Bearing News

Consumer actions necessary to reshape fashion industry

Audrey Novinger • February 20, 2020

My views on the fashion industry changed dramatically after learning about the social and environmental consequences of fast fashion.

Inflexible deadlines worsen quality of education

The Rock and Bearing News Staff • February 20, 2020

Deadlines control students’ lives. The specter of late work deductions or even worse, a zero, force students to figure out a way to manage their time that often result in stressful, unhealthy work management. The RBHS Executive Council and faculty are right to support separating academic performance from work ethic and behavior, moving away from harsh late work penalties.

External validation disregarded

Ryan Choe • February 19, 2020

Learning about my heritage carried over into my early school days. Near the end of middle school, however, I came across Asian biases disguised as jokes, which challenged my belief that I should be proud of my heritage.

Highly sensitive: how increased attention to detail shapes my daily life

Audrey Novinger • February 14, 2020

For years junior Audrey Novinger struggled with being easily overwhelmed and sensitive to people's emotions and other aspects of her environment. She describes how she learned her attention to detail was not always a bad thing.

Video games not to blame for rises in violence

Sarah Ding • February 13, 2020

The political discussion surrounding mass shootings in schools is peppered with fear, doubt and, to a great extent, video games. More specifically, it involves the laughable argument that violent video games have affected the American psyche by provoking violent thoughts in teenagers, pushing them over the edge to become mass shooters. Though scientifically inaccurate, various politicians including President Donald Trump and Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy support this rhetoric.

New Year’s resolutions are good for every day

Audrey Novinger • February 11, 2020

For years, designing multi-colored flow charts in my jumbo-sized planner felt more grueling than rewarding because my plans were often too ambitious or complicated to achieve. I met this cumbersome task with fleeting enthusiasm that quickly morphed into resentment and self-defeat.

Over exaggerating emotions understates real mental illnesses

Anjali Noel Ramesh • February 4, 2020

Unnecessary jokes about mental illness dramatize the real conditions and should not be a habitual tendency. Labeling the response to a tough day as a psychological illness not only disrespects patients who actually have the condition, but also takes away from the gravity of the situation.

Rising student loan debt places undue burden on low-income, minority Americans

Will Cover • February 1, 2020

To truly provide equal opportunity to Americans as they enter adulthood, the U.S. federal government should provide scholarships to make college free for all low-income Americans, as defined by the federal government. This would serve to not only help eliminate the racial wealth gap but would also aid all low-income students in the struggle to pay for school.

Collegiate-level athletics aren’t worth the clout

Maddie Orr • January 25, 2020

As a child I played more sports than the number of fingers on my hands: soccer, swimming, tennis, golf, basketball, horseback riding, track and field, cross country, softball, dance, cheerleading and gymnastics.

Endangered languages explain ethnic history, save vulnerable cultures

Anjali Noel Ramesh • January 24, 2020

As of 2019, there are 7,111 languages across the globe, and about 2,776 of span between vulnerable and critically endangered. The main cause for endangerment is when younger speakers stop practicing the unique dialects, so that once the older generation dies, it is on track for extinction. The historical knowledge and cultural benefits of knowing any ethnic language, however, outweigh the disadvantage of time spent learning it.

Sexist parenting practices begin lifelong biases for all

Amira McKee • January 15, 2020

Society has forced condescending messages onto girls for generations, with devastating consequences on their self-image and confidence. For generations brands have marketed toys to girls teaching them to be softer, more submissive and more domestic than their male peers: what every woman is “supposed” to be.

Online classes allow for procrastination, cheating

The Rock and Bearing News Staff • January 14, 2020

Online classes provide a one-size fits all approach that does not cater to students. Companies such as Edgenuity and the University of Missouri K-12 use curriculum meant for the average student. Students who are ahead or behind the curve are an afterthought and subsequently robbed of individualized instruction.