Need-blind?

By Stephanie (Age 15, St. Stephen's)

Nowadays, many families are suffering from financial problems and are not able to afford the extremely expensive tutoring fees for their children. Colleges, especially in the US, used to be need-blind. However, they no longer have enough money to afford scholarships for poor families. Therefore, these colleges ended up not offering any scholarships at all. Smart people from poor families therefore do not get the chance to study in these colleges.

Clever kids from poor families are suffering from paying college fees. Despite their intelligence, colleges consider their family backgrounds which makes it impossible for those people to get in. This is not totally the colleges' fault. They would like to have more intelligent students but they do not have money to afford them. Money did not used to play such an important role in education but now, even the universities do not have a choice. I do not think money should play an important role in education but considering the financial status of the world, colleges have no choice but to deny poor students' applications.

This system is not fair for anyone. First, it is not fair to the poor people for obvious reasons. Although they have a clever brain, they don't get a chance to be educated. Second, it is also not fair for the university itself. By only accepting rich students, the quality and standard of the whole school will also decrease. They do not have a choice. With less money, they have to accept students who can pay for them in the aim for the school to continue working.

To solve the problem we have in front of us, people who are applying for colleges now can apply to other colleges which can offer them more financial aid. If the poor student is that brilliant, it wouldn't matter which university he gets into. He or she would stil be as good in other schools and when he or she graduates, he or she can still find a good job. These people can also prepare themselves so when opportunities come, they wouldn't miss it because of financial problems.

There is one way to help the poor students, and that is to wait. The only thing we can do is to wait. We can wait until the economy recovers and by then, the universities will no longer look for wealthy students only. When the economy is better, universities will become wealthier and less eager to find wealthy students. Also, they will realize that the school's standard and quality has been decreasing. To solve the problem, they will be need-blind again and will no longer care if the student is wealthy or not.

In conclusion, we can face the financial problem positively and maybe find a job to earn more money. We can also put more effort into our studies and maybe someone would appreciate our effort and let us get in their college.

Angry Floatees

By Julian (Age 10.5, ISF Academy)

One day, I was in a cargo ship heading for America from Hong Kong. I was a two-headed rubber duck. I didn't know I was unusual until all the ducks started laughing at me. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" I started crying. I hid in a corner of the container. Before I knew it, I fell asleep.

When I woke up, the container was violently shaking. "Ouch!" "Ooh!" "My head!" I heard someone shouting, "It's a huge tsunami!" The container flew into the air and fell into the ocean. I tumbled out. Suddenly, I saw the ship tip over and millions of rubber ducks, rubber frogs, rubber boats, rubber fish, rubber sharks, rubber starfish, rubber toy cars and rubber octopi flew into the sea. I started to float toward a faint outline of an island. Twenty days later, I got to the island. It was nice, but there was no one else there!

Suddenly, the ground started shaking. The volcano was erupting! Lava started pouring out of the volcano. The lava started burning me! It made me flip over. Then one of my heads burned right off! At first I was shocked... suddenly I noticed something. I looked normal now! Yay!

The lava pushed me into the sea. It started cooling down. Then, I was floating in plain old seawater again. I floated further and further away from the island. Suddenly, I saw another island. It looked cool. It was of lots of different shapes and sizes, and it was very colorful. As I floated nearer, it started looking very creepy. In fact, it started not looking like an island at all! It looked like... a garbage patch! It was a garbage patch after all!

I really wanted to get away from it, but the current was pushing me there. When I got really close, I saw candy wrappers, chocolates, orange peels, old clothes, old toothpaste tubes, old toothbrushes, old bags,and even old tables and old chairs. The thought of having to go through it was utterly horrifying. As I went through it, I felt all the garbage under me. It felt slimy and slippery. I felt sick. I looked ahead. There were MILES of garbage ahead of me! I closed my eyes and tried not to think about it, but the more I tried, the more I felt sick. Finally, I decided to go to sleep. When I woke up, I was almost at the end of the garbage patch. Then I saw a newspaper floating in the water near me. The headline read: "Giant Garbage Patch Floating in the Middle of the Sea." I read the article. Then I understood. The garbage patch I ran into was the one on the newspaper.

Then I saw land. Real land. As I crept closer and closer, I saw the shops along the waterfront. There was a bakery, a pizza parlor, an electronics store, a supermarket, and a garbage collection point. After half a day, I finally got to the land. I got washed up on a beach. Then, I saw a man walking toward me. He looked at me, picked me up, and then brought me to a silver round thing with garbage in it. The label on it said "Garbage Bin." The man threw me inside. After a few days passed, a man wearing gloves and a mask picked up the black bag I was in. Suddenly, I started getting really squished. I let out a loud squeak. The squishing stopped. The man looked inside the black bag and took me out. He looked at me for a moment then put me in his pocket. A while later, the man took me out of his pocket. I turned to see a little boy staring at me. "Here's your new bath toy!" the man said. A month later, while I was sitting on the shelf in the boy's room, I heard a surprised gasp come from outside. I heard the man whisper, "Rubber duck... worth lots... sell... auction..."

Next day, I was put in a box and taken to a weird place. When I was taken out of the box, I was in a place with lots of people. I was on a stage, and everyone was looking at me. A man on stage said, "Very previous rubber duck. From the cargo accident five years ago."

"Five thousand dollars!"

"Ten thousand!"

"Twenty!"

"Fifty!"

"Hundred!"

Then, a man wearing gold clothes said, "One million!" A long time later, the man put me in his car. He drove to a mansion, and then went inside.

The Hospital Con

By Caitlyn (Age 11)

One day, a strange looking man came over to my house. He came and sat on the porch. He looked like he wanted to rest, so I let him stay there for awhile. He stayed there for an hour but he didn't move. I started to feel uncomfortable and went outside to see if he was okay. When I came he immediately stood up, then fell down as if he were ill and fainted. I was so shocked that I didn't know what to do. Then a thought came into my mind and I called the ambulance. It came in less than a minute and I thought that was strange, but I did not pay attention to it. I was concentrated on helping this poor man.

We arrived at the hospital and a stretcher was waiting for the man. He was out on a stretcher and I was taken to be questioned. The doctors asked me if I was related to the man or not. I told them that I was not related to him and that I had found him sitting on my porch and he looked like he was waiting or resting.

The questioning lasted a whole hour and I was beginning to feel funny and I asked if I could visit the sick man. They let me go. My ears were ringing from all the questions the doctors had asked, like "How long did the man sit there?" and "Did he stand up quickly when you came?"

I ran out to the nearest flower shop and bought the most expensive flower I could find and ran back to the hospital. A nurse showed me to the sick man's room and I gave him the flowers. He looked very happy, and I was glad that I had helped the man. I had never helped anyone like that before. When I turned to leave I saw the sick man wink at a doctor. I ignored that too because I was so happy.

Each day I visited the sick man until one day he said that he was better and he wanted to leave, so I asked the nurses to help him into my car while I paid for his room fee. When I went to the cashier the person behind said I had to pay $100,000,000. I turned pale, but I was responsible for the sick man and I was from a wealthy family, so I paid.

I ran back to the car because I didn't want the man to be waiting too long. Behind me I heard the cashier person snicker. I thought that was strange, because:

• The ambulance came in a few seconds which was not possible unless it was already waiting for the man to get hurt.
• Why did the sick man wink at the doctor?
• Why was the bill so expensive? The hospital that I went to was supposed to be cheap.
• Why did the cashier person snicker?

I pushed those thoughts away and concentrated on driving. When I asked the man where he lived, he said he didn't have a house. I invited him to stay at my house until I found a good house. I finally found one. It cost $100,000,000! I again was shocked, but I was responsible for the man and I was from a healthy family, so I bought it.

When I showed the house to the man, he was happy and rushed inside to live in it. I was glad that he was happy. Then, again, a strange thought came to my mind.

• The ambulance came in a few seconds which was not possible unless it was already waiting for the man to get hurt.
• Why did the sick man wink at the doctor?
• Why was the bill so expensive? The hospital that I went to was supposed to be cheap.
• Why did the cashier person snicker?
• And why was the cost of the house the same as the hospital bill?

I was beginning to feel that something was going on. The next day I went over to the man's house, but I saw that someone else was living there! I was shocked! I had been tricked! Then I knew what had happened. The man sat on my porch because he knew that my family was rich. He was waiting for me to come out so he could "faint." The ambulance was already waiting on the next block. The people who were driving it were the man's partners, and so were the doctors, cashier, and the housekeeper! I was really mad at myself and everyone. I was robbed!

I can't trust any stranger any more! I never will!

Fraternities and Sororities

By Yu Rong (Age 15, Hong Kong International School)

Fraternities and sororities have been part of the college system for many years as an effective way to develop friendship, housing, fun, and networks. Students are encouraged to join fraternities and sororities in college if they study at a large campus because it is easier to assimilate into college life. Although some believe fraternity/sorority fees are pointless, these fees may be put to good use. People may use the fees to improve their living environment by upgrading their houses and to pay for productive social events that lead to helpful networking. On the other hand, not all members of fraternities/sororities live together. Some are just social groups similar to clubs that meet up on special days to make environmental and social contributions like beach clean-ups and volunteering to help animal pounds and homeless shelters. College campuses should not ban fraternities and sororities because they are vital to a student's building of friendship, networking, and social contributions.

Joining a college is a brand new experience for some people. It is a turning point in life where you have the opportunity to gain an entirely new social experience and build new friendships. In freshman year of college, some students may know few people. It is important to enjoy college life and make friends, and an easy way to make new friends is to join a fraternity or sorority. When you join a fraternity/sorority, you tend to become really close to the other members, and they are almost like your family in college. Having friends is important because friends will always lend a caring hand when you are in a bad circumstance, and they give you good advice. Friends can also provide you with new knowledge and open you to new opportunities.

Another reason why students should join fraternities and sororities is because they are great for social networking. In most large colleges, there are many students, and they all take different courses and classes. If one student needed information that required knowledge that is studied in another course, that student may find a fraternity brother or sorority sister who takes that other course to provide the needed information. Another example is that people who are in your fraternity/sorority can introduce you to others who may be useful in your business life after you graduate, since you most likely will keep in touch with your brothers and sisters.

Despite the two more popular reasons to join a fraternity/sorority - to make more friends and build more networks - some students join a fraternity/sorority because they have the same interest in making environmental and social contributions. The benefit of joining a fraternity/sorority that specializes in these types of contributions is that they have a lot more people to do the job. A forty person beach clean up job takes less time and effort compared to a fifteen person beach clean up job, but provides the same results. Another point is that joining a fraternity/sorority gives students a larger voice in comparison to an unofficial school group. Fraternities and sororities are more closely affliated with the school board because they have to go through a very official procedure before they are formed.

Although some may choose not to be affiliated with a fraternity or sorority, those who choose to be affiliated have many benefits. Benefits are effective ways in creating friendship, networks, finding housing and leisure fun. There are many different reasons one may choose to join a fraternity/sorority, and they play a large role in college life. Students should be encouraged to make their own choice whether they want or not to be affiliated with fraternities/sororities; therefore, fraternities and sororities should be not be banned.

Meaningful Confidence

By Jamie (Age 13, Renaissance College)

Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from a student's essay about medical technology and the ethics of certain surgical procedures.

The majority of the public relies on surgeries to build up their own confidence, by making their appearance better and more beautiful. Facelifts, "Westernized" features, and all of these cosmetic enhancements might give a person confidence, but all of these confidence factors were created by the hands of others and their surgical tools and equipment. Confidence is only meaningful when it is built by the person themselves, by listening to others' advice, learning from mistakes, and not depending on the tools of a surgeon. It is not genuine when something is done by tools. Confidence should be built independently, without relying on something artificial.

Should plagiarism be forgiven?

By Vanessa (Age 14, St. Paul's Convent)

Do you know teachers always make students put a "credits" page in their presentations? It's because if they don't, then they're basically committing a crime. Since students find most of their information from the internet, it is essential that they must credit someone or something for it.

When a person commits plagiarism, not only are they going against copyright laws and human rights, but they are also disrespecting the person whom they are stealing from. Here's an example: what do you feel when you discover that someone, some jerk, took credit for something you worked really hard for? That essay which took up your whole weekend and made you miss your best friend's birthday, the very essay that you knew would score you an A, that exact piece of writing that you thought would mark as the perfect end of your school life... there is no doubt that you'll feel ripped off, furious, enraged, mad, irritated, murderous... You'll want to torture him like there's no tomorrow and throw him into the depths of hell. Every ill thought possible to man will likely fill your thoughts until you can get your revenge. Sadly, although plagiarism isn't something that people welcome, that doesn't prevent them from committing it.

Most people commit plagiarism because they have run out of ideas. They desperately need to ace something, but lack the ability and creativity, so they resort to copying other people. Nonetheless, one should never mix plagiarism with inspiration, imitation, or influence. The previous three are cases when one incoporates someone else's idea into a whole new thing. Plagiarism is when a person claims someone's idea as theirs, which is basically taking credit for what isn't rightfully theirs. In Tobias Wolff's novel, Old School, the main character stole a girl's story, called it his own, and submitted the story for a competition. He won the competition, but was then expelled when the school discovered what he did. Similar to lying, there are consequences for plagiarism. Nothing good comes from copying someone's idea, not even if you credit them, because the content inside isn't yours. Just like a snowball effect, you'll have to copy more and more until one day, the fragile structure of your lie gives in and everything crumbles.

Although plagiarism is bad, it is actually happening everywhere, even in the smallest places. Take the Maxim breakfast that I'm currently having as an example. It's a set with deep-fried fish fillet, scrambled eggs, a piece of bread, and a drink. Originally, the same set was available only at Fairwood. However, as it became an instant hit, the set was then copied by Cafe de Coral and Maxim. Despite the fact that everyone commits plagiarism, it does not mean that it should be accepted or copied. You won't go jump off the roof just because everyone does that, would you? No matter how one looks at it, plagiarism isn't a thing that should be easily overlooked or forgiven.

So, when should a plagiarist be forgiven for his or her mistake? The situation depends entirely on them. If they are willing to repent and turn over a new leaf, people should respect and trust them again. However, only people who are willing to admit their mistakes and change have the right to earn respect, because if they continue to do wrong or don't even bother to forgive themselves, how can they expect other people to forgive them?

My Store!

By Julianne (Age 8.5, Bradbury School)

My store is located in Roseville, a tiny village. My store has been here for three generations.

My store is about one classroom big. Half of the store is a kitchen. A small part is the cashier, and I have four small tables. The decorations depend on the season. If it's Christmas, I decorate with snow flakes, but when it's normal time, I have bright lights.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

My store sells bubblegum, brownies, and ice-cream. My bubblegum is chewy and tasty, the brownies chocolatey, the ice-cream comes in all flavours. Some brownies have nuts in them.

Old people and kids come to my store. I feel cheerful when they come in because they comment on my food saying what I can add and how I can improve. Because all my food is really tasty, of good quality, and is cheap, people like to come.

One day, a famous company opens a megastore selling the same things next to my small shop. The store is filled with good-smelling popcorn, hot dogs and all kinds of food. It has movies, phones, and digital cameras. All their movies are expensive but of very good quality. They have massage places. I go and see happy, relaxed customers.

I decide to make the prices a little cheaper and find out ways to make my food sweeter. I make banners and people start coming back with new customers too. I start putting some new food in the menu. I also add more chairs because so many come back.

In the end, the big store gives me a better job at their place. Old and new customers come. My plan is very successful and I give my son the stand.

Teen Dating

By Erica (Age 14, St. Paul's)

After love is stripped off of all fancy flowers, romantic poems, and handwritten cards, it may be just a mixture of chemicals producing the sensation of love. Pheromones, serotonin and dopamine are all substances produced in our brain in order to trigger the brain's pleasure centre. However, there should be more than chemicals behind love, right? It would be a real disappointment to hopeless romantics if they found out Romeo fell for Juliet just because he was blinded by serotonin.

When you flip open any random teen magazine, you are sure to find uncountable articles, tips, and quizzes about dating and love. They may be tips on how to flirt, quizzes about finding 'the right one' and articles about having a crush. Although girls started 'going steady' with guys in high school in the old days, their main motive was to marry and start a family. However, social norms have changed since then and dating no longer translates into securing a husband, yet the fact that most people date during their teenage years cannot be changed.

There are numerous reasons why teens date, but one of the most obvious reasons is because you like the person in a 'more than friends' way. We are biologically programmed to be curious about the opposite sex when we hit our teenage years and this cannot be stopped since this is how we were created. Therefore, it is safe to say that one of the reasons why teenagers date is due to the onset of growth hormones and other biological mechanism. Also, the human is a more social species when compared to, say, lions. We are afraid of loneliness and cannot survive on our own. This is why communities are formed in the first place. Humans crave for the presence of other fellow beings - to fend off wild animals in the old days and to share your life with in modern times. A partner can provide good company and security - both physically and mentally - and intimacy. A partner can be trusted in a way friends can't be since the level of devotion, trust and faith placed in the person is different. Teenagers who have a girlfriend/boyfriend will have someone to trust and lean on.

In addition, having a partner may increase your 'cool' factor at school. Although this is a wrong dating mentality, teens may gain popularity and recognition from peers due to having a girlfriend/boyfriend. Teens may also cave under the peer pressure of having a girlfriend/boyfriend in order to fit in with the rest of the crowd. Either way, this is falling in love for all the wrong reasons and may bring considerable damage to both parties.

One of the main concerns about teenage dating is the question of maturity. At what age should a teen date? Can a really mature child date at eight? In my opinion, the age limit varies according to the teen and how he/she behaves. I believe that if the teen shows responsibility and self-control, it is fine for him/her to date. On the contrary, if a teen has no self-discipline and low self-protection skills, he/she should not be allowed to date since the teen may not be able to handle both the physical and mental consequences of being in a relationship.

The age-old behavior of humans cannot be changed overnight and it is hard to avoid falling in love at a certain point in our teenage years. Parents may object to the notion of their child having a relationship, yet the parents themselves were once young. I'm sure that my mom and dad did have dates when they were teenagers. However, the most important thing is to be mature, date in a responsible way, and not cave into peer pressure.

Should fraternities and sororities be allowed on college campuses?

By Phillip (Age 14.5, Island School)

People join fraternities for various reasons: they want to feel involved, they think it's cool, they think it's an honor to be able to go up to a friend and boast the fact that they are part of the frat, etc. However, fraternities often cause a lot of problems, some of them major. 

When a freshman wants to join a fraternity or is asked to join a fraternity, they usually have to go through a process known as hazing. Hazing often involves very dangerous acts, and although some frats only require a brief albeit disgusting and unappealing process to get in - like licking someone's shoe - other frats ask for much more dangerous things. Some people have even been killed because of this process, like drug overdose or loss of judgment due to excessive consumption of alcohol. 

However, all these stories we hear are usually only of the minority. The majority of frats aren't very dangerous, and are in fact fun to be a part of. Feeling involved, in my opinion, is an important part of college life, because usually studying at that stage is very stressful, and going out once in awhile to meet up with a bunch of people and partying or pulling some pranks will relieve your stress.

Also, if you join a fraternity or sorority, once the dreaded hazing process is over and you're officially part of the group, things usually get much better. You make friends within the fraternity that you are part of, and after you graduate, the alumni will provide help and support when you need it. After all, most of them will be qualified college graduates and experts in different areas, and it's an easy way to make acquaintances. 

Instead of banning frats and sororities, a better solution would be to monitor the frats carefully, and have stricter regulations concerning the frats. Also, the hazing process should be strictly regulated, and have punishments for students who perform abusive acts on other students.

Banning frats and sororities still wouldn't stop secret societies and other kinds of groups from popping up, and in fact, might even encourage them to because the students might think it's cool do do something that you're not supposed to do. Also, they might find other meeting places that even further encourage them to break rules, like a disused part of the campus. 

It's good to be part of a group in college because later on in life, you'll eventually have to deal with different types of people, and being part of a frat will give you an early taste of what it would be like. Also, your affiliation with the people in the frat might even help you with problems on campus, from small things like homework to larger things like relationships with other students.

Banning frats and sororities wouldn't be the best solution because the students would find another way to do it anyway, and also, the bad things that happen in frats are usually the minority of cases. Frats encourage students to meet different people and learn how to deal with people, instead of being an anti-social saddo. 

Addiction to Social Networking

By Keith (Age 16, ISF Academy)

We used to think that the word addictive only applied to drugs, but now, more people are addicted to technology than to drugs. We see people around carrying iPods and iPhones up and down the streets for entertainment purposes. 30 years ago, people who traveled up and down the street chatted around with strangers. They had time to care and observe the surroundings. Now they play Angry Birds.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

I think the problem nowadays is that we get access to friends so easily that we are kind of spoiling the friendship. It is, first, a waste of time spending so much time talking to one single person whenever you can. Back in the old days, the only way to get in touch with your friends was to meet them face to face. If they were more fortunate, the only thing that they could do was to call their friends through the land line. They would treasure their friendship even more by doing this. We are in the state of texting each other every now and then and checking the Blackberry every 20 seconds, so it seems that we do not have an excuse to refuse to be socially connected anymore. It is just impossible for us to get out of the connection zone.

I absolutely think that  this is an unhealthy addiction. Under these circumstances we are getting dumber and dumber by using technology all the time. For example, typing on the computer will make your writing less fluent on tests, and you will make more mistakes in grammar when you rely too much on the computer's spell-checker. Social network addiction is also not healthy for young kids, because their mindset is not as prepared for differentiating between good and bad friends they meet. They might randomly add friends on Facebook, post statuses they didn't mean to put, and end up doing something offensive.

One recent invention called the Petimo, a type of social robot, encourages children to connect with real friends whom they have met. When both of them use Petimos to kiss each other, they automatically make friends on Facebook. The advantage of this is that parents can monitor their friends and it makes the whole friendship making process safer.

Of course, some may argue that the use of technology is crucial for one's future career. Their future jobs all rely on computers. Without these skills, it would be hard for them to adapt to the future. Only training them from a very young age can benefit them.

I think that children should restrict the use of technology. They should not be using it for entertainment purposes. All it is supposed to do is help you with your fundamental studies. Seeing young children using iPads worries me. Will our next generation still be able to write fluently? Will they be able to get away from the communication circles?

Technology is always useful. However, the way we are using it goes against the whole purpose of the invention. It is just making our lives more difficult and at the same time, making most of the technology users less efficient in their work.