Arista was the New York City public high school and middle school variant name for the National Honor Society (NHS) chapters. ARISTA originated in the very early years of the 20th century and remained independent and active through the 1980s when nearly all schools converted into NHS chapters as it caused confusion on college applications. The Constitution of the NHS chapter reads, "Article I - Title: This organization shall hereby be known as the National Honor Society, not to be referred to [by] the New York title of 'Arista'", demonstrating the early use of the variant, special name.