It’s a service learning privilege, not a requirement
October 18, 2019
By now, most of us are aware that the service learning requirement for sophomores, juniors, and seniors has shifted from an ongoing community project to a one-day event; however, it’s still up to us to decide how we want to respond to this shift. Although I still don’t entirely agree with the new...
The consumerization of cancer awareness
October 18, 2019
This year’s pink week was amazing, and before I tear it apart, I want to thank everyone who contributed to making it the awesome celebration it was. We had cookies, donuts, hot chocolate, a bake sale, and events that showed our support for those going through breast cancer. We brought our community...
Why I strike: my reflection on the climate march
October 11, 2019
If you’re not scared, you’re not paying attention. Considering the current carbon emission levels, what is left of our CO2 budget will have completely disappeared within less than eight and a half years, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In 2017 alone, 18 million...
Kill it with kindness: combating competition in our community
October 11, 2019
I will always place kindness above humility, integrity, and intellect. To me, it doesn’t matter if you’re the smartest friend, the strongest, or even the most humble. I find that the thing most telling of your character stems from kindness: how you respect and treat others. I don’t claim that...
My Hispanic heritage’s influence on my daily life
September 27, 2019
Hispanic Heritage Month means feeling comfortable and familiar in a space where I am usually the person coming from an unfamiliar background compared to the majority of people in a room. I’m half-Puerto Rican and half-Irish, and have lived in the South Bronx my whole life. My family made sure that...
Accessibility vs privacy: towing the line of internet use
September 27, 2019
Although data collection can be considered an infringement on people’s privacy, sharing your data can help society create better modeling tools and algorithms to identify early warning signs of major issues such as poverty, homelessness, and cancer. Data collection has been around for centuries...
Enough shopping, start adopting
September 20, 2019
Chances are if you have a dog, you bought it from a breeder. In the United States, 3.9 million dogs enter shelters each year but only 25% are adopted and 1.2 million are euthanized. This means that last year alone, 1.2 million dogs needed homes, in addition to those who were not adopted but didn’t...
New cell phone policy: the double-edged sword
September 20, 2019
In 2014, Nicholas Epley, a psychologist at the University of Chicago, approached commuters on Chicago’s Metra train to ask them for a simple favor: to talk to a complete stranger during their morning ride and report their experience. Some, however, were asked to keep to themselves, and others were...
Opinion: Ferdman (11) reflects on Song of Solomon
September 13, 2019
I have little interest in romanticizing my experience of reading Song of Solomon. I didn’t fall head-over-heels in love with the story, or even Toni Morrison’s writing, for that matter. Reading a chapter or so per night was yet another academic chore: skimmed through quickly on the subway or, ye...
Opinion: Don’t cut slactivism any slack; act meaningfully
September 13, 2019
On a frigid January morning, picket in hand, I made my way down Columbus Avenue with thousands of others during the Women’s March and felt a rush of excitement. Young activists, however, are substituting their pickets for hashtags as they engage in social media activism. In 2019, it’s easier than ever to be...
What I wish I knew on the first day of ninth grade
September 3, 2019
When I first stepped into Olshan lobby in the fall of my freshman year, I was daunted by a Latin phrase that I believed I could very well translate. Magna est veritas et prævalet. It in fact took me several minutes longer than I would have liked to decipher the meaning of this phrase, but I still c...
What Rwanda taught me
September 3, 2019
Here’s a little fun fact about me: I’m really bad at checking my emails. So, when Mr. Asoluka sent information to my class grade about an upcoming trip to Kigali, Rwanda, I was the one who almost missed it. I can confidently say that this trip changed my life for the better. Thinking back on it, t...
