By Jamel Brown
 
Picture this: you log on to Facebook after a long day of work or working out or playing a sport. You look at your notifications to find one that states, “It’s ______ ______’s birthday today! Wish him/her a happy birthday!” Sweet relief floods all over your body to know that Facebook has your back so you don’t forget one of your good friends birthday.
 
The birthday feature is the first thing that comes to mind when I think about my favorite thing about Facebook. In my opinion it is the best feature that a social media app has that I can anyone can ask for. It’s the fact that you can be anywhere at any time in the day and Facebook always has your back with someone’s birthday if you forget. Now, it may become a little annoying if you don’t know that person but everything comes with pros and cons so my best advice is to ignore it and move on or wish them a happy birthday.
 
The birthday feature on Facebook can only save you if you put your real birthday into your Facebook log in. If you don’t then it will give people false happy birthday notifications and make you look silly so there is also a great risk behind it so be careful. Honestly though, you’re better off knowing and it is safer to know your friend's birthday but it is a really cool and clutch feature to help you remember. I wish that this feature would spread to other apps like Tik Tok or Instagram, maybe even Twitter.  To briefly conclude, I think that Facebook has many cool features that we overlook like reactions, and saving posts but the birthday feature to me takes the cake.

By Dyanna Garcia
 
What is a charity? There are many ways of describing or defining a charity because they all have different purposes. In general terms, a charity is a voluntary organization set up to provide help and raise money for those in need. These charities could be for educational purposes, health charities, animal charities, art and culture charities and international charities.
 
How do charities help? Charities bring people together who care about a specific cause to help make a difference. Charities help in many ways such as giving direct financial support, giving information, and/or raising awareness of an issue. 
 
According to HowCharitiesWork, they state “Research conducted for the Charity Commission in 2014 showed that 40% of the public say that they or their close family or friends have benefited from or used the services of a charity.” More recent studies from PND by Candid states, “Charitable giving increased 7.5 percent in the first half of 2020.” 
 
Where can I find them? All different types of charities can be found on two websites known as Charity Navigator and Guidestar.org. 
 
Ways to donate: Though charities greatly appreciate the money given, they also appreciate volunteered time. Involving volunteers in charities can help engage people in a more diverse range of skills, knowledge, and experience.  

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By Boni Hassan
 
The one thing I do every day is go to work. I work at Wegmans; I’m a cashier or an Instacart shopper. I like working as an Instacart shopper because I get to move around and actually do something instead of standing at the register waiting for customers to come to my line. I get to shop for people and walk around the store. When it’s busy at work and I’m doing Instacart, it’s hard to get around because there are people everywhere, bumping into each other so sometimes I am wishing to work on the register so I won’t be in anyone's way and they won’t be in mine. But overall I like the work environment I’m in and like the work I do at the store. 
 
I also do school work every day, before or after work. Sometimes I don’t feel like doing it especially after work because I am tired and just want to relax and sleep but I have to so I can get a good grade and graduate. I’m a senior this year and I have to be on task with my work and grades. It can be difficult sometimes especially when I also have to work. It can be stressful sometimes but I do have people that help me and motivate me to keep going. But I do give myself a break from work and school so I won’t be so stressed and overwhelmed so I get to relax and feel free. It’s not good to be stressed and overwhelmed; it’s not good for your body or your mind. You need to take breaks from work once in a while and take care of yourself. 
 

By Aaliyah Bell
 
Many people believe that racism is no longer a major issue in present day society, but the Royal Family are proving otherwise. During Women's History Month notable host, Oprah Winfrey, interviewed the current Duchess of Sussex to help bring light to Meghan’s troubles she is having with her in-laws over in the United Kingdom. Originally Meghan Markel is from America while some of her background is African-American, which is where her husband's family draws the line. 
 
Over the course of the time Harry and Meghan have been married, the family constantly threatened to banish both of them due to their fear of baby Archie being too dark skinned. Due to this the couple moved to Montersito, California with the help of other A-list celebrities such as Jay-Z and Beyoncé. Many people congratulate Meghan on speaking out on her problems and how this ideology is definitely a slap in the face to many people and cultures who praise and love their darker skin tones because not only is racism still around today but so is colorism. During a month celebrating women of ALL backgrounds, the duchess proved why you should not let anyone’s opinion stop you from doing what you know is right and what you love.

By Leida Nunez
 
 Michelle La Vaughn Robinson Obama is the first African American woman to become the First lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Michelle Obama is also an attorney and author and she is married to the 44th president of the United States. Michelle is from the South side of Chicago and she lived with her father Fraser Robinsson and mother Marian Robinsson. She has two daughters, Malia and Sasha. Aside from being a mom and daughter she spends a lot of time advocating for women. In the article “First Lady Michelle Obama” it says, “Through her four main initiatives, she has become a role model for women and an advocate for healthy families, service members and their families, higher education, and international adolescent girls’ education.” This shows that she is involved in more than just her family and presidential activities. 
 
Michelle Obama has been a very successful woman after graduating salutatorian in the class of 1981 from Whitney Young High school she followed her brother to Princeton University in New Jersey and graduated in 1985. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Sociology with a minor in African-American Studies. In 1988 she received her law degree from Harvard law school and as soon as she graduated she was hired by the Chicago corporate-law. However she isn't only successful with the education aspect of her life, she is a big support system for many military families on the website Bluford Library it says, “she also supports military families, helps working women balance their careers and families, encourages national service, promotes the arts and arts education, and fosters healthy eating and healthy living for children and families across the country.’’ This shows that she isn't only trying to incorporate and encourage change but she is part of the movement and she lives what she preaches.  She is one of the most influential women of our time.

By Elaisa Burke
 
There are many challenges that teachers are facing with the new simultaneous teaching methods. Most teachers are used to just teaching hybrid learning completely without it being half students at home and half students in the actual classroom. I would say the hardest part for teachers doing simultaneous teaching is figuring out the place for them to stand so that students from home and in person can hear them well. Also the hardest part that might be challenging for some teachers in this way of learning is the audio, the audio might be weak some days and can cause students from at home to miss out on some important instructions. According to, Fox4now, “Some fear simultaneous teaching will mean students simply won’t get the proper attention they deserve. That is one of the most important because if students don’t get the proper attention that they need during class, some students may not care and don’t do anything for the class or some students will feel out of place from the others that are in school. InsideHigherEd states, '' Online students can struggle to get their professor’s attention over the more visible students in the classroom, and introverted students”. Online students having at same attention as the students that are hybrid plays a big role in simultaneous learning because it can be challenging for teachers to give that equal attention because of the focus on the students that are in front of them.  
 
Teachers most concerns about this simultaneous learning is making sure that students are hearing instructions and getting the attention they need. Also some teachers want to make sure that the lesson is moving fluently to where none of the students might be getting frustrated because of how the school is now set up. As stated in an article on Chalkbeat, as they try to keep themselves positioned in front of cameras, keep the in-person students from feeling frustrated, and keep moving through their actual lessons.”  Another statement in this article is, “Running back and forth from her laptop to her projector didn’t work.” That right there shows a challenge that some teachers go through with simultaneous learning. You see in these articles it gathers up pretty much similar information about the struggle with this new learning. It shows the main roles of the challenge with this learning. There has to be something within the teachers to come up with a good solution to make simultaneous learning easier and comfortable for the students, and also making sure all students are both getting equal attention from the teacher.

By Noah P. Smith
 
When searching for a new pet the question always comes up to either adopt or rescue a pet from an animal shelter or to buy a newly bred one. Thanks to new resources like the internet allowing us to see what the actual difference is, adopting a pet will likely be helping 2 animals out of dangerous situations: the one you adopt and the one that can come in for the empty space, and it helps the shelter be able to bring in funds to care for the animals.
 
Buying a bred pet can actually hurt the pet market as they are way more expensive in the $6,000 dollar range (this includes pet training schools and accessories) vs adopting which can be around $1,000 (including pet insurance a year which costs around $800 a year)  saving around 5 thousand dollars on training and personal fees from the breeder. Another huge reason would be helping to end mills, puppy mills are breeding facilities that priories profit over the animal’s wellbeing. This how we got breeds such as the Pug who can’t even breathe out of its nose correctly because of how inbreeding and human selection mutated the animal.
If you are looking for a new pet companion I highly recommend rescuing an animal from an animal shelter over a breeder/mill.
 

By Davyon Johnson
 
In the year 2021 it is a very unique experience when it comes to human technology. It is the first time in human history that web-based technology is a very important and dependable component to human society. But some traditions that are very close to human nature such as communication, companionship, hunting, gathering, and our overall survival aspects are diminishing partly due to the use of technology. Are we too dependent on technology? Will technology allow us to flourish in a world of distant communication, and bring out the best of human society? Or will technology lead us into a world where we are dependent on an external source that is not as dependable as we think?
 
To answer this question, we first need to look at one of the main components that the use of technology brings into society. Communication is one of many other things that humans use technology for, but this component is very strong to human intellect. Our ability to communicate brings out the best in everything we’ve ever done, a few things being hunting, gathering, farming, travelling, observation, would have never been the same without the power of being able to communicate and share information to one another, in order to improve on the tasks we do. 
 
A CNN. Com article by CP Gurnani talks of the power of 5G and other communication technologies that are improving very rapidly. In this article it ultimately talks of how 5G will increase the speed at which communication is possible through technology, a notable mention being the possibility of a surgeon doing an operation on a client through robotics from another continent is speculated to be possible with these improvements. 
 
Taking that into account there definitely is a bright side to our communication devices, but when we think about some basic things that can completely alter everything we’ve done to improve these electronic gadgets. That thing being an EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) which is basically a high energy pulse covering vast distances that either damages or destroys unshielded electronic devices. Of course there are many ways around standard power outages and the acts of a nuclear EMP. But will there come a time where an external source that our technology is completely vulnerable to hurts us in ways we never imagined? Is our decision of making the most efficient technology possible truly a step in the right direction? Or will there come a time in nature where our external devices are not enough to keep us alive and we then lose the touch with our natural survival aspects that has always been our thriving factor?

Deziree Garrick
 
Life during a pandemic has been anything but normal, though most of us have stumbled upon more free-time than normal. New hobbies have been taken up, and old ones revisited. One hobby that has become a part of my daily life is reading. *Disclaimer: I love to read, but I don’t always remain consistent!* 
 
Two of my favorite authors are Elizabeth Acevedo and Angie Thomas, I have a tendency to buy their books upon their releases. Though the six books that I am recommending to you are not by my favorite authors, they are crucial in the understanding of social injustices primarily regarding Black people.
1.      Reading between the lies - Dick Gregory
2.      Stamped - Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi
3.      Caste - Isabel Wilkerson
4.      Just Mercy - Bryan Stevenson
5.      A Different Vision - Susan Anglada Bartley
6.      Reading, Writing and Racism - Bree Picower
 
*Here is another Disclaimer: I have not completed all of these readings, mostly because “downtime” hasn’t been a part of my daily life for a while. 
            Despite my lack of completion, I have noticed that these six books are key in informing the minds of youth and adults who are trying to better understand the various struggles that have affected and continue to affect the Black community. 
*Final Disclaimer: If you are interested in reading any of these books together, I am more than happy to partner with you!