Week Starters
Start your week on the right foot with these informative topics regarding world issues and relevant topics
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by Jessica Yu  This summer, the Olympic games at Rio have been covering every headline, with many athletes breaking incredible world records and showcasing their skills and talent. The pictures we see online highlight the beautiful Olympic venue, but the reality of Rio is quite bleak. Behind the excitement and chaos of the Olympics are the city’s residents, who have been displaced in order to build the Olympic venue. This is an act of gentrification, where the many homes of Rio residents have been demolished and hundreds of families are evicted in order to clean up the city for Olympic spectators. New apartments that are being constructed for the families who have been evicted are located even further from the inner city, in order to prevent the mingling of tourists and foreigners with the city’s inhabitants.
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by Asma Gaba  When should students begin learning a second language at school? As the world progresses, being bilingual is almost a necessary skill, especially when future employment is considered. It’s common that languages are first introduced to high school freshmen and that they most likely finish the course in the language by their last year. But the truth of the matter is that it’s rare that one leaves high school fluent in a new language. by Corey Gray  Even though the gay stereotype has been broken down a bit over the years, there are still some aspects that persist. A lot of what I’m going to talk about aren’t negative stereotypes at all, they are just little things that have made me feel more and more like a fixture or accessory in people’s lives rather than an actual human being.
I can’t seem to go about my life without being called “fabulous” or “fierce” or being told that I “slay” at least once a day by a straight cisgirl. Of course, there’s also the now very prevalent exclamation “work”. At this point those words have lost all meaning to me. Back in high school I would gladly welcome them with a gleeful “YAAS” and maybe even a sassy finger snap, but over time I noticed that those were really the only quasi-compliments people would give me. I also caught wind that when my friend’s would tell their friend’s about me, the first thing they would say things along the lines of “Oh my god, Corey is a FAB-U-LOUS gay! Ugh, you would LOVE HIM.” At a point, it felt like I was nothing more than a gay to them who could be interchanged with any other and the dynamic wouldn’t change a bit. Of course, I know my friend’s didn’t mean any harm, but it’s like if I was telling one of my friend’s about one of the girls who talked about me like that and said something like “Oh my god, she is so WHITE! You’d LOVE her!” So, before you call another gay person “fierce”, “sickening”, “fabulous”, or anything else just because they're gay, just think of a different adjective. It’s not that I don’t love being gay, I honestly couldn’t even imagine life if I weren’t gay, but I’d also like to be my own individual person, not just the universal gay. by Asma Gaba  Racism is so much more than using derogatory slurs against another. It's so much more than carrying hatred towards another race. Although these are examples of outright and blunt racism, we often forget the root of the problem: the sociological and systematic racism that’s all too present in the United States.
Recently, Michelle Obama gave a speech at the DNC that's been called inarguably her best. In it, she tells the audience that the White House was built by slaves. Shockingly, many people became angry, calling Michelle Obama out on being disrespectful. See, there are people who are so uncomfortable by the idea that our country was founded on genocide and racism, that any mention of it will justify an uncalled for remark from them. It's a fact- the White House, the symbol of the United States of America, was indeed built by slaves. The fact that there are white Americans that deny the way our country was founded is, quite frankly, a privileged mindset. Because once one believes that the way our country was founded is unimportant, it paves the way for racism in one's mind. by Corey Gray  I’ve been thinking a lot as of late about how my sixteen
years old friends act more mature than my twenty-one year old friends. About how you can scroll through Instagram and see fifteen year old makeup artists. When I was fifteen, everyone I knew was just worried about acne and little cute crushes. Now it seems like people are maturing at a much earlier age, and I want to explore that idea. I’m nineteen, only one year out of high school. While in high school, there were obvious changes from class to class concerning maturity in different regards. Of course, the observations I’m going to get into could’ve been completely random. Everyone is different, so the classes could’ve just had a lot of a certain kind of person, but I believe the changes were so specific to our societal context that it’s less than random. by Jessica Yu  The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as June
Fourth Incident, were a series of student led, pro-democracy demonstrations against the Chinese government. Inspired by western democratic ideals, college students started hunger strikes and marched in front of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, demanding for major economic and social reform. They called for the end of nepotism and corruption of government officials as well as freedom of speech and press. The protests lasted for several weeks until June Fourth, 1989, when the Chinese government declared martial law and open fired onto the protestors. The events on June Fourth are also called the Tiananmen Square massacre. by Corey Gray  Art isn’t fashionable. Excluding those #trendy socks
with renditions of classical paintings on them, of course. But the days of fashion being treated as an art are dwindling. Nowadays, we’re all about fast fashion and following trends like out lives depend on it. Oh, faux leather and fringe is in this season? Just let me hop on over to Forever 21 and get some cheaply and unethically made, but affordable pieces that will only last for as long as the trend. It’s great that there is a lot of affordable trendy clothing available, but it has carved a deep divide between ethics and art, and fashion. by Jessica Yu  Self diagnosis is the act of determining one’s health conditions without the aid of a medical professional. Recently, self diagnosis has become more popular, as access to medical professionals is increasingly expensive and difficult. Oftentimes, individuals look up their conditions on the internet and determine what condition they have based on the symptoms listed. Mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder are commonly self diagnosed by teenagers and young adults who either cannot afford to see a professional or whose parents will not let them. There are many resources online to help with self diagnosis including medical websites. However, self diagnosis can be extremely dangerous and lead to misdiagnosis or underdiagnosis, potentially putting one’s life in danger. When it comes to self diagnosing physical injuries, it is often
underdiagnosed. An injury that a person determines is small and unimportant can actually be a serious problem that they are unaware of. The convenience and no-cost act of self diagnosing causes people to visit the doctor less frequently. Mental illnesses can be underdiagnosed as well; someone can determine that they have anxiety when in reality they have multiple illnesses that share common symptoms. Overlooking these illnesses can harm one’s health and everyday life. Doctors and medical professionals advise strongly against self diagnosis at all costs. However, to be able to visit a doctor every time something hurts or doesn’t feel right is privilege. Not everyone can afford the medical bill and the medication to help them, so they can only rely on resources online to help them better understand what’s going on. Self diagnosis will always be practiced no matter how many warnings are made for it. If we can’t force people to go to the doctors when they are sick, maybe we can work towards improving our resources online to help those who are diagnosing themselves. by Asma Gaba  Abortion: Should it be legal? Should it be banned? Pro-choicers
believe that abortion should be legal and accessed easily, because every woman deserves the right to terminate a pregnancy (before the fetus can survive outside the womb, which is normally between 24 to 26 weeks). Pro-lifers, on the other hand, believe that a termination of pregnancy is immoral and should not be used. Recent confrontations between police and African Americans have
caused a new movement to be brought about in response to the Black Lives Matter campaign. The similarly named Blue Lives Matter, which promotes the ending of violence and death in people in the police field. Now, protecting lives of the men and women in blue is a very important issue, but, this response puts out the wrong message entirely. The Black Lives Matter movement is not an attack on police, it’s a cry to end police brutality and corruption of the system that has taken away many innocent people. They stand up equality, not power over the law. Bills are being voted on across the country in support of the Blue Lives Matter movement, making an attack on a police officer seen as a hate crime and giving those sentenced longer jail time. In theory, these laws would be a great idea, but, it goes against all the Black Lives Matter supports are fighting for, equality. Many officers have shot and killed innocent men and women and got no significant punishment. Another problem is that the name implies they’re at odds, but at heart, both sides are both looking for justice. This is uncatchable when without equal and fair punishment. Wrongful death will always happen, but with 154 African Americans kill by police this year alone, something needs to change. My town and many like it have been put at odds on this issue. A common argument I hear is that a uniform makes an officer a walking target, but, at least their target is only skin deep. |
