Blotter #16: Upper School Walk Out and a Piece from a Guest Writer

The Berkeley Carroll Blotter is proud to present its 16th weekly newsletter of the 2025-2026 school year! This edition features the standard “5 in News” by Rory O’Connor (‘26), and a piece about the Upper School walkout in protest of the ICE occupation of Minneapolis by Genevieve Eisner (‘26). Later, guest writer Orson Doggart (‘26) writes about the upcoming FIFA World Cup, and Genevieve Eisner (‘26) writes a piece about our recent snow day. Lastly, we have added an editor’s list of TV show recommendations! Photos from Sadie Bell Moorcroft (‘27) and other BC photographers are throughout. As always, we thank you for interacting with The Blotter.

Happy reading!

• Genevieve Eisner and Cleo Logan, co-editors.

5 in News

Rory O’Connor (‘26)

1. Three countries–France, Germany, and Greece–have recently rejected Donald Trump’s offer to join the “Board of Peace”--an international coalition, chaired by Trump, established to oversee the reconstruction and security of Gaza. The three countries all expressed concerns about the potential of the Trump-centric council to replace the existing United Nations Security Council. In response to this refusal, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on the three countries, including a 200% tariff on Wine and Champagne.

2. During the Oscar nominations last week, the movie Sinners, a supernatural horror film directed by Ryan Coogler and set in 1932 Mississippi, received 16 nominations, breaking the previous record of 14. The Oscars ceremony will be held on March 15th.

3. On January 18th, two high-speed trains crashed in Andalucia, a town in Southern Spain, killing 40 passengers and injuring many others. This was soon marked as “the deadliest crash since 2013,” and this incident shocked many considering that Spain is a country that prides itself in its innovative and safe national rail system. Alberto Montavez Montes, a Andalucian shop owner, noted, “it’s not that there’s psychosis, but it does make you just a bit reluctant to get on a train, without a doubt.”

4. Ilhan Omar, a democratic congresswoman from Minnesota, was attacked by a man who sprayed vinegar at her and attempted to storm her lectern. As a Somali-born Muslim woman, Omar has faced countless threats and dehumanization by President Trump and his supporters; Omar was calling for the resignation of Kristi Noem, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, as she was attacked. She spoke in Minneapolis.

5. Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani died in Rome on January 19th, 2026. The legendary courtier, known for his signature “Valentino Red” and dressing iconic celebrities, passed away peacefully at his home from natural causes.

BC Students Walkout in Solidarity with Minneapolis

Genevieve Eisner (‘26)

“HEY HEY, HO HO, ICE HAS GOT TO GO!” The chants echoed throughout Grand Army Plaza, as almost two hundred Berkeley Carroll students marched in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis who are protesting the aggressive tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

On Friday, January 30, millions of people across the United States participated in the protest walkout. Some local businesses in New York City shut down, others remained open but refused to take credit card transactions, and thousands of New Yorkers gathered to protest in Lower Manhattan’s Foley Square. The nation-wide protests were in response to the brutal force being used by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis including the killing of two Minnesota citizens.

The idea of the walk out at BC stemmed from a small group of its seniors. “I saw on everyone reposting this national shut down in protest of ICE on Instagram, and I thought that we should do something at BC,” Josh S. ‘26 told me. “I was at lunch with some peers and mentioned the idea of some sort of walkout. We all thought it was a good idea, so we posted it, got a lot of people to repost it, and got the word out.”

At 1:30 PM, at the start of our second to last period, the Upper School Students gathered in the courtyard, signs in hand, ready to protest. Led in chants by multiple seniors using megaphones, BC students walked to Grand Army Plaza, where they gathered in a circle and laid out the plan. They would walk down Prospect Park West, to Ninth Street, then turn right and walk to Seventh Avenue. From there, they would walk from Seventh Avenue and Ninth Street to Flatbush Avenue, and back to Grand Army, where they would end under the historic arch. After the walkout, many students joined thousands of other New Yorkers protesting the tactics of U.S. immigration agents in Foley Square.*

*The extended version of this article will be in the next print edition!

The FIFA World Cup: An Opportunity for Soccer in the U.S.

Orson Doggart (‘26)

In 2026, the biggest sporting event on the planet is coming to the United States. Not the Super Bowl, not the Olympics: the FIFA World Cup, a tournament so massive it shuts down cities and turns total strangers into chanting best friends, is landing on American soil. This moment might finally change how this country sees soccer for good.

For one electric summer, the U.S. will become the center of the global sports universe. The 2026 World Cup will be the largest in history, expanding to 48 teams and 104 matches, with 78 games played in the United States alone. Stadiums that usually host NFL Sundays will be flooded with supporters from Brazil, Nigeria, Japan, Germany, and this year, even Curaçao—a Caribbean nation of just over 150,000 people. That is roughly twice the population of Park Slope packed into a single country.

To put that in perspective, nations with hundreds of millions of people, like India, have never appeared in a World Cup. Curaçao doesn’t have endless capital, massive academies, or global superstars. What it has is organization, belief, and a real shot in an expanded tournament that finally gives smaller nations a path to the world stage. That is the beauty of the World Cup: it isn’t always about size or power. It’s about timing, development, and one team getting everything right at the exact moment it matters.

With MetLife Stadium hosting the final, New York City will sit at the doorstep of the most-watched sporting event on Earth. If you watched the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, you already know the gravity of this event. The final between Argentina and France wasn’t just a game; it was a once-in-a-generation spectacle. We saw the hero, Lionel Messi, completing his legacy, and the “villain,” Kylian Mbappé, scoring a hat trick on the biggest stage imaginable, and still walking away without the trophy.

FIFA estimates that over 1.5 billion people watched that final alone, with more than 5 billion engaging with the tournament overall. Now, imagine that level of intensity happening in our cities, our stadiums, and on our streets.

For decades, soccer in the U.S. has lived in the shadow of football, basketball, and baseball. That is already changing. MLS attendance is surging, European leagues dominate social media, and the U.S. Men’s National Team is young, talented, and finally relevant. Hosting the World Cup will accelerate it all. Kids will see the world’s icons in person; casual fans will be swept up in the fever. Soccer will stop feeling optional.

Ultimately, the World Cup is about more than goals and trophies. It is about identity and belonging. It is about millions of people caring deeply about the same thing at the same time. In 2026, the world isn’t just visiting the United States; it is testing whether this country is finally ready to embrace the “beautiful game.” And once it happens, there is no going back.

Sledding on a Snow Day: A Childhood Pastime or an Adult Activity?

Genevieve Eisner (‘26)

Last weekend, NYC received more than a foot of snow for the first time since 2021. Although Governor Hochul declared a state of emergency ahead of “extreme cold” and the massive winter storm, Brooklyn was livelier than ever. Kids flooded the park and stayed out for hours sledding with their parents who brought warm coffee mugs and documented their children’s first sledding experiences with their phones.

Although the average age of a sledder was around 6 years old, there were certainly a lot of older kids, including myself. I went sledding on the hill near the Picnic House in Prospect Park with a group of some other senior friends. We tried many different techniques. Here are a few I recommend (or don’t).

1. The piling on top of each other while laying down (need to be smart about weight distribution)

2. The classic sitting down, facing forward (works very well, can get you very far) – bonus points if you get someone to push you

3. Standing (really difficult, only an expert can do this) – I’ve never seen someone successfully stay on the sled while standing for longer than five seconds

4. Sitting down, facing another person while hugging them (Tried this for the first time, actually worked) – You must be comfortable with this person or else it can get really awkward.

There’s no question sledding is a fun way to pass the time during a snow day. But for a lot of older kids, it’s more about nostalgia than anything else. Aaron G. ‘26 told me that “sledding really brings [him] back to childhood days,” and that “going with a big group of friends is honestly just a great throwback.” This is definitely true for me. As I trudged through the snow, dragging my sled behind me, I reminisced on all the memories I have, sledding on the hills I used to think were ginormous, but now look tiny. Don’t get me wrong, sledding is a big production, and it’s not something I would want to do every weekend, but it’s definitely a fun pastime that reminds me of the simpler times.

However, not everyone feels the same way that Aaron and I do. “It was really cold and I wanted to sleep in,” Linus R. ‘26 told me. “Going there would have been miserable, coming back would have been miserable, and getting up would have been miserable.” Even though there were a good amount of older kids sledding, there’s no question that I looked around every once in a while, and felt a bit out of place. As we’ve gotten older, more and more people have opted out of sledding, and opted into the comfort of their bed. Honestly, I can’t really blame them, as by the end of my sledding experience, I couldn’t feel my fingers or my toes.

Regardless of how you used this snow day, there’s no question it was very much needed.

Editor’s TV List:

The Crown (Genevieve)

The Morning Show (Cleo)

Succession (Spencer)

Gilmore Girls (Sadie Bell)

Curb Your Enthusiasm (Dylan)

Lions Den: Upcoming Games for the Week of 2/2 - 2/6

Monday:

• Basketball Boys and NB (JV) vs. LuHi (Home)

  • 4:00 PM, Athletic Center

• Basketball Boys and NB (Varsity) vs. LuHi (Home)

  • 5:30 PM, Athletic Center

• Basketball Girls and NB (JV) vs. Trevor Day (Home)

  • 4:15 PM, Lincoln Place Gym

• Basketball Girls and NB (Varsity) vs. Horace Mann (Away)

  • 4:15 PM, Horace Mann Richard A. Friedman Gym

Tuesday:

• Swimming (Varsity) vs. ACIS (Away)

  • 3:00 PM, LIU Brooklyn CHAMPIONSHIP

Wednesday:

• Track (Varsity) vs. Ivy Prep Developmental Meet

  • Time TBD, Ocean Breeze Athletic Center

• Basketball Girls and NB (JV) vs. Dwight (Home)

  • 4:00 PM, Athletic Center

Thursday:

• Basketball Girls and NB (Varsity) vs. Avenues

  • 4:15 PM, Athletic Center SENIOR NIGHT

• Basketball Girls and NB (JV) vs. Avenues

  • 5:45 PM, Athletic Center

• Basketball Boys and NB (Varsity) vs. Avenues

  • 4:15 PM, Avenues

• Basketball Boys and NB (JV) vs. Avenues

  • 5:45 PM, Avenues

Friday:

• Basketball Boys and NB (JV) vs. Packer (Home)

  • 4:00 PM, Athletic Center

• Basketball Boys and NB (Varsity) vs. Packer (Home)

  • 5:30 PM, Senior Night

Community Time 2/2 - 2/6

Monday: Co-Curriculars

Tuesday: Affinity Groups

Wednesday: Visiting Speaker Dr. Aliza Levy-Erber

Thursday: Advising

Friday: Senior Speakers

Senior Speakers 2/6

James Kirven

Stella Rossi

Cleo Logan

Lydia Oladepo