Editor’s Note: Any and all who take issue with or disagree with statements made in this column (or past columns by the same author) are…
Posts published in “Opinion”
The BEST Holiday: Thanksgiving
There’s nothing better than a moist and fluffy turkey sitting at the center of the family dinner table, brimming with the perfect steaming stuffing. As…
Heroes & Villains
Heroes Luciano Servetto ’15 (pictured), a friend to all, who recently passed away in a car crash on October 13. Documentary film maker Deia Schlosberg,…
Editorial: Get Rid of the A+
In today’s high-pressure, must-get-into-college climate, many high-performing students attempt to maximize their scores before anything else. They grade-grub and burn the midnight oil studying to…
The Hardest Year of High School
As a senior at IHS with all the typical worries and fantasies on my mind—college applications, Casino Night, graduation, etc.—I have realized that senior year…
Voters Are Right To Be Concerned Over Hillary’s Health
Is Hillary Clinton on the verge of death, or is she perfectly healthy and all claims otherwise are just part of yet another vast right-wing…
What Triggered Jacob This Month: Dress Codes
IHS, just like nearly every other school in the world, has a dress code. If students are caught violating it, they may be taken out…
Sentimentality vs. Development
“How much development is desirable?” prompts Downtown Ithaca 2020 Strategic Plan, published in 2010. Cited as “A plan for Revitalization, Development, Management and Promotion of…
Why I’ll Never Spend Another Penny At Regal Cinemas
After the first week of classes, I went with three of my friends, whom we’ll call Lamie Jovette, Klison Ae, and Suth Rilcoff (to preserve…
The National Anthem: Sit or Stand?
Recently, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick caused quite a stir in the media when he opted to kneel on the sideline during the National…
Chromebooks: One Year Later
The emergence of the Chromebook in ICSD in September 2015 gave thousands of students a new way of learning in and outside of the classroom.…
Heroes and Villains
Heroes: Secretary of State John Kerry (pictured), who has negotiated a ceasefire in Syria with Russia and some other combatants. In the past, he has…
Editorial: How to Solve the Student Debt Crisis
More than ever, the issue of student loans is gaining attention in the United States. Approximately $1.3 trillion in student loan debt is spread out…
The Truth Behind Truancy, or Why You Should Skip Senior Skip Day
“Senior Skip Day” is a day during which seniors at our school (or any school) commit mass truancy. It is a long-held and hallowed tradition…
September Electoral College Prediction
Following the massive gatherings of both the Democratic and Republican party elites at their respective conventions earlier this summer, our nation now braces itself for…
The Case for Graduating Early
As of February 3, 2017, I will be in Palmerton North, New Zealand, high-school diploma already in hand, although I’m currently a senior. How is…
Heroes & Villains
Heroes: Najih Shaker Al-Baldawi, an Iraqi Muslim who hugged an ISIS suicide bomber to absorb the detonation at a shrine, saving countless lives. Muhammad Ali.…
The Case For Trump
The only thing I hate more than Donald Trump is an echo chamber. So, for the sake of diversifying the political discourse at IHS, I’ll…
Editorial: Why Students Need Their Teachers to be Paid Better
It’s no wonder that an increase in teacher salaries is universally supported by teachers. However, it is also in students’ best interest to have their…
Projected Electoral College: Clinton vs. Trump
As the 2016 Democratic and Republican primaries wind down, two clear victors have emerged. On the Republican side, Donald Trump managed an overwhelming, unprecedented victory,…
Passion, Publicity, and Purges
According to those who have been around long enough to remember pre-Obama elections, this election is unlike any other. Maybe it’s the increased media presence…
Why Transcendental Nature Writing is Dead and What You Can Do to Bring it Back
To men like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Edward Everett, being overcome with the visceral beauty of nature was as good as popping a Quaalude and…
Let Them Watch Porn
While I haven’t sawn my Chromebook in half yet (shoutout to the guy who did that—you know who you are), I’ll admit that every time…
Emojis: Not Destroying Language as We Know It
Just as our society is beginning to accept the fact that texting is not destroying the written word, it seems to have fixated its blame…
Heroes & Villains
Heroes: Environmental activist Berta Caceres, who worked tirelessly to defend the lands of indigenous peoples in her country and who was shot and killed on…
IHS is fortunate to have multiple speakers, such as Planned Parenthood representatives, come into IHS health classrooms and present about a wide range of topics.…
The Importance of Being Politically Aware, Even If You Cannot Vote
On April 12, instead of going to school, I went with my dad and sister to a Bernie Sanders rally. Despite this not being an…