opinions
A canned food drive to feed ourselves
By Charles Kong | Dec. 26, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
The Student Government Association (SGA) collected a record-breaking 5,393 cans in this year's canned food drive, 3,272 cans last year and 2,456 cans in 2005, all of which were donated to the Rainbow Homeless Shelter in White Oak. Although the purpose behind the food drive is respectable, the incentive students receive to bring in cans – such as this year's breakfast party for the three winning classes – has caused not only a shift from the concern for the homeless to the selfish wants of a reward, but also a loss in the whole meaning of charity.
Worst Chips Scenario - SCO holiday edition
By Johanna Gretschel | Dec. 23, 2007, midnight | In Humor »
For every innocent snowball fight there is a wayward chunk of snow that finds its way crashing through a window. For every delicious helping of pumpkin pie there is a tooth-shattering slice of aunt Bertha's fruit cake. And for every street corner Santa with a heart of gold and a cowbell there is a creepy, child-molesting shopping mall Santa. Luckily for loyal readers, Silver Chips Online has solutions for all potential Blair-related holiday dilemmas.
A crack at history: perfection is fleeting in the NFL
By Kevin Teng, Andrew Kung, Elsi Wu | Dec. 22, 2007, midnight | In Humor »
The New England Patriots have looked all but invincible in 2007, sitting pretty at 14-0 with just two games away from the perfect season. Led by golden-boy Tom Brady, who juggles NFL record books and supermodel baby mamas with uncanny grace, this modern-day juggernaut is destined for greatness. But in their pursuit of history, there is one unlikely obstacle: the 1-13 Miami Dolphins.
Academy Day should be here to stay
By Ya Zhou | Dec. 17, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
Academy Day. Many Blazers will take these words to mean an extra day off of school tomorrow, where in fact, this day is one of the most important all year. In the half-day event set aside for all Blazers, students will be presented with possible career paths via guest speakers from various professions, according to Academies Coordinator Jennifer Kempf.
snoWatch: 08's turn
By Priyanka Gokhale, Pia Nargundkar, Rachita Sood | Dec. 5, 2007, midnight | In Humor »
As usual, the predictions were wrong. Somehow, "a light dusting" turned into "1-2 inches," which turned into "2-4 inches," which turned into two and a half hours stuck in the world's largest parking lot, also known as I-270. When students arrived at school a few hours late (the Colesville bridge closing didn't help) only to find out that MCPS decided the conditions weren't bad enough to close schools, we decided that some real weather experts needed to be called in to make the shots.
Música en los salones
By Juan Orellana | Dec. 4, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
Sí, todos las hemos escuchado: las líricas y maravillosas creaciones musicales que asaltan nuestos oídos. Todos y todas las mañanas: los estudiantes diligentes que esperan a que sus profesores les abran las puertasde los salones, y tambien aquellos, que no tan diligentemente, esperan que la campana suene para recordarles que deben arrastrarse a su primer clase. Como un fantasma, la canción de Michael Jackson, "ABC", acompaña a los estudiantes a clase, la canción de Kool and the Gang, "Jungle boggie," actua como imán, atrayendoa los estudiantes a sus salones y otras viejas canciones de éxito animan a los estudiantes a aprender.
A haven from a hostile world
By Kiera Zitelman | Dec. 3, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
As the 2008 presidential campaign heats up, the candidates are scrambling to come up with positions that please voters. Immigration is a particularly thorny issue, and the candidates are struggling to prove that they are the right ones to deal with the situation. Just last month, Republican candidate Mitt Romney accused fellow candidate Rudolph Giuliani of making New York City a "sanctuary city," or a haven for undocumented workers, according to the Associated Press.
Misplaced mourning
By Kate Harter, Miriam Ragen | Nov. 28, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
The death yesterday of Washington Redskins' safety Sean Taylor was undeniably a tragedy. Taylor was a mere 24 years old and left behind a young fiancée and an infant daughter. But the response to his murder has provoked in the community calls into question society's tendency to mourn the death of a public figure while ignoring the everyday passings of ordinary people.
Do Blair's policies make the grade?
By David Zheng | Nov. 24, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
Blair's new policies this year have been a mixed bag of successes and failures. Earlier this month, students received their first report cards of the year as the first marking period ended. Now it's time to rate the school's new policies with Blair's own progress report.
Soliciting the country to death
By Kevin Teng | Nov. 4, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
More than 50 candidates are currently running for president of the United States, fighting for a chance to represent their party and spending an absurd amount of money on political advertisements in the process. On Oct. 15, candidates filed spending reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), revealing the high cost of campaigning – a whopping $420 million so far. Despite the considerable number of issues that the candidates need to debate and discuss, candidates are going about their campaigns wrongly, spending enormous amounts of money and time in order to gain publicity – a counterproductive exercise.
Cortando el tiempo
By Kathie Arana-Mejia | Oct. 29, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
Desde hace ya dos semanas se nos rebanó parte de la torta de nuestra libertad y alivio de estrés, reduciéndola a solo seis minutos. Mientras meditamos en este cambio tan abrupto, como estudiantes responsables debemos de considerar las otras múltiples posibilidades que existen para otros actos de recortar la políticas de la escuela... asegurándonos de lograrlo antes de que suene la campana.
Padeciendo hambre para atención global
By Mary Rodas | Oct. 29, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
Un niño muere de hambre cada cinco segundos, según la Organización de Comida y Agricultura (FAO). Para una persona sencilla, este concepto sería difícil de entender. Hay más que suficiente comida para todos en el mundo; la agricultura global tiene la asombrosa capacidad de producir 2.270.000 calorías por persona por día. Considerando que al mínimo una persona necesita aproximadamente una de 2,100 calorías para vivir productivamente, uno esperaría que la población entera del mundo estuviera bien alimentada.
Bush's Scrooge-style agenda for children's healthcare
By Gus Woods | Oct. 28, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
President Bush, in a move that even the most hardened cynics had not anticipated, vetoed a bill on Oct. 3 that would have expanded the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which helps state-governments provide health insurance for children in families that earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private insurance.
Rockin in the halls
By Boris Vassilev | Oct. 25, 2007, midnight | In Humor »
Yes, we've all heard them: The lyrical wonders and musical creations that assault the auditory senses every morning as students diligently wait for their classroom doors to open, or as they not so diligently await the bell to tell them they need to haul it to their first block. Like a phantom Michael Jackson, "ABC" follows students to class, Kool and the Gang's "Jungle Boogie" draws the denizens of the hallways into their respective classroom settings and all manner of other golden oldies mentally stimulate students for academic achievement.
Why do we put up with AYP and NCLB?
By Kevin Teng | Oct. 20, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
In an attempt to save the country's floundering education system, the federal government enacted the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2001 to set minimum standards for student proficiency in reading and mathematics. Under NCLB, Blair has failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards for two years in a row. However, all of the fault for the failure should not be heaped on Blair alone. The government's methods to help schools meet the standards disregard differences in the way education is run in states and impose unreasonable constraints on state governments.
New extended-hours program undoubtedly a plus
By Charles Kong | Oct. 19, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
Blair has been forced to adapt to numerous changes this year, from a new grading system to a modified dress code. With High School Plus finally comes a change that should be agreeable to most everyone. After being piloted at four high schools last year, High School Plus is now running at all high schools for ninth and tenth graders across the county and will completely replace Evening High School by 2009.
"Starving" for global attention
By Anika Manzoor | Oct. 16, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
One child dies of hunger every five seconds, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN). To a simple minded person, this concept would be hard to understand. There is more than enough food for everyone in the world; global agriculture is able to provide an astounding 2,720,000 calories per person per day. Considering that a person needs a minimum of 2100 calories to lead a productive life, one would expect the entire world's population to be well-fed.
Prohibir el dicho de maldades no las elimina
By | Sept. 25, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
Hoy en día, los salones de clase no solamente son lugares donde los maestros presentan su lección sino que también crean situaciones para que los estudiantes participen activamente en conversaciones sobre temas de estudio. La limitación de estas prácticas en clase es un mal recuerdo debido a que algunos temas son demasiado polémicos para tratarlos en un ambiente escolar.
Tackling the HSAs, one step at a time
By Greg Kohn | Sept. 22, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
With less than two years before the Class of 2009 is scheduled to be the first year to only graduate students who passed all the High School Assessments (HSAs), state Superintendent Nancy Grasmick is conceding that students unable to pass all four tests ought to be allowed an alternative means by which to earn a diploma.
Dress to impress
By Susie Branson | Sept. 17, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
On the first day of school, students cluttering the hallways at Blair seemed to glow of one color: skin-tones. Spaghetti straps, boxers and short-shorts were the clothing – or lack of clothing – that paraded around the school. However, due to the additional regulations prohibiting spaghetti-strap tops, skirts or shorts that are not fingertip length and pants worn below the waist, the hallways now sparkle with the brilliant colors of new clothes this season.
Getting cut short
By Boris Vassilev | Sept. 14, 2007, midnight | In Humor »
The break afforded to the average student between class periods is a holy time of sorts. Grapevines grow exponentially as myths are swapped, bathrooms are hurriedly visited, stairs are ascended, descended and jumped over and a little bit of academic stress is let out before the next class begins. As of two weeks ago, Blazers had this little pie piece of freedom and pressure relief relegated to a mere three quarters of its former glory - from eight minutes to six. Thinking upon this rather abrupt action, a responsible Blair student should consider the possibilities for other acts of shortening…before the bell rings that is.
The Big Easy still in big trouble
By Gus Woods | Sept. 10, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
Two years after Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans, turning hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens into refugees, cutting the city's population in half, flooding 80 percent of the city and annihilating whole networks of infrastructure, New Orleans has yet to recover from the chaos wrought by the hurricane.
Always soccer, never football
By Andrew Kung | Aug. 11, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
Last Thursday saw the biggest moment in soccer for the Washington area since Freddy Adu, as British superstar David Beckham suited up for the Los Angeles Galaxy to take on DC United in his regular season debut. League execs hope that the presence of an international superstar of Beckham's caliber will be a turning point for the sport, as soccer establishes its presence here in the US, taking its place alongside football, basketball and baseball in the pantheon of American sports.
Where have all the heroes gone?
By Pia Nargundkar | Aug. 1, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
Michael Jordan. Cal Ripken Jr. Jerry Rice. Not so long ago, it was easy for a kid to find a sports hero to idealize. He or she could turn to the sports section of the newspaper, and it would be filled with stories of last-second baskets, great receptions, solid pitching – anything and everything about the games themselves. Now turn to the sports page, and one thing dominates the section – scandal.
A "gut feeling" on homeland security
By Sean Howard | July 31, 2007, midnight | In Op/Ed »
Recently, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said it was his "gut feeling" that the country faces a higher risk of terrorist attack in the summer, which raises the question: are we really safer with this government agency, which has one-fourth of its top leadership positions unfilled? Since it was established on Nov. 25, 2002, the Department of Homeland Security has been at constant odds with the mission it was supposed to accomplish and people it was designed to protect.
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