death penalty
Justice System
Grade 10

Banish the Death Penalty

Why do we kill to show killing is wrong? This is exactly what we do when we use the death penalty. Some think that the death penalty is the best punishment to teach horrible criminals a lesson, but do these criminals really learn a lesson if they are dead? The death penalty is a very […]

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Food and Nutrition
Grade 10

Fast Food: The Fast Road to Bad Health

At 3:15 the bell rings, the best part of the day for most students. Without any hesitation they storm out of the front doors, some to get their siblings, others on their journey home. While walking down the great McKinley Tech Hill towards the Metro I notice that before I even get to the station […]

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Video Games
Grade 10

Video Games: Is the Bad Reputation Justified?

You have a minute to get five or six kills straight without getting killed. Your primary weapon is low on ammo1 and your secondary weapon is a ballistic knife only useful for confronting your opponent at close range. It sounds like a Clint Eastwood thriller. Actually, it is just a close game of Deathmatch on […]

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urban education 1
Education
Grade 10

Urban Public Schools Need Support

Changing urban education is not impossible, nor is it easy, but we as individuals and as a community must make changes within ourselves to ensure the success of every student. Focusing on parental involvement, teacher involvement, early childhood education, building positive living communities, and decreasing poverty will improve students’ performance in school and success in […]

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Mental Health
Grade 10

The Price of Happiness

According to a popular credit card company, there are some things money can’t buy. Love, common sense, and talent to name a few. Many people want a bit of extra cash to throw around, so they could quit their job and relax – I know I would. But psychologists and economists who have studied the […]

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Education
Grade 10

Crime Prevention in Youth

The topic of crime prevention is so important to me because I have been both the victim and the aggressor in prior situations in my past. As I started interacting with friends in my neighborhood peer pressure became a leading role in my everyday life until I made bad choices that landed me in Youth […]

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Environment
Grade 10

Corporate Pollution

Have you ever passed a body of water and seen disgusting trash floating on top of it?  Was the water a repulsive brown sludge because of excessive amounts of sewage in it? If you haven’t experienced this, I have. I am on the crew team for my school. We experience the atrocious sewage and trash […]

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Chinese lanterns
International Cultures and Issues
Grade 10

Chinese-American Identity

I am Chinese, apparently. I am also American, according to my family. But I am not Chinese-American, not yet at least. My parents immigrated to the United States many years ago, and I am the first generation of my family to be born on American soil. Being the first “American” is a special position, but […]

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