We have Ukranian and Venezuelan students here. Maybe a profile!

In my classes, there has actually been a lot of discussion about the Kiev and Ukraine. However, the entire subject is very murky and trenched in a lot of long standing history-so it can be hard to understand. Crimea has strong ties with Russia and much of Crimea hopes to become part of Russia or have their help to become autonomous. But not all of Crimea. The Prime minister of the Ukraine has publicly stated that the invasion of Crimea is an act of war, but NATO wants peaceful negotiations. And BOTh the Ukraine and Russia are our allies.
I think part of the reason we're not have lots of discussions, is the entire issue is very confusing. Ukraine seems to be the little 'good' underdog in this situation, but it isn't that simple and if we helped them, we would have all of Russia's wrath to deal with.

I like how this article points out how the ludicrous, over analyzed but one sided view we have of Justin Bieber. "World makes laughably naive judgment that Justin Bieber has hit rock bottom."
I wonder why we are so obsessed with the demise of pop idols. Does it make us feel better about ourselves?

Check out the NY Times Op-Doc channel. They make mini, informative, opinionated documentaries on a wide range of subjects. Each one is done by a columnist. Could we do something like this? Which ones do you like? What do you like about it?

I've really hate the 'coupling' culture of Prom. The pressure certainly gets to me and looking back, it's not healthy. I had a great time with my friends and I'm lucky to have a group of friends where bringing a date for the majority, was not a priority. But I think we need to evaluate how damaging prom can be for girls-the pressure to be wanted, to be seen as beautiful, to act in a way that is attractive. We don't any of that to any one yet it seems like we do-the entire night.

So valid. I like the quote "One reason English majors tend to earn less than business majors, for instance, is that many lit-loving 18 year olds aren't particularly motivated by money, and want careers in, say, PR or journalism (or even teaching!) that are short on pay, but meet their interests. Saying business majors earn more only because of what they studied is like saying having lots of Nike running shoes in your closet makes you a faster runner." Hate to be cliche here, but money isn't everything. As some one who has career interests that are not always lucrative this article is encouraging. Money isnt enough to make me feel successful

http://theweek.com/article/index/255583/in-defense-of-the-family-secret
Should Newspapers share important personal information about its subjects? What topics did you think this journalist left out?

Also, just to put it out there
a)I don't really see how the signs on the restrooms saying girls and boy's is demeaning..
b)The majority of us aren't adults, hence we are boys and girls. Sorry. But that's how it is.
So I don't understand what is so offensive. Our teachers are in higher authorial positions than us, so if they are referred to men and women and we aren't, I don't see that as a problem.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/the-case-against-high-school-sports/309447/
Steinhart recommended I read this a while ago and i thought i would share it with you guy's.
Ripley argues that the reason America is behind so many country's academically is because we put so much emphasis on school sports. What do you think?

The writer was able to maintain a light voice which I think aided getting his point across. As a lot of people have noted, this article is amusing. However while being amused the writer was able to bring across a stronger point. I kind of wish he delved deeper. Because a piece like
this can have opinion, I wanted to hear more of his at the end. The 'so what.'
What does overloading children with homework mean besides the fact that it exhausts the kids.
Does it deprive us of other opportunities?
Is it fair?
How could it be solved?
What's the argument for it's not a problem?

When I go on trips I actually don't allow myself to take more than a couple pictures a day..often I refuse to allow myself to take any. It's because if I start I know I will stop seeing the things in front of me with my eyes and only instead see it through my phone. It's not inevitable to stop being overly connected with tech, it's just hard.

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21583277-worlds-biggest-polluter-going-green-it-needs-speed-up-transition-can-china
How does China deal with pollution?
What are its environmental policies? What can it do to change? Can they clean up fast enough or are we all doomed?

Not going to lie, this article made me cry. Do you think this is an effective way to bring social awareness/promote peace between religions? Why is there still denial of the Holocaust? Could this work to change that?

Okay, so as the leader of the slam club at Tam, and one of the poets in this competition..I have a LOT of opinions on this.
First of all, way to go Redwood for covering an interesting event and giving poetry credence in a newspaper. (*nudge*Tamnews*cough)
Also, I think this was creative.
On the other hand, as a participant in this Slam, it was least fun slam I've been to. The point of a poetry slam is a group of poets coming together with thoughts and giving validity to each others words. The competition aspect of it is really just a shell. However slam poetry IS A COMPETITION. ANNND it does have a TEAM. They didn't write this like a sports brief, they wrote it how it is. A competition with teams. However this is just a shell to add an edge to the real point of a poetry slam-coming together with a love of words.
Why this slam was the least enjoyable for me, is pretty well illustrated in this article. ALL emphasis was on the competitive edge, on Redwood winning. Notice Tam was mentioned once.
ALL schools should have had a voice/a mention in this article.
I'm disappointed that something beautiful, a form of community, has been turned into a really competitive excuse to elevate one school over another. This isn't football, it's poetry.

Honestly, I was more saddened by this article than offended. This problem isn't simply one of misogyny, but one of population statistics and industrial changes. However, this kind of attitude of left-overs hurts men and women.

I found this a bit tedious towards the end, but actually a lot of fun. I think that this could be a tool, but I don't see how this would work with most news articles. This article was matching quotes with popes, but say we had an actual news article-how would that work?

It's definitely valuable. It's valuable to know student's opinions and intended majors as a student. However, I really wish there were more articles written by college students for highschool students. I feel like I've talked to so many peers and ready so many articles, but I actually don't have a lot of college student resources.
I liked this article, Redwood did a good job brushing the surface of broad subject. If possible, it would have been cool to interview Redwood Alum who did go into the arts and what they are doing now.

This is disgusting. I really applaud the journalist for not putting his own opinion in-I don't think I could have been that fair with my writing.This really makes me check myself and realize racism is never truly gone.

So I keep hearing about how Spring Breakers means MORE how it's not just senseless violence and sex and debauchery. But I haven't heard WHY or WHAT actually makes it more. Korine says himself that he is not one for clear cut answers. But if no one seems to have the answers for what makes the film metaphorical and the audience is not going to get any answers from it..I'm kind of confused on what on earth the point of making the film was...

Yeah, I agree that the Bark should have handled this in a more serious manner. WHY is this harmful behavior, is it supported by all upperclassman-what are the mental and physical damage this imposes?
Also constantly referring to the walk the underclassmen take to get off campus as the "Walk Of Shame" even if that is common lingo, is not acceptable journalism.