Opinion

By Zachary Huey

In the modern age, we have witnessed more breakthroughs in transportation in the past decade than our predecessors have in a century. Back then, we could only imagine stepping into a vehicle late at night, and trusting a computer to navigate you back home. Now, for the students of today, this scenario is quickly becoming the preferred over traditional rideshares like Uber. 

With the debate of the reliability of self-driving cars growing, a truly distinct point of view has emerged among students: self-driving cars are not a gamble on a rider’s safety, but rather a safer and more reliable alternative to traditional rideshares.

The most prevalent reason for this opinion is the absence of the most dangerous part of driving; human error. While an Uber driver may wage a war against exhaustion from lengthy shifts, struggle with unfamiliar routes, and the ever constant lapses in attention from checking the GPS, autonomous vehicles operate with smooth efficiency. Instead they deliver the ever-consistent performance of efficiently getting you to your destination minus the potential hassle/hazard present with a human driver.

For students needing to get home, the choice really boils down to a consistent or uncertain ride. Self driving vehicles won’t usually be held back by factors that would contribute to human error, such as road rage, drunkenness taking the wheel, or being constantly distracted by texts. This would logically make autonomous vehicles a far more reliable method of transport against the potential unpredictability of human drivers. 

This preference for autonomous transport is not just a comfort-driven trend ; it has increasingly been validated by collected data. Independent safety assessments, including a landmark study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), reveal that industry leaders like Waymo have achieved a 68% lower police-reportable crash rate than human drivers across major test markets. 

Even more startling was the disparity in severity; autonomous fleets have logged hundreds of millions of driverless miles resulting in 82% fewer injury-causing crashes. 

Compared to the standard for urban transport, self-driving vehicles have consistently beat the crash per mile averages of New York’s taxis, Ubers, and Lyfts . For a risk-aware student demographic, choosing a self-driving ride is the go-to choice to avoid the inherent vulnerabilities of getting into a human driven ride. By getting rid of the stranger-danger aspect of entering some random’s vehicle, autonomous rides completely bypass the risk of driver-related abductions, harassments and violence.The far more predictable, monitored environment of an automated fleet offers a feeling of personal security that taxis and rideshares simply can’t guarantee .

However, with every advantage provided also gives its own unique set of disadvantages as well. The potential threat of a human driver is therefore traded for a fair set of technical vulnerabilities; a vehicle that could brick itself in an emergency, trap riders inside during a break-in, or offer no human driver to reason with when things go wrong.

The structural safety of driverless cars also lies in their interconnected network, a feature no human rideshare driver can obviously replicate. Every single mile driven by an autonomous vehicle is processed, uploaded, and instantly used to upgrade the entire fleet’s software system. 

If a robotaxi encounters a strange hazard or a complex intersection in San Francisco, that localized experience is input to ensure thousands of vehicles globally are immediately smarter by dawn. 

This is compared to traditional rideshares, where safety tips and driving skills are all dependent on the individual, not automatically shared with any other driver. Autonomous transit treats every mistake as data for another software fix, ensuring that the technology is constantly evolving at a pace that human drivers realistically can’t  match.

This mix of networking, learning, and better safety metrics makes for a compelling case for the autonomous driver. By practically turning millions of miles of real-world feedback into immediate software upgrades, autonomous fleets offer a level of preventative security that a human Uber driver—beaten  by fatigue, emotion, and isolation—simply can’t match.

For students traveling standard urban routes during normal hours, mass transit like buses and trains will remain the baseline for a safe and easy ride. But for traveling larger distances or during night hours where said public transit comes more so to a halt, the choice would lean toward a Waymo or Zoox. However, the argument for complete autonomous superiority faces a critical test when these vehicles are forced out of their ideal operating environments. 

While a computer excels in predictable conditions, a closer look at how autonomous vehicles handle unideal environments reveal the gaps where human judgment still holds superior, and why these haven’t fully taken over the rideshare economy.

Despite these edge-case limitations, the data still points to a generational shift in how younger people view this trade-off. While broader national data like Pew Research Center trends panel analyzed by San Diego showing that a staggering 62% of U.S. adults would not want to drive in an autonomous vehicle. “More than 62% said they "probably or definitely" would not want to ride in a driverless vehicle, the researchers found.” 

The defining factor for students isn't just about navigating a ; it is about mitigating the immediate, everyday risks of the weekend night economy. A comprehensive national poll conducted by The Zebra revealed that 53% out of 2000 Americans actually trust self-driving cars more than riding solo in a human-driven rideshare. 

And when broken down by demographic, Gallup Polling illustrates a sharp age divide; only 28% of adults aged 18–29 believe that human-operated cars are the safest option on the road, compared to nearly half of older generations who strictly prefer a human behind the wheel.

For a student walking out of a library study session or social gathering late at night, an unvetted driver poses a statistically and personally more pressing threat than a temporary software glitch from a computer. 

Academic surveys targeting student mobility, such as a University of Alabama research study, show that an overwhelming 97% of college students are aware of autonomous vehicle tech, and their willingness to completely replace standard rideshares scales rapidly along with the technology.

Furthermore, market research from Cox Automotive highlights an incredible behavior metric: 83% of passengers that actually try out a ‘robotaxi’ report that their perception of the tech immediately improves.

Ultimately, students are quite the empiricists when it comes to technology. They don't look at an autonomous vehicle and see some sci-fi gamble; they see a predictable, highly monitored environment that removes the volatile roulette wheel of human behavior and replaces it with a set of ever-evolving security measures that only improves with each ride. While the technology will definitely need some fine-tuning with complex detours and unideal weather conditions, its perception among the student demographic is solidifying. 

When the option’s available, the choice to bypass human error and unpredictability, shows that autonomous rides aren’t just a glimpse into the future- they may as well be the safest bet for getting home.

By Crystal Chen

Every day at Lincoln High School, students use water stations to fill their water bottles and get drinking water. But what do students think about the water stations they use every day?

Although the water is regularly tested, students have different opinions about the water stations at Lincoln High School. Their opinions discuss whether or not they would feel comfortable to use the water stations and if they think it's clean. 

The Green Academy teacher, Valerie Ziegler, says the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) website explains how the water at Lincoln High School is sourced from Hetch Hetchy, how the water is maintained, and where it comes from. According to the website, the Hetch Hetchy comes from the Tuolumne Watershed, where snowmelt flows from the Tuolumne Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Before the water reaches students’ water bottles, the SFPUC makes sure to test the water. 

While the SFPUC states that the water is properly taken care of and meets the safe drinking water standards of cleanliness, some students in Lincoln High School have concerns about the water stations. 

Cathy Wong, junior at Lincoln High School, says, 

“I think the water stations are super dirty and aren’t drinkable.” Wong explains that “different people use” the stations and that she doesn’t think they are ever cleaned. 

Another student at Lincoln High School, Karina Li, junior, says 

“I don’t use the water stations at all because I feel like they’re unsanitary.” 

“For water fountains, I think that those are the most unsanitary ones because they are out in the open and people put their whole mouths onto the water fountains.” Li’s concerns about the water fountains show that the appearance and use of water fountains at Lincoln High School can affect how comfortable students feel about drinking the water fountains, even though the SFPUC says the water is regularly tested and maintained. 

By Leo Le

Four days a week throughout the academic year, Lincoln underclassmen and many other SFUSD students are required to wear school-provided physical education uniforms. Although the policy aims to promote unity and organization, it creates a common issue: students struggle to keep their uniforms clean when they need them for multiple classes each week.

For decades, Lincoln and other SFUSD high schools such as Lowell, Balboa, and Burton have provided one set of P.E. uniforms per student. Recently updated, the uniform set now includes a shirt, sweatershirt, shorts, and long pants.

Because uniform usage affects students’ P.E. grades, students are incentivized to keep their uniforms ready for class; however, this requirement can make it difficult for students to wash their clothes after each use. 

Workout clothes accumulate sweat, odor, and body oils even during light exercise, making frequent washes important. The school-issued lockers also provide a perfect breeding ground for bacteria when paired with sweat.

Lincoln senior Alina Lin states, “My uniform often reeked of sweat within my locker.”

A survey of 21 Lincoln students found that, on average, uniforms are washed once a week. These results raise questions about whether the current uniform policy actually contributes to good hygiene practices.

Kristy Erickson, a health and P.E. teacher at Lincoln, states, “I do think that wearing the same clothing after exercising all day long poses a problem for students who sweat a lot or are on the more stinky side after sweating. Everyone has their own odor and sweat levels, so for some it's not an issue and others it's a huge issue.”

Erickson adds, “This year we also have a dedicated washer and dryer to assist students in washing their uniforms if needed.”

Yet, most students are completely unaware of this fact. Michael Lee, a Lincoln sophomore, states “I did not know about the washers and dryers, let alone, the fact that we could use them.”

Despite these concerns, Phillip Ferrigno, Lincoln’s P.E. Department Chair, supports the policy, commending its organizational benefits.

Ferrigno states, “The district wanted uniformity in their P.E. classes, and, since implementing them, it is easier for our teachers to identify who is in our classes when people are wandering around campus.”

Ferrigno says, “I believe it is a good change. The district also believes that having clothes for movement is a good policy to endorse.”

However, enforcement of the uniform policy at Lincoln appears inconsistent. Although the uniforms have been around for several decades, from 2023 to 2025, some students report rarely ever wearing the uniform, as long as they had a teacher that didn’t enforce it. Seven teachers make up the P.E. department: Vincent Tang, Stephanie Lu, Donald Harris, Jason Chen, Ferrigno, Kristy Erickson, and Rocio Ramirez. According to Ferrigno, each teacher has discretion over whether the students can wear their own athletic clothing instead of the school uniform.

Moreover, Cecilia Hunter-Kallus, a Lincoln junior, states, “P.E. uniforms were heavily enforced at first, but people started wearing regular clothes, because some teachers stopped caring. Coach Tang tends to enforce it while Ms. Erickson and Mr. Chen are more laid back”

While the P.E. uniforms are useful for students with no access to athletic clothing or preference for what they wear, there is no point in enforcing the uniform at the start if it will eventually be neglected. Students are also required to deal with weekly washed P.E. clothes when they could have brought their own athletic clothing from the start.

Lincoln should continue providing P.E. uniforms for students who need them while allowing others to wear their own athletic clothing. This approach would continue students’ access to school-provided fitness clothes without limiting some students to just the uniform.

With Lincoln’s mission of  “nurturing a school environment that supports high academic performance and high student self-image,” organization of students shouldn’t be at the cost of students’ clothing choice. A policy intended to promote unity should also account for students’ needs and comfort. 

“Some students feel restricted and uncomfortable in the P.E. uniform,” states Mira Saltiel, a Lincoln senior.

By Karen Hu

The abundant smell of body odor, strawberry-flavored vape, and burps. Humid enough for a teardrop of sweat. Toilet paper spread across the floor. Unflushed urine, consistently. Only mere examples of how gruesome the bathrooms at Lincoln can get. 

As a senior here at ALHS, I have firsthand experience of the treatment of the restrooms. Some, but not all, Lincoln students fail to understand that the bathrooms are reflective of our community. By not taking care of them, you are neglecting the students who use the bathrooms, the teachers who share the facility, and the janitorial staff who maintain the bathrooms. 

Addressing how to fix the quality of the restrooms starts with simple tasks such as cleaning after yourself to larger-scale facilitation, such as teaching others how to take care of our bathrooms.

Daniel Ruelas, a senior Economics teacher whose classroom is near the boys’ restroom on the first floor, states, “I think the way some students treat the bathrooms is not only disrespectful to our campus and their peers, but also to the custodial staff who have to routinely fix and clean up after student damage.”

It's simple. If we do not make a collaborative effort to maintain cleanliness, it will cease to exist. The problems come from the students, and the janitorial staff is left to clean our messes of our poor decisions. Not to say that all hope is lost; however, it gets easier if we all slowly build the effort.

As a student using the bathroom at ALHS, remember to always clean up after yourself. Flush the toilet; do the usual routine you do at home.  Be mindful of others when using the restroom.

Besides making sure you are using the bathrooms in a clean manner, be sure your peers are too. Alert others if they misuse the bathroom, for example, if you see someone leave their trash near the stall, ask them to pick it up. Another instance is the constant vandalism that occurs, from scribbles on the bathroom doors, roofs and walls. So advise people to not What causes poor maintenance is assuming that it is entirely the janitors' and maintenance team's responsibility to look after the restrooms. However, we must work to keep our space clean to show the janitorial staff and other students that we know how to care for our school. 

Therefore, maintaining the cleanliness of the bathrooms should focus less on the maintenance staff and more on a shift in student culture, so we can uphold the norm of taking care of all public spaces.

By J. Kueffel

In the 21st century, cellphones give easy information access which has contributed to the decline in reading and literacy as most teens have moved away from reading books to reading online. Most teens spend most of their time on social media watching videos to get the  dopamine rush they have come accustomed to having on a daily basis. This is why social media is so addicting and problematic, affecting students' mental health and their education.

The pandemic which kept everyone locked up in their homes for two years led to many people turning to social media for entertainment and comfort. The number of people who use social media radically increased during the pandemic according to the National Library of Medicine PubMed Central in a piece titled: “Use and self-perceived effects of social media before and after the COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-national study.” With the pandemic leading more people to use social media multiple times a day, rather than once a day or a few times a week. People could not interact with others outside anymore so they turned to virtual interaction, which continues to this day. A study from Parents.com in a piece titled: “Why Today’s Teens Are Hanging Out Less—and the Simple Ways Parents Can Help” using statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, teenagers aged between 15 to 24 went from spending an hour socializing to just 35 minutes.  They rather go home after school or stay on social media rather than going out with friends or reading. The study also found that people between 15 to 19 are more likely to use a computer for leisure than any other age group. Consequently, far fewer teenagers read for pleasure than ever before, according to the National Library of Medicine PubMed Central in a piece titled “The decline in reading for pleasure over 20 years of the American Time Use Survey”: people aged between 17-18 had the highest decline in reading for pleasure which fell from 60% in the late 1970s to 16% by 2016. The turn away from reading has resulted in floundering literacy rates in the United States where only 31% could read at an appropriate grade level meaning 69% of kids can not read at grade level, according to a George and Barbara Bush Foundation in a piece titled "Why Literacy." 

The general decline in literacy rates has forced teachers and English classes to adapt to the new abilities of students, who are unable to read to the same level as before. Which means that English classes had to move away from reading 4 books per year on average in 2010 to just 2.8 books per year on average as a class from the Wall Street Journal: “Schools are assigning fewer novels. Are excerpts just as good?” The decline in the number of books read in English class can be attributed to the declining literacy rates and people reading less books for fun. The very same article mentions that the skills you learn from reading entire books rather than just excerpts helps you analyze a text which prepares you more for testing. This suggests that the declining literacy rates are forcing English classes to adapt, which has a compounding effect: students get less practice reading because classes rely on short excerpts rather than books and their literacy continues to decline as they receive less practice.

These issues have combined and caused the average English scores to fall to their lowest levels not seen before since 1990 for 8th graders. 4th grade levels have fallen below their 2003 levels, according to The Education Score Card in their May 2026 report titled: “From Learning Recession to Learning Recovery: Understanding the Sources of U.S. K-12 Improvement.” Which is a concerning statistic because in a time where information is the easiest to access and literature is most accessible reading scores have started to decline. The modern decline is also interestingly coinciding with massive growth in social media use by everyone--but especially young people with the Pew Research Center in a survey: Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024 having data that suggests the most teenagers used social media multiple times a day and once a day declining in favor of constant usage which went from 24 percent to 46 percent since 2014-2015. Which shows a connection between the declining literacy rate and social media usage among teenagers as social media usage has increased and during the same period literacy rates have declined. The social media that most engage in has changed over time since the 2014-2015 until today in which most consumed social media is mostly short-form content  according to a Pew Research Center survey titled: “10 facts about teens and social media.” Facebook declined from 71 percent usage to just 32 percent, X (formerly Twitter) declined from 33 percent to just 17 percent which are written content platforms. While platforms Snapchat and Instagram which are short-form content platforms increased in usage from 41 percent to 55 percent for Snapchat and 55 percent to 61 percent for Instagram respectively.

The use of short-form social media content has shortened the attention span of students and as a result students read less books for leisure because they have lower attention span and have less practice reading contributing to literacy rates decline. The use of short excerpts replacing reading actual books is related to the shortened attention span that comes from social media usage. With English classes adapting to the changes in students' abilities as a result of perpetual social media usage and the shift towards social media takes away from time to read and leads to worse outcomes overall in school and especially in English. Which has ultimately led to 

major changes to the English curriculum unless literacy rates improve to its highest level. 

By Ivy Perkins 

Muni buses give San Francisco students an independence unique to living in a city with reliable public transportation. Students don’t need a driver's license or a ride from a parent to get where they want. However, this independence comes with an expectation of respect for other passengers. 

Anyone who has been on a crowded bus when school is let out can agree that many students seriously lack the expected Muni etiquette. Students seem to not know or not care about how they are expected to act on the bus. Groups of students often blatantly disrespect the bus driver and other passengers, are noisy, and generally unaware of the space they are taking up. 

Muni has been free for everyone under 18 since 2021, making it more accessible for students. Students can get on the bus whenever they want without cost restrictions. For San Francisco students, Muni is their school bus. It is free and very convenient, making it the best way for most students to get to school. 

Taking Muni, however, is not the same as taking a school bus. On a crowded bus, there are unspoken rules on how to act; not clustering by the doors, stepping off the bus to allow others to get off, and giving up your seat for those who need it. These rules seem like common sense but being on a crowded bus of students shows that it definitely is not. No one wants to be squished on a stuffy bus while they're just trying to get home so following these expectations makes the bus experience more tolerable for everyone.

Once, on my way home on the 28 bus, the woman sitting next to me asked me what time school got out so she could avoid the bus right after school. This woman represents an opinion that many commuters have about students. While no one likes being on any crowded bus, riding on a bus full of students isn't just bad because of the crowds. People avoid being on a bus crowded with students because of the reputation of disrespect that students have. I have ridden on a crowded bus full of adults coming from work and the atmosphere is very different. Adults mind their own business and most people respect the fact that everyone is just trying to get to their destination, students do not.

“A few weeks ago, I got on the L [train] to go home and a group of students got on a couple stops after me, and they were playing music through a phone speaker and just being generally loud.” says Autumn Hersh, a Lincoln High School freshman.

In addition to being loud, “If there's any open seats, they're always sitting in them, even if they see a senior standing, a pregnant woman, people with strollers. They don't tend to get up and move for them,” says Mika Buckwald, a Lincoln High School senior who takes the 7 Haight/Noriega with A.P. Giannini Middle School students every day. 

I too have seen elderly people have to ask a student for their seat and while they generally will give it up, they will seem annoyed about it. While many students are respectful to other commuters, students like the ones Hersh and Buckwald have seen give all students a bad reputation. 

It's not just that some students are disrespectful; it's the number of students trying to take the same bus. Muni’s recent budget cuts have made some routes less frequent and prevented more buses being added to popular routes, deterring students from just waiting for the next bus. They instead cram onto the same bus as everyone else.

“I've had the experience where the bus driver gets off and they have to force half the kids to stay off the bus because otherwise they'll just cram in as much as possible to the point where the doors can't close. It's not the bus driver's job to facilitate people getting on and off the bus. It's a waste of everyone's time, and it makes the bus late to the next stop. So it's just really frustrating," says Buckwald.

Muni is extremely convenient for San Franciscans of all ages, making it extra important that everyone respects each other. Adults, elders, and teenagers can coexist on Muni if they all adhere to the rules of mutual respect.

By Ismelda Lopez

Throughout my four years at Lincoln, I have seen the absence of soap, toilet paper, and, most importantly, pads and tampons, making it hard for students to get through the day comfortably. Not only are the bathrooms unhygienic, but they create uncomfortable circumstances for students if they suddenly start their periods. 

Having no menstrual products in the bathroom is problematic, but it's not a new problem. Students have been trashing the bathrooms and misusing menstrual products, from throwing the products down the toilet to throwing them on the roof. Even if students get what they need from the wellness center, there are still times when students forget pads or tampons and unexpectedly need the supplies that aren't within reach. It is not always a viable option for students. Without the necessary materials, it affects their performance and comfort in continuing their day-to-day lives.

“I've seen it refilled for two days; after that, they are gone because they are used,” Tara Hang said, showing the students' point of view and how they need pads and tampons, and they are being used. Hang shares her opinion as to why they aren’t being refilled: “Theoretically, they ran out of stock, and there is miscommunication that might contribute to there being these resources available and refilled constantly for the students' well-being.

“I feel like no one uses them unless there's an emergency,” an anonymous student stated; she said she doesn't use them much unless there is an emergency. 

Another student, Sofia Lavine, explained why this might be an issue and whether they're needed. “I think that refills are needed, but because of students' misuse of the supplies, the outcome might be them being empty.” 

However, through her high school years at Lincoln, this has always been an issue: when the pad and tampon dispenser is in stock, students misuse the supplies. Lavine also states, “If I were staff, I wouldn't want to refill the dispenser to avoid having to clean a future mess.

She also shares with us that a compromise could be the solution for this situation Lincoln students are facing while they are using the restroom, or a new system of giving tokens, with these tokens being used for the bathrooms for students when in need of pads and tampons. Improving the system from how it is right now will lead to a cleaner bathroom with fewer tampons on the walls and ceiling. The wellness center researched the issue, since their supply doesn't come from SFUSD themselves, and found that SFUSD schools are supposed to be refilling these machines in the gender neutral bathrooms and the girls' bathroom. “Education Code section 35292.:6 “This bathroom should have free pads and tampons for you.

You may call or e-mail the people below if that is not the case.” - 2024-2025 Menstrual Equity For All Notice.pdf

But when interviewing our janitor, Trudy,y she states that supply is not an issue and that students have much to do with why there is no supply in the bathrooms: “Students shove pads and tampons down the toilet and make a mess, clogging the toilet” - Our janitor Trudy.

This puts more work on her end. If students were to contribute to respect and use the supply correctly, we wouldn't have this issue, and,d in a way, we created this for ourselves. The mistreatment of many things in school has led to them being taken from us, like new materials such as glue sticks and nice scissors, but now it is affecting some at a larger level by bearing the absence of products they need, and when needed.

By Nita Wu

One of the few exciting things about having a license or permit as a high school student is being able to drive anywhere with your friends; whether that’s the downtown matcha spot you’ve been meaning to try or all the way to Serramonte Mall. However, road hazards make it difficult for drivers to drive safely, and in some cases, these challenges can cause serious accidents.

“Bike-Tok,” a bike genre on the social media platform TikTok where motorcyclists share videos of themselves riding their bikes through various places at high speeds, surged in popularity over the past few years. What started as a motorcycle genre meant for adults eventually made its way to influence an audience of minors, some as young as ten years old. There are no strongly enforced age restrictions on purchasing or owning an electric bike, making it accessible to nearly everyone - even minors without a proper license or knowledge of basic traffic laws. 

Although e-bikes are manufactured to only go up to 20-30 miles per hour, online tutorials from social media platforms, like YouTube, show different ways to jailbreak the bikes by bypassing the system’s speed bracket. This gives teens the ability to modify the speed of e-bikes to reach up to 90 miles per hour –creating major safety risks for both drivers and pedestrians. By contrast, the standard speed limit in a neighborhood is around 25 miles per hour, and the standard highway speed limit is around 65-70 miles per hour, nearly a 30 mph difference.

Denise Mai, a senior attending Abraham Lincoln High School, has been driving for almost a year now. Mai heavily relies on her car, commuting to and from school on a regular basis. 

“I don’t like e-bikers, especially the ones without a license. They essentially put themselves and others in danger.” Mai said. “So far, I’ve seen e-bikers constantly running stop signs, which is so dangerous because I could’ve hit them if I wasn’t fast enough to press on my brakes,”. 

I’ve sat in the passenger seat of Mai’s car, observing the road as we drove from Lincoln to Stonestown Galleria Mall, an approximate seven-minute drive. I was frightened by how often e-bikers sped past us with no signals or warnings whatsoever. Even within less than a ten-minute drive from a school to residential zones, we experienced two cases of abnormal road activity from e-bikers, one of which had four students with backpacks all riding on the same bike as they sped past a residential area between 24th & Vicente St.

The controversy of teenage e-bikers on the road does not only affect Lincoln students, but the entire Lincoln community.  

Marieta Lagat, the JROTC instructor and teacher, shared an encounter she had with an e-biker near Stonestown Galleria Mall.

“I was driving down 19th & Eucalyptus Dr., they [e-bikers] were all the way on the other street, and they swerved across the lanes into my lane, then onto the sidewalk– I had to immediately step on my brakes to stop myself from colliding with them,” Lagat remarked.

“I think they need to take a class of some sort before being able to purchase a bike. Since everyone on the road already needs a license, what’s so special about the e-bikers?”

Although it is not every day you get to see e-bikers violating the traffic laws, it occurs quite often around us. It’s great to enjoy riding an e-bike, but riders should learn to stay safe on the road and protect themselves and the others around them.

By Dustin Mai

Garbage has become a problem that affects everyone at Abraham Lincoln High School, students and staff members alike. Students leave garbage in the building during lunch,  or during free periods. Some students do not dispose of trash properly, causing garbage to be left around the campus. Littering negativeley the appearance of Lincoln’s campus, and causes more work for the janitors. 

It is important to maintain cleanliness around the campus because both the students and staff spend most of their time on campus. Food waste and trash can attract pests and spread germs, and create an unhealthy environment.

There are many places in the school where you can see garbage lying around everywhere and there are certain places in the school which have more garbage than other places. Many students have views on the cause of littering.. Some believe that it might be due to students forgetting to dispose of their garbage properly. Others believe it could be due to the lack of places to do so.

Ethan Ren, an 11th grader, states,”I think people litter because there are not enough trash cans around the school.”

This shows that littering is something that students notice around campus, and that it has become a problem that the school community should pay attention to.

There are several ways for students and school administrators to decrease the littering issue. Students can take more time to clean their spaces before leaving.More people doing this could encourage other students to care about the cleanliness of their school. Additionally admin can analyze which locations have the largest littering problem and place more garbage cans there  This could be done by asking janitors and other personnel to point out those places that are especially difficult to keep clean. These methods would help reduce littering by teaching students responsibility for keeping their school clean.placing more trash cans in areas where students are most likely to be would make it easier for students to throw away their trash in the garbage instead of littering it. By working together, students, teachers, administrators and janitors can create a healthier environment for everyone at Lincoln. 

By Helen Palacios Lopez 

While women's sports media presence has gained more visibility over the years, not all the attention has been positive, game-winning goals or championship headlines. But in Novig’s “just sports” ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney, it strategically uses sports equipment alongside provocative imagery to sell the product, placing Sydney Sweeney at the center of the commercial. It makes the ad seem related to sports culture when its main purpose is to sell something else. 

Novig's recent ad gained widespread attention; it is a sports betting platform that lets users 21 and older predict sports and other events. The advertisement titled “Just Sports” was Novig’s first major national brand campaign aimed at differentiating their platform from competitors. Novig aims to sexualize women to attract users other betting companies do not market towards.  The commercial features Sydney Sweeney posing naked or mostly nude across various settings. Instead of wearing standard athletic wear, she is covered by different types of sports equipment. In some of the frames, her private body parts are covered by 2 footballs, and she is playing mock tennis in just underwear, generating widespread controversy overnight. Ads like Novig’s raise the question of why an ad promoting sports betting would use a controversial celebrity ad campaign that focuses on sports themselves.

Novig strategically built its ad campaign on provocative content: pornography sells, and using a well-known celebrity who often sells the image of her body would be perfect; at the same time, this makes Sydney Sweeney take all the backlash when the ad is not very innocent either. While Sydney Sweeney poses with sports equipment, the ad uses sports imagery from athletic culture but focuses on her appearance rather than the company’s betting. The ad leaves a more memorable impression on the viewer for its explicit content, and its sports references seem to mock actual sports. 

Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky came out with a statement defending the scandalous ad during an interview with Front Office Sports: CEO Fortinsky acknowledges its provocative nature while still emphasizing the app is intended for adult audiences. 

“It is so racy it earns an adult content warning on Twitter—by pointing out that 'trading is for adults' and that Novig users must be 21 or older to use his platform,” said Fortinsky. He defends the sexual content the ad contains just because the product he is selling is meant to be used by audiences 21 and above, but this overshadows the fact that this ad is broadcast to audiences younger.  Fortinsky also mentions Sweeney's involvement in the ad and being a stakeholder of Novig: “Fortinsky claimed it was Sweeney who approached Novig and was 'interested in some kind of equity partnership; she’s now an equity holder in the company,” said Fortinsky. 

The  Novig ad  surprised me ; already knowing Sydney Sweeney from other works, it was a provocative ad selling the image of her body to promote the sports betting app she herself has stakes in. This ad is too explicit to show to various age groups when it's supposed to be targeted at 21 and up, and CEO Fortinsky's response seems a little ignorant. The ad also raises concerns about what media young audiences consume, when an ad uses a woman's appearance to garner the attention of the viewers rather than the main focus being sports. 

Interviewing students at Lincoln gave a range of different opinions on the Sweeney’s  ad. "I thought it was a terrible representation of women in sports because it undermines what we stand for and the hard work that goes into playing sports," said Sofia Lavine, a senior on the girls soccer and swimming team at Lincoln.

The representation of women in media should be more than using athletic imagery to garner attention. Female athletes put a lot of time, effort, and dedication into their sports and should be honored for their performance and receive recognition. Women have had to fight for centuries to even have the opportunity to participate in sports and are still fighting to not be sexualized while playing. While advertisements use provocative imagery to push sales and views. Media should consider how they are portraying women and furthering the gender inequality in sports. This one ad reached millions of people, millions of people with opinions that can use that ad as an excuse to sexualize women.

By Adam Aguilar 

For transfer students, starting at a new school can be confusing. This is especially true, when they are expected to find their own way around their new school, without an orientation. When I transferred to Abraham Lincoln High School, I quickly realized that knowing my schedule was not the same as knowing where to go. In particular, the new building, basement and where to go for PE class was especially difficult to find, and I had to figure out the school layout by myself.

Going to my classes without the guidance of an orientation became a challenge and made my transition even more stressful. A simple introduction to the campus could be the difference between feeling lost and feeling prepared. For Jeffrey Sutardja, transferring to Abraham Lincoln High School meant self-learning the campus by himself. He was given a class schedule but no tour, leaving him to figure out how to get to his classes alone. The distance between his classes forced him to rush even when he felt lost. As he tried to navigate the unfamiliar campus, Jeffrey felt confused and stressed, especially when he was unsure where his next class was. His experience, like many others, shows that a schedule alone is not enough to help a new student adjust. 

Starting at a new school involves more than just getting a class schedule. Transfer students also have to learn the new school routines, connect with new people and understand where to go for help. Without a proper introduction, students take longer to feel comfortable and connected to the school. This raises questions on whether transfer students at Lincoln are getting the support they need when they transfer. Orientation is an important first step toward getting involved in high school. At Lincoln, students have opportunities to participate in athletics, join student activities and seek academic support. For transfer students they may not know when sport tryouts take place, how to join a club or where to go for academic counseling. They may also be unaware of wellness resources and other support services available to students. Missing this information can make it harder for transfer students to take advantage of the same opportunities as their classmates. A more complete introduction for transfer students could help them understand their options and feel like they are part of the school from the beginning.

By Jinyu Kuang

Forget to submit one homework assignment and watch your grade sink, even if you understood everything. For a lot of us, that's just school, but it doesn't have to be. A grade is supposed to measure what you know, not whether you remembered to click submit.

In my experience, I completed only about two-thirds of my AP Physics homework, but because the teacher decided to use our semester exam as our final grade, I earned an A because of my grade on the final exam. However, were my homework to be included in my grade, I would’ve received a lower grade, all because I was unable to submit work that didn't even accurately reflect my level of understanding.

As Anderson Chen, a senior at Galileo High School, points out. "You can have a lower grade just because you forget to submit an assignment," he said, "but that doesn't necessarily reflect whether you actually understand the concept." A homework grade often measures whether you remembered to turn something in, not what you learned, and that distinction matters more than any single assignment.

Thus, students should be given the option to base their final grade mostly on test scores, or keep the usual homework mix. Kaito Kisara-Kelly, a Junior at Abraham Lincoln High School, is exactly the kind of student that option is for. He takes AP Physics while still finding time for swimming and scouts. He wants tests weighted more than homework, "especially if you're busy after school." 

He also calls tests "a good way to review everything you learned throughout the semester." One missing worksheet shouldn't erase a semester of understanding. And this policy wouldn't scrap homework altogether. It would just change what counts most.

Some students, however, disagree with this proposal. Santiago Flores Benard, also a Junior at Abraham Lincoln High School, argues that classwork "shows progression and shows how people have grown." He worries that without homework in the gradebook, when a student cheats, they will end up looking like a genius.

While one might argue that students should just do their homework, for those with many activities and responsibilities outside of school, like myself and Kisara-Kelly, completing every assignment, especially at an AP level, may not be realistic. Even if the work is “easy” or “easier,” it still takes time. And when time is limited, it is often more efficient to just focus on weak areas, and complete just those sections.

Not only that, a system like this is also majorly flawed, something Charlie Yang, the Lincoln High School AP Physics teacher, points out. “The flaw with this system is that tests only show what you know at one point in time. So, if for some reason you have a bad day on that test day, it can affect how you're doing in the class as a whole.
And also, the difficulty with the system is that even if you work hard or you do poorly on a test, it's hard to measure that if it's just the test, that's part of your grade. But also, at the same time, that's how college works.“

Although a system like this won’t work for every subject, in those that it does, teachers should give students the choice to go all in on test scores, and let the grade measure what it should: students’ understanding. And perhaps though it’s flawed, it may also benefit students by allowing them to experience a simulation of the college system.