Affirmative Action Requires Rapid and Fundamental Improvements

By Josh Averbach ‘18 Since the end of the civil rights movement, colleges and universities have given preferential treatment to Black and Hispanic applicants in a practice known as affirmative action. Later this year, the Supreme Court will rule on Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, a case that may, if the court gets it right, end racial preferences … Read More

Permission to Censor

By Meghan Proctor ‘16 A bill recently approved by Virginia’s Senate would require schools to send notifications to parents when the class will read a book that contains sexually explicit content. Parents would then have the opportunity to opt their children out of reading that book. While this bill is not as bad as outright banning books for all students, … Read More

Swift Gets Too Much Criticism

By Natalie Murray ‘18 It would seem that, for every one of the millions of Taylor Swift fans in the world, there are three Taylor Swift haters. Although Swift is a genuine, kind, hardworking singer-songwriter, she always seems to be under fire for something ridiculous— like that she “sues her fans” or is “money-hungry.” The claim that Swift sues everyone … Read More

Netflix Show Exposes Faults in Justice System

By Lauren MacFadden ’17 Many people turn to Netflix to binge watch their favorite shows like “Gossip Girl” or “Grey’s Anatomy.” However, when Netflix released the documentary, “Making a Murderer,” on Dec. 18, 2015, people could not turn away from the suspense. In this ten-part series, viewers dive into the case of Steven Avery. In 1985, Avery was falsely convicted … Read More

Education Should Be What You Want to Make of It

By Amy Hesselroth ’16 As a high school senior neck-deep in the college application process, I have found myself answering the same question for the last six months. Whenever adults or peers find out I am in my last year of high school, inevitably they ask “Where are you applying?” after which they expect a list of every school where … Read More

My Honest Confession

By Tyler Ruth ’16 I am not excited for college. I am really only going for the purpose of getting a job. To top that off, I am not even pursuing my passion as my major. All my life I have loved history but there are really no jobs that come with that major, so as it stands right now, … Read More

Unsigned: Moving Past the Rhetoric on Immigration

With the 2016 presidential election quickly approaching, Republican candidates are pushing for stricter laws on immigration, including a repeal of President Obama’s executive order that granted amnesty to five million existing illegal immigrants. Donald Trump has gone the furthest with his promise to deport all illegal immigrants and require Mexico to build a wall. In stark contrast, Democratic nominee Hillary … Read More

DC Private Schools Are a Waste of Money

By Morgan Hill ’16 In the DC area, around three dozen private high schools are responsible for the education of close to 80,000 students. However, counties surrounding DC, including both Montgomery and Fairfax have repeatedly been named as some of the best school districts in the country. Families who enroll their children in private schools, especially in this area, end … Read More

Helicopter Parenthood Spiraling Out of Control

By Leah Peloff ’18 Helicopter parenting, or parents paying extremely close attention to a child’s experiences and problems, derives from good intentions. It almost always, however, leads to detrimental, lifelong side effects that can seriously harm children as they grow into adulthood. For example, children whose parents have hovered over them have been proven more likely to feel sad, lonely, … Read More