cx.11 2016 03 24

The student news publication of Walnut Hills High SchoolVolume CX, Issue 11 Thursday March 24, 2016

“I was curious, so I went up and asked ques-tions somebody else would’ve otherwise thought were stupid, like, ‘how does it move’ or ‘what’s a servo,’ but they answered all my questions and I learned really fast that this is what I’m pas-

sionate about.” Dimple Dhawan, robotics team lead programmer

PHOTO TAKEN BY ISABELLA PITTMAN/CHATTERBOXPHOTO EDITED BY ELISE FRITTS/CHATTERBOX

FEATURESSECTION EDITOR: HALI LANIER

MARCH 24, 2016PAGE 2

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BREAKING BARRIERSElise Fritts, ‘16Matthew Youkilis, ‘19

Robotics was something that truly opened the door for SENIOR Dimple Dhawan at Walnut Hills High School. After being born in India, she and her family moved to the United States for her father’s job when she was young. Her family then returned to India for seven years and moved back to the United States two years ago. Combined with beginning at Walnut as a sophomore, Dhawan has had to overcome obstacles throughout her time in science and

engineering clubs. But one of the toughest challenges was being a girl in such a male-dominated field. It was a chance encounter that put Dhawan on the path of mak-ing a name for herself in science, technology, engineering and math-ematics (STEM). She was in her sophomore year, waiting for her ride home in the cafeteria when she saw a few friends of hers working on a robot and it piqued her interest. “I was curious so I went up and asked questions somebody else would’ve otherwise thought were stupid like ‘how does it move’ or

‘what’s a servo,’” Dhawan said, “But they answered all my ques-tions and I learned really fast that this is what I’m passionate about.” She applied the next year and became a key member of robotics. As one of the few girls on the robotics team, Dhawan is breaking down barriers that are seen even in the professional world of STEM. According to a Census survey done in 2009, only 24% of all people over sixteen employed in STEM in the United States are women. Even though the number of col-lege educated women in the work-

force has increased over the years, this statistic has remained fairly consistent. “It felt a bit intimidat-ing,” Dhawan said in an interview with PBS when discussing how it felt to be among mostly male teams at the championship. But none of this stopped Dha-wan from racking up an impressive resume for herself. She’s the co-president of JETS, president of IN-TERalliance and one of the leaders on the robotics team among others. Although she found it a little overbearing to be surrounded by mostly males, Dhawan says it helped her come out of her shell.

“I went from a shy girl to someone who can now openly communicate her ideas and thoughts,” she said. Despite the numerical differ-ences between the sexes in STEM, Dhawan believes the biggest chal-lenge applies to all genders, “Don’t be afraid to ask questions,” she said. For her, asking questions, even she thought might be stupid, was what got her involved in what she found to be her passion. Dhawan said, “my advice to everyone out there is: Go for it! Try everything you can, even the fields dominated by boys, you’ll shine everywhere you go.”

Gentrification: What’s the solution?

Ibrahim Munir, ‘19Luke Warren, ‘16Pavan Yaddanapudi, ‘17

“The breadth and the rapidity of the change is so remarkable that certainly in Cincinnati it’s the most dramatic and positive urban devel-opment in 50 years,” Mayor John Cranley said, referring to Over-the-Rhine in 2014. In recent years, Over-the-Rhine, or OTR, has gone through signifi-cant change. The change is attrib-uted to a process known as gentri-fication. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, gentrification is “the process of renewal and rebuild-ing accompanying the influx of

middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often dis-places poorer residents.” When wealthier individuals move to low-income areas, they bring business and money along with them. As progressive gentri-fication occurs, housing costs and rent begin to increase. Due to the rising property costs, lower income individuals are forced to move into other areas. Through the process of gentri-fication, OTR has recently shifted from a low-income neighborhood to a business and residential hub. This has caused the predomi-nantly African American popula-tion, many of whom have lived there their whole lives, to move to

other neighborhoods around Cin-cinnati. According to Governing maga-zine, metropolitan areas in the United States during the 2000s experienced an 11.4% increase in gentrification from the 1990s. The gentrification rate is based on land tract change recorded as Census data. Gentrification continues to in-crease and it carries both positive and negative results. The migra-tion of wealthier individuals to low-income neighborhoods creates new jobs, lowers the crime rate, but also displaces former residents and changes the established culture. According to The Brookings In-stitute, the San Francisco Bay Area

experienced a 0.3% increase in job growth due to gentrification dur-ing the 1990s. In the same study, a correlation was found between job growth and a reduction in crime. Rowland Atkinson of the De-partment of Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow found in his research that “of the two million people being annually displaced in the US, 86% of the moves were due to ‘market’ displacement from gentrification and that the dis-placees were mostly...working-class households.” Angel, a long time OTR resi-dent, provides insight into the emotional impact of gentrification. “They are just making it look good, but actually they are not fixing the

Prom2016

The photos, taken only two blocks away from each other, show the differing worlds of Over-the-Rhine. On the left, the more rundown side of OTR is depicted with dirtier walkways and buildings. On the right, the gentrified part of OTR is portrayed with upscale buildings and dress. Gentrification has caused major change in OTR recently, and the neighborhood has become a highlight of Cincinnati.

LUKE WARREN/CHATTERBOX

problem. The problem is us, and our hearts, and they need to con-centrate on us. It’s just made us lose hope.” Chris Griffith, who has lived in OTR for six years, is one of many citizens focused on the develop-ment of OTR as part of a local renaissance. He believes that OTR will be “a lot more vibrant and have more of a big city feel.” Gentrification is a controver-sial issue encompassing everything from modern politics to social me-dia. It is a trend sweeping across the nation in most major cities. Locally, OTR is the epitome of gentrification, and Cincinnati will continue to change for better or for worse.

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VIEWPOINTSSECTION EDITORS: JOSEPH GLANDORF & VANESSA MOORE


THe big cheese debate

Wally Hill, ‘16

For us SENIORS, the spring season is one of the most exciting times of the year—we are entering the last quarter of our high school careers and finding out where we are going to school next year, not to mention stowing away our winter coats in anticipa-tion of that early spring Punxsutawney Phil promised. But, there is also something extremely frustrating that comes along with the excite-ment of the season: rejection. For many of us, this is the first time we’ve heard “no” from an institution. A college rejection is not the same as a botched job interview, or dismis-sive response from a parent––this “no” can be the culmination of six years of hard work, late nights, and hours of extracurriculars. This “no” can feel like a slap in the face of all of the time spent trying to be everything that a college wants. It can leave you asking, “what did I do wrong?” And the answer is usually pretty simple:

nothing. Sometimes, the reality of the matter is that you did everything right, and another kid in Minnesota did just one thing better, and was selected over you. Of course, many of us applied to stretch schools with the un-derstanding that the likelihood of an accep-tance was slim to none, but for those other schools, seeing that “no” in writing is tough. In fact, it sucks. Rejection in all of its form sucks. No one, whether you’re Mitt Romney in 2012, or James G. Blaine in 1884, wants to feel like they just weren’t good enough. But there is something specifically about a college rejection that can leave you feeling so dejected. Not to mention, hearing that your friend or classmate got into your dream school, while you got waitlisted or rejected, can feel like the end of the world. It is extremely easy to feel resentment toward that person. What did they do that I didn’t do? Didn’t I score higher on the ACT? I thought I took more AP classes! But the fact of the matter is, the success of

others does not indicate your failure. Direct-ing your frustration and anger towards your friends during this time causes more harm than good. A congratulations and a high-five will leave you feeling better in the long run than a side-eye and a nasty subtweet. It is important to go into this season support-ing one another, rather than “sizing up your competition,” because this process is hard for everyone involved, and at this stage of the game, we have absolutely no control over a college’s admissions decisions. So, how do we deal with rejection? First off, allow yourself to be frustrated. No one expects you to brush off a rejection immedi-ately. Take time for yourself to feel annoyed and hurt, and then move on from it. As teenagers, and especially as SENIORS, we are told to “stop brooding,” but if we aren’t allowed time to brood, we will be brooding for a long time, and ain’t nobody got time for that. Find the drawbacks of going to the col-lege that said “no” to you. Maybe you’re not

a fan of the weather where that school is, or perhaps your second choice has better food. And don’t miss the most important step: evaluate what you have left over. Maybe you didn’t get into your first choice, so take a closer look at your second or third choice. Maybe you were so infatuated with one school that you overlooked another school’s qualifications. All this being said, the rejection still sucks. And that’s okay, because so little of the future is where you take your skills—it’s what you do with them. Sursum ad Sum-mum isn’t about graduating from Walnut and attending the most prestigious and elite universities out there, it is about using what you’ve learned and accomplished here and expanding your skills, knowledge, and achievements. So don’t give up on the pro-cess. Don’t shrink from rejection, grow be-cause of it. Allow a rejection to become fuel to push past those boundaries. As the great philosopher Kevin Hart once said, “Do you, boo boo!” No school can say “no” to that.

Katie Chase, ‘16

Cubed. Stringed. Shredded. Almost ev-erybody loves cheese in all shapes and sizes. If you love cheese you know the great ben-efits it has for you. Whether you prefer colby jack, parmesan, mozzarella, or even feta, you should know that cheese is one of the health-iest foods for you. Now after reading Maddy’s article, you are probably wondering whether or not you should eat cheese. Well let me tell you…. Cheese contains important nutrients such as calcium, which is one of the nutrients most likely to be lacking in the American diet, as well as protein, zinc, vitamin A, and vitamin B12. And, according to the Dairy Council of California, it has also been proven to help with weight loss. The nutrients like saturated fat and protein help you feel full longer and curve your appetite. Eating cheese can also give you a feeling of being as elated as a newborn baby after it has been fed. As your body digests dairy, the milk protein casein creates an opiate-like ef-

fect through the production of peptides, ca-somorphins and since casein is concentrated in cheese, more casomorphins are produced. There are an unreal amount of foods you can make with cheese. It goes with every-thing; cheesy eggs, sandwiches with cheese, and 3-ways are just a few options for you cheese lovers. You can also just eat it plain… which is even better in my opinion. Even if you are lactose-intolerant, you can still eat cheese! Many cheeses, particularly aged cheeses such as Parmesan and cheddar contain little or no lactose and are often well tolerated. Hopefully you are a full on cheese lover, like me, or can become one. If you do not eat cheese because you think it’s unhealthy or you are scared of it, (and, surprisingly, a lot of people are), you need to start eating cheese. Clearly cheese has great benefits and even if it did not I would still eat it because it’s so good. Go on and give cheese a try, then come back to me and let me know what you thought of it. Stay cheesy!

Maddy Fixler, ‘16

Cheddar. Parmesan. Mozzarella. Brie. Everybody knows cheese. What most people are unaware of is the multitude of negative health effects caused by the consumption of dairy. (But cheese in particular). Let me clarify: I am not a vegan. Like so many others, I have been seduced by dairy products and their addictive qualities, and struggle with giving them up. When we are born, we are first intro-duced to nourishment through breast milk. To encourage human children to eat, breast milk contains caseins, a protein that crosses the blood-brain barrier to become casomor-phins. Like morphine itself, casomorphin is an opiate. This ensures that infants will con-tinue to feed, growing up and reproducing themselves, according to Robert Grillo at <freefromharm.org>. The milk of other mammals works in much the same way. The difference is that cows (among other creatures) are quite a bit larger than humans. Human milk contains 2.7 grams of casein per liter. Cows’ milk contains 26, nearly ten times that number. Imagine the amount of heroin needed to give a cow a decent high. Now imagine injecting that same dosage. To a 170 pound human being, it would be nearly nine times more lethal than a typical overdose. With that in mind, consider all the cheese you carelessly consume each day. We willingly expose ourselves to these

dangerous chemicals daily, sometimes more often. Why? Because our brains have been altered, like individuals addicted to heroin. When opiates enter the body, they bind to receptors in the brain, acting as natural neu-rotransmitters, triggering the production of endorphins, (the same chemicals that cause a “runner’s high”). This artificial stimulation halts the ordinary creation of endorphins, and when we cease to consume dairy, we go through withdrawal, just as any other addict. Besides snaring us into dependence, con-sumption of dairy products causes a host of other unwanted symptoms. According to the Physicians’ Committee for Respon-sible Medicine, dairy does not improve bone strength, as popular myth states. Ad-ditionally, dairy contains high amounts of cholesterol and saturated fats, which con-tribute to deadly heart disease. Finally, and perhaps the most sombering, PCRM reports that the consumption of dairy products has “been linked to higher risk for various can-cers, especially to cancers of the reproductive system.” I am not calling for the complete eradica-tion of dairy from all of our diets (though that would do many a world of good). I sim-ply ask that we be more aware of what we put into our bodies. So many innocent people are entirely unaware of the many effects of consuming cheese and milk, yet they fall victim to the health issues that follow. Yes, cheese tastes good. But is it worth it?

Big cheese, big problems Cheese: grate for you and your health

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OTHER GRAPHICS BY JOSEPH GLANDORF/CHATTERBOX

Although the availability of most dairy products is declining in the U.S., cheese production is on the rise. As cheese becomes an ever more important social and cultural phenomenon, it is crucial for all of us to take pause and seriously consider what we are eating.

SPORTSSECTION EDITOR: KRIJN SCHWARTZ



Ushering in a new era

Abba Lawal, ’19 is shown above right after scoring a basket for the Walnut Hills eagles during their game against Withrow High School.

Whitney Bronson, ‘16

New to the basketball court of Walnut Hills, at six feet and 11 inches, Abba Lawal is a freshman who moved to the United States two years ago from his native country of Ni-geria. Last year Lawal attended Clark Montes-sori before transferring to Walnut Hills. Af-ter transferring to Walnut, he began to play Varsity basketball under Coach Ricardo Hill

and made crucial contributions to the team. Lawal led the Eastern Cincinnati Conference in blocks, averaging 2.4 per game. He was ranked third in rebounds averaging 6.9 per game, and was awarded an honorable men-tion in the league for his efforts on the court. His favorite part about playing for Wal-nut was playing for Hill because of Hill’s ef-forts to make him better, and also because he liked his teammates and ability to bond with them.

The best part of the games for Lawal were the home games, The Nut House, and how Hill always wanted them to win for the crowd. Lawal said his most memorable game was the “first tournament game against Lakota West, because I did not think we were go-ing to win because they have good players, but we played good defense”. He had only played basketball for two months in Nige-ria before moving to the United States. His uncle introduced him to the sport and took

him to camps, and now Lawal enjoys playing basketball “because [I] just like the game”. Lawal has voiced that he would like to play college basketball, and would play for any school, and later would like to go on to the NBA. His favorite NBA player is Blake Griffin, and his favorite NBA team is the Los Angeles Clippers, but generally likes most of the teams. Besides Lawal’s joy for basketball he en-joys attending Walnut Hills High School and spending time with his host family. “I like this school because it’s really cool, it’s a really

good school for education and sports” said Lawal. He has also made plenty of friends and said everyone was friendly when they first met him, making the adjustment easy. He lives in Indian Hill with his host parents who have two sons and a daughter. His favorite game to play with them is NBA 2K16, a basketball video game that can be played on Playstation, Xbox and PC. After living in the United States for two years Lawal has traveled to Michigan, Mil-waukee, Wisconsin, and New York with them also. He plans on visiting his home country Nigeria this summer. Lawal found the U.S. very different from his country because it does not snow in Ni-geria, nor get very cold. The food and the language are also different, as he finds Eng-lish difficult to learn at first, but he is still trying to learn more. Lawal’s favorite thing to do in the U.S. is to play basketball outside and he likes go-ing to the movies. His favorite food that he has tried is Chinese food, but all in all likes the food and everything about living in the United States. He does miss living in Nigeria sometimes, especially the food and his family. He is the oldest of two sisters and two brothers who are twins, the youngest of his siblings being nine years old. He has enjoyed living in the United States and has established himself as a student and a basketball player at Walnut Hills High School. Lawal has made good memories of being at Walnut and will continue to play for the Eagles as he strives for the best, and practices hard in order to improve upon his game.

Ball With Lawal

Aaron Espelage, ‘18

“I see it as another opportunity for kids to get involved in something,” Executive Director of the Alumni Foundation Debbie Heldman said about the new tennis courts. The new tennis courts are located east of the Music Lyceum and Southeast of the Football Stadium. The courts are nearing completion; with 3 straight days of 55 degree weather, the last coating of paint can be put on the court’s surface. Heldman estimates that in late April the weather will allow for the courts’ comple-tion. The tennis complex totals to a price of $700,000, with each court priced at $50,000 and the complex itself costing $300,000. The complex includes six courts, wind screens, seating for 200 people and lighting. The lighting alone cost $60,000 but is im-portant for the complex: “It allows kids to play and practice longer,” Heldman said. The tennis complex was neither a cheap project nor an easy one. Water pipes had to be run underneath the complex and retaining walls created, to allow for more courts. The complex was funded by the Alumni Foundation’s Capital Plan. The Capital Plan is the Foundation’s funding of architectural projects around the campus, including the Music Lyceum, Cafeteria, Fitness Center, Multi-Purpose Rooms and Practice Fields. The Alumni Foundation sees the Tennis Complex as a way to introduce kids to a new sport on campus and a way to reach

out to the community. “This is the first time bringing tennis back to the campus in a long time,” Heldman said. The Foundation is planning a summer tennis camp to teach inner-city kids tennis on the new courts. Not only does the new complex present a bright future, it represents the bright past of Wal-nut Hills tennis. “The dedication of the [tennis] complex to Tony Trabert is scheduled for May,” Held-man said. Trabert is a Walnut Hills graduate from 1948 and he was an exceptionally tal-ented tennis player. Trabert won three con-secutive Ohio state titles, and three major singles titles: U.S. Open, French Open, and Wimbledon.

Trabert was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1970 and left an ev-erlasting impact on the sport and on Walnut Hills. “Tony was really our greatest player, he won world championships and all.” Held-man said. Trabert was not the only great ten-nis player in Walnut Hills’ history. In 2001, Eric Thomas, Class of ‘03 won the OHSAA state championship as a sophomore, and later received a tennis scholarship to Brown University. Although Trabert and Thomas were suc-cessful tennis players at Walnut Hills, the courts were non-existent. Heldman said, “The courts were there, but with the ex-pansion of the football field, hardly anyone

played on them.” The Alumni Foundation is excited about the opportunity this complex presents to students. “Eventually if a student can find something they’re good at and en-joy, it will transfer to academics,” Heldman said. After all, tennis has a rich history at Walnut Hills and the new complex is here to usher in a new era.

The new complex is bringing tennis back to Walnut

ISABELLA PITTMAN/CHATTERBOX

“I like this school because it’s re-

ally cool, it’s a re-ally good school

for education and sports.”

GRAPHIC BY CLAUDIO GOMBOLI/THE NOUN PROJECT

STYLE & CULTURESECTION EDITOR: ELISE FRITTS



It takes a village

The industry of victim-blaming

Keegan Sullivan, ‘18

The United Nations defines human trafficking as “the recruit-ment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by improper means (such as force, abduction, fraud, or coercion) for an improper purpose includ-ing forced labor or sexual exploi-tation.” Human trafficking is a subject to be taken very seriously, as it can happen everywhere and to anyone. In 2014, the Nation-al Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) responded to 21,431 calls, 1,482 webforms, and 1,149 e-mails. Human traf-ficking is the globe’s fastest grow-ing crime, and third largest crime,

despite the increased awareness. There was a 5% increase in just the 2007-2010 period. While the U.S. Department of State identified 44,758 victims around the world in 2013, the International Labor Organization estimated in 2012 that the total number is much higher, at 20.9 million. Human trafficking hap-pens in every country. There are at least 152 countries of origin and 124 countries of destination af-fected by trafficking and over 510 trafficking networks across the world. There are many different types of trafficking. A very common type is trafficking for sexual exploitation.This prevalent form of trafficking

affects every region in the world, either as a source, transit or des-tination country. People from de-veloping countries and vulnerable parts of society, mostly women and children, are lured by promises of decent employment into leaving their homes and traveling to what they consider will be a better life. Victims are often provided with false travel documents and an orga-nized network is used to transport them to the destination country, where they find themselves forced into sexual slavery and held in in-humane conditions and constant fear. Trafficking for tissue, cells and organs is also common. Trafficking in humans for the purpose of using their organs is a rapidly growing

field of criminal activity. In many countries, waiting lists for trans-plants are very long, and criminals have seized this opportunity to exploit the desperation of patients and potential donors. The health of victims, even their lives, is at risk as operations may be carried out in unsafe conditions with no medical follow-up. An ageing population and increased incidence of diabe-tes in many developed countries is likely to increase the requirement for organ transplants and make this crime even more lucrative. There is a difference in what hu-mans are trafficked for in different countries. Victims in Europe and Central Asia are mostly trafficked for sexual exploitation, whereas in

East Asia and the Pacific the mar-ket is driven by forced labor. In the Americas, these two types are detected in almost equal measure. Children are often trafficked as well. There is an increasing de-mand for younger and younger victims worldwide. This demand comes from the mostly male buy-ers, often customers in the growing global sex industry. Children are trafficked, employed and exploited because, compared to adults, they are more vulnerable, cheaper to hire and are less likely to demand higher wages or better working conditions. Children who are pros-tituted report that they are typical-ly given a quota by their trafficker/pimp of 10 to 15 buyers per night. Utilizing a conservative estimate, a domestic minor sex trafficking vic-tim would be raped by 6,000 buy-ers during the course of the person’s victimization through prostitution. If you think you or someone you know is in immediate danger of human trafficking, call 911. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about human traffick-ing, call the National Human Traf-ficking Resource Center toll-free hot line.

1 (888) 373-7888National Human Trafficking

Resource Center

Augusta Battoclette, ‘17

On Feb. 18, 2016, Kesha Rose Sebert, previously known as Ke$ha, was denied an injunction that would have allowed her to re-cord music outside of Sony. New York Supreme Court Justice Shir-ley Kornreich stipulated that there was “no evidence to support her assertion that the agreements were not entered into freely or volun-tarily as a result of arm’s length ne-gotiations”. In simpler terms, there was not enough evidence to show that Kesha was sexually assaulted by her producer, Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald, known in the music in-dustry as Dr. Luke. The lawsuit, filed by Sebert in 2014, claimed that 10 years prior, Dr. Luke had “sexually, physically, verbally and emotionally abused Ms. Sebert to the point where Ms. Sebert nearly lost her life”. The lawsuit alleges sexual assault, sexual harassment, gender violence, civil harassment, violation of unfair business laws, infliction of emo-tional distress (intentional and negligent) and negligent retention and supervision. Gottwald, who has production credits on many Top 40 hits, such as Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” and Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.,” countersued Sebert and her mother, as well as her rep-resentatives, in October of 2014 for defamation and breach of con-tract. In 2013, a group of Sebert’s fans created a petition to free Sebert from having to work with her al-leged rapist. More recently, a Go-

FundMe campaign was started by the “Free Kesha” movement with the purpose of raising enough money to buy Sebert out of her contract with Sony. “I personally really miss listen-ing to Kesha,” SENIOR Camille Williams said. Following tremendous support from her fans, especially in the past couple months, Sebert thanked fans with some new lyrics: “I don’t know what I would do without you, oh no. I don’t know where I would be without you”. On Feb. 26, the 28-year-old’s lawyer Mark Geragos posted a short video of Ke-sha singing the lyrics on his Twit-ter. “A special thanks to everyone who has had her back #animals,” Geragos wrote. This video came on the same day that a small group of pro-Kesha protesters rallied outside Sony headquarters in Manhattan. Many celebrities have shown their support for Sebert, including Lorde, Adele, Lady Gaga and Kelly Clarkson. Lady Gaga has been es-pecially supportive of Kesha, post-ing messages on Twitter and Insta-gram showing her support for the “TiK ToK” singer. “What happened to Kesha has happened to many female artists, including myself, and it will affect her for the rest of her life,” Gaga said in an Instagram comment. Gaga was sexually assaulted at age 19, and, more recently, at the 2016 Oscars, she performed her song “Til It Happens to You”, from “The Hunting Ground”, a documentary about the recent wave of sexual assaults on colleges campuses. To-ward the end of the performance, dozens of survivors of sexual assault

joined her on stage, holding hands and raising them in solidarity. This entire issue is not solely about getting justice for an alleged rapist and assaulter––Sebert’s situ-ation is shedding light on the seri-ous problem that rape remains one of the most underreported crimes in modern society. According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, 68% of assaults in the last five years were not reported. Why is this number so high, which, in turn, causes more rapists to walk free? One reason is that there are very few benefits to coming forward about a sexual assault. The victim has to relive the event over and over again in front of a judge and possibly a jury, face humiliation in front of a society that has been conformed to believe certain myths about rape

and assault and, 98% of the time, watch their rapists get out of a long jail sentence. Instead of asking victims “what were you wearing?” or “were you drunk?”, anyone who says they were sexually assaulted or harassed should be treated as if they were, even if there is no proof. “You always need to listen to the victims,” Brigid Hackett, ‘18 said. As Gaga puts it, “No one needs to validate Kesha. Why is the vic-tim always the ‘liar’?” When public figures, such as celebrities like Sebert and Gaga, speak out about the adversity they are going through, they are bring-ing more awareness to issues that many women go through every day. “When girls see celebrities com-ing together and helping out with

a cause so big, it lets them know what’s happening is not okay,” Deven Frissen, ‘17, a member of SURGE, Walnut Hills’ feminism club, said. However, what Sebert is cur-rently going through might actu-ally discourage victims of sexual assault and rape to speak up and demand justice. “We took a lot of steps back with that whole thing; we made it so that women can come out and be honest and truthful about what happened to them, but then we made it so that if [they] come out there’s a huge change that what’s happening will negatively affect [them],” Frissen said.

INFOGRAPHIC BY ELISE FRITTS / CHATTERBOX

HANNAH BUNDSCHUH / CHATTERBOX

HUMAN TRAFFICKING: JESSICA LOCK/THENOUNPROJECT

FINE ARTSSECTION EDITOR: VERONICA VICTA

MARCH 24 2016PAGE 6


The Battle of the BandsAND

The Master of the Mixes

Emily Glazer, ‘17Alexis Thomas, ‘17 On Sat. April 9th, Walnut Hills High School will be hosting its first Battle of Bands and Masters of the Mixes. Organized by the Class of 2018, this event will take place in the Senior High Gym from 2:00 pm until 6:00 pm. SENIOR Nate Smith will serve as the event’s MC. In the Battle of the Bands and Master of the Mixes, Walnut DJs and stu-dent-led bands will compete against each other for a cash prize. The mayor of Cincinnati, John Cranley, will give the single winner from each cate-gory the prize money. This prize money will be a percentage of the money garnered from ticket sales, according to Sarvani Vemuri, President of the Class of 2018. They will be judged by a panel of both Walnut and local figures, including Wal-nut Hills High School Student Congress

President, Ben Leonardi and Vice President Beatrice Newberry. Joining them will be Walnut Hills Orchestra conductor Chris Gibson, professional DJ, DJ Pillo, and lo-cal musicians Bjorn Knudsen and Jerome Johnson. The bands will be judged based on tech-nical proficiency, musicality, overall perfor-mance, creativity and audience appeal while the DJs will be judged on these categories and their intro, tricks, timing, blending, juggling, and outro. The event will be an opportunity for talented musicians at Walnut to showcase their skills and to sell their CD’s and mer-chandise. Class of 2018 Advisor Helen Raymond-Goers said, “I know a couple of the bands and DJs who are ‘just students’ who can give some of the ‘professional’ gigging bands and party DJs in town a run for their money. I think that is something that the Walnut community should celebrate more.”

Get updates on Battle of the Bands and Master of the Mix! instaGraM naMe: walnuthills2018

ALL GRAPHICS COURTESY OF THENOUN-PROJECT.COMBAND GRAPHIC: THEO CHARLESGUITAR GRAPHIC: GUSTAVO PEREZ RANGELKEYBOARD GRAPHIC: ANGELA CASPARETTITURNTABLE GRAPHIC: JASMINE JONES

WHEN April 92-6 PM

The Class of 2018 first brainstormed this event last year: “It was one of many fund-raising and social activities ideas suggested on that day, but it seemed like a lot of fun and a good potential source of revenue,” Raymond-Goers said. The event has been almost solely planned by the students who, according to Raymond-Goers, “...are really the ones making it go. It really is no small feat to pull off an event this size, and they are working very hard to make sure that it is fun, entertaining, and profit-able.” The other Class of 2018 Advisor, John Caliguri, added that, “They are creating it, [we’re] just here to help out.” “I want people to be part of this mo-ment. People should have fun, it should be like your jam,” Class of 2018 Representative Kendall Young said. Vermuri added, “We hope a lot of people come, not only to help fundraise, but we have some crazy talent at Walnut and we want people to see it.”

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Making history on History Day

Bubbling into the Science Fair Emma Farrell, ‘18Hannah Bundschuh, ‘18

This year a myriad of students from Walnut are showing their appreciation for the diverse field of science by participating in the annual science fair organized by the The Ohio Academy of Science. Students spend months working on their projects, and they show off their ideas and solutions at the competition. They compete and attempt to qualify for higher tiers, such as the state level. At the science fair, students can show how much they know and what they have learned, whether it be issues or experiments in engineering, biology or another category. However, it might not be as simple as the stereotypical baking soda volcano. “[Science fair] is a place where you re-search a topic or you solve a problem and then you present it in front of judges.” Topics can range from the overpopulation of deer to using fruit to generate energy. It can even be a question like ‘what makes ice melt faster?’,” Kami Evans, ‘20 , said. In years past, only a few students par-ticipated and even less managed to make it past the Regional Science Fair. Re-cently, however, more students have got-ten involved with the help of the faculty cheering them on. In order to make it to regionals, participants must get a superior ranking, which is above a score of 30, at the school science fair. If their score does not qualify, they may also get a recommen-dation from a teacher. In order to make it to the State Science Fair, they must receive another superior. Last year, 120 students entered the school wide science fair. About 40 of these participants went on to regionals and about 70 went on to The Ohio State Uni-versity for the state competition. This year, 102 students entered in the school fair, 45 of these students went on to regionals, and

Maham Usmani, ‘19

The eight-honors program is unique to Walnut Hills High School. It divides the already competitive high school into an even more rigorous program, offering ac-celerated courses in History, English and Physical Science. The program also re-quires each of the honors students to par-ticipate in History Day. Students participating in History Day first display their projects at the school lev-el, followed by the District level, and may even advance to the State and National level. All History Day participants select both the topic and medium for their proj-ect. Students choose to present their proj-ect as a paper, performance, documentary, website, or exhibit. All projects, however, must fall under the annual theme, which changes every year. The theme for this school year is “Exploration, Encounter, Exchange”. History teacher Mitchell Perdrix heads both the history component of the eight-honors program, and History Day for the students in the program. “I like the project, first of all, because [it involves] a lot of student choice. They can choose how they want to do it, they pretty much can choose any topic they want, [and] they can choose to work in groups

20 students will continue on to state. During the months leading up to the school showcase, students gather research on their topic and fill their poster boards with this information. One of the prob-lems participants faced was juggling their regular school work with their project work. Fortunately, after-school meetings held with the teachers and other partici-pants provided time for students to work on their boards and bounce ideas off each other. Science fair has many participants and is growing each year. Although it began with just a few students, in past years the number of participants going on to the Re-gional and State Science Fair has doubled.

or not,” Perdix said. “I think choice would be the key word of what I like about it. If you’re going to put so much work into something. you should choose what you want to do and how you want to do it.” Catherine Henning, ‘20 is in the eight-honors program and participated in Histo-ry Day for the first time this year. Henning said that she really liked it, and enjoyed

doing it with a partner, especially a friend. The pair ended up advancing to districts. This year, however, District History Day and Regional Science Fair were on the same day. Students in the eight-hon-ors program had to make the decision of deciding which competition they would move on to.

August 2015

Science teacher Dominic Lovaglio introduces the science fair proj-ect to eight-honors students. For many, this was their first year go-ing.

Since both events were scheduled on the same day, Perdrix was “a little upset, [I] didn’t realize they were going to do it…We had a lot of kids who were going to dis-tricts this year and more could go if they didn’t have [science fair] on the same day,” Henning said, “I really liked [History Day]...I enjoyed History Day a lot more than Science Fair, personally…so I’m go-ing to Regional History Day and I felt my project was much better for History Day.” Maya Sivakumaran, ‘20 also partici-pated in History Day and enjoyed making her documentary and working with the software to create it. “It was really fun…I interviewed a bunch of people; that was fun,” Sivakuma-ran said. After attending districts for History Day, Henning said, “It was good. The judges were really, really nice [and] it was a lot of fun. I’m glad I went and I’m really looking forward to state.” History Day is a unique event for each student that experiences, and works hard toward. Perdrix also said, in giving the project, “every kid is a historian if you give them the right topic…Kids that say ‘I hate history class’ will get really into it if they do something they like.”

“Every kid is a historian if you give them the right topic.”

Mitchell Perdix

October 2015

History Day projects are intro-duced by history teacher Mitchell Perdrix. Students could choose any historical figure or topic they wanted, unlike many school proj-ects.

May 14, 2016

Twenty students will exhibit their projects at the State Science Fair, which will be at Ohio State Uni-versity.

April 30, 2016

Seventeen students will partici-pate at the State History day at Ohio Wesleyan University.

March 20, 2016

Regional Science Fair and Dis-trict History Day fell on the same day this year. Out of 102 students, 45 went to the regional science fair. At the school History Day, 92 students participated, of which 21 continued on to dis-tricts.

Start to finish:History Day &

Science Fair

students will participate

at the state fair102

students participated at the school fair

students participated at regionals

45 20

Allison Meier, ‘19Emma Farrell, ‘18

Science Fair and History Day are nearly year long processes. Here’s a time line to break down the steps that students took to get to their finished product.

INFOGRAPHIC: H. BUNDSCHUH/CHATTERBOXBEAKER: NICHOLAI LEKSON/CHATTERBOX

ARCADECO-EDITORS: TARA SALES AND OCTAVIA CARMEN-HOUSER



Coloring Contest

1. Color the circular im-age as creatively as pos-sible.

2. Bring your masterpiece to Samantha Gerwe-Per-kins in room 2306 to en-ter it in the competition, by April 29th.

3. The most creative piece , voted on by The Chat-terbox staff, will have their winning piece featured in the SENIOR issue in col-or.

4. The winning piece will be announced in the next issue of The Chatterbox on the Arcade page.

Contest Rules

cx.11 2016 03 24

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