Is posting online about teen pregnancy spreading awareness or glamorizing it?

 

All over social media platforms there are various posts about teen pregnancies and ‘baby fever.’ These posts claim to spread awareness but they also continue to glamorize having a baby young. Teen pregnancies happen all the time, whether planned or not. And it is important to spread awareness because many adolescent mothers' bodies were not prepared to have children.  This leads me to my topic question; is posting online about teen pregnancy raising awareness or glamorizing it? 

A study done by Kimemia & Mugambi in 2016 shows that social media is one of the biggest reasons that teen pregnancy rates have been rising in the last couple of years. Posts about ‘baby fever’ are another factor that is found in some young mothers' reasons for getting pregnant. When adolescent mothers become pregnant their body is not ready to become pregnant. And this leads to complications and even death at birth. According to the World Statistics an average of 41.9 out of 1000, 4.19%, adolescent girls become mothers between the ages 15-19. 1.5 out of 1000 younger adolescent girls become mothers between the ages 10-14. However since 2000, there has been a decline in the percent of adolescent mothers globally. 

It is very important to spread awareness for teen pregnancy because it can happen to anyone. Adolescent mothers experience many health concerns during and after pregnancy. The posts that people make online about teen pregnancy are seen as funny and #relatable. Often glamorizing the idea of having a baby in your teens. 

In my opinion, social media posts about teen pregnancy tend to glamorize the idea of having kids in your teens. There are the occasional posts spreading awareness but the majority of them glamorize it. And the comments aren’t much better. It important to spread awareness about something that effects many teens all over the world. 

Gonchar, Michael. “Over 1000 Writing Prompts for Students.” The New York Times, 12 April 2018,https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/learning/over-1000-writing-prompts-for-students.html  

World Health Organization. (19 May 2023). World health statistics 2023: monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240074323 

Are Some Youth Sports too Intense?

 

Are Some Youth Sports too Intense?

By Emma Hendricks

To start I think that you have to try and categorize what sports are to be considered “too intense”. For example a sport such as football is normally called intense because you can easily get injured and it’s a very contact heavy sport. But, I think to classify a sport as intense you have to look at the person playing the sport. The amount of work you put in and the dedication you have to your sport solely depends on how labour intensive it can be. If you’re always putting in half the effort and don’t care then there’s nothing intense about it.

For instance, when I’m at jiujitsu I train as hard as possible so that I can improve and keep winning at competitions. While other kids are there because their parents forced them, or because they have friends there and just want to hangout. But for them it’s not intense because they don’t actually try during class and just mess around. So, if you train like you want to get better and are dedicated to it then it can become intense. 

But when a sport is intense there are some downsides to it. If you truly spend most your time training then you can lose hours to do school work and there is also the risk of being injured. In Stanford Medicine’s article about sports injuries statistics, it states that “More than 3.5 million children ages 14 and under get hurt annually playing sports”. Knowing this we can see that intense sports are a leading cause for injury and that with previous injuries that can lead to more down the road with overuse.

You have to actually work hard and work towards improvement. Otherwise it’s like you’re just participating to look good or say that you do it. And maybe if you don’t feel obligated to try your best in that sport, then it could be that it’s just not the sport for you. You may choose to do some searching for something that interests you enough to put your all into it and make it an intense sport. Unless you just don’t want something intense that that’s fine too. So I believe a sport is only intense if you make it worth it and put your all into it.

Sports injury statistics. Stanford Medicine Children’s Health. (n.d.). https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=sports-injury-statistics-90-P02787 

Leave the Extinct Alone

~Max Wang 

Should Extinct Animals Be Resurrected? If So, Which Ones?

Humans are a natural creation. One day, humans will go extinct too, maybe from a colliding planet, the warming of the earth, or another scenario fit for a science fiction novel. No matter how humans will leave their imprint on our earth. Bringing back extinct species interrupts the process of evolution and natural selection, and scientists still need to figure out the potential effects reintroducing a species can have on the new environment. In addition, instead of focusing scientific efforts on resolving past wrongs, we must focus on preventing wrongs from happening in the future. Despite relieving us of our guilt, bringing back extinct species should not be a focus of scientists or carried out due to its unintended consequences.

Humans have changed the environment other species live in and accelerated the rate of evolution, but each environment cannot be perfectly reversed to its past. Natural selection pushes evolution – if a population of animals cannot adapt, they get out-competed and eventually go extinct. By using natural resources and depleting natural habitats for our own use, we act as a driver for this evolution. While unfair, some animals that are better fit for this new environment will evolve and others will go extinct. According to Stanley Temple, a professor emeritus of conservation, ‘The ecosystem has moved on … If you put the organism back in, it could be disruptive to a new dynamic equilibrium” (Yeoman). We cannot bring back extinct animals without affecting our extant species too – what do scientists deem as fair? What animals deserve to be disadvantaged? Reviving extinct animals creates a rabbit hole of unnecessary dilemmas.

Instead of fixing past mistakes, scientists should focus on ways to conserve the environment, through innovative solutions addressing the issues causing extinction. The goal behind reintroducing extinct animals requires refinement: what issue does it solve? Reviving extinct species serves as proof of ability rather than an impactful purpose, and there’s no clear progression of goals. In addition, based on a study investigating the costs of reviving extinct species, it “would be an overall loss of biodiversity – roughly two species would go extinct for every one that could be revived” (Shultz). De-extinction seems appealing at first, but the cost and minimal benefit outshine its potential.

Reviving extinct species should not be done, or be a focus for scientists. It drains resources from current conservation efforts and can lead to unpredictable outcomes, especially in an always-changing environment. Instead, we should focus on preventing extinction in the first place and enhancing conservation efforts. 

Works Cited: 

Shultz, David. “Bringing Extinct Species Back from the Dead Could Hurt—Not Help—Conservation Efforts.” Science, 27 Feb. 2017, www.science.org/content/article/bringing-extinct-species-back-dead-could-hurt-not-help-conservation-efforts.

Yeoman, Barry. “Why the Passenger Pigeon Went Extinct.” Audubon, 17 Apr. 2014, www.audubon.org/magazine/may-june-2014/why-passenger-pigeon-went-extinct.

Do You Like Horror Movies?

 

I never really liked horror movies, I never really saw the point in being scared out of your mind just for the fun of it. My family had similar views as me so we never really watched anything so I never got to experience a horror movie, whenever an add for a horror movie came on when I was watching TV or whatever it always looked pretty cheap and didn't seem to have much of plot. I was scared of a lot of things as a kid so these types of movies didn't really interest me anyway. Another reason that I never really watched horror movies was because the message isn't always great, given that they're meant to be scary they don't always have a good resolution and are basically plotless.

The first horror movie I watched was when me and my friends watched Annabelle together, and this basically met my expectations of what I thought a horror movie would be, a bunch of jump scares with little to no plot. Another thing I didn't like about this movie was the bad message it gave, with usage of the devil and other types of demons it seems to give power to the devil, which I believe isn't true. The characters also seemed pretty dumb, doing things that are very irrational in the situation they were in. It was fun to watch with friends but I definitely wouldn't have chosen to watch it on a separate occasion. 

The next horror movie that I watched was once again with my friends, but this time the experience was different. We watched the movie Get Out, which was a very interesting movie, from the start this movie felt like it had a little more life to it, starting like a pretty typical movie, as opposed to Annabelle which basically went straight into scary parts. The plot developed very well and was very intriguing, while still incorporating a sense of horror into it, but this time the horror was less jump scares and more actual scary parts that made sense. As the plot went on we learned more about the characters as the developed, near the end there were a couple of crazy plot twist which led to the climax of the movie, which was very entertaining. The movie had a very action packed ending which led to a very well planned ending that fit the movie very well.

In conclusion, my views on most horror movies hasn't changed, but I have learned that horror movies have something to add to the picture. As Annabelle helped support my original thought that horror movies are just mindless movies that are just for people who liked to be scared, but Get Out made me realize that horror movies can have genuine plots with good movie writing. Get out was a very thought provoking movie that is one of my favorite movies that isn't part of a series, while Annabelle was, in my eyes, more a movie just for the scares, and is one of my least favorite movies that I have ever watched. Overall, a horror movie might not be my first choice when picking a movie to watch, but I am open to movies that have more of a plot and structured characters, even if it is a horror movie.

- Erik Fahnestock

The Structure of a Basement: How Deep does it go?

 

Cadence Scheunemann

    "Things in the Basement" is a graphic novel I recently read which is written by Ben Hatke. This graphic novel shows the main character, Milo, as he takes a dangerous trip through the basement of his new house. One of his younger twin siblings has lost her pink sock and Milo must travel through the oddly long, slime-invested maze in his basement. Throughout the adventure, Milo closely tails a sockrat and follows it through secret stairs, slides, and more down all different passageways. I really loved the style and structure of this book as I was reading it. If any design aspects had been changed, "Things in the Basement" would have lost its homey and loveable spark. The main three structures of the book that lended themselves most to the telling of Milo's adventures were the cover art, minimal use of words throughout, and the settings' creative twists and turns.

    When I originally picked up "Things in the Basement" I was wary of actually reading it. The cover is a dark green hue, showing Milo looking down his stairs into a dank, musty place full of barely recognizable creatures. You could say quite simply that I was judging this book by its cover. ( haha :P ) As a general rule, I don't typically read horror books (just because they don't sit well with me) and the cover of "Things in the Basement" led me to believe it truly was a horror book. But, I decided to give it a chance, and I am so glad I did! "Things in the Basement" is the story of new friendship and deep family connection (I'll let you read it to figure out how each of those plays a part in the story). The fact that this book is a story of finding family with a cover I portrayed as creepy adds to the magic of the story. The magical structure of the cover is what makes all different people want to pick it up and read it.

    The structure of graphic novels is usually made in much the same way, with small characters surrounded by big text bubbles, only really leaving space for the words. The structure of this graphic novel is super unique and adds to its likability. "Things in the Basement" is cool because it only uses words when absolutely necessary, like when Milo chickens out and runs out of the basement only to see his mom talking to the twins and saying, "'Shhhh, Leo.' 'Lucy.' 'Milo will be back soon, loves.' 'He'll have your sock.'" (Hatke 31). The soothing voice of Milo's mom restores his courage. This quote is from a page covered with way more pictures than words, showing the importance of the words present. Additionally, one of the friends Milo makes on his journey through the basement is a skeleton head, floating in a cloak. The skeleton talks in pictures, showing just how important words (or the lack of them) are to the story. One prime example of the skeleton's communication is when he says, "❤️" (Hatke 225) to his friends while they are hugging. This simple drawing inside of the skeleton's speech bubble shows the large number of ways love can be expressed through "Things in the Basement's" structure.

    The style of "Things in the Basement" is also different as the setting remains the same but also changes. Let me explain. The entire time Milo is on his adventure he remains in his basement. However, a series of secret passageways continue to lead him deeper into the miles of underground tunnels below his house. Some pages the setting is an old painter's study, others, it's an amber cave carved with petroglyphs. The scenes of the graphic novel also change drastically as Milo and his friends slip and tromp through the unknown. Overall, the style and connection of the settings really make the story come to life.

    If any of my descriptions of Hatke's style intrigues you and you want to know if Milo finds his sister's sock, PLEASE read "Things in the Basement"!!!

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

 

SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK SHATTER ME - READ AT YOUR OWN EXPENSE - THIS IS A SUPER SUMMARIZATION WITH AN ANALYSIS AT THE END

The main character, Juliette, from the book Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi is a very complex character. In the beginning of the book Juliette is in an insane asylum. In this time she is dwelling on her emotions and explains little about her life other than the fact that she can’t experience physical touch. When one day she gets a cellmate, Adam Kent. She is terrified and acts rather rude to Adam by ignoring him. All she does is stare at him while he tries to talk to her. This part of the book is hard to get through because she is acting unreasonable, when Adam talks to her she doesn’t respond. She helps him get food and find the shower but other than that, nothing. 

Later on Juliette gets shipped to Aaron Warner, the son of the Supreme Commander Anderson and the Chief Commander and Regent of Sector 45. She learns that Warner wants to use her ability to hurt innocent people. This is where we learn that Juliette has a strange ability where she cannot touch anyone or they get paralyzed and die. Adam has stopped talking to Juliette until one day Warner put Juliette in a terrifying simulation where she had to save a baby without touching his bare skin. Adam found Juliette in the shower crying after the simulation and that is when he told her that he could touch her. As a reader I was torn at the fact that I really liked Adam but it seemed as though he thought of Juliette as a hopeless emotional baby. Warner saw Juliette as her true strong self but he was cruel to her.

Adam and Juliette devise a plan and escape Warners sanctuary. While escaping, Warner brushes his hand on Juliette’s leg in an attempt to grab her. Juliette now wonders if he knows that he can touch her. 

Adam and Juliette escape to Adam’s old house where Juliette meets James, Adam’s 10 year old brother. James is not afraid of Juliette’s ability and is happy to meet her. This scene is also when Adam and Juliette start “dating.” A little while later they hear a bang on the front door. The voice of a man calls from the other side of the door. Kenji, a man who worked with Adam while they were in the military, walks in and meets Juliette. Later on Kenji will become Juliette’s best friend. 

Adam, Juliette, Kenji, and James escape to Omega Point after being found by Warner and his men. Omega point is where we see Juliette’s improvement physically and mentally. Juliette starts to realize that she can’t spend her whole life dwelling on her ability when she could learn to control it and use it for good. But her improvement is not taken well by Adam. Castle, the leader of Omega Point, tests on Adam to see why he can touch Juliette. But the tests he has Adam do are torture, Juliette sees this and gets angry. She punches the floor and it explodes under her. This is the first time she’d ever experienced her ability at full power. 

Juliette learns how to control her ability and is able to use her anger for power. But by doing this she is becoming distant to Adam. Adam and Juliette fight and she realizes that Adam is not immune to her touch, he is just able to absorb her power for a moment. So in reality she is hurting him when she touches him. This takes a toll on their relationship because Juliette doesn’t want to hurt Adam. 

Now that Juliette and Adam don’t talk as much, Juliette starts to work with Kenji on controlling her abilities. She learns a lot about herself and this is the time where we see a lot of character development in her. Kenji allows Juliette to come work with Omega Point to steal resources from the Reestablishment, a bad government that made the world worse, so that they can provide for the rest of Omega Point. Juliette finally knows what she wants to do, she wants to fight back.

Her whole life she had never been given the chance to speak up. Her own parents abandoned her at the age of 14. Juliette has felt trapped in her own skin for ages. Now that she’s been given a chance she's going to take it. As you go through this book you can see how her thoughts and body language change. Towords the end of this book she is able to understand herself and know exactly what she was made for. She also realizes how much Adam weighed her down emotionally and we start to see how much she sympathizes with Warner. I really recommend this series, there was not one point in the book where I was bored or ready to put the book down.

Mafi, Tahereh. Shatter Me. New York, Harper, 2011.

Staying Motivated, according to Daniel Pink's Drive

            What motivates students? Is it objects or praise? What about grades or punishments? In the United States, we typically use these “carrots and sticks” to get us to do desired behaviors. The problem, however, is that they often don’t work in the way people want. They can even hinder development. In Daniel Pink’s Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, the theme of intrinsic motivation plays a central role in determining what gets us going. In the real world, like Uni, for example, the usage of intrinsic motivation is few and far between.            

            Which encyclopedia would do better? One written and run entirely by volunteers or one made by Microsoft with paid writers and managers? According to Pink, most economists would assume the Microsoft encyclopedia would last. However, Encarta, the vastly funded and incentivized encyclopedia by Microsoft, closed down in 2009, while Wikipedia is the largest encyclopedia today. Why didn’t the paid encyclopedia work? With our modern idea of motivation, people need to incentivize workers with money and rewards to work properly. However, Pink explains, “open source depends on intrinsic motivation … ‘how creative a person feels when working on the project, is the strongest and most persuasive driver’” (Pink 66). This concept applies to the day-to-day. Intrinsic motivation is the inherent satisfaction of doing an activity – it shines through our hobbies and passions but is everywhere, as it’s an innate human trait. In the long run, compared to extrinsic motivation, or carrots and sticks, intrinsic motivation produces much better results.

The most common way to utilize intrinsic motivation, according to Pink, is through flow. Flow, similar to being “in the zone,” is where someone feels extremely focused and immersed in the activity, and where the effort they put in feels enjoyable. In flow, “the challenge wasn’t too easy. Nor was it too difficult. It was a notch or two beyond [their] current abilities, which stretched the body and mind in a way that made effort itself the most delicious reward” (Pink 249). I feel this even with things that aren’t my hobbies. I experience it with school projects, chores, and even the most mundane tasks. We can turn work into play and harness intrinsic motivation by achieving flow, especially in our classes and coursework.

Flow can be hard to obtain at Uni, especially with anchor days. Breaking up classes into shorter sections, and cutting off work time with breaks at a fixed time can interrupt flow or prevent it from happening in the first place. Using carrots and sticks on activities that should be done out of good nature, like going to educational events or helping others out, smothers intrinsic motivation that would’ve drawn people in the first place. Flow requires having enough freedom to allow people to explore, while still providing goals that are a few steps out of reach. By giving people the chance to use their intrinsic motivation and contribute in a meaningful way, as shown through Pink’s Drive, they become more focused on their play, rather than their rewards.

-Max