Author: adviser

Around Poly, traveling by catwalks and stairs is obviously a necessity. That’s why it is a problem to litter them with trash. After the lunch bell it seems that some people are leaving large amounts of their trash around doorways, next to trash cans (not in them), in stairwells. Not only is this inconsiderate, but it has a couple of related problems as well.
First off, leaving empty lunch trays and half eaten bread rolls everywhere makes Poly look bad, and by extension, everyone who calls it home for four years. People who leave trash everywhere are people who don’t care about the way their surroundings look. Nobody would just toss trash on the ground at their house, so why does it happen at school, where the space is shared with thousands of other people? Is it to get back at ‘the man’, stick it to the district for the subpar school lunches? Or because they like wading through trash to get down the stairs? Either way, it seems inconsiderate to pile up trash in corners on the catwalks or on flights of stairs. It can’t be for lack of trash cans, because not only are they everywhere, but they’re beautifully painted.

Another reason to not leave trash all over the catwalks and on the stairs is the safety risks associated with sliding down stairs. Imagine: walking along, minding your own business when you slip in a puddle of discarded chocolate milk and tumble down the stairs. The catwalks also aren’t safe from these hazardous milk puddles. As we all know from our brief bought of rainy days, the catwalks can get extremely slippery when wet. So: save lives, toss your milk cartons in a trash can.

The final reason to leave trash safely in trash cans where it belongs is the big one: the dreaded seagulls. Yes, surprisingly enough, seagulls enjoy eating the bits of discarded food left in old burrito wrappers and plastic containers. Just because you didn’t want it doesn’t mean the seagulls won’t pick up your slack. If common decency isn’t enough of a reason to pick up trash after lunch, consider the way it makes the school look, the danger of sliding to your death (or maybe just a bruise), and the possibility of a ‘gift’ from above. The seagulls won’t appreciate it, but everyone else will.

Perhaps one of the most unsavory kickoffs to 2015, the recently released Oscar nominations has been an achromatic blast from the past: comparable to the Oscar nominations of 2011, only white candidates were nominated across all acting categories.

The lack of diversity among the Oscar nominees is a reflection of the small speaking roles that non-white ethnic groups receive: In a study of 600 popular films conducted by USC from 2007 to 2011, “Just over a quarter (25.9%) of the 3,932 speaking characters evaluated were from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups”

The racial homogeneity of the actors on screen is contradictory to the great ethnic variance of the United States, an ungracious jab to the diverse audiences that inflate Hollywood’s pockets and contribute to the popularity of the movie industry.

One would think in an age and nation of grossing diversity, ethnicities would be properly represented in media-an interest of the general public. It is distressing that Hollywood is still a monolith, exclusive realm, it not only undermines the artists of the big screen, but it disrespects the audience that indulges in them.

In order for diversity to be achieved in the film industry, it is imperative that minorities infiltrate the system: work to become Academy members, support film bureaus that promote ethnic film achievements, and become directors. The only way change can be achieved is through accumulative participation.

The right to vote is given to all American Citizens in the US Constitution. However, politicians are beginning to restrict voting rights by the means of Voter ID Laws.

Voter identification laws target the elderly, poor, minorities, and college students of America by requiring a valid form of photo identification to vote. At first glance, this seems like a reasonable measure, but it is not. If the ID is not issued in the state the voter is currently voting, or even in the same district within the state, then the ID is considered invalid.

This means that out-of- state and out-of-district college students or elderly living with family members are disqualified from voting. Advocates of voter ID laws argue that they are necessary measures to prevent voter fraud.

However, this argument is invalid because there are few cases of in- person voter fraud to begin with. Voter ID laws are drastically limiting the people’s right to vote.

A Government Accountability Office report showed that in the states of Kansas and Tennessee (home to strict voter ID laws), about 100,000 fewer people voted because of the voter ID laws. The majority of people turned away from the polls were younger and black voters, who tend to vote for the Democrats.

Measles is an illness that was virtually eradicated by medical advances to prevent it’s contraction. Parents who chose not to vaccinate their children are functioning off of deeply flawed logic.

They believe in a correlation between the rise in autism and the frequency of vaccinations is proof of one causing the other. This is claim is not supported by any scientific research. Similarities in lines on a graph do not mean that they are at all related.

But even if you could humor the possibility of vaccines causing autism, the choice to not vaccinate is still preposterous. Autism hinders a child’s life, diseases can end them. Can a parent really be so afraid of having a disabled child that they would be willing to risk that baby’s life?

This issue is not protected by a parent’s right to control their child. We don’t allow a parent to beat, hurt, maim abuse or assault their children and that is because the rights of a parent end with the endangerment of their children.