Jocelyn Molina
Roma, Tex.

Illustration by Juliana Kim

If the candidates vying for the Republican Party’s nomination succeeded at anything on the debate floor last Thursday, it was making our party look even more ridiculous — and further damaging our chances for the presidency.

When the top 10 Republican candidates met for the first GOP debate of the 2016 campaign season, a few — such as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Republican and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. — succeeded in getting their points across and in generally seeming reasonable. Most of the others, however, accomplished just the opposite. And it wasn’t only Donald Trump.

It’s a given that Trump, with his polling numbers at an impressive 20 to 24 percent, is damaging to the Republican Party. But many other candidates were no better on Thursday. On the debate floor, Sen. Rand Paul, R-K.Y. utilized much of his speaking time to undermine Trump, saying that he “buys and sells politicians of all stripes.” He later engaged in a heated argument about the Patriot Act with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and yet another with Trump concerning a “single-payer system” for healthcare. Both featured a great deal of yelling. Rather than undermining Trump, Paul only appeared as undesirable as the candidate he was trying to tarnish. Continue reading →

Marsriana Datta
Memphis, Tenn.

Illustration by Samuel Lee

In a recent interview I asked Jerry Price, the senior associate director of athletics and athletic communications at Princeton University, whether he considered cheerleading a sport. This will be my first year as a cheerleader at my high school in Memphis and I am curious about people’s opinions on cheerleading.

Price said that at Princeton, “The cheerleaders are a club, not a varsity sport,” referring to how the school classifies the team for funding. I had never met anyone who does not believe that cheerleading is a sport, but he’s not the only one. Many sports administrators don’t believe that cheerleading is a sport, which can be illustrated by a case in Hartford, Conn.

In 2012, Quinnipiac University made a case at a federal appeals court to consider cheerleading a sport. The court ruled that according to the components of a varsity sport under Title IX, cheerleading doesn’t meet the standards (yet). In the future, cheerleading could be recognized as a varsity sport if it is better organized and creates defined rules. For example, competitive cheerleading does not have a recruitment system or many other teams to compete against. Continue reading →

Jada Fitzpatrick
Queens, N.Y.

Illustration by Jeannie Regidor

I’m proud of the girls who have respect enough not to dress inappropriately and to follow the dress code as the warm weather approaches.”

This is a statement that may sound familiar to many high school students. In fact, this is something my principal said recently.

I did not have an immediate reaction, but as I sat and thought about the words my principal had uttered, my blood began to boil. Respect? It was as if wearing shorts and revealing my belly button equated to a lack of self-respect.

What was even more horrifying was the fact that my guidance counselor said she agreed with my principal’s perspective. She implied that wearing a crop top or similar clothes attracts negative attention and girls who dress inappropriately contribute to the possibility of their rape. She’s a woman, by the way. Continue reading →

Samuel Lee
Fullerton, Calif.

Throughout history, numbers have mystified and haunted humans. For example, Christians have revered the number seven as the “holy number,” and the number 666, associated with Satanism, is known as the “mark of the beast.” Today, however, humans strive toward the numbers 2400, 800, and 36.

Illustration by Marsriana Datta

Whether students are striving for perfect scores on the SAT or the ACT, the obsession with standardized tests has held American higher education captive for nearly a century. Ultimately, this obsession stifles productivity and intellectual growth.

The SAT was first administered in 1926; the ACT followed several decades later, in 1959. Maybe 50 years ago, when American culture was more homogenous — when we all watched the same three channels and subscribed to the same few magazines — standardized tests were a smart way of determining college acceptances. But today, in an increasingly diverse and fast-paced culture, these decades-old tests are less effective at measuring a student’s capabilities. They instill in people a dogmatic mentality that high test scores equate to high success. With a greater emphasis on creative thinking and problem-solving skills — think Silicon Valley vs. General Motors — today’s society has a set of values that differ from the rote memorization of the past. Continue reading →

Misbah Awan
Queens, N.Y.

Mainstream media is a dominant tool of white supremacy. Oftentimes, the media is far more respectful towards white serial killers and mass murderers than unarmed black folks. However, America gets an F when it comes to understanding black political strategy, let alone the value of black life. In the “white imagination,” violence is considered to be highly radical and terrifying.

The media, as we know it, perpetuates this false dichotomy between non-violent protests as being effective and noble and violent protests as being ineffective, immoral, and “bad.” However, violent protests are just as potent as non-violent protests because they help in giving a voice to individuals being misrepresented in mainstream media or underrepresented at large. Continue reading →

Cinthia Leon
Albuquerque, N.M.

It is clear that the comments made by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump about undocumented Mexican immigrants were absolutely racist. What seems unclear is Trump’s lack of understanding on why those comments were offensive — not only to Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, but also to all Latinos. 

Trump announced his candidacy on June 16. That same day, he made his racist remarks, characterizing Mexican immigrants as “drug dealers, rapists, and criminals.” He did not provide any evidence, and he probably didn’t anticipate the consequences of his actions. NBC, Univision, Macy’s and many others proceeded to cut off all ties with him. Continue reading →

Rave’n DaJon Coleman
Philadelphia, Pa.

After the first Republican presidential debate on Aug. 6, Donald Trump is still the talk of the nation. He didn’t sink or rise. Trump was his usual self onstage: controversial, somewhat serious, and hilarious. When Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly questioned Trump about his past comments describing women as “fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals,” he interrupted her by saying, “Only Rosie O’Donnell.” The crowd loved it.

Going into the debate I believed that Trump was a legitimate candidate. Now I have a bolder statement to make: Trump will win the Republican presidential nomination. Continue reading →

Jeannie Regidor
Miami, Fla.

Cuba’s troubled relationship with the United States has been playing out like a bad movie for a long time. It’s been 55 years since 1960, the year America placed a trade embargo on the island, and 56 years since 1961, the year all diplomatic relations ended. Now the plot of the movie has taken a dramatic turn, with President Obama’s July 1 announcement that the U.S. and Cuba are restoring relations with each other. In the wake of the announcement, the Cuban immigrant community in Miami is torn about whether to celebrate — and with good reason, because there are strong arguments on both sides.

Miami’s Cuban community is made up largely of those who have fled the Castro regime over the decades. The regime left many people in poverty, except the very elite, and imprisoned anyone who opposed it. Continue reading →

Doris Rodriguez
Miami, Fla.

We are in the midst of a fight for civil rights. The abrupt killings of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and other unarmed black men have caused mass outrage. This summer, a massacre at a historic black church in Charleston made it clear that there is still much progress to be made. A Confederate flag flying near South Carolina’s capitol also highlighted that despite many advancements, symbols of racism have become ingrained in our everyday lives.

In July, protesters forced South Carolina to remove the flag. But many other streets, libraries, and even our currency, undeservedly honor historical figures that implemented racist policies. If we want to progress as a nation, we shouldn’t stop at removing the Confederate flag — we should reconsider the names of our schools. Continue reading →