America’s Sex Ed, An Institution in Crisis

We live in a country where there is no federal system for sexual education. Only 23 states actually mandate sex ed, and only 13 of those require the information presented to be accurate. It’s frightening to think that so many teens across the country are not being taught sex ed, and even if they are, they may be getting distorted information. Researchers have found that over 80% of sex ed curricula supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contained information that was inaccurate. Peggy Orenstein, in her book Girls and Sex, said that some sex educators taught students that the “pill is only 20 percent effective in preventing pregnancy, that latex condoms cause cancer, that HIV can be transmitted through sweat or tears, and that half of homosexual teen boys already have the virus.”  These falsehoods fly in the face of actual data and are intended to scare adolescents into remaining chaste.

The Question of Cultural Appropriation

Cultural appropriation–a term that’s constantly being thrown around. Cultural appropriation is widely defined as the adoption of certain aspects from a culture (in most cases, clothing) for personal motives, without that culture’s consent. It’s easy to pounce on someone for wearing an offensive costume, but a majority of people aren’t even aware what “cultural appropriation” even means.

Why We Shouldn’t Fear North Korea

In 2011, Muammar Gaddafi’s authoritarian government in Libya was finally toppled by NATO intervention in the country. Only 8 years prior, a U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq and deposed its dictator, Saddam Hussein. Both of these regimes were notorious for their human rights violations, censorship, and corruption. Both had long incurred scrutiny, hostility and sanctions from the U.S. and other western powers. Particularly in Iraq, fears had abounded about the WMDs the regime might develop. Iraq had long been a dominant military power in the Middle East, yet was easily toppled in just over a month by U.S. coalition forces.

Election Day Must Not Go Unnoticed

On Tuesday, November 7th, Americans flocked to voting booths across the country. It was Election Day, although some people may be asking: an election for what? Obviously, this year there is not a presidential election, however there are many important local positions and issues on the ballot that directly affect a citizen’s daily life. The vast majority of laws that affect people are the results of local elections and though this voting season has come to a close, it is important to keep in mind how these types of elections can impact everyday life.

With the amount of media coverage devoted to presidential elections, it’s easy to think that, whomever wins, it will change the life of the average American. Although there has been much political upheaval throughout the last election cycle, overwhelmingly, lives remain materially the same (for now). The laws passed by the federal government is a very small portion of the legislation that affects individuals and shapes their lives. The media has become vastly nationalized, and with the loss of local media comes a loss of emphasis on local elections.

Perhaps the largest and most publicized office on the ballot in Westchester was the position of county executive. At Mamaroneck High School, AP Government students campaigned for their candidate of choice: Republican Rob Astorino (incumbent), or Democrat George Latimer. The students in AP Gov were well informed on the stances of the two candidates, the implications of this election, and how this could affect their lives. Still, there exist many in the voting pool who may not fully understand what a county executive even does.

Athletic Option Doesn’t Go Far Enough

Athletic Option at Mamaroneck High School has been a widely successful program that has given high school athletes extra time during school day to make up for their busy schedules. The program grants free periods to athletes during the quarter that they are in season and allows them to miss otherwise mandatory physical education classes. On game days, student-athletes can give up to ten hours after school committed to the sport that they are playing. The Athletic Option Program has been extremely beneficial for the student body of MHS, but problems have started to arise from the development of the program. In association with the AO program, another program called Outside Agency has been established. It is essentially the same premise as AO, but it is intended for students who do other time costly activities not offered at the high school. Considering the drastic success off these programs, it is necessary that these options are made available to a greater portion of MHS students.

Athletic Option provides valuable time to student athletes to study and interact with their peers, so it is important that the administrators at our school grant it to more deserving students. During this fall season, the girls’ tennis team was faced with this issue of not being able to get AO. This was a problem for the practice players on the team whose matches were not being counted by officials. These players showed up for every single practice and sacrificed just as much time to play as every other player on the team. Despite this fact, they weren’t granted with AO because they weren’t being tracked. This is the only case where deserving students were unjustly deprived of their right to AO. Sophia Glinski ’19 missed the first few days of tryouts for Cross Country because of a family trip that was beyond her decision. Despite her absence during the first few days, she made the team and has been an integral part of the team, yet she had to push hard to gain the right to AO. She was forced to attend physical education classes when she could’ve been using that time to focus on her core subjects. While administrators have implemented the program into the high school, it must be maintained closely so that every deserving student that represents our school gains their unequivocal right.

Recapping This Summer’s Greatest Hits

The summer of 2017 was jam-packed with everything from politics to celebrity news. In addition, tons of new music was released over these past few months. Here is some of the new music of Summer 2017:

MHS Prepares for Fall Play

The Fall Play, Sense and Sensibility, opened in October. Set in 19th century England, the play follows Eleanor and Marianne Dashwoods’ journey towards love and marriage. Eleanor is in love with the more reserved Edward. Meanwhile, Marianne initially has an affair with the scandalous Willoughby (played powerfully by Sammy Pignalosa and Grant Tucker, ‘19), but ends up loving her polar opposite, the solemn Colonel Brandon. Callie Zola, ‘18, portrayed the shy, lovable qualities of Eleanor expertly, while Lauren Kroell, ‘18, exposed a confident side to the character not often seen. Marianne Dashwood was played by Abby Lee (‘18) and Lindsey Belisle (‘19). Lee gave the character a more serious side, while Belisle played her with a lovable carefreeness.

2018 College Football Playoffs

It’s that time of the year again: when friends become enemies and games become war. College Football has started, and people are now anxiously awaiting to see if their team will rise above the rest or fall under the pressure of the new season. College Football fans, the most dedicated and spirited fans on earth, are hoping that their teams will make it to the final four. Here are my predictions and a preview for the 2017-2018 College Football season. Let the debate begin!

Celtics Trade For Kyrie Irving

In recent NBA news, the ball handling superstar Kyrie Irving has been traded to the Boston Celtics in what some might call, a one sided trade. Since he was the first pick in the 2011 NBA draft, he has been a face for the Cavaliers franchise for many years. On July 11th of 2014, Kyrie was thrown out of the spotlight due to Lebron James’ announcement to leave the Miami Heat. This decision stunned the league but would give Kyrie and the Cavs the opportunity of a lifetime, what LeBron promised from the beginning was to win an NBA Finals.

MLB Hunts for October Glory

With the MLB playoffs right around the corner, some teams have ran away with their respective divisions, while others are still in tight races to secure a spot in the postseason. The Dodgers have had the best record in baseball for most of the season and the Indians are getting hot at the right time, so these two teams look to be strong World Series contenders. However, there are multiple other teams that could contend for a title. Here’s an overview of the top World Series contenders (in no particular order):

MHS Featured Athlete

The Mamaroneck Soccer team over the past few years has carried a reputation

for excellence. Balancing a menacing attack with a solid defense, the Tigers once

again look like a serious threat to win Section 1. After last season’s heartbreaking

defeat in the Section 1 Quarterfinals to eventual state champions, the Tigers have

bounced back strongly, especially after losing many seniors of last year.

Fall Sports Preview

Cross Country:

The Cross Country team looks to piggyback off a successful 2016 season. Led by captains Eliana Safer, Jane and Emily Hollander, Ryan Kovacs and Jeremy Mercado, the team looks forward to their competitions. Eliana Safer hopes to return to and dominate at the State tournament, which she competed at last year. Although Cross Country is an individual sport, every member looks to push each other to make the team successful in every facet of what they do. It should be an exciting year for the group.

MHS Senior Names

Funniest Senior Names:

A Sweet New Store Settles in Mamaroneck

The Mamaroneck community is getting a new and trendy addition: a shop called Sweet Charlie’s will open this fall. This chain is fairly new, founded by Kyle Billig in 2015. Though there are many other Sweet Charlie’s’ across the eastern seaboard in places such as Philadelphia and Haddonfield, this will be the first Sweet Charlie’s in New York.

This store will sell the instagram-popularized rolled ice-cream. Rolled ice-cream is made on a plate that is 20 degrees below zero that allows the the liquid ice-cream to crystallize into a frozen flat sheet of ice cream that is then rolled scraped into a cylindrical roll of delicious ice-cream. Not only is this method fun to watch, but it’s actually healthier. This has influenced its instagram fame because any reason to allow people to eat more ice-cream is extremely popular! Due to the cold plate onto which the ice-cream or frozen yogurt is poured, there is no need to use “stabilizers, emulsifiers, and preservatives” a fact that Sweet Charley prides itself in. This eliminates chemicals that many ice cream companies have to incorporate to keep the product frozen.   

Ned’s Declassified: Freshmen Edition

Ninth Grade:  It’s the first year of high school, which is the stepping stone to college. This is the time when you’ll be making new friends, meeting people, and taking unfamiliar classes. It’s an exciting year filled with great memories! To help you make the most of it, we’ve listed some tips below:

Ten Things To Try: NYC Edition

Have you ever been aimlessly walking around NYC, wishing you knew of a good thrift shop or place to go for lunch? Below are some great stores and restaurants that you may not know about, but you should try to visit!

Swift’s New Sound Divides Fans

About a month ago, Taylor Swift fans noticed that all of her social media accounts had suddenly been cleared, in anticipation of the release of the first single from her new album, Reputation. It is set to be released later this fall on November 10th. Taylor shocked many with “Look What You Made Me Do” by making a sudden switch from her typical style of music, country pop. Her main music has a more grungy feel with less emphasis on the narratives of her personal life, complete with what fans analyzed as angry feelings about feuds with other celebrities. For anyone wondering how she got there, here is the evolution of Taylor Swift from the release of her first album in 2006:

Trump’s Tepid Response to Charlottesville

“You had a group on one side that was bad. You had a group on the other side that was also very violent. Nobody wants to say that. I’ll say it right now.” These were the words President Donald Trump chose to describe a violent white supremacist rally that occurred about a month ago in Charlottesville, Virginia. President Trump’s remarks shocked the American Public, many of whom wished the President would outright condemn white supremacism and nazism without beating around the bush.

The Wealth Advantage in College Admissions

Top universities pride themselves on creating diverse learning environments where students of different races and backgrounds can come together. Over the past few decades, colleges been increasingly more diligent about aiding minority groups, developing affirmative action programs, and creating reliable support systems for all students. However, the college admissions process is still systematically set up so that wealthier applicants and legacies (i.e. children of alumni) are more likely to be accepted into a given school than their peers in the bottom socioeconomic quartile.

For years, colleges have given legacy students preferential treatment during the application process. In fact, it is on average seven times more likely for a legacy to be accepted to a college than an ordinary student. One of the main reasons for this is because alumni donations are the single largest source of revenue (outside of tuition) at most colleges and universities. It also happens that most alumni children tend to be white and from wealthy backgrounds. According to a recent study by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, only 3% of the undergraduate class at the most prestigious universities are from the bottom income quartile. That means that the majority of students at top colleges are middle class or wealthy. College admission deans argue that legacy ranks will become more diverse over time, but the data thus far has not supported this claim.

The Trump Effect

On July 12th 2017, musician Robert Richie, known mainly as Kid Rock, confirmed on Twitter that his website, KidRockForSenate.com, was real. On the website he announced his intent to run in the 2018 race for one of Michigan’s US Senate seats against current Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow who has been in office since 2001.