Sports Betting Culture Needs to Change

Sports betting has become pervasive across the United States in recent years. With an increase of sports betting sites, Americans regularly see many advertisements to join such sites. The ads often say that your first $100 dollar bet is covered, regardless if you win or lose.  Most people who gamble on sports place their bets and parlays online, it’s simply easier. The number of online … Continue reading Sports Betting Culture Needs to Change

Why is BookTok So Annoying?

By Sidney Brant TikTok is a terrifying platform. Users of the app often acknowledge this with the caveat that yes, it sucks the life out of you and makes any long-term task impossible without a Subway surfers video playing in the background, but it can expose you to so much unique, interesting media that you otherwise wouldn’t have discovered.  There are communities formed fully online … Continue reading Why is BookTok So Annoying?

The Case for School Email Access

By Cal Clapper Emails are a vital tool to connect people in the professional and academic worlds, but McCaskey student emails are inaccessible. Having an email address allows students to quickly and professionally contact teachers, employers, and colleges; and access information about possible internships or opportunities that could be open to them. Every McCaskey student has a school email linked to their ID number and … Continue reading The Case for School Email Access

America’s Unhealthy Consumerist Culture

By Elisabeth Palacios Since the 1920s, consumerism in America has increasingly defined both our economy and culture–whether we can afford it or not. In the last year, credit card debt was the highest it has ever been. According to a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, it surpassed $1.08 trillion. “We are still largely a paycheck-to-paycheck nation,” based on the words … Continue reading America’s Unhealthy Consumerist Culture

Are Young Girls Growing Up Too Fast?

By Nora Schindler It’s not a new thing, the issue of girls growing up fast. I think the concept of a girl growing up faster than the others around them is one thing almost all girls can relate to.  During middle school, dynamics shift and the maturity gap between boys and girls seems to expand. After all, there’s a clear difference between the two middle … Continue reading Are Young Girls Growing Up Too Fast?

Cell Phone Addiction: a Personal Retrospective

By Tiyya Geiger Cellphone addiction in our increasingly interconnected society perhaps most clearly manifests itself in our grudgingly short attention spans. We itch for the answer to our questions the second they appear and when gone unanswered, we allow the next thing to distract us in a cycle of never-ending vapidness. Previously intriguing dilemmas now rarely cause a batted eye or induce a spark of … Continue reading Cell Phone Addiction: a Personal Retrospective

McCaskey nutrition: the pros and cons of the bread & cheese diet

by Gabriel Brogan Bread and cheese, cheese and bread, all the time. Anecdotally, I noticed this pattern among McCaskey’s school lunches, but wondered if my observation was just confirmation bias after a few extra-cheesy days in a row. Digging deeper into the SDOL website’s lunch menus section, I discovered that I was not mistaken. The amount of bread and cheese served and eaten by the … Continue reading McCaskey nutrition: the pros and cons of the bread & cheese diet

Should we start school an hour later?

by Nora Schindler First period here at McCaskey starts at 7:50 in the morning, but sometimes you might not even be able to tell. Lots of students can tell you that by the first bell some classrooms are half empty and by the second period bell the classrooms are almost always full. While lots of parents and teachers attribute the tardiness to just plain laziness, … Continue reading Should we start school an hour later?

The optics war underlying the Israel-Hamas conflict

by Sidney Brant A father, pulling his bleeding child out of a pile of rubble; a woman, the crotch of her pants bloodied, being forced into a jeep and taken hostage. The images, videos, text blurbs, and news stories that barrage our screens don’t provide information about the war–they are the war.  The most recent iteration of the century-old struggle between Israel and Palestine began … Continue reading The optics war underlying the Israel-Hamas conflict

Panchiko is a DIY Music Era Success Story

By Mitchell Copeland Music is one of the few things that all people seem to love, a unifying force among many cultures and communities. We don’t often think about the impact of music on pop culture and art. It is used to make political statements, tell stories, share culture, or just make cool melodies.  It’s no secret that some artists garner more support than others, … Continue reading Panchiko is a DIY Music Era Success Story

Could a Four-Day School Week Work at McCaskey?

By Elisabeth Palacios More and more school districts across the U.S. have been implementing four-day school weeks and three-day weekends. This could be great for teachers and students, as they’d have less stress, be given more leisure time, and be able to have a better work-life balance. However, what are the other consequences of students having less educational time during a standard week? Will the … Continue reading Could a Four-Day School Week Work at McCaskey?

Is the SAT Becoming Obsolete?

By Sidney Brant As seniors decide whether or not to submit SAT scores, and juniors prepare to take the test for the first time, many students contemplate the same question: what’s the point? It seems ludicrous to spend dozens of hours re-learning freshman year trig and how to apply grammar rules to heinously written passages for questions that may or may not be on a … Continue reading Is the SAT Becoming Obsolete?

An Ending

There is a distinct feeling that comes with the end of something. It’s not always immediately apparent to me, as I often am too concerned with specifics. Where I left my phone, where my water bottle is. Things that distract from the grander point, or blur the lines between what truly matters and what doesn’t.  I’m not so sure my uncertainty about my phone’s location … Continue reading An Ending