By Maya Koeppen ’17 Every high school student in MCPS is required to take a credit worth of art, but quite frankly, it should be a little more than that. The average student spends hours in a single school day listening to lectures and reading from textbooks, all the while absorbing the thoughts of others rather than cultivating their own. … Read More
By Ryan Deal ’16 Everyone knows of Twitter, the hugely successful social media site that connects people worldwide all in a “Twittersphere.” Twitter largely came to be known for its brief “tweets,” publicly displayed messages from a user that capped off at 140 characters. The character limit was unique, and these quick-hitting messages provided a speedier fix for today’s hyperactive … Read More
By Madison Dymond ’16 With exams coming up, there is one thing that is vital to ensure students’ success: motivation. It is the thing they need the most and the thing they can never seem to get. The brain capacity of a student means nothing if they are not motivated to learn and study the material. Exams are memory tests. … Read More
By Isabella Pilot ’18 If you could describe 2015 in one word, what would it be? For the staff of the Oxford dictionary, the words lumbersexual, refugee, and on fleek came to mind, but the “word” that triumphed over them all isn’t a word at all. With over 171,000 words in the English language, the ‘Face With Tears of Joy’ … Read More
By Josh Averbach ’18 With a refugee crisis in the Middle East, wealthy Persian Gulf states should accept refugees to alleviate the vast amount fleeing to other countries. Syria’s ongoing civil war has prompted more than 11 million people to flee the war-torn nation, according to the humanitarian organization Mercy Corps. Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey have received more refugees … Read More
By Kira Yates ’16 Many young adults claim that sites such as Facebook and Instagram are harmless towards one’s health. However, as much as millennials and others want to believe social media is not harming them, it is. From lowering self-confidence to having adverse mental health effects, the reality of social media is that it has countless negative consequences on … Read More
By Milan Polk ’16 Social media generally gets a bad wrap. Teachers, parents and anyone else with an aversion to technology often roll their eyes when social networking is mentioned. However, most opponents fail to recognize the benefits of these online communities and would rather focus on the negative. Popular social media sites such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are … Read More
While it may not affect us high school students at the moment, what students can and cannot say on college campuses is a pressing matter in schools across the country. Controversial event after controversial event, from a school newspaper criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement to a lecturer at Yale saying that administration should not dictate what Halloween costumes are … Read More
By Samantha Schwartz ’16 Birth control is a taboo. It is embarrassing for many young girls to ask for, talk about, and take. But why? Why is birth control something that is talked about in hushed whispers? Birth control is different methods used to prevent pregnancy, but it can hold other benefits, such as lower cancer risk, clearer skin, lighter … Read More
By Natalie Murray ’18 The Good Doctor is a Bad Politician As an 8-year-old, I found politics confusing and dull. Now that I’m seven years older, I find politics more interesting, but just as bewildering. For example, two of the top three Republican candidates, Donald Trump and Ben Carson, used to identify as Democrats, yet they’ve earned most of their … Read More