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Gender Equality
Grade 8

Tampon Tax

I know that I am lucky to be a girl in the United States, especially when menstruation is concerned. I have access to everything I need to manage my menstrual health and hygiene. However, girls and women are marginalized by the fact that feminine hygiene products are subject to the luxury tax. The tax makes […]

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Justice System
Grade 10

Mass Incarceration of Black Males

Why is it that black men get sent to jail more often for a non-violent drug offense than a white man? A white man would be able to walk away as a free man, while a Black man would have to serve some type of sentence in the prison system. This injustice causes Black men […]

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Gun Control
Grade 10

The Need for New Gun Control Restrictions

Did you know that there have been at least 1,216 mass shootings in America since the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting and firearm deaths in America totaled more than 32,000 in 2013 (Lopez)? In America, there are approximately two hundred seventy million firearms possessed by civilians but only 897,000 are carried by police (Karp, Aaron […]

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Healthcare
Grade 10

Let’s Lessen Teen Pregnancy

What if your sister, your daughter, or any teen girl you cared about suddenly got pregnant? My old friend got pregnant at a young age and that is when I realized it’s a very real thing. I had never seen teen pregnancy first-hand, especially someone I knew, and so I want to try and advocate […]

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Government
Grade 10

The Voice of the People

Did you know that 62% of Americans want to abolish the Electoral College (Matthews 2016)? The Electoral College is not a place! It is a body of people representing the states of the U.S. who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president. Every state gets one electoral vote for each […]

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Justice System
Grade 8

Hate Crimes in America

A hate crime is a crime motivated by racial, sexual, or other prejudice, typically involving violence. During the election, a lot of hate speech was used, mostly by President Trump. After the election ended, more hate crimes and more hate speech were used because people saw it reflected in their new president. When people see […]

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Gender Equality
Grade 10

The Dangers of Gender-Specific Advertising

Have you ever walked down the toy aisle of a large department store and noticed the great amount of disparity between toys meant for girls and boys? The difference between the pretty, delicate, pink features of girls’ toys and the rough-and-tumble, destructive blue toys made with boys in mind is jarring, but the connotations of […]

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Environment
Grade 8

Stop Climate Change

The effects of climate change will cause destruction and danger all across the world. The earth is about 317 million square feet (Coffey). That’s all. That’s all the land, water, and resources we have. So why destroy it? Why become dependent on things like oil and coal that kill our planet? Over the course of […]

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Justice System
Grade 8

Justice for Victims of Police Violence

How do policemen get away with killing an unarmed man? That is what many people are trying to find out after several incidents all over the country have resulted in police officers not being charged or convicted for deaths of unarmed civilians. The public wants answers after so many people have been killed at the […]

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Video Games
Grade 10

Violent Video Games

You think video games are fun, don’t you? Some games, however, are extremely violent. Violent video games are important to me because I believe they prevent children from being more active and happy. I chose this topic because I feel that video games contribute to a negative change in the behavior of children over time. […]

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School Safety
Grade 6

Going Too Far with School Safety

Imagine walking into a school. As you walk in you see a security guard. Now imagine that the security guard is holding a military rifle. This has been happening in some schools across the country. If this were happening in my school, I would feel extremely uncomfortable and scared. If for some reason a security […]

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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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