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SLAMedia is a publication of the news for the Science Leadership Academy community. Writers come from the student body in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. We work in unison to create a functioning paper with biweekly postings on a variety of events.

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lpahomov

Teachers Wait Patiently For Court Decision

December 11, 2014 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

William Derry

Staff Writer

 

PFT_teachers_protest_June_2011_600

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image Courtesy of philly.com

 

On Tuesday, October 28, Common Pleas Court Judge Nina Wright Padilla made an order to hold up the changes that the School Reform Commission (SRC) announced on Oct. 6. The SRC attempted to cancel the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) contract, saying it would save millions of dollars for the district annually. The Teachers Union responded by filing several legal motions in response to the SRC’s decision. The School District of Philadelphia appealed Judge Padilla’s ruling and now the ruling will be heard in Commonwealth court.

Both parties feel as though the ruling was beneficial for their respective side. PFT members were going to have to start paying a part of their health care expenses on December 15. The school district had planned to save $54 million dollars from the contract being cancelled but that is being called into question as well.

The School District knows that this ruling will get them one step closer to a final decision, that could possibly affect schools and students this year. PFT paused their unfair labor practices complaint and requested an accelerated arbitration process.

Scheduling a date for oral arguments in the case, is next for the Commonwealth court but this is not expected to happen for a few months.  

Filed Under: News

The Bill Cosby Scandal: How we React.

December 11, 2014 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Chiara Nemati

Staff Writer

Lots of us grew up watching “The Bill Cosby Show” and have warm memories of the Huxtable family. These memories clash with the fact that in the last few months, many women have come out telling their story about Cosby assaulting or raping them. Most allegations occurred in the 60’s, so they cannot turn into legal allegations. Because of this huge time-span between the alleged rape and now, many believe that these women are making their stories up.

I do not agree with this viewpoint. Yes, these events occurred 30 to 50 ago so, we cannot forensically determine if these allegations are true, but so many women, some who had previous relationships with Cosby are telling their story. What this proves to me is having such a friendship and turning on it, without any chance of personal gain, must mean that these women are telling the truth. Imagine being friends with Cosby and accusing him of raping you, just so the media gets a hold of your name and tells the world about how you were drugged and then raped. Your name on every news outlet. Then it came out that you were lying? No one in any office or any field of work would want to hire you or even speak with you. This is why I believe that these women are not lying.

People seek to discredit women who accuse a man of rape because some feel that they are “asking for it,” they see the way some women dress and feel that this is an invitation. They slap a label on the girl walking down the street, without even knowing the girls name. People will say that the neighborhood, the people, her family, led her to the path that allowed her to get raped. But rape is by definition never a choice, no matter where you grew up or the way you dress. Society has even created these norms and classes, once that is broken or threatened, the people are apt not to believe any accusations. They are hell-bent on protecting the accused.

I grew up in Philadelphia, watching the Cosby show, so I understand the unwillingness to believe these accusations. Bill Cosby is a household name, and he is perceived as a family man. However, as I read more and more about each victim and each scenario it’s hard not to see some truth to what these women are saying. Here are some facts that swayed me to siding with the women who were allegedly raped. Joan Tarshis, Linda Traitz, and many others have stated that they were drugged, whether it was by drug or alcohol. Many of the women back then had a drug or alcohol addiction. This may cause some people to believe that these women could be making up these accusations and they may not remember.

Cosby’s attorney has stated that “it is illogical” for these women not to have told their stories in the years after the assault. Yet, as I kept reading I noticed that people in those years were ashamed of getting raped and did not report it to the police. For some people it may not have been an option.

According to the reports from his victims, Bill Cosby perfected his act and became an expert at seducing women just enough to get them to take his drugs. He would first become their friend. Go out a couple of nights, gain their trust, which was not hard for a man with Cosby’s personality and name. Later, after he had done this he would offer these women a drug. All the drugs were the same, but each woman was told a different story. Some were told by Cosby that it would help them feel better or have a good time, as well as it being a herbal pill. It is not okay for any person, man or woman, to drug a person into doing something that they want. Bill Cosby crossed this line for his own gain.

What’s most troubling is that no one took any of these accusations seriously until a male comedian made a joke about it at one of his shows that was in Philadelphia. I believe that this says a lot about society today and how we are acting. It is not okay that so many of these women were not able to tell their stories sooner because of sexism, and trust issues that this nations deals with. Just because Bill Cosby is a famed and loved actor, comedian and family man does not mean that these actions were just or that we should turn a blind eye.

There may be more women who still have not come out yet. How can so many people tell a different and unique story that shares so much? Bill Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted these women for his own pleasure. He now sits with rape charges and will not speak a word. He does not even comment on these charges. Cosby allows his attorney’s to speak for him with orchestrated words.

Although a trial will never be able to happen because of the timeline of these events, we should at least bring attention to the issue of celebrities doing what they want without consequence. And this is the larger issue at hand, not only do we not know about all the other allegations towards celebrities, we choose not to believe them. We do this because in our eyes, all we see is the drug and alcohol addictions celebrities have, we do not think that they, in turn, could have other problems.

People in the entertainment business are punished by social media and reputation once the court of law is out of question for a punishment. The public seeks to punish them by ending their career, however some only end up thriving off of their scandals. For example, Chris Brown assaulted Rihanna, and still people idolize him. So, we have to ask ourselves: is our problem really the fact that these allegations happened 30 to 50 years ago, or is it the fact the accused is Bill Cosby?

 

Filed Under: Op/Ed

SLA’s 25 Days of Christmas: Day 11

December 11, 2014 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Michaela Peterson
SLA Student

Christmas mornings are always the same. Every year, the same thing happens. My sister always wakes up earlier than everyone else in the house. She then proceeds to walk over to my bed. She will poke me awake and bounce up and down say “It’s Christmas. It’s Christmas,” over and over and over again. She knows better than to try and wake up my parents at 7 o’clock on Christmas morning. So, we will talk and guess about what are presents are until 8:30, when our parents wake up and walk into our room.They always tell us that we have to wait to come down until they are ready. We were never sure what they were doing. It was a mystery to us both. All we knew was that when we came down, there were cinnamon buns on the table, and hot chocolate ready for the two of us. We would then open the stockings that were hanging on the piano, and careful take out the little presents and put the candy back in. We would then take turns opening our presents, and smiling for the picture our mom always took. After all the presents were opened and wrapping paper thrown away. We would go upstair and play with our new toys and read the new books we got. After a while, we would get dressed in the dresses we bought and we would go downstairs to set the table and wait for the guests to arrive.

Christmas mornings are still the same, despite the changes that happened over the years. Stella still pokes me awake, even though we now sleep in different rooms. We still have to wait for our parents permission to come downstairs, even though we know that they are drinking their coffee and making the cinnamon buns. We still open the stockings first and take turns opening presents. We still go upstairs to put out gifts away, but now we come down stairs to help our mom cook. We still go up stairs to get dressed, and we still have Christmas dresses, but now mine are a lot more serious and a lot less puffy. We still set the table and wait for the guests. Even though the years have changed us, Christmas mornings are always the same.

Filed Under: Features, Uncategorized

Hallway Fashion: Thomas Jeffcoat

December 9, 2014 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

 

 

 

Hallway Fashion

Alhaji Koita 

Staff Writer

IMG_6272

 

 

What is fashion?

 

1. Fashion to me is definitely a form of expression. I think even more so than art, music, or words. It can tell the story of places and people.

 Where do you usually shop?
2. I like to shop at Gap. I like simple solid colors, and classy pieces of clothing.
“I stay true to myself and my style, and I am always pushing myself to be aware of that and be original.”  – Aaliah 
What does that quote mean to you?
3. I think it really just means that you have to sometimes try not to get caught up in what the masses are doing, and try to stay true to yourself despite that it can be really hard to do so.
Favorite piece of clothing? why?
4. I like sweaters and shoes and trench coats. I like these because they all come in various colors and styles. They can be dressed up or dressed down. Whether you’re trying to look casual or professional, you can don it looking stylish and classy.

 

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Dear NFL Fans: The Eagles are not Ready for a Superbowl Run

December 8, 2014 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Benjamin Simon

Staff Writer

www.gannett-cdn.com
www.gannett-cdn.com

Dear NFL Fans,

I used to think the Eagles were overrated. I saw a team that overestimated their ability last year. A team that didn’t have the mental or physical stainability to compete with the best.

I used to think the Eagles were weak. They were a team that would crumple under pressure and not be able to execute their plays when it was absolutely time.

I used to think Chip Kelly was arrogant, dirty, and inequitable.

I used to think the management was setting them up to lose. Why wouldn’t you draft a cornerback with one of your top picks? Why would you sign speedster Darren Sproles when you already had three sufficient running backs? Why would you release place kicker Alex Henery, when he been quite efficient in his time here?

And I still agree, even a week after the strong 33-10 victory over the Cowboys.

If someone told me, a team has only played five teams with a winning record throughout their twelve games, and of those five games, they were a troubling 2-3. I wouldn’t be impressed. This Eagles team is not tough, elite, nor built for the big stage. During the first game of the season, they started down 17-0 against a rebuilding and struggling Jaguars. Later, after leading 34-7 against a Rams team with a sub .500 win percentage, they gave up 21 unanswered points, and handed the Rams a chance to win.  In games that should have definite blow outs, the Eagles made it into a battle.

To add to that, the Eagles have the 7th highest turnover margin in the NFL as of right now(-6); tied for the 5th highest amount of fumbles (20) and tied for the 1st highest amount of interceptions (16) on the year. Yeah, there are the flashy numbers (286 passing yards per game), but a team cannot contend for a super bowl ring if they are so sloppy on offense. And I remind you: these stats come despite playing more than half of their games against sub .500 teams. Not very convincing to me.

But I don’t necessarily blame it all on the amatuer cornerbacks or the careless throws or the troubled offensive line. I think General Manager Howie Roseman and Coach Chip Kelly also have large roles in their iminate struggle.

The foggy decisions by the Eagles management started about a month prior the 2014 NFL Draft, when Pro-Bowl wide receiver Desean Jackson was released. Amidst the questioned release, the Eagles blamed it on Jackson’s affiliation with gangs, which turned out to be a pile of junk. It was just an easy way to explain why they were sending their superstar wide receiver towards unemployment. But it also was not nearly close to the truth. It was sleazy, unjust, and just proved the personality of the organization. The are willingness of Kelly, Roseman, and the whole Eagles organization to taint a career to get what they want, instead of being upfront, is unimpressive.

Something else that has always baffled me is the signing of Riley Cooper. 5 years and 25 million, for a backup receiver. Yeah, he had some good games last year, but not enough to warrant a 5 year deal. I think we needed one more year to see what he was made of. This year, Cooper has only had two games with more than 50 yards. He has only one touchdown. And only one game with more than 5 receptions. This is scary, for a guy we committed to for the next 5 years.

And lastly, I don’t think this Eagles can go to the super bowl with Nick Foles as their franchise quarterback. Yeah, Foles was impressive last year, but do you remember former Phillies pitcher J.A. Happ? Yeah, I know, he played baseball, but the same idea is present in both situations. Happ was stellar his rookie season with the Phillies, posting an appealing 2.93 ERA. But in the past five years since his first season, his ERA grown and grown, so much that it was a scary 4.22 this year as a part of the Toronto Blue Jays this past season. The reason? In his rookie season, there was no tape on Happ. No one knew his pitches, his tendencies, and flaws. Most batters know the pitcher’s characteristics before they bat, but they couldn’t with Happ, because he hadn’t been in the league! However, they now know his pitching aspects, explaining his struggle.

Same with Foles. As a rookie, no one had seen much tape on him. But now they know him, and they know where he struggles. Elite quarterbacks figure out ways to escape this trap, but throughout this season, Foles has shown me that he is confused, at a disadvantage, and not an elite quarterback. As defenses are figuring him out, he is having a hard time figuring them and their schemes out.

As you can see, the Eagles are in no place to contend for a super bowl title this year. Maybe in a couple years, when the gaping flaws are concealed, but this is not the year.

Sorry Eagles fans.

Sincerely, your fan,

Benjamin Simon

 

 

Filed Under: Sports, Uncategorized

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