With Thanksgiving just behind us and the December holidays fast approaching – or already upon us, if you celebrate Hanukkah – many of us are in the middle of navigating the playing field of large family gatherings with rarely-seen relatives. The standard questions are to be expected, of course: extended…
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Opinion: Time shapes modern episteme
My experience as a debater has allowed me to pursue and study many niche concepts that most people would overlook or simply dismiss due to how irrational they seem. Meanwhile, us debaters spend entire weekends ranting at almost incomprehensible speeds about how the state is bad and going to kill…
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Curiosity gives way to InSight as new NASA lander survives impact on Mars
Applause and shouts of joy exploded from mission control members Nov. 26 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. They were celebrating the payoff from years of work – the touchdown of InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport mission) on Martian soil after a seven-month…
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Standardized testing sparks debate over best educational approaches
If you attended school in the United States public education system, chances are you had to labor through a standardized test or two during your time in primary and secondary education. As students, you are told that these tests are meant to measure the extent to which you have absorbed…
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Opinion: American waste is infuriating and ignorant
The United Nations (U.N.) has a list of goals for a sustainable development, in which “eradicating hunger” is second and “ensure access to water for all” is sixth. After almost a year in the United States observing Americans’ attitudes towards food and water, I could almost believe that there are…
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Opinion: U.S. education is fascist
The founding fathers conceptualized a nation free from oppression and open to expression, yet the institutions tasked with cultivating the youth are given the capability to ravage core American values. Every student ponders their obligation to school. Isn’t it hypocritical that we are raised under principles of freedom only to…
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Harvard accused of possible discrimination over desire for diversity
The lights are dimmed and the stage is set for a showdown between Harvard University and an anti-affirmative action group, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA). One of America’s premier universities stands accused by the nonprofit for discriminating in its admissions practices by implementing a quota system that limits the number…
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Maine’s first state-wide use of the rank-choice voting system leads to controversy, lawsuit
Maine recently enacted a new voting system – moving from the traditional plurality, where the candidate with the most votes wins, to a rank-choice process, under which a candidate must win a majority before they can win the election. Under the use of the new system, a House seat in…
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Adverse Childhood Experiences, child abuse and corporal punishment, summarized
In previous articles it was discussed the correlation between dysfunctional behavior and child abuse, its psychological effects on the brain, the negative effects of spanking and the ethical nature of corporal punishment. This piece shall be a summation of such writings. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are extremely prevalent. Sexual and…
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