What Happened to the McCaskey Cell Phone Policy?
Just before the 2022-23 school year began, McCaskey parents were sent an email which outlined new guidelines for cell phone use in the classroom. It contained the following paragraph: After consulting with our middle and high school principals, we established consistent guidelines for cell phone use among secondary students. Cell phones are to be off and put away during school hours, “out of sight and … Continue reading What Happened to the McCaskey Cell Phone Policy?
From McCaskey to NPR: David Greene Reflects
David Greene, the current host of NPR’s “Left Right and Center” and former “Morning Edition” host, graduated from McCaskey in 1994. The 1991-1994 yearbooks mark his joyful passage through McCaskey. A jack of all trades, he spent his years in the school plays, speech and debate, student council, National Honors Society, jazz band, AFS club, WJPM broadcasting, and, of course, the Vidette. Greene’s career has … Continue reading From McCaskey to NPR: David Greene Reflects
How Streaming Transformed the Way We Watch Television
Technology has had a huge impact on television as it evolved throughout the years: from moving towards streaming platforms and away from cable, to binge watching becoming favored over the norm of weekly releases. Many have been left to question whether these changes are good or bad, or whether they’ll stick around. Originally, when watching a TV show on cable it’d be found easily through … Continue reading How Streaming Transformed the Way We Watch Television
We’re All Addicted to Our Phones-Now What?
The ‘cell phone’ or mobile phone using cellular data, was invented in 1973. However, the cell phone that we all know and love, the high speed mobile computer with internet access, was invented in 2007. The very first ‘smartphone.’ Today, 97% of America’s population owns a smartphone. Since their rapid rise in popularity over the course of the early 2010s, the smartphone has boasted convenience, … Continue reading We’re All Addicted to Our Phones-Now What?
How Industrialized Food Production Harms Us All
“Everything is made of corn!” This thought has pervaded my brain ever since my class read Michael Pollan’s middle-grade edition of The Omnivore’s Dilemma in the 7th grade. The book explores different food production methods and diets, most of which ultimately end up being majorly inconvenient or unhealthy, to highlight the impact that industrialization has had on the food we eat. Deciding what to eat … Continue reading How Industrialized Food Production Harms Us All
How Being “Chronically Online” Impacts Teens Today
From an early age, you’re driven to stay away from social media. “You never know who you’re talking to” or how behind the screen it can be an eighty year old man waiting to kidnap you, so you should never talk to strangers online. The dangers of the internet have always been categorized by its anonymity, although that should not always be the focus of … Continue reading How Being “Chronically Online” Impacts Teens Today
How Streamers Wield Their Influence Online
Nearly two decades after its conception, the internet brought the creation of YouTube and several other platforms that served as video creation sites. But it wasn’t until 2011 when Twitch and the live-streaming fad gripped the online culture. Twitch was a near instant success, providing a more intimate experience and connection with content creators. In addition, it provided opportunities for live engagement–and more dedicated fans. … Continue reading How Streamers Wield Their Influence Online
Racism is Built into Facial Recognition Technology
The caption “Black Women Against Tech,” is featured on a TikTok video capturing an automatic sink unable to detect the hand of a black woman but perfectly capable of detecting a paper towel and dispensing water. This phrase at first encounter may seem like people trying to make a problem out of nothing. However, racism in technology is a very real issue with dangerous implications … Continue reading Racism is Built into Facial Recognition Technology
Welcome to the Attention Economy
What is the most valuable commodity? Google produced 39,000,000 answers to this question in 0.44 seconds. That eye-popping number of results reveals that the most valuable commodity isn’t gold or oil – it’s our attention. One of the greatest challenges of the Digital Age is navigating the oversaturation of information. How do we objectively determine whether or not information is true when companies capitalize on … Continue reading Welcome to the Attention Economy
The Benefits of Healthy Coping: Inside My Sister’s Head
Growing up with a sister who is close in age to me means we do a lot of things together. We hang out with the same group of friends, go shopping together, talk to each other about what goes on in our lives in great detail, and so on. It also means we know almost everything about each other, big or small. Putting all this … Continue reading The Benefits of Healthy Coping: Inside My Sister’s Head
Abdiel Ferrer Rivera: McCaskey’s Jack-of-all Video Games
This article was written by Staff Writer Angel Quintana. For centuries, many a friend group told stories about that one friend whose existence on this mortal plane is a scientific anomaly, but yet for some reason they defy all laws of this known universe, and exist anyway, for they simply don’t care. They are people whose stories about them sound like great Greek myths of … Continue reading Abdiel Ferrer Rivera: McCaskey’s Jack-of-all Video Games
Chat Pile: The Band Born from Disaster
For decades, the outskirts of Oklahoma City served as a dumping ground for “chat”, toxic residue left over from long forgotten limestone and dolomite mining expeditions. Today, those very “chat piles” gradually damage the buildings and air, creating a slow moving ecological disaster. In the past couple years, the dirty, damaged, and warehouse infested slums of Oklahoma City has birthed a growing experimental music scene, … Continue reading Chat Pile: The Band Born from Disaster
Shooting at McDonald’s near McCaskey Impacts Students
On Thursday, January 26, four people were non-fatally shot at the McDonald’s just next to McCaskey campus. “I didn’t really believe it at first,” said McCaskey sophomore Mini Brigatti, who was in a car in the McDonald’s drive-through when the shooting happened. “The whole thing felt like a movie… I was super scared, and when I heard the first shot my heart dropped so fast. … Continue reading Shooting at McDonald’s near McCaskey Impacts Students
Road to Ruin: America’s National Parks
We, the American people, under the encouragement of ceaseless expansion (capitalism) have destroyed or attempted to tame every wild corner of the United States. Thankfully, this condition of creation, this endless development, was recognized early. President Woodrow Wilson created the National Park Service with the intention of protecting America’s most sensitive and beautiful landscapes. His predecessors, particularly Teddy Roosevelt and Ulysses S. Grant, paved the … Continue reading Road to Ruin: America’s National Parks
Engagement and Courtesy: What Gen Z Has Sent to the Grave
Every day, like most students here, I traverse the halls and stairways of McCaskey East and JP. On one particular morning I was bumped into 6 times on my way to homeroom, and got only a single muttered “sorry.” That same day, as I traveled from 6th to 7th period, my shoes were stepped on twice, I was walked into by a young gent on … Continue reading Engagement and Courtesy: What Gen Z Has Sent to the Grave
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