I’ve always been baffled at the number of parents willing to shell out thousands of dollars to send their teen on a two-week trip to Africa or Asia. Whether it’s a mission trip or a non-religious service project, the result is the same: teens come back to the U.S andContinue Reading

From the very first day of high school, students are pressured about what they’ll be doing after they graduate. Both Marshall and FCPS offer plenty of support for finding the right college, figuring out how to pay for college, and writing the perfect essay to get into college. Parents pressure theirContinue Reading

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t heard much about the protests in Venezuela during the past few weeks. Until very recently, I hadn’t heard anything about civilians being shot, and peaceful protesters being harmed by pro government officials on any news channels. It’s safe to say that thisContinue Reading

You probably know about the current movement towards legalizing marijuana. But many teenagers also use hookahs, or water pipes that are used to smoke flavored tobacco. There are some popular misconceptions surrounding hookah use; for example, many believe that it’s healthier for you than cigarettes. Here are six facts thatContinue Reading

How much foreign language did you learn in elementary school? Unless you were committed to an after-school program, the answer is probably not much. After all, beyond the smattering of elementary schools offering a partial-immersion program, young FCPS students’ only in-class opportunity for foreign language acquisition consists of just twoContinue Reading

Rape jokes are a problem, and they’ve become far too commonly used among high school students despite the fact that there is nothing funny about violating someone. Beyond this, a complaint about these frankly disturbing jokes can be seen as overly sensitive, and not as a reasonable argument. The critiqueContinue Reading

I don’t consider myself a feminist. I think I share opinions with quite a lot of feminists, but I don’t feel comfortable associating myself with some others. Different branches of the movement have different goals, and different methods of achieving goals. I’m certainly in favor of reducing the high number ofContinue Reading

I’ve never been so glad that my eighteenth birthday fell after the gubernatorial election. In the months leading up to Nov. 5, I, along with millions of other poor Virginia residents, was bombarded with horrible ads everywhere we turned, each promising that either Ken Cuccinelli or Terry McAuliffe is aContinue Reading