animal testing
Animal Cruelty
Grade 10

Animal Testing is Animal Cruelty

Every year 100 million or more animals are harmed due to animal testing (“Top Five”). Despite advances in technology, this method of testing product safety is still used in countries all around the world. Although the U.S. leads the world on innovative research and methods, many companies here still use the outdated, barbaric practice of […]

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Education
Grade 10

Cost of College

Are you graduating from high school, excited to enter a new phase of your life? The feeling is amazing! But wait – let us think about after the feeling is over. When college ends, imagine all the debt that has to be paid back. By the time you achieve the highest potential degree and finally […]

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Food and Nutrition
Grade 10

Food Inequality in DC

Can you imagine what it might be like to not have enough money to feed your family? Or, what if the nearest grocery store to your home was five miles away, but you did not have a car? These are real-life problems faced by people in Southeast, Washington, D.C. everyday. In this part of the […]

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Gender Equality
Grade 10

Gender Roles in Modern Society

I have personally been pressured to behave and dress in more traditionally feminine ways by my mother and sisters. This often goes against my nerdy, tomboyish nature, especially since I do not enjoy wearing things like earrings, high-heels, (most) bright colors, or frilly clothes – the types of things that are equated to femininity. I […]

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depression
Mental Health
Grade 10

Teen Depression: An Outcry!

Does anyone think depression just comes when one is young and goes away on its own? What would one do if one had depression, but did not know about it? Who would one tell? How would one ask? The topic of teen depression, and teens that suffer from depression and do not realize what is […]

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Immigration
Grade 10

Does America Need “Aliens”?

Millions of immigrants go to America each year. They come for different reasons such as job opportunities, starting a new life, better rights and many more. However, a lot of immigrants in the United States came here without legal documentation or permission. Law enforcement workers from the states that border Mexico – California, Arizona, and […]

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death penalty
Justice System
Grade 10

Banish the Death Penalty

Why do we kill to show killing is wrong? This is exactly what we do when we use the death penalty. Some think that the death penalty is the best punishment to teach horrible criminals a lesson, but do these criminals really learn a lesson if they are dead? The death penalty is a very […]

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Food and Nutrition
Grade 10

Fast Food: The Fast Road to Bad Health

At 3:15 the bell rings, the best part of the day for most students. Without any hesitation they storm out of the front doors, some to get their siblings, others on their journey home. While walking down the great McKinley Tech Hill towards the Metro I notice that before I even get to the station […]

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Video Games
Grade 10

Video Games: Is the Bad Reputation Justified?

You have a minute to get five or six kills straight without getting killed. Your primary weapon is low on ammo1 and your secondary weapon is a ballistic knife only useful for confronting your opponent at close range. It sounds like a Clint Eastwood thriller. Actually, it is just a close game of Deathmatch on […]

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urban education 1
Education
Grade 10

Urban Public Schools Need Support

Changing urban education is not impossible, nor is it easy, but we as individuals and as a community must make changes within ourselves to ensure the success of every student. Focusing on parental involvement, teacher involvement, early childhood education, building positive living communities, and decreasing poverty will improve students’ performance in school and success in […]

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Mental Health
Grade 10

The Price of Happiness

According to a popular credit card company, there are some things money can’t buy. Love, common sense, and talent to name a few. Many people want a bit of extra cash to throw around, so they could quit their job and relax – I know I would. But psychologists and economists who have studied the […]

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Education
Grade 10

Crime Prevention in Youth

The topic of crime prevention is so important to me because I have been both the victim and the aggressor in prior situations in my past. As I started interacting with friends in my neighborhood peer pressure became a leading role in my everyday life until I made bad choices that landed me in Youth […]

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