Archives for December 2016

An unfortunate part of American history is our dark side, a side where we stray from our foundations of “all men are created equal.” From slavery to Japanese internment camps to deportation of Latin Americans, minority racial groups have been repeatedly targeted and looked down upon not just by the white majority, but the American people as a whole. Perhaps, the most notable of these infractions is one of the first, the relocation of Native Americans.

 

Proposed by Andrew Jackson and approved by Congress in 1830, the Indian Removal Act forced Native Americans onto designated land in the Midwest called reservations. Since then, many Native Americans have had to adjust to new living conditions and lifestyle.

 

Now, once again the government is paying complete disregard to Native American’s with the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The 1,172 mile pipeline would begin at the Bakken Formation, an underground oil source in parts of Montana and North Dakota and run through South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois. After its completion, the pipeline would deliver over 470,000 barrels of oil per day. The downside? The pipeline would put the environment at great risk, possibly contaminating the Missouri River water supply and disturbing historical territory belonging to various Native American tribes.

By failing to reconsider the Dakota Access Pipeline, the United States government is not only disrespecting the Native American community, but is also showing its lack of support for finding eco-friendly alternative energy sources. Although this oil deposit is a great economic boost, we have to remember that these resources are finite. It is a shame that our government is prioritizing economic gain rather than the well being of the American people. With global warming and air quality concerns on the rise, it is our responsibility to take action and protect our environment.

Instead of investing money into a project that eventually will be abandoned when natural resources become deplenished, the government should be investing in projects that can last forever. Natural gas and solar energy are cleaner options for our future.

Continuing the Dakota Access Pipeline will destroy the Native American community, their culture, their home, and their heritage. If their home is destroyed, then what is to stop the government from destroying ours too? The construction of the pipeline must be terminated not just for the safety of the Native American tribes who live there, but for our planet as a whole.

Were you ever scared you’d be the last one picked for a game of dodgeball in your high school gym class?

A couple of high schools around New York City show how there is a clear division between race when picking teams for school sports.

During a game of dodgeball at the Institute for Collaborative Education, the gym teacher picked one white girl and one white boy as the team captains. Both started picking people to be on their teams. Out of a class of sixty five kids, 15 percent are black, 30 percent asian, 5 percent mixed, and 50 percent white.

While watching this game of dodgeball, the team captains picked white kids, most specifically white males, first than any other race.

“I usually don’t think about it too much. I just pick who I think will make me win,” one of the team captains said. Many kids acted like this was normal.

At two other dodgeball games the next few days, the same thing happened. Most of the time, the white captain would pick a white kid first.

A couple of 11th grade black girls who were part of the game, said they began noticing that they were usually the last one picked as they got older. “When we were in 9th grade we would play all the time, but now we never get picked! None of them white boys want to pick us,” one said.

During one of the dodgeball games, as the kids were playing, it also became apparent that most white kids were trying to hit the black kids on the opposing team, more than the other white kids.

Talking to some teachers about whether or not there was a race divide in their classrooms, most of them said there was. “I think it’s hard to see that there is because it is so internalized. We live in such a segregated society, especially in America,” a humanities teacher said.

“Kids are taught at such a young age, to play with their biological race. This is a bi-product of the segregation in communities, schools and neighborhoods,” a professor at NYU said. A couple students exhibited this during an interview. “Yeah I gotta say like all my friends are black. I mean I got a few white boys in my class and we joke around a lot.” A black boy in the 9th grade said.

A recent article published by the New School, reported that in New York City 332 of the city’s 734 neighborhood elementary schools have enrollments that are more than 90 percent black and Latino. Most of these are in neighborhoods that are also predominantly black and Latino. They found 59 schools with enrollments of more than 90 percent black and Latino students in neighborhoods that are more racially mixed, that is, neighborhoods that are less than 80 percent black and Latino. These schools have a combined enrollment of 28,175 children.

“Our analysis found the sharpest discrepancies between the demographics of schools and their attendance zones in District 3 on the Upper West Side, District 5 in Harlem, and District 13 in downtown Brooklyn—neighborhoods which have undergone gentrification and where public housing sometimes abuts luxury high-rise apartment buildings or high-priced brownstones,”the report said.

From a dodgeball game to housing projects to schools and the education system, people all over NYC have been remarking about this internalized segregation. “We need to integrate everyone of all races, genders, orientation. That’s how this segregation ends,” the NYU professor said.

“I always keep two masks ready, I show the defensive side, hiding my true self. I hide myself completely, as if I’ve become a criminal; I could not take one step out of the dorm that seemed like a prison.”

Although these words are said in Korean, the meaning in English is the same. There are more lines like this in Min Yoongi’s very first, powerful mixtape, Agust D.

Min Yoongi, stage name Suga, is a 23-year-old South Korean rapper. He is one of the rappers for the popular seven-member boy group Bangtan Boys (BTS). The group’s genre is K-pop, otherwise known as Korean pop music. Their good looks, strong vocals and unique musical style have reached the hearts of people worldwide.

After the release of his fellow member Rap Monster’s mixtape, RM, in March last year, Suga released one of his own this past August. Its tracks contain Suga’s best rapping yet.

The name of the mixtape is also its title track, and it opens Suga’s story with a strong drum beat. The chorus incorporates a catchy repetition of the title. Suga also shows his creativeness in that the title of the track is a rearrangement of his stage name.

As a whole, the mixtape represents Suga’s unique artistry, compared to the youthful songs he performs with his group. His personality shines through the tracks, with the fast-paced, dark and almost angry way he raps. For example, his song “The Last” is his most aggressive and personal piece, where he talks about how he has struggled with the price of success and defining himself. “On the dark side of a successful idol rapper, my frail self stands, a bit dangerous; depression, compulsion, at times relapse.” His lyrics often shift in emotion from depressed, to hateful, to brazen. The flow of music from the keyboard, electric guitar, synthesizer and other effects connects to the lyrics as well.

Another important track is “140503 at Dawn,” which is a sort of prologue to “The Last” in which he attacks the idea of having a true self and a fake self, something most people can relate to. The rawness of his rapping touches the hearts of many, even people who do not speak Korean. His unique, soulful melodies break through the language barrier between Korean and other languages.

When most of Suga’s songs are this hard-hitting, it is easy to be surprised at his last two tracks. “Interlude; Dream, Reality” is a piano tune with a water drop effect, followed by soft drums. This is a calming song, and Suga only says the word “dream” in this minute-long song. This signifies that being able to dream and have hope is important to him.

His final track, “So Far Away,” is accompanied by female Korean singer Suran. The piano, with the electric guitar accompaniment, gives the song a desolate and desperate feel, but also somewhat hopeful. Suga’s rapping is mellow, and it matches well with Suran’s airy falsetto.

The song is about how Suga longs to dream and believes that something good will happen. Although he expresses loneliness and believes he has no one to go to when he feels anger or sadness, he includes lyrics of optimism and hope.

This choice makes the song a fitting ending to a deeply emotional mixtape, especially with the lines, “You will fully bloom after all the hardships, your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.” With these words, along with his skillful rapping and musical rhythm, Suga has created an emotional and impactful mixtape.

Sleep is one thing teenagers can all agree that they find valuable. New studies have found that school should start later because adolescents need a sufficient amount of sleep to function.

You may think teens just need to go to bed earlier, but according to The Sacramento Bee, “research also shows that it’s difficult for children, especially teenagers, to fall asleep before 11 p.m.” This is why starting school at a later time makes sense.

My English teacher, Ms. Drabman, used to work at a school that began at 10 a.m. “Everyone was happier all around,” exclaimed Ms. Drabman. Because she was happier she exhibited more energy, which her students absorbed.

Now that she is in a school that begins at 8:00 am, she notices a difference in energy. Everybody appears more tired, making it harder to get the attention of her students and teach effectively.

Not only would starting school later benefit the students, but it would save schools money. According to the Los Angeles Times, In states such as California where state funding for schools is tied to attendance, it follows that later start times could translate into extra dollars because the attendance rate would be higher.

In addition to saving money, standardized test scores and grades of students increase when school days start later. The lowest scoring students have seen the biggest increase. However, despite all of the benefits of starting later, it means the school day would finish later. A later day would cut into extracurricular activities and sports.

These activities would not start later because of regulations of keeping students out too late, but instead students would miss their classes at the end of the day. Although this presents a new issue, the less sleep student athletes get, the more likely they are to get injured.

Starting school at a later time benefits their health, as well. With the stress teens undergo with the pressure of school, not enough sleep puts them at a high risk of depression and drug abuse.

Sleep deprivation is never positive when it comes to health and learning. Therefore, starting school even just an hour later could make all the difference in a student’s character.