News

Why Are Schools Unable To Address the Bullying Problem, and What Should Be Done?

Madison O’Brien

The video of a White student putting a headlock on an Indian student went viral online, infuriating many netizens. On May 11th, at Coppell Middle School North in Texas, a 14-year-old Indian middle schooler, Shaan Pritmani was assaulted and eventually choked, and netizens were outraged that he received three days of suspension while the assaulter received one. “The school can preach all it wants that they’re antibullying and place it on their website, but they are sending a message to this kid and the rest of the student body that…

Absenteeism as a COVID-19 Effect — How Do Schools Respond?

Lauren Robinson

Absenteeism rates may be difficult to track due to differences in report preparation; however, the pandemic has reduced school absenteeism — teachers are struggling to keep students on track. The percentage of chronically absent students increased by 9.2 percent between 2019-20 and 2020-21, according to the National School Boards Association, while the state average increased by 6.8 percent. The US Government Accountability Office also reported that approximately 1.1 million teachers had at least one student who never showed up in class for the 2020-21 school year, regardless of the teaching…

Increasing Marijuana Consumption by College Students — Benefits or Just Side Effects?

Jeremy Lintner

The debate on marijuana — anywhere from whether it is a gateway substance to more addictive and stronger drugs such as cocaine or heroin to whether it should be legalized for just medicinal or even recreational use — has always been fierce. With 19 states, two territories (Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands), and the District of Columbia legalized recreational marijuana, the debate and research on its effect on students have been growing in scale and numbers. As colleges are now returning to pre-Covid educational settings and teaching methods, changes…

School Shooting, Are Schools Really Safe?

Madison O’Brien

On May 25th, a tragic shooting occurred at Robb Elementary School in South Texas, killing two adults and 19 children. Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old gunman, was suspected of being a high school student in the surrounding area. According to Erick Estrada of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), speaking to CNN, a Uvalde school district police officer mentioned Ramos emerging from the vehicle with a rifle and body armor on. Texas DPS has now revealed that the door was closed but unlocked, allowing the gunman to easily enter the…

The New “High Potential Individual” Visa in the UK Receives Criticism

Joshua Gallagher

Starting on May 30, recent graduates of top global universities are allowed to stay in the United Kingdom for a maximum of three years, with a new scheme called a High Potential Individual (HPI) visa. The applicants must have graduated from an eligible university within five years, and once accepted, college graduates will be allowed to stay for two years at most or three years for Ph.D. or other doctoral degrees. The government only briefly describes on their website what the new visa holders can and cannot do, and yet,…

College Students’ Depression Has Worsened; Here Are Some Solutions

Lauren Robinson

COVID-19 has increased depression among college students. According to the National Library of Medicine, COVID-19 increased stress and anxiety in 138 of 195 participants, but only 10 sought mental health counseling – the most common stressors were found to be loneliness and isolation from the pandemic effect, due to a lack of face-to-face activities. However, depression in college students had become increasingly common even before COVID, with counseling services unable to track college depression rates. Furthermore, college enrollment has declined since the pandemic. According to an Imagine America Foundation study,…

What Is Excelsior Scholarship and Is It Really Beneficial?

Madison O’Brien

What is Excelsior Scholarship? The “Free College” Program has gotten a lot of attention from students who are struggling with the complicated financial aid system. In 2017, Governor Cuomo promised to provide Excelsior scholarship to provide tuition-free college – the first program that covers training for New York’s public faculties and universities – for households earning up to $125,000 per year, with the program expected to benefit up to 640,000 New Yorkers, covering any tuitions that were previously not covered by other types of financial aid. Thanks to New Yorks’s…

The Future of Law School Admissions Without LSAT — or Any Standardized Tests — is in Sight

Jeremy Lintner

On April 25, 2022, the Strategic Review Committee of the American Bar Association (ABA) released a memorandum recommending law schools stop requiring standardized tests, such as the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) or the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), for their admissions. Ever since its first administration in 1948, the LSAT has continuously exerted exceptional influence on many aspects of law schools. Unlike college admissions, standardized test scores (i.e., LSAT) have been the single most dominant factor for applicants to care for in their application process, followed closely by undergraduate GPA….

I Made It to College! Now What To Prepare?

Lauren Robinson

Does college matter? It’s that time of year when high school students’ efforts pay off — a time to feel relieved after putting in a lot of effort studying, finishing required high school courses, and receiving a long-awaited college acceptance letter. Unfortunately, high school graduates frequently wait until the last minute before the start of the fall semester and miss out on the opportunity to get to know their future college better. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, individuals with only a high school diploma had a median weekly…

Is College Really Worth It? It’s Not What You Think It Is

Madison O’Brien

“The proportion of young people enrolled in school remained relatively low in the last half of the 19th century,” according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), “but the beginning of the twentieth century saw sustained increases in enrollment rates for both white and minority children.” Despite declines in the traditional college-age population, the number of bachelor’s degree holders continued to rise during the 1980s. “College does not matter,” philosophy is certainly unappealing to Americans from the mid to late twentieth century, but it is notably attracting a lot of…