The Southerner

A new regulation does not permit freshmen to leave campus during lunch. My opinion is that we should be able to go outside for lunch because they shouldnt let what the older students did affect us, said freshman Deja Starr. Photo: Shane Gordon

New lunch rules unfairly take away from freshmen high school experience

Shanell Gordon, Staff Writer November 13, 2019

  Ninth graders should be able to go outside for lunch. For many students, going out for lunch is an important part of their high school experience. In high school you don't really get breaks....

GLAAD’s Where Are We On TV Report found an alarmingly low percent of LGBT+ characters expected to appear in broadcast scripted primetime programming in the 2018-19 season. This is extremely disproportionate to the 42% of 13-20 year-old Americans who identify as not heterosexual, found in a J. Walter Thompson Innovation Group study.

We need better LGBT+ representation in entertainment media

Sammie Stever-Zeitlin, Staff Writer October 25, 2019

LGBT+ people are poorly represented in all traditional forms of media: movies, TV, books and theater. While past decades have brought an increasing number of LGBT+ characters into the limelight, It’s...

A tweet shared in 2016 by news influencer Tony Aiello critiques the use of a trigger warning outside one of the first presidential debates at Hofstra University.  The tweet presents trigger warnings in a demeaning way, delegitimizing mental health struggles in a way that is insensitive and immoral.  Trigger warnings are important because they maintain mental and physical safety of the public and when used correctly in no way threaten free speech or political discourse like Aiello infers.

Trigger warnings are an important tool for learning

Eamonn Briem, Staff Writer May 16, 2019

When it comes to societal behavior norms, our society has become more open to accepting other people's differences and experiences. An obvious example of this is with trigger warnings.  We have approached...

Every white person has white privilege and therefore contributes to the system of white supremacy. In order to actively work against racism, we must educate ourselves about how to combat our privilege. Pictured above are a selection of books that should be read in order to combat white supremacy in our society.

To the white people at South: we need to work against our white privilege

Talula Cedar James, Staff Writer May 12, 2019

I am a person who holds white privilege and because of this I have a responsibility to educate myself about the effects of my privilege. If you are a person who holds white privilege, this is your responsibility...

An old oven that is still in the Home Ec room, which is now a primarily used for study halls. When this class was discontinued, the equipment was never taken out of the room, thus making it easier to reinstate the program. “A lot of us are complaining about how we don’t know how to cook or take care of ourselves, which is a big thing for when you go to college,” said junior Rachel Olivarez. “You have to know how to do things like that…[because of that] I think we should bring Home Ec back to South.”

Preparedness for the future: Why South needs to bring back Home Economics

Norah Austin, Staff Writer May 3, 2019

Home Ec. We’ve all heard the term before, but many people have misconceptions of what it really means. Home Ec classes teach students non-academic life skills such as cooking, cleaning, finances, and...

Cyclone Idai hit the eastern coast of Africa on March 14, killing hundreds of people in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. According to the New York Times, aid agencies say its the worst disaster to hit the area in decades. Disasters like Cyclone Idai will become more and more common as the climate crisis worsens. This human cost, paid by the most marginalized communities, means climate chagne is a human rights issue.

The climate crisis is a human rights crisis

Sophia Manolis, Opinions Editor April 24, 2019

Hurricane Maria, which hit Puerto Rico in September 2017, was the worst natural disaster to date in the Caribbean Islands. It killed over 3,000 people and total losses from the hurricane were estimated...

Earth Day has a history of being exclusive to white, privileged people and today the way it is marketed perpetuates this trend. The narrative of Earth Day is centered around people showcasing their wilderness trips and focusing more heavily on individual eco-friendly lifestyle changes that are often inaccessible instead of recognizing and fighting the systems that create environmental problems.

Why I dislike Earth Day

Sophia Manolis, Opinions Editor April 23, 2019

I am an environmentalist, but I don’t like Earth Day. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Earth. I’ve grown up having the privilege to spend time in nature and value natural surroundings. My love of the...

Teachers are not supposed to share their political views, but sometimes they need to share them in order to create a safe space for all students, especially when those political views relate to human rights.  “Students need to be supported as human beings by their teachers,” said senior Sydney Miller.

Sometimes teachers have to be “political” in the classroom

Caleb Stipkovits, Staff Writer April 17, 2019

Politics.  They divide our country, especially in the time that we live in now,  which is a big reason why we try not to bring them up all the time. In schools, teachers are not supposed to express their...

Activism is often portrayed as very flashy and attention-grabbing: marches, rallies, political lobbying, etc. However, there are many ways of being an activist and no way is more important than another. Oftentimes, the flashy activism that gets more attention overshadows grassroots activists working at the front lines of oppression. Its important for everyone to recognize that many ways that activism occurs. Anyone can be an activist, you just have to figure out the way that it works best for you!

What does it mean to be an activist?

Sophia Manolis, Opinions Editor March 10, 2019

Last year, when survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida stepped up in grief and trauma to advocate for more sensible gun laws, the media latched onto them and...

Even in classes with windows, like those on the third floor, students oftentimes find blinds shut, taking away the little natural light we have. Lack of natural light, among other factors, makes South a very hard place to be for students with seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

South is a sad SAD place: how students experience Seasonal Affective Disorder

Ellie Barnett-Cashman, Staff Writer March 8, 2019

I wake up to get ready for school while it’s still dark outside. On days where I have a zero hour, it’s still dark when I get to school and I prepare myself for another long, tiring day. My first three...

In a Southerner conducted survey, 20% of students surveyed said that they feel like their family doesnt have enough money to pay for basic needs. 39% said they often worry about their familys money situation. However, young people shouldnt have to worry about money at all -- it takes away from their chances of being able to be successful later in life and exacerbates cycles of wealth inequality.

Poverty charges interest: wealth inequality is more problematic than you think

Elliott Askari-Rabe, Staff Writer March 5, 2019

When asked about whether or not they believe in the “American Dream” of rags to riches, 77% of the nation said “no,” according to Pew Charitable Trusts. Not only are people rejecting the notion...

South junior Tiger Worku speaking in a political activity outside of school. Tiger is very involved in speaking and politics, saying “I’m a political enthusiast so I’d say that civic engagement is something that should be used in our schools more.” Civic engagement is a very useful skill that actually helps students find their passions and learn how they can become leaders of our society as adults. In order to give students these opportunities, schools should show the value of learning skills over content and give students more real-world learning opportunities. Photo courtesy of Larry Kraft.

Why school doesn’t prepare us well enough for the real world

Patrick Bruch, Staff Writer March 4, 2019

What we learn in school is different for all of us, but it is meant to provide skills and information that serves as a base for almost any career or life path. Although this is the idea behind education,...

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