By Deziree Garrick
 
An opportunity gap can be described as a lack of equitable opportunities and resources relating to education. Factors like your race and zip code play a role in the amount of opportunities and resources you have access to. Rochester’s youth has been and continues to be denied access to viable opportunities, and it is mostly due to systemic oppression. 
 
Mrs. Delehanty of the TLI department, explains how the gap affected Rochester’s students. She says, “A very clear example is right now during the pandemic, where in all of the surrounding suburbs those students have the opportunity if they chose to participate in hybrid learning or remote learning. Whereas that option has never been given a chance in the RCSD.”  As a student of the RCSD, I can tell you that students were and are offended by the lack of choices given to us. 
 
“Some students aren’t even aware of what they are missing out on and I often see students pity themselves, and subconsciously start thinking they aren’t as good as their suburban counterparts,” answered Mrs. Delehanty when asked about the hidden effects of the “gap.”
 
Mrs. Delehanty went on to say that “the border between the RCSD and the Penfield school district is the most segregated school district border in the country! And that gap would be even larger if it [the RCSD] was with Pittsford, NY, which is the most affluent suburb in our area.”
 
That statement was new knowledge to me, but did not surprise me. As a high school student in an urban district you often compare yourself to suburban districts and there students, and you wonder why they have great academic programs and top notch sports facilitates. And to know that the only reason they are “better” than you is because of systemic racism is frustrating.  We need to hold our leaders accountable, whether it be at the local, state, or federal level. 
 
I look forward to continuing this topic in a later issue. And I send a Special thanks to Mrs. Delehanty.

By Jamel Brown
 
Over the past couple of weeks there have been multiple protests for Daniel Prude. Most of these protests have taken place in North Clinton by the police department area.
 
The protests started because of the video being released showing the unjustified death of Daniel Prude. The protesters are upset and are fighting for the injustice that was done to Daniel Prude, they demand the officers be arrested.
 
Protesters say that they will not stop protesting until justice is served. “It’s the same thing it’s been, we’re just demanding justice and not standing down to the police system and fighting white supremacy,” said protester Shaquanna Herbert. Shaquanna Herbert is an organizer of the protest that occurred in and around the area of the police department.
 
The city is trying to keep the protesters calm but there is no telling what the protesters will come to if justice isn't served. 
 
But, the protest that shocked the public the most happened on September 7th, when six naked or semi- naked protesters sat in the middle of the street with spit hoods on in an attempt to express their feelings towards what was shown in the video of Daniel Prudes death.
 
"It doesn't seem possible that humans could treat each other that way," one of the protesters said. "I don't understand how someone can see another human in that position and not feel compassion and want to do whatever they can to help them." 

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By Dyanna Garcia
 
Rochester, New York - All around the world hair stylists are forced to go back to work because they need to pay their bills. Even though the number of deaths due to COVID-19 have decreased, we’re still in a pandemic. If we have to still walk outside with masks because it's not safe then why are we putting our hairstylists in danger? They’re being put at risk everyday being less than 6 feet apart serving the customer’s needs. In the industry, is the company’s fear of going bankrupt and/or self-vanity more important than these hairstylists' lives? 
 
In the last week of May, Governor Cuomo stated that hair salons/hair stylists were considered to be under “Phase 2” and to be prepared for reopening. Within a couple days to a week hair stylists were returning back to work when half of the world still wasn’t open. Hair salon manager Nichole Haywood offered her opinion on the reopening that would be happening soon. “It's impossible to have social distancing in this career,” Nichole states, “but people still need haircuts in order to be sanitary/presentable.” 
 
On opening day Nichole was introduced to new cleaning protocols and safety gear. She was told to wear her mask at all times along with a transparent shield that hangs over her face. This shield caused her vision of the haircut to be blurry on top of her wearing glasses.  She was also introduced to a new cleaning chemical that she has to use between every customer. When this chemical is sprayed and reaches the floor it causes the floor to be slippery. 
 
People from outside of Nichole’s salon are also voicing their opinion on the reopening topic. An article from our local news states known as “2 On Your Side WGRZ” voices Jessica Semrau opinion who has been working as hair stylists for 15 years: "I want to work but I feel that we can't properly social distance in this field of work and opening too soon could possibly give us a worse setback if we do start spreading the virus more by not socially distancing," Semrau said. "Then what happens? We get shut down again." 
 
Businesses like hair salons aren’t running efficiently and are running into obstacles on a daily basis. My mother, Nichole Haywood, deals with rude, careless customers who don’t wear masks, come from different states, and complain about the new protocols they have to follow. She isn’t allowed to turn down any customers no matter the situation. 
 
I have observed my mother’s hair salon and have seen how much these hairstylists have had to adjust in such little time.  Hair stylists from all over the world are complaining about the reopening and creating petitions to delay opening. 
 
Honestly, can you blame them? 

By Davyon Johnson
 
Rugby, a contact sport that is said to have originated in 1823 began in England, at a rugby school in Warwickshire. William Webb Ellis, known to be the creator and founder of rugby, came upon this discovery during a game of football. Bored with the slow pace of a football game, he picked the ball up and ran with it.
 
Before getting into the status quo, and popularity of present day rugby, Ii believe it is first important to understand the mental state of a rugby player, the rules of a rugby game, as well as the severe and life changing injuries that can occur. Rugby is a team sport, with each team having 15 players on the field at the same time, totaling to 30 people in one game of rugby. The rules in rugby are simple, using your teammates and the field to get around your opponent to the other end of the field to be able to score. The main components of rugby are lateral passes to your teammates and tackling the opposing team’s players who possess the ball.
 
Now moving towards the rules and regulations, in rugby you must always pass behind you, any forward passes are known as an illegal pass or a forward pass, which you cannot do. Passing the ball backwards creates space and timing for your team to set up a play. Rugby tackling also has its rules to keep everyone safe. Knowing that rugby is played without any equipment or shoulder pads you must always tackle at the waist or below, any tackles above are dangerous and could cause serious injuries. If you fail to tackle safely you will most likely be removed from the game
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Ok so now you know the basics of rugby, with that knowledge you may already have some speculations of why rugby is not as popular as other sports, so first thoughts are 30 people, tackling, no equipment, serious injuries. Now getting a little deeper into the actual history of rugby, and talking to a very experienced college rugby player, we will see the points of view from one who has been on the field, and a part of the community for years.
 
Speaking to a 23 year old, who has played rugby since his junior year of high school currently part of the Nazareth’s College rugby team, has shared his thoughts of rugby's popularity and why it’s not as popular as some other sports. “Growing up in Rochester NY the most popular sport that caught my attention early on was football. Solely because I enjoyed contact, I got a rush of adrenaline after every big tackle I made. I found quickly that rugby was what I preferred instead and after being introduced to the sport by a high school friend I haven’t stopped playing.” 
 
So here we can already see that this player's discovery of rugby was discovered through his participation in contact sports like football. Moving on to what his thoughts were on why rugby is not as popular as other sports. “I think rugby isn’t as popular because Americans have developed a really big culture around three sports: football, basketball, and soccer. Kids early on when setting dreams of being athletes are shown these three are the most achievable here in the US, shoving rugby further and further away from students.”
 
Alright so what have we learned from this? Based on The history of rugby, the experienced rugby player, and your initial thoughts to rugby rules. We can conclude that rugby's popularity is much lower than most sports because of its lack of promotion to kids early on, its competition in the sports industry, and its overall gruesome playstyle immediately pushing most people away from it. Overall I would say rugby is not for everyone, it’s definitely far from the norm of sports, but its unique atmosphere, playstyle, and community shows how special it really is.

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By Bradley Nakayama
 
When you think about joining the Marines what comes to mind? Is it what should I do or How do I know what I can do in the Marines? Those are good questions to think about when you are going to join the Marines and there are many there are many career paths in the Marines to choose from.
 
The first step is talk to a Marine recruiter about joining, Marines are one of the best fighting force in the United States so making sure you know what you are going to do all depends on your ASVAB score, which is a test to help tell the recruiter what you can do in the Marines and how you can practice what you want to do. The higher score you get on the ASVAB the more career paths open up for you and show you more or new things you can do in the marines. 
 
Recruiter Sgt. Soto discusses his choice to join the Marines.  He says, “What led me to a career in the Marines was violence in the inner city of Baltimore. I wanted to be part of something that was bigger than myself and not be part of a gang that does nothing but create chaos.”  He goes on to say, :The Marines as a branch and as an expeditionary force have proven that not only are they fierce in the battle field but also compassionate during the rescue/reconstruction efforts after natural disasters.” 
 
High School Students should join the Marines for several reasons.   According to Sgt. Soto, “High School students should consider their opportunities in the Marines because not only does it provide the tangible benefits to an individual (like traveling, 350 different technical skills, 100% free college education, free housing, free food, medical care, financial security) but it provides the intangibles (like pride of belonging, leadership and management skills, self-reliance, self-discipline, self-direction, courage, poise, self-confidence)”
 
There are many career paths in the Marines that students might not know about, including Engineers, Aviation technicians, Meteorologists, Media Correspondence, Chefs, Vehicle Mechanics, Firefighters, Military police, Electricians, Welders, Carpenters, Cyber security, Accountants, Administration and more.
 
SGT Soto said “Marines are known as the world's finest fighting Force or America's 911, but people don't know that only 10 % of what the Marines do are combat related. The other 90 % are supporting jobs that help the guys in the front lines.”
 
Sgt. Soto joined the Marines because “the challenge that the Marines present was something that I wanted to experience. Knowing that it will help me face any obstacles that life may throw at me because I completed one of the hardest boot camp in the Military.” The challenges and opportunities the Marines have to offer should be considered by any high school student who is looking for their next path in life.

By Boni Hassan
 
This school year is difficult for everybody, and there’s some good and bad about virtual school. Seniors have it more difficult because it’s their last year of high school and they have to make sure they get everything done to graduate. Sometimes the computers will act up and the work and the students will miss their classes and the work and sometimes it will be their internet not working. 
 
What Are The Benefits Of Virtual School?
The benefits of virtual school is that the kids get to stay home, be in bed while they are in class, and whatever they want. Students are comfortable at home, they can eat whenever and not have teachers say anything about having food in class. 
 
What Are The Negatives Of Virtual School? 
The negatives of virtual school are that the students are having a difficult time learning. It’s better if the students were in actual school. It’s boring just being at home, just watching a screen while the teachers are talking. Students need to be doing activities, getting up and more. Sometimes students have work right after school and won’t be able to turn the work on time or they’re going through things at home. 
 
How to Make Virtual School More Interesting?
The teachers and students can meet at the school and do some activities that connect with the works, and have fun, catching up on what everyone has been up to. And the students can do things like a group project where they can meet up and do the project. There are some good and bad for virtual schools for teachers and students and it’s more difficult for seniors because it’s their last year of high school and they need to make sure they pass their classes to graduate. 

By Noah Paul Smith
 
Will there or won’t there be any Virtual Online Afterschool Clubs this year?  Many students participate in after school clubs but don’t really know where the future of them lie. Normally they would have started by now but no word of them starting has popped up. Anime club leader Ms. Bates said that there currently isn’t a plan for clubs but proposed they’ll use Zoom as a way to connect and hang out with students in those clubs. In an email reply to myself, Mrs. Blocker, the East Upper School Principal, said Clubs won’t be happening just yet, but are still working on figuring it out. East High Freshman Jewelia Smith who attends Improv club says, “Depending on the club, some could happen over Zoom to have some socially distanced actives.” With this information, we should expect that it will be easier for some clubs to have online fun over others but still don’t have any word if they’ll be happening or not but, we can hope that clubs can return to their normal schedules sooner rather than later.

By Yasir Mungani
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When you hear the name, Adolf Hitler, it is usually followed by thoughts of the horrible things he did. Like his means to eradicate every Jew in his sight, or use his political power to siege chaos on particular groups of society. The same thing happens when most Muslims hear the word China or the Chinese government, and you’re about to find out why. The Chinese government is currently responsible for the death and torture of thousands, if not millions, of Uyghur Muslims in concentration camps. 
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These camps have been around for some time, in fact, as early as 2017, but thanks to China’s great censorship and control of media, you are now only finding out. Recently a reporter from BBC news was stationed in Xiajing reporting from one of these illegal camps, “China is building a total surveillance state, it’s a place were saying, doing, or even thinking the wrong thing can get you locked up”1 The Chinese government does not want this getting to the public eye, because shortly after, he says “foreign journalists are certainly not welcome” as he gets rushed by Chinese officers.

Xijiang is a small autonomous region in northeastern China, it is home to several ethnic groups. The majority of these groups are targeted by the Chinese government, but the Uighurs have the biggest target on their back. The Uighurs are an ethnically Turkic group, even though they culturally associate themselves with Central Asian countries, the region is still considered to be a part of China after it was brought under complete Chinese control during their communist era in 1942. 

Whether the Chinese government calls it “Re-education camps” or as it is officially known “Vocational training and educating centers” these camps are a precedent set by the Nazi concentration camps nearly a hundred years ago. One can see that they are after the same thing, ethnic cleansing. However, the Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming thinks so otherwise. 

Xiaoming made an appearance with BBC and denied any claims of “ethnic cleansing” despite all the government’s actions being in secret and of no legal status. When he was asked what the situation in Xinjiang is after footage of blindfolded Uighurs being transported with handcuffs surfaced in late July, he immediately jumps to mentioning how the population of the Uighurs increased by half in over forty years, but that wasn’t the question. Either China’s political figures don’t know what is going on in their country, or they are simply ignoring until the task is done. 

Sure the situation looks and sounds bad from the outside. Whether you’re reading it from this article, or have seen it from the countless Muslims who are using their platforms to raise awareness across multiple media outlets. It is much worse for those experiencing it. “Just shoot them. I’ll pay for the bullet”2 says Abdurahman Hassan, after spending months away from his wife, kids and, mother. A Uighur born man who has escaped to Turkey along with many other Uighurs, Hassan can no longer endure imagining what the Chinese are doing to his loved ones, but what he does know is that death is the more merciful choice. 

By Aaliyah Bell

​If you belong to the working class, Amy Coney Barret is an essential name that millions of Americans should be worried about. President Trump recently nominated Mrs. Barrett to the Supreme Court on September 26, a couple days after Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing, which is ironic considering the two women are polar opposites. While one supports hard-won women's health rights and healthcare benefits the other totally opposes both of those topics that are important to plenty of citizens across the United States.
 
According to various sources, Mrs. Barrett and Donald Trump together would put the case of Roe vs Wade at its greatest risk since 1973. Across the nation plenty of people find the court leaning towards the right to more conservatives is quite concerning. In short Trump has recently stated that he wants to dismantle the ACA and promised to appoint pro-life justices, what does this mean? This means that the Affordable Care Act could possibly be scrapped in November when the Justices hold a debate arguing Obamacare.
 
Multiple factors prove why Mrs. Barrett is against women's rights including the fact she’s a part of the People of Praise, which preaches about women being inferior to men; She’s also one of the top ranking handmaids in the organization. You could see how just this alone proves that this nominee is heavily against women’s rights; but then when you add in healthcare benefits such as contraceptives, abortion, pregnancy + maternity care, and breastfeeding plus all the other low income health benefits that ACA offers people of working class you start to wonder why would she be against something like this? The answer is simply due to her political stances and beliefs that could strongly impact the Supreme Court in the future when it comes to new laws and regulations.
 
So in November I ask all of you to please vote and prior to that make sure you’re doing your own independent research about each presidential candidate and the political trends they’re following leading up to Election Day.