Opinion: Affirmative Action

Anu Venkatesh

Affirmative action is a policy designed to promote diversity and equality in education, employment, and other areas. Today, it is often used by various schools, companies, and organizations. Affirmative action was originally implemented with the hopes of increasing diversity in the workforce and in other such environments. However, many claim that affirmative action does not actually do a good job of promoting diversity; in fact, in many situations, it may add to the opposite occurring.

The Downside of Idolizing Celebrities

Sofia Angileri

In many situations, we view celebrities as zoo animals. Many view celebrity figures as things that are there for our own personal entertainment instead of real people who are just trying to do what makes them happy for a living.

Maybe envy is the reason people hold resentment or infatuation with celebrities or the fact that not only do celebrities have fame, social standing, and money, but they also have found something that they truly  enjoy. That they spend their days doing something they love rather than being at a mediocre job, with mediocre pay, that they barely tolerate. Ironically, this could also be why many idolize celebrities.

But the problem with idolizing celebrities is that many don’t view them as what they actually are, people. It’s dehumanizing to believe that someone holds such importance due to social standings and media interpretation. If being looked up to and followed was a prize for celebrities, many fewer would choose to be in the public eye. I can assume that it is captivating to be someone’s idol, someone’s muse, a person looked up to, in theory.

But people are just that, human. They have feelings and opinions, and eventually, they make mistakes. They aren’t untouchable in a way similar to something like stars, things that many admire but not many actually care about. At the end of the day, in most situations, no matter who the celebrity is, they are inevitably going to do something someone doesn’t like, that’s the curse of putting someone on a pedestal. The only place they can go from there is down.

The CPM Curriculum Depends on an Unproven Style of Learning

Dhruthi Mahesh

“My greatest fear is that the CPM approach to the teaching of mathematics… will produce a generation of students who feel good about their math experiences and who are are not afraid to “take on” a math problem, but, who… are mathematical morons without a calculator in their hands, are unable to achieve a high level of success individually, and who are unable to actually determine the correct answer to a problem,” states Robert W. Haswell, a high school math teacher for the past 27 years in a critical editorial on Mathematically Correct- a blog spotlighting concerns on Math curriculums and teaching styles. 

“Equal Pay for Equal Work”

Devika Bhattacharjya

Women have always been the backbone of the family, now they support their families financially too. Women of today have more opportunities like jobs and basic rights. However while women are equal to men in every imaginable way then why is their pay not equal to  that  of men? Why do women make 83 cents for every dollar a man makes within the same profession? 

Teachers’ Role In An Inclusive School Climate

Noya Chirashnya

At every school, there are whispers of a horrid teacher.  A knowing “ohhh” surfaces whenever their name is used to explain someone’s mood.

One whose name gets passed through the halls, whispers traveling up and down, talking of stories that could be written in horror novels.

One whose name is spoken with glances, making sure that they aren’t around to hand out repercussions. 

Editorial: Limited Liability

Nikitha Srinivasan

In the United States, a limited liability corporation, LLC, is a corporate structure that shields its owners from individual responsibility for the firm’s debts or liabilities. Limited liability is a significant benefit for any company since it balances out the drawbacks of having more internal conflicts, double taxation, and losing personal assets. Limited liability not only benefits the corporation’s investors but the whole firm. If the company they invested in ever suffers a big loss, the limited liability protects them from suffering a significant loss. If an ethical lapse in a company happened, whoever was involved in committing the unethical decision should be held to unlimited liability. 

The Problem With The Word “Trauma” Today

Anu Venkatesh

How did the word trauma go from practically nonexistent to the most used word of the last decade? 

Before the two world wars, trauma was rarely spoken about, nor acknowledged. However, during these wars, many soldiers suffered from what was called “shell-shock,” which was basically a different term for trauma. Originally, these soldiers were given treatment as well as disability pensions, but later, it was seen as a character defect, a sign of an unwilling, cowardly soldier. 

Students Enraged Over New Tech Policies

Neve Apte

Technology plays an important role in our learning at school. Due to potential for misuse, the school has always had some measures in place to ensure that the school-issued Chromebooks are used in a safe and appropriate way. However, recent developments involving new policies and practices relating to these devices have led to considerable outrage and discomfort among the students.

The Importance Of Books

Anne Kearns

From the Epic of Gilgamesh to the latest Stephen King novel, books have been a vital part of mankind for thousands of years. With the rise of the digital age, a time when large amounts of information are widely available to many people through technology, it is tempting to cast off reading as a thing of the past. But reading still greatly influences society, much like it has done through the millennia it has dominated our world.

Roe vs. Wade And The Struggle For Bodily Autonomy

Noya Chirashnya

Once again, women’s rights to bodily autonomy are under fire, due to the recent court case of Dobbs v. Jackson being argued in the Supreme Court. The current Supreme Court is very conservative, with six out of nine judges being right-leaning. This means that the chance of Roe v. Wade, the biggest case in the struggle for abortion rights, being overturned or at least changed is very high. The case of Dobbs v. Jackson is centered around the Mississippi law that bans abortion at 15 weeks, which is a massive contradiction to Roe v. Wade. Before we dive into why this situation is terrifying, it is important to give a little bit of context about Roe v. Wade.