project creates a sense of responsibility in these artists to bring a source of hope to the kids. “It’s really trying to encourage them to move through their difficult circumstances,” McKay said. “How do we promote international goodwill? How do we help children at risk? We use our artist’s talents.” Senior Kate Lawrence has participated in two out of the three years NAHS has had this opportunity. With her dedication to the movement, Lawrence feels a personal and logistical connection to the program. “For a project of this magnitude, sending portraits across the world, the Memory Project is a big thing,” Lawrence said. Not knowing the exact circumstances each child is going through forces the artists to challenge themselves when they make their pieces. No matter the individual difficulties, participants are striving to make the child feel valued, loved and most importantly respected. Lawrence said this movement is the most international project NAHS does, and the artists feel the weight of that. “I like knowing that each kid gets a little bit of something special,” Lawrence said. “The art is personal for each kid; it’s unique to them.” The overall size of the Memory Project itself makes for an enormous number of participants. Mason is far from the only school to provide artists to this movement. Over 300,000 students in 55 countries have participated in the Memory Projects since. Ellen Zhang, the vice president of Mason’s NAHS, said she finds a sense of responsibility to make a piece that appeals to both her and the child. “You can create a piece of artwork that replicates or stylizes the portrait, digital or traditional,” Zhang said. “We get to use our own techniques.” With the amount of creativity taking place in the movement, artists are given room to express themselves and the child in their art. Zhang said that artists are given much more creative freedom compared to the smaller school-wide pieces they create, which create powerful pieces of art. “Around the school, we’re constantly preparing murals and other pieces, but this is, in my eyes, the most impactful,” Zhang said. Because of the creative freedom in these pieces, artists can add pieces of their own technique along with pieces of their own identity. Junior Anna Matu said she takes pride in the light this project brings, especially to a place that means something personal to her. “I’m actually Nigerian so it felt like I had a personal connection to these kids,” Matu said. “Knowing that definitely influenced my process.” Matu said she is driven to compose a piece that would influence that child to believe in themselves and to make them feel special. In order for her to demonstrate these qualities, Matu said she needed her piece to be exceptional. “To include each small frown or smirk and bits of personality, even if they aren’t smiling in the photo, we try to make sure we make them feel seen.” The Memory Project was composed to encourage these kids to accept themselves as they are, no matter the personality or personal experience of the child. Matu said she is grateful that she was able to influence a child’s wellbeing. “To get a portrait painted just for you can change the way you view yourself and your flaws,” Matu said. “I like that it’s influencing a life after mine.” 2 January 20, 2023 Photos by Dan McKay From left to right: Mason High School artists, Ellen Zhang, Anna Matu and Kate Lawrence display their artwork.

Transplant brings new perspective on organ donation Aimee Liu | The Chronicle Organ donation is not just a checkbox at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). Organ donation is the process of surgically removing a healthy organ from a donor for transplantation to another person. Donors can be alive or deceased and can donate internal organs such as hearts, livers, kidneys, lungs, and more. The process of matching a recipient with a donor usually takes several years depending on the specific situation of both parties. The matching process includes taking measurements of blood types and antibodies, as well as being placed on waiting lists and carefully evaluating candidates. In July 2019, Khan was diagnosed with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), an autoimmune disease that attacked her kidneys. As a result, Khan had to undergo dialysis to remove waste products and excess fluid from her blood, essentially serving as a substitute for the normal function of a kidney. “I got really sick; I’d get out of breath, I was really fatigued, and [did] not eat as much,” Khan said. “Before that, I had no health problems.” As a 13-year-old, Khan was unable to partake in typical teenage activities. For the 19 months that she was on dialysis, Khan said she continued with online school, but could not go out often due to her weakened immune system. “There [are] a lot of limitations to life when you have organ problems,” Khan said. “You don’t feel too good, and [there are] lots of medications, risks and treatments. You can’t live your life to the fullest.” After receiving her kidney transplant on May 4, 2021, Khan said that she felt like the color in her face came back, and that she could do more everyday tasks without needing a nap in the middle of the day. However, while the transplant solved many issues, Khan said she still faces a slew of health risks. Some of these include taking and managing multiple medications, having a catheter in her stomach and practicing caution when exercising and taking showers. “It wasn’t [an] easy recovery, but I like to think that it only goes up from here,” Khan said. “It’s not like I’m stuck on dialysis, I just have to get through [the recovery].” With an increased risk for many illnesses, Khan said that facing the lingering consequences of her disease and transplant can be frustrating. After missing a significant amount of school due to being sick, Khan said that her experience has definitely affected her mental health. “I stay on top of my work, but it’s really demotivating when you feel trapped in your body during dialysis, and then you still feel trapped [after surgery] because you just can’t stop getting sick no matter what you do,” Khan said. One of the positives for Khan, however, is the amount of knowledge she has gained and the insight that being sick has given her for the future. Khan said that when she first got sick, she had trouble processing the information, but eventually developed a more optimistic view of her situation. “I’ve learned a lot of things about the body from this,” Khan said. “I want to become a pediatric nephrologist. I’ve always wanted to do medical things, but [now] I’m set on wanting to do this.” Khan said that because much of her perspective and mental health has been rooted in her illness, it has been difficult to bond with others her age. “I can’t necessarily relate to many people,” Khan said. “I always wonder what it’s like to be a normal kid. I don’t think I’ve had a single day since I got sick where I woke up and didn’t think about my health.” Given the importance of organ donation to her well-being, Khan said that the stigma surrounding it should be erased. While there are valid reasons to choose not to be an organ donor, Khan said she encourages people to look into their beliefs, discuss the topic with family, and consider how it could change someone else’s life. “I think the idea of removing all your organs from your body kind of freaks people out,” Khan said. “Maybe it’s a religious thing for people to want to be buried with their body intact, but I know that being an organ donor is not a bad thing at all, and it’s nothing to be scared about.” People are given the option to become an organ donor when they receive their driver’s license. If they choose to register, they are then added to a registered donor list. Khan said that although driver’s education courses and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles do not often place emphasis on the significance of organ donation, it is important to look into before taking your driver’s license test. “When I got my license, it was just a yes or no button,” Khan said. “My driver’s [education] said [organ donation] was all about dying and ripping out your organs, [but] organ donations are very important [because] you can change somebody’s life.” Khan said that despite the fears associated with death, organ donation is ultimately a way to create a positive impact. “I think people get scared by the term ‘organ donor,’ but it means that your organs could go to someone in need,” Khan said. “I think it’s a really beautiful thing how people have discovered how to take someone’s organs [to] save someone else’s life.” After her experience with MPA, Khan said that her perspective on life has changed greatly. She said that after what she has been through, it is much easier to appreciate the small things around her. “I’m definitely a lot more appreciative of things that life has to offer, like coming to school and being able to see my friends,” Khan said. “Knowing what it’s like on the inside of a hospital, you just really are very grateful for health and being able to live as a normal teenager.” January 20, 2023 3 Infographic by Becca Hunter

MHS provides inspiration room for students Laurel Wang | The Chronicle Students at Mason High School (MHS) have a new place for peace. MHS has recently established a room for students of all faiths to find inspiration. Whether it is morning meditation or scheduled prayer times, students can utilize this room to fit their needs. For Muslim students, scheduled prayer times coincide with the school day. Muslims pray at five prescribed times calculated using the positioning of the sun. The current time for the morning prayer, Dhuhr, falls around late noon when most students at MHS are in school, and the afternoon prayer, Asr, occurs around 3 PM. In order to pray, students must leave class for a few minutes. Junior Nura Salem serves as the secretary for the Muslim Student Association (MSA). She said that the room provides her with a way to identify with her religion while at MHS. She is appreciative of the opportunity to practice Islam while at school, strengthening her connection to both her religion and Mason. “It’s just like a quick place to go [and] reconnect as a Muslim in America,” Salem said. “You really want that connection in school. [It’s] a nice feeling that the school cares about my religion.” In past years, a small room in the administrative wing of the building was provided as an inspiration room, but would sometimes be occupied for other purposes or not open to students. At the start of the 2022-23 school year, a temporary space in the library was offered to students during A and B lunches, however, the Dhuhr prayer currently falls during C lunch. While students with earlier lunches were able to utilize the room, those with a later lunch or hoping to use the room after school were unable to do so. For the current school year, freshman Jenna Elkilani has been using the space in the library during the end of B lunch. Although Elkilani was not able to pray at the exact Dhuhr time, she felt that praying early and not missing class was better than missing the prayer. “For me, [praying] is an opportunity to speak to God and ask for forgiveness if I’ve done something that’s not a good thing,” Elkilani said. “If I’m going through something hard, I feel like being able to talk to God helps. If I have to miss the prayer, I get upset because it’s my thanks to God for the things that he’s provided for us.” With the help of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OHIO) and the Lunar Moms, a local organization formed by Muslim moms in Mason City Schools (MCS), the MSA looked into creating a designated room for students to visit throughout the day. The room needed to be private and overseen by a staff member while in use. Since the start of the second semester, students have been provided with two rooms on the second floor of the administrative offices: A57 and A58. One of the rooms is the “Inspiration Room,” mostly used for storage, and the other room is MHS Principal Bobby Dodd’s office while not in use. The rooms are open throughout the school day and for an additional thirty minutes after school to allow students that have clubs or activities to use them for the Asr prayer. Both spaces are carpeted and are provided with a rug for student use. Freshman Amna Omar used the room daily while at Mason Middle School (MMS), where students used a Google Form to sign up for time slots. However, during her first semester in high school, finding a staff member that would be able to oversee the room throughout all the lunches was a challenge and limited the time the room was available. The new location in the administrative wing solves the issue of supervision. Now, Omar feels that the extended availability of the new room provides her with greater accommodations and access to MHS. “It’ll make it more accessible for us and make us feel welcome in Mason,” Omar said. Junior Daud Malik, President of the MSA, said he believes the experience of establishing a room for all faiths will benefit the greater MHS community. “I hope that the new addition of the prayer room opens up not only advocacy [for] Muslim students, but also any other organization or group of people who want to have a set time during the day to do something that’s really important to them,” Malik said. 4 January 20, 2023 Graphic by Allison Droege

High schoolers pitch in with the family business Alisha Soni | The Chronicle For junior Josh Kyselica, work and family are one and the same. Kyselica’s mom is the owner of Friday Threads, a clothing supply company that issues both large and small custom orders for customers. Kyselica’s mom started the business back in 2012. What started as a hobby of sewing became a side business of taking small custom orders. This business quickly grew, allowing her to move the business out of the house and into a storefront. When the store opened, Kyselica could remember spending quite a few days and weekends at Friday Threads. During the time he spent at the store, he would often help out in any way he could. “I would [be at the store] because no one was home to watch me,” Kyselica said. “I [would] do some small things for them like folding shirts until I actually got hired in freshman year.” Kyselica said that working long hours and completing late orders at the store would impact his ability to complete certain school assignments with a time deadline. “I have been persuaded to work longer hours than I normally would have,” Kyselica said. “Kings [Local] School District needed a last-minute sale not too long ago. That was a lot of work, but we got all the orders out.” Currently, Kyselica works at Friday Threads in the production department. Although he is not interested in a clothing supply career, he sees himself returning to help his family with the store when he is home for college breaks. “It’d be nice to continue working there,” Kyselica said. “It’s very easy to just come in and begin working for a couple of hours as much as they really need to or want [me to].” Junior Xin Wang’s family is the owner of Twin Dragon, a Chinese buffet and grill restaurant in Mason. Wang’s parents founded Twin Dragon in 2002, so the restaurant has always been a part of Wang’s life. “I’ve always had to be there since I was [young] if my parents were working late,” Wang said. “I would be at the restaurant, but I didn’t really start helping out until I was about 12 or 13.” Wang’s parents have emphasized that the restaurant should not be seen as one of her top priorities, as schoolwork should come first. Wang said that the lack of pressure from her parents allows her not to feel like a burden. “If I see my mom really stressed, I’ll always offer to help,” Wang said. “But they’ve made it clear that I should be focusing on school and it’s not something that I should worry about. But I do like helping because I feel like I’m helping my parents when they need help.” Wang has found a suitable balance in working at Twin Dragon so it does not interfere with school or other extracurriculars. Compared to previous years, Wang has reduced the time she has spent in the restaurant due to the busyness of school life. “Freshman year I worked almost 20 hours a week,” Wang said. “On top of that, I had marching band freshman year which was a bit hectic, but I also didn’t have that much workload. So it was an okay balance. But this year, I mainly just work there when they need help.” Twin Dragon is typically open every day of the week, including holidays. Since Wang’s family works at the restaurant on holidays, it forces them to readjust their schedule and celebrate a holiday at a different time than most. “We don’t usually celebrate holidays on the actual holiday just because [my family is] working,” Wang said. “If it’s Christmas, we always celebrate it early or really late at night. But it’s mainly because my parents are working till really late. So, that’s another sad part.” Similar to Kyselica, Wang is not considering a career in their family’s businesses but can see herself continuing to help with the restaurant in the future. “I don’t really have any plans on continuing that line of work,“ Wang said. “We’re really busy during holidays and if I come back from college, it’ll be around those times. So I’ll definitely plan on helping out during the holidays if they need it.” Senior Owen Natorp and sophomore Eli Natorp are continuing the family tradition of working at Natorp’s Nursery Outlet & Landscaping. The business was established in 1916 by the Natorp’s great-great-grandfather. Today, different generations of Natorp family members work at the store. Currently, both of the Natorps are employed at the outlet store where they have been working since they were young. “It was our own decision,” Owen Natorp said. “Because we were just interested in working and learning about it.” Although Owen and Eli Natorp do not strictly work alongside their other family members at the store, the opportunity to work at the nursery outlet has brought them closer together. Even though they are both unsure of their college plans, the Natorps often think about a future in the family business. “I’d definitely consider going into that business,” Eli Natorp said. “It’s cool, how many generations it’s gone through.” Photo by Alisha Soni Junior Josh Kyselica works at Friday Threads, cleaning the screens for a new design to be printed. January 20, 2023 5

Mason students willing to pay the price for retro shoes Divy Bose | The Chronicle Paying the price is what it takes to get the latest Retro shoes. As stylish clothing trends are becoming popular on social media, so are shoes. With the latest retro look making its full circle, junior Presley Daniels said that she wants to keep up with the trend, but also make it her own. “I have Jordans in Pink, Blue, Brown, and Orange so I can match with the colors I wear most,” Daniels said. “Instead of thinking about what clothes I am going to wear, I think about which Jordans I am going to wear that day then coordinate my outfit with them.” Having to budget money for these shoes is a challenge that teenagers face when buying popular shoe brands. Daniels said that investing in buying a pair of Jordans is a reward, but an obstacle at the same time. “I have to save up for a pair and plan in advance for weeks before actually buying a pair since I work part-time,” Daniels said. “Affording these shoes on my own is hard, but being able to buy them for myself compensates for the price.” Air Jordans, a Nike brand named after former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Michael Jordan, have achieved new levels of fame in recent years. Fans, athletes and shoe collectors alike covet the different assortment and styles of Air Jordans such as Dunks, Ones, Threes, Fours, Fives, and Sixes. Daniels said that the name brand was enough to make her buy multiple pairs since she is a basketball player herself. “I love Michael Jordan and look up to him so obviously I am going to want his shoes,” Daniels said. “Everyone says he is the greatest of all time and him being a basketball player makes me want them even more.” Bidding on shoes can cost buyers up to two or even five hundred more dollars than what the shoes are worth. Freshman Jayden Brogden said that his favorite pair of Jordans cost him a couple of hundred dollars. “I spent two hundred to three hundred on my dark viruses which is a pretty standard price,” Brogden said. “To me, it wasn’t that expensive since I bought them off a resale app called Sneakers.” Resale apps such as StockX, Sneakers, or even eBay are where most people turn to buy the latest retro ware. Since retail stores do not carry Air Jordans, paying the resale price from these apps is often the only way to get a pair. While buying these shoes has become a habit for many Mason High School (MHS) students, some have also started the lucrative business of selling them. Junior Luke Kirklin started reselling shoes in eighth grade through his Instagram account and eBay. Kirklin said that he makes a 20% profit through resale because consumers are willing to pay higher prices for Jordans. “When I go to resell shoes I turn to StockX to make sure I’m accurate in my resale pricing,” Kirklin said. “But at the same time, Jordans are rare and I have to resell them for more than the original price in order to make a good amount of money.” In addition to buying shoes from retail or thrift stores, Kirklin also acquires shoes directly through vendors he partners with. Kirklin said that ensuring the integrity of the shoes is one of the most important aspects of reselling. “I went to Plato’s Closet and found Air Jordan Dunks for forty-five dollars and had to buy them,” Kirklin said. “I checked if the pair was real by running it through my apps and checking the shoe’s looks.” Out of all the shoes Kirklin sells, he said that the Air Jordan Dunks have been the most popular shoe he has come across with selling. “The difference between all the Jordans is just the model of the shoe,” Kirklin said. “Everyone seems to want the Air Jordan Dunks, though, since I got four offers on a pair [of Dunks] in one day.” Buying these shoes is not always simple. Many shoe collectors must bid on resale sites and pay up to hundreds more in order to be the highest bid. While this system benefits sellers, Brogden said it can complicate his job as well. “There’s way more to it than just buying and reselling shoes,” Brogden said. “Recognizing the different patterns of sales and knowing the stocks of companies is what will help you understand the business side.” Even though buying knock-off shoes are cheaper, owning a real pair of Jordans is what makes buyers confident in their own sense of style. Brogden said that having a pair of Jordans alone is enough to make an impression. “Knowing you’re even wearing the brand Air Jordan is enough to make anyone confident,” Brogden said. “Buying them for yourself is pricey, but it’s ultimately worth it in the end.” 6 January 20, 2023 Graphics by Alisha Verma

Popularity of artificial intelligence softwares raise ethical concerns Elina Bishoyi | The Chronicle Tanya Keskar | The Chronicle Artificial Intelligence (AI), friend or foe? Currently in the research phase, Chat GPT is a chatbot, a computer program created to simulate human conversation, launched by the company OpenAI in November 2022. The software operates by predicting what the user wants through its vast database of information on the Internet. The software can answer users’ questions and write essays, though the quality is debatable. There has been much controversy over the ethics of having a chatbot assist in human work. New York City Public Schools, among others, have banned access to ChatGPT due to the concern of cheating. Sophomore Emily Kosina uses the software recreationally after being introduced to it through a family member who started using it while working. Kosina said that ChatGPT made creative writing more fun for her, as it helped her create a framework for a movie plot by guiding her through themes and coming up with character concepts. “I had a lot of fun with that [story],” Kosina said. “[ChatGPT] is good to give you a little helping hand.” MHS English teacher Tim Navaro has implemented the AI tool in his classroom by using it as a topic of discussion and as a tool for a project. He said that right now, he thinks that students find ChatGPT exciting, like a toy or pet, because it can communicate back to them, but it is a software that will take time to grow and reach its full potential, and for humans to fully understand its implications. “We’ve given artificial intelligence a language,” Navaro said. “Right now, it messes up a lot. It’s also in its infancy. You can compare it to a newborn child babbling. It’s making mistakes, but it’s going to get better.” Navaro does not see ChatGPT as a threat to students’ education at Mason. He said that from the AI-generated essays he has read, ChatGPT produces very formal and wordy essays with no mistakes that would not match the unique tones and language skills of his individual students. “There’s very little cheating possibility,” Navaro said. “It would be so obvious. Mistakes in writing show your human right to actually have mistakes.” GPTZero, created by a computer science college student, can scan a text to determine whether an AI or human created the text. This software has enabled teachers and essay reviewers who may not know the student as an individual to distinguish human and AI work. Junior Kavya Chintakayala, a participant in Navaro’s class discussion on ChatGPT, said that she has seen artificial intelligence taking a stance in society through many forms, the most prominent being through the art community. Dall E and Stable Diffusion are open-source software that generate images based on a description entered by the user. Chintakayala said that Photoshop and similar software have existed for a while, but AI-generated art software makes it a lot easier to misuse the software and spread false information. “It has a lot of restrictions because they know how powerful it is,” Chintakayala said. “You can make images that look very real but are not real at all, which is scary.” Chintakayala, an artist herself, has seen debates emerging over AI in the art world with software like Dall E and Stable Diffusion, as there is concern about how it creates its outputs. She said that she is aware that Stable Diffusion takes the work of artists on the Internet and uses it to create supposed original work for other artists. Another aspect of the debate is over what classifies as art – if it needs to be created by a human consciousness to be considered art, and if having easy access to AI-generated art will discourage people from creating their own art. Chintakayala said that while she thinks that art made by AI can be considered art, humans create art uniquely to process the world. “We are feeding human data into [AI],” Chintakayala said. “If you can’t tell whether [art] was made by a human or an AI, and you interact with it in the same way, I think that makes that art.” Junior Srikar Koduru said that he sees ChatGPT as more of a tool, similar to a search engine, rather than a method of cheating. Koduru believes that the backlash is understandable, but like the introduction of any new technology, it will eventually wear off and become a part of our day-to-day lives. “When Google came out everybody was like, ‘No, use the textbook,’ but right now we use Google for everything,” Koduru said. “I think [ChatGPT] is just going to follow the same pattern.” Koduru has some experience with programming and machine learning. While he has concerns that people could gain access to ChatGPT’s code and repurpose it to find loopholes to hack or steal money, it also has many positive uses. “Instead of banning it completely, schools should use [AI] as a tool,” Koduru said. “When a student writes an essay, they can use ChatGPT to see what a good essay looks like, and it would be like inspiration instead.” Though AI provides numerous benefits and solutions for unprecedented problems, Chintakayala does not see it as a threat to replacing real human relationships, expression or work. “Trying to replace [humans] with AI will never really work,” Chintakayala said. “As much as AI can make art and writing that seems very human, it’s not going to be able to actually provide human interaction.” January 20, 2023 7 Graphics by Alisha Verma

Teachers bring new lessons to classrooms Drew Hoffmaster | The Chronicle Students are not the only ones going to school. Although Mason High School (MHS) teachers have already completed their required four-year bachelor’s degree and state certification, some teachers work towards additional degrees to further their professional careers or expand their teaching skills. For MHS Assistant Principal Tina Drake, pursuing higher learning is what she enjoys doing in her free time “I enjoy going to school and learning new stuff,” Drake said. “Especially when I know it’s going to make me a better person.” Drake earned her bachelor’s in Mathematics Education from Kent State University, her Master of Arts (MA) in Education from Baldwin Wallace University and her Principal’s License from Ashland University. Currently, she is working on earning her Curriculum and Instruction Licensure through Ashland University. “This license will help me better support teachers in regards to instructional planning, instructional strategies, understanding assessment and [teacher evaluations],” Drake said. Physics teacher Brian Thomas originally got his bachelor’s in Biological Science Education through Ohio State University and Master of Education in Educational Leadership through Wright State University. Most recently, Thomas pursued a Gifted Coordinator Endorsement from Xavier University. “[The Gifted Coordinator Endorsement] kind of helps me understand where my [students] are coming from,” Thomas said. “[These classes] increased my awareness, it changed how I interact and build relationships with students.” Thomas learned the characteristics of identifying gifted students, and that students are gifted in different areas. This endorsement allowed him to realize the importance of doing other work outside of the classroom. “I have students that will not do well on coursework, homework and tests because it doesn’t excite them,” Thomas said. “If I give them a project outside of school, they just really shine because they’re excited about something where they can be more individualistic.” History teacher Charles Dugan originally received a bachelor’s in Spanish Education from Bowling Green State University. He soon realized he had a passion for teaching history and earned his MA in History Education from Xavier University. “I saw [teaching history] as an opportunity to expand on the same ideas of Spanish, but just kind of in a larger way,” Dugan said. “They look at the same ideas of understanding cultural identity and understanding the basis for why people interact the way they do.” Even though Spanish and history are composed of different content, he found similar areas of overlapping content to bring back to his Spanish classroom. “I took several classes that were in history but were designed as either Latin American History or Spanish History,” Dugan said. “I could bring things about the culture or about the history that I had previously learned in my graduate [studies] and expand on it.” Dugan said he also learned he could take activities from his Spanish classroom and implement them into teaching history to add variety. “I’ll incorporate mixer activities where you get the opportunity to roleplay and discuss things in character,” Dugan said. “Putting yourself in the shoes of someone [else] helps you learn a lot.” Math teacher Johnathon Sauer obtained his bachelor’s in Mathematics Education from Ohio State University, his MA for Teachers of Mathematics and his doctorate in Pure Mathematics from the University of Cincinnati. While working on his doctorate dissertation, he learned a few important lessons. “I learned so much,” Sauer said. “The patience, the perseverance, the persistence of actually going through [the dissertation] and being able to say ‘look, it’s not going to come quickly [and] it’s not going [be] easy’.” Through the research for the dissertation, Sauer said he learned to have more patience in his life and his classroom. “You have to be patient with what you are doing, and I’ll be patient with you,” Sauer said. “Helping students gain that kind of patience and having patience with them goes a long way.” Business teacher Carmen Scalfaro obtained his bachelor’s in Business Education from the University of Akron, his master’s in Curriculum and Teacher Leadership and his doctorate in Educational Leadership from Miami University. While working on his doctorate, Scalfaro learned that he needed to have a fun and relaxed teaching style that emphasized student socialization. “[I use] basic interaction games in class,” Scalfaro said. “[Students] form culture by listening to each other while playing these games and talking to each other and getting to know people.” Scalfaro said he is always trying to improve his teaching by finding fun and exciting ways to engage his students. “I always try to encourage people to never stop learning and take their education seriously,” Scalfaro said. “You never know what doors might open.” 8 January 20, 2023 Visuals by Allison Droege

Megan Lee | The Chronicle Mason High School Drama Club takes the stage to perform their rendition of the play Story Theatre by Paul Stills. Story Theater follows a mix of Aesop’s Fables and other fairy tales to create a comedic and entertaining performance. Showings are in the Mason High School Black Box Theater at 7 PM on January 20, 21, 27 and 28 with an additional 2 PM showing on January 21. Tickets can be purchased directly from the MasonDrama website. In Lights: Story Theatre Photos by Megan Lee January 20, 2023 9 “Drama club has really given me an opportunity to witness and be a part of the exceptional creativity, skill and passion of everyone involved.” - Sophomore Samuel Aronoff, Lighting Crew “I think everyone should try it out once in their life. Auditions for these shows are scary, but once you get into character, it’s all worth it.” - Freshman Isa Spary, Cast Senior Nate Fox holds a prop skull in his hands as he rehearses a scene. (left to right) Junior Eli Clayson and Sophomore Miguel Castro rehearse scene as Senior Gretchen Knuth plays dead on the floor. Junior Eli Clayson attempts to convince Freshman Avery Belschner during a rehearsal of the play.

Tougher distracted driving penalties signed into Ohio law Taylor Murray | The Chronicle Stay alive, don’t text and drive. On January 3, 2023, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed the new Senate Bill 288 into law in hopes of lowering the number of Ohioans who use their phone while driving. The bill states that distracted driving is a primary traffic offense, punishable by a $150 fine and two points on a license for a first offense. The bill will go into effect on April 3, 2023. There will be a six-month period immediately following this in which officers can only give a written warning to distracted drivers. The bill will become fully enacted on October 3, 2023. DeWine, in a speech last spring in which he urged legislators to pass the bill, said that there were nearly 12,000 distracted driving crashes within the past year. Of those, nearly 5,000 crashes involved drivers from ages 15-24. Many Mason High School (MHS) students spend their high school years completing an online educational course on driving and getting their hard-earned driver’s license after their sixteenth birthday. Some teens look forward to this milestone, and MHS junior Sydney Vargo has enjoyed the freedom of her license for nearly a year and a half. “I love driving so much,” Vargo said. “It’s so much easier to go places and do stuff with your friends and to get myself to practices and clubs and meetings as well as work.” Vargo said that her parents are very concerned with her safety especially while she is driving, so she made sure not to use her phone in the car. However, Vargo said that there are times when she wants to switch music tracks or call her parents on her phone, and she is not sure if that will be allowed now that the new bill is in place. “It’s kind of difficult to know that I’m being watched, and I’m scared about switching the song really fast,” Vargo said. “I wonder how strict law enforcement is gonna be when it comes to it. What if they see someone just tap their phone – [are they] gonna pull them over, because the fines are $150.” Even though it means there will be more officers on the roads, Vargo said she is glad that distracted drivers will face consequences now. Lots of drivers easily become preoccupied while on the road, and she said that she has seen many people nearly get in crashes due to being on their phones. “[Distracted driving] is something that can be so easily prevented,” Vargo said. “Since it’s a growing digital age, people are becoming more lenient about it, but it’s something that’s so dangerous. So I really hope that [the bill] decreases that behavior. Because it’s so easy.” Rachel Yang, a senior at MHS, is not concerned about the new bill. Student drivers are already under stricter rules regarding phones while driving, but Yang said that she has seen other people have their phones out when on the road. “I haven’t gotten into a car crash or anything related,” Yang said. “But it is a little annoying, seeing people watching TikToks or texting while driving, but it’s never really been a physical issue for me.” Yang, like Governor DeWine, is optimistic that the bill will help decrease crashes and distracted driving. “I hope [the bill] will make the roads safer,” Yang said. “I just think it’s better for people to not be distracted while driving.” Alden Williamson, an MHS sophomore who got his license a little over a month ago, said that he does not touch his phone while driving. He said that he can control his music from buttons on his steering wheel, so there is no need to access his phone during a drive. However, he said he knows many people who might be affected by this enforcement of stricter rules. “I think it would definitely affect a lot of [people] because athey like controlling their phones rather than using the car buttons for skipping tracks,” Williamson said. Williamson said that he and others in his family pass cars frequently with actively texting drivers. The new Senate bill will give officers permission to pull these drivers off of the road and fine them for creating danger on the roads. “It’s a problem that everyone’s on their phone while they’re driving,” Williamson said. “You’ll see someone stopped in the middle of the lane going like five miles an hour, and then you pass them and you see that they’re on their phone.” Williamson, in agreement with Governor DeWine, said that distracted drivers are the cause of many wrecks, hazards and traffic problems. During DeWine’s public signing of the bill, he stated that he is certain Senate Bill 288 will save lives. The governor said that he was a supporter of stricter penalties regarding distracted driving since the moment that legislature brought the proposition to him, given that his 22-year-old daughter was killed in a car crash in 1993. “It’s certainly no coincidence that evolving smartphone technology has coincided with increasing roadway deaths and serious injury,” DeWine said. Senate Bill 288 has been in the works for years, and now that it has been officially signed Ohio residents can expect a decrease in car crashes similar to those documented in other states with tougher distracted driving laws. A representative from Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company said that within 2 years of enacting legislation for stricter enforcement, individual states witnessed a 15-20% decrease in fatalities from car crashes. “I hope that [the bill] encourages people to realize that texting or being on your phone while you’re driving is unsafe,” Williamson said. “There are consequences and you should be focusing on driving and not texting or changing music. I just hope that it reduces the amount of crashes and fatalities in the area.” 10 January 20, 2023 Photo by Megan Lee Sophomore Alden Williamson checks his phone while driving, an action prohibited under Senate Bill 288.

January 20, 2023 11

Josie Lorenz | The Chronicle Beyond the scales, scruff and stigma, Mason High School (MHS) students are embracing unique pets. Sophomore Jax Haberstroh adopted two ferrets in 2019: Noodle and Zim. In the process of adopting them, Haberstroh conducted in-depth research to care for them to the best of his ability, wanting to have a furry friend. Noodle has Waardenburg syndrome, a syndrome that affects his social skills and reaction time, which causes him to be deaf. Though it doesnt affect Haberstroh’s ability to care for him, he must be extra attentive. Haberstroh said that guests are often wary of his ferrets. They worry that the animals may be aggressive or hold a strong scent. Ferrets are not fully domesticated animals and are not easily trained or fond of staying indoors, which has created a negative stigma around them. “When bringing someone new over to see my ferrets, there are usually always two outcomes,” Haberstroh said. “Number one: they’re perfectly fine with the ferrets, or number two: they get scared, call them ‘gross’, ‘creepy’, etc.” While these misconceptions may seem harmless to some, Haberstroh said it can mean life or death to the animals. The stigma surrounding unique pets can put off people from embracing them, leaving them in shelters or with breeders that euthanize them if they fail to be adopted. “It’s quite harmful putting such harsh stereotypes onto animals,” Haberstroh said. “It stops animals from getting homes and families that they are in need of.” Haberstroh said that his weasels have wiggled their way into his heart over the past couple of years and he has nothing but love for them. “Noodle is so sweet,” Haberstroh said. “He likes to snuggle up in my sweatshirt and sleep there for hours. He’s a softy. Zim is a little antisocial but it’s not like he would bite anyone. He loves everyone.” Senior Mia Hillman has 22 pets ranging from fish to tarantulas. One of these pets is a four-year-old bearded dragon named Raysel. Hillman said that she sees Raysel as no different than any other pet with her sassy personality and cute moments, but knows that having a unique 12 unconvention Sophomore Jax Haberstroh Noodle, Ferret Photos contributed by Jax Haberstroh and Mia Hillman Students comfortable breaking sti

animal has its own differences and advocates for in-depth research before adoption. “They require a lot more than you would typically expect,” Hillman said. “[Animals] like fish and reptiles need very specific environments to be replicated in order to live a long and happy life. Bearded dragons need a dry and hot environment. Dogs and cats don’t need any of this.” Hillman has noticed a heavy stigma around the cleanliness of her bearded dragon. There is a myth that these creatures carry diseases even though with proper care they will not. “Bearded dragons like having human interaction,” Hillman said. “They enjoy snuggling and getting out of their cages. A lot of people don’t get them out of their cages for enrichment though, due to thinking they carry salmonella.” Many household reptiles end up dying of insufficient attendance to their needs. She said that she wishes that people would go out of their way to see beyond the scales and learn to properly take care of them. “Many people don’t put the time and effort into making sure they’re healthy and happy. A lot of people buy these types of animals because they look cool and don’t really do much outside of that.” Like Hillman, Haberstroh is careful to make sure he is always meeting his pets’ needs. This includes making sure that guests don’t scare his ferrets and vice versa. When a guest is nervous about Haberstroh’s ferrets, he introduces them to Noodle first, the softer of the two by personality. He hopes this will gradually show them the goofy and fun side of the ferrets without scaring them and show that they aren’t aggressive, just different. “I love them to death,” Haberstroh said. “They’re silly and that’s what their charm is. ” Haberstroh said that he encourages people to step out of their comfort zone and give these critters a chance. He said that he hopes others can see beyond how different the animals are and let go of the stigma around these creatures. “Once you finally hang out with them, they have a lovable charm,” Haberstroh said. “Some people don’t seem to see that.” 13 nal critters Senior Mia Hillman Raysel, Bearded Dragon igma around owning unusual pets

14 January 20, 2023 Student Opinion: What is the best album you’ve ever listened to and why? Results taken from Google Form poll with a sample of 29 responses. Graphics by Allison Droege. Page design by Izzy Gaspar’raj. In Conversation With: Junior Ella Rush Student Opinion: Out of the seven continents which one would you most like to live in? Electric Warrior by T. Rex, 1971. I have never heard an album like that before. His voice is so unique and every song just makes me want to dance. No skips on that album. - Junior Audray Mix DECIDE by Djo. It’s got a lot of unique sounds to offer and comments on the idea of living in a simulation. It takes you through the anxieties of identity and change. The songs tell the story really well and I like that it uses sounds to illustrate the grip of scrolling through social media. It’s a really tight album I’d recommend to first time listeners of Djo, who also happens to be the actor for Steve in Stranger things! - Senior Trinity Cook 1989 by Taylor Swift. The album is timeless, something that will never age poorly in society and along with that, the songwriting is phenomenal and really captures its message well. - Junior Marisa Dudgeon Compiled by Ellie Saylor North America 20.7% Asia 3.4% Australia 10.4% South America 3.4% Africa 6.9% Europe 55.2% Scan this QR code to have a chance to be featured in next edition’s Student Spotlights! Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple is insanely unique and invaluable. - Senior Erika Burns Can you tell us about yourself? What about your hobbies, interests, or extracurriculars? I love art. I love fashion. I love drawing fashion sketches. I love to travel. I love music. I have been playing piano for about 10 years now. I’ve played guitar since quarantine, and I play the drums. I’ve played in Orchestra for about five years as well. I’m just so passionate about the arts, and I believe the most important and unifying thing that’s constant in this world is your individuality. Can you explain your fashion sense to us? My fashion sense is very rooted in my love for classic rock and that started in middle school when I started really getting into older artists like Queen and the Beatles. When you get attached to something, you look into the artists, and so I got into the culture of the era of the 60s and 70s. I just really loved that it was just such a cool variety of patterns, textures, and materials. I love the free-spirited vibe that a lot of artists back then emulated. What does fashion mean to you? It’s an outward expression of yourself. For me, it’s important because you’re able to show people a little bit of who you are through how you express yourself. Fashion is whatever you want to be, so be bold. You can only be yourself so why not just have fun with it while you can? Do you ever see elements of the 70s-era clothing in modern fashion trends? Yes, I do. Flared pants have definitely come back, and that’s something I love because it was always hard for me to find flared pants. I know a lot of people nowadays love the 90s and early 2000s fashion, but if you really take a deep dive into the history of that fashion, a lot of it comes from the 60s Mod eras and the 70s with all the different types of cuts and patterns. I think that’s really cool that all that stuff is coming back. Can you tell us how you find your clothing? Yes, I do. Flared pants have definitely come back, and that’s something I love because it was always hard for me to find flared pants. I know a lot of people nowadays love the 90s and early 2000s fashion, but if you really take a deep dive into the history of that fashion, a lot of it comes from the 60s Mod eras and the 70s with all the different types of cuts and patterns. I think that’s really cool that all that stuff is coming back. Do you have any final thoughts about fashion and art? Fashion is whatever you want to make it, [so] be yourself. You only live for so long, so you might as well have fun with it.

January 20, 2023 15 Few movies can say their pursuit scenes come with choreography. But for M3GAN, it’s a claim to fame. The horror-comedy craftily bridges the gap between the genres, delivering a fresh, tongue-in-cheek take on the doll horror movie. Gemma (Allison Williams), a toy robotics engineer, settles soundly into the role of a career-consumed inventor. In secret, Gemma works to develop a lifelike, AI doll she names M3GAN. Although Gemma shines professionally, she sucks paternally in caring for her newly-orphaned niece, Cady (Violet McGraw). At eight years old, Cady, a slack-jawed screen queen, is unresponsive to her aunt’s awful attempts at parenting. Ronny Chieng offers a comic caricature of David, Gemma’s boss and tyrannical tech-bro stretched so far it circles back to depressing. When David discovers Gemma’s secret project, he orders her to shut it down. Instead, Gemma brings testing back home, where she pairs Cady with M3GAN and the two become fast friends. Instructed to protect Cady from all harm, M3GAN’s unflinching allegiance to her command soon turns into a violent, yet expected extreme. The human characters are, ironically, given the least fleshed-out roles. It’s clear the star of the film is the titular M3GAN, and for good reason. Portrayed by Amie Donald and chirpily voiced by Jenna Davis, M3GAN is the highlight of the movie. Arriving as the newest neatlypackaged iteration of the mean girl, M3GAN’s glare is cold, and her revenge supercomputercalculated. The true chill of the film lies not in the predictable horror plot but in M3GAN’s technological capabilities. She knows far too much about the world than a girl or doll should, and the adults that created her are powerless to stop her from accessing it. From the first time M3GAN powers on, we already know how this movie will end. We’ve seen the man vs tech storyline a million times before, just this time in a creepy doll/robot combination. Like its plot, M3GAN makes no effort to subvert easy themes. Still, for all of its heavy-handed messaging, M3GAN doesn’t take itself too seriously. M3GAN herself bursts into seemingly spontaneous song, knocking loose a breath of levity with the absurdity of comforting a child with a verse from Sia’s Titanium. In Cady’s world of the 15-second viral audio, it seems laughable that the musical heart of the movie comes from a motivational song from 2011. But clocking in at only four feet tall and with features more anime than uncanny valley, M3GAN gleefully leans into the theatricality of the genre. In one viral scene clipped in the trailer, M3GAN pauses a violent rampage to launch into a Dance-Moms-esque routine, flipping an aerial before she grabs a paper-cutter machete on her way to slay. Although not subversive, M3GAN is a clever and satisfying watch with a healthy dose of absurdism. If only all our AI overlords could be so camp. Knives Out (2019) felt like an impossible act to chase yet Glass Onion has followed with incredible finesse. Glass Onion, named after The Beatles song by the same title, follows detective Beniot Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, in yet another murder mystery. A glass onion is an idea that people will overthink a situation as they peel back the layers when the answer was in plain sight the entire time. They just needed to step back and repostiton. The film portrays this idea beautifully. Glass Onion does not lie to you. While viewers are led to believe other answers to the mystery, I admire how the film gives us the tools to figure out the mystery ourselves. Oftentimes, films with twists that we, in theory, could have seen all along, use cinematography to hide the answers. But Glass Onion lays all the hints out in a way that if we only repositioned, we could see right to the center of the glass onion. The shots use the visual motif of hiding a subject with another subject, only to peel back and reveal it, though it was there all along. The movie layers onto itself in a way that makes the viewer feel a bit silly for not seeing it sooner. Sometimes, that’s the best feeling to have when watching a film. While Knives Out is from the supposed perpetrator’s perspective, giving us a clear-cut answer, Glass Onion is through the perspective of Blanc. As a detective, his job is to solve the mystery and with him as a focal point, we figure it out alongside him, a refreshing change of pace while still keeping our attention. The way director Rian Johnson was able to tie in modern pop culture like Ricky J, Kanye West, Batman and Among Us in such a casual way, was very enjoyable and caught the attention of Gen Z viewers. While the pacing of the film can seem questionable at times, Glass Onion leaves the audience with a satisfying theme that could be seen right at the title screen. It is going to be hard to wait to see what Johnson has in store for us in Knives Out III. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mysetery DIRECTOR: Rian Johnson MOVIE REVIEW entertainment The world that James Cameron creates in Avatar: The Way of Water truly sets that standard for transporting the audience into a new reality. Avatar: The Way of Water is the long-awaited sequel to the original Avatar released in 2009. Created by James Cameron, Avatar is a movie filled with beauty that definitely transferred into the newest movie. Released nearly thirteen years after the original, Avatar: The Way of Water has been almost five years in the making. The plot follows Jake and Neytiri Sully along with their four kids Neteyam, Lo’ak, Kiri and Tuk. With new and returning cast members the movie has a completely different feel from the first. When humans return to Pandora, the Sullys are forced into hiding because of their father’s past. This leads them to a new home with the Metkayina clan among the Reef people. Overall the existing storyline of the first Avatar is successfully carried over into the next movie; however, we see a different side of the main character Jake Sully. In the first film, Jake is a humble, kind human who ultimately decides he doesn’t want to be human anymore. In the second film he is cold and closed off, especially toward his kids. Sully expressed on multiple occasions that all he wants to do is protect his family, but protecting them inevitably damaged their relationship. Unlike the first movie, Avatar: The Way of Water focuses on the ideals of family and trust. Kiri is the adopted daughter of the Sully family and is the biological daughter of Grace Augustine, who lost her life in the first movie. We see her face hardships while grieving her mother, aswell as striving to fit into her adoptive family. While Kiri’s storyline is heartfelt, it lacks development. There are still many questions about her and her gifts that go unanswered. Overall the end of the film was rather anti-climatic. Fans had just watched two and a half hours of a beautiful story, only to be met with plot holes and an ending full of despair. Although James Cameron has confirmed three more movies following Avatar: The Way of Water, it was easy to feel unrest in the ending scenes of the movie. Compared to the first, Avatar: The Way of Water offers all new perspectives of life on Pandora while it exceeded the heavy expectations set by fans. Page Design by Izzy Gaspar’raj by Josie Lorenz 4.5/5 by Megan Lee 4/5 Avatar: The Way of Water DIRECTOR: James Cameron MOVIE REVIEW by Laurel Wang MOVIE 3.5/5 REVIEW M3GAN DIRECTOR: Gerard Johnstone

Sean Speidel | The Chronicle The Mason girls’ basketball team may have graduated an All-American, but their standard of success has not changed. The Comets returned all but one of their players from last season’s state runner-up team. Kyla Oldacre, now playing at the University of Miami, was the team’s lone graduating senior. The Comets have continued their reputation as one of the premier teams in Ohio with a 12-1 record, including two victories over MaxPreps’ number one team in the state (as of January 12), Princeton. Head coach Rob Matula said that the team has maintained its identity as a strong defensive team despite losing Oldacre, a two-time GMC defensive player of the year, and that has allowed them to play at a high level. “We still hang our hat on being defensive-oriented, ” Matula said. “Obviously losing a McDonald’s All-American, we had to figure out some different ways of getting everybody involved, but it’s going well.” After only having one senior last season, the Comets are led by 7 seniors with a plethora of big-game experience. Senior Gabby Razzano has been a varsity starter since her freshman year, and said the group is well prepared and ready for one more run thanks to their history together. “We’ve been talking about going to state and winning since fourth grade,” Razzano said. “I think we’re just super focused this season and know that it’s their last time playing together and playing basketball for some of us so just want to get it done.” After coming within seconds of a state championship last year, the Comets are playing this season driven by that same end goal to win with the added motivation of avenging their loss. Madie Parrish said that the team caught a glimpse of their objective when Reynoldsburg claimed defeated the Comets last season, and have maintained their team identity and desire to win the second state championship in school history (first was in 2000). “We know what it takes to get there and we’ve had that feeling of that loss too so we should be hungry and want to get it even more now,” Parrish said. “We have to do the little things when it really matters and even when it doesn’t just make sure you’re doing your job and sort of staying dialed in, just being the Mason team that we know we are” The team had to adjust some to losing Oldacre, but had the benefit of returning the rest of their team. Players like Parrish and senior Carly Prows, who are both averaging over 13 points per game, stepped into larger roles. Parrish said that the team is not focused on any outside noise regarding their chances of making it back to state, and instead are internally motivated to do what it takes to get back there. “I think it’s funny because everybody asked, ‘Oh are we still going to be good,” Parrish said. “[Kyla] was obviously a big help in the season last year, but we still are all individually good players. And obviously we’re meant to be on the same team together. So it’s not really much of a difference, but it’ll just take more from each of us than it did last year.” The Comets lone new addition to the varsity lineup is freshman guard Anna Habra. Habra is a starter for the Comets and is averaging 6.9 points per game, 2.3 assists per game and 3.0 steals per game. Matula said that Habra acclimated fit in with the team dynamics immediately and has helped provide a boost in their lineup. “I think she’s earned her stripes in regards to being on this team,” Matula said. “It’s always nice to have a player coming in that can give us an advantage.” Matula said that the team knows they are capable of playing at a high level and have important playoff experience, but needs to continue focusing on the fundamentals that have allowed the program to be successful in the past. “I think our ultimate goal is always to put ourselves in a position to make a run in the tournament,” Matula said. “We’d like to advance and have another opportunity (at a state championship) but we also don’t take that for granted.” 16 January 20, 2023 sports Comets maintain success and ambition after last year’s state runner-up finish Photo by Lily Haller Sophomore Madie Parrish high-fives freshman Anna Habra, the only new addition to Mason girls varsity basketball, during their 57-34 victory over Fairfield on January 4. Photo by Lily Haller Gabby Razzano’s role has shifted into a more traditional post player in her senior season, averaging 1.1 blocks per game which is up from 0.5 last year.

January 20, 2023 17 Graham's NUMBERS CADEN GRAHAM 215.5 1st 489 215.5 average pins per round 489 total pins vs. Colerain on January 5 1st in the GMC for average pins per round Andrew Little | Sports Editor Senior Caden Graham is leading the charge for the GMC-leading boys’ bowling team to a hot start to their season. He leads the conference with a 218.8 average and is in the top three in total pins. The Comets are currently 6-0 and 3-0 in conference play. They are led by a talented senior class including Graham, Kyle Brackenridge, Timmy Hollenbeck, Aiden Hunt, Jake Moyer, Ogden Nijakowski, and Jack Riley, Graham has finished as the Comets’ top scorer in four matches this season. He has averaged over 200 pins in seven of his nine matches. He started the season strong with a 215-pin game in the Kickoff tournament in Columbus and exploded in his second match with a 483-pin series (241.5 average) against St. Xavier. Graham kicked off January with his best match yet at home against Colerain. He set a season-high with a 248-pin second round and finished the match with a 489 series. That led the way for the Comets. He followed up that performance two days later at the Back to School Tournament by rolling a 244 in round one and 233 in round two. His consistently strong performances are a major reason the Comets are leading the conference. Graham is currently the top bowler in the GMC, and his continued success will help the Comets as they work to defend last year’s conference title. ‘s ofthe STUDENT ATHLETE MONTH Comet Zone’s Student Athlete of the Month selected by The Chronicle Sports Staff. Photo by Camden Paeltz. Graphic by Allison Droege. Page Design by Izzy Gaspar’raj Statistics last updated on January 11, 2023

Hamlin incident sparks conversations in football community Andrew Little | Sports Editor Shockwaves were sent throughout the entire football community when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed after a collision and received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in front of over 65,000 fans and millions of television viewers. Debates over player safety due to concussions have dominated headlines over the past two decades, however Hamlin’s injury resonated with the country in a completely new way. He suffered cardiac arrest on the field after making a tackle on Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver Tee Higgins. He initially stood up after the hit before collapsing and immediately received emergency support. Senior Weston Simmons plays Hamlin’s position of safety for the Mason football team and saw the incident live at Paycor Stadium. His dad has coached for the Bengals for 20 years, so Simmons has been around football his entire life. He was in attendance for major injuries such as Ryan Shazier’s career-ending spinal injury in 2017 and Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion earlier this season. Both of those injuries resulted in the players leaving in an ambulance. Simmons said the Hamlin situation was unlike anything he had ever seen on a football field. “It really started to get intense when they brought out the ambulance and then the teams huddled around them for such a long period of time,” Simmons said. “That’s when I knew it was really big. I’ve seen injuries on that field like Tua Tagovailoa getting hurt and I’ve also seen Ryan Shazier paralyzed on the field. It was just nothing like that.” The incident was headline news for the next few days, drawing the attention of the American public, not just football fans. This resurfaced debates over player safety. The issue of concussions has dominated the discourse over football and health for the past few decades. Many safety measures including safer helmets, new tackling methods and stricter protocols have been implemented at every level of the sport. As a contact sport, broken bones and ligament issues are always a risk. Cardiac emergencies, however, are rarely thought of as football injuries. Ohio law requires all school coaches and athletic training staff to be trained and certified in cardiac arrest and similar emergencies every year. Mason’s home football stadium, Dwire Field, has an AED present. Head varsity football coach Brian Castner said that he is confident in the staff’s preparation for emergency situations and acknowledged that new protocols could be implemented to ensure player safety after the Hamlin incident. “I’m sure that will be talked about as we move forward,” Castner said. “We’ll work through that. And our district will take the appropriate measures to make sure that all of our athletes are taken care of.” Hamlin’s situation was unlike anything that had ever occurred on an NFL field, especially in a heavily publicized event like Monday Night Football. Castner said he has some concerns that the prominence of the incident will lead to speculation instead of people educating themselves on the situation. “I do worry a little bit, just because people aren’t informed enough about the injury and won’t dig enough on exactly what happened,” Castner said. “They won’t dig enough to find out the chance of it happening again. It is a freak injury, but I think there’s probably even a crazier adjective to describe this injury because it’s happened one time on the football field.” Some parents around the country have already started to come out publicly and state that they are unsure about allowing their child to return to football, and some have gone as far as to say their kid will never play again after Hamlin’s situation. Castner said that he will always respect a parent’s decision regarding their child’s safety, just as he and others within the sport have with concussions, but also believes it is important people are familiar with the risks involved not only for a cardiac issue but also everyday activities in comparison. “The parents have that right,” Castner said. “I’m never going to talk down to it or belittle it. The thing that everybody needs to recognize is the chance of that happening again is still way lower than you getting in your car and driving and an accident happening. So if you’re going to not play football, then is it a right or fair comparison to say, ‘Well, you better not drive then?’ Because the percentage of you getting in an accident is way higher.” Hamlin made significant progress in the ensuing days after his incident maintaining cognitive function and was able to speak within a week. The first question he asked doctors after waking up was, “Did we win?” Their response was, “Yes, you won the game of life.” Even in a life-threatening situation, his competitive edge remained. Now, he is back at home. Hamlin has a long road to recovery, and his prospects of playing football again are unknown. The recent positive developments have shed a far more optimistic light on the situation, but the frightening event still resonates. Simmons said that there are inherent risks that football players accept every time they step on the field, but he never anticipated seeing a near-death experience as Hamlin had. “I wouldn’t have even thought of that to happen,” Simmons said. “You never really think of a near-death experience, especially with all the different rules and regulations about hitting and targeting and stuff like that, and the NFL lessening all these different injuries. That’s just something you never really think about until now which is a big wake-up call.” Photo by Lily Haller Weston Simmons makes a hard hit against a Colerain ball carrier in the Comets’ victory in the first round of the OHSAA playoffs. 18 January 20, 2023 Story continued on page 19

Bowling reaches new heights due to unique atmosphere Camden Paeltz | The Chronicle The Mason girls’ bowling team is letting success come to them by prioritizing team camaraderie, building relationships and personal growth. The team is in the midst of its best season since 2015 and is tied for third place in the Greater Miami Conference. Senior team captain Alexa Crociata said that the strong relationships between teammates had been a significant factor in their performance. “I feel like the bowling team is a family,” Crociata said. “It’s a group of my friends that I feel close to. I think it contributes to our success because we’re so close together and we just want success for each other.” Senior Allison Batty believes that bowling is a very mental sport. She said that the supportive atmosphere helps her get in the right mindset and improves her play “If you get in your head and are having a bad day, it’s going to show in your scores,” Batty said. “When you have good friends around and you’re having a great time doing what you love, then you do so much better and it does reflect in your scores.” Senior Marisa Crociata has played a variety of sports throughout her entire life, including being on the Mason varsity volleyball team. Crociata said that the Mason Bowling team’s environment is unique to her experience in sports. “For volleyball, it’s a lot more of a competitive atmosphere.” Crociata said. “There’s a lot more going on and there is a lot more pressure on you. But in bowling, you have more downtime and more time to think about what you’re going to do before you do it. You can take a deep breath before you go up to bowl.” During competitions, bowlers from each team are split between two lanes. Because of this, players always have a teammate or two with them. Opposing bowlers get to engage with each other in a friendly, conversational manner despite the competitive environment. Marisa Crociata believes that these gestures during the match are part of what separates bowling from other sports. “There’s going to be a winner and there’s going to be a loser but it’s also really important to show good sportsmanship and always be kind,” Crociata said. “If this is just something small like telling somebody a good job, then that can make their day and it is really impactful” January 20, 2023 19 Photo by Camden Paeltz Alexa Crociata celebrates with her teammates after bowling a strike in a match against St. Ursula at Mason Bowl. Continued from page 18: Hamlin incident ripples through football community Simmons is also a varsity lacrosse player. Recently, USA Lacrosse nationally mandated new chest-protecting equipment for all uniforms after a few rare occurrences of sudden deaths resulting from blunt impacts from the ball to the chest stopping the heartbeat, a condition known as commotio cordis. The cause of Hamlin’s cardiac arrest was never officially revealed, but adding similar chest-protecting equipment to current shoulder pads and equipment could be an option for football to help reduce the risk of cardiac emergencies as a result of the situation. Simmons said that the change allows him to play without worrying about that type of injury in lacrosse and believes it would have a similar impact on football players and parents. “Once you’re out on the field that’s in the back of your mind, but once you have a more protective chest protector I think it calms me down more,” Simmons said. “Parents, it won’t put the worries away completely but I think it’ll definitely lessen them for sure.” Hamlin’s recovery has shifted the dialogue surrounding the incident. The entire country united in support of him. People of all different backgrounds and faiths kept him in their thoughts and prayers. The city of Cincinnati, where Hamlin was cared for at the University of Cincinnati Hospital, made numerous public gestures of support. These included Bengals head coach Zac Taylor’s wife, Sarah, collecting cards encouraging Hamlin from students at dozens of local elementary schools including Mason Intermediate. Hamlin’s Chasing M’s Foundation which gives back to children in his hometown in Pennsylvania raised over $8 million in donations. Castner said that he was touched by how the football community rallied together and hopes that the situation’s legacy is the positivity and unity that followed it. “It’s what makes football in the United States of America so special,” Castner said. “Everybody uses different words to describe footballw because there are all these different views of the way they want to look at the game, but it is the greatest team and family game.”

20 January 20, 2023 Photos by Camden Paeltz On Saturday, January 14, the Mason Boys Wrestling team hosted the annual Mason Invitational. They hosted nine teams from around the tri-state area including schools from Indiana, Northern Kentucky and Columbus. Over 100 athletes competed in the tournament. The Comets finished in sixth place with a score of 161.5. Through the Lens: The Mason Invitational Junior Carson Downs placed 3rd in the 190 pound weight class. Senior Sam Libby placed 2nd in the 175 pound weight class. Junior Samer Sherman placed 6th in the 106 pound weight class. Senior Jordan MacFarland placed 7th in the 285 pound weight class. Sophomore Andrew Pitcher placed 8th in the 113 pound weight class. Mason wrestlers cheer for their teammate on the sidelines.

Ali Sami | The Chronicle The Mason High School Academic team is heading to nationals for the first time in school history. The Mason Academic Team has been coached by English teacher Thurman Allen since 2007. It is a “team jeopardy” style quiz bowl game where up to four members at a time compete and answer questions in ten different categories. Allen was on his high school academic team and said he attempts to coach up his players’ understanding in the categories they are less familiar with based on his experience. “My responsibility is filling gaps in knowledge,” Allen said. “There are certain things that they may not know because they don’t have that experience.” The team competes in the National Academic Quiz Tournament and the Ohio Academic Competition. You qualify for nationals if you finish in the top 15% of the NAQT tournament. (As of January 16) Mason is leading the Greater Miami Conference (GMC) with an 11-1 record. Senior team captain Davin Siverston has been competing since he was a freshman and said that this year’s team chemistry is critical to their success. “Team chemistry is really something important and something we thrive off of,” Siverston said. “It helps us because we can just bounce topics off of each other.” Junior Hailey Hartman joined the team her sophomore year and is now a team captain. Hartman said reaching nationals for the first time is something this year’s team wants to make a norm for the future. “It’s setting the precedent that we can do this again next year too,” Hartman said. Hartman said that as a captain, she is pleased with the team’s success and is excited for their national competition. “It makes me feel proud because I helped get them skills as a leader at this point,” Hartman said. As the first Mason academic team to compete in a national tournament, Hartman said that she wants to leave a lasting legacy. “This is something that is going to be remembered [in school history],” Hartman said. “This is something that is going to be remembered [in school history],” Hartman said. January 20, 2023 21 Academic team qualifies for National Academic Quiz Tournament Photo by Risha Chada The Mason academic team competes in a match against Princeton High School.

The Chronicle’s Policy The Chronicle Staff Editor-in-Chief Bradyn Johnson Managing Editors Tanya Keskar Risha Chada Sports Editor Andrew Little Design Editor Allison Droege Technical Editor Izzy Gaspar’raj Business Manager Alexa Crociata Staff Designers Becca Hunter Nishka Mishra Alisha Verma Staff Writers Elina Bishoyi Divy Bose Drew Hoffmaster Megan Lee Aimee Liu Josie Lorenz Taylor Murray Camden Paeltz Ali Sami Ellie Saylor Shrija Shandilya Alisha Soni Sean Speidel Laurel Wang Ava Yungbluth Advisor Dale Conner The Chronicle is the official student newspaper of William Mason High School. The Chronicle promises to report the truth and adhere to the journalistic code of ethics through online and print mediums. The Chronicle is produced by students enrolled in Journalism I, II and III. Editorials reflect the staff ’s opinion but do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the school administration or the Mason City School District. The Chronicle is published monthly. Call 398-5025 ext. 33103 for information regarding advertising in The Chronicle. The Chronicle reserves the right to refuse advertising it deems inappropriate for a high school publication. As an open forum for students, letters to the editor are welcome, but are subject to be edited for length, libel, obscenity, clarity and poor taste. Letters to the editor may be dropped off in room C103 and must be signed. The Chronicle is a member of The Columbia Scholastic Press Association, The National Scholastic Press Association, Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society for High School Journalists and the Ohio Scholastic Media Association. Contact Information The Chronicle William Mason High School 6100 S. Mason Montgomery Rd. Mason, Ohio 45040 (513) 398-5025 Connect with the Chronicle: @mhschronicle facebook.com/ mhschronicle @mhschronicle Wealth should not be a factor in scoring well on standardized tests. The SAT and ACT are standardized tests created to assess students’ proficiency in math, reading, and writing, but since testing has become a significant factor in college admission decisions as supposed indicators of college success, income inequality has become extremely prevalent. Although many colleges have been cutting back on the importance of a score in admittance by making test scores optional, an SAT or ACT score can still be the difference between accepting or rejecting a candidate into some colleges. What admissions officers do not see behind the score is the amount of money and time students were able to spend on test prep. With the average workload that juniors and seniors are already expected to deal with, along with the hundreds of clubs, sports and extracurriculars that are offered, the SAT and ACT are yet another burden for upperclassmen to handle outside of the classroom. These tests were originally established to assess students on high school content. However, tutoring and prep course industries have taken over the testing season, and the SAT and ACT scores are no longer as reliable. Now, many students spend hundreds of dollars on test prep courses and materials in hopes of improving their scores for college, and they are not a strong indicator of future success or academic readiness. According to a 2021 study done by Student Aid Policy, students with a familial income of over $100,000 are more than twice as likely to have a combined SAT score of 1400- 1600 than students with a family income under $50,000. With all of these fees that go into test prep, tutors, books and retakes, it seems as though we are paying for a high score on these tests. Instead of relying on Mason’s education system to get us through spring testing, we reach for extra, costly, prep courses. Local prep company LEAP charges $279 for their 12-hour ACT or SAT prep course. Featured on Shark Tank, Prep Expert charges $999 for a 6-week SAT prep course guaranteeing at least a 200-point increase on the SAT. These prices are an unreasonable amount to burden teenagers and their families with, alongside the looming costs of student loans. Should a student’s ability to splurge on hours of overpriced tutoring play a factor in their future? The significant time commitment that the SAT or ACT demands is unreasonable. Students with familial obligations, jobs to fund college or other preoccupations may not have the time to dedicate a substantial portion of their high school life to preparing for a standardized test. With all these commitments we already have, it is fruitless to dedicate more time to preparing for a standardized test that doesn’t directly contribute to the development of crucial skills. If the SATs and ACTs are to remain a deciding factor in college admissions, they should be more accessible to students of every background. Income inequality is putting high test scores for sale Staff Editorial On Halloween 2017, Sayfullo Saipov drove a truck into a bike path in New York City, killing eight and injuring eleven in the deadliest terrorist attack in the city since 9/11. His trial began in the second week of January 2023 as the first federal death penalty trial under the Biden administration, but his case began when he was charged five years ago. Then-President Donald Trump tweeted, “SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY” as prosecutors under the attorney general were instructed to seek capital punishment after conviction. Now, five years later, the Biden administration, which campaigned against the death penalty, is pursuing capital punishment for Saipov’s trial. Attorney General Merrick Garland denied a request to withdraw the death penalty order. The death penalty is based on retributive justice, which is the idea that justice is best achieved through a punishment of equal severity. In the wave of emotion following a crime, our demand for this “eye for an eye” justice spikes. But death by state mandate is anything but simple. Capital crimes lead to complex criminal cases that require months or years of discovery, pretrial, jury selection, trial, and deliberation. After the ruling, appeals against the decision are filed, tacking on even greater costs for the government. All the while, the defendant is housed, clothed and fed in prison, their life on the line for years. Several states have found that the costs associated with bringing the death penalty are greater than keeping the defendant in jail for life. A 2013 study found that each capital punishment case costs $700,000 more than a life sentence. To bring the death penalty, counties divert millions of dollars from measures that actually reduce crime, like educational initiatives, job training and drug treatment. After all that, the death penalty does not actually deter crime. States that execute have higher crime rates than those that do not, and areas that have abolished the death penalty see no significant change in crime rates. The pursuit of the death penalty is marred by bias, where the characteristics of the defendant impact charges more than the actual crime. Juries are three times more likely to recommend death sentences for black defendants than white ones for similar crimes. 42% of defendants on death row are black, almost all are poor, and many have significant mental illness or disability. Out of the 25 capital punishment cases the Justice Department has withdrawn under Biden’s death penalty moratorium, Saipov’s case has been the only exception. When asked about capital punishment during his confirmation hearings, Garland testified that he had concerns about the “sort of arbitrariness and randomness of its application.” Yet the pursuit of the death penalty for Saipov seems to only reinforce inconsistency. Acquiring the tools for death is no easy task, either. Procuring the rarely-produced chemicals needed for lethal injection can take years, as manufacturers refuse to sell to governments intending to use them for execution. Many doctors refuse to assist in executions under the Hippocratic Oath, leading to botched executions performed without proper training. Of the 20 execution attempts in 2022, seven were determined to be mishandled in some way, and two were halted altogether. Four states put executions on hold after protocols were not followed. In one execution, officials jabbed at a defendant’s veins for three hours before an IV was inserted. Since 1973, 182 people on death row in the US have been exonerated, a frightening statistic. The death penalty is the ultimate punishment, which allows for no mistakes, no errors and no unfairness. If there is even a chance that we put one innocent person to death (which the government has done, again and again), then we cannot say that our justice system is moral. Until we can ensure true justice, the state has no place with the power to kill. Saipov committed a heinous crime that left his victim’s families with unimaginable pain and suffering. And he did it to instill terror. But by refusing the death penalty, we refuse to allow America’s systems of justice to stoop to the level of crime. Murder is a crime, and it remains one when it’s state-sanctioned. The US hasn’t always had the death penalty. In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutionally “cruel and unusual”, and for four years, capital punishment was banned. With decades of falling support for the death penalty and decreasing executions nationwide, it’s time to again end the death penalty once and for all. Laurel Wang | The Chronicle Capital punishment must end 22 January 20, 2023

Le$bean, G@y, B! – methods to censor LGBTQ+ identities as if they are a curse, something to hide, something to shield from the conversation. Dating back to the 12th century, the term “gay” referred to being happy and content. This word obviously evolved into how we know it now but even from the start, the word gay was nothing to be ashamed of. The first recorded use of the word gay to refer to homosexuality was in the 1938 movie Bringing Up Baby. But, there will always be people who have hate in their hearts and want to tear others down. Homophobia is nothing new. In fact, it has been around for centuries. In 1533, the United Kingdom’s Buggery Act punished gay relations with a death sentence. When the act of being gay is seen as so shameful for such a long period of time, people will naturally turn the term into an insult. When adolescents hear these terms being used in a negative context, they will use the term in a negative context, and the bias/homophobia/insults become more normalized. This is seen widely on social media. For example, a few months ago, popular children’s star Jojo Siwa came out as a lesbian. In reference to the negative stigma surrounding the word “lesbian”, she said in an interview with Yahoo Life that “I don’t like the word itself. But I mean, at the end of the day, that’s what I am.”. As a star whose primary demographic is children, this is teaching them to be ashamed or disgusted by LGBTQ+ identities. Influencers do what their name implies: influence. I noticed it in the more recent situation of teen star Noah Schnapp coming out as gay via TikTok. It shocked me that he actually typed out the word “gay”, as I’m not used to seeing it on social media. On TikTok, people will often censor the word “gay” as the algorithm for these social media platforms automatically decreases audience reach according to The Washington Post. The word ‘gay’ is shielded away due to the association it has with something it is not: an insult. In too many instances, the word “gay” is used as a. This gives the TikTok algorithm a reason to censor the word. Noah Schnapp’s video may have gotten millions of views because he is a celebrity, but celebrities are not past receiving online bullying. As soon as the post went on the Internet, harmful jokes and mean comments rolled in regarding his sexuality. Community censorship can very well be perpetuated through conversations. I could not count the number of conversations I’ve had where someone’s identity comes into the conversation and it goes something along the lines of this: “Yeah I heard she is lesbian.” A whisper of shame, as if it would be hurtful to be called gay, be called lesbian. I can tell you right now, I am not ashamed of the word “gay”. Being comfortable in one’s identity is a beautiful thing. These words are not something we need to censor. They are not curse words, they are not offensive, they are parts of an identity. By treating these words as dirty, those who identify with them feel dirty in turn. Getting to the point of erasing the ingrained shame for these identities means someone can be unapologetically themselves. Your identity is something you should be proud of and shout from the rooftops, not mumble under your breath. Merriam-Webster defines failure as a “lack of success” or “falling short”. The word obviously holds a negative connotation, and we have been taught that failure is indeed a negative thing. Many teens, at Mason High School (MHS) and elsewhere, grew up being taught that they should avoid this so-called “failure” at all costs, that they should shoot for high grades, more money or a higher GPA. I agree wholeheartedly that students should try their best in school, but I believe that every person’s “best” is different. Some students aim for As in their classes, but others might be extremely proud of a B. Additionally, each teen has different passions, goals and career paths in mind which can affect academic performance. Whereas one student might be hardwired for math or science and score well on all of their exams, another might grow up to be an artist – not in need of calculus lessons. MHS chose to drop the traditional valedictorian program in 2019 in lieu of a Latin honors system used by colleges across America, which has three levels of honors - Summa Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, and Cum Laude. The goal of this was to lower the levels of competitiveness for the highest academic achievement, letting multiple students receive recognition. High academic competition, as produced by the valedictorian program, can lead to excess stress, breakdowns and in extreme cases, suicide. High school is meant to be a transitional period. It is a time when students can learn, dive deeper into the fields that interest them and try new experiences that they had been scared of before. It’s a time when they can build new relationships, some long-lasting and some doomed to fall out over petty drama. Being in high school is not a mark of all-knowingness, wisdom and experience - rather, we are bound to fail frequently. We cannot be expected to succeed at everything we attempt blindly. My color guard coach has a common phrase that she often brings up on a hot or rainy day when the team is losing morale and feeling less confident. She says that “guard is 99% mental”, which may sound strange since it is a very physical activity. She means to tell us that we only feel as though we have failed our day or exercise because our mind is not in the right place. Once we learn to smile through exhaustion and pain, our performances will improve, leaving us to feel overall better about ourselves. This phrase became a sort of mantra for me, after hearing it multiple times a week. I came to realize that failure, too, is only a mindset. While some might see a low grade on a quiz and be ashamed or bummed out, others will see it as an opportunity to learn more. Students often are not quite sure what they are getting into when scheduling more rigorous classes. Many kids are forced to make a hard decision – do they keep this class and maybe drop a sport or activity to make time for the homework? Or do they drop the class, forsaking GPA points for peace of mind and time to do what they love outside of school? Many will pick the first option, scared of being accused of quitting by their peers. I have found that in many areas of my life, if I feel down or unsure of myself after making a mistake or receiving bad news, I often have to take a step back and assess myself. Once I calm down from an incident, I’m much more open to finding the silver lining in my situation. Sometimes it feels as though there are many factors standing in the way of optimism. A quick pause is all that one needs to take a breath, figure out what is happening in their head, and switch to a more hopeful mindset. Students should put fear aside and adopt a new way of thinking, one that emphasizes mental health and finding their passion – whether it be academic, extracurricular or athletic. After all, accepting “failure” is merely a mindset. Failure is a mindset Taylor Murray | The Chronicle Editorial Cartoon Gay is not a dirty word Josie Lorenz | The Chronicle January 20, 2023 23

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