A New Force of Nature, or a Classic Case of Sensationalism?
The standard model of particle physics is a widely accepted theory, initially developed in the 1970’s, which dictates that all basic building blocks of matter are governed by four fundamental forces: the electromagnetic force, weak nuclear force, gravity, and strong nuclear force. But scientists at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Batva, Illinois, think they could be on the brink of discovering a fifth force … Continue reading A New Force of Nature, or a Classic Case of Sensationalism?
Guest Editorial: My Life as a Junior Firefighter
My name is Brandon Balbuena Rincon, and I’m a ninth grader at McCaskey and a Junior Firefighter for the Lafayette Fire Company. When I first started firefighting the Monday after Thanksgiving in 2020, I had a huge misconception about the job and tasks I would be performing. But as time progressed, I gained perspective and knowledge. Currently in the United States, the need for firefighters … Continue reading Guest Editorial: My Life as a Junior Firefighter
Hollywood’s Fairytale Relationship with Divorce
Mainstream Hollywood always tries to smooth over divorce – whether it be by way of ignoring it completely or mending it up and tying it with a safe, neat little bow. And America eats it up. We love to see our problems fixed and our lives represented as more simple than they actually are. A prime example of this is the 1998 remake of the … Continue reading Hollywood’s Fairytale Relationship with Divorce
Urbanization: The Future Dystopia
Urbanization occurs when more people move from rural areas into cities. This increase in population density leads to poor air and water quality, insufficient water availability, waste-disposal issues, and high energy consumption. A large boom in urbanization in the United States occurred during the industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries. Factories increased in productivity and the development of more efficient tools for farming … Continue reading Urbanization: The Future Dystopia
Why Progressives Should Reject Cancel Culture
Early this March, Dr. Seuss Enterprises decided it would stop publishing six of the author’s books due to “hurtful and wrong” depictions of people of color in the illustrations. The decision was met with both praise and condemnation, bringing the long-simmering debate about cancel culture to the surface once again. It seems Dr. Seuss’s estate decided to stop publishing these books out of fear of … Continue reading Why Progressives Should Reject Cancel Culture
What Happened to “Hairspray”?
On Friday, February 19th, district superintendent Dr. Damaris Rau cancelled the production of Hairspray, the scheduled McCaskey spring musical. But while this ostensibly came out of the blue, it was the culmination of a whirlwind student campaign to raise concerns about the racial dynamics of the work. Auditions for the musical took place on Tuesday, February 16th. The following day, the callbacks list was posted, … Continue reading What Happened to “Hairspray”?
Puerto Rico’s Governor Recognizes Gender Violence as Emergency
On January 24th, 2021, Puerto Rican governor Pedro Pierluisi signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency to allocate resources to create more gender equality in Puerto Rico, responding to the pleas of thousands of protesters to improve the ongoing gender violence crisis in the US territory. The new order will create a committee called PARE (in Spanish: Prevention, Support, Rescue and Education of … Continue reading Puerto Rico’s Governor Recognizes Gender Violence as Emergency
Bayard Rustin: Nonviolent Visionary
You all know Martin Luther King Jr, but do you know the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington? His name was Bayard Rustin, and one of the reasons history has overlooked him is that he was openly gay. Rustin was an extremely intelligent organizer and strategist who helped mold Dr. King into an image of peace and nonviolence. In 1956, Bayard Rustin arrived in … Continue reading Bayard Rustin: Nonviolent Visionary
Huey Newton and Bobby Seale: Founders of the Black Panther Party
No, the Black Panther Party was not evil. No, they did not just go kill random white people. No, they were not the black equivalent of the KKK. The Black Panther Party was a Black Nationalist Movement for self-defense. It was started by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in 1968, and later the party had chapters nationwide. The Black Panthers needed to defend themselves against … Continue reading Huey Newton and Bobby Seale: Founders of the Black Panther Party
Black History Month Spotlight: The Tales of Unknown and Misinterpreted Black Heroes
Over the course of February, Black History Month, McCaskey freshman Tiyya Geiger researched significant and unsung Black heroes and spotlighted her findings on her Instagram story, attracting attention from peers and community members. Here’s what Tiyya had to say about her work: “Over the course of the past year, social activism work has received a lot more media attention. This does not mean that this … Continue reading Black History Month Spotlight: The Tales of Unknown and Misinterpreted Black Heroes
Asian American Hate Crimes are Worse Than We Know
Due to recent news, the rate of Asian American hate crimes has increased drastically since the coronavirus pandemic started nearly a year ago. There was prejudice from people of different ethnicities towards Asian Americans when Former President Donald Trump blamed China for the world’s shutdown, even resorting to calling the coronavirus the “kung-flu.” All of the sudden, there was an influx of Asian American hate … Continue reading Asian American Hate Crimes are Worse Than We Know
What You Need to Know About the Covid-19 Vaccines
Covid 19 vaccines are slowly making their way around the country to healthcare workers and to citizens. As of now, 2.95 million doses have been given in the state of Pennsylvania and of those 912,000 have been fully vaccinated. There are 2 kinds of vaccines being given with another new one being released soon. According to KQED, the Moderna vaccine is given to those 18 … Continue reading What You Need to Know About the Covid-19 Vaccines
NASA Lands “Perseverance” on Mars
On February, 18 2021, a new NASA rover named Perseverance landed on Mars to explore the planet. It weighs one ton and is ten feet long by nine feet wide and seven feet tall. It’s frame comes with an accompanying helicopter drone called Ingenuity which has about a four pound fuselage the size of a tissue box, a small but mighty piece of equipment. Perseverance … Continue reading NASA Lands “Perseverance” on Mars
Dr. Rau: All About Equity
School district superintendent Dr. Damaris Rau is a self-proclaimed advocate for equity. A child of the foster care system and a graduate of St. John’s University, Rau went from working as a teacher and administrator in the Bronx public school system during the Crack epidemic to working at a school in Greenwich, Connecticut, a town which is widely recognized as one of the richest places … Continue reading Dr. Rau: All About Equity
To All the Boys: the Ideal Romantic Comedy
We’ve all been there before…that moment where you can’t stop laughing, crying, screaming, that moment when your heart pounds harder and harder every second of the movie: the moment you’ve found a true rom-com. In other words, it’s when you’ve found “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before,” a movie series on Netflix that has been receiving a lot of global attention. To be able … Continue reading To All the Boys: the Ideal Romantic Comedy
Vidette 