NLRB Decision a Win

By Mike Crooks ‘14 On March 26, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 13 director Peter Sung ruled that Northwestern football players had the right to unionize, finding that the players are employees of the university. The ruling comes in the midst of the holy grail of college sports, March Madness. The ultimate effect of Sung’s ruling is currently unforeseeable, … Read More

Several Faces of Racism

By Steffani Carrera ’14 Rapper and television persona Nick Cannon recently released a series of promotional videos for his upcoming album “White People Party Music” in which he shocked fans and critics alike by donning a “whiteface” to represent his Caucasian persona. Referred to as Connor Smallnut, this imaginary character of Cannon’s has received a serious amount of attention since … Read More

Save Ink, Save Money

By Jack Armstrong ’15 You wouldn’t think that changing a font to one slimmer and lighter would significantly save ink and paper costs; however, 14-year-old Suvir Mirchandani recently found if the U.S. government changed the font on thousands of documents from Times New Roman to Garamond it could save close to $234 million. Mirchandani’s findings also show paper use would … Read More

NLRB Decision a Huge Step towards Fairness in College Sports

By Mike Crooks ‘14 On March 26, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 13 director Peter Sung ruled that Northwestern football players had the right to unionize, finding that the players are employees of the university. The ruling comes in the midst of the holy grail of college sports, March Madness The effect of this ruling is currently unforeseeable, but … Read More

The Philosophy of A Bad Texter

By Olivia Skofteland ’14 “You’re such a bad texter.” I’ve heard this phrase many different times from many different people in my life. Usually this occurs after someone texts me and I don’t respond. People of our generation have this sense of entitlement when it comes to text messages; they feel like if they text you, you’re obligated to respond, … Read More

Is the 50-Percent Rule Really Helping Students?

“Rule Helps Students To Keep Trying” By Hunter Moore ‘15 In 2006, MCPS made the wise decision of implementing the 50-percent rule. The rule prohibits teachers from giving low, failing grades. Although some contend that the rule allows students to slack off, the 50-percent rule actually encourages students to keep trying and not give up on a course in which … Read More

A Story of ‘Affluenza’

By Stacey Wells ‘15 This past December, a teenage boy in Texas drove drunk and murdered four people. Instead of serving the recommended 20 years in prison, he got off easy with only 10 years of probation. The defense argued that the boy suffered from “affluenza,” which is a ‘psychological problem’ that can affect privileged children. In other words, this … Read More

Required Service Hours for MCPS Render Students Less Enthusiastic

By Leo Corman ’15 Just to be clear, I do not want to discourage or argue against students serving their communities.  Volunteering to help others is a noble and admirable pursuit.  However, the mandatory nature of the service that MCPS students must perform detracts from the value of the activity and all the benefits that come with it—responsibility, perspective, empathy … Read More