Category Archives: Opinion

Finding courage in my mother’s strength

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By Marily Lopez
Los Angeles, Calif.

I woke to the sound of my father’s voice on the phone, whispering, “Marily, take care of your sisters while I’m gone. I love you.” As an eight-year-old in Sleeping Beauty pajamas, I was confused. I fell back asleep thinking I was going to wake up to just another morning of my mom and dad sharing a kiss and laughing about my little sister’s ridiculous bedhead. I thought the next day we would all be eating dinner and giggling about how my mom dropped her dinner plate all over her shirt and our dog licked food off her.

Instead, I woke up, and I saw my sister’s bloodshot eyes. She had cried herself to sleep. Confused, I went into the kitchen, embraced my mom and felt her cold tears on my small shoulders. Suddenly, I realized that this change was permanent. From here on out, it would only be my mom, my two sisters and me. Continue reading →

Dreams inspired by my sister’s struggles

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By Eliana Lanfranco
Brooklyn, N.Y.

Every night, I sit down with my nine-year-old sister at the dining table and help her with her school work. I give her all of my attention and patience, and I make sure that she does her best on all of her assignments. Because she has trouble focusing, I must stay with her from start to finish, which means that I must put my own school work aside. As a result, I usually finish all of my assignments well past midnight.

It isn’t just that I have to help my sister with her homework. I also have to help her deal with the symptoms of her hyperthyroidism, which she was diagnosed with two years ago. This condition makes the thyroid glands produce an excess of thyroxine, causing my sister to have an accelerated metabolism, hot flashes and difficulty sleeping. Often, I must stay awake with her for hours until she falls asleep.

This responsibility falls to me because my mother works until late at night and does not speak English. When I was younger, I resented my mom for leaving this to me: None of my friends had to be like a substitute mother for their siblings, and I envied their freedom and careless manner. But as I grew older, I started to feel ashamed of those feelings. I realized that my mother was working all day so she could pay the bills and everyday expenses. Continue reading →

Leaving the nest and finding myself

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By Angela Kim
Valencia, Calif. 

Growing up, I was encouraged by my parents to “leave the nest” and experience as much as I could, but I was always overwhelmed by how big the world was. I was overwhelmed by the entirety of people, places and experiences the world had to offer, but also nervous about being away from home. So when I was accepted into the Princeton University Summer Journalism Program this spring, I felt ambivalent.

I left Los Angeles with unease, but once I met other students from the program boarding my plane, my apprehension gradually disappeared. I was now shaking with anticipation: I wondered what kind of people I would meet and what the East Coast would be like. Continue reading →

Foie gras a foe to this foodie

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By Saintra Thai
San Bernardino, Calif.

I am a foodie. But I have ethics. And my ethics prevent me from eating foie gras. Being an ethical foodie isn’t always easy, however.

After all, foie gras is considered a delicacy throughout the world. It is widely used in French culinary recipes because of its compatibility with other ingredients. It’s popular practically everywhere, from European bistros to three-star Michelin restaurants in New York. Continue reading →

College is well worth the costs

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Illustration by Justin Park

Illustration by Justin Park

By Razia Sultana
Brooklyn, N.Y.

Parents talk in their seats, teachers fix their robes and students can’t hide their smiles. The venue is strewn with white carnations. A congratulatory arc of balloons acts as the backdrop. The students rise and hold their breath. “By the power vested in me, the Class of 2014 is officially graduated,” says the speaker.

Graduating from college is perhaps the greatest moment in an individuals’ lifetime. So, why are there so many cynics who say that college isn’t worth it? Who ask, “Why spend four years in an institution that doesn’t land you a ‘proper’ job? And why should you spend thousands of dollars if you don’t know what you want to do in college in the first place?” Continue reading →

Teens aren’t fairly portrayed in media

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By Nathan Phan and Sania Syed
Rosemead, Calif. & Los Angeles, Calif.

Drugs, sex, alcohol: the perfect recipe for the party-crazed teenager so prevalent in pop culture. Society has grown so accustomed to this negative image that aspects of what many teenagers actually do — take multiple AP courses, stay inside to study for the SATs and care for their younger siblings — are entirely ignored. In short, the portrait that society has painted of the average teenager is flawed, displaying unrealistic stereotypes that have become too universally accepted. Continue reading →

Education should be unlocked for all

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Illustration by Angela Kim

Illustration by Angela Kim

By Najay Greenidge
Philadelphia, Penn. 

Education is the key that allows people to open doors in life. Yet we as a society deny certain groups access to this key because of their socioeconomic status. In doing so, we stunt the growth of our society by creating people who are destined to fail.

To return the key to success to the lower classes, we as a society should raise the tax rate for the wealthy, and use that money to equalize educational opportunities for people of all backgrounds.

America has long suffered from the ills of segregation, whether it be racial, ethnic, religious or economic. Yet while overt segregation has been become less socially acceptable, the ever-distant pool of elites has been able to perpetuate inequality because the wealthy have vastly better educational opportunities. Continue reading →

Property rights should trump preservation at battlefield

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A couple strolls through the Princeton Battlefield State Park. The Institute for Advanced Study is proposing to build a new site beyond these trees.

A couple strolls through the Princeton Battlefield State Park. The Institute for Advanced Study is proposing to
build a new site beyond these trees.

By Kaygon Finakin
Bronx, N.Y. 

More than two centuries ago, when the roads of Princeton were still unpaved, the town was the scene of a small but important battle in the American Revolutionary War. But for the past 11 years, a different type of conflict has been playing out — one that should finally come to an end.

Like many long-running disputes, the details are complicated. In essence, the Institute for Advanced Study wants to build housing on a 22-acre plot of land that it owns near the Princeton Battlefield State Park. But the Princeton Battlefield Society (PBS) — an organization created in 1971 for the purpose of preserving the battlefield — opposes those plans, arguing that the land is sacred ground that should not be tainted by construction or development.

This disagreement has gone on long enough. The land belongs to the Institute, and the Institute should be able to develop that land as it sees fit. Continue reading →

Cheerleaders underpaid and underappreciated

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By Jodi Sterling
New York, N.Y. 

When I went to my first football game last week at the Meadowlands, it wasn’t the quarterback rivalries or the roaring crowds that captured my attention. It was the New York Jets Flight Crew cheerleaders.

Their outfits reminded me of the waitress uniforms at Hooters. Well, just with less clothing.

The women wore a white sports bra that contained a long v-neck revealing a golden bra — and cleavage, of course. Continue reading →

GMO foods should be labeled

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JieYingMeiBy Jie Ying Mei
Queens, N.Y.

The tomato is a simple fruit that is eaten by millions of Americans every year. So what’s the problem?

The problem is that you may have no way of knowing what has gone into that tomato you’re eating. Some tomatoes have been genetically modified to improve taste, delay ripening, tolerate pests and extreme climates.

GMO foods have become increasingly common in agriculture, with the rise of companies like Monsanto. According to the Center for Food Safety (CFS), 64 countries require labeling of genetically engineered foods through consumer “right-to-know” laws.

Continue reading →