Wildcat Roar The Paws of Century Junior High Writing to You.

Second Edition 2017-2018

#WhatsYour17 Century Chooses Kind

In the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, our 8th

grade students decided it was time to take action by spreading kindness even further

throughout our school community. Our first generation of Kindness Ambassadors

presented a video to kick off the #WhatsYour17 campaign to challenge

CJH to create 17 dedicated acts of kindness to honor the lives of the 17

individuals killed at Stoneman Douglas High School. Students and staff reflected on our 17 dedicated acts of kindness and

threw our kindness like confetti!

Return of Theme Thursdays By: Dean Bruton

7th Grade Theme Thursdays are back! The first Theme Thursday was Pajama Day,

followed by Jersey Day and Twin Day. Personally, I liked the theme choices, as

they strayed away from ones such as crazy hair day, where the attire you wear is very flashy, and picked casual themes, such as pajama day. Theme Thursdays are a fun hiatus from regular days, which

can get very monotonous at times.

Scholastic Book Fair By: Suzanne Joudeh

6th Grade The book fair is a cool place where you can own books that you’ve been waiting for. If it has been a book that you have been waiting for in the library that you

wanted to read but was never available, you can get your own copy. If there even was a book that was recently published

and you wanted a copy of it then, you can purchase it at the book fair. The cool thing to this is that you can order books if they aren’t at the book fair. It’s really cool and fun to have a copy of your favorite book. Another great thing about the book fair is that posters, erasers, and other non-book

related goodies are available too!

Souper Bowl By: Dean Bruton

7th Grade Who did you root for in this year’s Super Bowl game? Students casted their vote by donating cans of soup and placing

them in a specific box with the team logo printed on the front. The Eagles box dominated the Patriots box 71 to 48.

In the end, the Patriots were bested by the Eagles’ prowess in the real Super

Bowl, winning 41 to 33 in a tight game.

Student Council By: Omar Abdel-Reheem

8th Grade Student Council is quite an enjoyable

club. We help and promote events and school spirit such as the Back 2 School

Bash and the Spring Fling. However, we also help the Orland Park community and nationally. This year we helped with the hurricane relief efforts in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico. We also organized two food drives for the Orland Township Food

Pantry.

Art Club By: Lylah Ibrahim

7th Grade There are many cool things to do at

Century and one of them is Art Club! In Art Club, you can just relax and have fun

creating artwork. Art Club has been working on really cool projects. In Art club you can draw or make a cool new project. To join

go to the activities board pick up a form and come and

join the fun!

CJH Band Update In addition to their concert

performances for students and parents, the band is very proud of their 2nd

place at the Band Festival! Congratulations to Mr. Woodson and

our band members!

CJH Choir Update Choir performed for the school and for

their parents this spring. Our Choir came in second 2nd place at the Choir Festival! Congratulations to Mrs. Corp

and our choir students!

CJH Orchestra Update The Orchestra held their annual spring conference during the school day and

had an evening performance for parents. The Orchestra also earned 1st

place at Orchestra Festival! Congratulations to Ms. Bern-Gordon

and our orchestra students!

Volleyball 6th & 7th Grade Girls:

The 6th and 7th Grade Girls Volleyball team took 5th place in SWIC

tournament and finished their overall record with a 3rd place standing in the

SWIC conference.

8th Grade Girls: 8th Grade Girls Volleyball team had an outstanding season earning a 1st place

finish in the SWIC conference and finished in 3rd place in the Conference

Tournament!

Century Produces High School Musical Jr.

This year’s musical proved CJH is “all in

this together” with show stopping performances from so many talented

students!

Basketball

6th & 7th Grade Boys:

6th and 7th Grade Boys Basketball had an awesome season and took 1st place

SWIC Conference and Tournament.Great work, boys!

8th Grade Boys: The 8th Boys Basketball team had a

solid season and took 3rd Place SWIC tournament.

Track

The Track Team had a great, but very wet season.

However, the team had a great time and made the most of their time together! Congratulations and

great work to our track team!

Friendship Connection By: Omar Abdallah

8th Grade Friendship Connection is a club that has kids interact with other people that you

may not know. We do many fun activities that include making oobleck. The great

thing about Friendship Connection is that everyone is able to come and join in on

the fun. See Ms. Bianchi or Mrs. Wallis for more details!

iTeam

By: Ayman Khan 7th Grade

The i-Team is the best place for

students to explore the different aspects of technology. Here we learn to do

different things with technology like how to use other devices, making your own

websites, coding, creating memes, developing video games, and more! The i-Team has had our district's technology gurus come in and teach the students

about new and exciting technology that is available to them. Also, they are planning to have an Apple representative come in

to their next meeting.

Science Club

By: Aamin Mahdi 8th Grade

Science Club is the perfect combination of fun experiments and hanging out with your friends! From solving a robbery case, to making crystals, science club has a variety of activities that keeps your mind thinking while having a blast!

CJH Mathletes Team Take 1st and 2nd Place in SWIC

The 7th Grade Mathletes Team brought

the 1st place trophy back to Century in the SWIC competition on March 15th!

The 8th Grade Mathletes Team finished in

2nd place in the SWIC competition on March 15th! Great work!

CJH Declamation Team Takes 3rd Place in SWIC

Congratulations to our Declamation Team on their third place finish in the

SWIC competition under the leadership of Mrs. Coleman and Ms. Bertrand!

Student Honored for Patriot’s Pen Essay

Emily Aureilo was recognized at the School Board meeting for her award

winning Patriot’s Pen essay. The Patriot’s Pen essay competition is held annually by the VFW. Students in 8th Grade and 7th Grade Honors LA participate in the essay

competition each year.

Hoops for Heart By: Dean Bruton

7th Grade Hoops for Heart is a nationwide program that has students pay to participate in a

heart healthy exercise activity. The money that the students raised to play in

Hoops for Heart goes to charity, specifically, the American Heart

Association. A great fundraiser for a very important charity!

Early Act Club

By: Dean Bruton 7th Grade

In Early Act Club, the students get to do fun, low effort activities that make a big impact on communities who need help most. Last meeting, on March 12th, we

packaged food for the Feed My Starving Children foundation, who will ship it to

poverty-stricken nations, most likely ones in Africa or Caribbean ones, still

recovering from heavy hurricanes. In the past, Early Act has made Valentine’s for

residents at local nursing homes and blankets for Project Linus. Early Act welcomes new members any time!

Above: The

members of Early Act Club pose after

packing food for Feed My Starving

Children. Right and Below:

Early Act members make cards for the

nursing home residents.

8th Grade Communications Editorials

Standardized Testing By: Nina Szustak

Many teens and young adults suffer from a psychological tension or a feeling of strain or pressure otherwise known as stress. The main leading cause for stress is standardized testing yet some how many schools and officials rely on standardized tests for a true representation of a student’s knowledge. Stress has this affect on students that of which wreaks havoc on their mind and concentration during a test. Tons of students are truly intelligent, but stress simply blocks their minds. Standardized testing can not measure true academic skills and intellectual knowledge properly due to the major stress standardized testing generates for the students. Standardized testing officials just don’t seem to acknowledge or care that their tests are failing schools by disturbing false scores of student body’s intelligence. It turns out that last year’s testing season was marked down with reports from parents and teachers claiming their students are physically and emotionally sick over standardized tests says Liza Frenette. The APA (American Psychological Association) surveyed American teens ranging from ages 13-17 and the teens’ stress levels were above their healthy range and even higher than the adults’ proclaimed stress levels. Adults have far more obstacles surrounding their daily lives so why are children having higher stress levels? Standardized testing is your answer. It's quite alarming how 80% of the teens in New York opted out of standardized testing because of the stress they get from the test says Holland Forsythe. Clearly, students have had enough of this improper and unjustifiable form of testing. Alfie Kohn even says that anxiety has grown into a subfield in educational psychology because of standardized testing and just that subfield being there shows us that if standardized testing is creating this great of a negative reaction then it's probably incapable of showing what students are truly capable of. Standardized testing has created a negative impact on the student body across America and its doing more harm than good. As demonstrated, officials of standardized testing can not choose to relay the whole educational journey of a student based on the false accuracy it spawns due to all the stress students get from standardized testing. Many teens and young adults are suffering from stress disorders, anxiety, or emotional or physical sickness and you could be too. If you or a loved one faces problems like stress disorders, anxiety, or emotional or physical sickness due to standardized testing or just in general please call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or contact the APA (American Psychological Association) for further help.

Dangers of Pressure for the “Perfect Body”

By: Sophia Krcik Girls are being put under the pressure to have the “perfect bodies” and this can lead to Anorexia and Bulimia. Girls are very focused on body image and how they look. These are both very unsafe and life threatening eating disorders. Anorexia and Bulimia are just a couple effects due to pressure on girls to have the so called “perfect body”. Anorexia is an eating disorder in which it causes people to obsess about weight and what they eat. Many people are affected by this disorder. 75% more women have this eating disorder than men. That tells you that women are mostly affected by it and that this a bigger problem for women to deal with. Bulimia is a very serious eating disorder where you binge, and that follows to ways to avoid the weight. Bulimia is a very dangerous way of living. Anorexia and Bulimia are both effects of problems with body image. Girls are so focused on how they look and if they have the “perfect body.” Both of these disorder are very dangerous, unhealthy, and can lead to death. This can lead to death because when girls do things to avoid the weight they aren’t getting the nutrients and types of things their bodies need to stay alive and be a healthy human being.People need to stop putting the idea out there that there is only one way to look, so we can help these girls and save their lives.

A Childhood Without Smartphones Equals a Healthier Future By: Emma Wirt

Cell phones have become extremely popular in the past decade, and today they are even more fascinating because of the current updates in technology. However, their increase in popularity is a problem because they are negatively affecting more and more people. The technology can impact the development of a child’s brain and ability to communicate, and also has taken a toll on people’s overall health. Children should stay as healthy as possible during the earlier years so that they have a better chance of a bright future. Unfortunately, smartphones are preventing this for children by causing many health issues. For this reason, children under the age of 10 should not receive their own smartphone. First and foremost, extended periods of time spent looking at a phone is known to cause bad posture and put stress on the neck. Not only does this alter our physical health, but it can also affect our mental health. Author Amy Cuddy proved that so much slouching can cause lower-self esteem and a negative mood. Depression and other mental health issues are also associated with smartphones, and screen time isn’t the only thing that could be starting you down this hazardous path. Social media is one of the main culprits of messing with our mental health because of the fake images people create to make one feel bad about themself. The constant stress of smartphones can internally weigh you down, and no parent would want this for their child at such a young age. You may not know that smartphones can also interrupt our sleep. According to CNN, researchers have found that the blue light being emitted from phone screens disrupts our sleep cycle. Scrolling through social media right before bedtime may be part of your nightly routine, but this may be the one thing preventing you from sleeping. Instead, it is recommended to turn off your smartphone at least 30 minutes before bedtime, so that the light doesn’t mess with your body systems. Evidently, phones are damaging our bodies and we don’t always realize it. It is important to keep your body healthy as a child, therefore smartphones should be out of the picture at this age. Considering the fact that smartphones are quite negatively affecting people’s health, children younger than age 10 should wait to receive a cellphone. They should be able to live happy, healthy lives without the hassle of a smartphone taking up the rest of their childhood. It’s easy to see that getting them a cell phone at this point would be the wrong decision. Instead, you should encourage children to interact with their friends and family more often. You can even make a change in your community by discussing the issue with parents and guiding them to do what’s best for their child.

8th Grade Communications Editorials

Gender Inequality in the American Workplace

By: Devanshi Patel Jessica Neuwirth, president of the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) Coalition, stated than on average, female doctors and lawyers end up making $2 million less in their lifetime than male doctors and lawyers do. Treacherous facts such as this one are examples of how women are struggling to live through gender inequality in America. Women in America constantly face gender inequality as they are often disrespected at their workplace. For example, a job for a woman is paid less than a job for a man, even though their occupations require the same amount of skill, effort, and responsibility. If a man works a “women’s job”, he thinks he is paid less than if he works doing a “men’s job”. This is the mindset of a man if he works a job considered for a woman, which is disrespectful as this demonstrates that women are thought of to be limited at their work and are paid less just because of their gender . The article, “Women Face Discrimination at Workplace”, said that before the Equal Pay Act, women were paid only a percent of what white men would receive. Even after the act was placed for both genders to recieve equal pay for the same work, half of all of the employed women work in jobs in which are different from the jobs that men work in. This is unfair as women should be able to work the same jobs as men and still get equal pay. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Furthermore, sometimes women can be turned down for countless promotions after turning down to sexual advances made by their bosses. This again proves that women are disrespected at their workplace as they are judged for promotions by their reactions to their superiors rather than the work they have done. As you can see, women are clearly not treated equally as they are often disrespected at their workplace in numerous ways. Women deserve to have a fair chance in America, and the country is not losing anything by giving them a chance. They deserve to be respected and treated equally. You can bring awareness for it through social media using hashtags like #genderdiscrimination and #equalpay or contact companies with gender wage gaps like Google and Walmart to get them to do proper job evaluations for both genders. Stand up to sex discrimination and help America establish gender equality once and for all.

Sugary Drinks...Not So Sweet

By: Emma Landsly Did you know that sodas are the top calorie source in adults’ diets? The term “soft drink” refers to any beverage with added sugar or sweetener, including sodas, fruit drinks, and energy drinks. Governments today are choosing to tax beverages like these to protect citizens from excess sugars entering their bodies. Taxing drinks high in sugar will benefit the society by making the community understand what they are really digesting into their bodies. For this reason, sugary drinks ought to be taxed due to the fact that consumers digest unnecessary sugars. To show this, soft drink input takes up a lot of the regular sugar consumption. A study by Samantha Channing suggested that in an average American sugar diet, 47% of all sugar intake is occupied by energy drinks, sport drinks, sodas, and fruit drinks. Beverages like these are directly linked to obesity, heart disease, and tooth decay! This proves that if you drink unhealthy refreshments daily, you are instantly making the chances to become sick significantly higher. With a tax on drinks leading to these diseases, we would be avoiding many problems in citizens’ bodies. In addition, the leading cause for dehydration in adults are from ingredients in sodas, like sugar, sodium, and caffeine. These also dehydrate the body, and remove necessary nutrients from important organs, states Liam Danamilly. If places in the body don’t receive the proper care, it will result in damage and harm in the organs. Finally, according to Kelly Brownell, if a child drank a soda everyday, the chances to become obese would increase by nearly 60% in the next year! Obesity is a massive issue in children and teens because their bodies and brains are not finished growing, thus making changes in their development occur more often than in adults. To add on to this, soft drink brands are choosing to promote their products directly to children in this age group, making it difficult to not consume a vast amount of sugar. However, a tax specifying towards these situations would allow the child to think about what they are drinking, and will improve their overall health. Considering the fact that consumers will digest unnecessary sugars, soft drinks have a need of being taxed. With a rewarding soda tax, citizens will rethink what they are really putting in their bodies. If you care about benefiting your society from unwanted sugars, contact your government authorities to begin taxing sugary drinks.

Gun Violence in the U.S. By: Sean Ibrahimian

Gun violence has been a rising problem in the past decade. Over 13,286 people have died from guns just in 2017 in America. This amount of people needs to go down significantly within the next couple of years. The government needs to make sure gun sales are completed after a thorough background check has been done. Background checks need to strengthen, it is extremely simple to get your hands on a gun in the United States of America. All you need to do is be a citizen of the United States and not be committed to a mental institute. This system is leaving out a whole group of potential murderers. That is of course people with a clean record, just like Stephen Paddock “the Vegas shooter” this past year. He passed all the qualifications for buying the guns yet he still killed 58 innocent people. Some things can be done to strengthen these background checks. For starters, the licenser must take precautionary measures in checking the vendees’ social media pages. Just recently there was a Florida school shooting; if the licenser saw his social media he would never have gotten that gun sold to him, which would have saved 17 innocent lives. The average person can buy a gun quick and easy based off of the standardized background check established 1998 in which is too old and is not benefiting people as much. We can not go a month without the next gun massacre happening. It is time for this country to open its eyes into keeping its people safe.

8th Grade Communications Editorials

Tuition Free Higher Education By: Caroline Bueche

I believe that Americans deserve a free higher education considering that college teaches students to be more responsible and can also prepare undergraduates in many aspects of their adult life. According to a study held by Georgetown University, graduates who work in higher paying jobs earn approximately one million dollars more than someone who has only received a highschool diploma. This increase is due to the experience and workplace skills that students learn in college. A formal education is now needed for most jobs in America, yet the cost is almost impossible for low income families to pay, especially right after graduation. College provides enormous amounts of opportunities that high school does not. This means acquiring a job is much easier once you’ve gone to college, but during schooling money may be hard to keep. A U.S. Department of Education survey showed that the amount owed by somebody who takes out student loans totals nearly $27,000. Students may opt out of enrolling in college because of the financial strain it puts on their family. But, without this type of education, students may be left unprepared for the rest of their life. If you would like to help free education become a reality, contact a local governor or university that supports the cause. You can also donate to the mostly free tuition schools already in America, including Deep Springs College or Cooper Union.

The Dangers of Smoking By: Alina Alqazaha

Public smoking only leads to healthy non-smokers paying the consequences of those who choose to smoke, and the sad fact is, it’s just unsafe and a misdeed to these healthy citizens and only encourages smokers to continue smoking. Smoking in public places must be banned due to the negative effects it has on healthy people who chose not to smoke. The people that do engage in public smoking is negatively affecting are passive smokers, which are non-smokers getting exposed to the smoke of a cigarette by a smoker, likely in a public place. A miraculous 80% of all lung cancers are caused by smoking and passive smoking. Secondhand smoke, the smoke inhaled by a passive smoker, immediately increases the chances of a passive smoker suffering from a heart attack, as secondhand smoke makes blood sticker. Firsthand smoke, the smoke inhaled by the smoker themselves, has these consequences also. Worse yet, narrowing arteries from the firsthand and secondhand smoke threaten with heart disease and long term risks rise as chances of developing lung cancer increase, with lung cancer being one of the main consequences of exposure to any sort of smoke. The American Cancer Society confirmed that 156,900 Americans died of lung cancer in the year 2000 - 28% of all lung cancer deaths. Clearly, public smoking is a disservice to citizens, however there are way to stop public smoking and help yourself if you are a smoker. Call 800-784-8669 now to get help with a smoking addiction or call to 708-403-4222 to speak with the Official Orland Park Health Services and voice your opinion to change your village of Orland Park by speaking out to ban public smoking.

Video Games in Education By: Logan Godawski

Video games should be used in education because it can improve student engagement. For example students will be able to help other students if they have a problem or if they are stuck on a level or question. Students can make more friends. For example students will have more exposure to other students and they can possibly make a new friend. At a younger age students may have a hard time making a friend but if they are playing a video game with others they can get to know each other more and they might have the same interest. Students will also have more interactions when playing the game and they can learn to deal with anger if they lose. For example students that have anger issues lose a game can learn that it's not that bad to lose and if they don't act out they can get a reward. Call your district office now for more info.

Perks to Smaller Classes By: Victoria Mays

Scientists have proven that smaller class sizes are better for children.There should be less children per classroom as it creates a better working environment, more individual time with the teacher, and the fact that it improves academic progress. According to research, smaller classes have their biggest effect on children who are inattentive. Also, smaller class sizes boost academic achievement and has been examined in numerous studies with mixed results.Studies prove that deducting the amount of children per classroom increases student achievement, especially for younger, disadvantaged children. Citizens’ should give their school board a call and tell them why there should be a smaller amount of children per class.

Potential for Football Injuries By: Ryan McPolin

Football is a very rough sport and due to the rough conditions of this sport your parents need to be informed more about the sport for you to play so you could stay safe. If you get a concussion think twice about if your willing to play again. This year there was approximately 1.6 to 3.8 million concussions! A lot of great football players have brain damage or some sort of medical condition after their football career. 18 NFL football players have died from this sport because of how rough it was. I want parents and kids to learn more about the sport before seeing if they want their kids to play football.

Freetime and Technology By: Joe Zellinger

I know first hand that kids and teens like to spend their free time on their devices. I am one of those teens. Whenever I am bored I just grab my phone or computer and either watch videos or check social media. Although, I feel that this is making me less social and I feel that this is happening to most other kids and teens too. Social media and technology is causing a lot of kids to talk less to their friends and family, and making them want to be alone more often. A study was done on children to see how long they spend on their devices. Kids nowadays spend about 75% of their free time on them. That is a long time to be on their electronics. Another study was done and it showed that without their devices, children feel lonely. To kids, technology is not something to use in their free time; it is now a way of life.

8th Grade Communications Editorials

Putting an End to Bullying By: Ava Longo

Did you know that over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying every year? Every year 3.2 million kids go through a very hard time, when everyday someone is pushing them against the lockers, punching and kicking them, or even just making fun of them. 3.2 million kids are suffering in school because they are being bullied, some of those kids may be Mexican or African American, some of them might be white, some of them might be gay or a lesbian, some of them might be girls, some of them might be boys, some of them might be what society has considered nerds. But I can guarantee you, that ALL of them don’t deserve to be bullied. Bullying is something that teens do often sadly, it is not a strange thing when you hear someone is being bullied because it has happened so often. You see it in the hallway and you want to stand up to the bully but you don’t want them to hurt you. But after awhile you stop caring because it’s normal, but one day don’t you want to live in a world where no one is bullied? Where you can walk the hallways and not worried about being pushed against the lockers? We can’t stop bullying if we ignore it, we can only stop it if we do something about it. So I ask you if you see any of your classmates getting bullied help them, and if you have been bullied before and no one helped you you know what it’s like. So help them, help stop bullying.

Perfection in Today’s Society By: Erin O’Connor

Teen girls are under so much pressure to be perfect in today’s society, it has resulted in a decrease in self-confidence and a dangerous and unhealthy focus on the perception of others. Girls’ self confidence is rapidly decreasing. Girls are three times more likely to participate in self-harm compared to boys. This statistical fact may be due to lack of confidence. When one sees another with the ‘perfect’ life, it is easy to feel deficient. Which means you are putting yourself down by comparing you to someone else. Conversely, only 4% of girls think they are beautiful, according to studies done by Kappa Delta Sorority. Girls feel the pressure for striving to be ‘perfect’ which can lower their self confidence even more. It is important that one truly get to know another before they develop an opinion. Martin Luther King once talked about living in a nation where one is not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I too hope that one’s color, clothes, size, weight, or general appearance will not be the focus of our judgment, and perhaps more importantly, that the content of character becomes the true focus of this generation’s female population.

Geographic Tracking of Identification Cards By: Arjun Ancha

Many school officials are considering having trackers installed in students’ ID cards which is a risky idea. This is a poor idea because of a multitude of issues involving a high cost and up keeping. Many others believe cost of installing and upkeeping the trackers outweighs the benefits greatly. The cost of installing trackers for 4,200 students was upwards of 520,000 dollars. And also, the yearly up keeping for all of those trackers to be around 136,000 dollars. That is a lot of money used for these trackers! Finally, the cost to install trackers in one city was over 14 million dollars which is an insane amount of money. And many students would rather have that money spent elsewhere. I strongly encourage you to spread awareness of how installing trackers in childrens’ ID cards is a bad and unsafe idea that infringes on the privacy of students.

Lack of Sleep due to Studying By: Russell Apter

Kids are studying way to long for tests and therefore staying up too late at night to study for them, then the student comes to school tired, and thus impacting the students focus and performance in school. Kids come to school almost everyday very tired and stressed out from studying and are drowsy in school. At least once a week, more than one-quarter, 28-percent of high school students fall asleep in school, according to sources (The Nemours Foundation, Sept. 2016).Students end up studying way to long for basic tests and quizzes and then not doing well on them from being so tired. Students are staying up very late from studying so hard and then coming to school very tired then not doing well on the test or quiz. Some people are so overwhelmed from studying night after night, that they are exhausted while doing homework. Some of them even fall asleep sometimes. About 22-percent fall asleep doing homework, according to sources (The Nemours Foundation, Sept. 2016). Also, some kids are so tired from studying and going to bed so late that they do not get enough sleep or they sleep past their alarm clock. Some even fall back asleep after they wake up from being so tired. About 14-percent arrive late or miss school because they oversleep, according to sources (The Nemours Foundation, Sept. 2016). Teachers need to realize that kids are studying way too long for tests and quizzes. This is causing kids be very tired for the test or quiz and that is impacting their score on quizzes and grades, in general.

Cell Phone Dangers By: Maddy Arend

Being on your cell phone too much can be dangerous to your health because it causes you to lack communication with others verbally, can hurt you physically, and has a possibility of leading you to cancer. In this study they found that it appeared to be doing damage to the way their brain works causing chemical imbalances that could cause severe anxiety and tiredness. Having been on your phone for so long causes triggers that can set off your anxiety such as seeing notifications for updates on latest news or having reminders set for every last thing you need to get done for the day. Doctors measured levels of gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), a chemical that slows down signals in the brain.

Drug Testing in High School By: Arhan Atreya

Drug testing in high schools is good for the society because, who would want someone on a basketball team who is a cheater in the sport and also a drug addict. Also, drugs affect the body in many ways. 64,000 people died from drug overdose in 2016. So overall drug testing should be allowed in schools all around the world only for the student athletes. Hopefully in the future teachers realize how big this problem is, and soon, maybe they will fix it.

8th Grade Communications Editorials

Equal Rights for LGBT+ Community Members By: Gianna Barbaro

The LGBT+ community faces horrible standards and discrimination by society. In schools around the country, LGBT+ youth are harrassed and constantly skip school to escape that bullying. This kind of bullying is something that you could witness anywhere. It may not seem like a big deal to those outside of the community, but to those in the community, this has much larger affects. Gay and lesbian kids and teens are four times more likely to contemplate and attempt suicide whereas transgender youth are ten times more likely to do so. These kids and teens are people your age and possibly even your friends. Unfortunately, school is not the only place in which the LGBT+ community faces discrimination. Up to 40% of the homeless young people living on the streets identify as LGBT+ or queer. This is because anti-LGBT+ parents disown their children and no longer allow them to live in their home. Being as that older generations tend to be more conservative and possibly more anti-LGBT+, this problem is relevant. America is not the only place that there is discrimination against those in the LGBT+ community. In 72 countries and territories around the entire world, being gay is completely outlawed and in some of those countries it can land you life in prison. In 6 countries, being gay is punishable by death. The death penalty still being used against those in the LGBT+ community is worse than terrible and needs to stop immediately. It’s time that we all stand up for the rights of our fellow human beings, no matter of their sexual orientation. Even if you’re not part of the community, stand up for the kids that are and stand against those who are bigoted. When it comes down to it, we are all human and we all deserve to be who we are no matter of what country we live in, what family we’re from, or what school we go to.

College Athletes Deserve Compensation

By: George Youssief College athletes bring in so much money for the NCAA that they deserve to get paid. When a jersey is sold, they are literally selling the players name. I think that having your name sold and you not getting paid, is truly a crime. Another reason why I think these athletes should get paid is because the NCAA makes $11 billion a year. This is based of the athletes playing nationally televised games which bring in millions. College athletes really deserve to be paid. Think of where the money that a team makes goes, whether it be a tournament, or from merchandise and sales. Not right back to the players. It is first distributed to coaches and team staff, and then whatever is left goes to the athletes. The NCAA receives millions from tournaments and merchandise sales, the athletes should get paid. So, call the NCAA at 317-917-6222 and let them know why college athletes deserve to be paid.

Dangers Within Youth Football

By: Laeth Rahahleh Youth football is unsafe and harmful because, many players receive concussions. Also, youth football is a sport that is threatening the children of the new generation. It is harmful due to the fact that there are too many concussions in the leagues. In just the 2012-2013 seasons there were 1,198 concussions in the youth leagues which is not at the normal rate and its horrible because of how many kids are being affected by this threat. This is because the rate has gone up Scientists believe that it’s easier for older teens to get concussions because their brain is much larger. This is because the skull has to protect more parts of the brain which is harder because of how big it is and how its still developing. In my opinion this is very logical and true and is a huge part of this threat. Concussions might seem rare but to be exact 54% of concussions are in youth football leagues. I believe that that this needs to change since it is such a huge threat to our youth leagues because of how unsafe the league is compared to other regular leagues. If you want to dodge a bullet for youth football players like me, call or email the head of the players league about this situation.

Social Media Dangers

By: Isabella Social media is unhealthy for your mental health. Teens spend an average of 2 hours and 20 minutes a day on social media, which can lead to addiction. 2 hours is a lot of time and even staring at a screen that long isolates you from the real world. Notifications that pop up on your phone make you satisfied that your getting attention, and when you don’t get them you start to think people don’t like you. Social media can lead to depression. When a person starts to scroll through other people’s pages, it leads them to compare their life to others. As a result can make people feel less worthy. The last danger of social media and in my opinion one of the biggest ones is cyberbullying. Kids think it’s fine to write something online that they would never say in person which is cruel and completely wrong. A study found that 5.4% - 11.2% of teens have been victims of bullying. And there is a big link with cyberbullying and depression. Cyberbullying is very wrong. I encourage you to not bully and set only a small amount of time to go on social media.

Banning Words Puts Democracy at Risk

By: Armin Pazooki Banning rude words is a disgusting idea that puts the ideas of our democracy at risk. If we were to ban rude words, we might become just like dictatorships of the past, and I know that nobody wishes to associate with them. Also, this will be a complete and utter violation of the first amendment which guarantees the right to free speech. In the event a ban ever occurs, it will be an insult to everything our nation worked toward. The ban could even affect the lives of our citizens. This is due to the fact that many may disregard the law and will be punished accordingly, causing many lives to be ruined.

8th Grade Communications Editorials

There Should Be No Genetic Modification By: Ahlam Mohammed

Genetically modifying babies should not be allowed. It is not only wrong but should never be a choice due to the fact that the process can result in other diseases and unexpected consequences. Physicians and researchers developed and introduced genetic modification in order to help rid diseases, however, it can actually lead to a higher risk of disease and complications. For example, the process to genetically modify a baby starts with the embryo, an unborn offspring in the process of development. When doctors are in the process of modifying they can cause death to the embryo which leads to an abortion. Doctors have also noticed premature aging, reproductive disorders, immune imbalance, gastrointestinal problems, organ damage, and cancer along with other unknown medical issues, when practicing genetic modification. Knowing the high risks that can come with genetic modifications should be enough to deter anyone from choosing this path. If that’s not enough, maybe this thought is. Genetic modification can lower the immunity levels of some diseases. The diseases that were almost wiped out due to society building up the immunity to them may return once more because of genetic modification. Imagine diseases such as smallpox, polio, or scarlet fever making a come back. Many people may not understand how much science affects us as a whole, but this is something our generation may begin to see as a norm. It is up to us to protect our future. As scientists are developing genetic modification, I urge everyone to do research and continue to keep up with scientific data and proper research.

Cheerleading is a Sport

By: Danyell McCormack Cheerleading deserves to be considered a sport due to the fact that the the athletes put lots of time and effort into what they do, they continue to meet majority of the standards needed to be met as a world known sport, and compete against other teams. One of the biggest requirements includes the fact that there needs to be plenty of physical activity and moving in order to keep your heart rate up. The cheerleaders involve this step in the big picture by showing combinations of jump sequences, throwing girls into the air, outstanding routines, meeting this standard. Also, staying productive off the floor and working out is exactly what these hard-workers do. In their off season, each girl that wants to keep their spot on the team will put in the hours of work in the gym to stay fit. To end with, you need to have skill. If you aren’t strong enough, or flexible enough, odds are you will not be good enough to keep up in cheerleading. If you have these qualities, you also have the qualities to be a part of a real sport. In the end, they are deserving of the sports title and you can help resolve this issue by making it more apparent and protesting to make it an official sport.

Pay College Athletes

By: Anjola Oluwa Ogedengbe From early August to March, a college athlete is devoted to their sport. For these 7 months, athletes work hard for 43 hours a week. These 43 hours include practice, weight lifting, and tournaments. The amount of hard work that college athletes put in has led me to believe that they deserve to get paid. Athletes don’t just work hard during their season, but they are forced to continue training when the season ends. During the preseason, they train for 50-60 hours and during the offseason, they train for 20-25 hours. As a fellow athlete, if I worked this hard on a day-to-day basis, I would feel disrespected if I wasn’t paid in return. What you should do is call the NCAA at 317-917-6222, and give them some insight on how much hard work a college athlete puts in. Maybe this could change their mind and one day they will begin paying their athletes.

Money Cannot Buy Happiness

By: Madi Kaminski Money cannot buy happiness do to the fact that true happiness comes from family, hobbies and relationships. In 1,000 person study, since 1990 the divorce rate for families has gone down starting at a rate of 4.75 decreasing towards 3.20. Meaning that with family, you can easily have additional pleasure than those who lack the bonds. Family is a factor that is a credible and truthful source for reality. They will give it to you straight and help guide you through simple and complex situations. Research shows that bonds that are created when our children are young and respect given, the child will grow up and respect you and others. Treating everyone with respect is a moral value that every family should set a standard for. Children that a raised one way will stay in similar habits. The tighter the family is considering technology, opinions, and other factors, the more successful the children will grow up to be. Staying close and having bonds is vital towards family so during rough times your bridges aren’t burnt. Family is something to cherish, appreciate, and care for. Always spend the time with each other. When you see them everyday make sure they know you love them and care because you never know when they’ll be gone.

Televised Court Cases Do Not Lead to Justice

By: Sarah Elnatour Televised court cases are not free of corruption from the public. People watching the trial will criticize the judge’s antics based on their own opinions, and people involved will purposely try to make a trial a source of entertainment. Cameras are often responsible for creating this atmosphere that favors entertainment, instead of justice. Famous defendants will purposely use their celebrity status to be acquitted, so televised publication will only give celebrity defendants more publicity, and will only provide more wiggle room provided by publicity in order to avoid any charges. With the help of the public’s bias, someone can actually sway the verdict to acquit themselves. The public’s bias eliminates transparency, the entire purpose of having cameras in courtrooms. We need to ensure that there is a just jury appointed, and that full transparency is guaranteed as well, because televising court cases doesn’t rid the trial of corruption.

8th Grade Communications Editorials

College Education Should Not Be Free By: Allison Boertlein

Free education is not a realistic option to deal with the soaring college tuition rates, due to the fact that nothing in life is free. If we were to look to the government to pay for student degrees, it would take away the element of college where you have to work to stay enrolled as well as the seriousness of schooling. This is because if the student isn’t having to pay for college, why would they need to keep up a job? It is human nature to only want to do the minimum amount of work is needed to stay afloat, so if there is no money being spent on college, why would students want to spend time keeping up a job? Government paid tuition would also keep students from becoming as financially independent as they should be. This is due to the fact that if students don’t have to grapple with saving money to pay for their own tuition as well as limiting spending as to not go into deep debt, they won’t learn the importance of savings and careful spending- something that is of the utmost importance in everyday adult life. If college was free, students would be very likely to rashly spend all that money on other things that aren’t important instead of having to watch their money. A further issue posed by having free university education is that it decrease the the value of degrees due to how many people would be easily them. If college was free, more students would choose to go because even if they don’t end up using their degree or decide to do something else with their life, they wouldn’t be wasting any money. Therefore, more students would attend and graduate from colleges, lessening the value of degrees and making some scarce job opportunities even harder to come by. Overall, these drawbacks to free college would greatly decrease students’ independence and financial intelligence. We need to stop looking to the Government to solve our financial problems and instead petition the universities themselves to stop this outrageous overpricing of tuition. This way, huge debt won’t happen and students will still be forced to learn that hard work pays off.

Banning Cell Phones in Schools By: Tom Donaghey

Each year 35% of teens admit to using their phones to cheat in school. With the use of phones kids are using the internet to cheat on various projects and assignments. I believe this could be stopped if strict rules are put into place to stop cheating. Every time a student looks up the answers to something they don’t know they aren’t learning anything. This causes them to do bad on tests, and end up getting bad grades. That later on leads to them being stressed out and disappointed with themselves. In my eyes all of this could be avoided if teachers and parents take action. They need to stop students from doing things like texting their friends for answers or getting answers from someone else. Also many kids are guilty of taking a picture of an exam and showing it to a friend who hasn’t taken it yet. This hurts the friend that hasn’t taken it because if he ever has to do anything that’s on that test again he won’t know how to do it. Cheating is apparent at every school because of phones. One rule that could be put in place is that all phones must stay at the front of the room when there is a test. Things like this would help many kids get a proper education and actually give them a chance to learn. If you care about the kids of the future getting the education they need, then you need to start a petition to stop cheating in school.

Cell Phones are Educational Tools By: Krisha Patel

According to the data compiled by the Nielsen research firm 58 percent of American children form 13 to 17 years old owned a cell phones as of July 2012, an increase of more than 60% over the previous year. Since staying organized and assessing their learning is one of the students responsibility, student should be allowed to use technology as one of their learning tool. If students get to use their cell phone as an educational tool they will do their work on time. Cellphones can be an educational tool and are necessary for students to have access to during their school and as an learning resource. Students should be able to learn in the way they are comfortable in. USA today tells us that, “Although schools have traditionally banned or limited cellphones in the classroom, 73 percent of Advanced Placement and National Writing Project teachers said their students use phones in the classroom to complete assignments .” Students who bring their phones to school anyway are at a whopping 63 percent. Although I believe cellphones have their place in a classroom, and teens these days have more knowledge about cell phones. Unfortunately, since the use of mobile phones have increased nowadays, every classroom should take action and allow the use of cellphones in class. So get your phone out and download the beat apps for your education and find the best balance between some school work and cellphone time.

Too Much Homework By: Rami Issa

If students go to school for 7 hours and 15 minutes, why should they have to go home and do homework? Spending up to an additional 17.5 hours a week on homework is pointless. If students don’t get the socializing and relaxing time they need, students can become increasingly stressed which can negatively impact life at school and at home. During those 7 hours and 15 minutes, their only social time is lunch. That means that students are learning for 6 hours and 45 minutes straight. That can be hard for kids due to the fact that the average human attention span is only 8 seconds. If the average human attention span is 8 seconds, how are students expected to learn for 6 hours and 45 minutes? Homework is also very stressful, over 55 percent of students considered homework a primary source of stress. This is bad because stress can cause lack of sleep, headaches, exhaustion, weight loss, and stomach problems. Homework is also too time consuming, 60 percent of kids do extracurricular activities. Those extracurricular activities are just at school. They don't include outside sports teams or other activities. Students also have chores to complete when they get home. If students are balancing chores, school, homework, and sports that can cut into their sleep. The average person needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Having a busy schedule can interrupt that sleep. As you can see students should not have homework because they have a long school day, it can be very stressful, and when they get home they have other thing to do like sports or chores. Homework leads to students being stressed, and overwhelmed. So with this knowledge call you school board and ask for a change to eliminate homework.