Environment
Grade 10

Corporate Pollution

Have you ever passed a body of water and seen disgusting trash floating on top of it?  Was the water a repulsive brown sludge because of excessive amounts of sewage in it? If you haven’t experienced this, I have. I am on the crew team for my school. We experience the atrocious sewage and trash […]

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Chinese lanterns
International Cultures and Issues
Grade 10

Chinese-American Identity

I am Chinese, apparently. I am also American, according to my family. But I am not Chinese-American, not yet at least. My parents immigrated to the United States many years ago, and I am the first generation of my family to be born on American soil. Being the first “American” is a special position, but […]

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social networking icons
Pop Culture
Grade 6

Social Networking Generation

845 million. That’s how many active Facebook users there are currently around the world. It has more users than the population of the United States and Britain combined! I have to admit; my family and I are part of that “nation” of Facebook. Almost every country uses it, and that means that the Facebook “nation” […]

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Family
Grade 12

Being A Teen Parent

Three in 10 girls in the U.S. will become pregnant at least once before age 20. Daughters of teen mothers are three times more likely to become teen mothers themselves. Shows like “Teen Mom,” “16 and Pregnant,” and movies like “Juno,” illustrate the overall experience. Teenage pregnancy is a global issue and among America’s youth […]

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child labor
Government
Grade 7

Price Tag of Child Labor

Child labor is one of the world’s main problems today. Many children are being taken away from their families and sold into labor, which is a form of slavery. Most of the children who are forced into this lifestyle work for many long and difficult hours. I have seen what I believed to be child […]

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magazines
Gender Equality
Grade 8

Women in the Media

When I was younger, my mother never allowed me near the television because she didn’t want me to see provocative commercials. I remember being fascinated by the racy commercials I saw on the television when I was older and my mother couldn’t completely shield me from the media. The scantily clad women that I saw […]

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children in Cuba
International Cultures and Issues
Grade 7

Life in Cuba

Most people think that Cuba is a struggling, communist country, full of bad people and no money. Technology is old and the cars are ugly. United States citizens can’t even get in without special permission from the government. To me, however, Cuba is a beautiful, special country that gives me a lot of freedom and […]

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police cars
Gun Control
Grade 9

Teens, Guns, and Violence

Over the years, I have lost many friends and nearly lost family members because of gang violence. I have been to a few funerals of friends who were shot and killed simply because of where they live. Some of my others friends have been shot, but thankfully survived. Gang violence has an especially big impact […]

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diploma
Education
Grade 9

The Cost of High School Dropouts

Only 21 out of 50 states require students to attend high school until they graduate or turn 18. I believe all states should require students to attend high school. What I have noticed from loved ones and the people around me is that those who feel like they have an option to attend or not […]

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dog in cage
Animal Cruelty
Grade 11

Fighting Animal Cruelty

A few years ago, my mother and I were talking to a very concerned neighbor who had come to us for animal advice. Our neighbor and her family wanted very badly to adopt a pet—a dog to be specific—but were having trouble finding the right match. She’d been to numerous websites, she told us, but […]

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Family
Grade 6

The Courage of Military Families

BOOM!!! went the gun that almost killed my dad in Afghanistan. People may not realize how many military people risk their lives every day. Military people go into war to protect you and your family. They know they might get shot, lose their limbs, die or have mental issues as a result of war. My […]

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Sudanese army
International Cultures and Issues
Grade 11

A New Sudan

Brothers face one another on the battlefield, each garbed with a uniform. A uniform consisting of different patterns; different patterns of the same colors. The colors of one family, the colors of one nation. Glaring with eyes of steel, they are blinded by material objects. Beating with hearts of stone, they harbor grievances of the […]

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