Captain Marvel Analysis: Are Skrulls Taking Your Jobs?
By Riley Hull, Sage Creek High School
April 30, 2019
Disclaimer: This article in its analysis of the movie contains spoilers of the plot, so if you plan on seeing it, perhaps wait to read this article until afterward. This year’s smash hit of “Captain Marvel” is not only breaking records, passing fan favorite “Spiderman: Homecoming” in sal...
CHS Students React to College Admissions Scandal
By Kidan Williams, Clarksburg High School
April 2, 2019
The recent college admissions scandal has stirred up a lot of emotions especially with high school and college students. Celebrities such as actress Lori Loughlin, known for her role as Aunt Becky on the popular show Full House, paid for her daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose, to be accept...
Opinion: The college admissions scandal is unfair, but not unexpected
By Alex Janoff, Wayland High School
April 2, 2019
For many high school students across the country, the college admissions journey is a time-consuming and stressful process in which students set themselves up in the best way possible to market themselves to top colleges. For a select wealthy few, however, guaranteed admission to a prestigious university...
Student, teacher perspectives on the college admissions scandal
By Lauren Shields, Foothill Technology High School
April 2, 2019
The college admissions scandal that was uncovered in mid-March of 2019 highlights the one major injustice in the process of college admissions: the fact that fraud, bribery and cheating give the wealthy an advantage. The method that wealthy parents used to guarantee their child’s admittance in...
Column: College admission scandal steals opportunities, reveals superficiality of higher education
By Maggie Del Re, Algonquin Regional High School
March 27, 2019
Over 50 people were indicted by federal officials on Tuesday, March 12. These people won’t be on trial for stealing money. In fact, they’re being arrested for doing quite the opposite: these were wealthy people spending exorbitant amounts of money to ensure their children admission into selective...
Column: Rich People Pave the Way for Their Kids College Admissions. Are we Surprised?
By Fabian Mendoza, Godinez Fundamental High School
March 27, 2019
Parents try their hardest to make their children happy, often times at the expense of others. On March 12, 2019, federal prosecutors released information that uncovered a bribery plot where rich and successful parents were bribing colleges for a guaranteed admission for their children. William Singer,...
‘I honestly wasn’t surprised’: Archer reacts to college admissions scheme
By Emma London and Liz Haltrecht
March 26, 2019
In an affidavit released on March 12, 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigations [FBI] indicted 50 people of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. The FBI titled this case "Operation Varsity Blues." Fraudulent acts ranged from doctoring images of students playing sports to che...
Students, teachers frustrated over alleged college admissions bribery scandal
By Anna Yuan, Walt Whitman High School
March 26, 2019
When senior Evin McDonald, who is committed to play tennis at the University of Texas at Austin, found out that his college coach was set to be prosecuted for accepting an approximately $100,000 bribe in a college admissions scheme, he was stunned. “I was just in complete shock,” McDonald said....
Column: Cheap Cheats and Expensive Bribes
By Jonathan Ross, North Allegheny Senior High School
March 20, 2019
I think it is safe to say that a majority of students in our school have, at some point during their academic careers, cheated, finessed, conned, bluffed, or otherwise bamboozled their way to a grade that was better than what they likely deserved. I myself am included in this—we have all felt the all-too-prevalent...
Stressed for success
By Savannah Dupper, Cathedral Catholic High School
March 20, 2019
Fluorescent lights beam down upon the nervous students, their pencils moving frantically as they bubble in answers, each hoping to achieve a higher score than their counterparts. The Scholastic Aptitude Test and American College Testing, culprits of this stressful environment, recently made headlines...
What would keep you from going to the college of your dreams?
By Edgar Hernandez, Middle College High School @ Santa Ana College
March 20, 2019
It’s that time of year for high school seniors to be consumed with anxiety and stress as colleges will begin to send out both their acceptance and rejection letters. According to the College Parent Center, these times are one of the most stressful for high school seniors. Not only do they experience...
The Scoop on the College Bribery Scandal
By Noelia Arteaga, Woodside High School
March 20, 2019
Fifty people were charged in a thread of college bribery scandals unveiled on Tuesday, involving some of television's top-name Hollywood actors. Many top schools including Yale, University of Southern California (USC), and Stanford have been involved in the bribery, and 750 families benefited from...
Column: Hard work pays off, but money does too
By Sophie Stephens, West High School
March 20, 2019
One of the most cliché pieces of advice we’ve all heard growing up is that hard work pays off. For the most part, this has proven to be true. Take the “miracle stories” of people working their way from the lower-class to making millions because of their dedication and ability to push themselves...
$1.2 million gets you into Yale? Students aren’t surprised
By Noah Raaum, St. Paul Academy and Summit School
March 20, 2019
Students at St. Paul Academy and Summit School are all too familiar with the many facets of a college application: test scores, academic records, references and essays. None of these, however, guarantee a student’s admission to top universities. A recent criminal indictment makes it abundantly clear that there is a foolproof way of getting kids into big-name schools like Yale, Stanfo...
Shutdowns in space: What Mars rovers and NASA scientists have in common
By Nicki Rosenberg, The Archer School for Girls
February 21, 2019
After 15 years of exploring the red planet, the Mars Opportunity rover died Feb. 12. After the rover team's attempt to contact it on Tuesday was unanswered, NASA shut down Opportunity's mission. This, however, was not the only shutdown NASA was concerned about this week. The government agency was facing another...
Longest-ever government shutdown affects local citizens
By Alexa Davis, Freedom Area Middle School
February 12, 2019
On Friday, Jan. 25, President Donald Trump signed a bill to reopen the government for three weeks after a 35-day shutdown. A partial government shutdown started in the United States on Dec. 21, 2018. A partial shutdown is the result when Congress fails to pass a budget for the country. When a shutdown...
Low Country businesses and organizations step in to provide for furloughed workers
By Ryan Okpych, Summerville High School
February 8, 2019
As the government shutdown continues into its 35th day, many Low Country restaurants and stores have begun to provide for workers affected by the shutdown, such as those working at the Charleston International Airport with TSA. “To the many businesses and individuals in the greater Charleston community...
Longest Government Shutdown in U.S History
By Tonia Bloomingberg, Klein Cain High School
February 8, 2019
Throughout the nation, January brought an abounding amount of stress to federal employees and contractors. Over 1.8 million Americans were denied pay and left out of work, 1 million of which are contractors who will not be seeing back pay. After rewriting history by setting a new record for the longest...
No Budget, More Problems
By DJ McInturff, Herrin High School
February 7, 2019
Complete economic free fall, the closure of schools, the unemployed forming into unimaginably long breadlines, violence in the streets, an entire country in disarray-- these might be some of the images that come to mind when you hear the words “government shutdown” in every headline on every news...
Federal employee describes government shutdown hardships
By Zoe Alvarez, Vidal M. Trevino School of Communications and Fine Arts
January 31, 2019
The name have been changed to protect this federal employee’s identity Robert Matthews is one of the 800,000 employees who had been affected by the government shutdown. He had little concern when he first heard of the shutdown as he has been through several. “I really did not give much thought...
The Bug: 2018-2019 government shutdown is making history
By Justyne Bernal, Vidal M. Trevino School of Communications and Fine Arts
January 31, 2019
The issue to shut down the government was stalled by Congress on December 5, 2018, meaning that federal employees would still receive a paycheck. However, after fighting towards no shutdown the fight was lost after 16 days. On December 22, 2018, President Donald Trump shifted the lifestyle of government...
Students show growing dismay after month-long government shutdown
By Noah Raaum, St. Paul Academy and Summit School
January 31, 2019
One month in Martin Luther King Jr. Day—a day of celebration, service and progress—marked the 32nd of the longest government shutdown in United States history. Over the course of a month, numerous federal services have gone dormant, half a million federal workers have lost their wages, and Congr...
Sophomore shares his government shutdown experience
By Zoe Alvarez, Vidal M. Trevino School of Communications and Fine Arts
January 29, 2019
Esteban Rocha is one of the many children of federal employees who are being affected by the shutdown. He is a sophomore VMT creative writing student. Like many others, he did not anticipate the length of this government shutdown; he assumed it would last a couple of days. Little did he know it would...
What the government shutdown means for Coppell
By Nicolas Reyes, Coppell High School
January 29, 2019
Uncle Sam has been tagged by a kid named Government Polarization in a game of freeze tag that affects every American. As Washington D.C stands still, the rest of the nation is teeming with uncertainty. About 800,000 federal workers are not being paid; 500,000 of them are being forced to work regardless....
Affecting the masses: South Forsyth families and how they deal with the government shutdown
By Kate Haas, South Forsyth High School
January 28, 2019
Since December 27th, the United States government has been in a government shutdown, leaving thousands of government employees unpaid but still required to go to work. Employees have now missed two paychecks, which is taking a toll on families across America. Before working for the government, future...
Dance student explains family’s government shutdown challenges
By Zoe Alvarez, Vidal M. Trevino School of Communications and Fine Arts
January 28, 2019
Krista Lopez is one of the 800,000 federal employees’ children who is currently dealing with the effects of the shutdown. She is a sophomore VMT dance student. She described her feelings as concern and confusion when she first heard about the government shutdown on December 22, 2018. Her parents...
Not Shut Out by Shutdown
By Jordan Doss, Clarksburg High School
January 28, 2019
Due to a disagreement between the democratic and republican party, the United States government went into a shutdown December 22. Trump requested $5.7 billion for the development of the wall between the US and Mexico, but the Democrats denied his plea. The following day the shutdown began and is currently...
Federal shutdown causes local pain
By Charlotte Spears, Henry. W. Grady High School
January 28, 2019
For 35 days, one fourth of the federal government has been shutdown due to a dispute between Congress and the President over a spending bill allocating money to build a southern U.S. border wall. The now longest-running partial government shutdown is tightening its grip on the 800,000 employees impacted. ...
Furlough frenzy: Government shutdown impacts Whitman community
By Zara Ali, Walt Whitman High School
January 24, 2019
The current government shutdown—now in its 30th day—is the longest in U.S history. The shutdown has kept around 800,000 federal employees from receiving pay, including many parents in the Whitman community. In an informal survey of five classes, twelve students said at least one of their parents ...
Government shutdown jeopardizes Big Bend trip
By Sophie Gillard, St. John's School
January 24, 2019
Additional reporting by Ashley Yen As the partial government shutdown finishes day 29 with no end in sight, the eighth grade Big Bend trip is threatened by Congressional inaction. For the first time in 41 years, students may not have the opportunity to camp for a week in Texas’ best-known nation...