When I woke up on the morning of Friday, March 6th, 2020, it felt like a normal day. I went to school and was preparing for my musical performance later in the evening. It turned out to be a day that I…

Last week, I was surprised to receive an email from Long Island University in Brooklyn, NY, granting me admission and a hefty scholarship of $20,000 a year. Though the news was exciting, I was undoubtedly…

Last Thursday, my mom walked into the house after picking up my little brother from volleyball practice, and she immediately looked alarmed. She asked me what was wrong. There I was, sitting on the couch,…

The civil unrest that has marked much of 2020 has provoked pundits on both the left and the right to declare that civil war in America may be imminent.  But a wider view of history may suggest otherwise,…

Two Saturdays ago, I, along with dozens of other students, reluctantly walked through the doors of NASH at 7:45 AM, where we would soon spend the next five hours bent over a desk reading passages and solving…

Girls, women, and members of the LGBTQ+ community across America are fearing for their rights with the recent confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. 

Barrett’s history makes many uneasy. Her involvement…

I write this article because I am afraid that tomorrow basic rights will be taken away from the American people. 

On November 10th, the Supreme Court will hear eight hours of oral debate over the Affordable…

This story was originally published on The Uproar on November 5, 2020.

Strobe lights, fog machines, electric guitars, and friends gather together in a small basement in Bellevue on a Saturday night– eating, drinking, and singing along to their favorite tunes performed by…

Recently, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went on a live streaming website and played a popular video game, “Among Us,” with her “fans” for three hours. The event immediately became a trending…

It’s been two years.

Two long years. It feels like decades.

Two years seems like it would be enough time to heal. For some it has been. For some, these wounds will never heal. 

Two years ago…

This story was originally published on The Uproar on October 26, 2020.

TW: Eating disorders are discussed throughout the following article. 

If it is a day ending in “y”, there is something to be said— that will be said— about the way a woman* looks. 

If beauty…

This story was originally published on The Uproar on October 23, 2020.

Quarantine left us all homebound and binging TV shows, perhaps none more so than deplorable day-time television programs. Between online classes or during the weekdays when there simply seemed to be nothing…

Before he was hired as a North Allegheny custodian, Jay Koval worked on the production team at Pittsburgh’s Club Cafe, a local music venue and longtime hot spot for emerging jazz and indie bands.

“We…

This story was originally published on The Uproar on October 20, 2020.

Anyone who watched the presidential candidates’ town halls on Thursday evening saw two very different programs– one on ABC, where George Stephanopoulos engaged in a somewhat uneventful, mostly polite…

Those of us who have been radicalized by observing or experiencing police brutality and abuse of power have come to view the police through the lens of violence, and there are a few things we have recognized…

With the November election fast approaching, political yard signs can be found on virtually every street and corner. While such signs are a routine occurrence every election year, it’s uncertain whether…

As the cost of college has increased dramatically in the past few decades, students often worry about their ability to pay. While 85% of students in the U.S. receive some sort of financial aid, 2020 has…

Enola Holmes is not your typical mystery movie.  Instead of the genre’s usual male protagonist, Enola leads the narrative as a strong, independent girl with a nontraditional upbringing.  When her mother…

We all saw the flood of black squares on our feeds in June. We’ve all seen the educational infographics on people’s stories. We’ve seen hundreds of links to petitions and people proclaiming, “Why…

We are now sitting in the eighth month of the coronavirus pandemic, and slowly but surely, the world is beginning to recover. Some of the earlier hit countries, such as China and Japan, are entering the…

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was known to many as a trailblazer, a powerhouse, and a feminist icon. To me, as well as countless others, she was also an incredible Jewish role model.

Last Friday, Sept. 18, following…

Since its introduction to the world in the late 1800s, the humble jelly bean has been a notably popular candy. But its best days may lie ahead.

In a real-life version of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the…

Senior year, while famously marked by easy coursework and little responsibility, has one even more defining feature — college applications.

Perhaps the most important decision in the lives of high…

The closer one looks at America in the 21st century, the harder it is to accept that we are, in its truest sense, “the land of the free.”

Ruth Bader Ginsburg knew this better than the rest of us.

…

No one can doubt that North Allegheny is packed with excellent student-athletes. Ranked the top school district for sports in Pennsylvania, NA routinely nurtures young athletes who bring forth state championships…

Do you remember the days when we weren’t concerned about how long a virus could live on a desk? Or the last time you exited a classroom without applying some hand sanitizer? Or when you didn’t feel…

The end of this school year has not been normal by any means. Both students and teachers were forced to quickly adjust to remote learning. For students taking AP exams, the new and shortened online exam…

I was getting ready to sit down yesterday for lunch when the doorbell rang. The last thing I expected to find at my front door was my first-semester Philosophy teacher, Mr. Pirring, wearing a face mask…

Madonna knew the truth when she sang, “We are living in a material world.” It was especially true in the 1980s, when her hit single “Material Girl” was released. It was the decade of the “yuppie,”…

Like many 11th graders this year, junior Will Palicki had a trip scheduled over spring break to tour college campuses. But then the pandemic arrived.

“I have always been pretty stressed about college,”…

No one is having an easy time with quarantine.  But the nationwide chorus of griping over lines outside of grocery stores and the tedium of homebound isolation can drown out a much more serious challenge…

You’re probably reading this in your pajamas.  After all, who’s looking, right?

It’s understandable that fashion would seem irrelevant during this time of self-isolation, but in reality, it is probably…

The economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic is documented daily in the national media, but the wreckage of lost jobs and income is a local story, too. One hometown restaurant, a longtime North Allegheny…

Recently, it was announced that North Allegheny will remain closed for the rest of the school year, along with all other schools in Pennsylvania and many more across the country. While this news elicited…

While we grow accustomed to quarantine and online school, it can be easy for us to complain about our situation. We miss going to school, we are stuck at home all day, and our social lives are taking a…

Even before the widespread emphasis on social distancing and state-suggested quarantines, I was nervous going out in public. But it was for a very different reason than you might expect. I had read about…

Often, we’re not taught how beautiful we are until it’s too late.

From the day I entered elementary school, I was taught all about my body’s physical health. I’ve completed the PACER test more…

The Chinese mainland and the island of Taiwan, to which the Chinese government lays claim, have long had a troubled relationship.  But since the world first learned late last year of a new and deadly…

We are all living in a moment of history right now. Perhaps the biggest pandemic since the Spanish Flu of 1918, COVID-19 is sweeping across the globe, leaving tens of thousands dead at the time of this…

The Coronavirus pandemic is an ever-changing global crisis, and the sheer amount of information (and misinformation) being thrown our way can be profoundly frustrating. However, there’s one thing that…

The New York Times recently suggested that, in an attempt to quell anxiety, people in quarantine should start journaling. It’s a great method of self-expression and, after all, we are living through…

This story was originally published on The Uproar on March 25, 2020.

It’s a familiar situation for many high school students, particularly those who go to competitive schools. You look around the classroom, noting all your peers achieving the extraordinary. You see how…

To view this video on your phone at school, turn off your NA wifi.

This story was originally published on The Uproar on March 13, 2020.

I’ve had my fair share of existential crises: nights spent in bed staring at the ceiling wondering about the significance of my life and contemplating some of life’s most notorious unanswered questions….

Last week, I was mindlessly scrolling through Twitter when I came across a story that physically made my heart ache. I stopped in my tracks as I watched a video of Bobby Ryan, a professional hockey player…