General Editorials

Is Social Media really our best friend, or our enemy?

Published 3/22/19

If you would agree in saying that social media is your best friend, think again. With the way social media has changed over the course of time, I wouldn’t call it our friend. Social media has caused a decrease in literacy, damaged reputations, and distracts you from family time.

Students are losing their interest in reading, instead they would rather be on social media posting videos of themselves or checking to see the latest gossip or fight videos. But, what exactly is social media teaching you? Is it teaching us how to become future leaders, or to become couch potatoes? Due to the growth of social media, literary abilities have decreased tremendously and leads to our students having low test scores and low reading levels. Instead of reading a story from your phone screen, try reading a physical book. That would help you actually learn something because it expands your attention span, often includes more authentic sources, and also builds a better vocabulary which helps students on do well on test scores.

Also, the media has damaged reputations using past posts on social media, even if it was something posted years ago. It has led to people losing their jobs, college offers, and controversy. Comedian Kevin Hart declined hosting the Oscars due to a homophobic comment he posted on Twitter in 2011. The tweet read "Yo if my son comes home & try's 2 play with my daughters doll house I'm going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice 'stop that's gay.”

Nowadays when searching for a job or applying to colleges, bosses and college recruiters can check all your social media outlets by just typing your name, allowing them to see all the things you post. People have been turned down and even fired for posting certain things on social media that their employer did not want to represent their company.

Lastly, social media creates a lack of privacy. People don’t have privacy anymore because everything people do with their family is posted on social media. Everyone has the ability to know everyone’s business or what everyone does at the moment, and whenever people add their location onto their pictures, people can find out where they are just from their geotag. This results with in lack of privacy because everything is more documented to the world as a whole instead of being appreciated in the moment.

In conclusion, social media, can be a good thing but, it also can be a bad thing because it can cause a decrease in literacy, damage reputations, and distract you from family time. If you take one thing from this essay, remember this: be careful on how you post on social media or present yourself.

By Brianna Singleton-Phillips

Misconceptions of being a teenage mother

Published 2/11/19

Teen pregnancy has been broadcasted through the lens of television with outlandish series such as ¨Teen Mom¨ and dramatic romances such as ¨Juno¨. The ignorance that expelled from individuals who have never been a teen mother, or father is almost repulsing. From my very own perspective, individuals pick and choose who they believe are capable of reproducing and somehow, I am always chosen last. When I was pregnant, I continued to keep myself enrolled in school until my due date. Multiple people from a vary of ages asked me ¨Do you have stomach tumor?” or was I bearing the child for someone? I pondered why I had to tell people multiple times that I was indeed pregnant and the child was meant to be kept by me. Later on I figured that I did not conform to the stereotypes that teen mothers have labeled on ourselves and individuals did not know how to cope with that.

A common stereotype that young mothers have to undergo include not amounting to anything. Many young mothers choose to become homeschooled and stop going to school to tend to their children... However, there is nothing to be said to those individuals who leave to go to school every morning after feeding their baby. Having to undergo the duration of the day with swollen breasts filled with milk seeping through the breast pad, however intended to last the whole day. A young mother who only has a week to heal and stay with their child because being behind in school is their biggest fear. What about the young mothers who have to be away from their children for eight hours at a time? The stereotype that young mothers do not care about their education is grossly invalid at least in my case. I will be attending University of South Carolina - Columbia in the fall semester of 2019, and I owe that to breaking through stereotypes. In fact, I live by the motto: ¨Anything you can do, moms can do better.¨ Amounting to nothing has nothing to do with being a mother, but everything to do with the mother herself.

People also believe that young mothers are too young to care about their babies. The age of woman has nothing to do with the love she has for her child. Being told that, ¨You´re too young to know what love is¨ has left a bad taste in my mouth. When my son was born, I shed tears of overwhelming happiness because I had never felt unconditional love for someone. The love I have for my child is untainted and pure just as the child is. There is no way that someone can tell me that I do not care about my child because there is nothing that I would not do for my child. Age has nothing to do with love, but experience has everything to do with wisdom.

The biggest stereotype of teen mothers is that they await a handout from the government or their parents. Oh! How I wish I would allow myself to be so dependent anyone for child, only problem is... I am the one responsible for my child. Therefore, I attend school everyday, and I also have a job five days of the week. I work for the betterment of my child. I am able to buy my son the clothes that he deserves and make sure they he has anything and everything I had as a child. I saved enough money, so that I could buy myself a car, so no one had to take my son and myself anywhere.

You cannot believe everything that you see on television. Breaking stereotypes begins dialogue to change others perspectives which ultimately takes time and consistency.

By Brianna Simmons

The end of bullying

Published 1/31/19

The bullying that takes place during and outside of schools is being overlooked. For example, imagine that you are sitting in a classroom. You look up from your classwork, you notice kids looking back at you laughing because of a photo that was posted on social media that you didn’t know about. In that very moment, you are being bullied, not only by the peers that are in class with you, but also by those who posted the picture on social media. As you leave the classroom, you hope the giggles are over. As you enter the hallways, kids are calling you all types of names and you have no clue why. This behavior is witnessed by not only other peers, but teachers who brush it off as 'kids being kids' instead of addressing the issue in a more aggressive manner.

Bullying is the unwanted aggressive behavior from other students. Many kids suffer from cyber-bullying because, in this era, kids have access to electronic devices that allow them to bully through technology. All the social media that is commonly used amongst the young generation allows the capability of posting videos in which others can tease their peers, participate in name calling, and send threatening messages to get likes to intimidate an individual. As a society, we must pull together and fix the things that are in our control to help stop cyber bullying.

We as a whole have made it easy for bullying to take place in our homes, schools, and in our communities. In our homes, we can instill in our children that it’s okay to let an adult know that someone is bothering you and how important it is to let someone know it’s uncomfortable. These simple things are the soil that helps the roots of our children to grow into better individuals.

We witness bullying and don’t do anything about it. Bullying is the little cruel comments we make to people, that we think are cute and funny. We watch people post and say mean things about other and don’t say or do anything about it. We stand by and watch kids, especially teen girls, get sexually harassed and don’t say anything at all. Teens get bullied more only because we watch and don’t speak up. We think it’s cute to bully people,but we swear that we are against bullying. Yet we still do it and don’t even know it. Put an end to bullying it wrong, cruel and unwanted behavior.

By Shireanna Tyler

The truth behind teen suicide

published 5/8/2018

You may hear different articles talk about suicide and signs to look out for. But what they don’t understand is that many people can hide their true feelings really well. I was one of those people.

When I was 13, I was diagnosed with depression and also severe mood disorder. No one knew how I felt; no one knew what was going through my head…they still don’t. So one day I started cutting my whole left side arm, my parents then got me checked into baptist hospital. Many people say watch out for signs,but the truth is there are no signs.

When I was depressed I showed no signs. I would hide behind a laugh and smile,something that has become a habit. I didn’t like to open up to people,so the only way for me to speak was to write poetry. I felt trapped in my head…in my own head. I felt like I was fighting In a life long battle. And of course no one knew that because, I didn’t let them see that side of me.

Yes, I am still depressed. But not as much as I used to be. When I was 16, I was admitted back into the hospital,because I attempted a overdose. The ambulance had to come pick me up.

If you were to hang around me, and look at me, you would never know what I was thinking and you’d never know how I was feeling unless I told you. I have a very mild emotion so it’s really really hard to figure me out. My parents literally have to ask me what’s wrong if they feel something is off. So when I’m around my family I act happy and extra goofy to hide what i’m really thinking and feeling.

Till this day they still don’t know that about me. This is why I don’t agree with articles online about teen suicide because truthfully you can’t tell. Like you’re not going to see or hear a teen or child going around saying ‘I wanna die’. Because they don’t want that attention,they don’t want anyone to stop them.

I know how those people who were depressed felt, I know why they wanted to commit suicide,because they felt shut out and alone. I felt alone,I felt mistreated even when I wasn’t but by the people. No one can heal from depression,but yes they can be helped.

If you are trying to tell parents,teachers,and friends to watch out for signs, you are sadly mistaken and you’re missing one big problem…you’ll never find a sign.

What you can do is make sure you are talking to your child, that is the biggest job for the parents. Parents need to make sure that they do what my parents do with me, make sure that they don’t isolate themselves from everyone else, and make sure that you talk to your child as much as possible ask them what’s going on at school or, how are people treating you. Ask them no matter how aggravated they may get still, talk to them because this can make a huge difference and this can show them that even though people in the real world may treat you bad , you still have a loving caring family to come home to.

Now the next question is, what do they do when they don’t have a loving family to come home to,and is getting mistreated by kids at school or anywhere else for that matter? It is then up to the guidance counselors or therapist to be they’re next step. Make it know to them that if they are going through something at home and don’t know who else to talk to, go to a counselor and get some kind of help because that to can make a huge difference.

I truly believe that the people who take their lives don’t really want to die, but they feel that it is they’re only way out because they don’t have a way to escape and they feel death is the only way. Don’t let death be their only way.

By Shanece Adams

When the system fails

published 4/25/2018

From the time we were young children, we have been told to call 911 in case of an emergency. We’ve been told to say what happened and to know where we are, so we can get help. But what happens if help doesn’t come? This became a very real for the late Kyle Plush, 16.

Plush was a sophomore at Seven Hills School in Cincinnati Ohio. On April 10, he suffocated in his minivan after a third-row seat malfunctioned, pinning him against the floor. He was parked in his school parking lot, where he was later found by his father.

It was found out, later, that Plush had made two calls to 911 while trapped in the car. He used the Apple voice command app, Siri, to make the calls as his phone was out of reach. In the first call, he was unable to communicate well with the operator because he couldn’t hear her.

After the first call, two police officers were dispatched to Seven Hills School. According to authorities, the officers were on foot searching for a woman in a van in some sort of trouble. The officers left the school after being unable to find anything.

While the two officers were at the school, 911 received another call from Plush, this time detailing the color and make of his car. This information was never relayed to the officers on site.

At the time, Plush’s mother had filed a missing person’s report when her son didn’t come home after practice. Her husband left to search for their son at the school, where he found their son dead in his van.

The 911 operator on duty was suspended until she was allowed to return to work on Wednesday, April 18.

The story of Kyle Plush’s death is one of the system completely failing someone in need. There were several steps that could have been taken to save his life that were just not taken. Plush’s school was not contacted by the police after he made his emergency call. There was a missing persons report made by Plush’s mother at the time that was not followed through. There were only two police officers on scene, who were supposedly on foot. The officers on scene were not informed of the contents of the second phone call made by Plush.

If any of these steps had been taken, the chances of Plush surviving increases.

This isn’t the first time 911 has failed someone in need. This isn’t even the first time this 911 dispatch office had failed someone. This is a huge problem, and something needs to be done about it.

It’s a heartbreaking thought to imagine a child doing exactly what they were supposed to do, only to have the system completely let them down. This should something that never should have happened, and definitely should never happen again. Whether this means changing how the system works period, or changing how this one office works, I can’t say. But I do know that there does need to be some sort of change to prevent another disaster like this one.

By Adrien Trippany

Teen violence in high schools

published 3/15/2018

As most of the well-informed public is aware, violence among teenagers in high school has always been a problem within the educational institutions. Whether hormones are to blame, or it be simple human emotions; it is essential that all students feel they are in a safe and healthy environment when they are away from home and especially at school.

Despite the fact that most students do not condone some of their fellow classmates violent behavior, adults are often quick to blame the youth, believing all teenagers are prone to getting into physical confrontation at some point during their high school careers.

To instill the credibility of the general high school student population, students offered their own perspectives on teen violence in educational institutions.

Keyonna Hampton, a senior member of the Bio-Allied Magnet Program at Ridge View commented, “Fighting in schools is just going to far. Students just need to settle their differences outside of school. It would save their school from the embarrassment fighting would cause.”

This is the popular opinion among most high school students, however it does not get any publicity because the public is amused by violence, especially in real a life scenario. Violence sells, it always has; therefore, it shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone when they see the latest blood-shed from a neighboring high school being posted online via social media, and occasionally, even on their local or national news station. The majority of the public may be entertained by these foolish acts of rage; however, there are some people who want schools to start doing something to prevent it.

High schools across the United States usually expel both parties involved in any sort of physical confrontation; however; very few do anything to prevent the situation from happening.

When asked her opinion on why students resort to violence, Gabriella Hewitt, another senior member in the Scholar’s Academy Magnet Program stated, “They haven’t been taught healthy anger management skills.”

Most educators, parents, and well-informed students would agree with Ms. Hewitt’s statement, as it addresses the much needed education for students to control their anger. Most children have been exposed to television which in some way, shape, or form promotes resorting to violence when one becomes angry.

To ensure that students are fully aware that violent behavior will not be permitted or tolerated in an educational space, schools need to teach students basic anger management skills, which would hopefully decrease the number of physical confrontations within high schools, provide students with an outlet for their aggression, and end the stereotypes which are produced from them.

By Caitlin Brewer

The rise of “empty threats”

published 3/8/2018

If you’re a student, teacher, or parent of a student, then you’ve undoubtedly heard about some sort of threat someone has made towards your school. Bomb threats, threats of shooting students and teachers, and everything in between, have all been happening at a very frequent rate, but almost always there is no incident after the threat. This phenomena has been happening all over the country, not just here in our district.

With the rapid increase of these “false threats,” how should students, teachers, parents, and school administration react to threats? If a student says that they’re going to “blow up the school” should they ignore it and assume it was some sort of joke, or should they assume that the student is planning on carrying out that threat? These questions are ones that people have been asking themselves, and the opinions on this are all over.

Some people, such as Sean Gary, a freshman at Ridge View, believe that any threat made by a student should be treated as serious. “I think, especially with how many school shootings there have been lately, we need to treat all threats seriously,” he said. “You just never know.”

Mallory Mullen, teacher at Ridge View High School, agrees with this. “It’s like the boy who cried wolf. The one time you don’t take a threat seriously, it’ll be the one that’s real.”

On the other side, however, some believe that giving students who make threats a large amount of attention only makes the problem worse. In an age of social media, it’s only a matter of hours before an entire school gets caught in the paranoia of any threat. Shia Cyprian, another Ridge View student, shares this opinion. “It’ll just make people who want attention say things like that,” he says. “One minute they’re nobody, and the next the whole community is talking about them.”

School shootings and other attacks are a very real threat here in America, there’s no doubting this. As of this year, there have been ten gun related incidents in schools that resulted in deaths in 2018. One of the most recent of which was the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that took place on February 14, 2018, in which a former student went to the school and killed 17 people. The latest shooting happened on February 20, when a 13-year-old Ohio boy shot and killed himself in his school’s bathroom.

With this threat as well as the almost constant flow of “fake” threats in schools, it’s hard to know what to do. In our area alone, there have been at least five reported school shooting threats since the Stoneman Douglas incident. This is something that our country and our community needs to come together to solve and soon.

By Adrien Trippany