Op/Ed

Editorial: SLA Beeber, Not a Plan B

May 28, 2013 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

It is no secret that the School District of Philadelphia is closing 23 schools which leaves many confused about the opening of SLA Beeber.

The opening is controversial. Many Philadelphians feel as though it’s unfair to close so many schools and open a new one, or even expand an already-existing one.

Others feel as though the new campus has something to offer, considering SLA has a reputation of outstanding academics and innovative ideas. Moreover, moving into the Beeber Middle School building allowed that school to stay open.

A similar situation surrounds stocking the school. Much of the furniture and supplies for classrooms, such as desks, tables, chairs and science equipment will be coming from schools around the city that are being shut down. Some people find whole situation unfair, while others think SLA is putting the supplies to good use.

From the outside, there are pros and cons to opening a new campus. But from the current SLA students, many questions have been circulating regarding SLA-B. Will we doing joint projects with SLA-B? Will there still be the same streams at the new campus? Will there be one big field day? Will we have different sports teams?

While many of these things may be unclear at the moment, there are definitely some concerns and excitements upon the opening at the new campus.

From the perspective of our school, SLA-B offers many great benefits. It will ensure that all SLA students will have access to an auditorium and gym, and opens up possibility for cross city collaboration between the two campuses.

One worry that SLA is working hard to dismiss is that SLA-B will now be seen as “second best” as compared to the original campus. This could make students feel less special if they don’t get into the campus they had hoped for — although the long-term plan is for students to interview to attend SLA and then be equally distributed between the two campuses.

So, opening a second campus at SLA gives a great deal of students the opportunity to attend SLA.

While opening SLA-B provides more opportunities for children to receive a better education, it comes with a cost.

It might be difficult but we have to separate emotions from actions and not have hard feelings– but instead look forward and discuss how we are going to fix the problems.

It’s important for people to understand that in the climate of the district there is no benefit without some cost. A good thing can happen in the midst of a lot of awful things.

Unsigned editorials are written and approved by the SLAMedia Editorial Staff. They do not reflect the opinion of Science Leadership Academy and its employees.

Being White in Philly; A Black Girl’s Response

May 10, 2013 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

DeShawn McLeod

Staff Writer

“My younger son goes to Temple, where he’s a sophomore. This year he’s living in an apartment with two friends at 19th and Diamond, just a few blocks from campus. It’s a dangerous neighborhood. Whenever I go see Nick, I get antsy and wonder what I was thinking, allowing him to rent there.”

These are the opening lines to Philadelphia’s Magazine March Issue’s cover story, Being White in Philly, written by Robert Huber.

When I first read this article, I didn’t know what to feel about Huber’s angle on blacks in Philadelphia. As an African-American young woman living in Philadelphia, I felt that I should have a strong reaction, but I couldn’t form one.

I began to look up different perspectives on the article. I had first listened to NPR’s Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane, and she was interviewing Robert Huber and Tom Mcgrath, the editor of Philadelphia Magazine, Philly Mag.

“I wanted to take a look at how white people relate to black people in the inner city.” Huber said. Regarding Huber’s article, Mayor Michael Nutter responded by ripping this article to shreds stating, “This month Philadelphia Magazine has sunk to a new low even for a publication that has long pretended that its suburban reader were the only citizens engaged and socially active in the Philadelphia area…”

This month Philadelphia Magazine has sunk to a new low… I don’t know about other readers, but that made me sit up in my chair a little bit.

He continued, “Being White in Philly aggregates the disparaging beliefs, the negative stereotypes, the ignorant condemnations typically, and historically ascribed to African-American citizens into one pathetic, uniformed essay quoting Philadelphia residents, many of those whose names either the author or the speakers themselves were too cowardly to provide.”

I was utterly blown away by Mayor Nutter’s willingness to call out Philly Mag. I started to think I was underreacting to this article being an African American female. It was strange because I didn’t feel obligated to feel something. I didn’t think this article applied to me.

I talked to a few others who read the article and I tried to flesh out how I felt about the article. And the same consensus came about every time, “DeShawn, I see you don’t feel anything toward this.”

In the media, this story has had a plethora of negative reactions. When I heard about the article before reading it, I thought it was an article freely talking about racism and making racist comments about black people.

So why didn’t I get so angry about this article?

I don’t feel like my skin color defines who I am.

It doesn’t make me angry when somebody starts to stereotype blacks – because I feel that it doesn’t apply to me. If you’re not anything like what’s portrayed – and I’m not – then why would I let it get to me?

Why let it get to you?

That may be a selfish point of view, but I don’t want to put so much energy into hating Philly.com or Philly Mag because they put the energy into writing it.

How I learned about feminism

May 1, 2013 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By Isabela Supovitz-Aznar

Staff Writer

I have a very clear memory from when I was in middle school at Friends Select. I was walking down the basement hallway to the Math room for gym class with my girl-friend, when suddenly the boys ran down the hallway, violently pushing me and my friend into the walls and kicking our ankles.

I immediately went to my principal and told him what had happened. But the response I got from him was less than satisfactory. He told us that he would talk to the boys who were misbehaving, but that “boys will be boys” and that they probably just had crushes on us.

These interactions — that often happen between kids at a younger age — made me begin to wonder about feminism, how I see it, how it is, and how it should be.

Dealing with oppression of females in the way that my middle school principal did is an unfortunate example of why women later on in their lives sometimes tolerate inappropriate behavior from men — this ranges from mistreatment and cat-calls to more serious infractions like physical abuse and rape.

This acceptance often starts even before middle school. When a boy on the playground hits a girl, the girl is often told it’s because he likes her. This suggests to the girls that a man will show he likes her by treating her poorly.

What I believe should really happen, is that inappropriate behavior from either gender should not be tolerated, and they should get punished because hitting is wrong and does not become acceptable based on the gender.

It was a few years after this incident that I learned what the word “feminism” meant, and how it could apply to these situations. There are actually three different waves of feminism, which present different perspectives on the theory.

For me, feminism means equality, as far as it can go between two different genders. An example of where I believe this should apply are in jobs that require women and men to work the same job, both genders should be paid the same amount. An example of where feminism shouldn’t apply is when women who want to have the same rights as men create double standards such as expecting a man to pay for them on every date.

Feminism can also be applied to make schools more fair. girls will get in trouble for wearing shorts or skirts because they are “distracting” to the teenage boys, and so instead of punishing the boys for not being able to focus on their work, and for oversexualizing skin that is not sexual, the girls are punished for wearing clothes that exposes their legs, even if the weather is searing hot.

Feminism asks that women not be blamed for how men might objectify them. But it also suggests that gender roles should not be as strict in the first place. When a child is born, they should not be wrapped in a blanket that’s color is chosen based on it’s gender. If a man wants to wear traditional “female clothing” or wear makeup with is considered to be more of a feminine thing, it should be accepted. Women and men should both be able to express themselves as they please, while acknowledging that the anatomy of our bodies are different, which gives us each different advantages.

I believe that the solution to this cycle begins as early as birth. If boys and girls were introduced to the same toys and colors and tv shows, and raised the same way, these issues of unfair treatment would not occur later on in school. Putting an end to inequality begins in early schools and with the way children are raised.

Fortunately, when I came to SLA I noticed that there was a strong sense of equality between males and females in the school. I think this is because when prospective students are being interviewed, Lehmann tries to find a very diverse group of students to come to the school. Everyone at SLA is quirky in their own way, and none of the students necessarily fall under the social norm, but it’s great because we all learn how to be accepting in such a diverse community.

Editorial: The Pursuit of Happiness

March 22, 2013 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” – Thomas Jefferson

The 2012 Presidential election reinstated Obama as president, but made some big changes in other areas. The states that legalized gay marriage when from six to nine; Maine, Maryland and Minnesota. And recreational use of marijuana was legalized in Colorado and Washington.

How have these touchy subjects become so much of the talk now?

The answer is the rise of the New Boomers.

As the Baby Boomers age and eventually pass away, the “new boomers” – aka young voters – are becoming the majority, making once-controversial topics, like gay marriage and marijuana use, acceptable.

The influence of young voters can be traced back to specific states. Since 2008, Massachusetts has pioneered the way for states like Connecticut, Maine, and Vermont to venture in gay marriage, while other states dabbled in civil unions.

Like same sex marriage, California started the trend of state legislators legalizing medicinal marijuana, then Alaska, Oregon and Washington piggybacked on California’s ideals.

Right now, it almost looks like America is going to become more and more progressive, liberal, and in favor of people pursuing their own personal happiness.

But what happens when today’s “new boomers” get old? Will they become their parents? Does every generation turn into stubborn, inflexible senior citizens? And what will that mean for our laws?

Many young people don’t realize it, but their parents had their own social fights when they were young. Fifty years ago, interracial marriage and civil rights were the touchy topics of the day – and on a national level.

Even rock ‘n roll was seen as a satanic, hedonistic type of music. So much so, parents burned their records. And Elvis Presley was seen as too risqué.

The Baby Boomers who fought for interracial marriage to be legal are now often the same people are against gay marriage. However, the idea is the same: let people who love each other be together legally.

This comes back to the idea of having the right to pursue your happiness. This concept has been instilled into our nation by Declaration of Independence as a human right. As long as a person’s pursuit of happiness doesn’t harm themselves or others, you should not have a problem with it.

Of course, all of this brings up an even bigger question — what will people want in the future? What are we comfortable with, by societal means, and what will eventually become a moral problem for us?

We don’t know.

But as the New Boomers get older, there will be societal issues that we, as a generation, won’t agree with.

When that happens, keep these steps in mind:

Expect current controversial issues to become normal, and for a new touchy subject to come up.
Keep an open mind, but recognize that there will be issues you will disagree with. You will get old.
Always come back to these two questions: When a new controversy arises, does that allow the pursuit of happiness? Does that pursuit of happiness harm themselves or others?

Unsigned editorials are written and approved by the SLAMedia Editorial Staff. They do not reflect the opinion of Science Leadership Academy and its employees.

Column: Abusive Relationships

March 12, 2013 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

By: Dalena Bui

Staff Writer

According to T.E.A.R (Teens Experiencing Abusive Relationships), every year one in four teens are in a physical, emotional, or verbally abusive relationship. Nearly 80% of teens have been abused in their relationship at some point — but less than 25% tell their friends or parents about it.

Unfortunately, many teens don’t tell anyone about it because they are afraid to actually admit that they are and deal with the shame that comes with it.

I was part of that statistic until now.

I am strong enough to speak about it now. I was in an emotionally abusive relationship. This person I cared for used my emotion against me, claiming that I didn’t care about them whenever I tried to leave.

Emotionally abusive relationships are hard to see. A couple can act like everything is good in front of people, but behind closed doors it all goes downhill. This was how my relationship was. At first, I didn’t even notice that I had started to change. I faked I was happy, but in reality I wasn’t.

The worst part is, I lied to myself for a long time that I was. I also thought it was going to get better but it never did. Nearly 80% of teens who are abused go back to date their abuser. I did the same thing – I went back to the relationship thinking that everything would be better. I was ashamed because it wasn’t.

The emotional abuse became more apparent and I couldn’t hide it anymore. I felt stupid because I couldn’t lie anymore and everyone knew my secret. My friends had to step in before something bad happened. They asked me why I was crying so much lately. One of my friends said, “I have only seen you cry once, this week I saw you cry three times.” They gave me advice telling me that if I was more sad then happy in the relationship, then I need to leave.

I couldn’t do it anymore. I felt stupid, so I left the relationship mentally and physically. I was gone. I changed and I had to accept that. So I left the relationship and never looked back.

The good news is, recovery is possible. The relationship hurts me to this day. I am still recovering and I am not 100% myself and I don’t think I will ever be. But, I am getting better. I feel like myself again.

I chose to share this story because I want people to know – especially girls – that it isn’t their fault. They did nothing wrong to get treated like they way they do in the relationship and deserve so much better. There is someone who will treat you so much better and be willing to leave the old relationship for a better one.