Category: 2018

By Addie Brown

Many high schools are removing the class ranking system nationwide with the intention of ending the fierce, high-stress competition that exists between high school students.

According to a news release of Swarthmore College’s recently admitted class, only 44% of admitted students came from high schools reporting class rank.

Not only are high schools discarding the ranking system, but colleges are viewing class rank as declining in significance. A report by the National Association for College Admission Counseling stated that only 9.2% of colleges in America attributed “considerable importance” to class rank in the admissions process in 2016.

In a Daily Pennsylvanian article, the University of Pennsylvania Dean of Admissions Eric Furda stated that “Class rank has become less prevalent in our pools, and therefore, less relevant.” Furda noted that only around 30% of applicants to the Penn come from high schools with ranking systems.

Sumita Bhattarai, a rising junior at American University, said her old high school recently removed the ranking system. “I’m not sure that class rank really has much meaning anymore,” she said. Bhattarai said class rank had little to no impact on her admission to American University.

Another rising junior at AU, Jose Leoncio, did not have a ranking system at his high school and said he believes that the entire ranking system should be eliminated. “We should be moving away from rank,” he said. “I’m in full agreement that your life shouldn’t be defined just by a number.”

However, not everyone believes in doing away with the ranking system. Doyin Abubakar, a rising senior at American University, believes that class rank is a significant component of the education system. “When students can indicate their progress it can encourage them to do more,” he said.

Despite conflicting opinions about the significance of class rank, schools are still seeing a nationwide shift away from the ranking system. The majority of high schools have either abandoned class rank or are planning to dispose of it sometime in the near future.

A Washington Post article quotes David Hawkins, the executive director of educational content and policy at the NACAC, discussing the depreciation of class rank. “The most important reason that class rank is on the decline is because it really isn’t a direct measure of student achievement,” he said.

By Cory Alexandria

With the ability to engage in activities such as exercise, reading, and spending time with friends, some students have found these outlets to be crucial in decompressing from their vast stress.

Susan Krauss Whitbourne of Psychology Today said that chronic stress can negatively affect the maintenance of bodily functions, such as the ability to avoid injury. This cycle of stress has the potential to be broken through extended breaks and vacations.

Whitbourne claims that vacation gives the individual the chance to gain a new perspective on their problems and break their routine in a beneficial way. She also claims that the individual can emerge as someone who is ready for the world.

When unable to take a full vacation, a collective review of research from the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences found that activities such as yoga can improve emotional, physical, mental, and behavioral health, especially in a school setting.

Yoga was cited as effective in the destressing process as it was documented through 47 publications, with 85% of elementary schools whose programs were implemented within the curriculum, as well as another 62% who implemented school-based programs.

According to Kirty Saxena, the director of the Pediatric Bipolar Disorders Program at the Texas Children’s Hospital, the stress levels at which students are at have affected their mental health. Saxena told Texas Medical Center News that many mental disorders are a result of this stress.

Nikita Vasudevan, a law student and librarian at American University, said taking a break to engage in simple activities such as watching YouTube videos and reading the news is helpful as her work becomes tedious and overwhelming.

“I once heard that for every 30 minutes of studying, take a five to ten minute break,” Vasudevan said. “I’ve always been bad at doing that, but I’ve gotten used to taking small, short breaks.”

As a full time staff member at American University and a part time graduate student, Gabriella Calderon does not get the same breaks as other students, but she does use the the little time she has in order to disconnect from her work and stress. She urged others to do this as well.

“A lot of students are stressed and put too much stress on themselves,” Calderon said. “It’s okay to take an hour a day to focus on yourself.”

By Montse Fabregat Lopez

As the first round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup knockout phase comes to an end, people’s excitement gets harder to control. It doesn’t matter where they are or who they’re with, the anticipation flows through everyone’s veins. But some Americans don’t seem to agree.

Sophia Roberts an American student said: “I feel like the World Cup is less important in America.” She also said football had more of an impact in American culture. Max Covin says “The United States of America are known for sports like basketball, football and baseball”.

Statistics from Nielsen show that within the first sixteen games, FOX Sports and Telemundo TV viewerships went down 44% in comparison to the last World Cup in 2014. Joana Saraiva, a Portuguese student, thinks that a key element that can change a person’s interest for the World Cup is if your own country is competing or not. Hunt Mitcholl a former Soccer Player says “Tradition is definitely a key element.”

Seeing as the United States of America is not a part of this year’s tournament, some Americans find it hard to relate to other countries’ excitement as the end of the world-wide tournament is nearing. Covin says “World stopping importance, is exclusive for breaking news.”

While in the United States of America the World Cup is, if noticed, just another tournament, in other countries, mainly Latin America and Europe, the World Cup is more than just an athletic event. It is considered a social movement since “It gives the country a sense of community”, according to Saraiva.

Now that the United States National Team is out of sight, both FOX sports and Telemundo TV have redirected their attention to the Mexican team that was beaten 2-0 by the Brazilian team on July 2nd, 2018. Seeing Mexico defeat the feared German squad and climb its way to the top of their group, caught the attention of many, including TV personality Oprah who didn’t hesitate to support the Hispanic nation through an Instagram Video on July 2nd, 2018 that has since gained 1,554,636 views.

Even though not many Americans watch the World Cup, they are able to recognize it as an important athletic event and acknowledge that it is a bonding opportunity with people from other countries and cultures. Roberts calls it “a starting place for anything”.

By Jenna Holton

July 5, 2018

COBB COUNTY, Ga. – Cobb County may close Mountain View Aquatic Center to counteract budget shortfalls. Swimmers and community members face uncertain, upsetting changes in light of the situation.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a $30 million budget deficit has caused county departments to consider decommissioning numerous local amenities. With the proposed list of twelve closures, the county will save $3.3 million, as reported by Fox 5 Atlanta.

“Over half of the County high school swim programs use Mountain View Aquatic Center. If the facility were to be taken away, many teams would struggle to survive without an adequate facility to use,” said Zack Schreer, the head coach for Pope High School Swim and Dive, in an email to Cobb County swim coaches and coordinators.

“From offering swimming lessons to being a home to three major USA Swimming clubs, MVAC serves as an essential part of the swimming network and [the] Cobb Community,” said Zack Schreer. Without this amenity, these programs can no longer continue.

The threat of one’s sport being inaccessible is a fear felt by any athlete, as Morgan Thomas, a senior volleyball player from Redding, Pennsylvania, said, “due to budget issues in my low-income city, my school” stopped allowing the club volleyball team to utilize the facility. Consequently, her area severely “needed a community center to continue altering lives.”

Morgan’s situation reflects a reality Cobb County athletes could face shortly. While her volleyball team could practice, she became “more confident athletically and academically” because her coach emphasized the necessity of completing homework between practices so the student-athletes could become well-rounded, conscientious individuals.

“On my swim team, I learned time management skills because I had practice from five to seven in the morning and at night every day,” said high school sophomore, Zoe. Her experiences helped her to develop “close friendships and social skills” she applies daily.

Without these facilities available, Michael, a father and “a firm believer in team sports,” said, children lose the opportunity to “meet new people and develop lifelong friendships.”

Zack Schreer said each endangered facility “create[s] and endear[s] a greater sense of community.” Mountain View “offers a place and classes designed to meet the needs of our senior citizens, provides a home to those on adaptive aquatics teams and a suitable location for aquatic therapy for those with special needs.”

With Mountain View’s plethora of recreational and athletic activities available, many residents of the Cobb community would suffer extensive losses following its closure.

Coaches have encouraged swimmers and their families to appear at local town hall meetings and public hearings while wearing their team spirit wear to express their concern regarding the possible closing.

As provided in Cobb’s Budget Journey, future town hall meetings and public hearings will take place on the following dates:

•       Monday, July 9, East Cobb Senior Center, 7:00 p.m.
•       Tuesday, July 10, Board of Commissioners Meeting Room on 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta, 9:00 a.m.
•       Tuesday, July 17, Board of Commissioners Meeting Room on 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta, 6:30 p.m.
•       Wednesday, July 25, Board of Commissioners Meeting Room on 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta, 7:00 p.m.

Regardless of the outcome, efforts to curtail the fiscal deficits will result in significant changes for Cobb County.

“The county needs Mountain View Aquatic. We just can’t swim without it,” said Zack Schreer.

By Gigi Duncan

To many high schoolers, the ideas of applying to a college and being ready to take that next big step are tremendously terrifying. As applying for different universities has become more competitive in recent years, students have prepared more rigorously for what lies ahead.

Students from all over must adjust to the college life of the United States after completing their high school careers. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 2.2 million (70%) of high school graduates attend college by the following October.

Although attending college for the first time can be considered excitable for all, students who have attended both public and private high schools tend to struggle in applying to college.

Many colleges review a person’s extracurricular activities and experiences with community service.Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey looks at one’s personal essay, awards, volunteering, clubs, sports, past employments, and participation in college-prep courses.

NSLC staff member Amanda Soto attended a specialized boarding school in Puerto Rico where she received STEM credits and graduated a year early.

“Our process is completely different than what [the] American one is like,” Soto said. “We just filled out some papers and that was it.”

While private schools tend to focus on the individual’s needs in applying for college, public schools typically have a larger number of students whose needs in preparing for college can be overlooked by educators and counselors.

Recent college graduate Celeste Esposito had a difficult time becoming accustomed to college life following four years at a public high school.

“My public high school did not prepare me for college at all,” Esposito said. “There were a lot of different people and things to learn in college than at high school.”

Whether the jump from one type of school is more beneficiary in going to college than the other, some can agree that going to college signifies a new chapter in one’s life.

As David Lloyd George stated: “Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.”

By Indigo Coylewright

Some students out of high school seek a gap year or other alternative learning to learn about themselves and the world.

Connor Greenawalt, Program Director of the Communication program at the National Student Leadership Conference, said leadership programs and other similar camps and programs allow you to explore what you would like to do without the need to take a gap year.

According to Parenting New Hampshire, taking a gap year “can lead [high school students] down the path to full-time work without a plan for more education.”

Although gap years and alternative learning experiences are not required before college, many students choose to take the opportunity.

The Chronicle of Higher Education wrote “many [high school students] are exhausted and burned out, eager to refuel their curiosity about the world through the kind of learning that won’t appear on a transcript.” According to Year Out Group, over 230,000 students are taking gap years this year.

Although students sometimes take their gap year before college to plan what they intend to pursue, Trevor Howell, a Team Advisor at the National Student Leadership Conference, said he recommends that people take a gap year after college before their first larger job.

He recommends spending this time thinking, working a small job, and, “Traveling, road tripping, and volunteering”.

By Emma Dilanni

For many high school seniors around the world, the end of May is a stressful time as they grapple with leaving home and prepare for going off to college.

High school ending is often a landmark of new beginnings for students. College is frequently the first time adolescents live on their own and make decisions for themselves without the close guidance of their parents or other guiding figures. While this can be exciting, it comes with a lot of responsibility that many aren’t primed for.

This level of responsibility can have a strong effect. In Lucy Liu’s article “The Ugly Side of Senior Year,” she expresses the anxieties that come with the title “senior.”

“Most will point out the beauty of it: being top dog on campus, having off-campus lunches, getting the best parking spots,” Liu wrote. “But senior year also has an ugly side. For many students, it’s freak-out-about-college time.”

Youth Truth Organization, a national non-profit, performed a survey between September 2015 and December 2016, interviewing over 55,000 high school students about their preparedness for college.

The survey revealed that roughly 50% of high school students across all four grades feel that “[Their] school has helped [them] develop the skills and knowledge [they] will need for college-level classes.” As far as feeling prepared, students are largely divided.

Jose Leoncio, a rising junior at American University, shared his thoughts on senior year, and why students shouldn’t feel too worried about college.

“Really enjoy your senior year because you will lose a lot of your familiarities, like your friends, your set schedule, etc.,” Leonico said. “College is nothing like what people say in high school, it’s not as intense as people make it out to be; it’s hard work, but good work.”

Similarly, Trent Ellsworth, a rising sophomore at Brigham Young University, offered his tip on how to integrate into a new environment more easily.

“Participate in a lot of things and figure out what you like to do. Have lots of fun, it’s a good time,” Ellsworth said.

In the article “Advice for Graduating Seniors: Don’t Romanticize College,” Brennan Bernard, the director of college counseling at the Derryfield School in Manchester, N.H, explains to the Washington Post the danger of believing in “the perfect college.”

“[Many students] have gone to great lengths to master tests, stretch themselves academically and exhaust themselves with extracurricular involvement with the goal of impressing admission committees. After all of this effort, there is an expectation of perfection that simply does not exist,” Bernard said.

On the other hand, Alain de Botton, a writer for the New York Times, offered advice on how to circumvent these toxic thoughts about perfection in his article “Why You Will Marry the Wrong Person.”

Rather than getting trapped in this mindset, Botton suggests that “Instead, students must embrace the complexities of college life and opportunity and accept the imperfections.”

By Bryan Barahona

Current NBA commissioner Adam Silver is looking into ways of revising or altogether eliminating the league’s “one-and-done” rule in the near future.

This would allow high schoolers to declare for the NBA draft immediately following their senior year, bypassing the NCAA and the need to play at least one year in college or overseas, an option that has become increasingly common for young stars over the years.

Silver has already met with NCAA officials in order to discuss the removal of this rule, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on November 7, 2017.

Various high school prospects seek alternative routes to reaching the NBA such as playing overseas due to the apparent advantages it has over the NCAA system.

The biggest criticisms of how the NCAA is run surrounds the fact that their players have no (legal) way of making money playing for a program, whether it be prestigious such as Duke or relatively small like Louisville.

College athletes are banned from signing endorsement deals with any company that is willing to give them an offer such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, and more. The violation of this rule could put a players’ college sports career at risk, some whose college attendance relies on a sports scholarship.

“I think the scariest part of that though is the money that is given to a 17- or 18-year-old, like, $20 million dollars their first year at 19, I think that can be a very scary thing for a lot of people,” Connor Greenawalt, Program Director of Communications at NSLC, said.

NBA legends such as Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Moses Malone are great examples of the success high school draftees can have in the league; however, the epitome of this kind of success is Lebron James.

Business Insider reported that “Lebron’s first deal with Nike was for a reported $90 million, stunning for an 18-year-old with no experience.”

Since that initial signing, Business Insider continued, “James has since developed his brand into one of the strongest among professional athletes, a development that may have always been natural, judging by his intuition at a young age.”

Although the story of “just a kid from Akron, Ohio” seems inspiring to many, not all NBA careers have the same illustriousness as Lebron’s.

On the opposite side of the spectrum are players such as Kwame Brown, who get drafted out of high school with high expectations but fall out of the league- jumping between numerous teams, having low career averages relative to their draft order, and finding themselves out of the league prematurely, pursuing other opportunities such as the BIG3 League.

“If the NBA provided different financial aid or programs that’d help them manage and take care of their money that’d also be a big help,” Thomas Lobasso, an American University police officer, said.

A high school prospect’s abilities also play a role in such a decision as Lobasso also stated, “If I was a Lebron James type of talent in high school I’d go for it, but if I was a fringe-type of player I wouldn’t take the risk.”

Collaboration between the NBA and the NBA Players Association allows for the drastic increase in payment for its athletes and organizations in nearly all aspects- the draft, player contracts, cap space, trades, and much more, leading to a more prosperous career for their players.

Although not all rookies sign 90-million-dollar shoe deals before even setting foot on an NBA court, its Collective Bargaining Agreement enables these young athletes to make more money than what rookies in the past were ever able to.

As we’ve seen from commissioner Silver, the NBA is a league that embraces change and improvement, forever searching for a solution that could make both sides- players and organizations- happy.

As the league continues to change every year, many hope that the elimination of the “one-and-done: rule may be one of those changes. But only time can tell.